So, last time I wrote about the Haunted Cottage, I noted that Ryder had found the girl of his dreams and they tied the knot. I was – and still am – on the fence about whether to cure his vampirism. But more about that to come!
I also sold off all the excess furniture from the family storage. Then, I used a cheat to drop the household savings to 5,000 simoleons to make it a more challenging game.
Estrella Goth
Ryder’s wife’s name is Estrella and I honestly don’t even remember how they met. It wasn’t an intentional relationship because, again, I’m not looking to further vampire households in this neighborhood. But they got along so well, I couldn’t say no to it.
It seems Estrella was just one of the random townies. She doesn’t have a family tree or any real connections. No job, no household, no boyfriend – just a blank slate. But Ryder fell in love, so that’s how it went.
She enjoys taking care of the animals and I put her in charge of llama grooming – that way, she picks up all the wool. I’ve made her the family crafter, so she’s often knitting away and selling creations on Plopsy to support the family through that means of income.
She arrived in Ryder’s life with those odd glasses and orange and white striped shirt. I felt that set her apart, so I didn’t change her normal outfit when I did a makeover on the rest of her wardrobe.
One day, I had her knit a sweater for Ryder. I thought the blue looked snazzy and that it would be attractive on him. Only thing was, gifting your significant other a sweater apparently can curse the couple!
Well dang! I didn’t know that!
They both earned a cursed moodlet that lasts for 7 Sim days. So far, I’ve kept them from romantic interactions, but they’re under a constant state of fear because of it. They have 3 days left, and this year’s Love Day was a bust for them. 🙁
Vampire Secrets
In the meantime, I’m trying to remember how to play a vampire Sim because it’s been a while. I decided to have Ryder research vampire secrets, which isn’t all that easy to keep him focused on. He’s more of an outdoorsy Sim, so he gets bored of sitting inside and reading.
Learning vampire secrets turns out to be a great thing to do for a vampire. You pick up all sorts of skills like making plasma packs from frogs and fish – I’d forgotten about that – to eventually learning how to make a cure for vampirism at the final rank. Not to mention, you skill up as a vampire from it.
Being outdoorsy is a great thing for Ryder because that makes leveling fishing easy. There’s also a pond in the front yard, so I’ve begun to stock it with fish – that way he can just reel stuff in and make plasma packs from it any old time.
During the research process, I had to send Ryder to the library several times to use the computers there since the Haunted Cottage is off-grid. One day, he got a phone call while at the library and it made me squint.
Ryder’s Family Tree
Turns out, it was Ryder’s father calling him to ask to get together sometime.
I really didn’t look into Ryder’s background before I chose him to inherit the Cottage. So when his father called and wanted to see him, I invited the fellow on over the library there and then.
This guy with purple hair is Ryder’s dad.
At least they seem to get along.
But after this, I decided to check out Ryder’s family tree because… his father’s last name wasn’t “Goth.” And I found something peculiar.
There doesn’t appear to be an anyone tracing back to the Goth family in Ryder’s genealogy.
In fact, apparently the game doesn’t know who his mother was. She must have been Goth – which would make sense why Ryder has the last name since he’d likely been raised by his mother. Sadly, she seems to have been a victim of Sims culling.
I wish I could have known more about this family and how this came to be!
Why is it that Ryder has a half-brother? Both his father and his half-brother are vampires, so that’s where he gets that from. But here’s Ryder with his dark Goth hair and everyone on the other half of the family with bright purple!
So mysterious!
More Supernatural Fun
Anyhow!
While fishing, Ryder found a cowplant seed! Now this should be interesting! I played with cowplants in Sims 3, but not Sims 4 yet…
I mean, look at it. Isn’t that the cutest, most innocent thing ever?
For now.
Ryder and Lucas continue to build their friendship, as well. I looked over to see them outside doing this the other day, all on their own. Brings me warm fuzzies.
Though sometimes I still catch Lucas in the kitchen cooking, he overall seems to be a happier ghost now days. He might have just been lonely after all. Ryder doesn’t seem to mind keeping him company, and Lucas has been more helpful with gardening as well.
But now comes the big question. I’m thinking about Ryder and Estrella’s future. I’d have to look and see if Ryder might be the last surviving Goth in this game. If so… once they get out from under the sweater curse, I’m thinking about them having children. But as I said before, I don’t really want to further vampire family lines in this neighborhood.
Ryder is now fully leveled in Vampire Lore and has the ability to make the drink that can cure vampirisms. Still, it’s not been a terrible life for him as a vampire, and he’s starting to figure out how to survive without needing to feed off other Sims.
Still, should I change him back to a normal Sim and give him the normal life he never had?
{–Sims 4: The Time I Failed at Sims || Sims 4: The Haunted Cottage & The Goth Family Expansion–}