The Ghosts of Twinbrook (Life States Dynasty)

[hazelnut]

Wow! Such a fitting ending, a beautiful funeral, and a well-deserved rest for poor old Ana. Congratulations to both of you! Well done taking the screenshots as well, I know form experience how hard it can be to get everyone to do what you want.

Thank you (for this comment and for all the encouragement along the way).  The screenshots for this chapter were actually quite easy to get - it helps that I can cheat now that the challenge is finished .

I love the skeleton and spider-web decorations. Very appropriate for a family of ghosts! I just loved this story, thank you hazelnut.

As I said in the post about the house, it didn't really come out as spooky as originally intended.  I was going to use all of the free Halloween stuff from the store but I don't think I did in the end.

What a great story! I've been reading through it these last couple of nights. The idea of doing an all ghost line of descendants with townie ghosts is so original, plus your story telling made it quite a treat. We all knew it was coming, but it was oddly hard to see Ana go--even though it's what she wanted. I haven't played much with ghosts, myself, so it was interesting to see all the different colors and hear all about the townie ghost's back stories. Well, thank you for a wonderful story! It's been a pleasure to read.

Thank you  .  When I noticed in SimsWiki how many different types of ghost there are in Twinbrook, I couldn't resist the idea of doing an all-ghost line.  In fact, my first idea was to have a human founder who was obsessed with death, have him die of old age and be Oh My Ghosted, and end up with a family that was completely made up of ghosts.  When Metro said that was against the rules, Ana's story popped into my head, pretty much fully formed, and I liked it so much better that I went with it even after Rica pointed out that there is a way for non-Supernatural players to start with a ghost.

After the prologue, you'd think I'd be used to killing Ana but I did have a lump in my throat this time.

The townie ghosts' back stories weren't part of the initial plan but ended up being one of the things I enjoyed most about writing this story.

[hazelnut]

Epilogue, Part 1: The Land of the Living

My dear family,
The food replicator that you were never allowed to touch contains ambrosia, the food of life.  If you wish, you may now use it.  Eating ambrosia should make you fully human.  It worked on your ghostly spouses and parents and I have no reason to believe that it will fail to work just because you were all born as ghosts.  There should be plenty for all of you…

After a long family discussion, they all agreed that they wanted to try the ambrosia but would wait until Samuel was old enough to join them.

Little Sam had no shortage of carers to entertain him and teach him his toddler skills.



Soon it was his birthday.  Naturally, it was Emily who took him to the cake.





Now that he was old enough, they gathered in the dining room for a ceremonial meal – one that would change them all forever.

















Every mirror in the house was soon in use as they all rushed to finally see themselves as solid human beings.


Chris


Will (without his glasses)


Emily


Izzy


Joe


Louisa


Sam


Next chapter

[Snufflesxx]

What an interesting bunch of Sims! They all look rather sad... especially Izzy, Emily and Tom. But I just love Louisa's hair colour!

[hazelnut]

Almost all of the Twinbrook ghosts seem to have those sad-looking eyes that turn down at the outer corners, so I suppose it's no wonder they all inherited them (apart from Chris, who got her mother's eyes).

Not the prettiest family ever but I suppose they could have come out worse  .

I think Sam's inherited Lou's hair, although it looks a bit different with his very green skin.

[RainBeau]

Sam is exceptionally green, I wonder why! Such interesting genetics across the board!

[hazelnut]

Sam is exceptionally green, I wonder why!

I think it's Louisa's skin tone (her skin is green, even though it's very pale) combined with Tavares' position on the (normal skin tone) slider.  It's odd - after playing with the family in human form for the past week, normal Sims are starting to look very pink to me!

Such interesting genetics across the board!

Well, that's what Twinbrook's known for - interesting genetics, to put it kindly .

[hazelnut]

Epilogue Part 2: The Life of the Imagination

Dearest Christabel,
I am so sorry I doubted the existence of Fluffs.  I thought she was just a figment of an unhappy child’s imagination but I am no longer as cynical as I once was, having heard of similar cases where the friend was shown to be real.  One of my more open-minded contacts in the scientific community sent me the formula for a potion that should make Fluffs visible to others.  You have not spoken of her for a long time now but I hope she still exists.  If you (and she) wish to try the potion, you will find several flasks of it in the chest on the landing.  They are labelled ‘Metamorphium’.  There are a number of other potions in there; in particular, a large quantity of my youth potion.  I have also left you my notes: I believe you to be capable of making all of these potions for yourself…



For the first time in years, Chris put Fluffs on the floor and let her grow from doll form.



“Em, Izzy, Lou, this is Fluffs.  She started out as a doll, then she was my imaginary friend and now she’s real.”



“A doll who turned into an imaginary friend?  I had one as well – and so did Georgie.  Mine’s called Riley.  Could I make him real, too?”

Izzy took a flask from the chest and went to find Riley.  He was growing independent these days and didn’t always follow her around.







Lou had also been about to look in the trunk when she was interrupted by the excitement over Fluffs’ sudden appearance.

My darling Louisa,
In the trunk on the landing you will find a book with a green cover.  It was my daughter Victoria’s recipe book.  You share her love of cooking; I think she would have wanted you to have it…





“Hey!  You know how we couldn’t decide what we should do with the ambrosia that was left?  How there wasn’t enough for everyone?  Problem solved!  Greats left me her daughter Victoria’s recipe book, which includes ambrosia!  Dad, if you can catch me a few deathfish, I can make as much as we want!”





They all agreed that the first to benefit should be the children who had had to move out.  Georgie came over almost before Izzy had put the phone down.





Of course, once she knew that it was possible to make Brian real, she had to try that, too.







Georgie also had a letter from Ana.

My dear Georgina,
I know how fond you are of dogs and that you always longed to have one of your own.  In the mausoleum you will find the urn of a dog named Cecily, who was my dear companion in my early days in Twinbrook.  In the trunk on the landing, there are two round flasks filled with a pale-blue potion.  It is an adaptation of my youth potion, suited to animals rather than humans.  I believe ambrosia will work on animals without changes to the recipe.  I would like you to revive my beloved Cecily, restore her youth and, if you wish, keep her as your own.  I am sure you will be very happy together…

When Georgie visited the mausoleum that night, she found Cecily’s urn standing next to Marmaduke’s and a ghostly red dog dozing nearby.  She gently woke Cecily and fed her a treat.



Before long, they were friends.  Georgie had brought a plate of ambrosia with her and now she put it down on the floor for the dog.





Then, following Ana’s instructions, she poured the youth potion over Cecily.



At last she had a dog of her own.



Georgie as a young adult human,


Fluffs in her (very pretty) human form,


Riley, looking oddly like Christopher Steel...


...and Brian.


Next chapter

[Snufflesxx]

Wow, the Imaginary Friends are all so good-looking!

And I'm so happy that Cecily is back!

[hazelnut]

Wow, the Imaginary Friends are all so good-looking!

Aren't they?     Kind of makes up a little for the odd-looking family.

And I'm so happy that Cecily is back!

Me too.  It's been a long time.

[Margerita]

Congratulations on making it into HoF and completing your story.

[RainBeau]

Oooh, especially Brian. He reminds me of Arie from the Bachelorette. So cute!
Yay for the continuing happy ending! I had no idea that Pets could eat Ambrosia!

[hazelnut]

Congratulations on making it into HoF and completing your story.

Thank you.

Oooh, especially Brian. He reminds me of Arie from the Bachelorette. So cute!
Yay for the continuing happy ending! I had no idea that Pets could eat Ambrosia!

He is a bit nice - assuming you go for purple-and-red hair, that is.

I'd never tried feeding ambrosia to a pet before but happened to notice that it was an option recently when someone was about to eat it.  It doesn't have to be a playable ghost pet, even - which is just as well.  I was going to Oh My Ghost Cecily and Marmaduke close to the end of the challenge so that they could be in the group picture but found it wasn't possible.  Their urns could be taken to the lab and I got charged the 5000 Simoleons but the human Sim just came out of the lab on their own, with the pet's urn still in inventory.  A bug, presumably, since several of the Woods' dogs were Oh My Ghosted successfully.

[hazelnut]

Epilogue Part 3: The Lives of Others

Fred and Liv visited the early the following morning.





Tom followed them a few hours later.



He was horrified to find how old he looked in human form and was relieved when Joe told him about the potions in the chest upstairs.



All four of the newly-rejuvenated members of the family decided to leave Twinbrook and start new lives elsewhere.  Before they left, Deirdra told them about Ana’s plan.



“…so could you all keep your eyes open in your new towns and let me and Emily know if you find any?”

Olivia chose to go somewhere where the climate suited gardening and where there was plenty of inspiration for a sculptor.



Fred, with his lifetime wish now completed, decided it was time for some fun.  He used some of his happiness points on a midlife crisis and changed his clothes to match his new personality.



Then he moved to a town where he’d fit right in.  After all, if you’re called Frederic and you have a, shall we say, splendid nose (not to mention a profound interest in nectar), there’s really only one thing you can do with your new life.



Georgie simply wanted to be surrounded by other animal lovers, so she and Cecily moved into a small house in Appaloosa Plains and spent their first few days meeting all of the neighbours.



Tom knew exactly where he wanted to go – somewhere with great sea fishing and a livelier atmosphere than Twinbrook.



On his first day in Starlight Shores, he met a young doctor whose life story was nearly as odd as his own – and who seemed very interested in him.



In just a few weeks, they’d moved in together.





Georgie had been surprised that Brian didn’t want to move out with her.  They were lifelong best friends, after all, and she’d always thought that he was more than a little in love with her.  He had had a teenage crush, it was true – after all, she was the only girl he’d ever really met.  But now he’d found someone who seemed made for him.  They were so much alike.





Hal and Ed kept insisting that they were far too busy at work to make time for social visits.  After all, they were only next door – they met family members in passing all the time.  Finally, Chris bullied them into coming over on their next day off.









Hal also had a letter from Ana.

Dear Henry,
You once said to me that your greatest regret was spending too little time with Jan.  You were always too busy with your career, until suddenly it was too late.  If you would like a second chance, go and look in the family mausoleum, then ask your mother to help you.
I think that both you and Edmund have worked hard for long enough.  You deserve to retire and explore the other things this world has to offer – things I myself only discovered late in life…







Hal decided that, if he and Jan were to make a fresh start, it might help to be somewhere as different as possible from Twinbrook.  Sunlit Tides seemed like the perfect location.  They married on the beach, with just the groom’s mother and brothers in attendance.








More house pictures
Next chapter of story

[RainBeau]

Yay, happy endings for everyone! 

[Tilia]

This pleases me so very much.  Yay for happy resolution!