DD 5.42: Farewell to an Angel

Week 26/Day 176 (Sunday)

Hi, everyone! It’s me again, Kyle, during the hours I’m not at school, anyway.
So we’re all kinda starving this morning, but Jade drops her queue to prepare breakfast three times!
Watchette caught her three times, trying to eat ice cream with the Breakfast Scramble half-finiished on the stove.
Anyway, Watchette threw out that last serving of ice cream (noooo!), Jade finished cooking, and we’ve all sat down for breakfast.

It feels like we haven’t sat down for a meal together for a long time.
But it’s probably just because Watchette was gone for awhile.

As soon as we sit down, Uncle Go expresses his fondness but Auntie Mina just smiles back.
Notice that everyone’s avoiding looking at her, except me (and I’m not smiling).
Tao: Oh Mina, don’t you know, baby girl? If this were The Survivor, you’d be voted out of the house! *glares

Auntie Sara looks so serious as she prepares Makoa for his first day of work!
I wonder if Makoa ever thought about getting a suntan?

Gned the Gnome: Ahhhh, it feels so good to be out in the open air again!
And there goes Makoa the Brave, son of Mitch and Sara, off to his first day of work!
Tremain the Trashcan: You know, with his skintone, you would never guess that he’s half Hawaiian!
Mel the Mailbox: Well, little Kyle did mention tanning, but would that change Makoa into not-Makoa?
Gned: Best wishes from us all at your new job, Makoa!

For dinner, Dad invites Uncle Go and Jade along to visit Mom’s house in northern Newcrest.
Do you remember that it’s next door to where Auntie Amanda got married?
Anyway, I meet my twin sisters for the first time!
On the left is Maia (purple hair) and on the right is Hana (blonde).  Cute, right?

Huh? No, Dad didn’t bring me here just because I’m working on Social Butterfly. Well, okay, just a little.
But we’ve been planning a visit for a long time!

Tao: Darn it, I wish I’d asked Watchette to check the house before our visit! The dining table only seats six!
Oops, that’s totally my mistake! Sorry! 
Kyle: Uncle Go and Jade thoughtfully move to a smaller table in another room, so Dad and I can eat with our little family.
But only Maia sits to eat with us. Where’s Hana, you ask?

Kyle: Hana, it seems, has fallen in crush with Uncle Go! Just look at the way she looks at him!
He’s a really cool guy, but super old!  Like dinasaur-ish, Hana!
Jade seems in ecstasy over Dad’s Rack of Lamb. It’s pretty tasty!

So many sims in my challenge wanting what they can’t have! If this were an Immortal Dynasty, I’d be tempted to name it “The Over-Reach Dynasty.” 

Kyle: I really wanted all of us to watch a movie together in the cool sunken TV area, but everyone wouldn’t come and sit, even after Jade went home.
And then, the TV display remained black even though we got a meter indicating we’d started watching a movie.
I’m too used to our house now—Mom’s house is a little too cramped for me.
But I’m glad I could meet my twin sisters! And now I can invite them over to play!

Dad brought Uncle Go along, since he’s the head of the Sanada House where we live.
Uncle Go is such a nice person—everyone loves him!
My brother and sisters also really like Uncle Go, especially my sisters, haha.

Day 177 (Mon) 

By the way, Watchette remodeled the upstairs room next to the gym last week.
The massage tables were moved downstairs and a small bathroom was added to make it easier to prepare Makoa and Jade for work, I hear.
Uncle Go’s been calling this room the “Negotiate Bonus” room because it aims to boost confidence.
Besides several small-sized masterpieces, it only contains three Confidence +8 career rewards: the Monolith, the Space Bunny statue, and the Executron Desk.

The room worked like a charm for Makoa and Jade when they tried it out on Saturday.
Of course, Uncle Go was there to “Recommend self-esteem exercises” as well.

Kyle: Monday starts very early with the mothers giving aromatherapy massages.
Auntie Mina, here’s your chance to redeem yourself!
And don’t worry, readers, Watchette won’t be showing a shot like this every morning!
Today is special! It’s Jade Sanada’s very first day of work!

Tremain the Trashman: And there she goes, off on her first day of work! Jade Sanada—the fifth and final Sanada heir of this challenge!
Gned the Gnome: Hey, that’s my line!
Tremain: Awww, c’mon, Ned! You get the arms, you get the lines! Let me do it just this once!
Gned: Sheesh, okay…
Tremain: *pretends to wave farewell to Jade but remains armless

Mel the Mailbox: You’re both idiots!

You’re probably wondering why I’m out here fishing with Auntie Erika, even after Makoa and Jade left for work at 9 a.m.
Well, Uncle Go wrote me an excute note so I’m taking a “sick day,” hehe.
And why would he do that? Because I’m never going back to grade school again!
Mwahahahaha!

After Makoa and Jade return from work, we all head out to Desert Bloom Park.
Dad says we need a piranha to complete our fish collection, and Makoa catches one right away so we don’t stay long.
But look what I found near the fishing spot all the way at the back of Desert Bloom Park!
There’s that blackberry bush on the left. You know where I’m talking about, right?

There, do you see a tiny fishing spot sign facing the wrong way. Have you seen it in your game, too?
Dad says he’s never seen a sign for a fishing spot there and it’s not even near water. Weird, huh?

Kyle: Makoa once again successfully negotiates a bonus in the Negotiate Bonus Room!
And as you can see, he took my advice and got some sun on his skin!
No offense, Auntie Sara, but a man named Makoa the Brave should be bronzed, not chalk white!
Of course (Kyle adds hurriedly), the porcelain-doll look totally rocks on you!
whispers: Smooth recovery! 

Makoa: I should have done this a loooong time ago!

Day 178 (Tue) 

Watchette, no! Do you absolutely have to take a screenshot of me practicing a speech in my pjs?
Yes, I absolutely must! You won’t be a child forever, Kyle! 

Kyle: Auntie Sara, thank you for mentoring me in logic this afternoon! It’s so much faster when you help me.
Sara: Sshhh, little Kyle, don’t look now but Mina is casting serious dagger-eyes at my darling Mitch. Why?
Kyle: Oh, oh, oh. It’s so hard not to look, Auntie Sara, but I believe you!
On a whim, I check everyone’s relationship panel and realize to my surprise (or maybe not) that the three bros—Tao, Mitch, and Sara—aren’t friends at all with Mina.
On the other hand, they are good friends with everyone else in the house. 

Kyle: While Dad practices his beats, Uncle Go busts his best dance moves.
Ouch! Looks like that hurt, Uncle Go! You can’t be that old yet!

Kyle: Smooth moves, Uncle Go! No one dances like you can! What can I say, folks? Auntie Mina, you are a fool!
My sister would kill to marry Uncle Go!
Uh….how old will Uncle Go be, like, 15 years from now?
I can’t decide who is more gorgeous, Tao or Go. No need to choose, right? 

Day 179 (Wed) 

It’s early Wednesday morning—all the lights in the house go out, as usual, at 5 a.m.
It’s not light enough to see well without illumination and screenshots turn out too dark! Grrr! Yet outdoors, the street lamps are still lit. Why? Why? 
Thanks to Dad’s excellent herding abilities, the whole household turns up in their party outfits!

Ack, I seem to have aged up with a cowboy hat! Everyone is looking the other way, as if it’s not happening.
Uncle Go seems about to step forward but then gets blocked by Auntie Mina, of course! It’s always all about her!
I seek out Dad for moral support. Where Is he? Huh? He’s left the party already to go work out?
Stupid active trait!

Don’t worry, Kyle! I got you, angel. 
Kyle: Take me to the dresser.  Please hurry!

Makoa: Dad, quick! Let’s take a picture together while Kyle’s getting dressed!
Mitch: At last, Makoa, you look like a son of mine!

Kyle Kaneda, the last of the cougar magnets (for this challenge, at least).
From left to right: two everyday outfits, a formal outfit, and a party outfit.

Kyle: Alrightee! Let’s get this show on the road!
I phone up and join the Barista career at Level 2, then start right away on my homework.
Tao: Let’s get your homework done as quickly as possible, son!
Kyle: Right! I need to reach Level 2 Mixology and get a single promotion to max Barista!
It’s so close that I can taste it!

Career Recap 

Makoa Kalani: Level 5, Writer (Author)
Jade Sanada: Level 5, Painter (Master of the Real)
Kyle Kaneda: Level 2, Teen/Barista

As we move closer to the end of the challenge, I find it even harder than usual to stay focused on the challenge itself.
Instead I want to play with my sims, indulge them their various foibles and idiosyncracies, and indulge in my own silliness as well.
I guess I’m just feeling a bit sentimental about this household.
Thank you for reading despite all that!

DD 5.43: Work, Work, Work, Work, Work