Snow business like show business

Welcome back! As I said, don’t get used to how close together these updates are coming. I’m just having a lot of fun with Seasons…

Abigail is my new favourite sim. Not only can she magically clean the house…

…she can summon food, every kind of food, including many I have never even heard of… which, combined with Puddle being level 10 cookery, now means the family have all had their favourite meals, and we invited Ida over to serve her hers too. Lovely stuff.

She can also magically clean herself or other sims. Genies are brilliant.

Her LTW was one of the cookery ones which we’ve done, so I decided she could do something new. I wanted her to top out the psychic career but she didn’t seem to be able to join it. After reading up on it, I discovered the caravan needs to exist before the career becomes open. It can be placed manually on an empty lot and it’s placed as a community lot object and not a lot in its own right. That’s really bad design EA – how would we ever find that out for ourselves?

She had her own fortune told first. She got lots of pop-ups asking for more money and she kept paying, and came out a true believer.

Then this happened. I don’t even know who Troy is. (Because once sims are mine, their old relationships are dead to me)

She’s had her LTW changed to ‘Celebrity Psychic’ which means she needs to top out the faking branch of the psychic track – there’s also a more genuine track. It seems to be a rabbithole career so far but I think it could be fun.

She also got invited to a costume party.

Leon Jackson and Bunnicula are both at level 6 in their careers and progress seems somewhat slow.

Awww. But LOL at the pun.

Townies don’t seem amazingly impressed…

Although I don’t think they’re actually that impressed with themselves half the time.

I decided to experiment with simporting. It didn’t go too well. Something went wrong that meant I couldn’t accept jc’s sim and I don’t know if mine ever made it to her. They did make it ‘away’, but then when they came back…

…this happened and I had to quit without saving. When I reloaded, she was OK, fortunately.

I tried to send LJ out again – but instead, it glitched up and he was no longer listed as working at all. So another quit without saving and a big screw you to simporting, at least for a while.

Puddle can throw things at them.

LJ had a great show…

but Puddle’s moodlet showed he didn’t like it, so I had him throw an onion at him.

There are so many variations of so many things they can throw that I’m not sure we’ll manage them all. Although sometimes the two of them come home with items in their inventory, neither thing Puddle threw transpired in the inventory or appeared onstage.

Although Leon Jackson knows a fair few songs, they all sound the same to me. Bunnicula knows about five tricks and she gets fewer good reviews than LJ – I don’t know if it’s because I don’t vary her stage set enough or get her to do enough different spells/audience interactions, but we’ll see.

This kind of thing doesn’t help matters, either. Damn you Seasons for being a distraction!

Bunnicula got to enter the simfest – the only time either of them have had the option. I didn’t actually see any other sims compete (and when they do, they’re nearly always acrobats).

Still, a win’s a win.

So smug.

Metal Mickey became a teen. After what happened with Bunnicula, I decided to install Twallan’s hybrid mod in case it helped. I discovered some interesting things. Althugh both MM and Bunnicula had ‘vampire’ as a hidden trait, neither had developed any vampish signs. MM also has IF as a hidden trait and he gets the menu options to strut and turn into toy form, but he can’t actually do it. With hybrid I looked at him a bit more closely and simbot and IF were both listed as occult states, but vampire only as a trait. I assigned it to him as an extra occult state and now he has the vamp eyes and can sleep on a vamp bed. He still shows no IF signs.

Rudiger should also turn teen but eir portrait still shows a child. I guess ey will stay in boarding school until eir YA birthday then. And despite those ‘please call me, I’m still your kid’ pleas, we can’t actually phone em.

He wanted to get his face painted, so I let him, but as he was in his outdoor gear, it didn’t show – even though in the menu it looks like it went wrong. It didn’t fulfil his want, either.

He bonded with R2-D2 by denying being a vampire.

Somehow it worked.

Talking about toys also went down well.

And talking about the cold…

…went on for ages. I swear my sims are British.

As being proficient at double bass doesn’t help you become a rock star, Count Duckula has now had to max out his guitar. The intention is that between him, Ophelia and Drusilla, we’ll do the skill challenges for all the instruments and for charisma.

Speaking of charisma, Ophelia is skilling like mad in an attempt to boost it…

…as at least she doesn’t need to boost this. She’s got loads of friends from all her guitaring, so we’re good on that score.

We haven’t quite figured out how the band thing works. Ophelia gets loads of tips for playing guitar, but the others rarely get any for playing bass, guitar and drums. They can’t play for tips collectively and they’ve never had a gig. Ophelia gets promoted when she makes tips though. I don’t know if Count Duckula technically being in the band is a hindrance seeing as he’s in the rock career whilst Puddle, Drusilla and Ophelia are all in the band career. I know I can look it up, but I like trying things to see, so we’ll keep experimenting.

You may remember that Puddle didn’t vampire super-skill from manually fishing, gardening, cooking or being handy. I had him read up on gardening instead, though, and he super-skilled like crazy.

We made another pumpkin!

The family are still getting random love letters from weirdo stalkers…

…and estranged members of the family.

As well as random requests. She’s a teenager! Don’t try to sell her pets!

Speaking of teenagers… What the hell, Abigail?

This was then immediately followed by:

She seems to have… interesting… turn ons. The perv.

Leon Jackson wanted to enter a pie-eating contest, so he and Puddle had a go.

So much more fun than the hot-dog contest.

Why so sad, Leon Jackson?

Yes, despite Puddle having the LTR, he lost.

Rub it in his face boy.

He then had this moodlet, which was odd as I didn’t think it was that close to winter.

The weather report looks like the one here in the UK. With it being so white and pretty outside, I wanted to see it in my game, so this pleased me.

Bathory pranked the school and then we got this result. Hee!

Really? It’s a) the wrong season and b) you’re a hydrophobe and a simbot.

Still – means I ought to see what the ice does to water features and pools…

Drusilla earned enough LTH to buy a broomstick hoover thingy.

Her favourites also keep swapping between plasma and dim sum.

LJ is pleased to eat his favourite food 🙂

I love that the food is seasonal.

Cutest moodlet ever.

Wiggles was talking to Rosanna and asked ‘how did you kick the bucket?’ How tactful. Although the answer should really be that she was born this way, baby.

She’s maxed out her potion skill and read all the recipe books, yet no matter how often she mixes elixirs and researches alchemy, she remains at 41/44 potions learned. Any ideas?

Also: other sims using the TARDIS! Cool!

She topped out the alchemy career really easily. Just selling a few top-end potions worked as she earned way more than their market value for them. The rest of her LTW requires her to use (drink or throw/give to other sims) 50 potions. The skill challenge requires her to convert sims to supernaturals and vice versa, learn all potions and throw potions at fifty sims. So we made a start by drinking and throwing some.

She drank a potent discord potion and this happened.

The result of drinking a potent friendship one was her becoming her own best friend.

This one gave her a happy type moodlet.

Throwing potions at other sims had them loving and hating her.

Even when they were family members.

Poor Rosanna.

She also tried to turn fruit into gold but I need to check her inventory for the result.

Yeah, he looks it. My sims keep going to that damn well instead of sleeping.

We’re loving winter though.

Leon Jackson built an igloo and rolled up this.

So he schmoozed up the proprietor of the festival park…

…and then route failed and tantrummed because she went into the igloo. Le sigh.

She didn’t seem put off though.

The snow had an interesting effect on Bunnicula’s audience.

It allowed Puddle to be receptive…

…whilst the townies shivered…

…and fell into the snow.

It was like a sub-zero version of that Radiohead video.

Bunnicula wasn’t impressed.

The bees still need keeping in the winter.

I decided to buy Puddle some simmunity. I assumed this would mean the bees would not sting him.

I was wrong.

Count Duckula had an interesting approach to keeping warm.

I couldn’t resist.

Now here’s a thing. School got cancelled three days in a row for a snow day. (Three snow days! They’re worse than us Brits! Nobody’s work got cancelled either)

But the going to school menu still cropped up.

And the school bus came.

And they went into school.

And then came straight out again.

And Wiggles had to leave the consignment store to tell Rosanna off.

And Puddle kept grounding Lestat.

I hated scolding the most anyway (and I can’t get Twoftmama’s scolding tweaks to work) but this is ridiculous. The kids have also missed so much school that there’s no way the triplets can graduate with As, even though they were doing well. Stupid game.

Still, they’re having fun in the snow.

Metal Mickey is working through the different types of snowmen…

Bathory is ice-skating in a ‘looks like running’ kind of way.

And Puddle and Lestat are trying snowboarding. Lestat went at it for ages.

So much so that all the exercise made him overheat!

Drusilla achieved her LTW!

Ophelia didn’t mind playing in the snow, even though her nipples were like cherries by the end of it…

Then the camera zoomed to this. I was shocked, as I thought it’d be one of those things, like metors, that I’d never see.

The alien ship scooped up Metal Mickey…

…then deposited him elsewhere in town.

I don’t think he was impressed.

Baby time!

I hadn’t realised she had this trait. I love that giving birth spontaneously gave her a good and a bad moodlet.

Despite the blue skin, baby Quorn (Count Duckula’s naming trait will be veggie) isn’t a genie according to this. He is, however, a vampire.

Which is interesting, as Abigail asked Count Duckula to forsake his vampirism.

If that means he has to drink a potion then he won’t, but it went down well anyway.

Although I did catch him rolling up ‘try for baby’ when I clicked on his stressed moodlet. I’m not sure who with as the action timed out.

Leon Jackson got this from driving in the police car. I thought only top-end cars and/or the vehicle enthusiast trait gave these moodlets.

Snowflake day! Even Quorn was in the festive spirit, despite being neglected!

All the family with jobs except Lestat got a festive bonus from work which was a lovely surprise. Rosanna’s was higher than some of the adults got.

In Kingsfield (update imminent) I had my sims throw a gift-giving party, so I let the Dayes do the same.

Now, I know from previous experience that they all get a gift and pop-ups tell you what it is.

Except with this family.

Instead, the family all refused to do anything but go to the party. And then no-one opened a gift.

Bunnicula missed her gig and broke down instead. The pressures of a family Christmas, eh?

Wiggles has to turn several supernaturals human and we had to try it on one of the Dayes. I wanted it to be Bunnicula but she couldn’t turn Bunnicula, Metal Mickey or herself. So she threw it at Bathory. No change yet, but I guess we’ll see next time I load the game.

And with that, long update is over. Well, almost. After well over a year, possibly two, it’s time for Puddle to rescind the heirship and let one of his kids have a go. Bunnicula is not eligible as she’s running a parallel track of mutant sims, but the youngest six all are. Vote in the comments or at Boolprop and I’ll leave the vote open for a week.

Notes: Count Duckula is the only one guaranteed a kid whatever the outcome. He’s also the only one with a partner, but whoever becomes heir will mate with either an imaginary friend or a genie. All the kids are vampires except Bathory and Rosanna. Bathory may not be a ghost next time I play.

Count Duckula Daye

Favourite colour: Lilac

Child naming trait: Vegetarian

LTW: Rock star

Drusilla Daye

Favourite colour: Yellow

Child naming trait: Virtuoso

LTW: One Sim Band (completed)

Bathory Daye

Favourite colour: Grey

Child naming trait: Night owl

LTW: Acrobat

Rosanna Daye

Favourite colour: Irish green (oh yay this thought excites me so much after so long with a green house)

Child naming trait: Loves the heat

LTW: Unknown but probably acting or directing

Lestat Daye

Favourite colour: Lilac

Child naming trat: Rebellious

LTW: Unknown but probably acting or directing

Rudiger Daye

Traits: Excitable, Virtuoso, Supernatural fan

Favourite colour: Spice brown

Child naming trait: Supernatural fan

LTW: Unknown but probably turn the town.