The Smith Family: Week 2

The following text and pictures are all from the second week of the Smiths in New Maximiliania (played and written in 2009); when earlier that year uploading our stories to the exchange did not work for months, I deleted all the snapshots and thumbnails from my game data folders, and therefore, what I wrote back then is lost. But this should not stop us from making ourselves familiar with the Smiths all over again :-) 

You know them from your own game; originally, they lived in Strangetown. They still have their original house in New Maximiliania. When I came back to play this household again, I got a message: "Someone has purchased a new pet. Do you wish to accept it?" I said yes...

...and found that obviously Jill, the Smiths' teenage daughter, must have bought this big grey cat named Bailey. Jill is, by the way, a Family Sim and one day wants to protect New Maximiliania as a General.

Her older brother, Johnny, is already an adult; he never went to college. Johnny wants to do his part for New Max, too: he strives to become Mayor. His aspiration is Popularity.

Last but not least, we have their parents: Jenny and Pollination Tech # 9. Jenny is now 54; her typical Family-Sim-lifetime want of celebrating her Golden Anniversary was fulfilled at the end of the first week in this town, and she is on Permanent Platinum. For her husband, it won't be easy to reach that stage: he is a Family Sim as well and dreams of spending his last years surrounded by six grandchildren. At present, he is 62, with no grandchildren in sight, and according to his lifetime bar, he does not have that much time left.

The Smiths are a very normal and average family and enjoy being together. If possible, they have breakfast together before Johnny and Jill leave for work and school, and Sunday morning makes no exception (except for the fact that Jill does not go to school today, of course). Sunday? Yes. When I first started the game, for the Smiths it was Sunday, and so that's how their weeks are going to be played.

Johnny visits Pepe's Pets to buy a collar for his little sister's cat - and also because he is hoping to meet some female New Maximilianian who could be a possible mother to his children, thus helping his ageing father to reach his lifetime want.

He only meets ladies who he does not find at all attractive; Lisa Ramirez being one of them.

Back home, Jenny receives her membership card to Sue's Secret Kitchen.

Monday morning, Jill goes to school and Johnny to work. For him, it proves to be an eventful day: for the right decision with a chance card, not only does he receive a bonus payment of 9.568 Simoleons, but also 2 charisma points AND a promotion to State Assembly Person!

Polli receives his membership card to the Platinum Gym...

...followed some hours later by his daughter Jill.

When everyone is already in bed, Santa appears and leaves a remote control car as a gift.

"This was a lovely Christmas, thank you, darling," Polli tells his wife when they share a romantic moment on Tuesday morning after the children have left for work and school.

Johnny returns home with yet another promotion; he is now a Congressperson.

Jill loves playing with Bailey after she has finished her homework.

Just when the clock turned midnight and Tuesday gives way to Wednesday, Polli wakes up...

...and so does Jenny, when she hears the strange sounds of slightly distorted Hula music. Her husband dies at 65; he was on Platinum (not permanent), because I made sure he fulfilled as many of his smaller wishes as possible. He left 19.600 Simoleons to Jenny, 4.100 to Johnny, 3.100 to Jill, 950 to his friend Rick Contrary and 930 to his friend Rose Greenman.

And as if losing a husband and father was not a bad enough start for this Wednesday, a burglar puts in an appearance shortly afterwards!

There is no burglar alarm installed, and so the thief gets away with the big flatscreen telly...

...and the stereo. By the time Jenny gets up and is ready to call the police, the burglar is already gone.

Poor Jenny! She really suffers, but thankfully, she is on Permanent Platinum already, so she manages to pull herself together relatively quickly. Jill's aspiration level goes into deep red, and I fear she'd suffer aspiration failure when she wakes up, but she doesn't.

After work and school, Johnny and Jill go to Gamesend Grounds to place their father's tombstone there.

So far, it is the only white marble one. [Remember: This was played and written in 2009 - the cemetery is a very different picture now!] The other two are Herb Oldie and Adam Fuchs (Mr. Fuchs was a campus coach who died in a fire outside the Sharpe siblings' house when Edwin Sharpe burnt a pile of leaves). Polli Smith was, by the way, the 13th death in New Maximiliania (Mr. Fuchs does not count, since he was an NPC and never lived in New Max).

On Thursday, Johnny is invited to the Aspirational Laboratories.

He is promoted to Judge on the same day.

Seeing that the winter season is ending, he decides to get new outfits for himself and his sister and walks to "Frippery Frocks".

There, he meets and befriends Contessa Jenna McCullough. Of course, she will not become his wife or mother of his children - as an NPC, she does not qualifiy, and since his father's death, Johnny is not under any pressure anymore to have children. But the consequences of being close friends with a vampire could be interesting, and so I let the two of them get on with it :-)

Meet Senator Smith! This happens on Friday.

Later, Johnny becomes a member at the My Muse II - Art Studio.

Saturday is one of the first really fine days in mid-spring, and Johnny makes bass with squash on the grill. See his shirt? He wears that in honour of his late father.

Let me end the week with a close-up of Bailey, Jill's cat. Is Jill going to go to college? Will Johnny's friendship with the Contessa grow? What about Jenny - she still has many years ahead; is she going to find love again? Next time we visit this family, some of these questions will be answered, I guess :-)