The Goths - Week 2

Week 1 with the Goths is here.

It is Christmas - and a very white one at that - when we arrive at the Goth villa in Pleasantview. Last time we saw the family they were celebrating Father Christmas' arrival and tucking into the Santa cookies Mortimer had lovingly prepared.

Here he is, having just served a plate of cookies to Santa himself. He is now on his way to bed.

But what's that? As he reaches the upstairs landing, a hodded figure wearing a flower wreath and carrying a scythe is waiting for him at the top of the stairs, and a Hula dancer resembling his lost wife Bella is with him. Yes, poor Mortimer is handed his very last cocktail. He is only 65 but the grief and sorrow after his wife's disappearance has made him age prematurely.

Alexander was already in bed but got up when he heard the faint Hula music from the staircase. The boy is now an orphan, with his big sister the only family left.

Cassandra arrived home from her shift at the hospital just as Mr. Reaper took her Dad to the Great Community Lot in the sky. The poor woman crumples in a heap right next to the front door.

Thankfully, the Shrink appears quickly and helps her up. After a quick treatment, her aspiration level is still at rock bottom, but at least she is able to go inside and to bed.

At daybreak, Mortimer's tombstone is erected on the small family cemetery in one corner of the large garden.

Cassandra's next shift only starts in the evening, and it's a Snow Day for Alexander. The siblings take a taxi to H&M where they make sure the boy has an adequate wardrobe for the cold season.

Also, Cass still hopes to bump into Don Lothario - her two biggest wishes now are to resurrect her Dad (which won't happen) and to get engaged to Darren Dreamer. But because her previous engagement with Don was never formally dissolved, she can't propose to Darren or accept his proposal, and as long as Don refuses to see her (he "politely declines" each of her daily invitations to come to the house or meet somewhere), there is nothing she can do about it.

Back home, Alex is glad to change into his cosy new cardigan and warmer jeans.

He is always on the lookout for potential girlfriends - after all, his lifetime want is to have 20 lovers - and rushes out when he spots an unknown teenager walk by. "Hi, I'm Kiera," she announces. But they don't get along at all, and so Alex quickly asks Kiera to leave.

That night, three of the Goth ladies' ghosts appear; first, Gretle (Cassandra and Alexander's paternal great-grandmother) and later Cornelia (grandmother) and Agnes Crumplebottom (Cornelia's sister and the young generations' great-aunt). As before, none of the ghosts enters the house.

Since his Dad died, Alexander doesn't sleep well and has been getting up very early. Tuesday is like that, too. Since he - typical Knowledge Sim, in spite of his lifetime want more apt for a Romance Sim - wishes to see a ghost and there are again several ghostly ancestors roaming the garden, I send him out there. But can you believe he does not SEE them in spite of them floating right in front of him?

The day goes by unremarkably. Alexander goes to school, Cassandera works on her skills during the day, asks - unsuccessfully - Don to come over to talk and eventually leaves for work. Alexander is already in bed when Mortimer's ghost appears in the house, right at the spot where he died. But does he wake his son which would fulfill the boy's wish to see a ghost? No, he does not.

In the very early hours of Wednesday morning, Cassandra returns from work with a promotion to GP. She'll know have to work hard to acquire several more skill points, and because her aspiration is still deep red, she can't use the Thinking Cap.

Her working hours have changed now with the new job, and so Mary-Sue Pleasant's surprise visit goes unnoticed.

Had she come by a little later, Alexander would have been home from school. He asks his best friend Lucy Burb over.

Cassandra is back early in the evening and immediately tackles the broken tap in one of the two upstairs bathrooms. There is more money than the siblings will ever need, but she does need mechanical skill for her career, and therefore prefers to do the job herself instead of calling the repair service.

Downstairs, Alex tries to impress Lucy: "Watch me feeding the fish!" Oh Alex... when will you learn how to REALLY impress a girl?

On Thursday, a previously unknown girl gets off the school bus with Alexander. Allison Cameron seems to like him more than he likes her - she tries to flirt with him (he has a crossed-out bolt for her), which he does not accpet, and admires him, which he does. He's giving her the fish tank treatment, by the looks of it :-D

And apparently, that wasn't such a bad idea, since Allison is fascinated and watches the fish for quite a long time. Meanwhile, Lucy Burb has come visiting on her own accord and is joined at the chess table by Denise Jacquet, who just happened to walk past when Alexander opened the door for Lucy. He is upstairs doing his homework, by the way.

He finally finishes his homework and gets bowls of leftover Mac & Cheese on the table. Allison expresses her wish to become best friends. Well, so far she and Alexander aren't even friends yet, let alone best ones.

Cassandra is lucky with a chance card on Friday, gaining a promotion to Specialist.

But this also means that for her next promotion she needs to gain a total of NINE skill points - and since it is spring (not autumn when skilling is much faster) plus she is mostly at green aspiration, not gold (which would allow her to use the Thinking Cap), it'll take her a while to achieve that.

She has the weekend off, and of course there is no school on Saturday and Sunday, either. Alexander has been learning to cook and is turning into quite the young gourmet. He surprises his big sister with delicious omelettes for breakfast. "These are lovely, Alex! Thank you!"

Later, she invites Darren over, and for lunch they have leftover omelettes, toasting Cassandra's last couple of promotions.

Darren and Alex sit and talk for a while. "You know I really care about your sister and would like for us to become a family," he says. The boy nods. He, too, cares about his sister and wants her to be happy.

Lucy comes visiting on her own accord in the afternoon.

Just as Alex greets her, who should walk by but Don Lothario! The boy quickly rushes out to greet him. He knows Cass has been wanting to get hold of him all week, trying to dissolve their engagement.

Don comes in, and they argue and argue and argue, and then argue some more, but although first the red and then the pink hearts disappear, their relationship is still shown as "best friends for life", and the option to break up does not appear. Eventually, Don leaves, and an exhausted and disappointed Cassandra goes to bed.

That really was a shame - i was so hoping things would be sorted now between these two so that Cass and Darren can pursue their wish to become a proper family. I hope very much that when it is time to play Don, he'll be able to break up with Cassandra.

Her career is hard work, too, but I don't doubt she'll reach her lifetime want eventually.

Alexander has not achieved anything in view of his lifetime want, but to be honest he has not made a huge effort, and the fish tank treatment is certainly not the surest way to a girl's heart - whereas serving tasty food can be :-)

Next is Bella Goth in Strangetown.

Allegra Gorey - Junior Year

Allegra's Sophomore Year is here.

We're staying in Desiderata Valley, but at this rented property on campus, No. 20, Peanut Street.

Now that Jane has graduated and moved to The Valley proper, Allegra Gorey has the house all to herself. She is an Art student and now in her Junior Year. One of her biggest wishes is to get engaged to her boyfriend Castor Nova, who has recently graduated and is now also living in The Valley.

Brittany Upsnott walks by. The two ladies have been enemies for a while now, and although I am not entirely sure, I suspect it has something to do with Castor. In any case, Allegra reasons that having enemies is not a good idea. She apologises to Brittany for whatever, and invites her to have a bowl of vegetable soup together, courtesy of Jane.

Brittany accepts, and while the enemy sign still appears in their relationship, Allegra shall make an effort to at least get rid of that, if not to be friends.

Speaking of friends, Kevin Beare rings later and suggests they all meet "with a bunch from the old gang" at Games of Glory. Quite a few Sims we know well get off the group taxi, among them Castor.

Having witnessed Allegra and Castor kissing, Tiffany Sampson is very upset. She, too, has been in love with the man, and now she slaps him round the face. This doesn't stop Allegra and Castor getting engaged a few minutes later, right there on the spot.

Allegra goes in search of Tiffany and finds her alone at the chess table. "With Castor and me, it feels like magic - we can't help it. I'm genuinely sorry that this upsets you so much, Tiff." The girls are best friends for life, but right now Allegra is definitely not Tiffany's favourite person. After a celebratory hot dog with the group, Allegra goes home - alone.

Tiffany doesn't forgive Allegra so easily, "magic" or not.

It is only early spring and still cold enough for a flurry of snow to fall the next morning, but Allegra has to clean up the mess Tiffany caused, and because there is also an infestation of bugs, she calls the Exterminator.

At the start of the year, Allegra found Gwen Riley in the Campus Directory, and by now they know each other well enough for her to come over for a bowl of vegetable soup. Of course the plan is to have Gwen move in and become playable - she has to, with that surname :-)

The Exterminator arrives as scheduled and deals with the bugs. Allegra does some final revising before her end-of-term exam.

Shortly before she has to leave, Jordan Lee walks by. She became playable when I sent her to college, if I remember correctly; she was either a former teenage townie or shop clerk. Anway, Allegra goes to sit her exam and returns a few hours later with an A+, her name on the Dean's List and the full grant of 1,200 Simoleons. No surprises there!

By now Allegra knows the drill - and as a Knowledge Sim she doesn't mind at all: At the start of each semester, skilling is in order before it makes sense to write assignments or the term paper.

The next day, Allegra wakes up well rested and determined to tackle her term paper today.

Before she can start on that, though, she has class, and the first thing she does afterwards is to get rid of the small pile of dead bugs the exterminator left behind the other day.

The days pass with classes, meals and household work. And of course Allegra talks on the phone to her friends every day. Here, she is telling Gwen Riley that she really wants to be best friends with her. As long as she's not rolling any wishes about Castor, she's not inviting him over. I am glad to report that her friendship with Tiffany has been mended, and Brittany is no longer her enemy.

Exam Day is here, and Allegra must have been distracted when she prepares herself a pancake for breakfast - the stove catches fire!

Thankfully, I can cross out the "Fire!" action and have her extinguish the flames.

Phew! That was a close call, Allegra. It's a good idea to invest in a fire alarm now.

She invites Gwen over for lunch, and Jordan Lee comes along, too. It is nice to have company for her last pre-exam meal.

It is already dark by the time she returns from her final exam - once again with an A+ and all the rest. Allegra is a Senior now, but it'll be a while before we see her again. I enjoyed playing this single student household and the bit of love drama. Discovering Gwen Riley was a plus, but unfortunately the year ended before her friendship with Allegra was firm enough to ask her to move in.

The Goths are next!

The Goodies - Week 2

Their first week is here.

No. 244 Hill Side Pass Road in Desiderata Valley is the home of...

...Faith and Herbert Goodie, a couple who share more than most: They are the same age (61 on this Monday), Knowledge Sims and have the lifetime want of maxing out all seven skills. They were already elderly Sims at the start of the game and came with zero skills, meaning they truly have their work cut out for them. But fortunately, they don't need to spend time on jobs, since their funds of currently over 14,000 Simoleons should see them through for the rest of their lives, if they don't do anything silly.

On this Monday, Samantha Ottomas walks by just as Herbert takes the rubbish out. Of course he greets her; while he has not met her before, he is friends with her husband, Peter Ottomas.

Faith has been diligently working on her body skill and is not far from maximizing it. She suggests her husband and their guest join her for a run in the neighbourhood as evening falls.

The Goodies use any chance they get to gain skills and can often be seen wearing their thinking caps while doing things such as cooking or cleaning, such as Faith on Tuesday morning when she prepares omelettes for their breakfast.

"Maybe when we have both reached our lifetime wants we could finally go on a nice holiday," she suggests. Herbert is all for it, but lifetime wants are lifetime wants, and they still have far to go.

While the couple are having a much needed afternoon nap, Nawwaf Lewis rings the bell for a surprise visit. He is one of the Goodies' best friends and was invited by Herbert to become a permanent resident at The Valley last round.

That evening, Faith reaches maximum body skill. Her Yoga moves really are quite impressive!

On Wednesday, the Goodies walk to Gustav's Grocery.

Faith browses the clothes rack and finds some nice outfits for herself and Herbert for the coming spring while he gathers what they need from the grocery shelves.

Both wish to slow dance, and the shop music provides the soundtrack to a romantic moment.

On Thursday, the only breaks from skilling are meals and bathroom trips. Herbert is out for a run, but because Faith already has maxed out her body skill, she is home alone and invites passers-by Joshua Ruben to join her for a plate of spaghetti. "So you've only recently graduated from uni and have moved here? I imagine you have made friends for life among your fellow students," she says. Joshua can confirm that he has indeed made friends for life at uni.

Faith gains maximum creativity on Friday morning. For a change, the painting she has produced is not sold but framed and hung on the wall for everyone to admire.

Socialising may not be the focus of the average Knowledge Sim, but Faith knows it is important to have some human interaction with someone other than her husband from time to time, and so she goes out to greet Genesis Lee when she spots her walking by.

Later, Herbert happily greets his friend Victor Aspir who comes visiting on his own initiative.

That evening, Victor witnesses Herbert maximising his body skill during a good session of rope-skipping.

"I feel really great today," Faith says to herself when she wakes up on Saturday morning. Spring has sprung, and she can't think of much else than kissing her husband and flirting with him.

The two don their new spring outfits, and then Herbert and Faith fulfill a series of romantic wishes.

They are now 66 years old and by the looks of their lifetime bars Mr. Reaper could appear any day.

Unlike what I normally do when a Sim's time is near, I have them get the "Elixir of Life" from the aspiration rewards and have a glass each, setting the clock back for them by three "years".

After that, it's back to skilliing!

In the evening, Ginger Newson is seen walking by, and Faith invites her in. Ginger makes a beeline for this morning's leftover toaster pasty and eats it, in spite of the unappetizing smell emanating from it. Faith prefers a better preserved pasty from the fridge. "I really like your hair," she smiles at the teenage girl.

There is of course no day off for the Goodies when it comes to skilling, and so on Sunday they knuckle down once more with their books and thinking caps. But Faith welcomes friend Trisha Traveller when she makes a surprise visit in the afternoon.

Trisha stays for dinner and helps celebrate Faith having reached maximum mechanical skill. Herbert enthuses about how wonderful it is when one gets to marry the love of one's life, like no doubt Trisha and Traveller know. This is where the week with the Goodies ends. It just seems so unfair that they should start out with no skills at all but the LTW of maxing them all out, and therefore I feel they are entitled to using the Elixir of Life. It's been a good week for them skill-wise but there is still plenty to do. They also made sure not to neglect their friends and, last but not least, their marriage which is as stable and loving as ever.

Allegra Gorey is next.