When the Zombies Come -- a Cottoneye Decadynasty (COMPLETED)

[MarianT]

Chapter Two – Another Visit

   Jaeger soon started working at the Soil and Water Treatment Center, but he didn’t feel settled yet. He took a short trip to Egypt to demonstrate his ability to disable firetraps, and while he was there, he picked up some plums, cherries, and pomegranates. Planting them enabled him to finish one of the challenges for a gardener.



   He saw his mother’s ghost one evening when working in the garden, and that heartened him. She had promised to stick around, and he was glad to see her, although he wondered why she was wearing her bathing suit.



   Peter and Joy seemed to return to being ordinary teen-agers, concerned mainly with pranks…



…and asking the orb whether they would ever find love.



   The big event looming in their lives was the prom. They left one evening filled with nervous anticipation. Jaeger predicted that they would be named prom king and queen respectively, and even that they would each start a new romance.



   He was right on all counts, although a little surprised that Peter’s romantic interest turned out to be a male babysitter. Immediately after the prom, Peter had his birthday.



   Jaeger was finishing fertilizing some plants in the garden when he heard a strange noise from the front porch. He called his father, but there was no answer.



   He rushed to the front, and saw that the Grim Reaper was making yet another visit to the house, much too soon after the first.



   Jaeger wanted to weep and wail, to grab his father by the heels and pull him back into life, but he suddenly remembered the advice his father had given him not long ago: “If the Grim Reaper shows up – for any reason – make friends with him, because that will count for one of your requirements.” Playing paper, rock, scissors with Grim – and losing – seemed to do the trick, although it gave Jaeger an eerie feeling.



   Afterwards, he took his father’s obelisk and put it in the garden with his mother’s tombstone.

[SimBlip]

Rest In Peace, Orion.
It sounds a little morbid, but in a way it's neat that both parents have their tombstone placed.
I did not know friendship with Grim counts towards the requirements. I wonder how that will play out.
Another fine update!

[MarianT]

Chapter Three – A Perfect Garden

   The perfect garden begins with good, healthy seeds or sprouts. (Peter and Cheri graduated from high school. Peter was named valedictorian.)



Water and sunshine are as necessary as love. (Jaeger managed to persuade Cheri to go steady with him.)



Each plant requires its own, special nutrients. (Peter has taken a job as a fortune teller.



He has changed his name to Petrus Kattanai and decorated the garage to suit his taste.)



Occasionally pests will threaten the garden. (You’d think the burglar would have learned by now.)



The wise gardener will learn how to deal with them. (Not only do they have an alarm, but at least one of Orion’s children should be able to apprehend a burglar.)



New growth in the garden is always cause for celebration. (Joy had an awesome birthday party.)



Nothing is more beautiful than a fresh flower. (Here she is in her new formal.)



The good gardener is rewarded with a bountiful harvest. (Jaeger completed his lifetime wish of A Perfect Garden. He has maxed gardening and completed 2 of the 3 skill challenges.)

[saltpastillen]

Making good progress. And may I say that Joy looks beautiful like her mother.

[SimBlip]

Hurray for Cheri Luke's graduation.
I loved the lesson in gardening! LOL @ 'dealing with pests'! 

[MarianT]

Chapter Four – Another Letter from Elaine

Dear Dad,

   Yes, I know I’m a ghost, but that doesn’t mean I’ve suddenly become illiterate. If I can pass through walls but still manage to sit in a rocking chair, I can easily manipulate paper and pen. (Incidentally, don't worry about my grumpy face. You'd look grumpy too if the plate of half-eaten apple pancakes you finished off turned out to be spoiled.)



   My three babies are all grown up now. Each one had a fairly good time at the prom; more important, each was named class valedictorian. I’m so proud of them, and I’m sure you would be, too.



   Jobs have been tight, so Joy has been going to the dump to see what she can find. It’s not what I would want for her, but she doesn’t seem to mind. Perhaps when her boyfriend Jeff catches up to her in age, she’ll take an interest in something other than building robots.



   Peter (who now calls himself Petrus) is very focused on his career. He’s been harvesting honey and beeswax to use in elixirs (not the safest of activities).



   He also gave his first private reading the other night. It wasn’t very successful – he told his friend Heather that she would soon be parting with some money. Although it was accurate, it wasn’t what she wanted to hear.



   Jaeger and Cheri are still very much in love.



   He still has a long way to go at work. He was involved in an explosion the other day, but it came about when he was helping his boss with an experiment. I guess getting blown up together is as good a way of bonding as any – the two of them are now best friends.



   The Watcher has been strangely absent lately. I can feel her presence more clearly now that I’m a ghost – that is, when she’s around. She murmured something apologetic about another “challenge” – I don’t know what she meant by that. Anyway, hope you’re doing well in Bridgeport.

Love, Elaine

[SimBlip]

So nice to see another update. A ghostly writer makes it all the more interesting!
Good luck on your other challenge!

[MarianT]

Chapter Five – Flames

   There are many different kinds of flames. For example, there is actual fire, which can attack the unwary inventress.



Then again, there’s the warmth of a flame fruit, so desirable that Jaeger was paid over $4,000 to deliver a few for a party.



   On a metaphoric level, there’s the flame of curiosity – Jaeger discovering that, after all, the moodlet manager will not cure someone of being a werewolf (although it does cure the zombie).



   There’s the ardor of devotion – the mother who continues to cook for her children even though she’s become a ghost.



And who retains her love for her garden.



   Last but not least, there’s the flame of passion. Jeff and Joy have been faithful to each other, and Jeff has finally become old enough for romance.



“Dearly beloved, we are gathered together…”



“I, Jeff, take thee, Joy, to have and to hold…”



“You may kiss the bride.”



   The over-emotional guests react accordingly.





Others react a little strangely. Well, that's werewolves for you.

[saltpastillen]

Such a sweet chapter!

Curiosity is a very good thing to have, I guess alchemy is the way to go if you want to cure random werewolfs, even though the moodlet manager would have been more convenient.

[RainBeau]

I love the premise of this story, and the execution is great as well. Looking forward to further updates!

[SimBlip]

I love how you gather different aspects of life together under one more abstract theme. It reminded me of the earlier 'gardening lesson' from Jaegher.
This is another beautiful and very creative update, Marian!

[MarianT]

Chapter Six – A Difficult Pregnancy

   After a wedding comes a honeymoon, or at least a bout of friskiness.  Jeff, by the way, wants to be a professional author. He’s a workaholic, a couch potato, and a supernatural fan who can’t stand art.



And after the friskiness comes a pregnancy.

Jeff:  Wow! I can hear him kicking.

Joy:  Ouch. And she’s going to be a girl.



Jeff:  The baby can be whatever it wants to be. Have I told you you’re gorgeous today? Oh, hi, Petrus.



   Flashback here:  The Watcher had known for some time that Petrus’s gender preference was male, and she also knew that he liked to flirt. But she was so surprised when he got up from the breakfast table and kissed his new brother-in-law that she failed to get a screenshot.

Joy:  You came to the wedding. How could you not realize that Jeff and I have feelings for each other? I can’t believe I’m even asking this question.



Petrus:  But I didn’t realize how I felt until I saw him this morning. You’re my sister – don’t you care about my feelings?

Joy:  You are talking about the FATHER of my CHILD!



   Petrus didn’t get any comfort from Jeff either.



   Meanwhile, Joy was trying to explain how she felt to her father. “It doesn’t bother me that he’s gay. I know he’s better looking than I am and that half the boys in high school had a crush on him, but I wish he would leave my husband alone. And don’t say that Jeff can look after himself. He’s got a thing about supernaturals, and Petrus took advantage of that. I just want everything to be perfect for the baby.”

   Orion, like most ghosts, didn’t say anything.



   That evening, Joy went to see her Aunt Hope.

Joy:  So Petrus says he doesn’t care about Jeff any more, and he’s keeping his options open, whatever that means. I just hope this baby is a girl.

Hope: Well, in that case, dear, you need to start eating watermelons.



Joy:  Watermelons? Do they really work? Oh, wait, Aunt Hope, you can't go, not now!



Jaeger:  Now, hold still, and I’ll get rid of those nasty feelings of grief.

Jeff:  That’s right, sweetheart, everything is going to be fine. Have I told you you’re gorgeous today? And you’re going to have a beautiful baby girl.



   A baby girl – Joy rushed away to stuff a watermelon into her mouth.



Later…

Petrus:  Don’t die! Don’t die! I’m sorry! Don’t die!

Joy:  Oh, go and mix an elixir or something. I’m not going to die.



   Welcome, Norman Cottoneye! Like your great-grandfather Norman, you love the outdoors, and like your great-grandfather Hunter, you’re – well, let’s just say eligible for treatment at the GO Centre.



   Lest we forget that this is a decadynasty – Jaeger has supermaxed gardening, and picked up his 5th black op – Of Fish, Robots, and Robot Things.

[saltpastillen]

Oh the drama!

I would have been surprised too, no wonder you didn't get a screenshot. I hope it didn't cause to much friction in the house, with a baby on the way and everything.

[MarianT]

Lol! No friction -- just Petrus is mad at Jeff for cheating on him. He also has the "betrayed" moodlet. Joy is oblivious -- she hasn't seen any romantic interactions between the two of them, so she's fine. Petrus has the "Exploring His Options" reputation, which I've never seen before, but he has two other romantic interests.

[SimBlip]

Oh dear, Petrus! He'll probably get the 'naughty reputation' moodlet next. Maybe, he ought to take one of his romantic interests further and move out. Flirty Sims are walking time bombs.
Lol! The watermelons...
Welcome, Norman Cottoneye!