Nervous Subject: Week 2

Week 1 with Nervous (with the Beakers at their house) is here.

Back in Strangetown, yay :-) You know this house, of course - it is the gloomy-looking Beakers' Castle. 

Nervous Subject still lives here, but not for much longer. Here he is, giving little Bella (Loki and Circe's daughter) a good-bye bottle. 

Then he boards the taxi to move to his own place. Not that he has not been getting along with the Beakers, but a) Loki wants to marry off six children and needs room for them, and b) Nervous has the lifetime want of raising 20 puppies and kittens, and with the many different levels on this lot it would be a nightmare (it's hard enough as it is, and so far no Sim in my game has ever achieved it, I think).

Nervous has just arrived at 31 Mendoza Lane in Strangetown's Downtown, a modest house. 

His mother Olive Specter has died recently, while he was visiting. It left him somewhat traumatised, but she left him some money, and so even after having bought this place, he still has 22,000 Simoleons to play with. 

And play with he will - look at the state of the house! What little furniture there is, it is of the cheapest kind. Also, I have put everything in Nervous' backpack that was in the basement room at the Beakers' house - they don't need those things, but he can do with the money made from selling them. 

Much better, isn't it! The kitchen has a "pets" theme, and there is a pet bed in the master bedroom as well as a dog house out in front of the house. 

On this Monday, everything seems to be happening at once: 

Mr. Humble has just dropped off his pink parcel, the welcome committee has arrived (consisting of Ripp Grunt, Chloe Singles and Jessie Pilferson [not pictured]), a stray white wolf named Daisy is visiting, plus Danny and Sarah Crittur have joined the family! 

I can not remember when (if ever) I have played the Critturs; they are the only pre-made family of pets available in the family bin, and since Nervous needs puppies (or kittens) for his lifetime want, it was the logical step to add them to his household.

It is obvious that Sarah (pictured) and Danny are used to life on the street - they will need some training. Here, Sarah is eating comfort soup in spite of there being a well-filled pet dish close by. 

About Danny, Maxis say: "A well seasoned traveler who has met dogs all over the world, Danny is now ready for the adventures of the domestic lifestyle." 

According to her Maxis-written bio, Sarah "never thought there was more to life than garbage cans and midnight howling until she met Danny. After living on the streets for so long, it will be nice to have a roof over their heads every night."

At 7:00 pm, Nervous receives a phone call from the Beakers, who seem to miss him already and suggest a meeting Downtown. As the taxi pulls up in front of Lulu Lounge, another best friend of Nervous is with them: Abhijeet Cho, whom you will remember is in a relationship with the real Bella Goth (in fact, she is expecting his child).

Sarah Love appears on her own accord; she has recently graduated from La Fiesta Tech and moved to Strangetown. She seems to find Abhijeet very attractive! 

Loki and Nervous join for a duet at the karaoke machine. They sound awful, but they have a lot of fun. 

Monday has already slipped into Tuesday when Nervous wants to go to bed - and finds it entirely occupied by his two new housemates. Because of them having had a rough time before coming to him, he does not have the heart to shoo them, but patiently waits until Sarah wakes up and then quickly claims that half of the bed for himself.

On Tuesday, a rather unhappy Nervous has to tell Sarah and Danny off several times: for licking filthy puddles, for being on his bed instead of in the pet bed, for rolling in filth and even for destroying the furniture.

But at least both dogs gladly accpet a badly needed bath without escaping from the tub, and Nervous duly praises them for good behaviour. 

There is something strange going on with these dogs and pet food: In spite of there being not just two, but THREE bowls full of pet food, only Sarah eats from them, and only when she is close to starving. 

Danny has so far not touched any of the pet food. A message keeps popping up, saying "You need to take better care of your pets - Danny is starving", but what can I do? Unlike what I remember from previous households with pets, Nervous can not "call Danny to meal" by clicking on the pet bowl. Only when I have him make another batch of comfort soup and place a bowl on the floor does Danny finally go and save himself from starvation.

The next day, things go a little bit better; Nervous has more reason to praise than to scold. But Danny still won't eat, and Sarah's needs are all at a rather low level, too.

Just as Nervous is on the phone to Jessie Pilferson (she called)...

...Sarah gives birth to three puppies, two male and one female. Meet Alan, Abby and Andy!

On Thursday, the Beakers pay their former housemate a visit. While they can tell that he has made every effort to make his modest house a home for himself and his family of dogs, they are appalled at the state of the adult dogs, especially Danny. He desperately needs a bath, and food, and comfort, and sleep - but he is too daft to look after himself (his character is "Doofus"), and Nervous really hasn't had time yet to give him a bath, what with the constant refilling of pet bowls, mopping of puddles, praising or scolding.

Late Friday night, I find Danny close to the fence, staring out onto the street. Does he miss the free roaming life he had as a stray dog, before he came to live with Nervous? 

In any case, I seriously fear for his life, as he is close to starvation. Not even placing a full bowl right next to him makes him eat, and I finally resort to the cheat that allows to control a pet's action as if they were a Sim. I make Danny eat, and then settle for one of the pet beds to get some comfort and sleep.

By Saturday, Danny is so much better that Nervous decides it is time for the two parent dogs to try for puppies again. I do hope the new litter won't be born until next round - I doubt Nervous can cope with more dogs at the same time, let alone me!! 

Today, he gets some help in the shape of Aaron Riley, who happens to walk by, and since Nervous asks so nicely, the boy mops up all the puddles, cleans the bathtub and empties the bin. 

Every night, Nervous falls into his bed totally exhausted, and Saturday night was no exception. 

When he gets up on Sunday morning, this scene greets him: Danny has thrown over the bin and eats rubbish with Sarah looking on, one of the dog houses needs cleaning, there is a puddle of dog pee by the mailbox, and the puppies are up to who knows what (actually, they are quite well behaved). 

Before Nervous can take care of dog matters, he REALLY urgently needs the bathroom and something to eat. By the time he is more or less ready to face the music, the puppies have all grown up - phew! That's 3 down, 17 more to go... 

It is well after dark when finally Nervous says good-bye to Alan, Abby and Andy. He knows they are in good hands with the pet adoption service in the shape of the local police, and he also knows that there are more puppies on the way - Sarah is soon going to give birth to her next litter. 

Phew... I did NOT enjoy playing this week with Nervous and the dogs, except for the first day when I furnished and decorated the house a bit and added Danny and Sarah to the household.

Nervous really needs permanent help, but so far, he doesn't have any friend or romantic interest he could ask to move in.

Without me taking control of the pets with the cheat, I am quite sure that Danny would have died by his own fault entirely.