The Lewis Family Legacy

Generation 5.1

Tue, 25 Jul 2006 02:15:38 GMT

Thanks to my lovely readers, Claire Kelly was named heir! Before we get to her though, please permit me a little detour through the college years, which mostly focuses on Edward and how totally cute he is with his boyfriend (he's my first gay sim and I went picture crazy!)

When we left off, all three Kelly children had just arrived at college. Claire, with her lifetime want of reaching the top of the business career track, chose Economics as her major. Edward was more laid back and wanted to become a celebrity chef, so he majored in drama (or art, I can't actually remember) and Kerry wanted to follow her mother's footsteps in politics, so she chose political science for her major. She surprised me though - she looks all cute and sweet, and then I saw her listening to her MP3 player...

Hmm. Not quite the little angel I always pictured her to be...I get the distinct impression that she's not listening to John Denver.
"Of course not! I'm listening to Black Sabbath!"
Okay, Kerry. Whatever floats your boat.
"Damn straight."

(Now begins the Edward/Heath spam)

On his first day in the dorm, Edward saw Heath Wilson across the room, and was immediately smitten by the blue hair. He just hoped that Heath returned the feeling.

Yup! He did!

The two couldn't keep their hands off each other. They obviously loved to slow dance together, but they also enjoyed just talking and playing:

Finally, Edward decided it was time to go for the first kiss. With his heart pounding with nerves and excitement, he leaned in, and...

Yes! Success! Congratulations, you two.
"Thanks, B."
See, Edward, I told you I'd help you find a cute guy!

Meanwhile, Claire was using her spare time to find her future spouse. She dated Mitch Indie for awhile, and got her first kiss from him, but she didn't have very good chemistry with him. Kerry had met an older man while shopping downtown named Colby Chen that she was moderately attracted to. However, when Colby came to the dorm to visit it became clear that he and Claire were madly attracted (two lighting bolts!) and Kerry had a thing for Mitch. So, unlike real people, they happily traded boyfriends and hived lappily after ever.

Don't mind the horrid haircut - he's got a cute face. As soon as I was able to I gave him a new hairstyle. College progressed, and in senior year something momentous happened for two of the siblings (poor Kerry...)

Awwww, yay. Soon after that all three graduated.

Edward.

Heath.

Kerry celebrated her adulthood by getting a very large tattoo. Yep, not the angel I thought she was....

Claire.

I moved Edward and Heath back to the legacy house briefly so that Heath could use the plastic surgery machine before their wedding. Poor guy is practically deformed...

Ahh, isn't that much better?

Now it's wedding time!

Okay, kids, now that you're married, go find your own home! You're not the heir, remember, Edward?
"Yeah, yeah, I remember."
"Edward?"
"Yes, Heath?"
"When are we going to adopt our first baby?"
"..."
Ruh-roh, Edward. That's what you get for marrying a Family Sim!

They moved out soon, and Claire and Colby moved back to the Legacy house. Kerry moved in with her brother. Claire's wedding was nowhere near as nice as Edward's though...

The actual wedding was nice, and you can see that Claire took a page out of her mother's book and refused to get married in the traditional white dress. However, right after the kiss, the old Grim Reaper showed up. Talk about horrible timing.

All happiness about the wedding was forgotten as Aaron's relatives burst into sobs as he faded from existence. Rest in peace, Aaron.

Life goes on though...Claire immediately got a job in the Business track, and is in pursuit of her lifetime want. Colby didn't have a career related LTW, so I had him get a job in the Culinary track because I don't have that career reward yet.

So, Colby, we need to talk about your flair.
"I have fifteen buttons on..."
Right, but fifteen is the minimum, okay?
"Okay."
Now, it's up to you whether or not you want to just do the bare minimum. You know Bryan has 37 pieces of flair, and a terrific smile!
"Okay, so you want me to wear more?"
*sighs* Look, Colby, people can get a cheeseburger anywhere - they go to Simburger for the atmosphere. That's what flair is about - fun!
"Okay. So, more then?"
Look, I want you to express yourself, ok? If you think the bare minimum is enough, then ok. But some people choose to wear more and I encourage that, ok? You do want to express yourself, don't you?
"Uh, yeah."
Great. That's all I ask.

"Quit making fun of Colby, B!"
Why? It's far too much fun.

You know the toilet only gets like this under one condition...

Bun in the oven!

Meanwhile, in his spare time, Colby has been utilizing the treadmill, and looky looky, he just got buff. Oh, if only it happened like that in real life...

Claire decided that since she was expecting, she should go downtown and buy some new toys. However, when she got there she realized that she would have to make the toy herself...how barbaric. She opted to make a Sir-Bricks-a-Lot.

Hooray! You made a brick! That's a real safe toy for an infant...
"It's cute..."

And here's where Claire suddenly suffered from a bout of gestational insanity.

Claire?
"What."
Why are you trying to teach an inanimate object to perform a trick?
"..."
Uh huh.

Claire was not the only Lewis family member to go crazy that day. While she was in the store, her great-uncle Lark (grandma Starling's older brother, who has mysteriously not aged) walked into the shop and promptly went into aspirational failure.

I pity the guy. Maybe I'll have to give him a pity wife next time I play.

Back at home, Starling had retired and was spending her days trying to increase the number of family friends - Bridget needed six more to obtain the next promotion.

Ooh, the mail lady is pretty!
"Her name is Celeste."
Good on you for befriending her, Starling. She will become a future heir's spouse.
"Why do you think you can just control people's lives like they're chess pieces?"
Because I can. Ha!

The next day, Starling received her visit from Grimmy. I almost missed it though because I was watching the rest of the family downstairs, and she was upstairs taking a bath. Damn it, Starling - you should have told someone!

Bridget mourned the death of her mother most grievously...

The next day, while Bridget was at work, a chance card popped up. Senator Bridget had been researching an unusual correlation between chemical testing at a new plant and the occurence of beached whales. The company doing the tests found out about it and tried to attack her while she was on her way to the courthouse to testify. The options were to either run or hide. I chose "Run", and it was the right choice! Bridget made it to court and testified, and as a reward for saving the whales, she was promoted to Mayor! Hoo-RAY!

Obviously the noise from the helicopter gave Bridget a headache.

Late that night, Claire became my first sim to go into labor in the bathroom! Since so many other people's sims have done this, I now feel like a part of the club.

It's a girl, and she's BEAUTIFUL! Nice combo skin, and Colby's green eyes. Claire, who had recently read the Anne of Green Gables books by L.M. Montgomery, decided to name her Anne Shirley. No red hair, but that's a small detail. Oh, and I forgot to mention that since I didn't realize until after Claire got married how the last names work, Colby became a Kelly instead of Claire taking his name. This is the last generation where that will happen.

He's smitten.

Birthday! She's an Aries, with 10 neat points and 9 outgoing points, and a lesser distribution among the other traits, giving her a total of 33 personality points. Wow.

Anne quickly mastered the art of walking with the aid of Grandpa Keith.

She doesn't like being in her crib. Poor thing!

In the next update, Claire has a couple more kids (Colby's LTW is to graduate 3 kids from college, how unusual), some birthdays, and possibly the choosing of the heir...it depends on how old the kids are when I end the update. Hehe.

Generation 4.3

Sun, 16 Jul 2006 06:30:20 GMT

When we left off, the obviously left wing Kelly family had just named their new twins Kerry and Edward. They looked and acted like every other sim baby ever born, so I didn't take many pictures during their baby days.

Edward loved to "fly", while Kerry preferred to have her tummy blurted. Both babies were happy and well behaved. Grandpa Aaron loved them...I have no idea which twin he's doting on here:

Claire, meanwhile, did everything she could to ensure that she got some attention too.

"Wheeee! All my blood's rushing into my brain!"
Stand up before you hurt yourself, Claire.
"Aw, you're no fun, B."

Pretty soon it was time for the twins to become toddlers!

Here's Kerry, right after her transition. I was a little disappointed, so I gave her a makeover.

Much better!

GAH!

Well, it's an improvement...I see he inherited that damn flat nose and sunken cheekbones of Aidan's. Aidan was Edward's great-grandfather...why couldn't Edward have gotten some genes from his father?? (It was around this time that I started seriously questioning my prior decision to make this generation's heir male...I'm trying to breed out those awful genes! Looks like the heir will be female again.)

Edward was a well behaved toddler...never screamed to be let out of his crib, never splashed in the toilet, etc. Kerry on the other hand, definetely engaged in typical toddler behavior. I love Edward's thought bubble in the second pic.

Like Claire before them, the twins are biters. Edward loved the dollhouse - it was his favorite toy. He played with it through most of his toddlerhood while his twin was building charisma points with the Wobbly Wabbit Head.

Birthday time again!

Oh dear.
"What's wrong, B?"
What are you wearing?
"Plaid?"
And purple pants.
"That's a problem?"
I'm not sure 'problem' is the word I'd use...but let's just say I have my doubts about you.
"Why?"
You're not like any of my other male sims.
"Cool! I'm a indy-vijy-all."
Yeah...something like that.

No cake pictures, but they're twins. They aged at the same time. Kerry's pretty.

I gave Edward a little bit of a makeover. If it looks like he's wearing eyeliner, he is. He had just seen "Pirates of the Caribbean" and wanted to look just like Jack Sparrow...I drew the line at pirate clothes, but I figured the eyeliner couldn't hurt.

The dollhouse is still Edward's favorite toy. My suspicions about him are growing stronger.
"What suspicions?"
Oh, nothing bad - I'm just thinking that you won't be the heir.
"How come?"
I'll tell you when you're older.

Aaron and Starling, despite getting on in years, are still pretty spry, and love to dance together to the Oldies station on the radio.

Kerry tried very hard to be friends with her big sister, but Claire is hard to talk to. Almost every conversation they had was bad because they don't seem to share any interests. They finally did become friends after a long time, by telling each other jokes mostly. Things were going well, and then:

Claire tried to give Kerry a hug, and was brutally rebuffed! To teach Kerry a lesson, I immediately told her to give Claire a hug, and she did. Who knows what her problem was?

Time marches steadily on, though...

Hooray! I did decide to adjust her appearance a little bit though, mostly just to add some makeup. However, Claire had other ideas.

She hated my first attempt, which was this:

So I tried again.

Then I gave her new clothes, and then attempted a makeover for the third time.

Damn it, Claire!
"What?"
Why don't you like anything I change?
"I dunno."
Well, I like the makeup, so you're keeping it.
*stony silence*
Yup, you're a teenager, all right.

I decided to attempt to get the kids into private school. I'd never tried before, so I wasn't sure what to expect. But it went well - since Kerry had the most charisma points, she gave him a tour of the house (which he loved) and then Starling schmoozed him while Aaron prepared lobster thermidor. Unfortunately, although Aaron's prepared this meal many many times, the one time it actually matters, he charred it to a black crisp and nearly made the headmaster puke. Luckily I still earned enough total points to impress the man, and:

Don't they look cute.

A few more days passed, and though I didn't get pictures with the cake, here are the twins as teens (Claire left for college the day after becoming a teen because my legacy house was just too crowded.)

Judging by the outfit Edward transitioned into, I'm earlier suspicions are confirmed. He's gay.
"What? How do you know?"
Dude, you're wearing a bandana. And eyeliner. And playing with dolls was your favorite thing to do as a child. It's pretty obvious. But don't worry, there's lots of cute guys at college for you to meet.
"So, I can't be heir because I'm gay?"
Yeah, because you won't be able to produce generation five. Adoptions don't count.
"Well, I don't really want to have kids anyway."

Edward rolled the Pleasure aspiration, and his lifetime want is to become Celebrity Chef. Kerry rolled Popularity, and her lifetime want is to become mayor. They both moved off to college right away where they reunited with Claire, who rolled Fortune. Her lifetime want is to become a business tycoon.

Claire, Kerry, and Edward as young adults. So, my readers, who should be heir? I'm letting you pick this time! It's between Claire and Kerry, so leave a comment and tell me who you think I should pick. Whoever gets the most votes will be named heir!

Generation 4.2

Sat, 08 Jul 2006 23:30:15 GMT

When we left off, Claire Kelly had just been born, and I predicted that she would have her father's hair and eyes...and I was right. Claire became an adorable and smart toddler! But before we continue with the legacy family, allow me a quick detour to the "spares" household, which houses all the other children that did not get named heir. Since Aaron's lifetime want was to graduate three children from college, I took a break from the legacy house to get James and Patrick through, and while they were there they both fell in love. James fell for Roxie Sharpe, and Patrick fell for Regina SomethinglongandRussian.

Here's adult James, playing poker with his uncles and aunt (who are mysteriously the same age as him...hmmm.)

Roxie was once a romance sim, but she rerolled at the end of sophomore year, to, hurrah hurrah, family. My favorite aspiration, even though I don't intend to play this household.

Patrick as an adult...

And his wife, Regina. She gave me problems compounded. First off, I didn't realize when they fell in love that she was an adult. I figured she was a college kid. So even though I knew she was a Romance sim (bleh), I figured I'd just move her in and reroll at the end of sophomore year. Well, then I realized that she's older than Patrick (and originally pretty unattractive actually) so I was forced to use boolprop to add her to the family, got her up to Platinum, then used that Re-Nu-Yu Orb thingie to reprogram herself. She became a family sim too and got a major makeover, then moved out to her own house. Once Patrick grew up, he called her up and asked her to move in, they got married, and the rest is history. Whew!

Now back to the legacy.

Here's Claire. For some reason I don't have any close ups of her, but you can tell she's cute.

Grandpa Aaron taught her to talk with the aid of Smartmilk. I didn't get pictures of her learning the other skills, because frankly they aren't that interesting. I prefer pictures that showcase personality.

Claire's a biter.

But she's quick to apologize!

Ruh roh.

But pretty soon it was time for Claire to become a child (thank goodness).

Um, Bridget?
"What? I'm a little busy here!"
I was just wondering why you were thinking of making out with Keith instead of focusing on Claire's birthday.
"..."
Uh huh.

Awww, she's pretty. I highly doubt she'll be the heir though, because I've had female heirs for the past two generations. But we'll see.

Claire wasn't the only one to grow up that day!

Both are in PermaPlat, huzzah! Starling reached her golden anniversary, and of course, Aaron graduated three kids from college.

Looking snazzy, Keith.
"Well, I thought that since we're all getting older, I should adopt a look more appropriate to my age."
Does this mean you're becoming more mature emotionally too?

Apparently not.

Since my new elders both transitioned into pretty hideous clothes, I decided to send them downtown to buy new ones. Bridget decided to go along and get some for herself and the kids.

BRIDGET!
*looks guilty*
What are you wearing??
"Um. My jammies?"
I can see that. What's wrong with you?
"Mom was in a hurry to go..."
And you couldn't be bothered to get dressed first? You can't even pretend they aren't pajamas.
"Sorry..."
Don't go teaching your children bad habits.

"And so, you must always remember to recycle..."
That's one smart cow, Starling.
"Sometimes I think the only way I can get anything through my husband's skull is to dumb it down for him...."
Is that true, Aaron?
"No! I just think it's cute when she talks to me through the cow."
*headdesk*

Aaron decided that he was finally tired of being an Exorcist and working hellish hours, so he retired and is now earning a pension of $534 a day. Not too shabby!

Aaron, honey, if you are so concerned with others seeing your journal, maybe you should, oh, I don't know, write in it somewhere private, perhaps?
"I like the living room. Keith's a snoop! I have to be very careful around him."
Wow, you're crotchety.
"Grrr."

Meanwhile, upstairs, Bridget was entering labor!

TWINS! Bridget and Keith named them Kerry and Edward. Whoa...did anyone else just feel this legacy shift to the left? Hehe. Kerry's a girl, with Keith's hair and eyes. Edward also has Keith's hair, but got Bridget's gorgeous hazel eyes! Methinks Edward is going to be the heir, because Bridget's only having three kids. She got the same lifetime want as Aaron, which is pretty easy to fulfill.

And now for some random pictures of famous works of art the family purchased recently.

Kandinsky.

Monet.

Monet again.

Vermeer.

Stay tuned for the next update, in which the three children grow up into teens and get shipped off to college. Also the heir will officially be named!

Generation 4.1

Thu, 06 Jul 2006 16:35:18 GMT

When we left off, Keith was painting Bridget's portrait in the original legacy house. However, since the glitch I experienced happened in that house (and it was a little too small) the first thing I did was move the family to 94 Bard Way, Veronaville. Here's the 25 cent tour.

Exterior shots...yay they have cars! Bridget picked out the minivan, and Aaron chose the sports car. What does that say about their personalitites?

Downstairs.

(Aaron and Starling's room)

(Bridget and Keith's room)

(Baby's room - there is another bedroom in the shot that's currently empty. It will become the child's bedroom once they're out of the crib.)

Since I decided not to keep urns/graves because I don't like ghosts, I decided to just have an heir wall, with each heir's portrait. However, there was no wall in the house that had 10 spaces available, so I built the heir wall out in the yard and placed decorative lighting around it. Since there's never any inclement weather in the Sims, I figured it would work out just fine. You can see Bridget's finished portrait.

Once the family got settled into their new digs, they decided to try out some new things I purchased for them...

Aaron immediately decided to show off his skill at the Electro-Sphere. He programmed it to "Hard" and mastered it easily. It seems this plaything is the new swingset...I'm not going to be able to keep them away from it!

Starling opted for the "Easy" setting, and enjoyed herself, so Bridget thought she'd give it a whirl too.

She fell out of it twice, and gave it up as a bad job. She turned to the jukebox in the living room instead...

That's one creepy looking dance, Bridget.
"It's fun, and I don't thrown on my ass doing it!"
You have a point there.
"Yeee-hah!"

But what's this? Is that the tell-tale blue puke of a future Sim?
"Bleeehhhh."

Yup.

Meanwhile, Aaron was still showing off his skills, this time in the kitchen. Mmmm, lobster.

Keith appears to be lacking in the culinary department as well as the logic department.

Ooh, healthy choice, Bridget.
"Do you expect me to eat the cold sandwiches covered in green smoke?"
Uh, no. Cookies it is. But why are stuffing your face like you haven't eaten all week?
"Hello! Eating for two, here."
Yeah, okay.

Just a random shot to show that Aaron and Starling are still madly in love. They each have one lighting bolt of chemistry for the other...whereas Bridget and Keith each have TWO. Kick ass.

Don't look so surprised, Bridg.
"I'm not! I just don't understand why I'm in these ugly pajamas instead of my cute turquoise ones!"
I'm stumped on that one too.

Get down with your bad self, Starling.

Here comes generation four!!!

It's a girl! Meet Claire Kelly (Keith was non-traditional and took Bridget's last name when they married.) Claire appears to have her daddy's hair and eyes, but we'll know more once she becomes a toddler.

Generation 3.3

Thu, 06 Jul 2006 00:26:11 GMT

Author's Note: Sorry for the delay in updates! I went on vacation for two weeks last month, and then purchased Nightlife, which of course required a new video card before it would run. Then a few nights ago I played the family up to the birth of generation four and the game glitched, causing me to lose all my progress...so this update is fairly short and will likely be followed by another either tonight or tomorrow. Updates will be more consistent now because I am not going on another vacation any time soon. So without durther afoo...

When we left off, James had moved to college, Patrick was a child, and Bridget had just aged into a child. The strange cow plant that Starling had brought home from work had eaten three neighbors.

Starling?
"Yes?"
What happened to the creepy plant?
"I decided it was just too dangerous to have around..."
You mean you got tired of being haunted by the ghosts of its victims.
"That too...anyway I sold it, and good riddance!"

Patrick soon aged into a teenager, and grew into his cheekbones. He's still not the heir though because I'm tired of that hair and nose. I am trying to breed them out of the legacy. He immediately rolled the want to go to college, and I happily obliged.

However, with the happiness of a birthday comes the sadness of death. The Grim Reaper came for Aidan (but didn't show up in the pictures do to some bug or other that I think has been fixed...) He died in platinum and happy to be rejoining Miranda, but his death traumatized young Bridget, who happened to be in the room at the time.

In an attempt to cheer Bridget up, Starling took it upon herself to teach her daughter some basics of anatomy.

"Mommy?"
"Yes, Bridget?"
"I thought you were a Unnatural Science-tist."
"Um, well, it's NATURAL SCIENTIST, and I was, but not anymore."
"A-cuz the cow plant ate your friends?"
"No. I just decided I wanted to help people by being a doctor. Oh, look, see this thingamajigger?" *pulls something squashy and yellow out of the dummy*
"EWWW! What is that??"
"I don't know. It obviously doesn't belong in here though!" *tosses said sqaushy thing over her shoulder cheerfully* "This is what's so great about being a doctor!"
"I am NEVER being a doctor, Mommy."

Despite dying happily in platinum, Aidan was an active and mean-spirited ghost. He had some sick pleasure in scaring his relatives, until I decided to delete his urn as well. (From now on I won't be keeping any urns/graves - just portraits - because the ghosts really bug me.)

Despite the trauma of watching her grandfather die right in front of her, Bridget grew up well, into a beautiful teen who rolled the Family aspiration.

Once she became a teen, she called up her childhood crush, Keith Cormier, hoping that now that she was old enough he'd finally pay some attention to her. He reluctantly agreed to come over, and Bridget immediately put the moves on him.

Happily for Bridget, he was receptive. They moved off to college together, and very shortly afterward they shared their first kiss. Awwwww.

They moved out of the dorms during sophomor year and rented a small house on campus together.

"So, Bridget, let me get this straight...I move my horse in an L shape?"
"It's called a knight, dear."
"It is? Then what's this one?"
"The bishop."
"Why's it called that?"
*pause*
"Have you really NEVER played chess before?"
"Nope, never!"
*facepalm*

Keith obviously wasn't too intellectual. He preferred to spend hours playing kicky bag with Bridget's brother James. They quickly became close friends. Keith didn't quite give up on chess though...he never quite mastered it either, but he tried hard.

Despite their differences, true love won out in the end. Keith (also a family sim) quickly decided that Bridget was perfectly suited to be his spouse and later that night popped the big question.

"Bridget, I love you more than words can say. Will you please be my wife?"

"Oh, Keith! I've been dreaming that you would ask me that since I was eight years old! Of course I will!"

That's pretty blingy, Bridg.
"Isn't it though?"
Bridg?
*no response*
Bridget.
*no response*
BRIDGET!
"What?"
Stop staring at that thing or you'll go blind.

Time passed, and though I neglected to take pictures, Bridget and Keith graduated with honors and moved back to the Legacy home, leaving James and Patrick as sophomores. I'll graduate them eventually to fulfill Aaron's lifetime want, but they're not my prime focus right now.

Upon arriving home, the first thing they did was get married. They only invited family, and it was a nice party...although I was not too pleased with the wardrobe choices of either Bridget or Keith. This is the first wedding I've ever had where the couple did not wear a tux and white gown...

Bridget.
"Yes, B?"
You call that a wedding dress?
"Obviously."
You look like a leopard dipped in Pepto Bismol!
"Yeah, well, your mother wears army boots!"
Oh, that's mature.
"Shut up."
Make me.

Keith?
"What up, B?"
*rolls eyes* What UP?
"Are you going to bitch me out about my suit?"
Yes.
"What's wrong with it?"
*pause* You know what? I don't have the time to tell you everything that's wrong with it.
"It's coo. It's a jiggababy."
I don't even want to know what you are talking about.

So other than the bride and groom missing the memo on proper wedding attire, the ceremony was a success. Keith started painting Bridget's portrait for the heir wall, and that's where we leave off.

Family Tree

Tue, 13 Jun 2006 02:22:01 GMT

I don't know about you guys, but I read a lot of legacy challenges, and after a couple of generations I get lost really easily and have a hard time telling people apart because of how many sims there are. So to prevent that from happening with my Lewis Legacy, I have posted the current family tree in the user info of this account, and I will post a current one each time I post an update.

Generation 3.2

Tue, 13 Jun 2006 00:46:05 GMT

When we left off, James had become a toddler, and the legacy lot was becoming rather crowded. I in all my Creator glory, decided to experiment with the boolprop cheat and accidentally-on-purpose gave Miranda a death token. I didn't want to kill her in a mean way. Unfortunately, the results weren't what I expected. She died all right, but none of the other sims had any memory of her dying, and I felt horribly guilty. So this update starts off with Aidan calling up old Grimmy to try and resurrect Miranda.

Using the career reward that Aaron had earned in his Paranormal career, Aidan phoned up the dreaded Grim Reaper. When Grimmy asked Aidan how much he was willing to spend to resurrect her, Aidan went whole hog. He shelled out $10,000, because he really didn't want Rand coming back as a zombie. Grimmy was quite impressed with Aidan's "generosity" and performed a perfect resurrection. Miranda was returned whole - and even younger than when she had died!

Eerie green smoke started wafting out of the resurrection machine...and slowly Miranda faded into view...

She was thrilled to see Aidan again. They immediately kissed and hugged, though I didn't get picures fast enough.

Awww, holding hands.

Being resurrected is exhausting. They both cuddled up right away and went to sleep. Meanwhile, over in the other half of the legacy house....

...Starling was puking her guts out. She gets bad morning sickness, this one.

While Starling was pregnant, Aaron was trying to make new friends. He needs eight to get the next promotion...but I don't know if that will ever happen. He makes good money as an Exorcist, and the hours mean he can be home during the day with the kids. Besides, making friends is hard. Anyway, he was starting to become friends with a townie named Patrick Vu, but before the friendship could really solidify, the following happened:

Stupid, stupid Patrick. He haunted the lot for a night or two, and then I deleted his grave because he wasn't a member of the family, or even a friend, so what right did he have to go around scaring my sims?

At least somebody benefited from Patrick's stupidity. Starling gained five days of life from this.

~~Days~~ 9 months passed, and Starling found herself in a familiar situation.

It's a boy! Aaron requested that he be named Patrick, after his dearly departed almost-friend.

"I want it to be known that I only agreed because Patrick is a nice Irish name. It has nothing to do with Aaron's 'almost-friend'".
No? Why not, exactly? I think it's kind of sweet to name the baby after Patrick Vu.
"Well, I don't! I mean, what kind of message does that send - I'm naming my baby after somebody I never even met, that my husband barely knew, AND was stupid enough to get EATEN by a PLANT??"
Well, okay. I can see your point there.
"Thank you."

This photo illustrates why James will not be the heir. Creepy cheekbones! And that nose is weird too. Plus I'm not that fond of the custom hair that I created for Aidan. Bleh.

Toddler James spam!! The toddlers melt my heart...I have to take lots of pictures. James had a happy toddlerhood. He learned all his necessary skills from various family members, and soon it was time for his birthday.

I see he inherited the awful haircut of his grandfather...so off to the mirror with you!

Much better, James.
"Who are you??"
The Big Voice. You can just call me "B" for short.
"Huh. Okay, B. What do you want with us?"
I come in peace. *snerk*
"If you say so...."
I can see that you don't trust me.
"Nope."
That's probably wise.

BUMP! Baby number three is on the way! And three is all Starling and Aaron will have, because Aarons lifetime want is to graduate three children from college. Plus, it's all I can handle - the lot now has six sims (two elders, two adults, two children). I love Starling's expression in this photo.

Meanwhile, here's some Patrick-spam.

I neglected to take many toddler pics of Patrick because he looked pretty much identical to James, and so I didn't really need to. Anyway, he grew into the same damn haircut as everyone else...so I promptly changed it.

I guess I didn't get a closeup of his new hair. Here's Patrick (in orange) and James playing together.

Awww. Brotherly love. You can see that they are no longer as identical, but still obviously related.

Around this time, the Grim Reaper came calling for Miranda ~~again~~:

Since she was in platinum when he arrived, she got the hula dancers and star treatment. Her family was devastated to see her go...and it soon became clear that she wasn't happy to be going either:

In the first picture you can see her heading into the children's house, and Aidan just collected 8,000 aspiration points for having seen her ghost. She was quite the restless spirit and I eventually deleted her grave too. Sorry, Rand. Ye shall be missed.

**author's note: Miranda is the first sim I've actually played long enough to reach death, so it's a milestone for me.**

But with the pain of death comes the joy of birth...

"JOY??!! AAAAAAGGGGHHHH!! Why did I decide to do this for the THIRD time?? Where's that dratted husband of mine?"
He's at work, Starling.
"DAMN IT!!"
Well, quit having babies at night, and maybe he'd be there for you!
"You're a bitch, B."

It's a GIRL!! Yayyyy!
"I'm naming her Bridget."
Lovely choice.
"I didn't mean what I said about you being a bitch, you know."
Yes you did.
"Well, okay, I did...but I'm sorry."
I forgive you.

Following the example set by her brothers, Bridget aged into a toddler alarmingly quickly. *whistles innocently*

And after learning all the skills necessary for a toddler to learn, it was time for her birthday!

OMGshe'ssobeautiful! Hellooooo heir! (Even though she did get the same freaky low cheekbones as her brothers...grrr.)

Patrick loves to hug his siblings. So cute!

And now that we know who the heir is, I leave you with another drive-by plant "accident".

Titania Summerdream, once Miranda's best friend turned frigid bitch, succumbs to greed and it's consequences:

Starling, as you can see, is not much troubled by Titania's sudden demise...and you called me a bitch?
"That's what she gets for snubbing Mama!"
That's loyalty.
"Damn straight."

Tune in next time when the third generation of Lewises go to college (yup, all three of them!)

Generation 3.1

Fri, 09 Jun 2006 04:29:15 GMT

Here's a big update, wherein Starling goes to college, meets her future husband, graduates, gets married, and gives birth to her first child, the first of generation three!

When we left off, Starling had just moved to college. There she reunited briefly with her three siblings before they promptly dropped out and moved back home as adults. Here they are all grown up...and not one of the three has wonderful adult genes. I guess it's good that I didn't name them heirs.

Wren.

Lark.

Falcon.

At college, Starling majored in Biology, in preparation for a career in Medicine. Her very first semester, she met cutie-patootie Aaron Kelly:

And they hit it off right away.

Things progressed quickly in their relationship.

The rest of college went by ~~dreadfully slowly~~ in a blur, and soon it was time to move back to the Legacy house and become adults!

Starling, pretty as anything, in new clothes. Like her mother, she transitioned into a track suit. *headdesk*

Aaron! What were you thinking? That outfit is FUGLY.
"You must be the BVIS."
Yes. But I'm thinking of giving myself a new name.
"How about the Meddler?"
How about I rearrange your face?
"I like my face."
I do too. So I'll leave it alone for now.

Shortly after moving back home, there was a roach infestation that required calling out Renee the exterminator. I took this picture because I've always wondered why all the NPC black characters have blue eyes. What the hell is that about??

Awww. Starling got married.

Updated portrait wall. I'm not thrilled with how the portraits turn out...I keep zooming in real close to their face but when the sim starts to paint they always zoom back out and the portrait comes out all squished looking instead of giving me a nice closeup on their face. Grrr.

Mmmm. Lobster.

Ruh roh! What's this tell-tale little bump?

Generation three is on the way! I love Aaron's face in this pic.

Aidan is looking forward to being a grandpa.

It would seem that everyone got so distracted by Starling's pregnancy that they all forgot how to clean. Eeeeewwwww.

Yes, Miranda is still alive...she spends most of the day either meditating or continuing to write about gnomes. Sadly both she and Aidan have lost every ounce of personality they used to have...once they became elders they became really boring.

Pregnant Starling is also writing about gnomes. What is it with this family?

It's that time!

Meet James Kelly. He's got blond hair and his daddy's gorgeous hazel eyes.

James became a toddler quickly...too quickly. In a matter of hours. *shiftyeyes* Damn it, he's not that cute. How is that possible with two totally adorable parents? I didn't get a picture, but I was able to zoom in closer at one point and saw that he has Aidan's hair, Aidan's odd nose, and somebody's really pronounced cheekbones but strangely hollowed cheeks. Unless the kid grows into his looks, he will not be the heir.

Sleeping James, before I redesigned his room with the help of SimSquirts.

The "beep beep" room. Some parts didn't install properly, like the changing table and artwork. I'll retry later.

Meanwhile, Starling took a job in the Natural Science career (Aaron works in the Paranormal track). She obtained her career reward of the creepy cow plant that eats people, and Miranda was strangely drawn to it.

No, it didn't eat her. I haven't quite figured out how to make it do that yet, but in any case I won't be sacrificing my Rand to the ravenous plant.

And now I leave you with this random shot of Aaron dressed for his job as an Exorcist.

Sorry this update wasn't funny. I'll try harder next time. Speaking of, what will happen next? Births, deaths, birthdays, and random sim hijinks. Stay tuned.

Generation 2.3

Wed, 07 Jun 2006 03:15:54 GMT

When we left off last, Wren had become a child, and baby boy Lark was a toddler. Lark quickly became a child, and Miranda found herself pregant once again.

"Hey BVIS?"
Yes, Lark.
"How come Mommy is getting so round?"
She's going to have another baby.
"You mean I get a brother?"
Maybe. It could be another girl.
"I want a brother."
Good for you.

Wren became a teen and got a new hairstyle, but she also unfortunately got her mother's horrible pointy chin. As I do not want that chin continuing in my legacy, Wren is out of the running for heir. So sad. She went off to college anyway.

"Hey Mommy!"
"Yes, Lark?"
"Is the new baby gonna have a bird name too?"
"Yes."
"Good. Birds are cool."
*facepalm* Yep, they're related.

In the meantime, Aidan seems to have joined Rand's gnome conspiracy and began writing about it in his journal. So, in order to help them test their theory, I bought them an alien gnome, which Miranda hated and promptly kicked over. The very next day, a child came by and stole it. Go figure.

Only one labor shot this time...baby girl Starling was born!

Starling became a cute toddler and Lark doted on her.

"I still want a brother, BVIS."
Yeah, yeah. I'll do my best.

BUMP!

It would seem that Lark inherited his father's neatness points...

Welcome to the world, baby boy Falcon!

What's up, Aidan?
"I'm not a family sim! Why does Rand keep having babies? I don't know what to do with them all!!"
Don't worry, Falcon is the last child you'll have. Four is plenty.
"All right then, if you're sure..."

During Rand's delivery, this random geezer waltzed into the house and watched, then calmly left like she had every right to be there. Creepy.

Despite his original misgivings, Aidan was very fond of little Falcon, who grew up quickly.

I let him keep this haircut because it actually looked cute on him, unlike Lark. And speaking of Lark, he too grew up:

He rolled the Family aspiration. Oh - Wren rolled Popularity, by the way. Lark applied for scholarships and moved off to college the next day. The day he left is also the day Starling became a child.

Aww. What a cutie. Shortly thereafter, Falcon became a child as well. He loved to be read to...

...though why they're reading about toilets is beyond me.

Time marched inexorably on, and Starling and Falcon became teens. Starling rolled Fortune, Falcon rolled Knowledge (whew, no Romance sims yet!) and because she's by far the cutest of all four children, I named Starling heir! Yaaaayyy!

"Thanks, BVIS! I'll try not to let you down. Can you help me meet someone cute and nice at college?"
Of course. That's what I'm here for.

So they both moved to college and left Aidan and Miranda all alone in their big house. They promptly became elders, and are still adorable.

I changed Miranda's hair to a more age appropriate style and color after taking this pic, and she was pleased with it. Then I sent her shopping for flattering elder clothes, because, would you believe it, they both transitioned into track suits! Barf. While downtown, Aidan happened to wander by (though he was supposed to be at home). Rand immediately ran over to him for a smooch, and that's where I leave off.

In the next update, Starling goes to college and meets her future husband, the other three drop out and return to Veronaville as adults (because I'm not really going to play them much until the legacy is over) and depending on how many pictures I take, we may meet the first member of generation three. Stay tuned!

Lewis Family 2.2

Sat, 03 Jun 2006 06:31:28 GMT

When we left off, Aidan and Miranda had just woo-hooed and heard the telling little jingle of Miranda's forthcoming arrival. I changed Robin's name to Wren, because my fiance (whose name is Robin) teased me mercilessly for naming a female sim after him. So using the awesome Tombstone of Life and Death, I changed her name. Hehe.

Miranda wasted no time turning her toilet into a toxic waste zone with her awful morning sickness. This pregancy was definetely worse than her first. While Rand was throwing up, little Wren happily built charisma points (she earned five during her toddler years!) in her room and Aidan was hiding somewhere.

"Ahem. I was not HIDING."
Okay, where were you then?
"Playing on the swingset in the backyard!"
You do realize the swings are for the kids?
"They're fun!"
Have it your way.

Pretty soon, Miranda popped out her first little bump, followed shortly by her second, which I didn't take a picture of.

During Rand's pregnancy it came time for Wren to become a child! Rand was pretty grossed out by the cake, but Wren insisted.

Aidan was right on hand to help out with the fun parts of child rearing...what can you expect from a non-family sim?

Hello Wren, I'm the Big Voice in the Sky.
"I kind of figured that. You must be the one my mom is always talking to...BVIS."
Very good.
"I'm smart like my daddy!"
And so modest too.
"Yup...wait, what's modest?"
Something you're not. Don't worry about it.

Here's Wren after a new hairstyle.

Toward the end of her pregnancy, Miranda started exhibiting some rather odd behavior.

Rand?
"Yes, BVIS."
What's with the gnomes?
"None of your business."
And what's with trying to hide the journal from Wren?
"She's too young to know about the mystical properties of lawn gnomes."
Mystical properties??
"Well, think about it. They must have some special powers or they wouldn't get stolen by punk kids the second you buy one!"
You might have a point there...
"I've made it my goal to find out just what exactly is so special about these little gnomes...and when I do..."
You'll what?
"...I don't know yet. But it'll be something impressive!"
Sure thing, Rand.

"You'll see. I'm on to something...even if nobody believes me."

The next night, Rand's birthing time arrived. After much screaming and ~~dramatic carrying on~~ baby boy Lark was born!

Lark? Am I sensing a pattern here?
"Birds are cool."
Whatever you say, Rand.

And since sim babies are reaaalllly boring, I used boolprop to turn him into a toddler, and damn if he isn't the mirror image of his daddy!

Like his sister, Lark's first word was BEAR. He learned to talk much faster than Wren did though, in general.

Just a random cute moment of motherly love.

With the birth of lark and Rand's wish to have another baby pop right up, I decided it was time for a little redecorating. Wren moved to her parent's old room, and Lark kept the original. I of course added more beds and cribs because we'll need them eventually.

Wren may be an intelligence sim also, though of course only time will tell. However, as you can see in the bottom pic, she has already maxed out her cooking skill! Methinks she likes food. I hope that doesn't end up getting her in trouble...

It probably won't because Wren is the most active sim I've ever seen. She doesn't walk anywhere - she runs. And she bounced on her bed for about an hour before getting tired enough to sleep.

In the next update, Miranda spews out more kids, they all grow up, and the heir is chosen and shipped off to college. Stay tuned!

Lewis Family 2.1

Sat, 03 Jun 2006 06:28:24 GMT

Okay, I had decided that I wasn't going to do any more updates because of a complete lack of interest (comments)...but my sister talked me into doing at least one more because she thought they were funny.

Bear in mind that there are no photos from Aidan's college years because I didn't change my mind about the updates until after he graduated. So the photos pick up after he and Miranda both graduated college with honors and moved back home. For awhile Jillian lived with them, but I moved her out because she's not really a part of the legacy and I didn't like having to take care of a basically superfluous sim. So now it's just the married couple living in the legacy house...

Aidan and Miranda quickly christened their new home...and proceeded to the bedroom (where I did not take pictures because I'm no perv.) As soon as they woo-hooed, a cute little lullaby chimed in the air...

"What was that noise?"
...
"BVIS?"
*snicker*
"Why are you snickering?"
Bwahahaha!!
"BVIS!!!! WHAT IS GOING ON??"
Well, Miranda my dear, you are going to spawn.
"Spawn?"
Children, you half wit. I distinctly remember you graduating with honors from COLLEGE.
"Well, yes, but spawning sounds like something an alien would do, and I'm no alien."
Very well. You will be giving birth soon.
"...but BVIS! I don't know nothing 'bout birthing no babies!"
Way to quote old bad movies, 'Rand.

The days passed uneventfully and finally the day came when Miranda ~~spawned~~ birthed her progeny.

A baby girl, who appears to have her mother's eyes and her father's chin. Thank goodness. ~~BVIS~~ Aidan and Miranda named her Robin. I wonder where they got that idea?

"Is there something wrong with my chin?"
Yes. It's horrendous and I will be fixing it surgically as soon as I can.
"Haven't you ever heard about accepting others as they are and if you can't say something nice don't say anything at all?"
Of course. But I also learned to never tell a lie, and Rand, your chin is AWFUL.

Like all sim babies, Robin was very boring for two days, and then it was time to grow up into a toddler. Daddy Aidan helped out and was very proud.

Holy buckets of bat guano, she's a REDHEAD! Where the heck did that come from, with two blond parents?

"My sister Juliette has red hair. She must get it from somewhere in my family."
I guess so. She's pretty adorable.
"Thank you, BVIS."
Hey, Rand?
"Yes?"
Remember when I told you I was going to reconstruct your face?
"Yes..."
The time has come.

See? Now isn't that MUCH better?
"..."
Come on. You know you like it. Fess up.
"..."
Now you're just being stubborn. I have photographic proof that you like it. Look at your smirk in that last photo! You can't fool me.

Meanwhile, our resident Knowledge sim (who, by the way, has maxed out his mechanical skill points) manages to get fried trying to repair the trash compactor. His repair attempts failed and he had to call in a professional after all.

Radioactive baby!!

Aidan took it upon himself to teach little Robin how to speak...however she wanted none of it. Like father like daughter, it seems. Finally though she got the hang of it...

Robin's first word was BEAR. After that, she learned rapidly.

"Say bottle...say bottle..."
"Butt-hole?"
"No! BOT-TLE. Bottle!"
"Bottle."

I like this kid. (Note: This conversation is not of my creation. I ruthlessly stole it from sims_plicity's legacy challenge.)

That night the proud parents celebrated their daughter's accomplishments in their own unique way...and were rewarded with a now familiar little lullaby...

"Does this mean I'm having another baby?"
Yes.
"ALREADY??"
Yes.
"Whyyyyy??"
Because you're a really fertile sim.
"Damn you, BVIS."
Don't blame me! It's so not my fault if you're a breeder. Maybe I'll start calling you Bunny.
"Don't you dare!"

Lewis Family 1.1

Sat, 03 Jun 2006 06:19:56 GMT

Here's my first real attempt at the legacy challenge, with my founder being based on my adorable nephew. However I had to tweak the rules a bit because a toddler cannot be a founder. So I had to create a mother for him, so she is in some pictures and I'm playing her minimally. Aidan is really generation one. Below the cut is the first installment. If you like it, leave me comments! Comments make me feel warm and fuzzy.

This is Jillian Lewis, a single mother of Aidan. She was supposed to look like my sister, but I suck at reproductions and she actually doesn't really resemble Allie at all. But at least she's really pretty, like my sister. Jillian, although not technically a member of the legacy, is a family sim and her lifetime want is to reach the top of the law enforcement field. I don't know yet if she'll actually get that since she's not my main concern. Her intermediate wants are of course to fall in love, get married, and have more babies. Again, not sure if I'll grant her wish. We'll see.

Here's little Aidan! For some reason the camera wouldn't get any closer so you can't really see how adorable he is. But I think I did a good job making him resemble the real Aidan, complete with my very first custom hair! It's no big deal...I just bleached the original hair in Photoshop because the Maxis made blond is way too yellow. Aidan's blond is more platinum.

And now the story begins!

Ponce uton a wime, a mutiful baiden hived in a louse with her saby bun. Er...sorry about that. They were very happy to live in such a beautiful house, stocked with everything a Sim could ever want, thanks to Jillian's rather large inheritance...*coughmoneycheatcough* The two celebrated in the front yard on moving day.

Soon it was time to get down to business, and Aidan wanted to learn how to walk. Jillian decided that the yard was as good a place as any to start, and off they went.

"Who's talking??"
"Relax, Jillian. You can call me the Big Voice In The Sky*. I am not out to hurt you."
"Oh. Can I call you BVIS for short?"
"Yes."

*I stole the Big Voice/BVIS idea from another LJ user who has been posting their Skye Family legacy over in thesims2. I asked permission.

Aidan seems to be letting me know early on that he is an Intelligence Sim. His entire toddler days (when not sleeping) were spent playing with educational toys and skill building with Jillian.

"Well of course he's intelligent! What do you mean by that? Are you implying that my son isn't smart??"
"Whoa. Calm down there tiger. There are some things about the inner workings of Sims that you don't really need to know about. Your son is telling me about his personality is all."
"He talks to you? He won't even talk to me!"
*headdesk*

Soon enough it was time for Aidan to leave toddlerhood behind him.

"Hey, where'd that cake come from?"
"Magic, Jillian."
"Ooooohhhh."

Jillian blew out Aidan's candles for him, cheered, and then in a smuff of poke, Aidan age transitioned!

"Hello Aidan, I am the Big Voice In The Sky. You may call me BVIS."
"Okie. Hi BVIS."
"Get a haircut."
"Make me!"
"Okay."

*unfortunately I seem to have forgotten to take a portrait picture of him with his new hair*

The nanny Jillian hired to watch Aidan while she's at work. As you can see, she's doing what nannies do best...sit and ignore the kids. Notice that Aidan is nowhere in sight.

Aidan has discovered the joy of painting, and even though still a child, has already nearly maxed out his creativity points because he can't stay away from the easel. He sells most of his art, but I convinced him to keep one and hang it in his room, to be passed on from generation to generation...

Isn't that adorable?

"Adorable?? I was going for fierce and gruesome!"
"Then why is it grinning and waving?"
"Um...it's not...it's, uh, SNARLING and CLAWING at you!"
"Yeah, okay. You just keep telling yourself that there, buddy."

Jillian enjoys painting too, but Aidan is better at it. However, painting together is a nice little bonding experience.

In fact, Aidan wanted to paint his mother's portrait. It didn't turn out as well as he'd hoped though, so he sold it and decided to try again once he's got another creativity point or two.

In the next installment....Aidan becomes a teen/young adult and goes to college. What will his aspiration be? Will he find love at college? Will he produce an heir? Will Mandie get better at taking snapshots? Tune in next time to find out!

Missed an update?
Generation 1.1

But first, the rest of his childhood, which was a happy one.

He really wanted to be friends with Desdemona, but she lived in the Sim Bin and therefore only came over if she followed him from school. He couldn't call to invite her over, which sucked.

"She was cute too, underneath all the fairy makeup!"
"Oh, and I bet you would have loved to see that, too...."
"What's that supposed to mean, BVIS?"
"Just that you are one dirty little kid, as evidenced by the following photos...perhaps you are a closet Romance sim."

"See?? You were talking to your own mother about making out and woo hoo! Now tell me what's up with that."
" ... "
"That's what I thought. BUSTED."

Meanwhile, Jillian was still trying to find the love of her life, and finally has. Neither one of them knows it yet, but it's just a matter of time.

Edward Mellon came over as part of the Welcome Wagon sims. He and Jillian didn't immediately hit it off, and even now have been known to have bad conversations, but their friendship scores have been steadily improving and soon they will fall in love.

"How do you know that?"
"Because I'm the Big Voice. I control everything that happens in this game."
"Oh, I'm just a game, am I?"
"Yes. Pipe down."

"Sumo wrestlers make me supa-horny."
"Ewwww, Jillian! I SO did not need to know that!"
"Heh. Serves you right, BVIS."

Birthday time again!

He turned into a nice looking teen. However, in the interests of moving the game along, I immediately moved him to college, along with Miranda Capp, an eligible teen. I chose her because she looked pretty in her thumbnail shot, though in desperate need of a makeover. The two became roomies at Academie Le Tour...

But first Aidan had to age transition again, this time into a young adult.

I gave Miranda her much needed makeover, but it didn't do much good. Her chin is hella pointy and I hate it. However, she is a Drama major, and will go into the Show Business career track eventually, and that career reward is a plastic surgery machine which I can and will be using to correct her deformities. She was not pleased with her new look though.

"Who the hell are you and why are talking about me like I can't hear you?"
"I'm BVIS. I ~~torment~~ help the Lewis family, which you are now a part of."
"I'm not part of any family. I'm my own entity! I'm a Romance sim, and I'm never gonna get tied down, and I liked the way I looked before so PUT ME BACK."
"I admire your vehemence, but tough luck. You can deal. I'm not putting you back, and moreover, you won't be a Romance sim for long, so live it up while you can. You'll be rerolling your aspiration at the end of sophomore year."
"I won't do it and you can't make me!"
"Nyah nyah nyah, yes I can."
"I don't like you."
"I'm not too fond of you either. Maybe Aidan will just have to find someone else."

"But I LIKE him! And he likes me too."
"I can see that. If you want things to stay like this then you'll pipe down."

I have a bad feeling about this one. She's going to break Aidan's heart...

Up next...how will the drama between Miranda and Aidan play out? Will she conform or will she sleep with every male in the dorm? Stay tuned.