Tuesday 1 June 2010

Should've been in love

Round 27: Autumn 2025
Last update: Adrienne/the rest
Narrated by Matilda Jacobson

We're all in a new dorm this year, because our old dorm closed down, to be replaced with an even better one. Apparently. This new one is pretty great though. Ethan is totally loving the greenhouse.

And we both love the hot tub.

My best friend Adrienne is on campus with me this year, another reason I'm really excited about my sophomore year. That and the sauna. Unless they're building this new dorm with a sauna, I don't see how it can compete with this one!

The beginning of the semester didn't stay so awesome though. My dad called to invite me back home to attend his wedding to that skank Virginia.

I mean, I'm glad he's happy, really. But I hate that Virginia is now my stepmother and I'm supposed to consider her family.

Of course, I had to clap and smile at the end, like I was really happy about the whole thing but I was gritting my teeth.

I'm just not the type to make a scene, so I don't even know if Dad knows how much I dislike Virginia. I think I hide it pretty well.

The wedding was really small, so instead of a big reception, we just had drinks in a small dining area at the town hall.

I definitely did not find it as easy to hide my reaction to my dad's next bit of news; Virginia is pregnant.

It was just so what I didn't want to hear! She's due next summer. So I guess after 20 years of being an only child, I'll have a sibling. I used to wish I had a sister when I was younger but I kind of like being an only child now.

When Ethan and I got back to campus that night, I just let loose. I'd been bottling it up all day and I just had to rant. I actually feel a little better about it now, though I'm still not thrilled.

There's still a lot of awkwardness between Sarah and me that I'd like to get past. I know she's not shy but she just clams up every time I'm around.

Adrienne says she's even a little weird around her. I guess she hates Adrienne by mere association with me?

She's got this boyfriend, Marshall, who comes around every once in a while. I think she might get over Ethan if she just got rid of that Marshall tool.

Sarah hangs out a lot with the guy who's occupying the fifth room in the building, right next to hers.

He doesn't really talk to anyone but Sarah but we've managed to find out that his name is Alasdair and he's a junior, like her.

I'm hoping she falls madly in love with him and finally gets over Ethan. It's really obvious that she's still got a thing for him. Why else would she hate me so much?

I trust Ethan though. He's not the cheating type and he's said he doesn't feel that way about Sarah any more.

Ethan's not a huge fan of clubs and bars though, so we stick to restaurants and coffee shops when we go out.

That means I have to wait for Adrienne to finish studying before I finally get to head out on the town.

She is not particularly amused by my loud yawning. Seriously though, it's just freshman year. Freshman year is easy! You don't need to study that much!

Eventually, I get her out of the dorm though. It's awesome that we can hang out at bars now without Adrienne getting kicked out!

I'm a good girl though. I don't go to scope guys. I just want to have a little fun.

Adrienne...well, not so much. She flirts with every guy in sight.

I try to drag her out of there before she goes any further but I can't watch her all the time. And I'm not her keeper, even if I could.

I know she's sleeping around on Nick though, because I've seen a couple of guys leaving her dorm room early in the morning.

She says it's fine, because she and Nick never discussed being exclusive.

I'd bet money that Nick is assuming they're exclusive though. I kind of feel sorry for him. Adrienne's going to eat him alive.

Ethan was witness to a bit of drama in the dorm. Sarah and Marshall had some kind of huge fight outside the elevator, while Ethan was playing poker.

He was trying to pretend he wasn't listening so he couldn't quite hear what they were talking about but he said it was pretty clear that they broke up.

Sarah is certainly acting like Marshall is out of the way!

She and Alasdair are all over each all over the dorm now. Sarah seems a lot happier with him.

She even joined me for a game of poker recently, which she's never done before. I was a little nervous about it when she sat down but it was actually fine. I hope that's the end of the weirdness between us.

We invited Ethan and Adrienne to play with us a few nights later. Ethan couldn't wait to get started but Adrienne turned down the offer. That's really unusual for her, so after I played a little while, I went up to check on her in her room.

I was kind of expecting to walk in on her with a guy but instead, I found her bawling her eyes out. It took me a while to calm her down enough so she could tell me what was wrong.

She took a home pregnancy test and it came out positive - she's pregnant.

She's totally freaking out about it, understandably. She has no idea what she's going to do and she doesn't know if Nick is the father.

I resisted the urge to lecture her but I managed to convince her to let me take her to the women's room the next day. I've never really been in but I knew they'd have information about pregnancy, adoption and abortion.

Adrienne was not particularly impressed when we got there and the girl at the desk insisted on going through all the materials with her. She kept saying "I can read a pamphlet myself!"

Only Adrienne would go off at some poor volunteer who was trying to help her.

The girl was a total pro though and all of Adrienne's complaining and arguing didn't faze her at all.

She was able to go through all of Adrienne's options with her and eventually, Adrienne even calmed down and was grateful for the help.

She's going to need some time to mull everything over though. There's a lot to take in.

She chickened out over telling her parents in person and she told them over the phone instead.

She said they're definitely not thrilled about it but it sounds like they'll be supportive, whatever she chooses to do. Adrienne was actually more worried about telling her grandmother than her parents; she just got a safe sex lecture from her before she left for Suffolk!

Adrienne has been stalling a bit on telling Nick though. She actually asked me if I thought she could get away with telling him on the phone. Um, no. He might be the father and you cheated on him. That's an "in person" kind of thing.

In the end, Adrienne's morning sickness announced the news before she could.

She'd already sat Nick down and told him there was something they needed to talk about and when he heard her in the bathroom, he put two and two together.

Nick was really understanding at first. You know, he promised he'd stand by her side, and be there for her and the baby and everything.

He definitely was not as sympathetic when Adrienne told him he might not be the father. Nick said he still wants to be in the baby's life, if he's the father, but he doesn't want anything else to do with Adrienne.

When Adrienne was telling me about it later, she seemed actually surprised that Nick reacted so badly to hearing she'd been sleeping around. I did tell her from the beginning that he'd be like that but she didn't listen.

I'm not saying any of this to Adrienne, of course. She's under enough stress right now, so I'm just trying to be 100% supportive.

Notes:
  • Title is from Should've Been In Love by Wilco.
  • Matilda and Sarah's awkwardness was straight game play. Every time Matilda was at a table with Sarah, they didn't talk. At all. I've never seen anything like it. After she got together with Alasdair, all of a sudden, she started talking. She's at about 48 daily with Matilda now.
  • I don't think I've ever had two break-ups in one play session before but if it was going to happen anywhere, it would have to be a uni update! There always seems to be plenty of drama. I actually thought this round might be a little boring because I've got such a small group right now!
  • As soon as I loaded the lot, it was pretty clear Adrienne had no intention of being faithful to Nick. She had a fear of getting engaged to him and a fear of his death and those were the only hints in her wants and fears panel that she even had a boyfriend. She was all "3 woohoos", "3 make outs", "Be in Love with 2 Sims at once". So I let her follow those wants.
  • The pregnancy was a complete surprise! Ever since ACR 2's birth control was fixed, I'm finding there's not enough randomness with my Sims and their baby making, so I'm trying out something new with birth control, inspired by Laura. Only Sims who are above 5 in neatness are allowed to use it. Adrienne's token had Unmarried Try for Baby turned off by default, yet she tries for a baby with Random Townie?! Whuh? They actually conceived on a community lot, so I'm wondering if maybe there are different rules there? I don't know.
  • Nick is furious at Adrienne, so he really doesn't want to talk to her right now! He actually saw Adrienne with the Random Townie (whose name is Sabastian, by the way and it drives me NUTS that it's misspelt), so Sim Nick knows he's been cheated on as well as Character Nick. He and Adrienne hadn't been together for very long but Nick is a sweetheart and he seemed quite smitten. He'd rolled up an engagement want and then a marriage want. So he's quite heartbroken currently. :( Poor Nick. I'll probably deal a little more with Nick in Maia's update and then again when Caleb's session rolls around. I'm expecting some emo-ness, because Nick is definitely prone to that! I think he's entitled here though. ;)
  • Among all this drama, all four of these Sims have managed to maintain a 4.0 GPA.

22 comments:

  1. Whoa. Adrian is sooo gonna get it. I feel really bad for Nick, he's way too nice to have this happen to him. I'm actually kind of mad at Adrian right now... I mean, I'm sorry for her and all, but really? She really could have thought that stuff through some more.
    On another note, you really seem to have a lot of oops babies in college don't you? :P

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  2. Two things regarding Matilda: She is my second favorite (after Susannah, of course ;)) but I'm quite surprised on how narcissistic (sp?) she was. She made the wedding about herself, her parents' pregnancy about herself and issues with Sarah about herself. I'm like, wth? That is soo not the Matilda I know and love.

    Another thing: I thought Matilda was short? When she was a teen, she was shorter than most, but as a YA is about average? Did she have a growth spurt or something?

    And I agree with Tessa regarding Adrienne. Personally, I've haven't been a fan of her, so I couldn't help but laugh when it was revealed that she was pregnant. (And Tessa, it happens like that in college more often than you think. My roommate got pregnant the first two weeks of college. She didn't keep it, and while I supported her, I made sure to let her know "Slow your roll! And invest in the pill!)

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  3. Adrienne, you just got to freaking college and you're knocked up already-good gracious. Yea, talk about the romance trait popping in BIG time.

    In a way I'm glad the baby isn't Nick's, that way he isn't tied with Adrienne and her drama. I feel for him though, after all, I have the biggest sim crush on him so to see him be mistreated makes me angry.

    I like your randomness with birth control and neatness score.

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  4. Thanks for your comments, guys!

    Tessa, I feel awful for Nick too. I want Nick to live happily ever after with some nice girl but when it does finally happen for him, he's going to appreciate it all the more!

    And yeah, Adrienne definitely didn't consider how her actions would affect anyone else. Even herself, really. She's the one having a baby now with no idea what to do. Had she been faithful to Nick and got pregnant, there's no way he would have run off. He's a good guy but she's on her own with this now, whatever she decides to do.

    As for the oops babies, lately, yes! But Finn and Victoria's were as a result of the faulty birth control in the previous version of ACR. Before that, the last college babies I had were James and Naomi and they're now 50. I don't count Nick, because he was actually a high school oops baby!

    LaurelCrossing, hmmm, that wasn't how I was intending for Matilda to come across but it's always interesting to read another perspective. The way I look at it, we all think selfish or uncharitable thoughts about others on at least the odd occasion. Sometimes we act on them and hurt others in the process and sometimes we (wisely!) keep our thoughts to ourselves. Matilda is doing the latter. She's venting to Adrienne but they're best friends, so she'd be more open to talking about things with Adrienne than she might be with someone else.

    Matilda has never really been short - maybe it's just the angle in the pictures you're remembering that made her seem much shorter? Her adult height (which I always decide when they age to teen, so they can grow taller accordingly) is 0.98, which is roughly average for women in my game. For comparison, Adrienne is slightly above average at 1.0 and Sarah is short at 0.94.

    Adrienne is in a tough situation right now but it's definitely one of her making. Whether or not she can take anything away from this and learn a lesson remains to be seen.

    Apple Valley, I know, Adrienne didn't waste any time, did she? She might have got pregnant any sooner if she and Alasdair had any chemistry - he's so convenient, living right across the hall from her and all! But he seems to have eyes only for Sarah and has negative chemistry with Adrienne.

    It's so easy to feel bad for Nick - he's such a lovely Sim, inside and out. It will definitely be a good thing for Nick that the baby isn't his. He can cut ties with Adrienne completely with no guilt at all. For Adrienne, it might have been better if the baby was Nick's though. Her choices now are to raise the baby alone or give it up for adoption, both hard roads to follow.

    The BC is really Laura's idea (although I think her Sims need 7 neatness points), so all credit should go to her. :)

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  5. Wow, that dorm seems pretty great, I totally agree with Matilda that it's going to be hard to do better with the new one!
    Matilda really doesn't like her new stepmother, isn't it? But it's a good thing she hides it from her dad, it would really hur him I think, when his daughter and new wife don't get along. I understand that it's hard getting a younger sibling at 19, it's something you wish for when you're 6 of 7 but not when you're 19.
    Oooh, Adrienne what are you doing? Nick is such a great guy, he reallt was one to keep!
    It's a good thing Sarah followed up her own advice (the one she gave Susannah), and got rid of Marshall, he was no good for her. I hope she will be happy with Alasdair.

    Some time ago I asker where I could find Sarah's hair from when she was a teen, I eventually found it at the Sims Cave, thanks anyway!!

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  6. I do feel a wee bit bad for Adrienne....lots of people make mistakes, and now she'll have to live with this one for the rest of her life no matter how she decides to handle it...I am glad that Nick isn't the father though.....he just can't seem to win in the woman department huh? Poor guy! I'm glad Sarah is finally getting over that whole situation....I mean, it was just making everyone uncomfortable and they still have a few years to go!

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  7. Wow! I thought I'd read this quickly before going for a nap but now I'm not tired at all anymore ;)

    I'm pretty shocked about Adrienne's pregnancy although story-wise I think it's wonderful! So much drama. Poor Nick, I hope he finds some nice girl to settle down with. He's had enough of troubled relationships.

    I hope you don't mind that I'm totally going to steal that BC idea from you and Laura! I want some oops babies in Wellington too!

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  8. Tanja, I just realised this dorm is actually where Adrienne's dad Owen lived when he was at uni.

    Matilda knows her dad would be hurt if she showed that she disliked Virginia so seeing her dad is the only family she has, she hides it. A new sibling is going to be weird for her because she's not likely to ever live at home again, so they'll probably not ever be as close as say Ethan and his brother (3 years apart) or even Sarah and her sister (5 years apart). Matilda will be 20 by the time this baby is born.

    Nick is a keeper, isn't he? I think it probably takes a lot to push him to be this angry but being pregnant to another man (potentially...Nick and Adrienne don't really know yet) is a fairly major thing.

    I'm keeping my fingers crossed for Sarah and Alasdair. She needs a healthy relationship with a guy who actually displays some interest in her. Glad you found her hair!

    Mizzgin03, I do have a little sympathy for Adrienne as well. She is only 18 and as selfish as she's been, she's paying for it. She doesn't get why Nick is as upset as he is though, which tends to temper my sympathy!

    Sarah's weirdness about Ethan was definitely affecting everyone else so hopefully this thing with Alasdair lasts a while. She's still rolling wants for Ethan but she's rolling equal amounts for Alasdair. And she doesn't actually act on the wants she has for Ethan, thank goodness. It would be such a slapfest in that dorm if she did!

    Sari, ha, you were shocked?! LOL, I don't know if I can describe what I was thinking when I saw she was trying for a baby and then when I heard those chimes! But an injection of drama is always welcome.

    Nick hasn't rolled any marriage or baby wants yet but I know it'd be in the back of his mind. I hope this is the end for him and girl drama. I have someone planned for him but I'm not sure when I'm going to let them hook up. They're both getting very impatient because they try to booty call each other all the time but story-wise, it's not a good time for them to be together right now.

    If you're going to use the BC idea, you might want to remember that the BC option used on a male will also prevent any female he woohoos with from getting pregnant, whether she's on birth control or not. So it's really only my couples who are both sloppy who'll be affected by this.

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  9. I can't wait to hear how Adrienne reacts to parenthood, especially when Nick is only around to support the baby. Will she drop out of school to have he baby? Very goo suspense here.

    And there is really some hate going on between Matilda and the new stepmom. Wonder how Virginia feels about Matilda now that she has snagged daddy? LOL

    Love this storyline and cannot wait to hear more!

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  10. DeMonde, so glad to hear you enjoyed it!

    Well, Adrienne and Nick don't know it yet but Nick isn't the father. I didn't hint at it in the story but I said that she'd tried for a baby with the townie in the notes. So Nick won't be around for this baby. If she chooses to raise it herself, she'll be doing it on her own.

    Virginia seems rather indifferent towards Matilda. When they were living at home together, Virginia would try to talk to her but she rarely makes the effort any more! Perhaps she's given up.

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  11. [Throws things!] LOL Whoa again! Great update, though! Lots of goings on. Poor Nick… again! :( He's just not having any luck at all. And I was just thinking, his dad had a slow start with romance too, didn't he? And then he found Abigail and then was cheated on, too. How history repeats itself, if I'm remembering correctly. I know you have great plans for him though. :) LOL at the constant booty calling. Poor guy! He just wants some love!

    And wow, Adrienne pregnant by some random townie. Didn't have any boys to mess around with in high school and she just completely went crazy in college LOL. I hope the townie was cute at least :P (How shallow is that?! lol) What a rough road ahead for her, though. At least it seems like her family is supportive. I'm going to have to think about that birth control technique (and have to check to see if I have the updated version of ACR). It makes sense.

    And glad Sarah seems to be happy with this new guy. At least he's showing her some attention.

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  12. Danielle, there is an element of history repeating itself with Nick but I wouldn't say Caleb had a slow start exactly but he was 31 before he met Cara. Caleb briefly dated Madelyn as a teen, met Abigail while still a teen and knocked her up. They were together for about 7 years before she cheated on him with Jesse. And now it's happened to poor Nick as well.

    LOL, if you're shallow, so am I! I was really glad Adrienne didn't woohoo one of those random fugs who I haven't yet attacked with the plastic surgery machine! Sabastian has the same facial template as Gordon and Kendal though, so this baby should probably be quite agreeable to look at.

    And you're now caught up! Congratulations, LOL!

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  13. LOL Yes! I'm caught up! I told my husband that I finally caught up and he just gave me a weird look lol.

    Ah ok, I'm confusing Caleb with another one of your sims. I remember one of them didn't have his first kiss until he was in his 20s. But seeing I started from the very beginning, that could've been over 50 years ago lol! I'll have to try to remember who that was.

    And that's good that the baby won't have fug townie genes. I like the Kendal/Gordon face too. I've deleted most of the sims that have the original facial defaults but left a couple with the faces I like in.

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  14. Oh, you're thinking of James Novak, so that's roughly 25 years ago! He got his first kiss at 23, the same year he lost his virginity. Both were with Madelyn. And then they lived in sin for 14 years before finally getting married! LOL.

    At one time, I'd got rid of all the ugly townies but when I added another university for Patience's exchange trip, I got a bunch more fugs. I still have to make them all over!

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  15. I think the internet ate my comment. But anyway, I think I said that at least I was in the right era as Caleb and wasn't talking about his grandfather's generation lol.

    And getting rid of all the fug townies is one reason why I haven't added the second university hood I want. Luckily I don't really need it now but could have used it for one of my sims. I still need to finish redoing my current uni hood.

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  16. Blogger has been screwy with comments lately. I had three completely disappear a while back, only to reappear the next day.

    I kind of like doing townie makeovers so I don't mind too much that I have some fugs wandering around. But I like playing and blogging better, so that tends to take up most of my Simming time.

    And yeah...my uni hood overhaul has kind of stalled as well! I need to get back to it.

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  17. Poor Nick! Hes going to be ruined by bad woman choices. Hopefully the next one won't be an Adrienne.

    I'm with Apple Valley- I've totally got a sim crush on him too, lol. He's sort of this generation's Adam.

    But wow! Haha, this whole thing. I'm surprised Adrienne told anyone. Is she going to keep it?

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  18. Lunar, yes, fingers crossed! The poor boy has had his heart broken enough.

    Well, Nick is pretty cute, isn't he? It's not hard to have a crush on him. And he's got a bit of the Caleb effect going on now too. I think it was Laura who commented way back when and said Caleb became more adorable after he broke up with Abigail. Bad luck ups the sympathy/empathy factor and Nick's had a lot of it.

    Adrienne had to tell people because eventually, they'll know. She's decided not to terminate but she hasn't yet decided whether she'll adopt it out or raise it. And neither have I! LOL.

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  19. w-o-w!

    I'm shocked that Adrienne got pregnant! I'm shocked that it's not Nick's (that's some right bad luck) until I read that she TRIED for baby! Some kids are known to do that, but I'm still surprised she did.

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  20. Maisie, I was pretty shocked myself! The fact that it's not Nick's baby means that I'm thinking about this a little differently than I otherwise might. I won't say any more, in case you've not got to the birthdays post yet.

    As for trying for a baby, I think I need to check my ACR settings! LOL.

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  21. LOL @ an "in person kind of thing." I don't know why that amused me so much. Maybe it's just that age, the complete avoidance of confrontation at all costs! :)

    This was actually the last one I read before I left, and I remember thinking how funny that your Adrienne and my April both got themselves knocked up, not knowing the father, in the same week, lol! These girls!

    Anyway, carrying on... I've got a lot to read :)

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  22. Laura, yes, that's definitely a product of Adrienne's age, together with the fact that she's not really very experienced with relationships, nor is she very nice! She'd be more likely to think of her own comfort with something like this.

    Oh, wow, it would have been the same week for Adrienne and April, wouldn't it? Hopefully, they can both pull themselves out of the mess they're in, although Adrienne kind of has a head start on April. This is really the first thing that's ever gone wrong in Adrienne's life, unlike poor April.

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