Today I uploaded my first 'from the ground up' residential build to the gallery. A house over a pond for the empty lot in Werewolves.
Not sure on policy here on 'self promotion', so holding off on images of it - just noting that I did it. It's the first time I tried to build from an empty lot (well, there were 3 trees on the 'EA build' and I moved them around but kept them... ), so it feels like an achievement.
I don't use Discord because it doesn't support multiple accounts and I don't need folks at work wondering what I'm doing even on my own time. Until Discord catches up with every single other voice / video conferencing system, I limit where I use it:
Erik gazed about the classroom. He kept an eye on the clock, while trying to listen to the math lesson at the same time. Joey was nowhere to be seen. After a time, the Teen slowly meandered into the classroom and took a seat. One look at him and the elder brother knew. He was the unfortunate recipient of one of Ms. Prescott’s rants.
Instead of feeling vindicated, Erik’s heart went out to Joey, instead. You got yourself caught again, eh, Nimrod? Quietly, Erik just shook his head.
After class was over, the two sat for awhile.
“So, did you get busted for being late?” Erik asked.
“I hardly think that would be ethical, considering she was the one detaining me in the first place. Can’t you use some of your clout to get me outta detention?”
“What makes you think I can get you out? I couldn’t even get myself out of it. Else, I’d be willing to give it a try. So, what are you in for?”
“It’s just too embarrassing,” Joey said.
“I’ll try not to laugh.” Erik gave his brother a look.
“Okay, it went down like this. I was busy looking for just the right locker to hit. I had carefully crafted a stink bomb, I just needed the right candidate to test it on. I heard a noise and looked up. There stood Ms. Prescott, arms folded over her chest and looking real mean. She was stalking me, I swear. Somebody must have suggested I was the one doing all of the pranks around here. She caught me in the hall in front of the locker I chose, and all but dragged me by the ear into her office. Where I just sat. And sat, and sat. ‘Ah, excuse me, Ms. Prescott,’ I said, ‘why am I here? I know that class has begun by now. Can I please go?”
“Finally, out of boredom I started studying for Friday’s exam. Took her awhile before she looked up from her computer.”
“Mr. Cantrell, why were you sneaking around the halls? You have Detention, after school. Tut-tut, I don’t want a string of lame excuses like your brother gave me. Be in Detention for one hour as soon as school lets out. You may go to your class, now.”
“I’m really, sorry. Just do your time and get it over with.”
“Why? You didn’t do your time.”
“What are you talking about? I most certainly did. I missed my concert, my photoshoot and got quite a dressing-down from my Promoter. I may even owe the venue some money for my no-show! Sheesh, where did you get the notion I didn’t sit in detention?”
“I’m going to go grab some lunch, before that’s off-limits, too.” Joey grumbled.
Taking a seat, he was quite annoyed when Ms. Prescott was suddenly there. She placed her dish on the table and took a seat.
“Aren’t you going to eat that?” she said.
“I suddenly lost my appetite,” Joey replied. “Say, look, are you stalking me or something? This is just getting weird. You follow me in the halls, and now out of all the available seats you chose one at the table I’m already sitting at. What is going on? It’s like you don’t trust me or something.”
“Well, Mr. Cantrell, how can I trust you when you act so suspicious?”
“I’m just sitting here trying to have lunch. Give it a rest, would ya? Sheesh, you’re worse than my parents.”
“I rest my case, young sir.”
As the last class of the day concluded, Joey sighed. Erik got up to leave, since this was the room they used for detention. “Hey, wait, Erik. Can I show you something first?” Joey’s eyes were pleading as if to say, don’t leave me here alone.
“Sure, show me.”
Shortly after Erik left the room, he went to find someone to chat with. He knew that hour was going to feel more like ten years, but he didn’t want Joey to have to return home alone. Erik didn’t like how he felt. His father all but confronting him in the foyer. Erik was merely late, Joey was accused of planting stink bombs. A much greater charge.
Joey remained at his desk. He saw no reason to change seats. He kept watching the door. Company would sure be good, other than the Teacher. The door suddenly swung open. He was not at all pleased to see who walked in.
That’s when Joey did get up. He moved to the first chair in his row.
“Ahem,” he began, “why don’t you just outfit me with an ankle bracelet? I mean, come on. This is a bit of overkill, don’t you think? Where am I supposed to go? Really, I am more than insulted.”
“If you think you can charm your way out of detention, early, you’ve got another thing coming to you. Bad enough I had to hear from Orion Entertainment, Limited. I still can’t believe they sent a technical crew out to check the P.A. system down in the basement gym. Talk about being insulted. It’s working just fine, now. At least they didn’t charge the School District for it.”
So Erik was telling the truth. Wonder if Orion would take up my case? Obviously they have Clout.
By the time Erik and Joey returned from school, the afternoon was waning. “Your fan club is here,” Joey said, nodding his head toward the gaggle of Paparazzi. The two decided to get their homework done. This was a long weekend. Labor Day was on Monday, and neither one of them wanted to waste the day doing drudgery.
As Erik sat trying to concentrate on his work, the Paparazzi pleaded for an exclusive interview. Hardly exclusive if everyone is hearing the questions and my answers. He didn’t really mind. The attention merely meant he was still on top of his game. Besides, he was up for his third Best Song Accolade.
“So, you were late because you didn’t hear the bell down in the gym?”
“Yeah, I didn’t hear it. I heard something but it wasn’t clearly the bell.”
“Did you know that your Promoter sent a crew out to fix it?”
“No, where did you hear that?
“From Ms. Prescott. Guess they didn’t want you to miss any more concerts. And you thought you had no clout.”
Saturday rolled around and once again Erik was up way too early. He tried his best to finish the violin song he’d been working on, but for some reason, he kept having to restart it from the top. Basically, he was getting nowhere, fast. As the day ebbed into late afternoon, Kayleigh phoned to invite him over to her house for a pre-Prom party. “I’ll be right over,” he said. Cheerfully, he set his violin aside. “Mom, Dad, I’m off to the Prom. Well, actually, to Kayleigh’s house first. She’s throwing a pre-Prom party, then onto the Prom. Don’t wait up.”
Erik knocked on the front door and Hayleigh let him in. “Hayleigh, how are you?”
“Fine. I’m grounded so I can’t go to the Prom. But, my little sister, Mercedes, wants to know if she can take a Selfie with you.”
“Sure, of course, I’d be delighted.”
Kayleigh came over to greet him. “So glad you could make it. I’ve got some pictures to show you. Some videos I found online. I think you’ll get a kick out of them. Some are of you from the last Prom.”
“Oh, yeah? How did I miss those?”
“Hey, it’s time to go!” Erik said. “Is there someplace I can change?”
“Wow, don’t you look spiffy,” Mercedes said. “Can I have your autograph?”
“Sure,” Erik said.
Mercedes then proceeded to scream, loudly.
Kayleigh came down the stairs. “Ready to go?” Erik asked. “I have my Dad’s Hovercraft. If we leave now, we may get there in time.”
“Have I told you just how stunning you look?”
“Why thank you. You look pretty Spiffy, yourself.”
“Spiffy, is that a family word or something?”
“Let’s go inside and dance our socks off, shall we?”
Like last week, the gymnasium was enchanting.
The two mingled with the other students and had a good time.
After too short a time, the Awards were ready to be announced. “Students, please give your attention. We have tallied your votes and now have the winners. Tonight's Prom Jester is Noah Kane. Come on up here, Noah.
Erik gazed at Noah. There must be something about being chosen as the Jester. He doesn’t look any more thrilled about it than Hayleigh did.
“Tonight’s Prom Royalty is, for the second time, Erik Cantrell. Meet your Prom King!”
This time Erik and Kayleigh made a point to have their picture taken, first, before they danced the night away, like last time. Erik didn’t quite know what to make of Ms. Prescott’s mood. She almost seemed annoyed he won the crown. This took the wind out of his sails a bit. It was perfectly okay with him if she was over his celebrity. Last thing he needed was his school principal to fawn all over him. But, he sure wanted to know what was vexing her. What did I do this time?
Sunday lived up to its name. The sun was shining brightly for the second day in a row. Erik managed to fill the rest of his day, again trying to finish that violin song. He was beginning to fear his wish wouldn’t be fulfilled. This scared him a little. Things were just going too smoothly on his career front. Well, except for the one huge gaffe. He kept waiting for the bill to show up. Just how much do I owe?
Around five-ish, he got himself ready. Donned his new suit, gussied up, brushed his teeth.
He even spritzed on some cologne for good measure.
Erik decided there had to be something in the air. The audience seemed unusually restless. At least three Accolades were handed out before they came to the Music portion of the Show. When his name was called for Best Song, Erik got up and stood at the microphone. That’s when the stuffing really began to hit the fan.
“Whoa, hey, what’s going on, Peeps?” He said.
Next thing he knew two fans of his went at it, right in front of the cameras, too. This was broadcast worldwide. Erik was embarrassed beyond words.
“Guys, ah, Guys, come on, now. This is no way to behave. Sincerely, you’re on TV and I don’t think a Starlight Accolade for this performance will be coming your way. Quit it already! Can’t we all just get along?”
"This is such an honor. Wow. I may have to build more shelves, if this keeps up."
“I would like to thank my Record label, Taygeta Studios, my Promoter, Orion Entertainment, Limited, for the many concerts they schedule, and for fixing the P.A. System down in the basement work out room. I offer my heartfelt apologies, too, for missing the concert last week and to my Fans, I wasn’t standing you up. I promise. I got put in detention. Yeah. I messed up, was late to class and blammo! Got the hammer dropped on me. And can you guys, please, take it out into the hall? Enough is too much, already. Thank you to my parents, my Principal, Ms. Prescott, who are all there in my corner trying to help me along the way. I am honored and humbled by this sweet recognition.”
I hope it wasn’t Dylan and Zeph… I haven’t given them their human formal attire because I haven’t had any formal events in my game. They do have merman formal attire.
I probably should have mentioned that they need their formal outfits updated…
I have a brand new Under The Tartosan Sun ready for your enjoyment. I want to apologize in advance it's a bit of a long read. I got kind of carried away. So carried away in fact I've been working on it all day. It's in my top three favorite episodes.
> @Jyotai said:
> Today I uploaded my first 'from the ground up' residential build to the gallery. A house over a pond for the empty lot in Werewolves.
>
> Not sure on policy here on 'self promotion', so holding off on images of it - just noting that I did it. It's the first time I tried to build from an empty lot (well, there were 3 trees on the 'EA build' and I moved them around but kept them... ), so it feels like an achievement.
Congratulations that sounds amazing ^=^ I hope you can show some pics I'd like to see what you've done.
Turns out there's a sub forum here just for the purpose of mentioning things you put on the gallery. So I posted images there:
I don't use Discord because it doesn't support multiple accounts and I don't need folks at work wondering what I'm doing even on my own time. Until Discord catches up with every single other voice / video conferencing system, I limit where I use it:
@GalacticGal I love your update and Joey and Erik’s interactions in detention was hilarious.
I’m still super curious about that fight between fans. Mostly curious about what could get my twins to fight in public if it was them!
They are always so well mannered in my game!
Most of why I’m wondering if Dylan and Zeph are involved is because I see a barefoot in the fight. If one of the twins showed up in mermadic attire, they wouldn’t be wearing shoes. The formal outfit is traditional attire for a merman prince.
@luciusstorm Your Wyrd Girls can meet them. Danielle, Londyn, and Matteo are all in my gallery minus their signature cc. I'd be happy to list everything I use for any, or all, of their different looks. The same goes for Summer and Liberty.
Found 'em. Of course I seem to be missing a couple of needed packs because Matteo is bald... and a bit naked. I'll fix that.
Fate is a riddle and we choose our own answer.Wyrd Girls
The sims that usually don’t like Dylan and Zeph are Children of the Islands because of a quirk with that trait.
A Child of the Islands does not autonomously connect with the islands. They don’t engage in Island Traditions, and I’ve never had a Child of the Island get Dylan and Zeph’s approval if I’m not playing them.
It’s hard coded into a sim with the Sulani Mana trait to prioritize passing judgement on a Child of the Island.
I actually made Calum Family Oriented as a substitute for his Child of the Island trait because of how his children would pass judgment on him… I’m talking about Dylan and Zeph on completely different floors of the house passing judgment.
@luciusstorm If you need a few mermen in your story, I have some interesting mermen that might be fun to include!
The best part, they should be developed and not require as much gameplay.
Honestly, if you are exploring some creative aspirations, plz download Dylan at least. With him, you can test the abilities that are unlocked from most creative aspirations. I do think it might give you some interesting, and magical, ideas.
Comments
http://www.getfreeebooks.com/star-trek-original-series-fan-fiction-trilogy/
@GalacticGal It is. I use the hashtag #merman too.
Not sure on policy here on 'self promotion', so holding off on images of it - just noting that I did it. It's the first time I tried to build from an empty lot (well, there were 3 trees on the 'EA build' and I moved them around but kept them... ), so it feels like an achievement.
Chapter 1 - Spring
"I died here, in this very spot... murdered by a vampire lord who was trying to conquer the Realm of Magic. So, yeah... my life is pretty strange."
Erik gazed about the classroom. He kept an eye on the clock, while trying to listen to the math lesson at the same time. Joey was nowhere to be seen. After a time, the Teen slowly meandered into the classroom and took a seat. One look at him and the elder brother knew. He was the unfortunate recipient of one of Ms. Prescott’s rants.
Instead of feeling vindicated, Erik’s heart went out to Joey, instead. You got yourself caught again, eh, Nimrod? Quietly, Erik just shook his head.
After class was over, the two sat for awhile.
“I hardly think that would be ethical, considering she was the one detaining me in the first place. Can’t you use some of your clout to get me outta detention?”
“What makes you think I can get you out? I couldn’t even get myself out of it. Else, I’d be willing to give it a try. So, what are you in for?”
“It’s just too embarrassing,” Joey said.
“I’ll try not to laugh.” Erik gave his brother a look.
“Okay, it went down like this. I was busy looking for just the right locker to hit. I had carefully crafted a stink bomb, I just needed the right candidate to test it on. I heard a noise and looked up. There stood Ms. Prescott, arms folded over her chest and looking real mean. She was stalking me, I swear. Somebody must have suggested I was the one doing all of the pranks around here. She caught me in the hall in front of the locker I chose, and all but dragged me by the ear into her office. Where I just sat. And sat, and sat. ‘Ah, excuse me, Ms. Prescott,’ I said, ‘why am I here? I know that class has begun by now. Can I please go?”
“Finally, out of boredom I started studying for Friday’s exam. Took her awhile before she looked up from her computer.”
“Mr. Cantrell, why were you sneaking around the halls? You have Detention, after school. Tut-tut, I don’t want a string of lame excuses like your brother gave me. Be in Detention for one hour as soon as school lets out. You may go to your class, now.”
“I’m really, sorry. Just do your time and get it over with.”
“Why? You didn’t do your time.”
“What are you talking about? I most certainly did. I missed my concert, my photoshoot and got quite a dressing-down from my Promoter. I may even owe the venue some money for my no-show! Sheesh, where did you get the notion I didn’t sit in detention?”
“I’m going to go grab some lunch, before that’s off-limits, too.” Joey grumbled.
“Aren’t you going to eat that?” she said.
“I suddenly lost my appetite,” Joey replied. “Say, look, are you stalking me or something? This is just getting weird. You follow me in the halls, and now out of all the available seats you chose one at the table I’m already sitting at. What is going on? It’s like you don’t trust me or something.”
“Well, Mr. Cantrell, how can I trust you when you act so suspicious?”
“I’m just sitting here trying to have lunch. Give it a rest, would ya? Sheesh, you’re worse than my parents.”
“I rest my case, young sir.”
As the last class of the day concluded, Joey sighed. Erik got up to leave, since this was the room they used for detention. “Hey, wait, Erik. Can I show you something first?” Joey’s eyes were pleading as if to say, don’t leave me here alone.
Shortly after Erik left the room, he went to find someone to chat with. He knew that hour was going to feel more like ten years, but he didn’t want Joey to have to return home alone. Erik didn’t like how he felt. His father all but confronting him in the foyer. Erik was merely late, Joey was accused of planting stink bombs. A much greater charge.
That’s when Joey did get up. He moved to the first chair in his row.
“Ahem,” he began, “why don’t you just outfit me with an ankle bracelet? I mean, come on. This is a bit of overkill, don’t you think? Where am I supposed to go? Really, I am more than insulted.”
“If you think you can charm your way out of detention, early, you’ve got another thing coming to you. Bad enough I had to hear from Orion Entertainment, Limited. I still can’t believe they sent a technical crew out to check the P.A. system down in the basement gym. Talk about being insulted. It’s working just fine, now. At least they didn’t charge the School District for it.”
So Erik was telling the truth. Wonder if Orion would take up my case? Obviously they have Clout.
More to come, Thanks for reading!
http://www.getfreeebooks.com/star-trek-original-series-fan-fiction-trilogy/
By the time Erik and Joey returned from school, the afternoon was waning. “Your fan club is here,” Joey said, nodding his head toward the gaggle of Paparazzi. The two decided to get their homework done. This was a long weekend. Labor Day was on Monday, and neither one of them wanted to waste the day doing drudgery.
As Erik sat trying to concentrate on his work, the Paparazzi pleaded for an exclusive interview. Hardly exclusive if everyone is hearing the questions and my answers. He didn’t really mind. The attention merely meant he was still on top of his game. Besides, he was up for his third Best Song Accolade.
“So, you were late because you didn’t hear the bell down in the gym?”
“Yeah, I didn’t hear it. I heard something but it wasn’t clearly the bell.”
“Did you know that your Promoter sent a crew out to fix it?”
“No, where did you hear that?
“From Ms. Prescott. Guess they didn’t want you to miss any more concerts. And you thought you had no clout.”
Saturday rolled around and once again Erik was up way too early. He tried his best to finish the violin song he’d been working on, but for some reason, he kept having to restart it from the top. Basically, he was getting nowhere, fast. As the day ebbed into late afternoon, Kayleigh phoned to invite him over to her house for a pre-Prom party. “I’ll be right over,” he said. Cheerfully, he set his violin aside. “Mom, Dad, I’m off to the Prom. Well, actually, to Kayleigh’s house first. She’s throwing a pre-Prom party, then onto the Prom. Don’t wait up.”
“Fine. I’m grounded so I can’t go to the Prom. But, my little sister, Mercedes, wants to know if she can take a Selfie with you.”
“Sure, of course, I’d be delighted.”
Kayleigh came over to greet him. “So glad you could make it. I’ve got some pictures to show you. Some videos I found online. I think you’ll get a kick out of them. Some are of you from the last Prom.”
“Oh, yeah? How did I miss those?”
“Hey, it’s time to go!” Erik said. “Is there someplace I can change?”
“Wow, don’t you look spiffy,” Mercedes said. “Can I have your autograph?”
Mercedes then proceeded to scream, loudly.
Kayleigh came down the stairs. “Ready to go?” Erik asked. “I have my Dad’s Hovercraft. If we leave now, we may get there in time.”
“Why thank you. You look pretty Spiffy, yourself.”
“Spiffy, is that a family word or something?”
“Let’s go inside and dance our socks off, shall we?”
Like last week, the gymnasium was enchanting.
The two mingled with the other students and had a good time.
After too short a time, the Awards were ready to be announced. “Students, please give your attention. We have tallied your votes and now have the winners. Tonight's Prom Jester is Noah Kane. Come on up here, Noah.
Erik gazed at Noah. There must be something about being chosen as the Jester. He doesn’t look any more thrilled about it than Hayleigh did.
“Tonight’s Prom Royalty is, for the second time, Erik Cantrell. Meet your Prom King!”
This time Erik and Kayleigh made a point to have their picture taken, first, before they danced the night away, like last time. Erik didn’t quite know what to make of Ms. Prescott’s mood. She almost seemed annoyed he won the crown. This took the wind out of his sails a bit. It was perfectly okay with him if she was over his celebrity. Last thing he needed was his school principal to fawn all over him. But, he sure wanted to know what was vexing her. What did I do this time?
Sunday lived up to its name. The sun was shining brightly for the second day in a row. Erik managed to fill the rest of his day, again trying to finish that violin song. He was beginning to fear his wish wouldn’t be fulfilled. This scared him a little. Things were just going too smoothly on his career front. Well, except for the one huge gaffe. He kept waiting for the bill to show up. Just how much do I owe?
He even spritzed on some cologne for good measure.
Erik decided there had to be something in the air. The audience seemed unusually restless. At least three Accolades were handed out before they came to the Music portion of the Show. When his name was called for Best Song, Erik got up and stood at the microphone. That’s when the stuffing really began to hit the fan.
“Whoa, hey, what’s going on, Peeps?” He said.
Next thing he knew two fans of his went at it, right in front of the cameras, too. This was broadcast worldwide. Erik was embarrassed beyond words.
“Guys, ah, Guys, come on, now. This is no way to behave. Sincerely, you’re on TV and I don’t think a Starlight Accolade for this performance will be coming your way. Quit it already! Can’t we all just get along?”
"This is such an honor. Wow. I may have to build more shelves, if this keeps up."
“I would like to thank my Record label, Taygeta Studios, my Promoter, Orion Entertainment, Limited, for the many concerts they schedule, and for fixing the P.A. System down in the basement work out room. I offer my heartfelt apologies, too, for missing the concert last week and to my Fans, I wasn’t standing you up. I promise. I got put in detention. Yeah. I messed up, was late to class and blammo! Got the hammer dropped on me. And can you guys, please, take it out into the hall? Enough is too much, already. Thank you to my parents, my Principal, Ms. Prescott, who are all there in my corner trying to help me along the way. I am honored and humbled by this sweet recognition.”
With that Erik walked back to his seat.
All for now. Thanks for reading!
http://www.getfreeebooks.com/star-trek-original-series-fan-fiction-trilogy/
I hope it wasn’t Dylan and Zeph… I haven’t given them their human formal attire because I haven’t had any formal events in my game. They do have merman formal attire.
I probably should have mentioned that they need their formal outfits updated…
https://www.ea.com/games/the-sims/the-sims-4/pc/gallery/57B200AC15E711ED82AACA595D73D3B5
more exterior pictures
first floor exhibit area
second floor arts education area
the thing that looks like a big slide has the stairwell inside it
one of the bathrooms
front courtyard with bar
back courtyard with fountain
behind that unassuming blue door is another fountain
outdoor performance space
roof
Packs used: City Living, Get Together, Courtyard Oasis. Except the awning over the bar, which is from Eco Lifestyle.
Turns out there's a sub forum here just for the purpose of mentioning things you put on the gallery. So I posted images there:
https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/1002467/my-first-ever-from-the-ground-up-build-on-a-lot-house-over-a-pond-in-moonwood-mill
Oh, found a way to link to it here:
https://www.ea.com/games/the-sims/the-sims-4/pc/gallery/C7206A4415D211ED81F5CA595D73D3B5
I’m still super curious about that fight between fans. Mostly curious about what could get my twins to fight in public if it was them!
They are always so well mannered in my game!
Most of why I’m wondering if Dylan and Zeph are involved is because I see a barefoot in the fight. If one of the twins showed up in mermadic attire, they wouldn’t be wearing shoes. The formal outfit is traditional attire for a merman prince.
Found 'em. Of course I seem to be missing a couple of needed packs because Matteo is bald... and a bit naked. I'll fix that.
A Child of the Islands does not autonomously connect with the islands. They don’t engage in Island Traditions, and I’ve never had a Child of the Island get Dylan and Zeph’s approval if I’m not playing them.
It’s hard coded into a sim with the Sulani Mana trait to prioritize passing judgement on a Child of the Island.
I actually made Calum Family Oriented as a substitute for his Child of the Island trait because of how his children would pass judgment on him… I’m talking about Dylan and Zeph on completely different floors of the house passing judgment.
The best part, they should be developed and not require as much gameplay.
Honestly, if you are exploring some creative aspirations, plz download Dylan at least. With him, you can test the abilities that are unlocked from most creative aspirations. I do think it might give you some interesting, and magical, ideas.