Tam Round 7: What You Really Want

I'm moving on to half-week updates (this one covers Monday-Friday) because of how many households I have now. Plus this post is freakishly long anyway.

Last week, Scott Tam retired after his second set of twins became adults. There were also lots of dates.

The Tam family is much reduced and currently includes:
Scott, Knowledge/Family elder, retired member of the Gamer career
Megan. Family/Knowledge elder with a library and a habit of writing bestselling novels
Derrial Tam, Pleasure/Family adult with a job in the Business career
Jayne, Family/Knowledge teen
Madchen the collie
Flicka the calico

Derrial kicks off the week by getting fired from his job due to a bad chance card. Fortunately Family/Pleasure Sims are unperturbed by such setbacks. Also, he manages to get another Field Sales Rep position immediately so it hardly even matters.

Jayne maxes Charisma, which I believe means that the Tam children have opened 6 Science and 6 Charisma positions with their skilling, but I am too lazy to check.

Meanwhile, Megan is netting more than $4000 per novel. This has her so happy she's walking on air!

The library has also struggled its way up to Rank 4. This is definitely something that would have worked better as an NPC community lot.

Derrial takes 2-bolter Melissa Fancey out on a date, but it's awkward because he can't stop thinking about Marylena Hamilton! He wants to become best friends and fall in love with her, even though their chemistry is lower.

 Later he and his dad discuss the issue over the plants. "Am I a rat if I'm not sure which girl I want to be with?" Derrial asks. "Just try to be honest about what you really want with both them and yourself," Scott advises. "Trying to keep your options open will only pollute both relationships."

Since Jayne is almost an adult, he opts for early enlistment in the military. (That is, accepts a job as a paintball attendant.)

His parents get him a treadmill as an early birthday present so he can start prepping for his new career.











Megan writes another bestseller.

Derrial gets promoted to Junior Executive. Again.

And Jayne gets promoted to Recruit Training Corps.

That evening he and his girlfriend Ivy become adults.

Jayne is very sure about what he wants, so he proposes to Ivy immediately out by the pond. She moves in with $10,000 but no job.

They immediately strike out on their own. We'll see them in their own place next round.













Megan writes her third bestseller of the week.

Since Derrial keeps rolling wants for Marylena, I send them out on a date. He rolls the want to dance and they promptly fall in love and spin wants to get engaged.

So Derrial gets down on one knee next to the pond in Serenity Park.

The next day, Thursday, Derrial nets a promotion to Executive. (Pushing his lifetime earnings past $10k,)

That night Marylena moves in, bringing $13,000 and a job as a Sous Chef, which she has to quit. Her LTW is Captain Hero anyway, which is more attainable.

Since Scott and Megan are old-fashioned, Marylena sleeps in the guest bedroom until the wedding.

Over breakfast Friday morning, the elder Tams get to know their new daughter-in-law. "It was so nice to raise our children in this big old house," Megan says pointedly. "It seems so empty now that they're grown."

Marylena takes the hint. "Oh, I love children," she shares. "I hope that once Derrial and I are married there will be children here again soon!"

Progress toward challenge:
New Sims: 2 (Ivy Copur, Marylena Hamilton)
Jobs opened: 1/7 Entertainment
Taxes: $2300/$65,920

Tam Week 5: Brotherly Love

Last week, the Tam family moved to a new house, flirted a little, and played chess a lot.

The Tam family currently includes:

Scott: Knowledge/Family elder with a job in the gamer track and an arcade

Megan: Family/Knowledge elder with several bestselling novels and a library

Simon: Family/Pleasure teen

River: Family/Knowledge teen

Malcolm: Pleasure/Popularity teen

Derrial: Pleasure/Family teen

Hoban: Popularity/Romance teen

Jayne: Child

I mostly keep the Tam children skilling when they're not at school--it keeps them busy so I don't have to keep track of them all. This is River maxing charisma.

And Jayne becomes the last Tam child to max logic.

Shortly thereafter, he grows up in Platinum. He is Family/Knowledge like his sister River and wants to reach his Golden Anniversary. He's turned on by fatness and gray hair but turned off by underwear. I guess he doesn't mind if his future wife gets old and flabby as long as she isn't immodest.

I take the opportunity to snap a family portrait in front of the fireplace in the living room. Scott and Megan are 57, Simon and River are 24, Malcolm and Derrial are 21, Hoban is 16, and Jayne is 12.

That night, Jayne engages in some very shy flirting with Ivy Copur the Younger. (They have two bolts.)

On Friday morning, the arcade reaches Rank 10! Another slot in business is opened.

His last afternoon as a teen, Simon gets himself into plat by going on a date with three-bolter Meadow Thayer. His brother Derrial found her first, but who can argue with three bolts? Meadow doesn't seem to be arguing, anyhow.

After Simon, River, and Orlando age up, I make Orlando selectable and we have an engagement out by the pond. River's parents are very pleased.

Meadow is going to grow up with the younger twins, so while he waits Simon keeps himself occupied with a job as a Field Sales Rep. We need some business districts to boost our Sim Multiplier!

And it's back to the skill grindstone for the younger kids--here's Malcolm maximizing Charisma.

I don't make them work all the time, though. Sometimes they have midnight snacks of spaghetti and wonder if there will be enough rain for their new garden.

While her kids run around in six different directions, Megan has been sitting quietly upstairs hammering out novels. She sells her eighth on Sunday morning, netting $3054. Hoban the Popularity Sim gets to the phone before she does.

On Sunday afternoon, Megan's neglected library finally reaches Rank 3, thanks to a "projector" in the meeting room.

And a few hours later, Simon is promoted to Junior Executive. And we all breathe a sigh of relief that he and River will be moving out Monday morning. Eight Sims in one house is just too many.

Progress toward challenge:

Jobs opened: 1/2 Business, 3 Entertainment, 3/6 Science

Taxes collected: $2750/$26,720

Tam Week 4: Fledglings

When we last visited the Tam family, they celebrated a lot of birthdays and got along well, since they all have plenty of nice points.

The Tam family now includes:
Scott, Knowledge/Family with a job in the Gamer track and an arcade that's doing very well
Megan, Family/Knowledge with no job (except taking care of six children) and a neglected library
Simon, a boy teen (Family/Pleasure)
River, a girl teen (Family/Knowledge; Simon's twin)
Malcolm, a boy child
Derrial, a boy child (Malcolm's twin)
Hoban, a boy child
Jayne, a boy toddler

The original Tam house was getting far too small, so Week 4 opens with the Tam family standing outside their new 4-bedroom, 3-bath farmhouse. (The design borrows very heavily from the red farmhouse that is Maxis premade--I built my own version because I wanted a bigger lot.)

They kind of don't have enough money for furniture, so it's off to the arcade, which reaches Rank 7 and then Rank 8.

I didn't catch the hearts in time to take a picture, but Benjamin Long and Ivy Copur spontaneously got a crush while hanging out at the arcade. (!!!) I can't resist true love, so I started making plans to give them playable status.

And it's time for more birthdays! Malcolm grows up first, becoming a Pleasure/Popularity teen with a dream of becoming a Game Designer. I guess we know who will inherit the arcade!

Malcolm finds redheads in swimsuits attractive and dislikes black hair. Obviously he got the memo about recessive genes.

Derrial follows right after his twin, becoming a Pleasure/Family teen with a dream of 50 1st dates. It's theoretically obtainable, but I am lazy so it probably won't happen.

Derrial is turned on by underwear and cleaning skill but turned off by costume makeup. I guess he fantasizes about a woman who cleans au naturel.

One day, River brings Orlando Centowski home from school. They talk about inane things like how much snow they might get that winter.

They have two bolts, so I allow them to engage in some very shy flirting.

When I tell River to say goodbye, she does so with a kiss! Apparently she lost her shyness quickly.

Derrial is considerably less shy with 2-bolter Meadow Thayer, who came home on the bus with Malcolm. It's a good thing Scott is occupied in the bathroom and doesn't notice all this kissing.

I have Simon check Meadow out, just for fun, and they have THREE bolts. *cue dramatic music*

Just before midnight on Tuesday, Megan finishes the novel she started while pregnant with Malcolm and Derrial. It nets $2099 in royalties.

Back at the arcade, Ben and Ivy are still being all spontaneously lovey-dovey.

Wednesday night, Jayne grows to child. No more diapers and bottles for this generation of Tams!

Early Friday morning, River maximizes her Logic skill, opening a slot in the Science career.

That afternoon, Scott is promoted to Real-Time Strategizer (and reaches the "earn $25,000" milestone).

And that evening, Megan sells her fourth novel and first bestseller for $3169

Saturday is another big day. First, the arcade reaches Rank 9.

Then the library gets a makeover and reaches Rank 1.

Next, Malcolm maxes his logic.

A few hours later, Simon does the same.

And that evening, Hoban becomes a teenager. He's Popularity/Romance with a goal of becoming a Rock God. He's turned on by women who can clean and wear perfume but turned off by gray hair.

On Sunday morning, Megan maximizes her Creativity skill, which does nothing for the challenge but is still cool.

Progress toward challenge:
Jobs opened: 3 Science
Taxes collected: $3850/$14,650