Friday 12 March 2010

Where I end and you begin

Round 25: Autumn 2022

While Patience is spending a year sunning herself on a tropical beach somewhere, her dormmates are stuck on campus, in a far more mundane setting.

Everyone was expecting some argument as to who would claim Patience's room in her absence but the university, unfortunately for the rest of the dorm, has assigned her room to this guy. Troy is the only one who's tried talking to him and seeing he found him to be rather unfriendly, no one else has bothered since.

People are too busy to pay much attention to their new dorm mate anyway. Despite the fact that he could probably breeze through university without any study at all, Nick spends more time with his head buried in books than anyone else.

Aaron does well in his classes but tends to leave the bulk of the work at the last minute.

He prefers to spend most his time with Calvin, who seems to cruise through his classes without much effort.

Meanwhile, Maia is getting ahead of herself a little. Instead of studying, she's been focusing on the camping trip she wants to go on with Aaron. She tries to tell herself that after this year, she's just got one more year left at university, but it just seems like such a long time!

Maia could really use Aaron's help with her bug collection lately. She feels like she's a little out of practice with the whole thing.

Aaron's often busy with Calvin of late.

Although it's often at the campus bar, as opposed to the dorm. It's mostly deserted during the day.
What other time in your life but university are you going to get to hang out in a bar for hours in the middle of the day? They might as well take advantage of it.

As for Troy, well...he's managed to avoid academic probation somehow, despite the fact that he spends most of his time playing video games.

He and Josie share the same passion for gaming and they often play backseat gamer while the other is on the computer. Troy does wonder how Josie manages to maintain a 4.0 when she spends so much of her time playing SSX3. He's not going to ask. He doesn't want Josie to start thinking that maybe she should spend more time studying, because he likes being with her.

Troy and Josie have got to spend a lot of time together since Patience has been gone.

Troy and Josie have been good friends since last year but they've become even closer over the past few months.

Troy would like to get a little closer but so far, Josie has been a little reluctant. Sometimes, it almost seems like she's going to go for it.

Then at other times, she ruthlessly shoots him down.

Probably because of that boyfriend she's got. Troy's never actually spoken to Will but he's pretty sure he hates him.

Nick was so excited when he saw a flier for the new tinkering club on campus and he had to go down to check it out. He's worried he might have lost his touch with cars - it's been a while.

Because Nick's girlfriend Maia is currently doing anything to avoid studying, she usually comes along.

She has zero interest in cars but seeing they're one of Nick's favourite things to talk about, she's learnt to at least pretend to be interested.

After all, Nick is pretty patient when she stops in the middle of conversation just to check out an insect she's spotted on the ground.

Ah, the things people do for love!

Things are going well for Nick and Maia. She went to meet his parents during the summer, as well as his stepfather. That went well. Nick's visit to meet Maia's parents didn't go quite as well but Maia's not worried. Her dad would be suspicious of any guy she brought home and she's sure that he'll soon see Nick isn't anything like Gordon was.

Lack of motivation to study aside, life in general is good for Maia right now. It's been a long time since Josie has given her any trouble. Maybe it's because Maia is no longer with Jacob.


Or maybe Nick said something to her.

Or perhaps it's just because she seems to spend every waking moment with Troy and barely notices Maia these days. Idly, Maia has wondered if there's anything going on between them.

There's not, but Troy thinks there soon will be. Calvin think his brother is a little cocky about someone who he hasn't even kissed yet but Troy prefers to think of it as confidence.

He's even checked it over with Nick - making a move on your friend's ex can be a little dicey. Troy isn't the most sensitive guy but he is loyal.

After she rejected his proposal last year, Josie kept dating Will. Will seemed to get over it pretty quickly and seems okay. Happy, even.

Josie, on the other hand, isn't. Every time she gets to pick a venue for a date, it's always somewhere very unromantic, like the arcade at the student union. She doesn't want to leave an opportunity for Will to get all mushy and sentimental.

She really should just go ahead and dump him, as they've never really had much in common, even pre-marriage talk. But right now, she doesn't want to deal with the inevitable sob fest that would follow. She's still traumatised from his proposal. Seeing there's no one else she's interested in, Will is getting a reprieve.

Josie probably needs a guy with a little more edge than Will. She can't stand it when they're in the middle of an argument and he just stands there grinning at her.

She probably can't take this for much longer. The relationship has already lasted about a year longer than it should have. Would you believe he still brings up the whole marriage thing?

Troy has the uncanny knack of showing up everywhere Josie is, so trying to avoid him is close to useless. He wants to be visible when she finally gets rid of that boyfriend of hers.

But Troy is a little tired of waiting around for that to happen.

Maybe Josie needs a little push.

Hopefully, this will have a better ending than after the first time they kissed, which resulted in Josie ignoring him for the rest of high school and dating his best friend instead.

They really need to have a talk now but it's kind of hard to talk about anything heavy with a guy in a llama suit sitting next to you.

Troy's in love, though he's not going to say that to Josie just yet. He doesn't want to send her running for the hills. Josie doesn't know what to think except that she shouldn't be with Will.

She tells him in her dorm room, hoping to at least avoid a public sob fest.

That was probably a good decision on her part, because Will is devastated.

And here comes the sobbing. What a drama queen!

Perhaps Troy would react the same way but Josie can't imagine he would. Troy seems more like Josie, more than she ever realised. So when he asks her out a few days later, she agrees.

It's a little bit awkward at first. They've been friends for so long and Josie never even thought about them moving past that until very recently. But they're able to get past that initial weirdness before their food even arrives.

It's completely dark outside by the time they get around to leaving the diner and heading back to campus. They talked for a long time.

Back at the dorm, they end up in Josie's room for the remainder of the night. Yes, after the first date! Troy just had to lose his virginity before the big 2-0 next year!

Extra:
Just because I think Josie's pretty (she's smiling at Troy, by the way - this was after they made out but before she fell in love or crush with him). It's funny because I don't think Tate is the most handsome of Sims and I never would have expected a daughter who looked like him to be so cute but she is!

Notes:
  • Title is from Where I End and You Begin by Radiohead.
  • Before I forget, here are the grades for this year. Aaron, Calvin, Josie and Nick all have 4.0s, Maia has a 3.4 and Troy has a 3.2. I'll be pleased if Maia and Troy both graduate because it's not looking like it'll be a given at this point!
  • Oh my God, Josie's birth control has been off for the past two years. You'd think she would have been more careful about that sort of thing after what happened with her cousin Victoria. Or you know...that I would be more careful about that sort of thing!
  • So am I crazy or is Will's "Get Married to Josie" want unusually persistent, even for a Family Sim (which he is)? Doesn't it eventually roll away when it's not locked? His was constant, even when they weren't on a date. I assume it's rolled away now, but who knows? He sure was fond of Josie!
  • More on Josie: I can't remember I've mentioned it or not but she and Troy have very high chemistry. They have exactly the same personalities and their attraction score is 140, which doesn't seem like much compared to Anna and Emil's 213 but this is without any Massive Attraction bonuses, so it's pretty impressive. They actually have the highest natural chemistry in Sullivan, taking over from the previous title-holders, Jace and Magdalena.
  • I didn't want to force Josie and Troy together. I was waiting for either a) one of them to act or b) mutual romantic wants. They didn't start flirting until this round and Troy rolled up a make out want almost immediately. Josie took her sweet time but she rolled up a fear of being rejected for a kiss by Troy very early on, so she was thinking about him all along. In the end, Troy made out with autonomously before Josie had the chance to roll up a want.
  • I had planned to let Troy date around a bit but he just is not interested in anyone else but Josie. Even when he was on the dates I sent him on last round, the romantic wants he'd roll up were few and far between. So I'm just going with it. Some people aren't really interested in dating a bunch of people and I suppose Troy is one of them. So they're together. Troy has been waiting since he was 12 for Josie to notice him, so he's very happy.

13 comments:

  1. "And here comes the sobbing. What a drama queen!"
    Lol, very sensitive Josie.
    That was pretty nice, but I hope Maia won't pay for her outlook on her last year in college.
    And the little backstory about Troy waiting for Josie since he was 12 was so sweet! :)

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  2. Wow, so Troy finally got his wish. I think it's great that you don't force the issue, instead allowing ACR or wants to dictate. Question? How about when ACR and wants keep going to multiple partners?

    Maia, what are you thinking? Honestly, I'm surprised her GPA is that high. I hate that the GPA gets such a large boost from going to class. It seems so easy for them to get good grades.

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  3. Thanks, guys!

    Tessa, yeah, poor Will! He needs a more sensitive girl and Josie cannot provide that! She's just not the mushy type. ;)

    Fingers crossed Maia can make it through. She needs 2 charisma points to open up her grade meter fully this semester (it's doubtful that she'll roll a want to skill) but she should be able to pass just by going to class, as the meter is already above the halfway mark. As for her final semester, I guess we'll have to wait and see.

    Troy kissed and flirted with a few girls in high school but I could never get him interested in any of them for long enough to date them. Matilda, one of my playable NPCs, is quite fond of Troy, but she was too young for him. I don't know why she likes him so much, as they have negative chemistry but she autonomously kissed him and everything! Crazy Sims!

    Apple Valley, my Sims don't usually roll up wants for multiple partners except in the case of exes. And the "Fall in Love with my ex" want is so common that I tend to ignore it now. When it does happen though, I take it on a case-by-case basis.

    I know, it's super-easy to get a high GPA at university. It'd probably be harder if I didn't have my universities set to permanent autumn but that's the season it makes the most sense to play my students in. So they continue to have a very easy time! I was a pretty lazy student but I went to all my classes and turned in most of my assignments on time. If I went to university in TS2, I could have had at least a 3.7! My actual GPA was significantly lower than that. ;)

    It would be cool if their term papers and assignments actually got variable grades, which could affect how much of the grade meter would be filled.

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  4. Aww, Troy and Josie. I'm so happy for the both of them. I just wonder if it will last. Guess we'll have to wait and see. And I'm glad she didn't get knocked up, but hey, the way your game plays only the ones on birth control gets kncoked. LOL

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  5. I'm happy for Troy and Josie. God knows he waited long enough for her!

    Isn't it sweet how Nick and Maia pretend to be interested in each other's hobbies! I love the picture of Maia eating the snacks while Nick works on the car.

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  6. Riverdale, I know I'm not having much luck with BC lately, so I'm glad Josie's managed to make it through without getting pregnant!

    Sari, 7 years is definitely a long time! She gave him his first kiss but she was being a bit of a tease - she wouldn't give him the time of day after that, poor boy!

    I'd planned on getting Nick and Maia together for a while but I like them together even more than I thought I would. I thought maybe she was a bit flighty for him but I think they're good together now. Really sweet. :)

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  7. Yay, Troy! After hanging around like that he deserved that! :) Hopefully they'll stick it out together as well!

    One quick question though; Do you play your university in a different 'hood or is it played like Laura plays hers? I could've sworn you had a post up about it somewhere but I can't find it and I've completely forgotten how you go about playing university!

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  8. That's a great idea--maybe mood or logic could affect grades on completed assignments. But no, my Peter Fish had a 4.0 and all he did was play SSFX, go to class once, and influence other Sims to do his papers.

    I keep my university 'hoods set to alternating spring/autumn.

    Nick and Maia are great together. And it is sweet how Troy just didn't want anyone but Josie. Poor Will, but you make it easy to not feel sorry for him, "drama queen!"

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  9. Valneanne, yes, I think Troy deserves some kind of reward for his persistence and single-mindedness!

    My hood is just a regular uni hood uni. I've never done a post about how I play uni. There's nothing especially revolutionary about it - I just go by their wants, like I do with regular households.

    Francesca, yeah, I don't know but I do wish they'd have expanded uni a bit because it's much too easy. I often hear the complaint that uni is boring and I think making it a little more challenging might have headed that off.

    My uni is permanent autumn, because I play the whole year at once. I've considered playing by semesters but I have enough entries per round!

    LOL, yeah, poor Will! I'm seeing him through Josie's eyes, so it's not a particularly sympathetic view. If he ever ends up with another of my Sims (a nicer one!), he might be seen a bit differently.

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  10. "She probably can't take this for much longer. The relationship has already lasted about a year longer than it should have. Would you believe he still--"

    Still what? I'm guessing he still wanted to get married to her because you mentioned it in the notes.

    Josie is darn adorable and pretty even when she's a little cantankerous. Maybe it's because she's a little mean sometimes, lol. And Troy, I've always found his little crush interesting. Amazing that these two have finally managed to hook up. Go Troy go! Josie is definitely the type of girl you don't wait around sighing over, you just gotta go for it.

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  11. Lunar, oops, yes, that's what I meant! Thanks for catching that, I'll fix it in a second. I even have the whole sentence written out properly in my draft and somehow failed at copying and pasting!

    Josie probably wouldn't have put up with too much more of Troy's pining. The pining didn't work out so well for Will, so it was a good thing that he just went for it in the end.

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  12. Awww, so Troy finally got Josie! And congrats to him for finally losing that v-card, lol! Wow, 140 is huge natural chemistry!

    Poor Will! But you know, it just wasn't meant to be, no matter how he wanted it, lol! (I hope he doesn't turn out as jaded as my Vicky!) He's too soft for her though, so it's probably for the best.

    But yes, some Sims are very serious about marriage, lol! Not even just family Sims sometimes. I've got one right now (minimal spoilers, lol!) fortune/popularity of all combinations, and it WILL NOT go away! Not that I want it to go away, but it is kind of amusing :)

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  13. Laura, I know, it's definitely the highest I've seen! I'm really surprised they didn't jump each other before now!

    Ultimately, I don't think Will would have been happy with Josie anyway, so she did him a favour. Maybe one of my sweeter girls will take a liking to him.

    But wow...a Fortune/Popularity Sim keen to get married is quite the happening! I find Fortune Sims are about average with wanting to get married but Popularity Sims rarely are. You've got me all excited to find out who this Sim is now!

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