Life After Death Part 4: Freya The Next Generation

My name is Freya. I am thirteen years old, the daughter of Odin One-Eye.

Once, I was queen to a realm no less splendid than Asgard itself. I seek Brisingamen still, but I feel Ragnorok claimed it as a prize.

While our father led the way in establishing our foothold back in Midgard, and even established a way for us to retain our wisdom in the face of advancing years, the mortals remain broken and defenceless against the Great Wolf. My siblings must engage in the contest to restore Midgard, for without the middle realm we may never pass to the higher.

With no schooling for anyone of our age, my sister and I pass the time improving our bodies and minds. Mother proceeds to try and establish herself in the corporate world - apparently we will need much gold before the world is mended. My younger siblings learn what little the mortals still teach, and we cluster around playing the game of chess, calling out suggestions, and playfully shouting for mead, though Mother never lets us drink even a drop of the tainted honey wine.

Last time we had Blair (Odin's spouse) desperately trying to lift Business; to do so, she was working out a lot in an attempt to be able to continue after she became an elder. Freya is a teenager now, and she's the heir.

Blair works out on Quick Burst now whenever she isn't working; the teens also work out, play chess, or whatever. I don't have many objects to keep people busy; the computer is used for writing, the easel for painting, and often 2 extra Sims will watch 2 others play chess. It's all that can be done, really - I have little money, and fewer options to spend it.

Gradually, our siblings left school as well. First Thor and Sif, and home became crowded. But Mother was making good progress; perhaps soon we would be able to afford larger dwellings for our growing family.

Mother was a Division Manager, which I understand is some sort of demigod, or perhaps a hero - far from the heights of her chosen path, in any case - when Loki and Balder had their 13th birthdays. Now there were 6 teenagers in the house, and our nerves were often raw.

Blair has 4 days until she is an elder, meaning she has at least 18 days until she dies. She is currently a Department Head, so she only needs 5 more promotions - that should be easy. This is also the day that Thor and Sif become teens.

By the end of Week 7, all the kids are teens, and Blair is at Business 6.

As Mother entered her twilight years, I took virtual control of the family. We had schedules - we had to, to stay sane. We worked out. We played chess. We worked on our social skills. We wrote novels. And we painted.

Sometimes, we did all of these things at once.

Blair hits elder with about 3.25 promotions to go.

On week 8, day 7:

But as we entered our full womanhood, it was time to put aside our teenage pursuits.

One of the biggest problems we had was belief - or lack thereof. We gods need mortals more than mortals need us; without belief, we are reduced to this ectoplasmic state barely able to affect the world.

I joined the media - at first as a lowly paper girl. The intention is obvious - I will rise through the ranks, I will be the media - and I will reveal to the world that we are back. This may not be enough for us to save Midgard - but it will be an important start.

Frigg had other ideas. As she does not possess the spark of the divine, she was best placed to understand the mortal perspective. She would set up a spy ring that would find out exactly how best to proceed with our plans - the weaknesses of our enemies. The wolf may be amongst them; if she can provide us with a warning, we may yet defeat him.

The oldest twins are now young adults. Frigg ends up Clumsy, Evil, Light Sleeper, Snob, Vehicle Enthusiast; she has the LTW of Chess Legend. She has Athletics 8, Charisma 1, Logic 8, Handiness 1 (toilet repairs), Painting 4, Writing 5. First job in the paper is Business, so I skip that. Second job is Law Enforcement. I've already cleared Forensics, so I must take Espionage.

Freya, on the other hand, is Absent-Minded, Easily Impressed, Hates the Outdoors, Hot-Headed, Mean Spirited; her LTW is Super Popular. She has Athletics 7, Charisma 1, Logic 8, Handiness 2, Painting 3, Writing 5. Third job in the paper (remember I can skip Business and now Law Enforcement) is Journalism. Score! And that will work well with Super Popular, too!

Sif and Thor are only 2 years my junior. Sif's ideas of finding some sort of cure for muscular deterioration were not really something I gave much thought to. It's true, even we godlings have a similar disease, but I wouldn't have normally thought it a high priority - especially since her proposed method of investigation was to become a celebrity athlete and volunteer for medical experiments. It sounded dangerous to me. But if someone has to take that risk, I'd rather it was a mortal sibling than a godling.

Thor's ideas were much more on point - the community needed fresh water and medicine. I enthusiastically endorsed his choice to volunteer at the local mortal clinic, and was even more on board once he mentioned it came with a modest salary. Had we better knowledge of the healing arts, perhaps Ragnarok might have been avoided; not all of our fatal injuries were necessarily mortal.

Week 9, day 4, we have the next set of young adults. Sif is Computer Whiz, Excitable, Inappropriate, Slob, Virtuoso; she has the LTW of Perfect Mind, Perfect Body. She has Athletics 9, Charisma 1, Logic 8, Painting 6, Writing 5. First job in the paper is Professional Sports, so she's lifting Athletics.

Thor is Absent-Minded, Athletic, Excitable, Kleptomaniac, Slob; he has the LTW of The Tinkerer. He has Athletics 7, Charisma 1, Handiness 2, Logic 8, Painting 4, Writing 5. Second job in the paper (skipping Professional Sports) is Medical, so now I have a potential doctor in the family.

Mother finally managed to take over all the corporations in town. We now have a functional market - we can buy and sell, pretty much at will, although there are still far fewer luxury items than we are used to even in Midgard.

Week 9, day 5, Business is lifted. This permits me to get multiple chess sets, become a Business Partner, and to complete all my building. Unfortunately Blair is nowhere near 150k LTR points, so there's really no point killing her yet; she's the best cook in the house.

My youngest siblings were now of age. Balder decided that the true power in Midgard was not held by warriors or priests, but rather by the politicians. A strange concept; certainly even we godlings are more sophisticated than rule by despotism - Father would doubtless agree - but we never established this idea of a democracy. Balder seems poorly suited to this task, but he will doubtless work very hard to achieve his goals, and as his elder I can only give him my support.

Loki has begun to manifest his Trickster aspect. There is power in music, and he is intending to unlock that power - we may be able to end the eternal winter and give more hope to the mortals. I am sure he has an angle, but as long as we benefit, I will tolerate his antics.

Week 9, day 7, the last lot of teens are now actually useful.

Balder is Absent-Minded, Frugal, Grumpy, Light Sleeper, Workaholic; he has the LTW Heartbreaker. He has Athletics 7, Charisma 1, Logic 8, Painting 5, Writing 5. First job in the paper is Politics.

Loki is Excitable, Friendly, Hates the Outdoors, Never Nude, Slob; he has the LTW Renaissance Sim. He has Athletics 8, Charisma 1, Handiness 2, Logic 8, Painting 4, Writing 6. Second job in the paper (skipping Politics) is Law Enforcement, which I can skip; the third job is Music. He'll be going for Symphonic.

With Business lifted, I can defang Criminal. Shortly before Monday arrives, I fill every spare spot with a $115 counter. I then paint every wall with $4 walls, and every floor with $4 floors. A few extra lights fill it out; I ended up spending over $20k and being left with $19. After Monday rolled around, I sold all this after giving the mob their pitiful cut, leaving me with about $15k.

Finally, Mother died. We should learn to harvest this essence; her spiritual stuff is not too dissimilar to our own, but she will not reach Valhalla. Perhaps she will meet Dad on occasional visits from her twisted afterlife; I can only hope we will eventually find a way to free the lost souls from their torment.

Week 10, day 2, at exactly 90 days old, Blair dies, leaving me now to have to live off rotten food until someone else picks up Cooking. Since it is a Monday, that's at least a day away, as I'm not wasting a war-dial day on cooking study.

The network of spies that Frigg put into place revealed staggering information. We had no idea that the giants had infiltrated the mortals - were, in fact, probably responsible for the decline of their civilisation. The cowards fled from us as Ragnarok turned against them, we had thought back to Frostheim - we had not thought to look in Midgard.

This changes everything. We must get out the word; we must defeat our eternal foes once and for all.

Week 12, day 3, Espionage is lifted. On its own this doesn't really do much, but it does permit teens to visit the park until 1500. That's not terrible. No immediate death for Frigg, as she still has quite a way to go for her LTW.

This is also the day that Frigg and Freya become adults. Freya is still 2 promotions away from lifting Journalism.

I became the prime source of all news - and hence, information. I used this power with discretion - from now on, my family will have prime access to any other influential positions we may wish to take. But we are gathering more evidence - the giants days are numbered.

Week 13, day 4, Journalism lifted. Freya has 15 days until she is an elder; it is time to clear some room. Frigg isn't going to be useful from this point onwards; it is unfortunate she didn't make it to her LTW, but Chess Legend is tricky before Gamer.

With Sif now the prime warrior, her genes were spliced into the mortals. The god spark is weak in her, but it is strong enough that the mortals muscles will be able to build properly again.

They will need their strength.

Same day, Athletics is also lifted.

Thor added to Sif's work, taking it further and generalising it to an entire field of healing that we frankly could have used on the battlefield. It is not cowardice to want one's wounds to be treatable. His techniques included customised bacterial agents that cleansed the water supply; we can now finally feel clean again.

I am still unclear as to what Loki's ulterior motives were, but I am no less suspicious. Mere hours after performing an elaborate symphony that caused the clouds over Midgard to part, showing us sunshine for the first time, he departed back to the spirit world. The last sound from his lips was a mocking laughter; while I am certain my brother had his own reasons, nonetheless the hope that he has rekindled in the mortal spirit and even our own cannot be denied. Perhaps our wishes can even come true now.

Symphonic and Medical lifted the next day. Finally some nice stuff. I immediately had Loki Return To Netherworld, as he had already completed his LTW and I need the space. Thor is still at Handiness 9, but he should be able to clear that at the library the next day.

It may seem cruel that Frigg starved to death, but she was but the first of many. I explained that there was a limit to how much godling essence could manifest at once, and even the tiny amount she had was preventing more of us from emerging. I needed children, and she needed to go. If only she had been born understanding, but perhaps a stay in the nether realms will bring her wisdom.

Frigg and Sif are both on death watch, Frigg succumbed first.

With death comes new life. Theodore is strong, a protector of the mortals, and will make a fine father to my children. Though we needed less protectors now and more of Loki's kin - at my urging, he "switched sides", as it were, and is now working with the very criminals he once sought to apprehend. The criminals control much in this town; there is no point trying to shut them down, as they are like vermin. No, instead we will have them work for us.

Theodore was the only young adult male in my list of known associates a couple of days ago; as it turns out he's now an adult, but has 21 days to go, so that's OK. Since I've cleared both Law Enforcement branches, I'm allowed to have him find a new job - Criminal comes up in the paper (recall I am allowed to check all of them now), so I can (and do) pick Master Thief.

Freya gets pregnant (with her new Fertility Treatment).

Things are looking up now!

Sif, too, had to make the same sacrifice and Frigg. There is new life growing within me; I cannot yet tell how much of the spark will be needed, but I suspect it will be considerable.

And so of my siblings, only Balder and Thor remain, and they perhaps not much longer. It is at once exciting and frightening to know that we are passing the torch once more; our battles are coming to a close, but the war must continue. My role must transition from warrior to mother.

But that is a new tale.

Though admittedly, not for Sif.

This makes a good point to switch. The 3rd generation is on the way. Thor needs to go from Athletics 7 to 10, and Handiness 9 to 10. Balder needs a couple more work days to lift Politics,  to go from Athletics 7 to 10, and to be the boyfriend of 6 more Sims. None of these actions should take very long, and should not impede the coming 3rd generation.

Life After Death Part 3: Freya Continued

Still the divine power of the Vanir produces fecundity.

With 2 infants, 2 toddlers, and a pregnant Sim, I'm hoping to get fill the household and - possibly - get Blair gainfully employed to lift a restriction.

We decide to stop at 6 children, or more correctly the zoning commission forbids us more. Both Balder and Loki possess the spark, so my line's continuance is assured even if Freya is unable to fulfil her duties.

I am able to care for the infants, although we are chronically short on money thanks to the weekly visits by thugs. Blair decides to take a job in a local corporation - a sensible answer to a black market is a legal market, and I will share my wisdom to guide her to quick success, even though the only job she was able to get initially was as a coffee courier. I have tried this mortal coffee. I still prefer mead.

Two more ghost baby boys, Balder and Loki. That's a full house. Blair has 16 days to go until she's an elder, plus at least another 15 if I can get to Athletics 10 (currently 6), so she could easily lift a restriction. The problem is going to be Odin; he is 85 days old. He will definitely live another 5, but maybe only another 5; I need 8 days for Frigg and Freya to become teens (so that they can look after the kids). But I only need 4 days for the infants to become children, and I believe that you can go to work as long as there are no unattended toddlers or infants. Worth a shot. She checks the paper and gets Business - no specific skill requirements, but Charisma is handy, so I have her use the mirror.

The mortal technology confounds me - or perhaps Loki has inherited some measure of his namesake's powers. I do not understand how repairing a typewriter can start a fire - but I cannot deny that this occurred. Fortunately Blair and I were quickly able to extinguish it. My youngest son will bear watching.

Our cramped quarters are taking their toll. We have to sleep in shifts, and the children often refuse to share a bed. In Asgard we used to have an invention called "The Beds of Bunking", but it seems Fenrir ate the innovation generations ago.

My grip on my body gradually slipped away.

Odin's attempt to fix the broken computer is less than optimal. :) I've never had it start a fire before, but there you go - it's possible. Of course he cannot be electrocuted or, indeed, burn to death - ghosts cannot die except from old age - but obviously I'd rather not lose a bunch of items from it. I ended up with the desk and the computer getting burned; the insurance was not enough to cover them both. The usual one item per day rule applies for replacing broken items, so I replaced the desk, but then I had to wait for the weekly royalty check to replace the computer.

Money is tight, and I don't have enough beds for everyone. The first generation is often fairly miserable for a while.

I am still capable of guidance for a short while longer though. Freya must be steered to at least her teenage years.

Odin "died" at 91 days old. When a ghost returns to the netherworld, it does not trigger mourning or a visit by Grim - so no mood crash.

The next few days pass without incident; Blair gets the Fitness Nut challenge with 8 days to go until Elder (but still only Athletics 8 - now, though, she can Quick Burst forever).

Finally Freya inherits the full knowledge of her place in the grand design; with her teenage years upon her, it is time for her to run the family. I will seek Fenrir in the spirit world, and find my ravens.

The first set of twins are now teenagers. It is Week 6, Day 7. Things are off to a pretty reasonable start.

Life After Death Part 2: Freya

With old age creeping up on me, I decided to try and get my ectoplasmic body into shape. Woe is the god that is forced to do degrading jumping jacks like a fat mortal, but Asgard is distant, and I cannot be choosy.

Last time I'd just had Odin get Blair pregnant. With only 2 days to go to elder, and no Athletics points, it's time to give some thought to how I'm going to be paying bills. Once Odin becomes an elder, he can't leave the lot, so he can't work. So it's time for him to become a novelist. On the other hand, he is off a few days for marriage (and he's besties with his boss, so that's OK) - I will, of course, push him to work out as hard as he can.

My children were born - twin girls. I named the first after my beloved wife Frigg, although she has favoured her mother's side. It is Freya upon whom I lavish attention; the spark of the divine is within her, and the Vanir sing her to sleep.

Blair is also working out to the Kids channel, as well as learning Cooking (the first point is key, otherwise no group meals are possible).

My children are broken. They should be free of physical and mental imperfections as befits their divine nature; they are neither. Frigg's lack of coordination is easily visible even as an infant; Freya seems barely able to concentrate.

It has been eons since I had to raise a child; I have no idea how. I believe it is traditional to teach the toddlers to walk, to talk, and to take care of their bodily functions. But it is more important to feed and clothe them; as my elderly body is deemed unfit to leave the house now, I cannot work to support my family, and must instead write tales of "mythology" to support us. This takes all of my time, except when I am desperately trying to improve my body to get more steady employment. And Blair cannot be expected to teach toddlers when she is pregnant with more of our children.

They will have to learn these skills themselves. A true Asgardian is self reliant.

Frigg is Clumsy and Evil; Freya is Absent-Minded and Easily Impressed (remember I have to randomise the traits, as I haven't lifted Education). Not good, but at least I have a valid heir in Freya.

It is at this point a decision needs to be made. Blair is about to hit adult; I can either now get her a job, or else I can have her keep having babies. Since with book royalties I ought to be able to pay bills, and since Blair will struggle to get a lift just based on her lack of skills (she came in with only Logic 1; she has added Athletic 3, Cooking 2, and Painting 2 to that), I decide to continue with the babies.

With no Education lifted, there is no benefit to teaching toddler skills. So other than a teddy bear each, the toddlers are basically only fed and treated to diaper changes.

By exercising to the tune of the Vanir, which the children seem to love, Blair has given me twins again - Thor and Sif. Thor has the spark of the divine, but sadly Sif does not.

Thor and Sif are born; as you can see, Thor is also a ghost baby, just in case something bad happens to Freya. I immediately get Blair pregnant again; with any luck the third set of twins will fill the household. Sadly she's only at Athletic 5 so I don't see a lot of hope with her getting a lift, but that's OK.

This is also the point where money might start to become a problem; on Tuesday at 0157, we have $50. But while that's going to be rough, it should be sufficient to cover the Thursday bills, and then the royalties on Sunday will cover Monday's bills just in time for the mob to take the rest.

A little over 4 weeks in, the heir is born, and the toddlers will become children at the same point the infants become toddlers. It's going OK.

Life After Death Part 1: Odin

In the past, we were the Asgard - we were the gods of these mortals. When we raged, Midgard trembled. When we cried, the oceans swelled. When we laughed, the mortals experienced a golden age of joy.

But though a mortal lifetime is but of a blink of an eye to a god, yet still we are not immortal. We age, we can be wounded - and we can die. The greatest battle of our age was called Ragnarok - and it was the end of the world.

And as is always the case, the end of the world is also a beginning. The mortals we had once lorded it over were not entirely gone; their world was damaged, their society in ruins, but they were still alive and some remnants of their former civilisation still remained. Even their gods were still alive in some fashion.

Unable to achieve corporeal form, we dead gods drifted as spirits. But as father of the Asgard, and the most powerful of all the nine realms, it was I, Odin, who first managed to achieve some semblance of a body. Not crude flesh, it was slow and terrifying for mortals to look upon - but it was a way to slowly regain our birthright.

There was much to do. In our arrogance we had forgotten that we of the Asgard need mortals far more than the mortals need us. To rekindle my children and brethren, I must live amongst the mortals, I must be a guiding hand to show them that all is not lost. Generations shall come and go, but Asgard is patient, and what once was shall be again.

The humans suffer from aging so badly now, and even my own spirit form was not immune to the seductive call of decrepitude. The mortals needed inspiration, and order, and the rule of law - I decided to join their fledging city guard, and applied for a housing grant. When the mortals got over their shock and terror at my appearance, I was able to convince them that they really couldn't afford to turn anyone away from the relief efforts - Ragnorok was still a recent memory. With some trepidation, they told me to report for some simple undercover work the next day, and gave me enough materials and funding to build a simple living space.

It is no Valhalla, but it will suffice.

This is the first of my blogs for the February 2016 Sims 3 Apocalypse Challenge tournament. In my endless quest to try new and different things, this time around I'm playing with the base game + Supernatural only (I need Supernatural to be able to create my Ghost founder). I'm using the advantages "What do you wanna be when you grow up?" and "Big backpacks", and the handicaps "Prestige occult (ghost)", "Male founder", "Get off my lawn!", and "We don't need no education", which totals to exactly 100 points. The challenge is taking place in Sunset Valley.

If this is your first time reading one of my S3AC blogs, then welcome! As an adjudicator, I am ineligible for prizes in the tournament, so my blogs are intended to be instructional. On the left you'll see my story telling description. In this column, you'll get the mechanics - what choices I'm making, why I'm making those choices, and on occasion a few Sims 3 secrets that may not be well known to some newer players. The level of detail I use depends largely on what I'm in the mood for, but if you're reasonably familiar with the Sims 3, and have access to the rules wiki for the challenge, you should be able to follow along.

So, let's get stuck in. I'm not going to bother with "seeding the neighbourhood" as with a base game only challenge, it shouldn't be necessary - there should be enough Sims around for me to marry. I declare my network as Central Park, Bachelor, Bunch, Hart, City Hall, and the Library, and then I edit Central Park to remove the grills. I will be using 299 Skyborough Lane as my lot, which is nicely between my selected neighbours (though it's only 40x40, so I'll have to reduce my funds).

Since I've selected "What do you wanna be when you grow up?", I roll for my founder now, and get a 5; I have a choice of Culinary, Symphonic, or Forensics. Normally, Symphonic would be the strongest choice here, followed by Culinary. However, since I've selected "Get off my lawn!" as one of my handicaps, Forensics is a really strong choice - it will allow Odin to be a controllable elder. It's hard to turn that down, so Forensics it is. A quick check of the wiki shows me that my only choice here is Law Enforcement - Dynamic DNA Profiler. That should be doable, though it does mean that I'll have to go out and meet a lot of people to report on them.

It's time to fire up Create A Sim. I create a Male Founder called Odin Ectoplasmic, with the "Haunting Curse" death type. His traits are Ambitious, Artistic, Athletic, Genius, and Slob, with the LTW to become a Dynamic DNA Profiler. I place him on his starting lot, then edit his cash down to $8308, and make sure all the aging and other parameters are correct. I'm playing with Free Will Off, and I've set the Advanced Demographics to not have any Vampires, Werewolves, Fairies, or Witches. Since I'm using the NRAAS Story Progression mod, I then go in and set the caste options for Death: Allow Aging to True for ghosts - otherwise ghosts are immortal. I take the opportunity to zap my funds to $8308 as well, and then I get a job in Law Enforcement.

I build a basement style house with all the necessities and even a car (I'm leaving out a computer for now, but I bought the desk) and had $1609 left; after buying the three gardening books, that was down to $9. 

It would seem my decision to aid the forces of order was well chosen. Barely a week into my service, I was accosted by thugs that even frost giants would turn away from their company. Were I my former self I would rend them limb from limb, perhaps to fry in the lightning of my son - but alas, we must not overreach. I paid them, grudgingly, and with vengeance in mind.

In a short time the mortals gave me my own patrol car. I find it similar to Sleipnir, though far slower. Asgard still sings to me at night, and try as I might I cannot yet capture its glory on the canvas and paints I have been supplied.

The rest of the day was spent building Logic. Odin got about half a bar of job performance on the Monday; when he got home, I started him war dialling his boss (with no Generations, this is not as strictly necessary, but it doesn't hurt, and can be used for promotions). This can be done because it's a Monday, and it nicely builds back my Fun.

As a ghost, it's important to be aware of their slow movement - you will lose some time with this, and that's part of the reason it's worth so many points.

At the end of the first week, Odin has Charisma 4, Logic 4, and Painting 1; he is a Patrol Officer. There are 15 days remaining for 6 promotions.

By the end of the second week, Odin has Charisma 4, Logic 6, and Painting 4; he is a Crime Scene Technician, and he has 8 days for 3 promotions. It is going to be close. But on the next day, I manage (with Ask for Promotion) to get to Sketch Artist.

The third week ends with Charisma 5, Logic 7, Painting 7; he is a 3D Crime Scene Modeller, and has about 50% performance with good metrics. It is 2 days until he becomes an elder, but hopefully he'll make it on the Monday.

I may not be able to capture Asgard on canvas, but my painting skills and the wisdom gained from Mimir have made me able to identify criminals by trace elements of their flesh. As a reward, I am given leave to seek a bride. It cost me an eye, but my wisdom has revealed the way to end the premature senility of the mortals - and myself.

I have grown close to my old mortal partner in the police unit. She progressed not as quickly as I, but she is still young and will make a fine mother to gods.

Hopelessness lifted, Forensics lifted. Elders are now controllable. With time to spare, in the end, though it was a push.

I use the "Throw Party" interaction here - not to actually throw a party, but the side effect is it will tell you the age category of all your contacts. It turns out only one female known to Odin is still a young adult - his partner in the force. Not ideal, but age trumps everything else, since I need to have enough kids to guarantee a ghost baby. So I have Odin bring her over and put on the moves. She was of course already in a relationship (thanks, NRAAS Story Progression!) but that didn't really represent even a speed bump.

Of course she accepted my proposal, and in seemingly no time she was with child. This is gratifying - I was not certain mortals could bear our children - but will my line breed true? No mortal descendent of mine can ever truly be my heir. If this requires many children, poor Blair will have to bear them.

Blair Wainwright-nee-Ectoplasmic is now up the duff. Will it be a ghost baby and potential heir? That's an excellent question. I hope so. Let's find out next time.