Thursday 10 May 2012

505

Round 33: March 2038 (Autumn)
Emma's last update/Jessica's last update/next update

Louisa Gentry, Emma Gottlieb and Jessica Royce-Nihill are 18.
(Mitchell is 19 and Declan, Justin and Lauren are 17)
Narrated by Jessica Royce-Nihill

Starting at Suffolk with Emma and Louisa has been so much fun. You hear people say living together is the quickest way to kill off a friendship but that hasn't been true for us at all.


We’ve just been having an awesome time together. It’s just like in high school, except there’s no parents around to tell us to go to bed.

Lauren is still finishing school, so she’s not here with us yet. We all speak to her on the phone at least a few times during the week instead.

The phone isn’t quite the same as catching up in person but we do that most weekends.

I don’t envy Lauren this year. She’s mainly been hanging out with her brother and his friends during the week and she's really missing having time with girlfriends.

She’s also feeling kind of smothered by her parents at the moment and is dying to get to campus and be a bit more independent.

Emma, Louisa and I all felt like that near the end of high school, so we know the feeling. Getting out on our own has been a good move for all of us.

I'm a Culinary Arts major and it's not quite what I imagined so far. I have yet to even set foot in a kitchen, for instance.

This year, I think I'm going to be stuck in a lecture theatre most of the time.

The theory side of things is more involved than I thought - there's nutrition, sanitation, the history of different cuisines. It's a lot to take in.

I've made friends with Mitchell Carmody, another culinary arts student. He's a sophomore and I've been grilling him on what next year might be like.


From the sounds of it, it'll be a lot more interesting. Mitchell told me his classes are much more hands on this year.


That's what I'm after! I want to actually improve my cooking, not just read about the importance of hand washing or storing meat correctly.

Emma is loving it here on campus. She surprised us all a little when she announced she’d be majoring in ceramics though. She never really talked much about it in high school and I think it was somewhat of a whim for her.

Emma spends a lot of time between classes honing her craft at the uni art studio. She’s getting really good.

She made me a little vase for my dorm room, which matches the decor just about perfectly.

She’s met a new girl while doing her pottery as well, who she seems to really like. Her name is Makenzie.

Emma says they get along so well and that Makenzie has managed to not say a single thing to annoy her so far.

That’s pretty rare for Emma. She even gets grumpy with me sometimes and I’m her best friend.

They’re not dating but they’ve hung out a little and Emma wants to take it further. She knows Makenzie is gay, or at least bi, so there’s at least that hurdle out of the way.

So far though, they haven’t done anything more than flirting.

Louisa and Justin, having been together for three years now, are a little more serious than Emma and Makenzie.

I'm not her mother, so I haven't said anything but I think he's distracting her from her studies a bit. She's on track to end up on academic probation this semester.

Justin is here on campus every weekend visiting Louisa. The second Louisa knew she was enrolling at Suffolk, Justin was making sure his dad would let him use the car to drive up here.

Next year, he’ll definitely be here on campus with us. He’s already been chosen as the first recipient of the Governor’s Grant, so he won’t be paying a cent in tuition either. The separation has been hard for them, so they’re counting down the days until Justin starts here at Suffolk.

My boyfriend Declan is also still finishing up his final year of high school, which Emma occasionally likes to tease me about. She calls me a cougar and Declan my toy boy.

She teases everyone about everything though, so it would be silly to take it personally.

If Declan wasn’t still in school, I don’t think anyone would even notice an age difference. He just turned 17 and I’ll be 18 in July, so there’s not even a year between us.

Declan and I didn’t have much time together before I went off to college, so in a way, I think the separation is easier for us than Justin and Louisa. We both knew it was coming before we got together and that really does seem to have made a difference.

Or maybe it’s just that after my experience with Noah, I’m more aware of how hard long distance can be and more willing to work at it.


So far, so good. I still get so excited about seeing Declan every weekend.


We’ve become quite enamoured of pool lately. The pool hall on campus is usually empty during the day, so it’s almost as private as my dorm room would be!


Sometimes we just hang out all day and drink coffee instead.


We seem to be able to talk forever. I don’t feel any of that weirdness seeping in, like it did with Noah near the end.


It makes me feel that little bit more confident that Declan and I can survive the rest of the year.


Still, it’s going to be really nice when Declan is here on campus and we can see each other whenever we like.


Notes:
  • Title is from 505 by Arctic Monkeys.
  • Louisa did end up on academic probation, so she'll be graduating a semester late. :( She has a 2.6 GPA. Emma has a 3.6 and Jessica has a perfect 4.0.
  • On the plus side for Louisa, she and Justin are still rolling a lot of wants for each other. They can't roll romantic wants, even with my teen/adult wants hack but they're clearly still very into each other.
  • Declan and Jessica are about the same. So I guess both couples will make it until the younger one gets to campus. I would have been sad if they appeared to lose interest but that doesn't seem to have happened.
  • Makenzie and Emma have two bolts, without matching turn-ons, so they're a very decent match. Not sure what will happen between them but unlike Tim and Marius, both girls are relatively outgoing, so I don't think I'll be waiting long to see them take things further. But who knows?

26 comments:

  1. Wow, academic probation, I guess the bright side is that she gets an extra semester with Justin if they stay together that long

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    1. That's true and I actually hadn't thought about that! That'll make for only six months apart at the end, rather than a whole year. Assuming they're still together, that'll be nice for them.

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  2. Yikes! Louisa needs to hit the books. Academic probation is nothing to turn her nose up at. Hopefully she can focus more this coming semester.

    I'm glad both couples are relatively drama free. Hopefully they can keep it together!

    Emma being grumpy towards Jessica amused me. Not even best friends are immune!

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    1. Louisa needs to hit the books or I need to watch my Sims closer and make sure they actually go to their exams! It was cool that I could write it in but it was mostly my fault. I didn't even realise she wasn't at her exam until I got the notification she'd missed it. Duh.

      Not too much drama with either of these couples at the moment but you never know what could happen in the future! And neither do I, lol!

      I doubt Makenzie will be immune to Emma's grumpiness either - eventually! I think Emma is just in the early stages of infatuation right now and isn't in that frame of mind.

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  3. Hi there, I just caught up after beginning reading a few months back (I started from the beginning because I write in my down time and wanted to see how the story progressed instead of just picking it up somewhere in the middle). I can't remember how I found you, it may have been when I was working on my own Sims family tree and came across yours in MyHeritage, I remember seeing that pretty early on.

    Anyway, I started a town similarly a couple years ago and didn't realize there was such a community of people blogging about them. It has kind of made me wonder if I want to start a blog with my own Sims but at about 200 living Sims I don't even know where I'd begin... You've definitely given me some inspirations as to how to improve my own gameplay that I've been working on implementing (things like varied heights and I'm trying to figure out how I want to change my rounds, 5 days has always been too much but 2 seems so short. I never thought to play with aging off and then just manually age them. /facepalm) so thanks for all of that. :)

    I've really enjoyed seeing how gameplay has affected your story lines and what little twists and turns the ROSs force on you. I don't know what I'll do now when I need a Sim fix but don't have access to my computer (maybe start reading another Sim blog from the beginning?) but yours is now bookmarked so I can check in regularly.

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    1. Hi, nice to hear from you! I'm very impressed that you started from the beginning - that's a lot of reading you've done.

      I'm glad my blog could inspire you a little. I think most of the ideas are fun for game play and not just blogging, so a blog is definitely not necessary. It would be quite an undertaking to start a blog on a hood with 200 Sims but if you do start one, I'd love to see it.

      The ROS and little game play things have thrown me a few curveballs too but that's okay - it's part of the fun! Hope to see you around again sometime!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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    2. So, I've given in and started a blog. I am actually really enjoying the process of organizing it. The layout and design of the blog could use some work but I'm focusing on getting some content up to start with.

      The only issue I've run into so far is that I don't have AL on my laptop so I can't download the Freezer Clock and I can't find many poseboxes with some basic standing poses for group shots they're mostly modeling poses. Oh, and for some reason only one or two child poseboxes I've found actually work, the rest just pop up an error and I have to reset the child which is odd because the ones I downloaded didn't say they needed a specific expansion, but I digress.

      Anyway, no Freezer Clock and limited poses means most of my pictures are fairly basic but they work. It would have been really helpful to get everyone looking at me when I have to take pictures of the extended families but instead I'm either waiting for them or just giving in and taking the pictures while some sims are looking away. I'm sure once I can do normal family updates the picture taking process will go much quicker. Getting four people to look at you is much quicker and easier than 40...

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    3. Congratulations on starting the blog! Organising mine is an ongoing process that I will probably never be able to say "it's done" but I've got it to "good enough", which will do. ;)

      I find Freezer Clock is not as essential as Look at Player. I often don't need Freezer Clock unless I'm posing a lot of Sims or the Sims I'm posing are being particularly uncooperative (not uncommon, mind you!) Did you download Look at Player? Looking at your blog though, it seems like you were posing a lot of Sims, so yeah, you definitely will want Freezer Clock for that!

      As for lack of poses, for most non-couple shots, I usually just use the less model-type poses from Decorgal's box. I have other boxes with plainer poses but I don't know them like the back of my hand like I do Decorgal's box, so it takes me longer to find the right poses!

      Good luck with the blog!

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    4. Thanks!

      I did download Look at Player. I found that it wasn't much help with how many Sims I was posing because even if I queued it up for everyone when I unpaused the game only a few, maybe half, would actually look at me. I'm sure it will work better with fewer Sims. I do have Decorgal's box so I'll keep messing with it (I only have three more families to take pictures of, seven more giant family posts to put up, and then I can start doing pictures of a much more manageable size).

      One last question if you don't mind :)
      I haven't posted much anywhere in the Sims community. Are there any good sites to join for this sort of blogging/storytelling? I'm looking for a place to share what I have, check out what others are doing, and discuss new things that I can do with my town, get tips and tricks, or read up on changes people have made to their own play styles. I'm loving the way that pulling my town into a blog is helping me form a new way of looking at the Sims. Before they were just individual households that happened to be related but seeing all of these connections reminds me that there is so much more that can be done here.

      You've been a great help. Thanks again!

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    5. Yeah, with a lot of Sims and no Freezer Clock, Look at Player won't help. But it does sometimes help to try the interaction a few more times if your Sims won't look at you right away. It also sometimes helps to change your camera angle and do "Look at Player". Sometimes, for whatever reason, they'll look if you change the camera angle a bit. Then you can change back to your original angle and their heads should follow. :)

      The only place I post regularly is Neighborhood 99. A lot of other bloggers are members there and there are a lot of non-bloggers there too. There are lots of us in the TS2 section. Because we've mostly been playing for years, we're all past the basic discussion of gameplay and are mostly looking to share new ways to make the game fun for us. I can guarantee the members there would love to see your pics and talk about play styles with you. :)

      If you have problems joining, let me know the username you're trying to join with. It's not my forum but I can ask Barb to double-check to make sure she hasn't missed you. :)

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    6. Thanks for the tip!

      I've made a Yuku account and applied to Neighborhood 99 as CaitriaMorrigan. Now to wait to be approved. :)

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    7. Great! Hope to see you around soon!

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  4. It's strange that your college sims can't roll wants with their teen boyfriends/girlfriends. With Justin and Ginger they were rolling wants for each other all over the place. And with Marcus and Bri, they roll wants for each other all the time.

    Do all your sims do this or is it just a few of them in these types of relationships?

    Ugh, and academic probation right off the bat! Maybe it's a sign that college just isn't for her, or maybe she's too distracted by her boyfriend. Hopefully it will change next semester! Glad the girls got off to a good start!

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    1. I have never, ever had a Sim in a teen-adult or teen/YA relationship roll a romantic want for their partner. Ever. The closest I've got is this round, when Louisa rolled the want to dance with Justin but that's not necessarily a romantic interaction. :\ They'll roll woohoo wants but nothing else. I wonder what the difference is between my game and yours. I wish they would roll wants! It would make things a lot more fun and realistic for me!

      Louisa's Knowledge, so I certainly hope she's cut out for college! Maybe she's one of those types who cruised through high school and needed a kick in the bum to realise she's actually going to have to do some hard work now. We'll see how she goes next round. It should be fine, as long as I remember to send her to her exam! ;)

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  5. Wow I can't believe Louisa!! Shows how boys are just bad news, take up too much time, and make girls forget their priorities. I hope she gets her head back in the game, and pulls her grades up.

    I'm glad to see that Emma has someone, college is working out nicely for her and Tim in regards to relationship options. I'm surprised she's just jumping into pottery, I hope it's something she really enjoys.

    I was glad that Declan and Jessica are still making a go of it, they are a cute couple, I enjoyed all the shots of them together. Looking forward to the younger ones joining their sweethearts in college! Gonna be fun! Here's hopnig though that Declan doesn't pull what his parents did, and end up with a baby!

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    1. Heh, I know, right? We won't let Joanna hear about Louisa's grades or she might never let Sylvia date at all!

      It sort of came out of nowhere (maybe I had her as a visitor on a lot with a pottery wheel) but Emma rolled the want to buy one, so I figured ceramics was for her. Her LTW has always been "Become Visionary", so this is just the particular path she's choosing with that.

      Declan and Jessica are sweet. I'm excited to get him to campus, so they can start rolling *real* wants for each other. They'll be on double birth control, because Declan and Jessica are both very neat. So hopefully, no grandchildren for Finn and Victoria just yet!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  6. Boys, always a boatload of trouble. I hope Louisa can get her priorities straight or she's going to be headed back home while Justin's at Suffolk. That will be a whole other problem and more separation.

    I'm glad Emma has found someone she's interested in. Hopefully she won't be as fickle as Laurel. Also happy for Jessica and Declan. They're so cute together. Can't wait for them to be in school together, again.

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    1. More time with Justin will definitely be an incentive for Louisa to keep her mind on her work, if her future career isn't already doing it for her! It's in her best interests to stay in school.

      We'll see what happens with Emma and Makenzie, as it's quite early days now. Jessica and Declan only had a few months together before she started college, so they'll definitely be looking forward to their reunion next year!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  7. Wow, I never had a sim on academic probation, though I think Niels was close. I don't play according to wants enough, I have trouble letting my sims go :)

    I don't think it's a good thing that Justin will be in college next year, at least I don't think it's good for Louisa. On the other hand it might just be that push she needs, when she sees he's doing well, she might work harder.

    I'm glad Emma found Makenzie and that they are getting along so good, I hope things work out between the 2 of them, they are cute together :)

    I can't wait to see more of Jessica and Declan, I really like the together!

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    1. Oh, really? LOL, I've had several on academic probation but I do play to their wants while they're at uni (and most of the time, actually). You get more variation that way. I hope Louisa knuckles down with her studies next year when she realises Justin is on campus and she can see him whenever she likes. Fingers crossed, anyway!

      We'll see how Emma and Makenzie and also Declan and Jessica are doing next time we visit the college kids. I'm already quite excited about playing them again actually!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  8. I'm glad this group of girls is adjusting well to uni (well most of them). I'm excited to see what you come up with for a culinary arts faculty. I've been looking for buildings on and off for the past year so I can redo mine. I really dislike the building I used (which was the same building I used for my old high school), so it'll be nice to get some new ideas.

    Glad Emma found someone, and it's someone that doesn't annoy her at all! Bonus points! :) And I really like Mackenzie's top/outfit. Extra points! Very happy to see that Jessica and Declan are still going strong. Can't wait to see them together when he's on campus.

    Wow, Louisa better get her head in the game! It'll probably get worse when Justin gets on campus. Hopefully she won't get kicked out. Our poor sims suffering from our forgetfulness ;). Like how Keisha failed high school because I just installed harder harder grades and didn't know what I was doing LOL.

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    1. I'm sort of looking forward to seeing what I come up with myself! Right now, I haven't started thinking about it properly! But I do really need one.

      It's quite an achievement for Emma to find someone who has yet to irritate her (I'm sure it won't last, lol). I'm hoping they can get a little something going. Makenzie's dress is a recent download and you should find it on my Pinterest. I think I have 8-12 different colours - Veronica was wearing another colour of it last time we saw her.

      I have high hopes that Louisa will turn herself around next year. She's a Knowledge Sim, so academic probation is probably rather mortifying for her. And you know...seeing it was my fault and all, lol! I'm still not sure I know what I'm doing with Harder Harder Grades sometimes!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  9. Aww, they're all so cute! I'm glad it looks like both couples will survive. I was just thinking of installing Harder Harder Grades and now you're scaring me, lol.

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    1. Yeah, it looks like they'll all make it, at least through the first year. No telling what will happen once they're actually on campus together, unfortunately.

      Harder Harder Grades was not the cause of Louisa's academic probation, so I wouldn't get too scared! I didn't notice she hadn't gone to her exam, which I could have done without that hack. :)

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  10. Catching up here finally! I am glad all the long-distance couples are making it, but it is too bad about Louisa's grades. Here's hoping she can get it together soon!

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    1. Me too. I'm especially glad for Jessica and Declan, seeing her last attempt at the long distance thing didn't go too well. ;)

      Poor Louisa. I'm feeling quite bad that she's on academic probation and it's all my fault, lol!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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