Paul is reading a Chinese book at the Shang Simla base camp. The setting is beautiful...
... but he doesn't like the book and immediately goes to Connie to complain.
They visit the Academy, where Connie learns Athletics and Paul learns Sim Fu.
They jog through the Forbidden City.
The Academy is also a good place to practice Logic.
Time to return to Sunset Valley!
"What was Shang Simla like, Mum?" Desmond asks.
"Wonderful! Someday you will go there and see it yourself!"
Desmond gets a panda T-shirt and some souvenirs.
I've redecorated his room to fit a teen who likes sports and travelling. He can't wait to go on an adventure of his own now.
He talks about it over supper with his parents.
"You can go on an adventure as soon as you get your grade up to A," they tell him.
Desmond's current grade is C. He takes his task seriously and spends Sunday studying at the library.
After school the next day he works on his homework. The Chinese incense his parents bought him helps him concentrate.
Meanwhile, Paul has decided to retire (I used his lifetime happiness points to change his "workaholic" trait to "handy", otherwise he would never have forgiven me for this!)
Desmond and Connie join him in celebrating his retirement. Hilariously, Connie celebrates by whipping a yeti sign out of nowhere.
A stroke of luck for Desmond! He gets a school opportunity that requires him to skill up in writing, and he was already very close to a full skill point. It doesn't take him long to complete his task. Now all he needs to do is go to school tomorrow, and he will get an A and permission to travel!
While Desmond goes to school the next day, Paul and Connie drive to the Sharma Day Spa.
So far, the family owns the Norwegian Wood resort and a partnership in the bookshop. It is time for a second partnership!
Connie got the wish to visit a cemetery, so I had her and Paul light candles for their parents George Bluejay, Agnes Crumplebottom, Michael Bachelor and Holly Alto.
"You know, Paul, I never mentioned this before, but I remember your dad! When I was a teen, I was one of the people cheering outside the City Hall while he was receiving an award from the major. I remember seeing you and your sister there and thinking how proud you must have been!"
That evening, Paul takes Connie, Eleanor and Lawanda to the Little Corsican Bistro for a double celebration: Paul's retirement and Lawanda's newborn son, Korrey. Connie is a grandmother now!
"Stop looking so smug, big brother," Eleanor is thinking.
Desmond is not joining them because he has other plans: that day he got an A at school, returned home, finished his homework and immediately rushed off to catch a flight to China.
He arrives at the base camp and checks the adventure board.
Yes! An adventurer is needed to explore the Halls of the lost Army.
He manages to find the lost relic in less then a day. He is now visa level one in China.
It's a beautiful late afternoon, and he still finds time to visit the Academy before returning to the base camp to sleep.
His next adventure takes him inside the Dragon's Maw.
Meanwhile, back in Sunset Valley, his parents are being adorable. Paul discovers a star and names it "Connie".
Connie is wildly excited about it.
They go jogging by the beach to raise their athletic skill.
Later, as thanks for the star named after her, Connie serenades Paul. His reaction is the funniest thing ever.
Desmond returns to Sunset Valley and to his ordinary life as a high school student. This girl, Alisa McIrish, is his first crush.
She isn't destined for him, though! He invites her out and she refuses, saying she has a boyfriend, Dennis Langerak. The next day both Alisa and Dennis age up, and the day after that they get married! Story progression doesn't waste any time.
The Bluejay home gets a new wing, with a gym/Sim-Fu training/spa area.
Story progression informs me that Eleanor is married now, to a woman called Kizzy Koffi. Paul invites his sister and her new wife over for Sunday brunch.
Kizzy is much younger than Eleanor. She has just started working as a journalist, and is wearing her work uniform.
Neither her marriage nor her business career have softened Eleanor's wild streak. After lunch she grabs Connie's guitar and entertains everyone.
Desmond can't wait to have another adventure, and soon he gets lucky. He gets a school opportunity to travel to France and interview a local. By now he is already on the honour roll, and this will make his school performance even better.
The lady working at the Catania Cafe is happy to be interviewed about her recipes.
Now that this job is done, Desmond has time for some tomb exploring.
While he is exploring, the game offers him the "Private Museum" lifetime wish (displaying 20,000 in his home), and I accept it.
Being a daredevil, he is thrilled to spend a night sleeping in a tomb.
He follows in the footsteps of his aunt Eleanor and buys a Kenspa.
The view of the Eiffel Tower by night looks magical.
He gets very lucky here, examining the opening in the earth in the middle of the Forgotten Burial Mound. He finds a relic worth over 4,000 simoleons!
He also manages to buy one worth over a thousand from the relic merchant.
He spends a few days living at the nectary, picking grapes and making nectar.
He is in no hurry to come home.
His parents are having fun too! Connie, who is a daredevil like her son, suggests to her husband to go skinny-dipping in the pool. Look at her mischievous smile!
Paul is a serious gentleman and would never have thought of it himself...
... but now that Connie suggested it, he finds it really enjoyable!
Desmond returns home.
Since he has brought a few bottles of nectar with him, I add a nectar cellar to the house, accessed through the kitchen:
Back to school. Desmond has a new crush, Deborah Landgraab. This time he decides (and I agree with him) he won't let her slip away. Paul and Connie never managed to have a second child, and adventuring is a dangerous hobby. If Desmond dies, the legacy ends... unless he gets married and has a child of his own as soon as possible!
Desmond asks Deborah to meet him on the beach, and rides there on his new Kenspa.
Deborah isn't there. Has she changed her mind?
No, she's here! (She is the granddaughter of Malcolm Landgraab and Madison VanWatson, and looks a lot like Madison.)
The two have a trait in common -- Deborah is disciplined too -- and easily become best friends. However, it turns out Deborah has a partner named Leroy.
But never mind Leroy! Desmond and I have a plan.
It's Desmond's birthday, and his parents are throwing a big party for him.
The guests are starting to arrive.
I have Desmond chat to a few other girls from school, just to make sure we're not making a mistake. The blonde is Maria Hart, the brunette Abigail Alvi. But neither are as compatible with him as Deborah.
Aunt Eleanor is here again, with her wife Kizzy. She has become an elder a day ago.
The party is pretty wild.
Desmond blows the candles and ages up.
And now for our secret plan! Another cake is waiting for Deborah.
They are both young adults now! I want to ask Deborah to join the household as soon as possible, but it takes a while to raise the friendship bar that high, and Desmond is so sleepy he can hardly keep his eyes open, so I just have him ask her to stay the night.
Connie spontaneously comes over to gossip with Deborah, and while talking to her she rolls the wish to "see Desmond married". I'm glad you agree with me, Connie!
The guests are starting to leave, saying it was a great party. Desmond has already gone to sleep.
There is a guest room prepared for Deborah, but she just stays in the living room, reading a mystery novel. In the early morning I wake Desmond up, because I don't want him to miss the chance to talk to her.
Desmond wakes up, goes over to Deborah and (since he rolled a wish to do that) asks her to go skinny-dipping with him. She accepts and confidently heads for the pool...
... but it's six o'clock in the morning and, like Cinderella, Deborah has an exact time she has to leave. She runs off, thanking him for a great party.
Desmond spends most of the next day sleeping. I change his hairstyle the next day:
He puts his French relics on display in the library. He has just become a young adult and, thanks to the valuable relic he found in France, he's already over a quarter of the way towards his lifetime wish.
At this point the game gave me a big surprise.
I had assumed Deborah's partner Leroy was still a teen, and that once she's a young adult he'd be safely out of the way for a while. No such luck! As it turned out, Leroy was already an adult, and the way I found out about it was hilarious.
I took Desmond to the Llama stadium to join the sports career.
Once he did that, the game gave me a message saying that it would be a good idea for Desmond to be on good terms with his boss... Leroy!
Oh, well, never mind. Let Leroy hate him! The career is just there to give Desmond something to do in between journeys. He is not giving up on Deborah. He invites her to meet him in the park. After a short chat, their relationship bar is high enough for him to ask her to join the household, and she accepts.
They celebrate by having lunch at the Bistro and talking about travel. Deborah wishes to travel to China, so I'll take both of them there soon!
(Actually it wasn't as simple as that: although the Bistro is just across the street from the park where they met, when Deborah joined the household the game placed her in the Blujay home, and she had to run back to the Bistro... and this glitch happened. Still, she got there in the end!)
So now the Bluejay household has a new member! Deborah works in the sports career too, so I'll have to make sure she breaks up with their boss Leroy in a friendly way before she starts a relationship with Desmond.
Some pictures at the end were a bit messed up. There's something about "Indo Hogar Online".
The last two updates were lovely as usual! I hope everything goes well for Desmond.
Thank you for warning me about the problem with the pictures, @thuggishsplicer ! I've noticed this two times before, that one of my pictures got temporarily replaced with another picture - not mine - also hosted on tinypic. But both times the problem sorted itself out, and it seems it happened again, because all I can see is my own pictures now.
Deborah invites her boyfriend Leroy to her new home to break up with him.
He doesn't take it well! Their relationship bar becomes red.
However, the day after that Deborah, Desmond and Leroy all go to work at the Llama Stadium, and Deborah fulfills a job opportunity which improves her relationship with all co-workers. She is on good terms with Leroy again. That was quick and painless!
Deborah and Desmond are free to start their own relationship now. They both wish to travel to China, which fits my plan perfectly.
Shang Simla is a beautiful place for a first romance!
While they are visiting the market, Deborah gets the wish to kiss Desmond, and he gets the wish to skinny-dip with her.
Luckily, the local Sims are paying no attention to them.
I broght them to this bridge outside the gate just to have a pretty backdrop for their first kiss.
There are a few explorers and locals at the base camp but, luckily, no one disturbs their first night together.
Desmond spends the days adventuring and excavating. The relics he finds this time are not worth very much, but he gets very lucky in the relic store and buys a statue worth over 3,000.
Deborah reads and trains at the Academy in the meantime, and they spend the afternoons and evenings together.
They explore some of the smaller camps...
... and swim with goldfish and koi.
The trip is over!
I want them to get married as soon as possible - not only to bring a generation 4 heir to the world before Desmond tries the more dangerous adventures, but also to make sure that Paul and Connie, who will be 90 soon, are alive to see the wedding.
So that evening Desmond takes Deborah to the Sunset Valley copy of the Catania Cafe.
After dinner they are both sleepy, but Desmond doesn't want to go home yet.
"Wait, Debbie. I know you're tired from the journey, but there is something I wanted to ask you."
"What is it... wait, Desmond, what are you doing?"
"Deborah Landgraab, will you marry me?"
"Yes! I will!"
(The romance of the moment is just a tiny bit spoiled if you zoom out to see the townie baby left on the floor behind them.)
But Desmond and Deborah are so happy about their engagement, they don't even notice it.
@thuggishsplicer , now I'm sorry I didn't hover over the baby to see his name, because that would be the best story ever! I think his mother is a Jolina, though, so if the girl I hope to have as my next heir gets together with a Jolina who is a few days older than her I'll just assume he's the baby from the cafe!
Desmond and Deborah are having a wedding party at home. Deborah looks a bit nervous while getting ready.
"We forgot to hire a photographer", she thinks as the ceremony is about to start.
Meanwhile, aunt Eleanor is marveling at her little nephew getting married.
One by one, the family and guests gather around the bride and groom.
Meet the new extended family members: Deborah's brother Ramiro Landgraab and their father Trever. They look identical!
Eleanor's teenage crush Markus Sekemoto is also here, standing seperately from everyone else.
After the wedding, Markus and Eleanor's wife Kizzy are the first to help themselves to food from the buffet. I wish I knew what they're talking about over sushi!
This is Jeffry Andrews, Desmond's high school friend. He now works with Desmond and Deborah at the Llama stadium. I think he grew into a very cute YA!
While dancing with his new bride, Desmond keeps glancing apprehensively at his parents' wild dance moves.
Immediately after the wedding, Paul and Connie roll the wish to become grandparents. I just hope they'll live long enough for that wish to come true!
The next day, Desmond and Deborah travel to Isla Paradiso for their honeymoon, and rent a little house on stilts above the sea.
There are so many beaches and parks to explore.
"Yay! Being married is so awesome!"
In the evening, it's time to try to bring a new Bluejay into existence.
"Umm... How about it?"
The next day they buy a sailboat and explore the islands.
Deborah has the "sailor" trait so sailing gives her a happy moodlet.
And Desmond is enjoying it too, despite not having that trait. His face looks like a smiley emoticon.
An evening date at the Paradise Pub, which I turned into an exclusive lounge. Florita Hernandez looks a little sulky as she is watching them.
"To a long and happy marriage!"
The music told me their second try for baby was successful, so I had Deborah start eating watermelons immediately. I would love to have a female heir this time. (Look at Desmond's smug face!)
... and we are back in Sunset Valley, and Deborah is awoken early by morning sickness!
I decorated Desmond and Deborah's room to fit her sailor trait and his adventurous trait.
(I just hope I'll be able to continue my game from this point! I have had several weird glitches happening all at once during the last Sim-day. If my save file is beyond rescuing, I'll end my legacy game, rescue the household from a previous game and start a new game with them in a different town.)
Thank you for the good wishes, @Peach77 ! The glitchiness actually only manifested itself when they returned to Sunset Valley, but it still might be the travelling that caused it. I have a save from before they went to their honeymoon, so I could go back to that point and decide that the honeymoon was only a dream!
My game has recovered from its sudden attack of glitchiness!
Unfortunately, Connie didn't live to see her new grandchild. The Reaper came for her while she was visiting the library with Paul.
Paul is devastated, but Connie seems to be accepting her fate with a smile.
The whole family is brokenhearted, and Deborah's needs bar turns orange. I can't have that! She needs to have a happy pregnancy. So she gets books, her favourite music, incense, and a deep tissue massage from Desmond.
The baby is coming!
Two Bluejays enter the hospital...
... and three come out. Welcome to Sunset Valley, Molly Bluejay!
She gets "genius" and "perceptive" as her first traits.
This is your home, Molly!
Desmond is delighted to be a father...
... but also still brokenhearted over the death of his mother.
He wishes for another journey, so I let him escape from it all to Al Simhara.
(This is my favourite World Adventures destination, so I was saving it for last, allowing Desmond to build skills and lifetime rewards first. I want him to get a level 3 Visa and build a holiday home here!)
He gets the task to ask locals about a sinister organisation called Morcu-Corp.
One of the responses startles him.
"The Landgraabs? But... I'm married to a Landgraab!"
He can't imagine Deborah would ever have anything to do with an evil secret organisation.
His next task is to pick some fire fruit from the depths of the Pyramid of Fire.
It's certainly fiery!
He finds the fire fruit and fulfills his task.
But there is another room there, full of treasure (and I'm watching with dread now, because I know what is waiting in that sarcophagus!)
Desmond! Watch out! Behind you!
He gets away, because it isn't that hard to outrun a mummy.
Being a daredevil, though, he immediately rolls the wish to come back and fight. Be patient, Desmond.
Dusk and dawn are so beautiful in the desert.
His next task is to befriend a local family and find the secret library hidden in their house.
Success!
Another beautiful night in the desert.
Desmond wished for a snake-charming basket, so I had him buy one and practice. It might come in handy.
Finally, I grant him that other wish. He returns to the treasure room in the Pyramid of Fire. King Raymundo is already out of his sarcophagus, pacing the room.
Too late, Desmond realises that maybe it wasn't such a good idea.
Luckily, he wasn't cursed. He just passed out for a few minutes.
Later, while searching the Morcu Corp headquarters, he steps onto an electric trap.
He comes home to Sunset Valley with a few burns and bruises, but with new treasure for his displays, and two and a half Visa levels. One more trip and we may have that holiday home in Egypt!
Meanwhile, Paul spends quality time with his granddaughter.
I've left Connie's urn in the house for two days to give her a chance to see her grandchild, but she didn't appear as a ghost. Finally, Paul takes her urn to the mausoleum, where all the other family urns are.
While practicing martial arts with his wife, Desmond dreams of returning to the Pyramid of Fire to kick that mummy's bandaged backside.
He never asks Deborah about the connection between the Landgraabs and Morcu Corp, because he can't imagine she knows anything about it.
Meanwhile, Deborah has wished for another child, so trying for one is next on their to-do list!
I'm overjoyed to hear that everything is back to normal in your save! =D
Go, Desmond! I hope he can beat that mummy next time!
Your pictures are awesome as usual!
Desmond and Deborah try for another baby, and the music tells them it worked!
I take care that the family spends as much time together as possible, because the Reaper could come for Paul any minute!
But Desmond feels the call of adventure again, so I send him to China. In order to succeed in Egypt, there are skills to learn here, and a valuable object to find!
One of the tasks he gets is spar with a local Sim twice. He loses both times, but he is still learning!
He can't wait to return to the Pyramid of Fire and defeat King Raymundo.
But his teachers tell him he is too impatient. He must learn to control himself.
They send him to meditate in the Scholars' Garden.
He likes it. It makes him feel peaceful and blissful.
However, it doesn't stop him from wanting to feel stronger.
He gets the task to convince three locals that he should be the one to find the legendary Pangu's Axe. Easiest task ever, because Lieng, the guy who gave him the task (the one in a green outfit on the far right), has a bunch of friends over, and they are all watching TV together. Desmond completes the task and reports back to Lieng without ever leaving his living room!
Finally, he is trusted with the task of exploring the Temple of Heaven and finding Pangu's Axe.
After wandering through a maze of stairways and underwater tunnels, he finds it.
And now the small matter of finding his way out...
Having safely returned to the base camp, he relaxes by practicing snake-charming. Look at his face! He is genuinely surprised he finally got the snake out of the basket...
...and genuinely pleased with himself.
Special merchant Sun Young Kim gives him a task which will put Pangu's Axe to use: he has to smash a boulder at the Hidden Springs and recover a relic underneath.
He succeeds, and after reporting to Sun Young Kim, plays catch with her in the Shang Simla market. He and Sun Young Kim have become good friends. They are attracted to each other, but they are both married.
It wasn't my intention to get a vacation home in China for the household, but Desmond has earned a level-three Visa and plenty of money, so why not? He buys the Plum Blossom House inside the Forbidden City. It's a small house, not suitable for a large family, but perfect for future honeymooners in the household. I love that it's partly built above a pool.
There is room to add a hot tub in front of the house. What a way to start the day!
He gets a phone call from Sun Young Kim. She invites him to the hidden Springs again, but... this time it's personal.
She greets him in a flirty way.
I let Desmond respond on his own to see what he will do. He chooses to talk about fishing.
Sun listens patiently, then tries to flirt again.
Desmond stares at her for a moment.
And then he says: "I caught a fish this big! It was awesome!"
Sun Young Kim just gives up at that point. They remain good friends, though.
Desmond gets another task, to find a key to treasure under the Shang Simla market.
Success!
At this point both Desmond and I are tired of tomb-raiding, so he returns to Sunset Valley. Soon it's time for little Molly to age up (also, Deborah has just found out that she's pregnant again!)
Despite both her parents being blonde, Molly has her grandfather's brown hair. He is very pleased with that!
Before Desmond leaves for another adventure, the family celebrates Christmas together. Deborah tells her father-in-law that she's pregnant again. He is delighted.
And Molly is delighted with her new Santa teddy bear.
Desmond and I are happy to go for another adventure. it's time for Al Simhara again!
He gets the task to retrieve a relic from the Tomb of the Desert Ocean.
It's a beautiful place, but one full of dangers.
Being a daredevil, he doesn't mind sleeping in a tomb, next to some electric traps. In fact, his tent was placed over another trap, but he only found it when he woke up!
There is some swimming to do... we are almost there.
And here is the relic!
On a short break in the Al Simhara market, he spots a local Sim behaving strangely. I don't know what he's doing, but he can be up to no good!
Desmond's next task is to explore the Great Pyramid. There are skeletons of past explorers in the entrance hall. That can't be a good sign!
I feel a sense of dread whenever he comes near a sarcophagus. No one was sleeping in these ones, though.
In an underground swamp he finds the keystone to the final room.
Mummies! But they step straight into fire traps and disappear, and Desmond gets the final relic.
It earns him a level-three Visa. Now he can own real estate in Egypt! He buys a plot of land with a view of the pyramid he has just explored.
I haven't finished furnishing the house yet, but this part of the living room with a view of the pyramids:
And the upstairs bedroom:
The garden, with a hot tub in the centre (Desmond immediately tries it out):
Now there's just one thing left that could make Desmond feel even happier: visiting the Pyramid of Fire again and finally defeating King Raymundo.
He peeks into the sarcophagus and opens all the treasure chests, but the mummy doesn't appear. It seems he's not at home!
Never mind, Desmond. You don't have the victory you wanted, but you have a second home in the most beautiful place in the Sim world.
I edited Al Simhara a little, to make it more comfortable for my future, non-explorer household members and for the locals. While French Sims have a nectary and a museum, and Chinese Sims an academy and a scholar's garden, for Al Simharan Sims the market was the only community lot where there was anything to do. So I gave them The Library of Alexsimandria:
...and Cleopatra's Gym and Bath:
On the last morning of his journey, Desmond meditates on his balcony overlooking the Nile and the Pyramids. Hopefully he will find peace and put all grudges against mummies behind him!
That evening he returns to Sunset Valley and adds the most valuable relics to his displays. His lifetime wish is completed!
The next morning Deborah rushes off to the hospital, and returns home with little John Bluejay, who is athletic and brave.
The household has a baby and a toddler now. This won't be easy!
Comments
The look they gave to each other when she said "ready" was amazing.
... but he doesn't like the book and immediately goes to Connie to complain.
They visit the Academy, where Connie learns Athletics and Paul learns Sim Fu.
They jog through the Forbidden City.
The Academy is also a good place to practice Logic.
Time to return to Sunset Valley!
"What was Shang Simla like, Mum?" Desmond asks.
"Wonderful! Someday you will go there and see it yourself!"
Desmond gets a panda T-shirt and some souvenirs.
I've redecorated his room to fit a teen who likes sports and travelling. He can't wait to go on an adventure of his own now.
He talks about it over supper with his parents.
"You can go on an adventure as soon as you get your grade up to A," they tell him.
Desmond's current grade is C. He takes his task seriously and spends Sunday studying at the library.
After school the next day he works on his homework. The Chinese incense his parents bought him helps him concentrate.
Meanwhile, Paul has decided to retire (I used his lifetime happiness points to change his "workaholic" trait to "handy", otherwise he would never have forgiven me for this!)
Desmond and Connie join him in celebrating his retirement. Hilariously, Connie celebrates by whipping a yeti sign out of nowhere.
A stroke of luck for Desmond! He gets a school opportunity that requires him to skill up in writing, and he was already very close to a full skill point. It doesn't take him long to complete his task. Now all he needs to do is go to school tomorrow, and he will get an A and permission to travel!
While Desmond goes to school the next day, Paul and Connie drive to the Sharma Day Spa.
So far, the family owns the Norwegian Wood resort and a partnership in the bookshop. It is time for a second partnership!
Connie got the wish to visit a cemetery, so I had her and Paul light candles for their parents George Bluejay, Agnes Crumplebottom, Michael Bachelor and Holly Alto.
"You know, Paul, I never mentioned this before, but I remember your dad! When I was a teen, I was one of the people cheering outside the City Hall while he was receiving an award from the major. I remember seeing you and your sister there and thinking how proud you must have been!"
That evening, Paul takes Connie, Eleanor and Lawanda to the Little Corsican Bistro for a double celebration: Paul's retirement and Lawanda's newborn son, Korrey. Connie is a grandmother now!
"Stop looking so smug, big brother," Eleanor is thinking.
Desmond is not joining them because he has other plans: that day he got an A at school, returned home, finished his homework and immediately rushed off to catch a flight to China.
He arrives at the base camp and checks the adventure board.
Yes! An adventurer is needed to explore the Halls of the lost Army.
He manages to find the lost relic in less then a day. He is now visa level one in China.
It's a beautiful late afternoon, and he still finds time to visit the Academy before returning to the base camp to sleep.
His next adventure takes him inside the Dragon's Maw.
Meanwhile, back in Sunset Valley, his parents are being adorable. Paul discovers a star and names it "Connie".
Connie is wildly excited about it.
They go jogging by the beach to raise their athletic skill.
Later, as thanks for the star named after her, Connie serenades Paul. His reaction is the funniest thing ever.
Desmond returns to Sunset Valley and to his ordinary life as a high school student. This girl, Alisa McIrish, is his first crush.
She isn't destined for him, though! He invites her out and she refuses, saying she has a boyfriend, Dennis Langerak. The next day both Alisa and Dennis age up, and the day after that they get married! Story progression doesn't waste any time.
The Bluejay home gets a new wing, with a gym/Sim-Fu training/spa area.
Story progression informs me that Eleanor is married now, to a woman called Kizzy Koffi. Paul invites his sister and her new wife over for Sunday brunch.
Kizzy is much younger than Eleanor. She has just started working as a journalist, and is wearing her work uniform.
Neither her marriage nor her business career have softened Eleanor's wild streak. After lunch she grabs Connie's guitar and entertains everyone.
Desmond can't wait to have another adventure, and soon he gets lucky. He gets a school opportunity to travel to France and interview a local. By now he is already on the honour roll, and this will make his school performance even better.
The lady working at the Catania Cafe is happy to be interviewed about her recipes.
Now that this job is done, Desmond has time for some tomb exploring.
While he is exploring, the game offers him the "Private Museum" lifetime wish (displaying 20,000 in his home), and I accept it.
Being a daredevil, he is thrilled to spend a night sleeping in a tomb.
He follows in the footsteps of his aunt Eleanor and buys a Kenspa.
The view of the Eiffel Tower by night looks magical.
He gets very lucky here, examining the opening in the earth in the middle of the Forgotten Burial Mound. He finds a relic worth over 4,000 simoleons!
He also manages to buy one worth over a thousand from the relic merchant.
He spends a few days living at the nectary, picking grapes and making nectar.
He is in no hurry to come home.
His parents are having fun too! Connie, who is a daredevil like her son, suggests to her husband to go skinny-dipping in the pool. Look at her mischievous smile!
Paul is a serious gentleman and would never have thought of it himself...
... but now that Connie suggested it, he finds it really enjoyable!
Desmond returns home.
Since he has brought a few bottles of nectar with him, I add a nectar cellar to the house, accessed through the kitchen:
Back to school. Desmond has a new crush, Deborah Landgraab. This time he decides (and I agree with him) he won't let her slip away. Paul and Connie never managed to have a second child, and adventuring is a dangerous hobby. If Desmond dies, the legacy ends... unless he gets married and has a child of his own as soon as possible!
Desmond asks Deborah to meet him on the beach, and rides there on his new Kenspa.
Deborah isn't there. Has she changed her mind?
No, she's here! (She is the granddaughter of Malcolm Landgraab and Madison VanWatson, and looks a lot like Madison.)
The two have a trait in common -- Deborah is disciplined too -- and easily become best friends. However, it turns out Deborah has a partner named Leroy.
But never mind Leroy! Desmond and I have a plan.
It's Desmond's birthday, and his parents are throwing a big party for him.
The guests are starting to arrive.
I have Desmond chat to a few other girls from school, just to make sure we're not making a mistake. The blonde is Maria Hart, the brunette Abigail Alvi. But neither are as compatible with him as Deborah.
Aunt Eleanor is here again, with her wife Kizzy. She has become an elder a day ago.
The party is pretty wild.
Desmond blows the candles and ages up.
And now for our secret plan! Another cake is waiting for Deborah.
They are both young adults now! I want to ask Deborah to join the household as soon as possible, but it takes a while to raise the friendship bar that high, and Desmond is so sleepy he can hardly keep his eyes open, so I just have him ask her to stay the night.
Connie spontaneously comes over to gossip with Deborah, and while talking to her she rolls the wish to "see Desmond married". I'm glad you agree with me, Connie!
The guests are starting to leave, saying it was a great party. Desmond has already gone to sleep.
There is a guest room prepared for Deborah, but she just stays in the living room, reading a mystery novel. In the early morning I wake Desmond up, because I don't want him to miss the chance to talk to her.
Desmond wakes up, goes over to Deborah and (since he rolled a wish to do that) asks her to go skinny-dipping with him. She accepts and confidently heads for the pool...
... but it's six o'clock in the morning and, like Cinderella, Deborah has an exact time she has to leave. She runs off, thanking him for a great party.
Desmond spends most of the next day sleeping. I change his hairstyle the next day:
He puts his French relics on display in the library. He has just become a young adult and, thanks to the valuable relic he found in France, he's already over a quarter of the way towards his lifetime wish.
At this point the game gave me a big surprise.
I had assumed Deborah's partner Leroy was still a teen, and that once she's a young adult he'd be safely out of the way for a while. No such luck! As it turned out, Leroy was already an adult, and the way I found out about it was hilarious.
I took Desmond to the Llama stadium to join the sports career.
Once he did that, the game gave me a message saying that it would be a good idea for Desmond to be on good terms with his boss... Leroy!
Oh, well, never mind. Let Leroy hate him! The career is just there to give Desmond something to do in between journeys. He is not giving up on Deborah. He invites her to meet him in the park. After a short chat, their relationship bar is high enough for him to ask her to join the household, and she accepts.
They celebrate by having lunch at the Bistro and talking about travel. Deborah wishes to travel to China, so I'll take both of them there soon!
(Actually it wasn't as simple as that: although the Bistro is just across the street from the park where they met, when Deborah joined the household the game placed her in the Blujay home, and she had to run back to the Bistro... and this glitch happened. Still, she got there in the end!)
So now the Bluejay household has a new member! Deborah works in the sports career too, so I'll have to make sure she breaks up with their boss Leroy in a friendly way before she starts a relationship with Desmond.
The last two updates were lovely as usual! I hope everything goes well for Desmond.
He doesn't take it well! Their relationship bar becomes red.
However, the day after that Deborah, Desmond and Leroy all go to work at the Llama Stadium, and Deborah fulfills a job opportunity which improves her relationship with all co-workers. She is on good terms with Leroy again. That was quick and painless!
Deborah and Desmond are free to start their own relationship now. They both wish to travel to China, which fits my plan perfectly.
Shang Simla is a beautiful place for a first romance!
While they are visiting the market, Deborah gets the wish to kiss Desmond, and he gets the wish to skinny-dip with her.
Luckily, the local Sims are paying no attention to them.
I broght them to this bridge outside the gate just to have a pretty backdrop for their first kiss.
There are a few explorers and locals at the base camp but, luckily, no one disturbs their first night together.
Desmond spends the days adventuring and excavating. The relics he finds this time are not worth very much, but he gets very lucky in the relic store and buys a statue worth over 3,000.
Deborah reads and trains at the Academy in the meantime, and they spend the afternoons and evenings together.
They explore some of the smaller camps...
... and swim with goldfish and koi.
The trip is over!
I want them to get married as soon as possible - not only to bring a generation 4 heir to the world before Desmond tries the more dangerous adventures, but also to make sure that Paul and Connie, who will be 90 soon, are alive to see the wedding.
So that evening Desmond takes Deborah to the Sunset Valley copy of the Catania Cafe.
After dinner they are both sleepy, but Desmond doesn't want to go home yet.
"Wait, Debbie. I know you're tired from the journey, but there is something I wanted to ask you."
"What is it... wait, Desmond, what are you doing?"
"Deborah Landgraab, will you marry me?"
"Yes! I will!"
(The romance of the moment is just a tiny bit spoiled if you zoom out to see the townie baby left on the floor behind them.)
But Desmond and Deborah are so happy about their engagement, they don't even notice it.
"We forgot to hire a photographer", she thinks as the ceremony is about to start.
Meanwhile, aunt Eleanor is marveling at her little nephew getting married.
One by one, the family and guests gather around the bride and groom.
Meet the new extended family members: Deborah's brother Ramiro Landgraab and their father Trever. They look identical!
Eleanor's teenage crush Markus Sekemoto is also here, standing seperately from everyone else.
After the wedding, Markus and Eleanor's wife Kizzy are the first to help themselves to food from the buffet. I wish I knew what they're talking about over sushi!
This is Jeffry Andrews, Desmond's high school friend. He now works with Desmond and Deborah at the Llama stadium. I think he grew into a very cute YA!
While dancing with his new bride, Desmond keeps glancing apprehensively at his parents' wild dance moves.
Immediately after the wedding, Paul and Connie roll the wish to become grandparents. I just hope they'll live long enough for that wish to come true!
The next day, Desmond and Deborah travel to Isla Paradiso for their honeymoon, and rent a little house on stilts above the sea.
There are so many beaches and parks to explore.
"Yay! Being married is so awesome!"
In the evening, it's time to try to bring a new Bluejay into existence.
"Umm... How about it?"
The next day they buy a sailboat and explore the islands.
Deborah has the "sailor" trait so sailing gives her a happy moodlet.
And Desmond is enjoying it too, despite not having that trait. His face looks like a smiley emoticon.
An evening date at the Paradise Pub, which I turned into an exclusive lounge. Florita Hernandez looks a little sulky as she is watching them.
"To a long and happy marriage!"
The music told me their second try for baby was successful, so I had Deborah start eating watermelons immediately. I would love to have a female heir this time. (Look at Desmond's smug face!)
... and we are back in Sunset Valley, and Deborah is awoken early by morning sickness!
I decorated Desmond and Deborah's room to fit her sailor trait and his adventurous trait.
(I just hope I'll be able to continue my game from this point! I have had several weird glitches happening all at once during the last Sim-day. If my save file is beyond rescuing, I'll end my legacy game, rescue the household from a previous game and start a new game with them in a different town.)
Don't freak out because everything can be fixed. ;-)
EDIT: I forgot the most important part: I love the wedding and the honeymoon. I hope you get your girl!
Maybe try playing a copy of the save? Or it could be that the glitchiness is related to IP and will resolve back home.
Unfortunately, Connie didn't live to see her new grandchild. The Reaper came for her while she was visiting the library with Paul.
Paul is devastated, but Connie seems to be accepting her fate with a smile.
The whole family is brokenhearted, and Deborah's needs bar turns orange. I can't have that! She needs to have a happy pregnancy. So she gets books, her favourite music, incense, and a deep tissue massage from Desmond.
The baby is coming!
Two Bluejays enter the hospital...
... and three come out. Welcome to Sunset Valley, Molly Bluejay!
She gets "genius" and "perceptive" as her first traits.
This is your home, Molly!
Desmond is delighted to be a father...
... but also still brokenhearted over the death of his mother.
He wishes for another journey, so I let him escape from it all to Al Simhara.
(This is my favourite World Adventures destination, so I was saving it for last, allowing Desmond to build skills and lifetime rewards first. I want him to get a level 3 Visa and build a holiday home here!)
He gets the task to ask locals about a sinister organisation called Morcu-Corp.
One of the responses startles him.
"The Landgraabs? But... I'm married to a Landgraab!"
He can't imagine Deborah would ever have anything to do with an evil secret organisation.
His next task is to pick some fire fruit from the depths of the Pyramid of Fire.
It's certainly fiery!
He finds the fire fruit and fulfills his task.
But there is another room there, full of treasure (and I'm watching with dread now, because I know what is waiting in that sarcophagus!)
Desmond! Watch out! Behind you!
He gets away, because it isn't that hard to outrun a mummy.
Being a daredevil, though, he immediately rolls the wish to come back and fight. Be patient, Desmond.
Dusk and dawn are so beautiful in the desert.
His next task is to befriend a local family and find the secret library hidden in their house.
Success!
Another beautiful night in the desert.
Desmond wished for a snake-charming basket, so I had him buy one and practice. It might come in handy.
Finally, I grant him that other wish. He returns to the treasure room in the Pyramid of Fire. King Raymundo is already out of his sarcophagus, pacing the room.
Too late, Desmond realises that maybe it wasn't such a good idea.
Luckily, he wasn't cursed. He just passed out for a few minutes.
Later, while searching the Morcu Corp headquarters, he steps onto an electric trap.
He comes home to Sunset Valley with a few burns and bruises, but with new treasure for his displays, and two and a half Visa levels. One more trip and we may have that holiday home in Egypt!
Meanwhile, Paul spends quality time with his granddaughter.
I've left Connie's urn in the house for two days to give her a chance to see her grandchild, but she didn't appear as a ghost. Finally, Paul takes her urn to the mausoleum, where all the other family urns are.
While practicing martial arts with his wife, Desmond dreams of returning to the Pyramid of Fire to kick that mummy's bandaged backside.
He never asks Deborah about the connection between the Landgraabs and Morcu Corp, because he can't imagine she knows anything about it.
Meanwhile, Deborah has wished for another child, so trying for one is next on their to-do list!
Go, Desmond! I hope he can beat that mummy next time!
Your pictures are awesome as usual!
I take care that the family spends as much time together as possible, because the Reaper could come for Paul any minute!
But Desmond feels the call of adventure again, so I send him to China. In order to succeed in Egypt, there are skills to learn here, and a valuable object to find!
One of the tasks he gets is spar with a local Sim twice. He loses both times, but he is still learning!
He can't wait to return to the Pyramid of Fire and defeat King Raymundo.
But his teachers tell him he is too impatient. He must learn to control himself.
They send him to meditate in the Scholars' Garden.
He likes it. It makes him feel peaceful and blissful.
However, it doesn't stop him from wanting to feel stronger.
He gets the task to convince three locals that he should be the one to find the legendary Pangu's Axe. Easiest task ever, because Lieng, the guy who gave him the task (the one in a green outfit on the far right), has a bunch of friends over, and they are all watching TV together. Desmond completes the task and reports back to Lieng without ever leaving his living room!
Finally, he is trusted with the task of exploring the Temple of Heaven and finding Pangu's Axe.
After wandering through a maze of stairways and underwater tunnels, he finds it.
And now the small matter of finding his way out...
Having safely returned to the base camp, he relaxes by practicing snake-charming. Look at his face! He is genuinely surprised he finally got the snake out of the basket...
...and genuinely pleased with himself.
Special merchant Sun Young Kim gives him a task which will put Pangu's Axe to use: he has to smash a boulder at the Hidden Springs and recover a relic underneath.
He succeeds, and after reporting to Sun Young Kim, plays catch with her in the Shang Simla market. He and Sun Young Kim have become good friends. They are attracted to each other, but they are both married.
It wasn't my intention to get a vacation home in China for the household, but Desmond has earned a level-three Visa and plenty of money, so why not? He buys the Plum Blossom House inside the Forbidden City. It's a small house, not suitable for a large family, but perfect for future honeymooners in the household. I love that it's partly built above a pool.
There is room to add a hot tub in front of the house. What a way to start the day!
He gets a phone call from Sun Young Kim. She invites him to the hidden Springs again, but... this time it's personal.
She greets him in a flirty way.
I let Desmond respond on his own to see what he will do. He chooses to talk about fishing.
Sun listens patiently, then tries to flirt again.
Desmond stares at her for a moment.
And then he says: "I caught a fish this big! It was awesome!"
Sun Young Kim just gives up at that point. They remain good friends, though.
Desmond gets another task, to find a key to treasure under the Shang Simla market.
Success!
At this point both Desmond and I are tired of tomb-raiding, so he returns to Sunset Valley. Soon it's time for little Molly to age up (also, Deborah has just found out that she's pregnant again!)
Despite both her parents being blonde, Molly has her grandfather's brown hair. He is very pleased with that!
And now to make sure Molly ages up well!
And Molly is delighted with her new Santa teddy bear.
Desmond and I are happy to go for another adventure. it's time for Al Simhara again!
He gets the task to retrieve a relic from the Tomb of the Desert Ocean.
It's a beautiful place, but one full of dangers.
Being a daredevil, he doesn't mind sleeping in a tomb, next to some electric traps. In fact, his tent was placed over another trap, but he only found it when he woke up!
There is some swimming to do... we are almost there.
And here is the relic!
On a short break in the Al Simhara market, he spots a local Sim behaving strangely. I don't know what he's doing, but he can be up to no good!
Desmond's next task is to explore the Great Pyramid. There are skeletons of past explorers in the entrance hall. That can't be a good sign!
I feel a sense of dread whenever he comes near a sarcophagus. No one was sleeping in these ones, though.
In an underground swamp he finds the keystone to the final room.
Mummies! But they step straight into fire traps and disappear, and Desmond gets the final relic.
It earns him a level-three Visa. Now he can own real estate in Egypt! He buys a plot of land with a view of the pyramid he has just explored.
I haven't finished furnishing the house yet, but this part of the living room with a view of the pyramids:
And the upstairs bedroom:
The garden, with a hot tub in the centre (Desmond immediately tries it out):
Now there's just one thing left that could make Desmond feel even happier: visiting the Pyramid of Fire again and finally defeating King Raymundo.
He peeks into the sarcophagus and opens all the treasure chests, but the mummy doesn't appear. It seems he's not at home!
Never mind, Desmond. You don't have the victory you wanted, but you have a second home in the most beautiful place in the Sim world.
I edited Al Simhara a little, to make it more comfortable for my future, non-explorer household members and for the locals. While French Sims have a nectary and a museum, and Chinese Sims an academy and a scholar's garden, for Al Simharan Sims the market was the only community lot where there was anything to do. So I gave them The Library of Alexsimandria:
...and Cleopatra's Gym and Bath:
On the last morning of his journey, Desmond meditates on his balcony overlooking the Nile and the Pyramids. Hopefully he will find peace and put all grudges against mummies behind him!
That evening he returns to Sunset Valley and adds the most valuable relics to his displays. His lifetime wish is completed!
The next morning Deborah rushes off to the hospital, and returns home with little John Bluejay, who is athletic and brave.
The household has a baby and a toddler now. This won't be easy!
Did you create the new locations in Al Simhara? I added a bar to Al Simhara.