Week 4/Day 22 (Sunday)
Around 8 o’clock this morning, Jin ages up to an elder in the middle of writing a novel.
The man has genes that don’t stop!
Jin: I’ve got that elderly slouch, darn it, even after all that working out!
Would you please dye my hair back, Watchette, then take me to the dresser for a more dignified set of outfits?
Watcher: Your wish is my command, Jin!
Jin: Seriously?
W: Usually? No.
W: Regardless of your slouch, your black hair makes you the youngest-looking elder I’ve ever seen!
J: Well, that and the fact that my face remains unwrinkled. Must have been all that yoga!
W: During the last chapter’s commemorative “outfits” homage, I forgot to show you off in your light-grey kimono and dark-grey hakama.
Jin, did I ever mention that I have a men-in-hakama fetish?
Misa: (cough, cough) Helloooo!? Wife here! Remember me?
W: Oh, I see you’re practicing yoga in your new athletic outfit.
Jin: Thanks for adding the shirt. No more shirtless shots, right?
W: Yes, no more shirtless outfits means no more shirtless shots (but I hadn’t expected him to look this good….)
Well, anyway, folks, we’ve started the fourth week of the Wonder Child Challenge!
Our Wonder Child, Satoru, maxed both Video Gaming and Piano yesterday, so all the kids have the day off today. We really should go somewhere!
For some reason, you’re still in your party clothes.
Aya: Well, duh. We hardly ever get to wear them! We don’t even get birthday parties!
Watchette: Satoru, you look particularly fetching in that black jacket! What’s it made of? Ostrich feathers?
Satoru: Who knows? What I do know is that if I don’t start kicking up my game, this Wonder Child Challenge is going to turn into the Wonder Child’s Father Challenge.
W: So you’re going to try to steal my attention away from your Dad? Bring it on, kid!
Satoru: Awww, give me a break! I don’t even know what “resources” I’ll have to work with until my teen birthday!
W: True dat. But your hard work and accomplishments so far have been highly impressive. I do believe that I’m already quite a big fan of yours!
Satoru: So where are we at with the challenge, Watcher?
And by the way, I met a man at the park named Seimei who told me that you liked being called Watchette.
W: Watchette would be great, Satoru! Let’s see, you and Shinji have your teen birthday tomorrow.
I’ll talk with your parents to make sure the party’s a gold-medal success!
Misa: Since you all have the day off today, let’s go to Oasis Springs and meet some teenagers!
Satoru: Right! I don’t want all the party guests to be either little kids or my parents’ friends!
Misa: Look at how adorable Shinji is! Satoru is our firstborn son, but Shinji would also have made an awesome Wonder Child.
Jin: Next, we head over to the South Square Coffee shop, near the Narwhal Arms Nightclub.
Satoru: Wow, where are all the children and teens?
Aya: Not here, that’s for sure!
Misa: As for me, life seems pretty perfect at this moment.
A good romance novel and a cup of Sumatran coffee—what more could a gal ask for?
Jin: We better head home and get ready for the twins’ birthday party, Misa.
We can call in the party as soon as their age bars start to bubble, okay?
Day 23 (Mon)
Jin: It’s 11 a.m., Aya has already left for school to work on her A grade, but Satoru and Shinji have taken another vacation day.
Their age bars have been at zero days since last night but haven’t started bubbling yet.
Misa: Just to make things easier, let’s age Shinji up first.
Shinji, you won’t be blowing out your candles at the birthday party, but remember that the party’s for you, too.
Shinji: I don’t mind, Mom. Watchette kitted me out in some rad outfits! And check out this hair!
W: I like to be able to tell twins apart from a distance, but you look fab, Shinji!
Also, I’m super ashamed to admit that I’d forgotten: only the age bars of elders bubble. Is that right?
Four hours later, Aya comes home with an A grade and finishes Whiz Kid! Good work on completing all four aspirations, like your brothers!
Meanwhile Satoru comes in second place in a Professional R.E.F.U.G.E. Tournament soon after Shinji comes upstairs to do his high school homework.
The house visible in the background is the The Lighthouse, where the Bjergsen family resides.
Jin: This challenge can’t move forward now until the Wonder Child has his teen birthday, right?
We’ve all been on alert since last night when Satoru’s age bar showed zero days.
Watchette: Since Misa’s first pregnancy test created pregnancy and ageing cycles which all started at 10:46 p.m., I’m wondering if Satoru would age up automatically at that same time.
Jin: Well, that’s really interesting, Watchette, but what do the rest of us do in the meantime?
W: You and Misa can make paintings and camping mascot sculptures, respectively, so the Wonder Child can get the Shrewd reward trait from the Fabulously Wealthy aspiration.
Jin: Since Watchette has a theory about 10:46 pm, I wait until 10:00 p.m. to phone in a birthday party for Satoru.
As soon as it starts, Satoru blows out his birthday candles to avoid any mishap. The time’s around 10:19 p.m.
W: His default hair and clothes are so hideous that I whisk him off to a dresser without taking a picture.
Satoru: Here I am, in my new hair and party outfit, mixing drinks for a party milestone.
W: That party outfit is too similar to your Dad’s. I’m going to change it after the party, okay?
Satoru: Great idea! Make me more awesome than Dad!
Soon afterward, though, Misa has a baby boy right in the middle of the party!
By the way, Satoru has a gold-medal birthday party!
Misa: Here’s another snapshot of my son feeding his youngest brother Mitsuo.
And I’m probably too biased, seeing as I’m their mother, but I think these twins have grown up into very attractive teenagers.
The Wonder Child Satoru’s on the left and Shinji is on the right.
Watchette: I heartily agree! You two are very handsome fellas! Misa and Jin, great job!
Day 24 (Tue)
W: Well, now that you’re a teen, Satoru, let’s decide what you’ll do first.
I think you should work with your father first, learning the skills that he can mentor.
Satoru: That would be painting and writing. Let’s start, Dad!
W: Wait a sec! Since you’re going to be doing a lot of skilling, you might as well start by reading for the Renaissance Sim and Nerd Brain aspirations.
Start with these three skill books, dear: Cooking, Fitness, and Rocket Science.
Jin: Shinji and Aya are back from school, so let’s take a quick trip to the gym. Both of you boys are way too skinny!
Satoru: Fine with me! Shinji and I love going out!
W: It’s great that your parents can you mentor you, but you’re both so lanky!
Satoru: Hey, gimme a break, Watchette! Last night, I was just a little kid!
W: Jin, you’re looking good over there!
Jin: Tell me, why do I have silver hair again?
W: Yeah, sorry about that. The Wonder Child looked best in your hairstyle so I gave it to him, but I didn’t like any other hair on you.
So you get to keep your hair but in silver. You look awesome!
Jin: Bah, she’s cast me aside for that scrawny young whippersnapper!
Satoru: Hey, why are you stalking me around the island in the dark and taking screenshots of me while I’m jogging, Watchette?
W: Oh, this is going to be the “Before” shot.
Satoru: Before what?
W: Before you complete the BodyBuilder aspiration and “maximize your body potential,” my beloved, little beanpole Wonder Child!
Day 25 (Wed)
Satoru: Today, I’m really excited about my first day of high school!
After I get home, I do my homework and extra credit first thing.
Later in the evening, Dad mentors me in painting until I reached Level 10.
W: You level up so quickly because you completed the childhood aspirations and both your parents have the Mentor trait.
Also, I see that you’ll probably be able to max all the desirable skills but not necessarily complete their associated aspirations.
We’ll need to think hard about which aspiration reward traits will be most useful.
Satoru: Huh? Desirable skills? Most useful for what?
W: Didn’t your Dad tell you?
Satoru: Nope, I haven’t heard anything except that I’m the Wonder Child. I love being in the spotlight!
W: Well, there’ll be time to talk later, okay?
Misa: Actually, our fourth and last child, Mitsuo, aged up to a child just an hour or so before Satoru reached Level 10 Painting.
What are your plans for Mitsuo, Watchette?
W: For one thing, you and Jin produce lovely children, so there’s the sheer pleasure of observing your offspring.
There’s really no pressure on Mitsuo to achieve anything. He can just do what he wants, mostly.
Day 26 (Thu)
Satoru (left): Watching a movie after school to refuel our fun is turning into a regular routine!
Shinji (center): Well, I got an A in high school yesterday and you got one today, so it seems to be working!
Satoru: Yup, the Wonder Child achieves another major milestone!
Aya: I’m still in grade school, so I’ve had an A for over a week. Yawn.
Only Mitsuo has a C right now, but his first day of school isn’t until tomorrow.
Watchette: I’m so proud of you three! Whenever a new child was born, you always had the positive “Meet new sibling” whim.
And you never got the negative “Unwanted sibling” moodlet. I wonder why?
Also you boys look so cute in your new school uniforms! And Aya, you’ll be a teen tomorrow!
Day 27 (Fri)
Aya: Seriously, this family is so bad at celebrating any events that aren’t about the Wonder Child!
Can you believe it? Everyone was so busy skilling late last night, that I just came down to the kitchen and caked myself up. Sheesh!
I thought my platinum-blonde hair as a child was just a placeholder so I would have Mom’s lavender hair as a teen, but I still have blonde hair.
Also, I aged up on the chubby side, so Watchette picked out the perfect outfit for me. And check out my frilly socks!
*whispers: Shhhh, don’t say a word to anyone about this, but do you think Dad’s my real father?
Satoru: This morning, I had Dad write me a fake excuse note so I could stay home and complete the BodyBuilder aspiration.
I had to drink two Protein shakes and work out for hours.
Somehow I didn’t turn out a hunk like Dad. Is it because I’m still a teen that I still look so skinny?
Day 28 (Sat)
Satoru: This morning, I should have started my first day at work as a Manual Laborer.
I signed up for the job as soon as I became a teen and worked intensively in the garden to raise my Gardening skill.
But when 7 a.m. rolls around this morning, only Shinji and Aya can leave for work.
I look at my work status and notice that I’m “On vacation.” How the heck did that happen?
This weekend, I definitely want to reach Level 3 of a part-time job so I quickly switch to a Babysitter job which starts in 11 hours. Nice!
Because I have all day to wait until 6 p.m., I ask Mom to mentor me in Handiness.
Finally, it’s 6 p.m. and I’m off to my Babysitter job.
W: You’re my first sim ever to join that part-time job.
That red hoodie and tight black jeans with the black baseball cap look really cute on you, Satoru!
Satoru: I’m not sure if you’re being sarcastic or not, but I’m thinking I don’t look bad.
W: Nope, not bad at all. Have a great day babysitting, hehe.
Jin, let’s switch the club vibe to Playful while Satoru’s at work!
The Wonder Child’s Progress
(Newly learned items highlighted in red)
Age: 8 days to Young Adult
Career: Babysitter L3 (quit)
Maxed Aspirations: Rambunctious Scamp, Artistic Prodigy, Social Butterfly, Whiz Kid, Fabulously Wealthy, Bodybuilder, Curator, Mansion Baron
Maxed Skills: Mental, Motor, Creativity, Social; Logic and Piano (mentored by Misa); Charisma; Violin (mentored by Jin); Fishing; Video Gaming;
Homestyle Cooking; Fitness (mentored by Misa and Jin); Painting and Writing (mentored by Jin);
Other Skills: Gardening L7; Gourmet Cooking L7; Handiness L9 (mentored by Misa); Mixology L5; Rocket Science L2; Wellness L3
Remarks:
Compared to an Immortal Dynasty heir, raising a Wonder Child seems much easier because the entire household’s activities revolve around helping the Wonder Child boost his traits and skills.
Neither parent nor sibling has a full-time career or any other requirements to fulfill, besides supporting the Wonder Child.
For the Apocalypse Challenge, I need a founder that already has Level 8 Gourmet Cooking.
Kitchen equipment can’t be bought without first maxing the Chef career, but Gourmet Cooking can’t be raised to Level 8 using just the grill.
Alternatively, one could wait and lift the Oracle restriction and import a Wonder Child from the gallery with the appropriate Homestyle/Gourment Cooking levels.
Fishing in order to cook on the grill is very time-consuming, though, so a founder designed for the Chef career is a wise move.
Because we start with the lowest-quality Buy mode items, Nerd Brain is also very useful.
Besides Nerd Brain and BodyBuilder, perhaps the next most useful aspiration would be Computer Whiz for its career promotion perk.
Or so I thought until I reviewed the Apocalypse Challenge rules and remembered that phones, computers, and TVs are locked until a family member completes the Tech Guru/eSport gamer career.
Before playing the final week, I think I should carefully think over how I want to build this Wonder Child and who his spouse will be.
That’s all for today, folks. Thank you for reading!
Only one more chapter and perhaps an epilogue left!
oshizu's asylum 