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Ethan Forlorn was a fisherman. That's all he really knew, and he'd worked hard for it. It never came naturally to him, but he stuck at it because - let's face it - living on an island doesn't give you much else to do! He struck up a deal with the markets on the mainland, and started making a decent profit for all the fish he'd catch. While he enjoyed his days looking out to sea, he knew something was missing in his life, and it wasn't hard to work out what! He saved up as much money as he could, then hopped on a plane to Egypt, to see the pyramids and meet some locals. This is where he met Layla, who was fresh out of high school and still living with her overweight sister and overworked mother. It was love at first sight, and before the end of Ethan's visit, they were married.
Married or not, however, it was no easy task convincing Layla to leave all she knows to come and live with him on a tiny island, with nobody else for hundreds of kilometres. "We'll have babies, as many as you want!" Ethan promised. "And they'll grow to be whoever you wish them to, without outside influences! They'll wake up to the smell of sea salt every morning, and watch the moon hang over the ocean every night! I'll teach them to fish, and I'll give them all the toys and books they could want!"
Still smitten from the quickie marriage and still naive, Layla agreed, and before she could even catch her breath, they were on Ethan's island.
The house wasn't much...in fact, it wasn't even a house at all. "You didn't tell me you slept in a TENT! You didn't tell me we have to eat yogurt and canned soap out of a bar fridge!"
"I'm sorry, I spent all my savings on my plane ticket. Don't worry, we'll work something out. We'll have a house before you know it!"
Ethan kept fishing, all day and well into each night, and Layla started painting. She became very good at it, with galleries around the globe buying her paintings, some even calling them 'masterpieces'. Finally, they had enough to sell the tent and build a house. It wasn't much, but after living rough for so long, anything with a roof on it was pure luxury. Things were finally looking up for the young couple, especially after Layla announced she was pregnant. Ethan was ecstatic, as he knew how lonely his wife had been feeling, but he was also concerned as there was no way to get any medical help for her. Without a hospital or doctor's surgery, they couldn't have any ultrasounds or tests, and if something were to go wrong, it was up to Ethan to fix it. Luckily, as the months progressed, everything went very well. They saved up enough money to add a nursery, and buy toys and wallpaper. The labor came quickly, and before they knew it, their son Einer had been born. Something wasn't right though, the labor kept going. Suddenly, a second baby arrived - a little girl named Isola. Twins! Layla couldn't have been happier. Ethan was concerned about how they could possibly afford two babies, but didn't share this with his wife. He'd promised her the world for her sacrifice, and he wasn't going to let her down.
The family fell into a routine. Ethan would fish at night while Layla slept, tending to the babies when they needed to be fed or changed, and would sell his collections off each morning. Layla would get up, tend to the twins, then paint all day while Ethan slept. It worked well, and the money kept rolling in. "We're so blessed to have twins so they can keep each other company," Layla said. "We work too hard, if we only had one child they'd be so lonely."
The months turned to years, and the twins grew into healthy young adults. Einer learnt how to fish when was barely out of diapers, while Isola seemed naturally talented with a paintbrush - even more so than her mother. Suddenly, money problems were a thing of the past, and their little house turned into a four-storey-and-a-basement mini-mansion.
On the twins 21st birthdays, Einer announced he was going on a trip to France, to meet people and fish on different seas. His parents couldn't have been more thrilled, and encouraged his sister to go too. "No, this is Einer's journey. He needs time to himself." Isola insisted. "Besides, I'm okay here. I enjoy the solitude."
Within two weeks, Einer was in France. Everything so was different from what he'd grown up knowing that was very overwhelming. He got lost very easily (after all, he'd never needed to know how to read a map before!), and was looking for someone who might be able to tell him where he needed to go. This is how he met Charlotte, a free spirit who had been travelling the world but had recently come back home to work. Much like his father did with his mother, he proposed and married her before returning home.
He didn't need to convince her to come with him though, she loved the idea of a little island and couldn't wait to live there. Charlotte was a very good writer, and started straight away. They also started trying for a baby straight away, and within the year, they welcomed their first son Noah into the world...followed not long after by their second son, Coby. The house was near bursting point, but Einer longed for a daughter. "We can't have any more, Einer." Charlotte insisted, "we live on an island with your parents and sister. The place can't handle any more!"
"Please, Char. Just one more. Three is the magic number. Please?" He begged. This arguement dragged on for a long time, as both their sons slowly grew to children. Then came the day nobody wanted to face...the day Ethan passed on. Everyone was distraught. It was hard to imagine a house without him in it. Everyone got lost in their own little worlds, until Charlotte pulled Einer aside. "I have to tell you something. I've been putting it off for awhile now, since...you know. But I have to tell you. I'm pregnant."
Einer, despite still being very upset about his father's passing, was thrilled. He couldn't wait to meet his daughter, and would dream of her face every night. Then the day came when Charlotte went into labor, and the welcomed into the world little Trey, their third son. Einer tried to hide his disappointment, but struggled. It wasn't until Trey was a couple of years old that Einer noticed his son's striking resemblance to his late father. The same while bone hair and boyish good looks. This made Einer realize that he was lucky, he had three wonderful kids and he doesn't need a daughter for them to be complete.
The boys grew quickly, and before anyone knew it, they were young men. Noah was a fisherman like his father and grandfather; Coby spent every night with his telescrope pointed skyward, and discovered many stars, planets and galaxies; and Trey was heavily into fitness, and would spent hours each day running on the treadmill or lifting weights. It was this that took him to China on his 25th birthday, where he could begin to learn martial arts. He never quite learnt the skill though, as he met a lady named Lu who he instantly knew would be the love of his life. The only problem was, she was already married. Luckily for Trey, she felt the connection too, and quickly divorced her husband, whom she had met and married when she was only 15.
It was a relief for the both of them to leave China and the divorce behind, and they settled down quickly back on the island. Lu fell pregnant almost instantly, and the family soon welcomed their next generation, a son named Taro. Taro could write almost before he could talk, and his grandmother Charlotte was happy to guide him.
Soon, even though he was barely ten, he was making money off his books. Trey and Lu were so proud of their son, and on the release of his biggest hit, they bought him a plane ticket to Egypt - "Where your great-grandfather met your great-grandmother and allowed this all to be possible!" Trey explained.
"Don't you want to come with me, dad? It can be a father-son adventure!" he asked. They'd always been close, in both looks and relationship, so the offer was very tempting for Trey.
"No, I can't. This is your time to shine. Go out and see the world. You don't want your dorky old dad cramping your style."
Taro set off, unsure of what to expect. He'd never really been inclined to leave the island, after all, he had everything in the world right there. His dad had asked him to go though, and he'd never said no to his dad before. It took him a week to get the courage up to even leave the base camp. He headed to an old tomb to see what all his campmates had been talking about. That's where he met Shadia, a quiet-spoken girl who worked at the tombs. She sensed his unease and they started talking. Before long, they'd arranged a date for that night, and within three months, Shadia was pregnant. "Marry me, then?" Taro asked, on one knee. "I'll get you out of the horrible job, and you can live with my family. We had a big house and it's right on the beach!"
Shadia accepted, and said farewell to her homeland. The baby was born in the early hours of the morning, a son named Quintero (meaning 'five'). Just like all his forefather's, he was born was a head of white-blonde hair, despite his mix of Egyptian, Chinese and French. His little sister Cailynn followed soon after.
The house was full of love and noise again, just the way Taro thought it should be. "Dad had two siblings, I had none. I think dad had it better than me. Always someone to talk to. Let's try for one more." Taro asked. Their son arrived ten months later.
"What should we name him?" Shadia asked.
"Ethan. After my great-great grandfather."
The children slowly grew, and all enjoyed fishing and playing video games. Before too long, Quintero was blowing out the candles on his birthday cake. "Happy 21st birthday son! Which part of the earth are you going to head off to?"
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I had fun with this challenge, though towards the end it got a little drawn out. They were ridiculously rich by the 3rd generation, and didn't have the room to buy stuff with the money. There wasn't any need to do things for an income (other than to pass the time). The one thing I do suggest to anyone starting off - when you start building, leave enough room for graves, or enough space for urns! I made my house as wide as the island allowed, which left very little space for graves...so in the end, the house had urns sitting everywhere. You could put them into someones inventory but I find that a little unrealistic...who carries someone's remains with them 24/7? I also tried to tie in the Perfect Genetics theme, and managed to keep my original sim Ethan's hair colour throughout, despite each generation marrying a girl with black hair.
"It's sticks and stones and broken homes, that taught us how to smile." - The Bens