Sims 4: Arthur the Hero

When last we left my Sim-version of the DCU, Bruce Wayne had detected for us, following the clue of a dog dish, that J'onn had moved with his "niece" (no relation) and dog to Atlantis (my renamed version of Sulani, the Sims Pacific Island-y world).  And when I saw the house I couldn't blame them. 

When I set up this game, I had placed many Atlantis-appropriate lots in advance, including one that I'd been imagining moving Arthur & his brood into.  

One with an open hallway-adjacent pool on EVERY FLOOR

Clearly, after his early experiences, J'onn had NO intention of ever being more than jump away from a fire-extinguishing body of water.  Fair enough, JJ. Meanwhile, in

Arthur "Aquaman" Curry, Jackson "Aqualad" Hyde, Garth "Big-Headed Purple-Eyed Freak" Doesn't-Deserve-A-Lastname, and Salty "The Aquadog" Curry were living in Amnesty Bay (my reskinned Brindleton Bay, the Sims's Atlantic Seaboard town) in four adjacent houses 

connected by an underground pool.

And were miserable. Sure, it sounds cool, but large cool-looking Sim houses are very often logistical nightmares to LIVE in.  Originally, Mera had been living with them, but I just couldn't juggle that many residents so she moved out; as a mermaid, she was suffering worst of all, and really need to live in Atlantis. They had no neighbors or friends, and the frequent thunderstorms terrified Garth.

To be fair, everything terrifies Garth.

So rather than evict JJ, I simply had Arthur move in with him, since they were pals already (as much as they were pals with anyone) and the place had six bedrooms.  The change has done wonders for all involved. Access to the beach and ocean is a blessing for the aquatic characters; the Martians are happy to be out of the desert, and they are immune to the sunburn common on the islands. Arthur is a lifeguard, which is only a part-time job, but they don't need more money and he's happier protecting lives than he was ruling.  Maybe I'll have J'onn buy a movie theater!

As often happens in comics, characters that don't quite stand on their own, work quite well in concert, and the household is now neither boring nor chaotic.  The adults have plenty of time for their own pursuits (including Arthur's pursuit of Mera, Diana, and others).

Which sometimes involves skinny-dipping with dolphins he commands; 
who are we to judge?

The teens support each other, 

Being thoroughly disappointed in Garth requires a team effort, really.

everyone helps take care of the dogs, 

They also entertain each other, as dogs do.

and even Garth isn't scared all the time now.

Sometimes he's just sad instead.

This is a huge improvement over their pre-reboot Sim-lives, where Arthur was slaving away unappreciated at his custom job in the Monarchy, while his wife Mera was unhappily trying to hold down a job as a marine environmentalist while squeezing out heirs, whom she had to leave largely in the care of her erratic twin sister, Siren, who was married to Arthur's evil (and only sporadically employed) half-brother Orm, all of whom lived in a giant many-leveled lighthouse,

Don't let the hat fool you; he was NOT fine.

with (of course) an underground pool

Ping-pong, Arthur? It's all so painfully bourgeois.

 and a separate evil underground lair for Orm and Siren.  

I'll confess: I miss the lair, with its centralized pool/aquarium room, World Domination Room, and Pipe Organ Room.

I think Arthur is much happier now living his life-guard lifestyle in his tropical world with  his chosen family.

What could be greater than a king? 

A hero!