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@Sprottenham, Phil is insane and childish. Sort of makes for a great combination. And my real life friend always liked going to Disneyland so there is a connection there. 🤣
@Sprottenham Good to see the family visiting each other.
Oh dear, bad growly pup. Guess it hasn't been around kids before.
@Sims4MagicalTales What an interesting dream! Prophecy or a dream? I guess only time will tell.
@Nikkei_Simmer Sorry about the external. I just saved all my sims folders over to mine. Took over 2 hours for my main folder since I keep each story in a separate folder. Also saved all the cc folders on my desktop of stuff not in game. That didn't take too long at all. Most of it is already in game. I probably should have culled the sims folders and only saved the most recent saves but I didn't.
Love your testing sims. Phil should check on Disney Magic Kingdom in creative corner.
@ButterWafflesAR Definitely heart warming photos! The red ghost dog died in a fire. I have a red ghost cat that I use in some stories. She was a barn cat in one story about a farming family. I found her on the exchange.
@bekkasan - I do the same (keep my story saves in separate folders - though I have all the main story folders under one Saves folder. It's essentially SAVES>TITLE OF STORY>blahblahblahstory1.sims3 through whatever number saves sequentially. Wow...the one thing that I'm finding is that SSDs (Solid State Drives) do really well over HDD (needle n' stacked platters) is load really really quickly. It now takes maybe two-five minutes to get into my Sims 3 game (that's from clicking on icon to ready-to-start-playing). Back when I was playing on HDD, I had so much cc that it would take from up to 45 minutes to an hour...just loading. I'd have to click on the icon then go do something else for that amount of time.
I would ordinarily think of using HDD (large amounts of storage - 4-8 TBs of storage space for keeping data for reasonable prices. Seagate BarraCuda 8TB Internal Hard Drive HDD – 3.5 Inch Sata 6 Gb/s 5400 runs around $179.99CDN where just a few years ago, prices were in the neighbourhood of over $500.00 for capacities like that. Whereas those capacity SSDs are still over $1000.00CDN. But for ordinary usage - swapping files back and forth inside the computer. 2TB SSDs are now a little over $240.00. I have a feeling that 1TB is going to be like what used to be 256GB - a little too small of capacity for regular use. Eventually, I think people are going to switch over to 2TB SSD drives as the size of programs inflates.
I've got Sims 3, Cities Skylines +DLC, Mass Effect Legendary Edition, FSX and SWTOR all on my 1TB SSD and leaving enough room to process stuff as well as storing my cc folders...I'm at 290 GBs of space used - That's barely anything in comparison to a hard-core gamer who would probably have dozens of games...installed rapidly eating up the space. The only other game that interests me is Dragon Age and quite possible the Elder Scrolls. I'm thinking about also possibly installing Battlefront I and II and quite possibly DCS-World. Unless there's a really good game that comes around the turnpike, I probably should be fine at 1TB or quite possibly 2TBs of capacity with a main SSD.
I'm seriously looking at a 2TB external SSD drive for about $270CDN - which will function as my backup drive from hereon-in - it should make transferring data quick especially screencaps which I tend to take a lot of.
I'm quickly coming to the realization that my sims look so different now...that I may just have to do the story over again... the first chapters having the pictures changed around - the text will stay the same. I'm glad that the newly created sims (CAS is so much easier to run through with an SSD - the cc laden categories pop up sooooo quickly and it's no longer an exercise in frustration - of course...we'll see about that when I get through all the clothes I plan to download for my female sims. ~evil smirk~ I'm going to do that (download clothes) as soon as I figure out that OTHER mod that can't be named (laughing uproariously). I will probably install Disney Magic Kingdom testing world on Sims 3 and check that out. Oh...I love the fact that my ability to move the camera in-game...is so absolutely buttery smooth. No more of that herky-jerky lag... If an i5-6500T with 16GBs RAM can do this. I'm wondering what my gaming computer I plan to build is going to do. I swear, I had to put Shimrod's camera mod in just to slow that rapid drift - my pan would take two seconds to cover the entirety of Sunset Valley at one point and I had to be on top of where my camera was pointing or I'd overshoot by a country mile.
For a little computer (in physical size, not internally) Tiny is an absolute monster as far "punching above her weight class" and I love her. And she's classified as a business console machine. Well, in my books, she's doing absolute wonders as a gaming machine too, not taking up much in real-estate. In fact my wife's PS3 and PS4 take up more real estate individually than Tiny does.
I've been working on a little something sims related lately. Which has occupied most of my free time. I'll share more about that down below, but I wanted to say I've been enjoying reading all your posts in between my fun time and I have a couple of comments/replies to throw out before I share.
@Nikkei_Simmer YAY on getting a new (tiny ) computer! Congrats! 🎉 I can only imagine how relieved and happy you must feel to be able to play again! The new cc you got for River looks great on her.
@Puddinroy Yes, I've known about the QL Reboot for a while. 💜 Unfortunately, from what I've read about it, I'm just not interested in watching it. For a few reasons. But maybe someday that will change. Thanks for thinking of me.
@bekkasan Ghost kitty! Love! And Patrick is attractive.
So lately I've been checking out the Hylewood world (by Nilxis) and setting up a few things there.
Why?
Wellllll......There might be a 2022 Christmas story in the works...........
Since Hylewood is an empty world, I have to build it up. Which is not generally my favorite thing to do, at all, but I am driven by the excitement of a new world and a new story so that helps. And the fact that the world is very small. 👍
Look at this quaint church nestled in the autumn colored trees. *Swoon!*
^It's almost like you're stepping into a New England town in the Fall. That may be the idea...
I'm pretty sure I'm going to go with this home as the main character's hometown home.
GOSH I can't wait to see this world covered in snow! ❄ ❄
Anyhoo, before I got too far into building up the world I told myself it might be good to test the world out first and make sure it works well, doesn't crash, etc. 👍 So to do that, I created a testing sim to go out and explore.
Everyone...meet Sexy Hunk. (I was too lazy to come up with a proper name ok! 🤣 )
Please ignore the ugly wallpaper in the background that suggests he might be living with his grandma. I just plopped him into the first starter home I could find in my library.
Anyway! I immediately sent him off to go exploring.
The first thing that caught my attention was this old, abandoned mill nestled in the trees and the flowing river beside it. The rapid flow of the water sounded so soothing. 💜 Zooming in, I literally lost a breath at the beauty before me! I was just in awe!
And the water all flows out into this!
I sent Sexy Hunk right up to the river's edge. When he stopped, he didn't realize he did an impromptu pose for me.
But he soon realized, just as I, how exquisitely gorgeous the scenery is all around him.
Then he threw out a silly puckered lips, yet dreamy expression.
And then he glanced up at me - the Goddess of the Sim world - as if to say, "Thank you Goddess, for sending me to most gorgeous of worlds! I am very thankful, and will worship thee forever in gratitude."
My reply: "Of course my Sexy Hunk...I treat all my creations well."
*Blissful admiring sigh of my creation*
Anyway! (Again! ) I wanted to see what kind of interactions the river had. It gave me the swim and snorkling option! (Though I'm not sure how well those would work...) But I had to go with the "skipping stones" option first because I forgot about it!
When Sexy Hunk was done doing that, I sent him into the water for a swim. He walked right into it before changing into his swimwear. I kinda love this photo...
And so the wading began...
Umm, I don't think walking through the rocks is very safe, Sexy Hunk...
(^Aren't all the colors on the rock gorgeous though!? So shimmery! )
Ok, this just looks creepy!
He wasn't able to do any swimming though, as I expected. It's just too shallow. But I like that he waded through it. It made for some good pictures. (I wish he'd been able to "Play" in the water, but it's all good.)
Soon he changed back into his regular clothes - while still half immersed - and took another long look around at the stunning scenery before him.
Next I had him check out the consignment shop I threw down; all was well there. NRaas Register kept telling me I need to assign someone to the shop and I'm like, "I know! Leave me alone!"
After that I had him check out this small park before going on to check out the Festival Grounds. So so pretty. And that's one giant goldfish!
Seriously I am IN LOVE with Hylewood! 🍁🍂 I'm just...breathless by its beauty and can't find quite the right words to describe it. (The Uranesia mod makes it look all the more colorful, imo. )
I still don't know what town name I'm going to give it for my Christmas story (Ok, I guess I'm officially confirming/announcing it. ) but hopefully I'll come up with something cute and fitting very soon. I gotta get cracking on all of this pronto in order to have it ready to debut by Dec 1st!
@emorrill - I seem to get your notifications on and off here. It's weird. But yes... I'm absolutely ecstatic with Tiny - she's so small, cute n'powerful - she doesn't take up a lot of real estate.
With River, Bebe and Holly, I decided like @Mikezumi to use Kurasoberina Primer along with some mods I can't mention here because it involves happy little bits that can't be mentioned in front of the kiddies.
I'm slowly adding cc and testing each one - which now doesn't become a wonderful exercise in patience since it only takes me five minutes (y'know a whole BIG five minutes...to get into my game - boy...that takes a lot of patience ) Three letters that gave me that speed. S-S-D - I now swear by it.
Ooooooh...I like that world... I really need to get Hylewood. Somehow I managed to find Les Sims 3 Sunset Died and I'm slowly going to start adding worlds as I need them. This time I'm running lean...so that my game doesn't start bulking up and becoming laggy. Like I told @bekkasan, it runs smooth as butter and I had to install brntwaffles and shimrods' camera mods to help keep me from overshooting my target sim when I want to take a screenshot.
I love Tiny... she's perfect for now...as a replacement stop-gap machine - Eventually, I'll get that 10th gen CPU and Graphics card on a gaming PC...but for now, I'm in game and happy as a clam (at the bottom of the sea eating fish-poo and excreting pearls - sorry... I get ridiculous when I'm happy...).
Things are fine here. I just haven't focused on playing. Ideas always swirling in my head, then when I sit down to play "I think, nah, it's late." and don't log on. I roll with the playing moods. I love my SIMS 3 and I know I'll get back to it soon. Especially that it's nearly Fall here and with cooler weather, I spend more time indoors.
The Guardian of Neverglade, Chapter 4: The Wicked Man
(Click to view spoilers)
One day, in the hills of Neverglade, a wicked sorcerer named Ragnar Gulf teleported to the roof, gazing over the town below the castle. Someday, he would succeed. As long as no one stood in the way. If someone did... they were toast. He teleported back to the dining room after watching the sunset. Soon, he would begin his plan...
Meanwhile...
After Saoirse and Preston played tug with Sammy, the dogs entered the house. For some reason, Harper didn't join in the fun. It wasn't as if the dogs did something without alerting the humans. Did they? What made Harper not want to play?
"Maybe she's gonna have puppies. Just like in that dog movie," Saoirse said.
"Who knows?" Preston replied. "It'll be wild if she has puppies."
"Mom and Dad might not like the sudden arrival of new dogs if Harper does have puppies."
As the sun dipped into the horizon, the twins played on the swingset.
Once nighttime surrounded the land, the sound of an approaching vehicle alerted them to a possible visitor. Preston and Saoirse approached the driveway. A man in dark colors and deep red hair glared at them. He didn't seem friendly at all. What was the man's deal?
"Why are you here?" Preston asked.
"I'm looking for someone," the man said. "I'm Ragnar."
"Our parents aren't home, and..."
Ragnar stormed forward. "Get to the point, little boy!"
Saoirse's body tensed as she began speaking up. "Leave Preston and our family alone, or we're calling the cops!"
"Trying to protect your family, aren't you? For a little kid, you sure are bold," Ragnar said. "Where's the female witch?"
"How do you know if she's a witch?"
"I have my ways." Ragnar flashed an enigmatic smirk. "According to my vision, she's a teenager in purple. If you refuse to inform me-"
"Shut. Up!"
Jasmine heard the commotion outside, so she walked out to investigate. For a brief moment, she heard a man cackling, so she approached the driveway. There was nothing to see here. She proceeded to search the rest of the property. Her siblings were nowhere to be found. They must have gone inside the house. So she searched every room in the house. Then, it hit her. Something happened to them. She should have been there for them. Instead, she was inside the house the whole time! How would she tell her parents about this?
...and Phil, being insane, was having a very animated argument with the refrigerator. Of course Phil didn't get much feedback or backtalk from the fridge...
...and Haruo, knowing that River was the only woman for him, got down on one knee in the most romantic place possible...thereby confirming the fact that men are guided by their stomachs alone...or the other quote: the way to a man's heart is through his stomach.
@Nikkei_Simmer I really love Bebe's and Holy's hair. You already pick beautiful hair styles.
@Sprottenham That is really sad. That's why I try to pretend that they live just outside of town or are staying with their grandparents. I know it makes no sense, but I don't like to picture them homeless. It breaks my heart if I think of them as homeless.
@Nikkei_Simmer Would love to get an SSD but need other things first. Toilet repair, gasket on oil valve, tune up. Sigh
Yasunobu
Silly Phil! Sillier Haruo!
@emorrill Love the church and fall colors in Hylewood. It is absolutely beautiful in your pictures.
Sexy guy is hot, hot, sizzling hot.
I'm very excited to hear about a Christmas story!
"I was inside the house when someone took the twins. I was too late, and I should have protected them," Jasmine said.
"It's not your fault. I've called the cops about this," Kenshin said.
"Watch then more closely next time, Jasmine. What you did was irresponsible!" Prudence said.
"I'm sorry," Jasmine said.
"That's fine, but you have to prove it by your actions. You're not a little kid anymore, and you need to take responsibility. And you can't go off doing whatever you want, not even martial arts or your boyfriend!"
After the conversation was over, everyone went to bed. Kenshin said, "Don't you think you said things too harshly?"
"She's getting older and needs to learn to be responsible," Prudence said.
"Can we talk about this in the morning?"
"Probably."
"You must stop Ragnar..."
"Where is he? Is he the one who took my siblings?"
"He is the one who took your siblings. Ragnar resides in a castle."
"Then I must find him."
Morning came. Jasmine went to the computer downstairs and looked up Ragnar's residence. Apparently he lived in a castle on a hilltop. Wasn't it abandoned for years?
@Nikkei_Simmer Yeah I'm discovering that if I tag more than 5-ish people in a single post, then everyone will NOT get my tag. I guess the forum has a hard time recognizing multiple tags on my posts for some strange reason. 🤷♀️ Anyhoo!
With River, Bebe and Holly, I decided like Mikezumi to use Kurasoberina Primer along with some mods I can't mention here because it involves happy little bits that can't be mentioned in front of the kiddies.
^LOL! As George Takei would say:
Don't forget about that other Asian skin I showed you. Though it is non-default. I'll share the link with you if you'd like it. Just let me know.
I am SO happy for you and how much faster your game is now! Welcome to the awesomeness of Sims 3 on a newer computer. 💙
Thanks for the compliments on my Hylewood pictures.
Welcome back Yasunobu. 👍
...and Haruo, knowing that River was the only woman for him, got down on one knee in the most romantic place possible...thereby confirming the fact that men are guided by their stomachs alone...or the other quote: the way to a man's heart is through his stomach.
^ I love your humor! And how you write so fluidly. It almost seems effortless for you.
@MamaSimTee Thank you sweet lady. It's always nice to see you pop in.
I understand not being in a playing mood sometimes too, but just as you said, the game will always be there when you're ready to come back to it.
It's beginning to look a lot like Fall around here too. 🍁🍂
@Sims4MagicalTales I'm enjoying your new story.
Thanks again for your sweet comments on my daughter's story thread.
^Hee hee, thanks!
And thanks for the compliments on my Hylewood pics.
I'm hoping to get started creating some of the characters for the Christmas story this morning!
Can't wait to see more of Mary's story.
Wait, Grim hugs and rides a horse before taking their soul to heaven? That's awesome! Those pictures are great!
Back to testing out the lots in Hylewood (and the world itself), I forgot that you have to wait a day or two before placing down the Festival lot for the Festival activities to actually show up. Oh well, I had Sexy Hunk explore the lot anyway and he found A LOT of wildflowers! 🌼
Yep, you know you got "guns!"
I had him play chess at the park with a NPC - didn't take a picture - and it was cute to watch. (You can see him in the background in the previous picture.) The NPC didn't like that Sexy Hunk was kicking his trash at the game! He (the NPC) slapped those chess pieces off the board as if slapping his worst enemy across the face! I was like: "It's just a game dude, goodness!"
Of course Sexy Hunk always has a healthy breakfast in the morning. 👍 Gotta keep that beautifully sculpted physique.
^I miss Smash Mouth's music...
Anyhoo, here's some more scenery pics I took throughout the day in Hylewood.
Storm's a comin'...
Sunset:
The river at night. 💙
And how did I forget that there are FIREFLIES in this game!
The next morning I found the adorable raccoon. Looks like he's foraging for his breakfast.
That's it for now everyone. Have a lovely day/evening. I'm off to play again!
@Nikkei_Simmer Would love to get an SSD but need other things first. Toilet repair, gasket on oil valve, tune up. Sigh
Yasunobu
Silly Phil! Sillier Haruo!
Ugh...RL stuff. Don't you hate it when it interferes with simming? Yes, unfortunately...that was why it took so long to replace the computer. RL stuff. Bills needing to be paid, repairs...oil changes etc. Life in general. Hope that you'll be able to do so eventually.
@Nikkei_Simmer Yeah I'm discovering that if I tag more than 5-ish people in a single post, then everyone will NOT get my tag. I guess the forum has a hard time recognizing multiple tags on my posts for some strange reason. 🤷♀️ Anyhoo!
With River, Bebe and Holly, I decided like Mikezumi to use Kurasoberina Primer along with some mods I can't mention here because it involves happy little bits that can't be mentioned in front of the kiddies.
^LOL! As George Takei would say:
Don't forget about that other Asian skin I showed you. Though it is non-default. I'll share the link with you if you'd like it. Just let me know.
I am SO happy for you and how much faster your game is now! Welcome to the awesomeness of Sims 3 on a newer computer. 💙
Thanks for the compliments on my Hylewood pictures.
Welcome back Yasunobu. 👍
...and Haruo, knowing that River was the only woman for him, got down on one knee in the most romantic place possible...thereby confirming the fact that men are guided by their stomachs alone...or the other quote: the way to a man's heart is through his stomach.
^ I love your humor! And how you write so fluidly. It almost seems effortless for you.
Oh... I guess the forum operational quirks strikes again. I'm wondering if the same is for anyone else who puts multiple tags in their posts. Five is probably the maximum...tags...
I 'ave to be very careful on the things that can't be mentioned which is similar to things which should not be mentioned in a church or any formal occasion or things that mustn't be mentioned at Christmas or Thanksgiving dinner. We mustn't forget the little kiddies and their sharp ears or their affinity for learning things that are far beyond their measure of cognition. So I have had to develop a high sense of the benignancy of the synonym. I've reached conclusive evidence through three offspring that if it is anything that involves a dictionary, my cosanguinean find it anathema to their sense of "knowing it all". I have been warned by the large and in charge.
So, I shall not stoop to the mien of the boor...and uncouth no more. eh-hem...nudge nudge wink wink say no more...
Thanks, I would be happy to add another Asian skin. I'm finding that Asians (like myself) are the toughest to recreate in Sims 3 and one needs a variety of such skins to make it possible. I finally with aid of LFB managed to achieve a satisfactory Asian female. Now I'm trying to recreate myself as accurately as possible at the age of young adult which is far younger than my current half century and two...and 101 days.
I'm surprised I was able to get this computer so soon and I have to thank the generosity of my wife who managed to surprise me with this after a full 10 days of working straight through with no break, thanks to a boss who had to go all the way to Manitoba to open up a new store...having to shuffle schedules with a co-worker who needed time off...which meant MAJOR OT on her paycheck...plus her store changed ownership hands...which also meant holiday pay got paid out. Surfeit...which meant she was able to help me out. So I'm happy and content. She opens today so she's out the door at 7:40AM to catch a bus. I've nicknamed the little machine that she got me...Tiny...but like I said before, it's powerful and a pretty capable little machine though it's main purpose wasn't essentially a gaming PC - it's technically as @Sprottenham mentioned, a "workstation".
I love Hylewood; mainly because I'm a sucker for pretty scenery - the trees, the meandering brook and the rocks. I'll take your word for it that "Sexy Hunk" is sexy. Since I'm of the male persuasion - males in the Sims are just a "slap-together" and see if it looks presentable sort of thing in CAS. Oh...and CAS goes soo much smoother with this computer. It doesn't take near as long to go through my CAS as it used to with the HDD. Maybe I'll start to learn how to merge files with S3pe. (cc only, no merge the script mods).
Of course, I had to have Dad...in the game - Yasunobu is the Dad for my Sim-Haruo after all... and he's supposed to look a lot like my late RL dad.
I've always looked at life a little skewed - and sometimes that provides a good deal of comedic relief. https://www.thelifeofriley.co/10-life-lessons-from-stand-up-comedy/
Like it says: you take the mundane things in life...look at it from all angles...and look for the funny. It's not a good day when you try to pawn off your childhood belongings to get rid of bad childhood memories and run into your mom at the pawn shop.
I could get out my old laptop and play it on there, although it’s somewhat slow on there. I’ve got things I’d like to play about with, things I’ve never done or have only done a bit. I’d like to try and tame a unicorn, for example, and attempt to become a level 5 celebrity. I’ve been to level 4 but no further than that.
I’m always popping in here talking about my lack of Sims 3 play and then disappearing for a few months maybe I’ll post again in December
@Nikkei_Simmer nice to see you got a functioning PC again! @emorrill ooh I like the look of Sexy Hunk, great name by the way! I’ve never tried a non-EA world, although I like the look of Legacy Island III by @Rflong7 .
@bekkasan Thank you , great to see everything is on track. Yeah, backups are always a good thing. I just thought I'd share my experience with this error, which looks really scary at first sight, given the computer doesn't want to start at all in that case.
The water taxi pic is funny, and the mummy one is awesome!
@emorrill Thanks, good to see you, too . I like Hylewood, but I think it's more for story purposes, which is why I never played in the world. I usually choose something at least a little bit larger, like rflong's Pidgeon Rock. Of course, it should suit you just fine . At least you won't get lost .
I may as well post a few pics I took. Just a normal Sims3 day at the park. It's just the vanilla one, not the seasonal version.
Marvin wanted to learn how to fish, and the SV park is just right for that.
Agnes was also there, having fun with a video.
Marvin didn't go completely unnoticed. Jared certainly didn't appreciate this subject of his conversation with Monica though.
Monica is Leighton's girlfriend, though that relationship moves like molasses. I just moved them together, and Leighton started working on his lifetime wish.
The park is always busy. Agnes notices that there are people there - surprise, surprise - while Connor seems to see Nessie. SP has decided those two are a couple.
What is a day in the park without someone going into labor. It's the third time for Molly, so she should have got used to it, sort of. She has two kids from Christopher Steel. Of course, she broke up with him.
Agnes freaking out.
Gunther joining in.
If only this town had a hospital and anyone knew where it was...
This didn't want to end, so I sent Xander, after he had finished work, to "take her to the hospital". That just meant he ran over to the hospital and waited for Molly, who waddled all the way after him. Not that this surprised me. I just wanted to get Molly out of the way.
Molly's daughter Sandi didn't care for all that fuzz.
After marshaling Molly through the hospital door, Xander played chess with Agnes. Gunther in the background was just planning to cheat on his wife with Nancy Landgraab. Or Nancy wanted to cheat on Geoffrey with Gunther. Whoever took the first step, they definitely didn't hold back.
Agnes seems to be elsewhere with her thoughts.
She had to tell Marvin about her plight.
Marvin took over Agnes' place at the chess table. "How can you spend all day fishing, mate?"
Xander really seems to be in a baby mood.
(*Note to self: place lights in the park.*) Agnes was watching.
Morgana took over the night shift with some ghost story.
She broke up with Thornton the next day.
No big surprises yet. It's just business as usual for Sunset Valley.
The Guardian of Neverglade, Chapter 7: The Villain's Rampage
(Click to view spoilers)
"I always thought Prudence and I would grow old together, but you ruined this for us!" Kenshin said.
"Your reaction's priceless!" Ragnar said.
"You're the worst. I'm reporting you," Kenshin said.
"Not so fast!" Ragnar retorted. "You're gonna get the knock-out of your life!"
"What do you mean?"
Ragnar summoned his magic and chanted an incantation. "This should put you out for a while."
After knocking Kenshin out with the spell, Ragnar proceeded to attack other humans in various places. Later, he returned to his castle, where he was still holding the twins captive.
"First, my siblings are missing. Second, my mother died. What's next?" Jasmine asked.
"Calm down. You're overreacting," Wesley said.
"Don't tell me to calm down!"
"Take deep breaths."
"Okay. I'm calm now," Jasmine said as she took in a deep breath.
"Good," Wesley replied. "We all need you to be calm right now."
The Guardian of Neverglade, Chapter 8: The Second Visit
(Click to view spoilers)
The teenage couple proceeded to do homework in the dining area. It was a good thing that Wesley calmed Jasmine down. Otherwise, she would go crazy with worry and guilt over her family. If she could just go out and look, though, perhaps she could find out if the twins were still okay or not. Pushing such thoughts aside, she finished the rest of the assignment.
The doorbell rang, and Jasmine answered the door. A redheaded man in a dark suit loitered by the steps. What was he doing here?
"I know where the twins are," the redhead stated.
"How do you know?" Jasmine asked. "Why aren't they here now?"
"I was doing this to get your attention. I'm Ragnar, by the way."
"What do you want?"
They approached the fence. Jasmine said, "Tell me where the twins are right now!"
"You want to know?" Ragnar replied.
"Of course I do!"
"I heard you were a powerful spellcaster. If you stand in the way of my plans, I'll continue going after those you care about!" Ragnar said.
"Well, don't!" Jasmine spat.
"Mark my words!"
Ragnar stormed inside. "You're coming with me, kid!" He summoned a spell and encased Wesley in a crystal prison.
"Who are you?" Wesley exclaimed.
"Ragnar Gulf!"
"I've never heard of someone whose last name is Gulf." Wesley attempted to restrain a chuckle. "Did you come up with it yourself?"
"I can't stand you teenagers. I'll use a spell to shut you up for the time being."
The Guardian of Neverglade, Chapter 9: The Rescue
(Click to view spoilers)
"Jasmine will save us," Saoirse said.
"She won't," Ragnar replied. "I'll make sure she doesn't succeed. I must find her father. Speaking of your parents, your mother is dead."
"What?" Preston and Saoirse exclaimed in unison.
Jasmine used a location spell. In the vision, she saw a castle on a hill. It was said to be abandoned, but perhaps it got remodeled when Ragnar moved into that place. People had said that medieval royals used to rule Neverglade from the comfort of the castle until a war eliminated them. She took out a broon and traveled to the hill, where the castle sat.
Once inside the castle, Jasmine explored the place and found a prison cell. While Preston and Saoirse thanked her, Wesley was silent. The twins explained that Ragnar probably used a "shut-up" spell on the boy. She broke the spell and led the group outside. Ragnar stopped them in their tracks, and she told Wesley to take the twins to safety.
"I didn't expect you to be that determined," Ragnar said.
"I am. Also, I'm the guardian of Neverglade, so-" Jasmine began.
"There used to be some royal family here. I came from a lineage of people who opposed that family, because they defended Neverglade. Somehow this town survived the curse a man once placed upon Neverglade. I recall the tale of another woman, who is similar to you. She confronted that man, only to lose in the end. Maybe you're related. Anyways, let's duel and see who wins."
...that I'm building one of my horrific monstrosities again. It started out pretty normal.
It didn't stay that way for long.
There's two things that you can count on with a Nikkei_Simmer build.
1. The thing is either going to defy the laws of physics, annoy the city hall planning department with contravening setback rules and violate building and fire codes every where.
2. It's going to have water (either fountains or pools or a lake on the property)
With the third level, this thing already has Sunset Valley city hall planners tearing out their hair. If there were setbacks and building to property ratios, this thing has violated every stinkin' rule in the book. Throw the 0.49 building area ratio out the window, that third level has already blown that to kingdom come. and the garage is well within the .35 property line setback. The property inspectors' sphincters are sewn so shut that they're probably pooping bricks by now.
Update: Completed the house...now I'm going to move the sims in... and they can happily do landscaping after they've moved in.
Here's what 16GB of DDR4 RAM can do. It freed up my applications to run on the remaining 12 GB of RAM while my Sims 3 runs happily on the 4GBs without interruption. I have all my settings up to high and no lag. And, yes, that's my monstrosity of a house finished in the background of the shot from the "park" at Summerhill Court.
@Nikkei_Simmer my builds are never much good either. You’d think my skills would have improved over my years of playing Sims, but they haven’t really. I still end up building stuff though, mostly houses as well as bars/clubs/lounges. I’m not much good at interior design either. Ah well, my Sims are never too bothered so
Been a little busier this week so didn’t have time to comment or play. I did find a bit if time, but used that to finally finish the main story in Batman: Arkham Knight. Also have been reading comics when I can. Finally made it to 1996 with my reading, and I read the latest issue in a current series about Bruce Wayne and his reading. Last issue comes out next week and I imagine it’ll end with a bat crashing through the window of Wayne Manor, inspiring Bruce to become Batman, using his training gained in the previous issues. Anyway, hope to have some Sim time next week when my work schedule slows a bit.
"Are you getting tired?" Jasmine asked as they continued duelling.
"No," Ragnar said. "How about you? Why aren't you giving up? Just concede or I'll destroy everything in my path!"
"You won't prevail!" Jasmine shouted.
"AAAAHHHH!" Ragnar hollered.
"You lost. I'm going, and I'll announce the victory to those I care about," Jasmine said, smirking.
The Guardian of Neverglade, Chapter 11: The Epilogue
(Click to view spoilers)
"We'll miss you, Prudence," Kenshin said as the family mourned in the graveyard.
They engraved three words into the epitaph: "Gone too soon." Kenshin had decided on those words, because he had expected to grow old with Prudence, only to lose her. At least they raised a family together.
The family went home. And once again, Wesley paid a visit. And the two teens decided to hang out in Jasmine's room.
"What were the last words you said to each other?" Wesley asked.
"She was lecturing me about being responsible. I don't know if she ever accepted my apology. It felt like we ended things on the wrong foot," Jasmine said.
"Maybe you could talk to her spirit."
"I don't think she would want to talk."
"You never know. She might want to talk to you one last time."
"The lecture felt like the last time."
Wesley shrugged. "Maybe on our next date, we could visit the graveyard at night and summon her spirit."
Jasmine nodded. "We'll do that, assuming neither of us would work on that night, or have crazy homework assignments."
They visited the graveyard the following night. Jasmine and Wesley spoke to Prudence's spirit for a while. Jasmine had told the older woman what happened, and they ended the conversation with apologies and goodbyes.
A month or so later, Harper and Sammy had four puppies together. They had colorful coats and were adorable. At first, their owners didn't realize that the puppies were here. Until one day, the twins decided to go downstairs to check out the source of the sounds.
The puppies' names were Viola, Marina, Bella, Petunia (from left to right).
"Puppies!" Saoirse and Preston exclaimed excitedly.
"We'll tell Jasmine and Dad," Saoirse said.
"Okay," Preston replied.
"We heard the whimpering sound, so we came downstairs... and surprise, surprise, there are four puppies. Harper must have been pregnant without alerting us," Preston explained as the family gathered around the table. "We thought she was simply gaining weight."
"Puppies?" Kenshin asked. "Now we have six dogs. Sounds like a lot of responsibility you guys may have to share, considering that puppies need a lot of attention."
"School's almost out anyways, so we'll be fine," Jasmine said. "I also have another responsibility - to protect Neverglade as its guardian."
Comments
@Sprottenham Good to see the family visiting each other.
Oh dear, bad growly pup. Guess it hasn't been around kids before.
@Sims4MagicalTales What an interesting dream! Prophecy or a dream? I guess only time will tell.
@Nikkei_Simmer Sorry about the external. I just saved all my sims folders over to mine. Took over 2 hours for my main folder since I keep each story in a separate folder. Also saved all the cc folders on my desktop of stuff not in game. That didn't take too long at all.
Love your testing sims. Phil should check on Disney Magic Kingdom in creative corner.
@Puddinroy Hi!
@ButterWafflesAR Definitely heart warming photos! The red ghost dog died in a fire. I have a red ghost cat that I use in some stories. She was a barn cat in one story about a farming family. I found her on the exchange.
The Cowboy and the Mermaid
http://store.thesims3.com/myWishlist.html?persona=lisasc360
My stories on this site:
https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/991317/my-sims-stories/p1?new=1
I would ordinarily think of using HDD (large amounts of storage - 4-8 TBs of storage space for keeping data for reasonable prices. Seagate BarraCuda 8TB Internal Hard Drive HDD – 3.5 Inch Sata 6 Gb/s 5400 runs around $179.99CDN where just a few years ago, prices were in the neighbourhood of over $500.00 for capacities like that. Whereas those capacity SSDs are still over $1000.00CDN. But for ordinary usage - swapping files back and forth inside the computer. 2TB SSDs are now a little over $240.00. I have a feeling that 1TB is going to be like what used to be 256GB - a little too small of capacity for regular use. Eventually, I think people are going to switch over to 2TB SSD drives as the size of programs inflates.
I've got Sims 3, Cities Skylines +DLC, Mass Effect Legendary Edition, FSX and SWTOR all on my 1TB SSD and leaving enough room to process stuff as well as storing my cc folders...I'm at 290 GBs of space used - That's barely anything in comparison to a hard-core gamer who would probably have dozens of games...installed rapidly eating up the space. The only other game that interests me is Dragon Age and quite possible the Elder Scrolls. I'm thinking about also possibly installing Battlefront I and II and quite possibly DCS-World. Unless there's a really good game that comes around the turnpike, I probably should be fine at 1TB or quite possibly 2TBs of capacity with a main SSD.
I'm seriously looking at a 2TB external SSD drive for about $270CDN - which will function as my backup drive from hereon-in - it should make transferring data quick especially screencaps which I tend to take a lot of.
I'm quickly coming to the realization that my sims look so different now...that I may just have to do the story over again... the first chapters having the pictures changed around - the text will stay the same. I'm glad that the newly created sims (CAS is so much easier to run through with an SSD - the cc laden categories pop up sooooo quickly and it's no longer an exercise in frustration - of course...we'll see about that when I get through all the clothes I plan to download for my female sims. ~evil smirk~ I'm going to do that (download clothes) as soon as I figure out that OTHER mod that can't be named (laughing uproariously). I will probably install Disney Magic Kingdom testing world on Sims 3 and check that out. Oh...I love the fact that my ability to move the camera in-game...is so absolutely buttery smooth. No more of that herky-jerky lag... If an i5-6500T with 16GBs RAM can do this. I'm wondering what my gaming computer I plan to build is going to do. I swear, I had to put Shimrod's camera mod in just to slow that rapid drift - my pan would take two seconds to cover the entirety of Sunset Valley at one point and I had to be on top of where my camera was pointing or I'd overshoot by a country mile.
For a little computer (in physical size, not internally) Tiny is an absolute monster as far "punching above her weight class" and I love her. And she's classified as a business console machine. Well, in my books, she's doing absolute wonders as a gaming machine too, not taking up much in real-estate.
I've been working on a little something sims related lately.
@Nikkei_Simmer YAY on getting a new (tiny
@Turjan Nice to see you back.
@Puddinroy Yes, I've known about the QL Reboot for a while. 💜 Unfortunately, from what I've read about it, I'm just not interested in watching it.
@bekkasan Ghost kitty! Love!
So lately I've been checking out the Hylewood world (by Nilxis) and setting up a few things there.
Why?
Wellllll......There might be a 2022 Christmas story in the works...........
Since Hylewood is an empty world, I have to build it up.
Look at this quaint church nestled in the autumn colored trees.
^It's almost like you're stepping into a New England town in the Fall. That may be the idea...
I'm pretty sure I'm going to go with this home as the main character's hometown home.
GOSH I can't wait to see this world covered in snow! ❄
Anyhoo, before I got too far into building up the world I told myself it might be good to test the world out first and make sure it works well, doesn't crash, etc. 👍 So to do that, I created a testing sim to go out and explore.
Everyone...meet Sexy Hunk.
Please ignore the ugly wallpaper in the background that suggests he might be living with his grandma.
Anyway!
The first thing that caught my attention was this old, abandoned mill nestled in the trees and the flowing river beside it. The rapid flow of the water sounded so soothing. 💜 Zooming in, I literally lost a breath at the beauty before me!
And the water all flows out into this!
I sent Sexy Hunk right up to the river's edge. When he stopped, he didn't realize he did an impromptu pose for me.
But he soon realized, just as I, how exquisitely gorgeous the scenery is all around him.
Then he threw out a silly puckered lips, yet dreamy expression.
And then he glanced up at me - the Goddess of the Sim world - as if to say, "Thank you Goddess, for sending me to most gorgeous of worlds! I am very thankful, and will worship thee forever in gratitude."
My reply: "Of course my Sexy Hunk...I treat all my creations well."
*Blissful admiring sigh of my creation*
Anyway! (Again!
When Sexy Hunk was done doing that, I sent him into the water for a swim. He walked right into it before changing into his swimwear.
And so the wading began...
Umm, I don't think walking through the rocks is very safe, Sexy Hunk...
(^Aren't all the colors on the rock gorgeous though!?
He wasn't able to do any swimming though, as I expected. It's just too shallow. But I like that he waded through it.
Soon he changed back into his regular clothes - while still half immersed
Next I had him check out the consignment shop I threw down; all was well there. NRaas Register kept telling me I need to assign someone to the shop and I'm like, "I know! Leave me alone!"
After that I had him check out this small park before going on to check out the Festival Grounds. So so pretty.
Seriously I am IN LOVE with Hylewood!
I still don't know what town name I'm going to give it for my Christmas story (Ok, I guess I'm officially confirming/announcing it.
Hope y'all enjoyed!
Keep calm and sim on my friends!
With River, Bebe and Holly, I decided like @Mikezumi to use Kurasoberina Primer along with some mods I can't mention here because it involves happy little bits that can't be mentioned in front of the kiddies.
I'm slowly adding cc and testing each one - which now doesn't become a wonderful exercise in patience since it only takes me five minutes (y'know a whole BIG five minutes...to get into my game - boy...that takes a lot of patience
Ooooooh...I like that world... I really need to get Hylewood. Somehow I managed to find Les Sims 3 Sunset Died and I'm slowly going to start adding worlds as I need them. This time I'm running lean...so that my game doesn't start bulking up and becoming laggy. Like I told @bekkasan, it runs smooth as butter and I had to install brntwaffles and shimrods' camera mods to help keep me from overshooting my target sim when I want to take a screenshot.
I love Tiny... she's perfect for now...as a replacement stop-gap machine - Eventually, I'll get that 10th gen CPU and Graphics card on a gaming PC...but for now, I'm in game and happy as a clam (at the bottom of the sea eating fish-poo and excreting pearls - sorry...
I already told you, but dang he's hot
the world looks beautiful too, enjoy it.
@Nikkei_Simmer so happy you have something to play on.
Waves to @bekkasan @GraceyManor @lisasc360 @Puddinroy and anyone else that remembers me that I missed.
Things are fine here. I just haven't focused on playing. Ideas always swirling in my head, then when I sit down to play "I think, nah, it's late." and don't log on. I roll with the playing moods. I love my SIMS 3 and I know I'll get back to it soon. Especially that it's nearly Fall here and with cooler weather, I spend more time indoors.
(Click to view spoilers)
One day, in the hills of Neverglade, a wicked sorcerer named Ragnar Gulf teleported to the roof, gazing over the town below the castle. Someday, he would succeed. As long as no one stood in the way. If someone did... they were toast. He teleported back to the dining room after watching the sunset. Soon, he would begin his plan...
Meanwhile...
After Saoirse and Preston played tug with Sammy, the dogs entered the house. For some reason, Harper didn't join in the fun. It wasn't as if the dogs did something without alerting the humans. Did they? What made Harper not want to play?
"Maybe she's gonna have puppies. Just like in that dog movie," Saoirse said.
"Who knows?" Preston replied. "It'll be wild if she has puppies."
"Mom and Dad might not like the sudden arrival of new dogs if Harper does have puppies."
As the sun dipped into the horizon, the twins played on the swingset.
Once nighttime surrounded the land, the sound of an approaching vehicle alerted them to a possible visitor. Preston and Saoirse approached the driveway. A man in dark colors and deep red hair glared at them. He didn't seem friendly at all. What was the man's deal?
"Why are you here?" Preston asked.
"I'm looking for someone," the man said. "I'm Ragnar."
"Our parents aren't home, and..."
Ragnar stormed forward. "Get to the point, little boy!"
Saoirse's body tensed as she began speaking up. "Leave Preston and our family alone, or we're calling the cops!"
"Trying to protect your family, aren't you? For a little kid, you sure are bold," Ragnar said. "Where's the female witch?"
"How do you know if she's a witch?"
"I have my ways." Ragnar flashed an enigmatic smirk. "According to my vision, she's a teenager in purple. If you refuse to inform me-"
"Shut. Up!"
Jasmine heard the commotion outside, so she walked out to investigate. For a brief moment, she heard a man cackling, so she approached the driveway. There was nothing to see here. She proceeded to search the rest of the property. Her siblings were nowhere to be found. They must have gone inside the house. So she searched every room in the house. Then, it hit her. Something happened to them. She should have been there for them. Instead, she was inside the house the whole time! How would she tell her parents about this?
...and Phil, being insane, was having a very animated argument with the refrigerator. Of course Phil didn't get much feedback or backtalk from the fridge...
...and Haruo, knowing that River was the only woman for him, got down on one knee in the most romantic place possible...thereby confirming the fact that men are guided by their stomachs alone...or the other quote: the way to a man's heart is through his stomach.
@Sprottenham That is really sad. That's why I try to pretend that they live just outside of town or are staying with their grandparents. I know it makes no sense, but I don't like to picture them homeless. It breaks my heart if I think of them as homeless.
Yasunobu
Silly Phil! Sillier Haruo!
@emorrill Love the church and fall colors in Hylewood. It is absolutely beautiful in your pictures.
Sexy guy is hot, hot, sizzling hot.
I'm very excited to hear about a Christmas story!
@MamaSimTee 😺 Hi!
@Sims4MagicalTales Oh no! Look forward to the next update. You know how to draw your readers into the story!
A couple pictures from 2015 I found on that external hard drive. The grim reaper was taking this horse's soul.
The Cowboy and the Mermaid
(Click to view spoilers)
"I was inside the house when someone took the twins. I was too late, and I should have protected them," Jasmine said.
"It's not your fault. I've called the cops about this," Kenshin said.
"Watch then more closely next time, Jasmine. What you did was irresponsible!" Prudence said.
"I'm sorry," Jasmine said.
"That's fine, but you have to prove it by your actions. You're not a little kid anymore, and you need to take responsibility. And you can't go off doing whatever you want, not even martial arts or your boyfriend!"
After the conversation was over, everyone went to bed. Kenshin said, "Don't you think you said things too harshly?"
"She's getting older and needs to learn to be responsible," Prudence said.
"Can we talk about this in the morning?"
"Probably."
"You must stop Ragnar..."
"Where is he? Is he the one who took my siblings?"
"He is the one who took your siblings. Ragnar resides in a castle."
"Then I must find him."
Morning came. Jasmine went to the computer downstairs and looked up Ragnar's residence. Apparently he lived in a castle on a hilltop. Wasn't it abandoned for years?
@Nikkei_Simmer Yeah I'm discovering that if I tag more than 5-ish people in a single post, then everyone will NOT get my tag. I guess the forum has a hard time recognizing multiple tags on my posts for some strange reason. 🤷♀️ Anyhoo! ^LOL!
Don't forget about that other Asian skin I showed you.
I am SO happy for you and how much faster your game is now!
Thanks for the compliments on my Hylewood pictures.
Welcome back Yasunobu. 👍 ^
@Silverofdreams30 ^Hee hee. Thank you again.
@MamaSimTee Thank you sweet lady.
I understand not being in a playing mood sometimes too, but just as you said, the game will always be there when you're ready to come back to it.
It's beginning to look a lot like Fall around here too.
@Sims4MagicalTales I'm enjoying your new story.
Thanks again for your sweet comments on my daughter's story thread.
@bekkasan ^Hee hee, thanks!
And thanks for the compliments on my Hylewood pics.
I'm hoping to get started creating some of the characters for the Christmas story this morning!
Can't wait to see more of Mary's story.
Wait, Grim hugs and rides a horse before taking their soul to heaven? That's awesome!
Back to testing out the lots in Hylewood (and the world itself), I forgot that you have to wait a day or two before placing down the Festival lot for the Festival activities to actually show up.
Yep, you know you got "guns!"
I had him play chess at the park with a NPC - didn't take a picture - and it was cute to watch.
Of course Sexy Hunk always has a healthy breakfast in the morning. 👍 Gotta keep that beautifully sculpted physique.
^I miss Smash Mouth's music...
Anyhoo, here's some more scenery pics I took throughout the day in Hylewood.
Storm's a comin'...
Sunset:
The river at night. 💙
And how did I forget that there are FIREFLIES in this game!
The next morning I found the adorable raccoon.
That's it for now everyone.
Gorceous phoros, and I never get
tierd seeing sexy hunk.
I was busy today for an extra job as an extra in a Tv series which I do filmiing for tomorrow.
Today we had to try out clothes for the scenes.
Ugh...RL stuff. Don't you hate it when it interferes with simming?
Good morning, @emorrill
Oh... I guess the forum operational quirks strikes again. I'm wondering if the same is for anyone else who puts multiple tags in their posts. Five is probably the maximum...tags...
I 'ave to be very careful on the things that can't be mentioned which is similar to things which should not be mentioned in a church or any formal occasion or things that mustn't be mentioned at Christmas or Thanksgiving dinner. We mustn't forget the little kiddies and their sharp ears or their affinity for learning things that are far beyond their measure of cognition. So I have had to develop a high sense of the benignancy of the synonym. I've reached conclusive evidence through three offspring that if it is anything that involves a dictionary, my cosanguinean find it anathema to their sense of "knowing it all". I have been warned by the large and in charge.
So, I shall not stoop to the mien of the boor...and uncouth no more. eh-hem...nudge nudge wink wink say no more...
Thanks, I would be happy to add another Asian skin. I'm finding that Asians (like myself) are the toughest to recreate in Sims 3 and one needs a variety of such skins to make it possible. I finally with aid of LFB managed to achieve a satisfactory Asian female. Now I'm trying to recreate myself as accurately as possible at the age of young adult which is far younger than my current half century and two...and 101 days.
I'm surprised I was able to get this computer so soon and I have to thank the generosity of my wife who managed to surprise me with this after a full 10 days of working straight through with no break, thanks to a boss who had to go all the way to Manitoba to open up a new store...having to shuffle schedules with a co-worker who needed time off...which meant MAJOR OT on her paycheck...plus her store changed ownership hands...which also meant holiday pay got paid out. Surfeit...which meant she was able to help me out.
I love Hylewood; mainly because I'm a sucker for pretty scenery - the trees, the meandering brook and the rocks. I'll take your word for it that "Sexy Hunk" is sexy.
Of course, I had to have Dad...in the game - Yasunobu is the Dad for my Sim-Haruo after all... and he's supposed to look a lot like my late RL dad.
I've always looked at life a little skewed - and sometimes that provides a good deal of comedic relief.
https://www.thelifeofriley.co/10-life-lessons-from-stand-up-comedy/
Like it says: you take the mundane things in life...look at it from all angles...and look for the funny.
It's not a good day when you try to pawn off your childhood belongings to get rid of bad childhood memories and run into your mom at the pawn shop.
This time, the images from IMGBB wouldn't load on the forums, so just check out the link of the newest chapter of my Simlit.
I could get out my old laptop and play it on there, although it’s somewhat slow on there. I’ve got things I’d like to play about with, things I’ve never done or have only done a bit. I’d like to try and tame a unicorn, for example, and attempt to become a level 5 celebrity. I’ve been to level 4 but no further than that.
I’m always popping in here talking about my lack of Sims 3 play and then disappearing for a few months
@Nikkei_Simmer nice to see you got a functioning PC again!
@emorrill ooh I like the look of Sexy Hunk, great name by the way! I’ve never tried a non-EA world, although I like the look of Legacy Island III by @Rflong7 .
The water taxi pic is funny, and the mummy one is awesome!
@emorrill Thanks, good to see you, too
I may as well post a few pics I took. Just a normal Sims3 day at the park. It's just the vanilla one, not the seasonal version.
Marvin wanted to learn how to fish, and the SV park is just right for that.
Agnes was also there, having fun with a video.
Marvin didn't go completely unnoticed. Jared certainly didn't appreciate this subject of his conversation with Monica though.
Monica is Leighton's girlfriend, though that relationship moves like molasses. I just moved them together, and Leighton started working on his lifetime wish.
The park is always busy. Agnes notices that there are people there - surprise, surprise - while Connor seems to see Nessie. SP has decided those two are a couple.
What is a day in the park without someone going into labor. It's the third time for Molly, so she should have got used to it, sort of. She has two kids from Christopher Steel. Of course, she broke up with him.
Agnes freaking out.
Gunther joining in.
If only this town had a hospital and anyone knew where it was...
This didn't want to end, so I sent Xander, after he had finished work, to "take her to the hospital". That just meant he ran over to the hospital and waited for Molly, who waddled all the way after him. Not that this surprised me. I just wanted to get Molly out of the way.
Molly's daughter Sandi didn't care for all that fuzz.
After marshaling Molly through the hospital door, Xander played chess with Agnes. Gunther in the background was just planning to cheat on his wife with Nancy Landgraab. Or Nancy wanted to cheat on Geoffrey with Gunther. Whoever took the first step, they definitely didn't hold back.
Agnes seems to be elsewhere with her thoughts.
She had to tell Marvin about her plight.
Marvin took over Agnes' place at the chess table. "How can you spend all day fishing, mate?"
Xander really seems to be in a baby mood.
(*Note to self: place lights in the park.*) Agnes was watching.
Morgana took over the night shift with some ghost story.
She broke up with Thornton the next day.
No big surprises yet. It's just business as usual for Sunset Valley.
The Guardian of Neverglade, Chapter 7: The Villain's Rampage
(Click to view spoilers)
"I always thought Prudence and I would grow old together, but you ruined this for us!" Kenshin said.
"Your reaction's priceless!" Ragnar said.
"You're the worst. I'm reporting you," Kenshin said.
"Not so fast!" Ragnar retorted. "You're gonna get the knock-out of your life!"
"What do you mean?"
Ragnar summoned his magic and chanted an incantation. "This should put you out for a while."
After knocking Kenshin out with the spell, Ragnar proceeded to attack other humans in various places. Later, he returned to his castle, where he was still holding the twins captive.
"First, my siblings are missing. Second, my mother died. What's next?" Jasmine asked.
"Calm down. You're overreacting," Wesley said.
"Don't tell me to calm down!"
"Take deep breaths."
"Okay. I'm calm now," Jasmine said as she took in a deep breath.
"Good," Wesley replied. "We all need you to be calm right now."
The Guardian of Neverglade, Chapter 8: The Second Visit
(Click to view spoilers)
The teenage couple proceeded to do homework in the dining area. It was a good thing that Wesley calmed Jasmine down. Otherwise, she would go crazy with worry and guilt over her family. If she could just go out and look, though, perhaps she could find out if the twins were still okay or not. Pushing such thoughts aside, she finished the rest of the assignment.
The doorbell rang, and Jasmine answered the door. A redheaded man in a dark suit loitered by the steps. What was he doing here?
"I know where the twins are," the redhead stated.
"How do you know?" Jasmine asked. "Why aren't they here now?"
"I was doing this to get your attention. I'm Ragnar, by the way."
"What do you want?"
They approached the fence. Jasmine said, "Tell me where the twins are right now!"
"You want to know?" Ragnar replied.
"Of course I do!"
"I heard you were a powerful spellcaster. If you stand in the way of my plans, I'll continue going after those you care about!" Ragnar said.
"Well, don't!" Jasmine spat.
"Mark my words!"
Ragnar stormed inside. "You're coming with me, kid!" He summoned a spell and encased Wesley in a crystal prison.
"Who are you?" Wesley exclaimed.
"Ragnar Gulf!"
"I've never heard of someone whose last name is Gulf." Wesley attempted to restrain a chuckle. "Did you come up with it yourself?"
"I can't stand you teenagers. I'll use a spell to shut you up for the time being."
The Guardian of Neverglade, Chapter 9: The Rescue
(Click to view spoilers)
"Jasmine will save us," Saoirse said.
"She won't," Ragnar replied. "I'll make sure she doesn't succeed. I must find her father. Speaking of your parents, your mother is dead."
"What?" Preston and Saoirse exclaimed in unison.
Jasmine used a location spell. In the vision, she saw a castle on a hill. It was said to be abandoned, but perhaps it got remodeled when Ragnar moved into that place. People had said that medieval royals used to rule Neverglade from the comfort of the castle until a war eliminated them. She took out a broon and traveled to the hill, where the castle sat.
Once inside the castle, Jasmine explored the place and found a prison cell. While Preston and Saoirse thanked her, Wesley was silent. The twins explained that Ragnar probably used a "shut-up" spell on the boy. She broke the spell and led the group outside. Ragnar stopped them in their tracks, and she told Wesley to take the twins to safety.
"I didn't expect you to be that determined," Ragnar said.
"I am. Also, I'm the guardian of Neverglade, so-" Jasmine began.
"There used to be some royal family here. I came from a lineage of people who opposed that family, because they defended Neverglade. Somehow this town survived the curse a man once placed upon Neverglade. I recall the tale of another woman, who is similar to you. She confronted that man, only to lose in the end. Maybe you're related. Anyways, let's duel and see who wins."
...that I'm building one of my horrific monstrosities again. It started out pretty normal.
It didn't stay that way for long.
There's two things that you can count on with a Nikkei_Simmer build.
1. The thing is either going to defy the laws of physics, annoy the city hall planning department with contravening setback rules and violate building and fire codes every where.
2. It's going to have water (either fountains or pools or a lake on the property)
With the third level, this thing already has Sunset Valley city hall planners tearing out their hair. If there were setbacks and building to property ratios, this thing has violated every stinkin' rule in the book. Throw the 0.49 building area ratio out the window, that third level has already blown that to kingdom come. and the garage is well within the .35 property line setback. The property inspectors' sphincters are sewn so shut that they're probably pooping bricks by now.
Update: Completed the house...now I'm going to move the sims in... and they can happily do landscaping after they've moved in.
Here's what 16GB of DDR4 RAM can do. It freed up my applications to run on the remaining 12 GB of RAM while my Sims 3 runs happily on the 4GBs without interruption. I have all my settings up to high and no lag. And, yes, that's my monstrosity of a house finished in the background of the shot from the "park" at Summerhill Court.
The Guardian of Neverglade, Chapter 10: The Duel
(Click to view spoilers)
"Are you getting tired?" Jasmine asked as they continued duelling.
"No," Ragnar said. "How about you? Why aren't you giving up? Just concede or I'll destroy everything in my path!"
"You won't prevail!" Jasmine shouted.
"AAAAHHHH!" Ragnar hollered.
"You lost. I'm going, and I'll announce the victory to those I care about," Jasmine said, smirking.
The Guardian of Neverglade, Chapter 11: The Epilogue
(Click to view spoilers)
"We'll miss you, Prudence," Kenshin said as the family mourned in the graveyard.
They engraved three words into the epitaph: "Gone too soon." Kenshin had decided on those words, because he had expected to grow old with Prudence, only to lose her. At least they raised a family together.
The family went home. And once again, Wesley paid a visit. And the two teens decided to hang out in Jasmine's room.
"What were the last words you said to each other?" Wesley asked.
"She was lecturing me about being responsible. I don't know if she ever accepted my apology. It felt like we ended things on the wrong foot," Jasmine said.
"Maybe you could talk to her spirit."
"I don't think she would want to talk."
"You never know. She might want to talk to you one last time."
"The lecture felt like the last time."
Wesley shrugged. "Maybe on our next date, we could visit the graveyard at night and summon her spirit."
Jasmine nodded. "We'll do that, assuming neither of us would work on that night, or have crazy homework assignments."
They visited the graveyard the following night. Jasmine and Wesley spoke to Prudence's spirit for a while. Jasmine had told the older woman what happened, and they ended the conversation with apologies and goodbyes.
A month or so later, Harper and Sammy had four puppies together. They had colorful coats and were adorable. At first, their owners didn't realize that the puppies were here. Until one day, the twins decided to go downstairs to check out the source of the sounds.
The puppies' names were Viola, Marina, Bella, Petunia (from left to right).
"Puppies!" Saoirse and Preston exclaimed excitedly.
"We'll tell Jasmine and Dad," Saoirse said.
"Okay," Preston replied.
"We heard the whimpering sound, so we came downstairs... and surprise, surprise, there are four puppies. Harper must have been pregnant without alerting us," Preston explained as the family gathered around the table. "We thought she was simply gaining weight."
"Puppies?" Kenshin asked. "Now we have six dogs. Sounds like a lot of responsibility you guys may have to share, considering that puppies need a lot of attention."
"School's almost out anyways, so we'll be fine," Jasmine said. "I also have another responsibility - to protect Neverglade as its guardian."