The Sims 4: The Goth Family - Week 1

The Goths! There can't be a Simmer in the world who does not know them. They were introduced to the game from Day One, when "The Sims" was released in early 2000, and never left the Simlish sphere all throughout The Sims 2 and The Sims 3, and of course they had to be there in The Sims 4 as well.
In this latest incarnation of our favourite computer game, the Goths' house looks like this:

And here are the family:

From left to right, we have teenage daughter Cassandra, a High School Student whose aspiration is Musical Genius; her little brother Alexander, Grade School Student and aspiring Whiz Kid; their father Mortimer, a Renaissance Sim currently working as Freelance Article writer and with several friends and one romantic interest (apart from his wife) in his relationship panel; and last but not least, Bella - the eternal Party Animal who loves Don Lothario and a townie named Davon Halverson. Her current job is Intelligence Reseracher. Not that she really needs to work; there is plenty of money.

When the game starts for this household on Monday morning, Cassandra and Alexander have homework in their inventories, although they have never actually been to school yet.  Big Sis his helping her little brother here.

Her place is soon taken by Mortimer. He and Alexander are very close already, and will become even more so during the week.

Strangely enough, both parents choose to just nap on their bed instead of going to bed properly like their children have done.

After some hours, it is time to get up again so that everyone will arrive at school or work in time.
In the afternoon, Alexander puts in a few hours at the chess board...

...Cassandra cooks her very first meal...

...and plays the piano until bedtime.

On Tuesday, Bella is the first to wake up. She quietly reads in the bedroom until Mortimer wakes up as well.

Now the day can begin! (This is actually just to show you what Mortimer wears for the night.)

Bella pays the bills that were delivered yesterday. She is not too happy about having to fork out more than 9.000 Simoleons! I wonder whether their bill will be as high every week, due to the size and furnishing of the house, or whether these are several bills together, just like the homework in the children's inventories was from days of school they never really attended.

While Malcolm Landgraab, one of Cassandra's friends, passes by (shouldn't he be at school right now?!), I have Bella phone her work to quit her job. It does not seem necessary for her to earn any money, and she certainly can work better on her lifetime want without a job.

Nina Caliente passes by and is invited in, too.

And just as Cassandra gets off the school bus (which, by the way, you never see in the game), no other than Don Lothario turns up. "What does HE want here, while my Dad is not home," Cassandra seems to be thinking.

None of the visitors stay very long, and Bella makes sandwiches to eat with her children in the living room instead of at the formal dining table.

It is Wednesday, and time for breakfast. Everyone is there - everyone but Cassandra. Like a typical teenager, she sometimes does not get up until minutes before it is time to go to school, even though her energy level is full.

Bella meets Giulianna Riley in front of the house.

While the children are still at school, husband and wife take advantage of having the house to themselves and spend some time together in bed - in Cassandra's bed, actually! I didn't tell them to go there and have no idea why they did not choose their own bed. But it was Mortimer's wish to try for a baby with Bella.

This is, by the way, Rita Pearson - the townie-lady showing as Mortimer's romantic interest. She knocks the door today, obviously knowing Mortimer has the day off but not yet knowing about his wife having quit her job.

Don't worry, though. No dramatic scenes happen that day at the Goth villa. Instead, for the first time this week, the formal dining room is fully occupied with the family and their guests, Rita Pearson and Bob O'Malley.

On Thursday morning, I discover that clicking on the toilet with Bella as the active Sim gives her the option of taking a pregnancy test.

 To celebrate the pregancy test's positive result, Bella bakes a cake.

Meanwhile, Cassandra arrives home and decides to do her homework in the kitchen, for a change. In TS4, homework can be done at all kinds of tables, as well as standing up with no table at all.

On Friday morning, Mortimer wants to surprise his pregnant wife by making breakfast. You can tell he is not the most accomplished of cooks!

His scrambled eggs stick somewhat to the pan, but the meal is good enough to be eaten by all. And it is the effort that matters, right?

Later, he wishes to plant something and so I have him go for a walk to find some wild plants he can harvest.

He then plants mushrooms and bluebells in a corner of the backyard.

Meanwhile, Bella has ask Katrina Caliente and Rita Pearson in and invites Katrina to feel her impressive baby bump.

On Saturday, the children have breakfast together while their parents are still asleep.

Later, Malcolm Landgraab pays a visit and joins Alexander and Mortimer at the dining table - not for a meal, though; Alexander is doing some extra credit work for school, and Mortimer was reading when their visitor appeared.

Cassandra wants to visit the museum.

Outside, she meets and greets Travis Scott and Alice Spencer-Kim, yet another member of the Spencer-Kim-Lewis family whom we will meet properly later on this round.

After having spent some time at the museum, Cassandra gets hungry and decides to make use of the facilities for public barbecues on the banks of the river. Someone else has had the same idea before her, it seems. Hovering over the plate of burgers reveals the name of the Sim who has prepared them and the quality or status of the food.

When Cassandra sits down to eat her hamburger, she is joined by Steve Fogel and a townie she already had as a friend in her relationship panel (sorry, I did not take note of his name).

On Sunday, Bella wakes up feeling VERY pregant indeed.

She allows Alexander to feel her belly. "It's your little brother or sister in there, sweetheart," she tells him.

Maybe for the last time in a while, Bella enjoys a cosy chat in the kitchen with her older two children.

In the early afternoon, Bella has just been taking a nap on the settee when she wakes up from the first sharp pain of labour.

It takes another three hours until precisely at 4.04 pm, this bassinet appears (strongly resembling the way babies were "born" in TS1), and then...

 ...Giselle Goth is born, and Bella instantly regains her former figure!

This is the first time I see a baby in TS4. They do look more "doll-like" than the ones in TS2, don't they?

Bella goes upstairs for a well-deserved few hours of sleep, while her husband and son make sure to be at hand, should little Giselle wake up.

On Sunday evening, Bella makes heart-shaped cookies - only a Sim in flirty mood can do that.

Mortimer wanted another child, and so it is hardly surprising that he is a devoted Dad to his little baby girl:

This was an interesting week! For the first time, I got to play age groups younger than Young Adults. Unlike TS2 and TS3, the school bus never actually pulls up in front of the house, just like the car pool for work is invisible. This does not bother me in the least.

Are Mortimer's and Bella's affairs going to crop up again, threatening the loving marriage they have now achieved? Is Cassandra going to be more than friends with Malcolm one day? Will Alexander have the chance to play with kids his age, and how long will it take before Giselle grows up?