Things are moving right along with the Shanleys, my Wishful Living Challenge family. In the last update, generation four torch-holder Gibson had just moved out of the family’s home in Twinbrook. Even though he had §97,440 in cash and was allowed to purchase a home with a value of up to §49,999, I had him buy one of those shacks in the swamp because it seemed like the appropriate setting for him to work on his Lifetime Wish – to make three monsters.
Unfortunately I didn’t get a good pic of his house before I renovated it – you can see it in the distance in the snapshot below, but that’s about it. I think most people who have played Twinbrook and lived in the swamps probably know it, though – it’s the only house that has a decent amount of space and isn’t on three levels or made up mostly of decking.
I only took one pic of the interior, too – it’s funny, because I had to whittle this update down to 60 pictures from about 350, but I am obviously lacking in a few essential shots. D’oh. Anyway, here’s my one picture of the inside, in the creepy, dingy – yet spacious – basement.
I probably didn’t take many pics of the shack in its “Before” stage because I was excited to dive in and remodel. Since the Inventing skill in Ambitions evokes a crazed inventor/steampunk feel, at least to me, I decorated Gibby’s house in a whimsical Victorian style with steampunkish touches here and there.
I wasn’t allowed to change the footprint of the house due to the rules of the challenge, but you can bet I changed just about everything else. I also added a fireman’s pole for the sheer fun factor.
Gibby’s workshop is down in the basement. I had the radio play his favorite Chinese music to keep his mood up during long hours of inventing. Even though he had maxed the skill before moving out of his parents’ house, I wanted to see how many different widgets, toys, and big inventions he could create.
Gibby finally invented the Harvester and used it to collect plants at the Twinbrook Community Gardens. It seems to work a little bit faster than the usual “harvest†action, and doesn’t seem to reduce a Sim’s hygiene as quickly, but you do have to keep moving them to different areas once they’ve collected all of the veggies within a certain radius.
After a few hours of harvesting, Gibby headed home – but on the way out to the taxi, he literally ran into a lovely young woman named Lolly Racket.
Lolly had planned on taking a walk in the garden, but she and Gibby ended up having a chat — which turned from friendly to flirty in minutes.
For a Twinbrookian, and for a woman who supposedly comes from an evil criminal family, Lolly is actually a sweet, pretty Sim.
I honestly hadn’t planned on getting Gibby hooked up with anyone so soon, but they hit it off so well, that I just rolled with it. Gibby was hungry, so the two of them had a little dinner at the diner (and he had obviously made a good impression on Lolly, as you can see from her thought bubble below).
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I am absolutely jealous of your redecorating skillz, jenba. Totally and completely. I would have loved to have seen many BEFORE and AFTER shots of the home. Looks like a very “rags to riches” situation. Lolly, eh? The perv in me could do so many things with a name like that, but … I will refrain. :O} Glad he found someone so soon. I’ve got my fingers crossed for them!
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Mismatched undergarments is RIGHT! O__o But I’m glad that she accepted his proposal (and had shaved her armpits). ;O) *LOL* Yay for night time weddings! Yay for honeymoons in France with views of fake Eiffel Towers! :O)) I will have to try to remember that recipe for amazing nectar. :O)
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Congrats to Lolly for being a mom-to-be! :O) If she has a girl, is she going to name her Bibby? :O} Aww … so no girl, eh? :O) But I do like the name. Funny her giving birth on the porch. Teehee! Gibby looks totally hot when he’s doing his inventing thing. :O) And … PFFT! … an International Super-spy robot? *snickers* Are you going to go for it?
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Stupid simbots is right! Imagine wanting to run through the sprinklers when you’re not waterproof! DUH!! Hmm … the Kitchen must give off “Labor Pheromones” or something. *snicker* Aww! You should’ve named the little girl Bibby! :O)) That shade of lipstick is all wrong for Eddy. ;O) Congrats on the wife reaching her LTW and then selling all that loverly nectar for profit. :O) Franklin?? *blinks* And why is he looking at Gibby that way? Good luck getting Eddy to her LTW. :O)
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Why is Jules making such a strange facial expression? He kinda looks like Harry Potter in those glasses. Bwhaahhahahaa! I love that Frank scared the burglar away. *snicker-snort* I dunno … there’s something about the hair on Verna … it’s never been a favorite of mine. Bleh! I do not like the bowl-cut hairdo. =__= But congrats on the new family member. I wonder what old boyfriend she found to woohoo it up with to produce a child? That’s the only explanation for the way the family tree has situated things.
Dang … the household is getting full! How are you doing on LTWs so far? And as always, very much enjoyed the blog. :O)
Thanks for the novella, Ange! :) I enjoyed reading it, as always.
I’ll have to remember to do more before and after pictures next time, just for you! Heh. I’m glad you like the remodel!
Haha, no kids named Bibby, but I did take Keth’s suggestion about Jules and Verne. ;)
Franklin and Edison are both named after inventors. :) (The third ‘bot is named after one, too, but he’s not in this update.)
I’m not sure which facial expression you’re asking about re: Jules, but that little guy just has a weird face to begin with.
So you don’t like the hair on Verna (pigtails)? Or the bowl-cut on Norris? Or both? Just wondering… and you’re right, the old boyfriend is the only thing I could think of, too, but then Norris should be older than Jules, and not younger, unless Lolly cheated on Gibby when I wasn’t looking!
And I didn’t list my scorecard this update since I only have one more LTW achieved than last time (Lolly’s). Although you’ll see in the next update that Gibby and Verna have achieved theirs as well. Still working on Eddy’s and Jules’s, but I have time for Jules since he’s going to be the heir.
You’re welcome! I enjoy writing novellas. :O))
Yay for pictures of remodeling!
Dang … how many robots is Gibby planning on making??
The very first picture on page 5 shows Jules with a strange expression as he’s waving at the camera. I hope that’s not what he considers to be a “smile”. =__=
I don’t like the pigtails on Verna, nor do I like the bowl-cut on Norris. :O)) The pigtails make her fo’head look bigger than it is. And I’ve never been a fan of the bowl-cut. *LOL*
I think you’ve got yourself a time paradaox there, jenba … regarding Norris and when he was possibly conceived. :O)) Heheh!! Beware of time travel! For you just don’t know what weirdness will occur or what messes will be created, or who will be “erased from existence” (to coin a phrase from “Doc Brown”). *LOL*
It’s a good thing you have your score card cheat sheet. Otherwise, I dunno how any of y’all would be able to keep all of this stuff straight! *LOL*
Wow! A surprise time travel baby! Cool!
I haven’t played with inventors yet, but this update makes it look like fun! :-)
Inventors really are a blast (no pun intended). I haven’t played many of the other new jobs, so I don’t have much to compare it to, but I really enjoyed it. :)
I had an inventor go into the time machine a dozen times and nothing happened like that. The only time I got a random kid is if I got that Sim a mate and had them “Woohoo in the Past/Future”. It really doesn’t make sense that Lolly would get a step-son out of the deal, unless she cheated on him in the past. Weirdness.
Yeah, it’s just completely weird. Haven’t tried the woohoo in the time machine yet…
That was super awesome! I LOLed at the wedding crasher and “le woohoo”! Loved the wonderful shots, especially the robots and music box one. You tell such fun and interseting stories! :-) It was cool seeing the robot stuff, as I haven’t had one yet. The private investigator stuff is fun–you should have Jules do that. Oh and I LOVE the house remodeling–wow!
Thanks, Suzicat! I ended up taking your suggestion and having Jules go the P.I. route…I have had fun with it so far, so thanks!
I love what you’ve done to the place. You are so awesome!
It’s fate! Lolly was meant to be Gibby’s. I mean come on.. with a name like Lolly she belongs with a guy named Gibby (even if it is just his nickname)
Heh, ya what is it about Sims and their oddly thrown together wardrobes?
I love what they’re wearing for their wedding! Its so fitting
Viva la France! *waves bye to the happy couple.*
Heh, probably best that you didnt hear chimes immediately. Wouldnt that mean the baby would be born in France too considering how long they’re staying?
LOL Lolly looks like she’s having a blast smushing the fruit into submission
Ack now that is one huge inferno! I’m glad she was safe. Hate to lose the heir before he’s even born.
*blinks and laughs* OMG that bear is cheering her for going in to labor on the patio
I love the look on Gibby’s face as he’s making this mysterious invention of his!
*blinks* An International Super Spy Robot.. sure why not? They would never suspect her! *giggles*
You need to get a microwave! *laughs* OMG she talks to the appliances?! Do they talk back? O.o
I love the jet propelled feet! That is so cool.
omg how funny! The shot w/ Frank and Eddy and the music box is hilarious! What a riot. They look like their swooning over it.
holy boop, time traveled and have a kid?! LOL wow that is really something!
Your Shanley family is so fun
I guess babies can’t be born while on vacation — Lolly didn’t even get a baby bump until several days later, when she returned home. And unfortunately appliances do not talk back to the ‘bots — it’d be awesome if they did! It does raise the ‘bots’ social bar, though.
I love the steampunk look for this house. That’s perfect for an inventor, I agree.
How weird about Norris! I haven’t yet come across the time machine, but I’ll have to see if I can check that out now!
Thanks, Carla! The time machine is worth checking out — it’s just amusing.
Wow, that house is totally awesome Jen, perfect for an eclectic inventor sim family! Who knew that time travel could bring back sim kids!!?? The only things that my sims have ever brought back are reasonable amounts of cash and a new outfit. I wonder if it was Lolly’s hopeless romantic trait, or a glitch? The sim bots are completely adorable, the only one I’ve ever had I had to purchase as a lifetime reward (as I couldn’t for the life of me find a pink diamond or get life fruit). I love the swamp in Twinbrook too, lol if I had my way ALL my sims would live there :)
I’ve read about other people having kids in the time machine, so I think it’s just random and doesn’t have anything to do with traits. Although Lolly is family-oriented, too, so it would make sense that she convinced a past self to have kids…or something. Too confusing. :) I love the Twinbrook swamp area, too! It’s just so mysterious and cool-looking.
Boy, Jules is sure a grumpy-looking little dude! I got Ambitions today, and I had a lot of fun exploring it, anyway. So far, I’m liking it more than World Adventures. Great update, Jen, and real sorry to hear about your troubles with hackers.
Yay, glad you’re enjoying Ambitions so far! It really is a great EP.
Yay for another Shanley update! I just love the way you decorated Gibby’s house, inside and out. The simbots look really fun to have around, I’ve yet to make one. I also never knew you could dig a hole from your sim’s house to the junkyard. That’s really neat!
Thanks, Mandie! You can actually use the miner to drill holes any community lot, so you could build a whole tunnel network if you wanted to! It takes time, though, so I only ended up with tunnels to both junkyards.
I have some sims living in this house. I love what you did with it.
Gibby is SO CUTE. But I still can’t believe how quickly he got married. But I suppose that’s the point behind those hopeless romantics.
This whole update was entertaining. I will definitely not have pregnant sims cooking on the day they’re expecting to pop. Thanks for that warning, lol!
Also you know, you can use the harvester to pick up scrap? My sim always gets dizzy right after though. I suppose he needs to build a better harvester.
Yeah, if I were just playing my Sims for fun I wouldn’t have them get married so quickly, but since I’m focused on the challenge aspect, I throw “reality” out the window. :-p I get excited for the next generation to appear. And thanks for the tip on the harvester — I did use it to get scrap a couple of times, and it was very handy!
Just finished catching up on your blog. Sorry I hadn’t left comments along the way but going forward, you can expect to get the Aeronwy Novella Comments (patent pending) on future chapters. I’m having a blast reading your blog. The little side comments and snippets of what the Sims are thinking are AWESOME. :D
I just wanted to say, however, that MAN I wish I could redecorate nearly a fraction as well as you do! All of these little tiny junk places your Sims start off in wind up looking incredible when you’re done with them. :)
So glad you enjoyed reading my updates, Aer! And thanks for your kind words about my redecorating. I have a blast with it. :)