Sunburst Dynasty - Shining Forever in Twinbrook (June11)

[Lilygirl]

Thanks Esther, Anushka, and Gheez.

Technical difficulties remain (my husband and I have run out of ideas) but I have managed to get to Tuesday afternoon by saving every few Sim hours! It was going quite well today. After a few saves I get an Error 12 and have to use save as. Then I can save a few more times before I get another Error 12 and the game crashes. My husband cleaned out a bunch of stuff from the drive the game plays on and that seemed to help a bit. I wanted to add tables to Fhore's Central Park so Franklin can write his reports there right after questioning a Sim. I successfully saved before entering Buy Mode but then when I hit Live Mode it crashed to desktop. So I didn't lose any game play but I decided to play my Writing Challenge instead (finished!). It's slow going for my Dynasty but the game play is so much smoother and faster that I'm going to stick it through.

@ Gheez: Fhore Everyday dress is a Store item called ... *heads off to check the name* Ala Mod. The pattern is from the base game, I believe, just recoloured. I'll put the dress up in the Swap Shop next time I play. Remind me if you don't see it in the next couple days. "Steal" my ideas all you want, they are your patterns after all! I've actually recoloured Fyve's T-shirt because I didn't like how it turned out mostly Red instead of Hot Pink. I like it better now. Franklin's shirt just amuses me! When he aged into a teen, I went for a preppy-French-Geek vibe and to me the pattern on a button up shirt fits nicely. I like it.

[Gheez]

I'm sorry that there are on-going technical difficulties. I've just been reading about Error 12, it sounds a nightmare problem with no real explanation of why it happens to some and not others, some people say that pausing the game before saving prevents it, whereas others claim it doesn't. What a headache for you.

Thanks for the info about the dress. And I've found the base game pattern. I'd love it, though, if you did put the dress up in the Swap Shop.  Oh and congratulations on completing the Writing Challenge - nice score!

[Lilygirl]

@ Gheez: You're so tuned into my Dynasty it's crazy! I was so excited to pull this story off the bottom of the pile with an update later today but you beat me to it.   I'll try and remember to get Fhore's dress up in the Swap Shop, I've been so excited about just being able to play again that I've forgotten to share it.

@ Everybody: The Sunbursts are living and growing in a new and improved Twinbrook (not actually new it's just got LN now). I on the other hand barely made it through this ordeal with my sanity and joy for playing TS3 intact.

As you all already know, I attempted a move of my Dynasty save file from my Mac laptop to the Vista PC for more gaming power. It's been 2 weeks of Error 12s, a complete uninstall and reinstall, checking the DEP list (spending 2-3 days figuring out that you can't remove items from this list if they've been uninstalled, looking up answers/work-arounds, and my husband's genius renaming scheme to remove the old TS3 files from the list and replacing them with the new ones - EADM has renamed the files - saving me from another uninstall/reinstall), now dealing with random crashes, mind blowing idea (can you hear the sarcasm?) of reading the crash files and solving the actual problem! Something about the game file being too big to run and finding a way to increase (double!) the RAM available to the game when it's running.

We are back up and running guys!!! (Yes that deserves 3 exclamation marks!) Update to come as soon as my husband heads off for work in an hour and I can have the PC. I played all afternoon yesterday and managed to almost finish the week - the game runs so much faster and smoother on the gaming PC it makes me giddy! I had forgotten about the Vampirism disease though. *Heads off to wrap Patrick in layers of garlic*

[ratchie]

I am looking forward to an update.

Rachel

[Esther1981]

I'm so happy for you Lily! You're right, that deserves alot of exclamation marks! That is so awesome and good luck wrapping Patrick in garlic lol.

[Lilygirl]

Fhore: Week 25

[This one's pretty long but I think we've earned it. Enjoy. Thanks Rachel and Esther!]

We are back! The teenage years of my lovely daughter Fyve can finally begin. Oh boy. First, though, I'll check in with Franklin. Remember how last week I made a note to ask him about his relationship with Sandi, well I got my answer. Apparently, with the demands of starting his new job at the police station, he's been so busy working Sandi actually got mad enough to break up with my brother. No girl likes feeling neglected. Needles to say I have a long talk with him and basically tell him he needs to decide whether Sandi is important enough to him for him to fight for her. He invites her over on Sunday and they talk.



I guess things are going well. I hope my little brother will be happier now.

Fyve also invites a guest over on Sunday, none other than young Patrick. They become best friends even with incompatible traits, I guess he doesn't have the love of sports that she does. [His eyebrows look familiar!]



And because my girl knows what she wants and isn't afraid to ask for it, she has her first kiss with Patrick.



After supper, Ernesto takes it upon himself to put Patrick through his paces. Maybe it's a potential father-in-law thing? The kid could definitely use some fashion advice.



Monday it is, in fact, the dishwasher that breaks down. It's either too close to my bedtime or the dishwasher is extra ornery today because it wins this round. Man, that hurt!



Tuesday afternoon, Ernesto prods me out of my meditation to ask if a white belt is good enough to spar against for my MA requirements. I guess he did the math and realizes a trip to China might not come before we age up again so he hit the wooden dummy in my MA garden. Have I mentioned how awesome my husband is to me?



I try my very best not to steamroll him during our first spar but it felt so good to get back into the groove. His white belt skills are no match for my black belt flips and kicks and I hand him loss after loss this afternoon. At about round 10 he asks how many I still need. Like 25 or so dear. He's such a good sport and even manages to win one before the carpool arrives for him. Man that feels good! Too bad he has to go to work. *Wink*

Fyve meets up with Patrick after her swimming lesson and, after doing their homework together, they spend the rest of the evening playing Gnubb in the park. Plenty of chaperons there.



Franklin runs into Sandi at the Salon after work while he's there interviewing the lovely ladies and gentlemen getting new Fresh for Spring looks. She has some exciting news to share.



After saying hello to his coming soon nooboo, Franklin takes Sandi out for supper at the Bistro just down the street. They have a lovely time and Franklin doesn't get home until very late.



Wednesday, Grandpa Wunn decides to give Grandpa Tu's miner a spin. I guess it's tougher to drive than it looks!



He has a blast with it and decides it would be fun to jump into the glowing tunnel entrance the miner reveals. Yup, super smart idea. I suppose if he doesn't come back we can take a crack at being a normal family, without this Immortality thing.



Fyve comes home from school just long enough to do her homework before heading to the theater to take in a movie with her newest best friends, the Drudge girls (Grandpa Theo's granddaughters). The dark haired one is Joline but I can't remember the name of the other one, *looking it up* oh, her name is Willow.



Mom, Therie, catches up with young Patrick outside the movie theater and they join up with the girls for a late supper at the Diner, before they each head for their respective homes for the night. Looks like Patrick is super excited about having dinner with his girlfriend, her grandma, and 2 of her best friends. I'm starting to like this kid.



Thursday, Fyve's swimming lessons are canceled when an elderly gentleman leaves his suit behind when he jumps into the pool. Before I get there to pick her up, Fyve steals one rare moment to be a teenager. I have to fight back a smile. How am I suppose to punish her for the very few moments she spends just being a kid?



Ernesto takes a moment to help Fyve out with her homework. I think she asks him just for a chance to spend some time with her dad, she's definitely smart enough to do her homework on her own.



Friday evening I get invited to my cousin Dora Jones-Brown's casual party. I'm super excited about getting the Sunburst's first ever party invite! Other than the lack of food the party is awesome. Until Franklin finds out that Sandi got invited too and comes over to crash the party. We get thrown out after they get caught in the upstairs bedroom. See, he's never that excited about plain old Autumn Salad. Oh, brother!



Saturday, the family splits up and hits the town looking for some serious fun. Franklin heads over to Sandi's place to spend quality time with his son, Marty.



Grandpas Wunn and Tu participate in the protest at City Hall.



Fyve joins the town's chess league in search of winning the top prize. Her first challenger is a brilliant doctor, one of my Step-dad Wilbert's co-workers from way back. Fyve manages to sneak out a win!



Mom Therie stops in to meet her grandson, Marty, and heads home to paint this masterpiece before heading to work. I'm starting to see the real benefit to having two master painters in the house.



I, of course, spend the day in front of the fish tank showing off my latest meditation skills (same old really) for the Deathfish.

Ernesto spends the day taking pictures of the family before meeting up with Fyve at the park. He shows Patrick a few of his dance moves.



Next Week: More teenage fun, a new family member or two, and birthdays.

[So far I have 2 Vampires in Twinbrook and am of the mind that only YA, Adults, or Elders get turned by story progression. I hope I'm right about that. I have the whole family making friends with Patrick so the moment he ages up we can move him in.]

[Esther1981]

Awesome update Lily! Oh my Franklin lol. Congrats on Marty!   I think you're right about the vamps cause the only kids and teens I've seen vamped out are kids of vampires.

[ratchie]

Great update as always.

Rachel

[Juxtaposition]

The Sim getting shocked picture made me laugh.

I like Wun and Tu in the protest too, all fired up and ornery 

[Lilygirl]

Thanks for reading Esther, Rachel, and Juxt.

I wasn't sure what I wanted to do about Franklin and Sandi's relationship but I thought I'd give Franklin one more chance to tell me what he wanted. I got them talking and he rolled the wish to kiss her, the rest went from there. And then the party thing came up and I couldn't resist the opportunity.

[samoht04]

Yay they are back! 

[Asleep]

Awesome update~!

Did Sandi really break up with him?

[Lilygirl]

Thanks Thomas and Simstar!

@ Simstar: No she didn't, actually. If it was in real life she would have though, he hadn't talked to her in Simweeks. They weren't officially dating until now, just Romantic Interests. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do about Franklin's relationship with Sandi so I kind of left it off to the side for a while. She isn't getting any younger though so I thought I'd give him the chance to decide now. He's also taken to stopping by the Salon every day after work to talk to the Stylist (for the purpose of writing reports he tells me), guess we'll see what happens with that.    For every wish he rolls to interact with Sandi he rolls one for the Stylist, too.

[Ricalynn]

Yay! Welcome back Sunbursts!  I'm glad you got everything figured out with the computer and can play again. 

I love that picture of Fyve and her dad doing homework.  The look on his face is just priceless.   Reminds me of the bad guy from Aladdin a little bit.

[Lilygirl]

Fhore: Week 26 [I know, another one!] Part 1

With 2 photographers in the house now, I have loads of pictures to sort through when the end of the week arrives and I’m typing an update on our lives for you all. They are all perfect and I hate to leave any out. I’ll try my best.

Sunday passes without too much fuss or excitement, Patrick spends the day here at the house playing video games with Fyve. Monday morning finds Fyve up early bouncing down the stairs to breakfast shouting for anyone listening to call and invite Patrick over. I guess he must have had his YA birthday last night so it’s time for him to move in. My mom Therie does the honours since everyone else has work or school to head off to. After a friendly welcome hug, Patrick moves in and gets sent into Grandpa Wunn’s closet for a makeover, courtesy of Therie. He seems to struggle with the drawer a little.



Oh my! Looks like Grandpa Tu might have had the right idea all those weeks ago when he went to visit his friend (Patrick’s mom) and met the then brand-new Patrick.



Fyve sneaks home from school a little early in her excitement to see Patrick. *Shrug* as long as she stays on the honour roll. I have recently upgraded my gym to the newest hotspot in Twinbrook. I ripped out the empty dance studio in the back and put in a dive bar, complete with stage, dance floor, and mixologist! The downstairs gym and bathrooms got an overhaul as well and it is now the snazziest luxury gym around!

Anyway, after a stern lecture on the importance and mandatory nature of the 6 inch rule, given that Fyve is still a teen, I give Patrick permission to take Fyve out for supper at my new dive bar. Apparently they aren’t adventurous enough to try anything more than Autumn Salad.



Remember that party I got invited to over the weekend, the one that Franklin crashed and got us thrown out of? Well, while working out to the massive TV in my dive bar, Sandi goes into labour! Grandpa Wunn gets there just in time to collect the “It’s a Boy!” moodlet by driving Sandi to the hospital (I’m not sure where Franklin is at this moment). Sandi names the little one Jarod.



After the “oh my gosh, that woman’s in labour!” freak-outs die down, Patrick tries out the instruments on stage. He spent his afternoon, while waiting for Fyve to get home from school, down at the theater taking a class in each of the 4 different instruments. I’m not sure what he plans to do with his multiple musical talents but he’s having fun with it right now.



Franklin goes to bed super early after being up half the night last night - work called him in at like 2am this morning to look over some new evidence in their latest case. He gets nudged awake by the buzzer on his birthday alarm. My little brother is officially a mature adult. He still looks just like his dad, Wilbert.





Tuesday, after homework, finds Fyve accompanying Patrick to the dive bar again. This time instead of watching him play whichever instrument strikes his whim, Fyve calls over her next Chess Tournament challenger. Oh look, it’s the Stylist. I demolished the juice bar in the corner of the gym entrance and put in a chess table just for this purpose. I’m glad Fyve is enjoying “her” corner of my improved gym. Fyve hands the Stylist a loss. Thatta girl!



On their way home, Patrick is overcome by the itching in his fingers and they make a pit stop. Patrick calls it Parking Lot Population Control, I call it a really nice car! He’s keeping his “finds” locked up in his rental stall of our Family Inventory, something about possession being nine tenths the law.



While everyone else is sleeping, Ernesto comes home from work with a new title and a satisfied glow. LTW achieved! I’ll have your congrats for you when I get home from work this afternoon, darling.



Franklin has the day off on Wednesday (actually, it seems like everyone has Wednesdays off except me!) and invites Sandi over for a visit. She scores a pile of unnecessary brownie points with my mom Therie by bringing along the new grandchild, Jarod. Mom is so taken by the little blonde haired boy she offers to help out with the potty training! Where was this generosity when my Fyve was a toddler?! Little stinker!



I finally take the time to head down and check out how my new dive bar is working out. The Autumn Salad is almost as good as Mom’s but the hot tub is out of this world! It’s just what a Military Big Wig like me deserves after a hard day’s work whipping the new recruits into shape. Man, I could get used to this. Next stop, outer space.



Patrick decides on Thursday that one family can’t have too many photographers. He talks Grandpa Wunn into giving him Wilbert’s old camera that he’s been lugging around and, after selling all the old photos on it, he goes snap happy around the house before heading into town. He runs into Franklin in the park, looks like the Stylist took the day off.



This one is me sharing the yummy that is Patrick (is that wrong to say about your future son-in-law?). Also, this is taken just after he maxed the photography skill – in one day! As you can see it’s just starting to get dark outside.



After we all find our beds, Marc decides to come for a visit. [Ghost sightings at the Sunbursts have been next to zero due to Wunn carrying the tombstones around in his hip pocket. He brought out Wilbert and Marc when I got another idea for my museum.] Although Ernesto has the night off he stays up late to keep himself on a regular schedule. He joins Marc for an hour of football thumb wars!



[As an added bonus, here’s an awesome picture from the France trip that almost was but had to be canceled due to bugs. *Sigh* I was so hoping I could take them back there.]



Part 2 up next! [As soon as I check to see how much of the game I lost when the power cut out.]