Vane Glory: The Teddy Files

[kaseofhearts]

Hello, Friends! It's me, Hearts. Back at it again after, like, a bajillion years! In the Before Times, I had started a Legacy called Vane Glory, centered on a selfish young woman named Viola Vane. I had Plans^(TM) and Thoughts^(TM) about how this story would go but... as life is wont to do, it went ahead and got in the way. And because I can't just let things die, I wanted to come back and continue to play around in that story for a while. But my old computer is scrap, along with all of my Sims 3 Save Files, so I had to move to the Sims 4.

SO LONG STORY SHORT... this Legacy is a continuation of that one, starting with Viola's youngest son, Teddy Vane.

If you'd like to go back and read any of the old story, you can find it here, buried in the Sims 3 Graveyard.

Without any further ado, I'd like to introduce you to Teddy, our Founder.
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Record Scratch.
Freeze Frame.



Yep, that's me. You're probably wondering how I got into this situation.

Oh, man. I'm totally kidding. Watcher, could you imagine? If I was that lame?

No, it's actually a pretty chill situation. It's Day One of being out on my own, which I'm pumped about, actually. It's not a punishment or weird experiment or something. Just ol' Teddy, trekking out on his own, breaking ground, starting anew.

Oh, in case it wasn't clear, that's me. I'm Teddy. Teddy Vane.



Hey. What's up?

Welcome to my new home! Isn't it great?



Yes, I know there isn't much here. But it's mine to do with whatever I like! When you are the youngest of 3 siblings, you don't really get to have your own things. You get your brother's old clothes, your sister's old games, and whatever else no one wants anymore. Which has always been fine for the most part. But it just means it's way more exciting when you finally have a thing that is just for you. And this big empty plot of land is exactly that: just for me. I'm going to build it from the ground up myself, thatch my own roof. You know, like a normal person.



You say normal people usually hire someone who knows what they are doing? Well, that's silly! How will I ever know how to do a thing if I keep having other people do it for me? I got you there, huh?

But before we get too much more ahead of ourselves, I want you guys to really get to know me. And my family. Who is Teddy? Where does he come from? Why is he like this? The last question is often asked of me, so I might as well get to it.

But like I said before. I'm Teddy Vane. Youngest son of Viola Vane and Todd Landgraab.

Before they ever met, mom and dad had a lot in common.



Mom was the daughter of a wealthy family, and she was very used to getting what she wanted. She had never heard the word 'no' before she was unceremoniously kicked out on her 18th birthday for being, as my mom puts it, "so perfect and wonderful that it was too much for one household to handle." When I tried to point out that there were more of us under a smaller roof in our house growing up, she would just change the subject.



Dad was also from a very well off family. The Landgraabs were known far and wide for their assets and influence. My mom says that's what attracted her to Dad in the first place: the name. But, like my mom, my dad had broken off from his family. He says that he did it because, like me, he wanted to be on his own, make his own way, and do things how he wanted to, without worrying about upsetting some stuffy suit at a Shrimp For All Charity event.

Unfortunately for mom, she didn't know that bit until after she married him. Which resulted in... many years of conflict.



Aka, my mom yelling at my dad for one thing or another.





Or making friends with richer people so she could borrow some funds here and there.

Mom says that was particularly hard because everyone was very annoying, and also, she rarely met another person that she liked.



Like, at all.

The hard part for Dad was that he was crazy about Mom. From the day they met, he was over the moon for her.



Which, even I know, Mom took advantage of whenever she could. It wasn't until after I was born that Dad finally decided that he needed more from her. And as much as it pained him, if she couldn't give it, he would have to leave.

Mom never really talks about how she won him back, but Dad says that all she did was apologize and promise to work on her mean-spirited tendencies. That was enough for him to keep trying.



He just really, really loved her.

And even though mom rarely admits it, I know she loves him too.



Together, they had 3 kids.

Cassius, the oldest.



He's really into art, activism, and having big stupid muscles.

Natasha, my big sister.



She's super high-maintenance, like mom. Can be a little mean sometimes. But is very protective of her brothers.

Please don't tell her that I called her mean.

And then, there's me. The youngest. The one that, mom says, is most like Dad. She told me once that's why I was her favorite.



I'm a goofball, a little bit of a nerd, but a lot creative. At the end of the day, I just love having fun, and getting to meet new people and do new things.

For example, for my very first meal that I made, without having to ask anyone anything, I made a Hamburger Cake. It's a cake, but it looks like a hamburger. ...I guess the name is kind of self-explanatory. But I made it because I could! Because it was fun and because no one could tell me no. And, guess what! It was HORRIBLE! I can just make awful decisions all the time!

How awesome is that?

[kaseofhearts]

Posting as a space holder in case I get wild and want to organize and post my chapters

[PeregrineTook]

So happy to have you back on the forum again!!
Looks like Teddy is off to a delightful start (and thatching that roof so nicely).
Excellent job recreating your Sims 3 characters in 4! 
Teddy is a delight and I can't wait to see what hilarity and hijinks he has in store for us  :=)

[oshizu]

What a glorious and delightful start to Teddy Vane's journey!
Teddy might be a little goofy and nerdy, but he's steamin' with that little black bowtie!

[kaseofhearts]

So happy to have you back on the forum again!!
Looks like Teddy is off to a delightful start (and thatching that roof so nicely).
Excellent job recreating your Sims 3 characters in 4! 
Teddy is a delight and I can't wait to see what hilarity and hijinks he has in store for us  :=)

Thanks, Pippin! I'm glad you were still on here when I came back for my triumphant return.

What a glorious and delightful start to Teddy Vane's journey!
Teddy might be a little goofy and nerdy, but he's steamin' with that little black bowtie!

Thank you!! When I played Teddy in The Sims 3, and he aged up to a teenager, whatever weird CC I had... the bowtie just randomly populated. And all the pictures I have of teenage Teddy, he's wearing that bowtie. So I had to find a bowtie for him this time around. It suits him!

[kaseofhearts]

Chapter One: First Friends

So here it is, Folks! My little house that I built myself. It's basically just a bunch of wood planks held together by glue, nails, and wishes, but it's standing! And that's all anyone could really ask for. Right?



It's been nice getting to do whatever I want, whenever I want, but such a life can be pretty lonely. And I did get quite the tummy ache from all that Hamburger Cake. I guess I'll try like... Salad Cake next time. That's got to be better for me.

One way to combat the loneliness is to invite friends over to your lovely little home. Since I've moved away from Midnight Hollow, where all of my friends actually live, I couldn't exactly do that. BUT, I could invite a friend of my own making.



Meet Winston. I painted him on my front door so he could greet me whenever I got home. He's like my doorman/best friend. I do not know his genus, phylum, or species. But I do know that he is friend shaped, so that's pretty much all that matters.

And yet, since Winston wasn't a big talker, I thought, well...  might as well try and meet some humans too!



It did not go, like, super well. People were CRANKY around here!

Luckily though, I have a great family. So Mom, and dad, and Cassius, and even Natasha would come around.







"Teddy, where is your house? Is it behind this horrible shed?"

"No, Nata! This is it! I made it myself."

"You mean it's hiding inside this dilapidated hovel? Oooh! Like one of those Tiny Houses on the hit SHGTV show 'Itty Bitty Living Space'?"

"No, Nata! It IS the dilapidated hovel!" I told her proudly.

"Oh no," she said, her voice full of despair.

Still, having a big-ish family was enough to keep me from being too lonely for a while. Mom would come pretty often to see how I was doing, or even to play basketball at the court in the park behind my house. I really enjoyed playing with her! Even if she did resort to dirty tricks, like texting me disturbing family secrets during a game of one-on-one.



"Aunt Muriel used to hold fancy dinner parties for squirrels?"

"Yep."

"Wait... I don't have an Aunt Muriel..."

"4 to zip, sucker!"

Even though it was nice to get to see my family during the day, it was always hard going to bed without having anyone to say 'goodnight' to.



Or extinguish me when I made an inevitable cooking disaster.



Or show my flawless self-portraits to.



So I thought it might be important to try and make some friends. You know. Who weren't my mom or an indiscernible entity of cosmic vastness that I drew on my front door.

One trip to San Myshuno's art center later, and I was already surrounded by such interesting and engaging new people!

This guy named Harry Bheeda and I immediately starting vibing about games, art, and my indiscernible entity of cosmic vastness.



He was cool as heck, and his sense of humor was exactly the same as mine.

"You said his name is Winston? Cool, man. I have an Uncle named Winston. He's married to my Aunt Muriel."

"Aunt Muriel? She doesn't host dinner parties for squirrels, does she?"

"What?"



Harry and I spent the rest of the afternoon critiquing some terrible art, and singing songs loud enough to scare off the real critics. We stayed inside for the most part because it started to rain. Luckily, most of the art was inside because, you know, paintings don't tend to do too hot in the rain. Due to the water, mostly.

As we left the center, Harry and I were joking about the size of the house you would need to fit some of the art we saw. It was still raining pretty hard then, so we were trying to rush to the curb to get in a taxi. That's when I saw her.



She was a vision in yellow houndstooth. I stumbled on the wet pavement, but Harry grabbed me by the jacket to keep me upright.

"What's up, man?" He asked me as I was jolted out of her hypnotic pull.

"I, uh... saw this girl and..." I looked back over to where she had been, and felt my stomach drop. She was gone!

"Oh no! There was this girl, and she was gorgeous and I wanted to go talk to her, but she's... she's-- she disappeared!"

"Don't worry, Tedster. The world is a lot smaller than you think. You'll find her again. I feel it."

Boy, did I hope he was right.

[PeregrineTook]

Poor Aunt Muriel's reputation be besmirched like that!  Those parties with the squirrels were pretty epic, though.  Lovely wit that turned quite nicely into a running joke.
Teddy's eternal optimism and brilliant naivety lend a wonderful mirth to the narration.
Can't wait to see if he finds that vision in a yellow houndstooth again  :=)

[kaseofhearts]

Poor Aunt Muriel's reputation be besmirched like that!  Those parties with the squirrels were pretty epic, though.  Lovely wit that turned quite nicely into a running joke.
Teddy's eternal optimism and brilliant naivety lend a wonderful mirth to the narration.
Can't wait to see if he finds that vision in a yellow houndstooth again  :=)

Thanks as always, Pip! I love your comments! You're always invited to the squirrel parties.

And just as an update note, I had some wild work deadlines that got in the way, but I did be updating this story soon!

Sent from my SM-G973U1 using Tapatalk

[kaseofhearts]

Chapter Two: Strike One

I went home that night, fearful I would never see that angel in the 70's glasses again.



I wasn't even sure how to go about trying to find her! So I did what any enterprising young man would do:

I consulted a group of strangers at a local bar.



"So, that's how I met her. What do you think I should do next?"

"Well," the old man in a very sharp vest said, "I think you should go back to where you first met her and see if she shows back up."

"No, no, NO!" A woman who looked like she had run about 499 Fortune 500 Companies in her lifetime chimed in. "Even if you do meet her there, she will think you are just such a bore, hanging out in the same places when there are so many more things to be doing. You have to try somewhere else. Anywhere else!"

"Well, okay, but there are like... hundreds of places to be, and only one of her, so I don't necessarily know how I might choose where to go?"

"You said she was wearing houndstooth?" The distinguished man with a beard I could only hope to grow half as well one day said. "A lady like that will have an eye for fashion! I would suggest frequenting a trendy boutique."

"Are  you kidding me?" The woman piped up. "She sounds more like a young woman with a passion for the arts! Try a park known for its art installations."

"No, try a--"

I don't remember what any of my new friends said next because it was at that exact moment that something miraculous happened. The sky opened up and a single beam of light shone down from above, illuminating the walkway of the very bar I was visiting. And there, in a different, but equally as lovely sweater, was my soulmate.



"Okay, thanks, bye!" I said as I quickly rushed off to see her before she managed to disappear again.

Luckily, she was just inside the door when I made it up the stairs.

"Hey! Excuse me, hi!" I said a bit breathlessly.

With eyes bright, face full of recognition, she turned toward me.



"Hey!" She said with boundless excitement.

She knew me! She recognized me from that day at San Myshuno too! I thought I might have been able to fly away.

Her expression shifted, turning into one of puzzlement.

"Oh," she said simply, looking a bit sheepish, and even more heartbreakingly so, disappointed. "I'm sorry. I thought you were someone else. Do I know you?"



"Oh, um. No! Not yet," I replied, not deterred. "My name is Teddy. I saw you the other day in the Arts' Quarter, and today, recognized you again. What a coinky-dink, huh?"

"Oh," she said again. "I guess. Did you, like, follow me here or something?"

"Nope! Just got really lucky that you were here," I said with more charm than would be reasonable for any ordinary person to resist.

"Lucky. Yeah. Well, great to meet you, Toby. But if you'll excuse me, I am meeting someone," said the very extraordinary woman.

"Oh, yeah! Sure. It's Teddy, actually. Um, wait, what was your name?" I asked as she started to walk away.

"It's Alex," she said with a great deal of hesitance.

"Alex! Awesome. Great name. Cool sound to it. Love the Al and the Ex. Two syllables. No need for more than that. Or less! Well, unless that's short for some--" I wondered at what point in my ramblings she had gotten far enough away to stop hearing them. Hopefully... on the sooner side.

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"Hey, buck up, Buddy," Harry said after I lamented through my tale of woe on his family's couch.



"Buck up?! I ruined my shot with the love of my life!"

"Teddy, man, you don't even KNOW her! You are getting all tangled up for nothing."

"Nothing?" I sighed dramatically. How was he supposed to understand what it was like to blow your one chance at true love! "Nothing is the hole where my heart once was, the dark pit that rests deep in my chest, in my soul!" I stood up, pacing the floor. "What a life, what a miserable existence to see your destiny and have it fall right through your grasp!" I noticed Harry's younger brother watching as I nearly ran a rut in their carpet. I took him by the shoulders, thinking it was a wonderful opportunity to save this young man from my same, tragic fate.



"You must remember Tray, that life is not always fair. That sometimes, you will think you are doing very well, only to be tossed, thrown, HURLED into an abyss that--"

"Okay, NEW angle!" Harry interrupted, yanking me back to the couch and stopping me from saving his brother. "You haven't ruined anything yet. You just... need a little more time to win her over.

Calmed through renewed hope, I said, "You really think so?"

Whether Harry did or not, he replied with a hearty, "Yes! Look, let's get a lady's perspective. Stella!"

His sister looked up from the robot parts she was tinkering with at the table and raised a brow.

"That all I'm good for, Harry? A lady's perspective?"

"Of course not, but if you don't come over here and help me with Teddy, you're going to have to engineer this couch into a boat to keep us from drowning in all of his tears."

"I'm not crying!" I gasped, insulted.

"Anymore," he muttered under his breath.



Laughing, Stella joined us and Harry caught her up to speed on the dire situation of my love life.

"Oh, so you just made a huge idiot of yourself in front of a girl you like? That's nothing. That's the staple to any good romance."

"You think so?" I asked, relieved.

"If the internet or the flicks coming out of Del Sol Valley are to be believed, then sure!" She said helpfully.

"And everyone knows you can't lie on the internet," I said, laughing.



"Look at that," Harry chimed in, pleased. "We've already got you back on the right track. Let's get you a game plan, slugger."

"I heard there is a rather funky little Romance Festival happening this weekend," Harry's mom piped in as she made us some grilled cheese sandwiches.



"A Romance Festival!" I cried. "That is perfect! I will meet her there and show her all of my best moves. I will buy her flowers and candy and cups of soda that's been dyed pink. No woman can resist a pink drink!"

Stella eyed me unhappily.



"Want to try that again, Friend?"

"Uh, yes. Of course. Women are much more than just their love for pink beverages! For example, their love of puppies! Harry, should I get Alex a puppy?!"

"Oh... no. No, Teddy. Why don't I come with you on this one, man? Give you a little help to keep you from doing something too... you know, you."

"You're so smart, Harry! Oh, I better go get myself ready," I said as I began to rush out the door. "Thanks, Harry! Stella! Harry and Stella's mom!"

"Where the heck did you find that one, Harry?" Mrs. Bheeda asked.

"Yeah, he's pretty great," my best friend said with a grin.