Holiday Week Off

Just posting a little announcement to let you know I'm taking this week going into the next off to focus on the holiday as well as deal with an increase of work hours due to us once again being short-staffed. Monday, December 2nd will not have a CMW update. The story will return December 9th.

Gen Four- Chapter Eight

The coming of the new morning eased in so gently. I didn't recognize the moment where the dreams stopped and reality returned. My sluggish brain just relaxed and listened to the words, the comforting sound of a pleasant conversation that came from nowhere as the wafting warmth of a calm, sunny morning drenched me as a blanket.

     "...and she naturally hasn't noticed, as you can tell," the first woman's voice spoke. I could almost recall it from somewhere, but no answer came.

     "Are your family members mediums or something?" This time Jazzy spoke.

     "Not that I know. My grandmother apparently had seen a ghost though. My father said he saw strange lights in a place where fairies were said to roam, and my aunt said she saw a fairy directly. I had an experience myself where there was ghostly activity in the hospital I was staying at, although it happened while asleep. I'm, again, naturally more prone to believe some of that was real."

     "Not believing now is what would mark you as insane," Jazzy laughed. "You're one dedicated woman. Tell me more about this whole manipulating luck thing you do."

     "It's difficult to describe, but the best way to say it is I see these pulses of aura around her. The good surrounding her is light, and the bad is dark. I found after a certain time I can just...push some of the dark away. When I do, a vision of what I've dispelled flashes into my mind. This takes a lot of energy though, and, unfortunately, the darkness is growing more by the day while the light keeps shrinking."
     "Still, that's amazing! I wonder if I could do something like that."
     "I'm not sure. I'm here as I am because I willed myself to stay for a specific reason. Why did you decide to stay?"

Quiet took hold for a long moment, to the point where my sleepiness nearly made me forget about the conversation entirely.

     "I think..." Jazzy eventually mumbled, "I think that's because, like most of us, I was angry and upset about what happened. I didn't want to accept it."
     "I can understand that. Such a desire was what nearly what formed me. If I hadn't─" The voice suddenly halted. "Oh, she must be waking. We're weakening. I don't have much influence when she's awake."
     "You should─"

I sniffled as I snapped my head up. My eyes heavily blinked open, my body still tempted by the lure of more sleep even as it came to consciousness with the full energy of a good, deep rest. Yawning, I glanced around for Jazzy. She was nowhere to be seen. Strange. Hadn't I just heard her voice?

Laril Download

I know it will be unlikely, but I wanted to ask and check if anyone has a .sims3pack or .sim file for Laril from The Goddess' Order. I went back and read some chapters after not having looked at the story for quite a long while and wanted to do something with the characters again. However, it seems with all the computer switches and the great wipe my original folder containing my copies of all the TGO characters has been lost. I was able to find a few mixed in other Saved Sims folders, and some are even still up on the Exchange. Laril's file is completely gone in every way I can think to access it though.

Unless someone was reading TGO in 2014, downloaded Laril's file from the Exchange, still has it, and is still reading this blog.

Haha, yes, I know it's quite a stretch. Just figured I'd check. No worries if no one has him. I'll just do some recreating, as Ranimir, his son, came out almost identical.

Gen Four- Chapter Seven

This time I ran without caring who gave me a funny glance. If the walk light turned red or there was no option to dash across the sidewalk without being hit by a car, I turned the corner of the block until the chance to move on presented itself. A giant tumble of emotions crashing against the cage in my chest kept me bolting, but the way I lived up until now was what drove my mindless run on the most. My brain could barely think. Thus, it defaulted to a state familiar enough. I was to run until I could barely run anymore. To reach that fine line between a good workout and pushing my body too far. If I could reach that point, then I should be safe. The skyscrapers taunted me with the endless sea of them, but I finally worked my way to a lower area of the city where the crowds and buildings were less. My legs began to tremble, so I scattered towards the first place that looked to provide a semblance of shelter.

Gen Four- Chapter Six

I realized I could jump from Mr. Flaxen's arms and run back far too late. My mind couldn't grasp anything that was going on, but my heart still told me to stay with my family and whatever path that took me down instead of running off with this man I didn't really know. Unfortunately, the end of the long underground tunnel eventually came into sight. It slanted upwards where Mr. Flaxen opened a heavy iron door set against the slope of a steep hill. There at the bottom where we exited was a covert, man-made overhang providing protection for the escape car dad mentioned. He must have maintained it well as it turned on smoothly and was full of gas, but Mr. Flaxen grabbed several of the cans of spare fuel anyway.

I was dumped in the back seat as he drove us down the one, earthen road there was to follow. Twenty minutes of winding throughout the trees then brought us to an isolated and unfamiliar back road. Another twenty minutes got us on what had to be a main road. The car zoomed along a speed I'd never felt while the forest broke away to a wide sky and low roar of other vehicles nearby. I saw little of anything but the sky though, for Mr. Flaxen barked at me to stay lying down anytime I tried to peek my head closer to the window. So, I cried. It must have annoyed Mr. Flaxen for he turned on the radio, loud and clear for the first time, to drown out my sniffles and sobs. Such was fine with me. I could just cry harder.

However, not too much more time passed before the several lanes of road merged into just two. Large ridges and the rolls of the mountain foothills became more compact. Turns became more frequent, and I dared to peek my head up once more upon crossing two bridges when insanely tall buildings came into view.

     "Head down!" Mr. Flaxen snapped again.

     "Where are we at?" It was the first question I'd asked, and I expected him not to answer.

     "The city of Aspen Harbor," he did explain gruffly after a moment.

Never heard of it.

Gen Four- Chapter Five

I waited, frozen. It could very well be that this abrupt tense situation had nothing to do with what I'd done. My panicking mind couldn't think of anything other than that grandpa had been hurt somehow, which wasn't any better, but maybe there was something I missed.

Or there wasn't.

     "I will give you one opportunity," dad bent forward, linking his fingers together seriously and studying to me, "to tell me why you think we're here like this."

My hands shook, so I clasped them upon on another as well. The innocent, unknowing expression I tried to hold fell impossibly fast while my stomach vigorously churned. I'd been caught. Someone figured out I'd altered DV2. Still, a stupid and naive part of me kept me silent. What if that wasn't it? Could I have accidentally done another troublesome thing without realizing it? What if they only thought I'd taken Mr. Plantain's keycard?

     "Nutmeg," dad prodded.

My gut burned with fire.

     "I..." My voice barely made any noise. "I took Mr. Plantain's keycard and used it to sneak into the robot room to mess with DV2's code."