The second chapter of the Masterpiece legacy. Ten kids or bust!

2. Welcome back to Falling to Masterpieces, an artistic alphabet legacy. The children in the Masterpiece family are all named after significant artists. Also, the chapter name and cover page background are based on a work of the namesake of the current head of family, in this case Hieronymus Bosch.

3. In the first chapter of the legacy, we met the founder, Hieronymus Masterpiece, otherwise known as Hiery. Hiery set up a venue at his yard house before marrying my simself after an extreme start. Together, Hiery and simRoxy had a darling little boy named Avery, named for the painter Milton Avery. At the end of the chapter, simRoxy was repeatedly sick and began to wonder, again repeatedly, whether she might be pregnant, far past the point where sharper sims might be convinced. That brings us up to date, so let’s get moving on!

4. “ So, we woohooed and then not too long after, I began throwing up. And throwing up. And throwing up. A lot, in case that wasn’t clear. Then all my pants got tight. I can’t figure it out. What’s going on?!”

5. Having now reached the second bump, simRoxy is definitely pregnant again. She’s no longer throwing up constantly, but she has other problems. She is seriously the *worst* at being pregnant of any sims I have ever had. From unceasing puking in the early stages to critical need failure in the late stages, it is always something when simRoxy is pregnant. Hiery, meanwhile, tries to brush up on his skills to advance in the Law Enforcement career. Yes, man with workout clothes on, you are probably the last one that used the workout machine.

6. Hiery is just the best partner a pregnant sim can have. He cooks food for the starving and close to passing out again simRoxy, and he autonomously relaxes while she sleeps, keeping a close eye on his wife. He did this relaxing thing all the time during simRoxy’s first pregnancy, and I think it is just so sweet. He just likes to be around her.

7. Luckily, while his parents are taking it easy in the bedroom, Avery’s needs are being looked after by the venue customers. Avery is a sweet little guy and is definitely one of the main attractions at the house, so he’s never lacking for attention.

8. After a toddlerhood filled with the adoration of friends, family, and strangers, little Avery turns into a big boy, and a very cute one at that. Even moreso than when he was a toddler, it’s obvious he’s got a lot of Hiery’s genes.

9. Before Avery’s party is over, though, simRoxy demands attention, for it’s time to have the little nooboo. This obviously makes it a fantastic party. Two celebrations for the price of one!

10. Speaking of two for one, it’s twins!

11. Welcome to little babies Augusta, on the left with Hiery’s eyes, and Aubrey, on the right with simRoxy’s eyes. Augusta Savage was a sculptor known both for her art and her talent as a teacher. She created a famous piece for the 1939 World’s Fair called Lift Every Voice and Sing. She was associated with the Harlem Renaissance and worked for equal rights for African Americans in the art world. Aubrey Beardsley was an illustrator whose black and white ink drawings were influenced by Japanese woodcuts. His work was in turn an influence on the early Art Nouveau posters. His drawings featured lavish, erotic, and sometimes grotesque subjects.

12. With two new babies in the house, it’s time for the nanny. Nothing says tender, loving care like leaving a baby on the cold tile floor while you eat a microwave dinner over multiple plates of rotting food. You might ask, where are the parents?

13. Well, for once they are both working. Hiery continues to bring home promotion after promotion, steadily working his way up to the top of the Law Enforcement track. SimRoxy, on the other hand, is still an assemblyperson who has rarely been to work thanks to being pregnant most of the time. “ So, Co-Worker, when I went to punch in today, my punchcard had a thick layer of dust on it. Do you think that means I should maybe come in more often? Wait, what am I saying? I’m a completely nuts family sim – I have more important things to do than work, like make more babies!”

14. Meanwhile Avery learns from Hiery how to do homework. Avery is a very well-behaved little kid, neat and nice and pleasant at all times.

15. Attack of the simselves! Eleanor (Widget) and Lydia (hippielayla86) take good care of the twins while Kristina (thinmintsim) begs for change and Roger (my male simself) gives simRoxy makeup tips.

16. Well this looks familiar. Once again these two incorrigible lovers have come together to produce what simRoxy thinks might - *might* - be a baby. Again, she’ll be sick repeatedly while wondering if this might have something to do with all the woohoo she and her husband have been having.

17. With simRoxy again pregnant, Avery struggles for her attention while still keeping the bathrooms squeaky clean like any self-respecting sim with 10 neat points. It looks like he may take after his mom in the smarts department as he demands to be fed, all while food is being served right behind him.

18. All too soon, it’s birthday time for Aubrey and Augusta and the tiny party gets under way with Hiery checking out his wife and Avery blowing his horn like a champ. Up, up and away with the little babies – time to check out how they turned out.

19. On the left is Aubrey, who takes after her mom, and on the right is Augusta, who looks more like Hiery. Aubrey’s personality is 10/1/7/7/10, a lot like older brother Avery’s, but with one more outgoing point and one less active. Augusta breaks the mold a bit by being more on the messy side than neat and a little less nice. Her personality is 4/0/9/7/6. Altogether, we’ve got three very active and playful kids!

20. While potty-training Augusta, simRoxy gets her first bump. Pregnancy confirmed! Both parents constantly desire new babies as soon as the previous ones were born, and they both have the want to have ten kids locked, so I decide to go for it. Gen A will have ten kids or else! That is, as long as simRoxy survives the ever-present sickness and fainting.

21. Whoops! Looks like it’s Hiery’s turn to faint for a change. Sorry about that, Hiery, next time I’ll check your aspiration before sending you to the Energizer. With a child, twin toddlers, and another one on the way, Hiery needed the energy and I got a little careless in making sure he was ready.

22. “ You guys! I think I’ve got this figured out, finally! When I get really, really, deathly sick for a day and then my belly grows, it means I’m pregnant! We’re going to have another nooboo!” “ Wow, Mom, that only took you three tries to figure out. Remind me to have Dad tell me about the birds and the bees when the time comes.”

23. With simRoxy pregnant, it’s back to constant management of her precipitously dropping needs, which in turn leads to a lot of naps, and that leads to Hiery autonomously watching over her while she sleeps. So sweet!

24. The babies (yes, another set of twins!) are born, but no sooner have the little ones appeared than Hiery’s already checking out his wife again.

25. “Well, we have two more babies.” “Yup.” “More mouths to feed.” “Uh-huh.” “More trouble.” “Want to make more?” “I thought you’d never ask!”

26. While their parents create their next Masterpiece, let’s meet the newborns, Antoni and Artemisia. Antoni Gaudi was a Spanish architect who worked in the style known as Catalan modernism in the late 1800s and early 1900s. He was skilled in many different crafts such as ceramics and stained glass, and used them in his buildings. Most of his work is in Barcelona. Artemisia Gentileschi was an Italian painter in the Baroque tradition and was heavily influenced by Caravaggio. She was the first female painter accepted as a member by the Accademia di Arte del Disegno. Many of her paintings feature strong women from myth and biblical stories.

27. Just another day in the Masterpiece household. Hiery continues scanning obvious targets, simRoxy continues being terrible at being pregnant, and they both prance around in their woohoo undies.

28. Eleanor might just be the best parent these babies have, except for the whole not being their parent thing.

29. After a glowing toddlerhood of skilling, it’s time for Aubrey and Artemisia to grow up. Together they do the sparkle dance and dazzle their way into their childhood.

30. Aubrey, on the left, and Augusta, right, continue to clearly take after one parent more than the other. With her 9 active points, Augusta runs everywhere while Aubrey tends to be a quieter, more reserved child.

31. Aubrey and Avery quickly made friends and were even closer than the twins were to each other. They spend a lovely weekend afternoon playing in the yard in their pjs.

32. Augusta, meanwhile, deeply desired a kitten, so we adopt little Charcoal. All of the pets will be named after art supplies or tools. Also, I think this woman tried to eat our kitten. You’re on my list, lady.

33. Kitten fever is catching and before long there are two kittens, named (from left) Pastel and Charcoal. Their names are taken from their coats, the light and soft-colored orange reminding me of chalk pastels, and the dusty grey being a clear reference to charcoal sticks or pencils.

34. Avery’s birthday arrives and is quickly followed by that of the youngest twins, Antoni and Artemisia. As a teenager, Avery rolls Fortune with the LTW to be a Hall of Famer.

35. Another cute set of kids! With the thinking cap on, Avery even manages to identify his first little brother. Artemisia’s personality is 10/0/6/7/10, very much like Avery’s and Aubrey’s. Antoni’s personality is more evenly distributed, with the stats 6/9/5/8/6. Antoni is our first outgoing sim, and he swings far to the other pole of his shy siblings.

36. His duty done, Avery heads off to college, guided by the scarily-coiffed taxi driver. Since his parents greet every birthday with the immediate desire to have more kids, Avery had to sacrifice his teen years to make space for more babies.

37. Little Artemisia, now with a new hair style, takes time to love up on Charcoal before his kittenhood is over.

38. That’s Charcoal on the left as an adult cat, still dusty grey, but who’s that even darker cat on the right? Why, that’s Pastel, our orange kitten who obviously grew up to be a deep chocolately brown. Obviously.

39. “Hello? Better Business Bureau? I’d like to lodge a complaint. My cat, that I adopted for free from a police officer, grew up to be a completely different color than she was as a kitten and it makes the name we chose for her inappropriate. This is clearly an abuse of the principle of truth in cat advertisement!” “Lady, you have *so* got the wrong number.”

40. Despite our dire cat problems, the legacy must go on! Time for another baby, because these two certainly don’t have enough yet. Masterpiece children – gotta catch ‘em all! Or something. “ Why? Why is my wife so attractive to me?” Oh, hush Hiery. Welcome to little baby Andy, named for Andy Warhol, an iconic artist in modern times and a major figure in the pop art movement. He is widely known for his prints, including a Campbell’s soup can and one featuring Marilyn Monroe, done in bright colors and repeating images.

41. For your edification, here is a flowchart of simRoxy’s pregnancy habits. Regardless of what I try to do to take care of her, she continues to be the World’s Worst Pregnant Sim. And yes, no sooner was little Andy born and promptly ditched on the carpet than these two have gotten to work on number 7.

42. It’s not all fun and games for the parents, though. Or maybe it is. Because they’re family sims, they just love spending time with the little ones and teaching them all their skills. Teaching Artemisia and Antoni to talk sends them both into the platinum. “ Say Daddy!” “ No, say Mommy!”

43. Time for Artemisia and Antoni to grow into children. As more children invaded the house, we’ve dispensed with birthday cakes and just grow them up where they’re standing at that particular moment. This is also about the point where I started to get a little frazzled, so instead of a lovely new shot of them as children, you get a shot of them sleeping in the overcrowded children’s room.

44. It’s also Andy’s birthday, and he grows into a handsome little toddler who clearly takes after his father, including -*squee* - little elf ears. Andy’s personality is 4/1/5/8/7, another nice, playful and shy little guy.

45. While I couldn’t be bothered to get a good birthday shot of Artemisia and Antoni, I did manage to get several of adorable little Andy. He looks a lot like Avery did at this age. He may be stinky, but Andy is one cute little toddler.

46. Meanwhile, everyone crowds into the teeny tiny bathroom to welcome the birth of Masterpiece #7 – a little girl with simRoxy’s eyes that we name Anjolie. Anjolie Ela Menon is a painter and one of India’s foremost artists. She is also well known for her murals. Inspired by a diverse group of influences, from Van Gogh to contemporary Indian painters, she paints in oil but has also used other media, including glass sculptures.

47. Here’s our three older girls. Despite being so outgoing, Antoni mostly keeps to himself. Aubrey, Augusta, and Artemisia, on the other hand, are all best friends as children and love to play together. There’s a lot of difference in their three faces. Aubrey, on the right, looks most like simRoxy, and Artemisia, left, looks most like Hiery. Augusta, middle, looks a lot like Hiery including his eyes and ears but has more of simRoxy’s genes than Artemisia.

48. It’s once again birthday time at the Masterpiece home, and that also means it’s almost ‘ship ‘em off to college to make room’ time. Aubrey is a popularity sim with the wish for 20 best friends. Augusta is a fortune sim who wants to become Chief of Staff and wear jumpsuits, apparently.

49. After a hard day of celebrating birthdays, Hiery and simRoxy sleep well, knowing that their children are well taken care of and certainly not left to forage from the cat bowl on the patio. That would be horrible.

50. “Mommy? Daddy? Are Aubrey and Augusta going to college yet?” “Oh yeah, it is about that time. If we want to make it to 10 kids before we get too old, guess we better send them away.” “Nice knowing you, Augusta! Be sure to write or whatever. We’ll be here, making more babies.” “Gross, Dad.”

51. We now return you to your regularly scheduled Horrible Pregnancy Show. Please enjoy this next episode, where the same thing that always happens, happens again! With number eight on the way, our heroine is back to her wimpy pregnancy ways.

52. Even despite shipping their children off to college as tender young teens, the days are getting short for Hiery and simRoxy’s adulthood. She’s got more days than him, and he can of course keep fathering children as an elder, but Hiery decides to do some elixir to keep young with his wife.

53. Andy’s birthday! Antoni notes how much he looks like Hiery, and it’s true – he looks like a little clone of Hiery, even more than Avery did at this age. Andy was an adorable toddler and it looks like the trend continues.

54. Birthdays come fast and often in this house, and it’s now time for baby Anjolie to grow up. Her personality is 6/9/5/8/7, different from Antoni’s by only one point, making her our second outgoing sim in the house. She makes a lovely little long-haired toddler with a good mix of genes.

55. SimRoxy is still pregnant with number eight and has two more to go afterwards, yet continues to have horrible pregnancies. For my own sanity, I decide she needs to be perma-plat. Her LTW is to have six grandchildren, so here’s my tricky way to get that. Although he’s still in college, Avery is summoned as a date for a lovely young woman back in the base neighborhood named Lucy Carver. They hit it off and before long are engaged.

56. They also carry on the Masterpiece family ways and start spawning. Their first child, Missy, is meeting her cousins – Antoni, Artemisia, and Andy. Missy is the first of six children that Lucy has after Avery’s visits from the college. We’ll meet the rest of them in the next chapter, and Avery will be able to join them later on. With the birth of the sixth grandchild, simRoxy goes perma-plat back at the house, and a small part of her pregnancies should now be easier.

57. No real reason to share this shot except I love the way it looks. The kids are getting up from various activities and going their separate ways, but they look posed for Charlie’s Angels or something. Hiery’s Angels, maybe. That’s Andy on the left, then Antoni and Artemisia.

58. Hiery starts work on a portrait of simRoxy before later painting one of himself to join her as the official portraits of generation 1. She’s pictured doing what she’s dedicated her entire adult life to: being pregnant.

59. Once the throwing up stage is down, simRoxy finds a little time to get down in between bouts of falling down. Later, she goes into labor in the small garden out back.

60. Welcome to little baby Alphonse, the first baby in a while to have a proper birth shot taken of him. As you can see, he’s got Hiery’s eyes and some fierce eyebrows for a newborn.

61. Things are once again pretty hectic. In the house, there’s the current oldest, twins Artemisia and Antoni, then Andy. Anjolie is still a toddler and now baby Alphonse has joined the pack. Just two more to go!

62. No time like the present to get started on those last two. “Hey random lady, would you take that squalling baby somewhere else? I’m trying to get a little action here!”

63. And, uh . . . action achieved! This is the roughest pregnancy simRoxy’s had since her second one, and the toilet shows the evidence of it.

64. Meanwhile it’s time for Alphonse’s birthday. Just like how he got a proper picture at his birth, he’s also the first baby in a while to get a cake. As a toddler he has a very wide mouth and the personality of 10/0/9/8/1. A return to the shy Masterpiece ways, but also the first babe with a mean streak! Alphonse Mucha was a Czech artist who worked in the Art Nouveau style and created many paintings, illustrations and advertisements. He is best known for his use of the iconic style seen in Art Nouveau posters.

65. With a little makeover, Alphonse’s looking very adorable as he joins Anjolie in the nursery. Anjolie herself is another cutie.

66. After a short time of sharing the nursery, it’s time for Anjolie to grow up. She gets a birthday hug from Artemisia, who visited her often enough in the nursery to make friends already. I think Anjolie continues to get more beautiful as she gets older.

67. With four kids in the house, it’s important to keep them busy. Since this is an art-based legacy, the kids make sure to shore up their creativity skill.

68. Birthday time comes for Artemisia and Antoni. Artemisa rolls pleasure with the wish to be a Professional Party Guest. Antoni is a family sim with the LTW to be Education Minister. With the exception of Aubrey, all the kids’ LTWs have been job ones so far.

69. Andy was really close to Artemisia and Antoni and he’s sorry to see them go, but if we’re going to reach 10 children, we need the room. The second pair of twins in the family gets sent off to join their older siblings at Sim State.

70. Soon after, simRoxy goes into labor while Hiery sleeps through the whole thing. Thanks to a late application of cheesecake, numbers nine and ten are born at the same time. The youngest twins, and final children of this generation, are two boys named Andrea and Arthur. Impossible want achieved! Hiery and simRoxy are both delighted.

71. Andrea Mantegna was an Italian painter born in the 15 th century. He studied Roman archeology and painted in a style that gave his subjects a hard, sculptural look. His works show evidence of the popular practice in his time of experimenting with perspective. Arthur Hughes was an English painter who worked mainly in the 19 th century. He is associated with the group of painters known as the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. His work is notable for a delicate style and soft, glowing color.

72. Although her childbearing days are behind her now (not that you could tell from her wants panel!), simRoxy takes a hit of the elixir to have enough youth to see her youngest through their infancy. She and Hiery will be aging up soon though – their counters are getting close and with no more children to have, they can finally age.

73. “Hey, Pastel.” “I’m Charcoal. You’re Pastel.” “But I’m darker than you . . . oh, whatever. Check out the baby on the floor.” “You’d think those humans would be better at this by now.” “You’d think so, wouldn’t you? But ten kids later and they still have floor babies.”

74. With the fun parts of making ten kids behind them now, simRoxy and Hiery settle in to a routine of raising the five children still in the house, as well as taking care of the cats. While they both keep rolling up wants to have more babies (Um, no), they also have plenty of desires for their current batch of kids. Hiery is particularly hopeful that Artemisia will be an overachiever, so I had to go to the college and make sure to get her into the dorms so he would stop thinking she’s a teenager still.

75. While his parents pillowfight in the background, the time has come for little Alphonse’s birthday. No cake for him this time, though. He grows up into an absolutely adorable child with an unruly head of hair and lots of freckles.

76. Andy is a smustle maniac. If I leave him alone for just a minute, he’ll be sure to be down by the stereo, dancing away.

77. Some more cute pics of the kids. Up top are Andy and Alphonse, and Anjolie down below. Because there were so many kids this generation, none of them got a lot of time, nor a lot of individual attention from their parents or me, so pictures of their childhood are scarce.

78. Time for Arthur and Andrea’s birthday. Amazingly, they grow up identical as far as I can tell, so you only get one picture and you can just look at it twice. Arthur’s personality is 8/0/7/5/9. Andrea’s is 6/0/5/8/6. Amazingly, despite having ten kids, we avoided the firstborn effect and all the personalities are slightly different. All Masterpiece kids are playful, all but one are nice, and only two are outgoing.

79. These things always seem to come in clusters in this household, so it’s Andy’s birthday, too. Time for him to turn into a teen.

80. Here’s Andy as a teen and with one of his baby brothers. Andy rolled family, so he wants to be around his little siblings all the time. His lifetime want is to reach his Golden Anniversary, one of the easier wants for family sims, in my opinion. Andy continues to be the child that looks most like Hiery. With the same haircut, he looks like a little half-grown clone of his father.

81. I couldn’t help but take a bunch of pictures of the identical twins. They’re just so cute together! I dressed them alike and without hovering over for the tooltip, I couldn’t tell them apart at all.

82. With ten children filling up this ship of fools, it’s time to end this chapter. Next chapter, the last five kids will grow into teens. Who will be the heir? Now that simRoxy is done being pregnant, will she be less of a pain in the butt? Probably not! Will the chapter be more exciting than this one? Almost definitely! Check back next time for the continuation of the Masterpiece legacy. Thanks for reading and please join me at SiMania! You can find it at http://z12.invisionfree.com/Sim_Mania. Thanks!