Olive Specter - Week 1

Of course we have become acquainted with Olive already a while ago, when it was the turn of Ophelia Nigmos to be played. Before leaving for college, Ophelia lived with her aunt Olive, and you can read the background history here.

Ophelia is still at college, having just started her Senior Year. So what's Olive up to, now that she lives all alone in the large house?

It is Thursday afternoon when I enter the lot; of course time stopped here when Ophelia left for college, and i have not been back since.

Olive is now 64, and by the looks of her lifetime bar, she doesn't have much left, certainly not enough to achieve her lifetime want of maxing out all seven skills. 

Of the 70 skill points to be filled, she has only 21 so far. 

The household biography for Olive and Ophelia, which I forgot to post in the first chapter about the two ladies, reads: "Who is buried in Olive Specter's garden? Will the mysterious, aging outcast leave her fortune to her niece Ophelia, or, as rumored, to an unnamed heir?" 

One of Olive's current wishes is to play with her niece Ophelia and tell her an inside joke, and so she invites her over. It doesn't take long for the young woman to appear, since La Fiesta Tech's campus is part of Strangetown. Nervous Subject, Olive's son and technically Ophelia's cousin, has also been invited over. 

Much to my surprise, Ophelia seems to be finding him rather attractive! 

But... it doesn't matter who finds whom attractive, because Olive has barely time to greet her son and niece when a third guest appears. This one wasn't invited, although Olive knows him very well! 

At least she doesn't have to leave this world all alone - the two people closest to her are with her, and here is where this chapter ends - probably one of the shortest I have ever written on this blog!! 

Ophelia inherits a mere 880 Simoleons from her aunt, while 9,700 go to Nervous. 

What's going to happen with the house now? Will Ophelia or Nervous be able to buy it and move in, or maybe it'll have to be a joint venture since neither of them will have enough money to pay for the house on their own? Well, Ophelia has to finish college first anyway, but we'll check in with Nervous soon enough.

Next on the list, though, is Jane Stacks.

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.

Matthew Smith: Week 1

As I said, there are many Smiths in my game, and we're at 202 Welsh Lane in Riverblossom Hills for the next one on the list:

Matthew Smith, former NPC Garden Club Member, who was moved in here by Cleo Shikibu. 

The two of them fell in love with each other autonomously, which facilitated the move. While Cleo is making good progress on her lifetime want to become Criminal Mastermind, Matthew's goal is to max out all seven skills - which is quite the challnge, since he had to start at zero. Here they are on this Monday morning, just getting up.

Patricia Wan is still here, too. Her lifetime want is also career-oriented; she dreams of being a Media Magnate. Her love interest is Gabe O'Mackey, but he lives at his own place with his teenage daughter Jules. 

After the ladies have gone to work, Matthew takes care of the fruit trees. He's in his element there; after all, the Garden Club is where he started out, and the Gold Badge for Gardening was his big achievement. 

Patricia has yet again taken the wrong decision with a chance card and is demoted to Blog Writer. 

Cleo has been lucky - her chance card resulted in a promotion to Getaway Driver. I believe she would have been promoted today anyway, as she had the necessary skills, was in a good mood and arrived at work on time. 

For Matthew, the rest of the day goes by acquiring mechanical skill points. I like this picture of him; he looks so content and at home with himself and in this new chapter of his life, doesn't he! 

On Tuesday, Cleo is demoted to Con Artist (of course a chance card was to blame) but is reinstated as a Getaway Driver later the same day. 

For most Sims, unclogging a toilet or repairing a broken shower is a chore best left to the professionals, but for Matthew, it is a means to gain more mechanical skill. 

The original armchairs which I disliked (besides, they took up two squares but only one Sim could sit on them) have been replaced, same as the rug that went up in flames during the first week at this house. 

Patricia does not only come back from work with a promotion (she is now an Internet Movie Critic) but also with colleague Stella Roth.

On Thursday, it is Cleo's bedroom that is made a bit nicer. The basic colour code here seems to have been meant to be red and cream, and so the non-matching original dark green wall paint is gone; the cream walls look calmer and make the room brighter. 

Also, there were no bedside tables and just one ceiling lamp here - in real life, I don't like ceiling lights but much prefer table and floor lamps, and in a bedroom there should be bedside tables with lamps on them, shouldn' there. 

In other news, Cleo is promoted to Bank Robber and Patricia to Fact Checker. Now Cleo needs three body points - good job it's autumn! 

Cleo sets to work on her body skill on Thursday morning. 

Matthew's cooking has now improved so much that he can produce delicious omelettes for breakfast.

It's once again Promotion Day for the ladies: Patricia (who is accompanied by Stella Roth) is a Fact Checker... 

...while, according to the chance card outcome, Cleo has promoted herself to Cat Burglar. 

On Friday, Matthew and Cleo engage in a session of studying - Cleo's next promotion requires more skills, and Matthew practically lives for skilling anyway. It being autumn helps, and not long after this picture was taken, Cooking is the first skill he maxes out.

With the first snowflakes softly falling outside, he enjoys sitting near the fire. 

Patricia is promoted to Horoscope Writer. 

Late evening, Matthew and Patricia (Cleo has to work) visit Amelia's Closet for some winter outfits.

Patricia has been wanting to throw a party for a couple of days now, and since she has the weekend off, she invites five of her closest friends over, including Gabe O'Mackey. 

She has not rolled any wishes about him all week, but now that he's here, it seems the two of them are as much an item as ever.

Matthew's sizzling hot grilled ribs...

...and his equally hot jazz performance on the piano contribute to the party so that it ends a roof raiser, fullfilling a big wish for Patricia. Unfortunately, Cleo was once again out for work all night.

Sunday is here, and it is time for Matthew to tackle the body skill - yesterday's ribs have made him feel decidedly unfit, and he wants to change that. Working out with the exercise program on TV is an option, although he finds it hard going at first, and his push-ups don't look very professional yet.

Cleo returns from work with a promotion to Counterfeiter. 

When she's had a few hours of sleep, she suggest they go jogging. Matthew is all for it, in spite of the cold, and carefully follows Cleo's tips for stretching before they set off.

The week ends well for everybody: 

Both ladies have been diligently working on their careers and were rewarded with several promotions, and there has also been time to talk to friends on the phone (for Cleo) or at her party (for Patricia). 

Matthew was super focused on skilling and dedicated nearly every waking moment to studying or doing other tasks to improve on skill or other. ut of the 70 points for maxing out all seven skills, he has managed 39 - not bad, and if he keeps up this high level of dedication, he'll see his lifetime want come true. 

Again, this is not yet the end of my list of Smiths - but who's next?