Chapter 01.005: Home

Chapter 01.004 || Gen 01 || Chapter 01.006

The mansion was absolutely massive, and breathtakingly beautiful. From the outside it had a modern feel, with its sleek design and lots of concrete and glass. The front door was on the second floor, and twin staircases led up to it.

As Ailsa made her way to the front door, she was quick to notice the wrap-around balcony. It had beautiful flowers planted directly into it, and some garden pots that Ailsa could plant her own flowers or other plants in.

The front entrance was very grand and beautiful, with a place to hang one’s coat and a seating area. There was beautiful artwork everywhere, and even a frame for a digital family portrait. Ailsa quickly uploaded a photo of herself up onto the family portrait before moving on to look at the rest of the mansion.

Across the hall from the front entryway was what appeared to be a memorial room. It had lots of altars for the dead, though none of them had any photos. Ailsa supposed it would be a handy room to have if her family remained in the mansion for generations to come.

Walking through the door, Ailsa stepped out onto the back of the wrap-around porch. The back of it had a telescope and some big planter boxes, as well as more flowers planted into the floor. She could also see some of a grand backyard as well, though she couldn’t see all of it.

Stepping back inside, Ailsa continued to explore her new home. The rest of the second floor consisted of pretty much nothing but bedrooms. Master bedrooms with walk-in closets and ensuite bathrooms. There were eight of them total on this floor, and Ailsa took the time to explore each one.

The walk-in closets and ensuite bathrooms were all identical. Each bathroom had a shower-tub combo, a fancy modern-style toilet and a sink. The closets all had wardrobes, vanity makeup tables, and a couple of laundry baskets.

The bedrooms were almost identical too. Each bedroom had a double bed, two nightstands, a bookcase, a rug, a dresser, a radio, a gaming computer, and a regular (albeit very expensive) computer. But there was one object in each one that was different. One bedroom had a gemology table, one had a flower arranging table, one had a fabrication station, one had a robotics workstation, one had a juice fizzing machine, one had a woodworking table, one had a candlemaking table, and one had an archaeology table.

Down on the first floor there were lots of different rooms. The first room Ailsa came across was a bathroom that looked pretty much identical to all the ensuite bathrooms, so she only gave it a quick look before moving on. Next to the bathroom was a photography studio. There was a camera set up on a tripod with a backdrop and lots of lighting. There was a clothing rack and a style board too, as well as what appeared to be a tattoo table.

Next door to the photography studio was a living room with the biggest TV that Ailsa had ever seen before in her entire life. Not that it had much competition. The living room also had a sofa, loveseat and living chairs to provide enough seating for seven people. There was a holiday decoration box, a holiday tree, a fancy buffet table with a fountain, an electric fireplace, some knitting and cross-stitch baskets, and a hot chocolate tray.

As Ailsa was starting to make her way out of the living room, she noticed a pet toy box in the corner. Ailsa didn’t have any pets yet, but perhaps one day she might get a cat or a dog. She’d always loved cats, but she also had dreams of owning a whippet and naming it Snippet. Snippet the Whippet. Smiling fondly at the thought, Ailsa continued her self-guided tour of the mansion.

The kitchen was next. It had a kotatsu table, a sleek modern style, and more kitchen appliances than she had ever seen in her life outside of an appliance store. She quickly grabbed the appliances and put them away to make space on the counters.

The kitchen led straight to the dining room, where a long table offered seats for a full house. Ailsa could imagine eating breakfast in the mornings at the warm, cozy kotatsu and then dinner as a family in the dining room. The dining room also had pet supplies, including a cat tree, two pet bowls, and a fish tank. And through the two doors to either side of the dining room were more bathrooms.

The next stop on Ailsa’s self-guided tour appeared to be a funeral room. There was even a coffin at the front of the room! Ailsa grimaced as she cautiously opened it. Phew! No bodies! What a relief! She shuddered as she closed the coffin again and hurried on to the next room.

Which was either a library or a study. There was a whole wall covered in bookcases from floor to ceiling, and more books than Ailsa could count. There was a pumpkin carving table, a sciency-smart looking machine that Ailsa was pretty sure was a chemical analyzer, and two things that looked like computers, but upon closer inspection were not. One was a research machine, while the other seemed to be a listening device for bugging people. In the center of the room was a massive microscope. Ailsa wasn’t sure who thought a giant microscope was better than a tabletop one, but she really hated it. Unfortunately, it was too big to get rid of easily.

Next up was a game room. Ailsa smiled when she saw all the fun activities. There was a pingpong table, a dartboard, a foosball table, an arcade machine, and two gaming mats. And just off the side was a combination trophy room and game closet. Ailsa could just imagine having game nights with her future family in this room.

Next door was an odd room. There wasn’t much of a theme to it, unlike the others. There were nectar racks, a nectar making machine, a bubble blower, a game table, a pottery wheel, and a kiln. Ailsa supposed this could be a rec room of sorts.

The next room made Ailsa squeal in excitement. A spa! It had massage tables and chairs and beautiful waterfalls. This room gave off a luxurious vibe. It was probably Ailsa’s favorite room so far! Plus, attached to it was a sauna and a mud bath room. And the pampering theme continued in the room next door: a zen room with yoga mats, meditation stools, and incense.

Next up was a gym, complete with a changing room and shower. The changing room even had some lockers and incense. Inside the shower room was a litter box for a cat, and just off the changing room was a laundry room with a vacuum and two each of laundry baskets, washing machines, and clothes dryers.

And that was the ground floor, so Ailsa made her way up to the third floor. The first thing she saw were two large sliding doors made of glass on either side of the house, revealing balconies. The one at the back of the house had a massive cupcake factory and some dining areas. The one at the front of the house had a bar, a dance floor, a wall stereo, and a dining area.

Next to the front balcony was a playroom. It had all the toys and activities that Ailsa had always wanted when she was a kid but never had. The soon-to-be mother smiled a bittersweet smile as she looked at them. At least her child wouldn’t have the childhood she had.

Next up was a music room. It contained a DJ booth, dance floor, grand piano, keyboard piano, pipe organ, karaoke machine, guitar, violin, and microphone. Every musical instrument Ailsa wanted to learn growing up.

Next up was the nursery. It was a simple room with plenty of space for newborns, infants, and toddlers. It was a shame it was illegal to have more than eight sims in a household, but at the rate the population of SimNation was growing, it was probably for the best.

Just past the nursery were two more sliding glass doors leading to balconies. These balconies were clearly made for toddlers to play outside safely. The front balcony had slides, a ball pit, and a kiddie pool, while the back one had a toddler jungle gym.

And then Ailsa came across the last two bedrooms. These ones were just like the second floor bedrooms, with one having a video station and drone, while the other had a music mixing table. Everything else about them were the same as the previous bedrooms that Ailsa had seen.

In between the bedrooms was a room that seemed to be a seance room. It took Ailsa a moment to realize it was directly above the memorial room. Was that intentional? Did the person who furnished this house think that the spirits of the dead would rise up through the floor to communicate with the living? Shaking her head, Ailsa continued on up the stairs.

The stairs led to a bowling alley. In the attic. A bowling alley in the attic. Who came up with that idea? Shouldn’t a bowling alley go on the ground floor? Well, Ailsa supposed there was no room on the ground floor. But this was ridiculous!

There was a door on either side of the bowling alley, leading to the rooftops. On one side, there was a playground for kids. It had a swingset, a pirate ship jungle gym, some monkey bars, and a basketball hoop. On the other side was a hot spring, a wishing well, a barbeque pit, a grill, and a dining area. On both sides there were also lots of flowers and grass, as well as some solar panels.

Ailsa was about to go back inside when she noticed a ladder leading up to the top roof. She made her way up it and discovered a rocket ship kit. How interesting! Not everyone could honestly claim they had access to a rocket ship, much less owned one of their own! Maybe Ailsa would see if she could work on it once her baby was in school.

Now it was time to check out the backyard. Ailsa made her way back inside, downstairs, and out onto the back porch. There was so much to see! There was a skating rink, a wedding area, a treehouse kit, a gazebo with musical instruments and microphones, a pool, a water garden, and an outdoor seance and yoga garden.

As Ailsa walked around the backyard, she noticed something past the seance garden. She walked around the mansion, through a beautiful flower garden, and across the front yard to see what it was.

It was a memorial garden, complete with a crypt and memorial cannons. There were no graves or plots though, and the crypt was empty. That coupled with the fact that the memorial room didn’t have any pictures reassured Ailsa that nobody had yet died here.

All in all, this really was a truly magnificent mansion. And if Geoffrey Landgraab really was giving it to Ailsa in exchange for her silence, well, perhaps it would be in her best interest to make sure nobody found out that Geoffrey had an affair.