For the previous week at this household, click here.
The red farmhouse has long ago become the Grunt family home, while the original Grunt house is now the Powers' place.
Who lives here at the moment?
Dog Boogie and cat Kobe...
...another dog, Alegra...
...plus of course their humans: General Buzz Grunt, who became Captain Hero at 55 and has been on Permanent Platinum ever since (he is now 74)...
...and his son Ripp, who dreams of having woohoo with 20 different Sims and has already managed to get 16 names under his belt (pun intended) last round.
On Monday, Lavender Greenman and B'Elanna Beaker come visiting. B'Elanna is of course way too young in order to be really interesting for Ripp, but he does everything he can to ensure a quickly developing friendship with Lavender.
When Buzz returns from work, his colleague Frances Hart is with him. Ripp discovers that he finds Frances at least as interesting than Lavender.
Two attractive ladies at the table with him - Ripp can't eat, only think of what should be his next step.
On Tuesday morning, Buzz gets up very early. I only control him occasionally, but he is a neat Sim who hardly needs telling what to do anyway.
Not so Ripp, who hates cleaning, but is expected to do his share of housework, especially since his elderly father is still working full-time while Ripp himself has never worked a day in his life.
The Grunts still have relatives living elsewhere in New Maximiliania: Tank, the eldest son of Buzz, married into the Capp family. The Grunt-Capps are invited for a family gathering that afternoon: Callum, Carl, Carolina and their uncle Cornwall...
...as well as Christopher, Tank, his wife Hermia and young... hmm... what was his name? Sorry - with so many Capp kids and all their names beginning with a C, the name of the little boy has escaped me. How embarrassing is that!Maybe you remember that Buck Grunt has recently died in a fire, along with his Alien son Graham. Neither Buzz nor Ripp show any signs of being aware of their death.
Never mind - everyone is having a great time. The kids love playing with their uncle.
"Is it true you have a magic lamp, Uncle Ripp?" - "Yes, it is true! But you know what, I've not once used it yet."
Meanwhile, Hermia and Cornwall play chess.
Later, the young people gather round the table for a batch of Ripp's hamburgers.
Tank, Hermia and their youngest son make the second shift, reminiscing their wedding party of long ago.
It is Wednesday, and Buzz washes all the dogs. (I told him to do that, thinking it would suit his neat nature, and seeing as he is up so early in the morning anyway.)
When his father is at work, Ripp works, too: on meeting and befriending ladies. Today, Hailey Hart happens to walk by, and Ripp is delighted to recognize yet another 3-bolt-match in her (he has at least 5 already!).
Alegra is now 32, a ripe old age for any dog. Mr. Reaper seems to think so, too, and turns up for Alegra's very last game of "fetch".
Just as Heather Huffington, who has so far been Ripp's True Love, appears, Hailey and Ripp have started flirting.
"Oh, he-hello He-Heather... It's not what you think..." Ripp tries to save the situation. But Heather knows only too well that it is EXACTLY what she thinks (being a Romance Sim herself), and is clearly not amused.
Regardless of her ill-timed visit, Hailey becomes Ripp's # 17 in terms of woohoos.
On Thursday, Buzz decides to make omelette for breakfast, with Boogie keeping him company.
Whenever Ripp has a spare minute, he talks to one of his ladies on the phone. That way, it has not taken him long at all to make Lavender Greenman (who is another 3-bolt-lady for him) his friend. Today, she happily accepts his invitation to come over, and even brings along her friend Mary Gavigan. Only a few hours later that same afternoon, Lavender has become Ripp's # 18.
Very early on Friday morning, Hailey Hart appears on the Grunts' doorstep to leave a present for Ripp.
Somehow I don't think he'll much appreciate this fountain, and so I sell it immediately. Still, it is the thought that counts, isn't it? :-)
"Oh hi Heather... it's... you..." Ripp is still a little unsure around Heather (who has been stealing the newspaper ever since she caught Ripp and Hailey flirting), but at least the two of them are friends again.
Perseida Powers has been walking by and is politely greeted in spite of her being too young for Ripp's list.
Buzz has another colleague in tow today: Romeo Monty.
On Saturday morning, Buzz is mopping up dog puddles as he has been doing all week.
Ripp has been working on Frances Hart ever since his father brought her home from work, and it looks as if today could be the day of success.
It takes until the early hours of Sunday, but finally, she becomes his # 19.
Meanwhile, the cleanbot breaks down, filling nearly the entire porch with rubbish. I direct Buzz to turn the robot off and repair it, before turning it on again - it takes nearly all day to clean up the mess.
Do you remember how I have been thinking about moving Frances Hart in before, even though she is a townie?
She has the same surname as Matthew Hart and his family, and so I treat her as a relative of theirs. Also, the population of New Max is at an all-time low, so one Sim more won't harm :-) Now that she has such a good relationship with Ripp, I let her move in. She adds a modest 1.000 Simoleons to the Grunts' account, and has a few items in her inventory, which I let her keep. Although she's been working in a different career, her lifetime want is to become Chief of Staff. Her aspiration is Knowledge. So far, she has no 3-bolter in her relationship panel. I make her look for her own place immediately and will decide later on whether or not to make her move in with her "relatives", the Harts.
So far, there is one lady who has firmly resisted Ripp's charms: Goneril Capp.
Strangely enough, though, relationship points are at nearly 100, and so Ripp decides to try once again.
Before he can do anything further, though, Mr. Reaper appears for the second time this week. It is Boogie's turn first...
...followed by Kobe shortly afterwards. Both pets were in their 30s and have had very good lives with the Grunts. Their tombstones are moved to Gamesend Grounds.
Back to Goneril and Ripp.
She does not want to be hugged or goosed or held hands with...
...and she most definitely does not want to cuddle on the settee with Ripp, either.
However, after he has successfully handed her a red rose and smooth-talked to her...
...she decides to flirt with him on her own accord! (I did not influence this - she was a visitor at that moment, and could not be controlled by me.)
Still, when he tries to kiss her, Goneril pushes Ripp away again.
It is already past 8.00 in the evening when Ripp calls the Matchmaker.
He buys a bottle of love potion from her. "If this won't work on The Ice Queen, nothing will," he thinks.
And the Ice Queen melts!
Finally, a kiss!
But before Ripp has a chance to turn this kiss into something more, Georgia Newson comes storming out of the house and slaps him round the face. This is really strange - up until this afternoon, Ripp and Georgia had not even known each other, let alone have a history. But something must have rubbed Georgia the wrong way, as I saw her starting a shouting match with Buzz shortly before this scene here on the porch.
Speaking of Buzz, he has turned 81 today, and I doubt he will live long into the next round. As far as Ripp is concerned, I hope for him to reach his LTW during the first few hours of the next round (which is still a long time off).
Who will he settle with then? Heather or Hailey, or someone else?
