2.28 - Nice to Meet Ya Again

 I give you all fair warning: this chapter has a lot of pictures and not a lot to say about them.

Um so, apparently when you disappear off the map for like a year+ and update the game several times and have mods to contend with and a dying computer... games don't like running that good no more.

So fun fact: when games don't run so good, I panic. So this post is going to be all over the place with explanations and problems. Get HYPED!

We start with Ami (Shikigami) maxed out her motor skill to start.

The game was chugging and freezing often, the FPS was dropping like crazy so... some of these things might not make a lot of sense.

The kitchen was crazy crowded on entering my file as poor Kashira tried to do his homework, Martha tried to eat something as her vampirism was making her wither away, Sophie was trying to talk to Martha, Lettie was bugged out with the "Move as Bat" so she was constantly disappearing into the air and coming back down for small things and finally Caleb was at work--

At... work...?

Caleb...?

Caleb: (Laments to the sky) It's borked again, I tell you! Borked!

So after consulting around on the Boolprop Discord, Trip taught me the magic of traveling to another lot with everyone, so I did and then brought everyone back home with Caleb finally registering as being home... though not making money or promotions but whatev.

So everyone slowly marched back inside and I had Caleb start up a Dinner Party to help with the chefs aspiration.

Yeah, this girl is Lettie's alright. Yuna told her mom a very wild and crazy story.

Yuna: And then the world went dark because the writer's computer gave out-

Oh gods please no... don't curse me like that.

Alas, the game kept trying to kill me though. Lettie~! This isn't how you use the table!

Lettie: You clearly have never done it correctly so I don't know why you think you know best.

Yuna maxed the social skill, somehow, despite the chaos.

I spent a lot of time admiring Lettie, but of course you can't go too far with her without Caleb sneaking into the picture. How fitting.

It became a mad dash to complete the party while my game was still semi-smooth enough to not choke and make me miss several minutes at a time.

Quick everyone, dance!

(next option comes up)

Everyone stampede upstairs to the playful room! We must all become playful!

Kaonashi is pretty, by the way.

The host needed to "socialize with guests" but he also needed to be monitored to cook because he stopped cooking after every iteration within the "cook meal" action (yes I'm crying in pain by this time), so I sent Kaonashi to Caleb to chat and--

sdkla;gjal;sdkjgalskdjga that's so CUTE. I'm quite swooned by it.

Lettie, it says Host socializes with guests...

Lettie: Yes, and Caleb and I are the same person since we're married, so...? 

I don't think it works like-

(It counts)

Well, alright then.

We netted a gold on the party and then it was time to whisk everyone off to their routines to get ready for bed... though everyone had needs that needed to be fulfilled. 

Kaonashi, being the incredible eldest he is, made sure his siblings got food and some time to chat so they could have good social and hunger bars.

He was rewarded by getting max Charisma Skill.

Martha maxed Mixology.

The game was whizzing right by me and sputtering and I was rocking in my chair telling myself everything is okay.

Rufus did his thang.

Things should've been great. Except you know, for me screaming and panicking and begging the game to not crash each time it sputters.

Which was often.

Lettie could not manage to do Laundry to save her life. Even when I brought the laundry to her. She just kept dropping it on the floor. 

Even Haru felt bad for me.

I was starting to run out of options. The vampires were all super bugged out with routing. The game was sputtering. No one could do much of anything. Monsters were spawning even in well-lit rooms.

Which meant Kaonashi wasn't sleeping and neither were the girls.

Not one, but two monsters! Good gods!

Kaonashi: And none of you are going to mess with my sisters, you hear? Stay out.

He's really the brother of the year. Then to be safe, he went on to Kashira's room and preventatively sprayed that one down too.

Then everything started breaking, the Kitchen stove broke and caused a fire, which I only caught the tail end of it.

I set Caleb to fixing it and... 

Oh yeah, cause... we all know what comes after 6... it's 8.

I just couldn't do it anymore. I figured the save was too far gone. So... I started up the collecting rounds to spare myself further pain and move them to a brand new file.

It was such pains to pack everything up, knowing I couldn't take everything as well as extended family and keep all the connections and rewards...

Plus a cute wall of pictures from all the kids in this house... I knew I'd miss all of it and then some. But I saw it as something that needed to be done. I braved the save, I took everyone into CAS and saved them up there.

And then I started the painstaking process of building them a new house in the new file. 

Then, well you see, I made it a very long way into this house and an idea came to me. What if it was just the lot that was buggy? What if it was a combination of my computer slowly dying on me (as many things weren't working right on it) and a borked up lot? So I saved the NEW house to the gallery and went all the way back to the old save (suffering the whole way) and planned to get everyone through that night, send everyone off to work and school, and then place down the lot and finish building it while everyone was gone at work (except Caleb, Martha, and Haku).

Then I could test it and see if it worked! 

(Spoiler: It... sort of did? My computer was still shitty though, but I had plans in motion to build my next computer over the course of a few days away so I thought... why not?)

So we return to the Ghibli household and I put Caleb to painstaking work as all the babies were sleeping slowly making the three gourmet meals for his aspiration. 

Which involves him poofing up and back into place again and again.

He poofs over here, but the side-steps to the left and sets it down. Or walks away after it's set down and leaves it...

Then he slowly shuffles his way back over? 

So yes, it's been a mess. Meanwhile, Ami had woken up again from her monster and was making a mess upstairs. 

Naturally, Lettie was on the case.

Lettie: We don't tolerate mess makers here, little miss. Your fine is to mop the floor of your mess and go to bed.

Ami: (groans but does it anyways)

Ami: (grumbles under her breath and sulks off to bed.) 

Ah, young children, am I right?

I was having Martha garden because the time had come for me to swap her into something that was more appropriate for her. Something I figured would suit her well but I hadn't been in this file much since it was introduced so I couldn't get started on it until now...

I was scraping to get enough ingredients when it turns out... Caleb had something ROTTING in his inventory that could've helped me eons ago. 

Caleb: Oh would you look at that.

Ewwwww, also you SUCK for holding out on me.

Caleb: Not my fault you didn't check my inventory first.

(groaning noises)

Given how buggy my file was, I didn't want to risk Martha needing to move much with her vampirism routing issues so I dragged it down to her... and it was still a mess of routing issues before...

And Martha got to taste what it was to be human once more! Vampirism begone! 

Oh yeah and somewhere in the mess of all this...

Lettie reached level 10 in her career.

Of which she needed to leave the Mixology bar to come and sit next to Kaonashi just to register it fully.

This is the same save file after all that was super borked. It took forever to make it through the night, but eventually everyone went off to school, and I slapped down the majority of the house that I had started in the other save file (after recollecting up all the things I wanted to keep and storing it in either the family inventory or normal inventories) and got to work putting on the finishing touches.

There was going to be a fair bit of changes going on - and to be warned (once again) there WILL BE some changes I've made! Here's the house: 

It took so long but I got it settled. The lawn area was definitely not something I was happy with in the end (especially the back) but it's settled for now. You'll notice that I have two front doors, and we'll get to that in a moment. For now, here's the yard:

There's a wedding area and a campfire area (hopefully for fun... family stuff when I finally have a computer that can run this game...)

Of course I needed the graveyard for Haru and Erick as well as the useless pond thingamajig. 

I reintroduced the wellness area so I can constantly have Dead Inside stuck in my head as I watch them do yoga. Also I put down a small, outdoor sauna.

There's also now a dedicated outdoor garden as I'm going to be trying really hard to create a perfect garden and I read a few guides on the best way to do that with bees and fertilizing and cutting and grafting and all that jazz.

There's also a pool area too, as usual for the Ghibli's, and some outdoor activities that didn't fit inside the house.

Now I'm going to be mashing in some pictures of room-by-room as I did it but here's the overall finished house from top to bottom: 

The first room of note I want to discuss is on the first floor (ground floor), on the bottom left. This one:

This room is my dedicated party room. 

As pointed out, there's two entrances on the front of the house. One of them is unlocked to everyone, the other is locked to only household members. This party room is the one open to all, with all doors (except the ensuite) locked to everyone but household members. This is to keep parties condensed to one area and, ideally, make it easier to complete party goals.

Perhaps it's not that smart nor cool, but I felt quite genius thinking of this. I included a card table/wake the llama table so the "play games with x" could be fulfilled. There's a bar for drink mixing. A table for food offerings and room for me to put tables down for dinner party. There's a stereo for listening/dancing to music requirements and all the wall is covered in my emotional paintings that can be toggled on and off for the "have x sims flirty/playful/etc." Aka, this room will be my mini powerhouse.

I was looking to add a rug to the room that was big enough and could be recolored to fit whatever theme of the party... but... 

What is wrong with you EA? Why?! The other side was just as bad.

Did nobody check this rug?! And it costs a huge amount of simoleons? WTF? You can see the seams of the texture on this mesh! Dear gods!

So with my griping done, the kitchen was technically the first room I completed, so here's that:

I didn't go for the most expensive furniture on the market (Stove/Fridge wise) even though it's required for the Legacy purely because... well truthfully my Sims here don't have a huge amount of money. I don't spend a lot of time grinding out cash in this game and bills are expensive. So, until I get comfy enough to afford those items, I'm just going to keep using the slightly cheaper but still better items.

I fixed up the greenhouse next, which will be used to house perfect plants and out-of-season plants. I will be starting this gardening chase in mid-spring so I might have to chase spring plants long after spring is over... but~ we'll just have to take it slow.

(This was before I did any of the outdoor stuff. As I told you these are mishmashed out of order so I can explain them lol) The next steps were the kids bedrooms, of which, everyone got their own.

So, I know that earlier on in this legacy, I rolled for traits and aspirations and all of that jazz for each of the kids at their birth. I did this when I had fewer packs and less organization. I've made some changes to each of the children's rolls that I felt were more appropriate. Is it rule breaking? Probably. Do I care? No. 

I'm here to have fun and experience literally as much of this game as I humanly can, so me doing repeats of aspirations isn't going to help me with that. As such, I decorated each room with a little something that will be involved in the child's future (if they were old enough for said things). Keep your eyes peeled, maybe you'll see something.

The first room I did was Kaonashi!

Every room on the first floor also has a bathroom. Lucky skunks.

Next up is Kashira: 

Then came Yuna:

And last but not least for this level: Shikigami!

So there we go! I also picked favorite colors for each of the children (likely reflected in their rooms, mm?) but we won't get to that until later.

As you see, right now, I have to finish the house.

I went for the master bedrooms after that: 

Obviously this one would be for Lettie and Caleb... Then the room for Martha: 

Me thinks you're picking up a theme of where I'm taking Martha, but you cannot possibly tell what it will be. My lips are sealed and I'm positive you won't be able to guess it. No sir. No way. No how!

I also finished the upstairs workout room and Martha's bathroom so: 

I conquered the upstairs living area, which is mostly a hangout for the kids.

I also did the outdoor patio to support those planned late summer nights watching movies and all the children's play areas:

I'll probably be tweaking this setup but for now I'm happy with it. The downstairs patio is quite nice, just has a little area for the hot tub and a nice sit down area to grill and eat some food.

I have big plans, as you can see, for when I can possibly enjoy this file smoothly again.

Finally, I have the toddler room (for Haku) and the writing/painting/inspiration room.

So yes, I set all of this up in my original save file, organized it all, went back into the household and... all of the lovely outdoor decoration got ruined by the snow.

And in true TS4 style... as both a blessing and a curse... everyone who was at work or school got sent home immediately on me booting the file up, which hurt all of their performances and caused a huge whole ruckus throughout the day.

Joy.

However! We have much to do anyways, because I wasn't done yet. I sorted the house, now I wanted to sort... everyone else. Not to mention, we had THREE huge things on my checklist of things needed to be done: 

1. First, it was Kashira's birthday to teenhood.
2. Second, it was also Haku's birthday to toddlerhood.
3. Finally, I needed to finish up sorting out Martha's bloodline and heritage. 

Simple enough, right?

Since Kashira's favorite color was purple, I deck'ed out our new PARTY ROOM in purple and set up for a birthday party. ASAP.

See? This is what I was aiming for. I love it!

So I set the dorks to work filling the new fountains with things just to try it out. Nothing adult or alcoholic though... this was a kid's birthday.

Their faces kill me, I swear.

Spirit Ghibli, Sophie Ghibli's daughter, came to the party sad... so Kashira worked to cheer her up as the party kicked in (and I was having a heart attack keeping the game from dying on me).

This guy here also showed up sad.

Howl: (opens his mouth)

No, Howl, you cannot move back in. I am literally dying keeping this file afloat as it is right now. Spare. Me.

So Martha made the drinks because the fruit punch didn't count for the "have x sims drinking at once." This was at a time when I figured I'd send Martha into the culinary career with Caleb but then later changed my mind to Lettie due to other reasons.

I'm quite vague this chapter, and long winded. This is a huge chapter. I'm not sorry. Except a little. 

I got softly rolled over by how much Sophie and Lettie looked alike. They're Haru's girls for real.

Caleb was struggling to make a cake in time for Kashira to blow out candles due to all the routing issues.

Caleb: And this is where I wiggle my fingers and make the cake cook faster.

Please do.

(continues to rip hair out)

Finally though, we had a cake and a birthday boy... and all that was left...

And he aged up beautifully.

But I can't show you that now because he won't be getting a makeover until muchmuch later in this chapter (which, hopefully for you, isn't that much later. But gods it was painstaking in my file). Kashira aged up and got the Loves Outdoors trait (as foretold).

At the same time, upstairs, because I'm a fucking maniac... Haku was also aging up.

Andhe'ssocuteofcourse.

He aged up into a Charmer and oh boy... I wasn't ready for him alright.

And with that, I snagged a gold and cried my way to task #3. 

But not before Haku got his first steps out of the crib:

Then we were off~!

Except for Mason, who was hanging out water sliding in the middle of the snow...

Me: (to self) I think he's aware of the inevitable...

Self: (to me) Mhm it appears to be so.

Off we went!

Haku: DaddyDaddyDaddy! Up!

I will say right out the gate that my plans for Haku changed that I intended to have him follow his mom's footsteps and become an Actor.

I think you will all see how good of a decision this was in the near future.

Caleb started to play with Haku, and you see, which I thought--- oh great! A vampire and the poofing toddler, it would actually make sense instead of that weird play animation for normal sims... Only...

Haku: ...

Caleb: Weee!

Haku: Father, are you ok?

The look of sheer concern on this toddler's face had me absolutely wheezing with laughter.

Meanwhile everyone else was plunked down working on homework, or... 

Suck it up, princess! We're stuck here waiting for-

Martha to haul her ass to the fucking portal already!

Literally took this woman eons to make it across the world and into the portal.

SURPRISE. Martha is going to be a WITCH. 

Here's the montage of that happening because this update is long and it's still not over yet.

A few motes later and some charming of that cute blond beauty (Morgyn always <3).

Haku: Mommy look at me hehe~!

Voila~! One Magic User now updated into the house. You'd think that'd be all right? Haha, WRONG again. (I'll spare you the video this time).

No, no, you see, Caleb went to work. That delicate place. That is so easily affected by travel and saving and entering Create-a-Sim.

So I wasn't allowed to do any of the nice chances to any of my sims until he got back from work.

At.

Midnight.

So we went home instead, and Lettie took care of Haku and helped Kaonashi with his homework.

They were in Ami's room because she had an open desk apparently and Kaonashi needed it. Also, through this mentoring, Lettie maxed the Aspiration for Super Parent? I believe? No no, the other.

Martha caught up with Sophie who was still hanging out after the earlier party (and found a way into the house due to ONE door I forgot to lock (shakes fist at sky). 

Lettie read Haku to sleep.

Martha went out and started to bond with her bees.

And FINALLY.

CALEB. CAME. HOME.

So I slammed them all into CAS and started a series of intense makeovers that took me dipping out of CAS 4 times so I could save. Lettie and Caleb were the least affected, so here you go to look at their pretty faces: 

Caleb: 

Martha was, by far, the one I changed most drastically outfit wise. (Also I did add some skin marks and other variation since TS4 refuses to carry that even though more people in the world have skin markings than not but SURE. May the person without a single freckle or mole on your whole body please stand up?)

(Yeah, I didn't think so.)

skda;jlgkadga she's so pretty. So Martha's current goals will be to fix up the garden, find a life partner to fall in love with (and no, that's likely not going to be Mason. It's been a long time and I'm just not feeling it for them, sorry to disappoint for anyone catching up suddenly and not knowing there's been a year since I thought of them lol), and working on the magic aspirations because why not? She's got a current job at level 8 in the political career, then she'll be moving into one half of the gardening career.

Next up is the kids, to which I'm keeping all the traits they were set to get by randomizer, but they'll each be going into different aspirations than what was potentially decided at birth. This is due to me having so much new content and also some of them not fitting their personality nor suitable for them on the whole.

First up is Kaonashi, the eldest:  

Look at this handsome boy!!! Kaonashi's current goals are no longer to chase the chef career, because that's old school. Now he's going to be my Academic who's going to college and will pursue a career during in freelance painting (he had a drawing tablet in his room, for those who were keen-eyed). I've also found his spouse, but you won't meet them until later.

Next is... Kashira, which I have to take a pause at because look. at. this. boy. 

Isn'thejustsocuteohmygod.

I am utter GOO for him. Anyways, here's his outfits: 

He'ssocuteohgods. Kashira's current goals have been changed! This silly game wanted him to be some master of mischief which just didn't fit him. So instead he's going to be pursuing the new Knitting aspiration (which a keen eye would spot his knitting bag that was by his desk in his room), as well as the freelance Writing career. I also have a spouse lined up for him as well, and am quite eager for it.

Next up is Yuna: 

She's SO PRETTY! Her outfits are nice and colorful to reflect her. She's a little chubbier than the other kids but I love that she's got some meat on her bones. You can hardly even tell from the front. Yuna's current goals are actually kept the same. She was given The Curator aspiration, which should be (in theory) a piece of cake, so I'm pairing it with gardening and she'll tackle the other half of the gardening career. 

But Livvie, you ask, this seems like a lot of sims to be keeping for very long stretches of time. 

Why yes you're right, total stranger, but I did warn you from the beginning that this generation was going to run long. 

I intend to milk these kids for as many points as I possibly can. So I hope you can get used to em!

Also yes, I do plan to overstuff the house just a little. For Martha to have a partner. So. There.

Moving on-! Next is Shikigami:

This cute little girl fits those glasses so, so much. I love her with freckles so I keep them on her no matter what it takes. I can't wait to see her and Yuna as teens. Shikigami's current goals ALSO stayed the same. She will be pursuing the Angling Ace aspiration while also pursuing the Freelance Crafting career. It'll be a really nice pace change I think, and a lot of fun, too!

FINALLY. 

Last, but NOT least!

Haku: 

SALJLAKjglsakjdglaksjgta he's so cute! He's a little clone of Caleb with all the right features of Lettie mixed in. He's not an heir, but he sure is a cute caboodle. Haku is going to be taking on the Acting career, as well as the aspiration that goes with it. It's going to be an absolute mess but I'm here for it. He's our little Charmer, but he's also going to have Creative, Foodie, and Materialistic to back him up.

So that's about it for this. The family settled into the home:

Martha is starting her endless magical skilling.

All the kids were constantly jarred awake by me going in and out of CAS, but that's a problem for future me to deal with!

And Lettie and Caleb? Well... you know how this ends...

Caleb: A new woohoo spot, you say? 

Lettie: (giggling) Mhm~

And then, in true TS4 on my dying computer fashion... they got bugged out and frozen in a kissing motion in the sauna. 

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

And that was how my computer died.

Lol just kidding. It lived just fine. I saved the files up, packed 'em onto my external drive, and didn't play this file again until I had my new computer all built. 

It took a long time, but it's built now and oh my GODS does it run smooth. I've booted the file up and done so much with it already! It's as smooth as butter! 

But for now, thanks for sticking with me. 

Chapter 2.29 >

Word Count:  4,456

Picture Count: 198