Chapter 126-Dirty Laundry

Seeing that sign in the front yard made everything real. After Amari told me she wanted to sell, the next day she called out a realtor and we signed the paperwork. We didn’t talk much about it, but we didn’t talk much about anything since she’d gotten home. I’d shut her out and after our fight, so she stopped trying to get in. Being near Amari hurt and I turned that pain into anger fully directed at her. Nearly every comment I’d made to her seemed to inflict pain.

I wasn’t trying to, or at least I didn’t believe I was trying to be so spiteful towards her, but deep down I wanted her to hurt like I hurt. She took it. She didn’t try to fight back or defend herself, she just took it. She’d given up on us, threw away what we could have had. I hated what she’d done to us. I hated her choices and her actions that led us down this path, and as angry as I was at her, I hated that she made me want to hurt her like that. I loved that woman, and after being reunited again, I thought it was our destiny to be together forever after all the forces that tried to keep us apart failed.

I loved her. I’ve only ever loved Amari, even when she left me behind after her sister’s death, I still loved her. I don’t know if I knew how to live without loving her, but I was going to have to figure it out.

Getting out of the car, I took a deep breath and put my game face on. It was strange walking up to the door as a visitor. This was our home, the place we were going to raise our family and grow old together. This house held so much promise. We’d renewed our wedding vows in the backyard, she’d recommitted to me, to us and I really thought we had a chance. His interference, her love of him, it chipped away at what I now know to have been a shaky foundation until it collapsed.

When I approached the front door, I started to unlock it, but stopped. This wasn’t my home anymore, I’d moved out two weeks ago, I couldn’t just walk in like I still belonged here. I rang the bell.

“Here mom, I think she’s hungry.” I heard Amari say.

“I’ll get it.” Finley called out. “Daddy!” she said throwing her arms around my neck.

“Hey kiddo.”  It was hard to believe she was graduating in a few days. “Interesting choice of color,” I said picking up a lock of her hair.

“What do you mean interesting? It’s my natural color.”

“That’s why it’s interesting. I don’t think I’ve seen that since you were little,” I joked.

Finley playfully hit my arm before turning to head back into the house. The sounds of talking and the cooing of the babies greeted me as I followed.

“Marcus, how nice to see you,” Kathy said walking over to give me a hug. “I want you to meet Adrian.”

Continue Reading: "Chapter 126-Dirty Laundry"

Liebster Award

So today is my special day. :D I was nominated twice for this award. First by Mischief for As Life Goes, my going solo legacy, and secondly for this story by who I now know to be a lurker and Mulo fan ShakespearesSunshyne. Thank you Sunshyne for the kind words you wrote about this story in its nomination. I am deeply honored to know that my sometimes crazy, and overactive imagination brings entertainment to my fellow simmers!!!
 ***edit as I was finishing up this post, I got notified that Sweetnightingale also nominated Kiss. Thank you!**
**another edit. itsjulie also nominated Kiss.**  Thank you again for the love!

The Liebster Award is given by bloggers to bloggers, to promote the blogging sites we love and support.

Accepting the nomination comes with these conditions:
1. Post the award on your blog.
2. Thank the blogger who presented the award and link back to their blog.
3. Nominate 5-11 bloggers whom you feel deserve this award and have fewer than or equal to 3,000 followers.
4. Answer 11 questions posted by the nominator, and ask your nominees 11 questions.

My nominations:

Code Name Danger by Daijah
The Forsaken by Valpre
Torres Legacy by Taina
Fate Always Loses Hold by Mel
The Ouroboros Legacy by Misty
Zhippidy's Custom Poses for Sims 3 by Zhippidy (she has a story too, but sadly it's not been updated in a while so I'm nominating her pose blog instead.)
Painswater Point by Luckygirl


**Questions from Sunshyne***
1.) What got you hooked on The Sims franchise?

My daughter bought Sims Life Stories off Ebay and played it. She encouraged me to play and that was my first introduction to sims. From there we bought S2 and a few expansion packs and a month or so later S3 came out.

2.) What is your essential CC site? It can offer mods or clothing, or that one piece of CC you can't play without and can be made by you or someone else.

Um...there are so many. One thing I can't really do with out are the mods by Nraas they are a must have! After that it would be pose player by cmomoney and all the pose makers out there!! The list is wayyy too long for me to list them all, but if you're out there, just know I thank you for sharing your work with the community!!! Same with all the clothes, hair, etc that I use (seriously I use a helluva lot of CC in my game LOL).

3.) How do you find your CC?

Well if I'm being adventurous I'll google what I'm looking for and see what I can find. When I'm being lazy (95% of the time) I ask my friend DJ if she knows what I'm looking for and 9 times out of 10 she'll know what I need and where to find it. Other times, if I'm reading a story and see something I've not seen before I'll ask the author about it.

4.) Where were you when the idea for your story first come to you? What was going on?

Um...for Kiss I was talking with my daughter and nephew about sims in general debating if I wanted to start a story. As we chatted the idea started forming in my head and I wrote it out. (interesting fact I hand wrote the first 68 chapters of Kiss) For Fiendish, I was actually in bed going to sleep with that idea hit me (and others after that).

5.) Where do you stand in the Oxford Comma debate?

Um....yeah okay then. LOL I didn't know there was a debate about this, not sure what it is, and I'm having a lazy moment so not googling. Sorry.

6.) If you could try one of the foods in the sims game, which food would you choose?

Lobster Thermidor

 7.) Do you have an all-time favorite sim?

All time favorite??? Damn...that's hard. My bad guys have a special place in my heart for some reason so that would be Mulo and Seth. Yes I know that's two, but really I can't narrow it down. Don't get me wrong I love my heroes as well, but I feel like I have to protect my 'hated' characters I guess. LOL

8.) What is one thing you can do in TheSims (1,2,3,4) that you have yet to try? If you've tried it all (Geez, I'm jealous) what is your favorite thing to do with your sims?

Man...good question. With my going solo legacy I'm attempting to try all aspects of the game (S3) that I've not done since I'd stopped playing for a while and just did shots for my stories. With each new EP, I 'tested' out the new features briefly, but haven't really explored them all. I guess the most untouched would surround any and all things having to do with Into The Future.

My favorite thing to do, another good question. I liked to have variety to my game play so I didn't get bored. I guess it would be playing with the toddlers. No matter what, I always eventually have kids and I like teaching the tots their skills.

9.) How do you deal with writer's block?

**This will be a cheat since I answered it once already. LOL answer is the same:** With a lot of cussing, followed by whining (thanks DJ for always listening to me) followed by more cussing. LOL If I'm blocked on a sim story, sometimes I'll just play for fun to get back to the basics of the game and out of my head for a while. It works sometimes, other times my mind will obsess over whatever I'm stuck on, unable to move past it until I figure out the glitch.

10.) Have you ever based a character off of someone you know? If so, does this person know you based a character on them? Why or Why not? And if not, why?

Yes, my friend DJ. At the end of Fiendish, Calida's shrink Dr. Carr is her simself. Yes she knows I based the character off of her. She's not a shrink or anything, but I did use her simself to fill that role.

11.) What do you draw inspiration from?

Life really. There are always things going on in the world that I think could be used for material in a fictional setting. TV, movies, music, my family and friends. Nothing is off limits really. 

**Questions from Sweetnightingale**
1. How did you get into writing and what was/is your biggest inspiration?

I wrote some when I was younger, a few stories here and there but with life and kids, that all stopped. Kiss renewed my love of writing and although some of the earlier chapters are pretty rough, I still love seeing how much I've improved over the years. My biggest inspiration? Hard to say really, I pull inspiration from all things.

2. How long have you been writing?

I'm just gonna go with when I started sim writing and that's headed towards 4 years now.

3. How long have you been playing Sims and what got you into it?

I've been playing since 2010. My daughter bought Sims LifeStories off Ebay and she told me I should try playing, that I might enjoy it, and well here I am today.

4. If you could have one of your Sims as a best friend, who would it be and why?

I think it would be Macy from Fiendish. She was a fun character and stuck up for those she loved no matter what.

5. Who is your favorite Sim and why?

**This is a cheat since I answered it before although I'm adding on the 'why'** From Kiss it's Aric, Amari's first born child. I just love him even though he's not a main MAIN character. **He's a great kid and always takes care of his mother and the the rest of his family without a second thought. He's loyal and has a quiet strength about him.** From Fiendish, it was Seth, even with all his crazy, possessive, murderous ways. **He was who he was and gave no excuses for it.** From my legacy...well that's hard. I love Davis. His character was fun to write and he was just a great guy then Grace came along and her story with Jonas put them in the top spot. Even though Jonas isn't 'my' character, I loved him so much I brought him back to life and I'm so happy Vuneca let me. :) **They both suffered in the past and together they helped each other heal and found love again.**

6. Do you ever dream about Sims? If so, tell us about one of your Sims related dreams.

Well normally it's when I'm stuck on something or get an idea for a scene for one of my stories. Some of those make it into the stories, while others don't.

7. What is the very first Sims story you've written and the very first one you've read?

The first one I wrote is Kiss. The first one I read has been long discontinued, it was a baby challenge and I no longer remember the name of it. :( (bad memory) It was only on the forums, not a blog.

8. Where do your story ideas come from?

The darkened, twisted corners of my mind. LOL Really that's it, at the oddest times I'll get hit with what I think could be a cool story idea. Sometimes I'll even write out the first chapter or two then they sit and go nowhere. :(

9. If you were stranded on a deserted island, say, the Isle of the Midnight Sun, what Sim would you want to be stranded with and why?

Just 1...um don't think I can narrow it to just 1 and the why, well...let's just say my simself has a harem of men for a reason. LOL

10. What are some other interests you have besides Sims and writing Sims stories?

I have one book out and I'm working on a second. Other than writing, I have my kiddies that keep me busy. In my down time, I do like to read and watch TV.

11. If you could live in any Sims world, which one would it be and why?

Lucky Palms. My in-laws live in AZ and I love it there. I know, crazy, it's the desert, but I do. :)

**Questions from itsjulie**

 1.  If you were stranded on a desert island with one of the sim characters from your story - which one would you like it to be?

Good question. And one I find hard to answer. I have so many that could be good for various 'reasons' LOL. Um thinking practical instead of mind in the gutter I'd say Amari. She's a survior and with as many people in her life that love her, I know one hell of a search party would be sent out so we'd be rescued. :)

2.  How long have you been playing the sims for and what got you started?

Um, I've been playing sims since 2010/2011. My daughter is what got me started. She asked for a game, Sims Life stories and after that it snowballed into what you see today.

3.  What other hobbies do you have outside of simming, blogging and writing.

I like to read. That's about it. My life is pretty basic and my kiddies take up a lot of my free time.

4.  What is your favourite sim trait and why?

I never thought about a favorite trait. I'm not sure I have one.

5.  Do you think there is an age limit to when you should be playing sims, or an age when it is not acceptable anymore?

Nope, not at all. It's a game and it's fun. You have grown people that love their gaming systems and the age on that doesn't seem to have a limit so why should sims.

6.  Where do you get the inspiration from for your writing?

Kinda all over. I can watch TV or hear a song and an idea will pop.

7.  What do you love most about the Sims game.  What keeps you playing it?

The possibilities. There really isn't any limit to what you can do in sims, storywise.

8.  How seriously do you take your writing?  Is it just for fun or would you like to make a living out of it one day?

Well one of my stories I turned into a book. It was my Fiendish story which started it's life as a sim story but now it's out for the whole world to read. Um, even so I still do it for fun. I mean I have to enjoy it otherwise it becomes a chore and that's no fun.

9.  Which are your favourite world, expansion pack and premade sim?

Favorite world: Lucky Palms expansion pack: generations, and premade sim: don't have one. I rarely play with the premades.

10.  Five sim traits that describe you.

Good sense of humor, nurturing, hot-headed, Eco-friendly, and friendly.

11.  Tell me a random fact about yourself.

I used to have an ice cream tattoo that said lick me. LOL

My questions for the nominees

1. How would you achieve world peace? (yes I'm laughing as I type that LOL)
2. Vanilla game or CC user? Why?
3. Do you prefer to make your own sims for your stories or use sims made by friends?
4. Do you ever think you'll stop writing sim stories, or playing the game?
5. Have you ever had your story veer off course from what you originally planned?
6. If you were a sim, what would be your traits?
7. What is your favorite sims EP?
8. What is your least favorite EP?
9. If you were stranded on an island, what (or who) would you want with you?
10. How long do you spend writing or rewriting a chapter before you publish it?
11. What is the 1 store set that EA created that you can't do without?

Continue Reading: "Liebster Award"

Chapter 125-Elephant In The Room

I spent the night curled up in Marcus’ office after he’d walked out. I sat in his office feeling the same empty, all-consuming ache that I’d had when he was missing. I sat there on the floor for hours until the sounds of life coming from above made their way into my consciousness. I pulled myself up off the floor and slowly made my way upstairs. I heard Finley in the kitchen along with the cooing of one of the babies. I quickly darted upstairs to clean myself up before she saw me. As I got to the top of the stairs, Marcus was coming out of the nursery.

Our eyes met briefly. I wanted to say something. Hoped maybe he’d speak, but instead there was silence. I turned and headed into our room, closing the door quietly behind me. Leaning against the door, I listened and waited. Waited to see if he’d come knock even though I knew he wouldn’t. Marcus was very clear last night. It was over with us and the sounds of his footsteps on the stairs reminded me of that.

I’d hurt him. I’d hurt him so deeply and I had been blind to it. What happened to me? When did I become this person? This selfish, self-absorbed bitch capable of causing so much pain and heartache to the best man I’ve ever known? Pushing off the door, I slowly made my way to the bathroom. My eyes were red and puffy from spending most of the night crying. I grabbed a wash cloth and ran it under the cold water before pressing it to my face.

These next few weeks were going to be hard, but unavoidable. I’d tried to push him away once, to save him from me and he’d insisted on staying. Now he was running when I wanted to keep him and as much as it hurt, I had to let him go. That’s how I could start to make up for the wrongs I’d done to Marcus. He wanted free of me, so he’d get his freedom. Once I pulled myself together, I followed the sound of voices and found everyone in the living room.

“Hey Mrs. Smith,” Zana greeted. She and Finley were playing with two of the babies. I glanced over at Marcus who was taking a crying Graham from the swing.

“Hey Zana, dear. How are you today?” I asked hoping my face didn’t show how I was feeling.

Marcus looked in my direction briefly before making some comment about Graham needing a fresh diaper then quickly leaving the room. The dance had begun.

During the day Marcus and I interacted only when necessary. We’d care for the babies, handled Finley’s end of the year things and tried our best to function as a family unit. At night we’d go our separate ways.

I hated being in our room so I’d obsessively clean things that didn’t need cleaning or I’d sit out by the pool. Other nights, I’d fall asleep on the couch or go for long walks. Marcus stayed in the boys’ old room. Some nights I’d hear him working out or doing whatever down in his office.

Continue Reading: "Chapter 125-Elephant In The Room"