The seasons change. Notice the lack of mesh on Racquel's shirt. Also, new rugs. Spooky!
For Josie, a shirt with sleeves, for once, and also pants!
Eh, I tried.
Good thing that one's just for practice!
"The house looks great, grandpa," Josie says, "but why do you have the same wallpaper in each room?"
Answer: I was lazy. They'll deal.
Marlin's been teaching Ida to play piano since they bought this fancy grand, but it's not long before he gets distracted and wanders off to take selfies with his father-in-law.
You're cute, Marlin, but it would help if you actually looked at the camera...
See? Told ya.
Just like the old days. The living room is pretty empty, which makes it perfect for dancing.
Suddenly, a shout is heard from the dining room. "Was that Grandpa?!" Josie cries in alarm.
"That you, Josie? Don't watch!"
Too late. Alex is gone. Even Cheech, the puppy, is devastated.
Ida wanders off, seemingly in shock. Her dad lived so long, it seemed as though he would never die...
Marlin and Josie just hold each other.
"Is it okay if I stay here, Dad?" Josie sniffs. "I just... you know, my roommate... I don't know if I'm up to socializing with people who aren't family..."
Her father pats her on the back. "Of course," he says, his voice thick with grief. "Stay."
Marlin performs a song in Alexander's honor. He'd really come to love the old man, after living with him for so long. The house will seem so empty with him gone.
Meanwhile, back at home...
Racquel tries to think of what she's eaten today that could have caused her to become ill. Nothing comes to mind, and Josie hasn't been around making Racquel try her lousy drinks, so...
Shit. Damn. Shit!
Racquel puts her hand to her forehead, feeling faint. She's had a few of her friends at the foster home become pregnant at a young age, and she pretty much knows the signs. Although it's not a sure thing, Racquel has a terrible bad feeling that she is indeed pregnant.
Soon afterwards, she feels herself start to grow. Before long, only maternity clothes fit her.
Well, shit, she thinks. Where the hell are we going to fit a crib?
Calling Rolando.
"I don't know! ....No... Yeah... Yes, god damn it! No, I know... Okay. Yeah. Bye." It's decided that the kid should stay with Racquel; Rolando's apartment is much smaller, and his behavior can be a bit erratic around kids. Well, around everyone, actually, although Racquel wouldn't say it to his face. Rolando has the Insane trait.
Josie finally comes home after staying at her parents's for several days. She's in a bit of a funk, because only hours after her grandfather died someone started a rumor that she was digging through people's trash cans, and she spent a lot of money on legal fees that amounted to nothing. Also, her grandfather died.
The two women have a pretty good time using each other to complain about their problems. "I can't believe I'm fucking pregnant," Racquel grouses. "God damn. I can't be a mother, I have a career! Shit." Apparently Racquel gets even more foul-mouthed when she's pregnant.
Racquel calls up her boss, who has informed her that she has been put on leave. "That's unacceptable," she says over the phone. "No baby is going to stop me from going into work! I have a reputation to uphold!"
Theodore sighs on the other end of the phone. "Maybe we should do this in person," he says.
"The thing, Racquel, is that no one wants to see a pregnant woman act. Even in pregnant woman roles, we don't use women who are actually pregnant. It brings up a lot of legality issues that we just don't like to deal with."
Racquel hates sucking up, and she hates pleading, so it's difficult to keep the sneer off her face as she practically begs for her job.
"Let me do behind-the-scenes work, then! I know how to use a camera, put me behind one and when the thing is born I'll go back to the acting, okay? What do you say?"
"It doesn't work that way. Do you even have a resume? Have you ever done camera work before? I didn't think so. And after your pregnancy is over, well... let's just say, there are a lot of five-star celebrities that have joined the business. The focus is off of you, and has been for a while. I don't know if I'm even going to be allowed to take you back after you've had the baby."
"Wait a minute. Am I getting fired right now?"
Theodore looks guilty. "Look, the best I can do is to try and argue your case to the higher-ups on the board, but it really doesn't look good for you. Actually, camera work wasn't a bad idea, if you can drum up some kind of resume we'll see if we can get you a part-time spot as a cameraman."
Racquel is flabbergasted. She had only mentioned the camera thing as something to do before she could go back to acting. She doesn't want to be a full-time cameraman, though! But after some thinking, she realizes that she hasn't got another option. She absolutely can't get fired, and maybe if she sticks around the set long enough they'll realize they need her back.
"I have a camera, but it doesn't take videos. If I take some good pictures, will you let me stay on?" she pleads, wincing at every other word.
To her relief, Theodore agrees. She doesn't think she can handle any more groveling.
She makes it up to herself by allowing herself to plot Theodore Lum's death in fifteen different ways.
"I guess this means you won't be able to help me get into acting," Josie comments. "It's okay, though, I rather like mixing." Racquel just scowls and orders her to pose for the camera.
Racquel's first photographs:
It's harder than it looks!
On Spooky Day, the girls plan a costume party. It's been a while since either of them had a chance to have a little fun.
Candy!
Who is this cowplant and why doesn't he have feet? "Who are you?" Josie asks, but receives no answer.
Rolando tries to feel if the baby is a boy or a girl. "Gross, get away from my stomach," Racquel snits, feeling bloated and grouchy.
Ida and Marlin flirt with each other for most of the party.
Two wieners and... a magician?
Oh, it's Jonesy. Poor guy.
Racquel notices that one of the wieners is her (former?) boss, so she goes up to him to show off some of the photos she's taken. She thinks they might just be good enough for him...
"Yeah..." Theodore says, flipping through the photos. "These are all pretty bad. I'm sorry, but we really can't take you back. It's for the best, really."
Racquel flips out. She can take a bit of groveling, but when someone acts like a self-important jackass they definitely deserve a smackdown. "Fine!" she shouts when she's done cursing him out and insulting his family, "I'll just sell the photos myself! People would love to buy something photographed by the famous Racquel Rocket! I am an artist, you know!"
Everyone keeps a wide berth from Racquel for the rest of the night.
It's been a while since Jonesy and Josie last saw each other. They catch up and flirt shamelessly in front of all the guests.
He has purple eyes, Josie notices.
And then...
"Aaaaargh!" Racquel groans. "Rolando! My stomach..."
Rolando yawns. "Are you tired, too? God, I'm tired. You wanna come back to my place and have a nap or something?"
"No! Rolando, get your shit together! I'm in labor!"
"Oh!!! Oh, that!" They rush off together to the hospital.
Inside, the party rages on. Josie performs on the piano, as has become customary.
And there's lots of dancing.
Josie shows her support by watching her dad perform out on the terrace, even though it's raining.
And finally, when almost everyone has left, Josie and Jonesy find a moment to themselves.
And Racquel comes home with her newborn baby boy, Tony Rocket.
"All right, kid, I gave you life, the least you can give me in return is a lollipop. Hand it over, little guy."
Racquel doesn't care that there's a bowl full of candy on the table - she specifically wants the one her son is holding. And that's what makes her evil.
Long after the party ends, three wieners continue to rock out. Inside their rooms, the girls sleep peacefully with their beaus.
---------------
Notes -
Racquel's favorite word is "shit."
And Tony is the first boy to be born into my household in this game!! He's not a Hand, though...
So anyway yeah, Racquel's career completely glitched out. She absolutely refused to go to work. I tried everything, including but not limited to: resetting her, resetting the pictures backlot, having her quit and rejoin, replacing the pictures backlot with one from the bin, bulldozing the pictures backlot and placing a new one elsewhere and having her join there, moving her to the library and back again, etc, etc, etc. Nothing worked. So I re-rolled and got Freelance Photographer. So, okay. I'm a little bit bummed, and it sets us back w/r/t the perfect careers roll, but it's all okay. I think.
Also, I've never had Grim come to my party before. I was really excited about it! That's him in the cow plant costume, which explains the lack of feet, and speech, and invitation.
Another also: I finally managed to get Shanti's urn back. It took forever and a half, and about half a dozen saves, because I did it after Alex's death, and every time I traveled I would lose one or the other of them. Even if I didn't bring Alex's urn with me, or put it in family inventory, it would disappear. So frustrating! Eventually it worked though, thank god. Whew. If you're interested, Alex lived to 136 days. That's almost a full year longer than Shanti lived! I'm really floored by how long he lasted. Freak of nature... *choking back a sob*
Alex and Marlin's selfie was really cute! RIP Alexander.
ReplyDeleteRaquel is grouchy when pregnant, lol. She had good reason, though. That sucks that the career glitched out. :(