Runaway Teen

[Playalot]

@Alarianna , thanks, he is growing up too! I'll post his stats soon but it's getting pretty close to his YA birthday!

[Playalot]

Chapter 9

Argh! Put your phone away!




You're such a nag! You never let me use my phone, it's not fair.
It's against the rules. Besides who were you talking to?
Kellie if you must know.
You've just spent the last 8 hours at school with her.
So, we got stuff we wanna say.
Come on, we have things that need doing.




While I love playing ma guitar, this isn't really helping me mentor people.
Yeah, I was just wondering if anyone would pick up the guitar next to the bar over there.




I take it no-one is?
Hmm...Let's try something else.




The Goths?
Yep. They have musical instruments so star gaze with wee Alex there and see if he plays anything while inspired.
I can only mentor in guitar.
Yeah but if Alex goes for the violin then we know our strategy works.
So... what? Then I have to learn the violin flat out for the next day or two?
Haven't thought that far ahead, just go with the flow...
 



Winston: So I kinda need you to play something...
Alex: Hmm, I don't really know how to. I would really like to help but I just don't think I can.




Winston: It's ok Alex, I told the watcher it was a really dumb idea anyway.



Winston: Soooo Cassy, do you ever feel so inspired that it just makes you wanna jump right up and play an instrument?
Cassandra: Na, don't think so.




Watcher?
Hmm?
This is just a big waste of time.
Yeah. O.K. Let's try something else, again.




Least your garden's coming along nicely.
Yep. I guess.




Ya know, I don't mean to be negative but you've got to come up with a workable plan watcher. I need to mentor someone in guitar asap.
I know. I know, honestly I've been trying really hard to make it happen.
Try harder. When I wake up in the morning I want you to have sorted it.




Next Morning...

I've sorted it! Quick! Come here and mentor this guy.




*Grimace* Oh watcher! He sounds terrible.
Doesn't matter how he sounds what matters is that you are finally mentoring someone! Yes!




Winston: *Angry* Well, that didn't last long.
*Big sigh* We'll keep at it. A whole lot of little equals something big.
Winston: I'm gonna count back from 100. 100, 99, 98....




Red Haired Lady: I don't think you should be in here, you're too young to be in a lounge young man.
Old Lady: Leave the boy alone, he's just doing his homework like a responsible young boy should.




QUICK! Someone else is playing the guitar.




Winston: The noise she is making is indescribable.
Agree.




Well, we are getting somewhere. That's one hour of mentoring sorted.
Good, it's really boring waiting around though.
I know but least we are actually making progress eh.




Quic....
I'm on it watcher.




Least she sounds a little better.
Hmm...I still need a few more people to play though.
Be patient, it's happening.




Oh my gosh! They're fighting over the guitar now! Cool!




Yes! Just a little bit longer...




Guess what?
I've done it?
You've done it. You just completed your musical genius aspiration!

[Playalot]

So at this point Winston is 3 days away from his Young Adult birthday. I'm actually playing on long life span as I'm not going to age him up at all, well, not until I'm bored with playing his as a teen anyway! I'm also playing with aging off for all unplayed sims as I really like having the original families in my fun games so that's why Olivia is still a child etc.

Winston has $9,144 simoleons and an A in high school. He's completed the Musical Genius Aspiration. His skills are guitar 10, gardening 6, fishing 4, fitness 4, charisma 3, cooking 3 and a smattering of other skills at L1 or 2.
General Stats: Cooked 10 meals, Eaten 19 (and a lot of fruit!), Go Here's Obeyed 72 (I must be pretty bossy after all!)
Misfortunes: Witness 1 fire
Goals: Completed 123 whims
Emotions: Confident 134, Embarrassed 1, Energized 11, Flirty 14, Focussed 32, Happy 128, Inspired 197, Playful 4, Sad 0, Tense 14, Uncomfortable 4

Completing the Musical Aspiration is really easy until you have to find some sims to mentor. Uncontrolled sims very rarely play a musical instrument. The only place I have found where this happens is in the Solar Flare lounge and even then the sims usually only play/sing a camp fire song. I've found that it takes the mentoring of 3 camp fire songs to get one hour of mentoring checked off. So basically 9 camp fire songs equals the 3 hours needed for the aspiration. In real terms it doesn't work quite so neatly as Winston often only caught the last few moments of a townie playing a song. It took us eight sim days to mentor the 13 songs to get 3 hours of mentoring completed. Also not every townie is able to be mentored without Winston having introduced himself first... which he couldn't do as he still can't talk to adults under the 'Runaway Teen' rules. The best time to catch a townie playing the guitar was when we first arrived on the lot. That usually only worked once though so I couldn't just keep travelling away and back to find a sim to mentor.

I did play this part of the aspiration in another file a few days ago as part of a different challenge that I was mucking around with and I became so frustrated I cheated the last two hours of mentoring so I knew I was in for a slog! So, it is possible to complete with a single sim household but, to be honest, quite frustrating and hugely time consuming.

I'm nowhere near finished the 'Nomad' part of this challenge so there will be a few more chapters yet. And the Runaway Teen bit technically finishes I guess when Winton becomes a young adult.  So I'm just going to keep rolling with this for a while to see where it take me and Winston. 

*edited: Just out of interest here are Winston's royalty pays in order: 198,310,356,558,184,226,339,126. I was able to clear the 'Earn 500 from Licensed Songs' in just 2 days. It usually takes me three, so I was really pleased about that as I knew I had to start the mentoring slog as early as possible.

[Tixxis]

Congratulations on completing Musical Genius with a single Sim household!
When you wrote your intro, I asked whether he was allowed to have any additions to the household, remember?
Now, I'm wondering if that's even possible. He is not allowed to talk to adults. Can a teen ask a teen to move in?

[Alarianna]

Congratulation Winston, an unusual patience for a teen (and an extremely tenacious Watcher) to get Musical Genius all on your own.

[KRae]

Well written. I could feel your frustration.

[Nettlejuice]

Congrats Winston and to you, those three hours must have felt like one hundred lol. His backstory is so sad, is that his Sims 3 history, I think you mentioned playing him in Sims 2 as well? Dennis Kim at the Solar Flare and his disapproving looks, someone needs to sort him out 

[Playalot]

Thanks everyone. I made the age thing a little confusing I think. Winston is 17 days old... 3 days off his YA birthday had I been playing on normal life span but because I love playing him as a teen I put the aging on long so he will not age up for another 33 days or so. I figured that most runaway teen stories are played on normal lifespan so thats how I started. I guess I could have had him drink a potion of youth but I'm not really playing to any major 'set' rules as such. 

@Tixxis, no a teen can't ask anyone to move in but had I been playing on 'normal' he would have only been a few days away from being able to as a YA.
@Alarianna , thanks. It's not my fav part of the aspiration that's for sure! lol
@KRae , thank you.
@Nettlejuice , thanks and those three hours are the longest three hours ever lol. Hmm, I only played TS2 briefly and after I had been playing TS3 for some time so I actually really didn't like it. Mainly because of what seemed like terrible graphics and a constrictive 'closed' world. Had I played TS2 first I would have appreciated it for all the things the sim could actually do but I guess I'm a S3 fan at heart! I sort of 'forced' myself to play TS2 for a while until the wide open spaces called me back.
That said, I've always played either my 'Winston' character or a female witch who was rather bad! I think my fav version of Winston was when he was a vamp.... I had such a great game going with him, actually he was quite 'bad' in that version of himself lol.

[hazysmith]

Well done completing the musical aspiration. Apart from the frustration with the mentoring, you seem to be enjoying the challenge! Winston's back story was so sad.

[Playalot]

@hazysmith thanks. yes I am really enjoying the challenge. I love the runaway teen game play. Its a lot of fun and a great contrast to my usual 8 sim households. 

[Joria]

I'm so glad he's not a vamp here!  I despise vampires in general.  Creep me out ever since I saw  Christopher Lee play Dracula when I was a teen.  I wore garlic for weeks.  True story.  Now, this Winston is the most adorable, handsomest Dude in the entire world!  You catch the best facial expressions on him too.  I've never seen so many different looks on any other Sim.  I love the whole bear in the woods living as well.  I'm so glad you're doing this!

[Playalot]

Chapter 10


So where are we exactly?
Granite Falls.



It's really peaceful here.
Hmm, it is. Seems a little colder too...
Yeah. I guess that's why there are so many stars.






I think once your homework's done you need to go to bed, that way you'll have truckloads of energy for tomorrow.
What are we doing tomorrow?
Exploring.
Sounds good.
Lol, you're so easily pleased.
I'll remind you of that next time you nag me.



Nite.
Zzzzzz






What? Woah! What happened? It's freezing!
A freak snow storm.



Oh my ggggosh. CCcan't get warm.
Go look for some winter clothes, I think I have some in the backpack in the tent.



K.



Better?
Yep, apart from these mosquitoes. Would have thought the cold would have kept them away.
*cough* yes, well... Let's head out eh.



Poor kid doesn't like the cold.
Oh well, I like it so it's staying.
Like you control the weather watcher, pfft.




Wow, real bugs you can catch!
I know, right.




Woah! Check you out doing a pro cast.
Lol, now just to catch something eh.
Yeah, it's such a strange thing.




What's strange?
Well, just how rubbish you are at fishing.
Least I caught something.
Oh totally. But you know, in general.
Yeah, considering how much I love the outdoors you'd think I'd be a pro.
Hmm...You'd almost say that there were something fishy going on.
If you make any more bad puns I'm leaving.




Watcher?
Hmm?
There aren't any bears in these woods are there?
Don't think so Dude.




Good 'cos it's pretty hard gathering plants and keeping a look out at the same time.
I can imagine.




It's nearly sunset, you want to head back to camp?
Na, let's staying fishing just for a little bit longer.




Oo, nice catch.




That's some moon eh watcher.
Yep. Quite beautiful.




You know how you said I was a bit rubbish at fishing?
Hmm..




Not so shabby eh.




So have you enjoyed the first day of your holiday?
Yep.




Aaaaannnnd.... gotcha!




Totally ready for zz's though.




Nite watcher.
Nite Dude.




*Note the Granite Falls Winter Wonderland Mod is by "Kiwisims 4" (Go New Zealand! Woo!), it's a default replacement of the plants and grass only in GF and doesn't change the gameplay in any way. I think it is very beautiful and have been dying to use it in a story ever since I first stumbled across it.

[Playalot]

@Joria , thanks so much. I'm glad you like Winston here. 

[Playalot]

Chapter 11


Baked potato for breakfast?
Yep.
I'm so glad we're over the fish every-meal-every-day stage.
Me too. Took you long enough to get me some potatoes and onions though.
Yeah, we always just seemed too busy to hang around waiting for them to grow.
I could have taken a cutting.
*Face Palm* Oh my gosh! I totally forgot! I'm so sorry.
It's ok, no harm done. Unless all that fish is going to turn my brains to mush?
Lol, no. I can't believe I forgot though... I'm really sorry. Well, eat up and we'll head out eh.




This place is jammed pack with sort of boring stuff that's weirdly compelling to look at.
Lol, you said it!
It's true though!




I can't believe you want to fish again!




Course I do, its awesome here!




Hey Dude! Come here a sec will ya?
*Concentrating* Gottcha!
That was a weird deja vu moment...*shakes head*.




Wow, that guy next to you must be freezing!
Yeah, I can hear his teeth chattering.
Poor guy can't have a nice watcher to watcher over him eh.
Fishing for compliments?
Bad pun.
Now we're even.




Just letting you know that if you fall in I'm not swimming out there to rescue you.
Pffff as if. I'm a watcher. I don't need rescuing.
Just saying.




Pity we have to mount every new fish I catch.
Hmm, that one does look pretty tasty actually.




Oh man! I love this place!




Not only are those insects extremely difficult to see, they are totally gross.
Lol, you're such a girl about stuff like this.
Says the boy who hates slimy things.
That's different. Frogs are cold and slippery.




Oh look watcher! A new sort of mushroom!



Oh! You keep itching. When did you last have a shower?
Ugh..stop it, I don't have fleas. I just got stung by some fire leaf.
I didn't say you had fleas.
You implied it.
I didn't...oh, well...Wait! What? Don't look!




*Staring* Wow! ...




What should I do...does she need help?
Oh hun, I think she's past getting help now. I feel so bad... I wasn't even paying her any attention.
Maybe that's why she kept trying to butt into our conversation?
I don't know... just stay there though.




Umm, well, that's that then.
Winston: I feel creeped out.
So do I. Although Grim's actually not that bad.
Grim: Right here people.




Winston: Hey man, I like your robe, very gothic eh.
Grim: Really? Oh, thanks.




Grim: Have you heard the one about the three sims who walked into a bar?
*Eye Roll* He's a teen Grim...
Winston: I do know what a bar is watcher. Sheesh.




Grim: Hey! I'm not getting in a middle of a watcher/watchee fight.
We're not fighting, not really.
Winston: Besides she's not the total boss of me.
*Cough*




Winston: *Totally unrepeatable gross joke*
Grim: Ewww, yuk!
*Shock* Woah! That was bad Dude.
Winston: LOL





That's some exit strategy Grim's got eh.
*Snort* You can say that again.
Why? Didn't you hear me the first time?
Stop it! Lol, that's so bad I have no idea why I'm even laughing.




Oh really? You into bugs now?
They're not so bad you know.




You should try a little bit.
Ummm... *looks* I just can't bring myself to do it.
Told you you were all girly.
I guess I can live with owning that.




Instead of swiping madly why don't you make an infusion thingy up?







Nite watcher, that was one crazy night.
Yep. Nite Dude. Sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite.
Stop it.
*snicker*

[Tixxis]

Wow! New Zealand has done a fliptastic job with the winter landscape.
Does it mean all the bugs are present now? You know, bees, blue morphos, walking sticks...