@SoulGal7 , about the aging , just use cas.fulleditmode and age them in CAS from manage households?
My love, my love, my fearless love, I will not say goodbye..
Sea may rise, sky may fall, My love will never die..
My heart, my heart, My drowning heart, Oh all the tears I've cried
Oh I may weep forevermore, My love will never die..
@lilypadmeulin Just do not age adults to elders that way I do not know if the old bug is still there. The one what made them die at old age instantly after loading their lot
My love, my love, my fearless love, I will not say goodbye..
Sea may rise, sky may fall, My love will never die..
My heart, my heart, My drowning heart, Oh all the tears I've cried
Oh I may weep forevermore, My love will never die..
@Skeilah , so do I , but I somehow assumed they do not use that mod, or they would of done it with it from the beginning
My love, my love, my fearless love, I will not say goodbye..
Sea may rise, sky may fall, My love will never die..
My heart, my heart, My drowning heart, Oh all the tears I've cried
Oh I may weep forevermore, My love will never die..
@Ellupelluellu - Thank you so much for this info. Yes! I am so happy about this. For this round, I was only going to age up all the teens in all the worlds, so that they might "show up" at uni too.
@permanentrose - Thank you for the suggestion, too, but don't have MCCC, so could not do it that way.
Now I just need to know what day everyone will be aging up on. March 31st or April 1st? lol Thanks everyone!
Wow, lots of notifications for this topic, I have a lot to catch up on, give me a bit!
But, to answer one quick question - @SoulGal7, I think I'll age Jules up on April 1st. I was kind of planning on doing a birthday party for her of sorts.
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Update 86 - A mutual agreement
Notes:
So let's go back and check in with Lydia...I'm doing my best to resolve her story in a concise yet satisfying way before this month is over, but it may be just a bit rushed. I may have bit off a bit more than I could chew with adding this whole storyline in now...lol. But I'm doing my best
Well, it turns out that Vlad does have a bit of a soft side, especially when it comes to his daughter...and now his daughter's dog...and it's harder to be a big, mean tyrant when you are channeling your soft side
Lydia's resolve had faded slightly over the past few days as well, especially now that she had Mochi safely back with her. She was, of course, still worried about Jules and upset about being snatched away from her life, but she had slowly begun to accept that perhaps she had out run her past for too long now. Her father eased his restrictions and allowed her to wander the expanse of the mansion when it became clear that Lydia wasn't going to bolt as soon as she had the opportunity.
Lydia often found him milling about the mansion aimlessly, mumbling to himself, or playing one of pipe organs for hours on end. He was not well, driven mad by grief and loneliness, and though she was upset at the way he had forced her to come home and his efforts to keep her here, a part of her heart softened as she realized how lost he was without her. Looking up at the portrait of their happy family that had hung above the mantle for as long as she could remember, Lydia knew that she could not simply desert him again, even though she had amble opportunity to make her escape.
She knew she needed to speak to him and find a happy medium, if both of them were to find happiness in the future.
She found him in the dark, damp basement, playing a haunting tune on the pipe organ. The eerie sound of the music echoed off the stone walls, and Lydia paused to listen for a moment.
"Father," she spoke once he had finished. "Can I speak to you?"
He nodded, and the pair settled into the arm chairs behind the organ.
"What is on your mind, my darling?" he asked, though his face was somber.
She looked up at him, and began to discuss all that was on her mind - how she didn't wish to leave him again, especially since she saw how lonely and lost he had become, but she wanted more freedom, especially since she needed to go back to speak to Jules, but even beyond that, she had no desire to isolate herself from the world. At first, Vlad was fearful of losing her again, but after a lengthy conversation, they both began to see more eye to eye, and Vlad realized that having his daughter choose to stay willingly would be far more satisfying than forcing her to stay her in misery, against her will.
Hey everyone! Here a bit early today, but not with my daily post yet. We have very strong winds going on right now, and I couldn't sleep as a result. *sigh* Anyway, I'll comment next on all your posts, but wanted to say Thanks to @Ellupelluellu for answering @SoulGal7's question about how to age up our challenge Sims. I will be aging up everyone, except Essa, using cas.fulleditmode in household management. When Josh was living with 'Tessa' in Mt. Komorebi, I had him bake a birthday cake for when she aged up to YA and a wedding cake for when they get married. Both have been sitting in her household inventory with candles on them since then.
Essa will age up on April 1st since that's technically the designated date for this to happen in the challenge. Y'all can age up your Sims on the 31st if you prefer, whatever is the most convenient for you. For your other question SoulGal7 about when challenge Sims should apply and start Uni, that's at your own discretion. As long as it happens sometime during the month and your Sim completes it before the end of the month, the date doesn't matter. For myself personally, the first few days of April will be set aside for Josh and Essa's reunion and their Britechester house build. When Essa does apply for Uni, I will pick a date so that she starts as close to a Friday as possible, that way she'll have the entire weekend to prepare, do any projects or term papers, etc. I did this with previous Sims I've sent to Uni and it just made things a lot easier for my Sims.
Also, Essa will be taking 4 classes per semester so it should only take her 3 Uni weeks to graduate. I want to get her Uni experience over as quickly as possible due to other 'special' plans I have for the month. Y'all can take however many classes you wish per week, extracurricular activities or even part-time jobs if you think they can handle a full load. Essa won't need a job, she's freakin' loaded at the moment with over 300K. o.O She might join a Uni club or something, but haven't thought about all those details very much yet. Hope this helped to answer your questions. I'll be back with comments on your posts asap!
I still can't play today and I'm days behind again, so I'm going to skip this next month rather than try to catch up. I've got some things coming up in the next week that will make it hard to play and post around also, so I'm feeling kind of defeated here. My plan is to finish up March late even posting it into April and then skipping the rest of April and coming back in May. I feel like for all intents and purposes though I've kind of failed the challenge by doing this but we seem to be a smallish bunch so I guess it will be alright to do it like this. I'll come back and reply to your stories and posts hopefully on Monday though and should be able to get some game time in then too!
I still can't play today and I'm days behind again, so I'm going to skip this next month rather than try to catch up. I've got some things coming up in the next week that will make it hard to play and post around also, so I'm feeling kind of defeated here. My plan is to finish up March late even posting it into April and then skipping the rest of April and coming back in May. I feel like for all intents and purposes though I've kind of failed the challenge by doing this but we seem to be a smallish bunch so I guess it will be alright to do it like this. I'll come back and reply to your stories and posts hopefully on Monday though and should be able to get some game time in then too!
@Hermitgirl - Do not say you have failed the challenge. Things happen in real life and sometimes it's hard to do this everyday. If I was just posting one photo per day, I think I could do it, but I have sort of developed this story for Sakura now, and want to stick to the story. Because of computer issues, I was two weeks' behind everyone else in posting, and was thinking of skipping March all together because I was so behind. But I just decided to go with the flow and did something else for the rest of March. I know that in April, I will be super busy at work, because it is year end, and I am a gardener, so with the weather getting nice out, I want to be puttering away in my garden. I work 6-1/2 days a week, which leaves little time for The Sims, and trying to write a story.
Don't give up, though, whatever and whenever you can post will be great, because we all love Roxanne.
And that goes for everyone else, too. We're a little group of challengers, and I know for myself I love to read everyone's posts, no matter how long or how short they are. *hugs*
Day 19 - Oh dear, although it's nice to see Jenny's Mom, doesn't sound like a very good thing for her to visit considering her attitude toward her daughter. o.O Her Mom is very pretty by the way, she reminds me somewhat of Donna from That 70's Show.
You're right, Essa is kinda/sorta healing a bit, but not, at the same time. Damon definitely knows he has an enemy, but I don't think he's fully learned his lesson since he doesn't understand who or why is tormenting him. Especially since he's outright eliminated Essa as a possibility.
I had planned that Damon would just live like a hermit for a time and that his physical/mental health would decline to a point where Molly decides to take matters into her own hands. But, when I was trying to sleep today, I was thinking about all this and had an idea on how to drive Essa's point home using a certain spell. So, anyway, the torment is not over yet for Damon.
Day 20 - Aww man, so glad I turned Lifestyles off by default in my custom save templates. It's quite easy to do, just go to gameplay options and toggle off lifestyles. If you'd rather leave lifestyles on and just get rid of the Close Knit lifestyle, open the cheat box the usual way, turn on testingcheats and then use the following cheat; traits.remove_trait Trait_Lifestyles_CloseKnit
No worries, I've been struggling myself with getting the story part posted on time, but at least I've been getting the daily post pic done.
Day 29 - Absolutely love Astrid's new house! And she has a pool! I thought about giving Essa and Josh a pool in Britechester, not sure if they'll have enough room on the lot though. We'll see... Ugh, Bess! She's still stringing Astrid along I see. What did Astrid do? Still hanging in there? I'm going to feel so bad if it ends up she never repays her. o.O I've never had that happen in my game, but I guess it could? Yay! Looks like a very good thing Astrid decided to help out with the Scout pop up. Oh cool she made a Freezer Bunny on the Bonzai bush! So glad she and Essa are such good friends! Was Penelope crying? Poor little girl, hope the kitties were able to cheer her up!
Day 30 - Gummy Guppy! Those things are so weird! How come it doesn't just melt in the water? Looks like her life is very pleasantly drifting along in Willowcreek. Oh gosh, I don't blame her telling Bess to go take a hike. I'm so, so sorry! How much did Bess end up giving her back? What the!? Then she has the nerve to call her with a happiness scam? Grrrr! Oh, well, I see Astrid gave her the 1 simolean. At least she got happy out of it, sort've... Uh oh, Don Lothario? No Astrid, don't get involved with him, he's the town bike! Honestly though, I love Don! He's one of my all-time favorite premades.
Day 31 - Penelope is so darn cute! Love it when they investigate things, like plants. Astrid's using sprinklers! I always forget about using those until I see someone else using them. Oh cool, she got invited to GeekCon...by a ghost! GAH! I so wish I'd been able to tell you what to answer in this mission. I've had it over and over before. It's one of the very few missions Sims can get an Orchid as a reward from their abductors! Obviously she should've worn the hat and the next question was about what to do with a chair and Sims should not sit in it, but rather sit next to it. Oh well, maybe next time. Better luck next time with the competitions at GeekCon as well. Um, is Pumpkin preggers again? Or just in heat? Whoa! Messes indeed.
Day 32 - Garden is looking great! Gah, more messes! Did Penelope fight with one of the cats? Oh, well I guess there's no hard feelings between Bess and Astrid. She's a lot more forgiving than Essa would've been. Yay! Congrats to Pumpkin for being a Simstagram Influencer! Come on cowplant, offer Bess some cake! Do it! No? Bummer... Astrid is so good to her friends. Only two more badges to go! You can do it Astrid! Bess! Man, she's tempting fate I would say. Is that why you let her come over? LOL!
Day 33 - LOL Astrid reading next to the sleeping Sulani elder Matriarch. I love that lady by the way. If you age her down to YA, she's positively gorgeous! Did Pumpkin run away again? Or is Astrid just giving her some love, just because? Looks like Astrid's life in Willowcreek is chugging along nicely. I wonder if she misses Duane. Has he been asking to visit or for her to visit at all? Just curious, kind of makes me sad they're separated right now.
Yes, Essa is having a lot of confusing thoughts right now. She'll work them out though. While Essa was in the bedroom looking at those photos, I heard Josh sighing sadly in the living room. I just could not bring myself to send him home, so instead of just not writing about him being there when I let them interact before, I decided to make his visit a 'memory' for Essa since their time together again is so close now. Thursday is the last day of March, so yep, only 5 more days! o.O Honestly, I am extremely excited for it! For obvious reasons.
Great update for Lydia! I don't think it seemed rushed at all. I'm glad that Lydia took the time to talk to her Father and that they have come to an agreement. Hopefully Vlad will begin to heal now and not freak out every time she's away for any length of time. Now though, she has to confess everything to Jules. I wonder how well that's going go over with her. I guess we'll see soon. Love the family portrait too! Which reminds me, I still need to do something about the Eight is Enough club group portrait. o.O
Exactly what @SoulGal7 said, you haven't failed. This is an open-ended challenge with 'guidelines' really instead of rules that you don't have to faithfully stick to no matter what. I personally am trying to stick to my own rules/guidelines as much as possible, but that's only because it's my challenge and I want to do my best to do what I had intended for it to be.
As SoulGal7 also said, this challenge has become much more than just posting one daily pic to me too. I'm enjoying writing Essa's story and can't imagine not doing it now. Whenever you have time to join us again, we'll welcome you with open arms. We are a small group of challengers and I love that, we've always supported each other no matter what. I love Roxanne and will look forward to any and all posts you do for her whenever they may appear! The main thing to take away from this challenge is to have fun! If life gets in the way and it becomes anything other than that, we all understand. *Hugs*
Nice idea to have Damon go away to the family chalet in the mountains, of course he thinks that fleeing will solve all his problems - and I like that you included his mother and that thinking about her hypothetical advice actually gave him the idea to leave the area. I think it's cool that you and @Ellupelluellu have used Inna from the trailers and incorporated her into your stories, and it makes it extra neat because there are so many pictures of her from the vampire pack. I didn't realize that there were Maxis vampires in the gallery until I was talking to Ellupelluellu, because I may have considered making one of them Vlad's wife for my story, but I had already created Ophelia at that point and didn't want to retake screenshots.
Anyway, looks like Damon is about to lose his mind. And Molly seems pretty upset too, poor thing, getting dragged into the middle of all this. She's been such a champ and a good friend though. The part about her going to her room to cry though... I think that Essa (or someone) will have to spell out for Damon exactly how her hurt her, and it will be interesting to see if he can see the full picture and start being remorseful once he realizes the wrong he's done...or if he's going to continue to be too arrogant to realize that someone else's feelings beside his own actually matter...
Okay, next update - Nice to have her reflect on her relationship with each of the sages, she really did form such a unique relationship with them all! So this update makes me wonder if she is going to end up confronting Damon, or if that is something you will save for the future/at all. Sometimes stories like these don't have easy endings or a concise conclusion at all. Either way, I think you've done a good job with it, and I'm glad to see that Essa is looking at ALL her relationships and realizing that even though Damon hurt her, she has a lot of other relationships that haven't failed her, and she does seem to be moving on.
Aw, I like the little montage with Josh, how she's imaging all they'd do together, and really realizing that she found such a great guy who is her best friend and love of her life - he's one of those guys who is truly a keeper and would never hurt her. It will be so soon, Essa, that you and Josh can finally be together, and hopefully it will just be a blissful happiness for both of them, at least for a while!
And oof, whatever your husband is sick with, that sounded rough! Glad he is on the mend!
Very interested to find out how all this goes down
In reply to your comment...I'm honestly not completely satisfied with how I've tied stuff up/plan to tie stuff up as far as this story goes, definitely don't feel like I had the energy and time to do it exactly how I might if I had planned this from the beginning...but at this point I'm just doing what I can so I can keep this story on pace to continue with how I want to do this challenge
Also, about the cave and mountain excursion - she did not end up collecting anything. She got an injury, in fact, while in the rabbit hole of the cave, and after that, I decided not to have her explore any further. And when I did the mountain excursion with Rose and Carrie, they found the cave too, but all they did was woohoo in it
I like all the background scenery of Willow Creek you're capturing for your daily images. The New Orleans feel of Willow Creek has always been some of my favorite scenery, and it's nice to take the time to appreciate it.
Also, how nice that your game gifted you a random male teen! And he's pretty cute too! I like that this kiss was tied in with his drama club scene. Nice work on this aspiration, Sakura is certainly plowing through it Also nice touch with that magical midnight hour. Sakura really is living in a fairytale haha. The fairy godmother is also a very nice addition to your game. So will all three dates with be Prince Oberon then? I am looking forward to your plan to get Sakura out of this little mess by the end of the month...do I suspect that Oberon will realize his true feelings are for Titania after all?
Okay, so from your next update, it does seem like all the dates will be with Prince Oberon. Still very curious to see how you plan to tie this all up in the next few days and get Sakura safely home...to her love triangle...you really have a lot of drama potentially coming up for Sakura, and I hope it's fun ride for you trying to figure out which boy she should choose and what her future holds!
I said most of this in a PM already, but I do love seeing all the little toddlers MCCC has gifted you, as well as all the pairings for our sims. I love that Jules named her little girl after herself too haha, but perhaps little Julia will choose to go by her full name instead of a nickname like Jules. Also the stuff with Greg and the Strangerville diner with George Cahill cooking in a gas mask were very entertaining. And Melody has a little brother! What a cutie.
Yay for more Jenny updates! Jenny and Rohan have really been enjoying those Romance Festivals - I'm excited for Jules to live in San Myshuno eventually and finally go to those! Will be interesting to see who her significant other might be at that time though, LOL. Also I had no idea you could hang garlic by the door, there's still a lot of stuff I need explore with this vampire pack. I look forward to seeing you dabble in story mode again if you're feeling up to it!
Oh wow, Jenny looks a lot like her mom! But not an entirely welcome visit from her, I see I wonder if that's a relationship that can mend and heal with time, or if Jenny just needs a person like that out of her life...
Did anyone tell you about removing lifestyles? I know that if you shift click on a sim with cheats enabled, you can add or remove them. I've done that with Jules when some of her lifestyles really don't make sense
Yay, you did! The big Isaius defeat, and it did not disappoint. You did a great job setting up the lot and the team of sims that would help in this defeat, and I admire how much work you put in to setting up the perfect scene in your updates. I know it's not always a quick or easy thing to do, but it pays off visually in the end! That last shot of the burst of light was amazing too.
Next update - and there's curse Gordon, who everyone thinks is just the Curse, they will be in for a nasty surprise in several months lol. Poor Gordon...but yay that the real Isaius is getting his body back. I laughed at all those spells you threw at the Isaius body So brutal, but so visually fun to watch! Johnny really did seem to be having too much fun lol. Which curse finally "killed" him?
I also have to ask - to get that shot of ghost Isaius diving into his body, did you have to put a toilet there for him to possess and just cut it out of the shot? That's one of the only animations I can think of that would get you a diving shot, LOL.
I love that Randi had a plan and death flower ready, great thinking on your part. And so kind of her to negotiate to give him a younger body back, so that he can really enjoy his youth the way he deserved to. That flash of light covering his face in that one shot was perfect too, since it was a great transition from an old body to a young one.
Also perfect opportunity to finish the grilled cheese aspiration I still don't know how I'm gonna incorporate Jules' last two steps - eat a grilled cheese in space and talk to Grimmie about grilled cheese - into my story, so I'm impressed you made it work!
Nice to see some updates about Astrid, I hope that you are enjoying your game play more too these days as well. I love seeing the cute screenshots with Penelope - I can't wait until toddler Ruby starts making her appearance! Toddlers have some of the cutest interactions, even if they are needy little things. I do have kids/toddlers autonomous mess making turned off in my game, and your updates are making me glad I can do that with one of my mods HAHA. I also adore toddlers and pets interacting! Gah! So cute How long are you planning to keep Penelope a toddler for?
Hope that Astrid is enjoying life on Magnolia Promenade. It's a small world, but very pretty. I love the lake (river?) area near it and the walking path. It does have a similar aesthetic to Willow Creek, but I also love that world and it's scenery as well.
I know that Karababy initially made this challenge as a post/picture a day challenge, but I feel like it's just morphed so much into this nice little tight knit group of us all sharing stories and being creative and enjoying our games together, and we've all started approaching it a bit differently. I know some people are still pretty set on doing a daily photo, but I know that for me, if I did get too busy to post, but if I was still invested, I'd personally just be posting here and there with what I have the energy to do instead of making sure I get photo for each day of the year, so I personally feel like instead of feeling like you're falling behind, you should just play Roxanne when you have the time and energy and desire, and even if you just post every few days or once a week or something, you should still share your game progress if you've enjoying it and having fun! I know I love seeing your updates, but posting something daily is time consuming, so if that's not working out for you, I say just kind of do your own thing
This daily pic took me so long that I just had no energy anymore to continue this story. Like, I had like the perfect picture! Everyone was looking to the camera, smiling, but then...
I noticed that Sakura walked away from the scene and she was not on the picture. SAKURA!! Why you doing this to me ;-;
I'll just decided to break this chapter up and continue with the rest tomorrow lol. xDD
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March 28
Bryons Diary
A few weeks went by, and a lot happened. I don’t think I can write it all down in one page, so.. Let’s split it up a bit.
First of all, Morgyn finally got better from whatever his sickness was.
(Morgyn) “Ahhh, it's good to be back! Too bad I missed all the good stuff…”
We all graduated from the Realms Academy.
(Morgyn) "Please look at the camera!!!"
Johnny decided to confess his feelings for Jess before he lost his (maybe last) chance.
(Johnny) “Jess… Well, as you might know, I’ll be leaving soon to join the military...”
(Jess) “I know. I’m really going to miss you a lot.”
(Johnny) “... I like you, Jess. Will you wait for me until I come back?”
@Skeilah - March 28 - The nerve of that Sakura to walk away from the group photo! Sheesh! She just doesn't appreciate how time consuming it is to get everyone smiling, without their eyes closed, their mouth open and drooling, and um...walking away. lol Congrats to everyone for graduating at the academy. And thank goodness Morgyn is well enough now to be there. And finally Johnny tells Jess how he feels, and she will wait for him. Go Johnny! Ahh....so sweet
March - Day 28:"Love is in the air, or is it only infatuation?"
Notes
First sighting of another challenge Sim in Essa's world! Hi there Astrid! Aww, she's doing her homework too! Good girl! I think I figured out why I wasn't seeing anyone. I had them in separate households. I decided to put them all in the same household, except Melody who lives with her Dad, and BOOM! Yay! I also deleted all the townie Spellcaster to get a fresh batch. That might've helped too!
Of course Essa cheerfully introduced herself and then immediately challenged Astrid to a duel for artifacts. Still trying to get all those collectibles! Essa lacks just one rocket, two crystal and two gnarled brooms. She also needs the wand recolors, but has one of each of the regular colors. She also needs a half dozen or so of the tomes. Cross your fingers she can collect everything before Thursday!
Essa gets the first hit.
Astrid retaliates.
But in the end, Essa is the victor! She won a gnarled broom and a mop from her with the gnarled broom being a color Essa didn't have yet. Thanks Astrid! Perhaps these two will become good friends as they are in your game @AnnoyingTiger!
And then THIS happened!
"Well, well Simmie dear, you've never kissed me like that before."
"So much passion, I think my knees might buckle."
(Whoa! Where'd that come from?)
"Why'd you kiss me like that now? Not that I'm complaining..."
"I didn't."
"What? That didn't come from you? I don't underst..."
"I think somebody's messing with us."
"I don't care, I want more. Come to Mama!"
"Wait a minute, what's that smirk all about?"
"Nothing, just thinking."
(I wonder if she's kissed anyone else here like that.)
(I can read your mind Simmie, remember?)
(I know, that's why I said it. You know I love getting a rise out of you.)
((The feeling is very mutual Simmie dear, I love when you rise to the occasion.)
(You're so naughty L.)
(You love it!)
(Of course...but...)
(I know, students are waiting for us. Later?)
(Definitely!)
(Well that was fun! Don't think I'll use it on Damon though. He'd like it too much.)
Essa went back to the house after that and read a skiing skill book and reached Level 7. She took another day off from school, puttered around in her garden, hung up the broom she won from Astrid and that's about it.
Mostly a filler post, but I had fun with it anyway! Today's post will be back to our regularly scheduled program, as the saying goes. Comments coming up in a few on all your lovely posts!
Running from your problems is never the answer, or hiding from them either. It's best to just face them the best you can, or get someone you trust to help you work them out. Hopefully Damon wakes up and realizes all that soon. Well I'd featured Damon's Dad a lot and nothing really about his Mother yet, so I thought it be a nice touch to have him thinking about her. Especially since he looked at her portrait without any prompts from me. I love the new relax feature!
We shall see what happens with these three. I don't want to give anything away so, can't say much.
Essa's been doing a lot of thinking about her life at the moment. She has some major life changes coming up, so it's only natural she'd do that. She's just very undecisive at the moment. She'll get it all worked out in the end though, she's strong.
Life is never all sunshine and rainbows, there will be more drama. But it'll be a bit easier for her with Josh by her side. He's her anchor in a stormy sea, the bright light from a lighthouse guiding her through the fog to the safety of his arms.
Yes, it was rough and he's not completely out of the woods yet, but he's going back to work tomorrow, so that's progress.
Ah, well I liked how you had Lydia and Vlad talk things over to resolve their issues. I'm sure there will be more insecurities on Vlad's part, but he'll learn to trust she'll always be his daughter no matter where she is, whether home or spreading her wings exploring all life has to offer on her own.
I saw screenshots of Sims woo hooing in the cave. It looks kind of odd to me how they reused the shower woo hoo for it with the towels. Who's going to undress to a towel and woo hoo in the wilderness during a blizzard? Uh, nobody! Oh well, it was a nice gesture on their part to give the option anyway.
Aww man, what a bummer Sakura ruined the group graduation shot! So I guess even when using poses things can go wrong eh? I thought they couldn't move using that until you tell them to move? Anyway, it still looks like a great group of Sims to me. Congrats to all of them!
So glad Morgyn is well enough again to go back to work. I was getting worried you had something else planned for him, or someone else was going to permanently take his place. o.O
Yay! So happy for Johnny and Jess! I was hoping he'd make a move and let his feelings for her be known. Turns out she like likes him too! Congrats to the new couple! I know in an ideal Sims world, all their friends and family would be cheering, probably throwing their hats up in the air, etc. But alas, we have a little thing called Sims Logic. 'nuff said. I'll just picture that in my mind for them.
@Karababy52 I think I just put Sakura there without actually posing her. Might have forgotten her in the process of posing because there were a lot of things to think of 😂 and then suddenly poof, she gone.
I didn’t really have something in mind for Morgyn. I just wasn’t feeling an update with classes that day and I was like “if I make Morgyn sick, that can be possible”. And then I just left him sick for a while because I thought it fit well😂 Nothing mean planned with Morgyn from my side, honestly.
Edit: also, loving the kiss-interaction with L. And Simeon in your update😂 “come to mama” LOL😂
Oppsies! Okay, I can see how that could happen with so many Sims to keep track of at the same time. o.O Ohhh, okay, that's cool then. Nice excuse there! Glad Morgyn will still be your Untamed Sage. I didn't think you had anything sinister planned. I was more thinking perhaps you had someone else special in mind to be the Sage. However, thinking about it now, I don't know why I thought that, we can't pick and choose our own Sages. Which bites...but anyway, thanks for the clarification.
So I had a very frustrating moment with this update - I was over halfway done writing it, when I accidentally reloaded the screen and hadn't saved any of it. UGH. Anyway, it was definitely exhausting and annoying to go back and retype so much of this, and I did leave out some detail this second time typing it all up since I was pretty frustrated. But here it is, and even with a little less detail, I hope I ended up concluding this storyline in a satisfying way
---
After the Mountain Excursion, Jules headed back home. Though it was late, Dell met her outside and welcomed her home.
"Jules," Dell began, taking in a deep breath. "I just wanted to talk to you before you went inside," she paused for a moment, and inhaled another breath. "Lydia is back, and she wants to talk to you."
*GASP*
Jules hurried inside, her heart racing.
"I am SO sorry," Lydia told her, rising from the couch.
"You're okay," Jules felt her eyes brim with tears, and she pulled Lydia into a tight embrace, overwhelmed by an influx of emotions.
"Let's go for a walk," Lydia told her once she pulled away. "I'll explain everything."
Jules nodded, and the pair headed out into the warmth of the summer night. There was so much Lydia needed to tell Jules, but none if it would make sense if she didn't share the one shocking fact about her true identity first.
Just rip that bandaid off Lydia...there's no simple way to do this.
And I know I've used this "hands over mouth" animation a lot lately, but it's a good one haha.
They had reached the water's edge at this point, away from the prying eyes of the public, where Lydia revealed her true form.
Jules stood there, speechless, as she realized the woman she loved was not who she thought she was.
Lydia began to speak once more, as she began to share about her childhood and youth, about her father, about her eventual escape to freedom, and finally to explain about the recent events that had brought her father back into her life.
It was a lot for Jules to swallow, and her mind swirled with the sheer amount of information she found herself quickly processing.
"I'm so sorry I didn't tell you sooner," Lydia concluded in apology. "I should have never kept something this big from you."
They spoke at length about what this meant for them, as a couple, and for their futures. Lydia had decided that she would be leaving Mt. Komorebi to spend more time with her father, mending their relationship and finding a balance of her past life - the life she could not run from any longer - and now, the life she had created for herself in the human world, hoping to find a way to integrate them together in a satisfying way. And Jules had begun to think about the next chapter of her life as well. When she had come to Mt. Komorebi, it had been a place for her to escape to, much like Lydia. For many weeks now, with the prompting of Dell as well, she had begun to consider her future. Now that her daughter was born and she had mended her relationships with those in her life, living in Mt. Komorebi suddenly was not as necessary as it had been several months ago. Her relationship with Lydia has also been an interlude of sorts - a time of passion and healing, necessary for both of them in moment, but inevitably, it did not seem as though it would lead to anything more. Both Lydia and Jules' lives were changing. Jules hoped to go to University and forge a future for herself, and now Lydia had finally confronted her past and set her future into a different direction. As they concluded their conversation, they both sensed that they were edging toward an inevitable goodbye.
But there was still a remnant of that spark of passion between them. Lydia reached out to softly caress Jules' cheek. "Just because this is goodbye for doesn't mean that our paths might not cross again one day."
Jules nodded, her throat too tight to speak, and she leaned forward to brush her lips against Lydia's one final time. Lydia left Jules with her father's address and a promise to come to her aid if she ever needed it.
And with that, Lydia disappeared into the night...
---
I never intended for Lydia and Jules to be together long term, even before I added in this vampire storyline, so having them part ways at the end of this month was always my plan. I don't love how quickly I ended up tying this but, honestly, I was really just ready to get things ready for next month at this point and didn't want to drag this out longer than I had to. I did get attached to Lydia over the course of this month though, and I am glad she will serve a purpose later on this year
When Sakura returned to the Gnome Home, she placed the sack containing the potion on her table. She looked at it, and thought back to Silvermist, who had helped her with Cupid's Bow and Arrow, and now Rosetta, who had given her this flirty potion. It was nice to know that Prince Oberon's sisters were rooting for her to win, and maybe it was Prince Oberon's sisters that Sakura should chat with to tell them why she wanted to return to her world. Sakura remembered what Prince Oberon had told her about his sisters talking to the flowers, and how the flowers had told his sisters about Sakura, and then his sisters had told Prince Oberon about her. So, yes, maybe it was Prince Oberon's sisters who had played matchmaker, and now Prince Oberon wants to make Sakura his bride.
Sakura felt so frustrated about the situation she was in, but thought the only way she could do anything about it was to try to win this quest. And with the opportunity of these three dates with Prince Oberon, maybe she could convince Prince Oberon that it was really Titania who was in love with him. Sakura was almost positive she was right, as she had seen "that look" that Titania had given to Prince Oberon on so many occasions, which Prince Oberon seemed oblivious to.
Well, Sakura would think up something on how to get Prince Oberon to take more notice of Titania, but in the meantime, Sakura had a date to plan. Sakura decided to check the weather for tomorrow. The forecast was going to be cloudy, but no rain. That would be perfect. She would take the day off school, and have a picnic in the park with Prince Oberon. What a perfect way to test out the love potion.
Sakura decided to make some cookies for the picnic, and measured out 1/3 of the potion and mixed it in the batter. While the cookies were baking, they smelled so good, and the finished product turned out so well. She knew that if she offered these to Prince Oberon, that he would thoroughly enjoy them and think that their date was the best ever! She was sure she would have a very memorable date with him.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
DATE 1: PICNIC IN THE PARK
The next day, Sakura called Prince Oberon for a date, and he was delighted to accept.
They met at Magnolia Blossom Park and the weather seemed nicer than the forecast had predicted, although she did see that it was clouding over.
Prince Oberon: "My blossom, what a lovely location for our first date. The park is so pretty at this time of year."
Sakura: "Yes, it is, although not as pretty as Sylvan Glade. But I thought you would enjoy being out-of-doors, and there is so much to do here. I was thinking that we might start with a little breakfast."
Prince Oberon: "Oh? You can cook, too? Sakura, you are indeed a rare find."
Sakura headed over to the bar-b-q area and grilled up some breakfast scramble. When it was ready, she called over Prince Oberon.
Prince Oberon: "It looks quite delicious. I am just not used to taking the first bite of something. I usually have a 'royal taster' do that for me."
Sakura: "Oh, of course, in case someone was trying to poison you. Well let me assure you, that is not the case here," she said as she took a spoonful of food from his plate and ate some, "See, it's fine."
Sakura scooped up another spoonful and waved it at Prince Oberon, "So, now are you ready for a little bite of this?" she asked as she fed him a bite.
Prince Oberon took the spoonful and declared that it was most delicious, "I apologize, Sakura, there are some protocols in place, and I am just not used to doing things in a different way..."
Sakura: "I understand...and does that include dating a mortal?"
Prince Oberon: "Yes, you are the first."
Sakura: "And you are the first Prince I've dated."
Prince Oberon gazed into Sakura's eyes and Sakura was thinking that she may not need those flirty cookies with the way Prince Oberon was looking at her. But, she didn't know what types of dates Titania had planned, so she had to ensure she made this one memorable.
Sakura: "I hope you didn't fill up too much on that breakfast scramble, because I made some special cookies for today."
Sakura placed the cookies on the table.
Prince Oberon: "My blossom, how quaint, they are in the shape of a heart. And I hope that you know that my heart belongs to you," said Prince Oberon as he gave Sakura a quick peck on the lips. [This kiss was an autonomous action on Prince Oberon's part]
Sakura: "Oh? Just to me? What about Titania? I understand that you were destined to be together..."
Prince Oberon: "Oh yes, the prophecy. Yes, I have known Titania since we were children, and we have developed feelings for each other, and were destined to be together, until my sisters alerted me to you. There is a second prophecy that states that a mortal, who knows the ways of the fae, will enter our midst, and have the heart of a Queen. I believe that is you, Sakura. I have never known another mortal to have these qualities. And I truly believe that we are fated for each other."
Sakura: "...but to know someone your whole life...you must have wonderful memories together, you and Titania..."
Prince Oberon: "Well, yes, we do..." he smiled wistfully, "...but enough of her, my blossom, this is our date together, and I wish to think only of you..."
Sakura: "Well, then, please try one of these cookies...and let us enjoy the rest of our date together."
They both grabbed a serving, and with just one bite, Prince Oberon seemed to become even more flirty. Sakura had taken a bite of the cookie, too, and then realized what she was doing, but it was too late, and she was feeling rather flirty towards Prince Oberon.
Sakura thought: "Oh no! I shouldn't have eaten one of these! What was I thinking?" As Sakura packed up the cookies, she felt a few sprinkles or rain, but then it passed. Thank goodness, because she certainly didn't want any rain on her date.
Sakura suggested that they play a game of chess together. Maybe then Sakura could think of something other than wanting to kiss Prince Oberon.
As they played chess, they chatted together, and Prince Oberon thought that Sakura was quite a good chess player. Sakura had a memory flash when he said that, as she thought of playing chess with Kiyoshi, and the chess table in Wolfgang's room.
Sakura realized that Prince Oberon was really good at chess. She wasn't sure whether she should purposely try to lose the chess game, or just give it her all and try to win. She wondered if anyone had ever beaten Prince Oberon at a game of chess before.
Prince Oberon: "My blossom, that was not a wise move. I will take your queen, now. And that my dear, is 'Check'", he said looking at Sakura.
Sakura stared at the board, trying to remember what Kiyoshi had told her about chess moves.
Sakura: "Sometimes, Prince Oberon, you have to sacrifice the Queen to win the game..."
Prince Oberon: "What do you mean by that? You...you planned this?" he said looking at the board and trying to remember her moves.
Sakura: "Yes. And that Prince Oberon is 'Checkmate'" she smiled sweetly at him.
Prince Oberon was a fair player and did not get upset with Sakura's win, but instead congratulated her for a most marvelous game of chess. Sakura suggested that they take a walk around the park together, because even though she had concentrated hard on that chess game, she still felt very flirty towards Prince Oberon.
As they walked, they chatted about different things, and Sakura talked about her garden in Windenberg, and pointed out some of the flowers in the park.
They headed down to the shoreline, and the sun sparkled on the water making it a pretty sight. Sakura saw some other sims fishing and wished she had thought of doing that on their date, too. Bur their date was almost over, and they didn't have any time to do some fishing.
Prince Oberon: "My blossom, I wanted to tell you how much I have enjoyed myself today. Not only was the breakfast wonderful, but those cookies filled me with an even more loving feeling towards you. Perhaps it was their heart-shape that spurred thoughts of you in my mind. And even though you beat me at chess, I do not hold that against you. I see that as an admirable quality and one of courage and strength. You challenge me, my blossom, and it is just one of your many qualities that I hold dear."
Sakura: "Thank you, Prince Oberon, I am glad that you enjoyed our date, and I must confess, I did, too," she said sincerely.
Prince Oberon smiled at her, "My blossom, is it not customary that at the end of a date, that we should share a kiss together?"
Sakura swallowed hard, "Yes, Prince Oberon, that is tradition."
Prince Oberon looked at Sakura and took her gently into his arms and gave her a very loving kiss. They broke apart, and even though Sakura tried to block that kiss from her mind, she was still feeling too flirty to deny that she had felt nothing.
Prince Oberon: "Now that is what I call a memorable date!" he said as he told Sakura how he was looking forward to their next date together, and bid her farewell.
Sakura stood looking after him, and knew that this date had indeed been a memorable one. For both of them.
I downloaded some modded content, so I spent today adding some cool stuff to Jenny's house! First, the painting from the daily photo, then a plant holder Jenny knitted...
Then, this, which I absolutely love. Look at this! TSR is running this 'retro' event right now and I'm living for it.
Jenny is also building her cooking skill, still, and although I didn't get a picture, she now has a spliced dragonfruit/snapdragon plant, so hopefully Cowplant will be here soon!
This made me both happy and sad. I feel there was definitely something amazingly realistic about this - sometimes, relationships come to a head, and you realise that you need to move apart from each other even if you still have feelings. This was masterfully written. I hope we all see Lydia again...perhaps when Jules goes to Forgotten Hollow?
A memorable date indeed! Sakura is definitely trying to remain true to her morals here, and considering everything carefully. Also, those cookies always look so good.
Comments
Sea may rise, sky may fall, My love will never die..
My heart, my heart, My drowning heart, Oh all the tears I've cried
Oh I may weep forevermore, My love will never die..
Ooh, I hadn't known about that myself!
Daughters of Hesperia
Sea may rise, sky may fall, My love will never die..
My heart, my heart, My drowning heart, Oh all the tears I've cried
Oh I may weep forevermore, My love will never die..
Sea may rise, sky may fall, My love will never die..
My heart, my heart, My drowning heart, Oh all the tears I've cried
Oh I may weep forevermore, My love will never die..
@permanentrose - Thank you for the suggestion, too, but don't have MCCC, so could not do it that way.
Now I just need to know what day everyone will be aging up on. March 31st or April 1st? lol Thanks everyone!
Good thinking!
But, to answer one quick question - @SoulGal7, I think I'll age Jules up on April 1st. I was kind of planning on doing a birthday party for her of sorts.
---
Update 86 - A mutual agreement
Notes:
Well, it turns out that Vlad does have a bit of a soft side, especially when it comes to his daughter...and now his daughter's dog...and it's harder to be a big, mean tyrant when you are channeling your soft side
Lydia's resolve had faded slightly over the past few days as well, especially now that she had Mochi safely back with her. She was, of course, still worried about Jules and upset about being snatched away from her life, but she had slowly begun to accept that perhaps she had out run her past for too long now. Her father eased his restrictions and allowed her to wander the expanse of the mansion when it became clear that Lydia wasn't going to bolt as soon as she had the opportunity.
Lydia often found him milling about the mansion aimlessly, mumbling to himself, or playing one of pipe organs for hours on end. He was not well, driven mad by grief and loneliness, and though she was upset at the way he had forced her to come home and his efforts to keep her here, a part of her heart softened as she realized how lost he was without her. Looking up at the portrait of their happy family that had hung above the mantle for as long as she could remember, Lydia knew that she could not simply desert him again, even though she had amble opportunity to make her escape.
She knew she needed to speak to him and find a happy medium, if both of them were to find happiness in the future.
She found him in the dark, damp basement, playing a haunting tune on the pipe organ. The eerie sound of the music echoed off the stone walls, and Lydia paused to listen for a moment.
"Father," she spoke once he had finished. "Can I speak to you?"
He nodded, and the pair settled into the arm chairs behind the organ.
"What is on your mind, my darling?" he asked, though his face was somber.
She looked up at him, and began to discuss all that was on her mind - how she didn't wish to leave him again, especially since she saw how lonely and lost he had become, but she wanted more freedom, especially since she needed to go back to speak to Jules, but even beyond that, she had no desire to isolate herself from the world. At first, Vlad was fearful of losing her again, but after a lengthy conversation, they both began to see more eye to eye, and Vlad realized that having his daughter choose to stay willingly would be far more satisfying than forcing her to stay her in misery, against her will.
"I will return soon, Father," she promised.
Essa will age up on April 1st since that's technically the designated date for this to happen in the challenge. Y'all can age up your Sims on the 31st if you prefer, whatever is the most convenient for you. For your other question SoulGal7 about when challenge Sims should apply and start Uni, that's at your own discretion. As long as it happens sometime during the month and your Sim completes it before the end of the month, the date doesn't matter. For myself personally, the first few days of April will be set aside for Josh and Essa's reunion and their Britechester house build. When Essa does apply for Uni, I will pick a date so that she starts as close to a Friday as possible, that way she'll have the entire weekend to prepare, do any projects or term papers, etc. I did this with previous Sims I've sent to Uni and it just made things a lot easier for my Sims.
Also, Essa will be taking 4 classes per semester so it should only take her 3 Uni weeks to graduate. I want to get her Uni experience over as quickly as possible due to other 'special' plans I have for the month. Y'all can take however many classes you wish per week, extracurricular activities or even part-time jobs if you think they can handle a full load. Essa won't need a job, she's freakin' loaded at the moment with over 300K. o.O She might join a Uni club or something, but haven't thought about all those details very much yet. Hope this helped to answer your questions. I'll be back with comments on your posts asap!
@Hermitgirl - Do not say you have failed the challenge. Things happen in real life and sometimes it's hard to do this everyday. If I was just posting one photo per day, I think I could do it, but I have sort of developed this story for Sakura now, and want to stick to the story. Because of computer issues, I was two weeks' behind everyone else in posting, and was thinking of skipping March all together because I was so behind. But I just decided to go with the flow and did something else for the rest of March. I know that in April, I will be super busy at work, because it is year end, and I am a gardener, so with the weather getting nice out, I want to be puttering away in my garden. I work 6-1/2 days a week, which leaves little time for The Sims, and trying to write a story.
Don't give up, though, whatever and whenever you can post will be great, because we all love Roxanne.
And that goes for everyone else, too. We're a little group of challengers, and I know for myself I love to read everyone's posts, no matter how long or how short they are. *hugs*
You're right, Essa is kinda/sorta healing a bit, but not, at the same time. Damon definitely knows he has an enemy, but I don't think he's fully learned his lesson since he doesn't understand who or why is tormenting him. Especially since he's outright eliminated Essa as a possibility.
I had planned that Damon would just live like a hermit for a time and that his physical/mental health would decline to a point where Molly decides to take matters into her own hands. But, when I was trying to sleep today, I was thinking about all this and had an idea on how to drive Essa's point home using a certain spell. So, anyway, the torment is not over yet for Damon.
Day 20 - Aww man, so glad I turned Lifestyles off by default in my custom save templates. It's quite easy to do, just go to gameplay options and toggle off lifestyles. If you'd rather leave lifestyles on and just get rid of the Close Knit lifestyle, open the cheat box the usual way, turn on testingcheats and then use the following cheat; traits.remove_trait Trait_Lifestyles_CloseKnit
@AnnoyingTiger
Day 29 - Absolutely love Astrid's new house! And she has a pool! I thought about giving Essa and Josh a pool in Britechester, not sure if they'll have enough room on the lot though. We'll see... Ugh, Bess! She's still stringing Astrid along I see. What did Astrid do? Still hanging in there? I'm going to feel so bad if it ends up she never repays her. o.O I've never had that happen in my game, but I guess it could? Yay! Looks like a very good thing Astrid decided to help out with the Scout pop up.
Day 30 - Gummy Guppy! Those things are so weird! How come it doesn't just melt in the water? Looks like her life is very pleasantly drifting along in Willowcreek. Oh gosh, I don't blame her telling Bess to go take a hike. I'm so, so sorry!
Day 31 - Penelope is so darn cute! Love it when they investigate things, like plants. Astrid's using sprinklers! I always forget about using those until I see someone else using them. Oh cool, she got invited to GeekCon...by a ghost!
Day 32 - Garden is looking great! Gah, more messes! Did Penelope fight with one of the cats? Oh, well I guess there's no hard feelings between Bess and Astrid. She's a lot more forgiving than Essa would've been.
Day 33 - LOL Astrid reading next to the sleeping Sulani elder Matriarch. I love that lady by the way. If you age her down to YA, she's positively gorgeous! Did Pumpkin run away again? Or is Astrid just giving her some love, just because? Looks like Astrid's life in Willowcreek is chugging along nicely. I wonder if she misses Duane. Has he been asking to visit or for her to visit at all? Just curious, kind of makes me sad they're separated right now.
Great updates!
@SoulGal7
@permanentrose
@Hermitgirl
As SoulGal7 also said, this challenge has become much more than just posting one daily pic to me too. I'm enjoying writing Essa's story and can't imagine not doing it now. Whenever you have time to join us again, we'll welcome you with open arms. We are a small group of challengers and I love that, we've always supported each other no matter what. I love Roxanne and will look forward to any and all posts you do for her whenever they may appear! The main thing to take away from this challenge is to have fun! If life gets in the way and it becomes anything other than that, we all understand. *Hugs*
I had a fun weekend with my brother, by the way, and I hope everyone else had relaxing and fun weekends too!
@Karababy52
Anyway, looks like Damon is about to lose his mind. And Molly seems pretty upset too, poor thing, getting dragged into the middle of all this. She's been such a champ and a good friend though. The part about her going to her room to cry though...
Okay, next update - Nice to have her reflect on her relationship with each of the sages, she really did form such a unique relationship with them all! So this update makes me wonder if she is going to end up confronting Damon, or if that is something you will save for the future/at all. Sometimes stories like these don't have easy endings or a concise conclusion at all. Either way, I think you've done a good job with it, and I'm glad to see that Essa is looking at ALL her relationships and realizing that even though Damon hurt her, she has a lot of other relationships that haven't failed her, and she does seem to be moving on.
Aw, I like the little montage with Josh, how she's imaging all they'd do together, and really realizing that she found such a great guy who is her best friend and love of her life - he's one of those guys who is truly a keeper and would never hurt her. It will be so soon, Essa, that you and Josh can finally be together, and hopefully it will just be a blissful happiness for both of them, at least for a while!
And oof, whatever your husband is sick with, that sounded rough! Glad he is on the mend!
In reply to your comment...I'm honestly not completely satisfied with how I've tied stuff up/plan to tie stuff up as far as this story goes, definitely don't feel like I had the energy and time to do it exactly how I might if I had planned this from the beginning...but at this point I'm just doing what I can so I can keep this story on pace to continue with how I want to do this challenge
Also, about the cave and mountain excursion - she did not end up collecting anything. She got an injury, in fact, while in the rabbit hole of the cave, and after that, I decided not to have her explore any further. And when I did the mountain excursion with Rose and Carrie, they found the cave too, but all they did was woohoo in it
@SoulGal7
Also, how nice that your game gifted you a random male teen! And he's pretty cute too! I like that this kiss was tied in with his drama club scene. Nice work on this aspiration, Sakura is certainly plowing through it
Okay, so from your next update, it does seem like all the dates will be with Prince Oberon. Still very curious to see how you plan to tie this all up in the next few days and get Sakura safely home...to her love triangle...you really have a lot of drama potentially coming up for Sakura, and I hope it's fun ride for you trying to figure out which boy she should choose and what her future holds!
@Ellupelluellu
@lilypadmeulin
Oh wow, Jenny looks a lot like her mom! But not an entirely welcome visit from her, I see
Did anyone tell you about removing lifestyles? I know that if you shift click on a sim with cheats enabled, you can add or remove them. I've done that with Jules when some of her lifestyles really don't make sense
@Skeilah
Next update - and there's curse Gordon, who everyone thinks is just the Curse, they will be in for a nasty surprise in several months lol. Poor Gordon...but yay that the real Isaius is getting his body back. I laughed at all those spells you threw at the Isaius body
I also have to ask - to get that shot of ghost Isaius diving into his body, did you have to put a toilet there for him to possess and just cut it out of the shot? That's one of the only animations I can think of that would get you a diving shot, LOL.
I love that Randi had a plan and death flower ready, great thinking on your part. And so kind of her to negotiate to give him a younger body back, so that he can really enjoy his youth the way he deserved to. That flash of light covering his face in that one shot was perfect too, since it was a great transition from an old body to a young one.
Also perfect opportunity to finish the grilled cheese aspiration
@AnnoyingTiger
Hope that Astrid is enjoying life on Magnolia Promenade. It's a small world, but very pretty. I love the lake (river?) area near it and the walking path. It does have a similar aesthetic to Willow Creek, but I also love that world and it's scenery as well.
@Hermitgirl
I noticed that Sakura walked away from the scene and she was not on the picture. SAKURA!! Why you doing this to me ;-;
I'll just decided to break this chapter up and continue with the rest tomorrow lol. xDD
---
Bryons Diary
First of all, Morgyn finally got better from whatever his sickness was.
(Morgyn) “Ahhh, it's good to be back! Too bad I missed all the good stuff…”
We all graduated from the Realms Academy.
(Morgyn) "Please look at the camera!!!"
Johnny decided to confess his feelings for Jess before he lost his (maybe last) chance.
(Johnny) “Jess… Well, as you might know, I’ll be leaving soon to join the military...”
(Jess) “I know. I’m really going to miss you a lot.”
(Johnny) “... I like you, Jess. Will you wait for me until I come back?”
(Jess) “Of course I’ll wait. I'll wait forever if it's you.”
(I was too lazy to move everyone from that place in the background lol. Let's just pretend they are all cheering for them. Yep.)
To be continued...
Notes
First sighting of another challenge Sim in Essa's world! Hi there Astrid! Aww, she's doing her homework too! Good girl! I think I figured out why I wasn't seeing anyone. I had them in separate households. I decided to put them all in the same household, except Melody who lives with her Dad, and BOOM! Yay! I also deleted all the townie Spellcaster to get a fresh batch. That might've helped too!
Of course Essa cheerfully introduced herself and then immediately challenged Astrid to a duel for artifacts. Still trying to get all those collectibles! Essa lacks just one rocket, two crystal and two gnarled brooms. She also needs the wand recolors, but has one of each of the regular colors. She also needs a half dozen or so of the tomes. Cross your fingers she can collect everything before Thursday!
Essa gets the first hit.
Astrid retaliates.
But in the end, Essa is the victor! She won a gnarled broom and a mop from her with the gnarled broom being a color Essa didn't have yet. Thanks Astrid! Perhaps these two will become good friends as they are in your game @AnnoyingTiger!
And then THIS happened!
"Well, well Simmie dear, you've never kissed me like that before."
"So much passion, I think my knees might buckle."
(Whoa! Where'd that come from?)
"Why'd you kiss me like that now? Not that I'm complaining..."
"I didn't."
"What? That didn't come from you? I don't underst..."
"I think somebody's messing with us."
"I don't care, I want more. Come to Mama!"
"Wait a minute, what's that smirk all about?"
"Nothing, just thinking."
(I wonder if she's kissed anyone else here like that.)
(I can read your mind Simmie, remember?)
(I know, that's why I said it. You know I love getting a rise out of you.)
((The feeling is very mutual Simmie dear, I love when you rise to the occasion.)
(You're so naughty L.)
(You love it!)
(Of course...but...)
(I know, students are waiting for us. Later?)
(Definitely!)
(Well that was fun! Don't think I'll use it on Damon though. He'd like it too much.)
Essa went back to the house after that and read a skiing skill book and reached Level 7. She took another day off from school, puttered around in her garden, hung up the broom she won from Astrid and that's about it.
Mostly a filler post, but I had fun with it anyway!
We shall see what happens with these three. I don't want to give anything away so, can't say much.
Essa's been doing a lot of thinking about her life at the moment. She has some major life changes coming up, so it's only natural she'd do that. She's just very undecisive at the moment. She'll get it all worked out in the end though, she's strong.
Life is never all sunshine and rainbows, there will be more drama. But it'll be a bit easier for her with Josh by her side. He's her anchor in a stormy sea, the bright light from a lighthouse guiding her through the fog to the safety of his arms.
Yes, it was rough and he's not completely out of the woods yet, but he's going back to work tomorrow, so that's progress.
Ah, well I liked how you had Lydia and Vlad talk things over to resolve their issues. I'm sure there will be more insecurities on Vlad's part, but he'll learn to trust she'll always be his daughter no matter where she is, whether home or spreading her wings exploring all life has to offer on her own.
I saw screenshots of Sims woo hooing in the cave. It looks kind of odd to me how they reused the shower woo hoo for it with the towels. Who's going to undress to a towel and woo hoo in the wilderness during a blizzard? Uh, nobody!
@Skeilah
So glad Morgyn is well enough again to go back to work. I was getting worried you had something else planned for him, or someone else was going to permanently take his place. o.O
Yay! So happy for Johnny and Jess! I was hoping he'd make a move and let his feelings for her be known. Turns out she like likes him too!
I didn’t really have something in mind for Morgyn. I just wasn’t feeling an update with classes that day and I was like “if I make Morgyn sick, that can be possible”. And then I just left him sick for a while because I thought it fit well😂 Nothing mean planned with Morgyn from my side, honestly.
Edit: also, loving the kiss-interaction with L. And Simeon in your update😂 “come to mama” LOL😂
Notes:
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After the Mountain Excursion, Jules headed back home. Though it was late, Dell met her outside and welcomed her home.
"Jules," Dell began, taking in a deep breath. "I just wanted to talk to you before you went inside," she paused for a moment, and inhaled another breath. "Lydia is back, and she wants to talk to you."
*GASP*
Jules hurried inside, her heart racing.
"I am SO sorry," Lydia told her, rising from the couch.
"You're okay," Jules felt her eyes brim with tears, and she pulled Lydia into a tight embrace, overwhelmed by an influx of emotions.
"Let's go for a walk," Lydia told her once she pulled away. "I'll explain everything."
Jules nodded, and the pair headed out into the warmth of the summer night. There was so much Lydia needed to tell Jules, but none if it would make sense if she didn't share the one shocking fact about her true identity first.
Just rip that bandaid off Lydia...there's no simple way to do this.
And I know I've used this "hands over mouth" animation a lot lately, but it's a good one haha.
They had reached the water's edge at this point, away from the prying eyes of the public, where Lydia revealed her true form.
Jules stood there, speechless, as she realized the woman she loved was not who she thought she was.
Lydia began to speak once more, as she began to share about her childhood and youth, about her father, about her eventual escape to freedom, and finally to explain about the recent events that had brought her father back into her life.
It was a lot for Jules to swallow, and her mind swirled with the sheer amount of information she found herself quickly processing.
"I'm so sorry I didn't tell you sooner," Lydia concluded in apology. "I should have never kept something this big from you."
They spoke at length about what this meant for them, as a couple, and for their futures. Lydia had decided that she would be leaving Mt. Komorebi to spend more time with her father, mending their relationship and finding a balance of her past life - the life she could not run from any longer - and now, the life she had created for herself in the human world, hoping to find a way to integrate them together in a satisfying way. And Jules had begun to think about the next chapter of her life as well. When she had come to Mt. Komorebi, it had been a place for her to escape to, much like Lydia. For many weeks now, with the prompting of Dell as well, she had begun to consider her future. Now that her daughter was born and she had mended her relationships with those in her life, living in Mt. Komorebi suddenly was not as necessary as it had been several months ago. Her relationship with Lydia has also been an interlude of sorts - a time of passion and healing, necessary for both of them in moment, but inevitably, it did not seem as though it would lead to anything more. Both Lydia and Jules' lives were changing. Jules hoped to go to University and forge a future for herself, and now Lydia had finally confronted her past and set her future into a different direction. As they concluded their conversation, they both sensed that they were edging toward an inevitable goodbye.
But there was still a remnant of that spark of passion between them. Lydia reached out to softly caress Jules' cheek. "Just because this is goodbye for doesn't mean that our paths might not cross again one day."
Jules nodded, her throat too tight to speak, and she leaned forward to brush her lips against Lydia's one final time. Lydia left Jules with her father's address and a promise to come to her aid if she ever needed it.
And with that, Lydia disappeared into the night...
---
I never intended for Lydia and Jules to be together long term, even before I added in this vampire storyline, so having them part ways at the end of this month was always my plan. I don't love how quickly I ended up tying this but, honestly, I was really just ready to get things ready for next month at this point and didn't want to drag this out longer than I had to. I did get attached to Lydia over the course of this month though, and I am glad she will serve a purpose later on this year
Sakura felt so frustrated about the situation she was in, but thought the only way she could do anything about it was to try to win this quest. And with the opportunity of these three dates with Prince Oberon, maybe she could convince Prince Oberon that it was really Titania who was in love with him. Sakura was almost positive she was right, as she had seen "that look" that Titania had given to Prince Oberon on so many occasions, which Prince Oberon seemed oblivious to.
Well, Sakura would think up something on how to get Prince Oberon to take more notice of Titania, but in the meantime, Sakura had a date to plan. Sakura decided to check the weather for tomorrow. The forecast was going to be cloudy, but no rain. That would be perfect. She would take the day off school, and have a picnic in the park with Prince Oberon. What a perfect way to test out the love potion.
Sakura decided to make some cookies for the picnic, and measured out 1/3 of the potion and mixed it in the batter. While the cookies were baking, they smelled so good, and the finished product turned out so well. She knew that if she offered these to Prince Oberon, that he would thoroughly enjoy them and think that their date was the best ever! She was sure she would have a very memorable date with him.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
DATE 1: PICNIC IN THE PARK
The next day, Sakura called Prince Oberon for a date, and he was delighted to accept.
They met at Magnolia Blossom Park and the weather seemed nicer than the forecast had predicted, although she did see that it was clouding over.
Prince Oberon: "My blossom, what a lovely location for our first date. The park is so pretty at this time of year."
Sakura: "Yes, it is, although not as pretty as Sylvan Glade. But I thought you would enjoy being out-of-doors, and there is so much to do here. I was thinking that we might start with a little breakfast."
Prince Oberon: "Oh? You can cook, too? Sakura, you are indeed a rare find."
Sakura headed over to the bar-b-q area and grilled up some breakfast scramble. When it was ready, she called over Prince Oberon.
Prince Oberon: "It looks quite delicious. I am just not used to taking the first bite of something. I usually have a 'royal taster' do that for me."
Sakura: "Oh, of course, in case someone was trying to poison you. Well let me assure you, that is not the case here," she said as she took a spoonful of food from his plate and ate some, "See, it's fine."
Sakura scooped up another spoonful and waved it at Prince Oberon, "So, now are you ready for a little bite of this?" she asked as she fed him a bite.
Prince Oberon took the spoonful and declared that it was most delicious, "I apologize, Sakura, there are some protocols in place, and I am just not used to doing things in a different way..."
Sakura: "I understand...and does that include dating a mortal?"
Prince Oberon: "Yes, you are the first."
Sakura: "And you are the first Prince I've dated."
Prince Oberon gazed into Sakura's eyes and Sakura was thinking that she may not need those flirty cookies with the way Prince Oberon was looking at her. But, she didn't know what types of dates Titania had planned, so she had to ensure she made this one memorable.
Sakura: "I hope you didn't fill up too much on that breakfast scramble, because I made some special cookies for today."
Sakura placed the cookies on the table.
Prince Oberon: "My blossom, how quaint, they are in the shape of a heart. And I hope that you know that my heart belongs to you," said Prince Oberon as he gave Sakura a quick peck on the lips. [This kiss was an autonomous action on Prince Oberon's part]
Sakura: "Oh? Just to me? What about Titania? I understand that you were destined to be together..."
Prince Oberon: "Oh yes, the prophecy. Yes, I have known Titania since we were children, and we have developed feelings for each other, and were destined to be together, until my sisters alerted me to you. There is a second prophecy that states that a mortal, who knows the ways of the fae, will enter our midst, and have the heart of a Queen. I believe that is you, Sakura. I have never known another mortal to have these qualities. And I truly believe that we are fated for each other."
Sakura: "...but to know someone your whole life...you must have wonderful memories together, you and Titania..."
Prince Oberon: "Well, yes, we do..." he smiled wistfully, "...but enough of her, my blossom, this is our date together, and I wish to think only of you..."
Sakura: "Well, then, please try one of these cookies...and let us enjoy the rest of our date together."
They both grabbed a serving, and with just one bite, Prince Oberon seemed to become even more flirty. Sakura had taken a bite of the cookie, too, and then realized what she was doing, but it was too late, and she was feeling rather flirty towards Prince Oberon.
Sakura thought: "Oh no! I shouldn't have eaten one of these! What was I thinking?" As Sakura packed up the cookies, she felt a few sprinkles or rain, but then it passed. Thank goodness, because she certainly didn't want any rain on her date.
Sakura suggested that they play a game of chess together. Maybe then Sakura could think of something other than wanting to kiss Prince Oberon.
As they played chess, they chatted together, and Prince Oberon thought that Sakura was quite a good chess player. Sakura had a memory flash when he said that, as she thought of playing chess with Kiyoshi, and the chess table in Wolfgang's room.
Sakura realized that Prince Oberon was really good at chess. She wasn't sure whether she should purposely try to lose the chess game, or just give it her all and try to win. She wondered if anyone had ever beaten Prince Oberon at a game of chess before.
Prince Oberon: "My blossom, that was not a wise move. I will take your queen, now. And that my dear, is 'Check'", he said looking at Sakura.
Sakura stared at the board, trying to remember what Kiyoshi had told her about chess moves.
Sakura: "Sometimes, Prince Oberon, you have to sacrifice the Queen to win the game..."
Prince Oberon: "What do you mean by that? You...you planned this?" he said looking at the board and trying to remember her moves.
Sakura: "Yes. And that Prince Oberon is 'Checkmate'" she smiled sweetly at him.
Prince Oberon was a fair player and did not get upset with Sakura's win, but instead congratulated her for a most marvelous game of chess. Sakura suggested that they take a walk around the park together, because even though she had concentrated hard on that chess game, she still felt very flirty towards Prince Oberon.
As they walked, they chatted about different things, and Sakura talked about her garden in Windenberg, and pointed out some of the flowers in the park.
They headed down to the shoreline, and the sun sparkled on the water making it a pretty sight. Sakura saw some other sims fishing and wished she had thought of doing that on their date, too. Bur their date was almost over, and they didn't have any time to do some fishing.
Prince Oberon: "My blossom, I wanted to tell you how much I have enjoyed myself today. Not only was the breakfast wonderful, but those cookies filled me with an even more loving feeling towards you. Perhaps it was their heart-shape that spurred thoughts of you in my mind. And even though you beat me at chess, I do not hold that against you. I see that as an admirable quality and one of courage and strength. You challenge me, my blossom, and it is just one of your many qualities that I hold dear."
Sakura: "Thank you, Prince Oberon, I am glad that you enjoyed our date, and I must confess, I did, too," she said sincerely.
Prince Oberon smiled at her, "My blossom, is it not customary that at the end of a date, that we should share a kiss together?"
Sakura swallowed hard, "Yes, Prince Oberon, that is tradition."
Prince Oberon looked at Sakura and took her gently into his arms and gave her a very loving kiss. They broke apart, and even though Sakura tried to block that kiss from her mind, she was still feeling too flirty to deny that she had felt nothing.
Prince Oberon: "Now that is what I call a memorable date!" he said as he told Sakura how he was looking forward to their next date together, and bid her farewell.
Sakura stood looking after him, and knew that this date had indeed been a memorable one. For both of them.
And Sakura achieves 'Gold" on her first date!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
I downloaded some modded content, so I spent today adding some cool stuff to Jenny's house! First, the painting from the daily photo, then a plant holder Jenny knitted...
Then, this, which I absolutely love. Look at this! TSR is running this 'retro' event right now and I'm living for it.
Jenny is also building her cooking skill, still, and although I didn't get a picture, she now has a spliced dragonfruit/snapdragon plant, so hopefully Cowplant will be here soon!
Daughters of Hesperia
This made me both happy and sad. I feel there was definitely something amazingly realistic about this - sometimes, relationships come to a head, and you realise that you need to move apart from each other even if you still have feelings. This was masterfully written. I hope we all see Lydia again...perhaps when Jules goes to Forgotten Hollow?
@SoulGal7
A memorable date indeed! Sakura is definitely trying to remain true to her morals here, and considering everything carefully. Also, those cookies always look so good.
Daughters of Hesperia
If I were to age Jenny up next month, would anyone mind? I just want to start the challenge alongside everyone next year.
Daughters of Hesperia