Sunday 30 March 2014

Banquet

Round 35: May 2041 (Autumn)

Gordon Nott is 45, Lia is 44, Georgina and Annabel are 17, Gabriel is 14 and Peter is 4.
(Ione is 45, Brendan is 18, Simon is 16 and Bianca is 15)
Narrated by Lia Nott

Gabriel is still dating Bianca, which Gordon and I are allowing. Allowing very cautiously in my case.


They’ve hung out mostly in groups until recently but these days, they spend more time together alone. It makes me a little nervous.

I know they’re both reaching an age where they might be tempted to take their relationship further and I do worry.

At least I know Bianca is a genuinely nice girl. I’ve known her since she was born and I’ve watched her grow up. 

She’s the kind of person I would want Gabriel to date, if I could have picked someone for him myself. 

It’s comforting to know that Ione and Evan have the same rules for Gabriel and Bianca when they’re at her place as Gordon and I have when they’re at ours.

We have to know they’re visiting, there is to be no hanging out in bedrooms unless they’re working on something for school. Even then, the door has to be open. 

Ione is a little more relaxed about it than I am. We always used to imagine having kids the same age and those kids ending up best friends, like we are.

That didn’t happen but having our kids end up dating is even more exciting for Ione.

I’m glad they’re happy together. I just hope they stay that way. 

Georgina has been so miserable since she and Brendan broke up. I hate seeing my kids so upset.

Gordon says she’ll be fine. All teenagers go through a break-up sooner or later and she’ll survive, just like we did. 

I’m sure she will but that doesn’t make it any easier in the mean time. 

Brendan told her the distance and the time between seeing each other was just too much and it wasn’t working out any more.

He said he wanted to make it work but almost halfway through the year, it was only getting harder.

I don’t think Georgina was particularly surprised, as Brendan had been becoming a little distant lately. 

Georgina thinks Brendan has probably met someone else and didn’t tell her to spare her feelings.

She could be right. When Gordon and I split up in college, it was because of another girl. 

Georgina hasn’t flat out blamed me for the break-up but she has hinted at it. Things like “if I could have gone to visit him more often, we might still be together”.

I’m sorry she and Brendan have split up, I really am. But I’m not sorry I made that rule. I’m not having my teenage daughter doing a four hour round trip every weekend to go and see her boyfriend. 

We’ve been trying to distract her with thoughts of college. That was once thrilling to her but she doesn’t seem as keen. 

I think she’s worried she’ll see Brendan everywhere she turns. But Annabel and Georgina both reserved their dorm spots last year though and they’ll be in Moretti Hall, with Caitlin, rather than Novak, where Brendan lives. She’s not going to be running into him every day.

Annabel is busy convincing Georgina that there’ll be so many “hot guys” on campus that she’s not going to care about Brendan anyway. 

That’s not winning Georgina over but I honestly think boys might be the only reason Annabel is even going to college.

She definitely talks about that more than any other aspect of college.

She dumped her boyfriend Simon in preparation for it and everything. There will be enough boys on campus and she doesn’t want to be waiting for someone back home.

He wasn’t thrilled, naturally, but Annabel is quite confident she made the right decision for herself.

I can’t say I’m too sad about her ending the relationship, as I really never liked Simon. I’m mostly just relieved!

Annabel is so different to me at that age. I really don’t understand her a lot of the time.

That said, I’m happy she’s finally thinking seriously about a major. Right now, the front runner is veterinary science. 

Vet school is a LOT of work, so I’m not sure if it will stick, but we’re encouraging her in the hope that it does. At least until she figures out what she’d rather do instead.

Georgina would still like to teach, though she’s not sure what level or subject area she’s interested in teaching just yet. 

They don’t have to nail that down until junior year though, so she’s got some time to work it out. 

Peter is a bit upset about the girls leaving next year. No one’s ever moved out of the house before, so he’s not sure what will happen. 

Gordon and I have explained they’re going off to school, taking special classes they can’t take here in Sullivan but he’s not too impressed.

As far as he knows, they’re leaving and never coming back, so we’ve been trying to reassure him that he’ll still see his sisters, if not as often. 

He’s so, so close to Georgina especially. She helped out a lot when Peter was tiny, so they’ve always spent a lot of time together.

If ever she's not around, Peter always wants to know where she is. If she's leaving the house, he wants to go with her.

He and Annabel are close too but there’s not as much of a bond there as there is with Georgina.

I hope Peter isn’t too distraught when the girls leave.

Notes:

  • Title is from Banquet by Bloc Party.
  • I'm generally pleased with how frequent my updates have been this year (my goal was 4 per month, which I've hit every month so far) but geez, I really should have got this out earlier than I did! They were all ready to go. I'd played this family last round, so their house was done except for Peter's room (who was a new age-up, so he still had a nursery). But I was stumped with them! I knew there was plenty I could have them do but I just couldn't get started. Once I decided to do it from Lia's perspective - mainly because I often ignore my adults once I have teens in the house - it all just fell into place. 
  • Annabel and Simon were a pretty crappy match to begin with. Those "break-up" pictures? Yeah, that was just a regular conversation between them. So even if Annabel wasn't so boy-crazy, it still never would have lasted.
  • Georgina and Brendan...well, you probably saw this coming almost as well as I did. When I teleported Brendan in, he had zero wants for Georgina, no fear of breaking up with her and a want to get engaged to Amanda. I don't think that's anything other than infatuation (a side effect of being a Family sim is almost instant wants for engagement, lol) but it's not something that bode well for Georgina. Georgina did have the fear of breaking up but it wasn't fulfilled, seeing break-ups seem a bit broken in my game. They don't fulfill fears or create memories, which is pretty silly. Is that everyone, or just me? It happened in my loaded with hacks Sullivan 1.0 and in my not-nearly-as-many hacks Sullivan 2.0. One day, I might try to figure it out but I'm not too fussed for the mean time. 
  • I did the career criteria on Annabel and veterinarian was one of the options that popped up and the one I like for her best. BUT I was talking to a friend who was once a med school student and she said the big joke at med school was that dental students were the ones who couldn't get into med school and med students were the ones who couldn't get into vet school. It's very, very competitive! So whether or not I have Annabel follow that path will depend on how her grades go. If she ends up being a good student, then I'll let her go for it. If she's average or below, I'll re-assess. 

10 comments:

  1. Is so sweet that Peter will miss his sisters when they leave. I can't wait to see them in university, I can't believe that they picked their dorm already! I know the college system is used where you are,so is it pretty common for students to pick their colleges a few years before they graduate?

    ReplyDelete
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    1. With such a big age gap and Georgina being a pretty obedient type, she took on a lot of the care of Peter when he was little, so it seemed natural that they'd be close. Annabel does her own thing more often, so they're close, though not quite as.

      Ha, no! I write getting into uni the way I do for convenience and nothing more. I didn't know what uni I'd be going to until six weeks before, which I think is very different from the US. You apply about 9 months before and then wait that long to find out if you're in. The process here is just way too complicated and annoying to implement in game, so I pretty much just do whatever. I'll talk about college stuff like this with my teens as early as 2 years before (age 16) but sometimes much later, depending on when their last update before college takes place. :)

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  2. Peter is adorable, love the pictures of him playing with Georgina and snuggling with his Mom too, he has the sweetest, sad face ever. It's going to be so rough for him when the girls leave for college.

    I'm not surprised about Georgina and Brendan breaking up, he really seemed rather disinterested in her in his last update. I'm sure it's hard for her though, and how funny that Annabel called it off with Simon (What a relief for Lia), but the next guy may be worse... she may relish the days of Simon, especially since she was around to supervise the majority of the time. I always think Annabel is romance, seeing she isn't though, it shouldn't be too traumatizing for Lea.

    Gabriel and Bianca are adorable, I can't believe how old they are though!! And I can see why Ione is thrilled with this matching, if they made it last and married, it would be pretty sweet, I gotta admit! But they are so young, so who knows. But Ione looks great in her new specs, totally rocking the new look!

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Poor Peter! Hopefully, Gabriel will be able to drag himself away from Bianca long enough to give him a bit of attention and take his mind off the twins being gone. He'll be super-excited when they visit though!

      In the last Nott update, I wasn't sure what would happen with Georgina and Brendan but once he went off to uni and Amanda appeared on the scene...well, it wasn't looking good. The wants he had when I brought him in this session just cemented it. :\ Yeah, Lia's not shedding any tears about Simon. I don't know if there is anyone Lia would hate more than Simon but who knows who Annabel will find at uni!

      I know, I feel like I've hardly played with Gabriel and Bianca as teens and they're already halfway to college! Funny how it worked out with Ione and Lia's kids, without me even prompting it (they got together on their own and I thought Gabriel was gay!). They're very sweet though and they have 3 bolts, so who knows?

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  3. Awww, that's so sweet that Peter will miss Georgina when she leaves for college. I just wanna hug him and tell him it's ok. I certainly came home a lot during my college years.

    I think it's great that Ione and Lia's friendship extends to Gabriel and Bianca's relationship. They look good together and three bolts? I may have to keep an eye on these two.

    I had a feeling that Brendan was going to break Georgina's heart. Oh well. You never forget a first love, but you can get over them. Look how well Annabel's doing! LOL

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Peter's going to be super-excited when his sisters come home for the first time and they may have difficulty leaving. ;) He's a sweetie.

      I know, when Gabriel and Bianca first got together (despite my surprise), I really thought "aww", realising the connection with their mothers. I'm curious to see if they maintain their interest and affection long enough for me to really get excited! ;)

      Brendan met Amanda and the whole thing with Georgina was totally doomed. :( It's going to be awkward when they next see each other again, especially if he happens to be with Amanda at the time. Totally different story with Annabel and Simon, isn't it? LOL.

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

      Delete
  4. Aw Peter will be a sad puppy when his sisters are gone. :) I love these girls, too, especially Annabel dumping her boyfriend in order to prepare for college and the college boys. She's got her priorities sorted out, that one. :D

    ReplyDelete
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    1. I know, poor kid! He still doesn't quite get why they have to go away at all.

      Ha, I don't know if Lia would agree that she has her priorities in order but being single for college was most definitely a prime concern for Annabel! She wants to be free to have any fun she might like to have. :)

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  5. It's sad that Brendan and Georgina broke up, but I don't think it's right to blame her mom. I do see where she's coming from though, but still it's not right.
    If that were the kind of conversation Anabel and Simon where having when they were dating, I don't think it's bad for them they broke up!
    I really like Bianca and Gabriel together, and would love to see more of them :)

    And poor Peter, he really looked so sad when they were talking. He's going to miss his friend that's for sure! Poor kid.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, Georgina's a teenager. They're not always rational, though she's probably got a better head on her shoulders than some. It's a raw wound right now but I think Georgina will be able to look at things a bit more clearly eventually.

      Annabel and Simon were not a good match. They should be on paper - two Pleasure/Family sims, with even similar lifetime wants - but they just didn't work! Bianca and Gabriel, however, seem like they have more staying power, despite how young they are.

      The beginning of next year will be hard for poor little Peter! The house is going to be very different with his sisters gone.

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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