6.20 Ground Control

#sims3challenge #sims3legacy #sims3story #thesims3

Dylan and Andria doted on little Edmund.

But parenthood wasn’t too exhausting for them. Edmund didn’t lack for backup caregivers.


Xia in particular didn’t seem to care that he wasn’t biologically her grandson.

The only Sample who wasn’t standing in line to play with the baby was Sawyer.

He had other things on his mind. Residency at the hospital was exhausting. When he wasn’t on rotation, he was reading medical journals.

He attacked his job with his traditional laser-like focus, tuning out everything around him for hours on end.


All right, he had two things on his mind.

Manisha came to visit for long weekends, during which time they mostly stayed home. Manisha was a homebody, and that suited Sawyer fine.

Aside from watching movies in the tech den of the main house, they spent most of their time in Sawyer’s lab, doing whatever it is geeks do when they’re alone.


Manisha got along surprisingly well with the rest of the Sample. Xia, of all people, took to her the most.


“What?” Xia asked when this was mentioned. “Ground Control is filled with people like her.”
Andria’s farm flourished. She grew things there that none of the Samples had ever seen. And very unusual things seemed to happen there.

Andria treated the plants like her own children. When they were hurt, she felt their pain.

She shared a connection with growing things that was unlike anything a normal mortal could know.


Dylan gave in to his enthusiasm for nectar. He’d taken an introductory class in nectaring on his honeymoon. He imported some equipment and began to experiment.

He also spent time training Connery.


Dylan’s life hadn’t turned out anything like he expected, and yet he loved it.

“Funny how that happens sometimes,” Xia said sagely.

Sky’s solo career showed no signs of slowing down.

Demand for Ghostwriter performances was actually picking up.

Abby’s career, on the other hand, wasn’t finding traction. She was going to a lot of auditions, but nothing had panned out. She took her frustration out on the aging, broken dishwasher.

“I can help you fix it,” Xia suggested. “Electronics are part of my career.”
“Just let me do this,” Abby snarled. 

Dylan just worked with her in companionable silence.

Connery and Sky had a special bond.

He loved her music and would even “sign along” when they played it at home.

There was even a sudden drop in attempted break-ins once he began standing guard.

Andria had always wanted a big family, and biology was on her side. The next Sample was on the way before Edmund was even a toddler.

Not long before, however, Edmund’s birthday was upon them.

Here’s Edmund!

Xia proudly sat him at the table with the rest of the family.

He didn’t get to eat the cake,

but he was pretty happy with his celebratory bottle.

After the festivities, it was Edmund’s bedtime.

Dylan and Andria stole some time together after Edmund was finally asleep.

“Head to bed without me,” Xia said to Sky. “I have something to do. I’ll be right up.”

With Abby safely out of the way, Xia intended to finally fix that dishwasher.

The sound of the explosion woke up the household and brought them running.

But it was too late for Xia.

It all happened so fast. Sky never said a word. She just watched the love of her life disappear in stunned silence.

Grim’s job was done, and he turned out to be a fan of Ghostwriter music.

While the Samples grieved, he got his groove on.

Sawyer descended on him. “While you’re here, I want you to explain some secrets of life.”

“What? Oh, I’m late for my next appointment,” Grim said and was gone.

———-

And so comes the surprise end of Xia. She fixed the dishwasher autonomously, was zapped and nearly killed. I didn’t even know that sims could repair things autonomously. I admit that I sent her back for the second time. It was part curiosity about the legendary dishwasher deathtraps, and partly because I felt like Xia had told me how she wanted to leave the game. She becomes the second Sample to become a colored ghost. Well, she and Veronica always like attracting attention.

Putting in the Grim antics seemed in sort of bad taste, but come on — Grim antics.

Edmund got the best coloration of all Dylan and Andria’s kids IMHO. I mean, come on! He got Leah’s hair! Also Andria’s eyes. We’ll see how his face turns out.

Also, Andria can bring plants back to life! That’s apparently what happens when you max out your Gardening skill. Or maybe that combined with Green Thumb? At any rate, I’d never seen it before. Seems like the perfect power for a plant fae.

Dylan has topped out the Photographer career, so I’m going to see what he can do with nectar making.

9 thoughts on “6.20 Ground Control

  1. Oh no!!! I honestly thought Sky would go before Xia, considering she's older. Earlier on in the chapter, I was biting my nails at Abby fixing the dishwasher with all that water on the floor.

    At least she got to meet her 'step' grandson before she died ๐Ÿ™

    Speaking of Edmund, how adorable is he?! Perfect mix of genetics there.

    Nothing wrong with Grim antics. Grim needs a boost to lift his mood after ferrying those souls all day every day.

  2. Yeah, it was a big shock to see Xia go before Sky. And my sims almost never die of anything but old age. Still, it seems like the way Xia would want to go — with a bang.

    I love Edmund's genetics :).

  3. Yeah. This game is low on accidental deaths. Poor Xia.

    I couldn't be happier with Edmund. Then again, as far as face genetics go, I think all the kids are promising.

  4. Well, that was unexpected! ๐Ÿ™ I have to admit that I felt something was up when she said she' come to bed later, but I had no idea this was going to happen… poor Xia, and poor Sky! Those two have been through such a lot, and now Xia is gone. I hope Sky's family will support her now.

  5. Oh no, Xia! I have to say, I love your relationships with your Sims; I think it's awesome that you pay so much attention to what they want and incorporate that into storytelling. It's really cool.

    I'm beginning to think maybe Abby isn't cut out for acting, and I'm very hopeful for Sawyer/Manisha babies bc, genes! But I'd be surprised if that turned out to be a thing.

  6. Thank you so much for reading! It's good to see you back. I know you have so much stuff going on.

    Since you and Jo were such big fans of Sawyer, I was hoping you'd come back to see how things turned out with him. Lots more surprises in store at this point in the story :).

  7. Such a tragic death! Poor Xia ๐Ÿ™ ๐Ÿ™ ๐Ÿ™ and I’m so sorry for Sky. If she knew that was the last moment she saw her, I’m almost certain that they’d make sure to woohoo one last time… But then, if I think about it, Xia is going to stick around as a ghost so theoretically they can still see each other, right?

    Edmund is one lucky little boy. His genetics are really cool!!!

  8. Oh no Xia! That’s horrible. Although it is kind of awesome she is a different colored ghost. My sims almost never die of anything other than old age. I must admit I’m way too much of a control freak.
    Edmund looks great so far. I’ll continue reading now so I can see how he turns out

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