The scream I made when I saw today's @simblr-story-question-of-the-day prompt "The circle of life" because I had the idea for this edit prior but it fits the theme so well! (Let's ignore the fact it says infant to elder in the prompt, okay?)
Anyways, I mentioned earlier this week that I'm tempted to start a story about ballet. I initally wanted it to be unrelated to my main story but after giving it some thought, I decided to turn it into a prequel instead! En Pointe will take place 22 years prior to the events of The Infected and focuses on Alexander's and Avery's final year in highschool.
Going forward my goal is to post at least 3 story parts of The Infected and 1 story part of En Pointe a month starting september! ๐ค
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Today's SSQotD said not to be mean about our stuff so... I will try ๐๐คฃ
1. The Collector looking into Fen's memories. Heavily edited! I think this was my first time using Relight in my story? It's not something I'd use often because I found the set up really tedious lmao, but I was really happy with the results here. The smoke and stars are overlays I added during editing.
The rest behind a cut because I got to 10 before feeling awkward ๐
2. Sax being woken from a nap to discover that they now own a puppy. I didn't actually use this screenshot in the story - I used a more zoomed out one that also shows El lying on the bed and laughing. BUT I was really pleased with how his expression came out here and the way he's looking directly into the camera lmao
Tbh I liked a lot of the "surprise we have a puppy" shots... I'll add some others:
3. Close-up on Sax's eye. I just think they're pretty (but also this shot was deliberate, because I wanted to show his latest affliction in the foreground compared with the intense way he's looking at Fen) ๐ฅน๐คฃ
4. That one time they did something normal. The build isn't mine, I found it on the gallery after looking for a Burger King - I can't remember the name unfortunately ๐ซฃ Nothing particularly meaningful is happening but I liked the composition?! It was also to show how empty the place is, which is at odds with Sax's following line where he refuses to share certain details in case "someone" is listening.
5. This shot of Elidyr climbing the stairs. I found the angle by accident and I only took the shot to show their movement through the castle, but I really liked it hahaha ๐คฃ One of the few times I used gameplay instead of poses.
6. Sax folding a tissue. This was part of a long, mostly silent scene where we'd previously seen Sax break down, and he's now trying to compose himself before dealing with the people who've just arrived. I did several cropped in shots that only showed his fingers slowly folding to try and give an impression of how still he is otherwise. This shot was just before we saw his face properly. I liked that it showed the rest of the cast in the background and Sax still slowly folding tissue, but we still can't see his expression. He's particularly cruel to Jasper after this and I wanted to show how his previous vulnerability was replaced with cold malice.
7. Jasper realising he's about to get blamed for this. This one just makes me laugh ๐ญ๐คฃ Sax so elegantly unconcious on the floor (a @nefaricussims pose โค๏ธ) and Jasper, who hasn't moved from his position throughout the entire drama, just looking down at him like... okay ๐คท
8. Thom attempting to give El a normal childhood. Unfortunately the Sylvan Glade tree doesn't change with the seasons, but as it's a magical tree in my story too I figured I could explain this with โจbecause magicโจ hahaha. I really liked the contrast of the colour against the white, the small figures of Thom and El throwing snowballs, and then looking closer and seeing Gabe indulging in some tree-hugging.
9. Sax running to Idris past the fallen spellcasters. This is another shot that I only took to show him getting from A to B, but I REALLY liked how it turned out ๐คฃ It's hard to make out the background even if you know the scene, but I think that kind of lends itself to the chaos of the situation? The only clear thing is Sax, because he's absolutely focused on Idris and what he has to do.
10. Group meeting. These kinda shots are so goddamn tedious to make, but I really like looking at them ๐ I like being able to look at a scene and see the way characters are sitting, how they're interacting with each other, the kinda trinkets they have lying around...
Ivy sitting in between Lilith and Lucy who are having awkward situationship issues. Jac sat with Sax and Fen since they're their own core group. Fen choosing to sit at Sax's feet instead of squeezing onto the loveseat and taking up space from Jac. Sax leaning forward to be closer to Fen/Sax standing calmly in centre stage, because he's used to speaking to groups and holding people's attention. Idris standing/walking because she's too full of anxious energy. Jasper in the corner because no one likes him.
My simblr has been a bit quiet this month, so I'd like to post one of these too ๐ It was nice to read this answered on other simblrs!
What do you find causes you to lose motivation with your story/gameplay? & What helps you to stay motivated with your project?
I actually don't lose motivation with my gameplay! Anymore.
Before Shipwrecked on Northeney, I was a builder in TS3. I'd build and decorate a house, often with real houses or architecture as a reference. I'd put a family in and played them for a bit. And got bored. Repeat.
But with this Build a City Challenge, the building aspect goes slow, at the pace of what my people can do in a day. And they have real, developing lives beyond that. A story. So I'm always curious what a simming day will bring for them, and me. How much will they build, how much closer will they get to their personal goals, how will their relationships grow (or go downhill)..?
A big thing is playing rotationally. I always spend 1 day with 1 household, then move on to the next. Yesterday I played a farmer's family of 3, tomorrow I'm going to play a family of 12 (+ their 6 loud-meowing route-clogging cats), who will get at least 4 user directed visitors during their day ๐คฆโโ๏ธ Obviously the first is far easier for storytelling than the last! But this huge variety in play-sessions helps a lot in staying motivated for one story.
Do you need to take breaks, or do you need to keep going in case you lose momentum when you take breaks?
I need breaks. Or rather, they happen. This August I have spent more time just playing the current storyline, than preparing story posts. And that already felt like a luxury, after getting the game back in shape for a month! Soon I'll probably fancy writing again ๐
Do you reboot things if you're not happy, or do you aim to finish projects even if you're not fully satisfied with the result?
The story goes as it goes and I don't go back. I do rely on Nraas Relativity more now, when there are scenes coming up that I know will take a long time getting the sims where they need to be. In the beginning sometimes story stuff didn't happen right, simply because routing took too long. But no reason to go back and reboot ๐
Going forward though, with big decisions can take a LOT of time to think through! At the moment I am debating whether to kill a sim for the story... or just let him be (he's always such a happy sim, aaargh!). I just can't decide.
What recommendations do you have for others on staying motivated and interested in writing a sims story / gameplay?
It really is nice to find and follow other sims stories here on tumblr! And read the other writers' struggles and triumphs. Still, making a story with TS3 is mostly something that makes me happy whether or not it is published. So my biggest recommendation is just finding out what triggers your boredom, and your enthusiasm, and then bending both in such a way that the story or gameplay becomes a longterm fullfilling thing. My experience is, the longer you're at it, the harder it becomes to abandon.
I know it said 1 shot but these are back to back and I felt it would be weird (for me) not to include the second. ~_~
This is from Bare Knuckle, one of my first stories. The plot isn't that important other than John kicks this demon's ass in the end of it. This is way before I decided to make him a werewolf so, no teef. (or maybe this is canon somehow, lol.) The screens from that are lost to time, so what's on my blog, that is it. I did this story a little after I got the hang of the Kijiko rig and I had Ideas.
Anyway, I did what I did at the time -- I think these are flat out untouched game shots. If I did do something to them, you can't tell. I had the idea of John's hair being loose after the fight so I went with that (he looks very fashionable, lol). It's a lot better in the revamp. (it is my de facto -- hair was up at some point and Something Happened).
I also changed the amount of blood on him. Like yeah, he got his ass beat but that's a bit too much for what went down. It's mostly his face. I'm glad for the gloves, bandages and the ankle wraps. As for the demon, all I changed was their horn size and they have some gnarly teeth not seen here.
John has a wide stance bc he is very unsteady and trying to keep it together, but I went with a forward pointing instead of what I did.
enough of my rambling tho... if it's one story that I would like to revamp, it's this one.
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I wanna start participating in these because it's amazing and I think it'd be pretty fun.
Favourite Screenshots
What makes this screenshot a favourite for you?
I love any opportunity I can get to repost these 2 screenshots. The original post these screenshots originate from are my second ever foray into pose making and my first time having a post that's ENTIRELY my own poses. I think back to this as my magnum opus, even though I've definitely made more expressive and detailed poses now. It holds a special place in my heart.
What is happening in this screenshot / what is the context of it?
Originally this was NOT going to be the pose I went for, but as I was working on it, I decided that this was the best direction to go. To show that the dynamic between Asra and August hasn't changed in the decades they've spent apart from each other.
I'm very much not forthcoming with information regarding my Sims, primarily because I tend to come up with ideas I scrap a week later. But to describe the thought process, it was initially meant as a dichotomy between Morgan and Hanabi, seeing as they're biologically related, and I ended up diverting the focus to primarily be about Asra and August and their eternal bond.
Is there anything about the colours, composition, expressions of sims etc. that was intentional? what was the intended mood / effect of those compositional choices?
IT WAS REALLY TOUGH FOR ME TO DO EXPRESSIONS BACK THEN. I spent about 3 days on this pose alone because I kept scrapping stuff and redoing stuff. But overall, the lighting and composition were incredibly sporatic, I just went with whatever came out for it. The most intentional thing was the angle. I wanted parity between the 2 pose sets so that the callback worked and this was the best angle I could have to capture everything.
Did you edit these screenshots in any way? (using reshade, gshade, art program, etc.)
As with everything I put out, the photoshop editing is extremely limited, minimal in every way.
I used ReShade to accomplish everything I wanted. Though, in the future I really want to get further into Photoshop editing my images.
I don't have a title. I guess Iโve never really had one.
Originally it was 'SunxMoon' 'cause at the time my ex left a copy of her Pokรฉmon Moon on my desk and I needed a placeholder title lol so I just named it Sun/Moon after Pokรฉmon Sun and Moon, which funnily enough became major themes in my story later on.
2. I started really writing, I guess maybe 2018? But it was more tumblr style writing. Mostly dialogue buuuut I feel that counts as starting. So 2018!
Tbh it started off as a mix of TS2 fanfiction and my own sim. Which SJ is a Capp, Scribonia Capp from TS2 [she's dead there haha] long story and Hana was my own [really randomized] sim I had there. Maybe I can tell that story another time lol.
3. My story ๐ค summaries are hard for me lol. Basically it's about a vampire girl and an alien girl who fall in love. Then a bunch of other sci-fi slash supernatural stuff happens to them both.
4. Hmhmmhmhhm. Well I barely started writing again after a 2 year [involuntary] break, soooo. I haven't worked on it a ton, but I'll add the first paragraphs or so to each of my character's backstories.
My story is pretty much dual POV from Hana and SJ's povs.
Ty for reading!! ๐ I'm going to be doing these everyday so lmao, sorry for the spam.
So here's a bit of their intros. SJ's first 'cause I love her more. ๐
Capp.
What does it mean to be a Capp? What does it mean to be a vampire?
To the public eye family comes above all else for us vampires, our purpose in society is to leave a legacy for all to know and respect, though most often to fear.
To every other species on Earth we are seemingly one mass; of course within our society it is fractured, subtle animosity under polite pleasantries.
Our Grand Council reigns supreme. To the rest of the world it seems as if we govern within a democracy, but to me it is purely tyrannical.
As for my family, there are no false pretenses; we are tyrannical.
Then, Hana's:
I was running at full speed, passing underneath the dimly lit pathways of the city. Nothing except creating the most distance between me and that house mattered to me right now. The sound of my feet pounding against the asphalt was almost as loud as my heart pounding in my ears.
My chest was heaving, caving under the intensity of my breathing. With each exhale I could feel my lungs going into overdrive, forming burning holes in my chest when Iโd inhale.
My breathing and sobbing were fighting each other for the right to burst out of my throat first. By the time I heard the faint chiming of the dock bells I knew Iโd reached my limit. I tumbled over my own exhausted feet, skidding across the cold rough concrete, lying in a heap of mental and physical exhaustion.
I didn't kill him, I didn't. I know I didn't.
SJ's is more told from her looking back at the past and Hana's is more told as she's experiencing it.
I'm not 100% if I do want to share their backstories but I have been working on them anyway!
My really loose idea rn is that I'd make 3 major sections and this would be the first.
simblr story question of the day #60 - 10th august 2025 character question - dearly departed
the 60th ssqotd is a character question once again - this time about the dead. these questions are ideally aimed at a character who has been dead since before the story started. if this doesn't apply to your story, then you can write about a character who died during the story if you're not bothered about spoiling it to people.
tell us a brief bit about a character that died before the story started (name, age, cause of death, anything you want)
Thadd the Merchant, was Raerynn's (Ryn) father who passed prior to the start of the story. He was in his later 40's when he passed away from The Crimson Agony (The Agony). When he became ill he lived with his wife Moza 42, son Raerynn 15 and daughter Hestia 10. They lived in a home in the capital city Avequa.
He is mainly referred to in the past-tense, though he does get a flashback scene later in the story.
what was their influence when they were still alive? what part did they play in the society they lived in?
Thadd was a well respected amulet merchant. He was a skilled craftsman and trader who sold his wares to retailers in and out of Eldovire. Prior to his death his family lived in relative comfort. He was able to send his children to school, they had livestock and horses.
His main influence was on his son Ryn, who he had begun to apprentice to take over the business. Thadd passes away before he able to teach his son most of the business.
are they remembered fondly by the people that knew them? why / why not?
Ryn speaks well of him, he remembers him fondly. He holds on to his memories of his father, especially his father's encouragement. Due to his profession, Thadd spent much of his time traveling which took him away from his family for chunks of time. This impacted his relationship with his daughter Hestia, she was less attached to her father and was closer to her mother.
what living person in the story are they most rembered by?
Thadd is most remembered by Ryn, his son. Other characters mention him in passing, such as their neighbor Haimes.
