Old BangerThe twins were painting in the studio together when their elder birthdays hit.
Morris has aged the better of the two, although that's mostly because his style of clothing suits the elder body shape better. Austin's suits don't look nearly as sharp on a fat morph (and why is that the only body type for elders, EA? Why can't thin or fit Sims keep something like their younger shape when they grow old?)
Riley and VW went to Prom together, of course. Well, nearly together – he walked sedately out to the limo, like someone who was worried about wrinkling his jacket, while VW ran as if her finery was just her everyday wear. (Yes, I know the poodle skirt belongs in the Fifties really. Let's pretend it was a themed party.)
They had a great evening, being voted King and Queen and wowing the crowd with their dance moves. It would be their last date for a while, though. Riley aged up outside the school as they were leaving.
VW had an early-morning cake on her birthday, keen to join her boyfriend in the adult world.
She took a job at the Area-52 Test Labs, putting her knowledge of science to good use.
Austin, meanwhile, was close to completing his requirements. Like Minnie, he was finding the six best friends the most challenging. He had a huge circle of acquaintances, most of them styling clients, but almost no close friends. What he needed was a holiday – and a whole load of new people to meet, none of whom had ever been given a bad makeover.
He took a solo trip to Shang Simla, eating Chinese food for every meal (although he couldn't get the hang of chopsticks) …
…impressing the populace with his charm and style…
…and generally blending in with the local culture
.
Possibly to get rid of him, one of his new contacts sent him on a quest to the Temple of Heaven. It was hard. His back really wasn't up to rubble clearing these days (not that it had ever been his sort of thing).
At last, he found his way to the centre of the labyrinth under the temple – and the legendary axe of Pangu.
He reverently lifted it down from the wall. And then staggered.
The axe was heavy! Somehow he'd expected it to be magically light, however substantial it looked. Apparently all that lightning stuff was a special effect, not magic. No doubt generated by hidden equipment inside the axe, together with a sound system for the portentous music. And it made the whole thing weigh a ton.
On the other hand, it was effective. He might struggle to wield the axe but it destroyed boulders a treat. Everything gone. Hardly any dust, even. How did that work?
After completing the adventure, he restricted himself to chatting to the locals and collecting gems and insects. That was enough to upgrade his visa to level 3 and let him buy the family a holiday home in the hills overlooking the town.
It also gave him the six best friends he needed to qualify for ambrosia. Except that, after he returned home to Lucky Palms, there were no Chinese Sims in his relationship panel. Austin knew they ought to be there: he kept rolling unfulfillable wishes to phone them. But the only foreign Sims he officially knew were in France and Egypt.
I'd not been intending to count friends within the household towards the requirement (with the exceptions of spouses and cars) but Austin wasn't getting any younger and didn't have much charisma skill. It was going to be hard to replace his Chinese friends. So he spent a day each chatting with the two clients who'd been most impressed by his makeovers and then made up the numbers with his mother and brother.
And so Minnie led Austin into the new (but largely unfurnished) Ambrosia Room for his first taste of immortality.
AustinTraits: artistic, excitable, photographer's eye, vehicle enthusiast, irresistible
Lifetime wish: Visionary
Careers: photographer and stylist
Supermax skill: painting
Other maxed skills: photography
Building: Silver Swallow Day Spa
Property: Civic Center Park
Unique lifetime rewards: Extra Creative, Jetsetter, Prepared Traveller
Unique best friends: Mercedes Carr (née Nita), Simsadelic! (his car), Candice Skidmore, Randi Bowden, Minnie Carr, Morris Carr
Unique opportunities: Al Simhara, The Pyramids, Deliver a Painting to China, The Sphinx, Photo Contest, Interior Décor
Museum
I particularly like his expression in his adult photo, and that two of his sculptures are in a pose that shows off his fangs
