3.0 - Generation 2 review and future plans

Finally, generation 3! Oh, how I have waited for this. Even though Feli was funny in her own way, there are a few things about the Diva trait that get annoying eventually, and overall her roll (single parent, 1 child, music (classical), social bunny, fighter) was just not that enjoyable. This is also part of the reason why the generation was shorter than I planned (my goal was 12-15 chapters if you remember).

And that's why I focused more on Celestine growing up throughout this generation. Here's a little timeline of Celestine over the years (or weeks for a sim...):

And the gen. 3 rolls, as far as I can reveal them already, are...

Primary income: Fortune Teller (con artist)
Secondary income: Adventurer
Generational goal: Living green
Misc. Fun: My Precious - Our only wish, to catch a fish (collecting bugs and other minor animals)

I bought the nerd influence LTR until I could give her a 6th trait because I couldn't decide on only 5. Her lifetime wish is Zoologist (bring 20 wild minor animals home). Have you guessed any of her traits?

Lifetime wish: Zoologist

Internet cookies to Owly and Marcy who got quite a lot of it right with their guesses!

Mauricio

Mauricio who was briefly shown in the last chapter is Celestine's chosen one.
He is fat, hairy, has a big nose and a unibrow, and a giant garden gnome tattooed on his back. I did give him a makeover but decided to keep his general aesthetics or lack thereof (nah, that was mean... he's not looking bad despite these flaws).

His traits are pretty much perfect though - I only swapped one of his traits for adventurer when I had the 20.000 LTR points for him (sorry, can't remember anymore what that trait originally was), the rest was generated by the game and couldn't be more fitting!

Is it weird to have both the angler and animal lover trait? For me as a veggie it is, but I don't think Mauricio sees a conflict in that. Celestine isn't vegetarian either, even though she is very eco-friendly - her principle is to only eat what you caught yourself and only catch what you need.

Here's a fun fact: His name Mauricio means "the dark skinned" even though he is probably the whitest/palest guy you could imagine... Also my game loves to give spanish/italian names apparently. Remember Taziano and Blanca?

Face close-ups. Celestine is so pretty!

I will add them to the download page when the next chapter comes. I also plan to overhaul the rolls page, because somehow I always mess up the formatting when I try to update it.

Random Screenshots and Outtakes

Nothing funny here, I just love this screenshot and forgot to include it

Oh no, Amy, what happened?? :(

Celestine in the exact moment of peeing herself out of fear (monsters under her bed)

Reaction to getting her fortune told. Nope, not convinced this time

Freezer Bunny gnome riding a llama

Celestine stuffing a bunch of carrots in her face after prom because they don't serve food there

And some more background stories...

Remember the crazy librarian from when Celestine was a child?

Yeah, this one. She turned out to be a bit of a stalker, randomly showing up at the door...

... and even on Celestine's date.

Excuse me???

The following are technically not gen.2 outtakes anymore, but it happened pretty soon after gen.3 started so I'd say it counts. Mauricio got an opportunity to upgrade someone's stereo for money and I sent him outside to do so.
I think the pictures tell the story quite well.

Well, f*ck, I'm on fire.

Mauricio has to run back inside to get under the shower while a radnom neighbour warms his hands at the fire.

Thank goodness, the firefighter arrived! And he walks casually into the fire, taking his time to observe the situation...

Mauricio has to come back again and put the fire out by himself because the firefighter just stands inside the fire looking like the devil himself and watching. Then he leaves, telling us that he's glad we could put it out ourselves. A+ firefighting

What to expect in generation 3

• finally no "single parent + 1 child" roll =D
• most definitely more/longer chapters
• some epic beards
• some epic birds
• fewer cats and less frequent litters because of a bigger household
• Warcraft/HotS references that probably no one will recognize :(

2.11 - No time to be upset

Celestine is sad. Not 'bawling her eyes out'-sad but more of a disappointed 'I have been lied to all the time'-sadness with a healthy dose of 'How could I've been so naive?'

Only now, many years after their first encounter, has she started to realize that this entire fortune telling thing is nothing but a farce. Madame Sari - or whatever her real name is - might be good at guessing but there's nothing extraordinary about her and nothing real about her methods. 

So she had correctly guessed that Celestine loved nature and gardening? The dirt under her fingernails and the smell of earth and plants had given it away. She knew about the cats before Celestine mentioned it? Of course, because her clothes are always covered in a thick layer of cat hair. That one time she predicted that Celestine would have a perfect score in that school project she was so nervous about? A self-fulfilling prophecy at best.

And now she just disappeared. Now that Celestine wanted to confront her, the gypsy wagon is suddenly empty. So typical. Probably found a new place to fool people for money.

***

The next week.

Sari is dead. Celestine read the death notice in the local newspaper. She didn't disappear because she moved elsewhere, she died. And even though Celestine had been so angry at her just a few days ago, she can't hold back the tears now that she knows that she will never see Sari again.

Who cares if she lied?

Who cares how she earned her money?

So what if her readings and horoscopes and all that jazz was just made up on the spot, she had still been a good friend! Always listening patiently, giving advice when Celestine needed it....

And now she does feel 'bawling her eyes out'-sad after all.

She breaks out in tears in front of the grave, catching the attention of a boy her age passing by.

"Hey! Hey, you! Is everything okay?"

"I wouldn't be here if it was", Celestine cries.

"Well, I'm here too and I feel fine", the guy smirks and then turns serious again,  "You lost someone recently?"

Celestine nods and sobs.

"My friend passed away..."

"That's terrible, people dying so young", he says, assuming that the friend in question must have been around the same age as Celestine, "I'm so sorry for your loss."

"Why are you here?", Celestine asks in an attempt to change the subject.

"My dad is busy today and asked me to take care of grandpa's grave."

There's a short silence before Celestine start sobbing again.

"Look, I don't mean to be intrusive, but I can't leave you here all alone crying like this, can I? Maybe we can go somewhere for a coffee or ice cream if you like to distract your mind a little..." 

Celestine hesitates for a moment. 

"My name is Mauricio, by the way. Mauricio Charme. No, that's not a dumb pick-up line, that's really my last name..."

***

And lucky for Celestine he holds what his last name promises, and helps her get through a hard time in her young life.

From here on things progress fast... 

Celestine has never had many friends in school. Not because people don't like her, but because she rarely found people who share her interests. 

But this guy Mauricio is different. 

He enjoys being in nature just as much as Celestine does. He loves all kinds of animals and the two of them will often go out into the wilderness to watch animals in their natural habitat.

He loves fishing; a great addition to Celestine's passion for cooking with home-grown produce.

But most of all he loves spending time with Celestine. 

He is the first love for Celestine. And at least for the time being it keeps her mind away from ghosts, dead fortune tellers, and the responsibilites of almost-adulthood...

Their prom picture is on the night stand.

"What a pretty photo! You never told me you have a boyfriend!", Feli's voice calls from Celestine's bedroom, "Does he treat you right? I sure hope he is, or else..."

***

But one day the thoughts about Madame Sari creep up on her again and she decides to visit the old gypsy wagon that she has seen so often during the past years. Maybe she can find a little personal something to take with her as a reminder - it's not like anyone else cares about the belongings of a lonely old woman who lived at the graveyard.

The cards never lie. Celestine sighs. She felt like she had been lied to.

It all doesn't matter now. 

Only a few minutes pass by and Celestine sees through the dirtcovered window of the wagon that a woman is approaching. Could that be a relative? What does she want here?

"Um, EXCUSE ME?", the woman shrieks with an unpleasant voice through the open door, "IS THIS MADAME SARI'S FORTUNE TELLINGS? HELLOOO?"

Celestine steps towards her. Somehow she immediately knows it: this isn't a relative of her odd friend. This is a client. And a very stereotypical one on top of that.

"Huh? Are you Madame Sari? I imagined you older.", she says upon seeing Celestine.

"Discovering the fountain of youth isn't hard for an experienced medium like me", Celestine plays along.

The woman doesn't seem all too convinced but continues anyway. "Mhhh... I don't have an appointment but you don't seem to have any customers anyway... You have time for me, yes?"

"Of course I do, I expected your coming. Please, take seat over there."

***

A few months later...

Little Hanzo, the newest addition to the household, grows and Feli adores him. "You are truly the sweetest kitty I can imagine... and that's why I can't take you with me."

She grabs the veryverygoodboye and holds him towards her face. "You will continue the legacy, yes? You will grow up and find a beautiful mate and make a lot of kittens, promise?"

Hanzo squeals in response.

Feli will take the two vocalists Ferb and Ghana with her, meaning that the only cats left in the household are Amy, Katerchen, and little Hanzo.

Only 3 cats. GASP!

And with Celestine all grown up Feli moves to Bridgeport to pursue her dream. 

"So when will Mario move in?", she asks.

"Mauricio.", Celestine corrects her mom, "He will move in as soon as he comes back from his archaeological expedition."

"Hm, what a shame he's not here yet, I would have liked to say goodbye to him too. Tell Martinius he better treat you like a princess or I'll come back and kick his butt!"

"Mauricio. Don't worry mom, he's a good man."

"Okay, enough with the talk, I gotta catch my plane! Don't forgot to send me photos of Hanzo and his future litters, please!"

"Yes, mom. I'll miss you."

Good luck with your dream and goodbye, Felicia!

____________________

And here we go, this was the last generation 2 chapter! The next one will be a (p)review thing with outtakes again like I did with gen 1.

That means it's time to guess Celestine's traits and rolls because I will reveal them in the next chapter (except for marital status and # of children)!

Liebster

Rules


Say thank you to the person that has nominated you for the award.
Answer the 11 questions the person has asked
Nominate people (comment on their blog to let them know)


Ask the people you have nominated 11 questions

***

So I didn't even know this was a thing until Heatherfeather and then urunwa nominated me - thank you kindly! There's lots of talking in the questions section, so let's get to the point, here are my nominations:

A Clover and a Bee by Owly
Hands down my favorite legacy at the moment, it has the quality of an actual novel and awesome screenshots! Also this blog was what made me want to start my own RLC. 

Goldbeard RLC by Becky
With so many people in one household there's always a ton of stuff happening - the kids are all heckin' cute (this legacy made me download freckles CC) and the adults slightly crazy. And then there's Acheron and his creepy nightmares...

Winterly RLC by Marcy
A casual RLC with less story and more simlish silliness, always funny to read!

Matthews' Random Legacy by Carrie
A very detailed story where the gameplay/RLC part fades into the background in favor of storytelling. And holy heck, have you seen how LONG that legacy has been going on for? It's almost older than its author (ok, not really, but it's seriously long)! 

Attaway Legacy by Efelkay
The updates slowed down recently but I still wanted to mention this one because Zachary is a cute, constantly worried guy, and it features lots of CATS.

I'd also like to "nominate back" (if that's a thing?) who nominated me, simply because I'd like to read their answers to my questions: Anything is possible by Heatherfeather and Sleitinn Legacy Challenge by urunwa!

***

My questions for you:

1. Who's your favorite sim?

2. Do you stage a lot? How do you do it?

3. Is there a roll you'd really hate to play?

4. How about a roll you'd love to play?

5. What is your favorite Sims EP and why is it Pets?

6. What parts of yourself as a person in real life do you recognize in your sims (personality, experiences, appearance or whatever) or your story in general? Don't say nothing, I'm convinced there's always a little bit of yourself in your sims! :P

7. What lifespan do you play your RLC on/how many sim days?

8. Would you play Sims 3 without any CC or mods?

9. What other games do you play? Do you know Heroes of the Storm (I do not get paid by Blizzard, I'm just curious...)?

10. What's a hobby of yours other than gaming/writing?

11. Is eleven questions too many?

***

Heatherfeather's questions:

1. What trope are you actively avoiding or embracing in your story?Not really trope, more a general topic, but I avoid any romance/love stories. I'm no good at writing about that nor is it fun for me, so even if my Sims are in a relationship I'm not really going into detail there and it's never the focus of my story.
    
2. How long have you been playing Sims? I played around a bit with Sims and Sims 2 many years ago, but never super seriously. Then I started playing Sims 3 in 2010 I think, but with many breaks in between, sometimes even for a couple of years.
3. What inspired you to write? (in general or for Sims) I love challenges, RNG, and stories, so it all came together when I stumbled upon "our" thread on MTS and saw everyone's blogs!
4. Who’s your favorite Sim to play? I love Celestine, I can honestly say that I've never been this attached to a sim before. I sure hope her kiddos turn out just as nicely or else I will be very sad at the end of this generation.
5. Who is your favorite to write? See above.
6. What has been your favorite generation? Definitely the recent one, generation 3. I was super unlucky with my rolls for the first two generations, rolling single parent and 1 child both times when I love playing overstuffed households! The other rolls weren't amazing either.
   Plus, I really wanted to write about a fortune teller and it's really cool to have the opportunity now (oops, spoiler... eh, you knew it already).
7. How long does it take for you to create a new chapter? I try to get one chapter out every weekend but it doesn't always work out.
8. Do you makeover the townies or just leave them? Initially I just left them but I think I'm going to switch to makeovers now, like I already did with Celestine's partner.
9. Winter, spring, summer, or fall? Fall!
10. What movie are you looking forward to seeing? Patiently waiting for Warcraft 2 to come out. One day...
11. How are you doing lately? I'm good, thanks :-)

urunwa's questions:

1) Do you let how your sims act in game affect what happens in the story?

Yes, of course, why else would I use sims as a writing medium!

2) What is the worst incident you've had happening in your current RLC?

Lena (from gen 1) dying before she could meet her granddaughter. It was the reason why I summed up Celestine's entire toddlerhood in only one chapter and generally influenced the story in a way I didn't like. I wanted Lena to tell her granddaughter some cool ghost stories! ;_;

3) Best incident whilst playing RLC? 

Bah, I can't answer that without spoilers! So here are two minor incidents instead, both are super recent:
a) The deer hopping around the gypsy wagon when Celestine was on the graveyard. I didn't really have a good reason to make her approach the wagon before, so this came in super handy! It also made for a very pretty screenshot.

b) Ghana giving birth to only one kitten. I never saw that before, it's always 2-4. I would have been disappointed if that happened with previous litters, but this time it was perfect because I needed a new 'cat heir' without overstuffing my household again. Not to mention that Hanzo is a heckin' good kitty!

4) Favourite sim to play?

Celestine, although to be fair there isn't a whole lot to choose from right now thanks to my 'Single parent + 1 child' curse. But I really like her children too so far! (Yes, children is plural and yes, I played that far ahead)

5) Staging pictures or writing the story- which do you like better?

Now that you ask I just realized I actually struggle with both. Why am I writing this blog again? Probably taking the pictures, unless my sims do not cooperate at all.

6) Are you planning on yelling "get off my lawn" to kids when you get old?

If I have a lawn by then, absolutely!

7) Fringes/bangs in haircuts (for yourself)- yes or no?

I LOVE them on pretty people but unfortunately they only accentuate my weird big nose so that's a 'no' for myself. :(

8) What's your favourite piece of clothing?

This dress. It's ridiculously pretty (pic doesn't do it justice) but also super tight like a swimsuit so you really gotta stay in shape to wear this...

But favourite as in 'I wear it all the time' is a nice loose longsleeve with an abstract cat print on it, it's just nice and cozy and simple and always fits while still looking good. 

Honorable mention to this sweater which is the same brand as the dress above but more casual:

Sorry for turning this into a fashion blog...

9) Addicted to popping bubblewrap? 

I'm clean.

10) Coolest insect?

Atlas Moth

11) Current haircolour?

Been dying them black (from brown-ish/dark blonde) for the past ten years, but have been lazy for many months. So right now: 12cm of natural hair color, followed by 60cm of kinda washed out black. :( I need to get that done soon.

Marcy's questions:


1. What got you into playing Random Legacies/ other sim challenges?

My internet was really really bad for a while, making it impossible to play WoW or HotS, so I needed an offline game to waste my time on - and reinstalled Sims 3, which I hadn't played in years at that point. But it's kinda boring without a challenge so I looked up Sims 3 challenges and found RLC!

2. If you could add one extra feature to sims 3 (that would be guaranteed to work the way you want it to), what would you add and why? 

I wanted dancing to be a lot cooler than it is now (and a showtime career around it, and different dance styles, etc.) but as I typed it out I realized that the animations would get repetitive anyway and you can't program them to dance to the beat... unless you only allow them to dance to a few selected songs. So scrap that.

Alternative ideas: I want to be able to do more stuff with babies, toddlers, and children. I want bad stuff to happen, like injuries, illness that is more than just a minor negative moodlet, just more in-game drama in general.

3. What is your LEAST favourite EP? 

Showtime... A disappointment in every way possible. In fact I am so disappointed by it, I don't even want to talk about the "why"s.

4. If you were a sim, what would be your 3 highest-leveled skills? 

I love painting!

Athletics would be the second I guess, but I can't really come up with a third one. I just looked through the list of all skills and I'm terrible at all of those - if only gaming was a skill! :P

5. What is your "nightmare roll" for the RLC? The worst combination of rolls you can imagine, essentially. Single Parent + 1 Child, Mixologist or Vocalist, 5 Star Celebrity, Luxury

6. What is your favourite "it's so bad, it's good" fictional work? (movie, book, etc.) That's tough, I usually don't like bad stuff. Maybe Dagon (movie)? Not a terrible movie in general, but there were a few moments that made you think "who the heck was responsible for this"? Like terrible CGI in one scene 

 or some amazing dialogue: "Fuck Dagon!" - (ecstatic) "Yes, please!" (didn't know whether to laugh or cry here)

Francisco Rabal and the fact that it's based on my favourite short story saves the movie though.

7. What is your favourite sport that you do NOT play at the moment? 

I'm mildly obsessed with dancing - but I'm actually just a living room dancer right now. 

Also equestrian vaulting, I had a chance to do it for free (therapy) when I was younger and I LOVED it and would still love to do it but don't have the money for it. And now I'd probably be considered too old for this sport anyway, you only see classes for kids and teens here.

8. Which fictional character do you like that you think you would NOT get along with if they were real? (Can be from something you wrote or from another fictional work)
Nikolas from Owly's RLC :P

9. Which animal's existence confuses you the most? (As in, whenever you see it you think, "How is this even a real animal???")
Honorable mentions: Sloth, Playtypus, Proboscis Monkey

10. If you had to dye your hair to an unnatural colour (or to a different unnatural colour if it's already such a colour), what would you dye it to and why?
Light purple / lavender because it's pretty. I actually did dye my hair to unnatural colors (first turquoise, then pink) in my teens, and my job would still allow me to do so, but as I got older I became kinda lazy about my appearance and having to dye it sooo often sounds like way too much work today. :(

11. If you were an adventurer, what atypical (as in, not a dog or a cat) but real animal would you choose as your travelling companion?

Does it have to be realistic? As in "something that wouldn't kill me"? If not then a white tiger, if yes then an owl. Either way I would pretend I'm Tyrande!


Owly's questions:



1. Who's a historical figure you think is neat? Why?

Short answer: Artemisia Gentileschi.

Long answer: She was a ridiculously talented artist that I can only admire for her work and - even more important - she was just a heckin' strong woman!! She lived in a terribly misogynic time but she didn't give a damn. She was raped by her father's friend, then humiliated and tortured in the lawsuit that followed. Then she was married to some random guy because her reputation was too damaged to continue to live in Rome (bc rape is the girl's fault ofc /s) . 

All that would have destroyed most peoples' will to live but did she let it get her down? Nope! She became a super famous artist, the very first woman to be accepted into that fancy art academy in Florence (which wasn't easy for her either), was painting for the Medici, was BFF with Galileo Galilei, and much more cool and impressive stuff. She fought for her rights and it paid off. She even managed to forgive her father for what happened shortly before he died and helped him finish the painting on the ceiling in the Queen's House (London).

2. I've invited myself over for dinner. What are your making for me?
My super awesome carrot-parsnip salad with feta! Cook carrots and parsnip, throw chickpeas into it, make a dressing with mustard, maple syrup, and other stuff, then a bunch of feta and parsley on top of it, et voilá! 

If you were a sim, which neighborhood would you like to live in?

Appaloosa Plains, although Moonlight Falls is a close 2nd

Who is your favorite premade sim? How about your least favorite?

Favorite: Oriole Bird (Appaloosa Plains)

Least favorite: oof... Don Lothario? Half of Twinbrook? There's probably a worse one but doesn't come to my mind right now

If you could program a robot to do one task for you so you'd never have to do it again, what would it be? It doesn't matter how complicated the task is; it just has to be something you could do yourself (so you couldn't program it to make gold out of water unless you can do that yourself, so no cheating!).

Go to work for me (that counts as "one task", yes?)

Okay, so now irony kicks in: what do you miss out on by programming the robot to do that task? (ex: you programmed the robot to tuck your children into bed at night, and now your children love the robot more than you)

I was unemployed for a while so I know that life can get pretty boring pretty fast if you don't have to work (at least for a single with no family). So I might regret that after the first few months of relaxing... Oh, and I'd lose almost all of my social real-life contacts :(  

You know what, I should probably just make that robot clean the cat litter boxes...

What would you like to improve about your writing, and what do you think you already do well?

Even though I'm pretty fluent in English I still struggle to find the right words often. The idea is in my head, now how do I put that in proper words and sentences? I also need to become more patient and not progress so fast in my story (next generation maybe :-)), my next chapter (2.11) is already the last one in this generation. And I don't feel comfortable writing dialogs but I think it's a very necessary evil for every story. I also tend to skip too much time because I'm too lazy to fill in what happened in between (part of the reason why my story progresses too fast).

What object from TS3 would you like to have in real life?

Self-cleaning cat litter box. Although I still refuse to give these to my sims in game because I'm mean >:)

What's your vice? You can tell me. I'm cool.

Vice means weakness or something like that, right? I'm a socially awkward, super lazy slob. I make thousands of plans that I never put into action because I'm too busy playing video games.

Where's your favorite place to be?

My bed.

Are we--as humans--enacting order in a chaotic universe, or are we enacting chaos in an ordered universe?

I think we, as humans, are too tiny and insignificant to have any major effect on the (chaotic) universe.

Efelkay's questions:

1. I hear most people use mods and CC in their games - which ones do you consider to be the absolute necessities, and why?

StoryProgression and MasterController are the big two that I guess most people have, but ErrorTrap and Overwatch are super important for a lag-free, crash-free game; especially when playing a legacy over many generations. 

2. How long have you been playing the Sims for?

Couple of years

3. Out of all of your Sims, which do you find to be the hardest to write and why?

Feli because I am a friendly and peaceful person and find it hard to come up with a new reason for beating someone up every week!

4. ^And who is the easiest?

Well, my household consists of two people right now, sooo... the other one, Celestine :P

5. Moving away from the topic of Sims temporarily, do you read often? What's your favorite book?

I used to read a lot but haven't in a while. I guess I should go back to it!

Lolita by Nabokov is a masterpiece, but disturbing. I'm a big fan of Lovecraft's short stories, my favorites being The Shadow over Innsmouth, The Rats in the Walls, The Case of Charles Dexter Ward, and The Color out of Space. E.A. Poe's stories go in a similar direction, my favorite of his is The Tell-Tale Heart.

One that I read not too long ago is The Bookthief. It is set during WWII but unlike other books somehow manages to not completely break you while reading it (even though it is still sad).

6. What kinds of music do you listen to whilst writing for your legacy, if any?

Oh god, I could never listen to music while writing! I have to dance when I hear music, can't sit still!

7. On average, how long does it take for you to write an update?

Couple of days

8. Are you a cat person or a dog person? Or neither?

Cats :-) But I love dogs too! 

9. If you could add one thing to the Sims that isn't already in an expansion, what would it be?

More drama: toddlers and children throwing tantrums (but with a better scolding system please), illness that isn't just a minor moodlet, injuries from exercise or random events, fines/jailtime that isn't laughable, stuff like that! Sims is very happy rainbow-sunshine as it is and I think it'd be cool to add some drama. And how about a cool breeder career, similar to equestrian but with cats and dogs? Oh wait, or a cat/dog pension like daycare but with animals?! OMG I just had that idea while typing and now I need that!

10. And if you could remove one thing, what would it be?

Can I remove EA from the Sims and give it to another company? :-D

11. Why do you think its eleven questions and not ten?

Honestly I was wondering the same! No idea!