Round 3 (Spring): Batavus/Mead
Change continues to sweep over Sainte-Margo, with our first new household and a new play rotation. A whole sim week was starting to feel like a little much, so I'm switching to 5-day seasonal rounds. And in retrospect, I suppose Piet's turn should come at the end of this round instead of right after Batavus original flavor.... but whatever. Pay no attention to these inconsistencies, and look at Milo taking Yardbird out for his evening stroll!
So Piet has moved into the brand new house his parents built for him on their lot. It's small, but he still wanted some company since he'd never lived alone before. When he heard Jasper was living in a shed, asking him to move in seemed like the most logical thing in the world. They rented a truck and drove to Sim City to stock up on flea market furniture and everything else they needed to set up house-- it was a really, really, really long drive (which is why no one in Ste-Margo ever does it), but they looked on it as a roommate bonding experience. Plus, they needed stuff.
Piet's bedroom. Jasper has a small room that I apparently did not photograph, but you can see a tiny sliver of it on the left of the picture of their bathroom and WC:
Feeling flush with their newfound independence, Jasper and Piet decide to open a business together and soon. But first they would need startup capital. I briefly have Jasper digging for treasure before I remember that I have a mod that allows sims to take out loans. F U, digging!
Piet finds out that one of the town's original buildings on Main Street is available for purchase, just across the street from Milo's bar.
Jasper says he'd never seen that building the entire time he was living with Milo. But nope, it was ALWAYS THERE. You just didn't notice. Ahem. Anyway, the building is available for a song. Amazing! How could that be?
Oh.
Well, no matter. Piet and Jasper are both young and full of enthusiasm, and in no time at all, they have the place all fixed up and ready to open. They've decided it will be a book/music store, which they're calling Books & Bobs.
You can see Milo's across the street and then the very edge of the Batavus Fish Market lot out the side window. [This store was so fun to decorate, especially since it's full of things I recolored just for the occasion-- a few posters and the "record" boxes and tiny band pins and the bulletin boards. Learning to make things is magical!]
They don't have enough money to fix up the back room or any of the second story, but they at least wash the windows and get rid of the trash. For now, it's just a place to keep a microwave and a couch, and they know they'll have space to expand in the future.
Jasper rings up their first customer as Piet looks on with pride. Books & Bobs is on its way!
They hang their first simoleon on the wall, and Jasper tries not to get hit in the nuts by the register drawer.
Yay, awesome-faced townie returns! These poor guys must get tired of shopping all day long.
As business hours wind down, Piet catches Jasper flirting with Millie Mole, and he flips out. Piet! You guys aren't even dating! Learn to share!
Jasper tries to apologize in front of the store...
... and back at home...
And then they decide to dance it out.
[I also made their rug, since I didn't have one that I liked for their room. Yay making stuff!]
Lucy comes by the next morning and heart-farts all over the place.
But then when Piet even tries to check her out, she gets all huffy. Jasper sees some karmic justice in this. I just see Piet's life as usual. :(
Piet's taken a job in law enforcement to work toward his goal of becoming Captain Hero, but he doesn't start until 8PM so the day is his. Since it's so nice out, he and Jasper take a trip to the town's newly opened beach!
This is the first free community lot for the town, earned when Piet and Jasper became the fifth household. It's a pretty basic park, with a picnic shelter and bathroom facilities with showers; but with summer on the way, it's a great addition to the town.
Hi, Jasper!
Hi, Piet!
Lucy is being kind of a manipulative jerk, isn't she? Luckily, Piet takes no notice. He's got other things on his mind. Things he's been thinking about since he was a teenager...
Aw, Piet. Finally! Jasper's LTW is to go on 50 first dates, so I'm a little worried about that especially given how jealous Piet was in the bookstore before they'd even kissed. But let's not think about the future yet! Just savor the moment!
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We now interrupt this update for a very adorable dance smustle, brought to you by Jasper and Gemma.
End smustle.
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The next day while Piet's at work, Jasper goes to the fish market to buy groceries. [Yay for community lots!]
He's all, "Yoo-hooo, I'm buying your fii-iish!"
Then he heads home to wait for Piet.
Sigh. Things all seem so blissful and domestic.
Whatcha lookin' at, Jasper?
Jasper tries hard to keep himself busy while Piet's working and they're not at the store. But he gets so lonely. He's a pleasure/romance sim, after all. And seeing his old flame Wendy at the bookstore last night... he just can't help himself.
Oh Jasper.
And here's where things started to go pear-shaped real fast. I wanted to move Wendy in so that Jasper could have elf babies, but not too long after I did, I started getting endless jump bugs, and Piet came home with his skin missing! Yeek. Unfortunately, I'd already saved, and my last backup is from the end of Week 2. :/ I think (hope) it might have something to do with screwiness of this being an apartment lot that I'd improperly edited, so I've moved everyone out and remade the two houses as separate lots, and had Wendy move out of the Batavus/Mead household...................... But I don't know. It remains to be seen if that fixes things. In any case, that was day 5, the end of Spring 1 for Jasper and Piet! Fingers crossed, we'll be seeing them safe and sound again soon!
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