The Glass Life States Dynasty

[officialghosts]

Well hi! Last time I was attempting dynasties I planned on taking a little sims break and then coming back shortly, and then went off and did other things for a year and a half. But I'm back again and this time, with an already completed dynasty.

I've spent the last two weeks speeding through the Life States Dynasty, and finished officially just yesterday. Gotta be honest, it's a little surreal. I spent so much time reading through other people's Dynasty stories when I was a teen, and I've gone back and revisited quite a few of them recently. I always wanted to complete one and have my own place in the hall of fame, but at the time I didn't really have the capability, for multiple reasons. So it's super cool to finally be able to make that happen, even if the Sims 3 side of the forums is understandably a lot less busy these days.

I decided to play this challenge in Midnight Hollow. It's understandably an acquired taste, but I've always been a little goth at heart and it's one of my favorite worlds. And the dark, dreary vibes felt like a perfect setting for a Life States Dynasty... and also no other Dynasty challenge, so I figured if I didn't use it now I might never get to! Which would be a waste of a beautiful town and a chance at grayscale skin sliders.

As mentioned, I've already completed the dynasty. I'll post the full stats shortly. No story, but I plan on doing an individual summary for each heir over the next week or two. For now, here are the broad details and a family photo:


The Glass Life States Dynasty
Life States Used: Genie, Witch, Fairy, Werewolf, Vampire, Imaginary Friend, Old Age Ghost
Finished: Week 37, Day 1

Packs Played With: Ambitions, World Adventures, Late Night, Generations, Supernatural, Showtime
Supernaturals on, Celebrities off. Moon phase set permanently to third quarter.

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Back Row: Star (Gen 5, Vampire), Picturebook (Gen 6, Imaginary Friend), Amira (Gen 1, Genie), Nim (Gen 3, Fairy), Belladonna (Gen 2, Witch)
Front Row: Phoebe (Gen 7, Old Age Ghost), Fallon (Gen 4, Werewolf)

[officialghosts]

Generation 1 - Amira Glass
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Life State: Genie
Traits: Angler, Eccentric, Dislikes Children, Hydrophobic, Coward
LTW: Presenting the Perfect Private Aquarium (Completed)
Spouse: Jack Limb (Witch)
Children: Elphaba Glass (Genie), Nessarose Glass (Witch), Belladonna Glass (Witch, Heir)

Vacation Days Used: None

Adult Requirements:
1 Occult Best Friend: Sarah Holden (Witch)
2 Career Rewards: Inventor's Hero Medal, Inventor's Epic Hero Medal
3 Opportunities: Lots of Fresh Fish, Intelligence Through Environment, A Task About Time
4 Life Time Rewards: Efficient Inventor, Fireproof Homestead, No Bills Ever, Collection Helper
5 Wishes Worth 5k: Master Inventing Skill, Master Fishing Skill, Marry Jack, Make a Time Machine, Detonate 100 Objects
6 Skill Challenges: Widget Wonder, Diabolical Detonator, Scrap Collector, The Ultimate Invention, Commercial Fisherman, Amateur Ichthyologist
7 Mausoleum Items: Time Machines


Generation 2 - Belladonna Glass
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Life State: Witch
Traits: Genius, Friendly, Frugal, Slob, Coward
LTW: Mystic Healer (Never Completed)
Spouse: Cedrick Winchester (Fairy)
Children: Fabien Glass (Witch), Nim Glass (Fairy, Heir), Florus Glass (Fairy)

Vacation Days Used: 1, in China

Toddler Requirements:
Skills: Peg Box Lvl 3, Xylophone Lvl 3
Best Friends with Both Parents: Y
Child Requirements:
Honor Roll: Y
Opportunity: Stinky Bugs
Teen Requirements:
Honor Roll: Y
Romantic Interest: Rita Hansen
Level 3 in Mausoleum Career: Y

Adult Requirements:
1 Occult Best Friend: Conrad Finley (Fairy)
2 Career Rewards: Investigator's Case Board, Investigator's Honor Trophy
3 Opportunities: Taking Down Sinclair, The Case of the Longing Heart, The Case of the Enthusiastic Fan
4 Life Time Rewards: Flying Vacuum, Magic Hands, Bookshop Bargainer, Haggler
5 Wishes Worth 5k: Master Logic Skill, Marry Cedrick, Reach Level 10 of the Investigator Career, Discover 50 Stars, Be Worth More Than 150k
6 Skill Challenges: Grand Master, Celestial Explorer, Teacher Extraordinaire, Skill Professor, Master Chemist, Butterfly Collector
7 Mausoleum Items: Potions


Generation 3 - Nim Glass
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Life State: Fairy
Traits: Artistic, Loves the Outdoors, Light Sleeper, Over-Emotional, Perceptive
LTW: Greener Gardens (Completed)
Spouse: Annie Lau (Werewolf)
Children: Erica Glass (Fairy), Fallon Glass (Werewolf, Heir), Riley Glass (Werewolf)

Vacation Days Used: 3, in France

Toddler Requirements:
Skills: Peg Box Lvl 3, Xylophone Lvl 3
Best Friends with Both Parents: Y
Child Requirements:
Honor Roll: Y
Opportunity: Pile of Permission Slips
Teen Requirements:
Honor Roll: Y
Romantic Interest: Belinda Hyman
Level 3 in Mausoleum Career: Y

Adult Requirements:
1 Occult Best Friend: Darian Allard (Werewolf)
2 Career Rewards: Stylist's Key to the City, Painting Certificate
3 Opportunities: Uncommonly Good, Outstanding Tasting Ingredients, Fresco Fest
4 Life Time Rewards: King of the Fae, Extra Creative, Super Green Thumb, Philosopher's Stone
5 Wishes Worth 5k: Master Painting Skill, Master Bass Skill, Marry Annie, Reach Level 10 of Stylist Career, Paint Something Worth 4k
6 Skill Challenges: Master Planter, Botanical Boss, Master Farmer, Brushmaster, Proficient Painter, Master Painter
7 Mausoleum Items: Sketches


Generation 4 - Fallon Glass
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Life State: Werewolf
Traits: Heavy Sleeper, Absent-Minded, Angler, Can't Stand Art, Natural Born Performer
LTW: Leader of the Pack (Never Completed)
Spouse: Young Jae Sung (Vampire)
Children: Sun Glass (Werewolf), Moon Glass (Werewolf), Star Glass (Vampire, Heir), Lucien Glass (Vampire), Nari Glass (Vampire)

Vacation Days Used: None

Toddler Requirements:
Skills: Peg Box Lvl 3, Xylophone Lvl 3
Best Friends with Both Parents: Y
Child Requirements:
Honor Roll: Y
Opportunity: Archeology Exhibit
Teen Requirements:
Honor Roll: Y
Romantic Interest: Stacie Byrd
Level 3 in Mausoleum Career: Y

Adult Requirements:
1 Occult Best Friend: Loretta Winn (Vampire)
2 Career Rewards: Simfest Trophy, Athletic Certificate
3 Opportunities: No Sweat!, Add it Up, Happy Pamper
4 Life Time Rewards: Engaging, That Was Deliberate, Alpha Wolf, Complimentary Entertainment
5 Wishes Worth 5k: Master Athletics Skill, Master Martial Arts Skill, Marry Young Jae, Reach Level 10 of Acrobat Career, Meditate for 24 Hours
6 Skill Challenges: Marathon Runner, Body Builder, Fitness Nut, Timber Terminator, Master of Meditation, Gem Collector
7 Mausoleum Items: Gems (Obtained from Board Breaking)


Generation 5 - Star Glass
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Life State: Vampire
Traits: Brave, Perceptive, Hot-Headed, Dislikes Children, Gatherer
LTW: Alchemy Artisan (Completed)
Spouse: Doily Glass (Imaginary Friend)
Children: Puzzlebox Glass (Imaginary Friend), Picturebook Glass (Imaginary Friend, Heir)

Vacation Days Used: None

Toddler Requirements:
Skills: Peg Box Lvl 3, Xylophone Lvl 3
Best Friends with Both Parents: Y
Child Requirements:
Honor Roll: Y
Opportunity: Pile of Permission Slips
Teen Requirements:
Honor Roll: Y
Romantic Interest: Helmut Fennell
Level 3 in Mausoleum Career: Y

Adult Requirements:
1 Occult Best Friend: Moon Glass (Werewolf)
2 Career Rewards: Firefighter's Key to the City, Fire Alarm
3 Opportunities: Bring Back the Jams, Fix the Election... Machines, Substitute Instructor
4 Life Time Rewards: Immortal, Inappropriate in a Good Way, Body Sculptor, ExtraordinAIRe-inator
5 Wishes Worth 5k: Master Alchemy Skill, Master Handiness Skill, Reach Level 10 of Firefighter Career, Reach Level 10 of Alchemy Career, Upgrade 50 Objects
6 Skill Challenges: Electrician, Plumber, Tinkerer, Alchemists' Anonymous, Excellent Elixirs, Master Alchemist
7 Mausoleum Items: Elixirs (Bottled Vampire's Bite)


Generation 6 - Picturebook Glass
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Life State: Imaginary Friend
Traits: Heavy Sleeper, Virtuoso, Over-Emotional, Slob, Family Oriented
LTW: One Sim Band (Never Completed)
Spouse: Estella Stout (Old Age Ghost)
Children: Phoebe Glass (Old Age Ghost, Heir)

Vacation Days Used: 2, in Egypt

Toddler Requirements:
Skills: Peg Box Lvl 3, Xylophone Lvl 3
Best Friends with Both Parents: Y
Child Requirements:
Honor Roll: Y
Opportunity: Research Project
Teen Requirements:
Honor Roll: Y
Romantic Interest: Caitlin Klein
Level 3 in Mausoleum Career: Y

Adult Requirements:
1 Occult Best Friend: Ashlee Wray (Vampire)
2 Career Rewards: Photographer's Key to the City, Photography Certificate
3 Opportunities: The Pyramids, Finger Tips, Pathetique Organizational Skill
4 Life Time Rewards: Jetsetter, Prepared Traveler, Teleportation Pad, The Next Big Thing
5 Wishes Worth 5k: Master Photography Skill, Master Piano Skill, Reach Level 10 of Photographer Career, Take a Photo Worth 3.5k, Take a Photo Worth 5k
6 Skill Challenges: Photog, Architectural Eye, Human Form Expert, Paparazzi, Master Pianist, Money Maker
7 Mausoleum Items: Photographs


Generation 7 - Phoebe Glass
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Life State: Old Age Ghost
Traits: Heavy Sleeper, Loner, Eccentric, Good Sense of Humor, Disciplined
LTW: Golden Tongue, Golden Fingers (Never Completed)
Spouse: None
Children: None

Vacation Days Used: None

Toddler Requirements:
Skills: Peg Box Lvl 3, Xylophone Lvl 3
Best Friends with Both Parents: Y
Child Requirements:
Honor Roll: Y
Opportunity: Quest for the Lead
Teen Requirements:
Honor Roll: Y
Romantic Interest: Arron Lawrence
Level 3 in Mausoleum Career: Y

Adult Requirements:
1 Occult Best Friend: Karl Simon (Vampire)
2 Career Rewards: Sculptor's Epic Hero Medal, Sculpting Certificate
3 Opportunities: An Old Ruse, Delivering the Green, Tons of Tips
4 Life Time Rewards: Suave Seller, Opportunistic, Artisan Crafter, Eye Candy
5 Wishes Worth 5k: Reach Level 10 of Sculpting Career, Make A Masterpiece Sculpture, Place 50 Sculptures, Own 7 Venues, Be Worth More Than 1 Million
6 Skill Challenges: Chiselmeister, Prolific Sculptor, Master Sculptor, Consignment Store Reputation, Consignment Store Sales, Consignment Profit
7 Mausoleum Items: Stone Sculptures


The Final Count:
Vacation Days Used: Six
Children Born: Seventeen
Most Commonly Rolled Traits: Heavy Sleeper (Seven), Slob (Five), Can’t Stand Art (Four)
Heirs Whose Favorite Color Was Black: Three
Libras: Three (Belladonna, Nim, and Star)
Geminis: Two (Fallon and Picturebook)
(Amira was a Virgo, Phoebe a Capricorn)
Times Belladonna Turned Off the Lights, Then Got Scared Because It Was Dark: Countless

[Beks]

Ooh, another Life States Dynasty! I love this and I can't wait to see more details whenever you share them. And how impressive that you got the whole thing done so quickly!

I love the names you chose (and that some of them are subtly punny, like Amira). Also, the way you styled each Sim, plus their ending poses and museum displays...just *chef's kiss*. The stats at the very end cracked me up. Belladonna screwing with the lights and being scared of the dark is hilarious.

[Trip]

Congrats! I'll get home later today and do my finishing thread move and message to you about what else I need for the HoF entry (not much)

I love the Midnight Hollow aesthetic and I'm glad it stuck for a while

[officialghosts]

@Trip @Beks thank you both! I’ll get that info to you straight away, Trip. And Beks, yeah, the frugal and coward trait combo ended up leading to some prime sims stupidity. The fact that we didn’t pay any bills and that she spent most of her time locked in a single room did not deter Belladonna from turning off the lights on herself constantly.

I love to see more Midnight Hollow appreciation! It has such a different vibe from any other sims world, and it was super fun creating sims I thought would live there. Also a great chance to use a lot of clothing and hair I usually wouldn’t use on sims living in a place like Sunset Valley, plus that grayscale skin slider that managed to stick around until the end.

On that note, here's Amira:

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Tragically, the slightly pointed ears would be gone by gen 2. Most of her other features would absolutely refuse to leave, though. Not that I minded much (at least for the first few generations), because I really loved how she turned out. I was trying to juggle fitting her into the world, making her look feel true to her personality, and referencing the Arabic origins of genies in a way that was less, uh... obtuse than the game generated ones. This was part of the reason I made her a genie in the first place, to avoid working a bright blue sim with puddingface into the rather desaturated Midnight Hollow. Also, the perfect meals on demand and instant showers are wonderful. She ended up with a kind of victorian mad scientist look that I like a lot.

The Amira Glass pun was kind of a happy accident, funnily enough; I wanted her name to be Arabic in origin, and had been using Glass as a last name in dynasties for a while. I only realized what it could read as after I had already chosen Amira as her name, lol.

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Amira ended up with a charming set of traits: Eccentric, Angler, Dislikes Children, Hydrophobic, and Coward. You know you're in for a good time when your sims has multiple traits with big red Xs on them. To be honest, I was just excited to have two skill-related traits that added up to six skill challenges. Not often you get that clear a sense of direction from this challenge! As for her negative traits, Coward was the biggest pain, as it brought her mood down when she was fishing or inventing in the lawn at night. I ended up making a house much sooner than I expected just to avoid that moodlet. Hydrophobic didn't matter when I had outdoor showers and instant clean from being a genie, and despite Dislikes Children she ended up rolling way more wishes about raising her kids than her spouse did.

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Said spouse was Jack Limb, a handsome young witch. Took his sweet time becoming one, though. In various life states attempts I've always gone for a witch as a first or second gen spouse (if I don't start as one), just because they don't live as long as the other occults and I like to use original townie genes as much as possible. But in this file it seemed like every life state BUT witch was populating like crazy. It took multiple weeks of running around introducing myself to everybody I could find to meet even one. And then after I moved Jack in he knew like, three other witches I hadn't met  .

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Jack would take care of much of the gardening and elixir making for the first few generations of the challenge, and his career outfit had him wearing a baseball cap that made him look like he was balding from the bottom of his head instead of the top. His heir daughter would get his lips, non-pointy ears, and nothing else. That's all there is to him, really. Oh, he also collected the life fruit, pink diamond and palladium Amira needed for the simbot! That was nice of him. Ah, the life of a dynasty spouse.

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The thing about fishing and inventing, as skills, is that they both take absolutely forever. Lots of big numbers to meet that can take a long time to fill. But I accepted that going in, and didn't worry as much about speed as I had in previous challenges, and honestly it was a refreshing change of pace. And I still ended up completing the challenge pretty quickly both in and out of game so it didn't even matter much. There's a lesson in this, maybe! I don't know. I'll think of one later.

So the main challenge in Amira's generation was the clock. And getting a good amount of money without crossing over any of the 5k+ net worth wishes. That involved a fun game of shaking the orb of answers a bunch to remind myself of the value of those wishes, while also not shaking it enough to get a bunch of 50k simoleon bonuses from it and invalidate any of those wishes. With a few emergency spa packages and a house built around them, I managed to work it out. Amira did not need any extra wishes, thankfully; the great blessing of Inventing as a skill. She never ended up maxing a career, despite spending time as both an Inventor and Angler, simply because she didn't need to! I also ended up rolling another 5k wish that I haven't seen mentioned before, to catch a 1,000 Kilogram fish. Amira completed Commercial Fisherman before she completed that one, but it was cool to see it regardless.

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Amira's first child was named, of course, Arnando, and immediately ran away from home to put on a human disguise and work as the elixir shop cashier. Her second set of children, after days spent parked in front of the tv while kids music blasted in the background, was three girls; the genie Elphaba, and the witches Nessarose and Belladonna. Amria spent the rest of her days making floor hygeinators and trying to learn logic and cooking to stress me out.

[officialghosts]

Another two generations! Belladonna, our witch heir, and Nim, our fairy.

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It's hard to tell, but Belladonna isn't an exact clone of her mother. She got her dad's lips and weight, and she's slightly paler. The resemblance is clear, though, and Nim took everything from his mother but his hair and skin sliders. At this point I didn't mind much, especially since they're both stunning, but if I had known how sticky some of Amira's features would be I might have made some different heir choices.

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Probably not in generation 2, though. The other witch born was Nessarose, who had a different face but less than ideal traits: she was an Insane, Couch Potato, Angler, Supernatural Fan, Loser. After a previous life states attempt that I quit largely thanks to an Insane heir who refused to roll several important 5k wishes I had sworn off the trait, but Couch Potato indicated a possible author and I trained her up to an adult anyways, in the hopes she would roll Bookworm or something. She did not. Belladonna started off and remained the clear favorite, and I literally sighed and said, "Oh, Nessa," out loud when she rolled Loser on her young adult birthday.

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The final of the three sisters was Elphaba, a genie. She got put in one of those life-saving baby swings from the store until the rush of teaching and tutoring was done for her sisters, and then pushed to a young adult in mere hours thanks to some Age of Instants. (Age of Instants are a fun elixir in the sense that they're incredibly helpful in this challenge and nearly nowhere else, lol. I've done some playing in different files since completing this one and I still try to reflexively collect any of the purple butterflies I see, before remembering I don't really need them.)

I like her quite a bit! Would have loved her face as the heir, but sadly it was not meant to be. And yes, they were named after Elphaba and Nessarose, aka the Wicked Witches of the West and East from Wicked. Belladonna was named after the Stevie Nicks album, which also felt appropriately witchy.

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Her sons, meanwhile, were named mostly off vibes and what felt right. Fabien was a witch who got so little attention I don't even really have pictures of him! He was blue, though! But had the generic mutation blonde hair. Kind of looked like a smurf. The alternate for heir was Florus, another fairy. He and Nim had this very fun alternating color scheme thing happening; Nim got his father (Cedrick Winchester)'s color sliders and his dark blue wings, while Florus got his mother's and a random set of bright red wings. He also got the Loves the Outdoors, Excitable, Disciplined, Kleptomaniac, and Lucky traits, which would have absolutely put him above every actual heir that wasn't Nim.

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If I knew what I knew now I would probably choose him, in fact. Partly because he actually got features from his dad. At the time I was more concerned about having different color sliders, but to be honest, those have always been a lot more changeable for me than facial features. The other reason was that Nim ended up being probably the biggest pain of the entire dynasty for me, and I can't ensure that Florus would be better, but he would have at least been working with skills that had more 5k wishes.

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Nim had great traits that set him on a clear path from the jump: he rolled Loves the Outdoors and Artistic at birth, and would later add Over-Emotional, Perceptive, and Light Sleeper. But he ended up being a big thorn in my side regardless because of his refusal to roll big wishes. He never wished to max Gardening. I originally intended for him to be an Architect, and he got all the way to level 9, but he didn't wish to max that either so I pushed through Stylist. I went through all the trouble of doing enough masterpieces to earn him the "Paint 5/10/15 Masterpieces" wishes, only for him to not roll the "Paint 25 Masterpieces" wish that would have netted him 5k. I was sitting on a "Style 25 Sims" wish that hopefully would have progressed to the "Style 50 Sims" one that earns 5k, but I really did not want to go through the trouble only for him to not roll that next wish. Or, even worse! Have him roll the wish and then having to actually do 50 makeovers 

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He ended up taking up Bass and thankfully, finally, rolled the last wish I needed. In retrospect I should have just tried to push him through the Gardener career as well, but at the time he was stressing me out and I had mostly used his gardening for nectarmaking and alchemy ingredients. After Nim I would try to specifically focus on skills that had a wide amount of extra 5k wishes in the hopes of avoiding the trouble he caused me again. I always forget how fickle and time consuming those painting ones can be.

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Bella had similar wish problems, thought not to the same extent. Her traits were Genius, Friendly, Slob, Frugal, and Coward, and it made sense to me to exclusively have her learn Logic and supplement the final skill challenge with collecting. But this made her a little short of wishes, especially when she didn't roll the "Discover All Potions" wish upon maxing Logic. I keep trying to find some reason for this; maybe it's because she's a coward? But it was probably just bad luck. I had hoped to not rely on the Orb of Answers so early, but to be honest, it would have likely been a struggle for the family to stay under the 150k net worth line into the next generation anyways, while also keeping up enough cash flow to pay for spa packages and the like. On that note, hey, it's one of the only shots I took of the house! Most of that space was devoted to future cells for future heirs to keep them out of my way.

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Belladonna married Cedrick Winchester for his dark blue wings and shiny red hair. Nim married Annie Lau for her purple streaks and her werewolfism. I actually like them both plenty as sims, but Jack had already done all the hard work and by the second generation they mainly existed to just bring in more babies. Cedrick and Annie actually managed to both max their careers and complete their LTWs, though, which is more than can be said for the other spouses.

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Originally I intended to get into my child-rearing process for this challenge in this part, but it feels like this has gone on plenty long enough already! I'll discuss it in the next part. For now, I'll just leave a few pictures of the twin heirs as teens and call it here.

[mpart]

Your sims are absolutely gorgeous and I love the fact you did a dynasty in Midnight Hollow!  I did a few of them myself, but they ended up failing, so I'm excited to see one that made it to the finish line! I adore Nim. I think he is my favorite.