The Singles-Ottomas Household: Week 8

Klick here for week 7.

This large and rambling mansion is currently home to four Sims:

Olivia Ottomas, whose twin brother Oliver sadly died in a kitchen fire not long after they moved here...

...her older brother Tommy Ottomas, mother-in-law Kristen Singles...

...and his wife Silvia, Kristen's daughter. Maybe you remember that Kristen was never married but found her three-bolt-love in Checo Ramirez, who left his wife and children for her. Together, they had Silvia, and lived happily as a family until Checo's death (he was quite a bit older than Kristen).

Apart from Olivia, everyone in this household is on Permanent Platinum and therefore pretty much left to their own devices. Silvia really loves the pool in the inner courtyard of the house and can often be found there. Good job it is heated!

Tommy may not be controlled by me, but he still knows what I expect of a good Sim: to keep their surroundings clean and tidy.

Olivia's lifetime want is to become Professional Party Guest. So far, she has not found a job in the Slacker career, but Kristen tells her not to worry. She is sure there will soon be a position available for her.

Monday ends with me ordering Olivia to do some necessary gardening. Sadly, this is one of the Maxis-made houses that were obviously never really play-tested; many of the shrubs are placed on slopes or otherwise inaccessible. But Olivia does what she can.

It is early Tuesday morning when she is still out in the garden. Having finished trimming the shrubs, she decides it is time for some fun. She builds a snowman first and then makes a snow angel. It is fun watching her; she feels like a little girl all over again.

When she starts to feel the cold, she goes inside and I have her light the fire in the small upsatirs living room.

Kristen takes yesterday's paper away for recycling.

Tommy's car pool is here; he still works as a Celebrity Chef.

Later, on his own accord he cleans one of the many bathrooms dotted throughout the mansion.

Kristen and Silvia have been to work, too, and come home accompanied by Professor Bertino once more.

It is Wednesday, and there is still no job for Olivia in the Slacker career.

Today, it is Silvia's turn to recycle the old newspaper.

What would Olivia do without the many fire places!

Silvia and Tommy are as happy as ever. When they come across each other in one of the many rooms and passages of the mansion, they nearly always stop for a chat, a hug and a kiss.

Early Thursday morning,I catch Tommy staring into the flames of the fire place in the upstairs living room, deep in thought about adopting. However, having children has nothing to do with his or his wife's lifetime want (they are both on Permanent Platinum anyway), and his thoughts are not translated into a proper wish - so, no phone call to the adoption service.

Mother and daughter enjoy a morning swim. Honestly, I feel cold just watching them in their bikinis in the snow!

Before she can once more look for a job, Olivia has to repair the computer. While she does this, her mind is elsewhere :-)

And so I check her relationship panel and find that she has 3 bolts for Cedric Cooke. One of her wishes for today is to have a date, and Cedric is invited over.

As soon as the date begins, I can see Cedric's wants and fears - and guess what: he wishes to be engaged and then get married to Olivia! Minutes into the date, Olivia follows suit by wishing for marriage with Cedric. But... strangely enough, she can not propose engagement to him, although the option to ask him to move in is available. Hmm... not sure why, but maybe Cedric is already engaged? I can't remember, and do not want to pause the game to check, and so there is no engagement today.

Meanwhile, Silvia is busy in the kitchen, first taking the trash out...

...and then making chili con carne for everyone. I am always pleased to see my Sims being able to take care of themselves like that.

Later, Cedric accidentally breaks one of the sinks. Olivia repairs it while her big brother mops up the puddles.

It is Friday morning, and Tommy does a spot of cleaning and tidying...

while his little sister is out gardening...

...and his mother-in-law clears away last night's dirty dishes.

As a celebrity chef, Tommy does not always feel like cooking elaborate meals at home. Sometimes, he is happy just tucking into a bag of cookies.

That night, when Kristen and Silvia return from work (with Professor Bertino in tow as usual), someone else is with them... Mr. Reaper has patiently been waiting until 11.00 pm to pick up Kristen for her last voyage. She dies on Permanent Platinum at the age of 80.

Saturday sees the beginning of spring, but Silvia's heart is heavy with grief for her mother. She does not feel like wearing anything cheerful but chooses a simple black and white dress.

Olivia acknowledges the recent loss of her sister-in-law and goes for a rather subdued outfit, too.

The computer is broken again, and when Olivia tries to repair it so that she can look for a job, she is electrocuted.

Oh dear! Electrocution is not all that happens - the sparks from the computer set the desk on fire.

Soon, half the room is ablaze, and Silvia and Tommy come running from different parts of the mansion to see what's going on. Neither of them can help, though...

...and much to their distress, Olivia perishes in the flames. Who would have thought she suffers the same firey death as her twin brother before her!

For a moment, it looks as if the fire is about to burn down to its natural end, but it proves to be only a brief respite before they leap up again.

Who will be next?

Tommy. He was 5 days from Elderhood.

Poor Silvia! Now the fire really stops... but look at what state the poor woman is in! All her needs are in deep red, and I wonder what she will do first to survive.

Although she desperately needs to eat, sleep, go to the toilet and have a shower, she is paralyzed with grief and shock at first.

A toilet accident is the consequence, and then, instead of getting something to eat, Silvia drags herself to the bedroom, where she falls asleep on the spot.

She wakes up some time later, but still does not go to the well-stocked fridge downstairs. Instead, she has a bubble bath. And that proves to be a fatal decision: As soon as she gets out of the bath, she curls up on the floor and dies of starvation. How sad! The entire household gone before the week is over.

Silvia was 9 days from Elderhood. The mansion now stands empty, but will no doubt come alive at night with the ghosts of Olivia, Tommy and Silvia (Kristen's tombstone was moved to New Maximiliania's cemetery at Gamesend Grounds immediately after her death).

Although they seemed to be so well able to look after themselves, Tommy and Silvia were not intelligent enough to survive.