Clan Douglas Dynasty (Finished)

[Korva]

Cheers from me, too. What an undertaking. If I ever attempt this challenge myself (*gulp!*), you'll be among my inspirations.

[Wiker12]

This... is..... AWESOME!!!!! I love how you told the story. I just finished reading through it. Took me two Hours! AMAZING! keep up the good work!

[Schipperke]

Thanks very much for the comments, Skyberry, Korva and Wiker.  I appreciate your taking the time to read the Clan's story and I'm very glad you enjoyed it.

[SimBlip]

When I want to reply, I see red letters: "Warning: this topic has not been posted in for at least 60 days."
Why do I all of the sudden fancy myself a SV survivor - one of the few who lived through the meteorite storm and manages to send a message to James Douglas?
Only joking! This particular person from Dimension H wants to thank you for many (MANY!) hours of delightful reading. I love your style and enjoyed the Douglans Clan enormously.

PS.
The name Schipperke is Dutch and/or Flemish. Schipper means literally "captain of a barge". Shipperke would make it "small" captain of a barge. I wonder if the breed of dogs you love so much were originally trained to guard barges? Flanders and The Netherlands had their Golden Age respectively in the 15th and 16th century - would this particularly breed reach back to those times?

[Schipperke]

Thank you very much, SimBlip, for taking the time to read the Clan's story and for your comment!  I'm very glad you enjoyed the story, and I admire your persistence, as it is a long story indeed.

There are many theories about the origins of the Schipperke breed.  The most common explanation is that they were, as you say, used as guard dogs on the barges in Belgium.  The breed has been around a long time.  Apparently they were first mentioned in the writings of the monk Wenceslas in the 15th century, and even back then they were called "little black devils."  Another early story about the breed credits a Schipperke with saving William of Orange, the 16th century national hero of Belgium, from a would-be assassin.  I have also read that Winston Churchill was so devoted to his Schipperke that he specified in his will that the Schip should ride the funeral barge carrying his casket down the Thames River. 

As for James and the Clan Douglas, if you have Union Cove, the world created by a team of members of this forum, you will find that James turns up there as a member of the UC Artists' Colony.  It's not too surprising that James would want to be part of this new world - he always had a zest for life!  The rest of the Clan chose not to accompany James to UC and remained wherever their time machines took them.

James, or at least his canine namesake, can also be seen grinning from every post I make!

Thanks again for your kind comment.

[SimBlip]

Thank you so much for answering my post scriptum questions. I didn't expect that.

[deedee_828]

I was having trouble with my game today, got so frustrated that I gave up on playing and decided to check out the story boards. Couldn't decide which one to start with, so just started at the top. I couldn't have made a better choice! Wonderful writing, memorable Sims, and a great read! I loved all the different perspectives you used and the story-lines kept me clicking to the next page, especially near the end. Do you have other stories posted? Would love to read more from someone with such a gift!!!

[Schipperke]

Thanks very much, DeeDee!  I'm glad you enjoyed the story.

My other stories are in the links in my signature.  Riches Galore is my Orphanage Project story, It Happened One Christmas is a very short Christmas story, and The Flowers Waiting for Grim is an unfinished story about two elderly women left penniless after the death of their abusive siblings.  The reason that story is unfinished is I've been having so many bugs and glitches in my game lately.  But the story is almost done, and I'll keep trying to wrap it up.

I appreciate you taking the time to read the Clan's story, and I hope you'll enjoy my other stories.

[Odinsdottir]

Am absolutely amazed.  Amazed and inspired!  And heartbroken.  You are an amazing writer, thank you so much for sharing with us.  I feel so sad that I only found this forum recently and wasn't here as this unfolded!

[Ausette]

Can you believe I never read this story in the two years I've been on the forum? Boy, did I miss out! For the last three days I've been so excited to finish up my study and read about the Douglases. Thank you Schipperke for such a beautiful Dynasty. 

[Magpie2012]

O.M.G!!!! That was beautiful! I laughed, I cried and then I wished the Clan had come to Dimension H just so I could meet them and shake their hands!!

Schip from one bookworm to another you rock!! Your story is amazing and I wish I could take a peek into your head to see what other stories you have brewing in there!

[Swirl-Girl]

Whoah! Would you create these sims in the Sims 2? As in the Sim series, Sims 3 is a prologue to the Sims 2 & 1. That would be really cool.

[Schipperke]

You know, Swirl-Girl, that never occurred to me.  Of course, you're right - Sims 3 is indeed a prologue to TS2 and TS1, so it would make sense for them to turn up in Sims 2.  Unless, of course, they went to Dimension H, in which case, maybe someday they'll turn up in your neighbourhood. 

Of course, James (or at least a YA version of him) somehow found his way into the Union Cove Artists' Colony.  And the Mission Highly Unlikely story is based on the post-apocalyptic Sunset Valley after the meteorite shower that James and the Clan narrowly escaped.

Thanks very much for the comments, Swirl-Girl, Magpie, Ausette, and Odinsdottir.  I have to admit, the Douglas clan have a special place in my heart, and I'm very gratified to know that people are still interested in reading about them.

[TheTripWasInfraGreen]

Even after taking the time to read this entire dynasty a few days ago, it never occurred to me that Mission Highly Unlikely was kind of a sequel to this. Very clever.

Anyways, I'm kicking myself for not reading this earlier. It's astounding how the story balanced the dynasty requirements, the silly everyday moments, character development, and the overarching plot. I also think I was on the verge of real-life tears when I got to the chapter where Radar died. I felt that the chemistry between him and Mojo was extremely well-done, and out of all the sets of dynasty twins on the forums, those two are definitely my favorite.

[Schipperke]

Even after taking the time to read this entire dynasty a few days ago, it never occurred to me that Mission Highly Unlikely was kind of a sequel to this. Very clever.

Anyways, I'm kicking myself for not reading this earlier. It's astounding how the story balanced the dynasty requirements, the silly everyday moments, character development, and the overarching plot. I also think I was on the verge of real-life tears when I got to the chapter where Radar died. I felt that the chemistry between him and Mojo was extremely well-done, and out of all the sets of dynasty twins on the forums, those two are definitely my favorite.

Yes, at the beginning of Mission Highly Unlikely, Mr Payne tells Nameless that the town he will be going to is the post-apocalyptic Sunset Valley that the Douglas Clan had escaped.  Of course, the idea for that scenario didn't come to me until some time after the Clan Douglas story was finished.  But I thought it made a good foundation for Nameless' battle against Evil.

I am very touched by your comment regarding Radar and Mojo.  It was a very emotional time for me when the twins were born and I realized that one of them would have to die.  I almost quit the story at one point because of that.  Watching Radar get older and older and eventually die was the hardest part of this whole Dynasty for me.

Thanks for the comment!