Week Three Part One: Kules Korner

Darius left for college when he was in his mid-twenties, very near the maximum age for full-time admittance.











After he left, Brittanie remembered that Jaden existed. She definitely didn't feel like taking care of the kid herself, so she bit the bullet, inviting Ryan over and informing him that he had a son. Ryan, naturally, immediately wanted to move in and help take care of the boy. Brittanie let him, and was soon glad to discover that Ryan was too busy burying his nose in a book to pay much mind to her...extracurricular activities. (Ryan is a Knowledge Sim with the lifetime want to become a prestidigitator. I don't remember his astrological sign.)
















Brittanie was still working, doing video editing. One day she showed her boss a life-changing video of some rabbits and he bequeathed her his entire fortune and went to live in the wild. Or something. Brittanie didn't really care. She just cared that she had enough money to bulldoze her old, dinky house and build a swanky new one.







Around the time Jaden started kindgergarten (or was it first grade? Brittanie wasn't really paying attention), Brittanie was dismayed to discover that she was pregnant again. She really needed to get better birth control. To make things worse, she'd been with some guys besides Ryan recently and couldn't be sure the baby was his.







A few months later, a baby girl was born. Brittanie named her Alexis, noted with relief that she looked just like Jaden (meaning she had been fathered by dark-complexioned Ryan and not by blond-haired what's-his-name), and promptly forgot that she existed.








Meanwhile, Ryan took time out from his own studies to help Jaden with his homework. Although he loved Brittanie, he noticed that she seemed perfectly content with her low level of education (she'd barely graduated high school) and he wanted his son to go to college and have opportunities he'd never had.







This is what the Kules house looked like at the end of the week. The exterior is loosely designed on a picture I saw somewhere on the interwebs. Unfortunately, Sims 2 furniture isn't really intended for slanty walls. I make it work, though.









This is the exterior of the house. Originally I was upset that the roof looked like that, but then I decided it was cool and funky. Or something.

I'm really glad I brought Ryan into the neighborhood, even thought it cramps Brittanie's Romance-Sim style. This way, I get to cast her as the villian and Ryan and the kids as victims. If she was the only one living here, she'd have to be the hero of the story and I just dislike her too much for that. (I'm a shameless Romance Sim hater. Also, I love Knowledge Sims to pieces even though they're boring by themselves.)

Week Two Part Six: Sim State Dormitory + Zeta Zeta Epsilon Greek House

During high school, Edith and Joan had discovered that Sim State University would be offering limited full ride scholarships to young Sims from Prosperity Plains. The catch was that the scholarships were only offered once every 7 years and only 8 sims from the city could attend. (Translation: I decided to put my kids through in batches rather than staggering them.) The number limit wasn't a problem, but Edith and Joan didn't have good enough grades at 18 and thus had to wait around until they were both 25. SSU didn't admit full-time students older than 26, so the twins were cutting it close.

Edith and Joan managed to convince their best friend from high school, Greg Pons, to go with them, and all three were placed on the second floor of Sim State Dormitory.

Edith immediately got to work networking, greeting a mysterious stranger in a black blazer and encouraging Joan and Greg to come hang out with him as well.










Joan went along with it, but the next morning she abandoned the networking plan and started working on her MRS degree...with Greg, who didn't seem too troubled by having to choose between his two best friends.























Joan and Edith still had a strong relationship, playing Red Hands together to help de-stress after class just like they used to in high school.

Their second year at college, the three students decided to begin a Greek house, which they named Zeta Zeta Epsilon. They moved to a 3-bedroom house just across the street from Sim State Dormitory.





All three students soon found that their friendships with the black blazer types had paid off; Greg was inducted into the Secret Society not long after the Greek House was founded; Edith followed and then Joan.























After sophomore year, the twins began to change things up a bit. Joan confined her college rebellion to chopping off her braids and dying her jet-black hair blond.










Meanwhile, Edith seemed to undergo a personality change; she stopped caring about money and started obsessing over going on dates and having fun. She started dating a charismatic young man named Corbin Todd; they very quickly became engaged and soon she had asked him to move in. She even asked him to share the big black bed with her.




















Joan was not too upset about this; she just moved to the other bedroom with Greg, to whom she had become engaged.











It wasn't long before Corbin was fully integrated into the Greek house and then into the Secret Society.











Meanwhile, the older students were hard at work trying to attain the coveted Big Man (or Woman) on Campus award. All three accomplished this before graduation; they celebrated their success with a toga party at which Edith led the crowd in a rousing rendition of an old folk song.

Then came graduation. All three of the older students graduated with honors, but Edith didn't qualify for Summa Cum Laude since she had a 3.9. Joan gave her a lecture about studying, but Edith shrugged it off. She would still be plenty prosperous enough.

This photo amuses me mainly
because Timothy Seifert (far left)
and Ryker Owens (far right) would
both later join the Greek House.

Also notice Brittanie Kules (in pink,
center) being a total cougar,
trying to pick up college guys.

Edith, as you may recall, was a Fortune Sim with a lifetime want to own 5 top level businesses. I didn't feel up to figuring that out, so when end of sophomore year came around I rerolled her aspiration. She's now a Pleasure Sim with a lifetime want to have 50 dream dates. Of course, she immediately snagged herself a Romance Sim. Their desires remained compatible through college (Edith kept Corbin faithful with lots of awesome dates; he didn't even mind getting engaged), but things might get interesting for them after graduation when marriage and children become possible.

Week Two Part Five: Riedmayer-Landgraab Estate

Finally, it was time for the twins to leave for college. They had worked hard to get their grades up and were thrilled. Beata was thrilled too. Since she'd given birth to the twins at 15, she'd barely had a chance to finish high school; college had been completely out of the question. She was glad that her girls had more opportunities than she'd had.

Joan was the first to leave.




Edith was next.













The twins took their bedroom furniture with them. As soon as they were gone Malcolm had some contractors come in and redo the twins' room for little Mal, who had outgrown his crib.










Beata insisted that he also hire some contractors to redo the kitchen, since they could finally afford it. So Malcolm did.











Not long after the last contractor cleaned up the last mess, Beata gave birth to her sixth child (Malcolm's third), another girl. They named her Marion after Malcolm's grandmother. (This actually was in Malcolm's family tree.) Like her sister Mildred, Marion strongly resembled Beata.








Malcolm told Beata that as a post-baby present she could get a car. Since she had four children at home, Beata reluctantly decided to get a practical minivan rather than a cooler sort of car.










Francine generally got lumped in with the "little kids," even though she was halfway between the twins and Millie in age. However, after Marion was born her mother gave her more responsiblity...and more freedom. For instance, she was allowed to have boys over. She became good friends with both Donte and Jihoon Whitfill, though she didn't give either of them romantic ideas. She wanted to go to college too and didn't need distractions from her studies. (Knowledge Sim.)

At this point I was very seriously considering setting Francine up with Donte. However, as you can guess from this post, that didn't pan out.

Bonus out-of-order picture: Francine became friends with Rishell Whitfill while they were both still children.











This is what the downstairs looked like at the end of the week. Notice that they've started using the porch as a sort of study.











This is what the upstairs looked like. Francine and Millie in the pink room, little Malcolm in the blue room.











The whole house from the back. I think my screened porch is cute.












The whole house from the front. My favorite part is that little window/balcony thing on top, which was put there by whoever designed the house for Maxis, not by me. The bay window (which you can just see behind the willow tree) is cool too.

I feel like a lot more happened to the Landgraabs than is contained in this update. A lot of ordinary Sim-life, I guess. Working and taking care of babies and making sure your kids do their homework and putting dinner on the table...stuff that doesn't make a very interesting story. I really like this family, though.

Week Two Part Four: Whitfill Ranch

It seemed like only a few days had passed before Blake turned 13. He was a very outgoing young fellow and said he wanted to charm the ladies when he grew up. Larita discouraged such talk. She was happy that Blake didn't let his aspirations get in the way of his obligations to his family. He studied hard and helped out plenty around the house, especially with fixing the very unreliable plumbing.





The other kids weren't far behind Blake; next thing Larita knew it was time for the twins' 13th birthday. Larita couldn't afford a party, but the kids seemed to enjoy the occasion anyway; a lady who happened to be walking by heard them singing "Happy Birthday" to Rishell and came over to congratulate her.

I decided to teach myself to use Picasa.
My first lesson: Text over photos.

Of course, the kids weren't the only ones getting older. Larita was beginning to feel her age. Sometimes she worried whether she'd live to see her kids grow up. Could five teenagers take care of each other if she was gone?

Then one day a gypsy woman came and gave Larita a magic lamp. Of course, Larita didn't really believe it was magic, but she was never opposed to free stuff.

Naturally, she was struck dumb when she rubbed the lamp (just to polish it up, you understand) and a genie popped out! He offered her three wishes, and she wished for peace of mind, riches, and a long life. The genie said that her wishes were all granted and left in a puff of smoke, leaving sacks of money in his wake.

The kids didn't believe the story Larita told about a genie; they figured her friend Mr. Riedmayer had left her some money and she was just getting a little weird in her old age. At any rate, they suddenly had enough money to build a small but comfortable house--with a kitchen! Being hungry teenagers, the kids liked that part best. They cooked all sorts of food the first 24 hours in their new house, starting with spaghetti.





The next day, they had omelettes for breakfast.













Then they had hamburgers for lunch.













Last of all, they cooked a whole turkey for dinner.













Of course, they did still sometimes indulge in their old standby of pre-baked cookies.












This is what the house looked like at the end of the week. On the left, a bedroom with a ballet barre and two easels. Larita and Jihoon slept there. (Let's pretend my Sims live in a culture where a woman sharing a bed with her [adopted] teenage son is normal. Double beds are a lot more cost-effective than singles.) Behind that is a tiled area (the someday kitchen) with two more beds; one for Blake and Donte and one for Veronica and Rishell. On the right is the common area, with a small kitchen, a battered sofa, a bookcase, and a chess table. There are also two bathrooms; that felt indulgent but it really is necessary in a house with six Sims. (I find 2-3 Sims per bathroom works nicely, though I've definitely done 8 sims in a one-bathroom house before.)

Week Two Part Three: Riedmayer Cove

The house atop the hill was much roomier with Beata and her daughters gone. Elwood wasted no time trying for a male heir, and soon Jill was expecting.










Jack spent a little bit of time flirting with Denise Jacquet, who lived in the nearby Bluewater Village, but she was an uptight old lady. (Seriously, she rejected almost all of his advances.) The pickings were kind of slim in Prosperity Plains, though, so Jack focused on painting and working part-time in entertainment.








One day a young guy named Johnson Simpson invited himself home with Jack, and one thing led to another...

Jack was happier than he'd ever been in his life; at the age of 67 he finally admitted that the reason he'd never been in a deep relationship with a woman was because he was attracted to men. However, Jack kept his relationship with Johnson a secret from Elwood; his super-conservative brother would probably have a heart attack if Jack came out to him.


Meanwhile, Jill gave birth to a daughter, Agatha. Elwood quit his job so he could spend more time with Agatha--and with Jill. There was still hope for a male heir, after all.










Not very long after, Elwood and Jack were birdwatching at the edge of the lot when Elwood abruptly collapsed and died. His death was hardest on Jill. She had been aware when she married Elwood that she would probably end up a widow before too many years, but she didn't anticipate it happening while their daughter was still so young.






Jack stepped up to help take care of his niece. His brother's death reminded him that life was short and he didn't want any regrets, so he came out to Jill. Jill, being young and rather progressive herself (*cough* Romance Sim *cough*), was nothing but congratulations, and it was only a few weeks after Elwood's funeral that Johnson moved into the Riedmayer home.






It turned out that Johnson's job in entertainment, through which he met Jack, was just a side gig; he was actually employed as an All-Star athelete. His income certainly helped things; Jack had quit work entirely and Jill was only an EMT.









Just a few weeks after Elwood's death, Jill discovered that she was pregnant again. She was apprehensive but decided that being a single mother to two children really couldn't be that much harder than being a single mother to one.









Jacqueline Riedmayer was born about eight months after her father's death. Jill knew that Elwood would have been disappointed to not have a male heir, but she figured it was okay to be a little unconventional.









Both Jack and Jill benefited from Elwood's life insurance policy. The money enabled them to turn the tiny shelter into a larger, more well-appointed dwelling. Due to their hilly property, the house was kind of oddly shaped. The kitchen was very large, so Jack and Johnson slept there until there was money to build a second story. Jill shared her small bedroom with both her daughters, who were fortunately still in cribs.




This is what the outside of the house looked like at the end of the week. It's kind of ungainly now, but I promise it gets prettier later.

I kind of just let things play out as they would at the Riedmayer house this week. I definitely wasn't planning on having Jack get into a relationship at all, much less one with a man, but it's hard to keep a Romance Sim happy without a little...well, romance. I ended up liking Johnson a lot; I honestly like him better than Jill.

I was definitely disappointed first that Elwood only lived long enough to father two children, and second that neither was a boy. However, I've since gotten accustomed to it. Also, he gave me another platinum gravestone despite being a Fortune Sim who only made about $1000 in his entire life.