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A Heart Full of Stars {A Medieval Story} Chapter 70 *Finale* now! 5/28/21

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  • IrishsongIrishsong Posts: 1,754 Member
    I could, but I'm trying to play the family life too. I guess I could move them out... Still kinda sad. I wish they would give babies more mobility like in sims 2.
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  • icmnfrshicmnfrsh Posts: 18,789 Member
    Irishsong wrote: »
    I could, but I'm trying to play the family life too. I guess I could move them out... Still kinda sad. I wish they would give babies more mobility like in sims 2.

    I do miss free babies. Although I've been playing TS2 more recently, so I still experience them, as well as older sims on free will (and apartment roommates) feeding a bottle to a baby whose diaper needs to be changed. TS3 is nice because the babies are free, and you can take them on a stroller, take them on a rocking chair, or put them on that chair with the mobile. Though all of those things are DLC content
    Don't manhandle the urchin. He's not for sale. FIND YOUR OWN! - Xenon the Antiquarian, Dragon Age II

    Race Against the Clock: Can your elder sim turn back the clock before their time runs out?
  • IrishsongIrishsong Posts: 1,754 Member
    Custom Eyes aren't working (for me at least), and that may not change the story or the characters, but it will make the eyes a bit different for a while until it gets fixed.

    Also, even without babies in the family, my game still bugs out, so I don't know.
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  • icmnfrshicmnfrsh Posts: 18,789 Member
    Irishsong wrote: »
    Custom Eyes aren't working (for me at least), and that may not change the story or the characters, but it will make the eyes a bit different for a while until it gets fixed.

    Also, even without babies in the family, my game still bugs out, so I don't know.

    Maybe the patch today might change things
    Don't manhandle the urchin. He's not for sale. FIND YOUR OWN! - Xenon the Antiquarian, Dragon Age II

    Race Against the Clock: Can your elder sim turn back the clock before their time runs out?
  • IrishsongIrishsong Posts: 1,754 Member
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    Chapter 36

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    Gloria was hiding something from Midshore. She knew that Gloria didn’t like it when she read her dreams, but it was so easy when it was all that she was thinking about while meditating. Being a dream, she couldn’t read the boy Gloria had dreamt of, and that was one thing that she didn’t like. She didn’t like not knowing.

    Who was he? Gloria hadn’t dreamed of him since she was a small child, and he had aged along with her, unlike most characters in dreams. Something she could tell was that the dream wasn’t a natural dream. It was too strong for that. It wasn't unheard of for spellcasters to have dreams with the power that gives them their power; Midshore had a few every year, but they also didn’t age, and they were never humanoid.

    What nawed at Midshore is that no one knew what fed Gloria’s power. She didn’t have the spirits to influence her, she didn’t pray to a being like the Kraken, and she didn’t take any herbs to enhance her powers. It seemed purely natural, and that was nearly unheard of.

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    Why was she having power fueled dreams and seeing this boy? What importance is he?

    She wanted to dig deeper, see what the rest of the dream was. What could she assume from the boy’s demeanor and character? How he carried himself? She itched to open Gloria’s dreams and explore, but she restrained herself. She had promised to not go looking without permission.

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    Gloria walked back down the path to her little house and Midshore walked down to the herbal room where she was trying to practice her potion making.

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    Everstar could tell there was something on her mind. “What’s wrong?” she asked directly.

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    “Gloria. It’s been eating at me all night. She had a dreamscape recently, but said nothing about it. The image I got from it was brief, but- She dreamt of the same boy she did as a child, only he’s grown up now.”

    “Dream characters don’t age.” Everstar said bluntly.

    “That’s what I thought too.” she paused. “This is truly a development, but I’m not sure what to make of it.”

    “Then don’t worry about it. It hasn’t affected anything yet, perhaps it was a fiction of the mind.” Everstar assured.

    “No, there was definitely something unusual about it.” she looked back to Everstar. “As for the boy that she chooses to fancy, there’s something about him I can’t pin down. He’s from the mainland-”

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    “-Most refugees are-”

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    “But he feels… off. Not quite whole. As if he’s hiding something from everyone, even us.” Midshore finished.

    “Refugees often don’t feel whole and try to submerge the past. That’s not different.” Everstar countered.

    “Perhaps, but I’m going to keep an eye on it. Gloria is too good a girl to fall in love with someone who doesn’t want what’s right for her.”

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    “We have no control over her life, we should let her make her own choices. She’s young, let her make mistakes and live. You’re so tense, relax.” Everstar rubbed her wife’s back.

    ~*~

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    “-And he was so pushy that I could hardly enjoy the scenery!” Gloria gushed to her friends about her dream. “I was relieved when he finally went away, I couldn’t stand to be around him much longer.”

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    “Maybe he likes you.” Mara pondered while looking at her nails. “That seems to be a trend lately, boys falling in love with you without having a reason why.”

    “Blake doesn’t- he hasn’t said he loves me.” Gloria blushed a deep red, something that Mable noticed.

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    “What, what happened on your swimming lesson? Did it go well? Did the two of you announce your undying love for eachother?” she pestered.

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    “He said he was like Frido in a strange land and I was anchoring him to it and he could learn to be happy here with me.” Gloria could hardly get the words out from the tension in her chest from her giddiness.

    “What?!” they screeched in unison.

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    “Oh, Creator, that’s the sweetest thing I’ve heard in a long while!” Mable swooned.

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    “More like cliche!” Mara said a bit sour, but she was smiling. “Did he kiss you?”

    “What? No! No, I- I ruined the moment.” Gloria stated.

    “How did you ruin the moment? It’s hard to mess up that moment, especially when it sounds like he laid it out so easily.”

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    “I lit a sparkler before he could kiss me.”

    ~*~

    A small group had gathered at the celebration, awaiting the event. The sun beat down making everyone's skin 🐸🐸🐸🐸 in the heat.

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    Blake stood before the group dressed in white, reminding Gloria of her dream briefly before she sensed Blake’s feelings again. He was nervous, like moth wings in his lungs.

    Gloria smiled as he glanced her way, trying to give him encouragement. She hadn’t been to a rebirth ceremony in a long while, not since she was a child, but everyone learned about them in school from the head councilwoman. She comes in once every two years or so to tell the small kids about it and to give the older ones a bit of a refresher.

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    The council woman joined Blake at the front dressed in traditional Island clothes made of grasses and rough cotton. “Blake, just like many refugees before you, you have chosen to shed your past life and denounce the actions you committed before you came to our lands. We are proud to call you brother here, and we will take you in with open arms.”

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    She extended her arms and gave Blake a ceremonious hug. “From this moment forward, you are no longer Blake, but are instead Aubade, meaning ‘song at dawn’. Welcome, Aubade!”

    The small crowd all repeated in unison “Welcome, Aubade!”, applauding. There were flower petals thrown, a flower necklace was put over Aubade’s head. Gloria could already tell it was going to be hard to get used to calling him by a different name, but it was who he was now, and she would honor that. Blake was behind him, Aubade was his future.

    The group broke to eat food and converse, and Aubade made his way over to Gloria, pulling her aside while thanking everyone for the congratulations. It took a while but they finally made their way through the crowd to the railing.

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    He took her hand in his. “Gloria, if there was ever a good time to tell you how I feel, now is a good time. I feel like I’m able to see who I’m meant to be, who I’m meant to be with, and where I’m supposed to be. You are my heart, Gloria, and I know that it’s too early to be saying any of this, but I feel it.” he craned his neck and kissed her, surprising her.

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    “Oh. Oh that’s… nice. Thank you.” she said, not knowing how to respond.
    Mabel and Mara gave Gloria thumbs up from behind Aubade.

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    I finally got this chapter out! Finally! For some reason, I just had no motivation to take pictures of this chapter. And then with all of the buggyness of the game lately with what I want it to do and the eyes changing, it's quite an adjustment. But the more I get through these chapters the sooner I can get to the plot I actually want to write lol.
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  • icmnfrshicmnfrsh Posts: 18,789 Member
    AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

    THEY FINALLY DID IT
    Don't manhandle the urchin. He's not for sale. FIND YOUR OWN! - Xenon the Antiquarian, Dragon Age II

    Race Against the Clock: Can your elder sim turn back the clock before their time runs out?
  • IrishsongIrishsong Posts: 1,754 Member
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    Happy Pride month, folks! Stand tall!

    (I spent way too much time on this...)
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  • IrishsongIrishsong Posts: 1,754 Member
    I'm currently working on chapter 37, but I've been busier than normal lately and the plot feels a bit stuck. I think it's a case of I just really need to sit down and just let myself type it, instead of over thinking it. I keep telling my friends that I'm so excited for the general plot that I end up thinking about the large picture over the little stuff that makes the big stuff good :sweat_smile: . In any case, I'm trying to sort my way through to what matters.

    I know that it isn't a new comment for me to post, but I just wanted to let you guys know where I was at.
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  • TaraIris94TaraIris94 Posts: 552 Member
    Irishsong wrote: »
    I'm currently working on chapter 37, but I've been busier than normal lately and the plot feels a bit stuck. I think it's a case of I just really need to sit down and just let myself type it, instead of over thinking it. I keep telling my friends that I'm so excited for the general plot that I end up thinking about the large picture over the little stuff that makes the big stuff good :sweat_smile: . In any case, I'm trying to sort my way through to what matters.

    I know that it isn't a new comment for me to post, but I just wanted to let you guys know where I was at.

    Thank you for updating us on where things are at. I truly appreciate you communicating that to us. I think it's something you do very well and I can't wait for the next story update :smile:
    This quickly became one of my favorite stories.
  • IrishsongIrishsong Posts: 1,754 Member
    TaraIris94 wrote: »
    Irishsong wrote: »
    I'm currently working on chapter 37, but I've been busier than normal lately and the plot feels a bit stuck. I think it's a case of I just really need to sit down and just let myself type it, instead of over thinking it. I keep telling my friends that I'm so excited for the general plot that I end up thinking about the large picture over the little stuff that makes the big stuff good :sweat_smile: . In any case, I'm trying to sort my way through to what matters.

    I know that it isn't a new comment for me to post, but I just wanted to let you guys know where I was at.

    Thank you for updating us on where things are at. I truly appreciate you communicating that to us. I think it's something you do very well and I can't wait for the next story update :smile:
    This quickly became one of my favorite stories.

    Aw, thankyou! That made me smile!
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  • IrishsongIrishsong Posts: 1,754 Member
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    Chapter 37

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    “Get up, boy! Breakfast has been ready for nearly a quarter hour and you have slept through the roster’s calls” Barnabus intruded into Seneca’s room, throwing open the curtains. “Your mother will wonder why you are not punctual today, it is unlike you.” he said gruffly as he left the room with the same quickness with which he had entered.

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    Seneca rolled over, trying not to move his head lest the nausea make him sick. He often felt this way before a full moon, and even worse after. There was no cure for it, only time. He had tried every tea he could get his hands on, tried not sleeping if he knew he would feel sick when he woke up, and yet he still felt terrible the morning after. No smokes, flowers, or potions could make him feel better. Well, except for that one time that she fixed him.

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    Seneca carefully put his feet on the floor, grabbing the bed post to steady himself. Whether he dreamt of the girl or not, he still felt sick. He dreamed of the spinning sky every full moon night, and he was usually alone with no one to see him or disturb him. But the girl… There was something different and he couldn’t pin it down.

    He carefully stood up, trying to keep his head level and not move it too quickly. He had learned how to take care of himself since he was a child and would get sick overnight. He used to hurl into the bushes outside or his chamber pot, but he had trained to stomach the throbbing head, heart plummeting nausea.

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    Carefully, he changed into clothes for the late summer day, noting that the bruise from the skirmish the other day hadn’t faded yet, and it was still tender. He had to learn to fight better. No one would follow someone who would lose in a fight. He had to be a good leader for any of this to eventually work.

    Careful not to bounce on the way down the stairs, he sat down at the humble place setting that had been placed for him by Barnabus’s wife. She kept them all fed while Seneca’s mother planned meetings and rallies, and Seneca was trained by Barnabus in the ways of hand to hand and sword fighting. He was decent at it, even on par with his peers, but not good enough to beat them consistently.

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    “It’s good you’re up. You look pale again, were you up late?” His mother asked in a sharp tone.

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    “No, I just didn’t sleep well.” he admitted. Which wasn’t true; he slept like a rock, he just woke like this.

    “If you worked harder you would be more tired at night and you would actually fall asleep.” His mother looked back at her book.

    Seneca didn’t bother arguing. He wouldn’t win, and no one ever one in an argument against his mother. She didn’t believe that he was sick all the time during the full moon, and she didn’t pay enough attention to him to put the pattern together. She had other, more important things to worry about.

    She never made time for him. Why she still believed that eating breakfast and dinner together were important when they didn’t speak to each other was beyond his understanding.

    Barnabus walked into the room just as Seneca was looking at his breakfast, a light brown mush that didn’t seem like it would be filling and didn’t make his stomach any happier by looking at hit.

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    “Boy! Hurry up and come with me, we have training to do. You’ll never beat Henry if you don’t train harder!”

    “Barn, I haven’t even had a bite of food yet,” he half heartedly objected.

    “Did I stutter? I said to come with me, you do it! I won’t take insolence or a wimp! Now, outside with you!” he shouted like a drill sergeant.

    When Seneca’s mother was finding a place to set up her settlement, Barnabus had been her right hand man, and he had shown Seneca little love over the years. Unless Seneca was displaying how strong he could be and was being actually impressive, he would goad him and tease him that he wasn’t doing better. Perfect Henry could lift two women on a bench, Seneca could lift the bench. He wasn’t a storybook character, he wasn’t super strong no matter how hard he tried, but the driving never stopped, and he kept getting pushed.

    The scars made it hard to forget not to cross Barnabus, and his mother didn’t say anything in objection either. He was their soldier, a piece of their puzzle, and he would comply or he would be set in line.

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    “Raise your sword, boy. Show me what you’re made of.” Barnabus egged on. “Or can you not beat a man in his 50s?”

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    “Maybe not a man who’s entirely muscle, no.” he muttered, lifting his sword.

    ~*~

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    “You’ve been avoiding me.” Aubade asserted as he came up on Gloria. She jumped as he seemed to come out of nowhere.

    “I’ve been busy- studying.” she turned away from him.

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    “No, you’ve been avoiding me, just like how you won’t look at me. We’ve barely spoken since last Saturday at the ceremony. What’s wrong? Did I offend you?” he asked.

    “No, I just- I’ve been busy.” she repeated.

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    “Too busy to talk to me for ten minutes in the last four days? Gloria, what’s the matter?”

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    She turned bright red and looked around to make sure no one was nearby. “I, I hadn’t been kissed before and then you did it infront of everyone. And you said you- You think I’m the one you’re supposed to be with. That’s a lot to take in.” she sputtered.

    “Who else am I going to spend the rest of my life with if not you?” he asked.

    “I’m 15! I don’t know who I want to spend the rest of my life with! How am I supposed to respond to that? I don’t know what to say, Bl-Aubade.” she had been thinking of little else while practicing her magic the last few days. The kiss and admission of love and the will to spend the rest of their lives together was overwhelming. For Creator’s sake, she’d only known him a month!

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    “But I know. Gloria, I feel drawn to you, as if you complete my life. You finish me in a way I never thought I would feel whole again. I feel like I have found my purpose in life when I am near you, and I don’t want to have to think I have to look for someone else.” he sighed. “I know that it’s sudden, and I am willing to wait to be with you. I will take this as slowly as you like, I promise. But please, consider me.”

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    She looked at him with nervous but tender eyes. “I’ll think about it, I promise. And next time, a bit of lead up to a kiss would be nice.” she smiled a small smile.

    “I’ll think about it.” he said as he closed the distance between them and kissed her smiling mouth.

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    ~*~

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    Seneca woke up in the swirling sky world. He closed his eyes and knew that he should appreciate the lack of nausea while he could, tomorrow morning it would hit him like a sock full of coins.

    He smelled lavender nearby, it’s earthy, nearly herbal smell tingling his nose, like the freshest soap. He wondered if it was the flower that the girl had been searching for. It was a strong enough smell to drift for a distance, perhaps it was.

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    He sat up and took a deep breath. Yes, it was lavender, and the smell of the waterfall hitting rocks. How would he entertain himself this time? Count the number of windows there were in the greenhouse? Look at his reflection in the pool at his regal clothes?

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    He turned his head and out of his better ear he heard the faint strains of… what was it? He followed to sound until he caught his breath. It was the girl. The red hair girl dressed in white and sparkled like the stars. She was holding a similarly white box to her shoulder and was pulling across it with a string. It looked like a guitar, but a guitar is plucked, not… stroked?

    Seneca hadn’t heard much music in his life, only when the occasional bard came through and his mother allowed them to visit the town to see. The town was too busy being ready for war to focus on art forms. He had never learned how to appreciate music, but seeing the girl sway back and forth while she whimsically played her instrument was breathtaking. The term ‘play music’ had never made sense to him since he didn’t have time to enjoy himself, but he had memories of before he was made to fight and told that he would conquer, memories of a time when he was a child and playing with whatever he could find. The girl seemed to be playing the instrument.

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    He watched her, hoping that she would never stop. His heart beat with each note she played, swelling with the crescendos and falling with the progression. She reached a good ending point in the music, and Seneca felt that it was time he told her he had been watching.

    “Hello.” he greeted, not too loudly, but also not too softly.

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    She spun to see him, gasping. “I didn’t know that I would see you here tonight. I thought I was alone.” she stared at him. She had never been afraid of him before. In fact, she usually acted as if he weren’t real, which was odd. Of course he was real.

    “I’m here pretty often, but I didn’t see you for years. Where did you go?” he asked inquisitively.

    “I didn’t go anywhere.” she answered simply. “I’ve been busy.”

    That didn’t make any sense to Seneca. What would a dream character be busy with? Or- was she like his guardian angel? That didn’t make any sense either, so he scrapped the idea.

    “What are you doing with the whit box?” he asked, drawing closer.

    “It’s called a violin. I was surprised to see one here. I used to play it as a child, but I haven’t had much time to play since then. I’ve been too busy.” she looked at the instrument with a fond look. Again, it didn’t make sense for a dream character to be busy. They didn’t have jobs around here, and he had inspected the whole chunk of floating rock. There were no other structures but the greenhouse. There were no jobs, no houses, no stores. If she wasn’t here, where was she when he didn’t dream of her?

    “I didn’t get your name last time, what should I call you?” he asked before he could forget to catch it this time.

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    “I didn’t tell you? I could have sworn… I’m G-”

    Seneca blinked at his ceiling, cursing.

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    Taadaa! Another brick laid in the house that is this story! Any theories forming? Any theories changing? Any guesses? I'm curious as always, but will neither confirm or deny anything.

    I'm going to remind you of the prophecy so that it's fresh in your minds.

    “There will come a soldier, who carries a mighty sword. He will tear down your doors but you will be happy when he comes.
    There will come a poet, whose weapon is his word. He will slay you with his tongue, a trickster to be sure.
    There will come a ruler whose brow is laid with thorns. He will be your rival and greatest danger in this world.
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  • icmnfrshicmnfrsh Posts: 18,789 Member
    None of the people in Seneca's waking life seem to be familiar. Maybe he's not related to any of the past characters? Or not directly. Barnabus is probably working for the King.
    Don't manhandle the urchin. He's not for sale. FIND YOUR OWN! - Xenon the Antiquarian, Dragon Age II

    Race Against the Clock: Can your elder sim turn back the clock before their time runs out?
  • IrishsongIrishsong Posts: 1,754 Member
    @icmnfrsh time changes people, are you sure you'd recognize them now?
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  • icmnfrshicmnfrsh Posts: 18,789 Member
    Irishsong wrote: »
    icmnfrsh time changes people, are you sure you'd recognize them now?

    I don't remember the name Barnabus. But Seneca's mom. Maybe I should take a closer look at her.
    Don't manhandle the urchin. He's not for sale. FIND YOUR OWN! - Xenon the Antiquarian, Dragon Age II

    Race Against the Clock: Can your elder sim turn back the clock before their time runs out?
  • icmnfrshicmnfrsh Posts: 18,789 Member
    We actually don't see her face. And like I remembered, her name wasn't mentioned. This might be a clue to something.
    Don't manhandle the urchin. He's not for sale. FIND YOUR OWN! - Xenon the Antiquarian, Dragon Age II

    Race Against the Clock: Can your elder sim turn back the clock before their time runs out?
  • IrishsongIrishsong Posts: 1,754 Member
    Barnabus and his wife are new characters. I'll tell you that much.
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  • icmnfrshicmnfrsh Posts: 18,789 Member
    Irishsong wrote: »
    Barnabus and his wife are new characters. I'll tell you that much.

    Interesting. 🤔 Now I'm even more excited to reading more.

    I like how the story goes beyond Anwyn and Liam's arc. They got their happily ever after, but will Gloria?
    Don't manhandle the urchin. He's not for sale. FIND YOUR OWN! - Xenon the Antiquarian, Dragon Age II

    Race Against the Clock: Can your elder sim turn back the clock before their time runs out?
  • IrishsongIrishsong Posts: 1,754 Member
    I kinda consider Gloria's generation to be like Book 2. Definitely story line 2.

    I was half considering adding a sub title thing, like Heart Full of Stars and the prince of Dirt, or HFOS and the Sins of the Father kind of thing. It's going to be very dramatic!
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  • TaraIris94TaraIris94 Posts: 552 Member
    Is Seneca's mom someone we have seen before? I went back through the first generation and skimmed mostly and to look at the screenshots. I have a couple guesses on who she could could possibly be but I'm still going back on forth on those two.
  • IrishsongIrishsong Posts: 1,754 Member
    I will say that we have seen her before, just not who she is ;). That is the back of her head.
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  • TaraIris94TaraIris94 Posts: 552 Member
    Irishsong wrote: »
    I will say that we have seen her before, just not who she is ;). That is the back of her head.

    Hopefully the next chapter has more hints lol or reveals who she is. Time will only tell if either of my guesses are correct.
    The prophecy makes me suspicious of Aubade still (I think I feel that way about all new characters though :D ). I'm hoping he doesn't betray Gloria, but who knows lol.
  • icmnfrshicmnfrsh Posts: 18,789 Member
    TaraIris94 wrote: »
    Irishsong wrote: »
    I will say that we have seen her before, just not who she is ;). That is the back of her head.

    Hopefully the next chapter has more hints lol or reveals who she is. Time will only tell if either of my guesses are correct.
    The prophecy makes me suspicious of Aubade still (I think I feel that way about all new characters though :D ). I'm hoping he doesn't betray Gloria, but who knows lol.
    Yeah, it seems like there's something suspicious about him
    Don't manhandle the urchin. He's not for sale. FIND YOUR OWN! - Xenon the Antiquarian, Dragon Age II

    Race Against the Clock: Can your elder sim turn back the clock before their time runs out?
  • IrishsongIrishsong Posts: 1,754 Member
    The next chapter is written, but I won't have the chance to take pictures for a few days.
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  • IrishsongIrishsong Posts: 1,754 Member
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    Chapter 38

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    Gloria was nearly getting off the ground with her meditation. It had taken years to get this far, and she was consciously trying to clear her mind, but for months Aubade’s promise and request had been gnawing at her mind. It distracted her from her task at hand, and was also holding her closer to the ground. If she could let it go, she would not only feel lighter in her mind but also literally. Maybe she’d gain a few more inches off the ground.

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    She tried to look outward rather than inward as she meditated. She felt the wind move on the island before it reached her, she felt the water of the tide tickle the sand of the shore, she felt the radiating heat of the volcano. It felt like balance, as nature usually did.

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    She felt a tickle too, in her own mind, as if someone were trying to sneak in and observe her thoughts. Midshore.

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    Gloria stood up from her stool and stood in front of Midshore while she meditated. “Is there something you’d like to ask me?” she asked bluntly.

    Everstar was surprised by the break in silence and came down from floating quicker than was graceful, but Midshore didn’t break her form.

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    “You’ve been distracted for several sessions, and you haven’t said why.” she breathed out.

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    “I’ve told you not to go poking around in my head! I’m allowed to have my own thoughts without you intruding on them!” Gloria huffed.

    “Who is the boy?” Midshore asked, maintaining her breathing and serenity.

    “Aubade? I’ve told you, he’s a refugee from the mainland. There’s nothing special about him.”

    “Not him, the other. The one from your dream.” Midshore remembered the picture of him, his angled face and medium skin tone and his regal clothes.

    “You’ve been looking into my dreams?!” screeched Gloria.

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    At this Midshore did come down from her levitation and looked her squarely in the eyes, something that unnerved Gloria. Midshore could be terrifying if you were the target of her anger.

    “I saw what you were projecting. The balance within you was so skewed that your brother Robin could have understood that you were preoccupied. When you were meditating four cycles ago you were thinking about the boy from your dreams, the one who had aged. And yet you keep this from me, when you only have these dreams when the full moon is near.

    “Can’t you see that it has something to do with your power? There is no place like that dream in this world, and yet you can envision it so easily. The boy is special, or you would not think of him so often, who is he?” Midshore hammered home.

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    “It’s just a dream!” Gloria argued back. Everstar looked nervous. “It’s nothing special. Vivid, yes, but nothing I would call important. People have recurring dreams sometimes, you should hear the dreams that Mara has. Those can curl your toes. This is a simple dream, just a space with some stuff. It’s not special. He’s not special!” Gloria lied.

    Midshore looked at her face. “I don’t believe that. Whether you think he’s special or not isn’t for you to decide-” Gloria opened her mouth to object, “-it’s for whoever or whatever granted you your powers to decide.”

    “It’s just a dream!” Gloria argued. “It’s not important! When was the last time you thought a dream was important? Probably not recently.”

    “I receive dreams from the spirits frequently. I am their conduit. It is my path to listen to them and have them guide me.” Midshore countered.

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    “This isn’t my path! I don’t have a path! I am my own person, I make my own choices. You’ve said it yourself, my powers don’t come from a known source, I don't have influences on me like the rest of you. This dream doesn’t matter because I have no greater power guiding me, and a boy in a greenhouse is certainly not a message.”

    Gloria tried to stop the shaking in her chest from the argument, but she couldn’t focus on anything. There was a turning in her chest and a shot of sharp heat burst down from her shoulder and out of her hand to the ground beside her. A fire spit to life and Midshore easily quelled it with her own burst of summoned water.

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    “You need to control your emotions, before you harm someone.” Her eyes were rocks in her skull, cold and unmoving. She still gazed at Gloria.

    Everstar broke in between the two of them. “I think we should have a break. Midshore, I need to talk to you. Gloria, could you-”

    “I’m leaving.” Gloria huffed.

    “But we just started.” Everstar tried to dissuade her from leaving.

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    “I won’t be able to focus tonight, and if you want me to come back I’ll need an apology. I don’t need this.” she waved her hand to gesture at the scene.

    “Gloria, you need guidance-” Everstar had softened over the years. When Gloria’s mother and Romeo had first arrived here, Everstar was the hard one, chastising Romeo for his foolish endeavor to bring back his best friend's fiance. But now she cared for Gloria as if she were her guardian, an older sibling or aunt.

    “STOP telling me what I need! Stop telling me what to do.” Gloria slammed the door of the Greenhouse making all of the windows shake.

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    Everstar turned to Midshore. “What the nether was that!?”

    “It’s not just a dream. She should realize that. It’s important. And for her to push it away could be dangerous.” Midshore stood like a pillar of stone.

    “But you’ve pushed her away from it! Now she’ll not want to dream about it just to spite us! Good going.” She huffed out of the room.

    ~*~

    Gloria rushed down to the shore and got in her boat to leave. She wanted to talk to someone about what had just happened, but no one in her family would disagree with what the Sisters said and Mara and Mable had a firm lights-out time that was long gone. She set her sights on the big island and sailed towards it.

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    She stumbled over to the house and pounded on the door. “Aubade! Aubade, are you up? I need to talk to you. I need to talk to someone-”

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    He yanked open the door and hushed her. “I share a house, remember? You’re lucky the hosts sleep like the dead or I’d be finding a new place to live.” he ushered her into the house, only a few candles lighting the main room. What time was it? She had forgotten to check.

    “My neighbors wouldn’t be happy either, the walls off these homes are so thin.” he ran a hand through his hair. He had thrown on a shirt but hadn’t bothered to close it properly, and Gloria blushed a bit.

    “How can I help you, Gloria?” he asked.

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    “The Sisters are wrong. They-” it was at this point that Gloria realised that she hadn’t told Aubade about her powers yet, and that she had to be careful about what she said. She didn’t know when she was going to tell him about them, but now didn’t seem like the time. “I have a recurring dream every full moon where I’m in a world that doesn’t make any sense. Sometimes I see a boy. When I was little I saw him as a little boy, and now I see him as he’s grown up.

    “See, Midshore knows that I don’t like it when she goes poking around my mind without asking! She did it when I was a kid and she did it tonight and it’s such a breach of privacy that I can’t stand it!” Gloria finished.

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    “Why do they think these dreams are so special? There’s nothing supernatural about you, why would your dreams be special?” he asked.

    “Midshore thinks that something is joining the boy and me, but that’s ridiculous! I know barely anything about him. Only that his name is Seneca, and he’s rather pushy, and he really wants to know who I am. But he’s just a guy from a dream. It’s not real.”

    Aubade’s face became firm, though Gloria didn’t notice. It was too dark in the room to see much.

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    “You’re right.” He tried to make his voice as calm as possible, though he felt as if his heart were in his throat. “They’re simply dreams. And Midshore did invade your privacy, I say to just not sleep on those nights. Don’t dream about it anymore, and then they’ll have nothing to bother you about.”

    “That’s what I thought too.” Gloria smiled a bit, relieved that she wasn’t alone in her choices. “I’m usually busy those nights- practicing yoga. As weird as the Sisters are, they still are good yoga teachers.”

    Aubade raised his eyebrow to look at her skeptically, then gave her a comforting hug. “It’s ok, nothing has to change. The dream can’t bother you.”

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    I need to fix my sleep schedule, going to bed at 11:30 and getting up at past 9:30 is not doing me any favors :sweat_smile:. But I got out a chapter, so now I can write the next one! Yay!

    As always, thanks for reading, and I can't wait for all the dominos to fall over in the story, so you can see the big picture that I've been painting. If you have any thoughts or theories, I'd love to hear them (as always :wink:)
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  • icmnfrshicmnfrsh Posts: 18,789 Member
    I'm starting to wonder if Aubade has any hidden agendas. There could be a reason why he'd want Gloria to avoid those dreams...
    Don't manhandle the urchin. He's not for sale. FIND YOUR OWN! - Xenon the Antiquarian, Dragon Age II

    Race Against the Clock: Can your elder sim turn back the clock before their time runs out?

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