The Broke Legacy: Gen 5.1

[simgaroop]

Previous update: Gen 5.0






Helena's postcards and e-mails were detailed enough to let Tim's mind travel to the different places she visited during her years away from Strangetown.
On those lonely nights spent at the dorm, Tim often dreamed of being in that small exotic island Helena had described as a "Taste of paradise on SimEarth".




A couple years later, as he stepped out from the cab, Tim realized that Helena's description paled compared to the sight in front of him.
This was it: Twikki Island.
He could barely believe he was going to spend the next ten months in this place, filming his first main role at a Studio City super production.




And with his new wife, Marsha Broke, by his side, Tim couldn't wish for anything else.
It was a dream come true.




This was also Marsha's first trip away from Strangetown.
Although she was born in Sim City, she had moved to the desert town when she was a little girl.
Just like Tim, she was marveled by the sight of the blue sea and the salty essence of the air.




Tim and Marsha spent their first two weeks as husband and wife enjoying the sights and warm climate of Twikki Islands.




Tim spent a few days combing the soft sand for seashells for his youngest brother and niece.




Unfortunately, his search was fruitless.
Perhaps once he were filming on a virgin beach at the other side of the island, he might found something worthy, right?




Tim was sure that his siblings would love the sea as much as he did.
He vowed that as soon as he earned enough money (and moved back to Strangetown once the film was done), he'd bring his family here on vacation.
He could already imagine the castles that Cody would build, and the serene smile that would illuminate his mother's face as she watched the waves.
He missed them... and he felt guilty for leaving the way he did.
He wished they'd been at Londoste the night he had married Marsha.
The night he had stolen her from Hobbes' side.




Tim and Marsha had found Hobbes' farewell letter tucked inside Marsha's car.
They could hardly believe that he was currently traveling across the stars with his twin brother, Calvin.
Although Hobbes had forgiven him, Tim still felt guilty for his actions.
He hoped his cousin would return one day to SimEarth. He owed him at least an apology.




Tim and Marsha would never forget the first night they spent at Twikki Island.
Their first night as a married couple.
The night they finally fulfilled the passion and love that brought them together so many years before.
Hobbes shouldn't worry at all- thought Tim as he felt Marsha's lips on his skin- I’ll spend the rest of my life making Marsha happy.




Soon, their lazy Honeymoon days were over, and Tim had to go back to work.







He spent several days (and a couple nights) learning the ancient Fire Dancing technique.




As he practiced his newly acquired skill, Tim wondered how much he'd be paid if he performed at Strangetown's nightclubs as he used to do as a teen.
His parodies and jokes paled compared to the things he had learned across the years.

_______________________________




One night, as they were walking back to their hotel, Tim decided to follow a shortcut his Fire Dancing teacher had told him about.
Tim was not used to walking across the thick flora of the island, so they found themselves wandering around without a clue of their final destination.
They were lost.




Marsha was extremely tired, and she could barely keep her eyes open.
She'd been feeling that way for a couple weeks.
She suspected she was pregnant, but now was not the time to distract her husband with her theories.
Finding their way back home was their current priority.




Suddenly, they heard someone loudly screaming.
Whoever it was, he sounded in pain, so Tim and Marsha looked for him.
He probably needed help.




Tim and Marsha found a small house hidden between the foliage.
An odd man wearing a mask was grunting inside of it, visibly upset by the broken state of his belongings.
The man introduced himself as the Witch Doctor, and quickly accepted Tim's offer for help.
"I can't even offer you a cup of coffee right now! Everything is broken! I suspect I was cursed by those Hula Dancers again!"




"So what do you say, Marsha? Should we give a hand to this guy?"
"Of course, Tim!"
"Are you sure? You weren't feeling well a little while ago..."
"Nah, it'll pass! Let's get to work!"




Once Helena graduated, Tim was forced to look for new ways to save some money to pay the rent of his apartment.
He eventually moved to a dorm, but those few weeks on his own forced him to learn a couple mechanical skills.
He couldn't even pay a repair man back then!




Marsha and Tim worked in silence for almost an hour.
Before they knew it, all the Witch Doctor's broken appliances were as good as new!




The Witch Doctor was extremely happy for their success.
"I deeply appreciate your efforts, kind strangers. If there's anything I can do in exchange of your help, just ask for it."
"Don't worry, we were glad to help. If only you were so kind to show us the correct path back to the Hotel zone, that'd be more than enough."




The man looked at Tim and Marsha for a couple seconds. His eyes narrowed, and Tim felt strangely uneasy.
"I sense a dark times in your path, young man."
"What are you talking about?"
"Ummm... perhaps not you, but those who are close to you. I feel the presence of an evil energy that's waited for too long to achieve its revenge against your family."
"Th... that makes no sense! Who'd want to have revenge on us? I... I really don't think my issues with David Ottomas are so serious and..."

"Take this, young man..."
"Uh... don't worry, I told you that it's not..."
"Just take it, please. It'll protect you from the dark clouds ahead."
"What is it? How..."
"You'll know when and how to use its protection when the right moment arrives. Keep it always close to you and your loved ones’ lives might be saved."

Tim glanced at Marsha. She looked pale and scared. "Well I..."
"You'll find your hotel if you keep walking through that path over there..."- the Witch Doctor pointed to the southeast- "Now go on and protect your family, Timothy Broke. Until we see each other again..."
"Thank you..."

Tim and Marsha arrived safely to their hotel.
Later, when Tim was lying on his bed, he suddenly felt his blood freeze: "I never told him my name! How did he...?"

He shook his head and looked at Marsha, who was already asleep. He held her close to him the rest of the night.
He didn't think about the strange Witch Doctor or his words in 7 years.

_________________________________




The months went by and Tim spent most of his time working on the movie set.










He felt guilty for leaving her at the hotel.
He was worried she'd feel lonely or sad.
So, he still made some time to visit Twikki Island's landmarks with Marsha.




Before he knew it, though, the film was complete!
It'd be released the following summer.
Tim was in love with the movie's script, depicting the adventures of a daring group of pirates in search of the elusive hidden booty.
According to legends, the booty contained the clues to reach a life of beauty, health and prosperity.
It used to be shared freely in the ancient times, until a group of mercenaries stole and sold it in exchange of fame, money and power.
The movie was mostly a light-hearted comedy, and Tim hoped it'd open the door to more job opportunities in the comedy scene.




Tim and Marsha packed up their things and said goodbye to Twikki Islands.
They'd miss the humid climate and the friendly locals, but they were dying to see their loved ones again.
They could hardly wait to start a normal life as a married couple.




After a short stop at SimCity to visit Marsha's parents (who moved there after the Wedding Scandal), Tim and Marsha were finally back at Strangetown.
Back at home.
But things had changed a lot during their absence.

________________________________________




Tim felt lost as he looked around the empty rooms of his childhood home.
There was no trace of his family left.
Gone were the crayon drawings Helena did to "decorate" the living room's walls.
Gone was the swing set where Rosie used to sit on to watch the Grunt's household, waiting for the small window in the back to open, so she could at least see the kind face of her best friend.
And gone were the old furniture in the attic, where Tim and Marsha had shared their first kiss many years before.




The memories were gone. The house no longer felt like his home.
Where was everyone?




"Relax Tim. I'm sure your family moved into a new house, just like my parents did."
"Yeah..."
"Oh! I know! We should ask Mr. Grunt! He should obviously know where his son is!"




"Then what are we waiting for? Let's pay a visit to the General. After all, Little Tommy must be dying to meet his grandparents, right?"




Tim and Marsha spent a long time chatting with the General.
Despite his advanced age, he was still a very strong and healthy man.
The General confirmed Marsha's suspicions: The Brokes had indeed moved to a new, larger house at the other side of Strangetown.
But Tim was shocked by the other news his former neighbor had to share.
Helena was back! And she had given birth to Ripp Grunt's son! How was that possible?
"Helena told me the complete story when I met little Pippin, but I guess it'd be better if you heard it directly from her. I'm thankful to your sister, Timothy, for she not only has brought a new source of joy in my life with my grandson, but also relief and hope to see Ripp again someday..."




Tim stopped by Helena's place on their way to the Broke household.
The two siblings, who were always the closest of them all, exchanged a long, warm hug.
It'd been almost three years since the last time they'd been together.
Tim had missed his sister the most during those months before Marsha's wedding.




Helena was thrilled to see her brother so happy as a married man.
She was also excited when he announced the future arrival of his first son, Thomas.
Helena wasted no time to share her experience as a mother with Marsha.




Meanwhile, Tim got to know his nephew, Pippin Grunt-Summerdream.




A couple hours later, Helena asked Tim for a few moments in private.
There was something important they had to discuss.
"Tim... these last few months have been hard for our parents. Rosie and Buck bought the new house hoping a change of scenery would bring Mom out of her depression..."
"Mom... depressed? Are you serious?"- Tim could hardly imagine his cheerful mother that way. Wanda Broke had always been a sunny woman, always ready to face a new challenge with a smile.




"When Marsha and you ran away... Uncle Andrew felt ashamed and betrayed. And I'm afraid my unexpected arrival, pregnant with the son of another man despite being engaged to Calvin made things even worse..."




"Uncle Andrew blamed Mom for his sons' departure. He believes both Calvin and Hobbes left with the Graslaxians out of shame for our betrayal. Hobbes left a letter to his parents, but I guess he wasn't clear enough. He thinks they are not coming back... no matter how much I tried to convince him of the opposite. I'm sure Calvin will come back one day...

"Anyway, Uncle Andrew said that Mom was guilty of not teaching us the importance of family. He said she raised us to be irresponsible sims who'd dare to betray their own blood..."




"That's not true! He has no idea how things really happened..."
"Yes... that's what Dad said too. Despite being best friends for almost 50 years, Uncle Andrew and Dad got into an awful fight. They said so many horrible things to each other... they were impulsive... they didn't care what their words might do to their friendship. In the end, Uncle Andrew said he no longer considered Dad as his friend... nor Mom as his sister. For him, we are all dead."
"What?!"




"Mom broke down in tears. Rosie and Buck tried to calm her, but she was devastated. She said Uncle Andrew and her were always very close, and she wasn't sure she could deal with losing her brother that way. I felt awful too... I was in part responsible of all this..."
"But Helena..."
"I'm sure Calvin is happy for me, Tim. I'm sure he's glad I was able to find Ripp and fulfill my destiny as a Graslaxian half-breed. I'll tell you the complete story later, I promise... but... for now, I just wanted to warn you about the state of things at home..."
"Don't worry, sis. I'll do everything to help Mom."
"I hope so, Tim... perhaps she'll cheer up when she sees you..."




"Yeah... and my family too..."

_____________________________




Tim felt extremely nervous when he finally arrived to the Broke's new place.
It was a beautiful house, completely different from his childhood home.
Despite that, Tim could feel the sadness emanating from its walls.
He was scared of what he'd find inside.




Suddenly, he heard a loud gasp.
"Tim!"- exclaimed Wanda Broke as she noticed her son. She could barely believe her eyes!




Trying hard to not pay attention at how much his Mother had aged in just a couple months, Tim hugged her tightly.
"I'm home, Mom."
"Thank Goodness you are all right! I've been so worried for you..."
"I sent letters every week mom... but now I realize you probably never got them. That explains why you never answered..."




Wanda was not surprised to see Marsha, until she noticed her large belly.
Although she wasn't precisely happy with the way Tim or Marsha had handled the whole Hobbes’ fiasco, she welcomed her to the Broke family with open arms.




"Tim! Where have you been, little bro?!"




"I'm so glad you are safe. We've missed you so much!"
"I've missed you too, Rosie. More than words can tell... and I'm so..."




"Bro?! Is that you?!"




"Cody!"
"It is you, Tim! I'm so happy to see you!"




"Wow, Cody! You've grown so much! I can barely recognize you!"




"Sheesh, Tim! You are talking just like Aunt Tamara!"




Despite the sadness that clouded his mother's eyes, Tim was glad to see the rest of his family all right.
Perhaps Helena was exaggerating.
Perhaps things would go back to normal pretty soon... despite everything that happened...
"What's going on here?"




"Dad! I'm so glad to..."
"Get away from me!"
"What? Dad? What's?"
"Don't you DARE come back to this house and pretend that nothing has happened. At least Helena was sorry for what she did! Can't you see how much your actions hurt our family?! Have some shame, Timothy!"




"Dad... I..."
"Just stay away, Tim."
"At least let me explain, Dad!"
"There's nothing to talk about... You've really disappointed me..."




And as Puck Broke left the room, Tim realized that things were far away from normal.
He wondered if they'd ever go back to the way they were....



________________________________________
Notes:

- I'd like to thank you for the feedback you gave me earlier today. I was surprised to find so many comments and opinions in my inbox. Thank you so much for your kind help.
- As you can see, I've decided to make my updates shorter. I'm also trying to keep my picture count low for those who have dial-up connections, so I've cut out those few pics that added little to the update plot-wise. This doesn't mean there won't be details, filler and other random tidbits as always. Those will stay for sure, along with plenty of "face-time" for all my sims (as possible). This is only a "format change" to make things easier to both my readers and myself.
- Of course, having shorter updates means that I'll probably update more frequently, and that my future Generations might have 10 chapters each (or more, who knows?).
- As soon as I'm done with this week's updates (I currently have enough material for three other "short" updates), I'll work on creating character bios like some of you suggested. Meanwhile, there's a recap somewhere in this journal.
- This update felt a bit "choppy", because these were the first pics I took of the new neighborhood. You already know the game issues I had this last month, so I'm afraid I wasn't able to make the transition between the "old Strangetown" and the "New Strangetown" as smooth as I wished. Nonetheless, things will go back to their usual rhythm next time.

Finally, I'm so glad I was able to update tonight. Why? One year ago I posted the Prologue of the Broke Legacy. Yup, today's my silly story's anniversary! Thank you so much for a very fun year, playing and sharing my sims and their wacky adventures with you! :)

- See you next time (later this week!).