Time flew by, and Jules became a child. You can see how much he looks like his mom (and that he is fond of the color green).
I gave him some glasses and put him in geeky clothes because I envision him as being a tweedy professorial type. I’d like him to pursue either the Ghost Hunter or Private Investigator profession, so I gave him the Perceptive trait.
This is just a shot of Jules riding his bike to the library, an appropriately geeky thing to do:
Verna, on the other hand, wanted to paint, so I let her do so. However, she’s not artistic at all. In fact, I had her in mind for one of the easy LTWs like Swimming in Cash, so she got Excitable and Easily Impressed at birth (I couldn’t choose Snob yet), and then Frugal when she became a child.
Meanwhile I wanted Gibby to get cracking on his third Simbot, but he didn’t have any pink diamonds left, and he couldn’t find one around town to save his soul. I had read that you sometimes got lucky with the Miners and dug up rare gems, so I had Gibby invent one and take it to the junkyard.
He didn’t unearth any pink diamonds, but he did discover a network of tunnels. It let me name the tunnel at the junkyard, and once Gibby drilled a hole at his house, he could travel almost instantly from his house to the junkyard.
“Well, if I die, at least I’m wearing clean underwear!”
One cool thing about Simbots is that they can “Smash†things for scrap metal, which they then eat to fill their Hunger bar. When they smash stuff, their arms whirl around really fast, and after a time, scrap appears on the ground, which they can then collect. It looks cool but I think they achieve the same thing with “digging through†the junk piles, and you don’t have to click on each pile of scrap to get them to collect it.
Another wonderful thing I discovered is that Simbots can scare away burglars. All Frank had to do was climb out of his tent, and the robber ran screaming from the lot. Heh.
I forgot to mention that right after Jules became a child, I figured I might as well age up Verna, too, so they’re almost the same age. That happened on a Friday, so here they are running to the bus for their first day at school.
I wanted to try out the Time Machine, so I had Gibby keep inventing until he came up with one. He got a medal for that from City Hall! I sent Franklin in first as a guinea pig.
He had some adventures in the past (which are just little descriptive pop-ups) but didn’t return with anything particularly cool (maybe a rubber ducky or something).
So it was time to send a human into the machine. Since Gibby still hadn’t completed his LTW, and I couldn’t risk him dying, I chose Lolly for the mission.
She had much the same experience as Frankie had, but her last pop-up mentioned that she had seen a familiar-looking couple and convinced them to have a child. Well, a couple of days later, a boy appeared on the lot with no warning, no fanfare, nothing. In fact, I thought Jules or Verna had brought him home from school. But on closer inspection, I saw that his name was Norris Shanley, and that he was a new playable member of the family. Furthermore, he showed up on the family tree as Lolly’s son (but Gibby’s step-son). It doesn’t make any logical sense, but he’s my time travel kid and the 7th member of the household.
Norris is Family-oriented and has a Good Sense of Humor as well as a Photographer’s Eye.
So Jules and Verna have three half-siblings: the two ‘bots, Eddy and Franklin, who are solely their father’s kids, and then Norris, who is solely their mother’s. It’s kind of a weird-looking family tree, let me tell you.
Anyway, I’ll stop there even though I’ve played a bit past this point. Hope you enjoyed reading about the Shanleys. Until next time, Happy Simming!
Page 1:
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!
Page 2:
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)
Page 3:
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?
Page 4:
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)
Page 5:
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. :)