Kaylyn's Randomness

I spoke too soon :P

2009-07-08T05:23:55Z

I started to sim out a few scenes...and got annoyed VERY quickly, so scratch that. Check out my text only version here: tinyurl.com/lphnoj

New story coming soon

2009-07-07T12:11:16Z

I set up a Dreamwidth account a while back for a special story I'm working on. I've actually found some motivation to Sim it out. I have the first family moved into a house (downloaded the house off MTS because I'm LAZY!) and will take a few shots and post it hopefully very soon.

It's a story I'm hoping to possibly publish one day, so I'm not primarily focusing on the Sims aspect. As a result, I don't know exactly how detailed I'm going to get into screenshots. Hell, I may get completely annoyed and just put the story up by itself in a text-only format. Either way, I'm very keen on feedback for it, as I want to polish it for future submittal to an agent/publisher.

You can find me on Dreamwidth under the same username as here. You don't need an account to read, but you can use your LJ login to set up a friends page there to keep up with it if you want. I also still have one invite code if you're interested in setting up your own account there.

Dreamwidth

2009-06-29T13:03:07Z

I has 2 invite codes. You want one? You can has! Just reply here...first come first serve!

Re: Sims 3 crashing - possible fix?

2009-06-08T08:06:56Z

I feel dumb. I've been playing a lot of Fallout 3 on my PC and, as any Fallout 3 PC player knows, the game is notorious for crashing constantly. One possible fix I ran across on some random forums involved changing the page file to 0 MB, which I did. Now that I think about it, it is possible I made this change after my first Sims 3 foray. The first time I played Sims 3, it worked fine, and after that it was a few days before I played again, which is when the crashing started.

For those that don't know, according to what I've learned just now, the page file is hard drive space that substitutes for some of your RAM. What this means for gamers is that Vista runs off page files in the background, while your game gets to use the actual RAM in your computer. Since I had it set to 0 (which didn't fix my Fallout 3 problem anyway), I reenabled page filing and am reinstalling Sims 3 now. I think this will finally get it working, because Vista + Sims 3 at default settings = more than my 2 gigs of memory...

Keeping my fingers crossed and will update on whether it works!

ETA: IT WORKS! YAY! I'm gonna post this on the Sims 3 LJ forums now!

Sims 3 stupidity

2009-06-07T10:03:53Z

I "borrowed" a torrented copy to see if it would be worth actually spending the money on. I played the Reloaded version (a beta version) the day it finished downloading and actually enjoyed it! I've since updated it to the current patched official version and I keep crashing to desktop with no error message within a minute of actually entering a household, sometimes during the loading screen, sometimes during the opening video.

Now, due to real life circumstances, I won't be able to purchase a legit copy for a while now, unless my husband out of the kindness of his heart picks up a copy for me with his paycheck. I've taken some sick time (we don't get paid for sick time at my job) and was called off a lot last week. But I just have to know. Anyone think the crash-to-desktop problem is inherent strictly in the version of the game I have, and installing it from a legal disk will fix it? Or do you think I'll continue to have the same problems, in which case I guess my decision as to which game to focus on is made for me?

Of course, if anyone has a solution to the crash to desktop, I'd be glad to hear it. I've updated my drivers, my computer is more than ready to handle the game, and I'm looking forward to actually being able to play it.

Simcity Saga - Alex and the Calientes

2009-05-31T05:21:26Z

When my sister and Don got married, Dad suggested we move out to give them plenty of room. I wasn't sure about leaving the manor, but I didn't want to be around a bunch of babies either. So right around the time Cass was due, we moved into Dad's girlfriend's house.

Oh, boy, was I glad we did this.

Dina's sister Nina is hot. I don't know what she sees in me, but within hours of getting settled in, I lost my virginity. I never exactly told Dad what was going on, but I doubt he would have cared. He's too wound up with Dina to pay me much attention anymore.

Dina knew though, and merely winked at me whenever I passed through. I'll admit entertaining the occasional fantasy about her as well.

Nina had planned to move out when Dina told her we were coming, but decided to stay after all. I was definitely agreeable to this. We don't have much to talk about, but then again, we don't do much talking. We can't keep our hands off each other!

I'm a little worried about Dad. Don came over and Dina was pawing all over him. Dad's only complaint was that they were blocking the TV.

I don't know what's going on back at the manor, but Don has apparently gotten bored. It's a shame. He's actually a really good father. I wonder if Cass knows where he spends all his time?

Huh. I can't say I'm not surprised to find Don and Nina flirting with one another. Strangely enough, I'm not all that jealous. Yet. That doesn't mean I'm crazy about the guy, though. I wish he'd learn to keep it in his pants.

Dad died not long ago. Dina found him where he had collapsed on the floor in the bedroom. We had a small graveyard service at Gothier Green Lawns. I had a feeling it was going to happen. I know this is going to sound dirty of me, but this means I now share a house with two very hot single women, one of which I'm already involved with physically, and the other...well...

Dina made her move on me not long after the funeral. I know she's not serious about me, and I don't have any plans to get serious about her. I don't even know if I'm going to get serious about Nina. If I actually settle down, it won't be for a while, and not until I've had the chance to experience more of what the world has to offer.

Nina's been really cranky lately. I don't know if she knows about me and her sister, or if something else is bothering her. Like I said, we rarely talk when we're together. But it's not like her to just brush past me on the stairs without even looking at me.

Oh, God. Nina finally told me what was bothering her over breakfast one morning. She's pregnant. I rolled my eyes when she first told me and said, "Well, Don will be happy. He loves kids." She gave me this evil look and said, "You idiot. I never slept with Don. It was just harmless flirting." Reality sank in. We hadn't been exactly careful, but I assumed she was on the pill or was watching the calendar or something. No way in hell I'm ready to be a father!

And would you believe a few weeks later, I was having a similar conversation with Dina? She admitted to sleeping with Don when my father was still alive, but she got pregnant much more recently, and had only been with me at that time. So now I'm going to be a father twice over, with two different women, and I'm still in high school! Next purchase I make when I go to the store: condoms. Yeah, I know, I should have thought of that before...but you know how hormones are, they don't always let you think clearly.

I will say this...I'm crazy about both of them. So I'm going to take care of both of them as best as I can. We've got Dad's inheritance to help out, and these will be his grandchildren. As far as settling down with one of them, well, that remains to be seen.

Yeesh

2009-05-27T19:50:38Z

I've been active on LJ, commenting and participating in discussions, but I didn't realize it had been 2 1/2 months since I posted anything myself. I promise to remedy that. I have a couple of projects I've been working on, and I'm gonna try to pick up where I left off on the saga. I recently decided to reinstall my game completely, including deleting all downloads, so I've gotten my d/l folder built up again and I'll have to fudge some things to get the game where it's supposed to be in that story...or else start over.

What do you think I should do with it?

Don and Cassandra Lothario: Our New Life Together

2009-03-16T17:39:47Z

I won't bore you with the details of the wedding. It was identical to just about every other wedding you're heard about. Flower-laden arch in the pristine back yard of Goth Manor, cake, champagne, friends and family. Not my kind of thing, personally, but Cass is a traditionalist. We weren't able to have a honeymoon immediately after the wedding because of work schedules, so we spent a quiet romantic evening at home. Mortimer and Cass's younger brother Alexander went over to the Caliente sister's house. Since Bella disappeared, Mortimer has gotten very close to Dina, who is coincidentally the widow of Bella's brother. I suspect she's trying to get her hands on the money somehow and considered telling Mortimer this several times, but I know he doesn't trust me and he would think all the wrong things about my advice. He seems genuinely happy, so I've decided to leave it alone and trust him.

Cass was a little run-down after the wedding, spending more and more time reading quietly rather than keeping house. I thought she was just catching a weird bug until she informed me she was pregnant. I have mixed feelings about the news. I was an only child and never particularly wanted kids of my own; however, I know it's one of the things that she wants most in the world, so in that respect I'm happy simply because I know it will make her happy.

I'm extremely nervous about being a father for the first time. I've always liked to keep in shape, and I've found that exercise has been the best way for me to keep myself calm. When I'm jogging or lifting weights, I focus on my routine and bettering myself, and it's really eased my nerves about the idea of having a child.

Mortimer seems to have warmed up to me a little. He's looking forward to being a grandfather. We've actually talked a few times about what would happen when it was time for the birth. The manor isn't quite as big as it seems from the outside, and he mentioned moving out in order to make room for a nursery. Apparently things are getting more serious between him and Dina than I expected. I don't know what Alex will think about this. If the move happens, he'll get to choose whether to go with his father or stay with us.

We decided to adopt a dog. Cass named her Hedwig after Harry Potter's pet owl. Didn't I mention she was a bit of a nerd? Hedwig is a little on the ornery side, but I'm doing my best to train her.

I finished my internship, by the way! I'm now an ER resident. I'm officially Dr. Lothario now. With the baby so close to being born, I'm feeling a lot more confident. I'm looking forward to opening up my own practice once my residency is complete. But for now, I have to shake this cold I caught from a patient. One of the unfortunate downsides to being a doctor...if my patients are contagious, I stand a chance of catching it as well.

As Cass's due date approached, Mortimer finally made the decision to move out. Alex decided to go with him. We had the manor to ourselves, ready for our own family. We took over the master bedroom and turned our old room into a nursery. Then there was nothing left to do but wait for that fateful day when our child would make its appearance. I have no idea why I'm suddenly so poetic about it. Maybe I'm warming up to the idea of being a father, finally.

The day she went into labor...I don't know, I just knew it was going to happen as soon as I woke up that morning. She was more restless than usual. I took the day off, and we curled up on the loveseat in the loft to watch a movie. She stood up to go to the bathroom, and her water broke right there. She was actually very calm about the whole thing. She went to change her clothes while I bribed Hedwig to behave while we were gone, and we were soon on our way to the hospital.

It's strange, but despite all my misgivings, as soon as I saw my son for the first time, I was gone. Imagine, me, a lovey dovey gooey daddy. I never thought I'd be sitting there, making silly faces and talking baby talk at an infant. We decided to name him Nicholas, after my father Nicolo.

With most of the family fortune at our disposal, we decided to hire a butler. I've had maid service before (as you probably well recall) but to actually be able to afford a full-service butler...I felt a little weird spending that kind of money. But the house is big enough to make keeping it tidy a little difficult at times, and with the baby it was even more so. Mark is a big help with everything. He cleans, takes care of the yard, and keeps an eye on Nicholas.

Hedwig seemed a little lonely, so we got her a boyfriend, Baird. Nick loves the dogs to pieces.

Speaking of Nick, he's growing so fast. Cass is dropping hints that she'd like to have another baby. I never thought I'd hear myself saying this, but I'm all for it. As soon as I get my practice opened up, we're going to take that honeymoon we never got around to, and use the alone time to, well, work on that. I'll tell you all about the vacation when we get back.

(Writer's note: In this series of play sessions, Don had a secondary family aspiration, which I selected because of the way his character is developing in my mind. I randomly rolled for Cassandra and her secondary is...romance! These two are more alike than I knew! Also, the genie lamp was delivered and I took the opportunity to give both Don and Cassandra perma-plat with it. Everything's perfect in Lothario Land...maybe I should stir up some trouble? Also also, apologies for the long delay in updates. WoW took a hold of me again and I'm only just now starting to burn out on it.)

kaylyn_white @ 2009-01-22T15:36:00

2009-01-22T21:43:34Z

I know I need to update my story. I've recently gotten back into World of Warcraft and have FINALLY gotten a character to Outlands! Give me a chance to get bored with it and I'll have an update for you...it's already mostly played out, I just have to get to the end of the season and then write it up.

Ever have one of those days where you have SO MUCH you want to do, that you can't decide on WHAT to do? I have several books I need to read: finish the current Lovecraft compilation I'm reading, the copy of Necronomicon I just bought, Odd Thomas, and *sigh* Twilight (my MIL insists I read it, so I shall subject myself to at least a few pages before passing judgment). I also have a random story starter idea stuck in my head that I need to get out, and about three other stories to work on, plus I need to get my next Call of Cthulhu session ready to play.

I'm in the middle of my work week though, so my time is limited. I usually read/write/gameplan while I'm working, during those times where I'm stuck in line behind dumb truckers that can't understand directions given in simple English and have to ask six times what they're supposed to do, and then still manage to mess up somehow. So...I should do all this when I'm off...well, that cuts into my WoW/Sims time! Quite the dilemma!

On another completely random note...if you happen to like Lovecraft and quasi-punk music, track down a band called Darkest of the Hillside Thickets. OMG they're awesome! They have a Myspace with tracks to listen to, and they have a downloadable song on Rock Band (part of the Penny Arcade track pack). If you like them, then buy their stuff so they'll make more! I listened to them through a friend, who ~~pirated~~ has their first two albums. I fell absolutely in love and just recently have begun to haunt their Ebay store, purchasing the two albums I haven't heard, and plan to purchase the other two copies I ~~illegally own~~ borrowed from said friend. Then I plan to go nuts with the T-shirts and merch available. :D

Simcity Saga (v 2.0!): Don Lothario

2008-12-23T19:52:10Z

Today's the big day. I've got most of my stuff in boxes. The moving van just pulled up and I'm ready to get everything loaded for the second time in my life. It's time to grow up and leave behind the bachelor life.

People say a lot of things about me, and most of it's not true. They say I've slept with just about every woman in town. While it is true I've dated many of them, I've only actually slept with one, and that was a mistake, to be honest. She's not the one I've decided to settle down with...and marry.

Let me backtrack a little. I grew up with the Caliente twins. They lived in my old hometown and moved here to Pleasantview not too long ago. Nina (the redhead) was my high school sweetheart. Unfortunately the relationship didn't survive college; however we managed to remain friends.

The day of my parents' funeral, Dina (the blonde) showed up unexpectedly at my doorstep. I guess she wanted to comfort me. I don't really know what came over me in my grief, but before I knew it we were kissing. It started to get pretty intense, but I managed to pull myself together. I told her I didn't want the recent trauma in my life clouding my judgment with her. I think it might have hurt her feelings a little. Things were a little awkward after that, but it eventually blew over.

Then I got a job in Pleasanview. I was excited when I got the offer. See, I was pre-med in college. But when my parents died, I had a lot on my plate and didn't have the opportunity to finish out med school. Now I had a chance to realize that dream. I would be able to work my way through school as an EMT and one day I'd be a real doctor.

I invited the sisters over and told them the news. They were sad to see me go, but happy that I had this opportunity for success. We had an impromptu going-away party and I got two very passionate kisses goodbye from them. My heart fluttered a little more than I expected it to. I guess I fell for both of them harder than I realized. I knew I was going to miss them, and a huge lump formed in my throat as I rode away. I was moving to Pleasantview with no friends and barely any money. I was scared to death and lonely.

I found a nice little condo on the outskirts of the main town. It was all I could afford, what with Pleasantview being a fairly affluent town. It suited my needs and I slowly began to settle in.

Soon I met (surprise, surprise) a woman. She was beautiful and exotic and older, with the most haunting eyes. She was actually one of the first to welcome me to town. We had so much in common and became very good friends, so much so that I began to believe that we had good chemistry. She would often come over and bring a movie and a home-cooked meal, always a nice treat because I never got around to getting a proper oven at my place. One can only eat so much microwaved food and takeout.

One night I made my move. I don't think she realized what was happening at first. I had barely brushed my lips against hers when she pushed me away. "Oh, Don, I'm so sorry. You're very handsome and sweet, and if things were different...but I'm married. I thought you knew."

Stupid me. I completely failed to realize that Bella was only married to the wealthiest and most powerful man in Pleasantview, Mortimer Goth. I was so embarrassed at myself. I think I was even more embarrassed that she almost let me kiss her. I'm not that kind of guy, no matter what else you may have heard. I got up and stepped outside to gather myself. Bella joined me a few minutes later. "I don't know if this is a good time to bring this up, but my daughter is around your age. I would love it if the two of you could meet."

Against my better judgment, I agreed to meet her. Bella set up a blind date for us. We were to meet at the local coffee shop/bookstore. I showed up a few minutes late and browsed the shelves nervously. I recognized her the moment I saw her. She looked a lot like Bella, except with glasses and, well, an unusual style. Okay, okay. I thought she looked like a nerd that was trying to be hip and/or gothic and failing. I almost walked out, but she notices me before I had the chance to slip away. "Are you Don?"

I looked at her and smiled politely. "Yes. I take it you're Cassandra?"

In retrospect, I'm so glad I stayed.

I'll admit, it was a little awkward at first, but over a few cups of coffee and hours of conversation, I knew this was something very special. There was something endearing about her that set her apart from the sisters. Call me vain if you must, but I know I'm an attractive guy. Though I did notice her looking me over, she didn't gawk at me. Instead, she asked personal questions that, had Nina or Dina asked them, would have made me uncomfortable. But with her, it seemed the most natural thing in the world to discuss. Sooner than I would have liked, it was time to go. I walked her to her car and said goodnight, trying to interpret her signals so as to avoid another embarrassing situation. She didn't seem to want to leave immediately, so I took a chance and kissed her.

There's something about that first kiss with someone new. You just never knew what to expect. Nina and Dina were both very passionate. Cassandra was much more shy and our first kiss was tender and sweet and chaste. It made me want her in ways I've never wanted another woman.

We began dating seriously after that. I began to care about her a great deal, and in my own mind I was beginning to realize that I was falling in love with her, honest-to-goodness, head-over-heels love. I had trouble bringing myself to say it, I suppose out of fear of scaring her away. The one time I suggested that she spend the night, she said, "No, Don. I'm a little old-fashioned. I want my first time to be my wedding night." Part of me thought she said that because she didn't feel the same way I did, and that's why I stalled.

So I did a stupid, stupid thing. I had hired a maid because, well, I'm a slob. My tiny condo got messy too quickly and I was just too tired from school and work to keep it straight. The day after Cassandra refused to spend the night, I was frustrated, to say the least. Kaylynn loved to tease me while she cleaned, often accidentally-on-purpose dropping a rag or spray bottle in front of me and bending over, showing off her rear in the process. That day, I took the bait. She pretended to fight me off and before I knew it, we were in bed. It was my first time, but it was apparently not hers. She was quite...adventurous. And flexible.

I felt so guilty for cheating in Cass, but at the same time the stress I'd been feeling was eased. I'm ashamed to admit I kept this up for quite a while, but to be honest at that point I was beginning to think Cass didn't want to be with me at all.

Kaylynn was a little bit of an exhibitionist and wanted to push the boundaries more and more each time we were together. Changing booths, elevators, you name it. I went along with it at first, but when I caught her with Daniel Pleasant at the place and time I was supposed to meet her, I broke it off completely with her. She was furious and, because of my relationship with the heiress to the largest estate in Pleasantview, leaked our trysts to the paper.

Cass was surprisingly not as angry as I expected her to be. Of course she wasn't happy, but she seemed to understand somehow. "I know why it happened. I'm sorry I'm not ready to go to bed with you, but if we're going to continue seeing each other, it can't happen again. I need to know that you're willing to wait for me. That is, if we ever reach that point." She looked down at her lap and cried softly. It broke my heart, and I knew I had been wrong in my judgment of her feelings. She love dme as much as I loved her, and I finally told her so.

It took a little time to regain her trust, but by the time I'd started my internship we were closer than before. And yes, I kept my promise to her the whole time, despite what the gossip column said.

I got new neighbors one day. I didn't find out till later that Nina and Dina had moved in next door. That was the fateful day I invited Bella over to ask her something very important. We hung out on the roof and had drinks and watched the meteor shower as I worked up the nerve. "Bella, I'd really like to ask Cassandra to marry me."

She positively beamed at me. "If you're asking me for her hand, then yes, absolutely, you have my blessing! Oh, I can't wait to see her face when you ask her!" She babbled a little about wedding plans while my heart pounded at the prospect of actually popping the question. Suddenly something unusual among the shooting stars caught her eye. She peered through my telescope to get a closer look at the odd lights while I poured myself another drink. When I turned back to her, she was gone.

I think Mortimer thinks I had something to do with her disappearance. He's certainly been more unpleasant than ever towards me lately. But I swear to God, I have no idea what happened that night. He's snapped a little with the grief of losing her. He's aged noticeably, almost overnight. Dina seems to have taken a particular interest in him, and he's been quick to return the favor, trying to make himself forget about Bella. Between you and me, though, Dina's only in it for the money. I found out she married Bella's brother when he was practically on his deathbed, presumably to inherit some money. It didn't go the way she had hoped. Nina has suddenly decided she wants to get back together with me. She showed up one day after I'd already proposed to Cassandra, ramming her tongue down my throat without so much as a "hello." When I explained my engagement, she took it very hard. I hope she can be happy for me as a friend.

My house is empty now. I'm taking what I can to Goth Manor and getting rid of the rest. Then I'm in a hotel for the night. Tomorrow is my wedding day. I'm terrified.

sigh

2008-12-16T09:22:16Z

Pointless venting ahead.

I've been playing Warhammer Online as my MMO of choice since it was released a couple of months ago. My husband grew weary of it being released before it was finished; said he didn't want to pay to beta test the game. I'm okay with the game still being rough around the edges.

Husband goes back to WoW and is now 72. He sends me a Scroll of Resurrection, good for old players to return for 10 days. I've been trying to set it up so I can play throughout 2 "weekends" (weekend for me is Sunday through Tuesday). I didn't get around to it last night but before he went to bed I said I planned on snarfing his patches over the network so I don't have to spend eons updating.

I turn on his computer and it's password protected. That's fine; I set both our machines up that way because of my mother-in-law's seedy internet activities causing our phone bill to get crammed with third-party charges we didn't sign up for. Since her computer died last month, she has gone into our room when we were both gone to check her email; hubby finds her junk in the history files on his computer and I am LIVID. So I type in the password...and it's wrong. He's changed it. Plus I can't decipher his hint question; STILL can't decipher it now that he's told me what it was. I had to wake him up and ask him. He mumbles and says he'll get to it later. I remind him I wanted to play tonight and he said, "Oh, I forgot about that, it's blahblahblah."

I finally get in and...can't find the patch to 3.0.1!! He installed Wrath of the Lich King from CD, so there's no patch. *sigh* I search for an HOUR for the disc...wake him up again...and the disc is in the drawer I've been hunting through several times! Somehow buried at the bottom of the drawer when I was searching near the top because he's only recently reinstalled. I'm either PMSing or pregnant (eek no!) because I was freakin' crying over this. Not because I was like OMG I HAVE TO PLAY NAO but because I'm so aggravated with not being able to find what I need in this mess. I'm a little junky, and he's a little junky, and that makes our room VERY junky. I've been very stressed lately and prone to snap or burst into tears over the smallest things. How hard can it be to keep our one little area of the house in some semblance of order, at least vaguely organized? And oh GOD is he a pack rat...the stupid drawer, as well as every shelf in the room, is full of little toys and junk he's had since he was a kid because he can't bear to throw anything away. I'm about to say, "OK, we're getting boxes. Anything that you don't feel the need to look at and/or fondle on a daily basis goes in them. The boxes get stashed in another room. They'll still be there for you, they'll just be out of my sight and out of the way for the important stuff." And I'm not gonna be the kind of wife to throw his stuff into the boxes and leave all my stuff on display; I plan to abide by it as well, even though I'm the one that moved here so I left a lot behind already. Ask my sister or my mom; this isn't like me, but two people's treasured ~~junk~~ memories from the past 20 odd years is just too much for one room. I NEED ORGANIZATION!!!

Forum drama (ranty!)

2008-12-04T01:06:33Z

I need to get this off my chest with someone, I guess, since I can't ever show my face there again.

When I first came up with the idea for my very first Sims story, I went shopping for a good community to post it in. I ran across the old Simshost forums and found that it was a nice community, with lots of positive things to say, and little drama. I joined, and began posting. My very first (intro) post was edited for...something. It wasn't even offensive; I said nothing that hadn't been said by the freakin' admin of the site, and I got two messages from another admin, first one asking me to edit, the second one saying, never mind, I did it for you. I was like, well, OK, perhaps I was still too new to be so comfortable with the board. I started posting my story and participating in various other discussions and everything was fine.

The forum changed and became Sunsims, a play off the admin's old Sims 1 site, Moonsims. Community is still nice, except it seems there was some sort of falling out between the two admins, and only one remained. And no moderators. Making this formerly nice and friendly forum now a dictatorship. The power seems to have gone to the admin's head. Here's my summary of my last few weeks at the forum.

We were having a discussion on the Bear Bodybuilder shape, which arised specifically on my post about my self-sim and my husband's sim. I mentioned he was a big guy, fat, but not Maxis-style fat. Someone suggested the bodyshape (which really doesn't fit either, but I was polite) and wound up posting a tutorial about how to convert any clothing you have into any bodyshape you want. I said (paraphrased), "Oh, cool, maybe this will give me a reason to start using more variety in bodyshapes. I'd like some more variety, though I'm not into the extremely grotesque shapes like the main character in admin's story." (I'm really hesitant to use specific names, though the info can be easily researched.) He's got a story in which the lead female has extremely large...assets. Ridiculously top-heavy, so to speak, as in I've never seen anything that large outside of, say, some dominatrix chick in one of my husband's magazines.

My post got deleted and I thought it was because I was getting too off-topic in a tutorial thread, but then I realized I had a PM. The admin chewed me the fuck out over daring to insult his beloved simmie. Thing is, I wasn't insulting. Up till then I'd been a fan of the story. "Grotesque" by definition can mean ugly, but I was referring to the fact that her features were exaggerated to the extreme, and even he wouldn't be able to deny that. That's why he made her that way. Fine, whatever. I apologized to save his precious ego, and all was well.

Let's see, the next blowup. Oh, someone was having a problem with tombstones or something in their game. Now, back story here. Ever since the Site that Must Not be Named came into existence, the admin has banned even vaguely referencing either PMBD or MATY. He, as a former paysite owner, is VERY anti-Pescado, even though at one time he was a member of MATY and even seemed to sort of respect him. Well, I vaguely mentioned the Lot Debugger as a fix to the girl's problem, and didn't even point directly at MATY to get it. I just said, "You know where to go." Post deleted, no PM this time, so I just sent a PM to the girl directly and we discussed it for a bit privately.

Final straw. Again, we're discussing Bear Bodybuilder shape. Admin asks, "What's a bear?" I'm trying to be helpful...when will I ever learn? I look it up on Wikipedia to make sure I'm on the right track. I try to tastefully say, "It's an ultra-masculine man, usually with lots of body hair and large, either muscular or fat. It's usually used in gay slang denoting a preference for that type of man." Oh dear Lord, you'd thought I'd murdered his only child. My post got butchered and he mentioned something...geez, don't know the exact words because I don't want to visit that site for anything except when I'm in dire need of help...like (paraphrased and possibly butchered), "I'd like to forget about such things."

Dude, SERIOUSLY? Your MAIN STORY (which is posted on an adult site, separate from the forum) is about two girls and a guy in a polyamourous relationship! Plus lesbians on top of lesbians galore, and even TWO SISTERS in a lesbian relationship! Understandably, the graphic stuff is kept to the adult site, but he talks about the lesbians freely on the family site, and has no problem with anyone posting girl-girl relationships, as long as it's not graphic. Yet I dare to mention the possibility that a guy MIGHT like to be intimate with another guy, and he goes ballistic? If you're going to embrace FF relationships, you can't just say that MM relationships need to be forgotten about. Either embrace them all, or hate them all, no freakin' double standards! It's not like I was saying, "Hey, some guys like to suck the dicks of other guys that look a certain way!" I was tasteful in what I said. I found it EXTREMELY offensive that my post was butchered, because to do that was insulting to my BEST FRIEND. I dated him immediately before I met my husband, and he was confused about his sexuality at the time. He realized that girls just weren't gonna do it for him, and we're very close to this day. And he's a BEAR.

I viewed the site recently. I had it to where it automatically logged me in, so I saw I had one private message. I didn't even check it. I logged out and continued browsing the site anonymously. I will never log in again, if I am ever forced to go there for whatever reason.

I don't go in for passive aggressive. First instance, there was no need to delete my post. He could have been public with the offense he had taken and it could have been resolved publicly with no problem, and perhaps everyone would have had a quick grammar lesson on the definition of the offensive word. Second instance, I can at least understand his reasons. The Pescado crew isn't known for being an extremely sunshine-and-rainbows crowd, and since there are a lot of 12s on Sunsims, the admin wants to protect them from the harshness of that board. Plus, being anti-PMBD, I can see his reasons for his rage, though personally I don't really care, as I rarely use paysite material from the Booty or otherwise. The third time was just ridiculous, because gays are becoming more mainstream, and people are going to have to deal with it at one point or another.

At this point I WELCOME the harshness of Pescado and Co. At least if they have a problem with you, you know it within minutes. They're not hesitant to call you out in public where it can be dealt with and you have a chance to explain yourself publicly and redeem yourself to the bloodthirsty torch-wielding crowd. They don't go around deleting the posts of everyone they find offensive. They simply get offensive right back. I love it. I've spent enough time on 4chan to understand that it's not personal, it's just the MOAR FIGHT talking.

Yeah, I've been spending lots of time catching up on the Insimenator fiasco, mainly on PMBD. I lol'ed when Sunsims was brought up and they called the admin a douchebag. It's so true.

This will now be the sole location of my stories in the future. I'd be tempted to pull down my stories from the other boards, but I just don't care that much.

Upcoming story

2008-11-26T22:40:47Z

I'm revisiting my SimCity saga. It's basically going to be a megahood type story now using current Maxis characters, as the original ideas I had for it were WAY too much work for a part-time gig. :P aledstrange is currently doing her Remix tale, in which she redid some of the original story photos that come shipped with the families. Since I'm making over everybody, I wanted to do the same thing with the made over Sims (and I did have that idea separately; I'm not trying to copy her or anything).

I normally use the in-game camera for my storytelling, but have become dissatisfied with the quality of the pics, even at the highest settings. I've decided to use Fraps to take full screenshots this time, and edit each picture down to a reasonable size. I'm willing to do minor Photoshopping (well, GIMPing) to enhance pics, but I'm not planning on greenscreening or anything fancy. I like to take shots of the Sims in their own environment.

My question for anyone viewing this that is familiar with the screenshot/photoshop methods, is got any tips for an inexperienced photo editor? Like, to preserve quality, should I make the shots from further away so I can basically just crop to the scene I need, or should I get up close and crop out the junk in the queue, then shrink the pic down to a more manageable size? Also, any ideas on quality-enhancing in GIMP/Photoshop?

Maxis Taste Dare 008: Summerdream Makeover

2008-11-24T07:26:44Z

This is my entry for the Summerdream Makeover dare!

With Titania I wanted to keep a fae feel to her, almost royal. It just seemed right. BTW I am terrible at keeping up with where my CC comes from, especially since I went on a sim downloading spree not too long ago, and the sims all came with random stuff from God knows where. I tend to use a lot of Club Crimsyn stuff for the time being, as well as stuff from the more prominent MTS2 creators, but I can't be entirely sure anymore what came from where.

With Oberon, I wanted to keep a similar style as the one he comes packaged with, as I like to do with all my makeovers. Though I didn't want the pirate theme with him, I put him in a Club Crimsyn outfit that had an almost identical mesh.

For the closeup I caught a picture of them cuddling under the stars. I absolutely detest Maxis costume makeup, so I removed it. I gave both of them (as well as the kids) an Aikea blush (that swirly pattern that shows up better on Oberon is it; it shall henceforth remain a family trait for the Summerdreams). I used custom eyeshadows that matched their color schemes as Maxis made them; Oberon in dramatic blue, Titania in a deep purple eyeshadow with green eyeliner that actually makes a really pretty effect when mixed. They're both wearing a Gelydh sheer black lipstick in place of the super goth lipstick that I'm not a big fan of.

"Yes, I'm wearing eyeshadow. Got a problem with that?"

Puck seems to have gotten into his mom's makeup drawer. It's identical except I don't think I gave him eyeliner. And that's Bottom in the background. She wandered into the picture holding a teddy bear and I just had to take her picture like that.

No makeup for her except for the swirly blush thing. She's not old enough for that yet!

Anyone else think sim children just look creepy in general? Like little adult heads on tiny bodies or something...Just an observation.

Hope you like it!

Challenge idea?

2008-11-21T13:50:14Z

I kind of had an idea while I was at work, but I dunno how well it would go over. The only real requirement for the challenge is you need to be part of some sort of Sims 2 storyteller community or forum (LJ, message board, Myspace, whatever). It's kind of inspired by the "Choose Your Own Adventure" books. You start off a story, post the first part, then ask your friends to give you ideas of where the story should head. Then pick randomly (use dice or draw out of a hat) which suggestion you'll go with. Post that next part, lather, rinse, repeat until it just gets too bizarre to go on, or you get an ending.

Good idea or not?

Maxis Taste Dare 005: PT9 and Olive

2008-10-15T06:14:41Z

I've never done any contests or anything else of the sort before, and I'm always amazed to see what everyone else does with them, so here's me giving it a shot! Fits right in with my Megahood project, formerly SimCity Saga, so here goes!

PT9 got a chrome dome, a goatee, and some bushy eyebrows and sunglasses. He also got an outfit that doesn't completely scream "old geezer."

I'm really happy with how he turned out. My default alien skintone is Enayla's Serpent skin. I believe all PT9's content is Maxis.

I also did the whole family while I was at it...

Aren't they cute together?

And now, for Olive. Close up:

Full body shot:

I couldn't resist making her into an old-fashioned semi-creepy lady that looks like she's out of the Dark Ages.

And of course, here she is posing with her niece Ophelia. I loved Ophelia's outfit, but I never cared for that hair, so I changed it.

I know it's not much, but it's my first time, be gentle. :)

Because I'm bored and haven't played the Sims in ages

2008-09-22T21:40:37Z

Stole this from simfinite. I do this all the time on Myspace (all it's good for nowadays) and hope no one's annoyed by it...

01) Are you currently in a serious relationship?
02) What was your dream growing up?
03) What talent do you wish you had?
04) If I bought you a drink what would it be?
05) Favorite vegetable?
06) What was the last book you read?
07) What zodiac sign are you?
08) Any tattoos and/or piercings? Explain where.
09) Worst habit?
10) If you saw me walking down the street would you offer me a ride?
11) What is your favorite sport?
12) Do you have a pessimistic or optimistic attitude?
13) What would you do if you were stuck in an elevator with me?
14) Worst thing to ever happen to you?
15) Tell me one weird fact about you.
16) Do you have any pets?
17) What if I showed up at your house unexpectedly?
18) What was your first impression of me?
19) Do you think clowns are cute or scary?
20) If you could change one thing about how you look, what would it be?
21) Would you be my crime partner or my conscience?
22) What color eyes do you have?
23) Ever been arrested?
24) Bottle or can soda?
25) If you won $10,000 today, what would you do with it?
27) What's your favorite place to hang out at?
28) Do you believe in ghosts?
29) Favorite thing to do in your spare time?
30) Do you swear a lot?
31) Biggest pet peeve?
32) In one word, how would you describe yourself?
33) Do you believe/appreciate romance?
34) Favourite and least favourite food?
35) Do you believe in God?
36) Will you repost this so I can fill it out and do the same for you?

Apartment Life!

2008-08-30T12:06:59Z

Yes, I bought it. Sadly, I can't enjoy it until SimPE is updated. I do intend to make my extra-special megahood one of these days, and to do that I'll need the new SimPE for Apartment Life whenever it is released so I can merge the final hood and clone the necessary sims.

I'm seriously considering applying for their QA so I can start using it early...

kaylyn_white @ 2008-08-21T16:12:00

2008-08-21T21:17:08Z

Cassidy woke up after a few minutes and fed Jack and put him back to bed.

The next day, Cassidy went back to work. She hired a nanny to be safe, but BJ didn't have to work.

BJ left the baby to his own devices while he took a bath at the other end of the trailer.

The nanny arrives. *cringes*

She immediately picks up Jack and heads towards the kitchen. BJ immediately freaks out and covers up his diary.

"Dear Diary. I'm a father now. I'm not sure how I feel about that." *hides diary* "Did she see? I don't want her to think I hate my son. I don't think I hate my son..."

She shoves a bottle in Jack's mouth just as Jack fills up his diaper.

And then she lays him down on the tile kitchen floor, smelly diaper intact.

But not to worry...Super Nanny is on top of things! She immediately realizes her mistake and takes Jack to the nursery to change his diaper.

Aww, she's a playful nanny!

And then she puts Jack on the floor. Seriously, the baby blanket is like 2 tiles away!

Nanny heads back to the living room, where BJ is STILL writing in his diary, and STILL freaking out. BJ, I don't think she cares.

BJ finally decides to go be a father for a minute. The nanny follows him and stares.

Nanny: "Are you sure you know what you're doing?"
BJ: *shrug*

Nanny then took Jack away, only to lay him down on the floor RIGHT NEXT TO his bed. Maybe she just can't get her head around Atavera's blankets?

Nannys taking showers isn't exactly a new thing. What makes this amusing is she got out of the bathtub in one end of the house, and hopped immediately in the shower on the other end of the house.

Jack survived his infancy, and Cassidy bought him a birthday cake. Let's see if BJ can be torn away from the radio long enough to watch his firstborn son grow up.

Yay, he made it! Blow out the candles and...

TA-DA! He'll get a new hairstyle soon.

It becomes apparent very early on that Jack takes after BJ. Toddler headbanging is adorable!

Bunny has a flavor. OM NOM NOM!

Jack: "I hits you cuz I luvs you, Bunny."

Cassidy is pregnant again. Looks like she's just going to collapse and hit her head on the toilet seat.

BJ is the hawtest congressman ever. <3

First snowfall!

MOAR SNOW!!!

BJ, I don't think he can read. You're safe.

Birthday time again! This time we threw a real party!

Before...

After!

*squee* He's got BJ's nose!

First order of business upon aging to child: SMUSTLE TIME!!!

Yep, definitely BJ's son...

In the meantime, BJ goes out and log rolls. Seriously BJ, in the winter?

I had to sell this thing once I got him away from it. The only reason I got it was because it was the cheapest autonomous body-building object available. Maybe I'll give them a nice ice-skating rink for the winter. Though with the impending arrival they may just get a new house (and mortgage to boot...yay for Simlogical mortgage shrubs!).

*looks at Jack*

*looks at bed*

*looks back at Jack*

You're not very bright.

Okay, maybe it's my fault. ACR and the included reservable bed hack wouldn't let him just hop into an unreserved bed. I had to bend the challenge rules to let him claim this bed so he could go to sleep.

Nanny shows up for no reason.

BJ and Cassidy: "Do you MIND?"
Nanny: "Not at all." *goes to take a bath*

Next update: New baby (babies?)

Warhammer Online!

2008-08-20T10:13:57Z

I'm closed-beta-testing right now as I write this.

*drool*

That is all.

I'm Surrounded By Idiots: The Harley Legacy

2008-08-20T00:21:22Z

ZOMG I even photoshopped the splash picture! Poorly, I know...

This is my attempt at an "I'm Surrounded by Idiots" legacy. I've tried and tried again to do a regular legacy, but keep getting bored before the first gen is over with, so I figured this would keep my interest a little more. In pixel_trade fashion, I'm using sims I've downloaded from there. The founder and first-gen Torch Holder is Cassidy "Trigger" Happy from abbycat900 , renamed Cassidy Harley by me. Her mate is BJ Lutzen, more popularly known as the cute boy-lovin' BJ in the final generation of simfinite 's Lutzen legacy.

I'm adding a few things here and there. I'm planning on making use of the career rewards earned by the controllables, so that may break the rules just a tiny bit, but it's the only way I know for my first-gen uncontrollable politician to up his charisma on his own. I'm also periodically checking in on his Aspiration Reward panel for the strict purpose of allocating any unused points towards his secondary aspiration (randomly rolled) and those other goodies on that panel.

Here's Cassidy Harley, the Torch Holder a.k.a. TH. She's a Popularity/Fortune sim with a LTW of owning 5 top-level businesses. Don't know if that's gonna happen! She's taken a job in Military for the time being. I may reroll her LTW in the future.

BJ Lutzen was in the welcome wagon that showed up that first day. Cassidy immediately welcomed him and ignored Benjamin Long and Jan Tellerman completely.

I fell in love with him as soon as I saw him in my game. He's got the cutest nose I've ever seen on a Sim. Can't really tell from here, but in profile it's gorgeous.

Cassidy bats her eyelashes at him for a while outside, then invites him in. She turns on the stereo and they dance for a while. BJ is a surprisingly good dancer!

Cassidy then whips up some mac and cheese. BJ is impressed. I guess the way to a man's heart is truly through his stomach.

Cassidy: "So, even though you've only just met me, do you wanna move in and get married and have babies?"
BJ: "OMG yes!"

In between him moving in and getting them married, I checked out his basics. I rolled him as a Family sim before townifying him. His LTW is to marry off 6 children. Then I rolled his secondary aspiration...

wait for it...

...

...

ROMANCE!!! He's so conflicted.

His first order of business upon marrying Cassidy was to write in his diary.

"Dear Diary. I met a girl today. We're married now. I wanted it...and I didn't want it... What's her name again?"
Cassidy: "Whatcha doin'?"
BJ: "Nothing important...um...dear. I love you...I think..."

Townifying Sims gives them random jobs. He's at the low end of the totem pole in the politician track. Work that suit!

He leaves Harley at home puking in the toilet. Their wedding night was a success!

Cassidy: "Dear God, look at the size of that belly. That's gotta come out WHERE?"

They enjoy a nice spaghetti dinner the night before she's due.

The next day she's starving, exhausted...and then the labor begins.

She gives birth to a baby boy, Jack. She sets him down on a blanket in the nursery and promptly passes out next to her newborn son.

Self-sim family, with cats!

2008-08-06T12:04:02Z

So I'm jumping on the self-sim bandwagon. I present to you me, my husband, and our two cats.

This would be me. All custom content should be included and should be from free sites. The clothes on both of us are from Adele, and hair is Nouk's I believe. I use custom eye and skin defaults, so it should show up as S1 and dark blue eyes. The hair is binned as brown, which is my natural color, but I dye it about this shade of red and have a similar haircut. So it's pretty accurate...if you decide to breed me, I'll pass on brown genes. I'm a Pisces. The default Pisces is close enough, but if you want to fiddle, I'm a little messy, average-ly active, very shy, pretty serious, and pretty nice. I forget the exact numbers. I'd be a Knowledge sim, and if you have Free Time, my secondary aspiration could be Pleasure.

Profile shot:

That handsome devil trying to avoid the camera there is my husband. He doesn't look much like this in real life because he's a big guy. The fat morph does not suit him on the game, so I had to settle for just plumping up his face a bit.

Oh, look, I finally caught him on camera!

Hi sweetie!

He has such a gorgeous profile in real life, and I tried to capture it here. He really does have long hair like this, but rarely has it in a ponytail. S1 skintone, green eyes. His eyes are actually hazel with a brown ring in them. I could have found a custom eye that matched if I wanted, but I don't like messing up the natural genetics of the game. So I figured green would be the closest match. The game kept wanting to make him a Taurus when I did his personality by hand, but he's really a Scorpio (Pisces/Scorpio match = WIN). He's really grumpy, lazy, super playful, not very neat, and sorta outgoing. Make him a Pleasure sim for accuracy, with a secondary aspiration of Popularity.

We also have two kittens.

Jinx is a kitten I found at work. I'm a truck driver, and my current job involves shuttling trailers back and forth between a drop yard and the paper mill about 20 miles away. One night I saw this tiny little kitten pawing around behind a trailer. I couldn't get him that night, but the next night I brought my cat carrier, stuck a can of cat food in it, and snuck up behind him and slammed the door before he could get away. He hated me for the first couple of days...then he realized I provided unlimited food. Now he's a snugglemuffin. I forget the pet personality things, but he's smart and friendly, yet cowardly.

The Jinx you'll download has the fur accessories and the longhair tail, same as Mojo. I didn't realize until after I'd taken these pics that he's got longer fur than this. Also, the Jinx in my game is a girl, because I want kittens!

Mojo is another rescue. He looks like a really light Birman, or something. He's creamy colored with gray points, and icy blue eyes. I found him in our backyard with his brother, who has since gone on to live with relatives down the street. He's got long, incredibly silky soft fur. And he's an attention whore. If I'm petting Jinx, he's gotta get all up in my face for attention too.

Both cats are really kittens right now (actually in between kittens and cats), but you can't make kittens in CAS, so this is what they should look like when they grow up.

Do with us as you will. Adopt one or both of my cats into your sim family. Make me and James both family sims and force me to have 20 kids. Stick James in your asylum challenge. Make me a raging lesbian if you want. I don't care. Just let me know what we're doing in your neighborhood so I can enjoy it too! :D

Download Kaylyn!
Download James!
Download Jinx!
Download Mojo!

Re: Simcity Saga

2008-08-03T18:09:04Z

The scope of the project is just way too big, so I will be ending the saga as it stands.

However, it's not ending entirely!

The point of what I was doing with the saga was to populate the neighborhood a little more naturally, and except in a few unusual cases (such as Romeo and Juliet being orphans) let the characters die out naturally. I'm still going to do this, but I'm going to rush the families to their current age (thanks InSimenator!). So there will likely be the parents of most of the adults running around for a little while. I will likely be picking up the story of the saga with the childhood of the older sims in the game, showing how they came to be who they are when you first install the game.

I hope no one's too disappointed, but actually playing the families out from the very very beginning would probably take years, and to be honest, the ancestors aren't holding my interest; I'm anxious to get to the playables we all know and love!

The Monty Family

2008-07-10T03:31:12Z

The Montys...the family-loving Bassanio and Portia, and the everybody-loving Valentine!

Warning: mild underage lovin', partially revealing shower shot

Bassanio Monty yawned sleepily as he stumbled into the bathroom one morning, about a month after moving to Veronaville. It was a good thing he looked down before answering the call of nature. He gagged a little and grabbed the toilet brush and scrubbed it down a bit, finally flushing the mess down just as Portia walked in, wearing a robe and obviously ready for a shower.

"Oh, good, you got it. My fault, sorry," she said as she turned on the water and stepped into the shower. "I got my gown messed up and had to get it in the laundry first, then I was going to come clean it up."

Bassanio went about his business, and called over the shower, "Are you feeling okay, then?"

"Fine!" she said. "Don't worry...it's just morning sickness." She looked over her shoulder at her husband and grinned at his shocked expression.

"You're kidding...right?" When she shook her head, he just blinked at her. "Wow...I thought it just wasn't going to happen again! I figured Valentine was just destined to be an only child!" He flushed the toilet again and stuck his head in the shower to give his wife a lingering kiss. "Can't wait to tell him!" Portia flicked water at him playfully before he closed the shower door and left.

He found he couldn't stop smiling as he made his way through the house. He met his teenage son Valentine in the kitchen. "Your mother is pregnant. You're finally gonna have that little brother or sister you asked for when you were six."

Val clutched his chest melodramatically. "But you two are so old!"

"Apparently not old enough yet. Now we have to go out and buy baby stuff...just when we'd decided to move and leave all your old stuff behind."

The Monty family had decided to move from their old town because Val had gotten himself and several teachers into trouble due to inappropriate relationships. Though nothing serious had actually happened, his parents had just learned about the efforts to build a community in SimCity and had decided that it would be a good idea to start fresh. Still, by the time they actually made the move, Val was nearly 18 anyway.

He couldn't help that he was mature for his age. He preferred the company of older women, and older women seemed drawn to him.

In particular, Calpurnia Caesar took a liking to him. Of course, she wasn't picky...she took a liking to everyone. She was more than willing to show him the ways of the world, so to speak. She quickly learned that his parents greatly disapproved, so she'd sneak over whenever she could.

Portia soon gave birth to a baby girl, Maria Monty. She had been in the military before she got pregnant, and she took another job soon afterwards. With Bassanio working full-time, they entrusted Val with babysitting, at least until it was time for him to go off to college. Val didn't mind; it enabled him to spend the days home alone with a different woman each day.

The Albion Family

2008-07-03T03:50:06Z

The Albion family moved in behind the Caesars and Thebes, on the same block but the street behind them. Hecuba was fortune-minded and enjoyed food and cuisine. As well as spying on the neighbors. It was no surprise that she got along well with Calpurnia Caesar.

Priam was an intellectual who loved learning and tinkering. He preferred to use the family's telescope for its intended purpose, and even managed to discover a couple of new stars in the sky.

The couple had never been able to have children, so they had adopted a son several years ago.

Hector was a bit of a wild child, a rebel if you will. Andromache Thebe, the girl who seemed to have her life all together, was just as surprised as anyone else when she fell for him. When she found out they both shared an interest in music and dance (her opera and ballet to his rock and smustle) there was no going back for her.

They spent many a hot and heavy evening together, and then one day Andromache brought a visitor along with her.

"I understand you and Andy have been very serious," Queen said. Hector blushed and Andromache pretended not to be listening. "You must know that she's very serious about going to college and getting a decent job. I hope you plan on doing the same if things are to continue between the two of you."

Truth was, Hector had never thought about it. But as he looked at Andromache, he knew he would do anything to keep her. So he buckled down on his schoolwork and applied to college.

He also took a job at a law firm and put on a suit for the first time in his life. It started out as a part-time filing job, then he was soon promoted to full-time for the summer. It was then to his surprise that he received word of his acceptance...to the same school Andromache would be attending.