Chovie, Round 1 - Oh please, not again...

We haven't really seen Uncle Chovie before now, but I did post a short intro about him here. Here's a quick look at his stats again:

In trying to decide what to do with him, since playing another single male household sounded too boring, I decided to use him to try Skuld Lunrix's Xenophilia Challenge which I'd been wanting to do. For those unfamiliar with it, the basic idea of the challenge is to take a single male sim and, using a hacked telescope, get him abducted as often as possible until he has 7 alien children which he must raise on his own...no moving anyone in, no maid or butler, and the nanny can only be called in when he has to get abducted again so the social worker doesn't take the kids because they were left alone. Initially I'd thought to use Sonny Day for it, but I didn't think he'd be as well suited to it being a fortune sim. But Uncle seemed like a perfect candidate...single male, family aspiration, yeah he'll hate the abductions but he'll get over it. He should love having lots of kids around at least. Thus decided, I set about building him a new house that would accomodate the large family he was about to start having since the house he was in just wouldn't have been big enough. I also went in to his lot and reset his age days so he'd be at the beginning of the adult stage. He was only a couple days into adulthood anyway, but I didn't want to short him any days if I didn't have to since he'd likely need those days for getting pregnant and raising children. I also decided that to keep him significantly older than Ann (since he's supposed to be her uncle, not her brother) I'd play his lot for two sim weeks instead of just the usual 1 week I've been doing for the rounds. This also allowed more time to get further into the challenge, i.e. have more babies before I had to leave him for awhile.

In a departure from my usual "here's what happened" narrative style, I'm going to try telling this one as more of a story. We'll see how it goes.

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After his niece Ann headed off to college, Uncle Chovie looked around his now empty house and decided that it was time for him to make some changes in his life as well. Though he had always wanted a family of his own, he had put off finding a wife and starting one. First it was to focus on his career, then later it was to devote himself to raising Ann after his brother died and there was no one else in the family left to care for her. But he had long since reached the top of his career and was growing tired of it, and Ann was now grown and gone to start her own life. Now, if ever, would be the perfect time to finally start devoting himself to achieving his own dreams of getting married and having a family. A house across the street from him that had much more room to house a large family like he wanted had just gone on the market, and he jumped at the chance. With thoughts full of marriage, he made the call to the realtor to purchase the house and to put his current house up for sale.

The purchase went through very quickly...apparently the former owner was so anxious to be rid of the house that they were willing to take the first offer given. And so, later that same day, Uncle found himself walking up the path to his new home.

He brought nothing with him since the house was fully furnished...apparently the former owner had simply walked away from it for some reason, leaving everything behind. Uncle then decided he'd make a completely new start on everything, and so the first thing he did after walking in was to go to the phone and call his producer to let him know that he was quitting.

It took some negotiating, since he was still under contract with the Yummy Channel to do at least one more season of Cooking with Uncle, and he had to talk with the network head as well to get them to let him out of it.

In the end though, he managed to talk them into buying out his contract, almost easier than he though he would be able to. As he hung up the phone, he wasn't quite sure if he should be relieved or upset that they were so willing to replace his show with Jammin' in the Kitchen with Roxetta. He was still happy about the deal he'd arranged, however, for the money from the contract buyout would allow him to pay off the rest of the mortgage on the new house and, with the residuals he'd still be getting from sales of his cookbooks, would give him enough to live on for awhile without having to find another job right away. Excited, he called Ann to let her know about all that had changed for him in such a short time.

Then he headed to the back of the house to try out the weight bench. He'd only recently managed to shed the extra pounds that the life of a chef had put on him, and he was determined to keep his trimmer body, and perhaps even get fully fit, so as to be more attractive to women.

While he was working out, the doorbell range. Apparently even though he'd only moved just across the street, the neighbors still felt the need to send a welcome wagon committee by for a housewarming visit. One young lady in particular caught his eye among them, perhaps just because her bright gypsyish clothing. He'd seen her around, and thought her name was Misty, and she lived just around the corner at the Wieser house. Privately wondering if she might be the woman who would have his babies, he went to introduce himself.

He visited with the neighbors for awhile that afternoon until evening came when he said goodbye to them and headed up to his bedroom to relax for awhile. Looking out through the french doors to the balcony, he discovered that the former owner had also left behind a rather expensive looking telescope that was an odd shade of neon green. Curious, he went outside to inspect it, and to have a peek at what the stars looked like through the telescope. With a few vague thoughts of maybe taking up astronomy as a hobby, he was totally unprepared for what happened as soon as he looked through the eyepiece...

Afterwards, he tried to put the horrible night out of his mind -- and really he didn't remember a whole lot anyway aside from a few odd phrases that he chose not to dwell on -- but it didn't take long for him to discover that the experience had had...consequences...and that he wasn't ever going to be allowed to forget about it.

Too embarassed by his condition to show his face in public, and not wishing to end up as headline news in the tabloids at the grocery checkout counter, he hid in his house for the next few days, not really doing much except eating and sleeping. He did continue to call his niece every day, but he said nothing to her about the abduction or pregnancy. He knew she'd have to find out eventually, but he wasn't yet ready to talk about it, so he just kept the conversation light and let her tell him all about her life at Sim State University. His self-imposed exile soon came to an end though when he was awakened in the middle of the night with sharp cramps in his belly.

He quickly realized that he must be in labor, but before he could even really begin to wonder how he was going to manage to give birth to it since his male anatomy didn't include a birth canal, the strange alien birth was underway.

When it was all over, he looked at the strange green child with serpent-like eyes that lay in his arms, but instead of being repulsed by it, his heart melted and he was overcome by a fierce protective feeling of love for his newborn son. He named the boy Vachel, and the next day was spent in a bemused state of wonder as he played with, and cuddle his son.

As evening fell, however, he began to feel a strange pull from the telescope on the master balcony, as though it was beckoning to him, urging him to come look through it once more. Frightened, he fought against the compulsion, staying downstairs, watching TV and drinking coffee.

But with each passing moment, the compulsion grew stronger, harder to ignore. Finally, when he knew he wouldn't be able to hold out against it much longer, he went upstairs, changed his son's diaper, and then held him close, not wanting to leave him for even a few hours.

Putting Vachel back in his crib so he could sleep, he heaved an inner sigh, and then went out to the phone in the hallway to call a nanny service he'd seen advertised that promised to always have someone on call and able to come at a moment's notice if needed.

He managed to ignore the pull of the telescope until the nanny arrived, though when she did, he only barely murmured a "hello" and a "thanks" to her before he gave in to the inevitable and headed upstairs to the balcony, hoping against hope that he'd be spared another galactic joyride. His hopes were in vain, however, and once again he had no sooner put his eye to the scope before it all began once more.

Meanwhile, Nanny Gast made herself at home, puttering around cleaning a bit, checking on Vachel now and then, and taking him downstairs to feed him a bottle when he woke for his late night feeding. When she heard the commotion out front, however, she all but dropped Vachel on the floor next to the refrigerator to run outside and see what was happening. And when she saw Uncle land so unceremoniously on his face on the curb, she began to laugh.

Once he'd dusted himself off, Uncle hurried over to her to pay her for the evening, and to implore her to keep what she'd seen to herself, tipping her a fair amount over her standard fee to help convince her to do so.

Nanny Gast thanked him and, still chuckling to herself, agreed to keep quiet before calling the agency to come pick her up. As she waited outside for her ride, Uncle went into the house to check on Vachel. Finding him on the floor where the nanny had left him, he scooped him up and cuddled him close, glad that the experience was over...at least for now.

The next morning, he located the paints and brushes that went with the easel in the family room and started working on a painting. Though he had painted a lot in college to raise his creativity, he was a bit rusty at it. He hoped he would still be able to get a decent price for it however, since he'd realized it wouldn't be long before he'd need more money coming in than the cookbook residuals if he was going to be able to support his children. For though it was too early yet for it to show, he knew he was most likely pregnant again now after last night. Later that day, he was proven right as his belly popped with the first stage of his baby bump.

Though it seemed unbelievable to him, the next evening was Vachel's birthday already, so he whipped up a cake for him quickly then brought the infant down to it and blew out the candles before tossing him the air so he could make the transition to toddler.

That night, he woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of Vachel screaming to be let out of his crib in the next room. Before he could go get him though, he felt a tingling in his abdomen and his belly popped out some more. He knew now that he'd only have another day of this before his next child would be born.

Getting Vachel from his crib, he took him into the bathroom to continue the potty training he'd begun earlier in the evening. And this time it didn't take long before he could tell that Vachel had finally caught on and would know how to use it by himself from now on.

Knowing that he'd soon have another child to take care of, he devoted that day to teaching Vachel some of the other skills he'd need to know, beginning with teaching him how to walk.

As evening fell, he let Vachel have some time to just play with the activity table while he fixed himself some dinner. No sooner had he sat down, however, than he felt familiar sharp pains stab through his belly. As before, it was all over rather quickly, and he soon found himself holding his newborn daughter, whom he named Varisse.

The following day, while Varisse was asleep in her crib, he spent some more time with Vachel teaching him how to talk. His heart almost melted when his son's first word was "dada".

As had happened after Vachel's birth, as evening fell on the night after Varisse was born, he began to feel a pull from the telescope again. Odd how he never felt any particular desire to use it any other time. Though he tried as he had before to ignore it, the compulsion proved just as impossible to ignore this time as it had been the last, and almost before he knew what he was doing, he called the nanny service to send someone over, and once Nanny Gast had arrived, he was heading up to the telescope and then taking another ride around the galaxy.

As she had last time, when Nanny Gast heard the commotion outside, she came running, then stood by the mailbox laughing at him. And, as before, Uncle paid her promptly and included another tip to help buy her silence.

He worked with Vachel through the day, trying to teach him a nursery rhyme, but it was slow going, and they had to take several breaks to rest or take care of other needs, or so he could attend to Varisse. He had just gotten Vachel out of his crib that evening after a nap when his belly gave him confirmation that he was indeed pregnant once more.

Pregnant or no, however, he was determined to finish teaching Vachel the nursery rhyme before his next birthday, so he sat down with him again, and sang with him some more. He was happy to see that they were making progress.

The following day, Vachel finally learned it. And just in time, for when 6pm rolled around, it was time not only for his next birthday, but for Varisse's birthday as well. With Uncle helping Varisse, they grew up together, Vachel becoming a child, and Varisse becoming a toddler.

Uncle started right away with her potty training, despite his near-constant fatigue from the repeated pregnancies. After a few bottles of smart milk, she finally learned how to use it by herself.

The next morning was Vachel's first day of school, and Uncle cooked up a plate of pancakes to help his son get his day off to a good start. He had to pause on the way to the table with them though as his belly started to tingle, and then popped once again.

While Vachel was at school, Uncle worked with Varisse, teaching her how to talk. He was a little disappointed when her first word was "teddy" and not "dada"

When Vachel got home from school that afternoon, he was desperate to have some fun. Though he was anxious to try the playground equipment out back, he was curious about the painting easel and decided to try it. He discovered it was really pretty fun to paint.

After Vachel had enough time to enjoy himself at the easel, Uncle sat him down in the study and helped him do his homework before dinner.

As he was putting dinner on the table for them, a strange lady wearing a chef's outfit walked into their house and congratulated him for his enthusiasm for cuisine and handed him a membership card to a lot that few people knew about. Uncle couldn't help but wonder why he'd never been invited in all the time he had his own cooking show on the Yummy Channel, but he thanked the woman and took the card anyway.

Later that night he was woken from his sleep by the now-familiar pains labor pains. He wondered if he would ever get a full night's sleep again without being awoken in the middle of the night by belly pains or crying children. Within moments, his second daughter, whom he named Valda, was born. But even as he held her and gazed into her newborn face, he could tell that something was different this time. His stomach still didnt' feel right. He carefully laid Valda down on the floor lest he drop her by accident, and before he quite knew what was happening, he found himself spinning around...and then he was holding up second infant, another daughter. Looking at her in wonder, he decided to call her Vanora.

Uncle wondered how he was going to manage to take care of the twins by himself and still have enough time to spend with Varisse to teach her how to walk. He supposed he would just have to manage it somehow. Maybe if that telescope would just let him be for awhile...

But it was not to be. For sure enough, the next evening after the twins were born, he felt the now familiar urge to go out and use the telescope again. Though he despaired at the thought of having to take care of Varisse and the twins by himself while once again pregnant with another alien spawn, he knew by now that it was useless to try to fight it. And so, once he had gotten the children fed and changed, he called the nanny service and asked them to send Nanny Gast over for the evening. When she arrived, he once again went out to his balcony, stepped up to the telescope, and once again got whisked away.



When he returned, Nanny Gast was out front to welcome him back with laughter as usual.

But this time, instead of lingering outside to keep laughing at him till he paid her, she headed back into the house after just a few minutes and set about feeding the young ones bottles and changing their diapers. Finally he was able to get her attention long enough to let her know she could go home now, and to pay her, though he didn't offer her an extra tip this time. As she was leaving she told him she'd make sure to be ready to come over again in a few days when he'd be needing her again, and then laughing, went out to meet the van that had come to pick her up.

The next day Vachel worked some more on his painting, but also spent some time just drawing with the crayons at the activity table. While he was doing so, a blonde haired lady came into the house, praised him for being so interested in the arts, and gave him a membership card to a secret place just for artists. Vachel told her that he'd see if his daddy would take him there sometime.

And with that, Uncle Chovie's second week in his new home had come to a close. He may not have found a wife as he'd wanted, but he was well on the way to having a large family. He'd given up by now on finding someone to marry, devoting himself instead to raising his children. Though as he waited for the results of his latest galactic tour to manifest, he couldn't help but wonder just how many more times he'd be forced to repeat the trip.

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Author's Notes: Things were fairly easy with this household and challenge to begin with. His pregnancy with Vachel went pretty smoothly without any major needs crises, though each subsequent one got a little tougher. The nanny really did go out to laugh at him every time he returned. I saw it the first time he came back. I'd been watching her feeding Vachel a bottle in the kitchen when the cinematic of his return started playing, and when it finished, Vachel was on the floor and the nanny was nowhere to be seen. I paused the game and went looking for her, thinking that she'd probably run out to watch Uncle's return. I'd exected her to be horrified like most sims are, but instead, when I zoomed in on her, I realized that instead of being shocked and horrified, she was laughing her ass off at him. The first few times she hung around outside long enough for him to get over to her and dismiss her and give her a tip, but the last time she did just head right back into the house...and I had to have him chase her around the house, upstairs, then down, then up again, etc., for at least a sim hour before she finally stood still somewhere long enough for him to dismiss her. She was actually being (mostly) useful and was too busy taking care of the infants and toddler, one after the other, to pay any attention to him until then. Also, I should note that Valda and Verona really are natural twins. I do play with the Triplets & Quads hack installed, but I use the version that lets you choose every time, and while my general rule in this neighborhood is to choose the random number of babies option, with this house I always chose "Originial Number" so that he'd only have however many the game had given him without the hack. So, I was surprised when he had twins, because even though he is a Family sim, he doesn't yet have the fertility bonus from Freetime.

Another thing I found odd while playing Uncle was that he only rarely rolled Family type wants. Mostly his want bar stayed full with wanting to call someone (usually Ann...I think every morning when he woke up he'd roll the want to call Ann to chat), or to become friends or best friends with someone. Until Vachel was born I was letting him socialize and make friends, at least over the phone, but after that he rarely had much time for phone calls other than a quick call to Ann now and then to satisfy that want. He did roll the "have a baby" want on his second and third pregnancies, and a couple wants regarding teaching a toddler a skill, but mostly he acted more like a popularity sim than a family sim. I think once he has enough aspiration points I'm going to give him Popularity as a secondary aspiration. Maybe he'll even find time to at least talk on the phone with his friends more once Vachel becomes a teenager, which will happen next round. He was already halfway through the child stage when I left the lot, so only has 4 more days until he's a teen. Hopefully Uncle won't have twins again. Here's a parting look at the lot (and no I don't really have any idea which baby is which, but I figured it wouldn't really matter how I labeled it)...doesn't Uncle look thrilled to be there?