In Another Life Stories

[ArtdefinesSimmer]

Another month gone by and the repo-woman was here again. Luckily she was kind enough to never take anything she needed to live, like the bed or toilet. On her way out she would always say "See you at the park tomorrow!" and sure enough she would always drop a few dollars in Gwen's tip jar. The tips were not enough to pay the bills though. None of the proprietors would hire her for shows, and she could never win a talent contest - there was always someone better in this town. Musicians, singers, magicians even - no matter how cool her juggling was or how crazily she contorted her body it just wasn't enough. She bought the cheapest, sparkly-est costumes she could find but they were itchy and hot, which distracted her.Her only happy moments were working out at the gym and talking to all her other friends who were working their way up the ladder. She even got pointers from pro's who had beaten her in the past. Everyone seemed to really want her to do well, so she kept pushing.



Winter had finally hit, and it was brutal. Snow everywhere. Going to the park for tips was not an option. She was making the rounds and being refused as usual when one of the proprietors finally said yes!
"We are trying to sell ice-cream. It isn't doing well since it's winter, ya know? Anyway, you do your tricks, and I'll have big ice-cream cones behind you! And try to wear something that shows some skin. Can you do tomorrow night?"
Gwen was so excited she immediately agreed and went out to buy a costume. She was able to find something revealing enough that it was borderline lingerie. She polished she clubs, stretched, practiced everything three times, and was in high spirits when she went out to the coffeehouse. She went inside to find the proprietor, and was quickly shown outside. Where the stage was. In the snow...



It was cold, the set was corny, and she was ready to cry. The balance ball wouldn't work in the snow, and her torches kept going out. Luckily there were only a few people to see it since there was a very poor turnout. The pay was barely enough to cover the cost of the costume she bought. The proprietor did say he was proud of her though, and that he would recommend her to a friend. Maybe it would all turn out ok...

Turned out the proprietor was true to his word. A few weeks later she received a call from the local rodeo club to come perform. This time she remembered to ask if the stage was indoors. It was, and she performed her heart out. Both the coffee house and the rodeo bar asked her to be a steady performer. Life was pretty good.




It was snowing like there would be no tomorrow as Gwen headed home from the bar she was performing at. Word of mouth about her performances was spreading, and she was thinking about auditioning at one of the real performance venues next week. As she walked up to her townhouse she heard the most awful wailing noise coming from her patio.  She walked out back to investigate and found the noise was coming from a lump of snow. Maybe a cat was dying? She reached down to pull the poor thing up and discovered she had a freezing cold baby in her hands.




Gwen immediately brought the poor thing in and began warming it up. A quick check revealed it was a boy, and it's diaper was clean. Quickly she called her friend Sandy who had just mentioned having to get rid of her toddlers crib soon at the gym. Sandy agreed to bring the crib over and told Gwen how to take care of the baby until she could take him to the police station. The crib barely fit in her kitchen area, but it would have to do.

[ArtdefinesSimmer]

The baby (she refused to name him and get too attached) continued to cry throughout the night. He would not drink the offered milk, and would not sleep. Luckily for her there was no diaper wetting either. Gwen wondered if maybe he was dehydrated, so she put some water in a bottle and tried to get him to drink that. Instantly the baby latched onto the water and drank it all. Then it fell asleep in her arms. As she lay the baby down to sleep in the crib she realized she could quickly come to love him.

The next morning Gwen rose from bed achy and exhausted. Then she realized it was nearly ten in the morning! She ran down to check on the baby and found that he was perfectly happy, cooing softly to himself. She picked him up and found no signs of him having soiled his diaper...she was pretty sure it was not normal for a baby to go more than 12 hours without going to the bathroom. Once again he would not touch the milk, but greedily drank the water. In the daylight she began to notice some other strange things about him.  His skin had an orange hue to it, and there looked to be tufts of green hair sticking out of his scalp. Then she began to wonder at how he ended up in her backyard in the first place. Maybe turning him into the police would be a bad idea. If he wasn't normal than the government would study him and poke needles into him and he would never have a normal life. She decided to keep him just a little longer to make sure that he wasn't in danger.

She named him Heath, after the heather behind her house.



Gwen quickly realized several things about Heath. He was definitely not normal - maybe not even human. He only drank water - nothing else was acceptable to him, and the little milk she had forced him to drink made him very sick. He was happiest when she took him in the shower with her. Second were his eyes that were such a light green they didn't look real, and his orange skin looked like a botched spray tan job. When his hair continued to grow in leaf green she knew something was very strange indeed. Second was that he learned very quickly. He was already crawling and Gwen realized that this place was not big enough for the two of them. She was scared that someone would see him, so she  never let him outside. She had been saving money for a bigger place anyway and had been looking into a fancy apartment building in the hills. She would have to share a floor with two other roommates, but if she kept to herself and made Heath stay inside it should be fine. She called the Management company and made the arrangements, stating that her nephew had been placed in her care. Gwen made it very clear that he had a sensitivity to sunlight and therefore needed to stay indoors and not be bothered by other tenants. The manager assured her that would not be a problem.




Heath learned and grew quickly. The longer he was out of the sunlight, the lighter his skin was becoming. She held her breath that one day it would look a more natural color. Gwen never lied to him - she always told him that he was different than other people and that was dangerous for him to be seen. She taught him to be quiet during the day when he was alone and to only leave the bedroom if she said it was ok. He wasn't to answer the door or phone. Even though he was only a toddler he would nod his head sagely, and the wisdom in his bright eyes took her breath away. He learned to talk very quickly and to walk even faster. That is when the flowers began to appear.



Whenever heath walked on the wood floors there would be tiny flowers where he stepped, and they would fade back below the floorboards a moment later. It never ceased to astonish her, and Heath did not seem to be able to control it. That night she began to research homeschooling options. This was going to be harder than she thought, but she would not give up on him. She loved her little boy and would do her best to keep him safe.

[ArtdefinesSimmer]

Okay, so that was a pretty short timeline since most of her life was just working out and making friends. This next one is a doozy though, very picture heavy. Let's just say I had some fun with the performance sets and costumes.  This next part will end generation one and the vote will be put up for heir. I will be away for the weekend ( I will have internet on my phone, just no computer) and hopefully people will discover this story and vote! Depending on the # of votes i will either get to playing next week or wait a little longer for people to discover this. On that note...

[ArtdefinesSimmer]

Gwen's internal alarm woke her up at 6:30 a.m. on her first day in Starlight Shores. Her militant father had awoken her at 6:30 a.m. for as long as she could remember, and the habit was not going to stop just because she had finally moved out. She could hear his voice in her mind "Those who get up with the sun have more daylight, and more opportunities". She lay in her bed, contemplating her choices for the day. She wanted to be at the park to begin performing, but the park didn't open until 9 am and people probably wouldn't begin to show up until lunchtime...and her bed was nice and comfy.
With that thought she rolled over and slept for two more hours. By  9 a.m. she groggily dragged herself out of bed. It was her first day out on her own, she was entitled to a little R&R.



Suddenly she perked up - pancakes! She carefully climbed downstairs to make herself her favorite comfort food. As she was in the middle of chowing down when the doorbell rang. The door was thrown open as soon she she unlocked it and a giant furry animal bounded it's way inside. Then it began to speak!

"Hi! I'm Daisy and I'm your friendly neighborhood Fighting Llama! I'm here to help you find your future! At Sims University you can follow dreams, gain the skills you need to succeed, and create a support network of alumni who will know you and support you from all over the world. Take your life to new heights today!"



After saying all that she let out a deep breath and said. "Now that I've said all that, I can speak to you like a normal person". Then she began to laugh. The whole situation was so absurd Gwen began to laugh too. When they were done laughing Daisy got serious.

"I am here because the university changed by life - it kick-started my career and I met the love of my life there, along with every friend I will ever need from now on. I don't want to know where I would be without it. That is why I wear this dorky costume and say that speech. I believe in the University, for everyone. What can I do to get you to go?"

Gwen was intrigued. She knew her father always wanted her to go to university, but she didn't see how it applied to being an acrobat. Daisy explained all about the athletics major, and recommended a fine arts minor. They had an accelerated program Gwen could take where she would be in classes from dawn to dusk most of the week, but her weekends would be free. She even found some financial aid for Gwen. By mid-day she had Gwen signed up, packed, and in a taxi to University.




University was a blur of sounds and colors her first day. No sooner had she checked into her sorority house, (where she was greeted by more females than she could possibly remember), then her phone alerted her of a a welcoming ceremony for the newbies at the Student Union building. There she was able to pick up a map and banner, introduce herself to her professors, and play a game of pool with her mascot friend, who told her to get ready for the ride of her life.

When she finally returned to the dorm at 8pm she found her bags had been tossed on a bed in the basement, which suited her since it was next to a bathroom and the exercise equipment. The head of the sorority looked over her schedule with her and whistled at how packed it was; class from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, lecture Tuesday, and lab on Thursday left her little room for socializing. It meant she would earn her degree in one term though, and that was important to Gwen. Everyone told her to get as much sleep as possible if she wanted to survive, so she put in a brief call to her father to tell him the news and assure him she would be alright, and then she set her internal alarm for 6:30 a.m.

[ArtdefinesSimmer]

University Life was more difficult that Gwen had imagined it would be, but she loved every minute of it. She learned everything there was to know about her body inside and out, and could now move individual muscles on their own. She had classes to teach her how to promote herself, put together an interesting act, watch the audience to see how they reacted to the performance, and she even took a costume making elective. There were master classes at night on fireproofing, balance ball, juggling anything, keeping a smile going no matter what went wrong. Gwen had so many classes she barely had time to socialize, although she did love seeing all the different students. Young and old, conservative and rebellious. There were some students who only seemed to study, and some who never went to class at all.




Then there was the mysterious man who passed her in the way to the music building on Mondays and Wednesdays.



She wasn't sure what it was about him that intrigued her the most. Was it the fact that he was always in such a hurry, or his hair which seemed like it couldn't make up it's mind to be tame or wild, or his unique blazer that proclaimed a love for music with symbols all over it? Gwen often caught herself looking for him on the quad, but she never saw him anywhere else. As graduation weekend neared she became more desperate to find him, going out to all the coffee shops and even the bowling alley the last Friday night, until she was dead tired on her feet. It bothered her that she would never so much as know his name, where he was from, what he wanted in life. She fell asleep making up stories about him.

The next morning she woke up embarrassed. What had come over her? With all her finals over she had the whole day off before the ceremony Sunday, so she decided to help the girls set up for the big graduation bonfire they were planning. It seemed they had invited practically everyone they knew. With only a few hours of daylight left Gwen realized she wanted to sit out in the quad by the music building one last time and soak up the atmosphere of University. She was sending an e-mail to her father before the shadows overtook her when she realized there was someone sitting on a bench nearby. It was him! quickly she stood up and walked over to introduce herself.




His name was Parker Chase, and he was a music major. They talked about classes and teachers for a minute. Gwen mentioned that she always saw him running to class late, and he explained himself sheepishly.
"I start to practice my music and I get so caught up in it I forget the time...My teachers always let me stay late though to make up for it."
Gwen knew it wouldn't be polite to keep him, although she did want to get to know him more. Then she remembered the stupid party.
"My sorority is throwing a bonfire party for everyone tonight - you are welcome to come. It would be nice to have someone to talk to...We are the big white house to the east."
Parker said he would try to make it and Gwen was surprised to find herself suddenly looking forward to the evening. 
Gwen had  great time at the bonfire, mostly due to the fact that Parker spent the whole night by her side. They discussed their likes and dislikes, and their dreams and fears for the future. Parker mentioned that his dream was to play for the Starlight Shores symphony, Gwen laughed.
"If you are ever in town to audition, make sure to stop by my townhouse. I live right next door!" He was astonished at this and begged for her contact information, which she happily gave him.



Falling asleep that night Gwen was glad she had come to university to learn and grow and make friends, just like the mascot said she would. She faced graduation the next day with pride in her heart and went home happy.

[ArtdefinesSimmer]

Gwen had only been home a week after graduation when she found a message from Parker on her answering machine. She had a hard day haggling for prices on fabric to make her own costume and it was a pleasant surprise.
"Hi Gwen, It's Parker, from University...We talked all night at the bonfire. You said I could call you if I was ever in starlight shores. I am actually headed out there tomorrow to to to get a job in the orchestra, and was hoping I could have lunch with you. Call me back!"
She called him back immediately and promised to be home all day so he could stop by and see her. She was super excited to see him, to show him her designs, to hear about his plans for life - and just to see his face and hear his voice. It was then she realized she might have a tiny crush on him...



Parker showed up the next day after his interview at the concert hall. He told her good news and bad news. The good news was they accepted him into their trainee program, but he would have to work his way up beginning at sweeping the floors and learn every possible job in the theater before actually being able to perform so he was well rounded and respected everyone else. The bad news was that could take years.
Gwen congratulated him and began to tell him about the journey she would have to take - how each show she created had to have a theme, and performing at dirty clubs and in the park. It was then that Parker made his suggestion.
"What if we pooled our resources and got ourselves a nice house together. That way we could have a decent work-space and can pay our bills more easily."
Gwen was stunned. They talked about it all night, making spreadsheets and learning about each-others past so they could trust one another. By the end of the week they had found a suitable house and were ready to move in together.



The house was gorgeous. They had separate bedrooms, and a common living area. They made plans to put in musical instruments for Parker, and workout equipment for Gwen. Once they were settled Gwen fully committed herself to getting her first act together. Her biggest asset right now was her strength and flexibility, so she centered it around feats of acrobatics. Her costume was leather and zippers in her favorite colors, and the audience really enjoyed it.




Parker was super sweet and a great roommate. He tended to always show up at meals and share them with her. He would even bring her leftovers to the park so she didn't have to buy lunch all the time. When he wasn't learning how to clean the theater he was allowed to sit in on the shows and rehearsals for free and he was always inspired. Gwen was approached at the end of one of her performances about doing a show before the NASCAR races for a BBQ at the park. She said she would put an act together and audition it in a week. Parker suggested they celebrate her success by going for a swim. Every time either one of them got a gig or a promotion he would find some fun, inexpensive way to celebrate. Games at the arcade, looking at the stars, cooking a fancy meal. She really could get used to having him around. Watching him play his new guitar didn't hurt either.

[ArtdefinesSimmer]

Both Gwen and Parker were earning good money now - certainly enough that they could easily afford their own separate house payments. Neither one of them brought it up though. Gwen was just finishing up a show one night when she was asked to do a winter show at the coffeehouse. They wanted to promote ice cream in winter for some reason. She took her laptop to the meeting with the proprietor and re-designed his entire show. She nixed the giant ice-cream cones behind her, and refused the insulting suggestion that she wear something skimpy. The man knew how good she was though, and knew he would get his moneys worth, even if he agreed to the extra thousand in payment and one hundred per head that showed up. Then she Photo-shopped  a flyer and began distributing it via social media.



She could not wait to get home to tell Parker, and was finding it harder to resist him. Especially on their celebration nights when all the stress from the week just dropped away. As expected Parker suggested they go out when Gwen told him the good news. When they got home from the karaoke bar she noticed he seemed distracted. She grabbed his hands to ask him what was bothering him, and was stunned by the speech he delivered.
"Gwen - I have loved you since the night we watched the bonfire burn and talked about our futures. When we graduated I realized I couldn't imagine that future without you in it. I convinced you to move in with me hoping you would feel the same, but you have never once let on that you would be interested in a relationship with me. It's slowly breaking my heart and I don't know if I can go on living like this; seeing you every day but not touching you, congratulating you without kissing you. I need you Gwen."
Gwen was shocked beyond words. She had started daydreaming about romantic encounters with him, but didn't know how to go about anything related to dating or love. Blushing profusely, she revealed her complete lack of romantic relationships. Then she took a deep breath and admitted that she had been daydreaming about it, with him. She had never seen him so happy, and he led her to the couch and held her all night while they rethought their living situation. It was clear they were going to need a bigger bed.



The weeks leading into winter were very exciting for Gwen. She was putting together three different shows, and learning how to love. She had her "ice cream" show, which she called Winter Chills, and a fire themed show that was her idea in the works. It was incredibly dangerous, and she could not wait to start practicing it. The local western themed bar had asked her for a rodeo themed show at the end of winter, giving her full creative power, and she had promised she wouldn't let them down. Her Winter Chills show ended up doing fabulously, and when she pitched her fire themed show all over town venues practically begged for it!




'Firebug' had sold out shows every night for an entire week, netting her about eight thousand dollars a night. But still the large show venues would not allow her to join their troupes, or allow a solo performer. She still had her rodeo gig, but the circuit was tired of fire - everyone had seen it done now. She needed some inspiration for a new show. Her rodeo show was cute ( they couldn't pay for much) and did well, but it was the surprise at the end that shocked her.



Parker showed up at the end of the show. She had expected him there to see it, and was a bit sad he hadn't been. Then she realized he was wearing a ridiculous outfit.
"Why are you dressed like a bull fighter?" Gwen asked.
"All members of the orchestra of Carmen have to wear this outfit, that is why I was late, I was having it fitted." He replied with a glowing smile.
Gwen shrieked and jumped up and down with joy. She was glad he finally seemed to be getting his dream, just as she was getting hers. Then he dropped down on one knee and pulled out a ring.
"Gwen - we promised to support each other as we reached for our goals. Now I'm asking if we can continue that support long after. I want to be with you when we hear our children planning their futures, so we can support them too. Gwen Anderson - will you do me the honor of marrying me?




They celebrated their engagement that night by buying a much needed computer Gwen, and a piano for Parker. They decided to wait until the snow stopped to have their wedding. The computer gave her an idea for a new cyber themed show, and she was able to get a few venues interested in it. One of the places was a posh nightclub that was willing to pay bigger bucks that even she was used to. She would be performing for celebrities!

[ArtdefinesSimmer]

As soon as the snow melted they made a reservation at the local chapel to be married. Gwen had two Dancers at her bachelorette party, which was hosted by the rodeo bar. The wedding was beautiful and all the local newspapers covered it.




Then they went looking to buy a bigger house. Gwen wanted to have a baby while her body was still strong, so she could get back to work quickly.







Little Lucas was names after after Parker's father. He had Gwen's bright blue eyes and his fathers love of music. Gwen and Parker were going to work overtime to make sure their little Lucas had everything he could possibly want.

[ArtdefinesSimmer]

That's all for the first Gen 1 - here is the link to the poll for heir. This is on my own website. I'm not sure what the normal rules are for polls. If you prefer a different type let me know, or just post who/what you like here. I'll be reading the forum and replying all weekend. Thanks.

I didn't play the kids into farther ages because it's a lot of play time to do all this, and I didn't want to get too attached to characters I am just going to delete...
Thought I might save them as townies in the future.

I can tell you that
-Charlie will probably be a fireman or life-guard or something heroic and lawful like that. The will move to Hidden Springs to avoid seeing Darrren (who may show up again)
-Heath and Gwen will move to Moonlight Falls so they fit in better. Probably a scientist or doctor, something geniusy.
-Lucas will be in a band and they will stay in Starlight Shores.

http://www.funwithmysims.info/polls.html

[ArtdefinesSimmer]

I woke up to 4 votes this morning! YAY Made waking up so early to get on the train not so bad.

[ArtdefinesSimmer]

I'm home and I find that the vote is at a tie! I can't continue like this Hopefully by Wednesday we we'll have a few more votes and I will be able to announce the winner and begin playing.

[ArtdefinesSimmer]

So the winner of the vote is Lucas, product of a happy marriage and moddest wealth.  I may get some playtime in tonight, definitly will tomorrow. Update for his first timeline should be this weekend. Thanks for voting!

Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk

[ArtdefinesSimmer]

Hello everyone - I was really excited to come home and play this today, but I just found out that my father in law has serious cancer and is entering radiation therapy. I do not have the heart or the energy to play such a complicated challenge at this time. I am going to do something easier though, a 100 baby challenge that I can just post the pics and descriptions without all the story writing and character wrangling. Thanks to those of you who have welcomed me, and i may bring this back once the worst of the treatments is over.

[honeylamb]

Oh dear! I found this story and enjoyed reading what you've done so far. I hope your father in law responds well to therapy.

[ArtdefinesSimmer]

Thank you - It's touch and go for the next 2 weeks, but if he can pull though that he should be ok. I will definitely continue this because I love to see what happens to my sims, and I love writing. In the meantime I am mostly reading other stories on my phone in the hospital. Even without my computer the sims is a great escape I do get some playtime today though yay!