^Hee hee. Thanks. She is a very beautiful sim and I'm so thankful to CravenLestat for gifting her to me.
There will be more lovely shots of Malai as the story goes on.
Now, may I have your attention please, ladies and gentlemen, we have a wish for woohoo
Lotta was reading a trashy romance novel, which made her pulse race and her body flushed. But alas, no wish from Mark yet, and they're not married, so this wish will remain unfulfilled for now. I'm such a bad creator.
^Lol! You are! j/k
I have to admit I'm kinda surprised you're making them wait until marriage - what with your simverted antics on here sometimes - but at the same time I'm one that feels that's how it always should be so... 👍🏻
I think you did a great job writing out everything that happened! It was much more than captions for sure! I loved it!
Now, may I have your attention please, ladies and gentlemen, we have a wish for woohoo
Lotta was reading a trashy romance novel, which made her pulse race and her body flushed. But alas, no wish from Mark yet, and they're not married, so this wish will remain unfulfilled for now. I'm such a bad creator.
^Lol! You are! j/k
I have to admit I'm kinda surprised you're making them wait until marriage - what with your simverted antics on here sometimes - but at the same time I'm one that feels that's how it always should be so... 👍🏻
...then *ahem*...there's me who tends to veer off into *blue* territory.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
^Hee hee. Thanks. She is a very beautiful sim and I'm so thankful to CravenLestat for gifting her to me.
There will be more lovely shots of Malai as the story goes on.
Now, may I have your attention please, ladies and gentlemen, we have a wish for woohoo
Lotta was reading a trashy romance novel, which made her pulse race and her body flushed. But alas, no wish from Mark yet, and they're not married, so this wish will remain unfulfilled for now. I'm such a bad creator.
^Lol! You are! j/k
I have to admit I'm kinda surprised you're making them wait until marriage - what with your simverted antics on here sometimes - but at the same time I'm one that feels that's how it always should be so... 👍🏻
I think you did a great job writing out everything that happened! It was much more than captions for sure! I loved it!
Oh wow, another CravenLestat special. I started a rock star game with one of his sims last month, and have been bouncing around between that and this. I posted a few of her pics in the "post your latest screenshot" thread. And I have my Ruby Broke game for the fun stuff. She wishes to be the girlfriend of 10 different sims.
I'm playing this game as a sort of wishacy, where I only do what they wish for. So no woohoo until he wishes for it, too. As I said they are very cuddly and romantic but nothing further, its almost like they're already married. :P :P :P
Wait until you see the next pic I post, I hope I don't get booted for it. They went skinny-dipping in the VIP section of a club. And it was her idea.
I'm a 48 year old married man, with a beautiful wife, a cat, and a simverted personality.My Sims 3 Pictures
I kept on playing in Sunset Valley. Frankly, I also want to reset some of the neighborhoods and play with my old sims. Would it be weird if I posted their stories... again?
The boys, on the other hand, are very busy. Keith and Dillon adopted two girls: Reagan and Wendy. I discovered that they would grow up and have pudding faces. I chose to make Reagan a clone from Erin Kennedy. Wendy is a mix of Susan and Boyd Wainwright.
Speaking of Sunset Valley, let me show you how some of the families are. It seems that I deleted from the internet the pictures I posted in 2018 or 2019m though. If I find them, I'll try to repost.
Next to their house, his younger son, Connor (named after Connor Frio because he's Ethan's best friend). He lives with his wife Sellene (who is a clone of Amelia Yurievna @CravenLestat ) and their children: Elijah and Gemma.
Connor Frio has had a calm marriage with Becky Frio ( @Charlottesmom ). Their younger son will inherit the Frio house. Colby is married to Cordelia Nightingale, another one of CrevenLestat's girls.
Becky and Connor's elder son, Calvin, is married to Sarah (Keith's sister). The Frio household is connected to mine as in-laws. They live with their child Arthur and Sarah's mother, Ruth.
Sarah and Keith's father, Simon, got divorced when the kids grew up and he is going to have a child with Sandy French.
@texansky 's Precious Forsythe is living her last days with Gobias Koffi. I received a message that he'll pass away and I believe he'll do so next time I play.
Julia Keaton is Precious' daughter. She is married to Dalton Keaton, the unbown child of the Keaton family. They had a child named Andressa. I though it would be a boy and the child was named Jeremy. LOL
@emorrill Let's see if Emmaline (or just Emma), will be able to have a full life with Sam Beckett in this gameplay. They've just moved in and she's already married and pregnant.
Liam Wolff was Dillon's first love and he ended up a bachelor. Morgana Wolff just hates him. After Thorton Wolff had kicked the bucket, I made Liam live with her and she made him move out. At the moment I get the message that she'll expire, I intend to do one of the following: make Liam live in their mansion or invite his ex-girlfriend to live there with her child. Liam had a girlfriend when he had a fling with Dillon. It took him too long to make up his mind...
I'll try to come back later and answer the tags and make comments. I feel super sleepy now and I want to take a nap before the game.
I'm playing this game as a sort of wishacy, where I only do what they wish for. So no woohoo until he wishes for it, too. As I said they are very cuddly and romantic but nothing further, its almost like they're already married. :P :P :P
I kept on playing in Sunset Valley. Frankly, I also want to reset some of the neighborhoods and play with my old sims. Would it be weird if I posted their stories... again?
^Not to me! Post away!
Aww, Keith and Dillon are such good daddies.
So nice to see all the families again and... *gasp!* Emma and Sam!!!
I love that she's pregnant. My guess is their first baby will be...a girl! You'll have to keep posting so I can find out.
Hey everyone, I got a new computer and I just installed the base game of TS3 just to see what my game would look like. So I've made a sim and placed her in a house and left her there while I had went and click on areas in the game so that I could get some pictures to share here...
This is Betty Boop... And yes, I just made her just so I could get some pictures.
One of the fishing spots in the world...
Down on the beach.
The lighthouse.
Another fishing spot.
The criminals hideout.
City Hall.
I will post the what kind of PC that I got later as I still need to install the rest of my TS3 packs...
@Brandontaylor Thanks, yeah, no doubt it was/is hard on him to have to deal with everything that happened, not being able to walk. I suppose I could've shown more about his perspective on it, as I sometimes enjoy to try to write from the sims perspective as a way to bring life to them and make them their own character, but also, that is sometimes a tough thing to do.. so, yeah, and I kind right now want to get it over with to get him out of the hospital, so the family can happily celebrate christmas together... and no doubt, Deepak wants to same thing. He's got a lot of grit and determination to push through it.
@emorill Nice christmas story, and that sim Malai is beatiful as already has been mentioned.
I personally like this picture, because of that facial expression when she looks at Kai, and I also like her choice of clothing. :P
Oh, nevermind using Monopoly for the picture, I liked that picture too. It reminds me of my own christmas celebrations when I was younger, because that's what we used to do! And I used to win everytime of course! ;D
Now I have to go look for that Monopoly game... :P
~~~~
No story from me, I have just been busy building again. It's hard for me to stop and find the right moment to take screenshots of my builds because there's always something nearby that is unfinished, but anyway.. just did some playtesting again on my town, and took some screenshots anyway..
Wad Nahadau version 25(!)....
I have had the idea for this town in my head for a long time, and it was first mentioned in my story as the town Lucie and Asgeir wanted to move to as a young couple in the 1970s, but couldn't afford to move there because prices were to high, so they ended up in Sunset Valley instead... :P
This place is, more or less, a replica of a real life town.. a town I used to live in for some years.. quite an ambitous project, and I may just have "taken water above my head" as we say in my language...
This road crossing is called "Denmarks Square". In real life the most congested road crossing in town... "The Bee Bar" is in the white building to the bottom left.
Årstad Church and lower Møllendal graveyard.
Haukeland University Hospital. Hospital rabbit hole, and rabbit hole to study medicine and science.
Fire station to the left and ADO Arena, an indoor swimming pool, to the right. Beatifully located by the Store Lungegårdsvann lake.. and the Nygårdstangen road interchange just behind...
Fire station from another angle (seen from the bridge driving towards the interchange).
The area known as "Nygårdshøyden" takes up a lot of the central area of the town. Nygårdshøyden probably best translates to "Newstead Height" in english, and this is where most of the university buildings are located. The academics on top of the hill and all that...
The white building in the bottom right corner is "The Geophysics", centre of studies for the climate, atmosphere and ocean (in real life) as well as a weather forecasting office (Met Office). In the sims town, it is just a university building with computers and study rooms etc. If I tell you that the first two expansion packs I bought for Sims 3 was University Life and Seasons, you probably now know why. The grey building up the hill and a little to the left is simply called "The science building", it holds the rabbit hole to study science (again) as well as the research centre. The brown tall building to the right is not a university building. It is known as "Media City" and holds the business and journalism rabbit hole.
The park in the bottom left is "Nygårdsparken".
Student Centre (Student union building). And if you look closely, to the right behind the Student Centre is "The Cave". A former bomb shelter located below "Nygårdsparken", that opened in 1969 as a student run pub and concert place. In my town, this is the rebel hangout.
University administration building, with the university museum park just behind.
Sydneshaugen school of arts. In reality, this building is part of the faculty of humanistic studies, where people go to get completely useless master degrees...
Dragon Mountain school of law and business. Where people go to learn all the loopholes to commit financial fraud and wear pointy shoes...
More screenshots and stuff inside.
Dragon Mountain school from another angle.
"The academic quarters." University hangout and culture house.
"The City Park".
The town hall in its beautiful concrete glory...
Railway station, central library and a shopping mall.
The shopping mall.
Railway station and shopping mall from another angle.
~~~~
Haldis Natvik, one of the sims I put in town to do playtesting. Here she is at the Fantoft student apartments where she lives, doing an aptitute test that somehow earned her 6 credits in communication. So I sent here to the university administration to sign up..
Off she goes. The Fantoft student apartments is the white and brown building to the left.
Entering the university administration building...
Haldis Natvik, freshman communications student.
Semester hasn't started yet, but she is a bookworm, so the first thing she does is read...
I send her to the student union to see what she does.
She is also a party animal, so she goes to the top floor to dance.
She gets hungry, so I send her down one floor to the cafeteria to get something to eat.. The student centre building also has a swimming pool as you can see in the back. I'm sure Haldis will have a great time as a student in this city.
View towards the downtown area from the Fantoft student housing. It will probably look better as I can figure out how to make the buildings I made self illuminate properly.
The city park by night. I made all three buildings on this picture (They are not on lots, they are standalone create a world objects). And as you see, one of them is completely lit up, whereas the other two are completely dark. I don't know why... yet.. Neither is what I want, only select windows are supposed to light up.. Hopefully I can figure this part out...
Okay, so I've decided to break down and do the digital install even though I do have an external DVD drive. The Sims 3 install was a success, so now I am now installing my worlds using my DVD that I had saved them to. Crossing my fingers that everything installs like it should...
***Last night, I was going to do more makeovers for my new story but decided instead just to mess around. I ended up taking the first Sim CAS created and edited her randomly. She turned out to be very pretty, so instead of turning one of my Sims, Belinda Goth, into Ava Sinclair, I made the new Sim my updated version. She shares nothing genetically to the original Ava, but does have similar traits. I dressed her better and also did better makeup on her as my skills have gotten a bit better than they were when I first started posting here. I think I will put her in the new story, but tonight, I'm using her in a personal save.
@KevinL5275 Congrats on getting Lotta into your household!
Seems that they are having a good time, but I wonder when the wish will pop up.
@Silverofdreams30 You're welcome!
Cool magic show! I've yet to have someone in that career, but I'll have to try it sometime.
@emorrill You're welcome.
Lol, some parents do nag while others don't. I'm lucky because mine never do nag about me not being married.
They really are nice people.
Yeah, I looked at the wiki for my answer. I haven't tested it, but I think it makes sense.
Lol, they could be even more old school and use a record player.
It doesn't seem like Malai wants to spend all day at the new couples house.
Hmm, maybe she'll enjoy it after all.
Looking at the reveal of the three men, I haven't decided who I like best yet. Will read further before I make any decisions.
With the closeups, I like Aizen and Kai the best. Still a bit early for me to decide, but that's my first impression.
Oh, wasn't expecting there to be a granddaughter. Nice addition though, and a welcome suprise.
Okay, now I know who Amaya belongs to. I don't know why, but I just feel like Aizen will be the one Malai ends up with. Too early to tell, but that will be my guess for the moment.
I had a feeling Kai was smart. Not so much the glasses, just something about him. I like that he helps children.
Ryu seems like the fun one of the family. No matter who Malai chooses, she will have decent in-laws.
One thing about Aizen is he seems a bit grumpy at the moment. It could be something he had to deal with that's causing him to act like that.
At least he cheered up playing board games.
Seems like Ryu might be out as a choice. However, there is always the possibility his relationship could fail.
Great update! I look forward to seeing if my guesses are correct or if you'll throw a curveball.
@thuggishsplicer No, it wouldn't be weird. Post away.
Great update!
Took a shot at building my own house for once instead of downloading one. Figured that instead of complaining how I can't build to just build anyway. Even if it looks bad at least I'm getting practice.
This was on one of the hidden islands in Isla Paradiso, "Mermaid's Secret". It's a beautiful island so I wanted a house that will capitalize on the views.
As you can see we have zero landscaping. We have a pagoda roof because... it was the only one that look somewhat decent?
We have the most open of open plan concepts. Just look at all that empty space!
And the windows.
So.
Many.
Windows.
Who needs indoor lighting when you have all this natural light instead?
And last but not least, we have this deck in the master bedroom. Just look at that view.
And that was my attempt at creating a somewhat tropical/island/mermaid theme house as a non-builder.
Going to give you all a Goth family post today. I last left them at day 350, and am about ready to move them to Moonlight Falls. I recently changed my lifespan so normal Sims live about 150 days, meaning less generations but more time to play with each one. I plan on finishing the birthday I had going, then will move them.
Game crashed, the file is too bloated so I’m just going to reload it and abruptly move them. I was going to do a transition but that’s not going to be possible.
Comments to come in a bit everyone , but for now, here's the next chapter in My 'Three Kings' of Christmas! Enjoy! Chapter 3
Christmas Eve dinner was divine! Mmm. The best fried chicken breasts I’ve ever had in my entire life! The breading was a secret blend of spices concocted by Mami’s mother and tried as we might to get Mami to divulge the ingredients, she wouldn’t utter a single one. It was cute the way she kept shaking her head with a knowing smile at our guesses. I kinda got the feeling she was gesturing “No” to all of them so that nothing would slip or look too obvious in her face expression. Kai claimed that he knew the secret recipe - but chose to keep quiet out of respect to his mom - and gave me a little smirk as he said it. I dunno if he was saying that to impress me or what, but I kinda liked it.
We had au gratin potatoes on the side, along with some kimchi (SO spicy, yet very flavorful) and sparkling cider.
Apparently eating fried chicken - particularly from KFC - at Christmastime is a huge tradition among the Japanese people since like the 1970’s, so the Yamamoto’s thought it would be fun to honor that for our Christmas Eve feast. I know what you’re thinking…because I was. A bucket of KFC for Christmas dinner? Really!? It had me in one heck of an amused awe, but it was fun discussing and learning all about how the tradition came to be. Hoshi was pretty learned on it and remembered the time when it started quite well.
Ryu and I interacted much more normally at the dinner table, like nothing happened, because really, nothing did. We just experienced a tiny little flirtatious misunderstanding. It happens. And honestly, it didn’t surprise me that he had a girlfriend. I was happy for him. It was more his lively personality that I was somewhat taken with for a bit there and he seemed to make me laugh unlike anyone else had in a long while. But really, he was too young for me.
Naturally Aizen was practically mute during any discussion, more focused on eating, but he would occasionally lean over to listen to Amaya whisper something into his ear. Oftentimes I would try to acknowledge the man with a smile, but he wouldn’t really smile at me in return.
What gives!? I thought in a tone of frustration. Was there something very wrong about me to him? It was driving me kinda bonkers! But I chose not to dwell on it too much because I’d seriously done nothing wrong.
Kai gave me many sweet, adoring glances throughout dinner. I might’ve been reflecting similar expressions back at him. He really is a handsome guy and such a kind and considerate person. (Same age as me too!) And his trim body was a nice plus. I was certainly flattered by the attention he was giving me. Any woman would be lucky to have him as her beau. My fluttering heart was honestly desiring to be that woman.
It was strange but…spending almost the entire day with the Yamamoto’s…they felt like family to me. As if we were that one big, happy - and seemingly perfect - family that’s in almost every Hallmark Christmas movie. And for the first time in my life, I began to realize that a family like that actually can exist. I mean, sure my own little family was wonderful, absolutely, but our unit felt nothing like this. A part of me wished my older brother and sister were here to relish in the beautiful feeling that I was feeling, and to complete the “family.”
For dessert, Mami brought out some brown sugar dusted, cream filled, mochi balls. Ooh, such little bites of heaven! Another Japanese treat.
After dinner I offered to help my mom and Mami with the dishes, while the men cleaned up the living room and put the furniture back in their rightful places.
As I was drying one of the larger pots and putting it away, I turned around to find that the person who had been standing next to me was no longer my mom. It was Kai. I won’t deny that my heart skipped a beat as our eyes met.
“Hey,” he softly addressed, thumbs in his pockets. “I came in here to see if you ladies needed some help, but,” he glanced around, “it looks like you’re all done.”
“Yep,” I smiled, wiping my hands dry with the dishcloth and then setting it down on the counter.
His gaze, while alluring, seemed to be examining me. “So, you alright?” he tenderly asked.
Eh? I blinked for a moment. “Yeah. Why do you ask?”
He inched closer as he answered, “It seemed like things got a little uncomfortable back there between you and Ryu…” Wow. He IS perceptive, I thought. As any great therapist would be. It added to his charm. I felt the blood draining from my face as I said, “Oh. Was is that obvious?”
“To the others, I don’t think so,” he assured me. “I can just sense things,” he ended with a flirty wink.
I nodded with a blushed smile.
It seemed he could sense a little more from me too. “Sorry, I’m not trying to embarrass you…I just…wanted to make sure you were alright.”
He was so sweet, and it made my heart swell. “Yes, I’m fine. Thank you.” Then I chuckled. “Apparently my inner fangirl was coming out more than I realized…He looks a lot like–”
“Jungkook from BTS,” he finished for me.
“YES!”
He grinned. “Yeah he gets that a lot. They are one of his favorite K-Pop groups.”
“I gathered,” I said with just as bright a grin as his.
For a few seconds we just stood there continuing to gaze and smile at each other, hearts fluttering.
“Kai? Malai?” Mami called as she entered the kitchen. “Come join us in the living room for Hoshi’s reading of ‘The Night Before Christmas.’” How lovely, I thought. Seriously…just like out of a Hallmark Christmas movie.
Kai offered me his arm. “Well, shall we?”
I took it with a blushed smile, his touch sending tingling shockwaves throughout my body. “Yes.”
❄❄❄
Oh my goodness…I could listen to Mr. Yamamoto’s voice reading a story anytime, anywhere. It was so eloquent and soothing, making everyone’s eyelids droop into a longing, peaceful winter’s slumber. The only light in the room came from the Christmas tree and the small lamp beside his reading chair. Adding to the ambience was the gently falling snowflakes outside the window. I thought for sure that Amaya would have been lulled to sleep by her grandfather’s voice, all curled up in his arms, but no, she stayed awake and attentive throughout the entire story.
It was actually Ryu who ended up dozing off, but cried out, “I’m awake!” just as his father finished the story. It made everyone chuckle.
“Thank you for allowing us to host you on this Christmas Eve, Sergio, Nin, and Malai,” Hoshi concluded the evening with. Mami nodded beside him.
“Thank you for having us,” my mom kindly said.
“Yes. Dinner was delicious,” my dad added, patting his plump stomach. I heard a tiny giggle come out of Amaya at the gesture.
“Absolutely!” I concurred. “It was so much fun meeting all of you today...
...I had a lovely time and,” I might’ve thrown a glance over at Kai sitting right beside me, “I look forward to spending more time with you again tomorrow.” Oops. Did I say that in the singular sense? I meant plural. I really did, even if it meant being around grumpy Aizen again. I still wondered what on earth was up with that man.
“Malai! Before you go, will you please, please, pleeeease stay and watch me open my Christmas Eve gift?” Amaya begged, clasping her hands before her mouth.
Now Aizen actually looked me in the eye, as if greatly curious to hear my response.
My answer would’ve been the same no matter what look he gave me. “Of course! I wouldn’t want to miss it.” I smiled at her.
His face relaxed a little.
Amaya then jumped for joy. “Yay! Thank you!”
“Now the question is Amaya dear,” her grandmother addressed, “which gift would you like to open?”
“Umm…,” Amaya mumbled, getting down on her knees and crawling around the tree in her search. I guess they didn’t do new pajamas or winter attire on Christmas Eve the way my family always did. And I loved that they didn’t. “How about this one from you daddy?” she addressed, holding up a medium sized present.
Aizen arched his head for a moment in thought. “No, not that one…How about that smaller one right by your leg?”
Amaya’s head instantly dropped down - along with the medium sized present, it made me chuckle - as she picked up the smaller box and shook it for a moment. Aizen smiled and nodded at her to begin opening it.
Oh it was such an adorable sight to see; a young child ripping open a present with such anxious, unsuppressed excitement. For a moment I could see my young self in her. It really took me back.
A loud gasp rang through the air, along with a squeal. “You remembered!” she exclaimed to her dad as she lifted the gift out of the box for everyone to see.
I nearly gasped myself! It was a Tamagotchi! They still make those!? I thought, then held a hand to my heart. Oh how adorable! I remember playing with my older sister’s when I was like…four years old. I was trying so hard not to kill her precious virtual pet, because I knew she would kill me. However, despite my best efforts, I did, and she never let me play with it again. It was ok though because taking care of that silly thing made me feel more anxious than was normal at that age! I decided I didn't want one after all.
“Thank you!” Amaya cried, throwing her arms around her father’s neck and kissing him on the cheek. “I love you!”
Aizen smiled brighter than I had seen all day and it was a very handsome smile, I must admit. One he should really show more often.
“You’re welcome baby girl,” he said in return, kissing her on the cheek as well. “Love you too.”
Then Amaya turned to me and held up her pink, with cupcake sprinkles printed on it, Tamagotchi again with glee. “Look Malai! My very own virtual pet!”
“I know! That’s fantastic! That pet is very lucky to have you as its owner,” I winked.
She grinned.
Before my parents and I left for the evening, Mami and Hoshi presented my parents with a beautifully wrapped gift - which I thought was for all three of us - and of course my mother hugged them both in thanks.
Then Mami turned to me with a similarly wrapped gift that Hoshi had hidden behind his back and slipped to her to present to me. “And here’s a gift for you, dear Malai.”
My heart was deeply touched. “Oh, thank you. Both of you. You didn’t have to…”
“It was our pleasure,” Mami continued with a light bow of her head. I bowed my head to her in the same manner and naturally my eyes wandered over to Kai. He gave off a similar expression to his mother’s, although it seemed as if he was longing to say something more to me in parting, but wasn’t able to.
We held each other’s gazes for a moment, until I was startled by Amaya throwing her arms around my waist.
“Bye Malai,” she sweetly said as she squeezed, then looked up at me. “It was so much fun having you here. I can’t wait to see you again tomorrow!”
Aww, I thought. She was truly adorable. I’d never had a child become so enamored with me before and…it felt kinda nice. Maybe she was feeling the same “family” vibe between all of us that I was and couldn’t contain her excitement about it. I almost stroked her hair, but instead patted her on the back. “I look forward to seeing you again too. Have a very Merry Christmas.”
Those were the two words we all wished to each other as my parents and I departed into the snowy outdoors. Thankfully it was just a few steps across the street to get back home.
Little did I know that there was some discussion amongst the three brothers in the foyer about me not long after we left…
❄❄❄
“So…Malai?” Kai started the conversation with, darting quick, inquiring glances between his two brothers.
“She’s a knockout!” Ryu exclaimed. “Totally unexpected surprise seeing her walk in! Man if I wasn’t dating Tara…”
Aizen shook his head with an eye-roll.
“Great job informing her about that by the way,” Kai somewhat teased.
“Sorry! I totally thought I mentioned her.”
“You were just too busy gawking all over ‘the new girl’ to remember,” Aizen muttered with folded arms. “Some devoted boyfriend you are, Ryu…”
“Oh c’mon Aizen, like I’m not allowed to notice when another girl is hot? It’s not like you didn’t do plenty of scoping out back in your day while dating other chicks…”
The eldest shook his head again.
“I didn’t do anything wrong!” Ryu continued with his hands spread apart. “I flirt without realizing it, ok. It’s my personality. It’s not like I kissed her or anything. I wouldn’t do that to Tara.”
“Right,” Kai agreed, the therapist in him coming out to appease the two. “It’s ok to notice, but not act on it.”
Ryu threw out a strong nod in Aizen’s direction, to which the eldest ignored.
“Besides, she’s a little old for you isn’t she?” Kai added to Ryu.
“Not when she’s that hot!” he responded with a grin.
Kai shook his head with a smile and then turned to Aizen. “So what do you think of her?”
There came a quick, inexpressive shrug from the man. “She’s alright, I guess…”
“Just ‘alright?’” Ryu asked with an incredulous gasp. “Are you blind Aizen!?”
“No, he’s just guarded…,” Kai answered for him.
“Well you guys would be too if every woman that comes into your life is immediately turned off by the fact that you have a ten year old daughter…,” Aizen basically revealed.
Ryu bobbed his head at that unfortunate truth.
“Speaking of Amaya, she seems to be quite taken with Malai…,” Kai carefully mentioned to Aizen.
“Yeah…I noticed that…”
“Aaaand…how do you feel about that?”
“Look, don’t shrink me ok?”
“I’m not! I’m genuinely–”
“Amaya can like whoever she wants, alright. Doesn’t mean I have to,” Aizen quickly dismissed, looking away with a glare.
Now it was Ryu who shook his head with an eye-roll.
“Well, I think Malai’s great,” Kai declared, his mouth forming into a besotted smile. “She’s kind, strong, passionate and driven, and yes, very attractive,” he gestured in agreement towards Ryu. “I guess I,” he paused, staring at the front door with a fluttering heart, “felt there was a mutual attraction there and…I’d love to explore it. I mean, the fact that our parents love each other is a definite plus so there wouldn’t be any issues there. I’m thinking about asking her out on a date; after Christmas of course.”
“Go for it!” Ryu encouraged with a hard pat on Kai’s shoulder.
“If she’s still around…,” Aizen muttered.
“Well I guess I’ll have to find out and see,” Kai acknowledged his older brother with excitement in his eyes and grin.
It was a plan!
❄❄❄
The dim light from the string of white Christmas lights draped over my headboard was all I had to see with while slipping into my new cozy, Christmas Eve flannel pajamas. I could’ve turned the bedroom light on, but I preferred just the tiny lights for tonight. It created that Christmas ambience that I always loved.
Phone in hand, I checked the battery percent, before calling Landon. I couldn’t wait to tell him all about the day!
My phone rang before I could even dial and I grinned brightly at who it was.
“Heeey,” I answered with. “I was just about to call you.”
“You were huh?” Landon pleasantly asked.
“Yes.” I grinned. “To tell you that you were right…”
“Oh? I like being right.”
I chuckled, with a hint of a giggle.
“So what am I right about?”
“That I would end up having a great time this Christmas with our guests, the neighbors. I already am.”
“Awesome! That’s so great to hear, Mai. Cause I was just calling to see how everything is going over there and how you’re holding up.”
“Oh my gosh Landon…I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m actually glad that I came home this Christmas.” I blissfully sighed while sitting down on my bed. “So get this: when I was going over to meet the neighbors I was totally expecting to meet the parents and some daughters and sons, right?”
“Right.”
“Well…they actually don’t have any daughters…only sons! Three of them. And they are freaking GORGEOUS!”
“Really?”
“Yeah! And SINGLE!”
“Get out!”
“Wait, no!” I squeezed my eyes shut in correction. “One is taken, the other two are single.” Geez!
“Oh. Well hey, maybe you can take one and I’ll take the other.” I could practically feel his smirk behind the phone.
“I dunnooooo,” I trailed off, standing up again. “Neither of them are gay and even if they were, the one would be nice for you, the other…he’s a bit of a stiff!”
Landon laughed. “And my guess is you aren’t too interested in the ‘stiff?’”
“Not at all. But he sure has one sweet daughter though…”
“Oh yeah? How old is she?”
“I’m not sure. Nine or ten I would guess.”
“Cute. So…do you feel somewhat torn in that regard?” I could feel his smirk again.
“No.” What exactly was he getting at? I quickly dismissed the thought. “I’m much too taken with her uncle,” I admitted through a smitten smile. “He’s a real sweetheart Landon; next to you. Let me tell you all about him.”
“I’m listening.”
Landon is always such an excellent listener. I’ve always confided in him about everything without any fear of whatever I say leaving his lips. It’s funny, but I was beginning to feel the same for Kai. And I’d only known him for one DAY!
“There was just this connection, you know?”
“Oh yeah, I do,” Landon acknowledged, “and those are the connections you never wanna let slip past you. You should definitely ask him out, or at least ask for his number, so you two can keep in touch after Christmas.”
I nodded my head with a smile. “Once again your thoughts are exactly the same as mine.” I could sense he was smiling too behind the phone.
“Well,” I sighed, then yawned, looking at the clock, “It’s late and time for me to turn in. I’m sure Santa has passed by our house a couple of times already because I’m still awake.”
He laughed. “Well in that regard, I guess I should do the same. I’m really glad Christmas is going better for you this year, Mai. I’m relieved and so happy for you.”
“Thanks Landon.” My heart swelled at his loving words. “Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas to you too. Love you.”
“Love you too.”
As I sunk my head into my silky pillow, beneath the dim glow of the lights, I couldn’t wait for Christmas morning to come. Not so that I could anxiously rip open presents and see what I got, that was far from my mind actually.
I couldn’t wait to see Kai again.
❄❄❄
*Sorry to make y'all wait a little longer for the next chapter, cause it's going to be a pretty busy weekend, so Chapter 4 will be here Sunday, Dec 11th! 🎄 Most likely in the late afternoon. Thanks for your patience. *
Comments
Thank you,
gave comments on your story section.
There will be more lovely shots of Malai as the story goes on.
^Lol! You are!
I have to admit I'm kinda surprised you're making them wait until marriage - what with your simverted antics on here sometimes
I think you did a great job writing out everything that happened!
@Silverofdreams30 Reply comments given on my story thread.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Oh wow, another CravenLestat special.
I'm playing this game as a sort of wishacy, where I only do what they wish for. So no woohoo until he wishes for it, too. As I said they are very cuddly and romantic but nothing further, its almost like they're already married. :P :P :P
Wait until you see the next pic I post, I hope I don't get booted for it. They went skinny-dipping in the VIP section of a club.
and wanted to share a few screenshots.
Sent my teen sim to watch a simfest, first there was an adult singer
performing ( This is in Starlight shores, have edited the townies a little bit)
The audience seems to enjoy it.
This guy was next in line,
he was an adult I changed to a young adult.
She too seemed to enjoy the singer.
The magic show, was really good.
That is all.
I kept on playing in Sunset Valley. Frankly, I also want to reset some of the neighborhoods and play with my old sims. Would it be weird if I posted their stories... again?
Dillon just being cute.
There was this Christmas party with a full house. This place is great for parties.
Ethan moved on and he got a call from Agnes Crumplebotton to go on a date.
The boys, on the other hand, are very busy. Keith and Dillon adopted two girls: Reagan and Wendy. I discovered that they would grow up and have pudding faces. I chose to make Reagan a clone from Erin Kennedy. Wendy is a mix of Susan and Boyd Wainwright.
Speaking of Sunset Valley, let me show you how some of the families are. It seems that I deleted from the internet the pictures I posted in 2018 or 2019m though. If I find them, I'll try to repost.
The main family. Jamie Jolina has passed away and Ethan McIntyre still lives with his elder son, Dillon.
Next to their house, his younger son, Connor (named after Connor Frio because he's Ethan's best friend). He lives with his wife Sellene (who is a clone of Amelia Yurievna @CravenLestat ) and their children: Elijah and Gemma.
Connor Frio has had a calm marriage with Becky Frio ( @Charlottesmom ). Their younger son will inherit the Frio house. Colby is married to Cordelia Nightingale, another one of CrevenLestat's girls.
Becky and Connor's elder son, Calvin, is married to Sarah (Keith's sister). The Frio household is connected to mine as in-laws. They live with their child Arthur and Sarah's mother, Ruth.
Sarah and Keith's father, Simon, got divorced when the kids grew up and he is going to have a child with Sandy French.
@texansky 's Precious Forsythe is living her last days with Gobias Koffi. I received a message that he'll pass away and I believe he'll do so next time I play.
Julia Keaton is Precious' daughter. She is married to Dalton Keaton, the unbown child of the Keaton family. They had a child named Andressa. I though it would be a boy and the child was named Jeremy. LOL
@emorrill Let's see if Emmaline (or just Emma), will be able to have a full life with Sam Beckett in this gameplay. They've just moved in and she's already married and pregnant.
Does anybody remember Keagan Rees? He lives in this save. He is married to Tori Kimura and luckily, their daughter Yuriko looks like her mother.
Liam Wolff was Dillon's first love and he ended up a bachelor. Morgana Wolff just hates him. After Thorton Wolff had kicked the bucket, I made Liam live with her and she made him move out. At the moment I get the message that she'll expire, I intend to do one of the following: make Liam live in their mansion or invite his ex-girlfriend to live there with her child. Liam had a girlfriend when he had a fling with Dillon. It took him too long to make up his mind...
I'll try to come back later and answer the tags and make comments. I feel super sleepy now and I want to take a nap before the game.
@Silverofdreams30 This guy is a cutie with a beautiful smile.
Those magic show pictures were awesome!
@thuggishsplicer Hey M!
Aww, Keith and Dillon are such good daddies.
So nice to see all the families again and... *gasp!*
I love that she's pregnant.
This is Betty Boop...
One of the fishing spots in the world...
Down on the beach.
The lighthouse.
Another fishing spot.
The criminals hideout.
City Hall.
I will post the what kind of PC that I got later as I still need to install the rest of my TS3 packs...
http://store.thesims3.com/myWishlist.html?persona=lisasc360
My stories on this site:
https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/991317/my-sims-stories/p1?new=1
@MamaSimTee ^LOL!
Yeah I chose the first thing I could find to symbolize a Mad Gab box and then recolored it to match.
Did you ever play the game? Or remember it from the 90's?
@Silverofdreams30
He totally reminds me of Ian Ziering from 90210. And is he really levitating her, or is that just an illusion? (pun intended)
He has a similar look to him I agree, it was an adult sim I aged down to
a young adult. Hehe, good question!
@emorrill
Thank you, it was an adult townie I aged down to
young adult and added cc.
The game looks good!
congrats on her pregnancy, look like a fun
save.
@emorrill, Yes, it's Windows 11.
This is what my computer is right here. It's a gaming pc with 1 TB HDD...
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/cyberpowerpc-gamer-master-gaming-desktop-amd-ryzen-7-5700-16gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-rtx-3060-1tb-hdd-500gb-ssd-white/6500512.p?skuId=6500512
http://store.thesims3.com/myWishlist.html?persona=lisasc360
My stories on this site:
https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/991317/my-sims-stories/p1?new=1
http://store.thesims3.com/myWishlist.html?persona=lisasc360
My stories on this site:
https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/991317/my-sims-stories/p1?new=1
@emorill Nice christmas story, and that sim Malai is beatiful as already has been mentioned.
I personally like this picture, because of that facial expression when she looks at Kai, and I also like her choice of clothing. :P
Oh, nevermind using Monopoly for the picture, I liked that picture too. It reminds me of my own christmas celebrations when I was younger, because that's what we used to do! And I used to win everytime of course! ;D
Now I have to go look for that Monopoly game... :P
~~~~
No story from me, I have just been busy building again. It's hard for me to stop and find the right moment to take screenshots of my builds because there's always something nearby that is unfinished, but anyway.. just did some playtesting again on my town, and took some screenshots anyway..
Wad Nahadau version 25(!)....
I have had the idea for this town in my head for a long time, and it was first mentioned in my story as the town Lucie and Asgeir wanted to move to as a young couple in the 1970s, but couldn't afford to move there because prices were to high, so they ended up in Sunset Valley instead... :P
This place is, more or less, a replica of a real life town.. a town I used to live in for some years.. quite an ambitous project, and I may just have "taken water above my head" as we say in my language...
This road crossing is called "Denmarks Square". In real life the most congested road crossing in town... "The Bee Bar" is in the white building to the bottom left.
Årstad Church and lower Møllendal graveyard.
Haukeland University Hospital. Hospital rabbit hole, and rabbit hole to study medicine and science.
Fire station to the left and ADO Arena, an indoor swimming pool, to the right. Beatifully located by the Store Lungegårdsvann lake.. and the Nygårdstangen road interchange just behind...
Fire station from another angle (seen from the bridge driving towards the interchange).
The area known as "Nygårdshøyden" takes up a lot of the central area of the town. Nygårdshøyden probably best translates to "Newstead Height" in english, and this is where most of the university buildings are located. The academics on top of the hill and all that...
The white building in the bottom right corner is "The Geophysics", centre of studies for the climate, atmosphere and ocean (in real life) as well as a weather forecasting office (Met Office). In the sims town, it is just a university building with computers and study rooms etc. If I tell you that the first two expansion packs I bought for Sims 3 was University Life and Seasons, you probably now know why.
The park in the bottom left is "Nygårdsparken".
Student Centre (Student union building). And if you look closely, to the right behind the Student Centre is "The Cave". A former bomb shelter located below "Nygårdsparken", that opened in 1969 as a student run pub and concert place. In my town, this is the rebel hangout.
University administration building, with the university museum park just behind.
Sydneshaugen school of arts. In reality, this building is part of the faculty of humanistic studies, where people go to get completely useless master degrees...
Dragon Mountain school of law and business. Where people go to learn all the loopholes to commit financial fraud and wear pointy shoes...
More screenshots and stuff inside.
Dragon Mountain school from another angle.
"The academic quarters." University hangout and culture house.
"The City Park".
The town hall in its beautiful concrete glory...
Railway station, central library and a shopping mall.
The shopping mall.
Railway station and shopping mall from another angle.
~~~~
Haldis Natvik, one of the sims I put in town to do playtesting. Here she is at the Fantoft student apartments where she lives, doing an aptitute test that somehow earned her 6 credits in communication. So I sent here to the university administration to sign up..
Off she goes. The Fantoft student apartments is the white and brown building to the left.
Entering the university administration building...
Haldis Natvik, freshman communications student.
Semester hasn't started yet, but she is a bookworm, so the first thing she does is read...
I send her to the student union to see what she does.
She is also a party animal, so she goes to the top floor to dance.
She gets hungry, so I send her down one floor to the cafeteria to get something to eat.. The student centre building also has a swimming pool as you can see in the back. I'm sure Haldis will have a great time as a student in this city.
View towards the downtown area from the Fantoft student housing. It will probably look better as I can figure out how to make the buildings I made self illuminate properly.
The city park by night. I made all three buildings on this picture (They are not on lots, they are standalone create a world objects). And as you see, one of them is completely lit up, whereas the other two are completely dark. I don't know why... yet.. Neither is what I want, only select windows are supposed to light up.. Hopefully I can figure this part out...
Sub blogs: #01 Sunset Valley. #02: Lake Onebega #03: Sprottenham #04: Bewickton
http://store.thesims3.com/myWishlist.html?persona=lisasc360
My stories on this site:
https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/991317/my-sims-stories/p1?new=1
***Last night, I was going to do more makeovers for my new story but decided instead just to mess around. I ended up taking the first Sim CAS created and edited her randomly. She turned out to be very pretty, so instead of turning one of my Sims, Belinda Goth, into Ava Sinclair, I made the new Sim my updated version. She shares nothing genetically to the original Ava, but does have similar traits. I dressed her better and also did better makeup on her as my skills have gotten a bit better than they were when I first started posting here. I think I will put her in the new story, but tonight, I'm using her in a personal save.
@KevinL5275 Congrats on getting Lotta into your household!
Seems that they are having a good time, but I wonder when the wish will pop up.
@Silverofdreams30 You're welcome!
Cool magic show! I've yet to have someone in that career, but I'll have to try it sometime.
@emorrill You're welcome.
Lol, some parents do nag while others don't. I'm lucky because mine never do nag about me not being married.
They really are nice people.
Yeah, I looked at the wiki for my answer. I haven't tested it, but I think it makes sense.
Lol, they could be even more old school and use a record player.
It doesn't seem like Malai wants to spend all day at the new couples house.
Hmm, maybe she'll enjoy it after all.
Looking at the reveal of the three men, I haven't decided who I like best yet. Will read further before I make any decisions.
With the closeups, I like Aizen and Kai the best. Still a bit early for me to decide, but that's my first impression.
Oh, wasn't expecting there to be a granddaughter. Nice addition though, and a welcome suprise.
Okay, now I know who Amaya belongs to. I don't know why, but I just feel like Aizen will be the one Malai ends up with. Too early to tell, but that will be my guess for the moment.
I had a feeling Kai was smart. Not so much the glasses, just something about him. I like that he helps children.
Ryu seems like the fun one of the family. No matter who Malai chooses, she will have decent in-laws.
One thing about Aizen is he seems a bit grumpy at the moment. It could be something he had to deal with that's causing him to act like that.
At least he cheered up playing board games.
Seems like Ryu might be out as a choice. However, there is always the possibility his relationship could fail.
Great update! I look forward to seeing if my guesses are correct or if you'll throw a curveball.
@thuggishsplicer No, it wouldn't be weird. Post away.
Great update!
@lisasc360 Congrats on the new PC!
@Sprottenham You're welcome.
Nice pictures of town!
So much for the season of "peace and goodwill among all men (and women for that matter)"
After an alien attack on Sunset Valley, things have returned to the Wild West. ~evil smirk~
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
This was on one of the hidden islands in Isla Paradiso, "Mermaid's Secret". It's a beautiful island so I wanted a house that will capitalize on the views.
As you can see we have zero landscaping. We have a pagoda roof because... it was the only one that look somewhat decent?
We have the most open of open plan concepts. Just look at all that empty space!
And the windows.
So.
Many.
Windows.
Who needs indoor lighting when you have all this natural light instead?
And last but not least, we have this deck in the master bedroom. Just look at that view.
And that was my attempt at creating a somewhat tropical/island/mermaid theme house as a non-builder.
Great update, I also have Lotta in my bin, but not
had a game with her.
@Brandontaylor
Thank you,
it was fun watching the magic show.
Started to rain in early morning, in Starlight shores.
Chapter 3
Christmas Eve dinner was divine! Mmm. The best fried chicken breasts I’ve ever had in my entire life! The breading was a secret blend of spices concocted by Mami’s mother and tried as we might to get Mami to divulge the ingredients, she wouldn’t utter a single one. It was cute the way she kept shaking her head with a knowing smile at our guesses. I kinda got the feeling she was gesturing “No” to all of them so that nothing would slip or look too obvious in her face expression. Kai claimed that he knew the secret recipe - but chose to keep quiet out of respect to his mom - and gave me a little smirk as he said it. I dunno if he was saying that to impress me or what, but I kinda liked it.
We had au gratin potatoes on the side, along with some kimchi (SO spicy, yet very flavorful) and sparkling cider.
Apparently eating fried chicken - particularly from KFC - at Christmastime is a huge tradition among the Japanese people since like the 1970’s, so the Yamamoto’s thought it would be fun to honor that for our Christmas Eve feast. I know what you’re thinking…because I was. A bucket of KFC for Christmas dinner? Really!? It had me in one heck of an amused awe, but it was fun discussing and learning all about how the tradition came to be. Hoshi was pretty learned on it and remembered the time when it started quite well.
Ryu and I interacted much more normally at the dinner table, like nothing happened, because really, nothing did. We just experienced a tiny little flirtatious misunderstanding. It happens. And honestly, it didn’t surprise me that he had a girlfriend. I was happy for him. It was more his lively personality that I was somewhat taken with for a bit there and he seemed to make me laugh unlike anyone else had in a long while. But really, he was too young for me.
Naturally Aizen was practically mute during any discussion, more focused on eating, but he would occasionally lean over to listen to Amaya whisper something into his ear. Oftentimes I would try to acknowledge the man with a smile, but he wouldn’t really smile at me in return.
What gives!? I thought in a tone of frustration. Was there something very wrong about me to him? It was driving me kinda bonkers! But I chose not to dwell on it too much because I’d seriously done nothing wrong.
Kai gave me many sweet, adoring glances throughout dinner. I might’ve been reflecting similar expressions back at him. He really is a handsome guy and such a kind and considerate person. (Same age as me too!) And his trim body was a nice plus. I was certainly flattered by the attention he was giving me. Any woman would be lucky to have him as her beau. My fluttering heart was honestly desiring to be that woman.
It was strange but…spending almost the entire day with the Yamamoto’s…they felt like family to me. As if we were that one big, happy - and seemingly perfect - family that’s in almost every Hallmark Christmas movie. And for the first time in my life, I began to realize that a family like that actually can exist. I mean, sure my own little family was wonderful, absolutely, but our unit felt nothing like this. A part of me wished my older brother and sister were here to relish in the beautiful feeling that I was feeling, and to complete the “family.”
For dessert, Mami brought out some brown sugar dusted, cream filled, mochi balls. Ooh, such little bites of heaven! Another Japanese treat.
After dinner I offered to help my mom and Mami with the dishes, while the men cleaned up the living room and put the furniture back in their rightful places.
As I was drying one of the larger pots and putting it away, I turned around to find that the person who had been standing next to me was no longer my mom. It was Kai. I won’t deny that my heart skipped a beat as our eyes met.
“Hey,” he softly addressed, thumbs in his pockets. “I came in here to see if you ladies needed some help, but,” he glanced around, “it looks like you’re all done.”
“Yep,” I smiled, wiping my hands dry with the dishcloth and then setting it down on the counter.
His gaze, while alluring, seemed to be examining me. “So, you alright?” he tenderly asked.
Eh? I blinked for a moment. “Yeah. Why do you ask?”
He inched closer as he answered, “It seemed like things got a little uncomfortable back there between you and Ryu…”
Wow. He IS perceptive, I thought. As any great therapist would be. It added to his charm. I felt the blood draining from my face as I said, “Oh. Was is that obvious?”
“To the others, I don’t think so,” he assured me. “I can just sense things,” he ended with a flirty wink.
I nodded with a blushed smile.
It seemed he could sense a little more from me too. “Sorry, I’m not trying to embarrass you…I just…wanted to make sure you were alright.”
He was so sweet, and it made my heart swell. “Yes, I’m fine. Thank you.” Then I chuckled. “Apparently my inner fangirl was coming out more than I realized…He looks a lot like–”
“Jungkook from BTS,” he finished for me.
“YES!”
He grinned. “Yeah he gets that a lot. They are one of his favorite K-Pop groups.”
“I gathered,” I said with just as bright a grin as his.
For a few seconds we just stood there continuing to gaze and smile at each other, hearts fluttering.
“Kai? Malai?” Mami called as she entered the kitchen. “Come join us in the living room for Hoshi’s reading of ‘The Night Before Christmas.’”
How lovely, I thought. Seriously…just like out of a Hallmark Christmas movie.
Kai offered me his arm. “Well, shall we?”
I took it with a blushed smile, his touch sending tingling shockwaves throughout my body. “Yes.”
Oh my goodness…I could listen to Mr. Yamamoto’s voice reading a story anytime, anywhere. It was so eloquent and soothing, making everyone’s eyelids droop into a longing, peaceful winter’s slumber. The only light in the room came from the Christmas tree and the small lamp beside his reading chair. Adding to the ambience was the gently falling snowflakes outside the window. I thought for sure that Amaya would have been lulled to sleep by her grandfather’s voice, all curled up in his arms, but no, she stayed awake and attentive throughout the entire story.
It was actually Ryu who ended up dozing off, but cried out, “I’m awake!” just as his father finished the story. It made everyone chuckle.
“Thank you for allowing us to host you on this Christmas Eve, Sergio, Nin, and Malai,” Hoshi concluded the evening with. Mami nodded beside him.
“Thank you for having us,” my mom kindly said.
“Yes. Dinner was delicious,” my dad added, patting his plump stomach. I heard a tiny giggle come out of Amaya at the gesture.
“Absolutely!” I concurred. “It was so much fun meeting all of you today...
...I had a lovely time and,” I might’ve thrown a glance over at Kai sitting right beside me, “I look forward to spending more time with you again tomorrow.” Oops. Did I say that in the singular sense? I meant plural. I really did, even if it meant being around grumpy Aizen again. I still wondered what on earth was up with that man.
“Malai! Before you go, will you please, please, pleeeease stay and watch me open my Christmas Eve gift?” Amaya begged, clasping her hands before her mouth.
Now Aizen actually looked me in the eye, as if greatly curious to hear my response.
My answer would’ve been the same no matter what look he gave me. “Of course! I wouldn’t want to miss it.” I smiled at her.
His face relaxed a little.
Amaya then jumped for joy. “Yay! Thank you!”
“Now the question is Amaya dear,” her grandmother addressed, “which gift would you like to open?”
“Umm…,” Amaya mumbled, getting down on her knees and crawling around the tree in her search. I guess they didn’t do new pajamas or winter attire on Christmas Eve the way my family always did. And I loved that they didn’t. “How about this one from you daddy?” she addressed, holding up a medium sized present.
Aizen arched his head for a moment in thought. “No, not that one…How about that smaller one right by your leg?”
Amaya’s head instantly dropped down - along with the medium sized present, it made me chuckle - as she picked up the smaller box and shook it for a moment. Aizen smiled and nodded at her to begin opening it.
Oh it was such an adorable sight to see; a young child ripping open a present with such anxious, unsuppressed excitement. For a moment I could see my young self in her. It really took me back.
A loud gasp rang through the air, along with a squeal. “You remembered!” she exclaimed to her dad as she lifted the gift out of the box for everyone to see.
I nearly gasped myself! It was a Tamagotchi! They still make those!? I thought, then held a hand to my heart. Oh how adorable! I remember playing with my older sister’s when I was like…four years old. I was trying so hard not to kill her precious virtual pet, because I knew she would kill me. However, despite my best efforts, I did, and she never let me play with it again. It was ok though because taking care of that silly thing made me feel more anxious than was normal at that age! I decided I didn't want one after all.
“Thank you!” Amaya cried, throwing her arms around her father’s neck and kissing him on the cheek. “I love you!”
Aizen smiled brighter than I had seen all day and it was a very handsome smile, I must admit. One he should really show more often.
“You’re welcome baby girl,” he said in return, kissing her on the cheek as well. “Love you too.”
Then Amaya turned to me and held up her pink, with cupcake sprinkles printed on it, Tamagotchi again with glee. “Look Malai! My very own virtual pet!”
“I know! That’s fantastic! That pet is very lucky to have you as its owner,” I winked.
She grinned.
Before my parents and I left for the evening, Mami and Hoshi presented my parents with a beautifully wrapped gift - which I thought was for all three of us - and of course my mother hugged them both in thanks.
Then Mami turned to me with a similarly wrapped gift that Hoshi had hidden behind his back and slipped to her to present to me. “And here’s a gift for you, dear Malai.”
My heart was deeply touched. “Oh, thank you. Both of you. You didn’t have to…”
“It was our pleasure,” Mami continued with a light bow of her head. I bowed my head to her in the same manner and naturally my eyes wandered over to Kai. He gave off a similar expression to his mother’s, although it seemed as if he was longing to say something more to me in parting, but wasn’t able to.
We held each other’s gazes for a moment, until I was startled by Amaya throwing her arms around my waist.
“Bye Malai,” she sweetly said as she squeezed, then looked up at me. “It was so much fun having you here. I can’t wait to see you again tomorrow!”
Aww, I thought. She was truly adorable. I’d never had a child become so enamored with me before and…it felt kinda nice. Maybe she was feeling the same “family” vibe between all of us that I was and couldn’t contain her excitement about it. I almost stroked her hair, but instead patted her on the back. “I look forward to seeing you again too. Have a very Merry Christmas.”
Those were the two words we all wished to each other as my parents and I departed into the snowy outdoors. Thankfully it was just a few steps across the street to get back home.
Little did I know that there was some discussion amongst the three brothers in the foyer about me not long after we left…
“So…Malai?” Kai started the conversation with, darting quick, inquiring glances between his two brothers.
“She’s a knockout!” Ryu exclaimed. “Totally unexpected surprise seeing her walk in! Man if I wasn’t dating Tara…”
Aizen shook his head with an eye-roll.
“Great job informing her about that by the way,” Kai somewhat teased.
“Sorry! I totally thought I mentioned her.”
“You were just too busy gawking all over ‘the new girl’ to remember,” Aizen muttered with folded arms. “Some devoted boyfriend you are, Ryu…”
“Oh c’mon Aizen, like I’m not allowed to notice when another girl is hot? It’s not like you didn’t do plenty of scoping out back in your day while dating other chicks…”
The eldest shook his head again.
“I didn’t do anything wrong!” Ryu continued with his hands spread apart. “I flirt without realizing it, ok. It’s my personality. It’s not like I kissed her or anything. I wouldn’t do that to Tara.”
“Right,” Kai agreed, the therapist in him coming out to appease the two. “It’s ok to notice, but not act on it.”
Ryu threw out a strong nod in Aizen’s direction, to which the eldest ignored.
“Besides, she’s a little old for you isn’t she?” Kai added to Ryu.
“Not when she’s that hot!” he responded with a grin.
Kai shook his head with a smile and then turned to Aizen. “So what do you think of her?”
There came a quick, inexpressive shrug from the man. “She’s alright, I guess…”
“Just ‘alright?’” Ryu asked with an incredulous gasp. “Are you blind Aizen!?”
“No, he’s just guarded…,” Kai answered for him.
“Well you guys would be too if every woman that comes into your life is immediately turned off by the fact that you have a ten year old daughter…,” Aizen basically revealed.
Ryu bobbed his head at that unfortunate truth.
“Speaking of Amaya, she seems to be quite taken with Malai…,” Kai carefully mentioned to Aizen.
“Yeah…I noticed that…”
“Aaaand…how do you feel about that?”
“Look, don’t shrink me ok?”
“I’m not! I’m genuinely–”
“Amaya can like whoever she wants, alright. Doesn’t mean I have to,” Aizen quickly dismissed, looking away with a glare.
Now it was Ryu who shook his head with an eye-roll.
“Well, I think Malai’s great,” Kai declared, his mouth forming into a besotted smile. “She’s kind, strong, passionate and driven, and yes, very attractive,” he gestured in agreement towards Ryu. “I guess I,” he paused, staring at the front door with a fluttering heart, “felt there was a mutual attraction there and…I’d love to explore it. I mean, the fact that our parents love each other is a definite plus so there wouldn’t be any issues there. I’m thinking about asking her out on a date; after Christmas of course.”
“Go for it!” Ryu encouraged with a hard pat on Kai’s shoulder.
“If she’s still around…,” Aizen muttered.
“Well I guess I’ll have to find out and see,” Kai acknowledged his older brother with excitement in his eyes and grin.
It was a plan!
The dim light from the string of white Christmas lights draped over my headboard was all I had to see with while slipping into my new cozy, Christmas Eve flannel pajamas. I could’ve turned the bedroom light on, but I preferred just the tiny lights for tonight. It created that Christmas ambience that I always loved.
Phone in hand, I checked the battery percent, before calling Landon. I couldn’t wait to tell him all about the day!
My phone rang before I could even dial and I grinned brightly at who it was.
“Heeey,” I answered with. “I was just about to call you.”
“You were huh?” Landon pleasantly asked.
“Yes.” I grinned. “To tell you that you were right…”
“Oh? I like being right.”
I chuckled, with a hint of a giggle.
“So what am I right about?”
“That I would end up having a great time this Christmas with our guests, the neighbors. I already am.”
“Awesome! That’s so great to hear, Mai. Cause I was just calling to see how everything is going over there and how you’re holding up.”
“Oh my gosh Landon…I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m actually glad that I came home this Christmas.” I blissfully sighed while sitting down on my bed. “So get this: when I was going over to meet the neighbors I was totally expecting to meet the parents and some daughters and sons, right?”
“Right.”
“Well…they actually don’t have any daughters…only sons! Three of them. And they are freaking GORGEOUS!”
“Really?”
“Yeah! And SINGLE!”
“Get out!”
“Wait, no!” I squeezed my eyes shut in correction. “One is taken, the other two are single.” Geez!
“Oh. Well hey, maybe you can take one and I’ll take the other.” I could practically feel his smirk behind the phone.
“I dunnooooo,” I trailed off, standing up again. “Neither of them are gay and even if they were, the one would be nice for you, the other…he’s a bit of a stiff!”
Landon laughed. “And my guess is you aren’t too interested in the ‘stiff?’”
“Not at all. But he sure has one sweet daughter though…”
“Oh yeah? How old is she?”
“I’m not sure. Nine or ten I would guess.”
“Cute. So…do you feel somewhat torn in that regard?” I could feel his smirk again.
“No.” What exactly was he getting at? I quickly dismissed the thought. “I’m much too taken with her uncle,” I admitted through a smitten smile. “He’s a real sweetheart Landon; next to you. Let me tell you all about him.”
“I’m listening.”
Landon is always such an excellent listener. I’ve always confided in him about everything without any fear of whatever I say leaving his lips. It’s funny, but I was beginning to feel the same for Kai. And I’d only known him for one DAY!
“There was just this connection, you know?”
“Oh yeah, I do,” Landon acknowledged, “and those are the connections you never wanna let slip past you. You should definitely ask him out, or at least ask for his number, so you two can keep in touch after Christmas.”
I nodded my head with a smile. “Once again your thoughts are exactly the same as mine.” I could sense he was smiling too behind the phone.
“Well,” I sighed, then yawned, looking at the clock, “It’s late and time for me to turn in. I’m sure Santa has passed by our house a couple of times already because I’m still awake.”
He laughed. “Well in that regard, I guess I should do the same. I’m really glad Christmas is going better for you this year, Mai. I’m relieved and so happy for you.”
“Thanks Landon.” My heart swelled at his loving words. “Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas to you too. Love you.”
“Love you too.”
As I sunk my head into my silky pillow, beneath the dim glow of the lights, I couldn’t wait for Christmas morning to come. Not so that I could anxiously rip open presents and see what I got, that was far from my mind actually.
I couldn’t wait to see Kai again.
*Sorry to make y'all wait a little longer for the next chapter, cause it's going to be a pretty busy weekend, so Chapter 4 will be here Sunday, Dec 11th! 🎄 Most likely in the late afternoon. Thanks for your patience.