Uncomplicated 1.14: Excuse me a moment...

Nick

     Hey! Look! The Maker finally rubbed two brain cells together and placed the home video thing next to the television where it belongs!

    Monika has her baby, a girl she names Melonie. She says it's because she craved watermelon the whole time.

     Dad gets another raise. $654/hour.

     Excuse me a moment....

    ...

    Dad's been getting a little frisky with the inventing station, and he sets himself on fire too many times for my peace of mind.

    I decide to sit and watch that video I made during the pool party while Dad takes a shower. It's almost funny how Sunshine doesn't like Mom's odor. Oh, I agree, but Dad and I now treat it as another one of those weird things in life.

     Dad comes to sit with me, deciding to give the inventing station a rest for a while.

     "Hey Dad," I say. "Doesn't it hurt to sit on the couch like that when your butt was on fire a little bit ago?"

     "No. The shower takes care of it. Showers are imbued with magical qualities that help us to quickly get rid of all traces of a life-threatening burn."

      "Oh," I say because I have no idea what else to say to that.

    "Uh... you're the doctor. You would know about stuff like that." There that was better than 'oh.'

    "I look so young," Dad muses, watching the video.

    People say I don't really, really look like Dad, except in my mannerisms.

    Nah. I don't see it.

    We continue to watch the video, and in the background, I see Sunshine take her top off before she gets in the hot tub with Levi.

    "Uh." 

    Dad looks at me accusingly.

    "I swear I didn't see that when I was filming." Maybe I would've zoomed in. Let's face it: my sister-in-law is hot. "You believe me, don't you?" I ask Dad.

     "We'll just have to edit that out," he says diplomatically. "We wouldn't want Sunshine to accidentally see that."

     Yeah, but I'm not deleting it entirely. It's her fault she did that in broad daylight at a party.

    Mom has started using a cane.

    Cut... Paste...

    There we go. Edited out of the main video and saved onto my Hard drive.

    Sister-in-law is better than half-half sister, especially if she's hot. Not that I'm going to do anything! But that doesn't mean a guy can't look at what she freely displays.

    I decide to stop ogling Sunshine and get started on my second Sci-Fi novel, a sequel to the first one that I'm calling The Neverwhere. 

    Levi and Sunshine are preggers again. Monika ages up to mature adult. Yeah, sure she's "mature". She starts dating another old guy named Eli Vokoban who'd just divorced from his long-time sweetie. The Maker wants to record that Maryann (Barbarossa) and Trey Caliente divorced.

ghost potion
cool

For posterity's sake: Damion Rao. Yeah. Definitely a Rao. The girl is someone named Angelica Phillips that The Maker felt like taking a picture of.

I got an award for the newspaper club. Funny: I have a bestselling book, but the only thing the school recognizes is the little article I wrote for the school paper.
Dad tells me he's happy about my book, and that that's what people will remember.
I have a trophy, but it's exactly like one that Levi won. And he left his.

Still, Dad's really great for putting things into perspective for me.

We have a few of these, so I thought I'd try out a Mood Enhancer Potion.
Lame. All it gave me was a "brightened day" moodlet.

Dad gets lvl 10 logic.

Prom night arrives...

I have more important things to do. I got an opportunity to work a little at Doo Peas Corporate Towers for some money, and the time ran over into the first hour or so of the dance.

Oh what the hell. I went. No date.
I should've stayed home. I got a drink thrown in my face when I did decide to ask someone to dance.
I don't understand the universe's logic: I got elected prom king. To get back at everyone, I told them to prank the school.

Yeah, whatever.

Monika and Eli got engaged.
Levi and Sunshine's baby gets born, a boy named Torrance.
Fern Annan Rao Gilbert and Barry Gilbert get remarried.

Dad stays busy. The pink potion is the young again potion; the white is the sleeping elixir. Also, Dad's happy he made something actually useful at the inventing station.

Life goes on.
My second book is a hit as well! The Neverwhere earns me 100 a week.

And... I age up.

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This concludes gen1. marital structure: step children. I (the game) overachieved this with Levi added into the mix. I rolled only 2 kids, so, bonus points? hehe. j/k. Tim reached the top of the medical career, fulfilling the medical and perfect career thing. Mia went to the top of a part time job. Tim got a tattoo every week (I forgot one because of all the crashing, but I made up for it in number and price as soon as I realized it).

Uncomplicated 1.13: Really creepy notifications

Nick

      An announcement somewhere above our heads lets us know that Moe is about to die. Mom and Dad both hope that Monika will get pregnant before he bumps off. That's awful! They want a kid to grow up without ever knowing his father? And for that matter, can you imagine dying and never getting to know your kid? Moe had kids back in our old neighborhood, but they all died in the big accident. Stupid clowns.

    So, Mom invites Moe and Monika over for a visit, and... if I didn't know any better... I'd swear Moe was flirting with Mom. Just a little. They also discover that Moe is twelve days older than Mom.

     Anyway, apparently The Maker doesn't agree with me that Monika getting pregnant right before Moe dies is a bad idea. She plans on "pollinating" her to make sure that there's a mini-Moe running around in the next generation.

      However! Just before Moe and Monika come over to visit, another notification thing (they're really creepy how we hear what's going on all over the neighborhood) says that Monika is pregnant. Phew. At least they made the decision on their own.

     Since the pressure is off Monika and Moe and making me another niece or nephew, Mom invites Levi and Sunshine over as well, to make it a bit of a family reunion kind of thing. They leave my nephews at home, and that makes me sad. Of anyone I wanted to see, I wanted to see them the most. I'm always busy doing my own thing when I get home from school.

     Then Mom gets this wild idea to throw a pool party for the heck of it.

    "Hey. Congrats on the baby," I tell my sister. She's really rich now. I think it's a little scary that she married a guy even older than Mom, but she tries to explain it to me by saying she has an old soul.

     Okay.

    "So, little bro, where's your girlfriend?" she teases.

    I groan. "Shut up. I hate these stupid parties Mom loves to throw. I don't have a girlfriend, and I don't want one!" I snap. She'd better not be thinking of Shayna. Can you imagine telling people that your sister is dating your brother? yikes.

     She gets me to calm down before heading back into the house. Not knowing what else to do, I go inside as well.

     Too. Many. People. And someone wears the same swimsuit Mom does. Mom invited a few teens, but only one showed up. I don't remember her name, and I don't really care to. She is UG. LY. I hope Mom doesn't expect me to flirt or anything. I'm not kidding. Woof. Be thankful there's not a close-up picture of her (the one standing near the staircase).

     Bored, I get out my video camera and try to deal with what's going on in that way.

     "So, are you looking forward to retirement?" Moe asks Dad.
     "I don't know. I don't want to, really. I love working," Dad answers.

    Dad's latest ink.

    Bye, Moe. At least he enjoyed the party.

     Finally, the party pretty much ends. (there are always people that stick around way too long) I go upstairs to what has become my desk to write a little. I'm almost finished with my first book. The Maker made the mistake of locking in the "Illustrious Author" LTW instead of just the author one. Great. Now that means I have to save up the points to change it.

     We get another one of those creepy notifications that tells us that Roger is about to die. Shayna is distraught at school. I wish I knew what to tell her.
      Moe dies.
      A few days later, Roger throws a goodbye party which turns out to be great. Then he dies.

     The Maker hasn't figured out yet that she locked in the wrong LTW for me, and she has me save up for the acclaimed author one.
      Turns out it was just in time too. My first book is a hit! The Otherwhere earns me $106/week. Also, the city gave me a promotion to the next level.
      I meet my nephew Damion at school the next day. He's a kid already.

    Prom is getting closer, and someone else asked Shayna. I'm glad the pressure is off me. I doubt I'll even go.
     I take the afternoon off. I think I deserve it since my book is doing so well. I've never gotten any use out of this hot tub, so I decide to now.

    Dad continuing to decorate himself. He moved the one he had down to his wrist and had that thing made up to adorn his forearm.

    Dad starts aging to elder, and he doesn't look too happy about it.

    Curse of the pigtails!!!!!

     That gets fixed right away.
     Um, my parents look kinda... old, and that makes me sad.

     That night, I hear a noise outside my window. We have a burglar, and our alarm goes off.

     Freaked out because of the alarm, he runs out of the house when the police show up. The officer sees him but does nothing about it. The crook drives away. Later, she tells Mom, "Sorry. He got away. We'll get him next time." I'm so glad that so much effort is put into catching crooks by the police force in this town. -.-

Uncomplicated 1.12: Nick's voice in my head

I forgot to mention last time that I also saved Roger Rao with Fern and their kids. They were still living together even though they'd divorced.

Monika and Moe got married! She got him down to the altar!

Nick gains the commitment issues trait in a minute...

(yes, here we go, 1st person p.o.v.)

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Nick

My parents find out that my big sister got married, and this is how we celebrate. Fine by me! That's all I need: A bunch of old ladies pinching my cheeks and telling me how cute I am. I'd rather stay at home and read a book.

Finally! The day arrives that I can stop being a kid.

I think my parents are more excited about it than I am. 

I'm glad this isn't a big party (I hate those) because my dad never bothered to change out of his boxers.

Their main purpose in life is to embarrass me.

Don't get me wrong, I am happy to finally become a teen so that the world will take me more seriously, but are the stupid horns really necessary?

Dad keeps asking me if I'm okay that they didn't throw me a big party like he feels guilty for it. I keep trying to tell him that it's okay, that I really didn't want a party at all. Mom goes on and on about the big parties they'd throw for Monika and Levi. I don't really remember those much, but that does explain why I have these horrifying memories of not being able to move around in the great room of our old house. I shudder when I think about it. Sometimes, I have nightmares that I'm trapped and everyone is laughing or staring at me.

No, I did not want a birthday party.

Pat acts like he wants a birthday party, so I get him out.

Nobody else comes to his either, but he's just as okay with that as I am. He's happy I don't use one of those stupid horn things, even if I do actually do a little bit of cheesy celebrating.

My parents don't notice Pat's birthday. They're too busy making out upstairs. Gross.

So gross.

I have to get out of this house.

Across the street and down a little ways is the Wonderful Wells Community Garden, and when I get there, it's deserted.

Perfect.

I even tell Pat to stay at home. I want a quiet moment all to myself as I go ahead and harvest some things we don't have in our fridge at home like onions, garlic, limes, and peppers. Mom and Dad haven't gotten a garden going at our new house yet, and I don't think they will any time soon. Well, really, why should they when there's this great garden a short walk away that no one uses?

Still not ready to go home, I decide to take a walk to the small park next to the school. The place is pretty much deserted as well until this guy comes and starts talking on his cell phone. He stays in the parking lot, though, so it's not a big deal.

I wish it could always be this quiet.

Both Monika and Levi are married. Are Mom and Dad going to expect me to get married someday too? What if I don't want to? Why do I get the feeling that I have some sacred duty to my family to get married and have kids?

I can't sleep.

I roll over.

I shouldn't have to if I don't want to.

What I want is to become a writer. I'm going to need my peace and quiet.

My mother does want a big birthday bash. People go everywhere around my house, even in my bathroom! They love the buffet table mom set out, and they turn on all the stereos we have placed here and there.

I quickly put away the french toast and veggie salmon people brought. That's nice of them to bring food, but I'm saving this stuff for later. They can eat the food from the buffet.

Finally, that stupid party ends, and I get to go upstairs and read. I never thought I'd enjoy reading a cookbook since I'm not really one for cooking, but it's not so bad. I like to read after all.

They've announced that prom is coming up soon. I don't think I'll go. I really don't have anyone to take anyway.

Well, there is ... Shayna. Shayna Rao. Rao. Yes, like my half-brother and half-sister's last name. She's my half-siblings' half-sibling. She calls me a lot and is always smiling at me in the halls at school like she's excited to see me or something, I don't know.

I think she thinks I'm going to ask her to prom. I don't think so - too weird.

 So that's her dad and my mom talking. They used to be married. Our parents used to be married, and she wonders why I think her liking me is weird?
Oh. Not saying she necessarily likes me. She might not. But I'm worried she does.

Her dad's new wife is only about 5 or so years older than us. Mom starts showing off pics of my nephew... who is her grandson, I guess, as well. Haha. Yeah, blondie, you're a grandma already!
Shayna's nephew is my nephew. ... yeah.

While Dad was at work, he played a bit of putt-putt (working real hard, I know) since there were no scheduled surgeries. He won 1,000 on a friendly wager after sinking a twenty foot putt into the bedpan to clinch the title of bedpan putt-putt champion. Then, he got a raise.

That was just what we needed to redo my bedroom. There's still a bit too much childish things for my liking, but it's a start.

 Mom has started to smell. She never has the green fumes coming from her. She has the "dirt defiant" LTR, but she still winds up smelling. And Dad and I can't stand being around her. We come up with different excuses to avoid her. The above picture is an example of one of a couple of them.

Mom decides she wants to quit her job, so she does. She doesn't take the retirement option because The Maker didn't see that she could be 'retired' by going and registering for it at the courthouse until later, and instead, thought that she couldn't "retire" from a PT job. Oh well. Dad makes several thousand every time he works a normal shift, so we're alright.

Speaking of going to the courthouse to register for some things, I got my butt over there and registered myself as a writer! *big smile*

That's Monika and Moe's house. So, I'm going to talk about my brother Levi and that he and Sunshine had another son named Sebastian. We've still not seen him. Mom has been frantic about trying to complete her LTW so that she can have a nice tombstone. She wants to max out charisma and guitar playing. The charisma is giving her a bit of trouble.
Speaking of babies, Mom's ex-husband and his new bride had a son named Conrad.
More pics of Monika and Moe's house, The Maker giving them a new bed, and a pic of the kitchen that she just liked and took a pic for the heck of it:

To support my hobby and to appease The Maker's curiosity about whether or not the junkyard "salvage" is broken on the laptop as well (something about 'living green' on her desktop, idk), I go to the junkyard to get some more scrap, and I hear this strange conversation going on in the little building...
(oh, and Dad gets another raise. He makes $606/hr now.)

The guy looks like he's talking to his imaginary friend. I didn't know adults could have imaginary friends. His name is Clark Bellamore, and he's the step-dad of the kid on the floor, Kenneth, even though Kenneth's last name is the same.

Ah, no. He's flirting with his wife, Kenneth's mom, Lina, and she's apparently going to be bugging The Maker soon with a 'stuck sim' that needs resetting. She goes ahead and tries to reset, and it doesn't work. So, She resets the whole lot, and that screws up the amount of scrap for me to get. There's none, and now I have to wait. -.-

During dinner, while Mom serenades us with her amazing guitar-playing ability (almost cancels out how much her odor bothers us), Dad tells us about how he saved the girl working the consignment shop.

"I walked into the consignment shop, and I saw the woman walking around the counter when she saw me walk in. She couldn't make it any farther when she started complaining of stomach cramps," Dad says.

"I walked up and talked to her for a minute while Dina Caliente Trebo and her daughter Carolina Trebo Rao looked on. I don't know who that was behind me, but anyway, I decided to do an impromptu scan on her."

"Turns out she just had a case of nausea, so I gave her a shot. Everyone was relieved."

"My hero!" Mom exclaims and puts away her guitar. Then, they start making out right in front of me.

"Guys, do you mind?" I ask. They don't listen to me, so I get out a book.

I go upstairs and decide to continue the Sci-Fi novel I'm writing. The Maker mistakenly put the home video thing next to the computer instead of the television.

I get so into it that I only have a small amount of time to catch a nap on the couch downstairs before school the next day.

^^A few quick pictures to show that more money is coming in, and we're improving things outside as well as inside.

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Turns out Pat is male.

Fern Annan Rao gets engaged to and marries Barry Gilbert. She moves out and leaves the kids with Roger.

The Brewers (my family in case you forgot their last name) get another magic laundry gnome.

Maryann Barbarossa and Trey Caliente get unexpectedly preggers and get married.

Dina Caliente Trebo dies (day after that scene in the shop).
Tim's rep continues to switch from "faithful" to "eternally faithful" while Mia's "cheater" rep will probably follow her to her what-looks-like-will-be-an ordinary grave.
Tim goes around town to stop a dangerously-contagious case of Lolcosis. I had to think about that one for a minute. What the heck is 'Lolcosis'? Hm... Oh. LOL!