The Curious Family: Week 2

The 1st week with this family is here.

This is the first time I am playing in Strangetown since I have acquired the Legacy version of the game, and I am really looking forward to another crash-free session with a busy household: The Curious Family! 

Let's start with the youngest family member: Kitty Curious, named so after her late grandmother. She is the daughter of... 

...Vidcund, the middle one of the three Curious brothers. On top of being father of a toddler, he is also working at his lifetime want of becoming Celebrity Chef.

The oldest of the three brothers is Lazlo. He wants to become Strangetown's next City Planner (and the town can indeed do with some improvements), but that's not all he does; he also has a daughter...

...Zo, who is fast asleep when I enter the lot on this Saturday morning. She is named after her great-grandmother.

Last but not least, there is Lazlo, the youngest brother. He wishes to be a Media Magnate. 

Breakfast is a lively affair on this Saturday morning; two of the three brothers have to go to work, but nobody has to leave the house early, so they can eat their pancakes while comfortably chatting away. 

The Nanny arrives in spite of Pascal being home, but he's grateful for her services and studies skills for his career. He also loves to spend time with his daughter and rolls many wishes to play with her, talk to her and tell her jokes.

It is already dark by the time Lazlo returns from work; he has just been promoted to Fact Checker.

Vidcund follows a little later, also with a promotion: He is now Host at the restaurant where he's been working for a while. 

The brothers have over 9,000 Simoleons in the bank now and can afford to do something about their impractical house; last round, I added a bedroom/nursery and bathroom for Vidcund and Kitty, but the only downstairs bathroom makes it hard to manage three adults who work full time plus a girl that needs to be ready for the school bus at a set time, too. 

Zo and her Dad have breakfast together on Sunday morning, and Zo expresses her disappointment that it's the second day when the schoolbus won't come to get her. "Who needs weekends?" she complains in typical half-Alien-future-Knowledge-Sim-manner. 

Upstairs, Vidcund is teaching his little daughter to talk. How delighted he is when Kitty says "Da-dee" for the first time! 

The day passes by with everyone doing their share of household taks but also spending time together talking or playing. In the evening, Zo joins her Uncle Vidcund when he is having a late dinner after work, and they talk about college (already!!). "You know, neither me nor your Dad or your Uncle Lazlo could go... there was no college yet near Strangetown when we were young," he explains, "but it will be different for you and Kitty when you're old enough."

In spite of her wish to go to school even on the weekend, Zo can't help feeling happy when she wakes up on Monday and learns that it's Snow Day - the school bus won't come, and she can stay home and play with cousin Kitty.

Her Dad and her Uncle Lazlo return from work in the afternoon. Pascal has been promoted to Draftsman and now has the drafting table set up in his bedroom.

In the evening, Kitty happily grows up into a child - no more potty for her! 

The largest bedroom upstairs now is all hers, and decorated and furnished in her favourite colour. Her Dad's bed has been moved to the much smaller bedroom next to hers.

On Tuesday, everyone except Vidcund is out of the house for work or school by 8:00 am. He has all the skills he needs for his next promotion and instead gives the upstairs bathroom a good scrubbing before he rings a few friends to catch up.

He discovers that the fridge is completely empty (I don't think I have ever really seen the food level go down to zero!) and walks to No. 88 Road to Nowhere to stock up on groceries. He also hopes to meet a few neighbours, but only a handful of uninteresting townies appear, and so he heads straight back home. 

The girls are dropped off by the school bus at 3:00 pm, both wearing the same hairstyles (as I knew since Kitty's birthday, of course) and the same outdoor wear. That needs changing - it is too confusing, and before I send the girls to do their homework, I have Kitty change her hair to look more like Vidcund, her human father. 

Lazlo is promoted to Obituary Writer.

In spite of it being spring already, and the road looking perfectly good for driving to me, another Snow Day is announced for the girls on Wednesday. Kitty spends some time skipping rope on the sunny upstairs terrace. 

Zo is happy to have a late leisurely breakfast of leftover hamburgers with her Dad, who is the only one of the three brothers who has the day off. 

I then discover that I can send the girls to "walk to school" in spite of the Snow Day, and off they go - they both want to get A+ grades and won't achieve that hanging out at home, will they. 

Zo's efforts pay off when she does indeed return home a couple of hours later with her first A+ report!

Vidcund is promoted to Waiter...

...and Lazlo to Horoscope Writer.

On Thursday, Vidcund's shift at the restaurant starts only in the afternoon, and so he is home when Stella Terrano happens to walk by and is invited to join him for an omelette. 

The school bus and Lazlo's car pool both pull up in front of the house at 3:00 pm, and when Kitty proudly waves her first A+ report, her Uncle Laz is happy to cheer for her.

Kitty's Dad returns a couple of hours later with a promotion to Prep Cook...

...followed by Pascal who has been made Architectural Partner. 

Very strangely, I find Zo being enemies with her uncle Lazlo - but why, I have no idea! Her memories don't yield a clue, and at the same time she has a wish to be best friends forever with him.

Friday is the last day of the week with the Curious family. The most remarkable things to happen are Lazlo's promotion to Columnist...

...and Pascal's to Master Architect. He can't be far off from reaching his lifetime want now. 

It was fun to play the three brothers and their daughters, but I will never be a fan of the house. I wanted to spend what time I had on playing rather than altering the house, but I guess at some stage I'll do that - it is just too impractical with all those corners and angles, and just one bathroom on the ground floor is just not enough, even though it is easier now with the upstairs one that I have added. 

The girls are growing up fast; next time (which is a long time off) I'll play this household, Zo will already turn into a teenager, and her younger cousin isn't that far behind. 

The "boys" are focusing on their career and the girls and have little time for friendships outside the family, let alone romance.

The Curious Family - Week 1

Once upon a time in Strangetown, there was a young couple, Glam and Kitty Curious. They didn't have much, but all of a sudden, they had more than they had bargained for when they got married: After an unplanned visit aboard an Alien space ship, Glam gave birth to twin girls. Kitty was very upset - she had wanted a family with Glam, but with THEIR children, not ones that were only half her husband's and not at all hers.

The little girls, Lola and Chloe, grew up and Kitty got used to having green-skinned daughters, while still hankering after having children the human way with her husband.

Her wish was more than fulfilled when the Curious family grew: First, Jenny was born, then Vidcund (the little blond boy), followed by Pascal. Another child was soon on the way, making the total number of kids half a dozen.

It was a busy and lively family, but we don't know where the first two girls went. Did Glam and Kitty give them to foster parents, or were they simply not home that much by the time they were teenagers and their younger siblings were of school age? In this Maxis-made picture, you can see Kitty serving a meal, while Jenny - now a pretty teenager - is on the phone, Vidcund and Pascal are playing chess and little Lazlo is busy at the computer.

The next (and last Maxis-made) picture shows Vidcund, now an adult, with Circe - they are very obviously flirting, and indeed, when I open the lot and check Vidcund's relationships, he has a pink heart for Circe. As we all know, she married Loki Beaker. 

Here we are at Nr. 2 Cover Up Way, home of the adult Curious brothers. Their sister Jenny (sorry - I may have gotten things wrong here; is she Jenny or Jennifer?) married an Alien who chose the surname Smith. They and their children live elsewhere in Strangetown, as do the two half-sisters Lola and Chloe. 

The household biography reads: "In search of truth and mystery, the Curious brothers got more than they were "expecting." Can Pascal, Lazlo, and Vidcund cope with their new roles as cosmic parents?" 

The house's layout is a little weird and really impractical - but it fits the brothers, since they are a little weird, too. For now, I shall make only minor changes, with a big make-over probably necessary in the near future. The bottom right corner has a small chess room. Clockwise, a plant room foloows, then three bedrooms and an open-plan kitchen/living area with three desks and two TV sets. In the middle of the house is a shower room with a toilet. Stairs lead to the upper level inside and outside.

From left to right, here are Lazlo, Pascal and Vidcund. Vidcund is the oldest, Lazlo the youngest. All three are Knowledge Sims and hold various jobs, but they will all need to change careers for their lifetime wants: Lazlo dreams of being Media Magnate, Pascal wants to be a City Planner, and Vidcund fancies himself as a future Celebrity Chef. 

Their Maxis bios read as follows:

• "Serious and exact, Vidcund strives to fit the universe into a nice tidy package. He has an unnatural fondness for African violets."
• "No matter what happens, Pascal believes there is a logical explanation for everything. In his free time, he practices home psychoanalysis and collects conspiracy theories."
• "Not as studious as his older brothers, Lazlo got his degree in Phrenology. He likes to call phone psychics and spends hours trying to bend forks with his mind."

That same night, Vidcund is invited on board the Alien space ship. It is early Saturday morning when he returns, welcomed home by his brothers.

We all know that Pascal is Alien-pregnant when the game starts. At 18 minutes past six on this Saturday morning, his daughter Zo is born, named so after the brothers' paternal grandmother. (Maybe you remember that in New Maximiliania, I mostly chose baby names beginning with the same letter as their surname. This time, I have decided to look up the family trees and pick my names from there.)

Lazlo is over the moon - he has a new little niece! (He already has a nephew and niece, Jennifer's children.)

Nervous Subject comes by on his own initiative and climbs the stairs to the first upper level of the house. Before anyone can greet him, he is gone again.

Lazlo and Pascal have only one thing on their minds! 

Lazlo has just been having a nap when he spots a blond lady walking by. It's not Crystal Vu, the townie he has a crush on, but Erin Singles, and he greets her.

Pascal seems to find her interesting, too - but none of the brothers have more than one bolt for Erin, and so I suppose they will become "just friends".

On Sunday morning, I have Pascal make use of the hydro plant shelf to gain some creativity. He has not yet found a job in the architecture career, but it is a skill he will need eventually.

Vidcund discovers that he did not leave the Alien space ship without a souvenir.

Funnily enough, while his brothers usually eat at the kitchen bar (and there is enough room for three), he seems to prefer the patio.

On Monday, the brothers have part of the roof built up to make room for their growing family. For now, the only furnished part is a bathroom, but there are two bedrooms meant for (probably) Vidcund and his offspring, while Pascal will remain downstairs, and little Zo can have Vidcund's former bedroom as her nursery. For the moment, I have left the downstairs layout as it is.

Pascal and Vidcund are up early - Vidcund because he is terribly hungry all the time, and Pascal because he has found a job as a cement mixer and will be picked up for the ride to the building site at 7:00.

Here he is, leaving Zo in the care of her uncle Vidcund.

He returns only a few hours later - a good decision with a chance card has resulted in a promotion to Bricklayer, and the rest of the day off.

Lazlo returns from his job as Yearbook Club Supervisor just as Nervous Subject arrives for a visit. He was invited over by Pascal as per his wish.

For a change, Lazlo eats outdoors with Vidcund, who will just not sit at the kitchen bar. The brothers have plenty of experience with Aliens, but have never seen a ghost. 

Early on Tuesday morning, Zo grows up into a toddler.

At a quarter past 9:00 that same morning, with both his brothers out for work, Vidcund gives birth to a little girl. 

Kitty (named after her grandmother) shares the larger of the two new upstairs bedrooms with her human Dad. Eventually, she will move to her own room. 

Although Vidcund should be on paternity leave for an additonal three days, he is called to work right away - he, too, has now found a job in his dream career and starts as a dish washer. A nanny is called to look after the little ones. 

Lazlo and Pascal return from work at the same time, both with promotions: Lazlo is now a blog writer (I should leave blogging about his family to him!), while Pascal has been made Foreman. 

By Wednesday, the house and grounds are a mess. The brothers all have the day off today, and so it is decided that Lazlo does the gardening while Vidcund and Pascal mainly look after the little ones and do some household chores. 

It is her Uncle Lazlo who finally teaches Zo her first steps on Thursday morning.

Vidcund is the last of the three brothers to go to work today and is still home when their older sister Jenny Smith comes visiting on her own accord. She wants to see her nieces, of course, and looks a little put out because she has not yet been invited over.

Without further ado, she marches upstairs and makes herself acquainted with baby Kitty, musing: "If only our mother was still around... I am sure she'd love little Kitty, half-Alien or not."

Pascal returns from work with a promotion to Head of Construction Company. There are two hours left to his working day, and so he heads straight back to the office.

Meanwhile, Vidcund and Jenny bond over the joy of having a new family member.

Then, just as Vidcund has also left for work, a townie by the name of Blake Cho walks by. Unfortunately, there is nobdoy here to greet him - Jenny or the Nanny are not playable, and Zo and Kitty are too young. Hopefully, Blake will appear again, so that he can be befriended and eventually move to Strangetown.

Pascal's double shift pays off: He is returns from work for the second time today and is now an Architect's Apprentice, well on the way to his lifetime want.

It's obviously Promotion Day for the Curious brothers - Lazlo is now an Internet Movie Critic.

And Vidcund has just been promoted to Fast Food Shift Manager. (Doesn't he look tons better with his hair tucked under the cap?) Well done, all three of them! 

Meanwhile, Auntie Jenny has been giving Zo a bath - not strictly necessary, but maybe she does not trust the nanny to do her job as thoroughly as a family member. 

On Friday, after I don't know how many attempts from all three brothers, finally her uncle Lazlo manages to help baby Kitty grow up to a toddler.

And the same evening, Zo's toddler time ends and she grows into a school girl.

The room next to her Dad's is now hers, and she feels right at home in it.

This was quite a week for the Curious brothers! They only had two Alien babies between them, but many promotions. Friendships were not developed quite as much as I would have liked, but their careers and looking after the little ones were more important. 

It was nice that their big sister Jenny came over on her own accord. 

The house still leaves a lot to be desired, but it'll do for now - it will take a long time before we're back here anyway.