Arcane Antics

arcane_antics @ 2013-12-11T22:22:00

2013-12-11T22:23:15Z

The Howell Legacy: Gen 1.3

2013-09-15T20:03:37Z

Previous updates: 1.0 | 1.1 | 1.2

Hello once again! Seems like forever since the last update (almost a month!) but as I've said before, my bandwidth finally reset and I've finally finished editing pictures. So, welcome back to The Howell Legacy!

Previously, in The Howell Legacy...

Paisley and Robin had a second daughter, Rory, who grew into a child, then had their third daughter, Laurel, and Addison grew into a teenager.

We open this update with another birthday...

Here is toddler Laurel! She is undeniably adorable, but I think Addison has been my favourite toddler so far.

Also, Paisley is pregnant once again! I've decided to make one final push for a boy this generation so fingers crossed!

This is Matilda's first and only appearance this update, so make the most of it.

Quick question: what sort of fun hobbies should pregnant women take up since being out of work?

Gardening of course! ...But, in the snow?

When will children learn that they are not going to magically receive an A+ report card on their very first day of school?! Silly Rory.

She soon perked up though when the snow deepened.

Such an innocent wee face.

As you can see, I decided to give the animal onesies a rest. I was running out of them anyway.

Like weird-werewolf-father, like daughter!

Speaking of werewolves...

Your wish shall be my command! Soon, my pretty...

I suppose this would be a good time to point out that I redecorated the house. I'm in love with the dining area, and the family finally has a big enough table.

I'm really hoping for a boy in the family, I feel so bad that Robin doesn't get to share these kind of bonding moments with a son whereas Paisley has three daughters to bond with.

Um... get off my roof please?

Rory: "MUM! Dad's eating Addison!"

Rory: "Ew, she has a beard..."

Proud of yourself, are you Robin? You just beat up your own child... you make me sick.

Uh, okay Unsavoury Charlatan?

Just 2 promotions away from becoming a worldwide Celebrity Chef, and Paisley's poor cooking skill still worries me.

Newbie were-Addison agrees; this tastes like poo.

What are you up to now, Robin? You seem to be throwing that ball pretty hard. Where could you be aiming it...?

You're such an ass.

He must really want a son to play catch with.

And in that moment Paisley decided to go out of her way to give birth outside.

Guy-Addison-Brought-Home: "She's totally having a baby over there."

It's a boy! Yuss! He's called Hunter (and it only took three reloads and several hundred "pacifier rolls" to get here). He is however another with Paisley's brown hair and eyes. At least Addison got her father's eye colour.

Laurel's still a cutie, but with a new baby in the house, she was starting to be neglected.

When the moonlight calls... the werewolves will... read the newspaper?

I decided it was high time Addison got a job. Mainly because Paisley rolled the want for her to become an Overachiever.

I thought your were-side was supposed to be the one that's good at parenting?

Remember what I said about Laurel being neglected?

I think Rory's going to be the popular kid, she's always chatting on the phone and bringing little dweebs home from school.

Anyway, it's birthday time again!

Laurel again!

So I managed to pause the game at this precise moment. Now watch as events unfold...

Kaylynn: "If I can't see it, it's not there!"

And here's child Laurel! Loving her a lot more I think, those pigtails are adorable in The Sims 2.

But we're not done yet! Double birthdays!

And here is toddler Hunter! Eep! Move over, toddler Addison (sorry).

And then, somehow, this miracle happened...

Booyeah! Big bonus! Maybe now I can furnish the rest of the house.

I can't get enough of this wee man. He's so adorable!

Rory is finally pleased with her results. We'll have to wait for Laurel to get good grades now though before we can warrant a visit from the Headmaster.

Huh. I thought it was just Laurel that was going to be neglected in this update.

Eh, Paisley that toy was bought for your son, you childish little ass.

Love how Addison has so far managed to maintain her overly neat ways. That'll soon change.

I've never actually owned a Jack-in-the-Box before, so I was delighted to see this super-cute interaction!

Yeah, I'd be mad too if my dad was making me do my homework outside in the rain, at night.

Laurel: "The pages are getting all soggy!"

All I can say is, "SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

Huh. I didn't know Robin had a llama.

So Robin began teaching Hunter to walk at night, and then failed to transition back into his human form come daylight.

Addison: "Later, trash!"

Yeah, thanks for helping around the house. But I still don't understand how you managed to turn one bottle into... that.

Oh, you've got to be freaking kidding me!

And I guess we'll leave it there for now. I've started the next update, but not played in a while. Hopefully I can get back into the game over the next week. Stay tuned, and thanks for reading!

The Bandwidth Returns!

2013-09-09T16:34:51Z

Great news errybody!

My bandwidth just reset, so all my pictures are finally back up and running. I've learnt my lesson this time: I'm going to set up a second Photobucket account and alternate between the two.

Again, I make no promises (so not to disappoint) but I will hopefully get another Howell Legacy update out shortly, since there's a full one sitting in my Fraps folder at the moment anyway.

Thanks for reading and hope to hear from you guys soon!

Sam & Aubrey Picspam

2013-08-23T00:32:07Z

These are just a few wee pictures I took a while back (before starting The Howell Legacy) that I randomly decided to edit. I forgot how fun The Sims 3 can be, so I thought I'd share with everyone.

This is Aubrey. (I forget her last name.)

She's a bit cooky. Which is probably what I like about her so much.

She's either a Professional Diver or a hobbyist.

"Sims are friends, not food!"

She's bad at most things. She lost this contest to "Vampire Bill".

But she's determined to win something, at least. (She lost this one too.)

She also has bad luck with the face-painter. I don't know what she did to piss them off but...

Didn't you learn your lesson the first time?!

This is Sam, Aubrey's boyfriend.

He's adorable.

...but also bad with face painters. Seriously guys, what did you say?!

And that's all for now I guess! Thanks for taking a wee look at least.

The Howell Legacy: Gen 1.2

2013-08-21T17:55:21Z

Previous updates: 1.0 | 1.1

In posting this update, I have officially "defeated my twin demons" and written further than any of my previous legacies! Woo! Rah! Celebratory cheering!

In order to mark this oh-so-special occasion, Paisley has decided to give birth right here and now to her second child. Aren't ya'll lucky?

But wait! We haven't done a recap of the previous update!

Previously, in The Howell Legacy...

Paisley and Robin got married on their rooftop, then had a baby girl called Addison who grew into a child and now Paisley is pregnant with a second.

And here she is! Another girl (sigh) named Rory.

Robin looks so happy.

Then it's straight back to work for Paisley it seems. You can't keep this girl away from her garden.

...unless of course it's to go to work. For someone near the top of her dream job, she doesn't look very happy to be leaving.

I wonder if it has anything to do with Robin being left alone with the kids...?

Luckily he doesn't have to worry about Addison. She is quite content with her obligatory lemonade stand that all children wish for. So innocent though.

I don't know why, but were-Robin seems to be able to handle parenting a lot better than his human form.

Even if he does carry his children in a very wobbly manner.

Rory is unfortunately black-haired like her sister (double sigh), but has her mother's brown eyes. At least they're not complete clones.

Babies are boring, but they do have cute buttony faces.

That leaves just 2 promotions to go!

Again, to remind everyone, the challenge I set myself for this generation is to complete the LTWs of both the Founder and their spouse before they die.

Paisley certainly is efficient; she's straight back to work just hours after giving birth, and now newly promoted and already working towards her next promotion. You go, girl!

What did you expect Addison? It was only your first day.

3 promotions to go for Robin.

I love this cute little interaction! I don't love it when children drop everything in order to do it.

Like her mother, Addison is a keen and efficient learner. I just wish she didn't leave her homework until the last minute.

It's somebody's birthday!

Little Rory! She looks more like Paisley than Robin, so I gave her his wee cheek mole for added cuteness. I can't wait to see if those ears turn out pointy - I'd like a werewolf heir please, the more the merrier!

I really do love these animal onesies!

Addison, looking much happier with her report this time.

Proud mum! Another child interaction I adore. Kids are too cute.

Looks like Rory wanted some attention of her own.

She's such a happy child...

Oops. I guess she really did need the attention.

Paisley was a bit preoccupied. That's right, baby number 3 is en route!

Everyone can't get enough of the gosh-darnit orchard tree! I'm going to have to make that indoor orchard sometime. I just have to.

Also, spot the ghost.

This means Robin has once again caught up to Paisley, and has 2 promotions left to go.

Rory was thrilled with the news.

Rory: "You're buying me what now?!"

Paisley popped, and spent the day teaching Rory to talk.

I think she really loves being a mummy. Can't get enough of this interaction people!

With all this maternity/paternity/parentalness going around, someone else was starting to feel a bit broody...

Addison? Yes, Addison! So she adopted a Womrat and ~~was forced to name her~~ gladly named her Matilda.

Enjoy these adorable sister bonding pics, because it's Rory's birthday again! (I know, right? Again?)

And I love her! Such a great mix of her parents. Choosing heir is going to be really tough, I might have to rely on a poll at this rate.

Also, the bear ate her feet.

The girls get on better than ever. I love how unrealistic relationships are in The Sims.

In preparation for the next baby, I built a smaller nursery (which I then couldn't get a decent enough picture of) and converted the old one into a nice room for Addison and Rory.

And they got a new fish. Called Klaus.

Who they ignore.

Just because he's a floating inanimate object...

Hug it fondly if you must Paisley, but you can't stop it from coming out.

Stop acting like you were the one to give birth to her, Robin.

That's right - another girl (le sigh x 3), and she's actually using the Danglemaster I bought when Addison was born (but was never used until right now). Her name is Laurel, and she's the first to have Paisley's brown hair!

With five under one roof and one of which being a newborn baby, some help was desperately needed.

What was Paisley up to you ask, that she couldn't care for her own family?

Gardening. Duh.

And she grew another mouth watering batch of something! Peppers this time. Yummy yum yum yum.

Wait, this idiot got another promotion? Oh whatever. That leaves just 1 to go! Getting exciting!

While on the topic of exciting stuff... another birthday! And no, not Rory this time.

Nope, this time it was Addison's turn! I can't help but feel like she's inherited the beady-eye syndrome all of my in-game-born Sims possess. Still pretty though.

And useful now. Addison teaches Rory what it means to be a big sister.

Somehow I don't think she cares much.

I see Rory takes after her father a lot too.

A bit too much maybe?

Don't you have your own bed to do that on?

Oh for heaven's sake! Look what you've started, Robin!

Also, penguin.

Thanks for reading folks! Hope you enjoyed and as always, stay tuned for the possibility of more! More! More!

The Howell Legacy: Gen 1.1

2013-08-17T00:34:27Z

Previous updates: 1.0

Welcome back to The Howell Legacy!

I've managed to keep this update roughly the same length as the first, but some pictures are a little jumbled due to nothing really happening in between events. So, sorry about that! Otherwise, enjoy.

Previously, in The Howell Legacy...

Paisley Howell met her dreamboat, Robin at the local sports park, then he turned into a werewolf in the middle of a date but Paisley didn't seem to care so she asked him to move in the next morning and he accepted.

In short: Paisley. Hooked. Up.

Meet the Founder spouse, Robin. Here's a lowdown of his personality:

Knowledge/Family
Sloppy (0)
Outgoing (10)
Active (10)
Playful (10)
Grouchy (0)
+Brown Hair, Great Cook
-Vampirism

As you can see, his LTW is no more interesting than Paisley's as he wants to become a/the city planner. Luckily, he is already about 3 or 4 promotions into the Architect career as it is.

After Robin moved in, Paisley spent the rest of the morning in her cutesie indoor garden before heading out to work.

...where she was promoted!

And so was Robin! That leaves 5 promotions to go for Paisley, and 5 for Robin. I'm half way to completing the challenge I set myself for this generation.

Which was, for those who have forgotten, to complete the LTWs of both the Founder and their spouse before they die.

That night, Robin set about asking his true love the most important question of their life...

Aww, I do love surprise engagements! The expressions are just too cute for words. Paisley of course eagerly accepted.

And they married almost immediately afterwards, on the rooftop of their underground house which I love so much and wish I had.

Yeah, boi! The next morning Robin is promoted again, leaving 4 to go for him.

...and 4 for Paisley too! What a pair of worker bees.

Then she ran for the toilet straight after work for some (seriously) delayed morning sickness. You know what that means!

Why, it means it's firefly-catching time of course!

Or not.

Paisley popped first thing in the morning and Robin couldn't have been happier.

Being the architect, Robin is naturally the best painter of the two, so he'll be making any Founder/family portraits that I command him to. Mwuh ha ha.

He's also the gardener now, apparently? Because Paisley is so fat I guess, Robin had to step up and tend the orchard tree she so desperately wanted. Irony.

But here comes the baby!

It's a girl! Her name is Addison and she has her parent's shared skintone and both her father's hair and eye colour. I hope the next baby has some Paisley in them, I'd like variety in this family please.

Cutest. Interaction. Ever.

The house was extended further for the arrival of baby Addison, and a nursery was built onto the side of the house.

This was connected by a small glass corridor. I plan on building a nice wee bridge over it later, but Robin the architect has yet to perfect his house blueprints.

Speaking of...

Feeling rather cocky after my last successful Chance Card, I made the fatal mistake of going with what my gut told me...

And Robin was demoted as a result. I'm afraid that puts us back up to 5 promotions, buddy.

Does he look bovverd? NO.

The first chance she gets, Paisley is out tending to her new orchard tree. After an awesome idea from the comments of the previous update, I'm planning on an indoor orchard of some kind once the family becomes a bit less poor.

Oh really? Why, what delicious concoction could you be making at this hour, Paisley? The last I saw you were still in--

...bed. Huh.

Meanwhile...

There isn't really much for a werewolf to do at night (after eating the entire contents of the fridge), so Robin mostly spends his time skilling.

And yelling at showers, it would seem. I love how angry were-Robin gets when he's trying to fix something. Really, he should just leave it to Paisley. She's the one with the Tinkering OTH.

Alright! We are now back on track with promotions and Robin once again has 4 to go.

Um... I'm not sure but, I mean, I could be wrong but, doesn't that defeat the purpose Robin?!

While on the topic of weirdos...

For those of you who don't remember, this is Posh Alfred from the previous update.

Now I don't know why, but sometimes friends of my Sims think they can just waltz into their home without being greeted and almost always go straight for the TV. Just make yourself comfortable, why don't you Alfred!

Okay. Too comfortable.

Moving on. Swiftly.

Guess who celebrated a birthday?

Here is toddler Addison in all her adorable cutesie glory! I can't really tell yet, but I think she is mostly Robin. We'll have to see if those ears turn out pointy - I've decided that pointy-eared children will inherit the werewolf gene from their father.

Why? I don't know, because pointy-eared children will make cool werewolves?

Robin and Paisley immediately get to work on their second child.

It seems Addison is nocturnal (nearly solidifying her chances of becoming a werewolf), and so most of her attention comes from Robin. They are already best friends.

I also noticed Paisley got fat. Not in my master plan, so I had her doing jump rope in the garden but to no avail.

Oh no Chance Card, you're not getting me this time!

Oh COME ON!

Well, the joke's on you, Chance Card. Robin didn't even have any Charisma skill points.

Woo! 3 to go...

And look who's expecting again! She popped right after work.

I didn't actually know this interaction was in The Sims 2, but it's so cute! She looked like she had back ache afterwards...

...so it was straight to bed! There's something so adorable about that nightie when she's pregnant.

Addison was starting to smell, so I had to build her a bathroom with a tub.

Huh. And it seems Robin's human temper is almost as bad as his were side's.

I should really buy them a new shower too...

Paisley finally grew a perfect crop of mouthwatering red tomatoes.

She was undecided about the tomato juice it produced though.

Thanks to a genius idea suggested to me in the previous update's comments, I kitted out the rooftop with several sprinklers. Hopefully this will deter Robin from watering the grass during rain showers.

Walk-by: "EVERY TIME I GO OUTSIDE."

I completely forgot about Addison's birthday by the way (actually, I thought it was the next day), so she never got to have a birthday party...

She did turn out great though! Like a mini-Robin, her ears are pointy, which means she will indeed inherit the werewolf gene.

Ah-wooooo!

Thanks for reading everybody!

The Howell Legacy: Gen 1.0

2013-08-14T18:12:31Z

Due to work, driving lessons and social life (I know right? What social life?), I've been incredibly inactive and I made a lot of promises to continue my Lackaday Legacy which I didn't follow through. However, I have since started a new legacy here which I'm really enjoying and I hope you will too!

As a heads up, I do not play my legacies with a lot of rules, but I'm planning on setting myself goals to complete each generation for a bigger challenge. Hopefully this will keep me interested for longer.

Generation One's goal is to complete the LTWs of both the Founder and their spouse before they die.

This is the Legacy Founder, Paisley Howell. Here's a lowdown of her personality:

Family/Knowledge
Neat (8)
Shy (1)
Lazy (4)
Playful (5)
Nice (7)
+Black Hair, Lycanthropy
-Unemployment

I really enjoyed building Paisley's house, probably because it's underground. Should make a good hidey-hole for her future lycan spouse too!

As you can see, Paisley's LTW is to become a celebrity chef. So first things first, I had her scour the newspaper for an opening in the Culinary career.

Which I am very happy to say was one of the first careers to pop up! Don't mind if I do...

I had Paisley "take out a loan" (in the form of the kaching cheat) in order to furnish her home the way I wanted. Of course, now she's $6,000 in debt. Oh well. I guess her lycan spouse will have to be rich too.

I also gave her a wee indoor garden to cultivate because... I don't actually know why I gave her one. Other than for the cuteness value.

I didn't snapshot her bedroom at the moment because I couldn't get a nice enough angle. Only downside to a tiny underground home!

Paisley rolled the Want to gain a cleaning skill point, so I let her. I'm nice like that.

Her first day on the job went rather smoothly. Just 8 promotions to go.

And she brought a potential husband home from work! Good Paisley.

This is Alfred. He's quite cute, after his hair change. (Too much like Preston Lackaday before.) His clothes are a bit er, fancy though.

Paisley: Woah man, you have antlers sticking out of your head.

Alfred: LOL stupid peasant girl.

I was beginning to wonder why the pair weren't really advancing from the "friend zone"...

So Paisley left Alfred to his own devices while she tended to her super-cool indoor garden. (Have I mentioned how much I love her indoor garden?!)

Good call.

I'm starting to worry that becoming a chef might not have been the best career choice for Paisley...

Oh really? Because I was just saying how you could benefit from a different career path--

Sorry, Paisley. There are no careers in The Sims for fixing stuffed up toilets. Yet.

Living the dream, baby. 7 promotions to go.

On her day off I decided to send Paisley to the Spark! Sports Park to go husband hunting.

And while she lazed in the pool, I found a handsome man for her to stalk!

His name is Robin. I think Paisley approves.

They became fast friends.

Meanwhile, in Thorndeep...

Locals were bursting into song and dance in the streets...

...and the Unsavoury Charlatan, after years of experimentation, has finally perfected his walk on water. No one can escape his prying hands now! NO ONE!

Eh hem.

Paisley and Robin went on a romantic dinner-then-dance-with some bubble blower in between-date, and they really hit it off!

The next day this Chance Card popped up and I nearly always pick the devastating, life-changing cosmic EXPLOSION EXTRAORDINAIRE button, thus dooming my Sim's career.

So I went with the opposite of what my gut was telling me and...

Booyeah! That leaves 6 promotions to go.

What better way to celebrate than with...

More burgers! (The sparkly kind!)

Paisley had a hidden agenda though; she invited Robin over for another date!

I decided that now was a good time to check the chemistry levels.

Double bolters!

So everything was going swimmingly; good conversation was flowing, the sparkly burgers were sparkling, and then--

BAM! Robin turned into a werewolf. Well, at least I won't have to worry about turning him myself later.

No wonder they had such good chemistry.

Paisley didn't even notice.

Like, SERIOUSLY didn't notice. At all.

Although her eyes do look like she's screaming inside...

Not even been paying attention to the seasons. I was gobsmacked when it started snowing.

The rest of the date was, of course, spent playing outside at like 1:00am. I really wish the "fetch" interaction was in this game like it is in The Sims 3 Supernatural.

Robin spent the night, and in the morning Paisley asked him to move in. He heartily accepted.

And that's all for now!

I won't make any promises for future updates this time, seeing as how I'm usually very dead on here, but I can mention that I already have a near-full update sitting in my Fraps folder waiting to be edited.

Stay tuned, and thanks for reading!