Clean Uberhood: Belladonna County Courier issue 1
To celebrate my two years on Livejournal (I joined December 15th 2008) I bring you the first issue of Belladonna County Courier. It contains both random commentary style snippets and other kinds of 'articles' from my second, still incomplete round of play in the clean uberhood.
This is what happened:
After some morning gymnastics in the bedroom daddy Benjamin left for work.
Soon someone very special paid a visit to Isabel (he came on his own initiative).
A flash-back to my play session with Chester Gieke:
Can you see what is going on in the background? No, not the John Mole - Ramir Patel discussion, but further back.
If we zoom a little closer, we see Isabel and Pascal Curious engaging themselves in a little foreplay.
Which inevitably led to this.
Nice guy bonding - John Mole and Ramir Patel seem to have settled the little dispute they had earlier - with more Isabel-Pascal bonding in the background. They went on like that for ages.
And when they finally separated, all they could think of was each other. Three-bolters!!!
Well, back to that fateful day:
When Isabel and Pascal were just getting up after their woohoo, Benjamin got demoted because of a bad chance card and came home early (see him in the background, hence this walls down pic). Oh no! I wanted Isabel to have Benjamin's baby, before he found out about her affair with Pascal. So I quickly sent Benjamin back to work on foot.
When Benjamin came home for the second time that day, his picture suddenly disappeared from the panel. When I went to look for him, I saw him collapsing on the pavement. Seems that he completely missed his lunch break that day.
I was as shocked as his family - I had not looked at his needs at all - and debated for a very long time, should I quit without saving. But I had decided to go with what the game gives me, so be it! Bye bye, Benjamin. You were so very handsome.
But lo and behold! Benjamin is coming back later, I promised this to Sofia (and myself). If nobody gets a genie lamp, then she's going into the paranormal career when she grows up.
A quote from my first Uberhood post: "...Lola met Andrew Martin. They have two-bolt chemistry and seem to get on quite well. So they might be heading for a future together... " For once I remembered what had taken place earlier - usually my sims end up on quite different paths than I had initially thought or planned.
You may also remember Andrew's passion for Patricia Wan and especially for her boobies.
So I decided to let Andrew choose which of the lovely ladies he likes the best, and had him invite them over. Although Patricia showed her feelings openly...
... it was Lola that Andrew really preferred.
So I let them go on from that...
Lola moved in right away and the couple got engaged. I was in a bit of a hurry here, since Andrew will transition into elderhood in a couple of days.
I introduced various uni guys to the singles girls in the hopes of finding a match for each of them. Well, Lola did prefer older gentlemen and things did not go so well with the other girls either.
Until Erin met Guy with the capital G.
But she also liked Julien Cooke quite a bit although they have only one bolt for each other.
Erin seems a bit uncomfortable with this particular topic.
The lonely Julien arranged a lot of parties where sims from different hoods could meet and bond.
Ooops. I made a mistake in inviting Erin and Guy at the same time.
But because Julien is a tricky one to hitch up with anyone (well, there's Alexandra O'Mackey of course, three bolts every time, but I've done that pairing before), so I let him have Erin. I'm still not quite sure of this pairing, though.
Anyway, they are engaged now and look quite happy. In their future I see a move to the countryside and a vegetarian restaurant where Julien will serve organic food produced in Erin's garden.
The biggest society event of the season in Belladonna County: the wedding of Betty Glodstein - a mere teacher - with the rich and powerful industrial magnate and business tycoon Consort Capp!
Some of you may remember how Betty and Consort first met and how Betty stalked Consort (if you don't go and read, it's one of the funnier moments in my game).
Since then I have grown very fond of Betty because of her constant swooning after every single male she sees...
... regardless of their age or aspiration. (She's an unplayable on all of these occasions.)
As a return gift for the many laughs she has given me during this game, I wanted to give Betty the grand prize she has longed for:
Consort Capp!
(I've had the marry a rich sim -want locked for Betty since I first entered the Viejo household)
So, Consort took Betty to Londoste for a date and popped the question.
Aww, aren't they cute! But notice Betty's best friend, Catherine Viejo, following the events.
Yep, that's envy in her eyes in the previous picture." Why, oh why can't I have a romance like that!"
There really is nothing going on in Catherine's life. Unlike Betty she almost never shows up on community lots - except for this time quite conveniently - and is generally a boring sim.
The wedding at Capp Manor was a huge event - besides Consort and Betty's nearest and dearest all the wealthy families of Belladonna County were invited (minus the Montys of course). It nearly choked my poor old computer.
The happy couple!
They have settled into a nice homely routine since the wedding.
Although I sometimes wonder what Betty really sees in Consort. But then, she's a fortune sim.
Read a full eye-witness report from the event in our forthcoming special issue: Society and Sims!
Have you ever had something I call a booty visit in your game? This is what happens: a sim comes uninvited and rings the doorbell. If your sim answers, they immediately go for the couch or the bed to woohoo. So, Vid paid a booty visit to Daria.
Then it was love,...
... passion ...
... and a lullaby! Look at Vidcund - he knows he's da man!
Since they both wanted it, I had Daria propose to Vid.
But why the bad memory, Vid? :(
In spite of that he immediately moved in with her.
Daria and Vid's wedding was not as big an event as the Capp wedding. Far from it, since I could only invite four visitors. But they were the most important ones, too. Sit down, PT, please!
The bride did not leave the groom to the altar. She's just rushing for the toilet looking ever so happy.
Daria and Vid seem disgusted at Lazlo's table manners. The other guests skipped the cake completely.
The party was a roof-raiser.
And just seconds after the party ended, Daria had her first pop! I'm glad she managed to get married in white.
The Curiouses are one of the most devoted couples in my game. Watching each other sleep, awwww.
The Clevelands led an empty married life completely ignoring each other: no tender moments, not much discussions either. They did share the same bed though, but definitely no woohoo there.
Here's some foreshadowing of things to come, dun, dun.
As many simmers know, Maxis made Jason gay. He is in the law enforcement career and has a gay colleague - Toby Couderic is the name if I remember right - whom he often brings home from work. The two guys were all over each other, but Marissa was quite oblivious.
So, to push things along I sent Jason on an outing with both his wife and his lover. I wanted to see, whom he'd choose. And right after they got out from the taxi, Jason made his choice. Marissa's face says it all, poor girl!
The guys, on the other hand, seem quite unfazed. Look at Toby sneering there.
Once out of the closet nothing could stop Jason. He was ready to take it all the way right then and there.
"Oh I can't stand the hotness of my husband's lover!!!"
But Marissa soon found somebody to comfort her. Consort is bragging about his riches, how tacky!
But that seems to work on Marissa. She maybe the future third wife for Consort after Betty passes away. (I played Betty two times during this round. Usually I'm very obsessed in keeping the ages of my sims consistent. But I want to have hollow-cheeked kids from Consort, so I made an exception there so Betty is quite a bit older than her husband.)
The divorce was inevitable. I let Jason keep the apartment.
It's always the kids that suffer the most for their parent's mistakes. But Justin will be going to college among the first batch of teens. That leaves daddy Jason all alone. I don't know yet, what to do with him. I don't like to move in random townies. There's more than enough playables in the uberhood already.
But Marissa has definitely moved on. I once caught her fooling around with Victor Aspir in the photo booth as a non-playable. She lives in the same apartment building with the Baldwins. While I was playing the dramatic session with them, Marissa had one of her townie neighbours fall in love with her. She really seems to enjoy her single life!
The Patel's first born was a boy, Omar.
Right after the birth, the couple hopped into bed, decided to try for a baby and succeeded, of course :(
.
After a very trying pregnancy, during which Ana's needs were almost all the time in the red, she gave birth to another son, Raza.
Maybe the difficult pregnancy has prompted Ana to consider adoption. Their apartment is getting quite crowded, so I doubt I let them go for it.
Jessica does not approve of Cynthia Kim occupying the photo booth...
.. with Ajay Loner.
Jessica wanted to use it herself with Aldric Davis.
Aldric gets A from Jessica for the ride.
And Aldric liked the date so much that he brought Jennifer a mirror
.
But Aldric is just a casual lay for Jessica. She fancies someone else. Poor Aldric.
Though I had to laugh at Jessica's want panel - it was DURING their second DATE after all!
Jessica , I think Aldric is trying to say something to you - like getting rid of that ridiculous makeup of yours - because he brought another mirror after the second date.
Third date and a hop into the hot tub.
It was a lullaby!
Unlike most of the pregnancies in this hood, this was my doing. I don't know why, but I don't like Jessica at all. So I have set her to try for a baby every time she woohoos. I don't know who I am trying to punish here, though.
Jessica was also on a date with Gilbert Jacquet. The two guys showed up at Jessica's door simultaneously to give her some roses..
"Awkward", thought Gilbert, turned on his heels and walked off the lot with the rose in his hand.
"Whoa, you look like a sumo wrestler! What has happened to you?" I guess poor, tactless Aldric only now found out that he'll soon become a daddy.
Jessica has also been seeing Malcolm Landgraab. He looks quite relieved that the baby is not his.
Father Aldric got to witness the birth of his son Alvin.
Jessica arranged a little party for Alvin's first birthday. I guess this is as good a way to celebrate as any other.
And then Aldric decided to walk into the trailer. First running on GIlbert with date flowers and now this! Poor guy. If I were him, I'd demand a paternity test.
To my surprise Aldric did not raise a fuzz. He just thought he did not need to see Malcolm naked. :D
Nothing dramatic with this pregnancy.
Phyllis had a proper birthday party.
Her brother Frances III brought his mates from the fraternity and some other students along.
And her sister Edie decided to woohoo with one of them during the party in their parents' bed.
Hannah and Issaac were among the first couples to conceive a child during my first round in the Uberhood, so she popped almost immediately after I entered their lot.
Soon little Samuel was born and there was a double birthday.
I quite like Daniel.
Samuel seems to have rabbit teeth - cute.
At some point during my first round in the Uberhood, I had caught Hannah frolicking with Luis Aspir.
Luis has never had a baby in my game, so I had Hannah call him over, when issac was at work.
So Rachel and Mariel's conception was all my fault.
And to punish me for this sin, of course the game gave me twins!
In due time after his natural abduction Chester Gieke gave birth to a cute little boy, Carl, named after Chester's father. (And sorry about the typo in Carl's birth announcement - I always misspell Chester's last name.)
Chester leads a rather dull and lonely life in his tiny apartment on the shadier side of Belladonna Cove.
Well, he does have a beautiful lady friend - the recently divorced Wanda Tinker. They have three bolts, who would have thought! I think they make quite a mismatched couple, but maybe the shy Chester needs and likes a strong woman by his side. In my mind there's no doubt, who'll be the boss of their household (they don't live together yet though).
Wanda and little Carl get along swimmingly, so I see a bright future for the Gieke-Tinker union.
By the way, take a look at this Sims Wiki page - that's my picture of Chester at the computer from my first Uberhood post here. I don't know, how it ended up there and I really don't know, how I feel about that... flattered probably..
Appointments and promotions
That was his LTW, so he's the first perma plat sim in the hood.
Advertising
Welcome to the brand new
Patrizio's Pizzeria
in Veronaville!
Patrizio's has received rave reviews from every food critic in the county.
(The first customer was the reviewer and he gave the Best of the Best award without even ordering anything!)
Our youthful, ...
... friendly ...
... and competent staff makes you feel at home.
Each visit is a completely new and refreshing experience...
... and makes you feel like you've met us for the first time!
(Yes, it's Anthony in both of these pictures. I don't know, why he gets a different face every time he changes into the work clothes!? This does not happen to the others.)
Patrizio's serves the best pizza and pasta in town!
Even our competitors agree!
(That's Antonio, too. )
And for dessert our famous cheesecake. It's just the thing ...
(Hi, Jennifer Burb!)
... all pregnant ladies ....
(Will Samantha Ottomas have quadruplets now? I'm glad there's no room in the household to test that hypothesis.)
... are craving for!
(Yes, Mary Gavigan is also pregnant. Can you guess, that I was relieved when Kimberly Cordial (seen earlier) ordered just pizza.)
Patrizio's Pizzeria - the Best of the BEST!!
(I try to use original Maxis lots as much as possible, but since there were no suitable and cheap community lots available, I had to build Patrisio's pizzeria from the scratch. It's still quite bare - I'll decorate it as they earn more money.)
Dear Editors,
We would like to draw the public's attention to one of the gravest problems in our society: the poor quality of domestic hired help. There has been a lot of complaints about the nannies, but in our opinion, the butlers are even worse.
In the morning they can hardly drag themselves to work. During the day they slouch and the sound of them dragging their lazy feet really gets on your nerves.
They are absent-minded and would not notice, if the house burned down around them.
They are forgetful: In the rare event they manage to prepare a decent meal, they leave it to spoil and do another serving.
They serve TV-dinners and grilled cheese sandwiches for your guests.
(The butler downgraded his suit for the Capp wedding)
They take advantage of our generosity and behave as if they were members of the family!
Ant they leave all their work for their employers.
On one occasion, the host had to take care of the dishes while the butler was nowhere to be seen!
They endanger their employers with their negligence!
Where are the days, when our butlers and maids valued their job!? Where are the days they took it as an honour to give the best of service to their masters and mistresses, we ask!?
Bring back the old-fashioned, reliable butlers!
- "Two worried blondes" -
Warning from the authorities!
The military has followed with great concern the recent steep rise in the amount of alien abductions in Belladonna County.
General Buzz Grunt wants to issue this warning to the public:
"This object - the expensive telescope - is the instrument of evil. We urge all citizens to keep away from them at all times!
The knowledge males are the group mostly at risk of being abducted, but the aliens don't overlook the other aspirations either.
So if your a romance, fortune, popularity, family, pleasure or grilled cheese sim, don't tempt your faith!
From the interrogation of the abductees we have learnt that :
First you hear a strange sound and get an eerie feeling that somebody's watching you.
At this point, you should run for cover as fast as you can, IF you still can!
When you see a bright beam of light...
... it is already too late to save yourself from the cruel alien experiments!
The abductees have told that, even if you try to hang on to your telescope...
... as tightly as you can...
... the pull is so powerful...
... that you eventually just have to let go...
... and you are sucked up to the alien spaceship.
What goes on inside the ship, is still unknown for us. Either the abductees memories have been erased by their captors or the experience was so horrible, that the sims have blocked out these memories even from themselves.
What we do know is, that the spaceship returns a few hours later...
... and the victims are tossed to the ground in an undignified manner.
The abductees families have told, that they can never forget the look of sheer terror on the victims faces.
Even other family members are often greatly traumatized by the experience.
The results of the tests the aliens have conducted on their victims will affect the abductees and their families for the rest of their lives!
(from the left: Nebula Curious, Carl Gieke, Venus Fly Trap Greenman, Nova Courious and Flora Goodie.
The rest of the alien spawn have not been born yet.)
So I say to you all: Let's be careful out there!
The aliens are watching us."
It is reassuring to know that we have someone as capable and efficient as General Buzz Grunt to fight the battle against the aliens for us. We are in safe hands!
______________________
Warnings: pixelated nudity, woohoo. cheating and other indecent sim behaviour. And way too many pictures!