#ah well at least they had a lovely start to fall in Sulani

[victorluvsalice]

And even better, when I looked on the porch, there was Smiler's missing drone! Reloading the lot had also reloaded it! I had Smiler go activate it while Victor and Alice got up and swam back to shore to retrieve their dinners (I also tried to have Victor set the outside table, only for him to protest he couldn't reach every seat after the first two -- I guess the little cabana-thing I put it under is actually too small! Whoops, my bad) and attempted to have them do their sand sculpture video --

Only for the actual building of the sand sculpture to never complete. Smiler just -- stood there while the drone filmed. I could not get them to actually complete the action. I finally got annoyed and canceled out the video -- which the game informed me was a "Charisma Video" when it prompted me to name it. I was like "...I know Smiler is everyone's best friend, but -- seriously? Charisma for just STANDING there, not even facing the camera half the time??" Sims 4 be weird and glitchy, yo.

Oh, and speaking of both that and best friendship, who should come running up around this time but Leila, with that "I wanna be best friends" pop up that annoys me so much! Smiler wasn't interested, as they'd just met a few hours earlier, but let her down easy with a quick brightening of her day before sending her on her way. Might as well not make a big thing of it -- she's not the first to do that (by a long shot -- again, need a mod to stop that if possible), and it already triggers a bad sentiment, so...we can be nice. This time.

With Leila on her way back home, the trio had a nice little family dinner together, Victor and Alice enjoying the fish (yeah, I know fish isn't usually Victor's thing, but I suspect he can make an exception for a) a special island vacation meal and b) a fish he caught himself) while Smiler had a plasma fruit. Victor and Alice then went to bed properly, in an attempt to sleep through the night, and Smiler went to jam on the back porch for a bit before trying again to make their sand sculpture video. And THIS time, thankfully, it worked, with Smiler making another cowplant-head sculpture for the camera. So that's nice! :) And once that video was in the can, I had them work on upgrading said camera, so future videos would be even better quality. :) Gotta think of the SimsTube channel, after all!

And so the day ended with Smiler back on their laptop, creating a proper social media profile online and making a few posts on a forum. What a lovely day for a honeymoon. :) Next time, though, the rain returns, prompting an early trip home to celebrate a certain fall holiday I added to the calendar...see you then!

[sleepyadorant]

𝜗ϱ plasma fruit cookies ♡ sims

♡ content warnings : none

♡ tags : pre-slash, caleb vatore / gn reader, meet cute

♡ word count : 1000

♡ synopsis : moving to forgotten hollow had been a dream of yours for years, after a long day of unpacking you have decided to make cookies. as night falls, a handsome stranger comes to welcome you to the neighborhood

moving to forgotten hollow had been your dream since you were little; something about the gloomy natural atmosphere and the beautiful gothic architecture just called to you. your family had called it silly, much preferring the sweltering heat of sulani, but you had always preferred the rain and fog. you spent your childhood always uncomfortably warm, sunburnt, or both.

it was only when you moved into a dorm on campus at the university of britechester, that you had the freedom to look into more comfortable living arrangements. you had spent more time than you’d like to admit researching the weather in the province, it had taken quite a bit to find any real estate agent for forgotten hollow, but you had managed. your agent had suggested a widowschild townhome at first, but you felt it was too small to be your forever home, so you signed for garliclauter place instead… though you had the name changed to bat orchid estate. you and your roommate had brainstormed for months for a suitable name but eventually thought to ask the real estate agent if any flowers were on the property, she had confirmed the only flowers were bat orchids, which were ironically a favorite of yours.

the estate was ready by the time you finished your semester, only needing minor fencing and siding repairs. you had been worried at first, but it gave you the chance to tone down the red siding into a lovely sangria color. you flew back home to sulani first, the packing took about a week and then you were ready to start your new life. your boxes had been sent first, and you hoped they would all be there when you arrived.

cool autumn air bit at your skin as you started bringing the boxes inside, placing them in piles into the empty rooms they belonged in, you also took the obscene amount of garlic on the inside and outside of the house down and put them into the compost. you half expected some sort of welcome wagon, your former roommate elm had described their own when they had moved to a cozy place in moonwood mill the week before, but you hadn’t seen anyone all morning. the day seemed to drag on as you unpacked, you started in your bedroom; setting up your canopy bed had been a struggle but that could have been due to throwing out the instructions. it continued quietly, but you managed to at least get all of the essentials installed or put away by nightfall.

the scent of spooky cookies and plasma fruit cookies wafts through the air of the house when the doorbell rings. you make your way over, wiping your hands off on your apron before opening the door.

“ah, sul sul. welcome to the neighborhood! my name is caleb vatore; I live up the road with my sister, lilith.”

you looked over him briefly before smiling and stepping to the side.

“come in, come in, it’s cold out. i was wondering if anyone would be coming by… you can put your coat on the hook there, i have the fireplace lit so it’s warmer in here. i’m making cookies, they should be done soon actually, would you you want some?”

“oh that’s lovely, I love the renovations you’ve done as well, the enchanting floral bat wallpaper in black looks lovely… makes the red parquet pop… i'll have to decline the cookies i’m afraid, i’m allergic to most things.”

you led him further inside, into the kitchen. leaning with your back against one of the counters, a grin dancing across your face.

“i’m also making some plasma fruit cookies, or are you allergic to those too?”

you admit watching him blue-screen for a moment before a nervous smile settles on his face is pretty funny.

“no, I am.. not allergic to plasma fruit. are you—?”

you can’t help but giggle at his confusion, the way he tilts his head is a bit like a confused puppy.

“no, i’m not, but my roommate from college is, their name is elm they live in moonwood mill with their girlfriend now. all of the garlic that surrounded this place must have been pretty annoying huh?”

he laughs, his voice is deep and warm and it kind of gives you butterflies.

“you have no idea, trying to welcome the old owners to the neighborhood was hellish. why move to a perfect place for us if you’re scared, you know? i mean i get being nervous around vlad... the dude is a total creep but my sister and i aren’t like that. i don’t drink from humans unless it’s like dire… lils does but she gets consent first, it doesn’t hurt if you know what to do.”

you nod along, the way he relaxes at your easy acceptance of him is both sad and sweet. the oven timer beeps and you bend down to take both trays out.

“you feel up to decorating with me, or do you need to head out soon?”

a shy smile dances across his face, and he creeps forward hesitantly.

“i would like to help if you’ll have me… with both.”

the two of you spend hours decorating (and eating) the cookies, and eventually the conversation movies to your couch. You talk about everything, from your family in sulani to his sister lilith and their cousin in moonwood mill, and you find yourself blind to time until a yawn tumbles out from your lips.

"oh, it's almost 3 am! i forgot humans need more sleep... lils will be home soon as well so i should head home. i had a lot of fun, maybe we could do this again sometime?"

you go to answer, but another yawn interrupts, so you just nod with a smile. you walk him to the door, exchanging soft hesitant goodbyes before locking your door and plopping into bed. the last thoughts you have before passing out are of his shy smile and hearty laugh.

[snowbatsims]

Post ##

Since I finished the whole Strangerville thing, I can go back to posting random shenanigans! Basically, let’s just play catch-up for a bit here. 

I didn’t actually post these ones on the thread, this was just a draft that got too long. 

First up is the Island Living stuff, so I sent them to Sulani for a quick overnight vacation. Sulani in the daytime isn't exactly the best place for vampires to hang out at all, so they went home pretty soon after.

Back at home, the house has gotten a little... haunted?

EINARR: Ah, hello. Old friend.

EINARR: I am sorry to have forgotten your name, but I'm happy to see you again. EINARR: Wait... Marion? Marion Storm! That was it.

EINARR: How's the rest of the crew? EINARR: Ah. Not so talkative today, huh? That is fine.

Kvikindi has started taking up guitar.

She's also taking her time figuring out this whole vampire thing.

KVIKINDI: BAT WAS RIGHT. KVIKINDI: Blood is absolutely delicious.

It's spring, and Morten’s birthday rolled around!

(It's set as a holiday, so immortals can still celebrate it every year without actually aging. Definitely feel free to do this too.)

Siini came visiting for a bit. MORT: What, you don't believe me? SIINI: What would weird alien plants be doing on this flimsy little planet? MORT: Dude, you're an alien too. SIINI: I didn't really ask to crashland here, though! Dazzo's spaceship was a piece of garbage. MORT: Okay, sure. But maybe those alien plants didn't plan on hitting this planet either? MORT: Like, look, that huge Mother plant was in the bottom of a lab, located in the middle of a huge crater. It clearly arrived with an asteroid or something. SIINI: ...Good point.

At this point they're just all hanging out in Morten's room.

RUNE: Oh, you're asking what happened to my new boyfriend? You want to know?? RUNE: He doesn't trust me because I got touched by the spores once! That's it! One time!  MORT: Paranoia, then?

RUNE: Yes. RUNE: But I don't think we've actually broken up yet. MORT: Oh, good. RUNE: Yeah, maybe there’s still hope. 

The birthday present from Einarr was a little fishing trip to the local docks.

MORTEN: This one is so pretty!! EINARR: Cute catch. 

EINARR: Oh, there's a lot of blood to get out of this one. MORTEN: Hell yea!!

MORTEN: O-oh.

EINARR: ...they'll be fine.

MORTEN: What in the absolute heck just happened. EINARR: Alien abduction.

MORTEN: I mean, obviously- EINARR: Do you feel any weird at all? MORTEN: No, not really. EINARR: Well, great!  MORTEN: But wait... I do recall some kind of.. map? EINARR: Map??? MORTEN: Yeah, on the screen? It looked like Oasis Springs. EINARR: Sounds like they were headed that way for something and maybe accidentally picked you up on the way. EINARR: Maybe we should too. MORTEN: What? EINARR: Head to Oasis Springs! Come on, the night is still young! EINARR: We might find something cool! MORTEN: Uh--

MORTEN: Dude, this cave entrance actually glows. That's awesome. EINARR: Oh!!

EINARR: I can break this open. Just give me a minute...

EINARR: So, who goes in first? MORTEN: ...you. EINARR: Alright!

While waiting, Morten builds a sandcastle.

MORTEN: (I wonder if he found anything cool...)

He did.

He found the Forgotten Grotto. And it is absolutely gorgeous.

MORT: Dude... EINARR: I know. Was this worth it? Oh, absolutely. MORT: Yeah.

They both spent a bit of time down there, and built this little shack out of nearby materials before leaving.

Sometimes, I find Morten sitting down here to play with his toy.

My child.. 

Einarr took a night-shift at a fishing job, by the way! I like the work outfit.

Later, a trip to Granite Falls happened.

Practicing vampire powers...

Failing more. 

KVIKINDI: How do you guys DO THIS???

I found him like this. Laying down in the grass. Watching the stars. What a mood.

Exploring the woods!

Finding the hermit. 

Greeting the hermit! MORTEN: Hi!! Morten here, sorry, I'm just kind of passing through. HERMIT: Hello! You're another one of those campers that got lost in the wood, I presume? MORTEN: Yes! MORTEN: So uh, the sun is going up, can I go indoors? Please? HERMIT: I'm a little confused as to why you would need that, but sure. MORTEN: Y.. yeah, you don't want to get into that. Don't worry about it.

MORT: This is really cozy. Goals.

MORT: Blood. MORT: Wh--- NO!! That's the man's pet! What-- what am I even thinking... MORT: I must be hungry again :(

MORT: Might as well clean the guy's dishes while I'm here... MORT: And then leave as soon as the sun is gone. 

Later, they celebrated 17. Mai, a custom holiday of mine set in springtime, which is supposed to resemble the national day of Norway. It's kind of a formal party for the entire country. (I found CC of the national costumes here, so OF COURSE I had to do something about it, right??)

Bat doesn't involve himself since he is not from here and really doesn't care, while Einarr is a couple centuries older than the country itself and also isn't very bothered about it.

They also invited some of Rune's dead relatives. His brother and favorite cousin, in fact.

They had a good time. 

Chilling near the lantern.

Just gonna include these pictures too, in loving memory of the time when we had the ability to at least wade in certain bodies of water.

It was better than nothing, and I want it back.