Cooke Week 2: Popularity

The third "CAS" Sim for Serenity Valley is Julien Cooke. I didn't make him, of course; I am lazy and so I decided to use Sims out of the Sim bin.

Julien is Popularity/Fortune with a LTW of 20 Best Friends. One of the first things he does, sadly, is quit his job as a fast food shift manager, since Culinary isn't open yet.

Also on his first day in Serenity Valley, Julien opens Cooke's Grocery, which is, you guessed it, a grocery store.

The first three customers are all women, but Julien doesn't find any of them particularly attractive.

However, he has two bolts for Jan Tellerman here. She's romance, but he's popularity, so it could work.

Julien goes home, where nothing remarkable happens, and then on Tuesday the store reaches Rank 1 thanks to Goopy here. Julien picks the cash prize.

Tuesday night, Julien asks Jan out on a date to Tam Arcade. It goes well.

On Wednesday the store reaches Rank 2.

Wednesday night, Julien invites Jan for a home date and ends up asking her to move in. She brings $3000 and a job as a hostess that she has to quit.

In the wee hours of Friday morning, the store reaches Rank 3.

A few hours later, Jan finds out that she is pregnant. She looks less than thrilled.

Later, Jan uses some of the prize money from Julien's store to open a club, thereby opening a position in the Slacker career. One wonders what the patrons think of a heavily pregnant woman tending the bar.

Early Sunday morning, the store reaches Rank 4. Note to BACC players: Grocery stores rank up REALLY REALLY FAST.

Julien and Jan would be perfectly happy never getting married, but I want the baby to carry on the Cooke name, so I force them under the arch as soon as Julien gets back from the store.

Juliette Cooke is born later that same morning.

Progress toward challenge:
Jobs opened: 1 Slacker
New community lots: 2
New Sims: 2
Taxes collected: $1300/$3900

Tam Week 2: Toddlermania

At the beginning of Week 2 we're right back with the Tam family, so I won't bother recapping.

Monday night, Megan is standing in her undecorated, dirty kitchen when she begins to suspect she is pregnant again. (Maybe I was rebelling against my real life fertility issues? Though right now I'm pretty okay with those, since my son is kicking me in the ribs as I type this.)

The next evening, Simon grows into a curly-haired toddler. (Megan, being a Family Sim, immediately rolls the want for another baby.) His personality is 10-6-2-7-8, amazing since born-in-game Sims are usually low on the nice points.

Then it's River's turn. (And Scott promptly rolls the want for another baby, even though Family is only his secondary aspiration.) Her personality is 10-2-10-4-9--she's even nicer than her brother!

That night, we have our first burglary in Serenity Valley! I'm pleased, since that's one step closer to a position in law enforcement and it's not like the Tams have much worth stealing anyway.

The Tams are not pleased.

Early Thursday afternoon, Megan goes into labor while Scott is at work and delivers TWIN BOYS all by herself--meet Malcolm and Derrial Tam!

You know you have too many small children when you're just happy that everyone's sleeping--even if one of the toddlers is slumped over in the corner because her parents didn't get to her in time.

Simon manages to master potty training just before his birthday. I have no idea why Megan is wearing her coat indoors--maybe they can't afford heat?

Scott arrives home from work in time to train River.

That evening, it's time for a QUADRUPLE BIRTHDAY!!!!

Simon grows up in platinum in the corner of the bedroom, watched by his father (not pictured). (Megan, sleeping in the neighboring bed, promptly rolls the want for another baby.)

River grows up in platinum as well.

Malcolm grows up looking like his brother Simon. His personality is a little different: 4-9-4-7-5. (He's practically mean compared to his older siblings!)

And finally it's Derrial's turn. His personality is 4-4-4-7-6.

The next morning Scott makes his first visit of the week to Tam Arcade. They have $0 in their bank account, River has no bed to sleep in, and tax day is coming up fast. 

In the wee hours of the next morning, Tam Arcade reaches Rank 3, earning a $10,000 reward!

The Tams use half of the money to renovate their house, which is starting to look a little homelike. With their financial worries eased, Megan and Scott decide to try for Baby #5.

On Sunday afternoon, Megan's third pregnancy is confirmed. Will she have twins again? Stay tuned to find out, but first we'll be heading to the home of our new CAS Sim of the week...








Progress toward challenge:
Burglaries: 1
New Sims: 2
Taxes collected: $600/$2600

Reynolds/Tam Week 1: Founding a city

Here is our foundress, Megan Reynolds, a Family/Knowledge Virgo with the lifetime want to marry off 6 children--attainable but time-consuming. (I have never actually finished this want.) She's meant to look a little bit like me, but not too much because I am lazy.

(Megan is my real first name; Reynolds is a fake name taken from the short-lived TV show Firefly.)

During her first 4 days in Serenity Valley, Megan apparently doesn't do anything noteworthy other than founding Serenity Library, the first community lot in town.

The opening of the library earns a CAS Sim. This is Scott Tam, who is supposed to look like my real-life husband. (I need to download a good CC ponytail for men. This is what Real Life Scott's hair looked like for most of college, but he's more of a hippie now. :))

(I noticed later on that at least one version of the BACC rules forbids the founder marrying a CAS Sim. But that's not in my rule set and my Simself would have been lonely without a Sim-Scott.)

Sim-Scott is a Knowledge/Family Aquarius with the lifetime want to become Head of SCIA. That's not likely to happen in his lifetime, so I decide he is going to be a game designer, to most closely match Real-Scott's job as a computer programmer. So we open Tam Arcade and buy all the necessary accessories.

Sim-Megan comes by on the welcome wagon, and she and Sim-Scott have two bolts! (They are both turned on by glasses; if Sim-Scott had not been in his pajamas they would have had three right off the bat.)

On Tuesday, Scott is promoted to Button Masher. He celebrates his success by inviting Megan over on a date.

Wednesday is Scott's day off, so he goes to Tam Arcade and brings it up to Rank 1. He chooses the $1000 cash prize, which doesn't go far. When he gets home he invites Megan over for another date.

On Thursday, a tired Scott is promoted to Trash Talker.

He invites Megan over for their third date in as many days and manages to pull off the triple crown of Sim-dates: First, engagement...

Then marriage...

And then a successful try-for-baby session.

The next day, Scott goes to work and Megan makes progress on her novel. She has begun to suspect that she is pregnant and babies need all sorts of things--like paint on the walls. ;)

On Sunday afternoon, Megan sells the novel for $1873--she's disappointed, but it's still something.

The royalties enable them to add on a porch with a chess table, so Scott can earn skills for his next promotion.

Meanwhile, Megan waddles over to Tam Aracade in the hopes of earning a few more simoleons.

The business reaches Rank 2, and the $3000 cash prize enables completion of the exterior--it's winter now, and customers won't throw stars if they freeze to death.

Scott gets promoted to Gold Farmer that night, padding their bank account even more.

Megan goes into labor early the next morning, while working on another novel.

Scott hears her cries for help and gets out of bed in time to assist in delivering TWINS--Simon and River Tam. And with that exciting news, we wrap up Week 1 in Serenity Valley.









Progress toward challenge:
New community lots: 2
New Sims: 2
Taxes collected: $2,000