Friday 12 February 2010

Steam engenius

Round 25: Summer 2021
last update/next update

Trent Kirby is 51, Megan is 49 and Rebecca is 12.
(Tate is 51, Tessa is 12,
Finn and Victoria are both 20 and Declan is 8 weeks old)

Narrated by Trent Kirby

Not long before Mum died, we made plans to drive up to the university and meet our new grandson. Victoria called Megan and specifically requested that she come. Megan really didn't take Victoria and Finn's news very well and they didn't speak much during her pregnancy.


Victoria was so thrilled to see her grandmother. They've always been close. Grandparents aren't supposed to have favourites, but if Mum had a favourite grandchild, it probably would have been Victoria.

I'm really thankful Mum got to meet Declan before she died. Not everyone is so fortunate to be able to meet their great-grandchild. I wish she could have lived longer to see him grow up but I think we were lucky to have her for as long as we did.

Rebecca is thrilled to be an aunt. I really hope she's content to stay an aunt, at least until she gets out of college.

Megan did come, but she was very standoffish most of the time, especially when we first got there. I don't know if she said more than five words.

I wasn't thrilled that Victoria got pregnant either but there's really no point in harbouring any ill feelings about it. Declan's here, he's still our grandson and I want to him to know us.

We should consider ourselves lucky that Finn is a good guy too. Some girls get pregnant and the guy takes off as soon as he finds out. I worried a lot for Victoria when she got pregnant but I never worried about that, at least.

Megan and Victoria did talk a little later on and it seemed to go...okay.

It only seems to go okay if they avoid talking about Declan. Megan tends to be very critical of everything Victoria does with the baby - she's holding him wrong, he's dressed too warmly for the summer, etc.

I wish Megan would lay off. I think she's just looking for any little thing to pick at, just so Victoria is aware that she still isn't happy with the whole situation. As if she could ever forget.

Finn and Victoria both seem like they're doing fine with Declan anyway. Megan is finding fault where there really isn't any.

I don't understand Megan. She spent half our visit either not talking at all or nagging and then she goes out of her way to hug Victoria goodbye when we were leaving.

Back at home, I tried to talk to Megan about her interactions with Victoria. I know it's really important to Victoria that they get past this. I think Megan wants to but she is so pig-headed sometimes. She hates admitting she's wrong.

I worry that if she leaves it too much longer, Megan might do some lasting damage. I don't want that to happen and I told her so. I know she knows I'm right - she'll just take her time before she finally admits it.

Rebecca took Mum's death pretty hard but that hasn't stopped her from getting herself into trouble.

We didn't find out until recently, but she and her best friend Tessa have been making a game of going to restaurants and then running out without paying.

They tried it at Tate's restaurant the other night (a couple of hours after she was supposed to be home, I'll add.)

Tate's hostess, Vanessa, is like a hawk and she nabbed Rebecca right away.

Tate ended up bringing her home and explaining what she'd been up to. Rebecca stood there looking contrite but I don't know how sincere it really was.

So instead of just grounding her, I'm having her spend every weekend working at the market with me. I never made Claudia or Victoria work there. Neither of them really got into much trouble as kids and Claudia would have enjoyed it anyway. Rebecca though...she's really not enjoying it.

She hates the uniform, she hates the customers, she hates having Arianna breathing down her neck. But I'm hoping that she's also learning how much work it is to run a business and that she'll think twice before trying to get something for nothing from someone else's business.

Notes:
  • Title is from Steam Engenius by Modest Mouse.
  • Leontine so had a favourite! She and Victoria were always talking and joking.
  • I'm having lots of fun with these less dramatic ROSs lately. Rebecca rolled the Cheapskate (take someone out on date and skip out on bill) ROS this round. I had always planned for her to get caught and it turns out she pretty much sucks at skipping out on bills anyway, so it wasn't too hard! She was caught at Julian's diner too. And now you know why I said I was going to do this as an outing instead - Rebecca's a little young for dating right now!
  • I'm due to play all my college kids next. I have three households, so that will definitely be three separate updates! I haven't decided where Finn and Victoria will slot into that but I'll revisit the whole Megan/Victoria thing then.
  • Just a little aside, but I think Finn is concerned too - he called Megan out of the blue after the visit. He's not even friends with Megan (post phone call, they were at about 35 daily). I love when stuff like happens and it seems to fit in perfectly with what I've planned. If you were wondering, Finn is BFFs with Trent. Trent really does love Finn!

13 comments:

  1. Well, I hope Trent got his wife straightened out. Nine months is long enough to be carrying a grudge, I think!

    At least she hugged Victoria when she left.

    Yeah, the cheapskate ROS was great, especially with having her work as a cashier as a consequence!

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  2. I'm glad Trent is the voice of reason, I also can't wait to see Finn and Victoria's update. I bet they're handling the baby like pros.

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  3. Francesca, I hope so too but Megan is very stubborn. She knows she's being silly now but she's too proud to admit it for now. We'll see how she goes when I play Finn and Victoria.

    The cheapskate ROS was really fun, although I don't think Rebecca agreed with me!

    Apple Valley, Victoria is glad she has one reasonable parent and she's hoping Megan will come around and then she can have two.

    I haven't played with Finn and Victoria much (just ducked in for pictures) but I have a feeling they'll be pretty on top of things with Declan. They're both very sensible. :)

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  4. Oo an update with baby Declan to come, can't wait! I bet they are spot on parents. They've both seemed quite sensible from a very young age.

    Trent and Finn being friends is great. I really hope Megan comes around though. It's done, and there's nothing cold shoulders is going to do to change it. Might as well embrace it already, besides I'm sure Victoria gets that her mother doesn't approve of it. Point taken, move on Megan.. I hope she will anyway.

    I do not know how to get my sims to skip out on a bill. I tried just the other day, and they didn't even get out of their seats before they were "caught". So I'm with Rebecca.

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  5. I feel for Victoria. Being a new parent is stressful, and it's always good to have your mom supporting you. Magen needs to move past this, patch thing sup with her daughter, and enjoy the blessing that is Declan. He's so cute.

    As for Rebecca, where is this "wild" streak coming from? She's just being a kid. Testing the waters and all that. She's seeing where she fits in in this crazy sim world. ;)

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  6. Awww, poor Victoria. I can see Megan's character behaving this way though, even the odd little hug at the end like she's conflicted too.

    But it was nice to see Leontine and Victoria together one last time at least. :)

    And Rebecca, lol! That's cute. What else is there to do? But to skip out on the bill, don't you have to drive there? That's the only time I've had the option show up and that annoys me. Though I guess it is hard to "sneak" off lot when the taxi comes for you.

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  7. Thanks everyone!

    Maisie, tentatively, the next Declan update will be on Wednesday, though he'll make a cameo in Claudia's update on Monday.

    Trent has always liked Finn, even when he was a teen. They're both maxed out in nice points, so they have that in common.

    Megan might be a tougher nut to crack but I hope she'll get there eventually. That's exactly it - all is said and done, Declan's already here so she'd best get on with her new role of doting grandmother.

    Skipping out on the bill is tricky! You have to wait until the host is showing someone to a table and then sneak past their station. Even then, it's difficult!

    Riverdale, Victoria is definitely missing her mother right now and I'll touch on that when I do Victoria's update. She really does want things to go back to normal with her mum.

    I don't know about that Rebecca though! I think it's a youngest child thing - they tend to be the ones who push the boundaries as much as they can and really test their parents' patience! Heh, can you tell I'm the eldest in my family? I'm a tad biased!

    Lunar, Megan was a townie that I made and if you check her personality, she's got like 8 playful points but she never acted that way - she's always been a bit humourless and grumpy (this is also why I changed her look kind of drastically after I had her with Trent for a couple of rounds). She does love her daughters though, so "conflicted" is a good word for her right now.

    As for skipping out on the bill, Rebecca actually walked to the restaurant (a bit cheaty, because she really shouldn't be able to walk to Exeter but let's pretend Tessa's dad dropped them off there!) so I guess you can skip out on the bill if you walk too! I'm not sure I've ever tried it when my Sims have taken a taxi there!

    You don't actually have to sneak off the lot - you can accomplish it if you just wander around the lot, making sure to avoid the host. So if that's the reason for disabling the option when you've used a taxi, it's kind of silly!

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  8. The picture of Trent bringing Rebecca home is priceless. She looks more sorry for getting caught than for what actually she did. It's good that she has to work in his father's shop to make amends.

    Megan annoys me so much! She's supposed to be the grown-up here. Get over it already, woman!

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  9. I hope Megan and Victoria can work things out. Trent is right, what's done is done and they might as well enjoy their grandson instead of holding onto anger forever. And at least Victoria has a great guy who is there with her helping out with the baby.

    lol, Rebecca is a wild one. Maybe Rebecca will give Megan so much to worry about that she'll stop being so angry with Victoria, lol! That ROS is fun, but very hard to do successfully!

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  10. Cissie, seeing Rebecca probably would have continued her little game had she not been caught at her uncle's restaurant, you're probably right! But she's only 12, so hopefully she'll mature a little over the next few years.

    And Megan is definitely being the immature one here, although I don't know if she sees it quite that way. She knows she's wrong though, she just needs to admit it.

    Shana, I think Trent's made some headway with Megan, so maybe she can move forward a little more when I play Finn and Victoria. I know I mentioned in my notes that Finn called Megan out of the blue but I had to duck into the Kirby house again while I was playing Claudia last night, Finn called Megan again! I was only in the house for 5 minutes, so it sounds like Megan has Finn on her back about this too! Hopefully, she'll cave soon!

    LOL, yes, Megan might need to concentrate more on her youngest daughter! Victoria isn't hassling local businesses at least! I think I succeeded once with that ROS, with Henry and Araminta. It works better if you do it at a really big restaurant, because the host is more likely to be away from their station for longer.

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  11. Oops, I did mean to type Sari in that last comment!

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  12. Awww, poor Victoria! It can't be any fun to have your sister being critical of you. It may not be the best situation, but it's happened and there's nothing to change it now. It's best just to get used to it and move on!

    LOL at Rebecca running out on the bill! I have yet to have a sim do it on purpose. I had it happen, by accident, way back after I first got the expansion!

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  13. Mao, indeed! Victoria has enough on her plate right now without her mum's criticism.

    LOL, I don't think I've ever skipped out on a bill accidentally! I seem to remember accidentally shoplifting once, though I can't recall how or even if it was in TS1 or TS2!

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