Clan Douglas Dynasty (Finished)

[Schipperke]

"A Spectral Visitation”

There was a burglar on the lot yesterday night.  The alarm woke up not only the residents of Castle Douglas, but also the ghosts from across the street.  This is the first time any of them have crossed the street, as far as I am aware.



Christie and Rhett decide to renew their acquaintance.



The ghost wins the sparring contest but from the look on Christie’s face, she thinks he cheated.



Alone again.  Ah well, back to my book.

[Saltypaws]

The ghosts are so funny in these stories.  I never really have left the urns on lot, so having ghosts around, is quite amusing.  The sparring ghost is funny though.

[Schipperke]

Late at night, The Council of Immortals convenes a meeting in the Founder’s Room to examine Sleuth’s qualifications for immortality.



Sleuth Douglas:
   Traits:  Virtuoso, Friendly, Photographer’s Eye, Artistic, Perfectionist
   LTW:  Visionary
   SuperMax Skill:  Painting
   Career:  Master of the Brush
   BlackOps:  3 School Opportunities, 2 Law Enforcement, 1 Painting
   Properties Purchased:  Sharma Day Spa, Papyrus Memorial Library
   Unique LTRs:  Extra Creative, No Jealousy, Moodlet Manager
   Has the required number of unique living Best Friends
   All paintings completed, including his Elder portrait.  Elder sculpture & photo are
   yet to come.



Sleuth passes with flying colours and becomes the Dynasty’s fourth Immortal.  James hands him a Deathflower and instructs him to keep it in his pocket always.  James opens a bottle of perfect nectar he has been saving for this occasion (keeping it in his inventory so Mojo and Radar couldn’t get at it).  The group drinks a toast in celebration of Sleuth becoming Immortal at age 73 days.

[Metropolis Man]

Congrats to Sleuth!

[Pam]

Outstanding, as always, Schipperke!  Congratulations on your 4th generation Immortal.  The picture of the sparring ghost is great!

[ladylaw1978]

Great story thus far. And I love a man in a kilt *sigh*

[Schipperke]

New Cars!

One day James is returning home from a fishing trip and sees (and hears) the rust bucket chugging down the street, black smoke belching from the exhaust.  He had no idea the car was in such bad shape.  Even though the twins haven’t reached the AllStar level yet, James decides he can’t allow them to drive around in that death trap any longer, and surprises them with new cars that evening.  Mojo’s new car:



Radar has the same model in blue.

The boys want to take the car back to the pirate in Barnacle Bay.  However, James forbids it, knowing the old reprobate will just unload it on some other unsuspecting victim.  He asks Jenna (who has taken up inventing in her retirement) to detonate the rust bucket and get rid of it once and for all.



Jenna narrowly avoids blowing up the letter carrier. 

The rust bucket yields 18 pieces of scrap, making it worth much less than its weight in scrap value.

[Metropolis Man]

Jenna narrowly avoids blowing up the letter carrier.

Ha ha ha. Hmmm...was that explosion timed perfectly or what? 

Hey, I like your new sig. 

[Schipperke]

Hey, I like your new sig. 

Yeah, it looks great!  Thank you. 

[Joria]

Gratz to you all, you, Sleuth and the entire clan.  Loved the explosion and sparring ghost.

[Schipperke]

I have a lengthy post to describe current events in the Dynasty.  I apologize in advance for the amount of text here, and will break it into several shorter posts in hopes of making it easier to read.

[Schipperke]

We look in on our Dynasty friends and find that the Immortals are meeting again.  Surely it can’t be time for them to examine a new member already?  Let’s eavesdrop on their discussion.



Sleuth:  I am getting quite worried about Mojo.  He just isn’t applying himself to his Dynasty tasks, and he‘ll be an Adult soon.
Christie:  Mojo not applying himself!  What else is new?
Wimsey:  He’s doing quite well at work.  I hear they are very pleased with him and Radar.
James:  As soon as he started work, he got an LTR that no other Immortal has.
Sleuth:  Yeah, guess which one - Professional Slacker.
Christie:  Of course!
Wimsey:  He keeps passing up opportunities - I worry that he won’t complete his required BlackOps.
Sleuth:  He seems to have a natural gift for athletics, but has made no effort to complete any of the skill challenges or even start on them.
Christie:  What about his Lifetime Wish?
Sleuth:  If there was a Lifetime Wish to be a Slacker, he’d be well on the way.
Wimsey:  And, of course, he has shown no interest in any of the nice girls he met at school or the ones you introduced to him, Sleuth. 
Christie:  Are you sure he understands all the Dynasty requirements?  [To James] Maybe if you talked to him and explained what he needs to do.
James:  Not necessary.  He understands as well as any of us.
Christie:  Then what can we do?  He can’t just keep drifting like this.  Time is passing.
Wimsey [looking up at the wall where the old raven perches, overlooking the meeting]:  Dad, why don’t you tell us why you brought Nevermore to the meeting?

[Schipperke]

Sleuth:  Yes, and why are we meeting here in the Gallery of the Mortals instead of in the Founder’s Room?
James:  What about the raven?
Wimsey:  I remember when you rescued the injured bird in the graveyard.  I was just a little girl at the time.  Tell us how it is that that bird manages to outlive all the mortals in our household.
Sleuth:  Do ravens always live so long?
Christie:  No, they do not.  And while you’re at it, Dad [to James], explain to Sleuth why you always ask for an extra-large helping of ambrosia.
James:  Who wouldn’t want a large helping of your delicious ambrosia, dear?
Wimsey:  You’re being evasive, Dad!  Christie and I have known for a long time that you’ve been sharing your ambrosia with Nevermore when you thought nobody was looking.
Sleuth:  Really?  Isn’t that against the rules?
James, sounding a bit defensive:  There’s nothing in the Dynasty rules about giving ambrosia to ravens!
Sleuth:  But what does all this have to do with our problem with Mojo?
Wimsey:  Tell him, Dad!
James, to Wimsey:  All right, Smarty!  The point is, if I didn’t want to see my old friend Nevermore die, and he’s just a bird I found in the graveyard, how do you think Mojo feels about Radar?  None of us has a brother or sister, but those two are twins and they’ve always been very close.
Christie:  Yes!
Sleuth:  You mean Mojo has been avoiding his Dynasty responsibilities because they will take him away from Radar?
James:  Something like that.  It strikes the lad as being very unfair that he has this opportunity and his brother does not.  I can’t argue with him on that point - it is unfair.  This is what has been behind all his acting out.
Wimsey:  Mojo gets to marry, have a child, and live forever …
Christie:  … and Radar gets none of those things.

[Schipperke]

Sleuth:  But for Mojo to shirk his Dynasty tasks won’t help Radar.  It will only harm Mojo himself.  And us.
James:  Aye, Sleuth, you’re right of course.  But it’s about loyalty and the bond those two have.
Christie:  So what are we going to do?
Sleuth:  Maybe if we talk to Mojo -
James, sharply:  No!  None of us will talk to him, is that clear?
Christie:  But why not?
James:  Because he sees us as having a vested interest, which of course we have.  Anything we say is just going to sound like we’re acting out of selfish interests.
Sleuth:  Is there nothing we can do?
James:  There is one person Mojo will listen to.  He’s the only one.
Sleuth:  Who?
Wimsey:  You mean Radar?
James:  Yes.
Christie:  But why would Radar try to persuade Mojo?  Radar has nothing to gain!
James:  That’s precisely why he’s the person Mojo will listen to.
Sleuth:  But Radar has always been just as irresponsible as Mojo!  We’re doomed!
Wimsey:  Well, I’ve noticed that Radar has become much more disciplined since his last birthday.  He spends a lot of his time meditating these days, hadn’t you noticed?  I’ve had some very deep conversations with him lately.




Christie:  Do you really think Radar can persuade him?
Sleuth:  Do you think Radar wants to persuade him?
James:  I don’t know.  I just know he’s our only hope.  And that, my friends, is why we are meeting here in the Gallery of the Mortals.  Because the future of our Dynasty depends completely on the actions of a mortal who cannot be part of the Dynasty and will not benefit from it.
Sleuth:  And if Radar can’t - or won’t - persuade Mojo, then what?
James:  Then, children, our Dynasty will be over.  Now, I think there’s nothing further to be said on the matter.  If you’ll excuse me, the robot fish are waiting for me in the Science pond.

The meeting ends.

[Anushka]

Shipperke, I'm pretty much speechless. You amazed me with you writtings and this story is better than most books and movies I encounter lately and I'm picky about them. Thank you for sharing this with us. Really, I'm speechless.