Ophelia Nigmos - Week 1 & Freshman Year

Next on the alphabetical list is the Nigmos-Specter household in Strangetown.

For Olive Specter, Maxis have prepared a background story. Based on their pictures and on Olive's memories, we can assume that Olive (pictured here as a young bride, crying because she has just been left at the altar) was married several times, but none of her husbands lived very long. 

This one might one of her husbands from when she was younger. The hula girls obviously mean that he died VERY soon after planting that passionate kiss on Olive. 

This one may be her last husband, and the only one shown in her family tree: Ichabod Specter. Olive's maiden name is Muenda. She has a son (who, legend has it, was fathered by the Grim Reaper himself - but the family tree does not show this). Anyway, we know her son: Nervous Subject, who went to live with Circe and Loki Beaker for reasons not fully explained.

Olive had a sister, Willow. She died, and Willow's daughter Ophelia Nigmos came to live with her aunt. 

Ophelia is pictured here in what we are probably to understand as a school hallway, where she meets Johnny Smith, the only green-skinned boy in school and, like herself, something of the odd one out. In Ophelia's relationship panel, Johnny is shown as her boyfriend. This is the last of the Maxis-made pictures.

Here is the house where Olive and her niece live. The Maxis-written household bio reads: "Olive will stop at nothing to get what she wants. She spends her time collecting mushrooms, sharpening sticks, and excavating her yard."

There is a graveyard in the otherwise rather barren garden, holding the tombstones of Olive's late husbands. On top of the large plot of land and the well furnished house, there are over 41,000 Simoleons in cash.

Here is Ophelia Nigmos as we find her on this Tuesday, when the game starts at this household. She is only two days away from adulthood. For a Family Sim, she has the rather unusual wish to become Professional Party Guest. Maybe she wants to follow in her aunt Olive's footsteps. 

Anyway, according to Maxis, her "hobbies include hypochondria and monitoring the air quality. She worries about the future... and the past... and the present.". 

Her aunt Olive is 63 years old and does indeed work as a Professional Party Guest. As soon as I enter the lot, a message informs me that she wishes to retire - maybe making way for her niece. She is a Knowledge Sim and dreams of maxing out all her skills. She'll get a fair chance, but I doubt that she will live long enough, even if she spends all her time skilling.

The house has a dark, moody atmosphere. From the bottom left corner, we find a single bedroom (Ophelia's) with an en-suite bathroom, opening into a living room. From there, one reaches the large dining room with the adjacent kitchen. A small ante-room leads to Olive's bedroom, also with an en-suite, and a small, empty room in the top right corner.

The graveyard is interesting: Not only are Ophelia's parents buried here alongside Olive's parents, as you would expect. Lyla Grunt, General Buzz Grunt's late wife, can also be found here, as can a Luc Smith (related to the Smith family?) and several other townies. And of course, the names of Olive's husbands are all word plays, some funnier than others. I guess Hugh Thanasia is my favourite, but Rigger Mortis and of course Earl E. Demise and Tim Lee Demise are good, too.

As per Maxis' instruction, I have Olive phone work and retire from her job. Since it is already evening when the game starts, that first day at the Specter-Nigmos-household is very short. 

Aunt and niece aren't friends yet, but I want them to be - after all, Olive is all the family Ophelia has left since her parents died. Therefore, they start Wednesday morning with a good game of kicky bag until the school bus arrives. 

On her own, Olive studies cooking and fulfills some of her skilling wishes.

At 1:00 pm, Ophelia comes running in with an A+ report, happily showing it to her aunt. 

The two ladies have grilled cheese; tomorrow, she promises, there will be fried eggs, sunny side up. 

That night, Lyla Grunt's ghost haunts the place. She only enters the house briefly and doesn't wake anyone, in spite of making the toddler xylophone tinkle when she floats through Ophelia's room.

Then something really strange happens: She curls up on the paved court between the house and the graveyard. Have you ever seen a ghost do this? This strange behaviour is repeated several times for the next few hours.

It is already Thursday morning when Willow Nigmos' ghost appears. She was Olive's sister and Ophelia's mother, and because she had died by drowning, her ghost is pale blue and very hard to see. She doesn't bother anyone, just makes her rounds, leaving puddles everywhere.

Olive isn't afraid of ghosts in general, and even less so of her sister's. She just spends good part of the night mopping up puddles and pulling up weeds that grow because of those puddles. 

After school that day, Ophelia is happy to find her acceptance letter for college in the mail box.

She and her aunt kiss and embrace one last time, then she's off. 

The taxi has just dropped her off at La Fiesta Tech. I would have liked for her to join the dorm where all the other playable students from Strangetown live, such as the Grunt boys, but that one is full to bursting, and nobody is going to leave anytime soon.

Instead, Ophelia gets a room at Oasis Dormitory, where I have placed some former NPC teens from Strangetown because of their "playable" surnames.

She is made welcome right away with a dance session in the hall - Freshmen only :-) 

Over Mac & Cheese at the small cafeteria, Ophelia is introduced to her dorm mates properly. Sitting with her is River Smith. 

At the other table are Christopher Hart and Shenene Kim. It is nice that they all show wishes about being friends with the others. River Smith's biggest wish is to get engaged with DJ Verse! 

To my pleasure, Ophelia's fun level is high enough after some more dancing and a session at the easel for her to complete her very first Term Paper on her very first evening at the dorm. 

The next morning, the campus coach arrives, apparently deep in thought about whom he should pester into working out today. 

He turns out to be a nice man, though, even cracking a joke when he and Ophelia get talking (he really did!). His name? Curtis Love - that makes him a potential future resident of Strangetown!

The next morning, I find Ophelia and Christopher dancing away to the music from the radio that was already in her room when she moved in. As usual, students have no problem with others seeing them in just their undies, or their PJs.

River has now rolled the wish to have his first kiss, and since DJ Verse is the one he is in love with, he invites the entire sorority over. Their first kiss brings him into Platinum for the rest of the day, while the other girls chat away, dance with the students living at this dorm, watch TV or play at the computer. 

The day of the end of term exam has arrived, and Ophelia helps herself to a pile of sugary pancakes in the canteen for a boost of energy. 

It helped - she, like the other three playable students here, passes her exam with an A+ and a spot on the Dean's List. The students now have a little over 9,000 Simoleons; maybe one or two improvements can be made to the dorm. 

With the second half of her Freshman Year only just begun, Ophelia is once again quick to finish her Term Paper. (The computer is the one she brought along, the gift from Mr. Humble that was delivered when she was still at her Aunt's).

A letter from Auntie Olive! Ophelia is always glad to hear from back home, the only home she's known for most of her life. But she also really likes life at college in general, and at the small dorm in particular. 

One of the benefits of living at the dorm is that there is always someone around if she feels like having company - and someone of her own age at that. In fact, she feels herself drawn to seeking out Christopher Hart more often than the others... 

...and then autonomously decides to caress him. They now have a crush on each other, but Christopher definitely wants more: One of his bigger wants is to fall in love with Ophelia. Strangely enough, he has only one chemistry bolt for her, and she has a crossed-out bolt for him! Maybe that's why the NPC student looks so skeptical at the romantic scene. 

With everyone having completed their Term Papers, I send the four students to the LFT Student Union for a change of scene and the chance to meet more of their fellow students. 

Ophelia meets Francis J. Worthington... 

...and River finds out that the cook has a "playable" surname; he instantly goes to talk to Zaitrarrio Lee. Other playable students come to the Student Union as well, such as Jessie Pilferson. The small group from Ophelia's dorm all have something to eat and go about various activities until they get so tired they call it a day and head back to the dorm. 

New and much better beds are purchased with part of their combined grants, and River is the first to test his. Autonomously, he has a good daydreaming session, and I expect him to think of DJ Verse, but all sorts of other Sims appear in the thought bubbles above his head - from Professors to townies to fellow students, just not DJ.

Ophelia!! Is that your way of showing your crush what you really think of him?! (Christopher wasn't bothered at all when she farted across the table right over his food and in his face!) 

A few hours later, along with the other three playable students here, Ophelia passes her final exam - their Freshman Year is over. We'll be back here when it's River Smith's turn, unless a playable teenager from Strangetown moves to this dorm before that.

It will be interesting to see whether Ophelia and Christopher take their relationship from crush to love, and if River gets engaged to DJ (his biggest wish at the moment).