#BnS101 – Five by Five (Household)

Entry for the Sims Build-n-Share Challenge #101

“I hate large spaces, they feel too, ummm big.” – Faith Tukulti

Agoraphobia affects about 1.7% of adults. Women are affected about twice as often as men. The condition often begins in early adulthood and becomes less common in old age. It is rare in children. The term “agoraphobia” is from Greek ἀγορά, agorá, meaning a “public square” and -φοβία, -phobia, meaning “fear.” Symptoms include fear and avoidance of places and situations that might cause feelings of panic, entrapment, helplessness, or embarrassment.

Like similar anxiety disorders, agoraphobia can be a reaction to a traumatic event – and the wooden stake Faith carries with her at all times suggests the source of her trauma. Showing vulnerability is one way to attract fanged stalkers, and as a result, Faith has carefully crafted a tough girl exterior to mask her naturally quiet and inquisitive nature and her feelings of insecurity.

Thus, the face she presents to the world says “hardcore.”

Faith quickly cultivated a mastery of vampire lore out of necessity, but she’s otherwise skilled like any independent, single, young person out on their own. She maintains an excellent level of fitness and well-being (including a fondness for hydrating with orange juice to stave off illness), and she’s quickly working her way up through skills that will help her survive on her own and manage her own home. She’s secretly afraid of thunderstorms, though she will occasionally step outside to yell choice words at the rain when it persists for hours or days and interrupts her exercise schedule.

While bland at a glance, Faith intentionally wears a lot of black as part of her crafted exterior, relying on its social connotations of undefinability and mystique to add to her hard-edged mask. This is also why she doesn’t go out of her way to hide her extensive tattoos; average people think twice when they see them, and very few of them know their deep meaning in spiritual and magical protection against creatures bound by night.

Home is where the heart is…or, if you’re just starting out and need some security, it’s where your head rests until your heart is settled. Faith’s still unsure about this idea of a whole house to herself on the first day, so she faces the wall while sleeping out of habit.

Now that she has peace and quiet, however, Faith can focus on her first love – learning.

Her own space means no more fights over the indoor temperature – she can set her thermostat wherever she wants it.

Washing dishes by hand might be more work than a dishwasher, but it also means the satisfaction of a job well-done.

The trees in Faith’s yard provide ample shelter from prying eyes, so she’s more than comfortable going outside to stretch in the mid-day sun.

But, when she’s had enough of being outside, the comforts of home let her pick up where she left off with her first passion.

Occasionally, Faith will take in some TV for entertainment rather than just skill-building. She is disappointed in the obvious set-up of most horror movies, but she enjoys laughing at athletes failing hardcore on the sports channel.

A clunky, basic computer might not look like much to most young people, but it’s all Faith needs to browse the web, order online, or learn more about topics of interest. When she’s in need of a mood boost, she does sometimes troll teh forums.