#the struggle of playing a legacy save file.....

[scorpiotrait]

werewolves have become scarce in the Mill, so Indigo was happy to meet anyone who isn’t somehow related to her a werewolf close to her age! Hiroshi may have fleas, but he’s a nice enough dude. 

[therosebud]

Welcome to Sims 4 Romance Reef Challenge!

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If you struggle to stay focused on legacy challenges or any grind-heavy tasks, this challenge is perfect for you. The aim here is to create drama and have fun!

This challenge is inspired by the TV show “Love Island” but with a twist and you do not have to have seen Love Island to enjoy this challenge. However, if you're curious, I recommend watching the Australian or UK versions, as they tend to be funnier and more unfiltered than the American one.

Thank you to the EA Creator Network for giving me early access to create content for you.

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Download the Notion Template on My Patreon

I've created a Patreon for those interested in downloading the Notion template to keep track of all your islanders and progress. Notion is an online organization tool with a Pinterest-like aesthetic. My template provides a layout of the rules and space to detail each Islander. It's not necessary, but it's here if you want it.

For fans of my throwback save file, I will also be re-uploading the save there as it’s more reliable than Sims Share. Thank you for your support over the years on my YouTube channel and other socials. I hope you all enjoy the challenge!

Villa Video Update: If you aren't a builder Don't worry because I will update this post when I upload my speed build of my own villa for you to use. In that video I will also talk about the challenge rules. In the meantime, feel free to build your own or use the gallery to update a villa.

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Initial Islanders: 4 female Sims and 4 male Sims ready to be placed in the villa. They can have any traits, likes, dislikes, turn-ons, and turn-offs, but no skills to keep it fair.

Bombshells: An extra 2 to 4 female Sims and 2 to 4 male Sims in a separate household. These "bombshells" are ready to join and shake things up when needed. They can have traits, likes, dislikes, turn-ons, and turn-offs, but no skills to keep it fair.

Optional Extra:

💡If you want to be extra, you can register all of them with the labor union and use that space to write out a bio for each Sim, but it isn’t necessary.

💡 If you really want to shake things up you could make each sim have a distinct style. For example, one can be cottagecore, sporty, old money, alternative, beachy, urban, witchy, academia, Barbie, outdoorsy, etc. Here’s a list for ideas.

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Bedroom: One large bedroom with 4 double beds for couples. (And a couple extra single beds if someone gets left out.)

Bathrooms: Multiple shower and bathroom stalls upstairs and additional bathrooms near the gym and pool.

Upper Balcony: Equipped with sun loungers and couches.

Kitchen and Sitting Area: Spacious kitchen and indoor sitting area.

Sundeck: Features a large couch and firepit for eliminations and coupling ceremonies.

Outdoor Kitchen: Includes a barbecue and large bar area.

Dance Floor: Designated area for dancing.

Gym and Yoga Area: Semi-outdoor/indoor setup for exercise and yoga.

Swimming Pool: Large pool area.

Hot Tub or Onsen: Relaxation area with a hot tub or onsen.

Skill Challenge Room: Empty space like a basement to host skill challenges.

Buffet Tables and Drink Trays: Available for parties and events.

Victor Suite: Locked except when won by a gameplay challenge winner. Includes high-end objects like a computer (the only one in the house), spa massage table, fancy tub, and bed.

Secluded Date Area: Gated area to control access for private dates.

Iconic Pathway: Long pathway for eviction ceremonies.

Extras: Poohoo bush, closets, woohoo blankets, and optionally a photo booth for added fun.

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You don’t have to play with mods, these are my recommendations.

UI Cheats: Allows you to view exact relationship points by clicking the "set relationship" button under each sim's romantic relationships.

First Impressions Mod: Provides detailed explanations of sims' initial impressions.

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Weather Settings: Turn off rain, thunderstorms, snow, and blizzards in the game menu. Set seasons to the longest possible duration. Start the game in summer for a Love Island vibe.

Aging: Pause aging to preserve the contestants' ages for post-challenge play.

Free Will: Keep free will turned on to allow sims autonomy in their actions. Micro-manage only for needs; let them pretty much choose their interactions, friendships, and rivalries. The exception of the rule is if you are trying to get everyone in one area to start a gameplay challenge. But make sure you turn it back on after everyone is on their gameplay station. I recommend giving them a few hours to complete the challenge depending on what it is of course. Keep track of the order of who finishes (or stopped) the quickest.

World's: I recommend playing in Sulani or Tartosa for this challenge but the new world Ciudad Emamorada would work too (beware the villa would have to be smaller in that world though.) However, feel free to do this in any world you want but it’s best to play it in the summer season.

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Utilize the in-game calendar system to structure your Love Island challenge. Each round typically spans 4-7 days, depending on your desired pace. Here are the key daily events to plan for:

Private Date Day: Select two or three couples to enjoy a private date in a special area of the villa or off-lot.

Gameplay Challenge Day: Determine the strongest and weakest islanders through skill challenges or quality assessments. The islander with the lowest quality item or skill percentage within a time limit of around 2- 4 in game hours, will risk elimination if they lack significant relationships.

Chaos Spin Day: Introduce random events to stir up drama and unpredictability among the contestants.

Coupling and Elimination Day: Held in the evening on the last day of each round. Contestants dress in formal or party wear for the ceremony. After the first elimination, the gender with numerical advantage chooses their partner first. Those without partners face elimination. Re-coupling may occur if islanders form closer bonds during the round.

"Bombshells": Introduce 4-8 additional sims (evenly split by gender) sporadically in each round to shake up dynamics. Morning of the date day in each round is ideal for their arrival, allowing them to participate in that day’s events.

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On the first day, your goal is to have everyone meet and interact in the villa. Here’s how to get started:

Equal Numbers: Begin with an even number of males and females to form 4 couples in total.

Numbering Sims: Number each sim from 1-8 for easy reference during wheel spins.

Lovestruck Expansion: If you have the Lovestruck expansion, observe the sentiments and dynamics as the islanders interact. Pair up those with stronger connections.

Initial Dates: Start the day with a few different dates. Roll for the number of current islanders to determine who goes on dates. If a new islander or “bombshell” is entering, they will get the date. Choose their date based on sentiments, attraction, and relationship levels.

Natural Relationships: Let relationships develop naturally. Avoid interfering, but you can offer slight encouragement if you notice two sims flirting. The challenge’s fun lies in the organic unfolding of relationships.

⭐️ Keep the first day focused on introductions and initial connections to set the stage for the rest of the challenge!

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Setting Up Private Dates

Use a number roller from 1-8 (or the current number of islanders). The chosen number gets to pick their date based on:

- Attraction system

- In-game sentiments/dynamics

- First interaction

Date Execution:

Unlock the gate for the couple to access the private date area, or teleport them in.

Bombshells:

When a new bombshell arrives, they get 1-2 dates to decide who they want to couple up with.

Limit the total number of dates to 3 per day. For example, a bombshell can have up to two dates, and you can still have one date among current islanders.

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Suggested Skills for Challenges:

- Candle Making

- Cooking

- Painting

- Cross Stitching

- Gemology

- Knitting

- Woodworking

- Flower Arranging

- Media Production

- Mixology

- Nectar Making

- Fitness

- Yoga

- Rock Climbing

- Fishing

- Guitar

- Violin

- Pipe organ

- Juice fizzing

Here’s a list to spin for skill competitions

Challenge Outcomes:

- Winner: The islander with the best quality item, highest skill, timed score (depending on the skill chosen or combo of those) wins a night in the victor suite. They can invite their partner or someone else for added drama. If an unpartnered sim wins, they get a chance to invite someone and potentially steal a partner.

- Loser: The islander with the lowest quality item or skill point is at risk of leaving if they don't form significant relationships by the coupling ceremony. If it comes down to two sims, the one who lost the challenge leaves.

Tips:

☑️ Place skill-related items around the house or in a special skill room to allow sims to use them autonomously. This ensures fairness when spinning for the next challenge.

☑️ Don’t force sims to gain skills; let them choose to do so on their own. Any skill points they gain is all fair game for when it’s time for a gameplay challenge.

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This day is just to keep you on your toes. The randomness will make your experience more customized and help you determine who is good with whom. I numbered these so you can use a number randomizer to determine which one you get for today.

⭐️ You do not have to read all 45 of them right now if you don’t want to. You may skip to the elimination section.

1. Use a number randomizer to determine which girls are getting into a fight today.

2. Use a number randomizer to determine which boys are going to fight today.

3. The couple with the lowest romance is fighting today.

4. The couple with the highest romance is fighting today.

5. Someone in the couple with the lowest romance is getting cheated on today.

6. Someone in the couple with the highest romance is getting cheated on today.

7. An old villager comes back for a day to cause some drama among a couple.

8. Get some activity tables; we’re doing a group puzzle.

9. Everyone gets on the yoga mats for a yoga class.

10. Throw a party of your choice; this can include villagers who have been voted out.

11. An islander of choice must get close with another islander outside their couple.

12. A massage therapist is hired for everyone today.

13. We get a slip and slide for today.

14. We get a couple of bowling alleys for today.

15. Tanning and beach combing day (if you are in Sulani or Tartosa).

16. Use a number randomizer (1-8) to give a sim 1+ skill points for free to use in the next challenge day.

17. Use a randomizer to determine who’s being messy today and woohooing with two different sims.

18. A couple of choice gets a date alone today; a couple with the lowest romance gets a chance to work on their relationship via a date alone.

19. A couple with the highest romance gets a date alone today.

20. Everyone plays a game of basketball.

21. Everyone has to skill up one point, but they each have to do a different skill from one another (and, of course, skills used for competitions).

22. The losers and winners of the last gameplay challenge day go head-to-head in a redo of the competition.

23. A new bromance occurs today.

24. It’s just me and the girls. Two girls get to be friends today.

25. A friendship occurs between a male and female who aren’t attracted to each other.

26. Everyone makes a friendship bracelet.

27. Throw a house party.

28. Throw a dance party.

29. Throw a pool party.

30. A sudden death occurs. You must kill off a sim; roll from 1-8 to determine who dies.

31. An engagement?! Roll 1-8 to see who’s getting engaged with their current coupled-up partner.

32. Tanning! Everyone just works on their tan today. (Maybe an enemy sabotages someone’s tan.)

33. Get a photo studio; let’s take some pictures for the house.

34. Everyone plays a card game.

35. We take everyone to another lot.

36. Take all of the girls to another lot.

37. Take all of the boys to another lot.

38. A double elimination occurs. The two people with the lowest gameplay challenge score go home.

39. They’re back! A female player that was voted out comes back for the next round.

40. They’re back! A male player that was voted out comes back for the next round.

41. Drama! Three islanders go on a date together in hopes of two coupling up.

42. Use the woohoo blanket.

43. Everyone plays darts or foosball.

44. Use a number randomizer to determine who’s getting a secret lover on Cupid’s corner outside of the household.

45. Throw a costume party and have everyone wear a random outfit from the costume trunk.

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The first elimination is based purely on the islander who loses the initial challenge, because not everyone might of made a romantic connection yet.

All other eliminations will be based on who has the lowest relationship(s) and ranking in gameplay challenge.

Set up challenge stations in a large room, like a basement.

Randomize the gameplay challenges for a fun and unpredictable experience. Choose skills that produce items with a quality rating or judge by the highest skill points achieved in a set time.

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Observing Interactions:

Pay attention to Sims naturally interacting, especially if they're already coupled but start talking or flirting with others.

If two Sims start being flirty around each other alone often, you can nudge the relationship by having them flirt once or twice to see if they will keep it going.

Recoupling:

A Sim might choose to recouple if their bond with another Sim grows stronger.

In a love triangle, the Sim that has the least connections (romantic and friend wise) and ranked the lowest among in the gameplay challenges, is the one that will be eliminated.

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Let Cheating Happen: If a Sim cheats, let it play out naturally. Don't intervene in saving Sims if they die; it's part of the challenge. Butlers or maids can be hired to manage the cleaning.

No Careers at the start: None of the Sims should have a career initially. However, you can write them a bio if desired.

Adapt as Needed: If you don’t have a certain pack for a skill or activity, replace it with something you do have.

Managing Needs: Assign a bedtime to ensure needs are met. In the morning, control them to shower and eat. The first Sim up makes breakfast unless you have a hired butler or maid.

Encourage Flirting: It's okay to make Sims flirt or chat generally whenever you like, but for new romances, only initiate flirting once or twice to get things started. Do this only if you notice Sims getting flirty around each other often, as Sims usually won't start a romance autonomously without a mod. After that, don't intervene. If the romance doesn't progress, it wasn't meant to be. Follow their social cues and wants to let you know who they like.

Unlimited Funds: This challenge isn’t about money, so feel free to use the "rosebud" cheat as much as you like. 😉

Rewards: The winners could win the villa and you can renovate it in their style. Alternatively, use them in another challenge.

Questions and Feedback: If you need any clarifications, feel free to ask. If you try out this challenge, tag me! Use the #ts4romanticreef

Sul sul! 🌹

YouTube, Pateron and other socials

[dreamyyesenia]

Always Keep Simming Save - My Personal Legacy (Currently Gen 4)

Meet my Gen 4 family of my personal legacy save, the Blackburns! I call my save file “Always Keep Simming”, because I want this legacy to go on and on for years and never stop playing with them 🥹

Aileen Blackburn, Generation 4 heir

Traits: Geek, Party animal, Perfectionist, Adventurous, Genius, Healthnut

Aspiration: Collector (completed)

Career: Scientist (level 8)

Skills mastered: Gaming, Gemmology, Rocket Science, Logic, Dancing

Goals of this generation: Complete the elements collection (completed), complete the gem collection, complete the metal collection, learn how to revive a sim.

I will post Aileen’s Backstory separately, that way I can include some older pictures!

Colin Blackburn, husband of Aileen

Traits: Bookworm, Loyal, Outgoing, Romantic, Adventurous, Worldly

Aspiration: Jungle Explorer

Career: Education (currently level 6)

Skills he has to master: Archeology, Selvadoradion culture, parenting

Backstory: Colin Blackburn grew up in foster care and never got to meet his biological parents. He developed a special interest around everything occult and the past and started studying history. After finishing his degree, he came to Willow Creek to research a known haunted house. He started working as a history teacher and wanted to become a professor. Similarly to Aileen, he was an adventurous sim, especially the mysteries in the temples of Selvadorada intrigued him.

Gemma and Gavin Blackburn.

They are unidential twins (I might do a dual legacy with them, I will make up goals as I play and get to know their personality).

Amber and Onyx 😻

Goals for this Generation: I think I will not tell you what I have in mind, it will be more of a surprise. The general vibes of this generation is exploration of the world, uncovering mysteries, dealing with grief and finding answers to unspoken questions. 

Save file I’m playing in: @ratboysims (my alltime favorite), builds are either included in the save or downloaded from the gallery. 

Aileen’s house: Made by @pugownedplaysthesims-blog , I changed the interior a lot, exterior minimal adjustments to fit my sims needs.

Note: I’ve been playing with this family for 2 years and it’s the first legacy I have actually been able to get to > gen 2. As always, there’s been a LOT of drama, personal struggles but also immense growth and, of course, a happily ever after in each generation. I have approx. 1000 screenshots but unfortunately not from everything and not from the start. I’ll hop right into gameplay of this current generation but, when it’s needed and fits, I will post some flashbacks to the past, to give more context and the backstory (the tea lol). This legacy is very special to me, I have explored ts4 in all of its aspects with the past generations. I adjusted my lifespan settings (again lol), I will play on custom long lifespan with this save file and custom normal life span with the other legacies. Simply because I am too attached to this save and can only let the heir die if I feel like I have spent enough time with them. I am attached to TJOL and the Postcard Legacy too! But there, I have a storyline already set up, so I can progress faster (and I want to!). Enough rambling, hope you will love these sims like I do! 🩷

Sorry this is so long!! You get a hug if you made it this far 🤗

[monocledostrich-ccfinds]

☆ Tales of Reverie Legacy Challenge ☆

Welcome to a new legacy challenge!

This is the official page for the Tales of Reverie Legacy Challenge made by me: monocledostrich.

Do you ever get tired of playing the same things over and over again in the Sims? Do you ever find yourself in a cycle and never end up completing a legacy challenge at all? Because I often find myself in those situations. So I decided to make my own legacy challenge and add a ton of drama and chaos and use elements of the game I never use. This legacy challenge will hold equal parts chaos and wholesomeness. Each generation is different. And I really wanted to use gameplay that I never have before, so I’m excited to play through. So if that seems like it's up your alley, this is the legacy for you.

PSA

At the end of the day, this is just a challenge. If you don't like something change it in your own gameplay. If you want to skip a generation, feel free. It's entirely up to you how your story plays out.

I like to play my game really realistically and include real life issues. If you don't want to add those into your own gameplay that is more than okay.

I will be updating this page as well as the google doc which will have a list of each generation's goals as I write more gen’s and play this challenge for myself. Make sure to save the google doc via File > Make A Copy to stay up to date!

Tag your posts with #TalesofReverieLC so I can see them! Use the same tag on the gallery so I can see your simmies!

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RULES

No money cheats allowed (unless specifically mentioned in each gen) because we love a struggle.

You must complete the stated goals for each gen to fully complete it.

You must play on Normal lifespan. I have mine altered in MC Command Center to allow for more realistic gameplay. I recommend using 7 or 14 day seasons in game.

Upon succession you may cheat the age of your heir back to day 0 if you feel like you need to in order to better complete their generation. I, however, love a struggle.

You may use ONE potion of youth per generation, but only if you really feel like you need to in order to complete the challenge. But if you have updated your lifespan days you shouldn't need to use it.

You can purchase any trait rewards from the rewards store at your leisure. Excluding the money tree.

If you wish to use modded traits rather than in game traits that is perfectly acceptable. Just ensure they are very similar to the required in game traits for each gen. 

This challenge uses pretty much all of the packs, however I have omitted several things that I personally do not like playing with (such as the N.A.P system from Eco Lifestyle and Batuu).

Mods are most definitely encouraged. I use a variety to improve gameplay. In fact, a lot of this challenge includes mods. You in no way have to use them and can take out specific goals that require them if you do not want to use mods. However, I highly recommend them.

Most importantly, have fun with this challenge. Change any rules you don’t like. Skip generations, make up your own. Go wild. This is just a guideline for gameplay. A challenge you will hopefully enjoy. At the end of the day the goal is to have fun gameplay.

SUCCESSION RULES

HEIR SELECTION

Heirs can be any of the offspring of your previous gen. It is purely based on your preference alone. UNLESS it is specifically stated in the gen goals. (In some cases it specifically states which child must be the heir).

SUCCESSION

Succession occurs once all of your previous gen’s goals have been completed, or once they become an Elder.

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CHECKLIST

You can find the checklist for the challenge goals here. Make sure to make a copy to stay up to date with the challenge.

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GEN 1

Your whole life you have dreamt of living amidst the lush greenery of Henford on Bagley and having a garden blooming with flowers. With nothing tying you to your hometown, you move onto an empty plot of land. Only, you never realized how expensive your dream was. All you have are the clothes on your back, a dingy tent, and $0 to your name. But all dreams start somewhere, right? You spend your days foraging, gardening, and flower arranging until you can afford to build your own cottage that you cover with plants and cozy decor. You begin to cultivate your land, grow lush gardens filled with flowers, herbs, and vegetables, and slowly build the orchard of your dreams. You fill your farm with all sorts of animals, from cows, to chickens. But something is missing from your life. You’ve always idealized love, but it’s hard to meet anyone when your farm keeps you so busy. So, you turn to your friends for advice. 

You go on several blind dates set up by your friends, but no one seems to have the same ideals as you. Until your best friend sets you up with the most alluring man you have ever seen. There’s just something about him, with his rugged looks and serious yet warm personality that lures you in. The only downfall is, he’s only in town for a few days. But you decide to make the most of the short time you’ll spend together and have a fleeting summer fling. He leaves and you never think you’ll see him again. It isn’t until a few days later that you find out you’re pregnant. With no way to contact him, you decide to raise your child alone. Four years pass, and your past threatens to unravel the reverie you have found yourself in when your summer fling returns. You’ve made a life for yourself. Your garden is flourishing, all your dreams are coming true, and you have a child you adore above all else. You have everything you’ve always wanted. Except love.

Do you tell your summer fling about his child and start a life with him, or do you find love elsewhere? Only YOU can decide your fate.

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STARTING INFO

TRAITS

Loves Outdoors 

Generous 

Choose another

ASPIRATIONS

Country Caretaker

SKILLS

Gardening

Flower Arranging

Nectar Making

CAREER

None

GOALS

See all goals for this generation here.

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GEN 2

Growing up, you find it increasingly difficult to make and keep friends. Your only true friends are your parents, siblings, and the animals you grew up with. Your whole life you have admired your parents' fierce love for one another. All you want in life is to find someone who loves you like that, but it’s hard when you are so clumsy and quiet. During high school you fall for one of your classmates. They are your first love. Your first kiss. You even sneak out the night before prom and share your first woohoo with them. You are excited about what the future holds and imagine a life with them, but your dreams are squashed when you catch them cheating on you during prom.

Heartbroken, you blame yourself for your partner’s infidelity. You finish school and move to the city with your sibling. You bury yourself in baked goods and dream of opening your own bakery. You push love to the back of your mind. You swear off dating and relationships altogether, and vow to remain celibate until marriage, not wanting to ever go through the pain and hardship of your last relationship again. But upon your bakery’s opening day, you happen to meet the most attractive, down to earth person you have ever met. You instantly feel a connection, but you distance yourself, afraid of getting hurt again. As time passes, this person continues to buy your baked goods and you soon become best friends. 

Time is quickly running out for you to have a family, and that thought is ever present in your mind. But one day, as you’re planning to go on your first date in years, your best friend comes to you and professes their feelings for you. You decide to hazard a risk and go out with them. It is the best decision of your life. You achieve all your dreams. You have a bustling bakery, a loving spouse, and beautiful children you raise in the kitchen. Your home is filled with light and love. It is chaotic and messy, but you embrace it as a family. You grow old and wrinkly with your spouse, glad that you took a chance on love all those years ago.

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STARTING INFO

TRAITS

Foodie

Clumsy

Choose another

ASPIRATION

Soulmate

SKILLS

Baking

Knitting

Cross Stitch

CAREER

Baker. Either:

Open your own bakery.

Install a baker career mod.

Sell baked goods off a selling table and hold bake sales.

GOALS

See all goals for this generation here.

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GEN 3

Anger has always played a large role in your life. As a child you find it hard to express your emotions despite having such a loving, supportive family. Your parents encourage you to find an outlet for your anger. You have always been a creative person, and try many different hobbies, until you find your true passion in cooking. As a teen, you quickly realize you don’t just want to cook, you want to be the best chef in town. You start a Simstagram, where you post photos of your delicious creations, and quickly gain a following. When you finish school, you run off to become a famous chef. It isn’t until you suffer through long hours and painful bosses that you realize you have no desire to be managed. So, you quit your job and open your own restaurant. You quickly gain the fame you desired all these years. 

There’s only one problem. There is a petulant food critic that constantly feels the need to write bad reviews about your restaurant. Nothing enrages you more, and you finally have enough and confront them. You let your anger get the best of you. As do they. But through your anger, you realize there is something much deeper at work here. You end up having a one night stand. You hate how badly you want them, and flee the scene. But it happens again, and again, until finally one of you snaps and reveals you want more than just passionate fun. Your whole life you never expected to fall for someone like them. You never thought it was possible to love someone as much as you love them. You move in together and start talking about the future, and kids. You find out you’re expecting, but just as your partner is about to propose, a freak accident takes them from you.

You have never felt such pain, and quickly spiral into depression. You lose all the fame you worked so hard to achieve and cannot even imagine going on. It isn’t until you look into your child’s eyes—the same eyes as your partner—that you realise they would have wanted their child to achieve all their dreams. You pull yourself from your depression, determined to be a good role model for your child. You strive for your ambition and raise your child to believe any dream is possible. You never reclaim your fame, but you work tirelessly in your restaurant and raise your child within its walls. You vow to never love again after what happened to your partner, and you never do. Your love for your child—the child you and your partner created together—is more than enough. At least, that’s what you tell yourself every night.

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STARTING INFO

TRAITS

Creative

Hot Headed

Choose another

ASPIRATIONS

Appliance Whiz

Master Chef

SKILLS

Cooking

Gourmet Cooking

Photography

CAREER

Culinary — Chef

GOALS

See all goals for this generation here.

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GEN 4

Your whole life you have striven for one thing — your ambition. You saw the way your parent dominated in their career, and how hyper focused they were on achieving their goals, and you want the same for yourself. You’ve always wanted to be a world famous journalist, so upon graduating high school you set off for university and don't look back. You’ve never wanted a family, never wanted anything to distract you from your career aspirations. After hearing the tale of your parents' love and how hard it was for your parent to move on after what happened, you never want to love anyone that much, because you don’t ever want to be hurt like that. So, you vow to live with detachment, to never form meaningful relationships with the romantic partners in your life. Especially once you graduate and get the job of your dreams. You hyper focus on work, love every aspect of it, and even go to work on your off hours. If anyone is a workaholic it’s you. Nothing will hold you back.

But after the condom breaks during one wild woohoo session with one of your many situationships you find out you’re pregnant. You think your life is over. You never wanted a child, especially this early in your career. You have a rough pregnancy, which forces you to take a step back from work and be passed over for promotions. Once your child is born, you can barely stand to look at them. You hire a full-time nanny to raise them so you can focus on your career. You know you’ll never have a good relationship with your child. Every time you see them you’re reminded of everything they cost you.

It isn’t until you enter Adulthood that you realize doing nothing but work isn’t what life is about. You find yourself burning out. You have a midlife crisis and have the sudden desire to not only be the best at your job, but to have the best family. You realize your fears of attachment and love were only holding you back from the happiness you deserve. You meet someone, marry and decide to start your family. You’re determined to be a good mother to your children, feeling guilty for how you treated your firstborn. But it’s too late to fix it now, especially when you can barely look them in the eye. It’s due to that that you decide to make up for it with your new family, to have the career and the family of your dreams in one neatly bundled package.

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STARTING INFO

TRAITS

Ambitious

Perfectionist

Choose another

ASPIRATIONS

Neighbourhood Confidante

SKILLS

Writing

Charisma

CAREER

Writer — Journalist

GOALS

See all goals for this generation here.

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GEN 5

During your childhood you were a major loner and grew up to believe you didn’t deserve love. You never have lasting relationships because you constantly sabotage them any time anyone gets too close. You spend your days as a child drawing and painting, and making up stories with your imaginary friends. Your closest friendship was with your oversized pal Blarffy. Your relationship with your mother is strained and always will be. You know she will never be able to look at you without seeing a disappointment. You don’t get along with your half siblings. Mainly because you’ve always been jealous of the love and attention they received compared to you. And despite your step-parent trying to be kind to you, you always knew they would never accept you as their own.

As a teen, you get the amazing opportunity to travel to Tomarang with a few classmates and you jump at the chance. Your mother barely even knows you’re there, and has no issue sending you off to a foreign country. While in Tomarang you absolutely fall in love with the culture and know you want to come back one day. When you return home it’s as if you were never gone. As soon as you receive your college acceptance letter, you move out, determined to never return again. At a university party, you meet a fellow student who you have great compatibility with. You start to develop feelings. They treasure you and make you believe you’re worth the world. You fall hard, and when they propose after graduation you say yes instantly. You move into a big beautiful house in the perfect neighbourhood. You talk about your future plans, about children, and what your lives will look like after you're married. But as wedding preparations take over, you feel yourself starting to grow distant. Your fears rise up and take control. Especially after deciding to tell your family about your engagement and their complete dismissal of you and your feelings. You end up having a one night stand with your fiancé’s best man the night before the wedding. When it comes time to walk down the aisle, your emotions get the best of you and you realize you can’t do this, that your fiancé deserves better. You leave your fiancé at the altar and run away to Tomarang. It isn’t until you’re settled that you find out you’re pregnant, and you don’t know who the father is — your ex-fiancé or his best friend. 

You decide to raise your child on your own. But when your child is heading off to high school you bring them along when you return to the town you planned to settle down in all those years ago. You’re only in town for a couple of days, for an art showcase at a new gallery. You never expected in all your wildest dreams that you would stumble across your ex-fiancé at the same event. Do you reconnect, or will old wounds hinder your chance for redemption?

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STARTING INFO

TRAITS

Loner

Socially Awkward

Choose another

ASPIRATIONS

Fount of Tomarani Knowledge

SKILLS

Painting

Photography

CAREER

Freelancer — Digital Artist

Painter — Patron of the Arts

GOALS

See all goals for this generation here.

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GEN 6

Your childhood was far from ordinary. Raised to seek adventure, you quickly discover your love of foreign cultures and desire to learn more. As a child you are very inquisitive and constantly find yourself mesmerized by ancient civilisations. Every time your parent travels for work you go off and explore, thrilled by every new adventure that awaits you. It’s no wonder that after you visit Selvadorada you dream of returning. 

When you leave home for university you throw yourself into your studies, but in your spare time you research everything there is to know about Selvadorada. You don’t get involved in any clubs or groups, preferring your solitude. After graduation, you take a week-long vacation to Selvadorada, and are determined to uncover its secrets. You work hard as a professor, while pursuing your true passion. Archaeology. You’re barely ever home, and are always on the move. You seek adventure at every turn. You write scholarly papers about your archeological finds and become quite well known in your field. But during your next visit to Selvadorada you find yourself in a tricky situation. A local happens upon you and rescues you from certain doom. Your relationship with this person starts off rocky, but as you find yourself in more and more tricky situations you slowly start to develop feelings for this person. You’ve never given much thought to love or romance after seeing how content your parent was raising you alone, but you can’t deny the feelings blossoming within you. You never think in your wildest dreams that the feeling is mutual. Until one day, they kiss you out of nowhere.

You start to achieve everything you ever dreamed of. You have a gorgeous spouse, a big, beautiful house decorated with strange artifacts, and a brood of bright children. But your career is weighing you down. So, you quit your job to pursue your passion full time. You focus on your family and realize your own education was far from normal. You never had any friends growing up since you traveled so much, and you don’t want that same upbringing for your children. You still take them with you on vacations, but you also ensure they are happy with their schooling and make friends. You raise them to focus on their passions, and no matter what it is you will support them.

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STARTING INFO

TRAITS

Self Assured

Adventurous

Choose another

ASPIRATIONS

Archaeology Scholar

SKILLS

Archaeology

Selvadoradian Culture

Research & Debate

CAREER

Education — Professor

GOALS

See all goals for this generation here.

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GEN 7

From a young age, you often feel lonely. Having no friends and travelling with your family so much limited your ability to form deep connections. Your only true friends were the strays you convinced your parents to adopt. You find forming relationships with people difficult, whereas with animals you find relationships come with ease. As soon as you find out meat comes from the animals you love so dearly, you become vegetarian, and dream of becoming a vet so you can help all the animals in need.

As a teen, your parents try to get you to come out of your shell. You join afterschool activities but feel even more isolated than before. It isn’t until you move out of home, adopt several pets, and start working as a vet that you meet the love of your life. You fall madly in love, and eventually move in together. Everything feels easy with them. It isn’t until you fall pregnant that your partner informs you they never want children, and in fact, hate them. You argue about your unborn child, your different life goals, and they try to convince you to terminate. Eventually, you separate angrily.

Alone in the world, pregnant and afraid, you throw yourself into baby preparations. You move to a bigger house along the water, you decorate the child’s nursery, and attend every appointment and class you can. You never think you will find love again after the travesty of last time, so when you bump into an insanely attractive doctor at the hospital when you have your first trimester appointment you think nothing of it. But this doctor keeps showing up everywhere. You see them around the hospital, and even around town. You find the situation ironic and agree to meet them for coffee. Eventually, you become close, and they even accompany you to your birth as you don’t want to be alone. After your child is born, they reveal they have feelings for you. You start dating, cautious of love this soon after your last relationship, but everything soon aligns. Your partner treats your first child as if they are their own, and soon adopts them to make it official. You marry and have more kids, and quickly achieve the life you always envisioned — a big, beautiful house filled with cosy, coastal decor, a brood of wonderful children, and numerous pets you pamper with love.

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STARTING INFO

TRAITS

Animal Enthusiast

Vegetarian

Choose another

ASPIRATIONS

Friend of the Animals

SKILLS

Veterinarian

Pet Training

CAREER

Veterinarian

GOALS

See all goals for this generation here.

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GEN 8

You always felt special, especially as a child. You grew up loved and cherished, and that is well reflected in your childhood accomplishments. But when you find out your biological father abandoned you before you were even born, you endeavour to find out why. When you find him, you’re hopeful that he will give you an explanation as to why he didn’t want you, but you get the complete opposite. After realising how unwanted you were by your biological father it turns you bitter. You know your parents love you, but you can’t stop the true feelings of your biological father from hindering your emotions. You become obsessed with academics after this, needing a distraction from the bitterness and jealousy swelling within. You can’t help but feel that you’re an outcast among your siblings, being the only one not biologically related to your father. You feel as if you aren’t a real member of your family, and quickly find your jealousy of your siblings consuming you.

You work hard, get into a distinguished degree, and become determined to have the career of your dreams. Using your parents as inspiration, you strive to become a doctor just like the man who raised you. You swear off all romantic and sexual encounters, not wanting to bring a child into this world unless you have a partner fully devoted to them. You never get into a relationship, and it isn’t until you make it big as a renowned doctor that you feel butterflies for the most unexpected person. It is against the rules to fraternise with this person, but you can’t help it when you feel such chemical attraction for them. You share your first kiss at work with them, and find yourself in steamy situations during work hours often. You tell yourself to stop, but you can’t deny the feelings blooming within you. Before anything goes any further, you sit them down and discover they, too, want everything you do. A big family, a house in the suburbs, children who excel at everything thrown at them.

You have a huge traditional wedding, and start your family. Your need to prove your high IQ forces a pressure on your children. You have strict rules and all children must follow them. You seek excellence from your children, determined to have a successful lineage. All of this determination may have stemmed from the complete rejection your biological father had for you, and you let this completely rule how you raise your own family. You will only accept excellence, and anything below that is not acceptable in your house. You’re certain this is the best, and only, way to raise your family. 

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STARTING INFO

TRAITS

Jealous

Proper

Choose another

ASPIRATIONS

Successful Lineage

SKILLS

Logic

Parenting

CAREER

Doctor

GOALS

See all goals for this generation here.

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GEN 9

All you have wanted your entire life is to make your parents proud. You are a classic overachiever, and feel compelled to do everything possible to ensure you live up to the high standards of your family. You keep your grades well above average, participate in extracurricular activities, and never let your personal feelings affect your life. You only go on dates with people your parents approve of, but something feels off. No one you date interests you in the least. You begin to wonder if something is wrong with you. Especially when you head off to university and still feel no attraction to the opposite sex. You only realise you are gay when you share a kiss with someone of the same sex during a college party. 

You deny your feelings because you know your parents would never approve. So, once you finish university and enter a career in business, knowing that is what your parents would want for you, you let them set you up on another date. Only, this time you really try to feel all the things you should. You marry this person. They become your best friend. You wonder whether this is what marriage is about. Friendship. You’re content with your life. You have a child, a beautiful home, a high powered career, but something is missing from your life. 

It isn’t until you attend a work function and meet the most stunning person and share a heated moment with them that you long for change. You feel guilty because your spouse is the gentlest, kindest person, and know they don’t deserve this. So, you come out to them. You come to the realisation that you can’t live your life to please others anymore. You want to embrace your true self and find your true passion. You may be afraid of what your family will think, but you have spent too long hiding in the shadows. Will all your dreams come true, or will your life come crumbling down around you?

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STARTING INFO

TRAITS

Overachiever

Neat

Choose another

ASPIRATIONS

Academic

SKILLS

Charisma

Fabrication

Entrepreneur

CAREER

Business — Investor

Freelance Crafter

GOALS

See all goals for this generation here.

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GEN 10

You grew up with the perfect childhood, but when a bombshell rocks your family everything around you threatens to crumble. Finding out your parent is gay is harder for you to accept than you expected; especially because it leads to questions about your existence. You can’t help but wonder why you were even born at all if your parents didn’t love each other. You crave attention from your parent, and when you don’t receive it, you act out. You fall in with a bad crowd, start breaking the rules, getting drunk, and finding any high you can to feel something. Your discrepancies get you expelled from high school. You refuse to return, and run away to the city to pursue your true passion — acting. Only, your dream seems a little far-fetched. You can’t even get a gig, so you sing on the streets for money. When you finally do start to make a name for yourself as an actor, you become known as the wildcard, constantly hosting and attending parties and sleeping your way to the top. 

On New Year's Eve, you attend a raging party at a co-workers mansion, get drunk, and sleep with three different men. But your life comes crashing down when you find out you’re pregnant. You immediately find out the paternity and tell the father, only he completely dismisses you. Afraid to do this alone, you seek out one of the other men you slept with and tell him the baby is his. Out of obligation, you marry. You give up your career to raise your family. You have more kids and watch your husband succeed, fighting the bitter jealousy boiling within you. Any romance you once had fizzles. Eventually you find out he’s cheating on you, so you divorce, take half his fortune with you, and move back to the city. To make up for the absence of their father, you spoil your children. You decorate your lavish penthouse with luxurious purchases, buy your children all the gadgets and toys they want, and return to your career, quickly making your way to the top. You tell yourself everything happens for a reason, and become content with your new life, even if all you want is someone to share it with.

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STARTING INFO

TRAITS

Party Animal

Dance Machine

Choose another

ASPIRATIONS

Master Actor

SKILLS

Dancing

Singing

Acting

CAREER

Actor

GOALS

See all goals for this generation here.

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GEN 11

All you’ve ever wanted is a normal life. You grew up witnessing the destruction of your parents' relationship. After the big blowout that ended their marriage, your mother tries her hardest to shower you and your siblings with all the toys and gadgets you never wanted. You know she only wants to make up for the absence of your father, but a life in the spotlight was never what you wanted. You use sports and fitness as a buffer to get away from the drama constantly surrounding your family. You pour all your energy into staying active. You fall in with the popular crowd, but you can’t help but wonder, deep down, whether your friends are only interested in you because of your family’s fame. As soon as you graduate, you leave your life in the spotlight and move as far away as possible. You vow to yourself that you will have a normal family. But what is normal? 

You join the military and shack up in StrangerVille, but after a while you start to notice some really odd things. It isn’t until you run head first (literally) into a wacky scientist who raves about the end of the world that you realise something is very wrong. Despite this scientist being the polar opposite of you, you find their erratic behaviour endearing. You band together, determined to get to the bottom of this mystery. Along the way, feelings blossom within you, but it isn’t until after you save StrangerVille that you act on these feelings and settle down. You always envisioned a normal life for your children, but you’ve come to realise that normal is overrated. 

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STARTING INFO

TRAITS

Active

Gloomy

Choose another

ASPIRATIONS

StrangerVille Mystery

SKILLS

Fitness

Charisma

CAREER

Military — Officer

GOALS

See all goals for this generation here.

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GEN 12

You’ve always been a believer in the unknown. Inspired by your wacky scientist parent, you dream of becoming an astronaut so you can see everything the universe has to offer. You’ve never been one to form lasting relationships, always too shy or awkward to make real friends. You spend your childhood gazing up at the stars and longing for space. There was a time when you believed you could find solace with someone, but after realising it was all a game you start to question whether being alone is preferable. As soon as you graduate, you head off to college, where you focus solely on your studies, despite your twin trying to get you out of your shell.

After university, you join the rangers and travel into space, living all your dreams. But you had no idea your job would lead you towards danger. You spend years tracking an interstellar smuggler, always narrowly missing catching them. When you finally do, heat consumes you both. All these years spent fighting has fuelled your hatred for them into something much different. You have a heated tryst, and when you wake the next day, they’re gone. You go about your life as normal, but when you find out you’re pregnant your whole world comes to a screeching halt. With no way to track your smuggler down now that you’ve been reassigned, you raise your child with the help of your twin. But you constantly find yourself gazing to the stars, wondering where your smuggler is and whether you’ll ever get the chance to see them again.

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STARTING INFO

TRAITS

Genius

Geek

Choose another

ASPIRATIONS

Nerd Brain

SKILLS

Rocket Science

Handiness

Logic

CAREER

Astronaut — Space Ranger 

GOALS

See all goals for this generation here.

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[bizarrelittlemew]

IDA do you have any advice or pointers for gif-making? yours are always so high quality with such great colors! i just started trying to make gifs and i feel like I'm constantly struggling with the export settings trying to make it look decent without being a gigantic file 😭

hiii and thank you so much 💗💗💗

I'm not really sure what to say since I've mostly learned by trial and error, so I guess the biggest piece of advice would be practice!!

I'm sure there are loads of gif tutorials out there and I may make my own one day but here are some tips I can give related to quality (I use Photoshop so these are probably specific to that):

The higher quality video you have to begin with, the easier it will be to make the gifs look great. I go for 1080p or higher (if possible)

When you import video frames to layers, be aware of duplicate frames as they will make the gif look choppy, it's a framerate issue - I use a very simple video editing software to cut out the scenes I want to gif, but if you have a more advanced one, you should be able to adjust the framerate so PS won't create duplicate frames. idk I'm not an expert on this exact thing I just delete the duplicates manually

For tumblr posts, the full width is 540px, half is 268px, go for these to avoid tumblr compressing the gifs

I usually set the frame time delay between 0.06-0.09 seconds since always prefer them a bit slower, which allows for seeing more detail. I check the speed by going into File -> Export -> Save for Web (Legacy) and clicking the Preview, because just playing the gif in PS will usually have lag

After wrangling frames, cropping and resizing etc., I convert to video timeline and convert all the frames to one Smart Object before sharpening and coloring. I use Smart Sharpen and Gaussian Blur filters with different settings, making copies of the smart layer and playing around with the opacity settings (I have this process recorded/automated as an action, but often have to adjust afterwards based on the clip). There are many different ways to do this and probably some tutorials too.

As for coloring, I don't use any automated processes, but just play around with adjustment and color fill layers. A gif with my usual sharpening and relatively simple coloring may have layers looking like this:

I think this is where the practice mostly comes in, because you'll discover new things with every gif you make. it's also the most fun part for me :) again, there are a lot of tutorials out there, and some scenes require more adjustments than others (especially dark scenes). really, Selective Color and Curves may be the most important adjustment layers (to me at least lmao)

As for file size, these are my usual export settings:

reducing the number of colors will always reduce the file size, but I'd usually rather trim the length (or split it into two gifs) or the image size (cropping a bit more off the height). Going for 40-80 frames is usually reasonable, and you can do more for very static gifs or smaller image sizes!

I hope some of this is useful, good luck and happy giffing 💗💗💗

[browntrait]

hi k. i really wanna have fun w my sims again. i can spend literal hours in CAS but after that…nothing. any advice for developing OCs in game and starting a legacy? starting is always hardest for me, pls help 😭

hi anon bby! this is a great question, although idk if i can offer tht much help bc tbh, i be struggling w this all the time. however, here’s a couple tips tht always help me when i get bored/in a rut and want to play the game again:

1. Using In Game features

Is there an aspiration you’ve never played through? have you played through strangeville or completed the haunted house challenge with paranormal stuff (if you own those packs)? sometimes the easiest way to start for me is trying something in the game that i’ve never done before. a little while ago, i realized i never completely the Komerobi Sight-Seer aspiration, so i made a new sim and started to play through it. it was fun to do new things, and a reminder that theres lowkey so many little features that i be sleepin on. the more packs you have ofc theres more things to try, so keep tht in mind.

2. Using a challenge created by someone in the sims community

9 times out of 10, if i’m in a rut, i will start playing a rags to riches gameplay. it just has a gameplay that is always a litle chaotic, but entertaining and u can really make it turn out in so many different directions. using challenges that other simmers make can help widen ur horizions on different gameplay and can give you generations of challenges/aspirations/sims to explore. some off the top of my head are not so berry 1 or 2, globetrotter, postcard legacy, i’m a lover challenge, 100 baby, alphabet baby challenge.

fun fact: Zenya was originally a sim I made to play eco lifestyle rags to riches, and she’s become my main oc/story main character so, anything can happen!

3. Creating/Finding your perfect save file

i stall on starting gameplay bc i hate the default lots/townies a lot of the time, and thinking about starting over makes me lose motivation. ive taken time to create a couple save files w new lots, townies and sims of mine that make it a fun setting for any kind of gameplay i end up doing. add your fave lots, create your own lore for the neighborhood and the sims who live there, and make sure everything is playable and suits your personal style. if making your own from scratch is tew much work (bc trust me, it is), i also have used ratsave by @ratboysims and lemonade save by @helloavocadooo many times and enjoy them both! also if anyone has reccs for save files pls lmk!

4. Mods

idk if u use mods but i love gameplay mods!! whenever i get a new mod, i play around for a while and test out each feature of it. combining mods together and finding which ones enhance your gameplay is one way to get you engaged in playing again! mod recc list coming soon <33

I hope these tips help you or anyone else! if u need links for things lmk, im not at home rn but i will try to update as i go. if u need any help pls don’t hesitate to reach out!! and if anyone else has some tips they use, pls reply below! a lot of y’all have amazing gameplay and legacies that i admire sm so i’ll also take any advice!

[ncisladaily]

Jeff Kober has thrived on playing the baddie for much of his long career. The prolific actor has almost 150 credits to his name with stops on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The X Files, Walker, Texas Ranger, The Walking Dead, New Girl, and NCIS: Los Angeles to name a few. Then there are more regular roles like Jacob Hale Jr. on Sons of Anarchy, Sgt. Dodger Winslow on China Beach, and most recently, on General Hospital where he won an Emmy for his portrayal of shady Cyrus Renault.

Next up is the pool shark thriller Break, where he takes on the role of pool hall hustler “The Hand” Jimmy. In the film, he looks to stand in the way of Eli (Daniel Weiss), the hotshot son of a former rival, from honoring his legendary dad and former rival’s legacy. Here the veteran actor talks about the project and reminisces about some of his favorite parts.

After all this time, how is it being that go-to bad guy? 

Jeff Kober: I don’t know. It is interesting, but I enjoy working. What I’m trying to do these days is humanize everyone. Even if they’re not terribly nice people based on the story being told. They can’t be all bad. What’s human about that? That’s fascinating. So you’re not ever acting. You’ve built some type of world you’re living through. As a natural result of your belief system, this is what happens.

You’re the bad guy in Break. What stands out about Jimmy to you? 

What I liked about him was it was such a specific world. So foreign to anything I’ve experienced, except bits here and there. I was in a carnival for a while as a younger man and that character would have fit well in the carnival. Someone lost a wallet on a ride. The carny who ran that ride and the carny who ran the ride next to it argued not about who got to turn in the wallet back to the person who lost it but who got the money that was in it. I didn’t understand those kind of people then. Now I kind of do to find my way in and what it would take for me to be like that. This is what made the role so fascinating to me.

How much of a pool player were you beforehand? 

I played a lot of pool in bars as a younger man. I once was beaten I think 17 times in a row by Megan Branman, a casting director in Hollywood. So I was a moderately okay pool player. I enjoy the sport, but I am never able to play even remotely like in the movie. I got an evening of lessons. This guy just corrected a couple of things for me and suddenly a whole new world opened up for me. That was amazing.

What did you make of the environment the film takes place, gritty Detroit? 

We’re seeing it everywhere today. People are frightened of so many different things. They are struggling to behave in a way with respect to themselves. They may be following the fear and doing things they don’t respect. Like when Eli decides to bet all the money he was saving for his sister’s education. That’s not out of a sense of love and compassion and wanting to do the right thing. That’s out of the terror of I can’t be shown up like this. I can’t have my ego smashed like this. We all have those challenges every day. I just look at it as is this the ego working here or the truth working here and are they aware there is a difference? Those are the questions that occur to me.

How was it sharing the screen with Darren Weiss as Eli? 

With Darren, he stepped up and met me. We really play in that area of wanting to beat each other in the script. I’m really proud of what he did in this.

It has been more than 35 years since China Beach hit the airwaves. How do you look back on the show today?

I know it didn’t come out to watch easily over the years when so many others came out because of the music rights that were so spread out. It was impossible to get permission from that many music companies and have it make sense to make it commercially available. I love the fact people are still moved by it. Everyone was trying to do the best they could in order to honor the women and men we were representing. That’s really special when you get to do a job like that.

A lot of times shows will get canceled without getting a formal goodbye, but China Beach was lucky enough to have one. A touching one at that. 

I’m grateful we did in the end show these characters accelerated forward and what it was like to visit the Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall in Washington D.C. This was very special, especially for me who have been around many Vietnam veterans. I still have Vietnam veteran friends in my life and see what they had and lost and the rebuilding process that had to occur. I really feel that China Beach was a part of opening up the consciousness of the U.S. Like, “Hey something happened here, and we’ve been ignoring it. Wake up.”

These days a lot of viewers know you from the soap opera world on General Hospital. How is it to step in and out of Port Charles as Cyrus? A role that won you a Daytime Emmy Award. 

It’s more like being a sprinter than a distance runner. You have to be ready to go. You have to be ready to jump in any direction because you don’t know who you’re going to be from one week to the next until you look at a script. You never get to see where that script fits into the larger fabric of the story they’re telling. It’s a hoot because it’s jumping into the unknown.

Cyrus has been through a lot. What do you make of his evolution? Where do you see this character going in the future on the show? 

It started out as a short gig. Whatever happened, they decided to keep me on a little longer. So they made me the mysterious half-brother of Genie Francis’ character [Laura Spencer]. They wrote this evil criminal as someone who is broken and needs his mother’s love. I was like, “How do you play that? I guess we’ll find out.” It was so much fun to do that. Then they sent him away to prison and he found Jesus, or did he? For me, it’s always about finding what’s the most interesting and grounded and most passionate perspective this character can have in a given time. They keep you guessing on that show. What he has come around to now, and being holier than now. The last time I saw him he was saying, “I got to work on myself before I tell anyone else how to do this.” Don’t you wish more people in the world realized that?

You’ve been in the shoes of a lot of characters. What are some of your favorites? For me, The Claimers leader on The Walking Dead has to be included. 

Joe on The Walking Dead was fantastic because it was so rich. The people I worked with were also just fantastic. I would have done anything on that show for as long as they wanted me to.

What a way Joe went though. 

It was the best death in the show up to that point I think. The last line for him was just great, “What the hell are you gonna do now sport?” Just amazing. I loved China Beach, too. The people, we’re brothers and sisters. We left a mark on all of our lives. A lot of us were really beginning our careers when we did that. It holds a place that will never be touched by anything else. I’ve had really exciting experiences. I had a run on NCIS: Los Angeles. I got to work intimately with Linda Hunt. That was otherworldly. There was an intimacy with her and strength in her work. She is like a national treasure. I can always tell how wonderful someone’s talent is when you just get in their face. They go, “Oh, someone is here.” Then they just jump in themselves. They did this.

Jeff Kober and Linda Hunt (Henrietta “Hetty” Lange) in NCIS: Los Angeles (Bill Inoshita/CBS Broadcasting, Inc.)

One of my favorite turns for you was also when you were on New Girl as this curmudgeon of a landlord. During the rewatch podcast “Welcome to Our Show” the cast revealed a few years ago that Bruce Willis was almost cast as Remy. You made it your own though. 

It was a hoot. I actually did a movie with Jake Johnson that is on Hulu now called Self Reliance. He wrote this character with me in mind. Then right around Christmas, I did his podcast where they give advice for people on really stupid things. We were reminiscing about the characters almost doing this threesome. I was in my underwear and cowboy boots. We shot the scene many times, and every time I would come up with a different yoga pose or something I’d be doing when they came to me like reading a book or spraying aftershave in my private areas. They give you free rein to be crazy. That was a gas.

[lovedaysims]

been waiting all night, i been nowhere - baby's on fire, but she don't care

My PC died back in December. Thanks to my brother in law I managed to not lose my 8-generation Loveday Legacy, not that I ever posted any of it here! But, it's been a struggle to pick it back up. So instead, I've been working on a Sims 2-ish themed save file, and also just playing around in CAS.

hair by @simstrouble // top by @simandy

[sweetsimapples]

Sorry I haven’t been very active lately!

The last month has been a bit of a struggle for me but things are getting better and hopefully soon I’ll get some more “me” time which is of course, Sims time  😊

I’m going to focus just on my Lucid Legacy family for now because trying to juggle multiple save files when I’m not playing as regularly is kind of overwhelming. 

Anyways, that’s all I have to say. Thanks for reading and have a great weekend!

[urnooboo]

just started college + my sims 4 is so laggy rn basically kinda unplayable again so like, possible hiatus again i guess WAHAHAH i figured that i could leave an update this time <33 it's not like the blog is gonna be inactive forever, but more like i don't really know when i can get to play because other than the pleasant legacy i'm working on reworking my main save file (cuz it's so old it's so LAGGY so i have to move everyone and start from scratch on a new save).......and thats not even considering the fact that my sims 4 rn is LAGGY AS HELLL like my LAPTOP IS STRUGGLING!!!!!!!!!!!!!

but yeah, i'm going to focus on college and revamping the main save for now the pleasants are never going to die though i will get through that legacy challenge no matter what- unless my laptop dies for real or i do

one of these days some posts of mine will suddenly pop up, if i ever get the urge to upload i'll dump it in the queue so there's no need to worry

[bugmari]

new simblr take 2

hi! I already posted a new simblr announcement, but I did so on a sideblog not realizing that they have limited interaction capabilities. thus, I'm restarting on this main blog, and reposting my announcement (plus more pictures!).

the original text and content is under the cut if you're interested in reading. ^^'

hi there! my name's mari (she/her) and i've been wanting to start a simblr for about four months now. i struggle with introductions, so i decided to keep it simple with the face your sims challenge by @samsimss (like 53 years late! oops). i've been playing on and off since 2018. i actually tragically lost my save file two separate times after big game updates corrupted my cc. back then, i was too dumb to make save backups 😭 so i lost everything both times. unfortunately i really enjoy playing this game and i keep coming back despite the pain.

i'm obsessed with cas and build buy and... uh... i'm sorely lacking in actual gameplay. i have this unattainable goal of beautifying every building and customizing every sim in my save before i start a legacy challenge. i'll probably never get there because i keep on redoing the things i've already redone, but i enjoy it!

as you can probably tell, my style is mostly maxis match with some light alpha cc mixed in. i'm indecisive and can't choose one default eye and skin, so many of my sims look wildly different.

this blog will likely consist of basic cas and build buy screenshots. i don't expect to do anything visionary or even cool, but i hope that i can look back at everything i post and smile about it. ideally, this will become a photo album that shows my progress in creating characters and settings that i love.

i'd love to connect if you're interested! my origin ID is @anaspisatrata, though i never post on there because i use too much cc. thanks for reading! ʕ•́ᴥ•̀ʔっ♡

[buggymari1]

hi there! my name's mari (she/her) and i've been wanting to start a simblr for about four months now. i struggle with introductions, so i decided to keep it simple with the face your sims challenge by @samsimss (like 53 years late! oops). i've been playing on and off since 2018. i actually tragically lost my save file two separate times after big game updates corrupted my cc. back then, i was too dumb to make save backups 😭 so i lost everything both times. unfortunately i really enjoy playing this game and i keep coming back despite the pain.

i'm obsessed with cas and build buy and... uh... i'm sorely lacking in actual gameplay. i have this unattainable goal of beautifying every building and customizing every sim in my save before i start a legacy challenge. i'll probably never get there because i keep on redoing the things i've already redone, but i enjoy it!

as you can probably tell, my style is mostly maxis match with some light alpha cc mixed in. i'm indecisive and can't choose one default eye and skin, so many of my sims look wildly different.

i'm too nervous to put myself out there with really kwality kontent, so this blog will likely consist of basic cas and build buy screenshots. i don't expect to do anything visionary or even cool, but i hope that i can look back at everything i post and smile about it. ideally, this will become a photo album that shows my progress in creating characters and settings that i love.

i'd love to connect if you're interested! my origin ID is @anaspisatrata, though i never post on there because i use too much cc. thanks for reading! ʕ•́ᴥ•̀ʔっ♡

[travissimblr]

Sims 3 Performance Guide

Lately I have found the direction of The Sims 4 to be rather lackluster.  Let’s face it.  The game is boring.  Still looking for that “Sims Fix” I found myself going back to playing The Sims 3.  The Sims 3 can be tricky to get running correctly on modern computers so I figured I would share what I learned over the years.  I made this guide a few years ago for another forum so I’m always open to new suggestions/edits etc.  Some things may work well for others while some may not make a difference at all.  I have applied all of these fixes in my own game and I still experience lag so this is by no means a guide to completely eliminate the lag in the game but a guide to perhaps help your game run a little bit smoother.  All of these tips have been gathered from all over the internet and also some things I have picked up on my own over the years.  I own a legit copy of the Sims 3 and have never owned a pirated version so I can't say whether or not these settings will work with a pirated version of the game.  I also only have a PC so I don't know if any of these settings will effect the Mac version of the game.  If anything I hope this guide brings people back to The Sims 3 or allows people to give the game another chance.  The guide will be pretty extensive and I take no responsibility if you mess up your game  :P

Limit Game FPS - This one has been a godsend.  I was experiencing major lag especially in build/Buy mode.  My computer is way over spec for this game much like most computers today.  What would happen is that while in Build/Buy Mode my FPS would spike into the 200's!  During these spikes the game would almost be un-playable.

To fix this issue:

Download this file:  https://rd.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/34]https://rd.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/34

 I know it says it's for Skyrim but it will also work for The Sims 3.  After downloading it unzip the antilag.cfg and d3d9.dll into  X: > Program Files (x86) > Origin Games > The Sims 3 > Game > Bin if using Origin.   If you have the steam version of the game use :   X: > Program Files (x86) > Steam > steamapps > common > The Sims 3 > Game > Bin .  By default it is set to limit the game to 30FPS.  I have been using this and it works fine.  You can change it to 60FPS if you want by opening the antilag.cfg using notepad.  I haven't had a chance to test the game at 60FPS but its not like The Sims 3 is a First person shooter or anything so IMO its probably not necessary.  Run the game and your FPS should be capped at 30.  

Alternately you can try turning on Vsync in either Nvidia Control Panel or AMD Catalyst software however I wasn't able to get it working.  I'm using a Geforce 1080 and the latest Nvidia drivers.  When I turned it on in the control panel it did nothing in the game.

After installing this fix I no longer experience massive lag spikes while in Build/Buy Mode the whole game also seems to be running a little bit smoother as well.  Unfortunately there isn't much we can do about EA's terrible coding of the game so there will still be lag but this one has helped my game more then any of the other fixes as of yet.

**It also must be noted that FPS fix uses the same file as Reshade, d3d9.dll.  I haven’t tested if this works using the d3d9.dll file from Reshade but I can assume it probably doesn’t.  I do however believe there is a frame limiter built into reshade which should accomplish this same thing as this mod.

In Game Settings

1. Graphics

Resolution - You should always play at the native resolution for your monitor.  Most monitors today use a native resolution of 1680x1050 or 1920x1080.  If your game is struggling at this resolution you should always lower the graphics settings not the resolution.

Windowed? or Fullscreen? - This one is something that you will have to test.  Some people say that the game runs better for them in Fullscreen and some say it runs better in Windowed Mode.  My personal game runs better in Windowed Mode.

Object Hiding -  Enabling this can help to increase performance especially if you have a large house.  Essentially what this does is that the game renders every object on the lot you are in even if you aren't on that floor.  So if you are playing on the first floor the game is using resources to render the items on the second/third floor etc.

Reflection Quality - Setting it to Mirrors and Water will work well for most people but adjusting this lower can offer a slight performance increase.

Edge Smoothing - I personally have not noticed much of a difference in performance adjusting this setting but this is the Anti Aliasing settings for the game.  Try lowering it and see if it makes a difference in your game.

Visual Effects - According to the game "Controls the quality of particle effects on objects, Sims, and the town"   Medium would be the recommended setting for Visual effects.  It offers a happy medium between performance and visual quality.

Lighting and Shadows - Adjusts the shadow quality in the game.  I run this on high in my game as there isn't a noticeable difference in performance between medium and high settings.  Turning it to low will give a slight boost in performance but the shadows will be ugly.

Tree Detail - Keep this setting on high as there really is no difference in performance between settings.  All you end up with are some ugly trees and no real boost in performance.

Enable Animation Smoothing & Enable Advanced Rendering - Both of these items should always be checked.  Enable Animation smoothing makes no difference in performance and Turning off Enable Advanced Rendering can actually decrease performance.

Draw Distance - Keep this on high as it does not effect performance.

High Detailed Lots - With this turned up all the way I noticed a fair bit of stuttering in my game.  I have mine set to 4 lots but this is a setting that should be tested to see what works for you.

Texture Detail and Sim Detail - Most computers should be able to handle both of these settings maxed for a small boost in performance you can lower the texture detail to medium.  Sim Detail should always be set at Very High as lower this setting has only a very small boost in performance that probably wouldn't even be noticeable.

2. General Settings

Enable Shop Mode - This will disable the Sims 3 Shop from In-Game.  Turning this off can help with stuttering.

Enable Lessons - Turning this off can possibly help with performance.  I haven't noticed a difference but at this point we all know how to play The Sims.

Memories - Disabling Memories can offer a boost to performance and reduce in game stuttering.

**Alternately you can try using this mod if you don’t want to completely disable the memory system in The Sims 3

No (or fewer) automatic memories by velocitygrass on Mod The Sims

https://modthesims.info/d/446281

Enable Interactive Loading Screens - Turning this off has been said to reduce some in game stuttering.  Besides nobody wants to play that stupid game anyway.

3. Online

Keep Me Logged In & Enable Online Notifications - Turning off both of these settings will help game performance and reduce stuttering.

4. Advanced Demographics Options

Enable Story Progression - Turning this off will reduce stuttering in the game.  If you like this setting you can use the NRASS Story Progression explained further in this guide.

Advanced Settings

I will try to guide as best as I can with these but always MAKE BACKUPS of every file modified in this section.

In order to make this process easier be sure that "Hide extensions for known file types" is unchecked in the Windows Folder Options.  In Windows 10   Click on View > Options > Change folder and search options.  Switch to the view tab and under Files and Folders uncheck "Hide extensions for known file types"

Edit GraphicsRules.sgr - This setting will help the game run smoother and make for faster clothing changes.

1. Got to X:\Program Files (x86)\Origin Games\The Sims 3\Game\Bin

2. Copy the GraphicsRules.sgr file and back it up in either in a safe location or even in the same directory just name it GraphicsRules.sgr.orig.  Click yes when prompted with the rename.

3.  Now Open GraphicsRules.sgr with notepad (not the copied version)

4.  You will see four lines that look like this: seti cpuLevelUber 4

seti cpuLevelHigh 3

seti cpuLevelMedium 2

seti cpuLevelLow 1

5. Change the four lines to this: seti cpuLevelUber 4

seti cpuLevelHigh 3

seti cpuLevelMedium 3

seti cpuLevelLow 3

6. Save in Notepad and close Notepad.

Edit Sims3.ini - This is how you force the game to use more then 2GB of RAM.  I noticed a massive improvement in both CAS and Build/Buy mode with this.  Clothing,Objects etc load almost instantly when this is changed.  The Origin version of the game has already been patched to use 4GB of RAM  however adjusting this value to reflect your systems total ram amount if above 4GB can be beneficial.  If you currently have 4GB total of RAM and are using the Origin version of the game you can skip this step.  It’s questionable whether or not this makes a difference in the game as The Sims 3 is a 32 bit game that only uses 4GB to begin with but it seems to actually make a difference in my own game.

1. Go to X:\Program Files (x86)\Origin Games\The Sims 3\Game\Bin (same as GraphicsRules.sgr)

2. Backup the Sims3.ini in the same method as the GraphicsRules.sgr

3. Open Sims3.ini in Notepad

4. Under [ResourceSystem] you will see this:

MemoryUsageLimit = 20000000 (  10000000 for legacy/disc versions)

5.  Ignoring the zeros this is showing that the Sims 3 is only using 4GB of ram (2gb for Legacy/Disc versions of the game).  Depending on the amount of ram in your system you should change it to half of your total amount of ram. Examples:

8GB Total Ram  MemoryUsageLimit = 40000000

16GB Total Ram MemoryUsageLimit = 80000000

32GB Total Ram MemoryUsageLimit = 16000000

**Be Sure to only change the first number not any zeros.  For 32GB+ its the first 2 numbers.  Putting this too high could cause your system lock up or crash and possibly do damage**

Modding

First go here and follow the instructions on this page to set up your Mods folder: https://www.carls-sims-4-guide.com/forum/index.php?topic=9187.0

1.  Must Have Mods - Even if you don't plan on putting any CC in your game these Mod is highly recommended if not needed in order to keep the game running Smoothly.

NRAAS Master Controller - 

https://www.nraas.net/community/MasterController

This mod is a must have.  It fixes many of the errors in the game and helps immensely with game lag and stuttering.

Under Modules Download: (Not Required but useful)

MasterController Cheats - Adds "cheaty" functions to Master Controller.

MasterController Expanded Tatttoo - Expands the number of locations provided in Tattoo CAS

MasterController Progression - This mod adds progression related interactions to the "Master Controller" menu.   Addition to Story Progression (below)

MasterController Integration -  (Must have if you install a lot of sliders)  This mod replaces all the CAS interactions in the game with the one managed by MasterController, including the "Create-A-Sim" button in "Edit Town".

Now go to this Page and download these other “Must Have Mods” by NRAAS

https://www.nraas.net/community/Mods-List

Overwatch - (Important) Contains error correction and periodic game maintenance/clean up to reduce issues and improve game longevity.

Error Trap - (Important) Core-Mod that performs save-game corruption cleanup, while catching and reporting unhandled script errors.

Traffic- (Important) Controls autonomous vehicular traffic such as the Food/Ice Cream Trucks, and provides some minor vehicle routing settings.

Saver - (Important) Adds autosave function to the game.

Register -  (Important) Replaces the EA Role Manager with a custom version that corrects several bugs and allows for greater flexibility.

Other Useful Mods at NRAAS (Optional) Same page as above:

Story Progression - Basically a less buggy, less performance heavy replacement for the EA story progression in the game.  Be sure to tick off “Story Progression” in the In Game options as stated above.  (Install all the optional modules as well)

Decensor - We all know what this does

Dresser - Adds automated outfit control for inactive sims, adding accessories, and restricting CAS parts.

WooHooer - Alters the romance and woohoo interactions, provides greater flexibility and attraction scoring.

Retuner - Provides fine tuning of many settings in game like autonomous settings, pricing etc.  This one can seem daunting at first but there are plenty of Returner settings to be found out there and its really isn’t that difficult to change the settings in game albeit time consuming. 

Be sure to look over the other mods if you see something you like download it.  Any of these mods should be safe to add to your game with little to no performance impact.

After that extract the files you just downloaded into \Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3\Mods\Packages\Overrides If you don't have an Overrides folder create one.  The “Overrides Folder”  is essentially a priority folder.  Mods put into this folder will be loaded before any other package files you may add to the game.

In-Game NRASS Settings 

These are just some settings to change to improve game stability.  This is by far not comprehensive.  For Retuner settings I would suggest a Google search of other users settings or consulting the NRASS help section for explanations of how to use this mod.

Click on the Town Hall in Map View Under NRASS

Traffic

Ice Cream Truck - I hate that creepy Ice cream truck so I change everything to false and set Max Ice Cream Trucks to 0.  If you like having it around still change the Max Ice Cream Trucks to 1

Routing

Allow Performance Career Limos - False (Limos create a lot of lag in the game)

Allow Use of Cars During General Routing - True (if disabled your sims will only use cars when you tell them to)

Always Use Taxis for Inactives Lacking Vehicles - False (Townies will no longer use Taxis)

Register

Allow Immigration - False (Random Townies wont move into your town keeping the population down and helping to keep performance from decreasing as sims move in.

Animal Control - Change the settings below for a performance boost

Maximum Deer - 2

Maximum Raccoon - 2

Maximum Stray Cats - 3

Maximum Stray Dogs - 3

Maximum Unicorns - 0  (Sorry Wild Horses and Unicorns add a good deal of lag to the game)

Maximum Horses - 0

Custom Content (CC)

Much like any other Sims game moderation is key.  The more CC you download and put in you game the slower your game will perform.  I'm not going to go into detail about how to install CC in The Sims 3 in this guide.  These are just a few important tips to take into account when installing CC,

Try to install Sims3Pack files as much as you can.  Sims 3 automatically merges these files and this leads to better game stability.

Merge you package files. Girl Meets Pixels made a great guide here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIZ2LdoT-HY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIZ2LdoT-HY

Keep an eye on the size of your Sims 3 Folder in /Documents.  It may seem crazy to imagine but massive CC shopping sprees can lead to a massive folder to the tune of 30GB+.  Skins and Hairs are a killer.  These files are usually rather large sometimes in excess of 80 - 100mb.  My suggestion would be to find a default skin you like and just use that.  Don’t install any non default skins.  Also go easy on the hair.  You don’t need 20 different variations of the same ponytail in the game.  Clothing is usually fine but pay attention to the size of the CC.  That cute dress you found on Tumblr that’s 65mb more then likely has way too high of a poly count and will just lag and be slow to render in the game.  Sure it looks great in screenshots but it wont be practical in game.  I’m not sure of the exact cut-off for CC but eventually the folder gets too large for the game to handle and it will lead to issues like save corruption or in some cases not being able to save the game at all because the game has run out of memory.   Sadly if  this happens there is no fix for this and you will lose all of your progress and possibly your save file as well.

Advanced

World Fixes EA left many routing issues in a lot of their worlds that are known to cause lag and often times crashing as Sims bunch up in broken routing areas on the map.

All the World Fixes can be found on Ellacharmed's Wordpress page.  Follow the instructions very carefully and install the fixes for all the worlds you have installed in your game.

https://ellacharmed.wordpress.com

Other Useful Tips

Delete your cache!!  This one can't be stressed enough.  I delete mine before every game play and never have issues starting the game up.  A guide can be found here: http://simswiki.info/wiki.php?title=Game_Help:Sims_3_Delete_Cache_Files

Turn off Origin In Game - This will give a noticeable improvement.

Close all other programs running in the background.  

Turn on Game Mode or Silent Mode on your Antivirus

Useful Sims 3 Programs

s3pe http://www.simlogical.com/ContentUploadsRemote/uploads/189/

Sims 3 Dashboard Tool http://modthesims.info/download.php?t=387006]http://modthesims.info/download.php?t=387006

CC Magic http://modthesims.info/download.php?t=461888]http://modthesims.info/download.php?t=461888

Delphy's Sims 3 Pack Multi-Extractor http://modthesims.info/download.php?t=364038]http://modthesims.info/download.php?t=364038

Save Cleaner by Kuree http://www.simlogical.com/ContentUploadsRemote/uploads/1532/

[simsiesdecades]

Historical Gameplay Ask Game - Answers

13. Which neighborhoods are your favorite for decades? Do any fit a certain time period better than others? I love Windenburg and Henford on Bagley. My current decades is in Windenburg 'cause I played my last decades in Henford and it filled up so quickly with side families that I wanted to start out in a bigger world to have the family around for a longer time. I also loved Oasis Springs for the 1950s to 1980s when it comes to the mid-century styled homes. Willow creek with it's french colonial style is also one of my favorite worlds for decades and Brindleton with the Dutch Colonial/New England Build Style. 18. What do you struggle with most in historical gameplay? I'm always annoyed when Townies show up with their tablets or smartphones or when your sim takes a selfie somehow without electricity even invented. Another thing is the modern elements in the worlds like statue's you can't get rid off. I tried the timeless mod but it's still pretty much the same. I'm still wishing for a medieval pack at some point. 20. Share a “behind the scenes” fact or story about your save file/challenge

My decades save is mostly a collection of dead sims from previous saves. My founders both died as a teen and a baby in their original saves. Camille died on her toddler roll in my Original Decades she was originally named Nimue Sandersen after the Arthur Saga. Raphaël (originally named Matthew Remington, he would have been king one day) died as a teen on a heart attack cause he came back from school enraged in my Disney Villain (Decades Style) Challenge. So I gave them a new life and their own legacy as my new Decades Founders. Nimue's older sister (Caelia) who died as a teen as well also made it to the new Decades Save File as Townie. Another Townie is the current heir of my old legacy I gave up on. Almost all of my first Townie generation has a story like that and I kinda love every single one of them even if I don't play them.

Thank you for asking @dsimsdecades. 🖤

[kaelsims]

An update for my Donovan family legacy!

I’ve made the decision that I want to transform this legacy into a Build a City Challenge. I just feel that I don’t have enough drive to keep going without giving myself something more concrete to work towards. Plus, thanks to @melsie-sims and a few others, I am obsessed with BACCs right now. I’m transforming this save in an attempt not to abandon it, honestly.

What this means for the blog:

Updated post banners, post links, and blog links!

More focus on other families!

More concrete goals!

What this means for the gameplay: 

Storywise, this is happening because after a year of successful living and in fact, flourishing, this venture has proven to be one worth pursuing. It is only now that there is the option to move in new Sims, though they will have to earn CAS points first.

Some things will no longer be allowed.

Interacting with non playable characters (e.g. “townies” which will be the following previously introduced sims: Orlando and Lucas Dark, Nadia and Lillian McCormick, Crystal and Cason Murdock, and Giselle and Eddie Quinn). I will be able to interact with them again after completing 5 gold level parties, at which point I will also include them in the household count, though not as households that can earn achievements.

Using plopsy will no longer be allowed until a Sim (likely Adelaide) completes the Lady of the Knits aspiration.

Children will be allowed to go to school because one of the possible options for that rule is that you have at least five children or teens in the town (they are all toddlers at the moment, but most were born around the same time. As of the time of writing this, the Donovan’s have two toddlers, the Yamakazi’s have… I think two toddlers and a baby, and the Ralston’s have… some little ones…) at least one Sim has three skills up to a level 6 (which has been done by Lucy).

Electricity can continue to be used, as Lucy maxed out the handiness skill at some point.

Services are now locked until we have ten households in the world. As of right now we officially have three. When we unlock the ability to interact with “townies,” I will count it as having seven households (Donovan, Yamakazi, Ralston, Dark, McCormick, Murdock, and Quinn). Daycare/Nannies will not be unlocked until a Sim maxes out the parenting skill.

Starting in the second year of living in Newcrest, Lucy will take on a job as Mayor. This will keep her away from the home now and the bulk of the household responsibilities (raising the kids, keeping the garden, and tending the animals) will fall to Adelaide.

Rotational gameplay.

Starting in the second year of living in Newcrest, the gameplay will rotate between three families (for now). Those families are (of course) Lucy and Alelaide Donovan, Hiro and Yokota Yamakazi, and Vanessa and Rocky Ralston.

NOTE: I chose these three families to be my main “founders” because Rocky is Adelaide’s best friend and Yokota is Lucy’s best friend, not for any other reason. Upon the writing of this I don’t even remember their traits, so I’m kind of going to have to shoehorn them into the roles I’m deciding for them.

My goals that I hope to work on for the rest of the time we are focusing on these households (and not their children):

Complete the Freelance Botanist aspiration. This will probably be completed by Lucy or Adelaide- I’m leaning Adelaide because Lucy will be busy with the new job and maxing the charisma skill so we can move someone else in, but she will have to finish the Lady of the Knits aspiration first. I want to complete the Freelance Botanist aspiration to be able to open up Sulani as our next world.

Unlocking FOUR community lot types (so that next generation we can move to Sulani):

Museum (need 10 masterpiece paintings (completed by Hiro) and 10 excellent sculptures (Lucy)).

Park (level 10 gardening and 3+ families. The families are already achieved (classified as a parent and a child) by the Donovan, Yamakazi, and Ralston families. Lucy is at level 9 gardening, so hopefully she will be able to max this out during the spring of year two).

Pool (have experienced a heatwave, level 10 wellness and fitness. To be completed by Vanessa).

Spa (level 10 wellness, to be completed by Vanessa).

Personal Note: A “Joker” point, acquired by completing an aspiration, can also be used to bypass ONE of these requirements. For example, if Vanessa has completed the wellness skill but not the fitness skill, a JOKER POINT can be used to allow us to open a pool and a spa at the same time.

Complete the Party Animal Aspiration to unlock the ability to make clubs, which will become important as more Sims are made important to gameplay (to be completed by Rocky).

Have someone (anyone) take up a part time job after townies are unlocked.

(IL) Fisherman: Reach level 10 in the fishing skill.

Perhaps Yokota, as she has been fishing with Lucy multiple times.

Have Vanessa take up a job in the athlete career after maxing fitness.

Have Hiro take a position in the painting career after maxing painting.

What to expect to see soon:

(Re)Introduction posts! Everyone already knows about the Donovan’s (though they will receive a re-introduction post as well to iron out the backstory of Lucy and Adelaide), but these posts are where you will learn more about the Yamakazi’s and the Ralston’s!

Rotational Gameplay: The Donovan family will continue into spring, then pass the torch (and journal) over to the Yamakazi family for the summer, to the Ralston’s for the fall, and back to the Donovan’s for winter (probably. This might change based on newcomers to town. Note, I will probably never play the “townie” families, especially since I am marking them as unable to complete any of the goals for me).

Lots of struggling! I have no idea how I’m going to do at this, so wish me luck!

If you made it to the end of this post… well. More power to you, and I really appreciate it! I hope that everyone can enjoy the new turn that this blog is taking, and that it helps me stick with this save file instead of abandoning it… like I do to all the others… Hell, wish me luck on this one too!

| rules. | intro. | tag. | chrono. | family trees. | scoresheet. |

NOTE: rules are new, created by punzelsims and organized by melsie-sims. scoresheet is new, organized by melsie-sims.

[ramblings-of-a-mad-cat]

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Re-Write

(Inspired by the fantastic work of @dalekofchaos) 

“Fix it” fics are a thing, yeah? Well, here’s my shot at writing one for the ninth Star Wars film. Contrary to popular opinions, I’m only going to change one or two things about the two movies beforehand, because I unironically loved both of them. But I can admit that there were mistakes, and TLJ tied up most of the loose ends, leaving it difficult to follow-up with a sequel. So, regarding Episodes eight and nine, here’s what changes. 

I have exactly one change for TFA. That random ass stormtrooper who called out Finn as a traitor and inexplicably had a melee weapon that could fight lightsabers? Yeah, just make that Phasma and have done with it. I don’t understand why it wasn’t her in the first place. Also, Finn being able to wield a lightsaber isn’t “evidence” that he’s force-sensitive if you ask me. The films never confirm that non-force sensitives can’t use them. This will be important later.

Moving on to TLJ...replace that stupid milk scene with the deleted scene of Luke reacting to the news of Han’s death. I mean, come on, that’s a given. Another given, Luke uses his green lightsaber in the illusionary duel against Kylo Ren. That’s just common sense. 

After Kylo Ren asserts himself and force-chokes General Hux, and the two of them depart...the camera pans in on the pieces of Snoke’s corpse, onto his face...and his eyes suddenly open. Yes, this will be important later. Somehow, Snoke survived.

I genuinely liked Vice-Admiral Holdo, but they kind of fumbled her role in the story. She was never given a reason for why she did not share her plans with the rest of the Resistance. The most popular theory being that she assumed a mole was on board, but this was never stated in the movie. In my opinion, Poe had every reason to call for mutiny based on what he knew, so the whole message/character arc of him learning to be a leader rather than a hero didn’t quite stick the landing. So how will I fix it? Simple, replace Holdo with Leia. First things first, we don’t get the superman-flying, which is just an objective improvement. We also are more inclined to trust Leia over Poe, because of the legacy the character has. We’re also going with the plot-threat there is indeed a mole. What’s more, Leia is given the sendoff she deserves with the light-speed kamikaze scene. Sure, she may be force-sensitive, but it’s clear that she chose a different path in her life and I think she should go out as a warrior, not a Jedi, because that’s what she was. General Leia. Plus, you avoid the awkward interactions with CGI Leia from the canon episode 9. 

I think we can all agree that Finn deserved better, and he absolutely deserved to have the scene that was deleted, where he called out Phasma in front of her soldiers, telling them what happened in TFA, when Phasma caved so easily. This is the beginning of the Stormtrooper rebellion, and Finn is responsible for igniting the spark. He can definitely duel with Phasma, but he’s not going to win for one simple reason. The mole suddenly reveals herself and puts a blaster to his head. 

Spoiler alert, the mole is Rose. The reason why could vary - perhaps she blames the resistance for the death of her sister. Perhaps the First Order captured her sister alive and is threatening her. Either way, Rose’s efforts help turn the tide and allow her and Phasma to escape. The code-breaker can still be part of the movie, but he doesn’t really matter. The Canto Bight sequence is unchanged, because I honestly don’t dislike it at all. 

So who saves Finn from his attempt to follow General Leia’s example, and give his life for the cause that he now truly cares about? Poe does. This moment already causes their character arcs to intersect, with Poe being in the position Leia was in at the start of Last Jedi, Finn being in Poe’s position. Poe crashes their ships to save Finn, and because I’m #Stormpilot trash, and we deserved an onscreen LGBT relationship between leads, Poe does indeed kiss Finn. However, don’t worry about Rose. I have plans for her. 

That’s about all that changes. But in the grand scene of things, most of these aren’t really issues with the film itself. But they’re necessary to set up for my idea for a Rise of Skywalker re-write. Speaking of...

The Rise of Skywalker - let’s begin with the name. 

I hate this name and everything it represents. I’ve heard rumors of an alternate script where Ben Solo is not redeemed, called “Duel of Fates.” I’m not a fan of Ben not being redeemed, but I like the concept of that film name. So I’m thinking this movie will be called something like “One Last Bout” or “One Last Stand.” Something simple but effective, with the air of finality. I truly doubt Episode 9 is the end of Star Wars forever, but if we think of it as a conclusion to the first two trilogies, this can work. 

The film opens with the funeral of General Leia. With Rey, Finn, and Poe (who are holding hands for sure) all standing together with Chewie, who is in shambles as we can expect. Lando is also present and he gets re-introduced. Luke’s force spirit appears and looks on, but does not reveal himself to everyone else. Likewise, pan the camera over, and we see Kylo Ren observing the service as well, out of sight. Luke makes telepathic contact with Rey, to warn her of danger, at which point both Rey and Ben double over in pain, the sound design giving us an uncomfortable high pitched screech, or something similar. There’s a disturbance in the Force. Something is returning. Something terrible. Ben is spotted, and the main trio open fire with blasters, but Ben escapes. Lando stops Rey from pursuing him, suggesting that it would dishonor Leia’s memory to do it right then and there. 

Ben, on his ship, struggles with horrible pain, a serious headache. Until at last, he is telepathically contacted by a voice we do not hear. But it terrifies him, and he takes off in his ship in pursuit of it. 

A scene similar to the one where the Resistance analyzes Palpatine’s message, but there is no message and there is empathically no Palpatine in this movie, though I won’t get into why that was a horrible idea right now. Never mind, Rey is simply recounting to Finn, Poe, Chewie, and Lando that there’s a disturbance in the Force. Luke’s spirit appears and warns them that a great evil that long predates their time, is returning. He disappears, explaining that he needs to await Leia as she “crosses over” and becomes one with The Force. This is the last we see of Luke in the film, because his story is over. The torch has been passed.

Ben/Kylo Ren arrives at what we saw as Exegol. I don’t mind this planet being Exegol, it was about the only new location I actually remembered from the canon film. He confronts the voice in his head, proclaiming that he will kill any threat to The First Order and it’s Supreme Leader. A familiar voice in the dark chuckles. “You have yet to finish off your predecessor. By what right do you claim his job?” Snoke leans forward, and reveals himself. A similar scene to TROS plays out but with no mention of Rey. Despite Ben’s shock, Snoke is amused. “You are not the first apprentice to try and take my life. You probably won’t be the last. I have fashioned many into tools for the Dark Side, even the Emperor himself learned at my feet. Did you think you were special? So, yes. Snoke is the final Big Bad like he should have been (Andy Serkis was robbed) and he really is Darth Plagueis because he was totally supposed to be. By means of mental torture, Snoke reassumes control of Ben and tells him to gather the Knights of Ren “Wherever you’ve hidden them” and prepare to crush the rebellion once and for all. 

Instead of visiting a random planet for a lead, Lando and Chewie lead the gang back to Endor. Or it could also be Kashyyyk, I suppose. Like before, Lando and Luke were there. They spent years documenting the history of the Jedi and the Sith. This could be contained in “Holocrons” I realize they have meaning behind them in the lore, but I don’t know much, so just consider the “Holocron” to be a storage unit for information. Arriving there, we still have the scene of a local asking for Rey’s family name, but this time she’s going to stay no one like she should have. While researching, Finn expresses the theory, or more like the hope, that he might be Force-Sensitive. Rey tells him that everyone is, to an extent, but Finn clarifies that he means it the same way that Rey is. “Y’know, the way you can push stuff around and sense people’s feelings. Make stuff float.” An echo back to Rey’s line from TLJ. What I’m going for here is that Finn is not force-sensitive in the traditional way. His arc in this movie is going to be about accepting that, and realizing that he doesn’t need that to be a “hero.” He already is one, with everything he’s done. But as of right now, his insistence that he could be leads to bickering between him and Rey.

Things only get worse as Rey uncovers more about the Jedi. Sees some of the ways in which they were not the white knights that history remembers them as. Luke was right, they played no small part in creating Darth Vader. What’s more, she discovers the “Rule of Two” which has been hinted in the films but never discussed outright. The idea that there are only ever two people wielding the Dark Side, a master and an apprentice. And that the apprentice invariably kills the master to succeed them. A tradition dating back for millennia. The Sith, the practitioners of the Dark Side, always betray each other. She’s disheartened, thinking of Ben killing Snoke and how he offered her his hand. What it all would have led to in the end. 

They finally discover what could be the answer - the “great evil” that is returning. A Sith lord called Darth Plaguis, who, when they bring up the hologram of him, strongly resembles Snoke. They put two and two together, reading more about Plagueis’ file. How he vanished without a trace. How he was said to have performed an unspeakable ritual in the Dark Side to allow him to control life and death itself. He could revive those he loved from death, and could not truly he killed, having become an anomaly in the Force. Only another anomaly of equal power would be able to stop him. 

An ambush occurs, with assassins in masks attacking the heroes. They wield melee weapons that are not lightsabers, and they force the group to split up due to simply being outnumbered. The gang realizes that, apart from being here to kill them, they probably want that Holocron, but the Resistance must be the ones to get it. We get a similar scene to the canon film, with Chewie heading to the Millennium Falcon with the Holocron and trying to take off, to blast the assassins from the sky...but then the assassins reveal their ace card. They have force power. And they start to pull the Falcon back down. Rey struggles against them, but she’s outnumbered, still upset from everything that she’s learned, and easily angered when Finn rushes in to try and help, despite not being able to. Rey succumbs to her anger and unleashes Dark-Side lightning. Just like in the canon film. The differences? Number one, this doesn’t foreshadow any lineage for her...but importantly Chewie is actually dead, not just a fake-out. He’s dead, and the Falcon and Holocron are destroyed with him. Seriously, the emotional weight of that scene is completely drained by not having Chewie actually die there. The potential is lost, and I’m going to prove it. 

Rey is appropriately mortified, shocked, and despondent.  The assassins are too - they can’t believe their enemy killed one of their own just to win. Everyone is shocked, but Poe is the quickest to regain his head, dashing in and blasting at the assassins to help cover the heroes while they escape, Finn half-dragging a stunned Rey. So, everyone feels awkward about what just happened and though they believe Rey that it was an accident, it still happened and both Finn and Poe feel distant from her. Lando, understandably, is a lot less patient than them. He knew Chewie for years. His old feelings about losing Han might resurface, and he could say something about how Rey is no better than Kylo Ren, before catching himself and apologizing. At this point, Lando also departs. He needs to get back to the Resistance, because he has been named the Acting General, since Leia’s death. 

Meanwhile, Poe deduces that the assassins were the mythical “Knights of Ren” rumored to be the Supreme Leader’s private army. Rey is shaken from her stupor at this news - it doesn’t make sense, it completely violates the “Rule of Two.” Could Ben still be saved? Or is it too late for him? Is it too late for her, Rey, even? Cue Ben Solo/Kylo Ren opening up the force-bond once again. A similar conversation about how they’re both uncertain of their place in the galaxy, and a confirmation that Snoke is back, and is really Plagueis. Ben reveals that he’s been ordered to kill Rey, and he apologies - he truly doesn’t want to do this, but Snoke once again has control of him, and has proven that killing him won’t matter. Rey senses terrible pain, and gets a taste of what Ben has been put through - think, like, the Cruciatus Curse. Whatever “pain” move Kylo Ren used on Poe in TFA. He learned it from Snoke, of course. Ben closes the force-bond, telling Rey to run. Run as far and as fast as she can, because he’s no longer able to take it easy on her.

Finn and Poe overhear the conversation, or at least Rey’s side of it. They hear enough to deduce who she’s talking to, and this further plants the seeds of doubt in their heads. As we see in Last Jedi, Rey doesn’t really tell people about the force-bond, so we can assume she never told her friends. The family is fracturing more and more. Rey is slipping closer and closer to the Dark Side. And all without needing to give her a bloodline. See? I told you Chewbacca’s death had potential. 

They make a pit stop on Coruscant, because there’s no reason it couldn’t have been Coruscant, hiding from First Order ships. Here is where the character of Zorii originally showed up. As compelling as the performance was, she’s not going to show up here. Let’s be honest, she was only there to no-homo Finn and Poe, as well as give Poe a backstory that is apparently racist? (I’m not knowledgeable enough about this topic to comment, so let’s just throw out the whole idea.) Instead, the team is confronted by none other than Rose, the mole from TLJ. She reveals that more and more stormtroopers have been rebelling since Finn gave his speech. There’s only one faction that she is confident will never turn on the First Order - the Knights of Ren, who “seem to worship the Supreme Leader like a damn god...though, I guess he isn’t the Supreme Leader anymore, is he?” News is spreading of Snoke’s return, and Rose has the heroes cornered with a band of loyalist stormtroopers. 

Finn pleads with Rose, and the other Stormtroopers, to reconsider. Here is where we outline Rose’s character. She despises everything about war. She’s intentionally attacking both sides, seeking to see both the Resistance and The First Order collapse. She has a personal vendetta against Poe and actively tries to kill him, for his role in the battle that killed her sister. Poe likewise despises Rose for having betrayed Finn. Whether Rose’s actions are tactical doesn’t really matter - she’s responding from a place of emotion, not logic. Poe, showing his growth, apologies to Rose and talks her down. Explains the situation, how dire the circumstances are. Rey chimes in and identifies with Rose, having made plenty of mistakes of her own. There’s a moment of solidarity between the team once again. A moment, anyway. Poe makes peace with Rose, and she lets the heroes go. However, her stormtroopers turn on her, and attack everyone. The gang helps Rose escape with them, and after the escape, they realize that those stormtroopers were in fact the Knights of Ren, spying for Kylo Ren, which means Snoke as well. 

Rey, tortured by nightmares about Snoke, leaves in the middle of the night. Finn is awake, and tries to stop her, which leads to a major fight. Finn is having trouble trusting Rey, and it shows. Rey is likewise fed up with Finn trying to insert himself into the story, as it were. However, having been told by Rose the impact that he had on the galaxy, Finn no longer wishes to be a Jedi. He then redirects the question to Rey - does she want to be a Jedi? Like Luke? Honest answer - she doesn’t know. The Jedi of old would never have accepted her. She’d have been expelled and become another Darth Vader. Rey is impulsive, confrontational, she has a short temper. She gives in to the Dark Side too easily, and now it’s gotten someone killed. She feels diseased. Though Finn tries to dissuade such talk, it comes out that he and Poe overheard her conversation with Kylo Ren. Both sides are angry here, because Rey kept this secret, and because her friends spied on her. She cries out in anger, causing several nearby lights to blow out. Rey storms away, seeking to be alone.

This fight scene takes the place of the ESB rip-off with an evil Rey. That just wasn’t necessary. Instead, Rey leaves to confront Snoke, kill him once and for all, and rescue Ben if she can. After that, she isn’t sure what she’ll do. It is at this point that she is captured by the Knights of Ren. However, they don’t kill her, as instructed. They remove their masks - humanizing them as just being people. They reveal that they were the Jedi who followed Ben after he left Luke. When Starkiller Base was finished, Ben told them to go and evacuate their families from their home planets, just in case. The Knights stayed away for a long time, per Ben’s orders, but returned when he bid them too. They love him, seem to look up to him, and they can tell that he loves Rey. That he’s not his own man anymore. And that his best interests don’t align with Snoke’s. They know Snoke has to die, but also realize they aren’t powerful enough to stop him. The only one they can think of who might be - is Rey. They beg for her help, and she agrees.

The movie now offers a montage of Stormtroopers abandoning Phasma and Hux, and turning themselves in to the Resistance, explaining that they want to fight for the light. Meanwhile, Finn talks to Rose and Poe, and they all agree that they can’t just leave Rey, they have to go after her. They regret not trusting her, and conclude that even if she is tempted by the Dark Side, even if she falls...she’s still their friend. They don’t believe that she’s a spy - Rose offers useful tip in this sense. Observing that Rey offers none of the “tells.” Finally, we come to Rey training with the Knights of Ren. The transformation of her staff into a lightsaber pike. And it’s gold, baby. It’s gold. (Oh, since I forgot to mention this, Anakin’s lightsaber never gets repaired. Rey has been using a blaster up to this point.)

Bring us back to Snoke, torturing Ben once again as he can sense the betrayal of the Knights. Ben doesn’t realize that they’re still loyal to him, he thinks they just abandoned him, and his spirit is broken even further. Snoke talks more about his past, and here we can get a philosophical discussion. Perhaps Snoke discovered the midichlorians during his research, and exploited them for more power. He could analyze the Force as being, not a difference between light and darkness, but a shallow body of water that only gets deeper the further you venture. Snoke boasts that he was the first to risk “drowning” himself in it’s depths. Meanwhile, Ben hallucinates seeing Han, encouraging him to get up and fight back. We can also have Leia’s voice here, if we want. Ben fights back in a scene that echoes TFA, the way Rey resisted his own control. “You are no Master, Plagueis. Not of anyone or anything. You act so powerful, but your thoughts betray you. You’re afraid you will never get it right. Your desperation grows with every failure. But Today is not the day you finally succeed.”  snaps free of Snoke’s control and when Snoke attempts to dominate him with Force Lightning, Ben goes full Prince Zuko and redirects it, Yoda style. With that, he escapes, now on his own. 

Finn, Poe, and Rose show up to fight the Knights of Ren. Assuming Rey to be their prisoner. Rey, faced with her ultimate conflict, the symbol of her uncertainty, a literal metaphor between the two sides of her being at war...her loyalty to Ben, and her loyalty to her friends...her desire to be good, but her tendency toward darkness...finally completes her character arc and solves her identity issues. She creates a barrier between both sides, knocking them all down. She explains herself, telling her friends that the Knights want to stop Snoke. That she has joined them freely, for this reason. She apologizes for how distant she’s been. Admits that while she would never support the First Order, she does care for Ben Solo, despite all he’s done. This leads to Rey making up with her friends, and making peace with the Knights, who were already kind-of friends with Rose, once upon a time. This can lead into a bigger discussion about The Force, the concepts of good and evil as a whole. While Finn and Poe contact Lando, to tell him where Snoke is hiding, Rey reaches out to Ben through the force-bond. 

Meanwhile, Ben has returned to the planet where Luke’s old school of Jedi was. He visits the smoldering remains, and unearths Luke’s green lightsaber. He struggles, still feeling that call to the light, and now that he’s alone and able to meditate, he attempts to do what Snoke did, and “drown” himself in the Force, in the hope of stopping him. He doesn’t drown. Instead, he meets a spirit who he had unconsciously blocked out a long time ago. Anakin Skywalker, portrayed by Hayden “The lines were terrible but his acting was actually pretty good” Christensen.  The call to the light that Ben had always resisted had come from Anakin. These two finally talk, and Anakin urges Ben to choose the right side. They find solidarity in understanding that they were both drawn to the Dark Side, and both felt that this meant they “had” to be evil. Anakin doesn’t dissuade Ben from the Dark Side, but advises him to do what is right for the galaxy, defeating Snoke. Ben is helpless, he doesn’t know how. But Anakin tells him that an anomaly of equal power to Snoke could be enough to kill him forever. It’s definitely worth a try. Anakin fades, promising Ben that the answer is closer than he thinks. He can sense it right now...

After Anakin fades, Rey appears. She has succeeded in contacting Ben, and they catch up. Ben learning that The Knights still care about him, and that Rey has joined them. Rey expresses that Ben was right - it’s time to leave the Jedi and the Sith behind. To start something new. They can discuss the Force in greater detail, how being Dark doesn’t always mean one is evil, but the teachings of the Jedi suggest that it is a binary system. They express affection for each other. With everyone around Rey seeing her talk to someone invisible, Rey reaches out her hand...and Ben takes it. Suddenly appearing in the ship with everyone else. 

Rey and The Knights take turns embracing him, and he exchanges awkward nods with the others. With the help of the Knights, the group comes to the conclusion that Rey and Ben are some kind of Dyad in the Force, irrevocably connected. The two that are one. Such a thing has not been seen in millennia. It’s almost like a glitch in the universe. But this anomaly could be what it takes to stop Snoke for good. 

The main team makes their way back to Exegol as we see Lando giving a speech to the Resistance, now much stronger with the added former-Stormtroopers. As much as I love Jannah, she’s just as unnecessary as Zorii. That screen time could have and should have gone to Rose as she re-establishes herself back into the squad, same as Ben. Everyone arrives at Exegol at the same time, and Resistance soldiers move to open fire on Rose and Ben, understandably so, but here come Poe and Finn to talk them down and explain the situation. No one is happy about it, particularly having Ben Solo around, but Lando, with much consternation, accepts the situation and tells the Resistance not to fire on their new allies. However, he also instructs Finn to kill Ben if he steps out of line. We can get a callback when Finn gives the “I’m watching you” look to Ben, and have a line like “Don’t be a traitor.” Or something. 

Final battle time. Another montage. Finn leading the former storm-troopers in the battle against the last of Snoke’s loyalists, led by Phasma. Together with Rose, Finn defeats them and Phasma is left on her knees. She pleads for mercy, and Rose is prepared to kill her, but Finn intervenes. They take her prisoner instead, because killing people who are already defeated and defenseless is the “Stormtrooper” way. 

Rey, Ben, and the Knights are helping out with their Melee weapons. The Knights are also using the Force, because not using it offensively was a Jedi message, and they didn’t always follow it anyway. Though he’s definitively good now, Ben is still wearing his Kylo Ren armor, and wielding the cross-guard saber. I mean, imagine if he showed up to a warzone in day clothes with a blaster, just because his previous weapons were “evil?” How stupid would that be, right? However, at one point the cross-guard saber is destroyed in the right, and left empty-handed, Ben pulls out Luke’s lightsaber, stares at it...and then ignites it to rejoin the fray.

 We likewise get a battle of wits and strategy between Poe and Hux, as Poe commands a legion to take out the forces guarding Snoke’s throne room. In the end, Poe’s armada is saved by another that Lando commands. Hux manages to fatally shoot Lando, but Poe quickly repays him in kind. While everyone crowds around Lando, Hux dies alone, symbolizing the difference between the two causes. Lando expresses pride in how far Poe has come, tells him that Leia would be proud too, and with his dying words, he addresses Poe as “General Dameron.” It’s a truly emotional moment and afterward, Poe simply turns to the loyalist stormtroopers, carrying the poise and energy of a powerful leader. He tells them to drop their weapons. To surrender now, and they won’t be harmed. It’s badass. And the loyalists do as instructed. 

The path is clear for Rey and Ben to rush in to the Throne Room and kill Snoke, with the Resistance following them as backup. Only Snoke is nowhere to be seen. All of a sudden, we hear that high-pitched screech again. Rey and Ben collapse in terrible pain, hearing Snoke’s voice. His physical body no longer matters or plays by the same rules. He has essentially taken the practice of returning as a force-spirit and perverted it to become Dark. We now get Snoke’s final backstory, and the answer to why he’s able to do this. Snoke himself was part of a Dyad, centuries ago. Though exceptionally rare, Rey and Ben’s bond is not unique. However, Snoke murdered his counterpart for his own selfish reasons. A total violation of nature. This is what splintered him and turned him into the unnatural being that he is now. Rey and Ben vanish, to the alarm of Finn and Poe, as they disappear into the Force. 

The three of them - Rey, Ben, and Snoke, all appear to be in some kind of void. Snoke recounts having sensed the awakening of another Dyad (”The Force Awakens”) and that this is what prompted him to return to physical form in the first place. He reveals his final plan. Rey and Ben must now fight to the death - the winner becoming as powerful Snoke himself. He promises that the winner can rule beside him. This is probably a lie, and both of his opponents refuse. But Snoke also warns that without achieving that kind of power, they’ll be hopeless to stop him. He dual wields red lightsabers in the subsequent duel. Notice how Rey and Ben are using sabers of gold and green - the opposite of red and blue, which  have traditionally symbolized the Jedi and the Sith conflict. Snoke tells them that they have no future. They cannot become Jedi, not with the crimes they’ve committed. If they become Sith, well...he cites the “Rule of Two” insisting that Rey and Ben cannot coexist because one will inevitably slay the other. Rey and Ben respond that they are neither, that they simply fight for what they believe in. That they are...knights of Ren. 

Together, they strike back, plunging their sabers through Snoke’s chest. He vanishes, and the void world vanishes. Rey and Ben reappear in the throne room, and Snoke is there too, staggering to his feet. The Resistance takes aim at him, but he pays them no mind. He warns the two heroes that there is no telling what will happen if they choose this path, that the Galaxy needs structure when dealing with an entity as vague and infinite as The Force. Rey responds simply that “The Force is not some stranger or threat. It is not a vice for power. The Force...is us. All of us. The good and the bad, the light and the dark. So long as we stand together, you will never influence The Force again. You will never control us. You will never return again.” With a roar of defeat, Snoke’s body turns to dust, and a shadowy mass is left in it’s place. Finn and Poe fire at at it, to no avail, but Rey and Ben join hands, and as the shadowy mass surges toward them, The Dyad employs it’s full potential, causing Snoke’s bastardized force-spirit to vanish. Not sure how this would be filmed without looking silly, but I swear, it’s compelling. 

The battle is over. Everyone celebrates. When Finn and Poe kiss, it’s earned, not some nameless background characters. The team returns to the Resistance base. Poe has been unanimously voted to be the new General, which is the closest thing they have to an elected leader right now, so he is in charge of the trials for the loyalists, and the Knights of Ren. The people who committed treason or other crimes. But we only see three of these trials. Ben Solo, Rose Tico...and Rey. After all, she did kill Chewie, right? She conspired with the Knights, too. Rey is pardoned almost immediately, Rose not long after, but Ben Solo...after much consideration, Poe charges the Knights of Ren to a path of atonement. To go around, helping fix the Galaxy. Community service. 

Ben and the Knights prepare to leave on their trip, and Rey and Ben say goodbye. How ship-teasy this is, if there’s a final kiss...eh, interpret how you like. I’m a Reylo fan personally, but I know a lot of people aren’t. Ben promises to see Rey again, and they both acknowledge that thanks to the Dyad, they won’t have to go without seeing each other, not really. Likewise, Rey and Finn and Poe and Rose will be helping to fix up the galaxy, so it’s certainly not goodbye. 

I lied, Luke’s force-spirit appears one more time, this time with Leia, though she doesn’t speak much for obvious reasons. Luke is proud of her, and says something to the effect of “Not bad for a scavenger girl with no family from Jakku of all places. Well done, Rey from nowhere.” Rey looks around at everyone - at Finn, Poe, Rose. At Ben and the Knights. At C3PO, R2D2 and BB8 (Who were definitely involved the whole time I just didn’t have much to say about them) she looks back at Luke and replies that she does have a family. She and her friends go to wave goodbye as Ben’s ship takes off, flying into the sunset, and....ENDING CREDITS!

Let me know what y’all think! Hopefully this doesn’t throw out quite as much from Last Jedi, and does the characters justice!