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A Rain and Fire Legacy
Monday
Posts: 385 Member
Welcome to the Rain and Fire legacy! I'd like to start with a quick overview of how I play. I'm fast and loose with legacy rules. No points, no attempting to plead for anyone's life when the Reaper shows up. No use of any cheats minus the ones that remove money from the household as necessary. No spouses bring money when they move in and everyone is welcome to getting a job or not. I don't acquire any reward traits and only on occasion will I purchase a potion to give energy. I'll use one age-lengthening potion only if a sim has had so many children and been delayed so long in aging that it distorts the dynamic with the spouse or other relatives.
This campaign will technically be dual legacy, thus the 'and' in the title. In regard to those individual legacies, I'll be doing most likely first-born as heir. There is, of course, always leeway if I so choose, and I will make decisions based on storytelling if I've deemed it a good idea.
I play with a mix of plot-driven and game-driven elements. I love to see how things turn out on their own, but if there's a direction I'd like to see the story take, I won't say no. As a heads up, I unfortunately in the beginning did not take nearly as many pictures as I would have preferred. However, because I very much want to post this Legacy, for the first few chapters time might take some odd leaps forward here and there.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Generation 1
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Behind the Scenes
Generation 2
Chapter 5 Coming Soon!
Generation 1
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Behind the Scenes
Generation 2
Chapter 5 Coming Soon!
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Chapter 1, Generation 1
Please meet Felix Rains.
Life has been hard to him of late, though he has none but himself to thank. His sticky fingers have gotten him in trouble with both his parents and the law more times than he can count. His disposition made it no easier for anyone to deal with his rebellious behavior and he drew far apart from his parents early on.
So far apart, that as soon as he was able, he skipped town. His one passion was music, and so with nothing but the clothes on his back and not even any money for an instrument, he dropped out of school and made for the San Myshuno.
An old train yard there seemed as good a place as any to set himself up. No one would think to look for him among rusted, discarded old train cars beneath the railway that overlooked the Spice District.
Up to no good spray-painting the sidewalks from the start, Felix made ample use of the Spice District's abundant trash cans for meals. A few shady deals on the side alleys were good to make a little money on the side, selling vintage posters and the wares that he stole from the apartments of unsuspecting Spice District dwellers who deigned to let him in for the seemingly innocent request of using their restroom. A man named Raj and his mother were particularly accommodating in that regard.
His first guitar.
The first thing he bought honestly with his dishonest money.
A way to make money on the Spice District's streets and a way to display his talent to the world. Everything seemed like it was going good. He even made what he guessed was a friend.
He was surprised to find Darling Walsh willing to stand his presence. The two teens ousted from their homes to make for the city had more in common than he initially guessed. Felix had forgotten what it was like to simply have someone to talk to.
Even when other people were rude and didn't understand a thing call personal space.
The couple years on the street even seemed to fly by. Music on the streets, hanging out with Darling whenever they had time. It wasn't long before he'd managed to get up enough money to renovate the train yard's shed into something that, believe it or not, almost felt like a home.
He spent his birthday alone.
The cake wasn't good and the shed looked, well, still mostly like a shed, but it was his, and he'd made it with his own two hands. Now, as a young adult, he tried to tell himself the world would open up. The possibilities would rain down upon him.
Yet the Spice District still looked the same, and each day, he hit the streets and took out his guitar.
Maybe it was a gift from some unknown force, or maybe it was thanks to his sticky fingers, but he even found himself a keyboard.
Even when things looked bad, he had his music.
And he had Darling. Hours of just talking together. It was more than that, though.
It was the music, too. The karaoke bars let them be themselves, let them break down the walls they had each built up to protect themselves. The music bound them together, and Felix was certain that Darling was his best and only friend.
Even when he let himself get carried away by his negativity, she stuck around. He never meant to be nasty to her. He told himself that, tried to believe it. He would never mean to hurt his best friend.
In fact, he wanted just the opposite.
She seemed surprised. Well, very surprised. Darling had always been hesitant about love, he knew it from the start, yet he couldn't stop himself. She was the only one who understood him, after all. She was the only one he had.
She understood his music. He didn't know what else to do. He thought she felt the same.
It was an accident, really. Or he thought it was. It happened so fast after that first awkward kiss, and now his best friend was his fiance, and he was going to be a father. Him, a father. He was starting to get gigs, small ones at a local lounge. The money was steady enough. Darling was working too, with an athletics team.
As long as they were together, they could do it. They could be a family. Maybe a better one than what they'd both come from, even. They could do better than their parents and be happy.
No.
No no no no no.
He could absolutely, completely not handle this. A terrible mistake, a horrible mistake, worst mistake of his life.
I've never written any of my games out before, so I'm still finding my way and figuring out how to do it!
Chapter 2, Generation 1
A little boy.
Perfect in every way. Felix was certain of it whenever he looked at the boy, because the small bundle looked just like his mother. Darling suggested on a joke that if Felix was going to be a big deal one day, he needed to make sure the kid would have a name that stood out like a proper celebrity's child. He met her halfway, and they named the boy River.
River Rains.
Felix doted on River as much as he could. He'd never been big into learning, never saw the purpose, figured he would never need it for his career. Even so, he did what he could to bolster River's rapidly expanding mind.
A haircut, even. Felix gave that a try, on a whim. The sudden responsibility made him grasp where he could to find the maturity he couldn't quite feel in himself. A shallow gesture, but all he could see as he reached for something intangible that still made no sense to him.
River's birthday came quick, so much quicker than it had before when every waking moment home meant looking after the small child.
He and Darling persisted. Even when work dragged on him. Working in the lounge came difficult, and he tried to fight the feeling of disinterest he had with going to the lounge every evening.
A grind.
Making music for others, performing to audiences that did not appreciate him. He slipped away when he could, when he wasn't on stage, when he had to fill out the paperwork to get paid for a gig. Lateness became his calling card, and his boss noticed. Felix did what he could to blame it on River, the child took up so much of his time.
Except, that excuse began to fall thin as River grew from a toddler to a boy and learned to take care of himself.
Still, for a while everything seemed normal.
Until Morgan came back into his life.
Morgan. She came from a well-off family in Windenburg. A sweet girl who fancied herself a rebel and escaped into the city whenever she got a chance. Felix prowled around with her here and there in the first year he'd been in San Myshuno. Nice enough, but it was easy to see why she always sought him out.
He was living the hard life, the real struggle. Where he'd only see a day as the search for a place to shower or food that wouldn't be spoiled to eat, she saw a fantasy. A dream she couldn't live, a dream she never truly wanted to live, a dream she could have vicariously through him.
Only, after the faltering of his own dream, the realization that becoming what he wanted wouldn't be as easy as he'd hoped, that life got in the way and even being a musician had paperwork, something shifted.
Perhaps, with her life still at home with her parents because she had no reason to leave, in a large house and a large yard and without struggle, Felix began to live vicariously through her. This time, he knew it was an accident.
It had to be an acccident.
Another lie to tell himself to get through each day. Felix gave Morgan no uncertain terms. There was nothing between them. They were good friends, nothing more. No one could find out that the baby was his. No one. Especially not Darling.
He loved Darling. There was nothing that would take that away from him. He loved her, the life he shared with her despite the hard times. He would work for her, get his life together for her. For River. For...
He didn't want to think about what needed to be done for the child on the way.
Except he didn't have to think long, when Morgan came to him in tears. With no father in the picture, and she keeping her mouth shut, her parents kicked her out of the house. No more mooching. No more wallowing her days away. With a baby on the way, she needed to get out of the house and get a job.
Though she had nowhere else to go.
Against all proper judgement, he let her stay. She was to have a roof over her head. He made her promise that she was to a get a job to help out. He made her promise that she would not say a word. He made her promise that it was over between the two of them. He held his Darling in his arms, and told her of his old friend whom was down and out. Pregnant and alone, with no place to go.
Darling always had a kind heart. A soft spot toward any who found no comfort or support from home. If Morgan had no where to go, then the house built within the warehouse of a train yard would do. Even if it didn't look like much, it was a home, and it would be Morgan's.
He loved Darling.
Loving, trusting. Honest.
All that he couldn't say for himself.
He loved her so much, he would do what he'd put off for so long.
In a private ceremony, Felix wed Darling after years of never getting around to it. With jobs and a new baby, they'd never had the time. He made that for her. A renewal on his commitment to her.
River was unimpressed by the show of affection. Or maybe he saw through the lie. Maybe he was more observant than Felix had hoped. Maybe he saw what Felix tried not to see.
Morgan was having trouble keeping her promises.
Chapter 3, Generation 1
Morgan's baby came on schedule. An adorable little girl named Journey Fyres. The baby kept Morgan's family name at Felix's insistence, even as he could feel the ruse break down a little more each day, as Morgan's patience for their secret wore thin.
A slip when Darling was at work, at first. Felix reprimanded her, anger that covered the fear and the guilt. Then, a romantic touch when Darling was downstairs. Still Felix fought it, as best he could. Reminders of their agreement seemed to do nothing. An insistent woman who only asked for the father of her child to own up to what they'd done.
Journey grew into an energetic child with the same shade of red hair as her mother when Felix felt the last threads break. Perhaps because he could fight Morgan no longer, perhaps because he longed for the charade to end if only it might help him sleep better each night.
A final evening with Darling. He gave himself that. He knew she loved with difficulty, and he would break the trust she gave him, and her fragile love.
One last night together. Simple and easy. Like when they were kids, carefree and only needing the presence of the other to feel that the world was good, and that they could be good.
With a simple statement the next morning, with Morgan there and River in the doorway, the truth came out all at once. So quick, it seemed too easy even when it seemed so difficult. The rage she unleashed upon him, justified, so that he relished in its torrent.
Then, just as easy, she left.
He left as well, at least for a few days. Felix took the kids camping. A respite from the unpleasantness at home. Just him and his children, to have a little bit of peace before they returned to reality.
The kids took their energy and frustrations out on the campsite, much to the park ranger's distaste, where he hoped their agitation might stay.
A fruitless wish. Reality hit hard when they returned.
The house drifted into disaster, none in the mood to clean even on the best of days.
River wasted no time acting out. When he got in trouble for fighting at school, he ditched and brought kids home only to continue the fight there.
Like father like son, and Felix couldn't blame the boy. Home also meant Morgan was still there, and the already poor relationship deteriorated until fighting was the only option left.
Felix hadn't meant to have Journey's parents fight in front of her, though such was the way of best laid plans.
When it became clear that the household would no longer survive as it was, they had one final event. Journey's birthday.
No one was in the mood for it.
Morgan ate away from the family. Now that her daughter was older, it seemed a fitting time to leave. She returned to her parents, after the story she told them made them realize their mistake at sending her away. She left Journey in Felix's hands. He suspected to see her daughter each day would remind Morgan too much of him.
And so, Felix let his hair grow out again and his reign as a single father of two children began.
It started off poorly.
The children did not get along well. River had no sense of compromise, and Journey would blow up at a moment's notice for no discernible reason.
On top of picking up Felix's tendency to be completely irresponsible and care nothing for school, River's sticky fingers continued. Felix began to take it as a matter of pride. If that's what his child took from him, he would make sure River did it right. He regaled River with the story of how one time he stole an entire piano from the lounge.
It didn't help when River entered his teenage years.
A ruffian from the start, River continued his trek of theft, and spent a good deal of time venting about the futility of love. He got that from his mother, and Felix figured it might be for the best. Love did no one any good, and it would do River well to stay out of that mess if he could.
River took up music, and Felix encouraged it when he could. It was the one thing they seemed to be able to do together that didn't set them off. Felix lent his son his guitar, and began to teach him piano.
It was then that Felix lost his job. His constant lateness, his disregard for respect. His failure to put his all into what he did. Well. If the music world would shun him, he would fall back on the only other thing he knew. A small criminal racket in the city needed a good set of nimble hands, and Felix obliged.
He accepted the loss of his dream almost too easy. It hurt, he felt it deep in his chest, though he realized then that it all must have been inevitable. His first mistake had been to sign on with the lounge, where his music became theirs. Now, his family took most of his time, besides.
Yet, Felix's attempts to get his broken little family to bond never seemed to go very far.
Dance parties with his children were the most depressing things he could imagine.
If it weren't for Morgan's visits, he was certain that Journey would fall through the same cracks that had claimed himself and River. The girl, despite her temper, was more responsible than her brother and father combined.
River half the time couldn't even take a bath properly.
On top of it all, people acted like the train yard was some sort of tourist attraction.
It was like the whole city was laughing at them.
And so it was that Felix's birthday arrived. It seemed too soon, and as though he'd lived three lifetimes.
He got no enjoyment, despite the cake and his children being decent to each other just for that day.
No, there was only one thing he wanted, and that was what he thought he'd given up. Even if he couldn't make his dream a reality, at least without the strings of work attached to his music, he could maybe return to how he once felt about it long ago, when he held it as the thing closest to his heart.
His music could be his again.
I hope you continue this!
I was disappointed when I saw it was just bumped with nothing new from the author.
Chapter 4, Generation 1
Whenever Felix realizes he's misplaced his guitar, he knows where to find it. River practiced often, and spoke of his desires to compose the next great song. One that would be remembered, one that would cast his name into lights.
Felix knew the dream well, and while it ached to hear it, and he knew how easily such a dream could fail, he said nothing to deter his son. The guitar would be an heirloom, then. The one thing of worth that Felix could pass down with pride.
River struck out into the world, all teenage angst and dreams, and posture as terrible as his father's.
The boy socialized on occasion, when the music didn't call him. Though, his experience with the rather eclectic denizens of the city left River apprehensive more than anything.
The older woman in the pink tracksuit seems to unnerve him most of all. River was convinced it was the only thing she ever wore, and that she lived on a Spice District bench. He didn't tell his father, of course. He didn't need an earful on the quality of the bench life.
Then, there was the home life.
Things between River and Journey sank even further when Journey became a teenager, and her temper turned into outright nastiness. She didn't hold back, and River found himself most often on the receiving end of his little sister's wrath.
Journey's high school career continued on the up and up, and her brother and father paid no mind to the fact that most of her rage stemmed from both of them refusing to keep their meager house afloat. Both as irresponsible as they could be, she was already suspecting she would be the one to keep the family from falling apart from the cracks already set in place by her father's poor decisions.
She struck out early in an effort to find others who would listen to her complaints. She found Veer. An older boy she had seen in the hallways at school. She wasted no time chatting him up, and when he seemed responsive to her concerns, her infatuation was born...
...and immediately crushed, when he revealed after some flirting, that he'd actually just graduated. With a quick spin of his heel, he left, wearing the straight face of someone who had no business speaking with a teenager. Such was the way of young love.
As fickle and as absent as River's high school years had been.
Not that River had deigned to attend school after a certain point, a fact that his father either didn't notice or chose to ignore, but leaving his teens behind came as a moment of excitement.
His father and sister were surprisingly into the spirit. River suspected it was because both parties guessed it would mean he'd spend more time out of the house.
His guitar practice continued.
River even picked up a job, doing a bit of comedy and music work for an afternoon crowd. It paid terribly, but it showed off his growing talents.
He'd been happy to let his father know. For how little they got on, he figured it might be something to make his father proud.
He couldn't have been more wrong. Felix's explosion of anger came with no warning, no explanation. River did the only thing he could think to do, the only option that made sense.
River almost felt bad about fighting his father, until each time he recalled Felix's anger at the very idea that he get a job in music. He asked for no explanation, and he made short work of avoiding Felix at all costs.
For Felix, old age came soft, at first.
He continued his music on his own terms.
Then old age came swift, when all bets were off. When he no longer cared what others thought, when he knew that if he didn't live life as he wished, he would lose his final chance.
So he did just that.
It was freedom the likes of which he'd never felt before.
Perhaps in an effort to provide for the family, or perhaps to spend less time at home with her father, Journey got herself a job.
Nothing big, just at a local coffee house, but it would do well to have it on her resume. With the work experience and her grades, she might be able to go somewhere in life that the rest of her family had not.
It only upset her more, when it seemed that her father waited so long to find a purpose in helping her with her schoolwork. Maybe he was proud of her, in a way, despite the inability for them to hold a decent conversation.
River struck out as well, on his time off from work. He stopped at a gym. Physical fitness had never been his thing, but people talked about yoga all the time, so it seemed worth a try.
The woman in the pink track suit plagued him there, as well.
All the while at home, a crazy hat party plagued their property.
Days passed.
To zero fanfare, as Journey preferred it considering the uselessness of her family, she graduated. She took a job at Dewey, Cheatem & Howe. A low position to start, but it felt good to go to work in a suit. As if she were accomplishing something.
As well, she invited Veer over.
He came over readily, and despite the short length of their courting a few years before, he seemed only too happy to spend more time with her, as if their awkward parting before never happened. Journey lavished in it, such a simple thing, it seemed, to get along with someone.
She talked of her goals, and he of his, and his presence even helped her relax and have some fun once in a while. Things seemed to be on the up and up.
It happened while Journey was away at work.
All of a sudden, and almost too easy.
While his children began their lives, Felix ended his.
River found him.
It was almost a relief.
It almost seemed cruel to think that without Felix, life might come easier. Things at home might be less difficult.
The children gave him a plot of land on the property, a reasonable tombstone to mark their father. A man with good intentions, and poor execution. Who never got what he wanted, yet managed to help put two people into the world.
His children sought solace in others.
An unexpected person came to River's side.
The woman in the pink track suit's name was Prisha. Some days, she did not wear the track suit, and River pretended that the Leia wig was not a strange thing to wear. What mattered is that she sang with him in a time of need and confusion. He would not realize how his father came to his mother the same way. He would not know of the parallels that he created between his father's life and his own. River only knew of the odd older woman who seemed to not mind his presence, and loved flannel as much as he.
Journey found herself bound to Veer more quickly than she would have expected.
The one piece of irresponsibility in her life, borne from the need to feel connected to someone. It seemed fitting, and she accepted the new development in her life with open arms.
Even better, Veer was ready, if terrified, to accept it as well.
With the birth of a healthy little boy named Atlas Fyres, Veer moved into the household.
With his budding skills in mixology, Veer knew exactly how to handle the situation.
End Generation 1
RIP Felix, and your ever-daddening dad bod. Looking forward to meeting gen 2!
Vere has a most interesting skill and he holds those wine glasses with such finesse! I love how River met his older love and the Leah hair looks great on her.
Is it bad that I laughed at Felix's dimensia? His life was so short!
@LadyLobster and @pammiechick It seems that what I needed was just a good kick in the pants, so thanks for that!
Yeah, I am very bad at keeping my sims fit. Felix got so wide by the end, poor guy.
Veer is a classy man. Too classy for this family.
I adore how River met his love, too. This woman was just everywhere River went, all the time, and it took ages before I finally saw her in her regular clothing...and she had that wig on, of course! I think it was meant to be. Regretfully, perhaps, I do get around to changing her hair/removing the wig, it was just too ridiculous for me to take, but I think what I chose is at least similar enough to be an homage to the wig.
I laughed at Felix's dementia, too. He just fell apart at the end.
Wish I had more pictures from the start, ah well. It might be another post or so before I have enough photos to tell a more detailed story.
I want to do a full Behind the Scenes post after each generation. This was going to be it, but I'll probably do a more official one before I release the next chapter. Which, having been kicked in the pants, should be up before too long!
Thanks for reading! I appreciate it so much!
Note: If I fall behind on posting, I, currently at least, have no excuse. My actual gameplay is somewhere between generation 2 and 3, so it's chugging along pretty well. I play way too much.
And with all the food carts in San Myshuno, I had to use MCCC to freeze everyone's physique to remain consistent between screenshots. LOL. Though with game-driven I guess it's different...
Glad to be of service with our handy boots. Looking forward to the behind the scenes!
Behind the Scenes: Generation 1
Okay! I wanted to randomly talk about some of the things, silly or informative that can't fit into the narrative!
First of all, let's go over Felix. He sort of technically started under the teenage runaway challenge. I did this because I'd never played a teen alone before and wanted to try it out, and also because I wanted my founder to have some of the Parenthood pack earned traits, which had just come out a little before I started the legacy.
Felix's traits: Kleptomaniac, Glutton, Mean, Irresponsible, and Bad Manners. I can't recall but he might have also been Insensitive.
As you can see, I love the bad traits.
I turned the Old Salt House into an abandoned train yard and popped a shed onto it. Most of the house is underground, laid out sort of like an old warehouse.
Again, I just didn't take many pictures because it was a bit before I realized I wanted to post the story. So unfortunately, his life just flew by. (And wow, he really was VERY thin when he started.) His two friends when he started were Darling and Morgan, but Darling was the one that originally stuck. They became best friends and the romance was easier after that. I wasn't sure at first if she was the right choice, but then the story of two kids kicked out of their home just fell into place, so I rolled with it. (Being she was unflirty, I don't think she completely fell for him, just about enough to get engaged.)
At some point, I decided that i wanted Felix to be a single dad, and with Morgan always calling asking to hang out, she seemed the perfect choice for a second mother and a way to break up Felix and Darling. Also, because of lack of pictures, I'm not sure if you can tell or not that River's a pretty decent bit older than Journey. River I think had just reached being a child by the time Morgan was pregnant.
Despite the fact that Felix DID tell Morgan that he wanted to 'just be friends,' once she was in the household she literally, and autonomously, constantly tried to flirt with him. And he got SO mad and always spurned her, and their friendship bar plummeted all on their own. Even though his cheating was a poor decision, I got to hand it to him for sticking to his guns afterward, for whatever it's worth.
I was super sad to see Darling go, I really liked having her around and I felt like a terrible person, but it was a lot of fun to watch Felix, awful person that he is, completely ruin his relationships with his children. With the added parenthood traits, he was just...mean all the time.
As are his kids. I randomize the traits using the Sims 4 Legacy Trait Randomizer based on the traits of the parents.
River's traits: Evil, Kleptomaniac, Unflirty, Irresponsible, Argumentative.
Journey's traits: Hot-headed, Mean, Kleptomaniac, Responsible, Insensitive.
And let me tell you, most of the fighting that's happened so far has all been autonomous. With them all being so rude, they love just walking up to each other for no reason and being insulting.
Immediately upon Journey getting pregnant, EVERY time she was just casually talking to Veer, River, who would be all the way across the property, determined it necessary to hoof it across the lot JUST to yell at her in front of Veer for no reason. He did it every single time when Veer first moved in.
Speaking of Veer, teen-Journey saw this teen sim hanging out in the Spice District, so I sent her over to talk to him and inspect him for spouse-material. And they were getting on well, and flirting was good! They were both into it. Until Veer literally stopped, spun around and aged up into a young adult mid-flirt. He got sad and just immediately left. Pretty awkward and very hilarious.
Anyway, I'm sure there's more, but that's all i can think of at the moment. But this at least covers the insider's perspective on some of the things in the game!
Thanks for reading!
And I agree with you that playing with bad traits can be so much fun. In my very first file for my very first sim in Sims 4, I also made a sim with the evil and klepto traits, and what a ride that was! It can be so tempting to create a "perfect" sim with no flaws, who makes gameplay easiest, but the stories that come from the bad traits are fantastic. (My sim married another evil klepto who then created lots of baby daddy drama with the neighbors--sort of like what went on here, LOL.)
I like seeing how you're using the townies too! It's neat to see the familiar faces.
And I just love the sims drama. Two evil kleptos! That's lovely. I was impressed when Felix's klepto trait was passed down to both his kids. He um...taught them well?
@pammiechick Haha, that's a great story. Half the time I don't even realize they've gained weight until one day it just dawns on me. I didn't notice just how wide Felix had gotten until my significant other pointed it out. He may have started out eating from trash cans, but I guess at least it means he managed it eat well eventually.
@EuphorialQueen Me too! I always love to hear just how a sims story came about, what was pushed or what happened naturally, and just the ridiculous things the sims get up to on their own. Some of my favorite parts of the stories are just whatever trouble they get into when I'm looking the other way.