Tuesday, July 1, 2008

The Turner Family Season 8

The Turner Family

Will Turner—Adult male family sim
Cancer personality
Neat 6, Shy 3, Active 6, Serious 4, Nice 6
Lifetime want—Graduate 3 children from college
Preferred hobby--Nature

Shenene Turner—Adult female pleasure sim
Libra personality
Sloppy 2, Outgoing 8, Lazy 2, Playful 6, Nice 7
Lifetime want—Become criminal mastermind—Achieved!
Preferred hobby—Arts and Crafts

Harry Turner—Child male sim
Libra personality
Sloppy 2, Outgoing 8, Lazy 2, Playful 6, Nice 7
Preferred hobby—Arts and Crafts

Severus Turner—Child male sim
Virgo personality
Neat 9, Shy 2, Active 6, Serious 3, Nice 5
Preferred hobby—Science

Jeremy Turner—Baby male sim

Check out the Turner Family Tree.

In the last update—Will and Shenene adopted their second son, Severus. Severus had been physically abused and neglected as a child, as opposed to their first son Harry, whose parents had died when he was a toddler. Uncle Daniel let Harry keep his cat, Liebe. The family also bought Severus his own cat, Siren, and they decided to breed them. Daniel wanted kittens. Due to fertility problems, Will and Shenene used a surrogate mother to have a biological child of their own, Jeremy. Severus was having problems in school and difficulty dealing with the new baby. After bringing home a nasty note about not completing his homework, Severus finally confided in his father that his school teacher was being very cruel to him and that he was afraid that his adoptive parents didn’t love him anymore. Will reassured Severus of his love and promised to get the boys into private school right away.

This update picks up directly where the last one left off. If you haven't read that one or completely don't remember it, I recommend reading at least the end of the Turner Family Season 7.


Season 8—Summer

Will gave Jeremy his bottle and settled him in for his afternoon nap. He took a few minutes to enjoy watching his baby sleep. Jeremy was so adorable, and Will knew that children grow-up so fast. He lingered a bit longer, trying to be sure that Severus and Harry had long enough to fulfill their need for a bit of fun before homework time.

Finally, Will told the boys to go sit at their desks and start their assignments. The tremor in Severus’ hand as he pulled out his unfinished workbook didn’t go unnoticed. Will tried to be gentle and reassuring as he assisted his son with the sections he’d struggled on. Severus was a smart boy, and he quickly learned how to do homework on his own. Will only wished that Severus had come to him sooner. Partly, Will blamed himself. He should have realized that his adopted boys would be intimidated by the new baby.

After both boys had their homework completed, the Turners had dinner together as a family. Will made pork chops, which everyone devoured. He also made a special berry pie for dessert, but Harry didn’t get to eat any of his. Harry absolutely refused to try any of his green beans. Will wouldn’t have made Harry eat the whole serving if he tried it and despised it, but since he out and out refused to even try it, Will wouldn’t let him have his desert. It was a pity, too, because the berry pie was heavenly. Severus got to eat his, because he had completely cleaned his plate. Come to think of it, Will couldn’t remember Severus ever not eating any food that was placed in front of him. It was probably because of the amount of time he’d spent neglected as a child. Severus was still rail thin despite being well fed for a few years. Will knew from personal experience that going hungry made you appreciate food in a different way.


After dinner the family had a bit of time for fun. Will went out to work in his garden. He found the peaceful labor relaxing, and he enjoyed using the fresh ingredients in his cooking.

Shenene liked to spend her free time painting. There wasn’t near as much time for it as she would have liked with three little boys in the house, but Shenene was determined to finish her painting of Daniel and Ashlee’s wedding. As much as Shenene wanted more time for herself, and especially for dates with Will, she knew that her children were worth the time and effort they took. There would be time for other hobbies and dating again when the children were grown.


Severus went to feed his cat, Siren. He loved having his own pet to care for. He petted her and then decided to spend some time teaching her a new command. Whenever Severus was sad, he wanted to play with her. Teaching her tricks always made him feel better.

Harry and Severus changed into their pajamas and then they had a little bit more play time before bed. Harry enjoyed arts and crafts like his adoptive mom. Drawing was his favorite activity. Will and Shenene had even put up a few of his pictures to decorate the house. Harry liked it best when Severus would play with his blocks while he drew. Severus had a fascination with science. He liked studying his ants and building with his Legos.

Around 9 PM, Will reminded the boys that it was bedtime. They scrambled into bed so that Will would read them a story before they fell asleep. Will waited to make sure each boy was sleeping peacefully before he left their bedroom.


Will also checked on the boys after they’d been asleep for a few hours. Both Harry and Severus had frequent nightmares. Will could relate since he’d been plagued by nightmares as a teen and even as a young adult. Harry would often crawl into bed with Will and Shenene after reliving his parents’ fiery death in his sleep.

Severus was still too afraid to wake anyone when he had a rough night; although, Will had noticed Harry protectively cuddled around his brother some mornings. After Severus’ awful day at school, Will thought it likely that Severus would have trouble sleeping that night. Sure enough, when Will checked on the boys, Severus was sitting up and crying softly.

“Hey, Sev, you okay?” Will whispered quietly as he slipped into the room. He didn’t want to startle or frighten Severus.

Severus nodded as he wiped the tears from his eyes.

“Nightmare?” Will probed as he sat next to his son on the bed. Severus nodded again as he sniffled. Will slowly wrapped his arms around Severus to hold him as he asked, “Do you want to talk about it?”

Severus shook his head as new tears glided down his cheek. “Sometimes it helps,” Will offered. Severus leaned into his father’s embrace, but he didn’t say anything. “I know I’ve told you that I used to have really bad nightmares all of the time, but I don’t think I ever told you what they were about, did I? I used to have nightmares that my mom and dad were wandering the house as ghosts. I knew there was no such thing as ghosts, but the dreams felt so real. It didn’t seem to matter what my head knew to be fact or how ridiculous the idea of ghosts was. Those nightmares kept me awake most nights. It was only after I told your mother about them that they slowly started fading away.”

Severus took a shuddering breath. “I . . . I dreamt that I brought the letter home from my teacher and you were so angry with me . . . you . . . you hit me like my father used to,” Severus whispered. He quickly added, “I know you never would. I know that, but . . .” He turned to face his dad, pleading with him to understand.

“It’s hard to get that image out of your head after you dream it, isn’t it? I know. It’s okay,” Will comforted. “But, maybe now that you’ve told me about it, and you’ve heard me say that there’s nothing that could ever make me hit you, maybe the nightmare will go away. Do you feel like trying to fall back asleep? I’ll sit with you until you do. If you need me in the middle of the night, come find me, Severus. I won’t get mad.”

“My father used to punish me if my crying woke him,” Severus explained.

The thought sent a shiver down Will’s spine. He could strangle that man for what he’d done to his son. “You’re allowed to come to me anytime you need me, Sev. I WANT you to wake me if you need me. I’ll come back and check on you in a couple of hours when your mom gets up to feed Jeremy, just to be sure you’re still doing okay.”

Will waited a long time to be very positive that both Harry and Severus were sleeping completely peacefully before he returned to his own bed.

The next day Will made good on his promise to get Harry and Will into Emerald Isle Academy. He invited the headmaster over. It was, unfortunately, not the same headmaster that had been friends with Will’s Grandpa Monty, but Will was certain that his boys would be admitted without problem.

Harry and Severus felt less confident. Harry told his dad that their teacher had teased both him and Severus for absolutely no reason in front of everyone that day. She was getting crueler and no longer waited for an excuse to reprimand them.


“Starting tomorrow, you won’t have to put up with that anymore. You’re both going to love Emerald Isle Academy. I certainly did better there. Sev, I know you talked to your Uncle Klaus about it. He learned so much there.”

Severus was close to panicking from the stress of meeting the headmaster. “What if he won’t let me in, Dad? He let Lily in, but she’s a Windsor, and she’s outgoing and popular. What if . . . what if he lets Harry in but not me?” He started to cry as he looked over at his brother. “Harry, everybody loves you. You’re so outgoing and fun, but . . . I . . . I can’t . . . they aren’t going to want a shy, scared kid. Then I’ll have to go back to that class by myself, without my only friends.” Severus was crying hard.

Will put his arm around his son and snuggled him. “Sev, he’s going to let you in. You have four Emerald Isle alumni in your family. Emerald Isle Academy does want outgoing children, but they also want intellectual children. You’re a very bright boy, and I know the headmaster will see that. Talk about your interest in science. The headmaster will be delighted to hear about it. I’ll make a sizeable donation to the school if that’s what it takes. You just relax and act normal. I promise; I will not let you go back to a class with a teacher humiliating you. Just trust your dad, okay? I’ll take care of it.” Several minutes of cuddling and reassuring later, Severus was finally calmed down.

It was just in time, too, as the headmaster arrived.

Will knew what the headmaster expected. He served him a nice dinner and showed him around the house. He made sure to schmooze the man about the school as he discussed how many members of the family had attended. The headmaster had heard enough. He said that he would be happy to admit any of the school’s alumni’s children, but especially the children of the Minister of Education.

Severus called and invited Lily over after the man left. He was so excited about attending Emerald Isle Academy with both Lily and Harry. It would be a fresh start for him. Lily was thrilled to hear the news, too, and gave her best friend a big hug.

They played tag until dark that night and schemed about all of the fun they were going to have at Emerald Isle Academy.

Harry and Severus were happy to wake up and put on their school uniforms the next morning. Will and Shenene couldn’t have been prouder. They took a snapshot of the boys in their uniforms before their first day at the new school.

The boys were still buzzing with excitement as their parents waved goodbye and they got on the bus.


Things went well at the new school. The new teacher had been briefed on the boys’ backgrounds in case there were any problems, but none arose. Harry and Severus were just happy to be able to learn in a classroom where they weren’t being ridiculed for no reason. Severus was still shy, and he had trouble making friends, but he had Lily and Harry. Harry had, of course, befriended half of the school by lunch time, but he made sure that Severus was included in the games at recess. The new learning environment was exactly what Severus needed. He was ecstatic as he finally brought home his first A+ report card that night.

He ran to share the news with his mom, but it was his dad he couldn’t wait to tell. When Severus heard the carpool pull up to drop off his father, he raced out to the car to greet him. Will had known that Severus would do fine in the new school, but he was so pleased to see his son’s A+. He gave Severus a nice big hug and told him how proud he was of him.


Then Severus noticed that Siren was acting odd. She’d just got home from work as well, but she had simply curled up on the curbside and wasn’t moving. Severus became extremely worried. Was something wrong with his cat? Will realized what was happening. Siren was having her kittens!

Siren had three kittens: Aya, Nagi, and Schu. Siren cleaned up her babes, and they were adorable.



The boys wanted to keep the kittens, but Will reminded them that they had promised the kittens to Uncle Daniel. Daniel would take good care of them until they were grown cats and then find good homes for them.

As a reward for his good school work and excellent report card, Will and Shenene bought Severus a telescope. He’d wanted one for years. Even though he’d never once asked for one, his parents had noticed the way he longingly looked at the stars and how fascinated he was by any television program on space. It was the perfect present. Severus couldn’t believe his parents had noticed that he wanted one, or that they actually bought him one. Severus hugged both of his parents as they explained the present to him.

Then he went to work looking for constellations. It was so much fun; he didn’t want to even think about going to bed on time.


Will and Shenene decided to have a small and simple birthday party for Jeremy. He was turning two, which was very important, but the family had had enough excitement for a while. A low-key family party was the perfect thing. As soon as Jeremy became a toddler, Will and Shenene immediately realized two things. First, Jeremy had his mother’s adorable button nose. Second, they were in for an eventful next few years. Jeremy was more active than any sim they had ever met. Now that he was crawling, he was into everything, and it would only get worse once he started walking. To top it off, Jeremy was outgoing and wanted to talk to everyone. He didn’t quite get yet that some things you shouldn’t say to other people. But Will and Shenene loved their son, and were willing to exhaust themselves to keep him out of trouble.

Jeremy Turner—Toddler male sim
Gemini Personality
Neat 6, Outgoing 8, Active 10, Serious 3, Nice 6

Harry was very popular at Emerald Isle Academy. He had tons of kids that he played with, but besides Severus, he didn’t have a really close friendship with anyone. Harry was a tad bit jealous of the relationship that his brother had with Lily. Harry was very happy that Severus had Lily. His brother needed and deserved a friend as good as her, but Harry wanted a special friend of his own. He finally made that sort of connection when he brought Rachel Strickland home from school. He’d invited her over like he did a lot of his classmates, but for some reason he just seemed to really hit it off with Rachel. Harry and Rachel enjoyed the same sort of activities. They’d play catch or draw together while Severus and Lily spent all of their time talking. Anytime Harry listened in, the two were always talking about the weirdest things like the history of world civilizations or chess strategies. Of course, Severus and Lily were also always whispering secrets and sneaking off together. Who knew what they talked about then?



Will liked to invite his brothers over for dinner. Either Klaus and Tiffany or Daniel and Ashlee were over most nights. Sometimes Harry was allowed to invite Rachel to stay for dinner. Lily ate with the Turner most of the time as well.


Severus was mortified when they lost track of time one night. Dinner was served later than usual, so Lily was away from home quite late. Andrew Windsor had to come get her. Lily was the one that got grounded for staying out way past bedtime, but it was Severus who took the punishment the hardest.


Raising the children was quite time consuming, but things were going well. Will and Shenene took turns caring for the children. One of them would sleep on Jeremy’s schedule, waking with him in the middle of the night to care for him. That parent would also check on Harry and Severus and send them to sleep in mommy and daddy’s bed if needed. The parent who slept the night went to work the next day while the other parent cared for Jeremy and napped while he did. Luckily both Will and Shenene’s jobs were such that they could take every other day off from work and thus take turns staying home with the children. Jeremy definitely needed a parent’s constant attention to stay out of trouble, but he was doing very well. He had an amazingly fast learning ability and quickly mastered all of his toddler skills.


It was time for Harry and Severus’ thirteenth birthday party, and this one was going to be a huge affair. The fact that two boys that had been through everything that they had been through were growing up well was a big deal, and the Turners intended to celebrate it as such. Half of Emerald Isle showed up for the celebration.


As Harry blew out the candles on his cake he wished for nothing but happiness and fun for the rest of his life. He supposed it was a bit shallow. He felt a twinge of guilt, but he quickly dismissed it. Seeing his real parents die so young, Harry had learned to live in the moment. He was going to enjoy life while he could. He wanted pleasure and he wanted to go on fifty dream dates. He would still go to college, get a good job, and adopt some poor orphans someday; but what Harry wanted was fun.

Harry Turner—Teen male pleasure sim
Libra personality
Sloppy 2, Outgoing 8, Lazy 2, Playful 6, Nice 7
Lifetime want—Fifty dream dates
Preferred hobby—Arts and Crafts

Severus was shocked that he got a cake of his own. He chided himself. After living with Will and Shenene for seven years he should have become accustomed to being loved, but it still always surprised him when his parents showed him how much they did. The faintest smile showed on his face as he tried to keep his overjoyed emotions under control.

Severus chose to dedicate his life to knowledge. He did not even have to consider the decision. He loved learning and science. He had many goals when it came to science and knowledge. He wanted to discover a new planet and learn to make medicines. The thing he secretly really wanted, though, was to become a physician. Severus wasn’t sure if he had the right personality for a good bedside manner, but he wanted to help heal people that had been hurt. Figuring out how to do that would be his lifelong goal.

Severus Turner—Teen male knowledge sim
Virgo personality
Neat 9, Shy 2, Active 6, Serious 3, Nice 5
Lifetime want—Reach top of medical career
Preferred hobby—Science

Now that the boys were older, they could help their parents out with caring for Jeremy. Will was a bit worried at first that Severus might still be a little jealous of the baby, but he showed that he wasn’t. One evening when it was his turn to wake-up with Jeremy, Will found that Severus had already heard his brother’s cries and come to comfort him. Will observed quietly from the door as Severus cuddled, snuggled, and then played with Jeremy. He and Shenene were truly raising a wonderful family.

Harry was anxious to get started dating right away. Shenene worried that he was a bit too young to be going out on dates, but she gave him permission to go when she learned that he would be going with his best friend from childhood, Rachel Strickland.


Harry really liked Rachel. They’d been friends forever, but she seemed different since they became teens. More than once Harry caught her checking out guys across the bowling alley or even flirting with a guy while Harry was trying to make his pool shot. Harry had a sneaking suspicion that Rachel had become a romance sim. She was still a lot of fun, and they had a great first date, mostly thanks to their first kiss. Still, Harry wondered if a romance sim was a good long-term match for him.

Harry finally decided to talk to his dad about it. Discussing girls with his dad seemed awkward, but Harry really trusted his dad. He’d learned as a kid that talking things out with his father really seemed to help.

“You know, I think it must be Turner men luck. I fell in love with a romance sim as a teen myself,” Will commented when Harry was done explaining his dilemma.

“You did?” Harry asked with surprise. He couldn’t imagine his father with anyone except his mother.

“I did, and quickly realized that wasn’t right for me. Then I met your mother. But, I’m not the only one that fell in love with the wrong lady first. Your Uncle Daniel had a crush on the already-taken Alyssa Cory as a teen, but look how happy he is with Ashlee now. I think it’s normal to date a few girls until you find the right one for you, Harry. You have a lot of time to figure out who the right one is going to be. Have fun for now, and do what makes you happy.”

That was advice that Harry could definitely accept.

Fun for Severus involved spending most of his time at the science club. They had a larger telescope there where he could search for more distant and fainter constellations and planets than he could see from his own small telescope. He also met some people there that were as into science and knowledge as he was. They were geeky and shy, too, so it didn’t matter that he was. One of them offered to give him some basic instructions in medicine. Severus was in heaven.


The Turners were a very content family. Things were going very well. But, if there was one thing that all of the Turner boys knew, it was that life was often unexpected. Who knew what the next season of life would hold?

Season Recap

1. Harry and Severus were accepted into private school. They both thrived in the good learning environment and brought home A+ report cards.

2. Siren gave birth to three kittens: Aya, Nagi, and Schu. The kittens were given to Uncle Daniel to raise.

3. Harry and Rachel Strickland became best friends. Severus continued his friendship with Lily Windsor.

4. Jeremy became a toddler. He’s an active and outgoing boy. He learned all of his necessary toddler skills.

5. Harry and Severus had their birthday and became teenagers. Harry chose the pleasure aspiration with fifty dream dates as his lifetime want. Severus chose knowledge as his aspiration with reaching the top of the medical career as his lifetime want.



Points Recap

Previous non-money points 155

No new points :-(

New non-money points 155

New money total for this household to be added for neighborhood points 170,070 simoleons.

Author’s Notes

I got carried away with the story in this update, but I always do with the Turners. This is the first time that I really couldn’t finish a story in the previous Turner update, though, so it carried through to this season. That was interesting. I hope you liked it.

I am so excited about the kittens, but I had to give them to Daniel and Ashlee. They both want to raise 20 puppies or kittens, so they need all of the kittens they can get. I look forward to seeing these kittens grow-up in Daniel’s home (Turner 3).

Jeremy is adorable. His nose is so cute. I love that he looks so much like his mom. And his personality is going to be so much fun!

I was so nervous rolling for Harry and Severus’ aspirations. I was sure Harry would roll up “life of crime” or something. Pleasure isn’t what I would have chosen for him, but it is explainable, I think. He can have lots of fun as a teen and young adult. And, as we’ve seen with Shenene, a pleasure sim can be a good mom and wife. I was thrilled when Severus rolled up knowledge. That was one really lucky roll. Yes, yes, yes!

I aged Rachel Strickland up with Harry. I thought I might let them get together in the end, but from their date, she is definitely romance. And, she transitioned with horrible clothes. Ha ha. I think Harry will be looking around some more before he picks a girl for life.

4 comments:

  1. Ha Rachel is a Strickland all right....she's got the facial features. Hehehe looky at that outfit!

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  2. I knew you were thrilled when Severus rolled up knowledge. It wouldn't have made any sense for him to have any other aspiration. You do always find the romance sims, don't you? But as we saw with Amaya, there is still hope. I guess we'll see. Rooting for Sev and Lily!
    Jeremy is a cutie.

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  3. Oh, that picture of Will and Jeremy is darling. I really love it. It's good to see Harry and Severus growing up well. I confess I was looking for a caveat "I cheated on Severus' aspiration" note at the end--way to go, rolling him just right! He had to be knowledge. Remember, Harry doesn't have to end up with his first love--he has plenty of time!

    Great update--I love Will the mostest.

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  4. What a great update! I love Harry, he's cute! Good rolling on Severus, that's awesome you got him Knowledge.

    ReplyDelete