Guy Wrightley - Junior Year

The previous year at the fraternity house is here.

Just like with the previous and the next household, we're going to spend time at Strangetown's La Fiesta Tech, this being the next-to-last house before my first round in the new setup (not so new anymore, actually!) is over. 

The Oresha-Hoh-Var fraternity was, according to Maxis, founded by Guy Wrightley's great-grandfather decades ago. And it is Guy who we're here for. 

He is of course the young man on the left, and his Junior Year has just begun. 

His frat brothers Mickey Dosser (centre) and Matthew Hart (right) are Sophomores, but while Matthew has also just begun the year, Mickey has already finished the first semester. Together, the boys have close to 6,900 Simoleons. 

Guy "is a great student, a good friend, and generally successful at all his endeavors. Can anything knock him off his even keel?" His aspiration is Popularity, and he wants nothing more than having 20 best friends. Because I have not been focusing on him so far, he only has two so far, with a third (Mickey) in the making; he and Matthew are not even friends yet. 

As usual, skills need to be gained for the new semester, but before Guy can be expected to do anything else, he needs to eat. Funnily enough, he has made it through his first two years at uni without acquiring a single cooking point, and therefore sandwiches is all he can do. 

Buck Grunt has been walking by earlier and was greeted by Mickey while Guy was at class; he seems to be more intent on doing research than on eating with his host - the food at his dorm must be better :-) 

This explains why Guy has not deemed it necessary to learn to cook - he can always get free pizza from campus. (But I do wonder why it wasn't required for his Freshman and Sophomore years.) 

Mickey Dosser becomes his best friend today; that's 3 down, 17 more to go. 

River Smith is asked to pledge for fraternity membership as per Guy's wish, and of course as soon as he becomes a Pledge is ordered to clean. 

Meanwhile, Mickey makes Blossom Moonbeam his lover, the first of 20. 

After class, Guy can't help noticing the sorry state of the cacti around the house and gets rid of the dead plants on his own accord. Good job his great-grandfather is long gone - he would NOT have been proud of his great-grandson letting standards slip at the fraternity house.

Tiffany Riley becomes Mickey's lover #2 before the day is over.

Winter is here, and although it has only snowed once so far and that has not lasted, it is cold enough for Guy to light the fire in the dining room. 

All three "brothers" have their end-of-term exam at the same time, and for Mickey, it is the end-of-year exam; he is now in his first Junior term, while Matthew is in is 2nd Sophomore term and Guy in his 2nd Junior term. Unlike the other two, Guy came back with an A-. Their grants combine to a healthy 8,625 Simoleons; time to upgrade their beds, I think. 

This is Guy's new bed, out of the "Castle Collection", which I only recently added to my game thanks to Twoyys4me :-) (Sorry - when I took the picture I didn't notice the mantle sticking out like that!)

Matthew is the only one here who can make Comfort Soup, and tonight Guy and Mickey benefit from it, eating in the cosy dining room, while Matthew stupidly insists on eating outdoors.

There is finally enough snow for a snowman. Mickey builds it, and Guy adds the finishing touches.

<Snapshot>

On an evening like this, the lit up windows of the Cacti Café look especially inviting, and the three frat brothers walk over there for some socialising. 

Guy buys Matthew a coffee, and the two are finally friends. Zoe Zimmerman and another playable student, Shenene Kim, are also here.

Of course Mickey takes every chance he gets to meet new ladies - all potential candidate for his list of 20 lovers. Here he is having a flirty snowball fight with Shenene. 

Guy prefers having coffee by the fire, while a study group gathers to do some research together. 

Unfortunately, Mickey falls victim to the Unsavoury Charlatan. After this, the boys head home. 

In the first half of his Junior Year, Guy got good grades in spite of never writing any assignments, let along his Term Paper. He just worked on the required skills and made sure not to miss class. This term things are different; his grades won't go up to a satisfying level, not even after one or two assignments. Therefore, I finally have him knuckle down and write the Term Paper. 

(This was an experiement; usually, I have every student write their papers and only then they can do as they please.) 

Mickey makes Professor Frances Platz his 3rd lover, while Guy has just made his fourth best friend in Jasmine Rai.

And all of a sudden, the last day of term is here - Exam Day for all three! Mickey and Guy have managed to get an A+ each, while Matthew got a B+. 

Next time I'll play here will be for D as in Dosser, Mickey. At least one new fraternity member should move in then, but will it be Francis J. Worthington III, or someone else?

Just one more household left to play - Zoe Zimmerman -, and the first round will be over!!

River Smith - Junior Year

As I said, the Smith family is rather extensive in my game, and now it is River Smith's turn to be played. 

He was a Townie teen in Strangetown before I sent him to La Fiesta Tech because of his "playable" surname. A typical Family Sim, River already dreams of celebrating his Golden Anniversary, no matter that he is still a young adult - and he also knows who with: DJ Verse is the lady who has captured his heart early on (and without my doing).

He currently resides here at the Oasis Dormitory, along with three other playable students: Ophelia Nigmos, Johnny Smith (we pretend he is a distant cousin) and Christopher Hart, another former NPC. 

Because River has not rolled the wish for a specific major, the college administration has decided to put him in Philosophy. 

On the first day of his Junior Year, he and Ophelia return from class at the same time and enjoy the dorm cook's pancakes. 

He already has all the skills required for this semester, and so he can get started on his Term Paper right away. 

The others still have some studying to do; apart from Johnny, who is only a Sophomore, they are Juniors like River.

The next day, River gets up and wonders whether he should think about new clothes, since spring has begun and he has been walking around in the same old things all winter. Going to a clothes shop might be a good idea to see some other students, too.

No year at college is complete without at least one fight between the rival mascots! 

River loves the chess board and actually wants not only to max his logic skill but also his games enthusiasm - unusual for a Family Sim, isn't it? He is joined at the board by Christopher, and the two agree that the friends they are making here at uni are most likely going to be friends for life. 

Later, I catch Christopher daydreaming about his first (and still current) love interest Tiffany Riley. Remember how, when I last played here, I was so hoping for Johnny and Ophelia to rekindle their teenage love, but Ophelia was more interested in Christopher? Well, I wonder what she'd say if she saw his thought bubble!

Exam day is here, and all four friends get good (if not best) grades. The fifth student is just someone walking by; there is another one living at the dorm, but he is rarely seen and never talked to. 

River and Christopher share a table in the cafeteria for their post-exam meal of Mac & Cheese. River doesn't say anything, but he is not impressed by his dorm mate's table manners.

As before, he already has all the skills he needs for this semester and is therefore able to write his Term Paper right away.

Every day, River rolls the wish to call his girlfriend DJ Verse to chat, and every day, that wish is granted.

Speaking of chatting, Johnny and Ophelia do that a lot, too. 

Sometimes River wants more than just talk, and today he invites DJ over. He shows her how much he missed her the moment she rings the doorbell.

Later, he has some me-time and reads in his room.

Ophelia stands in the open door to the men's bathroom and watches Johnny having a shower... Does she still have feelings for him, after all? 

After having spent quite a lot of his free time at the chess board, River maxes out his logic skill. 

He invitex DJ over again, and the two share some very romantic moments, culminating in a wish to woohoo, but there isn't a double bed at the dorm, and our poor Sims depend on it if they want to satisfy this want :-) (and if there are no hot tubs, saunas, photo booths, cars or walk-in wardrobes available!)

Christopher's exam is an hour before the others have to sit theirs, and when he returns, the smile on his face says it all. "Here I come, Senior Year!"

Johnny, Ophelia and River have finished the year with best grades, too. For Johnny, is means the start of his Junior Year, while Ophelia and River are now Seniors. 

This was a quiet year at uni. Not much going on in terms of visitors, let alone trips to community lots. No surprises on the romantic front, either. But River was easy to keep happy as long as he was regularly in touch with DJ and got to spend time at the chess board, and I expect him to have a good Senior Year, too, after which he'll finally move to Strangetown and probably join DJ. 

And finally, we have reached the end of the Smiths on my alphabetical list! But we'll be staying in Strangetown for the next household.

Johnny Smith - Freshman Year

Johnny's first playable day with his family in Strangetown is here; Ophelia's Freshman Year is here.

It is 5:00 am at Oasis Dormitory, part of La Fiesta Tech's campus, when Johnny Smith arrives here. He has of course chosen this Dorm because his best friend and teenage love Ophelia Nigmos has a room here; she is one year ahead of him. 

This is the place where Johnny will live during his Freshman Year. Funnily enough, the first wish he rolls upon arriving is to move out! But I will let him stay here at least for a while.

Ophelia is happy to see her childhood friend; she has been showing a wish for him to go to college as well. 

Unfortunately, during the last time I've played here, Ophelia and one of her dorm mates autonomously developed a crush on each other. Maybe things will turn around, now that Johnny is here; Christopher Hart is actually in love with Tiffany Riley from the Tri-Fruhm Sorority anyway. 

Here is Christopher, who is a Sophomore like Ophelia. This semester, he is the first of the group to complete his Term Paper, and he looks suitably proud of it.

River Smith, who is a Sophomore like Ophelia and Christopher, must be a distant relative of Johnny's. They don't know each other yet, but immediately on his arrival, River wishes to be friends with him. He is in love with DJ Verse and wants to get engaged to her. 

After he has claimed his room, one of the first things Johnny does is to ring his loved ones back home to tell them all is well. By the way, he is a Popularity Sim who wants to have 20 best friends; he started out with three, but the phone call to his little sister Jill makes her his fourth best friend. 

Oh no! Resident Campus Coach Curtis Love appears. Johnny is safe, as he has just left for his first class. But Christopher Hart is ordered to work out, and does so until his hygiene bar is deep orange and he finally has a shower. 

Back from class, Johnny sits down for some skilling. He knows that the earlier he finishes these tasks and writes his Term Paper, the sooner he can do as he pleases.

And before his first day at college is over, he can press the "send" button for his Term Paper! 

Speaking of Term Papers, a strange phenomenon occurs with Ophelia: She has not yet written hers this semester, but when I click on the computer and choose the "college" option, all that is available to her is to change major, which she won't do. I have her do an assignment instead, hoping that this will be enough for her to pass this semester, or the option will reappear on the computer. 

The next morning, instead of Ophelia and Johnny rekindling their old flame, a different kind of fire breaks out when the dorm cook manages to burn breakfast. The sprinkler quickly puts the flames out, but now everyone badly needs a shower, and the cafeteria wants cleaning up. 

Later, I have Johnny dance with Ophelia, but nothing comes of it.

My hopes are up when later I catch Christopher talking to Ophelia, and she clearly rejecting the conversation.

But my hopes are seriously dashed when, moments later, she playfully pinches his bottom, and as they engage in an energetic dance, red hearts appear over their heads. 

What about Tiffany! I shout at Christopher, and what about Johnny!! at Ophelia, but they don't hear me.

The next morning, I find Christopher and River playing punch you punch me, and I notice that they wear the same PJs (not that this is of any relevance!). 

The Cow Mascot seems to wonder about Johnny, while Ophelia is thinking of getting engaged... she has not yet rolled the wish, but I'm afraid Christopher Hart is the more likely candidate right now. 

River makes an attempt at getting to know Johnny better over a game of chess.

The first half of Johnny's Freshman year is over! 

Like Ophelia, River and Christopher (who finished a little earlier than the others), he has passed his exams with best grades, and each of the four receive the full grant of 1,200 Simoleons. Dorm improvements, anyone? I decide on better bathroom equipment, which will reduce the time needed for showers, and increase comfort every time a student uses the toilet. 

Of course, everyone is very busy at the start of their second semester. Skilling and Term Paper writing are in order, and classes need to be attended. 

The two distant cousins River and Johnny are now friends, and engage in a game of catch when they return from class late in the evening. 

Christopher has rolled the want to give his first girlfriend Tiffany a backrub, and so he invites her over. The backrub is duly given, with Ophelia in sight, and I expect a slap fest to break out any moment, but all that happens is that Christopher goes to bed - he is very tired after a day of studying and writing.

Ophelia and Johnny have breakfast together the next morning, and she congratulates him on having five best friends.

Actually, her count was wrong - there were six best friends, and "cousin" River becomes # 7 a bit later that day. 

The next day, I catch Ophelia and Johnny talking in the cafeteria. And it very much looks like he is telling her that they will be best friends for life, no matter what (but probably not more). 

Aaaw... I was really, really hoping these two would continue where they left off as teens! 

Instead, Johnny has a wish to see the adult Jill, and invites her over. Oh dear... isn't she something like a distant auntie? Obviously not!! 

And so Johnny helps Jill to take one step further to reach her lifetime want. Thank you, Johnny!! (NOT!) 

And here it is, the final moment of Johnny's Freshman year - or, actually, the fist moment in his life as a Sophomore. 

Christopher, River and Ophelia are now Juniors. 

Phew! This was a difficult year. Not that it was particularly challenging to keep track of four playable students, making sure they did what was necessary to pass their exams and fulfill some of their wishes. But I really struggled with the idea of Johnny giving up on Ophelia, but had to see sense eventually - not once did he roll any wants about her, while she kept rolling wishes to play with him and tell jokes, but nothing romantic. (Maybe I should have granted him his first wish upon arrival, when he wanted to move out straight away!)

What Christopher really wants - Tiffany or Ophelia or someone else entirely - remains to be seen. The only one who seems to be absolutely sure about having found The One is River, who will at some stage get engaged to DJ Verse. We're still not done with the Smith surname in my game! But who's next?