Bewitched Berries Epilogue: An Embarrassment of...Berries [Completed 14 Mar '23]

[PeregrineTook]

What a lovely update!  And a sweet little puppy with a mysterious note?  Intriguing!
Sounds like their poor Watcher had a rough time with fire drills, asking for advice, cheerleading practice being weirdly individual, and all manner of other obstacles, but you managed to keep everyone right on track somehow.  Very impressive!
Poor Momo getting sassed because the game wouldn't let her go to school, but then being an absolute rock star and getting so much done around the house (despite Patchy and his plantain).  She's a rock star just like her mom and great-aunt  ;=)
Looking forward to seeing the next gen kiddos in their new place!

[oshizu]

What a lovely update!  And a sweet little puppy with a mysterious note?  Intriguing!
Sounds like their poor Watcher had a rough time with fire drills, asking for advice, cheerleading practice being weirdly individual, and all manner of other obstacles, but you managed to keep everyone right on track somehow.  Very impressive!
Poor Momo getting sassed because the game wouldn't let her go to school, but then being an absolute rock star and getting so much done around the house (despite Patchy and his plantain).  She's a rock star just like her mom and great-aunt  ;=)

Looking forward to seeing the next gen kiddos in their new place!

I was starting to have my doubts about Momo; she's one of those sims you have to tell 4-5 times before she'll do what she's told.
Perish the thought that she gets easily distracted like her Watcher! But, yes, she totally redeemed herself!
The parents had readied ready-to-evolve catnip herbs in advance but she still managed to complete the last three milestones of Freelance Botanist in a single day, plus give life to Patchy (and his plantain).
Also, Momo rolled Dog Lover as her teen trait.  I'm sure Momo will spoil Nez rotten.

Me, too! Me, too! I love Tartosa but I'm ready for new adventures!

[Rhoxi]

Such poor beleaguered parents - so desperate to get away from their children! I'm rather curious about what's up with Nez . . .

[oshizu]

Such poor beleaguered parents - so desperate to get away from their children! I'm rather curious about what's up with Nez . . .

The parents have outlived their usefulness.  Ren/Djavan could move out but the next generation must stay until Cerise is an adult.
With four teens, one of their character values is always dropping due to asking for advice.
I'm quite ready to play a smaller household, lol.

[oshizu]

8.37x: Higher and Higher


A few weeks ago, on an island farm in Sulani
oshizu: What a great idea to level up our Fitness for cheerleading!
Pippin: Absolutely, we'll put those Berries to shame!
oshizu: Uh, you mean, that we'll all look better cheering, right?
Pippin: Well, you know the teens all joined Cheer Team. We cannot look bad!

oshizu: Let's not overdo it! I don't want to ruin my slender profile!
Pippin: Same here. Besides, it's time we went back to welcome our two guests.


Meanwhile, at the bottom of a soaring peak
Taro: Does my mysterious pen pal truly expect me to climb this mountain?
I have zero mountaineering experience. I've never seen snow before today.


Eh, I'm not going back home to level up my Rock Climbing skill.
I'm a wizard.  I can transportalate! Let's goooooo!


Even so, the long trudge between climbs is exhausting.
I can't figure out who chose the puppy's name then gave him to me.
When I asked Sage Morgyn if our Watcher did it, he said no.
Who else would go through all this trouble to be so secretive?
Ugh, I sense a blizzard coming on. Good thing I brought a tent.


The next day
I couldn't sleep well last night but resume climbing as soon as I wake up this morning.
How much farther is my destination?
I'm nearing my limit, I tell you.  Oh wait, there in the distance!
Do I spot a Tibetan Buddhist monastery?


I finally arrived!
But I can't stop thinking about the guy I passed by down below. He looked a lot like…
Nah, what are the odds of my favorite occult P.I. showing up around here?
I mean, why would Harry Dresden travel all the way here from Chicago?
It must have been my imagination. *shakes head to clear brain


Monk 1 (right): Aaaah, Taro has arrived!  Tashi delek, Taro!
Monk 2 (left): Welcome, Taro! Our hovercraft is full of eels!
Taro: Why do you know me? Do you have any idea why I've had to come here?
Monk 1: You must be tired. Let's sit down to talk.


oshizu (right): I'm your Watcher, boi.  And this here's Pippin, your Honorary Watcher.
Taro: Why are you bald, Watcher?  More importantly, why are you both here?
Pippin (left): We've been undercover for a few weeks in this monastery.
oshizu: Can you believe I had to temporarily switch genders to wear this robe?
(If only if I could've worn a shirt under this robe…)


Pippin: We'd brought Mouse, Harry's Caucasian Shepherd (left), here to mate with a female Tibetan Mastiff (right).
Hearing you're a big Dresden fan, Harry wanted to gift you one of Mouse's puppies and asked us to arrange it.
oshizu: After the litter's birth, we sent your puppy to Sage Morgyn then have been waiting for visits from Harry and you.
Pippin: He just left here after picking up Mouse. What a shame you missed Harry!


Taro: My Nez is Mouse's son and a gift from my idol Harry Dresden? *gets weepy
oshizu: Of course. Why'd you think you were told to name him "Nez"?
Taro: Well, "nez" is French for nose so I thought it might be a Took joke.
oshizu: In this case, "nez" is short for nezumi, which is Japanese for "mouse."
Pippin: you missed meeting Mouse but we can take you to meet Nez's mother, if you wish. *leads the way


Taro: Well, that clears up the mystery surrounding my puppy Nez.
Hey, what's going on with your latest island farm, Watcher?
oshizu: I thought you'd never ask! 
Stepping out of my farmhouse on Fall 1, I had a surprise visit from Yuri.
Yuri's a doctor and one of my top two fave townies.


My new farmer continues to stalk--I mean, woo--my other fave townie, Wakuu.
Three others also have 4 hearts, only because we gave them loved gifts on their birthdays.
But no rush in choosing a partner, since the game's still in early acess.
The romance, marriage, and children features won't be available until next year.


My previous farmer had 16 kegs, but my new farmer's doing so much better!
She'd crafted 32 kegs by early Fall and 5 more by the end of the season.
She be brewing wine, beer, ale, sake, and juice like there's no tomorrow!


My previous farmer failed to reach Town Rank C by Fall 15.
That's the last day to reach Rank C and still earn the greenhouse in Year 1.
In my restart, my new farmer reached Rank C on Fall 10. Hurray!
After that, she had to wait and offer two Winter forageables for the greenhouse reward.


The island carpenters finished building our greenhouse on Winter 3.
Lovely, isn't it?


Here's the greenhouse interior a few days later. It has a 14x14 grid.
That's a mismatch for my 5x5 sprinklers. Maybe we'll get 7x7 sprinklers later?

Anyway, that's what's up with my farm, Taro. Thanks for asking.


Taro: How great that you've played nearly all of the early access content.
(What a relief that she'll be around while I'm the active heir!)
Oh, and I have question.
oshizu: Sure, go ahead and ask us.

Taro: Well, Harry lives in Chicago, so I also want to live somewhere gritty and urban.
But I don't want to live in San Myshuno and most other towns are too suburban.
Pippin: You should move to wherever fits your vision of who you want to be, son.
It doesn't matter if Berries already live there or not.
oshizu: Agreed. There's one hood that's probably as gritty and urban as you'll get in our world.


Taro: Thanks for the feedback, Watchers! What a huge relief!
I really didn't want to live in Windenburg, Brindleton Bay, or the HoB!  I'll be off now.
Pippin: Wait, wait! Before you go, we need to cheer with your mother one last time!
Let me covertly phone your fam to invite them here as our guests.  *goes outside for better reception


Taro: Mama Sango's not coming? Why?
Pippin: She said she needed to stay home and continue preparing for your move.
oshizu: I bet you told her, Pippin, that a group routine consists of 7 sims max.
Pippin: Uh, maaaaaybe? *blushes

Cerise: Huh? We're in a secret gym, deep inside a Himalayan monastery?
Pippin (ignores Cerise's question): Ooooh, I get to be in front!


Pippin: Only oshizu and Taro behind me? Why is everyone else sitting? Cerise?
Cerise: We want to join but can't. Maybe cuz we didn't actually climb the peak like you three?

Pippin: Hey, what's with these screenshots? They're missing our fancy backflips and splits!
oshizu: Yeah, yeah. Ever tried cheerleading and taking screenshots at the same time?
Taro: Stop bickering, you two.  We be lookin' fiiiine!


Momo: We came all the way here to sit on a bench and watch the three of them cheer?
Selena: I know, right? The Watchers didn't even bother to offer us tea or snacks!
Momo: Booooring! Life really sucks when you're not the heir.
Selena: True dat. Let's make like berries and jam!


Taro: Thanks for everything, Watchers!
I'm grateful for all you did to help Harry get me my puppy Nez!
oshizu & Pippin: *waves farewell
Taro (mutters): They may not be the worst Watchers but they're definitely oddballs.
Hopefully, I'll be able to visit them again.  But in Sulani next time.




Notes
*Higher and Higher: R&B classic and a pioneer of the Chicago Soul genre.
  Performed by Jackie Wilson in 1967. Chicago Soul because Harry's from Chicago.

*Disclaimer: I have profound respect for Tibetan culture and Tibetan Buddhism.
  This episode makes no attempt to portray either authentically.
  It's merely a feeble attempt at humor and extra-ness, revolving around Harry's dog and Taro's puppy.

*This episode heavily references Harry Dresden, a fictional wizard and private investigator from Dresden Files.
  Authored by Jim Butcher, it's one of my very favorite series. Urban fantasy at its finest.
  Harry's mostly modest, often snarky and hilarious, yet always magically awesome.
  If you've never read Dresden Files (but you should!), this episode might confuse.

*Kye Gompa: Photographed by Ksuryawanshi.
  A gompa is a fortress-like Tibetan Buddhist center of learning and spiritual practice.
  Kye Gompa is located in the Himalayas between Tibet and India.
  Sitting at an altitude of 13,668 feet above sea level, it's very high indeed.

*Nez: An adult male Caucasian Shepherd ranges from 110 to 220 lbs.
  In contrast, an adult male Tibetan Mastiff ranges from 90-150 lbs.
  Frankly, Sims 4 CAP (Create-A-Pet) has no Caucasian Mountain Shepherd breed, so Nez is a Tibet Mastiff.
  The two breeds look rather similar, so that's that.

[Granny Lawlor]

What a fun way to bridge the gap between generations! You're messing with my head with all the cross-over/merged reality stuff but I'm really enjoying it! Thanks for explaining the Dresden Files refs.
How odd that you needed to switch gender to wear the robe - it's not exactly revealing. Cold for the mountains, yes, but quite respectable. I thought all outfits were supposed to be gender-available.

[PeregrineTook]

The Dresden Files is such an AMAZING series!!!  Absolutely loving that Taro is embracing his inner Harry!!  And the nez is French for nose so he thought it was a Took joke was pretty great  ;=)
Another lovely update, oshizu, and I was delighted to be part of it :=)

[oshizu]

What a fun way to bridge the gap between generations! You're messing with my head with all the cross-over/merged reality stuff but I'm really enjoying it! Thanks for explaining the Dresden Files refs.
How odd that you needed to switch gender to wear the robe - it's not exactly revealing. Cold for the mountains, yes, but quite respectable. I thought all outfits were supposed to be gender-available.

In my Sharebears Legacy, I did a similar thing where I staged dream sequences for every generation, featuring places or characters related to each heir's traits and other particulars.
It's a fun way to let my imagination run free after sim-weeks of satisfying challenge requirements.
The monk robes our simselves were wearing is custom content designed for male sims with a masculine physique. 
When I tried switching my sim to a male with a feminine physique, the 4-swatch robe wouldn't appear. 
Other simmers (like sdhoey) know how to take the cc into the Sims 4 Studio app and recategorize it for female sims but, alas, that isn't one of my skills.

The Dresden Files is such an AMAZING series!!!  Absolutely loving that Taro is embracing his inner Harry!!  And the nez is French for nose so he thought it was a Took joke was pretty great  ;=)
Another lovely update, oshizu, and I was delighted to be part of it :=)

Harry Dresden fans UNITE!
Haha, now you can brag--um, not exactly sure to whom you would brag--that you've scaled the Himalayas.
Also, my apologies that your simself couldn't be the top dog in a 7-sim cheer routine.
And you can imagine my disappointment when a Google search taught me that a pose pack would be required for a 7-sim cheerleading pyramid.

[Rhoxi]

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. I just might have to check out these Dresden Files! It does sound interesting.

[oshizu]

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. I just might have to check out these Dresden Files! It does sound interesting.

@Rhoxi
Since you love occults, Pippin and I (yes, I'm dragging him into this) are 100% certain that you will love this series!
Book 1, Storm Front, was written while the author was still a grad student and doesn't represent his best work but it still smokes!
The series features EVERY kind of occult and Harry the wizard has the best lines!!!

[oshizu]

8.38: Rollin' Rollin' Rollin'


Week 38, Sunday (2nd week of summer, Y3)
Taro: Well, our fathers moved out Friday and my puppy Nez joined us on Saturday.
The seven of us are bookended by Santos and Selena, whose mother is Sango.
Next to them are me and Momo, whose mother is Cerise.
In the center are Mama Cerise with puppy Nez and her wife Sango.


Recently, I learned the secret of Nez's origins by journeying to a monastery in the Himalayas.
There, I met Nez's dam, but missed meeting his sire Mouse and my idol Harry Dresden.
I wonder if Nez will manifest magical powers like Mouse? Probably not.


Faced with my imminent move, I struggle to decide where to focus my efforts.
Should I learn to be funnier or complete my Microscope Prints Collection?
Or should I take advantage of our gym to become a bodybuilder?


Darn! I missed the moment Nez aged up to an adult, because I was out jogging.
As soon as I get back, I serve Nez some gourmet dog food.



Monday
Today's Mama Cerise's birthday and we all take the day off.
No shot of her blowing out her birthday candles, though.
Just as she was blowing them out, Selena took advantage of Watcher's distraction to ask Mama Sango for advice.
Watcher: Aaarrgggh!!! *pulls hair out


Cerise: Yes, that's right. I'm phoning to inform you of my resignation.
I've wanted to write full-time for a long time and I've waited long enough!
Besides, I'm no longer the sole breadwinner of a large household.
From today, it'll just be my wife and I.


Taro: I'm only asking Mama for $1,500 in moving expenses instead of the usual $22,000.
In exchange, I'm taking one of each of our garden seeds except, of course, the Money Tree.
The four of us will also take with us everything we've found, crafted, or received.
I've already contacted a real estate agent to put a certain house on hold for us.


Selena: I need to text Papa Ren to come get me immediately..
I didn't work hard to become a Highflier so I can camp out in the wilderness!
Taro: Calm down, Selena. As soon as we convert our stuff to cash, we'll buy a house.
Momo: Thank goodness. You had us worried there for a minute, Taro.


Taro: Here we are.  Feeling better now, girls?
The house's color can't be helped, since we're the Peach generation.
But it's otherwise an efficient three-bedroom family home.
What do you think?


For $34,501, it's unfurnished except for a few counters, a toilet, and a shower.
We have a big budget for furnishing the house, so let's get started.
Dibs on the master bedroom and lab, which I'll furnish myself.
I'll take care of Nez's things, too.



Tuesday
Selena: You've all have graduated early but I've decided to stay in school.
You might not care about Prom, but I do! And I haven't met anyone special yet.
Momo: But you're gonna stay here with us, right?
Selena: Here, I share a bedroom with you, but I'd have my own room in DSV.
I'll help with getting settled here, though. Let's finish building the rocket ship!


Selena: We finish building the rocket ship and now we're upgrading it? Where's Taro?
Momo: He left for Britechester to take a Comedy skill class.
Selena: The life of a live-in legacy lackey is definitely not for me!
Unless we start having more fun, girl, I'm outta here.



Wednesday
Taro: Is this fun for you, Nez? Maybe next time, we can go for a jog instead.
Nez: Woof!


Taro: Santos and Momo hook up with our old friends from grade school today.
Santo's new BFF Kerri is erratic and socially awkward.
Momo's good friend Adonis is gloomy and romantic.

I haven't seen them since they became our Social Butterfly friends.
Wanna bet Santos and Momo have been spamming them on Social Bunny?



Thursday
Selena's moving out to live with our fathers tonight in Del Sol Valley.
Momo and Santos want to stay teens to work on their romantic relationships.
So, I go ahead and age up by myself.
I can't be a P.I. like Harry Dresden, so I join the Entertainer career to polish my snark instead.


We celebrate all we've achieved so far with an evening at the Cadenza Lounge.
Momo works up the nerve to ask Adonis to be her boyfriend, which shocks the proper Selena.
I spot the blond (far right) who I mildly crushed on as a teen.  Hitomi, was that her name?
Seems like so long ago now.


Taro: Thanks so much for helping me get started here, Selena.
I couldn't have done it without you! What's next for you?
Selena: Papa Ren's agreed to send me away to a private school.
I like the idea of going to a different world where all the hot boys aren't Berries!



Friday
Taro: I max my Comedy skill this morning but don't feel much wittier.
So, instead of sharing that "Skill maxed!" splash, here's my magic lab.
I know, I know. Harry Dresden has his lab in the basement.
But as a lazy sim, I can't be bothered to use stairs.


Tonight, thanks to a lucky chance card, I get promoted and branch to the Comedian career.
Oh, heck no! How'm I 'sposed to get my drip on with this tired plaid jacket?
I didn't think I'd ever become a Popo, but I can't go around dressed like this!
*joins the Detective career



Saturday
Taro: My first day as a Detective is pathetic.
I stay late because I can't find a 3rd piece of photo evidence until 6:30pm.
And let's not discuss this stupid hat that entirely covers my high top dreads.


Selena: Wow, Taro out on the town twice in one week? What's up?
Momo: Dunno. After his first day as a popo, he said he needed to get wasted.
Selena: His first day went that bad, huh?


Taro: It's not easy getting older. You feel what I'm sayin'?
The other day, I told my doctor I was having trouble with my joints.
Idiot advised me to try rolling them tighter. The heck?


Momo: Great-Grandpa Damson, please introduce us to your hottie friend!
Damson: Oh, you mean my youngest son, Venkat?
Momo: Oh, um, pleasure to meet you, Great-Uncle Venkat.
Selena: Just kill me now!


Taro: I'd written 5-6 routines while leveling my Comedy skill.
Performing three of them tonight takes no time at all.
I'm officially "Hilarious"!



Progress: End of Week 38

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Residence: Celebrazioni d'Amore, Porto Luminoso (Tartosa)

Cerise (Gen7 heir) - Adult (Requirements completed: Mon, Week 38, Y3)
Traits: Neat, Unflirty, Creative
Spouse: Sango; Children (with Djavan): Taro & Momo
Remaining task
✔️As an adult, quit day job to pursue dreams

Sango DuBois (Gen7 spouse): Adult
Spouse: Cerise; Children (with Ren): Santos & Selena


Residence: Vacuous Green, Mirage Park (Del Sol Valley)

Taro (Gen8 heir) - Young adult
Traits: Goofball, Foodie, Lazy
Remaining tasks
✔️Skills: Comedy 10, Gourmet Cooking 10
✔️Aspiration: Joke Star 4/4; ✔️Bonus Aspiration: Spellcraft & Sorcery 4/4
Bonus collection: Microscope Prints 10/12
✔️Must live in different world than where raised
Career: Comedian 5 (for Joke star); Detective 4/10
Moonlight as a comedian

Gen8 Roomies - Teen (7 days to YA)
*Momo (Gen8 spare) - Perfectionist, Dog Lover
*Santos (Gen8 cadet kid): Adventurous, Loyal

Nez (Adult, Tibetan Mastiff) - Independent, Smart, Friendly

Notes
*Goal Oriented's Highflier: This reward trait seems to work with all careers.
  The default wage for a L4 Entertainer is $54/hr but Taro's is $77/hr.
  Ditto for a L4 Detective: $52/hr (default) vs. $74/hr (Taro the Highflier).

*Police Station: I'm using the default police station.
  But I added three extra desks with computers to the case room.
  Now, nobody  at the precinct needs to wait to use a computer.

[Granny Lawlor]

Ah - Taro went for the Joke Star aspiration. I haven't decided about that yet as it's not an official requirement and they have to be in the career.
Poor Momo & Selena - only having good looking guys that they're related to! I can see why Selena wants to move away.

Great tip about adding the computers/desks to the police station! Thanks Such a shame that Nez can't join you at work. Maybe he can help with some off-the-books renegade-cop stuff! Can I guess that you're suggesting your co-workers apply for their dream jobs? Or are there some others we've not seen yet?

[PeregrineTook]

My go-to trick in the detective career is to give a co-worker who's at a computer a hug and then steal their spot  ;=)  You're obviously much nicer than I am.
Loving the wizard's lab (though in my mind it is in the sub-basement as all wizard's labs should be  ;=).
Taro can always customize the work outfit.  Maybe a nice trench coat with mystical wards woven into the stitching?  ;=)
The joint issue joke was so bad!
A fantastic update, and if Adonis ever does anything to hurt my darling Momo, I just might send my Simself along with his Dwarf and Elf back-up to teach that lad a lesson!
Oh, and is the name of the update intentionally a reference to a Brave Girls song?

[oshizu]

Ah - Taro went for the Joke Star aspiration. I haven't decided about that yet as it's not an official requirement and they have to be in the career.
Poor Momo & Selena - only having good looking guys that they're related to! I can see why Selena wants to move away.

Great tip about adding the computers/desks to the police station! Thanks Such a shame that Nez can't join you at work. Maybe he can help with some off-the-books renegade-cop stuff! Can I guess that you're suggesting your co-workers apply for their dream jobs? Or are there some others we've not seen yet?

For Gen8, Joke Star appears as a mandatory requirement on the 2017 Tumblr page of LilSimsie, one of NSB's two creators. Here's her link: https://lilsimsie.tumblr.com/post/157671494755/not-so-berry-legacy-challenge
Joke Star only requires branching to the Comedian career at L5 Entertainer. With the Connections reward, Taro started at L4 and got his promotion in one work shift.

In truth, I'd looked at a half dozen Police Station lots on the Gallery, but found none to my liking.
Almost all had the inmates, cells, interrogation room, etc. in the basement. They might look nice but would be horribly inefficient for gameplay.
LilSimsie uploaded a "refresh" lot, where she simply refreshed the original decor, but the gallery comments mention the lot being broken. Also, it had a lot of clutter, which I tend to avoid to minimize lag.
I did "emulate" her idea of more computer desks. My only other change was a vending machine for snacks in the ground floor locker room. No going upstairs if Taro's hungry, lol.

We were excited about running into the adorable Venkat at some community venue, then discovered he was the youngest son of Damson/Tuki. Shoot!
Haha, Nez is a HUGE dog. When he lies on the couch, he takes up the entire thing!
Thank you for always reading and commenting, friend!

[oshizu]

My go-to trick in the detective career is to give a co-worker who's at a computer a hug and then steal their spot  ;=)  You're obviously much nicer than I am.
Loving the wizard's lab (though in my mind it is in the sub-basement as all wizard's labs should be  ;=).
Taro can always customize the work outfit.  Maybe a nice trench coat with mystical wards woven into the stitching?  ;=)
The joint issue joke was so bad!
A fantastic update, and if Adonis ever does anything to hurt my darling Momo, I just might send my Simself along with his Dwarf and Elf back-up to teach that lad a lesson!
Oh, and is the name of the update intentionally a reference to a Brave Girls song?

Oh, a hug to steal the other cop's seat!  Haha, I sometimes "Call over" from outside the room but having the extra computers will take up less of Taro's time.
The original design of the house had a stairway in the master bedroom/garage that led to a basement lab.
But Taro aged up to a YA with the Lazy trait, so it seemed reasonable that he'd prefer a gound-floor lab.  (Also, he's completed both RoM aspirations so the lab's mainly just flash....)
Last night, though, I was thinking to move the lab downstairs again since it's a non-essential room. Could convert it into a Focused room.

You've mentioned customizing career outfits several times to me before, but I have yet to do it. The detective uni's are one of my favorite in the game!
There isn't a nice, black leather trench coat unless perhaps I use a cheat to unlock the L10 Oracle outfit.
I'm fine without customizing Taro's career look and I'm too afraid of breaking the career to add new cc.

Haha, you mean "bad" like the Christmas gifts I used to get from my paternal aunt as a child (Reader's Digest sub, ugly cardigans, ugly trainer bra) or "bad" like the MJ song? LOL
Nah, I'm not into Kpop girl bands. I was thinking of the 1980 Blues Brothers scene where Dan Akroyd and Jim Belusi sang the Rawhide theme in some redneck bar.
You are obviously much hipper and up-to-date than I am, Pippin! 🤣🤣🤣