Megahood 5/24/22 (Pleasantview)

 Goth:  Goth Manor is located at 165 Sim Lane.  Mortimer and Bella have four children: Cassandra is married and lives in Old Town, Genevra lives with her boyfriend in Veronaville, Alexander is attending Academie Le Tour, and Montgomery is in high school.  When Mortimer and Bella got together their parents were not happy.  Bella's parents cut ties with her, though she still remained close to her brother Michael.  Mortimer's parents disowned him completely, leaving their mansion and their fortune to Cassandra instead.  Nevertheless, they've never regretted their decision to be together.  Mortimer has made a fortune in his own right through his wildly popular book series titled "The Goth Diaries".  Bella has devoted herself to keeping the perfect house and raising perfect children.  She would've liked to have one more, but Mortimer thinks they should focus on grandchildren at this stage of their lives.

O'Mackey:  Jason and Gvaudoin O'Mackey live at 67 Woodland Dr. with their three children.  They met in college.  They had an instant connection and were engaged before they even graduated.  After college, they moved in with Jason's parents in Riverblossom Hills.  Gvaudoin got pregnant on their honeymoon, and they soon welcomed twin boys - Christopher and Ethan.  It was a great help having Jason's parents to help out with the babies.  By the time Gvaudoin learned she was pregnant for the second time, however, they'd decided to move their little family to Pleasantview.  It was tough going for Gvaudoin, caring for twin toddlers (one of whom, Ethan, is developmentally challenged) all alone during the day while Jason was at work, but now that she's given birth to their baby daughter, Penelope, and the boys are ready to start school, things should get easier for her.

Happy Simming!

Megahood 5/23/22 (Pleasantview)

 Kat:  Tara Kat lives at 156 Main St. with her four cats.  When she was orphaned as a child, she was sent to live with her only relative - her Great-Aunt Ginia.*  Ginia loved cats and gardening, and soon Tara grew to love them as well.  When her aunt died of a heart attack when Tara was just a teen, she knew she'd need to have some help with the house and the pets while she attended college, so she brought in Mary Sue Oldie to be the caretaker.  Now that she's back home, she's looking for work and wondering how Aunt Ginia managed to keep up with everything for so long.

Bachelor:  Michael Bachelor inherited his home at 62 Woodland Dr. from his parents, Simis and Jocasta.  They certainly weren't going to leave it to his sister, Bella, after she married Mortimer Goth against their wishes.  Michael spent many years walking a tightrope between his parents and his sister, secretly visiting Bella's family whenever he could.  Now that his parents are gone, some of the tension has been lifted.  Tension comes in different forms, however.  He recently found out that Chris Jones is pregnant with his child.  Not wanting to be left out of another child's life (Michael is the biological father of Theresa Ramirez's daughter Eve, but she's passing the child off as her husband's), he asked Chris to move in with him.  She agreed, reluctantly, because his house is larger than her tiny apartment, but she's not interested in marriage.  Michael is hopeful he can change her mind on that before the baby is born.

Goodie:  Faith Goodie lives at 68 Sim Lane.  She was once married to Herb Goodie, who was in the military.  They lived on the military base in Strangetown.  However, after Herb died of heatstroke, Faith had to leave the base, so she made her way here to Pleasantview.  She had come to the realization that she's gay at around the same time, so it was the perfect opportunity for a fresh start in a new town.  She got a job with the PPD and was recently promoted to lieutenant.

Charming:  Claire Charming is a single mother who lives at 69 Sim Lane.  She is struggling to raise her little girl on a coffee shop sound engineer's wages.  She once dreamed of becoming a musician, but now she's just happy to keep food on the table.  She's not sure who Celeste's father is (it could be one of a have dozen or so men), but based on her blonde locks, she has it narrowed down to either Arty Loste or Chester Gieke (spoiler: it's Arty).  Celeste was an unexpected (and unwelcome) surprise that Claire hadn't planned for.  Consequently, the girl is often left to her own devices while her mother "entertains" her steady parade of guests.  She's already begun to resent her mother for her inattentiveness and it will likely only get worse when she moves into her teen years.

*I had to take some creative license with the Kat family tree.  Ginia Kat was from TS1 and Tara from TS2, but there was no indication as to their relationship.  I felt that Ginia had been portrayed as the classic old maid, so it didn't seem right that she would've had a child, so I created a brother for her.  I then gave him a wife, a daughter, and a granddaughter - Tara.  Then I killed off all the extraneous characters, leaving only Ginia and Tara.  The game didn't recognize their relationship to each other, of course, but it made sense to me that way.

Happy Simming!

Megahood 5/22/22 (Pleasantview)

 Pleasant:  Jeff and Diane Pleasant live at 155 Main St.  Their son Daniel is married and lives in Old Town, a historic suburb of Pleasantview.  Their daughter Jennifer, sadly, died of heat stroke while attending La Fiesta Tech.  Diane works as a hostess and Jeff is an artist.  The Pleasants are also responsible for maintaining the community cemetery, where there is a mausoleum dedicated to their family, the founders of the town.  Jeff has long wanted to try for one more baby, especially in light of the loss of their daughter, but Diane does not want to start over at this stage of their lives.

Matlapin:  Next door to the Pleasants at 157 Main St., are the Matlapins.  Darleen and her mother Mariana have lived here ever since her parents divorced.  Her father, Omar, hasn't been particularly involved in her life since then, so they're not close.  After the divorce, Mariana threw herself into work, achieving the position of master architect at her firm.  Several of her male coworkers are eager to spend time with her, but she's focused on her career first and foremost; she has little time for romantic pursuits.  Darleen, on the other hand, wants nothing more than to be a wife and mother.  She dated a couple guys in college, but seemed headed towards a romance with her best friend PT Smith (Poli Tech 9).  That never happened, for one reason or another, and eventually they both moved on.  Darleen got back together with one of her college beaus and now they live together.  Adam King is a paramedic and, though he knows Darleen would love to get married right away, he's not quite there yet.

Jones:  Chris Jones lives in the Pleasant Vista Apartment Complex.  Since her roommate Melissa moved out, she's been lonely, so she placed an ad for a new roommate and wound up with Gretchen Chin.  They get along great and Chris has someone to talk to after her long days at work as a hostage negotiator.  She also owns a little boutique in town called Wearfore Art Thou?, which does well, but not well enough to support her.  She's looking to expand into Bluewater Village at some point.  Her dating life is pretty casual; she goes out with a few different guys, but isn't really serious about any of them.  That may change, however, given that her last date with Michael Bachelor resulted in an unplanned pregnancy.

Gavigan:  Nathan Gavigan is Chris's downstairs neighbor.  He's a desk sergeant with the PPD.  He's dated two women off and on since college, Jessica Peterson and Mary Weir.  Mary is living with someone now, so his focus has shifted to Jessica.  He really wants to propose to her, but he's not sure she'd be into it.

Dreamer:  Davis and Delilah Dreamer live at 159 Main St.  Davis is a patrol officer with the PPD and has long had a desire for a second child.  They don't see Darren as often as they'd like now that he lives in Strangetown.  Delilah feels that she's worked too hard to achieve the position of starter on her team and doesn't think taking time off for maternity leave would be a good idea.

Happy Simming!

Megahood 5/21/22 (Pleasantview)

 Hick:  Elden Hick lives at Oak Street Trailer Park with his five dogs.  His mother died a few years ago.  Life isn't great for Elden.  He makes very little money as a record store clerk, his trailer looks like a biohazard, and his girlfriend, Lucia Riley, is cheating on him.  Of course, he doesn't know about that last one.  You almost can't blame her for not wanting to tie herself down to Elden.  He's not a great catch.  As if things weren't bad enough, after returning home from the Old Town Quarter where he and Lucia had a date, his trailer was broken into and several things were stolen which he then had to replace.  So much for all those guard dogs!

Broke:  Flat and Flo Broke also live at Oak Street Trailer Park.  They have two adult children, Ruby and Skip.  Ruby had a falling out with her folks a long time ago and they haven't had any contact with her since she left home.  Consequently, Skip, who is much younger than Ruby, was raised as an only child.  Flo always wanted to have another baby, but Flat was against the idea.  Now they're empty nesters, eking out an existence as an internet movie critic (Flat) and a painter (Flo), and waiting for their son to give them some grandchildren.

Broke:  Buck and Mary Lu Broke live right next door to Flat and Flo.  Flat and Buck are brothers.  Buck is a simple man, content with his home in the trailer park and his job at the record store.  His wife Mary Lu, however, has always dreamed of having a better life.  But, despite the fact that she has a good job as a marine biologist, they never seem to get ahead financially.  When their kids (Trigger and Susie) were young, Mary Lu didn't mind sacrificing her own goals.  Now that they're both adults and on their own, she feels it's time she got something she wants.  Buck doesn't understand his wife's lofty goals.  He'd love nothing more than to stay right where he is until the day he dies.  He complains about her to his mistress, Frida Augustine, all the time, but she's usually in a rush to get back to her family before the sun rises.

Tinker:  Stephen Tinker and Aiyana Taylor live at 52 Ridge Rd.  They've been together since college, but only recently decided to move in together.  Stephen's place in Strangetown was much too small, so they found a cozy two bedroom in Pleasantview.  Aiyana would love to break into the field of oceanography, but she's yet to find any openings, so for the time being she's stuck working as a trash talker for a gaming company.  Stephen had his dream job as a scientist, but was let go after he made the bad decision to pass off someone else's discovery as his own.  He's been blackballed from working at any lab in the country, so he had to take a lowly gas station attendant job while he lays low and waits for the scandal to blow over.

Oldie:  Mary Sue Oldie has led quite the colorful life to date.  Back in college, she met and fell in love with Jenny Curious.  She was sure they'd be together forever, but that dream was crushed when she caught Jenny cheating on her.  After graduation, she moved back home with her parents for a bit and began dabbling in witchcraft in an effort to find a way to make Jenny lover her again.  She became obsessed with the idea.  Her parents did not approve of what she was doing and they had a falling out.  When she heard that Tara Kat was looking for someone to housesit for her while she was away at Uni, she jumped at the chance and promptly moved out of her parents' house and out of their lives for good.  While living in the Kat house, she honed her witchcraft skills, ultimately succeeding in casting a spell which caused Jenny's girlfriend to break up with her.  Much to Mary Sue's dismay, however, Jenny did not come running back.  With Tara's graduation, and subsequent return, looming, Mary Sue didn't know where she would go or what she would do.  She had no money and had cut ties with her family.  Fate intervened, however, and Mary Sue found herself the sole heir to the Landgraab fortune.*  She moved to a charming cottage at 56 Ridge Rd., where she continues to practice witchcraft and cares for the dalmatians which were also part of her inheritance.  She has not given up on getting Jenny back.

*The Landgraabs have an interesting, but tragic, story.  I started with Malcolm II, his wife Marion, and his grandson Malcolm IV.  (I created Malcolm III and his wife, but killed them off immediately, as this event would have happened already.)  Malcolm IV was killed as a teen when one of his parents' ghosts scared him to death.  Malcolm II and Marion carried on for a while.  Malcolm began breeding his beloved dalmatians and opened a shop where he could sell their offspring called A Spot Above.  When Marion passed on at age 68, Malcolm was alone, but not for long.  Rainelle Neengia, gold digger extraordinaire, got her hooks into him and they were married in no time.  I'd expected that Malcolm would die rather soon after they were married, but the game had a surprise for me when Malcolm was bitten by a Grand Vamp and turned into a vampire.  Rainelle was subsequently turned as well, at which point I began to think there might be hope for the Langraab line after all, since Rainelle was young enough to provide Malcolm with a new heir.  It was at this point that I began to experience severe glitches, freezing, and crashing problems with their lot.  I tried everything I could think of, but couldn't solve the problem, so I decided to bulldoze the Landgraab mansion and start over.  I built a new mansion and moved them in.  It was fine for a little while, but then started having the same problems.  I began to feel that it must be one of them that was the problem, so I moved them in and out separately to no avail.  They became completely unplayable.  So, after much inner debate, I decided the only way out of the situation was to kill them off.  I sent them both into the sun.  I like to think of it story-wise as Malcolm found out that Rainelle only wanted him for his money and was so distraught that he took them both out in a blaze of glory.  Since they didn't have an heir or any other family, I decided that Rainelle would leave everything to her dearest friend, Mary Sue Oldie.  Since the mansion may or may not be infected with glitches, I played it safe and gave Mary Sue the money, the business, and the dogs, but moved her into her own place.  And that is how Mary Sue Oldie inherited the Landgraab fortune.

Whew!  That was a lot for one day.  See you tomorrow.  Until then, Happy Simming!

Megahood 5/20/22 (Pleasantview)

 We begin the Megahood with Pleasantview, which has been around since the dawn of The Sims.  As I mentioned, I turned back time here, beginning just after TS1.  I recreated the lots and sims that existed in TS1, sprinkled in a couple of TS2 community lots, threw in some apartments, and (with a little research on TS3, which I don't have) expanded the Broke family tree by creating some characters who were present there, but never mentioned in other Sims games.  All the other neighborhoods were rewound in the same fashion.  I've played for about 25-ish sim days now, which means some stuff has already changed.  Sims have been born, died, fallen in and out of love, become supernatural creatures, and much more.  Though I do have some general rules/guidelines in place, I mostly play to sims' wants here.  So don't blame me if your favorite sim is cheating on their spouse or being a degenerate - it's all their choice, lol.  Anyway, let's get started.

Burb:  Brad and Tiffany Burb live at 63 Gunther Goth Highway in an old farmhouse with an apple orchard out back.  Brad writes cookbooks for a living and Tiffany is a high school teacher.  Their adult son John has recently moved back home after suffering some financial difficulties while living on his own.  Good thing they kept his teenage bedroom just the same for him.  Whenever Brad is not working on his books, he's out tending the orchard or the vegetable garden.  Consequently, he recently became a plant sim, which he seems to be perfectly content with.  John has a job as a convenience store clerk, which leaves plenty of time for him to hang out with his girlfriend, Jessica Peterson.  Well, he thinks she's his girlfriend; in reality she's seeing a number of different men and it's probably only a matter of time before she breaks his heart.  In any event, they had a date recently that ended in Jessica being bitten by the Contessa.  We'll have to wait and see how she feels about that when we get to Belladonna Cove.

Oldie:  Herb Oldie lives just across the street from the Burbs at 64 Gunther Goth Highway in a small cottage with lots of rosebushes and a few apple trees.  He makes a living working as a piano tuner.  Sadly, his wife Coral was killed in a fire a while ago.  Or maybe not that sadly, given that Herb was never the faithful type.  Maybe that's why he's estranged from his only daughter Mary Sue?  Currently he's dating Melissa Smith*, though she has a live-in boyfriend, so it's probably not that serious.  He happened to run into John Burb and Jessica Peterson while they were on a date recently and was completely taken with Jessica.  He thinks she's the most beautiful woman he's ever seen and wants desperately to get to know her better.  He may have to take a number with that one.

*Melissa is one of the Roomies from TS1.  I read somewhere that in one of the console games Melissa and Chris had been given the surnames of Smith and Jones, so I applied that here.

That's all I've got for today.  Tomorrow we'll visit the Oak Street Trailer Park, where I rebuilt the Hick trailer from TS1, Brandi Broke's trailer from TS2, and that vacant one next to Brandi's as well.  Until then, Happy Simming!

Victorian Population Challenge 5/19/22

 Trade #2 Whitlock:  Current household members are: Liam & Chastity (Gen 2 Heir/Wife - elders), Oliver (Gen 3 Heir - adult), Erin (Gen 3 - teen), Dylan (Gen 3 - child), and Davina (Gen 3 - toddler).  Owen and Brendan moved out.  The shop is doing well and the family is plugging away at their goal of becoming Gentleman Farmers.  Incidentally, since I'm able to choose either Professional or Gentleman Farmer whenever someone ranks up from Trade, I've decided that I'll base that decision on whether that family was formerly Poor or Subsistence Farmer.  It makes sense to me that farmers would continue to want to live off the land and those who were career focused would continue to be.  Household bank balance is $4239/$100,000.

Trade #3 Stanbury:  Current household members are: Thomas & Joy (Gen 2 Heir/Wife - elders), Robert & Leila (Gen 3 Heir/Wife - adults), Mary (Gen 3 - teen), Claudia (Gen 4 - toddler), and Simon (Gen 4 - baby).  James and Sarah left home and Leila is pregnant with #3.  The textile business is booming!  So much so, in fact, that I'm considering getting a second sewing machine so that Joy and Leila can sew at the same time.  They are having a tough time keeping up with the stock for the shop.  I need to take advantage of Leila's good moods, so that she can not only help more with the stock, but also build up her badge.  Once Mary leaves home, things will get even more difficult, since they won't have anyone else to help out with the household chores and the young children.  Household bank balance is $21,255/$100,000.

Trade #4 Godwin:  Current household members are: Silas & Matilda (Gen 2 Heir/Wife - elders), Adolph (Gen 3 Heir - adult), Milo (Gen 3 - teen), and Patricia (Gen 3 - child).  Yes, the Godwins finally leveled up to Trade class!  They've opened a bakery, which at the moment, has mostly birthday and wedding cakes.  Despite being 60, Matilda only has four cooking points, so she can't make a ton of desserts yet.  She'll work on it.  Meanwhile, with Olivia Hayward now being too old to marry, and his new Trade Heir status which will only allow him to marry a Trade woman, Adolph's wife search is pretty much at a standstill.  Household bank balance is $1661/$100,000.

Trade #5 Hayward:  Current household members are: Noah & Grace (Gen 2 Heir/Wife - elders), Abraham & Amelia (Gen 3 Heir/Wife - adults), Robin (Gen 3 - teen), Camilla (Gen 3 - teen), Paula (Gen 4 - child), and Walker (Gen 4 Heir - toddler).  There is currently no room for another baby, but Robin will leave home soon.  The Haywards leveled up from Sub Farmers to Trade and opened a fishmonger/produce market.  Trade families are allowed four garden plots max, but there don't seem to be any rules against having a pond, so I gave them a small one.  Since there isn't really anything from the Buy catalog that would work for this shop, they're going to need to grow/catch everything they stock.  For now though, they're concentrating on the fish side of the operation, because Winter in coming and they won't be able to plant until Spring.  Household bank balance is $649/$100,000.

And that is it for Victoria's Peak!  It's been a whole "year" and I'm ready to move on to something else now.  I've decided that will be my Megahood, which is kind of similar to TS4 in a way (though I built this 'hood years before that game was released) because it's basically an alternate reality timeline.  I wanted a neighborhood that connected all the base 'hoods, but the twist is that I started it time-wise shortly after TS1.  I recreated all the houses, community lots, and sims from TS1 for Pleasantview, copied the houses and community lots from the other base 'hoods to their counterparts in the Megahood, and then recreated the sims who lived in those 'hoods at the age they would've been in TS1.  Consequently, anyone younger than adult at the start of TS2 does not exist in the Megahood.  I made some other adjustments to some of the characters, but I'll explain those as I go along.  Suffice it to say, for now, that we started from a point where Cassandra Goth was a teen and moved forward from there (she's been out of Uni for a little while now, if I remember correctly).  Some of the couple who are "supposed" to be together are, but most aren't.  Some of the kids who are "supposed" to be born have been, but most have not and many new ones have.  I know, it sounds complicated (and it is a little bit), but it's also a ton of fun watching all the new couples get together, move to neighborhoods they've never been in before, take unexpected jobs, and just basically have completely different lives than they once did.  Anyway, until tomorrow, Happy Simming!

Victorian Population Challenge 5/18/22

 Sub Farm #8 Hayward:  Current household members are: Julian & Esme (Gen 2 - adults), Saul (Gen 3 Heir - adult), Dana (Gen 3 - teen), Julia (Gen 3 - child), Marla (Gen 3 - child), Leo (Gen 3 - toddler), and Travis (Gen 3 - baby).  There's no room for another baby at the moment, but as soon as Dana leaves the nest, they'll get straight to work on that.  Between the harvest, Dana's teen job, and Esme's flowers, their finances are a little healthier, though still tight.  Esme will use her small window of not being pregnant to really step up the flower production.  Household bank balance is $1884/$50,000.

Sub Farm #9 Whitlock:  Current household members are: Conrad & Claudia (Gen 2 - adults), Henry (Gen 3 Heir - child), Virginia (Gen 3 - child), Isaac (Gen 3 - toddler), and Graham (Gen 3 - baby).  Claudia is pregnant with baby #5.  This family continues to struggle to keep their heads above water.  The harvest allowed for the purchase of a flower bench, as well as enough beds for the children, but money is still an issue.  Heading into Winter, they'll be relying solely on flower income.  Household bank balance is $186/$50,000.

Sub Farm #10 Godwin:  Current household members are: Lee & Bess (Gen 2 - adults), Susan (Gen 3 - child), Jesse (Gen 3 Heir - toddler), and Amada (Gen 3 - baby).  Bess is pregnant for the fourth time.  They weren't able to afford those fruit trees, but they did get some furnishings for the house.  They don't have much cash heading into Winter, so that's a concern.  They should be okay food-wise, however, because Lee has stocked a number of fish.  Household bank balance is $307/$50,000.

Trade #1 Hopkins:  Current household members are:  Nathaniel & Johanna (Gen 2 Heir/Wife - elders), Andrew (Gen 3 Heir - teen), Hannah (Gen 3 - child), Cecilia (Gen 3 - child), Zachary (Gen 3 - child), and Wesley (Gen 3 - child).  Elsa moved out.  Not much to report here except for the fact that Nathaniel has apparently gone senile, because he lost all memory of Johanna.  She still knew him, but he didn't even have her in his panel.  As of now, they've "met" again and he now realizes they're married, but their relationship score is extremely low.  So that's fun.  Luckily, he still remembers all his children.  Johanna is a real trooper on the flower bench, earning a significant amount of cash on a daily basis.  Household bank balance is $80,068/$100,000.

Happy Simming!