Lynx in the Chain: A Power of Ten Dynasty--updated 10 March: COMPLETED!

[Meg]

I’m a bit late to the party, but congratulations on completing your first generation! Francisco’s house is lovely, it’s just a shame Yesenia couldn’t join him there.

[reggikko]

Thanks, @Meg !



After my disappointment over Yesenia, I hung out at Mom and Dad’s place for a while. This is my baby sister, Barbara. She’s just the cutest. It’s unfortunate that I didn’t get Mom’s red hair!




I worked a bit on earning my $10K by asking everyone in the household for a large loan. Dad was hesitant at first, but he’s so kind that he eventually agreed to give me the money. Maxing Charisma before I moved out was a good idea.




I also learned that even though I’ve moved out, I can still interact with Patchy. I was able to ask for gardening tips and search his pockets for seeds. I don’t know if that will be the case for future heirs, but we’re definitely going to keep it in mind.



Then I headed over to the newly remodelled Willow Creek Archive and used the new computers there to do a couple of freelance programming gigs.




I spent a few hours at The Blue Velvet, where I met Dominic Fyres. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to make good friends with him.



When I got home, I noticed some strange lights out front.



Before I really knew what was happening, I was whooshed up into the sky. I’m afraid the next thing I remember is being not so gently put down in front of the house. That was kind of scary! I’ve heard of Sims having alien babies after something like this, but that didn’t happen to me.


The next day, while I was fishing in Sylvan Glade, I had an idea for a Plan B. I had to stop moping over Yesenia and get on with my life. I remembered a girl who was one of Valeria’s high school friends. I called her up and she agreed to meet me at Magnolia Blossom Park after her shift at work.



Her name is Mariko Nakamura. We hit it off surprisingly well.



It turns out that with the right hair and makeup, she’s an absolute stunner. WOW.



Here’s a little bird’s eye view of the house interior. Mariko lived with two other Sims, so she unfortunately didn’t bring in any cash. Still, we have some walls and basic amenities. It’s good enough for a start.

NOTE: I’ve been trying to figure out a good system for updates. I’ve decided that I’ll do relatively short updates on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Stats will be updated on the Friday post. Thanks for reading!

[BallerinaHippo]

Hooray for plan B!  Mariko is gorgeous. 

I'm just starting to read all the Power of Ten Dynasties and I love everyone's different takes on it.  Francisco's house is spot-on for New Orleans.  The architecture and the colors and the front garden...perfect.

For a second there, I thought you might make @oshizu jealous and get an alienboo, but then you said Francisco was set down "not so gently" which is a good indication of NOT being pregnant.   As I recall, my male sims who have gotten pregnant by abduction have always been set down gently (but not all those who are set down gently are pregnant, if that makes sense).

[oshizu]

Haha, I initially thought your first photo was your typical tease shot: a photo of the (faceless) new spouse and her toddler with Francisco.
Aaaah, that's Catalina's third child!
Your new household has all the basics already. Nice job! I especially like the black/white and pink theme of the bathroom.
I thought Mariko was quite gorgeous even pre-makeover though her game-given name is silly.
Looking forward to hearing more about Francisco's new life!

@BallerinaHippo
Thanks for sharing your indicator for possible alien pregnancy. The aliens have loved your male sims so I consider you an authority on that matter.
Still, Erwin seems to be impervious to probabilities.

[reggikko]

@oshizu  I almost changed Mariko's name when she moved in, but it's one of my favorite Japanese names, so I kept it even though it is pretty ridiculous.

@BallerinaHippo  Interesting info on abductions. I never noticed that! Also, it's nice to see you back.

[Shewolf13]

Oh wow! Moving so fast! Mariko is gorgeous. And that little house is just wonderful ^^

[Joria]

I see Francisco wasted very little time in finding someone to soothe his heartache!  And what a stunner!  I love Mariko and it is such a pretty name for a pretty lady.  He seems to be doing very well.. Note to self:  if you can't take it with you, make sure it's on the outside of Mom's house!  lol

[reggikko]

Thanks @Shewolf13  and @Joria

Stepping out of my M-W-F posting schedule briefly because I want to get caught up to where I am in the game.

First, let’s start with a little romantic interlude.












We decided to elope at the festival rather than throwing a wedding party.



The very next day Mariko had some big news.



Our baby girl, Ana!



The house is coming along.



As is the yard and garden.



This is my little office area. I haven’t quite decided how I want to display my collection. The plates don’t fit on those shelves, which is really kind of ridiculous.

Coming tomorrow: Toddler spam!

[oshizu]

What an attractive couple Francisco and Mariko are!
And a nooboo already. Oh yes, Santa Ana! I hope Ana inherits Mariko's darker skintone.
By the way, are you influencing gender?

Your house is so much wider than I first realized!
Its interior is looking great! I'm enjoying your color combinations.
I've never seen that living room rug before.
Ooh, a collection of rare treasures!

Looking forward to Ana's toddler spam!

[reggikko]

Thanks, @oshizu !

I haven't influenced gender yet, but I might in the future if I feel like I'm getting too many heirs of the same gender.

The rug is by peacemaker_ic, part of his Colour Me Rug series.

I'm not sure the treasures are a wise choice considering the time spent in Selvadorada. I'll have to see how it goes when Ana is older. I am debating with myself on collection values. My perfectionist, competitive side tells me to go for the big money collections. My more reasonable side says that low-value collections still get you into HoF!

[Joria]

Oh your house is so nice!  Love the colors.  Yard is great too.  So little Ana arrived right about on time, right after the elopement.  Right?  You have one community lot at least under your belt as well.  I love the festivals!

[reggikko]

Here is our little angelic Ana. You may notice that Ana’s hair color changes from brown to red in this update. That’s pretty easy to explain. Our Watcher thought that Ana’s hair was red when it was actually brown. When she realized the mistake, she also realized that she could change it to red, so she did!



For efficiency and in order to avoid rage quitting, Watcher never uses highchairs. Instead, we have a loveseat in the kitchen for Ana to sit on when she eats.



It also comes in handy for reading stories, which is the fastest way to raise the Imagination skill. Reading to kids while they are toddlers will also fulfill the “read with an adult for 2 hours” milestone of the Whiz Kid aspiration.



I love this interaction. Ana gets movement skill, attention, and fun from it. It’s fun for me, too.



Ana doesn’t spend very much time skilling by herself, but sometimes the adults in the house are busy with other things. Ways to influence toddler mood are pretty limited, but this laser show gives Ana a +1 Happy moodlet, which helps with skilling.



Does it get any better than dancing in your PJs?



Heading out to the ball pit.



The ball pit is the best way to get movement skill.



Is it too early to start looking for Ana’s future intended? Nuihaur is one of my Good Friends and has two good traits so far. (NOTE: He became a GF during the party.)



We found out something that’s pretty cool. Mariko has the Child of the Islands trait and she was able to summon the Elementals even though we don’t live in Sulani. I made my two nonhuman Good Friends with two of them. Their “blessing” was a little dubious, though. Mariko got a +1 Playful moodlet that lasted for two days. The Watcher had to keep a close eye on her to make sure she didn’t become hysterical. Thanks, Elementals!



I got my last emotional whim thanks to this animal hat. Get Dazed, take a nap, done! The best way to use the animal hats for moods is to do it first thing in the morning when a Sim is in the “fine” state.



My girl is ready for her birthday party. Time goes so fast sometimes.



We invited the whole family and Ana spent some time getting to know her grandparents and aunts.



Make a wish, Ana!

Traits: Genius, Geek, Active
Lot: Bargain Bend, Willow Creek
Spouse: Mariko Nakamura
Children: Ana Lynx
Move-out requirements:
  1. Career: Tech Guru--Start Up Entrepreneur (7/10)
  2. Unique skill: Programming (8/10)
  3. Earned 10k satisfaction points: (10K/10K)
  4. Earned $10,000: (10K/10K)
  5. 10 good friends: (8/10)  Nonhuman (2/2)
  6. 10 freelance gigs or odd jobs: (5/10)
  7. 10 parties: (4/10)
  8. 10 whims for 10 different emotions: (10/10)
  9. 10 different community lots for min. 2 hrs each: (8/10)
  10. 10-item collection: (0/10)

[oshizu]

Oh, Ana is a child already! She was the most beautiful toddler!
If Nulhaur is currently a teen (and yes, he has great traits), how would you hold back the tides of time?
A young adult Ana would marry an adult Nulhaur who is henceforth plied with Potions of Youth?

Doesn't the Elementals' blessing vary with how much the asking sim has done to alleviate pollution in Mu'A Pelam?
It's like that old Janet Jackson song, "What Have You Done for Me Lately?"
Still, a two-day Playful moodlet is harsh!

Francisco is trucking! Ana will be out of there in no time!

[reggikko]

Nuihaur became a teen within a couple of days before the party, so they aren't that far apart in age, I think. I'm not really good about keeping track of ages the way you are, but he should still be a YA when Ana becomes a YA. One Potion of Youth resets him to be the same age as Ana.

As for the Elementals, I wanted to see if I could summon them and what would happen if the summoner hadn't done any improvements to Mu'A Pelam. I guess it was taking a chance since I didn't know what a curse might be, but it worked out okay. It was an easy way for Francisco to quickly make two nonhuman good friends. He has the Incredibly Friendly reward, the good manners trait, and Level 10 charisma. With one of the Elementals, a cheerful introduction resulted in instant Good Friends. The other one took a little bit of socializing, but it was certainly easy enough to do in the several hours that the Elementals stay on the lot.

[oshizu]

You're right, of course, since the YA stage is 24 days.
Here's hoping that Nulhaur has a good third trait so that Ana has options down the line!