The Roth Family: Week 5

For the previous week at this household, see this post.

The beginning of the fifth week at the Roth house coincides with the first days of winter. The leaves have all fallen, but there is no snow yet.

Morty and Stella still live here. They are talking about their son Xander, who has just graduated from university and is on his way back to New Maximiliania. Morty is 71 and Stella 69 "years" old.

Their daughter Sandra who recently married Brent Broke (one of Brandi Broke's twin sons born early on in the game) makes sure Xander's room is ready for his return. It still has the same furniture and decoration like when he was a child and teenager, but he'll have to decide himself about making it over.

Brent Roth, formerly Broke, Sandra's husband. The two of them are not only firm 3-bolters, but also share the same LTW: they want to raise 20 puppies or kittens. Up until now, they managed to raise four puppies together. How many are there going to be this week? Sandra's parents are, by the way, on Permanent Platinum and will therefore not be controlled by me.

Here's Tramp, the male half of Sandra and Brent's dog couple.

Suzi is the female half and currently pregnant.

On this Monday, just before lunch time, Xander arrives back from uni, ready to move back into his old room and to tackle his LTW: he dreams of being Criminal Mastermind.

Before he can use the computer in his parents' bedroom to find a job, though, he has to repair it. It does not take him very long, and he is also very quick to spot the available position for Getaway Driver on the Simternet.

Xander? When I last saw you at your graduation party, you were an item with Helena Stacks! Now, who are you telling Brent about as your current love interest?

Sandra is just pulling some weeds when she spots Amaya Wade, Cow Mascot from university. She probably thinks no-one will recognize her here if she walks about with her Cow head still on!

Still on Monday, Tramp the dog dies. At 30, he's really lived a long and good dog's life! His best friend Suzi, future mother of their second set of puppies together, witnesses his death and howls him a prolonged farewell.

This is not a burglar leaving the Roths' house after a "visit" - it is Xander, going to work as a Getaway Driver for the first time.

Before Monday is over, Suzi gives birth to three puppies: Rory, Rosy and Ronny.

Tuesday morning, Xander returns from work with a promotion to Bank Robber. He now decides it is time to give his old room a makeover, and goes for a kind of "colonial" style.

The other half of his room. The globe in the corner is a symbol of Xander's plans for world domination as a Criminal Mastermind.

Brent and Sandra know that, in order for them to come closer to their shared LTW, they need another male companion for Suzi, so that she can have puppies again. They adopt a black male puppy by the name of Benny.

Stella and Morty still both go to work every day, by the way. Independently of that, they are both quite good at taking care of themselves, having regular showers and baths and sometimes even sleeping in their own bed.

On Wednesday, Brent invites his family over. He was still a toddler when his older brother Beau left for college, and the two of them never really had a chance to get close. He hopes to change that.

His mum, Brandi, is fascinated with the fish tank in the Roths' living room.

Brent's step dad, Leod Broke (formerly McGreggor), still runs the farm where Brent and his twin brother Benvenuto grew up. He was the first Sim in my game who turned into a plantsim and wasn't "born" one.

Beau tells his brother of a waitress he has recently set his eyes on. Well, Beau, I'm afraid you won't ever act on this attraction - she's not a born New Maximilianian and therefore taboo.

After dark, Xander comes home from work with a promotion to Cat Burglar.

This is the first time in my game that I observe Sims using the Hot Chocolate machine on their own accord - Brandi and Beau enjoy a nice mug in the kitchen together.

On Thursday, everybody is going about their tasks. For Xander, it means studying mechanical skills for his next promotion.

Brent and Sandra have Grandma's Comfort Soup for lunch (there's been flu-and-cold-messages about the family members all the time) and talk about their dogs.

Stella is intelligent enough to clean the pet bed on her own initiative.

While the soup helped a little against Sandra's flu, she still isn't well and retreats to her and Brent's bedroom, where she rests on the bed and reads for the afternoon.

Morty greets Hailey Hart (half-Alien daughter of Matthew Hart). That is one of two occasions on which I actually do control Morty and Stella: to greet a passing neighbour, or to say good-bye to a townie colleague coming home from work with them.

Shaun Singles (son of Erin Singles and her husband Nervous Subject) happened to walk by on Friday and was invited in. He is playing here with one of the puppies that just grew up - looking exactly like their mother.

Here are the other two, looking at Gunnar Roque, another neighbour who walked past and was invited in.

Even though everybody is unhappy about it, at least two of the dogs have to be given up for adoption. Sandra and Brent decide to keep the only female one of the litter, Rosy, hoping she will have puppies with Benny once he grows up. It is strange that Benny is still a puppy - I thought him to be the same age as Suzi's three puppies.

On Saturday, Xander goes to work all smiles. It must be fun working as a Cat Burglar!

When he returns, he does not smile any longer: because of the wrong decision with a chance card, he is demoted to Bank Robber. And since he has the weekend off, there is no chance for him to get back into his old job until next week.

Finally, Benny grows up into a handsome, Collie-type dog.

He and Rosy are best friends already, and so they have no trouble helping their masters towards their lifetime want ;-)

Spring is here, and Sandra takes care of the long neglected flowers in the yard.

On Sunday, Brent wants to have the first BBQ of the season and invites his family over again.

Sadly, the cheerful family BBQ is rudely interrupted by the Grim Reaper who comes for Stella Roth. She is now 76 and can hardly believe it should be her time.

But Mr. Reaper insists, and so she takes the cocktail she is handed, and follows him and his Hula girls to the great neighbourhood in the sky. Colleague Benjamin Baldwin and neighbour Charlie Cho witness her departure along with the dogs, Stella's son-in-law Brent and guest Leod Broke.

Morty had only just gotten up, and it looks like he is unaware of his wife's passing. Instead, he plays with his science toy.

Xander is deeply affected by his mother's death - and it happened so soon after he was demoted, too!

Sandra, still sick with the flu, was fast asleep when it happened. She wakes up with an ominious feeling that something isn't right.

And as soon as she is out of bed, she is aware of her mother's death and cries bitterly.

For Morty, it seems that the sad fact still has not sunk in. He keeps playing with his toy.

But finally, he realizes that Stella has indeed died. Good job his son-in-law Brent is close by. I'm afraid Morty won't have to wait long before he'll join Stella - looking at his lifetime bar, it will probably happen on the Monday of the family's 6th week.

For Xander, I am positive that he will soon have his former job back and keeps rising the career ladder, whereas Sandra and Brent still have their work cut out for them with only 8 puppies raised out of the 20 they want.