The Whittaker Saga: 1940s - Anna keeps her promise (updated 9/16)
I was vastly inspired when reading the decades challenge, and as a history teacher, I could not stop myself from giving it a try. Of course, true to my nature or refusing to do things by the book, the first thing I did was break the rules. How? By creating as my protagonist a single, working woman living on her own! Gasp! Why? Partly because a story popped into my head, but also, partly, to honor the many women who - by choice or necessity - actually worked, and worked hard for their living in the 1890s. We tend to forget them, but the working women were there - from the hard working farmers that we often downgrade by calling wives, as if they weren't an essential part of the economy of the farm, to the working class women working as domestic help or in the factories where they were only payed half of a man's wages. So with that, I introduce Abigail Spencer, a single, working, middle class woman in 1890s Willow Creek: As middle class there is only a few jobs available to Abigail, that of governess or that of teacher. Abigail is therefore a teacher, teaching at Willow Creek Elementary School. She lives right next door to the school, in a small shotgun house with a few chickens and a patch of land to help her make ends meet (teachers really were not payed a lot during this time either). Obviously, her biggest goal in life is to find a husband, get married and start a family so that she won't have to work. (In fact, a teacher, as well as many other working women, automatically lost their job if they got married during this time.) But to get married, she needs to find a husband. Meet Willow Creek's eligible bachelors: Matthew Godeau: Matthew is one of the richest men in Willow Creek. A bit too old to still be a bachelor he lives with his widowed mother in Ophelia house (yes, eventually this family changed their names and became the Goths. Ophelia house is named from Matthew's mother). Pro: Matthew is creative, just like Abigail, as well as a romantic and would be sure to bestow lots of attention on a wife. He lives in one of the biggest houses in town, and is a wealthy business man. Abigail would have a good life with him. Con: His mother. Ophelia is a woman set in her own ways and she is not about to let some silly girl interfere with how she runs her house! Ophelia is mean, materialistic and an overachiever. She is not likely to see some middle class teacher as good enough for her son. Add that she has raised her son to be not only creative and romantic, but also incredibly self absorbed and the household may prove hard to be comfortable with. Joseph Whittaker: Joseph is a novellist, living in the stately Whittaker house, which with time, will be turned into the well renowned Willow Creek Archive. He has no mother (a definite pro), but two very young children. A son and a daughter, from a previous marriage. Pro: Joseph is a bookworm, just like Abigail and is sure look favourably on her past as a teacher. They are also both family orientated which means they are a good match in personalities and would likely find a lot of common ground. The house is ripe with books, and Joseph's two motherless children desperately need a mother to tend to their needs. With two live in maids it's a comfortable life focused on the family and the books she so loves. Con: Joseph very much mourns his dead wife, and keeps her picture on the wall over the fireplace. Can he ever truly love again, or will Abigail forever live in the shadow of the woman he loved and lost? Loyd Brennan: Loyd is the owner of Brennan's Groceries and Dry Goods, the biggest (only) shop in town. He lives with his sister Mary and their dachshund above the store. Pro: Loyd is outgoing and friendly and easy to get along with. He's self assured, but unlike Matthew, not self absorbed. He works hard and provides a good home. As a working man he does not mind a working wife, so Abigail would do more than sit around being pretty. He loves dogs, and anyone who does cannot be bad - right? Con: Living in a store would mean working in the store. There is no way the wife of a store owner is not in that store working along side her husband. Without money for a maid, this involves not just working in the store but running the household as well. The apartment isn't really big enough for a large family and unless Mary gets married, it's bound to be crowded. Then there is the fact that she and Mary does not really get along well. Paul Heydale: Paul is a farmer, living with his entire family at Garden Essence, a farm with a cow, chickens and a whole lot of crops. They're a tight knit family who works hard for what they have. Pros: Paul, like Abigail is both creative and family orientated. He dreams of becoming a painter rather than a farmer. By marrying him, Abigail would be wrapped up in a large family who would be there for her, something she'd never had before. His family is also very friendly, and Abigail teachers his younger sister and has already met and chatted with his mother and father and really likes the entire family. Con: Marrying a farmer would be a step down the social ladder, and the life of a farmer is hard! Is Abigail cut out for working out from early morning to late evening without ever more than making ends meet? And the house is crowded as is, with Paul's parents and two younger siblings (so far). Where would more children live? Is Abigail prepared for the hard life that accompanies this choice? Now I wanted to make a poll, but apparently you cannot do this in this section of the forums. So I'll leave you with a question instead - who do you believe Abigail will most likely fall in love with and why? Matthew Joseph Loyd Paul Finally, here is my Willow Creek in 1890: *** An important note about the future postings in this story: After trying and fighting the forum to get the posts up and running as they are supposed to work, I have now decided that it's simply too much work. Instead, I have started a blog that (hopefully soon) will contain all of the chapters from here and the old forum. I am currently at 1891 and moving forwards quite rapidly. Here the posts of each chapter will be replaced by a link to the chapters in the blog as I move forwards, though I will leave any comments as they are. The massive perk with this is that I do not need to worry about editing in all images manually, and the loading time will decrease enormously without them. The process of reading is also easier at the blog - and while the blog itself is in the wrong order, I have set up a list of all chapters in chronological order for new readers as well as a search function if you are looking for a specific chapter. Another perk is that I have some new options, like character pages where you can get a summary of each of the main character in the story (warnings for spoilers) and a separate page about the challenge, how time moves. I hope I will be able include a link to the family tree as well. It will take some time to get everything set up, and I do appreciate input in the process. I do promise that the story will go on, and hope you will keep reading it and commenting on it either here or on the new blog. Link to the blog.
A Mermaid's Tale | Series 2 | Episode 1 | 5 Years Later | A Sims 4 Series
Five years after Loreleiâs defeat, Caspian struggles with her deteriorating condition. Meanwhile, Ava, Adrian, and Enzo enjoy a fleeting moment of normalcy, but Caspian worries about new the looming threat of Ava and Adrianâs upcoming moon cycle. Kai secretly visits Lorelei, leading to a dangerous encounter. I hope you enjoy this episode, and don't forget to let me know your thoughts in the comments. Watch the full episode here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0vGGXLFXLU
Swanson Legacy discussion thread (updated 12/18)
I'm making this Swanson legacy thread because my old one is while old. Note: I do not endorse racism or any kind of discrimination that I used particular bad words for storytelling purposes. I will also at a point soon talk about mental health in a bit more detail. I kind of glossed over it in reference to the Residential school project (Gen 3's aunt) and Gen 3 herself in the "Friends" or "I'll be there for you" chapter. Discussion questions What's the saddest part of the story for you? Which of the love interest is your favourite love interest? Did you notice a little trick i do in regards to love interest? https://swansonlegacy2.blogspot.com/2019/11/swanson-legacy-chapters.html prolgue Part 1: https://swansonlegacy2.blogspot.com/2019/11/prologue-part-1-beginning.html Prolgue Part 2: [/URL} https://swansonlegacy2.blogspot.com/2019/12/prologue-part-2-visits.html
Diary of a Country Girl
Hi everyone. đ This is the continuation of a story I started back in March on the old Vanilla forum. If you were a regular follower of the 'What Happened In You Game Today' thread, you already know Aurora and her little family. Her save started out as just for fun. To explore things within the game that I never had before. I was just going to share a few screenshots with captions. The original idea for this save was to only be about Aurora and her sidekick, her Bernese, Piccolo. But I realized a couple of weeks ago that, yeah, it had become a story. And it deserved its own space here on the new forum. This post and the next couple will help those of you who aren't familiar, become familiar. And since the previous updates were scattered over like 75-100 pages of the old WHIYGT thread it's a nice reminder for everyone that had been following along. The title is also a hint at another change. I'm going to start writing each update like it was an entry in Aurora's diary. I may still write something here and there in a more traditional style with dialogue though. I'm also getting ready to start the reboot of my other story and by writing this one like a diary it's a lot easier to do both and still keep this interesting. So let me introduce you to everyone. Aurora Westbrook-Carter Aurora came back to her country roots. Her parents left Chestnut Ridge just as she entered her teens. She still came back to see her grandparents during the summers. She loved those visits and getting away from the city. After graduating high school she went to art school where she honed her painting and photography skills. But she never lost her love for the quiet country life in Chestnut Ridge. Now she's back where she feels most at home. Tre Carter Aurora's husband Tre came from an entirely different background. He grew up on the streets of Del Sol Valley just like his father. His mother came from Ciudad Enamorada. Yet Tre has always fascinated by the country life. He has an abiding love for horses too. Even if his first real life encounters weren't exactly smooth. Piccolo Aurora's loyal sidekick. Peanut (l), Nashville(back), and Spirit Peanut is Aurora's champion American Saddlebred. Nashville is Tre's horse and Spirit is the newest addition to the family. **Table Of Contents** Recap Part One Recap Part Two Recap Part Three Recap Finale Chapter One Chapter Two
Cantrell: The Early Years
And So We Moved, a Cantrell: The Early Years Save âLulu,â Joseph said. Seeing her frown at his chosen nickname for her, he began again, gently taking her by the shoulders. âLouise, I know youâre in your second trimester, but not that far into it. Besides, the journey normally only takes about two monthsâ time. This is a tremendous opportunity for us,â Joseph continued. âHere I get peanuts for doing the same job Iâm being recruited for. Iâve already been promised over 200,000 Simoleons up front, if I take the job. The only catch, itâs on Vulcan. I served some of my time as a Marine on the red planet. Itâs really a lovely place. Good people, if not a tad stiff in some manner, but youâll adapt to it. I promise. I personally know Ambassador Sarek. Oh, and his wife, Amanda, is human. Sheâs also a teacher.â âBut weâre to live in a compound? They keep all of the human residents in a compound? I donât like the sound of it. Joseph, I donât.â âItâs not what you think. The Vulcans rely on Logic and have trained themselves to avoid emotional statements as much as possible. Neighborhood implies emotion by the very nature of the word. Itâs a very nice neighborhood, Iâve been there. Weâll likely not see too many Vulcans there. So, youâll have the opportunity to make some friends. Human friends.â Louise lowered her head for a moment and let out a long, audible sigh. She really didnât want to go. Gazing up again at him again, she said, âIâve got one very active baby with another baby on the way. Being cooped up in a small spacecraft spells nightmare for me.â Josephâs light blue eyes were aglow at the prospects of finally getting ahead in his chosen career. Another look at Joseph and Louise relented. She did love him so. Against her better judgement, she found herself saying, âOh, all right. Weâll give it a try. But, if things donât work out, please tell me you have an exit strategy.â âExit strategy? Oh, sure. Yes Maâam.â His smile was tentative, since he had already signed a two-year contract, renewable if he performed well at the job at hand. *~~*~~*~~*~~* The trip was long and arduous. The craft, already old, had several breakdowns along the way. Having to be towed, via Tractor Beam, to a Space station equipped to make repairs took way more time than expected, its location drawing them several parsecs off course. Again, due to the availability of out-dated parts. The advanced simoleons were meant to cover their housing. Sadly, the almost ancient Skiff took most of it just to get there. They could not afford the costs of repair, let alone the expenditure of time. Repairs took weeks. Waylaid as they were, virtual prisoners in their own ship, the repairs notoriously slow, suddenly Louise found herself in labor. âOh, Joseph, this isnât gas at all. This is the real deal. This baby is coming now. And I mean, right now.â âBut weâre still parsecs away from Vulcan. The mechanics have assured me weâll be on our way again very soon. Canât you wait for another hour?â âYes, Mr. Genius, Iâll just tell the baby to put things on hold,â she said, the humor curiously lacking from her pretty face. Then narrowing her eyes as if in contact with the baby inside of her, she shook her head. âNo . . . no, somehow, heâs just not listening. He says heâs done baking and wishes to come out, now.â Joseph gazed at his young wife, âIâm in trouble, huh.â *~~*~~*~~*~~* True to their word, the mechanics finished up their work and bid the Cantrell family a Bon Voyage. The ship was still slow, which left Joseph in a near panic. Soon their toddler, Aaron was walking. Louise having to chase after him, who seemed to have a very bad case of the wanderlust. Or, perhaps he was just Inquisitive. At any rate, Louise was certain the mite was intent on exploring every nook and cranny of this sad vessel. She longed for the moment she could beam down and check out the only house they could afford with the leftover funds. *~~*~~*~~*~~* Five months after their second child arrived, their craft all but drifted into Vulcanâs atmosphere, where again, a Tractor Beam was used to pull them into the active space port where they offloaded. A crew was there to secure their luggage and little Aaronâs stuffed bear, that lay neglected on the deck. When his parents were able to interpret his anxious squawks, it was soon recovered. âHeaven forbid, Bear should get left behind,â Louise said, presenting it to the tot. By the iron grip the child had on the brown, stuffed replica of the Terran mammal, peace reigned once again. Their second child, another boy they named Erik, was no longer a newborn when they finally reached Vulcan space. Emerging from the craft in the hangar, a small delegation of Vulcans and Humans greeted them. Joseph had kept them apprised of his travel woes, which phased them not at all. He was given the day off to get his family situated in their new home. The couple only saw it virtually and had contracted a builder to make an archway between the two smaller bedrooms the boys would share. Among a few other alterations. Getting a chance to tour it, though soon brought Louise almost to tears. Beaming down to see the house in person shattered her expectations. If she found being cramped in a small spacecraft for nearly eight months was a nightmare, these quarters were equally small if not smaller. Two bedrooms, as per their changes, one bath, but the entire place was just small, the rooms cramped, not at all like the pictures online. Being rather adept at photography she should have realized the angle used was in an almost deceptive way. The kitchen was a bit of a joke. Strictly speaking a one-butt kitchen--- if it was even large enough for one. They had a small island added, for more working surfaces. No laundry room, whatsoever. She had the movers place the stackable washer and dryer in the corner of the main bedroom. There simply wasnât anywhere else it could go. Joseph quickly settled into his new job, taking over the recently vacated 5th grade class at Province Elementary School, serving the Human Compound. So on top of having to adjust to the stronger pull of gravity on this planet, the thin atmosphere, which made breathing a bit harder for them, the hotter than blazes temperature, even in winter, which dropped to nearly unbearably cold temperatures once the sun went down; she also now had a new challenge before her. Louise found herself confronted headlong with Sibling Rivalry. Being an only child herself, this was foreign to her. Yet, Aaron was clearly jealous. He had a nasty case of it, she noted. So far he contented himself to pull at little Erikâs feet whenever Louise sat down to breast feed him. Louise had to be on her guard to make certain her toddler didnât further act out his feelings *~~*~~*~~*~~* Having learned of such beasts as the Sehlet, often domesticated to her confusion, the bear-like animal had six-inch fangs. Or worse, the known predator called Le-matya, which bore poisonous claws. She worried Aaron would wander off someday and they would forever lose him in this almost hostile and alien world. She still just didnât understand what it was Joseph found so enchanting about this place. Despite it all, Louise found a job in the Painters Career. She was something of a prodigy, herself, when it came to translating images to canvas. She painted to relax. The more she created, the better she felt, as if driven to express herself in this manner. The fact that her work was drawing notice was nice and it did help to keep her at the easel. When she wasnât running after Aaron, that is. He was most certainly a handful, that boy, with his rather reckless desire for adventure. She was already making her mark on the Art world, having achieved the status of Proper Celebrity. She refused to let it go to her head, and instead decided the Paparazzi who hung around outside of their little dwelling, would be her first friends in this alien place. Busy taking care of her two children, in between dealing with Morning Sickness again, she soon realized they had been a bit on the capricious side when they âinitiatedâ their new home, shortly after moving in. What were they thinking? Faced with a third child under the age of four, she worried that the Daycare wasnât being run as well as they promised. Often, Erik came home hangry with a wet diaper and exhausted. But, could they afford a nanny? This prompted her to produce more paintings which she sold to an Art Collector, which returned many more Simoleons that just selling it straight out. All for now. Thanks for reading! :)
Simmer Talesđ€·đ»đ
These are the adventures of Jonđ€·đ» and Jacđ. I that hope you find them enjoyable to read, I certainly find them enjoyable to make. The first six were posted in the "What Happened In Your Game Today" discussion, but it was suggested that, as it is to be a continuing journey, that perhaps a single topic where the works could be kept together would be more appropriate. The first six will be posted here again for continuity of the collection.
đœ Miller Legacy đž
Sul sul fellow simmers! The Miller Legacy is my first Legacy Challenge and the way I found to explore the (for me) new The Sims 4 game in the moment I decided to buy it. It's the translation of what I originally posted in Italian here, and the new chapters are being posted on my blog here. I'd also like to point out that this legacy is currently being shared also on the parallel Sim Creative forum. This small forum has practically the same template as the old one and is not buggy, making it a very cozy place where to share the old conversations we used to have in the former Creative corner. I suggest you to give it a look! ;) Back to the introduction, with this legacy I'm basically novelizing what happens when I'm playing my game, introducing as many mysteries and issues to overcome for my sims as I can. For sure, the Miller's are not a family like the others. I'm not a fan of too strict gaming rules, thus my main rule is just: "reach generation 10 without cheating". This legacy is definitively more story-driven than rules-driven. So I'm not taking track of points in any way, often instead of choosing traits or careers randomly I choose what I think would be funnier for me to play or better for the story progression, I often move the family to new houses (not built by me because I'm a horrible builder) and so forth. In particular, I'm taking a lot of freedom about a certain cat, but also in that case I found a way for doing it without technically being cheating. As for the heir, I don't follow a strict rule but just choose the one for which I can imagine the best character development and who can give more in terms of story progression. The only rule I'm following in that sense is that I want every heir to be the biological child of the previous heir, because I'm curious to see how the genetics algorithm in TS4 work over a 10 generations span (consider this as a small experiment :P ). The full story index (beware, it's long!) can be found HERE. I'm closing this premise here because I don't want to spoil the story, so I wish you a pleasant reading through the most mysterious sides of this game ;)
SIMS IN BLOOM CHALLENGE - CH 1 - GEN 1
Meet DAISY BLOOM, our Generation 1 Founder. Challenge rules state that the founder has to have the Cheerful, Clumsy, and Loves outdoors traits, and that she has to max the wellness, fishing and gardening skills, complete the Freelance Botanist Aspiration, and have a job as a gardener. Likes the colors white and yellow. She can marry, but that sim must have the loves outdoors trait. My own additional rules are that Daisy must have a fully functional house with a basic bedroom, bathroom, kitchen and living area before she can move her potential spouse in. I also downloaded one of the Maxis pre-made spa builds in Newcrest. ~ ~ ~ Playing Rags to Riches in Spring (30 days). Moved Daisy onto a vacant lot - 2 Olde Mill Road in Henford-on-Bagley. She sold all the trees and rocks on her lot and got $648 simoleons. I then downloaded a 0 simoleon Abandoned Cottage (it's a debug house), and added the debug toilet/shower stall from the Jungle Adventure pack. I also placed a debug contemplative stool (rental) for meditation. (This actually works to increase wellness skill). Lot traits are Simple Living, Penny Pixies, Homey, Wild foxes and Off-the grid. With the funds she had from selling the rocks and trees on her lot, she bought a dumpster (her bed for now - lol), and an Always Has a Snack Bag. She also purchased 2 inground garden patches ($10 each). After this, she had $4 simoleons left. She then got a job in the gardener career. It was now time to make some simoleons to purchase some garden seeds. She found a frog, some upgrade parts, a MySims trophy, and did some fishing at the pond. The welcome wagon came and never placed the food on the ground. So whatever it was, they took it back with them. She then headed to Finchwick and did some fishing...during a thunderstorm...and egads, she was struck by lightning. Deciding that she had enough fishing, she headed to the Gnome's Arms Pub to see if there were any eligible bachelors who also loved the outdoors. She feasted on free chips and water and made several friends, but no-one with this trait. She napped on the couch in the Gnomes Arms Pub and so ended Day 1. ~ ~ ~ Notes: Sims in Bloom Challenge Rules - go HERE. Abandoned Cottage by Quakeers. I had done a preliminary run-through for this challenge and found it difficult to find sims with the loves outdoors trait. So, bearing that in mind, I randomly downloaded some sims from the gallery, and also used some of the pre-made Maxis sims for potential love interests. I moved them into an empty lot in Newcrest, so Daisy will randomly meet them. Here they are. From left to right - Barry Varner (by nengster65), Terence Thayer (by nengster65), Brenton Ferguson (by Gods Treasure), Edmund Leighton (by Rickchikchik), Tristen Palmer (Maxis pre-made), RĂ©my St. Feu (Maxis pre-made), Kurt Lumberjackson (Maxis pre-made), and Pierce Coombs (Maxis pre-made),Rebuilding Worlds Challenge: Vol. 3 (wip)
Starter Guide Create your founder/founders Select the starting world based on what packs you have available Choose a lot to either remodel or demo to rebuild When a new sim is born you must randomize their traits and aspirations Select a skill from one or both parents to pass on to the next generation each time a new sim is born Once the heir is old enough and ready to move on select a new world as their home (repeat steps 2-5 until you reach generation 10) Genetics Create a founder and friend a spouse from the general population who is genetically diverse from them OR Create a founding couple that is genetically diverse Then from generation two onwards choose their spouse from the Genepool The genepool can be foundherein the official doc Builds - Pick your starting world. Choose any lot and do one of the following: remodel the existing house as you see fit (this includes adding walls or basements to fit your family) download a house shell for that sized lot and decorate it use a floor plan for that sized lot and create your house free build your sim's dream home! These same options will apply to any of the future worlds. Once you have finished a generation choose a new world/lot to move to and start the process again :) You can go to any world you like! Pick your favorites, choose worlds you havenât played much in before, or use a randomizer to pick for you. Optional Challenges pick one or all for funsies Try to stick to the following budgets when creating a home Small lot §40,000 - §50,000 (§20,000 - §30,000 for remodel) Medium lot §60,000 - §75,000 (§40,000 - §50,000 for remodel) Large lot §80,000 - §100,000 (§70,000 - §80,000 for remodel Keep the eye, hair, or skin color of the founder throughout the legacy When remodeling try to keep all the walls as close to the original floor plan as possible Have a trait(s) that a sim has to have to become hier or perhaps keep an occult going through all generations (ie spellcaster) Each generation has to complete a collection Roll for the number of children in each generation Decorate the houses/lot using as much of the relevant pack (to the world you choose) Turn Newcrest into a destination world filler with community lots by placing 1-3 per generation
