The Smith Family - Week 13

Week 12 at this house is here, if you are interested.

One of the best known houses in all of New Maximiliania is this one, the house Maxis originally built for the Smith family. Pollination Technician (or Polly, as he was known to his friends) and his family are long gone, but the house is not quite empty.

Jill Smith lives here. She was, if I remember correctly, a member of the gardening club before she discovered that she is related to the Smiths, and moved in with them.
With her lifetime want of 20 lovers, she has already achieved a lot: Last time I played here, her list of names was at #14.
When she gets up on this Monday morning, she wonders what the week will bring.

Today seems to be Service Day, as not only the gardener and the household help arrive for their usual appointment, but the repair service truck pulls up, too.
       

Remington Harris, Jill's household help for years, finally becomes her 15th lover.

Shortly after he has left, Jill crosses the threshold to the read hearts stage with Amin Fleig, her #16. That's four to go!

Of course, with a lifetime want like that, it can hardly be avoided that some Sim or other is constantly mad at Jill. Her dustbin is nearly always thrown over again as soon as she (or Remington) have picked it up.

Kennedy Smith is the only other Sim by this surname living in New Max at the moment. It turns out that the two of them have hardly known each other, but show three bolts! Of course, I shall work at making Kennedy move in before the week is over. Tonight, they celebrate their budding friendship with glasses of champagne to their hot dogs.

Tuesday does not see any new additions on Jill's list of lovers, but she talks to some of her friends on the phone to strengthen existing friendship and invites one or two others to work on bringing their friendships closer to love.
With the frequent overthrowing of the dustbin, it is hardly surprising that Jill has an infestation of bugs in her front garden. Nigel Newson happens to pass by and is greeted. He makes himself useful by spraying the bugs on his own accord.

By the way, here are portraits of the long gone Jenny Smith (Polly's wife) and their daughter, also named Jill.

Autumn has quietly slipped into winter during the night, and on this Wednesday morning, Jill lights the fire in the den for the first time this season.

Later, she invites Nery Turner over. He hopes she'll stop coughing so that he can kiss her. Shortly afterwards, they do much more than kiss, and Nery becomes Jill's lover #17.

That same night, she turns into an elder - still attractive, as Kennedy proves when he is invited over for the evening (Nery has of course been sent home).

I find Jill thinking of Kennedy early on Thursday morning. It is actually a bit too cold to sit out on the porch, and in spite of wearing her padded winter coat and warm boots, Jill does indeed catch a cold.

Nevertheless, she manages to bring her friendship with Kennedy to best friends level during the day, and after he has gone home, she relaxes with a hot bubble bath.

Although last night's bubble bath did her good, Jill's cold is not over yet on Friday morning. Instead of sitting on the porch, today she wisely chooses the warmth of the fire in the den.

Later that day, townie Parker Tse becomes the 18th name on her list of lovers.

By the time Jill finally is in love with Kennedy (and vice versa), it is already Saturday. Unfortunately, he is only her # 19 - one more lover is needed to make Jill's lifetime want come true.

I thought that person would be Callum Capp, but a check of Jill's list reveals that he was actually her 6th lover, so the rekindling of this old flame does not count towards the lifetime want. It still fulfills a major daily wish for Jill, though, in spite of them unfortunately being surprised by Remington Harris, who feels majorly cheated and storms off in a huff.

Isaiah Capp is already a friend of Jill's and has not yet appeared on her list. She invites him over for cake this afternoon, and when he asks to bring along a friend (Alan Riley), she agrees - there won't be anything happening between these two just yet anyway.
Hopefully, by tomorrow, she will have fulfilled her goal AND make Kennedy move in.

And guess what, she does just that!
First, when she kindly asks Isaiah Capp if he would become her lover # 20 and thus help her to achieve her lifetime want, he agrees. Moments after this picture was taken, Jill is on Permanent Platinum at the age of 57. Phew!

Second, after she has sent Isaiah home, Kennedy is invited over - for good. He accepts, and we have now one household of Smiths again.

This was a good week for my Sims, and we are going to stay on for another week now that Kennedy lives here, too.

The Singles-Beaker Household - Week 11

Very early on this round, I have already played at this house; back then, it was for Beta Beaker. Now we are back because of Shaun Singles. The post about that week can be found here.

Who lives here?

• Shaun Singles, son of the late Nervous Subject and Erin Singles; he is 69 years old and on Permanent Platinum
• Beta Beaker, daughter of the late Loki Beaker; she is 66 and also on PP
• her 3-bolt-man Jihoon Hsu, an ex-townie introduced to her by the Matchmaker. Jihoon is much younger and aspiring to become Chief of Staff but has not yet found a job in the medical career. He and Beta married last time I played here.
• Brittany Mace, ex-dorm cook and Shaun's 3-bolt-lady, also introduced by the Matchmaker. Brittany is 64 and is unlikely to fulfill her dream of having 20 best pet friends.
• Jonathan Turner, ex-tourist who moved in last week to be nearer his relatives, the many other Turners already living in New Max. He wants nothing more than marry off six children and is looking for a prospective mother for his offspring.
  

On this Monday morning, Shaun and Brittany are fast asleep when I enter the lot.

Before dawn, Jonathan enlists the help of the Matchmaker - after all, she has introduced two of the housemates here to their 3-bolt-partners. And guess what, it works again! This time, Fenya Hart is summoned, and there are indeed 3 bolts between her and Jonathan.
During their date, I can see her wishes; one is to get married to Darren Lum, a "Mr. Big" who does not live in New Max. Residents have precedence, and so I am going to let her pursue her relationship with Jonathan.

The garden looks a little worse for wear on this sunny morning, as it often happens in autumn. But it was Brittany's wish to grow vegetables, and so I send her out after breakfast to look after her tomatoes and rake the leaves.

Meanwhile, Shaun takes it upon himself to make stuffed rainbow trout for everyone.

It is already dark by the time the first stray pet appears on the lot. Brittany greets Balin, the cat, and befriends him before she is too tired to do anything else but go to bed.

On Tuesday morning, I find Shaun and Beta in the computer room (which has become Jonathan Turner's bedroom) talking about human space travel. It is certainly an interesting topic for Beta, since she is half-Alien.

Later, Brittany makes her Bronze Gardening badge while weeding her tomato plants.

It was bound to happen, wasn't it? I made Jihoon rake all the leaves and then sent Brittany to burn the piles. The first three were no problem, but with the fourth pile, the tent catches fire.

Along with the tent, Jihoon is reduced to ashes, with Brittany helplessly watching on.

The large tree catches fire, too, and that...

...finally makes the others aware of the catastrophe. But of course, instead of calling the firefighters or starting to extinguish the flames, they all break out in hysterics.

Grimmy is working overtime! Shaun is the last man standing (or, rather, jumping around and shouting hystercially), and for a minute, it looks as if he will be the only survivor as the fire gradually dies out.
But he, too, succumbs to the flames eventually, and all that is left of this nice and friendly household are ashes and tombstones.

I did neither plan nor (really) expect this, but you know what I am like - most of the time, when something like this happens in my game, I let events unfold without interfering. Five playables are gone, and their dreams and hopes with them.

The lot stands empty.
Will another family move here? I don't know yet, but what I do know is that this is the end of the name Singles in my game.

Stuart Seifert: Freshman Year

My previous post from uni is here.

Hello and welcome back at Pinenut Plaza dorms!

Gary and Gavin Gavigan are still here; they are now Sophomores and the only playable students at this large dorm.

But we are not here because of them. Remember how I said at the end of my previous post about the Seifert-Powers household that I was going to send paperboy Stuart Seifert to college? I just did that, and here is Stuart in a stylish (?!) pirate outfit, just arrived at the dorm.
We learn that he is a Romance Sim and wants to become Criminal Mastermind - certainly not my favourite lifetime want, but not difficult to achieve.

First things first: Stuart claims the only empty room in the dorm.

He is truly happy about having made it to college, and starts on his first term paper right away, not having any immediate skill points to gain. Actually, his skill profile is rather impressive at 9 cooking points and several others.

It is Gavin who finished his term paper first this semester. From now on, he will only be controlled when I want him to make his daily phone call to maintain existing friendships.

Twin brother Gary is second to write his term paper...

...followed by Stuart, who rewards himself with a big plate of spaghetti afterwards.

All students know that in order to fit in with the group at the dorm and make new friends, dancing is the best way. Here, Stuart looks still a little unsure about the Hula movements, but I am convinced he will soon get the hang of it.

The morning is the only time of day when all three playables are not at class or too tired afterwards, so I send them to the Student Center for their obligatory visit to a community lot.
Nothing noteworthy happens, and no new NPC students appear who would be eligible as future New Maximilianians.

Back at the dorm, Stuart shows he is willing to pull his weight and starts to clear up the ash heaps that have been here since the tragic fire last round that cost one young woman her life.

Later, he seems to ponder whether to join Gary in building a snowman, but decides against it.

The two Gavigans are first to finish their semester.

Stuart follows a few hours later, with a B+. Let's see if he can achieve an A or A+ next semester.

The start of the next semester usually means skilling time for at least some students.

Gavin completes his term paper first.

He is joined in a celebratory slap dance by his brother a few hours later.

The next day seems to be PJ Day, and the brothers show their Sophomore spirit by appearing in the cafeteria still in their PJs.

Stuart may only be a Freshman, but he joins in the spirit of PJ Day, too, and even goes to class in that attire. (By the way, he has of course finished his term paper not long after the Gavigan brothers.)

Everyone is back from class at 4:00 pm, and so our three students visit Campus Coffee House.

Rodney Turner, another member of the ever-growing Turner family, is here and will be befriended by Stuart. There is also a girl belonging to the Secret Society around.

Stuart buys coffee for Rodney to help their budding friendship along.

Gavin has made hot dogs for everyone, and Gary sits with Stuart while another member of the Secret Society is still undecided.

And all of a sudden it is exam day!

The Gavigan boys meet in Gavin's room. Gary is convinced his half-Alien brain will help him through this day as it has done before.

Stuart grabs one last mug of coffee before it is time to go and sit his exams.

The brothers return first - both of them have finished their Sophomore year with a spot on the Dean's list and an A+, and are now ready to tackle their Junior year.

Stuart arrives back at the dorm a few hours later. In spite of never having missed class and finishing his term paper early on, he "only" made it to an A-.
Never mind, he is now a Sophomore!

All three students have done well, but there have been no interesting developments in terms of friendship or romance.
Who is going to be the next Freshman here?