Chapter 1: Environmental Criminals on Honeymoon

Hello, it's me Mud, a few of you might remember my previous attempt at a legacy blog, aborted after only one chapter... yikes. I'm not going to make you read my excuses since the only real explanation I have (beyond the initial hurdles I faced in my personal life as well as in my game) is "I lost interest." Anyway, I have high hopes that this time will stick. It's been a very long time since I've played TS3 and even longer since I've played legacy-style, so I hope you will bear with me, and I'm also not used to taking screencaps and such but I'm getting the hang of it, probably. I welcome all feedback! Seriously, I don't know what I'm doing, let me know what you think. Okay so anyway, here we go:

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 Our story, like many legacy stories, starts with two sims. On the left we have Alexander Hand, and on our right is his darling wife Shanti.

They also have a house. Like most young newlyweds of their generation, they're short on cash and can only afford to build this:

Yup, it's pretty much just a box with windows. Well, it's only a starter...

It's got a pretty lively interior, though.

Shanti's traits are: ambitious, genius, workaholic, bookworm, and neat.

Alexander's traits are: hopeless romantic, loves the outdoors, green thumb, eco-friendly, and good.

Alex has lived in Sunset Valley all his life, and chose to stay behind in the town he grew up in when his parents retired to Isla Paradiso. Soon afterwards he met Shanti, a shiny new med school graduate just hired by Sacred Spleen, and even sooner after that they were married! Aww.

The first thing they do after all their stuff is moved in is ignore the weird llama and go break in their new bedroom.

...What did you expect? They're just married, after all. 

Afterwards they hug goodbye and part ways. Each has their own plans for the day.

Shanti leaves to take a fairly expensive course in Logic at Langraab Industries Science Facility. She has big plans to be a world-renowned surgeon, or at the very least, Sunset Valley-renowned, so she has to start off on a good note and impress her boss with her Logic skill right away.

Actually the Science Facility turns out to be more Alex's style than Shanti's, and honestly she didn't learn anything she couldn't have done by reading books in the library. Self-study has always been one of Shanti's strong points, something Alexander admires greatly in her.

In fact, he's currently at the Papyrus Memorial Library, reading up on all the different fruits and vegetables native to Sunset Valley. 

Parker Langerak, the teen sitting next to him, is reading a book called "Seances and Sixth Sense Abilities." Um, okay, Parker.

While Alexander's plans to start up a farm are somewhat more vague than his wife's unwavering ambitions, he is still determined to prove himself a worthy husband and breadwinner.

After receiving his wife's call about free veggies at the Science Facility, Alex is all smiles. No one will care if he just takes a couple, right?

Hopefully these are the beginnings of a large and bountiful garden!

When Shanti gets home, the Hands catch each other up on their day. Shanti is proud of Alex's beginner garden and excited to start work, but wonders if she shouldn't have a vacation first in order to clear her head.

"After all, I only just graduated..."

Alex agrees.

"I heard it's sunny in France this time of year."

"I'm sexy and I know it"

France is indeed sunny this time of year. Shanti asks the locals about the best places to poach veggies around town, and gives Alex the addresses of several mansions whose owners leave their garden gates unlocked for any enterprising tourists to sneak in. Alexander rushes off straightaway to steal some rich guy's pomelos. 

In broad daylight. Sneaking really isn't his thing.

Of course he's immediately found out by the owner of the house, a man named Jean-Luc Pivert. He's actually a very reasonable man, and after a little buttering up about the state of his his (admittedly gorgeous) yard, the two are giggling together like old pals.

Shanti checks out the Nectary, where she is first embraced and then verbally assaulted by the employee there. 

"Okay, the French are officially terrifying."

Thankfully, there's nectar and her husband to help take her mind off the crazy locals.

Alexander realizes that this nectar stuff is definitely an interest of his. In fact, he decides right then and there to put his green thumb to use and try to create nectar just as good as the stuff he's tasting now. 

"I guess I need one of these thingamab- oh mother of GOD that's expensive!"

By the end of the trip, they have less than 10 simoleans to their name. 

Sometimes the only option is to sell stolen fruit in order to make ends meet.

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Notes:

Rolls for this generation are as follows:

• Couple
• 2 children
• P: Medical
  S: Farmer/Nectar maker
• Hobby, or Obsession?
• A Sim For All Seasons

I've never so much as touched nectar making in this game, so this should be a fun little experiment. I don't know how well it will go, but as far as I remember medicine isn't a terrible moneymaker so hopefully we'll be okay? I haven't played a doctor since before Ambitions (!!) so I'm terribly excited to see what's changed.

The hobbies will be reading for bookworm Shanti, and painting outdoors for outdoors-loving Alex, and they are both wearing purple as a tribute to summer. Summer has always felt like a very purple season to me. Also, this guy is hanging in their house:

It cost a pretty penny, too. Sigh.