The Ramirez Family: Week 7

Did I accidentally skip this family during one round, or lost count of their weeks? Shouldn't it be week 8 here? I don't know - but I do know that their previous week is called "week 6", as you will see if you click on the label with their name and scroll down to the post before this one.

Anyway - 

Welcome to a week with the Ramirez siblings and their pets.

This is Alabama. She has just returned from work with a promotion to Contraband Sniffer. Promotions for the pets are crucial in this household, since it is Ramon Ramirez' lifetime want to have 6 pets reach the top of their careers.

Here is Tessa. She was a child when the game began, the only daughter of Checo and Lisa Ramirez. Her LTW of becoming Game Designer was reached early on in her adulthood, when she was still 22 days from Elderhood.

Her younger brother Ramon is not on Permanent Platinum yet. With him and his pets, I am testing whether the 6 top-of-career pets mean it has to be 6 different pets, or if it works also with two pets reaching 3 times the tops of their careers.

On this Monday morning, Tessa makes omelettes for breakfast without me telling her to.

A better shot of Alabama.

Roux, the cat, has also come home with a promotion today, her new position being that of a Seeing Eye Pet.

When Tessa returns from work, strangely enough she has a colleague wearing a cow costume in tow. It is a townie, and so she says good-bye right away. (He keeps coming home with her every working day, and the two of them have a 100 points friendship - it must have happened at work and during the daily ride home!)

Immediately afterwards, she turns into an elderly lady. Time to check her late mother's wardrobe for something more suitable to wear.

Tuesday morning starts with this nice picture of Alabama and Roux meeting in the upstairs hallway while their humans are still asleep.

Tessa cleans the cat toilet on her own initiative.

Then I have her ring the police again - and this time, I am lucky: Demi Love appears! Of course she is angry with Tessa for having called her without there being an emergency. But I am sure one day she will thank her for it! Now she is in Tessa's contact list and can be befriended.

Roux returns from work with a promotion to Rescue Pet - that is the third time she has reached the top of her career, and the fifth time for Ramon - if it does indeed count towards his LTW.

For Tessa, Wednesday begins with some browsing of the web.

The gardener arrives at the same time as the repair service and Tessa's car pool - quite a collection of vehicles!

Ramon greets Hermia Capp as she walks by. He has a late lunch with her and they get along fine, but inexplicably, she says good-bye shortly afterwards. (More often than not, guests will stay well into the night, unless something happens that brings their needs down, such as being hit by lightning - this was definitely not the case with Hermia!)

The siblings watch some TV before going to bed. "I'd love for you to find someone special, really, Ramon," Tessa says to her little brother. Ramon pretends he has not heard. There IS actually someone he is in love with - Hailey Hart. But she is a Romance Sim and not ready (or willing) to settle with him, or anyone else for that matter. (Apart from that, Ramon does not roll wishes about her all week - romantic or otherwise.)

Cat and dog are quietly going about their business in the kitchen early on Thursday morning.

Tessa has to work, but just before she leaves, she invites Demi Love over - hoping her brother will like Demi, or maybe even more than that. Demi asks if she can bring along a friend, and indeed turns up with Isaiah Capp in tow (I had no idea they know each other). Sirius Swain has long been a close friend of Ramon's and happens to come visiting as well.
But as for Ramon liking Demi - thanks, but no thanks! He has negative attraction with her, and when he tries to talk to her, everything he says seems to be going against the grain somehow.

Still, they are polite enough with each other to sit down for a meal. Also, it gives Sirius a chance to meet Demi; sooner or later, one of the New Maximilianians that know her now will establish a friendship good enough with her to make her move in.
"I know that already two of my relatives live here, Sarah and Christian," Demi says. She obviously has not heard that Ryker Love has left uni to move here, too.

That afternoon, Alabama comes home from work promoted to Pet Corps - that is the third time she has reached the top of a career, and the sixth for Ramon. And much to my delight, the game informs me that Ramon has just fulfilled a lifetime want - so, my experiment of having not six pets reach the top of a career, but two pets reach three each, has worked out!
Ramon is still 18 days from Elderhood; from now on, he is on PP like his big sister.

Tessa repeats her strategy on Friday and invites Demi over again, just in time for her to say good morning before she leaves for work.

Demi has had an early lunch (or late breakfast) of grilled cheese with Ramon, and then watched some TV, played with Alabama and Roux and generally had a good day. When Tessa returns from work late in the afternoon, she has a present for Demi (a painting that was still on the easel). The two ladies are now friends, which was not all that easy, since their relationship started off with Demi being very angry at Tessa.

Demi shows her gratitude by autonomously cleaning one of the pet houses. You can see Roux the cat sleeping on the cold grass next to her - anything is better than a mucky pet bed!

Meanwhile, Ramon takes it upon himself to do some gardening. I really wish the gardener they have employed would do a better job of it, but it is nice to see the Ramirez siblings being houseproud enough to take care of things themselves.

Saturday morning sees Demi once again being asked over by Tessa. Today, Tessa does not work, so she can spend more time with her new friend. Ramon is still in his PJs and busy with some voluntary house work; Demi gets the impression he was not really ready for visitors.

But all is well when the three of them sit down for a lunch of grilled cheese. Tessa is reminiscing her college time with Demi and Ramon listening with more or less interest.

It is Sunday today, and another day off for Tessa. You can guess what she has been doing as soon as it was daylight: She rang Demi again and invited her over.
And who should happen to walk by today? Ryker Love, one of Demi's "lost relatives", who moved to New Maximiliania very recently!

Now Demi and Ryker have met - and I have caught Demi a few times fanning herself in Ryker's presence, as if she is finding him very attractive.
Never mind Ramon's question over dinner whether she knows how to handle a pair of handcuffs... of course she does!

By the end of the evening, Demi and Tessa are best friends. Unfortunately, the week is over, and so it will take a long time before I play this household again and can make Tessa ask Demi to move in. But through Tessa's hospitality, Demi now knows a few more New Maximilianians and will get a chance of moving in to the neighbourhood before this round is over.

It was interesting to play this week, with my experiment about the 6-pets-LTW and developing Tessa's friendship with Demi. I have no idea whether Ramon will remain alone or he and/or Tessa find partners eventually.