Thursday 6 July 2017

In clouds

Round 36: September 2044 (Spring)

Rose and Joanna Draper are 49 and Levi and Will are 12. 
(Calvin is 41,  Sylvia is 18, Michael is 13 and Ryan is 12)

Narrated by Joanna Draper


Now that Sylvia is away at college, Levi has converted her bedroom to a home gym.


He saved up all of his birthday and Christmas money from last year and bought an exercise bike, and inherited a some other ancient machine from my brother.

He’s told us it’s the family gym and we’re all welcome to use it but he’s really the only one in the family who is at all inclined towards workouts. It’s definitely Levi’s room. 

He’s decided he wants to play soccer professionally when he gets older, so this is all preparation for that, as far as he’s concerned. 

I blame Rose’s stepbrother Calvin for this. He played basketball professionally for years and now coaches. Levi thinks it’s the coolest job possible and wants to do the same.

Every time Calvin comes over, Levi corners and interrogates him.

Rose and I aren’t sure if it’ll stick. He’s not quite 12 yet, so he has a lot of time to change his mind.

I’m secretly hoping he does change his mind, or at least comes up with some kind of back-up plan if it doesn’t work out. It’s hardly the most stable career path in the world. 

Will is quite different to Levi. I don’t think his dreams will be quite as unrealistic but he does change his mind a lot.

Will might be a teacher like I used to be, or a journalist like Rose. He hasn’t decided yet. He seems to have a new idea every day. 

He was saying he wanted to join the police force a few months ago, so who knows?

Journalist and teacher, I can see. Cop? I can’t imagine it. 

I think he’d be happier doing something with a little less action than that though. You rarely see Will without his nose in a book.

Since starting high school, Will has buddied up with some other like-minded boys, like Ryan Moretti and his cousin Michael. 

I’m glad he’s got those kids to hang out with, because he and Levi often don’t want to do the same things.

Fortunately, they still get along really well, so no worries about fighting or arguments breaking out.

We’ve been waiting to see that teenage moodiness emerge with either of the boys but so far, we’re safe. We have enough of that with Sylvia at the moment.

Sylvia is at uni, studying literature and planning on going into acting and then hopefully writing/directing. 

She writes all the time, to the point where her grades this year have been…less than spectacular.

She’s in no danger of flunking out but her grades have been very average. I was honestly expecting her to fly through with straight As, like she did in high school.

I got on her back about it a little when she came to visit last weekend.

She wasn’t especially receptive to my criticisms and told me I should mind my own business.

We’re paying for her tuition, so her grades are very much my business!

I wasn’t really getting anywhere with her, so Rose had a chat with her a bit later.

Sylvia was still annoyed at both of us but after much eye rolling, she did say she would try to focus on her classes more in the future.

I really hope so. I’m not sure how I’ll react if she gets another semester of mediocre grades.

Notes: 
  • Title is from In Clouds by Kay Hanley. 
  • I wouldn't always focus so heavily on careers for really young teens but Levi and Will both already have the want to get a job. It seemed fitting! Will's LTW is for Law Enforcement, which doesn't fit him at all. Levi's is for Gaming...which also doesn't fit him. So my career ideas for them are based on my careers criteria, adapted from Starr's original ideas.
  • People who started reading more recently may not know about Joanna's history. She maxed out her skills either as a teen or sometime in college and then ended up graduating early. She has very high expectations for Sylvia...and Sylvia's main wants at college have been to read and write novels! She's got a C average so far. 

12 comments:

  1. Sylvia sounds just like my Lucy Burb. She goes to class but all she wants to do is write novels and read at college. Does Sylvia have the Film & Lit hobby? By the way, her t-shirt is so cool, did you make it?

    So is that actually Levi working out at the beginning, did you re-take all the photos? Sometimes I even get my siblings that aren't twins mixed up in Sims.

    I guess it is tough for Joanna, having a daughter who wants to write and doesn't earn A's, and then a son who wants to be a professional athlete. Those fitness points will serve him well though; at least he should get a scholarship!

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    1. Yes, Sylvia is a Film & Lit sim. I think of her as being more into the writing side, though she does want to enter the Show Business career. Alas, I didn't make the t-shirt. Way beyond my abilities! I got that from MTS a good while ago.

      Oh, yes, that's Levi at the beginning - I couldn't have used the Will pics. Since this occurrence, I've been remembering which twin is which without checking, so I may be over my confusion now.

      Levi will definitely get the athletic scholarship and probably a few others. They're no longer the determining factor as to whether my sims get into uni but they help. Joanna will just have to be satisfied with him going at all. He's pretty set on soccer, at least for now.

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  2. Another great morning coffee read, thank you!
    My Sims will have to take a break, as I am going on holiday for two weeks this Sunday. But I am playing a very busy household right now, with three adults, two children and two toddlers; it's fun but I'll enjoy a quieter household for a while after that :-)

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    Replies
    1. Glad you enjoyed it! I hope you're enjoying your holiday even more. :)

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  3. Oh, I think I remember that with Joanna. Did she study aboard as well?

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    1. No, Joanna didn't study abroad. She did graduate early and do some solo travelling for what would have been her final year though. :)

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  4. I'm with Joanna and pretty surprised that Sylvia is allowing her grades to slip. She was very studious in high school and I hadn't expected her to become single-minded with writing when she still has grades to earn. I can also understand how Joanna is concerned seeing she is paying for the bill!

    Lucky for them that the boys are more mellow, though it makes sense that Sylvia might be a little dramatic seeing she's into theater! :D

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    1. I've been a little surprised too, although even with Harder Grades, there is more required of sims in college than in high school. But she's a Knowledge sim who is rolling no Knowledge wants at all. Her Popularity side has almost totally taken over. It's very weird!

      Ha, true on the theatre kid thing! The boys also have many more nice points than Sylvia does, so they're naturally more good-natured than she is.

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  5. Sylvia definitely does not like to be told, lol! Teenage sims can be so moody and funny in game. I love it when my TS3 sims get the teen mood swing and then they roll all these rebellious wants. It's really like they hate life and are just so miserable. lol

    Loving the blonde hair in this family too! :)

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    1. No, Sylvia has basically decided she's a grown-up now. ;) Weren't we all, at 18? LOL. It's funny playing with the more sullen teens though. TS2 didn't really add anything specific like that for teens - it's all dependent on personality. Sylvia is more on the grouchy side, so she's more inclined to sulking than her brothers!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  6. I see Levi didn't waste any time taking over his sister's room, lol!

    I love Sylvia's shirt! Yeah, I can see her not appreciating her mom's criticisms. Hopefully she's just taking a little breather to spread her wings and settle into her new adult life. It's a lot of freedom to adjust to and be responsible for. But the thing is, especially with a lit degree, perfect grades won't really matter that much. Unlike law or medicine where she'd be competing to get into a further program. Her future employers will want to see her writing samples, not her GPA. Sorry, Joanna, I guess I'm taking Sylvia's side here! But maybe they can compromise and aim for a B-average. ;)

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    1. No, tough luck if Sylvia ever wants to move back home, lol!

      Very good point about Sylvia's grades and her major and future career choice. It's just not going to matter that much (other than to please her mother) and I'm sure Sylvia would agree. More appealing - and more useful in her view - to practise the writing she wants to make her living off than it is to do her assigned writing!

      You know, she might already have a B average! I always forget what the maximum grade is without term papers. It might be B+? Which is still not what Joanna would expect but still pretty decent!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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