Family names and related posts

Saturday, 7 December 2024

Geoff Rutherford: Week 1

Welcome to the Rutherford-Weir Household! Meet Connor Weir (left) and Geoff Rutherford (right), on whose account we are here this week. 
According to Maxis, "Geoff Rutherford knows all the right people but he’s a bit of a rebel. He and Connor Weir became roommates so they could afford a place in the best part of Belladonna Cove. But sometimes they are at odds. Connor wants the party days to end so he can find his true path and start the family of his dreams. Geoff just wants to have fun." 
In the second of the Maxis-prepared pictures, we see Geoff boarding a taxi to find his own place in the big wide world, while his mother is sad and his father looks on somewhat helpless. 
His biography reads: "Geoff lives off of family money and an insatiable need for love. He thinks he can work his way to the top with charm. His old friend Conner keeps up his share of the rent but sometimes he slows the party down." 
Geoff's family tree shows both his parents, Leandra and Kenneth, to have died, but he still has family in Belladonna Cove: Marissa Cleveland is his big sister.
Next, we witness Geoff's friend Connor in the same situation: boarding a taxi to join Geoff and leaving his parents behind. In his case, his Dad seems more upset about their son moving out than his Mom. Connor's parents Bryant and Martha are dead, too, but unlike Geoff he has no living relatives. 
This picture is probably supposed to show Geoff being the life and soul of the party. The other Sims here are all townies, whith Camryn Lee (second from left) having become playable on account of her "playable" surname (although I am not sure it happened in this neighbourhood). 
Connor "... enjoys his roommate Geoff but wants to find that special someone and start his family. He's never had Geoffs advantages so he's worked as hard as he can to get where he is in his career", according to Maxis. 
Both men work as Junior Executives, with the last pre-made picture showing them on their way to work. But neither is going to keep this job: Geoff, who is a Romance Sim, wishes to become Celebrity Chef, while Fortune Sim Connor strangely dreams of having six grandchildren - more in line with the Family aspiration. Anyway, they have plenty of cash on top of the house, over 72,000 Simoleons, so no need to work until the right job (or right woman) comes along. 
From here on, all pictures are mine. This is the house at 340 Audrey Avenue, right next to where the DeBateaus live.
The ground floor really lends itself to entertaining. 
Entering from the street, one passes a chess table and chairs. A large open space with a spiral stair contains a cosy sitting area with a fire place to the left. A double door leads to another sitting room, this one with a large TV and a piano as well as a door to the patio where a grill is ready for a BBQ. Tucked away at the back of the stairs is a toilet. The well equipped kitchen is in the top right corner, and the rest of that side of the house is taken up by a formal dining room with a bar. French windows add to the general atmosphere of luxury.
Upstairs are mirror-like two double bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms. Both bedrooms have doors leading out to the balcony running the full width of the upper floor. The landing is large enough to hold a settee and book cases. I guess I am right in assuming that Maxis meant for the "beige" room to be Geoff's, and the "blue" one for Connor. 
The first thing I have Geoff do is look for a job in the Culinary career (he doesn't find one) while Connor is on the phone to quit his job. Next, Geoff invites his 3-bolt-lady Chastity Gere over. Here she is! You may remember her from earlier this year when I played her and her housemate Gabriel Green; that post is here
Not one to hesitate when he has made up his mind about something, Geoff asks Chastity not only to share his bed now... but for good. She moves right in, adding a very modest 376 Simoleons to the household account, but with a wink, Geoff assures her that he does not want her for her money. 
Chastity is a Romance Sim who wishes to have 20 lovers, and her first week in Belladonna Cove ended with her having achieved one fifth of her lifetime want. We'll see how things pan out now that she is officially an item with a man while at the same time she won't give up on her lifetime want.
Meanwhile, Connor invests some of the household's wealth in a blind date. The lady summoned by the Matchmaker does have black hair alright (one of Connor's turn-ons), but she does not wear any jewellery, and so he politely says good-bye once he has found out that they only have two bolts.
He gives the Matchmaker a chance to do better, but much to his dismay, another 2-bolt-date turns up. This lady, though, is quite the stunner, Connor has to admit. 
Soon afterwards, the phone rings and Chastity's old friend (and more) Carlos Contender asks her and her new housemates out. The taxi pulls up in front of the Crypt-O-Night Club - where else! 
Off the taxi they get, with the entire Baldwin family in tow (remember, Isobel is a relative of Carlos) plus Jessica Peterson, who appears to be quite smitten by Geoff.
Of course, the Crypt-O-Night Club was Carlos' choice - we all know how much he loves the dance sphere! 
Geoff talks to Benjamin Baldwin while Connor joins the Baldwin kids at the pinball machine. 
Chastity would love to pull Geoff into the photo cabin - and succeeds eventually, but all they do is take a photo. 
Connor finds that the bartender has black hair and is rather pretty, and he chats to her for a bit until he realises that she, too, has only two bolts with him. 
Carlos enjoys this outing very much; not only did he get to ride the dance sphere, he also has a delicious meal with a lovely lady on each side.
The Baldwins have autonomously chosen an outdoor table by themselves for their meal. Eventually, Chastity dissolves the group. and the three housemates head home.
And funnily enough, as soon as they get in, the phone rings - and it is Connor's second blind date from this afternoon, who says that she really liked their first meeting, however brief it was, and asks him out. Connor also has to admit that there is potential for more, and follows her invitation to the Twenty-Five-Oh Café. 
At first, they hardly know what to say. Maybe it would have been easier had they chosen to sit opposite each other, but eventually, glasses of sparkling wine ease the conversation along. Still, Connor is cautious, and besides he's already been out this evening and getting really tired. The date ends "good", and he goes home. 
On Tuesday, Chastity spots the mail man and is delighted not only to meet a potential candidate for her list of 20 lovers, but also to find out that his name is Hun Cho. With that surname, of course he shall be befriended! Their next door neighbour, Audrey DeBateau, happens to walk by at the same time and is duly greeted. 
At 1:00 pm, Geoff boards a taxi to his first shift as a Dish Washer - yes, he has finally found a position in the Culinary career, no matter how humble. He's got to start somewhere!
Chastity wastes no time and asks Gabriel Green over. Her friend since childhood and former housemate is happy to see her. "You look well!" he exclaims. Chastity shows him just how well she feels when she plants a big kiss on his surprised lips, and they part with his name as #5 on her list.
By evening, Connor is ready to put his plan in action. He heads to Freya's Rayments and buys a pair of earrings for Sunny Tsirkunov, the lady who has not given up on him merely because they have only two bolts instead of the coveted three. 
Sadly, when I have Connor invite Sunny over on Wednesday and try to have him give her the jewellery he bought as a gift, the only gift that appears in his inventory is the computer delivered on Monday by Mr Humble. Therefore, I still don't know whether there is 3-bolt potential. The day goes by with everyone fulfilling minor wishes, skilling, talking to friends on the phone and so on.
Thursday sees a little more action again when first Chastity makes Geoff's colleague her lover #6 (wisely waiting until Geoff has gone to work)... 
 ...and then Geoff, completely oblivious of the goings-on while he was out, returns with a promotion to Fast Food Shift Manager.
Over breakfast on Friday morning, Connor asks Chastity for some tips on how to have a great date. Well, Chastity has one well-proven strategy to win a man's heart, and it doesn't necessarily involve a date.
Geoff is out working and therefore doesn't see Carlos Contender, Chastity's old flame, turning up on his own accord. Although their greeting is as enthusiastic as ever, Chastity soon sends Carlos on his way - she has to pursue new lovers, not old ones, if she wants to reach her lifetime want. 
Geoff returns from his job at the fast food restaurant not only with a promotion to Host, but also with a colleague who appears to be very attracted to him. She is no other than Sunny Tsirkunov, the lady Connor is still undecided about. 
It is Saturday morning, and the three housemates enjoy Geoff's perfect omelettes for breakfast. He really has improved a lot in his cooking - vital for his dream of becoming Celebrity Chef one day. 
He leaves the others to clear the table and is off to work. Chastity takes advantage of his absence and works on Hun Cho who leaves just as Geoff's car pool drops him off after work. 
He has just been promoted to Waiter and heads right back to do his first shift at the tables. 
His employer must have been truly impressed by his work, because his first shift as a waiter is also his last - he is promoted to Prep Cook. 
Now a logic point is needed, and he joins Chastity at the chess board. 
The double promotion calls for a more celebratorial end to the evening, though, and Chastity is happy to help with that as well ;-)
With so much going on at the restaurant, Geoff has to work on Sunday as well. As soon as he's off, Chastity invites Hun Cho over, and not long after this picture was taken, he becomes the 7th name on her list of lovers. But not just that - he has also accepted her invitation to become a full resident of Belladonna Cove. The decision was easy, since he already has relatives living here - Vivian and Etsu Cho. Of course he moves out to find his own place straight away. 
Geoff has once again impressed his superiors and is promoted to Sous Chef. That's not far off from his lifetime want!
As if she'd known there was reason to celebrate, Geoff's sister Marissa Cleveland comes visiting on her own accord. Sally Riley just happened to walk by and was asked in as well. 

After a relatively slow start and with no skill profile to write home about, Geoff has done really well in his career. He doesn't know what Chastity is up to when he's not home, but Chastity does not mean any harm - Geoff is her one and only three-bolt man. 
Connor is a bit at a loose end; he needs to find someone to have children with if he ever wants to see his lifetime want come true, but things with Sunny are still not progressing much.

Saturday, 30 November 2024

Martin Ruben: Sophomore Year

We're not finished with the Urele-Oresha-Cham fraternity yet! The youngest member, Sophomore Martin Ruben, will be our host for a "year". He was invited to join the fraternity and move in by his big brother, Joshua Ruben. 
Click here for his Freshman year at the house he shared with Allegra Gorey and Jane Stacks.

"Martin can hardly believe he's really related to a frat member. Rather than dwelling on it though, he keeps his nose to the grindstone, hangs out with his roommates and tries to avoid the sorority girls." - That's what Maxis write about him, so maybe becoming a frat brother himself seems a little out of character. 
Well, now he is here, and we'll see how college life suits him under these different circumstances. 
His aspiration is Knowledge, and rather typically, he sees his future as Desiderata's Education Minister. Maybe you remember that he fell in love autonomously with Jane Stacks; I wonder how she takes his moving out of the house they shared with Allegra Gorey. First things first, though; Martin needs (and wants!) to write his Term Paper. 
Meanwhile, Jared Starchild greets Genesis Lee, an NPC student I want to make playable because of her surname.
A group of Sims - current and former students, such as Erik Swain and Ashley Pitts - are arriving at the house. You can guess why, can't you?
It's Joshua Ruben's graduation party! Martin looks a bit lost, wondering how he is supposed to keep the fraternity going with the last three of its original members leaving campus for good. 
Jane is here to join the party which has seamlessly moved from Joshua's to Castor Nova's graduation. Of course Martin is more than happy to see Jane, especially after he has just had to wave his big brother good-bye.
Castor, who has somehow managed to stuff all his wild hair underneath his mortar board, and Allegra Gorey are our next couple to fall in love autonomously!
Martin has taken over the fraternity tradition to eat pizza in the yard behind the house.
Jared Starchild has graduated Summa Cum Laude in Arts. 
Kevin Beare is next to throw his graduation party. Of course his 3-bolt-lady, Vamsi Simpson, is his guest of honour, and he plays a love song on the piano exclusively for her. "My Kevin!" she sighs happily. (Naturally, the piece was neither a love song nor just for Vamsi, but it sounds like something Kevin would do, doesn't it?)
Next to return with a diploma in his pocket is Toby Scott. "Tobs" has graduated Summa Cum Laude in Mathematics.
Having graduated doesn't help to escape the campus coach who turns up just as Toby enters the house, and before he can put on his robe and mortar board, he has to change into his gymnastics outfit and do some exercises. 
But eventually, the coach leaves, and Toby can have his graduation party. Of course, his former dorm mate and frat brother Erik Swain is invited, too - after all, it was Erik who brought him here. 
If Martin and Heather Huffington ever had anything going on, I can't remember! Anyway, it looks like Martin is very unhappy seeing her talk to Ashley Pitts - these two were three-bolters last time I checked.
The fraternity house sees the fourth graduation party in as many days - it is now Jared Starchild's turn. Once again, the former dorm and house mates gather for the occasion. 
Martin has just finished the first semester of his Sophomore Year. He already has the required skills for the second semester, and so I send him to write his Term Paper (he wishes for it, too) right away. However, with Jared's party going on downstairs, Martin feels left out, working away all on his own upstairs. "Everybody but me is having fun!" he thinks. 
Building a snowman is much more to his liking right now. But soon afterwards, he completes his Term Paper - there were only a few more paragraphs left to write anyway. 
The next morning, I catch Martin daydreaming about Jane. Funnily enough, all this winter he has not yet rolled any wish involving her.
Jimmy Phoenix has just graduated, and the customary party ensues. After he has boarded the taxi to The Valley, Martin is left on his own in the big house - hardly surprising, the fraternity drops to level 2 (after it had reached level 6 not that long ago).
Martin's Sophomore Year is over. He has done well academically, but could have done better socially. I really hope the fraternity is going to keep going - maybe when I play other students, they will wish to join a Greek House, and can befriend Martin in order to do that. We'll see!

The second semester went by excepitonally quickly, since there weren't as many parties to throw (and watch what everyone was doing). Desiderata's Downtown is rapidly filling up with graduates - almost every one of the cheaper houses has been taken.