Marriage Material: Day One

~Ghibli Generation 1&2 Spoilers Afoot~

*Narrator voice*
In a world controlled by one writer, one girl has struggled to fight the fight against forced romance-
Yes but this world is controlled by me so yeah, you're going to get yourself a goddamn relationship babe. I feel it. It's going to happen!


Martha: Why does it have to be ME?
Shh, I'm trying to do my intro so people will actually find this interesting to read. Cry some other time. 
Hello, folks and welcome to Marriage Material. I've decided to make this a long running challenge for my Ghibli Legacy. Any non-heir who needs a spouse that struggles to find one will make their way onto the glorious Marriage Material!
Let's meet our Bachelorette, shall we?


Martha: Do I have to?
YUP!
This is Martha Ghibli! She's my generation two spare and twin sister to Lettie Ghibli, our current heiress! Martha is one of four children of Haru and Erick Ghibli, and she's always been a bit shy about love. She's also a Grand-Master Vampire.
Martha: No, my sister just dated the entire town before I could get to them.
Well, you're not wrong.
Martha: And has it ever occurred to you that I just don't want to date someone?
If that's the case then we'll end up with seven eliminated potential partners instead of six! Come now, let's go with the flow. Maybe you might even like one of them? Try for me?
Martha: Ok, fine. But if none of these work, you leave me alone for good.
Well I won't ever actively SEEK IT OUT again, ok?
Martha: Acceptable.


So, shall we try this again?


Here she is: Martha Ghibli - Vampire extraordinaire. Genius, Family Oriented, Neat, Good Manners, Mentally Gifted, Connections, Compassionate, Top-Notch Toddler, Physically Gifted, Mediator, Emotional Control, Socially Gifted, Responsible, Collector, and Gregarious. She has a fantastic reputation and unlike her sister she's managed to stay out of the spotlight!
She's got an adopted son named Kashira, a skill list that's a mile-long, and she's currently level 8 in her Political Career with a focus on Charity Work. Her hobbies include gardening and being forced to make dozens of flower arrangements because fuck that skill.
Martha: Yea... that's... me. Who's the potential... *chokes on words* um-argh-friend?
I'm so glad you asked!
Here are our contestants!
Martha: Please, god, if you exist... strike me down now.
Majnun: *laughing from another universe*
He's not on your side, trust me Martha. You're better off taking your chances with me.



The Partner Pool



Camilla Stockton: Bro, Family Oriented, Snob.
Successful Lineage

❥❥❥❥




Mason Fowler: Music Lover, Art Lover, Friendly
Big Happy Family

❥❥❥❥



Nathanial Grayson: Romantic, Snob, Cheerful.
Master Mixologist

❥❥❥❥



Jami Bower: Goofball, Dance Machine, Slob.
Leader of the Pack

❥❥❥❥



Kaylie Panero: Gloomy, Art Lover, Vegetarian.
Friend of the Animals

❥❥❥❥



Alan Havens: Cat Lover, Clumsy, Family Oriented
Master Actor

❥❥❥❥



Iris Chavarria: Bookworm, Kleptomaniac, Friendly.
Nerd Brain



The House




Beverly Hills Mansion: Romantic Aura, Gnomes, Private Dwelling.



Day One

We arrive in Del Sol Valley at the crack of dawn on Sunday morning. 7 starry-eyed hopefuls and 1 reluctant bachelorette enter their new abode.


Martha: *singing* All... by... myself....


Martha: *singing* Just wanna be... all... by... MYSELFFFF!


Martha: Whyyyyy?!


Soon after this, she can't handle it any longer and she heads to sob under the covers of a blanket.


Welp, we're off to a GREAT start folks! Also because this lot was once a Celebrity startup that left Nathan and Jami feeling miserable for the first two hours just out of the shame of it all.



As such, they both had quiet cries in their own closets. Nice way to get me acquainted with you... off to a great start!
After an hour or two of waiting to see what free will does, Martha finally dragged herself down to have a chat with some of the potential partners!


Alan breaks the ice first to chat with Martha, and soon she gets swarmed.



Despite me leaving them to chat without interfering, very little progress towards relationship increases are made.


Martha: Just grin and bear it.


Martha: Yes the weather outside is weather. I'm very good at small talk.


Despite this, everyone seems charmed and they flock around her and each other as they get accustomed to their new surroundings.


It's mostly idle chatter, though Alan does take a risk to tell a joke, and the risk was well-received.


Martha: The amount of people getting closer to my personal space bubble is beginning to concern me.


Martha: This is my I'm-so-not-in-pain smile.


Mason decided to probe at Kaylie, which was not appreciated.
Martha: Oh gods it's already begun. Go to my happy place. Go to my happy place.


Kaylie: Buzz off!
Mason: Hey, sorry! That's just how I say 'hello!'
I decided then it was time to start with Day 1's events: meet and greet!
Martha: Oh thank god.
So time for you to go meet and greet all the potential partners!
Martha: Oh god no...



Day One Activity: Meet and Greet

So folks from here, I'm having Martha do a 1 on 1 chat with each of the potential partners. She'll do two directed interactions, then I will leave them on free-will for 30 sim minutes to determine if any other interactions play out. After that, she'll move to the next potential partner.
Martha's first stop is Camilla!
The two interactions of today are Get to Know and Compliment Outfit.


The conversations were initiated one after the other in the order listed (get to know then compliment outfit), and both went over smoothly.


Camilla: You know what I hate?
Martha: ... Split peas? I'm so bad at guessing...


Camilla: Well, those too, but sunny weather! Buuu-lech!


Martha: Ah, yes, I have a rather cautious relationship at best with the great mother sun. It almost roasted me alive at my sister's wedding before I developed my resistance to it.
........ *Silence*
Martha: Good talk.
That's TIME!
Martha:

❥❥❥❥

Next on my list was Jami!


Jami earns herself silent bonus points for shutting off the movie the second Martha sat down so they could talk without distraction.
Jami: Does that mean I'll be ahead in the scores?
HA no, just saying that's a neato thing to do.
Jami: Drat.


Get to know and Compliment delivered and Jami rushes right in to deliver a gross joke.


Martha: Ooohhhhahahathat's really gross ok.


Martha: Recoiling and recovering from that, it seems we're about to be interrupted, has time been called yet?


Annnnnddd now it has. 
Martha: Ok, good talk, good talk.

❥❥❥❥

Since he was already on his way, the next person to get Martha's brief attention is Mason!


Mason: So glad I could interrupt and sneak on in!


Martha delivers her get to know and compliment.


Then they wasted most of the 30 minutes adjusting to "chat on the sofa" before Mason cut it early to go... do something else.


Martha: Aliens are really neat. AND he cut it early, saving me from having to! 
You found that strangely positive while I would've seen that as a gross negative. 
Martha: NEXT!

❥❥❥❥

Next up is Kaylie, and she was already on her way in!


Get to know and compliment were delivered.


Kaylie: Let me tell you about that weather I hate.
Martha: Oh me, oh my...


Martha: Well, I suppose I did open with that conversation about weather being weather, didn't I? Maybe I walked right into this trap.
*silence*
annnndddd time!
Martha: *sighs heavily* next.

❥❥❥❥

Martha had to move to the next room to meet up with Alan!


So she went off to deliver the get to know and the compliment...


Martha: Yes and well I love eating cupcakes so what about you, what do you like?
Iris (in background): *thinking* oh she likes cupcakes...


Martha: After all the silence I sat in, let's have a deep conversation, why the fuck not.
Well, whatever floats your boat love, but I'd love to see them being interested in you instead.
That's TIME! 
Martha: That one seemed to go faster. Maybe I should talk more... but that involves work I don't want to have to do. Next!

❥❥❥❥

Conveniently, the next on our lineup was the one right behind Alan, Nathanial


Martha delivers the get to know and compliment, then they waste time doing the cupid shuffle around the furniture.


Nathan: Well at least you're not garbage!
Martha: Yes I feel quite fortunate to not be in your eyes.
Martha then moved to sit down and Nathan ended the 30 minutes early by bailing mid-conversation, but not before...


Nathan: *encroaches on her personal space bubble*
Martha: Um-uh-excuse-me-what-are-you-doing?


Martha: You are really in my PSB. You need to take a whole holla step back, brother... though you are quite pretty from this angle.
Nathan: *carries on to the next room*


Martha: *deep sighing as she collects herself* yes... so... that... happened.
Traumatized? 
Martha: Just about. Please tell me we're almost done?
One left! Let's head there now!
Martha: Then can I have a plasma pack? I'm starving... and all that close... Personal-Space-Bubble encroaching has made me need a shower.

❥❥❥❥

Finally, last but not least, is Iris


Martha plunked down, happy to not be in the extremely-crowded guest hall. She fires up her usual get to know and compliment.


Martha: Yes so, I like cupcakes, why don't you tell me a bit about what you like?
Do you use that line for everyone?
Martha: It's hard to think of a fun-fact on the spot, ok?


Iris: I do like cupcakes! And reading, too!


Iris: You know I heard a very hilarious story about cupcakes, it all started when I found this pair of male underwear in my closet somehow-
Iris fired them off one right after the other:


It says "listen to Iris's question" but on her end it says "talk about the great STEAL" as part of her Klepto Trait...


*Also a note here that I have a wish locked for Iris, I'll get to that in a hot minute after we wrap up this section, so hang in there!* 


Martha: So you threw out the ring? Are you afraid of commitment or what?


Iris: No, just haven't found the right person. Maybe I will here?
Martha: Oh indeed... well how about that weather...?


Right after that, Iris cut and ran for the food.

❥❥❥❥

So Martha, you did it! You survived the first round of meet and greet! How do you feel? 


Martha: Oh, I got this! I totally got this!


Martha: There was no concern at all of anything going awry whatsoever.
Yes well, the Intimate Wish round is next.
Martha: Pardon?
The round where you invite some lucky sims into your bedroom with you?
Martha: I think I need a drink.




Intimate Wish Round

Alright so, periodically I'll be checking during events and interactions to see if the potential partners (or Martha!) roll wishes for Martha (or one of the PP, if it's Martha). I'll save each wish that I see relating to her and allow them a 1 on 1 time with some bonus conversational time with her due to it that will happen in her room after the main events are finished.
In this case, we've only got three sims who rolled wishes for Martha: Iris was the first, however her wish ended up being fulfilled (and I gave her extra time - if it wasn't obvious) during the meet and greet round.


Mason wanted to be funny with Martha.


And Camilla wanted to get to know Martha.


Martha got in her shower she felt she needed and then we set to work with round one: Camilla.

❥❥❥❥


Martha's suite is locked off to all members of the household except her. On these nights I briefly allow that one person entry.


I find Camilla's "Get to Know" interaction and let them have at it.


Camilla: Yes, you told me earlier that you liked cupcakes, I wanted to ask more about you. When did you start liking cupcakes?


Martha: Oh, when I was younger my dad would make cupcakes for everyone in the house and it always made the house smell so good. He used ingredients fresh from our garden too!


Martha: (contemplates starting a deep conversation with her)
Camilla: Gardens often have bugs in them, I don't like bugs!


Martha: Ha-ha-ha... yeah... me either... They're usually bad for the plants. *is a gardener at her house*
Martha: Ahem...
Oh, well I guess that's TIME.
Camilla: Thanks for talking with me!
Martha: Mhm, you too!

❥❥❥❥

Next up is Mason, but while we wait for him to cross this big-ass lot, Martha refreshes her energy with some dark meditation. 


Martha: *breathes in* why *breathes out* am I *breathes in* so bad *breathes out* at socialization.
Mason arrived and picked a seat with a view. 


Mason: Man this house really is cool!
When Martha came out to join him, I repeatedly clicked on her from him until the first funny option popped up on the social wheel: Tell a Funny Story!


Mason: and I told him he couldn't arrest me, I'd already arrested myself!
Martha: *laughs but suddenly gets up to go clean up the house* I'm sorry I'm bad at socialization!


Mason: Don't worry, I struggle with it too. Humans are different and hard to understand sometimes.
So with that, Mason saw himself out, and Martha was left alone in her suite.




Day One: Winding Down

So as the sun set on Del Sol Valley for our first day, it was time to lay Martha down for some hibernation and see how the chaos of the house unfolds.



I like the hibernation feature of Vampires. She'll rest in there and not cause me problems by popping around the lot, as she likes to. Meanwhile, I wanted to watch to see which of the potential partners might've figured out their own dilemma...
There's six other beds and seven sims who need them.
Some of those beds are high quality. Most of them are cheap. Those who are wise will stake out a nice bed quicker before they're all gone... or before all beds in general get full.


Camilla snatched one first, heading to bed just after nine.


Mason was next - wise to collect one right after Camilla.


Finally Alan snagged the last nice bed. It was around this time that everyone started doing the "to the bedroom" shuffle.


Iris found a cheap bed.


So did Kaylie.


One bed left and Jami and Nathan were both too busy ignoring it, hopping around from taken bed to taken bed.


...then they started playing dirty.


One by one, Nathan and Jami went around waking up the other potential partners from their sleep.



They're guilty and they know it.


Irony is, it looks like Jami's about to wake up Nathan, who just found himself a nice bed to sleep in... even though it was a cheap one.
Despite this, midnight hit, and thus the end of day one.




So every day I'll be keeping score on these spreadsheets you see in the link above. I have individual one for each days, which I will set to be the first one you see, and then all the days, which will (obviously) have spoilers. I'm calculating a score based off specific formulas tied to these topics:
Relationship percentage with Martha: This will be eyeballed and estimated to the best percent degree. (x.5 multiplier)
Times THEY wished for Martha: The amount of wishes for Martha they have will benefit them. (x.1 multiplier) 
Times MARTHA wished for THEM: While them wishing for her is all well in good, her wishing for them earns them more points and has more weight. (x.2 multiplier) 
Skill Points they've earned: Calculated at midnight, I count up however many skill points I see in each Sims' skill panel. Martha is a genius and I want her partner to be able to keep up with her skilling and intelligence-wise, ergo I'm giving a bonus to those who skill in their downtime! (x.1 multiplier)
Rank they placed during competitive activities: When I start doing activities beyond the first few days, they will be ranked from 1-7 and will earn points accordingly. Depending on the activity and their place will determine their multiplier (it will be outlined before each activity and will likely vary).
There are things that will count against them, too, such as: 
Times they faint due to lack of sleep, or pee themselves: As I tend to let Martha mostly on free reign in the Ghibli house, I need to trust that this person she's with will take care of themselves! I don't plan to keep Martha in my house under my gaze forever, so I need to know that she and her partner will not be starving, peeing, or fainting out in the world! ( x-.1 multiplier) 
Hours with hygiene in the red: So I factor this one for the same reason as the first listed penalty, only this one is based off however many hours this sim might stay smelly before showering. This means any point where I either see a green cloud of noxious gas on them, or their hygiene is red. (x-.1 per hour multiplier)
Mean interactions with Martha: This one is obvious, but a penalty for each mean interaction they do to Martha, just do really double down on me NOT wanting someone who'll mistreat her when they eventually move out the main house. Autonomous mean is NOT good. (x-.1 multiplier per interaction)
Romantic Interactions with anyone but Martha: Same as for the mean interactions. I don't want someone who'll run around on her. Point blank. (x-.1 multiplier per interaction)

So with these in mind, let's view the skill panels of Day One: 


Iris: 4


Mason: 2


Camilla: 2


Alan: 2


Kaylie: 1


Nathanial: 1


Jami: 1

Join us for more Marriage Material next time and see what  Day Two brings!

Comments

  1. I really liked this! Martha is a great reluctant bachelorette! I love her personality and awkwardness.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haha I swear Martha has the hidden Socially Awkward trait! I'm so glad you're enjoying it, it's been fun for me to write!

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