BaCC in Widespot: Round 1 - Land
A family full of family sims. Except Miss Dixie here, the laziest, playfullest, poorest little fortune sim around.
Not that she seems to mind.
"Mornin' Dixie!"
"Whoa Delt. Take it down like 3 levels. Way too early for all that."
Dixie is not a morning person. Yet another way she's the odd one out around this house.
"Mornin' Lumpy!"
"Mornin' yourself, MamaBear."
And Mary was up and at 'em before everyone.
Fresh milk in the fridge, eggs, bacon.
Dixie could practically taste it already, she never left for school before breakfast. Never.
Once everyone was out of the house and Beulah had
taken over in the kitchen Mary's day was still only beginning.
Yup, add butter churning to the list of Mary's chores.
Homer got home from work around the same time Junior strolled up.
Looks like the interloper got his hug.
"Junior's 'round front," he told his eldest to get her out of the way while he checked on his 'project'.
Not that it was any kind of secret but he still had a rule about the kids bein' in his business.
Who said moonshine had to be blessed by the light of the moon?
That was mostly 'bout transport anyway.
*Let's just say Homer's "distillery" is a work-in-progress because, surprisingly, I didn't have any copper pots and the only thing remotely resembling a usable still that I could find is a gigantic glass alembic from an old alchemy set so there's no functional distilling going on here. Details. Didn't locate any cc to make it worthwhile to stop playing. Guess illicit alcohol production wasn't high on the list of things our simmies need :P And there's always the possibility that Homer diversified his portfolio with the likes of bathtub gin. Why is an upstanding family man Homer Land so determine to ferment? Well, Homer likes the booze. And Homer's technically an overachiever. He is also an elder who has only risen to Level 4 in his career (Which is law enforcement, by the way.) Mix that all up and we'll say his ambition never rose to his abilities because he found other uses for his talents.*
Success?
Junior stopped playin' with Delta when Mary came around front.
She left them sittin' on the porch, talkin'. What's there to talk about so much?
"Mama, when you gon' teach me how to cook? Like you and Mary?"
Family dinner time.
Scot couldn't get enough of bragging about Land-ing himself a girlfriend.
Virginia was 'the one', he just knew it.
But wait, where's Homer?
Homer was a little overenthusiastic about the things he did love.
(Unfortunately, work wasn't one of them. A promotion or 6 wouldn't come amiss around here.)
He settled in for a liquid dinner.
When Dixie fell face down into her food Beulah's first thought was that the girl bet' not be pregnant.
She didn't know Dixie very well.
Beulah understood Mary better, or thought she did.
But Mary was the one with secrets.
Dixie woke up and picked up where she left off, like nothing happened.
Can't waste good grub.
She gets it from her father.
Beulah didn't mind Homer's hobby.
Where she came from a man needed to take the edge off sometimes. Sometimes a woman did, too.
Besides, partakin' never made Homer belligerent, it made 'im frisky!
Mary wasn't feeling frisky so much as extremely ill-at-ease.
She hadn't heard from Valentine at all!
But Junior was a good friend these days. He got her out of the house and
her mama even knew she was goin' to the Forest Lake with him and didn't mind.
Just told her to make sure an' bring back a fish or two for dinner.
Junior tried to get her to go in the water with him.
"It's not summer, if you ain't noticed," she giggled, "Betcha it's
cold in there and I don't have no swim stuff to wear."
He tried to convince her she didn't need swim stuff, she had her underwear.
"If you're wearing underwear, I mean."
"Quit it," Mary said, she couldn't help grinning like a
cheshire cat. "Go on then if it ain't too cold. You go."
Junior stripped down and hit the diving board.
He couldn't resist an opportunity to show off!
Mary was impressed. No way she could ever do that
but she sure was tempted now to join him for a swim.
Maybe if it wasn't so light out, so public. Then people
wouldn't see if she eased in with just her undies?
Junior joined her up on the deck and lied to her about it not being a bit cold
in the water. He tried to get her to throw caution to the wind and dive on in.
Mary wanted to. She wanted to tell him her idea about coming back at, at nighttime,
maybe. But that was too forward. She could never say it out loud.
Instead she set about catching that fish her mama requested.
She didn't know the first thing about fishin' but what she'd seen watchin' other people do it.
It's probably a good thing Mary kept on her clothes. There were loiterers
around and they seemed to take plenty of notice of her fully-dressed.
In no time she had a sorta partner.
It wasn't long before Junior caught sight of the new developments.
He got dressed and came around to check on Mary, he had
to make sure none of the strangers were botherin' her.
He certainly did like looking at her but it's doubtful
she really needed Junior to protect her.
*That's Elden Hick, by the way, but only because I say so. Again I didn't feel like stopping to reload the game so I just smooshed around a face (I think. I did have an early version of Mama loaded, by genensims I believe, so I may have used that Elden as a base if it was there) which was just as well because I can't find cycads' version in my files and they've now been 'purged'. Ah well. Storywise, neither he nor Mama live in Widespot. He's one of my townie truckers and she's still back home (livin' it up in the family bin).*
Wait now, Mary caught her first ever fish!
Hookin' that sucker was serious business.
It...brought out another side to sweet Mary.
Junior was bored with waiting around, not getting any attention.
She had her fish now. He suggested they go somewhere away from that other guy.
It was later than she realised, but before she left Junior had to tell her how much fun he had
with her. Junior was an early riser himself, he thought maybe if they snuck away at dawn
one day they could have the lake all to themselves. But Mary's mornings are too busy for that.
There was nothing like seeing another man gazing her way to
convince Junior that maybe Mary was sexy after all.
Back at home Mary cleaned and gutted and cooked up the fish.
But all the while she was wonderin', not so much about Junior's kiss
as about what it meant for her. She did so love her Valentine.
Dinner was all nice and sparkly. Mary was quite proud of her prowess with the fish.
"Needs more salt," was the only thing her mama had to say to all
her hard work but it was just 'water off a duck's back' to her today.
That would be a 'not tonight' look. Sorry Beulah.
Life proceeded much the same as always.
And somehow Mary even made time for a new hobby, or chore.
Someone had to do the mendin' and darnin' and hemmin'.
Leave the sewing to the women
You go get some trimmin'
And we'll make a lovely dress for
Cinderelly
*Oh, wait, wrong update. Sorry*
"Yo Loverboy! Call!"
Scot couldn't even be annoyed by Dixie's teasing.
Virginia was on the phone!
He'd gladly be her Loverboy.
Ever since she told him about the baby and then about the baby bein' gone Valentine had been
so distant with Mary. She was frettin' herself sick thinkin' on what she did wrong. Did he blame
her? Why didn't he come for her? Poor Mary was in mourning for the family she'd set her
heart on: charmin' husband, right pretty kids, and a brand new baby to make it all come right.
She had to face the facts that it wasn't gonna happen but she wasn't ready yet.
Bein' busy was who Mary was. And it helped keep her mind offa other stuff, stuff that couldn't be
helped. All that she did was for love of her family. That's the kinda dedication any man should
appreciate, even if he was a big-time athlete with money and fame and girls all...chasin'...him. Oh.
Fall would be ending soon so the pressure was on to get in as much
harvesting as possible and stockpile for the winter.
Looks like Rhett scouted out a supplier for his Pop's bar.
Maybe it's enough to redeem him so he can work for Pop at The Dugout and not for Daytona anymore?
*Don't hold your breath on that one, buddy boy.*
Being the only cop around means that, functionally, the law is what Homer says it is.
At least, it's what he's willing to enforce.
Bootlegging is a harmless pastime in a town like this. With Homer at the helm, it was win-win.
Homer's contribution to sales isn't what enabled them to expand Beulah's home business, however.
Their home (like the Weiss house and surely others to come) is owned by Rich Mann, which means
they've got enough in savings even after rent and taxes are paid to invest in themselves a bit.
Just a little bit. Everything still depends on the kids pitching in wherever they can.
But the younger ones were easily distracted.
So long as they had Mary to pick up the slack what did it matter?
Rocky loved coming over here. Delta is his best friend and River's his friend, too.
But Dixie is, is, is Dixie!
His friends had both conked out but he wasn't ready to go home, his Dad
or probably Virgie would pick him up eventually. In the meantime...
"Okay. Hop on up then. What'll you have, a trim and a shave?"
Bad news spread fast around Widespot.
Mary couldn't understand how a woman could do that to her family, especially a woman
like Sandy Beech. She had everything she coulda wanted! Pretty house, them nice
clothes, a husband who loved her to bits and two great kids. Shame on Rhett! Shame.
Mary was still hard at it although this patch was as good as dead with winter just around the corner.
Surprisingly, she enjoyed keeping track of the business side of things,
much more than the gardening, grinding, milking, churning...but
she did still love to cook. She could hardly get near the stove
lately, though, except for making the family meals.
Beulah was baking up a storm!
Expanding the business in time for winter was just the boon Beulah'd been lookin' for.
Folks were constantly in and out, stocking up on supplies or gobblin' up her pies!
It was fantastic. She kissed River goodbye and sent him off to school with his brother
and sisters and with them out of the house it was time to get down to business.
River loved school! The only other kids with him were Delta and Rocky but if he finished up his
work fast enough he got to listen in on Mr. Weiss with the big kids. He'd be joining them pretty soon.
He wasn't as naturally gifted as Scot but he worked hard and he wanted to be just like him!
Dixie wasn't so thrilled about school. She made okay grades (better than Goldie's) but it
was BORING. Virgie spent all her free time with her dumb brother now, Dixie didn't like
Goldie, she thought she was a stuck-up prisspot, Woody was cool but he had issues,
and that girl Viola didn't know how to keep her hands to herself.
What Dixie didn't notice was that Virgie's got her own issues these days. She knew
better than to trust a Hart, no matter what her Grandma said and did. That look she's
got locked on Goldie was just her way of saying: Don't start nothin', won't be nothin'.
And if Viola stuck that finger in Dixie's face one more time, she swore she was gonna BREAK IT!
*This could be the key to why Dixie and Virginia were besties, despite the odds. They were both
a little short on impulse control. Good thing Dixie's way too lazy to go all Heavenly Creatures.*
Scot should also take a warning. Virgie is oh-so-serious about keeping a
handle on what's hers. He might want to be less friendly. Jus' sayin'.
While oblivious about some things, Scot was pretty perceptive about others.
Junior had been coming around a lot lately. Scot didn't know what he wanted with Mary but he
did know what he saw with his own eyes at the Makeout Spot. Junior and Candy Hart, putting
it to good use. Maybe Candy's just that kind of girl but Scot decided to keep an eye on Junior.
Junior didn't stay. He got all agitated as soon as he saw Mary even though he asked for her!
She had other things on her mind anyway, Valentine-type things. She still hadn't seen him but she
didn't see the harm in explainin' to Delta how great it was to be so good at something that people
all over the world wanna watch you do it. Mr. Valentine was so great at baseball that everybody
who ever came to Widespot was gonna run to have their picture taken with him at his new
business. Some folks were just special like that and you had to...wait your turn.
River wasn't s'posed to play with Teddy anymore, he was
Delta's friend now..but he missed him. He stood by
tentatively, to see what Dixie might say.
He picked the wrong sibling to be worried about. One, Dixie wasn't paying him any mind. Two, even
if she did she wouldn't care. It was only Mama and Daddy who worried about him playing with "Delta's" toys.
Fellowshippin' was a weekly tradition with the Lands.
Some things about back home Beulah gladly left behind but others she
carried around deeply embedded in her bones and she felt compelled to testify.
*With a name like Beulah Land...couldn't help myself.*
Homer didn't have the heart to burst Beulah's bubble so he never told her outright he
wasn't into all this...praisin' and propoundin' like she was. Plus he figured it was a
good thing for his children to grow up with morals. That's all that mattered in the end,
far as he was concerned. Beulah was believer enough for both of 'em.
Safe to say Dixie was with her father on that one.
But the whole family, whether they liked it or not, gathered around every week.
Beulah did have the gift of oratory.
"...And the good book says the thievin' man, I say the thievin' man, shall not pass through
the gates to any holy, hallowed place without the alarms a-blarin' and a-blazin' to call attention
to the sinner and say unto him: Thou dost not belong here, sinner! Unburden yourself of all
this ill-gotten gain and come back when you've got an invitation. Can I get an amen..."
She got an amen, and more.
This was everybody's favourite part.
Scot, the future scientist*, was the most enthusiastic when the time came to rejoice!
A family sim to his core, this time together was tradition and it moved him...
...apparently it moved little Delta, too :-)
Mary had her own supplications to make.
She went to see Valentine. She knew it wasn't right, it didn't feel
right. It felt...final. Oh, perish the thought, perish the thought.
"Y'know you do so much for us, Mary." Too much, Dixie thought. Not that she
ever offered to pick up the slack, never crossed her mind. "How are we
gonna do without you when you get married and move away?"
"Married?" Mary sighed, "Don't you worry none 'bout that."
*I am mostly using nepheris's rules as a guideline with modifications cobbled together from all and sundry and liable to change at any time but I think it was from the original rules that a position in science is opened upon a teen transitioning with logic maxed. Scot has knowledge sim habits which make him the prime candidate though he is, absolutely, a family sim at heart. I haven't given him a secondary aspiration, and I won't until/unless he moves out of this house.
Scot is also the only overachieving child of his two overachiever parents. Dixie kind of lost the genetic lottery (to say nothing of das chin), being the most underachieving sim possible but aspiring toward fortune. So sad for her future aspiration meter! Thus far her personality has evened out, well overruled, her wants. No wants at all for stuff and more stuff. And for a job? Yeah right. When she moves out, because she absolutely will, she's getting a pleasure secondary. No need to wait because she's already bucked the family tradition but she's due to age up next rotation anyway.
Those 2 teen girls, Viola and Sadie, are NPCs who don't function as such because I've cancelled the newspaper and no one owns the General Store yet. Haven't felt the need to townify them but even if they don't ever get written in completely they will be aged up with this gen.
One more note, the cross was used for the immediacy of its symbolism, and because Beulah Land is a Christian metaphor. Aside from that it works just as well for my purposes if they're praising the Most Holy Plumbbob or the Almighty Quinn. Might be more fitting but, thus far, my sims have yet to discover my existence. Happy Simming!