End of the Line Dynasty (4x4)

[butterfly]

Such a beautiful goodbye, and the house was amazing. I'm officially dying out of curiosity!

[hazelnut]

This isn’t part of the official requirements, but I wanted to post a picture of the School Collection.



Although, come to think of it, there’s still a bento box in the kitchen that didn’t make it into the screenshot…    Even with a lot of duplication (and Dora’s lack of a Most… ribbon), it’s still a reasonable collection.  Phil and Zoë are the only members of the family so far to have had a prom.


The Collections

1. Photographs



Photos taken by Adam.  The unimpressive one at the top left claims to be A Serious Ghost Problem.

Total value §41,191


2. Upgraded appliances



Four teleporters, bought by Adam and upgraded by Phil.

Total value §60,000


3. Harvestables



Chinese books, ‘acquired’ by Adam and grown by Dora on her perfect omniplant.

Total value §9,900


4. Wedding presents

This was intended to be a collection for the second or third town – but Emmaline soon derailed that.  Her insanely generous wedding gift to Sam and Sophia made this a definite Hidden Springs collection.



The F Class Hunter-Killer was from Emmaline.  I’m ashamed to say I didn’t notice which of their friends gave Phil and Ruth the Fountain of Lethe.  The painting and the smaller fountain were Dora and Jack’s presents, as was another one that came in at 5th most valuable present – what is it about this family that screams out, ‘What I really need is a fountain!’?  Irritatingly, having delayed the move by four or five days for the purpose, Mike and Tansy’s friends turned out to be a bunch of cheapskates.

Total value §132,900

Total for the four collections: §243,991


Property Ownership

All buildings and properties owned and fully upgraded:








Career Rewards

I've included the heirs' skill certificates in the museum, even though I'm not planning to use any as unique rewards.


                                                                                  Dora and Adam’s rewards

Really, overachieving Phil could have done this all by himself:





OK.  Let’s say that the official qualifying list is:  Gardening Hero’s Trophy (Dora), Photographer’s Key to Hidden Springs (Adam), Firefighter’s Key to Hidden Springs and Firefighter’s Medal of Aegis (Phil), 


And the graveyard…


                                                                                      Sophia and Sam


                                      From left to right: Jessica Willow; Ivy, Nick and Cassidy Riverhawk; Phil; Lily and Adam


Zoë, Demario, Arlene, Luke, Emmaline (who didn’t manage to improve on her tombstone the second time around), Candy and Caroline


                                                                                      Lucy and Elias


                                                                                      Dora and Jack…


                                                                   …and, tucked away in a brambly corner, Ruth.

For the qualifying large tombstones, pick any four from Sam, Sophia, Adam, Phil and Dora.


Mike and Tansy moved on week 20, day 5.


Next chapter

[hazelnut]

That was a lovely wedding! That silly guy throwing rice. I had someone throwing all day until I reset her.

Thank you.  I was beginning to wonder whether I'd have to reset him.  Since they were within hours of the move, maybe I could just have left him but he might have been quite smelly by the time they left .  Fortunately, he did stop and go home all by himself.  He said it was an amazing party, too.  More like 'amazingly odd' from his point of view, I'd have thought.

Such a beautiful goodbye, and the house was amazing. I'm officially dying out of curiosity!

Thanks.  I'll probably put the house up on the swap shop at some point.  Please don't die  .  I haven't played at all this week, so they're still only two days after the move and there's not enough content for another update yet.

[Rhoxi]

Wow, what a bunch of great collections. Ruth's grave tucked into the bramble corner is just too funny; I probably shouldn't enjoy that as much as I do. It feels kinda sad to think you're leaving Hidden Springs, but I look forward to whatever adventures lay ahead! Congrats on completing one of the four!

[Snufflesxx]

Woo, first move! You're doing so well! It seems I may be lagging behind a little...

[hazelnut]

Wow, what a bunch of great collections. Ruth's grave tucked into the bramble corner is just too funny; I probably shouldn't enjoy that as much as I do. It feels kinda sad to think you're leaving Hidden Springs, but I look forward to whatever adventures lay ahead! Congrats on completing one of the four!

Thank you.

I may have set up Ruth's corner specially .

Woo, first move! You're doing so well! It seems I may be lagging behind a little...

Thanks.  I was doing pretty well.  The last couple of weeks, not so much.  Real life keeps getting in the way .

[hazelnut]

Awkward Meetings

The Silverman clan were spending the summer in Sunlit Tides.  Quinton was surveying the local flora and fauna for Landgraab Industries and Maddy was taking a break from the bistro to start writing a cookery book.  Paul was keen to explore somewhere new, while Sunny and the kids were just enjoying the seaside.  Matt had been so busy recently that everyone was surprised when the police force agreed to an extended leave of absence: he said it wasn’t entirely a holiday but refused to be drawn into any further details – although they all noticed that he wouldn’t let his womenfolk go anywhere unescorted.  Since they were staying in a huge house, they invited Lou and Tavares to join them.  It was the first time the two families had met up since Sam and Sophia’s deaths and Maddy was shocked by the change in Louisa.  She’d always been pale but now she looked ill.  Tavares said she’d stopped touring.  She claimed to be ‘working on her next album’ but he hadn’t heard her playing or singing at all, let alone composing.

Maddy still missed her daughter, of course, but she was an optimist.  She firmly believed they’d be reunited in the future: just look at how well their descendants were doing!  And she still had other children and grandchildren.  You had to pull yourself together for them – and they were living, breathing, noisy evidence that life went on.  But Lou and Tavares had only had Sam.  Now they had no-one.

Even on holiday in a tropical paradise, Lou said she felt ‘too tired’ to join in with the fun.  She just lay under a sunshade while everyone else played on the beach.



Quinton’s ‘survey’ seemed to be very much focussed on aquatic creatures, particularly the ones that got away. 



Soon, he and Paul had dragged Tavares into their shared obsession and the three of them spent most days fishing.  Under the influence of the sunshine, peace and beautiful surroundings, Tavares was starting to come to terms with his loss.



After a week or two, even Lou began to show signs of recovery.  She was still listless but she was starting to talk about music again.



Then, one day, they took the kids over to Starfish Sands.  Nicola was too little for most of the playground but she enjoyed the spring riders.



Scott was in his element and soon made friends with a couple of boys of around his own age.





Matt’s little dog, Belle, made a new friend, too.



Maddy, in her chatty way, struck up a conversation with the girl who was looking after her grandson’s new friends.



She had just discovered that Donna was a former ghost and was about to launch into an enthusiastic talk about other colourful ex-ghosts she had known when one of Donna’s charges demanded a push on the swing.

And then her own ex-ghost friend arrived…



…closely followed by the children’s mother.



“Donna!  Bless you for looking after them.  I hate being ill on holiday – feels like such a waste.  Anyway, that nap’s done me the world of good.  Go off and have some fun.  What about…?”



 “You!  How dare you show your face here?



“No, I don’t want to hear excuses or explanations.  What you did is unforgiveable.”


(Next interlude)



After a surprisingly restful overnight train journey, Mike and Tansy arrived in Monte Vista.



With almost eight and a half million Simoleons to their name, even buying the most expensive empty house in town didn’t put much of a dent in their finances.





But their next action did.  With regret, they sent off a cheque to G. Reaper Esq. and found themselves with only §4000.  The rules were clear: Tansy wasn’t even allowed to donate it to charity.

They knew they would need help to get established in their new town and their researches had led them to the GilsCarbo family.  At first, everything seemed to be going well.  Artistic Carlotta was charmed by the famous sculptor who was so endearingly shy.



Then she realised what he was saying.

“You mean you want us to move in with you so that I can be your gardener-cook-housekeeper-slave?!  Don’t you realise my son’s still a toddler?  He doesn’t know how to walk or talk yet.  How much time do you think I have to spare for my own kitchen and garden, never mind yours?”



Even worse…

“Well, er, in fact, Goopy can’t come with you.  You’d have to leave him behind with your husband.  You see, we’re hoping to have a daughter and, um…”
“WHAT?!”



And then somehow, mysteriously, everything was all right again.



She was vaguely aware of Michael’s wife standing off to the side, playing with her phone.  How rude.  Really, some people just couldn’t stay away from Hungry Llamas for a moment.  Then there was a flash of pink light and everything Mike was saying suddenly seemed so reasonable.  Of course she could leave her adored husband and son.  Getting her lifetime wish and the chance to work on her other skills made everything OK… and they had promised that Eduardo and Goopy could join her later, if everything went to plan.  It was all fine.

While Carlotta was settling into her new home, Tansy went to visit Gino Ferrari at his home up in the walled city…



…and worked her social networking magic again.



And so, at the end of a busy day and with their helpers duly recruited, Mike and Tansy settled down to dream of their future…



…and their children’s future.




Next chapter


Tansy arriving in Monte Vista in her everyday outfit is as much of a mystery as leaving Hidden Springs in her formal dress.  Maybe the game resets them into everyday clothes when starting a new town - perhaps I should deliberately change the next moving heir into a swimsuit or pyjamas before the move just to test it .

[Rhoxi]

It's such a long journey from Hidden Springs to Monte Vista, you couldn't very well expect a lady not to change her clothes, now could you?  Poor Tavares and Lousia. I suppose it's only natural that they'd blame Deirdra. I'm not familiar with these other characters; looks like I may have to read that other story of yours! Maddy is so freaking cute with her pink everything. Where are these characters from?

[Serenity S.]

My friend Anne has Monte Vista but I don't, so don't know very much about it and it's fun to read stories played there. Good luck for Mike and Tansy.

[hazelnut]

It's such a long journey from Hidden Springs to Monte Vista, you couldn't very well expect a lady not to change her clothes, now could you?  Poor Tavares and Lousia. I suppose it's only natural that they'd blame Donna. I'm not familiar with these other characters; looks like I may have to read that other story of yours! Maddy is so freaking cute with her pink everything. Where are these characters from?

Maddy (Sophia’s mother) is actually the one with normal-coloured skin and short reddish hair.  She appeared, along with her husband Quinton and sons Paul and Matthew, in my DecaDynasty non-story.

Donna is the all-pink one.  She’s a starvation ghost from Appaloosa Plains – all AP ghosts are that colour when revived.  She starts out as a teenager and appeared briefly in ghost form right at the end of The Ghosts of Twinbrook, as the eldest of the ghost orphans.  She’s now aged up to young adult and eaten Ambrosia.

The remaining colourful characters are the Google kids, also last seen looking rather younger at the end of Ghosts.  Despite appearances, the red-haired boy is a genie, like their mother Deirdra, while his blue-skinned twin is an imaginary friend, like Brian, their father.  Their teenaged sister is also an imaginary friend.

The plan is for all of them, plus sundry Gooles, to appear in later ‘interlude’ chapters.

My friend Anne has Monte Vista but I don't, so don't know very much about it and it's fun to read stories played there. Good luck for Mike and Tansy.

Thank you.  I love Monte Vista.  It’s pretty and has a lovely warm light.  There are also lots of highly-skilled townies, who are very useful for dynasties .  I was very tempted to start there but Hidden Springs fitted the story better.

[hazelnut]

The Fifth Heir

The next day, Tansy and Michael spent some time sorting out the house.  Mike needed a dedicated sculpting studio, their helpers deserved the most comfortable rooms they could afford and Carlotta had requested a Swift-Gro gardening station.  They’d never heard of such a thing in Hidden Springs but, sure enough, you could buy them in Monte Vista.  Carlotta had said it would do wonders for the garden’s productivity.

While Carlotta collected seeds and Gino read cookery books at the library, Mike completed a couple of sculptures to restore their finances a little.  Tansy started upgrading the plumbing.  With eight bathrooms in the house, this was clearly going to keep her pretty occupied for some time to come.  Their main priority, though, was continuing the line.  Tansy wasn’t feeling sick or having cravings yet, despite their efforts.  Oh well.  It wasn’t exactly an unpleasant task .



Carlotta took a trip to France to gather new plants.  It was a stretch financially but she came back laden with gems and metals as well as the fruits she’d wanted.  Selling them more than covered the cost of the travel.  Soon after her return, Tansy realised she was pregnant.



She went into labour at the library, where she’d been working on her handiness skill.



She set off for home but decided partway there that she’d rather have the baby in hospital.



The first Monte Vista heir arrived shortly before midnight.  After everyone had caught up on a few hours’ sleep, it was time for her first birthday.  Tansy was slightly miffed that Carlotta took Tabitha to the cake but it was probably only fair, after being separated from her own small son.



Tabitha inherited her father’s hair and her mother’s skin and sweet nature.  Everyone agreed that she was completely adorable.



Tansy and Carlotta shared the skill-teaching duties.  Mike was spending every waking hour in his sculpting room and Gino was still working on his cooking and charisma skills, ready for his next shift at the bistro.  He was approaching his elder birthday but was keen to make it to the top of his career before retirement.

Tabitha quickly learned to walk, talk and use the potty and was soon ready for another cake.  This time Tansy did the honours.



Now she was old enough to choose her own clothes, Tabitha went for a rather formal look.  She was keenly aware of her family’s position in society.  As a dynasty heir, she had standards to uphold.



Now she was a big girl, she had her own room, with a bed fit for a princess.





Unfortunately, being old enough for a proper bed also meant being old enough for school.  And homework.  Mike spent her first school day at the library, improving his logic skill until he was good enough to tutor her.



“Daddy, may I bring someone home after school tomorrow?  I promise we’d do our homework together.”
“Who is it?  I’m sure Auntie Carlotta would love to see Goopy again.”
“Goopy Carbonara?  I hate him.  He calls me Tabitha Twitchit.”
“Well, you call him Goopy Carbonara.”
“He started it.  And he’s a grump.  Grumpy Carbonara.  No, I want to invite Toni.  Antonio Monty.  He’s my best friend.”
“Yes, of course he can come over – although I wish you and Goopy could be friends, too, if only for Carlotta's sake.”



The visit was a moderate success, although Antonio wasn’t impressed by Tabitha talking about herself and she wasn’t too keen on playing tag with him.  Her pretty dress might get all crumpled and dirty.  Did princesses play tag?  As promised, they also did their homework together, taking Tabitha’s grade up to an A.  She had her birthday that same evening.  Toni and Goopy were about to move on to high school and she wanted to keep up with them.



Now what should she wish for?  Wealth?  Fame?  A life of ease?  No, she was a dynasty heir, after all.  I wish to do really well in my tasks.



“Whoa, these candles are smoky!”

Now that she was a teenager, she could start working on her chosen skill.  Her parents took her out for a ride in the family’s new Motive Mobile, so that she could stay up all night and make her first batch of nectar.  It was harder than she’d expected and she’d certainly need a good pedicure before school.



And a bath.  Fruit was slippery stuff.



In fact, she was beginning to wish she’d chosen something cleaner.



Still, everyone knew that any stately home worth its salt had an extensive, and indeed expensive, nectar cellar.  It was high time the Golds acquired one.  She picked herself up and carried on.



Every night after school and all through the weekend, she made nectar.  It had grown into an obsession.  She wouldn’t even have bothered learning to drive if her mother hadn’t insisted.  All she wanted was a nectar cellar to be proud of.


Tabitha really was my first teenage Sim since Generations not to wish to learn to drive.  I wouldn’t have bothered with it at all if Tansy hadn’t needed the points.

The original Tabitha was the Generation 3 spouse from my legacy family and inseparable from Michael I.  She was an outdoors-loving, kleptomaniac, former newspaper deliverer, who got her lifetime wish (Living in the Lap of Luxury) as soon as she joined the household.  Amusingly, she could hardly have been more different from her namesake in colouring, having black hair and very dark skin.  She was probably the most beautiful Sim to appear in one of my games.  Even her default clothes suited her.  Sadly, Tab was also my first Sim to die before her time. Until then, I hadn't even realised it was possible.  At 87, she was out stealing an abandoned Bwan Speedster from behind the criminal warehouse when she started to sparkle.  I hope this Tabitha doesn’t take after her in that respect.

Moving towns hasn’t reduced the file size as I was expecting.  In fact, the save immediately after the move was 20MB larger than the previous one, I suspect mostly because of these:



I wanted to keep the Hidden Springs genetics going but maybe overdid it a little.  The new town’s already produced the odd glitch.  What was going on here?



Where was Tansy and did she know about Mike and Carlotta being all couply?

And what about this one?  Is the silhouette Mike, Gino or a mixture of both?  And Tabitha doesn’t look comfortable at all.



On a brighter note, Mike made my first-ever sculpting gnome!  I’d been wondering why that Urn of Franco was so much smaller than usual.



Rodin hasn't been very useful yet, though.  I was hoping he might be like the inventing gnomes and finish off half-completed work but he seems to prefer hanging out in the garden.  Talking of gardening, the Swift-Gro station is amazing.  I bought the greenhouse in a recent sale and this seemed like a good time to try out the content.  It makes gardening so easy, it almost feels like cheating.

[saltpastillen]

It is nice to see that the family has landed on their feet in Monte Vista

[hazelnut]

It is nice to see that the family has landed on their feet in Monte Vista

It's a good place to land .  And starting again in a new town is a lot easier than starting for the first time.


Plans and Decisions

Tabitha was in a thoughtful mood.



She needed some time to herself.  It was always so busy at home, with people rushing around making things, doing things, learning things.  The worst part was being aware that a lot of it was for her benefit.  She needed space to think.  Right in front of the school probably wasn’t the best place, though.  The little kids and the people coming out of after-school clubs kept disturbing her.  She finished her homework and looked for somewhere quieter.



Yes, this was better.  No-one with any sense would be playing here in the dark.

She had some decisions to make.  When she was a kid, she’d thought that being a dynasty heir was all about being important.  All those princess fantasies she’d had!  Now she realised her life was ruled by tasks and duties.  She knew what she wanted to do – make nectar.  There was a satisfaction to trying out new recipes, tweaking the blend slightly in search of the perfect result.  Maybe it wasn’t real art like her father’s sculptures but it was creative in its own way.  She knew she’d be able to make a comfortable living from it, too.  But reading her family’s history had taught her that nectar-making wouldn’t be enough on its own.  Her many-greats-grandmother Margaux had combined nectar and politics.  Maybe she could do the same, at least for a while.  She had no ambition to be Leader of the Free World like her ancestress.



The other problem, of course, was her personal life.  She had to marry and continue the dynasty.  She was still friends with Toni but there was no romantic attraction between them.  All of her other friends were girls.  Maybe she’d meet someone later; after all, she couldn’t have a child until she’d finished her tasks.  On the other hand… what about Goopy?  He was still a grump but less annoying than he’d been as a child.  You couldn’t carry on hating someone who was soppy about kittens.  Although she hadn’t really seen him that much lately.  She knew he wanted to go into medicine and he’d started taking University classes alongside school.  Maybe she should ask him to visit: have a chat, get to know him better, maybe even ask for advice.  Seeing him would make Aunt ’Lotta happy, at least.

The following evening, she invited him round.



He really wasn’t that bad.  In fact, she found herself quite liking his seriousness – and he was good and friendly like herself.  How had she missed that before?

Michael was very taken with the polite young man - and he wanted to be a doctor!  Certainly a highly suitable prospective son-in-law.  He and Tansy had always rather hoped that the GilsCarbos' son might join the family and now it was looking like a distinct possibility.



Carlotta was delighted.  Tabitha might insist that Goopy was just a friend but she could tell that her son was smitten.



Tabitha aged up to young adult just as she was celebrating achieving her lifetime wish.



The following morning, she was summoned to graduation.  To her surprise, she was valedictorian.



She’d expected that honour to go to Goopy, after all of his extra studying.  She was also voted Most Likely to Get Married.  Well yes, that was a no-brainer.  Anyone who knew her family would realise that she was Absolutely Certain to Get Married.  Thinking of which, she’d made a decision.  Aunt ‘Lotta deserved it – and it wasn’t actually committing her to anything.  She looked around.  Yes, there was Goopy, talking to his father.





Oh, how romantic!  Yes, they certainly deserved to be reunited.  And now Goopy was off on his own, with his nose in a textbook as usual.  She marched over to him.



“Congratulations, Carbonara!”
“And to you, Twitchit!”

And he pulled her into a hug.



After that, it was easy to fall into conversation and she soon brought the subject around to his parents’ separation.



“You see, I’ve always felt guilty about that.  My parents felt it was better for me but it must have been awful for them – and you.”
“Why would it be better for you?”
“Erm…  It’s complicated.  Anyway, what I wanted to ask was, would you and your father like to move in with us?”



With that settled, Tabitha ran back inside the town hall and applied for a job.  Polishing the podium was hardly the glamorous future she’d pictured for herself back in her princess days, but that didn’t matter.  Getting a foot on the ladder was the important part.  And with that, still in her cap and gown, she walked over to the library to start learning charisma.  She was growing up fast.

As soon as he'd moved into his new home, Goopy popped across the road to the hospital.  Thanks to his impressive qualifications, he started his medical career as a paramedic.



Tansy was delighted to discover that Goopy was handy.  Because of the restrictions that had been placed on them by Grim, she couldn’t fix any more plumbing.  She’d been considering calling out the local handyman before they ran out of functioning loos but now Goopy could take over.  Maybe he could help out with Tabitha’s nectar machines, too.  After the last time, Tansy wasn’t at all sure she wanted to risk another repair.



Carlotta and Eduardo were ecstatic to be reunited after so long.  Carlotta was sad to see how much the separation had aged her husband but she could help with that, a little.  She’d been longing for an excuse to try her hand at Ambrosia.



She dutifully stored some in the food replicator, then added the final touches and served it up to Eduardo.




Next chapter


I was surprised that Tabitha achieved her lifetime wish so quickly.  Carlotta had brought back a few bottles from the Nectary but all the rest of the cellar was her own work.  Margaux Goodman achieved a bottomless cellar as a teenager but I didn’t expect it to be possible on this speed – which is why there’s no screenshot of Tabitha with large numbers over her head.  I was putting away bottles in the basement when the pop-up appeared and couldn’t get the camera back to where she was in time for the pic.

…And yet another replicator has lost its memory.  It looks as though I’m going to have to play this game without them  .

[saltpastillen]

I understand how annoyed you are with the replicators - I think them loosing their memories have something to do with clearing caches, because when I don't clear caches they seem to work fine, and when I do they all loose their memories.

[Trip]

I clear my caches every time before I open the game, and my replicators stay intact. I think they just like to be annoying.

Tabitha is so gorgeous! I'm glad she came to her senses and chose Goopy.