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uzumaki-rebellion · 3 months ago

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"I've got a Big Chief, Big Chief, Big Chief of the Nation

The wild, wild creation

He won't bow down

Down on the ground

Oh how I love to hear him call Indian Red"

Voices of a Nation – "Indian Red"

The Backstreet Bar used to be the spot Celeste's parents went to when they were young and lively in the nineties and before they started pumping out kids left and right. Near the French Market off Esplanade in the sixth ward, it became a shrine and the iconic hub for rhythm and blues.

All things Black and New Orleans culture-wise sprang from that bar in their neighborhood. When the owner Etienne King passed away, his widow Lesli King took over. The levees broke in 2005 and nearly washed away the people and history that gave the city its culture and flavor. But the people persevered until Lesli passed during Mardi Gras of 2010. Celeste remembered 2010 well because it was the first year she started sewing with her granddaddy Big Chief Harris Profitt of the Wild Treme Mardi Gras Indians.

Thirteen and full of spitfire energy and overzealous gumption, Celeste spent all year beading and sewing using her granddaddy's jeweler's loupe magnifier over her right eye. The intricate beadwork and patches she sewed and assembled to make her first Indian suit was a proud moment, not only for Celeste, but for that side of her family who ran up and down the streets hunting down other tribes to battle in verbal dexterity and showing off how pretty they looked in their Mardi Gras finery.

Her suit was a patchwork of dark purple, lavender, and white micro beads, feathers, and sequins. She showed the fuck out among her kin and her relatives started calling her by the nickname Duchess because she strutted so high and mighty in front of granddaddy's house while the neighbors waited for their Big Chief to come outside on a fine Mardi Gras morning to represent their downtown neighborhood in his fabulous three-dimensional African-inspired suit. No one in Treme ever called her grandfather by his first name. It was always "Big Chief", "Chief", or "Chief Profitt".

Proud to be a Wild Treme Indian, Celeste sewed a new suit every year as was custom. It was expensive, time-consuming, and a true labor of love. Her grandmother had worked as a seamstress for a dress shop and her grandfather was a welder like his father before him, and she absorbed those technical skills of sewing and shaping metal under their tutelage to transform Black Mardi Gras Indian regalia into wearable art. Sadly, she lost interest in making suits by the time she hit twenty-four and began designing the fancy second line parasols, fans, and baskets for several social aid and pleasure clubs instead. That extra source of income helped carry her for over four years. Sometimes on annual Super Sundays she'd re-purpose some old suits to play in with other Mardi Gras Indian tribes that came from all over the city to commune and show off in A.L. Davis Park. It made Big Chief happy to see her on those occasions, although he wanted his youngest grandchild to sew new suits again.

The test of a true Indian was to pour your passion and creativity into needle and thread to kill 'em dead with a new suit annually. Tribes frowned on recycling an old suit and considered it lazy work to don a suit people already witnessed you in. People came out looking for craftsmanship, originality, and style—lagniappe—a little something extra each year. She poured her creative flair into the overly decorated accessories for other people and made a nice coin doing it.

After Lesli died, Grand-mère, along with a cadre of old-timers, lamented that the history of their hood would crumble if the Backstreet Bar died. Grand-mère had been one of dozens of foster-children Lesli looked after over the years, giving some jobs working at the neighborhood bar. Eventually, Grand-mère and Big Chief took over the property instead of retiring when Celeste turned eighteen. It was the bar Celeste headed toward for Mardi Gras Indian practice with her family and tribe.

She didn't want to drive through downtown, but she became the designated driver for three of her besties. Lyfts and Ubers raised their prices during the holiday season and no one wanted to pay outlandish fees when they could look cute in her brand new muscle car. Cruising through the Garden District, she picked up two of her friends and headed down to the French Quarter. They didn't have to stop for food because Grand-mère provided free red beans and rice, fried chicken, and sometimes boiled crawfish and red rice at the bar. She hoped they had a nice spread tonight because her stomach growled and she needed heavy food to soak up the liquor she planned to consume.

Her ex boyfriend committed a flagrant foul that weekend by jumping the gun and telling everyone they had broken up before she was ready. She suspected he wanted to bring out his new woman openly so no one would beat his behind once she blabbed that he'd been running around on her. Truth be told, she was tired of his boring ass anyway, but the general principal of the matter was she wanted to be the first to bail and get her lick back during carnival. Now if she turnt up and shook ass extra hard, people would say she was overcompensating for getting dumped.

"Duchess, turn right…slow down…there's a spot about to open up."

"Where?" Celeste said to her friend Mercy, who sat shotgun.

Mercy pointed to the flashing hazard lights of a taxi. Celeste zipped into the tight spot and breathed a sigh of relief. There was nothing worse than searching for parking anywhere near the Quarter or within a one-mile radius in any direction during the carnival season. Mercy checked her smartphone.

"She's on her way out," Mercy said.

Celeste checked her face in the mirror. Although it was only a practice at the bar, she still wanted to look cute. Her giant Medusa locs were pulled back with a leather hair tie high on her head, and her eyeliner and ruby lip stick gave enough sexy unbothered vibes that made her feel confident. She had her girls, a stellar whip that she worked hard for, and time with her tribe to look forward to. Lately, it seemed like carnival festivities were the only way her family got together en mass. Carnival or funerals.

Their friend Joyce hustled out of a popular bakery in the Quarter carrying a box of the popular King Cake, a ring-shaped, hand-braided cinnamon infused dessert. The plastic covering on top showed off the tri-colored icing of gold, purple, and green.

"Hey, girl!" Celeste said as Joyce climbed in the back of the Charger. She gave air kisses to Nae Nae in the back.

"Whew! It's been crazy in there! Some people were mad they ran out of King Cakes that weren't pre-ordered. I am ready to cut up!" Joyce enthused.

Celeste checked her driver's side mirror and pulled out, heading around the narrow block. Clogged streets packed in the tourists, locals, and plenty of cops. She parked four blocks away from the Backstreet Bar and they all climbed out feeling giddy. Normally, Big Chief didn't allow outsiders or non-tribal members to attend Indian practice. But he made an exception that year to help her get over feelings about her ex. Freddie made being in Nawlins central intolerable. He knew everyone in her extended family because he was a police officer who had connections to a political family with high ambitions for him down the road. After their unceremonious break up, she moved into a cute little over-priced cottage far from him, and took an extra part-time job at a chicken processing plant with a goal of saving enough money to head out to California for an extended visit. Celeste had relatives in L.A. and could stay with them for a vacation. Getting away from the Big Easy would help build up a new positive lease on life. Or maybe she'd take a five-day cruise to Mexico. Anywhere was good, just as long as she could escape Freddie and go to a new world for a minute.

That man had wasted her time and love. She wanted to buy a large home and get married. Start a family. Months ago, she gave him an ultimatum that their relationship needed forward momentum and her finger needed a ring by New Year's Day. Cheating was his way of humbling her, and ironically, it brought her great relief. He made life feel stagnant and dull, proving unequivocally that he wasn't The One. She just didn't have the guts to leave first before having something lined up on the horizon.

A crowd of patrons gathered outside a corner in front of the Backstreet Bar, catching the pitiful breeze that attempted to blow through the escalating muggy heat while listening to the thumping music from inside. Celeste glanced at the exterior of the bar painted with colorful images of their tribe, Creole food, and two giant beer mugs clinking together. The name of the bar was graffiti painted above the front door that stood wide open. A "Closed Until 9 P.M." sign taped to the wall kept non-tribal members out for the time being, and a blank-faced bouncer, David, stood vigil on a metal stool.

"Hey David!" Celeste said.

"Duchess!"

David hopped off the stool and gave Celeste a big belly hug because his stomach lopped over his belt.

"I brought my friends to watch with Big Chief's permission. They won't be no trouble," she said.

David looked over the women, his beady eyes taking a liking to Joyce's plump frame.

"Alright now, go get y'all a plate before the good eatin' is all gone," David said to the group. His eyes stayed on Joyce the entire time.

Inside, the raucous shouts of men showered them with the energy of the packed bar and sucked them right into the fold. Family and tribal members were already cutting up, clapping and smacking tambourines in time to an internal beat that swelled throughout the room.

On a small stage across from the bar, a second line brass band made up of young men in their twenties carried the foundational rhythm the others followed. The musical frenzy, sweaty faces, and rocking bodies enveloped Celeste in the comforts of culture. Trumpets, a trombone, and a good faith tuba blasted the familiar jazzy sounds that New Orleans was famous for. Celeste rocked her shoulders, shuffled her feet with slick footwork, and sang the old-time Indian songs.

Joyce placed the King Cake on an open table near Grand-mère who stood regally watching the action. She hugged each one of them. Celeste eyed her father drumming on stage and glanced toward her mother, who mixed drinks at the bar.

It was good to be in the Treme.

She greeted familiar faces and asked "Who dat?" about folks she didn't recognize. Inundated with love and affection, Celeste settled in, bringing a playful zeal to her dancing. Her mother handed her a tambourine at the bar, and she hopped onto the dance floor behind her grandfather and tapped a churchy beat on her left palm. Onlookers who were guests ogled the rare treat of seeing a real deal Indian practice. Their tribe's Spy Boy, Darryl, waved a white handkerchief around, yelped in his warbled tone and pretended to see another tribe's approach. A play uncle named Man-Man started strutting as their Flag Boy and the boisterous sound of voices rose, singing louder than the percussive drum beats onstage. Celeste stayed close to her grandfather, listening for his calls to change the tempo at the drop of a dime.

The Big Chief's salt and a little less pepper hair sweated out into tight curls. His dark hickory brown face stayed bathed in a sheen of earned sweat. Eyes closed and listening for the spirit to arrive, Big Chief struck his tambourine once and hooted, his cries flying overhead and joined by a tribal call-and-response that bolstered his bringing down of the ancestors.

Celeste copied his tambourine strikes to aid in catching the spirit. In four days, the tribe would take to the streets, preening and daring another tribe to outshine them. Thankful for choosing to wear a white t-shirt tied at the waist and comfy jean shorts, Celeste danced, sang, shook her hips and felt the weight of the world lift from her shoulders.

Three hours rocked by with chants, foot stomping, and plenty of drinking.

Twirling to her left to show off for her friends, she took some time to eat and gulp down a rum and coke standing in front of the stage. She caught the eye of a man lingering near her right side. Despite the many faces in the bar that blended into a chaotic blur during practice, the stranger's eyes latched onto hers and she couldn't shake them away. He was one of them pretty boys with captivating light eyes and possibly good hair that most people thought Creoles were supposed to have. Celeste's family was bone-Black Creole, the darker kind that still spoke southern, creolized French.

The man stood near some of her male cousins, and God forbid, a childhood friend named Travis X who was a five-percenter and a member of the Nation of Islam. It was impossible to miss Travis's short, high and tight fade and big shiny teeth. Still lurking in the shadows next to Travis, peeping at her moves, Mr. Light Eyes boldly stared right back at her like she was supposed to be sucked up on a plate of hot crawfish and dirty rice Grand-mère served.

Big Chief nudged Celeste to join in on the closing song. Lifting her contralto voice to support her energetic grandfather, she belted out the first opening cry of "Indian Red"

"Madi cu defio, en dans dey, end dans day…"

Their tribe repeated the words like a field holler with a tinge of the blues until everyone was on one accord. They belted out the song that represented the core of their tradition.

"We are the Indians, Indians, Indians of the nation

The wild, wild creation

We won't bow down

Down on the ground

Oh, how I love to hear them call Indian Red

I've got a Big Chief, Big Chief, Big Chief of the Nation

The wild, wild creation

He won't bow down

Down on the ground…"

Tears welled up in Celeste's eyes while singing with her grandfather. The power of the words enveloped her like a cozy patchwork quilt. Big Chief was getting to the age where he would have to pass the torch onto his oldest son. It was quite possibly his last time leading the tribe. His age was catching up to what his body couldn't carry as well anymore. The heavy tribal suits could weigh over eighty pounds or more. She wanted to dance in the streets with him one more time before a shift took place. She heard the trembling in his voice…they all did. Everyone in that packed bar knew they were witnessing the closure of an era under his leadership. Her uncle Alston would be a capable chief, but Big Chief Harris Proffit was the only chief she had known representing her people since she was a baby. He was eighty-two. Time to hand down the baton.

The last note hung in the air and Celeste broke away, grabbed her smokes from her purse, and headed outside to clear her head. Big Chief didn't need to witness her sadness. He wasn't dying, just nearing retirement. But it felt like a passing on anyway.

Back on the corner and away from David, who allowed regular patrons to come inside since practice was over, Celeste opened up a pack of Newports and tried lighting a cigarette. She flicked her lighter. It flashed and petered out. She huffed, and the cigarette dangled from her lips. A sign from God to quit, probably. A spark of another lighter glowed under her bottom lip.

Travis had followed her outside. So did the stranger and a few other men from Travis's Hotep crew.

"Sister Celeste, you know you should give up the devil's ways with this smoking," Travis said.

Celeste puffed to catch the flame, and Travis removed the lighter.

"Then why help me out?" she said.

She took a long drag and blew out away from his face and noticed a dark tattoo on the stranger's muscular right arm. An eight-pointed star floating above a crescent moon. Shit. Another Muslim. Last thing she wanted was to be lectured and recruited to be the next Betty Shabazz to a Malcolm X wanna-be. At least Travis wasn't slanging his bean pies or the Final Call at the bar. A real vibe killer. One thing the Nation had right by her was how they cleaned up Black men and turned them into fine specimens of manhood. She glanced at the tall, pretty boy with the hypnotic eyes. His plush lips looked so succulent for long, lusty kisses.

As-Salaam Alaikum, she muttered in her mind.

Her stomach fluttered at the grin on his face. Like he heard her thoughts. He turned to look at a few patrons entering the bar, and she glimpsed more ink on his left arm. A marine tattoo with black USMC lettering. An eagle sat on top of a globe underneath it, and Celeste looked away when he rested his gaze on her face again. Her cheeks warmed up like she was in a hot bath, and she parted her lips to take in more air. Feeling breathless, she jabbed her cigarette against the wall and tossed it in a garbage bin near the entrance.

"You ready, Duchess? They playing the down home blues in there and the old folks are taking over the dance floor," Nae Nae said with an annoyed stank face, joining Celeste outside with Joyce and Mercy.

Joyce handed her a paper plate with a piece of King Cake on it. Grateful for the distraction, Celeste took the plate and broke off a piece of the pastry. Stuffing it in her mouth, she chewed and Mr. Light Eyes pierced her soul with another drawn-out stare. She stuck two fingers in her mouth and pulled out a tiny brown plastic baby.

"Oop, you know what that means!" Joyce said.

Mr. Light Eyes seemed to float away with Travis and their male entourage down the street.

"I gotta bring the King Cake next year," Celeste said softly, holding the plastic baby in front of her lips, eyes still tracking the round, firm ass of the stranger in his jeans

The marine glanced back at her and smiled. She dropped her head forward, feeling lightheaded.

"You okay?" Joyce asked.

Celeste pocketed the plastic baby and linked arms with her friends.

"I'll go change inside and we'll be on our way! Let's get to clubbing!" Celeste said.

Chapter 3 HERE.

Masterlist.

Author's Note:

Hey y'all, the rest will drop on Halloween as promised! I had to set up my masterlist post now to make it easier when I upload the rest of the parts. Please share/reblog so we can get another Black fandom growing!

Tag List:

@planetblaque

@kindofaintrovert

@thedondada05

@blackburnbook

@avoidthings

@slutsareteacherstoo

@nayaesworld

@notapradagurl17

@4pfsukuna

@yamst3rdamctrl

@sweettea-and-honeybutter

@comfortzonequeen

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@megane96

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@mightbeher

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@nahimjustfeelingit-writes

#terry richmond fanfiction #Terry Richmond #rebel ridge fanfiction #Terry Richmond AU fanfiction #Black Vampires #Black Supernatural #Halloween 2024 #Uzumaki Rebellion

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mookymilksims · 1 month ago

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🌟 𝐑𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲: 🌍✨ 𝐂𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝𝐬 💖🎭

What's good MooMoo crew, welcome back to my channel! And if you are new thanks for stopping by! I hope part 1 gave you all enough to think about and you're ready to move onto part 2

So,let's talk about curating your sims worlds:

As promised in the last part, we are going to steam roll through so let's begin!

Remapping Your World

Setting up your world in The Sims 3 can either be a fun or frustrating process, but with this guide, my goal is to make it an enjoyable and easy experience!

I always recommend building up your world before you start actively playing in it. This approach helps prevent early-game burnout, boredom, or the temptation to scrap your save file because you've accomplished too much too quickly. By taking the time to build up your world, you'll commit more deeply to your save file because of the passion, creativity, and energy you've invested in crafting it perfectly to your tastes and needs.

Why Build Before You Play?

Longevity: You're more likely to stick with your save file because you've made it uniquely yours.

Purposeful Design: Not a single space in your world is wasted; everything exists for a reason.

Endless Possibilities: You'll never run out of ideas or places to send your Sims because you've given yourself so many options. Focus on Consistency

Aesthetic Consistency: Keep your lots on theme with your world's style—whether it's a city, small town, forested area, Italian-inspired, African-themed, etc.

Lot Functionality: Make sure your lots serve a purpose and provide activities for your Sims. Avoid the typical EA community lots that lack functionality or cohesion.

Opened Rabbit Holes: If you're like me and find traditional rabbit holes to be the bain of your existence, consider replacing them with interactive lots that fit your theme.

For example, in a medieval-themed world, replace a modern grocery store with specialized shops: a meat shop sold by hunters, a marketplace for produce, and a general goods store for items like pet food or household supplies. Other themed replacements could include:

Tavern instead of a bar

Brothel instead of a strip club

High-society tea club instead of a coffee shop

Castle instead of City Hall

Apothecary instead of a hospital/pharmacy

Tailor shop instead of a fashion boutique

These specialized lots keep you immersed, encouraging you to see the world from your Sim’s perspective instead of having to imagine it.

Choosing the Right World

Select a world that already runs well on your system. Small worlds perform best for everyone, while medium worlds provide more space without compromising performance. Large worlds can be hit or miss, depending on their optimization and your computer’s specs. My favorite large worlds, such as The Big Apple and Fairhaven, run smoothly thanks to well-done street routing and the use of decorative buildings instead of active lots.

Remapping Your World

This is the most creative part of the setup. You can design your world however you want, with a lot of freedom to explore different layouts. I recommend building lots in a separate, optimized builder’s world like Rosie’s, then placing the finished lot into your main save. Save frequently, and decorate the surrounding areas to “lock in” your progress.

To help organize your world, consider dividing it into different districts:

Wealthy Neighborhood: A gated community of mansions.

Middle-Class Neighborhood: Suburbs or other moderately priced housing.

Apartment Complex/Starter Homes: This could be a slums area, basic apartments, or smaller starter homes.

Downtown District: Include essential lots like opened rabbit holes, nightlife spots, and specialty shops.

These divisions help create a balanced and complete world. When paired with NPC households, you’ll find less pressure to fill every home, allowing you to focus on the most important spaces.

I want to add that if you are following my NPC Household method, then you don't need to have any empty houses during this process. All of your houses should either be filled or deco. Especially if you only plan on moving to another world at some point in your save file. SP will try to find sims to populate these empty houses which can cause lag and eventually an overpopulated world as more sims have been added who will eventually have children. Removing empty homes prevents both of these issues. And if you do plan on moving in-world at some point, and you're like me, then you would only leave 1 empty mansion, as the only reason I would want to move is because my sim has now made a lot of money and wants to enjoy the benefits of that in the world.

Debunking Myths About CC

It’s possible to have a detailed, CC-heavy save file without lag—optimization is key. The right mods and CC can ensure smooth gameplay, even with lots of detail. If a particular lot crashes in one world but not another, consider adjusting the lot size or the CC used. Test your lots thoroughly to find what works best.

Designing Lots for Your Active Household

If you’re unsure what kinds of lots to add, consider the traits and interests of your active Sims:

For my vampire Sim, Pandora, I created an underground rave in an abandoned greenhouse as a secret hangout for vampires.

My scientist Sim, Solomon, works at a custom science lab and gathers herbs from an apothecary for his potion-making hobby.

For my chaotic Sim, Moon, I revamped a dive bar lot to serve as a seedy hub for his illegal activities.

These personalized lots add layers to your roleplaying experience, providing endless opportunities for storytelling.

Opening Up Rabbit Holes

Replacing traditional rabbit holes with functional lots can add depth to your gameplay. Use a hospital lot for pregnancy roleplay, a police station for criminal activities, and a City Hall for bureaucratic errands, such as getting a license or applying for family services. You don’t need to be a master builder—download lots from the community, or re-decorate existing shells to suit your needs.

Section 2: Functional but aesthetic lots

While creating a visually stunning world in The Sims 3, you might find that a lot of EA lots were very empty, oversized, and boring. This quickly prompted players to fill this space up with a bunch of deco, leading many lots to be primarily for taking pictures and lacking actual playability. However, you can cleverly incorporate functional elements into these decorative spaces to enrich the Sims' experience without compromising their visual appeal. Aim for 80% decorative features and 20% functionality. If you remember my populated world guide, then you know that fewer functional objects on a lot can lead to better optimization and smoother gameplay. This balance makes decorating and building lots a more manageable and creative process! Here’s how you can achieve this:

Maximizing Functional Value in Decorative Lots

Integrating functional elements into decorative lots allows you to create engaging spaces that serve a purpose while maintaining their visual appeal. By adding a small percentage of functionality, you enhance the gameplay experience without sacrificing aesthetics.

Examples of Combining Decoration with Functionality

Coffee Shop:

Decorative Elements: Fill the coffee shop with deco Sims in seats to create a bustling atmosphere. Use stylish furnishings and art to set the scene, you don't have to be able to sit on all peices of furniture, you can easily set up deco purses, books, or deco sims in it's place. You can also place deco cafe food at a table where your sim can sit. Since drinking coffee doesn't actually require a table slot. The only open table slot you would want on this lot is for sims who have laptops.

Functional Enhancements: Incorporate the UNI coffee bar to allow Sims to order and enjoy coffee. Use Flo Theory’s relax-to-sit mod to let Sims sit comfortably at various seats, making social interactions more fluid. This way, your Sims can have a pleasant outing while still interacting with the environment in a meaningful way. You won't have to worry about sims you came to the lot with sitting seperately from you, you can just have them all sit at a table together using this mod, and watch them talk and slowly build relationship as they sit.

Park or Plaza:

Decorative Elements: Fountains, flower beds, tree's, flower's, bushes. You can become a real landscaper, even adding a fake creek or river running through the park.

Functional Enhancements: Place a few functional items like picnic tables or playground equipment. Sims can use these items for activities such as eating, playing, or socializing. You don't always need a chess table. And you can even just design this lot as a year round seasonal festival lot, with a functional carousel, haunted house, ticket booth, etc.

Art Gallery:

Decorative Elements: Most of this deco will be in paintings and sculptures of course. But did you know your sims can view cc paintings and sculptures and still gain the art museum buff on these lots?

Functional Enhancements: I usually love putting a souvenir shop and mini Art cafe on this lot. This makes this lot perfect for family or date nights. You can add romantic lighting for the night time, a little lobby with dining chairs and little tables. View art with your date or sim by setting up a bench in front of exhibits and talking on them using Flo Theory's relax to sit mod. And then ultimately ending the date or family gathering with a savvier seller gift shop you can gift to the other sim or sims you went with! You can also add a little wine and painting class somewhere in the lot, somewhere you can sample nectar and then paint on the lot with other sims.

Fashion Boutique:

Decorative Elements: Design a chic boutique with stylish displays, mannequins, and fashion déco.

Functional Enhancements: Include a fitting room where sims can check themselves out in the mirror. You can use Ani's ITF mod to make some mannequins functional, and add more than 3 outfits to your sims "closet".

Design Tips for Balancing Aesthetics and Functionality

Strategic Placement: Position functional items in less conspicuous areas to maintain the decorative focus of the lot. For example, place the coffee bar in a corner of the café where it complements the overall design.

Use Mods and CC: Leverage cc and mods to integrate functionality seamlessly. Mods like Flo Theory’s relax-to-sit make it easier for Sims to interact with various parts of the lot without disrupting its decorative theme.

Minimal Functionality: Aim for about 20% functionality in decorative lots. This small but impactful addition ensures that the lot serves a purpose without overwhelming its visual design.

Benefits of This Approach

Enhanced Immersion: Adding functional elements to decorative lots enhances the overall immersion, making your Sims’ interactions more realistic and enjoyable.

Increased Versatility: Functional yet decorative lots can serve multiple purposes, allowing Sims to engage in various activities while maintaining the lot's aesthetic appeal.

Creative Freedom: This approach provides creative flexibility, allowing you to design visually stunning lots while still offering practical features that enrich gameplay.

By incorporating functional elements into decorative lots, you can create a world that is both visually captivating and interactive. This balance ensures that every lot contributes to the gameplay experience, offering your Sims opportunities to engage with their environment in meaningful storytelling ways.

Section 3: Curating Households

So again, if you watched my Populated world guide then I breifly touched on the technique of mixing official townie households and NPC households in your world. I have always wanted to dive further in depth with this technique so let's do that here!

Creating a set of unique, official households is essential for bringing life and personality to your world. These households can be filled with dynamic characters who have distinct backstories, relationships, and daily routines that align with the overall theme of your world. By thoughtfully designing these Sims, you can foster engaging neighborhood dynamics that encourage players to interact with and care about their townies.

Designing Diverse and Engaging Households

Aim for 10-12 Households: To create a lively and interconnected neighborhood, populate your world with 10-12 households that feature a mix of personalities, aspirations, and relationships. Here are some ideas for structuring your households to create a balanced and engaging community:

Random Families: Include families that feel authentic and relatable, complete with quirky traits and unique personalities. Think of creating a mix of traditional, unconventional, and blended families that reflect the diversity of real life.

3 Neighbors: Design households that live near your main Sim’s home or have storylines that overlap. These neighbors can be friendly, flirty, or even hotheaded, providing opportunities for interactions ranging from casual chats to petty rivalries.

3 Potential Lovers: Create Sims who could be love interests for your main Sim. Whether they are charming, awkward, or mysterious, these Sims can add romantic intrigue and plot twists to your gameplay.

3 Potential Enemies: Introduce households with clashing personalities or conflicting interests that naturally lead to drama. This could be the rebellious teen that your Sim's parents despise, a rival co-worker, or a former friend turned opp.

3 Friends: Develop friend households that align with your main Sim’s personality and goals. These Sims can be classmates, co-workers, or simply kindred spirits who share similar hobbies and interests.

Flexibility in Design: Remember, you don’t have to limit each category to a single type. For instance, a household meant to be a potential friend group could consist of three siblings, two of whom might get along great with your Sim while the third becomes their nemesis. Mixing up traits, aspirations, and personalities keeps interactions fresh and engaging.

Creating Connections and Dynamics

Neighborhood Dynamics: Think about how each household interacts with others in the community. Who’s the “wealthy family” that throws extravagant parties? Who’s the “eccentric artist” whose quirky lifestyle intrigues the neighbors? Who’s the “troubled teen” seeking acceptance? These roles help shape the world’s story and create opportunities for roleplay.

Roleplay Inspiration: The dynamics between households can inspire various roleplay scenarios. Maybe the artist’s daughter is secretly dating the son of the uptight politician next door, or the town’s most notorious slacker finds himself working at the café owned by his worst enemy’s family.

Tips for Making Townies You Care About

Unique Backstories: Giving each household a rich backstory adds depth and makes interactions feel meaningful. Consider each Sim’s past experiences, dreams, and secrets. Even a small detail—like a lingering high school rivalry or a secret talent—can make a Sim memorable.

Defined Roles in the Community: Assign roles that affect the world’s story. For example, a “troubled artist” household might be at odds with the conservative neighborhood watch leader, while the “aspiring chef” could be the go-to Sim you invite for neighborhood gatherings.

Personalities that Pop: Use traits and career paths that complement or conflict with other households, ensuring a mix of harmonious and challenging interactions. A mix of friendly Sims and Mean-spirited Sims creates a more dynamic and unpredictable world.

Household Rotators: Special Note

If you rotate your households you may already have a natural connection to the Sims you create since you’ll be actively managing their lives. However, even rotators can benefit from carefully designing each household’s role in the neighborhood to ensure every play session feels fresh and interconnected.

Backstory Generator:

To make the process easier, I’ve made a backstory generator that can be used to quickly develop engaging backstories for your active households and official townie households. This tool will help you add depth and personality to each Sim, making your world feel rich and alive.

NPC Households and Defining Their Need

The Role and Impact of NPCs: NPC households add flavor, depth, and unpredictability to your Sims 3 world. They can serve as the town drunks, rivals, eccentric loners, or just that quirky neighbor who always seems to show up at the wrong time. These Sims bring an extra layer of storytelling that enhances the overall roleplay experience, making the world feel alive and filled with unique characters outside of your active household.

Strategies for Placement and Management: To keep your world optimized, consider placing NPC households in lower-functioning homes like basements or tiny apartments. This encourages the game's engine to push these Sims out of their homes more often, making them more active participants in the community. Another tip is to convert their homes into apartments using NPC doors; this setup not only increases the number of visible Sims around town but also creates a larger pool of bin townies that you’ll see around your world.

NPC Household Concepts:

Potential Lovers, Enemies, and Friends: Create a mix of 8 single male and 8 single female Sims who can serve as potential lovers, enemies, or friends. These Sims add a dynamic layer of spontaneity because even though you may initially label them as potential enemies or friends, gameplay might surprise you. A planned enemy could become a lover or vice versa, adding a twist to your story that reflects the unpredictability of real relationships.

Teen and Child NPCs: If you’re interested in family play, consider setting up NPC households of teens and children. These Sims will help populate your high school, giving your teen Sims more peers to interact with—whether it's friendship, rivalry, or romance. You could even theme them as “Class of [Year]” to create a sense of time and narrative progression.

For smaller towns, consider fewer households, like 4 male and 4 female teens in a single home, creating a tight-knit yet diverse school community. For child NPC households, you can include a Nanny or Adoption Agent adult to add context and provide adult supervision.

Toddler Households and Daycare Setup: If you plan to set up a functional daycare, NPC toddler households are essential. By including toddlers in a daycare run by an NPC adult, you can add adorable chaos to your world. Place 5-7 toddlers in a household along with daycare staff, and watch as these little Sims are occasionally taken out on outings, adding to the town’s realism and charm. I’ll be releasing a guide soon on setting up a fully functional daycare that can include these NPC toddlers as well.

Maintenance Townies:

Savvier Seller Cashiers: For those using Savvier Seller items, NPC cashiers are essential for running various shops like grocery stores, boutiques, or arcades. Create a household of Sims with the last name “Savvier” to easily identify them when assigning them roles. These NPCs ensure your businesses are always open and thriving without pulling from your core storytelling townies.

Business Sims for UC Mod Players: If you use the UC (Ultimate Careers) mod, adding a household of business-oriented NPCs can populate your offices, adding a sense of busyness and realism to your community lots. These NPCs can actively work alongside your playable Sims or simply populate the area, making it feel like a bustling, lived-in environment. You can also alternatively just use Deco sims to achieve this but I still wanted to give you guys some examples of how you could embellish this category.

So for a themed world:

The big Apple NYC world I recommended could have a:

Hispanic/Latino NPC Household

African-American NPC Household

Asian-American NPC Household

Starving Artist NPC Household

Political Activist NPC Household

Civil Service NPC Household (half could be police, other half could be first-responders)

Homeless camp/shelter NPC Household (you could make a homeless camp district for them to live)

Criminal NPC Household

And you can just keep going with this. Make the NPC households fit for your theme or story.

In a Life-is-Strange Core small town kind of world:

Indie Music lovers NPC Household

Mine Workers NPC Household

Starving Artist NPC Household (this household could easily fit here, you wouldn't even have to make a new one just drop them down in this world)

Motorcycle Gang NPC Household

Indigenous NPC Household (Maybe the town is located near a heavy indigenous population?)

And again, just to give you some ideas to string along.

Let's do a Fantasy Supernatural themed world:

Elves NPC Household

Witches NPC Household

Dwarf NPC Household

Orc NPC Household

Barbarian NPC Household

Werewolf NPC Household

Vampire NPC Household

Fairy NPC Household

Mermaid/Siren NPC Household

Now let's try a medieval themed world in general:

Nobles NPC Household

Royalty NPC Household

Merchants NPC Household (can also be your savvier seller cashiers)

Hunter NPC Household (these could easily be your love interest household with some hot hunters in the mix)

Peasant NPC Household (with some torn rags)

Beggar NPC Household (for your homeless population, optional)

Pirate NPC Household (move them into an IP pirate ship kind of boat)

Knight NPC Household (could also be your "police" population if you want to establish that)

Theives Guild NPC Household (your criminals)

Mage's Guild NPC Household (could also be your witches and wizards)

Slore NPC Households (these are for your brothels if you establish that, you could alternatively just use Arsil's custom generic role mod to place them).

And as a final example let's do a Cyberpunk/Scifi themed world:

Robot NPC Household

Hologram NPC Household (dead robots will have a holographic effect in game)

AI humanoid NPC Robot (I like to use the Detroit Become Human blue circle cc accessory)

Alien NPC household (there is plenty of cc to make all kinds of aliens so you can stretch this across various "species")

NetRunner NPC Household

Corpo NPC Household

Outskirts Gang NPC Household

So as you can see, the NPC household making process is pretty simple and very fun. And as you go through these households and plop them down in your world, you will find your world very quickly becoming more alive and more immersive!

As a pro-tip. consider changing the look of your bartenders and various NRAAS Register assigned role sims, just to make them look the part of the world's theme.

Custom Role Generator

Creating and Assigning Roles: To bring a fresh, dynamic feel to your Sims 3 world, consider using Arsil's custom role generator mod. These roles can range from regular customers, librarians, to strippers, adding depth and intrigue to your gameplay. By defining specific roles for certain Sims, you can create more immersive and interactive storytelling opportunities that push your Sims’ narrative beyond the typical game mechanics.

Arsil's Custom Role Generator: Arsil's mod allows you to assign unique roles to NPCs, enhancing the realism and unpredictability of your game. Here are some creative ways to use it:

Park Rangers: Assign Park Ranger roles to Sims for your camping lots. These Sims, equipped with the “Loves the Outdoors” trait, add a touch of realism to outdoor adventures. Another sim you could interact with on your camping trips outside of yourself or who you brought with you.

Librarian: Use Arsil’s generator to assign a librarian role, complementing Olomaya’s Library mod for extra immersion. A dedicated librarian adds a layer of interaction to your Sims' visits—whether it's asking about book recommendations, renting out study rooms, or simply catching up on town gossip. This little touch transforms a simple library visit into a social experience.

A Mayor: A Sim who can fill your city Hall, placing down a UNI podium you might even find them making speeches every now and then.

A manager: Give your uptight sims someone to insult and complain to when you're not happy with a bussiness' services.

A regular customer: A Sim you always see hanging out at the bar after work. I remember when I played a save file where I won a Daycare in China, I ended up making one of the customers (assigned by arsil's mod) a roommate, then I randomly decided he had a brother who needed a place to stay as well. You can easily transfer any of these sims back into your gameplay for an engaging story!

A therapist: A sim you can assign using Olomaya's medical overhaul mod, someone your sim can set up appointments with and go speak to when they need to unload something off of their mind!

Deco Sims

Bringing Worlds to Life: Deco Sims are a fantastic way to make your public spaces feel lively and engaging. By populating areas like parks, cafes, or arcades with these decorative figures, you can transform static lots into vibrant, bustling community spaces. Deco Sims give the illusion of a thriving world, helping to fill in gaps and make your builds look and feel more dynamic, especially in screenshots or videos.

Using Deco Sims Effectively: Placing Deco Sims strategically is key to enhancing your lot without overwhelming it. I've optimized Deco Sims specifically for The Sims 3, ensuring they won’t lag or crash your game even when used in larger quantities. Here are some tips to make the most of Deco Sims:

Placement and Density: Be mindful of how many Deco Sims you place in a single area. Aim for a balance that creates the illusion of activity without cluttering the space. For example, a bustling café might have 3-5 Deco Sims scattered around, sitting at tables or standing by the counter, whereas a quiet library might only have 1-2.

Theming and Storytelling: When placing Deco Sims, think of how they contribute to the story of the lot. A Deco Sim reading a book in a library, teens playing arcade games, or a couple chatting at a park bench can create a narrative that makes your lot feel alive. Don’t be afraid to mix it up; these figures can add character and ambiance, blending seamlessly with your active Sims during gameplay.

Creating Immersive Scenes: One of my favorite ways to use Deco Sims is to set up scenes that tell a story. You might have a Deco Sim “waiting” at a bus stop, another browsing magazines in a shop, or even someone appearing to make a phone call. These setups might seem static on video, but they add so much visual interest when you’re actively playing or capturing screenshots.

Gameplay and Interaction: Though Deco Sims don’t move or interact, they can still play an essential role in your gameplay. For example, in an arcade filled with Deco Sims, it may look like they’re enjoying games, which makes your lot look lively even when your active Sims are there. In photos, Deco Sims appear as though they’re fully part of the scene, letting you capture moments that look vibrant and social without the need to pause and manually set up your shot.

Technical Tips for Seamless Integration: Use the OMSP (One More Slot Please) to position Deco Sims on furniture, ensuring that active Sims don’t route to these spots, maintaining the illusion without disrupting gameplay.

Place Deco Sims in front of decorative objects rather than interactive ones. For example, setting a Deco Sim in front of a deco arcade game rather than a playable one ensures your active Sims won’t try to interact with them, preserving both immersion and routing.

Deco Sims are a simple yet powerful tool to enhance your Sims 3 worlds, making each lot feel vibrant, dynamic, and always photo-ready. Incorporating them strategically can significantly elevate the atmosphere of your builds, offering a richer, more immersive experience.

Showtime Crowd Cheat with Fog Emitter

Simulating Crowds and Events: The Showtime crowd cheat, combined with fog emitters, is a powerful way to bring more life and energy to your public spaces. Whether you’re looking to simulate a bustling marketplace, an active concert crowd, or a vibrant downtown scene, these tools allow you to create highly atmospheric environments that feel lively and dynamic.

Creative Use Cases: The Showtime crowd cheat generates ambient Sims that act as part of the scenery, enhancing the immersion of your builds. Here’s how you can use this effect creatively:

Bars, Clubs, and Concert Lots: One of the best uses of the crowd cheat is on nightlife lots like bars, clubs, and concert venues. By combining the cheat with fog emitters, you can create a dense, energetic crowd that perfectly captures the chaotic fun of these spaces. The fog emitter can add layers of special effects, such as smoke, flashing lights, or even fireflies, making the environment feel alive.

Marketplaces and Festivals: For outdoor settings like farmers’ markets, festivals, or community fairs, use the crowd cheat to simulate large groups of people wandering, shopping, or enjoying the entertainment. Placing deco Sims strategically among the crowd adds to the illusion, making these spaces look packed and vibrant without heavily taxing the game’s performance.

Busy Downtown Areas: For bustling city centers, set up clusters of crowds in specific areas—around cafes, bus stops, or shopping districts. By placing fog emitters and deco Sims in key locations, you can turn an ordinary lot into a lively downtown scene where your Sims feel like they’re part of a larger world.

How to Use the Showtime Crowd Cheat:

Activate the Cheat: Open the cheat console by pressing Ctrl + Shift + C and type testingcheatsenabled true, followed by buydebug on.

Fog Emitters for Added Atmosphere: Find the fog emitter in the BuyDebug catalogue, it's a green circle that looks like this. Now you shift+ctrl click the circle and pick "Set Visual Effect". A box will pop up prompting you to type in the code.

ep6crowdposreaction_main ep6crowdposreactionb_main ep6crowdnormal_main ep6crowdnormalb_main.

This generates this moving crowd effect, now you can shift+ctrl click it again and select "Clone", and just place as many as you like to tell a story!

Combining with Deco Sims: Mixing in deco Sims among the crowd adds a diverse visual experience. For instance, in dark settings like clubs, the lighting effects can obscure the fact that some of these figures aren’t animated, making the whole scene feel full and immersive.

Tips for Optimal Use:

Strategic Placement: To avoid overcrowding or performance issues, be selective about where you place crowds. Focusing on key hotspots—like dance floors or near stages—ensures that the crowd feels dynamic without overwhelming the entire space.

Dynamic Movement: Because the crowd cheat creates non-interactive Sims, you don’t have to worry about them being pushed to the lot by the game’s routing system. This can be a relief if you’ve tweaked your mods or settings to increase foot traffic, as the cheat keeps the lot visually busy even when not all active Sims are present.

Atmospheric Storytelling: Use this setup to tell visual stories within your gameplay. Crowds at concerts create the feel of a real event, while a packed bar makes social outings more vibrant. Even when your active Sims aren’t interacting with every person present, the background noise and movement add depth to the experience.

Using the Showtime crowd cheat with fog emitters creates an illusion of activity, turning your Sims 3 worlds into lively, engaging spaces. With this method, your lots will always look full, fun, and photo-ready, enhancing your roleplay experience without the need for constant manual adjustments.

Conclusion

So in general,

If you follow all of the suggestions in this guide, by the time you start your gameplay you will have a completely revamped world and households with optimized population. This will all intertwine and interconnect with each other.

This process can last as long as you want it to last, it can be time consuming but it really depends on how much detail you want to add.

The sims 3 is also a building game, and it hangs a lot of it's merits on creativity. Which means you could spend a lot of time creating before playing.

I also find this process to be quite soothing as I often turn on some music, bring some snacks, throw a netflix show on in the background, bring my iced coffee and water, and just go silently crazy with my idea's.

If you have ever built or decorated in the sims 3 then you've probably hit that creative spark at some point in the game, where a build could initially start overwhelming or even boring, but the further you get into it you just started feeling the vibes out and throwing things everywhere like it was just supposed to be there.

I personally enjoy decorating and roleplaying so that is why this process moreso excites me, however, if you're not a builder and you just enjoy gameplay but you still want beautiful cc builds in your game, consider searching the community for their uploaded lots, and if you stick around I have big plans to upload my own cc lots to the community as well.

As I convert more cc I get inspired and like to build from what I have converted, so I plan to do speedbuilds and tours and then upload those lots for download. I offer this as an alternative because you don't have to build or decorate if it's a stressful process for you.

While I highly recommend it, because you get a better sense of what you actually like in the game, what your aesthetic truly is, you can also just plop down community projects all the same and jump right into the game.

Combining this with official households and NPC households just ensures your world is already full once you actually hit play, and sims will start being sent out into the world immediately.

I want to thank you all so much for joining me in this video today, and for the wait, guides like the topic I am doing have to be made very carefully and are a bit more time consuming than my other guides, since I have to visually show you many examples for the information to connect and to prove that this is even doable in the game. So I really appreciate your patience, and I will see you all in part 3! Bye MooMoo's!

Disclaimer:

I have no issue with you sharing this information on your platforms, and in fact, I would prefer it. However, I do ask for proper credit, as I believe it’s important to respect the original creators of content. I’ve put a lot of effort into developing my tips and techniques, which I’ve shared publicly in very specific ways. These concepts predate your "guide," and the only other place you would find this information is in my own work.

It’s particularly concerning that, as a creator, you privately asked if it was okay to credit me when using my techniques in your guides, yet you proceeded not to credit me and even claimed to have discovered these techniques "on your own". This is especially frustrating considering you directly asked me to explain my concepts in more detail privately.

The community we're part of values sharing and collaboration, and when a creators' work isn't respected, it discourages further contributions. If this continues, creators like myself may be less willing to share ideas, which ultimately harms everyone.

I’ve received messages from many in the community who recognize where these ideas originated, so the situation is becoming increasingly embarrassing (for you). This will be the only time I address this publicly. If you’re reading this, I imagine it’s because you’re seeking more ideas to steal for your “groundbreaking guides.”

Yes, everyone knows, please stop. :)

Resources:

Custom worlds for CC builders

NPC Household guide

Decorating Tips and Tricks for Community Lots

How to Upload sims 3 lots with cc

Building Inspo To-Do List

Lots for travel roleplay

NPC Door

CC and Mods:

Alien cc

Forsworn armor