Hi and welcome to the final update for this chapter! It's time to see the three potential heiresses grow into teens and wrap this whole thing up. Read on . . .
Last chapter, Eris passed on while Callisto and Sao were born and grew into kids. Circle of life. Mira and Brandy, and their firstborn, Io, also kicked around and did stuff. That's not to mention Denzel, who is still living that bodybuilder long-lived semi-eternal life, but consigned to spend it trying to get promotions in a night career that's rough on his old body. All three girls are eligible for heiress, by the way, but our choice will depend on how they grow up, so I guess we'd better get to it!
We begin with the girls taking a rare break after school. They've all been working hard on their aspirations, and Io has already completed one, making her Physically Gifted.
Denzel heads off to work, cheerfully ignoring yet another member of the Spencer-Kim-Lewis household. Those sims just can't catch a break around here.
Callisto finished Artistic Prodigy, and Io did shortly thereafter, but I didn't want to put two identical pictures in here back to back, so this one will do for both. They're now both Creatively Gifted. Callisto's next aspiration is Rambunctious Scamp, because the reward trait will come in handy if she's to become a bodybuilder. Io is technically doing Social Butterfly next, but I'm not really trying because her birthday is very soon.
Mira headed off on a single, solitary space mission. She didn't get to that part of the career where space missions are required before I finished my turn, and I kind of forgot about them after this. She did return safely, so we can thank Eris for all those rocket upgrades she worked on in her twilight years.
Speaking of Eris's legacy (in the traditional sense, not the challenge), Denzel has done an admirable job of picking up her mantle with the kids. Whereas Eris was very close to Io, Denzel has been close with all of them, but he also had the benefit of meeting all of them. The only work he does around the house is cook sometimes and work on his career, so he has plenty of time to spend with his granddaughters.
Denzel ran outside after helping Sao with her homework to investigate some weird lights. We all know what that means.
"Huh. This tractor beam is really unpleasant. No wonder sims are always so disgruntled when we abduct them."
He returned several hours later, no worse for wear. Thank goodness he's an elder, though, no matter what color his hair might be.
While the kids were at school, I realized with alarm that Mira was almost at her adult birthday, so Denzel and Brandy threw her an impromptu little party. It was cheery enough, and it got the job done.
While Mira revels in her new adult form, Denzel tries to empathize with Brandy.
"This family. Too crazy, but also too much fun."
Very true.
"Hey Grandpa, these fish and chips are making me thirsty. Can I have some of one of these drinks that you keep leaving around the house?"
"These are for grown-ups, Io. Maybe someday I'll make you some."
"Fine, but I'm going to go get a soda instead."
Mira comes home tired but happy from work with a promotion. She's in the astronaut career and making slow but steady progress.
"Wow! I love these drinks that Denzel keeps leaving about the house. They match my mood."
Denzel makes drinks constantly on autonomy, but Eris does a pretty good job of cleaning them up most nights. It's a very nice partnership there, all centered on "juice."
The next day brings Io's teen birthday. The whole family and lots of Mira's friends were invited, but they were taking too long to get to the patio, so I had Io blow out her candles with just her immediate family. Everyone is on the same page except Denzel, who looks a little dazed, honestly. Maybe he, like me, can't believe we have a teen already!
Just as the candles are extinguished and Denzel finally finds his noisemaker, the gates are literally thrown open and other sims start streaming in for the party.
I'll show Io more later, but that's her in the black jacket. She grew up very well, and even into not-terrible hair and clothes. We needed three sims playing games at once and I've had difficulties with cards at parties, so they had a chess tournament outside instead. :P
Callisto is furious - furious! - to discover that the undisguised alien sitting next to her (her very own cousin, Iocaste) is an alien. Who would have thought it? Callisto goes stomping around the party, very angry at this supposed betrayal. It made me realize that I never sent the kids over to meet their cousins like I did last time. It honestly just kept slipping my mind with all the stuff that was constantly going on in the main house, and unfortunately, this little reminder did not really jog my memory after this. Having three potential heiresses plus two constantly-skilling adults and an elder going for a job top kept me pretty busy.
Denzel worked on the final step for the mixologist aspiration, his third, at the party. The regular hired bartender was not very amused that the highly-skilled Denzel was stealing her thunder.
Still, her bar had the barstools, so that's where people congregated. The party was in full swing, although the still-angry Callisto was too busy laying in to her beloved older sister to fully enjoy her cake.
I do want to highlight this fine specimen from the background of the previous picture, though. This is Maximillian, Eris's and then Mira's friend, and he is quite the character. Every outfit I see of his is more entertaining than the last. I mean, that is one crazy party outfit, right?
Brandy: "Io, hon, don't you think you'd be more comfortable at a table?"
Io: "Naw, kneeling behind the bar seems like a great place to do my homework. Now are you going to help me or not?"
Io seems to have some trouble with object interactions. Whether she is putting her head down in her child homework, poking herself repeatedly with a toy, or failing to find even a reasonably convenient place to do her homework on a lot full of chairs and tables, she does things her own way.
Meanwhile Sao, who handily completed Whiz Kid and is now working on Social Butterfly, befriends her cousins Dione and Iocaste. At least two members of the family (Mira and Sao) will eventually know all the kids. She'll corner Iapetus at some point too.
Dione: "What makes you so cool, huh?"
Sao: "Uh, everything? Duh."
Sao and Dione look like they're getting off to a rocky start. Hopefully they can build up a good friendship.
Meanwhile, Io apparently decided to change to doing her homework at the table, while the magnificent Maximillian graces her presence.
At the end of the party, Sirius gives his niece a goodbye hug. It's very sweet, but that's Sirius for you. In the background, you can see Dione and Sao stargazing. Looks like they finally worked out their initial differences.
Rigel finishes out the party by mourning Eris. I guess even he has a soft side to him somewhere beneath that prickly exterior.
Denzel mixed enough different excellent drinks (and then some) to complete Master Mixologist! I forgot what his reward trait did, but it obviously has something to do with drinks. His next aspiration is Fabulously Wealthy, but I'm not going to really try for it. He'll just have to enjoy the wealth they already have. Anyway, congrats on finishing your third aspiration, Denzel! Now let's have a look at the made-over Io.
Lookin' good! She stuck with a similar hairstyle since it suits her so well. She's a very beautiful sim, and now officially loves the outdoors in addition to being gloomy. She's a really great mix of her parents.
Her outfit reflects her Freelance Botanist aspiration, for which she'll need to get down and dirty in the garden. The color of the stripe on her top is an ode to Eris, who usually wore that shade of greenish-yellow. Even as a teenager, Io remembers her first good friend.
Brandy is still skilling several things to finish Renaissance Sim. She spent all night cooking and got that to level 8. Alas, I was too focused on the kids to work very hard on this final step, so I think she only had three skills at level 8 when I sent her back to Kristina, but she was getting close on a few others. This is a hard aspiration, especially when there's a lot else going on in the house!
Mira is also skilling, but for her, it's to finish Nerd Brain, which she did pretty easily. Her next aspiration is Bestselling Author. Why? I don't know. I just wanted to do something different for a change.
Eris sent Io a spectral text to congratulate her on her birthday. I thought that was so sweet. Io and Eris: friends forever!
Dione, who is apparently quite the troublemaker (no wonder considering her father is Rigel), asked Sao to skip school. I've never had a sim kid do that before, and Sao does need to work on her social skill and make a best friend, so this seemed like a good time. I sent them to the ruins, again because I had never been before and was curious. There isn't much there for children to do, by the way.
They spent their time chatting with each other and eventually worked their way up to best friends. These two, who started out mocking each other at the party, are now very good friends, and Sao is on her way to finishing her second childhood aspiration. She just has to make a few more friends.
First, though, these little wannabe delinquents take a selfie to commemorate the day.
Sao needs three child friends and I've decided that two of those will be Iocaste and Iapetus. Although Iocaste doesn't look too impressed here, she had talked with Sao quite a bit at the party and they were soon fast friends.
Evil Iapetus took a bit more work as he kept insulting Sao. Still, she forged on, but wasn't able to befriend him before she needed to go attend to her needs. Also, I noticed that both of the blue alien kids' eyebrows had turned brown. It's very annoying how the alien hairs and eyebrows change around.
Denzel returns home from work and he FINALLY has that last promotion! He retires right away as Iapetus slinks off into the darkness. Good job, Denzel! He's really been quite a successful sim, and now he'll get to relax some and enjoy the rest of his days without working this harrowing job most nights.
His final reward was this bar, which kind of goes with the patio décor. The drink light was an earlier reward, and I have to say, I really dig it.
Io is working on raising her gardening skill, but her moms had taken such good care of the garden that there wasn't a lot for her to do right away. So with a focused potion in one hand and a beginning gardening book in the other, she started out gaining that skill.
Finally the plants actually needed something and she was able to crudely water the plants, leaving puddles everywhere. Hey, everyone has to start somewhere, I suppose.
Speaking of aspirations, Callisto is going so slow on Rambunctious Scamp! That is not a good sign for her eventually wanting to be a bodybuilder. I really wanted each of the girls to finish two aspirations, but I was afraid Callisto wasn't going to make it because it was almost her birthday.
Meanwhile, Sao is hugging random strangers in the living room. Seems legit.
She tries again with Iapetus, and this time she is able to befriend him. One child and one adult friend are all that's left for Sao. You may notice the apple tree in the front of the house has a friend. I had Io plant another garden plot and another apple tree out front so she'd have something to plant and evolve, and also to help her raise her gardening skill quicker. It does mean that they have quite a lot of plants, though.
I started giving Callisto moodlet solvers and energized potions to try to speed her along before her birthday, but I was starting to panic a bit.
Speaking of drinking, Denzel is still at it. He might not have to use the toilet so often if he wasn't such a lush, but he's found the most efficient method to deal with both his desires and his needs at the same time.
Chug those down, Callisto! It may be 10 p.m. but your birthday is tomorrow! Hurry!
Someone finally noticed the downstairs lounge area, and it made me so happy I took a picture of it, so here that picture is. That's really all there is to this. It's just a very neglected area of the house is all.
Callisto finally finishes Rambunctious Scamp with a few hours to spare. Whew! Now we can have a party!
The immediate family and Johanna the mixologist are there to celebrate Callisto's entrance into the teen years in what turned out to appear to be a well-staged picture. Don't you just love when your sims accidentally end up in good places for pictures?
And I am actually 100% onboard with Callisto's party outfit, with the exception of her hair. I haven't found sims that can really work that top yet, but Callisto is killing in it. I love it. She looks fierce. We'll just have to change her hair to something more appropriate to her persona.
This party was not as focused as others have been. The largest congregation of people was all the ones raiding the fridge and then settling down at the dining table. Sao isn't reading - that's a gardening book that Io left so abruptly that she didn't even close it.
First we needed three sims to game at once, and for variety's sake, I bought a Don't Wake the Llama set, which the three girls and their aunt Lexi played together. Then I needed to fulfill the requirement to 'play a game with the birthday sim,' but, annoyingly, even when they finished it, it didn't complete. There wasn't time for a whole other game of this, so I sent Callisto and Io to the chess table.
It was there that I realized that Callisto was angry again, this time because Lexi, another undisguised alien, is an alien. Hoo boy. She's a piece of work when it comes to her alien family. Unfortunately, they didn't complete the game in time, so Callisto's party was only a silver medal. How annoying.
Anyway, here's Callisto's makeover. She added creative to neat and picked up the Bodybuilder aspiration. I wanted to continue her soft, semi-formal appearance from childhood.
I also wanted to give her a chance to show off her bodybuilder efforts, so I gave her a tank and a short skirt that still kept the aesthetic and color scheme from before.
To have something to show off, though, she has to actually work out some. She gets started on that right away, but these early workouts are both short and exhausting.
While Callisto is lifting weights, Sao is making friends with uncle Sirius and Elsa, who is a member of the same club as Sao. With Sirius's friendship locked up, Sao has completed her second aspiration with several days to spare! I think she picked Artistic Prodigy after that, but I wasn't really bothered to work too hard on it, even though she probably had time. I didn't want to give her an unfair advantage over her sisters.
Early the next morning, while everyone else is two floors away and sleeping soundly, time has come for Denzel. Only Denzel would manage to die while doing side planks. A bodybuilder to the end. I was very sorry that he would die alone, but there were only a few days left in my turn, and I didn't want to wake anyone up just for them to pick up a two-day sad moodlet. Harsh, Roxanne.
For some reason, both times I've had the house, the Grim Reaper always appears in the basement bathroom to collect the elders, whose bedroom is nearby. It's a little strange. Anyway, he did his duty, and Denzel had passed on.
Now he's with his beloved wife, the one he left his home world for. Eris and Denzel are reunited, gone but not forgotten. Denzel completed three aspirations, maxed three skills, and was a great father and grandfather.
Later that morning, when everyone is up, they blithely head to breakfast since I had just gotten Dine Out. I was feeling bad about Denzel still, but they didn't seem to even notice. Anyway, I had them go to the breakfast joint because as far as I could tell, it was one of the only restaurants that came with the pack that had a table for five sims to sit together.
Brandy: "Hey, I love your blazer!"
Hostess: "Thanks! Yours is super cute too! Can I get you a table?"
Brandy: "For five, please."
Lexi: "I brought my own dirty dishes! I'm ready for breakfast!"
I'm not sure Lexi understands how human restaurants work.
Everyone except Mira sat down and started looking at the menu. Mira, however, decided now was a great time to study rocket science. This was hilarious and frustrating to me at the same time, because I can never get her to focus on that damn book when I
want her to study! I made her put it away and then she joined the rest of her family in getting ready to order.
There was a conspicuous absence at the table, however. I had been really hoping Denzel would make it back to Kristina, but barring that, I really wanted him to be able to go out to breakfast with his family. As a foodie, I think he would have loved it.
Sao and Callisto both colored on placemats while we were waiting, and then we were able to summon our waiter, who happened to be J Huntington III or whatever his name is. I'm not looking it up right now. That one guy. Io ordered for the family.
When I have to make decisions about meaningless things in the game, I try to come up with stories or personality-justified reasons for the choices I make. I just like having the story of the family thread through everything they do. So fancy Callisto got a quiche and a macchiato, while down-to-earth Brandy and Mira (who were also both quite hungry) had omelets and Americanos. Sao ordered an omelet just like her moms, but she decided to drink milk. Finally, Io ordered a hearty breakfast of pancakes and orange juice to give her plenty of energy to garden.
We learned several things at breakfast that day. Firstly, Audrina, the bartender that Sirius tried to hit on before finding out she was married to Maximillian, is terrible at waitressing. None of that flair is a merit badge for collecting dishes, that's for sure.
Secondly, Io is apparently a slow eater. She talked everyone's ears off and made them wait a long time while she finished her pancakes once I told her to knock off the chatting. Meanwhile, that pile of dishes rots on the floor.
Finally, fancy rich boy J makes a pretty good server, because he managed to get all of their dishes and the floor dishes all in one swoop. Thanks, J! Breakfast was a success. Since the three girls are all very successful and the moms have been working hard as well, today is a family day where they're going to travel around the neighborhood and then spend time together at home before they leave my computer.
Their next stop is the Lost Gardens of Healing, where Mira proposed to Brandy all those many years ago.
"Hmm, I wish to be better at Blicblock. Stupid high score that I can't get."
"What? I've been named SimNation's top Blicblock player? Gee, thanks! I'm honored!"
Actually Callisto wished for better grades and it filled her progress bar (thanks in small part to a huge 'donation'). This is great because she wasn't going to have enough time to get an A probably before Sao's birthday, but now she just has to go to one more day of school, so she can do it before she leaves me.
Meanwhile, my sims are again pulling out books when I
don't want them to study. Io tried to study gardening but she's failing with objects again. The book is actually below her left foot there, but the game thought she was holding it. I had to cancel the interaction of her reading an invisible book before I could drag it back to her inventory. While this is going on, Sao is trying to chat her up and Brandy, amusingly, is playing in the fountain. Who knows where Mira got off to.
Io: "Mom, were you just playing in the fountain?"
Brandy: "What? Ha ha, who me? Don't be ridiculous. I'm an adult."
Sao: "Mom! Your boots are wet!"
Brandy: "Are they? Well, isn't that weird?"
Brandy didn't seem to like being caught being the immature one.
Once they got home after a short and uninteresting stint at the park, I hung Sao's placemat drawing up in the inspiration room above some of Mira's cute kid drawings. It's a freezer bunny. :D It actually is finished, I think. She just didn't color the whole thing for some reason.
Io and objects. I swear! Now she's weeding the mailbox, which is nowhere near the garden. The family took a break from together time to get a few things done before they reconvened.
Brandy: "Hey, young man. Don't you know we turn our headline effects off in the house?"
Callisto: "Oh, come on, Mom. Don't get high and mighty. The controller just figured that cheat out like a month ago and obviously the knowledge still isn't sticking all the time."
Brandy: "Okay, I guess it's all right then."
Lucas: "Ya'll are weird. I'm going to go mourn an evil woman I've never met and not be weird, unlike you."
I've had Mira try to work on her book a few times and it seemed to be taking her forever because she wasn't finishing ever. I finally realized that the progress was resetting every time, so I made her write a children's book in one sitting just so I could say I did something for her latest aspiration.
Sao meets with the League of Adventurers on the last evening of her childhood, and Io is happy to play space monster with them. Adorable.
Once the kids went home, the family went for a swim together. Of course, the teens had to pop out of the pool to look at phone stuff together.
While waiting for dinner to be cooked, Io weeded the bar, which obviously needed it quite badly. Looks a little painful, though. I hope she isn't this terrible at stuff on Kristina's computer.
What do you eat to follow up swimming? Fish tacos, of course. I realized while I was looking at this picture that Io, Callisto, and Brandy all have the same swimsuit top. Oops. At least they're all different colors. These five ladies had a fun day together, but they're all quite exhausted now, so it's time to tuck in and get ready for one more day of school and then a final party.
When the kids are asleep, though, Brandy and Mira keep the fun going just a little bit longer.
Mira wasn't sleepy yet, though, and she finally took some time to acknowledge the passing of her father. Even though this made her sad, I was glad that she at least seemed to recognize that he had gone. He had been a great support to her for such a long time.
Right after school the next day (after which Callisto got her accelerated A), it's time for Sao's party. All the usual crowd are in attendance.
Iapetus: "Hey, she's kinda hot. Do you think I could . . ."
That's your cousin, you creep. And stop looking at the camera. And while you're at it, make your eyebrows black. You're bugging me.
Sao: "This outfit does not match my self-image at all."
I know, Sao. Just wear it for the rest of the party then we'll get you in something that looks a bit more 'you.' Congrats on becoming a teenager, by the way.
I wasn't going to risk Don't Wake the Llama again, and apparently the game is insistent that we play lots of games at these birthday parties, so it was chess tournament time again. Guess what made Callisto mad this time? If you guessed figuring out that Iapetus was an alien, give yourself 10 points. The girl seriously needs to get over this issue. I guess it's kind of a good thing that she ran out of alien relatives to be mad at.
While the regal Maximillian storms around in a funk in the background, Sao gets her drink on with her moms, which seems like a totally normal way to celebrate your teen birthday. Where did her sisters get to, though?
Io: "Hey, sis! Ignoring the party in favor of eating fish tacos from our smelly fridge? Rad!"
Callisto: "I know, right? What are you up to?"
Io: "Ignoring the party in favor of playing on the computer. She's already canceled this action like five times so she finally gave up."
Callisto: "Score!"
Meanwhile, in news about people who give a crap, Rigel is again displaying his soft side. This party is the last we'll see of Rigel and Sirius, so it's nice to give them a little goodbye.
Of course, Sirius couldn't make his as dignified as a sweet hug. No, he had to go and make the youngest potential heiress embarrassed. Way to go, uncle. Anyway, bye to the boys and thanks for all the laughs.
Since she was first a child, Sao has been wanting to catch a fish. She rolls this repeatedly no matter what else is going on in her life. I had her fish a few minutes here and there as a kid in between other things, but she never caught anything. Since she has only a few more sim hours on my computer and she rolled that whim again, I thought I'd indulge her.
And almost instantly she catches a cichlid. Good job, Sao. Here, have 50 happiness points. Now we can move on with your life.
"Yay!"
Sao: "Not yay."
Brandy: "Are you sure you wouldn't like to sit at this desk that is just three feet to your right? It kind of looks more comfortable."
Sao: "Nope. I'm good here, kneeling on top of my high heels."
Brandy: "I will never understand teenagers."
Sao: "That's probably because you never were one, starting out as a YA legacy love and all."
Brandy: "Hmm. Point."
While Sao is tutored, the rest of the party continues. Callisto managed to do her homework right in the thick of it somehow, and Dione got a hug from her father. I'm going to miss all these guys, but it's time to wrap this thing up.
Sao finally got her makeover and she looks so much more like herself now! I've been waiting to use this cute hair on her ever since she grew up with the braid-bun as a child. She stuck with bright colors, and I've always seen her as a free spirit, so I had to go bohemian with her. She is now romantic in addition to loving the outdoors, and wants to have a Successful Lineage.
Here's her full body shot. She kept her white flip-flops from when she was a kid. Cute! Now let's take a look at the three potential heiresses side-by-side.
There we go. There's no denying that these are three lovely sims who look very much related. In fact, I think both Callisto and Sao are actually or very nearly face clones of Brandy. Certainly, except for hair and eye color and eyebrow shape, they look nearly identical. Io has Mira's nose and brow, so she looks a little different. Like I said earlier, there was no black sheep in this generation, so any of these girls would make a wonderful heiress.
Io: "Hey! We're all teenagers now. You know what that means?"
Sao: "We wreak havoc on all around us?"
Callisto: "I like the way you think!"
Now, now. All we have left is to update the portraits and then I'm sending you guys over to Kristina. No time to wreak havoc. Sorry ladies. You'll have to save that teenage spunk for her.
And yet they still managed to wreak a little havoc, but that's mostly because they all really wanted to go to bed and I was keeping them up to get all the portraits. Eris wasn't helping, either, but that's kind of her thing. I'm glad she haunted on this last night so we can say goodbye to her. Denzel never haunted, but he didn't have much chance. Too bad. Bye, Eris!
Here's the teenage portrait wall with individual and group shots. Very nice, if I do say so myself!
And here are the portraits of our three potential heiresses. Which one will be continuing the line? Well, we've already decided but I think I'll keep that a secret until Kristina's chapter comes out, just for fun. Anyway, I love the way the portraits came out, because each one really reflected that girl's unique personality.
Finally, congrats to Mira and Brandy for a great run as the reigning couple of the Hart legacy during the fourth generation. They've done a great job and produced three wonderful choices for heiress, as well as accomplishing a hell of a lot of other stuff.
And that's it! Thanks so much for reading! I hope you've enjoyed this chapter. Check back soon for Kristina's next chapter and the reveal of who the generation five heiress will be. While you're waiting, be sure to catch up with us at
SiMania! See you next time!
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