Carr Immortal Dynasty (Completed)

[hazelnut]

Maybe she needs to dress up like a simbot?

I always wonder if the ghosts are giving us any future spouse hints but we are running out of chances for that.

A previous screenshot certainly was hinting - Opal's DNA donor was a ghost, after all.  This one was included simply because I liked the ghosts' different reactions and the way they look as though they're wearing yellow wellies

[starlives]

Congratulations on Morgan achieving his LTW. Opal is certainly very pretty, love the red hair and such lovely eyes. Lets hope she proves to be a suitable spouse for Morgan then you can relax a little. What a very clever idea to blow up the abandoned vehicles around the town, free scrap and tidier town. Winner! I wonder why the park is attracting so many sims to get meals and then not eat them? Perhaps less eating tables is called for. What are your elders doing to occupy themselves, this aspect of Dynasty games always fascinates me?

[hazelnut]

Congratulations on Morgan achieving his LTW. Opal is certainly very pretty, love the red hair and such lovely eyes. Lets hope she proves to be a suitable spouse for Morgan then you can relax a little.

Thanks.  i hope so too (although the age difference makes me rather squirmy).

I wonder why the park is attracting so many sims to get meals and then not eat them? Perhaps less eating tables is called for.

No idea, although there are already signs that the problem is continuing .  I can't get rid of any picnic tables because they're a requirement for a fully-upgraded park.

What are your elders doing to occupy themselves, this aspect of Dynasty games always fascinates me?

They all cook, especially Portia (who has recently supermaxed).  Most of them dance and they all use the games room, massage table and sauna (which is locked to immortals because mud baths can extend lives slightly).  Minnie sculpts, Austin paints and the other two pose for them, as well as looking after the house and garden.  And they all chat whenever I take my eye off them.

[hazelnut]

Keep in Low Gear

Morgan came home from work with yet another promotion and told Opal all about it.  As a good and friendly Sim, she was suitably impressed and complimentary.

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And they are attracted!  Yay!  (Although that doesn't necessarily mean that much – after all, he and Robin also had the little hearts over their heads back in the day .)

Then I realised that they barely knew each other.  Hold off on the romantic interactions, Morgan!  We don't want to creep her out.  Have a nice friendly chat instead.

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Um, what happened to not creeping her out? 

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Morgan would claim that he was just receiving a text but it looks pretty inappropriate to me.

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That's better!  A nice normal Sim courtship  .

They met up once or twice a day to chat and gradually maxed out their relationship.  Morgan spent a lot of time at the library, working on his charisma – and more.  When I went back to check on him on one occasion, I found him reading this:

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It appears he's starting to take his dynastic responsibilities seriously.  And the next morning…

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Triggered by the sight of Opal's underwear?   It was one of Morgan's days off, so they went out as soon as they'd dressed.  They drove around town, sightseeing and being seen, ate brunch at the bistro…

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…relived their schooldays by hanging out at the playground and ended the day at the beach, stargazing.  They arrived home shortly before midnight and Morgan finally rolled the wish I'd been hoping for.

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(It was mutual, by the way.)

Considering it was actually his second first kiss, Morgan was surprisingly clumsy.

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Maybe he needed more practice .

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But then his grandmother came in, somehow managed to walk between them and went off to bed, smirking.  Way to spoil the moment, VW!

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All too soon, it was time for Morgan's final birthday cake.

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A day or two later, they went on another date – and Morgan proposed.

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Would she accept?  After all, he was a lot older, even if he would eventually outlive her.  Wisely, he decided not to mention that part.

Thankfully, Opal said yes.

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And about a minute later:

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I'm beginning to think Morgan's just a very late developer.  Maybe they're not such a mismatched couple after all.


Talking of unexpected wishes, VW rolled one I'd never seen before:

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I had to say no, of course.  There's no room in the house for a second Portia  .

[Chubling]

Looks like Morgan just really needed to get all that inventing out of his system before he was ready to settle down. Yay for the happy couple and Opal has some local genes.

[Trip]

Aww Morgan, it's a romance we can finally entertain in the dynasty (all apologies to that yellow-shirted townie) Hopefully we have enough choices so that cloning immortals is unnecessary and that VW is despairing too early. (omg next clone is gonna be the last one)

[Beks]

Morgan and Opal are very sweet together! I love that Morgan finally showed some genuine interest. He makes a very cute elder, by the way.

[hazelnut]

Looks like Morgan just really needed to get all that inventing out of his system before he was ready to settle down. Yay for the happy couple and Opal has some local genes.

Yeah, it certainly looks that way.  Although I still can't help wishing it had worked out with Robin .

Aww Morgan, it's a romance we can finally entertain in the dynasty (all apologies to that yellow-shirted townie) Hopefully we have enough choices so that cloning immortals is unnecessary and that VW is despairing too early.

In fact, he rolled wishes to kiss a couple of other random women he met around town.  No men, though, despite plenty of chances.  He's straight, if slow off the mark.  And Whatsername Lorie (?) would never have worked out – by the next time I noticed her in his relationship panel, she'd aged up to elder.

There are plenty of DNA samples left (15-20 at a guess, although some are duplicates).

(omg next clone is gonna be the last one)

I know!!!! 

Morgan and Opal are very sweet together! I love that Morgan finally showed some genuine interest. He makes a very cute elder, by the way.

They are, although I still find the age gap a bit creepy.  Yes, I think Morgan's reached his ideal age as an elder.  He always seemed slightly out of his proper time before.

[starlives]

Hurrah for Morgan, at last he has found his love. So the Dynasty progresses. What is Opal's LTW by the way?

[hazelnut]

It certainly looks like it.

Opal's a Renaissance Sim.  Like most (all?) teens, she rolled the wish once she'd reached level 6 in a skill – sculpting in her case.  She's already completed it, thanks to the Brain Enhancing Machine (painting, photography and sculpting).

[hazelnut]

I'm in Love With My Carr

Having decided to make room in his life for love, Morgan is really going for it.  I keep finding him and Opal being all silly and romantic around the house and I'm pretty sure he always starts it.

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I'm not at all sure he should he jumping into her arms.  I mean, I know he lost his muscles when he aged up to elder but he's still a medium-sized man, while she's a thin woman.

Surprisingly, he's also spending quite a lot of time with Robin (probably more than when they were engaged).  He keeps spontaneously talking to her about her interests.  He really is growing up at long last.

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Clearing away all of those abandoned cars had brought him very close to his supermax and a last small batch of fridges finished it off.

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(Morgan wasn't the only one cheering  .)

While he was on a roll (and with a 'feeling lucky' moodlet, which he doesn't seem to have all that often), why not get married?  It seemed tactful to have a private ceremony, as far away from Robin as possible.  So Morgan and Opal drove down to the far end of the lake at sunset.

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"I love you, Mrs Carr."

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To me, Opal looks more thoughtful than besotted.  Realising she's just tied herself to a man who's old enough to be her father and regretting it already?  Wondering whether she's inherited some of Lola's gold-digging tendencies along with her looks?  Or maybe she was just gazing at the view over Morgan's shoulder and I'm just imagining things.  She certainly looked suitably adoring when they'd finished hugging and stood gazing at each other.

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The following morning, I suddenly realised that Morgan had completed all of his requirements.  He'd just lost one of his best friends (his colleague Stephanie Griggs, last seen hobbling out of the military base using her cane) and it seemed like a good idea to eat ambrosia now, before he lost any more.

So he did.

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He celebrated achieving immortality by growing a moustache.  I wish I'd thought of it ages ago  .

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Morgan

Traits: eccentric, athletic, vehicle enthusiast, born salesman, lucky

Lifetime wish: Monster Maker
Career: Inventor
Supermax skill: inventing
Other maxed skills: handiness

Building: Sahara Corporate Headquarters
Property: Landgraab Sell'n'Swap

Unique lifetime rewards: Suave Seller, Efficient Inventor, Fireproof Homestead

Unique best friends: Opal Carr (née Lancaster), Stanley (his car), Jonathan Gunn*, Duane Griggs, Austin Carr, Robin Sparks**
* A great name for a military man – although Tommy Gunn would have been even better .
**Yes, really!  Despite everything, their relationship never dropped below 'good friends' and the combination of Robin making his elder sculptures and their friendly chats over meals had maxed it again.

Unique opportunities: Master Invention, Teching Up the Spa, Intelligence Through Environment, Construction Equipment Needed, Late Night Latrines, Technical Arguments

Museum

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…and his inventing awards:

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Rather a short chapter (sorry for that) but I wanted it to end with Morgan's immortality.

[Chubling]

MORGAN'S MUSTACHE!!! I love it! He looks so cute in it! He really was destined to be an old man.

Poor Robin having to get thrown over for the hot young thing.

I am also in love with Opal's wedding attire. A+ look!

[Trip]

The relationship boost from sculpting another sim is CRAZY. And sims don't think through the implications of being exes with someone like we do. Or the age gaps...

[hazelnut]

MORGAN'S MUSTACHE!!! I love it! He looks so cute in it! He really was destined to be an old man.

He really, really was  .

I am also in love with Opal's wedding attire. A+ look!

I decided to keep the dark fire opal thing going for her formal outfit.  Not exactly a conventional wedding dress but it might be the only chance she gets to wear it.

The relationship boost from sculpting another sim is CRAZY.

It certainly is.

And sims don't think through the implications of being exes with someone like we do. Or the age gaps...

They may not but it still makes me pretty uncomfortable  .

[hazelnut]

Crawler Lane*

A few days after her wedding, Opal was hit by an attack of nausea in the middle of a sculpting session.

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Not just one, in fact: she'd barely dealt with one moodlet by throwing up when the next one hit.  Soon, she found out what was causing it.

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She told Morgan, who was astonished.  (So was I.  It took so many attempts to get Opal pregnant that I assumed the chimes weren't working – until suddenly they did.  Given Morgan's age, that seems quite realistic.)

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Once he'd got over his initial surprise, Morgan was delighted to be an expectant father.  Opal, who was suffering from backache most of the time now she'd stopped being sick, was less enchanted with the whole pregnancy thing – especially since her husband's enthusiasm extended to reading pregnancy books but stopped short of practical help.  Not even a backrub.

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Morgan ran into Kevin the SimBot outside the gym.  They chatted and Morgan discovered that his metallic son was now working at the salon as a tattoo artist.

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Personally, I'd worry about a robot tattooist.  He'd probably do a good job of the artwork but I can't see him having much sympathy with human pain.  Morgan, on the other hand, immediately wished to celebrate the imminent arrival of his heir by getting a tattoo.  They went off to the salon together – and he discovered that Carmen was also working as a tattooist.  Maybe it's the latest thing in Lucky Palms – a robo-salon.  I was rather hoping to find Kristy working there as well but, sadly, the stylist was human.

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(The lighting's still not sorted out, despite your advice, @Trip.  It just seems to be a dark building.)

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Carmen applied a small heart design to her creator's arm and he went home to show it off to an underwhelmed Opal, who sighed and returned to the studio.  She spent most of her time there these days, either sculpting or chatting with her female in-laws.  Unlike Morgan, they knew what pregnancy was really like.

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When she went into labour late one night, Morgan just rolled over and went back to sleep – military working hours were early, after all.  He needed his rest .  So Minnie drove Opal to the hospital.

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Welcome to the dynasty, Ford.

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Opal put her baby son in his cot and collapsed thankfully into bed.  Morgan slept on, undisturbed.  It was Robin who woke up and rushed to the nursery to give her new housemate a cuddle.

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Ford had his first birthday…

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…and turned out to have inherited the Lancaster hair .

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Morgan had made his heir some fancy new crafted toys but Ford determinedly ignored them in favour of the old-fashioned variety.  So Morgan ignored him right back and divided his free time between the new home gym, his old favourite the dance studio and making everyone else look silly playing catch.

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(Although VW is developing an enthusiasm for all things athletic and soon might be able to give as good as she gets.)

As usual, Minnie did most of the toddler training…

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… and then Portia took her grandson to the library to introduce him to the world of books.

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Robin made a masterpiece sculpture of little Ford and then, left to her own devices, wandered down to the dance studio for the first time.  She'd only just walked to the centre of the dancefloor when she felt herself growing light.

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She met the Reaper quite calmly.  "No pillow-fighting this time, Grim.  I'm ready to go.  It's not as though this life's been all that wonderful anyway."  And she shook his hand.

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Rest in peace, dear Robin, and I'm deeply sorry.  You deserved so much more.

Then it suddenly hit me: Robin was 93 – and the older immortals had eaten their last ambrosia around the time she'd aged up to elder.  Were they all out of time as well?  In a panic, I checked their age bars.  It wasn't quite as bad as I'd thought but they were 88.  Early the following morning, they gathered in the Ambrosia Room.  It was chaotic.  Everyone got in everyone else's way and Morgan ended up late for work – but finally they were all back at the start of elderhood.  Phew!

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Opal had her adult birthday while sculpting and, unsurprisingly, had a midlife crisis…

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..and Ford blew out the candles on his second cake, helped by VW.  (No idea why she had the honour of taking him to the cake – they must have been interacting when my attention was elsewhere.)

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The cake-eating was nearly as disorganised as the ambrosia a couple of days earlier…

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…but at last Ford, pleasantly full of birthday cake, was able to disentangle himself from his elderly relatives and find a dresser and mirror.

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* The title is partly because Ford spent most of the chapter as a toddler but is also because the game feels interminably slow at the moment.  It felt as though Morgan took forever to qualify for ambrosia even though he was actually the second-youngest immortal (narrowly beaten by Portia).  I thought maybe it had taken longer in real-life time but, when I checked, Portia was by far the slowest.  Morgan was second, but only took a couple of RL days longer than VW, who felt as though she'd finished quickly.  It must just be my frustration at his lack of enthusiasm for continuing the dynasty: I genuinely wondered at times whether generation six would ever arrive.