Transcript
Hello and welcome to my Build a City Challenge, Uncanny Valley. I'm your guide--you can call me Hooligan--and if you haven't gone through the list of settlers yet, I suggest you do, just to have half an idea who it is I'm talking about in here, cause I'm not going over it again. It's the post previous to this one, it's not hard to find.
Basically, if you're not familiar with this challenge, I suggest you check out the Build a City community on LiveJournal. If you saw this through that comm, you probably already know about the rules. Just for a refresher, the goal is to turn something like what you see here into a fully functioning metropolis.
My personal challenge is to do this without accidentally nuking the neighborhood somehow--OR CONVERSELY, getting bored after gen 3 and abandoning it. ...That is harder than it sounds, believe me. Shall we?
We start, of course, with Heaven Lindemann, our town's Founder.
On the trip to the new town, everyone was trying to decide what to name it. They went through quite a few, some more unacceptable than others (Stephanie suggested "Bumfuck Nowhere", which was immediately rejected), and finally settled on Kareema's suggestion "Uncanny Valley." It was actually not the most popular suggestion, but Heaven vetoed "Lindemannham", "Lindemannville", and "Lindemannsburgh" as being too pretentious. Eventually more and more people were calling it Uncanny Valley as a nickname before an official name was selected, and the name kinda stuck.
Heaven lives on a lot by herself, her trailer situated right under the lone water tower that was left there by predecessors unknown. Eyulf suspects aliens, but he always suspects aliens.
So the first thing I did upon Heaven parking the trailer (after, of course, everyone built their lodgings for the duration of the stay), is to teleport all the settlers onto the lot so that they can socialise. There are a few continuity errors here, but I'm not going to point them out to you. They embarrass me.
Also, here is the very first instance of "Euphemia is a Popularity Sim!" You'll be seeing this a lot.
For the most part, people got along really well. Really, really well, in the case of Euphie and Gary. Y'all get a room, guys.
We've already got some interesting dynamics going here: Ibrahim and my SelfSim already seem to be hitting it off nicely. He hasn't got any of her turn-ons, though, so I don't see this going anywhere.
I went through and randomised their gender prefs, so I fully expect to see some interesting pairings going on.
That didn't go at all well. You might want to be nicer to her, Heaven, that's the person who's going to be turning your old rustbucket truck into a functioning water pump and/or power company. JSYK.
...Now this could be interesting. Esperanza and Ibrahim. Not what I was expecting here, but now that I think about it, he's Romance and she's Popularity. Don't really know why I'm surprised.
So far, no drama, though.
Despite that, it's Esperanza and Johan that throw me my first autonomous hookup. Interesting... Maybe there'll be some drama after all?
Second one comes courtesy of Agnar and Stephanie. Also, you may notice that I threw in a few pillar candles. I noticed how hard it was to see what was going on.
Aaaaaaand that did not take that long at all.
...Can't say I'm opposed, though. They both have two bolts (good! but not awesome), and hit one of each other's turnons. Could be cute together.
And then they proceeded to do this at least two more times.
Nabila: Oh wow, are you seeing that over there?Eyulf: Yes, that is my brother. He embarrasses me often.Ibrahim: (Hot.)Heaven: Get a room.
See? The party lasted all night and into the next day and evening, and they did this lots.
Esperanza: Guys? Guys? Guys? ....Guys? Meet New Person +1000?
I think they're a bit occupied at the mo, darling. Go bug one of the other settlers.
And they end up throwing me my first crush hearts. Euphie and Gary don't count, 'cause they already were in love when I opened the lot.
I'm almost proud of how fast these two moved.
Also, yes I did change her and Nabila's hair colour in between these two slides. Whoops. LIKE I SAID, INCONSISTENCIES! I was in the middle of makeovers in the other households, and I forgot the party was still going on over here. So sue me.
Eyulf: Congratulations on making out with my brother! You are now the talk of the town!Stephanie: Thank you...I think.
The get-together wears on. Behind the stove there is Kareema, the other Duman sister. Mostly everything seems to be going well, so I float around a little, checking things out, when suddenly...
Hehehehe. Believe it or not, this is actually the shape of things to come for Eyulf for the foreseeable future. He's adorably awkward with women, which I find endearing as a player, but I really was hoping for him to pass on his genetics. I mean, sure, he and his brother are identical, but they're cute and they have good genes.
Sadly, he's just really bad at talking to women. He's not even Knowledge, he's Fortune! An awkward, awkward Fortune Sim.
But hey, maybe he'll have better luck with Nabila, right? One can hope.
No this slide is not just a gratuitous excuse for Gary/Euphie spam.
Heaven: Look, I'm sorry; I think we got off on the wrong foot. We all need to work together here, and I realise I can be a bit abrasive sometimes. Think we can still be friends?Kareema: Hook me up with the motor from that old truck of yours, and I'm pretty sure I can keep the bragging to an absolute minimum.Heaven: You have yourself a deal.
The two of them really are well on the way to making friends. I don't remember the exact numbers at this point, but I'm pretty sure they're in the high thirties already.
Have you noticed the absentee? Yep! It's Johan. Vampires and the sun don't mix well, you know. Also, a great way to keep neighbors off of your ballet bar is to lock the trailer door. It's the only reason they've spent so much time socialising here.
So yeah, most of the people have paired off into groups for a chat, and Nabila decides to pop off to the loo--
Wait a minute.
I. The. Wh-. Nabila, honey, that is an engaged woman. An engaged straight woman.
Nabila: Still hot.
This challenge just got interesting.
Eyulf fails at women: exhibit B.
Eyulf: What? What did I do?
Honey, you two just met today, you've barely talked, and you went in for a makeout already?
Eyulf: It worked for Agnar. /pout
Yes, but that's Agnar. He has a way with women. A kind of nerdy charm. You're a bit long on nerd, short on charm.
Eyulf: Thanks.
The sarcasm is unnecessary, dear. Try a different angle.
Now this just made things very interesting to me. They did this autonomously, by the way. I think it's Heaven here who's making the first move.
See, originally, I had planned for Nabila to end up with one of the Tornquists or as a scarlet woman (pun intended), but I like this much better. They're cute.
Heaven: I really like her.
I can tell.
Yes, I think this is going to be a real ship. They're both into women, I checked. That kills the idea of breeding them, unless....Actually, now I have an idea. Later.
Night falls and I call Johan back, which may or may not be a mistake: the man has a dearth of Nice points. However, I thought I gave him few enough Playful points that he wouldn't prank people at random. Guess I was wrong.
Johan: Poit! Haha, this is one funny looking dame.Kareema: Aow! How dare you!
It looks like these two are shaping up to be perfect enemies.
And then the very next thing they do is sit on the ground of their own volition and hang out. Sims, amirite? In the background Eyulf tries for an Admire and is shot down pitifully, and Gary wonders if he's going to have to smack a bro.
That went about as well as could be expected. I almost expect to see a look of longing on his face if I were to rotate the lot and look, by the way he's just kinda gazing at the way his brother seems to be getting along. Very sad.
NO. BAD FOUNDER. DOWN GIRL. Shit. I expected the drama to come from the two romance sims, not from you two!
I knew making Steph a canon bisexual would be a problem. They have...kindof a lot of bolts.
Wow guys, rude. He's still on the lot. Sure this is the most juicy piece of gossip in town, but really girls? Girls, really?
Nabila: Hey. What's going on over here?Kareema: Nothing much. Sitting here wondering how I'm supposed to get this energy-water situation dealt with. You?Nabila: Just...thinking. Kareema: Worrying, you mean.
Nabila: I can't help it. That's how I am.Kareema: And it was driving your blood pressure through the roof. We came out here to get away from the stresses of the city, remember?Nabila: Yeah, but I don't think we realised how much more stressful it was going to be out in the sticks.Kareema: Just leave the tech work to me. You find something to keep yourself occupied, or help the town as you see fit. Everything's going to work out, trust me.
Heaven: Hm, no, I don't think there's anything magical going on about us needing so few bathroom breaks... There probably aren't any wizards out this far from Sim City.Stephanie: ...These candles are fucking fascinating.
Smooth.
Speaking of bathroom breaks, what's with the thought bubble, Nabila? Somebody hogging the sink?
And what do they do next but file into the house for some alone time? These two are seriously cute. It's official, Heaven/Nabila is my first auto couple.
...Ibrahim, I said alone time.
Ibrahim: What? Don't mind me, just admiring your couch. It's a nice couch.
/weirded out!
Eventually, though, all good times have to end, and I broke up the party in time for Heaven to go to sleep that night. Everyone was exhausted by then, and quite eager to go back home.
The flying thing still amuses me. /whistles wicked witch theme song.
Back from her first day helping out her constituency. It actually went really well. She had a high enough performance to get promoted on her first day, but we still don't have running water or electricity for the town, so no dice. With luck, we'll have that before week three.
One can hope.
Just after work, Agnar shows up. Just in time, too, because Heaven's been a bit lonely today. Naturally, he promptly goes inside to play with the ballet bar.
The next person to show up, just after sunset, was Esperanza. They get along fairly well, despite having little in common.
Thanks, Heaven, that's good to know.
Heaven: So, you're not regretting moving out here, are you?Esperanza: No, it's pretty cool so far! Well, actually it's really warm, but the stucco helps. A bit.Heaven: Yeah, not exactly what I imagined with this whole "40 acres and a mule" thing, but I don't think we're in trouble yet.
Esperanza: How's the mayor thing going for you? Heaven: It's fine. Not what I thought I'd be doing out here, but that's okay, too.
Heaven: Do you remember that one guy from the party? The redhead who was playing kissyface with that girl with the technicolor hair? He's inside, probably playing around with the ballet barre. Esperanza: Haha, really?Heaven: Yeah, he does that a lot.
And that's exactly where they found him.
Heaven: Hey Agnar!Agnar: Hello, Ms. Lindemann!
Heaven: Can we discuss something?Agnar: Of course.
Heaven: So, can we talk sustainability options? How are we going in the food department?
Agnar: The farm is going well enough. It would be easier with some fertilizer. And some pesticides.Heaven: Yeah, I don't know about that--we don't have the cash or the resources. I believe in you guys, though. Agnar: Well, if we can get glass, we can make a greenhouse...Heaven: Now there's an idea!
Maybe I'll get that promotion now.Maybe, Heaven. Maybe.
Or maybe you should be worrying about having toilets that are hooked up to a sewer system, instead of a septic tank. Just a thought.
And here comes trouble, right after work.
Wait a minute....
YHKJHFJKHKHGKJHGGLJHGGL WHAT IS THAT EXPRESSION. What is this. I can't. I canagkdjfghskjfdjhgkjhg.
/dies sputtering
This is so very me.
And there's Kiss Kiss. I like that greet. It's very posh.
If you think she's going to behave herself, you're wrong.
She immediately goes in for a flirt, because why not, obviously.
And then they start talking about the environment. Because Sims.
I consider leaving them on free will, but there are relationships happening that i kinda like, so i monitor them.
Especially when they head into the trailer.
Oh, and who's that outside? An excuse to send Heaven away from the makeout couch, you say? Why, you're absolutely right!
Heaven: Hi! How's it going?Kareema: Not so bad--we should have power in a couple of weeks!Heaven: That's great to hear.
Heaven: If I introduced you to someone who could collaborate with you, make it go faster, would you say yes?Kareema: Depends on who it is...Heaven: Stephanie.
Kareema: You mean that girl who made out with the redhead at the party?Heaven: She can probably hear you, you know.Kareema: Oh. Whoops.
Heaven: Listen, it's going to be hard work, but I know you can do it.Kareema: Well, maybe it would help if i had another head to bounce ideas off of.Heaven: That was the plan.
This picture is just to show you how unbelievably annoying it is to have people come by just to play on your ballet bar all the time. A picture can't really convey it, though. I'm thinking of taking it down, but then she'd have no Fitness boosting item and she'd whine.
Also, Euphie came by. Hi, Euphie!
So, as the sun was setting over the desert, I had them all invited in to shoot the shit. They decide to talk horticulture, apparently.
And...uh...
Maybe I'll just let you guys play Caption This Slide. You're bound to do better than anything I can come up with.
And of course, the compliments abounded. Heaven, do keep your hands to yourself, please, that IS an engaged woman.
Stephanie: So.Kareema: So. You're the one who's supposed to help me with the power situation?Stephanie: I suppose...
Stephanie: Well, if you need parts or an extra set of hands, feel free to call on me anytime. I don't always sleep.
Kareema: Hah, well, I will, I suppose! Maybe sometime later this week...
And so it went. I thought I had more pictures of this evening, but I guess I don't. Ah well.
The following afternoon, just after work, who should swing by but Nabila?
She is pleasantly greeted.
...And greets quite pleasantly back. I have to admit, this came as a surprise, but they're now one of my favorite matches. It's cute.
Oh.
Hello, homewrecker. Why is my self-sim always such trouble?
And then a chaperone stopped by. Hopefully he'll curb the worst of it.
...OK, this was autonomous on Nabila's part. Guys, I'm sorry but you can't form a lesbian triple, okay? I was planning to breed you.
Tempting though it may be.
Eyulf: You want to build a power plant in the middle of a desert? I will not allow this!Heaven: Okay, have fun taking ice-cold baths this winter.Eyulf: ...Do you forget where I am from? This is no threat to me.
/laughing.
There are no words. I swear I will turn all of your autonomy OFF.
Ibrahim, stop macking on your sister's lady. She doesn't like sausage.
Oh sure guys, just. Gossip about the town vampire at night, in the open. That totally won't come around to bite you in the ass--literally.
Although it's nice to see Eyulf hearing some gossip that isn't about his failed romantic endeavors. Thanks, guys.
Heaven: I'm just glad we haven't had any fights-- it's not like we have any police out here.Eyulf: Perhaps we should choose someone to be a Sheriff? Like in the old time Wild Westerns. Or maybe Mr. Public; he looks like a police detective already.Heaven: That's an idea, but I don't think we have to worry about it yet. And I'm not so sure Johan can hold down a day job, if you know what I mean.
Stephanie: I'm no fortune teller, but I think if we have to live much longer without at least public sanitation, there's going to be more than fights.Heaven: I know. I thought you and Kareema were working on it?Stephanie: She's the one doing the brunt of it. I'm a self-taught biologist, not a roboticist.
Dawn arrives finding Heaven in a good mood, which extends all the way until she gets home from work in the afternoon. I have no idea where she goes, because there are literally no other buildings in town whatsoever, but I try not to think about that too hard.
Oh look, the Situation's back. I consider sending her on her way again, but really, this is supposed to be a hands-off experience for me, so why not. Let's see what trouble she can get herself into.
I think we can guess how this ends.
They start with a flirt in broad daylight, in front of the trailer.
And then head inside.
...Let's just give them some privacy, shall we?
Later on in the evening, Nabila drops by for some desert love of her own. I can't stand it, these two are so sweet and romantic. It's pretty obvious they have some deep feelings for each other in their little pixel hearts.
And it shows.
This is where I'll leave you for this update! It's the end of the week and time to move on to the next house in the rotation: the Dumans!
Will Kareema manage to get the town fitted for habitation? Is Nabila truly smitten with the fearless founder? Seriously, what is UP with Ibrahim?
You'll see.
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