The Pleasant Family: Week 1

We have seen the Pleasants back in July, when they were visiting with the Oldies.

The Maxis-made pictures for the Pleasant family's background story start with their wedding. Two unknown Sims are present, probably their witnesses; we know what the bride's parents look like (Herb and Coral Oldie), and it's clearly not them. They could be the groom's parents, Jeff and Diane Pleasant, but they look rather different in Daniel's family tree. Anyway, here they are, tying the knot. 

The birth of their twin girls Angela and Lilith is shown next. 

Here, only one of the girls is apparently celebrating her birthday; it looks like Angela, with her cousin Lucy Burb being among the guests to cheer her on. (Lucy's Mum, Jennifer Burb, is Daniel Pleasant's sister.)

Now the girls are teenagers, and while Angela is working out in a sunny spot behind the house, her sister seems to be in a more contemplative (if not grouchy) mood. Also, apart from their hair, the girls look very different in their attire, with Lilith clearly leaning towards being a Goth or a Punk or a mix of both. Through the window, their parents can be seen having an argument. 

Lilith and Dirk Dreamer have been friends since childhood and are now getting closer, or at least that's what Maxis want for them. Angela, on the other hand, is in a relationship with Dustin Broke, but there is no picture for them.

This is the last Maxis-made picture for the Pleasants. It clearly shows the twins NOT getting on, and Daniel looking sad, disappointed or unhappy because his wife seems to be more interested in whoever is at the other end of the phone than in having woohoo with him. 

This fits their family bio, which says: "On the surface, Daniel and Mary-Sue Pleasant seem to have the perfect life, but is their love a flimsy façade? And can Angela and Lilith make the right choices when it comes to love?" 

Let's check out their house at 215 Sim Lane in Pleasantview first. You know it, of course, from your own game.

Downstairs, clockwise from the top left corner, we have Mary-Sue and Daniel's bedroom with en-suite bathroom, a spacious hall with a staircase leading upstairs, two glass doors to the back patio, an exercise device, a TV set and, near the front door, a stereo. The open plan kitchen/dining area with a fire place is next. On the other side of the hall is a small family room with a big TV. In the middle is a cloakroom. 

The girls have their bedrooms upstairs and share a bathroom. It is obvious which room Maxis meant for which girl, isn't it! At the moment, there is only a relatively small amount of 2,250 Simoleons in the family bank account, but of course with the house being fully furnished, that's enough to pay the bills for a while. 

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In spite of Daniel having his eyes on the maid (who has not yet appeared at 7:00 on this Thursday morning) and seemingly being unhappy about his wife's disinterest in him, Mary-Sue finds her husband very attractive. 

Daniel is a Romance Sim who strangely dreams of maxing all his skills; his skill profile is not the best, so he has his work cut out for him, especially as he is will turn into an Elder before the week is over. According to Maxis, "Since his father Jeff died without achieving his dream of going to Mars, Daniel has felt an overwhelming guilt". 

Mary-Sue works as an Intern in the Politics career - maybe a good head start for her plan to become a Criminal Mastermind, which suits her Fortune aspiration. Maxis describes her as "Active and friendly, Mary-Sue believes people are inherently good. She enjoys pottery, or used to, when she had the time". 

The twins both are Popularity Sims, but while Angela strives to have 20 best friends, her sister (younger by mere minutes) of all things sees herself as a future General, which does not match her presumed rebellious streak at all. 

Angela's bio says that she "is patient and dutiful. She dreams of being a fishing boat captain". About Lilith, Maxis have written that " had it harder than her twin sister, so she says. Which, you know, just isn't fair". 

Daniel has the day off and (very slowly) starts to work on his lifetime want. The maid comes and goes - when she asks whether he wants her to stay after she's finished cleaning, I have him say no. Although he has a red heart for her in his relationship panel, he seems completely indifferent while she's around, and none of his wishes have to do anything with her. 

The chance card that appears for Mary-Sue while she is at work is programmed to have no positive come-out - Mary-Sue will either be fired or demoted. In my case, the latter is true, and Mary-Sue returns early. She's not too unhappy about this, because she wants to find an opening in the criminal career anyway.

Straight off the school bus, Angela runs in, happily brandishing her A+ report. Daniel finishes his sandwich before cheering for her. Lilith's grades still leave a lot to be desired. 

Along with Angela came Dustin Broke, her boyfriend. The poor lad is first quizzed by Daniel, who of course wants only the best for his daughter... 

...and then by Mary-Sue, who asks him right away whether he intends to marry her daughter! "I... we... what?!" he stammers, nearly dropping his sandwich.

Meanwhile, Lilith has asked her father to help with her homework but has been refused (their relationship is simply not good enough). But still, they go outside for a round of "toss football" on their own accord, something that brings Lilith's fun level up and, while it doesn't really do much for their relationship, at least does no harm. Lilith then broods a long time over her homework alone, but gets it done eventually.

Mary-Sue has gone back to work another shift, and when she comes home for the second time today, she and Daniel seem to be really pleased to each other. 

Spaghetti bolognese is Angela's contribution tp the family meal tonight. Things are a little awkward, especially because Lilith makes sure to take the last chair and sits opposite Dustin, while Angela pretends all is well and sits on one of the bar stools instead of at the table with her boyfriend. 

Everybody has to leave for school and work at the same time on Friday morning. This means that nobody is around when the maid arrives at 10:00. 

Daniel returns with a promotion although he lacks the required skills. Well, chance cards can be good like that sometimes! Just as he arrives, Stephen Tinker was about to leave, seeing as only the maid was in. Daniel greets him but leaves immediately for an additional shift to get a bit more cash in. He plans to retire from paid work as soon as is financially feasible for the family, and then to concentrate on his lifetime want. 

Afterwards, he joins Lilith in front of the TV and tells her that with some of his promotion bonus, he wants to improve a few things in her and her sister's rooms. Lilith rudely says "Am I bothered?!", but secretly, she is pleased. 

A desk, chair and light in her favourite colours are actually really welcome, and she finds studying a bit easier now.

"Mum! Dad! You both got promoted today, isn't that great!" Angela exclaims over their family meal that evening. Yes, Mary-Sue has got her former position as an Intern back (although she is secretly still looking for a job in the criminal career and will jump at the chance as soon as it presents itself). 

Lilith thinks "Oh Ange, must you always be the bright sunshiny perfect daughter..." while Daniel thinks "Oh Lil, you could at least pretend that you're pleased for your old folks". 

Angela now has a new, much better, bed - her old one was the second-cheapest from the catalogue, I think.

And isn't that a sight for sore yes! Yes, the Pleasants are in love again, and although Daniel still has a soft spot for the maid, the affair is over (I think). 

With both their parents gone for work on Saturday morning (and also because she has the highest cooking skill in the family), it is up to Angela to make breakfast. Unfortunately, the pancakes she produces are a bit too thoroughly fried... Miss Perfect is not infallible, after all! 

Mary-Sue and Daniel come home together just as Daniel's brother-in-law, John Burb, appears for a visit - as well as Dirk Dreamer, who was invited over by Lilith. 

The two dance away to some Hip Hop. Shortly afterwards, she gives him a backrub autonomously, and big red hearts appear over their heads :-) 

Daniel feels generous and orders pizza for everyone.

Not to be outdone, Angela asks Dustin over, and he promptly arrives. It is clear what's on his mind! All in all, it is a rather good day for the family, with the girls mostly keeping out of each other's way while their attention is focused on their respective boyfriends. 

Daniel has to work even on Sunday, but Mary-Sue finally has a day off. It is the first time this week that she actually encounters the maid, and seeing as she and the girls are home and can pretty well do the household work themselves, she dismisses her for the day.

After everything is done, she asks her parents over. Herb and Coral Oldie do not live far away and appear on the doorstep minutes later. 

Angela has made hamburgers for everyone, and although Lilith actually quite enjoys them, she pretends she would have preferred fried eggs. Still, Mary-Sue is pleased that her spiky daughter has no problem holding a decent conversation with her Nana. The fire is lit for the first time this season, making the dining room cosy.

Daniel returns from work and is a little embarassed to find his parents-in-law much more interested in each other than in their surroundings. Not long after that, they say good-bye, and the family retreat to their respective bedrooms. 

It is Monday morning, and like every morning so far, Mary-Sue looks for a job in the criminal career. And like every morning, there isn't one. Time is starting to run out - she'll be an Elder in a few days, and then it'll be too late for her to ever achieve her lifetime want. 

Much to her embarassment, Angela breaks the faucet at the sink in the downstairs cloakroom. Before anyone can find out, she sets to fixing it and finishes just in time for the schoolbus. 

After she has made sure nobody is watching - her sister is already in the house, and her parents are still at work - Lilith allows herself a happy smile and a cheer: She has just received her first A+ report! 

Daniel wonders why his younger daughter looks a tad less grumpy than usual, but she keeps quiet - she doesn't want the fuss Angela seems to enjoy so much whenever she's done well with something. 

While everybody else is busy elsewhere in the house, Daniel turns into an elder all on his own in the bedroom. I make him retire from his job; not that he wished for it, but it will give him a chance to max out his skills. Also, the Pleasants' bank account now shows a healthy balance of more than 16,000 Simoleons.

Very early on Tuesday morning, Daniel maxes out his first skill: Charisma. 

When his wife gets up a little later, she is happy to start her first step on the way to her lifetime want: Just after midnight, she found a job as a Pickpocket. 

"I think it's cool to have a Criminal Mum," Lilith remarks over breakfast, just to see how Angela will react. As expected, she huffs "How CAN you think such a THING, let alone SAY it!" 

The girls are at school and Mary-Sue is picking pockets somewhere in Pleasantview. The maid arrives, and Daniel is alone in the house with her. Will anything happen? No, nothing happens. Daniel eats his lone, late breakfast, and when Kaylynn asks whether he wants her to stay after she's finished her tasks, he says no. Secretly, she is relieved. "He really HAS grown old recently," she muses.

A girl by the name of Brittany Love comes home from school with the girls. With this surname, she is of course going to be sent to college along with the twins.

Mary-Sue's beatific smile says it all: She has just been promoted to Bagman, and on her first day at that! 

Once the girls have done their homework, they sit down for bowls of Angela's Mac & Cheese. "I guess you would have preferred fried eggs, sis..." Angela says with a deadpan expression. Lilith can't help but grin - her sister does have a sense of humour, after all. For the sake of their guest, neither of them picks an argument. 

It takes only one single shift at work for Mary-Sue to go from Bagman to Bookie. It looks like she's moving up the career ladder extra fast, to make up for all the time lost. 

Much to my surprise, on Wednesday morning I find Angela and Lilith in Angela's room, playing kicky-bag. They weren't really getting along until now, even though they lost enemy status relatively early on.

Mary-Sue now needs creativity, and an easel is placed in the bay window in the dining room. Daniel will find it useful once he gets started to work on his creativity, too.

Over chili con carne - this time prepared by Daniel, not Angela! - Mary-Sue says how much she'd love for her two girls to be friends. Of course, Angela is all smiles at this suggestion, and Lilith mumbles "I wouldn't go that far...", but there is a definite twinkle in her eyes, and she raises one corner of her mouth almost to a smile. 

Mary-Sue entered the cloakroom with black hair and leaves it all white - she has just turned into an elder, and like her husband, there was no birthday party and no cheering. But neither of them seems to mind that. 

Let's end this pleasant week with the Pleasants (sorry, could not resist!) with the twins dancing away to Hip Hop from the stereo - united in their musical taste, it seems, and while not exactly dancing together, they are in the same room without arguing! 

I loved this week, although it took me one or two days to really warm to the family. Daniel never rolled any wishes about Kaylynn, but he and Mary-Sue were much attracted to each other. The girls made slow progress and are not yet friends, but we'll see what happens once they go to college. It was nice to have Coral and Herb over, but there was somehow not enough time to invite the Burbs as well, or to visit a community lot.