The Murray Apocalypse Challenge: That's a Wrap (Completed Oct 15, 2018)

[BallerinaHippo]

Joy and Cosmo have raised such a good-lucking, talented bunch of kids!
How awkward for Honor to be on the computer while Aunt Lib's "friend" sits behind her in a towel, LOL!
I agree with Joy that her Cosmo aged up into a handsome elder!
You know his original hairstyle? He's the only sim I've ever seen that could pull that hairstyle off.
It looked so good on Cosmo when you first introduced him in your story that, I confess, I tried his hair on some of my sims. But nope, not every sim can pull it off.
Nab Nobuya's heart, Honor, and make him yours! It's the changing of the guards!!!

Come to think of it, I don't know if I've ever used Cosmo's hairstyle on another sim either.  I agree, it suits him.  Cosmo was originally a spare in a legacy file that I played when I first got TS4, and I'm pretty sure he must have aged-up with that hair.

It's definitely the changing of the guards!  Gen 4 is officially taking over...

[BallerinaHippo]

The New Historian

Hey there.  It’s Honor again.  Mom says I’m the official family historian now, so you’ll be hearing a lot from me.
 
Mom also says that I can’t just talk about my boyfriend.  I have to start with my siblings, first.  Well duh!  That’s what I was going to do anyway!  I'd like to officially introduce you to generation 4.

This is my older sister Patience.  She’s an active genius who loves the outdoors.
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Patience is a real astronaut now.  She was recently promoted to Space Cadet.
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Patience really loves her job, and she works on our home rocket every chance she gets.
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This is my brother Courage.  He is a self-assured romantic genius.
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Courage is now a Lead Detective in the Secret Agent Career.  He’s pretty proud of himself.
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He likes to practice the Tranquilizing Handshake on unsuspecting sims.  He’s kind of cocky, but whatever.
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Miracle and I celebrated our last day of high school.  We are finally young adults! 
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Miracle is an active and cheerful genius. 
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Miracle joined the astronaut career, just like Patience.  She plans to take the Interstellar Smuggler branch when given the choice.
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As for me, I’m family-oriented, a foodie, and a genius.
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I joined the Secret Agent career, just like Courage.  I’ll take the Villain branch since he’s planning to be a Diamond Agent. 
Dad is mentoring me in logic since it will be important for my career.
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And I asked Aunt Liberty to increase the intensity of my workouts so I could get in better shape.
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Nobuya had his birthday a few days before Miracle and me.  He’s a creative art-loving bookworm.  He joined the painter career, and Dad seems to enjoy mentoring him. 
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Okay, can I talk about Nobuya now?  Ever since I got up the nerve to kiss him, we’ve been inseparable.  Actually, I guess we were already inseparable, but now we’re an official couple.
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I don’t even remember who asked whom to go steady.  I did ask Nobuya why he never said anything earlier.  He told me that Dad had warned him not to make the first move.  Apparently, my parents have been in favor of the match from the beginning, but they wanted it to be my choice.  Given Dad’s connections with the mob, Nobuya felt it best to follow Dad’s orders.
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I had to smile at that because I know my Dad is really a big softie, but it’s cute that Nobuya took him so seriously.
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Nobuya and I have been talking a lot about the future.  Our house is currently full right now so we’ll have to wait to start a family, but that’s okay.  I mean, we just started dating.  No need to rush things!
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For now, I’m just glad that the two most important guys in my life get along so well.  It’s pretty cool.
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[oshizu]

Wow, a fourth generation of four genius siblings plus the artsy-craftsy Nobuya!
Do you think Courage resembles Cosmos, except for Courage's thinner eyebrows?
I think my favorite shot of this update is Cosmos warning Nobuya not to make the first move, haha.

Awww, I really wish Joy and Cosmos could move out to a nearby lot, but (over-confident) Courage is only a Level 5 Secret Agent. 
Good luck to the fourth generation! I'm sure they will steamroll their careers!

[commasplice]

You have done so well with this!

[BallerinaHippo]

Wow, a fourth generation of four genius siblings plus the artsy-craftsy Nobuya!
Do you think Courage resembles Cosmos, except for Courage's thinner eyebrows?
I think my favorite shot of this update is Cosmos warning Nobuya not to make the first move, haha.

Awww, I really wish Joy and Cosmos could move out to a nearby lot, but (over-confident) Courage is only a Level 5 Secret Agent. 
Good luck to the fourth generation! I'm sure they will steamroll their careers!

Yeah, Honor and her siblings all need Logic for their careers so they all got the Genius trait.  I'm glad I had Faith do babysitter early on allowing me to pick their traits!  I kinda wish I had done Diamond Secret Agent earlier, though.  It would have been nice to move out Joy, Cosmo, and Liberty.

I think Courage looks like both his father (Cosmo) and his grandfather (Ernest) which is interesting because they are only father and son-in-law, not genetically related.  Here's a little collage of all three I whipped up for you.  (Probably more than you wanted!)
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You have done so well with this!

Thanks!  There are things I would do differently if I was ever to try it again, but I am enjoying it.

[BallerinaHippo]

In Good Times and in Bad

I have big news!  Nobuya proposed!
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I said yes, of course.
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In the past, couples in our family have gotten married on the roof of the bunker.  But our roof now has a fully assembled rocket on it so we had to start a new tradition.  We asked everyone to join us in the park.
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We still aren’t allowed to hold official social events like weddings, but that doesn’t mean we can’t say our vows in the park and ask everyone to change into formal wear.  You gotta think outside the box.
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So that’s what we did.  Look how happy my Aunt Lib was!  She didn’t even get tense from her unflirty trait.
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It was a perfect day.
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Nobuya and I moved into the smaller of the two basement bedrooms.  I’ve never been happier.
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The next day was Mom’s elder birthday.  She and Aunt Liberty are twins, but Mom got some extra time because of her two pregnancies. 
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My siblings, Nobuya, and I continued to work, work, work.  And when we were home, we skilled, skilled, skilled.  Thank goodness both Mom and Dad could mentor us. 
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And that brings me to the sad part of this update.  A few days after Mom’s birthday, we lost my Aunt Lib.  She went out jogging one morning and Grim caught her as she was coming back to the house.  Mom and Dad took the news pretty hard.
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I got a promotion at work and my Aunt Lib even sent me a text, but I still felt sad.
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It wasn’t long before we lost Dad, too.  Why is it that when it rains, it pours?
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Mom insisted that the rest of us take moodlet solvers so our work performance wouldn’t suffer, but she refused to take one herself.
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We did what we could for her, but it was a rough time.
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Around this time, Nobuya and I tried for a baby, but I failed to conceive.  It seemed like nothing was going right.
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Eventually, though, I had some good news to share.  First with Nobuya…
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And then with Mom.
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[Tynynounours]

Must be hard, loosing your sims at the same time always.

[oshizu]

Thank you for collage of Courage, Comos, and Ernest.
It's strange but I swear that sims genetics sometimes get passed on to grandchildren although, technically, they should not.
Oh nooooo, not Cosmos!!! I loved the wedding party where Cosmo is in a world of his own, talking to himself in an elderly fashion, lol.

In my apocalypse challenge, my Gen3 sim raced to complete Diamond Agent but Nancy Landgraab died a few hours and the Gen2 dad died half a day before it was completed.
Tragic timing!
Rest in peace, Libby and Cosmos! And congrats to Honor and Nobuya on their incoming nooboo(s)!!

Also, thanks for having the narrator mention her name in the first line of the update! That was such a helpful touch!

[BallerinaHippo]

Must be hard, loosing your sims at the same time always.

It is hard to lose them in groups.  But it's easier on the sims to have all their sad moodlets at once rather than spread out over several days.

Thank you for collage of Courage, Comos, and Ernest.
It's strange but I swear that sims genetics sometimes get passed on to grandchildren although, technically, they should not.
Oh nooooo, not Cosmos!!! I loved the wedding party where Cosmo is in a world of his own, talking to himself in an elderly fashion, lol.

In my apocalypse challenge, my Gen3 sim raced to complete Diamond Agent but Nancy Landgraab died a few hours and the Gen2 dad died half a day before it was completed.
Tragic timing!  Rest in peace, Libby and Cosmos! And congrats to Honor and Nobuya on their incoming nooboo(s)!!

Also, thanks for having the narrator mention her name in the first line of the update! That was such a helpful touch!

It's funny about the Courage/Cosmo/Ernest genetics because when I was playing Courage, I always thought he looked so much like Ernest (his grandfather).  It wasn't until you pointed it out that I realized that he also looked like Cosmo (his dad).

I'm glad you were able to find Honor's name without too much trouble.     I'll add generation 4 to the family tree after this next update to make it even easier to remember names.  I just didn't want to do it too soon and spoil anything.   

[BallerinaHippo]

The Circle of Life

Where I last left off, Nobuya and I were eagerly anticipating the birth of our first child.
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Before I get to that, though, I’d like to give an update on my siblings.  Patience is now a level 7 Astronaut.
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She has also maxed her fitness skill and now mentors the rest of us.
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Courage was promoted to level 8 of the Secret Agent career and chose the Diamond Agent branch.  I can’t tell you much about his work because it’s classified, but it looks something like this.
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Sometimes he even works on more than one assignment at a time. Note the girl in the background.
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Miracle was promoted to Space Cadet.
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She recently made her first trip into space.
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Nobuya and I received promotions at work this week also, to level 8 and level 7 respectively, but we were too preoccupied to take any work photos.
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Since we can take things in and out of family inventory now, we temporarily replaced the toddler beds with the bassinets.   Given the history of twins in my family, we optimistically placed two bassinets.
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The Ley line proved to be as strong as ever.  We had a girl and a boy.  As we held them for the first time, I couldn’t help but think that every child born in this house has slept in one of these two bassinets. 
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We named our daughter Mercy and our son Justice.
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Their Grandma is equally enamored with them both.
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When Patience and Miracle came home from work, I got this cute picture. 
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That’s Miracle in the black spacesuit holding Justice and Patience in blue holding Mercy.

The nooboo stage seemed to pass in the blink of an eye.  I was at work when Nobuya got the twins’ birthday notices so he asked Mom to help age them up. 
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Mercy is our independent little redhead.  Justice is inquisitive and kept his hair hidden at first.  They had to wait several hours for a makeover since Patience, Courage, Miracle and I were all working that day.

Once everyone was home, I insisted that we all take a group picture.  Mom had already received her final notice from Grim and I was feeling sentimental.
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Sure enough, Grim came for Mom the following morning.  She felt him coming and went outside in an effort to keep us from witnessing her death.
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But Patience found her anyway.
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I miss Mom terribly, and yet I feel a strange peace about her passing. Maybe it’s because I see her whenever I look at my children’s faces.
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Maybe it’s because I know she’s been reunited with Dad.
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Or maybe I’ve just accepted that this is the way it has to be.

Oh, and have I mentioned that Miracle is pregnant?
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More on that next time.

Watcher's Note:  I will be on vacation for the next two weeks, but when I get back I hope to really get moving on this challenge.  I feel like I'm about half way there, and I'm motivated to make a push to the end!

[oshizu]

Wow, everybody is really rising through the ranks of their careers!
All four of your sims will be Level 10 in no time!
Congrats on the twins! Welcome to the world, Mercy and Justice!

I love the family photos! It must have been difficult to get them all in place with their eyes open.

Rest in peace, Joy. You and your siblings greatly improved the household's quality of life!
And now you can be reunited with the love of your life.
I'm sure Cosmos had been pacing around the Pearly Gates, eagerly awaiting Joy's arrival.

Have a relaxing and delightful vacation. Safe travels!

[BallerinaHippo]

Wow, everybody is really rising through the ranks of their careers!
All four of your sims will be Level 10 in no time!
Congrats on the twins! Welcome to the world, Mercy and Justice!
I love the family photos! It must have been difficult to get them all in place with their eyes open.
Rest in peace, Joy. You and your siblings greatly improved the household's quality of life!
And now you can be reunited with the love of your life.
I'm sure Cosmos had been pacing around the Pearly Gates, eagerly awaiting Joy's arrival.
Have a relaxing and delightful vacation. Safe travels!

Yes, getting 8 sims to keep their eyes open for a group picture is a difficult task.  I gave up trying to get eyes open AND everyone looking forward.   
We're still working on those careers, but getting close. 

[BallerinaHippo]

The Grass is Greener

In my last update I mentioned that my twin sister was expecting a baby.  I guess I need to back up a bit and explain a few things.  First, the father is a very nice guy named Naoki Ikeda.  Miracle has been friends with Naoki since we were teens.
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Naoki is not related to Nobuya even though they have the same last name.  Ikeda seems to be a common surname around here.  Anyway, at some point Miracle and Naoki became more than just friends.
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I think they are really cute together, and I’m glad that my sister is happy.
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We can’t invite Naoki to move in with us and Miracle can’t move out yet so I proposed what I hoped was the next best thing.  We found ourselves with one empty space in the house after Mom died, and I offered to let Miracle be the one to try for a baby. 

Soon my niece was born.  Her name is Glory, and she’s the first single birth in this house.
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When Naoki came over to see his daughter for the first time, he suffered a delayed-reaction panic attack.
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I’m happy that my kids will have a cousin to grow up with.  Speaking of which, Mercy and Justice have been keeping us busy.
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 I know I’m biased, but I think they are adorable. 
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Pretty soon, Glory aged-up to a toddler as well.  She’s the first blonde in our family.
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Naoki visits as often as he can, and it is always nice to see their little family together.
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Meanwhile, my older siblings, Patience and Courage, also celebrated another birthday.
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And all of the adults in the house have been making steady progress in their careers.  Patience is a level 9 Sheriff of the Stars and got a new work outfit. 
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Courage is a level 9 Shadow agent and continues to do what he does best.
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Is it just me, or is the grass starting to look greener?

Anyway, Courage brought this one woman home with him.  I’m going to have to talk to him about that because I don’t think it’s a good idea for him to bring his work home with him when we have kids in the house.
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I should know because I’m now a Level 8 double agent.
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My new work outfit isn’t exactly the most comfortable, but Nobuya seems to really like it.
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I even wore the dress for Nobuya on his birthday.
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Miracle was promoted to Level 8 Moon Mercenary.  Her work outfit looks both stylish and comfortable.  I’m so jealous.
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Last, but certainly not least, Nobuya was promoted to Patron of the Arts.  That makes him the first one of our generation to reach the top of his career.  He says it’s because he had more work days than the rest of us, but I’m still really proud of him.  We can now sell Sim-produced objects such as woodworking, paintings, and photographs; and we may self-publish books. 
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Yeah, the grass is definitely getting greener.

[oshizu]

Congrats on Glory's birth, the birthdays, the many promotions, and lifting the Patron of the Arts career.
Had your household been hoarding paintings since the founder's generation?
The astronaut uniforms are the best!

[Tynynounours]

Congrats on all the progress and the new nooboos.