Monday 19 September 2011

Plush

Round 32: March 2035 (Autumn)
Narrated by Elspeth Romilly

It's my senior year now and I've finally put some thought into what I want to do with my life. I want to design video games. I play them a lot and I think I have better ideas than some of the crap out there.

Of course, that line of work does require a skill set I don't currently possess. Game companies around here are desperate for employees right now, so I'm hoping that means they'll be less picky. It's too late to change my major but it's not too late to take some classes that will help me.

They're very challenging but it's a good kind of challenge. I'm keeping up okay, even though some of the other students have been doing this stuff longer than I have.

I'm so excited about it. It's nice to finally have an idea of what I'll be doing next year.

Josh must be this close to telling me to shut up about it. I haven't talked about much else lately.

I have to talk to to someone about it though and Chris appears to be exhibiting a care factor of approximately zero lately.

Half the time I'm talking to him, he's not even looking at me. He's so distracted. It's getting really old.

I've chewed him out about it a few times and he always insists I'm overreacting or imagining things.

Just recently, I figured out why. On the way back from class one day, I spotted Chris with another girl. I don't even know who she was.

Chris looked like he knew her pretty damn well though.

He turned around as I headed over to confront him with this stupid grin on his face, like everything was just fine. It most certainly was not fine. I don't think I've ever been so furious in my whole life!

I told Chris it was over right then and there and he stood there with his head in his hands, like it was a shock that I'd want to dump him.

Our first break-up was fairly amicable; this one is not so much.

I tried to storm off, only to be followed by Chris's girlfriend or whatever she is. She wanted to apologise.

She kept saying she didn't know Chris had a girlfriend and she would never have touched him if she did. I have no idea why I should believe her.

When I got back to the dorm, I hid away for a little while. I just wanted to mope around and feel sorry for myself for a bit, without having to discuss it all with Josh.

I didn't want to talk about it with anyone, really. I just felt really stupid. Who knows how long Chris has been going around with this other girl, making so little attempt to hide it? And who knows if she's even the only one?

When I finally ventured out again, I bought a lottery ticket. Normally, I think people who buy those are idiots. You're basically just throwing your money away.

For whatever reason though, I couldn't resist the impulse. Maybe I was hoping that after my bad luck with Chris, I might balance it out with some good luck.

I was hoping for maybe $100 but when I checked the numbers the next day, I found I'd won $10,000!

As soon as I told Josh, he insisted I shout him lunch to celebrate.

I'm going to save the vast majority of the money but I agreed to spare $50 for a meal.

The money is nice but taking my mind off Chris for a few hours was better.

Josh and I had a heap of fun. It was just what I needed.

I need to do more things like that. Just taking time out for myself and forgetting about Chris. I do not want to be sobbing over him for months.

Things are a lot less awkward between Josh and me without Lila around. It's been like old times again.

I don't even know if she cares what Josh does any more but I always felt a bit strange being too friendly with him in front of her.

He seems to have moved on from me, finally. Lately, he's been after Veronica Moretti. She started as a freshman this year and Josh is rather smitten.

Veronica is not quite as taken with Josh as he is with her.

I'm almost positive she has a boyfriend. But me having a boyfriend never stopped Josh from flirting with me. He's quite persistent.

And this is all on top of this little casual thing he has going on with one of our dorm mates, Meg.

I'm hoping Veronica or Meg (or both) keeps Josh occupied for a little while, at least until things are completely smoothed over with Lila.

Just the other night, I went out for the first time in a long time with Sophie, Camilla and Lila and it actually went okay.

It was good to see them all again, especially Camilla. She makes more of an effort to come out with us now than she did when the twins were still tiny but there are still times when she just can't do it.

Lila tended to avoid looking me in the eye when we were all together, which did not go unnoticed by Camilla or Sophie.

Camilla and Sophie have their hearts set on us being friends again, so there were a lot of "trips to the bathroom" and "breaks for fresh air", leaving me and Lila alone.

The conversation was a bit stilted, the topic being mainly restricted to our darts game.

But Lila and I always got along so well, before that whole thing with Josh, and it was not as hard as I thought it would be to slip back into that.

Once I graduate, Sophie wants me to move in to the apartment she shares with Lila, which Lila has apparently okayed.

I'm happy to have a place to live next year but I'm just hoping things with Lila and me continue to move in the right direction.

Notes:
  • Title is from Plush by Stone Temple Pilots.
  • Elspeth will be the last student allowed into Game Development with a dubious major like Political Science. ;) I've been looking at my careers and comparing them to a link Flit posted on Pinterest and adjusting what majors they would require accordingly. I originally had Game Development requiring any old degree but now, they'll need to be Mathematics majors (or possibly Art, I'm still deciding), with a minor in Game and Interactive Media Design.
  • Josh's major already fits his chosen career quite well. He also did Political Science and wants to go into Journalism. In the future though, I'll probably tack some kind of minor on to it or something.
  • Elspeth rolled the "Large Lottery Prize" ROS and scored $10,000. She has quite a bit of cash now. Together with her scholarship money (which has been earning interest while she's been at college), she has almost $25,000.
  • Elspeth had lost most of her interest in Chris and he'd all but forgotten about her. They do hate each other now though, so I'm hoping one or both of them doesn't go all Julia on me! It wouldn't really be in character for either of them. I don't think it would be in character for either of them to dwell on this relationship for too long.
  • Lila was showing signs she wanted to reconcile with Elspeth last round, rolling up the occasional "talk to Elspeth" want. She started the outing that way again but once she fulfilled that, she'd roll up "entertain Elspeth", "play with Elspeth", etc. It was kind of sweet because these two were very close at one stage.
  • Meg was an ACR woohoo that happened near the very end of my play session (it was the last pic I took). If I'd picked someone out for Josh, she would have a less Maxis-y face than poor old Meg. I don't think Josh is too picky at this point. ;) He's had nothing but rejection since Lila, first from Sophie and now from Veronica.

21 comments:

  1. That's awesome that she got such a large lottery prize and that she and Lila and coming to terms with each other. I'm glad she got rid of Chris. I just couldn't see them together.

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  2. Wow! Most people don't just decided to buy a lottery ticket, and win 10,000$ the first try! But yet again, this is sims... Lucky for Elspeth though, she's probably set for years to come. ;)

    I'm glad her and Lila are trying to become friends again. Afterall, girls should never let guys come in between their friendships.

    Poor Elspeth, catching Chris like that. I know she'll be just fine though; she's a tough one. :)

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  3. Apple Valley, I'm glad the lottery prize went to someone who can put it to good use and not like Tate and Zelda or someone!

    I don't know whether Elspeth saw herself with Chris long-term either. Eventually, she would have ended it with or without the cheating.

    Thanks for reading!

    coolkat2, well, it's sadly never happened to me! The ROS worked out very nicely for Elspeth this round.

    No, girls shouldn't let boys come between them but it happens so, so often. :\ Lila and Sophie's update is coming up soon-ish, so more on that then.

    Elspeth will survive the Chris thing. She's not much of a wallower.

    Thanks for reading!

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  4. I'm glad things are working themselves over between Elspeth and Lila. I wonder what is going on through Lila's mind. If they're going to be living together, the awkwardness needs to be put down to a minimum. I imagine Josh might come around once in a while too.

    I feel bad that Elspeth had to find Chris like that. I agree with Apple Valley. I couldn't see them together for very long. Besides, he gives off an immature vibe.

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  5. Josh is quite the horn dog! And Chris seems to be going down that road as well. Elspeth is better off, time to move on. And cool she won some money, if only that happened in real life~

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  6. Oh, I'm still hopelessly wanting Elspeth and Josh together lol. Even with his extracurricular activities lol. Maybe he's just in need of a stable relationship........but anywho lol I'm glad she canned Chris, I just didn't see them as a very good couple. And I'm sure that money helped soften the blow a bit lol. I would have taken a spontaneous vacation to blow off some steam :)

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  7. Josh just needs some lovin! I hope that Elspeth stays clear until he gets this little bit out of his system. I do hope that Lila and Elspeth can become friendly again, especially if she'll be moving in with her. Which I'm super excited about seeing. I'm glad that Elspeth has an idea of what she wants to do for a career now, it's not one I quite expected from her though. And yay for her lotto win! She's definitely someone who would save and put it to good use instead of just splurging. I do wonder if she will end up with Josh, or if they'll just always be friends.

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  8. Choco, I think Elspeth and Lila is just something that needs time. Lila is very stubborn and she's been reluctant to change her mind after she decided Elspeth betrayed her but deep down, she knows things happened the way Elspeth said they did: Josh kissed her and Elspeth pushed him away. So I think they'll get past this. And yes, Josh will definitely be showing his face around that apartment, seeing he's quite friendly with Sophie as well.

    You're right about Chris. He's definitely quite immature, at least at the moment. I'm going to hope it's just a phase. I think Amar was similarly immature when he was in college and he grew out of it.

    Thanks for reading!

    Drew, LOL, right now he is! Josh hasn't really had any female contact since Lila and I think that was in his sophomore year! I think Chris is actually further down the horn dog road than Josh is, so getting rid of him was definitely the right thing for Elspeth to do.

    Ha, don't we all wish we could make an easy $10,000? ;)

    Thanks for reading!

    Mizzgin03, well, Josh is single now, so he can get all extracurricular if he wants to, lol! I don't think he'd be opposed to a committed relationship if the right girl came along. ;)

    Ah, yes, I'm sure the money lessened the pain of breaking up with Chris just a little bit. A vacation would have been nice but I can't see Elspeth doing that in her senior year, when she's taking new classes. She's got to keep up!

    Thanks for reading!

    Maisie, ha, yes, I think Josh was getting a bit frustrated so hopefully he's worked through some of that. Elspeth is a smart girl and she's very wary about Josh because of Lila, and probably more so now that she's had this experience with Chris. But we'll see what happens between them.

    I did not expect Game Development to be the career to pop up for Elspeth, once I started going through all the criteria. But her hobby is Games and I can actually see her quite enjoying attempting to hold her own in a male-dominated industry.

    Thanks for reading!

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  9. Wow, Elspeth is kind of lucky, at least when it comes to the lottery. She wasn't quite as lucky as when it came to Chris.
    I'm glad she and Josh are back to how they used to be, and I'm also glad she and Lila worked out their differences, especially since they might be living together next year.
    It seems like Josh is in need of some loving!

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  10. I'm surprised and heartened that Elspeth is so concerned with making amends with Lila. And Lila too. I think that's very big of them both to try to put things behind them.

    Boo @ Chris! Poor girl, having to find out that way. But better to find out now than later, I suppose. But yay for the lottery prize! Whee! Retail therapy! :D

    And geeze, Josh! Maybe he's making up for lost time or something? lol!

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  11. Tanja, yes, Elspeth is kind of really lucky when it comes to the lottery! Who would turn down $10,000, especially at 21?

    I think Elspeth and Josh always wanted to stay friends like they were but she was wary because of Lila. It'll be interesting to see how Lila reacts to Josh and Elspeth when Elspeth finally moves in.

    Thanks for reading!

    Laura, Elspeth has felt pretty isolated from her friends because of the whole Josh thing and she's missed that best friend connection she had with Lila. I don't think things are completely right yet but they're both working on it.

    And yeah, Chris is being a dog (and I was playing him last night and he appears to be getting worse!), so this was probably a blessing in disguise for Elspeth. He's just not ready to be in an actual relationship right now.

    Poor Josh was getting a little desperate, so coupled with the fact he was a bit of a late bloomer, he probably was making up for lost time!

    Thanks for reading!

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  12. But, but, but, Josh and Elspeth! :(

    Maybe Josh still needs some time to grow up. He's more mature in my opinion than Chris, but apparently not too much. I'm going to hope this is temporary.
    Elspeth is one lucky girl, with so much money in the bank and a clear future. I'm also glad she's getting her friends back; she had to be quite lonely for a while.
    ...I'm glad Chris got caught, the little scumbag. I was surprised they hooked up again in the first place.

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  13. Fini, Josh is more mature than Chris but at the moment, that's no great achievement. ;) I was playing him again last night (update will be up tomorrow) and he doesn't appear to have even a smidgen of remorse! Josh is, at the very least, single, so he's not hurting anyone. Except maybe Oliver, if he found out!

    Elspeth was very lonely without that girlfriend support system going on. Sophie never turned against her but it was hard for to be stuck in the middle, so she couldn't be there for Elspeth as much as she would have liked. It's easier with everyone getting along now.

    Thanks for reading!

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  14. Wow, it's Elspeth who won the lottery! Lucky her! When I saw this in your ROS, I was hoping it would be Ione, so she could have her shop. But it's all good for Elspeth! :)
    I'm not surprised neither that she reached a end with Chris (gosh, how lovely she is on these shots where she's thinking, she seems all nostalgic). Glad to see the things going better with Lila!
    PS: I wonder if it's not even better to read so many stories in a row... Instead of being my weekly soap, you're my Sims long movie! ;)
    (don't feel obliged to answer to all my comments, I don't know how many I left tonight!)

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  15. Sandy, LOL, I will get to them all but I'm due to start getting ready for work in 20 minutes or so, so the rest will be saved for after work. ;) You've been busy while I've been asleep!

    Oh, the money would have been nice for Ione, huh? I still have to check the money situation at her house, to see how close she is to affording it. I had a bit of teen drama planned for that house but I'm going to make a note to possibly do some shop stuff too, so thanks for the reminder. ;)

    Elspeth is probably one of my prettiest Sims, in my opinion. Maybe that's why she decided not to worry about the Chris thing for too long: she knows she can attract other boys lol! There'll be more of her and Lila this round.

    Thanks for reading!

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  16. I had started reading Sullivan from the beginning, but then I decided just to jump right in with the recent posts so that I'd be up-to-date! :) It sounds like there's been drama in Elspeth's life, though, so I may end up reading back, a bit, after all.

    Elspeth really is pretty! :) And she seems so level-headed, too. I think she'll make a great Game Designer. As you say, she'll be able to hold her own in that industry!

    (This may not be useful, but I'd recommend Mathematics as the degree requirement for the Gaming career. In my own experience, math-types are more likely to be gamers than artists are! :)

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  17. Whisper Doll, heh, there's a lot to get through if you choose to start from the beginning! I'm always impressed if people want to start from the beginning but I'd rather them just jump straight in. ;) I'm a bit embarrassed about the really early stuff!

    Josh and Elspeth were involved in some drama a couple of years back. He's always liked her but they never dated, so he started dating her friend Lila. But he ended up kissing Elspeth on Spring Break and then Lila found out when they got back. It didn't go over too well.

    Elspeth is a smart girl and I don't think she'd be fazed to be working with a bunch of men who may or may not be particularly supportive of a woman in their midst. She'd enjoy that kind of challenge.

    And I always welcome any comment that allows me to refine my nerdery! I'll go with Mathematics and leave it at that then. ;)

    Thanks for reading!

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  18. Chris... is an idiot LOL. Well, he’s just young, but he’s an idiot if he thought openly flirting with another girl in public was ok when his girlfriend is Elspeth. Poor Elspeth. It was nice to see the softer, vulnerable side of her (and I agree with Sandy that she looked especially pretty on her balcony) instead of the harder side we always see. But what a pick-me-up! I should’ve played the lotto after some of my breakups LOL. I’m glad that she and Lila are rekindling their friendship. Slow and steady! And too funny that Josh is all over the place with girlfriends/flings/whatever they are. Typical college guy. I still think that he and Elspeth are going to end up together. The boys just have some growing up to do and I think time will make it less weird to Lila if they do get together down the road.

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  19. Danielle, Chris is young and an idiot right now! It's definitely partly a maturity thing but yeah...an especially bad idea when your girlfriend is Elspeth, of all people! She was never going to take that lying down. She's also hurt though and you'll see more about that in Lila and Sophie's update and possibly another one a bit further down the line.

    I think Lila and Elspeth's friendship is good for both of them. They're similar to each other in a way neither of them are with Sophie or Camilla. I think if Elspeth did get together with Josh down the line, Lila would have something to say about it and it wouldn't be good. Whether that something was a grunt or a full blow-out aimed in Elspeth's direction would, like you say, depend largely on time.

    Thanks for reading!

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  20. Well, Elspeth and Chris were on pretty shaky ground before anyway, but no one likes to end a relationship due to infidelity.

    Elspeth as a game developer is interesting--I didn't see that one coming. I'm glad that she and Lila are mending things!

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  21. Rachel, no, Chris and Elspeth were never a match made in heaven but it was still a horrible way for it to end.

    I wouldn't have come up with game development for Elspeth on my own but once I ran through all the criteria, it was the job that fit her best. The more I think about it, the more I like it for her.

    Thanks for reading!

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