Sims Eugenics II, or, The Mouth of Persephone

[Heart Foam]

--The ghost is Enele. Aili is hugging her late father. Team Goth is reunited.











--Sawyer was level 9, CEO. That's her waving goodbye. If she could have just made it through that day we'd have maxed the career. Enele died at level 8.









--Aili has gone into politics. I'd never joined a protest or seen one ever before.



--Kyle befriended the ever-useful Ahilac, because hanging out with aliens will boost his chances of abduction. He uses the satellite dish every day, and still has not been abducted again.

Wayne doesn't have a career, partly because we're running out of careers that we haven't done yet. (I'll have to do doctor and policeman at some point, maybe when the household has shrunk further. Sawyer has died, Kait and Yesenia are elders. So it could be down to 3 sims soon.) I tend to only do the hands-on careers when I feel like I'm not abandoning other sims or failing to raise toddlers properly. He also doesn't have Enduring Fame yet (and Aili does now) and it's unlikely that he'll hit the selfie target, or the cheers, without concerted effort.

-----

Next time: some house remodeling so they can use stairs to the last remaining unused attic. We need that space. And a scenic proposal.

[oshizu]

I can't believe how close Sawyer got to maxing the Business career! Your serum supply includes no Age-Away Serums?

As for Kyle's abductions, I'm the last person to offer advice. Wait, I obviously know nothing about alien-inducted male pregnancy but I'm deeply versed in the matter of alien abductions, LOL!
Being a high-level Scientist helps. I've also littered the area surrounding the satellite dish with space rocks in an utterly superstitious move (which I know I read about somewhere years ago).
But I'm afraid I shall never see Erwin's alienboo. *weeps

Ahilac is gorgeous!

[Heart Foam]

I rather like her winter outfit. I think that's the Secret Agent turtleneck she's wearing.

Last night I did a test with Ahilac -- this from another save I split off from this to test things -- to see if she can learn magic. She can't (her 50% alien daughter can), but...



Persephone made all the serums, including Age Away, this is true. But none were used on Sawyer since she became an elder. She started in business 2 or 3 days into elder, but she started at level 3 at least. And it's a solid Monday - Friday gig. No sim would complete the astronaut career so quickly because of all the off days. But Sawyer was a global superstar with Easy Street, and it's really quite good. She had both warnings about her life ending soon, her age bar was bubbling, but when she went off to work I thought maybe we'd got away with it. I knew it would be close. Oh well.

Yesenia has completed the military Sim in Black career. For as long as she's with us, I'll keep the rug she unlocked in the entrance hall. And Kait, having been a 1.) journalist and 2.) tech guru, started being 3.) a Criminal a few days before elder. She's a hacker, and that dovetails nicely with the programming she had just learned. She'll have zero trouble maxing that.

That set of pictures pretty much catches me up. I have a few more, but not enough for another chapter.

[Heart Foam]

I just swoon over the new stair design. I might MOO some columns in there, I might change the stairs altogether for some with walls. I might do many things. This is just a functional first go. There was a small spare bedroom that no longer exists, but now that the other side of the house is fully built it's not needed. At any rate, sims can now reach the attic above. I couldn't do stairs like I did on the other side of the house, because on this side it blocks the door to the inspiration room. And I really don't feel like moving everything there.





Aili and Wayne immediately become spellcasters. From what I've watched and read, spellcaster rank doesn't matter regarding the bloodline trait. So if they had a baby now, that baby (Red Goth 3) would get the weak bloodline trait. I think? Anywho. 

While magic is all the rage, the sims will be in here a lot. It's a mirror image of the space that became a home spa in the west wing.



Kait, with her lovely blue eyes that match the furniture, pickpockets Kyle. This is to raise mischief of course, because that woman is a Criminal!



*being a Criminal is discouraged. Please consult your nearest Police Station.



Both Aili and Wayne can insta-friend the mages, and one was invited over. In a non-magical world, the mages are like any other spellcasters. You can't ask them for new spells or recipes. With these sims, Wayne and Aili, it's not really been possible to just live in the magic realm, quickly leveling up, because there's Kyle, and Kait, and Yesenia. So, yes, it's easy, but if you're playing a house of 5 or 6 sims it'll not feel quite as effortless as with a single sim. Here, we have to make time to be magical. It's a complimentary part of the sims' lives, not the main event. Repairing items, and (my favourite) setting the annoying trash bushes that have grown on the beach on fire, then cleaning up the mess, is a big part of how Wayne has (and is) gaining spellcaster xp. He's doing the spellcaster aspiration, and Aili is doing the potion aspiration.



I gave Red Goth 2 another outfit that felt more Spellist than the Bella dress. There's an excuse to use some flamboyant makeup. Up close it's not bad, but from a distance it looks like she just put a stripe of pink paint across her eyes. I haven't stuck with it.

Winterfest was basically a polar vortex. Snow is fun, snow is exciting...



... but after many winters of this level of snow I'm getting sick of it. As I'm sure I would in real life. I've been looking at the beautiful desert views in Strangerville (the Plateau Place lot) and in the midst of another paralyzing blizzard in Brindleton Bay, I'm sorely tempted towards warmer climes.

Anywho. We tried Lighthouse woohoo, still bugged as of 1.55. Sigh. But I like that screenshot.



Aili found a bit of carbon and gave it to Wayne who didn't want it.

I had my doubts that a proposal would be accepted.

They have max friendly and max romance bars... but he's Unflirty, and she rolled Non-committal at her YA birthday. So between them, they make a mess of this. They might be soulmates, they might have shared interests, similar education, but... true love is hard sometimes. ;p

And if a proposal (was it the weather that ruined it?) as cloyingly cookie-cutter Romantic didn't work, I'm worried that there's a fairly good chance of failure every time.  Sure, we'll try again, but... ?



Wayne tells Aili it was his great plan to reject her all along! She mustn't worry!

She look's upset though. Bad move Wayne.

But he did buy her a rocket broom. He already had one. It was a spare, basically.



This was all during Winterfest because Aili didn't have politicking to do and there was a few hours to be magical. Which makes the point that if you have a busy house, you're not going to be racing through the spellcaster levels.



Proposal take 2:



Unflirty Wayne asks non-committal Aili to hang out a bit more, with a nice bit of compressed carbon.

"But dude, I've loved you and put up with you for ages. What I'm I supposed to do with it? Give me something useful."

"Broccoli, I'm just showing you how to propose, because I'm a man, and I'll do it better."

"I'll accept just so you never ask again, if that's okay?"

(Okay, right, for now the wedding is on. Will not happen during a blizzard. First day of Spring, which is Sunday, looks clear.)

Wedding prep:







Aili was quickly learning yoga so she could teleport to the weather machine in the roof, just in case the wedding day was cold or the snow hadn't melted. Thing is, this gives athletic skill too, and you'll see from pictures of the wedding in her strapless dress that she's rather powerfully built in her arms and shoulders.



Wayne magically set fire to a trash plant outside the lot. (I'm so happy it's gone!) But it panicked the tourists. He's still on 2 selfies. Sigh.

And... Kyle's second abduction. Has he been impregnated where others have failed?



No he hasn't. Of course not.

Next is the wedding.

[oshizu]

How great to see you enjoying the Realm of Magic so much!
I will not buy/install RoM until one of my Power of Ten decides to move there.
In the meantime, I can live vicariously through your household.

[Heart Foam]

In rereading this I noticed that a picture of Aili dueling a sage outside the house went missing in the previous update. It's now there.

-----

Wedding!

Not yet. Calm. Patience. And should we so eagerly hurtle towards another generation? The mouth? I kinda want it to be gone.



Hot Wayne, like his great-grandmother Hot Katherine, is not hot. Because it's winter.

Unfortunately, one of the sims that has made lasting difference and has changed the name of the family, and who looked good in red, did not live to see the wedding. Yesenia was a super talented musician, she was world renowned for her hit piano composition "That Took Too Long"*, and infamous for giving the Grim Reaper an autograph instead of mourning, which seemed a tad heartless.

*I literally can't remember.



In fact, Grim in the background looks super pumped to see a celebrity. So... hey... you've got a fan there. Useful? I guess?

In the course of the wedding the arch as changed to the red ribbon swatch, and the diving platform and blue whale pool lounger were removed. Didn't suit the occasion. You'll see some guests from the magic realm.











*Red Goth 2 is nice

Perhaps my favourite picture:



It's just between animations. But Aili is looking fierce, and straight ahead, and Wayne is not meeting her eye contact... plotting something.









*I may, or may not, deliberately take pictures of Wayne that make him look stupid.



Ahilac and Kyle, mixologist and caterer.

And that was the wedding. Aili is pregnant with Gen 7, Red Goth 3. Hopefully Sulani Mana + the new bloodline trait (albeit weak, but you've gotta start somewhere). The nooboo is not born in game; I haven't played that far. I hope it's a she, because she will hopefully have gen 8 with Father Winter. Trait stacking! Perfect sims!

Kyle's third abduction...



... is he pregnant? No. Of course he isn't.



Kait maxed her third career. She was a good Criminal. She's since retired, and started getting notifications about her long life.

Kyle's constant contacting of aliens didn't get him abducted this time, but brought over 6 aliens, or 7 if you count Ahilac. And I do. I think she, as a 100% alien, was triggered by this event to show up. Of the aliens we hadn't met before, all but one were male.



And I still think Ahilac's green & gold is a gorgeous colour combo. Why don't people like aliens?! Look at her. Way more fun than cartoonish, over-tanned Bella Goth.

-----



James Harthouse continued to lounge in the same place and attitude, smoking his cigar in his own easy way, and looking pleasantly at the whelp, as if he knew himself to be a kind of agreeable demon who had only to hover over him, and he must give up his whole soul if required. It certainly did seem that the whelp yielded to this influence.

~ Dickens, Hard Times

It's one of those poignant lines that sticks in the memory. And came to mind.

[oshizu]

I agree that Ahilac is stunning! Aliens drawn to Erwin's lot by the satellite dish also always consisted of one female and the rest male sims.
What's the reasoning behind that ratio, I wonder. Did you notice that I placed a geode collection and space rocks near Erwin's satellite dish.
He got abducted nearly every other night, lol. Almost always around 10 pm. Good luck, Kyle!

Wayne grows on me. I love him in tux and top hat! In profile, he is very attractive.
Great wedding! (except for the guest in her swimwear....)

[Heart Foam]

There's so many good CAS items that I never use, and I saw that tailcoat and had to complete the look. I might do the civilized thing and fix his mouth now. He's contributed those genes to the family line, and doesn't need to suffer my humor any more. I'm really interested to see their kid. Blonde, blue-eyed Goth? Mouth Goth?

The alien men are trying to escape Senior Pollination Technician #3? Or gender stereotyping -- men are the geeks who would be drawn to puny human sending signals out. The aliens who show up are their society's equivalent of Erwin. On the other hand, I'm sure the science office party on Sixam usually generates more female aliens for me. I'm glad the aliens appreciated your effort! Kyle is only days away from elder. I don't think that decreases pregnancy chance, but him dying certainly will. He needs to get on it. I think having him befriend so many aliens must help him get regularly abducted from now on.

[Heart Foam]

I think the Mouth of Persephone is Gone...

[oshizu]

The suspense builds....

[Heart Foam]

We won't know for certain until the kid is a teenager, but signs are promising!

-----



Aili got sent home early because she was in Labour (not the Tories or Lib-Dems. Sorry. Lame joke. Politics? Labour? Hard to resist! An eyeroll at least?), but got promoted to President anyway. Well, level 10 of politics.

She and Wayne went to the hospital...



... where, after the birth to baby Danica Goth, she spins into her classic Goth red dress.

But no! That would be too normal, too easy. Upon returning home (okay, she's also surprised that her husband is famous) but she's back in her hospital patient gown thing. And so began the game of trying to not change that outfit for as long as possible.







Kait died. It happens.

I think both Aili and Wayne are 'emotion bombs'. Which is not a bad thing. They get over the death of a family member or friend (because, those phone calls... sigh... ) with an emotional meltdown, and the sadness is over. It's not a quirk I get rid of. It's actually really useful in keeping the peace.

Wayne was offered an acting career. He's a global superstar and starts at level 6. *STARTS* at level 6.





His first gig was Dignity & Decorum... (I know Katherine, back in the day, was an actress. Did we max acting with her? I'll have to reread my own saga to find out.) ...required rehearsing romance scenes.

But although acting can be quite adaptable to raising a toddler, it would mean both parents might be away from home at the same time. Obviously we want to raise Danica properly. And if Aili went to work, she'd change outfit... and... no. Too soon!



So the National Leader has Resigned! Gasps throughout Brindleton Bay. But then, there were rumours about the mental health of the Dear Leader who seemed to be making alternative clothing choices.

Kyle is an elder. Bad news for him continuing his family line from The Maid. I'm doing my best Kyle, maybe try be a bit more alluring during the next abduction? Yeah? Cool? Another 2 or 3 abductions happen in the course of this chapter, but no pregnancy.





I love that one. Aili looks properly Erratic. She's not. But she could be.

When Danica is a toddler, travelling to the magic realm will feel like an unnecessary indulgence. Because toddlers don't just sleep when you're not there, and I'd rather be home raising kids. So, while we can, and while Aili looks like she has escaped... we went to shop for a Morcubus. Most other potion ingredients can be found fairly easily, or ordered on the computer. Yes, the Shoppe had a Morcubus. Don't worry. And breathe. There. 





We had that relic on the archaeology table lying around since... I don't know how long. And we're a family of archaeologists... sort of. Yes, you can 'copypasto' artifacts that are sent for authentication. Aili spawned another two, in fact. And then had three to authenticate, each for 3000 - 4000 simoleons. Irrelevant when you have millions, but worth knowing for a new save. 



I'm not sure on the details of that any more, but I think it was Love Day, and I think he's serenading his wife.*

*trying to serenade his wife...



And, Danica is blonde!



Aili made it through the entire babyhood, and toddlerhood -- did not age Danica up early -- without changing clothes. It's the same room that Aili and Wayne slept in as children, but with different walls and some decoration.

-----

A short post, 5 or 6 pictures from CAS of Danica... and actually Wayne too, he got his mouth fixed... coming shortly. Will do it right after this.

[Heart Foam]

And here is the Brand New 7th generation sim in the family! Danica Goth, weak magical bloodline, Sulani Mana. A blonde, blue-eyed Goth. Sacrilege!





I think she's inherited Aili's mouth. I'm thinking back to Kait and Wayne as toddlers, and they didn't look like this.

As a Criminal, Kait unlocked the Matrix coat. These are Wayne's 3 everyday outfits. I remembered to give him a vest and cap. Looks pretty good.





Aili still hasn't changed!

[Shewolf13]

A blond, blue-eyed Goth? Oh my! Love that coat. Heh, love watching them pass out after failing potions XD

[Heart Foam]

Hey Wolf. Arg. In the real world, the monitor for that computer of mine blew, and I can't Sim, or get to additional screenshots of this save. Danica is / was a child. I haven't seen her as a teen yet.

Kyle was given a potion of immortality to stop him from dying of old age while the quest for abductions continues.

I briefly swapped houses to make some sims vampires to keep them alive, not even a full sim day. When I came back... no Kyle. He had died. Of old age. The thing with Kyle is I had cheated his Sulani Mana trait on, basically to replace the experiment I'd have done with Enele.

But now with spellcasters that can instantly bring Enele out from his gravestone and dedeathify him, he was added to the household again. Alive. Still an adult. And he takes over as the man we're trying to get abducted.

But it is worth mentioning the Potion of Immortality did *nothing* to keep a sim alive when he was in a non-active household.   

[Shewolf13]

Oh noes! I am so sorry to hear that! Wow, that's- odd. Very strange indeed. I hope that you will get back to your sims soon.