Round Six: The Broke Bachelors

Hey, welcome back guys! Beau Broke, here. It's been a minute since you all were around, hasn't it? Well let's see if I have some interesting stories for ya...

Well, my home business is goin' pretty good. It's at rank 8 now! I got a few great reviews, and business just started takin' off! It helped that I put in a poker table, so the men-folk could have some fun while their ladies were shoppin' away. Although, some ladies come to play, as well.
Oh, and I also bought a new building in Bluewater, that's our shopping district. Lotta nice people livin' there... very friendly, too. I haven't decided what I'm going to do with it yet. I thought maybe a restaurant, but I'm no good at cooking. It's probably going to be some kind of shopping center, but I just can't decide what to sell!This isn't the best picture, guys... my bad. It's the little grey building on the corner.

When I'm not busy with the businesses, I work part-time for SimTech as a guild leader. I recently got a raise, so that's pretty exciting! To be honest though, I feel like as soon as I get this second business off the ground, I ought to be able to stop working. Skip's working, too, and I have a feeling he'll be making quite the paycheck after a few more years.

Since you left us, he was promoted three times! Now he's a General Practitioner. That kid is crazy-smart. If I ever have to go to the hospital, I want him to doctor me up! He's been getting kinda side-tracked with the dogs, though. Both Mox and Blackie were working as service dogs, and we got word yesterday that they're both at the top of the ladder... they can't get promoted anymore. So that lit a fire under Skip I guess... he's got them trying to breed now. Walks around mumblin' to himself sometimes 'four more...four more'. Not sure what that means.... Well, yeah, I like dogs fine, I just don't like all the hair everywhere! So we've got a puppy (or two...or three I guess) on the way.

Oh, here's a funny story for ya! Trina Goth came by the other day, and we got to chatting. She invited me, so I stopped in after work one day... and I walked in to see this!Those girls are crazy! Michelle moved in with Trina, I suppose and all they do is Smutsle all day! I would have stayed longer, but I was feelin' pretty stinky. At least I got a kiss goodbye...yep. Trina and I are just friends, and she is kinda young for me... but I won't lie... she is mighty pretty. No big plans for right now, but we'll just see where life takes us later on. I'd never really thought about having a family... mom's gaggle of kids was more than enough for me. But maybe I might like a wife. Of course, I have no idea what Trina's plans are as of yet, so I'm not makin any plans. Well, it's been nice visiting with you folks. Come back and check on me, because I'll be opening up that new business soon as I figure out what I'm sellin! Have a good one!

Round Five: Growing Up

(**Author's note: I am skipping Marie Pleasant , Kaylynn Shaikh, and Sicily Langerak's updates this round, as they haven't done much of note, and there are too few pictures to constitute a post. They'll be back in Round Six, though! Also... this update is short on pictures. I've realized that my posts are getting pretty boring, because I tend to only take pictures of major life events, and I don't really create a very good storyline for the families. After this round, I'll make a few changes to my blogging style and hopefully you all will find it a little more enjoyable reading!)

Last time we left the Pipers, Brandi and Alex had just welcomed baby Charity into the family, and there were quite a few birthdays. Let's catch up, shall we?

In keeping with the birthday theme, the twins, Mark and Maggie, transitioned into teens during this round.I don't know what it is about that ugly bubble vest and those dreadful pigtails... seems like every teen in Pleasantview is spinning into them! Mark decided on a family aspiration, and wants to reach his golden anniversary. Quite a lofty goal for a teen with no female friends on the horizon (other than his plethora of sisters). We'll see what we can do for him.
Maggie chose to focus on her career, instead of her family. She excels at writing in school and loves gossip, so her goal is to reach the top of the Journalism career. Good luck to both of you!

Unfortunately, a day or so later, Leslie got a-hold of Brandi's special elixir...
After draining what remained, she aged up a few days. Which led to a sooner-than-usual birthday.
She decided to ditch the uber-blonde locks and go for a shorter look. Leslie wants to reach the top of the Gamer career, and you can't have hair in your face while you're slaying heffalumps, woozuls, and such-like.

Since money was growing even tighter in the Piper house, Leslie decided to go ahead and find her own place, and she even let Mark & Maggie move in with her! Such a nice older sibling... we can only hope that they'll continue to do well in school without their mother hounding them all the time about grades.

Charity had a few birthdays this week as well, growing up into a child!
(** Author's note: For some reason, I don't have pictures of either of these birthdays... but I know that they happened. Not sure what went wrong there, sorry!)

So now Brandi lives with her second husband, Alex Piper, and their sixth and seventh children, Brandon and Charity (both children). Tune in next time when we find out... will she go for numbers 8-10?

Round Five: Emptying the Nest

Back at the Goth mansion, Alexander is busy skilling up. He was promoted five times this round! Alexander is now a top secret researcher, and spends most of his time gazing at the stars. He spends a lot of time on the phone with his fiancee, Tiffany. She's still in college, with no end in sight! Alex isn't too concerned about it, however. His main goal is to become a Mad Scientist, just like his old man.

Dina was still chugging along at work, and is now an assistant coach. She felt time taking its toll on her, though, and transitioned into an elder shortly after her promotion.Not too shabby, Dina! She's still trying for that Hall of Fame spot, but we'll see how tough a toll her job will take on her. I haven't decided whether or not to let her keep trying.

She beat Trina to a birthday by just a day. Trina decided that college wasn't for her (much to Alex's dismay) and spun into quite a lovely adult:She was very embarrassed that Michelle's friend was wearing the same dress, though. There was quite a fit thrown about that. I guess just because you spin into an adult, doesn't mean you suddenly begin to act like one. Well, Trina decided that she needed to get out on her own. She'd never make it into the celebrity world if she was still living at home with her mom! So she moved out with Michelle, who is only a few days from an adult birthday herself. But not before Michelle snuck her first kiss in with this boy from work:They moved to uptown Pleasantview, a new suburb that's still in its beginning stages:
They just had enough money for a one bedroom/one bath, but it was okay for them because they'd been sharing a smaller bedroom for years. Trina was a little put out that her mother only gave her $20,000 when she knew for a fact that her dad had been rolling in the cash. But she figured that once she started rubbing elbows with the rich and famous, she'd be getting paid a little more. So they settled in, and Michelle did her daily yoga out on the lawn... uh, concrete:
And that's where we'll leave them for the round. Hopefully next time will be a little more exciting for you.

Round Five: Dirk Reaches the Top

Wow, Lilith looks pretty happy, doesn't she? She's got quite a bit to be excited about, though. She was recently promoted to a legal-biller, she owns a decent home-business, a fledgling new toy shop, her husband is a business tycoon, and her son is now on his way to being self-sufficient! Life is good for Lilith.

Her home business is very steady, and she recently bought a new poker table so that her customers could entertain themselves while they wait on service. She gets some pretty interesting patrons...
Yes, Dirk finally got his promotion and is now a business tycoon.
He didn't stay at the top for very long, however. He heard that Dustin Broke made much more than he did as an ecological guru, so Dirk switched tracks and is now a scatmaster. He's so money hungry, though, that he didn't stop there. Dirk began counterfeiting his own money!
The new money supply caused quite the confusion for little Dan. He asked his mommy if daddy was a magician!
Lilith just told him that daddy works extra hard, so they give him extra money. She didn't want to get into explaining the illegality of Dirk's actions to an eight year old. Dan quickly grew up into a teenager though, fully capable of understanding what his dad does. He was determined to play it straight, and stay on the good side of the law. Dan wanted to be a Celebrity Chef. He'd heard that it was the next big career out there, and knew that the ladies loved a man who could cook.
As a teenager, Dan became fascinated with his hands... I thought that was a baby trait? Ah well, you never can tell with sims, can you?

Round Five: Sadness Strikes the Dreamers

This week was not a good one for Cassandra Dreamer. When we first join her, she's being accosted by a skunk!
Cassandra had been spending so much time outside with her small garden, that she began to feel a little too... 'one'... with nature.
While Cassandra was getting her hands dirty outside, Darren was capitalizing on his platinum aspiration by teaching Dusty some necessary skills inside.
She was never far from their minds, however. Soon, little Dusty grew like a weed into a child. He loved to play with the other children, and Maggie Piper was always over after school to play Cops and Robbers.Sadly, his parents were growing older too. Grim came for Darren late one night while he was doing the thing that he loved most (aside from inappropriate things with Cassandra), stargazing...
He was shocked at first, but then let Grim slowly take him to his tropical paradise. He knew that he would see his beloved Darleen, and that Cassandra would join him shortly. Cassandra had a much harder time dealing with his death. She just sat outside and babbled and cried for hours...Poor Dusty just hid around the corner of the house and sobbed. He felt robbed of time with his dad, and vowed that someday he would find a way to bring him back. Darren did come back...for a split second, he was there... to wave goodbye one last time to the woman he had loved from afar for so long, and then finally been blessed with.
Cassandra didn't see him that night but she would visit his grave at the Pleasantview Cemetery once a week to refresh the flowers, and perhaps catch a glimpse of the man she had loved...

Darren Dreamer passed on with a platinum aspiration due to the fulfillment of his lifetime want, becoming Chief of Staff. He is survived by his wife Cassandra; their children Belle, Derek, and Dusty; a child from his first marriage, Dirk; and a grandson, Dan. Rest in Peace, Darren.

Round Five: University Part 2

Welcome back to Academie Le Tour! Here we have Belle and Derek Dreamer striving to achieve their goals of academic success...well, somewhat. Belle remained in the dorms throughout all four years. She felt this made it easier to study. It was also easier to make acquaintances that might be useful down the road as far as potential mates were concerned. Belle's lifelong goal is the same as her mother, three children graduated from college. So Belle got right down to romancing.
Her first kiss was Cara Fancey. But... Belle... you do know that you can't make babies that way, right? It just doesn't work. She also tried to get friendly with a few men in her dorm, but they wouldn't give her the time of day. Unfortunately, Belle had to leave Cara behind after graduation. Belle was getting a little tired of the crazy college lifestyle. It seemed that she couldn't go a day without someone streaking around or throwing up in the refrigerator.
She quickly attained her credits and graduated with honors. She then moved back to Pleasantview and purchased a tiny starter home that she hopes to soon fill with children.
With those looks, it shouldn't take long to snag a man! or a woman, if that's your thing. Belle works as a Cartoon Voice for the local cable's children's network.
As far as her brother, Derek, goes....

Derek transferred to Sim State to start his own chapter of Urele-Oresha-Cham. He uses that as his excuse, but I'm pretty sure it's because the curriculum was much less rigorous.
Derek made quite a few friends at Sim State, starting with Meredith Tellerman, who gave him his first kiss:
He needs all the kisses that he can get! Because Derek aspires to have 20 Best friends! He had extra time to make said best friends in college, because he slept through his senior spring semester final! So, he was on Academic Probation, but made the most of it, and finally graduated and moved back to Pleasantview.He decided to move Downtown, since that's the fastest growing neighborhood, and hippest place to hang out.
The first day back, Derek invited a few college buddies over to check out his new bubble-blower.
Unfortunately, he got so carried away with the bubbles, that Derek forgot he had put appetizers in the oven for his guests!
The fire got put out quickly, but it put kind of a damper on his party. The guests scattered pretty quick, since nobody wants crusty toaster pastries. It didn't end up too badly for Derek, however, because he ended his round with 10 best friends. Halfway there! Derek works as a Junior Officer to help finance his bubble-parties.

Round Five: Happy Birthday to You

When we last visited with the Burbs, John and Jennifer were surprised with twin babies and Lucy moved out to be on her own (and fraternize with that Lothario character). I decided that their house wasn't working for me, so the Burbs moved to a new home across from Marie Pleasant.
I downloaded this house from MTS2, here. This update, as it is with most this round for some reason, is full of birthdays. First up, the twins.
Lillian grew up... but Jennifer doesn't look too excited. Then she helped her brother with the age transition
Again, Johny and Jennifer don't seem too excited, but maybe they're just sadly realizing that they are getting older too. A few days later, John had his big transition too.
Young at heart, though. John did something a little silly, though. After his birthday, he went to work and up pops a chance card. Well, I've been having terrible luck with chance cards lately and he got demoted (better than fired, which is what happened to Don Lothario... one promotion away from the top of his career). So, John comes home and immediately gets excited and does that little 'who-brings-in-the-bacon?-this-guy!' dance.
I decided that it was time for John's retirement... don't want to overwork the poor fella. So now he stays home with the kids after school and Jennifer works part time at The Pleasantview Tribune.
When Jen's birthday came, she took her time to think of the perfect wish.

Maybe she wished for a decent outfit to wear for the rest of her life-bar. Good wish, Jennifer. I could tell you some horror stories!
The Burbs were pretty boring this time around. Certainly not as exciting as their daughter, Lucy. Hopefully I'll have a juicy story for you in round 6. :)

Round Five: Lucy in the City

Welcome to Lucy Burb's new place in downtown Pleasantview. It's just a modest pre-made house that sits next to the Broke boys.
She's the Burb heir at the moment, so she'll eventually move back to the country part of Pleasantview and start making babies, but for now, she's living it up in the city.
The first friend she makes? That scall-a-wag, Don Lothario...Now don't get too excited, either of you. He's got a baby with Kaylynn, and he and Nina are quite happy together! (As happy as two romance sims can be, in a somewhat monogamous relationship)Hey! Cut that out! Don't you two get any ideas....*Sigh* They never listen, do they? Fine. Do as you please, but don't blame me for not wanting Don's sperm to infect every woman in Pleasantview!

Oh Lucy... You can do better than Don! He's practically an elder! He and Nina have two kids you know... do you want to be a home wrecker?
Apparently that's a yes. Oh Lucy. So young... so naive... join us next time when we discover just how serious this fling is.