Fanon:Cuevas family

The Cuevas family is a family in SimVille. It consists of Thomas and Isabelle Cuevas, along with their four children: Julio, Garrett, Cheryl, and Evan. The family are recent immigrants to SimVille, having come from the shanty towns of a sprawling metropolis in an impoverished country.

Original MTS post
The Cuevas

One day during my Christmas break in December 2016, I was looking at my then-incomplete novel For my little brother. I really liked the characters in the novel, more than the story itself, perhaps, and because I was bored on my hands, I decided to recreate those characters in The Sims 2.

Or at least tried to! I'm not one to replicate appearances in The Sims, nor did I offer any descriptions of the main character or his family in the novel. But appearances weren't really on my mind, and I frequently recycled old Sim appearances anyways. What really mattered, at least to me, were the characters and their personalities.

So I created the Cuevas. The name was generated from a random name generator. It's not the last name of the main character in my novel, since I both wanted to 1) Recreate the same Sims in-game, and 2) Wanted to make them technically different Sims at the same time. Ugh. Perhaps I regret my decision. But the Sims have settled into SimVille quite nicely... kinda.



The Cuevas are recent immigrants to SimNation, having come from a large, crime-ridden city in an impoverished, developing country. The parents and their four children have all grown up in the slums, and the parents have always wanted to bring them a better future. The father worked hard, and eventually "hit big" (through intentionally unspecified means), making enough to move his family to SimVille (and why not buy a nice house to boot?). But the eldest son disapproves of the move, and the problems of a developed country like SimNation begin to dawn on them as they realize that the grass wasn't as green as they thought it was. Can the family stay together?

By the way, if you haven't read the novel yet, go ahead and check it out. It's free for everyone to view (and if Wattpad's not your thing, I also have a Google Docs version of the story here).

The Sims

Thomas Cuevas




 * Thomas hit big, and he spent much of the money getting his family to SimNation. Now that he's arrived, though, Julio started acting out, and he's beginning to doubt his decision.

Thomas is the father of the family. He worked as a labourer in shanty towns since the age of 12, having lost both of his parents to disease. He lived with six other boys inside an abandoned warehouse as squatters, and over the course of his adolescence saw most of them fall into a life of crime. He met Isabelle in a church, got married to her, and had four children. The new family he had to take care of motivated Thomas to find a way out of the old life he lived, and after many years, finally found it. He and his family flew to SimVille, and with Amar Newbie's help, he now has a solid job in the Adventurer career track. The body skills he picked up carrying heavy loads on the street certainly help with this, and though Thomas isn't in the best of health, he's happy that he's finally made it.

Well, not quite.



Thomas's oldest son, Julio, didn't approve of the move, and he's still angry that his parents forced him to leave his old friends behind. Thomas only wanted the best for his family, but Julio's not happy with him at all. The two used to be close, like father and son, but that bond is starting to become seriously tested.



In my novel, the father of the main character, Garrett, doesn't actually have a name. I never bothered to think of one for him, and I don't consider it necessary (after all, Garrett's only ten, and he obviously refers to his parents as mother and father, not their first names). I also didn't really have much of a backstory for him, other than the fact that he was a garbage scavenger. The one thing I really tried to emphasize, though, was the bond the father had with his eldest son (also named Julio). Both of them shared a close bond, to the exclusion of all the other family members. As such, the younger siblings never really had much of a bond with their father, causing them to form bonds with their mother and each other. I don't want to reveal any spoilers here, but perhaps Thomas and Julio are headed to disaster.

Isabelle Cuevas




 * Isabelle likes SimNation, but she still prefers her old life. When not looking at news back home, she's writing or painting a story.

Isabelle grew up in the slums as well. Her parents owned a food stall on the street, and every day she would help her parents out with running the business. Her real passion, however, is literature, and when she learned how to read and write for the first time in her life, she'd write for hours on end if she didn't have to go to school or work at the food stall. Her diary is filled with her experiences selling food on the street and life in the favelas. She now works in the Education career as a Teacher's Aide, but she still misses her old life.



In my novel, the mother of Garrett also doesn't have a name. Not much else is known about her other than the fact that she still takes care of what's left of her family even in the worst of times. Isabelle's made it this far, and she's still not done yet, but she not going to stop. She really wants to see her family prosper, or at least stick together.

Julio Cuevas




 * Julio wasn't exactly excited to come to SimVille; he was fine in the favela-like neighbourhoods where he used to live. He hopes to move back and see his old friends again.

Julio's a bit of a rougher face in the house; I would say the shanty towns have conditioned him fairly well for rough and tough city streets. Before the family left for SimVille, Julio had many connections around his old neighbourhood, and they had formed a sense of community there. He was fine in the slums; all he needed were his friends and his father's support. Julio was not happy about the move, however, as he lost contact with his buddies back home. The relationship between him and Thomas is starting to sour, and without a solid bond with his mother or his younger siblings, he fell into a life of crime. He doesn't feel attached to his family anymore...

On the other hand, Julio wins a few points from the community for kicking Serge's butt.



In my novel, Julio's mostly absent from the story, only appearing physically once in the first chapter. He joined a street gang and abandoned his family, though he inexplicably still comes home every once in a while, but always keeps to himself and snubs everybody during these "visits".

Garrett Cuevas




 * Garrett has always been protective of his younger brother Evan and sister Cheryl. When not playing with his siblings, he likes to ponder about life and pop bubble wrap.

Garrett is the second-born child of the family, and yes, I like Garrett best because of that. With Julio failing to play his role as the eldest sibling, Garrett has happily usurped him and plays that role for his two younger siblings. Garrett's also fairly close to his mother, but he doesn't see Thomas as a good fatherly figure. Every child needs a father; will Garrett ever get one?



In my novel, Garrett is the protagonist of the story, also second-born and one who takes on the role of the good, protective eldest sibling who lacks a good fatherly figure. I won't say much more, to avoid giving away any spoilers, but I will tell you that he does something incredible for his little brother. Also, Garrett in the novel is never described as ever having glasses, while Sim-version of Garrett does. I'll let the player use their imagination to think about why this might be the case.

Cheryl Cuevas




 * Cheryl has photographic memory. She remembered everyone within a six-block radius of their old home.

Cheryl's the most outgoing member of the Cuevas family, and everyone in their old neighbourhood knew that. Never one to shy away from social activities, the high population density in the slums were more of a blessing than a curse for her.

Cheryl misses her old home, but she's taken advantage of her new home in SimVille as an opportunity to make more friends — and to remember all of them! But the fun doesn't stop when all the guests go home; she gets along well with Garrett and her younger brother Evan, but not so much with Julio and Thomas.



Cheryl doesn't exist in my novel; this was a character I added in order to try to make the Cuevas totally not like the family I made in my novel. Given the fact that Isabelle's a family Sim, though, I don't think she minds having another mouth to feed.

Evan Cuevas

Yes, another Evan, but this one's cuter.




 * Evan has always enjoyed the protection of Garrett, but will that help him make choices independently?

Evan's the shiest of the Cuevas, but also the most playful to make up for it. Although Evan was still able to make friends back home in the slums, he mostly kept to himself and his family, preferring to stay with old faces rather than meeting new ones.

Unlike most of the other Cuevas, Evan had no problems with coming to SimVille. He's liking it so far, not having to live in a crowded, dilapidated building and not having to worry about high crime rates. The new house he gets to live in is his favourite part. He certainly does like space!



In my novel, Evan's also the youngest sibling in the family, and is the protagonist's favourite person. Again, I don't want to reveal too many spoilers, but the "little brother" part of the title refers to Evan specifically.

The House

Unlike most recent immigrants to SimVille, the Cuevas aren't living in a cramped apartment, but in a nice detached house. Thomas really wanted the kids to have more room, more than the old slum they used to live in, so he spent most of the money he made on their new home. Even Julio has to admit that it's better than their old dwelling.

The house is a premade, lot bin house that shipped with Nightlife (I think). It's a nice city townhouse that features a second-storey front door, walk-out basement, garage, and patio.



The ground floor is where the walk-out basement and the garage is located. Actually does save a lot of space. The basement houses the exercise machine, punching bags, treadmill, and TV with video gaming console.



Second floor is where the front door, kitchen, dining room, and study is. There's also a patio with tables and chairs that the family often uses. SimVille sees no winter, so unless it's raining it's always a nice evening to lounge on the porch.



Third floor is where all the bedrooms are located.



And the roof is, well, the roof.



A brief glimpse of life in the Cuevas family

The family wakes up at 6am, traditionally.





Well, except Julio. He's a teenager, though, so I excuse him for it, since I've been a teenager before and I am not an old man that yells at clouds... not yet, at least.



There are tables and chairs out on the patio right next to the kitchen, so my Sims will, by default, serve meals there. But I want Sims to eat indoors for breakfast, so in order to do that, I have to lock the doors to the patio...



...and the front door...



...and the ones in the walk out basement...



...oh, and the one leading into the garage too...



Only then will they serve the meal on the dining table indoors.



The family eats together, but Julio can't stand sitting at a table with his parents and his siblings, so he grabs a bowl and eats in the privacy of his room. The good news is that, since he's not bogged down by conversation, he's always the first to finish eating.



Isabelle works at the local school, so she gets to see her kids in the hallways... of course, that also means she must leave the house before her kids do. Early start times, long hours, low pay.



The kids go to school. Julio too, despite what you might expect. Thomas doesn't work until later that day, so he gets to relax a little...



...except that darned Serge dude drops by for a trash can kicking visit.



Julio gets home by 1. He has a job in the Criminal career, so he doesn't stay for long. Julio mostly has the job so he can get away from his family for a little bit longer.



Mom and the younger kids get home at 3. Mom is spent, so she either watches a movie or reads a book to cool off. Garrett and Cheryl fancy a game of catch.



Evan, meanwhile, dazzles himself with video games. Arcades in the favelas are pretty packed and popular. A game is the one thing seemingly powerless people can control, and for once they can escape the harsh realities of their life in a virtual environment.



The family eats dinner on the patio. It's a warm SimVille evening tonight. I'm sure you know where Julio is already...





Garrett, like Jaden Day, wants to be a good role model for his siblings, so he gets them all to wash the dishes. Thomas and Isabelle are pleased, unlike Cody, so that's definitely a plus.



Julio impresses himself in front of the mirror. If there's one person that has the most self-esteem in the family, it's probably him. He's more than ready to fly home any day now.



The house winds down. The parents like to hit the hay early. Garrett makes sure his siblings go to bed and tucks young Evan in. Once that's done, he often stays up and ponders a bit.



The house seems nice and quiet...



...except, of course, Julio, who seems to be sneaking out.





Julio is currently dating Carly Firebaum. Interestingly enough, he isn't aware that she's a Romance Sim and is juggling another relationship with someone else. For now, though, I guess they want to blow off some steam. Well, Julio, especially.



Looks like Julio got home safe and sound this time. He snuck back into the house through the side door.



Conclusion

Hope you enjoyed this! Sorry it took a bit longer than usual to get this out. Again, the story the characters are (mostly) based off of is called "For my little brother". You can read it on Wattpad or Google Docs.

Original post

Outtakes
The following images were cut from the final version of the forum post.