tigeranne | Bad Influence: The Brianna Files

Hi Peeps, it's Raelynn! It's been a hot minute again. The good news is that I've been playing The Starblooms, and it looks like it was just their lot that was decrepitated, not the family or the whole hood! The bad news is that The Scheilers - specifically Friday's household - are flashing magenta no matter what I do. It's not the usual texture memory suspects, it's something with THEM. :C How do I know? Because I've moved them to an empty lot to debug them, and it's all pink soup! Meanwhile, the Starblooms' new lot is already full of excessive detail and works fine.

Also, I've been playing Sims 4 a lot. Don't worry, I've not abandoned Sims 2 and I won't! It's still Best Sims! I've just been trying out TS4, since it's apparently turning into Sims 4ever, and the devs are fixing and adding stuff to it, etc. Then there was a pretty good sale, and I may have gotten myself some EPs for Christmas. So yeah....

Do you remember Zarinda's daughter, Brianna? She's tired of being so darn forgettable, and has decided to go to desperate lengths to change that. Is Brianna fit to be the main protagonist of a story, extremely generic as she is? Can anyone write an interesting story with Brianna in it?! AM I THAT PERSON??! This story is set after Generation 10 of the Starbloom Tragecy, so there will be parts of Brianna's past we don't know about yet. We'll discover, as the Starbloom Legacy progresses, what they've all been up to before the events of this new story. Also, I chose to go with a Maxis Match aesthetic, but there will be default replacements and CC, eventually!

Brianna MacAvoy lived in a small town in the middle of the desert, somewhere in Arizona or Nevada. (Wherever the "Western Desert" is. It doesn't really look like California.) She was new in town. No one really knew where she was from, or what had brought her there. Life was easier like that.

She shared a tiny house with her friend Meagan Spaulding, who had also recently arrived. Meagan had come there to be closer to her brother, who was the only family member she wasn't having harsh words with.

Meagan had a child named Morgan, a little girl she was raising neutrally.

Morgan was barely a year old, she just had a bunch of hair for her age.

She always acted like she was completely starved of attention, which made Brianna feel for her. Meagan was often really busy trying to get her new life in order.

Brianna: Ouch, she's ripping up one of your books.

Meagan: NO! STOP IT! BRIANNA, TELL HER NO!

They decided it was good for all of them to get out of the house for a bit.

Brianna: Maybe it'll be good for my cooking show if I stream from a location other than our kitchen nook.

Meagan: Yes, alright. Just don't film people without consent.

Brianna: No, the camera will be on me all the time!

Meagan: I'll try to start some conversations.

Brianna: You mustn't play on the road, Morgan. Don't wander away from your Mom like this.

Morgan: Mom dis a pear.

Brianna: No, she just went into the park to talk to some people. Come, let's go find her.

Brianna: Hop on the airplane!

Brianna didn't know much about taking care of children, but she was good at relating to them on their own level. x)

Meanwhile, Maegan was filming for her personal vlog.

Brianna: The Ozark Holler is a very easy drink to mix. It's literally just white rum, lime juice, a few drops of peppermint, and whatever lemon-flavoured soda you have available.

Maegan had met a girl named Beverley, who felt like a relatable sort of person.

While they were training their brains in chess moves and complex decision-making skills, Morgan was training hers to remember leg-moves.

Brianna: It doesn't really matter if you use a store-brand soda, you just need the lemon flavour in there. If you want a more *~whoomf~* type experience, you can use an energy drink. Again, it can be a cheap brand, as long as it's lemon flavoured.

Brianna: Did I add the peppermint? I can't remember, and it's a very important ingredient. Without peppermint it's not an Ozark Holler, and with too much it's mouthwash.

Morgan: Mom not.

Brianna: She's right outside, sweetheart. Just stay in here and wait for her. You can watch me make yucky medicine for adults.

Morgan: Kay.

Brianna: The sniff-test says I added the peppermint!

Maegan: That's my roomie, she's some kind of chef and has a cooking channel on Youtube.

Beverley: Oh, right.

Maegan: You've watched it?

Beverley: No, I never watch cooking channels. They don't have anything interesting to say.

Brianna: Shake it up really good. It's important to do this before you add the soda.

Brianna: Plz to just ignore that guy you can maybe see through the window in the back. He's just having a bad day.

Brianna: And then some lime juuuuuuuuuuuuh....!

Maegan: You can edit that out, and remove that guy so you don't expose him, at the same time.

Brianna: I'm live on stream!

Brianna: Oh, welp. Keeping it real.

A guy was doing the Warm Yo A$$ Dance by the fireplace.

Maegan: Interesting. He shouldn't be too cold on a summer day in the desert. Maybe he has a condition.

Guy: I have a pinched nerve in my buttock that makes my behind always feel numb with cold.

Maegan: Oh, I'm very sorry to hear that. Were you born with it? Are you okay with me asking that?

Guy: No, it's been that way since February seven years ago. I'd been with some friends at a concert in northern Minnesota. It was freezing cold that night. We'd called for a taxi, and it was a bit late, so we sat on this metal rail waiting for it to arrive.

Maegan: Is there nothing that relieves it?

Guy: Spicy tex-mex has a temporary effect.

Purple Shirt: Let's make this dance viral!

Morgan had no idea what was going on, but she was living for it.

Brianna: Oh no, copyright music. Now I'm definitely gonna have to edit and reupload.

The fashion shirty guy was out of his funk now.

Brianna: Hai! Aren't you our neighbour?

Georgia: Yeah, that's right! You're one of the peeps who have moved in across the road from me!

Georgia: Feel free to come over some time. I live alone, and there's nothing much to do around here.

Brianna: Yeah, thanks for the invite! I don't know anyone yet, other than Maegan and the kid.

Georgia: See those two people over there? Teen girl and her dad. They're famous. Not for anything in particular, they're just famous for being famous.

Brianna: Are they influencers?

Georgia: No, but kind of? I mean, they don't have a show or anything.

Brianna: Huh, weird.

Brianna (on stream again): I don't care what your dad or your uncle Bart says about grilling, you need to turn the burgers over often. It's important that they get done on both sides early on, so the juice gets sealed inside.

Brianna: This is the video thumbnail.

Oops. Someone forgot to keep their eye on Morgan.

Brianna: It doesn't have to be presented as a grill-off, I just wondered if you wanted to be in the video since you did cook some of the food.

Maegan: Thanks, but it's not the image I want to project.

Brianna: Is that book about weed?

Morgan was starving, and you know she hadn't washed her hands.

Brianna: Alrighto. I think it's your bedtime now.

Megan stayed behind at the park for some reason, So Brianna put Morgan to bed and read her a story.

She thought that maybe she could do a different series of videos, where she read stories that kids could listen to if their parents didn't have time to read to them. It made her feel nice.

All of these girls are called Cassandra or Casandra, LOL!

And a very glamorous lady, with elbow-long gloves and the lot, was out for an evening stroll. It was a strange neighbourhood.

After Morgan was sound asleep, Brianna went outside to chat to purple shirt woman for a while.

Maegan was playing another round of chess with Beverly Eubanks.

Maegan: I know we only just met, but I really feel that we have a special connection already.

Beverly: Yeah, I feel that way too!

Maegan: I'd love to get to know you a lot better. Unfortunately I live with a baby and a blonde. Maybe your place offers more.... privacy?

Beverly: ZOMGOSH I'M 14 YEARS OLD!

Maegan: Really?!

Beverly: Yeah. Really! So I live with my parents.

Maegan: Oh wow, I'm SO sorry! You seem so much older, I thought you were like 17 or 18!

Beverly: Yeah, well. I'm a minor and you're making me feel unsafe. SO BYEE!

Maegan: Wow.... Good going, Maegan. You really blew that one.

Morgan: I POOPED! :(

Maegan: I hate my life.

Maegan cried on the inside while she gave Morgan a bath.

Maegan: And asdfghjkl don't chew on your toys! They have poison!

Morgan: ????

Maegan: You can DIE! LIKE DADDY! :(

Brianna: If you're like me, and barely even alive in the morning, you're going to need a breakfast that goes down really easy, but also has the energy you need to become awake. Today I'll show you how to make very simple but tasty scrambled eggs and toast.

Yeh, this is how Brianna curls her hair. She's faking!

Brianna: Add just a small sprinkling of pepPERRRRR! OHMAGOSH! Okay. Okay, keeping it real here.

Brianna: Well, I'm awake now. Let's set the toast to the side while I scrape off some of the excess pepper.

Brianna: Also invest in a good non-stick pan, so this isn't you. Please Like and Subscribe to my channel, so I can afford to get some better equipment!

Brianna: OK, Morgan. Breakfast is ready. And you have to eat, because the CPS are threatening to take you away! (A/N: For real!)

Brianna: I'll have to go out for a few hours, to be at my job. I cook for other people too. (Or I will be doing that soon, I hope. They're making me start at the bottom.) So remember to be good, don't make your mom upset, and especially not touch her books. Okay?

Morgan: Kay.

Maegan was working from home that day. She was a freelance writer who submitted articles to many sites.

She took time to bond with Morgan for a bit before she started working.

And then she was interrupted. x( It was blondie Georgia from next door, and an equally blonde dude in a flannel shirt.

Maegan: Oh, well. Come in.

(A/N: Maegan's tattoos aren't supposed to look exactly like that. I didn't have any CC when I played this, so I used the default ones. If I find something that fits her better, just pretend they've always looked that way.)

Maegan: BTW, I didn't cook that. My roomie did. I don't know if it's allergy safe.

Guy I Think is Johnny Zest: That's okay. I'm only allergic to horses.

Maegan remembered how she'd ruined the chance at a new friendship the day before, and she had to hide in bed and cry for a while.

A good bawl made her feel better.

She reviewed a game for one of the sites she wrote for.

Maegan: Color Bloxxz is an engaging and educational game, which is not accessible for people with colour-vision deficiencies. Rating: 5/10.

Then she had to cry a bit again. We all have days like that.

She got trolls on her review. :C

But she was inspired to write an article about it on one of her other sites she wrote for.

Morgan had gone outside, but there was nothing much to do there.

Morgan: I want to play with other kids! I want my Moooooom!

Brianna came home, and Maegan told her that Georgia had been over.

Maegan: Also, nothing makes men angrier than when someone criticises a children's computer game.

Brianna: I dunno. My Dad gets angrier than that when he gets calls about magazine subscriptions.

Brianna set up her phone camera, and read a bedtime story to Morgan and whatever other lonely kids would be watching the video.

Then she filmed herself lying uncomfortably on the back patio, talking to her imaginary friends while looking at the stars.

Brianna: They always tell you to express yourself in any way you want, because everyone has something to say. But then they say that doesn't mean YOU, and that empty heads need to come with closed mouths. They tell you to be unapologetically yourself, and then they tell you that you're terrible in all sorts of ways. Do you ever consider that maybe they're being hypocritical? That it could be a them-problem? Because sometimes I do, and then I feel so guilty for it.

Beverly: Hi, is Maegan home.

Brianna: She's inside, test-playing a new game.

Beverly: Oh, good. I want to tell her I'm sorry that I overreacted yesterday. People do think I'm older than I am, all the time. She didn't mean to be creepy. I just freaked out and I was rude to her.

Brianna: Yeah, don't worry. We all have those days.

Meagan: Intuitive and accessible. Rating: 9/10. I would have given full scores if the music track had been less stereotypical.

Morgan absolutely murdered a bowl of yoghurt and fruit.

Brianna: A foodie in the making, LUL. I hope you don't have worms.

Brianna was feeling unusually bushytailed that morning, because her channel had gotten up to 4 subscribers. It doesn't sound like much, but to Brianna it meant that four people existed in the world who like what she had to say.

Brianna: The Ozark Holler video has over 1200 views!

Meagan: Any hate comments?

Brianna: Only a person calling me a "bleach-blonde plastic imbecile with a snotty accent." But look what SHE looks like. That's her. 70+ years old and has a forehead tattoo of Homer Simpson mooning the audience. Her t-shirt has Winnie the Pooh smoking a bong.

Meagan: Don't attack her looks, please.

Brianna: Sorry.

Brianna: My great-grandma* is apparently on FB. She sent me a friend request.

Meagan: Old people are exhausting. I've blocked all of mine.

Brianna: Really?

Meagan: Yeah. I don't even use FB, but I had to make an account so I could block my grandmothers.

Brianna: Um, why?

Meagan: Because I don't want to see their bullshite on my feed, and I don't want them seeing what I post and sharing it with their friends so they all come and harass me in the comments. Yeah, I don't use it, but if I need an account for work purposes I just don't want to deal with them.

*Brianna's great-gran is Aylatani's mom.

Brianna really had to start at the bottom. :C

Maegan never really enforced bedtimes for Morgan, and Brianna didn't want to be judgemental of a single mom who was trying to make a difference in the Men's world, and was a widow, and had a whole family who sucked.

Maegan met some people outside, when she came home from work. She discovered they were evil snobs of the patriarchy. Well, not Casandra I think.

Brianna met the other Cassandra, with two ss.

Brianna: So why is your family famous, exactly?

Cassandra: Well, for one, my mother is a missing person. Her case is a very infamous investigation. Also, my whole family apparently exists in multiple variations. One of me is white, and another one of me's twenty years older than my brother.

Brianna: Huh, I can see how that would get you some attention.

Maegan suggested that Brianna should do some book reviews on her channel, starting with a very offensive one that needed to be banned even if book banning is wrong.

Brianna: This is hilarious and I can't believe people don't realise it's a parody, LOL! Or maybe it's dead ass serious and I'm gullible for thinking it's a joke.

Brianna: I'm a bit worried about this author, TBH.

Maegan did her first ever live-stream of a game, with 16 people watching.

This kid was not happy about going to school, LOL!

Angry Kid: I'M CATCHING POKEMON!

Maegan had a sitch at work. As a person who identified as very empowered, she wasn't going to let a Karen walk all over her. I don't know what happened, because chance cards in TS4 are different from in TS2, and you need to look in the notifications list to see what the consequences were, and I didn't know that's where they were. Peeps don't get fired as easily as in TS2, though. Usually it's more realistic stuff like "the customer gets mad and screams their head off," and your Sims get in a bit of a bad mood for a while.

Brianna was practising parenthood.

Yeah, it sounds like Maegan did good. LOL I need to look in her inventory for that pot. Maegan never even cooks, and Brianna can use it for her show.

Brianna: Chop the lettuce into thin strings.

Maegan: Entitled middle class soccer-moms in SUVs!

Brianna: Yeh, that sucks.

They tried doing an "eat and chat" video as a collab, but Brianna's viewers thought Maegan was too angry, and Maegan's viewers thought Brianna was thick as two planks, so ratings weren't profit.

Morgan and her toy cat were having adventures in Head Space. It's a wonderful land!

Brianna discovered that she didn't like reading from paper.

In the wilderness surrounding the cabin, Brianna discovered that some wild plants were managing to survive the desert climate. She decided to bring some daisies and sage home with her, and start a small garden. Gardening and cooking go hand in hand, after all.

Beverly's dad came down the road, looking sad as a sack.

Brianna: I don't think our casa is haunted by vengeful ghosts, but sage has many other uses. It's rich in antioxidants, helps balance your cholesterol and blood sugar, is good for your skin, and apparently also for your brain function and memory. Add some to your pork chops or grilled chicken. Remember that it's got a relatively strong flavour, though. A little goes a long way.

Brianna: It's actually really pretty out here. I've never lived anywhere with mountains before. Actually, the place where I grew up was just flat plains. There was one hill in the whole district, and it was right behind our house, but it was just this homogenous heap of grass.

Brianna: I never thought I'd live in a desert, but I kind of like how warm and dry it is. Back home it's often kind of foggy and damp. If you lie in the grass and look at the stars at night, your clothes will soak up the moisture and stick to your back and legs. If you're super lucky, a snail or slug will also get stuck to you. One of the grossest things I've experienced was getting a slug in my hair, because I lay down on the lawn in the backyard. BTW, we had this urban legend, that if you looked at the sky for too long a satellite would fall on you. Did you have any weird stuff like that, which you believed in? Tell me in a comment, I wanna know!

While Brianna was out communicating with the universe, Maegan was learning programming.

When she had time, Maegan often sat down with Morgan and talked to her like she understood.

....about crime and stuff.

PS: Brianna got promoted.

Brianna didn't have much chill. Sometimes she just had to go out and run, else she became stir crazy like a dog that hasn't been walked. She wished she had a dog to run with. (Will Brianna get a dog? Stay tuned.)

Sims 1 reminded her a lot about her family, in some ways.

They started keeping a stash of scrap paper that Morgan could use for her arts and crafts, because everyone has to start somewhere.

If this picture doesn't just summarise Brianna, then I don't know.

Morgan's favourite animals were cats and dinosaurs. All the dinosaurs. She liked them equally.

Brianna: Maegan's in if you wanna talk to her.

Beverly: I'll call her later, I've got some school work to finish at home first.

Maegan: Is it cringe that I want to be friends with a 14-year-old?

Brianna: It doesn't have to be. As long as you don't start acting like you're the same age, and want to go with her to sleepovers with friends and that kind of thing, it's fine. Going with them to the cinema is probably okay, because the moral guardians recommend that a person over 18 is present if the film has scary stuff.

Maegan: Yeah, I know. The thing is that Beverly isn't interested in going to sleepovers with girls her age, or hanging out at the mini-mall. She's mature for her age, and wants attention from adults. You know, in an intellectual sort of way. She doesn't have a lot of people she can talk to. I think her mom is dead, and her father has some issues.

Brianna: Hm, maybe Beverly doesn't really count as 14? I mean, obvz you can't take her to a bar or anything, but you can be her.... healthy role model?

Brianna: Hey, what are you vlogging?

Cassandra: That I'm outside your house. Some of my friends saw your derpy Ozark Holler video reblogged, and I said I kinda knew you.

Brianna: Well, you don't.

Cassandra: At least I have it on video.

And then everyone got default replacement eyes. I actually put in skin defaults too, but the first set didn't work properly. Brianna was supposed to have darker brown eyes than that, so just pretend she always did. I edited her later.

This is a TS4 potty-training face. :)

Brianna started planting her garden.

Yeah, she likes gardening!

Really nice and tidy rows of plants. <3

Maegan had v high IQ, and often she had ideas that she couldn't explain to anyone. The only adult around was usually Brianna, who's more towards the lower end of normal brain capacity when it comes to academics. Brianna has a lot of brain activity, it's just not very intellectually high-brow.

Life with a baby was chaotic at times, and TBH Brianna's immediate family aren't the best parents to learn from. (Except Liranda, but Brianna wasn't raised by her.)

Her family's always been pretty good with plants, though. Maybe they should grow plant-babies instead.

Maegan got promoted.

Pictured: An unidentified child being potty-trained. x) It took forever and a year.

Then it was bedtime.

Morgan: Winnie the Pooh?

Maegan: No, it's a modern book for upgraded children, called The Astronaut Unicorn Science Princess.

The mail carrier is always in the rottenest of moods. It's not her who gets all the bills, so I don't know what her problem is.

Maegan: TOO MUCH TEA!

Brianna: Run, Maegan! RUN!

Maegan: !!!!!! ....too late.

Maegan: Oh no, there's Beverly's father!

Brianna (loudly): ZOMGEE I'm so sorry I watered you!

Morgan: Potty axe-dent?

Brianna: Yeh, they can happen to grown-ups too.

After a shower and some confidence-rebuilding, Maegan had a plan for the day. (It may actually have been another day entirely, but Maegan did in fact have a plan for it nonetheless.) She wanted to visit the local gym, and write an article about the kind of people who voluntarily went there.

Brianna didn't go, because she had work.

Beverly was going to pretend to be working out, so it wouldn't be so suspish.

A very skinny woman was running for her life on the treadmill.

Maegan: Exercise bikes have killed more people than cow-plants.

Beverly: Cow-plants just spit you out, though.

Maegan: They do now, because they've been genetically adjusted to be non-lethal. 20 years ago they ATE, pun most intended.

The first two peeps they came across inside the gym were Don Lothario and Geoffrey Landgraab (Malcolm's father). As much as Geoffrey runs and works out, it's a mystery how he's still got a beer belly. (Well, he does in my game. In yours maybe he's really lean and swole.)

Stealth-mode was off, because Maegan wanted to interview the gym rats, and find out what primal instinct was causing this deep-rooted need to run, or in Don's case, to push.

Maegan: I should probably lead into the story by pointing out how much of an alien I am in a place like this. This is written for people like me, after all.

Maegan: Hiiiii. My name's Maegan Spaulding. I'm an independent writer-slash-researcher. Would you like to help me with some questions for an article?

Geoffrey: Oh, uh.... Sure.

Beverly: So, what is this good for?

Don: Strengthening the muscles in your shoulders, back and upper arms.

Beverly: And what is that good for?

Don: Well, uh.... You get stronger. And you don't need to wear dumb shoulder pads to look good in a suit.

Maegan: Alright, but has it had ANY effect? Are you happier? Is your married life better? Has your humanity increased?

Geoffrey: Uh, I've dropped seven lbs, so I think it has actually shrunk.

Maegan: Yeah, that is NOT good.

The vibes of the place got the better of Beverly, and she did her best to complete a set of push-ups. Morgan pretended to be one of the trainers and was firing her up.

Maegan didn't feel that her investigation had given the results she had hoped for. Just so the day wouldn't be a bust, she started a Preposterous Rumour(TM) that she hoped would catch on.

Maegan: Yeah, being swallowed by a cow-plant is the newest cleanse craze. They think that the plant absorbs all the extra calories and unhealthy additives that your body hasn't made use of, and that you're rebirthed as a clean and slim new person.

Geoffrey: Does it work?

Maegan: NO! You lose parts of your identity and knowledge. Among the younger Cleansers that's actually the main reason they do it, so they can become vapid and anonymous, and fit in everywhere. But that's not even the worst thing that happens. Cow-plant farming has become a booming business since Cow Cleanse became a thing. Some of the plants are the old strain, and there have been fatalities.

Geoffrey: That would be highly illegal. I'm in the police, and I've never heard of any of this. It can't be a big phenomenon.

Maegan: It's all over social media, if you know what tags to follow. Kids are daring each other to get swallowed by cow-plants, to see if they survive. At some schools it's become a thing you have to do in order to be accepted at all. You've got to film it, and post the video. There are videos out there of people being eaten. Their so-called friends posted them, because they get millions of views. People have even been eaten live on stream. Every weekend there are parties where kids get together and watch a bunch of lives of people doing the Cow-Plant Challenge, and you know they hope someone won't come back out!

The story just got better and better as Maegan was making it up, and even if Geoffrey didn't seem to believe it, Maegan actually felt that she kinda did.

She'd find a more receptive audience and try again.

After escaping the gym, Maegan felt that a drink and some more civilised company was what the self-help ordered.

Remember when Brianna said to her not to take Beverly to bars? Yeah, she kinda did bring both the 14-year-old and someone even younger. Chips for supper!

They can start a club.

The crowd was so chill that Maegan felt comfortable practicing her comedy routine. She's got several talents she wants to explore.

Yikes, Brianna!

Maegan: It's been a day. Have you learned anything?

Morgan: Chips!

Beverly didn't want to go home right away, and Maegan had a long talk with her.

Maegan: I don't have the best relationship with my dad either, or with my mom. My sister is an absolute troll, my younger brother is alright, and my older brother is.... not with us.

Beverly: Oh, I'm so sorry!

Maegan: Thanks. He's officially still missing, but.... He couldn't have survived. The whole building he was in disappeared. They said it must have been an undetected cave below it that gave in. Only a huge crater was left, as if it had been scooped out. But yeah, my family has never really accepted that he's dead, and it's been almost a year. Then my boyfriend was killed by a vending machine. It's been difficult.

Brianna: I love my job.

Brianna: Oh my gosh, Great-Grandma! Don't post your ingrown toenail! That's not how you use dental floss. That's not WHERE you use it! D: I miss a minute ago.

Stuff broke all the time. Fortunately for the girls they weren't afraid of DIY.

One of Maegan's unhealthy coping skills was trolling online. She had several sock puppet accounts that she logged into and exercised regularly, so they would look legit, and now she was using them to post the Cow-Plant story.

"Soccerm0mHeather_NC": My daughter's best friend did this. She would off died, but another girl pushed her so she fell and went first. DEad. Digested. They are 11. My daughter tried to go with them, but I caught her sneaking out of her window in the middle of the night, and after a lot of crying she has detention now. TAKE THEY'RE PHONES.

If anyone had asked Maegan why she did things like that, she wouldn't have been able to give a good answer. Once it was posted and she had logged out, she distanced herself from it, and it was like it never had existed. She had already forgotten about it the next day, when she and Beverly thought they'd check out the local museum.

Morgan came along, because Maegan hadn't found a babysitter yet. Usually, Morgan was dressed so you couldn't really tell if she was a girl or a boy. Her father had wished not to influence her or push her in any direction, so that whatever she chose would come naturally, and Maegan wanted to continue that. Today Morgan wanted to be a princess, though.

Maegan: Come with me to our new hometown's museum, and see what artworks and other things of note are tucked away there.

The first thing they noted was Cliff Eubanks, who was sarcastically giving a lecture about the exhibits.

Beverly hid behind the partition, because she wasn't in the mood for familiar encounters. She heard enough of Cliff's opinions at home. Then an angry dude came in, in company of Freddy Horton the repair man.

They had a workshop where people could explore their creativity.

And the most famous thing on display were these ship models. It wasn't a very big museum.

Maegan: That was all for this time, but be sure to hop on later tonight, for a livestream of Hillock 2.

There was a playground near the museum, but Morgan was too young for any of the equipment. There isn't much for toddlers to do outside if you only have the Base Game.

Morgan: Rude!

Back at the gym, a guy was deprecating the deaths of all the victims of workout equipment, by running in a dead skull shirt.

Maegan really had to pee. That was probably why they were at the gym.

At home she did some more programming, because she was aiming for a promotion at work.

Brianna became a mixologist, which is kind of like a bartender and not really part of a chef's career track. But whatever. Better pay, terrible hours.

Before crawling to bed, she found the energy to take some notes on her plants.

This is the view from their neighbourhood. I think they must be in a suburb of Las Vegas or something. That's Georgia's house, and the empty lot next to it will become important later.

Mornings were often super-tough for Maegan. :(

She usually managed to talk herself out of the funk, though.

And Morgan had to learn to love vegetables.

Brianna, you're technically a Starbloom. You've seen LOTS WORSE than Maegan on the throne.

So don't make that face, maybe.

While Maegan was cooped up in a computer lab, Brianna went foraging.

She was steadily getting more views on her videos. And yes, TS4 Sims are on their phones like that ALL THE TIME. It makes sense for Brianna and Maegan, who aspire to be influencers, but honestly I'm about to get a mod that reduces phone use.

Brianna: Hooray, I found onions! My garden will have a real vegetable.

Selfie Time. :*

Brianna: Someone's prolly gonna call me a goblin, and point out that I have a long nose, but whatever. I'm posting this.

It's always 12 followers, LOL! I wish it was more random.

This froggy MySims thing was in a time capsule she dug up. Maegan claimed it as her own, and it lived on her desk as moral support.

Brianna: Food tastes so much better when you've grown or foraged the ingredients yourself. Just make sure you know what you're harvesting, though. I know this one guy who found a cluster of cat-tail reeds, and thought they were wild corndogs.

Brianna: I know a lot of people don't like onions in mac and cheese, but I feel like with that much dairy and carbs you've gotta offset with a bit of roughage. Plus, it adds a little something to the flavour.

Something prompted Maegan to go outside and care for the sage bushes. She hated it.

Brianna had made garlic noodles as part of her training in gourmet cuisine. The garlic wasn't what made Maegan stink, though. x)

The living situation felt more and more like home, the way Brianna was used to it.

Her interest in plants had even rubbed off on Morgan, who was talking to the "green ladies" for hours every day.

And hey, this is a pretty logical place to end the first chapter! Next time you'll see everyone with defaults. :D TTFN and Narrator OUTTTTT!