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Ragamuffin Jones - a freegan outdoor legacy

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Season 1 - Winter

Meet Ragamuffin Jones. She moved into Willow Creek on the first day of winter, without a simoleon to her name. Tough luck? No way, she chose this life! She was stoked to spend her time outdoors, meet new people and have new experiences.
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Ragamuffin acquired a large plot of land for a garden. It seemed like a place with good soil. She picked some wild pears and planted them. She investigated some funny-looking rocks and found some useless statues and fossils that apparently were valuable to someone, for she was able to sell them and buy vegetable plant starts and planting supplies. After planting her first crop, she had fun fishing, dumpster diving and woodworking. She rapidly developed a love for the dumpster in Evergreen Harbor, the beautiful museum in San Myshuno, and the friendly folks who spent time there. Once she picked up the guitar in the music room at the museum, and a stranger gave her a tip, even though she thought she sounded terrible! People can be so kind.
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Any bench served as a fine place to nap, but the museum was the most beautiful.
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A food stall opened next to the garden, and Ragamuffin enjoyed their curry and hot cider. She settled into a happy routine of sleeping on benches at night, eating a hot meal at the food stall in the morning, and wandering around meeting new people, digging things up and nibbling pears from the trees. When the ground froze, she built a little garden shed to start plants and then move them outside.
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Her freewheeling life was about to get more complicated, however. Her friend Fatima invited her to the GeekCon, and then abandoned her as soon as they arrived. Ragamuffin wandered around looking at the fast-paced games and the giant rocketship. She turned around and suddenly there he was-- the cutest geek in all GeekCon.
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He was goofy and spontaneous, and wanted to learn and explore the world, just like her-- even if he wanted to do it through school and computers. That was okay. Also, he had a very pleasant dorm to warm up in. Ragamuffin lucked out on Winterfest and found a beautiful bicycle in the dumpster and it wasn't even broken! She visited Cameron in his dorm to give it to him as a gift, and get to know him better.
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It turned into a very sweet visit.
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The students had to work like dogs even on Winterfest, but Father Winter still made it there!
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In the garden, the first harvest came up through the snow: spinach. It wasn't too remarkable a crop, but Ragamuffin was proud anyway.
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She celebrated by asking Cameron out on a date to a freegan's paradise, Myshuno Meadows. They enjoyed the bar, the comfortable furniture, the fireplaces and the complete privacy.
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It turned into a very sweet date.
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With more crops coming in, Ragamuffin was able to improve the garden shed a bit. As she worked, she began to imagine what it might be like to spend her outdoor life with Cameron. Would he enjoy living as she did? There was only one way to find out.
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On New Year's Eve, the Romance Festival came into town. Ragamuffin and Cameron enjoyed the sakura tea and played in rose petals. Ragamuffin took a deep breath and seized the moment.
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She knew that no matter what happened, she'd have to find some ways to earn a few more simoleons. She resolved to do some more guitar playing, earn some tips, and make her garden into more of a home that she and Cameron could enjoy together.
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They spent their first night together in true freegan style:
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Post edited by mightysprite on

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  • mightyspritemightysprite Posts: 5,807 Member
    edited December 2020
    Season 2 - Spring

    The garden kept Ragamuffin busy as she learned to fertilize.... and befriend?... her plants.
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    A wedding costs 1000 simoleons... who has 1000 simoleons? Ragamuffin and Cameron decided to get a grill and party in their own garden instead.
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    They shared their vows together with a few friends.
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    Ragamuffin supplied the entertainment.
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    After everyone left, the couple left the dishes on the ground and entertained each other.
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    Here's one weird thing about living outdoors: visitors come and knock on your bathroom door to say hello.
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    Here's a convenient thing about living outdoors: if you only have one shower, you can let your sweetie use it and you can shower in the rain!
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    Cameron made trips into campus to do schoolwork.
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    Somehow, before meeting Ragamuffin, he had made zero friends? He decided to remedy that and struck up a conversation with Pawel and Rosa at the cafeteria counter.
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    Ragamuffin found a ping-pong partner, but she wasn't having much fun waiting for Cameron to finish a seemingly endless stream of term papers and freelance programming assignments, and decided not to come along next time.
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    Before long there was some big news to share!
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    I guess Cameron was happy?
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    The couple enjoyed their last child-free Love Day with a quiet date at the Blue Velvet nightclub. Ragamuffin treated Cameron to some music that was only for him. Yes, that is Ragamuffin's formal tank top. Doesn't Cameron look adorable in his formal nerdwear??
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    Driven by some powerful nesting instincts, Ragamuffin started making the garden a little more like a home. She made a patio where one could enjoy a tofu dog with a friend.
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    According to a freegan, here's what every baby needs most: fun, comfort and beauty.
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    Fortunately, we have Alice to test out the dollhouse and make sure it works!
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    Post edited by mightysprite on
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  • mightyspritemightysprite Posts: 5,807 Member
    Season 3 - Summer

    Here's Generation 2! Meet Marcellus Jones!
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    Cameron kept making trips to Larry's Lagoon to do schoolwork, work on programming and to bond with people in lobster costumes.
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    He freaked out when the big day came!
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    But they bonded soon enough.
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    And celebrated with.... a mathematical diagram? Nerds are so weird.
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    Ragamuffin is in favor of Water Conservation in principle. She upgraded all the plumbing with H2O siphoners, so they don't use any water at all. But they're still getting fined! So they had a Repeal Party to try to get all the signatures... but ran out of time.
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    They say you should nap when they nap.
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    Marcellus got big enough to play dolls with Alice!
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    And to enjoy bedtime stories.
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    Ragamuffin noticed that lots of recipes call for tomatoes. She went over to San Myshuno to buy some and plant them.
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    Ragamuffin is playing a song for Marcellus, but he rolled the independent trait, and is not listening...
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    I like solitary playtime!
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    Except maybe if midnight kiddie pool time is on offer...
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    Cameron practiced his presentation in front of the trees before finals.
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    I take great care of myself! Nothing is wrong here. Nothing is wrong at all.
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    Why, why did we take 4 university classes and a freelance programming assignment AND have a toddler??
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    Why, why do all our grown friends smash the dollhouse?
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    We renovated the patio! Hat tip to @luckyheather, I used one of her beautiful builds as inspiration.
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    The tomato-growing plan almost worked. Don't you hate it when you go to harvest your tomatoes and they all just vanish 5 minutes before you get there?
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    Every kid needs a chance to hang out with Santa at the end of a hard day.
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    Cameron's birthday arrived on Talk Like a Pirate Day! This was a great party.
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    And as the party was winding down.... Ragamuffin came out of the bathroom bursting with some more big news...
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    After the party, what else, more schoolwork.
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    Ragamuffin enjoyed quality time with Marcellus while she could; he won't be an only child for much longer.
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    Apparently, friends are always welcome when you live outdoors.
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  • mightyspritemightysprite Posts: 5,807 Member
    Season 4 - Fall

    Happy Fall from Ragamuffin's garden and Willow Creek's beautiful foliage!
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    Ragamuffin was getting ready to have her second baby. She sang lullabies to the little one in utero...
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    It is unbelievably cute how toddlers can nap sideways on their beds! Look at Marcellus all curled up with his doggie and blankie :)
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    Cameron continued to burn the midnight oil working on his university courses and programming.
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    Ragamuffin went into labor and the only thing that helped was playing in the rain...
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    Cameron put his foot down about sleeping outside in the cold. It was fine and all when they were fancy-free childless young adults, but now that the weather was turning colder, the nooboos needed someplace warm to sleep. If Ragamuffin really needed a taste of outdoor sleeping now and then, well, there are plenty of park benches out there. So they built a cozy cabin just big enough for sleeping.
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    And none too soon... baby Fletcher soon arrived!
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    Outdoor living is not always so good for laptops either. Especially when it rains.
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    Cameron gave Ragamuffin a consolation prize: the shed is now a workshop, with a beautiful woodworking table just for her.
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    Have I mentioned how great it is that Sims 4 requires enthusiastic consent for woohoo? I love this improvement over Sims 2. Ragamuffin is exhausted, but happy to steal just a little extra time with her husband while the children sleep.
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    A very outdoor Harvestfest... they needed umbrellas and had a hard time staying seated.
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    Harvestfest was also Marcellus's birthday!
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    Using the legacy generator, Marcellus rolled the loves outdoors trait, and this is a trait-based legacy, so boom, he's guaranteed to be the heir unless he has some sort of unfortunate accident. He's a cutie pie too.
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    He has Dad's hair and Mom's hand gestures!
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    Mom admits that okay, inside beds can be warm and cozy too.
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    A lullaby for the children
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    Ragamuffin loves this outdoor bathtub.
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    Marcellus, however, absolutely refuses to bathe outside! So they built him a little bathroom attached to the cabin.
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    Fletcher became a toddler. She rolled the fussy trait. She's still pretty fierce.
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    She and Marcellus get along, for now.
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    Marcellus also has a bestie, Leila. She's a little older than he is; as a toddler, he used to babble to her when she walked by in her scouts uniform.
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    Every time someone tries to tuck Fletcher into bed, she gets back up as soon as their backs are turned! With the predictable results:
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    Cameron says: Yep, she's having a fit. Cameron tries to remain calm.
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    She got done and went inside. Cameron says: Yep, that's how you handle a fit. Pawel appears unsure.
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    It was Night on the Town, so Cameron and Ragamuffin went out to the bistro with the Spencer-Kim-Lewises. It turned into a weird night. It was thunderstorming and the restaurant tried to seat them outside. Ragamuffin gave up the table, and they had a drink at the bar instead. This waitress kept on taking off her clothes, and giving herself pep-talks!
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    Cameron and Ragamuffin did not have the same reaction.
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    Everyone was hungry so they went back to the garden and Cameron made salad... but their friends only wanted leftover cake. Yeeeaaahhhh, cake.
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  • FinnleyFinnley Posts: 20 Member
    I love her story!
    I also have 2 Sims (brother/sister) who started with an empty lot and $0, they live in Sulani. I loved the challenge, scavinging around the world to public lots for shower and a meal. Nancy Landgraab sure kicked them often out of the house for using there bed. LoL
    (I needed the computer, sister is a freelance writer.)
  • mightyspritemightysprite Posts: 5,807 Member
    Thanks @Finnley :smile:
    There are so many great public resources in this game, especially since you can pop around to any part of the world without it taking too long to get there. It is maybe a little unrealistic but I love living in a world where you can sleep anywhere and not worry about getting robbed, get into any gym to shower for free, etc.
    Too bad Nancy wasn't so kind to you about sharing her home! It would be cool if having houseguests was more a part of this game, beyond specifically having a lover stay the night.
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  • FinnleyFinnley Posts: 20 Member
    > @mightysprite said:
    > Too bad Nancy wasn't so kind to you about sharing her home! It would be cool if having houseguests was more a part of this game, beyond specifically having a lover stay the night.

    She even got mad when my Sim used her shower to clean off all the dirt she got on her after putting out the fire on her husband. Possibly, saving his life. Nancy is so ungreatfull. :-/
  • mightyspritemightysprite Posts: 5,807 Member
    Season 5 - Winter

    A very happy beautiful Winter from the Jones family to yours.
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    Winter is a fun season when you like to be outdoors. We built snowpals.
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    And we told them stories.
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    We even became friends, sort of.
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    We chilled outside.
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    Sometimes we chilled too much.
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    Ah, that's better. A warm fireplace is a great reason to come inside (sometimes)!
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    We... slept in the bath?? I did not know you could do this. He did it autonomously. I can't find the option to do it on purpose!
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    Marcellus and his BFF Leila bonded some more over snowball fights and turkey dinners.
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    After a long hard slog of university coursework and toddler-rearing, daddy Cameron graduated! Congratulations!
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    ...and came home and bathed a toddler
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    ...and made a cake, since graduation day was also Ragamuffin's birthday.
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    Lady, you haven't changed a bit.
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    Alice had called early on in winter to ask if Ragamuffin thought she and Eric should try for another baby. They decided to give it a try, and now Alice is pregnant!
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    Marcellus is impressed.
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    Snowpal is also impressed.
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    We were happy to give Alice a chance to practice parenthood as much as she wanted.
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    The plants contracted a strange disease where they smelled bad and lost their harvestables. Ragamuffin is doing research and sends prayers to whatever higher power controls her universe and all its plants.* She hopes this doesn't interfere too much with her long-term botany aspirations.
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    We were all set for a Very Outdoor Winterfest
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    And then a blizzard came up! So it was a Very Indoor Winterfest
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    Complete with awkward caroling
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    And mother-son song-and-dance time.
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    This was my first experience seeing Father Winter go up the chimney!
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    Fletcher has a superpower: she can dance even when there is no music playing.
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    Sim footprints are big but toddler footprints are little! This is adorable.
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    Big brother can comfort toddler sister after a nightmare! This is adorable too.
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    Marcellus got a violin for Winterfest. After exactly one day of ear-splitting practicing, it caught fire, destroying the rug underneath it as well. Coincidence? We think so...
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    We replaced both items. The kids got to have input on the choice of rug this time. There is now a family rule that all musical instruments must be put away neatly in inventories after use.
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    Ragamuffin and Alice went out-- and Alice went into labor!
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    Ragamuffin went over the next day to meet the baby and discovered not one, not two, but THREE
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    She had brought over some homemade seafood chowder. The Spencer-Kim-Lewises ate it while staring blankly into space. Ragamuffin gave them a brief break from triplet care.
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    It's weird when your best friend is a girl and turns into a young lady overnight.
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    They could still play together, just a little differently.
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    At the park, Marcellus met a couple of fun new friends. Lillie: there's a girl who really knows how to handle heavy artillery. Wow!
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    And Cade is exactly the guy you want looking out for you.
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    While we were at the park, a random old guy died. It was disturbing.
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    Maybe it was the traumatic weird afternoon, but it turns out Leila developed a mean streak when she became a teen. Lillie can also be kinda mean too. Marcellus wonders if all the girls are going to be mean and have names beginning with L? Cade though is a sweet ray of sunshine. We don't know him too well yet, but we like Cade.
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    Since in this family we always stack birthdays on top of holidays, New Year's Eve was also Fletcher's birthday.
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    She still looks like she's plotting something.
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    We toasted the new year!
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    ...By the end of the countdown Fletcher had had enough excitement.
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    *translation: I wrote a "me too" on that bug report
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  • mightyspritemightysprite Posts: 5,807 Member
    The Mean Girls in Marcellus Jones's Life

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    Lillie Bryson, Elise Hyatt and Leila Adamson.
    I swear they are all random townies. All gorgeous, and all mean.

    (Marcellus wants to know: How do they FIND me?!)
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  • mightyspritemightysprite Posts: 5,807 Member
    edited December 2020
    Season 6 - Spring

    Could I make it out there, if it were me?
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    Yes. Yes, I could.
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    Marcellus was about to become a teenager. All through his childhood, he'd heard Ragamuffin's stories about living outside, surviving by what she could find or make. He loved their mostly-outdoor life complete with garden, patio, cooking facilities, plumbing, and a cabin in case of bad weather... but what if he didn't have any of that and was just outdoors on his own, like Mom had been? Would he be able to make it? He decided to find out by taking a day off school, traveling somewhere he'd never been, and spending 24 hours living a purely outdoor freegan life. Then he'd be able to age up with confidence and pride.
    Marcellus said goodbye to Mom after school the day before his birthday.
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    He landed in Oasis Springs and took a look around. There was a nice-looking park just across the street. With monkey bars and... some kid he recognized on the monkey bars. Wasn't that Fletcher's friend Brice?
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    The park had a game new to Marcellus, and a champion ready to teach him... Lillie?!
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    Leila! You're here too?
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    Lillie was happy to skunk Marcellus repeatedly at chess before going home. Marcellus wandered over to meet a teen girl who was doing her homework at a table. Her name was Karla. She seemed really low-key and friendly, and happy to do her homework outdoors. Marcellus thought that was cool. She never once called him a stinky little boy.
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    Even though that's exactly what he was.
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    After a nap, Marcellus went over to figure out some more about this game called chess. He met another teen who was more than happy to tell him what a stinky little boy he was. (Good grief, another mean girl?)
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    Marcellus tried to remember what Mom had done about bathing before she had her own bathroom. Oh yes-- the gym! Marcellus found a gym in Oasis Springs, took a very comfortable shower, and didn't even bother changing out of his towel before crashing on the couch for several delicious naps in a row.
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    In the morning, he tried his hand at some of the ways Mom had earned her food money in the beginning. He dug for fossils, looked for frogs, and fished in a mud puddle. He was pretty proud of himself for catching a beautiful goldfish in the mud.
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    Food actually wasn't much of a problem, since people at parks love to cook lots of mouthwatering food and leave it out for everyone to enjoy. Marcellus found this delicious breakfast buffet completely unattended, and enjoyed it thoroughly, while sending a quick text home to Mom and Dad to let them know he was doing fine.
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    Marcellus found a strange boarded-up cave entrance. He tried to pry it open, but was too small and weak. Maybe someday.
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    Wanting a change of scene and remembering his mother's love of museums, Marcellus wandered into the Oasis Springs museum and found ANOTHER old friend. He was starting to get suspicious. Were his parents sending people to check up on him?
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    Museums can be boring, but suits of armor are awesome.
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    Go about your business, everyone; there's nothing at all concerning about the unattended small boy sleeping on the museum couch.
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    His quest finished, Marcellus went home in the early afternoon for a big hug from Dad and a birthday party. He invited old friends, and some new ones too.
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    He looks great as a teen!
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    And he knows it.
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    And someone else notices it too...
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    Fittingly, Marcellus has rolled Freegan as his second trait. He rolled something about knitting for his aspiration, which I can't choose for him since I don't have that pack, so we re-rolled and now he wants to be Friend of the World. I like that for him a lot.

    At the party, Ragamuffin had a chance to share some more big news. While Marcellus was away, she discovered there was going to be another little Jones in the family! The guests had, um, different reactions. (Sit down, Lillie. Nobody asked your opinion.)
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    During spring, the other family members carried on with their lives too. Cameron knows he could earn a lot of money as a programmer with his degree, but right now he's sort of taken with the idea of being one of those scrappy and creative tech gurus. Maybe it won't be forever, but he's having fun.

    Ragamuffin is continuing with her botanical experiments. She's heard about some potentially dangerous plants that can be grown with combinations of snapdragon and strawberry. She decided to try it, but only in an area with a warning sign and a gate that only she has the key to.
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    Fletcher bonded with friends.
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    Marcellus, apparently, had had Love Day on his mind for quite some time even before his birthday.
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    The big day came, and he took a deep breath and asked out Karla.... and she hung up on him. Twice. So sad! He ended up spending Love Day spraying graffiti with Leila at the Spice Festival. That was a pretty good outlet. Although Leila might yell at Marcellus at any moment, somehow he always feels comfortable with her. There's something to be said for the person you can just go out and graffiti with.
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    The parents had a nicer time on Love Day.
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    Now that there is a teen in the house, we decided to add on a nice area for them to have a good time-- complete with a sleeping porch so that Ragamuffin can indulge in the outdoor breezes at night again.
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    A pool makes a good place to enjoy food, too.
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    Fletcher says: Mom and Dad are doing that gross flirty stuff again!
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    Oh no, my brother is gross too!
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    The night after Love Day, Karla actually spoke to Marcellus and agreed to come over for a while. Mom intruded for a time, as moms do. Hi, Mom.
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    But still, it turned into a lovely evening, all the lovelier for the wait.
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  • mightyspritemightysprite Posts: 5,807 Member
    Season 7 - Summer

    We could also title this season: Fletcher and Fires!

    Fletcher is gonna be such a rockstar. Hey girl.
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    Yay! This is how we do summer fun outside.
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    We stargaze with our bestie Brice.
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    We hang upside down! I did not know you could do this. I think it's her motor skill that allows her to.
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    We really start loving the violin.
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    We have coffee with cute girls.
    summerfun-coffee.png

    We have pool time with the triplets from next door.
    triplets-pool.png

    We paint a portrait of Mr. Paterfamilias to last through the ages.
    summerfun-painting.png

    We annoy our brother.
    summerfun-annoy-brother.png

    Our brother decides he needs a private place of his own. At least to sleep in.
    summerfun-tent.png

    Baby Rafael arrived! And bonded quickly with Marcellus.
    baby-rafael.png

    Here he is as a toddler.
    rafael-portrait.png

    According to our RL pediatrician, the first stage of literacy is "book in mouth." I guess we are there.
    book-in-mouth.png

    Cameron got older too, although less cutely.
    cameron-portrait.png

    In the garden, we did some landscaping
    garden-landscaped.png

    and ordered some rare seeds-- one of which was a weird blue bean! We'll see if this leads to anything interesting. Ragamuffin doesn't want to spend thousands upon thousands of simoleons on rare seed packets, but she's curious.
    garden-mysterybean.png

    Harvestables are starting to be my favorite way to feed toddlers.
    toddler-harvestables.png

    Recently our friends have started this weird trend where they cook potfuls of flowers and stuff into "decoctions," which apparently you first grill, then cook, then leave on your friends' patio.
    decoctions.png
    decoctions1.png
    Or sometimes you use them to light yourself on fire.
    decoctions2.png

    Summer came with lots of thunderstorms! Boy, can they put a damper on an outdoorsy family. We made do with indoor chitchat, books and music
    storm1.png
    and our favorite freegan napped underneath the sleeping porch instead of on it.
    storm2.png

    Cameron decided to get a proper programming job now that he's too old for this tech guru nonsense. He was immediately invited to guest-teach a class back at his alma mater Foxbury.
    taught2.png
    He enjoyed doing some teaching at home, too.
    teaching-home.png

    Turns out you have to work on robotics to make it as an upper-level programmer. Cameron thought a cleaning bot would be a nice addition to the family.
    robot1.png
    This ain't no ordinary Roomba-- it hovers and cleans the bathroom! So far it's working well.
    robot2.png

    OK, you're wondering about the fires. Here we go. Marcellus and Fletcher visited the triplets.
    visit1.png
    Olivia immediately started a fire and then ran away.
    visit2.png
    Fletcher grabbed her phone and called the fire department like a total boss.
    visit3.png
    Good thing she did! She was proud of herself but also kind of scared that she had to be the grownup today.
    visit4.png

    Fletcher's birthday was on the last day of summer, and a Sunday. She had a long playdate in the morning and then an excellent summer party complete with swimming and campfire.
    party2.png

    Marcellus greeted a newly teenage Cade. Whom he noticed in an altogether new way... hmm, maybe girls aren't the only ones Marcellus wants to flirt with?
    party1.png

    Fletcher has rolled Geek in addition to Goofball, and her aspiration is Fabulously Wealthy. This is going to be interesting in a freegan home.

    The campfire was warm and friendly...
    party3.png
    ...until Liam got too close and caught on fire! (Yes, that's right, Fletcher had to save another friend from burning to a horrible death)
    party4.png
    Liam grew up into this tough-guy type on the spot. Whoa.
    party5.png
    The party wound down into the night: gross plates and good conversation.
    party6.png
    And, you know, a lightning strike. As you do.
    party7.png
    Enough excitement for now.
    party8.png
    gen3-banner.png
  • mightyspritemightysprite Posts: 5,807 Member
    edited January 2021
    Season 8 - Fall

    or: When a Freegan Family Goes Ski-Bumming

    skibums-title.png
    Who says you need money to go on an adventure vacation?
    Chilly breezes were in the air and Fletcher was excited to see her first snow. She and her brother Marcellus took a weekend to go off skiing and otherwise playing on Mt. Komorebi. Their idea was to practice their climbing and then go up to the peak. First mistake: you can't get climbing gear from vending machines! Marcellus sorted that one out onsite. Climbing gear was the only thing they bought on vacation.
    skibums-ordering.png

    They went on a mountain hike-- with one of the triplets from next door, who apparently was there without the rest of his family?
    skibums-hiking.png

    They practiced climbing... but it was harder than they had anticipated. It seemed like they barely got any better in the whole afternoon. The peak suddenly seemed much farther away.
    skibums-climbing.png

    They enjoyed fine cuisine
    skibums-cuisine.png

    They were so accustomed to their climbing gear that they forgot to take it off when bathing
    skibums-bathing-in-climbing-gear.png

    They enjoyed some old friends and new friends in the hot springs at night
    skibums-hot-springs.png

    And they got a good night's sleep. Fortunately, you can stay warm enough in a tent even in the snow, if you are wearing your cold weather clothing when you go in.
    skibums-sleep.png

    When they came home, Fletcher remembered she still had homework...
    skibums-homework.png

    Here are some other things that happened during fall. Rafael became a child
    rafael.png

    Fletcher continued to look awesome
    fletcher.png

    She flirted with BFF Brice a little bit (she's a teen after all)
    brice2.png

    but she's mostly focused on schemes to make money. Currently, it's all about botany. She's been watching Mom playing around in the garden her entire life. She has a few ideas of her own.
    "Mom. What if we took the out-of-season plants OUT of the garden, put them in storage, and planted a whole lot more in-season plants at once? We could keep the whole garden full of plants that constantly produce. We can sell them, and I can make bouquets that sell for even more. I bet just one day of flower harvest would pay for a greenhouse! Can I build a greenhouse?"
    greenhouse2.png

    Ragamuffin was willing to give it a chance.
    greenhouse5.png

    It paid for the greenhouse all right.
    greenhouse1.png

    Ragamuffin admits that, okay, it's possible to garden in more than one way.
    greenhouse3.png

    Someone else in the family might be into gardening too.
    little-gardener.png

    Teen/young adult Marcellus has been conducting quite the love life. First Karla asked him out on a date, about which he was all excited... and then he tried to flirt with her and she vanished into thin air, date immediately over. He wondered if she suddenly became too old for him...
    karla-evaporated.png

    But someone else in Marcellus's life also aged up and, despite some unfortunate fashion choices, is pretty cute. Marcellus went for a visit at Cade's house that quickly turned romantic.
    cade2.png

    Cade spontaneously started eating some fruit salad that Marcellus had made at some point in the past. Aww.
    cade1.png

    Even if interrupted by mom. Why do moms always do that? "I'm just getting that fruit salad dish, honey..."
    cade3.png

    Didn't stop them from enjoying each other once the door was closed
    cade4.png

    And Marcellus got in a good Prank Day prank against mean older sister on his way out!
    cade5.png

    Cade came back to Marcellus's place and, well, they are already soulmates after a few hours, and Marcellus is having sudden thoughts about the future. That escalated quickly.
    cade-escalated-quickly.png

    But even if you have dreams for the future, don't forget to enjoy the moment
    cade7.png

    Of course... you know what's coming. Marcellus aged up. Cade still registers as his boyfriend and soulmate, but they can't flirt or do anything romantic together. It was sad. But then... guess who showed up
    no-more-cade-but.png

    Karla quickly asked Marcellus out again. They made up for lost time. They started out with a dinner date
    date1.png

    It's easier to get to know someone when you're away from home. Marcellus already knew Karla was an art lover. Now he's figured out also that she is clumsy.... and.... loves the outdoors! It's perfect!

    The way this guy looked at Karla bothered Marcellus... and that helped him understand a few things more clearly.
    date3.png
    date4.png

    From there, Karla and Marcellus headed over to the Spice Festival
    date5.png

    and then to the Festival of Light.
    date6.png

    I wonder what they could be wishing for?
    date7.png

    It was a magical evening.
    date10.png

    So... Mr. Romance now has a boyfriend AND a girlfriend. (Did I mention he rolled Romantic for his final adult trait? That generator thing is too perfect sometimes.)
    The family decided to show their support. Love is welcome here.
    lovewelcome.png

    They are less sure about whether they support recipes for merguez.
    spicy.png

    While at the spice festival, Marcellus picked up more than a spicy recipe (and a girl...) he found this mysterious berry growing in a planter
    cowplant1.png

    He brought it home as a gift for Mom
    cowplant2.png

    Ragamuffin was momentarily angry. "I spend a year grafting and tending and waiting, and you just pluck this thing off a bush at a karaoke bar?!" But she was more happy than angry
    cowplant3.png

    and she planted it lovingly
    cowplant4.png

    and named it Daisy.

    And NOW the spliced plants finally have cowplant berries on them. Ragamuffin harvested those too, just in case.
    cowplant5.png

    People keep eating with their feet in the pool and getting cold, so the pool is now closed for the winter.
    covered-the-pool.png

    The Harvestfest gnomes had fun listening to the stereo, I guess?
    gnomes-listened-to-stereo.png

    And for old times' sake...
    for-old-times-sake.png

    A person of a certain age is entitled to eat a grand meal, and then to eat a second grand meal, if he wants to.
    second-turkey-dinner.png

    He is spending lots of sweet quality time with his children while he still can.
    father-daughter.png
    fatherson1.png
    fatherson2.png

    (I'm getting a little sentimental about that.)
    gen3-banner.png
  • mightyspritemightysprite Posts: 5,807 Member
    edited January 2021
    Remembering Cameron Fletcher

    Death comes for us all; must he also lurk at windows? Yikes.
    death-he-comes-to-us-all.png

    Her sad face is a little too real for me... I can't even.
    death-too-real-already-cropped.png

    Yes, the day has come for Cameron. So here is a post to remember a few favorite moments with him.

    01-07-metcameron.png
    01-09-sweetvisit.png
    01-13-sweetdate.png
    first-romance-festival.png
    01-15-proposal.png
    01-17-nighttogether.png
    03-cameron-delighted.png
    25-after-party-more-homework.png
    12-and-made-a-cake.png
    22-yep-shes-having-a-fit.png
    23-awkward-caroling.png
    25-not-same-reaction.png
    48-we-toasted.png
    taught2.png
    teaching-home.png
    father-daughter.png
    gen3-banner.png
  • mightyspritemightysprite Posts: 5,807 Member
    edited January 2021
    Season 9 - Winter

    Ragamuffin grieved the loss of her husband. She was reminiscing about that GeekCon where they'd first met, when all of a sudden Marcellus's phone rang...

    geekcon.png
    And so they reconnected, in the same spot where they met long ago.
    geekcon2.png

    There was a blizzard outside so they skipped the official GeekCon activities in favor of karaoke. Ghost Cameron seemed quite inspired as he sang terribly for his wife
    geekcon4.png

    who was rather overcome by the experience
    geekcon5.png

    The GeekCon competitions were hawking their fun and prizes, but we decided it would be just us and the angels today.
    geekcon6.png

    Ragamuffin and the kids built a memorial garden area featuring Cameron's portrait, an appropriately sad painting, and it also shares the holiday decor of the rest of the lot as well as being right by the pool and kids' area, so he can still be immersed in family life. (I cleaned and rearranged the lot a bit too; it was getting cluttered.)
    memorial-area.png
    rearranged-lot.png

    Cameron decided he wanted to be very immersed in family life indeed. He was quite devoted to visiting, and as a result he is already part of the household again in his ghost form.
    reunited-with-fletcher.png

    Gives "profess undying love" a whole new meaning.
    undying-love.png

    Now that he is deceased, he is allowed to eat only cake from now on.
    cake.png

    My first instinct was to put Cameron back into his old job, since he loves computer engineering more than anything, but the legacy rules prevent it. I guess that makes sense; it does seem to make ghosts overpowered if they can earn 3k a day forever, while the only drawback is breakage of household appliances (which they can also instantly repair). Anyhow, maybe he'll have more fun staying home modding games and tinkering with robots. Eating cake, modding games and making bots: not a bad afterlife?

    Marcellus got into college but hardly cared. Fletcher got into the Villainy distinguished degree at Foxbury and was ecstatic. Her experience growing out-of-season dragonfruits has given her ideas about a lucrative career trading exotic fruits and vegetables to places where they might be... otherwise unavailable.
    got-into-college.png

    Fletcher convinced Marcellus to come to college with her. They moved into the Maritime Manor student housing. Here is Marcellus's room decorated with mementos from his coming-of-age quest, plus a couple of plants since he can't keep a garden here, and some foolish posters that came with the room and make him giggle.
    marcellus-dorm-room.png

    Fletcher immediately started work on a thrilling presentation about trade agreements and interplanetary border control (the more you know the rules, the better to break them later, right?)
    fletcher-getting-ahead.png

    Meanwhile, Marcellus invited Cade over, toasted the New Year with his new roommates, and carried his drink over to the supplies kiosk where he purchased a couple of soccer balls and an easel. They are doing college differently, you see. Fletcher has 4 classes in a distinguished degree; Marcellus has 2 classes in fine art, and a couple of soccer balls and some new friends.
    having-a-drink-and-buying-supplies.png

    Back at home, baby cowplant silently watches and waits...
    baby-cowplant-abides.png

    gen3-banner.png
  • mightyspritemightysprite Posts: 5,807 Member
    edited January 2021
    Season 10 - Spring

    Or: Love and Money at College, Followed By a Very Special Dinner Party

    Ah, dorm life.
    ah-dorm-life.png

    Roommate Ryan has a weird quirk where he is a little overly involved in our lives.
    dorm-life-ryan-overly-involved.png

    (But at heart, this update is all about Mom.)
    dinnerparty2.png
    Fletcher is rocking college, and paying her way through petty crime and scams..... I mean, providing people with all the beautiful things they would like to have in their lives. She's selling her brother's lousy paintings for good money
    selling-brother-s-paintings.png

    She's selling her own excellent flowers.... on second thought, too boring. She keeps giving up on this after a few minutes at a time. She is made for bigger and better things.
    trying-to-sell-flowers.png

    Like frogs! Frogs? Well, she got the idea from her brother's dopey souvenir on his desk
    frogs-hmm.png

    Frogs, hmm... perhaps you can breed them.
    looking-for-frogs.png

    This is pretty lucrative. She's got two eggplant swirl frogs now and has decided to breed them together, then breed two pairs every day and sell the rest.

    Marcellus is finding ways to get outside and enjoy serenity in the midst of university life. Who needs stress?
    swimming.png

    Harvestables are STILL my favorite way to feed the kids!! You can't cook any proper food at college, the dining hall is only open sometimes and the food is hit-or-miss, and so these two are living mostly on apples, pears and spinach from home. Marcellus even covered the counter with harvestables for the roommates, but no one eats them.
    harvestables1.png

    Ragamuffin and Rafael came to visit for lunch. (I guess you can't invite ghosts over?) Rafael autonomously took out his violin and busked in public for tips. What a cute little busker. It runs in the family.
    little-busker.png

    Fletcher added "a little spice" to the dining hall food. I don't think this had any impact on gameplay but I love her face so much
    a-little-spice.png

    This fellow Floyd came over and started trying to chat up Fletcher while she was feeling tense and cranky. She decided to mess with him by sharing a conspiracy theory. Turns out sharing a conspiracy theory is incredibly fun! It filled up her fun need immediately. Bonus: We never heard from Floyd again.
    share-conspiracy-theory-is-very-fun-and-we-never-heard-from-floyd-again.png

    Marcellus discovered the joys of throwing a Monday night kegger.
    monday-night-kegger.png

    He was hoping this would be a low-key fun way to have Karla and Cade meet each other. Can you have two sweeties who enjoy being your two sweeties?
    No, you can not.
    no-you-can-not.png
    No, you can really not.
    no-you-can-really-not.png
    Or at least you can not if one of the sweeties is Cade. He told us off.
    he-told-me-off1.png
    He told us off and then walked away. In the rain.
    he-told-me-off-and-then-walked-away-it-was-raining.png

    Marcellus has now figured out that Cade's third trait is Jealous. Oh dear.

    Meanwhile, Fletcher met someone. Her name is Scarlett.
    scarlett1.png
    She is a cute drama major. She seems to be enthusiastic about whatever nerdy business Fletcher wants to enthuse about.
    scarlett3.png
    She's also a brilliant artist. Wow!
    scarlett2.png
    But... she also talks to the paintings. Like, long conversations. Or is this a long conversation with someone invisible to Fletcher?
    scarlett4.png

    And Scarlett is a Recycle Disciple, which we all know is just a Kleptomaniac with an ego problem.

    Fletcher wonders: What have I gotten myself into?
    scarlett5.png

    They had a fun first date, though. Fletcher decided to dare her to streak at the end of it. She did! And she had a blast! Guess what... Scarlett is also Erratic.
    This is going to be interesting if they keep seeing each other.

    Cade.... Is there any way we can make it up?
    make-it-up.png
    Okay, let's make it up. We didn't want to be apart, truly
    make-it-up2.png

    Marcellus took Cade out for Love Day. Wow, this guy gets more flinty-handsome all the time. Don't try to copy Cade's fedora look, lady in the back.
    date-with-cade.png

    Also: You know when you run into your mom at a restaurant, and she's with a somewhat disturbingly well-built young fellow?
    rafael-teen1.png
    ...and then the young fellow turns out to be your kid brother?
    rafael-teen2.png
    Yep, Rafael aged up while I wasn't looking. He's a teen, he's apparently a Dog Lover now in addition to being a Loner, and a Serial Romantic. (Uh-oh, maybe he's been listening to Marcellus a little too much?) I decided not to go back and roll his traits and aspiration in the generator though. A Loner Serial Romantic seems interesting? I think he needs to be one of those cute but awkward math-y boys who wants to get a dog to help him talk to girls. Maybe slightly withdrawn and attached to mom for now, but not forever.
    rafael-teen-3.png

    And now... well, the kids know they don't have much time with Mom left, so they decided to throw her a wonderful dinner party.
    They prepared in every freegan's favorite free-access kitchen in Myshuno Meadows
    dinner-party-prep1.png
    dinner-party-prep2.png

    The kids warned Ragamuffin that they might need to buy a new table. No way, she said; in true Ragamuffin fashion, she would MAKE the table. And so she did.

    The kids decorated the table with all the fruit and flowers Ragamuffin has blessed the family with.
    dinner-party-0.png
    Well done, Mom.
    dinnerparty1.png
    dinnerparty5.png

    Guess who else showed up at the party?
    dinnerparty3.png
    That's right, Ragamuffin finally became the botanist she always dreamed of becoming. And the family has a new... pet?
    dinnerparty4.png
    cowplant-feeding.png
    cowplant-petting.png
    gen3-banner.png
  • mightyspritemightysprite Posts: 5,807 Member
    edited January 2021
    Remembering Ragamuffin Jones

    01-01-start.png

    It's a milestone when the founder dies.

    The holiday created by her family in her honor is called Sleep Away Day. It is a time to sleep away from the home lot without the aid of money, tents or vacation accommodations.
    I'll probably keep the coming-of-age survival quest as something the heir does right before becoming a teen. It was fun with Marcellus and I think it fits the family, at least for the heirs.

    Here are some favorite moments with my favorite freegan.

    01-03-diving.png
    01-05-nap.png
    01-gardening.png
    02-wedding-gathering.png
    03-in-labor-playing-in-rain.png
    06-nap-when-they-nap.png
    10-cameron-graduated.png
    13-loveday.png
    14-mother-and-son.png
    17-moment-of-sanity.png
    34-triplets.png
    decoctions2.png
    hi-patchy.png
    spicy.png
    cowplant3.png
    talking-about-bat.png
    undying-love.png
    cowplant-petting.png
    dinner-party-0.png
    gen3-banner.png
  • mightyspritemightysprite Posts: 5,807 Member
    edited January 2021
    Season 11 - Summer

    The very morning after her party, Ragamuffin passed away. She left no tombstone or urn. So far she hasn't called to invite anyone to any festivals, either. Everyone misses her. She still registers in their relationship panel as a ghost they know; if she doesn't make contact in time, they'll really have to say goodbye. (I'm a little disappointed as I'd hoped to keep both her and Cameron around as ghost ancestors for the duration of the legacy, but maybe it makes sense for someone so attached to gardening and the natural world to let things take their natural course.)

    Miss you
    miss-you.png

    Comforting my ghost dad as he cries in bed...
    comforting-dad.png

    Meanwhile, Marcellus's college schedule is going exactly the way he likes it:
    marcellus-schedule-smaller-already.png
    Cameron added a beautiful portrait of Ragamuffin to the memorial area, and a flower in place of her missing urn.
    memorial-area.png

    Marcellus was comforted by star gazing with his best friend.
    comfort-from-best-friend.png

    Fletcher took almost superstitious care of the Foxbury campus statue. As you know, a spray bottle is the best way to clean up toilet paper.
    fletcher-cared-for-statue.png

    She tried out some typical college fun
    fletcher-trying-out-college-game.png

    But mostly she combined socializing and work
    but-mostly-combined-socializing-and-work.png

    Marcellus mostly combined socializing and play.
    marcellus-combined-socializing-and-play.png

    (Fletcher did find time to go out and heckle the would-be local comedians.)
    still-found-time-to-heckle.png

    On the weekend, they took another trip to Mt. Komorebi, rock climbed all day and made very slow progress on building their skill. Fletcher kept getting distracted by work.
    komorebi-fletcher-distracted-by-work.png

    They made an evening stop at the bar, where Marcellus made some contributions to tuition costs
    komorebi-marcellus-contributed-to-tuition.png

    And Fletcher, well, you know
    komorebi-fletcher-distracted2.png

    They were going to stay the whole weekend, but Marcellus had some trouble staying asleep in the tent for more than a few minutes. He couldn't nap on the sofa either, and after a while he started to turn invisible. (you can see his plumbbob here but not the rest of him)
    komorebi-marcellus-had-problems.png

    So they went home early and he crashed in his dorm bed.

    The college kids voted in Free Love as their neighborhood action plan. Figures. This is chaos, and mostly everyone loves it.
    free-love-chaos.png

    But not quite everyone.
    free-love-not-everyone-into-it.png
    free-love-not-everyone-into-it2.png

    Marcellus is having thoughts about settling down. His relationship and romance bars are at the top with both sweeties, but only Cade is his soulmate.
    marcellus-settle-down2.png
    marcellus-settling-down.png

    Fletcher threw Marcellus a birthday party at the home of the triplets. (She baked the cake at Myshuno Meadows, naturally.) They were also able to pay their respects to Alice's urn while they were there.
    birthday1.png

    Brice, that's a little too close to stand to someone playing the violin. Among other things, you're likely to get your eye put out by a flying bow.
    birthday-brice-too-close.png

    Fletcher bonded with a good friend over a game of chess
    birthday-chess-with-good-friend.png

    After the party, Marcellus enjoyed the other benefits of this house.
    birthday-other-benefits-to-this-house.png
    gen3-banner.png
  • mightyspritemightysprite Posts: 5,807 Member
    edited January 2021
    Season 12 - Fall

    This is the aftermath of a campus free love moment... a quick kiss on the neck with a total stranger while walking to class. It left a smile on both their faces.
    brief-free-love-moment.png
    Karla seems to be enjoying the free love thing too.
    karla-doesnt-mind-free-love.png

    Fletcher and Marcellus realized they had never once been to the library. So they went. Notice only one of them is actually doing homework. They stayed for maybe 3 hours. There was not another single student in the library the entire time. What a lonely place the library is.
    studying-in-lonely-library-smaller.png

    Happy Harvestfest. Rafael is too cool for you all.
    harvestfest-rafael-too-cool.png

    When he was even at the table, he was absorbed in the ball game.
    harvestfest-absorbed-in-game.png

    Fletcher entertains the table with a description of the apocalypse. Dad and Rafael are shocked and afraid. Marcellus heaves a heavy sigh: he's heard this one a hundred times before...
    harvestfest-apocalypse-m-sighs.png

    Fletcher graduated!
    graduation-fletcher.png

    Marcellus... didn't.
    graduation-m-grades-cropped.png

    It appears that if you don't do the homework and don't do the paper or presentation, but still have a high skill level in the field, you can still pull off a B in the class by showing up and taking notes. But if the skills are new to you... not so much.

    Marcellus nobly showed up to the ceremony and indulged in his own favorite campus activity whilst waiting. No, not THAT favorite campus activity.
    graduation-fiddle-while-waiting.png

    Hooray!
    graduation-cheer.png

    They went out with Rafael and college friends to celebrate. The food took a couple of hours to come. This is how I often feel in restaurants in such circumstances once the food finally arrives.
    graduation-food-finally-came.png

    Rafael left the table to run around behind the restaurant and age up privately.
    graduation-rafael-aged-up-in-private.png

    Fletcher hasn't really been able to stop thinking about Miki Akiyama since that party at the triplets' house. She's so pleasant and thoughtful, and also not so likely to steal things or talk to walls. That's a plus. Come to think of it, we haven't heard from Scarlett much lately. Fletcher gathered her courage and asked Miki out on a date. To a museum. Not the same museum. This was a much better museum date than that other one.
    miki-this-is-a-better-museum-date.png

    These two are so cute together!
    miki-so-cute-together.png

    So cute... yep.
    miki-so-cute-yep.png

    And now they are together. Fletcher got used to the single life during university. She does like waking up alone, but maybe she likes Miki even more.... she feels, shall we say, Fine about losing her single status, and has all these other feelings about Miki.
    miki-moodlets-cropped.png

    One more keg party to celebrate after moving back home.
    keg1.png

    This is how Rafael parties.
    keg-rafael-alone.png

    And...... look who showed up to help out with the dishes??
    ragamuffin-showed-up.png

    That's right! Ragamuffin came home!
    ragamuffin-hug1.png
    ragamuffin-welcome-back.png

    We are all back where we belong.
    ragamuffin-back-where-we-belong.png

    So here's what happened. Her urn was there all along, but it was occupying exactly the same space as Cameron's.
    ragamuffin-urn-location-cropped.png

    That's much better.
    ragamuffin-thats-better.png

    And note to self: time to fence in the pool again!
    note-to-self-close-up-pool.png

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  • mingusssssmingusssss Posts: 131 Member
    ok I LOVE this. and omg, the little rainbow painting :bawling: ouch my heart
  • mightyspritemightysprite Posts: 5,807 Member
    @mingusssss Glad you are enjoying it! I love all the kid art in this game and re-purposing the rainbow painting made me really happy.
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  • mightyspritemightysprite Posts: 5,807 Member
    Season 13 - Winter

    Love undying.

    ghostwedding-love-undying.png

    Also in this update: when one person is your soulmate, but another person is someone you love a lot and who can share your life...

    And... generation 3 is here! Hi Cecilia!
    (I adore this kiddo, already so much personality)
    cecilia-portrait-small-already.png
    The first day of winter is now our annual Sleep Away Day. Everyone was very excited to spend the night under the stars. They chose the park in Brindleton Bay.
    first-sleep-away-day.png

    Ghosts can walk through walls, but they can still make snow angels!
    first-sleep-away-ghost-angel.png

    Loners gonna be alone.
    first-sleep-away-rafael-alone.png

    But when loners also love dogs... they might meet new friends anyway. This is Fidget, a stray. Rafael adopted her after like half an hour of knowing her.
    first-sleep-away-met-fidget.png

    Rafael met a dog lover, too. Brittany arrived at the park, then left. Then arrived, then left. I think she wanted to talk to Rafael the whole time but it took her a while to get up the nerve!
    first-sleep-away-met-dog-lover.png

    The night was not quite a freegan experience. We started trying to find food creatively, but then everyone decided to just grill stuff autonomously while my attention was elsewhere. And then Marcellus got his computer out. Oh well. He says he's already done the freegan quest thing, and Sleep Away Day should just be fun.
    first-sleep-away-not-quite-freegan.png

    Marcellus finally accepted that although he and Cade are soulmates, his life is not the right life for a neat jealous bookworm to share. And it is exactly the right life for a clumsy outdoorsy art lover. So after a great deal of soul searching he invited Karla to join the household. Ragamuffin the ghost also rejoined the household. Here are our two happy couples at Winterfest.
    karlajoin-2-couples-winterfest.png

    And before long... (I think Marcellus's face is my favorite part of this picture)
    karla-belly-marcellus-face.png

    We welcomed little Cecilia.
    cecilia-born.png

    Her non-traditional family takes beautiful care of her
    cecilia-ghosts-tuck-in.png

    and she dreams of them at night!
    cecilia-dream-of-ghosts-smaller-already.png

    We spent our lives together... then we lost each other, and found each other... would you consider eternity?
    ghostwed-proposal.png

    It was the fancy wedding in Myshuno Meadows that they'd dreamed of the first time around, except they couldn't afford it then.
    ghostwedding-procession.png
    ghostwedding-family-in-background.png
    ghostwedding-party.png

    Can not get enough of little Cecilia, oh my goodness
    ghostwedding-party2.png

    Even if it means you still have to change diapers at the fancy wedding.
    (I added potty chairs to the venue, but they refused to potty train her here? maybe you can't do it off the home lot? Anyhow, this certainly reminded me of a couple RL weddings I attended with a little one in tow.)
    ghostwedding-diaper.png

    Meanwhile: Fletcher LOVES her job as an interstellar smuggler.
    fletcher-off-to-work.png

    She built a rocketship in the garden. Cameron wasn't about to miss out on the fun.
    building-rocket.png
    lot-with-rocketship.png

    She went traveling into space on a recreational side trip.
    fletcher-on-mission.png

    She and Miki found other uses for the rocketship too. (Makes you wonder: who is piloting?)
    other-uses-for-rocketship.png

    Patchy is becoming more of a member of the household. He's quite helpful. He follows behind anytime we're planting
    patchy-helping.png

    He trains dogs.
    patchy-trains-dog.png

    And he knows how to relax too.
    patchy-makes-self-comfortable.png

    It's pretty cute how dogs involve themselves in sim activities in this game. They kinda get in the way. Gardening
    dog-in-the-way-of-gardening.png

    Exercise
    first-sleep-away-dogs-curious-about-exercise.png

    Is Fidget helping Rafael meet girls? Well, he doesn't quite have the hang of it... he tried meeting this lady, but ended up greeting her by sniffing his own armpit. Loners have some things to learn.
    rafael-meets-girl-by-sniffing-armpit.png

    Fidget is an awful lot of fun and I was looking forward to dog and toddler cuteness. Unfortunately, before Cecilia was even born, the 7-sim household with 2 ghosts and a dog was proving too much chaos for me. So Rafael and Fidget moved out to a lovely little home in Brindleton Bay. Where he can be alone for perhaps the first time in his life... and have some quiet space to bring the ladies, if he ever figures out how. And we can always go visiting.

    Marcellus took Cade out and explained the new developments in his life as gently as he could. I think Cade saw it coming. They weren't as all over each other on this date as usual, but they did enjoy a good long conversation, a little dancing and a relaxing soak in the hot tub with another couple while taking in the view of San Myshuno through the steam.
    cadedate-hot-tub-time.png

    Remember how Cameron is allowed to eat only cake forever now?

    cowplant1.png

    NOT THAT CAKE

    cowplant2.png

    This is Fletcher's reaction
    cowplant-fletcher-laughs.png

    I guess cowplants don't like ghosts. Which is just as well. (What would happen? Additional death?)
    cowplant-spat-out.png

    Poor Cameron felt uncomfortably drained for quite some time after.
    cowplant-drained-moodlet.png

    I'll close this update with a weird thing. Marcellus got very sad when he heard of the death of a friend, but I'd missed the phone call and didn't get the name. Eventually I figured out that it was Evelyn, Marcellus's next door neighbor from college. Well. Remember several seasons ago when Ragamuffin and Cameron went out for Night on the Town with Alice and Eric, and this waitress kept taking off her clothes and then giving herself pep talks in the bathroom? I didn't put two and two together till now, but Evelyn was that waitress! I suppose the whole family now knows that she was erratic.
    evelyn.png
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  • mightyspritemightysprite Posts: 5,807 Member
    Season 14 - Spring

    The big day is here for Fletcher and Miki. This is most likely our last Fletcher-focused update as she is moving out.
    I have literally never seen Fletcher look vulnerable until this moment. Awwwwww <3
    wedding-vows.png

    (Also plenty of Cecilia in here too, obv)
    Fletcher saved up to buy her own house. It is a well-known historic house in Willow Creek, fitted up for the particular needs of an interstellar smuggler of exotic botanicals.
    house-front.png
    house-floor1.png
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    Charming yard with observatory
    house-yard.png
    Nothing odd is going on here at all.
    house-nothing-odd.png

    Now that she has the house, she needs a beautiful bride to bring home to it. She popped the question in the park
    proposal.png

    She was so happy-relieved at Miki's "yes" that there needed to be an impromptu tickle fight.
    proposal-tickle.png

    Here they are dashing down the aisle! They had the wedding in the same park the following day.
    wedding-run-down-aisle.png

    Cecilia needed a little help to get there.
    wedding-holding-cecilia.png

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    It was a big day for Fletcher. Not only did she get married, but she also figured out how to double-fist red wine.
    wedding-double-fist.png

    wedding-dance-and-eat.png

    wedding-cake-feeding.png

    Here is our little charmer entertaining the guests with stories of grilled cheese. Which I don't think she has ever had.
    wedding-cecilia-entertains-grilled-cheese.png

    On such a happy day, you can play with a toddler like you are in The Matrix!
    wedding-play-with-toddler-like-matrix.png

    You can also enjoy a quiet moment with your sweetie while your toddler energy-crashes on the ground
    wedding-cecilia-asleep.png

    She wasn't the only one
    wedding-miki-asleep.png

    And then: On Love Day, Marcellus's and Karla's second child was born! Welcome Valentin!
    welcome-valentin-marcellus.png
    welcome-valentin.png

    Cecilia is not fond of this idea.
    did-not-want-a-sibling.png

    Well, Patchy is not fond of Cecilia either, so there. Does anyone know what this scratchy spiral line sentiment is? Patchy clearly doesn't like her, so it must be something negative, but I can't tell what.
    patchy-not-fond-of-cecilia.png

    Growing up in paradise:
    cecilia-dolls.png

    Baby loves sushi! Thanks Grandma Ghost for the fresh-caught salmon maki! Possibly all of Cecilia's meals so far have included food from the lot?
    baby-loves-sushi.png

    And thanks Aunt Fletcher for the lesson in shapes and weird cackling!
    fletcher-teaches-blocks.png
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  • mightyspritemightysprite Posts: 5,807 Member
    edited January 2021
    Season 15 - Summer

    including: Free Range School with Marcellus,
    Aging and Forgetting Important Things Like Whether I Live Here,
    Getting Toddlers To Stay In Bed (or Failing),

    and Soulmates' Getaway

    Our magnificent Karla says, Happy summer.

    our-magnificent-karla.png
    Summer began with Ancestors' Day. The gameplay traditions are Attend Holiday Ceremony and Festive Lighting. I felt we should also have a family meal in our memorial area surrounded by the family portraits and urns. Of course, right now, no ancestors are actually absent yet. This will be different as the years go by.
    ancestors-day.png
    It bothers me that Festive Lighting can only be fulfilled by candles that look exactly like Hanukkah menorahs or candles that look exactly like Kwanzaa candles. When you use that tradition for some holiday that isn't meant to be Hanukkah or Kwanzaa it feels like poaching on someone else's real life traditions. I think I'm going to remove Festive Lighting from the gameplay holiday before the next Ancestors Day comes around.

    Marcellus hasn't finished that degree, but he's an enthusiastic teacher of Free Range School! He told the school not to expect Cecilia to attend
    school-cecilia-has-quit.png

    and commenced his children's education in freegan style.

    Subjects:
    Art
    school-art.png

    Logic
    school-logic.png

    Science at Aunt Fletcher's house
    school-science-at-fletchers.png

    (Sometimes Aunt Fletcher and Aunt Miki autonomously sneak off to the secret rocket in the backyard)
    school-rocket.png

    Math
    school-math.png

    Literature
    school-literature.png

    Music
    school-music.png

    Playing
    school-playing.png

    P. E.
    school-pe.png

    Also, naptime
    school-naptime.png

    And sometimes some cuddling with Mom. When they can. 10-7 is a hard work schedule for a parent. Marcellus is great with the children, but they miss mom too.
    karla-and-cecilia-cuddling.png

    Right before Marcellus aged up to elder, he got two phone calls one after the other from his two old college roommates Ryan and Josie. Ryan asked him out on a date, and Josie confessed she's always had a crush on him! What is happening? Some last-ditch effort at airing long-buried feelings before the object of those feelings gets old and gray? Anyway, object of long-buried feelings was tempted, but too busy teaching the kids to give in.

    Marcellus has now... begun to struggle. Maybe it's the long days combined with advancing age. He had to go to the bathroom, but refused to go inside to do it. I know he loves the outdoors, but really. After he wet himself once, we constructed an outdoor convenience for him (which he enjoys greatly)
    marcellus-outdoor-convenience.png

    But then he couldn't quite figure out how to get in to feed the baby
    marcellus-cant-get-in.png

    And then he wasn't sure if he lived here or whether he should feel comfortable entering?
    marcellus-neighbor.png
    marcellus-pretty-much-done-here.png

    Karla played along, gave him a kiss and invited him in for as long as he wanted to stay. 3 pregnancies have kept Karla young (!) so she is younger than Marcellus now. She's good at understanding him on his own terms and making him feel wanted even as things change.

    Things were better after that, but there were a couple more well-meaning but vaguely inappropriate elderly dad moments
    marcellus-inappropriate.png

    Valentín became a toddler! He is independent. He loves all things imaginative.
    valentin-rainbow.png

    He is fierce when striking a pose
    valentin-voguing.png

    He does not want a hug
    valentin-no-hug.png

    Keeping Valentín in bed is a challenge. Longtime readers will remember this happened with Fletcher at this age, too.
    Promising to stay in bed
    bed-talks-about-bed.png

    Sneaking out of bed
    bed-sneaking-out.png

    Being put back into bed
    bed-put-back-in.png

    Getting his own way by going to bed, just not in the way he was told.
    bed-tent.png

    Oh, speaking of fierce, Cameron took an in-game photo of Fletcher that completely by accident was from the back:
    fletcher-portrait.png

    Karla's third childbirth experience fell squarely in the middle of summer. Not much else you can do in a summer labor but suffer through it in the kiddie pool.
    in-labor-in-pool.png

    And here is little Eliana! (She is named after Karla's family, the Elys)
    eliana-born.png

    Here she is as a toddler, looking maybe just a little like AOC?
    eliana-cropped.png

    All three kids together
    3-kids-portrait-smaller.png

    Karla told Marcellus he clearly needed a break from childcare, while what she most wanted was to kick back at home with the kids after a stressful week of indoor work. Marcellus decided that on his weekend away he would reconnect with his soulmate. Cade agreed to a weekend in the woods, IF they could stay in a proper house. (This is not inspired by any movies you may or may not have seen.)
    Marcellus rented a charming cabin and arrived before Cade. He made sure the house was neat as a pin so Cade would feel comfortable, and pampered his favorite bookworm by stocking the shelf with steamy romance novels. He saved a special one, "Twelve Or So Swatches of Woohoo," to give Cade as a gift.
    ed63b1b36cdc851a3950bf0686db52db-full.png

    Marcellus waited for Cade... and waited. He chatted on the porch with a guide for a while
    c1a5e1a82c3bfc359d25deed60a4941f-full.png

    It occurred to him that the guide was cute and Cade wasn't there yet... but no, with age he's finally learned to refrain when needed, like when a jealous soulmate COULD arrive at any moment.

    Marcellus took a bath, had a snack, and started to worry. What if Cade was feeling more hurt by their situation than he'd let on? What if he never intended to show up? Marcellus tried calling Cade but there was no answer. Finally, Marcellus went for a long twilight walk around the extensive rental house and camping area and finally... spotted him! There he is, a long long way from the house.
    02115e373fa6fc04e2dd9c5b403500b1-full.png

    Hello, soulmate.
    c9dfd88b9f02c7854caf1393217ac75d-full.png

    Cade was a little prickly at first. Maybe just his normal jealousy or maybe the miscommunication about finding the cabin.
    8c33a0053c54a7125324626aa8b415e1-full.png

    But he warmed up soon enough, thanks to their deep bond. Marcellus's sweet talk didn't hurt either
    628101f860f6908d3627983a05b241b7-full.png

    Sweet talk and sweet serenades
    63c96e3caa0dbd51622d2dfb36a89560-full.png

    Relaxing together
    32efcb983791e307c7db2cfe75638b1c-full.png

    Cade went for the bookshelf, but it wasn't "Twelve Swatches," it was the violin romance! Awwwwwww.
    26856fbee95099accf65a6f153e96c27-full.png

    Saturday morning was perfect... a morning in the home we never got to have together.
    d25ad1e421fdc3aa7b6462f88b9d2a41-full.png

    They played, relaxed and enjoyed each other.
    64b73c2d0a1232257f644f09f8714fc1-full.png

    While Cade napped, Marcellus went out into the less neat and tidy parts of the woods.
    2adc9a1fac51963e70015a6b4d162cab-full.png
    b014ea8b281918aeddf360971c24dd91-full.png

    But not for too long. His priorities were elsewhere
    3f36604b8539b243f2a1a3f3a1add445-full.png
    63a00ce05a39a1641a85c826eea1e2b0-full.png

    Yes, Cade, we know what you are dreaming of
    134b7c735f8fa787d35f34e152050006-full.png

    Watch out! Mosquitoes may cause you to slap your sweetie!
    cae856276aef63e82ec9b2011295f0ca-full.png

    I wish it would last forever
    f84fc7e45ed2c912ef71a29bc4db7291-full.png

    But eventually it was time to return home. To his beautiful and well-rested partner who was back to enjoying her programming time-- if it could be outdoors
    5fe8f82a57b038f38f6dc2f10ea0398a-full.png

    And time to return to his children for an impromptu dance party.
    39a6837eb02a450106249a16b6147f8e-full.png


    Before we sign off: some fun moments from summer, in no particular order.

    This was just a perfect family moment summing up so much of what I love about this family
    perfect-family-moment.png

    Swimming with Patchy
    swimming-with-patchy.png

    It was Prank Day, so Cecilia scared Grandpa Ghost! He didn't turn purple though.
    she-scared-the-ghost.png

    It's a space alien! It's Cinderella! IT'S A UNICORN!!!
    its-a-space-alien-its-cinderella-ITS-A-UNICORN.png

    Growfruit trees and a happy gardener ghost, lighting up the night with green
    growfruit-trees.png
    Post edited by mightysprite on
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  • BookBearBookBear Posts: 488 Member
    I likey :smile:

    Bookmarked
    Offering free hugs for your time of need.
    8763f1fcdeee963323782673c8c95eee.gif
  • mightyspritemightysprite Posts: 5,807 Member
    Thanks @BookBear :)
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  • mightyspritemightysprite Posts: 5,807 Member
    edited February 2021
    Season 16 - Fall

    Why yes, as a matter of fact, we do rule the playground.
    we-rule-the-playground.png
    A typical chilly evening at the Jones home: everyone is crowded into the cabin to eat, Eliana is telling a long rambling story about ducks, and a ghost has broken the sink but is pretending it never happened.
    typical-chilly-evening.png

    Valentín became a child. Here he is looking fierce and artsy. Meanwhile, the gardener-bot gardens.
    valentin-looks-fierce-meanwhile-gardener-bot-gardens.png

    Cecilia is very happy to have a buddy for free range school. Valentín seems to be bonding with his uncle Rafael-- maybe those two are going to be good friends. And here is Valentín up very late with his serious face on, trying to get that one color just right...
    cv-serious-nighttime-art.png

    These are the excited faces of parents who know the last one is just about to be fully potty trained... any day now...
    eliana-last-one-is-about-to-be-potty-trained.png

    We went to the Humor and Hijinks festival and Eliana came along. "Wait for me!" she says.
    festival-wait-for-me.png

    Fletcher came too. In an outfit I didn't choose for her? I don't think? Anyway, she always looks incredible
    festival-fletcher-copy.png

    Fletcher joined the pranksters, obv. The rest of us joined the jokesters and had some friendly rivalry. Eliana wanted to tell jokes too so she talked shyly to this stranger
    festival-talk-to-stranger.png

    And then needed to recover from having talked to the stranger
    festival-recover-from-stranger.png

    And then crashed on the floor
    festival-recover3.png

    We won, but Cecilia looks vaguely pensive watching the fireworks. "I was so excited about them but now it's sort of a let-down..."
    festival-pensive-watching-fireworks.png

    Harvestfest started out with a slow pajama morning and then OH NO
    harvestfest-fire.png

    Marcellus isn't always with-it these days, but he was on the scene immediately
    harvestfest-fire-marcellus-got-there-first.png

    Mom got there too. Eliana is making a break for it.
    harvestfest-fire-mom-too.png

    Thanks, Dad. You literally saved my life.
    harvestfest-fire-thanks-dad.png

    And then she went out the door to find THIS gnome on the doorstep. Now that's unsettling.
    harvestfest-now-that-is-unsettling-on-the-doorstep-after-fire.png

    Grandma Ghost has just learned how to install fireguards on the fireplaces. Better late than never.
    harvestfest-fire-install-fireguard.png

    Eliana aged up with this adorably mismatched everyday outfit and I loved it and she's keeping it.
    eliana-aging-up.png

    She heard some opera on the radio and is now obsessed with dreams of the stage. Here she is practicing her singing diva drama
    eliana-pretending-to-be-in-the-opera.png

    She can also get her game face on when needed.
    eliana-game-face.png

    All 3 kids enjoying each other
    3-kids-cards.png
    3-kids-monkey-bars.png

    Cameron decided to try the cowplant cake. AGAIN. While my back was turned. Doesn't he remember the last time? He felt drained and went to bed. Ragamuffin noticed that the cowplant was ready to be milked. She got a glass full of a strange green liquid. She went and shook Cameron. "Wake up. I have something for you to try."
    wakeup-i-have-something-for-you.png

    "It looks... it looks... it looks like liquid happiness. Is this mine?"
    wakeup2.png

    He drank it and felt much happier.
    wakeup3.png
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    It was Night on the Town so they celebrated with a date. Freegans love to go get freegan-priced drinks on this night. And their pink bar was dropping anyway what with all the time spent child-rearing and breaking and fixing things around the house.
    date-enjoyed-freegan-priced-drinks.png

    Cameron met a walking talking robot! His mind was blown. This is a few levels up from Gardener Bot, of which he had been so proud until just right now.
    date-met-servo.png

    Ending the evening with a San Myshuno skyline view and flirty time in the hot tub. When you are already dead, you qualify as too old to care what anyone thinks.
    date-flirty-hot-tub.png
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