Atlas ISBI 5: Apparently You Can Die From That

Hey readers! Guess what totally awesome, unexpected event happens in this chapter? Go on, guess!

If you'd like to experience the fullness of joy and tragedy in an ISBI household, read on...

We start with...Austin being autonomously helpful and responsible? What is this madness?

Anyway, we left off with Georgia and Austin as teens: Georgia is fantastic and Austin is...well, he's Austin. When Georgia becomes a young adult (which will happen before Olympia becomes a teen, unfortunately) we will have our heir poll for generation two of the Atlas family. Then Roman, who has been frantically cleaning, repairing, upgrading, child-rearing, and occasionally mopping up the piss of his beloved wife Miko, can finally rest into the unthinking bliss of autonomy.

And speaking of Miko, here she is! I have literally no idea why I took this picture, but judging by the light outside the window, I'm guessing this is a picture of her going to bed in the early morning or something. It would not be the first time.

And then there's our other, oft-forgotten family member, Asia. Sometimes I wonder if she's a figment of Roman's imagination, because except for that occasional times Miko plays cat-wand with Asia, the rest of the family just ignores her. Poor kitty. Austin does his best to make up for it and they are actually companions now.

We are getting hit with a lot of mood swings and bad school moodlets, and it's hell on the school projects and the stuffed animals, but I care more about the school projects.

See? Even perfect angel baby Georgia is willing to destroy her own project. That's a sign of an unhinged mind, in her case, at least.

And then there's Hugo. WHY OH WHY do I keep saying "yes" to him coming over?!

Roman is also working on his Bestselling Author aspiration. It's not like he'll ever finish it on autonomy, so we might as well work on it now.

He also provides food for the family so they will not be lulled into thinking any of them should cook. He's a good torch-holder and founder, all told. Good job, Roman.

Oh hey, look, Miko's playing with Roman's imaginary friend. How cute.

And then she goes and sleeps in Olympia's bed, trying to trip up my careful plans to keep the kids rested, but Olympia luckily didn't take the bait.

Roman is splitting his time between upgrades to all plumbing, appliances, and electronics to make life easier for his heir, and also writing and managing the family. Most of the time he can be found with a wrench in his hands though.

And unfortunately, when he leaves his computer unguarded, Mr. "Empathy? I've never met her!" himself, Austin jumps on to troll teh forums. But, Austin, isn't there something you're forgetting while you're here antagonizing preteens on tumblr or whatever?

Austin: "Nah, I think I'm good."

Are you sure? ARE YOU REALLY SURE?

Austin: "Whew, exhausting day. Welp, everything taken care of. Guess I'll just go to bed."

ARGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH.

While I'm photographing Austin being irresponsible, Georgia goes to fix the stove autonomously, and is rewarded by being crispy-fried. She managed to put herself out before I could even get Roman there, despite what this picture looks like. Miko and Asia are, as usual, just being in the way.

Roman: "Now, honey, what have I told you about using the stove when Daddy's not around?"
Georgia: "Do not EVEN right now, Dad."
Fire: "LOL I'm still burning even though it says I've been put out."

Sigh.

-10

Georgia managed to get a shower in before school because she's amazing (vote for her! do it!), but she and her siblings still manage to come home with rotten moods, though Austin did get his high school A. Georgia in particular has the "everyone is looking at me" mood swing and she's mortified. Thank goodness she's a teen.

+5

However, that won't be the case much longer because it is her birthday and Roman has a cake ready. We'll just cake her up, take a look at the three kiddos, and post a poll.

Happy birthday, Georgia!

Somehow she manages to make Miko's face look better than Miko does. Her final trait is Good, so she did randomly (based on the Legacy Challenge website's inherited generator) inherit Miko's entire personality including aspiration. That's pretty incredible.

Okay, Georgia, let's get you and your sibs prettied up for some heir poll pics.

Georgia: "You're going to have to wait on that..."

WHAT?

Georgia: "I just...they're all still looking at me. I can feel it! It's so...mortifying...urk…"

FOR THE RECORD, THIS WAS NOT ON THE APPROVED LIST OF BIRTHDAY ACTIVITIES.

I didn't even know teen mood swings could carry over into adulthood, much less kill you, but apparently you can die from that. GOOD TO KNOW. THANKS, GAME.

No one but Roman could be bothered for her actual birthday, but they're all there for her collapse. I really don't know if that's a good or bad thing. Roman immediately begs for her life, and I assume we'll get a do-over since they're the best of best friends you can be.

Side note, besides being unhappy as a lover of sims, this was actually really triggering for me because my sister and I lost our brother when he and I were in our 20s and my sister was young like Olympia, and this all just hit a little too close to home. I thankfully didn't observe my brother's death personally, but seeing the whole family, including child Olympia, crying over Georgia's body really upset me. I'm going to keep joking around because it is just a game, but I kind of felt - I don't know - a responsibility? maybe? to let you know that this did more than just make me mad. This is like the third or fourth accidental death I've ever had in any sims game (99.9% of my sims die of old age) and the first one where the sim didn't kind of have it coming (a knowledge sim in Sims 2 that wouldn't stop stalking the ghosts) or where I couldn't cheat and fix things (a child, also in Sims 2, that died in a freak lightning fire). So, you know, I was kind of unprepared for this.

Anyway, to my eternal disbelief and rage, Roman LOSES THE BET and cannot save his daughter.

Miko: "Wow, that's so sad. Really affects you. How sad it is. In fact, it's just making me so tired..."

DON'T YOU DARE.

UGH MIKO. YOU'RE AN EMBARRASSMENT.

-5

So yeah, Georgia is for real dead, and there's no way in game rules I can bring her back, I'm pretty sure. I built a pretty little flowers and candles memorial site for her in the backyard, and Roman immediately rushed out to mourn her. They were so close, and she was just literally the best sim I've ever had. I'm so mad and upset. Still. And I played this months ago.

-10

Is this a bad place to take the points for the two positive traits Georgia earned as a NTH for the few seconds she lived as a young adult? Things have been a little upside down the last several pictures, so there wasn't a good spot. Oh well. She had in-range manners and responsibility, almost entirely influenced by her own actions. She required very little parenting, though apparently she could have used some emotional support there at the end.

+10

Back to the sad stuff, Roman does go and comfort his youngest, who was still crying in the kitchen. Everyone else went to bed because they're true idiots and callous to boot.

And then, still sniffling, Olympia slowly and sadly eats a slice of Georgia's fatal birthday cake. I think this is where I rage-quit for about a month.

When I eventually came back, I found Roman comforting himself with Asia.

And Austin, to my surprise, mourning his sister autonomously like a person with normal emotions. It's hard to tell in this sized-down pic, but you can see Olympia through the leftmost window, staring off vacantly in the general direction of Georgia's empty bed. I was not sure I could continue playing this depressing household. But then, something miraculous (but also stupid, in the typical sims way) happened.

Georgia invited Roman to hang out at her house, which just so happens to be our house too, since she is now buried in the backyard, and apparently that counts as a separate 'house' to the game. Whatever. I'm just so happy to see her again immediately, even if she is in ghost form. For her part, she's just as cheerful as usual.

She is a little uncomfortable because her death cake is rotting in the other side of this room and she's still obsessively neat, but she still manages to become best friends with her dad.

Roman then gives her the lily he tried unsuccessfully to feed to Miko all those many years ago. I felt like he was trying to apologize for losing the bet with Grim. Long after Roman has joined Georgia in the afterlife, Georgia will be forever haunting the house as a gorgeous and neat YA with an uneaten lily in her pocket, and there's something a little poetic about that.

Anyway, Georgia accepted the flower of forgiveness, and they settled in to play Mario Kart like nothing had ever changed. This did wonders for my mood.

While she was still out on the visit, Roman managed to get her close enough for him to paint a portrait of her.

We mounted it above her excellent-quality science fair project so no visitor or resident of this house can ever forget the most competent sim to have ever lived in it. The painting didn't turn out half bad, even if you can see a sketch of a nude male form through her head. The perils of painting ghosts in your studio, I suppose. I still don't have our first torch holder immortalized but Georgia is, and personally, I feel good about my priorities.

Georgia went back to her grave when the visit timed out, and then it was time to celebrate Olympia's teen birthday. I have no idea where Miko was in all this time. Probably hibernating or, more likely, standing outside complaining about the weather she's voluntarily standing around in. Anyway, happy birthday, Olympia. Now that Georgia's gone, we've reset the clock a bit and we're waiting for Austin's young adult birthday for the heir poll, but Olympia will be able to compete as a teen.

Austin: "Happy birthday to you, you smell like a monkey...oh shit, she got really pretty. I'm doomed."

YESSSSSS! If I can't have Georgia, I'll be damned if I'm stuck with Austin. Olympia really came out of her awkward phase with force. She's gorgeous and she's finally got that curly hair working in her favor. She's still a geek from childhood, but now she has converted to her dad's vegetarian ways, and she aims to be a Renaissance Sim. I need another shot at Renaissance Sim since I missed it so spectacularly with founder Natalie Gregory of The Gregory Legacy in ye olden days of too-difficult-aspirations when the game was new. I wouldn't mind finally having it completed under my belt. On another note, Olympia is the only one of the kids to inherit Roman's eye shape, but she is also the only one with Miko's dark eye color. She's a nice mix and I don't miss her bottom jaw as much as I did when she was a kid. I wanted to keep her in glasses, but I had to find a pair that still showed off her gorgeous eyes.

Here's her outfit. I LOVE her. Georgia is still my best sweet angel baby ever (omg literally now *sob*), but Olympia is pretty great too. I tried to express a certain worldview with her outfits, something like "I'm a geek and proud, and also a considerate vegetarian, and have I told you about the power of yellow?" Yeah, that's a thing, right?

For Olympia's birthday, her gift is that I got her mother a pair of pants for her pjs. You're also welcome, readers. No more Miko butt cheek in this story.

Here's what our three choices would have looked like for the heir poll had Georgia lived. I think Austin has the most even mix of characteristics, with Georgia being 100% Miko-face and 100% Roman-coloring, while Olympia has the most of her dad's genes in total. They're all gorgeous, in my opinion, but they are my sims, so of course I would think that.

It's now very hot outside, so Olympia changes into a romper to work on her school project. If she's going to try to assume Georgia's rightful place on the throne, she's got some big shoes to fill school-wise.

Warm-weather-outfitted Nanny Gandhi popped by, and with both kids doing homework, he chooses to help Olympia. I'm not the only one taking sides.

Roman is celebrating topping his career. That doesn't net us any points, but I wasn't really strategizing on that yet. Maybe next generation I'll time it better. At least he'll get good pension checks if he retires, or paychecks if he keeps working.

Several days after the death of her first child, Miko recovers from the head trauma she received from passing out in the kitchen from exhaustion that night and remembers the event. I regret so much, but Miko is high on the list.

Olympia started trolling teh forums while talking with Austin. Is he coaching her in jackassery now?!

Luckily she went back to her project later and Roman was able to help her for a while. He got called away, though, because...

Georgia wanted to go to a restaurant! Geez, twist my arm, why don't you? It was after dinner time, so dad and deceased daughter went for vanilla cupcakes and fizzy drinks and Geeta the waitress decided to never leave the shot while they were eating, so she's just part of the picture now.

After a fun dessert and chat, Roman says goodnight to Georgia for the evening, and they both returned to the home lot, Roman in an Uber and Georgia in Charon's boat probably.

Back home, Austin is ruining his empathy score and Olympia is comforting Miko, who is still sad from mourning at Georgia's grave (a new pastime of hers - so help me, if I have to fence off Georgia's grave, I'm going to be mad). Seems about right.

The next day, after work and school had let out, I was carrying on with Roman, upgrading things and doing laundry, when I got simultaneous notices that these two were going to get heatstroke shortly, because they had not come inside for hours after they had arrived home nor changed into their hot weather clothes. Sigh. So the stupidity was genetically transmissible after all. Roman showed pity and called them inside, since they were unable to do that themselves.

Georgia is becoming a frequent visitor/haunter and I am 100% okay with that.

It's getting close to Austin's birthday, so we got a few nicer electronics and Roman upgrades them as well. I want to leave the house in as good a situation as possible for the transition to the next torch holder.

And just for the heck of it, I saw if Miko could gain two charisma points with her one free action for the adult stage, since that was all she needed for her promotion, having somehow conned people into giving her donations through chance cards. To my everlasting surprise, she actually focused long enough to do it and did get that promotion the next time she went in, but it's nowhere close to the top of the career, so it was mostly a because-I-can thing.

Amidst all his other duties, Roman finished the third tier of his Bestselling Author aspiration, which is, if you remember, his second.

+5

This is the third action of Austin's that I have approved all chapter. It's kind of like she never even left us since she's inviting herself "over" or haunting every night.

Has anyone heard the urban legend about domestic turkeys being so stupid that they'll drown in rain because they look up with their mouths open? No? Just asking. No reason, really.

After two days' hard work on vacation days, Roman completes Bestselling Author and I have no idea what I gave him next. If it ever comes up again, I'll be sure to let you know.

+10

Asia has become an elder cat. She's still just as ignored as always. I'm very sorry, Asia! I thought they would dote on you and I'd be cussing because they wet themselves to play with the cat. I was wrong.

We've got a double birthday today. First up is Roman, and I forgot to take a picture of him as an elder, so that'll have to be a cliffhanger for the next chapter, but he's old now.

And second is Austin's young adult birthday. I made 110% sure he did not have any dangerous mood swings before aging up.

Here's Austin as a YA. Looks pretty much the same. He adds creative to neat and mean, and he still wants to be a Master Mixologist. Between your choices for heir, he is definitely one of them. That is the nicest thing I can say.

And here is how very close he came to giving himself a negative trait through being a jerkwad. If it weren't for some last-minute vigilant disciplining at the computer, I would be subtracting points. Instead, he gets two positive traits through Roman's persistent efforts and that double neat gene he and Georgia got from their parents.

+10

And that brings us to the end of the chapter. Here are our two choices squaring off.

Austin: "You'll never be anything but a nerd, and I'm the eldest now."
Olympia: "Maybe, but in my defense, I don't suck, unlike some people."

Mature.

And who you should have been voting for will just be mourning her own grave, thinking of all the good she could have done this family. I'll just be over here, getting the dust out of my eye, geez, who's cutting onions, I mean...

Yeah. What a chapter. Despite all the trauma, somehow we gained points. Go vote on Boolprop and we'll see what happens next and in whose hands we're leaving the family. Thanks for reading!

Current Score:  35
Self Wetting/Dirty Diaper : -5 (x3)   -15
Pass Out : -5 (x4)   -20
Failing School : -5
Negative Traits Earned by NTHs : -5
Accidental Deaths : -10 (x1)   -10
Fires : -10 (x2)   -20
Social Worker Visit : -15

Single Birth : +5 (x3)   +15
Twins : +10
Triplets : +15
Any sim in the household completing Any Aspiration Milestones (Child and Adult): +5 (x5)   +25
Any sim in the household completing Aspirations (Child and Adult) : +10 (x2)  +20
Toddler Skills maxed by NTH toddlers : +5
Skills (Child and Adult) maxed by NTH family members : +10
NTH children (Child and Teen) earning an A in school : +5 (x5)   +20
Positive Traits Earned by NTHs : +5 (x4)   +20
NTH sims reaching the top of a career (Teen and YA/A/E) : +10
Randomizing every trait and aspiration for an entire generation : +10
Not using spares' Satisfaction Reward points for an entire generation : +10
Every 100,000 simoleons earned : +20
Immortalizing the Torch-Holder : +5