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

[BallerinaHippo]

Log 1.4

It’s been awhile since I’ve made an entry in this log.  There is so much to catch up on.  Nancy started me at level 4 of the criminal career, and within a week I had moved up to level 6 and had a choice to make.  Turns out, there are two branches that control everything here.  One side controls the money.  They are the ones who empty everyone’s household accounts on Mondays.  The other side controls the flow of information.  They are the ones preventing help from coming in because they don’t trust “outsiders.”  And here I thought the government simply forgot about Glassbolt What Cheer, but it goes both ways. 

Anyway, I chose the Oracle branch.  That’s the side that controls the flow of information.  I think my skills are better suited for that job, and I really need to be able to bring in some help.  I can’t possibly solve all of What Cheer’s problems by myself.  My plan is to take over as the Oracle and then allow other Sims to move here.  Maybe I’ll be able to contact my brother.  That would be sweet.
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Life has settled into a routine for me.  I mostly work at night so it’s often dark when I leave the house.
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I come home in the wee hours of the morning.  Some days are better than others, just like with any job.
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I’m usually exhausted after work so I just go to bed.  I get up again around noon to go fishing.
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Hopefully I catch something good because that’s my meal for the day.
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Then it’s time for work again.  I like to play chess to focus my mind before my shift starts.
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On my days off, I paint and practice the guitar. 
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I’m also getting really good at meditating.
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Overall, things are pretty good.  I never thought I’d say that when I first got here!  However, there’s one thing that’s starting to bug me.  Did you notice something that all of my pictures have in common?   In all of them, I’m alone.  At first, that didn’t bother me.  I’m kind of a loner, and I actually like being by myself.  But even us loners get lonely sometimes.  Lately, I’ve been feeling like there’s something- or someone- missing in my life. 

It’s not like I don’t have friends.  And some of those friends are even single females. 
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It’s just that I don’t feel any kind of spark with any of the women I’ve met here.  There’s only one girl I’ve ever felt that connection with, but she was a part of my old life, before I came to Glassbolt What Cheer.

I was promoted to Oracle today.  I’ve officially reached the top of my career.  And all I could think about was how much I would love to have a family of my own.   
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[oshizu]

Can you remind me what Liam's traits are?
Wow, that was an amazingly speedy run to the top of the Oracle career. Kudos to Liam and his Watcher!
Awww, he's thinking about baby diapers!

Can't wait to see what happens next! I'll need some popcorn...
(And I'm sure you will surprise me many times over before you finish this challenge.  )

[Shewolf13]

Oooo!  Wow, way to go Liam!  Made it to Oracle already?  That's awesome ^^ Eeee, can't wait to see who he brings in hehehe

[commasplice]

Nice work! Excited to see who he chooses for his partner!

[BallerinaHippo]

Can you remind me what Liam's traits are?
Wow, that was an amazingly speedy run to the top of the Oracle career. Kudos to Liam and his Watcher!
Awww, he's thinking about baby diapers!

Can't wait to see what happens next! I'll need some popcorn...
(And I'm sure you will surprise me many times over before you finish this challenge.  )

I'd be happy to remind you of Liam's traits.  He is a Creative, Genius, Loner.
I'm not sure if Liam made Oracle quickly or if it just seemed that way.  He had my undivided attention since I made him wait to get married.

Oooo!  Wow, way to go Liam!  Made it to Oracle already?  That's awesome ^^ Eeee, can't wait to see who he brings in hehehe

Thanks!  I covered a lot of ground in the last update because Liam was by himself.  I could only show him going to and from work so many times!  Liam's long lost love coming up!

Nice work! Excited to see who he chooses for his partner!

Thanks!  The mystery woman is in the next update!

[oshizu]

*runs off to pop some corn and gets comfy

[BallerinaHippo]

Log 1.5

So much to tell!  I don’t even know where to start! 

In my last entry, I had just reached the top of the Oracle career.  This allowed me to contact the outside world through the Gallery.  The first person I reached out to was my brother, Leo.  He responded right away and sent me this picture.
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What!  My brother is a father?!  I’m an uncle?!  Of course, it’s been years since I left home so I really shouldn’t be surprised.  Leo said his son was actually a child now, and that he’d try to come visit soon.

The next day, I took a walk after work.  It was such a nice day, and I didn’t feel like being cooped up in my tiny bunker by myself.  I had received my birthday notice that morning; and I was thinking about my life and my brother and my recent promotion.

And then I saw her.  I thought I was imagining things.  She couldn’t really be here. 
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But she was here.  As she walked closer to me, and I realized that she wasn’t just a figment of my imagination, my knees started to buckle.  I had to sit down.  She followed me to a bench, and without saying a word wrapped me up in the biggest hug.  It was like going home.  The last time I hugged her was at my young adult birthday party, and now here I was about to become an adult and she was suddenly back in my arms. 
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I couldn’t speak, so she did the talking.  “I know you’re probably surprised to see me after all these years,” she began.  An understatement!  She explained that she and Leo had remained friends and after I contacted my brother, he told her all about Glassbolt What Cheer and the problems that we still faced here.  She was most struck by the fact that decades after the meltdown, we still didn’t have clean water to drink.  Since her degree is in Mixology, she thought maybe she could help. 
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I guess I should properly introduce her.  This is Jasmin, the love of my life. 
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But I’m getting ahead of myself.  Eventually, I recovered my ability to speak, and asked Jasmin if she had a place to stay.  She didn’t (the answer I was hoping for) so I invited her stay at my place.  I took her home and cooked dinner, and we talked for hours.  I half-heartedly tried to convince her that she should return home in the morning because Glassbolt What Cheer is still a really harsh place to live, but she insisted that she was here to stay and help (also the answer I was hoping for).
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After dinner, we played chess and it was nice to play against someone who could *almost* beat me.
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I didn’t let her win, though, which turned out to be a good move on my part.  She said one of the things she always liked about me was that I always treated her as an equal and then she did this:
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After some more kissing and a few deep conversations, I sent Jasmin to bed in the guest room.  (I’m a gentleman, and besides, I needed to think.)
The next morning, I woke up and spun into adulthood.
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This timely reminder made me anxious to talk to Jasmin.  When she awoke, I took her up to the roof and told her how I felt about her- how I’d always felt about her.  I didn’t want to pressure her, but I needed her to know that I was ready to commit.  Turns out, she felt the same way about me!  That’s why she rushed to GlassboltWhat Cheer as soon as I made contact with Leo.  Am I the luckiest guy in the world or what?
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We said our vows right then and there on the rooftop.  I have no idea where my tux and Jasmin’s beautiful dress came from.  We just spun around and there we were, all dressed up.  It was magical. 
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It’s hard to believe that just a few days ago, I was alone.  Now here I am, married to the woman of my dreams.  Could life get any sweeter?


A logistical note:  On Pinstar’s AC webpage, someone asked the following:

But I can import families once I have lifted the oracle restrictions?

Pinstar replied: 

Yes you may . . .  cherry picking other sims who are well skilled is fine and part of the benefit of lifting Oracle.

When my Wonder Child challenge ended, I kept playing that file (minus Liam) so that Jasmin could earn some skills.

After Liam cleared Oracle, I moved Jasmin, Leo, and Leo’s son into an empty house in the neighborhood, then waited for one of them to appear out and about.  Jasmin appeared first.  Liam befriended her, then asked her to move in. 

Leo and his son (who you will see in the next update) stayed in the other house.  The only reason I brought them into the game was to see some familiar faces around the neighborhood.
[/i]

[BallerinaHippo]

*runs off to pop some corn and gets comfy

Haha!  Your enthusiasm is the reason I now have two stories going! 

[oshizu]

Jasmin is lovely!!! Congrats to Liam and Jasmin on their engagement and wedding! Hurray! *throws confetti and rice

Just love reading how different simmers approach this challenge, prioritizing this or that career to suit their gameplay.
Looking forward to Liam's first move! Their kids will be gorgeous!

(Thanks for not letting my popcorn get cold!)

[Shewolf13]

Woohoo!  Go Liam and Jasmine!  Loving the wedding.  And Leo's got a little one?!  Nice!

[BallerinaHippo]

Jasmin is lovely!!! Congrats to Liam and Jasmin on their engagement and wedding! Hurray! *throws confetti and rice

Just love reading how different simmers approach this challenge, prioritizing this or that career to suit their gameplay.
Looking forward to Liam's first move! Their kids will be gorgeous!

(Thanks for not letting my popcorn get cold!)

From a strategic standpoint, I probably should have had Liam marry earlier.  But I'm stubborn and really wanted to bring in Jasmin.  Her choice of career is more for purposes of the story, too. 
P.S. Their kids are pretty cute (IMHO)

Woohoo!  Go Liam and Jasmine!  Loving the wedding.  And Leo's got a little one?!  Nice!

You get to see a little of Leo's backstory in this next update.  It doesn't really affect the AC per se, but I figure it shows just how long Liam's been away.  Or something like that.

[BallerinaHippo]

Log 1.6

In my last entry, I explained how I got back in touch with my brother, found out that I was an uncle, and married the love of my life.  I didn’t think life could get any better, but it turns out I was wrong.   

Right after we said our vows, Jasmin got a job in the culinary career as a mixologist.  She wanted to get started cleaning up the water supply right away.  I totally admire her determination.  We had to wait a few days to buy her a bar to practice with because we got married on a Wednesday and we can only go shopping on Sundays.  As soon as she got that bar, though, she started getting promotions at work.  We expanded the second basement to be the same size as the other floors and put the bar down there.  I’m not allowed to use it, and Jasmin has to throw out all the drinks she makes, but she doesn’t think it will be long before she develops a solution to our drinking water problem.  Have I mentioned how much I admire her?

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One day while Jasmin was at work, there was a knock on the door.  It was Leo!  We talked and laughed and joked just like old times.  He told me about my nephew, Solomon, and then he dropped this bombshell on me:

“Thanks to your efforts at opening up the Gallery, bro, Solomon and I were able to find a house and move to Glassbolt What Cheer.”
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“What? How? Why?” I sputtered.

“You never could form sentences correctly when you’re surprised,” Leo smirked.
 
I grinned, and recovered my ability to speak in complete sentences.  “Okay, smart guy,” I said.  “Why did you feel the need to move to a place like this?  And how did you convince your wife and son that it was a good idea?”

“I came here to be near you and Jasmin,” Leo replied simply. “I don’t have a wife, and Solomon was thrilled to move.  He’s always up for a new adventure.”

I took a moment to process what he said, then asked, “No wife?”

“Nope,” Leo said with his usual cheerfulness.  “Solomon’s mother and I never married.  She left not long after he was born.  Jasmin can tell you all about it.  I actually have to go now, Solomon will be home from school soon.”

“Okay,” I nodded.  Obviously, my brother would prefer that I hear his story from Jasmin.  “When can I meet my nephew?”

“Very soon!” Leo waved, and then left.

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When Jasmin got home from work, I told her about my brother’s visit.  She was delighted to learn that Leo and Solomon had moved to What Cheer.  And she was relieved to tell me about Solomon’s mother.  “I would have mentioned it sooner, but I didn’t think it was my story to tell,” she began.

“Leo’s first girlfriend was a girl named Seema.  He wanted to impress her, so he took her for a ride in your family’s rocket ship and one thing led to another.  Seema got pregnant, and Leo asked her to move in, but it soon became obvious that Leo and Seema weren’t a good match.  She was a glutton…and mean…and she hated children.

“This is the only picture I have of Seema.  It was taken while she was pregnant.  She’s sitting on the couch, stuffing her face and watching TV.  Which is pretty much all she did when she lived with your brother.”

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“She’s charming,” I said dryly as I handed the photo back to Jasmin.

“After the baby was born,” Jasmin continued. “Seema did the best thing she could have done.  She left.”

“My brother has been a single dad this whole time?  I feel so guilty for leaving him alone!” I said.

“Oh, don’t feel bad!” Jasmin told me.  “Leo always says that Solomon is the best thing that ever happened to him.  I can’t wait for you to meet him.  Your nephew looks so much like you!”

The next day, I finally got to meet my nephew. 
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And you know what?  He does look a lot like me.  Poor thing!
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Later, Jasmin asked me if I thought I might want children of my own someday.  She didn’t have to ask me twice.
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The next morning, Jasmin felt a little queasy.
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Since we don’t have access to medical care, Jasmin was unable to take a pregnancy test to confirm our suspicions that she was eating for two.  However, it soon became obvious.  My darling wife was a trooper, even though the smell of fish made her feel nauseous throughout her pregnancy.
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I wish I could have cooked her something else, but it’s not allowed.  We did find a strawberry bush near our house, so sometimes she snacked on wild strawberries. 
Jasmin said she felt as big as a house while she was pregnant, but I think she looked great.  I tried to tell her that as often as possible.
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Basically, I was just in awe of my wife the whole time she was pregnant.  Lucky for me, she never got tired of me asking to feel the baby.
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On a Tuesday afternoon, our beautiful baby girls were born.  Yes, we had twins.  My wife has kindly asked me not to share a picture of her in labor.  So instead, here I am holding Faith, our oldest.  Jasmin is holding Hope. 
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It’s too soon to tell, of course, but I predict that both girls will be as pretty as their mama.

The girls’ infancy passed by in the blink of an eye.  Somehow Jasmin kept them both fed (because I couldn’t feed them with a bottle).  I tried to help by changing diapers and rocking them to sleep so Jasmin could get some rest.
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Soon our precious nooboos became precious toddlers.  This is Faith.  She’s independent and loves to wear hats, even to bed.
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And here’s Hope.  She’s a wild toddler and chose for herself a wardrobe of bright colors.
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Both girls like to talk.  Boy, do they ever love to talk.
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With two toddlers in the house, and both Jasmin and I still working, life is pretty hectic these days.  It’s all good, though.  My favorite time of the day is when Jasmin and I read the girls bedtime stories.  The twins look so cute snuggled in their beds. 
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Tonight, after the girls drifted off to sleep, Jasmin shared some special news.
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[oshizu]

I can see why you would want Jasmin, since you'd developed an attachment to her during the Wonder Child Project.
Makes for a great story that Liam worked so hard to be with her.
And you're right: the girls are as beautiful as their mother! I love their names, too!

Do they both have Liam's red hair? I find the combination of dark skin with red hair quite stunning.
I enjoyed Leo's backstory, too. Seema's traits were awful! Lucky for Leo and Solomon that she's gone!

Things are going great with this family! And Jasmin's looking a little pudgy. 

[commasplice]

I am so glad you updated! The twins are adorable and it sounds like Jasmin is making great progress.

[Shewolf13]

Awww, so cute! Solomon is better off without a mom like that and it's cute he looks like Liam ^^ Jasmine certainly is a trooper! Can't wait to see more babies!