The atmosphere in the house is tense, as the situation has taken its toll on everybody's moods. Cordelia has been trying to distance herself from her mother, and Stephen, who got along with his dad very well, has been in a right state, throwing tantrums and being rather more unpleasant than usual. Little Hannah is too young to really understand what's going on, thankfully.


Myra: "What? Hang on a second, Cordelia - No, the kids DON'T want to see you right now Davin, and frankly, neither do... Yes, yes I know you have the right to see... You're really trying my patience, Davin. If you... Well FINE, take it up with Arthur then!"
*Hangs up in a huff*

Little Hannah tries to escape from the tension in the household by developing her musical skills. Her OTH is Music and Dance, and that little xylophone has become her best friend lately.

What are you getting all primped up for, Cordelia?

Cordelia: "Warren! I'm so glad you could come over." *beams*

Cordelia's had her eyes set on Warren, the young red-headed gentleman in question, ever since she grew up into a teen. She's been trying to court him, but he seems to be a bit shy and slow on the uptake.

Not that Cordelia lets that deter her. She's been wanting to have her First Kiss for ages, and her aspiration has been dangerously low ever since her parents broke up. For a Family Sim like Cordelia, having her happy family life taken away from her was just about the worst thing she could imagine ever happening. So pucker up, Warren, Delia needs an aspiration boost.

Smmmooooochies! :)

Cordelia: "That wasn't so bad now, was it?"
Warren: "I thought I was going to hyperventilate for a moment, but then I remembered I could breathe through my nose!"

Cordelia's cooking skills have actually surpassed her mother's by now, and she's in charge of preparing dinner whenever someone is over for a visit.

Stephen: "... and if they refuse to pay the ransom, my weather machine will make sure that the world never sees a ray of sunshine, ever again! Ahahaha!"
Warren: "Uhm, I just remembered I have to go and... clip my toenails."

Cordelia hasn't been the only one bringing home love interests, though. Remember Parker, He of the Beard and the first townie to be spotted in the BaCC? Looks like Myra has a bit of a crush on him :)

Parker is a Family Sim, just like Myra, and he started bonding with little Hannah pretty much straight away. The poor little mite has been rather neglected in the aftermath of the divorce, and she's immensely pleased that someone's finally paying attention to her.

Parker: "Whooosa good girl then? Issit Hanners? Issit?"
Hannah: *coos*

How could you not love a cute little face like that, anyway?

Cordelia's way too busy with Warren to pay much attention to what her mother gets up to nowadays, but Stephen just flat-out refuses to even try and like Parker. He's like a grumpy little thundercloud, raining on Myra and Parker's parade whenever he can.
Parker: "So, uhm, Stephen, did you have a good day at school then?"
Stephen: *mumbles* "Try to take me in with your smarming ways, oh yes, I know what you're up to Mr. Nosey Parker. But don't think I'll so readily replace my affections!"
Parker: "Sorry son, didn't quite catch that. Could you speak up a bit?"
Stephen: "YOU'RE NOT MY DAD!"

Figuring Stephen will come round at some point, Myra and Parker have been spending a lot of time figuring out how to cozy up those long, cold winternights.

Ahw Parker, you and your beard are just trying to charm your way into a spot with the playables, aren't you?

The Babblings have gifted Cordelia with their newest telescope prototype, after she mentioned how much she likes to watch the stars at night.
Cordelia: "So... Sparkly!"

Stephen just uses it to spy on the neighbours. Any blackmail material he can lie his hands on now is an investment in his future, after all.

Stephen seemed quite interested in Yue, a girl Cordelia invited home.
Stephen: "Your eyes... they glisten like the tears of angels..."
Yue: "Uhm, Delia? Your little brother is really creeping me out."

He managed to lure her upstairs to his room anyway. Aren't you a bit young to have a girl in your room, Stephen? Not that you'd know what to do with one anyway, aside from telling her about your plans for world conquest.
Stephen: "And just imagine, you could be sitting at my side as the leader of the New World Order!"
Yue: "Riiiiiight."

Stephen: "Aargh, curse all women and their wily ways! I will make an ice sculpture to express the depth of my feelings of disgust."

Stephen: "Mmmh, yes, most accurate. Truly, I am a genius."

Time passes by swiftly, and the Greengrass children have many things to learn. Painting...

Basic hygiene...

...and wether a plastic toyboat fits in one's mouth.

Soon enough it's time for a birthday party! How we all love those, and the cakey goodness they bring. Stephen's ready to transition into a teen, watched by the entire village. Even Davin came along, and managed to behave himself for the entire duration of the party. I guess he's learned his lesson about what happens if you interrupt a birthday occasion, huh?

Stephen: "Yes yes, thank you minions. Your display of excitement for my imminent transition is touching, and I will not forget this when establishing my New World Order. Now can I finally get at my cake?"

Stephen: "What the... Mom! What kind of transitioning outfit do you call THIS?"

Much better. Stephen rolled Popularity as his aspiration, which is rather odd considering his disdain for anyone not directly related to him (and Yue). I'm supposing he craves power over other Sims more than them actually liking him.
The real corker was when I read his LTW, though. Stephen's most fervent wish in life is to become a Cult Leader :D I was a bit disappointed he didn't get Criminal Mastermind at first, but then realised the town really isn't growing fast enough for him to be able to get into that career anytime soon, anyway. (We need a population of 100, and so far have reached 15, so yeah.)
Stephen: "Leading a Cult is the path of least resistance to World Domination, plus I can register as a charity! Do you know how many taxbreaks that gets you?"

Parker believes in smithing the iron while it's hot, and wastes no time proposing to Myra once he figures out that she's the one for him.

Cordelia: "Hey mom! You're looking happy today. Who's this dude, then?"
Great to see you're keeping up with current affairs, Delia.

Time for more cake, and this time it's Hannah's turn to blow out the candles.

Sweet as a peach ^^ I'm not really concerned about her cheeks, as Cordelia grew so well into hers.

Stephen: "... and in my New World Order, I will make sure that..."
Myra: "Stevie, you know I encourage Sharing Time during dinner, but could you please shut up about your damn New World Order for five minutes?!"
Stephen: *huffs* "Way to be supportive of your children's aspirations, mother."