6.30 Great Expectations

#sims3challenge #sims3legacy #sims3story #thesims3

Sawyer shocked the entire family by his attentive fatherhood. He checked on her frequently, jumped when she whimpered, spent hours talking and cuddling with her.

In fact, he offered more gentle physical contact to his strange little plant creature than he had to anyone in his entire life, especially when he was a child himself.

While he certainly made sure that Andria saw him, it wasn’t fair to say that he was doing it to spite her. His passion for his baby was clearly both real and intense, though he couldn’t have articulated it.

For Gamora’s part, she was very baby-like, despite her oddly textured plant skin and luminous yellow eyes. She cooed, waved her limbs, and grabbed her daddy’s finger like any baby would. But it was hard to imagine an easier baby. She didn’t need to eat and needed no diaper, which everyone found unnerving. She could go days without crying.

Winston was a normal baby enough for both of them.

Victoria and Edmund were not the ideal roommates. Victoria had no interest in Edmund’s stark decorating tastes and insisted on putting up color everywhere.

Edmund pushed back, but no matter how he argued, he always seemed to find that he’d agreed to whatever Victoria wanted to do.

Their room became more and more a clash of styles.

Sometimes Edmund had to let off steam and sleep in the treehouse.

Andria’s farming started to get noticed. She was called to Camelot Hall and offered an award grant to further agricultural development in Avalon. The grant came with a nice trophy, and Andria couldn’t help herself — she was bursting with pride.

Abby was at a crossroads.

She looked at herself in the mirror and saw an aging actress. She wouldn’t be able to sustain her career on a pretty smile much longer. If Anton Pierce’s movie was well-received by the critics, she hoped to be able to be able to build her reputation for artistic roles.

And then there was her boyfriend, who didn’t exactly bolster her reputation on the silver screen circuit.

With her salary from her recent movie, Abby decided to catch attention a different way.

As status symbols went, she had to say that this one moved like a dream.

She rang up Chaim when his shift ended. “You want to take me out for a romantic dinner,” she told him.

Chaim laughed. “I did? Of course I did. You read my mind.”

“Meet me at Vetinari’s in an hour.”

“Yes ma’am.”

Chaim’s reaction as Abby stepped out of her new ride was even more satisfying than she’d hoped. “Holy Watcher!” he cried. “Is that yours?”

“It is now,” Abby crooned. “Would you like me to take you for a spin later, big boy?”

Chaim gave her a shy smile. “Only if you stay under the speed limit. I’m never really off duty, you know.”

Sawyer walked nervously out to meet Manisha.

“I suppose you’re wondering why I called you over,” he began.

Manisha gave him a perplexed look. “Why would I wonder? We always meet at your place.”

“Oh,” Sawyer said. “Well, I guess today is different.”

“Sawyer, are you all right? You’re acting really weird.”

“I’m not weird,” Sawyer said. “I’m exhilarated. You will be too. I want to introduce you to the greatest triumph of our lives.”

He beckoned her into the house.

Manisha gasped. “Sawyer, what is that?”

“I took the liberty of naming her Gamora,” Sawyer said. “I know I should have asked you first, but I didn’t think you’d object. I know that character is your favorite.”

Gamora gurgled. Manisha stared. At last, she said again, “What is it, Sawyer?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Sawyer said. “She’s our daughter.”

“Our daughter!” Manisha said. “What did you do? How could you do this without asking me?”

Sawyer was stunned. “But- but I did ask you,” he said. “You gave me a sample of your DNA. We were going to make history together.”

“You were going to merge our DNA with plant DNA to see what happened. I was expecting a hybrid slug, or maybe a puppy.”

“Why would you want to share your DNA with a slug?” Sawyer asked.

“That’s beside the point!” Manisha said. “You didn’t say you were going to make something sentient! I wanted groundbreaking research, not motherhood!”

“I didn’t know the seed I spliced would grow a baby either,” Sawyer said. “In retrospect, it’s obvious. Gamora is the perfect synthesis of sim and plant DNA. This is the logical form she would take. Don’t you think she is amazing? Aren’t you proud that we made her? I don’t understand.”

Gamora, always preternaturally quiet, squirmed in Sawyer’s too-tight grip and whimpered. Sawyer murmured apologetically to her and laid her down gently on her play mat.

“Manisha,” he said, “she’s our daughter. It doesn’t matter how she got here. She’s ours to raise.”

“You’re talking crazy!” Manisha said. “Stop pretending she’s a sim. She’s a plant with some sim DNA who happens to look like a baby. Just send it to the university lab for analysis and write your research paper.”

The raised voices attracted Dylan and Andria. “Is there a problem I can help with?” Dylan asked.

SMACK!

“Sawyer!” Andria shrieked.

“I am not crazy,” Sawyer shouted.

Andria dashed forward and grabbed Sawyer by the arm. “You are coming with me,” she hissed.

“Are you all right?” Dylan asked Manisha. “Can I help? Can I take you home?”

Manisha stared at the floor, too stunned to do anything for a moment. “I-I’m fine,” she stammered. She tried for a weak laugh. “Sawyer isn’t that strong. I don’t need help. I’ll just go now.”

Dylan escorted her to the door and watched her walk away. Then Gamora’s lonely wail drew him back to the den. He cradled the baby in his arms and took her up to her crib.

“I’m sorry, little one,” he murmured. “It’s not your fault.”

———

Abby’s midlife crisis rolled a wish for an expensive car, and that sounded like just the kind of status symbol she’d enjoy, especially now that she’s given up on a high-status boyfriend.

Sawyer and Manisha…. oh my. I had Sawyer call Manisha over to introduce her to Gamora. They didn’t have a maxed relationship, but it was close. Sawyer seemed to be doing pretty well with her; I assumed his Socially Awkward trait was less destructive with a high relationship. I thought that I might move Manisha into the house at this point. I left them for a couple of minutes unsupervised. When I came back Sawyer was slapping Manisha, and their relationship had been trashed to 0. I can only assume that Manisha was not as happy to meet her genetic daughter as Sawyer assumed she would be…. :(.

I know that male sims hitting female sims doesn’t have the same ooomph that it does for real humans, but dang. I can’t say that Sawyer wouldn’t do it, though. He follows his own social rules.

6.29 Guardians

Mar10

#sims3challenge #sims3legacy #sims3story #thesims3

The rain held off until Love Day was over.

Abby sat inside on a rainy afternoon to study her lines. This was, by far, the most challenging role she had ever attempted. She only hoped she could give a performance worth of an Anton Pierce production.

To give her brain a rest, she took a deep breath and looked out the window.

There, standing out in the rain, was Thomas Mosely.

Abby knew he wasn’t there for her, exactly. Well, he was, but not for personal reasons. Still, she felt she had to go talk to him.

She walked out into the rain without an umbrella, and they both stood in the downpour, soaking together.

“Hey,” she said. “Haven’t you quit your awful creepy job yet?”

Thomas smiled sheepishly. “It pays the bills.”

“You know,” Abby said with a sudden light in her eyes. “My brother is a really successful photographer. If your pictures are good, he might be able to help you make it as a freelancer.”

Thomas looked dubious. “Maybe. Celebrity photography pays really well. I don’t think that traditional photography can top it.”

No matter what he says about it, he actually likes being a paparazzi, Abby realized suddenly. That made this so much easier.

“I just wanted to tell you honestly,” she said. “You and me — it’s just not going to work out.”

Thomas shrugged. “You met someone. I know. I took pictures for the next issue of Celebrity Insider.”

Abby just stared at him. She’d been skeptical that it was a good idea to be social with a paparazzi, but it was so much worse than she’d thought. She wanted to say, We can still be friends, but it wasn’t true.

Fortunately, Thomas didn’t even try. “It was worth a shot, anyway. Thanks for giving me a chance. I’ll see you around.”

“Yes,” Abby said softly. “I’m sure I will.”

Andria was at it again. She had some elixir in mind, and she had Bonehilda helping her collect the ingredients.

It turned out to be something created with Sawyer in mind. “Do you want your coworkers to quit picking on you? I might be able to help.”

“I’ll try anything,” Sawyer said sourly.

“Then let’s try this!” Andria threw a vial of elixir at his feet.

He stumbled backward in surprise. The elixir puffed into glowing purple smoke that engulfed his body, then dissipated.

Sawyer watched the smoke fade with a skeptical look. “Well, that was dramatic. I don’t suppose you’ve ever tested this stuff, have you?”

“I’m testing it now,” Andria said. “On you.”

Sawyer scowled. “That’s what I thought. If anything strange happens to me, I hold you personally responsible.”

Edmund was made the honor roll. Dylan couldn’t have been more proud.

He turned out to share his father’s artistic streak. Edmund was very unhappy with his first experiments with paint and canvass, however. “I just can’t seem to capture the dark monster that lives in my soul,” he complained.

Winston continued to rival Victoria in the most adorable baby contest.

His first word was, “Doctor!” Sawyer really appreciated that part.

When Victoria’s usual crowds of admirers went home, sometimes she took a bit of time to herself.

She really loved her Fairy Bearykins bear.

But she really preferred to be around people. When they didn’t come to her, she came to them, asking for any little extra bit of interaction.

Sawyer didn’t appreciate it when she showed up in the tech den looking to play, especially when he had Manisha over.

Dylan was always willing to make time for her, though. She was his only daughter and thus his little princess.

Those were the bits of mundane domestic life. The rest was much weirder.

As the children grew older, they became more interested in their fae nature. Andria chided them to be cautious about their magic in public, but in private, they let loose.

Dylan pretended not to care when he walked past a life-sized faerie doll playing at the blocks table, but he wasn’t very convincing. He found the whole thing very disconcerting. He wasn’t even sure which child he was looking at.

“Tell me about magic,” Edmund asked his mother.

Andria sighed. “There’s so much to know, and I only know a little bit.”

Edmund looked her in the eye, doll’s-face to doll’s-face. “Who can teach me then?”

Andria told him about the Fae Masters.

The next day, after school, he went to find the Masters himself.

The latch was just where his mother said it would be.

“I want to know about magic,” he told him.

The Masters were surprised. “You are fae, but different. Part of you is ghost. We have never met someone like you.”

“Then teach me,” Edmund said.

When he came home, he stayed in the treehouse until nightfall.

Sawyer, of all people, took the task of escorting Edmund to bed. He read him a passage on socket wrench maintenance from his inventor’s handbook.

It worked like a charm.

Sawyer looked about and made sure that Dylan and Andria were busy, and he headed out into the garden.

His precious experimental plant was ready to harvest.

It had succeeded beyond his wildest dreams.

“What shall I name you?” he asked the burbling little plant creature. “I didn’t think about that.”

She didn’t need to be fed. She had a store of minerals from the soil that would nourish her until she could photosynthesize on her own. Sawyer took her inside and laid her to rest in Victoria’s old crib.

“Sawyer,” Andria hissed from behind him. “What. Is. That.”

“She’s at least five journal articles,” Sawyer said brightly. “I fused human DNA with a splice of hearty vegetable species. This is success beyond my wildest hypothesis.”

“Is it what it looks like?” Andria demanded. “Is it a baby? Did you make a baby?”

“She’s a new species,” Sawyer said. “She may even been a new branch in the sim life ontology.”

“How could you do this?” Andria demanded, raising her voice. “How could you make a child for research results? She needs care and love. You can just use as an experiment.”

“You think I’m not going to care for her??” Sawyer demanded. “I thought you were stupid, but you really are an amazing idiot.”

“She’s my daughter. I’m her father. Manisha and I made her, and we are going to raise her like any other child.”

Andria stopped, stunned. “Do you think you can do that?” Andria asked. “Do you think you can be a father to this baby?”

“Nobody can be a better father to her than I will,” Sawyer said. “I’ll learn her needs and provide for them.”

“Does she even have a name?”

Sawyer gave her a condescending smile. “I thought of everything,” he said. “Of course she has a name. I named her Gamora.”

“Gamora?” Andria asked. “Where did that name come from?”

Sawyer scowled. “How can you have not seen the brilliant film–” Sawyer began. “Wait, I forgot I’m talking to a technophobe. Let’s just say I named her after an amazingly capable green woman.”

———-

So Sawyer did breed! At least after a fashion.

I promised you that Sawyer would get some more attention, Jo :).

For those who missed the heir poll, it was a three-way tie between Dylan, Abby, and Sawyer with a small-but-vocal minority calling for Dylan and Sawyer as dual heirs. I picked Dylan for many reasons — I thought he had the best genetics, his storyline lent itself to marriage and kids the quickest, and I’m kind of in love with him. Relatedly, I was reluctant to make Sawyer heir because his… unique… personality didn’t guarantee him a quick trip to babies, and I didn’t really want to push him to do things out of character just to continue the legacy. BUT, I promised that if Sawyer had kids, they’d be be heir candidates as well. So Gamora here will be in the heir poll.

I should also reassure everyone that Gamora is not a clone. We don’t need no steenking clones in my lovely gene pool. I rerolled her genetics using MasterController to combine Sawyer and Manisha. That’s what he was doing when he was getting her genetic sample. They’d been planning a plant/sim gene splicing experiment for quite a while.

We are VERY close to catching up on my huge backlog of gameplay. The last day I played was Edmund’s teen birthday. Gamora was a toddler for only a couple of days.

I opened this game recently to export Generation 6 for download. I’m getting ready to play it again, I think. Just in time.

6.28 Day to Dance

Mar8

#sims3challenge #sims3legacy #sims3story #thesims3

Spring was in the air. Abby found some of Garry Crumplebottom’s old compositions in Sky’s music gear. Arya Crumplebottom wanted them back. They met at the bowling alley. Abby stepped inside, saw who else was there, and immediately tried to get out of their line of sight.

“Wait, isn’t that your uncle Forest?” Arya asked. “Who’s that he’s dancing with?”

Abby was pretty sure it was Forest’s boyfriend’s husband. “Uncle Forest’s love life is complicated,” she said weakly. “We try not to ask.”

Love Day arrived.

The day should have been bright and sunny, but the weather wouldn’t cooperate. It dawned gray and overcast instead, sort of gloomy. At least it wasn’t raining.

Abby fluttered about the house, trying on clothes, putting her hair up, then down, then up again.

Finally, Dylan asked. “Are you all right? We’re going to the Love Day fair, not a publicity event.”

Abby flushed. “It’s not that. It’s just….”

Dylan raised his eyebrows. “You’re meeting someone there, aren’t you?”

“Sort of,” Abby admitted. “Just a guy I met recently. Mostly a friend thing.”

“Riiight,” Dylan said. “I’m interested in meeting a friend who make you do that to your hair.

Chaim was there, waiting for her.

“I’m sorry I kept you waiting,” Abby said. “There were just a hundred things to do with the kids before we left.”

Chaim took her hands.

“You look fantastic,” he said. “I was kind of afraid you changed your mind about meeting me. Thanks for coming.”

Abby forgot why she had been so worried.

Victoria was, well, Victoria. Wherever she went, she drew an entourage of admirers. Random strangers stopped her to start conversations. And she loved it.

Also their dogs.

Since the weather was so gray, she decided to brighten things up her way.

And she got Jasper Crumplebottom to do her homework for her. He never knew what hit him.

Edmund was surprisingly cheerful.

Winston was adorable.

Everyone enjoyed watching Abby and Chaim, who had no idea anyone else existed.

Andria nudged Dylan. “You know, I think they have the right idea.”

Dylan smiled knowingly, then realized she was walking away from him.

“Wait!” he called. “That’s totally inappropriate!”

Andria laughed. “Don’t worry. He’s a nice fellow, but he has nothing on you. Maybe you’ll like this better.” She pulled him close.

“Maybe we can dance a little later.”

Chaim pulled Abby over to the Love Meter.

Chaim’s face fell when he saw the response. “I thought this would be the perfect time to ask you to be my girl.”

“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” Abby said.

“Doing what?” Chaim asked.

“What does that machine know anyway,” she said. “Yes.”

“Yes, you’ll be my girl?”

“Yes!”

If anyone had told Abby she would be a cop’s girlfriend, she would have thought they were insane.

Abby and Chaim tried to capture the title of King and Queen of the Dance. They didn’t get it, but they sure had a great time trying.

Dylan escorted Andria back to the dance floor. “Care to try again, my lady?”

“Of course!”

“It’s just not our day to dance, is it?”

Then they all came home to eat a tasty salad that Bonehilda had prepared while they were gone.

———-

I absolutely love greeting card pictures. I put them in the biggest size digital frame so that I can see them when I play. The sad thing is that they get erased really easily, and I can’t get new ones by going back to an earlier save file like paintings. So I give up. I’m just going to take screen captures of them for posterity :).

The Easter eggs are screwed up. There weren’t any at the festival site, so I decided to add them in buydebug. Guess that was a bad idea — every time someone picked up an egg, they reset. I’m cranky about that. I’d like to actually collect them for festival tickets sometime. I’m not sure what was up. I guess I’ll see what happens next Love Day. Still, they have some great animations.

Victoria really gets mobbed every time she enters a community lot. That Irresistible trait is powerful.

6.27 Ordinary People

Mar2

#sims3challenge #sims3legacy #sims3story #thesims3

Well, that was the end of Justin Mai. Abby called him up and told him what she thought of him.

It was liberating, really. Her instincts had told her something was wrong. She trusted them, and it was the right thing. Maybe she could trust herself after all.

Still, it would be nice to meet someone her instincts felt good about.

Abby also sent a not to Dion, confessing that Justin had propositioned her. She couldn’t bring herself to tell him to his face. It was just too awkward. He at least had the story. It was up to him to decide whether he believed it or what to do about it.

Andria found Dylan in the dining room. She pounced on him triumphantly. “I made something! You’re going to love it!”

She dragged a perplexed and curious Dylan to the upstairs bathroom, where there was a brightly-colored crate waiting. It was the size of an adult sim.

Dylan had a sudden flash of foreboding. “Andria, what is this?” he asked.

Andria pulled a huge key from her dress pocket. “Just the best thing my alchemy has done for our household!” she said. “Behold!”

Andria unlocked the door and stepped back. It creaked open.

Dylan took one look. The he had to look away.

“What is it?” he demanded.

“A maid!” Andria said. “You won’t have to worry about the house turning into a pit with three children.”

“You raised the dead to clean our house??”

“What? Oh!” Andria laughed. “No, Bonehilda was never alive. She’s just bits of old magic stitched together. She just looks like a walking skeleton.”

“I’m not sure I can let a walking skeleton clean my house,” Dylan insisted.

Andria waved her hand dismissively. “Oh, relax. Give her a chance. You’ll get used to the way she looks, and then you’ll never want to put her back in her box.”

Dylan really hoped so.

Abby was feeling better, and she thought she’d give the paparazzi something to photograph.

“Hey,” he called. “Can I talk to you?”

No paparazzi had ever tried to interact with her. Abby shrugged. “Sure.”

He walked swiftly up to her, looking around as if trying to be sure nobody was watching.

“Would you like to go to dinner with me?” he asked.

“What?” Abby asked.

“I’ve been wanting to ask you for ages, but it’s kind of against my job. Please? If you don’t like it, I won’t bother you again.”

Abby couldn’t help but laugh.

“All right,” she said. “You can take me out right now.”

He took her to The Round Table, which was a nice touch.

At first he seemed so shocked that she’d said yes that he couldn’t think of anything to say.

“All right,” Abby began. “Tell me why you’re willing to risk your job to ask me out.”

“I don’t want you to think I’m some sort of creep,” he said.

“You’re a paparazzi,” Abby pointed out.

“All right, fair enough. I like to think of myself as an ordinary guy with a creepy job.”

His name was Thomas Mosely, and his story was endearing in an uncomfortable sort of way. He’d been photographing Abby for gossip magazines since around the time of the Nemo Hodgins scandal, and he’d gotten to know her from afar.

“You’re a nice person,” Thomas said. “My pictures have been used to say some nasty stuff, and I’d like a chance to make it up to you.

“I don’t know what to say,” Abby admitted.

“If you don’t say no, then I figure this went pretty well,” Thomas said with a self-deprecating smile.

“If you’ll excuse me now, I have to go to work. Would you let me have a picture before I go?”

It was the strangest date Abby had ever been on, and that was saying something.

Things were a bit rocky at home. Edmund might be detached and gloomy, but he took his responsibilities very seriously.

Victoria, on the other hand, tended to whatever seemed good at the time. When she was caught wandering the beach during school hours and brought home by the police, Andria was beside herself.

She gave Victoria a blistering lecture. Victoria promised she would never do anything like that again.

They made up quickly, though. Victoria showed her her mother the first hints at a growing magical talent.

Andria was overjoyed.

Sawyer tended his plant, mostly after hours when Andria wouldn’t notice and bother him. He only stepped on some of Andria’s produce. He was sure she wouldn’t notice.

Bonehilda cleaned.

For someone who looked as gruesome as she did, she was remarkably good at going about her work without bothering anyone.

Anton Pierce invited Abby out for a private lunch, where he offered her the lead in his new movie.

Abby didn’t hesitate. Of course she said yes.

If she didn’t grab an opportunity like this, she might never get another chance. If a renowned director like Anton Pierce wanted to work with her, she’d really made it.

And that’s how Abby found herself signing autographs at a nightclub on her birthday.

The film’s production schedule was aggressive. When she wasn’t filming, she was doing publicity events. It was exhausting and exhilarating at the same time.

At least this was a good crowd to celebrate with.

“A round of drinks for everyone on the studio’s expense account!”

It really was a great night for a birthday. A band was playing.

There was plenty of laughing and dancing.

On her way out of the bathroom, she ran into someone who tickled her memory.

“I know this sounds like a pickup line,” she said, “but haven’t we met before?”

The man looked uncomfortable. “I know who you are. I was actually at your house the other day for an, um, attemped burglary.”

Abby thought. “Wait, you’re the police officer who came to arrest the burglar?”

He gave a little bow. “Officer Chaim Erickson, at your service.”

A police officer. She was way out of his league. And it was a shame, too. He was so attractive. “Well, thanks for coming to help me promote my movie,” Abby said.

Chaim gave her a puzzled look. “Promote your what?”

“My movie? Anton Pierce directing? That’s what this whole event is about.”

“I don’t really watch a lot of movies. I just came by for a drink after work.”

Abby couldn’t contain her astonishment. “You’ve really never heard of Anton Pierce? He directed Mobile Maneater. It won the Simmy for best picture last year. He’s kind of a superstar.”

Chaim shrugged. “They’re just movies,” he said. “Would you like to dance?”

A successful actress and a police officer? It was absurd to think about. Abby knew she shouldn’t lead him on. Yet she found herself saying yes.

They danced.

And danced. And talked. And danced. Abby was so used to talking about the movie industry that she had to work to find topics of conversation that interested them both. It was… refreshing, actually.

“You’re pretty amazing,” Chaim said. He looked into her eyes, and she couldn’t look away.

“You — you are too,” Abby said, and she realized she meant it.

Then it was time to leave. Abby’s casting call would come too soon.

“I had a nice time,” she said as the parted at the door.

“Can I see you again?” Chaim asked. “Are you doing anything for Love Day? Is that too forward?”

“I have Love Day off,” Abby admitted. “I could meet you at the fairgrounds.”

Chaim’s face lit up in a bright smile. “That would be perfect. I’ll see you then, Abby the Actress.”

———-

Bonehilda! This is the first time I got to play with her!!

This post ended up being almost all Abby. Too much happened to her too close together. As you might guess, she’s very close to reaching her LTW, so she was getting a lot of simgod attention.

She got a date call from Thomas Mosley the paparazzi. He’s been spamming her with attraction notifications every time they’re both on the lot — which is often — for most of her YA life. I thought I’d see if they hit it off. He was called back to work abruptly after getting his food. Those paparazzi.

I do want to point out that Abby is a Snob, which is why I wrote her automatically dismissing the idea of dating a cop. But her birthday also triggered a Midlife Crisis, so I’m going to guess she’s willing to entertain some changes in her worldview.

6.26 Charms

Feb27

#sims3challenge #sims3legacy #sims3story #thesims3

Dylan continued to work on making nectar. It had become a passionate hobby.

Fortunately, it was just a hobby. His career was much more successful.

Victoria continued to grow. When she entered into her picky eater stage, even Dylan was ready for her to be old enough to feed herself.

Fortunately, Winston and Victoria’s shared a birthday, and it was right around the corner.

Victoria,

then Winston.

Abby was almost bouncing through the room. “The reviews of my movie are in!” she told everyone excitedly. “The critics love it! The box office returns are better than expected. Everyone loves my performance.”

“See,” Sawyer said. “It was obvious you would be successful. You’re not stupid. I told you so.”

Later in the evening, Andria helped Edmund with his homework.

Sawyer made sure she was too busy to bother him and went out into the garden.

There, he planted his precious experimental seed.

When Edmund was ready to leave the nursery, he took over Sky and Xia’s old room and decorated it to suit his tastes.

Now he had to share it with his sister, whose tastes didn’t match at all.

Edmund spent a lot of time studying on the Internet. He signed himself up for an after school art class.

Victoria preferred to work with physical objects.

She also managed to charm everyone. She was able to persuade Edmund to play outside with her.

She could even make Sawyer laugh.

One evening, during one of Sawyer’s in-house dates, Manisha heard something.

“I do hear something,” Sawyer admitted, looking disgusted. “I think I know what it is.”

Indeed, someone was attempting to break into the house. “What an idiot,” Sawyer said as he grabbed his phone to call the police. “I’ve seen a lot of burglars in this house, and this one has to be the stupidest.”

“Wait,” Manisha said. “How many burglars have you seen?”

The burglar really wasn’t very bright. She was still there when the police arrived to apprehend her.

Abby returned home just as the cops finished their routine inspection of the house. As he was leaving, one of them tipped his hat to her. “Hope you have a better week, ma’am!”

“Thanks?” Abby said, raising her hand to wave. Wow, was he attractive.

Andria was working on some sort of alchemical project that had her out all over town gathering ingredients.

She smiled triumphantly as she filled up the bottle with her new potion. “This will surprise the heck out of Dylan,” she said to herself.

Abby’s phone rang. It was her agent. “Anton Pierce is directing a new movie, and you’re on his short list for the lead,” her agent told her. “He wants to meet you in person. There’s an exclusive pre-casting party at the Serenity club, and you’re invited.”

Abby couldn’t believe her ears. “Anton Pierce? Really? Of course I’ll be there!”

Anton Pierce had won four Simmy Awards. He wasn’t the sort of direct you turned down. Not that Abby would ever have considered it.

The Serenity Club was an incredibly expensive place designed for Avalon’s upper crust. Sky had performed there a few times, but Abby had never been there.

Anton Pierce met her at the door.

He was eager to tell her all about the new movie.

He was an incredibly charismatic man, and very persuasive.

The downstairs of the club was devoted to performance space. The really exclusive party area was upstairs.

“Relax! This isn’t work,” Anton told her. “Have a good time. Would you like a shrimp?”

Abby settled for a drink.

And tried her hand at Blackjack. She didn’t even have to use her own money.

A new intern, Ms. Flynn, made a scene over a broken nail.

Abby couldn’t tell if she was really that fragile, if she was a natural drama queen, or if this was clever acting.

Whatever the case, she attracted everyone’s attention, and in this line of work, that was usually a good thing.

Justin was at the party when Abby arrived, but by the time she went to talk to him, he’d left. What was it with Justin and parties?

As she was looking around for Justin, she ran into someone completely unexpected — Dion Callender-Doctor, her ex-boyfriend.

They stood there, staring at each other for a moment. It was an out-of-context moment.

“Hey,” Abby said. “I didn’t expect to see you here, but I’m grateful. I want to apologize for the way I treated you. You were absolutely right, and I was wrong. I’m trying to be a better person.”

Dion surprised her again by giving her a completely sincere smile. “We were young,” he said. “I think we both made some bad decisions. I hope you put our breakup behind you a long time ago. I did. I saw your latest movie, and I wanted to congratulate you on an amazing performance. I get to say I knew you when!”

Abby beamed. He didn’t need to know how long she’d tortured herself over Nemo Hodgins and her breakup with Dion. He didn’t seem to know all the awful things that had been written about her in the gossip rags, which was comforting in itself.

They talked for a bit about movies and his current career as a sports coach. Their lives had moved in completely different directions, and that was fine.

“So, now I’m curious,” Abby admitted. “Why are you here? You don’t seem like a film type.”

Dion grimaced. “I’m not, but my boyfriend is. I showed up here to pick him up, but I can’t find him.”

“Really?” Abby said. “I know most of the people here. Maybe I can help you.”

“Sure,” Dion said. “I know you know my boyfriend because he was in your last movie too. His name is Justin Mai.”

———-

So, yeah. All the time Justin flirting with Abby, he was having three kids with Abby’s ex-boyfriend. Weird vibes indeed.

I have no idea what Dion’s actual job was, but he had a whistle on his formalwear. Sounds like a coach or a lifeguard who really loves his job :).

When I gave Victoria her makeover, I really wanted to try a hairstyle I hadn’t used before. But I really think she looks better in the one she aged up in. I think when I open my game again, I’ll change her back to that.

I was pretty disappointed to see a fourth generation of Veronica’s hair in Winston. I believe his eyes color comes from Andria’s father Sebastian Hodgins, though. That’s pretty cool. All three kids have squared-off cheekbones. Winston has a different nose from his siblings. I think Victoria has Andria’s eye shape. Beyond that, I think I’ll have to wait until they become teens to see what they look like.

Winston has some interesting traits, though. One of his baby traits is Natural Cook. I’ve been kind of hoping someone would pop up with Natural Cook. I’d like to play with opening a restaurant.

BTW: There’s no plot point in Anton Pierce working his vampire wiles on Abby. I’d just never seen a vampire do that, and I thought it was funny that he did it autonomously. I think that’s the “Think of Me” interaction or somesuch. I’m not sure what it does; I assume it raises their relationship.

6.25 Three’s Company

Feb25

#sims3challenge #sims3legacy #sims3story #thesims3

Spring came to the Samples. The snow melted. Flowers bloomed. Andria’s plants were growing again.

The Samples were healing.

They hired a handywoman to come replace that terrible dishwasher.

There was a sense that their lost loved ones were looking over them.

Life started to be fun again.

Victoria helped. She was a sunny child who brightened everything around her.

Her laughter was addictive.

Like Edmund, she also seemed to have inherited some mysterious qualities from her mother’s side of the family.

Edmund, on the other hand, seemed to have taken a permanent, darker turn.

He spent long hours staring out the window, lost in his own thoughts.

He had also developed an interest in fae magic that bordered on obsession, though he could do very little of his own.

His schoolmates found him strange and morbid.

He tried to play with them sometimes, but usually he ended up alone.

Sawyer was spending more time in the stacks outside of his irregular work hours, reading through research papers in order to craft his next experiment. If his hypothesis were correct, he could change the classification of life itself. His citations would be amazing.

It turned out to be very fortunate that he was at the library one evening.

If he hadn’t been about to leave anyway, he might not have even bothered to respond when he heard the woman cry out on the front walk of Monmouth Archives. So she was doubly lucky.

Diagnostic apparatus have become very portable.

Appendicitis, which was curable by an experimental pill he just happened to be carrying with him.

“Sure you can fit it in your mouth. It’s not as bad as it looks. Just swallow it down, and the pain will go away.”

Sawyer was confounded by her gratitude. He told her to get a check up at the hospital immediately and the escaped.

Andria started feeling terrible.

She’d been through this before, so it wasn’t hard to guess what was wrong. Indeed, the test was positive. She hurried to tell Dylan that they were going to be parents one more time.

He was delighted.

It was good that Andria had Dylan’s unrestrained support, since this would turn out to be her roughest pregnancy so far.

The mood swings were sudden and extreme.

She was exhausted all the time.

But Andria loved motherhood. She never lost sight of the goal.

It wasn’t clear that Sawyer even noticed all the preparations for a new baby.

He spent a lot of time holed up in his science cave or the technology den with Manisha.

When he wasn’t with Manisha, at work, or studying medical journals, he started spending time with Andria’s plants.

Filming wrapped up on My Doctor Made Me Do It. Dragonwife said that she had a good feeling about this one, but they wouldn’t really know how it would go until they saw the first box office returns.

Abby had gone out for drinks several times with Justin Mai after filming, and they now had an active email correspondence that was getting more and more suggestive.

Dragonwife threw a cast party to celebrate the end of filming at her house.

During the long hours of rehearsal, makeup, and filming, these people had started to feel like family. Abby couldn’t help but feel sad that it was all going to end.

She and Dragonwife traded jokes.

She signed the intern’s photo album. “I want to be just like you!” he exclaimed. “Tell me how you got this far!”

“You don’t need any kind of advice I would give,” Abby said.

And she was actually kind of serious. He he was a funny guy.

He had the room rolling in the aisles as he mocked the movie running on the television.

Justin showed up late. He did that a lot with parties, but he never missed his casting call.

Abby walked out to meet him when he arrived.

They teased each other about the movie.

“I’m going to miss all the sloppy kisses,” Abby said, mock-puncing him in the ribs.

“Ha! Well, if you’re going to miss them that much, maybe we should schedule a practice session,” Justin suggested with a wink.

Abby’s heart beat faster. They’d been flirting for so long, so intensely, but they’d never done more than go out for drinks. Maybe this was time. “What about now?” she asked. “I could use some practice. If you’re done with the party, we could go back to your place.”

Justin gave her an apologetic smile. “My place isn’t so good right now. My roommate is kind of a pain. What about your place?”

Abby thought about the chaos that was the Sample Estate these days, with weird Edmund running around, Victoria playing, and Andria’s uncomfortable pregnancy. “I probably shouldn’t bring anyone home without warning right now.”

They looked at each other awkwardly. “So,” Justin said. “Would a hotel be too forward?”

Abby hesitated. She wanted to say yes, and yet…. Sneaking off to a hotel seemed like the wrong way to start a relationship. “Maybe another night?” she said at last.

Justin grinned. “Sure thing,” he said. “I’ll call you.”

Andria took Sawyer aside to talk about the baby. “I just wanted to be sure you knew.”

“I guessed you were going to have another baby,” Sawyer said. “You were getting really fat. That’s a good sign.”

“Right,” Andria said with a tight smile.

“Oh, I wanted to ask you something else,” Andria said. “Have you been working with the plants in my greenhouse?”

“What’s wrong with me working in the greenhouse?” Sawyer demanded. “I’m smart enough to dig in the dirt.”

“That’s not it,” Andria said. “I’m growing some delicate alchemical ingredients there, and I want to be sure you know how to care for them.”

“Perhaps gardening is difficult for someone of your intelligence,” Sawyer snapped. “I understand it just fine.”

“I can’t talk to him,” Andria complained to Dylan that night. “I don’t want him killing my plants.”

“I’ll try to talk to him,” Dylan said. “Why don’t you let me put the kids to sleep? You look like you’re in pain.”

Andria’s back really was killing her. She offered him a relieved smile. “Thank you my love.”

So Dylan handled the bedtime routine.

While Andria booked an evening massage at the spa.

The massage was apparently just what she needed. It started here labor.

She called Dylan, who met her at the hospital, where Winston was born.

Another son. This was their third and final child.

“I want to toast our family!” Dylan declared the next morning. “Have some lemon mead! I made it myself!”

“Congratulations!” Abby said. She picked up a glass to toast little Winston a long life.

“Erm,” she coughed. “Thanks.” She went off to find a discreet place to pour it out.

———-

At long last, I updated the Story So Far page to add Sky’s story! It didn’t take me too long — I’ve only played through most of Dylan’s generation.

I keep calling Victoria Abby and having to correct myself. Even though her coloration is so similar to Abby’s, I think she has one of the cutest toddler faces I’ve ever seen. Oh, those adorable chipmunk cheeks.

Winston just aged into a child on the last day I played, I think. I remember his child trait, but not his two baby traits. I’ll have to look them up when I open my game next.

Sawyer almost never goes anywhere off the lot except to go to work, so this is the first time he got to answer a medical emergency. Very entertaining.

I have to say that I burned out so hard after playing a good 2/3 of Dylan’s generation without blogging it. Now that I have some posting energy, it’s been a surprising amount of fun to sort through the pictures and rediscover the story.

6.24 Coda

Feb23

Sky and Aminali started spending a lot of time together. There was even a spread about them in the gossip magazines.

Wherever they went someone seemed to recognize them and snap a picture.

Sky couldn’t remember when she’d felt so young and carefree.

She still missed Xia every day, but it was so much fun being a couple again.

Even if her moves were a little bit rusty.

Sawyer, meanwhile, had a major breakthrough in his research.

“Eureka!” he shouted to no one in particular. “That’s what I’m obligated to say at this moment, isn’t it?”

Dylan had a different celebration.

He kept his birthday quiet.

But Andria knew, and she made sure he felt appreciated.

Dylan realized as he wandered into middle age that he felt truly content. He was an accomplished photographer with an amazing wife and two beautiful children. What more could he want?

One morning, Sky woke up feeling particularly cheerful and carefree. Today was different, and she knew it.

When Victoria woke up, Sky snatched her out of the crib before she could cry. That gave Andria and Dylan another hour to sleep in before Edmund woke up.

Once Edmund was fed, Sky switched her attention to Edmund.

Andria took some time to play educational games with Victoria. Victoria’s first word was, “Sing.”

When Andria came in to make breakfast, Sky took Victoria too. “I’ll watch the kids,” she said. “You two don’t get to have a peaceful adult breakfast nearly enough.”

Andria didn’t protest. Sky was right.

Sky put Victoria down for a nap. Edmund was restless, so she bundled him up and took him outside to play.

She played music for him. Edmund didn’t laugh. He was always such a solemn child. But he did sway to the music.

Then the moment came. Sky had known it was coming since she woke up. There was no reason to complain. She was completely content.

When the Netherworld called, she was ready to go.

Edmund started to howl at his dirty diaper. Abby came out to get him.

Then she realized what had happened.

She called to Dylan and Sawyer, but it was Andria who was outside first.

When they brought Edmund inside, the phone started ringing.

Hunter had passed. And Leah. All within hours of each other.

Dylan was devastated. He’d lost both his parents in one morning.

They threw a joint wake for brother and sister. The house was overflowing with people.

Sky had been known to so many. Hunter was quieter, more private, but loved just as fiercely by those near him.

Andria was the consummate hostess.

She made sure everyone was fed and kept the conversation moving.

Which was useful, since not everyone in the family even wanted to participate.

Abby picked out a selection of Sky solo and Ghostwriter greatest hits.

It was just the way Sky would want her tribute — loved ones, music, and dancing.

When the guests had left, Dylan and Andria realized they had forgotten something else important about the day.

Edmund had always been a somber toddler, but losing his beloved grandmother on his birthday seemed to turn him even more inward.

Dylan and Andria worried about him.

———-

AAAAUGH. OK, please let all the deaths be done for a while. This is what happens when you have a sim with so many important relationships. Sky maintained the most close relationships outside the family as any sim I’ve ever played. So, of course, they all had to DIE.

I saved right after Sky passed to the Netherworld. On the first play through, Hunter arrived for the wake.

Then immediately passed on.

And my system crashed.

The second time, I received the death notification right before throwing the party.

Then this was waiting in the mailbox after the funeral, after both of them had passed:

Seems like a nice tribute that Sky, Hunter, and Leah all passed within hours of each other.

This was the first time I’d ever thrown a Funeral party. I guess sims are pushed to grieve at a recent gravestone. It was very touching.

I did forget Edmund’s birthday. Very unlike me. As a fitting testament to growing up after a funeral, he rolled the trait Brooding to go with Artistic and Proper.

6.23 Early Thaw

Feb22

#sims3challenge #sims3legacy #sims3story #thesims3

It was Snowflake Day. Sky was determined to throw the kind of party Xia would have shown.

She invited everyone they knew — friends, family, coworkers, people she met walking down the street. It was quite a turnout.

Xia’s son Stanley Marmalade was the first to arrive. Abby enjoyed catching up with her half-brother.

“Is that Aminali Ibari?” he gasped when Abby’s best friend showed up. “The star of The Back End of the Black Hole? Please introduce us!”

Aminali was a film superstar now.

Andria cooked all morning. The room was filled with the smell of cheery pies.

Mysterious Uncle Forest claimed pressing business overeseas, but he sent his apprentice Asrial Bookabet in his place.

Uncle Hunter.

Sawyer’s sister, Rosie Winter.

Abby’s director, Dragonwife Wu, and Dragonwife’s new fiancé, Tomas Sample-Royale.

Manisha, of course.

Last to arrive was Abby’s costar, Justin Mai. Abby’s heart skipped a beat when she saw that he’d decided to come, but she hid it well.

Everyone was delighted by Andria’s cherry pie.

“Time for packages!” Sky called while Dylan and Andria were clearing the table.

Sawyer pulled Manisha aside while everyone else headed to the living room.

Almost everyone was delighted by their gifts.

Those who didn’t tried to keep up a good face.

Except Sawyer.

With the packages unwrapped, the room filled with laughter and good conversation.

Rosie played with Victoria.

Dylan caught up with Uncle Hunter.

Tomas romanced his new fiancée.

Stanley went out to talk to the chickens.

Yes, the chickens.

“Where’s Justin?” Abby asked Dragonwife, hoping she sounded casual.

“Oh, he headed home,” Dragonwife said. “He said he was tired, but I don’t think house parties are really his thing.”

“Oh,” Abby said.

Sawyer nerved himself up and went to talk to his half-sister Rosie. Now that their shared parent was dead, Rosie felt like the last tie to the other half of his life. He wanted to know her better.

She turned out to be surprisingly easy to talk to, even for Sawyer.

They were distracted by a poof sound my the fireplace.

“Did you just see what I just saw?” Sawyer asked.

“I’m just going to assume that never happened,” Rosie said.

Sky got out her vinyl collection, and there was dancing.

Dylan caught Andria under the mistletoe as she cleaned up the kitchen.

The party finally wound down. Sawyer and Manisha slipped away to his science cave for their own private gift exchange.

“Are you ready?” Sawyer asked.

“Absolutely,” Manisha replied, standing up a little taller. She leaned away reflexively when he pushed the button.

“That was it?” she asked when it was done.

“Sure! We got a great DNA sample.”

“That didn’t hurt at all,” Manisha said, sounding surprised.

“Of course it didn’t,” Sawyer said. He gave her his, Don’t be stupid, look. “It’s a noninvasive process.”

“Well sorry,” Manisha said. “I’ve never had my DNA sequenced before.”

After the rest of the guests left, Aminali stayed behind. She insisted on helping the Samples clean up. That’s how she and Sky found themselves alone in the darkened kitchen.

“I hope you don’t think it’s too forward,” Aminali said. “I’m a huge fan, and I wanted to give you a personal gift. Something from me to you.”

“Wow!” Sky said. “What a surprise! Thank you!”

They stood there for a moment, then, staring silently into each other’s eyes.

Then Sky, on impulse, pointed to the mistletoe hanging above them.

Aminali’s face lit up, and she stepped close.

“Wow,” Sky said.

———-

Well, Dragonwife didn’t mourn her late husband very long. She and Tomas Sample-Royale had one of those whirlwind NRaas relationships where they dated, committed, and announced engagement in under one day.

Sky and Aminali really hit it off, and Sky started rolling a lot of wishes for her. It was adorable to see her imagining a life after Xia.

This was probably my most successful party in a long time. Lots of autonomous cuteness. Comparatively few route-fails.

Asrial Bookabet crashed the party. He sure did grow up into a hottie!

6.22 Big Break

Feb18

#sims3challenge #sims3legacy #sims3story #thesims3

Abby got the part!

She was now playing Dr. Esmerelda Goodbaum in Dragonwife Wu’s new film, My Doctor Made Me Do It.

Sawyer was incredibly amused that she was playing a doctor. He jeered at the way doctors were portrayed in the movies while also giving her some very useful pointers to hone her character.

Right before filming began in earnest, Dragonwife Wu threw a cast mixer at the Fiddler’s Green pub.

“First round of drinks is on me!” she announced. “After that, you’re on your own tab.”

Dragonwife seemed to be struggling to keep her smile in place. Abby heard a muffled sound and found the director sobbing quietly in a corner.

“This is so embarrassing,” she admitted. “It’s just my husband Jian was such a good man.”

“He was my uncle, remember?” Abby said. “I miss him too. And mum as well.”

“Thanks,” Dragonwife said. “I really needed a chance to let it out.” She did seem more relaxed.

Abby returned to the bar to order another drink. She caught her costar, Justin Mai, looking at her.

“So,” Abby began. “I guess we’re going to fall in love on screen. I’ve never done that before, so I hope you have some advice!”

Justin chuckled. “I’m sure you’ll be fine. I saw your audition. You have your character down already.”

“You know just what to say!” Abby cried. “We’re going to have a wonderful working relationship.”

“I think we’re going to have a good time,” Justin agreed.

Then silence fell as he caught her eye. Abby was completely caught off guard by his magnetism.

“Would you like to go get a drink sometime,” Justin asked.

“A-a drink?” Abby stammered, unable to take her eyes away, “Of course!”

“Then it’s a date!

At home, two kids were three times as much work as one. Sky was home most of the time, but Abby had a dawn casting call and often wasn’t home until late. And Xia was gone.

Everyone pitched in to help in their own way.

Victoria spent a lot of time on her play mat in the den, but she was a sweet-tempered baby who didn’t seem to mind.

Sky returned to painting, a passion she had left behind long ago.

Andria still had to focus on keeping the farm going through the winter.

Most of the plants were dormant for the winter, which was a blessing.

Still, she added a bit of her own talent to make them hardier.

Her most exotic plants were in the greenhouse, producing all winter.

Sawyer had a sudden desire to build an igloo.

When he went off to work, Andria dragged Dylan out to have a bit of fun.

Sawyer ran his first vaccination clinic. He wasn’t the most reassuring doctor to do this job, but he was efficient.

He also had a great chance to humiliate a vaccine skeptic.

And then there was Edmund.

Dylan caught Andria alone one afternoon. “About Edmund,” he said scuffing his shoe agains the floor. “Would his fae half lead him to be able to do anything unusual?”

Andria gave her husband a hard look. “What do you mean by unusual?”

Dylan flinched. “I could have sworn I saw….”

Andria’s eyes widened. “Maybe it was a trick of the light. Maybe not.”

“I’ll keep a better eye on him.”

Then Victoria’s birthday was upon them.

———-

It took me forever to figure out what the red marks were on the last two portraits. They’re the red Christmas lights. They certainly look weird, but the portraits look great, and I tried too many times to get a well-lit portrait with no thought bubbles. It will have to serve.

Victoria has Sky’s skin, Sky/Dylan’s brown eyes, and Andria’s hair. It makes her coloration look a lot like Abby’s. OTOH, she’s an Irresistible Sailor, which sounds interesting!

6.21 I Don’t Know Why You Say Goodbye

Feb16

#sims3challenge #sims3legacy #sims3story #thesims3

The call came before breakfast.

Amy Winter, Sawyer’s biological mum who had never shown any interest in him, had passed in the night. She left half of her sizable fortune to her acknowledged daughter, Rosie Winter, and the other half to Sawyer.

Sawyer was shocked into a tirade that lasted hours.

“Leaving a bunch of money to someone just because you share genes with them is completely irrational,” he ranted. “She had no reason to do that.”

“Maybe she felt guilty that she never made you a part of her life,” Abby suggested.

“Waiting until after you’re dead to apologize is idiotic,” Sawyer said.

It was hard to argue with that.

But it was Sky everyone was worried about.

“I miss mum too,” Abby said. “But I’m so worried about Mama. She seems like something broke inside.

Abby tried her hardest to get her mama to engage in anything. She even challenged some of Sky’s favorite music. That ought to get her to show she cared about something.

But Sky only nodded.

Then she wandered out into the snow and played guitar alone for hours.

Edmund, of course, was oblivious.

He took a lot of attention, and that helped lift the dark mood that had fallen on the house.

His first word was, “Alarm.” Nobody really knew what that was supposed to mean.

Connery also helped lighten the mood.

In the middle of this, Abby had her first big breakthrough in her career.

Dragonwife Wu, Xia’s brother Jian’s wife, had recently risen to prominence as a writer/director. Her most recent film, the romantic mystery Don’t Tell Me Why, was a breakout hit.

Dragonwife caught Abby as she left the soundstage after yet another unpromising audition and handed her a script.

Abby was taken by surprise. “What’s this?”

Dragonwife smiled. “It’s the script to my new movie. I’ve been watching your auditions, and I think you might be perfect for one of the parts. Read it, do some research, and see if you can figure out which one.”

Dylan heard Sky crying when she was alone in the dining room.

“Mama,” he told her. “We know you’re strong. You don’t have to prove it. Stop trying to pretend everything is all right. We all miss Xia.”

Sky started to speak, then she broke down into sobs.

“I don’t know what to do without her,” she admitted.

“Mama, everyone loved Xia. I don’t know what the right thing to do is, but you don’t have to do it alone.”

Sky thought.

Then she forced a smile. “All right,” she said.

Sky headed to the local pub and ordered a drink.

Then she called up her friends for a party in Xia’s honor.

She even called Leah. “I know it’s kind of strange, but we’re all golden oldies now. I think Xia would want you here.”

“Thanks for asking me,” Leah said. “Of course I’ll come.”

It was a release for Sky. She hadn’t felt so comfortable with her since she saw Xia lying on the floor by the dishwasher.

Then, in the middle of dancing, Xia’s brother Jian passed away.

Jian seemed at peace. Xia and Jian had been very close for their entire lives. Sky hoped

And that was the end of the party.

In the morning, Sky received another surprise call — Garry Crumplebottom had passed away in the night.

She sat down to breakfast as if she were ten years older. “He’d been seeing a cardiologist,” she said. “I guess it was worse than he told us.”

Right in the middle of the somber breakfast, Andria went into labor.

Little Victoria came home from the hospital.

The new baby got a lot of attention.

Everyone was delight about the new arrival except Edmund.

He celebrated his new sister by throwing his food on the floor and screaming.

It wasn’t really that Edmund was suddenly abandoned, after all. It was just that he had to share all the adult affection with another child.

Sky received a surprise call. It was Leah. “I know this is even crazier than usual, but I’d like to give the band one more try. I have someone who could play in Garry’s place.”

Plum turned out to be a natural.

Ghostwriter had a fantastic comeback. They played they best they had ever played. And they dedicated their performances to Garry.

The band saw crowds like they’d never seen before.

Including a lot of teenagers and young adults — new fans, not just old ones there for the nostalgia.

“You’re my very best friend,” she whispered in Adam’s ear one night after a concert. “Thank you for staying by me all these years.”

“Who? Me?” Adam asked with a twinkle in his eye.

“Don’t play false modest with me,” Sky replied. “I’m not the easiest gal to live with.”

Adam scuffed his shoe. “With out you, I don’t think I’d ever have gotten Ali back. So we’re even.”

A fan came and asked for an autograph before things got too mushy.

Within the week, Adam had passed on too.

The Samples were becoming afraid to answer the telephone.

Sky soldiered on. She performed a sold-out show at Llama Music Center.

After she’d warmed up the audience with her most popular single, she stopped the music and stood in silence on the stage.

“I want you to know that I love each and every one of you,” she said. “But it’s time for me to retire. This will be my last concert.”

Sky’s family, who had turned out for the concert, was shocked.

Sky pulled out her guitar and sang a simple love song, one of the first she had written for Ghostwriter. It sounded so different performed by one vocalist alone.

“I can’t believe it,” Hunter told Abby. “Sky’s life has been about music since she was a teen. I hope this is really what she wants.”

After the concert, Sky stepped down into the crowd to sign autographs and exchange tearful hugs with her closest fans.

“You want to know why I’m doing this?” she asked Hunter. “Here are my pictures of why. Edmund and Victoria are wonderful children. I don’t want to miss a minute with them.”

“And,” she admitted, “I want to focus on enjoying the days I have left. Music is just too much right now.”

Hunter nodded. He always understood.

“And now, have you met my almost-daughter-in-law?”

That evening, back at home

She had a private retirement party with just the family.

“You did good, my love,” she heard from behind her.

The voice was familiar. She didn’t turn around.

“I know,” she said, and smiled.

———-

This was a really rough portion of the game to play. The Elders in Sky’s life were dropping like flies.

But we did get Gen 7 #2, Victoria

I did think it was interesting that Sawyer got such a large inheritance from Amy Winter. NRaas didn’t know they were estranged, of course, but it allocates inheritance pretty strangely in any circumstance. I think this is the first time an active character has received an inheritance.