Chapter 27: Technical Issues

Ahh, Ariella. Isn't she a beauty? Since coming to this joyous legacy through the time machine Ariella certainly has stolen a few hearts, and not just mine.



It didn't take long for Ariella to settle into life in the 21st Century; achieving good grades at school and bagging herself a loyal and loving boyfriend. But whilst her life was going from strength to strength, for someone else things were a little more complicated...



Mmm, the vommy face says it all doesn't it?



Not long ago, Addison Heart was blessed with two wonderful new additions to the family in the form of twin babies. Now, normally the birth of a newborn (or two) is cause for celebration, but for Addison the occasion bought more stress than anything else.



Because when the father of said children is a Simbot it certainly makes things a little bit special doesn't it? Addi had barely finished pushing the kids out before she'd dumped them on the ground and freaked out, the poor dear.



But it wasn't just the 'Argh, a Simbot!' moodlet that was causing problems. I had Simbot children in Gen 3 and that was okay, but ever since Late Night the mechanics of human/Simbot breeding have changed, and basically it means that any kiddies you have will crash your game. Sad face.

As you can see though I found a workaround. Yay me.

Readers, meet Rain and Thorn.



As soon as the kiddies had reached the toddler stage, Addison and Valentine made sure they were on hand to provide them with all the love and care they would ever need as they taught them to walk and talk.



Someone not feeling the love though was Ariella, who had just been fired. Ariella worked the graveyard shift at the, erm, graveyard- and this was only because her mother Addison had never had a job, and I was sick of deleting the repoman all the time. Sadly though it wasn't destined to last as Ariella was given the boot for her poor work performance.



She was pretty down afterwards, but luckily a nice morning hug from boyfriend Hans made all things better.



Back to the cutey little kiddies now. Ahh, we gots to have at least one picture of them looking all adorablish to enjoy don't we? Only problem is, these moments never seem to last very long...



MOODY CHILD SYNDROME!

When the legacy is over imma have to do a thesis on why all my kiddies end up being such moody tosspots.



Despite their frowny faces- or Thorn's in particular- the twins actually had a really happy upbringing as they were always surrounded by their loving family. Because of Addison's Loves the Outdoors trait the fivesome spent most of their days outside enjoying the sunshine.



But guess which dumbass robot decided to join Addi in the sprinkler?



Moron.



You may remember that in generation one this is where our founder Winter met his demise, so naturally I was a little bit cacking my pants when Addison began to repair Valentine. Well, you'll never guess what bloody happened!!!!!!!



Nah, just joshing- she's fine. Clearly Addi is a finer craftsman than Winter ever was (sorry Winter).



With Valentine restored back to his former glory again the life lessons continued in earnest.



But that's not to say it was all hard work for Addison- occasionally she'd get some time to unwind, and naturally the hot tub was the first port of call.



As Addison was Family Oriented she spent a lot of time with her kids, but occasionally she'd leave them to amuse themselves, which wasn't always wise- especially when they were in the presence of a certain lusty robot...



On this occasion Valentine, probably liqoured up as usual, decided to put the moves on Ariella for some unknown reason.



And, unfortunately for Valentine, Addison just happened to come along and witness the aftermath.



Later that night a pissed off and pissed up Addison mulled things over in the kitchen, and Valentine attempted to make amends.



It was a pretty shrewd move using a small child as a barrier but sadly it wasn't enough to save Valentine from Addison's wrath.



She does wrath very well doesn't she?



As the night wore on the argument persisted, and Addison looked more and more like that crazy drunk lady I see on the bus sometimes.

I don't blame Addi for being hacked off though. I mean, Valentine did fuck up here, and considering how previous lovers have treated her (*cough* Gadget) it's no wonder that Addison was unwilling to just live and let live.



And it didn't help any when Valentine, probably frustrated with Addison's stubborn resistance, finally had enough and started going berserk at her.



Moments later Addison broke down and started crying.



In the end there was really only one solution. Relations between Addison and Valentine had deteriorated massively and, as Addi has such a place in my heart, I couldn't bear to see her pixely face all wrecked by sadness. And so it was time for preventative measures, and it was time for Valentine to move out.



The following day brought about a fresh round of brave faces as Addison pulled herself together in order to celebrate the birthdays of Rain and Thorn. Addi and Ariella brought the kids to their respective birthday cakes, and then the brats went and ruined it all by aging up on the floor before I could take pretty picatures.



Still, I guess the end result makes up for it.



The next day it was Ariella's birthday too, and this was celebrated by the whole family plus her boyfriend Hans who had aged up the day before.











Following the party Addi and the kids sloped off to bed. Meanwhile, Ariella and boyfriend Hans stayed outside, and it wasn't long before the celebrations took a more exciting turn...















Hurrah! Proposing to Hans was something Ariella had been wanting to do since she was a teenager so it's nice that she finally got her wish.



The following morning Ariella spent most of the day hard at work as she launched herself into the Architectural Design profession. After spending a lot of her time as a teenager practising the painting skill Ariella already had a foothold on the career, which is just as well as I wouldn't be there to guide my favourite time machine phenomenon through her life much longer...



Yes, later that day it was time for Ariella to fully begin her life as a Young Adult as she got married to Hans.



Valentine wasn't actually invited to the wedding he just showed up anyway- probably hoping to make amends with Addison but failing miserably. Addi's more of a bad ass than I thought...



Anyways, leaving the saga of Addison and Valentine to one side for a bit I turned my attention back to the happy couple as they said their vows.



And before long they were married- Mr and Mrs Caspian.



It was dark by the time the ceremony was over so it didn't seem right to just kick Ariella and Hans out there and then. Instead the duo bedded down for the evening, in more ways than one...



It was supposed to be a nice moment for them- their first night together as man and wife (or in general) but unfortunately Addi's mad bad timing almost ruined it.



After the embarrassing incident a noticeably shaken up Addison retired to the bar to drown her sorrows. But it wasn't just the run in with the newlyweds that had rocked her- the following day her oldest daughter and closest friend would be moving out and that would be hard for Addison, especially considering how close to her family she was. Consequently Addison was feeling a bit low that night, and it wasn't long before she decided to do something to make herself feel a little bit better...



Okay, I didn't say it was a smart idea.



So you probably remember Gadget D4rkw34th3r from chapters past- he's been Addison's unrequited love object since she was a teenager, and although they have shared moments together, this was always ruined by Gadget's tendency to go and get married to some randomer the next day.

This time however he's, erm, still married...



Mmm, not smart at all...







The next morning brought with it new adjustments all round. Hans and Ariella awoke bright and early- content and in love and ready to start their lives together.



Addison, who had only had a few hours sleep that night, managed to pull herself together enough to say goodbye to her daughter and wish her well.



And then they were gone. Sob!



A short while later things really sunk in for Addison. She still had her two youngest Rain and Thorn at home, but even so- without Ariella Addison's life was noticeably more wanting. As always though, Addi was never one to just let things get her down, so instead she found a solution.



She acquired someone new to take up her time.







With a new little one in the house, Addison's life was once again full and her time was certainly accounted for. Zula required a lot of attention as she learned to walk and talk so Addison made sure to give her all the care she needed.



With Addi and Zula busy at home, Rain and Thorn took to Funky Town in order to unwind and enjoy a little bit of time away, and they weren't the only ones doing so.



Valentine was a regular at Funky Town- what with his love of cold drinks and hot women- but on this occasion he chose to forgo his usual pursuits as he spent some time with his children.



After a bit of catching up in Funky Town, Rain soon invited Valentine back to the house in order to continue the father/son bonding.



Elsewhere, in the bathroom upstairs, the mother/daughter bonding was cut a bit short as Addi began to spew her guts out. I wonder why...?



Well I won't keep you in suspense as it's pretty obvious- Addi's ill-fated rendezvous with Gadget had resulted in more than just confused feelings; it had left Addison with a burgeoning baby bump, and a lot of questions.



But Addison didn't have a whole lot of time to think about things before something else commanded her attention- a certain shiny red robot who seemed determined to make amends despite Addison's frosty demeanour.



Good luck with that one...



Addison and Valentine didn't argue too long that night before Valentine was ordered to leave, and Addison retired to bed in order to try and gain some perspective on matters.

In the morning she woke early, picked up Zula, and headed out. The events of the past few days had thrown up a lot of questions for Addison and the time had finally come to get some answers, but who knew whether she'd like them or not.



Addison met Gadget in the lobby of his apartment building and, after placing Zula on the floor with her favourite toy, proceeded to tell him the news of their impending arrival.



And, to my absolute surprise, Gadget was really positive about it. Immediately he congratulated Addison on her pregnancy and placed his hands on her tummy as he tried to sense signs of the growing life inside.



Jubilant in his response, Addison immediately attempted to put her arms around Gadget in celebration, but sadly Addi received a crushing rejection in return.



I don't blame Addison for being confused- this constant whirlwind space she and Gadget seemed to occupy never had any calm; any oasis- always it was one thing or another, and this rejection was just the latest in a long line of hurt feelings Addison had suffered at the hands of the man she had always loved, but never possessed.



I guess maybe it was just too much to ask for her to be happy- for Gadget to finally realise what Addison could mean, and for him to put everything aside for her. Also, it probably didn't help that his daughter was sitting on the ground just a few feet away, watching the whole thing...



Then, as if things weren't bad enough for Addison, Gadget's wife Mendy (WTF?) showed up and immediately pulled her husband into a lip lock, leaving Addison stunned and speechless.



Okay, maybe not completely speechless. Addison may be one of my more amiable Sims, but she certainly doesn't piss about when she's angry.



Addison turned on Gadget with blind rage, unleashing all her pent-up frustration at his constant dives between wanting her and not; realising in that moment that this was it- this was the end.



It was finally over.



Addison knew then that Gadget could have no part in her new baby's life, and so she told him that- she told him that she would be raising the child alone and that she never wanted to see him again.



And she never did.



Later that night Addison was invited to a party at her friends Clark and Erin's house. She wasn't really in the party mood- which is no surprise- but she went anyway and attempted to have fun.



But guess which (now slightly stalkerish) robot just happened to be there too? Addison just couldn't help but groan when she saw Valentine standing there, especially as he took his phone out and began to take pictures of her.



It had been a trying day for Addison, so when she returned home later that night she immediately slipped into bed next to daughter Thorn, probably looking for the closeness that she desperately needed.



The next morning Addison invited Ariella round to visit so that she could share the news of her pregnancy, and it's fair to say that Ariella was more enthused than Addison was at that moment.



Things definitely hadn't turned out the way Addison had hoped with Gadget, but regardless she was having his child and nothing could be done to change that- and at least she had the love and support of her family to help her through it.



As the evening drew in that night the family all gathered together as they celebrated the birthday's of Rain and Thorn.



Rain was the first to transition.







And then Thorn followed.







They're pretty cute ain't they, and I must say I totally lurve Thorn's look. But aside from their pleasing appearances, Rain and Thorn have something else going for them...



SIMBOTS ACTIVATE!



Ah, everyone loves a human/Simbot hybrid don't they? The only question is- are Rain and Thorn going to fuck up my game like the Simbots of past generations? I guess you'll just have to wait and find out next time.

You can find the storyboard version here if you'd like to rec.