Whaaa!? You Started Over?Satoru: Sooooo, we had to start the challenge over, because Watchette…
Summer: Shhh, don’t say anything, Satoru. She might give up on this challenge and I’ve never been a Watched Sim in any of her games before!
W: Oh bother, let me explain what happened.
This morning, I was reading through the 200+ comments at the bottom of Pinstar’s Challenge Rules and noticed a post about Spa Day.
Basically, yoga and massage are banned until the Athlete/Bodybuilder career is maxed. This restriction isn’t listed in the Main Rules and I’d never noticed this post before.
Since I’d only played one week of the challenge, I decided to start over.
Buuutt I won’t repost a new Chapter 1 because Satoru is still with Summer and almost everything happens as described in Chapter 1.What’s Changed* The previous chapter ended on Day 4 (Wed); this update of a new game begins on Day 3 (Tue).
* No yoga or yoga mat for Inspired/Focused/Energized boosts; no massage table or massages of any kind.
* Summer will give birth two days earlier on Thursday, rather than Saturday.
* The house begins sparser to take advantage of Satoru’s Shrewd trait from the Fab Wealthy aspiration.
* Instead of the yoga mat and massage table, we purchased a chess set and wedding arch.
* Much less gathering in the wild; found items can’t be sold so they only clutter our inventory and increase our rent.
* In this restart, Johnny Zest had a red friendship bar with Satoru at first, because Satoru ignored JZ’s Welcome Wagon visit to make out with Summer on the roof, lol. Satoru made it up to him; they’re friends now.
Satoru: Is that all?
Pretty much. Let’s start the new chapter!
Week 1/Day 3: Love Is in the HeirSummer: It’s Tuesday morning and so much has happened since yesterday!
As you’ve already heard, I moved in with Satoru on late Sunday afternoon.
Monday around 8:30 pm, Watchette noticed that I popped a new pregnancy moodlet during my work shift.
This morning, I share the big news with Satoru. My handsome Mr. Family-Oriented looks very happy.
Summer: I’m still in the Culinary career, but I’ll be forced to quit for leaving work early when I go into labor Thursday evening.
Might as well work until the last minute since we need the cash. Right now, Satoru is tutoring me in Logic.
Satoru: To max the Business/Management career, Summer needs L10 Charisma and L8 Logic, but she has only L3 Charisma and zero Logic.
My plan is to help her max Logic before the baby's born.
Besides her career, two Logic mentors in da house would be really useful.
Summer: And did you notice I’ve changed my hairstyle and makeup? It’s the same hairstyle as Ulrike!
My face is somewhat long and that other hairstyle made my forehead look really high.
W: Wow, a sim without the Mentally Talented trait takes forever to level!Summer: I heard that!
Satoru: We’ve discovered that the chess table is a legit means of getting the Focused mood.
Watchette can’t decide whether using Wellness socials for mood boosts would be acceptable.
What do you think?
Satoru: Thursday evening, Summer goes into labor at work as predicted, leaving work early to give birth at home.
It doesn't matter that she can never re-join this career cuz she'll be switching to Business.
Summer: Awwww, we were really hoping for twins, but even one healthy baby is a wonderful thing, too!
Folks, we are proud to introduce our firstborn son, Katsuya.
W: Let’s call him by the nickname, “Kats,” which rhymes with the English word “cots” (kinda).
Summer: Satoru, I’d like to have another child. Do you want to try for baby?
Satoru: Yipyipyipyipyiiiiip!!!!! *does the little shivering movement with both fists clenched
W: What does that even mean? Whatever, I’d really like for you to have twins this time.
Two of the kids could work on adult careers (Journalist and Business Investor) and the third could max a teen career!
Satoru: I’ve been waiting for a chance to mentor Summer in Handiness, so I’m a little happy when our downstairs sink breaks.
Sadly, Summer levels very slowly. It’s no wonder—she doesn’t have a single reward or aspiration trait!
She has 1,000 aspirations points now, but can’t spend them (Pro Athlete restriction).
In the basement, there’s a wedding arch where the yoga mat used to be.
Even in such a cramped space, the couple succeed in renewing their vows.
By the way, these two share a bad habit—once they change into their sleepwear, they never change back into their everyday clothes again, except to go to work.
Also, no more yoga mat, so no more Satoru in his athletic outfit. *hangs head in sorrow
Satoru: I’m off to change a dirty diaper!
W: Do you mind changing your clothes? I’d like to take a picture of you with Kats….Satoru: I’ve been meaning to ask you, Watchette. Since Kats is the firstborn, does that make him the heir?
W: Pinstar says that there are no “heirs” or “spares” since each household member can lift one career restriction. Still, I prefer the idea of a continuous legacy related by blood.S: So, how will you decide which child will move in a spouse and have children?
W: I dunno. The best-looking sim or most-skilled sim? Sound fair? Your thoughts?
Summer: It’s Friday night and two important things happen.
Around 11 pm, I get a pregnancy moodlet, informing me that I’m 24 hours away from the 2nd trimester (so the baby will be born late Monday?).
Later, Satoru comes home with a promotion to a Level 5 Line Cook.
Satoru: It's the first career promotion of this challenge so far.
I have max Charisma but I can’t “negotiate a bonus” since I can’t use the phone (eSport Gamer). This feels like one hard-earned promotion!
W: Well, we did figure out this afternoon that you can “admire art,” for a short-term Inspired boost. Is that only because you’re an Art Lover?
But yeah, this challenge is all about maxing careers in the most efficient sequence.Satoru: Why is my photo so dark?
W: We’re not allowed to build outside the 8x8 grid, so no outdoor lamps…
Satoru: On my return home on Saturday night, I surprisingly get promoted again to Level 6 Culinary.
At this branching point, I of course choose the Chef career.
Summer’s not been feeling well today so she slept through Kats’ birthday notice while I was at work. I age him up as soon as I get home.
When I roll for traits, Katz gets Summer’s Good trait plus the Artistic Prodigy aspiration.
An aspiration cannot be changed until it’s completed (Musician restriction), so we’re lucky Kats has an easy aspiration first.
W: Kats is a real cutie-pie!
By the way, Kats spent only two days as an infant. Perhaps that extra day spent in the womb (when no pregnancy test is used) is subtracted from the infant stage.
That is, 4 + 2 days instead of 3 + 3 days.
Satoru: At last, the clock strikes midnight and Sunday arrives, allowing us to buy things for Kats and the unborn child!
New arrivals in the home include a creativity table, a science table, monkey bars, a computer with desk and chair, and I almost forgot…three single beds!
We are quite broke now.
W: But the mob will come take your every last penny right after you pay your bills Monday morning (Criminal Boss), so you only need enough to to pay your bills tomorrow.
And don’t forget you work tonight, so there’s that paycheck as well.Summer: Ugh, the pregnancy and that awful bed are seriously killing my back, yet I forge on with leveling Logic.
Oh and have you checked out how much our second floor has changed?
Downstairs, Kats is making fast work of the Artistic Prodigy milestones, thanks to Satoru’s mentoring.
Satoru (with maxed Painting and Violin): Oddly, I can “Mentor” Kats in Creativity or Violin when Kats plays the violin, but can only “Encourage” him when he draws.
As you know, anyone can “Encourage” a child who’s drawing, but the Mentor social usually requires Level 10, in this case in Violin.
Summer: There’s the doorbell. It’s Johnny Zest, who lives across the street.
I have Level 9 Logic but only Level 3 Charisma, so I’m going to waddle downstairs and kill two birds with one stone.
I can socialize with Johnny while spamming “Talk about Logic Puzzle” socials.
You know I’m leveling Logic first so I can mentor our kids, right?
Good morning, Johnny! So nice of you to stop by!
And have I ever thanked you for agreeing to move your trailer to the smaller lot across the street so that Satoru and I can live in this Slipshod Mesquite lot?
W: Here’s a shot of the neighborhood. Johnny’s landscaping's been downsized a little so his trailer and yard could be relocated from a 40x30 lot to a 30x20 lot.
Summer: Perhaps due to all the hype about these two popular townies on the forum, Don Lothario comes a-knocking on our front door as well.
So I continued leveling Charisma and Logic with the two hearththrobs.
My husband? Nah, Satoru doesn’t mind. He realizes that those two ain’t got nothing on him!
All the while, Kats quietly draws pictures on the drawing table.
But as soon as Satoru leaves for work, Don and Johnny slip silently upstairs. Very suspicious! I decide to follow them and take a peek.
Oh my! After I get the two men back downstairs, I lock all the bedrooms for everyone but household members, thank you.
Satoru: Even without an Inspired mood, I work hard and finish my shift just a half tick away from my next promotion.
Kats can’t paint his fifth picture without reaching Level 8 Creativity, so I mentor him for a while.
You’ll notice that Watchette has exchanged our little dining set for island counters and stools.
They offer the benefit of a 1x1 footprint, since items larger than 1x1 cannot be moved or sold once placed in the house (BodyBuilder restriction).
W: I placed the computer facing backward, so only Summer can use it for her daily tasks after joining the Business career.
Satoru: It’s Monday morning and our beloved little C-student, Katsu, leaves for his first day of school.
I’d been worried all morning about our bills, since all we have left is $755. But the bills come to $573.
Whew! After we pay, the mob drops by for their take of…wait for it…$82.
Summer: I fall into a “Very Embarrassed” mood after I pee myself. And I already had a +1 Embarrassed mood from a “Performed poorly (From below average woohoo)” moodlet.
Watchette sends me to bed immediately to sleep off my embarrassment before it gets any worse, but I’m woken up by Satoru who decides he needs to hug me. Talk about poor timing.
Now I’m hiding in bed. Watchette sends Satoru off to paint something.
W: I was so shocked and panicked that Summer might die of mortification that I completely forgot to take any screenshots. 
Summer: After school, Kats works on leveling Creativity.
Since I can’t mentor him in Violin, I go outside and spy Don Lothario sprinting by. I guess I’ll work on my Charisma.
W: You know, Summer, for an Outgoing, Gregarious sim, you sure level Charisma at a snail’s pace.Summer: (ignores Watchette) Heeeey, Don. What’s going on?
Do you mind telling me what you and Johnny were doing in my son’s room the other day?
Don: Yeah, uh that, well, erm, Johnny and I were just, uh, we were just…
(Don takes a deep breath then speaks super fast) Johnny has a mole behind his right ear and he’s worried that it’s become malignant so he asked me to check it.
Summer: Oh, I see. And I can understand why he would ask you, Don, of all people, because you are so qualified to diagnose malignant skin growths.
Don: Oh, puhleeeze.
Summer: Hey, dude! Johnny lives by himself. Next time you two feel like playing doctor, go to his house.
(changes subject) Otherwise, howzit going, my handsome friend? You are looking fiiine as usual.
Don: Oh the same ole, same ole. (*brightens) Someone is going to write a dynasty story with me as the founder. Can you imagine? After all the sacrifices I've had to make for other sims' dynasties!
Summer: That’s awesome news, Don. You really deserve it. Just keep your paws off Johnny in our home, k?
In the evening, three events occur in rapid succession.
Kats completes Artistic Prodigy, I give birth to our beautiful daughter Erika Sanada, and Satoru gets promoted to Level 7 Pastry Chief.
I’m disappointed that I didn’t have twins, but Erika is very lovable and I can’t put off starting my career any longer. No more babies for me!
At last, Satoru gets home and starts cooking dinner!
My stomach’s been grumbling for several hours but we had no money left for cooking after the mob dropped by.
And my dearest Satoru comes home with not only a paycheck but also a promotion bonus!
Kats: Early Tuesday morning, I rush to make progress on the Whiz Kid aspiration, playing my third game of chess with Mom while Dad mentors me and Erika lies there looking adorable.
W: Sorry for the poorly-lit shots. For some reason, the house lights don’t come on.
Summer: On Wednesday morning, I bank on baby Erika’s birthday following the 4+2 pattern and find a job in Business. My first day of work is tomorrow, so I spend the morning on the daily task: filling out business reports.
And sure enough, we get the notification of Erika’s birthday late this evening, exactly 48 hours after her birth.
As a child, Erika has black hair like her father and blue eyes like me! I wonder if CAS considers me a blonde or a brunette.
Here are shots of both kids in CAS.
Satoru: With our limited resources, Summer and I do what we can to prepare her for her first day of work.
We renew our wedding vows but she’s unable to get into an Energized mood before work.
Let’s hope working hard is enough to get her to the top of her career in time!
Satoru: It’s rough being so poverty-stricken and lacking in resources in this dusty desert, after the lush abundance I enjoyed in my family home on the island.
Watchette’s Food for Thought:
Inspired MoodAs you no doubt notice, I am forgiving the use of animal hats; there’s no other way to get Inspired without violating some other restriction (no cloudgazing, no tea, no career rewards, no mood-aura paintings, no yoga/massage, etc.)
Regarding Wellness socials, I’ve decided to ban them along with yoga, massage, and meditation under the Bodybuilder restriction. *weeps
Rambunctious ScampAlthough this challenge’s creator recommends using Oasis Springs due to its desert ambience, none of the neighborhoods have a public space with a jungle gym.
If a child rolls Rambunctious Scamp, s/he will be stuck at Tier I unless we first complete Secret Agent/Diamond Agent career to lift the ban on visits to community lots and other sims’ homes.
Darn it. We should have moved in near the Goths!
* Edited to add: Thanks to
@reggikko for letting me know that the Parched Prospect neighborhood (where The Roomies live) has a public jungle gym.
Townie Auto-Ageing DisabledAccording to Pinstar, playing with auto-ageing of non-active households enable or disabled is up to each player.
I’ll have auto-ageing disabled initially but will enable it as my household ages. That way, I can move in various townies that I haven’t played yet. I’m thinking Yuki, Siobhan Fryre, and some others, but not right away.
Thank you for reading! Hope you did not find my restart too confusing!
