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Chill(y) Saturday
Jan. 15th, 2022 11:49 pmYeah, when the wind chill makes everything about five below zero, that's a day when you just stay indoors and hide from the world. Which is basically what I did. Made a pretty good day out of it too:
1. Clean my room: Check – and a bit faster than normal too, thanks to it not really being dusty at all. Started just before 11 AM, ended just after 1 PM and just before lunch! :) And that’s WITH having to fish out something I knocked behind the bed, and Mom having to fix the “beater bar” (the rotating brushes at the front of the vacuum) because it wasn’t turning, and discovering a filter neither of us knew existed in the process. Still, glad to have it over with quick and easy!
2. Keep up with YouTube Subs, watch the Plumbella video and the video on "Poseidon's Fury" at Universal Studios Orlando Islands Of Adventure in the Watch Later: Check – got them all out, easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy –
A) Started with the latest from Plumbella – “My parents unleash their horrors onto The Sims 4!” To welcome her parents back onto the channel (she had to ban her dad for a while for being a twat), she had a building contest for the two of them, with them each building a living room for her to judge. The twist? Because she and Mambella wanted to take Dadbella down a peg, Plumbella built her mom’s room (admittedly taking a few of Mambella’s suggestions). Naturally, “Mambella’s” room was a very nice dark purple living room with a fireplace and nice seating and pictures, while Dadbella’s was – well, it wasn’t HORRIBLE, but between a picture half-hidden behind the fireplace and the bookcase sunk through the wall. . . Dadbella was a little sour (accusing them of liking the “Mambella” room more because it was more expensive), but took it with relatively good grace once the ruse was revealed. XD You really see where Jesse gets her chaotic energy from when you see her with her parents, trust me.
B) Then it was over to the Subs to catch up with James Turner’s video from yesterday – the renovations people did of his “abandoned factory” build! We had the Old Factory High School (complete with reception area, a full gymnasium, and a few different classes – traditional chalkboard, science lab, and arts & crafts at the top!); Factory Fitness & Spa (with a pool, lots of different gym equipment, including the rock-climbing wall, some massage chairs and meditation stools, and a yoga area on the very top floor); Roller Derby Lounge (officially a Karaoke Bar, it includes a big old roller rink, the curved Batuu bar, a bunch of private karaoke rooms (and one public one), and even a little gym and dance floor up-top!); Donnie’s Chop Shop (a residential lot designed to look like a chop shop for a character from Saints Row – the custom cars outside ALONE are works of T.O.O.L.-mod-assisted art, and the interior feels like the perfect hangout for a bunch of criminal Sims); Batuu Battle Bots (a nightclub using a ton of Journey to Batuu stuff to make it look like a secret arena where bots battle it out for everyone’s amusement, including the actual fighting cage, and a robot lab upstairs featuring what has to be like every robot in the game XD); Factory Waterpark (a pool, naturally, but also more – two pools on the bottom level, with stuff like the pirate ship in one and a sized-up toddler slide in the other; then there’s a hotel level on the second floor; then an arcade level on the third; and finally a more adult bar with karaoke on the fourth!); Abandoned Factory Mansion (a straight-up residential conversion, with some fancy-dancy pools and garden areas on the bottom floor, offices, home theaters, and suchlike on the second, and bedrooms on the third, with an art loft to complete it); Old Factory Mall (an actual retail lot, complete with a food court, nightclub/restaurant, book shop, garden shop, clothing shop, massage parlor, toy shop, fizzy drinks stall, AND a basement level with a cinema and a bowling alley!); and finally the Converted Factory Mansion (another residential refit, this one with a more open plan and giant lovely rooms to stretch out in). All amazing stuff, though the Chop Shop with its super-detailed vehicles and fun “gang hangout” vibe and the Waterpark with its bright colors and amazing resort feel were my favorites – the latter would probably be a fantastic rental lot for vacationing! :D Great job, everybody!
C) And then it was time for Call Me Kevin, who also did some Sims 4 stuff today – a cursed take on the 100 Baby Challenge! Where your Sim must have 100 babies, natch. The cursed part was that it involved Jim Pickens. XD Specifically, what Kevin did was play Jim for about an hour and just had him go around the various neighborhoods, throwing lots of parties (not at his place, mind – at dorms and other people’s houses) and moving into people’s homes to romance all the Sims who could become pregnant, then “trying for baby” with them in the most convenient place to impregnate them! (Or, in one case, moving in, adopting about five children, and then moving out with most of the money.) The challenge suffered a couple of slight hiccups – women getting enraged when they walked in on him with his latest girlfriend, Jim dying from embarrassment after he peed himself in public (fortunately Turg was there to come to the rescue with that one) – and it took him AGES to finally romance and impregnate this one woman who was furious at him for cheating on her before (took Kevin adding her to the household so he could wait out all the bad moodlets!), but at the end of the hour, Jim had successfully created or adopted about fifteen babies! Yes, okay, two of those were created when Kevin messed around with someone’s pregnancy using MCCC, but still. XD Considering all the people Jim kills on a regular basis, having fifteen children ready to repopulate the world is a good thing. XD
D) Then, after supper and writing (below), it was time for the other video in my Watch Later queue – “The Theme Park History of Poseidon's Fury (Universal's Islands of Adventure)!” A history of the “Poseidon's Fury” walk-through special effects show. Turns out that this thing was ORIGINALLY a lot more Atlantis-themed – at least, until Busch Garden started yelling about the similarities of Universal’s new “Islands of Adventure” park’s name to their own “Adventure Island,” and Universal handed over the “Journey to Atlantis” IP to avoid being sued. Also, the original show had Poseidon as the VILLAIN, depicted as a goofy CGI fish-person, and the person who led the show, the “Keeper,” revealed as Zeus in a climatic final battle. It wasn’t until Universal read through a bunch of bad reviews of the show and decided it needed a revamp that it became the version I remember, following plucky archaeologist Taylor through the ruins of the temple and getting involved in the battle between Poseidon and his former high priest Darkeon. And while I have a lot of fond memories of really enjoying the show, apparently this thing has had mixed reviews throughout its entire existence – people love the special effects, like the water vortex tunnel and the screens, but whether or not you connect with the story is up in the air. It’s either the attraction you hate because it’s kind of bad, or the attraction you love because it’s kind of bad. *shrug* Maybe you need to be a kid. . .anyway, while it survived both the introduction of Harry Potter to the other half of its island, and a possible takeover by Nintendo (apparently we’re getting a Super Mario Land in 2024?), it seems COVID may kill off the ride – it’s been closed since March of 2020, and so far there seems to be no plans to reopen it. Ah well. . .always have the memories.
E) Then, finally we had GrayStillPlays and more Skate 3! :D Gray found another fun glitch to exploit – this one involving doing a jump that involves putting the skateboard on your head, which – under the right circumstances – will basically LAUNCH THE PLAYER CHARACTER INTO THE SKY LIKE A ROCKET. Tricky to pull off, but when he got it right, it was a sight to behold. He spent a lot of time going to places with tall buildings and trying the trick to see if he could get to the top of them (including one weird case where the trick didn’t quite work, but he RESPAWNED on the building instead), and then doing video replays with the in-game cameras to see just how ridiculous they were. He got up to 314 feet once around some skyscrapers! Plus he got stuck UNDERNEATH the map a few times, with just his hands sticking out. XD Grand finale was basically launching himself to the sun. XD His out-of-shape physics teacher player character must be so proud of himself. XD
3. Play Sims 4 and start Victor and Alice's Selvadoradan honeymoon: Check! After taking a moment to go to Mod The Sims to get the “Bug Life Mod: All Bugged Out” mod (by Lot51, makes it so the insects that normally spawn only in Granite Falls can be collected in all worlds), and to be briefly terrified when I opened Origin and found that files were being verified – before being confused to see the game being patched was Alice: Madness Returns (not sure what’s going on, but my latest 100% save is still in there, so. . .), I hopped into the game and got back to my Chill Save beloveds! I spent a little time getting them some extra furniture and shelving so I could clear out a bit of their inventories (particularly Victor’s – had to sell a LOT of produce from him), then bought them a tent and had Alice book the vacation to Selvadorada! They’re staying in the Jungle Bungalow, which has a Romantic Aura and Peace & Quiet, so it’s pretty much perfect for a honeymooning couple. :) Victor even got some use out of my new mod by catching some termites right outside! :D They actually spent most of their day at the Cantina, however – eating traditional Selvadoradan foods (Victor couldn’t finish his first course of bunuelos, but managed to eat a full plate of arepa de pabellon), taking in the sights, listening and dancing to the music, playing a bit of chess, and stocking up on supplies whenever the marketplace tables were full. :) It’s a nice place, and they seemed to have plenty of fun! Didn’t get back to their lodgings until almost 10 PM, and then they went for a late-night swim before doing a bit of woohoo (very good woohoo too) and hitting the sack. I left it with them getting prepped and ready to go early Friday morning – it’s into the jungle itself with them next time, to find the temple and get some sweet treasure!
4. Write some more on "Learn to Love Again": Check – Alice and Victor have arrived Downstairs at the Liddell house, with Lizzie outside to greet them! And the only thing that kept Alice from running to her sister was the knowledge that Victor had a non-zero chance of falling over if she let got of him. XD Fortunately Lizzie was able to close the distance on her own and is now leading them inside so they can both have a sit – and she’s taking the opportunity to quickly shut down some of Alice’s fears and guilt about Bumby. Won’t have her sister blaming herself for the things that bastard did. Coming along slowly but surely!
Additionally:
-->Answered my friend DarkCountess’s latest FF.net PM, yay. We’ve been talking Salem witches since she’s been writing a story that focuses in part on American Horror Story: Coven. Been neat to revisit one of my tweenhood obsessions. XD
So that's all good! :) Nice to have a good, quiet, productive day. Let's see if we can keep the ball rolling for Sunday:
1. Continue playthrough progression in "Fallout of Darkness" master doc; Free Writing Day otherwise
2. Keep up with YouTube Subs, watch further two "Theme Park History" videos in Watch Later, watch Jon's next F:NV "Utter Chaos" video
3. Play Fallout 4 and complete Corvega
4. Work on tumblr queues (specifically pictures for Winterfest Chill Save update)
5. Get in a workout
Pretty standard Sunday stuff, for the most part -- and yes, I do have two more "Theme Park History" videos to watch now. Look, the guy did BTTF: The Ride and the Amazing Spider-Man ride, my two favorites, so I HAVE to watch those. *nods* Getting my nostalgia in.
As it stands right now, though, I'm in the middle of chatting with folks and watching tumblr RP, so it's time for me to head out. Night all! Stay warm, if applicable!
1. Clean my room: Check – and a bit faster than normal too, thanks to it not really being dusty at all. Started just before 11 AM, ended just after 1 PM and just before lunch! :) And that’s WITH having to fish out something I knocked behind the bed, and Mom having to fix the “beater bar” (the rotating brushes at the front of the vacuum) because it wasn’t turning, and discovering a filter neither of us knew existed in the process. Still, glad to have it over with quick and easy!
2. Keep up with YouTube Subs, watch the Plumbella video and the video on "Poseidon's Fury" at Universal Studios Orlando Islands Of Adventure in the Watch Later: Check – got them all out, easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy –
A) Started with the latest from Plumbella – “My parents unleash their horrors onto The Sims 4!” To welcome her parents back onto the channel (she had to ban her dad for a while for being a twat), she had a building contest for the two of them, with them each building a living room for her to judge. The twist? Because she and Mambella wanted to take Dadbella down a peg, Plumbella built her mom’s room (admittedly taking a few of Mambella’s suggestions). Naturally, “Mambella’s” room was a very nice dark purple living room with a fireplace and nice seating and pictures, while Dadbella’s was – well, it wasn’t HORRIBLE, but between a picture half-hidden behind the fireplace and the bookcase sunk through the wall. . . Dadbella was a little sour (accusing them of liking the “Mambella” room more because it was more expensive), but took it with relatively good grace once the ruse was revealed. XD You really see where Jesse gets her chaotic energy from when you see her with her parents, trust me.
B) Then it was over to the Subs to catch up with James Turner’s video from yesterday – the renovations people did of his “abandoned factory” build! We had the Old Factory High School (complete with reception area, a full gymnasium, and a few different classes – traditional chalkboard, science lab, and arts & crafts at the top!); Factory Fitness & Spa (with a pool, lots of different gym equipment, including the rock-climbing wall, some massage chairs and meditation stools, and a yoga area on the very top floor); Roller Derby Lounge (officially a Karaoke Bar, it includes a big old roller rink, the curved Batuu bar, a bunch of private karaoke rooms (and one public one), and even a little gym and dance floor up-top!); Donnie’s Chop Shop (a residential lot designed to look like a chop shop for a character from Saints Row – the custom cars outside ALONE are works of T.O.O.L.-mod-assisted art, and the interior feels like the perfect hangout for a bunch of criminal Sims); Batuu Battle Bots (a nightclub using a ton of Journey to Batuu stuff to make it look like a secret arena where bots battle it out for everyone’s amusement, including the actual fighting cage, and a robot lab upstairs featuring what has to be like every robot in the game XD); Factory Waterpark (a pool, naturally, but also more – two pools on the bottom level, with stuff like the pirate ship in one and a sized-up toddler slide in the other; then there’s a hotel level on the second floor; then an arcade level on the third; and finally a more adult bar with karaoke on the fourth!); Abandoned Factory Mansion (a straight-up residential conversion, with some fancy-dancy pools and garden areas on the bottom floor, offices, home theaters, and suchlike on the second, and bedrooms on the third, with an art loft to complete it); Old Factory Mall (an actual retail lot, complete with a food court, nightclub/restaurant, book shop, garden shop, clothing shop, massage parlor, toy shop, fizzy drinks stall, AND a basement level with a cinema and a bowling alley!); and finally the Converted Factory Mansion (another residential refit, this one with a more open plan and giant lovely rooms to stretch out in). All amazing stuff, though the Chop Shop with its super-detailed vehicles and fun “gang hangout” vibe and the Waterpark with its bright colors and amazing resort feel were my favorites – the latter would probably be a fantastic rental lot for vacationing! :D Great job, everybody!
C) And then it was time for Call Me Kevin, who also did some Sims 4 stuff today – a cursed take on the 100 Baby Challenge! Where your Sim must have 100 babies, natch. The cursed part was that it involved Jim Pickens. XD Specifically, what Kevin did was play Jim for about an hour and just had him go around the various neighborhoods, throwing lots of parties (not at his place, mind – at dorms and other people’s houses) and moving into people’s homes to romance all the Sims who could become pregnant, then “trying for baby” with them in the most convenient place to impregnate them! (Or, in one case, moving in, adopting about five children, and then moving out with most of the money.) The challenge suffered a couple of slight hiccups – women getting enraged when they walked in on him with his latest girlfriend, Jim dying from embarrassment after he peed himself in public (fortunately Turg was there to come to the rescue with that one) – and it took him AGES to finally romance and impregnate this one woman who was furious at him for cheating on her before (took Kevin adding her to the household so he could wait out all the bad moodlets!), but at the end of the hour, Jim had successfully created or adopted about fifteen babies! Yes, okay, two of those were created when Kevin messed around with someone’s pregnancy using MCCC, but still. XD Considering all the people Jim kills on a regular basis, having fifteen children ready to repopulate the world is a good thing. XD
D) Then, after supper and writing (below), it was time for the other video in my Watch Later queue – “The Theme Park History of Poseidon's Fury (Universal's Islands of Adventure)!” A history of the “Poseidon's Fury” walk-through special effects show. Turns out that this thing was ORIGINALLY a lot more Atlantis-themed – at least, until Busch Garden started yelling about the similarities of Universal’s new “Islands of Adventure” park’s name to their own “Adventure Island,” and Universal handed over the “Journey to Atlantis” IP to avoid being sued. Also, the original show had Poseidon as the VILLAIN, depicted as a goofy CGI fish-person, and the person who led the show, the “Keeper,” revealed as Zeus in a climatic final battle. It wasn’t until Universal read through a bunch of bad reviews of the show and decided it needed a revamp that it became the version I remember, following plucky archaeologist Taylor through the ruins of the temple and getting involved in the battle between Poseidon and his former high priest Darkeon. And while I have a lot of fond memories of really enjoying the show, apparently this thing has had mixed reviews throughout its entire existence – people love the special effects, like the water vortex tunnel and the screens, but whether or not you connect with the story is up in the air. It’s either the attraction you hate because it’s kind of bad, or the attraction you love because it’s kind of bad. *shrug* Maybe you need to be a kid. . .anyway, while it survived both the introduction of Harry Potter to the other half of its island, and a possible takeover by Nintendo (apparently we’re getting a Super Mario Land in 2024?), it seems COVID may kill off the ride – it’s been closed since March of 2020, and so far there seems to be no plans to reopen it. Ah well. . .always have the memories.
E) Then, finally we had GrayStillPlays and more Skate 3! :D Gray found another fun glitch to exploit – this one involving doing a jump that involves putting the skateboard on your head, which – under the right circumstances – will basically LAUNCH THE PLAYER CHARACTER INTO THE SKY LIKE A ROCKET. Tricky to pull off, but when he got it right, it was a sight to behold. He spent a lot of time going to places with tall buildings and trying the trick to see if he could get to the top of them (including one weird case where the trick didn’t quite work, but he RESPAWNED on the building instead), and then doing video replays with the in-game cameras to see just how ridiculous they were. He got up to 314 feet once around some skyscrapers! Plus he got stuck UNDERNEATH the map a few times, with just his hands sticking out. XD Grand finale was basically launching himself to the sun. XD His out-of-shape physics teacher player character must be so proud of himself. XD
3. Play Sims 4 and start Victor and Alice's Selvadoradan honeymoon: Check! After taking a moment to go to Mod The Sims to get the “Bug Life Mod: All Bugged Out” mod (by Lot51, makes it so the insects that normally spawn only in Granite Falls can be collected in all worlds), and to be briefly terrified when I opened Origin and found that files were being verified – before being confused to see the game being patched was Alice: Madness Returns (not sure what’s going on, but my latest 100% save is still in there, so. . .), I hopped into the game and got back to my Chill Save beloveds! I spent a little time getting them some extra furniture and shelving so I could clear out a bit of their inventories (particularly Victor’s – had to sell a LOT of produce from him), then bought them a tent and had Alice book the vacation to Selvadorada! They’re staying in the Jungle Bungalow, which has a Romantic Aura and Peace & Quiet, so it’s pretty much perfect for a honeymooning couple. :) Victor even got some use out of my new mod by catching some termites right outside! :D They actually spent most of their day at the Cantina, however – eating traditional Selvadoradan foods (Victor couldn’t finish his first course of bunuelos, but managed to eat a full plate of arepa de pabellon), taking in the sights, listening and dancing to the music, playing a bit of chess, and stocking up on supplies whenever the marketplace tables were full. :) It’s a nice place, and they seemed to have plenty of fun! Didn’t get back to their lodgings until almost 10 PM, and then they went for a late-night swim before doing a bit of woohoo (very good woohoo too) and hitting the sack. I left it with them getting prepped and ready to go early Friday morning – it’s into the jungle itself with them next time, to find the temple and get some sweet treasure!
4. Write some more on "Learn to Love Again": Check – Alice and Victor have arrived Downstairs at the Liddell house, with Lizzie outside to greet them! And the only thing that kept Alice from running to her sister was the knowledge that Victor had a non-zero chance of falling over if she let got of him. XD Fortunately Lizzie was able to close the distance on her own and is now leading them inside so they can both have a sit – and she’s taking the opportunity to quickly shut down some of Alice’s fears and guilt about Bumby. Won’t have her sister blaming herself for the things that bastard did. Coming along slowly but surely!
Additionally:
-->Answered my friend DarkCountess’s latest FF.net PM, yay. We’ve been talking Salem witches since she’s been writing a story that focuses in part on American Horror Story: Coven. Been neat to revisit one of my tweenhood obsessions. XD
So that's all good! :) Nice to have a good, quiet, productive day. Let's see if we can keep the ball rolling for Sunday:
1. Continue playthrough progression in "Fallout of Darkness" master doc; Free Writing Day otherwise
2. Keep up with YouTube Subs, watch further two "Theme Park History" videos in Watch Later, watch Jon's next F:NV "Utter Chaos" video
3. Play Fallout 4 and complete Corvega
4. Work on tumblr queues (specifically pictures for Winterfest Chill Save update)
5. Get in a workout
Pretty standard Sunday stuff, for the most part -- and yes, I do have two more "Theme Park History" videos to watch now. Look, the guy did BTTF: The Ride and the Amazing Spider-Man ride, my two favorites, so I HAVE to watch those. *nods* Getting my nostalgia in.
As it stands right now, though, I'm in the middle of chatting with folks and watching tumblr RP, so it's time for me to head out. Night all! Stay warm, if applicable!
