Saturday 15 February 2014

Brick by brick

Round 35: March 2041 (Autumn)

(Jessica is 21, Austin is 20, Caitlin is 18 and Georgina is 17)
Narrated by Brendan Lachance



My 18th birthday was also the very first day of classes, so it wasn’t the most fun I’ve ever had.


One class in and I already had quite a bit of reading to do and I know there’ll be a lot more coming as well.

I really want to stay on top of it all, so I want to try not to procrastinate and leave everything till the last minute.
I was going to get started right away but that night, I ended up going out with the other guys in my dorm instead.

It turns out that Declan’s birthday is fairly close to mine, so it was kind of a combined celebration for both of us. 

Austin, Declan’s girlfriend Jessica and Caitlin came along too. Caitlin is Declan's younger sister but also my ex-girlfriend. 

We all had a great time. We just went to this bar on campus with some pool tables and dartboards, played a bit and had a few drinks. 

I knew Declan, Justin and Xavier from school but being a couple of years ahead of me, I never really had much to do with them. We’ve got to know each other better since I moved to the dorms in January though, which has been good.

Celebrating your birthday with an ex isn’t always the best idea but it was a lot of fun.

Things were bad between Caitlin and me for a while after we broke up but I hope that’s all in the past now. 

I know it is for me, anyway, and Caitlin isn’t the type to hold a grudge. 

Considering it was my first birthday away from home and away from my family, it was a pretty nice one. 

Caitlin and I live in separate dorms but we still see each other a fair bit. She likes to drop by and check out what her big brother is up to, so she’s about as familiar with our dorm as she is with her own.

Declan ends up going to hang out with Jessica after a little while, leaving Caitlin free to come and monopolise my time. 

Not that I mind at all. As nice as the other guys are, I feel a little like I’m intruding with them sometimes, seeing they’ve been friends for forever and I’m so new. 

But I’ve been friends with Caitlin since before we even started school and I always feel comfortable with her.

Caitlin is excited right now, because she’s decided she’s mapped out her entire career.

She’s going to major in psychology and then become a social worker, before moving into the political arena and becoming Queen of the Universe.

I told her I didn’t think that was an actual title but she just laughed and was undeterred.

She says she'll settle for mayor, governor, president…whatever means she’ll be in charge.

Caitlin wants to change the world, which might sound cheesy but Caitlin is someone who could probably actually do it. 

Caitlin is pretty busy now that classes have started though, so I haven’t been seeing her quite as much. I’ve been mostly hanging out with the guys here at the dorm. I knew Declan the best, from when I dated Caitlin. I thought it might be a bit awkward, seeing we hadn’t really talked at all since Caitlin and I broke up.

It’s been fine though. We actually get along really well but Declan seems to get along with everyone.

Except for this one girl in our dorm who seems to have taken a disliking to Declan.

I asked around and no one is quite sure what her problem is. She just hates Declan. 

Justin is a creative type and is really into his music. His true passion is piano but he can’t exactly fit one in his dorm, so he recently invested in a synth. 

It’s not the kind of thing I usually listen to but he’s created some pretty amazing sounds on that thing.

I have the most in common with Xavier. We’re pretty similar in terms of personality and we also share a major. Xavier is majoring in Literature too, so we study together sometimes.


He did the same classes as me two years ago and he works his ass off to do as well as he does, so he’s a good motivator for me. 
Sometimes it’s just easier to work when there’s someone else there slogging it out with you. 

I think most people in the dorm have that philosophy. The study room is usually pretty busy.

When he’s not studying, Xavier is often working on his novel, in his room. 

He tries to take afternoon classes specifically so he can stay up late to write, when everyone else is either asleep or out partying.

Xavier is a little cagey about his writing but just recently, he agreed to let his girlfriend Ashlee read a little of it. She was very enthusiastic about it and said he’s definitely a talented writer. Ashlee even told him he should send it out to some publishers when he’s done, which he’s not sure about yet.

Maybe once he works up the courage to show it to a few more people, he can think about eventual publication but he’s not quite ready for that.

All four of us guys have girlfriends. Declan has Jessica, Xavier has Ashlee and Justin has Louisa. I’m the only one whose girlfriend isn’t living here on campus.

Before classes started, I could go back to Sullivan any time I wanted, so I could see Georgina any time I wanted. 

It was awesome and no one could say we didn’t make the most of it. 

I was in town at least once a week during the summer but now that the semester has started, I have the weekend and that’s it.

Sometimes the weekend is taken up by studying or I’m just worn out and just don’t have the energy to make the round trip.

Georgina’s mum won’t let her come to campus under any circumstances, so it really limits the time we can spend with each other. 

It sucks - I’ve only seen Georgina once since classes started back - but neither of us can see a way around it. Nothing besides running up a hell of a phone bill, anyway.

When the guys are out and I can’t see Georgina (which is fairly often now), I’ve been hanging out with this girl, Amanda. 

I was a bit wary of her at first, because she’s roomies with the crazy girl who picks fights with Declan but she’s actually really sweet.

I’m starting to feel like we might be spending a little bit too much time together though.

It's starting to become clear that Amanda wants to be a bit more than friends and to be honest, sometimes I feel that way myself. 

Seeing Georgina so rarely and with Amanda being right there all the time, it’s really difficult. 

I’m hoping Georgina and I can make it until Georgina comes to campus next year. If we can, I think we’ll be okay.

Notes:
  • Title is from Brick by Brick by the Arctic Monkeys.
  • Justin, Xavier and Brendan all have 4.0 GPAs right now. Declan somehow got a B+ on his first semester final and dropped his GPA down to 3.8. Declan must be horrified and I'm kind of horrified myself! I must have sent him to do his term paper and then maybe one of his motives dropped too low and he autonomously stopped writing to go fix it. His grade meter was full but College Harder Grades requires a full meter and a completed term paper to get an A+.
  • I was a massive nerd when I was playing this and actually looked up what major you'd need to study to join the CIA (which I figured is the RL equivalent to the SCIA, which Brendan wants to join). Apparently, they don't encourage one track over another, so I just let Brendan go with his want to study Literature. I'm going to pretend he's also minoring in French though, as a second language would probably be useful to him eventually. 
  • I feel like there was a lot of Caitlin in this and she'll probably narrate her own update too, so you'll be getting a lot more. Oops. Hope you guys don't mind! I just really love Caitlin, lol!
  • As for Brendan, well...he's a confused little bunny. He has the intermittent want for Georgina to go to college and rolls the want to call Georgina every now and then. He can't roll romantic wants for her because she's still a teen, so that's about as good as it will get. But you know, he also rolls the want to call Caitlin and his mum, so that doesn't necessarily mean much anyway! He also rolled a low-grade romantic want (something like "Dance With") for Amanda. There was autonomous flirting going on between them but not much else. I haven't decided what to do with him and Georgina. I started the session pretty sure they'd make it until she gets to campus next year but now I'm not sure at all!
  • Just in case anyone is looking for the household profile for this family, I'll mention here that I won't be doing them for the uni households. They change too frequently, not to mention the fact that there's often no better reason for them to be living together than my own convenience. 

18 comments:

  1. omg I have been reading almost every chapter of your blog and now I'm finally up to date. To be honest this is the first sims-blog I have been interested since the beginning, and I have to say I'm impressed! Just quickly wanted to say I LOVE Caitlin! I wish I had someone like her in my sims 2 neighborhood :) Keep up the great work!

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    1. Wow, you must have been reading for a while! I'm glad you've been enjoying the blog so much - I really enjoy sharing it with you guys. :) I try to update about once a week, so it hopefully won't be too overwhelming for you to keep up now, lol!

      Caitlin is a favourite of mine. It makes me really happy that others like her too. She's totally adorable.

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  2. Uh oh, looks like Brendan's gotten himself in some trouble. Amanda is lovely, I can see how she'd be quite the distraction, especially when he's feeling lonely.

    Caitlin is adorable! You can write as much about her as you like! :)

    And poor Declan with his hater. I have to say though, I always find it amusing when two of my Sims just take a hating to each other for no apparent reason, lol! Some people just don't mesh well.

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    1. I know! Geez, Brendan, did you not get into enough girl trouble in high school? It's hard being 18 and away from your girlfriend with ample temptation around!

      LOL, thanks for the permission! I really do adore Caitlin.

      I find random sim hatred pretty amusing too but whenever it's a townie hating one of my sims, I'm like "seriously? You are a randomly generated nothing. Away with you!" I'm very indignant on behalf of my own sims when they're on the receiving end of townie hatred!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  3. These guys are all so cute!! I hope Brendan doesn't break Georgina's heart. They are so cute together but you never know what will happen during those college years!

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    1. Georgina is a sweet girl, so I don't want her to get her heart broken either. But you know, like you said, you really do never know what will happen at college. It's a turbulent time. So we'll see. :)

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  4. Amanda seems a good match for Brendan, but it would be rather unfair on Georgina - unless she develops romantic feelings for someone in her age-group, too.
    I hope Xavier will become a successful bestslleing author! He certainly has it in him, if he sacrifices partying for working on his novel :-)

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    1. Well, Georgina finding someone else is probably not going to happen at this point. There aren't really many boys in her age group at all! So if Brendan does end up going for Amanda, it's unfortunately going to leave Georgina alone. :\ Not fair at all but I guess life isn't fair either.

      Xavier's not much of a partier, so for him, writing a successful novel will be more of a balancing act between his work at uni (and later on, in his career) and his writing. He's very driven but academia doesn't come easy to him, unfortunately.

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  5. Your collegekids always have such interesting, full lifes! I love it :)
    Every one seems to be doing well, the are all working hard and I can see them all succeeding in the end.

    I really hope Brendan doesn't break Georgina's heart. I do get that the lonelyness is getting to him, and if Amanda is there I get he has feeling for her, but he should talk to Georgina about it before acting on it, if he ever decides to act on it.

    Is it possible I reconize the campus bar they went to?

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    1. I had tons of fun with this play session. I wasn't expecting that little bit of drama with Amanda but it's kind of fun when the game mixes things up abit.

      So far, it hasn't gone further than flirting with Amanda. Hopefully, Brendan can keep it that way until he decides what he wants to do. If he breaks up with her, it's going to hurt Georgina either way but it might make it a bit easier to take.

      It is possible! I didn't remember where I got that lot until I was ready to take them home again, actually!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  6. First of all, I want to say that Amanda is gorgeous. Is she using one of those new default faces you mentioned before? She does seem to be tempting Brendan a bit and I hope he can stay faithful. However, it seems like he's taken something of an interest in Caitlin again? It could just be the comfort of proximity and familiarity though. Stay studious Brendan. That's the only relationship that seems to be the one that won't get him into any trouble.

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    1. Yeah, Amanda has one of the face templates. All my NPCs do, bar the ones I brought over from Sullivan 1.0. :) She's a pretty girl, which I'm sure makes her all the more tempting for Brendan.

      Caitlin and Brendan are in the Friend Zone, via ACR, so nothing will go on there! Caitlin the Sim would probably go for it but in my mind, Caitlin the character would not. She's not holding a grudge but she's also done with dating her friends from now on. I do actually get the feeling Brendan could be into it but I don't think he'd risk the friendship again either.

      LOL, so true! Brendan can't break his books' hearts or have his own heart broken by them! He is definitely going to try to focus - so far, so good. :)

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  7. Poor Brendan he's in a tough spot, it's rough doing long distance, especially with Georgina. Her Mom keeps a tight rein on her kids, and I can see that really prohibitive in this instance. It's easy to see there is temptation at college, and I partially think they should break up, so that he doesn't hurt her on accident, and if it's too hard to wait... then maybe she deserves someone better? Tough spot for the two of them.

    It was great seeing all these guys, Xavier is such a cute guy. And they are all paired off with girlfriends, they are getting so grown up! And I am shocked on Declan getting a lower GPA! I can't imagine! I am glad to read that Caitlin and Brendan are in the friend zone, I wondered if they might start something back up again, being older and out on their own.

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    1. Yeah, Lia was never going to make things easy for Georgina and Brendan once he went off to college. I just cannot picture her letting Georgina go all the way to campus on her own, which leaves her and Brendan in this predicament. I'm curious what Georgina's wants are like at the moment. It's possible she's feeling not so sure about things herself.

      Next time I play these boys (well, aside from Brendan), they'll be seniors! That's so crazy pants! All three of them seem so mature to me now. I am BUMMED about Declan's GPA. He can never work his way back up to a perfect one now. 3.9 will be the highest he can manage. :( He'll be going on to get his Master's though, so maybe that will make up for it. ;)

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  8. Where did the time go? I remember when they all were born! I feel old.

    Brendan, don't you go breaking Georgina's heart. I was probably the only one secretly excited that he and Caitlin broke up so Georgina could get to him. I am going to be majorly bummed if he can't wait till she joins him.

    Declan's GPA dropped? For shame! Oh well, he's in love. Besides, in the end, after you get a master's degree, it doesn't matter that you didn't have a 4.0.

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    1. I know, time flies!

      Brendan and Georgina are in a tough spot. :( They're very young, they're separated, Brendan is tempted and Georgina's mother is not particularly supportive of helping the relationship continue. But you never know. My young sims are unpredictable sometimes.

      I am seriously bummed about Declan's GPA! He has very high standards for himself and he just would not be having this at all. I'll probably deal with it a little bit in Caitlin's update. You have a point about the master's though. Hopefully that will bring some comfort to poor Declan!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  9. Oh no! I was worried about this for Brendan and Georgina. I hope it all works out for the best... whatever that happens to be. I'm always for some dramas, though, if it doesn't. ;)

    I was kind of wondering if something would kick up between him and Caitlin, seeing as she was hanging out so much... but I'm kind of relieved it didn't.

    I laughed at the random Declan hater. Poor guy!

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    1. I'll be playing Georgina next (once I'm back online and can download the CC I want for the update), so I'm going to come back to this little story. Still not entirely sure how it'll go but we'll soon see. It's a tough situation for both of them.

      Although Caitlin has forgiven Brendan for breaking her little 15yo heart back in high school, she hasn't forgotten. She's not willing to potentially put herself through that again, so she and Brendan will remain "just friends". Better that way, I think.

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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