Bluewater Extras - Tumblr Posts

didilysims replied to your photoset “And, if you step through the archway here, madame, you’ll find the...”

Uh-oh... Mal, there may be things in there you don't want her to know yet. Not without context, anyway.

It’s not the best idea, I agree, but Malcolm is pretty sure he’s ready for Abby to know about all that.  He can fill in the context before she really reads the book anyways.  And she might not get through it.  Malcolm I was a great man, but he was also quite proud and convinced that his legacy would last.  The book reflects that.  Like he said, Malcolm fell asleep when he was reading it as a teen.  (That might explain why he got such a surprise later.) 

In any case, Abby’s not going to start reading the book until after the house tour is done, and I think Malcolm intends to give her a bit more family history and some context along the way. 

Mwah-ha-ha-ha!  I was hoping for an alien abduction at a certain household in Bluewater but I didn’t think it would happen so soon!  Mwah-ha-ha!  I love it!

Letters to the Editor

@didilysims asked about letters to the editor regarding Abby’s tell-all article and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it.  It took me a bit, but I’ve managed to pull some together.  They’re under a cut, as they got a bit long. Enjoy!

Dear Editor,

     That article about Malcolm Landgraab did not belong on the front page of the paper.  Watcher, is there no other news in town, so you had to use that?  Gossip about rich snobs should be put in the gossip pages, not the headlines.  I know we live in a small town, but there has to be more interesting or important news than a story about a reporter duping the richest man in town into dating her. 

~Disgruntled News Seeker

Dear Editor,

     I was both surprised and disappointed to see the article about Malcolm Landgraab that you published the other day.  I have met Mr. Landgraab around town and bought a few items at his store. I found him to be a much nicer person than the article described. I’ve never heard him yell at anyone.  He seems like a very friendly person who just wants to help his customers. Mr. Landgraab, there are people in this town who like you and don’t believe what that woman wrote about you.  Don’t let her get you down. 

~Concerned for Landgraab

Dear Editor,

     Abigail Slater should be fired and so should you! She should never have been allowed to published that article she wrote about one of our town’s citizens.  Did no one read the article before it was printed? How dare she write such horrible things about a man whose family was one of the founding families of our town!  Surely he should be treated with more respect than that!   This is the last time I will even think about The Bluewater Herald.  I am cancelling my subscription and telling everyone I know to do the same.  How dare you! I hope Mr. Landgraab sues the pants off you!

~Furious

Dear Editor, 

     That reporter, Abigail Slater, should be fired!  Not only did she use tricky methods to get that story, but she also probably took Malcolm Landgraab IV off the market forever!  I mean, seriously!  If you didn’t want him, then why couldn’t you just leave him alone for the rest of us?  Now he probably won’t ever get married and the rest of us will be left to just dream about him instead of having a chance to win him for ourselves. Thanks a lot, sister!

~Totally Angry and Heartbroken

Just a few random pictures from around Bluewater. I just finished playing and queuing up the Ramirez round, and I couldn’t really find a place for these pics.  

1) It looks like Malcolm is considering a new look.  

2) Tara found another cat at the park (and Denise continued breaking my heart).

3) That guy really regretted wearing his Santa suit to a fancy summer party and it made me laugh. 

We interrupt this round of the Ramirez family to show off Bob and Eliza Pancakes (currently Bluewater townies) expressing their love in the middle of the Ramirez furniture store. 

I am preparing to play the second-to-last household in Bluewater for Round 2 and I just realized that I started Bluewater Challenge 2016 one year ago yesterday.  I’m going to use my upcoming long weekend to try to play these last two households and then I’ll be ready to move on to Round 3!  I can hardly believe it. 

The queue is quite a bit behind (I think I’m four households ahead now?) so once I get the round completely finished, I may bump up to 2 or 3 posts a day instead of just one. 

I want to say thank you to everyone who has stuck with me through this long journey.  I love seeing your likes and your comments.  You guys are one of the big reasons I love sharing these stories.  Thanks so much! 

Thank you so much to everyone who gave me suggestions for sims to invite to Cynthia’s baby shower.  I’ve taken a lot of your suggestions and added a whopping 24 sims to my game!  They’re all living downtown.  I probably won’t play with all of them in regular rotation, but they’ll be running around town and showing up in the background, as well as in the regular story. 

I loved trying to recreate some of the sims from other games (although I don’t know how well I did) and I loved adding the amazing ones other people have created to my game.  I honestly don’t add a lot of other people’s sims to my game, but I’m glad I’ve added these guys! 

Thanks again to @greenfooddog, @landgraab, @didilysims, and @dunne-ias for your fabulous suggestions. You guys rock!

I just need to share this.  What is that face, Justin?  You’re supposed to be the sane one in your family! 

This is the end of the queue for now.  

Bluewater Challenge will return after a short break.  I have big plans for what happens next in Bluewater, but I need a bit of time away.  I need a bit of a break from Bluewater and I need a bit of time to get myself back on track in real life. (Going back to teaching after the summer break is always a bit tricky...)

I will still be around to like everybody’s posts and such, but there probably won’t be any content coming from me until mid-August at the earliest. I will say that when Bluewater returns, there will be an interlude before Round 3 actually starts.  I’m really excited about it!  I hope you’ll like it too. See you soon!

I’m not the best set builder, but I’m pretty happy with the one I created tonight. Shooting the beginning of the Landgraab Round 3 is going to be the hardest part of the whole round, but I think the story will be worth the work.  Tomorrow I’m going to try to get a whole bunch of sims to behave in this set...

I’ll let you know how it goes...

Hey, everyone!  I need a bit of help!  I’m working on the official start of Round 3, but I’m not sure where to take the story after a certain point.  That’s where you come in.  I’ve created a really short poll about who you wanted Malcolm to end up with in the Bachelor Challenge (if it had been real).   You can also tell me why you wanted him to end up with that sim, and there’s one extra bonus question on there as well. 

Please go HERE to participate in the poll.  It really will help! 

Thanks!

Thanks to everyone who voted in my poll this week.  It really did help me out!  I’m putting the results under a cut, as they got really long and they do contain SPOILERS!  If you’re in the mood for a long ramble and knowing who Malcolm is going to end up with (and a few other things), go ahead and peek below the cut!  Thanks again for all the feedback.  My goal is to get some of the next parts of the story ready to post during my fall break (the first two weeks of October).  

I wasn’t too surprised that Charlotte won, or that Penny took second place.  What did surprise me was that almost every other girl got at least one vote! Sharon was the only one left out completely. Fake Bella actually got 3 votes, and Nancy Landgraab of all people got 2!  The reasons why were also really interesting.  (That’s why I put that question in there, so thanks for all the great responses!) I want to go through and show off those responses, so prepare yourself for a long post!  We’ll go through by the least number of votes to the highest number. 

Holly Alto (1 vote)

The person who voted for Holly said:

she seemed to like him after getti g to know him rather than ight off the bat so it felt more genuine, she was there because she had to be but grew to like him for real

I think Holly and Malcolm could have gotten along quite well if they met in the “real” world instead of the imaginary Bachelor challenge world.  She strikes me as a very kind and compassionate person who would be good for Malcolm.  The only thing I’d worry about with them would be her family.  Her parents are the opposite of kind and compassionate, and I could see them pushing Holly to go after Malcolm in order to get their hands on the Landgraab fortune. 

Lottie Cash (1 vote)

I think I know who it was who voted for Lottie, and I’m honestly sorry that she didn’t win.  I think she and Malcolm could be very good for each other. The person who voted said:

Both rich (no gold-digging here, she can hold her own). Both blonde (think of the babies!!!!). Both dead parents (they understand each other). Lottie is a great fit for Malcolm because she can fit into the rich, socialite life easily. She adores money - having it, spending it, talking about it - which I believe is very on par with Malcolm. 

I agree, and I think Lottie’s bubbly personality would have helped Malcolm out of the gloom he’s fallen into.  If they end up meeting in the “real world”, I think they’ll at least be good friends.  If not, well, she’s a townie so she’ll be around for a long while.  Maybe Malcolm V will hit it off with her? 

Nancy Landgraab (2 votes)

People who voted for Nancy said:

I play Sims 4 a lot, so it would have been fun for me. Nancy marries Sims 2 Malcolm, divorces (or he dies young), then marries Sims 4 Geoffry and names her son after Sims 2 Malcolm. Not canon, of course..

and 

for teh dramaz

Personally, I think ending up with Nancy would have put Malcolm in an early grave, and there would have been a LOT of drama!  I actually did think about how he’d end up with her since they didn’t get along at all in the Bachelor challenge and she’s so pushy.  I couldn’t really think of a good way to do it.  I’m glad she didn’t make it.  I’ve made Malcolm miserable enough, I think. For now anyways. 

(Fake) Bella Goth (3  votes)

I was genuinely surprised by this!  Bella got the same number of votes as Penny Pizzazz?  What?  Then I saw the reasons. 

People who voted for (Fake) Bella said:

I'm Bella obsessed. 

and

The is she or isn't she the real Bella drama

and

This is one pairing I haven't seen (yet) and it'd be interesting. To me, their personalities go really well.

I just don’t see this pairing.  This “Bella” is a fake.  She’s an actress who has played Bella Goth on television and become obsessed with her story, so much that she changed her name to Bella Goth.  In the Bachelor challenge, she was hoping to marry Malcolm as a way to gain fame and fortune, in the same way she thinks Bella married Mortimer.  If they met in real life, I feel like it would be the same thing - she’d pursue him for his money and the notoriety she could get from being in a relationship with him.

That being said, if she was the real Bella, returned after an undetermined amount of time (and presumably a lot of Elixir of Life) without her memories, it might make for an interesting story.  Maybe she’d show up on Malcolm’s doorstep asking for help.  Maybe she’d just be new in town and he’d hire her for one of his businesses.  If I ever write a story set in an uberhood, I might pursue that storyline and see where it goes.  For Bluewater Challenge, though, I’m glad (fake) Bella isn’t the one who’ll end up with Malcolm.

Penny Pizzazz

People who voted for Penny said:

Based on the interviews, Penny was one of the few participants who seemed to see Malcolm as a human rather than some kind of a trophy. She even corrected her hostess on it, so I think she has the right attitude towards this.

and

She was the only one who really seemed to care about him as a person, and they had great chemistry together.  I think she would be good for Malcolm.

and

They are cute together 😂

That second response was me voting on my own poll (so technically I guess Bella came in second place if my vote doesn’t count). I don’t entirely agree with what I said now that I’ve had some time to think about it, but I stand by most of it. 

I really do love Penny.  I’m so glad someone suggested her when I asked for sims to bring to Cynthia’s baby shower.  Penny is bright and colorful and caring, and I really do think she would have been good for Malcolm.  However, the fact that she’s a pop star means I couldn’t think of a good way for them to meet-cute in the story.  She’s definitely going to be showing up in the story, though. 

And finally, with five votes, the winner is... Charlotte Worthington!

People who voted for Charlotte said:

Because I see them as having chemistry, imo 

and

I liked her response about knowing family pressure and fortunes.

and

She suits him, she's not used in a lot of stories and so she needs a little love, and their kids would be adorable

and 

They seemed to connect well, and Charlotte seemed very genuine.

I agree with all of this.  Charlotte and Malcolm do have good chemistry (at least two bolts, maybe three.  She does understand the pressure he’s under.  She’s not going to inherit her family legacy - that’s up to her brother, who’s in college right now - but she’s still got to “uphold the family name” and “marry for the good of the family”.  And she does need more love. I think the only story I’ve seen her in - because it’s where she originated, if I recall correctly - is Strangetown, Here We Come by @strangetomato .  (I think she marries Malcolm in that story...I haven’t read it in a while...I’ll have to reread...)  Their kids would also be adorable.  

Charlotte is the official winner and will be the spouse for this generation of the Landgraab legacy.  I’m really excited to get to her and hopefully give Malcolm some of the happiness I’ve been denying him.

Unfortunately, we have to deal with that third question first...

The graph on this one is a little weird, because I put in that “other” slot, but even if you take out the “other” responses, the result is still clear. I’m going to share the “other” responses below, but that’s all I’m saying on this one.

It surprises me that there aren't more "Bachelor/Bachelorette" Babies.

I really hope it did, but that shouldn't way the end results.

I hope not... she is such a snake! But now I am questioning it...

hope not! D:

I think that if it did, she would use it to weasel her way back into his life or get money out of him.  I think if it didn't, she might pretend it had.  This is why I need everyone else's input on this, because I am too confused to make up my mind! (This one was me, voting on my own poll.) 

Once again, thank you, thank you, thank you for all the input. I really did need it.  I think I have a better idea of where this story is going now, and I’m excited to share it with you guys.  Like I said way back above the cut, my goal is to work on getting something ready to share by mid-October.  My fall break from work should help with that (lots of simming/writing time). 

I’ve added a few more posts to the queue to continue Malcolm’s story. I have more pictures waiting to be queued up, but the story isn’t cooperating at the moment. I think there will at least be posts this coming week.  I’ll keep poking at the story to get it in line and will hopefully have more eventually. 

Here it is - a really, really, REALLY long replies post for all of the Bluewater posts I’ve done so far.  Thank you so much for all the responses to the story.  I’ve loved seeing them.  Look under the cut for a LOT of replies. 

@holleyberry, @penig, @anotherplumbob Abby is actually pregnant in-game, she wasn’t showing at the time I shot the pictures.  I have custom versions of my pregnancy defaults in too, and giving Abby the fat state + the outfit meant I could have her in the color I wanted.  Malcolm definitely intends to sue for full custody. 

@holleyberry - Other than one wavering moment, I don’t think Malcolm is going to listen to her again.  

@dunne-ias, your suggestions has officially been taken into consideration. 

@katrisims, I’m curious to see where it goes too!  

@penig, @holleyberry, @katrisims, @anotherplumbob, and @youdonelostyourmind - The revelation hit Malcolm pretty hard.  I think he’d probably imagined this scene happening differently with Abby before she showed her true colors.  But, as we saw, he did decide not to move her in.  

@anotherplumbob, @katrisims, @penig - Telling Abby off was a big release for Malcolm, I think.  He finally got everything off his chest.  Abby definitely wasn’t expecting it.  Remember when she mentioned that he doesn’t have the temper to match his eyebrows?  She’d never seen him this mad before, and she was pretty shocked by his reaction. 

I think we are going to see Malcolm building up a few more walls for himself after the whole Abby scandal.  He doesn’t want to be hurt again, and he doesn’t want to be manipulated.  I don’t think he’ll be soured for life, but he’s definitely a lot more cautious about relationships. 

@anotherplumbob - Aww, thanks!  I’m glad you like my version of Malcolm.  I think he does tend to be portrayed as the ruthless businessman.  I think this version of him could become that version - especially after what happened with Abby - but at the moment, he’s not quite there. 

@penig - Fleming is pleased.  He’s very pleased.  He was surprised that Malcolm would choose this, though.  Malcolm had been trying to live up to the old rules of the legacy up to this point, and if Fleming were in his place, he wouldn’t give up three generations of hard work and fortune-building. But the firm has all the money now, so Fleming is quite happy that Malcolm chose this route. It means Fleming doesn’t have to do anything sneaky. 

@dunne-ias - Ha ha ha ha ha!  Patience, my friend.  We will get there.  

@anotherplumbob - Oh, I think she was. ;-) 

@dunne-ias - That’s a big jump.  Marry her after one hug?  

@penig - She would not have minded at all. :)

@anotherplumbob - It’s going to be a change for him for sure.  Of course, in game he has the skills to start at Vice President in the Business career, so he’s probably got a corner office, but in the story he’s in a cubicle.  I think having Charlotte just across the way will be a nice perk, though. ;)

@dunne-ias - Let’s see how dinner goes first. 

@esmeiolanthe - I think the baby mama drama will indeed rear its ugly head some time soon.  

Outtake: 

Malcolm and Charlotte’s relationship in-game is a lot more romantic than it is in the story so far.  I wanted a hug, not a makeout session, you guys!  Geez! 

Here’s another kissing outtake, mostly to let you know that there are most posts in the queue.  The Landgraab round is nearly over.  I have...maybe two more scenes to shoot?  I think?  

Anyways, there should be a post a day this week.  I think. Enjoy!

Have a few extras from Florence’s upcoming round.  I’ve added her parents into the mix for a little bit.  This is in a copy of the neighborhood, just like Malcolm’s bachelor challenge was, mostly because the older Delarosas are supposed to live in Riverblossom Hills and I don’t want them running around Bluewater whenever they feel like it.  They need to be here now, though, because Florence needs her mom to take her dress shopping! 

I have 13 posts sitting in drafts and maybe...two more scenes to take pictures of?  Once I get the whole round put together, I’ll queue things up.  

(Side note: I recreated the older Delarosas by mixing Florence and the face templates they appeared to have in their pictures on the wiki.  I think they look pretty good - more like her than the originals, anyways.) 

The Delarosa round will officially begin posting tomorrow!  The queue should put up one post a day, and there are 17 posts in the queue at the moment.  I’m going to start playing the Tinker round now, so maybe I’ll be able to queue up those posts as well. I’ll let you know if I add more to the queue.  Otherwise, consider Florence’s round your Christmas/holiday gift from me.  Enjoy!

🎄🎄🎄Merry Christmas from Bluewater Village!🎄🎄🎄 The formatting on the Christmas letters I just posted was truly awful, so I’m saving those for another time. (They were all jumbled together and I couldn’t get them to separate.) I hope you’re all having a merry Christmas (or just a good day if you don’t celebrate). I’m looking forward to another year of sharing stories and sims here on tumblr with all of you. ❤️❤️❤️

This concludes Round 3 at the Delarosa house!  Look below the cut for thoughts on this round, as well as some extra pictures.  Next up, the Tinker house!

The burglar breaking in was completely random and unexpected.  I opened the lot and had it on speed 3 because Florence was sleeping.  The robber took me totally by surprise.  Obviously, though, I ran with it.  I love the picture of Florence on the phone with the cops.

It also gave her a reason for a quickie engagement with Herb, which was something I wanted to do.  We’re on round 3, after all, and Florence hadn’t even gotten married yet! 

Because Florence was getting married, I recreated her parents in CAS and placed them in an alternate version of Bluewater.  Most of the round was actually played in that alternate Bluewater so that I don’t end up with William and Mary running around in the regular neighborhood when they’re supposed to be in Riverblossom Hills.  

To create the older Delarosas, I started with Florence for both of them and mixed her face with the face template the original William and Mary sims were apparently based on in the original Bluewater Village.  (I based that on the pictures of them on the Sims Wiki.)  I could have sworn I’d seen versions of her parents recreated by someone else, but I couldn’t find them when I looked.  (Admittedly, I didn’t look very hard…)

Naturally, one thing I had William and Mary do was help Florence with the garden.  This used to be their house, and they’re plant lovers just like their daughter. It was nice to have some additional gardeners.

Florence and her mom’s conversation in the clothing store was another spontaneous thing.  I now imagine that Florence is closer to her dad than her mom.  

Florence and Herb’s staged wedding happened at Hunter’s Park.  I tried to get good pictures, but, well…

Yeah.  Between the dip through the wall of the gazebo and the strangely-dressed townies, it was an interesting wedding. 

Florence had Breanna Custer for a bridesmaid, and Gilbert was Herb’s best man. I love these guys as friends.  I’m hoping that the Delarosas will play the same roles for Breanna and Gilbert when they get married.  (Also, Breanna looks really good in that Egyptian outfit.)

Flo and Herb’s actual wedding happened in the greenhouse, which I thought was fitting.  (They need some lights in there, though!  Whoops!) They didn’t have the fancy formal wear, but it was still a really cute wedding. 

And naturally, after the wedding (in either neighborhood), there’s the wedding night.  I love their photobooth pictures on the wall and the way they look at each other.  You can tell they’re just so in love.

We’ll have to see what that woohoo leads to next time, though.  (I’m pretty sure you can guess…)

Thanks for reading, and thanks for waiting so long for this round to post. I hope you enjoyed it.  (I’m writing this before it even posts, so I’m sure I’ll have replies to send as the round goes up.) 

Next up, the Tinkers, where I’m sure chaos will reign supreme.  What else can you expect with two pregnant sims who might have bought cheesecake, plus two toddlers and a child. Yay!?