Beaker - Week 7

At the Beaker house, we have two Sims on Permanent Platinum and one who will still need some time before the same can be said about her. Who are they?

Here is Circe Beaker, widow of Loki, who became Business Tycoon 2 days before she reached Elderhood. She is in her 70s now. As she is very neat, I am not surprised to see her cleaning the bathroom on this Monday morning.

Beta Beaker is one of Loki's half-Alien children. For a while, she lived elsewhere in New Maximiliania, but moved back in with her step-mother eventually.
She is Head of SCIA and reached this lifetime goal 20 days from Elderhood. There is no current love interest in her life - at least none she is thinking of. Instead, she often reminisces her college days, not unusual for a Knowledge Sim like her.

The most important thing she does this Monday happens here, at the Beaker's lab.

Time for a new face!

Beta seems to be really pleased with the result, and so am I.

Circe is in for a surprise when she turns around from the grand piano to look at the "new" Beta!

There is one more person at the house: B'Elanna. She is Beta's niece, the half-Alien daughter of her late brother Barry, and Circe's granddaughter.
B'Elanna is still a teenager but has already achieved 1/5 of her lifetime want: She is set on having 50 first dates and managed 13 last round.
Before getting on the school bus, she has 1st date # 14 with Carl Capp. The two of them are best friends, too.

Umm... sorry, Beta, this love letter is not for you!

Dates # 15...

...16...

...and 17 are all with townies. The Beakers are rich, and so B'Elanna can spend 5.000 Simoleons on every blind date. So far, though, there has not been any 3-bolt-boy for her.
A convenient bug means she has plenty of time after school for all those dates: When she gets off the school bus, she makes the "A+" gesture and runs to a spot behind the house, where she stops... and then nothing further happens. She never brings home any homework.
Maybe all those boys she has been dating so far compete with each other doing her homework for her!

On Tuesday morning, colder weather has set in and Circe dresses accordingly.

She then cleans the sink. I can always rely on her to do good part of the house work.

In the afternoon, Björn comes visiting. He is Beta's older brother; he and Barry were twins. Sadly, Barry died, leaving behind B'Elanna. Björn married Bottom Summerdream and lives with her at the Summerdream mansion.

B'Elanna has her 1st dates # 18...

...19...

...and 20, all of them with townies again.

Early on Wednesday morning, Beta reaches maximum hobby enthusiasm and enters "the zone" while playing the piano.

The much-needed gardener turns up today and actually does some gardening, for a change!

(Note: I think this lot is bugged. As soon a Circe is gone, I will have Beta move to a smaller place; I've never liked this house very much in the first place, as it does not have a very good layout and is far too big anyway.)

A cleaner is employed to help the ladies to remain on top of the housework. (This was a wish Beta rolled.)

Her last few dates ended quickly and unsatisfactorily, and so B'Elanna can have some fun according to her own choice after school today.

But once her fun bar is up again, it is time for some more dates. This is # 21...

...and this # 22.

On Thursday, B'Elanna gets up, wondering what the day will bring in terms of dates. Will Young Mr. Right be among them?

Date # 23 is not him.

Neither is it date # 24. The blind dates are a mix of known townies (such as Orlando Centowski here) and unknowns which I think the game spawned very recently, as I have never come across many of the names before.

Friday morning, Circe takes advantage of finding the piano not occupied for a change.

Beta and B'Elanna are having a pillow fight before school and work.

After school, townie-class mate Phoebe Love gets off the bus with B'Elanna. Do you remember my policy of trying to integrate townies with the same surname as playables? Sarah Love is still around, so Phoebe Love could become part of New Maximiliania eventually.

For now, B'Elanna is happy to have a class mate as her guest who is NOT a date. She prepares lunch meat sandwiches for the two of them.

Phoebe has seen a bit more of the world than B'Elanna, but has not had as many dates.

Like most teenage girls, these two love dancing, and spend a happy half hour near the stereo.

In between, B'Elanna manages to have a quick date with Christopher Capp - her # 25. That's half of her lifetime want done!

The girls wrap up themselves in towels and the evening with a stint in the sauna.

On Saturday morning, Beta cleans a puddle in front of the aquarium. Is there a leak? No, someone a little sloppier than Beta and Circe has been cleaning it.

My new rule of sending each household to at least one community lot each week applies here, too. I send the Beaker ladies to Archimedes Arcade.

Not much happens there, I'm afraid. After briefly looking around the place and greeting a few fellow New Maximilianians, the ladies grab a snack and then head home again.

Here, B'Elanna has her 1st dates # 26...

...and 27.

On Sunday morning, Circe and her granddaughter have breakfast. "Will you and aunt Beta manage without me, just the two of you, when I leave for college?" B'Elanna wonders.

Her last day before college should not go by unused, and so she has some more dates. This is # 28.

Beta has been showing the want to have a date, too. As the matchmaker is already here, she hands over another bundle of Simoleons, but is disappointed when all she gets is New Maximiliania's one and only zombie, Beaumont De Beateau. She quickly sends him away.

Meanwhile, B'Elanna has her 29th date.

Beta wonders whom of her friends she could call. Charlie Cho heeds her invitation to a date. He is the son of Etsu Cho and went to college with Beta, if I remember correctly.
But as soon as the two of them start their date, he shows the wish to get married... not to Beta, as the two of them do not even have crushes on each other. I will reveal his bride-to-be as the round progresses.

B'Elanna has her date # 30.

The week ends with her boarding the taxi for college, where we will catch up with her eventually.

Circe is now 80 years old. How much longer is she going to be around?
Is Beta going to find someone other than her stepmother to share her life with?
How is B'Elanna going to get ahead with her LTW at college?

Baldwin - Week 7

This is the Baldwin's house, situated in New Maximiliania's original shopping district.

To save you having to re-read week 6, here is a short summary: Isabel and Benjamin Baldwin lived here together with their children Sofia and Marcus, until Isabel met her three-bolt-love in Beaumont DeBateau. She left her husband and kids to move in with Beaumont.
Isabel died years before Benjamin, who never remarried. He died (on PermaPlat) at 72, shortly after both his children returned from university. 

Marcus and Sofia have both reached their respective lifetime wants, which means I hardly control them. Marcus became World Class Ballet Dancer when he was still 18 days from elderhood. He did not try to keep the relationship with his college sweetheart Pauline Aspir going, but instead met and fell in love with Tina Traveller last round.

Something else that happened last round: The cleanbot broke, causing havoc with nobody thinking of turning it off, let alone repair it. Ever since, the siblings have been living in chaos.

Look at Sofia in her "nice cosy" bedroom - surrounded by flies from the heaps of trash everywhere on the floor! She became Head of SCIA 11 days before Elderhood.

A top-down view of the upper floor reveals the extent of the chaos caused by the broken cleanbot.

Stopping to complain about the terrible conditions and the bugs (resulting from the heaps of rubbish, of course) all the time means the siblings hardly get anything done. There is plenty of food in the fridge, but Sofia decides on a liquid breakfast on Monday morning.

They can't seem to decide what is their greatest need - sleep or eat? Complain about the rubbish, or the bugs?

Every now and then, one of them actually remembers that bugs can be sprayed, not just stomped on.

And even better, from time to time they remember to pick up some of the rubbish (only for the cleanbot to spit out a fresh pile).

Desdemona Capp, an old friend from uni (I think) comes by, and I make Marcus greet her. She leaves soon afterwards - nobody offers her a meal, or takes much notice of her.

Marcus has managed to have a nap and empties the trash compactor. As you can see, the bug infestation is always on his mind.

Tuesday morning, Sofia falls asleep standing in the bathroom, while the cleanbot drives all around her.

Meanwhile downstairs, Marcus resorts to drink. So far, the living/dining room is unaffected by the chaos.

While Marcus is enjoying his drink, his older sister dies of starvation. Sofia was 7 days from Elderhood.

The Grim Reaper can't but shake his head at so much stupidity. "And they made THIS girl Head of SCIA?!" he mutters. Actually, I was expecting Sofia to die already last round, but going to work (and "eating" there) saved her life more than once.
Sorry, Sofia, but you really brought this upon yourself!

Downstairs, Marcus has found his way to the fridge and stuffs his face. By now, the rubbish has spread to the living/dining area as well - not from the clean bot, but because Marcus interrupted his taking out of the trash, stopping for another session of complaining about rubbish and bugs.

On Wednesday morning, he wakes up rolling the want to hire an exterminator. This wish keeps recurring every day for the rest of the week, and I let him call this service every day and tip the lady generously (he can easily afford it).

She works all day until she announces it is a bit late now and time for her to leave.

Marcus, although very hungry again, joins in the work and sweeps up some of the dead bugs on his own accord. Of course, not picking up the rubbish piles means there will soon be new bugs.

He even joins in the spraying.

I have him greet Rose Greenman, but like Desdemona earlier, she does not stick around. Nobody wants to stay at a place as messy as this, do they!

Remember my new rule about sending my Sims to at least one community lot each week? Marcus shows the want to go fishing, so I send him to Woodland Park, originally situated in Pleasantview.

He meets and greets some fellow New Maximilianians there, such as Guy Wrightley.

His girlfriend from last round, Tina Traveller, appears - Marcus has not rolled any wants about her, but I have him greet her, of course.

Back home, he manages not only to pick up all the rubbish piles downstairs, but even tackles the dead bugs. Upstairs, with the cleanbot spitting out new piles as soon as the old ones are gone, the mess is the same as always.

That does not stop Marcus from cleaning the bathtub on Thursday morning.

He cleans the entire bathroom - and of course the cleanbot does its "work" there as soon as Marcus is on his way downstairs.

He plays the piano for a bit. There are still dead bugs everywhere.

For a change, Marcus' meal of the day consists of a bag of cookies.

He cleans the upstairs toilet and once again picks up the rubbish from the bathroom floor - but you already know that it does not take the cleanbot long to replace it.

Friday morning sees Marcus having a liquid breakfast again.

Mercutio Ottomas (formerly Monty; married to Sharla Ottomas) walks by and is duly greeted.

Marcus has been rolling the want to influence someone to serve a meal, and so I have him try that with his guest. Mercutio prepares a platter of chef salad, and sitting at the table together for the meal, he kindly suggests the younger man to either join a family or have someone join him - he is really sorry for Marcus, living on his own now, having lost his Dad and now his sister, and clearly not coping.

"You know what, Mr. Ottomas, I think you're right. Maybe I really should have someone move in here with me, to share the load..." Marcus replies.

It is his first working day of the week, and of course, "eating" at work helps.

Marcus starts Saturday morning (after a full night's sleep, much to my surprise!) having a hot bath on his own accord - still surrounded by piles of rubbish.

He manages another spot of cleaning up afterwards.

Looks like Mercutio has been talking at home about the dreadful conditions at the Baldwin house, because today, his brother-in-law David Ottomas (married to Lilith Pleasant) appears.

The kindness of these two men seems to spur Marcus on; he sweeps up some more of the dead bugs still covering the floor downstairs.

He rolls the want to invite someone over, and soon, Tina Traveller, her mother Trish, and Rick Contrary appear.

Without being asked to, Rick...

...and Tina start cleaning up. Trisha heads straight for the computer and does not join in the work. By the time Marcus has to leave for work, a lot has been accomplished - but of course it only helps on the long run downstairs, not on the top floor.

On Sunday morning, Marcus has a shower. Again, he has had a good night's sleep.

He returns from work late on Sunday night, still disgusted with the conditions of his house, but seemingly unable to solve the problem.

To be honest, I am sick and tired of it now. Why did the programmers at Maxis forget to make sure Sims can swith off bots autonomously? Of course, I could have had Marcus simply do it - it would have saved Sofia's life. But sometimes I can be rather stubborn when it comes to my Sims' autonomy!

Anyway. Will Marcus stay here, or is he going to move in with Tina and her mother?

Next up is the Beaker family - I have already caught up with them by re-reading their last chapter.