The Merryweather Dynasty: Part 32 - A Chapter About Myst

[ratchie]

Quartz is adorable and you will get a vampire gnome if you grow plasma fruit in your garden.

Rachel

[Sutz]

Aha! So that's where she came from! Thanks, Rachel - there's one mystery solved!

[loveSims]

Aww he is so cute! And I love those big brown eyes. Aww again

[ArianaJade]

Quartz is so cute! The pictures of him in the high chair have inspired me to get high chairs for the next generation of nooboos to hit my dynasty. So adorable.

[Sutz]

Nicholas has been getting on a bit, and I was wondering what to do with his leftover Lifetime Happiness Points. Then I noticed he had enough to leave his daughter a little gift.



I know this is a strictly nature-orientated farming family, but they're not above investing in a little technology if it's going to make their lives easier. This should help with combating Davy's Feeling Unlucky moodlet which he often gets when he's slept well. Of course.

One evening the household received a very unwelcome visitor...
It was Stelmaria's time.




Jessica was heartbroken. After all, Stelmaria was her only friend beside her boyfriend Charles.



Despite the fact that they had been roommates all these years, Jessica and Emerald still barely knew each other. But when Jessica needed a friend, Emerald was there to comfort and reassure her.




But I hadn't been prepared for what a catastrophic effect the Mourning moodlet would have on the family. For the next few days it was a huge struggle to keep them all in a good mood. They had Jessica and Topaz's paintings decorating the house and Emerald was cooking perfect meals, but I couldn't stop them randomly pausing and crying. It wasted time and was pretty depressing as I hadn't been pleased to see Stelmaria go either. And Sandpiper's ridiculously hard to keep in a good mood anyway. However, Stelmaria was with us for eight days, dying at the ripe old age of 70. That's pretty impressive for a cat, especially one who lived most of her life as a stray. Hopefully she had a good retirement being pampered by the Merryweathers.

But Grim wasn't finished with us yet. Two days later - on the day of Quartz's Child birthday no less - I sent Nicholas off to the Consignment Shop to see if we could get past that ghastly vampire cashier and sell some steaks and cheese. For some reason the grocery store won't take those.
Here's the creepy vampire cashier I was talking about. *shudder*



I noticed something in Nicholas' action queue marked 'Expire'. I have to admit that instruction alone made me giggle, but what happened next certainly didn't.






*sigh* I hate you, Grim. And I hadn't even managed to sell what was in his inventory either. What was worse was I was expecting him to live a little longer than 90 days. I mean, he was a Vegetarian and everything! And first spouses in a Dynasty often do live a little longer, don't they?
Well, Nicholas passed on to the next world and Emerald went to the Consignment Shop to collect his urn and consign the things that had been transferred to her inventory.

And of course the whole household went back into mourning.




However, they managed to perk up enough to give Quartz his birthday party. Once again it was Emerald who brought him to the cake.




I think she told a bad joke here. Quartz is not impressed.



Topaz and Davy, the proud parents, look on. (Jessica had been completing an opportunity at the Doo Peas Corporate Tower and she was exhausted, so she didn't participate in the celebrations).



Crossed eyes on the birthday boy? You got it.



He looks a lot more like Nicholas and Topaz now.


I was going to create a nice little mini-cemetary for Nicholas (Stelmaria's urn is in Jessica's room) but as soon as I dragged the grave out of Emerald's inventory it disappeared! Any clue as to why this could be? Maybe I should check at the graveyard and see if I can find it there.

The garden is now left to Emerald to tend and take care of.



RIP Nicholas (Riverhawk) Merryweather.

[ratchie]

Goodbye Nicholas you did a great job.

Rachel

[loveSims]

Rip Nicholas. Quartz is a nice looking boy!

[Sutz]

Only two days after Nicholas' passing, Jessica too went with Grim to the next world.



She was happy to go, though. She's served the Merryweathers well, and it was time for her to be reunited with her beloved Stelmaria. Their urns now rest side by side in Jessica's room until I convert it to another use. Nicholas' grave is still missing.



Jessica wasn't particularly close to anyone in the family (to my shame) but they all mourned her passing.




I sent them off to Egypt to deal with their grief. Topaz got started on her Charisma skill (she's going to need it for those Best Friend requirements) but she also went on lots of adventures along with her mother, racing to see who would get to Level 3 first. A couple of times they even reported back to the same person!




Quartz used the time to really get to know his family, and to spend some time just being a kid and having fun without having to worry about school or homework.






He also found a good use for all the sand in Al Simhara and found a new toy.




"By the power of lapins, I HAVE THE PINK BUNNY!"
I don't think he likes the heat much, though. He kept rolling wishes to go swimming. (Can't say I blame him. I hate hot weather too.)



His father told a lot of ghost stories and I had fun capturing all the different expressions. I swear Quartz is one of the most photogenic children I've ever had.






Topaz was sent down into the depths of the Great Pyramid (with some Mummy Snacks in her pocket just in case). She encountered some undead there, but she had it covered.





She missed the Level 3 Visa by only a hair, which was annoying, but it does mean that the next time I send them off there I should be able to grab a vacation home for them almost instantly which will mean they can skill away to their heart's content.
The family finished their holiday with a moonlit picnic at Base Camp. Actually I think that's the picnic hamper that Nicholas had in his inventory at the very beginning of the game!



But UGH! Oh no, I didn't know THIS might happen! Ewwwww...



The evening they came home, Sandpiper got to see an old friend again.



Quartz finished off his homework (procrastinator...) and Emerald read to him from the Martial Arts skill book. Not that this'll give him much of a bump on skills, but hey. Every little bit helps.



Night-night, little Quartz. Sweet dreams.

[Katluvr]

I just caught up on the last few updates and they were awesome!  You really take great photos for your story, and Quartz is extremely photogenic - he's gonna be dreamy when he grows up!

Stelmaria is from The Golden Compass if that virtual cookie is still available...  om nom nom!

[loveSims]

Awesome update! Quartz is going to be a heartbreaker

[Sutz]

Thanks so much, Katluvr!  I'm glad you like my screencaps - I only wish I was as good at it as Alexandria or Pam! If I see an expression I like, I snap it quickly before I can forget it, but I'm not that great at setting up scenes.

And you win the virtual cookie! I was wondering if anyone would get the His Dark Materials reference.

[Sutz]

Bolt the Unicorn made another appearance while Davy was on the rounds collecting money from the family's properties (the property Bolt lives on now belongs to Topaz). I'm getting kinda attached to him so I hope my Equestrian Merryweather will be able to convince him to join the clan. Probably after she's achieved Immortality, though. We've got to watch the space in the household.
Also, this is what the unicorn's aura looks like from a worm's eye view. No real reason, it just looks awesome:




Quartz ages up in a couple of days so I'm taking as many pictures of him as I can while I still can. Honestly, you'd have thought I'd given birth to him myself the way I fuss over him. He's reached the Honour Role, which is great as it means I'll get to choose his next trait. His life is fairly routine because he can't get going on his Martial Arts until he reaches Young Adult. He hangs out with his family, plays a lot, school, homework. He's also got an Imaginary Friend called Galaxy who plays a big part in his life.





Unlike most Imaginary Friends I've heard about, Galaxy is a sweet boy and has no problems with cleaning up the household if everyone else is busy.



I'm a little concerned about Davy. He's only two days from aging up to Elder. Topaz managed to capture a portrait of him in that time.





He's got level 8 Painting skill, but I'm wondering if he'll actually live to see Topaz hit her Elder birthday. If he doesn't I could be in some serious trouble because the others in the house are the Immortals and since Painting is Topaz's SuperMax skill, I can't risk either Quartz or Emerald getting all the way up to Level 7. Hmmm what to do, what to do?
Wait, Quartz's Imaginary Friend! Galaxy! I suppose it is a possibility... especially as Quartz just got the "When Dreams Come True" opportunity...
Right. That's what I will do. We have space in the house and if I get control of Galaxy now that means I may be able to control his traits. We've got a supply of the rare Rainbow Gems down in the basement pending future generations, but I'm sure we can spare just one...

It's very late, so Topaz takes Quartz to the Science Centre to collect the potion.




Quartz is too tired to give the potion to Galaxy right now. I'll wait until his birthday party. The ULTIMATE birthday present for our special little boy.

The next day when Quartz gets home from school, the birthday party begins! But beforehand, our little boy hands his lifelong best friend the potion...



Sparkles!



It took a long time to complete the transformation. I was worried Quartz wasn't going to get to the cake. But eventually we welcomed Galaxy Merryweather into the clan! His traits are Daredevil, Hydrophobic and Easily Impressed. No horrible traits, which I was worried about.
He turned out quite nicely, don't you think?



Then Quartz finally got to the cake with his aunt Minzi looking on. (I need to watch her. She's a Kleptomaniac.)



I'm sure I've seen this expression before...



Quartz was a handsome child. I'm gonna miss that little face.



Jump for joy and...




Argh! The eyes! Looks like Nicholas' eyes are like Christopher Steel's lips. Unfortunately Quartz doesn't have the face shape Nicholas did to balance them so they look a bit out of place. He's looking more and more Asian as each age goes by, I swear. Ah well. He may not have retained the gorgeous looks of his toddlerhood, but he's still my Sim so I'll love him whatever.

Also that night, what on EARTH!?



Well, this was unexpected. There's still no sign of Nicholas' grave, but it must be somewhere on the lot otherwise he wouldn't appear! Such a mystery... Maybe when I remodel the house I'll stumble across it.

Galaxy didn't age up until the next day. Quartz took him off to his first day of school. Doesn't he look like a protective big brother?



Galaxy didn't have a party, but he got a birthday cake.




Ooh, he's a hottie! And it corresponds with his new trait, Flirty.

Life moves on for our Merryweather clan.

[loveSims]

I think Quartz is very handsome! Great update.

[ratchie]

Quart's has stunning eyes I love the colour.

Rachel

[Sutz]

@Rachel: I think he got those from his daddy. Davy's got lovely eyes too.