Victoria devoted her next weekend morning to Connery.

The old fellow never complained, but you could tell when he was feeling a bit neglected.

Their games lasted until almost noon…

When she was called inside unstick Bonehilda’s arm from the trash compactor.

It was rough being the only one in the house with any idea how stuff worked.

Then she sat down to check her email.

“Gamora! I know you did this!”

Dance was on hiatus, and Winston was getting more and more obsessed with flexibility. He started spending a lot of his off time at the gym.

He was taking a yoga class that was opening all sorts of new range of motion.

“I have GOT to find a way to use this stuff in a performance,” he decided.

It was just a matter of HOW.

“Edmund, you let your dragon sleep on the floor again,” Andria said sternly. “Come get him before he sets fire to the hardwood.” She paused and chuckled. “Not something I ever expected to say.”

“Don’t worry, Mother,” Edmund said. “I’ll take care of her.”

He called her name, and the dragon hatching leapt from the floor to alight gracefully on his arm.

Sawyer was up in the early morning. He usually strolled into work after 10AM these days, but today he was required to do a yearly wellness clinic.

He hated dealing with the riffraff of the town and their piddling little problems. He was supposed to be take apart brains and putting them back together. But the outreach was a hospital program he was required to participate in.

There was already a long line by the time he made it to the park. At least there was a warm cozy place inside to conduct his clinic.

He administered vaccines.

And antibiotics.

And hypnotized patients out of bad habits. Or something.

“Hey,” Jasper Crumplebottom said. “Can I trust you to be discreet?”

“If it helps, I have no interest in your personal life whatsoever,” Sawyer replied.

“My girlfriend and I really want to have a child, and she can’t, so can you hook me up with whatever it takes for me to get pregnant?”

“Let me take a look,” Sawyer said.

“Hmm. I can’t cure your maleness, but I can start you on male pregnancy hormones.”

“Thanks so much!” Jasper exclaimed. “I won’t forget this!”

“Don’t worry,” Sawyer said. “I can forget it for both of us.”

Sam Pistachio also showed up at the clinic.

She was really concerned about her toddler daughter’s cold, but Sawyer was more concerned about her.

“Being a single mom late in life tends to dull the brain,” he said. “Let me check your reflexes.”

“Ow! Ow! Ow!”

“Your reflexes seem to be within normal parameters,” Sawyer said. “False alarm. Carry on.”

“Actually,” Sam said, “that was kind of hot. Do you take new patient?”

“Call my secretary.”

Dylan and Andria had always been self-employed, but these days they weren’t terribly worried about their careers and didn’t mind taking time off to have fun.

While Sawyer was treating patients, they were at a Simfest in the park — possibly the worst-organized Simfest they’d ever attended.

“Didn’t this guy just go on?” Andria hissed. “Boo!”

“I think he set the same arm on fire the last time.”

Afterward, Andria took Dylan to Monmouth Archives.

“I take it you have something in mind other than checking out books,” Dylan said, trying to hide his confusion.

“Of course I do,” Andria agreed. “This is something I should have done a long time ago. You go on ahead. I need to change.”

“You’re — oh, I see,” Dylan said.

“There it is!”

“Come with me, my love,” she said. “Don’t worry. They don’t bite.”

Dylan took a deep breath and followed her.

“Why have you called us here?” the spokesman for the Fae Council boomed.

“I think it’s time I presented to you Dylan Sample, my husband.”

“You brought him here? The human who drew you out of hiding?”

“I didn’t draw out anyone,” Dylan said. “Andria came out of hiding on her own.”

Andria squeezed his hand. “He was just himself, and so was I. And it worked out fine. That’s the point I’ve been trying to make.”

 

And at last it came… Victoria’s last day of school.

The afternoon was filled with a huge award ceremony for her class, where she received honors for her grades and for her work in shop club.

“Wow. I think that was the most boring ceremony our school has ever thrown,” Winston said. “At least I caught up on my sleep.”

Andria nudged Victoria as they left. “It looks like Gamora might have taken an interest in your prom date,” she said quietly.

Victoria grinned. “That’s great, Mom. Better her than me.”

It was hard to believe it. School was out for the term, and she would never have to go back. Her birthday was almost here.

———-

I did it!! With no time to spare! (Actually, I wrote the last two posts in one day and scheduled this one to post the next day.)

Gamora did her homework with Kain McWilliams autonomously here, and she’s rolled a wish to ask for his Sign. I don’t think they have any heart-farts for each other, though.

There was no particular plot reason to include pics of Winston doing yoga. I’ve just had that piece of CC for ages, and Winston seems like he’d enjoy it.

I feel like I really neglected the thread of the fae in hiding and Dylan feeling left out of this part of his family. After his tired during Andria’s midlife crisis, I figured she’d want to get him more involved, but I didn’t manage to actually DO it until they were both Elders. Ah, well.

Dylan and Andria have been released to autonomy most of the time, since they’ve completed all their game goals. They spend most of their time romancing each other in weird places. So you have that to look forward to in the next generation 😉

Also, the Ambitions Medical career clinics are the best thing EVAR.

“This is a mess!” Dylan shouted.

“I told you not to go in the bathroom!” Victoria called back. “I’m fixing it, I swear!”

“And now Connery needs a bath too! I don’t even want to know what he’s rolling in.”

“Oh, Dylan, you’re being so… Dylan,” Andria said. “Give the kid a break.”

“My apologies,” Dylan said. “A big mess like this makes me a little unhinged.”

“You’re cute when you’re unhinged,” Andria said.

“Mom! Dad! Could you go somewhere else!” Victoria said. “I need to fix the bathtub.”

After she fixed the bathtub for the second time, Victoria return to work on the stereo, which was staunchly refusing to be repaired.

That went about as expected.

Dylan was still cleaning the floor in the bathroom,

so Victoria had to clean off upstairs.

She was really starting to hate that stereo.

The Samples extended clan decided to do something different for Snowflake Day this year — a family reunion at the festival park.

The day dawned bleakly overcast and snowing heavily, with the potential of a serious storm later. After a quick conference by telephone tree (because Dylan had never been comfortable with email), everyone decided to head to Little Cottage Park and hope for the best.

Victoria pulled Edmund onto the skating rink.

With mixed results.

For both of them.

Winston expressed his feelings about the weather in a more passive-aggressive way.

Gamora, on the other hand, wasn’t terribly interested in family reunions. She had different plans for Snowflake Day.

She’d found a chemical compound that she could use to treat raw eggs that made them bond with the surface they touched.

Her victim would have to have his door sanded and repainted to get them out.

Even better, her victim turned out to be home. She’d like to claim that the egg that hit him in the face was intentional, but he just managed to open the door at just the right time….

She did manage to throw a couple of eggs into his foyer. That was a bonus.

“What can I do to get you to leave me alone!!” Whitney shouted.

“Oh, you can’t do anything,” Gamora said. “I’ll stop when I’m done with you. Don’t hold your breath.”

Whitney called the cops, of course, but Gamora was safe at home by then.

When she returned home from her mischief, Sawyer was happy to see her. “I hope you’ve had a nice Snowflake Day,” he said. “Social custom dictates that we spend the day bonding.”

Sawyer would probably appreciate her project to punish sims who had hurt him, but Gamora deemed it prudent not to let him know when she broke the law. So she just smiled. “Sure, Dad. What did you have in mind?”

“Have you ever tried a mind meld?” Sawyer asked. “I haven’t tried one in years.”

“Never heard of it,” Gamora said, “but I’m willing to try.”

“I have been really lax with your television education,” Sawyer said. “Remind me to remedy that.”

“Huh,” Gamora said. “I don’t get it.”

“It used to work better than that,” Sawyer admitted with a scowl.

So they played chess instead. That was something they could both appreciate.

The Sample extended family arrived at Little Cottage, starting with Dylan’s cousin Gina Sample-Baerwyn.

She brought her little daughter Leona, who she was raising alone after her boyfriend’s sudden death. She wasn’t interested in talking about the tragedies of her life, but she was delighted with her daughter.

Uncle Stanley Marmalade, Aunt Abby’s half-brother, was also there. He technically didn’t share any blood with Dylan’s family due to Grandma Sky’s messed-up relationships, but nobody really cared.

Stanley was there alone. He was full of stories about his sons and bleary-eyed from new baby sleep. Andria found him sitting outside in the snow and had to pull him inside.

His partner Jody was home with their school-aged son Chauncey and new baby boy Sidney.

“I know what we all need!” Winston declared. “Hot cocoa! I brought my own cocoa beans. I want to try out a new recipe.”

While Winston was preparing his concoction and nobody was watching, Edmund made snow angles outside.

“Wow!” Victoria said. “I never knew hot cocoa could taste so good!”

“Thanks!” Winston said. “I think I’ll add more cinnamon next time.”

“This really is amazing,” Dylan said. “It’s good to get us all together. I wish Abby and Chaim could have made it”

“I married into an amazing family,” Andria said with a smile.

“Of course you did,” Dylan said with a twinkle in his eye. “You married me!”

———-

And the race is on to finish Gen 6 before the end of the year. One more post to go! Can I do it??

“And then she just walked away!” Edmund ranted at breakfast. “I just don’t understand women.”

“It’s probably not much comfort, son,” Dylan said, “but I’ve come to believe that if you’ve with a woman you don’t understand, you’re with the wrong woman.”

Edmund went on to take out his anxiety with a new spell.

That didn’t turn out well at all.

He set the magic aside after that and spent some time focusing on art with his father. That was still the language they could communicate in best.

He did produce a landscape he was particularly proud of.

Sawyer lined up some personal meetings with other neuroscience experts.

He had so much expertise to share with the smaller, less important researchers.

If only they would be a little more grateful.

Dylan and Andria had one more box to check off of their list of things to do on their second honeymoon.

Nectar tasting!

The nectarer had clearly sampled a bit too much of his own wares.

Andria made the first selection.

“Gak!”

“That tasted like a dead horse,” she said. “I don’t think I’ve ever really figured out this nectar stuff.”

“Let me pick one,” Dylan said soothingly.

“You go first,” Andria said.

“Mmmm,” Dylan said. “Fruity with a hint of floral.”

“All right,” Andria said. “If you think this one is good, I’ll give it a shot.”

“Hmmm,” she said, rolling the nectar over her tongue.

“No, I’m sorry, it’s still terrible.”

Dylan laughed and took her hands. “That’s what I love about you,” he said.

“That I can’t stand nectar?”

“Well, maybe in spite of that,” Dylan said.

“Ooop!” she squeaked as he knocked her off her feet.

“What are you doing?”

“Is it that hard to guess?”

“We need to go back to the tower,” Andria said huskily when she came up for breath.

“No,” Dylan said. “Absolutely not.”

“You know you want to try again,” she teased.

“I do not — all right, but whatever happens is your fault.”

“Last chance to chicken out,” Andria said.

“Nope,” Dylan retorted. “Too late.”

He took her by the hand, and they took the elevator to the top.

This time, they picked a better hiding place, and nobody found them.

“I guess I haven’t lost it after all!” Dylan chortled as they left.

“Remember,” Andria said. “I get full credit. You already said so. No takebacks!”

Before they left, Dylan found a perfect place to photograph a landscape to remember it by.

Back at the hotel, Edmund had started acting very strange.

“What in the simworld are you doing?” Dylan asked.

“It’s a spell I’ve been working on,” Edmund said. “It’s intended to coax a dragon hatching out of its shell.”

“Ah, right,” Dylan said. “I’ll just, ah, leave you to it.”

While Edmund made strange gestures and muttered to the egg, Dylan busied himself tidying up. They were headed home tonight, and it would be improper to leave the place a mess.

“Wait!” a guest cried. “What’s wrong with that rock?!”

The shards of the egg fell apart and dissolved into sparkling dust.

The creature inside immediately jumped off the ground and flew to Edmund’s outstretched arm.

“I’ll call you Kalai,” he said.

“Is that really a lizard on your shoulder?” another guest demanded. “Is that sanitary? Should that be in a bedroom?”

Edmund scowled. “Nobody here appreciates magic.”

 

The return flight left that evening. “There’s no time for me to cool a fancy dinner,” Andria said. “I think I’ll just grill something at the fire pit.”

“Yike!”

“OK, new plan. We’re going out to eat.”

 

Back home, Victoria and Winston set about erasing the traces of their party.

Victoria tried to repair the shorted out stereo.

Which required a bath.

Which required another repair.

Winston, meanwhile, kept his promise to Victoria about the den. After the party, you almost couldn’t tell that it had been cleaned beforehand.

Gamora had no more interest in the aftermath of the party than she did in the party itself. She ignored what her cousins did and focused on scheming.

First she perfected her formula.

Whitney Ursine-Sample had just been practice. Now she had her sights set on her mother, Manisha Kapoor-Yo.

Her chemical formula, when ignited, would make their house stink for days.

The best part was, while her father, aunt, and uncle were away, she was untouchable. A neighbor saw her lurking around the Kapoor-Yo residence and called the cops. They escorted her home, but there was no adult for them to report to.

Freedom, sweet freedom.

Eventually, though, it all had to come to an end.

Dylan, Andria, Sawyer, and Edmund returned to a home that was just as they left it… only more so.

“I can’t believe it!” Dylan declared. “This place is even cleaner than I remember! I never thought you children would be so responsible.”

“Just don’t go into the bathroom,” Victoria said weakly.

Then Vickie caught sight of the shape on her older brother’s shoulder.

“What is THAT!” she exclaimed.

Edmund puffed up his chest. He didn’t need more explanation of what Victoria meant.

“This is Kalai,” he said. “She’s a rare dragon hatchling, thoroughly enchanted.”

“If you’re interested, I could show you the spells I designed to help her hatch.”

“Uh, sure,” Victoria said. “Maybe some other time.”

 

“Come one come all!” Andria exclaimed. “It’s time for the main event!”

Surrounded by family, Andria was finally ready to step into her next stage of life.

“I am ready to rock this old lady gig!”

Even Gamora decided to have some cake, just for family solidarity.

“Family,” Andria said. “That’s what it’s about. Also cake.”

———-

Dang, I let this post get LONG. I just really wanted to get through the vacation and back on track for Vickie’s birthday. It was so much fun to PLAY, but sheesh — time for the next generation to take over!

As a tribute to Andria, I think this is the first time that everyone has sat at the table without route-failing out of one of the end seats. Woot. I may have moved the table somewhat to accomplish that.

I was really excited to find the accessory shoulder dragon I’m using with Edmund. The baby dragon will sit on your shoulder for a while, but as soon as the sim does any action other than walking, it disappears into inventory. I’d like to see Edmund walk around with that dragon on his shoulder most of the time. UNFORTUNATELY, it took quite a while for me to realize that the accessory dragon doesn’t actually look like the real dragon. I’d love to learn enough CC skills to create a proper accessory dragon. Eventually I’ll find a forum to ask about that.

I thought it would be fun to have Dylan and Andria try woohooing in the Eiffel Tower again. This time they didn’t get caught! But the object STILL didn’t show any hearts or woohoo animation, which was a bummer. I’m not sure what’s up with that.

While I’m free associating in the notes, I’m experimenting with posting this stuff to Tumblr. I really like the Sims community there, but the lack of comments makes it very non-interactive. I’m not sure I’ll stick with it.

I am posting hair conversions over there, though: http://echoweaver.tumblr.com/