The Seraphim Immortal Dynasty: A Sims 3 Story LP

Hello there, Playground! For the past while or so, I've been doing a let's-play like project on another forum, specifically Carl and Pam's Sims 3 and Medieval Forums. It's a Sims 3 story, using the rules of their Immortal Dynasty Challenge. In this challenge, your basic objective is to guide 8 generations of sims through rigorous qualifications, and after a generation has met those, allow them to become immortal by giving them frequent Ambrosia, a food that resets a sim's lifespan to the start of the stage of life they're in.

I decided to tell a story of my attempt to complete this challenge, a story about a pair of angels who did not fall so much as stumble their way about halfway down. While the central characters are angels, I do not intend for this story to be religiously-grounded or deal with religious themes: they're basically fantasy-style angels, with a Fantasy-style city of the heavens, as opposed to anything from a specific set of beliefs. I just felt the need to get that disclaimer out of the way.

Anyway, I've decided to also tell the story here, so people on GitP who like my LP work can enjoy. The first 10 chapters or so will get added up here fairly quickly, since they're on the other site. After that, it'll update on a when-I-can-basis. There probably will not be a lot of voting, though there may be some where some of the later spouse hunts are involved.

Prologue: Leaving Limbo

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In a place beyond reality, which is neither here nor there, two beings lounge. Against the whiteness of the great void of limbo, they’ve somehow managed to find or make a place where the two of them can sit and calmly discuss their fates. The two of them were once angels of the silver city of the heavens, beings divine and immortal and goodness itself. But that was before the war that split the heavens. They were not the ones who rebelled against the order of the angels. They were not the winners of the war, part of the established system. When the war came, this pair wavered between sides.

And so they were sent to the no-place, limbo, for their weakness and indecision. It is neither pleasant nor unpleasant, and as time does not quite exist in limbo, it is hard to say if they have been here for a minute or a million years. But, they have consoled themselves, they at least have one-another. The two look very much alike, more so than other angels look like one-another. But there are differences. Being angels, they don’t have genders in the human sense. Still, one of them, standing before the other now and full of energy, is taller and broader, and can be reffered to as a ‘he’; the one sitting comfortably in the seat is willowy and delicate-featured, and can be called a ‘she.’ By name, he is Uriel and she is Ariel.
And right now, Uriel is saying something, waving a hand at a piece of parchment in Ariel’s hands.

“No, seriously! They’ll actually let us back in! I’ve got it on good word!”
“If we do all of that, they’ll let us back into the heavens?...Why?” Ariel stopped looking at the paper and watched him. The paper explained a long and complicated ceremony, rigid in its rules.

“…I have no idea. Maybe they like the idea of the sacrifice and the faith there: I mean, becoming mortal, doing your best to be the utmost of a human being, and guiding 7 generations of descendants through the same, to do all that? That sounds like the sort of heroism they’re nuts for.”
“…But to become mortal, to become human… That’s…”
“Hey! No guts, no glory, right, babydoll?”
“…But we’d have to do this alone.”

At this, Uriel freezes. Ariel watches him with a little sad smile, as if she expected this surprise. He begins to pace.
“Alone.”

“I’m almost certain it’s so, since it starts with one and only one.” She explains, looking at the rules and reading them again, her luminous eyes darting quickly across the page. Uriel frets.

“...Do you want to go home?” He asks at last.

“To see the flowers of the heavens again…” She murmurs beatifically. In her mind’s eye, she pictures the gardens that she once loved so much. Nothing grows in limbo; she tried for a very long time to bring some growth, but limbo’s space has no fertility in it. She opens her eyes and sees Uriel’s face very close to her own.

“T-then you go. And I’ll do everything in my power to help you, sweetie.”
“You mean that, Uriel?”
“Of course! Leave everything to me! I’ll make all the arrangements… And I promise I’ll find a way to go with you.”

She nods and takes his hands. She does not like the idea of growing old, or involving other people in her own quest. But to bring into the world new angels, to return herself to her own beautiful city, to the garden she once tended, of flowers so lovely they defied human description.
But she would have to find words now – now that she’d be human.
… Well, she whispers in her heart, at least it will be a break from limbo.

Table of Contents

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Chapter 1: Moving In
Chapter 2: Thiiis close to a title drop
Chapter 3: Ordinary Days
Chapter 4: Light In a Darkened Place
Chapter 5: The Fruit Love Bears
Chapter 6: Welcome to the World
Chapter 7: So many nooboos! It's like a powerthirst commercial!
Chapter 8: Time To Do Some Stuff
Chapter 9: Until We Meet Again
Chapter 10: Billy Narrated This
Chapter 11: Real and Unreal Things
Chapter 12: Who you ain't gonna call?
Chapter 13: Unlucky Birthday!
Chapter 14: But you can't do any of that without a hat
Chapter 15: Angels and Bees
Chapter 16: Rated 'S' for Excessive Sappiness
Chapter 17: All You Need is Love. Jumbo-Sized Love.
Chapter 18: Birthday-Palooza!
Chapter 19: China Girl
Chapter 20: A Toast to Ariel
*Ariel Immortality Achieved*

Intermission #1

Chapter 21: To the Sims, to make much of Time
Chapter 22: It's a Hunka Hunka Burnin' Hot Tub
Chapter 23: A Dark Photograph
Chapter 24: The Wedding of Reed and Aster
Chapter 25: Honeymoon
Chapter 26: New Arrival OR The Musical Chapter
Chapter 27: Full House
Chapter 28: We are Family
Chapter 29: Gazing into the Abyss
Chapter 30: Short and Sweet
Chapter 31: Gentle into that Late Night
Chapter 32: The Figure In the Dark
Chapter 33: Moving Forward
Chapter 34: Landslide
Chapter 35: Infinite Complexity
Chapter 36: Busy Night
Chapter 37: The Future: Contains fewer jetpacks than advertised
Chapter 38: For Best Effect, Read in the Hammiest Voice Possible
Chapter 39: At Journey's End
Chapter 40: Defying Gravity
Chapter 41: Grace

And now time for a double-post for chapter 1!

Chapter 1: Moving In

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http://www.carls-sims-3-guide.com/fo...Screenshot.jpg
I look over the body I'll be using for my stay on this Sim-Earth. It's... I don't really know. I looked at it too long, I think, and could no longer tell how it added up. Uriel designed it mostly. In retrospect, this may have been a terrible idea... But I don't think he did a bad job.

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"What," I ask the person who's helping me get myself together, "Is...umm...?"
I indicate the marking on my back. It looks very much like the wings I had as an angel.
"It's a tattoo. For you and your immortal descendants, to mark that they too have the blood and will of angels."
"Oh, I see. Thank you..."
Well, I suppose whatever works.

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I try and select clothing that shows it off. I suppose the sight of the wings comforts me a little. I've chosen to bring with me a feather of my own, placed in a little box... Why? Well, please forgive my skepticism, but I suspect that sims/humans (the word's been updated! How exciting, that words change!) won't believe me. So it's proof... And a reminder. Of all I hope to gain.

Oh, I'm so sorry, dear reader! Allow me to formally introduce myself... From this moment on, I am Ariel Seraphim. My favorite food is autumn salad, my favorite music is classical, and my favorite color is white (but blue is a close second). Like all true angels, I suppose I must be Good, even if I don't feel that way sometimes... While I'm less outgoing than my dear Uriel, I still do my best to be Friendly. I'm quite the Bookworm, and I like to think I have a bit of a Green Thumb -- my dominion as an angel is over blooming things, and I intend to pursue that as a human, until I have the Perfect Garden... Oh, but I Love the Outdoors as a whole, not just plants... This self-description thing is rather hard. Anyway, dear reader, I hope you'll take some small enjoyment out of my accounts...

My body examined and clothed, I headed off to a small town called Riverview.

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My initial home was...ummm...rather... Well, it was large. And...had a lovely view of trees...and...umm... Well, it was certainly... Ummm... Inside my own head, I fumble at the words.

"It's a fixer-upper, that's all. And by that I mean a vacant lot.”
I jump at hearing Uriel’s voice. I look around and realize he’s nowhere to be found, and I’m a little relieved...After all, he’d be just the sort to ruin this lovely plan by breaking the rules if he felt like it.
”Ha, got you good, sugarplum! No, I decided I’d watch over you, all ethereal-like. Give you a little hand. Consider me your guardian angel!”
I resist a quip about guardians usually being in better standing. Instead, I turn to more pressing matters.
“Thank you very much for the help, Uriel... But... Why these little marks on this -- err, my -- face?”
I can hear his spirit sort of rustling about awkwardly. Have I at last emberassed Uriel to speechlessness? If so, this will be a once-in-an-immortal-lifetime miracle! (oh, I do hope he doesn’t read this...)
"Well, mortals sometimes like...umm...to refer to them as... angel kisses. So they're a little something from me to you."
I smile a little, and bring a hand to my face. It’s a lovely gesture, if a little silly.
”A-anyway, I’ve been doing some scouting, and I’ve got some people I want you to meet, before you do anything else. If we can get some of them on-board, you’ll have an easier time.”
He directs me to a house on the other side of town.

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And there I meet a man, Billy Caspian. He lives alone, so I think he’s who Uriel wanted me to meet. While I am not a very good judge of these matters, I think he’s a better-looking sim than he lets on. I see a painting half-done in the corner, and realize why I’m here. I need someone to paint my paintings...

Well, I suppose I could at least try talking to him.
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And I learn a lot. He’s lived alone for a long time -- and I can see from the way he says that he expects to live alone forever.
”You’re actually the first person in town I’ve really talked to -- what’s up with you, just knocking on my door?”
He’s a little harsh at times...But then everything’s smoothed over as if it didn’t happen. He’s perplexing.
Perhaps that’s why we talk for hours on hours. Indeed, for all his little starts, we become fast friends.
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And I offer him a few small compliments, and a warm hug -- he just looks like he needs a hug, you know? I think people get a little scared off. And I think, perhaps, he took it...
Well...He took it sort of like this:
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The next thing I know is his lips on mine. He pulls me close -- his lips are alarming in their softness. Everything about the moment -- the sudden warmth of his hands; the way this alien body, suddenly resisting my surprise, melts into his; the way this moment is amazing; the way this moment is terrifying; the way his skin smells faintly of bitter paint and turpentine, and a slightly musky aftershave -- is alarming. He holds me and kisses me again -- or is it me holding him? Well, all the same, he kisses me again.
”W-what I meant to say was that I really like you.”
I have no idea what just happened.
“...I...I have to go.”
I think he looks a little sad to see me leave.
I am driven to the grocery store, my stomach empty and my head spinning. I have never been spoken to that way, in all my existence. I have never been touched in such a way.
And I am giddy and wild with it, I can feel his craftsman’s scent on my skin. I buy the supplies I need -- a small snack for myself, and things to plant -- and I am imagining the way he looked at me, a little goofy and tender all at once. I eat the tomato I bought to myself and I remember the moisture of the kiss. I finish and remember his favorite food is burgers, and he said as much.

“...I should call him up and apologize,” I say to no one.
”Do what you want. I just think you’d do well to have him around...But I won’t make you do anything you don’t want. It’s just ideas.”
I do not say anything. After all, what I want...Is to see him again.
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He agrees to meet me at the park near the supermarket.
“...I’m sorry, for running off like that.”
”I’m surprised you called. I expected you to just run off...I -- I’m not exactly good at [censored] -- oh, [let’s keep it clean, huh, Billy? -ed] -- I mean... I guess I was worried I was moving too fast for a nice girl like you.”
“Well, perhaps a little, but... About that kiss...”
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“I very much liked it.”
He looks a little stunned.
We settle down and talk awhile, watching the stars. I’ve never seen them from this side before.
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They’re beautiful. This world is so much more beautiful than I could have expected...And... Because I’ve met a nice, if somewhat strange, person like Billy...
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I think I can do this.
And I also think...That if I must rope someone into this, to by my husband and the father of my child... That is must be this man. It can be nobody else.
Perhaps I knew that the moment he kissed me.
“Billy...I know perhaps I’m the one that’s moving too fast...”
I was given two rings to give: that I’d need, or at least want, to be wed for this purpose is understood. I get down and take out the box.
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“But I need you, Billy. I want to be with you for as long as I can.”
”...Seriously? Yes! Yes, I’ll marry you!”
And, in a whirlwind of the moment, we are wed on the spot, in that quiet park, long after the sun has set.
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”...Since I’m moving in, where exactly is the house?”
Oh. Oh, yes. The...um... ‘house.’ Oh, my. I really have a lot to explain...
I try imagining how this could go:
‘Yes, I am totally moving you onto a vacant lot, forcing you to abandon all your nice things I saw earlier!’
‘I sort of don’t have a house. It’s kind of a field.’
‘I hope you like camping?”
I give him the address. He nods, thoughtfully.
”Be there right behind you!”
He drives off, saying that this has inspired him to join a job he’s had his eye on, and he wants to surprise me when we get home. Home. Oh, my...It’s still an empty lot, isn’t it?

And I...come home...to this.
http://www.carls-sims-3-guide.com/fo...eenshot-36.jpghttp://www.carls-sims-3-guide.com/fo...eenshot-37.jpg

Billy (now Seraphim, not Caspian) gets out of a taxi a few minutes behind me.
“W...what just happened?”
”To be honest...I have no idea. I mean, I know I decided to be an architect because they get great discounts, since I know there’s nothing here...but...I was sort of expecting those plans I made to, you know, get submitted...umm...Over time. Like normal buildings. ”
And not like they were made by magical construction fairies.
(*note, as an angel, I can neither confirm nor deny the existence of construction fairies. Some things I just can’t disclose, even to my viewers)
”Aaaah! That one’s on me. A little angelic power --”
I’m a little too floored to point out how *very* little power either of us have had since...back then...
Or, come to that, to explain to my new husband exactly who this aggressively cheerful voice is.
”Goes a long way. I added the basement and flowers myself. Heavens, but do sim building regulations about stairs stink. And the second floor’s just a shell, since we’ll run out of budget otherwise.”
I had forgotten...It’s been so long since I’ve really looked at flowers...
“Thank you.” My voice sounds dry.
”And who the [geeze, Billy! Do you kiss your mother with this mouth? - ed] are you?”
“Oh!” I blink the tears out of my eyes and focus. “This is Uriel.”
”Think of me as her very own guardian angel. Welcome aboard, man!”
”...This is some messed-up stuff, isn’t it?”

...

I take Billy inside and explain everything. My quest for immortality, and through that, divinity. My need for offspring. His part in that plan... All of that part, up to and including his death.
“I’m sorry...If you don’t want to be involved in all of this,” I explain sadly.
At first I think he’s furious.
”Forget that! Forget alla that!”
He shouts. Then he takes off his hat, runs a hand through his hair (his hair, by the way, is absolutely gorgeous), and shrugs.
”...That...didn’t come out right. What I mean is... Don’t go thinking I care about that sort of thing. I never asked to live forever -- I’m an artist. I’ll live forever anyway... And I never even thought I’d live with someone I loved. You don’t need to tell me you’re an angel -- I thought that the moment you knocked on my door.”
He places a hand on my shoulder.
”But when we have a kid, you have to ask them if they want it. And their kid. All 7 of them, right down the line. And if one says no, it stops... I want this to work. I want you to get whatever you need... But I can’t go making people who don’t want to live forever live forever. Not even for you.”
“Of course...Of course I’ll do that.”
I can almost hear Uriel say something, but then his spirit moves away, busying itself with the laundry.
It’s late -- too late for anything else. Billy and I head to bed...
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And as I lay there, my arms wrapped around his body, the scent of his hair reaching me...
I keep repeating to myself, as the night goes on, one thing:

I cannot fall in love with this man. I cannot. I cannot. I cannot.

Otherwise, I’ll have had a heart for only one day, just to know how it’ll break.

Billy's traits at this point, for the record, Loner, Innapropriate, Artistic, Over-Emotional, and Slob. I change them later. His Lifetime Wish is Master of the Arts, requiring him to master Painting and Guitar. Ariel's are, in case the text didn't make them overtly clear, Good, Friendly, Bookworm, Green Thumb, and Loves the Outdoors. Her Lifetime wish is The Perfect Garden.

Most intriguing, I'll have to read this when I have the time.

Thanks, Hawk. I was sort of hoping to avoid triple-posting, and I'm glad someone here's interested.

Chapter 2: Thiiis close to a title drop

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The morning after my first night, I began my craft -- I began planting all of the fruits I had gotten the day before.
And yes, tomatoes are fruits. I'm a gardener, and I should know. It grows from the hip of a flower, does not have a hard shell, and is intended for eating to allow the transport of seeds.
Tomatoes. are. fruits. Capiche?

http://www.carls-sims-3-guide.com/fo...reenshot~0.jpg

Anyway, while I was getting re-used to gardening, and really getting used to doing so without any sort of magic. It's rather soothing...
Oh, but anyway, I heard this coming from the bedroom...
"Hey! Hey! Take that hat off, mister! And who dressed you? You aren't living here, with me watching you, dressed like some sort of hipster-hobo fusion!"
"I like my hat! And my stubble!"
"Oh, come off it! You look like a total mess!"
"I am a total mess!"
...
"..."
"...Yeah, I could have thought that one through better."
"Right. Yeah, I'm just going to throw a few ideas out there."

After a little while, they call me in.
http://www.carls-sims-3-guide.com/fo.../Billyshow.png
"Well, whaddya think?"
"...This is a sissy hat. Tell me, honey, is this not a sissy hat?"
"It's really very cute, Billy."
"I wanted to show off his face more, but the man's got to have a hat. I swear! Sims!"
It's wierd. I'm no longer on a level where I can see him pouting in a corner...But I can still entirely tell he's pouting.

I can't hug him, but I at least give Billy a hug and tell him I like his silly hat.
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And he goes to his painting with a contented heart.

"Okay! Enough worrying about silly fashion. I said I had people I want you to meet."
"That's right. And I have noticed that Billy is a person, and thus deserves a singular."
"Which means we're going visiting!
You see, I decided I was alright with sending you to Riverview when I realized that there were really some great people, who'd help you out a lot."
"...I'm not..." I want to tell him that I'm not sure how comfortable I am, pulling all these people into this mission...

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But somehow I end up at these people's house. They're the Joys, Mr. Norman and his daughter Elaine.
Norman asks: "So, what brings you to town?"
I'm not wholly sure I should answer that... But I think I can steal Uriel's answer.
"Well, I'm hear for a... a large project. The work of my life on this world. And I heard that Riverview is a town with really great people who could help. And it's a lovely town."
"What sort of project?" Elaine asks, suddenly gaining some interest in the conversation.
"W-welll... A lot of it involves gardening for right now. At least, that's what I've decided my part is: it's better if you make what needs to be done what you want to do, don't you think?"
"So you're a gardener? This is the town for you, missy," Norman comments.
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In fact, the discussion of plants has us all chatting away. It turns out that both of them are garden enthusiasts like myself, and we chat for hours, our discussions circling back to plants.
After a while, Ms. Elaine heads to work. I'm not wholly certain of my own career.

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But in the meanwhile, Mr. Norman and I return to talking. He has a lot of advice, about gardening and other topics. Apparently he's quite skilled -- it only makes sense, having lived so long.
I admit, seeing someone so close to death makes this feel like a real sucker punch. There are moments when I catch my breath and realize that I am dying.
Between those two, and that Uriel wants me to get their help, I decide that I should become as good a friend with Mr. Norman as possible. Eventually, however, I need to leave and take a shower and get some food.

I eventually head back towards the other side of town and decide to check out the local consignment shop. I'll end up selling my harvests there, but for now, I'm just buying.
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And I manage to pick up a strange little thing.
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"What the heck is that...that... homunculus?"
"I'm impressed you know that word."
"It's some sort of terrible monster-thing."
"I think it's really... very cute. He's like a little tiny cave-man. Do you remember when sims were cavemen? They were so precious!"
"IT'S STARING AT ME, ARIEL! IT KNOWS I'M HERE!"
"...That's because you're shouting. I suspect everyone in the neighborhood knows you're here."
"...Hey, Billy! Come look at this little freaky thing your wife brought home!"
"Shaddup! I'm painting!" Billy yells from the studio.
"Fine! But when it starts worshipping the TV, I am so out of here!"
I shake my head and suppress a laugh.

Once I've taken care of everything, I invite Norman over, hoping to ask him for help...
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Unfortunately, he leaves before I can make much progress with him. Maybe the little caveman *is* scary...
I wonder if, like Billy, its oddness scares people off...
It's Ok, possibly-sapient little cavegnome. I still love you.

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The next morning, Uriel notices something.
"You go to bed after her...But you're up before she opens her eyes. You're never well-rested. What's up with that?"
"I'm hungry. Besides... I like to be up to watch her wake up. She's so cute when she sleeps, like she's never done it before... She sleeps like a child." Billy sighs a little.
"Well, she hasn't slept before last night... But you're right. She really does look...So small." And maybe there's regret in his voice (I don't know, but I suspect there was), as if he wasn't sure he had taken me to the right point.
"Hey. What is it with you two?" He asks, picking up a brush to begin. "You got kicked out, too...So why is she doing it first?"
"...I- I wanted to be able to protect her..."
"Then why'd you let her get kicked out in the first place? What sort of angel are you?"
And Uriel couldn't say anything. He told me about it, after I woke up.

"Don't worry. I'll ask Billy to not be so worried for me."
And maybe pull him away from his painting a little...

But, of crucial matter right now is inviting Mr. Norman back over. I really would like his help very much, and Ms. Elaine.
"So, you're working on your 'project here? It's a nice place." He says, looking over the house. I suppose it was too dark to see last time.
"Oh, thank you. I've had some help already, in that department."
"It sounds like you'll need a lot of help. How are you expecting to get it?"
"Well, by asking." I see that that does not answer Mr. Norman's question. "Well, they say that people who tend to guests often entertain angels unawares. I suppose, like those angels that walked the cities of sims in days of yore...I'll simply see how generous these people are."
"That's pretty daring. But it's good to see a young woman working on her dreams -- I'm a little worried about Elaine not doing the same. She's so worried about taking care of me that she's not worked towards her recipe collection in a long time..."
He sighs a little. I feel the tiny nudging of Uriel, who really should not be solid enough to nudge, in my back.
"Well, maybe the two of you could move here and help me; I'd be happy to help Elaine out in return."

"Yeah, me too."
Norman does a triple-take.
"Do y'all have one of those silly, totally-useless intercoms? Where'd that voice come from?"
"Oh, there's no speakers, Mr. Joy. I'm a spirit of sorts, watching over this house. An angel."
"It's the duty of angels to make the world a little better place," I explain, with a smile. I believe that, really I do. I think it's why a lot of requirements are what they are -- making friends, improving and managing the land... Still, if those are what it is to be the pinnacle of simhood...
"And I also think that must be the duty of a sim, too. Don't you agree?"

Mr. Norman draws back and looks the situation over. I think he relates to me -- certainly, I trust his opinion on this matter. I have total faith in him in this moment.
"You're both serious, aren't you?"
"Absolutely! Here...I can prove it. You're a capable outdoorsman, Mr. Norman... Have you ever seen feathers like these?"
I reach into my pockets and pull out the box I've brought. I open it for a moment, and the light shines out from it, pooling all around us. It's almost too bright to look out, too golden and too white all at once. He tries to pull a feather out, but is so alarmed by the sensation (I cannot even imagine: are they hot? cold? Both?) that he pulls back.
He looks back up at me and believes.

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"I don't think I can say no now; you've got yourself some help. I'll call up Elaine."
"Oh, thank you, Mr. Norman!"
"You can just call me Norman; you're probably the best friend I've had in a long time, Ariel. We'll see if we can't help you along."

And with that, we've managed to get the house together at last. When Elaine drives up and is brought up to speed, Uriel basically verbally forces her to a mirror and dresser.
"Seriously! You look maybe twice your age! I'm going to have a hard time with your hair, but we can at least talk clothes. What's your favorite color?"
"Pink?" She answers tentatively.
"Pink. Well, what are you doing in drab brown? Come on, woman! I've got to get you out of those clothes!"
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Norman turns to me.
"Is this angel of yours some sort of... Troublemaker?"
"Worse. I think I have unleashed upon this world an amateur stylist. I fear I may have failed in my duty to make the world a better place already."

Since the Joys are characters from every copy of Riverview ever, like Billy, I don't bother listing their exact traits in the text. But I may as well do so here:
Norman's traits are Green Thumb, Technophobe, Handy, Never-Nude, and Frugal.
Elaine's are Family-Oriented, Natural Cook, Over-Emotional, Good, and Green Thumb.
This project has an oddly large number of green thumbs. Well, I like skill-focused traits.

Don't worry: I read this as well, and I'm certainly enjoying the narrative you added to this challenge!

Aw, thanks. It's really encouraging to get even just one comment, particularly early on in a project, when the writer's not sure if it's worth it. Besides, every comment here allows me to post the next chapter (until I run out of 'stuff I've already posted,' now at chapter 12 or so) faster.

Chapter 3: Ordinary Days

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Elaine, having gotten that make-over, accepted the story with a little blink and a wry shake of the head.
"And what, honey, do you want from me about this?"
"Well...I... I don't want to be trouble. I want to leave as many options for my -- my descendants as possible. In which case...I need someone to help me cook, primarily. And Norman said you had an interest in recipes -- we could supply you with books, if only you'll help."
I clasp her hands in mine and give her my most earnest face. I don't think sims are quite prepared to look an angel, even an embodied one, straight in the eyes: not, at least, and retain total ownership of their own heart.
Is it cruel that I look at her, then, and plead with my eyes? I'm not sure.
Is it cruel that they all are so gleaming, so clearly brief and dazzling, like fireflies reflected in pools of water, that I can't help but love those good people I meet?
It runs both ways, is what I'm saying.

Except that when I'm cruel, people do my bidding. And when they're cruel, I just feel twisted and awed and sad, all at once.
"Sure. I may as well quit my dead-end job, anyway; it sounds like we're not hurting for money."
Well, we're not hurting now, but I'm not sure how it'll be when the property and businesses are bought. We'll have to see.

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And so Elaine quits her job at the grocery store. I know I'll probably need to find myself a career full of opportunities -- but that can come later. I'd like to be a little more settled as a gardener, first.

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And part of that is finding valuable seeds. I find a few, and I also find a rainbow gem about town. There's a lot of magic in rare jewels: even as a human, I can feel the rainbow's pulse. If someone ever needs to bring something to life, I'll be happy to have it.

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Norman, meanwhile, has started preparing to help gather materials and speed the garden along: he's a much better planter than I am... currently... So he's planting uncommon and rare plants so we can save time on the generation. Both of us would like to see a more beautiful and lush formal garden formed -- a perfect garden. But we need better plants to do that with, and right now, they're fluctuating too much for us to be confident in them.
He's also starting to fish for some alley catfish. They're the start of a long chain.
Come to that, everything's a chain on this plane, isn't it? It's almost as if it's some sort of arbitrarily challenging task, trying to ensure that a lot of hard work goes into otherwise simple accomplishments!... Well, as long as the chain actually chains together cleanly...
Of course, now that I say that, it won't, will it? Wish me luck.

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And we begin Elaine's schooling in cooking -- Ambrosia's a very hard-to-make recipe, and it takes a master chef.
...Boy, that library looks sooo nice. I really need to visit sometime...ahhhh...
Apparently libraries, too, can claim my heart without my willing it so. I'd be more worried if it wasn't such a willing exchange.

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And speaking of willing exchanges...
"Billy, is your painting going well?"
"Yeah; I think I'll be ready to start painting portraits soon. I'm glad I'm doing this. I was sort of...just stalling. And now I feel like I've got some real drive! Some real purpose!"
He seizes me into his arms, and I do not resist. How can I? Seeing him so excited is thrilling, and that beautiful, brilliant quality is honed on me like a beam of light.
"That's marvelous! I've been quite inspired by all this hard work, myself!"
"Who actually says that sort of thing? Honey, I get you're not exactly simish... But you really, really sound it sometimes. Like some sort of proper alien princess."
I blink, taken aback, a smile forming.
"Umm...Well...How should I say that?"
"Hey, why are you asking me? If I could say things the right way, you think I'd spend all my time alone in the studio?"
"Well, I'll stop sounding like a proper alien princess when you, my dear Billy, learn to talk like a gentleman."
"Oh, you are so on."
Then I stick my tongue out at him, my gauntlet for our mock-challenge.

We fall into close giggling. Spontaneous tickling may have been involved.
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And...Well...
From there, we take some time, as a couple...
Oh, how embarrassing! I haven't been a lady for long, but I think propriety demands a lady show some discretion...
Or, as Billy would say it, I could just kick propriety to the curb and do the funnest stuff!
...
Though Billy says that, there's a bit more swearing.

I'm not good at kicking propriety to the curb.

But, as I was saying, we take some time as a couple to enjoy one-another, and get to know each other better.
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After all, sims are like flowers: you gather your rosebuds while ye may, as the poets say.
These just happen to be heart-shaped and rain over the bed. Truly, this world is a wonderful, magical place that makes absolutely no sense!

I also remember to tell him not to worry about Uriel. I know he means only the best.

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While all this is going on, Norman and Elaine are hard at work: Norman's upgrading the sprinkler and planting the more exotic plants I've found, and Elaine's cooking food for the rest of us in the kitchen, and Uriel's ordering the two of them around for something to do.

And when we're all asleep...
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"...I'm watching you, little cave-gnome... Don't think I don't see you..."
Uriel glares and mumbles at the cavegnome. If it keeps him so entertained, I should really try and find a few more!

A small routine forms, with everyone working on their skills first thing in the morning – Norman fishes, I tend the garden, Billy paints, Elaine cooks for the rest of us, with Uriel acting as coordinator of all these busy sims.
I think life's beginning to settle down now.

Though I manage to catch Elaine around breakfast time, for a word or two.
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"That was really a delicious salad; thank you, Elaine."
"I don't think I've ever seen someone eat a salad for breakfast..."
"Humans seem to have very strange standards, then. I can hardly be expected to do all of them."
"Ok, Ok, good point! Do you think your garden'll start producing vegetables I can use?"
"I do hope so...Though only the lettuce will be a vegetable, you know --"
"Not by culinary standards."
"Culinary standards? You have a messenger of the divine saying tomatos are fruits, and you don't believe her? How unfair!"
And we chatter on like that for a while. I do hope Elaine and I can be friends.

If a comment's all it takes to get a new chapter, consider yourself commented.

I'll be really interested to see where this goes.

I've not played Sims for a very long time and am a tad confused - did you get Elaine and Norman to move in? How did you manage that?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ShinyRocks

If a comment's all it takes to get a new chapter, consider yourself commented.

I'll be really interested to see where this goes.

I've not played Sims for a very long time and am a tad confused - did you get Elaine and Norman to move in? How did you manage that?

---

Well, it does while there are already-written chapters to post. Anyway, you make friends with a sim and, after enough friendly interaction, you can find an option to move them and anyone in their household into your household (except you can't seperate married couples). This is convenient, since I wanted both Elaine and Norman to move in. Elaine, I want for cooking Ambrosia, and Norman's just all sorts of useful.

Chapter 4: Light In a Darkened Place

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My first post-breakfast task, however, is to practice my gardening. There's a lovely neighborhood garden not too far from here I've been aching to see.

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And look at it! I certainly couldn't stop looking at it, nor could I stop myself from harvesting those lovely bell pepper plants. If I do this in my spare time, it'll help me raise my gardening skill faster.

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And I also met a very nice young lady named Ruby Broke. Like so many others I'm meeting in this town, she's very interested in listening to me talk about gardening. While we left before we could become friends, I think she's a great person to want to get to know.

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And Elaine, having been encouraged by our efforts, joined the culinary career to help bring in money and learn cooking at the same time.

And Uriel pointed something strange out to me.
"Ok, I want you to picture this. The bobber and the fishing spot Norman's been at are right next to that creepy warehouse."
"Alright..."
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"And? What's so strange about that?"
"Because Norman's all the way across the river. No, not on the center island: on the total other bank."
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Elaine and I are at work, using the TV and a book to further our cooking and gardening enterprises, when Billy calls us over.

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You see, when he was painting, he realized something: that he was contented enough with the quality of his painting to begin painting portraits.
"Yes! One requirement readied!"
"Eeeee! Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" I give Billy a hug, squealing like an excited child.
Billy shakes a brush in my direction and says:
"Hold still: hold still already, woman! Geeze... How do you expect me to do any painting if you just freak out like this?"
"Oh. Oh, sorry. Sorry." I eventually call upon aeons of celestial serenity to try and calm down enough for him to get a pose for the painting.
Elaine watches with a bit of a smirk.
"...Is something funny?"
"No, not exactly 'funny,' but...I guess I envy you. I've always wanted a family...But I've never really had the guts to just go out and find someone."
"If it's what you really want, you should do it!"
"Especially since I gave you that stellar makeover. Work it, girl!"
Billy narrows his eyes, and asks:
"Ok, I got a new question...Why is it that he sounds so... heavy on slang? Do all angels just sound really weird?"
"Basically." "Basically."
And Elaine laughs again.
"There are a couple of single guys in the neighborhood... Maybe I'll go talk to them..."
I feel Uriel go moving about, and a second or two later, he adds,
"Actually, the guitarist and the doctor are out. But there's this family -- the Coulters? -- I don't know anything about them."
"How did you know about who lives where, anyway?"
"Well, I've been ethereally scouting out the neighborhood."
"Or just doing a google search," Billy commented.
"Why, I never!... I mean, seriously. They have dedicated wikis for that sort of thing. Google's wholly un-needed."

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And so Elaine goes searching for love at the Coulter's home.

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And immediately realizes that there are significant obstacles to a relationship from this house.

I've finished my gardening book in the meanwhile, and I think for a moment about going out and buying the third and final book in the series. But then a thought occurs -- why a book when I could buy the bookstore? I need a building, anyway!
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So I place a few calls, and decide to purchase Lost Willow park as well as the local bookstore. I am now the proud owner of multiple venues!

"So now all we need to do is upgrade Lost Willow Park."
Billy chimes in: "Well, I am an architect, so maybe I can help..."
"Hey, don't forget that I can build this pretty fast: we'll have it to level 3 in two shakes of a lamb's tail."
So we look over the plans for the park.
"Well, if we can clear out some of the trees and smooth out the land --"
"But -- but the trees and the flowers need a place to live, too!"
"Well, you heard the lady. The greenery stays -- unless you want to be the fool who makes her cry?"
"Of course not, you jerk!... So what are we using this place for, anyway?"
"...Well...What about arts and skills? It'd be such a beautiful place to paint."
"Yeah, I like that! In honor of Bill here."
"Billy."
"Billy is for six-year-olds."
"...You two...I asked you not to fight anymore..."
"Yes, sweetheart..." "Yes, Honey..."
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This is what we come up with.
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I personally think there should be more flowers, but we'll worry about that when funds are better.
On the one hand, this fulfills a lot of our needs. On the other, we're now nearly bankrupt. I really need to see about a career.

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"...I still think it's watching me."
I giggle.
"Uriel, silly, you're not even on a visible light spectrum. Nothing *can* watch you."
"That's what makes it creepy."

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The garden, cave-gnome infestation aside, certainly is coming along -- our first harvest will be any day now, and when that happens, I'll probably want to re-organize it all. I'm just not sure how yet: do I organize by plant, or by quality? Hmmm...

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Of course, from what Uriel tells me as I work, I'm not the only one seeing things growing. Elaine ran into or neighbor, Mr. Lessen, by the grocery store. And right away, they started flirting.
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"And, thanks to that wonderful and confidence-boosting makeover I gave her," as Uriel puts it, "She's totally willing to admit she likes him. And he's not exactly cold to that, either, you know?"
Unfortunately, unlike every other sim I've met, it appears Mr. Lessen is a little afraid of moving too fast.
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But since they're romantically connected, I'll have to invite Mr. Lessen over so the two can spend more time together.

I'm barely done hearing this news when Billy calls me in to look at the portrait. I think it's a little blurry, but I really like the sort of almost-chiaroscuro effect made by the lighting.
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And, while it's not perfect, it's still complete:
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The first element of the museum, one of the keys to immortality.
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...There's still so very much to do.

I'm enjoying this LP too. All the recent Sims LPs on this forum ended up incomplete; I'm hoping this one doesn't :smallsmile:

Well, the challenge is hard and inclined to be doomed by bugs...And this is my first attempt. I'm not saying it will be incomplete, just that the most likely cause of incompleteness will be failure. In which case, Uriel will get his own dynasty.

Ok, so this coming chapter has, in its original, a particular simlish-derived slang...That's very common on the original host forum, but I suspect wouldn't be as easily understood here. This time, I've tried to edit it out. Should I continue doing so, or should I just explain the phrase or reference in the bottom? Maybe even add a little glossary for the first post.
Likewise, color formatting. The original site doesn't allow for very fancy color formatting (you can, but lots of colors = against the rules), so I use Italics for supernatural, Bold for natural characters other than the narrator, normal for narrator. Should I, for GITP eyes only, add character colors?

Chapter 5: The Fruit Love Bears

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Having completed my portrait, Billy decides to throw himself into sculpting. I know I probably won't get an ice sculpture while I'm still a young adult... But it means a lot to me to see it.

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And I tell him that.
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And he gives me flowers -- roses in my favorite color.
"Where did you get these?"
"Oh, just around... But I thought it'd be better than whatever else I could do."
"Billy... It's everything you do. I feel... like I don't do enough for you."
Because seeing him satisfied in his work, the clay beneath his fingernails or the paint still left drying on his eyebrow, but that big, silly smile on his face...
Makes me feel so happy. It's like watching a morning glory.
I'm not... I don't... a little voice in my head keeps saying I need to protect myself, but...
"C'mere, you..."
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He lifts me up, and I drape my arms around him, and the feeling of time moving all around me, wearing me away like a rock in a current... It just goes away, and the moment's pure. Pure as white roses.

But the moment isn't still: it's moving, like a series of still images or a kaleidoscopes mirrors. Maybe I say something to him, in a low voice. Maybe we say a lot of things.
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All I can say for sure is that time certainly isn't standing still: it's time to prepare for the future. Over the blood rushing in my ears and the sound of us, in the distance, I think I hear something whistling a lullabye.

...I'm still basking in the after-glow when I hear a less pleasant sound coming from outside.
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"You -- you -- you lout! How can you tell me you're single and then be kissing some other girl!" It's Elaine's voice.
"Hey, we never said --"
"That's Lessen, isn't it?...Yeah, doesn't sound like all's well."
"Don't you 'we' me! I don't ever want to see your face again!"
I quickly run outside to find Elaine in tears.
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"Elaine! What's the matter?"
"This man is a cheat! I was willing to give my first kiss to this guy! He said he's single, but he's been kissing all over town!"
"Shh...It'll be Ok. It'll be OK, honey. It's his loss."

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"Uhh...Lessen...Are you really getting your guitar out? Are you seriously going to be playing guitar on our lawn?...Dang limited manifestation."
I keep trying to calm her down and comfort her...
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Though she's upset enough that I'm willing to listen to angry gossip. But we spend most of the day and some of the night out there, just... talking.
"You really don't need a guy like him -- you're too good for that."
"Thanks...I wish he'd get off our lawn, though."
"Yeah...yeah...Well, maybe someday."
I think after all this, I can safely call Elaine one of my best friends.
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Billy, having stayed in the studio for all this drama, has completed his second sculpture, having gained a bit of skill along the way.
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At this point, though, he may just be running on caffeine.


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And if you're wondering, Norman's been fishing -- since he's using live bait, he can catch angelfish...
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And the next piece of the puzzle.

I wake up sometime around midnight feeling the worst I have ever felt in all of my existence. my whole stomach's one big knot full of needles, churning itself over and over, until eventually I can't stand it.
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That part's really almost a relief... But I still spend a while there.
"I hate you, Uriel. I hate you and your schemes and your plans and human bodies and also whatever it is I ate last night..."
"...You...you don't mean that, do you?"
He sounds very small and very scared. And of course it's scary -- as scared as I am, on the bathroom floor, he's just as scared. He can't not be.
Neither of us...Have any idea of what we're doing. And really all he can do is watch -- and even that...Is just because he didn't want me to be scared alone.
"No, honey. You know I couldn't..."
I get a glass of water and head back to bed.

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Billy is up early again this morning -- after a night or two of a full night's sleep, he's apparently back up to his old schedule.
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And because he's been getting a little stir-crazy from all this work, he heads on out to get seeds.

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And when I'm up, taken some medicine, and done the gardening, I head to sell some crops at the consignment store.
That's when I notice that next door, the Joys' former house stands empty, and its garden has been unharvested since they moved. I figure that I can get my harvestable count up, improve my gardening skill, and help keep the neighborhood in order.
So I do that for a while, when Uriel stops me.
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"Hey, kitten!...I...umm...Well, I've been looking into why you've been feeling so bad."
"Oh?"
"...Well...Umm...Congrats on the upcoming birth of generation 2! I brought you some things to change into, since I don't think those'll stretch well..."
"I'm pregnant?"
"Yup! This family's gonna have a precious little mewling sim-larva-baby thing!"
"Oh, goodness..."
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I'm going to be having my own little baby.

...

"Also, this outfit is terrible."
"Yeah, I sort of panicked."

just a post so the next chapter can be up here sooner! (also, that really is an outfit that looks panic induced :smalltongue:)

Personally, I don't think you need the text colours, though I guess they might get useful once you've got more characters in the mix.

I'd like to see the Simlish slang, though. A little glossary would be cool.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by VonFenris

just a post so the next chapter can be up here sooner! (also, that really is an outfit that looks panic induced :smalltongue:)

---

I had planned on putting her in a maternity-ready outfit, but thought I had more time. So the game picked one for me. Stupid game.

Anyway, there aren't too many simlish-to-English bits I know, but one of the ones that's most relevant to this story is one that'll come up a lot. Like, especially in the next chapter. But there are probably a few concepts that people newer to the game, or who are here for the story and don't know jack about the Sims may like to learn, so I'll probably glossary those as I think of them. So if you see it and get confused, it's in the glossary, beneath the chapter.

Chapter 6: Welcome to the World

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Once I return home, my heart pitter-pattering with excitement, I realize that I still need to do more work on my gardening. I'd like to go to work once the baby's taught some of her toddler skills, and I want to work as hard on my gardening as I can first.

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Though when I'm done fertilizing, I think I've gained enough confidence to plant some of the more rare and unusual seeds -- which is exactly, as a gardener, what I need.

But about the pregnancy... There, I'm really very worried. And excited. And worried. I haven't been a sim for terribly long, so I don't know all the important things. What if I mess up? What if I don't love my child like I should?
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Books. All I need to do is read enough books, and the problems will all be sorted out. Books will save the day.

While I'm doing this, Elaine gets off her first day of work in the kitchens. Keep working hard, Elaine.
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When Billy wakes up, he begins work on ice sculpting -- it's not a requirement, but it's a very nice element for a museum.

And I go to greet him -- I told him about the pregnancy earlier, though I think seeing me with a bump really sinks it in.
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"Oh, Ariel...That's our noboo. Our perfect child."
"That's right."
"Of course that's right."
"You know, we need to come up with a names."
"Yeah! A theme that'll unite the whole dynasty!"
"A theme?"
"All the cool dynasties have themes."
"If all the cool dynasties jumped off a cliff, would this one?"
"Well, if it had a strategic advantage..."
"Well, it would be some cute wordplay..."
"What sort of harebrained, pain-in-the... Nah, nah, let's do it like this... -- how about great painters?"
"That's stupid. You should do great angels -- well, I mean, besides us... Like Gabriel and all."
"Heck no! Art should be important to this family, even after I'm gone!"
"Aim for the future!"
"Respect the past!"
"For Ariel and I, that was the past -- once and future!"
I shake my head and sigh. Girls, girls, you're both very pretty...
"Wasn't there a painter Raphael?"
"...Yeah, yeah there was..."
"...Yeah. Ok. Artist-Angels, then..."
I wonder if they realize that there's very little room for girls' names there...
Oh, well. I find when Uriel gets in a scheme mode, it's better to just go about your own business. I support him as I can... But someone has to clean up the mess.

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"... Sims are weird."

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I'm feeling a little run-down, so I decide to go and pamper myself with a quick massage. The books say a pregnant sim should take extra-good care of herself, for the health of the child, after-all...
And in the end, I'm so relaxed that I realize how to escape the block I've been having, and use a little more of my own power over nature, and put it into my gardening... It's not much, but it'll greatly improve the quality of my plants.

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To celebrate, I head over to that lovely local garden and clean the whole thing out.

And Uriel informs me that Elaine, spurred by something at work, leaves the diner to go and confront John Lessen
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"I refuse to accept the way you treated me, Jon Lessen! You're a dog, not a man, and I won't be having with a dog! I think you're..."
"Actually, you know what, honey? I don't really think I want you to hear everything she said to him: not with an innocent nooboo growing in you. I heard they can hear."
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The point, Uriel tells me, is that the two of them are now mortal enemies.

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And while I don't want to diminish my best friend's pain, between my discoveries, my work, and my donations to charity... I feel really good. Like an angel's supposed to.

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And Billy feels like a caffeine fiend is supposed to.

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Elaine's feeling better by the next day, and even gets a chance to deliver some produce to Flat Broke. I supply it happily...But I get the feeling she's got something on her mind.
"I'm thinking... Just because I'm not in the mood for a man's drama right now, doesn't mean I shouldn't have a child while I can. I'm thinking...That once your baby is born, I'll adopt a child," She explains.
"That sounds like a wonderful plan! I'll ready the nursery."
Which is, for the record, just what I do.
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My baby-bump is getting pretty big...It's such a strange feeling, having my body adjust to something like that. Billy and Uriel both are doing a wonderful job of looking out for me -- I can tell they're each, in their own way, a little anxious.

I feel like getting out of the house and away from at least half the fussing, so I head to the consignment shop. A little extra income is always good.
But the moment I'm done consigning my fruit, I feel a sharp pain.
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The baby's coming! The whole shop goes into a tizzy. I decide immediately to call a cab to take me to the hospital -- it's about as far as home, and it's more official.

I'll spare my dear readers the unpleasant details, and add two things: The first is that Billy, of course, rushed out to meet me. The second is that I'm rather surprised he did, given his loner nature... And the giant crowd that was outside the hospital.
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The next thing I knew clearly, when the rush of natural endorphins faded, I was heading home with my precious little girl.
I think she's got an artistic streak, like her father... But that, perhaps because of my own otherworldly blood...She's going to be a little...strange.
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"I think I'll call you... Aster."
"Aster?"
"Aster?"
"Well,yes..."
I smile and hold my little nooboo close.

"After all... I wanted a plant theme."

I laugh wearily as we all drive home.

And with this, we welcome little Aster! Her traits are insane and artistic. Her favorites are Latin Music, Eggrolls, and the color Black... And I only just now realized that I wasted her early teenage time by not writing her as a little goth. Ack!

Glossary

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Nooboo: N. A baby, usually an infant-or-toddler age sim, but I've heard the male of a couple use the word while cuddling with his ladyfriend, so either sims call eachother 'baby' as a term of endearment, or that couple was a step ahead of my plans.

Ooh, another Deme LP! :smallbiggrin:

and also I enjoyed this!

Chapter 7: So many nooboos! It's like a powerthirst commercial!

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On the taxi ride home from the hospital, Billy stares ahead and starts talking,
"I think it's time for me to really focus -- on this family."
"Don't forget about you, too, Billy."
"You're right, you're right. I need to -- when the ice sculptures are ready to last -- really focus on working on music. Art is art."
I nod and smile.

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And little Aster is just darling, with her soft little hands reaching out from the swaddling clothes to grab at the world. I don't think anyone in the house can keep their hands off of her.

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Since Norman's the only one up so late, he's staying home and reading a gardening book at nights.
Uriel's waiting and watching her most of the day and night, and he'll usually tell us if she wants for something before we can tell for ourselves. It's not surprising to me that Uriel's a little protective of her -- it's his way, in the end.

The next morning, Norman comes in with a package.
"Billy, Ariel -- either of you have an 'aunt Bernice'?"
"Why, no... I don't have any sim relatives outside this house."
"What about angel relatives?"
"Angel relationships..."
"...Are not static 1:1 with sim relationships."
"Right. But even so... I can't think of any older angels named Bernice, who might want to call me her 'niece'."
"We're pretty old as angels go - pre-fall and all. Not that that was a good thing."
"And I don't have any family I'm in touch with... I don't think there's a Bernice anywhere."
Norman reaches into the package and pulls out a small doll.
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"Some 'Aunt Bernice' sent this. It's for Aster."
"It's sort of cute."
"I'm more curious about why it was sent..."
"Well, I guess in the meanwhile, we'll let her have it. I think I'll call it Evanthe."
"Why do you want to name some creepy clown doll?" Billy asks.
"I like naming things."

While we're talking about Evanthe, Elaine is outside making a call.
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"Yes, Yes, that's right. I'm unmarried, but I live with my father and some friends -- Not a lot of money, but the house can support all of us very well.
...You'll send someone over? Really? I kind of expected a longer process...
Ummm... A boy. Preferably an infant.
Thank you very much."
"Happy with your choice, Elaine?"
"Oh, don't you go snarking at me, Mr. I-don't-have-a-body-so-I-can-be-a-clever-spy."
"I was being sincere."
"Oh...Well...Then, yeah. Yeah I am."
"Good. Hey, Ariel! She's happy! Stop worrying!"
"...I live in a house of gossip. *sigh*"

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I enjoy my time with Aster so adorably small while I have the chance -- it's not a thing that will last too long. But we can go on like this until she grows up little without any trouble.

Elaine's son arrives while she's at work, so it's up to Norman to greet the little one. His name is Reed. THe files the social worker left with us say he's a good but excitable little one. His favorites are Latin Music, White, and Lobster Thermidor.
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Norman, despite the child being no blood of his, is a very proud adoptive grandfather.
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It takes Elaine a few hours to get home, but when she does, she's instantly taken with her little boy. Her first thought is to hold him.
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And Billy's no slouch in tending to Aster, either. He's really following through on his resolutions.

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Reed also gets a doll from “Aunt Bernice.” Now, Aunt Bernice does not (I asked Norman and Elaine) exist. I suspect magic is afoot.
"Well, Aster can have hers, but I am not letting Reed near a creepy magic doll --"
"That came from a nonexistent person, possibly some sort of terrible extraplanar being from beyond comprehension. That likes dolls that look like clowns."
"Right. Reed's not touching anything that is that scary and specific."

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And from all the crops, it comes down to the truth -- we need a second sprinkler! Yaaay!
That is literally the only thing of note that happens for quite a while...

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Until I realize that I've learned about as much as I can about gardening in this form. But there are still challenges to meet, though.

Which means my core job will be completing those challenges by handling harvests and planting, while Elaine -- today, anyway -- can now help me out with the weeding, to save time.
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“Guess what I bought at the consignment shop, Uriel?”
”Is it another gnome?”
“It’s another gnome! Now cavegnome can have a friend!”
”…Yay?”
“..Uriel, honey! Are you crying?”
”…I’m…just so… very happy… f-for cavegnome…That I am sobbing…with joy…And not terror. At all.”

And then it comes time for Aster's birthday. They really do grow up so fast. Still, the challenge is only just starting.
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Aster ages up into a precious little girl with no hair.
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"She's got your eyes, though...And come on -- we'll dress her up and she'll be good to go."
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And so we dress her in blue and black, even finding a shirt for her formalwear with a nice pattern from super fashion designer Gheez.

Billy's traits now include family-oriented and virtuoso, instead of slob and loner. Reed's traits mentioned in the story aren't wholly accurate -- I said good and excitable, but he's actually good and easily-impressed. Not a huge difference, and for an adopted kid, that's not bad at all. Also, Aster has inherited her mom's custom eye color, which I generally thought didn't normally happen.

Here is the pattern I used for Aster's formalwear, made by another player on that other forum. Credit where credit is due and givable, after all.

Creepy robot clown ghost aliens! Colour me intrigued.

They're imaginary friend dolls, part of the Generations Expansion. I actually really like them. They've got some interesting elements, if you haven't seen them.
Also, man... I must have not been creative coming up with this chapter title. I don't know what I was thinking.

Chapter 8: Time to Do Some Stuff

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I started teaching Aster to walk as quickly as I could -- it's important for a little one to be active early. That's what the book said.

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Even though Elaine thinks it's odd, I let Aster bond with her toy. It just makes her so happy.

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And once she's done, Billy decides, just out of the blue, to start teaching Aster to talk. It's cute to see them sitting there, Billy trying to explain words. And to avoid swearing like a sailor in front of an impressionable child.
"When you get older, Mommy will throw you lots of parties.... Man, am I not looking forward to that. I'm better about crowds, but geeze do I hate that..."
Aster stares at him, waiting for the next word out of his mouth.
"Shi...ngles? Shingles. I hate those shingles. Need some new ones. Can you say Shingles, honey?"
It really is adorable. In its own way.

Like all children, Reed begins to grow up a little.
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It's unfortunate how many children grow up without their hair. It's like some sort of toddler-pattern baldness epidemic.

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But it's quite fixable. It turns out Reed's a little blond. I think he looks rather cute.

Of course, Reed's not the only one getting older. Indeed, it seems like everyone is, these days.
I... I am not someone who's used to time. I see these little markers -- the lettuce plant gone bitter and barren, the children growing... And I feel Azrael, grimmest of angels, breathing in my breath, sucking the sweetness from my bones; I can feel him waiting and looming.
Time is a beautiful and frightful thing, to make an angel feel old and ugly just from being near it.
But this is about Elaine, not me: we didn't have anyone to invite to a party, so she had her birthday more-or-less alone.
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Perhaps the reason she didn't want anything, even a cake, was because of how uncomfortable the thought of her own age makes her: she's been spending hours staring at wrinkles in a mirror. According to Billy, this is something sims go through called a 'mid-life crisis,' and will eventually pass.
Maybe I can find a book about Mid-Life Crises that will tell me how to help.

To distract herself, Elaine begins potty training Reed...
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But somehow, in just trying to get her to go to bed with an empty bladder, ends up training Aster.

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And Billy, in a bit of a panic, realizes she's well due for her portrait. I'm sure it'll turn out just fine -- oh, but Aster certainly loves to watch him paint.

In the early morning, when I'm just waking up, I hear a discussion:
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”It’s inside the house! Billy, hide Aster and Ariel! We’re being inva –“
”Quit being crazybones, crazybones.”
”I don’t have bones.”
”Well then that’s why they’re so crazy!”

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Since Elaine's busy with work, Norman decides to help take care of his grandson.
"...Hey, Norman?"
"Yeah, Uriel? I'm busy right now...But what is it?"
"Oh, I don't need you to do anything...I just want to ask you something... Ariel's...Well, she's trying to hide it, because that's --"
"That's her way."
"Right...But... W-what it's like, getting older?"
"Seriously?"
"She's never... Angels are infinite. Without time or end. I... I just want to be ready to help her."
"...It's...Like anything else, I guess. Hard and sad and glad. I never thought I'd live to see a grandchild: I can say I'm happy enough in my twilight years. But I never expected to see my wife go before me, or so many old friends...
There's gonna be a moment for her when she'll lose someone, and it'll stop surprising her. It'll hurt like getting ropeburn and not like getting stabbed. Maybe it'll be mine, and she'll face the rest without fear. It's possible."
"But not likely."
"Be there for her in the meantime... And when she worries about how numb she's gotten, tell her not to. After Jenny died, the rest were just drops in a bucket... But she's the one that hurt more than any."
"...And you still miss your wife?"
"Still? Missing her's forever, kiddo." He sighs. "It's cold comfort, but it's what there is. But hey -- look at this kid and tell me there's no good in time."

...I don't think Uriel expected me to hear that. But when it's been long enough that he won't catch on that I was nearby, I scoop Aster up and take her and the stroller for a walk.
She really loves the walk -- she points at things as we walk by, seeing the play of color and light like a wonderland.
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And sometimes I collapse the stroller and carry her. Then, she snuggles close, as if she realizes that she and I will have a lot to see one day, and best stick close.

"You always have to remember that you are loved; love's the thing that'll win the day, always."
I explain to her as I am teaching her her words.
"Wuv!"
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"Yes, that's right... But please, please, honey, don't let love hurt you..."
I change the subject.
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"You'll be painting soon, I bet. Can you say 'painting'?"
"Da world'll wed widda paint fwum my brush!"
"..."
"Very good! Aren't you such a precocious little one?"
"...You know, that's not a sentence to be happy about..."

Of course, when you're raising little ones, little compromises must be made:
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Billy Asks: ”Isn’t that normally in the nursery?”
”Welll eeeexcuuuse me, Princess. Maybe I was worried Little Aster wouldn’t be able to make it all the way, ever thought of that?”
“I’m sure he’ll put it back, Billy.”
”…Ok…”

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“O~h Urieeel…Loook what I bought?”
”….This…This is my pennance. This is how you’ve decided to make me pay for all I’ve done…You finally found it…”
Silly Uriel. Well, if I just keep buying them, maybe one day he’ll stop being afraid.

I decide that there are some things to do while out on the town. First of all, there's an event in town that'll help me out.
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I compete in a local amateur athletics competition, and according to the judges, I achieve total victory! Does that make me a Ninja Warrior, or will none of my readers get this joke?
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And I also join the workforce: you are now looking at a coffee courier. It'll be tough, but I'll do my best to make my way to the top!

so...many...updates...

they make me feel speshul :smallbiggrin:

Well, we have catching up to do! In a little bit, when I'm out of chapters uploaded on the initial forum, things'll slow down. We're actually almost caught-up -- there's only about 5 chapters left to post here.

Heh, Ninja Warrior...

Chapter 9: Until We Meet Again

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To distract Aster's attention from Evanthe for a little while, we buy the kids a new toy: A lovely doll house.
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Aster takes to it quickly, even if she is disturbingly rough with the little dolls. Well, they're meant to be toddler-proof, right? I guess the toy-makers understood that children... sometimes get a little rough.

For a little while, at least, Reed's more inclined to the painting books we left out for them. I bet he'll be a good and studious boy when he gets older. I think Elaine thinks so, too. For the moment, everyone's pretty happy.
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And when all the books are read, the children bond over their new toy.

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The next morning, while I'm working in the garden, I realize something with delight. You see, the advantage of a large and fertilized garden is that it produces a lot of harvestable plants. And I've harvested... so many plants.
In fact, I've harvested enough to consider myself a 'Master Farmer.'
"Uriel, Uriel! I've completed a challenge!"
"Whoo! Yes! 1/3 of the way there!"

Uriel and I agree that if I no longer need so much raw produce, I should limit my plantings to the very best.
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As a result, my garden ends up much smaller: only the plants that are of concern to me are present. So the best of each plant, the usual plants, and maybe a spare perfect or two if I have one.

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Afterwards, I invited my boss, Tom Shallow, over. After all, a good relationship with the boss is key in this business or so they say. We can talk comfortably, but... There are things about him I just don't like. He just seems... like he doesn't get the basic goodness of this world. Something like that. It makes talking to him hard. But, I'm sure there's some good in him somewhere, right? 'Shallow' is just meant to be ironic, right? Right?
...
...
I can dream...

I don't get much time to think about this, though. There's a chill from the living room, plunging straight into my spine.
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"So it's finally my time, huh?... I didn't think it'd feel so light..."
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By the time I reach the living room, it's already too late to say or do anything.
All I can do is watch in awe, and recognize the presence of an old friend, as another friend is taken from me.

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I know him. They call him Azrael, the grimmest of angels. He will be the last thing in the universe, because he will reap its heart.
And now he's here, in my house.
And now... He's hear for our Norman.

There's something warm on my face, dropping off the sides of my jaw and onto the hardwood floor. I realize that I am crying and trembles rip through my body.

"It is time, Norman Joy," Azrael says. His voice rips a hole in the world.
"You-you ca --"
"I must. It does not matter if I can, little Ariel," he says.
I lower my head.
"Go easy on her. It's her first time seeing death."
"Yeah! Handle with care, huh, bub!" Uriel, from the sound of it, is crying too -- he's yelling through his tears.

"I have business to attend to... As I was saying, it is time."
"Yeah...I've had a good life. I saw my daughter to her path in life. I'm ready."
"That's good," Azrael said.
"...Will I get... to see Jenny again?"
"That is not in my control," Azrael didn't sound prepared for this. He sounded edgy.
"Please, Azrael?"
"I will do what I can."

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"That's good enough for me."

U-Uriel and I take the tombstone and place it in the yard. We plant flowers around it, since he would have liked it that way.
I-It wouldn't have been... E-even coming this far... Wouldn't have been possible without him.
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"... I hope... I hope he was happy..."
I hope it was worth it.

Goodnight and Goodbye,
Norman Joy:
Beloved Father, Grandfather, and Friend

Yeah, a bit of a downer. These things happen.

Since I've posted a chapter on the other forum recently, it's time to hurry the catching-up along. I'd like to have them all caught up by Gen 2's young Adulthood. That way I can list all the requirements and etc.

Chapter 10: Billy Narrated This

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Billy here. Yeah, I thought it’d be best if I took this thing over. I’m just supposed to think, and it’ll get written down somewhere, huh?... Sounds absolutely nuts, if you ask me, but hey – I’m the guy who married an ex-angel and has a magical pain floating invisible, spying on his kid and moving the dishes to the dishwasher and stuff, so maybe I’ve got no room to talk.
…
… Man, did my life take a weird turn somewhere.

Anyway, I guess I better explain why I’m doing all this, when normally Ariel takes care of ‘family history documentation for the sake of my former superiors,’ as she calls it. Except when she says it, she uses that cute little perky voice, like she’s not entirely aware of how clinical it sounds: it’s a sort of sunshine-and-butterflies voice, even first thing in the morning when an ordinary person sounds like they’ve been guzzling sand. It makes her sound soft and warm, and just hearing her talk’s like petting a kitten.
…I’m getting totally off-course, ain't I? Well, my little Ariel’s been taking Norman’s death…. A little hard. I mean, life goes on for the rest of us, but you can see she’s shaken. Her thoughts aren’t in any order. But that’s ok. I won’t make her until she’s ready.

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And Elaine’s not taking it much easier. Not that I blame her – Norman was her family, after all. She was at work, and didn’t get to say goodbye. She was expecting to see him when she got home. They’d have dinner together, and laugh over the baby. And then she got the call we sent her as she was getting off work.
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She mourns in private, after most of us are asleep. Norman and her were the ones who were up when she got off work – her and Norman and the kids. Now it’s just her and the kids.
And that snarky little disembodied creep, of course.
”…I’m sorry for your loss.”
”He… He was still so young. His bar was barely full! Oh, dad…”
”There, there….Yeah…You let it all out.”
…Ok, he’s not all bad.

He is, on some things, a total pest.
”Billy! Billy! Get your shotgun!”
“It’s two in the morning and I don’t own a shotgun,” I grumble as I get out of bed.
”This is the country! I thought everyone owned a shotgun!”
I am trying to imagine a more insulting way he could have phrased that. I am out of ideas, and am instead sputtering in incoherent rage.
”Listen, man, whatever our disagreements, we both agree that we can’t let anything bad happen to Aster or Ariel, right?”
“Wait, what’s going on?” That got my attention.
”Just hurry! To the nursery!
I grab my sculpting pick as a weapon and run to the other end of the house. And I find…
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“A gnome?”
”It’s in the house it’s in the house killitkillitkillit!”
“…It’s a gnome. An inanimate object.”
”That somehow got in the same room as Aster, man!”
“...Yeah, I’m gonna go back to those ice sculptures.”
”Think of the childreeeeeen!”
I do, eventually, move the gnome out. It’s just creepy, that’s all.

And as for the rest of us, in light of Norman’s absence…
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We’re doing fine. Really. My eyes are bone-dry.
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I mean, we’ve got new stuff to distract us…
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And I have Ariel, always soft and tender, her big blue eyes looking to mine the way sailors look to a shore on a stormy day. It’s really all a lot easier, when she’s snuggled in my arms.

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Later, though, she lets go to call her boss. Her new boss, Laurel Grisby, because her old boss retired. One day after she started work.
”But when you contemplate trash, you realize that much of it can be used for interesting compost. When you think about it, the whole system of life requires…”
Laurel Grisby, from the other side of the phone: ”…Must…Not…Chew…Off…Arm…To…Escape…”

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I take the chance to spend some time with my precious little boo. My sweet little bitty one…
No, I don’t think it’s weird for us to go out in our PJs. They’re comfy.

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And Ariel eventually invites Laurel over.
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And girls will be girls. I’m not sure why they went to that other bedroom to pillowfight, but… Eh, well.

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And I guess in all the excitement of watching my wife in a skimpy sarong and her friend in a small dress have giggle-filled pillowfights like a pair of sorority girls, I forgot my birthday. Which is really unfair! I do a lot of work for my family! I’m not getting any younger – I need to make a change! For myself!
“I’m going to buy a fancy car!”
”With what money?” My dear wife asks.
“Well, I’ll quit my job and become a master thief!”
”…Really? That doesn’t sound very nice…”
“…uhmm…Well…I’ll… Take off my hat?”
”Wow! That’s an incredible change, honey!”
She claps excitedly.
I felt less than renewed by that, however exciting she found it, and decided that I’d work out.
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And Ariel gets her first promotion – she’ll be moving up the ladder quickly from here on out, I think.
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And she comes home in time for a birthday party or two – one for herself and one for little Aster.
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And my little girl becomes a cross-eyed little perfectionist.
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”What are you looking at, honey?”
“If the sparkles aren’t visible anymore, they’re somewhere that cannot be seen! Like the bridge of my nose!” Aster explains eagerly. Maybe it’s from hearing us talk to Uriel all the time, but she doesn’t seem at all confused.
”…Riiiight…”
”If they’re somewhere that can’t be seen, then I have to do my best to reveal them. They can’t just be hiding. That’s cheating!”
“Why don’t you go get changed, sweetie.”
She goes and runs off, while we discuss living arrangements.
”I think it’d be nice to live closer to the balcony; we can move up there and let Aster’s room be downstairs,” Ariel requests. I like this plan, since it involves Uriel doing lots and lots of hard work while I boss him around.
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These aren’t the final set-ups of the rooms, but they’re close. The balcony room’s a little small about that.

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Anyway, unlike me, Ariel handles aging gracefully. I’m not surprised.

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And Aster settles on a look. She made the skirt for her everyday-wear herself, very quickly like that, so we couldn’t just say no.

Wow, things got quiet here. Well, even if no one says anything, I'll keep assuming people are reading this. This, as an aside, is my favorite chapter.

Chapter 11: Real and Unreal Things

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My house is full of unseen things. Some of them are nice -- but the rest, I don't know. They lurk like shadows and burst in quick flits of color at the edge of my vision, catching and riding onto my breath. They're secret things, dust-mites-that-might-be-alien things. They hide because they're afraid of being seen.

Not like you guys -- you people on the internet in another world. I'm just fiction to you, so when you're watching this, seeing my heart as a series of red-yellow-blue pixels, looking perfectly black until you bring your face close, you're not planning on doing anything to me. Maybe you're even rooting for Momma and me -- you are, aren't you?

Oh, wait. I forgot to say Hi. Well, HI! I bet you've guessed, but I'm Aster Seraphim. Uncle Uriel asked me to do this chapter -- Momma's feeling better, don't worry -- but this chapter's about secret things -- things that can't be seen, so I have to show them to you. That's important to me.

Well, the first thing that can't be seen is my friend Evanthe. She's grown up with me since I was born, and our lives are like tangled threads.
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But I can see what she's really like, so I don't know -- is she really an unseen thing?
Well, maybe. Yes. No. Well, Dad can't see her. If I tell him about her, he nods and tries really hard not to say anything.
And he talks to Momma about it in another room, where he thinks I cannot hear. And Momma shuts her book and says, softly,

"I think we shouldn't assume what's real until we understand everything, Billy. There are more things in heaven and earth, after all."
"And that means?"
"...'"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real."' But in The Velveteen Rabbit, the rabbit was only real to The Boy, right?"
...And that's why I like Momma the best of all the grownups.

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And Evanthe's the best of all the little ones, duh!
"So I was wondering if maybe we couldn't go down to the river? I bet the water's just great, the fish're jumping...I bet it's beautiful." She says.
"Do you think fish can swim in other things? Like cherry juice?"
"Cherry Juice?"
"Yes. Would they be able to swim? Would they have red eyes, so they treated red light like white light?"
"I bet not.... But I bet there are alien worlds where the water's like cherry juice!"
"That's a really tasty world, then."
...I don't know why I thought cherry juice would be the best juice. I mean, obviously pineapple juice is way tastier! Or punch.


And while we were all asleep (I know this because Uriel, who’s the nicest voice I know, told me later – he made it a story time. But Uriel said that didn’t happen. So I dunno), Aunt Elaine decided to start reading an important book. Since she's a cook, it's bound to have been a book about important food.
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What sort of food is important? I bet it's muffins. Evanthe thought it could other things, but I was all "Oatmeal? Are you crazy?" And then I realized what I had just said and was like "Pony references? Are you crazy?"
...And, of course, I am, but...

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And Great-Uncle Norman’s ghost came out of his grave. I guess that’s apposed to be scary, but I think he just wanted to see his family. That’s not scary at all. We’re all ghosts underneath our skin, right?

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Well, I don't have a ghost costume. But I can be a noble prince.
...Where I got the scepter? Don't be silly! All princes got to have a scepter. It's how they fire sparkle lasers.
It's not my fault the costume doesn't come with one. I shouldn't be deprived by little things like reality!

Either way, playing pretend = awesome.

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Having a friend who occaisonally does not realize that you would like to be alone to use the bathroom before your first day of school? Not awesome.

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And having the shower break the instant you're done using it on this exact day? Also, really, not cool.

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But eventually, and with full determination, I get to go to school.
FYI, even though I was smart enough to think otherwise, school does not have a pool. I wore my bathing suit for nothing.
Apparently all these 'smart teachers' do not think rhymes make things real. But they do. Rhymes and love and art makes things real. I've already learned neat things, like the fact that no one will allow for the ending of all grudges with fudges until I make it happen! You'll all see!

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Oh, did I mention Momma's a good gardnerer? She's so good, and has harvested so many perfect fruits, that people are calling her a 'botanical boss!'

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Oh, but get this! When I was at school, Reed went into my room and started playing with Evanthe! And at first, I'm really mad at him, since Evanthe is my friend, and she was waiting for me!
But... I guess I better be nicer to Reed, if I don't want him stealing my friend.

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That'll be easier, since Reed had his birthday today! He's now a kid like I am.
...Even though even I can tell he's not really related to Aunt Elaine, but there's an unseen thing there between them. A good one.
But a good one and a bad one look exactly the same when you can't see them 'cause they're unseen.

"Uriel! Uriel!"
"Yeah, Princess?"
"I want an easel, like Dad."
"Already? That's fast, kiddo. But sure. Whatever you want."
Ok, Uriel's also an awesome grownup even if he is a voice -- he's a nice voice and a grownup one, too. He's like a second dad.
Hey, wouldn't it be nifty if genes happened like that -- like unseen things could be your family, or dreams your siblings or you could be hope and slip into a painting?

But oh. What I wanted to do was paint the unseen thing between Reed and Aunt Elaine, so it could be a good thing.
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I'm not good enough yet, but I will one day.

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Reed finished getting dressed and ready: he looks kinda serious and nice like that. I mean, really -- blue boots? Blue boots are for serious peoples.

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And Evanthe and I have a lot of fun together: she tells me about stars and other worlds, I tell her about the worlds that bloom like flowers in my brain.
But not literally -- I mean, there aren't roots in my brain that grow into stalks and in the center of the flower, where the pollen aught to be, is a tiny planet like a globe.
Maybe Momma sees that in her plants; maybe she is an intergalactic conquerer of the garden!
Yes, momma, bring those worlds to your heel!

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"Maybe she's been hit with too many pillows," Uriel mumbles, chuckling.

...Sometimes I think maybe I'm the one who's not real, and Evanthe's the real one. If that's true, then I'm glad she's brought me along.

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"Hey, Reed! Watcha' doin?"
"Exercisin' with Uncle Billy," Reed says.
"Why?"
"Sieze the day! Live in the moment!" Dad bursts out.
"I wanted to see how far he'd go with this mid-life crisis thing," Reed says, taking a moment to watch my dad.
"...I bet you five bucks he'll end up jumping a shark on a motor cycle."
"You're on."
"Yes, my dad will soon be riding his space motor-cycle across the sea, leaping over a string of 16 sharks!"
"...That actually sounds really cool, Aster!" Reed bursts out cheerfully.

Later that day, I get a very special call. It is a call FROM SCIENCE! It was about Evanthe.
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And normally I'm a little worried about SCIENCE!, but this was important. Momma handed the rainbow gem I needed right away.
"I had a feeling it'd be useful to you one day, dear," She said with a smile. "I'm sure everything will work out without everything needing to be burned or you getting pox, dear."
Momma's literary references are unnerving.
...And from me, that says a lot.

But I get it done, and give her the potion.
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Ack! More sparklies, this time with bubblies!
... But the moment I notice them, they're gone. I will take a brush and catch them, one day. One day...

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And then, amid some wails of warning from parts of the internet where I guess other dynasties are kept (I'm looking at you, Frohmans...), I prove that I! Am! Not! Crazy!

Ok, I'm not crazy regarding Evanthe. How about that?

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Her favorite color's grey -- between the three kids, we've got all sorts of monochrome going on! She also likes Sushi, but I forget her favorite music.

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And her traits are Loves the Outdoors (Uriel'll be happy about that, since she can learn to fish), and like me she's a perfectionist... But even I think she's a bit of a loser.
Still, she's my 'Vanthe!

Oh, one small Glossary:

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Frohmans: Another dynasty story, on its second attempt. The first attempt apparently ended due to an imaginary friend turned real eating a Life Fruit, thus disquaifying them. Link is Here. Reading that one taught me some good lessons for this one, like that the architect job gives you a 40% discount on build/buy mode stuff... And that it's a good job for a painter, since you can raise it up just by painting.

aww, kid narration :smallsmile::smallbiggrin:

also: Issa still readin'! :smallbiggrin:

Chapter 12: Who you aint gonna call?

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Well, readers, did you like my family? I'm sure Aster will have a lot more to say as she grows older; Some say she's a little odd, but I really haven't noticed!
... Not that I am quite the judge of sim behavior; they're lovely people, but oh, if they aren't strange. In the course of events, I know I will meet a never-ending string of sims, all of who will be invariably... really, really wierd.


In my efforts to learn more about sims and make some friends, I visit June Shallow, my co-worker, though only for a minute: I have a big day of socializing ahead. I also meet, at two seperate locations, Carlotta and Anita Lobos.
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Yes, those two girls look quite alike -- they're not the same person, though, I swear! But I thought they may have been: I was a little upset at first. Anita left me at the park, just so she could go to the other park, where I was going? Very odd. I may have been so upset I wanted to yell. But not too loudly, and only if it was Ok with everyone... I mean, I don't want to seem rude...
Maybe, had my mistake not been mistaken, I could have just dropped a small, but deeply insulting comment, like ... like...

W-well, anyway, Evanthe decided to start fishing on that lovely little plot we own. Ah, fishing, surrounded by the tranquilities of the woods, the slender cat-tails with their bing plump heads swaying in the wind...
It strikes me as a lovely thing to do. Evanthe agrees, and decides that for her own lifetime, she'll try and set-up a squad of fishbowls.
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We have some of Mr. Norman's fish to help her get started: she is to fishing as I am to gardening, seeking pure perfection. I wonder if there will be a descendant whose will is to fish, to be an angel whose dominion is over the sea?
Well, river. I bet that would be very, very swell!



"Heeeeey, Uriel..."
"What is it, Billy?"
"I was at the consignment shop today, and I saw something..."
"...No..."
"And I knew. You'd just. Be So. Excited."
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"*twitch*"
How nice that Billy was thinking about my dear Uriel! Billy sounded so happy to give Uriel a gift.

That's when I notice that, although apparently they've been best friends for the whole of her life (a sim would say forever; in this, I am not simish), the two can't bear to share a bed. This is problematic, since only one of them has a bed.
"Do you think we need to purchase another bed, honey?"
"With what money?" Billy responds, turning back to the mound of ice. I worry sometimes about where these things come from: If all the ice is being turned into sculptures, then what will polar bears live on? It's not global warming that is destroying the arctic: it is ice sculpting.
"But she needs --"
"She'll live."
"I'm terribly sorry, Evanthe."
"It's fine...I'm used to it, Missus Seraphim."
...For someone who has been alive exactly one afternoon, I have to admit, that's perhaps a tad unsettling. Just a touch.


"No, really, she'll be ok. It's not like any of you guys *have* to sleep ever again."
"Pardon?"
"It's our scheme. We got a magical car! Or some blather like that."
"Basically. I managed to wiggle one out of a supplier."
"Boy, there's certainly everything in this world of sims!"
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Though, it's not as if we entirely know what to do with the newfound time.
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Evanthe and Aster, however, decide to use the large amount of empty space on the unfinished second floor. Everything's a game to them.

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In the spirit of fun and games, I've decided to throw a party!
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Unfortunately, it is immediately crashed by Rhoda Bagley. I...I don't intend to offend, or to call into doubt the honor of a no-doubt upstanding woman, and yet...Call me mad, but I think she may be evil. Just a little. Maybe it's the way she moves, or the way she's a former career criminal...Oh, I don't know. Am I being too harsh?
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Still, between Reed's fine muffins and some coffee, we all have a good time. I think I'm making friends quickly.

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During the nights, the family mostly works -- the art room is so crowded, I'm a little stunned. It used to just be Billy: I may need to make it a little nicer soon.
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I don't do anything so practical: I read by silvery moonlight. It's pleasant to be out of everyone's hair for a while.
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And Norman appears every now and again, attracted to the waterslide as much as he was in life.
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I'm not wholly sure where the interest in possessing easels, though. I checked, and apparently even when bits of your furniture and posessed and shaking, and you really don't want him gone so much as moved so your daughter can use the easel, you cannot call for the ghost busters.
Sim media has lied to me. Naughty, naughty media.

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I return home from the park to see Elaine let out a whoop of joy.
"I've done it! I've learned all the local recipes!"
"Congratulations!"
"You know... I'm glad I came here. I hope dad's proud."
"...Well, you could ask him. He's over in the other room, haunting the easel."
"...I'll tell him when he comes out of there, then."
"Good luck with that, Elaine."

Anyway, Uriel elects to get a device from 'his suppliers,' which I suspect is a cute little Uriel-fiction: he likes to sound so important.
And Elaine gets to upgrading it.
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As for my dreams...Well, some of them will still have to wait a long time to be fulfilled. But there are other wishes, close at hand. As the morning sun rises, and the flame fruits fill my garden with orange fire-light, I realize something.
This is officially a garden without peer: the perfect garden.
I contemplate this moment, a warm swell of elation in my heart.

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We're getting closer to uniting the pace of the two threads: which is good, since a major point in the story's coming up.

Ooh, I'd missed out on this thread. Subscribing! :elan:

I like how this is turning out, and how the omniscient house spirit is not the primary character (though it'd be neat to see a chapter narrated by him). Aster creeps me out. In a good way.

My only question so far is this: What plans do you have for the Immortals who achieve Immortality? I'm reminded of your Harvest Moon LP where you'd more or less run out of goals for Jack; Ariel's gonna stay alive much, much longer so how is she going to remain an interesting character beyond an immortal observer watching her legacy unfold?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Toric

Ooh, I'd missed out on this thread. Subscribing! :elan:

I like how this is turning out, and how the omniscient house spirit is not the primary character (though it'd be neat to see a chapter narrated by him). Aster creeps me out. In a good way.

My only question so far is this: What plans do you have for the Immortals who achieve Immortality? I'm reminded of your Harvest Moon LP where you'd more or less run out of goals for Jack; Ariel's gonna stay alive much, much longer so how is she going to remain an interesting character beyond an immortal observer watching her legacy unfold?

---

He's not exactly 'omniscient,' though he's close enough... And I've been tempted, I just need the right chapter. Besides, if this dynasty fails or it completes and I still want to play... I may just give him his own dynasty.

It's hard to say. She'll definitely switch careers from business to being a gardener full-time. She'll probably collect things, meddle, read books... I do want her to maybe do some nectar making... Maybe she'll help scout for partners for later generations. And at least she'll have to be part of the drama of asking each generation if they want this to continue. I'll try to think of things for her, but she'll probably fade at least a little. Heck, maybe I can hold some votes!

Aster will probably just sculpt, paint, and be crazy (which is great for screenshots).

The one thing this dynasty have that the HM LP doesn't is that there will always be someone doing something interesting. Except maybe for the writing generation. Who will mainly sit. At their computer. Writing: good skill to super-max, bad skill to tell stories about. Maybe I'll give my writer some really fun traits. Also, pets is coming out soon: maybe (if I don't want horseback riding to be a supermax skill) they can ride horses or collect a menagerie. And maybe I'll consider getting Late Night, so that they can party at the club.

Chapter 13: Unlucky Birthday!

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"You know how we're always saying 'with what money'? Well, good news! We have money!
"That's wonderful! How did we come across it?"
"Someone died!"
"That's horrible! Who was it?"
"Oh, relax. It wasn't anyone we know."
"Oh, that's good...
No, wait. That's bad."
"Well, make up your mind."
"How did we get money from a dead stranger?"
"Well, I never said he was a stranger. Elaine's Long-Lost brother died in a strange accident involving a rooftop, a buffalo, and a bouquet of 16 white foxgloves."
"Wait, Elaine's brother? That's terrible! I don't even want to know what color his ghost will be!"
"You're right! We'll never be able to recognize a ghost of a water-buffalo-roof-flower accident death! Poor Elaine!"
"Poor Elaine!"
"...Guys. I never had a brother, long-lost or otherwise. Really."
"Really? That's wonderful!... I think."
"Then where'd this money come from? The notice said..."
"Maybe it was a mistake?"
"...Maybe it was 'aunt' Bernice."
"Aunt Bernice. We will find you, you fictional aunt and long-lost brother."
"...*sigh*"

Other than that little bit of oddness, things continue normally.
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"Heading to school as a fairy princess this morning?"
"I'm an angel princess, thank-you-very-much. They're better."
"Whatever you say, Princess."
...Aww... I know I need to tell her one day. I just worry that this'll complicate her...imbalances. Is it my fault, I wonder? That she is so unsteady, compared to other sims?

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Well, still: her life doesn't seem unpleasant. Even if it's just the children of our house, but she has people willing to join her on her flights of fancy.
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...Though, sometimes I think they must be rather odd their own selves.
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Still, there is more in heaven and earth than even I know of; maybe there really and truly is a need for a periscope in the bathtub.

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To our relief and Billy's delight, he's finally ready to sculpt the pair of us in ice. It's a fine, but not needed, addition to the museum.
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And mine comes out rather well, don't you think?

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Reed, meanwhile, buckles down to some of his less crucial duties, like learning to bake delicious muffins.
Why do I say 'less crucial'? Because Reed's decided something about his life.
"You know, Uncle Billy's a really cool guy. I've decided that I'm going to pursue the same lifetime wish as him!"
"But he's never actually fulfilled his wish; how do you know you could?"
"Well, he's a cool guy and he looks cool and he says all sorts of words Mom won't tell me what they mean --"
"Not on camera, he doesn't. We've talked about that."
"But he's kind of a slacker. I'm sure I'll do a better job, and be a good cook if we run low on stuff, too."
"I'll be sure to remember you said that 'slacker' bit. You're a hard worker, kid."
"Everyone here's pretty amazing -- I just want to keep up."
I give him a little hug. I'm sure he'll make a fine Master of the Arts one day.

And later that evening, Aster and I do a little talking about other worlds. It seems like the sort of thing she'd like to hear me talk about.
"The manifolded multiverse is rather broad; we have worlds like this one, and worlds that are similar..."
"Right, like there are other Riverviews, even some with other dynasties in them!"
"I think that may be a little much..."
"Yeah, I guess you're right. I mean, everyone does dynasties in Sunset Valley. That town's like the dynasty bicycle; basically everyone takes it for a ride."
"Well, that's not..." I mean, I suppose it might be true...
"Perhaps so, Aster."
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Aster (Thinking):"Yeah, Mom really doesn't get it...But she's alright."

"But that's the thing, isn't it? She doesn't get it. How do I explain something like this?
Oh, I know! I'll build graphs! Yes, graphs explain everything! Oh, but this is Momma. They need to be plant-graphs. Topiaries? Yes, I will build topiary graphs and train fireflies to nest in them to create a series of points...
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Oh, but points that spell out what? You've gotten caught up again, Aster.... Always getting caught up in the pretty things, the lights-go-shiny-things, the leaves-at-your-feet things. You've forgotten what counts. Always, always, forget what counts...
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Stupid, Stupid! None of that will make it real, none of that will make it true, make it seen-and-seeable! Stupid!" She howls into the night. Always talking to herself, and never liking what she has to say.

I wish I knew what to say to her. That I could hold her close and take all the fear and confusion away. There are duties of angels and duties of sims... But that's the duty of a mother, to want the impossible.

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Reed, at least, does a better job of that. He admits proudly he doesn't quite grasp her ideas -- he says they're too clever and too vibrant. I think there's just a bit of flattery in him, but he seems so sincere.
She believes him, in the light of day. And I'm glad.

I'm sorry to trouble you, dear reader, with these elements: I don't want you to think matters are so troubled as all this.
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I've been promoted again, to the point where I am now about halfway to the top of the business career. The longest half is still coming up ahead, but I have little to fear, I think.
And the kids are doing well in school: Aster's on honor roll, and Evanthe and Reed have As. I'm proud of them, so I'm happy to let them go on a field trip, and get a few souvenirs.
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I've also been bonding with the Lobos girls: neither of them are terribly interested in plants, but both of them have in common the desire to show the other one up at the waterslide. I hope they understand it's not a contact sport.
...Or is it? There's still so much to learn.

And the next day begins an exciting occasion: Aster's birthday party. The guests start filing in before Aster even gets home, and it soon becomes clear how, well, complicated it's all about to get!
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And by complicated, I mean "Panic Inducing Inferno!" Oh, the dining room doesn't even have a fire alarm!
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Billy and I have to rush and put out the flames ourselves.
Only one person is so lost in her own world that she doesn't even notice the fact that the entire room is On FIRE!
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Or maybe she just sees something lovely in the flames.
Either way, she grows up into a lovely young woman, and something of a savvy sculptor: I guess it's all those years of watching her father.
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And Uriel wants to rush her over to the mirror right away, but by this time, we've replaced everything, and she wants to cheer on her dearest friend's birthday:
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But eventually, he gets them both for styling...
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And dressing. I hear the three of them chattering about things like 'Gothic Lolita' and 'Zettai Ryouiki.' In other words... I have frankly no idea what any of this is about, except that they wish there were longer socks.
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Still, both girls are savvy sculptors and excellent-looking young women.

I must say, I dont like playing the Sims in any way. However your LP here has me riveted, keep it up! :smallwink:

Somehow it's appropriate that the sparkly lights put on a real show for the one girl who acknowledges their existence. If this show is burning down the kitchen, well, it gets everybody's attention.

I love the image-illustrated train of thought Aster goes through. She's definitely my favorite character so far, though I'm also enjoying seeing the other youngsters develop character little by little.

Heh. That's certainly a way to look at it... Also, come the next chapter, the two threads will officially be caught-up. This will slow down update speed a bit, but will also make life easier... And allow me to keep track of the progress of various immortals here. Points, by the way, for whomever gets the reference of Chapter 14's title, which should be coming up now.

Chapter 14: But You Can't Do Any of That Without a Hat

Spoiler

Show

Of course, festivities can only last so long before things fall back to normal.

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Aster: "So, I was thinking -- I don't want to use up my best painting skill before I'm grown up -- I mean, the shine of light needs to mature like a fine wine, and I don't want to paint it all before it's ready! We should do something else -- what about interpretive shadow-toe-puppet dances?"
Evanthe: "Be we don't have shadow puppets that go on our toes. We barely have toes!"
Aster: "...So... We need to go back in time and make sure we evolve monkey feet?"
Evanthe: "Do you have a time machine, Aster?"
Aster: "...A technicality."
Evanthe: "Ok, so, we need a plan with less time travel."
Aster: "Yup! How about sculpting?"
Evanthe: "Yeah, let's do that. It's a lot less work."

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...Well, as normal as things get around here, right?
Still, the two of them can work on their sculptures together.

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"I knew it! Worshipping the TV! Called it! I warned you!"
"...I think he's more just lounging. Aww... he likes romances. How cute."
"He wants to understand this thing called love... So he can crush it."
"...I'm not sure that's what he wants at all."

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Despite her working on sculpting, it's clear what she's thinking about.
"I will shape this town to my will...with paint! And then they'll see...Yes, they'll all see... *giggle*"
Oh. I was hoping she was thinking about painting butterflies. Well, I'm sure she means well.

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Or perhaps she was thinking about Billy completing her portrait as a Masterpiece -- his first, actually! And look at those gorgeous cheekbones my daughter has...
Oh, they grow up so fast...

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She hasn't picked a wallpaper yet, so her museum's walls are ordinary. Still, there's progress being made.

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But I have personal work to attend to: the kids are getting old enough to meddle in my garden, so it's time to fence it off. I can expand the design if need be, and of course there needs to be flowers mixed in: maybe I'll turn this whole front side into a garden, since the back will be a party and play area eventually.
Well, we'll have to see what we can come up with, right?

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And speaking of work, I got a delightful command from the higher-ups! You see, Doo Peas Towers Inc sometimes has what it thinks of as 'media disasters,' like that time the CEO was caught mooning the hot air balloon (not pictured, for decency's sake).
Well, I've been declared the most 'incredibly, sickeningly nice person' in the company (I'm sure they meant that kindly), and they want me to smooth things over with the news media. And that means talking to this woman, Constance Shelley.

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"So... Do you like books?"
"I adore books. I'll be frank -- I like books more than people. A lyrically-written novel, with a touch of tragedy..."
"I know what you mean, but I think understanding books and understanding people are the same thing and..."
I bet you are all wishing I'd stop, huh? Well, I can't blame you... But Ms. Shelley and I really hit it off, spending most of the evening discussing books.

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That's why I wasn't around for Reed's birthday. Fortunately, his dear friend Aster was.
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Even if it was only her, I think Reed was happy to have his birthday celebrated. And Aster herself is like a party of one!
And while he says he'd like to be in better shape, I think he turned out to be a fine young man.
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Aster:"Ugh! Your hair! Come on, man! Get with it!"
Reed:"That bad?"
Aster: "Of course! What sort of man goes around in broad -- well, it's night now, so I guess it's now nighttime -- without a hat?"
"Awww, man... I was hoping I could stamp out those impulses! Billy! Being related to you has ruined my little princess!"
Billy: "Your princess? Excuse me? She's lucky to have a dad like me around to protect her from your corrupting influence!
You two... I wish you'd both think of the children! I don't want them to see those two fighting.

Though, it's not as if the kids notice this squabble, off in their own world as they are...
Reed:"Well, feel free to hat me as you will."
Aster: "Dangerous words, Reed. I hope you feel lucky."
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It turns out that she just wanted him in a top hat and cute haircut. He's actually rather thrilled.

"Ok, now it's my turn! Prepare yourself to be dazzled, man-child! I will work... Da Magics!"
I thought I heard some sort of thunder-crackle when this was going on, like some sort of dramatic effect.
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But I think it must have just been my imagination.