Monday, January 2, 2012

Chapter 50: Into the Sunset

Grim comes for Kelsey during dinner.

Chayton is left bereft at her passing.

This place only became his home after his long travels, it only became his home because it was Kelsey's. Without her, though he loves his daughter and her sons, he's not sure this place is his home anymore. Maybe it was time he moved on.

"Don't be ridiculous," Sage replies when Chayton tells her he's thinking of leaving, "Kieran and Kaiden need you here; you can't leave them now."

"I was never much of a father to you," Chayton admits sadly.

"Don't," Sage sighs, "We had this conversation when I was a teenager. You may not have been here at the start, but you've been part of my life for years now, and you are a grandfather. You aren't going anywhere now. Understood?"

"Understood," Chayton nods with a slight smile.

Kieran has his birthday.


He becomes a young adult.

Jasmine had her birthday just a few days before he did. She lives alone with her elderly mother, and invites Kieran to move in with her.

"She'll be thrilled to have a doctor in the house," Jasmine enthuses. Kieran is going ahead with his plan to start a career in medicine.

Kaiden's birthday follows the day after his brother's.

Grim decides to intrude on the birthday celebration.

"I'm so sorry about your grandpa," Becky consoles him.

"I got you a birthday gift," Kaiden says, handing her the box. Becky's own birthday was a few days before his.

"I love it," she squeals when she tears off the wrapping to reveal a heart shaped amethyst. She loves anything purple. "I'll treasure this forever."

Kaiden suggested they go hang out at the arcade, but Becky wanted to go dancing.

"You dance pretty good," she remarks, "I don't suppose you want to go to the prom with me?"

"I thought you were dating Richard," Kaiden answers.

Becky rolls her eyes, "We broke up yesterday. You aren't going to leave me dateless for the prom are you?" She laughs and bats her eyes at him.


"So, is this a date date, or are you just trying to get back at Richard?" Kaiden asks.

"Silly, I broke up with Richard so I could ask you out," Becky says with a teasing smile.

"Sorry, dumb jock moment," Kaiden laughs.

Becky slaps his arm gently, "You know you're not. Dumb, I mean. I guess the jock part is about right. And I'll have to fight off all the cheerleaders and popular girls that will be throwing themselves at you."

Kaiden puts his arms around her, "They can try throwing themselves at me," he says, "But I won't catch them."

Kaiden is a jock, and is very active in the school's sports program.


And when he's not in school, or out with Becky, he's at the gym. His dedication to his team pays off when recruiters from the Los Aniegos Badgers come to one of their games, and offer Kaiden a position on the team as soon as he graduates.

Kaiden tells Becky the big news on prom night.

"L.A.?" she gasps, "Really? Oh, you aren't going to leave me here, are you?"

"Becky, if you aren't coming with me, I'm not going," Kaiden says.

"You're kidding," Becky laughs, "You wouldn't give up an opportunity like that just for me, would you?"

"Of course I would," he answers.

"Well, I won't let you, I'm coming with you," Becky says, "Moving to L.A. is a dream come true. I won't have much of a music career if I stayed here."

Kaiden becomes a young adult.

He and Becky pack their things and head out west to the smoggy city of Los Aniegos.

With his family's wealth, they buy a house in the hills, just beneath the famous Hillwood sign. The house comes furnished, so the couple can just move in. Once they get settled in their new life here, they can redecorate it to suit their tastes.

___________________________________________
Challenge Notes:

In the MTS forums, I've mentioned the difficulties I've been having in Appaloosa Plains with lagging and periodic freezing. These problems started back in Kelsey's generation, and have become worse over time. The freezes have become particularly annoying, I get several of them per Sim day.
I had said in the forums that I was going to abandon this legacy and start fresh rather than move, because I'm also involved in rebuilding Riverview for my next legacy after this one, something I hinted at in one of my previous chapter comments, when Aymeri and Ico and Tania and Auberon decided to cleanse the town of human pollution and make it their own.
I didn't want the the hassle of preparing another world for Kaiden to move into while simultaneously building up a new Riverview, and I was feeling very unmotivated by Kaiden's generation roll, so I thought I'd drop it.

But the Riverview project is slow going as I'm completely rebuilding, so I decided I could carry on this legacy in Los Aniegos, which is prepopulated and has the LN venues I require for Becky's band career.
Assuming Becky sticks around long enough to form a band.

Kaiden's roll is Second Chance, 3 kids. Primaray career is sports, secondary is Busker/Band for partner 1 and Inventor for partner 2.

The goal is Awesome and the Misc. Fun is Runs in the Family (Complete, as both Kieran and Kaiden got the Brave trait).

I used Nraas Traveler mod for the move, so Kaiden and Becky are still related to their families in AP, which is now a vacation world attached to L.A. as a base hood.

25 comments:

  1. YAY! Oh my gosh, I'm so excited! I didn't want to say anything when you were thinking about dropping this legacy completely (because I wanted to be supportive and whatnot), but I was really bummed out about not getting to see Kaiden's generation. So I'm absolutely pumped right now! This update just made my night, no joke.

    Okay, enough gushing. L.A. looks like a fun town, and I can't wait to read about Kaiden's life in the big city. It will definitely be a change of pace from Appaloosa Plains. He grew up really well (no surprise there), and Becky looks like a fitting partner, at least temporarily. =D

    I have to say though, every time I read the name "Becky" I think about the Becky, from the forum. It gave me quite a jolt when her name first popped up last chapter or so, hah.

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  2. I know what you mean about the name. Maybe Becky (the Sim) will decide she needs a 'cooler' name for stage purposes.

    And thank you so much for your support! =D

    L.A. is a pretty good imitation of L.A. in RL, on a smaller scale, but still, I feel at home. I hope it can last out the last 4 generations of tis legacy.

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  3. YES! You continued! You have no idea how much this just made my day. I'm smiling like a moron right now so thank you for that.

    Kaiden and Becky are both lovely (So what else is new >_>) and I can't wait to see how his roll unfolds. Such a shame it won't work out between them though. They seem so cute together. Not many girls would follow a guy to the big city, even if it is their dream as well.

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  4. Yay! Kaiden is such a looker, I can't wait to see what his and his partners kids look like. All of your sims turn out beautifully. I'm also excited to see more of LA, as I've never heard of it! I'm not personally a fan of the late night-esque playwise but visually they can be quite stunning. I hope you don't have too many trapped NPCs! Anywho, thanks for continuing this legacy, I was (and still am) excited for the next one, but even more happy to see this one finish its story. <3

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  5. The Beckies in fiction are always so incredibly unlike me.

    Anyway, I'm SO glad you didn't abandon these guys. =) Though I wondered if perhaps Chayton would have felt better if he returned to traveling, and his quick death after that scene took me by surprise.

    I guess Sage's generation did not get to complete their goals? Or will we get back to them?

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  6. You're no Becky Sharp, lol. She's my favorite fictional Becky.
    Sage's goal was Party To Remember, which she did at her wedding with Joffrey. The Misc. Fun was tattoo addict.
    So, that's done with Kaiden becoming YA. It's true I aged Kaiden up early because I couldn't take the daily freezes anymore, and I didn't think the story warranted a full family move. So technically Joff missed out on one additional tattoo, but, meh.
    Both Sage & Joff achieved LTWs. Sage plundered every tomb in the WA worlds and Joff was a level 10 painter, so I don't think they left anything undone.
    Sage and Joff might visit Kaiden at some point. I don't think I'd go back to AP, given the freezing and lag.

    @Maddie, I am worried about all the high rises and their issues. I'm hoping that I can get through 4 more generations without this neighborhood becoming unplayable. But I felt that since I had to move, it made most sense for Kaiden and Becky's career rolls that they move o a city rather than another rural or suburban town, so I'm taking a chance.

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  7. Oh, right. I thought the goals were something about maxing skills, because you made comments about Joff's career. My brain had a stupid moment that's all. I guess maybe you mentioned him wanting to max painting.

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  8. Yeah, his LTW was to max photography and painting, but that wasn't an official goal. And he maxed them, anyway.
    Truth be told, I'm kind of glad for the move this generation. For the story, I really wanted Sage to continue traveling, but for gameplay, I was kind of meh. It draws out the length of their lives, and she'd already done all the tombs, so it would just be about relooting and digging excavation sites.
    Her life in AP was incredibly dull.
    So this way I can pretend she's traveling to all sorts of exotic places that don't really exist in Sim world.

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  9. Yay, you kept going :)

    Kaiden is very good looking and I hope his second chance roll doesn't cause him too much heartbreak...

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  10. I'm glad you found the mojo to keep going, and I hope Los Aniegos works out for you. Can't wait to see what happens with Kaiden and Becky (and future spouse).

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  11. Well done for getting your motivation back up!! :D gratz :D and I love how you solved the moving :D

    and I think its great you linked AP to LA :D

    I can't wait to see how Kaiden and Becky are doing in LA :)

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  12. I'm excited! I played L.A. a little while back, and it handled pretty well. So good luck! (Also, I love Emerald Beach. I didn't realize how much I missed it until now).

    Kaiden is so handsome! I can't wait to read about his adventures/the growing up of his future spawn.

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  13. Sadly, I'm having freezing and lagging in L.A. as bad as in AP. =(
    And I've only played like 3 Sim days there. I'm very sad because I love the town, there are so many photogenic spots to do scenes in. But the freezing 4 or 5 times per Sim day make me not want to play. (Also, distracted by Snarky!Hawke)
    So, I'm thinking I'm going to try moving again. I have to if I'm going to be able to play at all. but for the story, I'll have to wait until the right reason happens (probably will tie in to Second Chance roll for this gen.)
    In the meantime, though, just playing the game is such a drag.

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  14. I'm sorry you're having such freezes. It's awful, I know. My prom scenes were a NIGHTMARE to do because of the lag (though, admittedly having 15 sims in one household is not particularly ideal). Hopefully you can get it fixed seeing that I am now caught up! :D

    As for Riverview, here's hoping you have better luck than me. I've been working on mine for a year and it's still not done. And I have plans to go back and do rabbit hole rug replacements when I do finish. So, I'll likely be another year yet. Though I am taking the break I have while waiting for my legacy heir vote to finish to work on it. Maybe I can get one little section done. :P

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  15. Ooh. Snarky!Hawke means you're playing DA2 right? Let me know what you think; if it's your first time playing. I'm in the both love it and hate it camp, so...

    And LA did start lagging after a couple of generations for me, but I just thought it was because my computer could barely handle it at the time. I'm sorry it's not working out! It is a pretty awesome world.

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  16. I am playing DA2, and not for the first time. I'm also in the love/hate camp. DA:O was a far better game.
    But I love the voiced Hawke and the way he/she can be more involved in party banter because of it.
    I particularly love the voice acting for male Hawke when he's snarky. Right now I'm playing from a DA:O import that will finally allow me to get the drunken Alistair encounter. I did some playthroughs where I made the right choice for that encounter previously, but I threw them out before DA2 was released, not knowing I would need them later for a drunken Alistair.
    Have you played the Mark of the Assassin DLC? There are some golden moments in that one for a Snarky!Hawke. (I get the feeling you probably pick the snarky dialogue as much as I do)

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  18. Haha. You're right! All of my Hawke's have had some degree of snark to them, even when trying to play a completely nice or mean character. Snarky!Hawke is the best though, both male and female. I love the conversation options and I'm definitely with you on having a voiced protagonist this time around.

    I haven't had the chance to play any of the DLC's yet (still getting through all of the DLC for ME2 0_0), but they are on my to-do list. I watched the "miniseries" with Felicia Day; so Mark of the Assassin is certainly the one I'm excited about. Have you watched the mini, btw?

    Edit - had a weird hiccup, so I had to delete my comment. *shakes fist*

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  19. I know, I did manage to play a Paragon Hawke once, but even she couldn't resist snarking every once in awhile. I love how they made Snarky!Hawke's face more expressive, too. That eyebrow!
    MoTA is definitely the better DLC, IMO. The gameplay is fun, Tallis is a great character and the banter is delicious. Plus, like I said, Snarky!Hawke has really delicious moments. And if Isabela is your LI, and you bring her, and flirt with Tallis, Bonus!
    But Legacy is also really good. It's got great lore about the Grey Wardens, and about the Hawke family. If you play a mage Hawke and bring Carver along, there are some really superb moments of sibling rivalry.
    I haven't watched the mini, I really really should.

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  20. Oh goodness. I love Carver and his surly nature so much; I am glad that they fit him into at least one of the DLC's (especially since boring Bethany is apparently the favorite).

    Yes, you certainly should! The mini deviates from the lore on a few minor occasions, but it's still pretty good. Plus, Tallis. I love her. <3 I also love how we're totally spamming your comment section right now. :D

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  21. *serves up more spam*
    I think you can bring Carver/Bethany along on MoTA, too. But Legacy reveals stuff about Hawke's father that makes bringing a sibling along most meaningful.
    And I totally agree, Carver is the more interesting sibling. I'm always disappointed playing a rogue/warrior Hawke and getting stuck with Bethany.

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  22. Well I'm finally caught up with your legacy and it was a wonderful read. You're a great writer and I REALLY love all of the supernatural aspects to your legacy. I can't wait to read more!

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  23. Wow.... so its taken me how long to catch up? This whole story has given me goose bumps from the moment I opened the very first chapter. xx thank you so much for giving us the glory of the Romans :P

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  24. Hi Calisims and Happy New year..

    AP is totally glitched. Everyone who has tried to play more than 1 or 2 generations fell down under all the bugs this town can have (freezes and lags are the main issues). Another world to let down. But I'm impressed to see how you manage well with all these issues and find enough energy to continue playing with your sims.. But I've a question: How did you manage to have LA as your main neigborood since sims need to have the level 3 in visa for that? With the traveler mod, we cannot change the hometown setting if our sims don't live on a residential lot.. and the only way to live on a residential lot is to buy it (with visa, level 3).. But maybe I'm wrong, I've not really followed the last updates for this mod..

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  25. Hi, mimi, Happy New Year to you too!
    With the traveler mod, if the town doesn't have a base camp set up, then it drops your Sims into the cheapest house available. When your Sims are there, you just have to click on the City Hall Nraas>Register menu and choose 'change to Home town. Then your Sims are living in the house they were dropped in, but you can buy any other house in town just like in the regular neighborhood.

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