Jared Starchild - Week 8

Week 7 with Jared is here.

Just round the corner from Perseida Powers' place is another Maxis-made house that looks much spacier than it is - there really is no upper floor, just the ground floor with a rather impractical layout. But it is sufficient for the man who calls it home:

Jared Starchild, now 66 years old. He was one of the original playable students introduced to our games with the Campus expansion pack - a long time ago!

In the past, every time it was Jared's turn to be played, I found his lifetime want changed. And can you believe it - it has changed once more! Now he wishes to become General - impossible at his age, I'm afraid. What IS the matter with the man?!

Never mind, I'll make sure he is as happy as possible.

One of his lifetime wants was to raise 20 puppies or kittens, and two canine companions are still with him from that time. Here is Max, fast asleep...

...and Tessa, equally fast asleep and in dire need of a bath.

But since last round, Jared also has a human housemate: Nery Turner, a townie who became eligible to move in because I know people in real life with that surname.

Nery is a Romance Sim and wants to become Professional Party Guest; shouldn't be a problem.
He also brings a few good items in his inventory, good to be sold - the household can do with a few improvements. Afterwards, the joint bank account still shows 16,414 Simoleons.

The week at this house starts on Sunday, and for Jared, his customary round of dog bathing is in order.

Nery was lucky in finding a position as Gas Station Attendant and can start that same evening. "I thought this was the Slacker Career," he muses as he goes out to the car pool in the pouring rain. "Working nights and having to leave the house in this weather does not exactly feel slackish!"

On Monday, not for the first time this round I catch Tessa challenging Maxx in an aggressive manner. Was she like that last round? I can't remember. Maxx has done nothing to deserve that!

The skunk is visiting, and just like before, the dogs don't take notice. But Jared does! On his own accord, he goes out and tries to pet it - with the usual result.

Later that morning, Tessa shows her age; she is now an elderly dog.

Somehow, I either forgot to take a picture or it has disappeared; anyway, Nery is promoted to Convenience Store Clerk on Monday. He has now two days off; good to work on his skills, and also to visit a community lot with Jared and the dogs.

Here the two men are fast asleep on Tuesday morning. As I said before, the house is much less spacious than it looks, and two bedrooms are not possible - unless I would ban the dogs from the house, which Jared would never want.

It is a fine summer morning, and the men occupy themselves with dog-related cleaning jobs first.

The taxi then takes them all to Pettina's Pet Retreat, already bustling with visitors.

Stephanie Stacks is here, as is Gallagher Newson and an assortment of townies, cats and dogs.

Jason Lewis happily eats one of the hot dogs Jared has grilled for everyone.

Nery and Stephanie strike up conversation around the swings, but there is not enough attraction between them for me to further pursue the acquaintance.

The day is made perfect when Opal Traver, the Infallibly Good Witch, sheds golden light on the place.

During the early hours of Wednesday morning, Nery's stargazing is interrupted when he is invited aboard the Alien spaceship. It was his very first time ever at the telescope!

Upon his return, he is utterly exhausted and not at all happy, but he still has to be up and dressed in time for the car pool - after two days off, his job at the store starts today.

Hardly surprising, after the kind of mood he was in this morning, he comes home without a promotion - but with a sudden urge to run to the toilet. "Am I expecting?" he wonders.

"You ARE," Plesant Servo Capp tells him later of a dinner of grilled cheese, made by Jared and eaten in the company of their guests for the evening, Servo (remember, I made him look human some time ago) and Carmelo Capp.

Thursday means dog-related cleaning jobs for Jared...

...even before sunrise.
The skunk is a frequent visitor, but although it seems here as if Maxx were straight looking it in the face, he actually takes no notice at all.

Nery has been wishing for a date all week, and since the only two three-bolt ladies he knows are Jill Smith and Gabriella Newson, the latter is asked over.

Their date goes along well enough, but Gabrielle cautions Nery that he is not the only man she's been kissing recently - she is, after all, a Romance Sim with the wish to have 20 lovers, and last time I looked, she had 13 or 14.

Not much happens on Friday.
Jared repairs the bathroom sink...

...and later discovers that young Chandler Cho is happy to talk about Grilled Cheese - something Jared never takes for granted.
Nery is asleep most of the day, and it is dark by the time he finally gets up. Being in the last stages of pregnancy makes him tire quickly.

By Saturday, Nery finds sitting down much more comfortable than standing or walking. He settles on the settee to do the crosswords...

...when he suddenly drops the paper and goes into labour.

Just before 10:00 am, little Tina is born! (You know I had to name her Tina, with that surname!)

Jared happily welcomes this latest addition to the household.
Nery is off to work, knowing his baby daughter will be in very good hands with Jared.

Jared has been trying to ring his old friend Gerlinde Gavigan many times this week, but she was always out working. How nice of her, then, that she comes visiting on her own accord today! George Scott has been passing and is also invited to share the platter of grilled cheese sandwiches.

Nery is promoted to Record Store Clerk, and this is where the week here ends.

It was never boring, what with the two men looking after the dogs and Nery making sure he had enough skills for his job. Also, there were daily phone calls to friends, and the visit to the community lot provided a welcome change.
The highlight was of course Tina's birth, and I am already looking forward to playing this household again.

Stephanie Stacks: Week 1

Stephanie's Senior Year can be found here.

A long time ago, I gave this Maxis-made house to the Ramaswamis (if I remember correctly). It was then decorated and furnished by me, but this one is the completely untouched version directly from the lots & houses catalogue.

Downstairs are the most basic kitchen, a cheap table and two chairs. In the corner where the picture is taken from is a book case.

Upstairs is a bathroom containing the cheapest shower/tub combination and a toilet - no sink. The bedroom looks like this.
But who are we here for?

Not Mr Humble, who has just delivered his customary package.

It's Stephanie Stacks, the only remaining daughter of Cedric and Helena Stacks.
She has just graduated Summa Cum Laude in Biology and actually meant to move back in with her parents. But then she decided to try life out on her own for a change, knowing her parents weren't lonely with Vyn Scott, her two adopted sons and her three-bolt man Waylon Lam. Suddenly, the idea to live in a house so full of people who were strictly speaking not her family did not hold much appeal.
Here she is on this Monday, looking for a job in that will eventually allow her to reach her lifetime want of becoming The Law. As a Fortune Sim, she will certainly start to roll "buy me" wishes soon - until then, I won't do much about the house.

The welcome party consists of Gabriella Newson and Vince Walter. The redhead is a townie who won't be asked in. Vince seems to be attracted to his new neighbour, but the feeling is not mutual - there is a crossed-out bolt for him in Stephanie's relationship panel.
All through her college years, she has not been romantically involved with anyone. Is that going to change at some stage?

Oh dear! The Stacks family seem to be hit particularly hard with fiery incidents and accidents. Here, the tree next to the house is hit by lightning. Thankfully, Steph and her guests were indoors having lunch meat sandwiches, and only Gabriella ran out, and the rain put the flames out quickly.

Later, Steph receives a phone call from Steve Riley who invites her downtown for a group outing. She accepts and boards the taxi, but then the game just did not stop loading without ever getting to the community lot. I had to force it to shut down and lost the outing gameplay, but when I entered the lot the next day, Steph just got off the taxi - with no memories of any outing.

No job for Stephanie on Tuesday, either. But there is enough to do for her at home, such as cleaning the bathroom, doing the crossword and recycling the paper, and paying the bills.

She sits down for a lone and late breakfast.

One of her many half-sisters and good friend Hailey Hart comes visiting on her own accord.

Somehow, Steph made it through four years of college without acquiring more than one single cooking point. Thererfore, her wish to ask someone to serve a meal is not surprising, and Hailey happily obliges.
Over their hamburgers, she explains the situation to her half-sis. "You know, if were just for my Mum and Dad on their own in the house, I'd move back in tomorrow. But with the boys... I don't know."

I send Stephanie out to rake the leaves on Wednesday morning. I also make her burn the pile, knowing full well what that could lead to. But nothing happens.

She rolls the want to gain a skill point, and since cooking is not exactly her forte, that's what she studies - with obvious pleasure.

She is a lot prouder than she looks here, ready to eat the first hamburger she has ever made!

As every Sim (and Sims player) knows, Thursday means a new set of bills to pay.

For Steph, it also means a wished-for visit to a community lot where she can buy clothes - another wish of hers. Remember what happened on Monday evening with her failed outing? Although she never called anyone but only asked for a taxi for herself, she gets off at Amelia's Closet with the entire group Steve Riley originally got together for the Monday outing.

Never mind! Stephanie makes her choice of outfits and heads home after a while... still with the group in tow.

Before they leave, the community lot is bathed in golden light, summoned by a visiting good witch. I've not seen that in a while!

With so many unexpected guests joing her at her humble home, Stephanie decides to order pizza to feed everyone. Most of the group are half-siblings of hers, but she hardly knows them.

Finally, on Friday morning Stephanie starts working towards her lifetime want. She has found a position as Legal Biller and is picked up at 8:00 in the morning. Her own car is not quite as comfortable, and so she happily opts for the car pool.

Upon her return, an unlikely colleague accompanies her: Otto Ottomas. He is only a teenager and has no job - how can the game treat him as if he were Steph's colleague? Anyway, he is yet another half-sibling (or nephew?), and so he is not immediately sent home.

It is actually nice that he is here, because Stephanie now asks her parents over. Unfortunately, Helena is booked for a performance (remember, she is a Rock Goddess), and so Cedric arrives without her, but with the two boys left behind by the late Vyn Scott.
The foursome spend a pleasant enough evening together, giving Stephanie the chance to meet the boys on her own terms.

After that first day at work and a not-so comfortable night's sleep still in the same cheap bed that was already in the house when she bought it, Stephanie feels still somewhat sleepy when she gets up relatively late on Saturday morning.

But she has invited her parents and the boys over for lunch and spends some time in the kitchen - unfortunately, not quite with the desired result.

Nobody remarks on the slightly burnt food, though; instead, once the boys are elsewhere in the house, Cedric tells Steph that he wishes for her and the boys to become best friends.

Helena knows her husband won't be around much longer and decides to tell their daughter; it would be so good to have her back at the family home before it is too late for Cedric.

[Maybe starting a new job and having the house full of guests - even if they are family - for three days in a row was a bit much; anyway, by Sunday Steph comes down with a cold.

A hot bubble bath is always nice, and certainly helpful when one is not feeling well.

By evening, Steph is well enough to work on her Charisma skill, necessary for her first promotion.

Will we see her moving back in with her parents next time the Stacks household is played? Is there any Sim out there who eventually will catch her eye (and heart)?

And are the strange happenings (the "outing that never was", the casual group appearing on the community lot with Steph and her teenage "colleague") signs of my game being in danger?