The Vikings 3-2, a VDSC

[yarnsim]

Once upon a time, in a desert not so very far from here, there lived a family full of life, happiness and of worry.



Mostly it was the old grandfather who did the worrying. The old grandfather worried about many things, about the new dogs that appeared at their house and did not leave...

It's a Dog's Life:
your family can't decide which dog they like best, and just purchase ALL of the ones available in the shop. Make as many dogs as there is space left in your house in CAS and move them in. The animals must stay there for the week, and must be cared for, but at the end you may sell them/give them up for adoption.



About putting food enough for everyone on the table, about long lost children, and mostly about being prepared.

"Never again!" he always said, "Never again should we walk all the way across the desert just to use a toilet!" And so he built a toilet outside their house. Of course there were toilets inside their house as well, but old grandfather wanted to be prepared for any and all situations and that meant putting a toilet outside.



It also meant building a kitchen outside. The old grandfather could not do this alone though, so he asked his two sons to help him. It took a long time to build as they slowly knocked down walls, painted, and gathered stones for an outdoor stove.



And during the time of building, the family continued to grow and be happy. Dogs were perpetually disciplined, fed, and bathed.





Small babies grew older and played.



[Bruce Cloudfreak]





[with Mina, by simtopi]









The sons eagerly helped their father build the outdoor kitchen by day and enjoyed fishing with one another...





and caring for their littles by night.



[Bruce Sugarbreeze]





"Will it EVER be finished?" the son's wife wondered outloud to her husband. "All this building takes so much time away from the fun we could be having! Why does your father insist on such perpetual building?"



And like any good son, he replied, "My dear Ula, one day you'll understand. We must be prepared." And that was that.



Through those hot desert days the family worked.



And before long, before just as the youngest babe came to toddling age, the outdoor kitchen was complete.  The family rejoiced, the adults played and danced like children...







And of course, old Grandfather reviewed the stocks to be sure they were prepared.



[Bruce Sugarbreeze, with Ula by simnels]









[Bruce Cloudfreak]







Being very fond of parties, the family decided to have a party to celebrate the completion of their outdoor kitchen and dining area.





[Nessa, originally Space Girl, by dothesmustle]





[Herod, by bondchick_nett]













The party was a great success, with even the dogs and small ones enjoying themselves.



But that was not to be the end of the building. Oh no, old Grandfather had yet another project in mind. This project moved very slowly though, as there were children who needed to be cuddled and the heat of summer made the work very difficult.







But the need for more space became more apparent as the small children grew bigger.





[Bruce Cloudfreak]









Despite the heat and desire to play (and the perpetual interruptions from the dogs) work continued on the house.









Until the fateful day. "Such extreme temperatures are Highly Unhealthy for small children," the sons were told. "The situation must be remedied or the children will be removed." The old grandfather was distraught, his attempts to provide for his family and be prepared for all their needs had created this situation!



In a hurry, his sons called friends and family to the house.



[L-R, Yulian by trappingit, Mattias by bondchick_nett and Herod, also by bondchick_nett]



With the help of friends and neighbors, the family filled in the final walls and roofs of the addition to the house. They gave the cooling unit a good kick, and the house began to cool down. The children were strictly instructed to stay inside and to do quiet activities.





With relief, the old grandfather watched his granddaughter sipping the cool water in the shade of the outdoor kitchen. She still looked very warm, but she was still here. He hoped they had done enough, he hoped and prayed that this child would not be lost, like his daughter was so long ago.



And that was his final thought. The old grandfather left that night, filled with hope for his family's future. Their fridge was stocked, they had access to cool water, shade, and enough space to grow. Just that day disaster had been averted. He hoped that the family he left behind would be safe. Now it was time to find the family that had gone before.





The rest of the family did not share in his hope.



And then they received a strange phone call. "I would like to fulfill a wish of Old Grandfather's, please stay out of the house for the day." So they did.



They visited the new produce stand "in town" and stopped by the pool for a dip.







It was less enjoyable in the rain, but there were few other options in this small community of theirs.



The family never expected what they found on their return home. Pinned to the fence was a note that read, "I never really understood family, but I've come to admire yours. The strength and tenacity of your father was never more evident than when he rallied us all together to get the roof put in your house so the rest of you could stay cool and calm. I know he always wanted this too, a pool. So, here!
From all of us 'in town,'
~Mattias



With joy the family swam in the pool and danced in their pajamas. The smallest babe grew into a young child. And the dogs continued their guardianship care over them.



[Bruce Sugarbreeze]











However, this is not the end. There is no happily ever after, at least not yet. The stores of fish and meats in their fridges was dwindling, and inexplicably the numbers of fish in their pond had shrunk. Over dinner one night they considered the situation. One of the children spoke up, "Perhaps, Papa Aloe, the best solution would be to not eat the fish. At least until they've laid more eggs and more fish have hatched. I don't mind pancakes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner!"

Fish are Friends, not Food: (again @_@)
your sims have all become vegetarians! They may all only eat vegetarian meals (milk is allowed) for the week.



There was some debate, but few other options. The remaining fish and meat they had in their stores would have to be rationed until the fish in the pond were numerous again.



And as if fate knew that they were already challenged, the very next day they found a letter in their mailbox.



In whispered tones, the two sons wondered if these could be their long lost siblings. Could those pictures be anyone else?  That was certainly their sister Marigold, all grown up. And the boy looked so much like her!! He must be the baby Dandelion that they had barely known.  If only old grandfather was here to see them, how it would do his old heart good to know of their happiness. But he was not, and the two sons were at a loss. They wished to find these long lost siblings, or at least to respond to their young brother's letter! But there is no return address, just stamps and postmarks from all over the world (though something looks strangely familiar about one of the postmarks). In fact it's a mystery how the letter even made it to them considering how it was addressed, "Family, Big Red House, Desert."

They hold these mysteries in their hearts, hoping for something futher to be revealed to them. Perhaps another letter would appear. Or maybe, since the letter found them, their brother and sister would as well. "We've lived here our whole lives, Aloe," one says to the other. "We are not difficult to find."



But time marches on, and no great revelations were had.





No strange visitors, just small friends of the children come to play in the pool. And play they did!
[Cathlene, by chloriinated]



[Shannin, by quellasims]







[Jake, fivesims]









Actually, life settled into a comfortable routine for the family.  Happily ever until the next thing happens, you could say. The children helped care for the dogs (who were always hungry, it seemed)





and the two sons took over their father's garden.  Not that there was much success, but with their fish and meat stores low, they had to try everything they could to provide enough food for their family.



[Jake, by fivesims]



[and Shannin, by quellasims]







waiting for what seemed like ages, the sons became impatient.  "We should trace the letter," one said.  "If we can determine where it started, we should find our lost sister and brother."

"And just how will we do that Hedgehog?" the other replied, "There may be roads now, but we have no way of traveling that far."



His brother simply said, "Don't worry, I have an idea."



[Bruce Cloudfreak]



But that was not all, oh no, that was not all! Early one morning they looked out their window and what did they see? ELEPHANTS! As if this family needed more strange things to worry about. Not only did they need to worry about the population of fish in their pond, and finding their lost brother and sister, but now there were elephants all over the sands in the front of their house.

The Elephant in the Room:
download Beck's Rideable/Statue Elephant and place one in every room of the house. You may use kaching to assist in purchasing (and making enough room for them in some cases) them. Do what you like with them at the end of the week!





"They've come because of the rains, Papa Aloe!" his little boy exclaimed to him excitedly. "They're thirsty!"

"I hope they do not drink us dry," Papa Aloe said with concern.







...to be continued.

__________________________________
Notes:
- apologies for a late update!! This installment just refused to be narrated by anyone, so a different approach was needed.  I hope you enjoyed it ^.^
ETA:
-The social worker visit = major panic for sim!god, as losing kids now would be the loss of both potential heirs. But I'd forgotten Aloe had secondary of family and the "plead for family" bonus! Because we'd already done the remodeling work they were allowed for the day, we had to call in "reinforcements" to help put in the roof on the addition (which was the whole problem). Disaster averted!
-When I rolled that last challenge I did some online searching to see how feasible it even was for there to be elephants in the desert, or if it would be TOTALLY WEIRD. Ya know? I needed to know how to play it off. Anyways, I found that in some areas of Africa like Mali and Namibia, there are rare elephants that *do* survive in harsh desert climes - check it out here, here, or here (with pictures!).

Lots of pixel_trade action this time::
Thanks to: simtopi, simnels, hidden_kitten, dothesmustle, chloriinated, quellasims, fivesims, bondchick_nett, and trappingit for their marvelous sims!

Past updates are in the archive! And the family tree is here!

*i may reply with my other journal (eleme) cuz i r forgetful!*

~