이.사 - A short lesson in Korean

Before we get into the game, let's have a look at... korean numbers.
More precisely, the numbers 2 and 4 in the sino-korean number system (note that there are two different number systems in Korean - the following are only the sino-korean ones):

2 - 이 (pronounced "ee" like in... "eel")
4 - 사 (pronounced "saa" as in "sarcasm")

If you put these two numbers together, you get 이사 ("ee-saa") which means moving (residence)! That's why you will often see that korean moving companies have phone numbers ending on "2424" or names including the numbers 2-4.

So why on earth am I telling you all this?! 

Because this is chapter 2.4 and we are moving! 이사해요!

Well, at least part of the household is moving, the cats were split 5:5 among Lena and Feli. Here's an overview to avoid confusion...

Staying in the old house:

• Lena
• Valla & Bharu
• Ava
• the D kittens Dick & Dünn

Moving into new house:

• Feli
• Baby Celestine
• Amy & Katerchen
• the E kittens Eevee, Espeon & Entei

Alright, enough of the talk, now let's get back into the game finally!

**

The taxi to bring them to their new house arrives and Amy immediately grabs the front seat.

Of course, she's the leader of the pack after all! That means Feli and her baby have to take the backseat, but that's fine with her. Her cats are probably the only people Feli can never get mad at.

The taxi brings them to the highest area in Appaloosa Plains where all the rich and famous live - and Feli. She managed to find a house in her price range (about §15 000 unfurnished) right next to all the big and impressive residences.

Amy and Katerchen, who were living in the same house ever since before Feli was even born, are excited. 
I hope the floor will be scratchable carpet!, Katerchen signs to Amy.

Amy wants to take a look inside because Feli is taking all the time in the world to open the door, but unfortunately the window is a little bit too high and doesn't really have a good windowsill to sit on.

The first thing Feli put into the new unfurnished house is the crib she brought with her. She puts Celestine in the crib to have her hands free for the work to come, while every step of hers echoes in the empty room... room... oom... 

And there comes the van with all the furniture. With the help of her cats (not really) and her own muscle strength that she built in many fights with people who annoyed her, Feli has the baby room and the kitchen fully furnished by the end of the day.

Just bringing the suitcase with some personal belongings home and she's done for the day! 

"Hey Celestine... Hope you like your new room, it's the biggest in the house! Yep, that's right, I took the smaller one. I'm such a selfless good mother!"
Baby Celestine is too young to care for room decoration, but she did notice that someone sneakily put her beloved teddy back in her crib while she was sleeping.
"And most importantly, you don't have to share your room with dozens of scary ghosts anymore! Yay! Honestly I don't know why I let your grandma do this..."

Meanwhile the cats are inspecting their new home as well. There's a big cat tree towering right next to the food preparation counters in the kitchen, which also gives a good view over the humans' dining area. Amy approves. Good house.

You can also see the food bowls from the highest point of the cat tree, which is great and makes guarding them much easier and more comfortable.

The food bowls are big enough for a young kitten to drown themselves in food. Amazing!

After feeding the cats Feli can finally go to bed. What an exhausting day.
She doesn't sleep well that night, most likely because her bedroom is still unfinished and doesn't really feel nice and homely yet.

And it's not a very long or relaxing night either. A few hours later Celestine wakes up, crying. Feli runs to see what her baby needs, but she can already smell it before she sees it. Ugh!

Good thing she bought a brandnew changing and bathing station! A warm bubble bath and a fresh blanket to be swaddled in, and Celestine is cozy and content again.

Feli has never cared for a baby before so she doesn't know, but Celestine is an unusually easy to care for and happy, healthy baby. This leaves Feli wondering why everyone else told her all these horrible stories about how hard it is to be a single mom of a newborn. 
Well, maybe it's hard for others, but clearly Feli is just much better at being a mom than the average woman!

First breakfast in the new house. The big room right at the entrance serves as a dining room, living room, and a kitchen all in one.

Who would have thought that Feli manages five cats, including three young kittens, a newborn human, and moving places so well? She got some time off work to fully concentrate on her new role as a mother but it's still very impressive how she handles all that, considering that she never showed a whole lot of responsibility before. 

Life in the new Koyangi house is surprisingly free of drama, and not a single person was slapped this chapter. Feli adores her little baby, the cats are happy even though they had to leave a few friends behind and everything is going very smoothly in general.

And while Feli is busy taking Celestine out for a walk on this sunny day, I will use the uninterrupted time to show you through the rest of the house that wasn't shown yet.

These are screenshots from later stages in the game because there wasn't enough money left to finish the entire house right away, but I wanted to show them now.

Living room next to dining area/kitchen.

Feli's music room. The piano and cat perch above the stereo in this room are the only CC objects used in the house.

From above...

This is Feli's room. Unfortunately it is a bit empty and not quite finished yet due to lack of money, but at least she has two big mirrors to admire herself.

Hope you like it! 

_____________________________

1. I will miss Valla and Bharu and Ava :(

2. This is the first time I play with the baby changing station from the store! I just bought it with the free simpoints I never knew I had (or why)

3. I very rarely build houses completely from scratch because I'm way too lazy and not really a builder. So I'm a little bit proud that I did it this time! :-)

2.3 - 9 months

*1st Trimester*

"You can't just come here and beat our guests up!"

"It's not my fault it escalated! He said I could use some practice on my guitar!"

"That's not even an insult and it definitely doesn't justify physical violence!"

"Oh, so you're on his side now?! I'll show you!"

Feli has been even more temperamental than usual lately. If you asked Feli, she'd tell you it's not her fault, it's the hormones, she has no control over it, her palm just accidentally slips across other people's cheeks. Yes, she is finally pregnant - and more than happy about it! - but this is going to be a great change in her life so of course she'll be a little bit more irritable now!

*2nd Trimester*

Although she's upset about her daughter's immature decision to raise a child alone at that age, Lena feels like she can't really hold that up against Feli, since she did the same mistake when she was her age. 
Well, almost the same. In her case it wasn't planned, while Feli consciously made the decision to have a child without a stable relationship and financial security.

Lena blames herself. Maybe she should have talked more sense into Feli. Told her how hard it was to be a young single mother. Feli clearly does not have the maturity to raise a child.
Lena sighs.
But neither did she when she had Feli, yet she somehow managed to grow into the mother role. It'll be alright. Lena just has to trust her daughter, however crazy she might be.

"How is the house search going, Feli?"

"I think I found the perfect house for me and the baby, mom! Look, it has 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and a large dining and living area with a beautiful kitchen. And it's... almost affordable!"
"What do you need 3 bedrooms for? Isn't that too big for you two?"
"Just big enough for my personality!", Feli giggles. 

*3rd Trimester*

Feli and Lena are visiting a cozy little second hand shop in town where they try to get some cheap baby furniture, toys or clothes. The due date is nearing and the baby is everything the two can think about lately. 

Well, that's not entirely true. Feli can also think a lot about herself. 

"Who would have thought I would still be so attractive at 33 weeks?", Feli asks in a rhetorical manner when she walks by a mirror in the store. 

"Man, I really hope the baby will have my eyes..."

"Feli, we are here to do some shopping for the baby. You can admire yourself at home."

"Right... But I need to go to the bathroom anyway. I'll be back in a minute."

A minute goes by and strange noises come from the store's restroom, followed by Feli calling her mother through the door. 
"Mom!! I ... aaah... need help! I think..."

Now that was unexpected! But apparently the baby couldn't wait any longer, so Lena brings her daughter into the hospital quickly.

*Postpartum*

Feli has given birth to a healthy little girl she named Celestine, meaning "heavenly". The baby came just a little bit too early, so the crib had to be placed in Lena's bedroom temporarily because there was no space anywhere else.

"But mom, I can't let my sweetinnocenthelpless daughter sleep in the same room where you store your ghosts! What if... I don't know, they haunt her or something?! Isn't that dangerous to a newborn?"

"Felicia", Lena begins in her most calming voice, "I know how to care for a baby, just trust me. And I know you feel very anxious and overprotective right now but Celestine is perfectly safe here. It's only a temporary solution anyway."

Feli isn't really convinced, but she's too tired after giving birth to make a scene.

The ghosts Feli is referring to are some of the spirits Lena has captured as part of her ghost hunting business and kept as a trophy. They are all stored away safely in some Tupperware boxes and absolutely no reason to be worried...

... for adult sims.

Celestine cries.

"Shhh... It's all good... all good... "

Babies cry. That's normal. Lena isn't worried about her granddaughter. 
Maybe she should be?
One of the ghost containers feels warm. Odd. 
Is it empty? Hard to tell. It's just a spirit after all. Weightless, barely visible.
Hmm... A newborn makes everyone a little paranoid. No reason to be worried.
Back to bed.

...

"MOOOM!"
Surprisingly the screams that wake up Lena the next morning do not come from the baby, but from Feli. 
Lena rubs her eyes and instinctively checks if the baby is okay first. Everything seems fine.
"MOOOM WAKE UP!"

Huh, why is that ghost container on the shelf above the crib? Did she put it there tonight? She could have sworn last time she checked on the baby the little mouse figurine has been there instead.

"MOM WILL YOU FINALLY COME OUT NOW"

Lena quickly forgets what she was thinking about and leaves the bedroom to see why Feli is calling her.

Of course, Valla has given birth! Everyone was so excited about Feli's pregnancy that they completely forgot about Valla expecting her third litter!

From left to right (all female): Espeon, Eevee, and Entei! 
________


Yay, Celestine is here! Spoiler: she's my favorite sim and I love her rolls!

On Valla: I absolutely adore her and Bharu and think they make for a great cat couple, but unfortunately I didn't have much luck with their kittens, they all look very much alike unlike Amy's two litters. That's why Valla & Bharu will now "retire" and another cat (most likely Entei) will be the new breeding cat. After nine kittens Valla deserves that anyway ;-)

2.2 - Love Day

The D litter is here! The boys are identical in everything except for body shape and were named Dick and Dünn (thick/thin).

Feli, who still remembers Valla as a tiny kitten, is proud of her. "I will be as good of a mom as you are", she whispers while brushing her. Her long fur needs to be taken care of regularly.
In the background you can see Cami diving head first into the food bowl.

Feli grabs Cami lovingly. "Good news, Cami! We finally found someone who wants to be adopted by you! What do you think, hm?"

Though Cami will be missed, Feli is already used to this procedure. When you're breeding cats, you can't possibly keep them all. Cats come and cats go.

And with the arrival of the D litter, Cami's adoption is right on time.

***

"Thank you for coming, Taziano. I almost thought I had to attend the festival on my own!"

"How could I say no to my best friend? Glad to see you too. We haven't had many chances lately to spend time together like in the good old days, eh? The final exams in school, job applications, my family's excitement over Elea's pregnancy... So what have you been up to?"

For once, Feli finally manages to calm her inner Diva and simply has a good day with Taziano. No drama. No fights. No face slapping. Just having fun and taking cheesy selfies.

And to make this already great Love Day even better, Feli meets a familiar face at the festival: It's Bok Gil of the B litter, Bharu's littermate! 

It's always a joy to see how the cats that were adopted out are doing now, and luckily Bok Gil seems healthy and happy.

As it gets later, Feli and Taziano decide to try out the love tester machine for fun.

Wiggling some levers, pushing buttons, ...

"DING DING DING! Your score is 55 out of 100. I've seen worse matches. Better ones, too."

Feli's reaction: "Eh, good enough."

As it gets later Feli and Taziano watch a movie together to round things off. By sheer luck Feli, who hasn't cared about getting a job at all so far, also sees a note with a job offer at the theatre they were visiting: a local band is looking for a roadie to tour with them for a lousy payment. 

Feli can't contain her excitement: this is her chance! She will go on tour with these guys, make coffee and sandwiches for them, do some mic checks, and prove her amazing piano and guitar skills. They will beg to make her part of the band! A foolproof plan!

Feli loses herself in her daydreams. She will be a star! The big stage awaits her!

Feli can hear her imaginary fans cheering in the distance. 

Thank you! Thank you for the applause! You're too kind, I love you all! Thank you very much!

***

Back to reality: Feli's first day at work.

Feli is at a bar to prepare some stuff for the bands' next gig, where she gets into a fight with a guest for... whatever reason. She probably just felt the need to slap someone after being so nice to Taziano.

Good thing the bar's manager in the background doesn't care. Lesson learned: don't mess with Felicia. 

***

While Feli is just entering the job world, Lena already thinks about retiring. She doesn't hunt ghosts every night anymore, but even though she made enough money by now to support her daughter on her way to adulthood, she can't quite let go of her profession yet.

Often times she will go out to various graveyards at night - preferably the pet graveyard - and calm the spirits of the deceased. 
She doesn't get paid for it, nor does she get praise for saving the neighbourhood like she did in her younger days, but she feels like she is doing a good thing. 

One morning after a long night of talking to the dead Lena comes home to see Taziano walk around in his underwear, being suspiciously happy. Feli must have asked him to stay overnight. 

Lena lets out a sigh and mumbles to herself.
"It's not that I don't love her but I wish she would move out already... But who will take the cats then?"