The Lakshmi family is back with an update for Apocalypse Please! Chapter 6 - A Faintly Glimmering Radio Station, Weeks 15 -17. This chapter generation 3 become adults and start out their lives and new careers. We also get to meet the first of generation 4!

1. Apocalypse Please! HippieLayla86 A faintly Glimmering Radio station Weeks 15 - 17

2. Hello all, welcome back to Apocalypse Please! For chapter 6 – A Faintly Glimmering Radio Station, Weeks 15 – 17. Last chapter lots of important things happened: - Buddy proposed to his long time love Brandi. - Buddy and Clint topped their careers lifting the Law and Politics restrictions; the house got a facelift since I could finally build outside the original 8x8 area. - All of generation 3 became teens and worked on keeping themselves entertained in their own ways. And generation 2 are all elders now. At this point I still only had the base game, uni and seasons installed so I was following the original rules by Pinstar. At week 16 I switched computers I was playing my challenge on and not only installed the rest of the EPs therefore switching to the Apocaborg Rules created at Boolprop – http://apocalypsechallenge.boolprop.com/ but I didn't update my camera settings to the large photo style. So I apologize for the dip in picture quality halfway through the chapter. But I think the extra challenges I encounter due to the increased rules makes things even more interesting, at least it did for my playing! This chapter will be narrated again by Clint the generation 2 heir, now let's get started shall we? ---->

3. My daughter Eileen and her new boyfriend Derek can often be seen from the kitchen window embracing after Derek delivers the newspaper. I think this relationship is merely built on convenience since Derek is guaranteed to stop by everyday, though I would never ask Eileen if my suspicions are true. If she's happy, she's happy.

4. My niece Adia's painting skills have really blossomed. Painting is one of the few luxuries we have in Hiddenbrook, and it's thanks to my Mother's hard work. Without my Mother becoming an acclaimed muralist, we would have never started receiving shipments of art supplies and musical instruments.

5. The ever longed for Tuesday is upon us. Tuesday is the only day our phone lines work in Hiddenbrook. I took this opportunity to invite my best friend Benny over, and Buddy invited his love Brandi over. Apparently he has some unfinished business to attend to.

6. I was shocked to look out of the window to see Eileen greet Benny when he arrived. She almost even looked happy to see him. This is a big change from her icy stare she gave him when I introduced the two.

7. I wonder if Benny's casual clothing makes Eileen more comfortable, and makes him not seem as old to her. He is quite a bit younger than me, so I honestly didn't see what the big deal was in the first place.

8. Eileen and Benny didn't chat for too long before I headed outside to greet my friend. I had been thinking about something for a while, and I think now is the time to ask. “ Benny, I've noticed you've grown quite close to my family, and my family to you. I was wondering if you would consider moving in with us?” I had no idea what answer to expect from Benny.

9. So when Benny said, “I will gladly join your family! I'm honored that you consider me apart of it already. I've never had a family of my own, this will be wonderful.” And then my friend pulled me in for a hug, I was happy and relived he said yes. It's great when things really start to come together.

10. When Brandi arrived, Buddy decided to show her our new car. I think he had more than just the car on his mind when he took her into the garage... especially when he pulled her in for a kiss. Later he told me that he had finally lost his virginity. I couldn't believe that my brother had been a virgin for that long. He said he had battled for years over it, and finally came to the conclusion that he may never be able to get married to Brandi, and there was no time left to lose.

11. Benny has adjusted well to living with our family. Not only does he have a new home with us now, but he's also changed careers. When he realized that we didn't have any security in this town, he decided to take it upon himself to use his background in politics to persuade the military to come back to Hiddenbrook. --- Benny's aspiration is Fortune and his sign is Cancer with the traits: 6 Neat, 3 Outgoing, 6 Active, 4 Playful and 6 Nice. His LTW is to become a Criminal Mastermind, but the Military restrictions are far more pressing than the Life of Crime restrictions, if for no other reason than to just be able to move sims out of the household.

12. I've come to the conclusion that my daughter is merely using Derek to keep herself in a good mood. The two are now going steady and I think it's no coincidence that she's becoming an adult tomorrow. --- Yes, Clint is right, Derek is just aspirational fodder.

13. Benny's background in Politics is really paying off, his first day on the job he was able to convince his commanding officer to add him to the Elite Forces. Benny said every promotion is another step towards safety for Hiddenbrook.

14. My twins are growing up before our very eyes. Tonight we made the two of them cakes to help them celebrate this special birthday.

15. The whole family was there to watch Eileen and Dylan become adults. I think Eileen takes more after me than Anna and Dylan definitely looks like his Mother.

16. The night wasn't a complete success though. It turns out poor Dylan had his hopes set on going to college. It took a lot of convincing that he would be okay without that extra education. I told him to remember that no one in this family had attended college since his grandparents yet all of us have been extremely successful.

17. I myself found the whole thing very distressing. I am so sorry that my children cannot have all of the opportunities they could have had, had we lived somewhere else.

18. Fortunately Eileen didn't seem phased by the lack of opportunities given to her, and just focused on those that were. She happily found a job in the paper in the Education field tonight. --- This is a trick that works for me, each member of the family keeps a newspaper in their inventory, and one by one I take out the papers and have the hopefuls look to see if the first job is the one they're looking for. They still only take the first option, so it's a little creative bypass of the rules.

19. After a few days Dylan was able to finally come to his senses, and he felt settled with the life he has to live. He was able to find a career in Journalism which brightened his outlook on life tremendously. --- Poor Dylan was so unlucky for a few days, not only was he bottomed out aspiration wise, but he couldn't find the Journalism career. When he finally found it, he and I both were relieved! And another side note, this is the first time I've ever had a sim “panhandle for simoleons” poor guy!

20. It seems every time Benny comes home from work he's announcing a promotion. This time he's been promoted to a drill instructor.

21. I'm very happy to see Eileen and Benny getting along these days. Most of their time off from work is spent together. The two have become close friends, and seem to genuinely enjoy each others company.

22. But when I saw the two of them embracing and whispering in the other's ears, I knew something else was going on.

23. I'm happy to say that my daughter and my best friend seem to be falling in love. You may think it's strange that I'm happy about this, but I know that Benny will treat my daughter like a Queen.

24. As each day passes, Dylan gets a little bit better adjusted to life. Today he even decided to greet a total stranger, he told me her name is Christy. I don't think it hurt that she's good looking either. My niece Adia just had her birthday recently too, and we're happy to have her join Eileen and Dylan in their adult years. Eileen and Dylan have been very successful with their careers. Eileen is currently just enjoying her job, and Dylan has been promoted, and is now writing his own blog. WEEK 16

25. Eileen couldn't let Dylan show her up for too long, she is now a teacher's aide. But, one step ahead, Dylan is now writing internet movie reviews. --- Last slide is where I switched computers, and forgot to A, turn up my picture quality, and B, switch the picture size to large. Unfortunately this chapter and the next will both have smaller, lesser quality pictures. But – I also started playing with more challenging rules at this point, so things are about to get more interesting... the first big change you'll see is due to one of the pet restrictions, I won't be able to control the elders anymore... So, I will be switching the narration over to Eileen.

26. I am saddened to share the news that my mother Anna passed away tonight. My Dad's world seemed to shatter all around him, and he has been reduced to sulking in the corner, between sobs and outcries that he should have been taken first.

27. I wasn't doing so well myself either, I couldn't even console my own Father. I was crying in my bedroom when Benny knocked on the door. “ Eileen? May I come in?” between sobs, I managed a yes. “ Eileen, come here,” Benny said as he pulled me in close, “I am so sorry for your loss. Your mother was a wonderful woman, and I feel privileged to have known her. She was proud of you and Dylan and she was a happy woman, everyone knows that.” Benny starting wiping away my tears, and then to my surprise, pulled me in for a kiss. Up until now, I hadn't seen that he had feelings for me. We held each other for a while longer, but eventually went to bed separately.

28. When Benny and I saw each other the next day, I decided to propose to him. We got married straight away because when you know, you know. I think Dad had this planned all along, but honestly, I don't mind since Benny and I do love each other so much.

29. --- Eileen and Benny didn't waste anytime on consummating their marriage. And I wanted to note, that this is the last time there will be an “arranged” marriage for this family. The Apoca-borg ruleset says that only the sim that will be carrying on the next generation may ask their intended spouse to move in with them.

30. My hubby, I love saying that by the way, but my hubby was promoted again to a Junior officer. I'm really impressed with his negotiation skills, they're doing him a lot of good with his career in the military!

31. Another rule change made it so the garage is no longer enclosed and that the only car that may be purchased is the junker. Since I want Eileen to be able to go to work pregnant so she doesn't lose her job, I have Benny and Adia dive into fixing up the old thing.

32. My hubby isn't the only one getting promotions these days, I have recently been promoted to working as a substitute teacher! I don't quite have my own classroom yet, but I'm well on my way now. My brother, Dylan, has also received a promotion to a more serious position at the local paper, he is now a fact checker. The even better news regarding Dylan is that he's finally gotten up the nerve to make a move on his friend Christy, and it seems his feelings for her are mutual.

33. So mutual that the two shared their first kiss last night. I tried to make myself scarce when I stumbled upon the happy couple, I don't think they would've noticed me in the room anyway the way they were looking at each other. ;)

34. Dylan joined Adia and Benny's efforts on fixing up the old junker we picked up today, and I'm proud to say that my brother put the finishing touches on the car. I can't believe how good it looks from what it had looked like originally!

35. My cousin Adia has always been close to my parents, with my Aunt Al being a bit clueless when it came to parenting, and no father to be found, so I wasn't too shocked when she said she wanted to stay at home and make sure my Dad was okay. I was really relieved to hear it as well since neither Dylan or myself had the time to do so. --- Since I can't control the elders, Adia is my elder sitter. She is also constantly looking out for strays to walk by and befriend to get to the real root of the problem and start unlocking the pet career restrictions.

36. Life seems a bit repetitive these days, but I suppose I should be thankful that the repetition is of good things. Benny has gotten a promotion to counter intelligence, Dylan has been promoted to writing obituaries (he hasn't been too excited about that understandably), and Benny and I have been just as close as ever.

37. Shortly after, Benny and Dylan were promoted again, but the bigger, better news is that Benny and I are expecting our first child! The tricky thing is that I've got to battle all of the side effects of pregnancy while continuing to go to work. Though, I'll take working pregnant over having to quit my job! --- The slacker restriction states that if a sim misses one single day of work for any reason, including pregnancy, that they have to quit. So, since pregnant sims can still go to work if they drive, that's what Eileen will be doing to keep her job!

38. My cousin Adia is convinced that finding a household pet will help Dad out of his funk. He's still unresponsive to any of us, and Adia thinks a cat will do the trick... regardless of whether or not it will work, Adia has “met” a couple of stray cats, one in particular named Kobe that she's trying to adopt.

39. Adia and Benny spend a lot of time together playing chess. Benny is convinced the better he becomes at chess, the better he will be with combat coordination. I think he's just trying to explain away his hobby! ;)

40. It seemed like a flash when our first born baby came into the world. Our first born is a boy we named Frank. He has Benny's red hair and brown eyes. He is so beautiful, I'm so happy he's finally here. --- Frank was named after “Frank Sinatra” by Cake, and the title of this chapter was taken from that song too.

41. Frank was welcomed into the world with all of the love and attention a little baby needs. My Dad who had most recently shut out the whole world couldn't even ignore the little guy. --- At lease Clint was cute enough to autonomously cuddle his grandson, now getting him to put him down was another story! lol

42. First it was my mother, and then it was my Aunt Al who was taken by old grim. I was never close to my Aunt, really, none of us were close to her, not even her own daughter. My Aunt Al's life was a big mystery for us, we never found out who was Adia's father, and I know that made my Dad upset with Aunt Al. I just don't understand how you could have a child, and not introduce them to their father.

43. Aunt Al's passing has served as a reminder to all of us to let those that we hold dear know how we feel about them. Not to take life for granted. Now each of us have different ways of dealing with this, Uncle Buddy has been giving Frank extra attention while Adia has further strengthened her relationship with the stray, Kobe. So much so, that we've taken the stray in finally. --- I really lucked out with Kobe, he is a Genius, Hyper, Independent, Aggressive and Finicky, but he can already play dead, shake, speak and use the toilet!

44. Adia was able to find Kobe a job in the newspaper in the service field. With her success with Kobe she looks to try and adopt another pet, a dog named Scout. Dylan has gotten yet another promotion at work to a sports columnist, and my hubby is now a Senior Officer. The two of them have been very successful with their careers in such a short amount of time. --- And to my happiness, they're both already at level 7 in their careers! WEEK 17

45. It took no time for Adia to befriend and adopt Scout, an adult male dog. She was able to get him a job in the Show Business field right away, and was instructed that he needed to learn how to “speak” on command. So she got to training him right away. My cousin doesn't solely devote her time to her pets though, she's been a great help with Frank as well. --- Scout was also very skilled, knows how to play dead and roll over. Adia taught him to speak that first night for a promotion.

46. My little baby Frank got just a little bit older tonight. We celebrated his birthday into his terrible twos, and I think we'll have trouble with letting him get away with things because he is the cutest little boy I've ever seen.... I know, I know, I'm biased, but just look at that face! --- Frank's personality is 7 Neat, 5 Outgoing, 6 Active, 0 Playful, 8 Nice. A very serious young boy. lol

47. Since Benny and I have to work so much, Adia has really been a big help with all of the extra attention Frank now needs as a toddler. She's been helping with his potty training and also helping him pronounce his first words. She was over the moon when Frank successfully said, “Aunt Ada” pretty close for a toddler!

48. Apparently Dad's despondent nature has crept into his work life too. After many years of serving as Hiddenbrook's mayor, he has been asked to step down. Benny and I were a bit reluctant to share our good news with him, but Benny is now a Commander and I'm now teaching at the local elementary school. --- Clint was fired due to a bad chance card, but Benny is now level 8 in military and Eileen is level 4 in education. Luckily Clint had already lifted the politics restrictions long ago.

49. Benny and I had had no trouble conceiving Frank, but it seems the second time around is a bit slow going for us. We've been trying since Frank was born to no avail. If at first you don't succeed, try, try again!

50. Adia's pets Scout and Kobe have been very successful with their jobs. Both have received two promotions, Scout was first an understudy and now he's a stunt double. And Kobe was a therapy cat and is now a seeing eye cat. --- One more promotion for both and then two pet restrictions will be taken care of!

51. When I was sitting and talking with Frank I felt an old familiar feeling, a kick from an infant! Benny and I are finally expecting again, and I couldn't be happier to pull out those old maternity clothes again. I can't wait for Frank to have a little brother or sister to play with!

52. While everyone is at work, Frank and his Aunt Adia spend all day together. She's finally helped him move from diapers to using the toilet like a big boy and they always spend time together during his afternoon bath. My little boy is growing up so quickly!

53. Benny was recently put into a very difficult situation at work. The General's son was up for a pardon, but Benny just couldn't bring himself to put aside his integrity and pardon the son just because it might affect his job in a positive way. So, Benny denied the pardon. To his shock his honesty was rewarded when another high ranking official gave Benny a promotion to working on the next team sent to the moon! My husband is now an astronaut! Astronaut or not, Benny still spends most of his free time with his family, tonight he finally helped Frank take his first steps. Scout also received a promotion today, and he is now a showbiz star!

54. Children and teenagers may not Learn to do Homework Children and teenagers may not build skill with objects that do not also raise fun. Children and Teens may still be directed to Clean, Repair, and Cook. Once a family pet becomes a Star, it provides some much needed entertainment to the household's youngsters. With their minds stimulated, they can finally focus on school work and learning.” – Quoted from the Apocalypse ruleset Showbiz Pet Restrictions Lifted “ Life in a desolate world is harsh to Sims of all ages. Younger Sims find the new world they are growing up in not only scary, but mind numbingly boring as well. With no entertainment for kids and teenagers, concentrating on work is very difficult....

55. It seems like just yesterday that Frank was blowing out his candles for his toddler birthday, but it surely wasn't! We are celebrating his birthday to enter his childhood tonight.

56. The older Frank grows, the more he reminds me of his father. Benny is really excited to get to spend even more time with his son, since Frank can now help him with his training for work while learning some valuable skills himself. --- Benny does need another logic point to top the military career and we found out Frank's predestined hobby is Science that night. Not exactly sure how now, since chess goes with the gaming hobby... but I had it written down in my notes nonetheless

57. My brother Dylan has been hard a work lately, he's been spending lots of hours in overtime, and has been writing and selling novels while at home. So it came as no surprise when he received another raise at work and is now an Investigatory Journalist.

58. As Eileen woke up to go get a snack from the fridge, she discovered that her second baby was ready to be born....

59. And this is where Chapter 6: A Faintly Glimmering Radio Station ends. Join the Lakshmis next time to meet Benny and Eileen's newest addition and see who will be the next to reach the top of their career to make life that much easier in Hiddenbrook. Thank you for reading! And make sure you head over to: SiMania ( www.z12.invisionfree.com/sim_mania ) for updates on the family in between chapters. Happy Simming! HippieLayla86