@haswh She should! But who knows... in her current condition she may not even have really being able to listen. If it was Franny, I doubt he could have achieved anything.
So I'm binging season one - I have already read up to chapter 14, oops! I blame how bitesized the chapters are
Anyway, I have already flooded your blog with comments, but trying to not be spoilerific in certain chapters for folks who end up reading in the intended order (unlike me), so I'll leave comments on some of the chapters here instead, for obvious reasons
5.6
I so squealed when Franny and Mae's paths finally crossed again, in a random club of all places. It's interesting to see how sweetly excited they were to see each other, no resentment or anything like that, even though there easily could have been. It's probably leftovers from how noncomittal they had been, and of course, a fair bit of time had passed. But my guess would be that if they do continue to see each other again, deliberately or just by chance, some of the not so fun and pretty aspects of their past relationship that they both worked so hard to ignore might crop up on the surface. That's not to say I think they're pretending here, I do think they're genuinely excited to see each other, they are just very good at lying to themselves about how much they'd hurt each other.
6.2
I mean, that obviously couldn't have gone any differently. It was funny to see people hating on Fran in the comments. Obviously I know their full history, but I feel like even if I hadn't, it would still be quite clear these two had an intense past, and their chemistry is through the roof (you know, unlike Mae with Herbert... can you even have chemistry with someone called Herbert? ). That along with the fact that we know absolutely nothing about Miss Nice Personality whatsoever makes me feel like even if I read the original story first, I would have probably been rooting for them. But who knows! Obviously my opinion is already extremely skewed.
I love the fact the guy Mae brought for back home to join them came up haha. Clever!
13.1
Aah, is Blues in May about Diego?
Unfortunately for Miss Nice Personality, I couldn't be less invested in her if I tried. We literally don't know anything about her whatsover other than that she looks like a bimbo. I understand this is a deliberate choice on your part, because if you showed more of her personality, Fran could come off as a plumbag if/when he acts on any unresolved past with Mae, but don't expect me to shed any tears on her behalf. I would actually kind of like to get to know her a bit more, to help me understand why Fran supposedly loves her. Because so far, I've got nothing
I recall you said you were curious how me reading Paris first will impact my perception of the first story. I haven't finished reading, but guess you have an answer now lol!
So I'm binging season one - I have already read up to chapter 14, oops! I blame how bitesized the chapters are
Anyway, I have already flooded your blog with comments, but trying to not be spoilerific in certain chapters for folks who end up reading in the intended order (unlike me), so I'll leave comments on some of the chapters here instead, for obvious reasons
Ahhhhhhhh first of all, I was completely overwhelmed when I got those almost 70 comments!! ❤❤ I finally got to reply to all of them, haha
Thank you so much for reading my story. From your comments, I take you enjoyed it
5.6
I so squealed when Franny and Mae's paths finally crossed again, in a random club of all places. It's interesting to see how sweetly excited they were to see each other, no resentment or anything like that, even though there easily could have been. It's probably leftovers from how noncommittal they had been, and of course, a fair bit of time had passed. But my guess would be that if they do continue to see each other again, deliberately or just by chance, some of the not so fun and pretty aspects of their past relationship that they both worked so hard to ignore might crop up on the surface. That's not to say I think they're pretending here, I do think they're genuinely excited to see each other, they are just very good at lying to themselves about how much they'd hurt each other.
Yeah, they are happy to see each other. There is still a tiny part left for the Paris sequence, and you will see that they don't hold any grudges against each other. But if they would get closer again, they would have to account for the past, and boy, it would hurt! They may both know it subconsciously, so they rather keep the past tucked away.
Anyway, keep in mind that I wrote the first season before I wrote Paris, so I had only an idea of what happened, but no details. A lot of writing was a kind of go with the flow, so I had to match their past
6.2
I mean, that obviously couldn't have gone any differently. It was funny to see people hating on Fran in the comments. Obviously I know their full history, but I feel like even if I hadn't, it would still be quite clear these two had an intense past, and their chemistry is through the roof (you know, unlike Mae with Herbert... can you even have chemistry with someone called Herbert? ). That along with the fact that we know absolutely nothing about Miss Nice Personality whatsoever makes me feel like even if I read the original story first, I would have probably been rooting for them. But who knows! Obviously my opinion is already extremely skewed.
I love the fact the guy Mae brought for back home to join them came up haha. Clever!
Franny didn't win any cookie with that impulse behavior of his haha
Poor guy Herbert... I think it is less his name but more that Mae and him didn't have that intense past? And Rosa... again, I haven't written much about her so she could be likable maybe you could like her on the base that she's a good friend to Diana?
She and Herbert were background characters. Franny too! (you see he doesn't have that much presence in S1...)
Lol, the guy that Mae brought back, it was just the go with the flow writing xD it was actually fun to find a place in the past to mention it again. You have such a good memory!!
13.1
Aah, is Blues in May about Diego?
Unfortunately for Miss Nice Personality, I couldn't be less invested in her if I tried. We literally don't know anything about her whatsover other than that she looks like a bimbo. I understand this is a deliberate choice on your part, because if you showed more of her personality, Fran could come off as a plumbag if/when he acts on any unresolved past with Mae, but don't expect me to shed any tears on her behalf. I would actually kind of like to get to know her a bit more, to help me understand why Fran supposedly loves her. Because so far, I've got nothing
I recall you said you were curious how me reading Paris first will impact my perception of the first story. I haven't finished reading, but guess you have an answer now lol!
Man, you are good!
It was not much a conscious choice to write so little about Rosa, more, I didn't care that much about her
I've been bugged about a lot of the side characters, to write more about them, but then the story would be endless. So in that way, it was kinda deliberate to leave out a lot.
no matter what, it was not v nice of Francesco to give in to his impulse to almost-cheat. But also, @mercuryfoam wrote a, what I find, insightful comment about that kiss:
"But I always go by it doesn't matter what the feelings, it's the choice that matters. You can like 10 people, but if you choose to stay loyal to one. It kinda doesn't matter."
I think that is a very interesting perspective.
Thanks for giving me your feedback on your opinion so far! It's clear that you root a lot more for Frae, because you know their backstory. I wonder if you being underwhelmed with Herbert would also be the case if you didn't know Mae's past xD
Anyway the most controversial is probably the ending of S1... I'm rly curious what you're gonna say about that 🙈
Haha yeah, sorry about the volume of comments! I didn't think I was going to read so much in one stint, but I got hooked! I bet I'll end up reading the rest all in one go too haha.
I was wondering how much of the Paris story you may have had pre-planned as you were writing this. Also, I'm super impressed that you took on a story with so many characters, right off the bat - so it totally makes sense some get more developed than others.
no matter what, it was not v nice of Francesco to give in to his impulse to almost-cheat. But also, @mercuryfoam wrote a, what I find, insightful comment about that kiss:
"But I always go by it doesn't matter what the feelings, it's the choice that matters. You can like 10 people, but if you choose to stay loyal to one. It kinda doesn't matter."
I think that is a very interesting perspective.
Thanks for giving me your feedback on your opinion so far! It's clear that you root a lot more for Frae, because you know their backstory. I wonder if you being underwhelmed with Herbert would also be the case if you didn't know Mae's past xD
I've definitely been swayed more towards Mae and Fran reading Paris first, that's for sure. Not necessarily together, just obviously more invested in them than the rest of the cast. You are right that I likely would have been more opinionated about the kiss had I not read Paris too. But in my experience, readers are significantly more forgiving when it comes to characters they already like, of course. And it was a one off kiss, it's not like they went on to start an affair from then on (at least not where I am in the story, lol).
Rationally, I would agree with the statement about making a choice to commit to someone, sure. You commit to someone when you marry them, which of course doesn't erase your history with past partners, and doesn't suddenly make you not be attracted to other people, it's a conscious decision to not pursue that. As a married woman, I get that, believe me
But I guess that's the problem, it's a rational argument that doesn't take emotional investment in characters into account. Everything I know about Rosa (see, I'm being nice, I'm calling her by her name and everything ) is purely based on logical assumption - she is presumably a fairly nice person, because she has a large friend group. We've not seen her do anything awful, for all intents and purposes she's probably well-intentioned. She presumably has a meaningful relationship with Fran, if it was strong enough for them to get married. But none of that can beat being emotionally invested in a character and their relationships. I would actually love to see more of Rosa, because I would like to feel more conflicted, as weird as that sounds Maybe in season 2 - though of course, I'm not caught up yet!
Herbert is a different story. Rosa, I don't really know enough about her to judge either way, but Herbert just is very underwhelming I think even without reading Paris I would not feel like he's good enough for Mae, though I won't deny that that's probably more amplified through Paris, because I am much more attached to Mae than I would have been. But even in isolation... well, there's just not much to be "whelmed" about when it comes to Herbert. Other than Mariella
Haha yeah, sorry about the volume of comments! I didn't think I was going to read so much in one stint, but I got hooked! I bet I'll end up reading the rest all in one go too haha.
Ahhhh don't apologize!! That was actually a huge compliment, and I enjoyed so much to go read through all of them!
I was wondering how much of the Paris story you may have had pre-planned as you were writing this. Also, I'm super impressed that you took on a story with so many characters, right off the bat - so it totally makes sense some get more developed than others.
I knew that Mae + Franny met in that bar where he sings, that she let him live at her place and he was in trouble bc of his criminal ex. I knew they had strong feelings for each other, but were non-committal, and I knew how they would go apart, and that couldn't be a "normal" break up - honestly, this was the only way their relationship in S1 would make sense. They are happy for the other, but there are deep, unresolved feelings that hurt once surfacing.
The story with the police and the gang I developed on the go, and I didn't know their friends, until I got the sims donated
And yeah, def too many characters, but I played a lot and cut already like 3/4 off completely
no matter what, it was not v nice of Francesco to give in to his impulse to almost-cheat. But also, @mercuryfoam wrote a, what I find, insightful comment about that kiss:
"But I always go by it doesn't matter what the feelings, it's the choice that matters. You can like 10 people, but if you choose to stay loyal to one. It kinda doesn't matter."
I think that is a very interesting perspective.
Thanks for giving me your feedback on your opinion so far! It's clear that you root a lot more for Frae, because you know their backstory. I wonder if you being underwhelmed with Herbert would also be the case if you didn't know Mae's past xD
I've definitely been swayed more towards Mae and Fran reading Paris first, that's for sure. Not necessarily together, just obviously more invested in them than the rest of the cast. You are right that I likely would have been more opinionated about the kiss had I not read Paris too. But in my experience, readers are significantly more forgiving when it comes to characters they already like, of course. And it was a one off kiss, it's not like they went on to start an affair from then on (at least not where I am in the story, lol).
Rationally, I would agree with the statement about making a choice to commit to someone, sure. You commit to someone when you marry them, which of course doesn't erase your history with past partners, and doesn't suddenly make you not be attracted to other people, it's a conscious decision to not pursue that. As a married woman, I get that, believe me
But I guess that's the problem, it's a rational argument that doesn't take emotional investment in characters into account. Everything I know about Rosa (see, I'm being nice, I'm calling her by her name and everything ) is purely based on logical assumption - she is presumably a fairly nice person, because she has a large friend group. We've not seen her do anything awful, for all intents and purposes she's probably well-intentioned. She presumably has a meaningful relationship with Fran, if it was strong enough for them to get married. But none of that can beat being emotionally invested in a character and their relationships. I would actually love to see more of Rosa, because I would like to feel more conflicted, as weird as that sounds Maybe in season 2 - though of course, I'm not caught up yet!
Herbert is a different story. Rosa, I don't really know enough about her to judge either way, but Herbert just is very underwhelming I think even without reading Paris I would not feel like he's good enough for Mae, though I won't deny that that's probably more amplified through Paris, because I am much more attached to Mae than I would have been. But even in isolation... well, there's just not much to be "whelmed" about when it comes to Herbert. Other than Mariella
In any case, I'm excited to read the rest
I totally get your emotional investment argument! You def had enough time to get invested, since Paris.
I absolutely don't mind that you call Rosa Miss Personality, I just use her name bc it is less to type Don't worry, Rosa will play a very important role in S2 But well, I think you may want to finish reading S1 first, there's still much to come about her hehe
I find your view on Herbert quite refreshing most readers seemed to like him a lot, I assume bc he was not acting mean so far (besides the dumb dress comment xD which he got out of, though rather clumsily xD) and is rather shy (typical trait for usually nice + likable characters) and also Mae marries him. And then there's the ending of S1.
I wonder if your opinion will change on the characters.
I find your view on Herbert quite refreshing most readers seemed to like him a lot, I assume bc he was not acting mean so far (besides the dumb dress comment xD which he got out of, though rather clumsily xD)
Haha the dress comment was terrible. Dude, it's your wedding day. Even if her dress isn't what you expected, just lie and tell her she looks perfect and exactly like you imagined... it's not rocket science
I wonder if your opinion will change on the characters.
@haswh aww I'm glad you liked them! 😊 and yes, I'd love if you would like to share a review here.
Actually I'd be very grateful if any of you who finished both parts would give me some feedback.
1. Did you think the events of Paris make sense in context of S1?
2. Did the Paris Retrospective change your view/opinion about S1 characters/events?
3. Anything that surprised you?
4. What were your initial expectations/theories about Mae+Fran's past?
I am officially caught up on everything! What a ride! I got completely hooked, and really care about so many of these characters - even though so many of them are so frustrating
I can't really answer most of the questions, bar the first one perhaps - yes, I think the events of Paris made perfect sense in terms of what went down afterwards. I really enjoyed reading in this "reverse" or chronological order, and it was still flowing really well. It's very impressive - you managed to write a story that can be read in multiple ways/different order, and it still makes sense, is satisfying and doesn't lose suspense or intrigue, you just get the different pieces of the puzzle served up slightly differently. You should be proud!
I'd definitely be up for answering some questions if you have any others that could apply for my reading order! I might try to write up something about some of the charcters over the weekend, though I might just be repeating what I said in the comments Though perhaps now that I have a "full picture," it might settle differently
@ThePlumbob thank you for reading, and replying to the one question that makes sense for you xD
I may have a talent for making characters frustrating, lol, but I would be bored if they'd do always the right thing and their only fault would be "clumsiness" or so 😆 anyway, I'm really happy you enjoyed it!
Thank you for your compliment! I really wanted to be sure that both parts make sense together - and you reading in chronological order, and not saying - hey that doesn't make sense! is def evidence that I managed to pull it off 😀
I had some ideas that I discarded for the sake of congruence... so I'm glad it was not in vain 😆
If you're in mood to answer questions, I'd absolutely love to see what you expect to happen next, though you gave a few hints in the comments already. And what you think still needs to be solved.
I have my plans for S2 (and possibly 3, and more xD) already, but feedback helps me to make the story better understandable and relatable for readers.
I'm very fond of flawed characters, so I totally get it And yes they're frustraing but it makes them feel real!
Ooh ok! What do I think is going to happen (I'll also add what I would like to happen, which I guess is not necessarily the same).
To start with the obvious, I'm sure Mae and Fran will run into each other in San Myshuno, that much is clear. That being said, Mae does have a lot of soul searching to do. The two of them will be drawn together I'm sure, but because they both just got out of very serious relationships, I could easily see them doing something like only seeing each other "casually" and claiming that it's just a meaningless rebound, not discussing the past and sweeping it all under the rug... sounds very "them" to me The healthies thing would probably be for them to finally get the skeletons about the past out of the closet, talk through how they've hurt each other to get closure, but maybe just agree to be friends initially and do some healing of their own first... but do I see that happening? Nah
I'm sure Fran and Rosa will have an incredibly awful custody battle and that she will use their son as a bargaining chip/way to get back at him, which is heartbreaking for the child's sake. I would like to see more of Rosa though, specifically I would like to see a different side oh her - don't get me wrong, I get that she's going to be all venom to Fran, but we know she has a lot of friends, I want to see the side her friends see. Aside from her extreme jealousy and posessiveness, we know very little about her personality, and of course, nobody is just 100% awful, so I would like to see a more symapthetic side of her.
Curious to see what Al wil get up to as a single guy. We know that a big motivating factor for all of his escapades was trying to escape the home life with all the kids he did not want. Now that he's not going to feel as suffocated, I wonder if his quickies all over will have the same appeal. I actually kind of like Al. I mean, he's a terrible dog, and generally trash, but we've seen a few redeeming sides of him, and for everything, he has been a good friend to Fran, even the main reason why Fran didn't relapse. He has different sides to him, which is what I'd like to see with Rosa. Oh, and I would kind of like to see if there's more on the cards with Nancy, though she seems like she's moved on. Would be fun to see Al get hung up on someone.
Our girl Linda needs to get with Frank, obviously. He's such a good guy and has so much in common with her, and yet she keeps ignoring him while he's right under her nose. Hopefully that whole night they've spent talking at the bar will finally make her "see" him. I imagine we will also be delving into Frank and Leroy's family past a bit more, because there's clearly a lot of unresolved feelings there.
I can't wait to see Sofia get a taste of real life and wake up. Paolo is actually a surprisingly good dude, but she's still in for a rude awakening when she'll have to start living an entirely different lifestyle and realises that nobody will pay her for being a "wife." If they'll only live on Paolo's income, there's definitely plenty of drama ahead. Poor guy, he doesn't realise what he's getting himself into haha.
I'm also hoping Diana will find some happiness, things have been relatively good for her, but her life is still mainly just work and her daughter. She deserves more. I do wonder if Al will ever meet his daughter, though Diana is doing a good job with her on her own and has a great support network, so it doesn't really matter that much.
Am I forgetting someone? Oh, Herbert. I hope he won't be a POV character, he's just so dull, I hope the guy finds happiness or whatever, but I don't need to be there to see it Mariella would be much more interesting to follow, so hopefully we'll focus on her and just get glimpses of old Her through her. I'm sure you haven't established Mariella's preteen friendship/budding "romance" with Fernandez for nothing, so let's see how much Al's messed his son up and how much abandonment issues Mariella will have after Mae leaving so abruptly and the death of her mother (I'm aware abandonment issues sounds weird when the parent died, but I know little kids can't quite tell the difference if they lose a parent at a young age, so it results in the same).
I think that's everybody, maybe, probably? In any case I can't wait to see what you have planned for us in season 2!
Oh, question: Did you plan who the "main" characters will be from the start, or did you spend most time focusing on characters that spoke to you the most so it came together more organically? Obviously we got a whole spinoff prequel for Mae and Fran, were you always planning to have a huge focus on them? And do you think you'll do any side stories that will explore some of the other characters in the same way down the line?
@ThePlumbob Ahhh, thank you a lot for taking the time and writing down all of this
This is really helpful. I hope you understand that I cannot reply to any of this to avoid spoilers
Except, I almost feel sorry for Herbert, but oh well, he has his fans too
Also I am not sure how much spotlight Sofia will still get, as her story diverges strongly from the others'. I thought of rather writing a spin off with her, because I love her character, and I think she deserves it. But we'll see. I'm still fighting with my S2 outline xD
I shamefully admit I started to write without any plans I had Linda + Mae, who were the first sims I made in this game and played with, so they smh became the mains. All other characters & their stories were based loosely on my game play, and I added a few details.
Characters like Franny.. just happened. You'll notice in the beginning he has almost no significance. I even added chapters later so he would be at least somewhat introduced xD Well, he suddenly had a romantic relationship with the sim Mae.
And I decided to kind a go with it. And then he just pushed himself into the spotlight 😏
I don't think I'll do another full flashback arc, like I did with Franny + Mae. First, I don't think it will be necessary, a few flashbacks here and there should be enough. Second, I was of course restricted by the events of the present, and now I found I rather develop my story with an open ending, so I can write more spontaneously. (I'm saying while I have a huge folder with notes and a more or less fix story line in my head already 😆)
I shamefully admit I started to write without any plans I had Linda + Mae, who were the first sims I made in this game and played with, so they smh became the mains. All other characters & their stories were based loosely on my game play, and I added a few details.
Characters like Franny.. just happened. You'll notice in the beginning he has almost no significance. I even added chapters later so he would be at least somewhat introduced xD Well, he suddenly had a romantic relationship with the sim Mae.
And I decided to kind a go with it. And then he just pushed himself into the spotlight 😏
No shame about it, I think that's awesome! I love it when a story takes a life of its own like that - and I'm similar, I usually start with very few plans and then suddenly the thing turns into a beast woth backstories all over the shop before I know it In any case, if you sad you had it all planned out from the start, I would have believed you
Oh how neat that Linda and Mae were your first sims in TS4, that makes them even more special. And I can totally see how Franny would just demand a storyline, and I'm very glad for that.
Hey! Overdue but busy weekend is over so yay I’m here!
1.Did you think the events of Paris make sense in context of S1?
I think one of the most surprising events about S1 to us back then was how poorly Mae handled her relationship with Herbert. Also didn’t help her case that Mariella is such a cheeky sweetheart and that stepmom/daughter relationship was so beautiful that everyone was completely heartbroken when it all went south.
So yes, Paris shed a huge spotlight on Mae’s sudden decision to leave her life. I have a much clearer picture of her and how her approach to life is different to Herbert's. We haven't even touched on her unresolved issues with Fran at this point.
2.Did the Paris Retrospective change your view/opinion about S1 characters/events?
For me, Paris also made it all the more clearer Mae’s carefully anxiously guarded heart when it comes to romance. Underneath her loud, cheerful, confident persona masks an emotionally fragile person with esteem issues. I thought Paris was incredibly vital to show Mae’s complex personality. The bullying, life-threatening events, and misunderstanding with Fran and how she dealt with each of these correlate very well with what happened between her and Herbert, even with Fran during their non-conversation at the wedding. Mae struggles with managing difficult emotions and now that we know her backstory, we see that she still applies the same ‘bottling up, getting overwhelmed, then burying/distancing’ strategy she does. She ran to Paris, ran away from Paris, now ran to San Myshuno
It shed soooo much on Fran as well. I love that we see the struggles Deep Rift face before they achieved their success, or well, more specifically Fran's struggles. It paints his personality just as well as Mae's but S1 didn't focus too much about him unless it is in context with Rosa or Mae, so I'll explain in regards to Rosa's character. (Next paragraph )
I also liked that it made me sympathise with Rosa. She was depicted as an extremely insecure and jealous wife in S1 who didn’t trust Fran for some reason. The fact that Rosa knew what happened somewhat between Mae and Fran in Paris, is a huge fan of their songs (Fran channelled his ‘anger’ over their misunderstanding into the songs), and that she was the one who chased after Fran who was lukewarm in his reciprocation (not enough info here, but his thoughts implied so) meant there was basis for her insecurity. And rereading NBHT made me realise that Fran, despite his efforts to convince Rosa that he loved her only (the pregnancy part where she confronted him about Blues in May), he was fooling himself. He said he ‘never lied to her’ and was ‘completely honest’ with her, but his explanation did not address the root of her concerns.. on purpose (in this chapter he also lied to her, without realising that he did). Which ultimately made him unintentionally gaslight Rosa. (Jeez writing all this down made me incredibly sad for her Let me be her voice. “Fran you absolute git.” ) Anyway, I hope she gets her own happy ending. Idk what kind of person she is but she seems decent and nice in Paris and nobody should be made to look like the crazy ex by their partner.
Al have no change for me . I liked the bar scene where he recruited Fran because for once, Al is not depicted as a plumboy and shows his other competencies but meh. As usual, happy to be shown otherwise in S2 but now he’s wayyy down there on my list
I really enjoyed the nugget of insights to Linda’s character in Retrospective. Since she’s been a favourite of mine since forever, so I’m happy with all the questions it raises of her character. She has been incredibly aloof (in the most cutest way) in S1, and it made me wonder a lot. Is it because she needed to find her own clique (like how she spoke ‘science chinese’ with Frank)? Is it simply part of her personality? Is it a consequence of her parents’ death? Is her tendency to prioritise research merely a trait, or a symptom? Oh S2 I’m excited!
3.Anything that surprised you?
Well, the whole of Paris’s plot surprised me which I outlined in 4. Apart from that I didn’t expect to meet a Diego, a Tristan, a Eitienne and Charli (Gah this couple has been blessed by Aphrodite but cursed by Hades ) Love how wholesome your story is. Was completely hooked and even at my most primal level I had characters to love, hate, drool fawn over.
Y’know, Charli’s baby could be around Mariella’s age at this point (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) Also really enjoyed the cultural add ons! Like how Tristan and Franny blesses us with the sophistication of Spanish and French language haha! The shower in the kitchen, and the architecture in your settings. Especially that last chapter you had the Louvre Museum in the background my heart!!!! France was the last country I travelled to since the stupid Covid ban. My heart is broken in so many pieces not just personal but also for the last pic in that chapter too argh! Fran and Mae turn arouuuund!
4.What were your initial expectations/theories about Mae+Fran's past?
Ahh I had none considering I was playing catch up the whole time. I just assumed Mae and Fran were ex-lovers who had unresolved issues in the past. I didn’t realise it was an entire nail-biting crime thriller complete with extreme consequences that left such a large imprint on their lives.
@ThePlumbob oh yeah, one has to find the story first and I did notice the same happening in the Blackwell Chronicles, and even in literature. I love that point, when things start to run on their own, in any story
It's also a little bit of Mae's fault that he got his background - I wasn't quite sure where she'd head, so he also helped me find a way for her xD
@mercuryfoam thank you for coming here and taking the time to reply
1)I'm afraid all characters lack a little bit of motive in the first season, bc I didn't express much of it. I'm glad at least to show two of them better, and will do so with the rest of the cast 😊
2)Aww poor Rosa finally gets some love too! You're right, Franny was quite lukewarm towards her. As for if he loved her, or not, that's a difficult question. He def cared for her, and he enjoyed her presence, enough to miss her, but not enough to not constantly tour anyway. He certainly didn't love her with the burning passion he had for Mae, not even the admiration he had for Diego. It was a convenient and comfortable love that he had for Rosa, and he def wanted to keep it like that, that's why he avoided (almost) all uncomfortable topics, or at least didn't give any details. He was too tired to go through it.
Needless to say, it will bite him in the 🐸🐸🐸🐸
As for Rosa, she doesn't know for sure that it was Mae in Paris, she just has an idea. She guesses much more than she actually knows, and it drives her crazy Anyway, I love her a lot too, and am really excited to write more about her next season
3)Yeah though I had a pretty good idea what happened, it became a little more than I expected Like the the lovely inspecteur, donated by @Maladi777 , who I never thought would become such a personality hehe
Mariella was born in 1984, that means she just turned 14 at the beginning of S2. Charli's baby was born in 1994, which means he'd be 4, just a bit older than Diana's daughter who was born in February 1996, so she's a little over 2 years.
Yeah, Paris didn't happen very long before S1 tbh the last chapter is just a few months before the beginning of S1.
Ah and the Louvre was such a precious discovery when I made this last chapter!! It's part of 4 Paris lots.
Also may I say I am glad I achieved exactly what I planned with that last pic 😈 I think I even told you that I wanted to make something like that ahaha /evil cackles
4) I didn't either but I'm glad how it turned out!
Am I forgetting someone? Oh, Herbert. I hope he won't be a POV character, he's just so dull, I hope the guy finds happiness or whatever, but I don't need to be there to see it Mariella would be much more interesting to follow, so hopefully we'll focus on her and just get glimpses of old Her through her.
I'm still clinging to my hope for a drastic twist in the form of Herbert's unexpected death (you want to get rid of him anyway because you think he's dull) and Mae being contacted by a social worker as the only available caregiver for Mariella (Mae's habit to leave things unfinished and not having divorced Herbert yet would lead to this outcome). That would be fun. I'd love to watch Mae try to handle Mariella after she disappointed her so much by leaving Herbert.
Am I forgetting someone? Oh, Herbert. I hope he won't be a POV character, he's just so dull, I hope the guy finds happiness or whatever, but I don't need to be there to see it Mariella would be much more interesting to follow, so hopefully we'll focus on her and just get glimpses of old Her through her.
I'm still clinging to my hope for a drastic twist in the form of Herbert's unexpected death (you want to get rid of him anyway because you think he's dull) and Mae being contacted by a social worker as the only available caregiver for Mariella (Mae's habit to leave things unfinished and not having divorced Herbert yet would lead to this outcome). That would be fun. I'd love to watch Mae try to handle Mariella after she disappointed her so much by leaving Herbert.
Lol, poor Herb. Though I wouldn't mind if this is the way it goes
Comments
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Feel free to post any feedback, critique or questions here or on my blog!
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Anyway, I have already flooded your blog with comments, but trying to not be spoilerific in certain chapters for folks who end up reading in the intended order (unlike me), so I'll leave comments on some of the chapters here instead, for obvious reasons
5.6
6.2
I love the fact the guy Mae brought for back home to join them came up haha. Clever!
13.1
Unfortunately for Miss Nice Personality, I couldn't be less invested in her if I tried. We literally don't know anything about her whatsover other than that she looks like a bimbo. I understand this is a deliberate choice on your part, because if you showed more of her personality, Fran could come off as a plumbag if/when he acts on any unresolved past with Mae, but don't expect me to shed any tears on her behalf. I would actually kind of like to get to know her a bit more, to help me understand why Fran supposedly loves her. Because so far, I've got nothing
I recall you said you were curious how me reading Paris first will impact my perception of the first story. I haven't finished reading, but guess you have an answer now lol!
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Ahhhhhhhh first of all, I was completely overwhelmed when I got those almost 70 comments!! ❤❤ I finally got to reply to all of them, haha
Thank you so much for reading my story. From your comments, I take you enjoyed it
Anyway, keep in mind that I wrote the first season before I wrote Paris, so I had only an idea of what happened, but no details. A lot of writing was a kind of go with the flow, so I had to match their past
Poor guy Herbert... I think it is less his name but more that Mae and him didn't have that intense past? And Rosa... again, I haven't written much about her so she could be likable
She and Herbert were background characters. Franny too! (you see he doesn't have that much presence in S1...)
Lol, the guy that Mae brought back, it was just the go with the flow writing xD it was actually fun to find a place in the past to mention it again. You have such a good memory!!
It was not much a conscious choice to write so little about Rosa, more, I didn't care that much about her
I've been bugged about a lot of the side characters, to write more about them, but then the story would be endless. So in that way, it was kinda deliberate to leave out a lot.
no matter what, it was not v nice of Francesco to give in to his impulse to almost-cheat. But also, @mercuryfoam wrote a, what I find, insightful comment about that kiss:
"But I always go by it doesn't matter what the feelings, it's the choice that matters. You can like 10 people, but if you choose to stay loyal to one. It kinda doesn't matter."
I think that is a very interesting perspective.
Thanks for giving me your feedback on your opinion so far! It's clear that you root a lot more for Frae, because you know their backstory. I wonder if you being underwhelmed with Herbert would also be the case if you didn't know Mae's past xD
Anyway the most controversial is probably the ending of S1... I'm rly curious what you're gonna say about that 🙈
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I was wondering how much of the Paris story you may have had pre-planned as you were writing this. Also, I'm super impressed that you took on a story with so many characters, right off the bat - so it totally makes sense some get more developed than others.
I've definitely been swayed more towards Mae and Fran reading Paris first, that's for sure. Not necessarily together, just obviously more invested in them than the rest of the cast. You are right that I likely would have been more opinionated about the kiss had I not read Paris too. But in my experience, readers are significantly more forgiving when it comes to characters they already like, of course. And it was a one off kiss, it's not like they went on to start an affair from then on (at least not where I am in the story, lol).
Rationally, I would agree with the statement about making a choice to commit to someone, sure. You commit to someone when you marry them, which of course doesn't erase your history with past partners, and doesn't suddenly make you not be attracted to other people, it's a conscious decision to not pursue that. As a married woman, I get that, believe me
But I guess that's the problem, it's a rational argument that doesn't take emotional investment in characters into account. Everything I know about Rosa (see, I'm being nice, I'm calling her by her name and everything
Herbert is a different story. Rosa, I don't really know enough about her to judge either way, but Herbert just is very underwhelming
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Ahhhh don't apologize!! That was actually a huge compliment, and I enjoyed so much to go read through all of them!
The story with the police and the gang I developed on the go, and I didn't know their friends, until I got the sims donated
And yeah, def too many characters, but I played a lot and cut already like 3/4 off completely
I absolutely don't mind that you call Rosa Miss Personality, I just use her name bc it is less to type
I find your view on Herbert quite refreshing
I wonder if your opinion will change on the characters.
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I'm always open to being swayed
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But hey, it's a double update!
6.1 Mae West
6.2 Francesco De la Cruz
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Actually I'd be very grateful if any of you who finished both parts would give me some feedback.
1. Did you think the events of Paris make sense in context of S1?
2. Did the Paris Retrospective change your view/opinion about S1 characters/events?
3. Anything that surprised you?
4. What were your initial expectations/theories about Mae+Fran's past?
Or just in general, whatever you'd like to share.
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I can't really answer most of the questions, bar the first one perhaps - yes, I think the events of Paris made perfect sense in terms of what went down afterwards. I really enjoyed reading in this "reverse" or chronological order, and it was still flowing really well. It's very impressive - you managed to write a story that can be read in multiple ways/different order, and it still makes sense, is satisfying and doesn't lose suspense or intrigue, you just get the different pieces of the puzzle served up slightly differently. You should be proud!
I'd definitely be up for answering some questions if you have any others that could apply for my reading order! I might try to write up something about some of the charcters over the weekend, though I might just be repeating what I said in the comments
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I may have a talent for making characters frustrating, lol, but I would be bored if they'd do always the right thing and their only fault would be "clumsiness" or so 😆 anyway, I'm really happy you enjoyed it!
Thank you for your compliment! I really wanted to be sure that both parts make sense together - and you reading in chronological order, and not saying - hey that doesn't make sense! is def evidence that I managed to pull it off 😀
I had some ideas that I discarded for the sake of congruence... so I'm glad it was not in vain 😆
If you're in mood to answer questions, I'd absolutely love to see what you expect to happen next, though you gave a few hints in the comments already. And what you think still needs to be solved.
I have my plans for S2 (and possibly 3, and more xD) already, but feedback helps me to make the story better understandable and relatable for readers.
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Ooh ok! What do I think is going to happen (I'll also add what I would like to happen, which I guess is not necessarily the same).
I'm sure Fran and Rosa will have an incredibly awful custody battle and that she will use their son as a bargaining chip/way to get back at him, which is heartbreaking for the child's sake. I would like to see more of Rosa though, specifically I would like to see a different side oh her - don't get me wrong, I get that she's going to be all venom to Fran, but we know she has a lot of friends, I want to see the side her friends see. Aside from her extreme jealousy and posessiveness, we know very little about her personality, and of course, nobody is just 100% awful, so I would like to see a more symapthetic side of her.
Curious to see what Al wil get up to as a single guy. We know that a big motivating factor for all of his escapades was trying to escape the home life with all the kids he did not want. Now that he's not going to feel as suffocated, I wonder if his quickies all over will have the same appeal. I actually kind of like Al. I mean, he's a terrible dog, and generally trash, but we've seen a few redeeming sides of him, and for everything, he has been a good friend to Fran, even the main reason why Fran didn't relapse. He has different sides to him, which is what I'd like to see with Rosa. Oh, and I would kind of like to see if there's more on the cards with Nancy, though she seems like she's moved on. Would be fun to see Al get hung up on someone.
Our girl Linda needs to get with Frank, obviously. He's such a good guy and has so much in common with her, and yet she keeps ignoring him while he's right under her nose. Hopefully that whole night they've spent talking at the bar will finally make her "see" him. I imagine we will also be delving into Frank and Leroy's family past a bit more, because there's clearly a lot of unresolved feelings there.
I can't wait to see Sofia get a taste of real life and wake up. Paolo is actually a surprisingly good dude, but she's still in for a rude awakening when she'll have to start living an entirely different lifestyle and realises that nobody will pay her for being a "wife." If they'll only live on Paolo's income, there's definitely plenty of drama ahead. Poor guy, he doesn't realise what he's getting himself into haha.
I'm also hoping Diana will find some happiness, things have been relatively good for her, but her life is still mainly just work and her daughter. She deserves more. I do wonder if Al will ever meet his daughter, though Diana is doing a good job with her on her own and has a great support network, so it doesn't really matter that much.
Am I forgetting someone? Oh, Herbert. I hope he won't be a POV character, he's just so dull, I hope the guy finds happiness or whatever, but I don't need to be there to see it
I think that's everybody, maybe, probably? In any case I can't wait to see what you have planned for us in season 2!
Oh, question: Did you plan who the "main" characters will be from the start, or did you spend most time focusing on characters that spoke to you the most so it came together more organically? Obviously we got a whole spinoff prequel for Mae and Fran, were you always planning to have a huge focus on them? And do you think you'll do any side stories that will explore some of the other characters in the same way down the line?
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This is really helpful. I hope you understand that I cannot reply to any of this to avoid spoilers
Except, I almost feel sorry for Herbert, but oh well, he has his fans too
Also I am not sure how much spotlight Sofia will still get, as her story diverges strongly from the others'. I thought of rather writing a spin off with her, because I love her character, and I think she deserves it. But we'll see. I'm still fighting with my S2 outline xD
I shamefully admit I started to write without any plans
Characters like Franny.. just happened. You'll notice in the beginning he has almost no significance. I even added chapters later so he would be at least somewhat introduced xD Well, he suddenly had a romantic relationship with the sim Mae.
And I decided to kind a go with it. And then he just pushed himself into the spotlight 😏
I don't think I'll do another full flashback arc, like I did with Franny + Mae. First, I don't think it will be necessary, a few flashbacks here and there should be enough. Second, I was of course restricted by the events of the present, and now I found I rather develop my story with an open ending, so I can write more spontaneously. (I'm saying while I have a huge folder with notes and a more or less fix story line in my head already 😆)
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No shame about it, I think that's awesome! I love it when a story takes a life of its own like that - and I'm similar, I usually start with very few plans and then suddenly the thing turns into a beast woth backstories all over the shop before I know it
Oh how neat that Linda and Mae were your first sims in TS4, that makes them even more special. And I can totally see how Franny would just demand a storyline, and I'm very glad for that.
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I think one of the most surprising events about S1 to us back then was how poorly Mae handled her relationship with Herbert. Also didn’t help her case that Mariella is such a cheeky sweetheart and that stepmom/daughter relationship was so beautiful that everyone was completely heartbroken when it all went south.
So yes, Paris shed a huge spotlight on Mae’s sudden decision to leave her life. I have a much clearer picture of her and how her approach to life is different to Herbert's. We haven't even touched on her unresolved issues with Fran at this point.
2.Did the Paris Retrospective change your view/opinion about S1 characters/events?
For me, Paris also made it all the more clearer Mae’s carefully anxiously guarded heart when it comes to romance. Underneath her loud, cheerful, confident persona masks an emotionally fragile person with esteem issues. I thought Paris was incredibly vital to show Mae’s complex personality. The bullying, life-threatening events, and misunderstanding with Fran and how she dealt with each of these correlate very well with what happened between her and Herbert, even with Fran during their non-conversation at the wedding. Mae struggles with managing difficult emotions and now that we know her backstory, we see that she still applies the same ‘bottling up, getting overwhelmed, then burying/distancing’ strategy she does. She ran to Paris, ran away from Paris, now ran to San Myshuno
It shed soooo much on Fran as well. I love that we see the struggles Deep Rift face before they achieved their success, or well, more specifically Fran's struggles. It paints his personality just as well as Mae's but S1 didn't focus too much about him unless it is in context with Rosa or Mae, so I'll explain in regards to Rosa's character. (Next paragraph
I also liked that it made me sympathise with Rosa. She was depicted as an extremely insecure and jealous wife in S1 who didn’t trust Fran for some reason. The fact that Rosa knew what happened somewhat between Mae and Fran in Paris, is a huge fan of their songs (Fran channelled his ‘anger’ over their misunderstanding into the songs), and that she was the one who chased after Fran who was lukewarm in his reciprocation (not enough info here, but his thoughts implied so) meant there was basis for her insecurity. And rereading NBHT made me realise that Fran, despite his efforts to convince Rosa that he loved her only (the pregnancy part where she confronted him about Blues in May), he was fooling himself. He said he ‘never lied to her’ and was ‘completely honest’ with her, but his explanation did not address the root of her concerns.. on purpose (in this chapter he also lied to her, without realising that he did). Which ultimately made him unintentionally gaslight Rosa. (Jeez writing all this down made me incredibly sad for her
Al have no change for me
I really enjoyed the nugget of insights to Linda’s character in Retrospective. Since she’s been a favourite of mine since forever, so I’m happy with all the questions it raises of her character. She has been incredibly aloof (in the most cutest way) in S1, and it made me wonder a lot. Is it because she needed to find her own clique (like how she spoke ‘science chinese’ with Frank)? Is it simply part of her personality? Is it a consequence of her parents’ death? Is her tendency to prioritise research merely a trait, or a symptom? Oh S2 I’m excited!
3.Anything that surprised you?
Well, the whole of Paris’s plot surprised me which I outlined in 4. Apart from that I didn’t expect to meet a Diego, a Tristan, a Eitienne and Charli
Y’know, Charli’s baby could be around Mariella’s age at this point (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) Also really enjoyed the cultural add ons! Like how Tristan and Franny blesses us with the sophistication of Spanish and French language haha! The shower in the kitchen, and the architecture in your settings. Especially that last chapter you had the Louvre Museum in the background my heart!!!!
4.What were your initial expectations/theories about Mae+Fran's past?
Ahh I had none considering I was playing catch up the whole time. I just assumed Mae and Fran were ex-lovers who had unresolved issues in the past. I didn’t realise it was an entire nail-biting crime thriller complete with extreme consequences that left such a large imprint on their lives.
Yay.. S2 S2 S2! *bang tables*
It's also a little bit of Mae's fault that he got his background - I wasn't quite sure where she'd head, so he also helped me find a way for her xD
@mercuryfoam thank you for coming here and taking the time to reply
2)Aww poor Rosa finally gets some love too! You're right, Franny was quite lukewarm towards her. As for if he loved her, or not, that's a difficult question. He def cared for her, and he enjoyed her presence, enough to miss her, but not enough to not constantly tour anyway. He certainly didn't love her with the burning passion he had for Mae, not even the admiration he had for Diego. It was a convenient and comfortable love that he had for Rosa, and he def wanted to keep it like that, that's why he avoided (almost) all uncomfortable topics, or at least didn't give any details. He was too tired to go through it.
Needless to say, it will bite him in the 🐸🐸🐸🐸
As for Rosa, she doesn't know for sure that it was Mae in Paris, she just has an idea. She guesses much more than she actually knows, and it drives her crazy
3)Yeah though I had a pretty good idea what happened, it became a little more than I expected
Mariella was born in 1984, that means she just turned 14 at the beginning of S2. Charli's baby was born in 1994, which means he'd be 4, just a bit older than Diana's daughter who was born in February 1996, so she's a little over 2 years.
Yeah, Paris didn't happen very long before S1
Ah and the Louvre was such a precious discovery when I made this last chapter!! It's part of 4 Paris lots.
Also may I say I am glad I achieved exactly what I planned with that last pic 😈 I think I even told you that I wanted to make something like that ahaha /evil cackles
4) I didn't either
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I'm still clinging to my hope for a drastic twist in the form of Herbert's unexpected death (you want to get rid of him anyway because you think he's dull) and Mae being contacted by a social worker as the only available caregiver for Mariella (Mae's habit to leave things unfinished and not having divorced Herbert yet would lead to this outcome). That would be fun. I'd love to watch Mae try to handle Mariella after she disappointed her so much by leaving Herbert.
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Lol, poor Herb. Though I wouldn't mind if this is the way it goes
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