Week 19/Tuesday
Nao: Before we officially start, may I just say that good help is hard to find?
I discover our new maid preparing to soak in the tub with a book! Why isn’t he busy doing what he’s paid for like, you know, cleaning?
Donato: After checking that Carlos has earned his final promotion, my parents and I along with Banana packing her violin go out to seek more celebrants.
Suddenly, we get Paolo’s birthday notice. I’d forgotten that Stevie hadn’t taken a pregnancy test. Paolo’s birthday is tonight, not Wednesday!
Marci: Not surprisingly, Paolo is just adorable! Like father, like son!
Carlos: Sorry about changing out of my career outfit. Everyone was out when I came home from work.
W: No worries, Carlos. You did a superb job of completing the Pro Athlete career as a young adult. Congratulations!
Donato: Hearing that a child’s offering summons a child celebrant, Watchette of course can’t resist having us make offerings again.
Banana: At least it’s at 9:30 pm this time!
Paolo: Cool! My offering is accepted!
Donato: Paolo is a Whiz Kid who shares my Outgoing trait. To ease my heart’s sorrow, I read to him. People say he looks a lot like me!
Paolo: Dad, Grandma Marci is an ineffective mentor. And she keeps running off. Would you, Grandpa Nao, or Uncle Carlos mentor me next time?
Wednesday
Paolo: The next morning, I play chess before school. Oh yeah, Dad mentoring is definitely the way to go!
Donato: Off he goes on his first day of school. *waves good-bye
By the way, Watchette, why don’t we move in a porch gnome to handle mundane yet oh-so-important tasks like this?
Nao: In the evening, while the kids do their homework and work on aspirations, the adults seek the last sugar skull.
As on previous nights, Jasmine Holiday strolls by our lot, decked out in her orange jacket with the sugar skull motif on the back.
Donato: I’m the one who receives the ninth unique skull, thus completing our collection.
Donato: Adding the final skull to the case results in a tenth gold skull appearing at the top of the case.
And me? I’m instantly transformed into one of the celebrants.
It’s too late to save Stevie, but how fitting that I’m chosen to be the one to “honor the dead.”
Nao: I’d like to say that we’re now ready to return to our regular programming.
But talking with you in your celebrant’s garb, Donato, is somewhat distracting.
Donato: It’s fine, Dad. Consider this my mourning apparel. I’m a grieving widow, you know.
Anyway, now we spend almost every moment the kids aren’t at school at the store, right?
Nao: Yes, we’ll remodel the store’s second floor so the kids can learn skills and aspirations upstairs while the adults work the store.
Paolo: I won’t get an A grade before the weekend to finish Whiz Kid, so I ask Dad to help me level my Motor skill.
Donato: I’ll coach you in swimming, which is faster than Practice Typing. You need Motor level 4 to play Keyboard Commander.
Paolo: Hey, Dad, it’s weird seeing you with a hat in the pool.
Donato: I’d thought we’d finally be done with the Day of the Dead festivities when I jump into the pool.
Imagine my surprise when I don’t change into my swimming trunks.
Banana: I’m almost done with my Musical Genius aspiration.
I just need to spend another day playing a musical instrument then mentor somesim for 3 hours.
Thanks for mentoring me, Mom.
Uh, Mom, is it just my imagination or does Watchette spend more time with Donato and Paolo than with me?
Marci: Don’t worry, Banana. She has always favored Donato, but Stevie died last night, remember?
Thursday
Marci: I can’t believe that I age up to an elder in two days, even with my four pregnancies!
Nao drank a Potion of Youth on the morning of his adult birthday, so he won’t be an elder for 14 more days.
W: Marci, how would you like to volunteer to serve as this legacy’s Death by Starvation, Marci?
Marci: No, thanks.
W: All right-ee, then. Moving on…
Friday
Nao: Once we confirm that Paolo has earned an A grade at school, we adults head for the store.
There’s just the four of us to cater to the many customers drawn to Mori’s Emporium.
Marci: As you can see, we’ve displayed dozens of paintings we created for sale.
Nao: Yes, the household’s been saving them ever since buying the store.
Carlos: Dad’s thrilled to hire Grandma Nami and Great-Uncle Nio as store employees.
But the dynamic duo spends a lot of time sitting around or chatting with each other.
We’re just too busy to put time into praising and scolding them at the moment.
Nao: Regardless, it’s great to see Mom and Uncle Nio looking so healthy and happy!
Nao: It’s been one long day, hasn’t it? The last time our family worked here, I was still a teenager! Good work, everyone! We did superbly today.
Marci: We sold 27 items, made a profit of 17,146 simoleons, and earned 1,600 perk points.
Carlos: I guess the store gets easier for each generation, due to the accumulated retail perks.
Donato: Let’s buy Serious Shopper for 1,300 points next!
Nao: Now that we’re home, does anyone have suggestions for earning retail perks more efficiently?
Carlos: Today, we sold a lot of our own small paintings that, when sold, we replace instead of restock. Don’t we miss out on perk points by not restocking?
Nao: You’re right, Carlos! Let’s sell off all our paintings and sell only Buy Mode objects.
There’s no shame in following Queen Nutella’s retail strategy!
Banana: I also have something to say about the store, Dad. Paolo and I were bored stiff upstairs.
If we’re going to spend such long hours there, please help Paolo and I either be more productive or have more fun!
Donato: Why don’t you two make a club with your classmates? Y’all can hang out in the picnic area until it gets dark.
Nao: Actually, if we have other stellar days like today, you’ll only have to work there three or four more days.
And as the future Gen4 heir, Banana, you should be helping out at the store, too.
Earning 4,800 perk points is one of Gen4’s main objectives, you know.
Paolo: If you don’t mind, I don’t want to start a club until after I’ve reached the last tier of Social Butterfly.
Nao: That’s a smart move, boy. I’ll go try the adopt-then-cancel strategy to see if we can generate more sims your age.
Banana: Uncle Carlos is a Music Lover like me, so mentoring him in guitar to complete my Musical Genius aspiration was easy and fun!
Now, I can move on to other aspirations!
Saturday
Donato: Auntie Banana has started the Painter Extraordinaire aspiration and, since I got an A grade on Friday, I’ll be ready to start my last aspiration, Social Butterfly, later today.
Marci: Well, since you kids seem to be doing so well, would you mind if we celebrate my birthday? My age bar’s been bubbling for hours now.
Paolo: Grandma, why are you in your pajamas if you plan to celebrate your birthday?
Marci (coughs): Grandpa and I have been on several home dates today, so…uh…yeah.
Marci: It’s the day I’ve long dreaded—my elder birthday! I wouldn’t mind so much if Nao wasn’t so much younger than me now!
Nao: Oh come on, Marci. Be a sport! You are in good health and have raised a wonderful family! Happy birthday, sweetheart!
Carlos, Donato, and Banana: A very happy birthday, Mom!
Banana: I’m never going to throw a birthday party, Dad. For me, it’ll be dinner parties all the way!
No toasts, no “compliment the birthday sim,” no “play a game with the birthday sim,” and so on.
Marci: Not to change the subject, but I love that we’re all wearing the Day of the Dead outfits. Carlos and Donato, why the cowboy hats?
Carlos: Are you kidding me? I’m never wearing a top hat with flowers on it! Puh-leeze! Um, though, Dad looks really cool in his hat.
Nao: Nice follow-up, Carlos. I almost believe you!
Marci: Thanks for making dessert, Carlos. I didn’t think we’d earn a gold medal without any outside guests, but we did!
W: Thanks to me, too, Marci! I had to lock the door to the hallway because, like you typically do during parties, you kept offering massages to other sims. Why?
A big thank you to reggikko for reminding me about the “open the adoption menu then cancel” strategy.
I checked Household Management a few days after I had Nao do this and found three new households with a mother and a baby as well as six new households with a mother and a child, all “Currently not-in-the-world” households.
I went a little crazy with screenshots of the Day of the Dead Challenge because I love the costumes and decorations; sorry about that!
oshizu's asylum 