Yeah, not exactly the place one would want to raise babies and stuff. It’s teensy-tiny. I was disheartened, but I had no choice. At least I could give it a makeover – it needed one, desperately.
Since Hope loves the outdoors, I figured she wouldn’t mind having her dining room outside – she ate outside for most of her life at the Dogpatch anyway. So Hope’s yard is just another “room†of the house. I went a little nuts with the landscaping, but here’s Skunk Haven, redone:
It has nice big windows so Hope can enjoy the outdoors even when she’s inside (not that she gets a moodlet for that, but you know).
Hope had joined the part-time culinary career as a teen, so I had her join the full-time career as an adult. She already had 8 levels in Cooking but I figured she could make some money while filling up the last two bars. Here she’s zooming off to work on her repainted scooter (her favorite color is turquoise).
When Hope isn’t working on making tasty vittles, she’s trying to find a husband, because I need to get going on 3rd gen. It’s not going so well, however. The population of Riverview has become decidedly geezer-heavy, what with all of the adults from Zuzu’s generation turning elder. And I didn’t want Hope to marry an elder, because I wanted to give myself time to achieve his LTW. Although she might have no choice, because the eligible YA/A males in Riverview leave something to be desired…
Meet Barry Newbie. I think he might be a brother? – son? – of Bob Newbie, but I’m not sure. I forced Hope to meet him at the gym because he’s one of the few single guys her age in Riverview. They had a nice chat there but when she invited him over to her place the next day, the first thing he did was insult her.
She expressed her humiliation, and then he…grabbed her and smooched her. Huh??
After that, he insulted her again, then wanted to hold hands. Talk about a twisted view of romance! I couldn’t have Hope get involved with a sick sadist like that. Yeesh.
Oh well, at least she got the “first kiss†moodlet – that boosted her spirits for awhile, and thankfully lasts longer than the “humiliated†moodlet.
After giving up on Barry, I had her try her luck with Conrad Portman, another of Riverview’s semi-eligible bachelors. She met him outside the bistro after work one evening (he was wearing swim trunks and people were laughing at him – not a good sign) and decided to invite him over to Skunk Haven.
Things were going well (he autonomously did a romantic interaction with her, just like Barry had), but then Conrad decided to…clean the bathroom. Hope found that rude and got a negative moodlet from his inappropriate behavior. (Strangely enough, she also got the option to thank him for cleaning.) Then he started wigging out. I’m not sure what happened, if he was just talking to himself or spouting conspiracy theories, but she got “creeped out†(a moodlet I had never seen). She went to bed and left him outside, rambling to the fire pit.
The next day, Hope met her sister Mara by the bistro (she had a wish to hang out with her) and asked her advice about men. Mara said, “Just marry a guy with money. That’s really all that matters.†OK, so they were just chatting about gemstones or something, but that’s how the conversation went in my head.
That night, Hope learned her 28th recipe and achieved her LTW. Wait, wut?? I had thought she had to learn every recipe in the game, not just 28 of them, but there it was. She was done. She was only at level 9 in Cooking, for goodness’ sake. She didn’t even have to buy the §12,000 Ambrosia recipe. Weird. I guess they didn’t update that LTW for World Adventures?
So now the search for a decent husband was all she had left in the “MUST DO†category. It’s really too bad her co-worker Travis McDermott is already taken, because he seems like a nice guy (though he looks a little surly) and they have a lot in common:
They’re both excitable and love the outdoors. At least, I assume he’s taken, since he brought his toddler with him to visit. But Hope didn’t ask about his marital status, so there’s a possibility he could be a single dad…hmm.
That’s it for now, sorry about the long-windedness, it took me longer to explain all these pics than I thought it would! Stay tuned for more Wishful Living, and see whether Hope finds a good man or is stuck with Belligerent Barry or Crazy Conrad…
“Clean house” rocks! I kind of want a hack to have it for all Sims (for TS2 as well!) because I have the Lazy trait, lol!
You’re exactly like me with the Evil trait. I’ve had Evil Sims but I always groan a bit when I roll randomly and I get Evil. It just seems a bit…cartoonish to me.
Mara looks so much like Zuzu!
Maybe I’ll try this challenge – you make it sound like such fun and it does sound actually challenging, as opposed to the Legacy Challenge.
You did a great job making over Skunk Haven! Poor Hope though…fingers crossed she manages to find a better guy than Barry or Conrad! Or hey, maybe Story Progression will decide Travis and his wife aren’t right for each other!
I have the Lazy trait, too! Heehee. A “Clean House” hack for all Sims would be awesome! I wouldn’t be able to use it in the challenge, but it would come in handy in other households.
I agree on Evil Sims seeming a bit cartoonish. That’s a good word for it. But I suppose a less cartoonish, more “realistic” Evil would be too scary and disturbing for this kind of game. I shudder to think, actually!
Heh. My anti-spam word: “ikea”. It’s fate. A furniture store wants to visit Skunk Haven. Wow. I can’t believe the 2nd generation heir had to move into such a hovel. Granted, I loved what you did to the outside, but hot damn! O__o That’s some rough living!
It’s funny that you mentioned the interesting tidbit about “Zuzu”. I had just read some Avatar: the Last Airbender fanfiction where “Zuzu” happens to be the nickname of the firelord’s banished son Zuko (a nickname given to him by his crazy-ass sister Azula). Teehee.
Dang. I’m so ashamed. You started this challenge long after me, and where am I with it? Nowhere. Heh. My generation 2 has been born, but I haven’t played since then. :”> I like how yours is going though. You seem to be doing quite well!
Haha, and my anti-spam word is “move”, as in “move outta Skunk Haven”! ;-p And ooh, ahh, Avatar: The Last Airbender! That is one of my all-time favorite shows. I actually just rewatched Season 1 last week. Good stuff. I did chuckle a little and think of Zuko when I was writing this update!
I went to Facebook between each page to make the story last longer. Your stories are like a really great tutorial of the challenge btw. I’m thinking of trying it. I haven’t played since March.
I was thinking about Twallian story mode. How is it different from the awesome mod story mode do you know?
Wow, thanks, gethane! I’m glad you enjoyed the update. As for Twallan’s SP vs. Awesome SP, I’m not too sure, since I’ve never used Awesome SP. I used to be an Indie Stone mod user so when Twallan took that over, I just migrated over to his mod. Twallan’s mod is a bit tough to configure at times, whereas I think Awesomemod has the HTML config page that makes things easier, but I think Twallan’s is more versatile. It covers so many areas and almost all of it is configureable by the user. Also, you get pop-ups notifying you about everything that’s going on, which can be annoying for some, but those can be turned off, too. Like if you only want to know what’s going on with blood relations, you can limit it to that, or if you only want to know when someone in town has a baby, you can configure it that way. It just takes a little exploring around the interface, which unfortunately is not the most intuitive. I like it a lot, though, and Twallan is great about updating and answering questions. Hope that answer helps a little.
Jen!!!
You cannot believe how happy you just made me by reintroducing Zuzu :)
How great to read something about one of the Shanleys once again! I really remember her and her purple as favorite color. Aaaand: This is just the kind of story-writing of yours that I love most, be sure that I will follow it eagerly as you continue! You started this off so great that I’m totally excited to try it out myself, haven’t had a try with TS3 for a looong time, so maybe this might be just the challenge that I’ve been waiting for.
I love Hope (we both share the same favorite color, that means something!) and her sister (Mara is a beautiful name) and hope to see that gen 3 will be rolling soon.
And that guy who’s about to chomp a piece out of Zuzu’s shoulder is hilarious, you made me giggle :)
Thank you very much!!
Too great you’re back :)
Hey EvaH!! It’s always great to see you. :) It really is a fun challenge; you’ll have to let us know if you try it out! Thanks for being such a fan of the Shanleys. It’s too bad, you won’t get to see much more of Zuzu now that Hope has moved out. Anyway, hope you have fun with the Sims or whatever you decide to do!
I’m so glad that you’ve shown us a bit of your challenge! I love what you did with Skunk Haven. Can you imagine living somewhere named Skunk Haven??
Your sims are lovely! Zuzu & The Don made a good couple. Hope is quite the cutie too. I hope to see more from this challenge.
Thanks, Lisa! Skunk Haven really is a terrible name for a house, isn’t it? Blech. Although it’d be kind of funny if skunk spawners existed and you could litter a whole lot with them…well, maybe not so much funny as annoying. And stinky.
Eeee! Zuzu Shanley! Now I have to go and reread the old Shanley Legacy again.
It’s good to see you playing again. :D Also: hi hi! I’ve gotten hooked on Sims 3 as well. What skintones, eyes etc are you using for CC?
OMG, Kay!! How the heck are ya, lady?? So you’re hooked on the Sims 3 now, too? Do tell!! I’d love to hear about what you’re up to! As for CC, I’m using kind of a Frankensteinian mash of bits and pieces. The faces and eyes are from Aikea Guinea/Club Crimsyn: Default Replacement Skintones – Faces Only and Multicolored Default Eye Replacements. Then I also have the Increased Shine and the “More Detailed” Skins (bodies only) by Hysterical Paroxysm. I can give you some links to make-up, too, if you want! Actually, I need to make a credits page for my TS3 stuff anyway…I’ll get on that. :) But until then, feel free to ask away! So great to see ya!!
Heee, it’s been a while, hasn’t it! :D I haven’t Simmed at all for about a year or so, and now coming back there’s finally enough mods (i.e twallan’s story mode, alien eye contacts, skin colours etc etc) that I can finally play the game like I want to play it. Also there’s more resources and tutorials and all around information about Create a World, so that’s also easier to deal with. I just did not have fun with only the two default ‘hoods. And the first EP being adventures didn’t thrill me either. But! Aspirations has promise, and I like the stuff pack. :D
I’m currently making families for a Prosperity challenge with a touch of the Build a City challenge. You can find me over on LJ as saunasims: http://saunasims.livejournal.com/
holy boop their kids are adorable. nice choice on heir as well… very smart choice anyhow and geebus you did an awesome job on that house. I mean, sure I know you’ve always had a way of building houses that just rock, but man the before and after pics of that skunk haven is mind boggling.
as for spouse, I’d go with Newbie cuz he is at least the better looking of the two.
Conrad sounds like he is Neurotic. I had one, they’re erm… interesting. wash hands 3 times and then he’s worried about the sink breaking cuz he used it . *headdesk*
Ask Travis if he’s taken. the McDermott’s have money if IRCC
Thanks, Ruby, and LOL at your experience with neurotic Sims. I’ve only ever seen them do the “freak out!” thing, then get the “happy place” moodlet after (don’t remember what it’s called now). They are amusing, though. Still working on the Travis McD thing…
Hey there Jen! I’m so excited to see you back to simming. I love the things you’re doing with TS3. This new challenge sounds very fun, I may have to try it out after I finish my legacy challenge. I’m on Gen. 6 now, although I’ve been slacking in the blogging of it. I’ve only blogged through Gen. 2 or so! Woopsy! Heehee.
I always loved Zuzu, and was rooting for her as your heir in the first Shanley legacy. So it’s really good to see her back in action. Also, how cool is it that your G2 Shanleys in this legacy and the original were both twin girls?! I think that’s pretty nifty.
I hope you continue having fun playing this challenge, because I’d love to see more about it!
Mandie! Wow, Gen 6 on your legacy challenge? That’s awesome! I miss the Spaghettis! :) Holy cow, I see that you updated in April and I missed it! D’oh! Off to read now!
Oh! And I vote Hope goes for Travis McDermott. From the pic it looks like he’s got more interesting features than your run of the mill TS3 Townie. And if he’s married, well. Hope can just seduce him anyway and once he’s smitten tell him to get a divorce! >:)
I agree with you on Travis’s features! They’re a bit odd, but at least they’re not cookie cutter like most of the other guys in town! Hope hasn’t seemed like the seducing type to me, so I’ve been careful with her, but she’s getting desperate…
Ha! Before reading a single word, I looked at that first picture and went, “Oh, that looks like Zuzu!” And then, lo and behold, it is! I may have squealed a little when I read that bit, I have such fond memories of reading about the Shanley’s and just itching to start my own Legacy family. =)
Amusing that Zuzu had twins! And Barry Newbie sounds like quite the character, though Hope probably could do better. Finding marriage material in Sims 3 can be so hard; it seems like everyone in town is always an elder or just about to turn elder. I’ve resorted to breaking up couples just so my sims have people to marry.
Loved the update, Jen! =)