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Sims 4 builds and stories

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A long winter

The rest of the winter dragged on. With only a few hardy plants to gather, Ava was able to focus on other projects: she continued knitting sweaters and socks to keep her family warm, and was able to sew a new set of curtains to replace the old, tattered set that they had inherited with the house.

Addison was impatient for spring. Used to spending several hours a day fishing for their meals, he felt trapped in the small house. He began to drive Ava crazy with his near-constant pacing across the ground floor. When his frustration finally peaked, he released his pent-up tension by destroying one of the Snowpals that Brooke and Bella had spent a snowy afternoon constructing.

After apologizing to his teary-eyed children, Addison was determined to find a project to keep his mind occupied throughout the winter. He began collecting timber—sometimes wandering further from the neighborhood than Ava would like—and preoccupied his mind by crafting wooden flooring panels. He was able to replace the house’s battered flooring before spring.

Meanwhile, Ava had found herself, once again, vomiting up her breakfast each day. Her second pregnancy seems to pass even more quickly than the first, and before long the Neudorfs were welcoming a second set of twins into the household: Claire and Charlotte.

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The Neudorfs’ first Winterfest

By the time Brooke and Bella were old enough to climb up the ladder to their new second-floor bedroom, Addison had finished its construction. Brooke spent long hours in her room making crafts from found objects. Bella was more often found downstairs, studying the pieces of their new chess table, or learning how to knit with Ava.

It wasn’t long before the Neudorf’s spent their first winter together. Brooke and Bella spent as much time as they could playing in the snow, and their parents even managed to find each of them a few Winterfest presents to open.

Winter was challenging without plants to gather or a source for fish. Luckily, they were still able to trade with Maka, and had some stored vegetables from their first seasons in Willow Creek. The cold weather gave them a chance to spend more time indoors with each other, feeling grateful for their family…and their ability to try to expand it.

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Bonus toddler pics <3

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Brooke and Bella

While Addison worked on the new addition to the house, Brooke and Bella grew quickly. The twins were perhaps a bit devious, particularly when they joined efforts, but Ava and Addison loved to watch their personalities grow.

While Addison continued to work on his construction project, Ava replenished her knitting basket with supplies from Maka, adding some different threads for sewing and embroidery. She was able to trade for a few clothing items, but most of her childrens’ clothing she made herself. It didn’t take long to realize, however, that both the twins and their clothing were impossible to keep clean with only a half-working sink and a rusty washtub.

Fortunately, they didn’t seem to mind too much, and they continued to learn, play, and grow. Every once in a while, they even managed to sit down for forager’s stew, all four of them happily together.

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Construction

Unsurprisingly, parenthood created many new challenges for Ava and Addison. Bella was keen to begin crying as soon as Brooke fell asleep, and their parents snatched naps at whichever odd hours they could find quiet. Addison was grumpy; Ava was often light-headed.

When the twins outgrew their cribs, they became increasingly worried about the cramped state of their small home. Addison was able to craft a pair of small beds for the toddlers, but he knew it wouldn’t be long before the beds were too small. He also missed the intimacy with Ava that had recently been rather sparse, between their lack of sleep and lack of privacy.

One day after Addison had chased Bella behind the house to express disappointment that she had again made a mess, he saw one of the plane wings and had an idea.

 It would be a great deal of work, but he saw no other option, and he had grown used to the long days of work necessitated by their living situation.

 When he next saw the train come in across the river, he went to trade and talk with Maka. He came home late with a few extra tools and got to work, crafting as many green metal panels as he could each night after the twins had gone to bed. The cockpit contained a metal ladder that gave him access to the cramped attic, which he slowly expanded using the green metal panels as makeshift walls. Before the twins had outgrown their first beds, he planned to gift them their very own room.

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Just toddler things <3

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A new family

The remaining days of Ava’s pregnancy passed rather peacefully, only disturbed by the sort of day-to-day troubles one might face while preparing to raise a child in the midst of the apocalypse.

They continued to prepare as best as they could. They repaired the clothesline, the toilet, and the sink (a particularly troublesome fixture). Addison’s improved fishing skill gave them a sense of food security that was only amplified by their Sunday trades.

Ava continued to work as much as she could, gathering water and harvesting nearby plants. But she also took many naps, and indulged Addison’s solicitous attentions.

When she finally knew that the day had come, she was both apprehensive and excited. Although she and Addison had adapted surprisingly readily to the challenges of living without electricity, Ava couldn’t deny that she would have appreciated the comforts of a pre-war hospital. But Addison, after a brief moment of panic, came to her aid as an admirable midhusband.

They were both surprised when, after the birth of their beautiful new daughter Brooke, Ava continued to feel contractions. Brooke’s twin, Bella, was not far behind. Tired but happy, the Neudorfs held their children, and celebrated their new family

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New preparations

Ava had been surprised at how much she’d been able to barter in exchange for her foraged flowers. The one-eyed man she’d traded with told her they were useful for dyes, and informed her that he’d be passing through the area every Sunday. She thanked him, and was happily able to bring back a few food items in addition to the spider bite antidote: tofu, bread, and some herbs. After perusing a cookbook found on the mantle, Addison made forager’s stew and veggie burgers, a welcome change from the grilled fish and boiled taro that had formed the staples of their diet.

After such a luxurious meal, Ava was surprised to find herself throwing up the next morning. Was the tofu off? Or had they not boiled their water long enough? When Addison woke and appeared to be fine, she did some mental math, and realized another alternative. She’d lost count of the days while they were on the run, but it was possible. After another week she was certain: she was pregnant.

She dusted off the knitting supplies that had been left behind and tried to remember the skill her mother had insisted she learn as a child. It was slow-going at first, but it gave her time to daydream about the new addition to their family. She eventually managed to knit herself a sweater. Even though it was a bit lumpy and she’d had to switch colors halfway through, it kept the chill off during the cool spring evenings.

When Ava noticed her belly had begun to expand, she told Addison. He was as thrilled as she was, though they both had fears. They were certainly not living in the ideal environment to raise a child; there were no schools or hospitals, no other children to play with, and only rather precarious means of finding enough food to eat. They would have to work even harder to provide for three.

More alarming than their future fears was a present one: Addison had been bitten by another spider. Although this bite was less severe and did not require a dose of the antidote, they both knew that they couldn’t risk living in a spider-infested hovel with a child on the way. For three days they did nothing but clean. Addison shifted the furniture, stomping on any spiders that tried to escape to new hiding spots; Ava carefully carried the curtains outside and scrubbed them in the washtub after she found tiny white sacs of eggs in the curtain folds. Feeling more confident in the future, they were finally able to rest. Ava spent a quiet night knitting hats while Addison read aloud.

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First troubles

Their first troubles were not, as they initially feared, from outside intruders. It seemed that their humble abode, during its phase of inhabitation, had acquired a number of critters that also considered it home. First Ava was attacked by bats. After patching a number of small holes in the ceiling, these were not seen again.

More worrisome were the spiders that attacked Addison. At first he seemed fine, with only a few swollen red marks where he’d been bitten. But after a few days, he was covered in alarming green splotches. Ava tried to persuade him that he needed help, to no avail. He was adamant that the rash would disappear in a few days; she was equally adamant that they would not.

After taking a quick jog to clear her head, she finally persuaded Addison that he needed an antidote for the spider bites. She packed up all of their gathered flowers and as much food as they could spare to trade, and set off in the direction of the rail yard they had seen in the distance. Addison tried to protest one last time—he didn’t want to put Ava in any unnecessary danger—but he was too dazed to make too much of an effort, and easily dozed off while waiting for her return. Ava returned tired and even dirtier than she had been when she left, but she returned with an antidote, and Addison was safe.

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Work

They fell into a routine. Addison was still rather dreadful at fishing, and he spent hours each day trying to catch enough small fish to satiate their hunger. Without a refrigerator or some other means of food preservation, they frequently had to toss out spoiled leftovers. Boiling water was tedious, but seemed to protect them from whatever bacteria might be lingering in the supply. In spite of the difficult work, Addison found himself enjoying the time he spent outdoors.

Ava continued to nurture her plant and gather what food she could from the nearby neighborhood, though she didn’t want to venture too far from the safety of their home. She spent an inordinate amount of time repairing and cleaning the sink, their primary source of water. She discovered that adding bluebells to the washtub imbued their laundry with a lovely scent—it made her feel clean and pretty for the first time since they’d had to abandon their home in Oasis Springs. She began to flirt with her husband when he came home from his daily fishing expeditions.

One day while Ava was washing the laundry, Addison broke down the dilapidated dresser in the yard and crafted two more planters for Ava’s garden. She planted her remaining seeds, eager to find out what plants would grow. Her first seed had already begun to sprout, but with her limited gardening knowledge she couldn’t yet determine what type of plant she had been nurturing.

When she tenderly thanked her husband for his hardwork, his support, their teamwork, she found herself spun around, supported only by Addison’s arms while he passionately kissed her. It wasn’t long before they tumbled into bed, spending the rest of the afternoon in more pleasurable activities than fishing or laundry.

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Grilled fish and mushrooms

After their first night of uninterrupted sleep in weeks, Ava and Addison woke up and went straight to work. They were still wary of their sudden good fortune, but whatever dangers might be lurking nearby paled in comparison to what they might face on the run. Addison found a fishing pole and some hooks on the utility shelf, and even though he had no bait, he managed to catch one fish in order to cook their first meal in their new home.

They ate many grilled fish in the coming days.

Even though Ava knew almost nothing about gardening, she knew that didn’t trust the cracked and battered ground to plant her precious seeds. A small planter had been left on the porch, and the soil left in it still seemed viable. She carefully placed one of the seeds she had found and hoped for the best. In the meantime, she found a surprising number of flowers and mushrooms to harvest nearby. Strawberries growing in an old garden plot were a special delicacy that she and Addison treasured for days.

Ava continued reading the notebook that had been left behind, but it didn’t contain very much useful information. There were a few notes about what one of the authors had eaten (Day 4: Grilled bass and mushroom) and what the weather had been like (Days 6–12: Cloudy). The lengthiest entries were in a different hand, and in a language other than Simlish. Ava spent hours that first week trying to decipher these entries. Aside from a handful of words that looked vaguely like her native language, she had little luck.

Perhaps the happiest side effect of having shelter, sleep, and relatively full stomachs: Ava and Addison began to laugh with each other again. And although they both had plenty of worries about the future, sharing laughter helped them to rekindle the intimacy that had been missing while they were constantly fighting for their survival. Before they turned in for the night, Addison kissed his wife tenderly on the cheek. They fell asleep in each other’s arms.

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Deciding to stay

Ava and Addison began to inspect their new home. The door of the refrigerator had fallen off, but without electricity that didn’t matter much. Addison found some battered cookware in the small cupboard under the counter, as well as a small glass, which he filled with water from the bathroom sink. After one sip, he spat it out—it clearly wasn’t potable. They would have to boil any water they wanted to drink, and hope that was enough.

The utility shelf was full of treasures: candles and matches, oil for the lamps, lighter fluid for the makeshift grill on the porch. There was a toolbox and a few odds and ends of rope. Addison felt his unease growing—who would leave such valuable treasures here?

“Look over here, Addison!” Ava had found a small packet of seeds by the refrigerator. “We can plant them in the morning!”

“If we stay. We can’t know that it’s safe here.”

“We haven’t been safe for weeks. This is shelter. This is a roof over our heads, four walls, a bed.”

Addison could only reply with a stony silence.

“Look, there’s a notebook! On top of the fridge.”

They began to read it together eagerly:

“Day 17. It took us three days to drag the reinforced steel door back from Newcrest. Another two days to install it. And for what? No one will break down our door, but we still rely on flimsy wooden shelves to barricade our windows. It may be time to move on.”

Addison’s argument silently gained ground. They were not safe—but they had not been safe for a long time. Weeks of sleeping in shifts, foraging for meager meals, and long days of walking in search of shelter had taken their toll. The luxury of four walls and a bed was worth the short-term risk.

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A new beginning

After weeks on the run, scrounging for what minimal shelter they could, Addison and Ava Neudorf finally found a place they could begin to call home.

They tried the houses across the river. They seemed pristine at first glance: perfect coats of paint in shades of pale pink and yellow, quaint porches, shrubbery as green as if the bombings had never happened. But there was something strange about the air—it was difficult to breathe. Shadows and ghosts seemed to haunt the place, and the perpetual fog of the neighborhood only aided their mischief.

The other side of the river wasn’t much better, if they were honest. But here they could breathe freely, and the landscape looked as it should: devastated by war. The interior of their newfound safe haven was far from perfect. Cracks and rubble lined the walls, the floor was stained with water damage, cobwebs were abundant. But there was a reinforced steel door. The windows had been boarded up. There was a place to sleep, and a toilet, and some other furniture that had obviously been crafted from whatever scraps were available. Here they could be safe, almost comfortable.

They locked the door and settled into their new abode. But in spite of their relative good fortune, neither Addison nor Ava could escape the feeling of foreboding they both felt if they looked too far into the future.

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Some notes for the Settler + Apocalypse Challenge MASHUP

It’s been a long time since I’ve done any gameplay in the Sims 4, and I couldn’t decide between the Settler Challenge and the Apocalypse Challenge.  I decided to do both. At the same time. If you’ve read the rules, you’ll know that it is literally impossible to follow every rule for both of the challenges at the same time. Apocalypse Challenge restrictions are lifted by competing careers; Settler Challenge careers are not available until there are five community lots and at least thirty Sims living in the new colony.  I plan to keep exceptions to both challenges’ rules to the bare minimum, but here are a few that I foresee: Apocalypse exceptions:             Since there are no careers available at the beginning of the settler challenge, Sims can sell some harvestables, but only on Sundays when the heir heads to the market to trade. SrslySim’s Complete Cooking Overhaul should make it difficult to make too much money by this method, especially with limited availability to grow plants. Settler exceptions: Rather than play one Sim at a time, I’ll be playing one family. There are way too many restrictions in the Apocalypse Challenge to make this work otherwise. I will also likely edit lots when restrictions are lifted (such as giving Sims TVs when possible, even if I’m not playing them, etc.) When other colonizers have moved in, careers will become available, but the only immediately available options will be those feasible to do without electricity. MOO because I’m not playing without it. Other minor exceptions to the rules might come up (like buying spider poison antidote on a Thursday instead of a Sunday, because I’m not letting Addison die like that in only five days), but I’ll try to stay as close to both challenge’s rules as possible. Hope you enjoy the story! <3

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Meet Addison and Ava Neudorf, founders of my Settler + Apocalypse Challenge MASHUP

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Breakfast inspiration at the Fountainview Penthouse

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Industrial-style penthouse kitchen. #sims4 #cityliving #jungleadventure #moschino