1.7 – Chaos and Success

So I actually scheduled this post to go live last week or something, and completely failed at getting that to work properly. Hands up if you’re surprised I messed it up.

Honestly. God knows why I just got hired as a software tester. (Without a degree, no less??)

Are you ready for more toddlers!?

Thankfully, the toddler stage for these guys doesn’t last very long through pictures, because every day is the same and I don’t want to bore everyone with what is essentially the same image.

Morrigan: Kitty!

Leah: So, what’s up?

Uh… that’s a plant. You’re aware it won’t answer you, right?

Leah: Neither do babies and yet I still talk to them.

Good point, but I still think we need to get you out of the house.

Also, I see where the toddlers get their desire to chat to the plants from.

Leah: When Mr. Bilbo Baggins of Bag End announced that he would shortly be celebrating his eleventy-first birthday with a party of special magnificence, there was much talk and excitement in Hobbiton.

James: Oooh, you got through The Hobbit already?

James: Woooo, one less toddler in the house!!

Leliana: Eh? Whas wrong with toddlers?

That’s right, it’s little Alistair’s birthday already! I told you I didn’t take many photos of them while they were toddlers.

He didn’t max out all of his toddler skills, but he got enough to pick up the ‘happy toddler’ trait. He rolled ‘Active’ as his first trait. I wish TS4 had more than three traits per sim, plus I wish there were more traits.

I mean, I could mod some in but that feels kind of cheaty. Or at least means it’s much harder to upload any of this lot to the gallery if there’s anyone who wants them.

Leliana, from the corner: BROTHER STINKY

Leliana: Mama!

Leah: Yeah that’s right, I’m mama!

Leliana: Mama stinky!

Leah: Oh, for the love of-

Leah: I’ve got it under control! It’s all okay!

Please don’t burn the house down, you can’t afford to replace anything!

Leah: IVE GOT IT UNDER CONTROL

Leah: Ready to learn, Leliana?

Leliana: Ducks!

Morrigan: Aight, Ima head out.

❤

I forgot to mention which of the child aspirations I gave Alistair, and despite the fact that he’s currently working on his creativity skill, he actually has the Rambunctious Scamp aspiration, which is the motor skill aspiration.

So far this kid is determined to be a conundrum with his Active trait but determination to be a creative, social kid.

James is still plugging away at his degree; I have him taking only two courses per term just to make everyone’s life easier. I think he’s up to a B- as his average now, which I feel is quite impressive!

He’s got one more term left before he graduates, though, so not much more to go and then he can finally get a job and start bringing in the big bucks.

James: Soo… you thinking of going to University?

Alistair: Dad, I’m eight years old.

James: Never too early to plan ahead!

In aging up, Alistair has progressed from talking to plants to looking after them.

Alistair: Someone has to, god knows nobody else is bothered.

James: Woah, I didn’t know it took Frodo so long to leave the Shire after Bilbo left him the ring?

Leliana: Da-ad, you’re supposta read the book out loud!

James: Sorry sweetie, how about some cake instead?

Leliana: I huff and I puff and I BLOW the candles out!

Birthday round two! This means Morrigan’s birthday is up in just a couple of days given how close together I aged them up after the Free Baby Fiasco.

But anyway; Leliana picks up Top Notch Toddler after a last minute push to get that imagination skill maxed out, and also the Bookworm trait! I gave her the Whiz Kid aspiration, which I realise now requires a chess set that I have not yet purchased.

Leliana sets about putting her new bookworm trait to good use, while Leah picks up a job as a freelance writer.

With neither Leah or James working, they can barely afford to pay their bills (mood) and definitely can’t afford beds for their kids so uh, we need to make money somehow!

With what little money these guys have left I managed to get the kids a swing set for something to do.

Alistair’s gotta build that motor skill somehow.

James: Happy birthday to my youngest daughter!

Uh, James? Should the oven be smoking?

James: I’m sure it’s nothing 🙂

Yeah, I’m not so sure about that.

Leah grabs Morrigan and the lot of them make a run for it to the front of the lot, which is extra annoying because Leah’s the only person I’d actually trust to put out the damn fire, but she can’t because she’s holding a baby.

Firefighter: Never fear, for I am here!

For some reason, this does not comfort me.

Miraculously, the fireman does actually manage to be helpful and put the fire out, so everyone can go back to normal and pretend none of that happened.

James: My babies are all grown up!

Morrigan: All growed up!

Aaaand finally, here’s Morrigan! She’s got a bit of a pinchy face, but it actually works for her and she’s cute!

She picks up ‘happy toddler’, having also not quite maxed out all five skills, and then takes Good as her first trait. I gave her the Social Butterfly aspiration, if only because I wasn’t giving her one someone else had and there was no point giving her the creative one.

Poor James and Leah have been trapped in Parent Mode for the entire time the tots have been… well, tots, so they’re both struggling from ‘Fear of Unfulfilled Dreams’.

Apparently, going for a jog in the rain is enough of a dream for James, though.

James: I got a dream, I got some dreams…

Morrigan: – and then he went like this!

Leah: Kids these days! (That’s a thing people say, right?)

Absolutely not, but I appreciate your attempts to bond with your daughter.

Morrigan: Hey, so has mum told you about this whole legacy thing yet?

Leilana: No, what’s that?

Morrigan: People vote on our personalities and who they wanna see have kids!?

Leliana: What, that’s weird! Who writes stuff like that??

Uh…

Morrigan: Hey there, bestest brother in the whole wide world!

Alistair: … What do you want?

Leliana: I love you, daddy!

James: I love you too, sweetie. Now, what do you want?

Legacy points, I’m sure.

The Festival of Youth comes round, and as part of James’s aspiration requires him to “eat food” at one of the three festival, I chose to send the entire family.

This time, though, I deliberately sent them all to the local lounge instead of letting the game pick and had them take a quick trip across the road to the festival area.

Except Alistair, who decides to walk the long way around for some reason.

Alistair: I’m a lone wolf!

One thing I didn’t account for (and probably should have, realising that it’s called the Festival of Youth) was the million children swarming the place.

This little girl is Miranda Wright, and her parents are Julia Wright from Discover University, and one of the generated Uni housemates that I made over and slapped down in the world somewhere, so I know she has good genes and I’ll be keeping an eye on her as an spouse potential.

Or uh, a less weird phrasing of that.

And this is someone-or-another Akiyama, one of the kids from the snowboarding family in Mt Komorebi. I always consider having one of my sims date one of her parents (Jenna or Kado) until I remember that they’re married and leave them be. So this kid is definitely staying close.

Hm, that’s equally as creepy.

Morrigan: Hey, wanna join my totally legit and not just made up on the spot kids club?!

Kid whose name I’m too lazy to look up: Sure! What’s it called?

Morrigan: … Kids Club!

Original.

I force Leliana to go Pokemon Voidcritter hunting in the hopes of having this festival serve a purpose other than “James eats food and Morgan stalks children”, because so far that’s all this is turning out to be.

Leliana: Why haven’t my friends opened any of their gifts yet?

Maybe their bags are full, don’t be so hard on them!

I was talking to my other half today about previous legacy spouses, and as long as these two hold (which I mean, look at them. I don’t think they’re going anywhere any time soon), I have a 8/10 hit rate on legacy spouses!

Marasi, (the heiress of generation eight) was the only one of my heirs to get divorced, and Lyra (generation three) had zero interest in her husband. I don’t remember if they got divorced, but they should’ve; despite TS3 having nothing to dictate it either way, Lyra was definitely aromantic. And her husband was also definitely interested in her cousin.

Legacies get weird, man.

Anyway, my slight detour down memory lane aside, all three kids brought home projects to work on.

Poor Morrigan. When the free baby gets more attention from the parents than you do!

Don’t worry, though. Once Alistair and Leah finished, Leah sat down with Morrigan and worked over hers together.

You know, this is a completely pointless screenshot, but I’m including it because I am unreasonably pleased about getting these three into an actual routine.

They all go to bed around the same time, and they all get up around the same time!

James: Look who made it to graduation!

Oh damn, it’s that time already!? Are you ready to join the world of corporate drones?

James: Sounds delightful.

Heaven: Hey James, I’m just texting Leah! Want me to say hi for you?

James: I literally just left the house…?

Ah, just when I thought we could make it at least one post without the appearance of Heaven or her sprogs, she manages to sneak her way in at the end.

I do feel a bit sorry for James, having to graduate on such a miserable day, but hey! He made it! 

I genuinely wasn’t sure he was going to graduate at all when he first moved in, but I kept pushing because I’m a stubborn ass.

Speaking of…

From probation to B-, not bad, buddy!!

---

Sorry this one has taken so long, that’s just on me screwing up the post scheduling and then life getting crazy!

• Uncategorized