I had sort of hoped to get a post written up today, but I still haven't managed to sort out the concordance and without that I might as well go for a drive without my glasses. In the meantime I thought I would post a few snaps that I took today as I messed around moving in the new families that will be the core characters of the next few episodes. Hopefully everyone will all integrate nicely and they can all be friends ... First up is the Antrobus family. Mom, Melia is a hairdresser, the proprietor of the Vale's new salon due to open soon. Her hubby, Chatham is a bit of a bum and their two sons, Herne and Rochester are as alike as, well, chalk and cheese. Next we have the Coynes. (I've mislaid their names and the game is not running so I'll not embarrass myself by guessing ...) The little girl is such a darling, Mom's a bit of slob, but a hard worker. The little boy is sweet too. There is a dad. He's not in this shot. A quick view of the Ramaswammi house (did I spell that correctly? I had to find them a home because the wife, Priya, got a job at The Toy Box. Sanjay (gawd, talk about typecasting) took one look at the house on the corner of Pennfield Road and Central Avenue and decided the bay-windowed front room would make a great shop ... Priya is at work, and Sanjay is waiting for the shopfitters to arrive in this pic. The last family to introduce is the all female Tangell clan. Matriach, Sarah is a widow, her daughter, Rhianna lost her husband ... to another woman in another state. Rhanna has three daughters, two teenagers and pre-teen. The middle child, Dolly is potentially the most volatile ... that's her in the final pic with Orlando Centowski.
LOL I jsut remembered I didn't say who owns The Toy Box ... oh, alright, it's Rhianna. She's gonna be a big player. Her mom is cloned directly from my sim me as seen in my Avatar, just given her face a good scrub and washed out the hair color and cut it sensibly short ... I also dialled her up a nice large rocker to sit on What kinda spooked me out was the fact that Rhianna looks more like me than her mother does. Oh well .... Anyway, Rhianna Tangell toy shop tycoon ... well someone was needed to supply the hood with kites. Rhianna has already trademarked her brand name: The Ben Franklin Strike Me Rigid ... it's not catchy, it's long-winded, but if doesn't catch a lightning bolt you can always laugh at its stupid name.
Triptych Clippings From The Penn Vale Recorder [FONT="]VALE’S NEW G.P. HIGH AS KITE[/FONT] [FONT="]Penn Vale residents have been watching closely while contractors have been putting the finishing touches to the new buildings on the north side of the neighbourhood square. We can now reveal that plot #101 will shortly open its doors as “The Toy Box” under the watchful eyes of manageress, Mrs. Priya Ramaswami.[/FONT] [FONT="]However we can also reveal the news that the owner of The Toy Box is none other than Penn Vale’s newest resident, Dr. Tangell. Dr. Rhianna Tangell holds degrees in simmedicine and quackery from the University of Simcinnati and will be taking up tenure at the Penn Vale Health Centre on Monday.[/FONT] [FONT="]Meanwhile on Saturday, in her role as owner and chief designer, of The Toy Box, Rhianna will preside over the grand opening of what promises to be the number one stop for the young at heart in Penn Vale. A full range of quality toys will be on sale. Early shoppers will receive a 10% discount[/FONT] [FONT="]Rhianna promises that her best-selling line is the kite that her grandfather, Aden Fotheringham III, patented during his time at the Patent Office. She promises that the Ben Franklin Strike Me Rigid kite, available in four exciting colour ways, will thrill and delight all but the most wooden-hearted. “I just hope I don’t have to treat too many lightning burns,” said the wry-faced medic. The Recorder seconds that sentiment. We wish the good doctor success in both her ventures.[/FONT] [FONT="]Doctor Tangell moved to Penn Vale last month, with her elderly mother and three daughters. The Tangells have also brought the Vale’s first mechanoid to ‘live’ in the neighbourhood. The robot is named Marvin and is said to be a keen gardener.[/FONT] _________________________________________ Epistolary Swami’s Pie Shop 20 Pennfield Road Penn Vale Pennfield Penn State My Dear Mamma Gee, Life is so hectic in the USS. I hardly have time to think. We have been so busy since we arrived here that I cannot believe that six weeks has passed since I last wrote to you. I hope that you do not think we have forgotten you. As you can see, I have bought house. It is most suitable. Priya and I live on the second floor and the ground floor is given over to the store and the bakery. Planning was not a problem so you can let Uncle Kuldip know that he was misinformed about the levels of red tape in this country. Ha-ha. Priya has been very lucky with work. She applied for the post of manager of a new store that is very close to our home. The owner was most impressed with her skills and she started work immediately, helping to get ready for the opening a few days later. The pay is very good and she enjoys the workings … well, you know how she likes to be a bossy-boots, eh? Please can you send more of the secret spice mixture that you gave me for the cheesecake topping. It is a very popular line in my shop (the cheesecake, not the secret spices ha-ha) and I will soon run out. I hope this finds you as it leaves me. In good health. Priya sends you her love also and thanks you for the gift you sent her. She says that you can’t get such good black kohl in this country as can be obtained at home. Your loving son Sanjay ______________________________________________________ The Tangelled Web Sarah It’s no use, I’m getting old. Suddenly stuff hurts that didn’t hurt before. Also when I take off my clothes at night it seems as though half of me is in a rush to join the fabric on the floor. Something else is a bother, too. I seem to be getting forgetful. Twice this week I managed to set something ablaze on the stove. Well, one on the stove and once in the oven … ew. That poor catfish; it put up such a fight as well. I wish I’d thrown him back, now. He deserved better than a slow cremation. Marvin said that fish meal is good fertilizer and enthusiastically broke up the crumbly carbonised mess into his compost bin. Honestly that thing is getting too human, he’ll be wanting to wear clothes next. Well Rhianna is back to her old form. It has been a rough time for her the last 12 months. After that rat Dion abandoned her and the kids, she seemed to broken up ever to get back on course. But, of course she’s made of stronger stuff and we don’t need Dion Tangell to keep messing things up. I was glad, frankly, to see the back of the womanising fink. It’s a pity that Ri won’t change her name back to Fotheringham. Fotheringham’s Kites would’ve been a good name for the store. At least everyone agreed that Tangell Kites was a no brainer. I just hope that Ri hasn’t taken on too much with the surgery as well as managing the shop. I glad though she agreed to appoint a manager. Well, diary. Chloe is making As right down the line. She’s also holding down a job at the local mini market … the poor kid is working all hours but she looks well on it. She seems sure to get into a good university. If only her younger sister was as devoted to study. Don’t get me wrong. Chloe isn’t all work and no play. She has boyfriends, and rarely comes home from school without someone who needs feeding, or a dip in our pool, or a loll on our couch with one on the music channel and the other on whatever it is that teenagers always have to twitter over. But Polly is a whole other ball game. Well, diary. Chloe is making As right down the line. She’s also holding down a job at the local mini market … the poor kid is working all hours but she looks well on it. She seems sure to get into a good university. If only her younger sister was as devoted to study. Don’t get me wrong. Chloe isn’t all work and no play. She has boyfriends, and rarely comes home from school without someone who needs feeding, or a dip in our pool, or a loll on our couch with one eye on the music channel and the other on whatever it is that teenagers always have to twitter over. But Polly is a whole other ball game. That girl was a giant ball of mischief the moment the midwife swatted her little rump. She actually managed to discover boys before her eldest sister. And my heavens, but what goes on these days! I’m sure we didn’t have such freedom when I was their age. But, I am most definitely not an interfering grandmother. I let my daughter make her own decisions and try hard to keep right out. But by Maxis, it's hard sometimes. I’ve gone to bed more than once with a sore tongue from biting on it. Oh, I’ll have to go. Little Edith wants a bedtime story. I shouldn’t have a favourite, but the baby of the family can’t help but be a little spoiled and precious. Bless her. “Granny’s coming, dear!”
And is he a manically depressed robot? Enquiring minds want to know! Seriously though, love your story, Mirelly, You have such a fun writing style and wry sense of humor.
The Antrobus Omnibus Oh man! Look at all this homework! Hernes face is a parody of angst. Pah! Youre such a whinger, bro, Rochester laughs as he joins his brother on the grass strip. Behind him, on the school bus, a raucous wall of sound erupts as a dozen, Friday-energised teens, begin to harangue the driver to get moving, already. Yeah? And youre the model student? Herne sets about his twin with playful knuckles. Whos teachers ickle pet, then? Ow! Geddoff, me! Rochester dances out of the way. I hate it when you do that. Aw diddums. Jerk. Baby. This is true, just. Rochester is the younger by 17 minutes. Least Im not ugly. Right, say your prayers, Rocco Rochester darts away just in time. Only prayers Im planning to say, are over your grave, bug-eyes. He blows a loud and very wet raspberry at Herne. Come on lets quit this and get this homework done before the rents get home. You know that momll never let us go down to the square tonight if we havent finished. Hernes face turns serious. Yeah, OK. Then he cracks a sly grin. You take all the tough questions, cos you need the practice no dont thank me. They run inside, still trading play punches. [FONT="][FONT="] [/FONT][/FONT] Save me Rocco, save me. Im drowning in a sea of tediosity. The twins meet by the cashier. So tedious you had to spend money, I see. What? This? Herne holds up a bright, purple kite. This awesome baby is gonna be my ticket to babe-heaven. Oh yeah? You have doubts, I can tell. I dont have any doubts thatll make a total idiot out of yourself. Rocco snorts. Knowing you, youll wrap it around some power lines and get yourself fried. Maybe thats part of the plan , he nudges Rocco, suggestively. Come on, dude, lets blow this joint and go find some action. Oh yes, why dont we go to the park and fly our kitey-witey. You nose-wipe! Nah, lets go and hit the road house on Bridge Street. That dive? Its full of babes . No way, man! No self respecting girl would go in there. Now thats just nasty. Maybe Ill have to tell Mom. Rocco pulls a face. I hate it when twist me around like that. Advantage of maturity, dear boy. Watch and learn, watch and learn. He pats his jeans pockets. Er, can you lend me a few simoleons, I still gotta pay for this.[FONT="][/FONT]
So Mirelly, do you play the game and write down what your sims do, or make your sims jump through your hoops?
Oh, my sims have no fate but what I make for them, The pictures I take are of them performing what they think they want to do and I choose the ones that fit my narrative as closely they are ever going to. My stories are not sims picture stories in the strict sense of the word ... I am no Lynet, whose story illustrations are awesome in both their contextual richness as well as in their inventive use of cheats. I don't think my stories are much like SBWs either, although I suspect our approaches are somewhat similar. I play the sims and seek to direct them, but I am a little mercurial and a lot capricious in the ways in which I suddenly redirect them. This has sometimes made my (unwritten) sims stories rather wild and unlikely, I am hoping that Penn Vale can be reasonably restrained within the bounds of believability and "realism". The realism, of course, being relative, since my simiverse contains many oddities ... the oddest, of course, being the great and merciless goddess Mirelly-Lyra.
Thank you. When I was very young I wanted to write comic books. I guess I've gotten as close as I'll ever get to that. My number one cheat is simply "MoveObjects." You can get some interesting effects with it, such as sims flying through the air, an illusion that depends a lot on camera angle, too. Two other cheats that are fairly new and very useful are showHeadlines off (removes thought bubbles) and plumbBobToggle (hides plumb bobs.) Other than that it's a lot of curious and interesting downloads, like skeleton skins and 'invisible' skins, and mods that speed up skills and relationships (otherwise I'd be hours getting one sim friendly enough with another to be willing to come for a visit.) I think my stories provide a good laugh on occasion, too. Sorry, I seem too have talked to much and stollen your thread. But I am really looking forward to more about Herne and Rochester.
LOL I like stollen cake ... heck I like cake Seriously, though, steal away. I am mostly in awe of your devoted downloadage of props and costumes for your sims. I suppose it is just a matter of we all being different ... in our approach as much as in our style. On a side note, it is funny how a charcater can lead a writer. I was quite surprised when Herne decided to called Rochester, Rocco. It hadn't occurred to me when I picked the name (sticking to the names of towns in the fine english county of Kent .... Let's see. I plucked the name Antrobus out of a hat, because I quite like it. In CAS I always randomise first and then look at what I have got. Generally I will then go into my sims bin and find one I made earlier, only less Maxian in ugliness, that looks the most like the random selection. Ditto for a spouse (when making a family). Any CAS children are made simply by taking what comes. For personality I spend some time ... believe it or not it can be quite a lot of time, studying the sim that's been made and trying to decide what they are like. Herne is the slightly hispanic looking twin and he just seemed to shout at me: I'm the eldest, the boss, the big I-am! (and being the elder child, I am also a little shy and fragile of ego). However it didn't occur to me that they were twins until they began conversing and ragging each other. Before then I was preapred to Merola Rocco a few day extra days because I had him pegged as the younger. I like it when my characters lead me. (And, aw heck, I just contradicted everything I said in my reply to Michelle's question )
I randomize in CAS, then make changes to the face, trying to make them individual. Except, I don't like it when hair lies inside their cheekbones, for instance, or teeth come out through their chins when they talk. Sometimes the kids born to my chosen pairs turn out OK, sometimes they don't. King Joe and Ania had one nice looking boy, a so-so daughter, and one completely goofy looking boy. Brother, I keep erasing everything I start to say. I'd better just post and get my work done. Sheesh.
I am still looking forward to reading more about Penn Vale, either here or in the story forum, 'though I keep going off on tangents here. It just occurred to me that I might find it easer to sell my novel to a publisher if I pasted a big picture of Errol Waring's friendly face on the title page. Pharaoh Farrow, Illustrated. Smile, Errol! *flashbulb*
I like pretty sims. Can't help it, I just do. I do like 'em to be distinctive though, and I try not to make too many new ones, though of course I let them reproduce ... I'm loving the twins, Mirelly. What a pair. Remind me of Fred and George Weasely. Can't wait to see what happens when they find a girl or two ... hoping it's two separate girls, or there's gonna be trouble in River City, with a capital T and that stands for twins ...
The Tangelled Web Chloes Journal I hate my sister. I wish I didnt, but I do. No. I hate my LIFE! Its so unfair. I suppose Id better be honest. I got fired today. Well, it was a crappy job anyway, and the pay was lousy. How was I supposed to know the crowd would get pissed at me for becoming Limpy. Limpy? Isnt that a lame name for a team mascot oh no, I am sooooo funny. Oh well getting fired is not the end of the world, but getting home earlier than expected and finding your sister coming on to the guy she knows you have fancied for weeks and weeks . I still havent forgiven her for encouraging that louse Tommy Ottomas to flirt with her when he and I were supposed to be going steady. I know. Id been warned. Stay away from the Ottomas family. Theyre old valley people, as if that explains everything. Jensen Vorderman (buh-doyng!!!!) told me, during registration the other day, that Tommys mommy got squished by a satellite! I mean how odd can you get? Polly is such a witch, though. Shes got boys coming at her from all directions and still she cant help stealing the precious few that come my way. Its not as if Kory Smothers is anything special. Aw soot! I suppose I might as well go and do my homework. [FONT="][FONT="] [/FONT][/FONT] You will NEVER GUESS whats just happened!!!!! I only got a phone call from <> ta da!! <> Rocco Antrobus. He called up to ask if I wanted to go roller-blading with him tomorrow afternoon. Heh heh. Guess what? Polly has to work Saturday afternoon and I dont cos I got FIRED. Yay, for me!!!! Dea Vox Vocis Hi, Chloe. Hello, Rocco. Im er, sorry Im a bit late. Mom phoned up and absolutely insisted I stop by the salon with a sandwich for her lunch. Oh thats all right. You sure? Not too cold? Its still a bit chilly out. No, Im fine, really. Brrrr lets go in puh-p-please. Is you mums salon that new place on the square? Coiff Syrups? Yup, thats hers. She thinks it a real witty name for a hairdressing salon, but I dunno least its better than Clip Joint. It is an odd name. I still havent figured out the Syrups part. Mom also does wigs and hair extensions. ! And that makes sense? Oh, I see. Brrrr. Come on. Lets go inside and show these valley-hicks how to skate with style. Laughing. You can. Me? Im just a beginner. The lady is too modest. A friend told me he saw you here a week ago and he said you were awesome. Oh, I bet! Sincerely. Mind you, he might have been talking about your eyes . Now, youre teasing me. They were finally inside. Chloe was grateful for the blast of warmth. She had regretted not taking a warm coat almost as soon as shed left home, but the pride and stubbornness of youth had won out over common sense. I never, ever tease. He stopped to look at her soberly. Ready to skate up some sweat? As Ill ever be. Then get your skates on and the first one to fall on their butt buys the drinks.
Oh, man. He's good. If I were her age I'd fall too. And to answer an earlier surmise, yes indeed I do let my sims dictate, to a certain extent, what happens in my stories as well, but the overarching plot, that's all me.
Community Chest Clippings From The Penn Vale Recorder VALE BOOMING! The Vale is booming and it’s official, according to town records keeper, Micah Osteen. In the last month of spring, almost a dozen new families chose to make Penn Vale their home. As if this wasn’t fantastic enough, three budding business persons chose to open new businesses in what is fast becoming the regions hottest commercial district. Mrs. Melia Antrobus has opened her cosmetology salon, Coiff Syrups, where stylish makeovers for men and women are given by a highly qualified, professional staff. Mr. and Mrs. Ramaswami, recent immigrants to the USS, have opened a highly regarded pie shop, which the couple run out their converted Pennfield Road beach house. “You haven’t lived until you have tasted my cheesecake,” a beaming Sanjay Ramaswami told Recorder reporter, Peter Ottomas. Penn Vale’s newest business, The Blooming Corner, opened this week on the corner of the square. Florist, Jensen Vorderman, promises that his Antirrhinum Magicus bouquet will be much in demand as soon at its beneficial effects become widely appreciated. As if that wasn’t exciting enough — and we must not overlook the recently opened Toy Box — a new restaurant is due open soon under the name of the Frying Fish. All this commercial confidence inspired the town burghers to dip deep into their budgetary pockets because the hottest new community project in Penn Vale this spring, has been the building of the Penn Vale Community Centre. There were many who felt this project was too extravagant but this reporter was not among them. The PVCC opens its doors this Sunday and citizens will be spoilt for choice regarding leisure activities. Beyond the ample car park, the PVCC has a large, indoor, all-season swimming pool, a modern, fully-equipped gym, an indoor ice-rink and bowling lanes. The building is fully accessible for disabled persons, thanks to the last minute decision to install an elevator.
