Newcomers in Newcrest (Failed -- Move to Graveyard)

[MarianT]

Glad you're reading, @Narinn2045! Yes, Lilac will get a restaurant rather than a retail store. At this point, I feel like I never want to do another retail store.

@FrancescaFiori, @oshizu, and @Joria, Lilac did turn out to be quite pretty. I still don't know where the nose came from -- but she, Sharon, and Marigold all have it.

[MarianT]

Zargon, Week 20

That awful moment, when you think that yet another dynasty family has come to an end:



But  of course, Voldemort walks away from the crash.



Lunesta aged up to a pretty child, looking much like her mother. She's another genius, with the aspiration to become a Whiz Kid.



She wasted no time in becoming a tiresome younger sister, finding a voidcritter on her first try. To make matters worse, the creature's name was Meduso.



Medusa immediately started hunting for a critter of her own, but without much luck.





Tired of getting dirty and smelly, Medusa proposed a trade: "I'll give you your homework back if you'll give me Meduso."

"Not good enough," said Lunesta.

"But you won't be able to get an A and become a Whiz Kid without doing homework," said Medusa.



Once Lunesta found a second voidcritter, she was more amenable to the idea of a trade. "My homework back, plus three games of chess," she said.

"Done," said Medusa.



"But I didn't say I would let you win," she said, after beating Lunesta the third time. "I have the honor of oldest sisters to uphold, and besides, I've already maxed the mental skill and am working on logic. So your defeat at the hands of a superior player was inevitable."

Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you. "All right, all right, I get the message," Lyrica cried. "I'll be ready to meet the Oirat commander tonight."



And indeed she was taken up into the Oirat spaceship.



At the same time, on the other side of the house, Voldemort was being hauled aboard the Zargon ship.



"You interrupted the date I was having with my wife," he fumed. "I'm trying to raise my charisma level so that I can get that final promotion, and you lot barge in and interrupt me while I'm engaged in deep conversation."

"Your final promotion?" said the Commander. "Well, that's good news. But what's this we hear about your crashing your rocket ship? You're supposed to be upgrading it instead of flying it."

"I was low on fun," muttered Voldemort.

"Well, no more joyrides until the thing's been completely upgraded," the Commander said sternly. "After that -- and your promotion, of course -- you can break your neck in whatever fashion you desire."

[oshizu]

What nerve! Beaming Voldemort and Lyrica up right smack dab in the middle of their date!

Their little girls are both so adorable! I enjoy the way that you portray the dynamics of their relationship!

How great that Voldemort nears his last promotion! Is he close to completing all his requirements?

[FrancescaFiori]

Yikes! So many abductions! And even the birds are in on it!

The rocket ship crash was pretty intense, too. I've never had a sim die that way, but every so often you get a really scary one.

I agree with oshizu, the dynamic between the girls is very charming.

[Whirligig]

I just spent my Sunday catching up on Uni work and reading this story in between. I have to say, I have really enjoyed it! I was so shocked when the Oirats came to such an abrupt end, but I'm interested in the story you have made of it.

The RDC seems like such an interesting challenge (and I love that it's rotation based. I used to only ever play rotation based, but so many of the popular challenges nowadays seem to forbid it), and you're definitely making it look interesting. I'm really not sure who I'm rooting for to win, so I'm just happy to go along for the ride.

By having aging off for the neighbourhood, that seems to easily solve the biggest problem with the IDC - empty neighbourhoods. It must be fun to still have some of the original townies around so many generations later!

I hope I can get around to trying this challenge out for myself at some point. In the meantime, I'll just have to keep reading your wonderful account of your own attempt!

Best of luck with the remaining generations!

[MarianT]

@oshizu, I never had 2 Sims get abducted so close to each other, and I hope it isn't a bug. It was a shock, I can tell you. Voldemort just has to work on the rocket ship -- the next promotion should come the next time he goes to work.

@FrancescaFiori, Although it's possible to have a Sim die in a rocket ship crash, I've heard that it's very difficult to trigger. I think you have to send up someone whose needs are low.

@Whirligig, Glad you're enjoying the story, and I hope you will try the challenge eventually. It's a little strange having all the original Sims available; I tend to think of them as descendants of the old families. Thanks for the good wishes -- I do need the luck!

[MarianT]

Baird, Week 20

Dear Diary,

If all goes well, this might be my last entry. We're not quite ready for Lilac to move out yet. We still have to get the Cheaper Re-stocking perk at the story. (And I'll take this moment to say that Lilac has been a big help.) But I think next week, she'll be ready to go.



Up till now, I would have said that parties were enjoyable experiences, exciting breaks from the daily routine. But being the mother to a teenager whose life ambition is to become the hostess with the mostest has given me a different -- and somewhat jaundiced -- perspective. It was fun at first, helping her with carving pumpkins at her initial Spooky Day effort.



And Lilac took on all of the cooking tasks (she's maxed both cooking and gourmet cooking).



I felt a little shy about throwing a party at the house of some people we barely knew, but Lilac plunged right in and was so much at home that no one complained when she took over their kitchen.



But there are only so many costume changes you and your friends can go through. I don't even know who the guy was in the Star Wars outfit -- probably either Travis Scott IV or a young man from Windenburg, Paolo Rocco.



They, along with Maddox Hart, a hot-headed teenager who shows up occasionally at the store, seem to be the guys whom Lilac invites most consistently to her soirees. Of course, when they're dressed as hot dogs and grim reapers, it's hard to tell who's who. I think I'm one of the hot dogs in this picture, and her father is dressed as Grim.



Besides throwing parties, Lilac also has to go to them. At first Lucas and I had a firm rule -- one of us would go along to chaperone.



But now that she's getting invitations at all hours, we just don't have the energy to keep up with her. We've begun to let her go on her own.



Lilac's partying does have some tangible benefits, such as this monstros-- interesting ice sculpture.



And speaking of benefits, I've added a few things to the bedroom that I earned while working as a Journalist (did I mention that I've maxed the career?) This book case is really nice.



I like the antique typewriter, too, but my favorite is the globe. I use it to plan trips to faraway places, such as San Myshuno.



Thanks to all her Spooky Day parties, it was easy for Lilac to come up with her collection for the Museum -- carved pumpkins.



Happy Hallowe'en, all!

Sharon Baird

[oshizu]

Great progress on the retail perks! The store is such a time-consuming endeavor, so Sharon and Voldemort must be very pleased!

I'm really impressed that Lilac seems to be breezing through Party Animal! Will you keep her at home until it's completed?

A collection of pumpkins, how inventively appropriate for today!

[Joria]

Wow!  Lilac really is a party animal!  Love the pumpkins too.  Hope you preserved them because they will rot over time.  I found that out the hard way.

[Whirligig]

Loved the spooky parties. Great to see that the Baird are maintaining their lead. It looked like a lot of fun and the pumpkins were super appropriate.

[FrancescaFiori]

Lilac seems to be doing wonderfully at the parties!

I love the journalism career rewards. Here's hoping you get to take that trip to San Myshuno soon!

I'm a fan of the museum pumpkins, too. I forget about using them as a collection. I'll have to tray that some time.

[MarianT]

Zargon, Week 21

After a lifetime of talking to furniture, Lyrica has finally found something that talks back.



Actually, things have been rather difficult for Lyrica lately. When trying to make her forget her insane plan to revive the Oirat line through Lunesta, Voldemort overdid his blast, and gave her amnesia, at least as far as he's concerned. She does still remember her daughters, but not her plans for their futures.

Voldemort has reached the top of his profession as a Start-up Guru, and he completed the last upgrade on the rocket ship.



It's all up to Medusa now. With her transition to adolescence looming, she found her younger sister Lunesta much easier to get along with. Patiently, she listened to Lunesta describe her totally fictitious encounter with the class bully.
"And then I said, 'ooo, I am so scared. Not."
Not true, thought Medusa, but she didn't say anything.



They even took a selfie together.



But being the oldest still carried certain responsibilities, such as mopping the floor with her younger sibling's voidcritter.



Early the next morning, Medusa prepared to become a teen.



She chose the aspiration of Nerd Brain, and decided she would work on the skills of logic and handiness. For a hairstyle, Medusa wanted something that wouldn't get singed while she was working. The one she chose had the added bonus of resembling a battery.



Getting her A at school was very easy, but reaching level 3 of the Barista job has been hard. "I keep getting these strange beans to work with," she complained, while working on the stove. "If I blend them with something else, that's wrong, and if I brew them up on their own, that's wrong, too."


Her Dad got her a microscope for her birthday.


He also gave her permission to take the rocket ship to Sixam. Medusa was enough of a romantic to hope that she would meet her true love there, among the giant mushrooms.



But all she found was some blutonium and an alien red coral. Sixam seemed to be deserted.



There's only one teen-aged alien in the entire Sims universe, it seems. That's Advil Oirat, her great-uncle. Even though Medusa could flirt with him if she wanted, he just reminds her too much of her mother and younger sister.
 


Medusa mentioned the problem to the Zargon's Grand Matriarch, Aniara. She said she'd make a few calls as soon as Medusa got that promotion at work.



She still has to complete her collection, make some friends, max her skills, and yes, get to level 3 of the Barista job (which used to be easy), but Medusa is off to a good start.

[NexttoNormal]

Oh no! Hopefully there are still some other unrelated aliens left for Medusa! Good luck!

(I've actually been following this story for a while as a silent reader haha. Just want to say how helpful and inspiring your rival dynasties have been for mine )

[oshizu]

Congrats to Voldemort for completing his on requirements.
Medusa seems to be making fast headway on her own as well. Go Medusa!

How curious that there are no teenage aliens! Does that mean there are YA and adult aliens, but no teens?
Hoping that the Grand Matriarch will have some sound advice.

[FrancescaFiori]

Loved the comparison of Medusa's hairdo to a battery. Loved even more that that was a positive thing!

I hate that coffee bean chance card. I can never get it to go well, either.

Fingers crossed that Medusa's luck turns around. I hope the alien population replenishes itself soon!