The Summerdreams: Week 1

A change of scene for this week - welcome back to Veronaville! This time, the address is 71 Bard Boulevard, the mansion-like house of the Summerdream family.

From the back, it looks very much like a theatre. The outdoors area has different levels, with a jaccuzzi taking centre stage, plus various lounge chairs, a bar and buffet table and other things. It looks like some sort of party is going on; it is Tuesday evening 9:00 pm when I enter the lot. 

The family plus guests are all out there, with Titania standing on the "stage" (and obviously thinking about either having been cheated on or herself cheating on her lover). The line-up in front of the jaccuzzi is, left to right: Puck Summerdream, Hermia Capp, Oberon Summerdream, Romeo Monty and Bottom Summerdream. 

According to Maxis, "The Summerdreams' kindly nature and zest for life have cast a romantic spell over Veronaville's youth. But will there be any magic left for Puck?" Before starting to play, let's check out the history Maxis have provided us with.

Here, Oberon and Titania are seen as childhood sweethearts. They are cute together, aren't they! 

About them as adults, Maxis says: "Trying to master the art of home video editing, Oberon has been neglecting his lovely long-time companion Titania. Is it too late for him to recapture their love?" And: "Though devoted to her adopted children Puck and Bottom, Titania is feeling restless. Can she again find the peace, love, and happiness she used to share with Oberon or will she look for attention elsewhere?" 

Oberon is a Knowledge Sim and wants to become Chief of Staff, while Titania has the typical Family Sim lifetime want of having six grandchildren. 

A couple of unknown Sims are giving their red-haired toddler up for adoption. Puck's biological parents do not show in either his memories or his family tree; he feels as much Titania and Oberon's son as they feel his parents. 

Here is Puck again, now a teenager, sharing the jaccuzzi with the friendly sisters Hermia and Juliet Capp and friend Romeo Monty. He "has been blessed with two loving parents—and a bratty kid sister—but sometimes he still finds himself lonely. Can he find a companion in Hermia?" As his aspiration is Popularity, it does not come as a surprise that Puck wants nothing more than to have 20 best friends.

Oberon hugs the youngest member of the family, Bottom. She, too, was adopted, and "sometimes gets herself into trouble attempting to get attention from her parents and big brother. Will she grow up to be more respectful and responsible?" 

By rights, Bottom should not yet have a lifetime want, but strangely enough, she already dreams of becoming General Summerdream one day (sounds rather nice, doesn't it). She has no aspiration yet, and I wonder whether her lifetime want will change once she grows to a teenager and has an aspiration. 

Oberon and Titania do not have any biological children and are not (yet) married.

The house is large and relatively well (and in some parts, luxuriously) furnished, but its layout makes it hard to play: 

To get from the street to the front door - which is at the back of the house - and vice versa takes forever. On the ground floor we have a large open plan hallway with two stairs leading to the upper floor and double doors opening to the "stage" and garden. Off to the left is the kitchen/dining area, and to the right a toilet and a room that holds little more than a settee. 

Upstairs, there are two bedrooms with double beds, with the red one probably meant to be Titania's and the blue one Oberon's. 

The green room with the single bed is Puck's, and the pink one Bottom's. There is only one bathroom here, which I will change for the sake of time management. 

The family have comparably little cash with 6,573 Simoleons on their account, but some of the furniture and other things can easily be sold, and if Oberon joins the Medical Career, he will make more money than what he gets right now in the Slacker career. Titania is in the same career, but since she needs neither the money nor the job for her lifetime want, I shall have her quit. 

The game informs me that Puck wants to have his first kiss with Hermia, and so they get their first kiss. Red hearts are the result :-)

Meanwhile, Oberon unsuccessfully tries to patch things up with Titania - apparently, he really did cheat on her (according to his memories), but it is unclear who with, since she is the only person in his relationship panel with a heart. 

Still, Titania reminds them of the magic they once had, and the two of them talk until they nearly fall asleep right there on the floor.

On Wednesday, Oberon starts his new career: He is now an EMT.

While he is at work and the children at school, Emily Lee kicks over the rubbish bin, clearly having a grudge against Titania. Is she the one Titania thinks Oberon cheated with?

Mother and son share a moment of joy when Puck brings home his first A+.

Bottom isn't quite at A+ level yet, but she brings home Jace Lee, a boy who will be made playable eventually because of his surname.

The Summerdreams are all gathered at the dining table so that young Bottom does not have to eat alone. See the way Oberon looks at Titania, and the way she does NOT look at him? She is still mad at him, even though their relationship is back to 100.

On Thursday, one of the first things Titania does is to put her tiara in a drawer (it IS difficult to keep in place while doing the cooking and everything elsee) and change her hairstyle. The more modern look really suits her, and she is as happy with it as I am.

Oberon has had a good day at work and returns with a promotion to Paramedic. He sleeps for a couple of hours before going back to the hospital for a night shift. 

Today, it is Bottom's turn to bring home her first A+ report.

Before he changes back into scrubs, Oberon gets rid of the makeup; it is not allowed in the operating theatre anyway, and if he wants to move on to surgeon, he has to change his look - and as you can see from his smile, he likes what he now sees in the mirror.

With Puck and Bottom at school and Oberon not having to leave for the night shift until 7:00 pm, he hopes to spend time with Titania so that they can finally leave their silly quarrel behind. However, at first she is busy making phone calls to friends, turning her back on him while he eats his sandwich alone. 

Eventually, though, she joins him at the table. "Can't we at least be best friends again?" he asks - and a smile is the answer. 

Seconds later, she reaches across the table, and Oberon tenderly touches her hand. Finally, the two are in love again!

The afternoon is spent raking leaves and at the same time increasing the cleaning skill so important in the medical career.

At night, with Titania fast asleep in her bed, Oberon quietly slips between the sheets next to her. (He did that on his own accord, instead of using his own bed as he has been doing all week.)

Saturday morning sees the whole family at breakfast. 

Then the kids play chess on the porch for a while until Bottom gets bored, and Oberon takes her place. 

She is much more interested in making friends with her classmate Jace Lee. 

Oberon's night shift went all wrong when he was driving to an emergency and couldn't get through because of heavy traffic. He chose to drive on the sidewalk, but this was NOT a good idea, and he was fired.

While the firing made him unhappy, he was glad to find Titania still up... and ready to restore his self-esteem and happiness :-)

A gardener is called on Saturday. Even though Oberon is unemployed at the moment, he wants to get back into the medical career as soon as possible, and will use his spare time to brush up on skills while this is made easier by it being autumn.

Titania and Oberon hugging romantically on their own accord is so nice! 

For the last time, Puck can dance like that with his little sister... 

...because shortly afterwards, she grows up into a teenager. 

My dice decides on her aspiration to be Pleasure; her lifetime want (which she should not have had in the first place, while she was till only a child) remains unchanged: One day, there will be a General Summerdream in Veronaville :-) 

Because the week at this house started on a Tuesday, I play Monday in order to complete their week. Titania can now harvest the plants the family have been tending all week. 

Oberon has not yet got his former job back, but he is forever skilling, and only interrupts that activity to say good-bye to Puck, who moves to college today - a big wish of his comes true.

One of Bottom's newly rolled wishes is to flirt, and who better to do this with than with her classmate and friend Jace Lee :-) 

This is where the week with the Summerdreams ends. 

It was a relief when Titania stopped being mad at Oberon. Although it was unfortunate that he lost his job, I am confident that he'll get back into the medical career and reaches his lifetime want eventually. Puck will no doubt do well at college, while Bottom has already begun to explore the joys of being a teenager. 

I had fun with the family, but not the house; the children's rooms are windowless and small, the front door is at the back, and the garden is full of useless outdoor furniture. I have changed a few things, mainly adding steps from the front porch to road level, so that now the doors facing that way are used as front doors.

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.