![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jenga_simsOkay, so, when we left off.
When did we leave off?
Oh yeah, I was excited because I'd written up to where I'd played to. LOL LOL LOL. So then I got sick IRL which means I've barely left the house in 4 days which means I've been playing non-stop which means as of now I have nearly 400 photos of gameplay to somehow turn into updates.
So, Granite Falls.
Benjamin has the outdoor enthusiast aspiration. Technically one which used to be complete-able as a teen, but Seasons definitely threw a spanner into the works on that front. So anyways, he convinces the whole family to head out to Granite Falls. They get a cabin because not everyone loves the outdoors, but Benjamin excitedly pitches a tent and after fishing until his energy bar was a nice dark orange, he collapses.
Arthur, for his part, went to bed far too early so he's up before the sun...raking leaves.
They get really pedantic about leaf-raking, I've noticed. Won't stop until everything is raked up. So I put an end to that and Arthur cooks a nice breakfast for everyone instead.
Look who's finally awake!
"Hurry up and finish your breakfast! I wanna go to the national park!"
You know he'll eat faster if you don't talk to him, right?
Eventually they all head into the woods.
I can't remember how Arthur and Bethany amused themselves, but Amberley pulled out an easel and kept humming away at her paintings.
Obviously the main reason we're here is for Benjamin.
Okay, I dunno if I'm the only who feels this way but...Seasons. Not feeling it as a pack. It affects everything in the game and not usually in a good way. This is actually my first time playing the games seriously since I got seasons as a graduation gift last year. Thunderstorms terrify toddlers, plants can't be found/grown/harvested as easily. And Outdoor retreat just loses its joy because it keeps raining and making everyone miserable. I mean, Mr. Loves the Outdoors here has enough happy buffs that the soaking wet moodlet isn't affecting him, but everyone is else is just hiding out in the information center. You just can't get the same stuff done. I know it's more realistic, but I'm still kinda wishing I could uninstall it and just go back, you know?
Like finding even 10 unidentified plants to harvest took way too long. I eventually figured out this was because it's fall and all the plants do grow in summer, but only a few grow in fall or spring. And nothing grows here in winter.
Benjamin does have better luck with the bugs, not that they're needed at this stage.
But if he's going to complete collections and use them for building herbalism, he may as well get a good start.
While exploring the national park, Benjamin stumbles upon an interesting-looking cavern. He decides to investigate.
Benjamin makes it to the deep woods.
Here he meets a rather eccentric old woman named Bonnie. She may be a bit...strange, but Benjamin befriends her as he does everyone, and then since her garden is faring about as poorly as the rest of the place, he decides to head back to camp.
So, Sunday morning. Bethany isn't nearly at her brother's level when it comes to outdoor enthusiast so she's happy to settle down with her regular cartoons.
Amberley paints, and the boys decide to settle in to some fishing. If Benjamin can get the first milestone done here, I'll consider this a win.
Because the other problem is, this is the first day of winter. And it's cold, and nothing is growing, and so the rest of this aspiration probably isn't going to happen until spring or even summer, and Benjamin will be well into adulthood by then.
AND since it's also new skill day, and there are more new skills to be learned at home than there are here, a decision is made that returning home a little bit early would be the best choice for everyone.
The family packs up their things and heads back into Newcrest.
Amberley assigns new meaning to the adage 'there's no place like home' and promptly paints a Masterpiece.
Followed immediately by another masterpiece, which rounds of her main aspiration. About time!
With Amberley's aspiration finished, she and Arthur both switch to the Soulmates aspiration. While the kids are off at school, they head into town for a date at the Bistro.
#RelationshipGoals is find yourself a man who looks at you the way Arthur looks at his wife while she's reading a menu.
Caleb Vatore is apparently working as a waiter. Amberley wonders if she should be worried.
Scratch that, #RelationshipGoals is find yourself a man who looks at you the way Arthur looks at his while she's desperately looking for the toilet.
"Oh yeah, that's my wife."
Apparently in my game Moira Fyres has a twin sister named Ashleigh Street?
Amberley finishes off the date with a massage, before the two call it a day and head home.
I took no photos of the food that gave Amberley food poisoning. I then thought I had food poisoning hence 2 days off work. I actually couldn't even play much the first day. Not for lack of trying, I just found after not even half an hour, I needed to go lay down. So I spent the day binge watching Queer Eye. Day 2 I actually went to work, and my boss greeted me with 'you look pale. Go home.' (Jewish mums make the best bosses!). But then my fiance also got sick so it was probably gastro. Hence cancelling our weekend plans. Hence 400 screenshots.
These gnomes just keep generating seeds that Benjamin just keeps pocketing. I eventually get tired of them and sell them. But I kind of thought they would disappear before now?
Benjamin and Bethany both enjoy some music and dancing after school before moving onto more important business.
Syke, that was important business. Benjamin collects his last two scouting badges, giving him the scouting aptitude trait.
Not to be outdone by her older brother, Bethany of course intends to master all 4 childhood aspirations, too. She mastered the creativity skill easily on new skill day, and finishing up the 'play an instrument for 5 hours' milestone nets her 3 (adult) violin skill points.
She quickly moves on to whiz kid.
She convinces her big brother to help out with the focusing aspect of finishing her homework while focused. (It's not like she needs any actual help).
Benjamin gets this invitation from Lucas Munch. Benjamin will actually have use for the garden gnomes, so he accepts the invitation.
I have a lot of slice-of-life-esque pictures without properly having a coherent story that they form. The family is pretty relaxed at this point - none of those chaotic 27 kids in the family dealios that the rest of y'all seem to crave :P .
The parents settle into their muses. A little bit less determined these days as the aspirations are done and they have more than enough money, so it's just for their careers that they're both close to maxing.
This leaves a little bit more spare time, too, to get out, explore, and just enjoy themselves. My play with them is mostly directed by whims, which means they get to diversify a little bit.
Benjamin staves off mood swings by 'jogging to clear mind' a lot. Have to watch this one in winter, though.
Also there's still no snow and it's Wednesday.
Let's finish up this installment with the actual first visit from a Vampire for this family.
He wisely goes for the fresh, young, teen-aged blood of Benjamin.
Ah, well, I was waiting for something interesting to happen.
When did we leave off?
Oh yeah, I was excited because I'd written up to where I'd played to. LOL LOL LOL. So then I got sick IRL which means I've barely left the house in 4 days which means I've been playing non-stop which means as of now I have nearly 400 photos of gameplay to somehow turn into updates.
So, Granite Falls.
Benjamin has the outdoor enthusiast aspiration. Technically one which used to be complete-able as a teen, but Seasons definitely threw a spanner into the works on that front. So anyways, he convinces the whole family to head out to Granite Falls. They get a cabin because not everyone loves the outdoors, but Benjamin excitedly pitches a tent and after fishing until his energy bar was a nice dark orange, he collapses.
Arthur, for his part, went to bed far too early so he's up before the sun...raking leaves.
They get really pedantic about leaf-raking, I've noticed. Won't stop until everything is raked up. So I put an end to that and Arthur cooks a nice breakfast for everyone instead.
Look who's finally awake!
"Hurry up and finish your breakfast! I wanna go to the national park!"
You know he'll eat faster if you don't talk to him, right?
Eventually they all head into the woods.
I can't remember how Arthur and Bethany amused themselves, but Amberley pulled out an easel and kept humming away at her paintings.
Obviously the main reason we're here is for Benjamin.
Okay, I dunno if I'm the only who feels this way but...Seasons. Not feeling it as a pack. It affects everything in the game and not usually in a good way. This is actually my first time playing the games seriously since I got seasons as a graduation gift last year. Thunderstorms terrify toddlers, plants can't be found/grown/harvested as easily. And Outdoor retreat just loses its joy because it keeps raining and making everyone miserable. I mean, Mr. Loves the Outdoors here has enough happy buffs that the soaking wet moodlet isn't affecting him, but everyone is else is just hiding out in the information center. You just can't get the same stuff done. I know it's more realistic, but I'm still kinda wishing I could uninstall it and just go back, you know?
Like finding even 10 unidentified plants to harvest took way too long. I eventually figured out this was because it's fall and all the plants do grow in summer, but only a few grow in fall or spring. And nothing grows here in winter.
Benjamin does have better luck with the bugs, not that they're needed at this stage.
But if he's going to complete collections and use them for building herbalism, he may as well get a good start.
While exploring the national park, Benjamin stumbles upon an interesting-looking cavern. He decides to investigate.
Benjamin makes it to the deep woods.
Here he meets a rather eccentric old woman named Bonnie. She may be a bit...strange, but Benjamin befriends her as he does everyone, and then since her garden is faring about as poorly as the rest of the place, he decides to head back to camp.
So, Sunday morning. Bethany isn't nearly at her brother's level when it comes to outdoor enthusiast so she's happy to settle down with her regular cartoons.
Amberley paints, and the boys decide to settle in to some fishing. If Benjamin can get the first milestone done here, I'll consider this a win.
Because the other problem is, this is the first day of winter. And it's cold, and nothing is growing, and so the rest of this aspiration probably isn't going to happen until spring or even summer, and Benjamin will be well into adulthood by then.
AND since it's also new skill day, and there are more new skills to be learned at home than there are here, a decision is made that returning home a little bit early would be the best choice for everyone.
The family packs up their things and heads back into Newcrest.
Amberley assigns new meaning to the adage 'there's no place like home' and promptly paints a Masterpiece.
Followed immediately by another masterpiece, which rounds of her main aspiration. About time!
With Amberley's aspiration finished, she and Arthur both switch to the Soulmates aspiration. While the kids are off at school, they head into town for a date at the Bistro.
#RelationshipGoals is find yourself a man who looks at you the way Arthur looks at his wife while she's reading a menu.
Caleb Vatore is apparently working as a waiter. Amberley wonders if she should be worried.
Scratch that, #RelationshipGoals is find yourself a man who looks at you the way Arthur looks at his while she's desperately looking for the toilet.
"Oh yeah, that's my wife."
Apparently in my game Moira Fyres has a twin sister named Ashleigh Street?
Amberley finishes off the date with a massage, before the two call it a day and head home.
I took no photos of the food that gave Amberley food poisoning. I then thought I had food poisoning hence 2 days off work. I actually couldn't even play much the first day. Not for lack of trying, I just found after not even half an hour, I needed to go lay down. So I spent the day binge watching Queer Eye. Day 2 I actually went to work, and my boss greeted me with 'you look pale. Go home.' (Jewish mums make the best bosses!). But then my fiance also got sick so it was probably gastro. Hence cancelling our weekend plans. Hence 400 screenshots.
These gnomes just keep generating seeds that Benjamin just keeps pocketing. I eventually get tired of them and sell them. But I kind of thought they would disappear before now?
Benjamin and Bethany both enjoy some music and dancing after school before moving onto more important business.
Syke, that was important business. Benjamin collects his last two scouting badges, giving him the scouting aptitude trait.
Not to be outdone by her older brother, Bethany of course intends to master all 4 childhood aspirations, too. She mastered the creativity skill easily on new skill day, and finishing up the 'play an instrument for 5 hours' milestone nets her 3 (adult) violin skill points.
She quickly moves on to whiz kid.
She convinces her big brother to help out with the focusing aspect of finishing her homework while focused. (It's not like she needs any actual help).
Benjamin gets this invitation from Lucas Munch. Benjamin will actually have use for the garden gnomes, so he accepts the invitation.
I have a lot of slice-of-life-esque pictures without properly having a coherent story that they form. The family is pretty relaxed at this point - none of those chaotic 27 kids in the family dealios that the rest of y'all seem to crave :P .
The parents settle into their muses. A little bit less determined these days as the aspirations are done and they have more than enough money, so it's just for their careers that they're both close to maxing.
This leaves a little bit more spare time, too, to get out, explore, and just enjoy themselves. My play with them is mostly directed by whims, which means they get to diversify a little bit.
Benjamin staves off mood swings by 'jogging to clear mind' a lot. Have to watch this one in winter, though.
Also there's still no snow and it's Wednesday.
Let's finish up this installment with the actual first visit from a Vampire for this family.
He wisely goes for the fresh, young, teen-aged blood of Benjamin.
Ah, well, I was waiting for something interesting to happen.
