The Roseland-Goth Family: Week 8

The Roseland-Goth villa is still one of my favourite houses in New Maximiliania; sometimes I can't be bothered with doing much about the original furnishing and decorating of a place, but in this case, I have made a real effort, and am still happy with what it looks like.

Who lives here at the moment?

Cyd Roseland, widower of Cassandra Roseland née Goth, now 78 years old...

...Tara Goth, née DeBateau, also 78 years old, wife of...

...Alexander Goth, who is much younger at 62...

...Jackie, the dog...

..and Moody, another dog (remnants of the days when Cassandra was still alive and wanted to raise 20 puppies). But wait, haven't I forgotten someone?

No, I have not. Alexander's half-Alien twins Giselle and Gunther are still there, too.

It is Monday, and Tara's turn to do some gardening. Usually I let my PermaPlat Sims do what they like, and this is true in this household for most of the time, too. But since we have two children and two dogs living here as well, I don't want the place to go "to the dogs", as the saying goes, and therefore have the adults take turns in doing what is necessary to keep things clean and tidy.

Today, Christopher Capp walks by just as the school bus pulls up in front of the house at 3.00 pm.

A few hours later, Cyd is definitely not feeling well.

Now he knows what was wrong with him! He dies on Permanent Platinum at the age of 79. Good-bye, Cyd, you were a good husband to Cassandra, brother-in-law to Alexander and uncle to Giselle and Gunther. Also, you were a good master to your faithful dog Porthos, who died long ago.

On Tuesday morning, Giselle spends an hour or so before school playing with her toy boat.

Gunther, always the super-neat one, prefers cleaning up his breakfast things.

When left to their own devices, some Sims definitely show more intelligence than others. For instance, Alexander will always take a bath when his hygiene level is low, but Tara has no better idea than a sponge bath.

Still, she is the love of Alexander's life, and the two of them show their feelings to each other frequently.

Jackie never waits too long before getting clean with the water wiggler. I really am grateful for that item!

Giselle is, like many half-Alien children, exceptionally bright and maximises her logic skill this afternoon.

Again, Tara shows less intelligence than her husband. He never starves himself, he always prepares a nice meal long before it comes to that.

Just like here, on Wednesday morning, when I find him in the kitchen making a dish of salmon.

Giselle brings home class mate Nellie Newson today. The girls can talk endlessly about their favourite movies and TV shows, while Moody was so hoping for a nice game of fetch out in the garden.

At 6.00 pm, Tara dies. She was the same age as Cyd Roseland when he died; 79.

At the same time, upstairs Gunther turns into a teenager. His aspiration is decided by lot and turns out to be Knowledge. Unfortunately, his lifetime want is to be Criminal Mastermind - not my favourite career path!

Alexander always knew that his wife would probably die first, being so much older than himself. But it still hits him hard to see her waving a final good-bye to him.

Gunther may have hit puberty, but it certainly has not hit him - he still is the neat freak he used to be as a child.

They are twins, but it takes Giselle a few hours before she, too, grows up into a teenager. Her aspiration is Family, and she wants to have six grandchildren eventually.

Gunther tries to cheer up his father by telling him how well he and his sister grew up, thanks to him being such a great Dad, and how they can be very much there for him now than when they were just little kids. But Alexander is inconsolable over Tara's death.

[He is thinking of her non-stop.

Even Moody seems to be affected by two deaths in such a short space of time and on Thursday morning, he reverts to destructive behaviour he has not shown for a very long time.

I notice just in time that Giselle somehow never finished her homework on Wednesday. She has to do it now, early in the morning before school.

By the way, the nursery has been changed to a room that suits her needs more. Her brother has moved into Alexander's old room.

Thursdays mean mail days in New Maximiliania. But instead of just the usual pile of bills, today Alexander finds a letter from a friend: Jessica Peterson writes such kind words of comfort, Alexander can't help but feel his spirits lift.

He rings Jessica to thank her for her letter, and soon the two of them are in an animated conversation that lasts for hours. (Of course, there was no letter from Jessica in actual gameplay; I made that up. But the phone conversation was real!)

The kids now finish school two hours earlier than before and make use of the sunny afternoon by playing with the water wiggler.

It is Friday morning, and Alexander autonomously gives the bath next to his bedroom a good scrub.

Whenever Giselle is near a mirror, she can't resist posing in front of it, much to the embarrassment of her brother.

Oops - who died now, without me noticing?

Jackie, who had a very long and happy dog's life. Now Moody is the only family pet left.

Didn't I tell you that Giselle poses in front of every mirror she comes across? ;-)

On Saturday morning, not being rushed for time as on school days Giselle decides to have a long, leisurely bath. The bathroom adjacent to her room has had a make-over, too.

Over breakfast, the twins talk about how they used to have so many pets, and now there is only poor Moody left. "Maybe Dad will allow for us to take in another dog or cat," Gunther hopes.

But before they pester their father about another pet, they have something more important to do: buy cell phones!

At Sims Gone Wired, both of them buy mobiles.

Meanwhile, Alexander has used his children's absence to invite Jessica Peterson over. After their first long phone conversation, several more calls have followed, and now he thinks it is time to act.

Back from town, Gunther takes advantage of the small gym in one of the tower rooms at the villa. This is the first time anyone uses the exercise bike this week.

Jessica and Alex' friendship progresses very quickly!

So quickly, in fact, that Jessica moves in during the early hours of Sunday morning! She is 67, Alexander is 68 - they seem a good match. And with her pink hair, she reminds Alexander a bit of how Tara used to be when she was younger.

The two of them toast Jessica's move...

...and are clearly very much in love with each other (jumping into Alexander's arms was an autonomous action from Jessica). This may seem a bit sudden to some, so soon after Tara's death, but Alexander is right in thinking you should not wait too long when you are their age - you never know how many (or few!) days you'll have left to enjoy life.

It is now autumn, and Gunther spends good part of the afternoon raking the leaves on the garden path.

Alexander gives yet another proof of his intelliegence when, instead of stomping on the bugs that have developed near the dustbin, he sprays them.

This is where we end the week at this household. I enjoy playing here a lot, but now it will take a long time before I'll be back here.

Will the twins go to college? Are Alexander and Jessica going to marry? Will another dog or cat join Moody?

On Special Request - Lot Tour: The Ottomas House

The Ottomas house is, like all buildings you see on this blog, a Maxis-made one. However, I have altered it by adding rooms to it to accomodate the ever-growing family. This alterations were so long ago that I honestly can't remember what was there from the start and what was done by me. I am certain about the addition on the top floor left; that was mine, and maybe I also changed bits about the layout so that there were enough bathrooms.

Back view.Sorry about the pictures having been taken at night - I always play my Sims households for one week exactly, which usually means they start just when midnight Sunday turns into Monday, and of course did not play the family now out of order just to have daylight for the lot tour.
I know that it is possible to change day/night time in build mode, but pictures in build mode always mean that you see the grid, and I did not want that for more pictures than necessary.

See? I have changed into build mode for this picture, and turned it to daytime. The ground floor layout is as follows:From the front door, you are immediately in the lounge. Clockwise from the lounge, you see the double staircase leading upstairs and a narrow hallway leading to the nursery with its own tiny bathroom. Still moving clockwise, the next room is what used to be Samantha and Peter's bedroom. The many rose bouqets are a reminder of Samantha's long struggle for reaching her LTW of having 50 dream dates (each and every one with her own husband).
Next to this bedroom is a bathroom, with a second door leading through to a smaller bedroom. It used to be Sharla's before she left for college. Last but not least, the open plan kitchen and dining area, and going back to the lounge.

Upstairs, two doors lead off the landing. To the left is the violet-themed bedroom belonging to David and Lilith, with en-suite bathroom. To the right is a room with two single beds; it used to be David's and Tommy's when they were boys. There is an en-suite bathroom there, too.

Now for the scenic shots: This is the lounge.To the left, you can see the front door. There is a settee in front of the telly here (just visible in the lower left corner), a chess table and a computer desk.

The TV corner.

View from the settee to the open-plan kitchen and dining area.

Sharla's bedroom.

The bedroom that used to be Peter's and Samantha's.

The nursery.

Upstairs, this is one side of the room with two single beds.

The other side of the room.

The violet bedroom.
The four bathrooms in this house are all too small for me to take proper pictures; I don't like snapshots with the walls down if I can avoid it. Anyway, there is nothing special about any of the bathrooms; they all contain a toilet, sink and shower/bathtub and not much else.

Now you've seen the house; It is well below the family's means, they could easily afford to live in a palace, but for now, they remain where they first started out a long time ago, when money was tight and the family kept getting larger.
It is a very playable house, exactly because it is not too big; no Sim takes hours just to get from one end of the place to the other.

Not sure this will still be the Ottomas' house in the next round; the family setup has changed since Peter and Samantha's death, but I like to think that their grown-up children would not give up the old family home easily.

Gunnar Roque: Week 3

Who owns this unusual lot, with a tower and a tiny house on one end of the vast expanse of uncultivated land?

       It is Gunnar Roque, who moved here some time ago and spends his days pursuing his romantic interests. He does not work, which explains his very modest circumstances. We find him clearly not well on the Monday morning of his third week after graduation, but that will not deter him from meeting as many ladies as possible this week.
Right now, he has only 1.408 Simoleons on his bank account, but a moment later, an inheritance kicks in, boosting his fortune to 2.308;-. Also, in his inventory, he still has the expensive telly he somehow got hold of during one of the previous weeks, but he will only sell that as a last resort.

       Today, he meets Heather Huffington.

        The two of them quickly bond over glasses of champagne.

        Tuesday morning sees Gunnar carefully filling in a hole dug by a stray dog. He can't risk any of his lady friends breaking something by stepping into the hole with their elegant high heels!

      Later that day, he makes the acquaintance of Lilith Ottomas (nee Pleasant) and Florence Delarosa. As in the previous weeks, he will follow his tested and proven tactics of always cultivating several friendships at once instead of focusing on just one lady.

        Wednesday morning sees Gunnar doing some housework. Not only does he himself feel better when his tiny house his clean, he also knows that it matters to most of his female visitors.

        He invites Florence over and starts to work his way to her heart.

       On Thursday morning, he finds he can't stop thinking of Heather Huffington.

       In spite of his focus being very clearly on the ladies, he is a polite Sim and greets his male neighbours as well. Here, Nathan Gavigan walks by.

        Before Thursday is over, Heather Huffington becomes his conquest # 15 - that's five to go until he'll have reached his lifetime want!

        On Friday morning, Lavender Greenman, who became his # 14 last week, decides on paying a visit.

       By the time Gunnar invites Lilith over, Lavender has already left.

        The cheap sink breaks (everything is the cheapest model in this house), which means Gunnar has to invest some of his valuable time into repair work.

       It is Saturday morning, and, as has been the case nearly every day, Martina Martin rings Gunnar. She is a teenage girl and Gunnar does not want them to get too close, but she keeps ringing him.

        He is much more willing to get close to Lilith... VERY close. She is now the 16th name on his list of ladies he has had woohoo with. "Your eye make-up perfectly matches my bedsheets, sweetheart," he charms her.

       After Lilith has left, Gunnar invites Florence over again. She works long hours and so can come over only late in the evening. Therefore, it is already Sunday by the time she becomes his # 17.

        Happily, Gunnar checks his list. Only three more to go!

        Gallagher Newson is Gunnar's second male visitor of the week.

       On Sunday afternoon, he works his way into Monica Bratford's affections.

        The stray dog has been back, and Gunnar has to fill in a hole once more.

       Desdemona Capp walks by and is greeted by Gunnar. The week ends with him and Desdemona becoming friends (and nothing more just yet).

Who will the last three ladies on Gunnar's list be? And what will he do once he has reached his LTW? Is he ever going to do something about his financial situation, or stick to his modest lifestyle?