Week Four Part Five: Riedmayer-Landgraab Estate

Millie left for college at the age of 20, a few years younger than any of her half-sisters. Mal, who was 17, decided to stay home for a few more years.

(In hindsight, I really should have sent him, but that's water under the bridge now.)

Since the older pair were pretty much independent, Beata and Malcolm were free to focus more attention on their younger pair of children. Although she tried not to play favorites, Beata felt a special bond with her daughter Marion--perhaps because Marion was the only child she'd tried for and longed for. The others had all just sort of happened.

I just like this picture of Beata in her military uniform and Marion in her private school uniform.

Malcolm, on the other hand, focused on Margaret, the baby of the family. Beata was feeling her age and seemed kind of tired of the daily grind of motherhood, but it was important to Malcolm that all his children succeed--especially the little girl who was named after his own mother, who had died when he was just a child.

Malcolm invited over the headmaster for the third time. By that point the visit was hardly more than a formality.

The next day, Margaret trotted off to school in a hand-me-down uniform, looking exactly like her sister Millie.

About a year later, Marion turned 13. She started saying that she wanted to have plenty of fun and maybe go on some dates, but not get into a serious relationship. Her father told her she could do that on her own dime once she moved out. To please him, Marion got a job at the local science facility. She wasn't really interested in science, but that job paid the best, which would make her father happy.

Marion Landgraab, daughter of Beata Riedmayer-Landgraab and Malcolm Landgraab IV.

Aspiration: Pleasure

Lifetime Want: Have 50 1st Dates (Ay yi yi)

Astrological sign: Gemini

Malcolm was getting older too. He decided to stop bothering coloring his hair, since it was pure white underneath now.

He had reached the top of his career (all his wife knew about this career was that it was "business"; he didn't tell her what kind of business), so he could start winding down a little bit. He didn't bother to retire; he worked so few hours that it was like being retired but with better pay.

Pictured: Malcolm becoming Criminal Mastermind, his first top of career and lifetime want. He won't be reaching another TOC, since he's an elder. His new LTW is Own 5 Top Level Businesses.

Malcolm's favorite part of the day was still when Maggie would run out to greet him as soon as he got back from work, even though she was supposed to be asleep by then.

I thought the contrast between the Criminal Mastermind suit and the frilly pink nightgown was funny.

Meanwhile, Beata pushed herself to get the last few promotions she needed to reach her dream of becoming a general.

Pictured: Beata maxing her body skill at the Platinum Gym. (Fitness hobby lot.)

Meanwhile, Mal just tried to fly under his parents' radar as much as possible. He was still dating Theresa, and he took over the grocery shopping so he'd have an excuse to get out of the house and meet new people. One time he was out and ran into both his half-sister Francine and Millie's friend Blake Whitfill.

This picture is for jungfrun68, whose Sim Helena Landgraab has a stubby nose like Mal. Francine's very long nose, which you can also see in this picture, is the same as their mother's.

Since they had had to have a very small, rushed wedding, Beata was determined that she and Malcolm would have a blowout 25th anniversary party. To this end, they had a patio poured behind the house and set up all sorts of fun things.

(Yes, I know what a "golden anniversary" is. But it seemed more appropriate for a couple whose oldest child was in college to have a silver anniversary.)

Maggie, who seemed to take naturally to parties, led a huge crowd of guests in a smustle dance.

I hope you all appreciate my attempts to label a mob of people. All people without last names are Landgraabs. The parenthetical descriptions say how each guest is related to Beata.

I had Mal invite Theresa over separately from the inviting guests to the party interaction, and clicked "invite household" because I figured it couldn't hurt. Much to my surprise, Melanie and Gavin both came.

Some other guests admired the new rose trellises.

This picture is labeled just like the last one, but more coherently thanks to fewer people.

Then Mal led everyone in a toast to his parents, wishing them another 25 years of happiness. 

Didn't even bother labeling this one.

After the party, everyone was tuckered out. Maggie didn't even make it inside; she just flopped down in the new hammock for a nap.

Unfortunately, having a party in winter meant that the flu got passed around, and most of the family spend the next week in bed.

With party planning out of the way, Malcolm started taking up a new hobby of robotics. Beata wasn't fond of that thing being in their bedroom, but there wasn't a whole lot of room with 3 kids still in the house.

Soon, Maggie turned 13, leaving her mother with no small, dependent children for the first time in 45 years. Maggie had apparently really liked that anniversary party, since she kept saying she wanted to have lots of friends and lots of parties.

Margaret "Maggie" Landgraab, daughter of Beata Riedmayer-Landgraab and Malcolm Landgraab IV

Aspiration: Popularity

Lifetime Want: Have 20 Best Friends

Astrological sign: Gemini

You might notice that we have a bad case of Firstborn Syndrome here--Millie, Marion, and Maggie are all 100% identical, down to their preferred hobby. (Fitness.) Mal is different since he was born in the same play cycle as Millie. At least the girls are prettier than he is--though they have scary eyebrows that I always hide with their hair.

This is what the downstairs looked like. The Party Patio (as I like to call it) is the biggest change, and you saw that already.

Upstairs. Beata is working on charisma so she can get promoted.

The exterior. They didn't keep the buffet table or the champagne table, but they kept most of the other stuff that was bought for the party.

Week Four Part Four: Whitfill Ranch

Veronica

Or: What Happens When A Popularity Sim Lives Alone

It seemed like the very moment Blake Whitfill returned from college, his sisters were leaving for it.

Blake and Rishell

Blake was happy that they were fulfilling their late mother's dream for them, but he was also sad to see them go. He had never lived alone before in his life, and now here he was by himself in a house that was full of memories.

One of the first things he did was go buy some new clothes. Nobody would want to come visit if he looked like a crazy hobo.

While he was trying on his new suit, Blake went out to visit his mother's grave. He was still sad that he hadn't been there when she died, but her death had been far too sudden for him to return from college.

After a while, Blake pulled himself together. His mother had lived a full life and would want him to do the same. So Blake put on his new outfit and prepared to face the world.

I'm not a huge fan of the dark skin/red hair combo, but I think Blake pulls it off.

It took a little while, but Blake managed to get his dream job as a chef before his savings ran out. The first day of work, he brought home a coworker, Yoosung Harris, and served spaghetti. Life was not so lonely anymore.

As soon as possible, Blake invited over his brother Jihoon and gave Jihoon the easel he'd used as a child. Jihoon was delighted to get the easel back.

Blake gave his mother's old easel to Jihoon's new wife, Francine. Fran would put it to good use and she could pass it along to her children, who would be Larita's grandchildren.

Then the three of them sat down in the newly refurbished living room and watched a movie.

Blake also invited over a female coworker, but she wasn't as nice as Yoosung. She even had the gall to criticize the paintings on the wall, which had been done by his mother! Blake was so upset he could hardly finish his hamburger.

On one of his days off, Blake invited over his friend Millie Landgraab and her family. They had a relaxing day just hanging out.

From bottom left: Millie, Marion, Malcolm IV, and Margaret.

Blake served cake to his guests. Millie told her little sisters, "Aren't you glad we made a new friend?"

Blake didn't know about the Landgraab girls, but he was certainly happy to have made a new friend.

Clockwise from left: Millie, Marion, Margaret, Blake, Beata, Malcolm IV, Malcolm V

This is what the first floor looked like at the end of the week. Everything to the right of the front door is new, as you might guess.

This is the upstairs. It actually is different in that it has full walls rather than being an awkward area under the roof.

And this is the whole house. (With the family car on the bottom left and Larita's grave on the top left.) I was really pleased with how it turned out.

This house was a little different than some of my other "bachelor" houses. Knowledge Sims (like Blake's brother Donte, whose house will come up later this round) or even Fortune Sims living alone are easy and very very boring. A Romance-turned-Popularity Sim living alone is a little more complicated. Blake did earn a lot of skill points and go to work and all that, but he also brought someone home from work or invited someone over almost every day. It was actually kind of fun.

I didn't get any pictures to prove it, but Millie Landgraab, who had met Blake maybe once before in her life, autonomously called him twice this week. I was planning to force them to marry anyway, but that made me feel like maybe they "wanted" to be together as well, as much as little collections of pixels with primitive AI can want anything. (The funniest part is that Millie was still a teenager while Blake was an adult, so--since I don't have InTeen or any other such hacks--they can't be attracted to each other.)

But I get ahead of myself.

Week Four Part Three: Riedmayer Cove

With her daughters in private school, Jill figured she had dispensed her duty to her dearly-departed Elwood. She started going out to bars again, while Johnson made sure the girls ate dinner, did their homework, and went to bed on time.

 Johnson, Annie, Jacqueline, and Agatha eat leftovers while Gretchen puts her plate in the dishwasher without being told.

The years passed rapidly, and soon Agatha was turning 13. In honor of the milestone Jill went shopping and spent over 8000 Simoleons on clothes. (She figured that anything Agatha didn't want could be saved for the other girls.) She also took Agatha to the salon for a haircut and helped her apply makeup for the first time.

 Agatha's first question after her birthday was when she would be allowed to date boys. Jill thought 13 was plenty old enough, but Johnson cautioned Agatha to focus on school and making platonic friends so she could go to college and get a good career.

Agatha Riedmayer, daughter of Elwood Riedmayer and Jill Smith 

Brown hair, S3 skin, gray eyes 

Aspiration: Romance 

Lifetime Want: Woohoo 20 Different Sims Astrological Sign: Sagittarius

Agatha looks like what I think of as a typical Riedmayer girl--big eyes, a long straight nose, and an angular jawline. I think she's extremely pretty as a teen.

A year later, Annie became a teen. She was plainer than her cousin, but she had an easygoing, cheerful temperament that endeared her to everyone around her. Johnson told her that if she made the right friends and got good scholarships she would go far in life. (He made no mention of looks.) Jill gave her a makeover that emphasized her best features.

Annie Riedmayer, daughter of Quinton "Jack" Riedmayer and Johnson Simpson 

Blond hair, S2 skin, brown eyes

Aspiration: Popularity 

Lifetime Want: Become Captain Hero 

Astrological Sign: Aquarius

Both girls soon got after-school jobs, Agatha in Entertainment and Annie in Law Enforcement. By the time they graduated high school both girls had excelled so much that they got scholarships, which certainly made Johnson proud.

Meanwhile, Jacqueline began to talk about seeing her father--Elwood, not Johnson. She claimed that his ghost leapt right out of thin air while she was playing and scared her half to death.

 Jill figured that Jacqueline just needed a little extra attention and started playing nice calming games of chess with her in the afternoons.

But then Agatha said she saw Elwood's ghost too; that he leapt out of the easel while she was painting. (Which made no sense at all, since that easel had been Jack's.)

Jill started encouraging the girls to visit Elwood's grave and work out their grief in constructive ways, and after that the claims of ghostly apparitions ceased. Jill was glad, since it gave her time to invite over a few friends. 

Jill seemed to get along well with Brandi here, so I spontaneously decided that she's bisexual. It keeps her and Brittanie Kules from just passing lovers back and forth, anyway.

Meanwhile, Jacqueline and Gretchen both turned 13. The two both said they wanted to make lots of money when they were grown up (which pleased Johnson no end and no doubt would have pleased Elwood), though Gretchen said she wanted to earn riches through daring adventures in exotic locales and Jacqueline simply wanted to go to law school and end up in the judiciary.

Gretchen Riedmayer, daughter of Quinton "Jack" Riedmayer and Johnson Simpson 

Brown hair, S4 skin, light blue eyes

Aspiration: Fortune 

Lifetime Want: Become Space Pirate 

Astrological Sign: Aries

Jacqueline Riedmayer, daughter of Elwood Riedmayer and Jill Smith 

Brown hair, S4 skin, gray eyes

Aspiration: Fortune 

Lifetime Want: Become The Law 

Astrological Sign: Aquarius

It's interesting to see genetics play out when you don't have Firstborn Syndrome going on. (The Riedmayer girls were born during the same play cycle and thus were immune.) Gretchen gets practically all of her features from her mother, while--as I pointed out above--Agatha looks like the Riedmayer side of the family. 

P.S. Don't believe everything in that Pregnancy Guide. For example, you definitely don't need 5000 Simoleons to have a Sim baby. I can't tell you how many times I've had to sell the couch (or whatever) to buy a crib, which I stuck in the living room. All those babies turned out fine. :)

Jill and Johnson were worried for a little while that having a 16-year-old girl, a 15-year-old girl, and two 13-year-old girls in the same house was a recipe for disaster, but the girls were all fast friends. The talking never stopped, but at least it was friendly talking.

This is what the house looked like at the end of the week.The only noticeable difference on the first floor is that a lot more magazines have accumulated.

On the second floor, I have added a little balcony gym. Otherwise things are very much the same.

The attic has flooring now.

I took off the normal roofs entirely with the thought of turning them into balcony type areas. Meanwhile, my attempts to make it easier to get from the house to the street continue.

I don't normally like Romance Sims, but I was glad that Agatha rolled Romance. I need one of the girls to have illegitimate children to carry on the family name and it should work nicely with Agatha. Jill and Johnson are young enough that they'll still be around to help out when the children are small.

Week Four Part Two: Dejackome Place

Gretchen leaves for college right before school.

Jeannie leaves for college right after school.

The fall after they turned seventeen, Gretchen and Jeannie went off to college. 

Melanie, Gavin, and Theresa had an uneventful time at home. Theresa was going steady with Malcolm Landgraab V (she wasn't a fan of the going steady part, but he was a pretty good kisser). One day she brought home a city boy, Brian Tse, but Melanie told her to say goodbye and get back to her studies. (Even though, by strange coincidence, the boy had the same last name as Melanie. Theresa tried to convince her that they needed to do a genealogical study, but to no avail.)

Gavin looks studious.

Theresa daydreams of older men while in bed with the flu.

Gavin, meanwhile, quite happily threw himself into his studies. He was able to earn scholarships in cooking, mathematics (logic), and fitness. Theresa earned scholarships in cooking and art. She was on the verge of earning enough AP credits to get an engineering (mechanical) scholarship, but then she got sick and had to spend some time in bed. Both of teens got awards for their good grades, for their high performance in the work-study program, and for the fact that they were orphans.

Melanie felt as if she had succeeded in her promise to Rivka to raise the children well. Once Gavin and Theresa went to college, she would be able to focus solely on her career.

The house looked much the same at the end of this week. Really, it was an exceptionally boring week. (Just wait, though. It gets even MORE boring during Week Five, when Melanie is holding down the fort by herself.) I had to take the pictures of Gavin and Theresa from the end of Week Three and the very beginning of Week Five respectively just to pad this update a little.

That might make it sound like I don't like playing the Dejakomes. I do. I love their little nerdy hearts. They're just not the kind of family that makes for an exciting blog update.

Week Four Part One Point Five: The Kalson-Kules Wedding

The pavilion, because getting struck by lightning really puts a damper on your party score.

The kids entertained themselves during the ceremony with the activity table. (You would not believe how long it took to set up this shot.)

Mr. and Mrs. Darius Kules

The adult guests. Back row: Corbin Todd, friend of the couple; Brittanie Kules, mother of the groom; Ryan Cho, stepfather (kinda) of the groom. Front row: Blake Whitfill, Donte Whitfill, and Jihoon Whitfill, all friends of the couple.

The first dance

The first dance continued

The party went on long past Jaden's bedtime.

Darius shoved the cake in Elise's face.

Fortunately, she thought it was funny.

This is the only picture with matron of honor Francine Whitfill, nee Riedmayer, friend of the couple. I think that dress looks good on her.

Darius and Elise didn't go on a honeymoon, but they did retreat to their newly decorated bedroom for a little one-on-one time.