The Ottomas Family - Week 12

Week 11 at this house is here.

This has been the Ottomas house in my game for so long that I can not even really remember what it looked like before the extensions for the ever-growing family were added.

At the moment, there is only one person living here: Sharla, the oldest member of the Ottomas family still alive. She was a little girl when the game began. Now, at 69, she still dreams of having six grandhildren.
"You're coming home? Wonderful!" she exclaims when on this Thursday morning her twin sons tell her that they are on their way back from uni.

And here they are, Orlando (left) and Odell (right). Both have graduated Summa Cum Laude and can now tackle their respective lifetime wants. For Orlando, it is the same as his mother's; Odell's dream will be fulfilled when he eventually becomes a Media Magnate.
Both of them have love interests: Orlando is engaged to Giselle Goth, and Odell's three-bolt-lady is Lisa Gieke. The ladies have graduated before the twins, and I am planning on letting the boys have some time here with their Mum first. Or maybe Lisa will move in this week, but Giselle is definitely not going to leave the Goth villa.

First things first! Odell checks the Simternet for a job in the media career, but there are no positions available.

Meanwhile, Sharla has been making grilled cheese sandwiches to welcome her boys home. She is so excited that she wasn't paying proper attention to the stove and sets it on fire. Luckily, a fire alarm has been installed a long time ago, and so the fire is quickly dealt with by the fire fighter.

It really is good to have her sons back! Sharla can trust them to take care of everything that needs doing around the house, such as fixing one of the bathtubs.

Jacqueline Newson (nee Jacquet) walks by and is greeted by Odell.

Early Friday morning, Odell bumps into his Mum in the open-plan living/dining/study/kitchen area on the ground floor. 'Dear Mum', he thinks. 'She's seen such a lot in her life, drama and happiness. Hopefully, I can help her reach her lifetime want before it is too late.'

Since Odell has not yet found a job in his dream career, I decide to send the family to Central Park.

Orlando is fascinated by the Human Statue and generously tips him 1 Simoleon. (Isn't it strange that Maxis has programmed the game so that we can have our Sims give various amounts of tip to NPC workers and musicians, but not to the Human Statue?)
Just as the hot dogs are ready to eat, it begins to rain. Soon afterwards, the Ottomas boys and their mother leave the park. They have met a few New Maximilianians, but nothing noteworthy happened.

Back home, Odell rings two friends from uni.
Sharla rolls the wish to call Lisa Gieke, Odell's 3-bolt-lady, to chat - how nice is that!

The friends from uni are soon coming over: Candice Walter and Amin Seifert. They spent a pleasant afternoon catching up.

Meanwhile, Sharla, undeterred by the still falliing rain, maximises her creativity skill.

The rain develops into a thunderstorm and thankfully quickly puts the flames out when one of the trees in the back garden catches fire.

Saturday has only just begun when Orlando is politely invited by the Aliens to visit them aboard their spacecraft. Sharla is worried: Will they treat her boy well?

Odell, oblivious to all the excitement, is fast asleep and dreams of getting engaged (to Lisa, I hope!).

Apparently, Orlando did not enjoy his visit with the Aliens. Never mind, they have left him a souvenir that will make his mother very happy!

Completely by coincidence ;-) she makes a delicious cheesecake.

Later, Gavin Gavigan walks past.

Sunday turns out a great day for the Ottomas family: First, Odell lands a job as Fact Checker. He will start tomorrow, giving him enough time to brush up on his skills... and do a few other things, as you will see in a minute.

Orlando's pregnancy becomes obvious, and he does not look unhappy about it in spite of the bad memory his visit with the Aliens constitutes.

He invites his fiancée, Giselle Goth, over to tell her his big news. "I wonder whether the baby will have your lovely skin and eyes," Orlando muses.

Odell invites Candice Walter to become a proper New Maximilianian - and she accepts, instantly turning from Young Adult in graduation robes...

...to adult. Welcome to the neighbourhood, Candice!

She is a Romance Sim and wants to have 20 best friends - should not be a problem. She adds 4,000 Simoleons to the household; of course I put a vase worth that amount into her backpack and have her move out immediately.

Odell now asks his 3-bolt-lady Lisa Gieke over, and she accepts his invitation to move in. Lisa's aspiration is Popularity, and she wants to become Hall of Famer. Her diploma in Drama might come in handy there!

Of course, Odell has not forgotten his mother's lifetime want of having six grandchildren. He and Lisa set to work right away. The upstairs bedroom with en-suite bathroom, which used to be David and Lilith's, is now theirs.

On Monday morning, Lisa finds a job in the Athletic career: She can start today as an All Star.

Orlando has learnt his mother's recipe for cheesecake, it seems! He made that on his own initiative.

Meanwhile, Lisa brushes up on her body skill - she needs four body points before she can think of being promoted.

All of a sudden, she feels queasy and has to stop working out. She wonders if her being sick has anything to do with Odell. (Yes, Lisa, I can assure you it does!)

Unfortunately, her not feeling all that well has influenced her first day on the job, and she is demoted to Starter. (Actually, it was after the wrong decision with a chance card.)

The two pregnant household members enjoy a piece of cheesecake together. That cheers Lisa up nicely.

And the day is saved by Odell - he comes home with his first promotion: Meet New Maximiliania's latest Obituary Writer!

On Tuesday morning, Lisa does not fit into her pretty dresses anymore and changes into maternity wear.

Later that morning, she happens to be at hand when Orlando gives birth to his half-Alien twins:

Meet Otto...

...and Gunther Ottomas!
Of course Gunther is named so because it is a traditional name in the Goth family, and Orlando is going to join his fiancée Giselle at the Goth villa soon. Her late brother's name was also Gunther, passed down from the original Gunther Goth, father of Mortimer.

And Sharla? She is happy, of course! After all, she dreams of having six grandchildren, and has now two with at least one more on the way.

Wednesday is the last day of this week at the Ottomas house. It starts with a thunderstorm; lightning strikes one of the trees in front of the house, but the rain quickly puts the flames out - the babies (and everybody else) are safe.

Sharla is a devoted grandmother, as you would expect her to be.

Odell returns from work with a promotion to Horoscope Writer.

He then goes upstairs to work on his charisma, admired by Lisa.

Just before the seven days here are over, Lisa goes into labour.

Sharla's third grandchild is another boy: Gilson Gieke.
In spite of having had cheesecake, Lisa does not have twins; I always thought this method is reliable, but it seems that is not always the case. Never mind!

Now Lisa will be able to focus on her lifetime want for a while. Will she have another baby soon, or is Odell going to meet the Aliens like his brother did? When will Orlando move to the Goth villa, and is Sharla (now 76) going to be around long enough to welcome another three grandchildren?

The Ottomas Brothers' Senior Year

For the previous year at this dorm, click here.

We're back on Campus at the smallest of all Maxis-made dorms, Pinenut Plaza, with just five rooms. And: We have a newcomer!

It is not other than Ratna Walter, the teenage townie we only just met as a visitor at the Senior Residence, and who has become eligible to be a fully fledged New Maximilianian because I know a Mrs Walter in real life.
Ratna is a Pleasure Sim with the aspiration of having 50 dream dates. Hard work, but not impossible.

The other students living here at the moment are Stephanie Stacks, a Junior studying Biology, and the reason we are here: twin brothers Odell...

...and Orlando Ottomas, both in their Senior Year.
There was a bit of love trouble here recently: Stephanie fell in love with Orlando, in spite of him being engaged to Giselle Goth (who moved back to New Max after graduation), and now feels cheated. Is she going to find another love interest, and get over her feelings for Orlando?

Before that question can be answered, Stephanie has more important things to do: Writing her term paper.

The next day, Ratna declares his major in Psychology.

Then, he asks the Matchmaker for help with starting on his lifetime want. The first blind date she arranges for him is with Dagmar Bertino - a familiar figure, delivering mail in all of New Max. Their date turns out to be alright, but not a dream date, and as there are only two bolts between them, Ratna probably won't see her again.

The older three students all finish the semester with best results.
For Ratna, a few more hours are left until his first exam.

He fulfills one of his wishes by asking a Sim for a date; this elderly townie lady is already a friend, and so does not say no when he suggests a date. A dream date does not come about, though.

Meanwhile, Odell and Orlando work on their skills before sitting down to write their term papers. It is charisma for Odell...

...and cooking for Orlando. There are some truly amazing recipes in this book, by the looks of it!

Stephanie works out a little bit... not too much, just so she does not get rusty.

Ratna has finished his first semester successfully. If only he were as successful with his dates!

Odell has just finished his very last term paper ever!

And Ratna once more enlists the Matchmaker's help to find a date. Strangely enough, so far the Matchmaker has not summoned a 3-bolt-lady in spite of Ratna forking out the full 5,000 Simoleons every time (the household can easily afford it).

She might be a good dancer, but the date with this townie lady (Linda something-or-other) ends at "good" before Ratna has a chance to turn it into a dream date.

The Ottomas twins reassure each other that they will graduate top of the Dean's List.

A letter from home! Stephanie misses her family.

Ratna makes a fourth attempt at a Dream Date, this time with townie Calista Fuchs.

And he is finally successful - one down, 49 to go!

The brothers have just come back from their final exams. Both have graduated Summa Cum Laude and are visibly proud of their achievement.

Stephanie is now a Senior Student. The seriousness of it hits her - just one more year, and she will graduate, really grow up and move back to New Max.

Odell and Orlando throw a graduation party.

Their mother, Sharla Ottomas, is of course at the top of the guest list. Other guests include Stacy Stacks (Stephanie's big sis), some members of the Capp family...

...Odell's 3-bolt-lady Lisa Gieke and Orlando's fiancée Giselle Goth.
And who is that in the back, wearing a graduation gown?
NPC student Candice Walter - a distant relative of Ratna Walter. She is friends with Orlando and is glad about the chance to meet Ratna.

The party is a success :-)

Bye-bye for now, Orlando and Odell!

There are only two playable students left here, Ratna and Stephanie. Who is going to move into the rooms vacated by the Ottomas twins? How is Stephanie going to fare during her last year at uni? Is Ratna going to have more dream dates with Calista, or will he meet a 3-bolt-woman eventually?