Can you believe that it is four and a half years in real life since I last played this household? If, like me, you want to refresh your memory of what went on in Week 1, simply click on the label "TS4 - Da Silva" and scroll down to the first post.
Andre Da Silva still lives in the house given to him by EA:
What has changed during his first week is that he found a friend who moved in with him, Giuliana Riley. She was a townie, but of course with that surname she simply had to become playable! There is a big age difference between the two friends, and no romantic interest on either side.
Andre's aspiration is all about computers, and he spends a lot of time programming. On this Monday, the computer needs repairing. Aspiring Computer Whiz Andre would never let anyone else do the job!
Emma Boswer has been visiting every day last week. It looks like she is keeping up the tradition this week, too!
Tuesday morning sees Giuliana having a lone breakfast while Andre is still asleep. Just like last week, they take turns using the bed; when the bed is occupied by one of them and the other one gets too tired, they autonomously nap on the settee or even the bench near the road.
When Andre is up, he gets buzzed by Giuliana - she needs it for her aspiration of becoming Chief of Mischief. He laughs; as they are friends, she can be nearly as mischievious with him as she wants, and he'll just take it in his stride.
Emma asks to come over. She and Andre become best friends - and I only just now realise she is a teen, which explains the lack of romantic feelings between the two of them. I honestly would not have thought her so young.
Finally, Andre is focused enough to achieve his next milestone: play a video game for two hours straight. Look at the screen :-)
(In case you can't make it out: It is from the first Sims game, two Sims sharing a heart-shaped hot tub.)
Wednesday morning, it is Giuliana's turn at the computer. She trolls the forums for a while. Then I send her out to harvest flowers and go fishing. She also picks some flowers, harvests a shrub of sage and digs up a ruby...
...and a time capsule - my first! I wonder what*s in it.
It's a figurine from "My Sims", and it can make Sims playful when they are near it.
Later that day, Giuliana reaches another milestone - she has trolled the forums enough times for a while.
On Thursday, Andre returns from work with his first promotion.
After dark, Bob O'Malley comes visiting. He is one of two romantic interests in Giuliana's relationship panel, the other one is Mr. Kim, another playable Sim, and elderly like Giuliana.
By Friday morning, Giuliana has found a second time capsule. It contains another My Sims figurine. And what's this next to the two figurines?
A potion of youth! She bought it with aspiration points. Drinking it makes her lifetime bar go back to the start of elderhood. (I did this because the game informed me that it was almost "her time", and I was advised to make the most of her remaining days. It seemed I've hardly had enough time to get to know her, and so I decided to have her drink the potion.)
On Saturday, Bob O'Malley rings and asks Giuliana for a date, and they meet at Salty Paws Bar. It is my first visit to this lot.
Outside, Giuliana meets and greets a group of cats.
In the bar, the mixologist impresses the crowd with his tricks. Bob and Giuliana have a mint-flavoured cocktail. There are several playables at the bar, and a handful of townies.
This is the first time I see seagulls in the game! Giuliana can chase or scare them. They fly off, and she gains some fun. Notice the luminescent socks/boots on the dog walking in the backrground!
Back home, Andre has been having a lone dinner, consisting of a bowl of salad, and works at his side job of programming an app.
Sunday seems to be visiting day at the Da Silva house. First, Vernon Fenton knocks and is invited in...
...followed by these two ladies whose names I'm afraid escape me at the moment. Needless to say, Emma Bowser has invited herself again, too.
The week ends for Andre and Giuliana with a few milestones under their belts, old friendships strengthened and new ones started. Money-wise, they are now just above 20,000 Simoleons; maybe enough to move to a bigger place next round, where they do not need to arrange their sleeping times in shifts.
Next on the alphabetical list of 14 household names in TS4 is Da Silva. This is the house:
When we arrive at the lot, it is dark, though. We meet the only member of this household outside: Andre Da Silva. Like the majority of Sims we have met so far, he is a Young Adult. And just like Travis Scott from the BBF household, Andre's aspiration is that of a Computer Whiz. He has one friend already: Emma Bowser.
The small house is fully furnished, but not expensively so. Look at that tiny telly! No wonder Andre has to sit so near. It is one of his wishes to watch the Kids Network on TV (typical for a Sim who is childish, according to Andre's description), and so I have him watch it for a while.
Later that Monday, Emma Bowser drops in for a visit.
It is already Tuesday, and Andre has not gone to bed yet. He wanted to hack something and create a plug-in, and so he does that.
All this makes for him getting up really late that day - it is nearly lunch time when he gets out of bed.
And just in time to meet and greet a townie by the name of Giuliana Riley! Now you alreaday know from my TS2 stories that I have a soft spot for the Riley family in that game, what with us having the same surname, and of course I can not let this Riley-Sim pass by without getting to know her better.
Giuliana and Emma talk like old friends (although it is the first time they have met), with Andre listening from his computer chair and joining in the conversation every now and then.
He loves playing The Sims! Can you see what is going on in his game right now? A house fire.
And sure enough, although it is of course just a coincidence, on Wednesday morning, my playing this household could have all been over already when Andre sets the kitchen stove (and himself) on fire while making breakfast. I did not want to have a firey death so soon into my TS4 experience and therefore had Andre extinguish himself.
Thankfully, all he needs after the flames have died down is a shower.
He is still very hungry, though, and so he resorts to a quick meal in the shape of a bowl of yoghurt.
As mentioned before, Andre is a childish Sim. This means that he likes being around children (in a totally innocent way!), and so I have him run out and greet Olivia Spencer-Kim-Lewis and Alexander Goth when they walk past his house across the road. We will meet them both again further on this round, as they are part of the 14 Maxis-made households.
Emma Bowser comes visiting yet again. She really seems to like Andre very much, but so far, neither of the two has shown any romantic inclination towards the other.
On Thursday, Andre reaches a milestone after 5 hours of programming and 5 hours of playing at his computer.
On his own initiative, he cleans the kitchen counter after having prepared and eaten a meal.
He then invites Giuliana Riley over, and after a pleasant conversation, he asks her to move in.
Giuliana has the Mischief aspiration just like Nina Caliente. She is 59 years old and adds 20.000 Simoleons to the household account - meaning that Andre won't have to look for a job anytime soon.
Friday is as good as event-free at the Da Silva-Riley household. With Giuliana's contribution, the two of them are able to purchase a stereo (both showed the wish to dance to stereo music) and replace the tiny telly with a big one.
The first night after Giuliana's arrival, they have no problem sharing the only bed in the house (in all chastity, I may add). But maybe Andre snored or something, because afterwards, Giuliana refuses to get into bed when Andre is already there. She has no choice but to sleep on the settee.
It is Saturday afternoon when Andre meets and greets Katrina Caliente and another lady we will meet further on: Vivian Lewis. She is, I believe, Olivia Spencer-Kim-Lewis' grandmother (Olivia was the little girl Andre met earlier this week).
And of course Emma Bowser is back again!
For the first time since she moved in, Giuliana wants to cook a meal. She is not very successful!
Good job Andre is near and already has some experience with operating the fire extinguisher!
On Sunday morning, it is Andre I find kipping out on the settee. Gentleman-like, he has relinquished his bed to Giuliana.
He prepares green asparagus for breakfast - one of my favourites!
It wouldn't be a proper day without Emma Bowser popping in, would it?
Giuliana meets Cassandra Goth. The rest of Sunday goes by with nothing particular; they watch telly, dance to music from the stereo, chat and talk to some of their friends on the phone.
Are Giuliana and Andre going to move to a place better suited to their living arrangement? Will Andre complete another milestone soon, and is Emma going to keep up her daily visits? Is Giuliana going to find more than a friend?
