Extra - "We Need to Talk"

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June 2024

Ashley Pitts is 65; Ashley James (AJ) Pitts is 35;  Karen and Lynne Pitts are 2

In case you were wondering how Ashley's phone call to his son went....








"Hi, AJ, its me..."


"Oh, hi Dad...what's up?"
"I know you're probably busy but... this is kind of important.  We need to talk."
"Is something wrong?"
"No… I just want to know... are you happy?"
"Am I what?"
"Happy... you know, with work and everything..."


"Hang on, Dad, I can't hear you, one of the kids is in the kitchen cupboard.  PUT THAT DOWN AND STOP THE BANGING PLEASE!  Sorry, Dad, what were you saying?"

"I said, I just wanted to know if you were happy... with work and all, you know.  Because I know I kind of pushed you into being a doctor, well, if that's not what you want to do..."
"I'm cool with it.  You saved me from having to figure out a career for myself."
"But I just want you to know that if there is something else you want... I don't mind if you don't stick with medicine.  Really, I don’t.”


“Dad, are you ok?  Is there something wrong that you’re not telling me?.”
“I’m fine.  I’ve just been to see Kyle and it left me a little rattled, that’s all.”


 “Dad, I'm not going to off myself just because I don't have what it takes to make chief of staff like you did."
 “AJ!!”
“Well, that’s what this is about, isn’t it?”
"No, I just... What do you mean you don’t have what it takes?  If you’d only apply yourself a little more and - "


"STOP MAKING THAT POOR DOG YELP!"
"AJ, are you guys ok there?"
"Yeah, fine... Ana's late back from work and the kids are getting antsy... what were we saying?"
"About chief of staff... I think you have what it takes, if you just apply yourself."


"That's the thing, Dad.  When I'm at work, I'll give 100%.  110%, even.  But I'm not going to fight to get promotions, and I'm not going to spend all my time studying just to get to the top.  I'll do my job and I'll do it well, and if that by chance gets me promoted, fine, but that's what I mean when I say I don't have what it takes.  I'm not ambitious like you were."
"But are you happy?  Now, I mean.  With medicine."


"Yeah, Dad, I'm happy.  I’m just not passionate about it like you and grandma, but I’m happy.  So long as I can learn some stuff and still have time to watch tv, I’m happy with any job."
“So long as you’re sure…. “


“I’m fine, dad.  You can lose the misplaced paternal guilt thing, really.  If I wanted to blame you for something, it’d be for passing on your twin genes.  I love these guys but I could do to have had them a few years apart.”
“If you need – “


 “What the… No… STOP THAT!!.  Ugh, that’s disgusting!  I gotta go, Dad.  Ana’s just got back and the kids are eating the dog’s food, and – NO, GET OUT OF THAT TOILET!”
“Um… ok, bye son.  I love you.”
“Love you too, dad.  ‘Bye”.

-----

I could really imagine Ashley and AJ having a conversation like this... Ashley always comes across as kind of serious and anxious and worried about everything, and AJ is just like, whatever...  :)  I figured after all the serious stuff we were about due for a laugh here, and as a dig back through the old screenshots below demonstrates, I can always count on AJ to give me one...

My writer-relationship with AJ was similar to my writer-relationship with Kyle - AJ was going to follow nicely in his father's footsteps.  He'd be a knowledge sim like Dad, become a doctor, eventually chief of staff like Ashley, Ashley's mother and Ashley's grandfather... and someday he'd produce Ashley the 4th.  It was all the more important in his case as, until his half-brother Joshua came along, he was the only son of an only son... I was entirely depending on him to keep the Pitts name alive in my hood.  But, while Kyle at least tried to dutifully keep his family traditions alive, AJ confounded me at every turn.

It started out promising enough... he became a teen, we picked the knowledge aspiration, and he rolled a LTW of maxing 7 skills - great, not career related, so perfectly compatible with my plan to get him in to medicine.  He  went to college... and that's where things started going off-track.  I only let my college students study when they roll wants to study, or wants dependent on study (for example, make Dean's List)... so not everyone gets great marks, or even passes their semesters.  I've had many family or pleasure sims fail because they're just not interested... but with knowledge sims, its easy, right?

Wrong.  AJ distinguished himself by becoming the only knowledge sim I've had on academic probation!  Not that he minded... he was too distracted by his new girlfriend, Ana, to care.


He decided to focus on the more important task of trying to impress her father...


 AJ: My family has lots of money...


....I have lots of friends...


... you would
really suit a little makeup!
Ana's father: *likes this guy's ideas*

Meanwhile, in a professional capacity, Ashley met Ana's mother...

Ana's mother:  So, I hear your deadbeat son's on academic probation, and he wants to date my little girl...
Ashley:  *changes subject*  Weren't we here to talk about your pregnancy?

And, back at home during the semester break...


Lisa, AJ's half-sister: Isn't it cool to get good grades?
AJ:  *changes subject* 

Back at college, Ana was stirring up a little attention, too...


Alex: Hawt!!


AJ: Are you blind, geek-boy?  She's taken!


Ana:  Yeah... are you blind?

AJ defends Ana's honour...

 

Gardener: *wonders where all the dust is coming from*


That's gotta hurt... it won't be the last time, either...

Back then I still had the censor blur... which was probably a good thing...


*Thinks of a number of possible captions for this picture, most of them less than flattering for naked guy*


*Sigh*.  Bad idea to insult naked guy.


Unfortunately
losing fights was an experience he would become quite familiar with... although he seems to have won over Ana, even so...

The grades have improved, too, but... uh... AJ? What's that memory on the bottom line?

AJ: Hawt!!
Double standard, much?
Eventually they graduated, got married... and I waited for them to roll baby wants so I could get my Ashley the 4th. 
And waited.

I wasn't the only one... 
   
AJ's step-dad:  So, when are you going to give your mother a grandchild?


AJ:  I'd rather play tennis...

Just when I was getting seriously tempted to break my rule about sims only coming off ACR birth control and trying for babies when they are roll baby wants, it finally happened.  Wonderful...

... except that they had twin girls!!!  And they've never rolled baby wants again.  

*sigh*
Well, at least Joshua's growing up fast... :)

The last word here goes to Ashley, who's mid-life crisis manifested itself in the most inappropriate way, at AJ and Ana's wedding, no less...

.

... just, no!

Comments

  1. LOL! Wow, twins, what a way to start your family and those two seem to be very active.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ha, AJ seems like a great character! I love when you have a Sim who just seems to act so contradictory to their aspiration. I've never known a Knowledge Sim to even come close to flunking out of uni - I've had four flunk outs in Sullivan and they were Family, Romance, Popularity and Pleasure.

    ReplyDelete
  3. He really doesn't do what you expect does he? But as long as he's happy with his life, that's OK, I guess.
    It's hard to live up to expectation, but I think AJ is doing just fine, in his own way.
    Ashley has another son to carry on the familyname.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Awww! I'm glad to see they get each other :)

    I like AJ! I identify with him greatly! Not everybody is cut out to be all high-achieving, lol!

    And hey, well you know, there's really no reason they couldn't have had a girl carry on the name Ashley ;)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Apple, yeah, they are literally very active - high active personality points, so I figure they'd be in to everything.

    Carla, your flunk-outs are the usual ones I have trouble with... especially family sims, for some reason... I'm at the point where I'm almost opposed to sending them to college because I know they're not going to want to do anything remotely like studying.

    Tanja, you're right, he is doing ok in his own way... I think if he ever does reach the top of his career it'll be more because he just happened to get the right skill points and the right number of friends, than by any plan.

    Laura, lol, that's something to think about... all I need to carry on the last name as well, is for some daughter/granddaughter to have a son before she marries (or a daughter, who eventually does the same...)

    Ok, looks a bit more promising now... :)

    ReplyDelete

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