Author Topic: The Morven Family Dynasty - Chapter 46 (4 March 2017)  (Read 56636 times)

Offline Whirligig

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Re: The Morven Family Dynasty
« Reply #15 on: October 14, 2016, 04:00:53 AM »
What a lovely update!  First the romantic date, then star gazing and the story of Abraham, (love how you brought that in), then the proposal!  (sigh)  Just reminds me once again how emotionally tough doing a dynasty is.  You're a very good writer too.  Not just pictures but really good story telling.
Thanks so much Joria! I was just trying to think of a story about the stars, though it seemed to fit for the founder of a Dynasty.

The proposal was so beautiful! I loved it! The contrast with Sergio's scene right after was perfect, too. Poor guy!

Aww, thanks. Yeah, Sergio really took one...well, more than one, actually...for the team. I'm always self-conscious about writing mushy gushy.

I'm not sure why, but I laughed a bit that Joaquin's PJs matched the bedroom curtains. (Maybe I need some coffee...)

Well, everything's going so fine and dandy for Iris and Joaquin--engaged and expecting!
I'm feeling bad for Sergio, however, and I hope he will find happiness now that he's freed from his pollinator duties.
Since he hates children, could he live in an in-law unit? Just musing since I've never actually played either Sergio or Joaquin before.

And, by the way, the Behrs are my favorite townie sims!
I hadn't even noticed that about the curtains. Ha! Yeah, I'm not the greatest builder/internal decorator. I had to follow someone else's plan if I didn't want all my sims living in a box, heh.

Unfortunately, I'd already played quite a bit before the new rule was announced (and after the discussion that's happened over there in the last few days, I'm hesitant to change how I'm playing just yet). The 'hates children' trait wasn't really much of an issue - whenever he was around kids, it was usually in a well-decorated house anyways, so that the angry moodlet was easily negated. More annoying were the tense moodlets from all of that trying-for-baby.

Honestly, the Behrs were serious contenders for 'help the founder' sims, too - Iris just seemed far more interested in Joaquin. I did seriously consider it long and hard, though.

I love it that you're telling the story from Sergio's point of view. Good luck to Iris and Joey!
Thanks, MarianT! :) I struggle with deciding POV - I'm kind of going for a 3rd person omniscient narrator who is also aware that she is the Watcher. I hope I can keep it up, and also keep it interesting.

Thanks all for your kind words. I'll post the next chapter shortly. :) (And then I seriously need to work on an essay).
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Offline Whirligig

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Re: The Morven Family Dynasty
« Reply #16 on: October 14, 2016, 04:23:36 AM »
Chapter 4 - Birthdays and a Wedding



The morning of the wedding dawned gorgeous - a beautiful, summery breeze, sunlight dancing through the leaves of the cherry trees in the gardens of the Von Haunt Estate - the venue which Iris and Joaquin had selected for their day of days. The weather, it seemed, was always perfect, but it appeared even more so through Iris' eyes.



"My darling, you look stunning!" said Joaquin, greeting his beautiful bride with a kiss.

Iris blushed. She hadn't particularly wanted to make a grand ordeal out of the marriage celebration, but she had far too many friends who insisted they wanted to be there for her special day and she didn't want to disappoint them.



If Candy Behr was willing to grin and bear it through the pains of labour, then of course Iris would put on as grand an affair as possible for her.

Ultimately, it had been Iris who had convinced Candy Behr to bear her child to term and not make Sergio's life miserable in the process. So that Sergio could focus on...further...conquests. He hated thinking that way, but had yet to think of any alternative solutions.

He had agreed to cater the wedding event for Iris and Joaquin - it would keep his mind off of his impending fatherhood, at any rate.



And so the guests gathered around the archway at the bottom of the garden, murmuring to one another about how beautiful the garden was, and of course, how beautiful the bride was.



Iris had tried to keep the whole Immortal Dynasty thing under wraps within the neighbourhood. Oh sure, a few sims here and there knew about it, but she still didn't want to talk about it with everyone. As far as she wanted her friends to be concerned, she was just a normal girl marrying a phenomenal guy. This had seemed like a reasonable thing to do, but Iris found now that there was a problem.

How could she now express all that was on her heart? How could she share with the world all that burdened her, and all that excited her, about Joaquin's devotion and commitment, and how sorry she was that her vow was only temporary, while his vow was for life? Just thinking about it hurt.



"My beloved Iris," he said, and already she found herself blinking back tears. "With this ring, I thee wed. You are my sunshine, my morning star, my guiding light and my inspiration. These years we've spent together, living together, working together, and getting to know one another intimately have been a whirlwind of emotions for me. I am so honoured and so blessed that you would choose to be my beautiful wife. I promise that I will love you and cherish you for as long as I live."

Tears welled in her eyes, a lump rose in her throat.

The wedding guests waited with baited breath.

She knew she would have tell them one day, but today she chose uncomplicated happiness.



"Oh Joey," she said at long last, "I love you so much. And I promise that I'll love you forever."



With the ceremony out of the way, the guests moved up the hill and into the manor for the festivities to begin properly. Joaquin began by cutting the cake.

"If you smear that in my face, Joaquin, I don't know what I'll do, but I promise you won't like it."



"I wouldn't do that," Joaquin reassured her. And, true to his word, he didn't.



The party was an overwhelming success. And just before they decided to wrap things up, Sergio received a phone call from Candy, informing him that whether he liked it or not, he was now a father.

------------

Dynasty Achievement Unlocked: Gold Medal Wedding

---

He felt awful about it, not being involved in his son's life. But at the same time, Sergio hated children, and actually hadn't wanted any at all. Of course, yes, he had been a child once. He remembered being a child - a brat of a child. And his own children would more than likely all be brats as well.



But the show must go on. Still spending as much spare time as possible at Cacti Casa, he ran into Jade. He felt awful for cheating on Candy, but apparently this was completely necessary.



Meanwhile, Joaquin and Iris had finally reached the point in their careers where they were forced to part ways. As noted, Joaquin chose to pursue a career in music, while Iris' true calling was in comedy.

This meant that Joaquin needed to spend some time working on his piano-playing skills, which were non-existant. And because I'm a tightwad, I decided that he could raise his Piano skill off-site until he got the free one at level 7.



So the three housemates took a trip to the Willow Creek museum. Iris decided to spend some time meeting, joking with, and trying out her material on a few more of the locals. Unfortunately, she didn't see too many day of the dead celebrators on this trip, but she made some headway on her 'make 12 friends' requirement.



Sergio also hoped to make the most of time spent in Willow Creek, and made a beeline for the river. (Not pictured: Sergio catching the first Angelfish of the Dynasty).



With Joaquin finally skilled up to piano level 2, the trio headed home. After a minor…diversion, Iris got down to business writing a handful of short stand-up comedy routines.

---



Before they knew it, the young adult years of Iris, Joaquin and Sergio had run their course.  And so the time came to prepare for a rather large birthday party.



"This hamburger cake is for you goofballs," Sergio said.

"Haha, I love it. Thanks Sergio!"

Make a wish, Iris!



With a jump, whirl, and spin, Iris leaped forwards into full-fledged adulthood.



"Just because I'm getting older doesn't mean this party is coming to an end any time soon," shouted Joaquin, as he quickly followed suit.



Sergio, on the other hand, insisted on a much more…civilised cake.

------------

Dynasty Achievement Unlocked: Gold Medal Birthday Party



Iris was starting to get worried. While things were certainly progressing, they weren't progressing quite as quickly as she would have liked. She still had a great many career levels to get through. Since joining the comedy career track, her violin practice sessions had been neglected, in favour of stand-up sessions. Sergio had yet to master cooking, much less gourmet. While he finally had death flowers growing in his garden, the elusive angelfish still seemed few and far between.



And then of course, there was the small matter of ensuring the Dynasty Iris was building would carry on.
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Offline oshizu

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Re: The Morven Family Dynasty - Chapter 4 (14 Oct 2016)
« Reply #17 on: October 14, 2016, 09:48:43 AM »
A lovely wedding! Congratulations and best wishes to the bride and groom!

As for Sergio, I can't wait to see some of his children!
Great news, too, that Iris is now eating for two!

Offline FrancescaFiori

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Re: The Morven Family Dynasty - Chapter 4 (14 Oct 2016)
« Reply #18 on: October 14, 2016, 01:54:29 PM »
What a lovely wedding! I get self-conscious about writing the mushy gushy stuff, too, but I think you did a beautiful job with their vows and capturing the bittersweet nature of a dynasty marriage. Bravo!

That's a really nice shot of the Von Haunt Estate in the first picture. I should have my sims hang out there more.

Time is really marching on. I was surprised it was time for birthdays, already. I'm very excited about the last picture, though. Yay nooboos!

Offline Whirligig

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Re: The Morven Family Dynasty - Chapter 4 (14 Oct 2016)
« Reply #19 on: October 14, 2016, 08:49:15 PM »
A lovely wedding! Congratulations and best wishes to the bride and groom!

As for Sergio, I can't wait to see some of his children!
Great news, too, that Iris is now eating for two!
Thanks! Sergio ended up being rather more...accomplished in his later years. He and I were both stalling early on.
What a lovely wedding! I get self-conscious about writing the mushy gushy stuff, too, but I think you did a beautiful job with their vows and capturing the bittersweet nature of a dynasty marriage. Bravo!

That's a really nice shot of the Von Haunt Estate in the first picture. I should have my sims hang out there more.

Time is really marching on. I was surprised it was time for birthdays, already. I'm very excited about the last picture, though. Yay nooboos!
The Von Haunt estate is really beautiful. I just deleted some of the ropes in the house and it was a great place for an after party, too.

Yeah, I really didn't manage their young adult years very well at all, I must say, and time when super quick without too much happening. I thought I would be able to play better if I held off on having a nooboo until early in the adult stage, but that didn't really happen either. I promise I get better!

Thanks for reading and commenting, both of you! I should have another chapter up soonish. :)
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Offline Whirligig

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Re: The Morven Family Dynasty - Chapter 4 (14 Oct 2016)
« Reply #20 on: October 14, 2016, 11:28:07 PM »
Chapter 5 - Serious Adults

Note from Whirligig: The next few chapters may seem a bit rushed. Unfortunately, they suffer from "NESS" (Not Enough ScreenShots) Syndrome. Except for screenshots of Sergio fishing. For some reason I have plenty of those.



"Oooh, Nooboo! Dinna wona Nooboo!"



Actually, Iris initially went into labour while she was at the Museum in Willow Creek, chatting up some sims while Joaquin was practicing the piano. She quickly excused herself and went home.



Which means, while she was giving birth, Joaquin was still working on reaching piano level 4 for his level 7 promotion.



And Sergio was, again, down by the River in Willow Creek, fishing for more Angelfish.



And though Joaquin would probably never live down being absent for the birth of his first and only child, it was probably for the better that neither he nor Sergio heard any of the expletives Iris was shouting while she was alone and in labour.



Eventually, everything must end - labour being no exception, thankfully, and Rose Morven was born.

(I hadn't intended on going for floral names. I had actually planned on using 'old people names' (I work for a community-based aged care services provider. I know a lot of 'old people names') as most of these sims are going to be elders for the majority of their existence. But when the dialog popped up, I drew a blank and asked my boyfriend for a name. He suggested Rose - which technically still fits the bill - we have at least 2 clients that I know of named 'Rose').



Lovingly doted on by mother and father alike, and mostly ignored by Uncle Sergio.



"Alright, boys: progress report. We're serious adults now, and all of us parents. It's time we started getting serious about all these Dynasty requirements."

"I dunno Iris. I figure we're working pretty hard."

Indeed, the problem is with me. Until this point, most of the progress made occurred in 2 very long (like I-probably-forgot-to-eat-last-Wednesday long) playing sessions. But sleep and work and University assessments and boyfriend wanting to play some war game with his gamer friends meant I had to take a break from playing. A break from playing meant lots of perusing the forum. Which meant lots of 'why didn't I think of that?' moments. And lots of facepalming as I came to realise just how badly I'd been playing.*

"It has been suggested," Iris said, "that we start a club. A household club. I know the two of you are already in clubs, but let's face it, they never meet. Our club will 'meet' all the time, and our approved activities will include fishing, gardening, doing comedy, playing instruments, and sleeping. Approaching our goals in an organised manner should allow us to unlock powerful perks that should help things along quite nicely." *Note: I will probably continue to play badly.



"Iris, I love you." said Joaquin.

Even Sergio had to admit it was a good idea.

"Then it's decided," said Iris. "Thus begins the first meeting of the Goofballs club."

"Um, what kind of club name is that?" asked Sergio.

Joaquin just smirked.

"Iris," he repeated, "I love you."



Rose, of course, was immediately invited to join the 'goofballs' club as soon as she could.



Though Rose did intend to complete all the childhood aspirations, the first trait she selected was 'Creative', and the first aspiration she wanted to work towards was 'artistic prodigy.' So as soon as she'd gotten rid of the hat and adjusted her wardrobe to something 'proper', she sat down to draw herself some rainbows.



While the rest of the household quickly adjusted to the new and improved ways of doing…exactly the same things they'd always been doing. Joaquin focused on playing music and had recently started working towards completing the 'musical genius' aspiration.



Iris continued to focus her attention on building up her Comedy skill by writing and performing more and more routines.



And Sergio fished. It was surprisingly calming, though he never would have picked it himself. He could stay away from children - both Rose and his own - and just focus on catching (not nearly enough) Angelfish.



"What are you working on, Rose?"

"Homework," Rose replied, matter-of-factly.

"I can see that," said Joaquin, "I thought maybe you might need a bit of help from your dad."

"It's easy, Dad. Just Maths. One plus one equals two. Two plus ten equals twelve. Twelve plus nine equals twenty-one. Twenty one plus thirty seven equals fifty-eight. Easy."

"Oh, yes, of course. When did you get to be so smart, Rose?"

Rose shrugs "I play lots of Arithmetic Attack."



There are days, however, when Joaquin and Iris are too busy to help Rose with her homework. Which means, much to his chagrin, Sergio is forced to help out. "You really don't need to help me, Uncle Sergio," Rose insists. "I've gotten to be quite good at this."

"I'm just here to help you maintain your focus so this counts for your Aspiration, okay?"



Thankfully, Sergio doesn't have to spend too much time with Rose. Sure, he gets babysitting duty on occasion, but she's a fairly independent child, which leaves him to pursue his…other duties.



Don't be silly, he really didn't enjoy those duties that much. He preferred fishing. He still seemed to consistently have better luck catching Angelfish in Willow Creek, but he had, at long last, caught one or two from the fishing spots in his own neighbourhood.



Iris felt bad that she wasn't spending all that much time with Rose herself, but she rested easy in the assurance that the two of them would have eternity to bond. In fact, having Rose seemed to erase at least some of her anxiety over the Immortal's curse. She may eventually loose many of her friends, but she would always have Rose to comfort and support. This raised her spirits quite immensely.
"So today is Sunday," Iris explained, "and your Daddy and I both have the day off, so we're going to throw a couple of parties today and have lots and lots of Mommy's friends over. How does that sound?"

"Sounds good, Mom," said Iris.

"Now you make sure you spend plenty of time talking to everyone so that you can finish Social Butterfly, okay? That's all I need you to worry about."

"I got it, Mom."



"Is that a black and white cake you're baking, Serge?"

"Sure is. Do you like my black and white suit, Iris?"

"You look very dapper, good sir," Iris replied.

"Why thank you, Iris. Say, I love your black and white dress?"

"Oh this? I didn't even know I owned it until just now, but thank you very much."



------------

Dynasty Achievement unlocked: Gold Black and White Bash.



Also, this was apparently the only picture I took of the truly chaotic House Party Iris threw immediately following.

At the conclusion of the house party (to which Iris foolishly invited ALL her friends), Iris was grateful to have satisfied all of the event requirements for her journey towards Immortality, and it was time to get right back to work. She would make it yet!

------------

Dynasty Achievement Unlocked: Gold House Party.

Dynasty Goal Completed: Complete 5 Gold Social Events

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Offline oshizu

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Re: The Morven Family Dynasty - Chapter 4 (14 Oct 2016)
« Reply #21 on: October 15, 2016, 03:03:01 AM »
Rose looks so much like Iris!
Sergio looks dashing in his bowtie.

And yay for completing the five gold-medal social events. Every generation, that's always such a relief!



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Offline FrancescaFiori

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Re: The Morven Family Dynasty - Chapter 4 (14 Oct 2016)
« Reply #22 on: October 15, 2016, 01:17:31 PM »
Hooray for "old people" names! That's more or less the strategy I used in naming my actual children. :)

This cracked me up:


"Why thank you, Iris. Say, I love your black and white dress?"

"Oh this? I didn't even know I owned it until just now, but thank you very much."


Sometimes I am jealous of The Sims. If only the perfect outfit for every social engagement would just appear when needed.

Rose is lovely, and congrats on the parties!

Offline Joria

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Re: The Morven Family Dynasty - Chapter 4 (14 Oct 2016)
« Reply #23 on: October 15, 2016, 03:26:37 PM »
The funny thing is, for such a child hater, Sergio is really very good at helping them with things like chess or mentoring fishing.  I've noticed a dearth of angelfish myself.  It seems we can all fish for hours and maybe, if we are very lucky, catch one.  This does not bode well for dynasty play!  This is only since the last update.  You really took some lovely screenshots.  The wedding was gorgeous.
What?  Grannies can't play games?
I speak perfect Nooblik, (and some Simlish)!

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Offline Whirligig

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Re: The Morven Family Dynasty - Chapter 4 (14 Oct 2016)
« Reply #24 on: October 16, 2016, 01:16:14 AM »
Rose looks so much like Iris!
Sergio looks dashing in his bowtie.

And yay for completing the five gold-medal social events. Every generation, that's always such a relief!
She looks A LOT like Iris. I've never been too good at those comparison shots everyone does, but I might try to put one together later. :)

And yep, I'm glad I got those out of the way. It's not a difficult requirement, just one you have to set aside time for. (Time that could be better spent on other things).
Hooray for "old people" names! That's more or less the strategy I used in naming my actual children. :)

This cracked me up:


"Why thank you, Iris. Say, I love your black and white dress?"

"Oh this? I didn't even know I owned it until just now, but thank you very much."


Sometimes I am jealous of The Sims. If only the perfect outfit for every social engagement would just appear when needed.

Rose is lovely, and congrats on the parties!
I know, right? How convenient would that be? Also they don't have to do laundry, which I am also envious of.

The strategy of using old people names, or the strategy of drawing a blank and asking your partner for ideas? ;)

I'm terribly bad with Sims names, though. Like I'll remember the sim as 'yes, the blond who maxed gardening and actually finished the plant collection. I gave her green hair after that. What was her name again?' With Rose, I keep wanting to think her name is Elizabeth for some bizarre reason. I have no idea...
The funny thing is, for such a child hater, Sergio is really very good at helping them with things like chess or mentoring fishing.  I've noticed a dearth of angelfish myself.  It seems we can all fish for hours and maybe, if we are very lucky, catch one.  This does not bode well for dynasty play!  This is only since the last update.  You really took some lovely screenshots.  The wedding was gorgeous.
Sergio is a champ, really. He's been such a trooper. And the moodlet for being around kids hasn't really impacted him much at all - he's usually pretty happy about everything else.

Oh, finding Angelfish has been awful! For all that fishing, Sergio has caught 8. I'm going to have to bring the rest of the household on board before too long.
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Offline Whirligig

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Re: The Morven Family Dynasty - Chapter 4 (14 Oct 2016)
« Reply #25 on: October 16, 2016, 02:11:23 AM »
Chapter 6 - Show Stopper

Rose was very much an only child.



She made her own fun, but she spent many hours of her day daydreaming about what life would be like if there were more children, maybe even some siblings around, for her to play with. But Mom had told her, with no ambiguity, that she had created the perfect child first go, and didn't need any more.



Besides, Iris and Joaquin were working hard towards their careers and barely had enough time for the child they did have. Where would they find time to raise another?



Joaquin had maxed his violin skill, and after reaching level 7 of the Musician career, he now had a piano in the family room and was working hard to maximise his piano skill, as well. In working towards completing the 'musical genius' aspiration, he wrote a few songs on the piano and violin respectively, and was selling them to local television stations to boost the family's daily income (at least a little bit).



He was also devoting a fair bit of time to helping Iris with her third skill, violin, which she made easy work of.



While Sergio didn't mind Rose, and rather thought that she had some charm when she wanted, the truth was he just didn't like being around children much. Having maximised his cooking and gourmet cooking skills, he now wanted to devote as much time as possible to collecting Angelfish so he could leave Iris with a decent supply of Ambrosia.



This didn't mean that he was neglecting his pollination duties. Au contraire, he had six children now, running around Windenberg and beyond. He still felt guilty about the whole thing, but had resigned himself to the task. He had tried to explain the situation to the ladies in a more…polite…manner than J would have put it, but eventually just found that seducing them quickly and then ceasing contact was a lot easier.



He didn't get to spend much time working out these days. Iris had filled his gym with all of her energizing career rewards and also put in a computer. Rose maxed her Motor skill in one night, playing keyboard commander while energized during the perpetual meeting of the goofballs.



In the middle of the night, little miss Rose turned on her light and said 'something is not right.'

Upon catching a glimpse of the tentacled monster under her bed, she squealed.

"Mom! Dad! There's a monster under my bed!"

Iris groaned. "Not again."

"Don't worry hun," said Joaquin, "I got it."



"There, now. I've sprayed plenty of Monster-B-Gone, and given him a good stern talking to. He won't be coming back to disturb you anymore tonight, okay?"

Rose nodded. "Okay, Daddy," she replied.



Iris had finally gotten the hang of befriending people. In fact, she discovered, she seemed to have the perfect combinations of traits and perks that made friendmaking an absolute cinch. Between being outgoing, gregarious, and incredibly friendly, added to the perks of being in a popular club, 'cheerful introductions' to other sims guaranteed that Iris would be able to skip the whole 'acquaintances' period and go straight to being friends!



This proved to be incredibly useful when it came to collecting sugar skulls from other sims - it seemed they were far more willing to share their decorated skulls with Sims they could call 'friends'.

Iris also found herself maxing her charisma skill with incredible ease from talking to all these sims, so before long, her 'friend of the world' aspiration was complete!

------------

Dynasty Achievement Unlocked: Complete Unique Aspiration - Friend of the World.

Dynasty Achievement Unlocked: Maximise a Skill - Charisma.



Sergio finally got around to perfecting his cooking skills. Behold! His first plate of Ambrosia! Of course, Iris isn't quite ready to eat it yet, so into the family inventory it goes.



"So in this house," Rose explained, "We're all part of a super-secret club that has a super-secret mission. If I told you what it was, I might have to kill you."

"That's pretty cool," said Kori Patel. "What kind of secret mission?"

"If I told you, I'd have to kill you," Rose replied.

"Why would you do that? And why is it such a big secret, anyways?"

"I…hmm. I don't really know."



"Dario said you were keeping something secret from me. Well, I have a secret: I'm Kori's half-brother."

"That's a pretty cool secret, Dario. So Uncle Sergio is your daddy, too?"

"Yup!"

"I wonder why Uncle Sergio has so many kids that don't live with us." Rose muses. She really wouldn't mind too much if some of them did live with the Morvens. She begins wondering why there are so many secrets, and why she can't talk about 'the mission' or even exactly what 'the mission' is, but she thinks it has to do with Uncle Sergio's girlfriends. And his garden. And why he likes fishing so much.



Tired and a little bit stressed, but in the best way possible, Iris returns home with a promotion to Show Stopper. She is the greatest comedienne of her era and sims for years to come with idolise her - of this she is confident.

But right now, she's just grateful that I am not the sort of watcher that makes a habit of denying my sims a good night's rest.

------------

Dynasty Achievement Unlocked: Reach the Top of a Career - Comedy

(Also achieved at some point: Maximise a Skill: Comedy)



Joaquin also reached the top of his career (music) in his serious-adulting years, and unfortunately the time has come to step up to the plate and face the late-life music. He doesn't fear death - not in the slightest. His only fear is for Iris - will she be okay without him? Will she find the strength to carry on? He will have to talk to Rose about looking after her mother.



With one final, energetic leap, he transitions into the twilight years of his life.

"Not bad," Sergio observes. "My turn!"



Sergio, too, is eager to 'get on with it', as they say. He transitions easily.He doesn't really have any regrets. Sure, his life with Iris, Joaquin, and even Rose, has been far different to what he expected. He has half a dozen children wandering around the world, though admittedly he doesn't have much contact with them. But does he regret not taking on a career?

Truth be told, a simple life of fishing, cooking, gardening and repairs has suited him just fine.

(Take no note of Iris impaling herself in the doorway. As mentioned, she's never been particularly fond of the idea of living forever).



"And you know what, Serge, old friend? You and I still look pretty darn good for a couple of old men. What d'you reckon, mate?"

"Well, it's not like I've been having any trouble with the ladies as of late," Sergio replied. "We'll see if my luck changes."



Finally, all on the same day, and during the same party, Rose approaches the cake.

I think it's possible she's the first sim I've ever had complete all 4 childhood aspirations without really pushing it. She went to school every day, and she slept through nearly every night (except the night Sergio spent rallying the troops so he could skill grind cooking). Again, I blame the club.



And the verdict is:



I forgot to take a decent screenshot of her after she aged up (it involved pigtails), but here she is post-makeover in CAS.



Rose initially selects a family aspiration, so she can get the domestic trait. But as there's little she can do to work towards them at the moment, she quickly switches to the Bestselling Novelist aspiration.

A world of imagination, of literary criticism and the imagining of new experiences await! It's a world of publishers and editors and constantly sending manuscripts in only for them to be rejected over and over again. Oh, wait, no. I'm thinking of the human world. It's not like that in sims - carry on my dear as you were.



We're all feeling a little bit partied out when Iris' birthday rolls around 2 sim-days later. But Sergio dutifully bakes her a cake and sings her a song.



And with that, we're officially in the home stretch for Ambrosia.
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Offline oshizu

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Re: The Morven Family Dynasty - Chapter 6 (16 Oct 2016)
« Reply #26 on: October 16, 2016, 01:05:39 PM »
Your dynasty household is seriously moving ahead! I was so surprised when the adults all turned elderly!

Even more, when Rose became a teen!

Iris has been doing a stellar job with all of her ambrosia requirements. I think I've started to miss Sergio already, sniffle sniffle *pulls out a hankie
Nice work!

Offline FrancescaFiori

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Re: The Morven Family Dynasty - Chapter 6 (16 Oct 2016)
« Reply #27 on: October 16, 2016, 04:42:27 PM »
Awww. You referenced Madeline! That's one of my favorites and I read it to my kids all the time. :)

Hooray for the Ambrosia home-stretch! Go, Iris! You can do it! I'm jealous that you get to use sugar skulls as your museum items. The timing didn't work out for any of my sims to use them, but they're so cool-looking.

Rose is an adorable teen. I am fond of teenage novelists, myself, so I'm excited to see how she does. Pernille and I will be rooting for her. ;)

Offline Whirligig

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Re: The Morven Family Dynasty - Chapter 6 (16 Oct 2016)
« Reply #28 on: October 17, 2016, 05:07:34 AM »
Your dynasty household is seriously moving ahead! I was so surprised when the adults all turned elderly!

Even more, when Rose became a teen!

Iris has been doing a stellar job with all of her ambrosia requirements. I think I've started to miss Sergio already, sniffle sniffle *pulls out a hankie
Nice work!
Yeah, as I mentioned, I did not take enough screenshots to accurately portray just how time was moving fowards. (In my defense, it was mostly skilling and daily activities for promotions. One can only take so many screenshots of Joaquin playing piano or guitar, or of Iris writing/performing comedy routines, or of Rose doing her homework, before it gets tedious for everyone involved, not just for me. I'm going to have to think more about how to vary things up in the storytelling while still actually working towards dynasty goals).

I am so going to miss Sergio. I'm avoiding opening the game at the moment because I know I'm going to lose him next time I play. :( He has been an absolutely stellar helper. He has 10 kids with I think 4 on the way, and he single-handedly produced Ambrosia, as a fisher, gardener and chef. I'm so proud of him. *sheds tear*.

Awww. You referenced Madeline! That's one of my favorites and I read it to my kids all the time. :)

Hooray for the Ambrosia home-stretch! Go, Iris! You can do it! I'm jealous that you get to use sugar skulls as your museum items. The timing didn't work out for any of my sims to use them, but they're so cool-looking.

Rose is an adorable teen. I am fond of teenage novelists, myself, so I'm excited to see how she does. Pernille and I will be rooting for her. ;)
I'm Madeline, I'm Madeline, I may be very small. I'm Madeline, I'm Madeline, but inside I'm tall!
Haha, I loved Madeline as a kid, both the books and the TV show. I went to a french language school (in English Canada) and my parents (who didn't speak French) were always buying me French books and French tv shows. Madeline was definitely a favourite.

The timing of the sugar skulls was perfect! I was planning out my dynasty and I knew I wanted to get friend of the world out of the way first thing because I knew I'd be miserable at pollinating so I wanted there to be plenty of friends to be had. But I couldn't for the life of me work out what museum items would be good and easy for a first generation Charismatic, Comedic, Violinist. The challenge was announced the day I started the Dynasty and I knew instantly that these would be perfect for Iris to collect. They aren't worth much ($10 each, except the last one is worth $100), but it's gen one - I'm hoping everyone else will be able to contribute items of greater value.

I rather like Rose, but I was neglecting her quite a bit in favour of getting Iris' requirements done (teen novelists are great. Put them in a room with a computer and a stereo and they're set. The only issue is the social meter, so Iris did a lot of online friend-making). Once Iris has eaten Ambrosia, I swear, Rose has my full and undivided attention. I hope.

Thank you both for your kind comments. :) New chapter up soonish. I've been trying to upload one a day until I catch up to myself, and my backlog should be finished by tomorrow or the day after.
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Offline Whirligig

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Re: The Morven Family Dynasty - Chapter 6 (16 Oct 2016)
« Reply #29 on: October 17, 2016, 05:18:22 AM »
Chapter 7 - La Día De Los Muertos

Iris isn't quite ready to eat Ambrosia just yet, but she's not far from it.



The only requirements she has left to fulfill are the 8 museum items, and the 6 good friends from outside of the household.

Simple, right?



Iris heads out, into to town, to meet with more sims who might be able to share their sugar skulls with her, since she's hoping to complete the collection to earn the final, golden skull for her museum items.



She easily recieves the last one from this townie (I think his name is Gavin Reeves?).



Returning home as quick as she can, Iris places the last of the nine skulls on the shelf in the upstairs hallway, then quickly begins to 'honour the dead'.



The skulls start smoking, and a tenth skull appears at the top of the cabinet.



And Iris herself is transformed into a celebrant of La Dia Del Los Muertos.

This means she'll have a better chance of building a relationship with the Grim Reaper, and may even be able to save the life of a dying sim.



This is a bittersweet accomplishment, of course. Though she is proud that she has completed her collection and gained this ability, she knows full well that she is forbidden from ever attempting to plead for the life of a sim who has died in house.

All the same, it is an accomplishment she deems to be worthy of celebration!



In the back corner of the lot, a separate building is constructed, and this is meant to be the Morven Dynasty museum, which will eventually be filled with all the collections and accomplishments of the Morvens through the generations.



Iris moves her skull collection into her area of the museum. She considers perhaps that maybe someone should have studied painting or photography so she place a picture of herself in this space as well, but that will have to happen a little bit later on. For now, she decorates the space around the skull collection with a microphone and one of her many "You've Got Talent" comedic awards.



And while I was at it building the museum, I also finally added a formal dining in that empty room you kept seeing across from the kitchen.



As for the other sims in the household, Sergio hasn't allowed old age to get in the way of his important duties.



He's finally gotten used to the whole idea, and tries not to let it all bother him. And anyways, the women in town seem to understand well enough that they're dying out, and sims aren't moving in to replace them. They want to protect their own family lines.



"So it hasn’t all been too terrible, I take it?" asks Iris one evening, after a show.

"Don't get me wrong," Sergio confides in her "it hasn't been the life I wanted for myself when I was younger - far from it. But I've got some pretty incredible kids running around this town, and I've made quite a few other contributions that I must say I am very proud of.



"After all, it's thanks to me that you will be able carry on, even when I'm gone. It's a good feeling, knowing your life has meant something that significant to someone else."

Iris smiles. "I'm glad it hasn't been all that awful, then?"



"Now Iris, I never did use the word 'awful'."



Rose, meanwhile, has continued to be the quiet and self-sufficient sim she was as a child. The adults, it seems, are always busy and she's left to her own devices, writing and publishing novels even as she's still in high school. It's admittedly rather lonely, and she often dreams of one day having a house full of sims to interact with and get to know.



In addition to Uncle Sergio's kids, she's met a few other teens who are, by some miracle, still hanging around town. Norman Johnston is a quiet, rather polite sim with whom she has science and Simlish. He may be a bit clumsy (as was exemplified in science class on more than one occasion), but he's also an insider, and longed to belong to more clubs not only at school, but beyond.

One evening he follows her home from school, and the two strike up a friendship. This friendship continues online when it's too late for either of them to visit each other.



"Rose, honey? Can I come in?"

Rose blinks at her computer screen and looks up. "What? Oh, uh, sure mom! What's up?"

"Oh, nothing in particular," says Iris, taking a seat on Rose's bed. "I just wanted to apologise. I haven't really been spending all that much time with you, and I wanted to say that I'm sorry about that. I've had to devote a lot of time lately to wrapping up my requirements, but I promise you that once I've eaten Ambrosia, you and I will have all of eternity to spend together."



Rose shifts her weight in her chair nervously, unsure what to make of this 'apology'. "Uh, thanks Mom. But really, it's okay. I'm getting a lot of my own requirements done now, too. Uh, what is it you have left to do."

Iris sighs. "I need to have 6 good friends outside the household, including one BFF."

Rose raises an eyebrow. "O-kaaay. You're a friend to nearly every sim in town. What's the problem?"



"Well, I had Alexander Goth and Ayla Ayala around to visit yesterday, and they became my last two good friends - I now have the six I need. But the problem is the BFF. Your father and I have been BFFs since before we even started dating. I don't want us to lose that."

Rose nodded empathetically. She thought about her mother's dilemma and tried to think if it could be helped.

"Well, it won't solve your problem entirely," she said at last, "but, well, to be honest, I finally sat down and looked at which goals and aspirations our children will have to meet. I think I actually have everything planned out properly and actually, I have an idea for you and Dad that might make things easier."

Iris brightened. "Just what do you have in mind, Rose?"
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