This is 5 Sim Lane. Note the fading shingles, the ancient weeping willows, the somber iron fence. A bit gloomy, isn’t it? My dad always says it’s the perfect place for a family named “Gothâ€. Funny guy, my dad.
People think it’s haunted because it’s right next to a cemetery. Well, not really next to. More like on top of. Yep, those poor saps are basically buried in our yard. But since they were here first, I like to think that we’re the ones haunting them.
My name is Cassandra, by the way. And for the record, I’ve lived here all my life and never seen a ghost.
I don’t see much of anyone, really. My parents are both embarking on new careers and spend most of the day at work. They’re gone in the morning before I even eat my breakfast.
That’s not entirely their fault, though. The first thing I do most mornings when I get up is write. I like to record the strange dreams I have because I figure they’ll make good stories someday. They’re crazy nonsense by themselves, but eventually I’ll have enough bits and pieces that I can sew all the good parts together and create my own little Frankenstein monster.
I have to write all my ideas down right away or they fall out of my head like gumballs. I’m horribly scatterbrained. But I’ve been that way since birth, so I find ways to cope.
It’s the same with the aloneness. I’m an only child, and I grew up spending a lot of time by myself, so I got used to it. In fact, I started to like it. I can honestly say I don’t mind being alone. It’s good for the imagination.
Like, this morning after my breakfast, I was clearing away the plates and saw a putrid green cloud of flies hovering over the table. Now, I know they were only there because my parents left their dirty plates outside. But it got me thinking…what if the flies were really ghosts…who had been summoned by a ghost overlord to do his bidding…but they had displeased him somehow…so he had turned them into clouds of flies, doomed to swarm over decaying, rotting things for all eternity…and what if these clouds of flies could merge into even larger swarms and terrorize the countryside…?
All right, so it’s a little wacko, but if you combine it with the dream I had last night about magic gnomes, you might have something.
I’d love to write a serious book someday. A space opera, or maybe a fantasy. I love to read, and my favorite book of all time is The Warlock of Palladia by Matt Goss. I’ve read it three times, and it never gets old.
I do have to say, one disadvantage of living in my own head so much and enjoying my own company is that I have a tough time making friends. I had exactly one friend when I was a kid – his name was Miles Mullroy.
Miles was a little weird, which is probably why we got along so well. He wore a pith helmet all the time because he wanted to be an explorer when he grew up.
We played tag in his yard after school one time, and I think that was the most fun I’ve had not being alone.
I see Miles at school, but we don’t really talk much anymore. I heard he’s dating some girl named Rhonda. He had his Teen-day a few days ago, just like I did. Although I doubt he was by himself.
No cake, no presents, no parents. I know it sounds a bit depressing, but I’m used to it. And for the most part, I don’t mind it. I like to be alone after all. But I have to admit there is a teensy part of me that wishes I could spend more time with my parents. Especially my mom. She’s kind of everything I’m not.
Sometimes it just feels all wrong, like I’m a ghost and they can’t see me.
I guess I’d better make an effort to contact the living.
Note: This is a bit on the short side, but I’m pretty rusty at writing stories. The last one I wrote was almost a year ago! Yikes. Anyway, I don’t write stories about the Maxis characters much — my one Shady Bluff story is the exception — but after playing Simbil’s Goth family I got attached to Cassandra. She looked a bit unfortunate when she grew up, so with apologies to Simbil again, I edited her in CAS to make her look like more like the Sims 2 Cassandra (although I forgot to make her glasses black). I also wanted to mention that this is all based on gameplay and not posed — I don’t want to back myself into a corner like I did with The Francesca Diaries. So I have no real plot in mind — the story will take shape as I play. That means it may end up being a really lame story. Just a warning. ;-)
There is something about Cassandra, isn’t there? And lol, I wouldn’t worry. Consider this a challenge! It’s a good writing exercise. Besides, you get the most interesting gems thrown in with your stories!
Like the kid with the pith helmet. Ha! That’s so cute and such a thing a kid would actually do.
Yeah, he’s from a family I created to run around some of the new worlds I’ve downloaded. It’s too bad he’s already become a teen, because I liked the pith helmet, too. :-)
I though about the Francesca diaries while reading this. I like the clothes you put on Cassandra, and I wish we will see her parents soon. And Don Lothario !
Hopefully Cassandra will become different enough from Fran that it won’t be TOO similar! For some reason I just enjoy writing from a teen’s perspective. I guess I’m still a teen myself in some ways.
As for Don, since this version of the Goths won’t be moving to Pleasantview, I don’t know if Cassandra will ever meet him. Although it’d be fun to have the Riverview version of him move to Simsville…I have to be careful, though, I don’t want to plan out her life. :-)
So far I really like it, I like how you write and Cassandra is such a good character! Can’t wait to read more. :)
Thanks, Hannah! I’m glad you like it so far. :-)
You could never be lame :) It’s awesome to read a Jenba story again and I heartily agree about evolving out of gameplay. Enjoy!!
Thanks, EO!
I don’t mind lame. I just love the way you tell stories. :)
Aw, thanks, Ange. :)
Omg! Sims 1 Goths! I totally played them back when I played Living Large. Which is funny, cause I haven’t really touched Sims 2 Goths. Cassandra’s clothes totally resemble the old school girl outfit that she wears in the original. I think you have her personality spot on too! She seemed strange in my game lol.
I remember that when I did play them in Sims 1, I guess I wasn’t doing a good job at making them happy, because one of them looked at the Crying Clown painting and Sunny the Clown came by to visit….and I had no idea what this meant. Then I read online….he wasn’t going to go away or give them peace unless I did one of three things: make my sims happy despite Sunny only making them miserable, download some men in black sims to take him away, or burn the Crying Clown picture which kills Sunny. I ended up killing the clown…it is not possible for the Goths to be happy with those personality stats!
Heh, I totally remember the crying clown! Man, it was tough to get him to leave. My Goths in TS3 are always “mourning” at the tombstones, so there’s always sobbing going on. Kind of funny.
Teens are fun to write about. I like using them a lot too, for some reason.
Anyway, I didn’t like Cassandra in TS1 or TS2 but I do like your Cassandra! I’m feeling a little sorry for her! All alone on her birthday and so used to it that it doesn’t even make her sad. Poor girl.
Yeah, it’s funny because Cassandra is a Loner and really does like to be alone, but she has a wish to be Best Friends with Bella, so there is a yearning for some company there. I thought that was an interesting contrast, and it’s part of what made me want to write from her perspective. I just don’t want her to get too whiny. That’s no fun to read (or play!).
Your Cassandra is exactly like me! Too busy spending time inside my own warped little mind to do things like socialise! Nice update, although, now that you mention it, I miss the Francesca Diaries.
Heh, Scally, I’m like that, too. In my own little world most of the time. :-p
I like the idea of basing this story on gameplay Jen, you never know what the game might throw at you (and btw your ‘rusty’ writing is about 1 billion times better than what I could ever come up with!). I always feel sorry for cassandra, so it’s really great to see her get a chance to tell her story!
How autonomous do you let your sims be? I’m terrible, I really need to do an ISBI challenge or something because I feel the need to be directing my sims almost 100% of the time. I took a couple on vacation recently and it was a disaster. I was trying to control one exploring a tomb at the same time the other was off picking pomegranets, can you imagine it? Must… sit… on… hands…
LOL, Linda, I can totally relate to that! I have a hard time letting my Sims be autonomous, too. I’m a complete micro-manager most of the time. But I’m trying to step away from the mouse a bit because sometimes the most interesting things happen when Sims are allowed to do their own thing (and sometimes they just mourn at tombstones all day long :-p). With the Goths and Newbies I’m directing them quite a bit but I try to base it on their wishes, both promised and unpromised. In this update, Cassandra wanted to read and write a lot, so I had her do that (I don’t think they’ll write on their own). She also wanted to be best friends with her mom, but Bella and Cassandra never seemed to be in the same place at the same time, and so they never communicated. Maybe if I hadn’t been such an uber-dictator, they would have found a way.
Also, I think, at least for me, I’m so used to Sims 2 gameplay where they only have so many days of life, so I’m trying to get as much done as possible for them. But one thing I did in Simsville was move the age slider to “Long”. That way I don’t feel like I have to direct them to make the most efficient use of their time so much. They can be “free” to do what they want some of the time. It also gives more time for interesting gameplay things to occur. Because honestly most days are just routine. They need time to allow for more interaction, more exploring town, and weird wishes popping up.