No skills, lotsa problems

Question

A playthrough of the No skills, no problem scenarioTechnicalities:Spoiler (Highlight to read)All dlc except for Wedding Stories, HSY, Growing together and most kitsGame version: werewolves updateOn: Lifestyles, animal aging, temperature and build mode effects on sims, npc voting, celebsOff: Whims, neighborhood stories (including phone calls), werewolves outside Moonwood MillAll dlc except for Wedding Stories, HSY, Growing together and most kitsGame version: werewolves updateOn: Lifestyles, animal aging, temperature and build mode effects on sims, npc voting, celebsOff: Whims, neighborhood stories (including phone calls), werewolves outside Moonwood MillSim name: Fred CollinsOccult Type: Animal Empath with song-based magic (currently dormant)Traits: Animal Enthusiast, Loves the Outdoors, Neat, Business SavvyPreferences: Likes Gardening, Likes BlueAspiration: VariesLife goal: Own a farm worth 400,000 simoleons, regain his full magic powersHouse rules: None except to start with nothingFred will get dropped into an existing save via save_as, and I will edit the calendar to better reflect his life. There is no need to keep, for example, “Sixam’s Approach” as a holiday, when playing a sim that has no ties to Sixam at all. https://abload.de/img/1r1doi.png  Spoiler (Highlight to read)“I used to sing with the birds… dance through the air. Lack of feathers, differently wired vocal chords and sheer size, none of that mattered. I was one with the swarm. Nowadays I’m not even one with myself anymore. See, I got hit by a Tabula Rasa spell, and an especially nasty variant to boot. The attack left me bereft of my memory: relationships, skills, everything. Worse: Although I can once again accumulate episodic memories, I still cannot relearn my skills and probably never won’t. The doctors aren’t certain themselves in this regard.The birds don’t judge. They don’t laugh me down when I botch my dance moves, nor do they criticize me. That’s just not in their nature. But the feeling of something being off, that is there in full. There is a barrier between me and the birds now. I can still charm them and control them to a certain extent, what  is all my job requires me to do anyway. But the former closeness is gone.” https://abload.de/img/2pjdd3.png  “Speaking of my career… I belong to a special section of the FBI that has access to portal technology. We perform regular policework, but on a moment’s notice. Willow Creek in the morning, Strangerville by noon and Mt. Komorebi for the nightshift is our bread ‘n butter.I made it out of the hospital in time to participate in the annual BBQ. I even brought fireworks I had won at the Humor &amp; Hijinks festival the day before. That led my co-workers to believe I was fully cured and stood firmly on the ground again. Cool. In charge. In truth I hardly even knew who was who…” https://abload.de/img/3nldur.png  “You sometimes have photos in your gallery that you have no idea how to caption? What is even going on here? Goofball Gavin being himself, I suppose. Gavin is the type of co-worker whose mental image easily survives a memory wipe. One just needs to know his type, the office bully who thinks himself so funny, who never chips in on the coffee, but who will elbow his way to snatch the last cup from the machine. I wasn’t particularly looking forward to seeing this man at work again tomorrow and made no secret of this.And that was when everyone fell silent. For Gavin had gotten lain off in fall already and was now working as a private eye. It had been huge, something one doesn’t forget easily. Yet here I was, with the hole in my memory that was now present again in everyone’s perception.We stood and said nothing until Gavin of all people slowly started to recount an episode from his life as private investigator. His new office. Two kittens he had adopted. The boyfriend he was smitten with. Like me, he had lost everything, or close to everything, close enough to feel the same I was feeling now. But since that loss he had also experienced gains. The realization gave me hope. I’m back, am I not?” https://abload.de/img/4midxz.png  Taking over the narration from Fred here.I chose to start in the detective career to take advantage of the basement cleanup at career level two or three that pays out furniture. Detectives for the most part don’t need skills, just the Observant trait. Handling the chemical analyzer can fail based on Logic, so that could become a problem. The first time Fred had to perform an analysis as job task, he cheesed it by using “Test analyzer”. He succeeded and Hank at the adjacent machine was none the wiser how badly Fred’s brain damage really was. Deceiving kind Hank of all people left a bad aftertaste, but anything to keep your job!Soon as I hit career level 3, I will also apply for university, one class per semester, to take advantage of the scholarships. I’m curious how far a zero skill sim gets just with putting in effort. If Fred should manage to get a degree he will switch to a work from home career. https://abload.de/img/5caen5.png  Have in idea just how powerful that Tabula Rasa spell was! It not just wiped Fred’s memory, but his whole house with backyard. I suppose he can be glad that he still has a legal ID. Fortunately the spellcaster responsible for his is now behind bars.I chose this lot because it had served me during the millionaire scenario well already. With a grill nearby and plenty of lilies growing in the neighborhood starting here is like playing easy mode.Although I won’t be able to graft or even evolve plants, normal quality lilies sold in bulk should generate a nice income on their own. Not pictured are the rabbit stump Fred hadn’t unlocked by the time and an improvised roof I put up to shelter the plants.Longterm I definitely want to try for a golden chicken. I don’t think I will bother with a house, but we’ll see. https://abload.de/img/6q0e6f.png  Fred bugs every celeb crossing his way for an autograph that he then has appreciated and sold to collectors. The premade celeb here was gullible enough to comply, but my played sim Carl Manfred has standards – he refused to get commodified. https://abload.de/img/7kxcjc.png  In time Fred rediscovered bonds he had forged before getting hit by the spell – like his relationship to Rika Tachibana. I’m working through the lower tiers of several aspirations to farm satisfaction points and Soulmates is incredibly easy.  https://abload.de/img/809f1c.png  This is still in the first week of gameplay, but in the context of the story it’s the culmination of several years of having worked alongside each other and steadily having grown closer. I don’t plan to move Rika in, in fact, I chose her specifically because as a municipally owned android she legally cannot leave the police station.  https://abload.de/img/screenshot5783zof29.png  And finally a look at the calendar. I play with aging off, seven day seasons and one year equaling one real life year. Fred is now 23 and will celebrate a birthday every year with a cake, but no blowing out the candles before he turns forty.Election day is basically Neighborhood Brawl plus watch TV and Attend Ceremony. Even in years when there is no big election, there still may be something to vote on locally.I think the other holidays are all self-explanatory. New skill day though, lol, the irony of the game offering it to this particular sim!“I used to sing with the birds… dance through the air. Lack of feathers, differently wired vocal chords and sheer size, none of that mattered. I was one with the swarm. Nowadays I’m not even one with myself anymore. See, I got hit by a Tabula Rasa spell, and an especially nasty variant to boot. The attack left me bereft of my memory: relationships, skills, everything. Worse: Although I can once again accumulate episodic memories, I still cannot relearn my skills and probably never won’t. The doctors aren’t certain themselves in this regard.The birds don’t judge. They don’t laugh me down when I botch my dance moves, nor do they criticize me. That’s just not in their nature. But the feeling of something being off, that is there in full. There is a barrier between me and the birds now. I can still charm them and control them to a certain extent, what  is all my job requires me to do anyway. But the former closeness is gone.” https://abload.de/img/2pjdd3.png  “Speaking of my career… I belong to a special section of the FBI that has access to portal technology. We perform regular policework, but on a moment’s notice. Willow Creek in the morning, Strangerville by noon and Mt. Komorebi for the nightshift is our bread ‘n butter.I made it out of the hospital in time to participate in the annual BBQ. I even brought fireworks I had won at the Humor &amp; Hijinks festival the day before. That led my co-workers to believe I was fully cured and stood firmly on the ground again. Cool. In charge. In truth I hardly even knew who was who…” https://abload.de/img/3nldur.png  “You sometimes have photos in your gallery that you have no idea how to caption? What is even going on here? Goofball Gavin being himself, I suppose. Gavin is the type of co-worker whose mental image easily survives a memory wipe. One just needs to know his type, the office bully who thinks himself so funny, who never chips in on the coffee, but who will elbow his way to snatch the last cup from the machine. I wasn’t particularly looking forward to seeing this man at work again tomorrow and made no secret of this.And that was when everyone fell silent. For Gavin had gotten lain off in fall already and was now working as a private eye. It had been huge, something one doesn’t forget easily. Yet here I was, with the hole in my memory that was now present again in everyone’s perception.We stood and said nothing until Gavin of all people slowly started to recount an episode from his life as private investigator. His new office. Two kittens he had adopted. The boyfriend he was smitten with. Like me, he had lost everything, or close to everything, close enough to feel the same I was feeling now. But since that loss he had also experienced gains. The realization gave me hope. I’m back, am I not?” https://abload.de/img/4midxz.png  Taking over the narration from Fred here.I chose to start in the detective career to take advantage of the basement cleanup at career level two or three that pays out furniture. Detectives for the most part don’t need skills, just the Observant trait. Handling the chemical analyzer can fail based on Logic, so that could become a problem. The first time Fred had to perform an analysis as job task, he cheesed it by using “Test analyzer”. He succeeded and Hank at the adjacent machine was none the wiser how badly Fred’s brain damage really was. Deceiving kind Hank of all people left a bad aftertaste, but anything to keep your job!Soon as I hit career level 3, I will also apply for university, one class per semester, to take advantage of the scholarships. I’m curious how far a zero skill sim gets just with putting in effort. If Fred should manage to get a degree he will switch to a work from home career. https://abload.de/img/5caen5.png  Have in idea just how powerful that Tabula Rasa spell was! It not just wiped Fred’s memory, but his whole house with backyard. I suppose he can be glad that he still has a legal ID. Fortunately the spellcaster responsible for his is now behind bars.I chose this lot because it had served me during the millionaire scenario well already. With a grill nearby and plenty of lilies growing in the neighborhood starting here is like playing easy mode.Although I won’t be able to graft or even evolve plants, normal quality lilies sold in bulk should generate a nice income on their own. Not pictured are the rabbit stump Fred hadn’t unlocked by the time and an improvised roof I put up to shelter the plants.Longterm I definitely want to try for a golden chicken. I don’t think I will bother with a house, but we’ll see. https://abload.de/img/6q0e6f.png  Fred bugs every celeb crossing his way for an autograph that he then has appreciated and sold to collectors. The premade celeb here was gullible enough to comply, but my played sim Carl Manfred has standards – he refused to get commodified. https://abload.de/img/7kxcjc.png  In time Fred rediscovered bonds he had forged before getting hit by the spell – like his relationship to Rika Tachibana. I’m working through the lower tiers of several aspirations to farm satisfaction points and Soulmates is incredibly easy.  https://abload.de/img/809f1c.png  This is still in the first week of gameplay, but in the context of the story it’s the culmination of several years of having worked alongside each other and steadily having grown closer. I don’t plan to move Rika in, in fact, I chose her specifically because as a municipally owned android she legally cannot leave the police station.  https://abload.de/img/screenshot5783zof29.png  And finally a look at the calendar. I play with aging off, seven day seasons and one year equaling one real life year. Fred is now 23 and will celebrate a birthday every year with a cake, but no blowing out the candles before he turns forty.Election day is basically Neighborhood Brawl plus watch TV and Attend Ceremony. Even in years when there is no big election, there still may be something to vote on locally.I think the other holidays are all self-explanatory. New skill day though, lol, the irony of the game offering it to this particular sim!

enkischmidt · Answer

Summer Year 1Narrated by Fred to his various pen pals  https://abload.de/img/05.05.23_23-02-54rvdyt.png “See? This is why Rika and me is a match made in heaven! She cleaned away the puddles I had left after watering my lilies! Everyone else always drones on about “only a neat freak will mop an outdoors puddle”, but Rika gets it. We aren’t even “Neat Freaks”, in fact, I don’t care much about cleanness, but I value order. I suppose this is why I became a cop in my younger years. Nowadays I dream of running a ranch. (Saying “nowadays” might sound silly coming from an objectively young man, but believe me, 17 and 23 makes a huge difference.)” https://abload.de/img/05.05.23_23-06-35inegu.png  “Our wedding in the Yacht Club of Brindleton Bay… I feel we rushed into this, when in truth this is the natural end point of having known each other for six years and a relationship that evolved over time. From Rika’s perspective, anyway. Me, I can only watch our old videos like one watches a romance movie. But the heart knows what it wants and the old closeness is definitely still there, even though my memory is gone. And the important thing is that we are forging new memories together from now on. Unlike skills, memories stick.” https://abload.de/img/05.05.23_23-13-45m4fnv.png  “I have forgotten what my house and the landscaping looked like, and in turn the spell made everything vanish. What is left now is a tent stuffed with my few newly purchased belongings, in close proximity to a very convenient sight-blocking bush. My home thus looks no different from a homeless’ camp, with the difference that I own the lot.I sheltered the lilies I had planted at the beginning of summer with a simple roof resting on four wooden pillars from home depot – the pinnacle of my handiness skills these days. Why the need for growing flowers on an almost commercial scale? I’ll tell you: The doctors called back, saying there was a therapy available for me. Full restoration of my episodic memories and the ability to learn skills and magic again, although I’ll have to start anew in both. But the therapy will cost me, 400,000 simoleons, to be specific. I need to scrounge every penny I can lay my hand on! And absolutely no building a house, to save even more!” Note: In basegame gardening might be the best way to tackle this scenario, even though the sim cannot build gardening skill. But for Fred I’m really sold on a combination of my favorite career and homesteading.More:Spoiler (Highlight to read) https://abload.de/img/05.05.23_23-32-185ie8q.png  “At work I tend to use the computer in forensics, since they are less contested than the ones in the main office. - Huh? What’s Captain Fowler doing in the crime lab with a drink in hand?”  https://abload.de/img/05.05.23_23-32-42l1iis.png Captain Fowler: “Happy Birthday, Officer Collins!““Haha! The whole police station was celebrating that day, as if me turning twenty-four was a national holiday! Granted, I am on friendly terms with most of them normally, but so briefly after my epic fight against the Tabula Rasa spellcaster I was still something like a local celebrity.” https://abload.de/img/05.05.23_23-45-07fgdvs.png  “Birthday or not, work was work, and I even had to teleport as far as Del Sol Valley today. Fortunately it is summer here, too, otherwise I might have caught a cold from the sudden change in temperature. I wouldn’t have been the first of our unit for that to happen to.Thinking of temperatures so much, I opted for a honey cake for my birthday cake (because honey makes for great protection against both heat and cold). Rika even sampled a slice of her own, despite not needing to eat.” https://abload.de/img/05.05.23_23-48-56gmdha.png  “I admit I’ve taken a liking to outdoors living, to the point of calling it my lifestyle.” https://abload.de/img/05.05.23_23-49-36hzfo6.png  Rika: “Why the bush, when you have a perfectly good tent right next to it?”Fred: “To… uh… appreciate the tent even more, after having experienced bush woohoo in all its pointy branches and bug-ridden leaves glory?”Rika: “Haha, nice save! But, honestly, you’ll want a house by winter, lest your “lifestyle” becomes your certified cause of death. Deathstyle isn’t cool, my love!”She has a point, hasn’t she? https://abload.de/img/06.05.23_00-04-01sbc9o.png  “The computers at work are a godsend, being fully enabled for private use, especially for impoverished officers or those like me, who are sitting on a 10,764 simoleons reserve of cash, that they cannot dip into for medical reasons. I use the work stations to keep up with the friends I made across the globe in the line of my work and now also to apply for scholarships. Maybe I won’t need the 400K therapy, after all, maybe strict academic learning is all that’s required to teach me some solid skills again!”“There was a slight change this C-student, skill-less cop could have gotten into a distinguished program, but he didn’t. Too bad, but I of course understand. What I do not understand is why I wasn’t considered for Helping Hand, Education for Everybody and Citizen of Newcrest. I may live in a tent, but I have a legal address and never failed to pay property tax! With only a single scholarship – workplace student - I’d have to cover the difference for even a single class out of my own pocket. I’ll have to think about whether I really want to do this.”Fred may have doubts, but I really want to try uni with this sim. It just took a while to level up his career for the workplace student scholarship. As for the pen pals, I maintain them to complete the postcard collection for the Collector aspiration. It’s more difficult than expected, because the cards aren’t getting delivered when I’m at work. I only have a single one so far. https://abload.de/img/06.05.23_00-06-376eibd.png  “Exercises! What’s the point of them, if I do not build muscle memory? I only get tired needlessly… Yet my Lawful Neutral brain stubbornly makes me go though my old routines. I feel as if after the high from my marriage, the universe is now piling a c-ton of negatives on me to balance out the bill.” https://abload.de/img/06.05.23_00-06-38xxcg5.png  “I used to do a lot of the repairs at work myself, even though we are supposed to call the repairman for insurance reasons. When my co-workers saw me do my “guerilla repairing” again today, that confirmed their impression that I was back to my old self. They know I’m not, for example it is hard to overlook that I’m not a spellcaster anymore, but I still deceive them about the exact extent of my impairment. I feel bad about lying, but I need to keep this job. I have hope for a therapy now, and for a normal family life some day!” https://abload.de/img/05.05.23_23-32-185ie8q.png  “At work I tend to use the computer in forensics, since they are less contested than the ones in the main office. - Huh? What’s Captain Fowler doing in the crime lab with a drink in hand?”  https://abload.de/img/05.05.23_23-32-42l1iis.png Captain Fowler: “Happy Birthday, Officer Collins!““Haha! The whole police station was celebrating that day, as if me turning twenty-four was a national holiday! Granted, I am on friendly terms with most of them normally, but so briefly after my epic fight against the Tabula Rasa spellcaster I was still something like a local celebrity.” https://abload.de/img/05.05.23_23-45-07fgdvs.png  “Birthday or not, work was work, and I even had to teleport as far as Del Sol Valley today. Fortunately it is summer here, too, otherwise I might have caught a cold from the sudden change in temperature. I wouldn’t have been the first of our unit for that to happen to.Thinking of temperatures so much, I opted for a honey cake for my birthday cake (because honey makes for great protection against both heat and cold). Rika even sampled a slice of her own, despite not needing to eat.” https://abload.de/img/05.05.23_23-48-56gmdha.png  “I admit I’ve taken a liking to outdoors living, to the point of calling it my lifestyle.” https://abload.de/img/05.05.23_23-49-36hzfo6.png  Rika: “Why the bush, when you have a perfectly good tent right next to it?”Fred: “To… uh… appreciate the tent even more, after having experienced bush woohoo in all its pointy branches and bug-ridden leaves glory?”Rika: “Haha, nice save! But, honestly, you’ll want a house by winter, lest your “lifestyle” becomes your certified cause of death. Deathstyle isn’t cool, my love!”She has a point, hasn’t she? https://abload.de/img/06.05.23_00-04-01sbc9o.png  “The computers at work are a godsend, being fully enabled for private use, especially for impoverished officers or those like me, who are sitting on a 10,764 simoleons reserve of cash, that they cannot dip into for medical reasons. I use the work stations to keep up with the friends I made across the globe in the line of my work and now also to apply for scholarships. Maybe I won’t need the 400K therapy, after all, maybe strict academic learning is all that’s required to teach me some solid skills again!”“There was a slight change this C-student, skill-less cop could have gotten into a distinguished program, but he didn’t. Too bad, but I of course understand. What I do not understand is why I wasn’t considered for Helping Hand, Education for Everybody and Citizen of Newcrest. I may live in a tent, but I have a legal address and never failed to pay property tax! With only a single scholarship – workplace student - I’d have to cover the difference for even a single class out of my own pocket. I’ll have to think about whether I really want to do this.”Fred may have doubts, but I really want to try uni with this sim. It just took a while to level up his career for the workplace student scholarship. As for the pen pals, I maintain them to complete the postcard collection for the Collector aspiration. It’s more difficult than expected, because the cards aren’t getting delivered when I’m at work. I only have a single one so far. https://abload.de/img/06.05.23_00-06-376eibd.png  “Exercises! What’s the point of them, if I do not build muscle memory? I only get tired needlessly… Yet my Lawful Neutral brain stubbornly makes me go though my old routines. I feel as if after the high from my marriage, the universe is now piling a c-ton of negatives on me to balance out the bill.” https://abload.de/img/06.05.23_00-06-38xxcg5.png  “I used to do a lot of the repairs at work myself, even though we are supposed to call the repairman for insurance reasons. When my co-workers saw me do my “guerilla repairing” again today, that confirmed their impression that I was back to my old self. They know I’m not, for example it is hard to overlook that I’m not a spellcaster anymore, but I still deceive them about the exact extent of my impairment. I feel bad about lying, but I need to keep this job. I have hope for a therapy now, and for a normal family life some day!”

enkischmidt · Answer

Fall Year 1An incident at Harvestfest  https://abload.de/img/06.05.23_01-42-57b9d35.png Around harvestfest Fred realized that he had no friends outside work. None living in the same city as he, that was. And so his guests that day were Rika (naturally), Hank and Gavin.Gavin: “Nice camp! Sure beats the bus stop I lived at...”Hank: “Your bus stop came with a cute vendor you’re going steady with now, so you really have no reason to complain.”Fred: “And you only lived there because you were keeping the other vendor stall across the street under surveillance. Nobody vanished your house into a different plane of existence!”Hank: “Speaking of, where did all the swag go that you took when we cleaned out the DPD’s basement?”Fred: “I only kept the mirror and sold the rest. You wouldn’t think there’s a market for used prison doors and iron bars!”For real, look at the long list of items gained at promotion! This stage of their career always comes with a nice windfall for my police sims from selling all of it. But it also makes it look as if their basement is the worst dump ever.Spoiler (Highlight to read)  https://abload.de/img/06.05.23_01-44-58c9f0h.png In their career even a major holiday was not really a day off for Fred and his friends. While he was holding hands with Rika on the bench, Hank and Gavin discussed their latest case. It was a testament to how important this case was, if the law enforcement and the private eye, occupations that were normally at odds with - or at least wary of - each other, were sharing information so readily. https://abload.de/img/06.05.23_01-45-36wgd06.png  Suddenly Gavin took a picture of… Hank’s manhood?! https://abload.de/img/06.05.23_01-46-44afcne.png  Hank didn’t found it funny.  https://abload.de/img/06.05.23_01-50-06stdkx.png Rika: “I don’t understand what just happened, I mean, I SAW, I just don’t get the context. But I had a good laugh!”Gavin: “At my expense, sure…”Fred: “Well, Gav, what did you expect Hank to do, after you photographed his…? You SO brought this upon yourself!”  https://abload.de/img/06.05.23_01-44-58c9f0h.png In their career even a major holiday was not really a day off for Fred and his friends. While he was holding hands with Rika on the bench, Hank and Gavin discussed their latest case. It was a testament to how important this case was, if the law enforcement and the private eye, occupations that were normally at odds with - or at least wary of - each other, were sharing information so readily. https://abload.de/img/06.05.23_01-45-36wgd06.png  Suddenly Gavin took a picture of… Hank’s manhood?! https://abload.de/img/06.05.23_01-46-44afcne.png  Hank didn’t found it funny.  https://abload.de/img/06.05.23_01-50-06stdkx.png Rika: “I don’t understand what just happened, I mean, I SAW, I just don’t get the context. But I had a good laugh!”Gavin: “At my expense, sure…”Fred: “Well, Gav, what did you expect Hank to do, after you photographed his…? You SO brought this upon yourself!”And what else happened  https://abload.de/img/06.05.23_00-26-21f9f9c.png “Did you notice the coop in the harvestfest photos? That’s right, I have chickens now! Meet Molly, Polly, Dolly and, uh, The Rooster. Yeah, I know. Loving animals doesn’t magically make one creative with names… But aren’t they the cutest?”Spoiler (Highlight to read)  https://abload.de/img/06.05.23_01-22-0559cev.png “I found a fertilized golden egg in the coop sooner than expected! From what I’ve read, chickens have to really like you to lay one of those, so I assume Polly here is the mother, since she likes me best out of all my feathered babies.”  https://abload.de/img/06.05.23_01-22-06anfgq.png “One morning I found three golden regular eggs in the coop. This is getting better and better!” https://abload.de/img/06.05.23_02-07-29scc6d.png  “At this point I grew ambitious. Instead of selling the golden eggs fresh from the nest, I invested in a fridge to keep them fresh for the festivals, when people are willing to pay higher prices. I never wanted to be greedy or a miser, but my situation made me one nonetheless, it seems.While being at it, I also ordered basic kitchen and bathroom fixtures and a waterbed. And with that, I suddenly had a house again. I felt accomplished like never before since my accident!” https://abload.de/img/06.05.23_02-07-309eetj.png  “Starting this fall semester I’m officially a drama student. Theatre is way out of my comfort zone normally, but here’s my reasoning: No actor can have expertise in every role they play, oftentimes the way a play or the movies portray occupations like mine are even downright wrong. Could this be the one field where lack of skill makes no difference whatsoever? An actor skilled at gardening has exactly the same chance of correctly playing, say, a race car driver, as have I, with no skill whatsoever, because we both lack experience as race car drivers. We just pretend.”Well, there is such a thing as an acting skill existing… And I think subconsciously Fred also hopes to learn how to even better hide the fact that he has lost his professional skills from his co-workers. https://abload.de/img/06.05.23_02-15-53wic0f.png  “Aw, will you look a this? Meet Aurelius, my first chick! He will grow into a golden rooster. I can’t wait to watch him do all the firsts: the first time being outside the coop, first time catching a worm… I may never be a father, but I sure can be a good landlord and godfather!” https://abload.de/img/06.05.23_02-33-12bsffw.png  Fred was absorbed in his work, so he didn’t notice his wife flirt with a co-worker. Not even one of my own characters, but a randomly generated sim that the game sometimes manages to slip into my heavily curated police crew. Looks like someone has neglected the love of his life over the uni and baby chick business lately!  https://abload.de/img/06.05.23_02-34-29bpc8o.png I moved Fred closer so that Rika was in his line of sight now and you know what happened? She noticed Fred and turned around to kiss him! Apparently flirting was flirting and stopped there, and kissing was kissing and as such reserved for only Fred.(The temp will still get fired again aka deleted.)  https://abload.de/img/06.05.23_01-22-0559cev.png “I found a fertilized golden egg in the coop sooner than expected! From what I’ve read, chickens have to really like you to lay one of those, so I assume Polly here is the mother, since she likes me best out of all my feathered babies.”  https://abload.de/img/06.05.23_01-22-06anfgq.png “One morning I found three golden regular eggs in the coop. This is getting better and better!” https://abload.de/img/06.05.23_02-07-29scc6d.png  “At this point I grew ambitious. Instead of selling the golden eggs fresh from the nest, I invested in a fridge to keep them fresh for the festivals, when people are willing to pay higher prices. I never wanted to be greedy or a miser, but my situation made me one nonetheless, it seems.While being at it, I also ordered basic kitchen and bathroom fixtures and a waterbed. And with that, I suddenly had a house again. I felt accomplished like never before since my accident!” https://abload.de/img/06.05.23_02-07-309eetj.png  “Starting this fall semester I’m officially a drama student. Theatre is way out of my comfort zone normally, but here’s my reasoning: No actor can have expertise in every role they play, oftentimes the way a play or the movies portray occupations like mine are even downright wrong. Could this be the one field where lack of skill makes no difference whatsoever? An actor skilled at gardening has exactly the same chance of correctly playing, say, a race car driver, as have I, with no skill whatsoever, because we both lack experience as race car drivers. We just pretend.”Well, there is such a thing as an acting skill existing… And I think subconsciously Fred also hopes to learn how to even better hide the fact that he has lost his professional skills from his co-workers. https://abload.de/img/06.05.23_02-15-53wic0f.png  “Aw, will you look a this? Meet Aurelius, my first chick! He will grow into a golden rooster. I can’t wait to watch him do all the firsts: the first time being outside the coop, first time catching a worm… I may never be a father, but I sure can be a good landlord and godfather!” https://abload.de/img/06.05.23_02-33-12bsffw.png  Fred was absorbed in his work, so he didn’t notice his wife flirt with a co-worker. Not even one of my own characters, but a randomly generated sim that the game sometimes manages to slip into my heavily curated police crew. Looks like someone has neglected the love of his life over the uni and baby chick business lately!  https://abload.de/img/06.05.23_02-34-29bpc8o.png I moved Fred closer so that Rika was in his line of sight now and you know what happened? She noticed Fred and turned around to kiss him! Apparently flirting was flirting and stopped there, and kissing was kissing and as such reserved for only Fred.(The temp will still get fired again aka deleted.)

enkischmidt · Answer

Christmas Year 1 https://abload.de/img/06.05.23_23-50-391xcax.png  Christmas 2039 - or “Year One”, as Fred put it - saw its share of snow, but overall the weather was mild. Fred therefore opted for a potted Christmas tree, that he’d return to the landscaping company after the holidays. This wasn’t just Fred being a nature enthusiast, he honestly wouldn’t have known how to fit a tree into his little house.Testing the lights in the deep of night… beautiful!Spoiler (Highlight to read) https://abload.de/img/06.05.23_23-53-37u6iuq.png  The first gift Fred received from his bird friends. It was a high level cook book… From his parents he received the latest tablet, worth one thousand simoleons. Selling it would have put Fred closer to his 400,000 $ goal, and his parents would have understood this, but he just couldn’t bring himself to do it. Besides, the portable little computer was useful! Fred could keep notes on it, browse the internet wherever he was during a case and play games to pass time. The joy of his new soccer game vaned, when the avatar gained skills and steadily improved, exactly the ability Fred had lost… https://abload.de/img/07.05.23_00-06-282qfxj.png  The holiday was a series of highs and lows, it seemed. When Rika came over, Fred gifted her a new winter outfit in her favorite color combination, blue and orange. Seeing Rika’s face light up was definitely a high!I felt really clever about this gift, since it didn’t require spending my actual ingame money, just a quick session in CAS. https://abload.de/img/07.05.23_00-12-15tzicx.png  All this effort, only for the turkey to come out “bad” quality, after all  :( Maybe Fred shouldn’t have followed the instructions from his new cookbook. It certainly expected the reader to have previous experience that Fred no longer possessed. Knowing you had made mistakes, but being unable to learn from them and improve hurt.I think I miss the cooking skill the most. https://abload.de/img/06.05.23_23-53-37u6iuq.png  The first gift Fred received from his bird friends. It was a high level cook book… From his parents he received the latest tablet, worth one thousand simoleons. Selling it would have put Fred closer to his 400,000 $ goal, and his parents would have understood this, but he just couldn’t bring himself to do it. Besides, the portable little computer was useful! Fred could keep notes on it, browse the internet wherever he was during a case and play games to pass time. The joy of his new soccer game vaned, when the avatar gained skills and steadily improved, exactly the ability Fred had lost… https://abload.de/img/07.05.23_00-06-282qfxj.png  The holiday was a series of highs and lows, it seemed. When Rika came over, Fred gifted her a new winter outfit in her favorite color combination, blue and orange. Seeing Rika’s face light up was definitely a high!I felt really clever about this gift, since it didn’t require spending my actual ingame money, just a quick session in CAS. https://abload.de/img/07.05.23_00-12-15tzicx.png  All this effort, only for the turkey to come out “bad” quality, after all  :( Maybe Fred shouldn’t have followed the instructions from his new cookbook. It certainly expected the reader to have previous experience that Fred no longer possessed. Knowing you had made mistakes, but being unable to learn from them and improve hurt.I think I miss the cooking skill the most.New Year’s Eve, Year 1No longer single, but still childless, Fred tended to get the short stick at work when it came to holiday shifts. He was given the choice between working at Christmas or New Year’s Eve, but one of those two holidays he had to give up.  https://abload.de/img/07.05.23_00-54-36w8fwm.png  And so, while everyone else in town was getting tipsy, Fred sat at the DPD central station together with the other unfortunates. He usually worked from a smaller station and was stunned at seeing that his workplace’s whole main office would have fit into central station’s cafeteria. Here the officers had pizza (made by Shawn, the sim to the right) and non-alcoholic drinks (made by Fred with a portable bar).This is a residential lot, a live-in police station where Rika and the other pictured sims live.Spoiler (Highlight to read) https://abload.de/img/07.05.23_00-55-54tiec1.png  Mistletoe to go! https://abload.de/img/07.05.23_00-59-060id17.png  Fred had managed to sneak in some fireworks, that the nightshift officers ignited in a calm hour.  https://abload.de/img/07.05.23_01-01-19qpiu9.png   https://abload.de/img/07.05.23_01-03-22o4es3.png  And then it was Goodbye 2039, Welcome 2040 (aka Year 2)! https://abload.de/img/07.05.23_00-55-54tiec1.png  Mistletoe to go! https://abload.de/img/07.05.23_00-59-060id17.png  Fred had managed to sneak in some fireworks, that the nightshift officers ignited in a calm hour.  https://abload.de/img/07.05.23_01-01-19qpiu9.png   https://abload.de/img/07.05.23_01-03-22o4es3.png  And then it was Goodbye 2039, Welcome 2040 (aka Year 2)!

enkischmidt · Answer

New Year, Year 2(Ingame this is really the morning/noon of New Year’s Eve, but it fits better the next day)Fred was looking at another nightshift today, and considered dozing through the day, but then again, it was January 1, the day of the annual Polar Bear Plunge, one of his favorite holiday customs. He didn’t want to miss this for any reason!Neither Rika nor Hank were particularly interested in ice bathing, that left only Gavin out of Fred’s three friends. Gavin immediately agreed to take the plunge together with Fred. He suggested to meet at The Bluffs and brought along his employees from his private investigations agency. The private detectives are a club with an office as their hangout. One day Gavin invited Fred to join it and I agreed.  https://abload.de/img/07.05.23_00-26-32xufzf.png The investigators were still dressed for the mountain excursion they had undertaken recently. Except for proper Connor, who was dressed for a day at the office. Like always, regardless of weather or occasion. The moment this realization struck Fred, he knew that he had known Connor in his life before the Tabula Rasa spell. Gavin confirmed this suspicion when he introduced Fred to only two of his employees, not to all three of them.Gavin: “Danny, Todd - this is Fred Collins. He wasn’t told yet, but Captain Fowler wants him to act as an intermediary between us and the Law Enforcement this year.”Todd: “So – a double agent?”Gavin: “That would be the cool way to call it, yeah.”Fred shook hands with everyone, smiling especially wide at Daniel and Todd, his new acquaintances. This wasn’t just meeting someone you had merely forgotten, but a person you had never met before. Never!Met!Before!For amnesic Fred this encounter was like a milestone, although he took care not to voice his feelings in this matter. The others would be aware of them anyway, but kept their mouths shut about it, too.  https://abload.de/img/07.05.23_00-26-42vvicj.png Daniel seemed to be a lot more level-headed than his partner and had some choice words for the concept of jumping into ice cold water today: “This is madness!”Spoiler (Highlight to read)The hypocrite! As a fellow Loves the Outdoors sim, Daniel has Polar Bear Plunge marked as “Loved tradition”, too!The hypocrite! As a fellow Loves the Outdoors sim, Daniel has Polar Bear Plunge marked as “Loved tradition”, too! https://abload.de/img/07.05.23_00-27-30voizt.png  SPLASH!Fred was in first (and so far also alone).Spoiler (Highlight to read) https://abload.de/img/07.05.23_00-27-590jew0.png  Being submerged for just a few seconds was already enough to give Fred cold water shock. But it had been worth it! Surrounded by the elements and the investigators, Fred felt a surge of CONFIDENCE. https://abload.de/img/07.05.23_00-28-30aocrx.png  Connor: “You need to get out of there quickly, lest you freeze to death in the cold!”Fred: “Nevermind, Con’. See? I’ve already donned my cold weather outfit again!” https://abload.de/img/07.05.23_00-28-43swi2w.png  Connor: “That I’d see the day I’d agree with Daniel on something… This really is madness! Get out of there immediately! Your “cold weather clothes” won’t do you any good, if they are soaked through!”  https://abload.de/img/07.05.23_00-30-090zecp.png Fred: “Oh, no biggie. I have a second set!”Connor gave a sigh from his artificial lungs, then asked what they’d do next.Fred: “Next we do this again! See, I have a bug on me that registers a successful Polar Bear Plunge and sends a notification to the Polar Bear Club database. For some reason my jump just now didn’t count.”Connor: “Okay, but let’s go to Del Sol Valley! Temperatures should be a tad bit more comfortable there, while still fulfilling the conditions for the Polar Bear Plunge.”Fred had worked on several cases in Del Sol Valley last year, the coordinates were still saved in his teleportation device. And technically he was on duty today, so what did it matter that his shift would start only later today? In the blink of an eye the officer had brought his companions over to Del Sol Valley alongside him… https://abload.de/img/07.05.23_00-30-10a3ffk.png  …only to learn that without a legit search warrant he couldn’t enter the house with the swimming pool he’s had his eye on.Gavin: “What now?”Sims can’t knock on Celeb houses. https://abload.de/img/07.05.23_00-33-01tkijq.png  Fred: “Now we walk around the house! We don’t have business with the family living here, all we need is their pool!”Gavin: “Whoa, Fred, first willful misuse of work equipment for personal gain, now bending of the rules, all in the first twelve hours of the new year? There may still be hope for you, haha!” https://abload.de/img/07.05.23_00-33-39j9iym.png  Gavin: “So, do we jump in now?”Fred: “No. Let’s raise the stakes a little and SKINNY DIP!” https://abload.de/img/07.05.23_00-34-2503dmu.png  And in they went!Funnily the three humans jumped in readily, while the two androids had reservations. Connor is Proper, so no surprise here, but Daniel is Hot-headed, so in the context of the story I have no idea what’s gotten into him today to exercise such restraint. Probably still hungover from yesterday. https://abload.de/img/07.05.23_00-34-55vld2u.png  Octavia Moon with five naked men in her swimming pool: “This is fine.” https://abload.de/img/07.05.23_00-35-18a3ilq.png  Despite having the landlady’s implicit permission to use her swimming pool, the investigators didn’t linger in there for long. It was freezing cold, after all.However, while the investigators celebrated their deed with confetti, the Polar Bear Plunge still hadn’t registered for Fred.“What have I done differently? Wait… what if it’s not just my skills that won’t stick, but also achievements? Could the Tabula Rasa spell block the data getting sent to the club server?!”On a sidenote, yup, Daniel is definitely hungover/confused. Look at the outfit he spun into: the kitty slippers! (This is his cold weather outfit for indoors) https://abload.de/img/07.05.23_00-35-19dvet1.png  An hour before his workshift started, Fred visited Stargazer Lounge, where he got a new sensor. Turned out the first one had been damaged, because the second immediately picked up the fulfilled tradition and registered it into the club database. Fred now had earned his 2040 badge, the latest in an unbroken list since his 14th birthday. (Could it be that a sim needs to exit the pool via the ladder for the jump to count? That’s the only thing I can think of. I always have problems with Polar Bear Plunge registering for some sims, but not for others, even in the same household.) https://abload.de/img/07.05.23_00-27-590jew0.png  Being submerged for just a few seconds was already enough to give Fred cold water shock. But it had been worth it! Surrounded by the elements and the investigators, Fred felt a surge of CONFIDENCE. https://abload.de/img/07.05.23_00-28-30aocrx.png  Connor: “You need to get out of there quickly, lest you freeze to death in the cold!”Fred: “Nevermind, Con’. See? I’ve already donned my cold weather outfit again!” https://abload.de/img/07.05.23_00-28-43swi2w.png  Connor: “That I’d see the day I’d agree with Daniel on something… This really is madness! Get out of there immediately! Your “cold weather clothes” won’t do you any good, if they are soaked through!”  https://abload.de/img/07.05.23_00-30-090zecp.png Fred: “Oh, no biggie. I have a second set!”Connor gave a sigh from his artificial lungs, then asked what they’d do next.Fred: “Next we do this again! See, I have a bug on me that registers a successful Polar Bear Plunge and sends a notification to the Polar Bear Club database. For some reason my jump just now didn’t count.”Connor: “Okay, but let’s go to Del Sol Valley! Temperatures should be a tad bit more comfortable there, while still fulfilling the conditions for the Polar Bear Plunge.”Fred had worked on several cases in Del Sol Valley last year, the coordinates were still saved in his teleportation device. And technically he was on duty today, so what did it matter that his shift would start only later today? In the blink of an eye the officer had brought his companions over to Del Sol Valley alongside him… https://abload.de/img/07.05.23_00-30-10a3ffk.png  …only to learn that without a legit search warrant he couldn’t enter the house with the swimming pool he’s had his eye on.Gavin: “What now?”Sims can’t knock on Celeb houses. https://abload.de/img/07.05.23_00-33-01tkijq.png  Fred: “Now we walk around the house! We don’t have business with the family living here, all we need is their pool!”Gavin: “Whoa, Fred, first willful misuse of work equipment for personal gain, now bending of the rules, all in the first twelve hours of the new year? There may still be hope for you, haha!” https://abload.de/img/07.05.23_00-33-39j9iym.png  Gavin: “So, do we jump in now?”Fred: “No. Let’s raise the stakes a little and SKINNY DIP!” https://abload.de/img/07.05.23_00-34-2503dmu.png  And in they went!Funnily the three humans jumped in readily, while the two androids had reservations. Connor is Proper, so no surprise here, but Daniel is Hot-headed, so in the context of the story I have no idea what’s gotten into him today to exercise such restraint. Probably still hungover from yesterday. https://abload.de/img/07.05.23_00-34-55vld2u.png  Octavia Moon with five naked men in her swimming pool: “This is fine.” https://abload.de/img/07.05.23_00-35-18a3ilq.png  Despite having the landlady’s implicit permission to use her swimming pool, the investigators didn’t linger in there for long. It was freezing cold, after all.However, while the investigators celebrated their deed with confetti, the Polar Bear Plunge still hadn’t registered for Fred.“What have I done differently? Wait… what if it’s not just my skills that won’t stick, but also achievements? Could the Tabula Rasa spell block the data getting sent to the club server?!”On a sidenote, yup, Daniel is definitely hungover/confused. Look at the outfit he spun into: the kitty slippers! (This is his cold weather outfit for indoors) https://abload.de/img/07.05.23_00-35-19dvet1.png  An hour before his workshift started, Fred visited Stargazer Lounge, where he got a new sensor. Turned out the first one had been damaged, because the second immediately picked up the fulfilled tradition and registered it into the club database. Fred now had earned his 2040 badge, the latest in an unbroken list since his 14th birthday. (Could it be that a sim needs to exit the pool via the ladder for the jump to count? That’s the only thing I can think of. I always have problems with Polar Bear Plunge registering for some sims, but not for others, even in the same household.)Next: Enough with the fluff, it’s back to the challenge and money earning!

enkischmidt · Answer

Back to work! (Winter Year 2) https://abload.de/img/07.05.23_01-15-18jsfag.png  “Crime map routines with the wife – normally we do not feel comfortable to tackle a criminal case together. Doing everything as a unit sooner or later suffocates love, so we take care to remain separate at work at least. But so briefly after the holidays it is hard to follow that policy.”Spoiler (Highlight to read)Fred: “Shouldn’t that Gina-gal’s trial be today? You know, the thief I apprehended before the holidays?” Rika: “I think so. But she hasn’t shown her face so far.”The arrested sim had vanished from the holding cell after two days of me not having shown up for work because of the holidays. Fred had to re-issue the APB.  https://abload.de/img/07.05.23_01-17-24dzf0p.png Fred: “Think you can evade justice by holing up in Strangerville? Tell you what: EVERYONE thinks that. This town is in my quick-jump list in the teleporter!”Gina: “PLUM technology!!!” https://abload.de/img/07.05.23_01-17-25f1ihn.png  “The Tropical Experience in Brindleton Bay… No amount of laps is sufficient to improve my swim strokes. I’m stuck at a beginner’s doggy paddle. It’s embarrassing and also saddening. No more diving for seashells, spear fishing or taking photos with the underwater camera…” https://abload.de/img/07.05.23_01-37-281wd00.png  “Sitting here, pondering my life choices. I finished the semester with a C, but I do not want to blame this on the Tabula Rasa yet. After all, I missed two lectures. Uh… I’m smelling in my uniform. Do I want to pursue my current career, even though I hardly have time to change into my everyday outfit between classes, work, caring for the chickens and gardening? It might be wiser to drop at least one of those… the least productive. What’s one cop less in the streets? I can’t be THAT important that me going homesteader fulltime would hurt the city. Plus, I’d have more time for Rika and my friends, including new ones. I’m not sure if this Close-Knit lifestyle with just two friends is right for me.” https://abload.de/img/07.05.23_01-56-0507e5f.png  “You noticed it’s dark already? That’s right, I don’t sleep much. Never did. Maybe it’s a spellcaster thing, like dormant elf blood or something. Anyway, I managed to fulfill my New Year’s Resolution the very last day of winter. Now I know what all the exercise and swimming is good for, even if I don’t learn anything from it: Stay (or get again) fit!”I could finally afford Never Weary for Fred. No more losing out on the nights! The career really wasn’t a good idea. I overvalued the free swag from the early promotions, now it’s just a drag. Fred: “Shouldn’t that Gina-gal’s trial be today? You know, the thief I apprehended before the holidays?” Rika: “I think so. But she hasn’t shown her face so far.”The arrested sim had vanished from the holding cell after two days of me not having shown up for work because of the holidays. Fred had to re-issue the APB.  https://abload.de/img/07.05.23_01-17-24dzf0p.png Fred: “Think you can evade justice by holing up in Strangerville? Tell you what: EVERYONE thinks that. This town is in my quick-jump list in the teleporter!”Gina: “PLUM technology!!!” https://abload.de/img/07.05.23_01-17-25f1ihn.png  “The Tropical Experience in Brindleton Bay… No amount of laps is sufficient to improve my swim strokes. I’m stuck at a beginner’s doggy paddle. It’s embarrassing and also saddening. No more diving for seashells, spear fishing or taking photos with the underwater camera…” https://abload.de/img/07.05.23_01-37-281wd00.png  “Sitting here, pondering my life choices. I finished the semester with a C, but I do not want to blame this on the Tabula Rasa yet. After all, I missed two lectures. Uh… I’m smelling in my uniform. Do I want to pursue my current career, even though I hardly have time to change into my everyday outfit between classes, work, caring for the chickens and gardening? It might be wiser to drop at least one of those… the least productive. What’s one cop less in the streets? I can’t be THAT important that me going homesteader fulltime would hurt the city. Plus, I’d have more time for Rika and my friends, including new ones. I’m not sure if this Close-Knit lifestyle with just two friends is right for me.” https://abload.de/img/07.05.23_01-56-0507e5f.png  “You noticed it’s dark already? That’s right, I don’t sleep much. Never did. Maybe it’s a spellcaster thing, like dormant elf blood or something. Anyway, I managed to fulfill my New Year’s Resolution the very last day of winter. Now I know what all the exercise and swimming is good for, even if I don’t learn anything from it: Stay (or get again) fit!”I could finally afford Never Weary for Fred. No more losing out on the nights! The career really wasn’t a good idea. I overvalued the free swag from the early promotions, now it’s just a drag. A chance meeting &amp; our golden rooster grows up (Spring Year 2)Spoiler (Highlight to read)When I loaded my game, one of the three sages stood right in front of Fred’s lot! https://abload.de/img/07.05.23_23-14-23jpd04.png  Morgyn started walking and wouldn’t stop at getting yelled at:“Morgyn? Morgyn Ember? Wait up! Wait for meeeeee!” https://abload.de/img/07.05.23_23-17-09cee2w.png  Morgyn: “Magister emeritus Collins… You called my name. I take it you remember me again?”Fred: “That would be the day! No, I don’t remember. But you’re well known. I’d have to have lived under a rock not to have heard of you those past months.” https://abload.de/img/07.05.23_23-17-35yxd5y.png  Morgyn: “I’ve watched you, Collins. Few people are able to raise golden chickens as effortlessly as you, or harvest golden eggs in such great number. Although your skills may be gone, your raw talent remains with you. The feature that determines the fields we’re good in, you know?”Fred: “That’s like saying I still have my lot, even though my house is gone!”Morgyn: “The whole street, to be precise, but let’s not complicate matters now.”Fred: “The whole what?!”Morgyn: “Visit me at the academy one of these day, then you’ll see for yourself.” https://abload.de/img/07.05.23_23-49-51byf6s.png  Fred didn’t know how to squeeze in time for that visit, but speaking of golden chickens… After five months Little Aurelius had grown up into an impressive rooster and Goldmary wasn’t far behind him!Guess who forgot to switch “animal aging” to “on” in the beginning of the scenario? I could have had a golden chicken much earlier already! In addition to Aurelius I hatched three more male chicks, that I traded in for treats, and the hens Goldmary and Rosa, that I kept. Don’t worry about the little roosters, they are extremely rare, in high demand and didn’t get eaten.When I loaded my game, one of the three sages stood right in front of Fred’s lot! https://abload.de/img/07.05.23_23-14-23jpd04.png  Morgyn started walking and wouldn’t stop at getting yelled at:“Morgyn? Morgyn Ember? Wait up! Wait for meeeeee!” https://abload.de/img/07.05.23_23-17-09cee2w.png  Morgyn: “Magister emeritus Collins… You called my name. I take it you remember me again?”Fred: “That would be the day! No, I don’t remember. But you’re well known. I’d have to have lived under a rock not to have heard of you those past months.” https://abload.de/img/07.05.23_23-17-35yxd5y.png  Morgyn: “I’ve watched you, Collins. Few people are able to raise golden chickens as effortlessly as you, or harvest golden eggs in such great number. Although your skills may be gone, your raw talent remains with you. The feature that determines the fields we’re good in, you know?”Fred: “That’s like saying I still have my lot, even though my house is gone!”Morgyn: “The whole street, to be precise, but let’s not complicate matters now.”Fred: “The whole what?!”Morgyn: “Visit me at the academy one of these day, then you’ll see for yourself.” https://abload.de/img/07.05.23_23-49-51byf6s.png  Fred didn’t know how to squeeze in time for that visit, but speaking of golden chickens… After five months Little Aurelius had grown up into an impressive rooster and Goldmary wasn’t far behind him!Guess who forgot to switch “animal aging” to “on” in the beginning of the scenario? I could have had a golden chicken much earlier already! In addition to Aurelius I hatched three more male chicks, that I traded in for treats, and the hens Goldmary and Rosa, that I kept. Don’t worry about the little roosters, they are extremely rare, in high demand and didn’t get eaten. https://abload.de/img/07.05.23_23-52-287ud4o.png  “I think of Aurelius as a teenager, not a full grown rooster yet, and his dad thinks the same. But although he won’t be a fuöö adult anytime soon, Aurelius already helps a lot in the garden. The moment he sees something that’s of less than perfect quality, be it a plant or piece of produce, Aurelius stares at it in a condescending way, and nature bends over backwards to meet his standards.”Spoiler (Highlight to read) https://abload.de/img/08.05.23_00-11-300hen3.png  “Gardening with Aurelius…” https://abload.de/img/08.05.23_00-11-59j6enx.png  “…and with Rika, isn’t she a dear? I wonder… I’m still crippled and money is tight, with me saving up for therapy and her saving up for buying herself free from the city… Should we have a science baby under these circumstances?”Rika is Cheerful, I don’t think she’d mind her baby’s father being poor, as long as they both love the little one. Mother and child could come over often for family life (Rika already is a frequent visitor), and then return to the police station to take advantage of the high quality furniture there.  https://abload.de/img/08.05.23_00-11-300hen3.png  “Gardening with Aurelius…” https://abload.de/img/08.05.23_00-11-59j6enx.png  “…and with Rika, isn’t she a dear? I wonder… I’m still crippled and money is tight, with me saving up for therapy and her saving up for buying herself free from the city… Should we have a science baby under these circumstances?”Rika is Cheerful, I don’t think she’d mind her baby’s father being poor, as long as they both love the little one. Mother and child could come over often for family life (Rika already is a frequent visitor), and then return to the police station to take advantage of the high quality furniture there. Many little steps &amp; a career question (Spring Year 2) https://abload.de/img/08.05.23_00-13-4687i5r.png  Canning to the background of the ever growing postcards collection.I learned that Fred can cook at skill level 1 when I made a fruit salad, and cooking level 1 opens four canning recipes: canned mushrooms, meat substitute, tomato sauce and apple jam. So after a quick foray for mushrooms and tomatoes as well as buying the Marketable trait, Fred’s overnight canning factory opened!Spoiler (Highlight to read) https://abload.de/img/08.05.23_00-14-25x0fqi.png  Fred: “This is easy! Sold in bulk, even low skill preserves make good money, especially with Aurelius having boosted the ingredients’ quality! Why didn’t I think about this earlier?”One kitchen fire later:That’s why. 400$ down the drain and insurance paid only 80$.At Easter, Gavin came over with a present (from the “good neighbor” event, mind you, he lives in Evergreen Harbour. Aside from Fred there is only the Anderson household in Newcrest, with seven sims.) https://abload.de/img/08.05.23_01-06-3550d6b.png  Gavin: “Heard through the grapevine that you consider quitting policework. Maybe you could reconsider? The city needs you.”Fred: “I see. - Why did they send YOU of all people to persuade me to stay? You have a negative teamwork rating!”Gavin: “But I’m the only dude at the precinct who can unironically give a gift box to another dude!”Fred smiled, but they both of course knew the real reason: Gavin was only a member of the Law Enforcement in spirit, no longer legally. If Fred turned down the proposal of a mere private investigator, that wouldn’t count as a defeat of the police force. Fred was about to ditch the job Gavin had gotten fired from… And now the city made Gavin beg Fred to stay... Fred couldn't help but think that this was a bit messed up.Let’s see what the present is… A jar of jam or an upgrade part, maybe? https://abload.de/img/08.05.23_01-08-04lqigm.png  Oh, shoot. A hand-crafted violin of the finest quality. That cannot have come cheap. The city REALLY wants to keep Fred on the payroll.Too bad that the violin only reminds Fred of what he has lost and that he needs to make money to unlock his ability to re-learn the instrument. So nothing is decided yet. https://abload.de/img/screenshot5811cudbe.png  Fred left for the egg hunt at the Bramblewoods National Park to stave off his career decision for a bit longer – why did I even bother completing the postcards collection, if he easily completes the decorative eggs by going once around the bushes? https://abload.de/img/screenshot5810tocwj.png  Assorted achievements: An A+ for the second semester, a 19$ crystal sold to the Simsonian museum for a whopping 233$ (courtesy of the completed Collector aspiration and followed by many more such “donations”) and 50,000 simoleons in cash. Not bad! (But neither good. At this pace he’ll be stuck like this for eight more years.) https://abload.de/img/08.05.23_00-14-25x0fqi.png  Fred: “This is easy! Sold in bulk, even low skill preserves make good money, especially with Aurelius having boosted the ingredients’ quality! Why didn’t I think about this earlier?”One kitchen fire later:That’s why. 400$ down the drain and insurance paid only 80$.At Easter, Gavin came over with a present (from the “good neighbor” event, mind you, he lives in Evergreen Harbour. Aside from Fred there is only the Anderson household in Newcrest, with seven sims.) https://abload.de/img/08.05.23_01-06-3550d6b.png  Gavin: “Heard through the grapevine that you consider quitting policework. Maybe you could reconsider? The city needs you.”Fred: “I see. - Why did they send YOU of all people to persuade me to stay? You have a negative teamwork rating!”Gavin: “But I’m the only dude at the precinct who can unironically give a gift box to another dude!”Fred smiled, but they both of course knew the real reason: Gavin was only a member of the Law Enforcement in spirit, no longer legally. If Fred turned down the proposal of a mere private investigator, that wouldn’t count as a defeat of the police force. Fred was about to ditch the job Gavin had gotten fired from… And now the city made Gavin beg Fred to stay... Fred couldn't help but think that this was a bit messed up.Let’s see what the present is… A jar of jam or an upgrade part, maybe? https://abload.de/img/08.05.23_01-08-04lqigm.png  Oh, shoot. A hand-crafted violin of the finest quality. That cannot have come cheap. The city REALLY wants to keep Fred on the payroll.Too bad that the violin only reminds Fred of what he has lost and that he needs to make money to unlock his ability to re-learn the instrument. So nothing is decided yet. https://abload.de/img/screenshot5811cudbe.png  Fred left for the egg hunt at the Bramblewoods National Park to stave off his career decision for a bit longer – why did I even bother completing the postcards collection, if he easily completes the decorative eggs by going once around the bushes? https://abload.de/img/screenshot5810tocwj.png  Assorted achievements: An A+ for the second semester, a 19$ crystal sold to the Simsonian museum for a whopping 233$ (courtesy of the completed Collector aspiration and followed by many more such “donations”) and 50,000 simoleons in cash. Not bad! (But neither good. At this pace he’ll be stuck like this for eight more years.)

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