Saturday, January 5, 2013

Chapter 36: Too Much Pink



"Should we try it?"

"It's not going to tell us anything we don't already know."


The teens grab the love meter's handle together, and wait for the results.


"I told you, nothing we don't already know," Iola whispers as she leans in to kiss Shadow. "What's next? Face painting?"

"Come home with me," Shadow says, "I want to show you something."



She follows him with an excited gleam on her face as he leads her to the room on the second floor of the Brannon house. Then, the glow in her eyes dims as her moth falls into a disappointed frown.

"It's so empty," she says, like she was expecting something else, "The walls are so white."

"It was my uncle Elliot's room," Shadow says, puzzled at her reaction to the surprise he hadn't begun to reveal, "It's mine now...it's going to be ours, when I finish decorating. I guess you knew that. You've seen this room, haven't you?" Of course she's seen it, Shadow thinks with chagrin, she's seen their future as lovers, spouses, so she would have seen the bedroom they would come to share.

"I've never seen it like this," she says, looking around at the empty walls, the bare floor decorated with only a simple rug left behind when Elliot moved out.



"Not the best surprise then," Shadow says with a laugh, laying on the rug beside her, cradling her head in his arms as she cradles his, "I've got everything ready, and I was planning on staying up all night decorating so I could do a big reveal for you tomorrow after our birthday. But you've already seen it. I can't surprise you."

"You did surprise me, Shadow," she says, "I've seen the results, but I've never seen what you started with when you created our nest. I can't wait to see it finished, with my own eyes. Visions can never be trusted to get the fine details right, anyway."


While Shadow spends his evening furnishing and decorating his new bedroom, Farrell and Delaney play a game of foosball together.

"I can't believe what an overbearing asshole he's become!" Delaney complains, the anger of her morning spent visiting Jack in jail still fresh.


    
"I'm a bit surprised myself," Farrel admits, "When your mother was caught shoplifting, he moved pretty fast to pay it off and cover it up. But I guess it's just his way of protecting his little girl."

Involved in the game, Delaney can't help but give herself and exulting fist pump as she scores against her uncle. "I'm not his little girl any more," she says, continuing the conversation after her mini celebration.

"No, you're not," Farrell agrees, "Elliot will come around to accepting that eventually." Farrell wishes he were as confident about that as he tried to sound.




The Hawksquills come over early the next day to celebrate Shadow, Aurora, and Iola's shared birthday together as a family.


Three birthday cakes are lined up for the teens, Iola, as a guest, blows out her candles first.







And the three teens become young adults. Since Ariel is right there, Aurora confirms her employment in his hospital. 

"You'll be working directly with me," he tells her with a fond smile, "Take today off to get settled. You start work tomorrow."

Pleased with her future prospects, Aurora gather her things and moves out into her own home.



"What do you think?" Shadow asks, not expecting her to be surprised by the transformation he wrought on the room overnight, but also not expecting her dazed expression as she takes it in. Did he do it wrong, somehow, he wonders. "Is it too much pink?" He can't help that it's his favorite color, but maybe he went a bit overboard with it.



"Oh, Shadow," she sighs, falling into his arms, "It's home, at last. I'm finally home."


There shared joy in each other and their future together expresses itself in deep, passionate lovemaking. The rest of the town is celebrating Love Day at the festival grounds, but Shadow and Iola spend the day wrapped around each other, rapt in each other.


 "We should get married soon," Shadow murmurs idly, caressing her shoulder.

 "We could do it today, and forget about the whole wedding thing," she says.

"Is that what you've seen we'll do?"

Iola frowns, "We can't let my visions determine what we choose to do, Shadow. I see possible future, possible outcomes. But our future is in our hands."



"Does it get confusing for you, seeing the past and the future, while trying to live in the present?" Shadow asks.

"It could be overwhelming for someone not trained to handle it properly," Iola tells him, "My father taught me what his father taught him, and what I will teach our children if they inherit the Hawksquill curse. I learned to construct a library in my mind, shelves upon shelves of books. When I encounter a person or thing for the first time, instead of letting the images of their history overwhelm my consciousness, I shelve them in my mental library, where I may peruse them at my leisure. My mother's method for handling her clairvoyant visions is similar. She taught me to construct a mental gallery of paintings, each an image of a vision, like a frame of a movie. Each painting is like a portal; when I choose to focus attention on it, it opens itself around me, so I can see it in motion around me. When I want to see one of my visions in clearest detail, I visit my gallery." She snuggles close to him, resting her forehead on his chest, "I admit, when I'm alone at night, I often visited my visions of us together," she whispers, "It was almost like an addiction, I couldn't sleep without feeling your arms around me, hearing you whisper my name or feeling your kiss on my neck."

Shadow squeezes her, "Like this?" he whispers kissing her neck. She sighs in pleasure, and he laughs lightly, "The future is ours, now," he says. "I want a big wedding, if that's okay with you."

"That will be lovely," Iola whispers, "My mother would be disappointed if we didn't go all out, anyway."


Delaney isn't thinking about celebrating Love Day. Her boyfriend is behind bars, and, tonight, she's going to be doing a job with Ian. It won't be as easy as breaking into the school to steal the tests, she knows that, and she worries about her inexperience showing on the job. She wants to impress Ian, so she's crept up to the attic to her uncle's lab set up to see what he might have that could her out. Skimming through his lab notes, she finds a formula for a Ninja Vanish potion. All she has to do is follow the recipe exactly, she thinks.


"Delaney, chemistry can be dangerous if you don't know what you're doing. You could easily blow yourself and this attic up in a fiery explosion," Farrell warns, surprised to find Delaney up in the attic, using his gear.

"I'm following your formula exactly," Delaney says.

"Ninja Vanish?" Farrell says, looking at the page she's opened his notebook to, "I haven't really field tested that one." It's been some time since he's needed to infiltrate any or MorcuCorp's facilities, but he's never let himself assume his battle with them was over, and has continued to work on anything that might give him and advantage if he had to go up against them again. "You aren't thinking of breaking Jack out of jail are you?" he asks, guessing at what she might need it for, "He's innocent and he'll be released soon enough. But if he breaks out of custody, that's a crime they could get him for."


"I don't want to break him out, I just want to make myself invisible so I can visit him in his cell tonight. It's Love Day, after all," Delaney says, picking up Farrell's guess at her purpose as a convenient lie to cover her real plans for the night.

"Ninja Vanish isn't an invisibility potion," Farrell tells her, "What you want is my Ghost Potion. That, I've field tested, when I infiltrated MorcuCorp's labs to rescue Aouregan. Ninja Vanish would have come in handy then, too actually," he muses, remembering how Teal had locked them in Aouregan's cell before he could escape with her. "And it might help you, too. Use the Ghost Potion to get in, and the Ninja Vanish to get out. Just pour a drop of it where you want reappear later. Then, when your visit with Jack is finished, drop the Ninja Vanish on the ground, and you'll reappear where you spilled the first drop." Farrell stops for a second, "In theory, that is. Quantum entanglement can be a little tricky, and, as I said, I haven't field tested it."



"Thanks, uncle Farrell. You're the best," Delaney says, sincere in her affection as she hugs him. "I'll let you know how it works."

"Be careful," Farrell advises, "Don't take any unnecessary risks." He laughs then, at himself, "Not that I ever listened to that kind of advice when I was your age. I must be getting old."

______________________________________________

Generation 3 is official. I'll post the roll on my sidebar in the next update, I need to take a picture of my heirs first. I'm guessing it' fairly obvious that I've rolled couple +1 again, and it's Shadow and Iola as the couple, with Delaney as the +1.
I also rolled for 5 kids again *headdesk*.
Which put me in a bit of bind in terms of keeping Farrell and Aouregan around. I do have my game set to allow more than 8 Sims, wich I mostly use for my other stories when I need a large cast on hand. But those aren't played households. I don't actually like playing even 8 Sims at once, and now I'm looking at 10. But I also want to keep Farrell and Aouregan around until they die. Well, that will be a challenge.

Here's a couple of shots of Shadow and Iola's room.



The dogwood blossom in the lower left was actually a gift Iola sent Shadow when they were teens, as part of the attraction system deal. Nice that she chose flowers in his favorite color. =D

27 comments:

  1. I really liked this chapter. And I'm happy that Delaney is sticking around since I really want to see more of what she gets into. Although I'm also not happy that the +1 means that she and Jack won't be living together any time soon... *sigh*

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Tsuki!
      The difficult thing for me will be to not make Delaney the entire focus of this generation. Her relationship will have some troubles, of course, and they won't be able to marry any time soon. If ever.

      Delete
  2. Oh Farrell. If you only knew what Delaney was really using those potions for.

    If I was good at guessing rolls, I might have figured it out. But I'm not. I was assuming just couple actually. And 3 for family structure, 5 kids, and 2 elders. /me sends cali hugs.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know, poor Farrell, so trusting, lol.
      Thanks for the hugs. It was a tough decision to let Farrell and Aouregan stay, but I really wanted to keep them around, even though it means having 10 Sims in the house. At least I can space out the children a little so it's not 10 all at once immediately, lol.

      Delete
  3. The room is very nice and I'm glad Shadow and Iola are so happy together. I do hope Delaney isn't going to get herself into too much trouble though (and I'm concerned at what the +1 roll will mean for her and Jack)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Ali. Pink and lavender are an interesting combination, but that's Shadow and Iola.
      Delaney is heading straight into trouble, I think.

      Delete
  4. Oooft! I giggled like a school-girl at all three of the new young adults. Soooo gorgeous!

    I LOVE what Shadow's done with the place! I've never thought of putting those two colours together, and I usually don't bother decorating properly, but I've rolled 'It's so you!' next gen, so I'll have to redecorate. I love how Shadows' shirt matched the wallpaper too haha. Shadow and Iola are sooo cute! I hope Delaney doesn't take over too much, even though her storyline is obviously going to be more dramatic.

    I love how Farrell helped Delaney. I felt bad for him though, and I hope Delaney feels guilty about the whole thing too! How could she trick someone who is on her side against her father at the moment into helping her commit a huge crime? That girl really has lost her way.

    I'm glad you're keeping Farrell and Aouregan around, I'm attached to them and they're not even mine! Although it will be sad to see them get old :( but I suppose you don't really need to have 10 sims at once, because Delaney had hers when she was a teen, he'll grow up soon and move out at a point where everyone is still a suitable age to have children.



    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, gemly! I try to do at least the bedrooms nd the clothes to reflect the favorite colors. I did kind of go overboard with Shadow's pink, lol, but I just thought it was funny and kind of cool that he can just embrace his love of pink like that. I'm glad I don't have to do the whole house in their colors, though.

      It is pretty callous of Delaney to use Farrell like that, when he's been nothing but supportive of her. But she's kind of selfish and oblivious like that.

      I'm going to be really sad to see Farrell get ld nd then die. =( I will miss him and Aouregan a lot. But there's still time before that/ For Shadow and Iola, I"m going to wait until they roll wishes to have a baby before I do that. By then hopefully Jace will be a child and I can pace out the 5 kids so it's not all at once. I haven't ruled out Delaney having another, but that's not something I have plans for either. Still, there's going to 5 total, so who knows.

      Delete
  5. Yay, I figured that's what you rolled. =D How nice that you get to keep at least two of the spawn.

    But yeah, you must work on not letting Delaney hog the screen time, lolz.

    Like everyone else, I loved her conversations with Farrell. I hope you can keep Farrell and Aouregan around until they die. I bet you can find a way to do it.

    Damn, what is it with you and five kids this legacy?

    Also, sounds like a certain one of my characters could use lessons from the Hawksquill family. ;D ... Don't worry, I am a cruel plumbob and I would never let that happen.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am glad I get to have one of Farrell's kids and one of Elliot's in the house.

      I've got MC set to allow to more than 8 Sims, and the portrait panel mod, so I can have 10 in the family. It's just a matter of how much hair I'm going to lose caring for them all. The biggest problem is Farrell developed the hots for Iola before I added the attraction mod I'm using, which doesn't negate any previous attractions. He's been autonomously trying to amorous hug the girl since she was teen, and I can't ever leave him alone with her now that they live in the same house. *kicks EA for not adding checks to the attraction system*. Noelle (Iola's mom) is just as bad around Shadow, but they aren't living with her parents, at least. LOL, I'm afraid of what would happen if ever move Farrell and Aouregan in with the Hawksquills, as there is mutual attraction on all sdes. They'd make quite the foursome.

      I know, and my first gen was 4 kids, so I have had break yet.

      I did figure the Hawkdquills have been dealing with this curse for hundreds if not thousands of years, so they must have developed a coping mechanism of some kind. I'm so tempted to do a Hawksquil origin story in Summerdream.

      Delete
  6. Loved it. I can't see this as a legacy of any sort, or a challenge at all. It's such a remarkable tale and I am really enraptured by your story telling, your sets, your sims, everything. But with five children again, I am sure it will all work out. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much, Zhip!
      Five kids again will be a challenge, but I'm sure I can handle it. Mostly, lol.

      Delete
  7. YES! I guessed the roll! I am very disappointed though that I wasn't wrong and the roll was actually full house. : ( Poor Jack.

    I'm fine with Delaney hogging the spot light until she makes me want to kill her. : ) Shadow and Iola are too cute, and the make me happy every time you talk about them. Yay for soul mates!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Part of me would love to have Full House and have Jack in the family. But then I'd have 11 Sims at once, agh!

      Delaney will definitely be getting a lot of screen time, especially early in the generation. My ideas for her story are more clear. For Shadow and Iola, I have some ideas but they need some development so they might just have a nice honeymoon time for awhile with no personal drama until I figure out what I want to do with them.

      Delete
  8. I love that you are keeping Farrell and Aouregan around, even though Shadow and Iola are slowly gaining on them in my affections :)
    And Delaney.... that girl is trouble with a capital T. looking forward what kinda trouble she will get her tush into!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thanks, nachtstern!
    Shadow and Iola are becoming favorites of mine, as well. Delaney is definitely trouble, and proud of it, lol.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Great chapter! Iola aged up so beautifully! Loved the description of her visions, too.

    Farrell is so yummy. If you don't have room for him, send him over to Ouroboros Isle and I will find a use for him }:-D

    I wouldn't mind knowing which pose pack you used for the Shadow and Iola scene, too.

    ~Margaret

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Margaret, I love the way Iola turned out as well.
      I used poses from a few sets for Shadow and Iola.
      My Pal Sim has lots of great poses, I use them a lot in this legacy. I used two from this set.
      http://mypalsims-poses-for-sims-3.blogspot.com/2012/11/second-couples-set.html
      Also I used poses from this set by Inna Lisa:
      http://mysims3poses.blogspot.com/2012/07/adult-poses-by-inna-lisa.html

      Delete
    2. ohmigash! thanks! Wow those are some awesome poses by Inna Lisa :P~

      Delete
  11. Wowsers! Iola is gorgeous! And Shadow isn't half bad himself, lol. I too am happy that Farrell and Aouregan are sticking around. It's not too bad with the extra sims need wise---as they are adults. I hear you about the flirting though--I have some issues with that and Kit/Elly. *grumbles at EA* I deal with it by letting her pull lots of pranks on Kit to keep their relationship down in the red---so if a flirt happens and I don't catch it in time---it is rejected.

    Not a good sign though that Laney wants to impress Ian---I hope that Jack gets out of jail soon!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Nirar!
      Iola is a looker, and I'm pretty happy with Shadow, too. He's got of lot of Aouregan in his looks.
      The biggest problem for me with so m any Sims is keeping them from doing stupid things, and the attraction business makes it harder because it drives them to autonomously flirt with anyone they are attracted to. I'd prefer not to make Farrell and Iola enemies, but I also don't want them getting it on when I off somewhere with Delaney and not watching them like a hawk, lol.

      Jack should be out of jail soon. But in the meantime, Delaney is on the loose and hanging around with his partner.

      Delete
  12. I love Shadow and Iola's room! Everybody grew up beautifully.

    Great, happy chapter. Well, not for Delaney, I guess. I hope for her sake things go well with Ian, but a) I don't trust him and b) I think a wake-up call would be good for her. Not that what Elliot did to Jack was good, but I don't think Delaney getting into crime is a good idea.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Hayley! For some reason I go to excess when a Sim has pink for a favorite color. I still have fond memories of Darius Enmity's pink undies...

      Delaney could use a wake up cal, but chances are she'd misinterpret it. And, why you no trust Ian? Doesn't he seem like a nice, upstanding kind of guy? LOL, okay, so, yeah, don't trust Ian. I wouldn't. Ian actually had to be created to fit the scoundrel role I initially meant for Jack, until he got all sentimental on me.
      In this comic book I read, Jack of Fables, Wicked John is actually an alternate version of Jack Horner, that's where I got Ian's nick from.

      Delete
  13. What an interesting chapter. Delaney...oh, Delaney. I can't wait until all the babies start happening! Squee! Shadow and Iola babies. So excited.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm excited about Shadow and Iola's babies as well. =D

      Delete
  14. It's really cool how so many mementos end up in your house. :)

    I've thought of selling all of the ones my sims have because I never use them, and their inventories are pretty ridiculous. I should really try to use them more.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I do love all those little souvenirs and awards.

      Delete