Madrugada – What's on your mind?
(Song lyrics inside spoiler)
You were at my door
I heard you knocking but I didn't care at all
I had been in all night just staring at the wall
I didn't really want to see you anymore
Coming from the road
You took your coat off and you threw it on the floor
You said "I can't believe you wanna hurt me so"
I said "I'm not supposed to be like this, you know"
Well, I just had to let you go
What's on your mind?
When you're lost in time
What's on your mind?
Tell me why
Why does it have to be this way?
You were in that dream that I was dreaming
I was dreaming in a dream
Your nylon dress and I was floating back downstream
I wanted love to come and swallow everything
Everything gets real
Sooner or later, doesn't matter how you feel
You slammed that door shut on the night of glass and steel
I cannot blame you for believing what you believe
Well, I just had to let you go
What's on your mind?
When you're lost in time
What's on your mind?
Tell me why
Why does it have to be this way?
This story begins with a burglar outside the small Goth-Asli family's house. The family at this point consisted only of the mother, Natalie Goth-Asli and her son, Isaac Goth-Pammy. She had recently split with her partner and father of Isaac, Ragnar Pammy-Vasquez after both of them ended up in a heated debate on the sidewalk outside the convenience store, with the result that neither party were left amused...
And that was only what could be seen with the eyes of the outside world. Who knows what happened behind the walls of their home. So one night, she had decided enough was enough, took the kid and left.
Anyway, back to the burglar situation.
Emergency Operator: 311 operator. What is your emergency?
Natalie: There is someone else in the house. There is a burglar. I'm alone with my baby. Please come, quickly!
Emergency Operator: What's your address?
Natalie: Purgamentum road 9. Please hurry!
Emergency Operator: Ok, we'll send an officer over. Just stay with me. Where are you at right now?
Natalie: I'm in the bed room..
A clanking noise is heard through the door.
Natalie: Oh God!
Emergency Operator: Just stay with me. Officer should be there shortly.
Natalie: He's getting away!
Emergency Operator: Ma'am, just stay wi...
*click*
Emergency Operator: Hello?
Natalie ran out into the hallway, but was to late. A few minutes later the sound of a police siren can be heard from outside.
Natalie: I was just ready to fight him! But he got away!
Police officer: You got unlucky, it looks like the burglar stole your bath tub. Unfortunately he managed to escape, but we will catch him next time!
Natalie: "We will catch him next time!" Bah, useless good-for-nothing police officer!
The next morning it was off to work as usual. Natalie works at the Dreamland Parliament Assembly building at the bottom rank of the political career.
Natalies home is located on the east side off the Corbo Gleb river that divides the town into two parts (view facing north), next to one of the poorer areas of town where only humans live. (Purgamentum road 9.)
She had wanted to take a course to improve her skills in charisma, but figured that now after the burglary she would instead need to spend her money on buying a new shower to replace the stolen bath tub.
(Only in the sim world will a burglar steal a bath tub...)
The following morning she woke up feeling nauseous from the burglary that happened just last night, or maybe some other unknown reason.
When she came home from work that day, she wanted to invite Friederich, her grandfather, over for a visit.
Then she had to throw up again..
They understand each other perfectly, since they both share the childish trait. Yes, that's grandpa over there playing with the doll house...
While he was still there, she found the cause of her nausea as she became aware that she was pregnant. Though it was not something she had planned for, she was still happy about the pregnancy. Since she already had a son, she was wishing it would be a girl this time.
But sometimes her grandfathers childish behaviour could be an annoyance, so she had learned to counter and deflect his shivering teeth trick...
Natalie: Ha! You didn't get me this time!
Friederich wasn't to happy about that, though..
..and he's actually stupid enough to try the same trick again!
And a third time, and then it actually worked.. and they were both amused.
And then they went for a pillow fight.
And while she was busy playing around with her grandfather, she had completely ignored Isaac upstairs crying because he was hungry.
---
"Here you go nooboo! Here is your food!"
And after she has fed him, she does what every good mother would do, of course.. neglects her kid by leaving him in the chair to go to bed.. Looks like grandpa is there still as well.... maybe he will wake up and take care of the kid..
Nah, grandpa doesn't care, he just leaves... time to go, see you later!
Isaac was literally left in his chair alone all night while mother was sleeping..
Next morning she spent a little time playing with him, before she wanted to head to the spa to get a massage.
Picture: Outside the spa.
And then she spent the rest of the day at home, playing with Isaac's toys and ignoring him until he fell asleep on the floor.
She found that to be very enjoyable, of course.
The following day she went to the bookstore, to buy a book about pregnancy, which she read inside the spa's reception and waiting room.
Picture: Inside the spa reception. Eva Goth-Asli, her grandmother, sitting in the sofa to the left. I don't know where the receptionist went off to...
And so the days went, and approximately 9 months later during the fullmoons phase...
Late one night, she went into labor. The baby was finally coming, and it was time to head to the hospital.
Picture: Natalie entering the hospital. I wish this could have been a daytime shot, but I can't decide the hour at which babies are born...
The freshly baked mother holding her newborn son at the hospital the morning after. She got a baby boy and not the girl she had hoped for. Nonetheless, she decided to name him Aaron, as she felt it was a name with great strength to it.
As they both proved to be of good health, she was released from the hospital with Aaron later the same evening.
@Sprottenham Good start for the story. I like the name, The Red Winged Angels. She is certainly not a very good mother. I do feel for those poor kids. The social worker might come if that little one keeps the lonely icon too long.
@Sprottenham hehehe what a great story! Is this what you were telling me awhile back about the different winged beings have certain color of wing based on their good or evilness? I can't wait to learn more!
The town looks so cool, is it a desert town with sandy or dirt roads?
I must say, it was totally freaky to see the burglar next to the red spattered column! And he gets away with stealing the bathtub! LOL
Haha I love how they can blow back the prank on to the initiator!
Friederich is funny to keep trying the prank!
aw poor hungry baby!
Good mama to feed some mush! uhoh then goes to bed!
oh poor little baby! trapped in the prison chair!
''she spent the rest of the day at home, playing with Isaac's toys and ignoring him until he fell asleep on the floor.'' omg and she is going to have another one! I hope the social workers won't want to take away Isaac for neglect, I never had that happen but heard it can.
Did the father of the baby meet her at the hospital?
Aaron is a great name! I wonder how Isaac was fairing well the time Natalie was away from home!
Thank you so much for reading and the comments! It means alot, especially any and all feedback I can get, because this story can get a little dark and I don't want to push it to far with that.
I started this save in mid-february (or somewhere around there..) so I already have written out a good chunk of the story. I had an idea for where I wanted it to go, but at one point it started to live its own life, sort of.. so it hasn't excactly followed my plot... It ended up going into some.. more disturbing or uneasy territory..
And that's why feedback and reactions will be important, if I can get a sense of "ok, this is perhaps to far..", but the story is already written, so I don't think there is to much I can do to make it "less dark", maybe. But I will evaluate this chapter by chapter before posting (based on feedback)... Hopefully it will be ok by most readers.
--
As for the wing colors.. the system is perhaps a little complicated. It's a colormap, with the scale going from white to black cut out. Angels with white wings are called "pure angels". They are just angels. On the other end of that, you have the angels with black wings.. and they are pure... something else...
Angels with red wings are half-breeds between angels and humans. And they can have more colours than just red, black or white, but anyone that has a colour that is not on the scale from white to black is a half-breed of some sort. There is a rank system too.
1) Angels with white wings.
2) Angel/magician = yellow
3) Angel/human = red
4) Angel/vampire = purple
5) Angel/werewolf = blue.
6) Angels with grey wings, or any combination of black/other color.
7) "Angels" with black wings.
Apart from the use of the word angel etc. this is not necessarily related to something religious or bibilical... I have completely made my own world and universe, just stealing these words and using them here.
---
As for the town itself, I wanted to give it a kind of.. warm, mediterranean-ish look. It is an old historical town and civilization that has been there for ages and ages and somehow never got wiped out..
It is a little bit inspired by ancient Middle-Eastern civilizations, The Roman Empire and Ancient Greece.. all thrown into a blender and mixed with pieces from my own head (not directly! :P) and sprinkled with a little bit of magic and Dark Medieval Times on top and brought forward a few thousand years to a more modern day area.... Since they have things like cars, tv's and cellphones...
---
And uh, no, the father did not show up at the hospital with the mother. Their relationship went south just before I started playing with them, and this point in the story line, I did not know why or what happened.
I did not directly create Natalie or Isaac. I put some sims in town, and let them breed as they wanted for three generations, and then I chose to play with one of them. Of course, Natalie wasn't selected randomly. Why I chose them has something to do with her last name and the last name of what is now her ex-partner.
In the beginning Natalie is pretty much 100 % autonomous left to do as she wants, and as you see, she turned out to be a really poor mother....
I am happy you think it is a good start for the story, though!
@Sprottenham Yes that is what I remember you saying about the wing colors! Thank you for the spoiler, but you left out Green!
I enjoyed hearing you tell more of the background information, and the town.
That is very brave of you! I hope I can, and I will try, to give you what you are looking for in comments, but usually I just enjoy, or accept things that the story tells. You have such an interesting, creative flow!
Oh boy I hope Natalie treats Isaac a bit better now that there's another sibling! I really like the idea of the wing colours having different meanings, it's very creative
@Sprottenham : Great start for a new story!
And it is about fairies!!!!
I know that you´ve said that it won´t be as fairiish as mine in my story but they played tricks on each other, which is very fairiish!
I wonder where this playing with fairies will get you...
I wonder where this story will lead to...
@DivaDoodle Oh, yeah, I would include green if it was possible for angels to breed with zombies, but I don't think it is? Green can also mean if an angel/magician breeds (yellow) breeds with an angel/werewolf (blue) to create an angel/magician/werewolf.. so it can get all sorts of complicated... @_@
@CarbonCoffee14 Thank you. ^_^ Yeah, one can only hope she treats her kids better...
@AlexaKry Oh, thanks, but don't call them fairies! They are not in this story line... :P Well, the tricks playing thing, ....they do it from time to time, but I won't show it from now on, because it really doesn't have anything to do with the story line. :P
@Sprottenham I really like how you developed the world and the meaning of the wing colors. I'm looking forward to reading more. I do read a few dark fantasy genre's that get quite gory and gross at times. I find myself skipping pages sometimes. But, I usually end up going back to figure out what I missed.
Thank you for your comment @bekkasan. I'm calling the story dark, because it ended up having some darker elements, but I don't know how dark it is in the eyes of others, of course.. It might be, especially if you are already reading gory stuff, that you won't find it to be particularly dark. I don't know. This story does not contain anything gory... I don't want to gross anyone out, especially not considering how this is supposed to be a teen friendly forum...
Actually, I am kind of hoping that most won't find it to be all that dark, and that my worry is without reason. :P But yeah, I think I had to mention that anyway to the readers anyway, as a little heads up...
Out on the road there are fireflies circling
Deep in the woods, where the lost souls hide
Over the hill there are men returning
Trying to find some peace of mind
Sleep my child
Under the fog there are shadows moving
Don't be afraid, hold my hand
Into the dark there are eyelids closing
Buried alive in the shifting sands
Sleep my child
Speak to me now and the world will crumble
Open a door and the moon will fall
All of your life all your memories
Go to your dreams, forget it all
Sleep my child
After Aarons birth, Natalie had turned the clock around completely, staying awake at night sleeping in daytime and leaving her kids Isaac and Aaron upstairs lonely, hungry and smelly from unchanged diapers... sleeping heavily, not even the phone ringing did wake her up..
..and when she finally woke up, she was not at all happy, cursing at the young Aaron's bed for crying his little lungs out, when the poor baby had seen near total neglect by not being fed, loved, played with or having his diaper changed...
..before favoring Isaac, the older child.
It wasn't before the young Aaron was on the brink of starvation and near dying from loneliness she decided it was his turn to get some attention, just barely avoiding a visit from the social worker..
Children should not be allowed to have children of their own.
Of course, I'm being harsh with Natalie here.. she does take care of her children, but only after letting them suffer a bit first. Maybe it's the evil in her that does it....
And shortly after sunrise, its back to sleep again...
Later when she woke up, Natalie wanted to head out on the town, and decided to go to The Old Weavery, a former rabbit hole rug factory, now a dance club, but the place wasn't excactly crowded and the bartenders were clumsy.... so she ventured on to The 9th Cactus, the disco right across the road, and that seemed to be a much more popular place.
Perfect for a good night out. Never mind the kids, they will be safe at home with the babysitter! I want to party! Woohoo!
There are only two seasons in the old city of Lagash. The dry season and the wet season. And this rainy morning when Natalie was still in bed with a dry cotton mouth after last nights partying out on the town appropriately marked the beginning of the wet season.
Isaacs diaper is smelly and nothing has been cleaned around the house in a good while, but for some reason or other Natalie never grew out of playing with the doll house... is this a home fit to raise children?
Natalie was a little late in realizing there was a package in the mail... from some distant relative it told her... She wouldn't unpack it just yet, instead she decided to keep it to herself and hide it as best as she could... she contemplated getting rid of it, but didn't dare to go there...
And finally near the end of the rainy season, she decided it was time to clean up the kitchen, probably because she realized she had filled up nearly all the available bench space with dirty dishes...
"If I shove this bottle down your throat, maybe that will make you shut up!"
The babysitter (a local human teenager called Trym Hætta) would sometimes neglect the children as well in favor of watching sports on tv, but he wasn't really that bad. He did something the mother never did, which was to carry the young Aaron around. Natalie never once did that. Aaron spent most of his time as a baby lying in his crib, often feeling lonely and only being fed and having his diaper changed when absolutely necessary.
In favor of Natalie, it should be mentioned that after all she did make sure that Isaac both learned to talk, walk and did her best to get his potty training done in time, even though a lot of the time she had the appearance of contemplating something evil down the road.
The weekend when Aaron had his first birthday, she was invited over to a party at Bård Gulkishar-Amdals house. Party was alright and she stayed until it was over where she ended up making out with Bård in front of his partner, Josefine Hammurabi-Josdal, in their bedroom no less. Totally not appropriate. Coincidentally Bård is also her boss at work...
And look who is getting a scolding.
And then Natalie has the nerve to take a nap on their bed! She really is a good one, isn't she?
And helping herself to a late lunch the next afternoon, even. Don't choke on that...
"Urgh.. this dry cotton mouth..."
Making out with Bård again in the kitchen later that afternoon. Still no plans to go home and look after her children! And Aaron's birthday is tomorrow, at this point it wouldn't surprise me if she would miss that as well...
Well, so far the kids are in good hands. Borghild Rydland, another human babysitter is taking care of them, but as good as she is, she is not their mother...
"Oh, that was a good massage, Bård!"
...their mother is busy, perhaps, stealing someone elses partner and finding the kids a new step-father?
Saturday just turned into sunday, the day of Aaron's birthday, and she is still not home. And Josefine is nowhere to be found, I wonder where she went.
Well, speaking of the... there she is. Natalie was upstairs in the kitchen helping herself to a meal, when a dispute was heard in the hallway downstairs.
Josefine:Why is that @#$! still here? What are you doing!?
Bård: I'm sorry sweetie, I just wanted to know her star sign..
Josefine: Her star sign!? You have no idea how angry I am right now... you can burn in #$%&, you £#@%& $¤#£@!
Bård: You have always been my sweet flower, you know that...
Josefine: Get out of here, Natalie! Bård is mine, go home to your kids!
Sunday morning, Aarons birthday, and Natalie is still over at Bårds house being intimate. She hasn't learned a thing!
But things took a turn when she after a while shows her inappropriate side, dishing out offenses.
After which the flirtatious advances from Bård are not well received. Then she tries to kiss him, but he rejects. Did you just destroy it for yourself now, Natalie?
Maybe so, because after this their interactions are no longer romantic. She proceeds to discuss politics with Bård, before taking a nap on his bed once more. She hasn't slept all that much over the weekend and her energy is getting low.
It's pretty bad she hasn't been home since Friday afternoon, leaving Borghild all alone to take care of her kids throughout the weekend.. and with Aaron soon about to age up.
Well, it appears Natalies rude behavior and the political discussion wasn't quite enough to kill off the romantic feelings, because here they are again, kissing each other in the bedroom.
Yeah, as would be expected by now, Natalie is completely missing out on Aaron's first birthday as she is still over at Bårds house napping in his bed by Sunday evening...
...only the babysitter is there with him. Well, until she leaves the room to take care of Isaac downstairs... This is the moment were Aaron was left on the floor to age up to a toddler, all alone in his room.
..and Natalie, having just finished her nap is still over at Bårds house, helping herself to a drink, no intention of going home to her kids! What a great mom..
@Sprottenham ''Children should not be allowed to have children of their own.'' well at least neglectful ones shouldn't be allowed to keep them.
Ohh so she is evil! Well that explains it, she probably gets a gleeful moodlet from letting them suffer.
lol she finally did the dishes because no more room for plates!
Wow that is surprising that she taught her toddler to walk and talk and started his potty training!
omg LOL she makes out with her boss in front of his partner then takes a nap on their bed in front of them!
hahaha I hope she does miss her child's birthday, they are so much better off with the baby sitters.
Yay my wish is granted! I don't see stinky diapers and the kids are probably well fed and not lonely, soo it's all good for me! I hope she stays over at her Boss's house! LOL
I have an outline, an idea, of where I want the story to go, but honestly, I am not sure myself excactly where it is going to end up...
It is nowhere near complete, though I have gotten a lot farther into it then this, and it has already taken a path I did not foresee when I started it..
"well at least neglectful ones shouldn't be allowed to keep them. " <-- True, but she always managed to avoid having them taken away at the last minute!
Yep, she gets a moodlet saying she enjoys whenever someone is suffering.. that's kind of sick, but she does enjoy it...
But at the same time, she also had wishes to teach Isaac all the necessary things (walking, talking, potty training), and I always fulfill the wishes of sims as long as they are good ones, so that's why she had those things done. I have never seen a sim teach their toddler anything autonomously.
Honestly, I didn't mind her making out with someone elses partner, but it annoyed me so much how she wouldn't go home.... I was tempted to push her to go home, but it is as you say, the kids were fine with the babysitter, and well, this was her will, so.... that's how it happened...
I am happy you find entertainment in this and are not put off by my story, even though the neglecting of kids is uncomfortable.
Though my hope is different from yours. I wanted her to go home to her kids AND take care of them properly.. we will see how it develops....
@Sprottenham yes it is really uncomfortable for me to watch my sims kids neglected. It is almost as strong as my fear of sims dying in the swimming pool! lol I know I am a bit kookoo about it. I take Huge precautions, have mods to help the babies when I'm not there, like sleeping mats instead of cribs so they can go to sleep and get out to play when they want to. and a self bottle feed so they don't have to rely on a neglectful parent to be fed. LOL I covered all the bases! I think there is a mod for Everything!
I do think some of the family oriented sims do auto teach their kiddos. The non active sims are at a disadvantage since the game always pushes them to go somewhere else instead of teaching their toddlers, but I have also seen others pictures that a non active taught their baby to walk in the park.
btw There is a mod that they can auto teach the 3 basic skills but then you have to be certain you want that for all your sims in the story.
LOL I bet it was frustrating that she wouldn't go on home! That gets frustrating to me too at times, but mostly I like when they do the odd stuff!
BTW I like her Boss, I love that crazy hair! I wonder what will happen!
At home, the young Aaron Goth-Pammy has been brought downstairs by the babysitter and has located the peg toybox.
And then it's bedtime for the young one. Sleep tight, nooboo. Your mom obviously does not give two pennies worth..
At 3 in the night, things were getting dramatic once more over at Bårds house. Maybe it's time for you to head out of there, Natalie?
Well, maybe Natalie is learning that it's time to back off just a little as she chose to take a nap on the couch this time.
Or maybe not. It is now Monday morning, and she is still there....
And it turns out the following Monday was leisure day, which means of course, she could spend an entire new day at Bårds house without needing to go to work or go home...
Over the course of the day, the relationship between Natalie and Bård started to go downhill again, as more and more of Natalies evil and inappropriate behavior began to show.
Mismatching personality traits, good and evil. Natalie and Josefine probably won't be the best of friends anytime soon.
It wasn't until 5 AM on Tuesday morning that Natalie decided to leave, for whatever reason. Maybe to go home and get a little sleep before heading off to work. A little late...
Needless to say, Natalie was dead tired when she went to work in the governments building that morning...
Opeth – Windowpane Inside plays a lullaby
Slurred voice over children cries
On the inside
..which of course means that first thing on mommy's mind when she gets home after work, is to go to sleep.
Isaac was out of his crib and wanted to go downstairs to play with the toys there, but they staircase was to steep and scary.
Fast forward to a few months later... and Aaron was safely asleep in his crib with the plush toy doll he had received from his distant relative... or so the story goes... Natalie wanted to give the toy doll a name and decided to call it Billy.
And so the story repeared itself like it always does, and Natalie neglected her kids once more.
Natalie: Shut up!! Why do these kids cry all the darn time!?
Natalie: Ok, ok... I will feed you. Just please, shut up...
Then Natalie had to go to work, and the babysitter was called.
Natalie: I must be going mad... I could've sworn this bear was talking to me...
"Oh..... I was talking...... to you......Natalie......pick me up... Natalie......pick me up...."
"Take me to..... your son.... Natalie... take me to.... your son..."
Natalie: This is nonsense....but ok.. I'll take you to him...
"Now feed..... him....Natalie......or there will...... be..... consequences...."
Natalie: This is some stupid crap.. being threatend by a teddy bear, but alright.... I'll feed him..
Natalie: There you go, Aaron.. here is your food...
Then she went upstairs again to feed Isaac.
"I'll be watching....... you.....Natalie..."
And downstairs to change Aarons diaper.
Natalie: Ugh..wow, that bear..I could swear he was facing the other way when I went downstairs..
"I'll be watching........ you..."
"I'll be...... watching... sleep tight..."
Aaron and Billy was doing alright upstairs for now, but eventually became lonely.
"Wake up ..... again.... Natalie... wake up..."
"Your son needs..... you...... again..... Natalie..."
Later the next day.
"I'm watching....... you..... Natalie..."
"What's the matter..... Natalie.........? You look like...... you've just seen..... a ghost..."
Natalie: I don't know who you are, but I want you out of here!
Ghostly figure: Alright, then, I'll leave...
"Let that serve.... as an....... example....... of what I.... can do...... Natalie... next time....... he might not....leave so....... easily... I'm watching........ you..."
@Sprottenham I enjoyed the updates. Natalie is a terrible mother and at least the sitter is somewhat attentive. Poor kids.
lol at the Teddy watching her and making her be a better mother.
@Sprottenham : Wow! Natalie is a BAD mother! And a mean person. Are her "hosts" still married????
How on earth could she stay so many days away from her sons? Without even thinking of them once???
Why doesn´t she just give them away and let them be adopted? It couldn´t get much worse for them, right?
Good for her behavior that the bear spoke to her and told her what to do!
I just don´t understand who spoke to her in the end: the bear or the ghost? Did the bear told the ghost to leave or did the ghost just vanished into the bear again...
@Sprottenham Oh maybe I got mixed up with your stories about Who got the IF doll in the mail? Sorry! But I DID remember about someone getting it in the mail! So I hope you can forgive me! LOL
I must say Aaron has the Most unusual face I have ever seen on a toddler! I just love it and cannot wait till he grows up so I can see what he will look like!
''And suddenly there came a tapping....and she woke up to a light and soft spoken voice calling her name...
"Oh..... Natalie.... Natalie.... wake up......Natalie...." Oooo perfect! I just love how you wrote that!
OMG This is Sooo Good!!! I just love this bear in the story!
LOL and the bear watches Natalie take a shower! I am laughing so hard! and now a ghost! hahaha
Sprottenham This is now my very favorite story! More Please!!!
@bekkasan@AlexaKry@DivaDoodle Thank you, these comments mean a lot to me, because I was really quite self conscious about the last chapter there, once I had posted it to the forums.. anyway, enough about that..
AlexaKry - I am not quite sure what you mean by "hosts", but I assume you mean Natalies parents? If so, the answer is no, they are not married, and I don't think they ever were actually. .. Oh dang, I'm slow! Now I understood what you meant... Yes, the hosts are still together actually!
"How on earth could she stay so many days away from her sons? Without even thinking of them once???" <--- That's a good question. It's literally like she doesn't care sometimes, or lacks the ability to think that what she does, or doesn't do will have consequences.. like, "Oh, I can go out to party, or stay away for several days in a row.. the kids will be fine, after all the babysitter is there.."
It's a form of immaturity and selfishness.. "Funny" thing is, this reminds me a bit of one of my aunts.. she was a bit like that I learned in retrospect.. however, not as extreme as Natalie in terms of abandoning her kids for days on end...
I don't know what this is called, other than some form of immaturity, lack of ability to be responsible, selfishness and narcisissm and/or an intense need for attention..
P.S: The character Natalie is not in any way inspired by my aunt or any one I know in real life...
Something like adoption probably never occured in her mind, it's like she can't think ahead sometimes, or just lacks empathy...
In many ways, she is like a child in an adult body...
But there is more to Natalie than just this, but I can't say to much without giving spoilers...
The last comment was spoken by the bear, sorry if that wasn't clear! :P
Rainy season made its return, and honestly, it can sometimes look a bit gloomy.
Now at this time, a certain rumor circulated the town that Natalie's grandparents, Friederich and Eva Goth-Asli, had finally divorced after years of going back and forth with each other. They had been fighting on and off like this ever since Natalie's parents were kids, so it wasn't very surprising to the towns people...
With the new season and after the incident in the bathroom, the teddy bear stopped following Natalie around. Now it was as lifeless as a teddy bear should be, seemingly staring blankly at the doll house. And finally the tv-repairman had arrived, after she had called him twice to come over to fix their cheap broken tv-set.
Natalie:So, so, Aaron... I don't trust that teddy bear thing.. so I'll put you down on the floor here to eat right next to him.. so he can see I'm doing my job..
Then the ghostly figure appeared again. He drifted out of the bathroom and faced Natalie for a split second..
Natalie: Who are you? What do you want? I just fed him!
But he didn't answer. He did a sharp left turn, before disappearing through the wall to the right of the door..
At 3:30 in the night, Natalie is awakened by a howling sound from the living room and the sight of a pair of hands coming out of her bedroom wall... Natalie: Why are you here? Where do you come from!?
No answer. The ghostly figure turned and drifted away with a complacent smile on his face.
"This is just getting all to strange.... Where does he come from? There is no gravestone on our lot, and no one has died here. Is it because of the... graveyard nearby?"
Natalie went back to bed, but all these questions made it difficult to fall asleep.
He returned again at 6:30 in the morning, standing in almost the same spot, staring directly at Natalie's location as if he could see through walls.
Natalie had another 30 minutes left to sleep before she had to get up and get ready for work, but this immediately woke her, as she could sense his presence.
And when the ghostly figure had made sure she got out of bed, he went over to the stove and lifted it about in the air and shook it violently between the kitchen benches making as much noise as possible. Was he trying to prove a point, or just being a jerk?
When he was done with the noise making, he went to the bookshelf and picked up a book to leave on the living room table, before disappearing in a puff of green smoke.
Natalie skipped breakfast that morning. She ran out the door and called for a taxi.
"This can't be happening. This isn't real. I never had a teddy bear. Teddy bears can't talk. This isn't real. Ghosts aren't real. This is all in my head. It has to be. There is no other way. This is all in my head. Repeat after me. This is all in my head. Why is this happening? All in my head. This isn't real. This isn't real. I never had one. I never had one. Alright. Alright. Alright."
Taxi driver: You okay back there?
Natalie: What? Oh. I'm fine. I'm fine. I'm fine.
Taxi driver: Ok, ma'am. Just checking. Governments building, right?
Natalie: Governments building. But its on the left. It's.. It's on the left.
Taxi driver: I know, ma'am.. just checking...
It wasn't long after she came home from work that the ghost made his appearance again, by waving his fingers through the bathroom wall and interrupting Natalies playtime with the dollhouse....
...before slowly drifting through the kitchen and out through the living room on the opposite end of the house.
Natalie: What do you want? Why can't you leave me alone?
But he wasn't leaving just yet, he did a turn around outside the house and headed up the stairs to the toddlers bedroom where Aaron was sleeping.
He stood there for a good while, staring at the crib. Natalie could hear a soft, almost inaudible whisper coming from upstairs.
"Sleep tight..."
Then he went downstairs to vanish into a puff of green smoke once more.
"I don't know what's going on. If I do dishes, maybe he stays away. Did I feed Isaac? I have fed Isaac. Aaron is upstairs. He's asleep. Everything is good. Everything is good. This is ridiculous. Ghosts aren't real. Ghosts aren't real."
Then the kitchen sink broke with a thud.
Natalie: Oh, God! What was that?
Exhausted, Natalie went to bed. But the ghost came back again and violently shook the bed around and kept Natalie in a state of paralysis.
Then he finally started talking.
Ghostly figure: Well, I have seen that you are doing better with the children.. but you still need to learn how to clean up the house a little better, because this place stinks!
Ghostly figure: Goodbye for now, Natalie.
But by morning, he was there again.
Natalie: You're not real! Leave me alone!
Ghostly Figure: There is still some rotten food in your refridgerator. Take that out, and I will go.
"Ignore him. He's not real. He's not real."
Ghostly Figure: Empty your refridgerator, Natalie, and I will go.
Natalie: Ughh...
"I don't believe this. He's not real. He's not real."
Ghostly figure: Well done, Aaron! You almost got it now!
Natalie: You're not real! Leave my kid alone!
Ghostly Figure: I just want to make sure he has mastered the xylophone, Natalie. Don't disturb us...
And after that he finally disappeared .. and that was the last she saw of the ghost for a long while. And from now on Natalie made sure to take good care of her children, as she did not want him to come back, or for that teddy bear to come alive again.
Well, for the most part.
Natalie: Hahaha, you screaming little #*@£! Mommy will give you some food, but only to keep you alive so I can hear your screams again at a later time!
@sprottenham: great pictures with the hands of the ghost coming through the walls!
I believe that the ghost is there to help Natalie to be a better mom, as the teddy bear is, too.
But why?
Is Natalie so important for the future or are her boys the leaders to a bright future and have to get the "best" education she can provide???
So many questions right now!!!
At least she takes care of her boys at the moment...
Thanks! But I wasn't in control of the ghost, he just came in there and did as he pleased.
As for what happens to them in the future, well, of course, I can't answer that! I have an idea of where they are going to end up, but this story also has a bit of a life of its own.. it has already taken a different path from my original thought. For one, it wasn't at all supposed to be about a neglectant mother, but it became like that when I saw how bad she was... so who knows where this is going to go??
Comments
Madrugada – What's on your mind?
(Song lyrics inside spoiler)
You were at my door
I heard you knocking but I didn't care at all
I had been in all night just staring at the wall
I didn't really want to see you anymore
Coming from the road
You took your coat off and you threw it on the floor
You said "I can't believe you wanna hurt me so"
I said "I'm not supposed to be like this, you know"
Well, I just had to let you go
What's on your mind?
When you're lost in time
What's on your mind?
Tell me why
Why does it have to be this way?
You were in that dream that I was dreaming
I was dreaming in a dream
Your nylon dress and I was floating back downstream
I wanted love to come and swallow everything
Everything gets real
Sooner or later, doesn't matter how you feel
You slammed that door shut on the night of glass and steel
I cannot blame you for believing what you believe
Well, I just had to let you go
What's on your mind?
When you're lost in time
What's on your mind?
Tell me why
Why does it have to be this way?
This story begins with a burglar outside the small Goth-Asli family's house. The family at this point consisted only of the mother, Natalie Goth-Asli and her son, Isaac Goth-Pammy. She had recently split with her partner and father of Isaac, Ragnar Pammy-Vasquez after both of them ended up in a heated debate on the sidewalk outside the convenience store, with the result that neither party were left amused...
And that was only what could be seen with the eyes of the outside world. Who knows what happened behind the walls of their home. So one night, she had decided enough was enough, took the kid and left.
Anyway, back to the burglar situation.
Emergency Operator: 311 operator. What is your emergency?
Natalie: There is someone else in the house. There is a burglar. I'm alone with my baby. Please come, quickly!
Emergency Operator: What's your address?
Natalie: Purgamentum road 9. Please hurry!
Emergency Operator: Ok, we'll send an officer over. Just stay with me. Where are you at right now?
Natalie: I'm in the bed room..
A clanking noise is heard through the door.
Natalie: Oh God!
Emergency Operator: Just stay with me. Officer should be there shortly.
Natalie: He's getting away!
Emergency Operator: Ma'am, just stay wi...
*click*
Emergency Operator: Hello?
Natalie ran out into the hallway, but was to late. A few minutes later the sound of a police siren can be heard from outside.
Natalie: I was just ready to fight him! But he got away!
Police officer: You got unlucky, it looks like the burglar stole your bath tub. Unfortunately he managed to escape, but we will catch him next time!
Natalie: "We will catch him next time!" Bah, useless good-for-nothing police officer!
The next morning it was off to work as usual. Natalie works at the Dreamland Parliament Assembly building at the bottom rank of the political career.
Natalies home is located on the east side off the Corbo Gleb river that divides the town into two parts (view facing north), next to one of the poorer areas of town where only humans live. (Purgamentum road 9.)
She had wanted to take a course to improve her skills in charisma, but figured that now after the burglary she would instead need to spend her money on buying a new shower to replace the stolen bath tub.
(Only in the sim world will a burglar steal a bath tub...)
The following morning she woke up feeling nauseous from the burglary that happened just last night, or maybe some other unknown reason.
When she came home from work that day, she wanted to invite Friederich, her grandfather, over for a visit.
Then she had to throw up again..
They understand each other perfectly, since they both share the childish trait. Yes, that's grandpa over there playing with the doll house...
While he was still there, she found the cause of her nausea as she became aware that she was pregnant. Though it was not something she had planned for, she was still happy about the pregnancy. Since she already had a son, she was wishing it would be a girl this time.
But sometimes her grandfathers childish behaviour could be an annoyance, so she had learned to counter and deflect his shivering teeth trick...
Natalie: Ha! You didn't get me this time!
Friederich wasn't to happy about that, though..
..and he's actually stupid enough to try the same trick again!
And a third time, and then it actually worked.. and they were both amused.
And then they went for a pillow fight.
And while she was busy playing around with her grandfather, she had completely ignored Isaac upstairs crying because he was hungry.
---
"Here you go nooboo! Here is your food!"
And after she has fed him, she does what every good mother would do, of course.. neglects her kid by leaving him in the chair to go to bed.. Looks like grandpa is there still as well.... maybe he will wake up and take care of the kid..
Nah, grandpa doesn't care, he just leaves... time to go, see you later!
Isaac was literally left in his chair alone all night while mother was sleeping..
Next morning she spent a little time playing with him, before she wanted to head to the spa to get a massage.
Picture: Outside the spa.
And then she spent the rest of the day at home, playing with Isaac's toys and ignoring him until he fell asleep on the floor.
She found that to be very enjoyable, of course.
The following day she went to the bookstore, to buy a book about pregnancy, which she read inside the spa's reception and waiting room.
Picture: Inside the spa reception. Eva Goth-Asli, her grandmother, sitting in the sofa to the left. I don't know where the receptionist went off to...
And so the days went, and approximately 9 months later during the fullmoons phase...
Late one night, she went into labor. The baby was finally coming, and it was time to head to the hospital.
Picture: Natalie entering the hospital. I wish this could have been a daytime shot, but I can't decide the hour at which babies are born...
The freshly baked mother holding her newborn son at the hospital the morning after. She got a baby boy and not the girl she had hoped for. Nonetheless, she decided to name him Aaron, as she felt it was a name with great strength to it.
As they both proved to be of good health, she was released from the hospital with Aaron later the same evening.
Chapter 2 - Infancy (Death Whispered a Lullaby - part II)
Sub blogs: #01 Sunset Valley. #02: Lake Onebega #03: Sprottenham #04: Bewickton
@Sprottenham Good start for the story. I like the name, The Red Winged Angels. She is certainly not a very good mother. I do feel for those poor kids. The social worker might come if that little one keeps the lonely icon too long.
The Cowboy and the Mermaid
@Sprottenham hehehe what a great story! Is this what you were telling me awhile back about the different winged beings have certain color of wing based on their good or evilness? I can't wait to learn more!
The town looks so cool, is it a desert town with sandy or dirt roads?
I must say, it was totally freaky to see the burglar next to the red spattered column! And he gets away with stealing the bathtub! LOL
Haha I love how they can blow back the prank on to the initiator!
Friederich is funny to keep trying the prank!
aw poor hungry baby!
Good mama to feed some mush! uhoh then goes to bed!
oh poor little baby! trapped in the prison chair!
''she spent the rest of the day at home, playing with Isaac's toys and ignoring him until he fell asleep on the floor.'' omg and she is going to have another one! I hope the social workers won't want to take away Isaac for neglect, I never had that happen but heard it can.
Did the father of the baby meet her at the hospital?
Aaron is a great name! I wonder how Isaac was fairing well the time Natalie was away from home!
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Thank you so much for reading and the comments! It means alot, especially any and all feedback I can get, because this story can get a little dark and I don't want to push it to far with that.
I started this save in mid-february (or somewhere around there..) so I already have written out a good chunk of the story. I had an idea for where I wanted it to go, but at one point it started to live its own life, sort of.. so it hasn't excactly followed my plot... It ended up going into some.. more disturbing or uneasy territory..
And that's why feedback and reactions will be important, if I can get a sense of "ok, this is perhaps to far..", but the story is already written, so I don't think there is to much I can do to make it "less dark", maybe. But I will evaluate this chapter by chapter before posting (based on feedback)... Hopefully it will be ok by most readers.
--
As for the wing colors.. the system is perhaps a little complicated. It's a colormap, with the scale going from white to black cut out. Angels with white wings are called "pure angels". They are just angels. On the other end of that, you have the angels with black wings.. and they are pure... something else...
Angels with red wings are half-breeds between angels and humans. And they can have more colours than just red, black or white, but anyone that has a colour that is not on the scale from white to black is a half-breed of some sort. There is a rank system too.
2) Angel/magician = yellow
3) Angel/human = red
4) Angel/vampire = purple
5) Angel/werewolf = blue.
6) Angels with grey wings, or any combination of black/other color.
7) "Angels" with black wings.
Apart from the use of the word angel etc. this is not necessarily related to something religious or bibilical... I have completely made my own world and universe, just stealing these words and using them here.
---
As for the town itself, I wanted to give it a kind of.. warm, mediterranean-ish look. It is an old historical town and civilization that has been there for ages and ages and somehow never got wiped out..
It is a little bit inspired by ancient Middle-Eastern civilizations, The Roman Empire and Ancient Greece.. all thrown into a blender and mixed with pieces from my own head (not directly! :P) and sprinkled with a little bit of magic and Dark Medieval Times on top and brought forward a few thousand years to a more modern day area.... Since they have things like cars, tv's and cellphones...
---
And uh, no, the father did not show up at the hospital with the mother. Their relationship went south just before I started playing with them, and this point in the story line, I did not know why or what happened.
I did not directly create Natalie or Isaac. I put some sims in town, and let them breed as they wanted for three generations, and then I chose to play with one of them. Of course, Natalie wasn't selected randomly. Why I chose them has something to do with her last name and the last name of what is now her ex-partner.
In the beginning Natalie is pretty much 100 % autonomous left to do as she wants, and as you see, she turned out to be a really poor mother....
I am happy you think it is a good start for the story, though!
Sub blogs: #01 Sunset Valley. #02: Lake Onebega #03: Sprottenham #04: Bewickton
@Sprottenham Yes that is what I remember you saying about the wing colors! Thank you for the spoiler, but you left out Green!
I enjoyed hearing you tell more of the background information, and the town.
That is very brave of you! I hope I can, and I will try, to give you what you are looking for in comments, but usually I just enjoy, or accept things that the story tells. You have such an interesting, creative flow!
.
And it is about fairies!!!!
I know that you´ve said that it won´t be as fairiish as mine in my story but they played tricks on each other, which is very fairiish!
I wonder where this playing with fairies will get you...
I wonder where this story will lead to...
https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/953447/streuner-a-cat-s-tale
@CarbonCoffee14 Thank you. ^_^ Yeah, one can only hope she treats her kids better...
@AlexaKry Oh, thanks, but don't call them fairies! They are not in this story line... :P Well, the tricks playing thing, ....they do it from time to time, but I won't show it from now on, because it really doesn't have anything to do with the story line. :P
Sub blogs: #01 Sunset Valley. #02: Lake Onebega #03: Sprottenham #04: Bewickton
@Sprottenham I really like how you developed the world and the meaning of the wing colors. I'm looking forward to reading more. I do read a few dark fantasy genre's that get quite gory and gross at times. I find myself skipping pages sometimes. But, I usually end up going back to figure out what I missed.
The Cowboy and the Mermaid
Actually, I am kind of hoping that most won't find it to be all that dark, and that my worry is without reason. :P But yeah, I think I had to mention that anyway to the readers anyway, as a little heads up...
Sub blogs: #01 Sunset Valley. #02: Lake Onebega #03: Sprottenham #04: Bewickton
Opeth – Death Whispered a Lullaby
Out on the road there are fireflies circling
Deep in the woods, where the lost souls hide
Over the hill there are men returning
Trying to find some peace of mind
Sleep my child
Under the fog there are shadows moving
Don't be afraid, hold my hand
Into the dark there are eyelids closing
Buried alive in the shifting sands
Sleep my child
Speak to me now and the world will crumble
Open a door and the moon will fall
All of your life all your memories
Go to your dreams, forget it all
Sleep my child
After Aarons birth, Natalie had turned the clock around completely, staying awake at night sleeping in daytime and leaving her kids Isaac and Aaron upstairs lonely, hungry and smelly from unchanged diapers... sleeping heavily, not even the phone ringing did wake her up..
..and when she finally woke up, she was not at all happy, cursing at the young Aaron's bed for crying his little lungs out, when the poor baby had seen near total neglect by not being fed, loved, played with or having his diaper changed...
..before favoring Isaac, the older child.
It wasn't before the young Aaron was on the brink of starvation and near dying from loneliness she decided it was his turn to get some attention, just barely avoiding a visit from the social worker..
Children should not be allowed to have children of their own.
Of course, I'm being harsh with Natalie here.. she does take care of her children, but only after letting them suffer a bit first. Maybe it's the evil in her that does it....
And shortly after sunrise, its back to sleep again...
Later when she woke up, Natalie wanted to head out on the town, and decided to go to The Old Weavery, a former rabbit hole rug factory, now a dance club, but the place wasn't excactly crowded and the bartenders were clumsy.... so she ventured on to The 9th Cactus, the disco right across the road, and that seemed to be a much more popular place.
Perfect for a good night out. Never mind the kids, they will be safe at home with the babysitter! I want to party! Woohoo!
There are only two seasons in the old city of Lagash. The dry season and the wet season. And this rainy morning when Natalie was still in bed with a dry cotton mouth after last nights partying out on the town appropriately marked the beginning of the wet season.
Isaacs diaper is smelly and nothing has been cleaned around the house in a good while, but for some reason or other Natalie never grew out of playing with the doll house... is this a home fit to raise children?
Natalie was a little late in realizing there was a package in the mail... from some distant relative it told her... She wouldn't unpack it just yet, instead she decided to keep it to herself and hide it as best as she could... she contemplated getting rid of it, but didn't dare to go there...
And finally near the end of the rainy season, she decided it was time to clean up the kitchen, probably because she realized she had filled up nearly all the available bench space with dirty dishes...
"If I shove this bottle down your throat, maybe that will make you shut up!"
The babysitter (a local human teenager called Trym Hætta) would sometimes neglect the children as well in favor of watching sports on tv, but he wasn't really that bad. He did something the mother never did, which was to carry the young Aaron around. Natalie never once did that. Aaron spent most of his time as a baby lying in his crib, often feeling lonely and only being fed and having his diaper changed when absolutely necessary.
In favor of Natalie, it should be mentioned that after all she did make sure that Isaac both learned to talk, walk and did her best to get his potty training done in time, even though a lot of the time she had the appearance of contemplating something evil down the road.
The weekend when Aaron had his first birthday, she was invited over to a party at Bård Gulkishar-Amdals house. Party was alright and she stayed until it was over where she ended up making out with Bård in front of his partner, Josefine Hammurabi-Josdal, in their bedroom no less. Totally not appropriate. Coincidentally Bård is also her boss at work...
And look who is getting a scolding.
And then Natalie has the nerve to take a nap on their bed! She really is a good one, isn't she?
And helping herself to a late lunch the next afternoon, even. Don't choke on that...
"Urgh.. this dry cotton mouth..."
Making out with Bård again in the kitchen later that afternoon. Still no plans to go home and look after her children! And Aaron's birthday is tomorrow, at this point it wouldn't surprise me if she would miss that as well...
Well, so far the kids are in good hands. Borghild Rydland, another human babysitter is taking care of them, but as good as she is, she is not their mother...
"Oh, that was a good massage, Bård!"
...their mother is busy, perhaps, stealing someone elses partner and finding the kids a new step-father?
Saturday just turned into sunday, the day of Aaron's birthday, and she is still not home. And Josefine is nowhere to be found, I wonder where she went.
Well, speaking of the... there she is. Natalie was upstairs in the kitchen helping herself to a meal, when a dispute was heard in the hallway downstairs.
Josefine:Why is that @#$! still here? What are you doing!?
Bård: I'm sorry sweetie, I just wanted to know her star sign..
Josefine: Her star sign!? You have no idea how angry I am right now... you can burn in #$%&, you £#@%& $¤#£@!
Bård: You have always been my sweet flower, you know that...
Josefine: Get out of here, Natalie! Bård is mine, go home to your kids!
Sunday morning, Aarons birthday, and Natalie is still over at Bårds house being intimate. She hasn't learned a thing!
But things took a turn when she after a while shows her inappropriate side, dishing out offenses.
After which the flirtatious advances from Bård are not well received. Then she tries to kiss him, but he rejects. Did you just destroy it for yourself now, Natalie?
Maybe so, because after this their interactions are no longer romantic. She proceeds to discuss politics with Bård, before taking a nap on his bed once more. She hasn't slept all that much over the weekend and her energy is getting low.
It's pretty bad she hasn't been home since Friday afternoon, leaving Borghild all alone to take care of her kids throughout the weekend.. and with Aaron soon about to age up.
Well, it appears Natalies rude behavior and the political discussion wasn't quite enough to kill off the romantic feelings, because here they are again, kissing each other in the bedroom.
Yeah, as would be expected by now, Natalie is completely missing out on Aaron's first birthday as she is still over at Bårds house napping in his bed by Sunday evening...
...only the babysitter is there with him. Well, until she leaves the room to take care of Isaac downstairs... This is the moment were Aaron was left on the floor to age up to a toddler, all alone in his room.
..and Natalie, having just finished her nap is still over at Bårds house, helping herself to a drink, no intention of going home to her kids! What a great mom..
Chapter 3.1: Where's Natalie?
Sub blogs: #01 Sunset Valley. #02: Lake Onebega #03: Sprottenham #04: Bewickton
Congratz on you new story, as always like that you work with everyday people.
Not quite sure where you are going with this, we will see.
@Sprottenham ''Children should not be allowed to have children of their own.'' well at least neglectful ones shouldn't be allowed to keep them.
Ohh so she is evil! Well that explains it, she probably gets a gleeful moodlet from letting them suffer.
lol she finally did the dishes because no more room for plates!
Wow that is surprising that she taught her toddler to walk and talk and started his potty training!
omg LOL she makes out with her boss in front of his partner then takes a nap on their bed in front of them!
hahaha I hope she does miss her child's birthday, they are so much better off with the baby sitters.
Yay my wish is granted! I don't see stinky diapers and the kids are probably well fed and not lonely, soo it's all good for me! I hope she stays over at her Boss's house! LOL
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I have an outline, an idea, of where I want the story to go, but honestly, I am not sure myself excactly where it is going to end up...
It is nowhere near complete, though I have gotten a lot farther into it then this, and it has already taken a path I did not foresee when I started it..
@DivaDoodle
"well at least neglectful ones shouldn't be allowed to keep them. " <-- True, but she always managed to avoid having them taken away at the last minute!
Yep, she gets a moodlet saying she enjoys whenever someone is suffering.. that's kind of sick, but she does enjoy it...
But at the same time, she also had wishes to teach Isaac all the necessary things (walking, talking, potty training), and I always fulfill the wishes of sims as long as they are good ones, so that's why she had those things done. I have never seen a sim teach their toddler anything autonomously.
Honestly, I didn't mind her making out with someone elses partner, but it annoyed me so much how she wouldn't go home.... I was tempted to push her to go home, but it is as you say, the kids were fine with the babysitter, and well, this was her will, so.... that's how it happened...
I am happy you find entertainment in this and are not put off by my story, even though the neglecting of kids is uncomfortable.
Though my hope is different from yours. I wanted her to go home to her kids AND take care of them properly.. we will see how it develops....
Sub blogs: #01 Sunset Valley. #02: Lake Onebega #03: Sprottenham #04: Bewickton
@Sprottenham yes it is really uncomfortable for me to watch my sims kids neglected. It is almost as strong as my fear of sims dying in the swimming pool! lol I know I am a bit kookoo about it. I take Huge precautions, have mods to help the babies when I'm not there, like sleeping mats instead of cribs so they can go to sleep and get out to play when they want to. and a self bottle feed so they don't have to rely on a neglectful parent to be fed. LOL I covered all the bases! I think there is a mod for Everything!
I do think some of the family oriented sims do auto teach their kiddos. The non active sims are at a disadvantage since the game always pushes them to go somewhere else instead of teaching their toddlers, but I have also seen others pictures that a non active taught their baby to walk in the park.
btw There is a mod that they can auto teach the 3 basic skills but then you have to be certain you want that for all your sims in the story.
LOL I bet it was frustrating that she wouldn't go on home! That gets frustrating to me too at times, but mostly I like when they do the odd stuff!
BTW I like her Boss, I love that crazy hair! I wonder what will happen!
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Madrugada - You better leave
3.1 - Where's Natalie?
At home, the young Aaron Goth-Pammy has been brought downstairs by the babysitter and has located the peg toybox.
And then it's bedtime for the young one. Sleep tight, nooboo. Your mom obviously does not give two pennies worth..
At 3 in the night, things were getting dramatic once more over at Bårds house. Maybe it's time for you to head out of there, Natalie?
Well, maybe Natalie is learning that it's time to back off just a little as she chose to take a nap on the couch this time.
Or maybe not. It is now Monday morning, and she is still there....
And it turns out the following Monday was leisure day, which means of course, she could spend an entire new day at Bårds house without needing to go to work or go home...
Over the course of the day, the relationship between Natalie and Bård started to go downhill again, as more and more of Natalies evil and inappropriate behavior began to show.
Mismatching personality traits, good and evil. Natalie and Josefine probably won't be the best of friends anytime soon.
It wasn't until 5 AM on Tuesday morning that Natalie decided to leave, for whatever reason. Maybe to go home and get a little sleep before heading off to work. A little late...
Needless to say, Natalie was dead tired when she went to work in the governments building that morning...
Sub blogs: #01 Sunset Valley. #02: Lake Onebega #03: Sprottenham #04: Bewickton
Opeth – Windowpane
Inside plays a lullaby
Slurred voice over children cries
On the inside
..which of course means that first thing on mommy's mind when she gets home after work, is to go to sleep.
Isaac was out of his crib and wanted to go downstairs to play with the toys there, but they staircase was to steep and scary.
Fast forward to a few months later... and Aaron was safely asleep in his crib with the plush toy doll he had received from his distant relative... or so the story goes... Natalie wanted to give the toy doll a name and decided to call it Billy.
And so the story repeared itself like it always does, and Natalie neglected her kids once more.
Natalie: Shut up!! Why do these kids cry all the darn time!?
Natalie: Ok, ok... I will feed you. Just please, shut up...
Then Natalie had to go to work, and the babysitter was called.
Aaron: Willy Wig, Willy Wig, ba-widapa-ta-dapa, Willy Wig.
Isaac: Zzzz...
When Aaron eventually got tired, the baby sitter put him in a crib, but Isaac sleeping on the floor was ignored.
Aaron was asleep with Billy in his crib.
Natalie: Disgusting, dirty cheap old oven.. I wish I had a new one that cost atleast 450 simoleons..
And once upon a midnight dreary.... after Natalie had gone to bed Aaron woke up, feeling hungry.
Was Natalie going to feed him?
It didn't look like it. Natalie was asleep and dreaming sweet dreams of.. sleeping..
And suddenly there came a tapping....and she woke up to a light and soft spoken voice calling her name...
"Oh..... Natalie.... Natalie.... wake up......Natalie...."
Natalie: Yawn...
"Oh....... Natalie... Natalie..."
Natalie: ...what's going on? Who's there?
"Oh......Natalie.... dearest..."
Natalie: I must be going mad... I could've sworn this bear was talking to me...
"Oh..... I was talking...... to you......Natalie......pick me up... Natalie......pick me up...."
"Take me to..... your son.... Natalie... take me to.... your son..."
Natalie: This is nonsense....but ok.. I'll take you to him...
"Now feed..... him....Natalie......or there will...... be..... consequences...."
Natalie: This is some stupid crap.. being threatend by a teddy bear, but alright.... I'll feed him..
Natalie: There you go, Aaron.. here is your food...
Then she went upstairs again to feed Isaac.
"I'll be watching....... you.....Natalie..."
And downstairs to change Aarons diaper.
Natalie: Ugh..wow, that bear..I could swear he was facing the other way when I went downstairs..
"I'll be watching........ you..."
"I'll be...... watching... sleep tight..."
Aaron and Billy was doing alright upstairs for now, but eventually became lonely.
"Wake up ..... again.... Natalie... wake up..."
"Your son needs..... you...... again..... Natalie..."
Later the next day.
"I'm watching....... you..... Natalie..."
"What's the matter..... Natalie.........? You look like...... you've just seen..... a ghost..."
Natalie: I don't know who you are, but I want you out of here!
Ghostly figure: Alright, then, I'll leave...
"Let that serve.... as an....... example....... of what I.... can do...... Natalie... next time....... he might not....leave so....... easily... I'm watching........ you..."
Chapter 3.3 - Atonement
Sub blogs: #01 Sunset Valley. #02: Lake Onebega #03: Sprottenham #04: Bewickton
@Sprottenham I enjoyed the updates. Natalie is a terrible mother and at least the sitter is somewhat attentive. Poor kids.
lol at the Teddy watching her and making her be a better mother.
The Cowboy and the Mermaid
How on earth could she stay so many days away from her sons? Without even thinking of them once???
Why doesn´t she just give them away and let them be adopted? It couldn´t get much worse for them, right?
Good for her behavior that the bear spoke to her and told her what to do!
I just don´t understand who spoke to her in the end: the bear or the ghost? Did the bear told the ghost to leave or did the ghost just vanished into the bear again...
Very interesting story!
https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/953447/streuner-a-cat-s-tale
@Sprottenham Oh maybe I got mixed up with your stories about Who got the IF doll in the mail? Sorry! But I DID remember about someone getting it in the mail! So I hope you can forgive me! LOL
I must say Aaron has the Most unusual face I have ever seen on a toddler! I just love it and cannot wait till he grows up so I can see what he will look like!
''And suddenly there came a tapping....and she woke up to a light and soft spoken voice calling her name...
"Oh..... Natalie.... Natalie.... wake up......Natalie...." Oooo perfect! I just love how you wrote that!
OMG This is Sooo Good!!! I just love this bear in the story!
LOL and the bear watches Natalie take a shower! I am laughing so hard! and now a ghost! hahaha
Sprottenham This is now my very favorite story! More Please!!!
.
AlexaKry - I am not quite sure what you mean by "hosts", but I assume you mean Natalies parents? If so, the answer is no, they are not married, and I don't think they ever were actually. .. Oh dang, I'm slow! Now I understood what you meant... Yes, the hosts are still together actually!
"How on earth could she stay so many days away from her sons? Without even thinking of them once???" <--- That's a good question. It's literally like she doesn't care sometimes, or lacks the ability to think that what she does, or doesn't do will have consequences.. like, "Oh, I can go out to party, or stay away for several days in a row.. the kids will be fine, after all the babysitter is there.."
It's a form of immaturity and selfishness.. "Funny" thing is, this reminds me a bit of one of my aunts.. she was a bit like that I learned in retrospect.. however, not as extreme as Natalie in terms of abandoning her kids for days on end...
I don't know what this is called, other than some form of immaturity, lack of ability to be responsible, selfishness and narcisissm and/or an intense need for attention..
P.S: The character Natalie is not in any way inspired by my aunt or any one I know in real life...
Something like adoption probably never occured in her mind, it's like she can't think ahead sometimes, or just lacks empathy...
In many ways, she is like a child in an adult body...
But there is more to Natalie than just this, but I can't say to much without giving spoilers...
The last comment was spoken by the bear, sorry if that wasn't clear! :P
Sub blogs: #01 Sunset Valley. #02: Lake Onebega #03: Sprottenham #04: Bewickton
"Here you go, Billy... here is your milk..."
Opeth – Atonement
Rainy season made its return, and honestly, it can sometimes look a bit gloomy.
Now at this time, a certain rumor circulated the town that Natalie's grandparents, Friederich and Eva Goth-Asli, had finally divorced after years of going back and forth with each other. They had been fighting on and off like this ever since Natalie's parents were kids, so it wasn't very surprising to the towns people...
With the new season and after the incident in the bathroom, the teddy bear stopped following Natalie around. Now it was as lifeless as a teddy bear should be, seemingly staring blankly at the doll house. And finally the tv-repairman had arrived, after she had called him twice to come over to fix their cheap broken tv-set.
Natalie:So, so, Aaron... I don't trust that teddy bear thing.. so I'll put you down on the floor here to eat right next to him.. so he can see I'm doing my job..
Then the ghostly figure appeared again. He drifted out of the bathroom and faced Natalie for a split second..
Natalie: Who are you? What do you want? I just fed him!
But he didn't answer. He did a sharp left turn, before disappearing through the wall to the right of the door..
At 3:30 in the night, Natalie is awakened by a howling sound from the living room and the sight of a pair of hands coming out of her bedroom wall...
Natalie: Why are you here? Where do you come from!?
No answer. The ghostly figure turned and drifted away with a complacent smile on his face.
"This is just getting all to strange.... Where does he come from? There is no gravestone on our lot, and no one has died here. Is it because of the... graveyard nearby?"
Natalie went back to bed, but all these questions made it difficult to fall asleep.
He returned again at 6:30 in the morning, standing in almost the same spot, staring directly at Natalie's location as if he could see through walls.
Natalie had another 30 minutes left to sleep before she had to get up and get ready for work, but this immediately woke her, as she could sense his presence.
And when the ghostly figure had made sure she got out of bed, he went over to the stove and lifted it about in the air and shook it violently between the kitchen benches making as much noise as possible. Was he trying to prove a point, or just being a jerk?
When he was done with the noise making, he went to the bookshelf and picked up a book to leave on the living room table, before disappearing in a puff of green smoke.
Natalie skipped breakfast that morning. She ran out the door and called for a taxi.
"This can't be happening. This isn't real. I never had a teddy bear. Teddy bears can't talk. This isn't real. Ghosts aren't real. This is all in my head. It has to be. There is no other way. This is all in my head. Repeat after me. This is all in my head. Why is this happening? All in my head. This isn't real. This isn't real. I never had one. I never had one. Alright. Alright. Alright."
Taxi driver: You okay back there?
Natalie: What? Oh. I'm fine. I'm fine. I'm fine.
Taxi driver: Ok, ma'am. Just checking. Governments building, right?
Natalie: Governments building. But its on the left. It's.. It's on the left.
Taxi driver: I know, ma'am.. just checking...
It wasn't long after she came home from work that the ghost made his appearance again, by waving his fingers through the bathroom wall and interrupting Natalies playtime with the dollhouse....
...before slowly drifting through the kitchen and out through the living room on the opposite end of the house.
Natalie: What do you want? Why can't you leave me alone?
But he wasn't leaving just yet, he did a turn around outside the house and headed up the stairs to the toddlers bedroom where Aaron was sleeping.
He stood there for a good while, staring at the crib. Natalie could hear a soft, almost inaudible whisper coming from upstairs.
"Sleep tight..."
Then he went downstairs to vanish into a puff of green smoke once more.
"I don't know what's going on. If I do dishes, maybe he stays away. Did I feed Isaac? I have fed Isaac. Aaron is upstairs. He's asleep. Everything is good. Everything is good. This is ridiculous. Ghosts aren't real. Ghosts aren't real."
Then the kitchen sink broke with a thud.
Natalie: Oh, God! What was that?
Exhausted, Natalie went to bed. But the ghost came back again and violently shook the bed around and kept Natalie in a state of paralysis.
Then he finally started talking.
Ghostly figure: Well, I have seen that you are doing better with the children.. but you still need to learn how to clean up the house a little better, because this place stinks!
Ghostly figure: Goodbye for now, Natalie.
But by morning, he was there again.
Natalie: You're not real! Leave me alone!
Ghostly Figure: There is still some rotten food in your refridgerator. Take that out, and I will go.
"Ignore him. He's not real. He's not real."
Ghostly Figure: Empty your refridgerator, Natalie, and I will go.
Natalie: Ughh...
"I don't believe this. He's not real. He's not real."
Ghostly figure: Well done, Aaron! You almost got it now!
Natalie: You're not real! Leave my kid alone!
Ghostly Figure: I just want to make sure he has mastered the xylophone, Natalie. Don't disturb us...
And after that he finally disappeared .. and that was the last she saw of the ghost for a long while. And from now on Natalie made sure to take good care of her children, as she did not want him to come back, or for that teddy bear to come alive again.
Well, for the most part.
Natalie: Hahaha, you screaming little #*@£! Mommy will give you some food, but only to keep you alive so I can hear your screams again at a later time!
"Just like mommy has always done..."
Chapter 3.4 - Into the trees
Sub blogs: #01 Sunset Valley. #02: Lake Onebega #03: Sprottenham #04: Bewickton
I believe that the ghost is there to help Natalie to be a better mom, as the teddy bear is, too.
But why?
Is Natalie so important for the future or are her boys the leaders to a bright future and have to get the "best" education she can provide???
So many questions right now!!!
At least she takes care of her boys at the moment...
https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/953447/streuner-a-cat-s-tale
Thanks! But I wasn't in control of the ghost, he just came in there and did as he pleased.
As for what happens to them in the future, well, of course, I can't answer that! I have an idea of where they are going to end up, but this story also has a bit of a life of its own.. it has already taken a different path from my original thought. For one, it wasn't at all supposed to be about a neglectant mother, but it became like that when I saw how bad she was... so who knows where this is going to go??
Sub blogs: #01 Sunset Valley. #02: Lake Onebega #03: Sprottenham #04: Bewickton