After seeing some other simmers' posts, I decided to try @moonfi's Globetrotter Challenge. I'm still on stage one, but this is my sim, Ruby Faulkner. Both names came randomly (had to go with the red red hair for Ruby), but I picked the traits, mostly wanting the outdoor one. I set the lifespan to long and the seasons to 2 weeks each, as she recommends in her post.
Ruby is still on week one of the challenge, living in a tent on the little empty lot at the base of the mountain. all of the challenges for the first round of the Mt Komorebi Sightseer aspiration are complete, except for the festival one. I have another day to wait until the Snow Festival (my favorite).
Like this post and/or leave a message if you want me to post updates on this challenge. :)
In a detour from the original structure of the Globetrotting challenge, Ruby and Paolo moved into a one-bedroom apartment in San Myshino’s Spice Market because that’s my favorite one. It’s so fun!
As you can see, they furnished the apartment largely with Ruby’s crafted furniture and got a TV upgrade! By the end, they splurged on a talking toilet, too. Because who doesn’t like to get a massage or watch the news while they poo?
With her loving husband’s help, Ruby was able to complete BOTH CL collections: the posters and the snow globes.
The aspiration required Ruby to visit all four festivals, too. Which was so much fun! Paolo and Ruby both joined the Jokesters at the Humor and Hijinks Festival and won!
During the Romance Festival, they renewed their wedding vows. It was very romantic. You may recall from this random post that Paolo likes to (autonomously) serenade his lovely Ruby despite hating singing. And she is so smitten by him! It’s no wonder that when Ruby asked about her current relationship, the Guru said, and I quote:
A match made to last the ages.
I literally do not think I’ve ever had a sims couple so in love. I usually end up just getting them together, having babies and then they never talk again or something. But with Ruby’s outgoing nature and busy lifestyle, her social need decays quickly, and Paolo is always there to pick her up.
Ruby picked up a couple new skills in San Myshuno! Sure, she needed the singing skill for the aspiration, but she didn’t need to win 2 separate karaoke contests! Mic drop.
She also picked up the guitar and became slightly famous. On the right, you can see her in her party outfit that she never gets to show off. She put it on to entertain fans at the Arts Center. I think I have those boots...
Paolo started painting because he didn’t have much to do. Turns out, he loves it! He helped out tremendously when the aspiration wanted Ruby in an apartment worth 100,000 simoleons.
Ruby also picked up some more programming skill to compete in the GeekCon Hackathon. She went a total of 3 times. We really had to extend the time in the city, since the second GeekCon got rained on, destroying the computers. You can see the rain didn’t damper the Roccas’ romantic spirit, though. ;) 50-mile high club!
I also converted the rooftop bar at the Uptown gym into a little spa. Ruby got some face masks, a pedicure, and both she and Paolo got massages!
TBH, that was my first time using the Spa Day gameplay items. It was exciting.
It was a long aspiration to complete because of weather, and there was hardly any walking room when we finally filled the apartment with enough valuables to make it worth 100k, but boy, was it fun!
What adventures await our lovely couple?
The challenge gives the following options: Glimmerbrook or Forgotten Hollow.
I need to share this because I love Paolo. He hates singing (hence the tense moodlet), yet he serenades Ruby all the time. Love trumps hate! I need a Paolo. Who else needs a Paolo?
Edit (like 2 seconds later):
They are so stinking cute.
I don’t think I’ve had a sims couple this in love. <3
Uh oh. Darth Vader using the cover of GeekCon to build a new spaceship? This. Cannot. Be. Good.
Look at him peering over his shoulder. Is he making sure no one suspects him (even though the act itself is suspicious)? Or is he waiting for his stormtroopers?
Let’s just hope there’s no JarJar in this installment.
Perhaps Ruby’s first foray into the more creative arts got off to a bumpy start. The blizzards in Evergreen’s winter kept her from getting too much done at first. She used her archaeology skill to make some money at first, selling off fake relics.
The Rocca home in Conifer Station was a bit sparse at first, and they couldn’t quite afford a fabricator yet. Trough dumpster diving and selling less than amazing artifacts, the funds trickled in.
Fun educational fact: “Conifer” is basically another word for “evergreen” when referring to trees. It’s derived from Coniferophyta or Coniferae, which is another (or rather, 2 other) names for the taxonomical Pinophyta division of the Plantae kingdom.
Another fun fact: IRL, I have masters degrees in Education and Library Science, so it’s near impossible to resist the urge to include educational tidbits. :p You’re welcome.
Ruby essentially furnished their home (what wasn’t already long part of their inventory) with fabricated furniture.
Ruby still had to use a public recycler for a little while, but she eventually voted to turn that community space into a marketplace.
Ruby learned a lot from trying to sell her stuff. For one, be careful how you put your candles on display. They will melt.
Ruby likes the carved candles the best. Especially the mood ones!
Happy New Year! Ruby managed to get an extra resolution in, too, since she was so close already to completing an aspiration milestone.
This one took a little longer than the challenge’s timeframe, but we kept at it. It’s amazing, considering Ruby is Never Weary, thanks to all her aspirational success. But she started greening up the neighborhood a bit, too.
Thankfully Paolo was there to help out with little things like tending to the creepy crawlies and the plants, even when he wasn’t feeling up to it. Ruby is so glad to have run into him on that beach in Sulani.
What’s next? The challenge says Forgotten Hollow or Glimmerbrook, but there’s one more pack I have that has a location-based aspiration I want to try. I can’t remember if I’ve ever completed it.
Ruby brought Paolo along again on this adventure. He has been a supportive companion through her journeys, increasingly helping with some of the less appealing and/or more repetitive tasks. For example, when Ruby was hacking her way through thorny vines and dodging spiders and plasma bats, he made sure the garden at the rental didn’t rot away.
I rebuilt the smallest lot by the bar and museum into a studio house not unlike the little trailer in Strangerville. I don’t care that the eco roofing doesn’t really affect anything on a vacay lot. The more eco, the merrier!
Ruby’s outdoorsy nature was a boon for this chapter in her journey. She thrives under the open sky, whether skiing, rockclimbing, fishing, or hacking vines and digging in the dirt.
All her skills and preparations did not guarantee she’d be safe from the jungle’s dangers. An encounter with a scorpion sent her to the marketplace to get an antidote!
Ruby got a little sciencey again with her archaeological digs and artifact analyses. She unearthed dozens of clumps and artifacts, with some help from Paolo <3, and even maxed that Archaeology skill!
She easily finished her aspiration before the season was over, but in order to find a new temple she hadn’t already visited (oops?), she and Paolo had to pop back to Strangerville to schedule another vacay!
She got about halfway through the Jungle Explorer aspiration before it was time to change her home address from Strangerville to Evergreen Harbor.
I’m pretty sure Ruby and Paolo will be back. Paolo loves music, and I’m sure they would both love to learn the Rumbasim.
This is basically how I garden irl. I just look at the plant. lol
Ruby, being an outdoor enthusiast, loved the Outdoor Enthusiast aspiration. She and Paolo popped a tent up near the A-frame “cabin” on their campsite and lived in simplicity. He even helped her collect some plants and icky, disgusting, creepy bugs!
I have to say, Ruby has had the worst weather luck during her adventures! First it was cold in Sulani, then it was raining and storming almost every day in Granite Falls!
She even got struck by lightning twice! So did Paolo!
Ruby did a lot of bug catching and plant harvesting. That was probably a good 30% of her trip (the other 70 being sleeping, getting struck by lightning, fishing, and enjoying Paolo’s company).
It seemed to take forever, but she was able to max the Herbalism skill by the end of the trip. Silly me, I could have helped her out if I had thought of helping her get focused. Guess I could have used that help, too!
Finally, the last full day in the forest was nice and clear.
Ruby was able to get some fishing in by the hermit’s house and caught some rare specimens! She mounted the mountain lionfish so she would always have proof of her fishing mastery, which she did, incidentally, master during this camping trip. Level 10 Fishing! Woohoo! Yay!
And another aspiration complete! Also yay!
Next up: Selvadorada! Hopefully Ruby and Paolo can dry off!
