The Silvas Succeed, Chapter 2

Welcome again to the second chapter of the first part of The Silva Saga, known as The Silvas Succeed. Last chapter was all building up to this, so let's see some actual success, right? Sawyer here is the Wonder Child, and he has just grown up in the story, ready for years of skilling and whim fulfillment. I will put some of my thoughts on strategy in parentheses below the story, but we go back to Beth for the narration . . .

As Sawyer grew, we knew it was time for him to start his training. Like all kids, he would rather have played with toys at first. However, even had we not been doing the Wonder Child Initiative, he would have needed some education and skill building of some sort. Since Enrique and I did sign up for the Initiative, it is even more important that we get him working on these things right away. Sawyer's birthday was right around the end of the school year, so we had all summer to get him ready to succeed in school and to get a boost on those skills!

(The Silvas had Sawyer relatively early in the challenge because I'm hoping they don't die too soon in his teen years. Sawyer did grow up on a Friday after school started, so I had three days to work on skills before he would be trying to raise that C.)

Sawyer took to music and art right away, doubtlessly because of the creative streak he had inherited from his dad. We worked with him on instruments and drawing to start with, but he largely did most of the work himself! His first several months on the violin were unsettling, but he did get better gradually. Meanwhile, I had been working to quell my fears about the Initiative. When I saw the wonderful things Sawyer was accomplishing, I felt thankful for the framework that had provided me with this family and the ability to raise Sawyer in this manner. However, I still wondered about the end result.

(Obviously we are knocking the creativity child skill out first since it aligns with his trait, and thereby also building the skill he needs to get to a B student.)

No sim could go through the extremes of time and energy that we were putting Sawyer through without assistance. This came in the form of potions that we were allowed to buy from the Initiative when we were doing well. These provided Sawyer with the extra boost he needed for all-night study sessions and all-day violin recitals. He wasn't too keen on them at first, but Sawyer has always been a good boy and followed along with our guidance, even if it did taste like "kiwi-flavored magma" as he said.

(I saw in a video by Pinstar the advice to always buy Moodlet Solvers instead of Sleep Replacements, and he is so spot on in this, guys. They're only 100 more points, and they take care not just of negative moodlets but also all needs. This really saved me time, and it saved Sawyer many meals, bathroom trips, conversations, etc. that he would otherwise have needed.)

It was around this time that I found out I was expecting again. We hadn't exactly planned on another child, and when I turned in my logbook, I had to assure the Initiative people that this wouldn't be a distraction. That was a little weird, but more importantly, I was worried about Sawyer's reaction. I already knew Enrique and I would love another child, but that Sawyer would remain our focus when it came to education and training. Luckily, he was not upset. However, he was not exactly excited either. Sawyer told me that it would depend on whether his brother or sister was "cool" or not. Ha ha, okay. Fair enough. I'm sure he'll get used to being a big brother. In the meantime, he has been drawing pictures of everything and anything at his art table.

(They/I actually did plan another child. The second child is both a third source of potions and another social outlet. It feels so callous to describe a sibling that way, but that's the challenge for you.)

In no time at all, Sawyer could practically draw with his eyes closed. He was that good. We decided that it was time for him to begin a new pursuit.

(Sawyer finished creativity that weekend, before he ever got to school. I felt like this was an auspicious start. Because of his creative trait, he has also been getting whims to draw or play the violin, so he is building towards getting some extra traits. His second trait was Creatively Gifted, but the first one I bought was Morning Sim, followed soon by Night Owl. These two increased his skilling potential and gave him a happy moodlet during their relevant times. Savant is the ultimate goal of course, but it is so expensive that I decided some little ones might be better at first.)

Since Sawyer would be starting school soon, Enrique and I decided to work next on his mental prowess. We started with Enrique reading to him, but he was soon reading on his own. Enrique was a little sad that Sawyer didn't need him anymore for reading, but there was still plenty he and I could do to help our son. In the end, though, the whole point was to make Sawyer self-sufficient, so we would have to get used to it eventually.

(If you do mental before motor, you can also build video gaming skill when playing Keyboard Commander. Enrique also needed to read to a child for his Successful Lineage aspiration, so that one meshes pretty well at the early stages with raising a Wonder Child.)

At our request, the school had sent home some work Sawyer could get started on before classes even began. Enrique spent a lot of time teaching Sawyer the basics that he would need to be a successful grade schooler. We wanted him to get good grades as soon as possible, as that had been suggested to us by our Initiative contact as a goal to strive for. I agreed with it, but once again I wondered why they cared so much. It worried me, as we had recently learned that Sawyer would be auto-enrolled into a program they simply called "The Next Phase" after he turned 20. I had vaguely known that they were interested in our child for some reason, but the lack of details was unsettling.

Enrique was not the only one helping Sawyer with his education, though. To hone his mental skills, he and I played many games of chess. At first I had to make bad moves to let him win or at least keep the game close, but all too soon he was beating me handily despite my best efforts. Sawyer was such a bright kid, and I was so proud of him! I tried to focus on that and the present rather than worry what the future might hold. I was also starting to show quite a bit with my pregnancy, and balancing that, work, and raising Sawyer kept me too busy to worry too much.

Sawyer was pretty confident by the time he started school. His grades improved steadily, and he was soon a straight-A student. The work we had put into preparing him really paid off! He loved school too, even if it did take up a lot of time that could have been spent doing other things.

(Sawyer got his grade school A with 7 days to spare of childhood. I forgot that Enrique could write excuse notes until after halfway through childhood, so he only took one day off from grade school that way. If I ever try this challenge again, I will utilize excuse notes more fully. You do have to wait a few days after one before you can write another one for the same sim.)

While Sawyer was at school and Enrique was working away on a painting to help us earn more money, I welcomed a baby girl into the family. We named her Suzanna. She looked a lot like Sawyer did at that age. I was so happy to have another baby, and a girl, too! Our family finally felt complete.

After Sawyer's lukewarm reaction to the announcement of my pregnancy, I wasn't sure how he would react to meeting Suzanna, but he was actually really delighted by his baby sister. He said he couldn't wait until she was old enough to play, but in the meantime he cooed and talked to her. I could tell already that he's going to make a great father some day when he's older.

Sawyer kept working on his intellect, and he concocted all kinds of mysterious potions with his chemistry set. He had always been a brainy child, but there's a wide world of knowledge to pursue, so this stage probably took the longest for him to conquer.

(Except for the emotion potions he had to make for his aspiration, Sawyer made only health potions. They're good for a quick hunger fix if that's the most pressing issue and you don't want to waste a Moodlet Solver. When Suzanna was old enough, she made plenty of health potions for Sawyer, too.)

In what seemed like hardly any time at all, Suzanna had grown into a child too. She was beautiful, and she still looked almost exactly like Sawyer! They were very similar in personality too. She also took after her dad as a creative soul.

(Suzanna completed the creativity aspiration in the background of Sawyer's accomplishments, by the way! This provided a lot of points for potions, besides assuaging my guilt at using her like that.)

When we felt like Sawyer had gained as much mental potential as he could at the moment, we moved on to developing his social side. At first we had to listen to a lot of corny jokes and weird conversations, but Sawyer gradually got to be a bit more of a smooth operator. It was also good to spend some family time together, since it often felt like we were all off doing our separate things unless Sawyer needed something.

Sawyer was really excited to escort Suzanna to her first day of school when she was old enough. He was getting close to moving on to high school in a few years, but he wanted to show his sister all the things he had learned about school - the best spot to sit at lunch, the one swing on the playground that pinched, and all of his friends. Again I noticed how good he was with a younger family member. He was a great brother.

School wasn't the only place that Sawyer had a lot of friends. Besides the kids at school, Sawyer tried out his newfound social powers on teens and adults of all ages, and I sometimes found him holding impromptu parties on the street corner. Sawyer made a great first impression, so he made friends very easily, and he really worked at doing this part quickly, since it is so easy to lose touch with friends over the years.

(Sawyer had the Incredibly Friendly trait at this point, which made his friendly introductions very potent. It only took him a day or two to knock out the social aspiration. I had feared this one since I've never played it in my legacy, but it proved to be pretty easy. Making friends quickly and simultaneously was the key, since relationships degrade so fast in this game.)

Enrique and I were not getting any younger and we had a spare moment, so we tied up an old loose end and finally got married! At last I could say I was a Silva. Suzanna and Sawyer were our only guests, but besides Sawyer's friends, we've been a very close family, so that was all that was needed.

(Beth is actually still Beth Flynn since I'm still afraid of the bug that can happen with cas.fulleditmode in families, but she's a Silva as far as I'm concerned. This is one of my top annoyances with the game. Why can't I change names easily after marriage? I'm all for equality and I respect that not everyone wants to change their name, but they should at least have the option, right?)

The last arena we needed to focus on during Sawyer's childhood years were his physical skills. He played with Suzanna on the monkey bars pretty frequently, but he was more interested in fine motor skills, so he spent most of the last years of his childhood typing. He got quite good at it. He certainly typed faster than I do, and I work in computers!

(Like I said earlier, this also built video gaming skill, which was Sawyer's second 'adult' skill. The first was violin skill, which he built when his trait gave him whims to play an instrument.)

Sawyer had aced everything we and the school had thrown at him, and Enrique and I were so proud of him!

(Sawyer finished all four aspirations with about three and a half days left in childhood. Time to start the adult skills! First, though: story drama.)

When I was congratulating Sawyer, he suggested we take a picture together. Once we were done, he said, "There, now you'll always have that to remember me by when I'm gone." That unnerved me quite a bit! I asked him what he meant and he admitted that he had overheard his teachers talking about The Next Phase. He said it sounded like a camp or a college that he would travel to, and he was excited to see what they had in store for him. I agreed with him, but I felt like I had a lump of lead in my gut. When he was gone? I couldn't imagine my little boy being gone, even if it was temporary, but I guess to some degree that is a part of growing up. I just hoped The Next Phase would not last too long and he could move home or nearby after that, whatever it was. When I tried to get more information, I was denied, which only increased my worry. I didn't let Sawyer in on any of this, though. He was still young and optimistic. I didn't want to damage that when I had nothing more than my fears and a lack of information to back me up.

We let Sawyer choose his next project, and he wanted to learn to fish. There was a nice spot at the canal that ran behind our house, so we let him fish all day and all night if he was up to it, since he was still in sight of the house. He spent nearly all his time outside of school fishing and he got pretty damn good at it!

(I want Sawyer to lift Culinary in the Apocalypse, but he can't learn cooking yet. He'll need to get plenty of fish until he does lift it though, so this seemed like a useful skill to have. Plenty of Moodlet Solvers from his family kept Sawyer at the canal day and night, and he was at fishing level 8 when he aged up.)

It seemed like a matter of days before we were discussing Sawyer's 13th birthday party. He excitedly told Suzanna all the things he hoped for a birthday party, some of which were a bit outlandish, but we resolved to make it as fun and joyous as possible. I put aside my worries of what the future would hold to focus on the present, and I had to admit, at present, things look really good. Sawyer has been incredibly successful as a kid, and I imagine that will only continue in his teen years.

(Here's the score breakdown.
Sawyer's traits were: Creative, Creatively Gifted, Morning Sim, Night Owl, Mentally Gifted, Incredibly Friendly, Socially Gifted, and Physically Gifted. (80 points)
His skills were: creative, mental, social, and motor 10 each; charisma 1, fishing 8, logic 1, video gaming 4, and violin 2. (With 3 point bonuses for completion, this was worth 68 points)
He got an A with 7 days remaining. (7 points)

With his birthday still to go, Sawyer has 155 points. I would like this to have been higher, but this challenge takes some getting used to! I'm going to focus on making Sawyer a useful and well-rounded Apocalypse founder during his teen years rather than just going for the highest score possible. I might play the challenge again just to see how high a score I could get, now that I know some of the tricks.

Anyway, thanks for reading, and check back soon for Sawyer's teen years in the final chapter of The Silvas Succeed, and after that . . . a new challenge for Sawyer! In the meantime, visit with me at SiMania or Boolprop. Thanks!)