#this is exactly why i love pleasantview

[tia-amorosa]

Episode 50: Trigger (Part 7)

New home, new challenges

Pleasantview

It's been a long journey. And as his father said, there were now three countries between them. But this distance was supposed to be a good thing. A fresh start for the small family. "It looks like we're staying true to our style. I like the house“/”yes, me too. I hope you come up with lots of new ideas for your pictures here, and above all find peace and quiet.

The first few days in her new home were still a little unfamiliar for baby Cassandra, which is why she was still a little restless. But then the excitement subsided and she soon felt at home. (,,When I was back… back home, I realized… You never changed anything on the walls or…"/,,No, why would I have done that? I liked everything the way it was) "Well, princess, tired enough now?".

“So, is she asleep?���/ “Yes, her eyes closed faster than I could look.”/ _How nice. Oh, I was here at the town hall today. “/ ”And did everything work out?“/ ”Yes, they were even generous enough to offer me a studio. But I turned it down“/ ”Why? A studio of my own, Bella…“/ ”I have that here too… And I love our little attic. Will you take the easel upstairs?"/"Of course, my dear."

.In contrast to her old home, the attic was quite tiny. But it was just right for Bella. While she collected inspiration outside, she brought it up here onto the canvas. And every now and then, her husband kept her company. He took some books from the old home that he hadn't read yet. Reading was a good idea - as long as the child was asleep.

("I remember… While I was standing upstairs at the easel, I could hear you playing the grand piano. Every single note penetrated the house. You played wonderfully“/ ”yes, and then at some point I couldn't do it any more, my darling“/ ”I understand that…"). Mortimer hadn't been playing for very long at this point, his talent was probably hidden somewhere.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Time passed and Cassandra grew a little taller, "Hello, my pretty one. Oh, you'll look just as beautiful as me later. No, I'm certainly not vain or anything. But I can see it. My little reflection. Shall we play?… Grandma Cornelia has sent you a present".

("Oh, the lovely teddy bear. Do you know if she still has it?“/”I think so, I haven't seen it for a long time“/”it helped her learn to speak very quickly. And she always wanted to be good at everything“/”she still is today."). …, "Look, isn't he pretty? Grandma Cornelia made it for you herself. Always take good care of it, okay?".

("Our little one was so inquisitive and creative… I thought maybe she would paint pictures later on or do something else that would encourage her artistic streak a little."/ ,,no, she was never at the easel. She used the piano a few times. But her passion later on was science.“/”Science… I wouldn't be here without her, Mortimer").

One day, Mortimer had just come home from work when his wife approached him excitedly. “What's going on?” "Oh, I was in town today and spoke to some people and told them I'm a painter. A few of them would like to have something pretty for their homes.“/”. That sounds good, that's what you wanted, to make others happy with your art".

"Yes… But that also means I have a lot to do. I need to buy more paints and make a plan.“/ ”Yes, and you shouldn't overdo it. Art takes time, I'm sure you know that yourself“/ ”Yes, I know that, my darling. Oh, some people have already given me concrete ideas, I think a lot of things can be realized."/ "hn-hn, you're on fire now".

"yes, there weren't many people I met, but the ones I did meet were very friendly. It was exactly the right decision to come here. Oh, sorry, I didn't ask you how it was at the institute?“/ ”haha… It was good, my darling, a few of my colleagues got me involved in their latest fields right away"/ ,,,and what are they?"/,,Sun research, could be interesting".

"Sun research… Yes, at least it sounds interesting. But for you, there's only one sun“/ ”Of course. We could retire for a while…“/”,Oh, I, I wanted to go out and meet people again today, if you don't mind, maybe I can get a few more interested people that way/"/ ,,I can hardly stop you at the moment. All right, go on…" … (“Oh, this evening…”). Bella's memory of that day returned to her at high speed.

@greenplumbboblover , @solorisims , @honeywinesims ⭐

[samfodo]

I am sad that I have to redo my Strangetown save but its Ok. Its an excuse for me to combine the basegame 'Hoods and do my personal storyline I have for them (since in my personal headcanon story theyre all connected, starting with Veronaville and ending with Strangetown).

Ok rambling but this is a lot of personal headcanons/stuff I've done and thought about since I was a kid and then stuff I have sort have been implimenting since I've been re-playing.

Veronaville is the "past", Romeo goes to University and gains the Family second aspiration, staying with Juliette in a fairly tense & crazy marriage. He goes into the Paranormal career in order to revive his parents; at first, he fails in reviving Consort and he becomes a zombie.

When they are all adults, and after the revival of Romeo's parents, they meet a curious man named "Mortimer" who comes into town asking about the resurrections. They reveal to him the Grim Reaper Phone, and tell him it isn't perfect. He thanks them and leaves.

I plan on adding Pleasantview as a Sub'Hood when Romeo and Juliette have been Elders for a few days. I'm going to edit memories as well so they met Mortimer (it'll just be "met Mystery Sim" until I add Pleasantview.

Mortimer Goth, with the discoveries from Veronaville, goes on to make the Elixir of Life. He gives some to his darling Bella Goth first, and soon before her disappearance is when they discover it truly works. They are both overjoyed, but Mortimer (always the scientist 🙄) wants to do more tests.

Don Lothario, a nurse & not stupid, notices the way Bella seems Younger. Of course, everybody knows the iconic abduction -- but in my own personal story, it's because Don is begging her to tell him about a Life-Serum, if the rumors of Mortimer's life work are actually true. (He wants to stay a Youthful womanizer forever, of course. Also dont get it twisted I love him he's a good antagonist in my own storytelling).

I want to make it Unclear why exactly Bella was abducted, because I think making the Aliens slightly mysterious is the route I want to go. I have my own personal headcanons on Sims I wont get into, but tldr they are not homo sapien. Anyways, that's the iconic abduction. It's definitely not Don's OR the Caliente's fault (well, maybe Don's fault for leaving Bella on the roof and storming off for some reason).

Anyways, because Bella disappears Mortimer goes into extreme mourning and his drive to experiment with the Elixir of Life becomes null. He allows himself to age, because without Bella there is no point to living forever.

In his late Elder years, he is approached by two married young scientists with the name "Beaker", inquiring about his life's work. He lies to them and tells them that it was just a rumor, that there is no Elixir of Life. If there was, would he be so aged?

Soon after, he marries Dina and moves in with her, because he knows he will die soon and he wants to have some fun before he passes. He also, at this point, has no joy for life anymore and no reason to keep to his own morals. He has no hope that Bella is alive. He also wants to give the house to his daughter whom he loves, and who was just stood up at the altar by that dastardly Don.

A burglary happens, and Mortimer's stored lab equipment was broken into (as well as a few more precious items of Dina's). A vial of Mortimer's blood that he was storing is one of the things taken. Mortimer dies just a couple days later.

The burglar was hired by the young Beakers, looking for this Elixir of Life. They chastise the burglar for "getting distracted by rudimentary desires", but take the vial of blood.

I plan on *actually* adding the Strangetown neighborhood when Cassandra is an Elder. And oh boy do I have a lot of fixes to do for Strangetown to match my story... but I won't get into that. I won't get into that yet. :3

I also have to fix lots of ages when it comes to Pleasantview and Strangetown (because Don and Cassandra are early in their adult years gameplay-wise but that doesnt make sense for lore at all LOL). And I also want to completely remove the psudo-incest plotline in Strangetown since I feel like it doesnt add anything substantial to the story and just personally annoys me.

Anyways. Thanks if you read this. It's just me info-dumping or whatever the kids say.

[sandysmith-starsblog]

Dear diary,

It's nice to meet you. I'm Sandy. Sandy Smith. No, that's not my real name, don't be mean now.

I think you're wondering why you're not pen and paper, but you already know, don't you? I can encrypt my computer, but I can't encrypt paper, now can I?

Plus, if strangers online find you, it won't be a HUGE deal. But if someone close were to find you...

Oh, I'm getting ahead of myself.

Okay, so my name is Sandy. I come from not so far away, but not exactly Earth. I landed in a place called Strangetown. There, a good friend told me to go to Pleasantview, so this is where I live. Me and my cat Goofy.

Here we are. You can't really see him, huh? I need to get a better picture of him. He's the best kitty in the world. A small furry genius. He even has a job, can you believe that??

Anyway, me and Goofy live in Pleasantview. I just got a job as a Record Store Clerk. I hope someday this place will sell my music. Isn't that all that matters in life? The love of your cat, good music and fun and... Oh, of course, friends!

This is me and my friend Brandi. We're blowing bubbles. Stars know she needs a distraction. Poor girl has it rough. I wonder if I can help her somehow, without offending. I'm still getting a hang of correct and courteous human interactions...

Like the other night, I went out, right? Well, I thought it would be funny to zap someone. On my planet, we find it hilarious. For some of us, it's how you say hello.

See? I was having fun, but he wasn't. Poked me after and called me names. Made me cry. So I went for a drink. There was an old lady at the counter and I thought to myself: "Oh, goodie, A FRIEND!". NOOOOOOOPE.

She continued to tell me off over and over again...

Oh, I gotta go. Brandi is coming over for a girl's night. Talk to you later.

Love,

Sandy

[kevinvoncrastenburg]

The Top 3 Families Of My Uberhood

@sims2forever sent me a question a while ago about who my top 3 Uberhood families are. I had an answer to that question finished in my drafts. However when I tried to edit it, I accidentally deleted the draft and thus also the question. <.< 1. The Jocques from Desiderata Valley

I don't know what it is exactly but I always loved Sophia Jocque. She's living rent free in my head, so much in fact that someday I made a protein shake after my workout and texted my boyfriend saying "feeling very Sophia Jocque today" adding a pic of me with my portein shake. 😂 Especially since they had their second child, Mike, the Jocques are a lot of fun to play and although I made some adjustments here and there I really like their house. They're this typical 2000s suburban family. Maybe they remind me of better times and that's why I enjoy playing them so much.

2. The Langeraks from Pleasantview

Kaylynn and her daughter Wendy. I just love this duo. I love how independent Kaylynn is now. She had a lot of bad luck and made a lot of mistakes but I feel like her life really began and turned around when her daughter Wendy was born. She worked hard and earned everything herself. She gained confidence and is a perfect example for her daughter. They have a very strong bond and it's always a joy to play with them. 🥰

3. The Ottomas' from Riverblossom Hills

In general I prefer bigger households more compared to smaller ones and it's just never boring over at the Ottomas'. In my game Peter Ottomas had an affair with Stella Roth and the family is shattered because of that. It was Sharla Ottomas' birthday party when Peter decided to kiss Stella right in front of everybody. The children were sad, Samantha was devastated and Dora was asleep. Samantha tried so hard to forgive her husband and to save their marriage but he vehemently refuses to show any kind of remorse. Nobody understands what's going on with him. Samantha is very close to Dora, Peter's mother, and made a decision to divorce Peter as soon as Dora passes away. The kids are getting older and David Ottomas recently got engaged to Jules O'Mackey. Etc. etc. etc. They're a challenge but so much fun.

I'll stop here. Sorry for not getting back to you sooner @sims2forever and thanks for the question! 🙏🏼

[rafamundosims]

Secrets and Feelings

It was a hot day, and Don took Brandi to a small park in the BK District, a quiet and breezy spot to cool off.

They sat down on a bench, and Don broke the silence.

— So… are you gonna tell me who made you this mad?

Brandi sighed.

— Some idiot doctor…

Don smirked.

— Got something against doctors?

— Only if his name is Timothy.

That caught Don's attention. Doctor. Timothy. He knew exactly who she was talking about.

— What did he do?

Brandi clenched her fists.

— We were dating, and he broke up with me because he said my family was too chaotic.

Don felt a little bad for her. (Sorry, Timothy, but that was cold.)

After a brief pause, he decided to spill the truth.

— If I tell you something, you have to promise to keep it between us.

Brandi raised an eyebrow, intrigued.

— Uh… sure.

Don took a deep breath.

— Timothy didn’t break up with you because of your family. He broke up with you because his heart belongs to someone else.

Brandi froze for a moment. So Don did know Timothy. She didn’t know what to say.

Don went on, telling her about Vivian Cho. She worked with Timothy at the hospital, and on top of that, they were neighbors.

At first, anger flared up in Brandi again. But then… she realized something.

The problem was never her or her family. Timothy had just been a coward. He should’ve told her the truth.

And as if fate wanted to prove a point, Vivian Cho happened to be at the park that very moment.

Don leaned in and whispered:

— Secret, right?

Brandi nodded.

— Right.

— Well… that’s Vivian over there.

He called her over, and soon Brandi and Vivian were introduced.

Vivian was lovely. So lovely that, deep down, Brandi understood why Timothy liked her.

With each passing moment, her anger faded away.

Feeling lighter, Brandi spent the rest of the afternoon laughing and enjoying Don’s company.

And as her resentment toward Timothy disappeared… something new began to take its place.

♢♢♢ NAVIGATION

Avoid using Tumblr’s pagination to browse the stories, since some posts are backdated and it causes a bug. Instead, use the links below to navigate.

First: Welcome to Pleasantview Cove!

<< Prev: Punching Through the Pain

>> Next: A Surprise Visit and a Sloppy Helper

[whitelodge]

I was going to make a post musing about how lonely it must be to be Dustin Broke, and then I was thinking more about how lonely it must be to be any of the Pleasantview teens. None of them have strong positive relationship with any of their parents, they don't have any friends their age other than their respective partners, and even then is that really a relationship or two people bonding because there's someone who just barely "gets it"?

NONE of them have all their needs met and are all effectively on their own because of it. There's no "us against the world" like with the Strangetown teens or some of the Veronaville teens.

Angela and Lilith have financial security but constantly live in fear of one another and are neglected by their parents, just to different degrees. Dirk has emotional stability but just the facade of financial security; he is also coping with the loss of one parent and the other parent getting ready to move on. Dustin has ZERO financial security even while having a job because there's just no way his income can feed four people, has ZERO emotional stability (I love Brandi but there's no way in hell she can offer that), and has to accept his fate that it's either screwing over his Mom and leaving when he ages up or staying in a trailer forever, doomed to let the past repeat itself.

There's no winning.

[sims-for-semi]

The day Bella killed Michael - a sims story

“Do you want to be with the girl or not, Michael? Just drink the damn nectar,” Bella said wearily. Michael had noticed long ago that Bella was acting differently, but today she was particularly pissed off for no apparent reason.

“Didn’t you say it wasn’t ready yet? That you and Mortimer were feeling older?”

“Not anymore. It’s working. You just have to be in a good mood to receive it.”

“Have you been in a good mood, Bella?”

“Don’t I look younger?”

“Younger, but… gloomier.”

“Well, imagine. My brother is dating a girl who is my daughter's age, how am I supposed to feel?”

Time later, Bella would remember that exact day when her brother began to die. It was a cold morning, particularly foggy at 165 Sim Lane. Although Michael didn’t live in Pleasantview, he visited often, and the last time he had brought not only his new girlfriend, Dina, but also her twin sister, Nina. At first Bella thought it was a joke (“You brought two of Cassie's schoolmates to my house?”), but then she felt quite hushed. Nina was quiet, but fiercely bold in her comments. And Dina was charming. Even Bella couldn't argue with that. She had never felt so threatened in her own home. Everyone was captivated by her presence. Even Mortimer, her Mortimer. 

Michael would later confess his concerns about the relationship. "I love her, Bella. I love her, but come on, I'm not twenty anymore. She says she feels the same way I do but what can I offer her?"). And while Bella wasn't particularly happy about the relationship, she did hate to see her brother troubled. She could barely stand the sight of her grumpy old husband, her solitary teen daughter, and her handful toddler. If Michael wanted to rejuvenate, she could give him exactly what he needed.

“She’s not a girl, Bella.”

“She’s so young. Perfect skin, perfect hair. I never got to be that young.”

“What do you mean?”

“I got married to my childhood friend, had a daughter in my late teens… I stopped being young a long time ago. But you get to be young with your brand-new girl. Enjoy it. Drink the nectar.”

Michael wasn’t sure of it. He didn’t trust the nectar. Heck, these days he couldn’t even trust Mortimer. He couldn’t trust him, nor Bella. What had happened to her? She used to be such a loyal, brave girl. Now all she did was act like she was some sort of tragic heroine, like she could never have any fun. Maybe that’s why they had grown apart the last couple of years.

Bella thought the same about her brother. He was this popular kid in school, a sports enthusiast, the ideal son… all of that changed. Being a bachelor for so long had made some changes in his personality, she believed. Not like she hadn't changed, clearly, but at least she was already married with two children and her husband was loaded. Basically, life was solved. Michael seemed to be pursuing his teenage dreams by falling in love with a young girl. Because she was, indeed, a girl. Bella couldn't get it through her head that Michael was willing to leave everything behind to commit himself to a girl who had barely finished high school.

Perhaps in a way, she was a little jealous. Nothing could scare her more than getting old. There had been a couple of nights in which she woke up in the middle of the night because of a nightmare, and Mortimer was always there to pacify her. All the nights spent at the Science Facility were for him, a little expression of his commitment to making his wife happy.

“I just want you to be happy. I can help you with that,” Bella had told her brother. If Mortimer wasn’t around, at least she could help Michael to be with the girl of his dreams. And whether she liked her or not, she had already accepted that Dina would be part of the family, albeit with much resistance. The foolish fear of ceasing to be the woman of the family and giving way to a younger and more beautiful one. Everything was going to be all right if they both drank the elixir of life. 

“I don’t like this, Bella,” he expressed after pouring a glass.

“Stop being a coward, Mike.”

“No, seriously, I don’t like this…” Michael started to choke. He felt his insides begin to close up, leaving little room for the green liquid to make its way down his throat. The foul liquid felt like a thick grease boiling, calcining his esophagus and finally landing in his stomach. But that wasn't the worst of it. Just when Michael thought the bitter pill was ready, he began to feel his skin thickening, and his gums stiffening. His nose felt nothing but a sulfur smell, and everything began to spin. His brain was throbbing like it was bubbling blood. “Try to think of something nice. Think of Dina,” said a voice, but he wasn’t sure if it was his or Bella’s. 

Finally, after a short blackout, Michael regained his mobility.

“Okay, how do you feel?” said his sister.

“Awful. That’s awful, Bella, how could you possibly drink this? How long have you been doing this?”

“Years. But look at me. I almost look as young as those darn Caliente sisters, don’t you think?”

“Well, I can’t tell if I feel any younger. It may have worked in reverse on me.”

“Yeah, that’s going to happen the first couple of times. You just need to be consistent.”

“Does that mean I have to drink this again?”

“Indeed. Until you make it.” Bella chuckled at Michael’s look of fear. “One day at a time.”

The activity was repeated. Day after day, Michael visited his sister and drank the strange liquid created by his brother-in-law to feel younger. Occasionally, it worked. Sometimes the drink was sweet as ambrosia, and he just wanted to drink more and more of it, only to later visit his beloved Dina. Some other times, the most frequent, the liquid was horrible. Bella told him that it would always be like this, that she was used to it, he would get used to it too.

She even found it amusing. At last, her age and her brother's were approaching the non-existent limbo of being able to put the world on pause and have the youth of their choice, even if they had to pay the consequences later. It wasn't until after the wedding, when Bella and Mortimer's relationship was more strained than ever, that Michael arrived at the Goth Mansion with a somber expression.

"What's going on, Michael?"

“I need the liquid,” he said, devastated.

“What happened?”

“I think Dina is cheating on me,” he said as if at a loss for words.

Bella looked at him in horror, but refrained from saying a thing. Perhaps because, mistakenly, she already knew. She had her suspicions, Mortimer and Dina had been way too close. So much so that he hadn't even noticed that his daughter had started dating a boy and that little Alexander was beginning to stand out at school. "Then take it," she told him, without asking any questions. Take the elixir and drink it, drink all of it. Hadn't she been doing the same thing? Drinking as much of it as she could, to feel younger, less stuck, less of a failure, so that her husband would look at her with desire and not pity as if she were a poor, useless wife in a boring suburb. She wasn't even sure if it was true, but she didn't want to know.

She wouldn’t have been able to bear it. So she watched her brother take the jar, watched him for the last time take home what little was left of Mortimer Goth's worst experiment. Goodbye, Michael Bachelor, goodbye to your divine youth, your friendly smile and your football games. Goodbye to your stupid bride and her stupid sister, both of whom Bella stopped calling immediately after his death. Goodbye to the familiar nature that used to make her feel happy and at home. Without her brother, and with her husband completely thrown into the job, Bella lost what little she had left to keep getting back on her feet day by day. Everyone could notice. Everyone but Don.

Of course, how could he know? How could the wonderful Don know that he had a murderess in front of him? Bella had barely left the house until the night the formidable young man who was dating her daughter kindly invited her to his apartment for a gentle conversation.

“Whenever I look at the stars I think of my parents, I lost them recently. Have you ever felt that way?” the young man asked, getting closer to her.

“I recently lost my brother…” she said, her eyes captivated by the ocean-blue sky.

“Yeah, I heard of it. I’m sorry. He was older than you, wasn’t he?”

“Life is very long when you're lonely,” were the last words she whispered.

--------------------

hello readers! thank you for reading me! I was willing to pull out something for simblreen, so here you go. this is my headcanon of Michael's death, and this short story is part of the same universe as my on-going story Pleasant Valley. Constructive criticism is always accepted 💝

I hope everyone has a fun and spooky halloween! 🎃

[thedudewiththedragontattoos]

Genetically Correct Pleasantview with Scripted Events CC FREE

Hey people! Welcome to my latest project - A genetically correct Pleasantview with scripted events!

When I first found out (a while ago) that the playables we all know and love in Pleasantview aren’t actually genetically related to their ancestors, it totally broke immersion for me. For some reason it really bothered me and that kept me from really getting into a playthrough of the hoods that Eaxis shipped with the game. Then I discovered this crazy cool thing that people did which involved extracting the appearances of the first ancestors from each family, and breeding them in CAS from generation to generation, eventually creating Genetically Correct versions of the sims we all know. This is where I began this exhausting journey - there was a lot of learning but I am really happy with how it turned out!

There have been a ton of various Pleasantview makeovers - all of which are super awesome! However, I was unable to find a Pleasantview that not only already had all the sims genetically correct, but still had their relationships, biographies, personalities, and most importantly, scripted events...because let’s face it - who the hell wants to start a new Pleasantview if they can’t play through the cool ass scripted events in the beginning? I know I don’t. And that’s why I made this hood.

What is this? This is a Pleasantview in which I have made all the playable sims (and their ancestors) genetically correct. It contains no cc and was built on top of a clean template Pleasantview as well. Below are pics of the premades:

More Info, pics, and download below the cut!

My main goal for this was to make the premades genetically correct while still keeping them actually recognizable. I know there are some GC versions that are totally different, and I absolutely respect that, but I still wanted to look at Daniel Pleasant and say “Yep, that’s Daniel”. 

IMPORTANT: After taking the pictures I realized the skin I use (No longer after this), which I will link below drastically whitewashes the sims. Some sims with skin 3 look super light, such as Daniel Pleasant and Jennifer Burb. They still have the correct skin, it just may appear lighter in my images. I didn’t realize this until after I made the sims and took their pictures. Also note that the eyes may look like different colors. People have said the light blue looks grey, so if you see a strange eye color on a sim it doesn’t match with, be aware it’s likely just the defaults I used. 

Notice: I used a mod, equal genetics while creating these sims. I do not claim to be anything but a simpleton when it comes to genetics, and I know that some of these sims’ genetics aren’t realistic - Like a blond and brunette having a blond kid. I don’t claim to know anything about genetics, so before you genetic purists come at me just know - I know this and don’t care.

My general notion was that if one of their ancestors had a gene, then they could too. 

With that being said, all living premades with the exception of Coral Oldie, Herb Oldie, Mortimer Goth, and Bella Goth have the same eye and hair colors as they did originally. Some ancestors or dead spouses (like Michael Bachelor and Skip Broke) have had a few changes as well. More on that at the very end, for those interested.

TLDR - General Information

I ramble, I know. The main idea is that ALL of the sims are the same exact sims as you’re used to. They all have the same personalities, zodiac signs, hobbies, jobs, aspirations, relationships, memories, etc...They just have corrected appearances. Scripted events still work, and Brandi Broke’s baby is also now going to be genetically correct and related to both her and Skip. 

A few things to note:

- I used a default skin and eyes when taking the pictures. The sims will not come with these. I used Pitstop Skinblend and Poppet Clear Eyes

- Yes, I know Michael Bachelor’s eyes aren’t right. That is fixed in the game.

- This is CC FREE!!

- Brandi’s pregnancy may be a couple hours behind

- All sims have just about the same dominant and recessive traits as they do in the original clean templates from meetme. No sim is homozygous unless intended by meetme/eaxis.

- Sims may get some wants or fears of their ancestors or dead relatives becoming zombies or resurrected, this is just because of the way I did this, their deaths are fresh in the playables minds. 

- This hood was build on a clean template Pleasantview, all ancestors and dead sims are safe to resurrect

- This was made with Ultimate Collection, so unfortunately you will need this or all packs for this to work.

- The versions without townies still include Bella Goth, Kaylynn Langerak, and Gordon King.

- When you add the subhood version with townies, you’ll notice that the townie and NPC names get randomized and aren’t their original names. Though annoying, this is normal and you will have to rename them all yourself.

Update:

It seems that some mods can break the scripted events, it was unclear exactly which mods in my folder did it. To circumvent this issue I would recommend that when you initially install and play the scripted events in the hood, take out all of your non essential mods (leave in mods like no unlink on delete, no townie regen, things that are essential) from your mods folder (just mods, cc is fine to stay in) and put it in a safe folder while you just play through the SE - then when they're done, put the mods back in. This seems like a random occurrence - as they only broke 1 out of every 5 times I tested it.

More Pics:

Link to imgur album of individual sims and all (or most) ancestors.

Link to imgur album of individual families

Download Instructions:

This comes in 4 versions:

GC Main Hood Pleasantview with Townies

GC Main Hood Pleasantview without Townies

GC Subhood (Shopping district) Pleasantview with Townies

GC Subhood (Shopping district) Pleasantview without Townies

Download the version you want. 

For Main Hoods, place the folder in the following location:

Ultimate Collection: 

Documents\EA Games\The Sims 2 Ultimate Collection\Neighborhoods

Disk Version:

Documents\EA Games\The Sims 2\Neighborhoods

For Subhoods, place the folder in the following location:

Ultimate Collection:

Program Files\Origin Games\The Sims 2 Ultimate Collection\Best of Business\EP3\TSData\Res\NeighborhoodTemplate

Disk Version:

:\Program Files\EA GAMES\The Sims 2 Open for Business\TSData\Res\NeighborhoodTemplate

Credits:

meemetotheriver for the clean templates

Carrit for the ancestral sims

Special thanks to:

Sabrina from PleasantSims discord and @isabella-goth​ for their patience and help with my idiocy throughout this project - I couldn’t have figured it out without your help specifically!!

Download:

Genetically Correct Pleasantview with Townies

Genetically Correct Pleasantview without Townies (Still includes Bella, Kaylynn, and Gordon King)

I hope you all enjoy this! As usual, let me know if you run into any issues! Tag me in pics or posts of what you do with the sims if you’d like!

Till’ next time

-Mike

P.S. Changes to premades/dead spouses:

Bella Goth - Hair changed to brown

Mortimer Goth - Hair changed to black

Coral Oldie - Hair changed to blond

Herb Oldie - Eyes changed to dark blue

Skip Broke - Eyes changed to dark blue

Michael Bachelor - Given blond hair, medium skin, and dark blue eyes

That should be the only changes to premades and/or their spouses. Some ancestors have been adjusted too!

[luxtallis]

Interview with Bella Goth

Archived version here.

Bella Goth disappeared in the summer of 2004, a team of highly trained SimCity investigators traveled far and wide and managed to track her down and asked her a few questions. This is their published interview.

Rckljohnson: Where are you now?

Bella: Apparently I'm in a place called Strangetown and indeed it's an appropriate name. I'm not positive what happened or how I got here but I've begun seeing a therapist and my hypno-therapy sessions have been very productive! I've also been reading my diary, I always keep it close.

Bbygrl814916: How come you don't have any memories of Mortimer, Cassandra and Alex?

Bella: I couldn't remember anything for months after the abduction, just a flash and then nothing, but with the help of my diary and my therapist the memories are slowly starting to come back. It's hard to remember things that happened longer ago like Cassandra being born or even my wedding but I remember my family and how much I love them. I even remember some of the work Mortimer was doing before I was taken. He was getting very close to creating a permanent life extending elixir. I was worried he was spending too much time on it. He'd already been successful with a temporary version and it had become wildly popular throughout the town. I guess everybody wants to live forever!

simgelf: What happened the night you were abducted? Did the saucer crash?

Bella: I'm not sure about all the details but I've had dreams of being in some kind of ship, I don't think there was a crash or I wouldn't have woken up. I remember green men with big black eyes, it didn't make much sense then and certainly doesn't now. It seemed like only moments and I was somewhere entirely different.

Simology022: What exactly were you DOING on Don Lothario's roof the night you disappeared? How do you feel about your daughter's romantic relationship with Don?

Bella: I think Don Lothario is a misunderstood man. He moved into town and seemed so lonely. He was so different and "urban" that the neighbors wouldn't accept him. He needed a friend and we welcomed him into our lives. I think Cassandra had a crush on him from the very start and unfortunately I think he had a bit of a crush on me. I don't really think Don is right for Cassandra, but she should follow her heart - don't tell Mortimer I said that. The night I left Pleasantview I was over at Don's house talking to him about life, love, and how he was feeling being the new guy. It was a nice, warm starry evening so we were outside on the roof looking at the stars. All I remember is the flash of light and waking up in a strange place.

Chair492: Did you cheat on poor old Morty?

Bella: Of course not! I love my husband and I love my family, they are everything to me. I've never loved anyone like I love Mortimer Goth. He's just so silly, so cute, a side of him most people don't see. Most of our neighbors thought he was "too smart" or boring and that he couldn't possibly be "fun".

poochdog25: I'd like to know if Dina Caliente was in on this. I've noticed she is related to some aliens, and she came on the eve of your disappearance, and now she is after your husband. So where is Dina in the plot?

Bella: I didn't know that about Dina, but it makes sense. I'll probably never know for sure but here's what I think. When Dina and Nina moved into town they were certainly very forward with my husband. In fact, it was almost insulting how openly they were trying to win him over, as if I didn't notice! I think someone sent Dina to town specifically to pull Mortimer away from me. I know he's a genius and his work is important to a lot of people. I couldn't have possibly imagined that trying to create a life elixir that could help everyone would ever push somebody to ruin our marriage! And why take me away from him? Perhaps they thought I was a distraction and believed that taking me away from the love of my life would make him stop his work.

simslover210: What is up with all the rumors of you having a double?

Bella: I've heard these rumors and as far as I know they're untrue. I've never seen my double and I haven't heard any stories about seeing me with my double so who's to say it's a double at all? Though I bet my double isn't as cute.

PprFlwrs4: Why are you still young when your husband is old..and....really...eh..old?

Bella: I can't really explain it, maybe his work has backfired on him and instead of lengthening his life, it's aged him. Or perhaps the people that wanted to separate us somehow used his research and tested it on me, keeping me young.

WadeSimMiser: What happened to you when you decided to pay Pollination Technician #9 a visit? How would you explain this to your husband Mortimer?

Bella: I've met PT9, he's very nice! And his family is so sweet. They've been so kind to me as I get my bearings. I only wish Mortimer could have had the chance to meet him.

abonnell2000: If you had the option to go back to Mortimer, Cassie, and Alex, would you? Why or why not?

Bella: I've been trying to return to my family but so far, it hasn't worked. As I said, there's something strange about this town. It's almost as if every time I try to leave, I end up back here.

Dixiedawn30: Have you ever thought about changing your hair style? What is up with the red dress?

Bella: It works for me, why change?

[fellowstrangetownappreciator]

Playing Favorites (part 2)

Here we go again! Another 4 TS2 premades that really strange my town! (I’ll see myself out.) Anyway, I have to preface this with saying that so far I’ve only played the 3 base game hoods and although I really enjoy PV and VV, I added them to Strangetown just recently, so I’m still getting acquainted with their casts. That’s why my Playing Favorites posts are so dominated with desert-dwellers - but I definitely plan on including more non-ST Sims once I got to play with them more!

And I also low-key love everybody in Strangetown.

TOP 15 TS2 Premades (according to my personal tastes somewhere in May 2021) (not in any particular order) (and I can’t guarantee I stop at 15 either)

Tank Grunt (Strangetown)

Yes, I am one of them. I am a Tank Grunt apologist. Brace yourself!

Similarly to the Pleasant twins, I view Tank as a victim of his father (Buzz Grunt, the esteemed Strangetown's Worst Parent Award nominee). Of course, that's not to say he's innocent. He is absolutely guilty of bullying Ripp and Johnny and equally guilty of being a bigot. And, most importantly, totally guilty of casually wearing camo face-paint. (that he canonically gets tatooed on his face down the line, which is... its own kind of tragic.)

But that is exactly why I like him so much!

Let me elaborate.

Tank is a very multilayered character, albeit a bit cliché. He is very artistic a eager to always do his best, whether that is in school or home where he competes for his father's affection and approval. Buzz provides both of that but it always feels conditioned – if Tank was to stop getting A+, stop parroting his opinions, stop working out, stop following in his footsteps, would that go away? Even though the answer depends on your interpretation of Buzz and his levels of horrible, Tank definitely thinks so. Just take a look on how his father treats Ripp!

I read Tank as somebody who believes firmly in order and good but has a very twisted understanding of both given his militaristic and hyper-masculine upbringing. He has an enormous potential for character growth. Can he gain (psychological) independence of his father? Can he follow his dreams and become a dancer? Can he free himself of his father’s biases now that he’s out on his own? Can he mend his relationship with Ripp and Buck? (...or maybe even Johnny?) It makes him so fun to play.

Also, I think that it was indeed very cowardly of the developers not to set his gender preference as gay.

Conclusion: Tank is fun! (Although he would probably resent me for saying that.)

Dina Caliente (Str- wait, Pleasantview)

Finally someone who doesn't live in the desert! Both Nina and Dina are such interesting characters, with their connection to Bella’s disappearance, their alien bloodline and their opposing personalities and ambitions.

I feel like the sisters are often getting unjustly demonized. (or mixed up together, I’m looking at you, TS3 and TS4) They’re young, very attractive and in unconventional relationships, thus often labeled as predatory. They’re not.

Dina is a very nice Sim, with Nice points above the average and many Playful points and she tends to roll wants to start a family by the start of the game, although she is not a Family Sim. She’s actually a Fortune Sim, smart and business-oriented. She’s a widow who wants to remarry and has her sights set on the husband of her missing former sister-in-law.

I know that doesn’t make her sound that nice but there is nuance. First of all, the man in question is Mortimer Goth, well in his twilight years, a father of two, simply an adult. He is not a hapless trophy, the decision to start an affair with Dina not long after his first wife got pronounced missing, is his own. He knows he won’t be here for long and doesn’t want to die alone, he wants someone who can make him feel young again and loved once more. Dina, on the other hand, pursues a shotgun wedding to take an advantage of the Goth fortune that will kickstart her business ventures but she is ready to provide what Mortimer needs. She canonically loves him. (proven by the love flag in her relationship panel)

In my personal gameplay, I had Don take Dina on a date before their marriages to their respective Goths, and Dina kept rolling wants to flirt with Mortimer instead. Later down the line she also helped out the Brokes financially, and after her close friend Brandi died young in childbirth, she took in her youngest children, so that her oldest son Dustin could go to college and not worry what’s gonna become of his younger siblings in his custody while he’s gone. I figured it made sense because of Dina’s Nice points, her relationship with Brandi and her now being partially in charge of so much money it isn’t even funny.

In conclusion: I support and condone Dina! Even if it’s somehow implied that she and her sister might’ve just staged her rival’s alien abduction.

Circe Beaker (Strangetown)

Circe is yet another... unwholesome character on my list. She canonically tortures people, namely Nervous Subject, and her bio eludes to there being more in the past or the future. She's cunning, ambitious and very mean.

But she is also very fun to play! Her aspiration being Fortune (not Knowledge) puts an interesting spin on the whole evil scientist routine. She doesn't do it for the love of discovery like the Curiouses and she doesn't care about credit as her husband does. She's out for power and she may as well get it.

Her rather extreme personality would lead one to think she has to be rather disliked around the town but her default relationship panel says otherwise. She doesn't have any close friendships except her husband, though. That makes me think she is superficially charming and tends to act diplomatic to obtain people's loyalty without necessarily caring about any of them. It makes playing her unique from most other Sims.

She is also canonically bisexual! I personally have a deep appreciation for each and every Sim that Maxis sneakily preset to be LGBTQ+. I may not seem like a big deal now but it is.

Conclusion: "She could gaslight, gatekeep and girlboss me any day.” - half of Strangetown’s population

Lazlo Curious (Strangetown)

Lazlo is a ray of sunshine in the Curious household! A very sloppy ray that makes messes wherever it goes, true, but sunshine nonetheless.

I’m very fond of Lazlo because he’s the type of person that looks like he can barely count to five with his easy-going and messy nature but is in fact very clever and, by some measures, the most competent Curious brother, since he is the youngest and it seems like he’s fresh out of college, yet holds a higher career position than his older brothers. “A smart person that doesn’t necessarily seem smart on the first glance” is a trope I have a big soft spot for. (...and it shows)

In my current gameplay, Lazlo wanted to resurrect Vidcund (who died in childbirth), so he switched from Science to Paranormal to swipe a Resurrect-O-Nomitron and, like the madlad he is, succeeded before their round was over (in a span of few days). It was a combination of dumb luck and him having a compatible degree that gave him a hefty bonus but it still made me realize Lazlo could achieve whatever he sets his sights on.

Luckily, his sights are generally set on pizza and video games.

(relatable)

Anyway, I find Lazlo somehow cute, most probably for his constant and very unfruitful attempts to make Vidcund laugh, and in general, how friendly and easy to get along with he is. While he doesn’t have that many Nice points (5, which is a pretty average number), combined with his playfulness he usually tends to act very amicable.

In conclusion: I simp for Knowledge Sims and it shows.

Ok, I’ll be back with another 4 when my horrible procrastinating gruel of a brain feels like it. See ya!

[rurpleplayssims]

I have a couple of character asks for you - Roselyn and Zoey!

Thank you for the character asks @pixeldolly ! You chose Roselyn Young and Zoey Cooper so here are their responses!

Let's start with Roselyn!

Sexuality Headcanon: Bisexual - she's been with both men and women in the past but has only had 'serious' relationships with males.

Gender Headcanon: She is Cisgender (female).

A ship I have with said character: I'm shipping the Roselyn/Zoey ship!

A BROTP I have with said character: She gets on with quite a few people, having always been a confident individual who isn't intimidated easily. Feisty is another word that comes to mind to describe Roselyn. She is best friends with her elder sister Emily and is happy to support her whenever she can, hence why she's helping out with the restaurant. She gets on well with her ex-boyfriend Jasper Morgan who is her closest male friend in town. She also gets on extremely well with their founder Althea.

A NOTP I have with said character: Her relationship with Jasper is well and truly over but thankfully they had a very amicable breakup, especially given they are in a very small town where everyone knows and talks to each other! I know various people liked the idea of Roselyn getting pregnant from Jasper before their breakup but Roselyn is very serious about her birth control. It also doesn't fit Jasper's character to have children outside a dedicated relationship. Roselyn is not fussed about having children herself, she has no desire to help populate a town like her sister does!

A random headcanon: I LOVE the map that @potentialfate-sims made up for her series and I believe the various maxis and fan-made sims are all in the same world as the folk in Campbell Quay. So, for example, Pleasantview exists in the 'world' my sims live in. Sounds really obvious to say it as it's the same game. They just don't interact as I like having my own ideas and creativity flow. This would also help the immersion in my head about Ellen Ripley moving in from a neighbourhood/university that actually isn't in my game. I'm not exactly sure whereabouts CQ will be on that map however, anywhere next to a big river! 🤣 I would also love it if @moocha-muses 's Owl Creek and @pixeldolly 's Walden was canon as well!

General Opinion over said character: Roselyn has a past and I've barely scratched the surface so far. Half of it I'm not 100% sure of yet but I let my characters speak for themselves. What I love about Roselyn, other than being a walking model of Bella Goth, (red outfits/black hair) is that you can already see how far she has come. She was very confident, physically and as a person when she first moved to CQ. Now, through her past experiences and her love for Zoey, you see a gentler but insecure side of her. Hands down one of my favourite characters to write. Random fun fact, I pronounce her name Ros-Lyn. (silent E)

Now let's do Zoey's answers!

Sexuality Headcanon: Zoey is bisexual and she has had a couple serious relationships in the past, each with a male and female respectively.

Gender Headcanon: She is Cisgender (female).

A ship I have with said character: As stated above, I ship Zoey with Roselyn. In many ways, they compliment each other and they both have quite feisty tempers.

A BROTP I have with said character: Besides Roselyn, Zoey has had very few females friends that didn't become lovers or distant before she moved to CQ. She gets on well with everyone in town and is actually *spoiler* becoming good friends with the newer females in town.

A NOTP I have with said character: Her engagement with Tyler. If you're up to speed with the series, you know why. Tyler fundamentally is quite childish and not in the way that is acceptable, especially for an expectant-father. Zoey is at the exasperated stage or anger where she is fast losing the faith that he will be there to support her at all. I think we're all feeling the same to be honest.

A random headcanon: Also I am not sure what date/year to mark each of the events other than the seasons/years. I think that breaks too much immersion in my eyes, and I don't think I'm the only one who thinks that.

General Opinion over said character: Zoey is sweet, kind and very caring. Great characteristics in a person who still dreams of becoming a fully qualified doctor. She is also a massive fan of pets and is considering getting a cat. Ever since she was a child (and both her parents are in the medical profession) she wanted to be a vet. But when she realised some of the depressing facts of being a vet, she reconsidered and decided on healing people instead.

[tia-amorosa]

Episode 53: „Trigger“ (Part 10, LONG)

Time together was something that Bella and her husband rarely allowed themselves back then. They really enjoyed this afternoon. After finally agreeing on what movie to watch, it was time to go into the hall. The lights went out and the movie started. It was a romantic drama that she really wanted to see. He wanted to watch something more light-hearted with more action, but then he was persuaded to go along. And was quickly captivated by the story on the screen……

The movie was over and it took a moment to get used to the natural daylight again. "What was going on, you were so moved by the movie, Morty. Didn't want to let go of my hand,…?“/ ”I really was. And … This story has shown me again that it's important to hold on to what you love. And I love you, Bella, so much that it hurts. I never want to lose you"/ "you won't.".

"And no matter which one of us goes first at some point, we always know the other one is close by…. And you know what happens in the nights“/”hn-hn, yes. The other one is always there, so you don't even have to be afraid of death“/ ”Exactly. I never told you how wonderful it is to be part of your big family“/ ”I'm honored, Bella. The sun will set soon, let's walk a little longer".

Bella talked a lot about her work while we were out walking. That she had lots of enthusiastic customers and that they had recommended her again and again. This gave her an idea, or rather a wish, of what she would like to do at least once. “If you're so keen to get your pictures into the gallery, why don't you just do it? One conversation with the mayor and the whole thing would be over”/ “do you think people would like that?”.

"It would certainly bring a breath of fresh air to this old gallery. Bella, dear, you've already inspired so many people, even when you were a little girl running through Sunset Valley in your little red dress. And I have your back. You've produced some wonderful works so far, you don't want to let them gather dust in the attic, do you?"/,,hh… O.k…. Then I'll work through my planned things first and then…".

"and then you'll put on a wonderful exhibition. Everyone will admire your work and enjoy it, maybe even be inspired…“/ ”now I'm even excited…“/ ”oh, I know how to take away your excitement". … (,,nothing ever came of it,"/",but maybe it still could"/",but… My pictures are no longer there"/",… They are, I just kept them safe").

In the meantime, Cassandra took care of her little brother, "Hey, you can't just play in the toy box all the time, you hear? Now it's time to study, surely you want to travel the world one day? I want to go on a trip. But not to the sea or anything like that, I'd rather go to Egypt and look at old things… Sometimes there are still things in the desert that nobody has discovered yet.“.

------------------------------------------------------------

That same evening Bella got a call. An interested party had a picture order for her. Only this time it was a little more exclusive. "Oh, that sounds like a really nice challenge for me. But you have to understand that it might take a little while… Yes, I'll do that. Oh, you can count on it…"/ … Unfortunately, nothing ever came of this assignment.

The next day, Bella decided to visit the gallery. She really wanted to have another look around. Let it all sink in and then think about what pictures she might like to exhibit there. ("I had a day off and was looking after our son. He was quite talkative. And he was … very angry that I shooed you away“/”oh, my little one").

The Pleasantview art gallery has been around for a very long time. The exhibits it houses are correspondingly old. But even old things can be inspiring…. And it bothered her that it was always so dark there. Nevertheless, everything had its own charm. And not just the art…

Don also had the idea to visit the gallery that day. “Oh, hello, are you going to see the Chinese exhibition?”/ “Yes, you too, apparently.”/ "No, I'm more interested in the paintings hanging everywhere. They're all very inspiring, just… A bit simple“/”hnhn, yeah, not really anything special. Why don't you bring some pictures here?“/”,… Well, it's my turn to set this up…"… She told him about her plans for her own exhibition…

“That sounds good, and when will it start?”/ “Oh, not so soon, the few pictures I have privately so far aren't enough for an exhibition.”/ “Well, if you want to take your time with it and maybe squeeze in a commission in between, I might be interested in you painting something for me”/ "For you? Hm, yes, that's feasible, okay, what do you have in mind?".

"Oh, you know, nothing special really. I just need something for my dreary place, I've been looking around for the last few days and I just haven't found anything I like."/"And you think I could meet your original taste"/"I'm just relying on your talent, huh? Hey, I'll give you a good sum for it too"/ ,,oh, we could talk about that,*chuckle".

"All right, I'll draw you a picture. You just have to be patient, I'm always very absorbed when I'm in the attic“/”no problem, hn-hn. Tell me… Your daughter's graduating soon, isn't she?“/”Yes, why?“/”I was wondering if I could take her out sometime“/”please? Hey, I know what a rascal you are, and you know I'm immune to you“/”yeah, but is Cassy?"…

"She's the best daughter anyone could ask for. And I wish her only the best." / "I can be the best… Hey, I just want to go out with her first, okay? If she rejects me, then so be it." / "Really… I'll keep an eye on you, Don. My daughter decides who she wants. But first, I'll take care of your photo." / "Great, thanks." …

(“if only I had known what the consequences would be”…/ “it can't be undone, but… You're here now, Bella… With me”). Bella's recurring memories were now slowly entering their final phase.

@greenplumbboblover , @solorisims , @honeywinesims ⭐

[heysimhey]

Play The Sims 2 in The Sims 4!

I've been simming since 2000 beginning with The Sims 1. Of all the versions of the game, The Sims 2 version has always been my favorite mainly due to the character stories. Even when The Sims 3 came out, I still was tied to the characters and stories of version 2 and it never quite felt right. Then The Sims 4 came out and I was excited to see the Goths, but the story line was "wrong". My beloved characters were missing. I played for a few years and then went back to 2. I loved the stories of 2, but the game play and graphics of 4. What's a girl to do?

Create the Sims 2 character and stories in the Sims 4? Yeah, that actually works for me....and was a lot of work as well.

I didn't bring over the characters from every world in TS2. The reason being, I never really cared for any of the other characters from the neighborhoods like Belladonna Cove, Riverblossom Hills or Desiderata Valley. In fact, I can honestly say, I never even bothered playing Desiderata Valley. I had enough drama with the main three (Pleasantview, Strangetown and Veronaville....and Bluewater Village).

But wasn't it crazy that with every neighborhood, you got a separate and exactly the same Bluewater Village from scratch? So a different Malcom Landgraab everytime. The Malcom Landgraab from Strangetown didn't know the Pleasantview folks and vice versa. I always found that wacky, so I picked the ML from Pleasantview to play with and abandoned the other dopplegangers.

And why couldn't the Goths know the Smiths? Why couldn't the Pleasants have a barbecue with the Monty's? Why couldn't sims from one neighborhood have friendships/rivalries and romances with sims from another neighborhood? Well, now they can! Pleasantview, Strangetown (Strangerville), Veronaville and Bluewater Village are all open and connected in The Sims 4! I even threw in some goodies like the Newbies and Mashugas from The Sims 1 and that mean ole Mrs. Crumplebottom!

I tried my best to find original renditions of their homes from TS2. As you know, aspirations have changed a little bit, but I tried my darndest to stay true to their aspirations from TS2 with the help of other personality traits along the side. I have already played the neighborhoods to the point of where TS2 begins, with the proper relationships established, ghosts deceased (check out Olive Specter's lil' grim garden *shudder*) and everyone in their proper lots.

Original sims who came with TS4 are still around somewhere in the neighborhood bin. I evicted most of them to make room for my characters. Below are details for each neighborhood that I put together.

Huge shout-out to Midnite Tech for creating the package file that allows us to edit our World names.

The packs I have installed currently are: Get to Work, Get Together, City Living, Get Famous, Discover University, Strangerville, Dine Out, Movie Hangout Stuff, Vintage Glamour Stuff, Tiny Living Stuff and Holiday Celebration.

I wish I could say this is Base Game compatible, but unfortunately, you will need these packs in order to have the full experience. I will be purchasing the other packs as I choose in the future, but for right now, I'm good.

About Pleasantview (Willow Creek)

The Goths, Pleasants, Calientes, Dreamers and Brokes are here and are cued as best as possible to their TS2 initial situations. I also included Bob and Betty Newbie from TS1, whom we later found out were Brandi's parents. Their relationship is also reflected in this file. The notorious maid, Kaylynn Langerak is also residing in Pleasantview and is bound to cause some ruckus.

About Strangerville (Strangetown)

The Smiths, Grunts, Curiouses, Beakers and Specters are in full play with the appropriate ghosts haunting Olive's lot. Bella was definitely abducted by aliens (although we can't view all of their memories anymore) and dropped in Strangeville just the same as Strangetown's TS2. She has a story of her own. Thankfully, you can easily decide to reunite her with her family, or let her start a new life. Caution, the neighborhoods are connected, so she is bound to run into one of her relatives.

*For WHATEVER reason, the file would NOT let me change the name of Strangerville to Strangetown.  It may have something to do with the whole Strangerville story line.  But I have seen others edit this.  Ah well.*

About Veronaville (Windenburg)

The Capp, Monty and Summerdream families are here with the Monty/Capp feud still going strong. Romeo and Juliette are still in love. Awwwww. I almost never played this neighborhood, but it just wouldn't feel right if I didn't include them.

About Bluewater Village (Newcrest)

The Landgraab, Tinker, Ramirez, Jacquet and Delarosa characters came on over with their aspirations. J'Adore Bakery is owned by the Jacquets, but I didn't create the other businesses.

About Downtown (San Myshuno)

This is where you will find the notorious Mrs. Crumplebottom. She is content in her little house right smack dab where it is and you better stay off her lawn. I heard Malcom Landgraab III offered her a ton of money to move so he could build a new skyrise. She refused to sell and clobbered him with her purse. So he built around her. Malcom Landgraab IV is terrified of her due to the fact that he remembers the huge knot his father had to nurse all those years ago, so he continues his father's legacy of building around her. She ain't budging.

About Twikkii Springs (Oasis Springs)(Twikkii Island)

I named this Twikkii Springs instead of Twikkii Island because Oasis Springs isn't really an island, so it didn't make much sense. So I modified it to be Twikkii Springs. I used Zerbu's World Type Changes mod to make Oasis Springs a destination world. The Mashuga's currently run things here in their token pink octogon house. At least, in my head they do. You can play this however you want. You can get the mod here or don't use the mod and play it as is.

Honorable Mentions

Del Sol Valley

I left these named the same as we didn't really have a fame expansion for TS2. I was tempted to name it Studio Town like in TS1, but that just sounded too "Toon-Town"ish, so nah, pass. I like Del Sol Valley.

Magnolia Promenade

I totally tried to rename this to Uptown Bluewater, but the game said nope. So Magnolia Promenade it is. Maybe one day the powers that bEA will be nice and allow us to freely rename our worlds....or is that wishful thinking?

*************

Majority of the lots that you see here in these worlds, I downloaded from the gallery. I won't feel bad at all if you wanna change things up.

The custom maps that I used for my worlds, you will have to install them separately in order for your neighborhoods to look like my pictures above.  You can get the maps here.

*************

DID I MISS SOMETHING?? I tried my best to make this as close to the original TS2 version as possible, but the human in me probably forgot a detail or two. Let me know!

{HOW TO INSTALL}

1. Download my save file here. (SFS not working? Get it here instead.)

2. Then copy the file from your downloads folder into this path: my documents/electronic arts/the sims 4/saves | NOT your mods, tray folder or any other folder.

3. When you open the game, you should see the file The Sims 2 Reprise. :)

{TERMS OF USE}

Feel free to use this save file and have fun with your sims. If you make a video, please let me know. I totally would love to see how others play with this world. I would appreciate a shout out too!

I'm @HeySimHey on Twitter and Instagram and HeySimHey on Youtube. I'll be glad to hear from you!

[tricous]

ohh. ohhhhh ok HERE I GO. this is gonna be long. welcome to the dina caliente apologism zone

im going to focus on ts2 dina because, lbr, ts3&ts4 dinas dont have anything outside their given personality traits, no fiction behind them, no substance, + they’re whitewashed anyway so

as a fictional character, dina has at least two fundamental “sides” to her: how she was intended to be by her author (eaxis), and how she is being interpreted by fans (me in particular, since those are my opinions!). i could ignore what eaxis intended her to be (as i usually do in my gameplays at least), but i think its important to understand where eaxis fucked her up. there is also a specific side to her as a playable sim, who behaves accordingly to their personality and aspirations. so im gonna talk about the 3 dina calientes: eaxis lore dina, “gameplay” dina, and my own headcanon dina!

eaxis werent exactly slick when they coded dina as one of pleasantview’s villains (or at least a red herring?). the way they wrote her in ts2: a young pretty (sexy, have you seen that cleavage??) fortune aspiration lady, who may or may not be involved in legendary icon bella’s disappearance, because look at her wanting to bone poor old “widowed” (or is he?) mr money bag mortimer goth. caliente family bio says it: “is their interest in Mortimer physical... or fiscal?”, and by the way it is phrased, and by the way caliente family picture (the one where dina is thinking about marriage and, obviously, money) is, we know we are supposed to think she IS involved in bella’s disappearance, because she always wanted those old dollars. upon further inspection we learn not only that calientes are related to an alien (which is an obvious red flag in context of bella’s story), but that dina also was married to ANOTHER old guy in the past, and that guy was no other but bella’s deceased brother! total gold digger-slash-possible-bella-murderer alert (not to mention that the pop up message in caliente’s house literally says “dina is digging for gold”)! so this is pretty much how eaxis wrote her. since they weren’t writing a complete story, but creating a setting for a gameplay without a plot, only they know exactly what they intended to say, but i interpret it this way, and i feel like a lot of players would agree with me. and thats why when i was 10 to 14 yo i really disliked dina! she’s a golddigging bitch who’s responsible for bella’s disappearance, and wants to fuck a mustache grandpa because cash money! oh no! just like eaxis intended. btw eaxis’ obsession with giving ts2 women fortune aspiration and making them villains/bad mothers (whereas Good Women(tm) have family aspiration most of the time lol) is..... yeah. basically what I’m saying is: dina is either supposed to be an (almost) innocent red herring, which is unlikely, or just a lazily-written pleasantview villain, and eaxis are cowards for yet again perpetuating their beloved trope of evil fortune asp lady.

but here, when dealing with dina, we have another thing about her: her personality points. since ts2 doesn’t have a plot, and can only use limited resources to tell a story (bios, memories, family pictures), almost every detail counts, and then why is dina, the bad guy, so playful and nice? some may argue that she just pretends to be nice to fuck rich guys, but is it that deep tho.... this detail adds complexity to dina’s character to many players i think. if we look at dina as a sim and not a character, she’s much more pleasant than her sister, than bella (kinda), than cassandra... yeah, she’s a fortune sim, but (just as every fortune sim) she rolls wants to get a job and probably has job-related ltw. she’s lazy and sloppy, but it only adds to her charm as a lady who looks like she would poison you, but is actually goofy and fun (playful+nice). and THATS my interpretation of her when i play the caliente household (because i usually dont come up with a plot to play with)! she is in love with mortimer (because she canonically is), wants to get a job, is nice to everybody (UNLIKE NINA), is friends (good acquaintances) with poor single mom brandi, and is a pretty good person.

next up im gonna tell you what i personally like to imagine and what my big headcanon is, so this is going under the cut

SO when i was coming up with my current personal dina headcanons (my previous dina hcs were all heavily inspired by «fortune and romance», which has one of my favorite interpretations of dina!), i didn’t ignore eaxis’ intentions completely, because i think it adds volumes and depths etc. so. my thots on dina: she was only a little younger than bella and was rivals with her in high school (you know when you are a wlw and have a crush on a girl and dont know if you wanna be her or be WITH her? yeah. that type of rivalry). she always wanted everything bella had (including mortimer i guess?), maybe tried copying her like teenagers do sometimes, and started dating her brother just to get back at her (and eventually fell in love with him to the point where they got married!). meanwhile bella and mortimer had a shotgun wedding, mortimer turned out to be not the greatest husband and father, all that (i talked about my bella gone girl hc here) while mortimer was inventing elixir of life. i like to imagine that inconsistencies with mortimer, bella, michael, and dina’s ages all come from the elixir gone wrong (or right): maybe michael and dina were broke and really needed money, so michael volunteered to be mortimer’s guinea pig for the elixir, but smth terrible happened and michael began rapidly growing older until he just fucking died? dina was obviously heartbroken bc she lost her husband, but she also was very broke, so she went to her in-laws for help. there she started hanging out with both bella and mortimer, helping them with their newborn (is mortimer alexander’s biological father tho.....) and liking bella&mortimer more and more. bella got even more depressed after michael’s death obviously, mortimer proved to be even more useless, and bella snapped, staged her abduction, and fled to strangetown, gone girl style (i described it in that other post i mentioned earlier). there dina and mortimer probably bonded over their shared trauma even more annnnnd dina needs money, so hey, why not just get married to this guy ig?? yeah, so thats the backstory i have, i dont like thinking that dina is an entirely innocent pure baby, she’s just a little cunning woman in a tough situation in my book. 

[didilysims]

Posting ‘em all together because, a) less spam for your dash, and, b) I thought it was funny how everyone wanted U. :) 

I: Your Bella Goth Theories!

I just have a few abstract ideas, but I think Bella was in league with the aliens somehow. Maybe she is an alien and was sent as a spy, or maybe she made some deal with them to get out of Pleasantview, or maybe she’s an alien clone experiment, explaining why she’s EVERYWHERE in the game. 

K: Your S3 Traits or what is your Aspiration?

I’m probably a Pop Sim. Solid friendships are important to me and I just want everyone to like me. :) 

The traits I’d pick are Bookworm, Clumsy, Neat, Friendly, and Adventurous. 

O: Do You Prefer Your Sims to Have Skills or Popularity?

Popularity! Not much of a surprise with my previous answer. ;) I really like having an interconnected neighbourhood and so working on friendships definitely takes priority over skilling. There are some careers that I’m not even sure I’ve ever topped before because I don’t prioritize skilling. Although of course there are exceptions. It’s fun to have a neighbourhood recluse sometimes, and I do get those career-driven Fortune or Knowledge Sims. But I definitely think relationships are more rewarding, particularly between playables. 

V: How Did You Start Playing the Sims?

As with many of my favourite games, I was introduced to it by my brother, as he was the one who owned the computer way back then. It was TS1 and I was hooked...until one day he showed me TS2, and I was totally hooked. :) 

Aside: I’ve mentioned this before, but I didn’t start playing TS2 until Double Deluxe, which came out in 2008, which is kind of bizarre to me, because that year had some important milestones marking time for me very clearly there, and I swear my memories of TS2 go back to pre-2008. But apparently not. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Funny thing, memory. 

Z: Favourite Game Aspect

Aging...or I guess the generational aspect, if you want to word it more eloquently. That was an issue for me in TS1, that babies would turn into kids and then just...be kids forever. And I was disappointed that the kids couldn’t do as much as the adults. In any neighbourhood I play I always get attached to the second generation because I’m seeing them grow up from babies, and having their own families and it’s just so great. I get kind of sad about seeing them die, but then the next generation gets a turn to take over, and I’m attached all over again. The circle of life, man. :) 

And the highly anticipated “U” question is......!

U: Best Sims Experience

I suspect this question is asking for a specific experience, or memory, of playing the Sims. However, I can’t really think of one moment that would be The Best. I think it’s just those times when you’re completely invested in the game (and probably way more time has actually passed that it feels like) and you’re just having a blast enjoying it. 

I’m thinking of times when I was working on a build and everything was turning out even better than I’d thought, and I’m scrolling through Buy Mode to find something to fit a certain space and come across an object I hardly notice normally, but this time it’s perfect! 

Or when I’m not really sure what to do with a certain Sim and all of a sudden he or she rolls a certain want, or does something totally autonomously, or even grows up into a particular outfit that reveals to me, yes...this is exactly where your life was heading and it all makes perfect sense now! And then I’m excited to keep on playing that Sim.

Or just enjoying the goofiness of the game. I remember the first time I saw a Sloppy Sim “complain” about his stink cloud by sniffing his armpit fumes and approving of them--it was hilarious! That was a big moment for me in paying more attention to the little personality details that make this game so endearing, but also made me laugh out loud. I love the exaggerated quirky surprises this game has to offer, and the fact that there’s always something new to discover is amazing...and why we’re all still playing it, or course! 

Thank you @lauratje86 @katatty and Anonymous for the asks! :) 

[coriel-muroz]

The Bachelorette: #10. Getting to know Kaylynn Langerak

Angela: Welcome to the Bachelorette! Let’s get to know the delightful star of our show. Not only is she star-material and absolutely gorgeous, she’s also kind, smart and an excellent cook.

Angela: Kaylynn, why don’t you tell us about your family?

Kaylynn: Well my mother, who incidentally was also named Kaylynn, used to live in Pleasantview. She worked in housekeeping. Unfortunately, she always made the worse choices when it came to men. My father, whom I have never met, skipped town before Mom could tell him about me. I’m not sure if that’s better or worse than the divorce she caused by sleeping with a married man!

Angela: Hmmm. Couldn’t say. While I am delighted to have been happily married for many years - something we’re going to make sure happens for you too - my parents got divorced after something exactly like that happened. It was the best thing. Mom realized she was gay, and ended up married to a wonderful woman. Let me just give a shout-out to my step-mum, Gretchen. I know she’s watching.

Kaylynn: I really hope that this experience does help me find true love.

Angela: And I hope the ratings get me a lot of money.

Kaylynn: Sorry, what was that?

Angela: Well you have 7 excellent fellows to choose from. Unless, wait, you actually like men, right?

Kaylynn: Yes, I’ve never experienced a lightning bolt for a woman.

Angela: Oh good. Cause we could definitely do that show too, but I would have to completely recast. Hahaha.