Hello everyone this is an update on my Adler's and Stone's
Alright, everyone, here is the first update right after 'A Colorful Weekend/Weekend With You.
For those interested, I moved all content and future updates to the little storyzone on here, but will still post in this thread too because I love, love, love it and everyone's updates and stories.
Declan, placed the pictures they took together around the desk he spent a lot of time at, sometimes live-streaming, sometimes just surfing the web.
Each time he went to look at them, he smiled, his little girl was no longer a 5 year old, she felt heavier in his arms, her questions more acute, her eyes more sharp, keen, knowing.
These thoughts always turned his eyes away from the photo and the wave of joy and pride turned sour.
When had it happened? When had she grown?
And why could he barely remember?
Declan's Thoughts: Oh and I bet ^^he^^ can remember just perfectly about ^^his^^ daughter every. single. moment.
These bitter thoughts sent a wave of envy....
After all, Declan thought he never had a knack for anything. untalented, but maybe that changed with Aubree, he had a knack for love, compassion, family.
But.... now he even doubted that.... he had been doubting it, for as many years as his own daughter grew from 5 years old to 10 year old.
Rest is under the spoilers
After Rainbow and her daddy left, Hazel found herself feeling immensely sad, even if the two did skype the very next afternoon, it was not the same as those precious days together.
She felt and found herself reverting back to her clingyness she had as a toddler that never really truly left but started to diminish when she started finding a bit of her own two feet.
Hazel stuck close to Vanessa's side, following her like a shadow, she did enjoy watching Nessa do flowering arranging it fed into her creative hands-on nature.
Vanessa of course did not turn her away, she honestly had no idea what to do, but felt it would harm Hazel more if she pushed her away instead of making her feel secure.
Tucker dropped in to visit wanting to check in on everyone.
Vanessa greeted her step-dad warmly, she was far used to his inconsistent ways by now and just wanted to spend time with him.
Vanessa also felt that Hazel was coming down with a bit of something.
So she made Hazel take a few naps and drink lots of juice and tea.
Vanessa's Thoughts: I really hope Declan kept her bundled tight during the off and on snow we been having....
When Hazel was not clinging to Vanessa or napping, she went to snuggle her bunny finding comfort in it softness.
She seemed rather withdrawn from her other friends right now, mostlikey not wanting to be a bother by missing Rainbow so much or hurt any feelings.
Poor girl, your friends would understand.... I am sure, but it seems Hazel is not so sure.
At least the clingyness seems to extend to those in her 'circle' which means her family she known since she can remember.
So Tucker takes some time to watch her draw and give encouragement.
Hazel thrives from the positive words doing on of her most favorite activity, she was eager to start on Winter decor for her room and for others early on!
Tucker is not the only one to drop by, Yu does as well.
He wanted to make sure Hazel was alright, Jesse and Illana had been missing her company, so he wanted to make sure she was alright without putting her in an unprepared situation.
Doing this was not a huge deal for him or Brandie, but they have come to understand her personality very well.
Yu had heard how hard Hazel had been working on her Winterfest projects and wanted to lend his support, also to tell her the twins offered up a fraction of their allowance to get her some more crafts to work with.
Hazel was very grateful!
She told Yu so how much she loved and appreciated the gift and that she would tell the twins and come over for a sleepover soon.
Hazel's Thoughts: My friends... and someone basically an uncle, thank you, now I can really work hard on Rainbow's gift and everyone else's too!
Hazel is starting to become very aware of things.
Not only about how strange daddy gets and the signs of this, and how he is not getting better....
But how much Vanessa does for daddy and her.
Now 10, the girl has learned a lot about her character values from school, scouts, and watching those around her.
She wants to be more helpful to help out Vanessa in all that she does.
So she started picking up chores here and there, and not just to earn a scouts badge but to really be helpful.
Hazel happily keeps making her arts and crafts.
She is happy that Yu comes by and shows him a sneak peek of Jesse and Illana's , he thinks they will really enjoy them!
Hazel swallows hard, her grip on crayon tightening just a bit more with nervous pressure.
She 🐸🐸🐸🐸 her dried lips and opens them to ask a burning question, the one Rainbow advised her to ask, the one she really wishes to ask with all her heart.
But the poor bean loses her nerve.... and just keeps drawing.
Her efforts show as Yu helps her hang up the decor and they both admire it.
Vanessa brings up some hot chocolate and they all sit around chatting here and there and admire the work.
Hazel smiles gently and takes another sip feeling so very warm, Rainbow might have had to leave, but they meet again, they promised.
For now, the ones in her life, who could easily come to her side were very much around her.
Yet.... in this peace and happiness, reassurance for one so young gone through so many losses as she had,
A person she loves so deeply keeps moving away from her, not at her side,
But striding right of the door.....
This update is for the Stones
After they finally arrived back in Oasis Springs the traffic holding them up extra long, it was very late into the night.
The two got in and unpacked quietly since Mckenna and Lilith slept already.
"It will be okay baby, Hazel is okay, Nessa texted me, you can video chat tomorrow okay?"
"Okay daddy.... "
Rainbow of course trusted that but she was still pretty sad.
More under the spoilers.
Max stayed with her until she drifted off this time, then tucked her in again, finally after watching her a bit longer, he turned out the lights and went to bed himself.
The next morning, Rainbow rushed to give hugs to her two aunts and then they had breakfast while Rainbow told them every, single. detail of her time with Hazelnut~
After getting off of video chat with Hazel, Rainbow was cheered up even more and knew Hazel and Vanessa were going to flower arrange together.
She happily opened the door when her friend Paisley came around to play with her~
Having the lively chatter box entertained, Lilith got back to writing her latest kids book and Mckenna went back to crafting some woodworks.
The next day after scouts, Max and Rainbow went to visit Juliana to tell her about their trip and check up on her.
She was feeling much better and thanked Max for his thoughtful soup he made, it had eased her stomach and the lovely flowers smelled well, lovely.
She is actually pregnant but unaware heh thanks MCC ;-)
I know Rainbow's is shorter but a TON of huge things happen with her in the next few updates to make up for that!
And no, I can't tell you Hazel's life gets better or happier, I am so sorry, but good things happen along the way.
For being a teenage punk rocker who lives on his own, Dorian is surprisingly responsible. He does his homework even when there are distractions right outside his window.
He still makes time to hang out with his friends...
... and have fun.
Today he went to the Spice Festival and attempted the curry challenge with his friends.
The spicy food didn't really agree with them.
He hung out at the punk club with his brothers and his friends. There was a lot of excitement when a celebrity showed up!
I was checking out your flckr album on Adlers's backstory. Now that I have a better understanding of how Hazel's family came to be, I'm actually really happy to read from their point of view. They really came a long way! I love Hazel's resolution and how she wants to be a positive force in this chapter. So sweet. Don't worry about not showing much of Rainbow. I'm sure you'll give them a big feature next.
@Serabeth Daunte is awesome, and I love your vampire and merfolk households.
I know that Dylan and Zeph found the river irresistible while at University and went straight for a swim every chance they got. I think the ghost of their rude and passive aggressive roommate still remains by the shore to this day, and I hope he doesn't get culled. He's like an eternal college student now, and that's almost a cursed existence. Dylan did kinda drown him...
After the Mua Pel'am Pod household, I only have the Rags to Riches Household, Kealoha Household, and the Alien Merfolk Household left to play in Sulani, it makes me a little sad that New Year's Eve of this Sim Year will be my last Household in Sulani.
It made me really happy to see more households in Sulani.
I haven't posted in this thread for a long time.
Here's what happened today. Veera Tähtinen had her second to last week at Britechester University. She relaxed on her bed on Sunday night.
The next day after her class she did her homework outside, because there's usually no one bothering her. She's studying Fine Art and decided to paint outside as well. It was a cold day, but veera doesn't mind cold, she's a Finn.
Her boyfriend wanted to take her on a dinner date later that night.
More here.
The next evening she had a bar night with her art society friends.
At the end of the week her mother called and invited her to visit home. When Veera arrived her mom left to work immediately. Typical Sims 4.
Her teen brother Ville and her father Olli were arguing and hardly even noticed she was there...
At least her elder cat Sakke still remembered her.
Olli and Ville kept bickering and Veera tried to break the ice, but nothing helped.
She decided to go back to the dorm and go on a relaxing jog.
Veera finished her term with perfect grades. One more week and two classes to graduate.
Kemps spent some time combing the beach for seashells. As a merman, the rain didn't bother him, and he was hoping to find some trinkets for his beach shop.
Meanwhile, Isla, Andria, and Sara sat at the table and chatted about the renovations.
Sara: "The mermen found a bunch of suits of armor when they last explored for treasure. It was such an odd thing to find, but the property value has drastically increased as a result. I've heard that we live in a house worth 350,000 Simoleans now."
Isla: "I told them to get rid of them. The suits of armor made no aesthetical sense in an island home or in a tropical sea."
Andria: "I saw them putting them behind the wall so you wouldn't have to look at them. At least we get rebates on everything we buy now."
Isla: "How is that better?"
Sara: "Well, we could always use the Simoleans for the furniture we buy for Kemp's store."
Isla: "It seems hiring the merfolk that lived among humans has given him a bit of trouble. They haven't adapted to living among humans as well as he thought."
Andria sips some coffee: "You can't take the sea out of a merperson."
The three mermaids nodded.
Reef also unlocked a new aspiration.
Kemps approached Zeph while he was preparing another destressing remedy: "How's your day going?"
Zeph: "I live in a haunted house."
Kemps: "Oh, how's that working out?"
Zeph: "We've had to chase off a poltergeist a couple of times. She really hates all of us, and Ember loves setting her on fire or electrocuting her. They are mortal enemies now."
Kemps: "Well, if you need a break, here's our house key. Stop by anytime."
Managing a store and keeping up with the pod was a lot of work, so Kemps didn't get a lot sleep, opting for a cup of coffee.
Lyric: "You look like you need something fun to do."
Kemps: "Do you have anything in mind?"
Lyric: "There's this awesome new game. You have to try it."
Kemps: "I'll think about it."
The Kailani's: Reef, Sara, Kylen, Rylen, and Aaron, are my sims from my first attempt at a legacy. One of the ways they maintained some steady income was gardening and Sara is a green fiend. They have always been helpful with maintaining gardens, and this apparently didn't stop with their reintroduction to the save. The garden would probably die without Reef and Sara maintaining it.
While Kemps grilled food for the Aspiration, I checked up on the second youngest member of the pod. Lyric is a merboy, and he would be a child if I had the option to make him one. The merfolk house is designed with merfolk that have tails in mind. I think he would struggle to meet his needs if I didn't age him to a teen. Anyways, he's a music lover first and foremost, and I often find him near a stereo listening to music or dancing.
Next update will be Kemps's Love Day Date with Isla.
Kemps: "And that's why the Drama Llama crossed the beach. She just had to have that sea shell."
Kemps: "But wait, someone else wanted the sea shell. It was a little crab. He got a little crabby when she grabbed it."
Bored with the conversation, the townie left. So, Kemps had a deep conservation about celebrities with Isla.
Kemps: "Which do you like better, the YellowFins or the Neon Kelps?"
Isla: "That's a hard one, but I enjoy listening to the Neon Kelps, Swimming in the Dark."
Kemps: "I thought for sure that you were a YellowFins fan."
Isla: "I am, and I enjoy songs like "Sing for Me," but I also like songs that are fun for the sake of fun."
Kemps: "I give, you're right."
Isla: "I always am."
Kemps: "I always enjoy good music, but do you think it actually helps with creativity."
Isla: "Why not? Music has emotion and ties together memories. Some people that lose their memories will actually remember things that happened while music plays. It's good to listen to a variety."
Kemps: "Like daycore and covers."
Isla: "Depends, not all music is fun for everyone."
Kemps: "Do you think music makes people a genius, like classical."
Isla: "I think all music has the potential to unlock creative potential. I think creativity and intellect go fin and fin. I think you should know that better than most considering our twin nephews are the literal spirits of Creativity and Intellect."
Kemps: "I thought they were the Spirits of the Sea and Sky."
Isla: "You know that they are more than that, or you wouldn't check up on them so much."
The two merfolk swam into the waterfall lagoon. To set the mood, they sang to each other a Charmer's Lullaby. For merfolk, this song was more than a serenade, it represented the love between two close partners, and only a serial romantic that wasn't willing to commit would sing it to anyone.
After the traditional ritual, Kemps moved in with a Mermadic Kiss, an ultimate expression of love because it could prevent drowning and save lives. Even if merfolk couldn't drown, it was an expression of true love.
Unfortunately, the townies were willing to swim out to them and ruin the mood.
When the date ended, Kemps gave Isla an Orchid, the Flower of Life. He wanted to make sure she knew that he wanted to live their eternal life together.
So, I have about 1 and a half sim weeks before I start my Sulani Rags to Riches challenge.
My rules are simple. I'm limiting my sim to Island Living Content and whatever he can afford to buy from the Undine Emporium run by Kemps.
My sim will be a merman. 🧜🏼♂️
He will be a teenager with the goal to get all 5 character values in the positive for the traits.
He will be limited to 1 odd job a week for income.
He can beach comb for shells, and he can sell only one collectible per week.
Items that can't be purchased in a store, for example: rugs, counters, roof objects like solar panels and wind turbines, can be purchased from the catalog.
Lot Traits will be limited to Island Living Lot Traits: Volcanic Activity, Island Spirits, and Off the Grid.
Using Carl's Guide, I identified which levels unlock different things. So, when a sim reaches these levels in handiness, they should be able to perform upgrades on the objects used in the room. The Logic skill can take a long time to build up. If more than one sim is in the household, I would delay things more by requiring all of them to reach these levels. Items for a room can be purchased from the store.
Mandatory Steps for Building a Bathroom.
Level 2 Handiness
Level 3 Logic
Mandatory Steps for Building a Bedroom
Level 4 Handiness
Level 4 Logic
Mandatory Steps for Building a Kitchen/ Dining Room
Level 5 Handiness
Level 5 Cooking (Unlocks Gourmet Cooking and allows your sim to cook food the eat in a restaurant or from a food stall)
Level 6 Logic
Mandatory Steps for Building a Family Living Room
Level 7 Handiness
Level 7 Logic
Mandatory Steps for Building a Study with a Computer
Level 8 Handiness
Level 9 Logic
For waterfront lots and building pools:
Mandatory Steps for Building a Hot Tub and Bar
Level 10 Handiness
Level 4 Mixology
Level 10 Logic
20,000 Simoleans (Pools require the catalog)
Money Goal:
200,000 (The required amount to complete the Fabulously Wealthy Aspiration)
I'm certain that I'm forgetting something, and I had to dig up one of my oldest posts from when I experimented with the challenge to add to this post.
After everything I've done in the game, I'm still setting up my households. I did have a few glitches brake my saves and force a restart.
My only augmentation to these rules for my Island Living Rags to Riches challenge will be that all items found beach combing can be sold, but the Island Living Collections still need to be completed, and the items found beach combing can still be useful enough to not sell. Almost all of them have a functional use, so it does make selling them a difficult choice.
The Collections that must be completed are as follows:
The Sea Shells Collection
The Buried Treasure
All Island Living Fish (Without braking any conservation laws)
All Island Living Plants
All Island Living Photos
All Crystals, Fossils, Metals, and Geodes without leaving Sulani or buying them. The presence of a Volcano means that these things are very accessible in many different ways.
Because I have set up lots that have complete collections, it will be off limits to steal from Conservation Museums or other lots with collectibles in them.
All collectibles must be kept in the house. Meaning that this can be a real challenge given the fines for gathering some collectibles in the wrong way. This also makes being a merman, mermaid, or simply having the Child of the Ocean trait very important.
Before aging up, the sim must have five character values, ideally positive but they can be negative, and an A in high school.
The Merman in my game will be the third youngest in the pod, and for manual aging up, a time limit of one sim month or simply waiting for the desired goals to be completed is acceptable. This challenge is designed with auto aging turned off in mind.
I'm going to try and reach the age up goals before the end of his rotation.
I think the Biology Degree is a must for the Conservation Career, but the sim must attend University from Home. Merfolk must become Marine Biologists. Human Islanders must become conservationists.
There should be a moral dilemma for acquiring income. The conservationist career is unlocked after the degree for it is completed. This should mean that odd jobs and beachcombing should be the only source of income until the sim can go to University.
Purchases from anything in world is acceptable provided the funds are available.
Last Edit: The Mansion Baron Aspiration will also be a required aspiration.
Kemps was looking for something fun to do, so he called the Mua Pel'am Pod together for a weekend at Mua Pel'am for a Kava Party. The Mua Pel'am Pod was the largest pod of merfolk, but it wasn't the only pod in existence. Merfolk come from any world with an ocean after all. Regardless, the event was going to be huge.
After their date, Isla's presence alone could make Kemps flirty, and he was an expert at making some of the best Kava in spite of his mermadic origins. The twins chatted with the pod while they waited for another call to the Kava Bowl. The Zalrians, Kians, and most of the Kailanis were invited. As many as whoever could be there was there.
Andria chatted with Juniper and Ember, who were too young to drink Kava. Ember was a teen, and Juniper was a merboy and the youngest member of the pod (A child if it was possible with a tail, but I decided merfolk mature faster because of their ocean origins and the need for a tail when it comes to evading sharks and other marine predators.)
Fin was the next one that made a Kava Bowl for the pod. Kemps did his best to calm down Dylan, who was angry for some unknown reason. It's not like Dylan to be angry, and Kemps didn't want volcanic eruptions and a perpetual monsoon to ruin the party.
Kemps managed to calm him down, and he told an outrageous story that made everyone playful, crisis adverted.
Ember to Andria: "Have you played that new video game, Simlantis. Supposedly, Zeph created the game so merfolk could escape into an underwater world and still enjoy everything on land. He makes a steady income from it."
Andria: "Sounds like quite the concept. No one would create a game with merfolk and not have an underwater world to visit with the characters. I mean, a rabbit hole is obviously not an adequate substitute for what players are looking to experience."
Panipo, a conservationist at heart, took this opportunity to spread conservation awareness to Dylan and kemps. Sea Turtles were close to his heart.
Andria: "I've heard that they created a game with merfolk that the players couldn't follow underwater. The developers made money off the pack, but they made some of their players unhappy. It could be the Kava talking, but I think they lost some trust in future packs and their franchise as a whole. Those players are expected to buy a sequel even though their current game still feels to incomplete to justify a new game."
Ember: "I know. It's a total mess, but the irony is that the game and all their packs are still enjoyable. It's just that the players wanted more and they had higher expectations than what was delivered."
Kemps told jokes: "And that's when she slipped on a plantain and painted a masterpiece with a stroke of her paint brush and a splatter of paint."
Everyone smiled, but Kemps was an old fish and not the best comedian. As the Kava party continued, the pod made drastic spikes in their charisma.
But in all seriousness. The first kava party ended in silver, and the confidence boost from throwing the first Kava Party made a huge jump in their charisma, and because most of the pod was created in CAS and lacked traits that boost skills outside of what could be gained from the satisfaction rewards store, this boost from low level charisma came mostly from the moodlet.
The current time of the first level up notification.
The time for the next level up and these notifications triggered for all the hosts from earlier parties.
Kemps leveled up in 3 sim minutes and jumped to level 7 over the course of the parties from a low level.
While the pod told jokes, Lyric decided to give his mom a funny gift. Andria thought it was a funny gift, but it didn't count as a joke.
As the Party came to a close, Fin and Kemps made the final Kava toosts before everyone sat to chat or gathered around the reef to swim and chat. I know that Ember's Childhood friends Alexander Goth and Lucas Munch are potential ships, but Panipo and Ember got along pretty well too. The only problem with Panipo is how merfolk in my game essentially age up when ever I want them to. They are treated like immortals with eternal life. This means that:
A. Ember is only an immortal because she's the Elemental Spirit of the Volcano.
B. She's currently a teen, and Panipo is an Immortal Young Adult.
Commentary: They aren't true immortals because they simply won't die of old age, and the only sims that are truly immortal in my game include Dylan and Zeph because I'm too attached to my first two sims I created. (Yes, I had to create Calum first to start the save, but Calum was created to create the Elemental Merfolk that happened to end up being the Twins Dylan and Zeph. Dylan and Zeph are ultimately the product of my experimentation with getting triplets.)
After the Kava Parties, Kemps explored the beach cave and encountered a colony of bats that turned out to be very cute to watch while they slept.
Finally, after an eventful weekend, Kemps dozed off. Because retaining their unnatural human form requires focus and energy, merfolk that are too exhausted or simply get too dehydrated, exhaust themselves by utilizing too much mermadic magic, or simply let their guard down, revert to their natural form. For kemps, dozing off in the beach chair meant losing the focus required to remain in human form.
Later that day before returning to her diving career, Andria spent some time doing a dance workout. It was her random whim. It turns out that this interaction with the tv can't be done even though merfolk can watch tv in their merform.
One more update before I'm caught up. I might make screenshot updates sooner in the future, but things have been pretty crazy with real life, so I didn't have a chance.
Here's a teaser of my Rags to Riches Challenge: Sulani Edition Sim. The Azures used to be four brothers before I started posting in this thread. Lyric is actually one of the original younger brothers and Kemps is actually a template that comes from one of his older brothers. The remaining two brothers, Flynn and Calden were combined to create Calden Azure.
Calden, per the challenge rules I created, will have one required Island Living trait and two other traits I get to choose. Dance Machine is his second trait, and I think that trait actually compliments the Island Living content extremely well. In particualar, Fire Dancing, the Child of the Islands' moodlet Sulani's Heartbeat while listening to Island Music, and the fact that it actually speeds up the energy gain for merfolk while they sleep in the ocean, are a few of the reasons for this trait in spite of it being outside the pack. The other traits will be base game traits that I'll choose from. I'm thinking of making the trait he ages into being the Child of the Island Trait. This will help force me to engage in island activities because the Elementals from the Zalrian household will pass powerful judgements on him that will have an impact on gameplay. Connection Denied (Reduced Skill Gain, Water, Sad/ Uncomfortable Moodlet near where the Elemental Cries), Sulani's Roots (Career Boost, Earth, Confident), Sulani's Breeze (Social Boost, Wind, Playful), and Sulani's Warmth (Romance Boost, Fire, Flirty) are all moodlets that last for 2 sim days.
He will also have the Creatively Gifted, Forever Full, and Steal Bladder Traits. I'm making this exception from the rules because I want him to basically be able to never leave the ocean if he so chooses.
As a merman, I maxed out certain skills that I believe would be natural talents for merfolk. He has level 10 fitness and Level 10 Singing. The creatively gifted trait also factors into him being a merman. It is my belief, based on all the lore about merfolk I researched, that all merfolk are talented in the creative arts. Almost all merfolk I read about tend to be musicians or talented singers regardless of gender.
So, without further explanation, here is Calden Azure:
To further challenge myself. Calden will not leave the water except to do homework, arrive on another lot in Sulani, or go to school (which I'll pretend is underwater and with other merfolk) until he has a shack or some kind of shelter on land. I want to see how much I can do in the water, and because he's a merman with certain traits, he won't have to leave the water to meet any other need.
I started a new save a couple of days ago, but I’m not going to be posting about it on here, it’s for another forum I’m on.
Then I’ve gone back to the Mastersons today. I’ve recently worked out that the cupcake factory is causing Last Exceptions in my game which is annoying but not game-breaking or anything, so I’ve just stuck it into the family inventory for now. It’s the day before Winterfest in-game, so I’m going to find some CC Christmas jumpers for everyone. Then I might go and play as the Paraskevas family for a bit so Alexander (in particular) can improve his magical skills. Erytheia is only a Neophyte so it’s not like she’s too far ahead.
Oh, and I also built a rental lot in Sulani.
@Metior_Ice you seem so knowledgeable about merfolk! It’s not an occult I’ve explored at all. I might have one of the Sims in my Sulani save become one. @DeafSimmer ooh, Zelda does not look happy in that picture! I can totally understand why she feels so badly about men, I cannot imagine witnessing what she did. Your stories are always so well thought out and everyone has an interesting (and sometimes tragic) backstory, my games are always “yay life is awesome and I have a great family!”
@Lucy_Henley I did a lot of research before trying to write a book. Unfortunately, my inspiration and drive for writing a book has waned a bit. I do plan to finish, but I decided to take a break until I have ideas for the story flowing again. I wrote like 20 chapters 3 or 4 times, but I kept running into issues with continuing the story. It got very discouraging when I struggled to keep the story going. Writing in this thread, I have found humor to be very helpful with sustaining the writing.
There is so much untapped potential with merfolk and underwater worlds when it comes to video games. I can only think of a handful of games that actually have an underwater world that the player can play in. Even fewer actually include merfolk of both genders. It surprises me that the developers would do so much to research polynesian culture and fail to do their research on merfolk, the occult introduced with the pack. Legends about merfolk and water spirits with merfolk like forms can be found in every culture that touches the sea or has significant bodies of water. The lore is extensive, but you have to look beyond Disney to find it. The Little Mermaid might not do merfolk justice because so much gets lost in the shadows of her image. I have nothing against Ariel. Disney does have both genders fairly represented, especially in recent years. It's just that Disney isn't the source material.
I see Madison is trying to break her great-great-great grandmother's record for the most kids(10), she'll have 7 soon.
Meanwhile Harrison is going to be a dad after finding Maaike. Those two get along fairly well and he's also helping her raise her son(different father who seem to have left).
After playing as Calden, I noticed that I didn't give him a leg tattoo. So, I decided that he's a rare instance of a merperson that didn't have a natural mastery of Shapeshifting. For merfolk, taking a human form is mermadic shapeshifting magic. Even after they shapeshift, they still have a tattoo on their legs. Elder merfolk can give merfolk like him the gift of shapeshifting, but they have to win their approval. For now, Calden spends all his time in the water or at the water's edge.
Now that I think about it. It would be so cool if utilizing a human form drained hydration and one of the powers in a power tree was the ability to use less hydration or mermadic energy to maintain a human form. As the game is, merfolk do have a need to swim and change form as a result. It would just add a bit of depth to merfolk gameplay.
This is Aleki. He's writing a children's book here, partly because his employer wanted him to improve his writing skills, but partly because Aleki loves the idea of writing something for children.
Aleki invited his dance club friends over (Rachelle, Glori, Aubrey, and Lucinda). Rachelle is the ex-wife of Zachariah Kurtz, who is the brother of Dorian Bach Kurtz.
He's always had a connection with Rachelle, so she stayed behind after the others left and hung out with Aleki.
The next day, she called and asked him on a date. He was so excited! Naturally, she took him to a dance club.
The day after that, Aleki asked Rachelle out. They went to the most romantic venue in United Simland.
He became her best friend and her boyfriend on the same night.
Building in my game where the Sages are kids. I created the households now I'm working on building the worlds when I go to that saved game before I start really playing. Culled game generated sims and I added Belit as one of the professors at Silverwolf Academy for spellcasters. She is one of the professors who teach spellcaster history.
Anatu and Fox moved in together in my game where Simeon and Morgyn are married with children. I worked on their apartment. I think having two rooms especially when parents come to visit set up in their individual style will worry them less. I added the Geek trait to Fox who already has the Bookworm trait. I'll add the Custom trait Lawful Good as his last trait once he ages up to Young Adult. For Anatu she started with the Genius trait and I added in the Custom Lawful Good Trait when she becomes a Young Adult I'll add the Family Oriented Trait. When Sabrina ages up to a teen I'll add in the snob trait and when she ages up to Young Adult I'll give her the Ambitious trait. I want her to be more like Simeon than Morgynwith both her choice in schools of magic and personality. Though she's a child now Simeon is teaching her all he can in Practical Magic while Morgyn is teaching her alchemy. Fox is learning both his fathers' schools of magic. He['s gaining knowledge very quickly in both Practical and Untamed Magic. He's been learning both schools since he was a child. While Anatu is working on mastering Practical Untamed and Mischief Magic.
Belit in the other game I'm playing has become best friends with Simeon Silversweater The Sage of Practical Magic. She always had a close friendship with his predecessors this really is no different. She gets along best with those who are Practical Mages like Minerva Charm and Simeon. Like Sam and his brothers, she is the kind of spellcaster other spellcasters might not personally know her but know who she is. I have her living in San Myshuno in a modest apartment. She's pretty low keyed when she isn't on stage with Sam and his brothers. Her traits are Genius, Self Assured and the custom trait Lawful Good.
Playtesting - not just tabletop games and card games any more. Really that should have been playtested in Beta and not [img]just with accounting and marketing but actual players. https://i.imgur.com/t48COW6.jpg[/img]
I've managed to build a functioning photo-booth with Moschino Stuff only to find out that photography from this pack is broken - only first pose of each category is generated. No other options. Anyways here it is:
It's a 3x4 room with backdrop and tripod camera inside anyone can go inside and select option "take picture with" to use it like a photo booth (testers):
Just need to tweak lighting inside now. But I'm always horrible with lighting and photography. IRL too
I've managed to build a functioning photo-booth with Moschino Stuff only to find out that photography from this pack is broken - only first pose of each category is generated. No other options. Anyways here it is:
It's a 3x4 room with backdrop and tripod camera inside anyone can go inside and select option "take picture with" to use it like a photo booth (testers):
Just need to tweak lighting inside now. But I'm always horrible with lighting and photography. IRL too
After school on Monday, I went to visit Alexander.
"How was your day?" I asked.
"It was OK. It'd be great if we had more classes together, though." (We had science classes together).
"Yeah, absolutely. We had an algebra test today, Xanthe was not impressed. She hates algebra."
Alexander grinned.
"Yeah, that always confuses me too. I think we've got that test on Thursday."
When I got home later, I needed a bath. As I sank into the warm water, I thought about my relationship. Although I knew I was a little young to be in a serious relationship, I couldn't really imagine being with anyone else. I did hope that we'd last; aside from the romantic aspect, breaking up would also ruin my oldest friendship, which I did not want to do.
Not long later...
"Surprise! I fancied visiting the city," Alexander grinned.
"Is that code for visiting me?" I laughed.
"Maybe. I would like to live here one day, though. Willow Creek is nice and everything, but I prefer the hustle and bustle. It's so cosmopolitan."
"Yes, I'd like to stay here too. I like all the different food stalls and festivals."
The next morning, I decided to make breakfast for everybody. As I waited for the French toast to cook, I looked across the city skyline at the steel grey sky. It would be Winterfest the following day; I needed to buy presents for everyone. Although city-centre living meant easy access to the shops, it also meant that they would be incredibly busy.
That day after school, Xanthe was in the middle of a mood swing. In spite of our closeness, I decided to keep out of her way as I didn't want to accidentally make things worse. She went into Apollo's room to rant in her diary, then went out for a short jog.
Later, she joined me on the sofa in the living room.
"You feeling OK now?" I asked.
"Yeah. I just felt annoyed with the world - you know that feeling."
"I sure do. You excited about Winterfest?"
"Absolutely! I hope we get some great presents."
Other Family Happenings:
Playing with the laser pointer.
Yoga practise!
Caroline decided to Simstagram Coco. Coco wasn't too sure.
Comments
Alright, everyone, here is the first update right after 'A Colorful Weekend/Weekend With You.
For those interested, I moved all content and future updates to the little storyzone on here, but will still post in this thread too because I love, love, love it and everyone's updates and stories.
Link: https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/988497/lyries-simming-stories#latest
This update will be of the Adler's.
Declan, placed the pictures they took together around the desk he spent a lot of time at, sometimes live-streaming, sometimes just surfing the web.
Each time he went to look at them, he smiled, his little girl was no longer a 5 year old, she felt heavier in his arms, her questions more acute, her eyes more sharp, keen, knowing.
These thoughts always turned his eyes away from the photo and the wave of joy and pride turned sour.
When had it happened? When had she grown?
And why could he barely remember?
Declan's Thoughts: Oh and I bet ^^he^^ can remember just perfectly about ^^his^^ daughter every. single. moment.
These bitter thoughts sent a wave of envy....
After all, Declan thought he never had a knack for anything. untalented, but maybe that changed with Aubree, he had a knack for love, compassion, family.
But.... now he even doubted that.... he had been doubting it, for as many years as his own daughter grew from 5 years old to 10 year old.
Rest is under the spoilers
She felt and found herself reverting back to her clingyness she had as a toddler that never really truly left but started to diminish when she started finding a bit of her own two feet.
Hazel stuck close to Vanessa's side, following her like a shadow, she did enjoy watching Nessa do flowering arranging it fed into her creative hands-on nature.
Vanessa of course did not turn her away, she honestly had no idea what to do, but felt it would harm Hazel more if she pushed her away instead of making her feel secure.
Tucker dropped in to visit wanting to check in on everyone.
Vanessa greeted her step-dad warmly, she was far used to his inconsistent ways by now and just wanted to spend time with him.
Vanessa also felt that Hazel was coming down with a bit of something.
So she made Hazel take a few naps and drink lots of juice and tea.
Vanessa's Thoughts: I really hope Declan kept her bundled tight during the off and on snow we been having....
When Hazel was not clinging to Vanessa or napping, she went to snuggle her bunny finding comfort in it softness.
She seemed rather withdrawn from her other friends right now, mostlikey not wanting to be a bother by missing Rainbow so much or hurt any feelings.
Poor girl, your friends would understand.... I am sure, but it seems Hazel is not so sure.
At least the clingyness seems to extend to those in her 'circle' which means her family she known since she can remember.
So Tucker takes some time to watch her draw and give encouragement.
Hazel thrives from the positive words doing on of her most favorite activity, she was eager to start on Winter decor for her room and for others early on!
Tucker is not the only one to drop by, Yu does as well.
He wanted to make sure Hazel was alright, Jesse and Illana had been missing her company, so he wanted to make sure she was alright without putting her in an unprepared situation.
Doing this was not a huge deal for him or Brandie, but they have come to understand her personality very well.
Yu had heard how hard Hazel had been working on her Winterfest projects and wanted to lend his support, also to tell her the twins offered up a fraction of their allowance to get her some more crafts to work with.
Hazel was very grateful!
She told Yu so how much she loved and appreciated the gift and that she would tell the twins and come over for a sleepover soon.
Hazel's Thoughts: My friends... and someone basically an uncle, thank you, now I can really work hard on Rainbow's gift and everyone else's too!
Hazel is starting to become very aware of things.
Not only about how strange daddy gets and the signs of this, and how he is not getting better....
But how much Vanessa does for daddy and her.
Now 10, the girl has learned a lot about her character values from school, scouts, and watching those around her.
She wants to be more helpful to help out Vanessa in all that she does.
So she started picking up chores here and there, and not just to earn a scouts badge but to really be helpful.
Hazel happily keeps making her arts and crafts.
She is happy that Yu comes by and shows him a sneak peek of Jesse and Illana's , he thinks they will really enjoy them!
Hazel swallows hard, her grip on crayon tightening just a bit more with nervous pressure.
She 🐸🐸🐸🐸 her dried lips and opens them to ask a burning question, the one Rainbow advised her to ask, the one she really wishes to ask with all her heart.
But the poor bean loses her nerve.... and just keeps drawing.
Her efforts show as Yu helps her hang up the decor and they both admire it.
Vanessa brings up some hot chocolate and they all sit around chatting here and there and admire the work.
Hazel smiles gently and takes another sip feeling so very warm, Rainbow might have had to leave, but they meet again, they promised.
For now, the ones in her life, who could easily come to her side were very much around her.
Yet.... in this peace and happiness, reassurance for one so young gone through so many losses as she had,
A person she loves so deeply keeps moving away from her, not at her side,
But striding right of the door.....
This update is for the Stones
After they finally arrived back in Oasis Springs the traffic holding them up extra long, it was very late into the night.
The two got in and unpacked quietly since Mckenna and Lilith slept already.
"It will be okay baby, Hazel is okay, Nessa texted me, you can video chat tomorrow okay?"
"Okay daddy.... "
Rainbow of course trusted that but she was still pretty sad.
More under the spoilers.
The next morning, Rainbow rushed to give hugs to her two aunts and then they had breakfast while Rainbow told them every, single. detail of her time with Hazelnut~
After getting off of video chat with Hazel, Rainbow was cheered up even more and knew Hazel and Vanessa were going to flower arrange together.
She happily opened the door when her friend Paisley came around to play with her~
Having the lively chatter box entertained, Lilith got back to writing her latest kids book and Mckenna went back to crafting some woodworks.
The next day after scouts, Max and Rainbow went to visit Juliana to tell her about their trip and check up on her.
She was feeling much better and thanked Max for his thoughtful soup he made, it had eased her stomach and the lovely flowers smelled well, lovely.
She is actually pregnant but unaware heh thanks MCC ;-)
I know Rainbow's is shorter but a TON of huge things happen with her in the next few updates to make up for that!
And no, I can't tell you Hazel's life gets better or happier, I am so sorry, but good things happen along the way.
That is all for now
He still makes time to hang out with his friends...
... and have fun.
Today he went to the Spice Festival and attempted the curry challenge with his friends.
The spicy food didn't really agree with them.
He hung out at the punk club with his brothers and his friends. There was a lot of excitement when a celebrity showed up!
I was checking out your flckr album on Adlers's backstory. Now that I have a better understanding of how Hazel's family came to be, I'm actually really happy to read from their point of view. They really came a long way! I love Hazel's resolution and how she wants to be a positive force in this chapter. So sweet.
I know that Dylan and Zeph found the river irresistible while at University and went straight for a swim every chance they got. I think the ghost of their rude and passive aggressive roommate still remains by the shore to this day, and I hope he doesn't get culled. He's like an eternal college student now, and that's almost a cursed existence. Dylan did kinda drown him...
After the Mua Pel'am Pod household, I only have the Rags to Riches Household, Kealoha Household, and the Alien Merfolk Household left to play in Sulani, it makes me a little sad that New Year's Eve of this Sim Year will be my last Household in Sulani.
It made me really happy to see more households in Sulani.
Here's what happened today. Veera Tähtinen had her second to last week at Britechester University. She relaxed on her bed on Sunday night.
The next day after her class she did her homework outside, because there's usually no one bothering her. She's studying Fine Art and decided to paint outside as well. It was a cold day, but veera doesn't mind cold, she's a Finn.
Her boyfriend wanted to take her on a dinner date later that night.
More here.
At the end of the week her mother called and invited her to visit home. When Veera arrived her mom left to work immediately. Typical Sims 4.
Her teen brother Ville and her father Olli were arguing and hardly even noticed she was there...
At least her elder cat Sakke still remembered her.
Olli and Ville kept bickering and Veera tried to break the ice, but nothing helped.
She decided to go back to the dorm and go on a relaxing jog.
Veera finished her term with perfect grades. One more week and two classes to graduate.
https://theislandelementaltwins.blogspot.com/2020/12/index-httpsforums.html
The Mua Pel'Am Pod Elder: Kemps Zalrian
Kemps spent some time combing the beach for seashells. As a merman, the rain didn't bother him, and he was hoping to find some trinkets for his beach shop.
Meanwhile, Isla, Andria, and Sara sat at the table and chatted about the renovations.
Sara: "The mermen found a bunch of suits of armor when they last explored for treasure. It was such an odd thing to find, but the property value has drastically increased as a result. I've heard that we live in a house worth 350,000 Simoleans now."
Isla: "I told them to get rid of them. The suits of armor made no aesthetical sense in an island home or in a tropical sea."
Andria: "I saw them putting them behind the wall so you wouldn't have to look at them. At least we get rebates on everything we buy now."
Isla: "How is that better?"
Sara: "Well, we could always use the Simoleans for the furniture we buy for Kemp's store."
Isla: "It seems hiring the merfolk that lived among humans has given him a bit of trouble. They haven't adapted to living among humans as well as he thought."
Andria sips some coffee: "You can't take the sea out of a merperson."
The three mermaids nodded.
Reef also unlocked a new aspiration.
Kemps approached Zeph while he was preparing another destressing remedy: "How's your day going?"
Zeph: "I live in a haunted house."
Kemps: "Oh, how's that working out?"
Zeph: "We've had to chase off a poltergeist a couple of times. She really hates all of us, and Ember loves setting her on fire or electrocuting her. They are mortal enemies now."
Kemps: "Well, if you need a break, here's our house key. Stop by anytime."
Managing a store and keeping up with the pod was a lot of work, so Kemps didn't get a lot sleep, opting for a cup of coffee.
Lyric: "You look like you need something fun to do."
Kemps: "Do you have anything in mind?"
Lyric: "There's this awesome new game. You have to try it."
Kemps: "I'll think about it."
The Kailani's: Reef, Sara, Kylen, Rylen, and Aaron, are my sims from my first attempt at a legacy. One of the ways they maintained some steady income was gardening and Sara is a green fiend. They have always been helpful with maintaining gardens, and this apparently didn't stop with their reintroduction to the save. The garden would probably die without Reef and Sara maintaining it.
While Kemps grilled food for the Aspiration, I checked up on the second youngest member of the pod. Lyric is a merboy, and he would be a child if I had the option to make him one. The merfolk house is designed with merfolk that have tails in mind. I think he would struggle to meet his needs if I didn't age him to a teen. Anyways, he's a music lover first and foremost, and I often find him near a stereo listening to music or dancing.
Next update will be Kemps's Love Day Date with Isla.
https://theislandelementaltwins.blogspot.com/2020/12/index-httpsforums.html
The Mua Pel'Am Pod Elder: Kemps Zalrian
Kemps: "You look great today."
Isla: "Thanks."
Random townie thinks Kemps is talking to her.
Kemps notices the townie and shifts topics.
Kemps: "And that's why the Drama Llama crossed the beach. She just had to have that sea shell."
Kemps: "But wait, someone else wanted the sea shell. It was a little crab. He got a little crabby when she grabbed it."
Bored with the conversation, the townie left. So, Kemps had a deep conservation about celebrities with Isla.
Kemps: "Which do you like better, the YellowFins or the Neon Kelps?"
Isla: "That's a hard one, but I enjoy listening to the Neon Kelps, Swimming in the Dark."
Kemps: "I thought for sure that you were a YellowFins fan."
Isla: "I am, and I enjoy songs like "Sing for Me," but I also like songs that are fun for the sake of fun."
Kemps: "I give, you're right."
Isla: "I always am."
Kemps: "I always enjoy good music, but do you think it actually helps with creativity."
Isla: "Why not? Music has emotion and ties together memories. Some people that lose their memories will actually remember things that happened while music plays. It's good to listen to a variety."
Kemps: "Like daycore and covers."
Isla: "Depends, not all music is fun for everyone."
Kemps: "Do you think music makes people a genius, like classical."
Isla: "I think all music has the potential to unlock creative potential. I think creativity and intellect go fin and fin. I think you should know that better than most considering our twin nephews are the literal spirits of Creativity and Intellect."
Kemps: "I thought they were the Spirits of the Sea and Sky."
Isla: "You know that they are more than that, or you wouldn't check up on them so much."
The two merfolk swam into the waterfall lagoon. To set the mood, they sang to each other a Charmer's Lullaby. For merfolk, this song was more than a serenade, it represented the love between two close partners, and only a serial romantic that wasn't willing to commit would sing it to anyone.
After the traditional ritual, Kemps moved in with a Mermadic Kiss, an ultimate expression of love because it could prevent drowning and save lives. Even if merfolk couldn't drown, it was an expression of true love.
Unfortunately, the townies were willing to swim out to them and ruin the mood.
When the date ended, Kemps gave Isla an Orchid, the Flower of Life. He wanted to make sure she knew that he wanted to live their eternal life together.
The next update will feature the Kava Parties.
My only augmentation to these rules for my Island Living Rags to Riches challenge will be that all items found beach combing can be sold, but the Island Living Collections still need to be completed, and the items found beach combing can still be useful enough to not sell. Almost all of them have a functional use, so it does make selling them a difficult choice.
The Collections that must be completed are as follows:
The Sea Shells Collection
The Buried Treasure
All Island Living Fish (Without braking any conservation laws)
All Island Living Plants
All Island Living Photos
All Crystals, Fossils, Metals, and Geodes without leaving Sulani or buying them. The presence of a Volcano means that these things are very accessible in many different ways.
Because I have set up lots that have complete collections, it will be off limits to steal from Conservation Museums or other lots with collectibles in them.
All collectibles must be kept in the house. Meaning that this can be a real challenge given the fines for gathering some collectibles in the wrong way. This also makes being a merman, mermaid, or simply having the Child of the Ocean trait very important.
Before aging up, the sim must have five character values, ideally positive but they can be negative, and an A in high school.
The Merman in my game will be the third youngest in the pod, and for manual aging up, a time limit of one sim month or simply waiting for the desired goals to be completed is acceptable. This challenge is designed with auto aging turned off in mind.
I'm going to try and reach the age up goals before the end of his rotation.
I think the Biology Degree is a must for the Conservation Career, but the sim must attend University from Home. Merfolk must become Marine Biologists. Human Islanders must become conservationists.
There should be a moral dilemma for acquiring income. The conservationist career is unlocked after the degree for it is completed. This should mean that odd jobs and beachcombing should be the only source of income until the sim can go to University.
Purchases from anything in world is acceptable provided the funds are available.
Last Edit: The Mansion Baron Aspiration will also be a required aspiration.
https://theislandelementaltwins.blogspot.com/2020/12/index-httpsforums.html
The Mua Pel'Am Pod Elder: Kemps Zalrian
Kemps was looking for something fun to do, so he called the Mua Pel'am Pod together for a weekend at Mua Pel'am for a Kava Party. The Mua Pel'am Pod was the largest pod of merfolk, but it wasn't the only pod in existence. Merfolk come from any world with an ocean after all. Regardless, the event was going to be huge.
After their date, Isla's presence alone could make Kemps flirty, and he was an expert at making some of the best Kava in spite of his mermadic origins. The twins chatted with the pod while they waited for another call to the Kava Bowl. The Zalrians, Kians, and most of the Kailanis were invited. As many as whoever could be there was there.
Andria chatted with Juniper and Ember, who were too young to drink Kava. Ember was a teen, and Juniper was a merboy and the youngest member of the pod (A child if it was possible with a tail, but I decided merfolk mature faster because of their ocean origins and the need for a tail when it comes to evading sharks and other marine predators.)
Fin was the next one that made a Kava Bowl for the pod. Kemps did his best to calm down Dylan, who was angry for some unknown reason. It's not like Dylan to be angry, and Kemps didn't want volcanic eruptions and a perpetual monsoon to ruin the party.
Kemps managed to calm him down, and he told an outrageous story that made everyone playful, crisis adverted.
Ember to Andria: "Have you played that new video game, Simlantis. Supposedly, Zeph created the game so merfolk could escape into an underwater world and still enjoy everything on land. He makes a steady income from it."
Andria: "Sounds like quite the concept. No one would create a game with merfolk and not have an underwater world to visit with the characters. I mean, a rabbit hole is obviously not an adequate substitute for what players are looking to experience."
Panipo, a conservationist at heart, took this opportunity to spread conservation awareness to Dylan and kemps. Sea Turtles were close to his heart.
Andria: "I've heard that they created a game with merfolk that the players couldn't follow underwater. The developers made money off the pack, but they made some of their players unhappy. It could be the Kava talking, but I think they lost some trust in future packs and their franchise as a whole. Those players are expected to buy a sequel even though their current game still feels to incomplete to justify a new game."
Ember: "I know. It's a total mess, but the irony is that the game and all their packs are still enjoyable. It's just that the players wanted more and they had higher expectations than what was delivered."
Kemps told jokes: "And that's when she slipped on a plantain and painted a masterpiece with a stroke of her paint brush and a splatter of paint."
Everyone smiled, but Kemps was an old fish and not the best comedian. As the Kava party continued, the pod made drastic spikes in their charisma.
But in all seriousness. The first kava party ended in silver, and the confidence boost from throwing the first Kava Party made a huge jump in their charisma, and because most of the pod was created in CAS and lacked traits that boost skills outside of what could be gained from the satisfaction rewards store, this boost from low level charisma came mostly from the moodlet.
The current time of the first level up notification.
The time for the next level up and these notifications triggered for all the hosts from earlier parties.
Kemps leveled up in 3 sim minutes and jumped to level 7 over the course of the parties from a low level.
While the pod told jokes, Lyric decided to give his mom a funny gift. Andria thought it was a funny gift, but it didn't count as a joke.
As the Party came to a close, Fin and Kemps made the final Kava toosts before everyone sat to chat or gathered around the reef to swim and chat. I know that Ember's Childhood friends Alexander Goth and Lucas Munch are potential ships, but Panipo and Ember got along pretty well too. The only problem with Panipo is how merfolk in my game essentially age up when ever I want them to. They are treated like immortals with eternal life. This means that:
A. Ember is only an immortal because she's the Elemental Spirit of the Volcano.
B. She's currently a teen, and Panipo is an Immortal Young Adult.
Commentary: They aren't true immortals because they simply won't die of old age, and the only sims that are truly immortal in my game include Dylan and Zeph because I'm too attached to my first two sims I created. (Yes, I had to create Calum first to start the save, but Calum was created to create the Elemental Merfolk that happened to end up being the Twins Dylan and Zeph. Dylan and Zeph are ultimately the product of my experimentation with getting triplets.)
After the Kava Parties, Kemps explored the beach cave and encountered a colony of bats that turned out to be very cute to watch while they slept.
Finally, after an eventful weekend, Kemps dozed off. Because retaining their unnatural human form requires focus and energy, merfolk that are too exhausted or simply get too dehydrated, exhaust themselves by utilizing too much mermadic magic, or simply let their guard down, revert to their natural form. For kemps, dozing off in the beach chair meant losing the focus required to remain in human form.
Later that day before returning to her diving career, Andria spent some time doing a dance workout. It was her random whim. It turns out that this interaction with the tv can't be done even though merfolk can watch tv in their merform.
One more update before I'm caught up. I might make screenshot updates sooner in the future, but things have been pretty crazy with real life, so I didn't have a chance.
Here's a teaser of my Rags to Riches Challenge: Sulani Edition Sim. The Azures used to be four brothers before I started posting in this thread. Lyric is actually one of the original younger brothers and Kemps is actually a template that comes from one of his older brothers. The remaining two brothers, Flynn and Calden were combined to create Calden Azure.
Calden, per the challenge rules I created, will have one required Island Living trait and two other traits I get to choose. Dance Machine is his second trait, and I think that trait actually compliments the Island Living content extremely well. In particualar, Fire Dancing, the Child of the Islands' moodlet Sulani's Heartbeat while listening to Island Music, and the fact that it actually speeds up the energy gain for merfolk while they sleep in the ocean, are a few of the reasons for this trait in spite of it being outside the pack. The other traits will be base game traits that I'll choose from. I'm thinking of making the trait he ages into being the Child of the Island Trait. This will help force me to engage in island activities because the Elementals from the Zalrian household will pass powerful judgements on him that will have an impact on gameplay. Connection Denied (Reduced Skill Gain, Water, Sad/ Uncomfortable Moodlet near where the Elemental Cries), Sulani's Roots (Career Boost, Earth, Confident), Sulani's Breeze (Social Boost, Wind, Playful), and Sulani's Warmth (Romance Boost, Fire, Flirty) are all moodlets that last for 2 sim days.
He will also have the Creatively Gifted, Forever Full, and Steal Bladder Traits. I'm making this exception from the rules because I want him to basically be able to never leave the ocean if he so chooses.
As a merman, I maxed out certain skills that I believe would be natural talents for merfolk. He has level 10 fitness and Level 10 Singing. The creatively gifted trait also factors into him being a merman. It is my belief, based on all the lore about merfolk I researched, that all merfolk are talented in the creative arts. Almost all merfolk I read about tend to be musicians or talented singers regardless of gender.
So, without further explanation, here is Calden Azure:
To further challenge myself. Calden will not leave the water except to do homework, arrive on another lot in Sulani, or go to school (which I'll pretend is underwater and with other merfolk) until he has a shack or some kind of shelter on land. I want to see how much I can do in the water, and because he's a merman with certain traits, he won't have to leave the water to meet any other need.
Then I’ve gone back to the Mastersons today. I’ve recently worked out that the cupcake factory is causing Last Exceptions in my game which is annoying but not game-breaking or anything, so I’ve just stuck it into the family inventory for now. It’s the day before Winterfest in-game, so I’m going to find some CC Christmas jumpers for everyone. Then I might go and play as the Paraskevas family for a bit so Alexander (in particular) can improve his magical skills. Erytheia is only a Neophyte so it’s not like she’s too far ahead.
Oh, and I also built a rental lot in Sulani.
@Metior_Ice you seem so knowledgeable about merfolk! It’s not an occult I’ve explored at all. I might have one of the Sims in my Sulani save become one.
@DeafSimmer ooh, Zelda does not look happy in that picture! I can totally understand why she feels so badly about men, I cannot imagine witnessing what she did. Your stories are always so well thought out and everyone has an interesting (and sometimes tragic) backstory, my games are always “yay life is awesome and I have a great family!”
There is so much untapped potential with merfolk and underwater worlds when it comes to video games. I can only think of a handful of games that actually have an underwater world that the player can play in. Even fewer actually include merfolk of both genders. It surprises me that the developers would do so much to research polynesian culture and fail to do their research on merfolk, the occult introduced with the pack. Legends about merfolk and water spirits with merfolk like forms can be found in every culture that touches the sea or has significant bodies of water. The lore is extensive, but you have to look beyond Disney to find it. The Little Mermaid might not do merfolk justice because so much gets lost in the shadows of her image. I have nothing against Ariel. Disney does have both genders fairly represented, especially in recent years. It's just that Disney isn't the source material.
Meanwhile Harrison is going to be a dad after finding Maaike. Those two get along fairly well and he's also helping her raise her son(different father who seem to have left).
Now that I think about it. It would be so cool if utilizing a human form drained hydration and one of the powers in a power tree was the ability to use less hydration or mermadic energy to maintain a human form. As the game is, merfolk do have a need to swim and change form as a result. It would just add a bit of depth to merfolk gameplay.
Aleki invited his dance club friends over (Rachelle, Glori, Aubrey, and Lucinda). Rachelle is the ex-wife of Zachariah Kurtz, who is the brother of Dorian Bach Kurtz.
He's always had a connection with Rachelle, so she stayed behind after the others left and hung out with Aleki.
The next day, she called and asked him on a date. He was so excited! Naturally, she took him to a dance club.
The day after that, Aleki asked Rachelle out. They went to the most romantic venue in United Simland.
He became her best friend and her boyfriend on the same night.
Aleki was really happy the next day.
Building in my game where the Sages are kids. I created the households now I'm working on building the worlds when I go to that saved game before I start really playing. Culled game generated sims and I added Belit as one of the professors at Silverwolf Academy for spellcasters. She is one of the professors who teach spellcaster history.
Anatu and Fox moved in together in my game where Simeon and Morgyn are married with children. I worked on their apartment. I think having two rooms especially when parents come to visit set up in their individual style will worry them less. I added the Geek trait to Fox who already has the Bookworm trait. I'll add the Custom trait Lawful Good as his last trait once he ages up to Young Adult. For Anatu she started with the Genius trait and I added in the Custom Lawful Good Trait when she becomes a Young Adult I'll add the Family Oriented Trait. When Sabrina ages up to a teen I'll add in the snob trait and when she ages up to Young Adult I'll give her the Ambitious trait. I want her to be more like Simeon than Morgynwith both her choice in schools of magic and personality. Though she's a child now Simeon is teaching her all he can in Practical Magic while Morgyn is teaching her alchemy. Fox is learning both his fathers' schools of magic. He['s gaining knowledge very quickly in both Practical and Untamed Magic. He's been learning both schools since he was a child. While Anatu is working on mastering Practical Untamed and Mischief Magic.
Belit in the other game I'm playing has become best friends with Simeon Silversweater The Sage of Practical Magic. She always had a close friendship with his predecessors this really is no different. She gets along best with those who are Practical Mages like Minerva Charm and Simeon. Like Sam and his brothers, she is the kind of spellcaster other spellcasters might not personally know her but know who she is. I have her living in San Myshuno in a modest apartment. She's pretty low keyed when she isn't on stage with Sam and his brothers. Her traits are Genius, Self Assured and the custom trait Lawful Good.
It's a 3x4 room with backdrop and tripod camera inside anyone can go inside and select option "take picture with" to use it like a photo booth (testers):
Just need to tweak lighting inside now. But I'm always horrible with lighting and photography. IRL too
Well I rally wanted one for the long time so I had to improvise in the end ))
@Harukotyan
It looks amazing. Do you plan to upload your photo-booth onto the gallery? I can already see it everywhere in my community lots.
"How was your day?" I asked.
"It was OK. It'd be great if we had more classes together, though." (We had science classes together).
"Yeah, absolutely. We had an algebra test today, Xanthe was not impressed. She hates algebra."
Alexander grinned.
"Yeah, that always confuses me too. I think we've got that test on Thursday."
When I got home later, I needed a bath. As I sank into the warm water, I thought about my relationship. Although I knew I was a little young to be in a serious relationship, I couldn't really imagine being with anyone else. I did hope that we'd last; aside from the romantic aspect, breaking up would also ruin my oldest friendship, which I did not want to do.
Not long later...
"Surprise! I fancied visiting the city," Alexander grinned.
"Is that code for visiting me?" I laughed.
"Maybe. I would like to live here one day, though. Willow Creek is nice and everything, but I prefer the hustle and bustle. It's so cosmopolitan."
"Yes, I'd like to stay here too. I like all the different food stalls and festivals."
The next morning, I decided to make breakfast for everybody. As I waited for the French toast to cook, I looked across the city skyline at the steel grey sky. It would be Winterfest the following day; I needed to buy presents for everyone. Although city-centre living meant easy access to the shops, it also meant that they would be incredibly busy.
That day after school, Xanthe was in the middle of a mood swing. In spite of our closeness, I decided to keep out of her way as I didn't want to accidentally make things worse. She went into Apollo's room to rant in her diary, then went out for a short jog.
Later, she joined me on the sofa in the living room.
"You feeling OK now?" I asked.
"Yeah. I just felt annoyed with the world - you know that feeling."
"I sure do. You excited about Winterfest?"
"Absolutely! I hope we get some great presents."
Other Family Happenings:
Playing with the laser pointer.
Yoga practise!
Caroline decided to Simstagram Coco. Coco wasn't too sure.