@LivvieLove I'm really in love with this "bloodline"; I should probably go find a less frustrating challenge that lets me just revel in the beautiful progeny...
@wfgodot Flirty Don and his Romantic trait. Oh, excuse me, Dr. Lothario, dermatologist extraordinaire.
Week 2/Day 12: High Five!Day 12 (Thu)It’s Thursday evening. Erika was born the night before and had the day off from school. Both parents finish work at 5 p.m. Do you mind if we begin with a recap?Satoru – Leve 7 Chef (8 days to adult), Master Chef
Summer – Level 2 Business (12 days to adult), Friend of the World
Katsuya – A “Good” A student in grade school (8 days to teen), Artist Prodigy
Erika – A “Loner” B student in grade school (12 days to teen), Whiz Kid
Day 13 (Fri)Erika: I’m off for my first day of grade school!
Summer: Satoru and I both finish work at 5 pm but spend a little time together in front of the house, discussing our day.
I’m so proud of Satoru! With his promotion to Level 8 Chef today, he completed his Master Chef aspiration!
The meals he prepares will never spoil again—that’s so handy!
W: When you moved in, I was excited about your Friend of the World aspiration but have since realized you’ll never finish it.Summer: Really? Why not?
W: You can’t travel except for work, so you’ll remain forever stuck at the “Meet Someone New in 3 Different Locations” milestone.
Outside from that, though, you’re doing great so no worries.Satoru: I came home stressed out from work. But thanks to the promotion, I’ll need to go back to work in three hours.
I quickly complete my daily task, chat with the family, then go back to Make a Dish Restaurant.
Erika: Mom, would you read to me for two hours? I have the Whiz Kid aspiration.
Summer: Sure, hun. Be sure not to make Kats’ mistake! After completing Artistic Prodigy, he finished the Whiz Kids' first Milestone I tier.
Then we realized that we can’t switch aspirations (even if it’s done) due to the Musician restriction. *sighs
W: I’ve decided not to start over, though, since Kats will probably never get the chance to use those 125 Whiz Kid points during his lifetime (Pro Athlete restriction). Day 14 (Sat)Satoru: Summer and Kats wake up feeling poorly today, but no medicine is available for the sick (Journalist). I send them both back to bed to sleep off their sicknesses.
Summer: Waking up around noon, I go outside to try socializing with people walking by but still feel ill. I have strange orange stripes.
It seems my itchiness will only last for another hour, so I decide to continue working on my Charisma.
W: I’m not sure what’s up with Kats and Summer. On one hand, Kats is already L10 Social and recently started leveling Charisma.
Summer, on the other hand, is still only L6 Charisma after all these days. She makes friends easily enough, but her Charisma level hardly budges. Satoru: Does Kats enjoy some hidden genetic skilling advantage from being a Wonder Child’s son?
I’ve mentored both Erika and Summer, but the young Erika levels much more swiftly than Summer ever has.
Summer: While Sofia Bjergsen and I were chatting outside, the upstairs fire alarm suddenly goes off.
Passing Lucas Munch as we rush upstairs, we discover the science table is on fire.
Watchette tells me to extinguish the fire, but we’re both astonished to see Sofia step in first!
I find her bravery quite impressive and go to thank her, but …a selfie? She’s still such a teenager!
Kats: I spot Erika and Lucas running downstairs. Erika continues running outside but I stop Lucas to chat.
There seems to be some kind of commotion upstairs but, hey, I need to work on my charisma for my future career!
Erika: I’ve run outside to escape the fire, but where’s everyone else? What should I do now?
W: Hey, Satoru, you’re wearing a new work uniform! Does that mean what I think it means?Satoru: I’m a Level 9 Chef now. I might be able to max this career after my Monday shift.
We really need outdoor lamps…
Week 3, Day 15 (Sun)Summer: Well, it’s finally Sunday and we can interact with Buy/Build modes today.
What do we need?
We replace the science table, buy a rocketship (because the mob takes our money on Mondays anyway), add a second basement, and add wall and floor coverings at last to our first and second floors!
Day 16 (Mon)Summer: Today’s a banner day! I get promoted to Level 3 Assistant to Manager but, even more awesome, Satoru completes the Chef career!!!
We’ll have to wait until next Sunday, but we can finally have a real kitchen!
W: I knew there was a reason for my obsessing over pregnancy cycles during the Wonder Child Challenge; I just couldn’t remember why!
Based on the 4+2 pattern mentioned in the last chapter, if Summer conceives Monday evening, she’ll give birth Friday evening, and the baby would be weaned by Sunday.Summer: So, I could have another baby without missing any work!!! That’s terrific, isn’t it, Satoru?
Satoru: Wait...what? Does that mean you’re going to force me to try for baby
again next Monday? I’m so exhausted after work!
W: You really hate it that much?Satoru: Shhh, no, not really. But when I play hard to get with Summer, I get lucky more often!
W: By the way, why are you two in the kids’ bedroom?Satoru: If we’re upstairs, our bedroom’s too small for me to ask Summer to try for baby. Strange, right?
Satoru: Paying off the mob tonight really pains me!
Even with her $156 promotion bonus, Summer only brought home $216 this evening, so we couldn’t pay our rent until I got home.
I brought home $1,518 plus a promotion bonus of $3,037 so after paying the rent, the mob took away over $4,000! *sobs
W: Satoru, why are you reeling with stars spinning around your head?Satoru: I don’t know, Watchette. It’s been happening since Sunday but I don’t have a sickness moodlet.
We’ve all been sick lately so it’ll be nice to be able to drink orange juice from a fridge!
Day 17 (Tue)W: It’s great of your dad to mentor you in violin, Kats, but why aren’t you in school?Kats: I can’t miss my teen career, but it’s okay to play hookey from grade school and high school. My birthday’s this Friday.
I have an A grade and 4 vacation days, so I’m going to skip a few school days. Dad’s off from work until Friday, so our timing’s perfect!
I can’t change my aspiration from Artistic Prodigy (Musician restriction), but I’ve maxed Mental and Social so I can start leveling Logic and Charisma.
Satoru: What do you want to do after maxing Logic and Violin, kid? Fishing or charisma?
W: You best bet’s charisma, Kats, since you’ll need it for the Journalist career.
Day 18 (Wed)W: I thought I’d find you working on your Logic skill this afternoon.Kats: We’re taking a fishing break to enjoy the sunny outdoors. In case you haven’t noticed, our house is pretty dark and cramped! It’s pretty depressing…
W (changes subject awkwardly): You look nice in that outfit, Satoru! It’s slightly grunge but still hawt!Satoru: Uh, thanks, I guess.
Day 19 (Thu)W: You’re looking pretty pregnant there, Summer! How do you feel? How’s the family?Summer: Let’s see. Yesterday, I got promoted to L4 Assistant Manager, so that’s sweet!
Lucas Munch started his second fire in five days on our science table last night, but Satoru extinguished it so fast it won’t need replacing!
I never appreciated the Botanical Enthusiast's Naturalist trait as much as last night!
Actually, I wish the first floor were spacious enough that we could lock out visitors from the staircases upstairs and downstairs.
Day 20 (Fri)
W: Looking good, Satoru!Satoru: I maxed the Chef career on Monday night. Why are you only taking a shot of me now?
W: Duh, as soon as you came home with your promotion that night, you and Summer ran upstairs to “try for baby,” then you’ve had three days off.
Anyway, it’s nice to see you in your uniform in sunlight. And look, the gnome is waving bye-bye!Summer: Folks, meet our second son, Kenta, our third and final child!
Kats: Why is his skin so dark, Mom? Is Dad really the father?
Summer: Hush, don’t ever talk like that around your father, you hear? Where do you learn stuff like that anyway?
Actually, you and Erika were born with this same skin tone, which lightened when you became children.
Erika: Oh puhleeze, no! I
know I’ve never looked as ugly as that little monkey you’re holding, Mom!
Summer: He may look ugly right now because he’s unhappy about something we don’t understand, but just you wait until he’s a kid, young lady!
Day 21 (Sat)Kats: I got a message around 10:30 pm Friday about celebrating my birthday.
I’m finally ageing up automatically now at 10:15 pm, that’s around 24 hours after the notice.
But I don’t get any birthday celebrations—no party, not even a cake!
Satoru: Happy birthday, Kats! So sorry about the cake!
We’ll have a new kitchen on Sunday, so you’ll for sure get a birthday cake on your next birthday!
W: Hey, you rolled Bookworm! That’s perfect for you!
On the other hand, the mob will make sure you never max your Fabulous Wealthy aspiration. Kats: Ugh, what’s with these threads and this tired hairstyle!?
W: C’mon Kenta, let’s go plan your outfits!Kats: Awww yeah, this feels more like me!
I plan to become a journalist when I get older, so no teen career for me!
W: Hey, what’s with the working out? I thought you want to become a journalist?Kats: I do! Don’t mean I can’t look good, Watchette! Dad’s all buff and he’s a chef!
W: True dat!Satoru: C’mon, Kats. I know you’re still holding back!
Kats: Just because you had your adult birthday today, Pops, you don’t have to take it out on me!
Satoru: Dream on, little man, dream on!
Week 4, Day 22 (Sun)Satoru: Finally, the clock strikes midnight and we can go into Buy mode. A kitchen at last!
We can’t take my career rewards out of family inventory (Bodybuilder) or even buy their duplicates in Buy mode yet (Astronaut/Interstellar Smuggler),
but even the lowest-quality fridge and stove trump that horrible grill!
Summer: And you’re no doubt wondering why we don’t use a single dinner table.
If we use several 1x1 tables, we’ll be able to move them around later if we want. They won’t be stuck in place like a large table would or like that stupid 1x2 grill is now (Bodybuilder).
W: Yeah, I should have given more thought to the placement of that grill! Oh well.
Summer: Satoru, we still have $3,000+ plus left and you bring home $2,460 tomorrow.
Satoru: I know, dear. But if we spend too much, our bills will skyrocket.
For now, we just have to grit our teeth and let the mob take whatever’s left over after we pay our bills.
Satoru: And soon after adding our kitchen, we get Kenta’s birthday notification and age him up immediately.
He turns out to be a Cheerful Artistic Prodigy. Those are great traits for a Musician!
W: I’ve also been thinking that being able to choose traits would be nice.Satoru: As children, Kats resembled me and Erika resembles Summer. Who do you think Kenta resembles?
W: I believe it’s pretty safe to say he’ll take after the Sanada side of the family…he looks a lot like Kats.
Some CommentsLocation, Location, LocationThe best location would be Parched Prospect (where The Roomies live), but only after preparing the neighborhood by entering Build Mode for each lot and replacing all the grass with sand for a bleaker ambience.
Next time, next time.
Two-day Infant StageWithout the pregnancy test, the infant stage shortens to two days and I’m finding even those two days very annoying. As if having purposely staggered his feedings and dirty diapers, the third child Kenta seemed to be constantly wailing.
I may never use a pregnancy test again, unless a household has 3-4 adults or a full-time caretaker.
Sequence of Lifting CareersI’m finding this very difficult the first time around. Every 15 minutes or so of gameplay, I change my mind about which career restriction to left next.
Last wordAs you read along, it might feel to you like everything is restricted. That's because it is! I will make an effort to focus less on that aspect of gameplay but please note that lifting the restrictions lies at the core of this challenge. I am constantly planning ahead only to find that I cannot do "that step" without doing "another step" first.
Lots of surprises coming up! Well, maybe just one surprise. Or...maybe not even that surprising. Erm, please come back to read the next chapter anyway.