Chapter 1.6 | Rules for this challenge | Chapter 1.8

Generation One: Black

Appearance: Black hair, siren-like clothing style
Traits: Evil, Non Committal, Kleptomaniac
Aspiration: Renaissance Sim
Occupation: Collector/Random careers of choice
House Goal: 10,000 worth

Volcanic Words

It’s Winter. So it rains. A lot. I could change it, but there’s no need to be outside.. because the kids seem to take up all of our time. Adding the second child may have been a little premature, but we’ll get by.

Kimber is utterly adorable. And so easy to take care of. She sleeps most the time, and only wakes for bottles and diaper changes. It’s chasing after Austen that takes the longest. He’s always into something.

Lately, what he’s into is making messes. Everywhere. Yesterday, it was in the garden. Who knows where it’ll be today.

I’m still working on my skills for my aspiration. And waffling about changing my job. I know I need to.. but the money is so good. And I want to see space. You know, just once. So I continue to wait.

Rangi has turned out to be such a great dad, taking over when I need time to work on my skills. Which is quite a lot of the time. I try to ease his burden by taking care of Kimber when she cries, but he often gets there first. Maybe he’s just faster.

Austen is learning new things all the time. He may very well grow up to be a Top Notch Toddler, but he has a few more skills to gain before we’ll know for sure.

… And.. apparently.. a few more messes to make. Just can’t keep that kid contained.

Mom stopped over today, and I was so glad to see her. It gave her a chance to meet the next generation’s heir.. and to get to know Austen a little better.

Austen, however, didn’t seem to be interested in socializing. Little Mr. Grump had other ideas of what sounded like a good time.

.. Like playing! I’m sure Mom understood that I had to put Austen’s needs first, and talk to her later. It’s not like she didn’t raise three kids herself.

So Rangi took some time to get to know his mother in law better. I’m glad they seem to get along.

Then.. the worst thing possible happened.

“What in the WORLD is that?! Why is everything shaking??”

… The sky was falling as the volcano erupted yet again. Lava feel from the sky and the whole world went crazy.

“My baby!!!! Austen’s still outside!!!” I screamed. (The broken plumbing from the aftershock barely registered. It could be fixed later.)

Rangi ran to get Austen, who was just standing around, watching the show.

.. And Mom stomped inside, determined to give me a piece of her mind.

“How could you endanger my grand-kids by living so close to the volcano?? WHAT made you pick THIS place, of all the lots available in Sulani!!” she yelled.

I tried to explain that it really wasn’t all that dangerous, but she just wouldn’t listen.

She went on and on about me putting the kids at risk, and how we should move.

.. And I could barely get a word in edgewise.

Before I knew it, she stomped away, yelling about how she was going to get Vaea involved in this.

Sigh. There’s no way we can afford to move, even if that were possible. So she’s just going to have to learn to deal with it.

All the excitement wore poor little Austen out, however, and I hurried to get him into his bed. It had certainly been a trying day.

Then.. the next day…

… it happened again. This time it nearly took out a wall of the house – Right where little Kimber was sleeping, too! I was at work, and it was Rangi who ran to save Kimber and Austen this time. Luckily, Mom wasn’t around to see, because we would have definitely heard about it.

Little Kimber grew up while I was at work. If that’s not a reason to quit work, I don’t know what is. But she’s adorable. She grew up to be an Independent little scamp, and quickly made it known she wanted to learn her skills on her own.

Austen, on the other hand, still preferred help. And Rangi was more than willing to step in, so long as he knew both toddlers were inside and not out playing with the lava rocks.

I finally got to see space! My promotion to Astronaut was exactly the catalyst I needed. So when I got a phone call on the way home from a man offering me a position in the Entertainment career, closer to home, I jumped at it. There was no need to travel all the way to the SpaceY institute for work anymore.

The promotion also allowed us to expand the house.. which was sorely needed now that we had a second toddler. We expanded the main room, added a hallway so the handiness bench could be inside.. and a second bedroom for Kimber. I finally broke down and bought a dollhouse for the kids, too.

Rangi and I “celebrated”, then I went to make dinner in the newly expanded kitchen. Pan-fried Tilapia. Yum!

Austen took the moment without parental influence to destroy the brand-new dollhouse. Only to break down in tears because it was broken. Kids can be so silly sometimes! I quickly fixed the dollhouse, let the kids finish their dinner, and got both of them into bed.

.. Because there was more celebration to be had. Working closer to home was a big thing.. and not having to work for promotions to get to level three of the job was even better. I thanked my lucky stars for the opportunity… and Rangi agreed.

Things couldn’t be much better. Despite the volcano. Now I just had to get Mom to calm down over the whole volcano thing.. and things would finally be back to normal. Or, as normal as they can be when you live by an active volcano.

Chapter 1.6 | Rules for this challenge | Chapter 1.8

Chapter 1.5 | Rules for this challenge | Chapter 1.7

Generation One: Black

Appearance: Black hair, siren-like clothing style
Traits: Evil, Non Committal, Kleptomaniac
Aspiration: Renaissance Sim
Occupation: Collector/Random careers of choice
House Goal: 10,000 worth

Messy Days

I start this journal entry off with good news. The town has brought in a restaurant! Instead of two beaches and a Bar, now we have a place to go on dates or family outings without having to take the bus to the city – which very few islanders are willing to do, including us.

Also, I had to expand the bathroom to allow for Austen to get his first bath. Showering outside just isn’t feasible for a toddler, and it hasn’t rained in a while, either… so a bathtub was a necessary addition to the house, for all of us. I couldn’t wait to take my first HOT bath in my life. Since we had, you know, actual plumbing – that I hadn’t had while growing up.

Rangi was the first one to use it, however, and Austen, little fish man as he is, had a blast in the water, splashing and playing with the bubbles, and generally soaking poor Rangi. (Who didn’t REALLY mind, he just tried to act like he did.)

Right after his bath, however, he escaped Rangi’s attempts to dry and dress him.. and ended up running past me to the great outdoors in his all-together. Laughing, I chased our little wild child down and returned him to Rangi.

Taking time for ourselves is hard when there’s an active toddler in the house.. but sometimes you do what you have to. Messes can be cleaned up easily enough. (At least the indoor ones!)

The next morning .. is harvest fest. And of course, the gnomes invade. Eager to get some new seeds for my garden, I quickly appease one gnome, and send Rangi to appease another.

That didn’t work so well, though, and he ended up begging for forgiveness.

Luckily, said gnome finally relented, and we started getting a million packets of seeds. All over the house.

Which meant we had to watch our wild child, Austen, extra closely, just in case he decided to try those seed packets as food. (He didn’t.. but you just never know with toddlers!) He was, apparently, too busy banging pots and pans and trying to give everyone a headache.

The gnomes cheered me on while playing chess.. and I started noticing a peculiar, but familiar pain. We quickly called my mother, who swam over from the main islands to watch Austen, and off we went by bus to the hospital.

I hoped my pink booties were a good sign. This time the doctor seemed more competent.. thankfully. At least my heart didn’t end up where it didn’t belong. The procedure went smoothly, though, and practically before I knew it..

I had a daughter! Meet baby Kimber. Not Kimberly. Just Kimber. She’s utterly adorable, and such a sweet baby, just like Austen was. She slept most the way home on the bus, curled up in my arms. It was so very cute.

Upon getting home and taking care of the baby, I decided I needed to get back to working on my Charisma, which was falling behind my other skills for Renaissance Sim. I knew I needed to switch jobs soon, but part of me was going to miss the nice paycheck I got for being an astronaut in training. That.. and I was SO close to that promotion to full astronaut. I just wanted that one trip into space… then I could move on.

We discovered today that making messes really helps with the imagination skill, so we let him make as many messes as he wanted. There’s enough time to teach him responsibility and not making them when he grows up.

… And let me tell you, there were a LOT of messes. Big ones, little ones, ones in the front of the house, some by the garden.. The worst part was getting the paint, flour and cocoa powder out of the volcanic dirt. But I digress.

My garden is coming along nicely, and my skill there keeps slowly improving. I now have some flowers growing in addition to the island fruits and vegetables. If nothing else, the flowers sell very nice at market, and we can always use a little bit extra cash. Raising two kids isn’t cheap.

And in case you’re wondering, I still LOVE being a mermaid. Although the silly need to flap my arms and sound like a dolphin sometimes gets me weird looks. I can’t help it.

We have been very lucky with Kimber, though, she’s been so easy to take care of, you hardly notice she’s there. It helps that Rangi has turned out to be such an awesome dad, taking care of her a lot of the time to take the burden of it off of me.

Two kids.. is still exhausting, though. And sometimes, I pay the price of pushing myself a little too hard. I just have so many goals, it’s sometimes hard to know when to stop. Until my body simply says it can do no more. Then, I have to stop whether I like it or not.

Then, the day was over. And the whole family asleep. At least for a little while. But I’ll take what I can get when it comes to sleep (as most parents will tell you) .. and we’ll see you in the morning.

Chapter 1.5 | Rules for this challenge | Chapter 1.7

Chapter One | Island Spirits Welcome page | Chapter Three

Nork’s feet hurt. He was tired of following Utel through the wilderness. A chance to stop and rest sounded perfect, and as they arrived, the two of them parted wordlessly to go about their own business. Utel went off on her search for plants (At least, that’s what Nork figured she was doing…) and he set up the camp and got out his fishing gear.

He grumbled inwardly about having to set up the camp by himself, but his highest priority was his growling stomach.. so fishing it was. He fished… and fished… and fished.

For a while, all he caught was weeds. At least he was spared the humiliation of Utel laughing at him over it. She still had yet to reappear.

In fact, she didn’t come back until he had gotten so desperate he was catching frogs for bait. Of course, she laughed at him and offered him some of her infernal strawberries. He refused on principle, and went back to fishing.

The shadows were long by the time he had finally caught a fish big enough to be worth eating, and he sat down wearily to cook it.

Utel wisely left Nork alone, feeling that he was as prickly as the cactus they’d passed in the desert. She felt much better herself – refreshed, even, after paddling about the stream for a bit to get clean and taking care of other business in a handy bush. She worried about her strawberry supply lasting for the whole journey, but she’d seen some bushes with almost ripe berries on them – perhaps they would be ready to pick tomorrow. Leaving Nork to his hard-won fish, Utel turned in for the night.

The next morning, she was up early in the rain. She played happily for a minute or two, then went about her morning business. She had berries to pick. Sure enough the bushes she’d seen had ripened overnight, and there were some flowers and herbs to pick, too. She wasn’t sure if they had medical applications, but she dutifully picked them anyway, planning to experiment with them once they had arrived at their new home. It was afternoon by the time she finished, and headed back to the camp.

Nork was fuming. The rain was incessant, and had made catching a fish for breakfast way less than fun. And where had Utel been off to all day? He had had to tend the fire in the rain and try to catch his breakfast all at the same time. He thought tending fire was a woman’s job, beneath him… but he needed that fire for when he caught fish.. so he tended it all the same.

After finally catching a fish, he sat down, ate it, and continued to tend the stupid fire in the stupid rain. Waiting for Utel. By the time she came back, Nork was utterly done. Done with the rain, done with this place.

“We GO.” Nork said simply, putting out the fire in one dash of water and beginning to pack up camp. Luckily, Utel said nothing, just pitched in to take the tent down and get the fire to a transportable state.

They walked in silence for the rest of the day, watching as the trees slowly grew taller and covered in vines. Utel was fascinated by the plant life, but she didn’t see much that she could harvest, so most of it she left alone.

Before long, the trees utterly dwarfed them. Utel scavenged for some rock crystals, never knowing what they might be useful for, and felt very small indeed.

They stopped for the night deep in the forest. There wasn’t a fishing area to be seen, and Nork, who was still out of sorts from the constant rain at the meadow, had to partake of some of her precious stock of berries. His grouchiness made for a long night, but a short morning as they made quick work of picking up their camp and moving on.

Finally, they came across another fishing area, and while they didn’t want to stop for the night yet, Nork insisted he be given time to get a “proper meal.” So Utel set up the fire and waited.

Luckily, the fish were plentiful and Nork had no trouble catching a decent sized fish. Neither had ever seen a fish like it – but it was certainly food. Nork cooked it, ate it, and then helped dismantle the fire so they could move on.

The deeper they went into this jungle, the more perilous the way became. There were many sorts of creatures the like of which they had never seen before. Bright green snakes, strange hooting creatures hanging from the trees, and the feeling of predators lurking around every corner.

Neither dared to stop long enough to do more than eat a few berries and continue. After a particularly scary near miss with a black jungle cat, they decided walking through the night was the best course of action, and Nork made makeshift spears for protection, and on they trudged.

At another point, Nork got attacked by spiders, and got a couple nasty bites. Utel worried about them, but hoped the town mystic would have some sort of medicine to help him out. Nork didn’t like being worried over, of course, so he brushed aside her concern, and on they walked into the lightening sky.

The longer the walk, the shorter the trees… and slowly, the terrain underfoot turned to sand. Soft, lush beach sand like Utel remembered from her dream. Somehow, without missing a beat, she knew exactly where to go… and they emerged from their jungle trek nearly on top of the mystic’s hut.

Saelua was thrilled to see them, and hustled them to her warm fire to hear the tale of their journey. Upon seeing Nork’s spider bites, she tsked to herself, and went into her hut for a while. She came out with food for both of them, and herbs to put on Nork’s wounds. They all ate peacefully, relating the tale of their trek as they ate. Uacro played not far from them, pretending he wasn’t interested, but Utel could tell the boy caught every word. This was a story of adventure he would surely embellish and tell all his island friends. Utel smiled to herself just thinking about it.

After eating, Saelua took them through the village, up a hill, to meet the chief. They needed his permission before actually joining the tribe or even camping in the area.

The chief’s name was Guar Doknen, and he seemed reluctant to let them stay. However, he did see the wisdom in allowing them to at least set up camp on a nearby island, and gave them directions to find it. He also told Nork where he could find the village fishing camp, should he want to help out in the morning in return for the Chief letting them camp here.

It was dark before they got to the camping place Guar had mentioned, and they quickly set up camp and went to sleep. It had been an EXHAUSTING journey. One they were glad to have over. Now they just had to make sure they were accepted into this tribe.. but only good skills and personalities would do that.. and right now, their only skill left was in falling asleep. Perhaps tomorrow would be better. Utel had faith that Saelua also would put in a good word for them, and that things would turn out well.. while Nork saw the more pessimistic side, and was sure they would be out on their rumps by morning. Figures, Utel thought. That’s Nork for you. She chuckled to herself, and slid into a dreamless, deep, restful sleep.

Chapter One | Island Spirits Welcome page | Chapter Three

Chapter 1.4 | Rules for this challenge | Chapter 1.6

Generation One: Black

Appearance: Black hair, siren-like clothing style
Traits: Evil, Non Committal, Kleptomaniac
Aspiration: Renaissance Sim
Occupation: Collector/Random careers of choice
House Goal: 10,000 worth

Little Feet

The bus trip to the hospital seemed to take forever, even though the bus driver was speeding, just for me. He clearly didn’t want the baby to be born on the bus any more than I did. The pains came and went, which is what they’re supposed to do, but it really was nerve wracking.

By the time I got to the hospital, I was more than ready to have this whole thing done with, and was praying for a girl so I wouldn’t have to have another baby. The receptionist.. was a ghost.. which was weird. But I wasn’t about to argue with it, I just wanted to see a doctor and get this baby born.

They drug me to a back room, had me change, and then stuck me in this hideous machine. I was not impressed, especially when the “doctor” seemed to have trouble remembering what he was going in there FOR. Seeing my heart outside my body was pretty scary, although he put it back quickly, probably hoping I hadn’t noticed.

Before long, however, my precious firstborn was here. We named him Austen, and he was adorable. Not a girl.. but we could always try again. After everything was said and done, the labor pains had been worth it. I had an amazing little boy. I quickly changed, and we headed back home before the doctor could try to remove anything else that was supposed to be left inside.

Because we didn’t have another room built yet, we put Austen in the living room – there certainly wasn’t any extra room in our bedroom, and both of us like our sleep. It’d be best if only one of us had to get up at a time for a crying baby. I, obviously, took the next day off work to recuperate and cuddle my newborn.

Rangi went to work, though, so I was left on my own with the baby. Luckily, Austen seemed the agreeable sort, and he even left me time for reading up on gardening. I didn’t want to leave him on his own, so I was just around the corner from him.

After a while, however, reading gardening books gets old.. so I took a chance, left the front door open, and went to build some new furniture. We could use a bigger dining table and the chairs I had were so rickety, I really wanted safer chairs for while Austen was growing up. I had already bought the lumber for it.. I just needed to shape it and put it together.

It turned out to be more than a one day task, however, and my arms got tired.. so I was back to my gardening book. Rangi got home, and needed to learn logic for work, so he played some chess. It was a nice, quiet evening as a family.

It took a couple days, but I had managed to get the local construction crews up here to expand our bedroom, and add on one for Austen. Also, I built a mirror for our room, and finished the dining table and chairs. By this time, Austen had grown into a toddler with a bit of a wild streak. Apparently his calm baby days were behind us.

And then the lava came down again. It terrified Austen, and I spent a couple hours calming him down afterwards, insisting it was a good thing because tomorrow we would have treasure rocks to open up.

Austen, however, was getting into everything. Every time I turned my back, he was into something else. Today it was the kitchen cupboards. Who knows what it would be tomorrow.

The new tables were working out beautifully, though, and family dinners kept Austen at least kind of quiet. We got him to bed early that night, and took some time for just Rangi and me.

Later, while Rangi was sleeping. I found out good news. I was pregnant again! Hopefully THIS one would be the girl I needed. Now.. to figure out how to tell Rangi….

Chapter 1.4 | Rules for this challenge | Chapter 1.6

Chapter 1.3 | Rules for this challenge | Chapter 1.5

Generation One: Black

Appearance: Black hair, siren-like clothing style
Traits: Evil, Non Committal, Kleptomaniac
Aspiration: Renaissance Sim
Occupation: Collector/Random careers of choice
House Goal: 10,000 worth

Starting a Family

The first thing we did after the wedding was give him one piece of the precious Mermadic Kelp I had been given by my mother. And, just like she had.. all he felt was the need to get to the water.

So down we went to the shore… and among the blue phosphorescence, he turned into a merman for the first time.

It’s hard to explain the elation one feels as the cool salty water slides along your scales as you swim, but now I don’t have to. He knows what it feels like. We cavorted in the waves for a while, swimming past sea turtles and fish in our little lagoon.

Then, on the way back home.. we had a little chat. I really wanted to start a family, and Rangi, it seems, was not opposed to the idea.

So we gave it our best try.

And… Success!! I’m now expecting a little nooboo. I’m sort of hoping it’s a girl so I don’t have to go through telling a boy why he can’t carry on the line my mother started.. but no matter what it is, I’ll love it just the same. I am my mother’s daughter, after all.

When I told Rangi the news, at first he was a bit hesitant, having been thinking we would have to try a few times first…

… But very quickly, he warmed up to the idea. We couldn’t be more excited. Things were finally changing in my life. For the better, this time. I could put all that teenage awkwardness behind me now and move on with my “real” life.

The days passed slowly. My garden was really starting to prosper. So much so that I was making money from selling the extra vegetables and fruit. It was still a daily chore, but one I didn’t mind.

Our daily swims weren’t as much a chore as a necessity.. but they were fun all the same. Sometimes we went down to the sea separately, sometimes together. Our little lagoon paradise seemed to be ours alone, since we rarely saw anyone else swimming. Occasionally a local conservationist would come by in their boats, but that was rare.

I hated coming home to things to do… especially on such an important night.

But I had no choice but to fix it. We had guests, after all.

We hosted our first Kava Party, and invited family and friends to hear the big news about my pregnancy. Everyone was understandably surprised it was happening so soon, but very supportive. I loved watching my mother and father’s eyes light up when they realized they would finally have another grand-baby – this time on the islands, in close proximity to where they lived so they could visit. By the end of the evening, I was literally dead on my feet, however, and Rangi had to shoo me to bed after I passed out on the floor. He insisted he could finish out the party without me, and that things would all be okay. So I went to bed.

… This .. is what I woke up to. Apparently finishing the party in Rangi’s mind didn’t include the clean up. Sigh. More work for the pregnant lady. Of course, I also couldn’t complain to him, because he was already gone to work. So I’ll save that little tidbit for later.

Without even bothering to get dressed, I started cleaning up the dishes. I ended up taking several trips to wash them all, and was glad we had stocked up on them before the party. The longer I cleaned, the sourer my mood became.

By the time Rangi arrived home, my evil side was in full swing, and I’m afraid he got quite an earful. I felt bad afterwards, but he was surprisingly understanding, and admitted that yes, he should have taken care of those dishes before work.

He then pitched in on making sure the rest of the house was spotless so I wouldn’t have to clean anymore. Which I definitely appreciated! This gave me a chance to head down for a swim, and calm down.

When I came back up to the house, I apologized for my bad behavior, but he completely brushed off the apology, saying he had deserved the dressing-down. Because I pretty much agreed, we left it at that.. and I sat down to read my new gardening book. I had so much to learn about my plants, and this seemed the best way to go about it.

It was pouring outside, and to avoid having to go all the way to the sea to hydrate, Rangi took a shower in the rain. It’s not like anyone is ever up here in the evenings, anyway, so nobody was likely to see him. I would have joined him, but studying seemed more important than playing in the rain.. so that’s what I did.

Rangi finally came back in and we read together long into the evening, then settled in for a peaceful sleep.

It didn’t work out quite that way. First, I was woken by a fierce hunger… for mac and cheese. Luckily, we had a new stove to cook on, and I quickly whipped up a batch of the scrumptious childhood food I’d never really had a chance to have. Apparently cooking on a gas stove meant it was one of those things that was out of the range of possibilities one could make. I sat down to my meal, enjoyed the whole thing.. and headed back to bed.

… Only to be struck by the most horrifying pain I’d ever experienced. I have to admit it, I screamed. It woke Rangi from a dead sleep, and he immediately knew what was happening. At least one of us did! He went into a panic, just as most fathers do… and grabbed up the stuff we had packed for the hospital. The bus ride there was torture, but he stood by my side the whole time, fighting his panic to be with me. I couldn’t have asked for more. Then, finally.. we were there. Just in time.

Chapter 1.3 | Rules for this challenge | Chapter 1.5

Chapter 1.2 | Rules for this challenge | Chapter 1.4

Generation One: Black

Appearance: Black hair, siren-like clothing style
Traits: Evil, Non Committal, Kleptomaniac
Aspiration: Renaissance Sim
Occupation: Collector/Random careers of choice
House Goal: 10,000 worth

A Day to Change a Life

My first task this morning was a nice, leisurely swim … which was interrupted by a grumpy mail-woman delivering my first set of bills. Choosing to be on the grid has it’s downfalls. Bills being one of them.

However, by nightfall, I had been able not only to pay my bills, but also to expand my hut – thanks to a promotion and bonus from work. I may not always like working there, but the pay certainly makes up for it.

I now had an actual bedroom. With a REAL bed. My very first thought.. my ONLY thought.. was Rangi.

… So I invited him over…

.. And we “broke the bed in”. He was impressed with the speed with which I’d managed to get the bedroom addition completed.. but I just replied “Where there’s a will, there’s a way!” My bank account was pretty much tapped at the moment.. but at least I had space for Rangi, now. We cuddled up and slept peacefully the rest of the night. I thanked my “lucky stars” the volcano remained quiet for the night so as not to scare poor Rangi away. He’d get to know the hazards of living by it soon enough.

The next morning, I woke up first, and took a quick swim to refresh my scales. Having the ocean so close to home is so amazing! And because I live in the park area of the islands, it’s usually deserted – so it’s like having my very own lagoon.

When I got back, Rangi was up and getting a drink of water. I quickly caught his attention and told him we needed to talk.

At first, He was wary, even a little concerned… but by the time I asked him to be my boyfriend, he had a big smile all the way across his face.

And when he said “yes”, I was the one with the smile. And then.. I couldn’t resist. I just had to ask. I couldn’t wait anymore.

“Will you be mine? Even though I live in a volcanic hut and am bound by my honor to follow through with this legacy and get a girl mermaid heir… which means you’ll have to be a mermaid, too? Will you?”

At first, his stunned silence worried me. But then, he found his words, snatched the ring, and quickly agreed.

He slipped the ring on his finger and stood there in stunned disbelief for a moment while we both let that sink in fully. Then, we kissed, and giggled together. No way were we waiting for a wedding event neither of us could really afford… so we went up by the volcano to make our pact official.

I thought it was incredibly romantic.. getting married by something so powerful and awesome. We exchanged rings, kisses, vows…

And before I hardly even knew it.. we were “hitched”. He moved in with practically nothing, but some research from work, himself, his clothes, and a big smile.

That work research really paid off, though, as he decided – for our sakes – to sell it to the Nature Channel instead of use it for island conservation. This netted us a tidy sum –

Enough to buy a makeshift kitchen. I made BLT’s for lunch (and hoped I got the recipe right!) since it wasn’t something I’d been able to eat as a kid.

Rangi loved it, though… and so we ate our first official meal together. We didn’t have a table or chairs yet.. but that would come. As my mother would have said.. “I have faith.”

I finished off the evening with upgrading some of the appliances, adding a self-cleaning feature.. because neither of us were that into cleaning toilets. And with only one half bath in the house at the moment, keeping it clean was sort of a necessity.

What a day. In one day, my life made a complete turnaround. I went from being alone and struggling to get by.. to having a partner in life. We were still struggling a bit.. but we both had jobs.. and that would change. I now had the beginnings of a REAL home.. and a real family of my own. Things couldn’t be better in my life, or so I thought. That, too, would change. But I’ll leave that for the next chapter!

Chapter 1.2 | Rules for this challenge | Chapter 1.4

Chapter 1.1 | Rules for this challenge | Chapter 1.3

Generation One: Black

Appearance: Black hair, siren-like clothing style
Traits: Evil, Non Committal, Kleptomaniac
Aspiration: Renaissance Sim
Occupation: Collector/Random careers of choice
House Goal: 10,000 worth

Handiness and Loneliness

My new black tail seems to shimmer against the waves as I take my habitual evening swim. I don’t like waking up with itchy scales, so I try to get in a swim before bed every night. I’m working on saving up enough simoleons to upgrade my home, but it’s slow going. All of my spare time is sunk into working on my skills for my aspiration, or logic for my job as an astronaut. Sometimes I feel trapped in the same career all the time, but the island helps me to feel Carefree. I always tell myself I can change jobs whenever I want, but I appreciate the good money that comes in from being an astronaut.

Late that night, the whole world started shaking. My first thought was an earthquake, but a quick terrified look out the window confirmed with ease that it was the volcano, spewing molten lava into the air.. and all around my home! I wisely stayed indoors, and hoped the attack would stop soon. It did, luckily, and I wandered outside in my underwear, marveling over the rocks strewn around my land. I chose not to attempt to touch them – that just seemed like a bad idea – and finally, figuring the volcano was done for the night – went back to bed.

By morning, those lava rocks had cooled, and I bought a rock hammer to see what was inside of them. Crystals and gems – all that sold at the local shop very well, giving me some desperately needed extra funds. I wanted to buy a woodworking table, and this influx of simoleons filled my little savings account just enough that I could get one. My mother had set such a good example with all her handiness skill and I wanted to make her proud, so I felt that this was the way to go.

The next couple days were routine. Woodworking, swimming, and my job… following a lonely pattern. I was unwilling to invite those two guys over to try again, the rejection from the first try was still smarting. So I stayed by myself and satisfied my social by talking to my coworkers at work. I don’t think any of them truly believed I was a mermaid – and an astronaut.. but they didn’t have to believe me.

The next day, however, I had a visitor. He was very nice to look at, and turned out to be another local Conservationist. His name was Rangi. And maybe he wouldn’t turn out to be too bad, since he didn’t seem to flinch at me wielding my woodworking knife right by his head.

Intrigued, I gave up on skilling for the day, and spent some time cloudgazing and talking. And did we ever talk. We talked about everything. It started out with talking about the islands and how much we loved it here, then turned to our jobs, our skills, our aspirations. Then, we started talking about our childhoods.

He barely believed me about my mother’s journey to the islands, and the fact that I was the legacy heir she chose, but I showed him pictures, and he suddenly realized who my mother was. Apparently she was fairly well known, although she wasn’t the most social of people. The islanders knew who she was, and commended her work ethic.

By evening, it was pouring. But we were still standing outside chatting. The more I talked with Rangi, the more I liked him, and the more I realized just how lonely I had been. Unwilling to risk rejection again, I sang him a charming mermaid song.

And he was. Charmed, that is. I guess I’ll never know whether he would have been charmed without the song, but I couldn’t help it. We flirted in the rain, and barely noticed it.

Finally, I could take it no longer. I went in for a kiss. And while he was surprised, he recovered quickly, and kissed me back!

Before I knew it, he had invited me down to the waterfall near my home for a little fun and games.. and I wasn’t about to say no! The rain didn’t matter anymore, and the waterfall proved to be the most romantic spot I’ve ever been in my life.

The night couldn’t have gone any better.. but it had to end. He left for home, and I practically floated up the pathway to my little home, happier than I could ever remember being.

The next day was “New Skill Day” and it didn’t take me long to celebrate the holiday. I spent all day at home, skilling, because I didn’t have to work.

But as the day continued, I realized how much I missed Rangi. It seemed he was already stuck in my head. I tried to ignore it, and focus on my logic skill, but I couldn’t stop thinking about him, and wondering what he was doing for the holiday.

Another Islander stopped by the next day, and mentioned that Rangi had been talking about me. She assured me that it was all good things, and wished us luck. That was when I realized for sure that there could be an “US”. I rolled the idea around in my head for the rest of the day, and realized I might have to upgrade my hut sooner rather than later. But I couldn’t afford it yet, unfortunately. So work it was.

The next volcanic activity was much closer, and practically landed on my home! It was hard to wait to open up the rocks, because I was so excited to sell the treasure that would certainly be inside.

So.. I busied myself with planting a garden in the new planter boxes I had built on my woodworking bench. Mom and Dad’s garden had been so nice for giving fresh fruits and veggies, that I couldn’t help but want a garden of my own. And it kept me busy for the day. Hopefully, I could afford that new bedroom soon and invite Rangi to join me. Being alone, I’ve found, is just not my “cup of tea”. I miss the constant presence of others I always had when I was growing up, and the more I thought about it.. the more I wanted my own family. Perhaps Rangi could be that. The possibilities crowd in my head as I fall asleep in my lonely little hut.

Chapter 1.1 | Rules for this challenge | Chapter 1.3

Chapter 0.18 | Rules for this challenge | Chapter 1.2

Generation One: Black

Appearance: Black hair, siren-like clothing style
Traits: Evil, Non Committal, Kleptomaniac
Aspiration: Renaissance Sim
Occupation: Collector/Random careers of choice
House Goal: 10,000 worth

(A/N: Welcome to generation one, where everything is themed black. It’s also where I decided to start naming these chapters. Simply because I had a name that just wouldn’t get out of my head. lol. Enjoy!)

Corina Strikes Out

Well, I guess it’s my turn. I always knew that since I was the girl of the family, I would be the one to strike out on my own as Mom had done. Luckily, she didn’t make me start with nothing in a nowhere place. – I may have nothing, but at least I have a place. I’ve always loved the volcano.. so I chose a lot that is closest to it. Dangerous? Probably. But I like to live on the edge. Supposely theres volcanic activity on this lot, but I will have to see it to believe it. For now, though, all I have is me.. and a mailbox. Surely things couldn’t get much worse.

So… Money. I see no need to restrict myself from getting a decent job like mom did to spend more time with us kids (which I respect… I just don’t choose to do it that way…), and going into space sounds like fun… so I joined SpaceY as their new astronaut-in-training. My first shift wasn’t for a couple of days, however, so the initial paycheck for my “good grades” promotions came in handy.

I was able to buy myself a campsite.. of sorts. I come to regret at least one of my purchases and return it.. but we’ll get to that. My first work task is to raise my logic skill. I also need to do that for my aspiration, Renaissance Sim .. so I bought a chess table. I could only afford one chair – but who was going to play me way up here? I also bought a fire ring, and a bed. Well, it’s really just an air mattress, but it’ll let me get some sleep tonight. The other thing I needed to do was read some books. But since I didn’t have any, that would have to wait.

After a while of playing chess, I got bored, so I went to explore my new surroundings.

There was a beach just down the hill from my house, and there I ran into a beautiful man by the name of Tamati. We talked for a while.. and I tried flirting.. but he just didn’t seem to be interested. Found out he’s a conservationist out here in the “park” area of the islands – apparently most the people I meet out here probably will be. Since this is the part they’re trying to conserve. The place looks fine to me, I don’t know what needs fixing.. but that’s just me.

Very quickly, I realize the error of my spending ways. I had forgotten a bathroom. Luckily, there was one on the beach not far from my home.. but that was a little bit too far away for convenience.

So, I made my first phone call from my new, improved cellular service. No dropped calls and I could even access the internet from my phone now! No way was I living “off the grid” like Mom and the way I grew up! I was all about technology, all the way. Anyway. My first call was to arrange for someone to take away that silly expensive fire ring, and bring me a toilet and a cooler of food.

I assure you, both were much appreciated by the time they were delivered. And so began my first night of literally camping out on my home lot. I knew mom had done this for weeks before she had been able to afford a roof over her head.. but I had no intention of doing the same.

So.. I worked REALLY hard at work, and came home with a promotion. The bonus they gave me was enough to build at least a roof and four walls. And a second chair for my table.. because.. really.. who has a chess table with only one chair? I also swiped a book to read from work. What? I could return it. If I wanted… it wasn’t like they didn’t have a whole library there. They could do without a book.

Oh yeah, I bought a trash can, too. One of those necessities you forget about until you need it. And mom had drilled cleanliness into us.. so leaving stuff around really bothered me. I needed more logic skill for work.. so that’s all I spent my afternoon doing. (After a swim, of course). I really wanted that next promotion.

… And I got it! Enough to build a little bathroom. Because who wants to “go” in the same place that they eat and sleep? Really? Nobody. Finally, I was getting somewhere. I had a decent job, and a home… (another book to read…)

….and the ocean to swim in. What more can a girl ask for??

After another couple days.. I realized exactly what was missing. Family. Friends. Some eye candy to look at? *giggles* .. So on my day off, I invited Loario over to visit my little island.

He seemed happy to see me, although a little surprised at how “primitive” my living conditions were. Shows what he knows. This is the lap of luxury compared to what I started with!

I talked him into playing some chess, and we had an enjoyable afternoon. We ate some yummy granola for lunch, and generally had fun talking about the islands we both grew up on.

When he had to go for a short while to “take care of some business”, I took advantage of the time, and did some quick house cleaning. Took a little sponge bath in the sink, too, to make sure I was presentable. Then I put on my cutest bikini.. and prepared to get a boyfriend.

Sigh. Unfortunately, Loario wasn’t in a similar mood.. and my flirting quickly devolved into him yelling at me for ruining a good friendship.. and him storming off my beach. Well then. Rude!

I still had time, though. I called up my old friend Manuia, and invited him out to my home. He showed up in a hurry, which I took to be a good sign, and we quickly renewed our friendship.

He looked good all grown up! We talked for quite a while, catching up… but I could sense no flirting in his words.

So, finally, I made the first move. Things seemed to be going well at first.. until I moved into him for a first kiss…

… And got completely shut down. Sigh. Today is just not my day. Manuia left.. and I wondered if I had ruined that friendship for good. Probably. Hard to recover from that sort of embarrassment. I buried myself in my sleeping bag for a while, crying, then decided playing chess was a more useful .. well, use of my time.

Chess by yourself is pretty boring. But at least it gets me closer to my goals. I need more skills, though. And for those.. I need more things to work on my skills WITH. And that requires money. Back in that big loop…. so chess was what I did. Because that’s what would get me promotions and more money.

I really was going to have to upgrade my food situation soon, too. There’s only so much granola, yogurt, and cereal one can eat before it starts to get old. I was really starting to miss Mom’s cooking. And considering that was mostly salads.. that was saying a lot. I guess I still have a long way to go. But, as Mom always said.. I have hope. That’s what gets you through the days. Things will get better. Why? Because I’ll MAKE them better!

Chapter 0.18 | Rules for this challenge | Chapter 1.2

Chapter 0.17 | Rules for this challenge | Chapter 1.1

Generation Zero: Beige - Starts with a HUMAN Sim

Appearance: Dark Blonde Hair, poor clothing style
Traits: Slob, Childish, Clumsy
Aspiration: Pick whatever you'd like. (Your goal this
generation is only to become a Mermaid and have your heir)
Occupation: Part Time Jobs ONLY
House Goal: None
Lot Trait: Off the Grid

(A/N: Guys, I did it. I managed to get myself through the whole generation of posts! AND I kept to the story the whole time! What a huge accomplishment. On other notes, Today marks the halfway point for the month, and I’m still getting out a post a day! Another accomplishment. So today is definitely a good day! Now.. on to the last post of Generation Zero.)

Everyone got up this excited this morning. Why? Because it’s Winterfest! So we all sat down to breakfast together, thrilled that this year was almost over, and that today was present day!

After breakfast, we went out, got the tree, and all worked to decorate it. We didn’t really have a great place to put it anymore, because no way was I moving the fish tank, but we made the tree fit anyway.

Of note: Vaea is still sick. And I don’t feel great, either. But at least it hasn’t traveled to the kids. Being sick on a holiday is awful. We managed to get the tree all decorated, and Vaea took a quick nap, which helped him feel a bit better.

After Vaea’s nap, we all opened presents. No sense in waiting for Father Winter, he would just bring more presents.. so we opened our family presents early. Everyone was suitably happy with their gifts, and went off to play with their new toys. I, however, had a grand meal to make in the fire pit, and got busy setting that up. I then took a short nap to help with being sick, and woke up in time for dinner.

We had a fabulous Island Veggie feast, made with fresh veggies from the garden, and had plenty left over so I wouldn’t have to cook for the rest of the day.

Father Winter brought everyone gifts, as usual.. and we all took our turn. Some gifts were better than others, but it was still nice to get presents. (Isn’t it always nice to get presents?!)

Part of my present was apparently a broken tub. Again. So I finished off Winter fest with a night of fixing it.

The next day, Tevin showed up to visit, full of stories about his growing family. We interrupted lunch to talk to him, and weren’t sorry about it one bit. Vaea and I reveled in tales of our grandson Kyler’s antics, and cooed over the pictures of him on Tevin’s phone opening up his presents from the day before. We brought out the presents we had saved for Tevin and his family, and he packed them away to take home. All in all, it was a fantastic visit.

With most of the chores done, Vaea and I had a chance to enjoy the morning doing our own things. Vaea chose to play with the lump of clay.. while I went for a swim in the ocean.

Kaleb came home from school in a strange mood, pretending he was a dolphin, so I sent him out to the sea to play with the real ones. It was funny… although Corina did not seem amused.

I let her make dinner, since she’ll be out on her own before long and will need to know how.. and she did a great job.

I, of course, had other things to do than cook. The fridge was broken again, so I fixed it while Corina cooked. It took far less time this time that it has taken in the past, luckily, and I was done by the time dinner was ready.

We had another random visitor today.. she just wandered off the street and took a nap in Corina’s bed. We quickly chased her away, because the whole incident left all of us feeling a bit creeped out.

Kaleb is so good at doing his homework. He never has to be asked. Even though he already has his “A”, he continues to work hard to better himself.

Tevin visited again for a while, and I once again enjoyed the stories and pictures of my grandson. They were planning to bring him to visit next week when it warmed up (so Kyler wouldn’t have to sit on the cold bus from the city for hours), and I was so excited.

On New Year’s Day, we toasted in the new year… and finally sat Corina down to talk about what was expected of her as she would be the one to carry on my legacy. She listened carefully, but I can’t say she seemed horribly pleased that she would be the one to start from scratch in a new place, just like I did.

Vaea and Corina sat up most the night enjoying drinks and chatting, however, so by the end of the night she seemed to have come to terms with her “inheritance” – such as it was.

A young man by the name of Loario stopped by from the village the next day, and Corina seemed immediately drawn to him. I can’t say as I blamed her, either, because he was definitely nice to look at. (Hey, I can look!)

They spent the afternoon watching the springtime clouds go by and talking. I didn’t get close enough to hear the conversation, for obvious reasons. Eavesdropping on your nearly grown daughter is just “not cool”.

Corina practiced making dinner again, and made a very nice salad. It was a big day, tomorrow, after all, with it being the twins’ birthday.

The big event passed almost un-noticed, in the rush to get Corina’s things all packed up. As part of her inheritance, I provided the money for her to buy her own land in Sulani, as well as enough for a shopping spree for new clothes. It was bittersweet watching her go, however, just as it had been with Tevin. Now only Kaleb would be staying with us, and from what he said, he had big plans with his girlfriend Rarahu. I only hoped that included more grandkids! Before I knew it, she was gone, off to her new home.

I wiped away the tears of joy, and wandered out to the ocean for some alone time. Thing had certainly turned out well for me, considering the start I had had. Three amazing kids, a safe and cozy home.. and I had found out mermaids were not only real – I had become one. Being a part of the local ocean life had been so rewarding. But now things were changing, and I couldn’t wait to see how Corina would face the world on her own.

Post makeover shot of Corina:

Bonus Outtake:

No, Vlad.. Just no. Vampires are not welcome here!

See you all in the next generation!!

Chapter 0.17 | Rules for this challenge | Chapter 1.1

Chapter 0.16 | Rules for this challenge | Chapter 0.18

Generation Zero: Beige - Starts with a HUMAN Sim

Appearance: Dark Blonde Hair, poor clothing style
Traits: Slob, Childish, Clumsy
Aspiration: Pick whatever you'd like. (Your goal this
generation is only to become a Mermaid and have your heir)
Occupation: Part Time Jobs ONLY
House Goal: None
Lot Trait: Off the Grid

Corina’s mood did not “blow over” like I’d hoped. In fact, she woke up in a worse mood… and before anyone could say anything, she was out the door in athletic gear.

Apparently, she’s determined that the few extra pounds she carries need to go away, and she’s taken up jogging to make it happen. I commend her on her determination, even though I think she’s gorgeous just the way she is.

Then, she came home, and took out her rage on the poor stuffed animal. I guess it’s better than other options.. but still.

At this point, Vaea stepped in. Apparently he was better at being diplomatic than I was, because he calmed her down, and helped her remember that she was amazing just as she is. I think she’s still determined to lose some weight, though, which I applaud, but at least she’s over hating herself for it – for now.

Now that she’s calmed down, I suggested she do something creative.. and she immediately decided the Llama needed to go.

I’m not sure what she built, but it is certainly impressive! (A/N: never seen THAT one before!)

Then, she sat down and worked on her homework. She claimed she didn’t need help, though, so Vaea and I wisely left her alone.

I thanked him profusely for diffusing the situation, and he blew the compliment off like he usually does.. but I could tell he was secretly pleased with himself.

After some time playing on the swings, it was (yet again) time to do the laundry. While I was working on it, however, we had a guest show up.

It was Manuia, and his first action was to take out the trash. I’m telling you, this boy is a keeper! I wasn’t about to tell Corina that, however, so I kept myself busy with the wash.

They had a lively discussion, mostly complaining about the puddles left over from the wash (that I eventually cleaned up). I tried very hard not to eavesdrop, but it’s tough in such a small house and I got drawn into the conversation more than once – to Corina’s dismay, I’m sure. Shortly after, the two left to do .. who knows what – teenage stuff (probably hanging out on the swingset!) – and I got to work cleaning up puddles.

Then I chatted with the fish, who were thrilled with their new home, especially the Leopard Shark. I fed them, and watched them all play for a while, wondering what the kids were doing, but not nosy enough to peek out a window to see. Corina would have killed me if she caught me!

Vaea comforted me, saying he saw the two of them heading to the ocean, and gave me a big hug – which is always welcome.

Through it all, Kaleb’s music rang through the small hut, enhancing the island feel with his chords. He really was getting pretty good at it, and was, rightly, proud of himself.

Vaea and I had an early dinner together, talking about the kids. We had such a wonderful family, it’s hard not to brag on them to each other.

Corina came home shortly after we finished dinner, and Kaleb emerged from his room, so we had a bit of family time before bed. I was, of course, still working on housework – things were never completely done around here! – but it was a pleasant evening all around.

The next day, I had the best surprise ever. Tevin came over with a picture…

Of my new grandson, Kyler! The adoption paperwork had finally come through, and I was now a grandmother! Tevin even let me keep the picture, and I quickly hung it up on the wall. He assured me they had plenty of copies of the picture, and that Kyler was healthy and happy. I worried that he would grow up in the city, but Tevin assured me that they would come visit before long.

We sat and talked about Kyler for what seemed like hours, and eventually, I convinced him he needed to visit the ocean again.

So, the two of us went out and swam in the sea for a while. Echo came over to visit with us, glad to see Tevin again, too. However, the afternoon couldn’t last forever, and Tevin had an active toddler at home waiting on him, so he gave me a big hug and headed back on the bus to Everett and his city home. The whole visit was definitely the highlight of my week!

When I got home, I discovered that Vaea had come down with some sort of sickness, and I quickly administered orange juice and sent him to bed for a nap.

Corina and I left him alone to rest, and went outside for a while on the swingset. She finally let me in on the fact that Manuia was still seeming to play hard to get, and she bemoaned her poor love life. Meanwhile, Kaleb was out with his girlfriend.. which wasn’t helping Corina’s mood any. I assured her that she was gorgeous, and all things would come, eventually, but I’m not entirely sure she believed me.

By the next morning, it was obvious I had come down with the same thing Vaea had.. and it was my turn for a nap and Orange Juice. I sincerely hoped neither of us would get worse, because the holidays were coming up.. and being sick on the holidays is NOBODY’s idea of a good time. Luckily, the twins were more than willing to step in and help with the housework while Vaea and I were “down for the count”, so we didn’t have to worry about the house becoming any more of a disaster zone while we were sick.

Chapter 0.16 | Rules for this challenge | Chapter 0.18