#i'd love to talk more about the sims in general and not just my save file

[bunbeeplays]

The Lemon Legacy: Generation 1, Chapter 68 - Xander's Big Move

Xander wakes up to Marshmallow eating garbage.

Xander: No, bad kitty! You don't get to act out because Mommy isn't here today.

He proceeds to hypocritically dig through the trash looking for upgrade parts before tossing the rest.

Marshmallow: father you are ruining my feast

Ophelia's out for the day, and Xander has plans of his own. He and Hilary need to sort things regarding their parents' will. Now that Hilary is divorced, she's been staying in the Pappas manor. He never got to talk to his parents about moving out, but his sister will do.

It's been rough for Greta. Not only did her grandparents die, but her dad is an unfaithful jerk? And he's having a baby with someone other than her mom?

She's staying in her mom's teen bedroom. It's a little… bright for her liking, but it's better than being with her dad.

Jace has been trying his best to be optimistic. So much of this has been confusing, but he knows his mom and dad aren't together anymore, and Dad is having a baby with that Tiff lady.

At least he gets to stay at Grandma and Grandpa's old house. They have monkey bars AND a pool!

Hilary is… adjusting. Suddenly inheriting your parents' restaurant right before going through a divorce is a lot to handle. She still hasn't registered her new position with the Ministry of Labor but she does so quickly as she hears Xander come through the front door.

Xander might be a goofball, but he has been absolutely amazing the past several days. Hilary's not sure she could have gotten through all this without his support. Their parents would be so proud of him, and she makes sure to tell him so every chance she gets.

Xander: So today's the day we duke it out for Mom and Dad's money?

Hilary: Very funny, Alexander. There are a few things we'll need to discuss, given the… current circumstances.

Hilary and Xander proceed to have a very boring, but important conversation. The house is in both of their names but there's no interest in selling. Hilary and the kids will move into the Pappas manor with Xander. Y'know, even though he barely lives there anymore. Speaking of…

Xander: Not that I don't love you guys, and I know there's tons of room here, but would it be crazy to move in with Ophelia?

Hilary: Of course not! That's wonderful. What a big step!

Xander: It's not that big, I basically live there now anyway.

Xander: I bet Greta would love my space up in the attic! She can put some planters out on the balcony and work on her gardening.

Hilary: I'm sure she would love that. She's trying to pretend she's fine but I can tell she's hurting. Anything to make her feel more at home.

Xander: I've still got to talk to Ophelia about it but I have a hunch she'll say yes.

Hilary: I'm not a betting woman but I'd put money on it. Mom and Dad left you a decent chunk of money if you want to save for something bigger, for the future? Like… if you start a family?

Xander: Subtle.

Hilary: Oh, hush! Even when you were with that horrid Jules, you had never even considered moving in together. Face it, little brother, you've met the Sim you're going to spend the rest of your life with.

Xander: It's not like it's a secret to me either, Hil.

Xander: Ophelia's the one, I know it. She laughs at my lame jokes, she lifts me up when I'm down, she helps me shave my back hair. I know we're going to get married and have like a kajillion little blonde babies someday, but we don't have to talk about my love life right now.

Hilary: Just because my love life's in the gutter doesn't mean I can't be happy for yours going well! I'm just saying, once the dust settles, you'd better put a ring on that girl!

Xander: Are you meddling in my relationship so we don't have to keep talking about the will?

Hilary: Well, I do have something important to talk to you about. Before they passed, Mom and Dad were telling me about an idea for business venture they had.

Xander: They already have a food monopoly in Tartosa.

Hilary: Yes, but they never had a bar.

Hilary: I would have always inherited the restaurant, because I'm a chef. But they wanted you to pursue your dream as well.

Xander: I am though?

Hilary: That bar area at the restaurant is too small. Mom and Dad wanted you to have your own place for your passion, like they did.

Xander: Mom and Dad wanted me to put me in charge of a bar?

Hilary: They always loved your passion for mixology. They put the money aside dedicated to starting a bar here in Tartosa. They even picked out a plot of land.

Xander: This is a lot, sis.

Hilary: If you don't think you're ready, we can always wait. But just know, I'll be there to help you. I've got plenty of business experience from my years shadowing Mom and Dad. I've got your back, whatever decision you make.

Xander: Wow. Thank you, Hilary.

Whatever the future holds for Xander's career, he knows Hilary will always be in his corner.

Hilary's life as a Laurent may be over, but it feels good to be a Pappas again.

Hilary has to go to the restaurant and Xander doesn't exactly have much else going on (I really need to get him some kind of hobby besides mixology), so he makes some falafel for the kids and listens to Greta vent. The divorce is rough enough, but some random half-sibling? Ew.

Jace joins them and Greta changes up her attitude real quick.

Jace: Are you guys talking about the baby?

Greta: Oh, uh, yeah. How you feelin' about it, twerp? Excited to be a big brother?

Jace: I guess. It's weird Mom isn't the mom though.

Greta: Being a big sibling is fun! You can make them do your bidding!

Jace: Does that mean I can hog the bathroom every morning like you?

Greta: Brutal! You've already got that big sib teasing down!

Greta's always looking out for her little brother. She's so much like her mom.

Before heading back to Ophelia's he decides to make a treat for his Lemon Cake: a lemon cake!

Look how proud he is. His mom would be so happy to know he's been getting into cooking and baking more.

Xander beats Ophelia home, but only by a little bit.

Xander: There you are! Where did you go?

Ophelia: Omari suggested going on mental health walks, and I ended up in another save somehow. I dunno, it was nice being somewhere Hector doesn't exist. But hey, I made a new friend!

Xander: Well you're not allowed to go to another save file permanently. Not without me.

Ophelia: Wouldn't dream of it. We're a package deal. That's what I told Marcie! How'd things go with Hilary?

Xander: Great. In fact, we talked about something I wanted to talk to you about.

Xander: Greta's going to take my room.

Ophelia: The one you've barely slept in the past few weeks?

Xander: Yeah. I was thinking we should make our current living arrangement permanent.

Ophelia: I'll have to talk to Marshmallow, but I for one definitely agree.

Xander pulls Ophelia in for a kiss outside the front door of her home, the place that they initiated their first night together. Now it's their home.

As the great and wise poet Bo Burnham once said, look at where they came from, look at them now.

[bardish-cryptid]

Tag Game for Historical Simblrs!

1. what has been your favorite time period to play in or which one are you most excited for?

Since I haven't played in any other time period for my story, I think I'm going to say the late 60s. In fairness, this was an intentional decision to start my story here, but this was more to make the timeline make sense later on.

In terms of the time period I'm most excited for, probably the 1970s. I think that's going to be the part which will be most indulgent in the respective time period, and that is likely going to appeal to me a ton!

2. do you have a favorite piece of historical cc? (cas or bb)

This is really difficult for me, there's so much incredible historical cc out there, but I think I'll have to say Moonsimmers Bonaerense bathroom set. I just love all the colors!

3. who is your favorite sim currently?

Of all the characters introduced, Jacob! He's the main character of the story and I've definitely put a lot of my own personality into him. However, there are other characters which will be introduced soon, and they're definitely in the running!

4. what is your favorite world?

Probably Evergreen Harbor, as it feels the closest to TV suburbia compared to anywhere else in the game, and I've always had a weird interest in suburbia (the more I learn about it, the less I understand). In real life, it doesn't sound all that flash, but it would be nice to live in the same kind of suburbia as the ones on TV. I was actually going to set my story there, but ultimately decided against it.

5. are you more gameplay or story focused?

Very much story focused, the game is more of a set to tell the story through than anything else. I have a clear idea for how I want my story to pan out, and parts of it are going to be very reliant on posing (I say, as if I haven't been using poses the entire time). I haven't really found a place to talk about this, but I do have a planned structure for the story, which will play out in parts (part 1, part 2, and so on), and we are currently at the beginning of part 1. It's difficult to talk about the overarching plot for the story without spoiling some major plot points, so I just have wait for things to unfold.

6. do you like to play with pets in your historical saves?

I used to love playing with pets, but I kind of have a problem where I forget about them, so I generally don't. I'm sure that if I tried playing with pets with a strong focus on the pets, I'd enjoy it more, but for now, I'm fine with focusing on human sims. (Interestingly, I have the same problem with supernatural sims.)

7. what’s your biggest immersion breaking pet peeve in the game?

Funnily enough, the sims using the phones are fine-ish, because I use the notebook override, but the problem arises whenever my sims have to call someone and they put the notebook against their face. It annoys me so much, but I do my best 🥲

8. what’s your favorite in-game historical item? (cas or bb)

Probably this fridge from Cottage Living. It's so cute, and it works nicely in my story. Did I mention it's cute?

9. what would you like to see as a new pack or asset to the game?

There is so much that I think should be added to the game, but in free updates (definitely more things for object babies like clothes and bassinets). However, I would love a music/performance-based pack, with concerts, live plays, and a bunch of new instruments and styles of instruments (think drums, trumpets, electric guitars, cellos, basses, and so on). After school activities could include choir and brass bands, and while there are lots of careers that people become famous for in Get Famous, I think some behind-the-scenes careers in these industries could be cool, like record producers, audio engineers, playwriters (and screenwriter in general), and directors (I'm aware there are famous directors, they just aren't a career option in the Sims 4). Is this essentially My First Pet but bigger and for Get Famous? Possibly. So yeah, I haven't actually thought about this question all that much. (<- lying)

10. what pack do you think is invaluable as a historical simmer?

Cottage living is definitely absolutely indispensable for any gameplay that isn't in the most modern part of history, but other packs that I love for historical aesthetics include Vampires, Realm of Magic, and Discover University (DU is certainly good for 1960s-onward in terms of CAS items). I'd also say that Growing Together is decent for normal people clothes for the 1960s, and I used a bunch for Jacob.

11. do you have a favorite mod to enhance historical gameplay?

I think this enhances gameplay in general, but Adeepindigo's Healthcare Redux adds a brilliant layer of realism to the game. The main appeal to me, from a historical perspective, is the chance for your sim to get a deadly disease. However, I can appreciate sims having chronic conditions, allergies, and so on.

12. what’s your ideal family size for playing?

I prefer a family of 4-5 sims, if I have multiple adults that can parent children. If the family has a single parent, maybe 2-3 sims, otherwise it gets difficult to control.

13. do you use poses?

So far in the story, I have used 100% poses, and 0 gameplay animations. As I mentioned earlier, there will be parts of the story that will be reliant on posing as there is no same action in gameplay. Sometimes all a guy wants is for his characters to have a heart-to-heart on the roof of a building while watching the sunrise, y'know?

14. do you use any overrides in your game?

As stated earlier, I do use the phone/notebook override, but I believe I also use the wooden rubber duckie override, and I have overrides for stalls to fit in with the medieval era.

15. do you, or did you, play off-the-grid during your game?

For the Levi's, I haven't used off the grid, as most people had electricity by then. However, if the story was in a time period where people didn't often have electricity, I probably would play like that.

16. what lifespan do you play on?

I actually have aging turned off for my story! I considered turning aging on but with the long version, and I ended up deciding not to, as I find it easier to have control over things like aging, especially in something as story-heavy as this.

17. what inspired you to start playing historically?

A few years ago, I first discovered the decades challenge, and started playing it. It was a while ago, and I lost interest after a while. To be honest, while I would consider it my first brush with historical gameplay, I wouldn't consider that first decades challenge my first time playing historically, as the commitment to historical accuracy was lacking (aesthetic was similar to Persuasion (2022)). The first time I properly played historically was in early 2022, when I tried the decades challenge again.

Thank you for tagging me @lovecidik! I'll tag @carousel-of-sims, @someplumberrys and anyone else who wants to do this!

[kookablarn]

I Made A Twitter?

Hey, did you know? I have a twitter account for The Sims/Kookablarn! I never really said anything about it because I’m shy 👉👈. At the moment, I’m only using it to keep up with sims news, but I’ve also been posting some trivia about the save file there. It’s mostly the same stuff from here. I’m still trying to figure out what I want to do with the twitter account, so it’s a little bare and boring right now, but feel free to follow if you want! 

@/kookablarnsave

[phoenix-is-the-hottest-thing]

from one möbius simp to another, do you sometimes feel like sim möbius lacks a little bit of PE möbius' complexity? why or why not?

don't get me wrong, i love love love my unhinged batshit insane sim möbius. but, especially after that lab short, i feel like PE möbius' deep grief and hints of kindness makes her so much more alluring as a character. i want sim möbius to stay a villain, but i'd also like to see what she is aside from that more often: misunderstood, deep down sensitive and lowkey repressed. i hope we get more of that in ER's future chapters!

Oh I completely agree with you! That’s why I always tend to make the distinction between the sim and the original Mobius. They’re characterized differently!

As for why there’s a difference I attribute mainly to two things.

1. Sim Mobius is in a very different situation from the original.

Talking to people has never been her forte, but now all her closest friends are dead one way or another (except for her very busy children) and the only way anything she does can matter is by talking to strangers, who usually are wary of her right away. The other sims are either annoying to her (Elysia), hate her (most of them), stay in seclusion (Griseo), or… is Eden, I guess, but they don’t seem to hang out that often. (perhaps they’re just private, or the grief is too much to take… or she never got to that final point the original did, who acknowledged her respect for Eden)

2. Sim Mobius is not as mature as/more closed off than the original was

The immaturity interpretation is based off of how thoroughly the hologram played her and her denial, Elysia saying she’s missing memories, and general lack of social intelligence (“I don’t know why they hate me, I did nothing wrong” vs the original’s acknowledgment that she’s crossed the line, and doesn’t care about it.) but overall what’s observed is her being closed off.

The sim is petty (insults and mocks Mei a lot and tries to trick her numerous times, which we don’t see the original do, when she mocks people it’s usually because they did something hypocritical, and as pushy as she can get she respects consent in her experiments), she’s very prone to putting up (obvious) fronts and denying she has any attachment or feeling at all (claims she made Klein because the assistant had turned into the 10th, contrast that with the original being a little sheepish because of the obvious but didn’t even try to cook up a ridiculous explanation like that). She also blatantly lies a lot (her reasons for joining cocoon, multiple times pretending she doesn’t know what Mei refers to, etc) and never does the little kindnesses/mindful acts we saw the original do (the milk tea is an obvious example: even if she’s not direct about it Mobius CAN be affectionate, but the main way we see her care about her ELF is getting mad at Kalpas when he claims to have dismembered her, and when she needs to change the topic because Mei walked in she starts criticizing Klein. We also don’t see her doing nice or silly things together with someone like drawing animals with the graph tool. Is she too cynical or is it that she finds it childish? The original didn’t mind being childish, it made her happy. It’s a sign of maturity to be able to let yourself be silly. Then again, she grew sadder and sadder over time… by the end of Mobius Lab, it seems she’s mostly stopped doing that altogether… but damn, the sim’s had 50k years, come on). The sim also isn’t shown showing empathy for her comrades beyond wanting to save them via sentience transfer, unlike the original who grieves and grieves and makes us cry doing it.

tldr she’s constantly maintaining a facade to protect herself, while the original was more rarely shown to do so. It ties back to point one, she has fewer allies than in life, and Mei is very antagonistic towards her so we see her being defensive or offensive more, but there’s also that she just can’t seem to lower her damn guard and do something nice, even around Klein.

might not completely make sense i have a bad bee phobia and one just got into my room aaaaaa i lost my train of thought freaking out

[utilitycaster]

So, to keep dunking on Pathfinder/3.5e and also for lack of a better term...indie, looser systems, I do have a handful of reasons why the systems themselves don't sound like things I'm into but more generally the reason I keep making cheap jokes is because the way people sell these systems is so antithetical to what I want out of TTRPGs. Which doesn't mean they're not good, or that they're not right for other people! But god...you are not superior for liking something other than D&D 5e, you are just a person who isn't into that particular experience and if you want to get people to play other games...learn to fucking sell it.

The crunch of pathfinder has some appeal, because I do love math and rules, but it always feels like the arguments go like this.

"I can't figure out how DCs in 5e get set!"

"well, the DM sets it based on a rough estimate of difficulty, using their brain; the DM's Guide gives a scale broken down by 5-point increments that you can use."

"What? You mean I, an inveterate metagamer cannot find it by adding up 8 numbers based on the weather, my class, my feats, active spells, and the migration patterns of nearby birds in a process that brings the narrative to a screeching halt?"

Or else it goes like this (this is a literal screenshot from a reply on a shitpost I made about paladin archetypes):

Well, in 5e you are allowed to ride things without being good at dex on the grounds that the average normal person in a pre-industrial society would probably be able to sit on a horse (animal handling is also an option). You can play a halfling paladin by playing a halfling whose class is paladin, and if you cast summon steed a reasonable DM will allow you to flavor said steed as a celestial wardog. You do not need special abilities to...turn around? in 5e? damn you lived like this? and sure, you can have a spear or lance as your weapon. I guess charging doesn't do much in 5e (the charger feat exists but isn't amazing) but like, you could do it.

Like, seriously, so many posts are like "I don't see a ruleset for how I can confirm I was able to drink my coffee without dropping it on the floor? 5e seems bad" and in general 3.5e/Pathfinder appear to treat your character as a Sim or something, where if the ladder disappears from the pool you're just like "guess I'll die" [note: I haven't played either 3.5e, Pathfinder, nor the Sims but like. I'm right.] And if you want to play this that's fine! Crunch can be very fun! but god it's unnecessary and it seems like there are too many rules for the sake of just like, having rules.

Moving on to the looser systems, the "just a d100" or "just a d6" ones that "foster more RP": so many of these "foster more RP" by having systems that actively corral the conversation, or PC emotions, instead of just...letting people talk. I actually find things like Monsterhearts "turn someone on" mechanic or the sanity mechanics in Call of Cthulhu really off-putting! I'd rather be allowed to respond to things genuinely, in character.

"But M," you say "that's kind of the point of Call of Cthulhu, the sanity slippage." And you know what? You're absolutely right! Because that is where my point is leading:

The TTRPG game you pick should be mostly based on the kind of story you want to tell, and anyone who ignores that in their considerations can themselves be ignored.

I happen to enjoy Dungeons & Dragons because I enjoy that particular form of fantasy in a quasi-early renaissance* setting, and I would, perchance, like to explore a dungeon and maybe even fight a dragon. I do not want to be dealing with horrors beyond comprehension**, except in the sense that I'd like to smite/disintegrate/viciously mock them. I do not want to pretend I am in high school again, under literally any circumstances, even if I can hex people. I like fantasy combat because I am both simmering with incandescent range basically always and yet I cannot typically act on it*** and I'd like to be able to save the world through hitting things with a sweet-ass sword or casting. Hyping up a system because it lacks combat is absolutely the wrong tack with me.

And if you don't like that it's fine! But I have yet to see someone actually make an argument, to me specifically, for a different system, that actually accounted for even a whiff of my own personal preference and honestly at this point the damage, while not irreversible, is pretty severe; my attitude towards anyone trying to steer me from D&D 5e is pretty cynical.****

*look I will pick many battles on any hills wagering that ultimately I will only die on one and this is on the list. Anyway if printed books are available and gunpowder has reached your vaguely European-in-flavor society? It's Renaissance.

**always thought this quote was from Lovecraft but it's from Tesla, objectively a much better dude despite a shitty dude using his name to sell cars.

***Yes. I am an eldest daughter. Why do you ask.

****This is also the root cause of why I adamantly refuse to watch either Titanic or Finding Nemo.

[scammydoesstuff]

So let's talk Resident Evil 8 DLC…

I know I don’t really dip my toe into the RE tag, like…at all (except to post some sub-par fanart), but I had a brilliant idea last night that would not only make Capcom so much money but it’d really give the fans what they’re looking for in the DLC.

So, like, we all definitely want more Lady D since she was in so little of the game — we want more Lords in general, frankly, but I know a lot of folks are focused on her for…reasons. Many of us (myself included) want to team up with Daddy Heisenberg to take down Miranda. And many of us would probably just want a pacifist run version where you don’t kill anybody, save for the zombies (since…they’re…already dead, so does it really count?) and Miranda (since she’s pretty much irredeemable) because we love our Lords and killing them didn’t feel satisfying because they didn’t do much to warrant it.

But I submit to you, dear Capcom, that I have the perfect DLC idea that I’ve not seen a lot of people bring up yet (there's been, like one, I just saw in the tags, but otherwise, not a lot towards this yet).

Capcom…

Make a Dating Sim.

Let me explain:

Alright, so you’ll recall that, for RE7, Capcom gave us a DLC where you play as Mia, taking down moldy bois to bring Jack food for his 55th birthday party — appropriately titled ‘Jack’s 55th Birthday’. All fine and good. Everybody was wearing party hats and your guns shot confetti and everything was just so delightful. It was a silly FPS that was just meant to be a fun distraction to give you a good belly laugh after the horrors you’ve endured from the main game. At least as far as I can tell. It’s not like there’s heavy lore or anything here, unlike the others in that DLC pack. It's literally just for funsies.

But I think we all know that RE8 requires something…different. Something that’ll be a real people-pleaser and with so much replay-ability that they’ll be satisfied till RE 9.

And a Dating Sim is that something…I'd also recommend making a ‘mature audiences only’ version that would require payment. I know the game's already rated M for mature, but this 'adults only' version isn't for violence if ya know what I mean.

Think about it. The players of this game find out they can date their favorite Lord? Already you’d have a ton of people lining up to get that DLC — particularly if that part is free. Just getting to date the Lords — or other characters from the game, for that matter. I'm just focusing on the Lords cuz…well, you know why — would be a great foot in the door. People wanna dote on their faves and give them all the affection they can handle (and then some) and just live out their soft fantasies for a hot minute.

But then…The players finding out that they can also fuck their favorite Lord (for a nominal fee) a la Huniepop?

That shit would sell like hotcakes. I’m talking ‘money; hand over fist’. The Lady D and Heisenberg simps alone would be clamoring for that shit, not to mention the Donna fans and Moreau lovers who would love to see those two get some more attention since they were so horribly overlooked in the main game and didn't have near enough focus.

And furthermore! Getting to fuck the Lords as Ethan Winters? All the shippers will have their moment in the sun and bask in their ship gracing their eyes in licensed content. Or hell! Maybe they can fuck Ethan Winters too? I dunno! The Duke? Damn straight! Chris Redfield? Who wouldn’t want a piece of that? Miranda? …Eh…if you hate yourself, I guess…but sure! Any other character from the Resident Evil canon just kinda thrown in there for shits & giggles? That’s your call, my friend! You do you!

But the fact stands; a dating sim is the perfect way to keep people coming back to play again and again. Would it be a lot of effort? Yeah, prolly. I dunno what all goes into making a dating sim, but I imagine it can get complicated with the various dialogue trees and such and that’s a lot for my square brain to wrap around. But hey! It’s a small price to pay for rakin’ in dat dough, am I right?

As for the visuals? I can’t decide what’s funnier? Going ham on the dating sim aesthetic with all the glitter and softness that’d make those characters anime af, or sticking with a horror look — where they look the same as in the main game (though drawn instead of mo-capped, maybe?), but still in a visual novel format (think Doki Doki Literature Club, but they look how they do in the main game, so not super-cutesy/romanticized.) Either way, it’d be hilarious to see these characters in that kinda format, but I think most of us can agree that it’d somehow fit too.

For more silliness? Take a page out of Hatoful Boyfriend’s book and not only let us date the Lords, but let us change their onscreen sprites/avatars(/whatever you’d call them). Don't know what I'm referring to? Well, in Hatoful’s case, the onscreen characters could either be beautiful anime boys…or pigeons.

Photo-realistic pigeons.

I think y'all know where I'm going with this.

That's right! Give us the option between the Lords as we see them in-game or their puppet versions from the Japanese commercials.

Your move, Capcom. I think we both know this is the correct path. Make it happen so you can sit back and watch the money pour in.

P.S. Since I know Capcom won’t do anything near this fun (and also because…I doubt they'd be able to do some of this, like the more risqué stuff), if someone knows how to make a dating sim, please take this idea and run with it. It'd be a lo of fun and I’ve never needed something so badly in my life.

[randomstarmuffin]

You are???? an absolute gem????? And I'd be happy to talk to you whenever!!! Tell me more about what you liked about rune factory! Who did you marry? Did you marry one person or a collection of people (and if you did marry a collection of people, do you have a favourite??)

Omg????? I am not entirely sure when you sent this but I am so sorry I didnt see this until just now!! Ahhhhhh thank you so much???

Uh ok. Well, you asked and you shall receive - beware of a loooong post incoming lol. I could talk about RF for days and no one I know plays it so you’ve really opened the floodgates here haha

So full disclosure I’ve actually only had one rune factory spouse thus far and it was Doug! I got… a little too attached the first time I played (4 was my first rune factory game!) So I decided to try to complete the shipping list in my first save file (still have not accomplished that…) and played for just. Hours and hours and hours. And never actually got around to a second playthrough. When I first started, I had thought I might marry Vishal bc hes just so sweet but then Doug ended up stealing my heart (what can I say, hotheaded redheads/dwarves with a heart of gold and a tragic backstory are my weakness). So yeah, he’s definitely my favorite bachelor in 4. I also dont think it’s necessary for my enjoyment of a marriage option but I really liked how his whole deal was connected to the plot. I went into the game totally blind on the whole thing aside from having looked up the basic profiles on the bachelors/bachelorettes and I somehow didnt notice on my own so I had no idea that his FP was locked by story events until after the fact, but I loved how the plot was tied to him allowing himself to open up more. In a matter unrelated to the plot, and definitely dumbly cheesy, I found out about how some people had trouble with getting the random events and stuff required for marriage right around when I was getting ready to officially decide who to pick (tho it wasn’t a hard choice for me at that point) and I literally got all of Doug’s events so, so easily. I didn’t have to do any of the dreaded reloading tricks or anything, and even though I was also technically dating Vishnal and Arthur, Doug was the first one I got all the events for and the first marriage event to just happen naturally in-game, so I’d like to think it was just meant to be (lol). I’d love to someday play through as Lest as well and finally romance one of the girls, maybe Forte or Dolce… or Xiao Pai… these games have TOO MANY great characters in them I swear, it makes it hard to pick just one!

I have played a good portion of 3 as well, but I wanted to get everyones events done, esp the wooly reveal events, and I’ve just been so focused on other things, I guess, that I still havent finished it - heck, I havent touched it in like 7 months :( I should really do that actually… Anyways, 3 is going to be hard for me to pick a spouse bc, again, there are so many good characters. I think I’m leaning Raven not necessarily bc she’s my all around favorite but because weirdly I ship her the most with Micah? I’m not sure if that’s how you’re supposed to play these games but one thing I really value with the Rune Factory series in particular over, like, Harvest Moon or Stardew Valley, is that the protags get to BE characters, and not just cardboard stand-ins!!! I know they’re mostly written fairly neutrally so you can play how you want, but they all *Definitely* have their own quirks and I absolutely love that. Theres certainly a time and a place for self inserts but honestly I personally tend to find myself more drawn into a game when the protagonists have their own stakes in the world besides I, The Player, Am Playing A Game In A Fantasy World That I Do With As I Please. Even if it’s just in what sort of dialogue choices you’re given or something, which HM/SV also dont really have as much of. (Cough unless the game in question is Animal Crossing. I guess they’ve really got me there. Cough) So, not that I dont like Raven in her own right, but I just really love their whole plotline together? RF3 does a really great job with character growth that, coming from someone seeing the series in reverse, I think RF4’s system of town events kind of mitigated, with the whole randomness factor meaning they couldnt link as many characters to any one overarching series of events. And I really love how Raven and Micah’s events go and i think ending them in romance is just super sweet. It should also be noted that I AM a sucker for a quiet-badass-who’s-sort-of-sassy-in-a-blink-and-you-miss-it-way x literal-sunshine-and-everyone-loves-them-and-they’re-always-in-everyones-business dynamic, for sure. As far as my actual favorite rf3 bachelorette, I think maybe Marian might take the cake? She’s so wacky and out there but her whole insecurity thing really touched me. That might change whichever way the wind is blowing on the day you ask me, though. To be quite honest with you, I fell hard for the whole town of Sharance and I could probably write essays on every single one of the marriage options in 3. Also though, I ended up shipping like all the bachelorettes with each other, sooo… my bad, Micah, my bad, lmao.

I also own Tides of Destiny, but my Wii started freaking out not long after I got it and I usually prefer to play handheld games anyway, so I started it but I never got too far. Someday I’ll play it. (I’m really hoping to get my hands on 2 sometime soon though because the idea of marriage rivals is SO up my alley - I’m sure it’s a pain to program but I wish more dating sims would do that!!! Maybe it’s just bc I’m someone who loves to ship just as much if not sometimes more than to see my own playable character have their romance play out, but I think it’s a super fun idea and makes the whole thing more grounded in the setting, that things can happen and relationships change outside of the protag’s involvement, too.)

So yeah. GREAT questions, my friend. I do love farming sims and non-NSFW dating sims in general and add onto that dungeon crawling and monster taming??? Plus it has a plot (even if it’s an albeit fairly simple one)?? Rune Factory really has it all, man. BUT if I’m being totally honest I think the best part of Rune Factory for me has always been the characters. I dont know how they manage to make the towns feel so alive and balance out all the personalities so well but they’ve really got it down. Maybe they have a secret formula somewhere… I’d love to see it :P

And!! I’d love to hear YOUR favorites as well??? Thanks again for the ask! I dont get a lot so I dont check super frequently and I really hope this hasn’t been sitting in my box for too long. You’re more than welcome to talk to me whenever too! :)

[bunbeeplays]

The Lemon Legacy: Generation 1, Chapter 120 - Double Daddy Issues

Ophelia brought her girls over to Moses and Ian's house to meet their adopted daughter, Shea.

Gemma loves having a new friend to babble at, and Lulu looks pretty smug that she can sit up, unlike this other baby.

Drew came by as well to meet the new baby, but now it's time for the band to catch up.

Ophelia: How've you been enjoying family leave, Moses?

Moses: It's been great. I never knew how much I'd love being a dad.

Drew's childless self is gonna listen to some tunes.

Ophelia: She's such a cutie. I'm sure you and Ian will be great dads to her.

Moses: Thank you, love. He was so sad to go back to work today.

Ophelia: Ha, yeah, it always sucks when family leave ends but you have to go back to work eventually.

Moses: Yeah, there's something I've been, uh, wanting to talk to you about. Ian brings in enough income and I've got plenty of money saved up. I've loved staying home with Shea… and I was thinking of doing it permanently.

He was hoping Ophelia would get it, but…

Ophelia: Uh, yeah, but you've got the band. We need a pianist.

Uh oh. This isn't how he thought she'd react.

Moses: We've had an amazing run, and the years we've performed together were unforgettable, but I'm starting a new chapter in my life, and I'd like to do something new.

Ophelia: So that's it? You're quitting? After everything we've been through, you're… done with us?

Ophelia is usually so understanding. Moses honestly didn't expect her to react this way.

Moses: Please don't take it personally, Ophelia. It's nothing like that.

Ophelia: Drew, are you hearing this?

Drew: I am… And honestly, maybe it is time for us to try new things. I've been wanting to travel and it's hard to do that around the band's schedule. When Moses brought this up on the phone-

Ophelia: You guys already talked about this?

Drew: Oh, well, I mean, we were just talking about stuff and the topic came up but he hadn't-

Ophelia: So you guys are making decisions without me now? You just want to call it quits after all this time and completely blindside me about it?!

Drew: Dude, no! It's not like that!

Moses: We weren't trying to leave you out. We were just talking and we both kind of feel like we all have other paths we can take. You're getting more famous every day. I bet you'd like to do solo work. And, well, if I'm going to do this parent thing, I'm gonna give it my all.

Moses realizes too late that might not have been the best choice of words.

Ophelia: Oh, you're going to give parenting your ALL? So I've just been half-assing it with my kids, huh?

Moses: Th-That's not what I-

Ophelia: Oh I think that's exactly what you meant.

She's so angry, Ophelia can't even keep sitting next to Moses.

Ophelia: I have put everything I have into this band, and you just want to throw it all away, and then you insult my parenting on top of all that?

Moses: No, I would never-

Ophelia: Well you just did!

Drew: O, you need to calm down. We're just trying to tell you how we feel-

Ophelia: You've had a kid for five minutes and now you think you're a better parent than me? You've got a lot of nerve, Moses Harmon! What, when you get tired of parenting are you going to quit that too?

Drew: OPHELIA! That is ENOUGH. Sit down and be quiet before you say something you're going to regret.

Being called out by another loyal Sim is humiliating, but they're the ones who aren't being loyal… right?

Ophelia: So… It's me, isn't it? I'm the reason you want to quit?

Moses: No, of course not! I'm sorry, we should have given you more warning. We thought this would be a relief to you. You're getting so famous-

Ophelia: You hoped I'd think the band was a burden too? To your dismay, I love the band. I love you guys. I thought you felt the same.

Drew: Ophelia, of course we love you. This isn't about that!

Moses: Sit down, please, let's talk about this.

She continues walking to the nursery to get her kids so she can get the hell out of there.

Ophelia: I think we've said enough.

Moses is frozen on the couch but Drew tries to stop Ophelia from leaving.

Drew: What's gotten into you? Moses misspoke, I'll give you that, but you don't usually fly off the handle like this. Please, this isn't how I wanted things to end-

Ophelia: But you DID want them to end.

Drew: Not our friendship!

Ophelia: You guys are talking about quitting the band behind my back and I'm not supposed to take it personally?

Drew: It wasn't like that!

Ophelia is silent for a moment but before she leaves, offers a parting note.

Ophelia: It's bad enough my biological family tossed me to the curb. I just never thought you guys, my REAL family, would too.

Ophelia's still working through what happened at home.

Ophelia: And the daddies are MEAN and leave their kid ALL ALONE because she never really MEANT ANYTHING TO THEM.

Uh, maybe Ophelia should go to regular therapy to work on her abandonment issues. Lulu's having fun, at least.

Ophelia racks her mind trying to think of what she did to her bandmates to make them not want to work with her anymore. She's pretty agreeable, they work really well together. She's able to make things work despite her busy schedule… so why weren't they willing to do the same?

Ophelia has only ever known Moses and Drew as members of the bands she's been in, whether that was Let Them Eat Cake or The Main Squeeze. Maybe that's why she reacted the way she did. No band, no Moses and Drew, right? They were done with her.

That's how it feels, at least.