Sanada Apocalypse Challenge [Completed]

[FrancescaFiori]

Yay! The Sanadas are back! Kyle is so cute I don't know what to do with myself.
I feel sort of terrible for Mina. One moment of weakness and the whole household is angry with her!
Surfer Dude is too funny. I love him! I'm so happy Erika gets such a charming companion.
I've never seen the "coach swimming" interaction before. How cool!
I love the shot of Tao on Sixam. It looks like it should be an album cover. I hope you can figure out what challenge to do with him next!


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[Luna264]

I hope you're feeling better now! I missed reading your updates, but your health is more important. I'm glad everyone in the Sanada house is doing great! (except for Mina, but I hope that gets resolved one way or another eventually.)

[Joria]

I'm so sorry to hear you were sick and really happy you are better now.  I loved this last update.  Kyle is completely adorable and his "chapter" has to be one of my favorites.  Love Surfer Dude.  I hope you find a way to use Tao, and others of the clan in a challenge.  There are many story possibilities for them even if you don't do an "official" challenge story.  The pastel hair just makes it so perfect on your Sims.  Wish I wasn't so lazy or I'd do some CC too.  I never thought of locking my writers in their rooms!  Brilliant.  Why is it they insist on doing everything except writing? 

[oshizu]

@FrancescaFiori
I'm also trying to figure out how to bring Mina out from the cold. But Go carried around a Sad moodlet for days then she made horrible faces while mentoring Kyle in Granite Falls.
Lately, Mina is kept busy meditating or fishing, hehe. She will find her way back.
I'm glad you like Surfer Dude--Erika looked so good at the wedding that I thought she could chill with the much younger Surfer Dude. And he is nothing if not devoted to her. ;-)
When an adult is in the pool with a child, the adult can find "coach swimming" in the same part of the Friendly menu as "Mentor." Try it, try it, try it!!! lol

@Luna264
Thank you! Seems that my body needed more sleep than I'd been providing. And may I ask, what is "the Houseplant Incident" you mention?

@Joria
Now that Makoa and Jade have already been mentored in their career-related skills (writing and painting, respectively), there's not much for the other adults to do, especially since they have enough points to buy enough Potions of Youth to look purty for the duration of the challenge. So Sara didn't really need to be locked in her bedroom, except I was annoyed that she took 4 sim-weeks to write her last two bestsellers. Actually, I had her write Fantasy novels instead and her next 2 out 3 novels were bestsellers. *groan
And to be honest, I've also been known to lock sims into a room with Focused decor, an end table, and a comfy chair to read their 3 books for the Renaissance Sim aspiration. My sims drop actions from their queues like hot potatoes, I swear! *pulls hair

[Joria]

I feel your pain!  Mine do too and it's very frustrating.  I'm kinda dreading the end of this as it has been really entertaining.  You're a good writer.

[LivvieLove]

YES! Erika! My bath-robed beauty finally gets a man... and not just ANY man, but a SURFER man! XD 

Sorry to hear you fell sick, Oshizu! I hope you're feeling better. As always, I'll gladly wait to hear/read about the lovely Sanadas!
You're almost done with this challenge! I believe in you! =D

[oshizu]

@Joria
I almost feel as if my sims drop their queues more often now than ever before, especially the wayward ones, haha. "Come back here, you do not need another drink!"

@LivvieLove
Erika very much got the cool, laid-back guy, lol. "Want to hang out all day in your bathrobe, Erika dear? No problem!"

I was really sick night and day for two days, then took it easy for a few days. I'm feeling fine now, thanks!

[oshizu]

Week 26/Day 176: Farewell to an Angel

Day 176 (Sun)

Hi, everyone! It’s me again, Kyle, during the hours I’m not at school, anyway.
So we’re all kinda starving this morning, but Jade drops her queue to prepare breakfast three times!
Watchette caught her three times, trying to eat ice cream with the Breakfast Scramble half-finiished on the stove.
Anyway, Watchette threw out that last serving of ice cream (noooo!), Jade finished cooking, and we’ve all sat down for breakfast.

It feels like we haven’t sat down for a meal together for a long time.
But it’s probably just because Watchette was gone for awhile.

As soon as we sit down, Uncle Go expresses his fondness but Auntie Mina just smiles back.
Notice that everyone’s avoiding looking at her, except me (and I’m not smiling).
Tao: Oh Mina, don’t you know, baby girl? If this were The Survivor, you’d be voted out of the house! *glares


Auntie Sara looks so serious as she prepares Makoa for his first day of work!
I wonder if Makoa ever thought about getting a suntan?


Gned the Gnome: Ahhhh, it feels so good to be out in the open air again!
And there goes Makoa the Brave, son of Mitch and Sara, off to his first day of work!
Tremain the Trashcan: You know, with his skintone, you would never guess that he’s half Hawaiian!
Mel the Mailbox: Well, little Kyle did mention tanning, but would that change Makoa into not-Makoa?
Gned: Best wishes from us all at your new job, Makoa!


For dinner, Dad invites Uncle Go and Jade along to visit Mom’s house in northern Newcrest.
Do you remember that it’s next door to where Auntie Amanda got married?
Anyway, I meet my twin sisters for the first time!
On the left is Maia (purple hair) and on the right is Hana (blonde).  Cute, right?

Huh? No, Dad didn’t bring me here just because I’m working on Social Butterfly. Well, okay, just a little.
But we’ve been planning a visit for a long time!


Tao: Darn it, I wish I’d asked Watchette to check the house before our visit! The dining table only seats six!
Oops, that’s totally my mistake! Sorry!
Kyle: Uncle Go and Jade thoughtfully move to a smaller table in another room, so Dad and I can eat with our little family. 
But only Maia sits to eat with us. Where’s Hana, you ask?


Kyle: Hana, it seems, has fallen in crush with Uncle Go! Just look at the way she looks at him!
He’s a really cool guy, but super old!  Like dinasaur-ish, Hana!
Jade seems in ecstasy over Dad’s Rack of Lamb. It’s pretty tasty!

So many sims in my challenge wanting what they can't have! If this were an Immortal Dynasty, I'd be tempted to name it "The Over-Reach Dynasty."


Kyle: I really wanted all of us to watch a movie together in the cool sunken TV area, but everyone wouldn’t come and sit, even after Jade went home.
And then, the TV display remained black even though we got a meter indicating we’d started watching a movie.
I’m too used to our house now—Mom’s house is a little too cramped for me.
But I’m glad I could meet my twin sisters! And now I can invite them over to play!


Dad brought Uncle Go along, since he’s the head of the Sanada House where we live.
Uncle Go is such a nice person—everyone loves him!
My brother and sisters also really like Uncle Go, especially my sisters, haha.


Day 177 (Mon)

By the way, Watchette remodeled the upstairs room next to the gym last week.
The massage tables were moved downstairs and a small bathroom was added to make it easier to prepare Makoa and Jade for work, I hear.
Uncle Go’s been calling this room the “Negotiate Bonus” room because it aims to boost confidence.
Besides several small-sized masterpieces, it only contains three Confidence +8 career rewards: the Monolith, the Space Bunny statue, and the Executron Desk.

The room worked like a charm for Makoa and Jade when they tried it out on Saturday.
Of course, Uncle Go was there to “Recommend self-esteem exercises” as well.


Kyle: Monday starts very early with the mothers giving aromatherapy massages.
Auntie Mina, here’s your chance to redeem yourself!
And don’t worry, readers, Watchette won’t be showing a shot like this every morning!
Today is special! It’s Jade Sanada’s very first day of work!


Tremain the Trashman: And there she goes, off on her first day of work! Jade Sanada—the fifth and final Sanada heir of this challenge!
Gned the Gnome: Hey, that’s my line!
Tremain: Awww, c’mon, Ned! You get the arms, you get the lines! Let me do it just this once!
Gned: Sheesh, okay…
Tremain: *pretends to wave farewell to Jade but remains armless

Mel the Mailbox: You’re both idiots!


You’re probably wondering why I’m out here fishing with Auntie Erika, even after Makoa and Jade left for work at 9 a.m.
Well, Uncle Go wrote me an excute note so I’m taking a “sick day,” hehe.
And why would he do that? Because I’m never going back to grade school again!
Mwahahahaha!



After Makoa and Jade return from work, we all head out to Desert Bloom Park.
Dad says we need a piranha to complete our fish collection, and Makoa catches one right away so we don’t stay long.
But look what I found near the fishing spot all the way at the back of Desert Bloom Park!
There's that blackberry bush on the left. You know where I'm talking about, right?

There, do you see a tiny fishing spot sign facing the wrong way. Have you seen it in your game, too?
Dad says he’s never seen a sign for a fishing spot there and it’s not even near water. Weird, huh?


Kyle: Makoa once again successfully negotiates a bonus in the Negotiate Bonus Room!
And as you can see, he took my advice and got some sun on his skin!
No offense, Auntie Sara, but a man named Makoa the Brave should be bronzed, not chalk white!
Of course (Kyle adds hurriedly), the porcelain-doll look totally rocks on you!
whispers: Smooth recovery!

Makoa: I should have done this a loooong time ago!


Day 178 (Tue)

Watchette, no! Do you absolutely have to take a screenshot of me practicing a speech in my pjs?
Yes, I absolutely must! You won’t be a child forever, Kyle!



Kyle: Auntie Sara, thank you for mentoring me in logic this afternoon! It’s so much faster when you help me.
Sara: Sshhh, little Kyle, don’t look now but Mina is casting serious dagger-eyes at my darling Mitch. Why?
Kyle: Oh, oh, oh. It’s so hard not to look, Auntie Sara, but I believe you!
On a whim, I check everyone’s relationship panel and realize to my surprise (or maybe not) that the three bros—Tao, Mitch, and Sara—aren’t friends at all with Mina.
On the other hand, they are good friends with everyone else in the house.


Kyle: While Dad practices his beats, Uncle Go busts his best dance moves.
Ouch! Looks like that hurt, Uncle Go! You can’t be that old yet!


Kyle: Smooth moves, Uncle Go! No one dances like you can! What can I say, folks? Auntie Mina, you are a fool!
My sister would kill to marry Uncle Go!
Uh….how old will Uncle Go be, like, 15 years from now?
I can’t decide who is more gorgeous, Tao or Go. No need to choose, right?



Day 179 (Wed)

It’s early Wednesday morning—all the lights in the house go out, as usual, at 5 a.m.
It’s not light enough to see well without illumination and screenshots turn out too dark! Grrr! Yet outdoors, the street lamps are still lit. Why? Why?
Thanks to Dad’s excellent herding abilities, the whole household turns up in their party outfits!


Ack, I seem to have aged up with a cowboy hat! Everyone is looking the other way, as if it’s not happening.
Uncle Go seems about to step forward but then gets blocked by Auntie Mina, of course! It’s always all about her!
I seek out Dad for moral support. Where Is he? Huh? He’s left the party already to go work out?
Stupid active trait!

Don’t worry, Kyle! I got you, angel.
Kyle: Take me to the dresser.  Please hurry!


Makoa: Dad, quick! Let’s take a picture together while Kyle’s getting dressed!
Mitch: At last, Makoa, you look like a son of mine!


Kyle Kaneda, the last of the cougar magnets (for this challenge, at least).
From left to right: two everyday outfits, a formal outfit, and a party outfit.


Kyle: Alrightee! Let’s get this show on the road!
I phone up and join the Barista career at Level 2, then start right away on my homework.
Tao: Let’s get your homework done as quickly as possible, son!
Kyle: Right! I need to reach Level 2 Mixology and get a single promotion to max Barista!
It’s so close that I can taste it!


Career Recap

Makoa Kalani: Level 5, Writer (Author)
Jade Sanada: Level 5, Painter (Master of the Real)
Kyle Kaneda: Level 2, Teen/Barista

As we move closer to the end of the challenge, I find it even harder than usual to stay focused on the challenge itself.
Instead I want to play with my sims, indulge them their various foibles and idiosyncracies, and indulge in my own silliness as well.
I guess I'm just feeling a bit sentimental about this household. 
Thank you for reading despite all that!

[Luna264]

The houseplant incident is, in the simplest terms, a day when I invited some of my friends over and let one of them build and decorate a sims house. Some quotes include:
1. "You're going to walk into my house one day and see like 37 houseplants and then you'll be like 'dude what'"
2. "Why do I have this thing when I could have a houseplant?"
3. "You blew all of our money on houseplants!" "We can't even survive now!" "Hey let's get some more houseplants."
4. "What is the biggest, most beautiful plant I could ever own?" "Me."
5. *gasp* "We don't have a houseplant out there."
6. "If you die in the houseplants, you die in real life."

And others, but I don't want this post to run too long. Great update by the way.

[oshizu]

@Luna264
Thanks for the explanation---it's mystified me ever since you first made that "Praise the sun?" comment on this thread.
I would have to agree with your building friend--one can never have enough houseplants, haha.

[LivvieLove]

I love this household so much! I don't mind that you take your time with it!

Kyle is adorable, of course - but that's a given with his dad!
I feel bad for Go... just what in the world is going on with Mina?

I'm glad Makoa has officially stepped into his Hawaiian roots. =D He was always cute, but now he's even cuter! I can't wait to read more!

[FrancescaFiori]

So many great things happened in this update!  Maia and Hana are incredibly adorable. I heartily approve of Makoa's new tan. That vampire-white skintone . . . well, it makes me wish there were vampires in the game because it would be perfect.
Mina does not seem to be doing much to redeem herself. She'd better watch out or she'll get replaced by a much, much younger woman.
Kyle is just as cute as a teen as I'd hoped he'd be. Go, little barista, go!

[oshizu]

@LivvieLove
Thank you so much for not minding that I take my time. Lately, even if nothing special happens while playing, I still want to post an update. Oh well.
I'm glad you prefer the tanned Makoa--I had to use a CAS cheat to change his skintone, which I'd been resisting but then I thought, "Who cares? It's just a little cosmetic change!"

@FrancescaFiori
Thank you for being so supportive of Kyle! When I aged up his fraternal twin, I felt a pang of regret that I couldn't have moved them both in.
Mina's at no risk of being replaced since it's so late in the challenge. You just won't be seeing her in the screenshots as much. 

[oshizu]

Week 26/Day 179: Work, Work, Work, Work, Work

Day 179 (Wed)

Tao: A morning so sweet as this! My firstborn son, now a teenager, prepares to tackle the last teen career!
It seems like only yesterday that Kyle was here doing his homework for grade school, just a small lad!
 

So, how do you feel, Kyle? You’re a child no more!
Kyle: It’s pretty cool being almost the same height as everyone else, but why am I so skinny?
Tao: The very least of your worries, Kyle. Any more questions?
Kyle: Yes, Dad. I know that Mom, my siblings, and I all share your family name of Kaneda, but are you and Mom ever going to get married?
Tao: That’s kind of an odd story and I’ve been waiting to explain…. *sighs


Tao: Do you remember the time we went to dinner at Iyashi with Auntie Erika and Uncle Surfer Guy?
Kyle: Yes, of course! Mom came, too, then everyone came here later for ice cream.
Tao: Well, after the ice cream, I tried to propose to your mother but she went into a downstairs bathroom and didn’t come out.
She wasn’t even using the facilities! I don’t know what she was doing there.
Watchette and I must have waited for more than a sim-hour, but she just stood there. I really didn’t feel like proposing in a bathroom.

Kyle: So what happened?
Tao: Well, when she finally came out, I no longer felt like taking the chance to lead her somewhere flowery and fragrant for the proposal.
I proposed to her right there in that dark ole basement floor near the stairway. And there’s only one shot of that whole incident.

Kyle: Long story short, you and Mom are engaged?
Tao: Yes, son, we are.
Kyle: Cool, but the picture is…uh….okay, I guess.
It was so bad that I was too embarrassed to include it two updates ago. It only shows that I’m a horrible, impatient Watcher!


Tao: While Makoa and Jade are off working, Watchette makes sure to keep the rest of us unemployed folks productively occupied.
Meanwhile, Kyle sits in a comfortable chair in Makoa’s bedroom, reading skills books written long ago by founder Satoru Sanada—books on Mixology, Cooking, and Handiness.
Well, yes, the door’s locked and there’s nothing else to do in the room except sleep. That’s the whole point...no dropped queues!
Kyle will be out and ready to start mixing drinks very soon now!


Mitch: Notice the large, expensive wall-mounted TV that Go earned as a career reward from Startup Enterpreneur?
No? You don’t see it? That’s because Watchette put it away.  *sniffle, sniffle
What’s a bro without his sports TV?
I didn’t mind you bros watching the sports channel, Mitch.
What bothers me is when I find the lot of you either Very Flirty or Very Playful from watching the romane or comedy channel.
Why can’t you all swim when you want to have fun? In the, you know, pool?


Tao: As you can see, Watchette’s patience grows shorter with us, just when we are once again stuck at home while Makoa and Jade work.
Although Sara and Mina have already maxed Wellness, Watchette has them in the yoga room with Mitch because it keeps those two busy.


Tao: Go has already maxed Wellness as well as a host of other skills, including Guitar.
Watchette lets him work on the Musical Genius aspiration in the hot tub room.


Tao: As for me, I’ve had it pretty nice!
Besides boosting my cooking skills and learning those new experimental dishes, I recently maxed DJing.
Today, I’m just working on my dancing skill. Life is good!
I have to say—it’s hard to stay focused on skilling when the sun feels so warm!


Kyle: To max the Barista career, I only needed to reach Level 2 Mixology.
I do that in one evening—what a breeze!


Day 180 (Thu)

Gned the Gnome: A very good morning to you, Kyle Kaneda!
Kyle: Hi, Gned! What’re you doing up so early in the morning today?
Tremain the Trashcan: You rushed off earlier at 5 a.m., so we didn’t get a chance to wish you good luck on your first day at your Barista job!
Kyle: Oh, thanks, Tremain! That’s awfully nice of you!
Mel the Mailbox: Well, of course, that is what we are here for! How was your first day of work, Kyle?
Kyle: To be honest, I’m not digging this hat much. But it’s all cool. I should be maxing this career around the middle of next week!
Working 5-7 am every weekday will get old fast!


Mel: And there he goes, the youngest member of the household! Off to his first day of high school!
Gned the Gnome: He certainly looks a lot like his father, Tao!
Tremain the Trashcan: Do you think Go Sanada will teach the young lad about the government’s special dispensation toward this household regarding school dress?
Ahem, that is, attending school shirtless?
Mel: After Kyle gets a little more fit, I certainly hope so! *Checks that Lei’s smartphone still has photo memory left…


Jade: I’m off today and Makoa doesn’t work until the afternoon, so I paint his portrat.


Mitch: To return the favor, I later paint a portrait of Jade.
Now there’s a portrait of everyone who has or will lift a career unlock for this challenge.
Everyone, I mean, except for Kyle. We’ve been waiting for him to age up!


Go: While Sara writes a Book of Life for Makoa and Mitch meditates, I sit down for lunch but it isn’t a pleasant meal.
Jade needs to stay positive for work, so I won’t stand Mina being mischievous or mean to our daughter.


Go: And you can bet your bottom dollar that Watchette won’t idly watch Mina insulting her favorite sim, either.


So…today, I built a special room for unruly sims. That is, one unruly sim in particular.
It contains only the basics, as you can see. Time outside “The Room” hinges on good behavior.
I don’t plan to use it much, but it’s there if needed.
*adds a Tragic Clown painting, just to be mean *cough


 Day 181 (Fri)

Tao: Watchette put Go’s TV back up on the wall, saying she’s rewarding us for being productive.
Go and the Bros (including me) take the opportunity to enjoy a snowboarding tournament.


Tao: This shot’s pretty funny! Mitch has his body turned toward Sara to show he’s into the conversation.
But he occasionally steals glimpses of the snowboarding events on TV.


Kyle: I just learned to prepare gourmet cooking this afternoon, so I’m preparing a gourmet dish for dinner this evening.
I hope everyone will like my Chicken Saltimbocca!


Kyle: Yay! Look at Uncle Mitch’s smiling face! He’s my toughest critic and seems to be enjoying the meal!


Day 182 (Sat)

Mitch: When I spot Kyle’s twin brother Albert at the pirate gym, I go bring him home.
Tao and Kyle have been talking lately about wanting to age up Albert to a teen.
I bake a cake for Albert and Tao lights the birthday candles.


Kyle: Happy birthday, Albert! You are looking mighty fine, my fraternal twin!
Albert: Do you think people will still recognize that we’re brothers?


Tao: Hey, Albert! Take a picture with your old man on your birthday, okay?
Albert: Awww, Dad! I wish I ccould see you more often! You only visited once last week!
Can’t you invite me along for fishing and stuff when everyone’s not working?


Tao: After all this time, Sara is still absolutely crazy about Mitch. It’s pretty obvious she adores him, right?
Go: I envy Mitch because Sara is so loving!
Tao: And I envy Mitch because he gets to spend all day every day with his wife. I really miss Nana!


Kyle: Mixing bar drinks---it hardly seems like work, you know?
I earned an A grade at school on Friday and I’m less than half a tick from maxing the Barista career, which I intend to do Monday morning!
Life is fabulous!
Only, I’m just a teeny-tiny bit anxious that Watchette finds Albert cuter than me.  Oh well, nothing I can do about that. *shrugs


Career recap

Makoa Kalani: Writer/Author, Level 7/10
Jade Sanada: Painter/Master of the Real, Level 6/10
Kyle Kaneda: Teen/Barista, Level 2/3


Author’s Note

I couldn’t fit this information into this update anywhere but I want to add it here before I forget.
When Kyle aged up to a teen, I looked at his Bodybuilder aspiration for the first time and it said:
Work Out for 8 Total Hours:   4/8

Actually, I had never had a teen with pre-existing workout hours before and I’m inclined to attribute it to the time that Tao spent coaching Kyle to swim.
If anyone tests this and discovers otherwise, please let me know.  I’ll do the same (but in another challenge, obviously).


A big thank you to everyone for reading this silly story! *waves

[Luna264]

I'm going to miss this story when it's over. Do you have anything planned for after this?