January (Friday) - DAY 20: Ready For The Mountain!
Another prep day for their Mountain Excursion. This time, Kiyoshi calls in sick and Sakura takes a vacation day, and they head to the Senbamachi rock wall. I have them both do the pre-stretch twice, chalk their hands, and up they go. Works great for the first two times, and Kiyoshi gets the Adrenaline Seeker Lifestyle.
But then, he slips and Kiyoshi gets that 'Close Call' uncomfortable moodlet again for 6 hours. I can't believe it. Two days in a row and he gets injured. I am really getting nervous about them heading on that excursion. So, while Sakura continues to rock climb, Kiyoshi is at the bottom of the wall reading the rock climbing book. Gah! This is awful! I see some forest spirits at the beginning of the trail and have Kiyoshi head over there. I also see some of those Denkimushi bugs and hope they don't attack him. They don't and he gets some energized aura from the spirits, and then it's back to reading. Once the 6 hours are up, I have Kiyoshi inspect the wall, do the pre-stretch twice, chalk his hands and climb cautiously.
Kiyoshi and Sakura make it to the top of the wall and there are some collectibles and a small garden. When Sakura waters the garden, forest spirits appear. Kiyoshi tells Sakura to make a wish. Let's hope she wishes for good weather and no injuries on their excursion tomorrow. Before they head home, they travel to the Izakaya Ippai Bar and use the vending machines outside to purchase some items (2 hot corn soup; 2 Galactic Vita-waters, and 2 bolt energy bars). Both Sakura and Kiyoshi are now Fitness-Level 7.
I was actually just testing out some knitting interactions anyway, wasn't planning on saving my progress since I'm too many days ahead and didn't want to officially play more tonight (also did not want to waste precious challenge gameplay with testing out knitting stuff). The only reason she was messing with the dumb bed was because my knitting interactions were being glitchy and I wanted to make sure it wasn't the couch/bed causing issues.
This last one is so funny I'm dying
(I did play around with using MCCC to potentially save a sim who dies without having another household member currently living with them, and I think I did find somewhat of a loophole so I can save Jules if something like this happens when I'm actually playing 😅 I know it's cheating, but whatever lol)
@SoulGal7 That's a great screenshot of the day! Rock climbing seems so stressful lol. Jules pulled a muscle just from going on a jog, she'd probably be a hot mess if she tried to climb a wall Good luck with the mountain excursion when you finally have them embark on it!
I will comment on everyone's stories, but it might be tomorrow before I get to it.
@Skeilah - So sorry about your name. I write this in a Word document and copy it over. I thought I had made sure all the links were correct, but I guess they weren't. Apologies. Also realized that I have been misspelling Kiyoshi's first name. lol Will have to now go back and correct them all. Oops!
@Karababy52 - Day 20 - I wanted to comment on this one separately, so here goes:
Ah, Tessa, wanting to be grown-up but still a teen. Definitely wants to be with Josh, but can't. And the way both of them are having those pro and con talks in their head is really great. How often in life have we had those conversations in our head ourselves. This is like the real-life story of Celine Dion and her deceased husband, René Angélil. At age 12, Celine was discovered, and René became her manager. He was much older than her, and at age 17 her feelings towards him started to change, and at age 24, they married. But what she did for him to notice that she was no longer a child, was to go through a year-long transformation (she even cut her hair and learned English), and then returned to the music world. So, Tessa and Josh might not be for 'now', but, who is to say that there won't be a future for them together?
I saw you'd posted that screenshot in another thread and got a giggle out of it. She's really got, uh, talented lips eh? Very good thing you rescheduled the wedding. o.O
Okay, now that's the kind of woo hoo talk all my teens usually experience, minus the swearing. Aww, how sweet she gave them their wedding gifts before the ceremony. They make such a cute couple!
Thank you! Don't worry, I won't stop completely with the storytelling, I'll just have more actual aspiration goal stuff in them, that's been lacking a bit. o.O One advantage of playing a lot is knowing exactly which animations Sims will do while interacting with objects and other Sims. It really does help, like you said, when you're trying to tell a story and need a certain expression on their faces.
I know it's not that sexy, I didn't want it to be. It was supposed to represent what a somewhat naïve, young teen girl thought was sexy. Tessa would never wear sheer lingerie in front of Josh, she'd be embarrassed to do that right now. And yeah, it would probably kill him. Maybe (probably) after she's a young adult she will though, like on their wedding night, IF they end up together.
Whoa! Good thing you were only messing around and didn't save. Yeah, that's cheating big time in the challenge, for me anyway. But like I've said many times, I'm not the challenge police and you play however is fun and makes you happy! I probably would've done what you did anyway. I'm too invested in Tessa and Josh right now to start all over again...hmm, however, if Tessa were to die, I could start them with Josh as a teen...nah, I wouldn't be able to bring myself to do that. Never, ever played Josh as a teen, he's always been a young adult in my game. Plus, I'd have to start all over again with whatever day it happened as the beginning of the year for the challenge. o.O That screenshot though...the expression on her face! I can see why you laughed.
Thank you, hopefully, God willing, we have many, many more years together and I hope you and your boyfriend do too!
You're exactly right about Bryon, I thought he was very crude the way he talked about women and was so full of himself. I think now it was all just a front like you suggested because he was struggling with his true identity.
So cute how Bryon just keeps reading and reading while Naoki is running around doing all kinds of stuff. He really can't sit still! Yes, their garden is looking great! So funny how Bryon was so immersed in his reading, he didn't realize how late it was until Naoki started snoring. hehe Good choice picking Nerd Brain for his next aspiration, I like that one.
That's quite a team Roxanne had for the mountain climb! Congratulations to her (and you) for completing it! \o/ Absolutely love Father Winter looking so shocked she's flirting with Duane. So funny how he kept trying to wander away. I wonder if NPCs can actually leave during an event like that. I hope not!
Glad you got a laugh out of the 'Get-up' line. I almost didn't have Josh say that because it seemed a bit mean. But it just fit, like he was saying without actually coming out with it that she was just play acting at being an adult. Would've been worse I think if he had said something like, maybe, 'costume.'
No worries and no apologies necessary! Malcolm is SO cute in your game, love how you modified him. He's, um, not in my game anymore. Adore Melody's new look too, she looks great! I didn't have Harvestfest for Tessa either for the very same reason. Oh whew! I was hoping she wasn't actually eating the Dragonfruit. Wow, all your premade makeovers are fabulous! Wolfgang looks great with black hair! He's also gone in my game. I wonder why Malcolm always seems so sad. I see Melody found a way to cheer him up though. Seems like she had a really productive and profitable last few days. Go Melody! \o/
Oh my Gosh, the same thing happened to me in another save for my Sim with Megumi! She kept coming over to his house and I had thoughts of them being a couple until I found out she was actually married with children. Opps! o.O
His lot looks so fun with all the Snowpals keeping him company. There's two things, actually three or more River can do to fill his Fun need. If you have the Fitness pack, there's the earbuds, if you have City Living, he can click on himself and practice singing, and if you have Outdoor Retreat, he can star/cloudgaze for fun, all free and safe activities. I think making Snow Angels is fun too. He can always play chess in the park too! Oh! If you have DU, the bike fills Fun incredibly fast and they get Fitness from it too!
Wow! Poor Kyoshi! Why does he keep getting that particular moodlet after he falls? Tessa's never gotten that one. Oh! One of the vending machines has energy bars!? I didn't know that, good to know. I love the look on Sakura's face watching the forest spirits, she seems enchanted with them. That little gardening/collectible area is a great find eh? I was so surprised it was there when Tessa and Josh climbed up there. Good luck to them on their mountain excursion! I'll be crossing my fingers they complete it successfully!
That's exactly why I did it that way, so we could see what they were thinking, and yes, I think we've all had little wars with ourselves like that in our minds. I know I have. Wow, thanks so much for telling me the story of Celine and her husband Rene'. I had no idea. I knew he was much older than her, but didn't know she was that young when they met. What a beautiful love story. You've inspired me! It helps a lot with my indecision on how Tessa and Josh's future together might go. I might just have to go with something similar, we'll see... Thank you again!
Alrighty, think I'm caught up now. On a sidenote, patch day tomorrow! We will at least get the Fear emotion free for all! I'm excited to try that out and hoping there's lots of bug fixes in it too!
@Karababy52 Long reply so I'll use the spoilers lol
The swearing during the woohoo talk was most likely due to the fact that she's going through a loud phase right now. She just keeps autonomously shouting profanities randomly when I play her. Such a teen lol.
I'm starting to get better about knowing which interactions to pick. Before I started posting here on on the forums, I would just zoom through interactions and barely pay attention to what the animations were, basically just so I could build or decay relationship bars. It truly is a treat to start tuning into some of these animations (and I say some, since there are several that make no sense or that are very repetitive) but for the most part, you can get some good expressions based on what you pick. I'm also getting better about knowing what objects/interactions will put Jules in a certain mood, so if I need to get a certain expression for a screenshot I want, I can kind of nudge her into a mood first if I need to.
Oh, sweet, innocent Tessa...I really do like the dynamic you have going with these two. Relationships like theirs can go one of two ways, and you're handling it in the non-creepy way lol. There's something really cute about a teen admiring a slightly older friend and then realizing that their feelings are becoming more. And since teens in TS4 have the bodies and nearly all the capabilities of young adults, we can assume they're meant to be like 18 years old, so it's not crazy for Josh to develop feelings for Tessa, even though he keeps trying to think of her as a kid. He's still basically a kid himself, boys mature slower than girls
I feel *slightly* like I cheated death, since now I know I have to get rid of that Murphy bed asap without interacting with it again lol. Shall I tempt fate and have her put it down next time I log in and see if it defeats her again, just to play fair since I wouldn't have bothered getting rid of it without this incident? Hmm....we shall see....
Also @SoulGal7 - cool little side story about Celine Dion and her husband! I didn't know that, thanks for sharing. Not as large as Celine and Rene, but my parents have a six year age gap, so when my dad was 18, my mom was only 12. They didn't know each other when they were that young, but it just goes to show you that age gaps don't matter as time passes, and some relationships are just meant to be
"Love is a Promise,
Love is a Souvenir.
Once given never forgotten,
Let it never disappear."
Notes
"What's it say?" "Fair, not Icy. Well that sucks."
"NO! Not again, it's just SO unfair. I never get what I want, what I need." "Hey, it's okay, it'll happen. We just have to be patient and wait. Good things come to those who wait, right?"
"Oh sure, you're one to talk, you couldn't wait for something good, me! You hooked up with some girl in the city, right? What was her name again? Oh, that's right, Whitney!"
"How do you know about that? Who told you?"
"Kyoshi, he saw you kissing her, and said you couldn't keep your hands off her, couldn't wait..."
"...to take from her what you thought you couldn't have from me, but you can Josh. You don't need her."
"I'm the one you really want, don't you? But you think I'm too young to know how to please a man."
"I promise you I do know exactly how to make, to make you never want another woman again, I'm all the woman you need and want Josh, you can't deny it, admit it. You love me and want to...uh"
"...kiss me, and hold me and, and take off my clothes and...uh..."
"...make passionate love to me until you scream my name in ecstasy. You want that don't you, lover."
"Lover?! Ecstasy?! What!? Tessa what's going on here? That's not how you talk, that's not you. Who told you that...trashy dime store novel talk was how to seduce a man?
"Uh, well..."
"Actually, I got it from an app I downloaded called, 'How to Seduce A Guy in 5 Minutes or Less' Guaranteed to work or double your money back."
"Seriously? I don't believe it."
"Seriously, see? Look. It's by Dr. Lovegood, which now that I read that, it does sound pretty lame. Man, that's the last time I ever take advice from Kyoshi!"
"He said it would be the perfect way to get back at you. Make you want me then tell you to go take a hike." "I knew it! It was all a big joke. You don't talk like that."
"Yeah, ha, a...ha ha joke. I'm such a goof. What made me think it would work?" "I don't know, Tessa you're hilarious!"
"I know, right? And you're a horndog!" "HORNDOG! Stop it, stop it, my sides hurt. You're killing me."
"I wanted to, yeah. But..."
"...not really. This is me talking, for real. Not some app, okay? I do love you Josh and I know you want me, but...I know you won't let it happen. Because you think I'm not ready, that I'm too young. Maybe you're right. But I do know that what I feel in my heart is real, and you can't take that away from me. Maybe someday you'll believe me?"
"You're incredible, no wonder I love you. How'd you get so smart and understanding, so funny and brave. I believe you and I'd kiss you right now if I could.... You know I can't stay now, right? I have to go back home, at least for awhile."
"I know, because you don't trust yourself. I'm too much of a temptation. You're killing me too, you know, I'm scared I'll never see you again, but I guess I don't have a choice."
"Don't be scared, I'm not going anywhere, you're still my best friend and always will be. I promise...we'll still be together, still go on adventures together, everything will be the same...just not...sleep in the same house. You're right, you tempt me, every minute, of every hour of every day and it kills me. That's just the way it has to be though. I'm sorry..."
"But you don't have to go, you have a choice." "I know, but that's the choice I have to make...because...
...it's the right thing to do."
"Gawd, I'm going to miss you so much. I love you Josh. I love you, I love you, I love you!" I know...I love you too, Beautiful. Always."
Ah, okay, I wondered if that was the case, but wasn't sure if you had the Parenthood pack.
Yeah, a lot of the animations are repetitive, but there are some surprises out there. I had some in this last Day's post since I really don't play teens all that much. When Tessa was checking her appearance in the mirror, she got VERY flirty and was even flirting with Josh more than any other time they've been together. You can see it in today's screenshots. That surprised me and it was fun making up a dialogue to go along with the storyline with those. The faces she made just cracked me up, big time!
Thank you, I do too. They're such a cute non-couple couple. If that makes sense. I think of Tessa as more like 16 or 17 and Josh, well he's more like between 22-24. He can't be much younger than that since he has so much experience. But you're right, it's not uncommon for couples to be that 5 year or so age gap. Any wider and younger though and you're getting into questionable territory. I hope others don't think the two of them are creepy, I tried very hard to stay away from that. o.O
Whatever you choose to do is perfectly fine! I wasn't trying to make you feel guilty and think you had to do anything like that. I was just sharing how I look at it. I mean, you weren't really 'playing' the challenge at the time. So it's cool!
Ah I'm so jealous at your art of a successful wedding. I really suck at it hahahahahaah. Give me tips for future weddings. Oh man, I never thought about making a wedding picture and putting it in the home :ooooooo That's one nice tip!
I've been there too. I'm not much of a reader, but when I really like something, I forget that I even exist HAHAH. At some point I look up, check the time and I'm like 'wait what'. It will take some time, but I guess he'll be alright with school and stuff. HAHAH I find the mosaic very annoying, so yeah I turned it off. But I always put the little white block in front of stuff people are not supposed to see. I'm a good girl.
Good luck on completing the serial romance aspiration soon! ^^ I can see Jules in that aspiration, yes xDD
HAHAHAHHAAH OH NO, THE MURPHY BED GOT JULES HAHAHAHAHA! I shouldn't laugh with this, sorry, but after reading your comment to Kanindota, I just couldn't help myself. I laughed even harder on the next comment where you say 'slowly exits without saving' xDDD
What happened in the first picture also happened with my Sim. He struggled a lot with the bed, then got the bed on his head but then the bed got up and my Sim was dizzy. I didn't expect the bed to do that xD Never saw a Murphy bed death, so this is.. Rather impressive. Oh my god. That face... XDDDD I really zoomed in on the face. This is horrible xDD I know that I'm cheating Bryon back too when he would die. I can't lose Bryon! He better just stays alive.
Day 20: Oh no, Tessa, what are you trying to do??? xD Must say, that dress looks amazing, but I like the overalls more. Don't act older than you are, Tessa. You grow old so quickly and then you can't get your young years back. I did laugh a lot at this chapter, hahahah. Poor Josh. Is he really going to move out??
I really like the story you're making! I'm a little story driven myself, but that's what everything gives more character. Don't stop doing it!
comments: Thank you! Well the thing is, Bryon got raised by his dad who was the exact same way, taking woman home every night. Bryon just didn't knew better. But then he got to know Naoki and his mind is going all places. He's still struggling a lot, but he's on the way to finding himself again. I actually have a great idea in mind for the future: I'm gonna make his parents, put them somewhere in the world and maybe he'll bump into one of them once, to make the story even better. Of course he wouldn't recognize his mom, but for sure you and I and everyone else (even Naoki lol) does see it (because they look so much alike). ahhhhhh I'm already thrilled for this!
Day 21: Oh noooo, Josh is leaving for a while??? The home will be sooo empty when Tessa returns home alone... I laughed when Tessa said all that stuff hahahahahahha! Really didn't sound like her, but funny. Nice update!
Day 20: What a crew! xD Oh, you reached the top?! Congratsss!! I think everyone gets the blizzard at some point. I also got one in the very end of the climb. Very scary, indeed. HAHAHAH I laughed out loud with that last picture. That's hilarious
I do control Naoki, but not as much as I control Bryon. Naoki mostly has to tend the garden for me and then I'll just leave him be, until I have something to do for him.
Hi!! No problem at all. Everyone has irl issues once.
Big update: I like the new look for Melody! I think I'm going to swap Bryon and Naoki's clothes once this month is over and they go to the new world and keep doing that for every month. You're giving me ideas! Why is Malcolm so sad :c Seems like the present made him happy again! Was it really his mom that cut the bills? Or his dad...? I know, the mom is the rich one, but for some reason I think the dad is the evil one. xDD Hehe, editing public buildings. Guilty. I also do that. I enjoyed the big update!!!
day 19: HAHAHAH yeah, Megumi really looks younger than she is, right? Oh no, all River's love plans fall apart. Unless he wants to go the same road as Tessa and Josh? xD
day 20: Poor River, only able to read books xD I like all the snow palls on his lot. Come on River, you can do it! Don't be afraid! The only time a Sim of mine got killed, was in a Free Will Experience Game. I wasn't allowed to help my Sims out, I just had to watch them. I played with my Simself and some friends of mine, and it was one of my friends that got burned by the bbq Poor Ellen. I still feel sorry for her, but can't help but laugh with it xD Anyways, I know River went through a lot already, but I hope he'll put down his guard more to do fun stuff.
January 21
(Kudo's to the game for giving Bryon a blue uniform and Naoki a red one)
Bryon's Diary
“Did you have any sleep? You look awful”. This was the first thing Naoki said to me. Well, thank you very much, BOYFRIEND. We were on our way to school, just as every morning. I yawned. “Ughh…. The story was so good, I couldn’t stop reading”. Naoki facepalmed. “You know there’s a test today, right? Will you be able to focus?”. Oh no. I completely forgot about the test. I didn’t want Naoki to know, so I lied. “Yeah, yeah. No problem”. “You sure?”. “Yeah, absolutely”. Well, let me say this. This was the worst test I’ve ever taken. Only 80%?! My average percentage is 96%!! (Just so you know, I laughed very hard with this) “Oh no… This isn’t good…”. Naoki snatched the test out of my hand, but his face goes pale as he sees the percentage. “Why on earth do you look upset with this….? I never even got close to this percentage… How do you do this after so little sleep…?”. Wait, what did he just say? “Can I have a look at your result?”. “No”. “Why not?”. “It’s embarrassing after seeing your result”. I decided to do the same as he did with me: snatch his test out of his hand. “No, Bryon! Don’t look!!!”. 51%. He barely passed the test. BARELY! “Naoki?”. “Yes…”. “I’m going to tutor you.”.
The Warner household woke up in a flurry of excitement since the wedding was just a few hours away. Mario met Jules at Dell and Sofia’s penthouse so he could travel to the venue with them.
Oh hey, boy, you're looking mighty fine
They got to the venue a bit early to take some photos beforehand (see other spoiler below for those photos)
But there was still a bit of time before the wedding started so Mario and Jules had some fun
Mario: "Oh look there's a utility closet down by the bathrooms, wonder what we could do in here..."
(They only made out in the closet. Their first "mess around" wasn't going to be in a closet 30 minutes before her sister gets married lol. And yes, those closest make-out animations and the slow dance ones were made possible mods)
No one would sit down at the same time, OF COURSE, so I had to take a zoom in shot for the wedding vows/kiss since everyone else was hot mess.
Dell and Sofia cut the cake together.
"No one will notice if I take two drinks, right?"
I did get them all to dance at the same time, what a miracle. Wedding guests included Jules and Mario, Olive (photographer/baker/bartender), cousin Bex, and Sofia and Dell's good friends, Katherine and Lincoln, and their toddler daughter, Aspen.
And then a slower dance...it might just be those drinks talking, but I think Jules might be falling in love...
The wedding ended after a fun night of drinks, food and dancing, and I returned everyone to their proper households. I *almost* had Mario come home with Jules for the night, but I resisted. There will be time for that later
Instead, she played guitar, and thought about all those warm and fuzzy feelings dancing with Mario had left in her stomach...
Wedding photoshoot
I had Olive capture these (plus a ton more but I will spare you lol) on camera so they will be hung in Dell & Sofia's and Jules' homes
I had way too much fun with today's update so thanks for bearing with me as I post a million photos
I love that their uniforms are matching their hair color! Great screen shot of the day.
Bryon getting upset over his 80% is very fitting for his genius trait, still a great score for forgetting to study though haha. Of course Naoki doesn’t have the best grades - I feel like he’s always too busy being active and getting distracted. Super cute you’re going to have Bryon tutor him though. They are such cute boyfriends 🥰
Also my wedding tips:
I use the calendar to plan the event at the specific day and time I want. I also found that making a wedding holiday on that day too helps (you can delete it afterwards so it doesn’t repeat yearly) and select day off work/school to make sure that everyone is actually available for the event.
Edit your venue and sims ahead of time. Make sure the venue has a table for you to place food you prepare, a bar and a dance floor and stereo. I also like to make special wedding outfits for my sims since I have nice CC wedding attire lol, so I’ll make sure to do that ahead of time. I also have a retail shop in newcrest that sells wedding dresses so for a fully immersive experience, I’ll actually have my sims shop for their wedding clothes.
Never hire any of the roles like caterer or bartender. They tend not to show up in my experience. Prepare all food night before or morning of yourself then drag it into one of their inventories. I like adding an extra sim to the household to take photos and tend the bar and to be on hand for any other things I need done. If you need a fridge to store your food, this only works if your sim owns the lot, I’ve found, so my trick for this is a little more complex lol. I have a “wedding planner” sim who lives on a residential wedding garden lot. If I add my sims to her household for the event, they can fully use the fridge and other items as if they own them, making prep a lot simpler. The lot has a honeymoon suite as well as the wedding planner’s private apartment, so I often have the couple spend their first night together in the honeymoon suite lol. Also, the “wedding planner” can act as your photographer, caterer and bartender in this scenario
Finally, arrive at the venue before the event starts to make sure everything is set up how you want it. Also gives you some time to pose and take photos if you want some memories to hang up on their walls.
And those are my best tips for having a good wedding. I fine tune things each time I have a wedding and they get a little better each time lol
Omg Tessa trying to talk dirty to Josh was hilarious 😆 Great expressions as usual. Of course Kiyoshi saw Josh out with Whitney - I was expecting Tessa to be angrier, but I think you handled it well. Im glad it didn’t destroy their relationship. So you’re officially moving Josh out?? With two more months of Tessa being a teen, it makes sense to veer off in a different direction with her game play so don’t get stuck in a flirty rut with these two that can’t move forward anyway. I wonder if Tessa will find a new love interest in the meantime..,
@Ellupelluellu Great update, it's nice to catch up. I love the "eyebrow" picture of her and the one on the bench with Malcolm. What a makeover! Morgan is cute too. Kudos for limiting yourself some.. and putting a bowling alley in. I really need to work on lots for each world it could become a template later, inspiring! @Kanindota I know I love Kyoshi's house! I don't think it's cheaty when it's a game mechanic and not against the rules... always welcome is a gem trait. You might want to give River a campfire if possible and you have OR... not the cheapest one though, that has extra chance of starting fires. I had an outdoor sim live pretty happily on his own (but he didn't have to go to school). @SoulGal7 It's a bummer when they can't continue... especially with work and school. Good luck kids! @Karababy52 Awww... but good choices. I thought she'd be more upset about Josh's little side line. @Skeilah The blue and red is on spot! It's great that Bryron's going to help Naoki out @permanentrose What beautiful wedding pictures. I love the way Mario and Jules look together. The wedding dresses are beautiful also. I'll bet that was a long play session.
Day 21
Mostly a week of play starting on Sunday..
So this week... I'm having Roxanne study snowboarding by book so she can be prepared for the final parts of the aspiration. I was going to try to send her hiking but things kept happening... like new skill day. I wanted to take advantage of that. So she skilled in many things she's been working on here and there. Fitness, flower arranging (made it to 10!). Some guitar and gourmet cooking is started. I also had the bug I hate with the cowplant where they just revert to the horns, but are still a full grown plant... you can hear and feed them. Urrgh. I eventually just put Audrey 3 in the house inventory because they can die if not fed.
I love that you can scent the flowers with bluebells to make them not rot... also they sell for quite a bit. She might start listing them on plopsy, but there isn't much room to keep them around. Maybe in the future. The paintings are still worth way more. She can get 1000 to 7000ish on a painting so she's doing well. No problem buying the next house. It was a nice week.
More:
Lol... I think of the Wizard of Oz looking at her and Patchy
@permanentrose oh noooooooo!!!! are you resetting? ... Good, it wasn’t a proper save! Love the poses from that mod and congrats to the newyleds! I’ve done Sim weddings before but they were always rushed—one day I will get those mods and play it out.
@ellupelluellu Love that Melody is winning at Sim Life! At §22K + §9K, River can only dream of that much money right now. Hope real life and work life eases up for you. I can empathise but as many have encouraged me, no rush and real life comes first. Also I finally found the fishing spot in Mt. Komerobi (spelling?) so I’m gonna get River fissshiing too!
@soulgal7 I too realise I’ve been misspelling Kiyoshi darn it. Ooof, Kiyoshi be careful. I’m nervous getting River to hit Level 3 at Rock Climbing. I haven’t gotten him any gear yet too. They waay fitter than River is at the moment. Hope it all goes well for Sakura and Kiyoshi!
@Karababy52 I love the slowburn and I’m glad that Tessa got it from an app and that Josh gave in to the thought that something was off. I wondered where that was coming from but oooohhh I’m intrigued and have an inkling where this is going to lead her next
@Skeliah I’m gonna put this in the SimLit I’m slow to update. I’ve learned a lot...didn’t know the bike could hike up his Fun faster so may invest...when River has more §§§§. Aww study lovies they can be together!
@Hermitgirl Oooh, loving the group shots and that Clement Father Winter is part of a cool crew totally forgot about the campfire. In my island living challenge save, they often caused a lot of havoc and I didn’t realise quality was influenced by the price. Haha...Jules is crushing it!!! Oh my goodness, learning lots from you with the gardening. Never knew about the bluebells as well to keep flowers fresh lol
River’s a straight A student but this came with a price. I had to change his job as working on the weekdays left him feeling terrible the rest of the day. Kiyoshi, though no pictured, has been a great friend and sent him some money via his phone. River’s also befriended Kaori and they had nice friendly together at this particular festival whose name I have forgotten. Oh well
Extra
Happy 21st day of the 21st century I’m from England so GMT represent. I usually post in the evenings but I try to do uni work so I’m two weeks ahead. A bit much but with the whole pandemic, though my baby goes to nursery for a bit while I do my final year of uni—I’ve an inkling that he may need to stay home to be more safe...which means university is not my top priority. Really hoping we can have a better new normal soon
Hi Everyone - time for the comments - Oh my gosh - a lot has been happening!
@permanentrose - Day 20 - Gosh, another 'woohoo' talk! lol Wow! And look at that downpour! Good idea you rescheduled the wedding. I love the look on Jules's face when her sister is giving her 'the talk' lol I love the photo of Dell and Sofia with their new socks on! So, so nice Can't wait to see those wedding photos. Oh nooooooooo!!!!! Did I read this right? The Murphy Bed got Jules? Nooooo! Death # 2. @karababy52 - This is a dangerous challenge, did you know that? lol Oh no...I do hope she survives...aka resurrect the last save.
Day 21 - Okay, well seeing Jules again, everything must be fine. *wipes brow in relief* What a beautiful photo of Jules and Mario, and Mario is looking quite handsome. When I saw Jules and Mario head into the closet I was thinking...gets woohoo talk one day...tries out knowledge the next...lol But I see that they just made-out...even so...ooh la la! Dell & Sofia's gowns are gorgeous. Oh, a slow dance...I love that. I know it's a mod, but I wish The Sims game would have a 'real' slow dance. So, so nice and romantic. The photos are really nice. What a fantastic day!
@Skeilah - Day 20 - Bryon loves to read! lol And Naoki can't sit still. Two opposites here for sure. The garden is coming along very nicely. And Bryon continues to read and stays up until 2am. Probably realized what time it was when he heard Naoki snoring behind him.
Day 21 - I love that their school uniforms match their hair! Cool! Yes, a good thing for Bryon to do for Naoki, tutor him. I am sure if this happens, Naoki's grades will be up in no time.
@Hermitgirl - Day 20 - I had to laugh when I saw Roxanne heading off to do the Mountain Excursion with Father Winter, Duane Talla, and is that the librarian? (ok, some cute blonde guy whose name I forgot). Other than Roxanne and Father Winter, the others don't look too prepared for this big trek! I was surprised that Father Winter made it up the ice wall...maybe he kept wandering off because he was looking for his sleigh and reindeer. And that look he gave Roxanne when she flirted with Duane. Priceless. It looks like he was hiding behind that rock and just sprung up, and was like, do you remember who invited you to the Romance Festival? heheh! Congratulations on completing the Mountain Excursion and getting all your motley crew there in one piece. Bravo! Day 21 - I totally love that photo of Roxanne and Patchy. I think when Sakura heads to the next world, she may get one. Lots of skilling done.
@Ellupelluellu - Days 17 - 20 - Great idea to have them practice rock climbing on her lot since she has the Tiny Home Residential Trait which boosts skills. She is doing so well in her garden, fishing, and painting. Just raking in those simoleons. I love the new outfit that she has on. It looks so nice on her. And that snow picture she was painting -- very, vey nice. And the rose from Malcolm - lol - Sakura planted the rose Kiyoshi gave her, too! hehehe Oh no! and the electricity was turned off, too. lol I really like the bar edit - of course, I do love the bowling pack. Melody is doing so well with the simoleons, and she sold two paintings on plopsy! Congrats! Nice update, and don't worry about when you post, it doesn't matter. I just love to read all about Melody's progress. She is doing so well.
@Kanindota - Day 19 - Wow, nice inside of the Ito house. Funny how you thought Megumi was Kiyoshi's sister. Nope...she is the meddling mother. Kiyoshi is a good friend to have, but, as I found out, he has zero rock climbing skill. lol Day 20 - I love all of the snowmen guards at River's house. Geez! It looks cold here. I'd be tempted to sleep in that outhouse over that canvas tent. Brrr! Brings back memories of when I went winter camping (once and only once), and slept overnight in a tent. Of course, I brought my duvet with me, and wore so many clothes to bed. It was fickin' freezin'! Day 21 - It's nice to see Kaori in the game. And I think you attended the Festival of Light. Matching kimonos - love it. So glad that Kiyoshi sent River some funds - his family is rich. On a personal note - ahhh...you have a baby boy...so sweet. How old is he and what's his name? That is a lot of work, going to school and taking care of a baby, but I am sure that you will make it though
@Karababy52 - That Kiyoshi giving Tessa some love advice and suggesting an app! lol Tessa trying to seduce Josh...oh my gosh...it's like she was forgetting what to say...at times...poor Tessa, she tried. And Kiyoshi told her about Josh and Whitney...geez...maybe Kiyoshi wants Josh out of the picture so that he can try with Tessa himself. But it all ended up good, and both Tessa and Josh confessed their real feelings for each other. And with that newfound knowledge, Josh felt he had to go back home. Wise choice, Josh, and this will also help Tessa grow as a person herself.
Well, she's a teen, so she thinks she'll live forever. I love that dress, but it does make her look too old. I think the overalls suit her much better too.
I won't stop the story part, just cut back on it a little. I've been so focused on Tessa and Josh's relationship, the main focus of the challenge was taking a bit of a backseat. I'll just be posting more about her aspiration goals and stuff along with the story.
Oh! Thank you for sharing a bit of Bryon's background and your plans for expanding on it! I love that! I should make a background for Tessa too. Probably help others to understand her a little more and her behavior in relation to Josh. In particular why she didn't get very upset about Josh's little dalliance. Right now my head canon says it's because she's a bit more mature in some ways than a teen normally would be due to her background, but she's still naïve and immature when it comes to things she knows nothing about.
Very cool coincidence how the game used their signature colors for their school uniforms! I love their convo about the test and their grades for it! So cute how they snatched each others test papers to look at the scores. Love that Bryon plans to tutor Naoki too. These two are so cute together, I love them!
*dreamy sigh* Oh how I wish we really had slow dancing in this iteration. The game needs so much more romance than it has right now. I would adore a Romance pack of some sort. Well, well, appears Jules relationship with Mario has progressed to the next level, not a home run yet, but she's making her way around the bases with him hot on her heels.
Absolutely love Dell and Sofia's dresses! Jules with two drinks! tsk, tsk, tsk! They look delicious though. You have so much better luck than I ever have when holding a wedding event. Probably the reason most of my couples just elope, usually in the bathroom in their undies. I see some of the wedding photoshoot pics made it onto her wall already. Beautiful!
I was cracking up at those screenshots. She was very flirty from checking her appearance in the mirror earlier with the dress. I forgot that would happen. But it worked out to my advantage in the end. She was angry as witnessed when she confronted him about it. But I think she was more focused on her plans to try and seduce him. Some of her anger comes out when they're laughing about it too, hence the horndog comment and saying she wanted to kill him over it. I explained a little bit more in my reply to Skeilah above if you want to read it.
Yes, Josh will be moving out to live again with his brothers. They are not-in-world at the moment, but I'm thinking I might give the Hunter boys a home. I figured it was time, since, like you said, I really couldn't progress anything with them given the game mechanics between teens and young adults. Plus, I just need to focus more on completing Tessa's aspirations for the world rather than their relationship. I don't have any plans on Tessa finding another love interest. Maybe, but I doubt it. She's too in love with Josh right now. But who knows! Teens are fickle beings.
Seems everyone thinks I should've made her more angry with him. I had my reasons for not doing that though, some of which I mentioned to Skeilah and permanentrose above if you want to check them out.
Congrats to Roxanne for reaching Level 10 in Flower Arranging! I love that skill! Ugh, the gardening bug strikes again! When are they going to fix that for real? It's been going on since the EL pre-patch. Smart putting Audrey 3 in the inventory for now. Maybe the next patch they'll finally fix it, but I wouldn't hold my breath. Roxanne's doing very well in life. Kudos to her! Adore the screenshot of Roxanne and Patchy! So funny how he's looking at her and she looks a bit nervous as if she's thinking, "Oh God, he's staring at me again."
Thanks! Her faces while she's doing that and Josh's face when he confronts her about it, crack me up every single time I look at them. I had so much fun writing this Day. I would love to know what your inkling is about what happens now. 🤔
I see River has another friend and perhaps future love interest? They look cute together in their matching kimonos. Tessa has not attended any festivals yet, so I couldn't tell you which one it was. Bummer about having to switch jobs, but sounds like it was for the best. Kyoshi sent him money? Was it one of the pop-up things?
The pandemic has been hard and life changing for everyone. I'm looking forward to when we can get back to normal too. Whatever normal means now. Great update!
Good insight into Kyoshi's perhaps real incentive in helping Tessa. He does come around to her house and call her to go places constantly. Hmm... 🤔 Kudos to you for noticing Tessa kept forgetting what to say. It was very subtle so I wondered if anyone would catch it.
Yes, I'm glad they finally got everything out about how they felt about each other. Josh, of course, already might've had an idea she had a crush on him, but found out it was deeper than just a crush. I wanted Josh to stay with Tessa so badly, but realistically I finally decided it wasn't the best decision. Having Josh move out is the best thing right now for both of them and for me.
I love Roxi's penchant for gardening. I know that part of it is to fulfill the aspiration, but she really looks so at home with her flowers and her garden and creepy ol' Patchy lol. I read a book recently that had a quirky character who kept a garden full of deadly/poisonous/interesting plants, and I feel like that line of gardening definitely suit Roxi. She will use her gardening knowledge for her benefit and future plans, I'm sure
Haha yep, I'm part of the dead sim club now. But as you saw, I didn't save my gameplay, but I am finding a way to incorporate it vaguely into one of my updates (I'm ahead in my gameplay, so it will appear on Sunday's update). Definitely not as in depth as your revival for River, lol, but there's gonna be a vague reference to Jules' demise
Also, I'm curious if you're going to have River grow his hair back out, or is he gonna keep it shaved for a while? I definitely think I want to give Jules some different hair styles as she ages - or even just as a fun new haircut when I need something fun for her to do haha
LOL, I totally thought the same thing about the woohoo thing - got the talk, gonna use that knowledge. I was SO close to having Mario stay the night after the wedding and letting them mess around, but I figured I'd let things play out more slowly. Also, there may be some drama coming up...I'm about 3 days ahead in my game play (something I hope I'll appreciate as soon as I have some busier day haha), so the Murphy bed incident hasn't even technically happened yet. Jules and I are living in the future
I'm going to kill us all (myself included) with the build up to Jules and Mario's first time messing around lol. There's been several times that I've almost done it, but nope, making them wait I'll know when the right moment presents itself, I'm sure. Also, remember that there is a small risk of teenage pregnancy in my game due to a mod...so I have to be careful since I may just end up with a baby if I'm not careful
I saw in your reply to @Skeilah that you want to write a backstory for Tessa, which I would LOVE to see. As you can tell, I'm obviously all about the backstories and connections lol.
I've definitely been favoring storytelling in my updates too, but Willow Creek has gotten kind of dull tbh so I have to spice things up somehow to keep myself and all of us entertained I'm excited for next month when I can do a world specific aspiration. That will definitely help guide some of my gameplay and reel it back into the heart of this challenge. But for now you'll get my dramatic storytelling LOL
ALSO, to anyone interested, I did post my wedding tips in a spoiler when replying earlier, but I'll post them here (in another spoiler lol since it's a bit lengthy), in case anyone is curious. Mods and CC only enhance my weddings, but my tips are all things you can do easily in a vanilla game!
My wedding tips:
I use the calendar to plan the event at the specific day and time I want. I also found that making a wedding holiday on that day too helps (you can delete it afterwards so it doesn’t repeat yearly) and select day off work/school to make sure that everyone is actually available for the event. You can also add holiday interactions you'll do at the wedding anyway, like having drinks or appreciating music, and then you get bonus aspiration points too.
Edit your venue and sims ahead of time. Make sure the venue has a table for you to place food you prepare, a bar and a dance floor and stereo. I also like to make special wedding outfits for my sims since I have nice CC wedding attire lol, so I’ll make sure to do that ahead of time. I also have a retail shop in Newcrest that sells wedding dresses so for a fully immersive experience, I’ll actually have my sims shop for their wedding clothes.
Never hire any of the roles like caterer or bartender. They tend not to show up in my experience. Prepare all food night before or morning of yourself then drag it into one of their inventories. I like adding an extra sim to the household to take photos and tend the bar and to be on hand for any other things I need done. If you need a fridge to store your food, this only works if your sim owns the lot, I’ve found, so my trick for this is a little more complex lol. I have a “wedding planner” sim who lives on a residential wedding garden lot. If I add my sims to her household for the event, they can fully use the fridge and other items as if they own them, making prep a lot simpler. The lot has a honeymoon suite as well as the wedding planner’s private apartment, so I often have the couple spend their first night together in the honeymoon suite lol. Also, the “wedding planner” can act as your photographer, caterer and bartender in this scenario
Finally, arrive at the venue before the event starts to make sure everything is set up how you want it. Also gives you some time to pose and take photos if you want some memories to hang up on their walls. Before I installed CC poses, I just made sure to have the photography studio from Get to Work on the venue, so I could use that to take photos as well, for those of you wondering how to do this in a vanilla game.
And those are my best tips for having a good wedding. I fine tune things each time I have a wedding and they get a little better each time lol
Hi Everyone - This is a fairly long up-date with lots of pics. Before they started this Mountain Excursion, I am going to tell you that I was really worried about them. Mostly because of what happened to Kiyoshi during the last two days and getting injured for 6 hours. I didn't know how long they had between levels. I had only read about the Mountain Excursion, but hadn't watched any Let's Plays, but knew about the possibility of sim death at the Croft Icefall Rock Wall. They were both at Level 8 rock climbing, and I hoped that was high enough. Here is a link to some info on the Mountain Excursion.
January (Saturday) - DAY 21: Mountain Excursion
Last night before they went to bed, I had Sakura cash in the 3 signed autographs in her inventory worth $600 simoleons each. She also sold some photos, collectibles, and school projects. With those funds, she and Kiyoshi finally purchased their rock climbing gear. I wanted to purchase another one, but I got the message that Sakura had already purchased one, so no extra equipment. They both purchased all of the bug deterrents. Sakura also bought a tent, a cooler, a firepit and moved a camping lantern from the lot into her inventory.
In the morning, her cherry tree was ready to harvest (yes!) and she got 12 cherries from it. She ordered 4 apple 'gifts'. She split the apples and cherries up between them (to make energy bars), and she also had a lot of other harvestables for food. They also got some new outfits for their trip (unlocked at Rock Climbing Level 5). Kiyoshi was in a focused mood already so bought an easel and had him paint a focused painting. (My thought here was that he would have these in his inventory, which he could bring out and they could view to get focused - as the best emotion is focussed for rock climbing - but that didn't work). They were ready to go, and let's just say that their backpacks were loaded down.
7:24 AM - Sakura started the Mountain Excursion and was the Excursion Leader, and Kiyoshi was an Excursion Member. They get whisked off to the Onsen, but the actual start of the challenge is at the medium rock wall at the top of the gondola. The first thing they did, was to take a photo together and check out the conditions of Mt. Komorebi on the Info Board. Fair. The weather for today was freezing and windy; however, this, in no way, tells you the conditions when you are on the actual mountain which remains a "?" for the weather. The challenge commences and there are goals to be met at each level. Once you are at the top of the gondola, equip the climbing gear. Goals: Check the leader's readiness, the participants' readiness, do some exercise to get ready, climb the medium rock wall and all meet at the sign at the top of the wall.
LEVEL 1: Top of the Gondola Up the Medium Rock Wall
Before the climb, each does some stretching (twice) and chalks their hands and inspects the rock wall (Chance of success is high). I have them climb cautiously. Sakura makes her way up the wall with no problem and is at the trail marker waiting for Kiyoshi. I have Kiyoshi do the same thing, only he slips almost the second he starts. I literally CRINGE when I see he has an uncomfortable moodlet and hope that it's not a 6-hour one again. It isn't, but I read the moodlet and am seriously nervous for Kiyoshi - "could mean disaster on their next vertical adventure" does not sound too good to me. He makes it to the trail marker, and then they "Move on".
1:33 pm - LEVEL 2: Base Camp Up the Tall Wall
It is sunny, but still freezing and windy. The scenery is gorgeous. This is Base Camp and there is a pee bush and a tent set up. Goals: Have 1 sim rest for an hour; inspect climbing conditions, climb the rock wall. They both use the pee bush and Sakura makes an energy bar and eats it. I actually had a bit of a problem with the "rest" part, so since Kiyoshi still had an uncomfortable moodlet, I had him sleep (I did wake him up when the moodlet wore off). Sleep seems to work, but nap and relax didn't seem to. Sakura heads to the rock wall, stretches (twice), chalks her hands, and inspects the rock wall. I have her climb cautiously. Kiyoshi follows and they meet at the trail marker and "move on". When they were there, Kiyoshi does an autonomous 'kiss hands" which I thought was rather cute, like he was trying to warm her hands up from the cold. Ahhh...
5:13 PM - LEVEL 3: Croft Icefall Rock Wall
It was getting dark. The winds had picked up and it had started to snow. It was even more freezing than before. It looked like their snow goggles were fogged up and their faces looked cold. This was the wall that they were dreading. Goals: Have a sim eat something; Light the bonfire; have a sim climb courageously. There are some plants along the way, and Kiyoshi and Sakura harvest blackberries and potatoes. There is a pee bush and bonfire. Kiyoshi uses the pee bush, while Sakura lights the bonfire. He also makes an energy bar and eats it. Apparently, there is a cave around here where you can find collectibles, but as it was getting dark, and the wind was getting stronger, I didn't look for it. Before they make the climb, they warm up by the fire and Sakura is thankful that Kiyoshi is with her. They head to the wall, do stretches (twice), chalk hands and inspect the wall. Both have a high success rate. I also have them get hyped, and drink the galactic vita-water. Sakura clicks on the wall, but I don't get the interaction to climb courageously. Upon reading, I discover that they need Level 9 in the rock climbing skill in order to do that. No worries, I have Sakura climb cautiously and she is to the top long before Kiyoshi. She heads to the trail marker and waits. Kiyoshi is taking quite a while to climb the wall, and I am holding my breath when he slips a bit. In fact, Sakura has been waiting for quite awhile, and I have her take out the firepit and light it to keep warm. She also autonomously roasts some marshmallows. Finally, Kiyoshi makes it to the top of the wall. He lets out a holler of triumph! Yes! You made it! Sakura hears it and starts to go back towards the rock wall. Maybe she thought Kiyoshi was in trouble. I have her stay by the fire and Kiyoshi makes it there. I am so proud of the two of them. They "Move On" To the Peak.
THE PEAK OF MT. KOMOREBI
They have conquered the mountain! There are gusty winds and even though there are stars, there is no moon, so it is very dark. And freezing, freezing cold. They walk to the peak. They decide to stay the night as there is one more thing that Sakura has to do, which they will do in the morning. They set up camp and light the fire and roast some hot dogs. Before they head to bed, Sakura has to use the pee bush, which is down from the peak. The winds are really gusty, and Kiyoshi is worried she will fall off the side of the mountain. But she is fine and returns. They do the snow bros high five. They are both exhausted but happy. At 1:08 am, they head into the tent to sleep.
This will be continued on DAY 22 as we see why it was important for Sakura to reach the peak of Mt. Komorebi.
@SoulGal7 AHHHH, great update, but I'm about to head to bed so I will comment properly tomorrow, just wanted to share my excitement over how great it was!
Jules woke up feeling confident and ready to have a fantastic day. She started off her day by fishing and reeled in a mysterious chest. What could be in there?
Yay! What a lucky catch! This day really is going great.
Buttercup, as our little horned beast shall be called, will not be staying around long past the time he fulfills the aspiration goal of Jules growing a cowplant. They are just too much maintenance and the death factor is not something I'm willing to risk at this time. I have played with many a cowplant, and I've had my fill.
After fishing, Jules took a shower and then decided to text Emmett to thank him for house sitting while she was at the wedding.
Welp!
Ah, well, what's the harm? They're just friends, we all know this. (They actually have no pink relationship bar as of yet, believe it or not )
Emmett began the conversation by asking her about Dell's wedding.
And Jules started autonomously telling a funny story, perhaps the story about how she almost missed her sister's wedding vows since she was making out in a closet with Mario.
Speaking of Mario, Jules looked troubled as she returned home from the bar, like there was something she was trying to remember, perhaps a promise she had made in her drink filled haze the night before...
Yep, she just remembered. And it doesn't look like the moment of realization was a good one...
She had totally forgotten that she had promised Mario she would come hang out with him while he watched his siblings that afternoon. How could she having forgotten? Last night had gone by in a haze - a wonderful haze - but the details were a bit fuzzy after several drinks...
Checking the time, she rushed over to Mario's family’s apartment, hoping that he wouldn't be upset.
Mario: "Oh look who finally decided to show up."
Jules: "Mario, I am SO sorry. Let me explain. I was with Emmett-"
Mario: "Of course you were with Emmett."
Jules: "What's that supposed to mean?"
Mario: "Oh come on, Jules, don't play dumb. Ever since I met you, it's been ‘Emmett this’, and ‘Emmett that’. I think I've been pretty chill about it, but I'm starting to think there's something going on between you two. Last night at the wedding, I thought I felt something special between us, but apparently, you don't feel the same way."
Jules: "You can't be serious! That's not fair, Mario. You know Emmett and I are just friends!"
Mario: "Whatever, Jules. I need some air. Maybe we can talk about this later - you know, if you aren't too busy with Emmett."
Yeah, so much for having a great day...
(This is what happens when I decide to interpret two random expressions that Jules made and just run with it lol)
A question on the Wedding Tips
Thanks for the tips. So, this would be for a wedding where you don't have it as the "plan wedding" event that the bride and groom do? Correct? I like the idea of planning it and making it a holiday on the calendar, and having no school/work for the day. It was a really great day, thanks for sharing.
Day 22 - Ooooweee!
The start of the day was rather lucky for Jules as she caught a cowplant fishing, and her time with Emmett was nice, too. She even laughed about almost missing her sister's wedding with her...um...dailliance with Mario. And then she remembered...gosh...she had promised Mario she would help babysit with him. And when she got there, he was mad....ooohhh....and when Jules apologized and told Mario that she had been with Emmett - oh my gosh - those were fighting words - and the jealousy loomed large. I would say that Mario is a tad jealous! Okay more than a tad! I think I saw steam coming out of his ears, he was so mad! lol And he turned on his heel and left Jules standing there. Of course, Jules was so upset about the whole situation, she couldn't wait to get outside and kick the garbage can. These two are both hotheads! Yikes! Let's hope that Mario can calm down enough to actually listen to Jules and believe her. Oh man, from a great start of a day, to the pits. Poor Jules.
@SoulGal7 I make a wedding holiday and plan a wedding event, since you can plan events on holidays - I do this so that I can make sure I can invite all the guests I want to (but I suppose if only your household is coming or you use cheats to summon all your guests, then you don’t really need to have the time restriction of planning it as an actual event!) I also don’t make my weddings a goaled event - I find that they’re more fun if I don’t put the restrictions of having to meet those goals since I’m not rushing to meet them.
I was not planning to have Mario and Jules get into a fight, especially since the wedding event had been so sweet and cute with them dancing, but since I caught her making those random confused/upset expressions, the idea just came to me. I figured Mario realistically wouldn’t be so chill about her best friend being a guy that she was spending so much time with, so I decided to finally confront that issue.
As for your update - so intense! Their climbing outfits are so cute, especially Sakura’s. You also made sure they were so prepared. For all the prep I do with weddings, I’m terrible at planning for hikes and adventures. I often have to cheat needs when I play jungle adventure since I forget to buy food or bottled showers before hand lol. I’m glad Kiyoshi seems to be pulling through without injury! And that pee bush is a life saver lol. I also really loved Kiyoshi kissing Sakura’s hands like he was warming them up, so cute!! I’m excited to see where today’s update takes them!
Update 21: Ohhh that's such a cute picture Mario indeed looks good! Phahahaha if I saw a utility closet, that wouldn't be the first thing I think about, but okay! Ohhh, Dell and Sofia wear such nice dresses I absolutely love all the photo's.
Comments on my story: Hehe, I also liked the matching uniforms! About the percentage, Bryon actually got a pop-up thing saying something like 'he didn't get 100% on his test... But 98%' and I cracked up a lot with that. I made it 80% in my story to make it more 'believable' that he didn't study for it. Naoki is indeed easily distracted. But like SUPER easily. I hope the tutoring works out xD
Thank you for the wedding tips! It will take some time to make my weddings close to good, but I'll try. Thanks!!
Update 22: Jules seems super confident there! *reads the first sentence in spoiler* and apparently she IS confident today! Hahaha! COWPLANT!! I think cowplant berries are so cute Too bad they turn into that massive cow thing. Still cute, but okay. Aha, there's Maverick Emmett again! Oh no. Jules forgot about Mario..... xDDDD Oh boyyyyy. And he's mad. Really mad. Oh no, poor Jules (and Mario). My heart is tearing in pieces, just like Mario's. Yep, so much for having a great day indeed....
Day 21: Nice update. I never really play with cowplants so I didn't knew there was a cowplant bug. Also really nice that the paintings sell for so much! Wow!
Comments on my story: Bryon is like a water sign while Naoki is like a fire sign. Fire signs have a thing of showing water signs how to enjoy life and how to live in the moment, while a water sign can show a fire sign how to be more emotional and to relate to others. Of course, these signs clash a lot too. There's no telling when the next fight will come :P I hope they won't fight too much, and that energy versus emotion stay in balance somehow.
Day 21: Oh, time for the climbing! I'm exited! *opens spoiler*
Sakura sure is prepared well! I love their outfit, hahahaah! Must be warm. Kiyoshi really is a bad climber, haha. Luckily he didn't have the 6 hour negative moodlet. Oof. Still not a nice mood to read. I'm glad to hear his moodlet wore off after some sleep. The kiss hands interaction is cuteeee. Ooofff, I was holding my breath when Kiyoshi took so long to get up. I'm glad to read he made it in level 3!! Congrats on hitting the peak! Goodnight to them! Camping on the top looks so nice.
Comments: Nice to hear you'll keep on going with the story. I get where you're coming from, though. I'm not posting anything about aspiration stuff directly, I just hide it in my story. I'm not really the person to say 'and now he's level 7 in rock climbing!', you know what I mean?
No problem! I'd like for everyone to see Bryon as he is, including the background he's been living in. I hope you'll all get to meet his parents one day. Mostly his mom, since he never really knew him. I want them to meet so badlyyyy. I'd like to see a background story from Tessa!!
Comments
But then, he slips and Kiyoshi gets that 'Close Call' uncomfortable moodlet again for 6 hours. I can't believe it. Two days in a row and he gets injured. I am really getting nervous about them heading on that excursion. So, while Sakura continues to rock climb, Kiyoshi is at the bottom of the wall reading the rock climbing book. Gah! This is awful! I see some forest spirits at the beginning of the trail and have Kiyoshi head over there. I also see some of those Denkimushi bugs and hope they don't attack him. They don't and he gets some energized aura from the spirits, and then it's back to reading. Once the 6 hours are up, I have Kiyoshi inspect the wall, do the pre-stretch twice, chalk his hands and climb cautiously.
Kiyoshi and Sakura make it to the top of the wall and there are some collectibles and a small garden. When Sakura waters the garden, forest spirits appear. Kiyoshi tells Sakura to make a wish. Let's hope she wishes for good weather and no injuries on their excursion tomorrow. Before they head home, they travel to the Izakaya Ippai Bar and use the vending machines outside to purchase some items (2 hot corn soup; 2 Galactic Vita-waters, and 2 bolt energy bars). Both Sakura and Kiyoshi are now Fitness-Level 7.
I was actually just testing out some knitting interactions anyway, wasn't planning on saving my progress since I'm too many days ahead and didn't want to officially play more tonight (also did not want to waste precious challenge gameplay with testing out knitting stuff). The only reason she was messing with the dumb bed was because my knitting interactions were being glitchy and I wanted to make sure it wasn't the couch/bed causing issues.
This last one is so funny I'm dying
(I did play around with using MCCC to potentially save a sim who dies without having another household member currently living with them, and I think I did find somewhat of a loophole so I can save Jules if something like this happens when I'm actually playing 😅 I know it's cheating, but whatever lol)
@SoulGal7 That's a great screenshot of the day! Rock climbing seems so stressful lol. Jules pulled a muscle just from going on a jog, she'd probably be a hot mess if she tried to climb a wall
@Skeilah - So sorry about your name. I write this in a Word document and copy it over. I thought I had made sure all the links were correct, but I guess they weren't. Apologies. Also realized that I have been misspelling Kiyoshi's first name. lol Will have to now go back and correct them all. Oops!
@Karababy52 - Day 20 - I wanted to comment on this one separately, so here goes:
Okay, now that's the kind of woo hoo talk all my teens usually experience, minus the swearing.
Thank you! Don't worry, I won't stop completely with the storytelling, I'll just have more actual aspiration goal stuff in them, that's been lacking a bit. o.O One advantage of playing a lot is knowing exactly which animations Sims will do while interacting with objects and other Sims. It really does help, like you said, when you're trying to tell a story and need a certain expression on their faces.
I know it's not that sexy, I didn't want it to be. It was supposed to represent what a somewhat naïve, young teen girl thought was sexy. Tessa would never wear sheer lingerie in front of Josh, she'd be embarrassed to do that right now. And yeah, it would probably kill him.
Whoa! Good thing you were only messing around and didn't save. Yeah, that's cheating big time in the challenge, for me anyway. But like I've said many times, I'm not the challenge police and you play however is fun and makes you happy! I probably would've done what you did anyway. I'm too invested in Tessa and Josh right now to start all over again...hmm, however, if Tessa were to die, I could start them with Josh as a teen...nah, I wouldn't be able to bring myself to do that. Never, ever played Josh as a teen, he's always been a young adult in my game.
@Skeilah
You're exactly right about Bryon, I thought he was very crude the way he talked about women and was so full of himself. I think now it was all just a front like you suggested because he was struggling with his true identity.
So cute how Bryon just keeps reading and reading while Naoki is running around doing all kinds of stuff. He really can't sit still!
@Hermitgirl
Glad you got a laugh out of the 'Get-up' line. I almost didn't have Josh say that because it seemed a bit mean. But it just fit, like he was saying without actually coming out with it that she was just play acting at being an adult. Would've been worse I think if he had said something like, maybe, 'costume.'
@Ellupelluellu
@Kanindota
His lot looks so fun with all the Snowpals keeping him company.
@SoulGal7
That's exactly why I did it that way, so we could see what they were thinking, and yes, I think we've all had little wars with ourselves like that in our minds. I know I have.
Alrighty, think I'm caught up now. On a sidenote, patch day tomorrow! We will at least get the Fear emotion free for all! I'm excited to try that out and hoping there's lots of bug fixes in it too!
Have a great rest of your day/night y'all!
I'm starting to get better about knowing which interactions to pick. Before I started posting here on on the forums, I would just zoom through interactions and barely pay attention to what the animations were, basically just so I could build or decay relationship bars. It truly is a treat to start tuning into some of these animations (and I say some, since there are several that make no sense or that are very repetitive) but for the most part, you can get some good expressions based on what you pick. I'm also getting better about knowing what objects/interactions will put Jules in a certain mood, so if I need to get a certain expression for a screenshot I want, I can kind of nudge her into a mood first if I need to.
Oh, sweet, innocent Tessa...I really do like the dynamic you have going with these two. Relationships like theirs can go one of two ways, and you're handling it in the non-creepy way lol. There's something really cute about a teen admiring a slightly older friend and then realizing that their feelings are becoming more. And since teens in TS4 have the bodies and nearly all the capabilities of young adults, we can assume they're meant to be like 18 years old, so it's not crazy for Josh to develop feelings for Tessa, even though he keeps trying to think of her as a kid. He's still basically a kid himself, boys mature slower than girls
I feel *slightly* like I cheated death, since now I know I have to get rid of that Murphy bed asap without interacting with it again lol. Shall I tempt fate and have her put it down next time I log in and see if it defeats her again, just to play fair since I wouldn't have bothered getting rid of it without this incident? Hmm....we shall see....
Also @SoulGal7 - cool little side story about Celine Dion and her husband! I didn't know that, thanks for sharing. Not as large as Celine and Rene, but my parents have a six year age gap, so when my dad was 18, my mom was only 12. They didn't know each other when they were that young, but it just goes to show you that age gaps don't matter as time passes, and some relationships are just meant to be
"Love is a Promise,
Love is a Souvenir.
Once given never forgotten,
Let it never disappear."
Notes
"What's it say?"
"Fair, not Icy. Well that sucks."
"NO! Not again, it's just SO unfair. I never get what I want, what I need."
"Hey, it's okay, it'll happen. We just have to be patient and wait. Good things come to those who wait, right?"
"Oh sure, you're one to talk, you couldn't wait for something good, me! You hooked up with some girl in the city, right? What was her name again? Oh, that's right, Whitney!"
"How do you know about that? Who told you?"
"Kyoshi, he saw you kissing her, and said you couldn't keep your hands off her, couldn't wait..."
"...to take from her what you thought you couldn't have from me, but you can Josh. You don't need her."
"I'm the one you really want, don't you? But you think I'm too young to know how to please a man."
"I promise you I do know exactly how to make, to make you never want another woman again, I'm all the woman you need and want Josh, you can't deny it, admit it. You love me and want to...uh"
"...kiss me, and hold me and, and take off my clothes and...uh..."
"...make passionate love to me until you scream my name in ecstasy. You want that don't you, lover."
"Lover?! Ecstasy?! What!? Tessa what's going on here? That's not how you talk, that's not you. Who told you that...trashy dime store novel talk was how to seduce a man?
"Uh, well..."
"Actually, I got it from an app I downloaded called, 'How to Seduce A Guy in 5 Minutes or Less' Guaranteed to work or double your money back."
"Seriously? I don't believe it."
"Seriously, see? Look. It's by Dr. Lovegood, which now that I read that, it does sound pretty lame. Man, that's the last time I ever take advice from Kyoshi!"
"He said it would be the perfect way to get back at you. Make you want me then tell you to go take a hike."
"I knew it! It was all a big joke. You don't talk like that."
"Yeah, ha, a...ha ha joke. I'm such a goof. What made me think it would work?"
"I don't know, Tessa you're hilarious!"
"I know, right? And you're a horndog!"
"HORNDOG! Stop it, stop it, my sides hurt. You're killing me."
"I wanted to, yeah. But..."
"...not really. This is me talking, for real. Not some app, okay? I do love you Josh and I know you want me, but...I know you won't let it happen. Because you think I'm not ready, that I'm too young. Maybe you're right. But I do know that what I feel in my heart is real, and you can't take that away from me. Maybe someday you'll believe me?"
"You're incredible, no wonder I love you. How'd you get so smart and understanding, so funny and brave. I believe you and I'd kiss you right now if I could.... You know I can't stay now, right? I have to go back home, at least for awhile."
"I know, because you don't trust yourself. I'm too much of a temptation. You're killing me too, you know, I'm scared I'll never see you again, but I guess I don't have a choice."
"Don't be scared, I'm not going anywhere, you're still my best friend and always will be. I promise...we'll still be together, still go on adventures together, everything will be the same...just not...sleep in the same house. You're right, you tempt me, every minute, of every hour of every day and it kills me. That's just the way it has to be though. I'm sorry..."
"But you don't have to go, you have a choice."
"I know, but that's the choice I have to make...because...
...it's the right thing to do."
"Gawd, I'm going to miss you so much. I love you Josh. I love you, I love you, I love you!"
I know...I love you too, Beautiful. Always."
Ah, okay, I wondered if that was the case, but wasn't sure if you had the Parenthood pack.
Yeah, a lot of the animations are repetitive, but there are some surprises out there. I had some in this last Day's post since I really don't play teens all that much. When Tessa was checking her appearance in the mirror, she got VERY flirty and was even flirting with Josh more than any other time they've been together. You can see it in today's screenshots. That surprised me and it was fun making up a dialogue to go along with the storyline with those.
Thank you, I do too. They're such a cute non-couple couple. If that makes sense.
Whatever you choose to do is perfectly fine! I wasn't trying to make you feel guilty and think you had to do anything like that. I was just sharing how I look at it. I mean, you weren't really 'playing' the challenge at the time. So it's cool!
@permanentrose
I've been there too. I'm not much of a reader, but when I really like something, I forget that I even exist HAHAH. At some point I look up, check the time and I'm like 'wait what'. It will take some time, but I guess he'll be alright with school and stuff. HAHAH I find the mosaic very annoying, so yeah I turned it off. But I always put the little white block in front of stuff people are not supposed to see. I'm a good girl.
Good luck on completing the serial romance aspiration soon! ^^ I can see Jules in that aspiration, yes xDD
HAHAHAHHAAH OH NO, THE MURPHY BED GOT JULES HAHAHAHAHA! I shouldn't laugh with this, sorry, but after reading your comment to Kanindota, I just couldn't help myself. I laughed even harder on the next comment where you say 'slowly exits without saving' xDDD
What happened in the first picture also happened with my Sim. He struggled a lot with the bed, then got the bed on his head but then the bed got up and my Sim was dizzy. I didn't expect the bed to do that xD Never saw a Murphy bed death, so this is.. Rather impressive. Oh my god. That face... XDDDD I really zoomed in on the face. This is horrible xDD I know that I'm cheating Bryon back too when he would die. I can't lose Bryon! He better just stays alive.
@Karababy52
I really like the story you're making! I'm a little story driven myself, but that's what everything gives more character. Don't stop doing it!
comments: Thank you!
Day 21: Oh noooo, Josh is leaving for a while??? The home will be sooo empty when Tessa returns home alone... I laughed when Tessa said all that stuff hahahahahahha! Really didn't sound like her, but funny. Nice update!
@Hermitgirl
I do control Naoki, but not as much as I control Bryon. Naoki mostly has to tend the garden for me and then I'll just leave him be, until I have something to do for him.
@Ellupelluellu
Big update: I like the new look for Melody! I think I'm going to swap Bryon and Naoki's clothes once this month is over and they go to the new world and keep doing that for every month. You're giving me ideas! Why is Malcolm so sad :c Seems like the present made him happy again! Was it really his mom that cut the bills? Or his dad...? I know, the mom is the rich one, but for some reason I think the dad is the evil one. xDD Hehe, editing public buildings. Guilty. I also do that. I enjoyed the big update!!!
@Kanindota
day 20: Poor River, only able to read books xD I like all the snow palls on his lot. Come on River, you can do it! Don't be afraid!
@SoulGal7
It's no problem! Just chuckled a little when I saw it :P Oh my, you did indeed! I never really noticed the Kiyoshi typo's!
(Kudo's to the game for giving Bryon a blue uniform and Naoki a red one)
Bryon's Diary
Notes:
Oh hey, boy, you're looking mighty fine
They got to the venue a bit early to take some photos beforehand (see other spoiler below for those photos)
But there was still a bit of time before the wedding started so Mario and Jules had some fun
Mario: "Oh look there's a utility closet down by the bathrooms, wonder what we could do in here..."
(They only made out in the closet. Their first "mess around" wasn't going to be in a closet 30 minutes before her sister gets married lol. And yes, those closest make-out animations and the slow dance ones were made possible mods)
No one would sit down at the same time, OF COURSE, so I had to take a zoom in shot for the wedding vows/kiss since everyone else was hot mess.
Dell and Sofia cut the cake together.
"No one will notice if I take two drinks, right?"
I did get them all to dance at the same time, what a miracle. Wedding guests included Jules and Mario, Olive (photographer/baker/bartender), cousin Bex, and Sofia and Dell's good friends, Katherine and Lincoln, and their toddler daughter, Aspen.
And then a slower dance...it might just be those drinks talking, but I think Jules might be falling in love...
The wedding ended after a fun night of drinks, food and dancing, and I returned everyone to their proper households. I *almost* had Mario come home with Jules for the night, but I resisted. There will be time for that later
Instead, she played guitar, and thought about all those warm and fuzzy feelings dancing with Mario had left in her stomach...
Wedding photoshoot
I had way too much fun with today's update so thanks for bearing with me as I post a million photos
Bryon getting upset over his 80% is very fitting for his genius trait, still a great score for forgetting to study though haha. Of course Naoki doesn’t have the best grades - I feel like he’s always too busy being active and getting distracted. Super cute you’re going to have Bryon tutor him though. They are such cute boyfriends 🥰
Also my wedding tips:
I use the calendar to plan the event at the specific day and time I want. I also found that making a wedding holiday on that day too helps (you can delete it afterwards so it doesn’t repeat yearly) and select day off work/school to make sure that everyone is actually available for the event.
Edit your venue and sims ahead of time. Make sure the venue has a table for you to place food you prepare, a bar and a dance floor and stereo. I also like to make special wedding outfits for my sims since I have nice CC wedding attire lol, so I’ll make sure to do that ahead of time. I also have a retail shop in newcrest that sells wedding dresses so for a fully immersive experience, I’ll actually have my sims shop for their wedding clothes.
Never hire any of the roles like caterer or bartender. They tend not to show up in my experience. Prepare all food night before or morning of yourself then drag it into one of their inventories. I like adding an extra sim to the household to take photos and tend the bar and to be on hand for any other things I need done. If you need a fridge to store your food, this only works if your sim owns the lot, I’ve found, so my trick for this is a little more complex lol. I have a “wedding planner” sim who lives on a residential wedding garden lot. If I add my sims to her household for the event, they can fully use the fridge and other items as if they own them, making prep a lot simpler. The lot has a honeymoon suite as well as the wedding planner’s private apartment, so I often have the couple spend their first night together in the honeymoon suite lol. Also, the “wedding planner” can act as your photographer, caterer and bartender in this scenario
Finally, arrive at the venue before the event starts to make sure everything is set up how you want it. Also gives you some time to pose and take photos if you want some memories to hang up on their walls.
And those are my best tips for having a good wedding. I fine tune things each time I have a wedding and they get a little better each time lol
@Karababy52
@Kanindota I know I love Kyoshi's house! I don't think it's cheaty when it's a game mechanic and not against the rules... always welcome is a gem trait. You might want to give River a campfire if possible and you have OR... not the cheapest one though, that has extra chance of starting fires. I had an outdoor sim live pretty happily on his own (but he didn't have to go to school).
@SoulGal7 It's a bummer when they can't continue... especially with work and school. Good luck kids!
@Karababy52 Awww... but good choices. I thought she'd be more upset about Josh's little side line.
@Skeilah The blue and red is on spot! It's great that Bryron's going to help Naoki out
@permanentrose What beautiful wedding pictures. I love the way Mario and Jules look together. The wedding dresses are beautiful also. I'll bet that was a long play session.
Mostly a week of play starting on Sunday..
So this week... I'm having Roxanne study snowboarding by book so she can be prepared for the final parts of the aspiration. I was going to try to send her hiking but things kept happening... like new skill day. I wanted to take advantage of that. So she skilled in many things she's been working on here and there. Fitness, flower arranging (made it to 10!). Some guitar and gourmet cooking is started. I also had the bug I hate with the cowplant where they just revert to the horns, but are still a full grown plant... you can hear and feed them. Urrgh. I eventually just put Audrey 3 in the house inventory because they can die if not fed.
I love that you can scent the flowers with bluebells to make them not rot... also they sell for quite a bit. She might start listing them on plopsy, but there isn't much room to keep them around. Maybe in the future. The paintings are still worth way more. She can get 1000 to 7000ish on a painting so she's doing well. No problem buying the next house. It was a nice week.
More:
Lol... I think of the Wizard of Oz looking at her and Patchy
@ellupelluellu Love that Melody is winning at Sim Life! At §22K + §9K, River can only dream of that much money right now. Hope real life and work life eases up for you. I can empathise but as many have encouraged me, no rush and real life comes first. Also I finally found the fishing spot in Mt. Komerobi (spelling?) so I’m gonna get River fissshiing too!
@soulgal7 I too realise I’ve been misspelling Kiyoshi darn it. Ooof, Kiyoshi be careful. I’m nervous getting River to hit Level 3 at Rock Climbing. I haven’t gotten him any gear yet too. They waay fitter than River is at the moment. Hope it all goes well for Sakura and Kiyoshi!
@Karababy52 I love the slowburn and I’m glad that Tessa got it from an app and that Josh gave in to the thought that something was off. I wondered where that was coming from but oooohhh I’m intrigued and have an inkling where this is going to lead her next
@Skeliah I’m gonna put this in the SimLit I’m slow to update. I’ve learned a lot...didn’t know the bike could hike up his Fun faster so may invest...when River has more §§§§. Aww study lovies they can be together!
@Hermitgirl Oooh, loving the group shots and that Clement Father Winter is part of a cool crew totally forgot about the campfire. In my island living challenge save, they often caused a lot of havoc and I didn’t realise quality was influenced by the price. Haha...Jules is crushing it!!! Oh my goodness, learning lots from you with the gardening. Never knew about the bluebells as well to keep flowers fresh lol
Extra
@permanentrose - Day 20 - Gosh, another 'woohoo' talk! lol Wow! And look at that downpour! Good idea you rescheduled the wedding. I love the look on Jules's face when her sister is giving her 'the talk' lol I love the photo of Dell and Sofia with their new socks on! So, so nice
Day 21 - Okay, well seeing Jules again, everything must be fine. *wipes brow in relief* What a beautiful photo of Jules and Mario, and Mario is looking quite handsome. When I saw Jules and Mario head into the closet I was thinking...gets woohoo talk one day...tries out knowledge the next...lol But I see that they just made-out...even so...ooh la la! Dell & Sofia's gowns are gorgeous. Oh, a slow dance...I love that. I know it's a mod, but I wish The Sims game would have a 'real' slow dance. So, so nice and romantic. The photos are really nice. What a fantastic day!
@Skeilah - Day 20 - Bryon loves to read! lol And Naoki can't sit still. Two opposites here for sure. The garden is coming along very nicely. And Bryon continues to read and stays up until 2am. Probably realized what time it was when he heard Naoki snoring behind him.
Day 21 - I love that their school uniforms match their hair! Cool! Yes, a good thing for Bryon to do for Naoki, tutor him. I am sure if this happens, Naoki's grades will be up in no time.
@Hermitgirl - Day 20 - I had to laugh when I saw Roxanne heading off to do the Mountain Excursion with Father Winter, Duane Talla, and is that the librarian? (ok, some cute blonde guy whose name I forgot). Other than Roxanne and Father Winter, the others don't look too prepared for this big trek! I was surprised that Father Winter made it up the ice wall...maybe he kept wandering off because he was looking for his sleigh and reindeer. And that look he gave Roxanne when she flirted with Duane. Priceless. It looks like he was hiding behind that rock and just sprung up, and was like, do you remember who invited you to the Romance Festival? heheh! Congratulations on completing the Mountain Excursion and getting all your motley crew there in one piece. Bravo! Day 21 - I totally love that photo of Roxanne and Patchy. I think when Sakura heads to the next world, she may get one. Lots of skilling done.
@Ellupelluellu - Days 17 - 20 - Great idea to have them practice rock climbing on her lot since she has the Tiny Home Residential Trait which boosts skills. She is doing so well in her garden, fishing, and painting. Just raking in those simoleons. I love the new outfit that she has on. It looks so nice on her. And that snow picture she was painting -- very, vey nice. And the rose from Malcolm - lol - Sakura planted the rose Kiyoshi gave her, too! hehehe Oh no! and the electricity was turned off, too. lol I really like the bar edit - of course, I do love the bowling pack. Melody is doing so well with the simoleons, and she sold two paintings on plopsy! Congrats! Nice update, and don't worry about when you post, it doesn't matter. I just love to read all about Melody's progress. She is doing so well.
@Kanindota - Day 19 - Wow, nice inside of the Ito house. Funny how you thought Megumi was Kiyoshi's sister. Nope...she is the meddling mother. Kiyoshi is a good friend to have, but, as I found out, he has zero rock climbing skill. lol Day 20 - I love all of the snowmen guards at River's house. Geez! It looks cold here. I'd be tempted to sleep in that outhouse over that canvas tent. Brrr! Brings back memories of when I went winter camping (once and only once), and slept overnight in a tent. Of course, I brought my duvet with me, and wore so many clothes to bed. It was fickin' freezin'! Day 21 - It's nice to see Kaori in the game. And I think you attended the Festival of Light. Matching kimonos - love it. So glad that Kiyoshi sent River some funds - his family is rich. On a personal note - ahhh...you have a baby boy...so sweet. How old is he and what's his name? That is a lot of work, going to school and taking care of a baby, but I am sure that you will make it though
@Karababy52 - That Kiyoshi giving Tessa some love advice and suggesting an app! lol Tessa trying to seduce Josh...oh my gosh...it's like she was forgetting what to say...at times...poor Tessa, she tried. And Kiyoshi told her about Josh and Whitney...geez...maybe Kiyoshi wants Josh out of the picture so that he can try with Tessa himself. But it all ended up good, and both Tessa and Josh confessed their real feelings for each other. And with that newfound knowledge, Josh felt he had to go back home. Wise choice, Josh, and this will also help Tessa grow as a person herself.
I won't stop the story part, just cut back on it a little. I've been so focused on Tessa and Josh's relationship, the main focus of the challenge was taking a bit of a backseat. I'll just be posting more about her aspiration goals and stuff along with the story.
Oh! Thank you for sharing a bit of Bryon's background and your plans for expanding on it! I love that! I should make a background for Tessa too. Probably help others to understand her a little more and her behavior in relation to Josh. In particular why she didn't get very upset about Josh's little dalliance.
Very cool coincidence how the game used their signature colors for their school uniforms! I love their convo about the test and their grades for it! So cute how they snatched each others test papers to look at the scores. Love that Bryon plans to tutor Naoki too. These two are so cute together, I love them!
@permanentrose
Absolutely love Dell and Sofia's dresses! Jules with two drinks! tsk, tsk, tsk!
I was cracking up at those screenshots. She was very flirty from checking her appearance in the mirror earlier with the dress. I forgot that would happen. But it worked out to my advantage in the end.
Yes, Josh will be moving out to live again with his brothers. They are not-in-world at the moment, but I'm thinking I might give the Hunter boys a home. I figured it was time, since, like you said, I really couldn't progress anything with them given the game mechanics between teens and young adults. Plus, I just need to focus more on completing Tessa's aspirations for the world rather than their relationship. I don't have any plans on Tessa finding another love interest. Maybe, but I doubt it. She's too in love with Josh right now. But who knows! Teens are fickle beings.
@Hermitgirl
Congrats to Roxanne for reaching Level 10 in Flower Arranging! I love that skill!
@Kanindota
I see River has another friend and perhaps future love interest?
The pandemic has been hard and life changing for everyone. I'm looking forward to when we can get back to normal too. Whatever normal means now.
@SoulGal7
Yes, I'm glad they finally got everything out about how they felt about each other. Josh, of course, already might've had an idea she had a crush on him, but found out it was deeper than just a crush. I wanted Josh to stay with Tessa so badly, but realistically I finally decided it wasn't the best decision. Having Josh move out is the best thing right now for both of them and for me.
@Kanindota
Also, I'm curious if you're going to have River grow his hair back out, or is he gonna keep it shaved for a while? I definitely think I want to give Jules some different hair styles as she ages - or even just as a fun new haircut when I need something fun for her to do haha
@SoulGal7
@Karababy52
I saw in your reply to @Skeilah that you want to write a backstory for Tessa, which I would LOVE to see. As you can tell, I'm obviously all about the backstories and connections lol.
I've definitely been favoring storytelling in my updates too, but Willow Creek has gotten kind of dull tbh so I have to spice things up somehow to keep myself and all of us entertained
ALSO, to anyone interested, I did post my wedding tips in a spoiler when replying earlier, but I'll post them here (in another spoiler lol since it's a bit lengthy), in case anyone is curious. Mods and CC only enhance my weddings, but my tips are all things you can do easily in a vanilla game!
I use the calendar to plan the event at the specific day and time I want. I also found that making a wedding holiday on that day too helps (you can delete it afterwards so it doesn’t repeat yearly) and select day off work/school to make sure that everyone is actually available for the event. You can also add holiday interactions you'll do at the wedding anyway, like having drinks or appreciating music, and then you get bonus aspiration points too.
Edit your venue and sims ahead of time. Make sure the venue has a table for you to place food you prepare, a bar and a dance floor and stereo. I also like to make special wedding outfits for my sims since I have nice CC wedding attire lol, so I’ll make sure to do that ahead of time. I also have a retail shop in Newcrest that sells wedding dresses so for a fully immersive experience, I’ll actually have my sims shop for their wedding clothes.
Never hire any of the roles like caterer or bartender. They tend not to show up in my experience. Prepare all food night before or morning of yourself then drag it into one of their inventories. I like adding an extra sim to the household to take photos and tend the bar and to be on hand for any other things I need done. If you need a fridge to store your food, this only works if your sim owns the lot, I’ve found, so my trick for this is a little more complex lol. I have a “wedding planner” sim who lives on a residential wedding garden lot. If I add my sims to her household for the event, they can fully use the fridge and other items as if they own them, making prep a lot simpler. The lot has a honeymoon suite as well as the wedding planner’s private apartment, so I often have the couple spend their first night together in the honeymoon suite lol. Also, the “wedding planner” can act as your photographer, caterer and bartender in this scenario
Finally, arrive at the venue before the event starts to make sure everything is set up how you want it. Also gives you some time to pose and take photos if you want some memories to hang up on their walls. Before I installed CC poses, I just made sure to have the photography studio from Get to Work on the venue, so I could use that to take photos as well, for those of you wondering how to do this in a vanilla game.
And those are my best tips for having a good wedding. I fine tune things each time I have a wedding and they get a little better each time lol
January (Saturday) - DAY 21: Mountain Excursion
In the morning, her cherry tree was ready to harvest (yes!) and she got 12 cherries from it. She ordered 4 apple 'gifts'. She split the apples and cherries up between them (to make energy bars), and she also had a lot of other harvestables for food. They also got some new outfits for their trip (unlocked at Rock Climbing Level 5). Kiyoshi was in a focused mood already so bought an easel and had him paint a focused painting. (My thought here was that he would have these in his inventory, which he could bring out and they could view to get focused - as the best emotion is focussed for rock climbing - but that didn't work). They were ready to go, and let's just say that their backpacks were loaded down.
7:24 AM - Sakura started the Mountain Excursion and was the Excursion Leader, and Kiyoshi was an Excursion Member. They get whisked off to the Onsen, but the actual start of the challenge is at the medium rock wall at the top of the gondola. The first thing they did, was to take a photo together and check out the conditions of Mt. Komorebi on the Info Board. Fair. The weather for today was freezing and windy; however, this, in no way, tells you the conditions when you are on the actual mountain which remains a "?" for the weather. The challenge commences and there are goals to be met at each level. Once you are at the top of the gondola, equip the climbing gear. Goals: Check the leader's readiness, the participants' readiness, do some exercise to get ready, climb the medium rock wall and all meet at the sign at the top of the wall.
LEVEL 1: Top of the Gondola Up the Medium Rock Wall
Before the climb, each does some stretching (twice) and chalks their hands and inspects the rock wall (Chance of success is high). I have them climb cautiously. Sakura makes her way up the wall with no problem and is at the trail marker waiting for Kiyoshi. I have Kiyoshi do the same thing, only he slips almost the second he starts. I literally CRINGE when I see he has an uncomfortable moodlet and hope that it's not a 6-hour one again. It isn't, but I read the moodlet and am seriously nervous for Kiyoshi - "could mean disaster on their next vertical adventure" does not sound too good to me. He makes it to the trail marker, and then they "Move on".
1:33 pm - LEVEL 2: Base Camp Up the Tall Wall
It is sunny, but still freezing and windy. The scenery is gorgeous. This is Base Camp and there is a pee bush and a tent set up. Goals: Have 1 sim rest for an hour; inspect climbing conditions, climb the rock wall. They both use the pee bush and Sakura makes an energy bar and eats it. I actually had a bit of a problem with the "rest" part, so since Kiyoshi still had an uncomfortable moodlet, I had him sleep (I did wake him up when the moodlet wore off). Sleep seems to work, but nap and relax didn't seem to. Sakura heads to the rock wall, stretches (twice), chalks her hands, and inspects the rock wall. I have her climb cautiously. Kiyoshi follows and they meet at the trail marker and "move on". When they were there, Kiyoshi does an autonomous 'kiss hands" which I thought was rather cute, like he was trying to warm her hands up from the cold. Ahhh...
5:13 PM - LEVEL 3: Croft Icefall Rock Wall
It was getting dark. The winds had picked up and it had started to snow. It was even more freezing than before. It looked like their snow goggles were fogged up and their faces looked cold. This was the wall that they were dreading. Goals: Have a sim eat something; Light the bonfire; have a sim climb courageously. There are some plants along the way, and Kiyoshi and Sakura harvest blackberries and potatoes. There is a pee bush and bonfire. Kiyoshi uses the pee bush, while Sakura lights the bonfire. He also makes an energy bar and eats it. Apparently, there is a cave around here where you can find collectibles, but as it was getting dark, and the wind was getting stronger, I didn't look for it. Before they make the climb, they warm up by the fire and Sakura is thankful that Kiyoshi is with her. They head to the wall, do stretches (twice), chalk hands and inspect the wall. Both have a high success rate. I also have them get hyped, and drink the galactic vita-water. Sakura clicks on the wall, but I don't get the interaction to climb courageously. Upon reading, I discover that they need Level 9 in the rock climbing skill in order to do that. No worries, I have Sakura climb cautiously and she is to the top long before Kiyoshi. She heads to the trail marker and waits. Kiyoshi is taking quite a while to climb the wall, and I am holding my breath when he slips a bit. In fact, Sakura has been waiting for quite awhile, and I have her take out the firepit and light it to keep warm. She also autonomously roasts some marshmallows. Finally, Kiyoshi makes it to the top of the wall. He lets out a holler of triumph! Yes! You made it! Sakura hears it and starts to go back towards the rock wall. Maybe she thought Kiyoshi was in trouble. I have her stay by the fire and Kiyoshi makes it there. I am so proud of the two of them. They "Move On" To the Peak.
THE PEAK OF MT. KOMOREBI
They have conquered the mountain! There are gusty winds and even though there are stars, there is no moon, so it is very dark. And freezing, freezing cold. They walk to the peak. They decide to stay the night as there is one more thing that Sakura has to do, which they will do in the morning. They set up camp and light the fire and roast some hot dogs. Before they head to bed, Sakura has to use the pee bush, which is down from the peak. The winds are really gusty, and Kiyoshi is worried she will fall off the side of the mountain. But she is fine and returns. They do the snow bros high five. They are both exhausted but happy. At 1:08 am, they head into the tent to sleep.
This will be continued on DAY 22 as we see why it was important for Sakura to reach the peak of Mt. Komorebi.
Yay! What a lucky catch! This day really is going great.
Buttercup, as our little horned beast shall be called, will not be staying around long past the time he fulfills the aspiration goal of Jules growing a cowplant. They are just too much maintenance and the death factor is not something I'm willing to risk at this time. I have played with many a cowplant, and I've had my fill.
After fishing, Jules took a shower and then decided to text Emmett to thank him for house sitting while she was at the wedding.
Welp!
Ah, well, what's the harm? They're just friends, we all know this. (They actually have no pink relationship bar as of yet, believe it or not
Emmett began the conversation by asking her about Dell's wedding.
And Jules started autonomously telling a funny story, perhaps the story about how she almost missed her sister's wedding vows since she was making out in a closet with Mario.
Speaking of Mario, Jules looked troubled as she returned home from the bar, like there was something she was trying to remember, perhaps a promise she had made in her drink filled haze the night before...
Yep, she just remembered. And it doesn't look like the moment of realization was a good one...
She had totally forgotten that she had promised Mario she would come hang out with him while he watched his siblings that afternoon. How could she having forgotten? Last night had gone by in a haze - a wonderful haze - but the details were a bit fuzzy after several drinks...
Checking the time, she rushed over to Mario's family’s apartment, hoping that he wouldn't be upset.
Mario: "Oh look who finally decided to show up."
Jules: "Mario, I am SO sorry. Let me explain. I was with Emmett-"
Mario: "Of course you were with Emmett."
Jules: "What's that supposed to mean?"
Mario: "Oh come on, Jules, don't play dumb. Ever since I met you, it's been ‘Emmett this’, and ‘Emmett that’. I think I've been pretty chill about it, but I'm starting to think there's something going on between you two. Last night at the wedding, I thought I felt something special between us, but apparently, you don't feel the same way."
Jules: "You can't be serious! That's not fair, Mario. You know Emmett and I are just friends!"
Mario: "Whatever, Jules. I need some air. Maybe we can talk about this later - you know, if you aren't too busy with Emmett."
Yeah, so much for having a great day...
(This is what happens when I decide to interpret two random expressions that Jules made and just run with it lol)
A question on the Wedding Tips
Thanks for the tips. So, this would be for a wedding where you don't have it as the "plan wedding" event that the bride and groom do? Correct? I like the idea of planning it and making it a holiday on the calendar, and having no school/work for the day. It was a really great day, thanks for sharing.
Day 22 - Ooooweee!
As for your update - so intense! Their climbing outfits are so cute, especially Sakura’s. You also made sure they were so prepared. For all the prep I do with weddings, I’m terrible at planning for hikes and adventures. I often have to cheat needs when I play jungle adventure since I forget to buy food or bottled showers before hand lol. I’m glad Kiyoshi seems to be pulling through without injury! And that pee bush is a life saver lol. I also really loved Kiyoshi kissing Sakura’s hands like he was warming them up, so cute!! I’m excited to see where today’s update takes them!
Comments on my story: Hehe, I also liked the matching uniforms! About the percentage, Bryon actually got a pop-up thing saying something like 'he didn't get 100% on his test... But 98%' and I cracked up a lot with that. I made it 80% in my story to make it more 'believable' that he didn't study for it. Naoki is indeed easily distracted. But like SUPER easily. I hope the tutoring works out xD
Thank you for the wedding tips! It will take some time to make my weddings close to good, but I'll try. Thanks!!
Update 22: Jules seems super confident there! *reads the first sentence in spoiler* and apparently she IS confident today! Hahaha! COWPLANT!! I think cowplant berries are so cute
@Hermitgirl
@Kanindota
Hahahaha, also a happy 21st day of the 21st century for you
@SoulGal7
Day 21: Oh, time for the climbing! I'm exited! *opens spoiler*
Sakura sure is prepared well! I love their outfit, hahahaah! Must be warm. Kiyoshi really is a bad climber, haha. Luckily he didn't have the 6 hour negative moodlet. Oof. Still not a nice mood to read. I'm glad to hear his moodlet wore off after some sleep. The kiss hands interaction is cuteeee. Ooofff, I was holding my breath when Kiyoshi took so long to get up. I'm glad to read he made it in level 3!! Congrats on hitting the peak! Goodnight to them! Camping on the top looks so nice.
@Karababy52
No problem! I'd like for everyone to see Bryon as he is, including the background he's been living in. I hope you'll all get to meet his parents one day. Mostly his mom, since he never really knew him. I want them to meet so badlyyyy. I'd like to see a background story from Tessa!!