2. MEANWHILE IN CIUDAD ENAMORADA

Meanwhile, back at home, Bas and Sofia were trying to come up with a plan. Or rather, they were wondering if there was anything they could actually do.

Sofia: Even if we bring her home, what then? She’ll just run away again.

Bas: So what, we’re just supposed to leave it like this? Give up?

Bas: What if something happens to her? She could get into an accident and no one would even know, no one would help her?

Sofia: You think I haven’t thought about that? I think about it all the time. I’m terrified for her every second. But she’ll be a young adult in just a few days anyway. And if she wants to, she’ll leave and do whatever she wants.

Sofia: We just have to somehow come to terms with the situation. And move on with our lives. And hope that wherever she is, she’s safe and healthy.

Bas: It won’t be easy.

Sofia: I know, but what else can we do? This is her path. Let’s hope she at least gives us some sign that she’s okay.

And so they carried on with their lives. First of all, little Cyp had a birthday and rolled the Neat trait. Besides that, he has High Confidence and has Loud childhood phase. Nettie finally has someone to play with full-time. Although they don’t necessarily enjoy the same games. Cyp definitely prefers adventure ones, while Nettie likes princess stories.

They also often play Rock, Paper, Scissors, or Hide and Seek.

Laura is trying to deal with her Midlife Crisis, but it’s not going particularly well. She’s been having terrible luck lately, and none of her paintings are turning out. She discovered that she likes robotics, but that is also difficult for her because of her clumsiness.

Sweet moments between mom and her little boy ;)

Teodora also misses Ollie a little. And she wonders why she has to put up with Laura’s questionable art.

This time, it was little Aurelia’s birthday. She rolled the Fussy trait. This and the Idea person trait she has after Bas, are quite a fun combination ;) Besides that, she has the traits: Happy Infant, Good Appetite, Loves Being Carried, and Little Singer. I have a feeling she’s going to give her parents some "fun" time.

Happy times at the pool. Laura doesn’t know it yet, but she’s about to get completely soaked. 

I love these kids. Nettie and Cyp have their neighborhood friends — Lizzy Huntington III and Marcel Pilinda. Nettie finally overcame her inferiority complex. And now I know exactly the origins of little Aurelia's runaway. Clearly, her older siblings didn’t want to play with her, so she decided to show them.

And she certainly did. I think Aurelia and Ollie would get along great and would be the best sisters.

Nettie worked tirelessly toward completing her Playtime Captain aspiration, as well as becoming an A student. She finally made it. Although she never quite mastered riding a bike. 

Cyp also completed his Sporting Spirit aspiration and had no trouble achieving the Formative Moment to Be Active.

One day, Bas got a call from Sofia, who had found Clayton’s ring. Bas, of course, advised her to say yes to the proposal. And then, right after that, this happened... When the aliens finally returned him, Bastian had a Midlife Crisis, deciding that he hadn’t had enough adventures in his life.

I forgot to take a screenshot, but on top of all that, Bas got a call from one of the family members, Antoni, saying that if he didn’t agree to add Love Outdoors to the Dynasty Values, he'd leave the clan. Bas didn’t want anyone to leave, so he agreed and added the new value. This changed the ranks around a bit...

And so Bas returned to Batuu, for the very last time in his life. He managed to check off several items from his Midlife Crisis list there.

He also completed the Lightsaber collection and the Galactic Privateer aspiration.

The final item on his list was to check out Strangerville and the strange things happening there. He was incredibly relieved that his crisis was finally coming to an end and that he was heading home, because what he saw in Strangerville stressed him out quite a bit. Both the strange plants and the strange Sims...

Meanwhile, Laura wasn’t sitting around doing nothing. Her latest renovation was nominated for the newest episode of Ace of Space.

On top of that, she finally got lucky enough to complete several masterpieces in a row. And she managed to complete the Painter Extraordinaire aspiration, just when she was starting to lose hope that it would ever happen.

The big evening finally arrived. Laura was promoted to Certified Interior Designer, and her latest renovation appeared on TV. Everyone in the household managed to tune in for this special episode of Ace of Space. Afterwards, Laura received congratulations calls from family and friends.

Bas: My beautiful, talented wife on TV. Once they finally stop bombarding you with congratulations, maybe you’ll let your husband bother you a little bit?

After this fruitful event (the episode of Ace of Space, of course), Laura started regularly receiving sponsor packages and letters from satisfied clients. And with that, she completed her next aspiration - Ace of Space.

However, not everyone in the neighborhood was doing quite so well. Monika Lopez tragically died after being struck by a meteorite. Poor thing, she tried to evacuate, but she didn’t make it in time.

After this sad event, the Lopez family separated. Elena moved in with her step-siblings in Del Sol Valley, determined to become famous like her father, but she chose a different path. She’s studying acting under the guidance of the stars and earning extra money working as a barista at Plumbob Pictures.

And Diego started culinary school. His brother and sister-in-law are expecting a baby. And they’re not the only ones... Diego found unexpected happiness in the arms of Carmen Benitez. They don’t know it yet, but next semester they’ll have to trade college textbooks for bottles and diapers...

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