#TPR: dreamer household

[ennysimmer]

The Dreamer household. Summer, rotation 1. Part 2: The heatwave

It started with Dirk losing his job over a stupid mistake he made. Without his salary, the bills quickly began piling up again. It got even worse when the heat wave struck Pleasantview. Darren had never experienced anything like it before. He didn't even have the energy to paint.

One night, when the heat was particularly bad, Darren and Dirk dozed off on the floor in Darren's bedroom. When Darren finally regained consciousness, almost a day later, Dirk had died from heatstroke.

Darren never really recovered after Dirk's death. For a while, he was ready to give up everything he had worked for. What was the point, anyway? But there was still something in him that forced him to continue on. He took out a loan so that he finally could pay the fee for registering his art gallery as a home business.

On the first day of fall, he was ready to start living his dream, but Darren felt no joy about his achievement. He felt nothing at all.

I made the very wise decision (or not...) to make things harder for myself when playing the Dreamer household. I usually sell some of the furniture and let Darren sell a few paintings to the void, and then they're set. This time, I decided I wouldn't let Darren sell anything until he had started a home business, which comes with a fee he didn't have the money to pay. This obviously turned out to be a challenge. If Dirk hadn't lost his job and the heat wave hadn't been this crazy, I think they would have made it, eventually. But the game had other plans. I was really close to restarting the game. It was so soon after Brandi's death, too T___T

A short summary of what happened in the Dreamer round: - Darren reached level 8 in painting - Darren started dating Florence Delarosa - Dirk got a part-time job and later got fired - The repo man visited them twice because of their unpaid bills - Dirk died T_T - Darren took out a loan to pay the fee to start a home business

[ennysimmer]

The Dreamer household. Summer, rotation 1. Part 1: Darren's dream

When Darren Dreamer's wife tragically passed away, he was left to raise their son alone.

He had dreamed about quitting his job in the business career for years. He wanted to focus on his passion in life, painting, but he wasn't sure he could while being a single parent. Eventually, he decided to try anyway. He had already lost the love of his life, he didn't want to give up on his dream, too. Unfortunately, his career as an artist didn't go as well as he had hoped.

Years later, the Dreamers barely had enough money to pay the bills, let alone invest in a cooling system to get them through the looming heat wave. Still, Darren wouldn't give up on his dream of becoming a renowned artist. He had already invested too much time and money in rebuilding their living room into an art gallery. He couldn't give up now. All he needed was to find the money to pay one last fee to start a home business, then everything would be fine. At least, that was what he told himself.

His son Dirk wasn't as optimistic as his father. He got a part-time job at the Goth Science Lab to help pay the bills.

For a while, things started looking up for the Dreamers. Thanks to Dirk's efforts at work, they were able to pay off most of the bills. Darren also started dating again. He met the lovely Florence Delarosa, a knowledge sim with a passion for creating, much like himself.

Darren was convinced his life was finally turning around, but sadly, it only got worse from there.

[ennysimmer]

"Hey, hey. Slow down, will you?" Ophelia told the boy who was now standing in her room. She had stayed awake, waiting. She'd had a bad feeling that something like this would happen tonight. There had been something about that man earlier... "What did my crazy aunt do this time?" "S-she said I was dead. My father...." He couldn't finish the sentence. Tears started streaming down his face. "I see," Ophelia gave him a sympathetic look. "Come here," she said softly and gave him a hug. "I'm sorry they did this to you."

This wasn't the first time she had to console a confused sim brought back from the dead. Damn these selfish sims, she thought. Why can't they just let the dead rest?

[ennysimmer]

Olive didn't have to repeat herself. As soon as the Grim Reaper appeared, Dirk was on his feet, pressing his back to the wall, as far away as he could possibly get from the hooded creature before them.

"My love," she said, turning her attention to Death himself. "It has been a long time." "Yes, too long. Will you stay with me tonight?" "You already know the answer to that question." Yes, she did know the answer. It had been the same the last eight times she asked him. "You have before," she pointed out, thinking about the son he had given her. "It will never happen again." She pressed her lips together. She wished he weren't so stubborn, but she wouldn't beg and plead. Instead, she said, "I hope you remember our agreement. I'm quickly running out of time." "You already know the price." "What about the one I brought you tonight?" She looked at the man who was now lying dead on the floor. "The trade? No. It doesn't count, as you already know." "You told me to bury ten sims in my garden." Olive knew she was being foolish, trying to bargain with the Grim Reaper. "I don't care about the ashes in your garden. I only care about the souls." He turned his attention to the man's body, and with one swing of his scythe, it was gone. "Our time is up." He turned his hooded face towards her again. "One more soul," he told her, then he was gone, too.

[ennysimmer]

The man let out a pained sound, gripping his throat. Olive was impressed. Getting your soul taken from you while still alive... She couldn't imagine a greater pain. Yet, he didn't scream.

"Dad?!" Dirk had finally found his voice, and there was panic in it. "Dad, what is happening?!" He turned his eyes to her. "Why aren't you doing something?! He is..." His voice trailed off. "He knew the price," she replied. "A life for a life." "I don't understand. I..." he whimpered. "Dad, please. Say something. Dad?"

The man fell to his knees. It was almost done. Soon, I will see my love again. She closed her eyes. She felt his presence before she saw him. A smile spread across her face.

"He is here," she said quietly. The boy didn't hear her over his own crying. He was on the floor, holding his dying father in his arms. "Let go of him, boy. The Grim Reaper is here to take him."

[ennysimmer]

"Very well," Olive said. "Follow me." She walked over to the kitchen and removed the magic seal from the door leading to her inner sanctum. She hadn't lied when she said she wasn't a witch, but that didn't mean she couldn't wield magic. Her powers were granted to her from the Grim Reaper himself, and they were far more useful than the silly spells the witches and warlocks were calling magic. She opened the door, letting the stranger inside. "The price for my service is 20,000 simoleons. I trust you have the money." He nodded. "It's in my bag. Take your share and leave the rest to my son." "His ashes?" "In the bag, too." "Just one more thing, I will keep your and your wife's remains with me." He frowned. "Why? My son should be able to bury his own family." "My reasons are my own. These are my terms." "Fine. I don't care, as long as you give my son his life back."

[ennysimmer]

Olive had never seen the man standing on her porch.

"Who are you?" she demanded. "I- Uhm. A-are you the witch?" "I'm no witch," she barked. "You have the nerve to insult me... Do you see me waving around a silly wand, huh?" The man didn't reply. He only stared at her with wide eyes. Olive sighed. "I deal with far greater powers..." "Y-you can bring the dead back to life, can't you?" "That is true," Olive cocked her head. "Are you in need of my services?" "I am," the man straightened his back, with a determined look on his face. "Very well," Olive stepped aside. "Welcome in."

[ennysimmer]

"Watcher," Dirk yelped, as a ghost came out of nowhere, levitated straight through the fridge, and disappeared through the wall.

I'll never get used to this, he thought as he started preparing breakfast. Ghosts weren't an uncommon sight, but you rarely shared a house with this many of them. Most people just buried their loved ones in a cemetery, but then again, Olive wasn't like most people.

A few minutes later, she came out of her bedroom, seemingly in a bad mood.

"Damned ghosts," she muttered to herself. She looked over at Dirk and grimaced. "Cereals again? Don't you have any imagination, boy?" "Sorry," he mumbled. He couldn't believe how Ophelia treated her aunt with such disregard. She was scary as hell. "My bathroom needs cleaning again. You can join me for breakfast after you're done." "Y-yes."

Dirk took his time cleaning. He would rather clean the toilet for hours than eat breakfast with Olive.

[ennysimmer]

Olive brought the man to the dining room and gestured for him to sit down at one end of the table. She sat down across from him and quietly waited for him to speak.

"Uhm.. I- I want you to bring back my son and... if possible, my wife," he finally said. "I don't know exactly how this works. If there are any limitations... My wife has been dead for quite some time." Olive pretended to look around the room. "Oh, but you seem to be lacking some of the payment required." "I have money, I-" "I'm not talking about money," she interrupted. "It will cost you a hefty sum, too, of course, but that's only for my part of the deal. The Grim Reaper doesn't deal in money." "Then what..." he trailed off. She could practically see his heart sinking as he came to the realization himself. "Yes," she smirked. "There is only one thing the Grim Reaper cares about, and that is souls. If you are to take one soul from him, you need to give him one in return. In your case, that would mean two souls, and unless you have hidden your offerings outside, I would say you are lacking two souls."

[ennysimmer]

Ophelia barely waited for the guests to leave before she set her plan in motion.

"Let's go," she said. "Go where?" "Just anywhere else. I'm an adult now. I can finally leave this house, and unless you want to stay here with my crazy aunt, I suggest you come with me."

Dirk didn't have to think twice about that, but he still worried about the consequences.

"Won't she just hunt us down?" "She has hated my presence ever since I moved here. I doubt she will care, but I'd rather not wait around until she returns from wherever she is to try this theory. We should just leave."

[ennysimmer]

"I'm sorry," Darren whispered, as he was watching Florence sleep. He hadn't slept at all. He rarely did anymore; too many thoughts spinning around in his head. She turned so she was facing him, but she was still fast asleep.

"I love you," he whispered to her before forcing himself to leave.

The walk back to his house only took him five minutes, and with each step, his determination grew. He had believed that Florence could fill the void in his chest caused by Dirk's death. But even as he had lain in bed and held her in his arms, he felt... nothing. He knew he loved her, and yet he felt nothing.

At least, he knew now what he had to do. If he was being honest, he had known it for weeks, ever since he learned about the witch in Strangetown. Maybe he had already made up his mind back then.

He packed his bag a week ago. Just in case he suddenly decided to leave. It only took him a minute to get it and lock the doors behind him. He looked at his house one last time, praying it wasn't the last time. Then he left Pleasantview.

[ennysimmer]

Though he still had a hard time believing his father was dead, and that he had been dead himself, Dirk was slowly starting to get back on his feet again. It was mostly at night, when he was trying to sleep, that the thoughts came.

He was thinking about Florence, the woman his father was dating before Dirk died. Were they still involved when his father left? Did she know why he left? She definitely didn't know he wouldn't come back.

He was also thinking about Lilith, wondering what she was doing now. How had she handled his death. He hoped she had been able to move on, maybe go to college, and finally leave her awful family behind.

The more he thought about his life and the sims he knew back in Pleasantview, the more he realized he had to go back.

But what about Ophelia?

Dirk closed his eyes, trying to calm his mind so he could finally fall asleep. He didn't have to make the decision right now.

[ennysimmer]

"Watcher, you're a good cook," Ophelia complimented Dirk one night.

A few more weeks had passed, and they had grown very close. Ophelia had continued to bring him to the pool as often as her aunt would allow.

"Thank you. My dad didn't like cooking, so I often helped him." Dirk had made a lot of progress in his grieving. Two weeks ago, he wouldn't have been able to mention his father without tearing up. Ophelia could tell he was still hurting, though. "It really shows," she said. "Perhaps you should look for a part-time job at a restaurant?"

She had already asked him if he wanted to come with her to school, but he refused. It was a shame a former A+ student would fail school, but she couldn't force him to go.

"I don't know..." Dirk stared down into his food. "Don't get me wrong, I love having you here, but you shouldn't stay in this place for too long. I know I'll be out of here as soon as I'm an adult." "Where would I go?" he whispered, avoiding looking at her. "I have nothing. No one. There's only you."

Ophelia wasn't prepared for the last part. There's only you. She supposed it could be true. His parents were both dead, and he had no other living family members, as far as she knew. He had never mentioned any friends, but she had a hard time believing there was no one missing him in Pleasantview.

"If you'd rather stay, that's okay, too," she finally said. "Thank you."

[ennysimmer]

Suddenly, green smoke appeared in the corner where she had spread the boy Dirk's ashes. The man suddenly stood up, slowly moving towards the smoke. "Stay back," Olive warned. He froze in place, his eyes focused on the shape of a body that was now growing before them.

Just as quickly as the smoke had appeared, it disappeared again, and before them stood now a teenage boy, perhaps a few years younger than Olive's niece. He was gasping for air, his chest heaving. It would take him a second to come to his senses. Unfortunately for his father, he didn't have a second. Olive intently watched the man. She could tell by the way his body had tensed that it had already begun.

"D-dad?" Dirk's voice was only a whisper. "Dad, what is happening? Where are we?"

His father closed his eyes and said nothing, unable to explain - unable to say even one last word to his son. Had Olive cared, she would have felt sorry for them. But there was only one thing on her mind. Soon, she would be standing in his presence again.

[ennysimmer]

A few days later, it was time to celebrate Ophelia's birthday. She was becoming an adult. Johnny was there, too, but he barely spoke to Dirk, who was very confused. He tried his best to enjoy the celebration regardless.

Olive was nowhere to be seen. Ophelia was pretty sure that her aunt wasn't even aware it was her birthday today.

[ennysimmer]

As Dirk left the store, he ran into a teenage boy his age. Ophelia had described her boyfriend, Johnny Smith, enough for Dirk to recognize it was him.

"What are you staring at?" Johnny asked and glared at him. "I'm not staring." "Whatever," Johnny muttered and then left the store.

What the hell was his problem?