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The Maddox Chronicles {An Orphans Challenge Game}
Beck1590
Posts: 145 Member
So this is a thread for my the first challenge game I'm doing, which also happens to be my first sims 4 game as well. I've been addicted to Sims 3 for a long time, but now I'm branching out. I'm doing a roughly medium version of the orphan challenge by @JoieWilder . If you're interested in taking on this challenge, you can find her page for it forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/896336/beta-the-orphan-challenge/p1 right here. While she didn't provide a medium version.. I'm making my own by choosing a few of the hard options but not every single one. I'll let you know which I chose at each step.
Our first challenge was to create a sim to be orphaned who needs to raise their kid sibling without CPS getting involved and taking the child away. Following the hard method, I've given my sim more than one sibling. Probably after this, my posts will be in the form of point of view of one of the siblings.. but for now it's mostly author's note stuff I suppose. To make things even harder, I actually created a mom for them rather than a random adult sim, and she'll be getting killed off at the beginning. I may or may not use the cheat to remove the sad mood (I'd like to avoid it but it may be too difficult to get them to take care of themselves if they're too dejected so we'll see..
So where does all of this start?: Well with Celia Maddox and her three kids: Aksel, Liam, and Cailin
I created Aksel first and then used the play with genetic feature (with minor tweaks) to create the family.
From Left to right: Aksel, Liam, and Cailin
Here are Aksel's everyday and party clothes. We're allowed to choose the traits and aspirations of our teen sim. Aksel's aspiration has changed since his mom's death. Now he wants to keep the family together and see it have a long and successful lineage. His traits are good and outgoing
A few more of Aksel's clothings.
The second oldest sibling is Liam. For our children sims we could choose their aspirations but we had to determine their trait by a random trait generator. I left all options available except for mean and evil (I can't play evil sims.. I use the game therapeutically so it's just better for all involved if my sims are nice people lol) For Liam, I chose the motor skill Rambunctious Scamp. He rolled the trait "Good". For Cailin, I chose social butterfly. She rolled goofball.
The hard guidelines want us to start with a specific sized lot, but I'm not seeing one I can afford.. in fact.. I'm having issues getting my family to move in. So I'll end this post for now while I trouble shoot a bit.
oh I forgot to post clothings for the children.
Liam's every day type outfits.
Pajamas, swimming and the like
Cailin's daily outfits.
Other Cailin outfits.
Our first challenge was to create a sim to be orphaned who needs to raise their kid sibling without CPS getting involved and taking the child away. Following the hard method, I've given my sim more than one sibling. Probably after this, my posts will be in the form of point of view of one of the siblings.. but for now it's mostly author's note stuff I suppose. To make things even harder, I actually created a mom for them rather than a random adult sim, and she'll be getting killed off at the beginning. I may or may not use the cheat to remove the sad mood (I'd like to avoid it but it may be too difficult to get them to take care of themselves if they're too dejected so we'll see..
So where does all of this start?: Well with Celia Maddox and her three kids: Aksel, Liam, and Cailin
I created Aksel first and then used the play with genetic feature (with minor tweaks) to create the family.
From Left to right: Aksel, Liam, and Cailin
Here are Aksel's everyday and party clothes. We're allowed to choose the traits and aspirations of our teen sim. Aksel's aspiration has changed since his mom's death. Now he wants to keep the family together and see it have a long and successful lineage. His traits are good and outgoing
A few more of Aksel's clothings.
The second oldest sibling is Liam. For our children sims we could choose their aspirations but we had to determine their trait by a random trait generator. I left all options available except for mean and evil (I can't play evil sims.. I use the game therapeutically so it's just better for all involved if my sims are nice people lol) For Liam, I chose the motor skill Rambunctious Scamp. He rolled the trait "Good". For Cailin, I chose social butterfly. She rolled goofball.
The hard guidelines want us to start with a specific sized lot, but I'm not seeing one I can afford.. in fact.. I'm having issues getting my family to move in. So I'll end this post for now while I trouble shoot a bit.
oh I forgot to post clothings for the children.
Liam's every day type outfits.
Pajamas, swimming and the like
Cailin's daily outfits.
Other Cailin outfits.
2
Comments
Origin ID: JoieWilder94 | Twitter: JoieWilder94
The Thoreau Legacy | The More the Wilder | Crazy Town | Taken by Storme | My Short Stories
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The Orphan Challenge - Testers welcome!
Cannot wait to read more. I also started my story with a parent on the lot rather than just some random adult.
As for the lot you have to set them down in an empty lot then go to manage worlds and bulldoze (evict the family if one lives there) and then move your family into the recently bulldozed lot. Hope that helps!
SimFluence - Where Sims Influence the Story
Blood that Binds: A Vampire Coven Challenge Updated 04/22/2017
Life Under Construction: A Drifter Challenge House 001 Completed 1/29/17 | Orphan Challenge: Harkins Family Completed 11/12/16
Origin ID: cshaner07
So.. some really tough stuff has been going on lately. I always thought journaling was kind of stupid, but now I've got a bunch of secrets I can't tell anyone to so.. I guess this is the only safe way. We had a good life. We were lucky kids. We had a nice house and a great mom and friends and toys and all of that. But then the other day, our mom got stung by a bee when we were out walking. She didn't have her epi pen with her and she's really allergic and she died while we were waiting on help to get there. It was the most awful thing ever.. and my little sibs - Liam and Cailin saw it too.
I was holding my mom's hand when she died and the last thing she asked me to do was keep our family together. And so that's what I intend to do. I'm not going to let CPS split us up. There would be too many curious people at home, so we moved. Loads of people think our mom went with us because we didn't have a funeral or anything to keep it all quiet. Unfortunately, we also couldn't take much stuff. We were able to get a little lot with what money we had from Mom because you know.. mortgage on the house and the bank did take it. But we had a little from her savings. The lot doesn't even have a house on it.. There's some plants and stuff. Sigh. Luckily, I thought to bring some camping stuff from the garage and dad, back before he abandoned us when I was a kid and Liam was a baby, taught me how to make a camp fire. We only were able to bring a couple outfits each, the tent from the garage, a toy of Cailin and Liam's, and an old lantern. That's all we could lug between the three of us.
We don't really have a place to clean up except to go to another neighborhood to use the gym showers. We try to go at different times of an evening and only every couple of days when we absolutely can't stand it anymore so that the gym staff don't get suspicious of us. We also elected this bush in the corner as... well.. you know. It's not exactly fun when nature calls and all you've got is a bush but... at least we're together.
Luckily, Liam is a sweet kid and he's doing his best even though he's only 11 to help out Cailin who's 8. She was close to our mom and she's really taking it pretty hard.
Once we bought our new place, I only had about thirty-seven simoleons left in my pocket. My wallet felt conspicuously empty with so little money in it, but I'm determined to make sure Cailin and Liam don't suffer. I'm going to give them as normal a life possible, even if we are camping in a tent. The very first night, Liam discovered that there was a park not too far from our little garden and that someone had left food there. It was kind of spoiled ish.. but we didn't have a choice.
To make matters more complicated, Cailin keeps thinking she sees the Grim Reaper -everywhere- because she's been having nightmares about him.
I need to keep things as normal as possible for the kids, so I enrolled all three of us in school here. Half the time I don't have time or I'm too tired to finish my homework. I was always a good student before.. but I dunno how it'll be now. At least I make sure Cailin and Liam get their homework done every night.
We have another problem too. That tent seems to have shrunk. I can remember Mom and me and Liam going camping in it when she was pregnant with Cailin... I guess we all grew since then. We can't all three fit in it. For now, until I can figure something else out, we're going to have to sleep in shifts. I hate the fact that even one of the kids has to be up while I'm sleeping, but I can't not sleep.. and they're pretty reliable.. they know never ever to go beyond the hedges or the white fence. At least I was able to get some homework done while they were sleeping the other night. For once. My teachers hassle me about not having it done a lot, but if only they knew why...
Liam was nice enough to let Cailin choose which toy we brought. She picked out this huge stuffed bear that Mom gave her for Christmas a couple of years ago. I think it's been helping her feel a little bit better.
(AN: This is the first time Cailin's Very Sad moodlet went away. Liam never got it and Aksel is still dealing with his)
Usually, after school I go fishing. I used to do it for fun when I was a little kid, but now it's a way to live. It's not like that 37 simoleons is going to last us very long. I can't use it for groceries. I'm trying to save it back to pay our first bills with but I kind of bet it won't be enough. I hope it will be. Either way, I'm catching fish both to hopefully sell and for us to eat.
Unfortunately, I'm not as good at being a super fish catcher as I thought. Last night, I was only able to round up two small fish and we had to share the two between the three of us. I don't think any of us got full on it, but at least it's better than nothing.
It's time to start getting back on a regular schedule. I'm not exactly sure how we're going to do that. Heck. I'm only 16 ya know. I don't know how to be a parent, but I guess I'm going to learn. Maybe we need to just... take a day off from school so we can all get our bearings I dunno. I don't really want the kids missing school any at all. It's better if nothing happens for the teachers to ask questions about.. but I don't want them going without me either, and I really need to spend some quality time with my fishing pole. Guess we'll see.
Also very clever to have Grim in Cailin's 'dream'!!
I know exactly what your little family is going through right now as mine is in a similar position. I kept the "nature calls" bush where it was in my neighborhood so it's a bit further for them to go! Haha
Cannot wait to read more of them. Your screenshots look great by the way!
SimFluence - Where Sims Influence the Story
Blood that Binds: A Vampire Coven Challenge Updated 04/22/2017
Life Under Construction: A Drifter Challenge House 001 Completed 1/29/17 | Orphan Challenge: Harkins Family Completed 11/12/16
Origin ID: cshaner07
Don't forget to look for frogs too. You'll find them inside logs and wells. Your local pet store may buy extras if you breed two together!
SimFluence - Where Sims Influence the Story
Blood that Binds: A Vampire Coven Challenge Updated 04/22/2017
Life Under Construction: A Drifter Challenge House 001 Completed 1/29/17 | Orphan Challenge: Harkins Family Completed 11/12/16
Origin ID: cshaner07
Well I decided to let the kids go ahead and take a vacation day from school. We all really needed some time to go and clean up at the gym, and the kids really needed a break. Well, truthfully, I needed a break so I could go fishing for us -- and I'm sure as heck not sending the littles to school without me. They're great at not telling anyone anything but ... still.. It's just not worth taking a chance. I started off our day of vacation by letting the kids stay up late -- why not? I went down the road to fish while they stayed at our campsite. I'm actually getting better at fishing. I've finally figured out what kind of bait some of these critters like.
We started out our vacation day by all going to the gym and taking showers -- which we desperately needed. After that, I decided to take the kids to the park. One of the local pet shops told me they'd buy frogs from me if I could breed some good looking ones. I asked around school and a girl named Tori Harkins, that I have some classes with and is fairly friendly, said a good place to find frogs was at the pond in the park. Plus, it let the kids have time to play. I don't think I've seen them this happy in weeks. I did some fishing while I was there too.
Liam loves the pirateship playground.
While we were at the park, I also met this really cool (and pretty!) girl named Cassandra Goth. She's in some of my classes at school and she's super popular (and also super rich tbh). I kind of thought she was out of my league.. but when we were at the park, we really hit it off and she even gave me her number.
Also, while we were there, some guy made some fried fruit on the grill, and he called us over and let us eat with him, so I was able to sell the fish I caught for the day and get a profit off of it. I also managed to get my hands on a pair of sunsurfer frogs. By breeding two sunfurers together I can be assured I'll always get that, and the pet shop pays me 125 simoleons apiece for the little suckers and they breed like hotcakes.. which is good for me. All I have to do is take them in as tadpoles and boom. Instant paycheck. Which is a good thing because living in a tent with no bathroom and no shower is really starting to get old after all of these weeks. Sigh.
After we got home, I even got the kids to complete not only their homework but their extra credit homework. For a change, I even did mine. I'm still a C-student, but my siblings have raised their work to B's and I couldn't be prouder of them. I know CPS would never let me keep them if they knew, but I feel like we're doing pretty darn good for ourselves.
Within a couple of weeks of breeding frogs, I managed to make enough money to get us some much-needed amenities. The very first thing was a shower. I mean, it's just a beach-style shower that you take camping but, still, it's a way to get clean without having to go to the gym. Now, I just can't wait until we have a toilet and don't have to use a bush anymore!!!
Also, we were able to get a new bed for me. It's not great if it rains, and we have to put up a tarp, but now we can finally all three sleep at the same time instead of having to sleep in shifts since we don't all fit in the tent!
I've also been trying to make a point of getting my homework done more often as well. I think it's a good example for Liam and Cailin about why they need to get theirs done. I mean, I can't lecture them about grades if I don't even try. Plus, at some point, I do want to go to college, even though I think it's going to be a long time before that happens with the current situation.
Another thing we were finally able to afford was a desk and a computer. This is great because it means I can order some seeds and we can start a garden. The kids have been subsisting on a constant diet of fish that I don't think is completely healthy for them. I think they need some fruits and vegetables. Cailin wanted to plant flowers, but that's not exactly logical right now.. so we'll have to wait for those.
And then there's Cassandra. I'm embarrassed to admit she convinced me to play hooky with her after lunch one day. Looking back, it was irresponsible and I shouldnt've done it.. but I do really kind of like Cassandra.. Sigh. Not happening again though. I think she's more of a "bad girl" than I have the luxury of being.
Over the weekend, the kids and I got to spend time together just relaxing. That was great.
AN: Did you love your little mention in there @cshaner
I love Axsel!! I'm so glad he's trying to do his homework too and be a good example for Liam and Cailin!! What an awesome big brother he is! Cannot wait to read more!
SimFluence - Where Sims Influence the Story
Blood that Binds: A Vampire Coven Challenge Updated 04/22/2017
Life Under Construction: A Drifter Challenge House 001 Completed 1/29/17 | Orphan Challenge: Harkins Family Completed 11/12/16
Origin ID: cshaner07
Well.. a lot has happened. To start off with, Cassandra Goth and I have really hit it off. That came as a complete shock to me. She's not the type of person I'd have taken for my type or me for hers.. but we did hit it off and suddenly I found myself flirting and all that and even asking her to be my girlfriend!
And to my shock she said yes!
Meanwhile, back at home, the kids are getting older. It's hard to believe Cailin and Liam are almost teenagers now. I sneaked this picture of them sleeping the night before their birthday - their last day as "Kids".. really impossible to believe. It seems like they were just 11 and 8 not all that long ago, and now they're going to be high schoolers. Oy vey. I'm getting older too. Much as I appreciate school and its opportunities, I'll be glad to graduate so I can focus on making a secure future for our family with more focus on making money so we're not living in poverty anymore.
What do you know? I'm a young adult now...
Cailin becoming a teen before our eyes. I love the look on Liam's face as he knows what's coming for him next!
A first look at Cailin as a teen.
A first look at Liam (he's already bugging me about getting contacts since the doctor decided he needed glasses. Now that he's a teen, maybe I'll give in on that request.
Can I just point out that my sister is WAY too good looking? Where can I lock her up until she turns 35? Plus now she always feels all flirty and girly and spends all this time primping. I never saw someone who could make such fancy outfits out of a little of nothing and always be such a fashionista despite the fact that we don't even have a house - though I've been saving up and that's going to change soon. I'm kind of glad we planted all those plants to keep people from looking into the yard earlier, because now some of them we can sell to have money for the new house. After a weekend of hard work with a couple of local handymen, we had a very basic house. Right now we just have drywall and primer and bare floors, but it's a house with real plumbing, real electricity and our very own bathroom and shower -- no more bush and no more shower tarp.
Now that we have a house, even though it might be small -- and it's really inconvenient only having one bathroom -- I can cook on a real stove. My cooking isn't great. I can make fish, I can make mac n cheese, and I can make grilled cheese -- that's about it, but hey - it's food on the stove!
Meanwhile, Cass and my relationship is growing stronger. You wouldn't believe this - we had our first kiss the other day!
Like most first kisses, it was really awkward, but we got the hang of it before too long at all
One thing I'm really conscious of is the kids. I know they're teens now, but I'm probably always going to think of them as the kids. I don't want them to think that just because I'm dating someone and out of school that I'm.. abandoning them or care less about them or have less time for them. I'm making even more of an effort to spend time with them than I did before. Here Liam and I are chatting and eating.
Speaking of the kids aging up, they recently told me about some of their life ambitions. Liam has become more neat and is helping out around the house cleaning up messes and the like. He also told me that he wants to have a really amazing house one day. I believe he used the words mansion baron. I tried not to laugh. I get it though, he's spent the last few years of his childhood living on a planted lot in a tent without many conveniences or nice things. I see why he would want that even though it doesn't exactly match his personality. Meanwhile, Cailin wants to have a career in, of all things, mixology. I guess I see why because she's always been a complete social butterfly. As I've gotten older, I've just become more family oriented.
Also, the house is getting a little larger and a little more real-house looking each day.
Over the weekend to celebrate my birthday, Cass invited me over to her house for a date. I'm kind of embarrassed to admit that things.. happened. It was both of our first woohoo. I didn't really expect it to go there, but it was fun!
Unfortunately, what I didn't expect was that a couple weeks later, Cassandra called me on the phone crying. She told me she was late. And her parents weren't crazy about us dating anyway. They know I have like nothing. They wanted someone I guess rich who could provide for her. She said she just knew if she was pregnant they'd kick her out. Of course, I went to the drugstore and got the most reliable test ever and brought her back to our little house to see what the results were.
They were positive. So I guess given I was an idiot and didn't have something on me.. we're going to be having a child. Some people would say I should give it up for adoption, but honestly that was never even a consideration for us. I raised my younger siblings because I wanted them to be with me and have a good life. I'm hardly going to give my child away to strangers either. Things aren't going to be easy however. When Cassandra told her parents that she was pregnant and she wasn't intending to get rid of the baby or adopt it, they kicked her out with absolutely nothing. And I do mean nothing. She was penniless when she came to us and had none of her things except one outfit she was wearing. Our house is tiny, and we still spend most nights in the tent, but we welcomed her into our family and are showing her around and helping her get settled in. I think Cailin likes having another girl around, honestly.
It didn't take long for Cass to start showing. In fact, the months of her pregnancy basically seemed to fly by at warp speed. Between providing for the family - which she can't do because she's had some spotting and the doctor wants her stay around the house and just rest most of the time, and helping take care of the kids - I mean they're teens but they still need help with their homework and stuff like that.. it's been a full time schedule for sure.
I've also been working on improving my gardening skills. Better produce than I can get at the store usually lures better fish. Likewise, a lot of the local stores will buy my fish if they're freshcaught. Having a steady supply of produce to eat, bait fish with, and sell can come in handy, so I've really been trying to get things down pat. I'm not all that wonderful at it, though, and I'm learning slowly.
While I was fishing, I even thought a cowplant berry. He's kind of a weird fellow to have hanging out in the garden, but the kids and I do think he's pretty cool. We had to warn Cass about the cake though. Her pregnancy cravings are pretty intense, so I can see why she'd want that cake.
Second and third trimester of Cass's pregnancy seemed to fly by in no time at all.
Now that Liam is a teen, I'm not taking any chances that what's happening to me is going to happen to him. We're having a talk early (and will be having it often!) I want the best life for my little siblings and I don't want them to have to deal with fatherhood as a teen the way I've done. Still... I admit. I'm really looking forward to the baby being here. We didn't want to find out whether it was a girl or a boy, so I guess we'll find out later on.
We actually found out in short order, because it was only a few hours later that Cass went into labor. I'm not sure if she was more panicked or I was, honestly.
I guess maybe we didn't need to panic because the delivery went just fine and Cass and I are proud to welcome a little baby boy named Glade Maddox into our family.
Gotta go, Glade's up and needs my attention.
Cailin is stunning! They all aged up so well.
Cannot wait to see what's next for little Glade.
SimFluence - Where Sims Influence the Story
Blood that Binds: A Vampire Coven Challenge Updated 04/22/2017
Life Under Construction: A Drifter Challenge House 001 Completed 1/29/17 | Orphan Challenge: Harkins Family Completed 11/12/16
Origin ID: cshaner07
http://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/853211/dizzisquirrels-showcase#latest]
or look for me in the Gallery
aka DizziSquirrel
@Liziann1 Thanks! So far I really like the sims 4. I was worried I'd hate it because so many people either loves Sims 3 or love Sims 4 with no middle ground.. I tend to think of it more like.. I adore both - but I adore -different- things about them and depending on what I want to do in that game will probably determine which I play. For instance.. building is much more intuitive in sims 4 and the multitasking is amazing. I also love that they don't get the "path blocked" bubbles all the time because that's not realistic.. Mine would still get them in huge homes in sims 3. At the same time, I liked the wish/aspiration system and the LTR system as well as the trait system better in sims 3... And I liked that the worlds were a lot bigger with way more families.. and frankly that there was just so much more content.. especially pets and toddlers. But I like them both.. I think it'll just depend what I want to -do- with my game which one I'll play. But I intend to keep playing both