Week Four Part One: Kules Korner

After graduation, Darius Kules moved back to his mother's house, bringing along his fiancee, Elise Kalson.

They soon got jobs, Darius as a supporting actor and Elise as a ballroom dancer. Elise still dreamed of being an athelete but she figured dancing would help her stay fit while she waited for an opening on the Sim City Llamas. Meanwhile, they were trying to integrate into life at Kules Korner. Darius soon found himself helping take care of baby Alexis, just as he had helped care for baby Jaden back before college.

The picture on the right reminds me of this one from a week and a half prior.

Elise, who never had siblings of her own, soon found herself growing close to Darius' half-siblings. She ended up feeling more like Alexis' mother than her sister-in-law--it was Elise who made sure Alexis at least got cake on her birthday, even if she didn't get a party. It was Elise who potty-trained Alexis. It was Elise who did all sorts of things, while Ryan was busy with the increasing demands of his job and Brittanie was busy with the increasing demands of her social life.


Meanwhile, Darius made sure Jaden didn't get totally lost in the shuffle, connecting with his much-younger brother over videogames. It didn't hurt Darius' relationship with Ryan either.

Although Jaden certainly enjoyed these games, he also enjoyed reading quietly in his room.

Brittanie took advantage of the free babysitting to hit the bars. She was just getting somewhere with this redheaded dude (she couldn't remember his name) when that blond dude she'd slept with a while back came running up and went ballistic. Brittanie tried to smooth things over, but that got redheaded dude angry, and soon Brittanie was getting yelled at and slapped from both sides. She managed to shoo them both away and call for a taxi before things got totally out of hand. While she waited, she chatted with a handsome young stranger who introduced himself as Corbin Todd and said he was a newcomer to Prosperity Plains.

Since Elise and Darius were living in the already-crowded lower level of the house while their own living quarters were under construction at the top level, they tried to help out as much as possible with home repairs, cooking, and the like.

 





 

Some of their attempts at helpfulness were less successful than others.












Elise and Darius managed to finish planning their wedding, finally. On the appointed day, a massive thunderstorm blew in. Fortunately, Darius and Elise had been doing well in their new careers and managed to pay for a pavilion at the last minute. The wedding was fairly small, with just close friends and family invited. Francine Whitfill (nee Riedmayer) was matron of honor, Jihoon Whitfill was best man, Jaden was ringbearer, and Alexis was flower girl.

(The next update will have additional pictures from the Kalson-Kules wedding.)

Elise and Darius both focused on their careers, but after a while it occured to them that they weren't getting any younger and it would be nice to have a little Kules around the house. Their efforts were soon successful.









Darius was very pleased at the thought of having a little one of his own.

Another blast from the past: This picture. Apparently I like taking pictures of Darius rubbing bellies.

Elise was pleased as well, but didn't entirely forget her career ambitions. Her doctor told her that moderate exercise was actually good for her, so exercise she did.










About four and a half years after the wedding Elise gave birth to a baby boy, whom they named Silas. Silas seemed to have his mother's dark hair, in striking contrast to the fair skin he inherited from his father. Elise went back to work right after Silas was born. Since she worked evenings, she asked Jaden to look after Silas. Jaden was a teen by that time, and Elise had a feeling he was already a lot more responsible than Brittanie.

As he studied his way through high school, it became apparent that Jaden would be following in his father's footsteps and seeking knowledge, rather than taking after his mother and her romancing ways. Ryan began to think about trying to send both Jaden and Alexis to private school.

Spoiler: They get in. I didn't have any good pictures of teenage Jaden from Week Four, so I used this one from Week Five. I think he's cute.

Jaden Kules, son of Brittanie Kules and Ryan Cho. Aspiration: Knowledge Lifetime want: Become Space Pirate Astrological sign: Scorpio

Brittanie tried to ignore both the existence of her grandson and the fact that her children were getting older. After all, SHE was never going to be old.

Brittanie really looks grumpy at getting old, doesn't she?







This is what the first floor looked like at the end of the week. The main difference is that Alexis had become a child at this point, so all the nursery stuff had been handed down to Silas and she got a real bed.








This is what the second floor looked like. I didn't want to compromise the look of the original house but needed desperately to add on, so I turned it into a duplex. Darius and Elise didn't have a lot of furniture and stuff, but their half of the house was pretty comfortable nonetheless by the end of the week.






And this is what the exterior looked like. The blue sedan is nominally Darius'; the red convertible is nominally Brittanie's.










During this round, I learned that Sim children really don't like it when one parent is unfaithful to the other. Since Brittanie and Ryan aren't married or even engaged, she doesn't get a "had an affair" memory from her various indiscretions. Alexis doesn't either, but I noticed her randomly crying about her mother one day and then checked and realized their daily relationship is at -63. Brittanie's new policy of inviting her friends over to the house while Ryan is at work is effective at curbing jealousy between lovers, but it's not doing Brittanie's relationship with her daughter any favors. (Meanwhile, Alexis and Elise are best friends.)