Welcome to the Grunt family's red "farm" house! You probably all remember the Grunts from Pleasantview; the family consists of widowed General Buzz Grunt and his three sons. What are they like now, during their third week in New Maximiliania? Let's find out! (Once again, this is a family whose first two chapters were lost during the time when the story exchange on the official Sims2 website was down; that's why I am starting with their 3rd week.)
We have Tank here, the General's oldest son. He is a Popularity Sim with the lifetime want of having 20 best pet friends - something no Sim in my game has ever managed to achieve. How is Tank going to get on?
Well, he is constantly thinking about the "best friends" theme in his life, by the looks of it!
Then there's Buck, the youngest boy who is still a teenager. He shares the Popularity aspiration with his dad and his older brother, but dreams of being one day Mayor of New Maximiliania.
To help Tank with his lifetime want at least a little bit, I have had him adopt three stray dogs: Boogie (brown), Rover (white) and (seen in the background, chewing on a bone) Alegra...
...as well as Kobe. With his own pets, Tank is of course best friends. He also rushes out to greet every stray cat or dog that finds their way into the Grunts' yard, and is friends with some of them, just not best friends yet.
It is Monday, and he meets Bailey - look what he is thinking about.
Buck, meanwhile, has rung their third brother: Ripp has just graduated from college and is now ready to move back in with the family. Ripp is something of the odd one out: unlike everyone else, he has not the Popularity aspiration but is a Romance Sim, his lifetime want being that of having 20 loves at the same time. He has graduated Magna Cum Laude in Arts.
This used to be his bedroom during his teenage years - now it needs a makeover to fit Ripp's next stage in life.
That's more like it :-)
We haven't seen Buzz yet! The father of the three "boys" has just been promoted to Police Chief...
...moments before turning into an Elder.
Young Buck is happy to have both his brothers living in the house again.
On Tuesday, Ripp invites Ginger Newson over...
...and she becomes his third love. Who are the first two? Miranda Capp and Violet Jocque.
Tank meets Tramp.
...and Charlie.
Buck meets Jill Smith, that's Pollination Technician Smith's daughter, if you remember.
After having said good-bye to Ginger Newson, Ripp wastes no time in inviting Lilith Pleasant over, making her No. 4 on his list.
Buzz has just had his last promotion: he is now Captain Hero (here still in his Police Chief outfit) which means he has reached his lifetime want and is on Permanent Platinum.
On Wednesday, Ripp adds Delilah O'Feefe to his list.
On Thursday, it is Sandra Roth's turn.
Sandra is still in her underwear when she joins the family and Jessica Picaso for an... erm... post-woohoo salad, but nobody seems to notice.
On Friday morning, Buck applies for scholarships...
...and leaves for college. Of course we are going to pay a visit there very soon to check on his well-being.
Buzz goes to work for the first time as Captain Hero. He does not really need to work anymore, there is plenty of money (Ripp added more than 16.000 Simoleons when he returned from college), but it gives him something to do with his long days.
It is still Friday, and Ripp has finally invited his TRUE love (which means they are a 3-bolt-couple) Heather Huffington over. They can not live together yet; for one reason, Heather has not completed her studies yet, and secondly, she knows Ripp won't be ready to settle until he has had his 20 loves.
On Saturday, Ripp "befriends" (you know what that means for a Romance Sim) Cynthia Kim...
...which is met by disapproval from Ginger Newson's younger sister who happens to be here tonight and witnesses the scene. She really had two red minusses above her head towards Ripp when she saw him flirting with Cynthia - and since she is still a teenager and can't be "in love" with Ripp herself, it must be the thought of her sister being cheated on that upset her.
Sunday morning, Ripp and Tank are alone at the breakfast table. Their youngest brother has gone to college, their dad is at work... what to do with this whole day?
They play chess for a while.
And of course Ripp knows exactly what to do - he only has to wait until Cynthia is home from work, then he calls her and she becomes No. 8 on his ever-growing list. That is close to being halfway there with his lifetime want.
Do you remember that Tank has twins with Hermia Capp? Two baby boys, Callum and Christopher, who live with their mother. He and Hermia are in love in spite of not living together, and she is happy to come over for Sunday dinner. "Soon, we'll have another addition to the family," she tells Tank. He does not look quite as delighted as she does, but what do you expect from someone whose main interest in life are cats and dogs? :-)
Still, he truly loves Hermia, and the two of them conclude the evening (and this week) with a cuddle out on the porch.
By now, Buzz is 60, Tank is 13 days away from Elderhood and Ripp 22 days. Tank has 5 best pet friends so far - not very impressive. Ripp has 8 of his 20 loves. Only Buzz has reached his lifetime want.
Who is going to be next on Ripp's list? Is Tank going to make progress regarding his lifetime want? How is Buck doing at college? Will Buzz keep going to work until his last day?
As far as I know, this simple blue house with the pond and "creek" running through its garden became part of the lots & houses catalogue with "Seasons". In New Maximiliania, it is home to...
...Lavender Greenman and her husband Geoff. Lavender is one of Rose Greenman's plantchildren, and Geoff's surname was Rutherford before the two of them got married. He used to live with his best friend, Connor Weir. Lavender is a Romance Sim with the LTW of having 20 simultaneous loves, but because her mother's LTW is to marry off six children, she married Geoff in spite of her own LTW. Geoff is already on Permanent Platinum; he dreamt of being a Rock God and reached that goal 9 days before becoming an Elder.
Although Geoff had plenty of money and a posh house before, when he and Lavender moved out of their former homes, neither of them took much with them, and most of their resources were needed to purchase the land and the house. Inside the house, they found some very basic furniture upon their arrival. They sold what they did not need, which left them with 714 Simoleons for furniture. Not much could be bought, of course, and they ended up with a mere 59 Simoleons - and Geoff would only go back to work tomorrow.
They refuse to worry about such mundane things as money, though, and rather spend Mondy afternoon fishing.
The welcome committee consists of Alexander Goth (back), Cyd Roseland (wearing the kilt) and Chaz Whippler, a graduate from college who lives in the neighbourhood.
There are only two chairs in the entire house, and - not very politely - the hosts occupy both of them. But the food is excellent; fish freshly caught from their own pond.
On Tuesday, Lavender not only gained her bronze badge for fishing, but also made use of the time her husband spent at work, inviting Guy Wrightley in for a meal when he walked by. Maybe he could help her towards her LTW.
While still at work, Geoff took the right decision with a chance card and was given 15.000 Simoleons - a VERY welcome reward! Instantly, the money is used to give the house a little makeover. The bedroom looks like this now.
The kitchen has been done up as well.
And the bathroom looks a lot nicer, too.
Shortly before Geoff arrives home from work, Lavender ends her date with Guy.
On Wednesday, Lavender spends some time out in the rain, sitting on the bench overlooking the pond.
Geoff receives his bronze badge for fishing.
Lavender may be a Romance Sim, but she has a large family and cares a great deal about them. So in the afternoon, she invites as many of them over as possible: Paola Picaso and her mother (Lavender's sister-in-law) Jessica Greenman (former Picaso), her brothers Gary and Gordon Greenman...
...as well as her twin sisters Greta and Gerlinde Greenman and her sister-in-law's older sons, Pierre and Placido Picaso. The four of them come over all the way from university for the family gathering.
There was not enough time to do up the entire house, and therefore, two tables and a mix of folding chairs and the chairs from the kitchen are spontaneously put together to accomodate everyone. (Note there isn't even wallpaper in this room yet.)
The family don't mind - they enjoy their delicious meal of fresh fish, and everybody joins in the conversation.
Some of the younger ones have a pillow fight after the meal.
Later, almost everyone heads outside for some fishing.
Lavender and one of her brothers (sorry, I am not sure whether this is Gary or Gordon) have a drink of water in the bathroom.
On Thursday evening, Lavender gets her silver fishing badge.
On Friday, a puddle is left from the rain, and Lavender starts jumping about in it. She does not stop - not even when Geoff wants to kiss her.
I make her stop when Geoff's old friend Connor Weir comes visiting on his own accord (sadly, Geoff is at work at the time).
But as soon as she has greeted him, Lavender goes back to her beloved puddle.
Geoff has been lucky with a chance card again - this time, the reward was 30.000 Simoleons! This calls for a proper make-over, and new windows and doors are installed as well as new furniture is bought. Still, even with the new things in the house, Lavender does not leave her puddle.
The room where the family gathering took place earlier in the week looks like this now - complete with the sunlight lamps essential for any plantsim's wellbeing.
The kitchen has a new window and there are new doors leading to the bathroom (left) and bedroom (right).
By Saturday, Lavender has not left her puddle, not once! Geoff tries many times to kiss or carress or even just talk to her, but to no avail.
When he comes home from work on Saturday evening, he turns into an Elder on the spot.
Circe Beaker happens to walk by and is greeted by Geoff. Together, they watch as Lavender keeps skipping and jumping in that fateful puddle.
Geoff is so worried about his wife that he neglects his own needs. On Sunday morning, he passes out on the bathroom floor; tired, hungry and smelly.
I make Lavender stop jumping in the puddle when Jacob Martin walks by. Of course I expect her to instantly return to the puddle, but this time, it dries up before she can get back to it.
She has not interacted with any Sim for so long that the Social Bunny appears for her! I think this is only the 2nd time that I saw it in New Maximiliania.
Geoff has recovered, and in the afternoon, the couple invite friends and family over: Antonio Monty, Jason Greenman, Connor Weir, Erin Singles and her husband Nervous Singles (formerly Subject), Daisy Jacquet (nee Greenman) and her husband Gilbert and his half-Alien daughter Jacqueline.
The week ends with the family gathering in full swing; Lavender has served fresh fish from the pond and made a delicious berry pie for dessert.
Is she going to do something more about her LTW during their next week, or will she stay faithful to Geoff? (So far, nothing has actually happened with Guy.)
