A Measure of Things, Chapter 16

2. Hello there my dear readers, I must say you’re looking bright today.
Are you ready for chapter 16? I hope so because it’s coming right up!
….. right after the little usual re-cap, that is. Or should I call it a who is who?

3. Oka is the 1st Generation heir. She married Matthew Smith whom I early on
in this challenge dubbed Sad Old Guy, and together they had four children;
Litre, Pica, Picolo and Rundlet.
Sad Old Guy died before Oka turned elder and as a way of making it up to
her I let her resurrect him, though he came back somewhat worse for wear.
They are now enjoying some peace and quiet before the chosen 2nd
generation heir returns from Uni to take over the challenge.

4. Litre is the 2nd generation heir and because he bears a likeness to a certain famous
fictional wizard character Litre is now a Warlock. Unlike a certain famous fictional wizard
character Litre is not the nicest of sims and has thus gone over to the dark side.
Pica and Picolo are twins and Picolo is engaged to Tosha Go (ex-townie teen).
Lea and Byte are both children of spares. Lea is an only child and Byte has two younger
brothers; Bale and Bit.
Rundlet is the 2nd generation Bad Apple, who never really was so very bad. In fact she
is a very sweet Bad Apple.

5. Bushel is a 1st generation spare who married the ex-townie teen Meadow Thayer.
Bushel and Meadow have 3 sons, Byte (who is at Uni), Bale and Bit. Bale is actually at
Uni too, I just haven’t managed to get him into the Greek House yet.
Bushel and Meadows sons are virtual clones and all three have only 1 nice point each.

6. Ounce is also a 1st generation spare whom also married a
townie teen, Julie Young, and their only child is the beautiful
Lea who is currently at Uni with they other Pinch YAs.

7. Olf is the 1st generation Bad Apple and he has been a very
entertaining Bad Apple, so much so that I felt I owed him the pleasure
of outliving this OWBC, and to outlive it out simself style, as he is
married to Caffie who is a simself of one of my dear fellow simmers.
Olf and Caffie have one child, Chisel Jersey.

8. The end of chapter 15 saw Sad Old Guy get down on one decayed knee
and propose to Oka and now the two are ready to renew their vows.
This is where chapter 16 begins…

9. “My dear Oka, the first time we married you were so young and I couldn’t
believe my luck that you would have an old fellow like me, and now that
you have reached your silver years you still want me even though I am
not the man I used to be. My happiness is without bounds.”
“Oh Matthew, I will always love you no matter what age or what creature
you are. I can live with the decaying skin, the smelliness and the
meanness, I just can’t live without you.”

10. “There, that ought to do it, don’t you think Matthew? Shadey never
was any good at writing moving wedding vows.”
“Unnngggh.”
“I don’t understand why we didn’t get the blue rings of happiness
though, or the petals floating down… ”

11. “… or why our guests seem less than attentive…”

12. “… nor why none of them clapped when the wedding was over.”
Hm yes, I don’t understand that either, but Oka and Sad Old Guy definitely
did get married. I’m wondering if that evilly cackling heir in the corner there
might have something to do with it.
Litre might be trying to hide the fact that he now is a warlock by donning a
normal formal suit but that pointy hat is a dead a giveaway.

13. But we won’t let little things like that stand in the way of the
continuation of this chapter.
Litre, stop scowling at your uncle Ounce.

14. I’ll spare you the wedding dinner conversations, which for reasons
unknown kept returning to robbers and recycling, and go straight to the
end of the party which was a Roof Raiser thanks to Oka’s supreme
Grilled Cheese cooking skill.

15. “So what now my dear Oka? Do you want to retire to the bedroom for
the traditional finish of a wedding day?”
“I don’t know Matthew, the house is all empty… how about we celebrate
our wedding night right here on this sofa?”
Um, I think we’ll leave it to them and go and see how the Pinches at Uni
are getting on.

16. The second generation heir, Litre, is still one of the best gnome
fetchers here at Gry Greek House, though he is not the only one.

17. “Hey Rundlet, why are you following me?”
“Oh, I just felt like stealing Noggin back.”
“You can’t be! You are nowhere mean enough for that.”

18. “I know, but I’m a Bad Apple so I can do what I want.”
Our current number of Noggings is two.

19. Picolo and Byte are still enemies and though that it is somewhat
upsetting I don’t mind their fracas quite so much when they are in
their PJs. I mean, they are both pretty fit.
Moments after I took this picture Rundlet tickled Byte. I can’t figure
out if she is pretending to be ignorant of her brother and cousin's
hate for each other, or if she really is. Whichever the case she is a
great peacemaker.

20. A couple of new faces have been appearing regularly at Gry Greek
House. This is Bale (Byte’s younger brother) and Omar (simself of
Killerpenguin from Boolprop.com). They live together at a dorm at the
moment but will soon move in here.

21. Only moments after Byte had greeted them (and darkness had
suddenly descended) Omar surprised me by sprinting to the edge of the
lot. At first I thought he was wanting to escape the Pinches’ clutches...

22. …but it seems he was just very keen to “admire” Picolo. Hmm
Omar, I hope you realise that Picolo is already spoken for.
I don’t know why but it always cracks me up when sims stand
right in front of each other and wave the way we here see
Rundlet and Tosha do here.

23. Omar, the awesome being he is, takes it one step further by mixing his
thought bubbles and inadvertently gives Rundlet Tosha’s pigtails.

24. All in all, things are as always at Gry Greek house.

25. *mountainshade1 cancels “Visit Campus” and pizza disappears*

26. Rundlet, our Bad Apple, is so far doing alright at her exams, chances
are that she’ll manage all the way though Uni like her uncle Olf did.

27. She isn’t a very happy sim though, she is Romance aspiration
and she is getting no romance at all. Then I remembered that I
am actually allowed to give her 8 commands in 24 sim-hours so
the very next day I had her sister Pica call the Matchmaker.

28. Rundlet’s first interaction was to ask for blind date (Pica had
already greeted her). Then Rundlet asked for “Male” and gave
the Matchmaker the full whack of Simoleons.

29. Enter Kewin Piper. He is actually a sim which I made and
townified because all the simselves in Greenhill seemed to get
the same guy dropped for them, so Kewin here was meant as
simself fodder. But if Rundlet likes him, she can have him.
At this point I was waiting for the usual “Get introduced to” thing
to happen but Kewin just wandered inside like he didn’t know
what he was there for.

30. Thankfully Rundlet (and the Matchmaker) followed him inside
where they gave each other a little nod which I assume must be
the introduction part.

31. Before I could give Rundlet another command she decided to show
Kewin her chest pounding skills, and though Kewin looked a little
puzzled I think he liked what he saw.

32. Then I felt sufficiently brave as to direct Rundlet to “Wolf
Whistle” Kewin, and it went down a treat.

33. My last command to her was simply to “Chat” to Kewin. After that
she managed perfectly fine by herself.

34. Soon the two of them were seen heading upstairs.

35. And thanks to ACR they did what you probably already suspected.
But – that’s not quite the end of the story.

36. What!?! “Kinda boring”?! Geesh, how did I create such an dimwit?
The girl only gave you her *bleeping* virginity!

37. So yeah, the date wasn’t a success but Rundlet soon cheered
herself up by fetching yet another cheap television from the
campus. Thank goodness it wasn’t a pizza or I’d have had to wake
up on of the controllables to stop her eating it.
Note: According to the OWBC rules, “Beyond Cheesy” YAs are actually allowed
to eat other things than Grilled Cheese. I have chosen to enforce the “Beyond
Cheesy” rules here at Uni to make the Mini-challenge more challenging for me.

38. Rundlet wasn’t the only one to find love at Uni. Here we have
newly-moved-in Bale checking out an old friend of the family; fire
fighter Maura Simpson. He has two bolts for her it seems very
likely that they will marry once he finishes Uni.

39. But the most exiting development on the love front has to be Litre’s
finding that he has three bolts for Secret Society girl Nikki Wheeler,
and that’s without her possessing any of his turn-ons.

40. I’m telling you; they were not even at the friends level when they…

41. … well, as you see.

42. But this development does throw a spanner in the works. As he is
the heir and as I am doing the Nightlife Bonus, Litre is required to
have one Matchmaker date and to see it to completion.
Litre retired to his room to try and work out a solution. He loved
Nikki so much and the thought of having a date with another
person pained him very much.

43. “I sense your loneliness Mr. Pinch”.
“You’re sensing wrong then Bunny; I am not lonely. I am alone with a big
problem, but I don’t think a hug from you would help me in any way”
“You underestimate my abilities. Tell me what your problem is.”

44. “I am the heir to an OWBC and I have yet to have a matchmaker date
but I have already found true love. I simply can’t face having to have a
date with someone else knowing how much it might hurt my Nikki. I
am trapped between my duty to my family and my love for Nikki.”

45. “Wow, that’s a bummer.”
“See, I told you you wouldn’t be able to help.”

46. “I take it a hug is out of the question then?”

47. While Litre struggles with his thoughts, the other Pinches are
having a fun time with Roof Raiser toga parties and…

48. … beating each other up.

49. At least it seems Byte has gained a bit of respect for Tosha now (the sissy).
And yes Bale, I see you still hate the burglar who broke into your house 150
years ago. *eyeroll* Talk about holding a grudge man.

50. Do you feel this is getting old yet?
*mountainshade1 cancels “Visit Campus” and…

51. … Byte turns round because “Go to class” just appeared in his queue*
Huh, that was a new one. But umm Byte?.. I’m not sure your lecturer
will appreciate you bringing pizzas into the halls.

52. “I sense your loneliness Mr. Pinch.”

53. “When will you guys understand that I just want to be left alone?”
“But why? It’s not healthy for you to let your Social get so low.”
“I need space to think! I need time to figure out how to do my part as
heir to this challenge without hurting Nikki.”

54. “Have you asked her how she feels about it, Mr Pinch?”
“Well no, but what if she loses all respect for me for asking?”
“Does she know you are an OWBC heir?”
“N… I’m not sure. She might. We haven’t really spoken all that much.”
“Honesty is always the best way forwards Mr. Pinch, I suggest you two
have a good old-fashioned heart to heart.”

55. A good old-fashioned heart to heart it wasn’t quite, Litre went for the
more modern method of writing an e-mail to Nikki.

56. “Hm, an e-mail from Litre.”

57. “…..”

58. “Heh, what a silly boy.”

59. Dear Litre. My dear sweet Litre. I fully understand your obligations to
your family and I think it is very noble of you that you don’t just run away
from your responsibility. Though the thought of you having a date with a
complete stranger is unpleasant to me I am willing to accept it because
it is your duty to your family. The only request I have in this is that I can
be present during the date.

60. “Be present during the date? Unconventional, but I like it.”

61. Be here at noon tomorrow, that’s when I will call the Matchmaker.

62. Early the next morning Litre went upstairs to use the ReNuYuSenso Orb.
As this was already a kind of make-or-break day for him he might as well
get all the unpleasantries over and done with in one fell swoop.

63. As a Grilled Cheese sim Litre was now one step closer to taking
over the OWBC reigns from his mother.

64. “Thanks for coming Nikki, I feel much better having you here with me.”
“No worries, I’m just curious to see how you will deal with this.”

65. “Hello, I’d like a Blind Date, I think.”

66. “You think? With 218 Simoleons? What a waste of my time.”

67. “Anyway, what are you doing asking for Blind Date when this young lady
here is clearly very taken with you?”
“Oh, she is my girlfriend. She wanted to watch me have this date.”
“Indeed? Wonders never cease.”

68. “You know, I am in a good mind to stand on your date’s head for the
duration of the date, to spare her from your strange behaviour.”
“Oh alright, I’ll go in and write my Term Papers then.”
“Young man! I was joking! Stay here and greet your date.”

69. “But, she is an elder? And she hasn’t noticed me.”
Amy Harris: “Well well well, it would seem I have landed at
University. I wonder where my date is?”

70. Litre followed Amy inside and immediately cast a spell on her.
“Spiritus Poltrina!”
“Sorry young man, I didn’t quite catch that. Did you say that you’re my date?”

71. While Amy pranced around like a chicken, Litre and Nikki stopped what
they were doing in order to strongly disapprove of the Joshua tree.
Don’t ask me; I am deeply puzzled too.

72. Next Nikki kept Amy distracted while Litre cast his third spell.
(his second spell was the Corpus Fleshicus spell and though it’s not that
obvious, Amy is actually fat now)
“Heavus Ho!”

73. And suddenly Amy had an urgent appointment with toilet.

74. But the date wasn’t over yet.

75. Litre’s fourth spell on Amy was the Mellifera Attackum spell. Shame it
gave Rundlet such a fright. At this point Nikki felt completely
comfortable with the way Litre’s Blind Date is turning out.

76. “Oh no, you dreadful man; what are you going to do to me now?”
“Relax, I am just going to talk to you.”

77. Yes, another of my self-imposed rules is that the heir’s partner must enjoy
talking about Grilled Cheese, so why not try and see how Amy likes it.

78. “If you think that I would want to have a nice Grilled Cheese chat with you
after what you have just put me though, you have another think coming!”

79. “And by the way, I find you completely repulsive.”

80. So at this point I decided to leave Litre on free will for the remainder of the date.
What nasty intentions can he have, you may ask. What evil will he do to her next?

81. Sit down to an evil game of chess, that’s what.

82. “I am so glad this is over now, this is the lamest date I ever had.”
“Only ‘lamest’?”

83. “That’s the last time I’ll allow the Match Maker to drop me with a YA, I
never had a worse time. I hope the young man is heartily ashamed at
the way he treated me.”

84. ….
Somehow, I don’t think he is.

85. “Nikki, the date is over. The old lady has gone.”
“Oh good, I was starting to think I’d have to write this essay in one sitting.”

86. “So, Litre, how are you feeling?”
“A bit worried.”
“Worried? What are you worried about now?”
“That you won’t like me after I had this date.”

87. “Oh Litre, you’re my favourite silly boy, of course I still like you.
I like you very very much in fact.”

88. Shortly afterwards, thanks to ACR, the two lovebirds were seen
heading upstairs. Yes, it is safe to say that Nikki and Litre’s
relationship was not jeopardised by Litre’s date, the two are as
three bolt as ever.

89. Then, for a few days, life was calm as the YAs went about their normal
everyday activities. This however, was not to last.

90. It started out as a normal day.

91. “Rundlet, what are you doing?”
“I just found this funny round Grilled Cheese thing while I was
visiting campus. I’m starving so I’m taking it inside to eat.”
“Rundlet! You’ll be breaking the rules. Put it down and give me a
friendly hug. Now Rundlet!”

92. “Silly Litre, what’s wrong with trying something different for a change?”

93. “I couldn’t stop her Lea, she refused to interact with me. What is going
to happen now?”

94. “I don’t know Litre, perhaps Shadey will make her drop out of Uni.”

95. “I don’t want that to happen, she is getting on quite well for a Bad
Apple. Perhaps if we act quickly we can make her drop out of the
challenge but stay at Uni.”

96. “Rundlet, you have broken the rules and will have to leave Gry Greek
house, but if you’re quick you can get out of here before Shadey makes
you drop out of Uni altogether. That way you have a chance to work on
that silly LTW of yours and get through Uni with good grades.”
(Rundlet’s LTW is to WooHoo 20 sims)

97. “Wow, I get to be a controllable and have my own place?”
“Yes, but trust me, it isn’t going to be all sweetness and sunshine.”

98. “Don’t worry about Litre, he means well. Come and visit us here, will you?”
“Of course I will, I’ll be wanting to tell you all about my new life as a
controllable. Oh I am so excited! Who knew that round Grilled Cheese
could make me so happy?”

99. Byte: “Huh? What’s happening? Why are they all hugging Rundlet?”

100. “What’s this I hear? My sweet little cousin has rebelled?”
“I didn’t realise I was, but I am happy I did. Now I’ll get the chance
to have a good life just like our uncle Olf.”

101. “Heh, you did well Rundlet. Remember to give me a call if you need advice
with finding lovers, I’m quite the campus stud you know.”
“Really? I though all those girls were your study buddies.”
“Yeah, they’re all studying biology. Human biology, especially male.”
“I see, well perhaps if am lucky I’ll find guys who are studying female biology.”
“I’m sure you will Rundlet. Take care of yourself.”

102. And so Rundlet said farewell to the residents of Gry Greek house and
went away to create her own adventure as a controllable sim.
I will give you an update of her new life in chapter 17.

103. Oh yeah, that’s just too funny Lea.
*mountainshade1 cancels “Visit Campus” and pizza disappears*

104. Before I finish this chapter there is just one more thing I need to do:
Find out if Nikki will accept a talk of “Grilled Cheese” with Litre.

105. “Nikki, I don’t mind, but Shadey really wants to know if you are willing to
talk Grilled Cheese with me. What do you think? Does the idea repulse
you? Please be honest.”

106. “You’re being a silly boy again Litre, who in their right mind would find
the idea of Grilled Cheese repulsive? Personally I love Grilled Cheese.”

107. “You know, you just came one step closer to becoming Mrs Pinch.”
“I know, I can feel it.”
“You can feel it?”

108. Nikki is right, her and Litre are now engaged.

109. And that’s it! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and that you’ll return
when chapter 17 hits the streets. Hopefully it will include a bit from the
spares and the simselves, as well as how Rundlet gets on as a
controllable; I ran out of space for it in this update.
Thank you so much for reading, and thanks to the creators of the CC
you saw in this update.
Just a few quick out-takes for you on your way out:

110. “Mmm Auntie Caffie.”

111. “Hi Litre, like my new ear piercings?”

112. Sim-melt, doing it right.

113. “Old lady 12 o’clock getting attacked by bees.”
“Do we care bro?”
“Do we have 1 nice point each?”

114. “Do you mind Litre? We’re trying to watch TV here!”

115. *playing game with elderly aunt - 500 aspiration points - katching*.
(I always knew Byte had a soft spot somewhere)