1. Hello! Welcome to a very special crossover college chapter: OFB
Farmstand! Like all my (un)Officially Wacky Boolprop Challenge
specials, this Plot is taken from an opera by Gilbert & Sullivan.
Unlike the other Plots I have used, non-Savoyards* have a fighting
chance of recognizing this one. This chapter covers the first two
years of Uni for our (u)OWBC girls.
While the orchestra tunes up, letās meet the players.
*Savoyard, noun. A person who is enthusiastic and/or knowledgeable about the
operas of Gilbert & Sullivan.
2. Phoebe Shankel is the older of the two girls from my
(un)Officially Wacky Boolprop Challenge. She is named for a
character from The Yeomen of the Guard, which was set in an
Elizabethan prison. Because of that, she speaks in ātheesā and
āthous,ā which she correctly uses for a) family, b) close friends,
and c) people of lower social status. She also wears stripes or a
uniform, since that is what people wear in prison.
Phoebe arrived at Uni with all but two skills already maxed, and
decided to become a History major within 36 hours of setting foot
on campus.
3. Phoebeās immediate family
Rose Shankel, her younger sister, who arrived at Uni with roughly
half her skills maxed, and who became an Economics major at the
same time as Phoebe chose History. Rose is obsessed with Miss
Manners and with behaving like a āproper lady.ā
Leila Shankel, one of her older sisters. Leila works at the local
asylum and plans to become a fairy as soon as she saves enough
money to afford the surgery.
Old Adam Shankel, her father, whose brand of Wacky is
Victorianism.
Phoebe also has a mother, another older sister, a brother-in-law,
and a niece. (Not pictured.)
4. Phoebeās extended family, found in Already in Progress
Oakapple Couderc, Old Adamās brother and a Grilled Cheese
zombie.
Oliver Couderc, Oakappleās husband. His sister, Sally (not
pictured), used to babysit.
Chant Couderc, Oliver and Oakappleās grandson.
Chantās mother, the plantsim daughter of either Oakapple or
Oliver. (She wonāt say.) Chantās mother mostly wears green.
Chantās auntie, the plantsim daughter of either Oakapple or
Oliver. (She wonāt say either.) Chantās auntie mostly wears yellow.
Chantās mother and auntie have odd ideas about what constitutes a
good joke.
5. Phoebe and Rose have fairly uneventful, albeit productive, lives at
college. Mornings are for working on those few skills they hadnāt
topped out yet.
Phoebe specifically rolls Wants to gain skill points, Rose doesnāt.
6. Afternoons are for building badges.
Rose specifically rolls Wants to earn Flower Arranging and
Cosmetology badges; Phoebe doesnāt.
7. Evenings are for taking care of any needs that may have dropped
too low, making phone calls to stay in touch with friends and
family, and fulfilling any available Wants to keep their aspirations
up.
Here Phoebe takes care of her Comfort, Social, and Fun meters in
one go. (And the skill boost doesnāt hurt.)
8. Both girls go to class whenever the game tells them itās time. Since
their class bars are always fully open, thanks to their high skill
points in just about everything, they get 4.0s without even trying.
However, Rose actually rolls Wants to do homework every so
often, and I let her.
Homework is one of those things youāre Supposed To Do anyway.
9. They work out whenever the Coach comes by and yells at them,
although itās rather pointless in Phoebeās case, since she is fully Fit
and has maxed Body skill. Still, I guess itās good to stay in shape,
right?
10. Phoebe has also proved herself her fatherās daughter by going off
to steal back the gnome -- stolen almost a full generation ago --
twice in one night.
For those who came here from Already in Progress, Officially
Wacky Boolprop households need three plastic flamingos for each
person in the household and a gnome to guard them. Itās not
required in Uni, but I do it anyway, because itās fun.
11. True, the college boys do seem inclined to take unfair advantage of
the new hack I installed that allows kissing on the cheek as a non-
romantic interaction, but Iām sure that will settle down shortly.
I thought the hack would make a nice replacement for the āKiss
Kiss Darlingā interaction available in Apartment Life, since I have
a Mac and therefore canāt use that EP.
So all in all, this is a very ordinary college household, with nothing
interesting going on at all.
12. Right up to the point where Phoebe got struck by lightning on her
way home from class.
13. After taking care of food, the potty, and a bath, Phoebe enlisted
Rose to help with the olā Fun meter.
ROSE: Iām glad youāre okay, Phoebe.
PHOEBE: I thought for an instant that ātwas the end! Yet ātwas not
without its ill effects, for I am not half so pretty as I was. On the
morrow, I will hie me to our cousinās farm for eggplant.
ROSE: But youāre as pretty as ever, Phoebe! And donāt you need
oranges and cucumbers to make a Beauty Cocktail?
PHOEBE: Where I say āpretty,ā thou wouldst say āclever,ā
methinks. (fondly) Thouārt a loved and loving sister, but mayhap a
bit more study would do thee no harm.
14. CHANT: Can I help you?
PHOEBE: Aye, an it please you. I am looking for eggplants.
CHANT (cheerfully): Well, you wonāt find them in the fish
section. Iāll show you where they are.
PHOEBE: Your pardon, but are you the child of my cousin Fantine
or of my cousin Saigon?
CHANT: Yep. Why do you ask?
PHOEBE (abashed): Iāfaith, I know not whether to use the address
formal or the address familiar.
CHANT: I donāt mind if you want to be familiar with me.
Eggplants are right this way.
15. CHANT: These are the eggplants over here. Theyāre all
Mouthwatering, and the price is very reasonable. See anything you
like?
PHOEBE: (to herself) āSmeās breath, but I cannot answer as I
would wish! (aloud) Aye, and I thank, er, thee for thy aid.
CHANT: And I thank thee for thoust business! I hope thee enjoyest
the eggplants.
PHOEBE: (bursts out laughing) āsmeās eyes, but thy grammar is
creative indeed!
16. And from that auspicious beginning came a beautiful friendship.
PHOEBE: Nay! Say ātis not so!
PHOEBE: Aye, and then what?
PHOEBE: (laughs) O, Chant, I could talk with thee for hours!
17. SONG.
We sail the ocean blue,
And our saucy shipās a beauty;
Weāre sober men and true,
And attentive to our duty.
18. SONG.
When the balls whistle free
Oāer the bright blue sea,
We stand to our guns all day;
When at anchor we ride
On the Portsmouth tide,
Weāve plenty of time for play.
19. SONG.
Ahoy! Ahoy!
The balls whistle free
Ahoy! Ahoy!
Oāer the bright blue sea,
We stand to our guns, to our guns all day!*
* The āballsā in question are cannon balls -- get your mind out of the gutter!
Adapted from W. S. Gilbert, HMS Pinafore, act I, song 1. Available from
http://math.boisestate.edu/GaS/pinafore/web_opera/pin12.html; accessed 28
May 2012. The song is reprised in act I, song 6.
20. Of course, other stuff happened too. Phoebe nearly burned the
dorm down, for starters.
21. Not all the men in the dorm had that āKiss Kiss Darlingā thing
worked out of their systems yet.
22. It actually seemed at times to be bordering on sexual harassment,
and certainly some of the girls took it that way.
On the other hand, it builds up relationships great between Sims of
the same sex or Sims who already have a relationship.
25. PHOEBE: O, Leila! I could spend all of forever with him!
PHOEBE: Aye, he is the son of one, ātis true. Whether our nuncle
be his grandsire or nay, I cannot say. O, but Leila! Cannot love
oāercome all?
PHOEBE: Nay, āātis no true clone! Why, none in our family have
had yellow eyes, and the ears -- !
26. PHOEBE (in a very small voice): Canst thou not be happy for me
then, Leila? Canst thou not love him, for love of me?
PHOEBE: (sadly) I would have had thee for my maid of honor
today. Still, thou must do as thy heart dictates. (more firmly) And I
must follow the dictates of mine.
(Urgent squawking from the phone)
PHOEBE: Fare thee well, sweet sister.
27. There followed some frantic phone calls.
LEILA: Poppa, you have to do something! Heās Saigonās son! And
Saigon is Uncle Oakappleās daughter!
LEILA: Of course Iām sure! Saigon is the Vulcan-looking one and
Fantine is the elvish-looking one!
29. OLD ADAM: Hold! What is going on here?
PHOEBE: Poppa, I love him! And we are going to be married,
Poppa! Today!
OLD ADAM: Yes, I had heard that. But it will not happen. I forbid
it!
30. OLD ADAM: Iām very sorry to disparage a humble hard-working
farmer, but when you decide to marry a clone of your uncle -- !
Well, damme, I cannot condone that!
(Saigon and Fantine exchange glances -- the situation has ceased
to be amusing)
31. CHANTāS MOTHER, IN GREEN: Iām Fantine Couderc, Oliverās
daughter. You can tell by the pointy elf ears.
CHANTāS AUNTIE, IN YELLOW: Iām Saigon Shankel,
Oakappleās daughter. You can tell by the slanted Vulcan eyebrows.
CHANTāS MOTHER, FANTINE: Aunt Sally got our colors
backwards when we were little, but weāve been consistent since
then.
CHANTāS AUNTIE, SAIGON: So you can remember us that way
too: āFantineā rhymes with āgreen.ā
32. OLD ADAM: Then I am to understand that Saigon is Fantine and
Fantine is Saigon?
(Saigon and Fantine look at each other blankly)
FANTINE: Sure, if that helps. Chantās my son and heās no relation
to Phoebe.
OLD ADAM: Then what objection can I possibly have? I wish you
very happy, my daughter! (glares at Chant) If you hurt her in any
way, sir, your body will never be found.
CHANT: I figured.
33. OLD ADAM: But Phoebe, dearest, I still cannot countenance a
marriage today.
PHOEBE: O, Poppa -- !
OLD ADAM: No; I am resolved. Finish your schooling, and I shall
throw you a wedding party to set all wedding parties to shame --
but you must finish your education first. No daughter of mine will
drop out of school.
PHOEBE: Squeeeeeeeeee! O, Poppa, truly thou art the best father
in all the world!
34. PHOEBE: Rose! Rose! All is well! Chantās grandsire is not our
nuncle, and -- Why, Rose, what is wrong with thee?
35. ROSE (V.O.): Oh, Phoebe, we have to get out of here!
PHOEBE (V.O.): Why?
ROSE (V.O.): He -- In the lounge, he -- I didnāt want --
PHOEBE (V.O.) (much alarmed): Rose, what did he do?! Who
was he?! By Esmeās left arm, if he touched thee, I will feed that
reeky plume-plucked pigeon-egg his own liver and lights!
ROSE (V.O.): No, no, he didnāt touch me -- I wouldnāt let him. But
oh, Phoebe, I want to go somewhere that boys arenāt allowed!
(sniffles) Could we start a sorority, you and I?
36. PHOEBE (V.O.): If that is thy desire, then of course we shall. At
once! (mutters darkly) And a curse upon those who would dare
molest my little sister!
And that is how the second year of Uni ends, with Phoebe and
Rose starting a sorority that is strictly No Boys Allowed.
37. Which could be a something of a stumbling-blockā¦
DMITRI SANDERS, THE DARK-HAIRED ONE: Her name is
Rose Shankel, and I canāt wait to meet her!
Until next time, Happy Simming!
38. Notes from esmeiolanthe
This special chapter was based on HMS Pinafore, which is one of
Gilbert & Sullivanās most popular operas. I have played fast and
loose with the characters and relationships, and changed the barrier
from class to consanguinity, which is why I consider this a Plotette
rather than a real Plot. Thereās a cast list on the next slide for those
who are interested.
You may have noticed that Rose has formed some definite
opinions -- and you may remember the small matter of a marriage
arranged in childhood. Does that sound like another Plotette to
anybody else?
39. Captain Corcoran, Commander of H.M.S. Pinafore (comic
baritone): Split between Old Adam Shankel and Saigon Shankel
Ralph Rackstraw, Able Seaman (tenor): Split between Chant
Couderc and Fantine Couderc
Dick Deadeye, Able Seaman (bass-baritone): Leila Shankel
Josephine, The Captainās Daughter (soprano): Phoebe Shankel
Little Buttercup, A Portsmouth Bumboat Woman (contralto):
Split between Sally Couderc, Oliverās sister (in Chapter 41 of AiP),
Fantine Couderc and Saigon Shankel (in this chapter), and loyal
reader fuzzy_spork (in middle school)
All other characters were eliminated, as was the romantic subplot
between Captain Corcoran and Little Buttercup.
40. Just for the record, I have been consistent since Toddlerhood in
keeping Fantine in green and Saigon in yellow whenever possible.
(some outfits donāt have one color or the other as an option.) Sally
never actually switched them, because the game doesnāt allow that.
I took several clear shots of both Fantineās and Saigonās ears and
eyebrows over the past chapters. Unfortunately, Saigonās eyebrows
have become less slanted over time, but Fantineās (and Chantās)
ears havenāt changed. I also pointed out in the entreāacte that the
defining characteristic of Vulcans is the eyebrows.
Feel free to admire my cleverness. Or at least please donāt throw
things at me for not playing fair.