One of my rules for the “Friends”, also known as the “Starving Artists”, “Simoleonless Singles”, “New Kids in Town”, etc. is that they can only get part-time jobs, as full-time jobs would interfere with their “art” a.k.a. skill-building. I haven’t worked it all out yet, but I’m thinking they’re not allowed to be self-employed in their chosen art until they’ve reached level 7 or 8. And I want to slow down skilling if I can. I don’t want these folks becoming experts at anything right away — they’ll have to work at it. Yes, we want striving and struggling!
But they have to make some money to pay the bills, so Drew is allowed to get a job as a Neighborhood Patroller (one of the part-time jobs available with Twallan’s Careers Modules). He wanted a job in Law Enforcement anyway (although this didn’t fulfill the want, of course — it just gave me an idea of what job to give him gameplay-wise). It may seem kind of strange for a slovenly musician to want to enter such a strait-laced profession, but he’s also Brave and very protective of people, so it makes sense.
So that’s Drew outside the police station, all happy about his new job. He’s also glancing across the way to the new Central Park (thanks to Lilymayrose at Sims 3 Musketeers!) and thinking he should try to make some new friends — his social bar was running on empty. Time to hobnob with the locals!
Oh, but not Vita Alto…yikes. Woman was on a mission. Also pregnant, apparently. I just thought she looked funny walking like that in an evening gown and heels.
Much to my delight, Vanora happened to be standing right in the middle of the park. My first “friends” had the opportunity to meet each other, without me having to contrive something! Yay.
Drew introduced himself, the two chatted about their favorite colors (Drew: black, Vanora: white), and that was it. Vanora thought he was boring and sauntered off. D’oh! This didn’t bode well for my little project.
Then Vanora made one of the weirdest expressions I’ve seen in this game. I mean, I thought the woman was going absolutely batty.
But she just wanted people to gather ’round so she could tell ghost stories. With a flashlight. In the middle of the day.
She’s looneytunes, clearly. Especially since one of her traits is Shy. Maybe I’m wrong, but shy people don’t go around telling stories to strangers like some kind of roving minstrel at a Renaissance Fair.
So I chalked it up to Generations craziness and just watched it unfold.
Agnes Crumplebottom was completely enthralled…
…as was Drew, who wandered over to listen (autonomously).
Pregnant Vita looked like she was afraid of the flashlight.
Vanora had them all in the palm of her hand. And when her story was done, she simply walked away, leaving them stunned.
Even Connor Frio’s mind was totally blown. He didn’t know what to think.
To calm his nerves, Drew headed down to the beach. It was so foggy out that he could only see the faintest outline of the lighthouse and its island.
The new Old Pier Beach park (from Nengi’s Spot) had instruments all set up, ready for an impromptu jam session, so Drew sat down and plunked away at the keyboard. Unfortunately no one wanted to jam with him, so his want “jam with someone” went unfulfilled.
This is Drew’s opinion of the music scene in Mt. Geneva:
Fear not, Drew — we’ll get something going.
For ani_: here’s an overview of Vanora’s house. It’s only one story, because even though I have windows in the second story, there is no way to get up there, so it’s unusable space. I put it there mostly for aesthetics.
Hope you enjoyed the random pseudo-story pics…until next time, Happy Simming!
I feel like there is so much I want to say! Let’s start with Skippy. Looks like Drew has his first fan, Skippy was definitely looking at him with longing. The expression really made me laugh!
Vanora seems like a super fun sim to play, completely aloof and utterly random. I am looking forward to more from her.
She is a fun Sim to play, what little I’ve played her. I wish I had more time to do so — I keep getting sidetracked!
Absolutely fabulous and hilarious update! I love your writing and those facial expressions are just amazing. Looking forward to more :-)
Thank you, Dee! :)
Oh I like Drew, he’s cute and expressive.
Gah, Vanora get back and talk to Drew, he’s cute!
Ha love the scary story. how fun!
Yeah, Drew makes some fun faces!
Hey Jen! lovely post as always! Drew is sooo cool! he kinda remind me of Joey from friends! I love friends so this project of yours is a great idea! btw out of topic My pc crash a while ago losing everything! even my photoshop but now I’m back at my domain and is funny cause I’m playing the second edition of Sunset Valley and soooo much better! so just to let you know to remove the link of my old dead legacy and if we can exchange links with my domain? anyway “hugs” <3
Oh no, I’m sorry to hear about your PC crashing! That’s awful. I’m glad you’re back up and running, though. I will definitely update your link! Thanks for letting me know. :)
I absolutely adored the random pseudo-story pics. :O) And Drew really is quite adorable. If not for Hank, I’d totally … well … ;O) Hehe! These sims are gonna drive you batty, jenba. I just know it. But you’ll probably love every second of it! Hehe!
LOL, it’s cute how loyal you are to Hank! ;)
Hi I’ve been following you for a while and just wanted to say how much i love the homes, sims, and stories you create! I’m sure you get this alot, but do you ever post any downloads for the towns or homes you work on? Anywho, thanks links and posts!
Hi Shana, welcome and thanks so much for your comment! I do post houses for download once in awhile — if you click on my “Parade of Homes” category, you can see some of them there. A lot of my latest ones have been just for fun, so I’m using a lot of custom content, which makes them harder to share, unfortunately.
Thanks! All the time I’ve been coming here, I never clicked on that one link :) I so understand about the CC and not being able to share. It’s so hard to track CC, especially if you’re a CC junkie like I am. Thanks, and btw, I charge you and Living Sims with my uncontrollable need to amass clutter :P
Blimey, I’d forgotten how completely freaky-looking Vita Alto was. That’s enough to give you nightmares, that is! And yay for new Mt Geneva! Are we going to be blessed with Maude’s presence as well? Nice update, Jen.
Believe it or not, I have actually contemplated bringing Maude back! She wouldn’t narrate stories, though — well, maybe a guest appearance once in awhile — she would just be another resident in the town. I will say no more! :)
And yes, Vita Alto is a bit on the scary side!
Oh. My Gosh.
I giggled and laughed all the way through this. I love you, my dear! I love how you write, and your sense of humour with this game, and your freakin’ funny Sims! LOL That ghost story seriously cracked me right up! This is gonna be a cool ride, I can tell. ;)
Aw, thank you, Webby! I think you and your Sims are freakin’ funny, too! ;)
Oh lol Skippy is funny, he looked creepy! I like the whole idea how you have set friends up…really cool. Though I must admit, you can make even the most boring thing look most awesome if you ever want to do that. More more more….and fast!
That’s so sweet, Speechless, thanks!! I’m not doing too well on the “more” and “fast” thing, LOL…
Jen, I love how this is gently rolling along. The chance meeting for Drew and Vanora was perfect. Isn’t it always sooo much better when the game actually plays along. I don’t blame you for downloading Drew’s face (maaan is that going to look weird to anyone that wanders across your website and has no clue what Sims 3 is!), he’s rather beautiful and looks totally invested in Vanora’s ghost story – I can imagine him as a little boy with that exact same expression.
Is it just me, or does your SV (Mt Geneva) look incredibly atmospheric, misty and foggy? Bit like Twinbrook in the swamps.
Thanks, Lily! And yeah, I think dDefinder’s lighting mod does some weather/sky effects, so that some days are foggy and cloudy. Adds some variety and atmosphere for sure!
Thanks for the house image. I really like the odd square in the centre from where you can enter various rooms.
The newest friend looks quite handsome :)
Yeah, Arisuka did an amazing job on that face sculpt!
Aw, it’s great that they meet each other spontaneously! I love Drew, this red hairdo was made for him! (and I love how you “slobbed” his house! :D)
It’s so nice to meet all those Sunset Valley citizens in Mt Geneva! It makes me regret to have bulldozed most of them. Connor was cute. I love how they were all hooked by Vanora’s stories!
I really enjoyed using the clutter you made to “slob” Drew’s house! So thank you for that. :D I’ll probably get rid of the SV citizens bit by bit and replace them with my own, but you’re right Connor is cute — I might have to keep him!
Hey Jen! :D I’ve gotten myself a new graphics card, which means I can finally run Sims 3 at max settings without any lag. This means I’ve gotten a renewed interest in the game. <3
Could you tell us a bit more about this Friends story you're setting up? How many Sims are you making, are there any particular limitations, etc? It sounds like fun!
Kay!!!!! I was just thinking about you the other day — even checked your LJ to see if you had posted anything recently! So glad you’re still around and playing — yay for new graphics cards!! So what have you been doing in your game? Have any pics to share? :)
I’ll probably do a more in-depth post on my “Friends” set-up once I get all of my “rules” ironed out. Not that the rules are strict — I’m leaving things open-ended because I want it to be fun and organic — but I do want some structure so that I challenge myself gameplay-wise and hopefully develop some good stories. Thanks for requesting it — great idea!
Sounds perfect! *votes yes for Mt. Geneva*
Yikes! Fires are BAD! Glad she was able to put it out instead of doing the Ack!Fire Dance.
Oh nos! No music to paint by now? :(
Aww poor Vanora. *comfort*
Drew is a cutie! I don’t blame you for downloading him.
Mmm, yumm. Yup, shirtless is definitely the way to work on those piano skills!
He just needs to keep practicing (shirtless, of course) and he’ll definitely set Mt. Geneva’s music scene’s on its ear!
His house definitely looks like a true bachelor pad. *grins*
Maybe Skippy thinks it’s weird that a kewl musician like Drew doesn’t have a girlfriend yet? *shrugs*
Yay for his new job! And yikes, Vita, not a graceful looking walk.
Most great painters are more than a little batty, so Vanora will do wonderfully with her art. *snickers*
*giggles* Now that’s some awesome storytelling, if you leave your audience stunned afterwards! (Or that’s some really REALLY BAD storyteling… take your pick.)
Poor Drew. The music scene needed YOU to jump start it!
Aer, thanks so much for all of your comments — they’re always so much fun to read. :) LOL at the Ack!Fire Dance! That is very apt.