BTS, Pic Spam, Ramblings
It's that time again! It's time for ramblings and such about my last chapter and other things as my story moves forward. If you haven't read my last chapter, you might not want to look under the cut.
First, I'll start with what happened in the last chapter. There's not a whole lot of BTS seeing as everything in the chapter was staged:
First and foremost, things could have gone a whole lot worse between Zane and SJ. In fact, I know that deep down, if my fighting pose boxes didn't look so awkward, it WOULD have gone more like the picture above. Zane freaked a lot of my readers out this chapter.
Good. I wanted him to.
I asked in chat just exactly how far I could go with Zane before he pissed people off. I was told that I could go really far. So I did. And now I have people all going, "OH MY GOD WHAT'S HIS PROBLEM? WHY IS HE BEING MEAN TO SJ?"
The thing is, he's not being mean to Spider directly. Zane is tapped. He's done. He's a whiny bastard and always has been. Harsh but true. On the other hand, the day his wife was kidnapped and murdered is not exactly the time to tell anyone to gain some perspective. Someone broke into his sanctuary, kidnapped his wife, and murdered her. Hell, if something like that happened to me, Keith has warned me that he would go ballistic. I don't expect anything less from him (and in fact, I believe it's in our marriage contract). Yes, I know that they've spent a lifetime together, but that makes it worse, not better. And so, he freaked out, and he freaked out essentially on the first person he came into contact with, Spider Jerusalem.
And Spider saved him from himself, because Spider is awesome like that (and selfish like that. Nobody should be pulling that shit in HIS GARDEN!). And when Zane stops to realize it (and he will, don't worry) he WILL be thankful and apologetic (because as I was writing the chapter, I realized that I didn't want Zane to burn that bridge. Not at all.). Just not that day. People who are in that state of mind, very rarely are they thankful towards the person who saved them. Think about it: how often have you been depressed about something and then there was someone there telling you that it will be okay, the sun'll come out tomorrow, or 'this too shall pass?' Don't those people just piss you off sometimes? Don't you just want to say to them, "Let me be upset?" Now multiply it ten times, at least, and you'll know why Zane is acting the way he is.
Or just keep in mind that Zane is a whiny bastard who reacts more than acts. And he's going to do more things that are somewhat out of character for him before he levels out. Not to mention, I needed Zane to act the way he did so things down the road can happen. Oh, and then there's the part where he's a flawed, weak, and sometimes selfish character that I needed to break because he NEEDS to be stronger for the things coming up down the line.
But his constant High Nice Point sighs and waves still crack me up. He'll be okay, eventually. Stress the word "okay." He needs to evolve as a character because he IS immortal and will be around until the end of the legacy. He'd be boring if he never changed.
However, *obviously* if he's needed to be Max and SJ's foil in THAT community, I've given my permission to let him be AU'd, or to have the timeline for that community to be Pre-Tina's death. It's bad enough that *I* have to write for his depressing bullshit. I don't expect other people to follow suit. If he's still wanted or needed, of course.
By the way, it's not just Zane's high Nice Point sighs and waves that crack me up. They ALL do, especially when their faces are set in other expressions.
The Veronaville scenes were actually filmed in Veronaville. The very first thing that happened as soon as I loaded the lot was Tybalt attacking Mercutio. And Zane and Puck, with their 10 and 8 Nice points (respectively) ran off and hid from the fight.
The Veronaville scene was one of those things that "needed to happen." I needed for Puck to have a reason to leave his home town and to have very little contact with the people there. Bottom will be showing up, and Hermia/Clotho will make some appearances but, well, I wanted for Puck to have a "fresh start" basically.
I'll address it in my comments on Boolprop, but I'll also state it here: Oberon fell on the sword for Puck. See, in my mind, Oberon, who is Knowledge/Family (in my game) liked the idea of "is this possible?" when it came to the True Reaper Children. It was an experiment. He didn't realize until it was too late that Puck and Bottom would be forced to do the bidding of the Reaper office. He just wanted to see if it was possible. Oh, and to have a sanctioned family. Well, sanctioned by the people who were in the know about the experiment. He always figured that Puck and Bottom would have a choice in the matter when they came of age. He was wrong.
And so then, in a true, fae-like manner of thinking, he used the Mortals as a means to an end. They're only Mortal after all. Titania also has that way of thinking. In fact, most of the Immortals think that way. "They're only mortal, who cares?" Good for Puck, bad for the Veronaville people. However, though Puck was saddened by his friends dying, he wasn't terribly DISTRAUGHT, and he had enough presence of self to keep it together. Puck, you see, was raised by immortals. He's also an elf. So there's just an inherent snobbishness.
Oberon forced Puck's hand and made him choose the path that would lead him to being a Mortal with Erin. It wasn't the deaths of Puck's friends that would have done it. In fact, when Puck entered the church to talk to Zane, he was even thinking about the fact that he would have to get used to scenes like the one before him if he were to choose the Reaper path. It wasn't until Zane went psycho and manhandled Puck the way he did that forced Puck to REALIZE EXACTLY what it meant to be a Reaper (which Oberon was counting on. He manipulated both Zane and Puck). Those were his FRIENDS. Puck's mind and way of thinking was broken a bit. So he did what any teenager would do: "rebelled" against his parents and did something rash. He became Mortal.
This is all very TL;DR but it WILL be shown and mentioned in passing. This is my way of letting you all into my mind as I try, in a very inept manner, to describe the character quirks and motivations behind why my characters act the way they do. This isn't some deep shit, or even high literature, and it's not meant to be. But I DO know why my characters act the way they do, even if it seems very random.
ANYWAY...
How about a picture to make you laugh? It's the best way to get someone to grab another Sim's shoulders. It took ten tries before I could get the right angle. Ten tries of either Puck or Zane smiling like idiots, me not taking the picture at the right moment, or Zane complaining that he didn't want to cheat on Tina (who was whipped up in some default CAS clothes and married to him-in CAS- so he would have his wedding ring present). When I exited the lot, Zane had the fear of "Getting caught Cheating" and, strangely enough, "The Death of a Relative."
P.S. Mad shout outs to dicreasy again for making me those Reaper Robes. They will continue being so very useful as my story goes on :D
I keep forgetting that in my main 'hood, Lillian isn't a witch. I keep reminding myself to change her into one, but I always forget. So when I go to my backups to film, I ALWAYS have to spend a crapload of time getting her magic skill maxed out >.<
Bella is a witch, too. That's important to keep in mind further down the road. *nods* By the way, I love the way Lillian is looking at Bella.
She also wants to become an icon now, lol.
I've gotten questions about why Zane hasn't gone after Lillian, or why Zane hasn't figured out that Lillian is behind everything. Lillian is sneaky. Just how sneaky will be revealed eventually.
Funny enough, while I have all these reasons about why my other characters act the way they do, Lillian's motivation is the easiest: Because she can. That's it. There's no moral code or any vengeful drive behind the way she acts. Well, at least not 100% of the time. She does things, and she fucks with people becase. She. Can. See: Chaotic Evil Alignment in D&D.
One thing to keep in mind about Lillian though: she makes a lot of assumptions, and is arrogant enough to believe her assumptions as truth.
The chapter ended on a fairly high note: Rhys and Eden going on a second honeymoon. I want to clarify that when Eden said "rebuild" it wasn't in the dreadful way that we Simmers talk about rebuilding. She simply meant remodeling the house. I'm reworking the house remodel into the story, though only slightly. And I will say that I'm kind of kicking myself for doing that "Honeymooners" chapter from Future!Eden's POV because the set back then will be different when the actual events mentioned take place, same with Erin's hair and outfit. I'm really sorry that my only consistency is being inconsistent sometimes.
I'm working towards the climax of the plotline for this generation, so just as a heads up: things will get worse before they get better.
And with that in mind:
College will only be part of the next chapter. I find college chapters to be very painful and boring to write, and honestly the kids attending college takes away from my buildup. It'll be there, and it'll be about half the chapter (roughly, according to my vague outline). But college this generation isn't the be-all-end-all. Especially since I've faded most of my spares into the background. Not to mention that college this time around wasn't glamourous for my Sims AT ALL.
Number one: Erin (10 Outgoing) and Quinn (9 Outgoing) only had a nodding acquaintence with their Everyday clothes.
(I LOVE the look on her face, lol).
Number Two: I installed the "Shorter Semesters" hack, so the kids spent most of their time doing homework.
Number Three (part A): My Sims are idiots. See Fleetwood's want panel? He's a KNOWLEDGE Sim, and his Senior year was the ONLY time he rolled the want to have ANYTHING to do with college. He was as bad as my founder, Josh.
That's right, Fleetwood. I totally went there.
Number Three (Part B): No, SERIOUSLY, my Sims are idiots. The boys and girls were separated into two houses this generation (remodled Sorority and Frat houses that simtopi made a while back). Well, it was just too much space for them. Even though they were raised in big houses with lots of family members for me to keep track of, they just became STUPID when they went to college. I ended up locking ALL of the bedroom doors except for one, and piling in a bunch of bunkbeds and Snapdragons.
And you know what? Even THEN, Sims like Charles Austen SOME SIMS WHO SHALL REMAIN NAMELESS would wander away and sit in the attic and play video games until they were on the verge of fucking death.
OR THEY WOULD DANCE UNTIL THEY PASSED OUT. I'm NOT naming names or anything. But seriously, I thought Cait SOME PEOPLE were joking about how failtastic Charles Austen SOME SIMS are about their sense of self-preservation. AND IDIOCY IS CONTAGIOUS AMONGST SIMS, BTW!
So I ended up hearding them into a pen. They'd get up, stay in the room and socialize with each other. Then they'd go to class.
Where they would then stand outside until I told them to go to bed. >.< I had to double check that I had Free Will on. IT WAS ON!
(Quinn invited Rhys over. Eden was Rhys' plus one)
I'm exaggerating a bit, of course. My Sims were a bunch of idiots, but I *did* let them have SOME fun. But, my Sims' lives are a lot different than my character's lives, if that makes any sense. Everyone will have their own bedrooms and stuff when it's shown in my story.
Things will happen in a different order in my story than it did in the game as well.
(God, how I wish this hug were on a posebox!)
Puck and Erin's engagement TOTALLY doesn't happen while they are in college, at least not according to my story. But you know how it is with Sims and their lifespans. Things have to go in a certain order. Story trumps game.
ESPECIALLY when things like this happen right after a "romantic" proposal >.< Erin does take a bit after Rhys, but she's not anywhere NEAR as self absorbed as her father is. This was just unlucky timing.
So college is just a minor thing this generation. Erin and Quinn are already established as characters, and the rest of the cast are just background characters. Besides, I really need to get my ass in gear. I've planned this entire plotline for over two years (Yeah, Spider Jerusalem and Puck, to name a couple of characters, weren't in the original idea, but they fit in nicely). But The Tina stuff, and who Quinn is going to marry (though it's not really much of a secret at this point) has been laid out ever since Eden was a toddler. It's about frickin' time I get to it so I can move on to other things.
Things like getting my heirs married and Generation 7 born. It's been almost three years FFS. It's high time I get a move on!
The only thing that WON'T be covered is...
Rhys' neverending obsession with the Myshuno game. Obsessed with Eden? Absolutely fine. Obsessed with grandbabies? Oh yeah, that's great. Waiting at the Myshuno game for the other household members who have less playful points than he does, so he sits there until the ghosts come out and make him pee his pants? Yeah, not so much.
I've sketched out what's going to happen in the next chapter and I've done some of the preliminary setup, like taking Rhys and Eden to Twikkii for the scenes they'll have there, growing Erin and Quinn up in Photoshootopia (they're still teens there), and stuff like that. Things are going well and I would really like to have Gen 7 be a twinkle in Gen 6's eye before the end of the year. That's my goal anyway.
So that's about it. I hope you enjoyed looking at my pictures and getting into my head a bit about my story :D
Thanks for reading!
***
First, I'll start with what happened in the last chapter. There's not a whole lot of BTS seeing as everything in the chapter was staged:
First and foremost, things could have gone a whole lot worse between Zane and SJ. In fact, I know that deep down, if my fighting pose boxes didn't look so awkward, it WOULD have gone more like the picture above. Zane freaked a lot of my readers out this chapter.
Good. I wanted him to.
I asked in chat just exactly how far I could go with Zane before he pissed people off. I was told that I could go really far. So I did. And now I have people all going, "OH MY GOD WHAT'S HIS PROBLEM? WHY IS HE BEING MEAN TO SJ?"
The thing is, he's not being mean to Spider directly. Zane is tapped. He's done. He's a whiny bastard and always has been. Harsh but true. On the other hand, the day his wife was kidnapped and murdered is not exactly the time to tell anyone to gain some perspective. Someone broke into his sanctuary, kidnapped his wife, and murdered her. Hell, if something like that happened to me, Keith has warned me that he would go ballistic. I don't expect anything less from him (and in fact, I believe it's in our marriage contract). Yes, I know that they've spent a lifetime together, but that makes it worse, not better. And so, he freaked out, and he freaked out essentially on the first person he came into contact with, Spider Jerusalem.
And Spider saved him from himself, because Spider is awesome like that (and selfish like that. Nobody should be pulling that shit in HIS GARDEN!). And when Zane stops to realize it (and he will, don't worry) he WILL be thankful and apologetic (because as I was writing the chapter, I realized that I didn't want Zane to burn that bridge. Not at all.). Just not that day. People who are in that state of mind, very rarely are they thankful towards the person who saved them. Think about it: how often have you been depressed about something and then there was someone there telling you that it will be okay, the sun'll come out tomorrow, or 'this too shall pass?' Don't those people just piss you off sometimes? Don't you just want to say to them, "Let me be upset?" Now multiply it ten times, at least, and you'll know why Zane is acting the way he is.
Or just keep in mind that Zane is a whiny bastard who reacts more than acts. And he's going to do more things that are somewhat out of character for him before he levels out. Not to mention, I needed Zane to act the way he did so things down the road can happen. Oh, and then there's the part where he's a flawed, weak, and sometimes selfish character that I needed to break because he NEEDS to be stronger for the things coming up down the line.
But his constant High Nice Point sighs and waves still crack me up. He'll be okay, eventually. Stress the word "okay." He needs to evolve as a character because he IS immortal and will be around until the end of the legacy. He'd be boring if he never changed.
However, *obviously* if he's needed to be Max and SJ's foil in THAT community, I've given my permission to let him be AU'd, or to have the timeline for that community to be Pre-Tina's death. It's bad enough that *I* have to write for his depressing bullshit. I don't expect other people to follow suit. If he's still wanted or needed, of course.
By the way, it's not just Zane's high Nice Point sighs and waves that crack me up. They ALL do, especially when their faces are set in other expressions.
The Veronaville scenes were actually filmed in Veronaville. The very first thing that happened as soon as I loaded the lot was Tybalt attacking Mercutio. And Zane and Puck, with their 10 and 8 Nice points (respectively) ran off and hid from the fight.
The Veronaville scene was one of those things that "needed to happen." I needed for Puck to have a reason to leave his home town and to have very little contact with the people there. Bottom will be showing up, and Hermia/Clotho will make some appearances but, well, I wanted for Puck to have a "fresh start" basically.
I'll address it in my comments on Boolprop, but I'll also state it here: Oberon fell on the sword for Puck. See, in my mind, Oberon, who is Knowledge/Family (in my game) liked the idea of "is this possible?" when it came to the True Reaper Children. It was an experiment. He didn't realize until it was too late that Puck and Bottom would be forced to do the bidding of the Reaper office. He just wanted to see if it was possible. Oh, and to have a sanctioned family. Well, sanctioned by the people who were in the know about the experiment. He always figured that Puck and Bottom would have a choice in the matter when they came of age. He was wrong.
And so then, in a true, fae-like manner of thinking, he used the Mortals as a means to an end. They're only Mortal after all. Titania also has that way of thinking. In fact, most of the Immortals think that way. "They're only mortal, who cares?" Good for Puck, bad for the Veronaville people. However, though Puck was saddened by his friends dying, he wasn't terribly DISTRAUGHT, and he had enough presence of self to keep it together. Puck, you see, was raised by immortals. He's also an elf. So there's just an inherent snobbishness.
Oberon forced Puck's hand and made him choose the path that would lead him to being a Mortal with Erin. It wasn't the deaths of Puck's friends that would have done it. In fact, when Puck entered the church to talk to Zane, he was even thinking about the fact that he would have to get used to scenes like the one before him if he were to choose the Reaper path. It wasn't until Zane went psycho and manhandled Puck the way he did that forced Puck to REALIZE EXACTLY what it meant to be a Reaper (which Oberon was counting on. He manipulated both Zane and Puck). Those were his FRIENDS. Puck's mind and way of thinking was broken a bit. So he did what any teenager would do: "rebelled" against his parents and did something rash. He became Mortal.
This is all very TL;DR but it WILL be shown and mentioned in passing. This is my way of letting you all into my mind as I try, in a very inept manner, to describe the character quirks and motivations behind why my characters act the way they do. This isn't some deep shit, or even high literature, and it's not meant to be. But I DO know why my characters act the way they do, even if it seems very random.
ANYWAY...
How about a picture to make you laugh? It's the best way to get someone to grab another Sim's shoulders. It took ten tries before I could get the right angle. Ten tries of either Puck or Zane smiling like idiots, me not taking the picture at the right moment, or Zane complaining that he didn't want to cheat on Tina (who was whipped up in some default CAS clothes and married to him-in CAS- so he would have his wedding ring present). When I exited the lot, Zane had the fear of "Getting caught Cheating" and, strangely enough, "The Death of a Relative."
P.S. Mad shout outs to dicreasy again for making me those Reaper Robes. They will continue being so very useful as my story goes on :D
I keep forgetting that in my main 'hood, Lillian isn't a witch. I keep reminding myself to change her into one, but I always forget. So when I go to my backups to film, I ALWAYS have to spend a crapload of time getting her magic skill maxed out >.<
Bella is a witch, too. That's important to keep in mind further down the road. *nods* By the way, I love the way Lillian is looking at Bella.
She also wants to become an icon now, lol.
I've gotten questions about why Zane hasn't gone after Lillian, or why Zane hasn't figured out that Lillian is behind everything. Lillian is sneaky. Just how sneaky will be revealed eventually.
Funny enough, while I have all these reasons about why my other characters act the way they do, Lillian's motivation is the easiest: Because she can. That's it. There's no moral code or any vengeful drive behind the way she acts. Well, at least not 100% of the time. She does things, and she fucks with people becase. She. Can. See: Chaotic Evil Alignment in D&D.
One thing to keep in mind about Lillian though: she makes a lot of assumptions, and is arrogant enough to believe her assumptions as truth.
The chapter ended on a fairly high note: Rhys and Eden going on a second honeymoon. I want to clarify that when Eden said "rebuild" it wasn't in the dreadful way that we Simmers talk about rebuilding. She simply meant remodeling the house. I'm reworking the house remodel into the story, though only slightly. And I will say that I'm kind of kicking myself for doing that "Honeymooners" chapter from Future!Eden's POV because the set back then will be different when the actual events mentioned take place, same with Erin's hair and outfit. I'm really sorry that my only consistency is being inconsistent sometimes.
I'm working towards the climax of the plotline for this generation, so just as a heads up: things will get worse before they get better.
And with that in mind:
College will only be part of the next chapter. I find college chapters to be very painful and boring to write, and honestly the kids attending college takes away from my buildup. It'll be there, and it'll be about half the chapter (roughly, according to my vague outline). But college this generation isn't the be-all-end-all. Especially since I've faded most of my spares into the background. Not to mention that college this time around wasn't glamourous for my Sims AT ALL.
Number one: Erin (10 Outgoing) and Quinn (9 Outgoing) only had a nodding acquaintence with their Everyday clothes.
(I LOVE the look on her face, lol).
Number Two: I installed the "Shorter Semesters" hack, so the kids spent most of their time doing homework.
Number Three (part A): My Sims are idiots. See Fleetwood's want panel? He's a KNOWLEDGE Sim, and his Senior year was the ONLY time he rolled the want to have ANYTHING to do with college. He was as bad as my founder, Josh.
That's right, Fleetwood. I totally went there.
Number Three (Part B): No, SERIOUSLY, my Sims are idiots. The boys and girls were separated into two houses this generation (remodled Sorority and Frat houses that simtopi made a while back). Well, it was just too much space for them. Even though they were raised in big houses with lots of family members for me to keep track of, they just became STUPID when they went to college. I ended up locking ALL of the bedroom doors except for one, and piling in a bunch of bunkbeds and Snapdragons.
And you know what? Even THEN, Sims like Charles Austen SOME SIMS WHO SHALL REMAIN NAMELESS would wander away and sit in the attic and play video games until they were on the verge of fucking death.
OR THEY WOULD DANCE UNTIL THEY PASSED OUT. I'm NOT naming names or anything. But seriously, I thought Cait SOME PEOPLE were joking about how failtastic Charles Austen SOME SIMS are about their sense of self-preservation. AND IDIOCY IS CONTAGIOUS AMONGST SIMS, BTW!
So I ended up hearding them into a pen. They'd get up, stay in the room and socialize with each other. Then they'd go to class.
Where they would then stand outside until I told them to go to bed. >.< I had to double check that I had Free Will on. IT WAS ON!
(Quinn invited Rhys over. Eden was Rhys' plus one)
I'm exaggerating a bit, of course. My Sims were a bunch of idiots, but I *did* let them have SOME fun. But, my Sims' lives are a lot different than my character's lives, if that makes any sense. Everyone will have their own bedrooms and stuff when it's shown in my story.
Things will happen in a different order in my story than it did in the game as well.
(God, how I wish this hug were on a posebox!)
Puck and Erin's engagement TOTALLY doesn't happen while they are in college, at least not according to my story. But you know how it is with Sims and their lifespans. Things have to go in a certain order. Story trumps game.
ESPECIALLY when things like this happen right after a "romantic" proposal >.< Erin does take a bit after Rhys, but she's not anywhere NEAR as self absorbed as her father is. This was just unlucky timing.
So college is just a minor thing this generation. Erin and Quinn are already established as characters, and the rest of the cast are just background characters. Besides, I really need to get my ass in gear. I've planned this entire plotline for over two years (Yeah, Spider Jerusalem and Puck, to name a couple of characters, weren't in the original idea, but they fit in nicely). But The Tina stuff, and who Quinn is going to marry (though it's not really much of a secret at this point) has been laid out ever since Eden was a toddler. It's about frickin' time I get to it so I can move on to other things.
Things like getting my heirs married and Generation 7 born. It's been almost three years FFS. It's high time I get a move on!
The only thing that WON'T be covered is...
Rhys' neverending obsession with the Myshuno game. Obsessed with Eden? Absolutely fine. Obsessed with grandbabies? Oh yeah, that's great. Waiting at the Myshuno game for the other household members who have less playful points than he does, so he sits there until the ghosts come out and make him pee his pants? Yeah, not so much.
I've sketched out what's going to happen in the next chapter and I've done some of the preliminary setup, like taking Rhys and Eden to Twikkii for the scenes they'll have there, growing Erin and Quinn up in Photoshootopia (they're still teens there), and stuff like that. Things are going well and I would really like to have Gen 7 be a twinkle in Gen 6's eye before the end of the year. That's my goal anyway.
So that's about it. I hope you enjoyed looking at my pictures and getting into my head a bit about my story :D
Thanks for reading!
***