Wednesday 7 November 2018

Every day should be a holiday

Round 37: December 2045 (Summer)

Finn and Victoria Romilly are 45 and Keira is 14. 


Narrated by Keira Romilly

Caitlin moved back in with us right after graduation but about a week ago, she moved out.


She’s now got her own place, which she’s currently sharing with Brendan, soon to be joined by Annabel and Georgina

I miss having her here at home. I knew she wouldn’t be here forever but the time went by really fast. 

Her new place is really cool and I’ve been visiting a bit more often since school broke up for Christmas.

Caitlin got herself the biggest room in the house. She just kind of claimed it and Brendan probably knew there was no point arguing.

Mind you, my bedroom at home is actually bigger than Caitlin’s…but I do still have parental units to contend with.

If I want something, I try to ask Mum instead of Dad. She’s pretty laid back and I’m more likely to get what I want with her. 

She doesn’t always say yes but she’s usually willing to negotiate, at least.

Seeing it’s our summer break at the moment though, school is out and Dad is home more often. He’s a lot stricter than Mum. 

He’s always been especially resistant when I ask to go do anything with Felix. 

He’s never outright said anything, probably because he’s also Felix’s principal…but he definitely doesn’t like the idea of me going out with him.

He won’t have to worry about Felix and me any more though, because I decided to dump him.

I didn’t think about it for a long time, because I was just excited to have a boyfriend - any boyfriend. But honestly, Felix just wasn’t a very nice person sometimes. 

He was never really mean to me but I got tired of hearing him being mean about everyone else. It made me start to wonder what he might say about me behind my back.

Who knows what he’s saying now? I don’t really care any more though. 

Daphne and I have kind of swapped places now, seeing she now has a boyfriend and I don’t. 

She’s been dating Joaquin Miguel, for a few months now.

I still think she should have given Everett a chance. Daphne doesn’t see why, seeing she doesn’t like him that way.

She’s right, obviously. I just think they would have made a cute couple. 

But she does seem pretty happy with Joaquin, which is the most important thing. 

We had Kirby family Christmas at our place this year and although Daphne did talk about Joaquin a little, she probably wasn’t as bad as I was when I was with Felix.

Looking back, I can see why Daphne was so annoyed at me, especially in the beginning. I did kind of rave on a little bit.

Byron and Noel are the youngest members of our family and it was pretty fun having them there for Christmas.

Well, maybe Uncle Jacob didn’t think they were so fun. Byron threw up all over him about 10 seconds after he picked him up!

Even though Christmas was at our house, Grandma still tried to take over in the kitchen, which Mum was not thrilled about.

Caitlin ended up intervening and giving her something specific to do, so she’d keep her nose out of what everyone else was doing. 

Grandma would never admit it but Caitlin is kind of her favourite grandchild. Caitlin has some sway in negotiating with her that most of the rest of us don’t have. 

Even Grandpa! He told me he mostly stays right out of the kitchen at home and just lets Grandma do her thing.

It was pretty squishy in our house having everyone over for Christmas but it was a good time.

Daphne and I kept the kids distracted a lot of the time. Byron and Noel kept trying to get into my bedroom, where I really didn’t want them to be!

Byron and Noel are very cute but I don’t need them going through all my stuff, potentially breaking it!

Most worthy of protection was my big Christmas gift, my brand new keyboard!

It’s an expensive one, so my parents went in on it with Declan and Caitlin. I love it so much!

Dad is a little concerned that another instrument will be too much distraction from my school work, so I’ve promised him that there is zero chance of that happening!

It means I won’t be able to spend as much time practising once school starts, so I’m making the most of it now, while all my time is still my own!

Notes:

  • Title is from Every Day Should Be A Holiday by the Dandy Warhols.
  • Sorry for my extended absence! This has been written for a couple of weeks but even once it was written, I could only play in dribs and drabs, so it still sort of took forever to get up. I'm going to try to get January birthdays up pretty quickly after this though (hopefully within a week or so), to keep the story moving along!
  • I can't remember if Keira and Felix got themselves together or if I nudged them but either way, I never saw them lasting too long. Keira is very high in Nice points and Felix has a whole one point in that trait. Mixed with both of them still being relatively immature, I think breaking up was a good decision for them!

14 comments:

  1. A family get-together is always great to watch, isn't it, and you have captured some typical family dynamics very well :-)
    How did the breakup come about? Did they just not roll any wants about each other in your game, or how do you decide on such things?

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    1. I don't think I'd done a Christmas get-together for this family since Claudia and Victoria were teenagers, so it was fun to do it again. :)

      How I decide on a break-up is different for each couple. Sometimes one cheats on the other and that will prompt a split. Sometimes they don't roll wants. Sometimes I just never planned for them to be together for very long anyway, because I know there's a better match out there for them. For Felix and Keira, it was mostly the third. I actually find that my teen couples don't roll a lot of wants for each other anyway (except on dates) and Keira and Felix were no different. But mostly, I think they were just not a great match, so it made sense that they'd break up because of that, as well as them being so young.

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  2. Very fun to see a Kirby family Christmas. I really like this family, and seeing the twins being doted on was sweet. It's been a while since they've had littles to spoil. Kudos to Keira breaking it off with Felix, I didn't see them lasting, but opposites can attract so who knows.

    The piano was a nice gift for her, and focusing on music might be a better choice than boys, so maybe her Dad should be a bit more encouraging. lol I can see him being the stricter one.

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    1. You know I love the Kirby family too! I need to play faster so I can see those twins grow up!

      I think at this age, dating someone who is maybe not your perfect match is probably more common than finding your true love, like Keira's parents happened to do. :)

      Ha, maybe Keira should spin it that way to Finn and make him find a whole new appreciation for her music obsession!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  3. I love the Kirby family too! Finn and Victoria have always been favorites of mine and Keira is awesome! I was happy when I saw your tumblr post about her getting the keyboard. Felix didn't really sound like someone she would stick with long term, so it was good to see her go ahead and break up. Byron and Noel are so cute, how long till they grow up?

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    1. They are some of my favourites too, for sure. Keira has a good head on shoulders, so I couldn't see her staying with such a poor match for her for very long.

      My most recent post is January birthdays, where Byron and Noel turned 3. So they'll age up in a year's time. :)

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  4. I really like Keira. She has an unusual ability to see and judge her own behavior (e.g., Daphne) but she's still a normal teenager. The deal with the kitchen and cooking for a holiday dinner is so horribly true! Also, the gold ornaments on the Christmas tree are just lovely.

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    1. I'm quite fond of Keira myself. She's a pretty bright spark - I think she's taken the best traits from her older brother and sister and is pretty well-rounded as a result.

      Ha, I am aware of these holiday cooking tension mostly from movies, so I'm glad it rings true. My family most definitely has its flaws but for some reason, we've never had many issues with this kind of thing. Maybe because we're all such gluttons and time spent arguing is time that could be spent eating?

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  5. Keira is gorgeous and seems quite head strong despite only being a teenager. I love how she knows which of her parents to ask for things so she has a higher chance of getting what she wants. Felix doesn't sound like a nice person, good move from her to break up with him if he is just mean all the time. No one wants to be around someone like that.
    I love that shot of her on her bed. She is just so cute with her tanned skin, blonde hair and what she wearing. ;)

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    1. I like that pic too. It was just filler but I think it turned out nicely anyway.

      Felix and Keira were never a great match but at 14, that's okay. They'll both meet better matches and hopefully Felix will grow up a lot before then too!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  6. Hi there, Keira!!!
    I was just coming to have news from your sister and appreciated reading your report! Wow, indeed, she seems to have a super bedroom in her new house! Even if not big as yours. You're lucky to live in such a lovely house! It's great to see family pictures on the walls (aawww, you weren't even born on some!!! sweet pea!!)
    Aahha, so you just dumped your boyfriend? I don't know him yet, but I'm sure you made the right choice. Next time, it won't be *any* boyfriend, but maybe *the* boyfriend! ;)
    Wow, your friend Daphne looks absolutely adorable!! Oh my! I'm totally with you, I would have been rooting for a Daphne-Everett couple! I checked his page, and he looks SOOO cute right now! Can you imagine last I met him, he was still a child? And what a lovely child. I've always loved the Benton's twins smile! <3
    Anyway... I guess it's a good thing if Daphne is happy with Joachim, but... Yeah for Everett!
    Aahaha, your uncle Jacob made me laugh. Though... Don't let him alone with children, maybe... ;)
    Honeslty, I also find Caitlin quite irristible, so I'm so surprised to see her charm winning over your grand-ma as wel!! (you're quite adorable too, sweet pea, don't think I have only interest for your sister!) You seem to be great with children! If you were a Sims 3, you would probably have the "nurturing" trait. And you're musician! How cool is that!!!
    Aahah, that last picture of you is priceless! :D
    It was fabulous to read you, sweet pea! (I hope you don't mind me calling you "sweet pea"!). Give Caitlin a big hello from me!
    Hugs!

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    1. Caitlin sends you a hug, Sandy! ;)

      I'm sure no one is surprised Caitlin managed to finagle herself the biggest room in the house! Her household was very lucky I was having issues zoning that house as an apartment, because for reasons I can't exactly remember, it meant I ended up giving them about $50,000 extra than what they originally had, just in the process of trying to get them moved in.

      Felix is far too immature for Keira at the moment. ;) I'm leaving the option open if they want to get back together down the road but I don't think they're a great match, ultimately. As for Daphne and Everett, who knows what the future will bring? That's why I love playing teens! They're so young, so there's plenty of time for them to make good and not-so-good choices before they think about getting serious with anybody.

      Caitlin's grandma has always favoured her, ever since she was a little girl! It's quite cute

      You should have a look at the Sims 2 Traits Project that mostly hexagonal-bipyramid is responsible for but which has collaborations with other modders too. Keira might legitimately have the Nurturing trait one day (and I do think it would be a good one for her). I only just put the beginnings of it in my game today and applied the appropriate traits to exactly one sim, just to test out how it all worked! https://hexagonal-bipyramid.tumblr.com/traitsProject It's super-awesome!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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    2. Wow, this is stunning!!!! I'm amazed by all the great mods you have in Sims 2! This game has such a HUGE potential, it's crazy!
      I'm happy with Sims 3 but regret it's so hard to mod in depth. It's much easier in Sims 2 and even in Sims 4 (but with still very little potential compared to Sims 2).
      Sims 3 traits are awesome, Sims 2 personality system was great too, both combined... it must be... Wow!!!

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    3. Right?! I love that people are still modding for this ancient game, lol! I love the idea of traits but the way they work in Sims 3 and 4, you can end up with a sim with essentially no personality, depending on the traits you choose. Having a vegetarian dog lover who is a green thumb tells me about the sims' lifestyle...but not their personality. How would they behave at a party? Would they make their bed in the morning? Do they like to laze around on the couch or go for a jog in the evening? So having the traits mod in TS2 is the best of both worlds, to me. The mod is constantly expanding - the creator said yesterday that it will probably never be "finished" - so I can see so much gameplay potential. I'm even considering learning to mod myself, to see if I can maybe contribute something to the project!

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