Culpepper Pals: Summer 3: Ember

[beanstalk_sims]

Index / Boolprop




Still playing catch up - it's autumm 3 in game and I can't wait to share it with you! But we have to finish up the summer first!

Last time, spring brought a couple of new members to the Ember family! The first was new kitten, Geppetto, followed by a pregnancy announcement – baby number two was on the way! There was also family time, duelling, a hike and some gardening. Caroline was presented with her first familiar, a phoenix, became friends with Brianna Caliente, and is now close to completing her aspiration. Later on in spring, Elsie and Morgyn welcomed a little boy to their family – Tarin Ember – and immediately organised a playdate with the Goths.






Is there a household that didn't have french toast this season?

I did think long and hard about tweaking the house again this season as I wanted a slightly larger kitchen, but I couldn't figure out quite how to to rearrange things. Maybe on my next visit.




Meanwhile, little Tarin is making the most out of having a ballpit one last morning.

There's only so much space in the garden, and I'd like to put something else there...




Chickens!!

Lots of people keep chickens in their gardens in real life, and the Embers definitely strike me as a family that would have them. Also, unlike the Vatores, I actually wrote down the names of these chickens - Lucky, Bella and Maple.




I'm not 100% sure which one is Lucky and which one is Bella, but this one is definitely Maple - she refused a hug from Tarin which upset him.




Luckily Morgyn is on hand to cheer Tarin up.

How I wish this was an actual interaction rather than a pose pack though!




Morgyn did spend the morning playing with Tarin though, which was just as cute.




Meanwhile Elsie is helping Caroline with her homework.

It's for Elsie's Successful Lineage aspiration. No doubt she'll still help Tarin with his homework when he's old enough, even though this bit of the aspiration will be done by then.






They're all so cute <3

I love this family!




Danny and Brianna were invited over for the afternoon as per tradition






And the evening was the whole "bath and bed" routine.

Honestly, they may be a house full of magical sims, but they're probably one of the more ordinary families in the save!






It's Monday morning! Elsie and Caroline walked past at least nine chairs to reach Caroline's bed, which is where they chose to eat breakfast this morning. Sims logic!

Naturally breakfast is leftover french toast.




Tarin gets cereal, and me admiring how adorable he is.




Monday was spent working on his toddler skills, and playing.




Caroline came home with another A, so she's completed her Whiz Kid aspiration!

She's now Mentally Gifted! I didn't bother giving her another aspiration, she'll be a teen in a few days.






Despite receiving top marks, Elsie is still giving Caroline a hand with her homework, while Morgyn reads Tarin a story.

Morgyn is a teacher and is away all day, but it more than happy to help out when they come home.




They're honestly just the most ordinary and functional family.

They're very nice to play.






Tuesday morning begins with flashcards, which apparently Bruno hates!




Tarin also finally got that chicken hug he's wanted for a few days!




The day flew by, and before you know it, Caroline and Morgyn are home from school.

It does feel like the family has a good routine going.






I honestly don't feel like I have much to say about them, other than "look how cute and functional they all are!"

You'll just have to trust me: I was having a great time playing this family.






For reasons I apparently didn't write down, Caroline was up at 3am on Wednesday. I guess she's just a bit of a night owl?

It wasn't long before Tarin decided to join her. Sleep is for the weak, apparently.




Wednesday morning also called for cake for breakfast.

I did try and have Caroline help out with the cooking, but I don't think there's enough counter space for it to work properly, which is a shame.




Anyway! It's Tarin's birthday!

I'm going to miss him being a little toddler, but I'm also looking forward to seeing what he gets up to next.




Tarin Ember!

Tarin got the Rambunctious Scamp aspiration, the Goofball trait and was also a Happy Toddler. I don't think he was far off being top notch, but didn't quite make it.

I love him <3






There's no school for Tarin today as it's his birthday, but Elsie's determined to make good use of the time - she takes him out to Willow Creek to play on the park for his aspiration.




"Fresh air and exercise for my son, and a root beer float for me!"

Treat yourself, Elsie, you're the main reason things run so smoothly for this family <3




* * *




Hasn't been to school yet? Still somehow has homework.

And for some reason had a whim to complete it. The Embers raise good, responsible kids <3






Another morning calls for another cake.

"Elsie, darling, I'm not criticising your cooking choices at all, but do we have anything to eat that isn't just pure sugar?"

"...no."

"Thought as much," Morgyn smiled, "Guess I'll be having a slice of birthday cake for breakfast today, then."




Happy Birthday Caroline!

I can't believe she's a teen already!




And here she is, on her way to feed the chickens! I think she looks quite a bit like Elsie, but there's definitely some of Morgyn in there, too.

Caroline's aspiration is Nerd Brain, which gives her the Quick Learner trait. I'm not entirely committed to this, I mainly picked it because she was a Whiz Kid. Her teen trait is Lactose Intolerant which doesn't really give me much to work with in terms of figuring out her personality. I also gave her the Speed Reader reward trait.

I guess we'll see how things go. Maybe I'll have picked something new for her by the time I get to the family in the autumn. But for now, she's a Nerd Brain.




Once Morgyn leaves for work and Tarin leaves for school, Elsie takes Caroline on a little educational trip of her own - her first trip to the magic realm!

"...and so this is where it all takes place! Cool, huh?"

"Why is it so warm?" Caroline asked, wrinkling her nose.

"Ah, that's just the background magic levels. It's always like that here."




"We're going to have so much fun!" Elsie said, excitedly, "We'll get you your first broomstick today, maybe practise some spells!"

I genuinely love Elsie's enthusiasm for this place <3




Caroline's had a magic wand in her inventory practically since birth, but couldn't leave her from her first trip to the realm empty handed - despite already having a familiar, she bought herself a new one.

Meet Cottontail the Bunnerfly!




"So now what, Mum?" Caroline asked, after returning from the market, "We duel?"

"Please," Elsie smirked, "You can't duel me on your first trip to the realm."

"I can," Caroline insisted, "I can take it."

"...are you sure, Caroline?"

"Hey, I might even be good at duelling!"




Well, you're off to a spectacular start, Caroline.




"This is your last chance to back down, Caroline," Elsie warned, once the two of them had reached the duelling ground, "I won't be going easy on you!"

"Cast a spell already!" Caroline called back, "Unless you think I'll win!"




"I married a former sage, Caroline," Elsie said, casting spells effortlessly, "I'm highly trained. There's absolutely no way you're going to beat me today."




Of course, Caroline was way out of her depth. Both of her parents are powerful spellcasters, they've both spent hours practising and honing their craft.




Despite the outcome being obvious, Elsie was still super smug about winning.




Caroline set about practising when they got home, though. Maybe someday she'll win a duel against one of her parents.






Oblivious to all of the magical chaos going on around him, Tarin brought home Danny Goth from school.

The pair of them were pretty good friends by the end of the evening. I love it when the playable kids all get along <3




"...and then I totally beat her in a duel!"

"Well, you explained where she went wrong, right? Maybe we should train her at the weekend..."

"...guys, I'm literally sitting right here. And yes, training at the weekend is fine."

Both parents looked excited. It's probably a spellcaster thing - firing magic at one another is how they show their love, right?






Good morning! It's Friday, and Caroline has taken a job as a barista!

I'm hoping if she gets promoted to the top of the barista career, it'll count for Elsie's aspiration. Otherwise it might take a while!




Now that Elsie is home all day while her entire family is out, there isn't much going on during school hours.

Today's top story: Geppetto ran away, but came home. He's such a pretty cat, even caked in dirt <3






The kids come home and because it's Friday homework takes a backseat in favour of skilling for aspirations.

Tarin is fine with this, Caroline is clearly less happy. She pulls that face a lot, actually. It's part of the reason I want to come up with a new aspiration for her - she never looks happy with what she's up to.




That helicopter is literally Tarin's favourite thing, he's always playing with it.






Saturday gets off to a gloomy start, not that it bothers the kids.

Tarin immediately invites over the gang - Danny's here, and Brianna is around too somewhere.




Meanwhile out front, two top-level spellcasters are about to duel for the first time in a while. Last time they did this Elsie won, but they're fairly evenly matched.

"Winner gets to train Caroline, loser gets to sit in front of the tv with snacks!"

"Deal!"




I bet that random townie walking by is now regretting her decision to stroll through Glimmerbrook.




Eventually Caroline pops outside to see what's going on.

"What are you guys doing? I can hear you from the other side of the house!"




"Er, Baba, this looks kinda dangerous. Are you sure I should learn how to do this?"

"Absolutely, Caroline! Duelling is a very important part of being a spellcaster!"




"Your mother forgets that I'm the one who trained her, that I know all of these techniques like the back of my hand!"




Elsie took losing the duel really well actually.

"Well, I'm off to eat french toast and check my emails. Have fun you two!"




Doesn't this just take you back to when Morgyn was training Elsie?

They grow up so fast!




The boys were completely oblivious to all of the magical shenanigans by the way.

"Your neighbourhood sure is pretty, Tarin!"

"Yup! Hey, you wanna trade voidcritters?"




Morgyn decided to finish their training session off with a duel.

"I just saw you magically smack my mother into the pavement, but I guess I'll give it a go."

"That's the spirit, Caroline!"






She's not bad for a beginner, not really. Definitely got a few hits in on Morgyn. Of course, there was no way she could really win. Not yet at least.

"Good try, Caroline! I'm impressed!"




Saturday afternoon in the Ember household looked a lot more ordinary, like a scene from any other household.




And that's where summer ended for the Embers, with Caroline learning a new spell!

I still haven't really worked out what I'm doing with Caroline, but maybe by the time I get there in the autumn I'll have thought of something.




Look at them <3 Love my spellcaster family!

Just one more summer update to post - Max & Taeko - then the Strangerville interlude with Tania and THEN we'll be onto autumn! I've almost caught up to where I've played!!

See you all next time!