A legacy of

Dear readers.It has been a very long time since I’ve been into the Sims 2, and my original plan had been to continue with the Desjardines. Presently, I’ve had far too many technical issues with them – the neighbourhood wasn’t transferred properly, and it’s been nearly two years since I last updated anyways. Another thing I didn’t consider is that I no longer have access to the family archives – the ones I was basing the names of my Sims on. I’m not going to say I’m never going back to the Desjardines – that may yet happen. But in the meantime, I am starting a new legacy. This one won’t be plotty (to begin with, anyways) – and the sims will be named after characters and cast members from one of my favourite TV shows – glee. Also – I truly think the Legacy Challenge is a very well-planned and thought out challenge and so this time, I have decided that I will be playing for points. I am attempting to give myself as many opportunities as possible to score – wish me luck!I am playing with four handicaps: “Obey your Sims”, “Noble Composure”, “Storyteller” and “Presidential Physical Fitness.” Although I don’t know how long I’ll go without breaking them. :P The hobbies aspect of them is pretty challenging – Rachel will have to max enthusiasm in Sports, Film & Literature and Games before elderhood. And now, without further ado, meet the foundress:

“Who’s a pretty kitty? You are! You are my star and you are going to be a star! Yes you are, yes you are!”*Ahem* this is Rachel Gleek. Played by Lea Michele, Rachel Berry has the female lead in the television series and while I can’t say she’s my favourite, I know the show wouldn’t go on without her. ;) Rachel here is a popularity sim, with a secondary aspiration of fortune. Her one true hobby is sports (Huzzah!) and her LTW is to become a hall of famer. So she’s still obsessed with fame – just of a sportier variety. Her personality is 6/7/6/4/2.Arte is actually my favourite character from the show, but I couldn’t find an Arte to download wheras I did find Rachel on the exchange. That Rachel looked, in my opinion nothing like Lea Michele, so she got tweaked. This Rachel doesn’t look anything like Lea Michele either, ‘cuz I fail at making sims, but I tried, so you’ve got to give me credit for that much. The cat is named Star, because that’s what Rachel wants to be. She will be the founder of the petacy. I have never successfully bred pets without cheats before, so wish me luck! “Star is a very good-natured kitty. I love her very much.”

I planted the Legacy tree in the far corner of the lot, then spent the rest of Rachel’s money on the house. We had all of $2 left before Rod Humble came along with a computer, which I sold so that Rachel could get a proper fridge and stove.

Over the next few hours Rachel was very busy with founderish things. She befriended Amy Jones…“Hello, I’m Rachel Gleek. Can you sing?”“Um, no.”“Are you any good at soccer?”“Not really.”“Good. Then we can be friends.”

…she found a job for herself and for Star.“Well, Star can start as an extra, but mark my words she will one day be a Star!”And for you, Rachel?“Soccer isn’t there. While I could waltz in there and demand that they give me a job, I won’t, because I’d like them to appreciate me for my natural talent and not because I threatened to sue. So I chose to be a fish chummer. Fish can’t sing and they don’t make good soccer players, so we can be friends.”Some popularity sim you’re turning out to be.

…she taught the cat to speak.“Say Rachel Gleek is the best Soccer player in the history of soccer.”“meow.”“Say I’m a Star and should thus be treated like one.”“Meow.”“I take back every good thing I said about you.”

…and she welcomed the welcome wagon. Who consisted of the two pictured here plus an old man who wasn’t worth photographing.“Hello, I’m Rachel. Can you sing and play Soccer?”“yes, some.”“Eww, negative chemistry.” *heartbarf*

And as the welcome wagon was a dud, Rachel headed into town to find someone suitable.

...where she has negative chemistry with pretty much everyone. Shame, ‘cuz I really like Snakeskin Jacket Guy, whose name is Kiyoshi Pearson in my game. Can’t say I was too disappointed in her not liking this barista – it’s too early for NPCs.

Then Rachel met Amin Sims.

And actually thought he was hot. (2 bolts)“What can I say? He’s hot, and he’s a good singer.”Is he now? I thought you didn’t want any competition.“But he’s hot, and he’s a man. A true star needs a good strong male lead with whom she can perform duets. And he’s hot.”

And then, since I thought Rachel was going to pass out, which would break the handicap three days into the challenge, I had her go home. She had Amin’s number – that was all she needed.

And only a couple days into the legacy, Athletics showed up.“About time, too. I’m a true soccer star and was only humouring the fish because they paid me. And it wasn’t nearly enough for a true star like me. Besides, this wetsuit is so not flattering.”Um, Rachel, you do realize you don’t start out as a Soccer star, don’t you?“Of course I do.”And that the next ‘uniform’ you’ll be sporting will be less flattering than the wetsuit, right?“Huh?”

“This is not what I had in mind!”*snerk* I think that costume becomes you rather well.“You’ll be sorry you laughed at me! I’ll sue! I’ll sue them all for making me wear this thing!”You do that, then.

So? Did you sue?“No. All I needed to do was threaten them, and they promoted me on the spot. I’m a starter now, so this is the last time I’ll have to wear this Llama suit, thank God!”

Time passed. Rachel earned body skill points and cared for her fruit tree. Star made friends with wolves. You know, the usual.

Finally, Rachel built up a strong enough relationship with Amin over the phone to ask him over on a date.

“Hey, Amin, I think you’re hot.”“Gee, um, thanks.”

“Will you sing duets and dance with me? When I’m not playing soccer, that is?”“Gee, wow Rachel, I’m flattered. I’d love to.”

With two bolts of chemistry, they were all over each other in a minute.“Promise me you’ll come back tomorrow to move in? I mean, if we want this relationship to work, we should be spending every waking minute in each other’s company.”“Uh, yeah, I’ll come back. I promise, babe.”

And, proving he was a man of his word, he did.“You will move in with me right now, won’t you?”“Of course I will, Rachel.”

And so, as dusk settled around them, a very excited Rachel lept into Amin’s arms, giddy with excitement.“Oh, Amin, I always knew you were hot, and would be willing to move in with me and help me with my legacy. You are ready and willing, aren’t you?“Of course I am, Rachel. Relax, It’s not like I’ve never done this before.Rachel tensed, and pulled away from him. “W-what do you mean by that?” she asked, a hint of jealous anger in her voice.

“Um, you know what? It’s complicated. I’ll explain later.” Rachel frowned. “Amin, if we want this relationship to work, there should be no secrets between us, understand.”“Yes darling, and I promise you there’s nothing you need to worry about. Just trust me. You do trust me, don’t you?”“I-I – yes, Amin, I trust you,” she said, finally.

“Good. I love you babe, I really do.”And with that, Amin joined the family, bringing $7000 with him.

Moments after Amin moved in, a house sprang up behind them replacing the original Legacy hut. Rachel and Amin found their way inside and that night, Rachel also decided that she loved Amin really and truly.

Well it’s a beautiful night. We’re looking for something dumb to do. Hey baby, I think I wanna marry you.

Is it the look in your eyes, or is it this dancing juice? Who cares baby?I think I wanna marry you.

Well I know this little chapel on the boulevard we can go. No one will know. Come on girl. Who cares if we’re trashed, got a pocketful of cash we can blow,Shots of patron,And it’s on girl.

Don’t say no, no, no, no, no;Just say yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah;And we’ll go, go, go, go, go;If you’re ready, like I’m ready. Cause it’s a beautiful night,We’re looking for something dumb to do.Hey babyI think I wanna marry you. Is it the look in your eyes, or is it this dancing juice?Who cares baby?I think I wanna marry you.

I’ll go get a ring, let the choir bells sing like oooh,So whatcha wanna do?Let’s just run girl.

If we wake up And you wanna break up That’s cool.No, I won’t blame you,It was fun, girl!

Cause it’s a beautiful nightWe’re looking for something dumb to doHey baby, I think I wanna marry you. Is it the look in your eyes, or is it this dancing juice?Who cares baby? I think I wanna marry you.

Just say I do,Tell me right now baby,Tell me right now baby. ‘Cause it’s a beautiful night,We’re looking for something dumb to do.Hey baby, I think I wanna marry you.

I <3 glee!

Marry you originally by Bruno Mars

Amin is a popularity sim, who rolled Romance as a secondary aspiration (if he decides to cheat, he’s as good as dead). His personality is 4/7/4/4/3, his hobby is Music & Dance, and his life time want is to become a Rock God.

Not long after their shotgun wedding in the living room (they at least had enough sense to change into their formalwear), Rachel started feeling increasingly tired, and sick, and hungry. Generation two was making itself known.

Rachel soon had to find new clothes that would accommodate her swollen belly. Excitement grew among the newlyweds as they prepared for the arrival of the second generation.

Rachel was still ever-affectionate of her precious Star, even though the kitty now had to share Rachel’s attention with Amin.“Soon, Star, I will be having a baby, and the legacy will carry on. Isn’t that exciting? And one day, you will have to have babies for the sake of the legacy, too! Oooh, you’re such a good kitty, you are!”

So Rachel adopted another cat, whom she named Tux. He was meant to act as the founding spouse for Star.

But Star would have nothing to do with the new arrival, and the feeling was mutual.“I am the founder, and I am superior to you, foul intruder.”“Yeah, well, person person minus minus.”

Rachel’s pregnancy was very hard on her, and I was pretty certain about three times that Rachel would break “noble composure.” Thank heavens for the Energizer, Rachel was able to stay awake.

Soon enough, Rachel’s labourous cries rang through the little house, but she was only heard by myself and the cats.“Ooooh, oh, ooooooooooooohhh it hurts! Where the hell is my husband?”He’s at work Rachel. Calm down and it will be over momentarily.

And sure enough, before long Rachel was holding her newborn baby girl in her arms. She had Amin’s deep, rich skin, but Rachel’s hair and eyes.

“Hello my little Mercedes, and welcome to the world!”Mercedes is named for the character Mercedes Jones, played by Amber Riley. Definitely my favourite female character on the show, she defines herself as a “proud black woman” and her major musical influences are Aretha Franklin and Destiny’s Child. She is an assertive but loveable character who gets along with pretty much everyone in the glee club. She, too, wants to be a star and doesn’t like singing backup if she can help it; she has complained numerous times about Rachel getting all the solos.

For popularity sims, Rachel and Amin made pretty rockin’ parents. Rachel was insistant that her daughter would be a Star.“It’s only natural, I mean, both of her parents are stars.”Not yet, you’re not.“But we will be, you just wait.”

Mercedes was much too young to be thinking about stardom – especially when there were feet to be chewed, and Llamas, Plumbbobs and Spaceships to be swatted at.

I adore these baby toys so much! Eeeeee!

It was at this point that I noticed a catfight had broken out outside.

And indoors, a second couch had been demolished.

It was decided that the adoption of Tux hadn’t worked out, so he was loaded into a car and sent away. Rachel promised that another male cat for Star would be obtained.

The couple had now saved up enough money to build a proper house on the legacy lot. The second floor is unused at the moment (hence the lack of windows) and it is very pink, because I got carried away with the pink theme. It kinda looks like Barbie barfed in there, but none of the family has complained yet.

Amin was immediately sent to a pet store where he obtained an orange tabby by the name of Rowan.

And Rowan was about as successful as Tux when it came to seducing Star.“Hiss. I’m a famous kitty, and you are but a mediocre feline, fiend.”“Hiss.”“Hiss.”Ugh, I totally should’ve got a dog for this family, instead.

Finally it was time for little Mercedes’ birthday. Amin was given the honour of bringing the little one to her cake.

“Woo, yeah! My little girl is growing up! She’s going to be a star yet!”

And Mercedes was spun into the air.

And thus was transformed the cutest toddler I’ve ever had in my game, ever! Eeeeee, I love her so much! I followed her around with the camera for her entire toddlerhood, snapping picture after picture of the squeeworthy cuteness.

So it’s a wonder I didn’t miss this.“My husband is hot. We did woohoo.”Yep, Rachel is back in the yellow sundress, meaning baby #2 is on its way!

Mercedes learned quickly how to walk, talk, use the potty and sing a nursery rhyme over the next few days. I forced Rachel to dote on her daughter, because her daughter is awesome!

D’aww, so wonderful! I adore this child to bits! <3

What, it’s time already? Are you sure this baby isn’t coming early? I was having so much fun with Mercedes - Oooh, look, there she is now, over there…n’aww, she’s so cute!

“Arrrgh, forget my daughter for just a minute and pay attention to me, me! I’m the one giving birth right now.”

And so Puck Gleek was born, and Mercedes, poor dear, will be scarred for life. As for Amin? He missed the births of both of his children, shame on him!Puck is named after Noah “Puck” Puckerman, played by Mark Salling. He plays a football player who joins the glee club with some encouragement from Finn and Mr. Shuester. His father is a “deadbeat” and he doesn’t want to go that same way. His mother would be happiest if he were to find a “nice Jewish girl” to date, and consequently he and Rachel dated for a spell. He is the father of Quinn Fabray’s daughter, Beth and he’s a real ladies man.

Okay, so there weren’t many slides to cover her toddler years because there were a lot of photos that needed no captions. Suffice it to say that Mercedes was very cute and cuddly, but it was now time for her to become a child.

“Hey, look! I have hands!”Indeed you do, Mercedes. Now – to the wardrobe!

Aww, every bit as adorable as you were as a toddler.Mercedes soon took a shining to the chess table, declaring that her hobby of choice was fun & games.

Life settled into normalcy for the Gleek family. The baby and the cat were doted on equally by the founder, and the children entertained themselves in various ways. Mercedes soon became an excellent student at school, loved by all her teachers and peers.

Rowan and Star had, for just one moment, a good enough relationship for this, and luckily I heard a lullaby after all! Yay for success!

And because I fell into some sort of photo-taking lapse, Puck was soon old enough to be aged into a toddler.“Happy Birthday to you, little man!”

Na’aaw, what a cute little boy! You look very proud of him, Amin.“Why thank you, I am. I was born for this legacy business, you know.”I see that want panel spam, no you are not going to make out with three sims; not unless you want your wife coming at you with rusty sporks.

Puck, like his sister, took a real shining to the activity table when he was a toddler, though he preferred the blocks to the drawing.

Rachel also tried to encourage Mercedes to adore sports as much as she did. Early morning games of catch in their PJs were common.“If you want to be a star like me, Mercedes, you are going to have to learn to catch a football!” Rachel insisted.“Yes, Momma,” Mercedes mumbled, as she struggled to catch the ball.

Eventually they moved onto soccer, where Mercedes equally lacked ability.“Woot! I scored again!” Rachel beamed. A dejected Mercedes picked herself up off the ground and brushed the dirt off her clothes. “I don’t much like this game,” she mumbled quietly.

Mercedes was much happier when she was being held by her hands and spun around.“If you are to be a good Dancer, Mercedes, you need to be able to tolerate spinning and not get dizzy easily.“Wheee!”

Mercedes and Puck, however, grew very close. Mercedes taught her little brother the proper way to hold a crayon, and even offered him some pointers in drawing.“Try to hold your hand steady, Puck. Use the crayon to make shapes. I’m drawing a crocodile.”But Puck just giggled and continued to scribble away at his more abstract piece of artwork.

And then Star’s kitties were born. Eee, they’re so cute! There were three in total, and they were named Barry, Tyson and Soul (don’t ask me what was going through my mind, it was far too late at night for good sense.)

Kitten + Toddler interactions = SO CUTE! Puck was happy to give the new arrivals a very warm welcome.

“Hey Daddy! I had a great Saturday, I wish you would have been here. Me an’ Momma played football and soccer, then she spun me around, then I showed Puck how to draw a crocodile, ‘cept he just wanted to draw a scribble. Then Star had kittens, three of them! What did you do today?”“Oh, I just worked. Tuning pianos, mostly.”

“Guess what, Soul? Momma says we can only keep one kitty, and I get to pick because I’m the heir. ‘Cept she didn’t actually say that’s why – she said it’s cuz Puck’s too little to pick. An’ I pick you, because you my Soul sister, mmkay? Well, I gotta go to bed now, but tomorrow we can play. G’night, Soul!

Okay, so I don’t have quite as many toddler pics of Puck, but a lot was happening, so suffice it to say he was adorable. His parents taught him to walk and talk and everything, and while neither of them ever rolled any wants for either of their children (okay, besides the popularity sim want to BFF them) they still doted on him. That, of course didn’t keep him from getting into mischief.

Soon enough, it was time for him to join his older sister in the realm of childhood.

With his older sister and his father’s work friend around to help him whirl his way into childhood, Puck blew out the candles enthusiastically.

And he grew into a rather dashing young lad, if I do say so myself.

Mercedes gave Star a rather dramatic and enthusiastic demonstration of playing dead.“Come on, Star! Mom wants you to get a promotion and so you have to do it like this, see!”

And then, Rachel finally maxed enthusiasm in Sports! Yay, only two more hobbies to max. >:/ And I don’t even get the “true hobby” bonus for those. I’m starting to regret taking on so many handicaps.

I found another fight had broken out. *sigh* Star really hates everybody.“Take that, moron. I am ashamed to call such a mediocre beast as yourself the father of my children! I am supreme cat over all cats, and you shall never forget the lesson you learned this day!”Poor, poor Rowan…

Then the kittens grew up, and they all looked the same, so I can’t tell which one is which. Soul was kept, at Mercedes’ request, and so Barry and Tyson were moved out, along with Rowan, because Star couldn’t stand to be in his presence any longer.

“Why you wearin’ your PJs, Momma? It ain’t even nighttime.”Rachel shot her daughter a look. “Where did you learn to talk like that, sweetheart?”Mercedes shrugged. “School, mostly. An’ TV, too. Daddy says I’mma grow up tommora.”My precious little, cutest-toddler-ever, Mercedes is going to a teenager already?“That’s right, sweetie. You’re going to be a teenager. And when you grow up, you’re going to be able to get a job, and then learn to be a Star!”Mercedes shrugged. “I dunno, Momma. What if I wanna do something else?”“Mercedes, you are going to be a star, and I know it!”“Checkmate, Momma.”

The following afternoon, Mercedes looked mournfully at the cake on the table.“Tonight, I’mma be a teenager, and I’mma have a dream, but Momma ain’t gonna let me have that dream come true, ‘cuz instead I’mma have to be her star. Why can’t I jus’ go on bein’ a kid? I’d like that a whole lot better than growin’ up.”

But soon family and friends had gathered around her and were cheering her on into teenhood. Mercedes knew she didn’t have a choice. She smiled as bravely as possible and stepped up to the table. Taking a deep breath, she blew out all the candles on the cake.

“Come on, Mercedes, you can do it!” cheered Jill. Mercedes almost smiled. She and Lillian had been best friends since the first day she was a child – a walkby whom she had asked to join her in a game of chess. She trusted and admired Jill. If she was confident, so was Mercedes.“Here goes nothing,” she said.

See, that wasn’t so bad, was it?Mercedes rolled Pleasure, with Fortune as a secondary. Her life time want is to become a business tycoon.

After finding some new clothes that she liked, Mercedes headed into town to get herself some new toys. A cellphone, a handheld, an MP3, and some new games for her collection.She had so much more freedom, now that she was a teenager. Maybe being older wasn’t so bad, after all. If only she had enough freedom to be whatever she wanted to be.

And here is where I will leave you. I know I started with no plot in mind, but this is me we’re talking about – I can’t go too long without some sort of storyline forming in my mind. Do you see it, yet?The next chapter should be up relatively shortly. Until then, happy simming!