Round 1: Goth 1–Telescopes are Bad

Me: Hello, there, Mortimer!

Mortimer: I’m not supposed to talk to strangers.

Me: We’re not strangers. We’ve known each other for over ten years.

Mortimer: But I’m only 9.

Me: Er, well, I’ve known your future self for over ten years.

Mortimer: Huh?

Me: I know it’s confusing, but trust me, Mortimer. We’re old friends.I'm just here to observe and report.

Mortimer: Observe and report what?

Me: The goings on in Sunset Valley. In the past, I mean in your future, I was able to give you Sims absolute guidance in your choices. I picked your jobs, found you mates, and kept you alive.

Mortimer: Really?

Me: Yes, really. You guys were confined. It was almost as if the neighborhood around you didn’t exist. But you have evolved. You all now realize you’re part of a dynamic community. You don’t need me anymore to decide what job to take and who to marry.

Mortimer: Marry? I’m never getting married.

Me: *chuckles* Oh, so young and innocent, Mortimer. There is a greater power at work here.

Mortimer: You mean Will Wright?

Me: No, Mortimer, not Will. I mean Story Progression.

Mortimer: Story Progression? What’s that?

Me: Story Progression (and its angel, Twallan) is the new force that guides you. So now, I don’t have to hunt all over the Sim Universe to find someone whose name starts with M for you to marry. Your wishes and/or Story Progression will bring you and your mate together. I’m just here to tell the story of what happens.

Mortimer: I still don’t understand.

Me: Don’t worry. You  will when you’re older. If you’ll excuse me, I’d like to go check in with your parents.

Me: And it looks like Story Progression is doing its job already. Pauline Wan has just been designated the Town Bike.

Mortimer: What's the Town Bike?

Me: Trust me, you’ll understand that when you’re older too.

Me: And it looks like Pablo is the town gigolo. I’ve never played the Martinez family before, but I know Twallan assigns these personalities based on the Sim’s traits. Pablo must be Flirty and maybe a Mooch. What’s nice is that Twallan broke these personalities out into separate modules from the main mod. If you don’t want to play with them, then simply don’t install the modules.

Me: I’ve only installed the “Lovers” module which includes four personalities: The Town Bike, The Town Casanova, The Town Tart, and the Town Gigolo. I haven’t seen SP assign anyone to the Casanova role yet. I thought for sure Hank Goddard had that one in the bag, especially since Pauline is the Bike.

I will go into detail about how I use the Mod in the future. Let’s get back to the Goths…

Me Going somewhere, Cornelia?

Cornelia: I need to go to the grocery score.

Cornelia: I’ll be an elder soon, and I haven’t even started my garden.

Me: Ah, I see. Yeah, you better get to the grocery store, and the bookstore to buy a Gardening Skill book. You don’t have a moment to lose.

Me: Gunther, you don’t have time to be gabbing with Boyd Wainwright.

Me: You’re almost an elder, too, and you’re nowhere near maxing a single skill.

Gunther: I can start with a cooking class.

Me: Good idea. Cooking is easy to develop since you have to eat anyway. And you can help Cornelia out in the garden. And Fishing goes hand in hand with Cooking and Gardening. So you focus on those three skills.

Gunther: I thought Mortimer said you were here to only observe and report.

Me: Right…old habits die hard.

Me: Cornelia, I see you’ve run into Mortimer’s best friend, Bella Bachelor.

Cornelia: That Bella is a sweet girl. I think she is good for my son.

Me: I do too.

Me: Mortimer, I didn’t know you were into art.I always thought you were a man of science.

Mortimer: I like art a lot.

Me: Then you should go to the Gallery. And why don’t you invite Bella?

Mortimer: *shrugs* Ok

Mortimer: Father, may I got to the Art Gallery with Bella?

Gunther: Certainly, Mortimer. You and your girlfriend have a good time.

Mortimer: Dad, she’s not my girlfriend!

Me: Not yet.

Mortimer: Hey, Bella. do you want to hang out at the Art Gallery and look at the paintings and stuff…? You do? Great.

Me: Ah, your first date.

Mortimer: Date? I’m too young to date.

Me: Cornelia, I see you’re starting your garden…wait a minute! Hey, Cornelia, you’re planting that tomato right on top of a grave.

Cornelia: I know. My ancestors believed in giving back to earth, so their essence will fertilize these vegetables.

Me: Eww…remind me never to eat at your house.

 

Me: Prudence Crumplebottom? Who is that?

Cornelia: My mother. She loved tomatoes

Me: Oh, yeah, that’s right, you are a Crumplebottom.

Cornelia: There’s only my sister and me left. Poor Agnes. She’s been through so much. Losing her husband in the same week she married him. She loved Erik dearly. I hope this doesn’t sour her on love forever. She simply must open her heart again.

Me: Yeah, don’t hold your breath, Corny.

Me: Big surprise there, what with her being the Town Bike and all. I don’t know how they got together in the first place. They both have Commitment Issues. Ironically, they are one of my favorite couples. Go figure…

Mortimer: Thanks for coming with me to the Gallery, Bella. Mother and Father think museums are boring.

Mortimer: I don’t. When I grow up, I want to be famous painter or photographer.

Bella: I always thought you’d be a geeky scientist when you grow up.

Mortimer: Mother would love for me to be a scientist. She thinks I should be a brilliant astronomer. She thinks I’ll discover a new star or planet. Well, I’m not going anywhere near a telescope. And you shouldn’t either, Bella. TELESCOPES ARE BAD!

Bella: Er, okay, Mortimer. Telescopes are bad.

Me: Mortimer, ix-nay on the elescopes-tay.

Mortimer: I’m sorry, Bella. I don’t know why I acted like that.

Bella: Do you need a hug or something, Mortimer?

Me: *sniffs* Aww, so cute!

Me: Are you kidding me? Your daughter is practically a young adult!

Me: Gobias, how on SimEarth did you pull that one off?

Me: The problem with that, Talia, is that Pablo is married!

Talia is a non-playable townie by the way. The townies will only become playable if they move in with a pre-made. And I’ll only show stories related to them if there is a pre-made involved.

Me: I will, however, make note of when a new townie moves in.

Me: Christopher and Tori are both single and apparently serious about each other. Not really a match I would have made. I see Christopher more with Jamie and Tori with Stiles McGraw.

Me: Gwen, NO! Don’t get me wrong. I like Cycl0n3, but Gwen should be with her roommate Holden. I think they are a cute couple.

Me: Marty and Justine’s last name is Keaton, so I so wanted to name this boy Alex P. I had thought about doing a different naming scheme for each household, but decided against it. Instead, I’m using The Complete Book of Baby Names. It has tons of lists of names to use if you want to name your kids according to a theme.For example, it has a list of Disney Names, and a list of Shakespearian names, as well as more practical ones like Popular Names in Spain and Most Popular Names of 2005. I’m going to work my way through each list.The first list is “Popular Names in Australia”, and “Jack” was number #1 for the boys.

Me: Good night, sweet Mortimer. There are so many families to get through that I am only visiting each for one day at a time. Don’t worry. I’m using Twallan’s TS2-Style Aging option on the SP mod, so you will still be a child when I return. Sweet dreams.