Carr Immortal Dynasty (Completed)

[hazelnut]

Girl Racer

Now that she was old enough, Lotus started on her supermax skill.  (Although those boots don't seem like the ideal footwear.)

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Thanks to her disciplined trait, her clumsy kicks and punches soon became more coordinated and she'd earned her yellow belt before I'd managed to get a screenshot of the white one.

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Kia had also been learning martial arts, although her preferred method was to sit in a comfy chair with a book.  She challenged her daughter to a sparring match.

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Kia won 2-0, which set the pattern for their contests, even though Lotus maintained her lead in the skill.  The benefits of Kia's midlife-crisis exercise binge, perhaps?

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Lotus took to meditation with enthusiasm once her skill was high enough, while Kia preferred to break boards.  And, in an attempt not to lose every sparring match ever, Lotus started working out.

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It helped, a bit.  Kia didn't win every time now, just most of the time .

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Of course, life wasn't all martial arts and athletics.  School and homework took up irritating amounts of the day.

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And there were other teen events, like prom.

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Despite getting into a series of fights, Lotus was voted queen.  Maybe she terrified the rest of the class into submission: she was the only martial artist in school, after all.   There were no romantic entanglements, possibly for the same reason.

Like all teens in the Carr household, she learned to drive as soon as possible and was bought her own car.  As a rebellious daredevil, she'd have liked a racing car but a newly-qualified teenager driving something that fast seemed to me like a step too far, even in the Sims.  So she settled for a sporty road car instead…

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…and took out her frustration on her bedroom, redecorating it to match her dreams.

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And then there were the pranks.  So.  Many.  Pranks.  Whenever I took my eye off her, she'd run off and set yet another booby trap.

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By her mid-teens, she was an uber prankster and very pleased with herself .

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Kia had her final birthday.

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Getting old didn't have any noticeable effect on her strength or agility – or stop her winning sparring matches.

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A few days later, Lotus had another cake.

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The rest of the family were delighted – at last they'd be able to sit down or take a shower without worrying about what might happen.

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She aged up into an attractive young woman, although rather more generic-looking than I'd hoped.

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I went a bit mad with the outfits – I think she has three of each.  She'll probably never wear half of them in-game, so here is a quick fashion show.

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[Trip]

Learning that EA was lazy with some original townie features (and bin sim features, which they definitely use to build their sims from as we all do) and put sliders at zero if just for the nose/jaw/whatever was like learning that Santa wasn't real. Or so I say, revealing how much time in CAS I could have spent elsewhere. I think Lotus passes the anti-puddingface test AND is pretty with that black-and-white aesthetic, just remember that her future boyfriend is held to higher standards than ever before now.

As is travel to China, may your Moodlet Manager never fail <3

[starlives]

I like her China outfit for the Prom, her new car is great and her bedroom décor very dramatic. I don't remember that car bed but perhaps I never had occasion to use it! You obviously had fun putting together her black and white outfits and I like them all.

[hazelnut]

Learning that EA was lazy with some original townie features (and bin sim features, which they definitely use to build their sims from as we all do) and put sliders at zero if just for the nose/jaw/whatever was like learning that Santa wasn't real. Or so I say, revealing how much time in CAS I could have spent elsewhere. I think Lotus passes the anti-puddingface test

I'll have to look at all of the Carrs in detail in CAS when/if I finish and can install my usual mods.  I suspect there are going to be quite a few zero sliders - and not just the ones that appeared on post-Lucky Palms patches.  I have an impression that parents with interesting slider positions can produce more puddingy kids (to reduce memory load? ) but I'm not entirely sure.

I can't see much evidence of Kia in Lotus's features: she mostly seems to be a black-haired female version of Ford - but I can't work out where her top lip came from.

I like her China outfit for the Prom, her new car is great and her bedroom décor very dramatic. I don't remember that car bed but perhaps I never had occasion to use it!

Her prom outfit lives on in the museum: Austin painted a portrait of Lotus just after she got home and it turned out to be worth far more than any of her other teen pictures.

The car bed is from the Store.  I bought it ages ago but rarely seem to get round to using it in games.

I think Lotus passes the anti-puddingface test AND is pretty with that black-and-white aesthetic, just remember that her future boyfriend is held to higher standards than ever before now.

You obviously had fun putting together her black and white outfits and I like them all.

I'd always intended Lotus's outfits to be based on Emma Peel from The Avengers, particularly Emma's earlier outfits, which were mostly black and white.  A high-kicking 1960s feminist heroine was an obvious match for the martial artist of the family (and for generation 7).  The timing turned out to be a little weird, though.  RIP, Diana Rigg  .

[Trip]

The memory-saving thing doesn't jive with my experiences but I do think there's room for a little bit of slider drift. Unfortunately you can only truly verify in MasterController because that's what gives sliders a number too.

I think she looks like Ford + grandma Opal.

[hazelnut]

Her bottom lip's definitely Opal's but the top one seems to be all her own.  Which seems unlikely but I can't identify where it came from.

[CeresIn]

I still have a couple of updates to read, but I wanted to comment on the "a lot of bad apples" opportunity. That's an opportunity that I want to tick off from my sims to-do list, so your omniplants idea is something I'm going to try. I did it with a witch's apples a few years ago, but for some reason I felt like I was cheating.

I better continue reading the story instead of rambling.

[Chubling]

I finally got caught up and Lotus has great taste in shoes! Gotta learn to kick in those heels so she can fight in them later! And she's got a fun sense of style! I love her looks! She's going to take the world by storm!

[hazelnut]

I still have a couple of updates to read, but I wanted to comment on the "a lot of bad apples" opportunity. That's an opportunity that I want to tick off from my sims to-do list, so your omniplants idea is something I'm going to try. I did it with a witch's apples a few years ago, but for some reason I felt like I was cheating.

I better continue reading the story instead of rambling.

I got the idea in my Base Game Decadynasty, when several gardeners had the omniplant opp and I noticed that the quality of the seeds varied wildly (I'm sure they all used to be normal or good back when I started playing Sims 3).  I couldn't try in out in that game but had been keeping it in mind for when I had a 5-star chef and a level 10 gardener in the same household.  I was so pleased to complete the opp at last  .

I finally got caught up and Lotus has great taste in shoes! Gotta learn to kick in those heels so she can fight in them later! And she's got a fun sense of style! I love her looks! She's going to take the world by storm!

Thanks .  I love her outfits, too.  I'd been planning them for several generations, saving patterns that looked good in black and white.

[hazelnut]

Getaway Carr

Slightly to the disapproval of the rest of the family, Lotus joined the criminal career.

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Aware that her new job had athletic skill requirements, she spent the days before her first shift working out…

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…and soon maxed the skill.  (Really wish I'd chosen Physical Perfection rather than Martial Arts Master for her LTW .)

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With her level 10 athletics, rapidly-progressing charisma skill and the benefit of living in a dynasty house, she could rely on getting a promotion every day.  Portia's cooking and VW's upgraded fortune cookie machine didn't hurt, either.

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Soon she was a getaway driver, an entirely suitable post for a Carr.

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But then her luck ran out .

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Arrested.  How embarrassing .

She played dominoes in jail and tried to make the best of it.

But then, the next night, exactly the same thing happened.  This wasn't funny.

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She needed a break.  Austin, hearing the story of her last two work shifts, suggested a getaway of a different kind.

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And so he and Lotus set out for a couple of weeks in Shang Simla.  Austin stayed in their holiday home, painting the surrounding landscape…

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…while Lotus called her first tournament opponent.

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Over the next few days, she gradually worked her way up the ranks, with occasional diversions to the Academy or Garden to build up her skills when the next opponent was busy.

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And, of course, she made a point of scouting out possible fathers for Generation 8  .

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A week into the holiday, she reached level 10 of martial arts, mid-match.

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She carried on honing her skills…

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…and by the end of the two weeks, she'd just reached level 4 in the tournament ranking and was making good progress against the other Sim Fu challenges.

On her return home, her racing-car bedroom seemed unbearably childish.  She moved at last into the heir's suite. giving it an eastern-themed makeover.

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The martial arts equipment, which had been in the heir's bedroom, was moved out into a vaguely Zen-ish area of the garden.

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Lotus soon settled into her new practice area.

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While I was redesigning the garden, I installed a new outdoor athletic area.  After all, thanks to Morgan, most of the immortals were building their athletic skills.

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Lotus gravitated naturally towards the climbing wall (because of her daredevil trait?) and Morgan liked the trampoline.  I love the way his cap is stuck so firmly to his head despite the somersault .

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Most of the family, though, preferred the basketball hoop.  Portia had a style all her own, possibly as a result of the ballet training  .


Lotus returned to work after her break and I was horrified to see that her job performance was well into the red.  Was it because of the holiday or just the multiple arrests combined with the usual criminal career glitches?  Whatever it was, it was scary.  Was she about to get demoted?

Fortunately, hard work soon remedied the deficit.  A few hours into her shift, her performance meter was into the green again.

But then she got arrested.  AGAIN.  The fortune cookies were clearly defective  .

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In other news. Kia is well into borrowed time now.  I'm mostly leaving her and Ford on free will.  When they're not practising basketball or watching TV together, they spend their time being sweetly romantic.

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Not sure this was a good idea, though:

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Ford!  She's well past ninety and isn't allowed ambrosia!

Morgan had an inventing opportunity that was new to me:

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And the game is getting steadily buggier.  Hope it holds out for long enough.  This glitch amused me, though:

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Yes, that is the postwoman.  No idea why she was wearing that uniform .

[starlives]

Wow its all happening now and so close to the finale! Hope the glitches don't escalate. I suppose travelling doesn't help as your file must already be dangerously large. The arrests can be so frustrating and is one of the reasons I never ever completed the criminal career when playing Sims3. Wishing you all the luck in the sims world and waiting with bated breath for your next instalment.

[Trip]

Congrats on a new op! Even if it's kinda pointless for Morgan. Meanwhile I haven't seen it myself or in the stats of other dynasty players.

Ultimately I want you to have enough baby daddy candidates for Lotus to make her own choice but I like the guy in green. China (and Egypt but let's not get carried away here) usually keep interesting genes going on their own at least for a little bit.

You are doing great! I'm just a little sad it may be over.

[CeresIn]

The criminal career is frustrating but for me it's always a better choice than the sport career which I think is the other logical job for a martial art skill.

China has the genes that I like the most of the three travel destinations, so I'm hopping for a nooboo with china's roots. 

[hazelnut]

Wow its all happening now and so close to the finale! Hope the glitches don't escalate. I suppose travelling doesn't help as your file must already be dangerously large. The arrests can be so frustrating and is one of the reasons I never ever completed the criminal career when playing Sims3. Wishing you all the luck in the sims world and waiting with bated breath for your next instalment.

Thanks .  I don't think I've ever had arrests in three successive shifts before.  I even had one Sim who got through the whole career without being arrested.  I'm beginning to think that Lotus has a hidden unlucky trait.

Congrats on a new op! Even if it's kinda pointless for Morgan. Meanwhile I haven't seen it myself or in the stats of other dynasty players.

It was a bit pointless but I wasn't all that busy at the time so I let him complete it.  I think there was a financial reward - and it got rid of his stir-crazy moodlet for a while .

Ultimately I want you to have enough baby daddy candidates for Lotus to make her own choice but I like the guy in green. China (and Egypt but let's not get carried away here) usually keep interesting genes going on their own at least for a little bit.

All three WA destinations seem to keep their own distinctive genetics.  I have fond memories of Louis from late on in the 4x4.  I'm also hoping Lotus will have plenty of choice - but it all depends on Kia now.  I hate waiting around for Sims to die .

The criminal career is frustrating but for me it's always a better choice than the sport career which I think is the other logical job for a martial art skill.

The thief branch used to be one of my favourite careers but I think the arrests have got more frequent on later patches - or maybe my earlier Sims were just luckier.  I think all of the athletic jobs have martial arts opportunities, although the criminal one is the one I like least, because they have to get all the way from level 0 to 5.  I've only done it once and kept expecting it to complete, only to see 'gain another level' .

China has the genes that I like the most of the three travel destinations, so I'm hopping for a nooboo with china's roots. 

It's certainly a possibility.

[hazelnut]

Carr Thief

Lotus finally managed to get through a whole shift without being arrested and made it to bagwoman.  A few days later, still avoiding arrest, she joined the thief branch of the career.

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She was asked to 'Try the Tourney' (didn't they know she already had?) so took another trip to China on her own.

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On her previous visit, her opponents had left the lot as soon as they'd finished sparring (or even mid-match, in a couple of cases).  This time, they tended to hang around afterwards, entertaining themselves in the house or watching the next bout.

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It was very convenient when they popped up again as the next opponent and, by the evening of her third and last day, she'd won nineteen matches.  Her last opponent was a new one – another youngish man.  Lotus made sure to chat and flirt before they settled down to sparring .

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He proved easier to defeat than most of the others and, with just two hours of her holiday remaining, Lotus became a Grand Master and achieved her lifetime wish.

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Back home, time passed uneventfully (still no arrests!) and soon it was time for Lotus to blow out another set of candles.

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Full adulthood seemed to take her by surprise, although she managed to avoid a midlife crisis.

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The following day, she was asked to deliver a mysterious package to a contact in Al Simhara.  Austin went along to add a couple of missing photos to his collection and Kia went too, so that she could snap 'Lovers in Egypt' for her daughter's museum.

Except it didn't work out like that, because I messed up.  I somehow forgot to change the destination from the default and they all ended up in Shang Simla instead . 

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It wasn't a totally wasted trip: Lotus got to see her final tournament opponent in daylight and Kia took the slightly more valuable 'Lovers in China' instead.  I'm still kicking myself over the unnecessary file bloat, though .

Once the travel moodlet had worn off, Lotus and Austin tried again.  Lotus successfully delivered the parcel and locked in the recipient as another romantic interest.  (It looks as though China and Egypt aren't immune to the Curse of the Greenish Hair .)

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Completing the opportunity was more than enough to get Lotus promoted to cat burglar, with a uniform that was very much to her taste.

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A few work-free days followed, so she took the opportunity to work on the remaining martial arts challenges.

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Despite being only at level 8 of the skill and over 100 by now, Kia still won the majority of their sparring matches, often 2-0.  Ford was suitably impressed.

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With her 75 matches completed, Lotus went out to the garden to break boards and meditate…

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…and completed her supermax.

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Then she trained Kia, who also wanted to master the skill.

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Pretty impressive for a centenarian .

In the early hours of the following morning, Lotus left work as a Master Thief.

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(Sorry for the appallingly dark screenshot.  Even by criminal hideout standards, The Warehouse in Lucky Palms is very badly lit.)

She placed her new fox statue on her bedside table and stood back to admire it.

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Yes!  She really was the greatest .

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She celebrated by buying the car she'd dreamed of as a teenager.

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Not exactly suited to sneaking around the neighbourhood but she could always borrow something less flashy from another member of the family if required .