Week 3, Part 1: Davidson (Legacy)

[lakewood_bacc]

Hello again, and welcome back to Lakewood! This update marks the beginning of week 3.

Oh, and if you're wondering about the break between updates, that'd be me taking the time to play my alphabetacy 'hood in between. I believe that'll be happening between each update for now.

But let's get straight back to the Davidsons! Hi Lizzie, how are you?

Lizzie: "Terrible. I'm tired, hungry, stinky..."

Oh, right. You had a bit of a rough night last week. Alright. Now don't worry, just give little Lauren her bottle and put her in the crib, Ajay will take care of the rest before work.

Lizzie: "Ok, thanks."

Ajay: "There, all tidied up and with new clothes."

Great, thanks Ajay! *squees at outfit* Now put her down for a nap, Lizzie will be taking one too.

Oh, and while Ajay is busy with that, let me just be happy about something: as kindly demonstrated by Lauren, all my baby outfits are now available! Apparently, there are differences between creators somehow. The thing is, I'd been wondering why I was seeing some baby outfits but not all of them in my buy catalog. What I was doing wrong was I was clicking on the toddler age icons, and I should have been clicking on the gender icons instead. Apparently baby outfits by some creators still show in the catalog if you click on the toddler icon, but some will be invisible then. Well, now that I know which icon to click, I've got all the choice! Thanks for the tip, esmeiolanthe!

Ajay, shouldn't you be heading for work?

Ajay: "Right, work!"

Phew, he made it.

So Lizzie and the kids took a morning nap while Ajay was at work.

That is, until little Aaron woke up in his crib and pouted so hard that his teeth came through his lower chin.

... no, I don't know how that works.

But that was happily remedied with a bath.

In the afternoon, Ajay came back with a promotion. Hooray, level 5! Halfway there!

Even though Lizzie didn't have a job, I couldn't say that she was slacking off. In addition to taking care of two little kids, she tried to stay on top of the garden, too. I'd pretty much say that she had a harder time than Ajay. At the very least, I had a harder time with her than I had with him.

That evening, it was time for little Aaron to grow up. Well, by my usual playing style, I would have taken him to a cake a day early, but since per a legacy handicap smart milk isn't allowed, he needed the rest of his time as a toddler to finalize his skilling. I could have grown him during the last day, but since it got so close to the evening, I decided that would have been robbing him a day of his childhood, so I let him grow up naturally instead.

Let's see how he turns out, shall we?

Verdict: still cute. You're a tough guy aren't you Aaron?

Aaron: "Uh huh. Just like Daddy!"

I see. I kinda like that jacket on you, but isn't it a little hot inside?

Aaron: "A little."

Ok. Now here's what we'll do. It's your sister's birthday too, so first let's go see her grow up too. Then your Daddy is going to hop in the care and find some new clothes for the two of you. How does that sound?

Aaron: "Ok. Can I get some cake?"

Sure thing, kid. You and Lauren have to share a cake in this instance, but she's too little to have some yet anyway, so there's definitely some for you.

So, after some last baby cuddles, it was indeed time for Lauren, too, to grow up. With cake, which Aaron was looking forward to.

Lizzie: *huff puff* "What'd I miss? The garden is too far away!"

You just made it. Yeah, I think we'll need a back door or something.

Alright, Lauren, let's see how you turn out.

Lauren: "Whee!"

Lauren, too, is cute. And more in need of a makeover than her brother.

Ajay: "So shall I get the car?"

Please.

So anyway, Lauren's stats for the interested: 7/8/6/3/10 (Pisces).

*stares at nice points*

Not sure where all those came from, unless there's a super nice mailman involved or something, but not complaining!

So Ajay headed to the Walmart once again, to buy some clothes for his kids. For once, the townies didn't really do anything interesting. Oh, and Ajay did buy groceries too. For once I think I remembered to have him buy everything that was needed.

Meanwhile, Lizzie was stuck gardening again. She did gain a silver badge. The garden is doing pretty terribly, because no one would actually have the time to garden.

When Daddy was back from the shop, it was time for some makeovers. Here's Aaron. Because he seemed to be into the "tough" look, I decided that he'd like skulls.

And here's little Lauren. She got something cute and girly.

And only after I gave her the dress I realized it's the same one that Bonita Curious had as a toddler, only a different color. Oh well, it is a pretty cute dress.

The first thing that little Lauren did as a toddler was sneak into her brother's room and play with the toy garage. Okay, Lauren, but please don't wake Aaron up, ok? He's really tired.

Lauren: *giggles, bangs car into floor*

Aaron: *snores*

Yet in the evening Lizzie scoops Lauren up and gets started on her toddler training. With no smart milk, there's no time to waste!

In the morning, Aaron starts his day by jumping some rope. Because why not, and he wanted to.

Then it's time for his first day at school.

Aaron: "Hello, who are you? What are you doing with that bag?"

Matchmaker: "I'm leaving a magic lamp for someone with high aspiration levels."

Yep, as pretty much always in my game, the lamp is for the toddler of the family. Well, no complaints there, it can definitely become handy.

The Legacy tree was again in terrible shape, since Lizzie struggles to keep up with the garden. She's the one who doesn't have a job, but somehow she's the one who's always busy and struggling with her needs and aspiration most of the time. But still, she manages to keep the tree alive.

With two kids, Ajay is lucky to get to go to work to rest. And again, he brought home a promotion. Way to go, Ajay!

Ajay: "Thanks."

Lizzie: *worryhands*

Lizzie, I'm sorry about your aspiration. You've been rolling wants difficult to fullfil lately. But I'll help you out ok? We'll buy something nice or something soon.

Benedick Monty came home with Aaron, and since Aaron didn't have time for him immediately, he seeked out little Lauren and played with her instead. That was pretty cute.

Now there's a want I can do, Lizzie. Since we now have three wishes, I suppose we can afford to spend one.

Lizzie: "Whoa, there really is a genie inside!"

Lizzie: "Hmm, what to wish for, what to wish for..."

Yep, you guessed it: money.

*thunk* That's 10,000 simoleans right there.

Meanwhile, Ajay got to work with his charisma. He needed a bit to advance in his career. It's usually a bit painful to gain charisma, but with the excecuputter it's actually pretty quick, plus it gains fun too.

As Lizzie needed to take care of her needs, Aaron got to help in the suffering garden. I shouldn't have planted so much.

*thunk* 7,000 simoleans more.

Lizzie: "Do you have to document everything?"

*thunk* 4,000 simoleans.

Aaron did eventually have time to get to know Benedick, and the two actually came along well.

*thunk* And yet 1,000 simoleans. Thanks, genie, this has really come in handy!

The rest of the evening was spent working on skills: Ajay helped Lauren with talking, and Lizzie and Aaron worked on studying.

In the morning when Ajay and Aaron had gone to work and school and little Lauren was sleeping, Lizzie was a bit lonely, so she got to greet Loki Beaker who happened to walk by.

The socializing part didn't go too well, though. But Loki, you know what? I have an evil plan for guests who don't behave.

Loki: "Uh oh."

... actually, I might use it on guests who do behave, just because I can. Lizzie, break out the influence!

Lizzie: "With pleasure."

Loki: "Yes, m'am, right away, m'am!"

So Loki spent the forenoon cleaning the house, and for some reason, he was running the whole time. Well, the house got clean quicker, so no complaints.

Loki was actually so quick that after finishing cleaning, he grabbed the teddy bear that the Davidsons use to buy baby clothes and tried to speak through it to Lizzie. Well, that resulted in the teddy being on the floor, where Lauren promptly found it before I could put it back and send Loki on his way. Aww.

Another day, another promotion. Good going, Ajay! This is very nice progress towards our first Business District, which would be sorely needed. No pressure.

Ajay: "Thanks, I guess. Well, thanks for sending me to work platinum."

Yeah, this week it's been easier than the last, so thanks to you for that.

Ajay: "I'd say something polite, but it could only go more ridiculous from here."

So yeah. I've been lucky in that Ajay now regularly wants to buy something expensive. Which I do, put it in his inventory and sell it back. Hey, if it's not forbidden, then it's allowed, right?

As Lizzie was busy continuing Lauren's speaking practice, Ajay got to increase his fun by gardening. He gained a bronze badge.

I already thought Lizzie had managed to teach Lauren to talk, but apparently the interaction just ended a little bit short for some reason. So Ajay got to finish the task. And I only got a bad picture of the doodah.

While he was at it, Ajay also got started on the walking business with Lauren.

 

Meanwhile, it was Lizzie's turn to garden. Yeah, the garden is currently way too big for such a busy household.

Thursday morning started the way mornings tend to start in the Davidson household. Aaron likes to start his morning by jumping rope.

And yes, this picture is totally my excuse to show off his incredibly cute jammies with skulls on them.

As for Lauren, she snuck off to play with the toy garage again. She tends to do that whenever her parents are busy.

In the afternoon, Aaron brought a friend from school: Bonita Curious from the Curious OWBC next door. It's always fun when other playables come home from work or school.

He also got his first A+.

Lizzie: "Woo, great job, Aaron! Can I take a shower now?"

Ajay, too, did a great job today and got another promotion! Level 8 already!

And this was the point where I woke up to the fact that if I ended the rotation Monday morning, Ajay wouldn't be able to unlock the first Business District by then, since at this point he still needs two promotions. After some consideration and asking for opinions, I decided that this rotation will be extended until Monday evening so that Ajay gets the time that he needs. Everyone else's rotation will also be extended, meaning that it still goes right by the BaCC rules, which require that every household be played the same amount of time.

Aaron's favorite hobby is apparently hurling baseballs at nice little girls. Hmm.

Despite this, he and Bonita managed to make friends by the time that she had to go home. Poor Bonita, too nice for her own good.

 

Meanwhile, Ajay and Lauren worked on some toddler skills. Potty training was finally in the bag, yay!

Lizzie, in turn, was busy with the garden, this time spraying some bugs.

After that, she and Ajay switched turns in toddler care, so that Ajay could work on his ever so needed charisma.

While Lizzie got the honor of finishing Lauren's walking skill.

Well, Friday morning. You know Ajay, you'd better get a promotion today, or otherwise my plan of extending the rotation is kind of ruined. I could of course extend until Tuesday or whenever, but that'd already be kind of ridiculous. So get it right, ok? No pressure.

While Ajay and Aaron were at work and school, Lizzie and Lauren were home working on the final toddler skill, the nursery rhyme. Like Aaron, Lauren is overdue with growing up, and has today until 6 pm to finish her training.

Lizzie: "This is hopeless. We just can't make it in time."

No it's not, just keep working on it!

While I was biting my nails and trying to teach Lauren to sing the nursery rhyme, Aaron brought home another friend from school, Bottom Summerdream. She, too, seems a nice enough girl.

And in time, Ajay delivered and came home with his second to last promotion.

Ajay: "Only one more to go, and then I can hopefully look for an opening in Music!"

Well, we do have to unlock the career first, but that shouldn't be a big problem.

Turns out, if there's a chance to hurl baseballs at someone, especially a nice girl like Bottom, Aaron can't resist.

Also turns out, Lizzie was right. Lauren needed a nap, and Lizzie herself had to take care of her needs, so we ran out of time to teach Lauren the nursery rhyme. Clearly I'm too used to doing this with smart milk.

I'm so sorry Lauren. I know you rolled away the want too, but still. I'll try to do really well when you're a big girl. Deal?

Lauren: "Big giwl!"

Well, six o'clock hit and it was indeed time for Lauren to be a big girl. Like Aaron, she grew up unceremoniously without a cake, due to the (failed) attempt to teach her all her toddler skills. She didn't quite make it there, but fortunately she was kept happy just as well with cuddles and tickles.

Lauren: "I've got big girl hands!"

Indeed you do. Hmm. That dress is kind of ok, but maybe pink isn't exactly you. Tell Daddy to hit the car, ok?

Daddy was obedient, so here is Lauren after her makeover. I had a hard time selecting her hair, but in the end, I'm pretty happy with how she turned out.

I also turned the nursery into Lauren's own big girl room. It's pretty much the same as Aaron's (and next to it), only with different colors. I often just slump the kids into a shared room with grown up colors and decorations, so making and decorating separate rooms for a change was fun.

After the kids went to bed, Lauren finally had time to harvest the garden. Phew. The quality isn't great but at least she can sell the goods for a bit of money. And we can plant substantially less next time.

And what did Ajay do meanwhile? Well he practised more golf.

Just as I thought we were done for the day, ominous music started playing and I found out I was wrong. A burglar!

*excitedly adds a burglary to the score sheet*

No, not the painting! Dammit, I bought it because both Ajay and Lizzie wanted it, then thought to actually put it on the wall. Oh well.

Because this is only the first burglary in the 'hood, there's no burglar alarm in the house, so I had to kick Ajay up to call the cops. Apparently both he and Lizzie had a fear of being robbed.

Sure, you can take that one. It's actually broken and I've been too lazy to replace it and too chicken to have Lizzie or Ajay repair it.

Burglar: "And now you tell me!"

Quick, she's in the living room!

Great, you found her!

And the law was victorious.

Burglar: "Curses! Foiled again!"

Well technically, this is the first time you've tried to rob anyone.

Burglar: "Oh, right. Just 'foiled' then I guess."

We got some money for the stolen goods, too. So I suppose the first burglary of the neighborhood was a success.

Saturday morning started with some bonding between siblings. That is, Aaron mercilessly cheating his little sister at chess.

As for Ajay, I had an agenda for the day: to make the house as presentable as possible.

Meanwhile, Lizzie got to boost her aspiration a little, plus work on that Nature enthusiasm. She's no longer far from maxing it.

Also on Ajay's agenda was to make a good meal for the evening.

Yep, it's headmaster time. I double checked the rules, and apparently there's no mention of private school, so I'm going to assume it's ok. The kids could use the lesser fun drain plus the random skill points, and the adults could definitely use the aspiration boost.

Great, you didn't burn it. Now put it in the fridge so we can get it out nice and fresh when the headmaster arrives.

Lizzie made the needed phone call, then headed out to the garden to fertilize a bit of land. She got a gold gardening badge, but her Nature enthusiasm isn't yet all the way there.

The afternoon was spent skilling and socializing.

Promptly at 5 pm, the headmaster drove into the yard, and promptly at 5 pm, Ajay was there to greet him.

Apparently, he isn't an entirely traditional headmaster, either.

Ajay took care of the tour. The yard only got a shrug (I've never been great at making yards, I'll freely admit), but several rooms were greeted with enthusiasm.

Lizzie and the headmaster probably had a speed eating contest or something. But fortunately kids came to take care of some polite conversation.

All in all, the kids made it in with flying colors, and both Lizzie and Ajay got a hefty aspiration boost.

Lizzie and Lauren celebrated by dancing in the kitchen.

After that, it was time for some competetive painting. Ajay's tried to paint Lizzie's portrait once or twice before, but it has glitched before he could complete it. The current attempt is looking promising, so fingers crossed! Lizzie, in turn, needs to work on her skills a bit so that she can paint Ajay's portrait, too.

Late in the evening, the couple had time for other pursuits.

Which reminds me, I keep forgetting to have Ajay plan his underwear. Sorry, I don't mean to keep you in the silly one, it's an accident I swear!

Sunday morning dawns bright an clear. For Lizzie, that means more gardening.

Come on, Lizzie, we want that hobby plaque!

The leader of the pack only shows up when you don't need one, huh? So that he can eat your flowers, apparently.

The kids spend some of their Sunday skilling. Because it takes some scholarships to get accepted into college here, and scholarships don't earn themselves.

Well, they had time to socialize too. Aaron invited over Benedick Monty, as the two of them already came along quite well.

Benedick wanted to bring a friend, who turned out to be John Broke. Well, they do kind of know each other from the TPC. And Lauren was happy to play chess with him.

Yeah, Lauren likes playing chess. And getting the skill points from it. Good girl!

Aaron also greeted Beatrice Monty, who happened to walk by.

She and Benedick also came along well. (I think they're actually siblings in Veronaville if I remember correctly.)

Even Lauren could tear herself away from the chess board long enough to get to know Beatrice a bit.

Ajay finally finished Lizzie's portrait, meaning +1/2 points for the legacy! Apparently that corner of the house could use some more light, though.

Before the guests left, Lizzie made some hamburgers for everyone, like the head of a big household.

After that, it was back to the nature for her. Trying to collect bugs is mostly getting chased by bees.

She did get to complete that llama painting, too.

So, Monday morning, the last half a day of the rotation. Lauren got to make her own breakfast. A muffin for breakfast, and one the size of your head. Not bad, I'd say.

Well, this is it, Ajay. Platinum, needs taken care of. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you, I really hope you can make it.

Ajay: "So do I."

Now that Lizzie was home alone and the garden a lot smaller, things were a lot more manageable than before. Lizzie actually had the time to make sure the garden was in good shape, and even talk to the legacy tree to improve its health.

After that, she wanted to blog about Nature, and that finally did the trick. Booyeah!

This means that the family has an official Family Hobby: Nature. Since it's our foundress' OTH, we get one legacy point, and another half a point for the first sim who maximized the hobby.

And of course, Lizzie also made a start on our hobby plaque collection, which, if completed, will earn us another point.

After that, Lizzie got started on a novel, to keep up with the Storyteller handicap.

That afternoon, both of the kids brought friends home. It's kind of nice since it's actually time for Aaron's teen birthday, even though we'll only celebrate it next rotation – so they'll be there for guests.

 

And finally, at 4 pm... Hooray, congratulations, Ajay, you just became Lakewood's first Business Tycoon!

Ajay: "Thanks."

Now let's see, what everything do we get for that... *checks rules* Oh... Dammit!

Ajay: "What? What is it?"

Well, it seems that I misread the rules. I thought the Business Districts are earned from five community lots, but it's actually five community lot businesses. And we only have four of those. I thought the Walmart would count, but it actually doesn't.

Ajay: "Oh. So what are we going to do?"

Hmm. Let me see. I think I have a plan. We have a little bit left in the rotation, and you have the money. Go use the bathroom, and then be ready to use the phone! I'll be right back!

Ajay: "Hello, this is Ajay Davidson. I'd like to purchase a community lot please. What do you have available?"

...

"No, not the Walmart. Anything else?"

...

"Oh, that sounds very nice. Yes, I believe that's what Katri meant. What's the price?"

So quickly before the rotation ended, Ajay headed out to officially open the fifth community lot business of Lakewood. He had that little bit of time, the family had the money, and there was a spot in the neighborhood where no one would put their residential lot. The exterior isn't much, but we can work on that. Let's check out the interior, shall we?

Welcome to Face the Music!

As you may guess from the stage and the instruments, it's a music venue, which unlocks the Music career, which Ajay wants to top. Fortunately for him, it's enough to open the business.

And here's proof that Ajay actually opened it, and gained his bronze sales badge.

Well, congratulations Ajay, you've done really well. Today you unlocked the Business career for all sims, and just now you unlocked Music. And, most importantly, you just unlocked Lakewood's first Business District, which I'm personally very happy about. Thanks!

Ajay: "You're welcome. So does this mean that next week I can get to work with my LTW?"

Yes it does. Well, in addition you'll be running the business, and probably helping Lizzie to run her new business so that she too can unlock her LTW career. But otherwise, yeah, you'll get to go in your chosen career.

Ajay: "Deal."

Ajay stayed to run the business for a little bit, and I noted that with his creativity, he can probably rake in pretty nice tips here. I was a bit disappointed that the custom keyboard doesn't seem to have sound, though. Oh well, you can't have it all. Anyway, that's enough for today, and for the rotation. Ajay, let's go home!

And with this picture, we wrap the Davidson household up. Here is the new Business District that Ajay just earned, Pleasant Lakes. Yes, I named it that way because it's based on the Pleasantview template. Nothing there yet of course, but we'll probably see a business or two popping up during the rotation. And because we now gained a neighborhood addition, I believe some more townies will also be moving to Lakewood. Big plans.

Pleasant Lakes gains us a very nice +5 SM, and 5 more CAS sims. In addition, it's a neighborhood addition, so a second position in Architecture opens.

Alright, so that's all for the Davidson household. Here come yet the stats for the interested:

BaCC score:

Playable sims: 17
SM: 8 + 5 (for Business District) = 13
Population: 221

Households: 5

CAS sims: 1 placed / 9 + 5 (for Business District) = 14 earned

Community lots: 5 businesses + 1 free = 6

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)
Face the Music (Ajay Davidson, level 0)

Other community lots:

Lakewood Walmart (general store)

Careers:

Business: Unlocked! / 1 taken (Ajay Davidson, level 10)
Medical: Unlocked!
Architecture: 2 openings / 1 taken (Jenny Capp, level 6)
Culinary: 1 opening / 0 taken
Criminal: 1 opening / 0 taken
Music: Unlocked!

Business Tycoons: 1 (Ajay Davidson)

Universities: 1 (privately funded, founded by Lizzie Davidson)
Business Districts: 1
Downtown: no

Fires: 1
Burglaries: 1
Electrocutions: 1

Taxes collected from this household: 84,000*0.05 + 50,000*0.05 (for level 10 business) = 6,700 simoleans*

Taxes collected total: 41,300 + 6,700 = 48,000 simoleans at 5% rate

* I round both the net worths and the results so as to make calculations and keeping track of payments easier.

 

Legacy points earned this week:

1/2 points for Lizzie's portrait
1 point for having the founder's OTH as the Family Hobby (Nature)
1/2 points for Lizzie maximizing the Family Hobby

Total so far: 10.25 points

So, that's all folks! Thanks for reading and welcome back next time for the Capp household. Until then, happy simming!

Comments

[skyburned]

Congratulations and the kids and family are so much fun! I think they're my favorites st this point.