Hadley Random Legacy: Gen. 2 Chapter 2

Hello and welcome back to the Hadley Random Legacy. I've decided to switch things up a little regarding the style and tone of the legacy. I want to write from a more narrative perspective, tell a little more of a story based on what my sims get up to in their lives during the challenge.

I've tried to do this in the past, and I enjoyed writing in that way. Of course, I always fell off eventually but not because of the style. I have the bad habit of starting challenges and then never finishing them, because I'll stop playing Sims for months at a time. I'm hoping that doesn't happen again, because I really enjoy playing the Hadleys.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this new style. It's not going to be extremely story-driven or intricately plotted or anything like that but rather just tell the story of the challenge from the perspective of the sims involved. :)

Oliver's POV

Ever since my half-brother Sam had his son Julius, my dad has been obsessed with the idea of grandkids. Julius is clearly not enough for him. No, he wants at least five! It's even go to the point where he'll stop Calliope and make pointed comments about it.

"See this billfold? It's got plenty of room for more pictures."

Apparently, it's not enough that my dad had SIX kids, which is an insane amount to me. He needs to have a huge brood of grandkids too. At least Calliope is on the same page as me; there's no way we're having anywhere close to that number of kids.

My dad is going to have a field day when he finds out that Calliope is pregnant with our first child. I think Calliope herself was feeling a little irritated, knowing the attention that the news would bring. I think she's also beginning to feel the pressure of what it means to be part of a legacy, of being responsibility for ensuring the family line continues. It's not an easy burden to carry.

Being the chosen heir, I know that all too well. My many siblings can choose to live their lives the way they want, have children or not, but I don't have that luxury. I have to carry on the family name and make enough simoleons to provide for the family.

There are times where I'm tempted to just run away and do what I want, live life on my own terms. I've got a rebellious streak. I don't like being told what to do. But this is my family. Even if I might not always like the responsibility placed on me, I will do it for them.

Hazel, my baby sister, still lives at home. She knows that when her young adult birthday comes around that she will have to move out; we just don't have the room in this house for all my of siblings to live here, especially now that Calliope and I are expecting our own child. In the meantime though she enjoys spending time with her sister-in-law. Bookish Hazel has even gotten Calliope to read with her sometimes, which I found surprising since Calliope is generally not a big reader.

Speaking of expanding our family, I've found myself getting increasingly excited as Calliope nears her due date. While I'm not as family-oriented as Calliope is (or especially my dad), I still can't wait to meet my future son or daughter. The idea of creating a whole new person together is equal parts terrifying and wonderful.

Hazel has been spending a lot of time lately with Ezekiel Grier. I think she has a crush on him. The crush seems to be mutual too, because Ezekiel is always visiting the house, hoping to see my sister.

I'm happy for them. I remember the early days of my relationship with Calliope. How every day felt so new and exciting. I know it's been hard for some of my siblings to find their person (looking at you in particular, Theo and Evie) so I'll be glad if Hazel doesn't face the same challenge.

Speaking of challenges, life always finds a way to throw a new one into your path. A burglar attempted to rob us. Some local residents tried to stop the burglar, which I thought was pretty heroic of them. They weren't able to stop the burglar from breaking into our house, but luckily we have a security system now.

Meanwhile, apparently Sam's wife Darlene witnessed the whole thing from down the street. She just recently gave birth to their second son, Aldric. I hope the experience wasn't too scary for them.

I don't think the burglar was expecting the security system. My dad did always say that criminals aren't usually very smart.

The racket was enough to wake up the entire family. One of my coworkers at the police department showed up just in time and was able to apprehend the criminal. I was surprised that Hazel didn't seem scared so much as excited by the whole spectacle.

"My brother is a cop, idiot! You really thought you could get away with robbing a cop's house?" she taunted the burglar.

I didn't find the situation quite so amusing. In fact, it honestly terrified me. Even with a security system, the burglar was still able to get inside our house. What if she hadn't been content with simply robbing us? What if she had hurt someone? I am responsible for this family, responsible for keeping everyone safe. This was a harsh reminder that, try as I might, I can't control everything.

Out of all of us, Calliope was the most distressed, and I don't blame her. We have an unborn child to protect.

Hazel tried to comfort her, which I really appreciated.

"It's okay, Cal. She's gone. She's going to jail."

The noise of the security system woke almost everyone up. Almost everyone. I have no idea how, but my dad managed to sleep through the whole thing. As a light sleeper, I was the first down the stairs. God forbid there's ever a natural disaster or huge fire because I'm sure my dad would sleep right through that too.

Things slowly returned to normalcy after the burglary incident. My mom spends most of her time cooking delicious meals for us and then "storing" them in this strange gadget she managed to acquire. She calls it a food replicator and insists that she needs to store as many recipes as she can inside it before she's gone so that she can continue to cook for us and care for us from beyond the grave. That's both endearing and completely morbid.

Calliope went into labor in the upstairs bathroom one afternoon. We'd been planning to visit the spring festival that day but plans quickly changed.

While I took Calliope to the hospital, I insisted that the rest of the family still enjoy a nice day at the festival. We'd be at the hospital for a while anyway. There was no reason they all needed to just wait around.

My mom spent the time gathering spring eggs.

The family even ran into Julius' new girlfriend, Vinga Wolff.

Hazel took the opportunity to spend some quality time with Ezekiel. She later told me she had been planning for a while to confess her crush to him at the spring festival.

Her feelings were reciprocated, and my little sister had her first kiss.

She wasted no time in asking Ezekiel to make things official, and he happily agreed.

Hazel could barely contain her excitement when she told me about how she took the love test with Ezekiel, and they got the highest ranking.

Meanwhile my dad got an invitation to visit my siblings at their new home. So while my mom and Hazel continued to enjoy the festival, he stopped by to check in on them.

Henry is doing well, still dating his high school sweetheart Pythea Potter, but they don't have any plans to get married. My younger brother still views marriage as a trap, sadly.

Theo is also doing well. He and Henry are both still werewolves. They enjoy the thrill of the hunt together. Unlike Henry, Theo hasn't managed to date anyone for very long, bouncing from partner to partner in a way that's reminiscent of my Aunt Ivy.

Neither one of them ever bothered to get real jobs either. Theo still works part-time at the spa, and Henry works part-time at the cemetery.

They get away with that because my sister Evie is the one bringing home all the simoleons. Career-focused and driven, she is slowly but surely working her way up the corporate hierarchy. I've no doubt that one day she will make more money than the rest of us siblings combined. I just don't understand why she tolerates our brothers basically mooching off her.

"Don't you boys want to move out and get a house of your own one day?" my father asked them.

"Are you kidding? We've got a good thing going here," said Henry.

"Yeah, we get to play video games all day while Evie makes bank," said Theo.

I have to admit I'm a little disappointed with my brothers. Both Evie and Hazel are smart, capable young ladies, completely independent, while it seems my brothers are content to get a free ride their whole lives.

While all of this was going on, I was at the hospital with Calliope. She gave birth to a baby girl we decided to name Sophie.

(Sophie is Good and a Night Owl like her mom. Her favorites are Spiceberry, PB&J, and Epic music. She is an Aquarius.)

As soon as I laid eyes on her, I felt more love than I thought was even possible. Meeting Sophie for the first time made me understand my own parents so much more, and why my dad was so obsessed with his family, with having even more grandchildren.

I never thought I could love someone so much.

Family Updates

I thought it was interesting that, for their first baby, Calliope hoped for a boy, and Oliver hoped for a girl. Oliver got his wish. :)

Evelyn

Evelyn is pretty popular with Story Progression. She gets way more updates than anyone else. She apparently started dating Ethan Bunch, but I don't think it lasted long. None of the Hadley siblings can keep a partner locked down for long. It's like a family curse. That's why I'm hoping it turns out differently for Hazel!

I just found this to be especially amusing. Helli0n Sw0rd is the Lux Luthor wannabe that wouldn't give Hazel the time of day. It seems like she dodged a bullet there.

Fern