mswn: (lulu happy grin)
mswn ([personal profile] mswn) wrote2013-05-12 03:03 am

Round 7 (Spring): Snowe-Morceau


1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6
Last time, a mixed bag for the Snowe-Morceau family: dream dates and puppies for Yves, snowmen and hugs for Lucy and her niece Geraldine; Virginia had a little midlife/former Romance sim identity crisis; Eustacia grew up and moved out to college; and of course, Thierry met his untimely end thanks to a rogue satellite. Seems they could all do with a change of pace for the spring, no?



Case in point: the still-smoking, unsledgehammerable remains of the family's recent tragedy. But, it's sunny, and the sky is blue, and everyone is trying to make the best of things.



Nothing like a new pair of flowery pants (with matching shoes) or a tiny puppy named Cupcake to help brighten your mood!


Virginia is the one with the "go on vacation" want, but Geraldine is the first one to bring it up over lunch one day. Her mom and aunt may have grown up in the big city, but she's never left Ste-Margo, and she's ready to pack her bags!


But there are things to take care of first. The kids go to school, and Lucy and Virginia visit the gallery while a few late snow flurries fall outside.


Their new whistling barista, from SelenaQ Hall.



Virginia's painting haven't been selling too well, but the gift shop does decent business, and they got at least one coffee order that night. Maybe Ste-Margo just wasn't ready for a gallery of this size, not yet.


Yves and Geraldine mourn their dad under the fruit trees he spent so much time tending.


And then they dance on his grave. As you do.



Cupcake watches to make sure her people are safe before she goes to sleep herself. Aw.



Thinking about Eustacia. Don't worry, Virginia; she is having a good time.




Lucy: "So, sis, tell me—feeling any better these days? Or still a little... constrained by small town living?"


Virginia: "NO I'M FINE WHY DO YOU ASK."
Lucy: "I see."


Geraldine's A+ report card settles it—this family is going on vacation. Call the shuttle! To Twikkii-Tikki Island!





They check into the newly opened Poolside Motel and, after a quick change into their vacation gear, get straight to relaxing.



After a quick nap for the adults, it's off to the beach!



(Taking down notes for her next novel?)



Virginia is initially attracted to Twikkii-Tikki local Esteban, but when she finds out he doesn't like grilled cheese, it is OVER.




Dinner at the beach, then a walk across the street to Twikkii-Tikki Putt-Putt for some nighttime fun.




(Shame children can't use the putt-putts.)




Lucy learns to hang loose from some Marvelann locals.
Tank top guy: "You tried!"


And then it starts to hail.


The only thing worse than hail


is hail


AND BEES.


BEES!


Lucy needs some "juice" after that one.






Back at the motel, Geraldine heads straight to bed, while Yves and Lucy sit out for some air and Virginia takes a night swim alone.


She's the last one to head up to the room. It's been nice for her to have this time away from everything, to think about her life and what she's doing. The move away from SimCity, the quick marriage, the three kids...



The kids are all right.


She feels pretty good about them.




Breakfast next door at the Three Rainbows Cafe.


Lucy buys a souvenir palm tree on her way out. They've got more things to do! Word on the street is the Double Palm Resort is a must-see for all visitors to the island.



The best massages and some great local cuisine!
Virginia: "Isn't this vacation turning out to be da bomb??"
Yves: "Ew, Mom..."
Local chef: LOLOL


And look at this! Everyone has been dying to try the hula, and Geraldine finally runs into Madge on the Double Palm's dance floor. The retiree is all too happy to give a free lesson.



Before you know it, everyone's joining in!




It's a hula party!


They're still in a dancing mood, so they rock on over to Club HM where Yves tries out his DJ skills.


unz-unz-unz-unz





Back at the motel for room service on their last night in Twikkii-Tikki.


Yves has a little talk with his sister while they wait for the shuttle by the pool the next morning.


It's been hard, but she thinks things will be OK.





They ask the tour guide outside to take some photos of them before they leave, and then it's off to the airport and back to real life.



They did bring a little bit of Twikkii-Tikki Island home with them, though.


They may have to wear sweaters for the chilly spring nights, but the conversation is full of sunny vacation memories.





The grocery side of Lucy's Garage has always been more popular than the "garage" side. It looks like they may need to expand their business pretty soon.



Yves has a quiet YA birthday while the adults are at work. He'll attend SMCC from home, at least for the rest of spring.


Cupcake grows up, too. She's not the most interesting-looking dog in the world, but hey, that's not her fault.


To help fulfill Yves's LTW of raising 20 puppies or kittens, they adopt a poodle named Lance.


Pet adoption officer: "Yeah... good luck with that."


(Speaking of interesting) Hello, Lance. Who's a good doggie?


Not a smart doggie...


Cupcake, meet your future husband. He is magnificent.




And then of course, Geraldine grows up. <3


Eustacia comes over to celebrate with profiteroles and to hear all about the family's adventures in Twikkii-Tikki.


Well, since you asked!


Can't tell if yawning or screaming...


But the hula is fun!


So fun!


Fun for all!
Eustacia: [to Lance] "Can you believe these fools?"

And that does it for the Snowe-Morceau family! See you in the summertime!
________
Notes:
- I've heard people don't like the local dances, but I think the hula is so cute! I think I have a hack that prevents them from doing it autonomously all over the place anyway, but I've enjoyed the hula parties so far.
- Lucy finally finished restoring her car at the garage, but it immediately disappeared. Maybe because the FT car is not supposed to be available on community lots? Not sure; but either way, I think that place will get converted into a full-on grocery next round. The lot was always basically too small to handle car things anyway.
- Thierry's grave got moved to the cemetery, even though he was a very handsome ghost. I just got tired of the spooky music at night. The satellite remains, at least for now.
- And I did use the antique camera to turn their vacation photos into hangable pictures for them but apparently didn't get take any pictures of them up. You'll see them around!
- I think that's it. It's late, and I'm tired!


[identity profile] simlili.livejournal.com 2013-05-12 09:04 am (UTC)(link)
All the lots look amazing, that's where we see just how much all of your hard work building all of that pays off!
Speaking of aesthetics, Lance plentifully makes up for Cupcake's normalcy :p

Hula, wooh! Viral local dances are mandatory in all my hoods, I don't get why people don't like them either. But then again I hate smustle and most players seem to enjoy watching it.
We do differ on ghosts and satellites: I love spooky sounds around tombstones, but had to put my only satellite so far in an inventory because the smoke created lag :(

(Twikki-Tikki putt putt... OIC. Probably due to my thick mental accent, I thought that was where the sex tourism was happening, but now I understand: it's a mini golf! Well, that's OK too, I guess :p)
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[identity profile] mswn.livejournal.com 2013-05-13 04:42 am (UTC)(link)
D: It's... it's... just mini golf...! What in the?

I'm glad you like the vacation pictures! You're right—I am finally getting to enjoy all the work (as if I didn't enjoy the process of making everything :P), and it's very satisfying.

I love Lance. Sorry, Cupcake. Now that you're not a tiny puppy, you're just boring to me.

[identity profile] simlili.livejournal.com 2013-05-15 09:31 am (UTC)(link)
(It wasn't me I didn't write that it was either my non-existing little brother using my computer or my non-existing cat that fell asleep on the keyboard or something OK *discretely exits*)

[identity profile] im-i.livejournal.com 2013-05-12 09:41 am (UTC)(link)
Love this update! The holiday looked like so much fun.
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[identity profile] mswn.livejournal.com 2013-05-13 04:39 am (UTC)(link)
Thank you! I agree, I'm a little jealous of their island getaway myself. Harrumph.

[identity profile] meetme2theriver.livejournal.com 2013-05-12 10:45 am (UTC)(link)
Your game is so pretty! :) This makes me want to send sims on vacation, too. Even if almost everything seems to result in BEES.
ext_789575: (Marty Whoa! Seeing stars!)

[identity profile] mswn.livejournal.com 2013-05-13 04:39 am (UTC)(link)
BEES!! (http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_gp0vNKvnftc/Sw2n2ImnEPI/AAAAAAAAAMc/_g_fbh92-LY/s1600/not+the+beees.png)

Thank you! Twikkii-Tikki Island is so picturesque. It does encourage a person to send her sims on vacation.

[identity profile] lirenyi.livejournal.com 2013-05-12 11:14 am (UTC)(link)
CAN I JUST LIVE IN YOUR GAME PLEASE.

*flail flail flail*
ext_789575: (lulu-smug nod)

[identity profile] mswn.livejournal.com 2013-05-13 04:35 am (UTC)(link)
Yes. Yes, you can.

[identity profile] susannag.livejournal.com 2013-05-17 05:30 pm (UTC)(link)
I think we all want to live in Ste. Margo, no?

[identity profile] penigriffin.blogspot.com (from livejournal.com) 2013-05-12 03:22 pm (UTC)(link)
Holey cheese, you even took the time to swap out cars in the motel parking lot! With that level of attention to detail, it's amazing you post as much as you do.

Can't kids use the putt-putts if offered lessons by an adult with the appropriate amount of charisma?

Of course, for me and the other people who loaned you vacation locals, vacations include games of "spot-my-sim." Hi Esteban! Hi Madge! Hi Mary, Sage Ann, and Ernest in the backgrounds! (It's just like Sage Ann and Ernest to put their backs to the camera. But I'd know them anywhere.)

I like hula and slap dance because they count as social interactions, unlike smustling, so they don't eat your party score. It's a little strange when they hula to jazz, but a lot of sims look really good doing it.
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[identity profile] mswn.livejournal.com 2013-05-13 04:32 am (UTC)(link)
Oh no, I'm not that obsessive (probably?)—it's a mod by MogHughson (http://www.modthesims.info/download.php?t=330492) that puts cars in deco spaces. It's so clever, it determines how many cars should be there at a given time of day based on the type of lot it is. So a hotel will have fewer cars in the daytime and more at night, etc. Pretty cool!

Your sims seem happy in Twikkii-Tikki! They are nice to see around, especially knowing a little bit about their stories.

[identity profile] lvstndhrt.livejournal.com 2013-05-12 04:34 pm (UTC)(link)
Looks like everyone had a great vacation. The family photos were really fun, especially the look on Yves' face in that one shot. Yay! Hula party! My vacation townies almost never do the hula, so my sims have never learned it. The only time I see them starting to hula is when my sims are leaving the lot!
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[identity profile] mswn.livejournal.com 2013-05-13 04:33 am (UTC)(link)
I may have had to cheat a little to get someone to teach them the hula... :P I wanted to see it as much as all my sims apparently did!

[identity profile] msantimacassar.livejournal.com 2013-05-12 09:06 pm (UTC)(link)
Ahh, it's so wonderful to see into your game again! I love how this family almost seems real with all their heartache and adventures. They've got a great dynamic going on!
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[identity profile] mswn.livejournal.com 2013-05-13 04:35 am (UTC)(link)
Thanks, dearie! It surprised me a little how this really seemed like what they wanted after Thierry's death—and then Yves bringing it up with his little sister as they were getting ready to return home!!! ;____; These sims!
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[identity profile] shastakiss.livejournal.com 2013-05-13 01:40 am (UTC)(link)
Magnificent Lance!! And Yves' piece of cake is as big as the entire bowl of apples - good on you, Yves.
I love your game, there's this insouciant (ooh la la) mish-mash of all the things I love and that hotel really is one of my favorite lots ever :D
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[identity profile] mswn.livejournal.com 2013-05-13 04:45 am (UTC)(link)
Oh that's so nice to hear! I'm glad you enjoyed it! I really ought to share the motel but a) I'm *SO* lazy about preparing lots for upload and b) sometimes I can be a leeeeeetle bit selfish about my favorite lots? :S More a than b... but a little bit of b, too!

[identity profile] katee412.livejournal.com 2013-05-13 01:50 pm (UTC)(link)
I loved seeing more of Twikki-Tikki in action. And Yves talking to his sister about their dad was sad, but sweet!
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[identity profile] mswn.livejournal.com 2013-05-18 01:02 am (UTC)(link)
Wasn't it just? I love how sims can surprise us like that.

[identity profile] simsoversleep.livejournal.com 2013-05-16 12:56 pm (UTC)(link)
The motel is amazing - I can't even pinpoint exactly what it is, but the atmosphere is perfect. It reminds me of family holidays when I was little, and heading back to the room late at night after a long, hot day of doing stuff :)
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[identity profile] mswn.livejournal.com 2013-05-18 12:52 am (UTC)(link)
Me too! I'm glad you get it. :)

[identity profile] simlili.livejournal.com 2013-05-24 09:27 am (UTC)(link)
Heeeeelp! I have a vacation problem, my locals are not autonomously performing the local greeting or dance, like yours are. Would you happen to remember how you turned them into locals, with what?
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[identity profile] mswn.livejournal.com 2013-05-24 09:42 am (UTC)(link)
Easy answer! The local greetings happen a lot more frequently with this mod by cyjon (http://drupal.cyjon.net/node/420), and I hate to cheat to get the hula dancing (made a local selectable and directed her to hula). And just in case, the way I made my island locals was I think with either the sim blender or Inge's teleporter cat--whichever one has the "Make Me a... [townie, downtownie, etc.]" option. Hope that helps!

[identity profile] simlili.livejournal.com 2013-05-24 09:58 am (UTC)(link)
Yes, it helps, thank you! I was basically wondering if you'd used another object I didn't know about (I have tried with both Inge's kitty and argon's townie brick). I'll steal the idea and use Cyjon's mod, or make a local selectable and direct him to greet, works too.
Thank you :)
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[identity profile] maranatah.livejournal.com 2013-06-03 10:13 am (UTC)(link)
WHY OH WHY is everything just so pretty in your game? Why? WHYYYYY???
I loved everything. ;) Their vacation looked like so much fun and I loved the group pictures they took :D

BTW, you did know that the satellite can be deleted/sold in buy menu, right? Not that they'd want to gain money from Thierry dying, but...just saying ;P

I'm still eye-balling that motel and hoping you'll upload it some day. ;) It looks so darn pretty! And I still want to join you when you're playing with one of these families, it would be so awesome to see how you play LIVE! Y/Y?! *puppy eyes*

I just can't get over how funny your updates are. You are the Queen of Commentary, my dear ♥♥
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[identity profile] mswn.livejournal.com 2013-06-12 11:54 pm (UTC)(link)
Aaaa, I forgot to reply to your wonderful (and totally unsolicited!) comment! You inspired the group portraits, since they always look so nice in your game! I will definitely be doing more of that in the future. They're so nice to have around!

I really should upload the motel, I suppose--keep reminding me! I always forget about these things.

We should livesim together, yes! I was thinking either doing a little bit of the teen center maybe? Or the asylum? Something like that. I'll let you know!

So glad you liked it!

[identity profile] creativeannie.livejournal.com 2013-06-10 03:03 pm (UTC)(link)
I really love reading about your BACC, everything is so pretty. I just adore your lots. <3

I've barely used the vacation hoods in the game, but you're making me want to now. Btw, I don't remember if you've mentioned this in a previous update or not, but did you have any rules for unlocking vacation hoods or did you just have them unlocked from the start? I'm trying to figure out how to do it in my own game, and most rules I've found either just have them unlocked from the start or don't mention them.
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[identity profile] mswn.livejournal.com 2013-06-12 11:07 pm (UTC)(link)
Thank you so much! What a great comment! I never really sent my sims on vacation before either, in part because I have a strong aversion to unmadeover Maxis lots and never wanted to deal with making over/building from scratch a whole vacation hood. But then I decided to just try building a few island lots to maybe have a tiny vacation place, and it ended up being a ton of fun. So I might give it a shot! I went in with the advice that you don't need to worry about filling up a whole map; just have a place to stay and a few lots to visit and don't feel like you have to build up a whole city, you know?

As far as BACC rules (not that I ever let them stand in my way too much if there's something that I really want to do), I figure, even if you're starting off in a brand new town, that doesn't mean the whole world is starting from scratch at the same time, so whenever sims have the money to go, they're allowed. I mean, they can use the same means of transport to get there that brought them to the BACC hood in the first place, right? I suppose if you wanted to make it a little harder, you could wait until your town had a mayor and/or raised funds to "build" one of those neighborhood deco bus/train/ship/airport things?

So glad you've enjoyed it!

[identity profile] creativeannie.livejournal.com 2013-06-13 12:03 pm (UTC)(link)
Yeah, I think my reasons for not using vacation hoods much are pretty much the same as yours. Maybe I should try that advice to, cause I really want to explore it more. Probably the EP I've spent the least time on.

Hmm, that's true. I suppose it depends on what fits into the storyline, and in my case it definitely wouldn't be out of the question to go on holiday somewhere I suppose. Maybe I could make rules as I go depending on where and what kind of holiday it is...like if it's a camping-style hood, they need to have a car to get there etc. Thinking of setting up a travel agency or something like that, and they could be providing the transport to whatever train or airport they need to be at. That way I don't have to spend as much money on getting a vacation hood.

Thank you for the advice and tips. :) I love reading about what others' do with their BACC to get inspiration for my own, and yours is my favourite. It just looks like so much fun. :)