Author Topic: The Avyan Immortal Dynasty - The Word Unsaid (9/25/20)  (Read 59331 times)

Offline Deme

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Re: The Avyan Immortal Dynasty -"I Respect Your Pinterests" (7/7/18)
« Reply #45 on: July 08, 2018, 09:09:38 PM »
Love the little toddler play area in the back!
Congrats to Kite and his devoted parents on maxing all the toddler skills!
Ohhhh, what happened with the toddler play date? There was nobody to invite because all of the older Munches weren't home? Shoot!
Lol, poor Akira and the "Ask why" onslaught.

Something like that, yeah: there was just no one to invite, which I'm not exactly sure why of. Was the only toddler Kestral, personally, had met Julian, and had Julian aged up? Maybe. It's not unreasonable to think that, but I don't have proof.

But this post is actually a great segue into a small thing I prepared badly! A small pre-Seasons, pre-birthday house tour! Consider it a time to take stock.


As you can see (pardon the night pic; past me made some dubious choices that I can't really correct now. Keep moving forward!), the playground is actually in the front, near the side. My plan is likely to eventually encircle it a little if I need more room.


We enter here, with Kestral and Miko's room to the left. The door nearest to us is the downstairs bathroom, the door near that little stairwell area where the easel is is Akira's, and the room in the back of the kitchen was Gino's. None of the boys' rooms have a whole lot of furniture, so they're not in this tour. I spent money getting all of them top-tier beds, for back when people slept regularly.


And here we have our living room area! Right now, a lot of our furnishings our rewards, but I do love that sloth painting. The door at the end of the hallway is Johnny's, and it's got sort of a funny shape. Eventually, it will become a part of the dining room and I will move the zesty one upstairs. And get him bedroom furniture. One step at a time.


The downstairs bathroom, aka the lesser bathroom.


The kitchen.


Our tragically sparse dining room. Kestral weeps, if Kestral would be willing to concede to the idea of having tear ducts.


Upstairs is a horrible void. You've seen the nursery, which I am (as of the time these pictures were taken) about to largely sell off. Bad decision, past me. But these things happen.


At the front of the house, upstairs version, we have the little micro-study nook, which has largely been furnished by or for Akira's work. Thanks, Akira.


In retrospect, the upstairs bathroom is probably one of the house's nicer rooms. Oops.



And the basement is just the museum at this point! It's probably going to get a remodel in the near future, because I'm not satisfied with these pictures as being worth enough, and it'll probably be easier to just have Kestral make a thing. At that time, the entrance was out the back porch. Which, uh. I did not have a door to at that juncture? Bad me, very bad. These days, the stair to it is directly under the stair to the upstairs. I don't think I noted when I changed it, but it does change.

And there you have it, your friendly Avyan house circa the Adult Birthday Day, give or take some rooms!
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Offline Deme

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Chapter 13: Many Birthdays, Many Stories, Part 1: Miko and Zest

Miko’s Story
Hey, everyone! Mikoooo here again! OK, so it’s not my birthday, but I’ve got some stuff going on that’s worth talking about, too! And I don’t want to step in people’s ways? So I’m going first :3

So, after moving here, I started trying out painting, right? And that was fun! I’m not really a creative type, or anything… But it was cool seeing something get made, and making a prettier space! I made a couple of portraits for the museum, even! Not, like, official museum pieces, or however Kestral would put it. Just little things to remember these days by.

But, aspirationally-speaking, I’ve probably gone as far with painting as I can. It’s not unfun now -- but I’m ready to move on. To bigger and better things! Or, different, anyway!

Back before Kite was born, I got a teeny head start onto Renaissance Sim. But, like so many renaissance men and women and others of the past, I was tied down by the demon known as money! Heehee. Just a little flare. But I think we’re doing better now -- I think I want to try and see more of what the world has to offer!

So that means starting with a nice round of chess. Which means getting a chess table, but I don’t think anyone would mind me using that space. But if I’m not exactly a creative thinker… Well, I guess I wouldn’t call myself a logical one, either; I’m a fantasy geek more than a tech kinda geek, you know? But you know what’ll spice that up?


Pulling my favorite birthday girl into it <3
“Does this mean you’ll be quitting your job?” She asks me over the chess table. And I kinda squirm a little bit and nod.
“I love making sure no sim gets left behind, I do! But…” How do I put this? I never intended to settle down as soon as I did -- in a lot of ways.
“But it’s leaving you behind,” Kestral offers.
“Bingo.” Oh, and speaking of bingo… “And Bingo!”
“You mean checkmate, right, babe?” She rolls her eyes -- but she’s kind of laughing, too. She’s got that cute little crinkle at the corner of her eyes when she’s trying to look too cool to laugh.
“My game, my rules. Also, you know, it’s salient.” I tap my chin. “Now you have to take off an article of clothing, dear.”
I’ve got her there -- her cultivated calm breaks open for a second, just a cute hint of pink on her ears. Heehee. I just wanted to see my wife look a little off-guard for a second, that’s all >:3
“I’m afraid I can’t do that, my dear Miko. I’ve got a party to arrange.” She glides to her feet, settling back into her Kestral groove -- but not before giving me a kiss. “But you certainly earned a winner’s kiss. Deal? Deal.”
Dee-alll~! I’m too weak-kneed for the rest.


You’ll hear about our strings of birthdays later -- I’ll admit, I felt a little sad pang watching Kite grow up. I’m his momma -- how can I not feel a little sad, watching my baby grow up? Well, you’re my baby forever, of course!
...When I put it like that, I understand the sort of thing Kestral wants, in wanting something that’s yours forever. But what’s he going to think of that? Am I the only one thinking about that? Well, we can work it all out! Maybe when he’s old enough to understand.

While everyone else is sorting through clothes, I decide that I really should ditch the lace underwear look. Yeah, it’s super cute to sleep in, but I kind of spend a lot of time around the house. Probably not the best look, right?

So better lounge PJs it is! For now? They’re not super perfect, but the selection at our local stores doesn’t have anything <cute> and <pop> enough (You get the reference, right)?


I think Kestral (who was the birthday sim for the actual birthday party bit of the day) was actually kind of anxious -- don’t tell anyone! (This is another one of those things Kestral thinks no one notices, and maybe almost no one does, when she’s got that little knot of worry. It’s not a common enough expression that you can really see a trace of it on her face now, though.)

But you know, she doesn’t need to worry, my pretty older lady.

“Of course I’ve still got it,” Kestral insists over the cake -- and she means it, the little knot gone now -- “I’ve got an eternity ahead of me, it’d be pretty lame to run out of steam right now!”
“That’s true; the pitter-patter of my heart couldn’t possibly settle down! The maturity! I swoon!” And I do, like a lady in a period film, until Kestral lets out that amused little puff of breath.
“I’m getting too old for this…” Kestral says, miming pulling a detective’s fedora over her eyes.
“Have you decided what you’re going to work on next?”
“Step one, finish this party. My checklist --” Oh my plumbob, she has a checklist! Oh, my precious muffin. That’s toooo~ cute. “I wrote down that this’d be the last, but I don’t remember the 4th. One day, we’ll have to make that up. Gotta cross my Ts and all that jazz…” She slumps a little. “I don’t really know. But hey. I’ve got time to socialize, at least.”
“That’s true. I wouldn’t worry, right? You can try stuff out until you find a new goal to focus on.” I’m with you, honey!

That said, I do think she’s getting maybe a teeeeeny-tiny bit restless.

I saw her jogging around the neighborhood after we were done with the party. She just can’t sit still, can she?

Oh! Moving forward! Right!

At the end of the night, I make a phone call.
“Hey, Paint Studio Palette? I heard you’re hiring! Sign me up!”

And that’s the choice I made today! Thanks for listening, everyone! Mikooooo, signing out!

Zest’s Story


Freeze Frame. Record Scratch. That’s me. And I bet you’re wondering how I got here. Well, scratch that, I know you already know! Kestral’s been telling you all along. So how about we change places, and you tell me: How did I get here? Is that a thing I’m allowed to do, just go ‘hey, you, I’m going to sit here on stage, and you’re going to tell me some jokes! And then I’ll shout something about your mother, and you’ll have to find a way to make a joke out of me!’ Well, ha-ha! I already beat you to that part, buddy!

...This is a bit. You, um. Just to be sure, you get that, right? Geeze, I don’t ask that...Anymore...But, uh. You’re a tough audience. Quiet as all get-out. Well, maybe I’m just uneasy.


So, yeah, my birthday today. At the top of the hill, and nowhere to go but down! Well, that’ll make a nice change, I guess -- from having nowhere to go but up. I’m not sure I have a wish -- how about to get that aspiration done at long last, ha ha?


Wow, talk about your crow’s feet -- I feel like I got the whole bird!


I think some of my look has got to go -- a real beard, a different hairdo… That sort of thing. But there is a screaming inside my head here that I’m not sure how it’s not a screaming outside my head. I don’t know how to do this. I’m only good at being a young punk -- when did I become an adult?
Oh, right then? Forbidden words, I knew I forgot something!


And I forgot something else, too.
Sitting in the mail, just for me. From Hobart. And Ulises. And Bonnie. And Yaritza. And Annabelle. And Alyson -- really, when you start just going down the list, you’ve got to stop and realize “Wow, did I screw up!”

And there they were, children’s crafts.

Children’s toys that end up in Kite’s new room because Kestral gives them a glance-over and makes it so. They don’t know what else to give, they don’t know me -- and yet, there they are, in wrapped boxes with cute little cards, like I matter to them! Like they want me in their lives; like they’re not me, or something, and like I’m not the Landgraabs. Like, in a way that was, in all other ways, so determined that I thought I knew that!



I really screwed up.

But how do you fix that? What can you do? That night, as I’m returning from a quick check-in on the garden, a miracle happens.


Kite’s gently holding a girl’s shoulder, and I’d recognize that blonde anywhere -- it’s (still, woo!) in the mirror. A quick check of my messages tells me that’s Bonnie. My daughter, Maaike’s girl.

“Hey, why the heart-type rainstorm there, Bonnie? Don’t know if I can make summin’ happen about it, but you can lay it out,” he says. “An’ maybe that’ll help it feel better.”

“It’s nothing,” she says, insistently. There are tear-marks on her cheeks. She rubs at her eyes a little, and breathes out a sigh. “I don’t know why I came here. I mean, I’ve got a whole lot of people around, all the time! I guess… I guess I’m a little lonely.”

Somehow, I know what I need to say.

“Hi, a little lonely…” And as I say it, I feel it, like a bright ray of sunshine. Something wonderful opens up before me, and I realize I shouldn’t have been afraid at all.


“I’m dad.”

“D-dad?!” She looks totally paralyzed, but I think that got at least a little smile out of her. And an eye roll. Perfect. Beautiful.

“Thanks for the plate. It was really sweet. Wanna come inside?”

There’s a second where Bonnie isn’t sure; but her little friend there’s melted into the background of our lives, and she nods.


“I’m sorry I haven’t been around. I’ll try to do better,” is really the most I can say to her for now, about that whole mess that’s been my young adult life. “So, uh...What sort of things do you like?”

And she tells me. Food, some of it. Slightly too many voidcritters. Rainbows and kitties, that kind of things. Not a horse phase girl. It’s smooth if your version of smooth contains cat tongues and gravel roads, but really? That’s because it was way past time. But she’s a great kid. Groans like she pretends that’s not the most funny thing a person can do when they hear my kinda joke. They won’t be kids forever… I mean, I tried my best, but I couldn’t. I guess I can’t stop running away from what I am in my life now --


and that’s apparent!

Badum-tish
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Offline Deme

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Chapter 14: Many Birthdays, Many Stories, Part 2: Kestral, Kite, Akira

Kestral’s Story

Alright, this birthday set-up required some thoughtful timing, especially if I didn’t intend to waste my time on more than one cake. I mean, I did make a second cake, but it’s an emergency cake, in case someone. Like, say. Zest. Were to, you know, dump my cake in a dishwasher.


Step one, get the chuckleheads their birthdays before Akira has to go to work. I can probably at least give Akira a bagged lunch before he has to go racing out of the way.


Before the real party this evening, we get to what’s really, actually, the most important birthday of the day; it’s the biggest. I’m not going to groan over my adult birthday like it’s a big deal (the party’s a big deal, though.)

My boy.


The hair’s a surprise -- but that tends to happen in my family. I wouldn’t be surprised if it shakes out different, down the line… But I think, seeing his personality a bit more, he takes after Miko way more than me. He’s a Good kid.

He’s up getting his room sorted while we get the party started. Got guests invited -- just a couple, I want this nice and controlled so we don’t miss a beat. Time to wine and dine and entertain.


“Summer! Having a nice time? You want me to fix you up something? I’ve got some stuff with a lot of kick to it!” If she’s going to sit at my bar, the wining takes precedence.
“...That gesture...Doesn’t really look like a kick to me?” She asked, chuckling. What a beautiful set-up.
“Sometimes a kick, sometimes something a little stronger. Let me guess… Maybe a Zebra Fizz girl? It’s got a refreshing brightness.”
“Sounds good.”

Guests drinking drinks: Check!
I set some people on the spare cake I made! People eating cake: Check!

...In the end, I do everything I can without blowing out the candles, before it’s time to get going.

“Make a wish!” Miko shouts, but I don’t need wishes; I can get what I need to get done by myself. But for a goal… Let’s make sure nothing’s standing in my way of enjoying my descendents, or having ambrosia the moment I want it.


...Not my favorite look, tbh.


But babe’s still got it. And a gold party under my belt, too.


Kite’s swung right into using the activity table we bought him! I’m in his corner; we’ve got to get rolling on those aspirations, after all, and childhood’s only so long.
“Yeah, that looks good, don’t you think? You can probably move onto the next one, and then… We’ll probably need to buy a violin?”
“It’ll look like how it’ll look… But the look’s lookin’ like another look, so I gotta look a little more…” he looks up at me from his drawing and he gives me a smile, and I can no longer function the part of my brain that planned more than the next three seconds, so we’re going to draw a while! “...I can give jammin’ a shot, though?...Uhh… Does it gotta be a violin?”
“I don’t like them either, but pianos are pricey, and they don’t make guitars your size.”
What a shame. We both sigh.

But where’s he going to go, huh? I had my heart set on a few things pretty much out of the gate, so… I don’t know what’ll happen if he’s not going to throw his back into it. But as long as things get done, it’ll be fine if he’s not sure. Exactly as long as things get done.

There’s life going on outside my immediate family...I caught a little scene going on outside the house.

That’s really bad child-hugging form, Zest. We can all tell you’ve never done it.

Well, you’ve got to start somewhere. I wouldn’t mind a closer look at some of Kite’s contemporaries, either. You know. No time like a birthday for looking ahead.



Kite’s Story


“Three, two, one...Go!”

The way I figger, that’s as good a place as any to start, right? If it’s not, that’ll prob’ly be arright, too, right? Because it’s a start and it’s the rest that counts… I’m a little stuck on ‘the rest,’ but I’ll tell you about the party, ok?  I don’t think I’ve got much to say for an introduction; you’ve been listenin’ to Mom’s story, so you prob’ly know more about me than I do, I guess.

That’s cool, means we’re pals already. Nice to meetcha, pal.

I donno if my birthday’s anything particularly special... it kinda ends up in the middle of a birthday patch, ready to harvest. But it’s exciting, finally getting to see more of the world. And there’s cake, dude, cake! I guess not right away, birthday patch an’ all, you know?


 The partially-shaved head was...Well, I can’t get that for me, if that’s cool? I’m still not sure what I’ve got going on is right, you know? I donno how I’d know, you know? But… It can be a thing. I want a look that feels… I donno. You look outside, and sometimes you see kites, right? In the big blushing evenin’ that makes you want to tumble on into it. The kinda kites I saw while I was playing outside, they had these split tails -- like a fancy coat, maybe, the sort of bird you could see makin some music -- well, like… Conductin’, that’s the word, right? Nah, listen, it’s not the fancy coat I want. Just that that’s how the tails were; you don’t see that on other birds of prey, Mom told me, just little swallows and these kites. And there, up against the sky, they flew in these… Just really peaceful circles, just these perfect shapes in the sky like it was nothin’, just these big loops like they had nothing to do but look at that pretty sunset sky, too...An’ I want to look like that felt, if I had a way to look. ‘M I makin’ sense?

Like, my room’s I guess kind of a little easier; could use some more color, maybe? The old mirror still gets to live here, I’ve got a shine to it.


The bed was Mom’s idea -- it’s a good bed for catchin’ Zs, even if it makes me feel like an old lady… Not bad, though, I guess it’s a bed that feels like you wanna knit? Huh, you figger if it had a quilt you could snuggle into, that’d work it? I can probably swing somethin’, since it was a big gift… Oh! Gifts.  I got some new toys, too. I got a little jackalope buddy. He is a ranger, a jackalope ranger, watchin’ the forest for jackalope kids lightin’ jackalope fireworks. They could be jus’ plain ol’ fireworks, too, it’s no big deal where they get ‘em, but even if the lack of spark’ll pull you down, you gotta be good about forests.

Oh, hey! The birthdays. After that, that was when I got to chow down on some cake, an’ talk to some of the guests. We had some a’ the moms’ friends, An there was Uncle Johnny, but Uncle ‘Kira was at work, which… Ponder it a sec with me. That’s gotta be sad. He’s got a girl he likes here, and Mom’s cake, and he’s just gotta  -- gotta play the ol’ letter piano for a buck all day... Poor guy…

He isn’t the only one who had it bad, though… I don’t know what to do about... Well, lemee lay it out for you, maybe you’ll get it. So we’re having cake, and...


“How’s the b-day been, Uncle Johnny? Party’s a little late for you, but it’s not never, so close enough for good, right?”
But I just sort of get a stare back, an he starts prodding at his cake like it’s gonna have pudding behind the cake if he digs it out. Now, I don’t wanna just give up on the uncle a’ my heart, you know? “...Are you OK?”
“...Have I been hurting people?” He asks, an’ where I was supposed to know this from, I do not know. But he wasn’t really askin’ me any more than I was really answerin. But...
“Probably,” Ulrike says, an I’m thinkin’, woah! That’s a hard spike, aint it? Like she came out pew-pew-pew, all lasers firing. Phwew.
“You’re right, you’re right...  It’s a mess. I’m a mess.”

It hurt, seein’ him sad. Ka-san tried to teach me stuff f’r this, but… Maybe when you’re a grown-up, you’re up too high to get it? If you get bigger, ‘n the world gets bigger, does the stuff that bums you out also bloom on up? But. If it’s good ‘nough for Ka-san, I want it to cut mustard!

“...I don’t know what did that’d make a mess, but… If you did somethin’ bad, why not say ‘sorry’, Uncle? If it’s somethin’ you smashed to bits, can you fix it?”
An even if that was just sayin’ words, he still gives me a smile, an’ he says...
“...Maybe. I don’t know if I can.”

So I donno, either… I donno what I could really do there; there’s not a whole big thing I can do fer everyone or nothin’. Is it really cool to just look starward and hope, huh? Maybe...

Since one a’ my gifts was an art table (oh, hey; I was supposed to be on about birthdays, right? Sorry.), thinkin’ about that with a crayon seemed nice. Just lettin’ the color spool out until there was a little house lookin’ up at me. An’ the little house didn’t have a clue ‘bout how to fix an uncle, but I felt better.



So Mom really hopped on to it with this, leaning over and offerin little tipbits an’ stuff. She kinda wanted me to hurry a little, but, trip, they’re drawin’s. They won’t go nowhere if I’m not making ‘em go somewhere, so they’ll be there day or night. Maybe if it gets super dark, they’d need to hide out, but hey! Lightbulbs are pals for that. An’ there’s one thing she asked that really stood out to me:

“Kite, what’s your wish? Sky’s the limit, kiddo.”

“Donno, Mom… I can wish fer a wish fer a bit, I guess?”

 I don’t really got an answer; there I am at the door of the plane with the world zippin’ by down below, if you catch me, but I don’t think waitin’ for the sky’s the limit, ya know? Not for Mom. So she hmms and she’s blinking, like I said somethin’ weird. An that’s fair, right, I think I do say stuff not like the uncles or moms? She looks worried, and that’s tyin’ me up in knots, too.

“Can’t say I expected that…”  Her fingers go tap, tap, tap on her arms, rainin’ and each one’s a big drop -- an’ I drop, too, down. Down. Down. But fer both of us, it’s just a tick; just a little bit; Mom claps her hands together, an’ I bob back up. “But we got this, don’t you worry. We can cover a lot of ground in trying things up for you. Being an Artistic Prodigy’s quick, and if you like drawing, we can start from there.” An’ Mom gives me a big thumbs-up with that, so I figger, yeah, hey. ‘Sall good if it’s all good down the line. An’ she gets a grin outta the pics, too, so it’s a flow I can go with. ...Where’s a kid find a wish, anywho?

I figger, maybe outside! You wish on stars, ‘r I wish on stars, anyway, so maybe they’ve got somethin’ to spare for someone. An… In the whole a’ things, I’m glad I went out. A little too dark fer birds, though, but there were still folks out there! And I met another kid!


Bonnie’s the name; she’s a kid a bit older’n me, but she says she’ll help me out ‘round the playground if I need a hand of the people-meetin’ type. (She, uh, didn’t exactly say it like that, but you’re gettin’ what I mean, right? Cool, good.)

“You wanna hang inside? We got cake!” I tell her, an she’s happy ‘bout it for a thinnest-hand-spin, but then her face drops, an’ I ask…

Well, you heard what I asked already, right? An’ I’m glad I did; it all worked out really well, and I guess I helped Uncle Johnny along after all, huh? Seems like a good birthday to me.


Akira’s Story



“Happy new phase of life, Akira.” “Wow, thanks, Akira.” Phhh.


Ulrike might be pregnant again....Will this one be mine? She says all her boys are. And I want to believe that… But I can’t know. I just can’t believe that. I don’t want to go over there, and look at their faces, and not see any sign of myself. I don’t want to shatter that thought.

...That’s kind of more interesting than my birthday. What a pain.

I stumble at the cake, which just feels like an omen from up above.  I don’t even get to eat a slice! Ulrike gets to hang around with my dog of a housemate, but nooo, not Akira! Akira’s got to go from aging up right to work! Blow out the candles, and go out the door!


I program all day, and then I go home and I program some more! I miss running around for jewels… I miss holiday crackers…


And my mind wanders to my romantic life. I want to be swept off my feet! I’m not getting any younger -- a birthday’s a good time for that, too… Shouldn’t I be building a life with my soulmate? Instead… There are a lot of women in my life, but no one who makes me feel safe. Like Ulrike.

...I’m going to pay to help support the kid, of course. I’m not a monster. It’s a little pathetic, right? I lie in bed awake at night thinking about whose bed she might be in, but I still pay up… I’m just afraid of being alone. What if I never find someone who can have my trust? What then?

Everyone else seems to feel like their life is going somewhere. What do they have that I don’t?

Maybe I should go outside for a bit. Go for a walk, sure it’s late out, but…

Oh, wow. What a beautiful woman… It’d be wrong of me not to say something, and maybe she…
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Offline MarianT

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Everyone (except maybe Akira) had a great birthday, but I really loved Johnny's story. I'm glad his presents made him come to a few realizations, and glad he's making friends with Bonnie. The new beard looks great!
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Offline BallerinaHippo

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I'm not completely caught up yet, but just wanted to pop in and say that I'm really enjoying this.  Your story is one of those that I like to "save" and binge read several updates at once.

You're doing such a good job at making these characters come to life.  Miko is my favorite so far, because how can you not love adorable, sweet Miko?  Kite is rapidly winning my affection, too.  And Akira?  Well, I just want to shake some sense into him!  But that means you are doing a good job of writing him.  Ha! 

Keep up the good work.  I'll be reading, and I'll try to get caught up and comment more frequently.  :)

Offline oshizu

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I love Kite as a child--he looks so much like Miko with Kestral's hair!

Lol, Akira! I hope that lady he greets on his evening stroll is a vampire who bites him!

Offline Deme

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Everyone (except maybe Akira) had a great birthday, but I really loved Johnny's story. I'm glad his presents made him come to a few realizations, and glad he's making friends with Bonnie. The new beard looks great!

Glad to hear it! It's one of my favorites of the bunch, as well. Additionally: I know, right? I was really surprised about the beard, and feel like shouting now any time I see him in some other dynasty "Please give him a real beard. A real beard! It will look good, I swear." But then I lose my nerve, and figure, to each their own... But seriously, anyone who sees this comment and wants Johnny Zest to look good: Consider. A proper goatee and not a soul patch.

I'm not completely caught up yet, but just wanted to pop in and say that I'm really enjoying this.  Your story is one of those that I like to "save" and binge read several updates at once.

You're doing such a good job at making these characters come to life.  Miko is my favorite so far, because how can you not love adorable, sweet Miko?  Kite is rapidly winning my affection, too.  And Akira?  Well, I just want to shake some sense into him!  But that means you are doing a good job of writing him.  Ha! 

Keep up the good work.  I'll be reading, and I'll try to get caught up and comment more frequently.  :)

This comment was really nice and uplifting! (They all are, but I appreciate your sending it from trying to catch up.) Thanks for letting me know how you like to read this, as well; it's pretty handy.

I'm really glad you like the characters; some of them took me a fair bit of soul-searching to get right, so hearing people wanting to shake the heck out of Akira (whose status as what I lovingly call a "burning garbage fire" and sort of extreme interpretation of his traits has looped back around and made him feel very special to me), or liking how sweet Miko is, really feels good.

I love Kite as a child--he looks so much like Miko with Kestral's hair!

Lol, Akira! I hope that lady he greets on his evening stroll is a vampire who bites him!

You know, I actually decided to look into it based on your comment, using a version of the family saved to my library... And actually, while there's a lot of clear Miko (those eyes, his lips), if I set both his parents to children, there's a whole heck of a lot of child-Kestral in his face shape: he doesn't have the same sort of roundness to his face Miko does even as a child, or the same sort of big cheekbones, while Child-Kestral's face is sort of sleek and pointy like Kite's. So he's actually more of a mix than he might first appear. What this combination of features will look like on a teen will be something to see!

Vampire yes, biting, no. Wouldn't that be a bad cap to the birthday, though... Goodness, but that sounds entertaining.
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Offline Deme

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Re: The Avyan Immortal Dynasty -"I'm getting ahead of myself..." (8/2/18)
« Reply #52 on: August 02, 2018, 08:52:38 AM »
Chapter 15: I'm Getting Ahead of Myself. By Several Lifestates.

With Kite going to school, Miko and I are freed up for a while to enjoy the weekdays…

Including some high-quality Chez Llama dates. Now, the waitstaff has kind of an issue about exactly what sort of booth-table situation to give for a date. Pros of this situation: This.
“Yaawwwwn, goodness, but they’re taking so long to get the food out.”
“Yes, five seconds is really long, isn’t it? Definitely super-duper yawnworthy,” Miko replies. Her eyes sparkle and linger on the ol’ reach-around underway. With a giggle, she adds, “Oh, my. It seems an impassable barrier is in my path! A hand!”


“I’ll have to go the opposite way, tee-hee, right into the warm arms of my love,” she adds, holding back an additional wave of giggles to snuggle up.
“Come on, babe. I can’t be smooth if you’re going to do it like that.”
“You’re always smooth to me. The ol-reach-around? Never smooth, and I love it.”
“Fine, fine…”


Eventually, we do get the food and more importantly food photos we came for. They only come to about 10-25 a pop, though; is this really what I want to contribute?

After school, Kite’s got some levels of creativity to grind out, and that’s a good idea… But I also ask him to go join Miko in chess. I mean, it’s just efficient if he can bounce around a little, and hit tomorrow’s homework with focused.

He and Miko talk for a while out on the side porch, just about this and that. I think Miko’s been introducing him to the show about the rock aliens, and I can see why he’d get into it; the lead’s very much a kumbaya-lets-all-hold-hands kinda sucker. But I also overheard stuff not about cartoons singing and crying (kid’s shows got real weird when I didn’t have people in my life to pay attention to them.)

“Hey… Hey, Ka-san... can ya’ spin me sumthin’, Ka-san?” Kite asks, looking down uneasily at the board, his eyes darting back up to Miko, and away.
“I can try! What is it, sweetie?” Miko doesn’t miss a beat (spin me? Who taught this kid to talk and how was it me?)
Kite clicks a piece onto the board before he works up his answer.
“How d’ya know if… If a, I donno, just a dude… How d’ya know if he’s, you know… a guy that’s, I mean, most a’the people I know aren’t nothin’ to blame, but…”
“Kite? It’s ok.” She reaches over and pats him on the shoulder, stopping him. “You don’t have to worry about how to ask it to me.”
“What makes a dude...good?” is what he eventually manages to ask, and Miko tilts her head thoughtfully.
“I think there’s a lot of ways to good person; even just caring for others is enough. But for me… I think a good person is someone who helps others with what matters to them,” she answers, to a thoughtful look from our boyo. What a sweet group of people I’ve got going on, the suckers. Good thing they’ve got me.


“Huh, so that’s the stairs up, huh? An’ if Ka-san’s not the goodest gooder I know, I donno who’d take that crown… So. Le’s...take a breather, ‘fore we start the go-go-go.”
Well, I for one think he’s doing great. It’s fun, seeing what he can rack up; I wish I’d had that sort of opportunity.


Speaking of… Guess who’s a drinkmaster now? C’est moi. I’ll need to build my charisma skill for more. So that’s something to do, at least.


“I hate my carpool…” Zest opens the door with that. Couldn’t even kick it, huh? “I hate them so much.”

“Someone decided they’d drop me off at the end of the road! While I’m at the end of my rope! I had to drudge all the way back here...When all I wanted to do was nap.”
“That’s rough, buddy.”

But once he’s gotten that rest (Phhh, the baby. He should have just let me summon the club.) he goes on to do it. He’s completed his original aspiration.

He’s a true comedian now.
“So, a girlfriend of mine tells me ‘Hey, A Streetcar Named Desire is being put on.’ And, like a good guy who occasionally woohoos her, I offer to take her to see it. I mean, it’s really a Stella play.”
Nevermind, I don’t know why he looks so accomplished. Zest is an enigma.


Nice going, kiddo. Kite’s first day at school got him up to a B; in light of that, I really don’t mind letting him wander off for the afternoon, even if there’s skilling to be done. I figure a kid’s got to do their kidding sometime, and I think he agrees.


It lets him meet a friend anyway (look, I can spy on my kid if I want to)...That’s Zest’s unfortunately-named Hobart, isn’t it?

“Man, that’s sure a name and some! S’allright if I call you Hob,” is what Kite asks, showing, I think, good sense. “‘S shorter, you know? An’ it’s a bit more fun to say, heheh.”
“Yeah, sure,” is Hob’s answer.
“Watcha’ doin~?”
“My dad asked me to join a club? And there’s not a meeting right now, or anything, but I wanted to see!” He waves a finger in explanation, bouncing on his heels.
“An’ you wanted to say hi t’yer old man, too, right?” Kite asks, trying to get a good look at Hobart’s face, where he loses his sort of ‘I’m an older kid talking to a younger kid’ cool.
“...I mean. Since he wants to. It wouldn’t be bad, right?”
“It’d be super cool, Hob; we’re talking frozen-over-pond cool… Well, it’s not that sorta chill right now, just regular-type cool, but while the sun’s a-bakin’ it’d prob’ly add a nice sorta feelin’...” He shook his head to dislodge the errant train of thought. “But Uncle Johnny’s out for a while. Sorry ‘bout that.”

And for a second, Hob doesn’t say anything, just sighs, and Kite gives him a look for a while, before reaching out a hand and giving him a little pat on the shoulder, resting his hand there for a while.

“Hey! You don’t gotta worry ‘bout it...Really. You’ll get other shots; you’re in the club, right?”
“Yeah, but Mom says Dad does a lot of things for a day,” comes the bitter reply.
“...Yeah. But c’mon! You can’t just give up, can you? ...Well, I guess if it don’t work out, nothin’ wrong in cuttin’, but… Uh… I think it’s important t’him. I do! He seemed...real happy to hang with Bonnie back a sunset or two back.” Kite stretched out. “...So it’d be nice t’see it through, you know? ‘Til then, why don’t we hang?”


“...Yeah. Yeah! Let’s hang out! You mentioned the pond earlier; you know how to skip stones?”
“Teach me, oh teacher-dude!”

And the two boys run out of the window’s view, down to the lake by the rod. I occasionally think I can hear them, but maybe not. Still, it’ll be good for Kite’s social skills (Like, level 10 good; nice one, kiddo)...


And by the time the night forces Hobart to go back home, the two are quickly the best of friends. Nice; I worry, since Hob’s older than Kite by a ways, you know? Gonna hope he gets a back-up in case of the worst, but I guess I’m getting ahead of myself. By several life stages. Most of them, really.


I’ve got social skills of my own to raise.

Meanwhile, while I guess Zest might just be sincere about this abrupt parenting thing…

He’s still not a monogamy type of guy. He’s just more responsible about that.

The next day, it looks like Miko and Akira are starting to patch some stuff up. Probably, I guess. I’d say he still looks peeved...

But that might just be his face.
“Ugh, I swear. I get the dumbest freelance work clients, and sometimes it feels like I’m only logging every other hour! And the hours!”
“That’s rough. What are the client like?” Miko asks.
“Get this: I had to make a banner that flashed, but wasn’t animated. Also, it couldn’t flash too much. Or too little. For a website about a cat!”
“Ooh! Was it a cute cat?”
“Not the point.” He considers it. “Adorable, really. With nice eyes.”
“Ooh, you’ll have to show me what you ultimately ended up doing instead of what she asked.”
Well, I guess I’m happy that they’re getting along better, since they were closer before they moved here, from all I know.

That said, there’s stuff I’m less happy about in my personal life.

Somewhere along the line, Kite and I lost track of what drawings he’s done, so his finishing that aspiration is getting delayed.
“Really, why does it even matter? They’re all drawings. You’ve done plenty. We ran out of room on the fridge.”
“I like drawin’ for a few more ticks, Mom. So it’s OK if I gotta spin out a few more...He’s got a good smile,” he adds, gesturing down to his drawing.
“Is that a monster or a person?”
Kite shrugs and waves a hand abstractly.
“Donno. Could be both -- he’s smilin’, that’s a person thing, right? But he’s orange, and I guess a person can have be orange, right? But they might be a monster-person, which, well, I’m figgerin’s better’n a person-monster. So both. A surfin’ monster-person-dude…’S it really important to you, Mom?”
I was sort of thinking categorically.
“Of course. I want the best outcome we can get, and that means getting these aspirations done. You’re only a kid once, after all. Let’s say person.”
“...Yeah. Sure thing, Mom.”

Not that these is his only artistic medium -- guess I know what I’d recommend for him down the line, if he’s taking suggestions -- but it is the tidiest.

“Kite...Remember what I said about making messes? Don’t mess up the Chez Llama’s sidewalk unless it looks really cool or accomplishes something,” I say, holding the door open so he’ll head on inside for Miko’s birthday dinner.


The placemat is a much more productive choice. The cake was one I brought. I just thought it’d be nice to eat out.


Since I had work in a bit, and didn’t really have time for a party, we decided to have a family dinner. Actually a family dinner, without lunkhead 1 and lunkhead 2.
“It’s nice; and we’ll have time to spend together before I go to work,” I’m explaining as we wait for food. No yawning, this time. We’re not in a booth. “Admittedly, the food is…”
““‘Not as good as yours,’”” chorus the other two, stifling amusement.
“I call ‘em as I see ‘em. I’m a drinkmaster.”
“...That how it works?” ponders Kite, leaning back in his chair.
“You have to take what your mother says with a grain of salt every now and then, tee-hee. She’s like a peacock sometimes,” Miko leans across the cake to whisper. As if I can’t hear that! “Still, it makes her feel better.”
“Gotcha, Ka-san!”
“I will not stand for this indign-- Well. It is my color,” I say, my mock-pride boiling away. “Well, shall we get the most essential part out of the way first?”
The candles are lit, and our lady of the hour rises.


“Make a breeze of it, Ka-san!”
“One breeze, coming up! One, two, and a wish for three!”


I wonder what she wished for? ...This isn’t nearly present enough. Age-up wise, she wears it so well it hurts.
“Hold up, let me fix you a celebratory beverage.”
“That’s not a great use of time, is it?” Miki asks, straightening herself and settling in.
“Details. I’ll get you your real gift later. For now, a drink.”


I could get used to digs like these. Maybe it’s kind of sterile for my place, but I do like the piano.
I deliver my dear wife her drink before I head on out to work, and I walk away, hearing excited chatter.


“And that’s why we’ve got to smash the normative high-low art barrier,” Miko’s explaining, “We shouldn’t just reward one type of creativity! You should respect things like comics as worthy art, too.”
“Ohhhh, you’re sayin’ like video games?”
“Exactly; look at the graphics! The stories! The careful blending of interaction and music and all the junk like that! They’re unique and precious!” She’s pumping her fists excitedly, and even from the door, I can see that bright glint in her eye.
“Huh.... That’s nice as pie. Or cake, since it’s a birthday with one birthday-type cake t’spruce it up…Hm...” Kite drifts off for a moment, looking not towards the cake, but up at the ceiling. “That mean you wanna play some video games when we get home?”
“Do I ever! Now, since it’s my birthday, I get to be Yoshi.”
“Aww! ...But sure. ‘Cause birthdays.”
Happy birthday, Miko.
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The Avyan Immortal Dynasty

Offline Deme

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Re: The Avyan Immortal Dynasty -"I'm Getting Ahead of Myself..." (8/2/18)
« Reply #53 on: August 03, 2018, 09:09:14 PM »
To celebrate my in-game Johnny Zest's 11th daughter, and because I saw a funny Onion headline, please enjoy this meme about old-school Zest:
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Offline oshizu

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Re: The Avyan Immortal Dynasty -"I'm Getting Ahead of Myself..." (8/2/18)
« Reply #54 on: August 03, 2018, 09:51:06 PM »
Happy birthday, Kestral!
She and Miko are both adults now! And Kite is growing up so nicely.
Would you remind me who Hob's mother is?
I vaguely feel like I once knew who she was, but I no longer remember. :(

Wow, 11 daughters? Excellent work, Great-Father-to-Be Johnny!

Offline Deme

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Re: The Avyan Immortal Dynasty -"I'm Getting Ahead of Myself..." (8/2/18)
« Reply #55 on: August 04, 2018, 12:45:06 AM »
(It was Miko's birthday this time, but hey! They are now both adults.)
Hob's mother is Maaike Haas; he's Bonnie's full brother (and they have another full sister), and Johnny's eldest child.


Hey, look at this!
I am super psyched about this project, and so have made a very lazy and sort of perfunctory map of the Zest family tree. Some of the images and traits, where there are some, aren't accurate to the present of my game. Others are withheld for being too far in the future for this story: I'm kind of trying not to rush too far ahead of the story, except with the fact that these sims exist, even if some of them won't even be born until Kite's a teenager. It's wide-spread, because Zest has been so good about daughters. Unlike some sims I could name. In this house. Since I rarely count out, or even really note, every pairing with the boys (because they generally aren't interesting, and it'd get super repetitive) I don't mind spoiling this a bit more than other things...But it's not required reading, and I'll try and point them out as I can.
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Offline MarianT

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Re: The Avyan Immortal Dynasty -"I'm Getting Ahead of Myself..." (8/2/18)
« Reply #56 on: August 04, 2018, 08:52:14 AM »
Happy birthday, Miko! And I love the headline for Johnny Zest.
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Offline oshizu

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Re: The Avyan Immortal Dynasty -"I'm Getting Ahead of Myself..." (8/2/18)
« Reply #57 on: August 04, 2018, 02:33:19 PM »
@Deme
The link to the Zest family tree took me to the PlumTree log-in page. :(

Offline Deme

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Re: The Avyan Immortal Dynasty -"I'm Getting Ahead of Myself..." (8/2/18)
« Reply #58 on: August 04, 2018, 03:17:31 PM »
@Deme
The link to the Zest family tree took me to the PlumTree log-in page. :(

Fixed, thank you!
A link in this reply as well.
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Offline Trip

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Re: The Avyan Immortal Dynasty -"I'm Getting Ahead of Myself..." (8/2/18)
« Reply #59 on: August 05, 2018, 01:19:12 AM »
I loooove the Plum Tree (used to be friendly with one of its creators actually!) but for every solution it offers for legacy/dynasty players it can't handle the super pollinator without the interface breaking a bit. Go Johnny! And Kite. I think he's one of my favorite dynasty kiddos now. He's just full of cheeky optimism and curiosity.
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