1st Echo: Year 1300 Continued

Apr7

Emmaline was always afraid. She was afraid of the trip to the outhouse after dark, afraid of rustling sounds in the corners of the house, afraid of harsh words from her aunt and uncle, afraid for her future.

She took whatever excuse she could find to get out of the cramped house and into the village. The villagers were friendly enough, even with the pitying glances, and being near other people helped her feel grounded. It was even better if she could be useful while doing so. Her aunt and uncle worked hard and had precious little to spare. They tried to make her feel welcome, but she knew she often received food they denied themselves.

Thus she was in the market at sunrise, looking for vegetables, when she felt eyes on the back of her head. She turned around to face a man she had never seen before.

“Good morning sir,” she said with a curtsy.

He waved his hand. “They’re trying to make you marry John Burrows,” he said. “I know him pretty well. Don’t them force it if you don’t want to.”

Emmaline froze. “I’m sorry sir, I didn’t see you at church. How do you…?”

He laughed. “Don’t call me sir,” he said. “I’m Nash. I don’t hang around to listen to that windbag of a vicar, but I’m around. Everyone in Mahrlsberg knows your situation.”

Emmaline felt the back of her neck warm. She felt a flash of anger, then fear, and dropped her eyes. “Then you know, Mr. Nash, that I am a girl with no options,” she said. “I have no immediate family and no dowry. I’m dependent on the charity of my extended family who do not have the resources to support me. I cannot support myself alone. I must go where I’m sent and hope for the best.”

Nash scowled. “That’s wrong,” he said.

“Believe me, I would be delighted to have more options,” Emmaline said bitterly. “I welcome your guidance.” The square was beginning to fill with villagers on morning errands, which eased her fear at being near such a large and intimidating stranger.

Nash grunted and seemed to look at something over her shoulder. She took that dismissal, rushed through her vegetable shopping, and fled. Safe at last inside, she curled up on her got with her knees to her chin and waited until her heart stopped pounding.

In the evening, her aunt and uncle herded her to the King’s Inn for another chaperoned meeting with John Burrows.

“I’m sure with a bit of time, you’ll see what an honorable fellow he is,” Uncle Gerbald told her. “He can be a bit intense at times, but he’s quite respectable.”

“I saw someone new at the market,” Emmaline asked tentatively. “A man who called himself Nash. Do you know who he is?”

Aunt Ruby and Uncle Gerbald frowned in unison. “What did he say to you?” Gerbald demanded.

“N-nothing much,” Emmaline stammered. “He just said hello.”

“He’s a heretic,” Aunt Ruby said. “That’s why he wasn’t at church when we introduced you to the village. Almost any time he opens his mouth, it is to blaspheme the Watcher.”

“You’ll do well to stay away from him,” Uncle Gerbald added.

The King’s Inn was more boisterous than usual that evening. Emmaline found a seat in the corner and watched the village laughing and drinking. She saw John Burrows as he came in the door and scanned the crowd for her face.

Her aunt and uncle found her and escorted her across the room. They made awkward smalltalk about the weather while her chaperones looked anywhere but at them.

A drunken man climbed up on the bar behind them and began to sing loudly and dance.

“This is more entertainment than I was expecting,” John said at the crowd hooted and cheered at the dancer.

“Everyone seems so happy,” Emmaline said, trying not to sound as miserable as she felt.

“I want you to know that I’m truly sorry for shouting at you when we met,” John said. “I was late because of a list of frustrations, and I was in a poor mood. You didn’t deserve it.”

“Thank you,” Emmaline said. “You’re very kind. Think no more of it.”

“Very good,” John said. “I can but hope for a bride who is so gracious and eager to please.”

He started to reach out for her then. She stiffened with terror but held herself firm and waited. “Perhaps a bit more time, then,” he said. He bit her farewell then, and she hurried back to curl up in her cot.

In the morning, she was working in the garden when Nash walked by. As she watched him, he looked up and met her eyes. The look on his face was thoughtful, even kind. She quickly looked away and focused on her weeding. When she looked up, he was gone.

He wasn’t gone for long, however. He sought her out in the market on her next trip.

“You’re right,” he said. “You don’t have as many options as I would have in your shoes. I apologize for being arrogant.”

“You’re forgiven,” Emmaline said. “It was kind of you to think of my problems.”

“I thought of just one other option that you might choose for your future,” he said.

Emmaline blinked. It had been so long since she’d felt any control at all for her future. “I’m very curious!” she said.

He grinned and produced a bouquet of wildflowers. “You can marry me instead.”

Emmaline stared at the flowers as he held them out, blood draining from her face.

“Take them,” he said. “They don’t require any promise from you.”

“Why are you saying this?” she demanded. “I have enough problems. I don’t need jokes at my expense.”

“There is no joke,” Nash said. “It’s time I settled down, and I think we have a lot in common. We both lost our family young and have had to make difficult choices. That’s as good a reason as any. None of the local girls are nearly as interesting as you turn out to be.”

Emmaline reached out and touched the flowers. He pressed them into her hands. “My uncle says you are a heretic,” she stammered.

Nash gave her a wolfish grin. “I can’t argue with that,” he said. “The Watcher has an army of greedy clergy who give long boring speeches about virtue they have no intention of following themselves. I have no time for it. You’ll have to decide for yourself whether that makes me impossible to marry.”

“I have no dowry,” she said.

“I don’t need to be purchased like a trinket in the market,” he retorted. “I am reseeding my father’s farm. Any wife of mine will need to work hard with me and prove her worth that way.”

“I–” Emmaline couldn’t think of anything else to say.

They stared at each other for a long moment. Then Nash nodded his head. “Thank you for listening to my petition, my lady,” he said. “If you ask your uncle, I’m certain he will steer you away from me. I’m really not such a bad fellow if you can handle the blasphemy. Good day.” He waved to her and turned away. Emmaline stood and watched until he disappeared between buildings.

Emmaline didn’t sleep at all that night. She lay awake and stared at the moon through the window above her cot.

Why had she survived? It was a cruel joke. Any of her family would have been more capable of moving on alone than she was. She was trapped and helpless, with few possibilities each more terrifying than the last.

That’s when she realized that in all of Mahlsberg, the only person she wasn’t afraid of was Nash.

She found him the next morning at the bunkhouse for laborers on the edge of town. She had traveled alone, which by itself seemed so scandalous that she wasn’t sure she could still be a suitable bride for Mr. Burrows.

When she knocked on the door, he was the one who answered. “Miss Weaver,” he said in astonishment. It was the first time she had heard him say her name.

“If your offer is real, then I accept,” Emmaline said as fast as she could before she could freeze up.

A smile, warm and delighted, spread over Nash Harlond’s face. She found herself smiling back. “The offer is real,” he said.

“I have one condition,” she continued. He raised his eyebrows. “I need you to come with me to tell my aunt and uncle,” she said. “I don’t think I can face them both by myself.”

He laughed.

There was shouting at her uncle’s house, followed by days of tense silence, but in the end it was done. Aunt Ruby even loaned Emmaline the gown that she and her mother had both worn to their own weddings.

No matter what Nash’s ideas on religion, Emmaline would only recognize a marriage consecrated by the church. Nash didn’t protest too much, perhaps out of respect for how much of her reputation she had already given up to marry him.

She thought Aunt Ruby and Uncle Gerbald had washed their hands of her and would shun the wedding, but they arrived just as the ceremony began.

Uncle Gerbald even wished her well and made amends for harsh things he had said to her. He did not agree with her choice, but he wished her happiness.

Rings were exchanged, and they became man and wife in the eyes of the village and the Watcher.

When the ceremony was over, Nash pulled her arm, and she found herself falling.

“Now,” he said fiercely,

“You shall see that when you fall, I’ll be there to catch you.”

Most of Nash and Emmaline’s interactions were autonomous. They took her origin story someplace entirely different than what I planned.

1st Echo: Beginning, Year 1300

Apr5

The sun rose over the mountains to shine down on the village of Mahlsberg in the duchy of Praaven.

It was beautiful. If only it could feel like home.

Emmaline Weaver woke from another nightmare and sat on the edge of her cot to catch her breath. The cot was miserably uncomfortable, but she knew it was all her Aunt Ruby and Uncle Gerbald could offer.

The nightmares had become so familiar they were almost routine. She could feel the water swallowing her up, closing over her head. She heard her parents and her little brother shouting her name. They were all gone now, swept away in a late spring flood while trying to cross the river Vayruga. It had been a journey to spend the summer with her Weaver-side family and hopefully to find her a marriage prospect. It had all gone wrong.

Today was Sunday. Aunt Ruby helped her dress her best for services. Mahlsberg chapel was so large and grand she would have believed it was a cathedral. Uncle Gerbald assured her that there was one just like it in every village from here to the City of Praaven.

This interior was even more intimidating.

“The Vicar is always late,” Aunt Ruby confided. “There’s plenty of time to introduce you to everyone. We’ll start with Helga Hayter. She’s the undisputed matriarch of Mahlsberg. If she likes you, everyone will like you.”

Unspoken was, So it will be easier to find you a husband.

Helga Hayter looked her over. “So you’re Gelbert Weaver’s poor penniless orphan niece?”

Emmaline gulped and offered her best curtsy. “Yes ma’am. Emmaline Weaver.”

Helga smiled benignly. “You have lovely manners. You’ll fit in here just fine.”

A wave of greetings and introductions followed. The names flew in one ear and out the other.

There were plenty of young men, but would any of them want a girl whose dowry had washed down the river?

“Don’t look so forlorn, my dear,” Aunt Ruby told her. “You’re incredibly charming. The town loves you. We will find you someplace to go. In fact, I know a young man who is on the search who told me himself that he’s not particular about dowry. I’ll introduce you if he bothers to show up for services.”

Then she heard the door open and grinned over Emmaline’s shoulder. “Well! Speak of the Devil and he shall appear! You’re good and late, John Burrows.”

“Not as late as the vicar, apparently,” John said.

“Now, now, we know he has a busy schedule,” Ruby said. “Have you met my lovely and talented niece?”

“You know I haven’t,” John said. He stepped closer, and Emmaline could feel his gaze sizing her up. She trembled inside. Was he a good person? How could she know? Did he have kind eyes? “Tell me about yourself,” he said.

Emmaline opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She was petrified. The silence stretched until Mr. Burrows scowled at her. “Is that the best you can do? Stand there and wait for me to fall under your spell? You may have overestimated your charms, my lady.”

“You know what the poor girl has been through, Mr. Burrows,” Aunt Ruby interjected smoothly. “She’s overwhelmed, and she needs a bit of kindness.”

“I’m so sorry,” Burrows said. “I’ve had a long day, and it’s still morning. I humbly beg your pardon, my lady. I was out of line.”

“See?” Ruby said. “He apologizes so sweetly. He may be a bit short of temper, but John Burrows is good people.”

Emmaline tried to hold in her trembling. He did look like he meant it.

“I think I hear the Vicar,” Aunt Ruby said. “If your Uncle takes any longer to get here, he’ll have to explain himself to the Watcher.” She took Emmaline by the arm. “Come with me, dear child. I’ll show you our pew.”

Echo in Time

Apr2

Also known as, “This isn’t Samples. What the heck?”

I’m playing another challenge. All the readers I know I have are now on Tumblr. I haven’t gotten a non-spam comment here in years. OTOH, I host this blog, and I’m pretty sure if I wrote fiction there I ever wanted to use for anything else, I’d ever be able to get it back out again. If I get the energy to set up another WordPress blog, I’ll probably move this stuff there. Until then, this is is my first take on a historical sims challenge.

With no commitment for how far I will go, I’m trying out a Sims 3 twist on Morbid’s Ultimate Decades Challenge. This starts in the 14th Century (anywhere, I assume, but I’m going with the white American default of medieval England) and progresses through time with a strict ratio of sim days to the year. Gameplay changes to fit historic events. The beginning is going to suck because life expectancy in the 1300s was ass, particularly infant mortality. And whoever survives will get to roll again to die in the Black Plague. This is a game where you need a hierarchy of heirs.

I hate telling stories where everything is bland and nobody faces any challenges. After 13 years, I have the mechanics of The Sims down, and I can mitigate almost anything the game throws at me. I have to make bad things happen on my own, and I’m terrible at that because I get too attached to my characters. So I shall hand over responsibility for tragedy to a very cruel 20-sided die and a whole bunch of probability calculations.

Modifications from Morbid’s Challenge

Lifespan and Survival

I was compelled to do my own research in to medieval life expectancy, and my probabilities came out different from Morbid’s. I also am going to trim the sim day to real year ratio to 3days/year instead of 4 days/year. That leaves me with:

1. Childbirth

Chance of mother’s death in childbirth: 5% (1 in 20)
Chance of newborn death: 20% (4 in 20)

2. Baby: 4 days to age 16 months, chance of death at age-up 25% (5 in 20)

3. Toddler: 14 days to age 6, chance of death at age-up 15% (3 in 20)

4. Child: 18 days to age 12, chance of death at age-up 10% (2 in 20)

5. Teen: 18 days to age 18, chance of death at age-up 10% (2 in 20)

6. YA: 36 days to age 30, chance of death at age-up 20% (4 in 20)

7. Adult: 45 days to age 45, death chance 20% (4 in 20)

8. Elder: 30 days to age 55, at which point death is handed off to the game’s randomizer.

The reasoning here is that my research indicates that infant mortality was 48%, or roughly half. Of the people who survived to childhood, half of them made it to age 55. In my games, it’s not uncommon for sims to live 10 days after their official end-of-lifespan, so I think that should get us a close enough simulation. I think we’re unlikely to get the long-tail of people who lived to be really comparatively old like 75.

What’s really disturbing is that those numbers are KINDER than Morbid’s rolls. EEK.

Racism

Look, I know that miscegenation was a big deal until close to modern days, but I just don’t want to deal, ok? I don’t want to screw with making all my sims white or creating castes of different skintones who are allowed to marry each other and are only allowed in certain careers. I can deal with 25% of my sims surviving to a really-young lifespan target. I’m using mechanics for sexism and heterosexism and economic castes. But encoding racism into my mechanics just makes me feel queasy. This is just going to be a multicolored version of medieval England. All simulations give something up.

Lifestyle

I’m a huge agriculture simulation nerd. (You should see me play Minecraft.) I’ve already looked up what foods were available in medieval England. I’m using Cooking Overhaul and Ani’s Hunting Mod. Unfortunately, the only grain available in the game is corn, and I haven’t found a mod that adds any other plantable grains. So we’ll just pretend corn is oats or rye, and I can use Ani’s food processor as a millstone to grind corn into flour.

I’m not sure how much of subsistence will be much of a story in between births and deaths, but I’ll have plenty of fun playing it :).

Inheritance and Location

I was done with sticking to one lot in Sims challenges since back in the Pinstar days. I just don’t know why the community got so attached to, “Buy a 64×64 lot and stay there for 10 generations,” as the foundation for so many challenges. I’ve never been willing to stick to one lot or one world. I play my games too in-depth, and I suck at building.

More importantly, I’ve done enough of defining a family line by the last name. In Morbid’s challenge, male inheritance means that the heir must be male and the girls will be married off with dowries. If the heir dies, a male cousin can inherit and so on. This all makes perfect sense. I just don’t think I need to define the heir of my story as the literal heir of the household wealth. I intend to pick whatever surviving child I want. When that child is female, the story will move into a new active household when she marries. After over a decade of Samples and Wonderlands, I’m interested in telling stories about those who leave, not just those who stay behind.

The Foundress

Last but not least, meet Emmaline Weaver.

Since she’s a woman, her surname won’t last very long.

Her traits are random rolled to be: Coward, Hydrophobic, Proper, Gatherer, and Light Sleeper

Those traits naturally resolved into a backstory for me, and I’ve had a lot of fun with her so far.

I want you to know that this is the first game I’ve ever played where the Proper trait was so big a deal. That curtsy greeting is the CUTEST THING EVAR.

7.34 Causality

Mar20

Victoria and Jonah had a lifetime to catch up on. They spent almost all their time together. It helped that Vickie’s income came from selling her diving discoveries and had no particular schedule.

Indeed, diving was one thing they could do together. They shared a passion for the sea, and that did a lot to bridge the chasm of their life experience. Vickie was conscious that this was much more time than Jonah had ever spent out of the water. She tried not to keep him away so long that it became painful for him.

After plenty of landwalker woohoo, Jonah was eager to show Vickie the pleasures of aquatic life.

Vickie found the idea exciting.

Woohoo and the sea, two of her favorite things together? What could be better?

Jonah was certainly thrilled.

It was certainly fun, but Vickie had to admit that her dive equipment made everything a bit awkward.

In the end, they found a compromise.

It worked pretty well for them.

Edmund called.

He and Joy had found a perfect cottage. They were just starting to unpack, but he hoped to invite the family for a housewarming gathering as soon as possible.

Edmund had just had a birthday, so this would be a chance to celebrate two parts of his new life at the same time.

At around the same time, Gamora got a very different call from her father.

It was about her stepmother.

Gamora hung and immediately went go find her father. He wasn’t exactly a people person, and he wouldn’t expect to talk to anyone about Emily’s loss. Gamora knew Sawyer well enough to know he’d be wrong.

When his shift ended at the hospital, Gamora was waiting for him. “Hey Dad,” she said. “I thought tonight would be a good time to take you to dinner.”

Sawyer scowled at her. “You don’t eat,” he said. “We’ve been over that before.”

“I’ll watch you eat,” Gamora said. “That’s entertaining enough.”

The fact that he didn’t argue further was a sign of how bleak he was feeling.

Sawyer focused on his food and said very little. Gamora told him about her progress at the astronomy center. Their current focus was clearing space debris which, combined with environmentalist initiatives she was also funding, promised to keep the planet healthy for hundreds of years to come.

“You’re making good use of all that money you cheated from the future,” Sawyer said. “I hope there isn’t some causality loop that unravels all your planning.”

“I specialize in time causality, Dad,” Gamora said. “Give me a little credit here.”

Sawyer finished his meal, sat back, and looked at her. He was lost in thought, and a half smile tugged at his mouth.

Gamora smiled back and waited for him to say something.

He exploded.

“We did everything!” he cried. “Cardiac enhancement drugs. Reinforcement surgery. Experimental treatments. She had the best that medical science could offer, and her heart still failed. I couldn’t do anything because I’m a neuroscientist, not a cardiologist. The cardiologist was an idiot!”

“Dad, I think–” Gamora began.

“I could have saved her life,” Sawyer said. “I’m a world-famous neurosurgeon. I’ve saved hundreds of lives, but I didn’t get to save my own wife!”

“Dad, you did all you could,” Gamora said. “You haven’t saved everyone who came to you either. It doesn’t have to be anyone’s fault.”

“She died in the operating room,” Sawyer said. “I couldn’t do anything. I hate being helpless. I shouldn’t ever be helpless.”

“Emily was my lead nurse and research associate,” he said. “She worked with me on all my recent research. How can I got back without her?”

Gamora didn’t say anything. She just hugged him. He broke down and cried on her shoulder, and she held him tight. Then she took him home and stayed there so he wouldn’t be alone.

After some long talks with his daughter, Sawyer decided to retire. He purchased a new, nicer house. The two of them set to upgrading the interior with bits of technology Gamora had gleaned from the future. Sawyer didn’t seem nearly as bothered by tangling the timeline when the result cooked and cleaned for him.

Gamora wondered where all this compassion came from. Since when was she the kind of person to hold someone, even her dad, while he cried?

Maybe she was now.

Simantics: Advanced lessons in burglar fail

Mar9

Another reason you didn’t see much of Edmund and Joy’s fancy dinner.

Here’s a waitress we’re totally comfortable with handling our food.

This is quite seriously the nicest I have been able to make that blow-kiss animation. I hate it. All of the Irresistible animations are pretty awful.

I wonder, now that I think about it, if one could replace this animation with the flower kiss one, which I could swear was better.

Jonah is also horrified by the skeezy faces his lover makes.

(Actually, him too. He’s also Irresistible, as it turns out. That’s one of the reasons I decided there were such fireworks between them.)

You flee under the ocean to get away from technology, and then…

And here we have a different burglar for once! Maybe the werewolf chick was at her day job.

Randal here sneaked through the dining room while the family was standing around. I should’ve gotten a better picture of it. But, you know, he was just passing through, not stealing anything.

As he left the dining room and stepped on to the porch, he suddenly realized he was supposed to steal stuff.

At this point, Jonah dashed out to panic.

And Vickie took him down.

Take that! All those finely honed scuba diving muscles must be good for something.

Vampire policeman: Never fear! I’m here to save you from this miscreant.

Vickie: You’re seriously not going to fight him now. I already handled this.

Vampire policeman: Halt, foul thief!

Jonah: I guess we’re really doing this.

Andria: Fantastic! I hate to miss a good fight.

Andria: Except one of you stinks.

Vampire policeman: Here, let me cuff you nice and tight.

And now be a good boy and walk by yourself to my patrol car while I hang out with these nice folks.

Edmund: You’re exhausted. I can handle this!

Edmund: Hmm. Let me check my notes.

7.33 Wild waves

Mar8

Time passed in a blur.

When Jonah touched her, Vickie found it hard to think.

All she could feel was the need for more.

Jonah himself spoke mostly with his eyes. He was self-conscious about his air voice, but also he just seemed to be awkward about words. She could feel his fingers tremble against her skin, see the longing in his eyes. Whatever the energy was between them, he was just as consumed by it.

She never saw him slip out of bed as she slept and watch her anxiously.

Eventually, she just had to escape to clear her head. She slipped out while Jonah was sleeping and headed downstairs to find something to eat.

A huge old ball of fluff met her in the kitchen. He was so happy to see her that his body wiggled all over. His joints were stiff enough these days that it took a lot of energy to get that excited. “Connery!” Vickie cried. “Just the pup I need to see!”

“There’s nothing like doggy love,” she said. “Want a smoochie?”

“Hey,” Winston said, coming up behind her. “Are you ok?”

“Um, sure I’m ok?” Vickie’s voice sounded even shakier than she felt. “I think so?”

Winston looked awkward. “I know you’re a big girl and all, Vickie, but you’re my sister. I’ve never seen you bring a guy home and lock yourself in the room with him all day. Do you even know him? I’m pretty sure that’s not Rodney.”

“He’s new,” Vickie admitted. She couldn’t bring herself to say that she’d only just met him, or that they’d only exchanged a handful of words. “Gosh,” she breathed, “this really isn’t something I do.”

“I was kinda thinking that too,” Winston said.

Here, with time to think half a house away from Jonah, Vickie could see how out-of-character her behavior was. It chilled her. Could she be under a spell? She knew there were romance spells, though she’d never learned to cast one. Could… oh dear… a drug do this? Not that Jonah had given anything to eat or drink… that she remembered… And of course he acted a bit strange. He was a merman without a lot of contact with landwalkers. Why was he here again?

Vickie too a deep breath and pulled out her phone. “I think I’m going to call a friend and see if I can get some advice,” she said.

Winston’s face softened. “Look, I don’t want to freak you out. I’m your brother. I have to worry about you. But there’s no harm in giving the guy some space, right?”

She thought she was going to dial Judith, but somehow that didn’t seem like the right kind of advice. She only knew one person who might give her some insight on mermen, but they’d only exchanged some sporadic texts since they met in Isla Paradiso.

“Maya? Hi, it’s Victoria Sample.” She paused. “Yeah, it’s me! It’s great to hear your voice too! ….Yeah, we never talk voice. We should fix that …Well, yeah, I did have a reason for calling. There’s a guy, and he’s a merman, and thought you might give me some advice about mermen…”

“You can stop squealing now, Maya! I get the point!” Vickie flushed. “Yeah, maybe I deserved that.”

To Vickie’s surprise, Maya insisted on meeting in person, and she was quick with the airline reservations. She found a flight that arrived in the afternoon, and they rendezvoused at the Old Mill teahouse.

“Wow, it’s been so long! You look great!” they chorused when they laid eyes on each other.

“I had no idea you could come visit this quickly,” Vickie said. “Why didn’t we do this sooner?”

“I can’t always travel on such short notice,” Maya said, “but you lucked out this time. I had other reasons to spend some time in Avalon.”

“I hope you were going to look me up,” Vickie said.

“Sure I would,” Maya said, though Vickie thought there was a guilty edge to her voice.

“Let’s sit down and have a drink then,” Vickie said. “The Old Mill is such a peaceful place, and I never make time to come here.”

“I want to hear about this merman,” Maya said.

“You listen, and I’ll pour,” Vickie said.

Winston wandered into the kitchen in the afternoon and found Vickie’s guest sitting at the dining table, eating what Winston thought uneasily might be raw fish.

He grabbed a slice of Andria’s flaming angle food cake from the fridge and sat down beside the merman. “Hey,” he said. “I’m Vickie’s brother. My name’s Winston.”

The merman paused and gave Winston a long look. At last, he said, “I am Jonah of the Waves clan. Thank you for your hospitality.”

“It sounds like you’ve been showing my sister a good time,” Winston said. “Good for you. Just a piece of advice, man to man — Vickie lives with two brothers and her mom. You might want to be careful about loud noises.”

“Waves clan, really?” Maya said with raised eyebrows. “Those finfolk are wild.”

“Wild how?” Vickie asked, feeling her stomach tighten.

“Wild like a lot of them have never used their legs at all,” Maya said. “They live out in the deep ocean. I’ve only met a few. I get the impression that they don’t think much of shore mermaids like me.”

“If his clan doesn’t like the land,” Vickie said, “why did Jonah come here?”

Maya snickered. “For you, obviously.”

Vickie thought about that for a while. “You don’t know if Waves clan merfolk have any unusual abilities compared to shore merfolk?”

Maya frowned. “Not that I know of… What are you getting at?”

Vickie felt her face heating up. She tried to keep her voice casual. “Maybe any mermaid can do it? Affect how a human thinks about you?”

Maya frowned. She caught Vickie’s eyes from across the table until Vickie felt uncomfortable and looked away.

“Vickie,” she said. “Have you ever been with someone who really drove you crazy? Like you can’t get enough of them feel most comfortable when you’re with them?”

“I…” Vickie began. She’d had some good woohoo for sure, but she had to be honest with herself — the relationship part had always been awkward. Roderick had been good for a while, but even he had always looked at her with this devotion she couldn’t share. It made her feel guilty every time.

“I guess not,” she finished.

“You know what I think?” Maya said. “I think that you’ve got serious chemistry with a guy for the first time in your life, and it’s freaking you out.”

“You know, Maya,” Vickie said. “I think maybe you’ve got it exactly right.” She leaned forward to pour herself a little more tea.

They let the conversation drift to other things. “It’s been amazing to talk like this,” Vickie said. “I wish you were closer so we could do this all time.”

Maya gave a secretive smile. “That could happen someday,” she said. “Don’t give up hope.” She winked.

“Tell your fishy boyfriend hello for me,” Maya said. “Next time, we double-date or something, okay?”

“Absolutely,” Vickie said. “Thank you so much.”

It was dusk when she returned, and Jonah was waiting for her.

“You were gone when I woke up,” he said. His eyes looked large and mournful. “You’re unhappy. We have gone too fast. If you wish, I will return to the sea.”

“I’m sorry,” Vickie said. “I just needed to get away to think. I want you to stay. Please stay, Jonah.”

His face lit up, and he pulled her close.

I had real writer’s block with this one, but it finally came together.

7.32 Milestone

Jan9

Vickie wrenched herself away from him. “What? What are you doing?” she demanded. “Who are you?”

“I’m called Jonah, of the Waves clan in the South Simsian Sea,” the merman said in a thick voice.

“So you do speak Simlish,” Vickie said.

Jonah looked embarrassed. “I understand very well,” he said. “I just don’t often speak.. with air.”

“Oh!” Vickie said. “You’ve been following me. Why? Why do you stare at me like that?”

The merman dropped his eyes. “I did not mean to upset you,” he said. “I just felt… this. I assumed you felt it too.”

“Felt what?” Vickie asked, trying to mask the trembling in her voice.

He frowned, thinking, then reached out and brushed his hand over her skin. “I don’t know the name for it,” he said. “The call of the sea?”

She opened her mouth to reply, but nothing came.

Instead, she took him by the hand and wordlessly led him back to the house.

They stayed in her bedroom a long time.

Downstairs, Edmund was also thinking romantic thoughts, but of a much more chaste and proper manner.

“Joy? Would you grant me the pleasure of your company at Ventinari’s Restaurant this afternoon? Perhaps on the early side? 6pm? Yes, that would be delightful!”

He arrived early. If Joy appreciated punctuality, he wanted to be punctual. Even if she didn’t, it was unlikely she’d be happier if he were late.

“I wanted to celebrate a milestone with you,” he told her, “both for me and, I hope, for Avalon. We are free of all but the oldest, most powerful vampires.”

“Really? That’s amazing,” Joy said. “You did this all on your own?”

“With the weight of a thousand years of fae knowledge behind me,” Edmund agreed. “The strange thing is that most of them wanted to be free. They thanked me for returning them to mortality.”

Joy shook her head. “I guess I’ll never really understand it all.”

“To celebrate, would you join me for dinner?” Edmund asked.

Joy smiled. “But of course!”

“Vetinari’s is the nicest restaurant in town,” Joy said. “I’ve never been here. I’m looking forward to finding out if it lives up to the hype.”

“My mother makes several things on this menu,” Edmund said. “I wonder how a restaurant compares.”

“Your mother is a gourmet cook?” Joy asked.

“In her spare time,” Edmund agreed.

“While we’re waiting, would you join me in a toast?” Edmund asked. “This is some of my father’s prized nectar, which he put down before he died.”

“How can I say no to that?” Joy said.

“Is it supposed to burn?” she asked.

“Perfect quality flame fruit nectar,” Edmund said. “I have heard that flame fruit nectar is memorable, but I’ll be honest — I have no idea how this tastes. It might be an expensive disaster.”

“All right then, I’ve been warned,” Joy said. “I’m ready for the adventure.” She raised a flaming goblet to her lips.

“Oh, my. This is amazing. I’ve never tasted anything like this!”

“Wonderful! This is ideal for a celebration, then. I think Dad would approve.” Edmund sipped his own.

The nectar danced over his tongue and warmed him from the inside out.

“I think this is going to my head!” he said. They both laughed.

Edmund looked up and met Joy’s eyes over their wine glasses. “I am embarking on a new chapter of my life. I have been searching for a small place of my own, and I’m ready to move away from my family estate. Would you consider joining me there?”

Joy froze, then took another sip. “I don’t think I’m ready to talk about marriage,” she said slowly.

“However you wish to define our relationship, I am at your disposal,” Edmund said. He tried to hide the splash of wine as his hand trembled.

Then Joy’s face relaxed, and she beamed at Edmund. “All right then,” she said. “I would love to move in with you. I know I couldn’t have handled your entire family, but just the two of us, with books and magic, that sounds divine.”

The counter stood between Edmund and Joy, so he couldn’t take her into his arms. Perhaps this wasn’t the most wise place to start an important conversation. He settled instead for a soulful gaze across the distance. “Joy, my love,” he said. “With you, I am the happiest man alive in this moment.”

He was pleased to see her blush.

I had the hardest time with this scene, but here we are — Edmund has completed his Lifetime Wish and is moving out of the house with his girlfriend! He really should have proposed to her, considering that he is a Proper sim, but it didn’t happen in the flow of the moment. Joy is Unflirty and pretty cautious about commitments anyway.

7.31 Out of the blue

Nov25

A few days later, Vickie did return to explore the shipwreck. It was a brilliant day, with sun dappling down through the waves to illuminate the depths.

Vickie’s eyes kept being drawn away to little brightly-colored wonders of the sea.

Which was why she was so surprised to see him when she looked up.

Don’t hold your breath, she reminded herself. Holding your breath while diving was a quick trip to the hospital with compression damage.

It wasn’t as if she’d never met a mermaid before. She drew close and waved her hand in a universal underwater greeting. He just stared at her before swimming away.

Winston was invited to perform under the tent at the Wings Over Camelot Fun Faire. If that weren’t prestigious enough, he drew his largest crowd ever.

When he wrapped up his set, the audience went on cheering until the MC pushed him off the stage.

“You should have seen me, Ma!” he crowed when he finally made it home. “I was amazing! The pub offered me a regular gig on Fridays. They like me. They really like me!”

“I always knew you’d be a star,” Andria said. “That’s my boy.”

Edmund was cleaning the town of vampires, and it was getting easier.

He was out almost every night, prowling for the creatures of the night.

“Well, that was unexpected. What am I supposed to do now?”

“What’s that?? Don’t stake me!”

“Hey this feels pretty good!”

Before sunset, Victoria took a long walk on the beach behind the house. The rolling waves and the smell of salt in the air brought her peace in the way nothing else could.

A splashing sound caught her attention. What was that? A giant tuna?

No. It was something else entirely.

The merman transformed and stepped out of the water. His wild eyes bored into her.

Vickie took a step backward. “Hello?” she said in a wavering voice. “Are you new to this ocean? Welcome to Avalon. I-I’m Victoria Sample, and I live nearby.”

He stepped closer, raised a hand to brush against her cheek. His skin was smooth and cool.

In a low voice, he said slowly, “Victoria.”

Sorry for the blurry backgrounds. I was experimenting with my graphics settings, and the world lot looked terrible for a little while.

7.30 Time to move on

Nov19

Andria was sleeping better these days. The bed was big and empty, but it was comfortable and familiar.

She also rediscovered her old passions.

There were still alchemy

And even more fun, new cooking techniques!

Old Connery spent most of his time sleeping, but he slept like a king.

And Winston practiced… and performed… and practiced performing.

At home, in private, while he was nursing sore muscles, he might call his mentor Tyrone Biggs a slave driver, but he made sure that never happened where the acrobatics guru could hear him.

How many mentors forced their apprentices to balance on a wet, slippery ball on a chill rainy day? If I catch my death of cold, it will be all his fault, Winston stewed as his hand slipped yet again and he barely avoided falling on his head. Or a cracked skull. He’s going to give me traumatic brain injury, that’s what.

Biggs, however, was finally starting to be impressed by what he saw.

As the rain cleared and the sun began to set, Winston was still thinking murderous thoughts as he juggled, but Biggs was wreathed in smiles.

“I think I’ve seen enough,” Tyrone said.

Winston broke his concentration and let the batons fall around him to the stage. “You mean I can stop?” he asked. “Finally?” Every part of his body ached.

“Yeah, come down,” Tyrone said.

Winston gathered up has equipment and sloshed soggily to his mentor. He could already guess the mistakes that Biggs was going to point out, but he had no energy to try again today.

He was taken completely by surprise, then, when Biggs grabbed his hand and shook it. “Bravo,” he said. “You were amazing.”

Winston blinked. “I was what?”

“I think you are officially better than I was at my peak,” Tyrone continued. “I have nothing more to teach you. From here on out, I can no longer be your mentor. Consider us peers.”

“Wow!” Vickie said when he had told her the story. “Congratulations! You’re in the big time now!”

“I don’t know,” Winston said slowly. “Now it’s just me. I don’t have anyone to help me improve. What if I can’t go any further without Bigg’s guidance?”

“That’s nonsense,” Vickie said firmly. “I’ve seen you up there. You’re great. You can push yourself just as hard and Biggs ever did.”

Winston let himself relax. “Yeah, thanks sis.”

“That’s what I’m here for,” she said. “Now you go take a shower and get out of those soggy clothes before you catch your death of cold.”

Winston grinned. “Glad to know you still think I can take care of myself.”

On a bright, sunny morning, Vickie answered the call of the sea. The wreck of the Mango Marauder still held some secrets, and she planned to spend the afternoon investigating.

Once she slipped into the water, however, her plans changed.

Something… someone… surfaced nearby.

Mermaids in Avalon? Vickie thought of them as creatures who preferred to live in tropical climates.

“H- hello?” she said. “Are you new here? Welcome to Avalon?”

The mermaid held her gaze for another long moment. He was almost close enough to touch.

Then he dove, brushing lightly against her as he swam swiftly away.

Vickie watched as he dropped out of sight below the water. “Wow,” she said. “That was weird.”

Avalon Gossip column:

Rod’s rebound relationship with cougar Claire James ended in a shouting match like almost every relationship Claire has dated for three generations.

After which, she finally said the last goodbye to the neighborhood. She didn’t slow down to the very end. I assume she got what she wanted and enjoyed kicking guys to the curb. She sure didn’t like them clingy.

I will miss the reports of her exploits.