Let’s Plays – sim

The Cabal Rises

Big thanks to the EA Content Creator Network for providing a key for this kit.

A few years ago, I created 11 episodes of a vampire saga called “Lucy and the Vampires”. To sum up: young Lucy Cabrillo joined a small clan of vampires whose time together was all too short. A forbidden act by her vampire sire broke their tiny family, leaving Lucy adrift and without companionship in a harsh world. Until now.

Years later, Lucy has become the third member of another trio, alongside aged vampire Agneta the Grey and the medieval-era Joshua of Dale. And the three are the perfect choice for shouting out the fun, versatile Goth Galore Kit.

Cheery, creative jock Lucy has been betrayed and abandoned, leaving her wary and hard. Agneta, a thousand-year-old vampire warrior, knows no other way but sword and fang. Joshua is kinder than them both, but his poet’s heart embraces the darkness as if it was a deity to worship.

A young female vampire in Goth Galore Kit attire. — Lucy is no longer a baby vampire, innocent and naive.

Two vampires, one female and one male, in Goth Galore Kit attire. — Agneta and Joshua prepare for one of the hundreds of sparring sessions they’ve held over the long years.

A female vampire in Goth Galore Kit attire is ready to fight. — Agneta strikes first, as usual.

A male vampire in Goth Galore Kit attire, ready to fight. — Joshua doesn’t hold back in response — otherwise, Agneta would easily destroy him.

A female vampire about to strike. — Agneta prepares a winning blow – or so she thinks.

A male vampire in a sparring fight. — But today, Joshua prepared a new trick: his ability to mesmerize his opponents.

A female vampire watching a fight ending. Joshua has defeated Agneta. — The surprise is enough to break Agneta’s focus. Down she goes.

Lucy and Joshua in conversation. — Afterwards comes the discussion — how to do better, how to fight and win.

Strength is all that matters when the darkness calls.

The Goth Galore Kit works wonderfully with items from Realm of Magic, Vampires, and even basegame — it’s detailed, well textured, and fantastic for all your darkness-worshipping creatures. Thanks again, EA!

Pick up the Goth Galore Kit here or through the EA app!

A Council of Witches

(This immediately follows my most recent WCPS video, “The Weatherby Witches.” tl;dr: while interviewing Sadie Weatherby at Weatherby Hall, Lacey Turner and Sadie were surprised by the Sage of Mischief and his summons for Sadie to visit the Realm.)

Samantha Weatherby’s rose-tinted spirit slipped through Weatherby Hall’s outer wall and half the kitchen before hovering at her great-great-great niece’s side. “She’s gone, finally. Your friend is loyal, Sadie dear. That isn’t a bad thing. And there’s no sign of the spellcaster.”

Other spirits, embodied and not, surrounded Sadie at the worn kitchen table. “Drink, drink,” Aunt Esmerelda said. A cup of steaming tea immediately materialized beside Sadie’s clasped hands.

Sadie wrapped both hands around the warm earthenware mug, but made no move to drink. “Auntie, I don’t need to sleep right now.”

A tiny gust of chilled air slipped along Sadie’s face, the Esmerelda-equivalent of a cheek pinch. “It’s not the go-to-sleep blend. It’s the blend that’ll help you cope with that spellcaster trespasser. And your spirit-seeking friends, now that Lacey’s seen the trespasser as well.”

Dishes rattled on the kitchen shelves along with the spirits’ anger. “Trespassing. A sage hasn’t tried that nonsense in an age,” said Great-Aunt Laureline. “We’ll hex him so hard he can’t use a doorknob.” Her purple-tinged spirit quivered in indignation.

“And have all of the Realm casting their foolishness at us? No thank you.” Great-Grandmother Isabella chose to manifest in her physical form, still swathed in her heavy widow’s weeds of a century before. “Sadie, you will find out what the fool wants, and we’ll get the other sages to calm him. That’s their function, is it not?” An irritated snort followed the words.

“It is,” Samantha said, as Samantha always said when Isabella made a proclamation. “You’ll do exactly that, and it’ll all be fine.” Another rush of cool air, Samantha’s reassuring hand, passed through Sadie’s left shoulder.

“I have to work first.” Sadie said. She sipped her tea in silence as the rest of the room’s occupants exploded into loud opinions. She let the hubbub fade before adding, “It’s all planned. We’re investigating that old summer camp. I’ll leave tomorrow. When it’s done, I’ll go to the Realm and do as you say.”

“So cheeky,” Great-Aunt Laureline said. “I’m disappointed, child. Disappointed.”

“You’re always disappointed,” Esmerelda snapped. “Sadie, promise you’ll finish the work as soon as you can? The spellcaster might return.”

“And you can’t fight him off?” Sadie raised one eyebrow as she regarded her formidable kinswoman.

“I can.” Esmerelda’s toothy smile grew as her spirit gained a reddish hue. “But I’d prefer to not start a war. And I would.”

“Sadie, drink your tea,” Isabella said after casting Esmerelda a quelling glare. “And — ladies, let’s set up a perimeter, yes? Let’s not have any other strange appearances tonight. Or wars.”

Esmerelda let out a dramatic sigh. “If you insist.” The spirits of the Weatherby witches slowly disappeared, most with a final reassuring cold pat to Sadie’s arm or head. Sadie remained at the table and sipped her tea. The cup trembled in her shaky grasp.

We’re Gluttony, bitches!

We haven’t had a two-people-one-Sin situation yet, not until now. We’ve had competitions in other Let’s Plays to see who might be the heir, but we’ve never had TWINS so well suited to a particular task. Bun (Bunuelos) and Pan (Empanada) are perfectly suited for Gluttony, and so they both get to rule the party roost.

A note on names: Bun and Pan’s mom Jazmin (Envy) hooked up with the twins’ father in Selvadorada when barely a young adult, and in her then-ignorance, decided to go with “Selvadoradan names that sound pretty” rather than doing some research. Sooooo, she accidentally named her kids after food. She’s sort of like someone who gets a tattoo of a Chinese character, thinks it means “courage,” and never finds out that it really means some sort of chicken. Whoops!

Bunuelos, a couple of hours before a terrible hangover.

Empanada, after the hangover has arrived.

Bun is more social, more edgy and reckless. Her favorite “gluttonies” are drinking, drugs, and attention, as opposed to her brother’s desire for escapism, ecstatic dancing and music, and companionship (he likes drinking too). They’re already planning life after high school — they’ll use their inheritance to buy a restaurant and make sure it’s the most fun, ridiculous, alcohol-soaked, inhibition-free foodie playground EVER.

All they have to do now is graduate and not get arrested quite yet.

Crime Family Cheat Sheet

Curious about my multi-generational crime family, now in its third generation? Here’s a quick guide to the characters & goals of each generation so far!

First generation:

Rosita Hernandez started out as a government agent in Brindleton Bay, running low-level intelligence operations and living in a tiny little trailer. She always had a taste for the high life, and a little bit of cash from treasonous information-selling was too much to resist. When the choice of good v. villain arose, she didn’t hesitate in choosing the villainous path.

She assembled a crew: hacker Chastity Belt, intern Todd McGoodbody, and scientist Dr. Claude Fairweather. “Assembled” is a strong word re: Claude, since she initially kidnapped him in an effort to create a robot army. Operation Robot Army failed, but Claude’s sudden feelings for Rosita made him a sadly temporary member of the crew in truth.

Their time together was brief and torrid, and ended up with Rosita catching Claude in her money vault, showering in HER hard-earned cash. Back to kidnapped status he went, though by then, she was already pregnant with their child.

Eventually, Rosita rose through the ranks to Supreme Villain status. She was known for her beauty, fitness, ruthlessness, and total thing for freeze rays. Claude was freed in his later years to bond with his son and hang out with his good friend Todd Mc Goodbody. When he passed away, Rosita replaced Claude with alien scientist Kurt Erious as the new “sciency” member of the team.

This whole generation is deceased, though the ghosts are very much active.

Second Generation:

Todd Jr. didn’t exactly have a stable childhood, what with his neglectful mom building robot armies and his scientist dad mostly kept in a locked room in the basement. He wasn’t even named after his dad — Intern Todd ended up doing the bulk of childcare, so Todd Jr. he became.

Perhaps inevitably, Todd turned quickly to a life of crime. His young adult years were spent both loathing his mom and craving her approval, while building a huge art scam crew (we call the crew club “Art Appreciation”) and spreading his DNA far and wide. Todd has eleven children by four women, including two sets of twins with his wife Valerie.

Valerie and Todd’s marriage was arranged, given that they both came from prominent villain families. Whatever positive feelings might have arisen between them were dashed by Todd’s constant infidelities, and now that the oldest twins are off to college, Todd and Valerie’s relationship is icy at best. Valerie is romantically involved with the family’s long-time butler Pansy, while Todd has *publicly* cleaned up his act, given that he’s switched from mob crime to a life of politics.

Now that we’ve moved on (mostly) to the next generation, the three main adults raise a bunch of kids while seething in low-level dissatisfaction. Fun!

Third Generation:

The oldest kids in Todd’s very large child pool are Claude Jr. and Claudette, his oldest twins with wife Valerie. Claude Jr. and Claudette are the undisputed heirs of the family (not that Todd seems at ALL ready to give his daughter the reins). To make sure the twins are prepared, their parents sent them to Foxbury U.

Claudette is cunning, bright, ruthless, a kleptomaniac with massive ambition. She’s getting her distinguished degree in Villainy, of course — and when she’s done, it’ll be time for her dad to GO. Claude is more physical, a hot-headed lunk who loves partying, soccer, and fighting. Both of them have an A average, which is *inexplicable* given all the cheating.

We play Crime College on my Twitch channel every Monday morning from 9-11AM Pacific time. Come join us!

Two Factions, One Town

The Count in his hilltop mansion leads the vampires of Forgotten Hollow. So I am told every time I meet another of my kind, whether casually or otherwise, and I can only infer that my sire and I offer the Count some great disrespect by not presenting ourselves for his approval. Ordinarily, a vampire would do so when settling in a new nexus. It’s only polite.

However. Apuleius is not a vampire who bends the knee, and he cares little after all the long centuries for niceties. When the Count meets my sire, he will understand. Apuleius has seen the legions of Rome, the arrival of the barbarians, the rise and fall of knowledge, the darkness of plague, the shining glory when art and industry became once again important in the mortal world. I spent the first decade of my new life sitting at his feet and hearing his tales.

Our exile from our last nexus was…unfortunate. I am sorry, truly. But Apuleius seeks to be a father of many, and so we have come to a place where our kind is able to live freely. Yes, others were here before us. We plan no disruption of their ways, only the chance to live as we have chosen.

The girl has given herself to our side, not theirs. Will that be the feather on the scale that tips all of us into bloodshed? Perhaps. I am not concerned. Apuleius protects us. Who is this Count to think himself worthy of our time?

Patrice at 50

In “Rags to Riches with Patrice/the Carvers,” Patrice Carver is a nearly-senior owner of a flower shop and plant nursery. She’s a mother of one (the adorable Eddie), and she has *never* been lucky in love. She’s spent most of her life yearning after her (now married) best friend Akira, to the extent that her only intimate relationship has been with Diego, Eddie’s father.

Diego Lobo and Patrice Carver, who just can’t quite make it work.

Diego’s a slightly older art critic who left San Myshuno in middle age to come live with Patrice and Eddie in Oasis Springs. In doing so, he sold his huge city apartment and committed fully to his son and his ex, even renovating their house and buying Patrice her flower shop.

It hasn’t been easy, learning how to depend on someone.

Dear Mom,
Wheels just keep spinning around, don’t they? Did you and Dad ever feel like things were slipping away and then somehow coming around again? I’ve given these men too many years of my life, but here come the little hopes, the tiny little hopes that never survive reality.
He’s just more humble these days. I can surprise him. He’s gentler. He’s not kind. I don’t think he’ll ever be kind. But he loves Eddie and he walked away from a date the other night to come talk to me. To be surprised by me.

I don’t know. I’ve got too much to do for all this nonsense. But wheels just keep spinning, that’s all. I probably shouldn’t trust one more time.
xoxo
Patrice

Lucy and the Vampires

I’m loving my current Let’s Play, “Rags to Riches with Patrice,” but two other concepts have been rolling around in my thoughts since I returned to the Sims. I even recorded one episode of Lucy’s adventures, but I had no idea what I was doing and it didn’t work out, so…I’m retconning!

I’ve been preparing “sets” and characters, and for fun and my own memory, I’ll show the planned characters here! All of these are in addition to the game’s NPCs and a few vampires that friends “lent” me through their galleries to give the world some texture.

Lucy Cabrillo: Our Heroine

Lucy’s had dreams her whole life — dark, recurring dreams that foretell frightening paths. She’s also too smart for her own good.

Her family: Hector, Louisa, and Ian Cabrillo

Hector’s a minor league athlete, Louisa’s a renowned artist, and Ian a kid who wants to be a baseball player just like his dad. Louisa is very much in charge.

Her immediate neighbors now that she’s moved out of the house: Apuleius Numidius and Penelope Masters

An ancient tactician and scholar, as well as a bemused observer of mortal foibles.

A Regency socialite clinging to the last vestiges of her former vivacity.

The strange artist across the square: Philippe L.