A Townie Dynasty with Leeway 10.70: Faina Lee, Finished! (Completed 19/06/2018)

[Shewolf13]

@oshizu

lol, I know what ya mean XD Actually, in my game, the heir has been born.  I'm a lot like you, as far as micromanaging.  In some ways, it's very freeing.  And it's fun to watch what happens when they do their own thing.  One of the ways I'm keeping myself sane is thinking of the free days.  You build up until a free day, get to play everyone and then it's all about building up until the next free day.  So if you can think about it that way, it's not so bad.  And seeing how they interact without your interference is pretty cool.

[oshizu]

@MarianT
A very quick note to say that the rocket ship kit can only be purchased if there's space on the lot to place it. So, that's a no-go for the Karaoke Legends' apartment.
Their balcony lacks about 2 tiles in length to fit the rocket ship kit.

@Shewolf13
I haven't practiced this challenge at all so will need to see how to pace the acquisition of points. Let's cross our fingers that the early age-up of teen heirs will be allowed.

[PeregrineTook]

@PeregrineTook
I've never played the BFFs household before. I laughed at how the three of them would stand there shooting meaningful glances at each other whenever they arrived somewhere after traveling.
Funny you should mention "strategy" because I got nothing! And, unless Liberty can fit a rocket ship kit on the Karaoke Legends' balcony, she can never complete her Nerd Brain aspiration.
[/quote]
Well, she could get some rocket ship work done by taking the science career or by hitting GeekCon.  Not sure if that would be quite enough, but it might help her along the way, maybe?

[Shewolf13]

@oshizu

I did one practice run and my founder had twins XD which was insane.  I stopped and started the real file.  Out of curiosity, do you happen to know if gravestones remain?  I know it didn't use to, but with the new settings in being able to determine how many Sims remain, do tombstones remain? 

[oshizu]

@Shewolf13

I believe @MarianT would be the one who could best answer your question. I don't usually play ghosts and haven't even made a cemetery in my recent games.
In her Straud Dynasty, Marian had her sims gather the urns of as many out-of-household family members as possible, laying them to rest in a family cemetery.
She's sure to know how the new "Maximum Sim Count" feature influences the viability of tombstones.

@PeregrineTook

The problem is not earning levels in the Rocket Science skill; it's the "Own a rocket ship" goal because the Karaoke Legends' balcony is too small to place the rocket ship kit.
MarianT has since suggested that Liberty buy a retail, restaurant, or vet clinic lot then placing the kit on that empty lot.

[Shewolf13]

@oshizu

Thanks ^^ Just thought I'd ask here.  I did read her Straud dynasty, but wasn't sure about the new feature there.  I'm super excited to see how your challenge goes ^^  I really love Liberty's new hairstyle.

[oshizu]

1.2: Hello, Unexpected. Meet Unprepared.

Week 1/Tuesday

The very first thing I do is join the Scientist career.
I'm not sure if I'll be able to handle it, but it seems a better fit for Nerd Brain.



Liberty: I hear Darling return home from school and go downstairs to introduce myself.
How surprising to discover that Miko's off work today!
She's feeling very flirty from watching Romance TV. Just great!

I adopt Darling as a dependent but can't encourage her to do her homework…yet.
Apparently, Darling is more interested in conversing with the toilet than doing homework.


Liberty: There seems to be so much I need to do!
For now, I buy the toddler bookcase and three skill books: Logic, Parenting, and Wellness.

I'm still torn between Logic and Rocket Science as my designated skill.
If I choose Rocket Science, a future Whiz Kid heir could earn all 12 points in Logic.
But this is definitely NOT the lot for maxing Rocket Science, so I'll go with Logic.


Akira: So this is what being a dynasty spouse feels like!
New hair, new outfits…and I may not be controlled but at least I'm being watched!


Liberty: Watcher, did you have to get so enthusiastic about Akira's makeover?
Now, everyone and their mother will be hitting on him.
You have nothing to worry about, Liberty!
You just focus on your founder stuff and I'll try to keep Akira safe.

Liberty: You're absolutely right! I’m in the spotlight here.
Akira's merely basking in my reflected light!
That's the spirit!


By the way, how about a little show of gratitude for Miko's sleepwear?
Liberty: Ugh, don't remind me! That tiny croptop with those skimpy panties?

No, I mean her NEW post-makeover sleepwear: a t-shirt and long, baggy pants.
Liberty: Great news, Watcher! Do you mind if we chat again later?
Akira and I are trying for baby here…


Liberty: Guess who's eating for two?


Liberty: Did I already tell you that Akira works as a Chat Support Agent (Tech Guru 1)?
Perfect wife that I am, I ensure Akira completes his daily work task of video gaming.
Since I'm a geek, you can surely imagine what a hardship this is for me!


Akira: Hey, I just got a text message from some guy named Vladislaus.
Something about my yummy neck.
Liberty: Let's lock the front door to only allow household members, Akira.

Then who should arrive as a one-person Welcome Wagon but Vlad himself.
Not only that, but he's arrived empty-handed. Just ignore him!


Wednesday

Liberty: Despite a mild case of morning sickness, my first day at The Lab goes really well.
I even earn a promotion to Apprentice Inventor!


Liberty: Do you mind, Miko? I'm trying to finish my third book for Nerd Brain. This one's on Parenting.

Miko: We've hardly chatted, Liberty! You always seem to be so busy.
Liberty: And all you ever seem to do is watch romance TV or troll teh forums on your slablet.

Miko: Work, work, work. You're such a stereotypical Asian, Liberty!
Liberty: Don't say that, Miko. I'm paving the way for our household's success.


Liberty: *encourages Darling to do homework
Darling: Thanks for helping me with this homework, Liberty! My grades have been dropping lately.


Thursday

My co-workers are a bunch of oddballs, but I still love my job!

I can't tell if Tetsu here's insane or simply reacting to the serum I tested on him.


Liberty: You're looking mighty happy this evening, Akira.
Akira: Well, yeah! I got my first promotion at work today to Quality Assurance!
Technical chat support is such a thankless job!

Liberty: Hey, stop drinking so much coffee just because you received that new coffee maker!


The sacrifices I make to get my man some sleep when he's dead tired!
Luckily, Akira just zonks out afterward. And so do I.


Friday

Liberty: I come home from work with a promotion, feeling super optimistic!
This second promotion earns us a seventh point, bringing us ever closer to the first free day.


I guess Liberty didn't really need to invite Akira along to the hospital.
Dude, if you need to panic in the adjacent room, at least stand in front of the window!


Dr. Francisco Davila: Well, that certainly was a challenging procedure!
Was it as good for you as it was for me, Liberty?

Liberty: Seriously, triplets? We don't even have the On the Leyline lot trait.
And I never got a fertility massage either. Why? Whhhhyyyy!?

Gaaaaaaaahhhhhh!
I've never ever had an active household's sim give birth to triplets.
Why does it have to be during THIS challenge!? *resigns self to failure


Liberty: And this one here's our firstborn son! Akira, would you please name our boys?

Akira: Gladly! The heir's name shall be Cirius Lee.
Dr. Davila: Seriously?

Akira: Exactly!
Dr. Davila: What kind of name is that?

Akira: After the Dog Star, Sirius, except spelled with an initial "C" for extra flair.
Liberty: Akira, dear, come along. It's time to take our boys home!


Liberty: And here are all three of our little darlings: Cirius, Dud, and Mot.
Dud Lee was born second and Mot Lee was born last.

Akira: They're going to be a handful, Liberty! Thank Carl, we both have the weekend off!


Liberty: As soon as we get home, I rush upstairs to look after the boys.
Akira: I'm right behind you, sweetheart!

Impressive! Keep up that excellent yet autonomous parenting, Akira, and I will shower you with privilege and attention!



Author's Notes

* I'd initially planned to end this chapter at the first free day (after 3 more points) but…triplets.
* For now, I'm closing this chapter here to play through their weekend and see whether or not we're already doomed to failure.
  Just for the record, I would really love to continue playing this household.
* Perhaps hiring a nanny will be a constructive means of delaying Liberty's 50 points until after Cirius the heir reaches his teen birthday.

[KTK10]

Oh NO!! I really dislike it when the game throws you a curve ball like triplets! I makes the game more hard than fun! Well for me anyway.. all I can say is chin up.. if anyone can do this.. you can!!

[PeregrineTook]

Good heavens!  I'm sure triplets would be a delight for you in any other type of challenge.  A nanny sounds like a great idea.  Or maybe befriend a family-oriented Sim and invite him/her over to hopefully provide autonomous childcare?  Regardless of the clever scheme you employ, I'm sure you can do this. 
Loved the names, by the way!  Bad puns are the best puns  :=)

[MarianT]

Panic not. My 3rd or 4th generation in the Zest attempt had triplets, and he survived. Admittedly, this was before toddlers, but it can be done.
As long as someone is at home when Liberty goes to work, the babies won't go to daycare. So, your 1st free day, have Akira or Miko quit their job. While Liberty is at work, everyone's needs will be taken care of. Babies only get taken away if they're not fed. I know this because Johnny Zest totally ignored a screaming baby who needed a diaper change for about 8 hours. And infancy lasts only 3 days.
Toddlerhood is trickier. Don't expect to get top-notch toddlers. But again, if Liberty is at work and an adult or teen is at home, everyone's needs get met.
On the plus side, you'll get 1 point each time Liberty becomes good friends with each of them and 2 points each when they max potty training, so that's 9 points right there.

[PeregrineTook]

On the plus side, you'll get 1 point each time Liberty becomes good friends with each of them and 2 points each when they max potty training, so that's 9 points right there.

Oh my goodness!  That's brilliant!  The triplets are little bundles of points!

[Shewolf13]

Oh my! Triplets!  Love the names ^^

[oshizu]

@KTK10
Thank you for commiserating! I've never had a sim with triplets before, so I wish they had a arrived in a roomier residence, lol!
The funny thing is that Liberty never even got a fertility massage because I decided that a second child would be too much.

@PeregrineTook
I tried your idea of having a family-oriented sim constantly visiting in a previous challenge (an Apocalypse Challenge, I believe), but the visitor hardly helped out at all.
Despite the point penalty, a nanny (that is, a good nanny) would be more reliable for toddler care.

@MarianT
When Liberty was first pursuing Akira at the karaoke bar, Johnny Zest showed up too and I scoffed at him and his triplets with Liberty in one of your test files.
I guess this must be my punishment for that, lol.
Thank you for making the raising of triplets not sound impossible. I'm thankful that there are no challenge requirements for toddler skilling.
I appreciate your sharing your experience with hungry nooboo versus dirty-diaper nooboo. My future stay-at-home sim will be learning Parenting on the next free day.

@Shewolf13
When the second and third sons were born, my first thought was: Oh dang, they're making me use up all my male-heir names!
My second thought was: But, but, but, Wolf's couple in her practice run had twins and she said it was insane.

This is trial by fire. If I can make it through Liberty's generation, I can make it through the future ones. Maybe. Maybe not.

[Shewolf13]

@oshizu

Lol, keep in mind I was going for the good traits for toddlers. That and there was some things I wish I had done differently before Ulrike moved. So that probably contributed to the insanity. 

[oshizu]

1.3: To the Shores of Triple-Lee

Week 1/Friday

Once Akira and I are done taking care of our boys, Akira goes straight to bed.
But I travel to the Lost Garden of Healing to make a wish.

It takes two $1,000 offerings but I get a promotion to Level 4!
I've got a lot of catch up for breakthroughs so I better get started.


Liberty: Must you sit beside me while trolling teh forums? Your cackling is quite distracting.
Miko: This is payback for my new frumpy PJs!
By the way, we should be friends, you know. We're both geeks!

Liberty: I know! But we're at 9 points now, so no tenth point until Saturday morning.


Liberty: Really, Darling! You're still awake, too?
Darling: Yeah, must be the nap I took in the evening.

Miko: Hey, I like your braids! You're using extensions, right?
Liberty: Please go to bed, you two. I need you both bright-eyed and bushy-tailed come morning!

Darling: But I'm not sleepy right now.
Liberty: Okay then. *encourages Darling to do homework


Darling: Honestly, I'm happy that Liberty cares that I do well in school.
And I love my short braids. Don't miss those dumb hats at all. Not even a tiny bit.


Saturday

While painting math diagrams, I reach Logic 6 for the tenth point.
Our first free day lasts until noon tomorrow.


Akira: After a little programming, Liberty and I head for Desert Bloom Park.
Miko's at work and Darling stays home to nooboo-sit.

Finally, I get to work on my Curator aspiration!


Liberty: Meanwhile, I build a rocket ship with Bjorn Bjergsen and our landlord Rachid.
Hmmmm, I wonder if Rachid could mentor me in Handiness…


Miko: I earn my first career promotion which, naturally, doesn't count on a free day.
As soon as I meet up with Liberty and Akira, I quit my job.

Oh well. Watchette's more focused on Akira's career than mine, anyway.
My neat trait and I might as well stay home to help with childcare and cooking.


Week 2/Sunday

Akira: Several hours before our free day ends, Liberty and I head for the Flea Market.
After buying up most of the crystals for sale, my collection still lacks 4 types.


Akira: That's when I notice this guy standing near the bubble blower.
Have I been living under a rock? I've never noticed that we can trade collectibles!


Akira: When I ask to trade crystals, I have to follow him around the corner.
It all feels slightly black market to me but whatever.
Trading only gets me a duplicate crystal.

Liberty: But I'm able to trade for a new type.
We want to stay and try to complete Akira's crystal collection but our free day is almost over.


Liberty: Yesterday evening, I got the "almost birthday" notice for the boys.
That's why I'm thinking that they'll be ready to age up tonight.

I join and call a gathering of the Upper Crusts club, hoping that they will help me stockpile meals for our soon-to-be toddlers.


When I have Darling buy a skill book, I'm surprised that she can buy a vampire tome.
In fact she read all of Encyclopedia Vampirica Vol. 1 in one sitting.

Liberty: After the other Upper Crusts members go home, Hugo stays behind and chats with Darling.
Theirs is an unlikely friendship.


Liberty: Akira has surprised me by his attentive parenting.
Miko has climbed to Parenting 3 with much reading and urging by Watchette.
In contrast, Akira has reached Parenting 3 autonomously.

Akira: Well, they are my sons.
Also, I want to show the world (or, at least, this forum) that picking me was the right choice, Liberty.


Liberty: Around 9 pm, their birthday notices arrive one after another.
Alone, I take 2.5 hours to age them each up, give them makeovers, and lead them to food.

The first to age up is Cirius Lee, the Gen2 heir.
He's an independent toddler whose favorite color is brown.


Next comes Dud Lee, a clingy toddler who favorite color is blue.
He immediately feels sad about meeting siblings he doesn't want.

I can tell he's going to be the most difficult toddler.


Mot Lee is Watchette's personal favorite.
You'll always find him wearing shades of orange.

His hair is so awesome!
Watchette almost hauled everyone back to the dresser to give the hairstyle to Cirius  instead.
But Mot Lee is the wild child. He really deserves that unruly hair!


Cirius: Hey, where did you guys get that food? I want some, too.
Mot: There's more over there in that case yo.
Clingy: *feels too sad to socialize


Liberty: As for me, I've totally got this.
My Parenting is Level 6, while Give a Second Wind is a Level 5 social.
I intend to focus on Cirius and hope the others will help out with Dud and Mot.

Also, I've gotten the needed breakthroughs for my next Scientist promotion.
I want my boys to thrive, yet I want to keep my job. Maybe I'll just take some leave.



Liberty: Remodeling this dinky apartment, however, did set us back a pretty penny.
The second floor has changed the most.

Here's what it originally looked like before my arrival.


We've since added another bedroom, a third bathroom, and a playroom.
If it all looks rather cramped, that's because it is.

Once the boys can crawl up and down the stairs, we'll do more remodeling.




Liberty's First 10 Points
Skills (3): Liberty/Logic 4-6
Good friends (1): Darling Walsh
Satisfaction points (1): +1,000
Promotions (4): Liberty/Scientist 2-4; Akira/TGuru 2
Wishing Well (1): Promotion wish