Best imitation of myself

Round 26: Autumn 2024

Last update: Ethan/the rest

Next updates: Aaron and Calvin/Troy/Sarah, Ethan and Matilda

Aaron Novak and Calvin and Troy Clarke are all 21, Sarah Carmody is 19 and Ethan Novak and Matilda Jacobson are both 18.
(Josie Benton is 22)

Within days of starting classes, Ethan has found himself with the unpleasant task of doing his friend Matilda's class work, as well as his own. He's not sure how that happened.

Maybe because she sweet talked him into it. Maybe because he might have developed a tiny crush on her since they moved to campus.

He never really thought twice about Matilda in high school but he hasn't been able to stop thinking about her lately.

There was one disastrous aborted attempt at a kiss early on but he's been too shy to say anything since then.

He'll do it this time but if she asks again, he'll say no. Probably. Matilda did say she was just really busy right now.

Yeah. She's really busy.

Luckily for Ethan, Matilda is having a few issues trying to attract other guys, as the ones who catch her eye don't seem at all interested in her...

...and the ones who hit on her are ones she wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole.

Oh well. She's not going to push it. The right guy will come along eventually.

There was a time when Matilda was positive that the right guy was Troy. It was never going to happen though and seeing Troy with Josie at the mall was really the wake-up call she needed, as traumatising as it was for Matilda at the time. It let her get used to the idea that Troy wasn't going to fall madly in love with her once she arrived on campus and they've been able to become good friends.

Troy's happy to have two new freshmen on campus to play chess against. Everyone else has always figured out that Troy always wins because he always cheats and now refuse to play with him.

Not everyone is so happy to have Ethan and Matilda in the dorm. Sarah is finding their presence more awkward than anything. After they broke up, Ethan and Sarah didn't manage to stay friends and since arriving at Novak Hall, Ethan has mostly ignored her.

She's less and less fond of Matilda every time they come into contact.

Like, what's in that journal Matilda's always scribbling in anyway?

And why does it seem like Matilda is everywhere, even in the places Sarah usually goes to be alone?

Ethan's not sure to act around Matilda, so he's been avoiding her, instead choosing to go hiking with his older brother Aaron, which unfortunately often results in some unpleasant itching.

But Matilda is hard to avoid. She's busy trying to convince Ethan to major in art with her. Ethan's not yet sure what he wants to major in but it'll be anything other than history. That's Sarah's major and Ethan lives his life to avoid awkwardness.

But Ethan seems to attract awkwardness. He wants to ask Matilda out but he's worried it'll go as badly as the kiss did.

But he knows that if he never says anything, nothing will ever happen so he works up some courage and finally asks Matilda on a date.

After being rejected by seemingly every guy on campus, Matilda had been thinking of trying her luck with Ethan again anyway, so of course, she says yes.

Their second kiss is a little more successful than their first.

Neither of them can afford anything fancy, so their first date is at the Greasy Spoon, where they dine on spaghetti and ribs.

Now that he knows Matilda feels the same way about him, Ethan is a little more comfortable around her.

Matilda is a little bolder than Ethan but maybe that's what he needs to bring him out of his shell a little.

Matilda started trying to lure Ethan into bed almost immediately but so far, Ethan has been a little hesitant. It's not that he's that conservative or anything but he just doesn't quite feel completely comfortable around her yet.

But he's getting there.

Much to Sarah's annoyance. Sarah was the one who ended things with Ethan but it still sucks to see him and Matilda flirting all over the place.

She's always deep in thought if Ethan happens to glance her way though.

Sarah had put Marshall completely out of her mind but seeing Ethan again has made her start thinking about both guys and she's decided to give Marshall another chance.

They have a good time together but it seems like Sarah has to do all the chasing, which makes her feel like he is not, perhaps, that into her. Marshall just seems so hard to read and she's not sure if he's worth the effort. Truthfully, on their dates, she ends up thinking about Ethan more than Marshall.

Sarah has a feeling the Ethan ship has sailed though. He's very wrapped up in Matilda right now.

Aaron's glad Ethan has Matilda keeping him busy now, as he was a little worried that he'd have to spend the entire year metaphorically holding Ethan's hand. Ethan was nervous about adjusting to college life but he's adapted pretty well, leaving Aaron plenty of time to spend with Calvin.

Aaron and Calvin have started to prefer the bars in Exeter to the one on campus. The drinks are more expensive but there's not as much chance of running into professors in Exeter.

Although there are far fewer pervy old men at the bars on campus.

Calvin's not sure it's really worth it.

They're sticking with Exeter though. The bars are a lot more exciting there and if you just want to sit back and people-watch, downtown is the place to be.

Troy is pretty bored without Josie around on campus this year.

He's got the bong up on the roof but he's been missing the carefree lifestyle Josie had last year, when she could just drop everything to hang out with him.

Josie works full time now so any time they spend together has to either be after work, when she's normally exhausted or on weekends. It's probably going to get worse once she starts medical school.

Which is Josie's main topic of conversation right now. She's starting in the spring and she's pretty excited about it.

Over the two years they've been together, Josie and Troy have found there isn't much they disagree on but study is one thing they don't see eye to eye on. Josie is voluntarily putting herself through four additional years of university, while Troy can't wait to be done.

Josie has been pestering Troy to start doing some actual studying. His GPA has slipped below three and she can't believe he doesn't care. Josie coasted through most of university but she also knew her stuff. Troy does not.

Troy is insistent though - he's got it all under control and he knows for sure that he'll be graduating with Aaron and Calvin at the end of the year! And he's going to do without cracking the books too.

Notes:

• Title is from Best Imitation of Myself by Ben Folds Five.
• Wow, this feels like it took forever to get out! It would have taken even longer had I waited until I had enough time for an uninterrupted play session but I played it in two chunks, because I wasn't sure when that time would be!
• Every time I play like this though, I end up losing some photos. I start moving stuff around and end up deleting stuff I shouldn't. There was an epic fight in the bar when Aaron and Calvin were there, which is actually what they're facing in the picture on the couch. They just sat there blissfully, which I found funny. Usually, Sims run to watch. Those pics were gone. Also lost a bunch of pics of Sarah and Marshall. I should really be more careful.
• Speaking of Marshall, game-play wise, he's actually much keener on Sarah than she is on him, which is a role reversal from last time. She's all about Ethan and he's rolling engagement wants. Last time, Sarah was the one rolling the engagement wants but they have thankfully rolled away.
• Aaron, Calvin and Troy have all graduated; Calvin with a 4.0, Aaron with a 3.8 and Troy with a 2.9. You see, Josie? Troy was right! He really did have everything under control! I think that's the lowest GPA any of my Sims have ever got while still graduating though!
• I used to get uni kids rolling up the want to influence others to do their assignments all the time but in Sullivan, the only time it's happened was once with Rose. Matilda has changed that. I don't think the girl has done a scrap of her own work for her entire freshman year.
• I have no idea why but for the last two rounds, Aaron and Asha keep rolling up the want to be friends with each other. It's obviously not a romantic thing but it's extremely persistent. And I don't even know when they would have met!
• When Sarah's out with Marshall, she gets random wants and fears about Ethan. The girl is perpetually terrified that Ethan will be stinky, for some reason, and she also has that old standby want - Fall in Love With Ethan. She doesn't usually want anything to do with Ethan at other times (and he never rolls up wants for her any more), so I'm thinking she's not especially fond of Marshall.
• I've got a weird bug in this dorm, where the Sims will get the hot tub icon in their queue, as if they're going to go to woohoo there. Problem is, there is no hot tub on this lot, so they just stomp their feet and complain that they can't get to it. It's very strange. At first, I thought maybe there was one hidden in a basement or up on the roof but no. Nothing on the roof except Troy's bong and there is no basement at all. So I'm stumped.
• What is it about college that makes Sims who have previously shown no interest in each other (I'm looking at you, Ethan and Matilda!) suddenly be all crazy about each other? They were trying to woohoo seconds after their arrival. The only reason they didn't was due to the aforementioned hot tub bug.
• Slightly off topic but I have finally updated the outdated portraits on the playable NPC page, so you can check that out in the sidebar if you haven't already!