ladasimstanova

[ladasimstanova]

Life of Lada (prologue)

(This is the first in a series about my favorite teen Sim, Lada <3. She’s actually the third generation in my game, so this post is a recap of what came before her. It’s super long, sorry! Just wanted to give some context for her life)

Lada:

I’m here to tell my story. If I don’t, I’m afraid that I’ll become a footnote. The only daughter not to chase my family’s fame.

So this is about... me, I guess. But it’s kind of about Mom, too.

By all accounts, my mom’s life should have been totally and completely average. She grew up in a happy family- side by side with my Aunt Maryna. My grandparents worked hard and gave them everything they could have wanted in life. They were happy.

But once they were teenagers, everything changed. My aunt Anya was born, and suddenly she took all of the attention in the house. Grandma and Grandpa were both working full time, so why waste their energy on two self-sufficient teenagers when they could be focusing on the clingy toddler instead?

Maybe because teenagers are stupid.

And because they go to college parties and find themselves boyfriends...

And because then they’re barely halfway through high school and all of a sudden they’re pregnant.

As you can imagine, that went over like a bag of rocks.Grandma and Grandpa kept Mom confined to her room- mortified by what she had done. Their plan was to take over care of the baby once she became a toddler. Auntie Anya would be in elementary school then, and with any luck Mom and Auntie Maryna would be headed off to college.

Mom, though, had a different idea.

The only thing she had to keep her company while she was locked away was an easel. She practiced her painting all day and night, and by the time my older sister Elena was born Mom had gotten pretty good.

So she painted her first series- Welcome Baby. She captured the moments that each of her family members met Elena for the first time- totally unedited. The critics ate it up, and before she knew it, Mom was being called a “Notable Newcomer”.

I don’t know if Mom ever pictured herself becoming an artist, but she saw what it could do for her. She realized that she would be making enough money to live comfortably, while also staying home to raise Elena. With the money she made selling her first paintings, Mom and Dad got married and moved to San Myshuno- in the Arts District, of course.

Enter, me

Unlike my sister, I was planned. A testament to my parents’ independence. I know their main motive was giving Elena a younger sibling, but sometimes I wonder if it ran deeper than that. After all, Mom was kind of deprived of a happy pregnancy the first time around. One where she could just be excited instead of worrying if her baby would be taken away.

When I was a baby, Mom pretty much moved in to the office/studio space with me. She put my bassinet next to her easel and used me as her inspiration. To her, I was perfect.

And if things had stayed that way, I think they would still be perfect.

But Mom and Dad had to have “just one more”. 

It was crazy, because Auntie Anya was living with us too then. Grandma and Grandpa were working so much, and Mom was home all day. So once I was a toddler and Mom moved back to her bedroom, Auntie Anya moved in to the studio.

Something about her sparked a new inspiration in Mom, and she painted a whole series just called Anya. It was a huge success, and I guess that’s why Mom and Dad decided to just go for one more. They had the money, they had the time, and they always wanted a big family.

Except that the world had other ideas, and “just one” quickly turned into “how about two?”

So came Olya and Ivanna.

Now we were seven people crammed into our tiny Art District apartment, but Mom and Dad never seemed to notice. Dad was always running around cleaning and cooking and trying to keep everyone from losing their heads, and Mom was... painting. Always painting.

She found excuses for us kids to come spend time in her studio so she could turn us into her subjects. She made her fortune on portraits of our lives.

Mom’s first ever masterpiece was this portrait of my sister Olya and I posing in our nightgowns. I never understood what it was about it that was so popular, but after that painting sold Mom and Dad were so happy, and for awhile things were really good. Sure, we were a little crowded, but we were a happy family.

...but of course, Mom and Dad took that as a cue to have Another. Baby.

For awhile, my baby sister Alyona had to sleep on a mattress on the floor of my parents’ room, because there just wasn’t anywhere else. It wasn’t until Auntie Anya finished high school and moved into an apartment with her boyfriend that we finally had more space to spread out.

But the damage was already done. Mom and Dad were in way over their heads with us. At some point they even stopped distinguishing between me and the twins- they started calling us “the triplets”. 

Recently we even celebrated our birthdays together all on the same day.

Which brings us to now.

Sure, I look happy in this picture. Despite everything, I do love my sisters. It isn’t their fault that Mom and Dad have decided to lump us all together.

But I see them, and I see the path they’re headed down, and I can tell that we’re going to live really separate lives.

Our older sister Elena is already being mentored by Mom to follow in her footsteps as a painter, and Olya and Ivanna are well on their way to becoming “influencers” or “streamers” or whatever title virtual fame gets you these days.

So it’s up to me to do something different. To move out of this overcrowded apartment and make my own way in life. I know that my Mom won’t understand, but I need to step out of her shadow. I just hope I can do it without losing my light.

[ladasimstanova]

sul sul, simmers!

You can call me Lada, after my favorite Sim :) I’m 26 years old, falling down the rabbit hole of Sims 4 storytelling. After awhile it gets boring keeping all the storylines to myself, so I came here to share with some fellow simmers!

I’m not sure exactly how this works, but would love to meet some fellow storytellers and start sharing :3

That said, a quick introduction to Lada:

Life isn’t always straightforward for Lada Ivanova. The second daughter of famous painter, Nastia Volkova, Lada wishes she could just break free of her family’s reputation. Living in an Arts Quarter apartment with her parents and four sisters is hectic- and dealing with her family’s quirks can be a struggle sometimes. 

Lada dreams of separating herself from her sisters: Elena, a talented painter like their mother; twins Olya and Ivanna, aspiring influencers; and Alyona, a promising young social butterfly. She has her heart set on escaping to University, where she can finally distinguish herself and show her true intelligence. If only things were that easy.

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I really look forward to meeting some new people and getting to develop my stories more. Thanks to anyone who took the time to read!