Week 2, Part 5: Broke (TPC)
Jan. 9th, 2016 04:51 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lakewood_bacc
Welcome back to Lakewood! This is the fifth and final part of week 2, where we get a new household started. Meet Brandi Broke, who just moved in via the Curious household. Say hello, Brandi!
Brandi: "Umm... hello!"
Right, then. As is traditional for a Lakewood household, also this one will have a subchallenge. And perhaps by the background you might have guessed what that challenge is. Anyone?
If you guessed "a Trailer Park Challenge", then you were correct! You get a virtual cookie. In case you don't already know the rules and would like to, you can read them here.
So that would be Brandi's fancy trailer on the background. She could barely afford it, leaving a bit over 300 simoleans on her bank account. Which I'm sure was the idea, too.
Oh, and like many of the challenges in Lakewood, this one won't be entirely kosher. The rules state that the founder shouldn't have any skills or friends, but that's not obviously the case with Brandi. She doesn't seem to have more than three points in any single skill, so I don't think that's a huge advantage. She does have some friends (and kind of an obvious spouse candidate it seems) so there's that. But well, at least I didn't choose them for her. My game, my rules! ;)
Anyway, Brandi, I hope you didn't have any grand ideas of getting rich. Because that won't be happening in this challenge.
Brandi: "Oh, that doesn't matter. I'd just want to reach my golden anniversary, if that's not too much to ask."
Hmm well, considering the nature of the challenge, there are risks related to this, but let's see what we can do.
Brandi: "Fair enough. On a more day to day level, I'd really like to have a baby."
Well then, that I'm sure can be arranged! *locks want* I mean, it does take a bit of time, but sooner or later I'm sure you will.
So yes, Brandi is a Family sim. Her LTW is to have a golden anniversary, and her personality is 3/6/4/6/6 (Aquarius). I don't know if the anniversary thing can be done if there's been cheating (and I suspect that there will be, but don't tell Brandi), reports seem to vary on that. I suppose there's only one way to find out!
But first things first. In another tried and true Lakewood tradition, Brandi gets to start her challenge by digging. She can't sell the stuff right away like the others have, of course, but it's good to prepare for the first yard sale anyway.
Then, as there didn't seem to be a welcome wagon coming, Brandi headed for the Walmart. In her financial situation, it was important to get some money coming in, so finding a job was high on the priority list. Now in a combination of a BaCC and a TPC, it's a bit tricky. In a TPC, only one sim in the household can work at a time, and the only allowed careers are Culinary, Slacker (and under certain additional conditions) Criminal, and only up certain levels. In a BaCC, then, only careers with openings in them can be taken. Fortunately, thanks to the Variety Buffet, we have an opening available in Culinary, so Brandi went and took that.
She was able to start on level 3, and the highest allowed is level 4. I was wondering whether using the notice board would be ok, but decided it would, since starting on level 3 would mean that Brandi would only get a single promotion bonus before being on the maximum level allowed.
Brandi had a want to take a photo, so I let her. It's a requirement to have those anyway, so it was killing two birds with one stone. I might re-take it later if Brandi gets a makeover, but right now she can't afford one, so this'll have to do. I kinda like the pictures, actually.
Afterwards, she got to continue digging, while the Unsavory Charlatan looked on. He seems to have known that Brandi didn't have any money to steal since he didn't even try.
Well hello John, fancy meeting you here. It's really not a wonder these two have been interested in each other (although they've both shown interest towards others, too), as they have three natural bolts.
The Unsavory Charlatan demonstrated that he's apparently capable of robbing NPCs.
Then it was time to head back home. Brandi yet had work in the evening, so she needed a meal and a bath before that.
The rest of the afternoon was spent on the phone socializing. This is where I feel a bit guilty about the contacs that Brandi already had, since she got the discount social perk so quickly, and it's quite useful in a challenge where money is tight. Well, nothing I can do about it, and I tell myself that she would have eventually gotten it anyway.
Sorry Regan, Brandi has no time to talk to you now, it's time for her first shift at work!
And apparently despite being in low green (decent mood otherwise, though), Brandi got a promotion on her first day. And brought home a flu. But perhaps the bigger problem is that she's still qualified for the next promotion, which she isn't supposed to get. Well, tomorrow is a day off, so maybe we can do something about that, or maybe I'll break out the hacked thing and put it in her inventory to prevent the promotion.
The flu doesn't seem to have been a problem at all. Brandi went almost straight to bed and was cured in her sleep.
After breakfast the next morning, it was time to get moving. Brandi called John and asked him on a date, and he happily agreed.
Of course, the best dating venue in town is Walmart, since it doesn't charge for admission or anything. Brandi and John easily made best friends and boosted the date score.
The date went well, of course, although Lazlo and Titania made it to the photobooth first.
Well, to be fair, Brandi and John would have made it first, but I helped them a bit and directed them to do stuff they had the wants for at the moment.
They did make it to the booth before too long, of course.
Cashier Girl: "Again? Don't these folks have anything else to do here?"
I don't know why the spectators seemed upset instead of cheering like they usually do. I know both Brandi and John have gotten around previously, so perhaps they think one or both are cheating?
Well, whether or not the other sims liked it, Brandi and John thoroughly enjoyed the photobooth.
Brandi: "Wow, John, that was... quite something. Wait, what was that sound?"
Apparently Brandi still isn't the only one who has interest in John, but John wasn't about to cheat on her, not right in front of her at least.
John: "Sorry, Lola, you're a nice lady and all but..."
Well then. Since both Brandi and John had the want, and it felt like something a TPC sim would do, I had Brandi propose engagement right after their first woohoo – although with all the shenanigans going on, I can't tell if it was actually the first for either of them.
John of course said yes.
Not surprisingly, the date was quite successful.
After the date, Brandi of course got to dig more for next summer's yard sale.
After digging some and chatting to the locals, Brandi headed back home to take care of her needs. As per TPC restrictions, she has a bathtub, not a shower. Right now she couldn't afford a shower-tub-combo, so just a tub it is.
John came over to drop a date bouquet. We were hoping he'd bring a present, but that didn't seem to be the case. Well, at least with the bouquet we're allowed to sell it.
For a TPC, Brandi was doing ok financially. She had a bit of money, so we bought an espresso machine, and she used it right away. Those are useful to have, in any case.
By the evening, I got bored of waiting if John would maybe bring a date present, and Brandi invited him over.
She of course invited him to move in, and he of course accepted. It was the moment of truth. John moves in bringing with him...
... 12,000 simoleans, jackpot! Doublewide, here we come! And some other stuff too. *goes to check the rules*
Oh, right, stats. John is a Family sim, like Brandi, and his personality is 4/4/4/7/6 (Aquarius). His LTW is to graduate 3 children from college. Normally, that'd be a piece of cake, but in this challenge, only Knowledge teens are allowed to go to college, meaning that John would need quite some luck to achieve it. I'm sorry John, I can't make any promises on that.
John: "Sorry, did you say something? I'm just admiring how hot Brandi is."
The one item we chose to use from John's inventory was a tv. It's a relatively quick way to raise fun, and gain some cooking skill too when needed. There was some other nice stuff in the inventory as well, but that'll have to remain there until the first yard sale.
John stayed up watching some tv, while Brandi went to bed early, as she was pretty exhausted.
During the night, I was hardworking and observed the rules on what to do with John's 12,000 simoleans. They say that with 12,000-15,000 the family gets: a doublewide trailer, a truck, a driveway and the old junker. So that's what they promptly got. I'd want a flat roof for the trailer, but as I think that's actually floor tiles and costs money, I don't think they can afford it at the moment.
I was actually quite relieved that John was so wealthy. I'm not entirely sure whether you can just build a doublewide whenever you feel like it (and have the money, which they wouldn't have now if not for John's generous contribution), or if you have to wait for someone to move in or die. They have to have at least four kids (or well, there must be at least four pregnancies, technically), and I was having nightmares of fitting six sims in a single trailer. But thankfully that turned out not to be the case.
Brandi spent the morning feeling pretty nauseous. That time in the photobooth seems to have its consequences.
I hadn't yet managed to solve the problem of Brandi having too many skills, so she called in sick that morning. She wasn't really faking it, either.
As I judged that the family wasn't completely out of money, we built a small pond on the yard, as fish would make a lovely sales article for the yard sale. John got to start on catching some.
And he did in fact catch something, fish or otherwise.
Meanwhile in the house, the reason for Brandi's nausea made itself known.
Brandi: "Oh goodness, I'm pregnant! I suppose that means we'll actually get married?"
Yes it does, Brandi.
But before any weddings can take place, there's something that needs to be taken care of first. Brandi unfortunately has too many skill points, and she needs to get rid of them asap to be able to go back to work after the maternity leave. Yesterday's date was a good way to get enough aspiration points for a thinking cap, and now Brandi is finally down to green.
Brandi: "What's that smell?"
Sorry, Brandi!
Poor Brandi had to do this a few times over to finally lose a skill point that would prevent her from getting the next promotion. She had a bit of a rough afternoon.
If it makes it feel any better, Brandi, John encountered some hardships, too.
Though in general I'll admit he had the easier time of the two, and even got his bronze badge in fishing.
Brandi of course needed some rest, with both the pregnancy and the thinking cap episodes, but by the evening, we decided she was fit for a wedding. The best time to throw the party would be few hours before the baby is due, but seeing that Brandi got pregnant in the morning, that'd be close to impossible. So we might as well get on with it now.
So a miscellaneous collection of friends (mostly John's, since he made the call) were invited, and Lizzie promptly noted that Daniel P. is a Romance sim.
While other guests were acting classy, how else.
Pascal: "Aww, a baby on the way already! You must be so excited!"
Brandi: "We are. Just... Better get married first."
So, married they got. And a couple of guests even made it to watch!
That's +2 points for getting married while showing a baby bump.
Some others were apparently mesmerized by the tv.
They did eventually find the fruit punch, too.
+1 point for having a wedding party (with an obligatory fruit punch barrel).
And apparently, there was love in the air. Again, dammit Lizzie! (This time I can't blame Consort.)
Both the wedding cake and the fruit punch were a hit. And there'll be some clean up work to do in the morning.
It was all a bit exhausting for Brandi, who fell asleep in the bathroom, where there was no space to fall down.
Brandi wasn't the only one who was having a bit of a hard time at the wedding. Poor Daniel F. is stuck with morning sickness until his house comes up in rotation again.
Nevertheless, despite the hosts being exhausted in the end, it was a roof raiser of a wedding party!
The morning after started off with a household chores round. There were quite a few dessert plates and fruit punch cups laying around.
During the cleanup, Brandi entered her third trimester.
Because fishing apparently didn't raise fun very quickly for John, he got to start on renovating the junker instead. Every junk car fixed during the challenge means one extra point.
There were also bills to pay, thankfully nothing huge. So far the family is doing ok financially, though at this point I started to suspect that no, they might not be able to pay taxes, but that's ok, I can make an exception for them. They wouldn't set back the taxes accumulating by that much, anyway.
The day was mostly a quiet one, just relaxing after the wedding and taking care of needs, and waiting for the baby to arrive of course. John had a want to catch butterflies and surprised me be doing so on his own. I of course had him release them, because it's sad when they die in the jar. Meanwhile, Brandi studied couples counseling. She had the want and I figured it might become handy if there's a whoopsie at some point. Though it might be that you can't counsel yourself or your spouse, can you? I don't actually know how the interaction works, as I generally just have happy families. (Yes, I'm a big softie, I know.)
The last day of Brandi's pregnancy. It started with some cereal on the battered couch.
After taking care of basic needs, the couple proceeded to go outside to fish. After all, it's best to stock the fish reserves up a bit before the pond freezes over.
Brandi did a rather impressive twirl in the air, especially for a huge pregnant woman.
Brandi: "Ouch."
John: "There's no need for that, honey, this can be done perfectly well like this."
John: "See? Much better done standing up."
Brandi: "Shut up, John."
John: "Ow."
Brandi: "I thought you preferred standing up, dear?"
After some more fishing, it was time for Brandi to go in labor.
Brandi: "Oww... John, do something!"
John: "Yes, dear, right away, dear!"
Brandi: "AAAAA, it huuuurrrtss!"
John: "What to do, what to do?"
Before John could come to any conclusion, it was all over, and Brandi was holding a little baby boy in her arms.
John: "Phew."
Little Jeff Broke was welcomed to the family with much enthusiasm.
And he also promptly got some nice clothes. So far we know that he seems to have John's coloring.
I wonder what's up with my baby clothes. I have a bunch in my Downloads folder (and I made sure to double check), but as far as I can tell, I can only see the Disney ones in the catalogue. I'm pretty sure that I saw them earlier, but not anymore. I can't follow the instructions for buying the clothes exactly, because like the Brokes, most families don't have a toddler present. I'll have to experiment with that one.
Now that Brandi had the baby, we promptly purchased the nursery stuff and found out that we had some money to spare after that, so John got to try out the new truck.
The destination was of course the Lakewood Walmart – after all, I did kind of build one with a TPC in mind.
Apparently the photobooth got a workout again. And that burned up lady? It's Regan Capp. She got hit by a lightning during the double Daniels' week. It was in a thunderstorm just as the Daniels were exiting their buffet business, so I didn't get a picture. Sorry about that Regan, I'll fix you up once it's your turn again!
In a sense John was the most boring one. He was only there to buy some clothes for himself and Brandi.
After he returned home, it was time for makeovers. I was kind of debating whether the default Maxis clothes would be "more TPC" than the custom ones, but in the end decided to go with the makeovers. Everyone else is getting them, plus I definitely won't be keeping the kids in whatever they might be growing up in, so I might as well. I'm pretty pleased with the results.
The rest of the evening was spent working on the junker and studying.
And of course, taking care of little Jeff.
In the morning, Brandi's carpool didn't come for some reason. But, no worries, she took the truck. I've never had one before this, and find it kind of amusing how the sims have to leap in since the truck is so high.
John was home to take care of Jeff.
Since Jeff didn't need all that much, there was time for other pursuits as well, such as working on the car and fishing.
When Brandi got home from work, she got to gain fun by working on the car in turn. The engine got finished so it was time to work on the body.
Hey, who are you and what are you doing in the house?
Benedick Monty: "I'm Benedick. I just called John to chat, then suddenly found myself here."
Right. Sorry, we don't have time for you, go along.
Brandi and John have other stuff to do!
This was their first "regular" woohoo together, Jeff was the result of a public one. Sadly, no lullaby this time.
In any case, in the evening it was time for Jeff's toddler birthday. Only his parents were in attendance.
There we go!
And here we are! Hmm, that pink tuxedo won't do, not at all. John?
John: "I'm on it!" *starts truck*
There, much better. I'm terrible at genetics, but I'd say that Jeff looks a lot like his Dad. In any case, he's a cutie. And now it's bedtime for everyone.
The next morning, Brandi headed to work again, and John was left home alone with Jeff.
So I had him invite a friend over. John is actually bi, and he has three bolts with Darren here, and due to previous actions on community lots, they were crushing on each other. So, yes, I had a bit of an ulterior motive there.
It didn't take them long at all to be a bit romantic, and fall in love. So far, so good.
Because the TPC rules encourage illegitimate children, I was hoping John and Darren might woohoo, but they didn't seem to be inclined to do so. Darren just jumped rope, and actually John got them out of love once by telling a dirty joke, then got them back into love by flirting. But no woohoo.
And perhaps that was a good thing, because then this happened.
Brandi got a chance card, and hoping for a money bonus, I played it. I shouldn't have. It was a good chance card, only in this challenge it was bad, because Brandi got promoted past the allowed level, which just ate all my hard-earned points. Dammit!
On top of that, she got home early, and had I been more succesful in getting John cheating on her, she probably would have caught him.
Note to self: do not, I repeat, do not play chance cards when already on the maximum level allowed.
John: "Sounds like my wife is home early. Sorry, I'll have to call you later."
Meanwhile, John narrowly missed his chance to potty train Jeff, and had to change a diaper. *another sigh*
Well, on the plus side for that Sunday, Brandi and John did manage to get another legitimate kid on the way.
In the evening, there was some toddler training to be done.
And also some digging for treasure, for the yard sale.
I'd been thinking about money and taxes all rotation, and at this point I came to the conclusion that I'm going to make this family exempt on taxes at least for now. They could in principle afford to pay the first taxes, but then next rotation they'd be pretty much screwed. With just one working adult (and actually at the moment, no working adult at all because Brandi had to quit), it's not feasible to keep paying them. And besides, the money from this family wouldn't account to that much anyway. Maybe if they some time in the future are absolutely rolling in cash (although the rules make pretty sure that won't happen) then I can reconsider.
So then it was bedtime for the adults, and Jeff, who wasn't sleepy, got to play with his toys and crawl around the trailer for the night. And yes, with this pointless cute picture we wrap up the week in the Broke household, and at that, the second week in Lakewood.
For the interested, the stats are as follows:
BaCC:Playable sims: 15 + 2 (John, Jeff) = 17
SM: 8
Population: 136
Households: 5
CAS sims: 1 placed / 9 earned
Community lots: 4 businesses + 1 free = 5
Businesses:
Lakewood Recreation Center (Lizzie Davidson, level 10)
Yummy! (Regan Capp, level 5)
Curious Gadgets (Pascal Curious, level 7)
Variety Buffet (Daniel Fortunato, level 10)
Other community lots:
Lakewood Walmart (general store)
Careers:
Business: 2 openings / 1 taken (Ajay Davidson, level 4)
Medical: Unlocked!
Architecture: 1 opening / 1 taken (Jenny Capp, level 6)
Culinary: 1 opening / 0 taken
Criminal: 1 opening / 0 taken
Universities: 1 (privately funded, founded by Lizzie Davidson)
Business districts: 0
Downtown: no
Fires: 1
Burglaries: 0
Electrocutions: 1
Taxes collected from this household: 0 simoleans* (the Broke family is exempt from taxes)
Taxes collected total: 41,300 simoleans at 5% rate
* I round both the net worths and the results so as to make calculations and keeping track of payments easier.
TPC:+1 for wedding party with fruit punch barrel
+2 for getting married while showing a baby bump
+2 for legitimate pregnancy (Jeff)
-5 for accidental promotion over the allowed level (stupid chance card...)
So that's all, folks. Next time, we'll start the rotation over at the Davidson household. Thanks for reading, and until then, happy simming!
