Journaling our sims

[joandsarah]

Welcome to our new journal thread. This is a trial to see if we need a new board or if a sticky in an existing board will do.

In here you may tell us about what is going on in your game. It is not meant to actually post whole story entries; those should be posted on some other hosting site such as Live Journal with a link posted in the relevant Sims 2 or Sims 3 sections.
Sim 2 stories desirablediscourses.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=ts2stories
Sim 3 stories desirablediscourses.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=stories3
You may advertise new chapters to your stories here desirablediscourses.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=alertthread

Please keep pictures down to a maximum of five pictures per post if you want to add pictures. Larger photo shoots can go on the photo board
Sims 2 photo shoots desirablediscourses.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=pictures
Sims 3 photo shoots desirablediscourses.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=ts3pics

Have fun and I'm looking forward to seeing what your all up to!

[amylu1988]

Looks great Jo, I'll get in-game asap and have something to journal then.

[esmeiolanthe]

Jo, thank you so much for setting this up! ;D I'm sorry it took so long for me to respond: I had one small person and one very small person to pay attention to for the last couple of days.

Spoilers & Confusion Ahead: esmeiolanthe's Behind-The Scenes
25 August 2012: Already in Progress/Ruth's (u)OWBC/General

There will probably be spoilers in most of the things I post, and you may have no idea what I'm talking about -- hence the title. You have been warned.

Today I tried out a bunch of new cc, including some TS3 'hood deco converted for TS2 by different people. I don't know if I want to keep all of it and I'll put full attributions for what I do keep on my WCIF page, but some of it should help fill in holes in the 'hood quite nicely. I also found that the male hairs I downloaded from GoS that were supposed to have almost unnoticeable transparency issues have very glaring transparency issues, at least on a Mac. I removed them and went on a downloading expedition for replacements; Simgaroop has done some nice ones.

I finished Episode 1.3 of 100 Days of Awesome, but won't release it until that comes up in the rotation again. What I'd like to post is another chapter of AiP, but that will take me playing 4 and two halves days. (2, 1.5, and 1.5) I've spent two hours already on a single half day in the Trixie house. The next chapter of Ruth's is within two pictures of done, but that also requires me to finish the Trixie house.

SPOILER: Click to show

Rose and Dmitri both have spiffy new looks. I think Rose's suits her, and of course Dmitri's suits him.

What Ruth's is lacking is an update of Rose and Dmitri, and I was hoping for a wedding. However, Trixie died at the very beginning of the rotation and Leonid is going to go any second, and I don't feel like throwing a big wedding. But I've already established that Rose wants an even bigger and fancier wedding than her sister Lisa. Plus, Rose and Dmitri are Family Sims, and whoever heard of family Sims not wanting a big wedding?

Bleh...

My Nickle & Dimed Challenge is off to a start, but I'm having trouble coming up with a title. I want the word "Auspicious" in there, because it is off to an inauspicious start, but I'm not sure what to use. Maybe "Auspicious It Ain't"? What do you think?

PS: Is this too long? Should the whole thing be spoilered instead?

[joandsarah]

No, this is great Esme. Which hairs did you have a problem with? I have some hairs which while I love them do have transparency issues and another couple with neck gaps.

That's a good title. I did the nickel and dime some years ago.

[amylu1988]

What's the nickel and dime challenge about?

Simgaroop does lovely hairs, as does Vadie, she hasn't updated in a while, but the hairs are lovely and Maxis-Match.

With the stuff in a spoiler,

SPOILER: Click to show

Could you do a 'this is what they would have wanted' thing, or perhaps have a small wedding now and a huge, lavish celebration later?

Love Dmtri and Rose's new looks, too.



I've been shooting my Maxis Taste entries this weekend. One went very well and is three shots from being finished...the other one ended up with Herb Oldie as a plantsim, totally by accident.

[esmeiolanthe]

Jo, the hairs I had problems with were these ones here. Big patches of scalp showing through all over the place, and at least one of them looked like the Sim had shaved a square patch of hair right off their temple. It's a pity, because they look nice in the preview pics.

Amy, a Nickel & Dimed Challenge is where you play an unskilled single parent trying to make ends meet. It's been on my to-try list for a while. And thanks for the link to Vadie's hairs! They are quite nice indeed.

Also, I didn't know you were doing a Maxis Taste dare this month. Is it still the "three words" one? I always forget to check their site until midway through the month...

Spoilers & Confusion Ahead: esmeiolanthe's Behind-The Scenes
26 August 2012: Already in Progress/Ruth's (u)OWBC/Auspicious It Ain't [working title]

There will probably be spoilers in most of the things I post, and you may have no idea what I'm talking about -- hence the title. You have been warned.

So I've gotten the writing on AiP caught up with my gameplay. I'm down to 3.5 days to play, and I've finished the Trixie household. Unfortunately, the way I finished it, I needed another picture from the OWBC household to finish the OWBC chapter, and when I went in to get it, Old Adam was missing his mustache/sideburns combo. I swear I installed that... I faked the picture and it looks terrible, so hopefully I'll get a chance to go in and reshoot it before it's time to release the chapter. But if I don't, I'm not going to sit on the chapter even longer than I'm already planning.

Playing this rotation is taking me forever partly because of Real Life, partly because of being bored (I have some new challenges that will kick in eventually, but not quite yet), and partly because I'm building a lot. I spent an hour on the Dante house, which would normally be enough to knock out maybe a day, day and a half. This is what I have to show for it:

SPOILER: Click to show

Amy's suggestions on the spoilered part from yesterday was helpful, even if that's not exactly how it will play out.

I wrote up my Nickle & Dimed challenge, working title Auspicious It Ain't, and it stinks. Also, I am two pictures short, one of which I could have sworn I took and which I now have to reshoot.

Confusing and spoilery meanderings about far-in-the-future plot points:

SPOILER: Click to show

I could totally use one of the nickle & dimed kids for the "poor as a rat" Princess of Monaco in The Grand Duke, but the ages are off. It would probably have to be Beaudelaire, and what if the heir is male? I don't even know who the heir to the OWBC is; how can I make plans? But I have to get these things straightened out!

Alternatively, Beaudelaire could be one of the baby swaps in The Gondoliers, because Milton has both the paranoia and the connections to make him swapping out a baby possible, but where would he get another toddler? And why wouldn't Ygraine say anything? And why wouldn't the other parent say anything either? And there's no guarantee that Milton will be cured/stay alive long enough to let people know there was a swap in the first place. It can't be Leila's kid because that kid would be too closely related to the heir. But having a kid born in an asylum would make a good reason to get it out of the way somehow... Maybe Ygraine could have another baby?

[joandsarah]

At least you are always forwarding your updates Esme, I just stop playing and writing anything related to updates whenever I don't feel like it.

Also I upped the photos limit to five as these snippets are longer then what I imagined this to be. Which is also totally fine.

Aww I'm sure it doesn't stink. I'm always impressed with how you plan everything out Esme, you will get it.

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What I've been doing in game.

The last two days I've been reading my last Earth's Children book and not playing even though I loaded up the game two days in a row. I didn't realize she had brought out a sixth book until recently. It was something like 15 years ago I finished book 5! Shame she had to use the long debunked myth of the human embryo going through animal like stages, but oh well it was good to read the last book. Which has nothing to do with sims >cough<

The days before that I was playing my longest running BACC/ Self Sustaining hood. I played the last sims of Autumn rotation. Sim bin families that live in a row apartment. *note Names are approximate.
Goodies (who are aged down) Gavicon's, Traverler's and Picasso's. Then jumped over to the second apart which so far only has the Ottimis and then over to the first house of winter rotation the Hardley's. They used to run "Hardly Plumbing Supplies' which was kind of my idea of a joke at the time.
It's been so long that I forgot they must have got that to level 10 which in my hood rules means it can be sold back and be 'owned' by townies.


And I can't show the funny pics because photobucket isn't saving them.

Edit: After uploading them 3 times they seem to have finally 'stuck'

SPOILER: Click to show

Townie's never cease to amuse me.

Could he get any worse?


I threw my first ever dance contest. Attended by count oldster (not really just looks like it) and nature girl.


The playable going on about pollution actually won even if she doesn't look happy. That's Faith Goodie in the white dress. The guy in glasses is my Mr Hardly and yes I forget his first name-because that is what I do! Filled with inappropriate heart farts/barfs all around except I've run into my own picture limit which is totally not why I raised them to five. <cough<


Some people really can't be helped.


The Goddie's toddler son, who has a very interesting face so far.

[amylu1988]

Oops, I forgot about this thread again....

The Nickel and Dimed challenge might well go on my 'for 2013 if I ever finish Hypothesis' challenge spreadsheet, it looks interesting. ;D I can't wait to read yours Esme, I bet it's great!

The Maxis Taste dare was three one word prompts and 3 sims, I got Dustin Broke, Herb Oldie and Erin Singles (not using her as she was in my Good Genes challenge earlier this year), and I got Red, Trouble and Baby. I'm not using the Baby prompt, as Dustin is at college and Herb is an elder, but with all the random things my game is throwing at me with Herb's dare, it might well end up happening anyway!

Aw, the Goodie's toddler is so cute Jo! I love the bin families, there's so much variety in there. And wow at that townie, that is one scary combination!

[esmeiolanthe]

Jo, my mom loves the Earth's Children series. She only got into it recently, though. I haven't read any.

SPOILER: Click to show

The Goodie's son is cute! I can't say the same about the old lady (?) in the fourth picture. The townie would be passable if he didn't insist on going around in his leotard all day. Eye bleach...!

Amy, I'll take that bet about the new story. If I win and it's terrible, what do I get? And what do you want if I lose?

Spoilers & Confusion Ahead: esmeiolanthe's Behind-The Scenes
31 August 2012: Ruth's (u)OWBC/General

I haven't had much chance to play recently, what with Wednesday nights being my long nights and then yesterday being not so great at work. But it's a holiday weekend, so I should be able to get back to playing a bit, and then I'll have four weeks worth of updates ready to go. (If you count Auspicious It Ain't...)

Meanderings about future plot points, likely confusing and spoilery:

SPOILER: Click to show

What if "Luiz" is Leila's? Then we've got the relation-not-class thing going on again. Split Don Alhambra between Milton and Ygraine; split mother between Leila and Ygraine. Except then we can't do the "poor as a rat" bit and Grand Duke is the only plot left... And it's such an awesomely Wacky plot that if I have to choose, that's the one to go with. No "aces high" thing, of course, but rock-paper-scissors works well as a substitute.

[joandsarah]

Votes for wacky plot any way you can get it.

Lol Esme, that's the old Ottimis/Ottamos/whatever grandmother. Scary I know. I like the Goodies aged down, they're not a bad looking couple. Can't wait to see what her next one looks like. The Ottimis twins on the other hand... well maybe not so bad as their older sister, I don't know the whole hood is played in strict rotation and they are only toddlers.

Well I've still been playing a bit of my BACC/Self sustaining hood, just don't get the time to do a lot.

I finished playing the Hardley's who gained enough money in shop perks to move to a nicer house. I love sims wardrobe season setter and the day setter from MTS. So i can keep them in winter on a Friday.

Loaded up the next house, the Doctors. They also made enough money for her husband to buy the employment office. yah! This means my sims can now go to that lot and use the job board to get whatever job they like -so long as it's unlocked. Before owning the unemployment office they had to use the computer or the paper, due to my own restrictions, which if you have as many cc careers as I do, quite tough.

[amylu1988]

Hmm, I'll get thinking on that bet Esme. I can always make you some CC now if you win!

I've been the same with less simming this week, but I plan to get a lot done this afternoon...hopefully.

Jo, I left the Ottomas twins as babies (after ending her glitched pregnancy and getting her pregnant properly) because I've seen what some people's toddlers look like! Dora (old lady) has some...strong features that she's passed down.

That employment office sounds like a great idea *adds to spreadsheet*, it can sometimes take ages to get the right job on the computer even without all the extras!

I've made my robot and grilled cheese cc, going to upload it all to LJ today after GoS wouldn't let me post and I missed their deadline. I think I have a post character limit there as I'm still classed as a lurker.

And hopefully I'll be getting Herb's dare done today. And if my game does anything else stupid (old aged plantsim, anyone?), I'll just go with it.

[joandsarah]

What happens to old aged plant sims? I've never had an elder one.

The employment office has the job board from I think it's MTS but you can get them any job with the sim blender as well. I just figured it was more realistic to make them go to the office and get the job there. It also sells magazines and has a stand of those cc mailable cards and one of those mobile phone stands. It does really well.

The next house I went to was the Rollingstones. They own so far the furniture store and a small petrol/mechanical which also sells cars so I can get them more money. She wants to own 5 top businesses. Marisa fancy must really like cars as my sims have both learnt to dazzle and they each dazzled her into buying a car and then she went and bought a third of her own accord.

[esmeiolanthe]

Jo, Elder plantsims go a bit saggy and eventually die, but they're otherwise like any other plantsims. I've had some before.

Now I almost wish I didn't have clean templates, just so I could have Melissa Fancy the car fancier come around. I'll have to bear that in mind. And oddly enough, that makes the flame pants make perfect sense. Isn't that how hot rods get painted up, with flames like that?

I didn't play much today, either, but I did write a fair bit and finished the chapter of AiP ( ) so that is now posting and may even be up by the time you read this. Now I can play properly again. I'm looking forward to getting back to Cecil and his Crazy Cat Lover Challenge, especially as I found him some great cat shirts. (Jo, I know you already have them, of coures. )

[joandsarah]

car 'fancier' and flame pants- good spotting esme, I hadn’t thought about that, but yes they do often have flames painted on them.

I washed my hair yesterday (always good for story writing) and came up with the entire scene for the Mobacy's using your

SPOILER: Click to show

curtain idea Esme and an idea for why Luigi has been like he is.

Melissa even had that hard to get gold shopping bag. If you hadn't noticed, regular shoppers have brown, if they buy something expensive it's blue and only if they spend a ridiculous amount will they have a gold one. I uploaded the picture three times, three! to PB and it won't show up. *growl* I'm thinking of trying another photo hosting site as I'm tired of PB antics.

[amylu1988]

I moved my photos to imgur, but that was playing up yesterday as well. Can't seem to find an image hosting site that isn't temperamental.

That's hilarious about Melissa Fancey, the flamey trousers make perfect sense, you're right!

Esme, I look forward to reading AiP later, and Jo yay for Mobacys!

After work today is meant to be my reading, commenting and writing day, but with all the downloading I've done lately we'll see how long that lasts...

I think the strangest thing about elder plantsims is the grey facial hair the men still have, it doesn't really suit the green skin to me.