The Jones Random Town Jump: Complete

[Ausette]

Thank you for commenting, everyone! I'm glad the story progression rant was well-received; I had a lot of fun writing it, but struggled with the rest of the chapter, so I've been itching to post it for quite a lot of time now!

Your narration of EA Story Progression really made me laugh because it was spot on! Nice to see the Joneses in Riverview. I love your truly funny storytelling. 

Thank you, MissPlumbBob. I'm always happy to make people laugh. 

If it's possible, that could be one of the best chapters you've written yet. Hilarious. More hilarious than usual.

The house looks amazing. You really are a great builder. If Travis really does have X-Ray vision then that's a total winner.

Wow, thanks Gogo! I found this chapter (and the house) a bit hard to make, so I'm glad it paid off. 

I've been following your story for ages, can't remember if I ever commented before or not but I really love the way you tell it, It always makes me laugh out loud, especially the previous generation, Stella is definitely my favourite Jones so far.

Loved the story progression rant, so true! I can't wait to see this crop of babies grow up, Riverview is my favourite town and I hate seeing it get taken over by the clones, especially when I know the townies make such nice looking kids.

Wow that Twinbrook jaw is really genetically strong isn't it, never seen such an obvious facial feature on a toddler.

Welcome to the gang, Turoskel !  Thank you so much for finally commenting. The jaw is pretty strong, yes, but I much prefer strong features to generic ones. I too am very excited about this generation growing up. Riverview babies for the win!

Seconded!  Um, thirded.

Other things to love:  Bean calling his bar Hops and poor Flo with her multiple stabbings .

Is the house a remodel of one of the existing houses or did you build it to fit in with the others in the street?  It works well, either way.

Oh, I was really proud of myself for thinking up that bar name  . The house is completely new and deliberately made to fit in with the street, which is a building project I've been wanting to do for quite a while (I love that little suburb). I like the façade, but as you're going to see the interior could do with some work.

The only thing I don't have to complain about EA's Story Progression is that it doesn't render my game unplayable due to freezing like Twallan's does. Hurray for unorthodox solutions, though! Townie babies make every game better.

Both toddlers are so adorable. Who's the little girl that Nectar is performing for?

Thank you, Trip. I thiiiink the little girl is Cora Crosby, but it's kind of hard to keep track of everyone these days. 

I am enjoying reading the next chapter in your story.  I totally agree with the rant over story progression.  I have seriously considered seeding some towns with babies.

I love to play RV, so the only thing I can think of is that it must be quite a while before the programing kicks in, I love to create a sim and marry her to George Dean, gorgeous man and produces beautiful babies.
My children (I know they aren't really mine, but computer generated, but I think everyone understands) had no trouble in finding a mate.  There weren't a lot of selections, the firstborn had only three choices and one was a thief, other nuts, which left him with just one. She was his high school sweetheart, sorta, I don't have generations or ambitions, but  they did call each other often and went on a date.  It was after the third generation that I couldn't find anyone for them to marry and I had to bring in a couple that I had specifically created for such events.

Anyhow, I can totally agree and understand why you needed to seed the town, it is almost impossible to find mates for offspring.  For the five kids (surrounded by family LTW) I was able to find a mate only for one.  Very Frustrating

Yes, it's annoying isn't it  . I remember I once married a Sim to Constance Shelley and Jebidiah Wilson's story progression baby, but these days that feels more like a dream than anything. If that's what you're after, by all means "seed the town"! I would love to see what kind of Sims your game comes up with. 

I love how you describes story progression! I'm not a fan of generic townies lol. The twins are adorable.

Thank you, Louise. I'm glad you like the twins; I think toddlers are much cuter when they're not generic! 

[saltpastillen]

As usual the family entertains me to no end! Love your version of the Story Progression

[amyrose]

I absolutely love this idea Ausette! I may have to 'borrow' it for my own town jump.

[Hallucination]

The toddlers of Twinbrook natives always freak me out. Their features are always less rounded and ambiguous, and they tend to look frighteningly adult.

[Ausette]

As usual the family entertains me to no end! Love your version of the Story Progression

Thanks, salti! I've been wanting to put this trick into practice for a while now. 

I absolutely love this idea Ausette! I may have to 'borrow' it for my own town jump.

Go right ahead, amyrose! I'm glad I could help you. 

The toddlers of Twinbrook natives always freak me out. Their features are always less rounded and ambiguous, and they tend to look frighteningly adult.

It is a little bit like that, but right now I'm playing the boys as teens and I can tell you for sure that Preston grows into his features  . Hey, I don't think I've seen you on this thread before! Welcome to the gang!

[Snufflesxx]

What a great chapter, Ausette! I loved the idea of substituting your own story progression. If the Bedlingtons go to one of the towns any/many pregnant women, I might have to use your idea.

Poor little Preston. Twinbrook genes and toddlers don't seem to mix!

[Ausette]

What a great chapter, Ausette! I loved the idea of substituting your own story progression. If the Bedlingtons go to one of the towns any/many pregnant women, I might have to use your idea.

Poor little Preston. Twinbrook genes and toddlers don't seem to mix!

Thanks, Snuffles . If you like the story progression idea then by all means go ahead and use it! I'd love to see what kind of children you'd end up with.

[Ausette]

Chapter 64 – We’re back!

Welcome back to the Jones town jump! I know, I know, it’s been aeons since I updated. I’m afraid I have been occupied by the anti-Simming triad of school, work, and relationships, including the most dangerous new distraction of all: A BOYFRIEND (Dun dun dun!). Anyway, when we last left the family Nectar and Gerard’s twins, Travis and Preston, had just become toddlers.



“Who’s a good nephew-child? Come and give Stella a kiss!”

Aaargh! Watch it with the fangs! You know, when I think of my great-aunties in real life I think of kindly old ladies and not vaguely vampiric evil scientists.



Stella’s actually been pretty quiet since the move. She’s been doing a lot more fishing and gardening and has managed to max both skills, scoring some life fruit and death fish for the family in doing so. Thanks to her and Mandy, we now have a food replicator filled with Ambrosia. Just in case.



Speaking of Mandy, she's doing pretty well. She doesn’t have many work hours now, so she spends most of her time networking and getting friendly with the Riverview townsfolk.



Often a little TOO friendly. Really, Mandy? Hunter Cotteneye?



Luckily, Omar still loves her to pieces despite her constant flirting with other, younger men. Aww, these two are still very sweet together. I still catch them autonomously hugging and kissing all over the house if I don’t watch them.



Mandy and Omar’s daughter, Nectar Jones, continues to perform for all her greatest fans (who still all seem to be toddlers and Brokes).



She also gets lots of exercise at home with her hubby Gerard. He tends to emerge from shower woohoo wearing this. Yeah, I think if you’re in danger of drowning each other it might be time to tone things down a little. Especially since Gerard is getting older.



Yes, Gerard has his Adult birthday, and as a present I give him new facial hair; namely, some thicker eyebrows and a moustache that, judging by this screenshot, is slightly opposed to being a moustache.

“Oh no, the glue isn’t holding! It’s getting away! What do I do what do I do?!”



Gerard isn’t the only man in the house getting older; it’s time for the twins to have another birthday party. Yay, you can all finally see what they look like!



Of course, no birthday is complete without the usual jeering crowds.

“Ha ha, my nephews are school-aged now! This is for some reason worthy of mockery!”
“Ha ha, the acrobat’s kids have grown up and that man’s arm is going through his chest!”



So, here are the twins as children! They share very little except for their eye shape and hair colour. Preston (left) becomes Neurotic and Travis (right) now Loves the Outdoors.



In the meantime, old Flat Broke refuses to go home after the party. He just hangs around watching TV and drinking all night. He even helps himself to some of the food that’s been sitting out on the table all day.



“Good gracious, this salmon is rotten! How could you possibly think this acceptable to serve this to your guests?”

Well gee Flat, I think it was acceptable when we actually served it at the start of the party over fourteen hours ago.



“Oh well, nothing one of these can’t fix! Heh heh heh.”

He eventually leaves at three thirty in the morning after drinking about four trays of cocktails. I’m not joking. Four trays. Although come to think of it, I’m not sure why Bean thought all those cocktails were necessary for a toddler birthday party.



After the party the boys start to adjust to being children. They don’t have much personality yet, but so far Preston is shy and awkward and Travis is kind of perfect. Seriously; he’s sporty, social, cute, and Insane, exactly what you want in an heir. It’s kind of boring, actually. The twins enjoy talking to each other and cooking with their easy-bake ovens, which is also boring. Hey, at least it’s not real life, where I’d have to worry about them breaking all the furniture and tracking sand through the house.



Wh… What?

“Yay, we’re breaking the rules of the programming purely to mess with your head!”
“Look Travis, I made a castle!”
“Well, I made a carpet star!”
“Wow, I just dug up a truck! Sweet!”

Why do they have the “Play in Sand” interaction on the floor of the ENTIRE house?! Is this a new Island Paradise glitch? That sandy-coloured ground covering, it’s just carpet! Carpet! How are they digging up toys in it? Are they playing in a thick layer of dust or something? Really boys, if you that desperate for Island Paradise there are more mature ways of getting my attention!

“No there aren’t. You vanished for months. That’s why you’re using the jokes you wrote just before Island Paradise came out.”

Oh, hush. Go talk to some girls.



There we go. This lovely little lady is Sheena Grisby. If we were going by looks alone she’d definitely be a spouse for this generation (the eeeears!! ), but her traits are Excitable, Hydrophobic, and Hot-Headed. So she’s cute and quirky, but just a bit touchy, especially around Preston for some reason.
   


“Sorry Sheena, I missed that last bit. What did you say?”
“What do you mean you didn’t hear what I said? Are you making fun of my ears?”

Poor, awkward Preston. I hope this isn’t going to be a running theme.



The next day is a school day. It takes a while for the twins to get through the door because holy cow, that’s a lot of children! And it’s not even all of them, either!  I almost consider it a badge of honour that Preston pops the “Too Many People” moodlet. Can you say awesome?

[Ausette]

Let’s see how the boys go at making friends. The next day Preston manages to invite girl-next-door Keisha Simovitch over after school, but she chooses to sit next to Travis. Not a good sign for Preston.



Then moments through the door, Preston is cut off by Great Auntie Stella.

“Good afternoon, nephew! I have just returned from work. Would you like to hear about my statistical analysis of our most recent data points?”
“No, Auntie, please! I’ve got a girl over! Please don’t bore me to– “



*THUMP*
“Ahahaha! That’s hilarious! How do you do that, Miss Jones?”
“I do not know. It seems that I naturally evoke a fight/flight response in most males.”

Oh dear. Okay, let’s try to get this back on track. Before she got up to laugh at Preston, Keisha was doing her homework. Surely we can get a nice study session going without any trouble, right?



“Oh gosh, I would love to sit next to you Preston, but as you see I am suffering a routing error and cannot possibly get near that chair. I think I’ll go outside and play in the sprinkler instead.”



And that’s exactly what she does. Oh well, at least Omar can keep an eye on her, right?



Right?

“You know, when I said I wanted to die surrounded by girls in bathing suits this wasn’t exactly what I had in mind.”



Oh, Omar . I think Omar may have been a little too normal to function comfortably in the Jones household, but he made a valiant effort regardless and was a well-loved member of the family. He was by far the most easy-going Diva I ever played. After 92 days in my game, he will be missed.



“Omar, NO!”

Oh, I always hate this part . Poor Mandy. Poor Joneses. I think everyone in the family is going to struggle.



Even Bean, working down at Hops for the night, takes a moment to shed a tear.



Keisha, on the other hand…

“Hey, Travis! I’m ready to do my homework now!”

It’s at this point that I check her traits in full with testingcheats. Yeah, she’s Mean-Spirited. Who would have guessed?



The next two days are the usual smorgasbord of Simmie mourning, and it would break my heart if my Sims didn’t insist on being ridiculous about it as usual.

“Oh fluffy bunny, how do I handle losing my grandpa? Surely you have infinite wisdom considering you’ve been in the family inventory since Bridgeport and you must be several hundred years old by now.”



“My Stella, I know you are sad, as is one of the faces upon my shirt. But I will cover the sad face and then you will have to be happy from now on, OK?”
“Grrrrr….”
“…Is that a yes?”



In addition to grief, Omar’s loss has the house on edge for a different reason. All three elders are over ninety now and we’re due for another death any second. Sure enough, the very next day my camera does that tell-tale zoom to the home lot. It’s sad, but I have to brace myself for another quiet passing.



AAAAARGH!

“AAAAAAAARGH! STEREO TRIED TO KILL ME! STEREO TRIED TO KILL ME! FIRE ON THE HOME LOT! HEEEEELP!”

PUT YOURSELF OUT, YOU IDIOT! RUN! RUN!



Oh man, thank heavens there’s a shower nearby for Gerard. Also, thanks heavens Bean and Mandy are on hand to extinguish all the gnomes checking out the fire. Gerard can save himself, but the gnomes aren’t going to put themselves out you know!



After all that excitement, Nectar grows up and lands herself in a midlife crisis. It actually turns out to be not that bad. She just has to spend lots of money and flirt with the maid when Gerard’s not looking.



Her newly creaky bones are thankfully not a big problem work. The stage is now glitched, but that no longer matters; Nectar has maxed out her career just by performing for tips and raising her Athletic skill. Yay! Sadly, she’s lost her original fanbase; the Brokes have recently passed away, and the toddlers are all kids and teenagers now.

“Wow, you’re flexible! Could you come and do that at my teen birthday party?”



I’m still just thrilled that for once we have more than one Sim for the kids to play with! Over the next few days, the twins meet Mick Bagley, Forest Lin, Krista Shelly, and many more.



However, there’s only one Sim that actually gets up to the “Friend” status: Keisha. I reckon this is the only way she can make people like her. Unfortunately, she’s a little hard to be around, so Travis has to be creative.



“Sorry Keisha, I’m a challenge Sim, and challenge Sims don’t have time for chit-chat. Hold still, will you?”

Ah, if only I had magic elixirs in real life. Maybe if I did, I would actually have time to write updates. As it is, I’m done for now, so tune in next time (hopefully some point this year) for the next chapter in the lives of the Joneses!

[sunshine_2406]

Yay, you're back! I've missed the Joneses. Although congrats on the new boyfriend, I know how that can keep you away from simming. Going back to the boys, I think Travis is absolutely adorable. I can't wait to see what they look like as they get older.

[hazelnut]

Welcome back!  I've been missing the Jones madness.

[JudesSims]

Welcome back to the Joneses! They are entertaining as always. Congrats on the boyfriend. I seem to have found one of those as well They do cut into simming time, don't they?

[Hallucination]

I frightened my brother because of how hard I was laughing at the bunny bit. Deaths in this would be a lot sadder if your Sims would just handle it in a little less baffling of a manner. Still, bye Omar!

[RaiaDraconis]

Hehe...significant others have an interesting penchant for taking away spare simming time. It's good to see you and the Joneses back!

[Trip]

That shot of all the kids outside the school makes me realize that I need to step up my pollinating game!

Glad to see the family back in action, but boyfriends indeed have a way of putting a dent into simming time.