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

[oshizu]

@Shewolf13
Merri is now the controlled sim but, to me, she won't really feel like the new heir until she moves out. Of course, being able to control her is great!
And have fun on your family trip!

@commasplice
Thank you for reading!

@MarianT
When I'm feeling annoyed, that fourth gardener makes me laugh, too. And because he has so much time with nothing to do, he's become quite skilled in singing what sounds to my unpracticed ears like Italia arias, hahaha.
And yes, the wife Mizuki is really living the dream life.

@PeregrineTook
Because Masaya's three sons were all conceived during Free Day #2, their birthdays should probably always fall within 24 hours of each other.
If Garrison's too young for Merri, so are the other two.

[PeregrineTook]

@PeregrineTook
Because Masaya's three sons were all conceived during Free Day #2, their birthdays should probably always fall within 24 hours of each other.
If Garrison's too young for Merri, so are the other two.

Theoretically, but Dud aged up 2 days earlier than Cirius and Mot despite being twins.  I was thinking that if Garrison wasn't aging up at the time you were sure he should, it was possible that his half-brothers were aging up.  Just trying to help you problem solve to make sure the Lees can keep going  :=)

[oshizu]

@PeregrineTook
Thanks for reminding me to check the other boys! Got my heart set on Garrison now, though.
So, if wishing will make it happen, we'll be fine.

[oshizu]

3.16: Proud Merri Moves Out

Big wheel keep on turnin'
Proud Merri keep on burnin'
Rollin', rollin', rollin' on the river
  (original "Proud Mary" song written by John Fogerty of Credence Clearwater Revival)

Week 13/Thursday

Merri: Masaya doesn't interact much with his son Garrison.
Since becoming an elder, Masaya tires very quickly and sleeps more.
Thankfully, he retired on our last free day.

While Garrison and I are chatting, he suddenly pulls out his homework.
What can I do but help him with it?

Then, I realize why I can't influence Garrison like Papa could. I have zero parenting skill!
I'll need to remedy that before becoming a mother.


Merri: At 11 pm sharp, Garrison suddenly gets up and goes home.
Why? He's such a mystery!


Friday

Merri: I spend another day at home, reading books on parenting and vampire lore.
At 5 pm, I give up and re-invite Garrison back in my club.

We're all sitting around toking on the bubble blower for my work-from-home assignment.
Just as I stand up to zap my lovely mother with Mind Control: Clean, it happens!
At precisely 8:21 pm, my boy toy transforms into a man toy!


Merri: And at last, after all the waiting, Garrison and I share our first kiss!

You know, Garrison, if we try for baby right away, we could be parents by Monday night!
Garrison: Why so rushed, Merri? (I haven't heard the woohoo talk from my father yet!)

Pro Tip: Never experiment with the bubble blower's flavors before a romantic interlude, lol.
They started out angry (from the Passionfruit Potion flavor) then embarrassed by failed flirty socials.
Luckily, Merri saved the day with Rose Perfume serums she'd cloned beforehand.
She gave one to Garrison then drank the other one herself.


Saturday

Merri: It's just past midnight when a pregnancy test confirms that I'm eating for two.
Since I became the controlled sim Sunday afternoon, I'll be giving birth to an heir in time!
Garrison: I'm going to be a father?

Merri: Let's jet back to my place, Garrison. I need to tie up some loose ends!


Merri: Back home, I harvest the garden one last time then sell off all superfluous items in the house.
In my haste, I lose track of time and summon Papa and Uncle Mot to cake up too late! Sorry!

Cirius: Dang! We aged up while we were standing right in front of our cakes, Mot!


Merri bids farewell to her family, then returns to the Lost Garden of Healing with Garrison

Merri: You aren't feeling angry or embarrassed anymore, are you?
Garrison: I'm not sure. Are you?
Merri: Good point! If I've lost those negative moodlets by now, so have you! *kneels to propose


Merri: Folks say I resemble Grandma Liberty more than I resemble Mama.
Like Grandma, I also propose to and marry my love here in the Lost Garden of Healing.


It's already light out when I move in with Garrison and his older sister Theresa.
They're both children that Morgan Fyres had with our pollinator Masaya.

The Fyres' Dresden House sits on a large plot of land and I can already envision our garden and the children's playground!


Right away, I phone Masato Ikeda and my brother Nimb to ask them to join my new household.
This is not what it looks like! I'm simply giving Masato some air kisses.

All that time Masato spent meditating in Papa's club really paid off.
Masato joins the household with maxed Wellness! And his aspiration is so ideal!


I'm forced to return to Yuma Heights because Nimb insists that he's sleeping.
Of course, I find him video gaming upstairs. He's such a geek!


Merri: We all get makeovers and I'm wearing Grandma Liberty's original pigtails now.
They greatly bring out my resemblance to the founder, don't you agree?

Here's a brief rundown of everyone. We've posted my starting stats at the end of this update.
Merri: Loves the Outdoors, Slob, Snob; Freelance Botanist; Food Critic 5
Garrison: Active, Dance Machine, Dog Lover; Grilled Cheese; (Athlete)
Nimb Lee (left): Outgoing, Geek, Dance Machine; Fabulously Wealthy; Scientist 4
Theresa Fyres (center): Outgoing, Perfectionist, Gloomy; Freelance Botanist; (Painter)
Masato Ikeda (right): Insider, Perfectionist, Cheerful; Serial Romantic; (pollinator/jobless for now)

I'm delighted that our resident pollinator is a Serial Romantic, like Masaya.
And how great that Theresa shares my aspiration! I never want to hire another gardener!


You're probably looking at this shot and thinking: "Another garden? Does she never learn?"
I'll have you know that the operatic gardener has not showed up here so far.
As long as we never hire a gardener, we might be safe! *crosses fingers

By the way, I'd accumulated so many harvestables since my teenhood!
I place seeds for planting then sell some of the remainder plus other stuff I crafted before moving.
After extensively remodeling our home's interior, I sell the remaining harvestables.
The result? Our household funds increase by over $30,000 (2 points).


Did you recognize Herbert Bjergsen? That's his older sister, Charity Bjergsen,
I'd been hoping my child could marry and move into The Lighthouse, but it can't happen.
Garrison is half-siblings with all of Masaya's other children.

Our new pollinator, Masato, needs to find "new blood," so to speak, as well as keep certain lines alive for later.
Darn!
What? You're wondering whether I regret choosing Garrison over Herbert Bjergsen?


You're joking, right? My Garrison is the total package!


In the kitchen, I make some grilled cheese sammies for Garrison, then prepare several gourmet dishes for the household.
I reach level 3 of Gourmet Cooking, which is my designated skill (4 points).

It only takes a few more hours to max my violin skill (6 points).


Becoming good friends with my clubmate Aaradhya earns me another point (7 points).


Just before midnight, I max Gardening (9 points) which completes my Freelance Botanist aspiration (11 points).
For my third (and last) aspiration, I choose Successful Lineage.

Now excuse me while I run off to tell the others that our first free day has started!



Merri Lee's Starting Stats

Satisfaction: 435 points
New Lot: Dresden House (Windenberg Countryside)
Household funds:  $21,862
Designated Skill: Gourmet Cooking (Level 1 at move-in)
Secondary Skills: Handiness 10, Gardening/Violin 9, Painting 8, Writing 7, Cooking 5
Bonus Traits: Happy Toddler, Creatively Gifted, Thrifty, Responsible, Good Manners
Reward Traits: Morning Sim, Night Owl, Marketable, Entrepreneurial, Fertile
Aspiration:  Mansion Baron, Freelance Botanist (Tier IV)
Job: Critic/Food Critic 5

Free Day #1 (11 points)

Designated skill (2): Gourmet Cooking 2-3
Maxed skills (4): Merri/Violin, Gardening
Maxed aspiration (2): Merri/Freelance Botanist
Good Friends (1): Aaaradhya Anand
Household funds (2): +$30,000

Author's Notes

During Liberty Lee's reign, we inadvertently triggered back-to-back Free Days #2 and #3 which caused some difficulty later on.
During Cirius Lee's reign, we avoided that mistake but later had to hire a total 33 of NPCs to defer the last free day due to poor time management and erroneous scoring on my part.
Those 33 NPCs forced me to do way more scoring-related math than I ever want to do again in this challenge.
Here's hoping that Merri's rule goes smoothly! (Did I just jinx myself?)

[PeregrineTook]

Definitely hoping you have more success with the math during Merri's reign!
Glad to see the Garrison aged up in time and we didn't need to go with a "plan B" spouse.
Loving this dynasty and I think the new household looks like it will be great!  Can't wait to get to know them all better!

[Shewolf13]

Oh wow... --head spins at the thought of all that math -- Congrats on the upcoming nooboo!

[dontmindme]

Nice job, Merri. Garrison is a good choice. Good luck to Masato, pollinating is never easy, especially when you only get 1-2 days at it. Here's hoping Merri's the first of many smooth sailing heirs.

[KTK10]

I'm loving the way you write Oshizu, so many times I laugh and I learn so much from your gameplay. Am so pleased that Garrison aged up in time, was worried you would have to go with plan B!! Looking forward to the next update!

[christinal3106]

@oshizu Do you like to wait until the next heir is a young adult to start controlling them?  Is that why you hired all the gardeners?

[oshizu]

@PeregrineTook
Thanks for wishing me well with the scoring! If I can just figure out how the optimum intervals for free days, I should be fine!
Yes, I love Garrison and learned something I'd never noticed before about townies.
In my active households, teens age up in 13 days because that's when I cake them up after receiving their "Celebrate a rocking birthday" notification. On the other hand, my teen townies of Garrison's generation all aged up 14 days after becoming children. Makes sense--if I don't cake up a birthday sim, they'll age up naturally in 24 hours after that "Celebrate" notice.
I'm excited about Dresden House, too. It's got a much larger yard area (and no gardener so far).

@Shewolf13
Haha, scoring for Cirius was a nightmare due to how I decided to deal with my forfeited free day. Yes, the nooboo update is in progress!

@dontmindme
Garrison has great traits, an easy aspiration, and good looks. Sadly, Masato has a much smaller selection of flowers than his predecessor Masaya did because their simverse has both grayed and depopulated. Thank you wishing me well--definitely prefer smooth sailing to stormy weather without free days, haha.

@KIK10
Thanks so much for reading. I'm glad you found some laughs in there. As you've discovered while playing this challenge yourself, uncontrolled sims do strange things, haha.
You can't believe how relieved I was to see Garrison finally age up because I had no "Plan B." I've had my heart set on Garrison since his childhood. *coughs
Such a cute little boy with Morgan's green eyes, plus I've never had sims living in the Dresden House before. So excited!

@christina3106
I was excited to read in the challenge thread that you've also started a Townie dynasty!

Do you like to wait until the next heir is a young adult to start controlling them?

Absolutely not! My Gen2 heir became the controlled sim the day after his teen birthday. He made a smooth and no-stress transition to his new household.
(I confess that, at the time, two weeks without a free day seemed lengthy/boring.)
Merri's take-over waited until after her YA birthday because I miscalculatd how pollinators need to work in this challenge,
Garrison Fyres was a product of Free Day #2 and 8 days younger than Merri.
I timed the last free day so she could complete all her pre-moveout stuff before Garrison's YA birthday yet still have an heir in time.
I'm hoping my next heir will take over a few days after her teen birthday.

Is that why you hired all the gardeners?

I made a scoring mistake with Cirius and was allowed to continue with this dynasty by forfeiting a free day.
Free Day 3 came around Merri's child birthday and Free Day 4 (the last one) happened 4.5 sim-weeks later.
With so many weeks without a free day, the only way to delay Free Day 4 while compensating for all the points gained was to hire NPCs.
Btw, I hired twice as many nannies as gardeners because nannies offer a variety of services.
Hope these answers help you avoid repeating my mistakes. And good luck with your challenge!

[christinal3106]

@oshizu I am absolutely loving this dynasty.  I just moved the 2nd heir into this her new house.  I've got control of both of the new heirs a couple days before they aged up to teen, and I have liked that so far.  I like your story so far.

[oshizu]

3.17: Merri's Muchachos

Week 14/Sunday

Garrison: How many more? I'm on my thirteen sammie!
Since we're both here, wanna talk about grilled cheese sammies?

Merri: Sure, I'm almost done! I’m on my fifteenth carrot!
Garrison: Nice! How much longer is our free day?

Merri: It ends just before midnight today.


Grim Reaper: So what's up with you? I thought you were one of those uncontrolled sims?
Garrison: Usually, yes, but it's a free day.

Grim: Why would your watcher have you chat with me during her 24 hours of unrestrained micro-management?
Garrison: I have the Grilled Cheese aspiration, so I'm planning ahead.

Grim: Yeah, yeah. Everybody's got an angle these days.
Garrison (changes subject): So how do you like Salty Paws Saloon?
As a dog-lover, I'm super excited about this dynasty's first visit to Brindleton Bay!


Masato: In the morning, the romancing I began last night continues at Perfect Balance Spa.
By the way, this is Aya Mandir but I was with someone else with the same family name last night.
I wish I knew how they're related!

Merri: By Masato's second lady, we're all sore but showered. Time for some fishing!


Grim: Our simverse has really been graying lately--look at all these elders!
You know I'll be making more visits to this spa this week.

Merri: Luckily, Masato and his lady of the hour are busy, getting busy in the sauna.
Meanwhile, the rest of us are across the street fishing.
We'll be avoiding that spa for a while.


Garrison: Sis, have you heard about the wonders of grilled cheese sammies?
Theresa: Still working on your aspiration?

Garrison: Yep. Hey, you remembered that I'm a dog-lover!
Theresa: Um, I'm pretty sure these are cats.


Merri: Talk about a narrow escape!
Using the bubble blower for work makes me very playful.
Just as I reach a mirror, I go hysterical but manage to calm down in time. Whew!


It's me, Garrison. No doubt the grilled cheese was a dead giveaway.
I'm finishing off my tenth Excellent-quality grilled cheese sammie and wondering what to do next.
I try to invite Grim over but he's not available. And it's too late to go looking for him.


Masato: How embarrassing to be caught like this!
I wasn't planning to poach Merri's clubmate, but the rest of Masaya's housed daughters are still teens.

I've also been trying to avoid the party bush route. It's so tacky!
But "someone" just had to come here to Desert Bloom Park.


Garrison: I'm baaaacccckkk!!!! Quite frankly, I don't see the point of eating a grilled cheese sammie in space.
Merri: Garrison's returned from space, people, and our free day is over. It's time to go home!


Monday

Garrison: It's sweet of you to work from home on my day off!
Merri: Thanks for coming along with me to Spice Market.

Garrison: You're huge, sweetness! Shouldn’t you be staying home?
Merri: I'll be fine, darling. I don't go into labor until very late tonight.
Let me wrap up my work-from-home assignments here so we can have dinner.


Merri's party returns to Salty Paws Saloon in Brindleton Bay.
Sadly, we haven't noticed any new households moving in yet.

Merri: I was really hoping, sweetheart, you'd talk with Grim about grilled cheese sammies,
Garrison: What can I say? I’m just not feeling it tonight.


Nimb: I bring home a promotion today to Technological Innovator (12 points).
Cant' wait until I can make all the cool inventions and serums!


ASPCA worker: Good evening, you called about adopting a puppy. (11 points)
Nimb: Why would anyone here want to adopt a puppy?
Merri: I want twins but not triplets, so I'm adopting a puppy to occupy the eighth slot.
Also, I'll soon have another dog-lover in the house.

Nimb: What kind of dog is that?
Merri: Sshhh, I don't want Garrison to hear in case it doesn't work out.
He's a German Pointer named Merlin.

Nimb: So, what's the verdict?
Merri (sighs): Merlin has the Hairy trait and didn't like me much, so I didn't adopt him.
But I'll definitely be phoning the ASPCA again tomorrow morning first thing! Garrison will be so happy!!!


Merri: I hear eerie music outdoors just as I end the evaluation. Oh no!
Nimb has the gall to get abducted now!?!?!


Merri: I really appreciate your giving me a fertility massage, Masato.
Masato: Wow, Merri! Why are you so tense?
Merri: You can ask Nimb about that later. *rolls eyes


Tuesday

Merri: It's past midnight when I go into labor near the end of Masato's massage.
While fretting over Nimb's abduction, I realize he can't be pregnant until 24 hours later. Right?
Anyway, I'll adopt a puppy for sure in the morning and everything will be perfect.


Merri: Fortunately, my perfect husband is a paragon of composure.

Garrison: Gah, this prenatal panic's got me feeling so tense!


Merri: Arrrrgggghhhh!
Garrison: Well, this is awkward. Maybe I'll just stay over here until it's over.


Merri: Twin boys, just as we'd hoped! Garrison, you can come in now.
With the twins, my net satisfaction points increase by 1,000 (12 points)


Merri: Allow us introduce our sons, Jet and Lone. Would explain how you named them, darling?
Garrison: Yes, I'd love to! *rubs hands together in anticipation.
Jet is named after my favorite martial artist, and Lone after his child trait.

Merri: I'm pretty sure that's spelled Jet Li, dear.
Garrison: You had to go and spoil it! But Li is the (official Chinese) Pinyin romanization of the same character as Lee.
Lee's just how it's spelled using an earlier non-official romanization system, like how Beijing used to be Peking.

Merri: You never cease to surprise me, love. And how did you know Lone's child trait?
Garrison: I peeked at that sheet where you wrote their traits after you rolled them earlier.

Merri: Did you peek at Jet's child trait, too?
Garrison. Uh huh. He's going to be a dog-lover just like his dad! *beams widely


Merri: Later that morning, Papa comes over for a visit.
He mentors me while I'm writing a review and I max Writing (14 points).
A few hours after that, I'm promoted to Level 6 Food Rater (15), hire a nanny (14), and reach Gourmet Cooking 4 (15 points)


Wednesday

Merri: I'm going to try to give Garrison a pre-work aromatherapy massage before his shifts.

A lot happened today while Garrison is at work! I become good friends with my sons (17) and hire a nanny (16 points).
Theresa brings home a promotion (17), but passes out soon after (16 points).


Merri: I'd always thought that I couldn't get promoted if I worked from home.
Recently, though, I've realized that I actually could.
I'm loving all the work-from-home assignments because I get to see my household all dressed up.

And, no, I don't wear those pigtails with my formal outfit!
Incidentally, Garrison finally got his first promotion (17 points)!


Thursday

Merri: It's well past midnight when we get the boys' birthday notices.
Our little heir, Jet Lee, ages up into an angelic toddler.
His younger brother, Lone Lee, becomes a silly toddler.


As for Merri's brother, Nimb, he's an extremely unpopular fellow at the moment.
Merri believes Nimb trashed her dreams of adopting a puppy for Garrison and Jet.
Since Garrison's heard what happened, he can't help but resent Nimb as well.

I definitely do NOT want a third child in this household…
Darn you, Nimb! *shakes fist angrily
Cirius: I'd also like to go on record as disapproving Nimb's covfefe.



Current Score: 17/20 points

[Shewolf13]

Awww, poor Nimb XD I feel bad for him. Not as if he meant to get abducted XD Welcome to Jet and Lone!

[oshizu]

@Shewolf13

You are such a kind, compassionate person! I'm so happy to hear that you feel for Nimb!
*packs up Nimb's belongings and mails them to Gracie Mansion, then pays for Nimb's transportation to southern Newcrest
 

Haha, joking, of course. (My game hates me!)

[PeregrineTook]

Wow!  What a curveball!!  Apparently, your Lees are taking after my Tooks and have become alien magnets!  On the one hand, that's another adorable Lee baby, but on the other hand, that's another baby to care for in a single-controlled-Sim household!  It's the gen 1 triplet surprise all over again!
Is sending the baby back to its homeworld an option in this case?  I believe the rules involve not being able to move out a Sim you move in, but I wasn't sure if alien abduction pregnancies worked in quite that same way.