Sunday 22 August 2010

Country mile

Round 28: Summer 2028

Amar Hamilton and Jacob Weaver are both 27 and Dominic Lachance is 18.
(Jonas is 50, Tatiana is 45, Claudia is 27, Tessa is 19 and Nathan is 18)

Narrated by Dominic Lachance

Since graduation, I've been living with Jacob and Amar in a unit in Exeter.

I love my mum and everything but it was a bit embarrassing when she insisted on coming along on moving day.

Even after assurances from Jacob that I'd be fine, it was pretty hard to get her out of there!

Mum had never met Amar before and she didn't really know what to think of him. I think she was a little afraid to leave me alone with him.

Every time I thought she was going to leave, she'd remember something else she wanted to tell me. It was either a warning about my safety, or making sure I didn't forget anything at home.

She's just feeling a little sad about me leaving home. She'd hoped I'd stay at home a little longer because I skipped college.

But it's not like I'm that far away and I'm not going to forget my family just because I'm not living with them.

And besides, I am actually pretty capable of taking care of myself. I clean, which is more than I can say for Amar.

And I can cook dishes more complicated than grilled cheese sandwiches and mac and cheese, which is more than I can say for Mum or Dad, when they were my age. I'm doing alright.

I'm not used to spending so much time on my own, so that's been something to get used to. Growing up with my grandparents, parents, two brothers and a sister, there was never really a time when I was by myself.

Amar does a lot of "entertaining", so I often have to find something to occupy myself with for a while.

I really don't know how he keeps all these girls straight, or if he even does keep them straight. I've seen him with at least four different girls in the month I've been living here.

He doesn't start relationships with them or anything. He just meets them at clubs and brings them home. Sometimes he sees them again, sometimes he doesn't.

Jacob just joined the fire service and is working some weird hours, so whether we see him at all depends what day of the week it is. He only works three days a week but when he does work, he works a 12 hour shift.

I'd go crazy working such long hours. I just want a job where I can go off to work in the morning and come home in time for dinner.

Jacob says he absolutely loves the job though and the weird hours are worth it. I don't think he even minds the hours too much, actually.

When he's off, he wakes up at about 11 or 12 and heads down to the town hall to see his girlfriend.

He and Claudia seem to see each other about as often as they did before he started his new job. Jacob gets bored hanging around at home with Amar and me at work, so they're still out together every other day.

I didn't know how Amar would react to me moving. I thought maybe he'd resent having a "kid" around but he hasn't treated me like that at all. It's been good.

I don't think Mum has to worry about Amar being a bad influence on me or anything. I'm not really the type to go out looking for new girls every night, even if I didn't already have a girlfriend.

Not that Amar hasn't tried to win me over to his way of thinking. He doesn't really understand why I'd want to "tie myself down" to one girl at 18. He's usually trying to convince me to go out to bars to him.

I've accepted his invitation once and I probably won't be doing it again. The first bar we went to looked like a perfect place to get mugged.

I invited Nathan along, just because I was pretty sure Amar was going to leave me hanging as soon as a girl caught his eye.

The first bar wasn't as gross on the inside as it was on the outside but it was still dead. Amar was on the lookout for women and the only woman in there was the bartender.

The next place wasn't far away but it was marginally better than the first. There was no visible garbage out front, at least.

I quickly realised that having Nathan come along was a good idea. Amar spotted some girl and headed upstairs with barely a backwards glance at us.

I don't know he does it. They don't seem like the kind of girls I'd be interested in getting to know anyway.

The next (and last!) place we went to was a lot better than the first two. It was bigger and the area was not quite as seedy.

I've hardly seen Nathan since he went off to college, so we got to catch up for a bit. He likes his classes well enough but he's stuck with Malcolm as a roommate and is just about ready to kill him.

Nathan was talking to a girl named Janette for a little while. I think she was also a student.

Nathan is worse than me when it comes to talking to girls he doesn't know though, so he was at a bit of a loss for words with her.

After a while, Janette gave up on Nathan and set her sights on Amar. Who was only too happy to oblige, seeing Janette is a female and breathing.

Nathan actually seemed kind of relieved when Janette left him to go and talk to Amar. He says he's got his eye on someone on campus.

He wouldn't tell me who she was, of course. Nathan plays his cards close to his chest. He won't tell me until he knows she's interested.

The night wasn't all bad but I had a lot more fun the next night with Tessa.

We ate dinner at the restaurant where her mum works and then I took her to meet Dad, just as he was closing the arcade for the night.

Mum already knows Tessa very well, since she was a student at Sullivan Primary for 7 years but I hadn't introduced her to Dad yet.

I wasn't nervous at all about Dad meeting Tessa and I didn't need to be. Dad loved her. I guess I'm biased, but what's not to love?

This year has been really great for us so far. We get to see each other so much more often and now that all of Tessa's classes are in the afternoon and I have my own space, she can spend the night with me too.

This year, I've become really serious about Tessa. I've even been thinking about marrying her, which is probably a little crazy. But not soon. Some day, when we're older and Tessa's finished college.

It's not something we've actually talked about, so I don't know Tessa feels. I can only hope she feels the same way, because I definitely see us together long term.

Notes:
  • Title is from Country Mile by Camera Obscura.
  • Jacob is actually Dominic's uncle, but to me, they've always seemed more like brothers, seeing they're not that far apart in age. I imagine it would probably feel like that to Jacob and Dominic too.
  • Amar immediately rolled up the want to be friends with Dominic. I think they have a little bromance going on, actually. Most of the non-romantic wants they roll are for each other!
  • The first two bars the boys went to are part of my new little dingy area in Exeter. After the terrain surgery, I had to move everything around, so I figured I might as well create a little seedy district. It consists of a few old clubs/bars you've already seen, the bar you saw (which is new and also has a dirty looking grocery store on the same lot) and a cheap motel.
  • And yes, there is really someone Nathan is rolling romantic wants for. You may find out who it is this round but I'm not sure. This college round will be two parts and there's probably going to be a lot happening. I'm not sure how much play Nathan's little crush will get but we'll see.
  • I think Amar is up to about 13 or 14 woohoos at this stage. He's quite prolific, for a 27 year-old.
  • Then we have Dominic and Tessa at the other end of the spectrum, with just one. ;) Dominic and Tessa are still being super-adorable. Their attraction score is very low, at just 11. The amount of wants they roll for each other is insane though. Tessa hasn't rolled any engagement wants (she can't roll marriage, as a YA) but Dominic has rolled engagement and marriage wants for Tessa.

16 comments:

  1. Wow, Amar...he doesn't discriminate does he? Hmmm, do they even have to be born female for him to hit on them? Wow, Nathan looks like his sister and cousin Susannah. Hmm, what does Nathan think of Dominic and Tessa?

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love Jacob in his little fireman suit. It's always great when your sim finds a job they really enjoy!

    I had to laugh at Tatiana not wanting to leave her little boy with Amar - I think I'd be afraid too! But Dominic seems very level-headed, so she shouldn't worry.

    I'm curious about Nathan's love interest..

    ReplyDelete
  3. I too am curious as to who Nathan's interested in. Amar...wow...how many girls was it this round? He really does get around.

    I like the new buildings being built, like the building that Claudia works in. Do all of your job lots have eating establishments?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks for commenting, everyone!

    Apple Valley, no, Amar isn't really very picky! I imagine he wouldn't be too impressed if he hit on a girl and found she wasn't always that way though!

    I've had people say Nathan resembles Susannah before. I agree but it's funny because Susannah is adopted and not biologically related to Nathan.

    Nathan and Tessa were just a bad match all around and they both see that now. He never rolls any wants for her any more (nor her for him), so I guess they're over each other.

    Renegade, yes, I was very excited to come up with the fire service for Jacob! It suits him perfectly. The uniform is just a bonus. But the TS3 fire fighter career uniforms are way cuter and I have a touch of the jealous about those!

    Even if Dominic wanted to go and pick up a different girl every night, he's way too shy to actually go through with it. So Tatiana can probably rest easy.

    Nathan's crush will be revealed in time. ;)

    rome_raven, I've been thinking about Nathan's crush and I'll probably deal with it in his update. It might actually work well that way.

    As for Amar, I believe he woohooed with 5 different girls this session - one who he used to fool around with in college and four new ones. He's a busy boy.

    The building Claudia is walking out of is the town hall, which I didn't build. Slowly slowly, I'm making it over - it's mostly Maxis inside. The cafe that Claudia and Jacob are eating it is actually a different building though - that's the place Max Nihill owns. All of my job lots have some place to eat, even if it's just a vending machine but as of yet, I actually don't have any job lots with cafes/restaurants. That's a good idea though - maybe I'll put a restaurant in the town hall. There's a lot of rooms in there and I don't really know what I'm going to do with them all anyway!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I didn't realize they had such low attraction. How sweet are they together and all their wants?! I worry now though that someone with chemistry will come along at some point.

    Tatiana was sweet not wanting to leave Dominic. I wouldnt ether. I can't believe how fast Amar scores. I love his hair on him. So fitting for him. I really like this combo of guys together. Lol on the bromance. I feel that same way with Colin toward Chris similar age gap too. Very peculiar

    ReplyDelete
  6. Amar is super-sleazy but I kind of like him! I can totally understand why Tatiana was worried about his influence on Dominic though.

    How cute are Dominic and Tessa! I had no idea their chemistry was that low. Like Maisie, I worry too that someone else will come along and break them apart.

    Another cliffhanger from you! Now I'm trying to think who could be Nathan's crush. I was already sure it was Susannah until I remembered they were cousins!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Amar seems to have plenty of fun... Does he even go to work?

    I'm pretty sure the girl Nathan is rolling wants for is Rebecca. If not, Julia would also make sense, and I guess Audrey is a possibility.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I'm keen to discover who Nathan's crushing on...

    When you said Tessa and Dominic have a low attraction score I thought it said minus 11 for a moment, lol! I was like, 'and they're still commiting to a distance relationship?!'

    ReplyDelete
  9. Poor Dominic, having his mother there all the time during his, when all he wanted was to do it all on his own! But that's were moms are for I guess.
    Ooh Amar, and all his girls, I keep wondering if he will ever settle down with just one.
    Jacob is looking great in his uniform!! It really suits him.
    Those community lots look great.
    Dominic and Tessa are really doing great, relationship-wise, condsidering they have such low attraction score.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Thanks for your comments, everyone!

    Maisie, mmmm, it's interesting that Tessa and Dominic are so into each other because they have the same amount of chemistry as Sarah and Ethan did (I think and they definitely were not as enamoured of each other as Tessa and Dominic seem to be.

    I just remembered that Amar didn't always score so fast! When I had him at college, he used to get shot down a lot. He cycled through the same three or four girls. But they're all over him now. Go figure.

    I didn't think of your Chris and Colin but yeah...kind of like that!

    Sari, I like Amar too. He's not pretending to be anything that he's not but I somehow doubt most mothers would like him too much!

    So far so good with Dominic and Tessa but I guess we'll see. They both have people they're more attracted to (no achievement there, given their low attraction) but I guess they see something else in each other right now.

    LOL, yeah, it's definitely not Susannah!

    Flit, Amar goes to work. He doesn't sleep much though! He uses that espresso machine quite a lot. ;)

    You'll have to wait and see about Nathan. You'll all find out if you were right or wrong soon enough.

    Shake, soon, soon!

    When I read my notes the second time, I actually thought it said minus 11 too! I might amend that to make it clearer. :)

    Tanja, that would be Tatiana's take on it. She's just watching out for her boy. :)

    I do wonder if Amar will ever want to settle down too. He's "in love" with a couple of these girls but he's never rolled a marriage or engagement want. I actually find Romance Sims roll those wants pretty easily, so I guess he hasn't found anyone worth settling down for yet!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Amar, Jacob and Dominic look like white belt boys :P

    ReplyDelete
  12. Darz, LOL, none of them are douchey enough for that, even Amar!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Ah Amar... haha, he's just too much! Yeah, I'd be worried too if I left my oldest son in a house with that guy. Luckily Dominic isn't like that.

    But once again you've come close to my real life, lol. My nephew is turning 17 soon (or wait, is he 17 now?), either way the boy is a Senior in high school and shaving. I'm only 30! Where did the time go, and who let him grow up? Because we're so close in age, I get to be a cool nerdy aunt.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Lunar, no, Dominic's too into Tessa to follow Amar's example. Fortunately for Tatiana. I can't see any of the Lachance kids becoming like Amar when they get older - they just weren't raised like that!

    I don't have any nieces or nephews but I've definitely had those "am I that old?" moments. The Year 6 kids I taught on my first teaching prac would now all be 20 or 21!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Aww that's sweet that Dominic and Tess have so many wants for each other with such a low attraction score. I'm actually kind of envious cuz in my game, it's the opposite. A few of my couples have decent attraction scores but they roll no romantic wants for each other. It's so frustrating because there aren't many sims for them to choose from yet. There are the townies but I'd rather they choose the townies I created over the game generated ones, first, but they either don't like them or the ones I create end up being jerks lol.

    Anyway, aww, so sweet that Tatiana didn't want to let her baby go! And wow, Amar is very lucky with the ladies I see LOL. Did he reach that 20 simultaneous lovers yet? Probably not if he went through 4 or 5 this session. He doesn't have time to talk to them much I bet ;). I'm curious to find out who this mystery girl is too. I'll have to look at the college girls to try to figure it out. And Jacob is just too cute in his uniform.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Danielle, yeah, I have couples like that too! You have to consider the aspirations too. Some aspirations are just less likely to roll romantic wants. Family Sims roll them pretty frequently though and Family is Dominic's primary and Tessa's secondary.

    LOL, I'm probably not going for 20 Simultaneous Lovers with Amar. He's not in love with most of these girls he brings home. I'll see if I can get him to 20 woohoos before he gets attached though. I think he's got 11 or 12 of them. It's no wonder Tatiana is worried about Amar's influence on her (not so) little boy.

    You'll find out Nathan's mystery girl in the first college update on 2028. I ended up writing it in. :D

    Jacob's always cute. :D LOL, I think he's Laura's favourite of mine, when we talk about Sim crushes!

    ReplyDelete