Saturday 28 July 2012

Quiet storm king

Round 34: March 2039 (Autumn)
last update/next update

Mitchell Carmody is 20 and Tim Lane and Eddie Gentry are 19.
(Max is 52 and Lauren is 18)
Narrated by Mitchell Carmody

Tim is “out” to everyone now, including his parents, and I think he’s happier for it.

He still likes to get on our backs about not cleaning up after ourselves but in general, he’s more relaxed.

At least part of that has to be due to Marius, Tim’s boyfriend.

Tim and Marius have been dating for almost a year now and they seem really happy together.

Marius is a tiny bit more outgoing than Tim is, so he’s been able to encourage him to get out of the house to do things other than go to class or study at the library more often.

I don’t know how Tim could stand it before; I would go stir crazy staying at home so much.

They’re still over here often enough though. They both follow just about any sport there is, so there’s always something they want to watch on TV when they’re home.

Eddie and I have both got to know Marius fairly well, as he’s here so often.

He’s a really great guy. He’s not quite as grumpy as Tim can be sometimes, so he’s a good balance for him.

Marius is like a a permanent fixture around here these days, so getting along with him is definitely a plus.

Marius doesn’t seem to quite “get” Lauren though, which she finds a bit frustrating. It’s pretty rare for Lauren to meet anyone she can’t get on with.

She likes people and they tend to like her too. So Lauren is determined to win Marius over.

She’ll be thrilled if she can succeed. Lauren can’t really cope with people not liking her immediately.

Now that Lauren is here on campus with us, she’s taking full advantage of Eddie being so close by.

Some days, it’s almost like being back at home, under the same roof as my sister once again.

She thinks our place has a real “guy smell” about it though, so I think the novelty might be wearing off.

She and Eddie are back to going out most nights, which suits me just fine.

If I can honestly say I don’t know what she’s up to, Dad will be less likely to ask me about it, like I’m her keeper or something.

Eddie is fine anyway. Dad is just a bit nervous about Lauren being away from home for the first time.

Mum is always asking me to make sure Lauren is on top of things with her classes but there’s really nothing to worry about there. Lauren is pretty conscientious already but if she wasn’t, Louisa being placed on academic probation in her first semester would have been enough to scare her straight.

Eddie was already doing well here but his sister’s experiences have certainly put the fear of God (or the fear of the university administration) into him!

I’m a junior now, with plenty of my own work to do, so I’d rather focus on that instead of worrying about what anyone else is up to.

At the moment, Suffolk has very limited facilities for culinary arts students, so they’ve organised apprenticeships with local restaurants instead. This year, I’m apprenticing at the Front Page Cafe and my mentor is Max Nihill.

I’ve only been there a couple of weeks but I think I’m going to enjoy it. I really like Max and am hoping to learn a lot from him.

His daughter has always been really into cuisine as well (and is a sophomore who is also majoring in Culinary Arts), so he’s very passionate about passing his knowledge onto a younger generation.

But classes, on top of the internship, are not leaving a whole lot of time for my social life! I’m so exhausted every night. I feel guilty for all the non-dates Dixie and I have been on lately.

Dixie says she doesn’t mind but I wanted to do something nice for her anyway, so I took her out to Exeter, to eat at the Claudette.

She loved the place, though she was a bit worried that it was too expensive.

Truthfully, I was a tad worried myself but decided to put it out of my mind. It’s not like we live it up like that all the time.

So we both forgot about that and just enjoyed our night.

Dixie couldn’t resist sampling a little of my meal. I’m a bit more adventurous than she is but she usually likes a little taste of whatever I’m having.

It was awesome food and even more awesome company.

Eddie teased me a little the next day, saying Dixie was probably expecting a proposal, going to a nice restaurant like that when we’d never done it before.

He was just kidding, of course. I don’t think most people our age want to get married any time soon, including Dixie.

At least, I hope she's not! I do want to get married and have a family one day but I haven't really started thinking about the specifics yet.

I know Dixie wants all that too, though I've been assuming she also wants it in several years time and not right now!

I still feel like we're too young to be seriously considering anything like that. I just want to relax and have fun for a few more years yet.

Notes:
  • Title is from Quiet Storm King by Fig Dish.
  • Top of my list to put at my uni is a culinary school! I have two culinary arts students right now and they have no place to go to hone their craft. So as a stopgap until I do that, I came up with the idea of having apprenticeships at local restaurants. Except I forgot that Mitchell wouldn't really be able to do anything at the restaurant because he's not an official employee (nor can he become one, as a YA). So in the future, I'll just have to get creative with posing.
  • Marius seemed baffled by everything Lauren tried to say to him and he really doesn't seem too fond of her. I think the only other Sim who took an immediate dislike to her was Laurel, Emma's ex-girlfriend. I can imagine not being liked would be a bit confounding for a girl like Lauren.
  • Mitchell has rolled an engagement want for Dixie a couple of times but they roll away pretty quickly and he didn't roll any at all this round. I don't think he's going to be the type of Family Sim to marry right out of college, at any rate. Let's hope Dixie feels the same way!

24 comments:

  1. Carla, you can have Mitchell work at the restaurant if you use this mod: http://www.modthesims.info/d/381047

    When he's hired, by default the hours are M-F 8-5 like normal. By using Sim Blender or similar, you can select his shift (career level) to become convenient to his schedule. Maybe, that will work for you.

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    1. Ah, you know, I have that hack but I didn't think it worked for YAs. I'll try it though and see what I can do.

      Thanks for the tip!

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    2. It works with teens, so I figured it worked with YAs. Let me know.

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    3. I'm not sure if there'll be a way for Mitchell to actually be employed in the first place. He won't show up in the list of Sims on the phone but I'm going to see if Max can hire him directly when I click on him. Fingers crossed!

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  2. The guys are so busy, Mitchell seems to have a level head on his shoulders which is nice considering he's so young still.

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    1. They've all got quite a lot going on, especially Mitchell! He's pretty responsible though, so he knows he has to balance his work and leisure time. :)

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

      Delete
  3. Aw, for some reason it always makes my heart melt when grumpy, neat-freaky sims find love. They seem to need it so much. :)

    Dixie is so pretty, I loved their little date.

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    1. Actually, me too. It seems like they're probably hard to live with and it's kind of nice when they find someone who might be more than willing to put up with them!

      Dixie and Mitchell make a cute couple. I was happy to let them get all dressed up and go out for a change. It's probably not something they'd get to do often, as two broke college kids. :)

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  4. LOL at Lauren's frustration! The harder she tries, though, the worst it might get. Maybe she should just relax and let it happen naturally. ;) Lauren is quite lovely. I'm not sure if I've mentioned it before or not!

    I'm so glad Marius and Tim are getting on well. Tim needs someone to pull him out of his shell!

    Apprenticeships are a good way to get around your lack of facilities! It's definitely a quick way to learn he craft--throwing them into the fire, haha.

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    1. Marius is just a little on the grumpy side, so Lauren's perkiness is probably a bit much for him. ;) And Lauren is indeed lovely. She looks like just like her dad though! Who'd have thought Jesse would make such a pretty girl?

      I know, Tim is so, so shy, just like his dad. I think Tim might be even more reserved actually. I'm glad he found Marius.

      Yes, baptism by fire, lol! Hopefully not literally, seeing they're so close to a stove!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  5. Your Sims and your buildings are beautiful! The restaurant scene with Dixie and Mitchell is my favourite in this update.

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    1. I'm so glad you like my Sims and my lots. I can't take credit for that gorgeous restaurant though. I downloaded it and changed very little about it. It was already lovely.

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

      Delete
  6. I have to say I was expeting Mitchell to propose to Dixie. I hope she wasn't expecting it too much, and that if she was it's not going to cost them their relationship.
    I really like Mitchel and Dixie together, and I like how they make their relationship work despite everything else going on in their lifes.

    Lol ate Lauren being determinded to make Marius like her! I must be hard on her to discover that not everybody instantly likes her when they meet her :)

    It's nice to see Marius and Tim together, and that Marius is able to get Tim out of the house!

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    1. No, Mitchell's not really in the marriage frame of mind yet. If it turns out that Dixie is ready for marriage RIGHT NOW, then that could cause some problems. Mitchell's only got a year left in college, so he'll be out there in the real world soon.

      It's not something that's happened very often to Lauren, someone not liking her! She'll have to see if she can wear Marius down. ;)

      At least Marius likes Tim. That's the most important thing, after all!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  7. It’s great that Tim found someone who makes him more relaxed and outgoing than usual. It seems like Marius is getting along with his roommates at least, but poor Lauren. First, she is absolutely beautiful. I read their profiles along with their immediate families and I couldn’t stop admiring how lovely she looks. Hopefully with time Marius adjusts to Lauren’s perkiness; she seems like a really nice person that could eventually grow on him.

    I was sort of expecting a proposal from Mitchell as well, but he doesn’t seem committed to that idea and besides they seem to be really enjoying each other’s couple. Dixie is super lucky to have a broke boyfriend who is willing to spend his little bit of money on her at an expensive restaurant.

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    1. Yeah, Marius was not too impressed with Lauren. Fortunately though, they don't really need to be anything more than civil. Lauren is just Marius's boyfriend's friend's sister, not someone who might end up as his sister-in-law or anything.

      Not that Marius or Tim are thinking along those lines yet, I'll add. :) No engagement wants or anything from either of them so far.

      Marriage hasn't seriously crossed Mitchell's mind either, though he's a Family Sim, so I expect that he'll roll at least a generic marriage want as soon as he graduates! I'm going to let him and Dixie date a while longer before they make such a momentous decision though!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  8. I was also admiring how gorgeous Lauren is, again! I always thought she was very pretty but seeing the other angles of her face really showed it. For some reason I didn’t expect her nose to stick out like it does but it really suits her.

    I’m glad that Marius and Tim are getting along so well. He seems like a really sweet guy and exactly what Tim needs right now. Too bad he doesn’t get along with Lauren. I’m glad to see Lauren and Eddie getting along well, too. And Mitchell and Dixie! So many happy couples. I love Dixie with her hair down. She looks so pretty.

    Great idea to do the apprenticeship. You’ll have to let us know if hiring students works. Actually, I think I’ve done it in my game. I had a rundown bar I was testing in my downtown and I remember hiring 1 or 2 uni students. I remember them because of how slow they walked when serving lol. Too bad I can’t double check for you now :\.

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    1. Ha, yeah! Lauren kind of looks like she'd have a button nose from the front but it's rather prominent in profile. I think that might be the only feature she got from Abigail! She's a pretty girl though, it's true.

      I've been waiting for a gay guy to come along so I could write Marius in, lol! Sophie used to heart-fart over him when he was in college (he's had a little makeover since then) but alas, she's the wrong sex for him. He does seem to like Tim a lot though. ;)

      Dixie's such a sweet girl and so gorgeous. I'm hoping she sticks around permanently, with someone else if not with Mitchell. :)

      Oh, I hope you're remembering correctly! It would be awesome if I could hire students. They definitely don't show up in the employees list but I still have to try doing it directly, by teleporting the student to the lot and having the owner try to hire them. Fingers crossed!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  9. Dixie and Mitchell are super adorable together, I really like her hair back in her formal outfit, and the dinner was especially nice. I really like the idea of the apprenticeship, it gets them to know some local business owners too, which I think is important when starting out.

    I don't blame him for not wanting to spy on his sister and report back to his Dad. Lauren's a good girl anyway. Though I feel for her with having Marius like everyone with the exception of herself, ouch. Hopefully she can warm him up to her!

    It's super nice to see Tim actually doing something! Without Marius, he sure could get boring watching!

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    1. Dixie is a cutie. :) Mitchell's apprenticeship definitely has some perks, namely real world experience and networking. I still have to try out LC's tip about that OFB hack and see if I can get Mitchell hired for real.

      I think Jesse will calm down a bit about Lauren after this year. He's not too strict a father - he's just been taken aback about his only daughter out of home for the first time. And if he doesn't relax, well...Mitchell only has another year where he'll be able to spy on her anyway!

      Everyone needs to get out of the house every now and then. Tim's coming out of his shell a little with Marius, which is nice to see.

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  10. I'm glad Tim and Marius are hitting it off so well. It's always a little mystifying to me when two Sims don't seem to get along, no matter what you do--poor Lauren!

    I want to establish a culinary school too! I have plans to do it through a two-year university or maybe as a standalone school, since it is such a different sort of program from those usually offered. I'm going to try to establish cooking internships in the foreign countries in TS3, but I'm not sure how to proceed with that yet..

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    1. I guess Tim and Marius getting along is the main thing, though it would be nice if he'd make more of an effort with Lauren too! Marius has a mild case of the grumps - not as bad as Tim but definitely a factor! Lauren is probably just a tad perky for him!

      Wow, that sounds so fun! Cooking internships in foreign countries is an awesome idea too. You could probably do it just with the regular "Travel" option and bring them back when you need to switch to someone else. The only snag would be your sim showing up on community lots when they're supposed to be away. In TS2, we've got Inge's prisoner token to take care of that (which makes me think this would work really well for TS2 as well!). I wonder if Inge has converted her prison stuff for TS3?

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  11. Marius seems bit flamboyant. I think it's just that in almost every picture he's doing something weird with his hands. It just cracks me up in comparison to Tim, who I always imagine as a bit stiff.
    I was wondering where Max woud fit in, but I guessed it exactly. I'm glad Mitchell is enjoying himself and is still going strong with Dixie. Let's hope she wasn't looking for a proposal just then too.

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    1. LOL, I hadn't noticed but you have a point about Marius! It wouldn't take much to be more flamboyant than Tim though. He's definitely quite conservative.

      You know, when I put Max's name in at the top, I remembered you saying you liked to guess how a Sim would fit into an update and wondered if you'd get this one!

      Plenty more on Dixie and Mitchell next time. :D

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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