Sunday 1 September 2013

Shaking through

Round 34: July 2040 (Winter)

Luc Lane is 47, Asha is 44, Ruby is 13, Marcus is 11 and Felix is 9. 
(Ramona is 13)

Narrated by Ruby Lane


Our family got a new member this month, when I adopted a stray cat, who I named Boots.


I didn’t really ask permission to adopt him. He just started coming around all the time and I felt sorry for him.

Once you start feeding a cat, they pretty much just become yours like that and that’s what happened with Boots.

Mum and Dad weren’t too impressed but it’s still so cold at night and they didn’t really have the heart to do anything except let me keep him. 

He’s quite sweet though and he’s definitely won everyone over.

Not that he’s perfect. He’s messy and he’s kind of dumb too, so his bad habits are hard to train away.

Boots ruined one of the couches in the living room, resulting in Mum and Dad having to pay to have it reupholstered.

They were extra mad, because we have literally just had the house redecorated. 

When they first bought this house, they didn’t really have the money to do it exactly like they wanted it. Seeing they’re both more successful now, they decided to redo it. 

I really like it, though I would like it even better if we bought a bigger house with a pool outside. 

Mum and Dad like the urban thing though, so we still just have our tiny little yard.

We did get to choose most of the stuff for our own rooms though, which was a lot of fun.

Marcus and Felix’s room is full of Felix’s toys and Marcus’s sports memorabilia (because he’s too cool for toys now, apparently).

They both like to brag about how they’re younger than me but still got the bigger bedroom.

My room is definitely smaller but they share theirs and mine is all mine. I have way more space to myself than they’ll ever have while they’re living here.

Just one of the perks of being the only girl! 

Sometimes I wish I had a sister but I have Ramona, so it’s not so bad.

We’ve known each other for as long as I can remember, so it’s almost like having a sister. 

Ramona is much more studious than I am and she’s probably at least partially responsible for me getting straight As.

I hang out with her more than anyone else, so if she’s hitting the books, I usually end up joining her. It makes the time go faster.

I don’t think she always enjoys my chosen activities quite as much! She’s a total wuss sometimes.

I can’t help it if she sucks at sports!

We’re both allowed out on our own, as long as we get home at a reasonable time, so we like to take advantage of that. Especially when we get as many snow days as we have been recently. 

Ramona’s parents are a little cheap though and the allowance she gets every week isn’t quite as generous as mine. She often can’t afford to do the stuff we want to do, so we just have to make our own fun.

Next year, we can get jobs, so we’ll both have more cash to spend.

We’re already planning to try to find something at the same place, so we can work together. 

We don’t really know what we want to do for an actual career but for an after school job, we’ll just do whatever.

I don’t care that much, as long as they pay me!

Ramona isn’t really interested in boys yet, apart from thinking some are cute. She doesn’t really want to date any of them. 

We definitely disagree on that point! I can’t wait to go on my first date!

Mum says I can date, as long as she and Dad can meet the boy first.

Dad is not nearly so cool about it. He hates the idea of me dating and would be thrilled if I put it off until I was 30!

I don't plan on waiting that long but he can probably relax for now. The only boy my age at school (who I’m not also related to) is Gabriel. He’s nice enough but definitely not my type at all!

Notes:

  • Title is from Shaking Through by R.E.M.
  • Sorry this took so long to get up! I've been very busy with work, so I haven't been doing as much simming when I get home as normal. I usually go for a more structured game that tells me exactly what to do lately! But I am definitely still picking away at Sullivan almost every day. I have only two more families to create (plus some of the more important townies from Sullivan 1.0) and a total of maybe five or six families still to be moved into houses. The majority are now living in proper houses, though not decorated to my liking yet. 
  • My boy-girl ratio is so bad for Ruby's age group. I cannot see her ever dating Gabriel (too "good" for her), Matthew and Simon are her cousins and Brendan is way too old. Those are the only boys I have in my high school right now. There's one coming through next year...but it's Marcus, so that's not going to help Ruby out too much either. Not a great time for a Romance sim!
  • Ramona will have her proper hair by the time I play her next time. I think I've sad before but I don't add new hairstyles unless I need them for the family I'm currently playing. 

16 comments:

  1. LOL, the boy/girl ratio may not be good for Ruby, but I'm sure Luc doesn't mind! Especially since I know he remembers being the boy all the fathers wanted their daughters to stay away from. It's good that Ramona is a good influence on her though. Sounds like she would need it.
    I've never adopted a stray cat, though. I need to put that on my bucket list. Good to hear you're almost done with the rebuild! I know you're glad to get that off your plate.

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    1. No, Luc is quite happy there's no one for Ruby to date! Wouldn't want to come across a younger version of himself, lol. ;) I think Ramona will be a slightly sobering influence on Ruby as they get older. Which yes, I think she might need!

      I will be thrilled beyond measure once this rebuild is finally done! I don't think I'll ever be completely finished but I'll consider it good enough once all my sims are moved into decorated houses. :) At least decorating is fun, unlike editing all my sims in SimPE, which I dread doing!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  2. The boy/girl ratio is really out of balance for you teens. Poor Ruby, it's going to be hard on her, especially since she's a romance sim.
    It does give Luc a little bit of extra time to adjust to the idea of his little girl dating :)
    I love seeing Ramona and Ruby together. Their characters seem so different, but they still are best friends, it seems like they balance each other :)

    I can't wait to see the boys grow up!

    I like what I've seen of their house.

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    1. I know! So many of my girls are going to need to wait until college for any actual dating but I think it'll be toughest for Ruby, being my only Romance girl (I think).

      I was looking through some old pictures a few days ago and came across a slumber party I did for Ruby and Ramona, at Ramona's place. Super cute. I love them together. :)

      There's a lot tour at N99 if you want to see the house in full. :)

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  3. Love the new cat, cats are crazy! I hope that there is an influx of boys to the high school...maybe an exchange program. I also like the tidbit about allowance. Do you actually give them money in game as allowance?

    Congrats on almost being done with adding families. I'm still in the midst of doing the same thing, but I have far less than you in terms of number of families. I agree that their house is very nice, I could see them in a bigger house considering he's a rock star. How successful is he? Is he like an award winning musician or one that makes a decent living but won't be in magazines?

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    1. Eh, nah, I'm just going to live with the boy drought! ;) I don't really want to add any new sims, my own or anyone else's. My population is insane enough as it is.

      I don't actually give allowance, as I think it'd be fiddly to work out. Olivia and Steve are both cheapskates (Hoarders, by your system) though and it just occurred to me while I was playing that Ramona probably would get as much spending money as Ruby would. Luc and Asha are Bingers.

      I don't see Luc as super-famous, like on the cover of every magazine or selling millions of records. I see him as just successful enough to not have to worry about money at all but still able to preserve his day to day privacy. Which sounds like the best kind of success to me.

      Glad you're almost done with your own rebuild! I can't remember my last population count but I have well over 100 sims, so there were a LOT to put back in. Not many sims to go now!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  4. Ah, I've finally caught up on Sullivan!

    I'm interested in seeing Ruby as she gets older. Too bad there aren't enough boys for her. Romance sims can be so much fun, even if they tend to get themselves into a bit of trouble. I'm also interested in seeing what her brothers are like as they get older. The Lane kids seem like they could be a trip.

    I know what you mean about being super busy to sim. Sometimes I get the inspiration to sim instead of write or vice versa. Congrats on being almost done though. I remember when I had to rebuild my town and it was a grueling task but I was so proud and felt so accomplished once that was done.

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    1. I think Romance sims are usually a lot of fun as well. I can't think of one I've ever been bored by, lol, even pre-Sullivan! I have barely had a chance to think about what Marcus or Felix will be like as teens, even though Marcus is aging up at the end of this round!

      I sim and write at the same time (I love alt-tab), so unless I'm decorating, simming is often a bit too brain-intensive for after work! I definitely understand people who end up taking months away from their blogs, especially if they also have a partner and kids to take care of!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  5. Heh, I hear you on the boy/girl ratio - my hood seems to never be in balance when it comes to that. :) Hopefully she can date when she gets to college though, LOL.

    It's still so impressive that you've made such progress with rebuilding your hood and I'm glad you're almost done adding families!

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    1. For the last few game years, I've been reloading if I don't get the sex I want/need, so my ratio will hopefully be a bit more balanced in years to come. Fat lot of good it does Ruby though!

      Thank you - I'm very glad I'm almost done as well! It's been a fairly tedious task!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

      Delete
  6. Poor Ruby, it's slim pickings for her dating-wise. No wonder Luc looks so happy in the family portrait LOL.

    I honestly didn't recognize the house at first because the spiral stairs tricked me. I really like how you decorated, it looks exactly what I'd expect for Luc and Asha's house to look like.

    Yay for nearly completing the rebuild!

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Ha, yeah, I imagine Luc would be pretty thrilled with this particular turn of events! He should thank all of his peers for having so many damn girls. ;)

      I thought I'd change things up a bit with this house by doing the spiral stairs instead. I love those glass ones. I had to do a bit of testing with the sims, getting them to walk up and down, making sure nothing was in their path (I used the spiral stairs on the other floors too) but I sorted it all out in the end. I think I did a better job with this place than with Luc and Asha's old house. It seems more them and I'm glad you think so too. My one nod to their old place, apart from the recording studio, is the One Love poster in their living room above the stereo. :)

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  7. Ahaha, I love Ruby's expression on the last pictures, with Luc hoping she won't have a date before 30! *lol*
    Aw, Ruby is another of my loves! Yeah for having adopted Boots! Oh my, how would have it been possible to resist him? I really squeed out loud when I saw him sat with the paws up! Daaaaw!!!
    It's great that Ruby has a friend like Ramona (*lol* @ her being not into sports!). I really enjoyed reading about their projects for future, like part-time jobs and dates! That's too cute!!! <3
    What? No "newer post" at the end of the page? I've already caught up? Aww, that was too short! *huuuuuuugs to all your Sims and to you! ;)*
    (I'll come back tomorrow if I dreamt about your Simmies AGAIN! :D)

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    1. Ha, she did that expression all on her own too! It was just perfect for that little conversation. I can imagine a lot of conversations like that as Ruby gets older.

      Ramona will serve as a nice balance for Ruby, lol. They'll have fun job searching together though I don't think Ruby has much chance of talking her into joining a sports team. ;)

      Hugs to you too, Sandy! And yep, that's it for now! I have two more rooms to decorate in Rob and Patience's house though and once I've done that, I can play again. Hopefully Friday or Saturday.

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  8. I can't believe that Ruby is a teen, and that Luc and Asha are in their FORTIES! How did that happen! They have definitely kept their youthful personality, and are such cool parents. I love that Luc doesn't want his daughter out there dating yet, and I can totally see Asha as being chill over that too. And how lucky for Luc that there aren't any boys out there for Ruby to date right now! Do you have any/many townies in the game at all? I'm glad that you are SO close to getting your game all set up, aka all your families made! What a relief that will be!

    Their place looks great, glad they were able to get it all decorated nicely for them, they worked hard to get to this point. And how funny, that the stray cat comes in and tears the couch apart. I think it's sweet that Ruby adopted the cat, and I am a total sucker for orange kitties, and in the game, I love the big fat fluffy ones.

    Ramona and Ruby are such cute friends, I remember when they were toddlers playing at the table together, and now they are looking for a cool teen job to do together. I hope their friendship stays this strong.

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    1. I know, everyone's getting so old! But Luc and Asha are definitely cool parents. Well, Ruby doesn't think Luc is very cool RE: his dating policy but she knows Asha has her back over that one. ;) I have townies in my game but no teenagers. The only ones allowed are social group townies, dormies and vacationers. There could be a teen vacationer but so far, there hasn't been. So Ruby really doesn't have any boys to date right now!

      I had to let Ruby adopt Boots - he looks like Garfield to me, lol! He is a fairly troublesome cat though, I have to say. He actually completely destroyed that couch. I was upstairs with Ruby, went back down and there was a big space where the couch used to be!

      I actually have a photo of Asha and Olivia introducing Ruby and Ramona to each other as babies. It's really cute. I'll have to dig it out and do a retrospective on Tumblr. ;)They've been friends so long.

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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