The Warehouse Renovacy

The Warehouse renovacy In some ways, the three of them had very little in common. In other ways, they had everything in common. Amina’s choices had been stark. The death of her parents had left her as her uncle’s property – and he had a marriage in mind for her, that would clear his debts. No matter that the man involved was well known for his cruelty to his previous wives. But this wasn’t what her parents would have wanted for her. Amina had gathered up all her courage and fled. Kirsten was the bubbly, outgoing one – always singing, always ready to make friends easily. Amina didn’t know why she’d had to leave her home, why her family had rejected her. But Kirsten knew. Kirsten had her own secret, something that her honest-as-the-day-is-long family couldn’t understand at all. Amina was quiet because she was shy, but Anton was the silent type. He rarely talked about his past – or about why he was here, now, in this situation. Kirsten and Amina knew how athletic he was, and that he missed nothing, noticed everything. Like a hunter, Amina thought. And he had been kind to them, protecting them on the boat when they’d been threatened. There was an essential goodness in him somewhere – but buried deep. What they did have in common was no money, no family, no job, nowhere to live – and no hope of getting a work permit. They were going to have to live by their wits – careers and safe pensions were not going to happen for them. It was Anton who had found them somewhere to live. “I did this guy a favour once.” He didn’t mention that the favour had been saving his life, even if he couldn’t save his leg as well. “He says as long as we can pay the rent, we can have this place to live in – do it up if we want. And it’s pretty secure – you girls will be safe here.” Anton had already brought their few possessions to the old warehouse, and they sat in a little heap on the floor. Someone had obviously been living here before them – whoever it was had tried to create some furniture from discarded milk crates and a couple of old mattresses. There was a tiny kitchen – a relic of the days when the warehouse had been in use – though Amina couldn’t believe how dirty it was. Kirsten had gone upstairs, and she looked down at Amina through the hole in the floor above the kitchen. “Be careful up there,” Anton called from down below. “I’m not sure how safe those floorboards are.” Kirsten came back down with some care, but not before she had taken a last look round at the space that was to be their new home for the foreseeable future. With the big doors safely locked behind them, the three of them sat down somewhat gingerly on the makeshift furniture – but, to their relief it didn’t collapse under their weight. Surprisingly it was Amina, the shy one, who spoke first.
“So, we have shelter and water and light, and I am very grateful. But how are we going to live if we cannot work?” “I didn’t say we couldn’t work,” Anton said. “I said we can’t get work permits, can’t get into the system without an identity card. But there’s plenty you can do without a card. What can you both do?” “Nothing,” said Amina at once.
“Oh come on, Amina,” said Kirsten. “You must be able to do something. What did you do when you were at home?”
“We lived in a village. I went to the school and learned to read and write – my parents wanted that for me. They said I would marry a man who would respect me. But I didn’t learn much more than that. All I did was help them in the fields…”
Kirsten interrupted. “So you know how to grow things? I don’t.” “Yes. And I can fish…”
“Well then!” Kirsten’s naturally buoyant nature surfaced. “That’s our food taken care of.”
“But not the bills,” Anton said. “What about you, Kirsten. What can you do?”
“I can sing! Give me a guitar and I can busk – I’ve done it before, but then my guitar got stolen from me in the town before we met up. That was why I had no money.” She kept quiet about her other accomplishment. Something told her that Anton and Amina wouldn’t appreciate it. And Anton knew that he could scavenge for things to sell. They might survive. Part of him wondered why he’d ever taken the girls under his wing, but he knew why really. He hadn’t been able to save Elise, hadn’t been able to rescue her. But maybe these two could be kept safe, could have a chance at a peaceful life. And he had to stop running at some point, pause for a while at least. Here was as good as anywhere – he’d see the girls established, and then move on. He turned his head, and for a moment, he could almost see Elise walking towards him. Not the hurt and dying Elise he had finally found in the wreckage, but as he had first seen her, happy in the sunlight, turning her head and noticing him. Anton produced a very acceptable evening meal from some mysterious dried food packages he had among his belongings. With some hot food inside them as well, Amina and Kirsten began to believe that maybe they would be able to survive here, would be able to find a life that wasn’t so hand to mouth. If they all worked together, maybe they would find a way through to a brighter future.

The rules!
No money cheats at all.
They can’t have proper jobs (no work permits) and can’t register as self-employed (no identity cards).
They can dig through trash, dumpster dive, fish, grow things, paint and sell the paintings, play for tips – anything else goes.
You can’t sell the wallpaper or flooring – you have to paper over it or floor over it.
The challenge is to pay the bills and to earn enough to renovate the warehouse and turn it into a home.
Since they have no permits, they can’t marry anyone outside the household, nor move anyone else in with them. They can have any unofficial relationship they like though with people outside the household, and the girls can get pregnant if you want to make the game harder yet!
For this renovacy, the aim is to have the house restored before they are old. Use the default age settings.
You can download the family here:
http://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=7536936

Talisman Chapter 8

Chapter 8 After the meal was over, Talisman slipped away to the little chapel to say the prayers for the repose of her grandfather’s soul that she had been meaning to say in church. She was uneasy in her mind and heart. This Hugo seemed so harsh – she had no desire to wed any son of his! And her father would not compel her to do so – but what if Hugo could force her father’s hand? For the rest of the day, Talisman was kept incredibly busy. She was sent here there and everywhere on errands to see to the comfort of these unexpected guests. One of the errands took her down to the basement, and in to the cellar that was the first one I had run through. But instead of a door, only a blank stone wall met my eyes. The only other rooms down there were a couple of small, barred ones. Dungeons! I thought, excitedly – it was like something out of a film. But Talisman knew that they had never been used for people, never been needed. Ship House had remained safe and peaceful all through the unrest that had been the backdrop of her childhood. Maybe there was something about the guerdon Ship had given Sir Guy de Malherbe. But I didn’t believe in luck – how could a thing bring luck? I must ask Perdita about it. Before she went to bed that night, Talisman went up on to the roof and gazed up at the stars. I had never seen so many of them! And then I realised that it was the lack of street lights – the night sky showed more clearly. It wasn’t that there used to be more stars back then. She was thinking about something she had overheard that day – Hugo muttering to Pierre as he walked past: “After all, it would be a great pity if any harm were to come to your two sons.” Her sense of foreboding was growing stronger. Once again, Talisman had gone into the village, this time to ask advice from old Mathilde. Mathilde and her husband had come from Normandy with Guy de Malherbe – Jean had been Guy’s squire, manservant, groom, you name it, and Mathilde was his just-wed wife, no older than Talisman was now. For the last forty years they had watched the fortunes of the de Malherbes, and Mathilde knew more about the family than almost anyone. Talisman knocked at the door of Mathilde’s little house. Every little house had its own bit of land, with vegetables, a bee skep, a few chickens, a fruit tree or two – the constant challenge was to grow enough to eat. The farmland wasn’t anything like modern farmland – instead there were three great fields, all divided into strips. And every man had strips in each field, so that no-one had all the best or all the worst land. Mathilde was old now, grey and wrinkled, with a face that was as brown as a walnut. But her eyes were still lively and affectionate, and Talisman could trust her with anything. She poured out the whole story to Mathilde, and then asked her what she knew about this Hugo de Malherbe. “Nothing to his good, my little one. Nothing to his good. Three wives he’s had, and they’ve all died. I mind his third wife well – Eadgytha of Longwood they called her. And a fine gentle lady, for all that she was of Saxon stock. But she didn’t last long once she was married to him – died in childbirth, poor lady, and the child with her, and her son no more than ten months old.”
“Hugo says he wants me to marry one of his sons. And he keeps hinting that things might go amiss if father does not consent. What can I do, Mathilde?” “Well at least he doesn’t want to marry you himself, my sweeting. Let us give thanks for that.”
“Yes, but…” Talisman’s voice trailed away. How could she explain to Mathilde this sense of wrongness that hung about Hugo? She tried to, and Mathilde was surprisingly quick on the uptake. “I know what you mean. Old Hugo, this Hugo’s grandfather, he too had that air about him. And yet I remember when he and Sir Guy were just two reckless lads looking for adventure. Ay de mi, those were the days, when we were all young and adventurous, and our bones didn’t ache as mine do now. But then Hugo changed, quarrelled with Sir Guy, left the house and went his own way.” Talisman went home heavy-hearted. And she was not made any the happier by the few words Hugo exchanged with her.
“So mysterious, wasn’t it, Red William’s death? Were you of an age to remember the manner of it? There he was, out hunting, and a stray arrow killed him. And no-one knows how it happened. These accidents could happen to anyone, it seems. Do your brothers enjoy hunting?” Later that day, Hugo called Talisman and her parents together.
“I want your daughter as wife to my third son. He’s a bit of a milksop, I admit, but he does have Longwood Manor for his own – it came to him from his weakling of a Saxon mother. I think it would be in your best interests to agree.” Talisman’s mother spoke up. “There are other young men with a manor to their name. And they are not all younger sons. Sir Robert de Belville is by no means opposed to an alliance with our house for his oldest son.”
This was news to Talisman, but not too surprising. When her father had spoken to her of her betrothal, she had thought that he must have someone in mind. “But he cannot offer you this.” Hugo clapped his hands, and two of his men-at-arms came in, bearing a large and heavy object covered with a cloth. They placed it on the table and took off the cloth.
As soon as I saw it, I knew what it was. The guerdon!
Hugo went on talking. “My grandfather had six of these strange objects, and he gave one to each of his children, sons and daughters alike. They have brought us all great power. Since I need an alliance with your family, this will be Talisman’s if she will take my youngest son Roger, and be his wife.” I had to get hold of this. And there was only going to be one way. I’m sorry, Talisman, I thought. But if I can’t lay hands on this, I’m going to be stuck in this body for ever. And I really don’t like the threats he’s making either. If Miss Aislaby was anything to go by, he’ll carry them out. And I pushed, hard, at her mind, and she rose to her feet and said:
“I accept the gift, and with it your son to my husband.”
But even as I pushed her to say it, I could feel that she was making the same choice for herself. “Talisman, are you sure about this?” Her parents had gone up onto the roof with her.
“You heard his threats – to my brothers, and to you. Do you really think they were empty ones?”
And her parents were silent. When the betrothal had been recorded, together with all the property that would be involved, and been signed and witnessed, and Hugo had gone on his way with a promise that he would return with his son in a few weeks’ time for the wedding, I pushed Talisman de Malherbe for one last time, sent her downstairs and made her reach out her hands to lift up the strange object. And as she touched it, once again everything went black and all I knew was the weight of the object in my arms.

Luke and Lucy - a renovacy

Luke and Lucy When Luke and Lucy were children, they used to be able to pretend to be each other, and fool people at a slight distance. They were older now, and it wasn’t possible any more, but they still looked very similar, and still had that close bond that twins often have. Since Luke had joined the army they saw each other less often, but each time they met up it was as if they’d seen each other only yesterday. They might still look very alike and still share the same sense of adventure, the same enjoyment of physical activity, but they’d grown up into two quite different people. Luke was definitely not one for settling down! Each time he’d have another girl to tell Lucy about, and whenever she asked him about the previous one, it was always the same story
“She started to get serious. She was muttering about babies and settling down and marriage.” “There’s nothing wrong with that!”
“Not for you – you’d be good at it. But can you see me with children?”
Lucy had to admit, she couldn’t!
“But you’ll have to make an exception for mine, if I get married and have any.” One leave, Luke brought a friend home – Cass. They’d become close friends as a result of a close shave – Cass was steadier, more reliable, and kept Luke’s feet firmly on the ground, while Luke brought an excitement into Cass’s life that had been missing so far. The whole family took to Cass – the parents and Lucy alike. After the leave, Cass asked Luke oh-so-casually if his sister had a boyfriend. “No, She’s heart-whole and fancy-free.” But not for long! A year later, Lucy and Cass were walking down the aisle together, watched by Luke and their aging parents with great fondness. Their parents lived long enough to see Tom arrive – dark-haired like their side of the family, and with the same adventurous and slightly reckless spirit that his uncle had. To his surprise, Luke didn’t mind being with Tom – once he’d outgrown the nappy stage, that was! Abigail never knew her grandparents – a cold wet winter carried them both off – and Luke and Lucy grew closer than ever in their shared loss. Cass loved being a father, and Luke could sort of see the appeal – in small doses, and on a sunny day! Once the estate was wound up, Luke and Lucy found that they’d inherited a useful sum of money. They both decided to put it into property – Luke found a smart bachelor flat quite easily.
“I won’t be in the army for ever – and I’ll need somewhere to live when I come out. And in between, I’ll rent it out: it’ll be extra income.”
Secretly, he loved the flat – it was everything he’d ever dreamed of owning. He invited Lucy and Cass round to see it.
“How good is this? Look, it’s got a mezzanine sleeping platform!”
And Lucy had laughed at him, remembering the same tone of voice the year they’d been given sledges at Christmas. Cass had admired the kitchen, but pointed out to Luke that he’d have to learn to cook. “Hey, in a kitchen like this, it’ll be easy to cook.” And the sitting area only had two-seater settees.
“If I’ve got a girl round, I don’t want her miles away. I want her right next to me.”
“Luke, you’re hopeless! You need to find a girl who really matters to you!” For Lucy and Cass it proved harder to find exactly what they wanted. And as Cass was planning to leave the army after this final tour of duty, it was also a bit more urgent. Instead of finding a house however, they found that Lucy was pregnant again. She stepped up the house-hunting, and widened her search. Eventually, she struck gold! Cass saw the details and agreed with her that it had everything they were going to want. Lucy stood outside the house, her back aching slightly with her pregnancy, and phoned Luke to tell him the good news. “We’ve found a house!”
“That’s fantastic! What’s it like?”
“It’s a bit of a barn at the moment, to be honest, but we can do wonders with it – you know how good Cass is with his hands. And there’s loads of outdoor space for the children, and plenty of space inside the house. It’s even got a sleeping platform, like your flat! Though I don’t think we’ll keep that, as it doesn’t go too well with small children.”
“I’ll look forward to seeing it when we get back. Town or country?”
“Country-ish – but near the town and the schools and so on. Best of both worlds! When you’ve time you must come and see it. And we’ve got some really exciting news about this pregnancy!” But the time never came. Luke and Cass went off on what was to be Cass’s last tour of duty. And it was his last tour – but not in the way that he’d meant. Luke got home as fast as he could, desperate to be with Lucy, only to hear that she’d gone into hospital, the shock of hearing about Cass’s death sending her into labour early.
Luke was fighting back the tears as he approached the hospital. His phone rang, and he checked the caller and picked it up when he saw it was the hospital.
“How soon can you be here? Your sister is very urgent about seeing you.”
“I’m on the doorstep right now.” The corridors seemed endless, but eventually he was at Lucy’s bedside. The labour was a difficult one, and Lucy was obviously distressed.
“Luke. Promise me that you’ll look after the children in case anything happens to me.”
He would have promised her anything.
“You know you’re their guardian. Everything’s left to you.”
“Lucy, I will. But you’ll be fine – and so will the twins. I’ll be waiting here for you when you come back from theatre.”
Only she never came back. And the twins were rushed straight into the neonatal unit, and into incubators, where they battled for life for several weeks.
Tom and Abigail were looked after by neighbours, and Luke arranged his discharge from the army, and sold his flat to cover the mounting medical bills. But the twins, like their father and mother, were fighters, and eventually Luke was told he could take them home. He might have had to sell his flat, but Lucy and Cass’s home was still there. Tom, Abigail, David and Mark had a home that was theirs. Luke had never seen it, but he had the address. A neighbour drove Cass’s pick-up truck down to the hospital, so that Luke could drive back in it. He pulled up at the address, got out with Abigail in his arms, and stood in silence. When Lucy had said it was a bit of a barn, he hadn’t realised that it actually was a barn. His heart sank as he looked at it. Tom showed him the little fenced-in play area at the side of the barn, and sat and played with Abigail while Luke got David and Mark out of their car seats and into their cots. Luke could see where Cass had started to sand the floorboards – Cass had told him about that, and what nice wood it was underneath the dirt. Then he looked around the place. The sleeping platform that Lucy had mentioned was nothing like the one in his one-time flat. There was still hay up there. The kitchen had been put in the old stalls for the horses – three long and narrow little sections of rather elderly cupboards and appliances. When he went outside and found the bathroom in its little outhouse, he could hardly believe his eyes. The contrast between it and the sleek, streamlined, clean and elegant one in his old flat had to be seen to be believed. Luke went back inside, and picked up Mark, who was beginning to cry. “Come on, Luke,” he told himself. “You’ve been in some really difficult and dangerous places in your time. How hard can it be to bring up four children by yourself? Of course you can manage this!”

This is a renovacy. The rules are as follows:
No money cheats.
Luke has to stay at home until all the children are at school.
All children need to learn to walk, talk and be potty-trained before they grow up.
All school-age children need to be A grade students as soon as possible.
You can sell anything in the house and grounds, but if you want to re-paper or re-floor, you have to cover over what’s already there – no selling the wall-paper or flooring.
You can renovate the house in any style you like.
Luke can earn money by fishing, gardening, painting or anything else that can be done at home while the children are pre-school.
If Luke can earn enough points for the Change Traits lifetime reward, then you can change his traits.
The children can all earn money as well.

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