Build a City Challenge - Meet the Settlers
Hi Everybody! I'm so excited to finally start my very first challenge (at least the first challenge which I've documented)! I'm not very experienced with LJ, so I'll be learning as I go along (like how do you center cut links?). I also don't have a lot of experience with taking pictures in The Sims, so bear with me :D. (There's not a very big picture of the neighborhood itself, but I promise you're not missing anything. I've never decorated one before so I just kinda slapped a bunch of trees everywhere). Also, sorry for the giant bios, I didn't intend for them to be so long.
For this challenge I'm using nepheris' rules, which can be found here. I also used her awesome neighborhood template, which I will link as soon as I can find where I downloaded it from >.> Ehehe.
Also, all but three of the sims below were based on sims made by other creators and links to their pages can be found in the credits section at the bottom of this post!
Welcome to Hartport, an isolated settlement situated along the Kalauwape River. Less than a week old, Hartport is the home of eleven intrepid sims, seeking a community of their own. Each has his or her own reasons for leaving their life in the city and their own dreams and goals for the future! So, here they are:
Tony Thurbur never intended to be the mayor of anywhere, especially not of a small settlement in the middle of nowhere. Yet, fate has funny ways of thrusting people into unexpected situations, and Tony is no exception. Some time ago the higher-ups of Sim City were forced to face the fact that the city has become vastly overpopulated. The solution to this problem, as they saw it, was to create a new city nearby, which would draw people away from the smelly confines of Sim City to the more promising opportunities offered by its younger neighbor. However, there was a problem: city officials could find no one willing to make the arduous trek into the wilderness to establish and oversee the new settlement. Being experienced government officials, they turned to one of their tried and true methods of resolving such issues: they held a lottery.
When Tony discovered that he had won the lottery, he could barely contain his excitement. That is, at least until he found out what the prize was. Having neglected to read the fine print on his ticket, he found himself roped into an immense task which he had never dreamed of signing up for. After trying unsuccessfully to wriggle his way out of accepting his “prize,” Tony decided to try and make the best of his situation and maybe even get back at the jerks who’d conned him into a protracted exile. Thus, he sent out a call for misfits and social outcasts; those who needed a respite or refuge from city life, regardless of the reason. Now accompanied by a motley crew of settlers, Tony is determined to turn his settlement into a thriving metropolis, open to all who seek a new life.
Only a few weeks ago Mandy Rice thought she was one of the luckiest girls in Sim City: she had a wonderful new husband, a new house, a job she loved, and her twin, Cora, for a best friend. But all that changed with the accident. Receiving a call from Smith Regional Hospital, she rushed to see her sister in the Intensive Care unit, only to find that Cora was not allowed any visitors. For three harrowing days and nights, Mandy was barred from seeing her sister, until finally she was informed that Cora’s condition had stabilized. Overjoyed, Mandy was allowed at last to bring her sister home, assured by the nurses that the scars would fade and Cora would be herself again before long. Yet…Cora seems different somehow: she’s not the cheerful, graceful girl she once was, and she has an odd habit of releasing long quavering moans. Her face has begun to twitch in the most unsettling way and her scars seem just as stark as ever. Furthermore-and Mandy does her best to avoid alerting her sister to the fact-Cora exudes a certain…pungent aroma.
Michael Rice, Mandy’s husband, has dedicated his time to finding ways to help his wife’s twin adjust to life after her horrific accident, and so far has had little luck. Lately, he has become convinced that what Cora really needs is some fresh air, away from the hustle and bustle of the big city, and a place to grow the flowers which she so dearly loves. When a coworker happened to mention Tony’s project, Michael was immediately intrigued and, after doing some research on the group, pitched the idea to his wife. Bringing a love of knowledge, learning, and adventure to the group of settlers, Michael hopes that the experience will be just what Cora needs to finish healing from her mysterious ordeal.
Lara Silver and Jack Abeson have been best friends since grade school. Sharing an energetic and carefree disposition, the two have stuck together through thick and thin over the years. Lately, however, Jack’s energetic streak has translated to “chews on the furniture and chases rabbits.” While Lara still loves her pal despite his newfound oddities, the neighbors are beginning to get somewhat hostile over all the midnight howling. Perhaps, Lara thought, it would be best to relocate to a more rural neighborhood, where Jack will have space to run around and new and exciting smells to keep him occupied. Jack agreed to the plan with enthusiasm and the two of them were the first to sign up for Tony’s enterprise. Of course, Lara’s motives don’t all revolve around her best friend: she’s hoping that in this small group of settlers she’ll find someone with whom she can raise the big family she’s always wanted.
Ever since rooming together in college, Aaron Donahue and Hector Azeel have been inseparable buddies, even sharing an apartment in downtown Sim City while Hector works to put himself through medical school. The two make an admittedly odd pair, with outgoing and impulsive Aaron often upstaging his sober, quiet pal, yet Hector seems to prefer it that way; content to devote his attention to his studies and keeping his friend out of too much trouble. It was Hector’s idea to join Tony and his group of settlers, after hearing that they were looking for someone with medical training to accompany them. Hector, already intrigued by rumors about the endeavor, jumped at the chance, figuring that it would also benefit Aaron to do a little work for once in his life. He managed to convince his pal to come along on the trip by assuring him that there would be tons of beautiful women, just waiting to cast aside the socially-enforced shackles of inhibition and embrace the primal freedom of a sylvan environment. He was almost surprised when Aaron actually bought it. He was even more surprised when, at the end of the first day of their journey, Aaron announced to him that he had invited a near stranger to be their housemate.
Kyra Spelling, another of Sim City’s residents who answered Tony’s call, was only too happy to accept Aaron’s offer. If only she were equally happy to divulge information about herself. After six days of travel, the boys still know little beyond her name, and while she seems like a lively and resourceful addition to their housing arrangement, her reluctance to talk about herself and her unusual sleeping schedule certainly take getting used to. And then, as Aaron and Hector are beginning to discover, there is something very odd about their new housemate-and not just that her bed looks an awful lot like a coffin.
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Don’t be fooled by their sweet faces: Jayna and Cole Chandler have swindled, lied and cheated their way across the nation, leaving a wake of distraught and penniless victims behind them. Between Cole’s charming personality and ability to think on the fly, and Jayna’s penchant for coming up with recklessly brilliant schemes-and pulling them off-the partnership has long proven a very rewarding one. At last, however, their dishonest ways appear to have caught up with them and life on the run has proven somewhat exhausting. Hearing of Tony’s project, Jayna managed to convince Cole that the fledgling city would be the perfect place for them to lay low for a while, until the dust settles. Little does Cole know that Jayna intends to do some settling of her own, bored of criminal pursuits and ready to channel her ambition in a very different direction. Cole, however, may have other ideas. How long until he remembers that the rings on their fingers are only plastic?
Credits:
I have a lot of people to thank for contributing to this BACC!
- My face templates were made by Pooklet and can be found here.
- Michael Rice was based on sly_doubt's Frederick Denham, who can be found here.
- Mandy Rice and her twin, Cora, were created out of alleliua's Belinda Harker, who can be found here. She's the last sim on the page.
- Jack Abeson is based on joedy_76's Kavesh Moodley, who is the fourth sim down on this page.
- Hector Azeel is a nearly untweaked version of alleluia's "Shadow," found here.
- Kyra Spelling is an altered version of alleluia's Kendra, found here.
- Aaron Donahue is CameraShy's Pierce O'Mally.
- Cole Chandler is a male version of Danimaree's Hannah, who can be found here in a post by CaptainObvious about 3/4 of the way down the page.
- Finally, thanks go to my wonderful roommate, Glue, who named both my city and the river beside it!
Jeez, formatting LJ posts is like sticking a knife in your eye, isn't it?