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45paperplates · 4 years ago

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More about Olivia Rodrigo: On her Lyrics

Starting some time in 2018 or maybe a little earlier, Olivia Rodrigo began to play original songs, or more often pieces of songs, one verse and a chorus, apparently unfinished, for her followers on Instagram Live. She was about fifteen at the time, although one of the more complete songs (“Naive Girl”) can be confirmed to date back to 2014 or 2015, when she was twelve years old. I began to listen to these songs, all but one of which are available to hear conveniently compiled into a single twenty-five minute Youtube video, when my appetite for her music was only beginning to grow to its present size, after I had listened to the album on repeat for a good three or four days straight. They are the kind of thing only obsessive fans can really gush over, something akin to Bob Dylan’s early Minnesota Hotel Tape from 1961: badly recorded and casually created by a young artist who never intended them to be anything more than they are, a fun and easy way to show off their talent at a time when a wellspring of inspiration was already pouring forth with no better available outlet.

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These little pieces, however, establish finally for sure what a major label pop debut with other ambitions, no matter how special it may be, can only hint at, which is that something within her is driving a preternatural attention for detail, currently unmatched in it’s free naturalism, imaginative power, and consistency, only possibly consistent as a result of its being deeply possessed and long established, despite her youth. I have already touched on what I think that something may be in my first post about her. But whatever it is, it is immediately apparent in her performances here, an instinct that had already cemented deeply considered vocalization as her default, as a simple creative necessity, although a few of the earliest recordings have added even another layer of Broadway-like drama that has since been stripped away, I am guessing as a result of the nascent growth of some level of creative confidence.

Songwriting, then, is to some degree shown to be a third result of that engrained ability, after said holistic sincerity and its resultant vocal intuition, and yet a good chunk of the songs are lyrically composed as well with a just as holistically sincere and intuitive affect, presenting very well-understood conundrums, pared down to koan-like solids one would think by years of rumination. A few are, I would dare to say, more tightly constructed and figuratively multivalent than the songs on her album, many of which share their succinctness but not the violently prismatic irony that seems to be able to overpower the sincere creative drive that gave it life in its brightest inspired flashes. “drivers license” in fact excels by flattening that figurative prism into a simpler and more benign shape, allowing the casual listener to both easily understand and retain some wisp of hope in the end, even if it is only implied.

I would not be so stupid as to claim that Olivia intended these best-written of her unreleased bedroom productions to be metaphysical poems somehow toeing the line between classical balance and baroque terror in their meditation on the reciprocal quality of human sin. That would be silly, not because I don’t think a teenager is capable of such a thing (teenagers have, in fact, always been capable of making high art) but because these few songs focus on themes common to all of her songs: teenage insecurity, uncontrollable jealousy, and betrayal both social and self-inflicted. The depth of her imagery comes instead, I think, from an intuitive understanding of where the cultural meat of an issue lies, and when she writes a song her drive craves and so aims for power and gets rid of whatever there is that lacks it. Perhaps working with a co-writer somewhat slows that drive.

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“Pretender” is a song about being “fake” and how it works both outwardly and internally. It’s personification, the “pretender” of the title, is accused, envied, pitied, and ultimately, understood. It moves through four key lines.

Pointing her finger at this automaton, about whom she alone knows the truth, Olivia first wishes vindictively,

If only they knew what I knew.

But then, now envious of the figure, she prays,

I wish I knew what you knew.

Maybe as a result of these two contradictory desires, she is forced to admit with regret that the pretender can only be a fantastic image rather than a full person, a strawman created by her mind to both embody her sublimated desire and reflexively maintain her own superiority when it goes unfulfilled:

I created you to be plastic and deadly.

Finally, in a relentlessly logical conclusion, she must admit, as the construction falls to pieces, that this is obviously all about herself:

I created you to hide my own envy, ... Maybe I’m a pretender like you.

With her catalog in mind, the canonical interpretation is pretty obvious. The pretender is someone who is perfect and happy and Olivia is jealous of that. By the guilt left in the wake of her accusation, she realizes, indeed it should have been quite apparent from the start, that perhaps the person who seems to be happy is actually not happy. She perceives by juxtaposition that maybe others see her, Olivia, the same way, and in a sinking conclusion, perfect happiness, the other’s and hers as well, is shown to be only truly possible in image and never in the fullness of experience. It is a song about the difficult process of empathy and its bitter personal rewards. This interpretation prevails in Youtube comments, specifically in reference to her other songs about the jealousy encouraged by social media. “I’m happy for them, but then again, I’m not.” Maybe Olivia’s own fun and carefree public-facing presence is just as false?

The genius behind this songwriting, however, is that this other person does not need to exist for the song’s structure to function. This is by design, no doubt; she could very well be speaking only to herself the entire time. If Olivia is pretending too, as the final line suggests, then why could she not have been the pretender all along? Indeed, how else could Olivia be the only one who knows “the truth” about this figure in the first place? A personal struggle with identity, that is the meat of it all.

Her first wish for the pretender’s exposure is based in personal remorse, for lying to the world about who she really is. That her own social facade might be justly but violently forced open to expose the truth would be a painful but cathartic release. She makes her second wish as she recoils in the face of such an embarrassing prospect, hoping against reason that maybe it’s somehow all avoidable, that by abandoning any loyalty to the truth and to herself altogether she might in fact achieve the paradise that the pretender affects, soulless but free of the pain of having a soul too. Third is the realization that this is evil, that her desire is sinful, both grotesque and inhuman (“plastic”), and cruel (“deadly”). Fourth and last she can no longer pretend that her original finger-pointing isn't itself the result of this same worldly desire, as narcissistic an attempt at personal redemption as the outward facade is itself. Insecurity and jealousy, no matter how embarrassing or ugly, no more compose an understanding of identity than any more knowingly-constructed and performative self-image, and are just as self-serving in their own twisted way.

So in this song she is deconstructing herself, from outward composure to cryptic narcissism, shattering layer after layer in an alarmingly accelerating regression. Unfortunately, all that is left in the end is what she has done after what she is—performatively, emotionally, intuitively—has fallen away, specifically the intended result of the accusation she threw at the pretender to begin it all: once again, guilt. What else but guilt is exposed now to be the substance left of the human individual? For Olivia, deep down at least, guilt is always the together creator and eraser of human pleasure, the identity that is desire, and the only thing that fears the emptiness that would be left without it.

That a teenager could write such a penetratingly self-critical work is of course impressive, but the fact that guilt, desire, pleasure, happiness, identity, and fear are shown ultimately to be one and the same generative source is far more exciting. Here she exposes the potential versatility of her created and creative ability, that in maturity this raw power without singular definition could be manipulated into many other things completely new, things only Olivia and not I can imagine now.

#Olivia Rodrigo #sour #drivers license #pretender #hsmtmts #bootlegs #bob dylan #metaphysics #john donne #existentialism #pop music #catholic guilt #taylor swift #lorde #billie eilish

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qdtquietdownthere · 6 years ago

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Day 8- Swim, clay and personal space.

Day 8

Today is going to be a busy day and I wake up and put on my swimming costume before doing anything else.

If that isn't a wild start to a Tuesday, I don't know what is.

I get the tube to Victoria (one stop before my usual Pimlico) and head to the Queen Mother Sports Centre to go for a swim. It is odd getting off here. There have been major delays on the railways and the space is buzzing with frantic energy. Everyone is passing through. No one seems to stop. I down a coffee from cafe-disgusting-Nero before my swim. It is interesting wandering in a mad sea of people who are rushing. I like to guess what job they have and I wonder what they think I do when they look at me. If they look at me. There was a man on the tube this morning swearing at his laptop. I wondered what his day was going to be like. It is funny taking the tube every morning and being in this transient space. It gives me energy and I feel part of the crowd, but it is also so transient and so isolating. A swelling day population and I'm just one of them. As I walk towards Pimlico however, and towards the pool, the swell of people calms. I sit outside the pool and wait until 10am as I sip my coffee before I go in. I am enjoying sticking to the timetable as well as I can, This is the little bit of structure surrounded by unknown activities.

The pool is quite this time in the morning. There are maybe only 5 people in the pool and we are all spread out. Absolute luxury. At first I notice how calm and clean the pool is. There are sheets hanging on the wall which contain workout guides. One for strength, one for cardio and there is one sheet titled ‘silver’ for elderly people. This one looks the most used, and 4 out of 5 of the people swimming today all have silver hair. This is inviting for me as the pace is relaxed. Im not ready to try and fight for a place in the pool. My last experience in Stoke Newington pool was not pleasant, whereas this is already a great experience. I stay for 45 minutes until the local schools start playing on the flumes and distracting the tranquility of the unified breast strokes happening in our orderly lanes. I hear two elderly men in the slow lane laugh with each other. Up until this point I have only spoken to two people today, and that makes me feel a little sad. Most other days I would have spoken to many people by this time. Swimming is also a lonely sport I feel, it is easy to be in your own head. Running for example, keeps your eyes busy and you get to smile at other runners. It is so easy it is to be out in the community, doing an activity in a shared space, but still lack engagement with another human. Later on in Tesco on Lupas Street I wait to pay for my nut bar and notice that the line for the tills run by a real human cashier are almost twice as long as self service. Never have I seen this in another supermarket before. A simple chore is buying food, but for older people, lonely people, it might be the little interaction they get in a day.

After swimming, and sporting a beautiful chlorine barnet, I make my way towards Thames Bank centre. I pop into a few charity shops on the way. In both there are lots of young people, both working and shopping. Its nice to see some 20 somethings and when I buy a dress (which I now regret buying) we have a little laugh. Its nice to have this, and its interesting how the demographic has changed.

Like the market at the weekend, it is wonderful to look in a charity shop and see the identity of a place and area. I think charity shops, and a sharing of items and style is a wonderful way to get to understand a place. There is a great book titled ‘the Comfort of Things’ (2008) by Daniel Miller in which the author, and anthropologist, goes into a London tower block to speak to people about their belongings and asks the owners to tell their stories. It is a wonderful and deeply personal book which unifies through difference, all around a backdrop of belongings. Charity shops for local areas remind me of this. I find comfort in buying something which has its own story.

Thames bank centre is hosting ETAT (Encouragement through the arts and talking). I turn up a little early and walk into a room full of chatting, and laughing and there is clay everywhere. I walk in and have to introduce myself to everyone in the room. Everyone is elderly and they are all chatting away while deep into their clay. There is some confusion about who I am. I am there to come along to the class and do the chair exercises. This however gets misinterpreted that I am leading the chair exercise sessions. I don't really understand and go along with it. This has been the best approach to most of the activities. I start making clay into an underwater theme and then, luckily, like an act of god, the chair exercise instructor turns up and I'm off the hook. It makes everyone giggle.

I am overwhelmed by the sense of community in the room, and once again this free, easy and non comital environment. The space is like a loud living room with clay everywhere and people come and go. Like a living room exactly. There is a range of ages, though I hear the oldest is 97. Once again I am the youngest, but this is something with invigorates me today, excites even. I feel like it is a space I would come to completely by myself. I sit next to a lady who I went on the Warwick trip with and we laugh about her attention to detail while making her ceramic tile compared with my botch job attempt. Yes thats right, I am an ‘Artist’. I speak to Jane and Karen (Who runs CAVE in Pimlico) about ETAT. They are far reaching and busy people. Pimlico million was set up by Jane who shows me videos and photos from events, exhibitions and footage of her singing at SouthWest Fest. They are currently preparing for an art show and ETAT have even recorded an album. However I am told that the album has a parental advisory because many swear words are sang throughout the song…. Again, the eldest member is 97. I'll just leave that there. What is apparent is how both Jane and Karen, and everyone for that matter, are connected to the community. They seem completely involved in its development. They make it feel this way just by simply knowing everyones name. There is power in naming.

Im a little anxious when I meet Jane and Karen, because I am nervous to be seen as a threat to existing services. It has been a challenge explaining why I am coming along to activities which haven't seen a new, or young, member in many moons. I stand out. I feel like a cultural probe at times. However, I'm also there for me. I am interested and excited by these activities and interactions separate from the schedule, the blog, and the cash to eat breakfast.

We begin chair class in the corner of the huge room. There are around seven of us, all with a mixture of abilities. Emily who is in a wheel chair, a woman with dementia, Barney who is a Chelsea pensioner and wont stop laughing and then me who is giggling along with the energy of the place. We dance to music in our seats which are arranged in a circle. We play volleyball and Barney throws a mean punch. Its fun and I'm happy. I loose track of time and have to run out.

Later on in the day, after a visit to Victoria library, I head over to the London Mayor’s Parlour to observe the council meeting of the health and wellbeing board. Im early and then I'm late and then I'm lost. Being lost is hard and I wonder what this residency would be like without a phone. Even more, without a schedule. It makes me see even clearer the obstacles in leaving an area where you grew up when you don't have the funds, the ability or the confidence to leave. It is easy to ‘other’ the next streets across the busy road. It is then easy to other the next community, the young teenagers, the refugees. I wonder how much of a knock on effect this inability to access certain spaces shapes us. Urban geography shapes us.

The streets as you leave Pimlico become busy with suits and men who are walking like they mean business. The buildings get taller and it becomes striking that you have left pimlico. Again, the city scape, the gardens and the design of Churchill Gardens and the surrounding area give you a sense of a village. It is protected. I am desperate to draw this- desperate to map it out.

I eventually arrive to the building I need to be at. In the foyer but the woman at reception tells me the meeting was last week. The only one today is on transport. I feel a little embarrassed but mainly because I'm a bubbly sweaty mess and everyone is in navy blue suits, not sweating and cool as a business man shaped cucumber. I ask to use the toilet but she says no, so I leave.

It Is nice walking back to Pimlico and towards the library. I don't need a map anymore and that gives me confidence and a sense of belonging. I know where streets are and have a sense within me like a homing pigeon for the library.

The day takes a turn and while waiting outside the library in the sunshine I get a personal call with some bad news. I am outside the library in Pimlico, but on the phone feeling very emotional. I am here in Pimlico but I'm transported into my life in Tottenham, in Edinburgh. I wish to be in these places now. I try and clean myself up to go into knitting, but when I walk in I notice only two people sat in the space outside the toilets, knitting at speed in complete silence. It is not the right space for me at this moment. This is the only time I have felt an overwhelming sense of being in a place which isn't mine. I want someone to talk to who knows me and I want to be with my friend. I crave something normal in an abnormal situation and after abnormal news? For the rest of my night I isolate myself. I get off the tube at one point to isolate myself. To be in control. Its demanding giving all the time during the residency. I am always trying to bring energy. It takes energy to walk into a room, to try and engage someone, to listen to long stories, to listen to upset and to ideas you don't agree with. Even the stories which are happy and interesting, it takes energy. I know I bring energy to what I have been doing. I bring a genuine interest and care and a giddiness to talk and connect. I wonder how much I have given of myself. I told the women who I sat with at choir how nervous I was to sing and walk into the room, and it was in this activity which I felt most happiest, and most transformed when I left to go home. I wonder if I should have gone into knitting but be open and honest about how I was feeling and what had just happened to me merely 3 minutes before. How would this have felt? With action research I am aware of mutuality and transparency. It has been this. But I wonder if I had pushed it a little further, and let go of this need to make people feel good and happy and just talked about me, how would this change the residency and my interactions? I wonder if this had happened just before choir, would I have gone in? What is it about knitting club which meant that in that situation I couldn't walk in and be with the sadness I had just received? I believe it was the intensity of the situation, and the fact it was only two knitters sat in the library space. Even more so after this, I celebrate how all the activities and groups I have attended are relaxed and casual. One doesn't have to commit to a 5 week course going every Thursday night. Life happens.

I am someone who recharges my batteries alone and I don't want to talk about hard subject with strangers. I know how to self sooth, how to get back the sunshine. I feel bad I didn't go in but in this moment it wasn't right. It has also shone light on the need for flexible activities in a community which inevitable will encounter childcare problems, ill health ect. Its about designing a service which despite all of what life can throw at someone, the service will continue to be outwards reaching. I think there is value and need for creating something which can be someones fall back. That in despite of sadness, loneliness or not feeling like leaving the sofa, one doesn't feel lonely and isolated from the culture and happenings of the community.

I go home and have a bath, watch some Netflix and I draw a quick drawing of a lobster. I also listen to Stormzy. Lots of Stormzy.

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snarkysim · 7 years ago

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My Beautiful Dark Twisted Legacy

A modified Differences in the Family Tree challenge.

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Legacy (MBDTL) is a challenge for The Sims 4. It’s named after Kanye West’s 2010 album of almost the same name (please don’t sue me). There’s no deep reason for this; I was just trying to look for quotes to match each generation’s theme and I came across one of Kanye’s lyrics that perfectly encapsulated the Performer/Musician generation. “I am God’s vessel. But my greatest pain in life is that I will never be able to see myself perform live.” That inspired me to use more of Kanye’s amusing quotes -- sometimes brilliant, and sometimes head-scratching -- for all 15(!) generations. Don’t worry. You can always play a condensed version of this challenge if the thought of 15 generations makes you sweat. Like the original DITFT legacy challenge, there are a number of objectives. I’ve incorporated a number of objectives from the original challenge, but I’ve come up with tons of new ones! Everything from skills, careers, and aspirations down to midlife crises and Sunday dinner traditions. If you’re curious, click below the cut and prepare yourself for the longest text post of your life.

BASIC CONCEPT

The full version of this legacy challenge can be played for a full 15 generations. Each generation has a theme with its matching career(s), aspiration(s), objectives, and Kanye West quote. In the original form of the challenge created by ArrowLeaf, generations were completed in a specified order, which is still totally fine. However, generations can also be played in random order, and it’ll be up to you to make sense of it for your game/story. To determine the theme and corresponding objectives for each generation, use Google’s random number generator. Or just google ‘random number generator’ and it’s the first thing that pops up under the search field. Allow it to randomly select a number between 1 and 15. The first number generated will correspond to the type of generation played for the legacy founder. Once the founder has a child, the player may randomly generate the next number in order to start preparing for the next generation’s objectives. If the same number is generated within a legacy, the player may choose to use the consecutive number or roll again.

The condensed version of the challenge can either be played as a 10-legacy or 5-legacy challenge (for those of us with less success completing legacy-style gameplay). Similar to the full version, it can be played in order, starting at any point on the list, or through the random generation of numbers.

NOMADIC GAMEPLAY OR CLASSIC LEGACY CHALLENGE RULES

Once a theme is chosen for the first generation, create a character and move them into whatever lot or pre-built house you want as long as there are no money cheats involved. There are optional objectives that will make this choice more favourable to the challenge.

You may also choose to play according to classic Legacy Challenge rules, where you choose the largest lot in the the chosen neighbourhood and purchase the Knight of Octagon table decoration costing $8200 and place it in the family inventory. If you are choosing a 64x64 lot, you can buy two Points of Enmity for $2100 and one Von-Windenburg’s Trap for $2000. Place those three items in the family inventory. Either way, the challenge must begin with the sim having $1800.

RULES (ARE MEANT TO BE BROKEN)

Have fun and don’t take anything too seriously, including these rules. No money, mood, motive, or skills cheats. Story progression mods are allowed, but nothing that gives your household an advantage over any other sim in its community.

Life span set to normal

Randomly generated traits for heirs unless there is a specified trait they must have for their generation. Use a random trait and aspiration generator for this one.

Randomly generated traits and aspirations for known non-heirs. If you’re unsure about which of the children will be heir, you can choose the traits up until they become teens.

Choose the heir by any means you want (e.g., random, firstborn, matriarchy, popular vote, etc.) Try to stick to one succession law for the entire legacy.

Spouses can have jobs and teens can have part-time jobs.

When moving sims into the family, you may not keep any funds they bring in with them

The next generation starts when the heir chosen hits YA. At this point, other family members, including parents, can be moved out; or the heir can move and get a place of their own. If the heir moves to a different lot, he/she cannot take any family funds with them.

If you are keeping the legacy within the largest lot in the neighbourhood, the family must stay and build on that lot throughout the legacy.

THE GENERATIONS:

GENERATION ONE - THE CREATOR

“If I were to write my title like going through the airport and you have to put down what you do? I would literally write ‘creative genius’ except for two reasons: Sometimes it takes too long to write that and sometimes I spell the word ‘genius’ wrong. The irony.”

You begin with a blank slate. Weave together the origin story of your legacy by stringing words along the page, or brushing paints across the canvas. You’re not starting out with much in your pocket, but that’s okay, because there’s never been a time in history when it’s been this cool to be a poor, hungry hipster.

OBJECTIVES:

Have and complete a Creative Aspiration

Master the writing and/or painting skill

If the sim chooses to be a writer, join the Author career branch and reach level 10

If the sim chooses to be an artist, join the Artist career branch and reach level 10

Write at least 10 books and/or paint at least 5 masterpieces

Keep at least 5 books in your household’s bookshelves and/or display at least 5 paintings in your house

Marry, woohoo, have at least two kids

Go to an Arts Centre, Museum, or Library once a week

OPTIONAL OBJECTIVES:

Get 10,000 in book royalties

Sell 10,000 in paintings

Be good friends with all members of the immediate family

Influence at least one child/teen to reach level 5 in painting and/or writing skill before they age up to YA

Complete two murals

Decorate an entire wall of your house with a collage of original paintings

Write at least one book of each genre/type

Provide original titles to all of your books

If your sim is experiencing an extreme emotion while in the household lot, they must start an emotional painting or start a book in the specialized genre

Build a painter’s studio or a writer’s office on your lot

GENERATION TWO - THE PERFORMER

“I am God’s vessel. But my greatest pain in life is that I will never be able to see myself perform live.”

Self-expression has been deeply ingrained in your psyche since the moment you came clawing out into this world, screaming death metal out of the womb. It’s pushed you into pursuing a musical dream that has yet to be explored. You’re not exactly sure about the fame and notoriety, but you’d sacrifice your privacy for a chance to play your song.

OBJECTIVES:

Have and complete a Creative Aspiration

Master at least two from the following list of skills: piano, guitar, violin, and/or singing

Get to the top of the Entertainer career in the Musician branch

Have at least three kids

Get married to someone with a music lover or creative trait

Learn all songs

License at least two songs

Go to a karaoke bar at least once a week

OPTIONAL OBJECTIVES:

Play for tips at all community lots

Attend and win three karaoke contests

Serenade other sims or lull other sims at least once a week

If the sim needs a shower and the current mood is either happy or confident, the sim must select ‘sing in shower’

Influence at least one child/teen to play an instrument and have that child reach level 5 by the time they age up to YA

Change your sim’s hair colour halfway into young adulthood; you may switch it back when they age up

Get a tattoo before becoming an adult

Have an affair with a groupie (or a stranger who just watched you perform)

Have a child out of wedlock

Build a music studio with one of each type of instrument in the room

GENERATION THREE - THE STAY-AT-HOME PARENT

“I’ve known my mom since I was zero years old. She is quite dope.”

You’ve always wanted more stability in your life. Some would even criticize you for craving the normalcy of a nuclear family standing on a freshly mowed lawn surrounded by a white picket fence. It might be eerily traditional, but you swear it’s only because you’ve always fancied that slower pace.

OBJECTIVES:

Have and complete the Super Parent, Successful Lineage, Happy Family, or Soulmate aspiration

You must be a stay-at-home parent but you may make money at home by gardening, painting, hacking, etc.

Try for twins until you win, or until your household has reached max capacity. If you have a mod that allows more than eight sims in a household, then you’re SOL.

Read a story to children at least once a week

Attend at least two children’s weddings (you may switch household in order to achieve this)

All children and teens must have straight As before aging up No maids or butlers No divorce

OPTIONAL OBJECTIVES:

Marry your highschool sweetheart

Have at least five kids of your own Help kids with homework every night and assist with every kid’s school project

Adopt at least one child

Complete at least one parenting interaction with each child everyday until they age up to YA

Have every child complete a child aspiration before becoming a teen

Have every child earn at least two positive character values when aging up to YA

Throw every child a birthday party

Make a sacked lunch for each child every Monday

Have Sunday dinners with each member of the household in attendance and seated around the same dining table

GENERATION FOUR - THE ONE-PERCENT

“If everything I did failed - which it doesn’t, it actually succeeds - just the fact that I’m willing to fail is an inspiration.”

You know what you want and you already have plan A, B, and C on how to get what you want. You’re always rushing forward with your eyes focused on accomplishing your goals. Ambition is the first step to success and you need to act fast if you want to destroy your competition and make it to the top of the ladder.

OBJECTIVES:

Have and complete the Fabulously Wealthy, Mansion Baron, City Native or Renaissance Sim aspiration

Get to level 10 in the Business and/or Politics career

Max the charisma skill

Max the logic skill

Earn over 50,000 in family funds

Get married and throw a big wedding with more than 10 guests, a caterer, mixologist, and entertainer

Have at least one child

Move to San Myshuno on your own and live in an apartment that needs TLC until you save enough for a nicer place; then move back into your old home when one of your parents die in order to take care of the survivor. OR Stay in your current lot and renovate the entire house or build a new extension.

OPTIONAL OBJECTIVES:

Donate to charity every Wednesday and then update your social media status

As an adult, volunteer with your family every Saturday. When you return, upload an image to social media

Become enemies with your parent(s), particularly the previous heir, before entering your career

Attend every festival you can unless you are at work or engaged in a social event.

Meet at least four new people while on the festival grounds

Successfully ask for a small loan or a donation of 1000 from a sim you just met

Purchase a gift worth more than 500 for your children when it’s their birthdays

Have 10 good friends

Have one rival from your workplace

Send flirty texts to someone who isn’t your spouse

Have a midlife crisis during adulthood and either buy $20,000 worth of decorative objects and/or electronics, or have an affair with a sim younger than your spouse

GENERATION FIVE - THE REBEL

“The plan was to drink until the pain is over. But what’s worse, the pain or hangover?”

Sticking it to the man has been your motto throughout childhood. You’re the true definition of chaotic neutral, representing the freedom from society’s norms and the do-gooder’s expectations. So what if you’re in a club on a Thursday? You’re only here for your girl’s birthday.

OBJECTIVES:

Have and complete the Serial Romantic, Master Mixologist, Friend of the World, Leader of the Pack, or Party Animal aspiration

Join the Mixologist branch of the Culinary career

Have the noncommittal trait

Kiss six sims

Be the boyfriend/girlfriend to two sims then break their hearts (you can be married to one and be dating the other)

Get married and have kid(s)

Kill or divorce the first spouse, then get married and have kid(s)

Throw a party (in any location) at least once a week

OPTIONAL OBJECTIVES:

Get at least one tattoo

Host a gold-rated house party

Have a gold-rated date

Go on at least 10 dates

Public woohoo at least two times with two different sims

Max the DJ mixing skill

DJ at a nightclub or party on a community lot once a week

Max the Dance skill and win three dance battles

Accept any invitations to a nightclub or party unless it conflicts with work

Create a club of fellow noncommittal sims and meet at least once a week at a location with a bed and a hot tub

GENERATION SIX - THE SODBUSTER

“Being fresh is more important than having money.”

A life of vice is not for you. You’ve seen what it can do to the body, so you’ve decided to return back to the simple purity of the earth. There’s an honesty and organicness in having your hands digging in the dirt, growing food that nourishes the bowels and the soul.

OBJECTIVES:

Have and complete a Nature aspiration

Grow a starter garden using the starter packets from the store

Grow a garden with Blue Bells, Chrysanthemum, Daisy, Apple, grapes, Plantain, Basil, Parsley, Carrot, Mushroom, and Spinach

Get married, but no woohoo before marriage

Have a boy and a girl, and keep trying until you do

Max the gardening skill

Max the herbalism and/or fishing skill

No gardeners

OPTIONAL OBJECTIVES:

Complete at least one collection

Have and maintain a bonsai tree

Obtain and plant every type of plant

Grow a cow plant

Make a death flower

Go camping in Granite Falls at least once, or go camping in your own backyard during the weekends

Brew a herbalism concoction while on vacation at Granite Falls

Marry a sim with the “Loves Outdoors” trait

Unlock Sylvan Glade and the Forgotten Grotto

Care for community lot gardens at least once a week

GENERATION SEVEN - THE FOODIE

“What she order? Fish filet.”

Your senses are keenly attuned sights, smells, and tastes of fresh ingredients; but your passion burns in the kitchen. You might have a refined palate, but you’ll need to work on those knife skills if you want to get at the same level as the screaming chefs on TV.

OBJECTIVES:

Have and complete the Master Chef aspiration

Join the Chef branch of the Culinary career and/or open up a restaurant

Reach level 10 as a chef and/or reach five-star restaurant ratings

Max cooking skill

Max gourmet cooking skill

Always attend the Spice Festival, unless the sim is at work or already at another social event

Receive the Chopsticks Savvy and the Spice Hound food mastery traits

OPTIONAL OBJECTIVES:

Cook all meals for the family

Sample at least one item from each cuisine or type of food vendor at all festivals

Max creativity skill

Max the baking, mixology, and/or gardening skill

Take your sims out on dates by taking them to a restaurant or inviting them over for a home-cooked meal

Serve steak to random sims at a barbecue in the park

Have Sunday dinners with each member of the household in attendance and seated around the same dining table

Invite at least four friends over for a dinner party featuring a homemade appetizer, main course, and dessert

Build a chef’s dream kitchen complete with every type of large and small appliance available

Cook Ambrosia

GENERATION EIGHT - THE COUCH POTATO

“My greatest award is what I’m about to do.”

You had your cake and you ate it all, too! All the food you could ever dream of was available for you to sample and devour. Not going to lie, you’ve gotten used to an unsustainable lifestyle. Now, you could get up, work on yourself, and make a change for the better. Otherwise, you’re going to be the forgotten one in the family tree.

OBJECTIVES:

Have an aspiration of your choice but do everything in your power not to complete it

Do not get a job (the spouse can have a job but the heir cannot)

Marry a sim of your choice, but elope immediately

Have as many children as you want while you’re still YA

Do not teach the toddlers any skills or change their diaper/bathe them

Do not help the kids with homework or read them books

Spend your family fortune. Strive to get it just above what the bills are

Order pizza once a week

OPTIONAL OBJECTIVES:

Don’t change dirty diapers

No dish cleaning or cleaning out spoiled food from the fridge

No skill that lowers fun is to be learned

Read 15 books

Max video gaming skill

Watch TV or use the computer for at least four hours everyday

Flirt with three sims in town (before or after you’re married)

Complete a post card collection

No woohoo or ‘try for baby’ with your spouse as an adult

Wear your pajama outfit(s) every time you are within the household lot, unless there is a social event taking place on the lot

GENERATION NINE - THE JOCK

“Nike told me, 'We can't give you royalties because you're not a professional athlete.' I told them 'I'll go to the Garden and play one-on-no-one.' I'm a performance athlete!”

Laziness doesn’t exist in your dictionary; not that you’d know because you don’t even know if you own one. You’re the person at the gym pushing beyond your limits. Your eye is on the prize, and it looks like gold medals and eight-pack abs.

OBJECTIVES:

Have and complete the Bodybuilder aspiration

Join the Athletics career and reach level 10 in either branch

Max the fitness skill

Max the charisma skill

Go to a gym venue once a week, even if you have your own home gym.

Have at least one biological child (being married is optional)

Adopt a toddler or child sim

Have 10 good friends

OPTIONAL OBJECTIVES:

Max the wellness skill

Take a weekly gym selfie

If you ever feel Sad or Bored, take a brisk shower

If you become Energized, you must energize at least one other sim on the lot

Go jogging in your neighbourhood every morning, or swim laps in your pool every morning

Take your sims to dates in the gym or on a lot with a basketball court

Challenge sim(s) to a basketball competition

Use either the massage table or chair and/or the sauna once a week

As soon as you are able to mentor a sim at the gym, choose the most out of shape sim in the gym and offer to mentor them. Frequently invite them to go to the gym just like a personal trainer would

No eating baked treats, not even birthday cake

GENERATION TEN - THE INFLUENCER

“My Caps Lock Key Is Loud!”

Who wants to move around all day when there’s so much to see and so much to do on the internet? The computer might be a mind-boggling machine to most, but to you, it’s the only way you process the world around you. Programming is your language and memes are your fine arts.

OBJECTIVES:

Have and complete a Computer Whiz aspiration

Join the Tech Guru or Social Media career and reach level 10 in the chosen career

Once you meet a sim, you may only socialize with them through the computer or through text (the exception is other sims in your household) until you become friends with them. Once friends, you may travel with and invite over that/those specific sims

Have at least two children

Start a social media network and have over 10,000 followers

Max the programming skill

If taking the Tech Guru career route, max the video gaming skill

If taking the Social Media career route, max the photography skill

OPTIONAL OBJECTIVES:

Win three professional gaming tournaments

Earn 10,000 via livestreams / social media sites / apps

Join the GeekCon hackathon

Do some freelance work on the computer on top of your current career

Update your social media status and share an image at least once a week

Marry a sim you met through chatting on the computer

Max the handiness skill

Perform upgrades on your computer

Host an incognito costume party and dress up as if you and your guests were cosplaying

Build a futuristic tech room with at least one computer, television, and video game

GENERATION ELEVEN - THE EXPERIMENTER

“My favorite unit of measurement is ‘a shit load’.”

You’ve seen the endless pages of code, but now you’re itching to crack the code of the universe. Utilizing all the advances of science and technology, you want to figure out if there’s life beyond the stars. Some people might think you’re kind of a dweeb, but you’d like to think you’re a trailblazer in uncharted territory.

OBJECTIVES:

Have and complete the Nerd Brain aspiration

Join the Astronaut or Scientist career and reach level 10 in the chosen career

Max the logic skill

Max the handiness skill

Max the rocket science skill and build a rocket

Have at least two children

Read and finish the the first volume of a Skill Book for each skill that can be learned

Have a small garden

OPTIONAL OBJECTIVES:

Get married in an unconventional location (i.e., not a park or traditional wedding venue). You may add a wedding arch to the wedding location

Influence children to complete their homework and to raise logic skill

Go to a community location with a chess table and challenge other sims to play against you

Upgrade at least one object in the house every week

Collect plant, fossil, and/or crystal samples and analyze under microscope

Make and use every invention and serum

Use the SimRay to transform a sim Travel to Sixam in the rocket ship

Complete the alien collection

Grow the UFO plant

GENERATION TWELVE - THE LAWLESS

“Why everything that’s supposed to be bad make me feel so good?”

Knowledge is not to be used to benefit humankind; it’s to be used for your personal gain. Through nefarious schemes and acts of vengeance, you plan to hold all those who ever hurt you and your family at your mercy. You hold grudges with a deathly grip, so that kid that flicked your nose that one time in daycare better watch his back.

OBJECTIVES:

Have and complete a Deviance aspiration

Join the Criminal career

Max the athletic skill

Max the logic skill

Max the charisma skill

Marry as an adult after at least two failed relationships

Have one child (you want the perfect evil child)

Have more enemies than friends

OPTIONAL OBJECTIVES:

Perform at least one mean interaction everyday, even to members of your own household

Win five fights

Pull pranks on family and neighbours at least once a week

Marry a sim in the Detective, Secret Agent, or Politics career track

Have more than two affairs going on at one time

Have your child earn at least two negative character values when aging up to YA

When disciplining your child’s behaviour, always choose the punish option if available

Kill your spouse, either by accident or by your own elaborate plan

Have one of your enemies be the previous generation’s heir

Create an evil lair in your basement

GENERATION THIRTEEN - THE SAVIOUR

“Man… ninjas are kind of cool… I just don’t know any personally.”

That chip on your shoulder is a result of your parent being the second coming of the devil. You want to take the script and flip it, and remind your neighbours that you’re good people. You stand bravely for the rule of law. And nothing - not even family - will stop you from seeking out justice or saving a kitty from a burning building.

OBJECTIVES:

Have and complete an aspiration of your choice apart from any Deviance aspiration

Join the Secret Agent, Detective, or Journalist career and reach level 10 in the chosen career

Max logic skill

Max athletic skill if you choose to be a Secret Agent or Detective; Max writing skill if you choose to be a Journalist

Marry a sim with an evil, hates children, hot headed, and/or kleptomaniac trait. Try to influence them not to exhibit these traits as much as possible

Have at least two children while a young adult

Donate to charity every Sunday

Have a best friend / sidekick, preferably someone you met through work

OPTIONAL OBJECTIVES:

Have 10 good friends

Calm down at least one angry sim encountered in every newly visited community lot

If going the Secret Agent route, host a Black and White Bash and Incognito Costume Party at lots outside the main household

If going the Detective or Journalist route, host a Dinner Party and a Weenie Roast, and invite co-workers

Max photography skill

Have another baby in the second half of adulthood

Set curfew at 7pm

Become enemies with the previous heir and win a fight against them

Get to know at least two traits of a sim before initiating any romantic interactions

Have a serious romantic interest while married, but never kiss or woohoo them; maintain that relationship until the end of the generation or until your spouse finds out

GENERATION FOURTEEN - THE CLOWN

“So I hope that there are people out there laughing. Laugh loud, please. Laugh until your lungs give out because I will have the last laugh.”

Everything was always so serious and by the book, so you never failed to take it as an opportunity to light up the room with your quick wit and irreverent sense of humour. You just want everyone to relax and have a good time; because if you’re external world is happy, then maybe you can forget about what you’re going through beneath your plastered smile.

OBJECTIVES:

Have and complete a Popularity aspiration

Join the Comedian branch of the Entertainer career and reach level 10

Max comedic skill

Max charisma skill

Be best friends with siblings and parents

Write at least one comedy book on the computer

Become partners in crime with your spouse Improvise a routine on the microphone

OPTIONAL OBJECTIVES:

Convince four sims to streak in the middle of the day

Use the Voodoo to poke and/or tickle a sim

Write 10 comedy routines

Max mischief skill

Keep a journal

Have 10 friends, not including those inside the household

Never discipline your kids; always encourage their behaviour even when the behaviour may be negative

Plan a prank during work or school hours

Use the Cuddle Voodoo interaction to lure a sim to commit infidelity against their significant other

Get a sim to die laughing during one of your performances

GENERATION FIFTEEN - THE HEALER

“Drug dealin’ jus to get by. Stack ya’ money til it gets sky high.”

Laughter may be the best medicine, but not if you’re actually sick. Jokes aren’t going to help you when the Grim Reaper’s right around the corner, popping in to say “omw”. You’re going to need the needles and the drugs STAT!

OBJECTIVES:

Have and complete an aspiration of your choice

Join the Doctor or Veterinarian career and reach level 10

Max the logic skill

Max the handiness skill

Complete at least five house calls (if in the Doctor career)

Deliver at least three babies (if in the Doctor career)

Get married and have at least two children but only after the sim becomes an adult

Go to work with the sim for an entire week’s shifts

OPTIONAL OBJECTIVES:

Get married with someone you met at work - either a co-worker or a former patient

Public woohoo somewhere in the hospital (build an on-call room or a closet if you have to)

Treat diseases within the household within the hour of the sim presenting symptoms

Upgrade at least one object in the house every week

Adopt a pet or a child while still a YA

Have 10 friends

Decline any invitations to social events and festivals if your energy bar is not green. You need your sleep.

Tell the gender of three unborn babies

Give medical advice to five sims

Earn the Sickness Resistance trait

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