#Sircesimblr

[nornities]

It looks so tranquil 😍

The new day was warm, crisp and cloudless. After some more melon slices as breakfast, Captain Beaudard went off for a little exploring of his own. Fallonfuchs had run to the north the day before, he went west.

A cloudless day always held the promise to turn into a cloudless night. His stars might be revealed, and finally offer him a clue of where they had stranded.

He wished he had his looking glass, though. To search the horizon too. But it had to be done with the naked eye, squinting.

The island was beautiful. As was the empty horizon. One steady, calm line.

At camp, Lady Aerdenwald paced the beach. She felt uneasy with the Captain gone. Yet, from the corner of her eye, she could see him run in the distance, and halt, look about him, and run again. He would never leave her view. And somehow, she suspected he did that on purpose. For her. Just like he'd made sure she'd got some rest that night, on the logs, taking turns with the children. In between her naps she had seen some of the men sleep on the beach sand, but he had always sat near her on the cowhide, looking at the clouds high above. He kept watch.

It was as if Captain Beaudard remembered the promise he made to her father, all by himself.

prev < | ◦ beginning

[kimmiessimmies]

Honeycomb Valley Animal Rescue Centre

Before Rachel could go on her second date, I needed to build an entirely new lot. I mean, why not, right? Welcome to Honeycomb Valley's Animal Rescue Centre!

@sircesimblr; Orbin has already arrived. 😉

[danjaley]

Storytelling Secrets

Thanks for the tag @kimmiessimmies !

Last week, Jane Austen and Juliette Capp saved Lilly's life a second time.

I'm really nervous about the 1794 plot-twist. But I can't help it, the drama it creates is just too good.

Way too often, I plan to kill characters off and then come up with so much fun and interesting stuff that I have to keep them around after all.

For reasons, I want Jonathan to meet that other gay character post Nicolas. But the reasons are not as straightforward as this sounds.

During Matt's youth I felt time passed too quickly, but now I'm worried I'll have to fill Season 5 and 6 with this generation too!

Tagging: @sircesimblr , @gittessimsadventuresog , @windermeresimblr

[nocturnalazure]

@sircesimblr Jamie would agree with you.

"Wait a sec. Isn't that just as risky as being a mobster?"

[townsenddecades]

Storytelling Secrets

Thank you for the tag, @sircesimblr

1. Some musings on my Dudley family with a dash of historical trivia: by 1322, the Dudleys are steering towards a succession crisis because Ralph, the earl, only has a daughter. Noblewomen with no brothers could and did inherit (for an example, see Isabel and Anne Neville, daughters of Warwick the Kingmaker), but if Clement, Ralph's brother, has a son, he might just think his line has the better claim. To avoid this, the obvious solution is that Ralph and Clement have their children marry.

Alas, it's not that simple.

Contrary what the infamous Habsburgs might have you believe, cousins marrying hasn't always been legal. It was actually prohibited for a good while, which means you had to get a papal dispensation for the marriage to be legitimate. Getting one of these was very common for royalty and apparantly not uncommon for the nobility, but I haven't decided what I'll do if that Dudley succession crisis comes to pass.

2. I was initially against having the Townsends get into nectar production because a) I did that in my last go at the UDC and b) everyone has their sims make nectar. But I also really like the idea of Malcolm using his family's nectar to later in life become a merchant. So I might have them do it anyway.

3. I'm toying with the idea of having a family/maybe just a lone sim move into another world, should I think of a fitting story. TS3 doesn't allow having multiple "normal" worlds in one save (there are the vacation and university worlds, though), but if I save the sim as a household, delete them from the save so the story doesn't have two of them running around and plop them down in a new save/world, it would work. The problem is that the sim wouldn't be part of the original save anymore and I would have to play through events in both saves, which sounds like it could get really tedious. And the sims couldn't have inter-save contact.

4. You may have noticed already, but I'm a sucker for romantic drama. The mess that is the Dudley family is probably my favorite storyline at the moment.

5. I don't know if I ever mentioned this, but Robert failed his baby roll initially. I just decided to ignore that because it felt anticlimactic. And I'm glad I did.

This was fun!

I'm tagging @zelenxa, should you have anything you want to share. :)

[tidaldiariessimblr]

Storytelling Secrets

thanks for the tag @sircesimblr 😊

secret 1: 📸 nearly every screenshot is live gameplay and tbh I prefer it that way but there will be clippings i may miss (sorry in advance!)

secret 2: the answer to some of the storyline plots will literally just be ✨magic✨

secret 3: 🐟 at some point, someone will have to make a devastating choice on behalf of the other...and it will not go over well

secret 4: there will be merbabies - kind of...eventually🧜‍♂️

secret 5: there will be no seasons. i am keeping this in a perpetual state of summer 🌴🐚☀️

bonus secret: 🌶️ this gameplay gets...ahem...NSFW. I just haven't decided how.

[petrolstationflowers]

Tag 9 People You Want to Know Better!

Ooooh I never get these and @hazely-sims tagged me so!

Last Song:

Last Show: Oh god I don't actually know I am *so bad* at watching TV. Azumanga Daioh maybe?

Currently watching: LOL still Azumanga because I never actually finished it.

Currently reading: @hazely-sims I'm so glad you're enjoying Stan's... antics lmao I have plenty more to come! I really like your Lepacy too, Rose is such a sweetheart and you've made my favourite makeover for Constance that I've ever seen! Atm I'm reading Mark Lawrence's Grey Sister (banger of a series, highly recommend). I'm also ENTHRALLED by @treason-and-plot's Five Years series which I've been reading nonstop for the last week. Everyone is a flawed, very human person, it's so damn good.

Current Obsession: Final Fantasy XIV is my current obsession, I have a modern AU in the works and I'll shove a link up to it when I'm done!

Uhhh let's see here, tagging @treason-and-plot, @frostedshore, @simstryingtheirbestok, @faeriefrolic, @sircesimblr, @irisopranta, @ts3strayastray, @phoenike, and @blakesays!

[gittessimsadventuresog]

help idk enough people and many of my faves have been tagged already! I will only tag people who aren't in the chain yet.

Thank you @geminipixels for tagging me, or at least attempting to! (It didn't tag properly but I saw my name)

I've been loving the content by @danjaley, @sircesimblr @sommeliersims @treason-and-plot @tia-amorosa @plumbobgothica and many more!

i miss simblr but i don't have time to post so i'll start a ❤️ chain! if you're tagged, rb and tag your current favorite simblrs! i'll start 💖

@alxandergoth @acuar-io @virtualfolk @pearlean @farfallasims @sikoi @mwvwv-sims

[kimmiessimmies]

Checking in with Rachel...

Twelve online messages...*

...and one letter hidden in a library book!**

That was way more than dear sweet Rachel expected!

*Translated from Simlish for easy reading, bigger version below.

**Malte Nerhus decided to write instead of email. We'll go into that later.

Meet the men!

For this post I used the original pictures by their creators. In my game, with my defaults, some of them may look ever so slightly different. I used the ages provided or filled in age myself when I didn't know.

Thank you @nocturnalazure, @sushiikinsss, @greenplumbboblover, @sircesimblr, @flotheory, @nornities, @echoweaver, @batsheba and @echomoria for this wonderful and very diverse group of men!

[kimmiessimmies]

Winter 08: Dateless - Pt.2 (27/64)

But then I figured I couldn't walk away... None of this would've happened if it weren't for me, after all. So I went up to Nathanial. I apologised for Stam and told him I wasn't going to see Stam again. I meant it, too. I was so creeped out that I definitely didn't want to go on our planned date anymore. Stam didn't like this one bit...He glared at me and then left...

I really tried to patch things up with Nathanial after Stam had left, but the mood had gone way down...

He even started yelling at me, saying I wasn't the girl he thought I was... I felt very upset.

After Nathanial had left, I called Sadie and told her everything. She was horrified, too, and asked me if she needed to come down to The Valley to give me a hug, which was very sweet but, of course, not necessary. She did say I should call my dad and ask him to pick me up instead of walking back to the house myself because this all sounded a bit too creepy. I hadn't thought of that, but when I was in the car with my dad, I did feel more comfortable.

Gameplay notes: Rachel's date with Nathanial started out alright. They talked a bit before starting their bowling game. It was all pretty okay. No fireworks, but fine. But then Stam interfered...He came in, sat down, and started eyeing Rachel and randomly talking to her. Rachel felt awkward towards Stam, and to be honest, I did, too, a little bit. I did check her attraction to him, and it was 5, so that wasn't strong either. I decided to roll with it and take it as a cue to cancel the date with Stam. It was a shame because, based on his traits, I liked him, but I don't think it would have worked with Rachel... Nathanial wasn't pleased with Stam either, crashing his date. To make up for it, I gave Rachel and Nathanial a bit extra time together, but his mood must have gone off because he kept shutting Rachel down whenever she initiated any kind of contact. In the end, their relationship score only went down, so I ended it. All in all, it was not a successful night for Rachel and the men... Both Nathanial and Stam were still acquaintances at the end of the day. Attraction score Nathanial: 6. Attraction score Stam: 5.

Nathanial created by @flotheory, Stam created by @sircesimblr

[kimmiessimmies]

Winter 08: Dateless - Pt.2 (36/64)

I figured, why not, so we went out to the square behind the museum to build a snowman together.

It turned out rather good if I do say so myself. Klaus-Ove and I talked for a bit more, but it was freezing and getting late, so we decided to say goodbye.

I enjoyed my day with Klaus-Ove. We had fun. I don't really see a potential boyfriend in him somehow, but I think we could become good friends.

Gameplay notes: Klaus-Ove and Rachel had a good time. He was very friendly towards her. Klaus-Ove told a funny story which made Rachel laugh out loud. The snowman was an initiative of Klaus-Ove. It was fun. I didn't feel chemistry between them, also because despite them having a good time, their relationship didn’t progress much. But I think that if they put in a bit more effort, Klaus-Ove and Rachel could be good friends. They parted as acquaintances. Attraction score: 5

Klaus-Ove created by @sircesimblr

[kimmiessimmies]

The final part of @sircesimblr's mini-story written especially for my Rachel. Thank you so much for this. I've felt truly honoured you did this for both Rachel and me. I hope I can do these men of yours justice in my world.

Manon: Pardon me?!

Stam: What kind of a suit is that?!

Klaus-Ove: Me? Mine?

Manon: Why, yes!

Orbin: Mine, probably.

Stam: Orbin! You're positively reeking of mothballs! Don't - ugh, don't even think of coming near Rachel in that thing. You'll ruin your... why! am I even saying this?

Orbin: Sorry. It's my father's wedding suit. He wore it on the happiest day of his life. I don't own a suit myself so I figured it "suits", haha, to borrow it, for a special day like this. Don't I look, like, "flashy"?

Manon and Stam: "Flashy"?

Manon: Oh, my eyes are hurting me, Mr. Larsen. I cannot look at you. Flashy? Those colours are thunder flashes to the soul. You may be artistic, little pup, but this isn't exactly a display of good taste and modesty!

Klaus-Ove: And why not?

Manon and Stam: Why not?!

Klaus-Ove: People, look at the big picture. Squint your eyes. I am just a simplified representation of this breathtaking nature all around us: the green and mustard grasses, the grey skies and waters, my seven ginger strands of hair, hahaha. I could've gone a little more with the greys, I admit. But imagine Rachel next to me. She's got her hair up. She wears a long dress, like, teal, or soft flaxen... white? Would she not be the only one, anybody would be looking at, next to me? Exactly. And nothing would make me happier. Mr. Stam "let me show some more of my chest so everyone will notice how hot I am" Hardenes!

Stam: I.. I... Oh, shut it.

Klaus-Ove: Hahaha, just teasing, man. You don't care about looks, I know, it's okay, you probably lost a button when you changed. I'll help you look for it later.

Manon: Oh, this is terrible. Absolutely terrible. My apologies, dear Rachel, this was a true misreckoning on my part. Please, please, erase their formal appearance from your mind when this is over... They were such fine, charming gentlemen before... Do - I urge you - do take them to a taylor's first, before you'll debut with either of them in society! Now, gentlemen, let's not prolong this and take our leave. A final bow, a kiss, to our esteemed lady!

And with that, Miss Rachel Murray, I feel my little adventure, my story about love, is coming to an end.

It wasn't an easy task, but I'm honoured to feel a little of what it must have been for you. My big little nibbles, presenting their solemnest of hearts to only you, dearest and loveliest you. By now they're all behaving like loosened hosiery, pardon me, but you've seen them. Their ways and wishes, words and dreams, and in between the lines, who they truly are.

Dearest Rachel, I wish you the very best of luck. Meeting my gentlemen, and the many more that seek your friendship and affection. Have fun, dear girl, on your journey. I bow to you too. And please, let me, or let my Watcher know some day, how it all turned out for you. It's not only love, it is life.

So, good-day, Watchers, Authors and Readers! Thank you so very much for spending your time with us. And now: back to our own worlds.

(behind the scenes:)

The gentlemen: Thanks, Miss de La Haye. A bow and a kiss for you too. Here. Here!

Manon: Stop it. Stop it.

The gentlemen: Well done! Good job. Rachel will be over the moon. We'll take it from here! But we'll forever and always be your big little nibbles too.

Manon: My heart. My goodness. Give me a minute to breathe, to recuperate, before our Watcher just magically poofs us back to where we came from. Please excuse me, lovelies. This is not the easiest thing to say good-bye to...

My big little nibbles. This desolate, lovely island. My heart, my heart, connecting with these gentle souls, like it does with each and every one of my children... it's, it's - how did I ever get to experience this? How do I go back to Praaven remembering this? Knowing these kind of men exist, knowing this kind of love exists, ready to be given to one special woman... Not me...

How do I live on, with all this inside of me?

What... And what... if she makes me... forget? What if my Watcher makes me forget this ever happened, when she sends me back?!

Heavens, no! To forget what became so dear... I don't want to, no... she can't - is that hell? Will she truly send me through hell, to get back?! All of us?!

My goodness, my goodness!! May the heavens help me!!

Stam: Guys, something is wrong with our hostess. She's having a ... meltdown? Miss! Miss de La Haye, are you alright?!

Orbin: Miss de La Haye? Are you in pain?

Klaus-Ove: Miss de La Haye!

(prev)

[kimmiessimmies]

Winter 08: Dateless - Pt. 2 (15/64)

We then went on to see the cats. I made friends with Duke who cuddled up on my lap instantly.

Orbin and I sat with the cats a while longer and talked. Or well, he talked mostly. He told me about how he would have loved to have a pet when he was little, but he wasn't allowed. I do relate, what with mum being allergic and all.

But Orbin was just constantly either talking or asking questions. I'm ashamed to say at one point I found myself staring at the clock wondering if I could maybe leave now and visit my parents and Ruby for a bit...

So, I said goodbye to Orbin. He is a very nice guy, but I don't think we're a match...

Gameplay notes: Orbin initiated a lot of interaction with Rachel, but she didn't really reciprocate. She rolled wishes to become friends with pretty much every pet in the place, but not with Orbin. Since there wasn't any autonomous negative interaction either, I concluded that Rachel felt pretty neutral about Orbin. Their attraction score sort of underlines this. When Rachel left, their relationship towards each other was "acquaintances". Attraction Score: 5.

Orbin created by @sircesimblr

[kimmiessimmies]

Looking back on Rachel's Dating Adventure

This was a huge project. I decided all this somewhere at the start of December, and here we are, three months later, and my dear Rachel has finally reached the end. Or, actually, the beginning. Of what will hopefully become a great romance.

How I felt throughout this adventure

🥰Moved. I never expected this to get the response it did.

😬Overwhelmed. Thirteen guys is a lot!

😕Apologetic. I always felt a little pinch thinking of the creator when a date didn't work out. I'm sorry your guy didn't make it or if the date showed him in a bad light.

😒Annoyed. This game still does my head in sometimes, especially during gameplay.

😂Amused. This game still makes me laugh out loud sometimes, especially during gameplay.

😘Grateful. All the comments and additional support were amazing. Thank you all for being here for this.

😍In love. Seeing Rachel develop her crush and maybe even deeper feelings touched my heart.

Comparison Chart

To keep track of how it was going and where each guy ranked, I kept score in a comparison chart. See below. I started a list for the second round, but the second round only became one date.

As you can see, Alfie and Trey were pretty much level-pegging and absolutely very strong contenders if Malte hadn't made such a smashing impression.

A note on "attraction"

I talked about the attraction scores with some people and how surprising some of these were. Also, as it turned out, different people have different experiences with the attraction system generally. In my game, it's always the same both ways. I checked it both from Rachel's perspective and from the guy's and each time, it was the same both ways, which is why only one score is noted. In conversations, I realised some people see different attraction scores depending on which of two sims they select. I think this might be influenced by mods. So it's good to note that at the time of playing these dates, I had no mods installed that affected attraction. This is only the game's attraction system at work.

Thanks to the creators

This whole thing wouldn't have been possible without the brilliant ladies sending me their men. I've loved the attention you put into creating these guys, the background information you gave me and seeing the boys interact with Rachel.

@sircesimblr, the fact that you created a whole mini-story to introduce your guys was so heartwarming and touching. You brought me three very different guys, each with a very strong individual personality. I'm sorry Stam didn't get a real chance, but I had to go with the story. Orbin is such a lovely guy, I'm glad I get to keep him in my game and in the animal rescue centre which Honeycomb gained because of him. Who knows, he may find love another way. Klaus-Ove was very funny and I liked him a lot. I still believe he and Rach can be friends.

@flotheory, I'm sorry, I feel Nathanial might not have had a totally fair chance because his date was crashed by another. It was a funny twist to the story, though, and the way he reacted to it all made it even funnier, and I thank you and him for that.

@echoweaver, Even now, I'm still not sure why Craig and Rachel had all those silences. Or the low attraction score. They seemed a good match on paper. Better than they turned out anyway. I thought he was cute and he had good traits.

@echomoria, Jake is so gorgeous! Can he stay? I loved the backstory you created for him and was looking forward to sharing more of that if he were to get a bigger part in the story. Maybe I can find another purpose for him?

@greenplumbboblover, I don't know if you are aware, but Cedrick was a firm favourite with many of the followers of my story. Several people told me, either in comments or in a personal message, that they thought Cedrick seemed an absolutely perfect match for Rachel. And honestly, I thought he'd do well too. I'm sorry it went completely differently.

@sushiikinsss, Despite Drax being much too cocky for Rachel, Trey fixed everything! He was such a darling! You sort of predicted Trey would do better than Drax, and you were very right, haha. I secretly would have liked to see Rach handle being a stepmum!

@nocturnalazure, Your boys stole my heart very early on. The hidden drama of the geeky, socially awkward younger brother always in the shadow of his irresistible and successful big bro. And now they signed up to date the same girl... Ethan was so endearing (as was Pepper!). He tried really hard, and I had to sit on my hands not to interfere and help them along a little bit. Nathan was all charms, but Rachel didn't bite. Though, as I've shown you, there was a background moment between him and someone else that might make for an interesting storyline after all. Let's discuss! 😉

@batsheba, Brave Alfie, going first. It feels like ages since we've seen him, but he was one of the strongest contenders in this whole thing. Rachel couldn't have hoped for a better start than Alfie gave her. He was absolutely wonderful, and I'm truly a little bit sad we didn't see more of him.

And finally, @nornities, where to begin? The letter, the extensive background story and, of course, wonderful Malte himself. It was clear from the moment he arrived that this wasn't just any random dude, this was someone who was special to his creator. I feel privileged that he gets to continue his path in my story. I've fallen a little bit in love with Malte myself, but I think he's in good hands with Rachel. 💗

The 'Real' Date

Like I said before, I gave Rachel and Malte a gameplay trial date: I had them meet up and spend some time together, just the two of them, outside, no special shenanigans. With the sole purpose of seeing if the chemistry they had on the first date was still there. It was clear pretty much straight away that they were still very much into each other. They picked up where they left off and were flirting and amorously hugging again quite quickly and built their relationship to best friends. This was all the incentive I needed to go with the pre-written romantic success date posted over the last few dates.

And, one last thing; after Rachel and Malte had their scripted and posed kiss, I felt I owed it to them to let them have a 'real' one too. Here it is:

💕

Thank you to everyone who made this adventure a success. For Rachel, for Malte and for me.

[kimmiessimmies]

Winter 08: Dateless - Pt. 2 (34/64)

10. Klaus-Ove

As I'm writing this, Ruby is reading a book on my bed. She said since it's my last night at home, she wants to enjoy my company a bit longer. I don't mind it, but I did tell her I'm going to write in my journal! Because this afternoon, I met Klaus-Ove...

We agreed to visit the Art Gallery. Klaus-Ove is an artist himself, so it seemed like a good location.

Upon meeting, Klaus-Ove immediately showed interest in me and asked me how my day was. I thought that was kind.

Klaus-Ove created by @sircesimblr

[kimmiessimmies]

As if Rachel's quest inspired an entire mini-story! Oh my! Thank you, dear @sircesimblr ❤️ I feel very privileged you did this for my dear Rachel and me. 😍

Good-day to you Watchers, Authors and Readers! I, Miss Manon de La Haye, have come to you with a little story about love. Don't we all know a little about it? Don't we all seek it?

Well, it came to my attention that Miss Rachel Murray, one of the dearest sweetest sims around, needs a little help. So I guess, that's reason enough for my Watcher, to pull me out of the quiet and comfort of my Praaven home - I run the county's orphanage, so it isn't all that comfortable and quiet, I can tell you, wasn't I plucking my little nibbles from the ground left and right to finally get them in, or at least near, the classroom, right before I ended up on this windy, desolate, what is this here anyways, an atoll or something? - to present to lovely Rachel and her Author @kimmiessimmies a few, fine, fine, exquisite gentlemen from my Watcher's saves, to get to know, and maybe, in the future, grow to love.

Aww, love...

It's all too late for me - well, not entirely my fault, it's the men, the gentle-men in Praaven of course, not me, they're all either bastards, philanderers or straight up empty-headed nutcrackers, OR they are so devotedly and faithfully married, that a woman like me melts at the sight of such a pair, I won't even think of breaking up such a..., well, I won't, no, I have my little nibbles and that's enough, that's love too -

But it isn't too late for Rachel! This young, sweet, intelligent woman with a heart of gold, set up a profile on an inter-net da-ting-site - whatever that might be - to find someone. And of course we'll help, and maybe you will too? Click here - I really have to say "click here", goodness me, I have no idea why, though - to see and contact her.

So, with due pride and joy, I hereby present: The Gentlemen!

Oh! Oh, they're not from Praaven! Oh, my! No, they're definitely NOT from Praaven! Well, that's a good thing, Rachel, they're... They are...

... absolutely charming!

(meet them tomorrow, in the next episode of this intermezzo AU mini story!)