Sims 3: Let me tell you a story
Jun. 8th, 2009 07:28 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
hkellickTo be honest, I'd always planned on making a post like this.. and with future ones to come. I just find the stories my Sims tell to be.. really interesting, and alot of what I get out of the game.
So let me tell you a story.. a story of Harold and Christine* Kellick
*Any similarities between these characters and any characters you might know are purely intentional and done for the simplistic reason that, personalities aside, they are not precisely us. :)
Stepping before the computer she stretches one last time, pulls her water bottle close and loads up the word processor. She hopes that she do this. She's read plenty of books, plenty! But this is the first time she's ever written one, forget an autobiography... but she feels compelled to write something, and they say write what you know, so..."
"Once upon a time, there were two people. And they were desperately in love."
"You can't use tha"t, he says over her shoulder.
"What? Why not?" she asks
"It's too... floofy." he responds, trying to explain, but the face says it all...
"Oh, all RIGHT." she playfully grumbles.
There once were two people named Harold and Christine.
"Better?" she asks.
"Better." he nods.
"Good! Now can I write my story?" she teases
He makes a face and wanders off, calling up someone to go play Chess with again, no doubt...
They'd just gotten married when Christine's Great Aunt Lucinda finally passed on, leaving her a single bedroom house in Sunset Valley. The two of them had a Big Discussion and decided that, as a family, they'd move. Apartment life wasn't always a whole lot of fun and she REALLY wanted a house of her own. So, they packed up and moved to a new city.
Finding jobs was surprisingly easy. Having gotten there, she knew that she was bored of working those part time jobs and she wanted something more, something bigger. She always had dreams of becoming a Symphony Conductor.. or maybe a Composer of some sort... but she'd never had the opportunity, but a friend of old Aunt Lucinda stopped by on the day they arrived and "let it slip" that the local theater was looking for talent.
"Let it slip?" he laughed from over her shoulder. "More like the guy beat you over the head with it! Hey, did I mention, by the way, that the local theater is looking for talent. Could use a gal like you."
She laughed a little, and nodded. He had been a little... OBVIOUS about it.
Meanwhile, Harold found a job in the Science field.. as a human test subject. It wasn't precisely his idea of a dream job..
"Yeah, but the peanuts were good." he laughed.
She turned around and gave him an evil eye. He held up his hands, laughed and wandered back off again.
... but they'd promised that the job had enormous potential for career advancement. And they did say they were looking for people with his particular skill set, such as it was. Since he, at the time of his interview, at least knew what a tomato was and the basics of how to grow it.
They immediately set about trying to make the house theirs. Harold immediately set up a small garden up front. They'd given him a couple of experimental seeds up front.. some sort of bioengineered vegetables that were supposed to appeal more to Sims of all ages. He found, as he started working the soil, that he really enjoyed it that it appealed to him, and remembered some life old dream he'd had as a kid of having 'The Perfect Garden'.
For her end, she unpacked her old beat up guitar, made sure it was clean and in tune and started noodling around with it. She also took the occasionally Music Theory class to brush up on her memory.
Things were awkward at first, honestly. The two of them had very different schedules. Harold was up at the crack of dawn to go work his job in the Science Facility and she was much closer to a B shift.
They tried to make the best of it, speaking in passing as they met, trying to spend time together when they could.
And then the unthinkable happened. I mean.. yeah, she'd wanted to get pregnant. She ADORED children and every time she drove past the park on the way to work she'd look out the window, at the Children playing and dream of the day when she'd had her own.
But when they found out she was pregnant.. that was.. hard. She was ready, more than ready. Harold.. wasn't. There were fights. There was drama. Finally, there was peace.
The day little Emily was born was one of the highlights of BOTH of their lives. They were both ecstatic for days. Harold fondly remembers the day he came in to work the day after the birth and his coworkers mobbed him, congratulating him, asking to see pictures.
And life went on. But, unfortunately, life went on apart. They both got into bad habits of living in the same house, but not necessarily having enough energy or time to feel like they had more than perfunctory word or kiss for each other.
They both got involved in different things. Harold, desperate for social contact, joined a Chess League. And Christine started Fishing in the Park.
Finally, the straw broke the day Christine droved by the park again, looked out the window at all the happy families and realized she was not happy. She drove back home, dejected, looking for Harold and found him playing Chess with someone or other while Emily was wandering around half-supervised INSIDE her own toybox.
There was a massive fight.
After much crying, much yelling, much finger-pointing, the two of them looked at each other and knew.. this couldn't go on any more. They had to find a way to make things work.
Looking back, repairing their marriage wasn't really easy, per se. It was a difficult balancing act between her needs and his needs and their needs together. But they made a point of hiring a babysitter at least once a week and going out together, to see a movie, to see the symphony, to the bookstore to watch one of Harold's heroes playing chess.
Things started to get better. She remember the day after Emily's 8th birthday with the three of them in the park. Both Christina and Harold had a day off the day, so they went, as a family, to the park. It was one of those few perfect days. The three of them had hung out for a while, and then Emily had run off to meet a friend of hers from school and Christina and Harold just stood, watching their daughter and just.. talking. Looking around, Christina realized she'd become one of the families she'd looked out the window and seen.
That night, Harold and Christina had "gone to bed" early. After taking a small 'herbal remedy' a friend of hers had gotten on vacation one day from a local witch doctor, they retired to bed.
And thus came Child Number Two...
BTW, if anyone is wondering... yes, this story is BASED on a weekend's worth of game play. Yes, I cherry-picked. If I'd done a blow by blow of every little thing that had happened in game, I don't think the story would have been so good, but this was the overall ARC of the story.
Next story... dunno when I'll do it, when I have an overall arc to write.
Things worth noting in the next story: Both 'Harold' and 'Kristen' have gotten substantial promotions. Kristen is in the Symphonic track of the Music Career, and Harold is an Aquatic Ecosystem Tweaker.
Harold's Garden is coming along. We're getting some perfect vegetables..
Oh, and...
She held the seed up on her palm and showed it to Harold. "What is it?" she asked, looking at it curiously. It was small and round, which was odd for a seed.
He picked the seed up from her hand and turned it around. "I... think I might know, but..." he turned towards her, looking annoyed "Where did you get it?"
She looked at him curiously. What did he know? "Well, I was out fishing very early this morning. You know how I've been fishing. And... I pulled out a crate with a shipping label from your company, right? Well.. I considered just giving it back to you guys in the Lab, but... well, curiosity got the better of me and I ended up opening it and inside a waterproof container was this one seed. One seed! In a waterproof container in a box in the Lake. Sounds kinda... odd to me."
He looked directly at the seed again.
"Harold?" she asked, certain, now that he knew what it was. He said nothing, but by the expression on his face, it was clear he was torn.
"What did you go with the container?" he asked, still looking torn.
"I threw it away, what else would I do with it?" she responded. He swore. Certain now that Harold knew what it was, she pushed a little. "Harold, what is this and why do you look so agitated?"
He looked at her. Finally, he breathed in softly and said "It's a Money Tree. It's an experiment that's never reached success. They say that this tree is so finicky that if you don't tend it JUST RIGHT and I mean JUST RIGHT it explodes into bills. Real honest to god Bills that are somehow all addressed to you. I don't know how it happens."
She blinked, and considered. Goodness knows, they could use a little extra bit of money around the house. The house was getting too small for all three of them and she had hopes, one day, of maybe having another. Looking askance, she asks "And.. do you know how to tend it?"
He looked askance back. Clearing his throat, he starts to say something, stops, and then says "Maybe. But it's never been done! And.. and..." he looked at her, and he knew he'd lost. She was already getting that stubborn set of her jaw she gets when her mind is mad. He signed and spoke, "I want to make this clear, love. This has never been done before. If it doesn't work, if it does blow up and give us bills.. we need to take care of them." He looked at her again, and it was clear the decision was made. He sighed, mentally threw his hands in the air and said "Fine. I'll get the shovel."
So let me tell you a story.. a story of Harold and Christine* Kellick
*Any similarities between these characters and any characters you might know are purely intentional and done for the simplistic reason that, personalities aside, they are not precisely us. :)
Stepping before the computer she stretches one last time, pulls her water bottle close and loads up the word processor. She hopes that she do this. She's read plenty of books, plenty! But this is the first time she's ever written one, forget an autobiography... but she feels compelled to write something, and they say write what you know, so..."
"Once upon a time, there were two people. And they were desperately in love."
"You can't use tha"t, he says over her shoulder.
"What? Why not?" she asks
"It's too... floofy." he responds, trying to explain, but the face says it all...
"Oh, all RIGHT." she playfully grumbles.
There once were two people named Harold and Christine.
"Better?" she asks.
"Better." he nods.
"Good! Now can I write my story?" she teases
He makes a face and wanders off, calling up someone to go play Chess with again, no doubt...
They'd just gotten married when Christine's Great Aunt Lucinda finally passed on, leaving her a single bedroom house in Sunset Valley. The two of them had a Big Discussion and decided that, as a family, they'd move. Apartment life wasn't always a whole lot of fun and she REALLY wanted a house of her own. So, they packed up and moved to a new city.
Finding jobs was surprisingly easy. Having gotten there, she knew that she was bored of working those part time jobs and she wanted something more, something bigger. She always had dreams of becoming a Symphony Conductor.. or maybe a Composer of some sort... but she'd never had the opportunity, but a friend of old Aunt Lucinda stopped by on the day they arrived and "let it slip" that the local theater was looking for talent.
"Let it slip?" he laughed from over her shoulder. "More like the guy beat you over the head with it! Hey, did I mention, by the way, that the local theater is looking for talent. Could use a gal like you."
She laughed a little, and nodded. He had been a little... OBVIOUS about it.
Meanwhile, Harold found a job in the Science field.. as a human test subject. It wasn't precisely his idea of a dream job..
"Yeah, but the peanuts were good." he laughed.
She turned around and gave him an evil eye. He held up his hands, laughed and wandered back off again.
... but they'd promised that the job had enormous potential for career advancement. And they did say they were looking for people with his particular skill set, such as it was. Since he, at the time of his interview, at least knew what a tomato was and the basics of how to grow it.
They immediately set about trying to make the house theirs. Harold immediately set up a small garden up front. They'd given him a couple of experimental seeds up front.. some sort of bioengineered vegetables that were supposed to appeal more to Sims of all ages. He found, as he started working the soil, that he really enjoyed it that it appealed to him, and remembered some life old dream he'd had as a kid of having 'The Perfect Garden'.
For her end, she unpacked her old beat up guitar, made sure it was clean and in tune and started noodling around with it. She also took the occasionally Music Theory class to brush up on her memory.
Things were awkward at first, honestly. The two of them had very different schedules. Harold was up at the crack of dawn to go work his job in the Science Facility and she was much closer to a B shift.
They tried to make the best of it, speaking in passing as they met, trying to spend time together when they could.
And then the unthinkable happened. I mean.. yeah, she'd wanted to get pregnant. She ADORED children and every time she drove past the park on the way to work she'd look out the window, at the Children playing and dream of the day when she'd had her own.
But when they found out she was pregnant.. that was.. hard. She was ready, more than ready. Harold.. wasn't. There were fights. There was drama. Finally, there was peace.
The day little Emily was born was one of the highlights of BOTH of their lives. They were both ecstatic for days. Harold fondly remembers the day he came in to work the day after the birth and his coworkers mobbed him, congratulating him, asking to see pictures.
And life went on. But, unfortunately, life went on apart. They both got into bad habits of living in the same house, but not necessarily having enough energy or time to feel like they had more than perfunctory word or kiss for each other.
They both got involved in different things. Harold, desperate for social contact, joined a Chess League. And Christine started Fishing in the Park.
Finally, the straw broke the day Christine droved by the park again, looked out the window at all the happy families and realized she was not happy. She drove back home, dejected, looking for Harold and found him playing Chess with someone or other while Emily was wandering around half-supervised INSIDE her own toybox.
There was a massive fight.
After much crying, much yelling, much finger-pointing, the two of them looked at each other and knew.. this couldn't go on any more. They had to find a way to make things work.
Looking back, repairing their marriage wasn't really easy, per se. It was a difficult balancing act between her needs and his needs and their needs together. But they made a point of hiring a babysitter at least once a week and going out together, to see a movie, to see the symphony, to the bookstore to watch one of Harold's heroes playing chess.
Things started to get better. She remember the day after Emily's 8th birthday with the three of them in the park. Both Christina and Harold had a day off the day, so they went, as a family, to the park. It was one of those few perfect days. The three of them had hung out for a while, and then Emily had run off to meet a friend of hers from school and Christina and Harold just stood, watching their daughter and just.. talking. Looking around, Christina realized she'd become one of the families she'd looked out the window and seen.
That night, Harold and Christina had "gone to bed" early. After taking a small 'herbal remedy' a friend of hers had gotten on vacation one day from a local witch doctor, they retired to bed.
And thus came Child Number Two...
BTW, if anyone is wondering... yes, this story is BASED on a weekend's worth of game play. Yes, I cherry-picked. If I'd done a blow by blow of every little thing that had happened in game, I don't think the story would have been so good, but this was the overall ARC of the story.
Next story... dunno when I'll do it, when I have an overall arc to write.
Things worth noting in the next story: Both 'Harold' and 'Kristen' have gotten substantial promotions. Kristen is in the Symphonic track of the Music Career, and Harold is an Aquatic Ecosystem Tweaker.
Harold's Garden is coming along. We're getting some perfect vegetables..
Oh, and...
She held the seed up on her palm and showed it to Harold. "What is it?" she asked, looking at it curiously. It was small and round, which was odd for a seed.
He picked the seed up from her hand and turned it around. "I... think I might know, but..." he turned towards her, looking annoyed "Where did you get it?"
She looked at him curiously. What did he know? "Well, I was out fishing very early this morning. You know how I've been fishing. And... I pulled out a crate with a shipping label from your company, right? Well.. I considered just giving it back to you guys in the Lab, but... well, curiosity got the better of me and I ended up opening it and inside a waterproof container was this one seed. One seed! In a waterproof container in a box in the Lake. Sounds kinda... odd to me."
He looked directly at the seed again.
"Harold?" she asked, certain, now that he knew what it was. He said nothing, but by the expression on his face, it was clear he was torn.
"What did you go with the container?" he asked, still looking torn.
"I threw it away, what else would I do with it?" she responded. He swore. Certain now that Harold knew what it was, she pushed a little. "Harold, what is this and why do you look so agitated?"
He looked at her. Finally, he breathed in softly and said "It's a Money Tree. It's an experiment that's never reached success. They say that this tree is so finicky that if you don't tend it JUST RIGHT and I mean JUST RIGHT it explodes into bills. Real honest to god Bills that are somehow all addressed to you. I don't know how it happens."
She blinked, and considered. Goodness knows, they could use a little extra bit of money around the house. The house was getting too small for all three of them and she had hopes, one day, of maybe having another. Looking askance, she asks "And.. do you know how to tend it?"
He looked askance back. Clearing his throat, he starts to say something, stops, and then says "Maybe. But it's never been done! And.. and..." he looked at her, and he knew he'd lost. She was already getting that stubborn set of her jaw she gets when her mind is mad. He signed and spoke, "I want to make this clear, love. This has never been done before. If it doesn't work, if it does blow up and give us bills.. we need to take care of them." He looked at her again, and it was clear the decision was made. He sighed, mentally threw his hands in the air and said "Fine. I'll get the shovel."
(no subject)
Date: 2009-06-08 08:34 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-06-09 11:06 am (UTC)It really can't be spoiler-y. The game's still playing. I've got no better idea how it'll turn out than anyone else! :)
(no subject)
Date: 2009-06-09 11:57 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-06-09 12:13 pm (UTC)Nah, this is just a story, not a Strategy Guide. :)
(no subject)
Date: 2009-06-09 06:31 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-06-09 07:28 pm (UTC)