Me?

Of the three base game 'hoods, Pleasantview is the easiest one to say what I did with it, because it's the one that I've played the least. I played one rotation there in 2014, about 15 months after I started playing Veronaville, and when I was having problems with my game, that I at first thought were corruption, but turned out to be a mod conflict. I was already an active poster here, and have Tarlia's version of Pleasantview (which includes Bella Goth as a townie). I had read lots about the Pleasantview Sims here on MTS, and I wanted to meet them for myself. If anything, I was a little in awe of these famous Sims. I introduced a couple of CAS families to help me find my way round this new (to me) neighbourhood.

I helped Daniel Pleasant and Kaylynn enjoy and maximise their time together. When Mary-Sue came home, Daniel, who barely left the bedroom, had woohoo with her too and all three of them were happy. As far as Mary-Sue was concerned, ignorance was bliss. I took a shine to the four teens -- Angela, Lilith, Dirk and Dustin -- and began what can only be a long slow process of reconciliation between the Pleasant girls. If these four can get it together, I'm sure they have it in their power to transform the future of the town. Dustin sold that pinball machine. He was "minding" it for Gordon. He told Gordon it was too "hot" to keep it any longer. But he paid Gordon only a fraction of what he really got for it, and the difference is enough to buy time for the Broke family. (Please don't tell Gordon that I told you this!)

I helped Don Lothario to have affairs with Nina, Dina, Kaylynn and Jan Tellerman, but, by opening a nightclub, and setting the criteria with the Visitor Controller, I made it a virtual certainty that Cassandra would see him with Nina. I wanted to protect her from what I was sure would be a disastrous marriage for her. For the same reason I left playing the Goth family till last. Despite her passionate affair with Don, Dina also got into a romantic relationship with Mortimer. However, unbeknown to him, Bella was back in town. When my CAS family were out on their first shopping outing, Alexander and Bella were also there. Alexander was looking at clothes that he might wear to Cassandra's wedding. Bella saw and recognised her son. She went up to him, introduced herself, and in one of the most the most heart-warming moments I've seen in the game, gave the boy she hadn't seen in years a family kiss. There and then young Alexander resolved to invite his mum to his big sister's wedding. (This was largely an autonomous interaction between uncontrolled Sims at a community lot. When I saw Bella looking at Alexander, I made her selectable. The "family kiss" interaction dropped out of her queue, but I put it back -- that's all that I did -- the rest was the game.) Nina and Dina haven't realised yet that Don is having affairs with both of them. There may be a day of reckoning when they find out. (That might be the reason I haven't yet returned to Pleasantview yet -- I don't know how I'll handle a blow-up between the sisters.)

When the day of the wedding came, there was no marriage. Having seen for herself what Don was really like, instead of marrying Don, Cassandra attacked him. Then, invited by Alexander, Bella arrived! Mortimer was delighted to see his long-lost wife, but had to go out into the street to meet Dina and put her off. He then had to ask Don to leave -- his continued presence in the house was simply adding complications they could all do without. In the end Mortimer and Bella got engaged and slept together. Bella moved in. And that's more or less how I left it. All the wedding stuff is still set up in the garden so that Bella and Mortimer can remarry -- probably the next day. Mortimer isn't sure what to do about Dina. He's a fair-minded man, and he knows Dina isn't to blame. It would have been better if they hadn't started a relationship, but they weren't to know. When someone is missing for years, you're bound to start assuming the worst. But "Missing, presumed dead" is not the same as "Dead", and it's always liable to cause complications when somebody who's been missing for years turns up again. I hope Bella is understanding about the situation Mortimer is in, and I'm sure he hopes the same. He is likely to offer Dina some sort of financial settlement; there are of course those who think that Dina is a gold-digger, and that's all she's ever wanted from the relationship, but I'm not so sure myself. Also what difference might it make if Mortimer finds out about Dina and Don?

I really must go back and play the 'hood again sometime. The whole Mortimer - Bella - Dina - Nina - Don thing will have to be dealt with one way or another. And it will be interesting to see how things turn out with the expected baby at Brandi's house. . . Assuming she's still pregnant, and hasn't somehow miscarried in all the years I've not been playing the place.

Personally I would have preferred Mortimer and Dina not to have started a relationship, but at heart I'm a "Free-Will-on" player, and it was clearly what they both wanted. As my Veronaville Sims have forcibly reminded me recently, trying to go against something that my Sims strongly want just doesn't seem to work. Not only do my Sims have minds of their own, . . . they've got very strong wills too! Woe betide me if I try to stand against them!! :lovestruc

Thank you for sharing your Pleasantview experiences, @AndrewGloria. I really like what you did with the characters. As it is one of my favorite 'hoods, I hope you will go back and continue your play there someday.

I wanted to reassure you a bit. In my current Pleasantview, there was indeed a gigantic fallout between Nina and Don/Dina when Nina found out about their affair. Nina was fine with Don seeing other people, but dating her twin sister was quite an offense. She cut them both out of her life and did not look back. Now she is married to Komei Tellerman, and she seems to have moved on and is very happy. Don is now living with Dina, and he took a chance and invited Nina to Dina's elder birthday party. She came! The two sisters spent a lot of time chatting and they were able to heal the rift between them, which made me very happy.

So yes, it may be messy and quite emotional, but it may be just the thing Nina needs to break away and make her own life. I know a lot of people like Nina and Don together, but for my part, Nina only seems to come into her own when she moves on from that relationship.

Nina and Komei?! In my Pleasantview Komei is married to Jan -- they're the Tellermans. But, in view of the things I've seen Jan doing in Don's rooftop hot tub, I wouldn't want to bet my shirt on that marriage lasting!

I know when Veronaville All-Stars play Pleasantview I'm always shouting for Veronaville, but I have to say Pleasantview is an interesting town. This got me to wondering what the Pleasantview team might be called. Gloria, who plays for the All-Stars, has just suggested to me "Pleasantview Plodders"!!

My Pleasantview residents are facing having to grow crops and get their own house built and themselves moved indoors before winter arrives as that would be a very ccold season and they are also wkring on getting a building raised at the service center lot before winter.The next few years could see a few ancestors of some Pleasantview families arriving like the Picaso family who are Caliente ancestors and the Caliente couple who are other ancestors.Their drama is likely to reovlve around getting ready for winter on arrival and struggling to survive in a new colonial settlement in the 17th century.

Ha ha, yes, Komei and Jan were married in my Pleasantview too, but Amin Sims was the one who took Jan away--basically right in front of Komei. Komei was mad about that for ages, but they are all friends now. Komei mellowed a lot as he got older. He and Nina make a surprisingly good couple, and Nina has never had the urge to see anyone else, although I think she flirted with Daniel a couple of times when Komei wasn't around. They own and run a gym together--Komei's business sense plus Nina's love of bossing people around on the treadmill as a physical trainer work well together.