English Legacy: ÜBerlin (Chapter 38)

Hey now, take your pills and
Hey now, make your breakfast
Hey now, comb your hair and off to work
Crash land, no illusions, no collision, no intrusion
My imagination runs away
I know, I know, I know what I am chasing
I know, I know, I know that this is changing me

Deanna English's Weblog
Mood: Slightly Overwhelmed

Hello, again, readers! It's Dee here again, and as you can see, we're back online after moving to a new server! Apparently, the increase in traffic since my latest book, "The Scrapbook" came out, was too much for our old single-core box. I may nearly be an Illustrious Author, but I'm still a Whiz with a Computer, so, my son Kevin and I specced out a new box to replace that loyal but overworked dinosaur.

The new server has got dual hex-core SimCore 7 processors and 24 gigs of RAM, so it should handle both my long-time fans and the new fans who have been coming out in droves since "The Scrapbook" hit the New Sims Times' Bestseller list! So please, make all the new members that show up on the forums feel welcome!

I'm going to say this right now, as a request from the moderators - please, PLEASE, stop trying to get the newbies to click on that video. It was funny once - after that, it was just disturbing. My husband Zebulon still cannot look at a baseball, a windsock, or a chemistry table without cringing, and he's a World Renowned Surgeon!

Anyway, I just got back from meeting with my agent who told me that the success of "The Scrapbook" has made me a bit of a national Celebrity! For some reason, she had me meet her at a tattoo shop. I'd never been there - my long time fans will know that I don't leave the house much; I don't like the Outdoors, but obviously it turned out well.
One interesting tidbit - while I was there, I noticed a man who looked oddly familiar. I introduced myself, and learned I was actually talking to my cousin, Justin English! I hadn't seen him since he was just a baby, when my uncle Chris and aunt Latricia moved out soon after he was born. (Oh, thank you all for the kind words when uncle Chris passed away. It really helped.) I had heard that he was a bit of a Mooch from my sister Liz, but apparently he's very good at it, since he is still unemployed.

Anyway, the reason I bring this up is that due to an unexpected bonus of sorts I received, I'm going to be taking a break from writing for a bit. Nothing bad, and no, I'm not pregnant again, but this does have to do with my family, specifically my daughter Jessica.
Meeting my cousin Justin like that, and realizing that I really didn't know him at all, made me think my relationship with my daughter. Jessica is a lovely little girl, very active, and we're pretty sure she's a Genius like my sister and mother. She spends a lot of time with her "Best friend", which is actually her cousin Andrew, who is literally within hours of her age. Together they've faced down horrors such as their bus driver, whom they have named "She Who Does Not Move Or Speak."
Still, I wanted to get closer to her, as did her father, who had mentioned to me that he'd been feeling the same way. Now that he's made his Lifetime Want, he's been wanting to spend more time with me and the kids. We like to help her with her homework, but she's so smart she almost gets it done before we can even sit down.
Still, we don't mind. We're glad to be spending time with her. She doesn't Hate the Outdoors like I do, but she's not in love with it like her cousin Cass and her uncle Brendan, and she loves playing outside in the pool, the treehouse, and on our new water slide.
Her brother Kevin, has taken time from his Adult life to pillow fight with his baby sister from time to time, even when he has barely gotten home from being a Toddler Sports Coach. Thankfully, for his sanity, he's now a Minor-Leaguer. Hopefully soon, he'll be on his uncle Brendan's team!
Jess and I enjoy playing chess together. Well... at least I used to enjoy it more before she started wiping the board left and right with my pieces. I'd never heard a plastic chess piece scream in terror before. I can't beat her, though Jess is always a good sport about it. I think her Genius Aunt Liz has been tutoring her though... note to self, borrow Andrew's shower booby trap set.
But wow, her imagination! She likes to get on the couch and take imaginary Joyrides while sitting on it. At least she's sensibly wearing her helmet; can never tell when she might drive over a rough section of carpet. She was almost late to school once because she was taking a bath.. or rather a Submarine Excursion. Heck, in our new treehouse- the Sci-Fi hideaway, she takes Trips to the Stars, she told us. Well, so did Zeb and I, you might say... thought we did get the splinters out. Ouch.

You really didn't have to share that with the readers, you know.

Jess and I have really gotten closer in the past few days. Even though she's a genius, she's still a little girl, and likes being read bedtime stories, even if they're from a Handiness book!
Well, that's all I have for now; though I have a suspicion that a certain Creator has more to say. Really, He should start His OWN blog! Take care, readers, and I'll see you on the forums!

"... start his OWN blog"?? Good heavens, she reminds me a lot of her mother....

Anyway, unlike a certain Bridgeport family, the English legacy hasn't really run across any bugs resulting from Generations, but there certainly is plenty of weirdness. take the picture above for example. You may be saying "How cute, Deanna is reading a Handiness book to Jessica as a bedtime story, and they're both getting skill gains," followed by "Wait, why is Jessica in her parents' bed?

The answer to that question is - "Because Reading Bedtime Stories is weird." First of all, I didn't know it was a feature until Jessica got a Wish for someone to read her a bedtime story. The game doesn't exactly tell you how to do that. I finally stumbled across it only by having Jess change into her sleepwear, and only THEN could she ask an adult to Read her a Bedtime Story. What happens then, is you can choose any book in the house for the parent to read.
Repeat, any book in the house. Including the Romance novels her mother has written, even the ones with the suspicious titles. The book in the pic above was titled "Special Snowflake", and bored Jessica to sleep real quick. Yes, she's sleeping in her brother's bed. I don't understand it; it's not like she doesn't have her own bed that she's slept in since she became a child, over a week ago...
Way to go, Zeb. You bored your daughter to sleep with one of Deanna's Romance novels. I don't know about the bored part, but it seems to me Jess fell asleep a lot quicker than she did when Deanna was reading her to sleep with the Handiness book.

Oh, the "special bonus" Deanna mentioned? Well, apparently playing around with the new cheat to Edit Sim in CAS has the potential to reset a Sim's age... I've been able to reproduce it by shift-clicking a Sim to Edit while a different Sim is the current active Sim. Resets the age meter every time. I didn't notice it until I'd changed Cassandra and Elizabeth, so I went ahead and did Zebulon, Deanna, and Brendan too so their ages are similar again - the lot of them were only two days from becoming Elders too. Obviously, the Legacy rules went out the window years ago. Literally.

And now for something completely different. A very, very, fat bartender.

English Legacy: That Someone Is You (Chapter 37)

With the restraint of New Order covers, young marble giants
I sat quietly waiting
For someone else to make the first move
Someone has to make the first move...
That someone is you
That someone is you
That someone has pulled me up and out of cartoon quicksand
Pulled me up and out of me!"

"There you are! Come here, mister!"

"Liz...? What happened to you? You're gorgeous! Uh, I mean, uh, even more gorgeous! Did you get a makeover or something?"

"We'll discuss it in a minute. Now bring those lips over here."
* Slllllluuuuurrrrrrp smooch grope giggle *

"Hey, Brendan..."

"Yes, Liz?" * slurp *

"There's a new 'option' for the shower.... want to try it out?"

"A new option? What kind of new option?"

"Let's just say the shower now allows couples to kill two birds with one stone, so to say. Three, if there are less than eight Sims on a lot, if you know what I mean..."

"Oh, really? Well, why don't we just..."

Don't even think about it, you two. We've got a big update to do, and I'm not about to let this blog get slapped with an adult rating.

"Aw, phooey, Creator. You're no fun. Anyway, Liz, why do you look so different? Does it have anything to do with why these... um, are bigger?"

Keep getting closer to that adult rating, Brendan. There's a nice empty tomb under the house now, just looking for urns to decorate it.

"Quit threatening my husband, Creator! Anyway, dear, we have the Creator to thank for it... more precisely, something called 'Generations' or something."

"How so?"

"Um... why don't You explain it, Creator? I'm not quite sure I understand it myself."

Oh, all right. Anyway, one new feature of the Generations Expansion Pack is now, with testingcheatsenabled, is the option to Edit a Sim in CAS, which does exactly what you think it does - it allows complete modification just like a Sim was a brand new one.

For example, here is Elizabeth before:
Here she is after Mission: Jaw Removal and Body Adjustment.... and after a crash while saving that was totally my fault, and doing it over again:
"Oh wow, Liz... why did you get rid of your mother's jaw? It had never bothered me... heck, I liked it because it made you more distinct."

"Well, just because I came to accept it when I was a teenager doesn't mean I liked it. When the Creator asked me if I wanted my jaw fixed, I jumped at the chance. And I wasn't the only one."

"You weren't the only one? Wait.... you don't mean.... our daughter?"

"Yes, Cassie saw what it did for me, and she asked the Creator to do the same for her, too."

"But... Elizabeth. I loved you both the way you were. I'll continue to love you both forever, no matter what. Neither of you needed to do this, least of all not for me."

"We know, sweetheart. *smooch* But Cassie and I wanted to do this; for ourselves. Besides, the Creator did a great job on her, too."
"That's certainly true. She's even more beautiful than before... did any one else use it?"

"Yes, actually... the other kids weren't interested, but Dee decided to give it a try. She'd never quite liked how it looked like her cheekbones had been bashed in with a hammer, so she had a bit of work done on her cheeks."
"Hey, yeah, that turned out pretty well, too..."

"Oh yeah it did. The Creator also gave her a little more mass so she wouldn't look like she'd blow away in a gust of wind any more."

"That explains what she's been in a good mood lately... either that, or the $13k royalty check she got this Sunday."
"Yeah, pity it didn't count towards her Self-employment career, though. Still, Zebulon wasn't complaining."

"I wouldn't either... one question though... why did the two of them go to check out the kids' new treehouse after that kiss?"
"Uh.... Brendan, let's just say the treehouse now has something in common with the shower."

"In common with the shower? Wait... you mean... well, that explains the two of them grumbling about splinters afterwards..."

Creator's Note: Good heavens, I laughed so hard after Deanna and Zebulon came out of the treehouse (The Sci-Fi hideaway, actually) post-WooHoo with the Splinter! moodlet. The description was worth at least $10 of the expac's price, in my easily amused opinion.

"Speaking of easily amused, Liz... what got into Andrew today? What was that about the shower and yellow dye? I heard Kevin, of all people, scolding him for something?"
"Oh, that, the little troublemaker decided to pull a Prank on Jessica before she could get in the shower earlier, and Kevin busted him."

"She must have loved that."
"Actually no, she didn't. She's already planning vengeance on her cousin... if only to wipe that smug look off his face. At least Andrew apologized after Kevin ratted him out to me."

Creator's Note: That shot was actually triggered before Jessica triggered the booby trap - she was mainly ticked because Andrew wouldn't leave the bathroom to let her shower. I had to let her "fall" for it, because I didn't see any way to Undo the booby trap.
"Did you ground him or anything?"

"Nope. I wouldn't have done that without discussing it with you first, but I did tell him, 'Okay young man, you've had your fun with your cousin; that one's free. Just don't come whining to Aunt Dee or myself when (not if) she gets revenge.'"

"Dad! C'mon! You promised! We've only got a little while before it gets dark!"

"Okay, Cassie, I'm coming! Back in a while, Liz. Our daughter has a new learner's permit calling out to her."

"Okay, dear. Have fun. Remember, one scratch on my car and Zebulon will be forced to reassemble the both of you using family photos and lucky guesses."
"Wow, I can't believe Mom is letting me learn to drive in her car!"

"Well, princess, she and I agreed that if you're going to learn to drive, might as well learn in a stickshift, just for future reference."

"But dad, you rarely drive this car. I think even Uncle Zeb has driven it more than you."

"Because, driving this car is like wrestling a crocodile. Now... gently apply pressure to the gas as you let up the clutch and..."
* VRRRRRRROOOOOOOOM screech! Chirp! Lurch! *

"Ack! I'm sorry, Dad!"

"It's okay, princess. Now this time, a little less gas and a little sooner with the clutch..."

* vrrrrrr..... chirp. Stall. *

* Thirty minutes later *
"See, princess? You've got the hang of it now. You just need practice."

"Thanks, dad! This is fun! Shall we head home now?"

"Yes, but we'll take the long way... the farther we go, the less chance we have of your mother smelling the burnt clutch lining."

And now for something completely different. A bouncer with an unfortunate hairstyle.

English Legacy: Collapse Into Now (Chapter 36)

In a place long past, there was a house, with an attic of sorts. This attic was perfect for storing... "things".... things you wanted to hold on to... even though you might go a year or longer without touching them. You knew, with a little care, that they would still be there, even if the "Attic", somehow got moved to a totally different "house".

But the "attic" is more than just an empty room. It is a place outside the reach of lesser forces, and it keeps its contents safe. Even if these contents consist of people, places, and things... capable of being held in stasis for extended periods.

These people would remain in stasis, exactly as they were, obvious to the passage of Time.
When the stasis is resolved, changes are free to take place again.
... and sometimes the changes reveal that the universe has a strange sense of humor.

Oh.... the whole "attic" analogy really isn't working out the way I wanted it to. I'm out of practice...

Yes, readers, it may have been a darned long while, but I, the Creator, am back. First thing you'll notice (besides Cassandra's looks) is that the shots are (or should be) in widescreen now. I'm running on a PC that's rather more powerful than the one I was using all those months ago.

How powerful, you may ask? Let me put it this way, Sims 3 is running at 1920x1080 with all the video options pretty much set as high as they will go, and I have to force vertical sync or Sims 3 will run at 160 fps or more. :) I <3 this computer. :) The increased graphics fidelity was NOT kind to poor Cassandra.

I just installed World Adventures, Ambitions, and Late night the other day, as well as the associated patches. I'm a bit surprised there was no fiery explosion visible from space.

Needless the say, there have been a few changes to the Legacy house with three new expansion packs added, though somethings stay the same. For instance:
Brendan and Elizabeth are still very happy with each other, as well as the new hot tub. Elizabeth is only two logic points from reaching her LTW of Renaissance Sim (Three skills maxed) Brendan got his LTW of Swimming in Cash a long time ago.
Deanna is still writing Romance Novels, though she has used the new feature of being Self-Employed - her last novel, "Hot Blooded Heat" (how original...) granted her two Self-Employment levels just from the first royalty check. The next Sunday, which is when she'll get royalty payments from the books she's already written, should boost her up even higher. She's only got less than two Painting points before she reaches her LTW of Illustrious Author.

In other news, there have been some other age transitions besides Cassandra's, and let's just say they were somewhat more kind to Andrew, Jessica, and Kevin.
Kevin, who is lined up to be the next Heir, looks so much like his grandfather Alex it is not even funny. Here he is playing chess with his aunt Elizabeth. He's working on the Athlete track like his uncle Brendan.
Here's Andrew, Elizabeth and Brendan's second child, finally transitioning to childhood. After what happened with his big sister, I was a tiny bit nervous as to whether his jaw would explode like Cassandra's...
Thankfully, it did not. Andrew's looking pretty fortunate so far. Like all other English children, he got the family trait of Computer Whiz when he transitioned.

Last, but not least in the transition department, is his cousin Jessica. Who gave me another moment of worry. Well, more than a few.
I don't know what was up with her as a toddler on this new PC, but after the expansion packs were added and patched, she was always cross-eyed, no matter what. If her eyes were open, they were crossed. It was not pretty.
Thankfully, the transition was kind to her as well... though that hairstyle is not the one she "came with"; it's one of the new ones. I love it... I add three EPs and the number of hair choices for girls (without caps) went from six choices, to a whopping nine of something. I don't feel like waking her up now just to send her to the mirror to find out how many.

It's a bit weird... she and her cousin Andrew are Best Friends. The two of them have a higher relationship than either of them do with their own parents (though Liz is her son's Best Friend).
So, here we have seventy-five percent of an English family dinner, in Widescreen! Enjoy it while it lasts... for there is a hard choice that will need to, or at least should be, made soon. I've been putting it off for years, almost literally.


And now for something completely different. A completely-unrelated screenshot of a young woman punching a stick.
..and with that, we're back. :)