Hello! Welcome back to Already in Progress, the only story that starts in the middle! I’m not going to recap because, well, it starts in the middle. Doesn’t matter how far back I go, that’ll still be true. Unfortunately, the story is still light and episodic and the writing merely tolerable no matter how far back you go too.

Actually, that’s not true. If you decide to get caught up on the story (which you can do at my LJ if you are so inclined), I strongly recommend that you start with Chapter 10 and pretend the previous chapters never happened. …Please?

And now, a word from our sponsor.

Today’s episode of Goldberg & Silent Lady is brought to you by the Renovation Time clutter collection by nixie at MTS. It’s a ladder, a paint bucket, a roller, and a tray all as one item, in this arrangement.

(in the rapid undertone that accompanies verbal “small print”) This item was made in 2007, and unfortunately, that is apparent. nixie is unaware of this endorsement, and may not even be a part of the community anymore.

Leila and Abhijeet have been Trying For a Baby quite assiduously, and enjoying the Trying part very much. But the lack of the Baby part has started to become rather distressing.

Leila finally resorted to using the wishing shrine. (It’s on the property, near the ordinary garden. Leila and Abhijeet were married in front of it, remember? …Nah, you don’t remember.)

That’s a good response, right? I mean, there aren’t any bees. Or lightning strikes. Or tornadoes.

No tornadoes has to be a good thing, no matter how you look at it.

But what does it mean? “You’re already pregnant”? “You will be pregnant soon”? “You’ll decide that adoption is a wonderful thing and be very happy”? “Forget kids – you should buy a lottery ticket”?

Leila decided to go to the doctor for a discussion about fertility.

ABHIJEET: So? What did the doctor say?LEILA: She said. Um, she said. (deep breath, then, rapidly) She said that I shouldn't have any problem having babies because I've already had one.ABHIJEET (blankly): What, when you were in college? Why didn't you tell me? It's not a dealbreaker.LEILA: No, I don't remember being pregnant. I remember college, but I'm certain I wasn't pregnant then. I never even kissed anyone before you. Before I.. died, did we, um...?ABHIJEET: Yes. But if you were pregnant, you never told me. I'm positive I never saw a bump or anything.*

*True. See The Jack Point Home for Pedestrian Playables, available on my LJ.

This news caused something of an emotional upheaval for Leila.

CAT: Why doesn’t whats-her-face have fishy treats in her pockets so much anymore?ABHIJEET: Who’s “whats-her-face”?CAT: Whats-her-face, with the wings. Usually smells pretty good. Stingy about sharing her ice cream.ABHIJEET: You mean Leila, the woman I’ve been married to for fifteen years?CAT: Yeah, whats-her-face.ABHIJEET (pointedly): Leila is a little sad right now.

CAT: Hey, whats-his-face says you’re sad. Why are you sad? LEILA: Uh… Who’s “whats-his-face”?CAT: You know, the tall one. Smells like a cosmetic shop. Makes interesting explosions sometimes. Pretty good with a can opener. Do you need me to purr for you?LEILA: Oh, what a sweet offer! I suppose I am sad – I apparently had a baby and I don’t know what happened to it. And you are very kind and caring to offer to cheer me up.CAT: I don’t see why you need a baby when you have me. (grumpily) But if you’re not cheerful, then I don’t get fishy treats, so I’ll purr if that’s what it takes.

GOLDBERGHey, hey! Who are you? What are you doing?

CONTRACTOR 1Got a work order.

GOLDBERGWha -- Hey!

Dawson has turned out to be quite the baby whisperer, and he almost always knows what Violet needs. In this specific instance, Violet’s portrait was completely green, and I suspect that she was drawing an unfavorable comparison between Daddy’s just-home-from-work odor and her diapers.

Violet refused to Grow Up on time, and even the Baby Whisperer couldn’t figure out why. He was, however, able to persuade her to work with the cake.

The rules for the purple generation state (in addition to mandating all the purple) that one Want must be fulfilled every day. Right now, that’s easy, since Violet’s Wants tend to run to Tickles From Mommy and Snuggles From Daddy.

The Teen years should be… interesting. Violet’s going to be spoiled rotten.

I have decided that if an item is not readily available in purple (or blue, or whatever color is required in a specific generation), then white is an acceptable second color. I’m okay with custom content nowadays, but that doesn’t mean that I want my Downloads folder clogged with things I’ll only use once.

Adorable toddler outfits in all colors of the rainbow and practical, style neutral, and efficiently repositoried toddler beds, though? Sign me up!

Even though they have a small sproglet, and even though sproglets take up a lot of time and energy, Skye and Dawson make sure to have regular date nights. Sure that often means cuddling on the couch and watching TV, but date night is date night, and they always enjoy themselves.

Sometimes date nights end in bed.

Well, they always end in bed, actually – everyone’s got to sleep sometime, after all – but sometimes they end in bed in bed.

And date nights that end in bed sometimes end in something else, too.

Now there will be two spoiled rotten Teens running around the ‘hood. Oh joy.

TEDThey're doing something hinky, I can feel it.

I just can't prove it.

GOLDBERGThey're withholding the books?

TEDNo, they hand 'em over. But I was an art

major in college so I wouldn't have to do any math. I don't understand a thing.

Very early in the rotation, Penny managed to save up enough to buy her garage and moved out. (Don’t worry, you’ll see more about her later.) She may look a bit sad here, but that’s just genetics and the angle of the picture. She was actually rather excited.

With Penny out of the house, guess what Phoenix took to doing?

All the time, and no matter what?

When I say “all the time,” I really do mean “all the time.” See how it’s nighttime out? And how Jo is in her pajamas?

And by “no matter what,” I really do mean “no matter what.” See that needs panel?

This is not to say that Phoenix wouldn’t let someone else play the piano occasionally. After all, a man has to pee sometime.

And then there’s this new thing called “electronic dance music”…

This really is what Jo and Phoenix did the whole rotation – even when I cancelled the action and stacked up a lot of other things for them to do. They’d finish in record time and then head for one musical source or the other. It’s a pity that sims can’t play piano duets – I think they’d enjoy that.

GOLDBERGWhoa, whoa! What's going on? What happened to

the paneling?

CONTRACTOR 2Got a work order.

At Frederic and Isaac’s house, it was a pretty quiet rotation. Frederic wrote another cooking-themed mystery, but at the time I didn’t know the trick about cloning books, so it isn’t in the library.

Er, that increases its resale value? Like, it’s a valuable heirloom or something?

Speaking of Frederic, here is the promised picture of his Elder makeover. He was able to keep his hairstyle, but decided to grow a little goatee-mustache combo. I’m not sure if he’ll keep it or not…

Isaac saw an ad in the paper for a new gaming club, and decided to go check it out.

He did not approve. Pinball and pool? Really?

Gaming is much more fun at home, with an opponent you know well.

ISAAC: Good thing the kid’s at college, because you’re going to need her room for at least a week, bucko!

And against whom you have some leverage. That particular threat doesn’t work against 99.99999% of the population.

GOLDBERGIt looks like – (ducks ladder) Like (ducks ladder again) Like I'm going to have to –

Look, is this really necessary?

SILENT LADY nods

I took a lot of pictures at the farmhouse this rotation, but I can’t really remember why I took most of them. Like this one: Why is Phoebe crying? What has she got to be unhappy about? Why is she in the bathroom to be unhappy about it?

Okay, the answer to that is because it’s coded in “ImportantLifeEvent=GOTO_bathroom TRUE”. But nevertheless.

I tried giving Phoebe a nice new farmer’s outfit, but it didn’t really suit her. Not only that, but…

Do you see the break at the ankles there, where you can see the floor through her leg? It bothered me.

So Phoebe got a nice new pair of pants (unless this is what I default replaced those horrible purple pants with, in which she didn’t) and went about her business.

Sure, the outfit isn’t particularly stripey or Elizabethan, but who’s gonna remember that those were Phoebe’s character traits unless… I… remind them of that…

Poot poot pooty poot!

Aside from new pants, not too much happened at the farm this rotation. Chant continues to go into the zone when gardening (much to my annoyance).

Once the sun goes down, he rotates between sewing (pictured), pottery, and taking showers.

To keep his Water motive up, of course. What a silly question!

Phoebe and Draupadi continue to completely fail at bonding.PHOEBE: And just what dost thou think thou’rt doing?DRAUPADI: Oh, come on! Like you didn’t just do the exact same thing.PHOEBE: As indeed I did not.DRAUPADI: You did too! I saw you put your hand on the piece very clearly, and I yelled at you for it!PHOEBE: At which time I removed my hand and did nothing at all. Which means that I did not cheat. It is not cheating to touch a piece. (sniffs) Thy actions, however, are dastardly cheating and I will not stand for it.

Add in Draupadi accidentally setting the kitchen on fire, and I think everyone was secretly rather relieved when Draupadi headed off to Uni.

Sorry, no pictures on that one. Draupadi went from the Add A Student menu, along with the teens from several other households.

GOLDBERGHi there! My name's Fred Finklestein, from

the SimCity office. I'm spostabe [supposed to be] training here?

Dmitri purchased the new shop that I built for the family coughcoughmumblecough ago this rotation. The shop, of course, is called Rose’s.

After Rose, of course. Dmitri knows how to use an apostrophe correctly.

Next door to Rose’s, on the same lot, is a fire station (just for pretty) and next to that and still on the same lot is an arcade. Theoretically the family could make money from the arcade, since it has the career reward pinball machine, but I’m not too worried about whether they do or not.

Of course, the shop is too big for one person to run on their own, so Dmitri did some hiring too. The new staff is Jason Menon (sales), Camryn Lee (restocking), Lyndsay Louie (cashier), and Robin Shaikh (flower arranger and backup cashier).

Back at the house, it’s just one big circle of helping. Ivan helped put Anton to sleep…

…and helped Mickey with his homework.

Then Rose helped Anton Grow Up to Toddler.

And once he was Grown, Ivan helped him with potty training.

It’s a lot better than helping him with diapers, that’s for sure!

Mickey helped out with playing.

MIKHAIL: No, Anton, don’t put the bumper in your mouth. The wheels taste better.ANTON: Bumphur?

Rose Grew Up herself near the end of the rotation. I haven’t yet figured out her new look yet, but that hair is not going to be part of it.

And even though I didn’t get the traditional taxi shot, Alexander headed off to Uni. You can probably find information about him in the college chapter, whenever I get around to writing it up and posting it.

COWORKERYou coming, Fred?

GOLDBERGI just gotta finish up this one module. (points at the screen) Gee, these online trainings are pretty keen, aren't they?

COWORKER gives him an old-fashioned look and leaves

The three kids remaining at home in the Wheeler household (from left to right, Lavinia, Paul, and Trudy, in case you’ve forgotten) got in one last little bit of studying before heading off to college.

I didn’t get a shot of anyone leaving in the taxi for college, because the game apparently doesn’t recognize my custom uni as a valid uni to which one can travel by taxi, so everyone gets admitted from the Add Students menu.

Instead of a taxi picture, have a picture of Lavinia and Trudy that came out pretty nicely.

No sooner had they left than Dongsool moved back in. Dongsool graduated at the same time as his bride-to-be Casilda because of how I play uni, but he’s really three days older than she is, so he spent the rotation at home while she spent it in the Sim Bin.

Dongsool spent the time doing useful things like building Charisma.

Or making chocolates for his mother’s chocolate shop. (It’s purchased, but it hasn’t been properly set up yet. If I remember, I’ll give you a tour next time, after it’s all set up.)

Catherynne aged up at the end of the rotation, into an outfit that fits stylistically, but that doesn’t work on her for all that.

Catherynne is rather pale already, and with the gray hair, an all-white outfit makes her look really a little too ghostly. At least in my opinion, and it’s my game, so that makes it true.

I thought I had more pictures for this household, but apparently I was wrong about that, because this is the last one.

TEDThey're all stealing? So -- it's a

conspiracy?

GOLDBERGNo. They're all stealing individually.

TEDHow is that even possible?

To start off with, here is a really bad picture showing that Penny’s garage works as a home business, even when she isn’t actively working it.

…Is that Walls Down? Eeeeeeeeep! (hides in embarrassment)

Apparently, this rotation I preferred to pay attention to Penny’s relationship with the opposite sex. This fine gentleman is Phoenix’s coworker.

That’s right, folks both the Slob and Mr. Big work in the Slacker career – just at opposite ends of the spectrum.

This fellow was great fun to talk to and tends to walk by a lot, but… Well, he’s not as young as he used to be, is he?

Whereas the Slob (whose name I didn’t bother to write down) is younger and not terrible at conversation.

He’s pretty good at other things, though.

Despite rolling a Want for this and being an enthusiastic participant, Penny doesn’t have Want for this guy other than being BFFs. I’m not going to try and force things – I’ll just wait and see how Penny decides to play our her own love life.

It’ll make me like seven kinds of itchy (if I wasn’t something of a control freak, I wouldn’t play TS2), but I’ll do it anyway.

GOLDBERGWill my office ever get back to normal?

SILENT LADY nods.

GOLDBERGPromise?

SILENT LADY nods and pats him comfortingly on the shoulder before bustling off to supervise

the workers.

Caryl and Olga moved into a little house in the old warehouse district. (I think it might once have been some sort of switching station for the railroad.) And once there, this was what they did: Cook enough food to fill an army.

Write in their diaries.

Or do imitation goths have journals?

Whichever it is, they wrote in ‘em.

And then they cooked enough of a completely different meal to fed an army.

Sometimes they wouldn’t even eat it! They’d just cook it and then put the food away as individual servings of leftovers!

I did find out that Olga is quite fond of smelling the flowers.

It’s all very well and good for Olga to try and make up for her flower habit with greeting werewolves…

…and with greeting evil witches, too.

It won’t work on me, though. I know that after Uni she Grew Up into (whispers) a pink sundress.

And with that, we’ve visited all the AiP households. Until next time, Happy Simming!