Back at the Ranch

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(WARNING: Lots of pictures. Same as last time. I take wayyy too many, and I had a tough time whittling them down. Hope you enjoy!)

As Belinda and Basil Burr wrapped up their college days, I considered having them throw a little graduation gala, which would have given me an excuse to dress them up in resplendent Victorian formalwear, but I was tired of university mode and itching to get on with the legacy. So without delay, B & B returned home to the rather ramshackle Burr Cottage and began their lives as full-fledged adults.

Almost immediately I invited their dormmate Farley Dahl over. He and Belinda went on a date in the front yard.

Burr Family
“You mean we’re going to stay right here and not go anywhere interesting? Marvelous!”

Poor Farley, now stuck in the Middle of Nowhere. Good thing he’s a Knowledge Sim – he’s happy as a clam stuck on the sofa with his nose in a book and a lightbulb strapped to his head. He’s not the romantic type anyway – whenever he has a free moment with Belinda, he forgoes flirting to play Red Hands or whap her with a pillow.

Burr Family
“What could be more fun than this?? BAM! Right on the bustle!”

Hm, that Farley has some strange notions regarding courtship. But Belinda doesn’t care, because she doesn’t have a choice. It’s True Love. She has to marry this guy.

Burr Family
“Great Scott! That’s the most gigantic piece of crystallized carbon I’ve ever seen!”

So Belinda and Farley get engaged, and all is right with the world…for a little while, anyway.

Burr Family

In the meantime, let’s check in with the rest of the Burrs.

Belinda’s brother Basil has a Lifetime Want to make §100,000, so I had him look for a job as an Artist, one of the most lucrative jobs in the game.

Burr Family
“I feel old. Too many late nights of throwing darts and debating questions of the universe over bowls of lukewarm mac ‘n’ cheese will do that to you.”

And here’s his father, dear Vincentio, exercising to the oldies in order to max his Body skill. By this point he had already maxed everything else. He’s a lean, mean, skill-buildin’ machine. Well, maybe not so much on the “lean” part.

Burr Family
“Yup, gotta work off my spare wagonwheel!”

So what’s my founder, Azalea, been up to? Not much. She’s been working her way up the medical career ladder and patiently waiting for those 6 grandchildren.

Burr Family
“Ah, I can see it now…they’ll call me ‘granny’ and pull on my skirt hem and make a mess of the bathroom…the little dears.”

But Azalea would have to wait a little longer for those grandkids – before Belinda could marry Farley and get knocked up, she got the flu. It was Odin Grace’s fault – he was still having a tantrum over Belinda rejecting him in college, so he ran by the house and tipped over the garbage can. Joy. Naturally, cockroaches descended upon the yard and captured Belinda’s attention when I wasn’t looking. Next thing I knew, she was sick. Curse those nasty bugs!

Burr Family

Normally that wouldn’t be TOO big of a deal, since you just have to make sure your sick Sim gets plenty of rest and doesn’t pass the sickness onto anyone else. But according to the rules of the “Hypochondriac” handicap, if your Sim gets ill, you have to quarantine them for 7 days. SEVEN DAYS. I had to wait that long to get Belinda pregnant? Argh!

This handicap can be even trickier when you combine it with “Middle of Nowhere”, because you can’t just build a nice little room for your afflicted Sim and furnish it with all the amenities right off the bat. Nooooo, I had to put the poor girl in one of the bathrooms and stick a bed in there – the cheapest, crummiest bed, because that’s the only single I had on hand.

Burr Family
*COUGH HACK WHEEEEZE*

At least the room has floors and wallpaper and a light fixture. Can you believe I have TWO light fixtures in the whole house? Sigh. You know, I think “Middle of Nowhere” should be worth more than one point. It’s not a tough handicap to obey, but it’s extremely frustrating! (Heh, especially when you’re a bit of a download hound like myself…) I’d say “forget it” and give up the one measly point, but despite the annoyance factor, it does keep the challenge interesting. If the Burrs had a gorgeous mansion by now, who knows? Maybe I’d be tired of them. This way, there’s something to shoot for down the road. Wayyyy down the road.

Anyway, once I got Belinda settled in her tiny quarantine room and removed the door, I panicked a little. Azalea still needed her 6 grandchildren in order to fulfill her Lifetime Want, and the old girl wasn’t gettin’ any younger. Plus what if Belinda died of her illness? Or starvation? The room didn’t have a fridge yet, and I couldn’t buy one until midnight.

So as a backup plan, I decided it was time to find Basil a wife. That way she could have a kid, and if Belinda died, it could be the heir. I’d break the “Matriarchy” handicap if that happened, but it was better than losing the entire challenge.

The thing is, the woman had to be Basil’s True Love, so I couldn’t just waylay the first girl that happened by. Or could I?

(continued on Page 2)

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22 thoughts on “Back at the Ranch”

  1. Great post! I just read all about the Burrs and they have turned out absolutely fantastic! Great job!

  2. !!! Update! *reads like a maniac* Re: sick sims starving because they’re locked in a room without a fridge, Jenba? I use the inventories. If you stick food in there it’ll keep forever, so if you have another Sim make a group meal and put it in the sick Sim’s inventory, the sick Sim can live on it for days and days. I had one turkey that lasted for thirteen days that way in the game. Otherwise I just make group meals and move the platter to the isolated Sim’s room when everyone else have gotten their share. Storywise I pretend the healthy Sims squeeze it under the door/toss it through a window/whatever is applicable. XD
    With the genetics, plastic surgery won’t alter the DNA *but* — you can make it so! :D There’s a tutorial here (unfortunately the pics aren’t working, but I think the text tells you all you need to know): http://www.modthesims2.com/showthread.php?t=56241
    It doesn’t count as a cheat in the legacy challenge since all you’re doing is changing the appearance of the sim in question.
    And aww, I’ll miss Basil! Promise we’ll get updates from the ‘offshoot’ house as well? I can already tell Cammellia is going to be lovely! What long lashes. :D

  3. Great update! I loved it! And if it were me, I’d go play Basil’s house and have him and Roxy have some more kids if you think Azaela is only a couple of days away from going.

  4. Josh – Hi there, thanks for your comment! Hope you visit again soon!

    Kay – You can put food in inventories?? I’ve never heard of that. Man, I’ve been out of the loop for so long. Heh. I thought about just placing a platter of food in there, but it felt like cheating. Then again, so did buying and selling deeds to get Basil his LTW. Hehe. I have no idea if that’s really “legal”. Anyway, thanks for the info!

    Marcie – Hey Marcie! Yeah, that’s probably what I’ll do, since I’m not sure Azalea will live long enough to see Belinda’s second child be born.

  5. Jenba – You can! :D It’s a great way to keep food from spoiling. I guess Sim pockets come with instant freezedry? xD Harvey’s still got her wedding cake saved away through that, I’m going to have her and Philip finish it off when they have their Golden Anniversary. No worries, it’s perfectly within the rules! Just think of it as the food version of moving furniture/doors/deleting baby bottles/books/etc. :D

  6. Yay! Update! Oh sickness! Nooooooo! I HATE it when Sims get sick. I’m forced to turn freewill off and force them to sit in bed; and they ALWAYS need to use the bathroom when it happens. Sigh. So frustrating for you especially with the Hypochondriac Handicap. But atleast you’re entertained! :D Camellia is very cute. Are you going in alphabetical order with the names along with the herb/flower theme? Good luck with the 6 grandchildren want!

    ~J

  8. That was awesome, Jen! I loved the LTW shots! I can’t believe you had to put Belinda in quarantine… at least you had Basil to keep things interesting. Poor girl, she looked so distressed watching Basil have all the fun through her window. I’m glad there’s nothing like that for ISBI… my family has been passing the flu around like crazy due to Sirus being in aspiration desperation and constantly kicking over the trashbin, sigh.

    I never noticed the massive cranium on the funky kimono chick before. I will have to keep an eye out for it! Maybe that’s why they gave her the bob. Is it really that hard for Maxis folks to make a non-disfigured sim? Cartoony is one thing, but wow, some of the things they come up with… just yikes!

    It’s funny that we’re both tackling the 6 grandkids LTW at the same time. Can’t wait to see more! Gotta see all the little kiddos these Burrs spit out. ;D

  10. Wow. o_o I’d written this huge long comment, but it seems it got eaten. Quick recap..

    Love Basil. The picture of him and the baby is SO CUTE. And the money from selling deeds counts towards the $100,000?! I wish I had known that earlier today. I spent all day having Grayson sell everyone’s paintings to make sure he reached his $100,000. But I’ll have to keep that in mind for Ryven and Linda, who are both Fortune as well.

    Poor Belinda being sick! And in quarantine for a whole week! But some of the pictures you have of her are very amusing.

    Your Gimli looks a lot like my Marcel (Cecily’s husband). Not quite identical.. but close!

    As for Disney characters that Roxy resembles.. I say the Wicked Stepmother from Cinderella! http://www.biology.duke.edu/cunningham/figures/tremaine1.jpg

    Great update, as usual. :D Can’t wait for the next one.

  12. Thanks Jen, I just have a quick question, what do you mean by “Random Sim thing”? I had my 2nd Generation Heiress have 5 children and 3/5 came out clones of the eldest, Michelle. Thanks!

  14. Hey jen, awesome update! I’m acctually really interested to see how Cornelius and Cole turn out. I always thought that Roxy the downtownie looked a bit asian, because of her eyes and her hair… do you think so too? I’m always interested in different genetics mixing like Basil and Roxy, because Roxy looks so unique. Are you ever going to do a side story on Basil and Roxy? That would be so much fun!

    Great update, Jen! I can’t wait for the next one!

  16. Jadice – Yep, I’m going in alphabetical order with the names — no real reason for that, except I’ve never done it before and it makes it easier to come up with names. It also might help people keep track of people generation-wise, but it all gets mished-mashed when you add in spouses, so…well, that was a wordy explanation! Sorry. ;-) And yes, Roxy reminds me of a Disney character looks-wise. Still not sure. Jane from Tarzan? Could be, could be…

    Mao – Haha, I think they just made her face short without making the forehead proportional to it. Hence the uber-high forehead. But yeah, you don’t notice it when she has bangs. I do wish Maxis would include some different face templates or something with their future expansions. I’m sick of seeing the same old faces!

    Audrey – You updated! I gots to check it out. And the Wicked Stepmother from Cinderella? LOL. Now THAT would be a fun Sim to attempt…

    Kay – She does look a lot like Meg! But someone else, too…can’t quite place my figner on it. I think she just has those Disney eyes, ya know? And I absolutely LURVE your update!

    Josh – If you want to avoid clone-children, you can do the following: just before your Sim is about to give birth, save and go back to the Neighborhood view. Go into “Create a Family” and generate a random Sim (I usually click on the “dice” a few times). Give the Sim an aspiration/name/turn-ons, etc. (otherwise it won’t let you save), save him/her, and go back to the Neighborhood. Leave the random sim in the Sim bin for deletion later. Go back into your Legacy house, and proceed with the birth as per usual. Sometimes you still end up with very similar kids (especially if the genetic pool isn’t too deep yet), but it is highly unlikely that they’ll be exact clones. Good luck!

    Leslie – I agree, Roxy looks a bit Asian to me, too. I might do a little side update on Basil and Roxy, though I haven’t been doing much with them, just playing in double and triple-speed so I can get their kids grown up. Heh. They ended up having five little ones. Four boys and a girl. I feel sorry for that girl.

  17. I’ve only had a sick sim once untill now, and that was because the stupid man ruined the medicine I let him create. But as his mood was good enough, he just relaxed on the bed for hours, sometimes runnig to the toilet to throw up, and then just going back after I directed him.
    He was better in a day.
    And I LOVE Kay’s idea of keeping wedding cake untill the golden anniversary. ^^

    And Audrey, did you make the heart? the (3, only then with a pointy (? Because that takes away everything that comes after that thing.

  18. You know, I probably did, Ilse. It’s second nature to me pretty much anymore to use the emoticon things all over the place (except in places I already know it’ll mess up HTML code).. I probably didn’t even think about it as I typed. Thanks!

  19. Thanks, Jen! I thought that was it, but it’ probably because the gene pool is VERY shallow, so you are probably right. Thanks!

  20. Hey, Jen? I’ve been trying to find something and I recall you might’ve had it: do you know where to find a computer remade to look like a piece of paper with a fountain pen or a quill?

  21. I missed the party AGAIN??? The Middle of Nowhere is simply too far from Legacy Land! Jen! I loved it! AGAIN! Wow. First, I love your dialect-appropriate-for-the-period writing style. Basil cracks me up “Oh dash!” It all fits so well and it’s so believeable. I find myself getting lost in the middle of nowhere. I am so impressed with the patience you’re having with the house, knowing what a builder you are. You are showing great patience and restraint to build a piece at a time – but it obviously holds your interest. Anything to keep you writing! I am overjoyed with the arrival of Gen 3! They are truly beautiful children and I can’t wait to watch them grow up. I approve of Farley, and what a patient man he was to wait for Belinda while she was in isolation. I remain riveted on the edge of my seat.