Cantrell: The Early Years, Part Two
The Shaking of Foundations, a Cantrell: The Early Years, Part Two Update The call came in the dead of night. Joseph grabbed his cellphone. “This is Joseph Cantrell,” he said. The voice on the other end was unfamiliar. The man introduced himself as Walter Noel. “I’m your grand uncle’s lawyer. I’m very sorry to bring this news to you. But the old gent deceased last night. Kitchen fire.” “So, he was still able to care for himself.” “Oh, absolutely, in fact he insisted. Said he’s always been on his own and it would be a cold day in Hades were he to surrender himself to the care of another.” “That sounds like Uncle Joe. Capable, except for the fire.” “Yes. We were all very shocked, didn’t see that coming. Listen, I’m calling because you have been named his sole beneficiary. As the eldest, you get the house, the property and the horses he left behind. Also the contents of his bank account. Your uncle was a very rich man. You are required to attend the reading of the will. How soon can you get here?” Joseph ran a hand over his head, catching the stray wisps of hair unleashed from the tie that held it together, by his slumber. “Two months at the earliest. We’re currently residing on Vulcan.” “Vulcan! He told me you were far away. I didn’t anticipate off-planet. I shall postpone the reading, then. Since no one else is mentioned in his will, we have that luxury.” *~~*~*~~*~~* “Dad, what is it, what’s wrong?” Erik said, all but stumbling into his parents room. His father was seated on the edge of the rumpled bed, his mother surprisingly fast asleep. Must have taken a sedative. For the first time in his young life, his father looked on the worn side. Haggard. “It’s your Great-Uncle,” Joseph said, struggling to get the words out, lest he give into the grief that battered the back of his eyes. “The one you were named for. He’s ancient, isn’t he?” “You might say so, he just had his one-hundred and fourth birthday. Last time I saw him he was still so full of life. You can’t keep that one down,” “Dad?” “Kitchen fire. He apparently tried to put it out, but his efforts were fruitless. Smoke inhalation.” “I’m so sorry.” “What a guy he was, though, I remember when . . .” “So you’re saying Uncle Joe basically raised you and your siblings,” Erik said. “After your Grandfather passed, Uncle Joe did come to live with my siblings and me. You see your Grandmother died years before. Uncle Joe was great. He used to tell such outrageous stories. I’m guessing that’s where you get your penchant for such. In many ways you remind me of him.” Joseph shook his head. “We didn’t know you couldn’t see, but you made up some of the most delicious stories about what you were seeing in the picture books.” “Okay, maybe.” Erik had never met the man, but he used to relish the stories his aunts and uncles shared whenever they came over. His father’s family was very close. He knew his dad was really hurting over this loss, too. Reaching over, he placed a warm hand on his father’s shoulder. “Are you going to be okay?” Placing a hand over Erik’s Joseph nodded, slowly. “That’s enough reminiscing for now. Why don’t you turn in and get some rest. We have lots to do, in just a few hours. So many loose ends . . .” *~~*~~*~~*~~* Come the morning, Joseph began the business of resigning his post at the school, and formally withdrawing Aaron, Joey and Brianna from school, securing their records for transfer. Since Erik had already graduated, his last task was to contact T’Lar, as she expected Brianna to return to the Temple upon her seventeenth birthday, so she could sit the time-honored Test, the K’Matra; which would be the final assessment of her control over her skills; how far she could project her thoughts, if she could truly Mindmeld with another. These were crucial tests. Bree would be the very first human to do so. T’Lar who had been amazingly accommodating to this human family, secured Joseph’s oath that he and his daughter would return upon Brianna’s seventeenth birthday. He obtained a realtor and listed the house for a quick sale. Within two weeks, the family was on their way back to Earth. *~~*~~*~~*~~* “I have to say, that was a rather pleasant, and short trip,” Louise said. “I told you two months was the norm. Taking a commercial ship, this time helped. Ah, here’s our cab. Come along kids, slide into the back two seats. I’m anxious to see what the old place looks like.” “Hm,” Brianna said, “looks remarkable considering its age. When was it built again? Eighteen hundred-seventy-four?” “Exactly four hundred years ago, that’s right. Joe took care of it. He always felt that was his mission, after your Grandpa died. The lot always goes to the eldest son.” Turning halfway in his front seat, Joseph looked at Aaron “That means you. I always told you there were perks to being the firstborn.” “But it’s so big.” “Solution,” Erik said, “get married and have children. That should fill the ol’ place up in no time.” “But I don’t even know if I like kids.” Joey shrugged, “No worries, I can just move in, wife, kids et al.” Erik waved his hand under his nose, “Joey, if you don’t learn to bathe more often I doubt you’ll even get married. Let alone get physically close enough to make babies.” “What are you saying?” Joey said. The cab stopped at the curb and the family debarked. Taking their luggage, the family began to explore their new residence. “Wow, look at this place, it’s like a moment out of time,” Erik said. As they entered the front door, a small living room space was to their left. On the right was a set of wooden double-doors, he top half of the doors also made of ornate glass leading into what Erik spied was a music room. “Whoa, look at that grand piano! Oh, hey, I love this place already.” Moving through the hallway, veering to the left the family found themselves in the kitchen. Sadly, the island, with half of it burnt remained, a solemn, sad memory of just why they were here. Joseph caught his breath, “I thought Mr. Noel said this had been cleaned up.” “Spooky,” Joey said. “It’s okay, he’s not here,” Brianna said. “He was a steadfast Believer, and he has gone to his reward. This place is not haunted,” she told Joey in no uncertain terms. All for now. Thanks for reading!
👽 Miller Legacy 🛸
Sul sul fellow simmers! The Miller Legacy is my first Legacy Challenge and the way I found to explore the (for me) new The Sims 4 game in the moment I decided to buy it. It's the translation of what I originally posted in Italian here, and the new chapters are being posted on my blog here. I'd also like to point out that this legacy is currently being shared also on the parallel Sim Creative forum. This small forum has practically the same template as the old one and is not buggy, making it a very cozy place where to share the old conversations we used to have in the former Creative corner. I suggest you to give it a look! ;) Back to the introduction, with this legacy I'm basically novelizing what happens when I'm playing my game, introducing as many mysteries and issues to overcome for my sims as I can. For sure, the Miller's are not a family like the others. I'm not a fan of too strict gaming rules, thus my main rule is just: "reach generation 10 without cheating". This legacy is definitively more story-driven than rules-driven. So I'm not taking track of points in any way, often instead of choosing traits or careers randomly I choose what I think would be funnier for me to play or better for the story progression, I often move the family to new houses (not built by me because I'm a horrible builder) and so forth. In particular, I'm taking a lot of freedom about a certain cat, but also in that case I found a way for doing it without technically being cheating. As for the heir, I don't follow a strict rule but just choose the one for which I can imagine the best character development and who can give more in terms of story progression. The only rule I'm following in that sense is that I want every heir to be the biological child of the previous heir, because I'm curious to see how the genetics algorithm in TS4 work over a 10 generations span (consider this as a small experiment :P ). The full story index (beware, it's long!) can be found HERE. I'm closing this premise here because I don't want to spoil the story, so I wish you a pleasant reading through the most mysterious sides of this game ;)
The Evergreen Legacy **Gen VIII Chapter 14**
Hi! Welcome to my latest story: The Evergreen Legacy. Based on my Sims Through The Ages Challenge, each generation is dedicated to a pack. New updates every Wednesday and Sunday 3pm UK time! Aurora Evergreen moved to Sunset Valley on her 18th birthday by order of her mother. She was reared with one goal in mind: The Mission. Follow her story as she infiltrates the media and the great families of Sunset Valley with a view to exposing the scandal that exiled her family. Will she reclaim her family’s name and the wealth they are owed? Or will she unearth secrets that put her at odds with the very people who set her on this path? Generation One: Aurora Evergreen (Base Game) Generation Two: Blair Evergreen (World Adventures) Generation Three: Francesca Evergreen (Ambitions) Generation Four: Hattie Evergreen (Late Night) Generation Five: Kressida Evergreen (Generations) Generation Six: Persephone Evergreen (Pets) Generation Seven: Winnie Evergreen (Showtime) Generation Eight: Andromeda Evergreen (Supernatural)
Simmer Tales🤷🏻🐕
These are the adventures of Jon🤷🏻 and Jac🐕. I that hope you find them enjoyable to read, I certainly find them enjoyable to make. The first six were posted in the "What Happened In Your Game Today" discussion, but it was suggested that, as it is to be a continuing journey, that perhaps a single topic where the works could be kept together would be more appropriate. The first six will be posted here again for continuity of the collection.
TS3→ Random Lepacy
I'm about to start the 4th generation so I suppose it's kinda weird that I'm just starting a thread for it. But, when I first started I wanted to make sure I'd actually stick with it. Then, the forums were changing and I got frustrated. Anyway, here it is. Chapter Index (on my blog) I play mostly by theRandom Legacy rules. Each generation I add new packs and store content by their order of release like a normal lepacy. But, instead of playing in the pack worlds, we’re exploring custom worlds made only with content from those packs. Note: I tried to put all the chapter links here but my post got deleted. I don't know if there's a limit to the number of links?A Traditional 100 Baby Challenge
Thought I would start a traditional 100 baby challenge inspired by other baby challenges, but this one has a twist, you must marry your forever sim and stay with them till death and try to have at least 6 babies per generation till your sim and their generation gets to 100 Babies the old fashioned way!! I wrote up a little set of rules to follow along with. I may not post everything here but I wanted to just add the sim and who he/she is marrying at the time and how far along I've gotten. It will be a very slow play-through and will take a long time for me to complete so this is more so a look-back area for the things I've done within this challenge.. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Bo_LjUpW_gT6IwmLeInAOwH-_bs54HJdcSULSgJP6dA/edit?usp=sharing Meet Kolby West He is marrying Nalani Mahi'Ai and their Generation will start here!! Enjoy their journey10/3 NSB (Plum/Orange) (2) - Zoot Legacies
Since I have a number of legacies that I play I decided rather than bombard the forum with countless individual discussions I would make an Index of them all. Up top in the title I will say which legacy is updated that day. Main Page: Zoot Playz Legacies: Fox Legacy Basic Legacy: Red Head Heir Rule Updated 07/30/24 Gaia Legacy Basic Legacy: Loves Outdoors Heir Rule Updated 08/11./24 Not so Berry Updated 10/3/3024 Serenity Legacy Basic Legacy: Heir Rule: Good Trait Updated 08/02/2024 Disney Princess Updated 09/10/2024 Super Sim LegacySuper Sim challenge with vampires Updated 06/09/24 Berry Pastel Rainbowcy:http://zootplayz.com/berry-pastel-rainbowcy/Updated 02/02/24 On Hiatus Pancakes Legacy:https://zootplayz.com/pancakes-legacy/Basic Legacy Based On Bob PancakesUpdated 11/19/23On Hiatus Not so Doctor Who:http://zootplayz.com/not-so-doctor-who/ Legacy Challenge by ME based on Dr Who - On Hiatus Disney Villains:http://zootplayz.com/disney-villains/On Hiatus Lynx LegacyBasic Legacy: Cat Lover Heir Rules Updated08/01./24 Flex LegacyBasic Legacy: Active Heir Rules NEW!!! UPDATED 07/31./24 Vatore Legacy Basic Legacy: Heterochromia EyesNEW!!! UPDATED 8/03/24 7/30 Note - As you can see it's been awhile but work was super understaffed for a few months and we finally got some people I'm not working 60+ hours a week and can get back to updating. 9/10 August was a tough month. Once again too many hours on top of personal issues but we should be back on form now. 10/3 Not going to lie... sheer laziness and GTA distracted me.World Legacy Stories
I started the world legacy in 2019 because I had hard times to play legacy challenges without abandoning them after 3 or 4 generations. So I decided to bend the rules and mix them with rags to riches: What if each generation has to start over, from scratch in another world and use skills and systems implemented in the pack, in which the world comes from, to succeed in their lives? I'm now at my 12th Generation and it's still going. I have no real rules but I set goals for each generation so I could balance storyline and goal-oriented challenge. Current Family Tree: Generation 1 to 13 goals and backstories: Legacy Heirs: Update: Gen 16 goals and background are added. I'm at the end of gen 16, gen 17 is still an infant I'll update when it's the moment😊
The Whittaker Saga: 1940s: A Mournful Return (updated 10/2)
I was vastly inspired when reading the decades challenge, and as a history teacher, I could not stop myself from giving it a try. Of course, true to my nature or refusing to do things by the book, the first thing I did was break the rules. How? By creating as my protagonist a single, working woman living on her own! Gasp! Why? Partly because a story popped into my head, but also, partly, to honor the many women who - by choice or necessity - actually worked, and worked hard for their living in the 1890s. We tend to forget them, but the working women were there - from the hard working farmers that we often downgrade by calling wives, as if they weren't an essential part of the economy of the farm, to the working class women working as domestic help or in the factories where they were only payed half of a man's wages. So with that, I introduce Abigail Spencer, a single, working, middle class woman in 1890s Willow Creek: As middle class there is only a few jobs available to Abigail, that of governess or that of teacher. Abigail is therefore a teacher, teaching at Willow Creek Elementary School. She lives right next door to the school, in a small shotgun house with a few chickens and a patch of land to help her make ends meet (teachers really were not payed a lot during this time either). Obviously, her biggest goal in life is to find a husband, get married and start a family so that she won't have to work. (In fact, a teacher, as well as many other working women, automatically lost their job if they got married during this time.) But to get married, she needs to find a husband. Meet Willow Creek's eligible bachelors: Matthew Godeau: Matthew is one of the richest men in Willow Creek. A bit too old to still be a bachelor he lives with his widowed mother in Ophelia house (yes, eventually this family changed their names and became the Goths. Ophelia house is named from Matthew's mother). Pro: Matthew is creative, just like Abigail, as well as a romantic and would be sure to bestow lots of attention on a wife. He lives in one of the biggest houses in town, and is a wealthy business man. Abigail would have a good life with him. Con: His mother. Ophelia is a woman set in her own ways and she is not about to let some silly girl interfere with how she runs her house! Ophelia is mean, materialistic and an overachiever. She is not likely to see some middle class teacher as good enough for her son. Add that she has raised her son to be not only creative and romantic, but also incredibly self absorbed and the household may prove hard to be comfortable with. Joseph Whittaker: Joseph is a novellist, living in the stately Whittaker house, which with time, will be turned into the well renowned Willow Creek Archive. He has no mother (a definite pro), but two very young children. A son and a daughter, from a previous marriage. Pro: Joseph is a bookworm, just like Abigail and is sure look favourably on her past as a teacher. They are also both family orientated which means they are a good match in personalities and would likely find a lot of common ground. The house is ripe with books, and Joseph's two motherless children desperately need a mother to tend to their needs. With two live in maids it's a comfortable life focused on the family and the books she so loves. Con: Joseph very much mourns his dead wife, and keeps her picture on the wall over the fireplace. Can he ever truly love again, or will Abigail forever live in the shadow of the woman he loved and lost? Loyd Brennan: Loyd is the owner of Brennan's Groceries and Dry Goods, the biggest (only) shop in town. He lives with his sister Mary and their dachshund above the store. Pro: Loyd is outgoing and friendly and easy to get along with. He's self assured, but unlike Matthew, not self absorbed. He works hard and provides a good home. As a working man he does not mind a working wife, so Abigail would do more than sit around being pretty. He loves dogs, and anyone who does cannot be bad - right? Con: Living in a store would mean working in the store. There is no way the wife of a store owner is not in that store working along side her husband. Without money for a maid, this involves not just working in the store but running the household as well. The apartment isn't really big enough for a large family and unless Mary gets married, it's bound to be crowded. Then there is the fact that she and Mary does not really get along well. Paul Heydale: Paul is a farmer, living with his entire family at Garden Essence, a farm with a cow, chickens and a whole lot of crops. They're a tight knit family who works hard for what they have. Pros: Paul, like Abigail is both creative and family orientated. He dreams of becoming a painter rather than a farmer. By marrying him, Abigail would be wrapped up in a large family who would be there for her, something she'd never had before. His family is also very friendly, and Abigail teachers his younger sister and has already met and chatted with his mother and father and really likes the entire family. Con: Marrying a farmer would be a step down the social ladder, and the life of a farmer is hard! Is Abigail cut out for working out from early morning to late evening without ever more than making ends meet? And the house is crowded as is, with Paul's parents and two younger siblings (so far). Where would more children live? Is Abigail prepared for the hard life that accompanies this choice? Now I wanted to make a poll, but apparently you cannot do this in this section of the forums. So I'll leave you with a question instead - who do you believe Abigail will most likely fall in love with and why? Matthew Joseph Loyd Paul Finally, here is my Willow Creek in 1890: *** An important note about the future postings in this story: After trying and fighting the forum to get the posts up and running as they are supposed to work, I have now decided that it's simply too much work. Instead, I have started a blog that (hopefully soon) will contain all of the chapters from here and the old forum. I am currently at 1891 and moving forwards quite rapidly. Here the posts of each chapter will be replaced by a link to the chapters in the blog as I move forwards, though I will leave any comments as they are. The massive perk with this is that I do not need to worry about editing in all images manually, and the loading time will decrease enormously without them. The process of reading is also easier at the blog - and while the blog itself is in the wrong order, I have set up a list of all chapters in chronological order for new readers as well as a search function if you are looking for a specific chapter. Another perk is that I have some new options, like character pages where you can get a summary of each of the main character in the story (warnings for spoilers) and a separate page about the challenge, how time moves. I hope I will be able include a link to the family tree as well. It will take some time to get everything set up, and I do appreciate input in the process. I do promise that the story will go on, and hope you will keep reading it and commenting on it either here or on the new blog. Link to the blog.
