A Path to Gold: The Alchimia Immortal Dynasty (Latest Update: 12/9/14)

[Gwendy]

I myself was born with the knowledge through a careful mixture of spells. While I know quite a few of them, apparently it is unacceptable to feed a child goat’s blood. I’m not sure I understand why; goat’s blood is very nutritious. It’s full of iron. He’s still too young for me to determine his atomic structure, but my blood is an alloy that contains iron, so he’d need some regardless.

Oh, wow, I was not expecting that. Worried there still wasn't enough metal in your story?  Thank goodness I wasn't drinking anything, I'm pretty sure it would have killed me!

I liked the Snowflake Day party. The part with the chess set was sweet.

[Deme]

Part 11: Covalent Bonds

Time continues turning; at this point, much of our lives are strings of birthdays, interspersed with a certain amount of personal time, where my research may go uninterrupted for almost-acceptable periods. Immortality, where nothing can interrupt me forever, has some appeal right now.
 
Tonight’s birthday was Jaycen’s, interrupting some time. He considered a party, but it wasn’t long after our Snowflake Day celebration, so we were all a little partied out. Or I was, anyway. I didn’t mind it, but it just seemed so noisy having so many people at once, with so little gain. If I can help it, future snowflake day parties will be more intimate; the format does not allow for good potion-testing, so there’s no need for so many guests.
 
Age doesn’t really seem to do much to him; it’s all a number, anyway. His spirit is naturally youthful that way.


Meanwhile, Aurum has her first job handling a fully-minded ghost with its sense of self completely intact. I rather imagine her handling it with the full standard of tact and…


Or she could just blast it for time’s sake. You know. Whatever.

Hm. Still, seeing spectres with such a sense of self after such an age is intriguing; are they also capable of being effected chemically? Magically? Must experiment further.


I return quickly home to finish my son’s education, at least for the moment. I am dubious about the quality of public school – what sort of place is that? Jaycen seems dismissive of the subject, Darleen cheerfully burbling about high school, Darren shrinking with the weight of memory, mumbling something about some process referred to as a ‘wedgie’ …But no one seems interested in its quality as a house of learning. I’m pleased to see that our city mandates an education, however. Knowledge is the foundation of everything.

I will certainly be able to supplement his education with my own tutoring. Nothing less will be acceptable for my little boy. And by then, he’ll be able to help me and supply a few samples for a comparison of our atomic make-up!

 
With his skills learned, Ferrus can relax and enjoy some play. I’m observing such matters thoroughly. There will be future generations to bring up, after all.
Was she envious, I wonder? Of having a youth full of play? Of having a youth? I think she may have been, in a way not fully realized.


He and Diane are growing to be fast friends, toddling out discussions of color and fingerpaints over blocks.


Darleen is also relaxing and enjoying some play. I’ll observe this as well, when it doesn’t run into my study and make me lose my place in 6 different books and knock over my vials. I did see that my flooring had a strange reaction to the acid, though…

I was running somewhat late to a small ceremony held by the city in my honor. I didn’t think it was more important than acid, so I almost didn’t attend…
But apparently I’m receiving a key to the city itself, for my work as a ghost-hunter.

“Does this unlock anything? Can you open up the city and see its insides, what makes it work, the movements of power, people, water, gas, food, ideas?”
”Lady, just take the key.”
“So…That’s a no?”
”Do you want us to be grateful or not?”
I don’t really understand why; it’s not even as if I’ve discovered something useful by examining the spirits yet! They should be awarding me after I break open the nature of life and death, not before! People are so silly.


Meanwhile, Jaycen’s daughter Sheila has become a teenager. She still looks very much like her father. Today’s visit had a special mission, though.
 
”Now, floor it!”
“…I’m not flooring it, Jaycen.”
“Oh, come on! Driving’s no fun if you’re not speeding! We’re already driving a stupid magic-van, we may as well drive so fast we taste purple!”
“But the police will notice!”
“Pah. We’ll throw some of this stuff my wife made, and they’ll be busy being tragic clowns too hard to arrest us!”
“That’s assaulting an officer!”
“Is it really assault? Really?”
“YES. Yes it is!”

That’s the report from her driving lessons. I rather wish she had ‘floored it.’ I’d have liked to see what happens with that potion; I don’t really fully know the psychological effects of prolonged magical exposure.

I’ve been told, as an aside, to try simplifying my lessons to Ferrus, to make them more ‘kid friendly.’ I made a trial run before work tonight:
“And the little hydrogen atom was very lonely, because he had a special electron to share and no atom to share it with. So he wandered and wandered, forming loose bonds at best, being reactive and unhappy. And then one day, something magical happened; he met another hydrogen atom…And that hydrogen atom was very closely bonded with an oxygen atom…Little did he realize that this would be the start of a covalent bond that would be a universal solvent!...”
Unfortunately, he fell asleep mid-way through. I thought I was doing a good job, too.


Well, I have work to do.

I begin my trial on spectral reactions in earnest. First, it appears that elixirs can even hit these ancient, full-bodied ghosts. My first trial was with a potent friendship elixir, since they are easy to produce and I have a good many of them. Results were promising – her spirit was immediately at ease and dropped all hostility towards me.


However, she maintained a certain hostility towards the thought of her eternal rest. I made an effort to explain to her that, ultimately, the place of a soul is not to linger forever after death; that all things, life and death, are stepping stones. If you are denied the spiritual wholeness, the uniting with the pure material of the soul, that I seek in life… You may still achieve it after death. But an essential part of that is abandoning the mortal world; to linger in it after death is to remain attached to base, mortal things.

The goal of the alchemist is to allow the base to reach the sublime, to achieve the peace of death without the pain of it, to purify the self without sacrificing it. My father…I want to see him again. Ferrus… I want to teach him many more things. Knowledge…I want all of it. It is for this reason that alchemy’s eternal life, alchemy’s eternal purity of spirit, is the only solution for me. Perhaps this is selfish, but…I think I might still do some good, in pursuit of that. That pursuing purity is, in fact, its own good.
I still believe.

But my friend the ghost accepts her final rest; it’s enough to know she might greet something higher still. Or maybe she’s moved by my words.

Tonight’s experiment was a magnificent success, at least.


And I go home and celebrate happily, too.

We also have yet another in the usual string of birthdays: Darleen’s.
 

However, because of the late hours of her work, we didn’t get to celebrate it. She was in rather a pout about that. I am sure this time I can find a gift to appease her! … A good present, a good present
…
….
I don’t suppose she’d be interested in an electron miscrosope?.... No, I suppose not. Her tastes are strange.

 
And I ask Darren to begin some preliminary work on the design of Ferrus’s museum room, as it begins to have content in it. He’s trying to work out what colors might look appealing in Ferrus’s world, settling on a rather strong blue-brown contrast scheme.

[MarianT]

Another great update! I particularly like Aurum's idea of a bedtime story.

[Rhoxi]

The bedtime story is indeed hilarious, and her chat with the ghost very sweet. Ferrus is one of the cutest toddlers I've seen yet. So adorable!

[RainBeau]

Ferrus' museum room looks lovely! I rather like that colour scheme. Sheila looks almost exactly like Jaycen! Crazy.

[Deme]

It's very odd, how alike they look!

Also, man, but Ferrus? Adorable toddler. But... Well, you'll see in the post after this one.

Part 12: Magnum Opus



I have a birthday at the beginning of Spring. This is the first time I have celebrated my birth in such a way. I’ve observed the others; I believe a wish is customary.
“I wish things to continue going well.”
”…Isn’t that a little bland, for a wish?”
“…I wish for good data?”
”…Nevermind.”
Jaycen’s efforts will always have been misplaced. Aurum’s not the sort of woman to just wish about her wishes, I guess.


I am now determined to analyze these sparkles. They hold mysteries.


Anyway, Quicksilver also had a birthday. He’s now something of an older cat. Limited success in capturing birthday sparkles. I should have noticed how intriguing they were sooner!

In some ways, getting older feels like a failure. While I understand it is essential to document my life as thoroughly and carefully as possible… Still, to succumb to age feels counter-productive. Like I have not been working hard enough; like my path is mistaken. But...


As I am contemplating this, Jaycen kisses me.


It’s not as if I mind; his touch melts away my worries.
“What was that for?”
”You had that look…And I wanted to argue with you about it.”
“So you argue by kissing? That’s hardly appropriate debate form,” I say, with a chuckle. “What look was that?”
”You were taking on the universe inside your head.”

”…And you were feeling bad about yourself.”

How long…Has he been watching me think, now? To him, it is a small fraction of his life. To me, it is a long fraction of my life. One day, this will have switched. Looking at it in this light, I wonder if perhaps lives cannot be measured in stages or in years; that sort of arbitrary measurement is at once essential and useless. Like Dante, I think I have reached some higher knowledge, but find my way of touching knowledge insufficient.
I am at least in a position to study life, and the relative length of existence.

“…Yes. I was.”
”You’re my beautiful woman, and don’t you ever forget it…No matter how old you get, you’ll always be the alchemist who made something useful out of me.”

He takes me into his embrace, and we head to bed together.

…There, I understand clearly his passion, and get a momentary revelation on the subject of time.  Because, to him, to us in that moment… We exist outside of time. There’s an immortality in his arms, a balance of chemicals that forms a loop of infinity… Because I will always be the person who knocked on his door in the summer. And he will always be the person who listened to my story, and comforted me…
Is that what something’s true form is, as gold is to all metals?
 I will need to experiment further.



A new creature has emerged from hiding. Origin: unknown.
In fact, there’s more than one of them about.
My studies of these little homunculi are interrupted once again by illness…

But this time, I think myself a little more self-aware. I’ll need an opportunity to check…
I feel it creeping in my spine, though… That last night may have invited a fresh layer of complication, a new distraction to my studies and my work. We’ll see.


Darren completed his lifetime wish while I was at work, with the writing of his children’s book “Aurum and the Gnomes.”


In the quiet and dark of the night, Jaycen begins deathfish-fishing. Should he have been unable to, for some reason, I had a wide variety of possible back-up plans, including Quicksilver’s own efforts and my magic. If he can just get two, we can keep a supply going in the winter.


I turn myself to an ambition…My recent studies in alchemy have revealed unfortunate information…Into the magnum opus of all alchemy, the goal of the western alchemist, the secret mission that surely my father, too, carried in his breast…The philosopher’s stone.
The news is that the materials to work on it, to even consider working on it, are not available in this town. There’s some buildings that may contain such useful materials in a few buildings in the town of Moonlight Falls…But that’s very far away.

However, I am the richest woman in town at this point. I own several pieces of property, and have been given accolades by the mayor of our fair city. I am sure I can purchase a place, and simply move the entire structures from there to here.
The money? It’s a trifle.

However, the little man at the mayor’s office seems disinclined to allow it. Something about zoning laws.
I drew myself up and told him,

“I am the daughter of the greatest alchemist to ever live, and a master alchemist in my own right. I am made of gold and magic! You think distance will stop me? You think finances will stop me? You think the laws of man, mere laws pinned like butterflies in dead books, will keep me from the laws of nature? I AM AURUM ALCHIMIA, AND I WILL NOT BE DENIED!”
My words had an immediate and powerful effect, and the man immediately handed over the deeds to the property. I recommended that he see a doctor for the sudden shaking that overtook him whenever I looked in his direction.

I am so, so proud of her, even just reading this moment. In defiance of the world for her dreams…That feels like the true heart of alchemy to me. Or, at least, Aurum’s own heart.


I have set up a small “street” on the docks for these buildings. The area has already been declared “The Witch’s Street,” and is causing a small stir in the town. I will continue my studies and await my opportunities to see what secrets they hold. The land was sold on my behalf. How sad.
I never knew this story. This is one of the reasons I agreed to compile these notes, and bring these to light. There’s a lot I missed, after all… I’d seen the place when I wandered the town, but it never occurred to me that The Witch of Witch’s street was Aurum.



As I wait, I complete further work. Specifically, I have now created enough elixirs that my work has reached the pinnacle of refinement, increasing my efficiency dramatically. I only need to test a few more elixirs on some subjects before I will consider my study of elixir-making complete, and this ‘supermax’ element in my grand plan satisfied…I’m sure no one in the house will mind.


This knowledge also comes securely with another piece of knowledge…I am definitely pregnant with a child I will see buried…But at the same time, having suspected it…My heart is already determined to keep going. I will just enjoy the time with him or her I have, and instruct Ferrus to do the same.

I wonder if Ferrus will like having a sibling. It will certainly be enlightening to witness.

I inform Jaycen; his happiness is enough to sweep the rest of my doubt into silence.

I have a few days off. I believe my opportunity has arisen. It is time to begin work on the Philosopher’s Stone.

First, a few insects. Beetles are my preference; while the butterfly, with its path of metamorphosis, is more spiritually pure , the physical structures of hard-shelled beetles, their bodies wrapped in beauty that serves as protection, are more suitable to this work. Besides…I think beetles are cute.


Second, I deliver some alchemical ingredients to the Arboreaum for processing. This is a tricky step…And the fairies flying every which way don’t make it easy. However…I believe I understand. The processes …
I’m redacting some of this again…The nature of the Philosopher’s stone is going to have to remain a secret, for the good of alchemy, if nothing else. And there’s a lot of ‘else.’ I…I simply can’t do otherwise, even though I’m shaking.


Third, I collect a few additional gems and metals, to build a base from which to extract the stone itself. For a metal, Gold, for this…Is the absolute necessity. Nothing else will do.

These collected…I begin my greatest labor, the pride that sings in the heart of the alchemist. The wish that we all work for, in our hearts…
Again, I make my cuts.

…Until at last, my work is done. My body feels at once light and heavy, joy and exhaustion battling it out. It is a beautiful treasure, the work of my soul…
Father…
Are you proud of me? Is this…your true wish for me? With my magnum opus before me… Have I taken a step closer, to fulfilling that dream you had of me as your own Filius Philosophorum?

Please, please…Let it be so. I have come so magnificently far… Still, I don’t feel it’s far enough. I wish you were here, to tell me this.
Looking into the past…I wish I could tell her, promise her, what would be coming. At the same time…I wish I could warn her, too. But we can’t alter history... I can’t make that fated day come sooner for her.

There is still work left to do. I have come this far, to the beautiful jewel glittering in the corner of my study, as the knowledge pulses in the corner of my soul…
I will go farther still, until no law of the universe might stand in the way of hearing his opinion of my work.

[Deme]

Side Chapter 2, Birthdays

There being not enough notes from Aurum on the subject for a part before some notes I rather want to transition into, I believe I will supply only my own commentary here. In the just-about half-day between the end of the last portion, and the start of the next, two special birthdays were had...


For the household's youngest members.


Neither of them aged up particularly gracefully, but that would just be remedied by a trip to the dresser and mirror.


Diane, as early as much real personality could show...Was already a girl with a rebellious streak.


Her mother despaired over her lack of feminine attire, which Diane refused with all her heart.



They did, though, work out the occaisonal compromise.




As for Ferrus...

Ferrus's little perfectionist streak began to show (and by little, I mean rather large, actually), with a slightly overly-tidy, old-fashioned quality for his outfits.

Also, sweater-vests. He apparently had something of a fondness for them.






That last outfit, though, may have been his mother's influence...Or perhaps it was just where the two of them saw eye-to-eye for a change. Ah, but that's better saved...
For his own words.

[MarianT]

They're both lovely children. It'll be interesting to see how the genes work out, assuming they marry each other.

I love Aurum's Witch's Street. I didn't realize you had to have the Arboretum to get the Philosopher's Stone opportunity. That might be why I never got it.

[RainBeau]

Um, Ferrus is the most adorable little boy ever. Oh my gosh. Wow. He really grew into his face! And his hair is perfect, I love it. I like how you make it seem as though there's more by making 'cuts' to what Aurum wrote.

[Rhoxi]

Adorableness! And there's another one on the way: fantastic! Looks like there's some good drama ahead brewing between Ferrus and Aurum.

[RaiaDraconis]

Ferrus is an absolutely stunning child. I cannot wait to see him grow up!

[Deme]

@ MarianT: I'm hoping for a kid on the orange-red-ish side of the yellow slider...But I think may be light-toned on one of the browner sliders, so we'll see.

I loved putting the street together...And that is probably exactly why you didn't get it, on the nose. I found out about it through another dynasty thread, and then immediately set forth to go and fix this via lot-buying. The moment I was done building Witch's Street, Aurum's phone rang with the opportunity, pretty much; within the sim-day. It was a rousing success, and I'm happy it got to be Aurum's last black op.

@ ombradellarosa: In my personal headcanon, she wrote more. However, there's no way I'm knowledgable enough to write it; this is the best solution. There are other reasons, too...

Also, isn't he just? I bet I am going to have some fun with those cheekbones (I have no idea whose they are. They are just great.). And I love his hair. I'm so sad I can't seem to find a good "soft" curly hair for an adult male. Not that I can think of. Work on that, Sims 3.

@ Rhoxi:  I bet you, of all people, can guess why there's another one all the way. I mean, besides cuteness.
As for drama... MWAHAHAHA! Of course, a scientist and an artist will either love each other, or fight. Bitterly.

@ RaiaDraconis: Neither can I! We're actually about level with where I am in my file...I need to play ahead a bit, so I can see.

[Hallucination]

Ferrus has this very old-fashioned gentlemanly charm to him. Doesn't hurt that he'd be adorable if he was wearing a pig mask, but still.

[Deme]

He does indeed; I can't help but feel he looks a natural in the prince costume kids can wear from the costume chest.

Also, the next chapter may take a little while...We're actually pretty much totally caught-up to my actual play file. Woops!

Part 13: Maquette

For this part, I feel it best to switch to the unabridged accounts of the young heir, Ferrus. First, because I think that it reveals what his nature was, from the beginning, and because it was a nature other accounts cannot give a full picture of (of course, I do not believe his own accounts will always give a full picture of his character, either. Perspective is an interesting thing). He was a person full of feelings that, like his mother's, rarely extended outside the reach of his own young heart. Second, because Aurum's notes mainly devolved, as they tended to, into studying: she was in heavy analysis of the philosopher's stone at the time, and so her notes become a series of chemical equations and heady metaphors. Best just to follow interest where it may, though I think the break from her story (and my first volume or chapter) has yet to occur.

^{From the Journal of Ferrus Alchimia}

Mom says Ferrus is supposed to be sort of a twisted-up version of the word for “Iron.” Even though they don’t sound alike, I believe her. Mom’s very smart about stuff like that.
Sometimes, I think she is not very smart about me. I don’t feel like iron. Iron is strong and it’s useful. It’s everywhere, because it’s so good at a lot of the stuff people want metal for.
But maybe a twisted up version of iron isn’t like that; I dunno. I do like things that are kind of twisted up, though.  The twisting happens, and it needs to happen carefully or you just get a mess, and you end up with something that’s very different from normal things; it lets you see what the normal thing is really like.

Oh, but. Um. What I meant about my mom…

On my and Diane’s birthday, they didn’t have rooms for us. They didn’t even have enough. It was my mom’s plan, to only do what we needed to do. It’s…kind of irresponsible, isn’t it? Why did they think that would work? What’s wrong with these people? Anyway, they scrambled and added a bunch.
This is my room; at least they let me decorate it myself! I’m not sure it’s quite right… But… It’s what I could think to do. It’s got some toys and some art supplies, and I like that it is sort of grown-up and colorful at the same time. I like things that are like lots of things.


Diane got to decorate her room, too. It’s kind of loud, especially when she leaves her record player on (that was a pun).  I like her room, too.


They also didn’t think about enough table-space in the kitchen for all of us, either. See what I mean about irresponsible? Sure, it saves space and money, but even if it’s efficient, it’s reckless. What if something went wrong?


And then, in some reversal of fortune… They added some other stuff, like a place outside to party. I guess we’re a big family, so we need space to get together…

Um, I don’t want to sound like I’m complaining! I’m just a little worried…
Oh, there is some really neat stuff about my family, though!


Like, since it was my birthday, I got to get a lot of paintings and stuff done of me. I stuck around to watch my dad sculpt; it was really, really beautiful. Not, like, because I was good-looking…But because the ice was me and not-me. The ice was ice and not-ice. When he found my features in the ice, it became something else.
But “I” already existed in the ice, waiting to happen. My lips, my eyes, my chin, the tilt of my head…The ice’s shine, the cold, the way it twists the world on the other side of it…
Those things became a part of “catching me” in the ice.
Isn’t that amazing? I think it’s beautiful.



Oh, um, about rooms… They added one more room than they needed; they added an empty room next to Diane’s. That’s because my mom’s gonna have a baby. Her stomach’s getting really big from having a baby in it.

The room next to Diane’s is gonna be hers. I hope I have a sister…Diane’s kind of enough like having a brother.
I can’t let her catch me writing this; she’ll kill me. She’d say I’m just being unfair to girls by saying just because she doesn’t act like a girl’s “supposed” to act, she’s not a girl… I guess she’s right. But I like things being what they’re supposed to be…
But I’m not sure I could still be like what I’m “supposed” to be. I’m worried about that.


I mean, even if a guy should try and be like a prince…I’m not like that. Only playing pretend. Princes probably don’t worry about what’ll happen if his house isn’t built OK.

Maybe it’s better to decide you’re just going to be the best dinosaur, if you can’t be a princess… What do you be if you can’t be a good prince?
”Be more confident!”
Is what Diane says… I’ll try, Diane. I’ll do my best! I’m going out there and…


AAAAAAH! SCARY SKELETON LADY! ALL HER BONES ARE JUST SORT OF HANGING THERE, WITHOUT ANY SKIN OR ANYTHING! Aaaaaaah!
It was around this time that Jaycen elected to, without telling his wife, put Bonehilda back in the box for a while. I haven’t found mention of her in the notes since.


”Are you actually scared of that?”
“…Well…Yes!”
Diane sighs.
”That’s sad, that’s what that is. She just plays with the dog and mops.”
“WITHOUT ANY SKIN OR ANYTHING! And why do her clothes still hang that way? D-d-does she have implants? Silicon doesn’t rot, you know. She might.” My mom told me that trivia about silicon. “Why does a skeleton have those?”
”What someone does to their body isn’t your business, Ferry!”
“W-what I’m scared of isn’t your business, Di!”


”Yeah, yeah…C’mere. I’ll make sure she doesn’t try any funny detaching stuff, K? You’ve got me, and I aint afraid of no skelly-maid!”
She’s a little rough with me…
But Diane’s got my back.

”It’s not like I’ll let her sneak up behind you, like this, and … OOGABOOOGABOOGA!”

“Aaaah!”
When my heart calmed down…
“…That’s your job, isn’t it?”
”Bingo!”

Oh, we’ve got more news!

Mom gave birth; at first we figured she was going to have the baby in the kitchen, but Dad talked her to going to the hospital.


I have a brother. It’s kind of disappointing, but I won’t complain. His name is Stannum. Mom says that’s an old word for Tin.
I’m…just going to call him Stan. I guess I’m not the only one with a weird name. He’s a virtuoso who loves the outdoors. He’s all yellow like me. He likes cookies, sea foam, and geek rock.

His journal entry ends here, but I think it’s a worthwhile understanding of his nature to allow things to continue in his voice, for a time.

It’s a festival today – love day (Mom’s into saying when we’re born changes the stars we’re born under, and the fate of our lives …What does that say about Stan?), so some of us – those not watching the baby – get to go out and have fun.
It was my dad’s idea.





Diane and I got to hunt for eggs! I found a bunch.


I even got to find this awesome gnome!



Mom and Dad…They mostly did, well, Mom and Dad stuff.

Mom and Dad stuff is kind of boring.

Diane ended up getting more tickets than me…But I found the only gnome, so I guess that’s OK. I didn’t even want to get anything with my tickets…

“So you can have them.”
”Seriously? You’re actually giving me your tickets?”
“Yeah.”
”You are the best friend! That’s so cool! I owe you one, so I promise not to mess with your trains.”
“…Why would you mess with my trains? They’re fine just the way they are!”
”It’d shake things up. But…I won’t. Today.” She smiled and gave me a hug.
…I’m someone’s best friend.



…I knew Mom would want me to take a picture with Dad, and Dad would want me to take a picture with Mom…But no one would be there to take a picture with Diane today….
So I decided I’d take one myself.


Mom was busy ‘gathering specimens.’ If she thinks the flowers are pretty, she should just say so…They are, even if guys aren’t supposed to think things like that.



It was a good day.

But you know…After such a fun day like that, you know what mom does?

Sits me down and tries to make me do work and learn things. I don’t care about balancing chemical formulas, mom! What happens if they aren’t balanced? Does it matter? They aren’t real chemicals, they’re just letters on paper…(When you write it like that, Iron is Fe. I don’t know why, but seeing that makes me happy.)
Anyway, I couldn’t get away.
That’s the sort of person my mom is…
She said this was all to help me with school…


But you know what? It didn’t help at all.  She lied.
…No, that’s mean. Mom definitely wanted to help me, and make sure I could get As and do well…Maybe Mom just doesn’t get it…She might just be able to go on, not caring what other people think. But people think…People thought…
Having yellow skin is weird. People’s uncles get yellow skin and then they have to get a new liver. I look like a Simpsons character. I’m just a dumb nerd.
Even  Diane … yelled at them for just picking on someone weaker and more alone than them.

I hear that, even though she’s trying to have my back… And I feel myself twisting up inside.
What sort of person am I? What sort of person should I be?

[redmare]

Oh, Ferrus! Poor baby! *Reaches through screen and hugs*
Really great update! Stannum is so cute! I can't wait to see how he looks! Diane has aged up beautifully.