The Ghosts of Twinbrook (Life States Dynasty)

[hazelnut]

You sure take the quick approach. Good writing for sure.

Thank you.  I get bored with the childhood stages - I prefer skilling with adults.  Having spent some time on Chris and Vicky as kids, I found I didn't really want to write much about this generation learning toddler skills and going to school.  They were a lot more straightforward anyway.  Hal and Ed both zipped through homework: one became a genius as a child, the other as a teen, in response to parental wishes.  They both got bookworm as the other trait and then workaholic as young adults.  Hal is now in business (and has acquired a very pretty fiancée) and Ed's in medicine.  Even Will had a much more straightforward childhood than Chris (she really did hate school - came home stressed most days) and having a motive mobile to drive around in as a teen (thanks to Vicky) meant he coped much better with combining school and a job: he got to level 3 in less than a week, whereas I was quite worried that Chris wouldn't make it before she aged up.

I really enjoyed reading from Steward's POV. We rarely think about the spouses of our dynasties and/or legacies. It was a refreshing change to hear Steward's thoughts on everything.
 

Steward sounds like a totally unpleasant person, but I felt bad for him. I don't think he was expecting such a bad second life.

I'm trying to write parts of the story from each spouse's POV.  It just sort of happened with Vernon but I decided to carry on.

Steward really isn't very nice (grumpy, frugal, can't stand art, dislkes children, workaholic) and he drove me mad turning off lights all the time and giving everyone the 'It's Dark!' mooodlet.  I felt sorry for Chris having to marry him (although they did have a trait in common).  If there'd been another meteor ghost around, he certainly wouldn't have been in the family tree.  I was worried about the toddler 'best friends' requirement, too - although that turned out to be OK.  Steward was actually quite good about feeds and nappy changes (better than Ana, in fact, and she's supposed to be family-oriented) and had level 10 charisma and the attractive reward before Will was a toddler. He just got the bad moodlet from being around kids, so I did end up pitying him, too.  It wasn't all bad - he did get his LTW and a lot of happiness points before he died - but he was exploited for his genes, essentially.  Poor Sim.

I found the picture of William practicing ballet to be oddly amusing.

Me too.  There's just something funny about a chubby little boy in glasses doing an échappé.

[hazelnut]

Chapter 7: The Art of Living

Ever since he grew out of dreams of ballet stardom, Will had intended to become a composer – but then Grandmamma Ana gave him a camera and a photography book for his young adult birthday and he discovered a new enthusiasm.  He wondered whether it would be possible to make a career out of his new hobby.  After registering as self-employed at the town hall, he took to wandering around the town at all hours of the day and night in search of the perfect snap.

While he was trying to find the best angle for a really arty shot of the reservoir, he made a new friend.



Archibald the cockatoo quickly settled into the household.





Will was rapidly becoming respected as a photographer but he felt his pictures weren’t true works of art yet.  In search of inspiration and new subjects, he visited the local gallery.  When he made his way up to the top floor, he was surprised to find an urn tucked away next to one of the sculptures.



Why would anyone be buried in an art gallery?  He became obsessed by the question and even after he’d decided he’d gone as far as he could with photography and joined the music career, he haunted the gallery at night, in case anyone else was doing the same.  And then, one night, he met her.


Everyone knew the story of Timmy de Bleu, the rich young idiot who had frittered away his inheritance on expensive nectar, dubious friends and exotic travel.  He was an easy target for dodgy foreign merchants – he always returned from his trips laden with overpriced (and often oversized) souvenirs.  When he came back from Egypt looking even seedier than usual, the local gossip disagreed on whether it was ‘one of them foreign diseases’ or a mummy’s curse.  Whatever it was, he went rapidly downhill.  They never found a body – just an odd pile of dust and a tombstone, which was soon moved to Ivy Hill Graveyard.

The de Bleu house was shuttered up and slowly fell into ruins – somehow, no-one seemed to want to buy it.  Of course, it was a magnet for teenage boys – spending a night alone in the spooky old mansion became a rite of passage.  The more daring even slept in the sarcophagi.  Inevitably, the time came when, after extensive sampling of the nectar cellars, one lad spent rather too many hours passed out in a particularly handsome sarcophagus.  When he awoke with a headache, he thought he was just shuffling around because he felt so awful.  Then he saw himself in a mirror.

Rumours started to spread about a mummy roaming the town but no-one was sure how seriously to take them.  A teenage boy had disappeared – had the mummy got him?  More sensible folk pointed out that he’d often talked about leaving Twinbrook for somewhere more exciting.  Probably he’d finally run off to seek his fortune.

Tina-Patricia Copper had always suffered from insomnia and it was getting worse as she got older.  She found that going out for a walk helped and, after a while, began to enjoy her solitary night-time rambles.  She often found inspiration for her paintings in the moonlit town.  One night, she was walking through the woods near the old de Bleu house when she saw it.  There really was a mummy!  Being a peaceable soul, Tina was inclined to leave it well alone, but it lumbered over and attacked her.

Miss Copper was a respected member of the community, so people believed her story – and her declining health was obvious.  A mob marched on the old house and burned it, relics, cellar and all.  The mummy was never heard of again – but it was too late for Tina-Patricia.  None of the doctors knew how to treat her curse.  The townsfolk tried to raise money to send her to Egypt in search of a cure but soon she was too ill to travel.  In her will, she asked to be interred in the art gallery – she’d always loved wandering around looking at the old masters there.  It was an odd request, but she’d become something of a local celebrity and so the mayor was happy to agree.  For some years after her death, there were regular exhibitions of her work on the top floor near her urn.

At first, she emerged most nights, gazing at her favourite artworks in peace and being surprised at the prominence given to her own paintings, but as the years passed she started to feel lonely and came out at increasingly long intervals, just checking to see whether there were any new paintings or sculptures on display.  Maybe she should have opted for burial in the graveyard.  At least she’d have had company.

But then she met him.




Love at first sight may be a cliché but it really does happen sometimes.



In a single night, Tina and Will became friends and then somewhat more.  Things were just about to start getting really interesting when the eastern horizon started to grow light and Tina-Patricia was inexorably pulled back into her urn.



Will was devastated.  He’d just met the woman of his dreams and now she’d been snatched away.



Fortunately, he knew just who to talk to.  He poured out his troubles to Grandmamma Ana.  She knew all about ghosts and she’d always been sympathetic when his brothers had teased him abut being ‘special’ and ‘The Chosen One’.  It was all very well being the heir but they had a lot more freedom than Will did – and she'd made them realise it.  Now she listened to his story and made a few calls.  She really did have a hold over the scientists at the lab – only a few days later, his phone rang.







They spent the whole day wandering around town together.  Tina was surprised to see the reservoir – the dam had been proposed in her lifetime but seeing the whole project completed was rather a shock, as was the realisation that her childhood home was now underwater.  Still, the artificial lake was undeniably attractive.

As night closed in, William became more confidently romantic…



…and finally asked Tina-Patricia to marry him.








Next chapter

[TheTripWasInfraGreen]

Welcome Tina! I was thinking he'd go for one of the ladies that burned to death, but Tina's fine too. The mummy's curse ghosts look so much cooler anyways.

[hazelnut]

I was heading that way, too. Two orangey ghosts together would have looked rather good.  I was going to marry a female heir to Timmy de Bleu but decided I couldn't face another cowardly ghost.  (Having said that, I'll probably get a cowardly heir next generation .)  Tina has lovely traits.  She's a nice change after Steward.

[RainBeau]

She does have really great traits. I love the whole backstory with Timmy and all. This story is a true work of art!

[saltpastillen]

Having almost never played with the ghosts of Twinbrook I find this story very fascinating. A great read!

[hazelnut]

She does have really great traits. I love the whole backstory with Timmy and all. This story is a true work of art!

Having almost never played with the ghosts of Twinbrook I find this story very fascinating. A great read!

Thank you.

This is my favourite generation so far.  I was even happy when Will rolled the hot-headed trait - it just seemed so wonderfully appropriate for a meteor ghost

[hazelnut]

Chapter 8: Songs in the Key of Life

Tina-Patricia fitted into the household from the very beginning.  She and Vicky were best friends almost immediately, united by their shared love of gardening and cooking.  It was no surprise that Tina-Pat asked Vicky to propose the toast at her hen party.



Will’s grandmother, the eminent surgeon and chess champion, seemed intimidating at first but then Tina discovered that Ana loved games of all kinds and they became friends.



The only member of the family she hadn’t got to know well was William’s mother.  Christabel always seemed to be busy at the stadium or working out.  At first, she wondered whether Chris thought Tina wasn’t good enough for her son but then Vicky explained that Chris was pursuing a long-held dream.  These days, reaching the top of her career was the most important thing in her life.

Sometimes, Will seemed to be heading the same way.  It was Ana who told Tina why William was so determined to become a hit movie composer before marrying – and then she explained a great deal more.



The story seemed incredible – but then so was meeting a mummy in sleepy Twinbrook.

At the end of her story, Ana gave Tina an engagement present – one of her special medical treatments.







Ana had a present for Will, too.

“William, dear, I know that you are close to finishing your tasks.  This gift may help.”



“A gift?  What is it?  Or is it a surprise?”



“You may well find it surprising.  A word of advice: open it when you are alone and are certain you will not be interrupted.  The instructions are inside the box.

"And William..."

"Yes?"

"Please shave off that ridiculous beard before your wedding."

The next morning, Will got up early and looked for a suitable spot to unwrap his present.  The instructions consisted of two words: RUB IT.

The effect was certainly surprising.










“…and so my grandson William reached the top of the music career and married his adored Tina-Patricia.





“Apparently the old bandstand has some significance for them; I think he proposed nearby.  To me it seemed a remarkably draughty place for a wedding.

 “My daughter Christabel reached the top of the sports career on the same day, so there was extra cause for celebration…



“…although I still fail to understand her obsession with sports stardom.  Anyway, from our point of view, the really exciting news is…”


Summary – generation 3
Heir: William Goole
Life state: meteor ghost
Traits: brave, perceptive, hot-headed, virtuoso,  no sense of humour
Lifetime wish: Hit Movie Composer

Toddler requirements: best friends with both parents, reached  level 3 in two skills (painting books, writing books)
Child requirements: on honor roll, one opportunity completed (Quest for the Lead)
Teenager requirements: on honor roll, reached  level 3 in mausoleum clerk part-time job, had a romantic interest (Doris Tisdale)





Unique best friend: Christian Shields (genie)
Two career rewards: Photographer’s Key to the City, stereo
Three unique opportunities: In the End, The Rockiest Road that is Rock, Filling the Application
Four unique Lifetime Happiness Rewards: Fireproof Homestead, Food Replicator, ExtraordinAIRe-inator, Body Sculptor
Five unique 5000+point wishes: own 5 venues, master photography skill, master guitar skill, earn §5000 in tips, reach level 10 of music career
Six unique skill challenges: Photog, Architectural Eye, Human Form Expert, Paparazzi, Master Guitarist, Money Maker
Seven items for mausoleum: photographs


Will and Tina were deliriously happy.  Soon after the wedding, Tina realised she was pregnant.



The news that she was about to become a grandmother won Chris over completely.  She had already lent Tina her tiara for her ‘something borrowed’ at the wedding.  Now, with her teenage ambition finally a reality, she was free to spend plenty of time getting to know her daughter-in-law.



There was one sad event in the middle of all this happiness: one morning, Will went to clean out Archibald’s cage and discovered that the cockatoo had fallen off his perch in the night.



Ana was particularly upset – she’d been fond of Archie and his death reminded her of the loss of her beloved Cecily.


After the usual interval, Tina went into labour.



First she had Leonora…



..then Katherine…



…and finally Emily.






Next chapter

[ladyaya]

Congratulations on triple ghostboos and an heir~
Too bad you don't have two to choose from. 
What are their traits?

[azokka361]

I don't play Twinbrook much, so is Tina-Patricia's tombstone actually in the art museum? And did she really die of the Mummy's Curse?

[TheTripWasInfraGreen]

Yes and yes. Even as an avid player of Twinbrook, I tend to leave art galleries alone and haven't actually seen Tina-Patricia in-game. Her urn is a little hard to notice too.

[RainBeau]

Feel free to post every day if you want to! I will add my congratulations on three nooboos of considerable variety.

[hazelnut]

Thanks, everyone.

Too bad you don't have two to choose from. 

It is rather irritating to have triplets but only one possible heir for the second generation in a row - although, when the first two popped out orange, I was beginning to think there wouldn't be an heir at all.  It was also annoying that they were all girls: I'd left it up to chance but both parents decided that they wanted a boy.  I really should have got Ana involved and gone for a mixed set.

What are their traits?

Leonora is an evil heavy sleeper, Katherine's friendly and absent-minded and Emily (the heir) is brave and easily impressed.

I don't play Twinbrook much, so is Tina-Patricia's tombstone actually in the art museum? And did she really die of the Mummy's Curse?

Yes and yes.

There are a few tombstones in odd places: as well Tina at the art gallery and Vernon at the diner, there's one in the Rackets' house (possibly one of their victims - she's an electrocution ghost, so won't be appearing in the story), one at the laundromat and one at the smaller junkyard.  The last two are both fire ghosts and so are potential spouses for a later generation.

It's odd that there are two mummy's curse ghosts in Twinbrook when Ambitions doesn't have mummies.  I think it's the only case of this kind of cross-over between expansion packs.

Edit:  in fact, it isn't.  I've just discovered that Moonlight Falls also has a mummy's curse ghost.

Even as an avid player of Twinbrook, I tend to leave art galleries alone and haven't actually seen Tina-Patricia in-game. Her urn is a little hard to notice too.

And even when you've spotted her urn, it takes ages for her to appear.  (Well, it did in this game - nearly two Sim weeks.  All of the others have appeared in two or three days.  I was about to give up and send Will after a fire ghost instead.)

Feel free to post every day if you want to!

Much as I'd like to, it's not going to happen.  I have real-life things to do  .  There were only two updates in a row because they were going to be a single chapter but I realised there were too many screenshots that I wanted to use.  At the moment, the story's caught up with the game, so there will be a gap while the triplets grow up.

[Snufflesxx]

Wow, I've just read the whole thing from the start and it is amazing! Just wondering, what do you use to combine your images? I'd love to use it to limit the number in my own dynasty.

[hazelnut]

Wow, I've just read the whole thing from the start and it is amazing! Just wondering, what do you use to combine your images? I'd love to use it to limit the number in my own dynasty.

Thank you.

I use Photoshop but you should be able to do it with most graphics programs.  I just divide up the standard 800x600 to give the layout I want (e.g. four 400x300 pics) and subtract the odd pixel here and there for borders, then assemble the smaller pictures on a full-size image.