About the Series
Nina & Amanda are best friends as kids. A tragedy strikes. Nina must go to live with her cousin’s family. As Nina and Amanda become young adults, friendship blossoms into love. Amanda commits an unforgivable act of betrayal. Can the two find a way to be together? Does fate have other plans for them?
SECTIONS
Series Deep Dive (Spoilers!) Do not read this part if you don’t want to know what’s ahead!
How Did This Series Come About?
As writers sometimes we get an idea that takes out of our comfort zones, certainly that’s happened to me more than a few times. Nina & Amanda is a story that evolved from my actual game when the The Sims4 Growing Together dynamic caused Amanda to have a crush on Nina, and I hadn’t changed her preferences yet!
At first, I didn’t like it at all! Not just for the fact that it was a same sex couple (and I very rarely have played with same-sex couples in game) but also for the fact that Nina was the cousin of Amanda’s father! I thought to myself, “this could add some real drama to the game.” The characters, although they were Sims, had real depth and the story could be fleshed out.
At the time, I had NO idea that I wanted to do a Let’s Play series on this concept, but as I started playing, I realized that there could be some real depth and also some very real complications. I started taking screen shots in game, and marking out captions so I could refer back to it later. If I decided to make a series out of this, I would need the time to do so. The screenshots and captions were a big help because when I decided to do the series it was almost a year later! There was no way unless I had written it down, that I would retain the events needed to flesh out the story. I also began the “arduous” process of translating the captions to a word doc so that I could develop the story further. I wrote it mainly as a script and began to see that this story could have potential of being a series viewers would like.
I love to write. As you can see by this website, I have written three books. But to do a story centered around Sims4 characters based on my actual game would be a first for me. The characters are my own, not based on any lore in the game, so the story itself is original. I got the idea because the game was experiencing a glitch. And from that glitch, I devised a story that could provide some real drama and tension.
Series Deep Dive Chapter by Chapter
SPOILERS WARNING!!
Chapter 1 is all about the discovery of love between two people as adolescents into young adults. In the beginning the relationship is fresh and new. It’s exciting for both, but they are both hiding their relationship from their family so in essence it is an affair. Chapter 2 explores the characters more as they reach young adulthood. After Nina makes a heartbreaking decision, the two find themselves living separate lives. But while Amanda tries to go on with her life, Nina becomes increasingly bitter and jealous. It culminates into an explosive fight but leads them back together. As time goes on and they find happiness for a while, even after their marriage, Nina becomes a celebrity author when her book Hot & Heavy in Tartosa is an overnight sensation. Amanda begins to feel suffocated from the famous lifestyle. Chapter 2 explores the “be careful what you wish for” theory because you may just get it! Nina’s wish all of her life was to be a famous author, and her wish is granted! But with the famous lifestyle comes both perks and drawbacks.
Amanda wants only a simple life with her family and not to be drawn into the limelight. After having been a child and grandchild of celebrities, it’s something she’s tried to avoid all of her life. Amanda really wants to be her own person on her own merit. She’s worked hard to obtain her certification as a veterinarian. She feels eclipsed by Nina’s instant fame, and it intensifies her deathly fear of the ocean, aka thalassophobia. The reason why Amanda developed this fear was due to a game-glitch, I began to think, I could use this to my advantage. Amanda grew up on an island, surrounded by water, and her family is rich and famous. Paparazzi is always around trying to invade their privacy. And when she takes a family trip to Sulani as a toddler, this is where the fear of being swallowed up whole by the fame, fortune and water comes into play.
From that single event, Amanda’s life is transformed forever. Even when she ages Amanda is usually cool and confident, nothing rocks her. She’s at the top of her game as a professional, and at a party she’s the one cracking the jokes. But, if she goes to the beach, her anxiety kicks in ten-fold. The ocean triggers a deep fear and resentment of fame. She never wants either to affect her life. So, when her wife, the love of her life, becomes this famous individual – she looks at it as a betrayal of sorts. and hardly recognizes her. She becomes angry and resentful. In a way, it gives her a license to do what she does next – even though what’s she’s done is a complete betrayal.
Nina meanwhile has no idea that anything is wrong. Her fondest dreams have come true, and she’s proud of herself for her accomplishments. She has everything she could ever want fame, fortune, family and the love of her life. She even wants more children and hopes that Amanda will be open to the idea. After all, Amanda does take time off to help raise their baby Caroline, aka Carrie, as an infant and toddler. Nina hopes that they can have another child and Amanda will be open to raise the child and put her job on hold.
In a way, the fairy tale that they envisioned as teenagers and young adults has been replaced by reality. All too often we hear about celebrity relationships that start out strong, and end in divorce because of the pressures that fame brings. Fame can be a relationship killer, and it’s almost at that point now for Nina and Amanda when they have an explosive argument.
Chapter 3
Now on the third chapter of the series, I’m excited about what’s going to happen next. Chapter 3 is a pivotal chapter for the characters as it explores a life-changing moment for both. The question is, is the relationship strong enough to endure after this? Chapter 3 was a tough chapter to record. As I really had to tap into the emotions of both characters. I haven’t voice acted in quite a long time, and this one really had me challenged. My husband even came into my office a few times and asked, “who are you screaming at?”
The affair is flat out wrong! Amanda knows she’s committed adultery, but she tries to justify it by blaming her wife’s famous lifestyle. Plus, because of Nina’s busy schedule, the two haven’t spent any private time together in a long time. Amanda’s thinking is that this serves as a punishment for Nina. For Amanda the affair is like, “an itch that needs to be scratched,” nothing more. But what Amanda doesn’t realize is that scratching an itch can lead to an infection.
More Deep Dives & Spoilers Below!
GXSimmer: TheSims & Life Simming News, Let's Plays, Reviews and More 
Leave a comment