This is my second attempt at the Asylum Challenge. My first attempt ended when I set my controllable sim on fire with a Baked Alaska. :( I decided to go with a celebrity theme this time, and even put my simself in the asylum.
I downloaded a lot of celebrity sims, but these were the ones that looked the most interesting. I really have nothing against any of them. I just thought it would keep me from falling asleep to use known characters. BTW, the personalities and aspirations of each character were randomly chosen.
From left to right the sim and the reason for committal in Mellow Haven:
My Simself "Twoflower" (Knowledge/Taurus) -- for trying this challenge again
Paris Hilton (Popularity/Scorpio) -- for being herself
Weird Al Yankovic (Pleasure/Aries) -- for being weird
Ashlee Simpson (Pleasure/Aquarius) -- for thinking she can sing
Winona Ryder (Fortune/Aries) for the bizarre Saks Fifth Avenue shoplifting spree and prescription drug abuse
Michael Jackson (Popularity/Cancer) -- we don't have enough room here to list everything
Michael has passed away since I did this challenge, and I mean no disrespect to him
Elvis (Fortune/Sagittarius) -- for thinking that he's still alive (LOL)
Johnny Depp (Romance/Gemini) -- for being eccentric, plus he's dressed as his character in Secret Window.
CC Credits:
Paris Hilton by crazy44477
Elvis by jameLia
Winona Ryder by Eleonora
Michael Jackson by angelmarie123
Weird Al by me
Johnny Depp - unknown
Ashlee Simpson - unknown
Unfortunately, I can no longer find the creators of Johnny Depp and Ashlee Simpson
This is Mellow Haven Institution -- modified from a Maxis house that you probably have in your lot bin. I decided to go with the option of starting with everything and reducing the funds to $100. From this point on I can't re-arrange or add things besides decor.
This is the challenge:
You have been committed to a run down mental health facility against your will. In order to prove that you are fit to rejoin society and earn your freedom, you must achieve the goal your psychiatrist has set for you – your lifetime want.
The catch? You need to achieve your goal as quickly as possible, while keeping 7 other patients, who you don't know and are out of your control, alive and as happy as possible. Add to that budget cutbacks leading to a lack of decent furniture and limited supplies, and your task gets harder.
For all the rules, see Scout's Sims
A little tour seems to be in order. This is the dining/kitchen area. It will never look this clean again. I intentionally left out the dishwasher and trash compactor, as they always break. I made the staircase into stealth stairs because it's easier to see around them.
This is the living area and karaoke (ugh) machine.
Bathroom, obviously -- not much to it, but it's the social center of the house. ;) The half walls work well in a large bathroom with enough toilets and showers (see my Sim-Friendly Bathroom Tutorial for more info), but it did not work well for this challenge. Two 4x4 rooms would have been a better choice, as you will see.
This is one bedroom with 5 legal beds (no more than 3 comfort 3 energy). The bedroom worked out fine. In my last challenge I used a remodeled dorm with seperate rooms, but this was better.
This is the treadmill that no one will use, mirror, and cheap dresser. The elixir bottle is actually J.M. Pescado's lot sync timer to count the days of the challenge. The yellow box is also his - a lot debugger to fix bugs such as stuck kicky bags.
And the balcony with a telescope, obviously.
I looked at all of the characters, including my simself, and decided that Elvis seemed the most trustworthy to run the institution. He's a Fortune Sagittarius with a lifetime want of becoming a business tycoon.
Johnny Depp loves to give hugs, but Elvis doesn't want him to step on his blue suede shoes. Johnny also looks hygiene-deficient in that outfit.
Weird Al loves to hug, too. Maybe he and Johnny should hug each other.
Winona and I hit it off with the pillow fighting right away. However, it's a good thing sims don't fall, because we are right on the edge of a very large sinkhole.
Elvis is the King of Rock 'n Roll...
AND rock, paper, scissors! Sorry Michael.
Johnny can't get a hug from anyone.
Here Elvis met the welcome wagon. On the right is Benjamin Legacy, the eldest son of my first legacy founder (not the heir). He's still alive and married to Kaylynn the maid. I'm sure they'd love it if I played with them once in awhile.
Michael is the king of -- diary writing at Mellow Haven. He's paranoid that someone is going to read what he writes. I really don't want to know, LOL.
Elvis and Benjamin have a lot in common and become friends. Benjamin is also a fortune sim who became a Business Tycoon.
Elvis absolutely hates the tv. I think he broke it on purpose just to get out of watching the Yummy Channel. It stayed broken throughout most of the challenge.
Nobody likes this old Jacquet woman very much, especially Winona. You'll know her if you have OFB. Elvis did make friends with her eventually since she was in his address book and he needed a promotion. ;)
Paris is reading a trashy romance novel. Why am I not surprised?
Ashlee Nicole Simpson! What did you just do?!
Thank goodness Elvis is here for the first fire, so he can run to the phone. In case you don't already know, you can't have fire alarms in this challenge.
Maura will be our firefighter for the evening...
And Elvis and Winona were the first to take a seat for a therapy session.
The therapist really seemed to help Elvis feel better, although his techniques seemed a little strange.
I guess the spinny-wheel thing helped Elvis forget he was crazy.
My simself decided to go ahead and take a sponge bath in front of everyone. She must be Bizarro Twoflower.
♫ Don't wanna argue, I don't wanna debate
Don't want to hear about what kind of food you hate
You won't get no dessert 'till you clean off your plate
So eat it
Don't you tell me you're full
Just eat it, eat it, eat it, eat it... ♫
One way to get the shower to yourself is to use "call over" from another room. That gives the controllable sim a chance to sneak in and steal the tub. I don't think it worked this time since Paris had alredy started running the water. Sims aren't smart enough to learn your evil tricks, so they will almost always come when you call them.
Elvis chose the leopard-print bed. I found it suited his taste in furniture.
Johnny Depp chose the princess bed, which was very disappointing to Weird Al. ;)
This is one thing my simself did quite often -- sing in my underwear.
♫ Love me tender,
Love me true,
All my dreams fulfilled.
For my darlin’ I love you,
And I always will... ♫
Elvis dreams of kissing. Maybe someday... There are plenty of women in the neighborhood. Get that LTW, okay? He is a very good-looking sim.
I've always thought Elvis was a good guy in RL, but I hardly knew who he was until after his death. I was just a kid when he died.
Ashlee made up for the fire by serving everyone breakfast. I thought it was very nice of her.
I took a nap in my toaster pastry while Winona read fine literature.
Poor Winona -- it's so tough to be a fortune sim in an institution where she can't earn money or buy shrubs, not to mention all her fears of fires being fulfilled.
Michael missed his teddy bear that he had to leave behind at the Neverland Ranch.
And he worried about his poor little garden gnomes. Who would take care of them?
Paris leaned back on Johnny in a desperate cry for food. It was the closest he came to getting a hug, so he looked happy.
Paris Whitney Hilton! How could you?! Elvis is at work! And how do you set a microwave on fire? Did you put foil in there or something?
And then things got worse... Weird Al was cooking when the fire started, so then he forgot what he was doing, and a second fire started on the stove!
Fortunately, the fires started in the afternoon less than 2 sim hours before Elvis was due home from work. This time it was my simself's turn for therapy. I love the look on Maura's face, LOL Every time she gets a call, she knows immediately that it's Elvis calling from Mellow Haven.
Here is what's left of the counter and microwave after the fire. The stove survived.
After the fire, I often had long chats with my friend, Professor Volley Ball. He was a great friend.
And I also started reading romance novels... Yes, I had lost my mind. ;)
I thought this was funny, since it's quite possible that Michael is cheering Weird Al -- singing a parody of one of Michael's songs, like "Eat It", or "I'm Fat."
Even the sim version of Michael Jackson is creepy, as he sleeps with his eyes open. Scary. Too much of Dr. Vu's Career Reward?
What happened to you, Michael? Gone are the days of Thriller. Now you look like one of the zombies...
Winona broke the shower -- which pretty much stayed this way the whole time afterward. It became pointless to fix, because it would break so often.
Johnny begins to feel the strain of a hugless existence.
My simself tries to get Paris to talk to the Professor, but she just stares.
But Paris really enjoys attacking guests with water balloons. Look at that face!
Here is a legacy relative -- a daughter of Benjamin and Kaylynn named Bethany. But Elvis has left the building. ;)
Michael and Winona explore the possibility that they were once conjoined twins, while Johnny slices through Winona's arm.
Elvis gets a lecture from Johnny for breaking the shower. Hello Johnny? It's been that way for a long time. Don't blame the King. He's the only one that fixes things and pays all the bills. Talk about ingratitude...
This shot reminds me so much of Secret Window.
"Thank you, thank you very much."
Elvis spends a great deal of his time up here in the loft working on his charisma. I guess it's kind of a nice break from the craziness, as no one else comes up here except occasionally Winona to look through the telescope.
I finally learned that if Elvis had low hygiene and there was a fire, the only time he would likely get a shower was right after calling the fire department. ;)
Because as soon as the fire was out, everyone else would be fighting for the shower. Here my simself's shock at seeing Elvis in the buff has put my head and shoulders right through the wall.
It's always like this after a fire. I wonder who will be next. They waste a great deal of time with their poor planning and lack of teamwork.
Here Elvis begins to work on his legendary hip swivel.
Your turn for a lecture, Johnny -- and you really did break the sink.
"That's hot!"
Hot grilled cheese for all.
Paris, this is very sweet -- very unselfish of you. How odd. Thank you.
Long after the music is gone, the smustle goes on and on... Elvis got them started simhours ago. These 3 visitors finally left to go home and take showers.
Winona is doing her usual thing, and now Ashlee begins to worry, possibly about her bad performance on SNL.
♫ Your greasy hands, your salty lips
Looks like you found the chips... ♫
♫ Might as well face it, you're addicted to spuds... ♫
Yes, let's everyone gather 'round the toilet and shoo each other...
Johnny and Al sometimes find it easier just to sleep at the table in some food. I think it's cute how they're both asleep and all matchy-matchy in the same color t-shirt and boxers.
Be Your Own Boss!
I thought this was a funny screenshot. Elvis once faked sick to stay home and skill since he had plenty of money and wasn't eligible for promotion. I thought it was very funny that he gave himself the day off. If only he would just promote himself to Tycoon already. But he's too honest. The next time he tried calling in sick, he caught himself lying and demoted himself. :P
Here is Elvis attempting to greet a zombie from my first Legacy -- if he can find him.
Seth is a pretty cool zombie with the reverse-zombie personality, but Elvis never became friends with him. They just didn't have any common interests to talk about on the phone.
This is a also a member of my original Legacy family -- one of my favorites. She was born in the Legacy house along with her alien younger brother, though she isn't related by blood to the founder. Her name is Echo McCarthy -- daughter of a male maid named Kevin (I believe that's his name).
Unfortunately, Elvis has left the building. Again.
Elvis got a promotion and a cold (frammit!) from work. I've been trying to isolate him from the others so they don't get sick, too. And they just HAD to start another fire. Since all his need bars are good, I had him go back and relax on a bed to keep him comfortable and away from the others --after his phone call of course.
Bing Long (Benjamin Long's servo) walked by, but again, Elvis has left the building. I love Bing, so I was sad that he only got a cameo appearance.
Now it's my turn. Weird Al is now the King of Lecture.
Paris, honey, that spaghetti looks suspiciously greenish...
Yep, look at the flies... Please don't make me watch you eat it, -kay?
I guess she'll just pick the, er.. raisins out of her spaghetti.
Elvis Aaron Presley, you'd better get your tush over to that phone pronto!
This is a typical moment in the kitchen after grocery delivery. One fridge is very hard to keep stocked, so they usually have to get my attention, LOL. Since the kitchen was so poorly planned -- by me -- they can't get to the stove and the fridge at the same time, plus there is never enough counter space.
Put the carton down and step away from the fridge! No one can cook until my simself moves out of the way.
Elvis is not a very good cook, but he can usually succeed at making macaroni & cheese.
Is Paris crying because I stabbed a microphone through her arm?
For this fire someone else was already in the tub -- I think Michael is taking a bubble bath. After his 911 call, I kept Elvis busy making beds. He hates making beds, but it's something to take his mind off the fire.
I call the shell bed the Blue Hawaii bed since he often sleeps in it when the leopard print bed is taken.
I'm beginning to see the light at the end of the long lifetime-want tunnel! But no limo ride today because Elvis had a vacation day available. He took a day off to work on skills and friends. Still, seeing the limo is very cool. :)
Any little thing sets my simself off now --- this time a bad conversation with Michael.
How gross is it to eat a rotten, burnt omlette? These two are dying to find out. Hopefully not literally.
I can finally no longer take having all the plumbing broken, and so I give in and have Elvis influence Paris to fix it... (losing a 20 point bonus)
Forgetting that the tv is broken, too. Of course that's where she decided to start.
She didn't fix it, but (fortunately?) escaped electrocution. Unfortunately, I lost 20 points for nothing.
Weird Al has taken a break from lecturing eveyone and started doing a funny little dance with a lampshade. That's a first in my game. Paris seems put out by it, though. I guess she's the party girl, so she thinks she should get to wear the lampshade.
Johnny, you're really creeping me out more than usual. Should we call an exorcist?
At least Weird Al looks like he's having fun now. I think this is the happiest I've seen him since he arrived at Mellow Haven.
Elvis eats a lot of burnt food -- mostly food he rescues from the stove or oven when people like Ashlee start to cook and then go to bed. ::grrr:
One day Winona just dropped to the kitchen floor without warning. I thought she was dead at first, but I guess just dead tired.
Here is another daughter of Benjamin and Kaylynn! This is August.
Elvis, was that a grilled peanut butter and banana sandwich?! Please stop trying to end this challenge early!
I'm going to be talking to Professor Ball on both sides of the screen soon.
Finally Paris gives Weird Al the lecture that's coming to him.
Since Elvis had his friend Kaylnn (finally) fix the tv, he sits down and has most of the house join him for some remedial cooking lessons. It may be too litte too late, but that frees up the shower for Johnny who got in there first this time.
And now why is my simself eating rotten chili? This is very disturbing...
And now I get to sleep in it. Too Gross. Elvis, please poke me or something. Please?
Elvis FINALLY let someone hug him, and it was my simself. Cool.
I even decided he was good enough to sing a duet with me, LOL. Seriously, I had him ask to sing with the other residents many times, but they never thought he was good enough to sing with them, LOL.
Today is the day that Elvis is supposed to reach Business Tycoon! Hopefully the other residents won't start a fire.
But wait, what did I forget? Uh-oh. I forgot groceries! It wasn't intentional. I was so worried that someone was going to starve while he was at work.
My simself maxed out her creativity that day. Yay! My simself was the first to do that -- all that singing in her underwear paid off, LOL.
Elvis made it home and got his lifetime want promotion! Yay!!!
I immediately had him go order Chinese food and groceries. Everyone lived!
Michael, you were a strange sim. You were sensitive and somewhat of a loner. You loved to write in your journal. You cleaned up more than your share of messes -- thanks. Michael had 18 skill points earned at the end of the challenge, and never had a shrink visit or played with a paper cup. He was friends with everyone in the house but Elvis. Maybe it has something to do with Lisa Marie, or maybe it was the competition (the King of Rock 'n Roll vs. the King of Pop). He was best friends with everyone else but Paris. Weird Al was his closest friend (100/100). That seems reasonable, since in RL he gave Weird Al permission to parody a couple of his songs.
In RL, Michael is a total mess. I'll leave it at that. Child-stardom totally killed any chance he had of a normal life. I think he needs some serious help.
Paris, you were a good resident. I almost like the sim version of you. You cleaned everything, and cooked meals to share. Other than being mean to guests, you were good to have around. Paris had 19 skill points, plus she had about 1,000 aspiration points. She never had a shrink visit or a paper cup buddy. Paris was friends with everyone in the house. She was best friends with everyone except Michael. Her closest friends were Ashlee and my simself (100/99).
I don't know that much about the RL Paris, but all I do know is quite annoying. She seems to have been spoiled beyond all remedy.
Ashlee, you were a good friend to my simself -- a great pillowfighter and fellow underwear lounger. You also helped out by sharing your cooking. You earned 17 skill points, and never had a shrink visit or did a dance with the lampshade.
And I didn't catch her lip-syncing, either. ;)
Weird Al -- you were weird, but friendly except for when the other residents broke stuff. You earned 17 skill points. I assume you had a shrink visit, but I didn't catch it. I don't know what pushed you over the edge, but I loved your lampshade dance. Al was friends and best friends with everyone in the house except Elvis. Maybe he offended Elvis with his song about his Velvet Elvis, the painting that perfectly covers up the hole in his wall. ;) His closest friends were Michael and Ashlee (100/100).
I love Weird Al in RL. I'm not sure his sim did him justice, but I enjoyed having him in the challenge.
Johnny was often fairly grouchy and in need of a bath, but he still earned 17 skill points and didn't have any therapy sessions or dances with the mop. He made friends and best friends with everyone but Elvis. His closest friends were Michael and my simself (100/100).
I think the real Johnny Depp is a very good, very diverse actor. I like many of his movies, although he seems rather eccentric. I suppose that is probably a quality that helps in acting.
Winona's existence was one of aspiration failure. She had a persistent fear of fire, so she didn't stand a chance around these people. ;) She spent a great deal of time panhandling on the side of the road, but I didn't catch her shoplifting. Despite her problems, she managed to be likable and she earned the most skill points -- 21! She also managed to be friends and best friends with everyone except Elvis. Her closest friend was my simself (100/100).
In RL, I think Winona is a really good actress. I haven't watched many of her movies, but I especially love her in Little Women as Jo.
What can I say about my simself? She was literally crazy for most of the challenge, but wound up being the most popular -- maybe because her personality was Taurus? I have no idea, as I'm a Pisces. She loved to run around in her underwear all the time. She was best friends with everyone in the house, and she had the highest relationships with Ashlee, Johnny, Paris and Winona (100/100). She and Professor Ball had long conversations, and she had many therapy sessions. She still managed to earn 18 skill points, maxed her creativity, and had 5,000 aspiration points at the end of the challenge.
She's not much like me in RL, as I'm not terribly outgoing, and I never sing karaoke, especially not in my underwear. I also don't like volleyball, and the most I recall having said to a volleyball is "Ouch!" or "Oops." ;)
Elvis did a great job at earning his LTW. He did it in just 24 days without using any of his aspiration rewards. He took care of 7 crazy, unemployed pyromanics and managed to keep them alive and fed throughout the challenge. He only had one aspiration failure from the first fire. He earned 33 skill points and had 11 friends and 10 best friends. His best friend in the house was my simself. (70/70) He was also best friends with Paris. He hardly knew the other residents, but who could blame him under the circumstances. He had no free time whatsoever.
The RL Elvis was before my time, but he seemed like a very good man.
Miss TV, sorry you had to stay broken for about 20 days with smoke and sparks coming out of your backside. Elvis didn't have time to learn to fix you, and he thought you were too boring anyway.
Mr. Karaoke, thank you for providing hours of fun and creative skill-building for these 8 desperate sims. I thank you for not breaking, because Elvis would have never been able to fix you before becoming an elder, and he would have had to fix you to gain creativity. I thought you would be a good choice for the photo ops because many of these sims are singers or aspiring singers in RL. But I'm also afraid that I will not want you in my game again unless you are locked away in some distant tower or dungeon. You need more solo songs other than "Ooogie Oogie Oooo Aga Ooogie Oooo Oooo." I desire to light a firework under you, but I suppose I've seen enough fires on this lot already.
Mr. Sink, you suck. Nothing personal, but you were either broken, running, or spewing bubbles the whole time. Even when you were fixed you continued to run. You were very distracting.
Miss ComboClean, you were the naughtiest object on the lot. I will delete your sorry - uh - pipes. You lived to be broken -- and would break immediately every time you were fixed. I suppose you gave my sims plenty of cleaning points from mopping up your mess, but that's the only good thing I can say about you. Even though you provided comfort, I would never use any kind of tub or tub combo in this challenge if I could do it over again. 8 sims who set fires constantly have no time for the luxury of a bubble bath when everyone else is in hygiene desperation. And naturally a bubble bath was what everyone wanted all the time.
Mr. Zap, I'm so sorry for the tragic loss of your brother Mr. Zip. If Elvis would have been home from work sooner, maybe we could have saved him. What can we say about Mr. Zip? He was a good ramen cooker. He was missed by all, as I didn't feel I could replace him.
The End.
P.S. All the celebrity sims (except Weird Al) were made by various artists on modthesims2.com and the Exchange.
