The Rileys - Part 5: The Riley's never do anything interesting! D:
Riiiight! I'm re-writing this journal, since I have no other Sim-related scrawlings to offer. Well, then. It's back to the Rileys again. Last time we saw them, they were back from vacation in France, and back to their usual habit of not doing anything noteworthy.
The update starts with a little looksie around town, as the Rileys were getting their beauty sleep.
Looks like Vita decided she could afford to pay blood taxes for another family member after all.
Vita: Neh, it comes out of his pocket money.
Susan: ...so in the long run, I decided it was probably for the better if I cured my vampirism, and became a light-tolerant human again. The lamps in the lab are pretty strong, you see. But I still have the stupid fangs. Boyd refuses to kiss me, because I accidentally pierced his tongue once. And my daughter's friends say I'm too old for a neck tattoo.
This is the scenic view from the Riley's backyard, on a sunny Sunday morning. See that green house? I gave them some new neighbours: The Fields family. They're loosely based on the main characters from a book I used to be obsessed with when I was younger.
Frank is addicted to the trampoline. *sigh*
I don't know why I played the Rileys in the boring way I did. Maybe it was the fact that I didn't really see any resemblance between the Sim-models and the characters they were supposed to represent. Nowadays, with the amount of extra sliders and good CC that's available, I would probably have been able to get them closer to how I imagine them. At this point, it felt a bit like playing with Lego, and imagening them actually looking different.
Bebe Hart seemed to like the new hangout I built. It's called "The Old Tavern", and is situated up on the hill near the Altos house. I was experimenting with building community lots that had beds.
The woman in the back is Sarah Fields. She's the mother of the new family.
Her husband James Fields: I don't know... If it's going to be an "old tavern", maybe they shouldn't have gone for this minimalist style. It doesn't quite feel authentic, if you know what I mean.
James' stepdaughter Charlotte(?): How is an old tavern supposed to look?
James: Well, you know. Old. Sort of English. Or Irish.
Sarah: I have to pee!
Sarah's Eyebrows: That's correct! :D
Charlotte: I'm supposed to be based on a character from a book set in the early 20th century. The character I'm an expy of is a super-mature goody-goodie who probably wouldn't like rock if it existed in her time. But Erin just has the groove, so allow me this OOC moment, please.
I should probably have put Charlotte in a dress, but I didn't have lots of CC at the time. She was wearing her work-out clothes here, anyway.
The guy in the vest is her oldest brother, Tyler. I was sooooo good at making Sims who looked exactly the same. Instead of even getting a close-up of Tyler, I decided it was important to get Gunther in the pic as well.
This is Sarah's youngest daughter, Belle. She's the only member of the family who's not borrowed from the book. I was pretty happy with how she looked, because I've never been good at making TS3 kids.
And this is Ben. Or a Playmo-man representing Ben. Like the character who inspired him, he appears to be a studious bookworm. He should actually look a bit more sickly and harrowed.
Everyone: I love what Bebe's done with her hair! :D
Mortimer: I can't see her hair. Frank is too tall. :(
The Tavern spawned two new mixologists. They were face 1 clones, of course.
Sarah: Hello? I still need to pee, here! It's not like I'm looking straight at the door marked "Ladies Toilet" or anything like that.
Hi, Sunny. Come to stalk Gunther?
Sarah: A papparazzi? I hate those vermin!!!
Natalie: The Fish & Chips doesn't taste like when Dad makes it!
Tyler: I can't really make my mind up. Do I want to become a leading scientist, or should I go to Egypt to look for treasure. I mean, I'm kind of a down-to-Earth country boy, but I'm just so intelligent. It's a dilemma.
Charlotte thought it was amusing that her brother made some awkward attempts at flirting up Pauline. Actually, Pauline seemed quite charmed, but she's married, so Tyler will have to look for pinky-heart bliss somewhere else.
Pauline: Oh, I love taking tub baths! Especially with someone else. Once, I had to throw my husband into the tub, to put him out. He caught on fire, long story.
Andrew: Dark, oppressive atmosphere... Desperate people looking for romance... Ugly bartenders... Lots of underaged kids cutting school... Yep, this is my kind of bar.
Tyler: No, James doesn't suck. He's been my father-figure, ever since my biological Dad died tragically in an accident. And he's a visionary scientist who will invent... inventions! Who the hell are you?
Andrew: Oh, I'm your worst nightmare. I'm the one who calls the CPS on people who bring their 6-year-old daughters to the pub, instead of sending them to school.
Tyler: She's my sister, and school's cancelled today. Some time-travelling kids, and their mad lumberjack father, broke in and turned on all the taps during the night.
Andrew: LOLWUT?!?! You expect me to believe that? I'll be keeping an eye on you...
Tyler: And I on you...
This is Yolanda. She keeps following Andrew around. x( It wouldn't be so bad if she wasn't married to a chap named Vincente or something, and had two kids. No kids deserve Andrew as their step father. Not even the Edgar Juniors.
Mixologist #1, whose name escapes me, got made over. She now looks exactly like all other face 1s I've ever made over.
I tried to do something different with Lois, but I'm not sure I succeeded. Also, that hair is borked. It shows up as black on everyone.
Back at the Rileys' place, I decided that I had to start actually making this family do the sort of fun stuff the Throttlewoods do. Maybe that would make up for the fact that compared to said swamp-dwelling pig-hybrids + crazy stepmom, they're incredibly predictable Sims.
Parker Langerak came home from school with Annie, and I messed with his looks. He got turned into a sort of 50s/60s-inspired All American teenager. Usually, I make the teen Sims "alternative", but when everyone else is a hipster or a goth, looking super conservative kind of gets alternative.
I found a nectar maker in the family inventory. Not really sure how it got there. Either someone must have bought it at the consignment store, or stolen it when they visited the Nectary in France. They've got SO MUCH fruit in the fridge, they have to use it for something. The first batch was apple/lime/grape. The game described it as a poor mix.
Frank bought a miner, to vandalize the perfect lawn with in search for lost treasure.
Annie's sculpture got finished. I don't think Melody would be happy that they're using Herbert's twin brother as their new scarecrow.
Frank: Amazing! There is a dog under all the dust!
Aaron: When you're done with your forensic excavations, I need to use the shower.
Then I went slider-happy on Lisa Bunch. This is actually all slider adjustment, I didn't replace any of her features with other templates.
I think Anna felt left out when Natalie and Lisa decided to "become BFFs". Isn't that a bit like something you'd expect from 10-year-olds rather than teens? Deciding to be BFFs, I mean, not necessarily the jealousy.
But teen friendships are fickle.
Natalie: How dare you say that about my Dad, you beyatch?!?!?!
Natalie has taking to being rather bitchy herself, and that's weird since she has the "friendly" trait. In her real story she isn't confrontational at all. She's very polite and easy going, just slightly emotionally aloof.
Not sure whether Troy thought this was cute or annoying, but he went to sleep in the tent and let her be.
Troy's sense of adventure brings him to the secret cave system Frank broke into.
Troy: On second thoughts...
Troy: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh
He did survive unmauled. Nothing interesting happens to the Rileys when they're at home!
The incredibly gothic vampire mansion where Lynn got invited to a party.
Her formal outfit was from before I had CC. Ooops.
This was the first time I saw the "vampire speed". Must you all copy Twilight?
Lynn got a quick change of party dress. She's a mother of four, so I decided to go for something a little conservative.
Justine held a little private performance in the bathroom. She had actually improved since back at the Bunch house.
As usual, the controllable Sim had to provide the grub. I went with sushi, since it was the only remotely festive thing Lynn knew how to make.
It really annoys me that TS3 Sims don't seem to know how to use a table! I can't remember having that problem in TS2.
(Now that I've played Sims 2 again, I can confirm that this was a wrong assumption. The TS2 Sims have this glitch, too. It's just less common.)
Also, the freaking out over people who don't do anything!
Vita had a little night-cap before bed. :P Ugh, now I'm thirsty. Some orange juice would be happiness right now.
While the active family is sleeping, I usually watch the goings on around town.
This is the new and (hopefully) improved Leighton Sekemoto.
Susan and Boyd hang out at this bar a lot. I managed to remove Susan's fangs and tattoo, but I had to turn her back into a vampire with Master Controller, and cure her again.
She kept making that face. No idea.
Milton Tong had never ever worked his bar, so I replaced it, hoping it would solve the problem. However, there was a huge, invisible object blocking the way. Neither deleting the floor or anything else I tried worked. In the end I remodeled the room, moving the bars further down towards the door. With the two new bars, two new mixologists spawned. Joy oh joy, they were clones. Artie Page got employed too. Milton, Narcissa and Anne are now out of work.
Agnes and Natalie vs. Annie and someone in the Sims' national sport.
Wait a second. Don't vampires smolder and burn in the sun?
Well, yes. They do.
Lynn: But where did the baton GO?
Annie: I have no romance. If this was Sims 2, I'd be crying a lot and beating up Natalie.
Lynn: Oww! I don't think this game is for mad scientists. We can't afford to lose our braincells.
While the fambly was being sporty, Troy started working on his want to fall in love. He's a Hopeless Romantic AND Unflirty, so he's got a challenge.
I'm not sure why I picked Blair Wainwright as his possible romantic interest. Maybe it was because I kind of feel bad for Blair, and don't really like Cyclone Sword.
Blair's suspected boyfriend, Cyclone, has become the most ironic hipster that ever non-conformed. Yes, he's also a vampire, ironically of course. (And started roasting two seconds later.)
Lynn was invited to the second party in two days, this time at Claire Ursine's house.
The Keatons have a strange party custom.
Three people playing the guitar. Three different songs. The expression on Vita's face kind of says it all.
Vita: You guys think this is bad? Try experiencing it with a vampire's super senses. It's like hearing the Universe dividing by zero while clawing at a chalk-board.
Connor seemed to enjoy the performance, at least. He's probably too nice to say anything.
Veggie burgers, just in case there was some vegetarians among the guests. That sort of awareness, or what to call it, is Out Of Character for the Rileys in their canon. They'll serve 5-nut cake with no allergy warning.
Looks like they had a good time, at least.
Meanwhile, hunger had seized the gang on the beach.
A few more lights would have been a good idea. I should probably place some torches, or something.
It kind of worries me that Sims eat the tin foil on the burritos.
Unicorn visit! I placed a pond across the road from their house, since the wild horses often hung out on that lot when it was just an empty space. I had forgotten about the unicorn.
I should put a few lamp posts around the pond. Why do I keep forgetting that lots get dark at night?
Lewis went out to befriend the unicorn. Maybe they can get him to move in. :)
This entry became much too long, so we'll leave off with a nice picture of family members enjoying fish and chips, made by Dad. :)
The update starts with a little looksie around town, as the Rileys were getting their beauty sleep.
Looks like Vita decided she could afford to pay blood taxes for another family member after all.
Vita: Neh, it comes out of his pocket money.
Susan: ...so in the long run, I decided it was probably for the better if I cured my vampirism, and became a light-tolerant human again. The lamps in the lab are pretty strong, you see. But I still have the stupid fangs. Boyd refuses to kiss me, because I accidentally pierced his tongue once. And my daughter's friends say I'm too old for a neck tattoo.
This is the scenic view from the Riley's backyard, on a sunny Sunday morning. See that green house? I gave them some new neighbours: The Fields family. They're loosely based on the main characters from a book I used to be obsessed with when I was younger.
Frank is addicted to the trampoline. *sigh*
I don't know why I played the Rileys in the boring way I did. Maybe it was the fact that I didn't really see any resemblance between the Sim-models and the characters they were supposed to represent. Nowadays, with the amount of extra sliders and good CC that's available, I would probably have been able to get them closer to how I imagine them. At this point, it felt a bit like playing with Lego, and imagening them actually looking different.
Bebe Hart seemed to like the new hangout I built. It's called "The Old Tavern", and is situated up on the hill near the Altos house. I was experimenting with building community lots that had beds.
The woman in the back is Sarah Fields. She's the mother of the new family.
Her husband James Fields: I don't know... If it's going to be an "old tavern", maybe they shouldn't have gone for this minimalist style. It doesn't quite feel authentic, if you know what I mean.
James' stepdaughter Charlotte(?): How is an old tavern supposed to look?
James: Well, you know. Old. Sort of English. Or Irish.
Sarah: I have to pee!
Sarah's Eyebrows: That's correct! :D
Charlotte: I'm supposed to be based on a character from a book set in the early 20th century. The character I'm an expy of is a super-mature goody-goodie who probably wouldn't like rock if it existed in her time. But Erin just has the groove, so allow me this OOC moment, please.
I should probably have put Charlotte in a dress, but I didn't have lots of CC at the time. She was wearing her work-out clothes here, anyway.
The guy in the vest is her oldest brother, Tyler. I was sooooo good at making Sims who looked exactly the same. Instead of even getting a close-up of Tyler, I decided it was important to get Gunther in the pic as well.
This is Sarah's youngest daughter, Belle. She's the only member of the family who's not borrowed from the book. I was pretty happy with how she looked, because I've never been good at making TS3 kids.
And this is Ben. Or a Playmo-man representing Ben. Like the character who inspired him, he appears to be a studious bookworm. He should actually look a bit more sickly and harrowed.
Everyone: I love what Bebe's done with her hair! :D
Mortimer: I can't see her hair. Frank is too tall. :(
The Tavern spawned two new mixologists. They were face 1 clones, of course.
Sarah: Hello? I still need to pee, here! It's not like I'm looking straight at the door marked "Ladies Toilet" or anything like that.
Hi, Sunny. Come to stalk Gunther?
Sarah: A papparazzi? I hate those vermin!!!
Natalie: The Fish & Chips doesn't taste like when Dad makes it!
Tyler: I can't really make my mind up. Do I want to become a leading scientist, or should I go to Egypt to look for treasure. I mean, I'm kind of a down-to-Earth country boy, but I'm just so intelligent. It's a dilemma.
Charlotte thought it was amusing that her brother made some awkward attempts at flirting up Pauline. Actually, Pauline seemed quite charmed, but she's married, so Tyler will have to look for pinky-heart bliss somewhere else.
Pauline: Oh, I love taking tub baths! Especially with someone else. Once, I had to throw my husband into the tub, to put him out. He caught on fire, long story.
Andrew: Dark, oppressive atmosphere... Desperate people looking for romance... Ugly bartenders... Lots of underaged kids cutting school... Yep, this is my kind of bar.
Tyler: No, James doesn't suck. He's been my father-figure, ever since my biological Dad died tragically in an accident. And he's a visionary scientist who will invent... inventions! Who the hell are you?
Andrew: Oh, I'm your worst nightmare. I'm the one who calls the CPS on people who bring their 6-year-old daughters to the pub, instead of sending them to school.
Tyler: She's my sister, and school's cancelled today. Some time-travelling kids, and their mad lumberjack father, broke in and turned on all the taps during the night.
Andrew: LOLWUT?!?! You expect me to believe that? I'll be keeping an eye on you...
Tyler: And I on you...
This is Yolanda. She keeps following Andrew around. x( It wouldn't be so bad if she wasn't married to a chap named Vincente or something, and had two kids. No kids deserve Andrew as their step father. Not even the Edgar Juniors.
Mixologist #1, whose name escapes me, got made over. She now looks exactly like all other face 1s I've ever made over.
I tried to do something different with Lois, but I'm not sure I succeeded. Also, that hair is borked. It shows up as black on everyone.
Back at the Rileys' place, I decided that I had to start actually making this family do the sort of fun stuff the Throttlewoods do. Maybe that would make up for the fact that compared to said swamp-dwelling pig-hybrids + crazy stepmom, they're incredibly predictable Sims.
Parker Langerak came home from school with Annie, and I messed with his looks. He got turned into a sort of 50s/60s-inspired All American teenager. Usually, I make the teen Sims "alternative", but when everyone else is a hipster or a goth, looking super conservative kind of gets alternative.
I found a nectar maker in the family inventory. Not really sure how it got there. Either someone must have bought it at the consignment store, or stolen it when they visited the Nectary in France. They've got SO MUCH fruit in the fridge, they have to use it for something. The first batch was apple/lime/grape. The game described it as a poor mix.
Frank bought a miner, to vandalize the perfect lawn with in search for lost treasure.
Annie's sculpture got finished. I don't think Melody would be happy that they're using Herbert's twin brother as their new scarecrow.
Frank: Amazing! There is a dog under all the dust!
Aaron: When you're done with your forensic excavations, I need to use the shower.
Then I went slider-happy on Lisa Bunch. This is actually all slider adjustment, I didn't replace any of her features with other templates.
I think Anna felt left out when Natalie and Lisa decided to "become BFFs". Isn't that a bit like something you'd expect from 10-year-olds rather than teens? Deciding to be BFFs, I mean, not necessarily the jealousy.
But teen friendships are fickle.
Natalie: How dare you say that about my Dad, you beyatch?!?!?!
Natalie has taking to being rather bitchy herself, and that's weird since she has the "friendly" trait. In her real story she isn't confrontational at all. She's very polite and easy going, just slightly emotionally aloof.
Not sure whether Troy thought this was cute or annoying, but he went to sleep in the tent and let her be.
Troy's sense of adventure brings him to the secret cave system Frank broke into.
Troy: On second thoughts...
Troy: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh
He did survive unmauled. Nothing interesting happens to the Rileys when they're at home!
The incredibly gothic vampire mansion where Lynn got invited to a party.
Her formal outfit was from before I had CC. Ooops.
This was the first time I saw the "vampire speed". Must you all copy Twilight?
Lynn got a quick change of party dress. She's a mother of four, so I decided to go for something a little conservative.
Justine held a little private performance in the bathroom. She had actually improved since back at the Bunch house.
As usual, the controllable Sim had to provide the grub. I went with sushi, since it was the only remotely festive thing Lynn knew how to make.
It really annoys me that TS3 Sims don't seem to know how to use a table! I can't remember having that problem in TS2.
(Now that I've played Sims 2 again, I can confirm that this was a wrong assumption. The TS2 Sims have this glitch, too. It's just less common.)
Also, the freaking out over people who don't do anything!
Vita had a little night-cap before bed. :P Ugh, now I'm thirsty. Some orange juice would be happiness right now.
While the active family is sleeping, I usually watch the goings on around town.
This is the new and (hopefully) improved Leighton Sekemoto.
Susan and Boyd hang out at this bar a lot. I managed to remove Susan's fangs and tattoo, but I had to turn her back into a vampire with Master Controller, and cure her again.
She kept making that face. No idea.
Milton Tong had never ever worked his bar, so I replaced it, hoping it would solve the problem. However, there was a huge, invisible object blocking the way. Neither deleting the floor or anything else I tried worked. In the end I remodeled the room, moving the bars further down towards the door. With the two new bars, two new mixologists spawned. Joy oh joy, they were clones. Artie Page got employed too. Milton, Narcissa and Anne are now out of work.
Agnes and Natalie vs. Annie and someone in the Sims' national sport.
Wait a second. Don't vampires smolder and burn in the sun?
Well, yes. They do.
Lynn: But where did the baton GO?
Annie: I have no romance. If this was Sims 2, I'd be crying a lot and beating up Natalie.
Lynn: Oww! I don't think this game is for mad scientists. We can't afford to lose our braincells.
While the fambly was being sporty, Troy started working on his want to fall in love. He's a Hopeless Romantic AND Unflirty, so he's got a challenge.
I'm not sure why I picked Blair Wainwright as his possible romantic interest. Maybe it was because I kind of feel bad for Blair, and don't really like Cyclone Sword.
Blair's suspected boyfriend, Cyclone, has become the most ironic hipster that ever non-conformed. Yes, he's also a vampire, ironically of course. (And started roasting two seconds later.)
Lynn was invited to the second party in two days, this time at Claire Ursine's house.
The Keatons have a strange party custom.
Three people playing the guitar. Three different songs. The expression on Vita's face kind of says it all.
Vita: You guys think this is bad? Try experiencing it with a vampire's super senses. It's like hearing the Universe dividing by zero while clawing at a chalk-board.
Connor seemed to enjoy the performance, at least. He's probably too nice to say anything.
Veggie burgers, just in case there was some vegetarians among the guests. That sort of awareness, or what to call it, is Out Of Character for the Rileys in their canon. They'll serve 5-nut cake with no allergy warning.
Looks like they had a good time, at least.
Meanwhile, hunger had seized the gang on the beach.
A few more lights would have been a good idea. I should probably place some torches, or something.
It kind of worries me that Sims eat the tin foil on the burritos.
Unicorn visit! I placed a pond across the road from their house, since the wild horses often hung out on that lot when it was just an empty space. I had forgotten about the unicorn.
I should put a few lamp posts around the pond. Why do I keep forgetting that lots get dark at night?
Lewis went out to befriend the unicorn. Maybe they can get him to move in. :)
This entry became much too long, so we'll leave off with a nice picture of family members enjoying fish and chips, made by Dad. :)