The Rad Legacy: Twenty-One!
I'm on break from uni, so I've had time to play sims a bit!
Last time, we saw the aliens ignore Jasper's efforts to get abducted, and how his work had gotten in the way of family life. His only daughter, Arrietty, grew into a teenager, and seeing as Jasper never managed to get alien pregnant, she was chosen as heir. Jasper also got old, which means he probably doesn't have much longer left :(
There's an index if you'd like any of the previous updates.
Well, I hope you like pictures of sims digging for stuff, because that's what we're up to now! Arrietty rolled the Curator aspiration, and it seemed like one of the easier ones to complete.
I've never managed to complete an adult aspiration, so you get to watch Arrietty dig a lot.
And hunt for frogs too, of course.
Did you guys know you can breed frogs? Cause I didn't until I was going through her inventory and the option popped up. I thought it was really neat!
It's not all work and no play for Arrietty, though. I let her take a break sometimes!
Not that she looks impressed by this.
"Mum, I made salad, how come you're eating cake?!"
"Well, you see...cake is just so much better."
"Why would you ask me to make dinner if you were just going to ignore it?!"
Jasper decided to avoid the salad-vs-cake discussion by eating in Arrietty's room.
And doesn't he look smug about it?
Oh, and instead of helping with the dishes, Lauren decided to spend the evening playing with the modelling clay.
She has an unreasonable amount of love for that clay, I swear.
Outside, Prince had shown up for the night.
"Hey son, nice night for an evening stroll?"
"Wouldn't know, I'm only out here to mourn Mum again."
Lauren heard the sobs from the porch and came out to join him.
"Oh Kassidy! You've been gone so long!"
"Sheesh...no one ever mourns me."
Prince died in the road, so I guess technically his urn is off the lot. Maybe that's why they ignore it.
"So when I do this with my hand, it's like a little mouth, see? And then I can talk to it!"
"I didn't think you had the insane trait, Lauren."
"Oh, I don't! I just enjoy myself!"
And then, to baffle me further, Lauren decided to take her cereal to Arrietty's room, and eat with the frog.
While Arrietty was still asleep.
"Isn't hanging out in rooms people are sleeping in just the best?!"
Arrietty's childhood friend, Purple Cardigan Kid - whose name turned out to be Jamal - wandered by and decided to ring the doorbell.
I'm guessing she now feels more like she's babysitting than hanging out.
Jamal is not the only walkby I pay attention to.
I took out my CC during the course of this chapter, and now many of the neighbours are half-dressed and bald. I should probably fix it, but it's amusing me for now.
"Kassidy! Wah!"
Jeez, this again. It's never ending. I'm honestly considering putting the gravestone in the family inventory, just so these two will find themselves a new hobby.
Kassidy seems to be enjoying the attention, though.
"They miss me so much! I'll clean their house up a little for them."
The next morning, Arrietty surprised her father by greeting him with a hug.
Considering he didn't spend a whole lot of time with her as a kid, I was very surprised to see this.
Another day meant Jamal wandering past again. He must really like it here.
"Are you ever going to grow up?"
"I don't know, maybe?"
"Shouldn't you be in school, Arrietty?"
"Well, you see, I figured to get what I want out of life, I don't need school, I need to go dig. So I called in and pretended to be sick."
"I guess I should be mad, but the evil part of me is enjoying this too much."
Of course, I had plans for Arrietty's day - I didn't just have her skip and lounge about the house!
The first involved opening up this tree, because apparently the secret areas have rarer collectibles.
"Aw, tree! You have the prettiest leaves!"
Arrietty is adorable and I love her :)
The tree opened up pretty easily, and Arrietty soon disappeared into Sylvan Glade.
I don't think any of my sims have been there since Karli, and that was three generations ago!
Well, Arrietty was there all of five minutes.
I couldn't seem to find anywhere to dig or look for frogs, so the whole visit was a waste of time.
So it's back to the house to dig in the usual haunts.
I did warn you there would be a lot of digging.
"It's your last day on earth today, son. Did you tell your family?"
"Nah, let them celebrate Lauren's birthday without the worry of losing me."
"Dying on a birthday. Rough."
"When I invented the freeze ray, I should also have invented a confetti ray!"
"That's what the confetti cannon is for."
"It's not enough confetti!"
"So what do you think? Am I still pretty?"
"Well, of course! But where's your hat?"
"I felt it was time to put it away. Like you, and your hair dye."
"True."
The couple then took a picture to add to the wall of memories.
They don't have many pictures of Arrietty though - they're all in her room.
"Mikel! I haven't see you for YEARS!"
"Hi younger brother! You got old apparently?"
I turned off aging for played households, so anyone I've moved out stays eternally young. I suppose it's a nice bonus of being a spare, but it does seem odd when Jasper's supposedly older brother drops by.
While Jasper caught up with his younger brother, Arrietty and Lauren decided to spend some quality time together, looking at the clouds.
It was a peaceful way to spend Jasper's last afternoon.
Of course, it had to come to an end.
"Dad? What are you doing?"
"I reached down to get the clay, but now I think I might stay down here. It looks comfy."
"Dad?!"
SO MY RECORDS SHOW I HAVEN'T SHOWN UP FOR FOUR CHAPTERS. I THINK IT'S TIME I STOPPED BY, DON'T YOU?
Well, I'm sure your fans will appreciate your presence, at least. The Rad family, not so much.
"Is my Dad...dead?"
HONESTLY? ISN'T IT OBVIOUS?
"But...Dad!"
Lauren had perfect timing.
"I made food! Who wants some?"
I DO. I'M STARVING.
"Arrietty? Why are you crying?"
"I just slaved over an oven to make a nice meal for my family, and you took Jasper before he could taste it?"
IF IT HELPS, I CAN HAVE HIS SHARE.
"I don't think so, Mr Reaper."
As always, Death long over-stayed his welcome. However, Arrietty seemed to like him, and even started smiling again for a little while.
TALKING TO YOURSELF AND SOBBING ON THE TOILET? CLASSIC MOURNING.
"Will you get out?!"
FINE. YOU WERE BORING ME ANYWAY.
Once Death had disappeared, there was nothing but sadness hanging over the Rad household. Not even Arrietty's favourite task, collecting every fossil, frog, crystal and metal in sight, could help.
It really bums me out when sims die. The two days of sadness seem to last a lifetime.
"Everything about this house makes me think of Dad...Maybe we should consider moving? It'd probably be better for my rock collecting if I was in Oasis Springs..."
So that's what the family did. Lauren and Arrietty sold their little legacy home, and moved into a house I built (heavily inspired by some others I'd seen) in Oasis Springs for a fresh start.
And that's where I'll leave you this time! I can't wait to see what life has in store for the Rads in their new home!
See you soon!