The Contrary Family: Weeks 3 and 4

Meet the Contrary family again - they have already lived through their first two weeks in New Maximiliania, the report of which has sadly been lost. At the start of their third week, we still find them in their original house, with almost the original set-up of the household - except for an addition:

Balin the dog. Balin was there when I came to the Contrary household for their second week; someone must have purchased him on a community lot while I was not playing them. Washing Balin is Opal Contrary, a 55-year-old Knowledge Sim with the lifetime want of having 20 best pet friends. At least with Balin she has a good chance of remaining best friends for the duration of his life! Until she was old enough to retire, Opal worked as a Whale Tracker. She holds membership cards to the Peerless Park and My Muse II - Art Studio.

Her husband Edward is 59 years old and shares both aspiration and lifetime want with his wife. He is a retired Dive Master and can go to the Peerless Park as well as to the Aspirational Laboratories anytime he likes.

Son Rick still lives at home; he never went to university, as a degree is not necessary to reach his lifetime want of having 50 dream dates. Now you would think he is a Romance Sim with a lifetime want like that, but no - his aspiration is Fortune. He will be an Elder in 25 days. Since sports is his preferred hobby, it is hardly surprising that he has a membership card to Dreamy Fields.

Ever since he was a spotty, stroppy teenager, he loved shooting hoops, and can still frequently seen in the back yard doing just that.

Of course, with their difficult (if not impossible) lifetime want, Opal and Edward have to make sure no stray dog or cat escapes their notice. Here, early on Monday morning, Opal meets Alegra.

Edward tries to befriend her, too.

Rick is, of course, only interested in dating - but with one exception (Etsu Cho) all his dates have been with Miranda Capp so far, and ALL of them have turned out dream dates.

This one is going to be Dream Date No. 6, I think.

Later on the same day, the family sit together for some Chili con Carne.

One dream date per day is not enough to ensure Rick reaches his lifetime want, and so he does not hesitate when Miranda rings in the evening to ask him on another date, this time at the Crypt-O-Night Club and not at his house.

Visits to community lots are welcome opportunities to watch the other New Maximilianians, and see what they are up to when I am not playing them. Here we have Jill Smith. I don't think her choice of outfit is quite in line with the general theme of this particular night club.

Romeo Monty puts in an appearance...

...as do Jessie Pilferson (clearly smitten by Romeo) and Connor Weir.

As expected, sooner or later one of the vampires turns up, but he is not friendly enough with any New Maximilianian to present any "danger" of biting someone.

You can guess why everybody runs over to the photo booth, don't you? Just look at Rick's face!! And he scores another Dream Date.

I think this happened just outside the club - Patricia Cooke got nearly fried by lightning, but being reduced to her undies and covered in soot does not deter her from going to the club.

Miranda presents Rick with a DJ booth for his "efforts" ;-) He does not need one at home, so he sells it.

Tuesday morning starts with Edward meeting Kim.

Later, he wants to work on his collection of bugs and spiders, but is chased by wild bees instead.

Not to worry. This beautiful dog, Tramp, provides a welcome distraction.

Björn Beaker happens to pass on his jogging round and is greeted by Rick who can't help but like the young lad - they have the same hairdo, after all!

Opal meets Webster.

Rick and Miranda's nightly date takes place at The Hub tonight.

Chaz Whippler is the lone occupant of the dance floor.

Dining upstairs seems to appeal to more visitors, such as Natasha Una (left) and Stella Terrano (right).

A female Vampire is looking for... erm... friends :-)

Lola Singles and Daisy Jacquet (née Greenman, New Maximiliania's one and only ex-Plant Sim) have come to dine here, too.

Carla Reamon, the only ex-NPC living in all of New Max, looks a bit lost. Maybe sitting here under the palm trees reminds her of her native Twikkii Island.

And look who's here!

Melanie DeBateau is greeting Chaz Whippler who has given up his lonely dance downstairs.

Someone else who is upstairs: Rick and Miranda, cuddling on the settee...

...and soon there is definitely more than just a kiss & a cuddle going on!

Much more!!!

And what does our dear Mrs. Crumplebottom has to say about that?! "Even I know when to leave a couple to their own devices," she winks. Who would have thought that dear old Agnes can be so sympathetic!

On Wednesday, Opal suffers an attack of wild bees just like her husband the day before. Because she is so busy fending off the bees, she misses the opportunitiy to meet Pepper, the small stray dog that can be seen in the background, just about to leave the lot.

Rick and Miranda are having yet another Dream Date - it is Rick's 10th, so that's one fifth of his lifetime want achieved.

He is, by the way, been on community lots so often and has been talking to so many different Sims that his social "fame" has him named as "Reputable Resident".

Jodie Larson is one of the lesser known inhabitants of the neighbourhood; today, she is making a rare appearance.

Rick's 11th dream date takes place at Bernard's Botanical Dining.

Jill Smith is there again, as are Monica Bratford (top right, sat at the table) and the Vampire, Count Gregory.

One of Edward's pet friends (not best friend, though) is this little black dog named Scout.

Rick commemorates his latest dream date with Miranda by putting up this picture on his bedroom wall.

It is Thursday, and Opal is happy to see Kim again. She was already friends with the stray cat, but Kim had not been around as of late.

Rick and Miranda have established a kind of routine to their dates: They meet at Rick's house in the morning and then have a second date at night on a community lot downtown. This way, the whole thing gets a little less boring - after all, there is only so much variation one can have in a date to make it a dream date every time! At least this way, I get to play on almost all of the Maxis-made community lots, and the other inhabitants of New Maximiliania get the chance to mingle.

In spite of this restaurant being a bit on the posh side, Miranda and Rick can't think of anything better to order than Chili con Carne and Spaghetti.

Later, they unite their (sadly, totally untrained) voices in duet. Well, as long as they are happy...!

Mrs. Crumplebottom is staring for what seems a long time at Issac Bell. I hope he knows when it is best to make himself scarce!

On Friday morning, Edward meets and greets his old friend Sheba.

Opal has learnt everything there is to learn about Fire Safety.

Later, she meets Alegra (this is apparently the most common name for strays. A bug in the name generator?).

Rick receives a phone call by Dustin Broke; he has heard from Miranda how much fun an outing with Rick can be (I hope she did not tell him ALL the details about the kind of fun she and Rick usually have!!), and is invited to join a group of friends downtown tonight.

They meet at Hans' Trap Door.

The group consists of Beau Broke, Beau's and Dustin's mother Brandi Broke, Bianca Capp née Monty, Rick, a burglar named Gordon, Dustin and Miranda. There is not that much to do at Hans' Trap Door, but everyone has a good browse of the clothes racks, Rick buys some perfume, and some of the group join in a game of kicky bag. In spite this rather low-key entertainment, they seperate at the end of the evening, agreeing that it has been a blast.

Saturday is only 18 minutes old when a Gypsy lady appears at the Contrarys' doorstep. You can guess what she leaves there, can't you?

The night almost takes a dramatic turn when one of the Hibiscus trees in the front garden is hit by lightning and catches fire. Balin the dog barks like mad but is clever enough not to catch fire himself, and the rain soon puts the flames out.

Opal has it in her wish panel to make a wish with the genie lamp. With her lifetime want being so difficult to fulfill, I let her choose "Give me Peace of Mind", and shortly afterwards, she is on Permanent Platinum. There are still two wishes left... But for the moment, I will leave it at that.

Rick's nightly date with Miranda leads him to the "Midnight Flow".

Marla Biggs shows a rather unexpected side of herself at the karaoke machine! You rock, girl!!

Sunday finally sees Rick and Miranda join forces for good - Miranda moves in, adding 5.978 Simoleons to the household account. Just to remind you of her stats: She is a Romance Sim and dreams of becoming Mayor. Only recently, she has graduated Summa Cum Laude in Political Science. She is younger than Rick and has 26 days until Elderhood.

Rick and Miranda have had only 1 chemistry bolt so far, and Rick is trying his best to suit Miranda's turn-ons by changing into his swimming gear (it is summer, after all, so there is no problem with that) and having his hair custom-dyed.

Miranda in turn gets rid of her glasses and works on her body skill, as Rick does appreciate an athletic lady above all. This gives them two bolts; maybe with Miranda acquiring more body skill, it will rise to three.

We say good-bye to the family while they are all sat down for Sunday night dinner which consists of hotdogs, lovingly prepared by Edward. What have they achieved during their 3rd week here? Edward is now 66, and although he has several pet friends, only one is his best friend: his own dog Balin. Opal is 62 and has two best pet friends, Balin and Kim. Rick is 19 days from elderhood and has had 17 Dream Dates so far - all but one with Miranda, who has not found a job in the Political career yet. Will Edward make any progress towards his lifetime want or should he resort to the powers of the genie lamp? What is Opal going to do now that she is on Permanent Platinum? Will Rick and Miranda get married, and manage to have 3 bolts between them? Is Miranda going to land herself a position in the Political career? All this and more... ...during the 4th week at this household!

- - - Update 6.10.2012 - - - During the week at the Cho / Riley / Capp household, we were witnesses of a fight between Desdemona Capp and Rick Contrary. Now, at the start of the 4th week in New Max for the Contrary / Capp household, we find Desdemona coming to the house, still full of rage, and kicking over the dustbin.

Miranda and Rick know nothing of this; in spite of Rick's kiss with Sally Riley, the two of them are as happily in love with each other as before.

Desdemona is not the only one to hold a grudge against Rick - her brother Hal (who really has NO reason at all to be upset about anything Sally Riley does!) takes turns with her, and between them, the siblings keep coming back and kicking the dustbin over for several days.

Rick and Miranda invite Hal in and try to talk things through in a reasonable and civilized manner.

It is Monday, and Miranda finally has found a job in her chosen career: she starts as a Judge today, and is promoted to Senator before her first day is over!

 Edward meets Sheba and befriends the small stray dog.

Miranda asks Desdemona over. She would so like for her sweetheart Rick and her sister to get along, but her wish does not come true.

Never mind - when Desdemona leaves, Rick and Miranda have Rick's Dream Date # 19 together.

On Tuesday morning, Edward meets and befriends Pepper, a stray cat.

Opal makes her Bronze Talent badge for sewing.

With the beginning of autumn, Edward has been raking the leaves in the yard almost daily. Sometimes he burns the heaps of leaves, and on this fateful Tuesday, unfortunately, his kilt catches fire. In spite of his dog Balin barking for help like mad...

...and his son Rick running to the scene...

...and Opal helplessly watching from inside (in spite of having studied Fire Safety the previous week!)...

...poor Edward meets his firey death in the flames. He was only 68 years old and New Maximiliania's 31st case of death. Out of the 20 best pet friends he longed to have, he only ever had two: his own dog Balin and the small stray one, Sheba.

The fire keeps burning for a long time, and since it is my habit not to intervene in such a situation, I fear for Opal's and Rick's lives; when Miranda is brought home from work by helicopter and with a promotion to Mayor, she runs to the scene, too. But eventually, the flames stop without anyone doing anything (and no rain, either). Miranda has just reached her lifetime want; she is 25 days away from elderhood.

The backyard looks a mess, and both Opal and Rick are in need of a shower, the toilet, food, and sleep.

Much later, over plates of hamburgers, Opal and Rick discuss the music and other funeral arrangements for Edward.

It is Wednesday, and Rick is grieving his father's death.

Thankfully, Miranda knows just how to cheer him up, and they have Rick's Dream Date # 20.

By Thursday, Opal has recovered enough from the death of her husband to sit down at her sewing machine again. She now has the Silver Talent badge.

By Saturday, Miranda and Rick have had dream dates # 21, 22 and 23 together.

Rick's attempt to repair the computer results in him getting electrocuted, but he does not suffer too badly and is fully restored after a shower. Miranda's outfit was made by Opal, by the way.

For Rick's dream date # 24, he asks Miranda out to the Mountain Road Restaurant.

Some other New Maximilianians are there, too, but Rick and Miranda only have eyes for each other.

The week ends on Sunday with Rick and Miranda having had their dream dates # 26, 26 and 27; that's more than half of Rick's lifetime want achieved. Opal is now 69 years old. Rick will be an Elder in 12 days, and MIranda in 19.
Miranda's promotions were, by the way, strangely unrelated to her skills - she still lacked some when she was made Mayor, and there had not been a chance card that may have explained it.