Growing Up Goth, Part 1

Her parents met one quiet afternoon, almost accidentally. Well, maybe “met” isn’t the right word. Sunset Valley is a small town and they’d known of each other for a long time, but had never even spoken until that day she passed by him, saying a quick “Excuse me” as she went on. Just a flash of blonde hair and sweet perfume that captured his interest for a moment, but not enough to distract him from the book he was about to read.

It wasn’t until years later, after high school, that they had a chance encounter again, this time at the beach. Mortimer Goth never went to the beach, except on that day when the park was much too crowded for quiet reading, and there she was, blonde hair cut shorter but still the same sweet perfume.

When asked much, much later, Mortimer could never explain what drove him to talk to January Hirsch that day when all the other days of his life he’d made a mission of avoiding human contact. But when she turned to him that day, he did speak.

For hours and hours. Even as the sun sank over the water and the book he’d brought along with him still sat tucked in his back pocket, unread, he spoke to a girl named January in a way that he’d never spoken to anyone before.

Her mom said later that her dad was different then, in those early days of their relationship. He’d always been quiet and withdrawn, but at the beach she would see a different Mortimer that he never showed anyone else.

The truth is that all of this–her own existence and all the mistakes she’s made–could have very easily never happened. That old house on the hill is a lonely place, perfect for molding lonely boys who avoid society altogether.

He could have gone on like he had been–playing his guitar to an empty room, filling the attic with paintings no one else would ever see, and eating a quiet, speechless dinner with parents who didn’t know what to do for their reclusive son.

Except that he had gone to the beach that day.

And after that day, everything changed.

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A little intro of sorts to a story that’s been writing itself in my head while I play TS3. It’s still a gameplay driven story, so I don’t know exactly how things will turn out, but I’ve played far enough ahead that Morty and January are middle-aged and the focus of the story is actually their oldest daughter, who you will meet soon. We’ll also meet some other residents of Sunset Valley, including the Sekemotos. The Sim I had created back when I installed TS3, Hailey, married Leighton Sekemoto, raised his son and had two daughters with him. So their youngest daughter has a part in the story too and we’ll see some posts about that household.

I’ve been making notes and figuring out how to incorporate my playstyle into the way TS3 works. I don’t mind if my Sims do some things on their own and if they do something I don’t like (such as get a job that makes no sense for them–which January did while I was playing the Sekemoto house) I try to either fix it or else work with the randomness. I’ve switched to Twallan’s Story Progression mod and I’m really enjoying it. Sometimes the number of pop ups I get about other residents is a bit annoying, but then I also like seeing them and being able to keep an eye on events throughout the rest of the hood. (That’s how I knew about January getting a job in the sports career even though she’s a couch potato. I had her quit and then register as unemployed with City Hall, thanks to Twallan’s career mod. That will keep her from getting another job behind my back.) Twallan’s mods are also helping me to work in paying taxes and other fees and I think I’ve figured out a way to incorporate a pseudo-college, but I’ll explain more about that when I actually test out the idea.

I’m still not ready to leave TS2 entirely, but TS3 is starting to grow on me. I’ll make a post going more in-depth into how I’m making TS3 work for me soon.

P.S. – I just noticed that I never really give you a good look at January’s face in these pictures. That wasn’t intentional! I’m not trying to keep her face hidden for suspense or anything. You’ll get a better look at her coming up.

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