Round Three: Nakamura

The older Nakamura kids were making their way in the world. Hiro had already made some friends at high school and he was always on the phone to one or other of them, talking about sport or planning trips down town.


Sachiko was slowly getting over her failure at work and school and went out on her first date. She didn't kiss him in the end but they had a good time and she made a new friend, which was almost as good. Teen boys couldn't buy her enough presents anyway!


The twins were growing like weeds and Sachiko and Nobuo were having difficulty keeping up with them. It seemed like they needed their attention every minute of the day and it was tiring.


Still, thanks to Hanako's dilligence in the area of childcare they managed to find the occasional moment to be affectionate with each other. Nobuo wanted another baby but Sachiko wasn't so sure - she hadn't signed up to be constantly pregnant or getting bottles for toddlers!


But Hanako was getting older and couldn't be there all the time. Nobuo's inability to cook reared its ugly head again; he was so tired he managed to set fire to spaghetti. Hiro despaired. How on earth was he supposed to invite his friends over if his dad kept setting fire to everything?!


Hanako had finished her novel and submitted it to several publishers. She spent the following weeks standing by the phone and jumping to it whenever it rang, much to the teenagers' annoyance. Finally, the call came. Her novel was a best seller!


She used some of her paycheck to buy a sewing machine, which they installed in Shiina's room. Shiina wasted no time when it came to getting started with it. It was frustrating only being able to sew potholders but she knew if she worked at it she could make clothes - if only she could show that sort of dedication to her school work.


After Shiina asked where the money for the sewing machine came from, Hanako finally gathered up the courage to tell her about her novel. "It's a book about my life," she said, handing it to her granddaughter. She sat down next to her as the young girl leafed through it, brow furrowed in concentration.

"So..." Hanako looked extremely nervous. "What do you think?"

"This is amazing! You're the coolest granny ever."

Hanako felt like she might explode with pride.


The twins were finally old enough to start school. Junko wanted to make friends, but it turned out bringing her mother's friend's daughter home was a bad move. Amanda wasn't interested in anything she had to say, preferring to be standoffish and grouchy.


Yuki wasn't so concerned with making friends; she wanted another sibling. Junko wasn't impressed. Wasn't the house busy enough already?!


Note: Nobuo won't stop spinning up the Have A Baby want and Yuki really does want another addition to the family. Hanako wants another grandchild, too. Quit it you guys! I think they're trying to out-breed the Knoxes.

Round Three: Mackenzie

Lisa and Ewan's life was happy and comfortable. Lisa's relationship with Taylor Straight was going well and she called him whenever she could. Ewan kept working on his grades and cooking, occasionally getting exhausted and falling asleep on the sofa. Lisa would smile and brush his long hair out of his face.


Lisa and Taylor had decided together that it was time to take their relationship to the next level. The truth was, Lisa Mackenzie was in love again. She'd been trying to be cautious but it was undeniable, and it seemed like Taylor was worthy of her affections.


For starters, he and Ewan got on very well. Ewan continued his trend for unerring ability to show interest in people's lives and make them genuinely like him, asking Taylor about his job and his apartment. Taylor responded in kind, telling Ewan jokes and generally being a good prospective stepfather.


Unfortunately it wasn't all bliss. A burglar picked out the Mackenzie household to steal from, probably because they didn't have a security system. He snuck in during the dead of night, taking a lot of their possessions.


By the time Lisa realised what was going on and called the police it was already too late. She wandered around the strangely empty house. They definitely needed Taylor around to look after things. That and a decent burglar alarm.


Taylor moved in, bringing in a host of new changes. He cut his hair and bought slightly more sober clothes, and bought them all new furniture to replace what was taken. It helped make it more of a shared home rather than just a house they happened to live in. Lisa and Taylor were already planning more refurbishments and possibly even extending the house once they'd earned enough money.


Taylor made as much time for Ewan as he possibly could. He didn't quite see him as his own son yet, but he was definitely fond of him. He had a tendency to ask odd questions sometimes, though.

"So you and my ma are... going steady?"

"Yes," said Taylor, smiling. "Your mother is a very special lady."

"Ewwwwww!" Ewan grinned. "Are you gonna get married?"

"Maybe. If she'll have me. Would you like that?"

Ewan nodded. "You make my ma happy, and you're a really cool stepdad already."

Taylor smiled again. Now he knew it was okay with Ewan, he could propose.


Ewan was there when he popped the question. Lisa said yes without any hesitation whatsoever and Ewan jumped up and cheered.


They weren't getting married straight away, though. Lisa's studying had paid off and she was now an architect's apprentice; they needed to wait until she had a few days off and Ewan was old enough to look after himself for a night so they could have a little honeymoon.


The latter came quickly. Ewan hit puberty with a vengeance. He cut his hair and bought a leather jacket, trying to look cool and tough, but underneath the devil-may-care exterior he was still the same old Ewan. It was still tough for Lisa. He kept talking about bands she'd never heard of, a reminder that she wasn't getting any younger. She and Taylor had better move quick if they wanted to get married and have kids together.

Note: this round went so quickly! I want to have a proper wedding party, hence waiting. Taylor has also been aged up to be the same age as Lisa.

Round Three: Knox

Will Knox may have moved out, but his ballet bar was still in the house. Kaylynn decided to to use it to make an attempt to keep her weight in check as her pregnancy progressed but she didn't really enjoy it. Reading books and messing around with electronics were more her thing.


Cassius was having more luck when it came to finding interesting hobbies. Their unexpected windfall had allowed him to buy a fancy telescope, and they'd also installed a basketball court after Danny begged for one for his birthday.


Cassius also discovered a love for nature. When not reading up on physics or looking after Kaylynn and the kids he liked to go bug hunting and was enjoying some success, having already collected several rare specimens.


Jasper and Cassius had raised Danny well. He was very sociable and skilled at making new friends, but he was no womaniser. One of his new friends, Heidi, clearly had designs on him, but he didn't see her that way. Just because she was a girl didn't mean they couldn't be friends. Soon she saw it his way and they were best friends and Danny started entertaining ideas of having a party, as long as Jasper approved it, of course.


He was even supportive when Kaylynn went into labour, waiting with her and trying to keep her calm while they waited for the car to the hospital.


Kaylynn gave birth to a boy and a girl who she and Cassius named Noah and Ruth. They both took after their father, with his hair, eye and skin colour, and Kaylynn wondered if they would ever look or act anything like her at all. Danny and Destiny were thrilled and didn't even think that it was odd that they now had an aunt and uncle who were younger than them.


Destiny was especially excited. She loved babies and begged to join in looking after them as much as she could.


Cassius felt proud and lucky to have such a beautiful wife and two new children. Ruth was his only daughter so he felt especially protective of her and hoped he would be around to look after her for as long as possible. He even didn't mind when the babies threw up on him. Kaylynn was less impressed by their digestive pyrotechnics.


Jasper was having a well-earned rest after work when his father called for him. "Jasper! There's a young lady downstairs who wants to talk to you." He paused. "It's Sabrina Davies." Jasper gulped and ran downstairs.


"Hey," he said, trying to look as nonchalant as possible. He hoped the fact he was a little out of breath from running down the stairs wasn't too obvious. He was never prepared for the way the sight of this married woman gave him butterflies in his stomach.

"Hi, Jasper. I... there's no easy way to say this. I caught James cheating on me. I didn't know what else to do, Sachiko's so busy with the twins and Lisa's at work... I..."

If Jasper thought he'd felt nervous before, it was nothing compared to the way he felt now.


"Why couldn't I have met you before him?" said Sabrina, and Jasper wondered if he was imagining the flirtateous look in her eyes. "Oh Jasper. I don't know what to do."


He took a deep breath. "Shh. It's going to be okay."


Unaware of the drama going on all around her, Kaylynn had purchased a toy helicopter and spent a lot of her time piloting it around the room. She'd theoretically bought it for the boys, but she and Destiny were the ones who hogged the controls.


Just because she had babies of her own now didn't mean that Kaylynn stopped being a mother figure to her step-grandchildren. She made sure to congratulate them both on their excellent grades and listen to their worries.


Meanwhile, Destiny had hit a growth-spurt and become a very beautiful young lady. She still loved babies and her family, but they weren't first and foremost on her mind anymore. There'd be plenty of time for that once she'd had as much fun as possible!

Note: I forgot to mention last time that I've aged Kaylynn up so she's a couple of Sim days older than Jasper and Will. It made it a bit less weird! The whole Jasper/Sabrina thing was the fault of ACR, Jasper wanted to talk to her and it all spiralled from there. Wow, I've played a lot of Sims in the last week. My constant posting will probably slow down soon, I have work to do D:

Round Three: Davies

James Davies may have been married to one woman and in love with another, but that didn't stop his taste for the ladies. He was out on a clandestine date with Jill but he still introduced himself to every pretty woman who walked past, even the... slightly weird ones.


Still, he was definitely in love with Jill, and she was in love with him. Their affair was now both a physical and emotional infidelity, and James couldn't bring himself to feel even a little guilty. His marriage to Sabrina had been a sham from the start, and as long as he kept his relationship with Jill out of sight he didn't see anything wrong with it.


Sabrina was still oblivious, and had found a new hobby to keep her occupied during the brief moments she had a break from raising the kids and doing the housework. She had discovered a love of science and astronomy, and could often be found in the garden looking at the stars once she'd put Jacinta and Amanda to bed. She knew they weren't exactly well off, but she really wanted a more high-tech telescope. Maybe she could get a job when Amanda started school.


Amanda was only tiny but she was already an enigma. Despite her shy and difficult nature, she had a certain magnetism. Every one of Sabrina's acquaintances loved to pick her up and cuddle her, and she played up her cuteness as much as possible.


But she definitely wasn't all sweetness and light. Alone with Sabrina she would throw tantrums over every little thing. It was most perplexing.


James had gotten a gig as a party DJ, which suited him down to the ground. He spent his nights at the weekend at various hot spots down town, and slept through most of the day.


He spent most days wandering around in his pyjamas. Despite his infidelity and endless slacking, he wasn't an entirely awful father. He would spend time with Jacinta whenever she asked, usually before school while he was still riding the adrenalin high from DJing. Once she was gone he would collapse into bed, leaving Sabrina to look after the ever more demanding Amanda.


Of course, DJing was very much a weekend sort of job, which left James with a lot of free nights. He decided to risk it and invite Jill over. He hadn't seen her for days and really missed her, and Sabrina was asleep so he couldn't see any way he could get caught. James was never blessed with much in the way of smarts.


Amanda woke Sabrina up with her anxious cries. Sabrina sighed. She thought Amanda had gotten better about sleeping through the night, but obviously not. As she leaned over the crib, she heard noises coming from the living room and realised with horror that it was James and a woman that sounded a lot like Jill. A lump rose in her throat. She must be hearing things! She let Amanda out and walked into the living room, almost shaking. In her fear and anger she didn't realise she'd left the door open and that Amanda had followed her.


She caught James and Jill mid-embrace. They saw her and leapt apart, and Sabrina wasted no time laying into James.

"You filthy cheat! How could you do this to me?!"


"And YOU!" she yelled at Jill. "I thought you were my friend but you're nothing but a lying, cheating - "

"Shut the hell up," snapped Jill. "It's not my fault that you're a frigid old cow who can't keep her man happy."


To her horror, James didn't even bother trying to console her. He just walked over to Jill and stroked her face. "It's okay, baby. I'll sort this out." Sabrina felt angrier than she ever had in her life, and realised that Amanda was crying from behind the sofa. Jill left and James disappeared into the bedroom without a word, and Sabrina collapsed on the sofa wondering how on earth could she have been so stupid as to not see what was going on right under her nose.


The next few weeks were fraught, to say the least. James and Sabrina attempted to be civil for Amanda and Jacinta's sake, but it was no good. Whenever they struck up an awkward conversation it would descend into an argument.

"I've tried, and tried, and TRIED, and now you've turned this house into a war-zone!" shouted Sabrina, hands on hips and face screwed up in anger.

James just looked bored. "Oh come on, Sabs. This marriage was a joke from the start and it's time for you to face the music and admit it."


Amanda was getting even more difficult. She'd seen everything, the cheating, the fights, and she was far too young to understand it properly. She cried whenever James tried to play with her, and demanded Sabrina's attention more than ever.


Jacinta and Amanda both had birthdays. Jacinta tried to get along with her little sister but it was difficult. The things she'd seen had made her even more prickly and she didn't know how to articulate what was wrong because she was still so young. She didn't talk to James or Jacinta if she could help it but was very clingy with Sabrina, and spent a long time every morning making sure she looked perfect. It was a bit of a coping mechanism. Sabrina worried that staying together for the kids had been the wrong idea all along.

Note: Sigh. It was inevitable, really. Toddler-Amanda kept spinning up wants to see James and Jill's ghosts after all of that, it was kind of disturbing. Jacinta is entirely oblivious but we'll see how long that lasts - considering James's lack of tact and Sabrina's chemistry with Jasper, I'm guessing it won't be long. Jacinta rolled Knowledge. Nerd girl love!