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    aroseinbloomaroseinbloom Posts: 3,456 Member
    I'm super excited about hosting coffee hour on Friday!! I'm off of work so I should be around for a good chunk of the day!

    I will start rereading tomorrow to prep! :)
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    ThePlumbobThePlumbob Posts: 4,971 Member
    I'm super excited about hosting coffee hour on Friday!! I'm off of work so I should be around for a good chunk of the day!

    I will start rereading tomorrow to prep! :)

    Yay! I'm excited too! :)
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    Julyvee94Julyvee94 Posts: 6,694 Member
    So excited for this week :) been reading the bloomers since I started simlit ^^
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    Julyvee94Julyvee94 Posts: 6,694 Member
    Oh btw @CathyTea in regards to the "which character would you be question". I thought of it more like "if you could be anyone who would you be" no matter if you identify with them or not ^^ For example I would want to be Thomas and kick Max Caliente's plum xD I don't identify much with Thomas but it would still be cool. No need to hide in any corners :) pre-makeover kellie has many fans amongst the readers ^^
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    Maladi777Maladi777 Posts: 4,393 Member
    Thanks everyone for their answers and @Julyvee94 for the questions. I had fun reading and answering.
    I'm definitely going to join Friday's coffee hour with the Bloomers. ;)
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    CathyTeaCathyTea Posts: 23,089 Member
    Julyvee94 wrote: »
    Oh btw @CathyTea in regards to the "which character would you be question". I thought of it more like "if you could be anyone who would you be" no matter if you identify with them or not ^^ For example I would want to be Thomas and kick Max Caliente's plum xD I don't identify much with Thomas but it would still be cool. No need to hide in any corners :) pre-makeover kellie has many fans amongst the readers ^^

    Oh! In that case, I'd be Beryl and run off and marry Tony and make millions of fans happy!
    Cathy Tea's SimLit Anthology

    Do you also play The Elder Scrolls Online? You can find me there as CathyTea, too!
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    JoieWilderJoieWilder Posts: 2,513 Member
    I am very excited for book club today/this weekend! In two chapters, I'll be fully caught up with the Bloomer's.
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    ThePlumbobThePlumbob Posts: 4,971 Member
    JoieWilder wrote: »
    I am very excited for book club today/this weekend! In two chapters, I'll be fully caught up with the Bloomer's.

    @JoieWilder Yay! :) Oh, and unrelated by I love your new avatar!
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    JoieWilderJoieWilder Posts: 2,513 Member
    ThePlumbob wrote: »
    JoieWilder wrote: »
    I am very excited for book club today/this weekend! In two chapters, I'll be fully caught up with the Bloomer's.

    @JoieWilder Yay! :) Oh, and unrelated by I love your new avatar!

    Thanks! Shannyn <3
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    Jes2GJes2G Posts: 13,032 Member
    JoieWilder wrote: »
    ThePlumbob wrote: »
    JoieWilder wrote: »
    I am very excited for book club today/this weekend! In two chapters, I'll be fully caught up with the Bloomer's.

    @JoieWilder Yay! :) Oh, and unrelated by I love your new avatar!

    Thanks! Shannyn <3

    She looks like someone you don't want to meet in a dark alley lol.
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    aroseinbloomaroseinbloom Posts: 3,456 Member
    edited July 2016
    Hello from my morning hike!! Here are a few questions to get us started, then I'll post some that I have saved on my computer when I get home!

    For @ThePlumbob:

    How much of what happens in your story actually happens in game?

    What aspects, if any, changed due to having to include building in your game? Did it help or hinder the creative process?

    Obv, who has your favorite character been to play so far?

    For the readers:

    What generation has been your favorite and why?

    I find the writing that moves this story forward to be amazingly unique. What's your take on it? How, if at all, does it add to the story?

    Tell us about your take on Yennifer. Why is she such a pivotal character?

    Okay...bye for now! Can't wait for your answers :)
    Post edited by aroseinbloom on
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    ThePlumbobThePlumbob Posts: 4,971 Member
    Ooh, I'm hoping to go on a nice hike this weekend myself! Thanks for the first round of questions Rosey! <3

    How much of what happens in your story actually happens in game?
    All of it happens in game for the most part, I think to date there have only been two or three chapters that I wrote prior to playing.

    Now don't get me wrong, it's not all just based on whims and autonomy. I do pay attention to the sims' whims and try to go by them, but I also just observe in general; watch how they look at each other, how they interact, what they might be likely to think based on their traits... For the most part, I already have a take on what their motivations might be as the events unfold in game, but sometimes I only come up with reason why certain things happen later.

    I definitely have staged things in the past as well (for example Cassiel's prison break or the fairy tale chapter towards the end of generation 8). However, aside from a few exceptions the furthest I would go with staging is making sure two characters I'd like to interact are in one place, and then just go by how they act to one another.

    I guess an example of this is the whole Antoine and Sera storyline that happened on the Windenburg holiday - I'll put this under story tags in case some people aren't caught up with generation 9:
    I knew I wanted at least one of the teens to have a summer love, but I didn't necessarily know who would be involved. I did give all of the townie teens a makeover prior to sending my family over to Windenburg because I'm shallow lol. Because of that, I had seen Antoine's traits and I did know he was a serial romantic, but it wasn't necessarily going to be a final factor. I assumed someone may end up getting involved with him on the holiday, but that was about it.

    When I sent Sera to the business district to meet people, her and Antoine literally spawned in the same spot and he was feeling flirty, which I interpreted as him bumping into her and being interested in her. When I sent them on a date, they seemed to get along great and Sera did get a whim to have her first kiss with him. I didn't know how things would go from there, but when all of the teens went clubbing and he wouldn't stop staring at Carly, I figured he was probably just playing Sera, so the rest of their romance turned out the way it did.

    Long story short, I would say the way I write my story is the same way I would play the game if I wasn't writing about it, but that doesn't mean I don't inject any more story into it. I've always had backstories in my head when I've played the game in the past, so nothing's cvhanged jsut because I'm sharing it now.

    What aspects, if any, changed due to having to include building in your game? Did it help or hinder the creative process?
    Well, first of all I don't really like building lol! I'm not the worst builder and I enjoy playing in my own builds once they have been made, but I find the process of creating them tedious. In the past I usually just used premade homes or gallery homes.

    The reason why I decided to do a Build Newcrest challenge is that it seemed to fix a lot of the reasons of why I usually get bored with legacies: Firstly, I get really bored of having the family live on the same lot for 10 generations. I like to move my sims around and have a bit of a change of scenery. The requirement to move the family every generation works out great for me. Secondly, having a generational task each generation gave the legacy family much more of a purpose. And lastly, the rules for Build Newcrest are much more loose than a standard Pinstar legacy when it comes to choosing heirs and such, you can even pick the third trait!

    So I figured challenging myself with some building would be fun, and if the building element is only required once a generation, I can probably deal with it... but I digress!

    I guess the biggest thing the building part of the challenge influenced was choosing the heir. In the past, I've played "legacies" where I was pretty lenient with succession laws, and I'd just always choose my favourite as the heir. This time around, I always tried to go for whoever seemed the most suitable, which added a different element.

    And of course, whatever the generational goal was always had an impact on the way the generation played out - but I guess that would be the case with any legacy, with the only difference being that the traits and aspirations would be totally random.

    One thing I didn't expect was the amount of influence the sims' personality would actually have on the builds; for example I was planning of making a really grand library, ye olde days style, loads of wood and old books, but because my heir was Peter, the geek in love with technology and games, I just didn't foresee him building that at all, so my library ended up being a modern build with an arcade.

    I will say that now, at generation 9, I've pretty much completely abandoned what the builds are supposed to be; I think I'm meant to be building a nightclub and a mansion next, but I'm not too sure if either of those will be happening. I'd say as long as each of the heirs build something, I call it fair game :D

    Obv, who has your favorite character been to play so far?
    Yenn, of course - if me keeping her around for 6 generations ahsn't been an indication of that already :D

    I've loved her ever since she was a baby, because her parents were sims I adored in their own right. And then she grew up into this fascinating, complex and beautiful sim, so that helped of course. I've enjoyed seeing her evolve from a teenager with a fair few demons and a cynical outlook to becoming this wise sage that's fairly sentimental. I never know what I'll end up with when I'm writing her, because she possesses wisdom I do not have myself.

    Other than Yenn, I guess my favourites would have been Cassiel, Isaac and Liv. I like the troubled ones, lol!

    Wow, this got essay-like very quickly, sorry for rambling on!

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    ra3reira3rei Posts: 2,418 Member
    edited July 2016
    What generation has been your favorite and why?
    Ummm. Gosh. I did really really like 8. I have a soft spot for aliens and Plumbob's image of the girls fire dancing is one that was stuck in my head for weeks. Plus the plot line of it was very different from what you might expect in a generation 8 of a legacy.

    Wait! I forgot about Gen2 - I loved Gen2! Um.... 2 and 8 are my favs.

    I find the writing that moves this story forward to be amazingly unique. What's your take on it? How, if at all, does it add to the story?
    I find the writing to be amazingly unique. It's what I strive for in my non-story driven stories. Everyone's voices just feels so authentic. I'm afraid I haven't noticed anything in particular about the writing style or cadence or anything that would help explain it.

    Tell us about your take on Yennifer. Why is she such a pivotal character?
    She's always there, like us watching the legacy unfold. Anyone who lives a long time tends to be that way somewhat, but with Yennifer, she came back and saw even more. She's so supportive of the legacy - like we readers are - and wants to help the others out - but also knows they're going to make mistakes...Yeah - I think because she's like one of us that she seems so vital. She gives voice to the readers in the story.
    Post edited by ra3rei on
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    JoieWilderJoieWilder Posts: 2,513 Member
    For the readers:

    What generation has been your favorite and why?

    In terms of drama, Astrid's. Since I was playing catch-up when I read this generation, I was able to fly through them, moving to the next chapter as quickly as I could. I just HAD to know what was going to happen next. It was amazing how I started out liking Astrid and then that took a sharp turn into seething anger at her!

    However, in terms of I-actually-don't-feel-stressed-out-while-reading-this, I think my favorite generation is Pauline's. It was so wonderful watching her find and embrace herself.

    I find the writing that moves this story forward to be amazingly unique. What's your take on it? How, if at all, does it add to the story?

    The Bloomer's just wouldn't be the Bloomer's without ThePlumbob's style of writing them.

    Tell us about your take on Yennifer. Why is she such a pivotal character?

    Um, because she's awesome? :wink: Really though, she's so pivotal because she's one of those rare characters, not just in simlit but in any writing, that seems to be writing herself. She's very unique and has grown so much throughout her life. It has been a real joy to watch her journey.

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    Simslover163Simslover163 Posts: 2,833 Member
    Hello! Here are my answers to the questions! :)

    What generation has been your favorite and why?
    Hmmm. This is such a hard question. I would say Generation 8 because not only it was unique seeing Peyton and Pauline as aliens, but also I loved hearing their POVs. Lot of interesting and dramatic things happened such as Astrid finding her mother back at Sixam and learning that she was the one who abducted Paolo.

    I find the writing that moves this story forward to be amazingly unique. What's your take on it? How, if at all, does it add to the story?
    I always enjoyed ThePlumbob's writing and as I read, I hear the character's voice in my head. It's like they're on a podium, telling a speech (or should I say, story) to all of us. She's one of the best writers out there.

    Tell us about your take on Yennifer. Why is she such a pivotal character?
    I find Yenn an interesting and unique character. As I recall, Peter wrote the Book of Life on Yenn. During the start of Generation 8, Pauline brought Yenn back to life. She's a important character because not only she told Pauline about how the legacy began, but also she's unique in writing herself. It was a pleasure watching her journey.
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    aroseinbloomaroseinbloom Posts: 3,456 Member
    Awesome!!! Thanks for the great answers so far. This is your Coffee Hour host, @aroseinbloom. I've got some freshly baked chocolate chip cookies and milk. And tea. And coffee. Always coffee...obviously!

    I've been hiking and Pokemon hunting all day. Not a bad day off, if you ask me. Walked a lot. Hatched some Poke Eggs. Anyways...

    Here are some more questions for those awesome Bloomer fans out there and their author, @ThePlumbob.

    @ThePlumbob:

    I'm obsessed with your builds. I know you said you struggle with them, but the end results are beautiful, IMHO. Which build was your favorite? How, if at all, did it contribute to the story. (I love Gen 4's lots so much!)

    Cassiel may by far be the most unique Sim in a legacy that I've read...I know you already listed her as one of your favorites, but can you tell us what it was like to play her? And what about her personality in game helped you develop her story line?

    Okay...so you're super close to the finish line. What would you do differently if you ever attempted another challenge like this?

    The dynamics of the Bloomer family are special, there's no doubt about that. If you could have introduced any one Bloomer Sim to another Bloomer in the family (obviously, those who never met each other) who would it be and what would you want them to share with one another?

    Readers:

    What one moment from the Bloomer Legacy sticks out most in your mind? Why?

    If you could have made any spare into the heir, who would it have been??

    Pretend @ThePlumbob allows you to write the ending of her legacy...what's ONE thing you would want to see happen?
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    JoieWilderJoieWilder Posts: 2,513 Member
    Readers:

    What one moment from the Bloomer Legacy sticks out most in your mind? Why?

    The moment that Astrid told Pauline that they were both monsters. :( It totally broke my heart while also making sure I never forgave Astrid. I'm glad that Pauline got closure with her mother at the end, but I'm still holding a grudge. I was glad when Astrid moved to Sixam just because I didn't have to see her anymore.

    If you could have made any spare into the heir, who would it have been??

    I'll admit, I can't remember offhand who all the spares are. But I think I'd have chosen anybody over Booker. He wasn't a horrible sim, but he was kind of a blah heir to me. I do wish Yenn could've been an heir, just so then we'd have some beautiful Yennefer babies.

    Pretend @ThePlumbob allows you to write the ending of her legacy...what's ONE thing you would want to see happen?

    Vito and Louis get a happily ever after. :p I am so on board with that ship.
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    Simslover163Simslover163 Posts: 2,833 Member
    What one moment from the Bloomer Legacy sticks out most in your mind? Why?
    That moment when Montgomery was abducted and gave birth to a beautiful female alien baby, Astrid. I don't usually see alien genes play a role in legacies, but seeing this made this legacy extremely unique. It was also fun following Astrid's journey. :)

    If you could have made any spare into the heir, who would it have been??
    There were a lot of spares, but I have to admit, I lost track of who they were. If I had to chosen, it would be the one and only Yenn!

    Pretend @ThePlumbob allows you to write the ending of her legacy...what's ONE thing you would want to see happen?
    In my mind, I have LOTS of possiblities for a happy ending. But if I had to choose one, it'll be Louis and Vito having a happy ending!
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    CathyTeaCathyTea Posts: 23,089 Member
    What generation has been your favorite and why?

    Gen. 3, for sure! And I had to look it up. It's because of Yenn, but, since Yenn is such an amazing Sim, I was guessing that she was gen 6! In my experience, it's around gen 6 that the truly awesome Sims begin to show up. That just makes Yenn even more amazing!

    I truly loved the friendship between Yenn and Chell.

    Also, for some reason (romantic at heart?), I love stories where the strong, individual quirky heroine has challenges finding true love... and then finds it, but resists it. So Jane Austen! And Gen 3 felt pretty Jane Austen-like to me. (Which is about the highest compliment I can give).

    I find the writing that moves this story forward to be amazingly unique. What's your take on it? How, if at all, does it add to the story?

    So, I read @ThePlumbob 's answer about how playing/writing this isn't all that different than her usual experience with Sims, since she always has a story going on anyway--it's just that now she's sharing it. And I think this might be part of the secret of what makes this story and the writing so amazing. It has an interior quality to it--by that, I mean that it has the richness of one's imagination. The whole story feels private and intimate to me, somehow, and we as readers are being given the treat of getting to look inside this imagined, deeply felt world, and share in it.

    That seems Austen-like, too. I always feel, when I'm reading Austen, that I've stepped inside of Jane Austen and I'm looking out through her eyes. And when I read this, I feel that I'm able to look through @ThePlumbob 's eyes and imagination and sensibilities. It's very intimate and very rich, like with a novel.

    Tell us about your take on Yennifer. Why is she such a pivotal character?

    Oh, Yenn! So, you know, I was so lucky to get to have Yenn visit my hard-drive for a while when she came to Freezer Bunny Dating. Wow! She and CT the TS4 Sims even became friends! That was pretty amazing. And I loved to see her interact with Nate. Also, the younger women there (Puma, especially) always wanted to talk with her.

    There are some Sims that simply are amazing. Think of Allison Skinner. Or Sugar. And Yenn. She's truly amazing.

    She has this quality: she's funny, down-to-earth, relaxed, yet also, inspired, very sensitive, and so intuitive that she seems to border on the psychic. She also has this beautiful quality of one-ness. She is whole and complete. In the game, I got the feeling that that was what drew Nate, Bradley Heffner, and the younger women to her: they sensed this completeness and they found that it showed a different way to be.

    She was mostly autonomous in my game, and I loved seeing her choices for activities. She'd swim, do yoga, make a meal, clean dishes, paint, paint some more, workout, tell jokes--always doing something smart, fun, or useful. Here's one of my favorite pictures of her from her visit:

    ctone-ten02.png?w=775

    So my question for @ThePlumbob is, What do you suppose made her become so amazing?

    And my question for others is, I'd guess that each of you has at least one Sim that just stands out: what do you suppose has makes these special Sims so special--not their qualities, but the causation--how does the game create them this way?

    It's a mystery to me...


    What one moment from the Bloomer Legacy sticks out most in your mind? Why?

    I truly loved seeing Astrid show up for Pauline's wedding. I guess I've always loved Astrid. I loved her struggles with accepting herself and I felt so much compassion for her. To see her be brave enough to show up at Pauline's wedding, and to see the way she pretty much willed herself through a transformation, was very inspiring to me. I have a lot of tenderness towards Astrid.

    If you could have made any spare into the heir, who would it have been??

    Hmmm... *crickets*

    Pretend @ThePlumbob allows you to write the ending of her legacy...what's ONE thing you would want to see happen?

    Oh, goodness no! But let's say that @ThePlumbob allowed me to write a spin-off! I'd love to write a spin-off episode of Astrid in Sixam! I'd love to explore that quietness and that resolution that she found in solitude there.
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    ThePlumbobThePlumbob Posts: 4,971 Member
    Awesome!!! Thanks for the great answers so far. This is your Coffee Hour host, @aroseinbloom. I've got some freshly baked chocolate chip cookies and milk. And tea. And coffee. Always coffee...obviously!

    I just woke up, so I'll definitely take that coffee! But wow, what a lovely thing to wake up to, I'm loving all the answers! You guys are making me blush!

    I'm pleased and surprised at how many fans the whole alien storyline has. I was trying to get Monty abducted since I wanted to explore alien gameplay, and of course when Astrid was finally born she had to be the heir since there were so many things I could explore with her... I wanted to see if she'd feel alienated (yay puns!) in a world where nobody knew she was an alien (well, and I also wanted to get a Windenburg fix, let's face it!). The variety of reaction Astrid sparked is awesome!

    Admittedly I had no clue there would be so many alien protagonists in the legacy in generation 8! But I wouldn't have it any other way :)

    Oh, it also warms my heart to see all the Louis and Vito fans. I do like them together :)

    I'll answer to people's comments before moving on to the second round of questions!
    ra3rei wrote: »
    Wait! I forgot about Gen2 - I loved Gen2! Um.... 2 and 8 are my favs.

    @ra3rei You know what, I still remember all the kind things you said about Isaac's transformation and growth when he finally accepted his responsibilities, it really stuck with me. Your amazing feedback back then really motivated me to keep going with the legacy!
    ra3rei wrote: »
    She's always there, like us watching the legacy unfold. Anyone who lives a long time tends to be that way somewhat, but with Yennifer, she came back and saw even more. She's so supportive of the legacy - like we readers are - and wants to help the others out - but also knows they're going to make mistakes...Yeah - I think because she's like one of us that she seems so vital. She gives voice to the readers in the story.

    Thta's never occurred to me, but you're so right! She's been there for so long she's definitely the closest proxy to the reader, she's the only one aside from us that knows more or less the full story.
    JoieWilder wrote: »
    However, in terms of I-actually-don't-feel-stressed-out-while-reading-this, I think my favorite generation is Pauline's. It was so wonderful watching her find and embrace herself.

    Haha this made me laugh so much @JoieWilder ! :D But I'm honoured that you enjoyed the dramatic element of generation 7, that's such a big compliment coming from you!
    JoieWilder wrote: »
    I'll admit, I can't remember offhand who all the spares are. But I think I'd have chosen anybody over Booker. He wasn't a horrible sim, but he was kind of a blah heir to me. I do wish Yenn could've been an heir, just so then we'd have some beautiful Yennefer babies.

    Yeah, this is a prime example of when I picked an heir I wouldn't normally go for due to the generational tasks. I liked both Chell and Yenn (who am I kidding, everyone knows I love Yenn) far better than Booker, but I didn't particularly see either of them building a gym. It is the reason why I had all three of them stay in the household for so long though, and why Booker faded into the background pretty much as soon as he completed his generational goal and the next heir moved in with Yenn, lol!

    To be fair, I think Yenn's been able to have much more of an impact on the legacy this way then if she'd just been a regular heir.
    I always enjoyed ThePlumbob's writing and as I read, I hear the character's voice in my head. It's like they're on a podium, telling a speech (or should I say, story) to all of us. She's one of the best writers out there.

    @simslover163 Ooh, I love this analogy! That's sort of how I think of the story as well, hearing their voices out loud. They're pretty loud and clear in my head too - in the least crazy way possible :D And thank you so much for that huge compliment <3

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    ThePlumbobThePlumbob Posts: 4,971 Member
    edited July 2016
    @CathyTea Wow, thank you so much! I'm honoured to have you compare my story to Austen! And now that I think about it, I guess Yenn's love story theme was quite Austen-like! (The quality of the writing, probably not so much! :) )

    Oh, and I LOVE that photo you shared of Yenn. She seemed to thrive at the Freezer Bunny resort!
    CathyTea wrote: »
    So my question for @ThePlumbob is, What do you suppose made her become so amazing?

    Hm, I think there are a few reasons that I can answer, plus an added je-nais-sais-quoi :)

    Firstly, I felt very attached to her ever since she was born since I loved her parents and their story didn't have a happy ending, so I felt the need to compensate for that by giving her loads of attention. Sims that receive a lot of attention seem to thrive more than others, and obviously my bias towards her would have probably influenced the way I write her too.

    To add to that - and probably because of the extra attention I was giving her - she's completed tons of aspirations. She was my only sim child to have completed 3 of the child aspirations (thanks to your nifty little trick!); I normally don't have the patience to work on children's aspirations. That gave her a boost to begin with, as did the genius trait, so she packed on a lot of extra traits from all her accomplishments - this was just upon her elder birthday:

    Sx6ol6P.jpg

    I do think all these extra traits give the sim an added wisdom - you can probably attest to that with Sugar!

    And a lot of it just comes from the sheer amount of time she's spent living and observing those around her, I'd like to think she's taken it all in. I think @ra3rei really hit the nail on the head when she said Yenn cares about her family deeply and wants to help them, but also lets them make their own mistakes. She understands they need to grow on their own, so she doesn't interfere too much unless she's asked.
    CathyTea wrote: »
    But let's say that @ThePlumbob allowed me to write a spin-off! I'd love to write a spin-off episode of Astrid in Sixam! I'd love to explore that quietness and that resolution that she found in solitude there.
    I'd love that! I'm pleased you feel so kindly towards Astrid, she doesn't have many fans, but really, I think the life she made for herself was enough of punishment for the things she'd done. It would be wonderful to see her find some peace.
    Post edited by ThePlumbob on
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    Maladi777Maladi777 Posts: 4,393 Member
    What generation has been your favorite and why?

    It's hard to pick just one. Isaac's and Ruby's story got me really hooked to this legacy. But I will always have a special place in my heart for Peter and Lilah. Not to mention the whole Lollipop Lair business that was going on during this generation which was fun to read about. :)<3


    I find the writing that moves this story forward to be amazingly unique. What's your take on it? How, if at all, does it add to the story?
    I like the combination of moving and hilarious moments that are both administered to us readers in just right doses. Plus the characters are so well written that you can't help but to care about them.

    Tell us about your take on Yennifer. Why is she such a pivotal character?
    I see Yennefer as the link to all generations that were before. Thanks to her they are not forgotten. She's distilled wisdom of the Bloomers that came before the current generation. :smile: I also understand the need to have her around. When you write a legacy story that spans ten generations it's hard to let all those amazing characters die. Sooner or later you get attached to one of them more than the others. ;)
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    Maladi777Maladi777 Posts: 4,393 Member
    What one moment from the Bloomer Legacy sticks out most in your mind? Why?

    Isaac resurrecting Ruby. There's something powerful about bringing those sims ghosts back to life (Look at how long we sticked to reading Dust to Dust to see that happen too! :smiley: ). And the setting was beautiful.

    If you could have made any spare into the heir, who would it have been??

    Yennefer. I know she was adopted, but if it was possible then her. :smile:

    Pretend @ThePlumbob allows you to write the ending of her legacy...what's ONE thing you would want to see happen?

    Oh, I would love to see all the Bloomers again. Mass resurrection and a grand party after that! They all should meet! :smiley:
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    HEFFNER LEGACYSimblrHeffner Legacy Discussion │ Origin ID: Maladi
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    ThePlumbobThePlumbob Posts: 4,971 Member
    Ok, I've got my coffee now so I can answer the second round of questions! This is going to be another beast of a post, so you may want to grab yourself some of the refreshments that Rosey kindly provided :D

    I'm obsessed with your builds. I know you said you struggle with them, but the end results are beautiful, IMHO. Which build was your favorite? How, if at all, did it contribute to the story. (I love Gen 4's lots so much!)
    Thank you so much! Ooh, it's actually hard to pick a favourite, I do like the way most of them turned out. I'm quite proud of the restaurant, but that's probably because the pain of building it is still fresh in my memory! :D

    I guess my favourites are the ones that have been around for ages and have been repurposed time after time, kind of like the Lollipop Lair. So I'll say Astrid's art gallery. I'd been wanting to have a build that mixes the old and the new and has them contrast and compliment each other for a while. So adding the modern glass extension was fun (well, that's a lie. It was super frustrating because of the split levels and all the adjustments that needed to happen to have those glass ceilings fit properly :D ). But what I find cool about the build is that the "old" part of the build actually is old, that house has been around since generation 3 and housed several Bloomer relatives (most notably Erica and Chell).

    Now as for how the builds contribute to the story... I think it's a two way street, actually! The story influences the builds, and the builds then have an impact on the story. I do try to base the builds on the sims who "built them" and their personalities (I already mentioned the example with Peter's library). I'd never have an heir build something that's out of character for them. And because of that, when the later generations move around Newcrest, I still see the sims who made those buildings happen behind them. It really creates a sense of history in the town, which is a really cool thing about the challenge.

    The generation 4 gym build that you mention is actually a good example of a build having an impact on the story. Before doing this challenge, I had a few go-to builds that I liked using for my towns, one of which was a gym made by a user called Aviator9527 (I tried to find the exact build, but it doesn't seem to be on the gallery anymore so they must have taken it down, sadly). The gym was split between two buildings and had a pool in the middle. So I knew I wanted to divide my gym into several buildings. On top of that, Spa Day was fairly new around the time so I definitely wanted one of the buildings to be a spa.

    Now, I'd always try to think about how the family home was going to work as a community lot before making it, as well as how it would fit the family. With generation 4, I was less then fond of Booker, so I wanted to keep Chell and Yenn around as long as possible, and I needed a house that would fit them all in comfortably. But the idea to have each of them have their own little condo actually came from the fact I wanted to set things up that way for the gym. It worked perfectly for that generation.
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    ThePlumbobThePlumbob Posts: 4,971 Member
    edited July 2016
    (The post was becoming so long I felt like i needed to split it, yikes!)

    Cassiel may by far be the most unique Sim in a legacy that I've read...I know you already listed her as one of your favorites, but can you tell us what it was like to play her? And what about her personality in game helped you develop her story line?
    Oh, it was really fun to play Cassiel, which is why I kept bringing her back into the picture. She wasn't a part of the core family, so I never got to play as much of her as I wanted (and if I'd followed the rules, I wouldn't have gotten to play her at all... lesson learned, rules are made to be broken!).

    Let's see, I was interested in Cassiel instantly because she was an evil child. I'd never played an evil sim before (at least not in TS4), or even had many encounters with one, and I found her dynamic with the short-tempered Isaac hilarious, so she quickly became a supporting character. But it was only when she became an adult and I went in to give her a makeover (I'm just too OCD about what the townies are wearing, clearly!) when I became really intrigued - a) she was drop dead gorgeous, and b) her traits were evil, loner and hates children (I mean, wow!) but she had the Friend of the World aspiration! Initially, I tried to pursue that, but her traits made it pretty much impossible, so I decided what the aspiration really meant was that she wanted achieve world domination.

    Back in the Bloomer house, I had the dastardly twins that I didn't know what to do with, and Cassiel's enemy Isaac climbing his way to the top of the Detective career. So the whole criminal gang arch seemed like an obvious turn of events. It was also around the time when the lovely @Rorygilmore34 first offered her Meatballs for cameos, so I figured they'd make a great addition to the Lollipop Lair gang...

    I didn't see Cassiel as someone who would pursue a romantic relationship at that point, but I figured she'd probably have a boy toy of sorts. My initial thoughts were that that could be Jaxen (aka Peter's friend Officer Wormshoe, if anyone remembers him!), because he seemed to follow her around a lot, but she showed no interest in him and mocked him all the time, so I abandoned idea. @Julyvee94 gave me permission to use Baato in my story, since he was in exile in hers at the time, and I figured having a slave would be perfect for Cassiel, in spite of my game save having nothing to do with the whole Amazon setup.

    What I didn't foresee was Cassiel actually falling for Baato - I think I pretty much just initiated the first flirt and after that those two were all over each other at all times. It uncovered a new aspect of Cassiel's personality, something that made her feel more human. But as much as I loved those two together, I knew that Baato needed to return to his home save, so they couldn't have a happy end. Cassiel giving up her daughter seemed fitting, since she couldn't stand children (and well, she couldn't stand people who weren't Baato in general!). But I knew she'd never stop loving Baato, since that was the one bit of her personality that made her stand apart from your typical villain, and probably the reason why she still had fans in spite of being an all around awful person.

    As for her problematic relationship with Yenn as a grown up, that was most definitely all her. All I did for the whole "I'm your mother" reveal was put them in the same room and see how they interact. As you know it didn't go too well.

    I feel like in a different game save, Cassiel may have succeeded with her evil plan, she was so determined! But since this story is based on the Build Newcrest challenge, where the whole backstory is based on the premise there's so much crime in the other worlds that the founder had to start anew in the crime-free Newcrest, I felt like letting her succeed would mean failing the challenge. Hopefully she'll forgive me (Obviously not! She's not the forgiving type lol!)

    Ok, I went on a massive tanget there, did I answer the question? :D I'll probably take a bit of a break before answering the other two, because clearly I can't stop yapping about my sims :D
    Post edited by ThePlumbob on
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