#pickering legacy

[gemgeminox]

Sims 4 Legacy Challenge – Pickering Family 3.57

Generation 3, Chapter 57 (3.57) – Vampin’ About the Town

Previously on the Pickering Legacy Challenge…

Gen 3 spare Indigo made plans to move himself and his alien son, Kobi, out into a house with Kobi’s mother, and Gen 4 ex-heir Jasmine planned to move herself and her new girlfriend in with her father…

And just in time, because resident vampire Honeydew is getting bored of a full house of people she can’t eat.

So we call for a gathering of Honeydew’s vampire Club, the Forbitten Fruits—and as soon as we arrive at the restaurant, Honeydew’s draining the waiting staff dry.

It’s worrying, how much of a taste she’s got for these Alien Sims. Hope it doesn’t come back to bite her, later.

(I made her do so many ‘Make Vampire Pun’ interactions, I’m apparently stuck on them myself. Apologies.)

She’s pretty pleased with herself after her alien snack. And it seems to have a loopy effect, because the first thing she wants to do is hijack the bicycle Caleb Vatore rode in on, and joyride it around Forgotten Hollow.

Unfortunately, someone gets there first.

‘What the PLUM?’

(Honeydew has the best facial expressions and reactions of any Sim I’ve ever played in any save, ever. I love her.)

She’s pretty mad about the whole thing… And Vlad soon knows about it.

In fact, he talks about it for the next several Sim hours, to himself, out in the cold, thanks to the hallucination Honeydew put on him.

But he pockets the bike before she can ride it. Neither Honeydew nor Caleb are thrilled about that.

It’s probably what sparks Caleb’s annoyance at Honeydew for the rest of the night. Because his bike was stolen, but she goes on to chat up the locals, as potential ‘customers’ for her underground plasma donor crypt Hotel Honeydew…

To the pleasure of her beau, Lilith, who’s happy Honeydew is finally acting pleasantly towards other Sims—and drinking plasma from a bag, rather than a body.

Lilith has no idea Honeydew drained the alien server, though. So…

Even though Caleb is Honeydew’s vampire Maker, she’s never really liked him that much. And she proceeds to wind him up for the rest of the night…

… and then has the gall to ask him what he thinks of their Club.

His answer is not positive.

‘That cannot be a surprise to you. You just blew an air horn in my face.’

Honeydew frustrates him further by asking his sister, her sort-of spouse, what she thinks of the Club.

She’s quite smug about the reply.

‘See? Even your sister knows you’re wrong.’

But it’s food for thought on her status as a vampire, anyway.

When Honeydew schemes, we should all worry. She didn’t become The Boss in her Criminal career for nothing…

[gemgeminox]

Sims 4 Legacy Challenge – Pickering Family 3.60

Generation 3, Chapter 60 (3.60) – Immortal’s Mortality Crisis

Previously on the Pickering Legacy Challenge…

Gen 3 spare Indigo turned into an Elder, and decided to move out of the estate to spend his last days with his alien love and their Kleptomaniac blue child.

His ageing provoked a mortality crisis in vampire cousin Honeydew… And news of his leaving didn’t thrill her, either.

‘This is a joke. Right? She’s some blue being who ageing doesn’t apply to, and you just got told the Reaper’s round the corner. And we just got a ballroom. Why would you leave here?’

‘The ballroom’s pretty swanky, it’s true. But Honeydew—you’re a blue being to whom mortality doesn’t apply, too.’

‘I… You got me there. But. What if we made you immortal, too?’

‘Most people said you never had one, but I always liked your sense of humour, Honeydew.’

Honeydew’s still not happy at losing her cousin; and it’s at that moment we get a visit from the ghost of Honeydew’s sister, Fawn.

Indy wastes no time in asking Fawn what it’s like being dead.

‘Wish I’d had time to plan a better Cold Weather outfit, to be honest, Indy. Otherwise, it’s all fine.’

It’s not the answer Honeydew was looking for. So when the ghost of their grandma, Alexandrea, turns up, Honeydew tries appealing to her, instead.

‘Isn’t it lame, being dead? Wouldn’t he be better off letting me make him a vampire, instead? I know he’s an Elder, but he still looks better than Vlad, and he’s technically a Young Adult. So you never know about these kind of things.’

But Alexandrea’s not much help, either.

‘Honestly, Honeydew, I don’t know what to tell you. You get to come in and steal food from the fridge, and every now and again haunt a toilet, if things are getting too dull around here. Other than being stuck in this jacket for eternity, it’s not that bad.’

That wasn’t what she was hoping for, either; so long after the ghosts have gone back to their gravestones, and Indy’s staggered to bed, Honeydew stays up: so late Isabelline finds her, over breakfast, having decided she must upgrade all the audio equipment.

And her mortality crisis has returned, in full form, to boot - with tiger stripes all over her skin.

[gemgeminox]

Sims 4 Legacy Challenge – Pickering Family 3.55

Generation 3, Chapter 55 (3.55) – Learning About Love

Previously on the Pickering Legacy Challenge…

The Pickering clan threw a Spooky Day party—in part so Gen 3 heir Isabelline could get to know potential new love interest, Justin.

But love isn’t just in the air for our Gen 3 heir—it’s also about for her firstborn, ex-heir, Jasmine. Who’s a Young Adult now, and has to find a spouse, so I can move her out and get rid of her.

We take to the park with some of the Love Club members from her previous dating attempts, but that’s unsuccessful—they disappear, acting as strangely as the townies interrupting Indigo’s attempts to play chess with his sister.

‘You literally just sat down in the chair she pulled out. And you’re not even looking at the board. I moustache you a question: what gives?’

Luckily, another townie pops up, and catches Jasmine’s attention…

Her name is Julia. You might know her from the Discover University trailer. To me, she’s the one who’s getting me rid of Jasmine, and I’m quite grateful; because her story line (she’s a student, and all students are broke, right?) fits nicely with mine.

Jasmine’s a newly minted rookie Detective, see; and she’s not going to be the heir, or the spare. But she was talking to her newly Elder father at her birthday party—and he offered her a proposition. Leave the Pickering estate she can’t inherit anyway, and inherit his modest family home in Oasis Springs: all she has to do is move in as soon as possible, to care for him in his old age.

It’s not that much of a surprise. He was always a lazy deadbeat. Now he’s just got the excuse to be one.

Jasmine considered his offer; all she wanted was someone to take with her, to know she wouldn’t be stuck there alone. And after all, free rent is something Julia is probably gonna grab right up…

Especially as Jasmine comes with the package.

And she quite likes Jasmine, as it turns out.

Though if she thinks this is the family house she’s moving into with Jasmine, she’s going to have an awful shock.

[gemgeminox]

Sims 4 Legacy Challenge – Pickering Family 3.54

Generation 3, Chapter 54 (3.54) – Budding Romance and Ballrooms

Previously on the Pickering Legacy Challenge…

Gen 4 not-even-spare Jasmine aged into a Young Adult…

… and at her birthday party, mom Isabelline met a potential new love interest.

Isabelline is a little hardened from her divorce; but with her kids growing up, and her ex-husband looking old and craggy enough to boost her self-esteem, we figure we should at least get to know the handsome stranger a little better.

So, now that he’s firmly in Isabelline’s relationships tab, we decide to throw another party and invite him.

Also, it’s Spooky Day!

I create a function room in the front wing of the house especially, and decorate it on theme:

(And even, yes, add a photo booth. Because we’ve got the Simoleons, and I’ve got the Moschino pack, and also because how cool will it be to get photos of everyone in their costumes?)

Isabelline, almost a master gourmet cook, makes a feast fit for every ghost we’ve got haunting the estate:

I forgot to screenshot it before people started eating, but that’s my bad, not Izzy’s.

Honeydew nominates herself as Barkeep for the night:

Probably assuming she can trick someone into keeping her in liquid, too. (Also, I have no idea why she chose that costume.)

Indigo and Jasmine, at least, get the memo to be in the new function room and keep Honeydew company:

But everyone else decides they’d rather be in the new family room, instead. Which, given the effort I put into the ballroom, is infuriating.

Most of our guests are part of a club gathering: I want Jasmine to get a girlfriend, and I want her out, and this Love Club is me on a mission to do it. But one of them is a Kleptomaniac. One’s Unflirty. One is straight up Mean. And they ignored the dress code, and the room guidance, and, in most cases, Jasmine…

So I fed them to Honeydew, and the only thing I regret is not getting a screenshot of it.

Still. It’s not a total loss. We invite Kobi’s alien mother, Danica, and she shows up in the perfect human disguise:

I lowkey love her.

And after all, this was a guise to test the waters with Isabelline and Justin. And, well…

He turns up looking real good, and they get along so quickly I worry at how badly it makes Jasmine’s attempts at love look.

And at the end of the night, when everyone else has given up and gone to bed… Out come the ghouls.

Honeydew has such a blast, giggling with her mother about draining Jasmine’s snotty Love Club, that it puts her in a good mood all night.

Happy Spooky Day!

[gemgeminox]

Sims 4 Legacy Challenge – Pickering Family 3.51

Generation 3, Chapter 51 (3.51) – Alien Ageing Up

Previously on the Pickering Legacy Challenge…

Gen 4 alien toddler Kobi began a tirade of tormenting aunt Isabelline for no apparent reason.

Maybe it’s just terrible toddler years – but that’s about to be over soon. Kobi’s ageing up!

His birthday happens to fall on a day most of the household is free... but I don’t realise it’s his birthday until I look at the calendar to check when these unnatural thunderstorms are going to pass. So we spend most of the day skill building, filling aspirations, chatting, fixing broken dollhouses, upgrading appliances in our vampire crypt, and generally… not celebrating.

To be fair, he’s stressed Isabelline out so much she sleeps with a frown. So maybe he didn’t deserve day-long celebrations anyway.

But when we realise it’s his birthday, we fix up. We bake him a (sugar free) cake…

… drag him off his tablet, even though it’s the quietest he’s been, ever…

… take him to the park, and desperately try to fill in some skill-building…

Don’t tell me he’s not a demon. He is FLOATING.

Of course, he’s the picture of innocence with his father, as if he didn’t just completely exhaust Auntie Isabelline.

… and then we give it all up, go home, and gladly age him up.

He rolls the Kleptomaniac trait. Because of course.

[gemgeminox]

Sims 4 Legacy Challenge – Pickering Family 3.50

Generation 3, Chapter 50 (3.50) – Demon Toddler

Previously on the Pickering Legacy Challenge…

Gen 4 twims, Jellybean and Jet, aged into teens… and we decided they’d be the heir and spare over their older sister, Jasmine.

Overall, Jasmine doesn’t seem particularly bothered.

And Jellybean, like her Grandmother Carmine before her, is too artsy and bohemian and chill to let something like her future freak her out.

In fact, she goes straight in like her grandmother, instantly working on her painting skill (because, well, we need someone to immortalize the generations):

She’s pretty talented.

Raising the twims – and Jasmine – has been a breeze for Isabelline, even without the help of their father. Unfortunately, helping raise her part-alien nephew, Kobi, isn’t even half as easy.

I seriously think this child is part demon.

Seriously: she’s managed to tame two hives of bees…

But her nephew is a challenge.

His constant noise even annoys the ghosts:

To be fair, Asshole Cat has always existed in a perpetual state of annoyance, but…

‘I know he’s our great-nephew, but what is wrong with that child? We had five kids in this household at one time, and they never made such a racket.’

‘I had a ghost cat and a cowardly dog. They never made such a racket.’

‘Why is it too much to ask, to sit and steal their food in peace?’

He plays like an angel, until you realise he’s standing in front of the dollhouse he broke… and he broke the one in his bedroom, too.

But it’s Isabelline he seems to take particular pleasure torturing.

The dictionary definition of not giving a plum is written across his little face right now.

On the bright side, when Isabelline walks away in tense frustration, and Indigo dutifully mops the paint up... someone manages to get through to little Kobi.

‘… and my mommy is the one who cooks that food you throw off your plate. When you upset her, it makes her mad, and mad mommy = bad food. So that’s why we don’t upset the cook. Okay?’

Thank llama he ages up soon.

[gemgeminox]

Sims 4 Legacy Challenge – Pickering Family 3.49

Generation 3, Chapter 49 (3.49) – Challenge Shuffling

Previously on the Pickering Legacy Challenge…

Gen 4 twims Jellybean and Jet aged into teens – which had a domino effect on who would be heir of Gen 4.

Typically, this is a matriarchy legacy challenge, and the oldest girl produced by the current heir automatically becomes the next heir. I know the rules.

But here’s the thing. Toddler and child Jasmine was a bit… meh. And when she aged into a Teen, I realised why.

She was too much of her dad.

She looked more like him than Isabelline.

I even went into CAS and tried to fix it, but… she just was.

And I was reluctantly accepting of that.

Until the twims aged up.

Because Simmers and Simblrs, the twims aged into carbon copies of our previous, beloved, Gen 2 twims, heir Carmine and spare Celeste.

I even put the hairs of Carmine and Celeste on Jellybean and Jet, just to prove it.

Jellybean:

Celeste:

Jet:

Carmine:

Also: the only person Jellybean resembles more than her great-aunt Celeste…

Is her own mother. I give you: Jellybean in Isabelline’s hair.

And Isabelline in her teenage heyday:

There’s no way Jasmine is the heir. Of course it’s Jellybean. She’s Pickering through and through.

Hey. Rules were meant to be broken. And I am having no more of Donnell’s bum genes in this family than I have to. Sorry, Jasmine.

The party goes on: I give you Gen 4 heir and spare, twims Jellybean and Jet.

[gemgeminox]

Sims 4 Legacy Challenge – Pickering Family 3.7

Generation 3, Chapter 7 (3.7) – As Cute as a... Watermelon?

Previously on the Pickering Legacy Challenge…

Honeydew taught a fellow vampire what it means to cross her… And Gen 3 heir, Isabelline, gave birth to the first member of Gen 4, and our future heir, Jasmine!

We’ve been absent through a lot of Jasmine’s baby time, because to be honest, vampires are more interesting than Sims babies. *shrug* But we’re about to spend some time with her, because…

All in all, there are worse traits to get than Silly – and either way, Jasmine is adorable enough to make up for the silliness.

She just adores being a mother; so much so that she’s more than happy to do the grunt work…

Even as babydaddy Donnell goofs off and goofs around.

We hope that that’s about to change; because Isabelline loves being a mother so much, she’s gone in for a repeat experience.

She’s noticeably more pregnant, this time… Unless that’s just the bad design of her top.

After all, why not try for a second Jasmine? Jasmine’s birth made her heart grow too big for her body; why not have another child, and have her heart grow big enough for the entire world?

And yes, Jasmine inherited Carmine’s old room – heir for an heir, the view of Indigo’s rocket ship and all.

Jasmine’s a wonder, anyway – and a wanderer, too, even finding her way into Auntie Honeydew’s underground lair.

Apparently just for a (non-plasma) snack.

Let’s hope she’s keeps her wanderlust under lock and key for the foreseeable future – because I just got a new expansion pack, and the Pickerings are off to Selvadorada!