The Long Way Home. Complete.

[yruvian]

God! I love this story! It's so well written and the buildings are so cool. I can only hope you put them up into SwapShop. Gabrial is such a handsome man. Where did you get these wings from?

I can put the buildings up if I change the roof patterns (the yellow ones are CC) and if I can find out how <.<. Aside from the roof, everything used in the buildings shown so far, is standard EA. I'll see if I can manage to share them (without the CC) at the end of the story, as there are going to be many more buildings coming during the story.

Gabriel's wings are custom content as well, from name of custom content site removed by Adriana - we do not allow discussion of CC sites here at all, if people wish to know where CC is from please use the PM feature instead.

[yruvian]

I have the odd feeling the island around me has changed while I was sound asleep... I wonder what has happened. I doubt Mother would drastically change things, unless there was a very good reason for it. Even our plot looks bigger...

"You're right, Gabriel. You've been moved to another Redemption Isle," her well-known voice whispers in my ear. "With the help of your brothers, I managed to move everyone to this new location, right before a meteor storm hit. After all, I wouldn't want you to fail because of a natural disaster." I can't help but hope that She doesn't want me to fail at all. The wind seems to caress my face before settling down again. I guess it could be my imagination... but I know Mother loves us all, even though She sometimes feels She must test us.


At least the stars all seem to be where they're supposed to. One more level to go in Logic before I can build a school. Mariska has finished her first set of painting and sculpture of my adult form... and has wisely decided to leave it at that. I guess she realizes I'll just get bored with posing again if she keeps it up. This leaves more time for me to work on my requirements some more, especially with two young sims coming to join our lives real soon.


In between my search for more stars, I've started a new type of art. According to Mariska, there's not really a lot of demand for these though. Too bad, i had quite a bit of fun carving it.

And this happened right behind my back, while I was working on that very last level...



The wedding increases our little household by three in one strike. There still isn't a school on the island yet. I wish Mariska had waited just another day. My logic skill would have been maxed out and I would have thrown her a party she'd remember for the rest of her life... but, according to her, she had no interest in having the entire island of virtual strangers present at her wedding. Just Lemon and me was more than enough for her. Of course, I wasn't exactly paying attention to the love birds.

[yruvian]

Chapter 18 is actually the first one in their new world. As I said earlier, my world-map caused trouble. I had to redo Redemption Island (the world) in CAS. So far, all roads seem to work this time around. Of course, with making the new island, I've gotten through most of the screenshots and story I already had.

I actually had a lot to replay too, as Gabriel had already build a new house, a school and a science building before the disaster happened <.<. The house he'll build in the next chapter will be vastly different from the fairytale castle one I had in the first world. This is a screenshot of the previous house:

(I could rebuild it without a lot of trouble, but the plot they live on now is so much larger that I went with another design altogether. No more fairytale castle...)

The original lot was only 40x40, while the new one is 64x64. I was actually working on a world with a big lot when the previous version's roads messed up the game <.<, so I took that as my new base.

[yruvian]

With the simoleons Lemon brings with him after the marriage, I should be able to expand our home, so the young ones can play without getting in my way. I'd rather not have them distract me while I'm trying to finish my duties here. There's still so much to do...


The house, of course, is nowhere near finished. Mariska actually asked me whether I couldn't have taken it one room at a time, but with more of a finished look... and with a lot more windows. But... I just wanted to have the actual building ready. I also prefer my home to be light, which this one isn't as of yet, but... I had to make some choices.

As of yet, there are only very cheap doors into those rooms that we're using. Of course, the beds need to go upstairs later on, but... I haven't added a staircase yet either. The basement is also only an idea at the back of my head...


Here is the floor plan of the ground floor... though there's still a little tower missing to the right... and the left back isn't finished. I'm sure it will look better once we manage to add windows... and doors to all the rooms. And a stair... and the fireplaces. I still have so much to do, it's not even funny. I suppose if I had followed Mariska's advice, it wouldn't seem like that much any more...


And this is the floor plan of the top floor. Very empty at the moment, I know. But give it time. I've ensured enough room for plenty of youngsters for the budding family, though I hope they won't go too far or too fast! With two family oriented sims they're bound to have kids, though... With a little luck, they'll at least wait until little Orange has grown out of his crib.

[RainBeau]

I really liked that fairy tale castle look, but the classic look of the new house is nice too. I hope the new world works better for you!

[yruvian]

I really liked that fairy tale castle look, but the classic look of the new house is nice too. I hope the new world works better for you!

No problems with the world so far, thankfully .

I still love the fairy tale one myself. It's definitely more in Gabriel's character than the other one, but... with the amount of baby-wishes Mariska and Lemon are throwing at me ever since their marriage, I think I'll be happy to have made the switch. The classic one has a lot more room than the castle had, even though it only has the one floor on top. (The advantage of straight walls over curves everywhere...)

Aside from that... the new one's actually a building I've been trying to recreate in sims for months... and now that it finally worked with playable-sized rooms, I couldn't wait to try it out. It'll just be a trying out of the (modified) floor plan however, as the darker look of the original really doesn't suit the story. But then, Gotham has never been known for it's cheer...

There's also space left for gardening, which the castle didn't have either... (Of course, that's why I build the greenhouse. There wasn't supposed to be room for stuff like that on their home lot.)

[yruvian]

I managed to max out logic! I'm glad to say little Citrus will soon be able to get a true education. Chess alone doesn't suffice for a properly raised lad... and the boy has merit, I give him that.

He claims he doesn't mind not having a school to go to. He went to elementary school before the family moved to Redemption Island. Even so, I can feel the lie in the air when he says this. It's also obvious from the way he drifts around the grounds, looking for things to do and people to bother. He misses his friends more than he wants to admit... I wonder whether he's trying to be strong for his brothers. No child should have to go through that.


This is exactly why I go out and build him a school the moment the skill is maxed. Even though I don't mind playing chess against him, he needs kids his own age. As soon as Citrus is enrolled as a new student, Lemon decides to stay close to his brother... and promptly takes a job as a teacher.


Aside from a school, I add a rudimentary kitchen to our house. Thankfully, I remembered to keep enough simoleons in hand for that. Now we will finally be able to eat real meals again! NO MORE APPLES!


While I take up cooking, Mariska teaches little Orange his own set of basic skills. She's obviously very good at it, because the little boy races through all three as if he was close to learning them on his own! Or... maybe the Peels are just that smart, I don't know.

I'm a bit surprised at the topics she decides to teach Orange about, but then, she's a sim and she's sure to know what she's doing.


I also discover my last missing potion and Lemon enrolled Citrus into Scouting. He wants the boy to pick up some skills as soon as possible. I just hope he'll discover something he loves while trying out everything available to him.

[RainBeau]

Questions!

How do you make your beautiful buildings functional? For example, in the case of the school, did you just put the rabbithole underground? What happened before there was a school? I would assume that the children on the household wouldn't be able to attend but are there other children in the neighbourhood and if so, would you be able to invite them over in the middle of the day or would the game think (impossibly) that they were at school? Do you make the Peels? I would assume you did since they have such cute names.

Those are all my questions for now

[yruvian]

Questions!

How do you make your beautiful buildings functional? For example, in the case of the school, did you just put the rabbithole underground? What happened before there was a school? I would assume that the children on the household wouldn't be able to attend but are there other children in the neighbourhood and if so, would you be able to invite them over in the middle of the day or would the game think (impossibly) that they were at school? Do you make the Peels? I would assume you did since they have such cute names.

Those are all my questions for now

The rabbit holes are underground, as that seems to be the only way to make them functional.  I'm planning on building all of them, except for the equestrian centre (which can't be underground unfortunately). I try to decorate the parts before the windows, but that's not always easy. One of the buildings has stairs nearly right behind the front wall, so that one was a challenge. The community buildings in this story are actually my very first community buildings ever, so it is really a building challenge as well.

The greenhouse is functional without anything from the EA store (I don't own the EA greenhouse, but I've had some experience making working greenhouses without CC from previous homes), though I'm using a mod to make it possible to plant on a lot different from the home lot. The outside rim (with the trees) will go dormant during cold days. I did download several glass roofs when I was building it, but... I decided the yellow one fit better in the end.

Without a school, Gabriel wasn't even able to tutor Citrus. The option didn't come up, even though he had nearly maxed logic by then. The four families that moved in first had a total of 3 teens, 3 children and 2 toddlers. All families were created by me, though I use the randomize function a lot, as well as random.org to decide on amounts of people and the actual type of family. Most of the traits are randomized. (Though the 3 members of the Song family all have the Virtuoso trait. I just rolled until I got a combo with it.)

All houses for the families have enough beds and chairs for all members of the families. If there are children in the household, Gabriel has added a small playground as well. I think the two largest families will have a hard time with routing issues in their homes though. They only have single doors... and with one family of 8 and another of 6, that gets crowded.

The other children were just running around on the lots designated to become parks, as did the adults. I think I could invite them over at any time during the day. (Some of the parties before the school took place during day hours... and I was always able to invite the children and teenagers.) In Citrus' 'work' tab, it said that there isn't a school in the world. Now that there's a school, most of the adults seem to have followed Lemon's example. I think they're actually giving private classes... as there are more teachers than pupils . Children are now also no longer available during day hours, as Mariska can attest to. She had to deliver a sculpture to Mary Little... and it took her days to get a hold of the child.

[yruvian]

Aside from cooking, which doesn't take that much time in a day, I also take up athletics. Another idea of Mariska's. She nearly begged me to max this skill out now, as her beloved spouse wants to become a super spy... and for that, he needs a police station. I just shrug. It doesn't really matter to me in which order I finish my tasks, so why not. A police station isn't exactly that important for me, as there are only four families on the island so far. I doubt any of them will take up criminal activities... though I have noticed some strangers on the island once in a while. Most of them seem to be lugging around huge cameras however. (Yes... Paparazzi, singers, magicians and acrobats keep appearing everywhere. As does the ice cream van. I've had some trouble with leaving them off pictures from the very start.)


As soon as I get fatigued, I take up my guitar. I'm hoping Mariska will join me here soon, as she still needs to max her own skill in the instrument for her lifetime wish. Maybe we should get Lemon some kind of instrument as well, so we can have some fun together after school time. It seems a nice harmless way of getting together... and it may actually help our upcoming parties as well, considering we don't have that much in the way of entertainment yet.


Little Orange, meanwhile, is having a bit of a fight with the peg box. We can hear him scream his defiance right into the future library. I guess he isn't much for logic. Maybe he would be happier with a xylophone. That way, when he grows up, he'll be ready to jam with the rest of us too.


When Lemon comes home, we discuss the matter of music with him... and he decides to take up the bass. Together, we form a new band, Heaven Bound, though they don't know what made me say that name. Neither of them really had any ideas for a name, so they went with it quite happily, though... according to Mariska, it sounds a bit as if we're going to be doing a lot of Gospel. Which we obviously aren't, if she has any say in the matter.

Quite frankly, I don't even know what this Gospel-music is. I'm just happy to be able to play at all. I would of course prefer the harp... but, since that's not possible for a sim, it'll be the guitar. To start, anyway. If I have the time in between my duties, I would very much like to try my hand at the bass as well. Or the piano...

[yruvian]

Even though Citrus has gone over to the house of one of the other children, he starts to do his homework right away. Good boy! Still, I think he's having a lot more fun in their backyard. I really should get him some of those playground toys over here as well. I was able to add them to each family house that would have children, but... I didn't plan on having any on the grounds over here this soon. I guess I just wasn't thinking straight, as both Citrus and Orange had already moved in when I build the new place.


And... it's Mariska's birthday today! She told me she'd much rather hang out with the two of us than have that many people over, so... we just jammed until she grew up. She doesn't look much different from before, if you ask me. But... of course, she thinks she's got a lot more rimples now. She's still happy with her life though, so i guess that's something.

[Audren]

Happy birthday, Mariska! Welcome, Citrus, Lemon, and Orange!

[RainBeau]

Thank you for answering all my questions I was asking because I am considering attempting to homeschool Sim children but I wasn't sure if it would be possible. I guess you can't tutor them, but they won't have to worry about school performance. Would they still be able to pick the traits I wonder?

This is very intriguing, I'm glad you are sharing it with us. I really want to try it out myself.

[yruvian]

Thank you for answering all my questions I was asking because I am considering attempting to homeschool Sim children but I wasn't sure if it would be possible. I guess you can't tutor them, but they won't have to worry about school performance. Would they still be able to pick the traits I wonder?

This is very intriguing, I'm glad you are sharing it with us. I really want to try it out myself.

Sending you a PM about homeschooling sims...

I don't know whether you can pick out the traits without a school. Gabriel managed to get the school build in time for the... three... young Peels. (But... any children of Mariska and Lemon will be Lighthearts, so how can there be three? No, Citrus isn't a young adult yet in my saved game... and I don't allow for teen births.)

Happy birthday, Mariska! Welcome, Citrus, Lemon, and Orange!

Thanks .

[yruvian]

I can't help wondering what kind of ancient battle has happened at the coasts of Redemption. There's a lot of shipwrecks around, both of sailing boats... and little row boats. I'm sure there must have been previous inhabitants, because one of the ships has been pulled ashore near my fishing spot. Maybe I'm imagining things... I guess there is no reason to think of a battle really. They may just as well have hit one of the many rocks near the coastline. I'm sure the island isn't exactly easy to navigate by boat.
Ever since Mariska got married, our fishing outings have been cancelled. She spends much more time with the Peels now... and usually just runs of alone whenever she feels she's been inside for too long. I think she enjoys the privacy of the beach these days. It's blessedly silent here when you're on your own. Of course, this also means there have been no more romantic attacks on my mission, for which I'm extremely grateful.
I don't really mind the solitude, though... I admit I miss her company. For weeks, she's been near me constantly. It takes some getting used to to have this kind of peace again.


I was a bit worried that my relationship with Citrus would suffer from his new friendships at school, but it seems he still wants to spend time with me. I have become his preferred study help. Even though this takes time away from my own skilling, I find that I don't mind that much. His companionship means a lot to me, especially since Mariska has more or less abandoned me.


Because he's doing so well in school, I decided to give him a bit of a reward... I'd been planning on building him a playground anyway. Mariska and Lemon think I've gone a bit overboard. They think I should spend more on the house... Mariska even mentioned that Citrus actually skipped school yesterday, which... I had noticed. After all, I was the one who let him off the hook as soon as she left the room. Another small matter we tend to disagree on.

But come on, the boy was just doing the dishes and forgot to take the bus! No harm in that, right? After all, I can tutor him to get his grade up again... And I love it how he enjoys himself. All things considering, I don't think the playground is a bad investment. Orange will soon become a child too, so he'll be able to play there with his older brother.


"Fine," I hear Mariska mutter, as she grabs Lemon's hand, "If you want to spend that much on a playground, we should make good use of it. She pulls her husband to the room that serves as their bedroom for now... and I swear I can hear music coming from it not that much later. I wonder what that's all about, but hesitate to ask.

(Gabriel never seems to get upset when one of the youngsters misses school. Maybe it's because he's in no way related to them, not even as an in-law. Up until this game, I've always had every mature sim scold the younger ones for it. He is the only non-Family Oriented adult in the house, but I doubt that's part of it.)