1. Hello! Welcome to the most recent (read: hideously overdue)
chapter of Already in Progress! For some reason, I had both
player’s block and writer’s block while playing this rotation. If I
have one, focusing on the other usually gets me through it, but with
both at once, I was stuck.
Perhaps I need less restrictive play-and-write rules for myself…
At any rate, I hope the finished chapter is not too much of a
disappointment. We will have a brief word from our sponsors, and
then we will return to our story.

2. Today’s episode of Goldberg & Silent Lady is brought to you by
Decat’s 3-to-2 conversions of Supernatural items. Because how
can you have a self-respecting occult ’hood without dusty bottles,
dustier books, and awesome brooms?
(in a rapid undertone) Set also includes an extra wand and a cash
register. Brooms do not really fly. Available from
http://decatsims2.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-sims-3-supernatural-
conversions.html. Decat is in no way aware of this endorsement.
And now, it’s on to our story: Already in Progress…

3. We open today’s chapter with photographic proof that Helen can
sleep through any video game you care to name.

4. Although since she Grew Up Well later that same day, she is now
too big to share a room with her fathers.
Normally, I wouldn’t show a pre-makeover picture of the birthday
girl, but I just wanted to point out that Helen actually looks as
though she could be a biological member of the family. See how
she and Celeste have the same chin?

5. Here is post-makeover Helen discussing her favorite topic with
Isaac.

6. And here is post-makeover Helen congratulating Frederic on his
latest promotion. [/picspam]
Frederic is climbing the Culinary ladder pretty quickly. It’s really
just a matter of putting in the time, as he has plenty of friends and
all but one skill point for Level Ten already.

7. The household is a very happy and functional one. Everyone gets
along with everyone else, and evenings are filled with family time.

8. Mostly.
ISAAC: Hey, what is up with you, pal? Can’t you see you’re
making my little girl cry?
GRIM REAPER: .orr..
ISAAC: Yeah, you better be!

9. EDGAR: Now, now. He’s just doing his job. No need to threaten
him.
GRIM REAPER: ..an. .ou, .r. .ill...
EDGAR: Oh, that’s okay. Emotions run high at times like these.
You have to make allowances. Do you have my drink?
GRIM REAPER: I .ur. .o.
EDGAR: And my suitcase?
GRIM REAPER: .igh. .ere, .r. .ill...
EDGAR: My goodness, you certainly are professional! Okay, I’m
ready.

10. Edgar “Eddie” Miller, 75 years old. Eddie was a genuinely Nice
guy… or, as loyal reader amylu1988 dubbed him, “Mr. Way-Too-
Nice.” Despite that, he wasn’t a pushover, finding ways to redirect
girls he wasn’t interested in to the guys who would make them
happy, and finding creative ways to resolve all kinds of conflicts.
(His greatest triumph was the conflict resolution session that netted
him his Heavenly Bride.) There were a lot of people whose lives
were improved with Eddie’s intervention, and I won’t be the only
one who misses him.
Rest in peace, Eddie.

11. Now, this picture may look a bit inappropriate -- celebrating
Eddie’s death?! -- but it’s actually not. This is just a picture of
grandmother-granddaughter bonding in the aftermath of loss, with
the two of them finding happiness in life again. It’s actually quite
sweet.
Also, I wanted to include it and couldn’t work it in any other way.

12. GOLDBERG
It’s a woohooing elf lord! The kind that owns people!
I don’t defend people like that. (drops the case on
SILENT LADY’S desk) Get rid of it.
SILENT LADY picks the case up and hands it back.
GOLDBERG
I told you, I don’t defend elf lords! (throws the
case back on SILENT LADY’S desk)
SILENT LADY picks up the case, opens the folder, and
hands it back.

13. The rotation started out well at Buttercup and Albert’s house. The
married couples were getting along very well, and their dates went
well.

14. Although I have no photographic proof, Penelope continued to do
well in school. Bribes for grades really do work. Since she’d been a
Child for a while, it was about time for an age transition.

15. The sparklies and the hula zombies showed up on the same day,
and in the most inaccessible location in the house. (Where else?)
Please accept my apologies for the Walls Down, and know that
Albert went to the next lifestage with a big smile on his face.

16. Albert (Adams) Shankel, 75 years old. The son of a hugely famous
rock star (Bertram McClellan), Albert chose a conservative life as
an act of rebellion. One wife, three children, and years of careful
attention to the tax code later, he couldn’t have been happier.
Albert was in the most separate stories of any of my Sims (three),
finally settling here in Already in Progress. He will be missed by
family and player alike, and the knowledge that his death occurred
at the optimum time for maximizing tax deductions will not help to
ease the loss.
Goodbye, Little Bertie.

17. I think we can all agree that Penny looks like her father, can’t we?
But those pigtails don’t work on her anymore.

18. Much better.
For those who are interested, Penny is a Popularity Sim, who likes
glasses and jewelry, but not brown hair.

19. If the weather permits, Penny does tai chi in the yard with
Buttercup every morning. If the weather doesn’t permit, they do tai
chi in the living room, but there isn’t as much space.
Penny and Buttercup are quite close, and I think it’s a good thing
for Buttercup. Of course a granddaughter can never replace a
husband, but strong interpersonal connections are a vital part of the
healing process.
Gee, that sounded pretentious. (quickly, in a bright tone) Moving
right along!

20. GOLDBERG
I read up on you, Mr. Brightdawn. You have the
highest “attrition rate” of anyone in the Eastern
Kingdom.
TIARNA
Yes, I do, don’t I. Funny how nobody asks to see the
bodies. Do you know, if people are willing to squash
up a bit, you can fit three to a coffin?

21. Amy and Bryan had a pleasant-but-completely-uneventful rotation.
You can tell because I actually managed to get exactly zero
pictures and had to go back into the game after the rotation ended
to take this one.
I sincerely apologize, and I will attempt to do better next time.

22. TIARNA
They can search now. It’s clear. Although it might
look good if my learned counsel were to persuade me
to cooperate. (raises an eyebrow) I do have a learned
counsel, don’t I, Mr. Goldberg?
GOLDBERG
You bet your ass.

23. At the Couderc household, Nicholas’s campaign for a sibling is
still in full swing.
NICHOLAS: Dada, I can has brudda or sissa?
CHANT: Mommy wants to help with that, kiddo, and it can take a
while.
NICHOLAS: Dada, I can has brudda or sissa now?
CHANT: Mommy and I just aren’t that fast, kiddo. I’m sorry.
NICHOLAS: Dada, you can gives brudda or sissa now? (puppy
dog eyes) Pwease?
CHANT: Oh, okay. How can I say no to puppy dog eyes?

24. Plantbabies are very easy to obtain, and granting but his son’s
request was the work of a moment for Chant.
CHANT: There you go, Nicholas. A little sister for you, at least for
a bit.
NICHOLAS (suspiciously): Sissa get big fast?
CHANT: Yep. That’s what plantsims do.
NICHOLAS: Want sissa same as Nico’as! Same same same!
CHANT: Okay, okay. Don’t yell!

25. So Chant dug around in the medicine cabinet and found some
(expired) Plantropic-C that Oliver has sensible bought to have on
hand in case he or Oakapple got turned into plantsims again, since
neither of them cared much for the experience.
Chant poured the stuff into a bottle and gave it to the new
plantbaby, who immediately became a new regular baby in
desperate need of a makeover.

26. Chant provided one, but that wasn’t enough to help bring Phoebe
around to the idea.
PHOEBE (V.O.): What hast thou done?

27. CHANT: Nicholas wanted a sister.
PHOEBE: Aye, and we were to give him one together. But no
more, now that thou hast introduced a cuckoo into the nest!
CHANT: Hey! She’s still my kid! Are you really saying that you’d
rather raise -- raise your sister’s kid than mine?
PHOEBE: At least a child of my sister’s would be blood to me!
But this -- ! Ah, thou hast betrayed me!

28. Now, as you may or may not know, Phoebe’s older sister Leila was
the playable in an asylum -- excuse me, a residential facility for
people with psychological differences -- challenge. She was
closing in on permaplat and her reward of real fairy wings.
Right up to the point where I lost the challenge.

29. After her death, two unidentified children were found in the asy --
er, residential facility, cared for only by the inma -- er, residents.
Mathematically speaking, for these children to belong to Phoebe’s
sister, she would have had to be pregnant a week previously.
She wasn’t.
Since Phoebe was connected to both the asy -- residential facility
and to her sorority sister Catherynne’s orphanage/trade school, she
took charge of the kids for a few hours.

30. Although Chant was actually in charge of handing the kids over,
since Phoebe cried until she was sick and then fell asleep.

31. I can’t say that the rest of the household was in too much better
shape for most of the rotation. Heavy rains led to a bumper crop of
weeds, Fantine stubbornly refused to gain any aspiration points
from Chant’s daughter…

32. …And Saigon’s wish for friends backfired, leading to a group of
strangers having a poke-and-slapfest in the garden.
Yes, that sounds dirtier than I meant it to. Sorry.

33. GOLDBERG
I see. Then he must have put on a wet suit and a
scuba mask and tunneled up through the ornamental
fish pond --
MACDEIRFÉAR THORNLEAF
He leased her for a year and a day.
GOLDBERG
No masks?
MACDEIRFÉAR THORNLEAF
Don’t be stupid.

34. Hi Sally! How’s it going?
SALLY: Arrrrrr -- she be going splendiferously, me hearty!
That’s good.
SALLY: Aye!
Er… Is there anything specific that’s going splediferously?
SALLY: Aye! We be coming up on the armada, full of Spanish
gold!
Er… I meant in real life?
SALLY: Oh, that.

35. SALLY (V.O): Well, there was the fire.
A fire?
SALLY (V.O.): Only a little kitchen one. The fire department came
and put it out in no time. And I like Cajun pancakes, so it was all
good.

36. SALLY (V.O.): And then there was the burglar.
A burglar?
SALLY (V.O.) (soothingly): Not a very good one. And we have an
alarm. I think she thought Gran still lived here.
Your grandmother the criminal mastermind?
SALLY (V.O.): Uh-huh. They used to do that sometimes, try to
break in to impress her. But like I said, we have a good alarm
system. The cops came right away.

37. SALLY (V.O.): I mean, they weren’t a whole lot of help, but they
did show up right away.
POLICE OFFICER: Excuse me, ma’am. Have you seen a burglar
around here?
The police officer wouldn’t have happened to be a Centowski,
would he?
SALLY (V.O.): I don’t know. Why?
No reason.

38. SALLY (V.O.): Oh! And Troy was planning to open a gym, but we
were a few thousand short on the liquid assets needed.
Do you want a loan?
SALLY (V.O.): No, thanks. Once I catch these Spanish galleons,
we’ll have all the gold we need. (laughs) Or, you know, we’ll just
wait until Troy’s next paycheck. Whichever comes first. But thank
you for the offer.

39. SKLAVENHÄNDLER
My system is better than that, Mr. Goldberg. I have
trolls recording a three hundred point list of
distinguishing characteristics of every body involved
in every trade, which is compared against a list of
the same characteristics for every owned body in the
Eastern Kingdom. More than seventy-five points of
similarity will trigger an automatic investigation,
with genetic sampling if a master sample is on file.
The body in question had such a sample in the
database, and there were no matches. It’s a very
comprehensive system, Mr. Goldberg. This is very big
business.

40. Now, the problem with running an orphanage is that sometimes
you have a lot of kids to take care of. And when three of them are
Toddlers, other things can get neglected. Unimportant things like
eating, sleeping, peeing, or taking pictures. Generally speaking,
only one adult in the household had a green energy bar at any given
time, and it usually wasn’t all that green.

41. Charlie is probably having the hardest time of it. She doesn’t
actually hate kids, but they’ve never been all that important to her,
and they don’t raise her Social meter much.
As you can see.

42. I have been thinking about playing a Toddler Mania challenge, but
now I’m not so sure. I mean, Lavinia, Trudy, and Paul are
adorabubble, but right now I’ve got a one-to-one ratio of adults to
Toddlers and it’s plenty hard enough. I don’t know if I can handle
a one-to-seven…

43. Poor Dongsool was rather neglected for most of the rotation. I’m
not even sure he’s learned to study yet, which for the child of a
college professor is kind of scandalous. He’s pretty good-natured
about it all, though, and frequently rolls up Wants to play with
Trudy.

44. He was able to take care of himself anyway (must be all those years
of fending for himself in Townie Limbo)…

45. …and he Grew Up Well on the last day of the rotation. He picked
out his own clothes, and I think they suit him well. He can keep
them.
Dongsool likes aliens who like to walk around in their underpants,
although not so much if they’re athletic. When someone works out
enough that they have a six-pack, they’re awfully uncomfortable to
hug.

46. GOLDBERG
Now, if this were a trial for criminal negligence of
Mr. Thornleaf’s property, then you could convict him.
Absolutely. If this were a civil trial for breach of
contract, nobody could be more guilty than my client,
because he cannot produce Lucinda as set forth in the
agreement. Corrupted files, if this were a trial for
being a slave-owning piece of censor blur, I would
urge you to convict without hesitation! But this is a
trial for theft, ladies and gentlemen of the jury,
and by the legal definition of theft my client is
clearly not a thief. I must therefore regretfully ask
you to acquit him. Thank you.

47. At Rose and Dmitri’s house, the bulk of the nighttime childcare has
fallen to Mommy lately, so while she took a much-deserved nap,
Daddy and Alexander went out to play in the snow. Alexander had
a fine time digging a little hole for himself, while Daddy showed
him how to build a snowman.

48. The end result came as a complete surprise to me. I’ve always
written Dmitri as a sweetie, and I’ve never seen him steal a paper,
kick a trash can, or prank anybody. After seeing this, I actually
checked his stats and sure enough: one Nice point. Go figure.

49. No matter who’s on childcare duty, though, Alexander will head
right for the kitty treats if left to his own devices for too long. He
doesn’t even have to be particularly hungry to go for it.
On a completely unrelated note, I’m not sure whose nose he has.
One thing’s for sure though: whether it’s Rose’s nose or Dmitri’s,
it will certainly be impressive!

50. And here, for your viewing pleasure, is a completely gratuitous
shot of Alexander being adorable while dancing to the stereo.

51. The flower shop is doing well enough that Dmitri was able to hire
an extra employee: the blonde girl now handles the restocking
while the redhead sells things. Both girls are college students, and I
have completely forgotten their names. The cashier is Jerry Ryan, a
townie, and he’s not improving all that much.
After finishing up with this household, I put in Pescado’s
smartercashier hack, which makes cash register badges easier to
earn. Normally, I would think of this as kind of cheaty, but I
worked retail for eight years in my youth, and registers just aren’t
that hard. And when you look at some of the kids working as
cashiers nowadays, well… It shouldn’t be that hard a badge, that’s
all. [/grumpy-old-lady rant]

52. At the end of the rotation, Alexander Grew Up into a handsome
young fellow. He looks an awful lot like his father, I think, but
there’s some Rose in there around the chin area.

53. Predictably, his Family Sim parents immediately (and
simultaneously) rolled the Want for Another Baby, Please. I told
them to Try for one, but then I had to go to the bathroom, so I left
them to it. When I got back, they were sleeping peacefully. I
suppose we’ll find out next time if they were successful or not.

54. GOLDBERG
I wonder if you could beat Sklavehändler’s database.
You’d need to cover up scars. And birthmarks. And get
ownership tataus removed. (yawns) Or altered. But
what would you do about your fingerprints?
SILENT LADY shrugs and holds out her hand for the
deposit slip. GOLDBERG hands it to her, glancing at
her palm has he does so. SILENT LADY leaves,
pointedly turning off the light. GOLDBERG looks at
his own palm and then just sits, thoughtful, in the
gathering dark.

55. Do you remember Phoebe’s sister Leila, who used to be in an asy --
a residential facility challenge? Of course you do. That was only a
few slides ago.
Okay then, do you remember Abhijeet, who used to informally
bunk in with Amy, Adam, and Bryan before moving out on his
own? Yes? Excellent.
Did you know that Leila and Abhijeet were dating?
Well, they were, and this file photo provides proof of it.

56. You may or may not have gathered from previous chapters that
Abhijeet is a brujo*: a man who can use magic. Needless to say, he
wasted no time in using a Bone Phone to resurrect his lady love.
Okay, so using a Bone Phone technically just requires a lot of
money… but they don’t sell the Phones in your local electronics
chain superstore. Or even in your local mom-and-pop electronics
boutique.
*Pronounced more-or-less like “BREW-hoe.” Because I like brujo better than
warlock, that’s why.

57. Abhijeet proposed, and was immediately accepted. Leila’s lifebar
was even reset to the beginning of the Adult lifestage, and if there
were nearly two game-weeks of retrograde amnesia that came
along with that, well… At least she doesn’t have two evil twins,
one of whom is a nun? And there’s not a portal to Hell in her
bedroom closet? And she didn’t offer her hand in marriage as
security on a loan from her own mother?*
*The first two options are actual plot points from modern American soap
operas. The third option is from The Marriage of Figaro by Mozart, a show
that amply demonstrates why they are called soap operas.

58. Leila’s first act (after accepting Abhijeet’s proposal and moving in,
of course) was to make friends with the most important figure in
the house.
LEILA: Well, aren’t you a handsome kitty cat?
CAT: Yes, I am, actually. Good of you to notice.*
LEILA: And he talks! How clever! (fumbles in her pocket) I think
I’ve got a fish-flavored treat for a clever cat somewhere in here…
CAT (to Abhijeet): Fine. I approve. You can keep her if you like.
*Abhijeet cast a spell on Cat so he could talk some time ago. Loneliness can
lead people to do some unusual things.

59. Leila’s motivation for working in the, ah, residential facility in the
first place was to earn enough money for body modification
surgery to get fairy wings implanted. But as it turns out, there’s
more than one advantage to having a brujo for a boyfriend.
LEILA: Squeeeeeeee! Fairy wings! Oh, Abhijeet, you’re the best
guy I could ever ask for!

60. It was a short rotation for this household: only one day, to get them
in sync with the rest of the ’hood. But that’s okay -- it was an
eventful day, and they deserve a nice little rest after all the events it
held. I think we’ll leave them to their rest.
Until next time, Happy Simming!

61. The Grim Reaper’s lines, in order:
Sorry.
Thank you, Mr. Miller.
I sure do.
Right here, Mr. Miller.

62. The Goldberg and Silent Lady sections used a lot of custom content and
poseboxes. All custom content is from Mod The Sims unless otherwise
indicated. In addition to the clutter advertised at the beginning and content
advertised in other episodes, I used:
“Timeless Office” set by jgwoods
Long drapes and recolors by KiaraRawks
“Hacked Coat Hook” by Mary-Lou and Numenor
“Custom Modeling Poses Hack V2 w/Facial Overlays” by decorgal21572
SimBlender by TwoJeffs, from Simbology
“Parts Posing BOX” by Tsukiko_L
Prop hack and accessories by Decorgal and Adele (a two-download set)
Police file folder 3to2 conversion by delonariel, from their LiveJournal