Angels Unawares: The Seraphim Immortal Dynasty (Graveyard Please!)

[Deme]

Anyway, now it's back to the real timeline, well before this whole glitch shenanigans.

Chapter 43: Balanced like an Equation[/u]
Hello there, everybody....That sounds a little stiff, doesn't it? Maybe just a bit... No, no, I'll let it lie. Really.  Anyway, it's Linden here. Ready to start my own chapter. I'm actually very excited about this -- everyone's done a chapter or two but me, right? Sooner or later, I may get left behind, but for right now, I'll just keep pace in my own way.

I think, to begin with, Orchid was a little dissapointed in the job market for her. Pure Athletics has a few options, but not as many as she'd have liked. Her favorite careers options -- the police and the firefighters -- both require skills that might be used by future generations. She pouted about it for a long time -- it's thsat face when she's trying to be stoic and noble, but... It still looks so childish on her.
"Well," I offered with a smile, "I think I'll save the day for a while, you do what needs doing. I've always wanted to be a detective."
"A detective, really?!"
"I think I'm smart enough... And hanging out with you, honey, has given me a 'solve people's problems' bug."
"Alright! I'll be watching your career with interest!"
The intensity of her as she takes my hands is always overwhelming: she clasps our four hands together and meets my eyes...It's like being hit by a speeding truck. I always worry if our relationship is Ok, if I'm so dazzled by her like that. Orchid's certain, but she's always certain: she needs certainty like a fish needs water. No, I guess more accurately, like a frog needs mucus: she secretes a layer of certainty for herself. I'm a person, just by nature, who has to check the follow-through. Would I have sought out my father without that map? Absolutely not. I needed assurance. I have to have a plan and follow it through carefully, because it could fall apart at any moment. So I can't say just yet. I might be offering her... Something I haven't been able to figure out just yet.


I guess I should get to my point: I joined up as a private investigator. I'll not allow the truth of what happens in this town to hide from me, so wrongdoers best be on-guard.

And because she had gone and seen that the world would be alright, Orchid joined the Sports Career without worry.

Well, at this point, I can start work developing my logical and investigative skills: I've been waiting a long time for this.

...Logic is hard, you guys! So very hard...
"Oh, relax, Kiddo. Just take a shower and get back to making potions."
"They're chemical formulas, not potions."
"...You live in a magical house guarded by angels. Your girlfriend owns a talking axe. They're sure as heck potions."
"Point."

Orchid and I decided to celebrate our success by having a night out on the town. However...
We only got to the lovely swim club she designed when the Paparazzi following Orchid... Passed away. This was the first time something like this had happened.

"That poor woman, spending her last moments following us for a meaningless job... We need to go claim life, Linden!"
Normally, I'd follow her to do whatever thing she had decided would be 'seizing life'... But something was odd.

The Reaper never appeared before us. But I saw him, claiming this woman's soul through the window.

"Fate is not escapable. Fate is not escapable... I am inevitable, the one and only... I am inescapable...
Struggle all you like, Orchid Seraphim."

He mumbled all but the last of that, tight and insistant, like a person being restrained. The last of that, though, he said very clearly.
...
I'm glad Orchid never heard that. She'd go punch out Death, and I'm not sure what would happen then. I'm really glad.
Death is inescapable? I certainly can't argue with that. But until I hear him say Death is Permanent, then I think that plan will work.

"Hey, Orchid...Want to go get some dinner?"
"Oh, sure! I'm starving!"
So we head across the street for some dinner.

And I manage to turn our evening around. Between the two of us, the romantic mood is back to normal.



"Dude! Kitty! What the heck are you doing on the bridge to the middle island?...Were you....Going to go 'investigate the strange sim'? Again?! He's all the way across town!...You've worn yourself out running all evening, haven't you, kitty? Stupid, stupid Echo!
...
I'll go get Evanthe to come pick you up and bring you home."

The next day was our graduation.

Orchid was valedictorian (I think I gave her too much help on her homework, ha ha) and voted "Most Likely to Save the World"...I got voted "Most Likely to Take Over the World." E-excuse me? Who's the detective here?
"I'm slightly concerned."
"Don't lose heart."
"The world would probably be better if you ruled it, honey." My mother tells me. She's sort of used to handling ridiculous tihngs. Who even votes for that sort of thing?
"I've got a case, so I'm going to go do that."
...It's irrational, but I feel like I ought to prove my own innocence.

The game is afoot!
...No, literally. The case involves people kicking gnomes in their sleep...

"And so I've deduced that no one's broken into your yard to kick the gnomes. The true culprit... IS YOU!"
"Wow, really?"
"Really. The footprints I found..."
I spare the rest of you the details.
"Are you going to say something like 'just by the existence of this gnome, this level of reasoning is possible for Linden Seraphim. What do you think, everyone,' are you?"
"No! I'm solving cases because I want to help people, not to prove how smart I am!...I already know I'm pretty smart, a-and that means I'm responsible for doing something with that."

"...You and her really are alike, you know that? You both say 'I've got something, so of course I'm going to use it to help people."
I laugh. "You can't live your life with someone you disagree with fundementally. When you're with someone who's your opposite, that relationship can only blossom...If the two of you pull yourselves closer together. That's what I think.

For example... Let's take Uncle Reed and Aunt Aster. Reed is normally pretty stable and sensible, while Aster is...Well, Aster. Wild and flighty and strange. I don't think Reed would become a rocker or a stylist if she hadn't been a person who babbled of beauty like a bird singing its song. And we all see that Reed keeps Aunt Aster together, and brings her closer to earth.

Even when all their children have grown up, they still find use for childish things...But with adult passion. That's a good way to describe their relationship.
...Ah, did I say too much? I definately said too much! B-but what I meant to say was that I draw things from her. I just don't know what she draws from me, so I get a little worried.


"Now, see, Mr. Uriel? That's making potions."
"It all looks the same to me."
It looks nothing like that!
"You know, my experiments in Simearth magics would go much better without all this chattering in my ear."
"Ah...Yes, Mrs. Ariel..."
"Yes, Ariel..."
"Good boys."

So instead of watching that, I tell Orchid about my first day at work -- about the search for the culprit, the questions I asked at the hospital, the confronation with the man...
"And all in my graduation robes!"
"You're kidding me? That's amazing!"

"...Hearing about how great you're doing...Just reminds me how much I love you."
She whispers. She takes me by the hand and leads me to the balcony.


And she talks. At first, it's just the two of us: just inconsequential stuff. Some of it's pretty lovey-dovey, so I'll keep it my secret. A man's allowed to keep what his girlfriend says to him and what he says to her in the privacy of their hearts a secret, right?

The stars appear, and deepen into midnight.

"The way I've decided to do things... There are a lot of ways in which I won't get my happy ending for a long time."
"I know. Waiting's got to be the hardest challenge in the world for you."
"It's nothing I won't overcome! But...All the same, I've cut myself off from a lot of options."
...She's been planning this, hasn't she?
"I can't get a great job saving the day, or travel much of the world beyond the basic options, or move into our own house...Or even die by your side."

"I already said I'm alright with that. I'm absolutely certain you won't let it end like that. Not forever. If you can wait, I can."
...Yes, because of her, I can have certainty. Because she's planned and plotted, and...And because she's decided what to do if it falls apart, at any moment.

"But there's one piece of a happy ending I can have right now, right here. And it's all I'll ever need -- it's all the happy endings, unfolding from that single point."
"That one certain happy ending..."

"Is you. When you and I are together, that's all the happiness in the world."


Because she said these things, I think I see it: the place where the two of us meet.

"Orchid..."
"Linden, this is a big moment so let me finish."
I chuckle at this.


"I refuse to surrender this happiness, for any reason. Linden Seraphim, I love you. Will you do me the honor...Of giving us the happiest story known to man...And being my husband, until the end of time?"

"Of course! Of course I will..."

"I love you so much."
"I love you, too."

I go spinning down the spiraled stairs, giddy to announce that Orchid and I will be married. That, too, is my happy ending...
But I think she's getting her language wrong. It's not a happy ending. It's a happy beginning, ever after.

***

"Alright, it's time for a bachelorette party! Let's rock this thing!"

Aster's Requirements

Lifetime Wish: Living in the Lap of Luxury
Career: Architect
Supermax Skill: Painting
Building, Property: Hogan's Deep-Fried Diner, Romper Recreational Park
LTR: Innapropriate in a Good Way, Artisan Crafter, Extra Creative
Best Friends: Ariel Seraphim, Reed (Joy) Seraphim, Evanthe Seraphim, Lindsay Coulter, Helmut Roderickson, Jacob Roderickson, Ross Dorman, Orchid Seraphim, Gabriel Seraphim, Cyriaque Cantu, Ami Oakley
Black Ops: When Dream Come True, Scavenger Hunt: Rare Elements, A fishy science project, Outside Reading, Larger than Necessary Doorstop, Local Artists' Gallery
Portraits: Toddler, Child, Teenager, YA, Adult
Sculptures/Photos: Child (sculp), Teen (sculp), YA (sculpt and Photo), Adult (Sculp/ Photo)

Orchid's Requirements:

Lifetime Wish: Physical Perfection
Career: Sports
Supermax Skill: Martial Arts (Maxed, 1/3 Challenges)
Building/Property: Everfresh Supermarket, Riverfront Swim Club
LTR: Opportunistic, Learned Relic Hunter, Jetsetter
Best Friends: Aster Seraphim, Reed Seraphim, Ariel Seraphim, Linden Seraphim, Waylon Shwarz
Black Ops: Mustle Hustle, The Ultimate Challenge, Celebrity Body
Portraits: Toddler, Child, Teen, YA
Sculptures/Photographs: Toddler (sculp&photo), Child (sculp&photo), Teen (Sculp&Photo), YA (Sculp)

[alex51299]

Aww, I'm sure the wedding (and nooboo) will be beautiful.  I hope the hot tub doesn't break at the bachlorette party!

[xFezIsAFreakx]

Bring on Generation 4!

..Yes, I know I'm way ahead of myself here.. I'm just so excited!!

[Deme]

Ok, so I have some bad news.
No, don't panic. This isn't dynasty-ending bad news or anything... Just a bump in the road. The bump is that I seem to have lost my flashdrive at school today. My Flashdrive, which had all the images from Chapters 44 and 45. Which means all the wedding photos, among other things.

I'll do a text-only version of what would have been 45, covering Aster's immortality and the wedding... And I'll try make some new screenshots of some non-game action stuff, like Reed, Aster, and Evanthe's elder wardrobes, some house updates, the current status of the museum, a good look at Orchid's new hair...
That sort of thing.

Luckily, I still have my notes. Here's what happened leading up to the wedding:
Orchid's bachelorette party went well.
Linden picked up some gnomes while on the job.
Orchid completed her LTW by maxing Athletics.
Reed, Evanthe, and Aster all aged up. (Actually, Reed's age up happened on the wedding night, but it's one less thing for me to work into the wedding stuff, and I lost those images anyway.)
I did some remodeling to the back yard that I can post.

Edit:

Oh, and regarding Gen 4... I've just gotten to that part myself. Gen 4 has pretty bland birth traits (all the ones I want come later, grrr), but there are other things I'm happy about. Got the sex I wanted, it's all good. 

Anyway, here are some remakable pictures:

(Above: Aster's now-complete museum) (Below: Orchid's YA museum. Looks like I need to go do a sculpture for it.)


Aster's Elder Wardrobe. I may add more face paints:






Reed's Elder Wardrobe:






Evanthe's Elder Wardrobe:







Above: Orchid's new haircut, as already seen in the lost vacation photos
Below: The New Party Space. I may add some plants to the sides.

[alex51299]

Love the pictures! Sorry that you lost the other ones, but I can't wait for the (official) update.

[Deme]

I decided that to give both of the major events of this chapter their due, I'd divide the chapter in two!
...I'm sorry for that up there, by the way. Anyway, Part 2 will be up when I've written it.

Chapter 44, Part 1: A Grand Day

The breeze was bright and clear, even for the mild, almost changeless, climate of Riverview. The sky was clear, and dawn turned it into a lavender jewel, fading into blue. But it was a day of power, and every gesture resonated with the cosmos.

 Yes, even the gestures of wayward angels, setting up a wedding ceremony.
"We need more flowers." Uriel's tone had the nerves of a person mid-way into a frenzy, met as always by Ariel's gentle calm. It was often thought in the Silver City that sort of delicate, fluffy calm she had was an act; that when the moment came, she'd fold. Given the story as it's played out, that seems untrue.
"The flowers are fine, dearheart."
"You think the special effects machines ought to shoot butterflies, or hearts?"
"I'd say butterflies, but hearts are fine. Orchid may like them better."
"...You think it'll be big and extravagant enough?"
"It'll be fine."
The two looked out over the flower-strewn path to the wedding arch, the fenced-off guest seats, the chocolate fountain bubbling its sweetness into the air. The scent of French roses curled into the air. The guest list was huge. Evanthe was standing by with the Moodlet Manager, particularly for Vampire Guests. Everything was slightly fantastic, which was the only thing that was right.

"My little granddaughter is going to be married," Ariel murmured. "For a moment, there, I thought I'd never see the day." Her blue eyes cloud over with tears, even as her smile lights her face. She goes and sits by her flowers. They talk, over a glass of nectar.
"...Yeah. We've done good."
There's another moment of silence, glowing in the dawn.
"It's tonight, right?" Uriel asks.
"Yes, I think so. Everything's ready, and it'd be dangerous to put it off." She nodded, carefully, and placed her glass down on the bar. Perhaps it's a little early in the day, but it's a light nectar she crafted herself.
"...You're right. The longer it gets put off, the greater the chance for failure." Uriel was already planning -- what if one of her older friends died? What if a thief stole a portrait in the intervening hours? There was the sound, almost inaudible, of fingertips drumming away at a tabletop.
"It'll be fine." She repeated. The noise slowed to a hault.
"...You're just saying that."

"Come now, Uriel! You know she cannot lie to you!" A voice boomed out. The voice of the third angel of the house, the person more unobservable than Uriel himself: The Axe of Pangu (or, more currently, Orchid).
"You'd be surprised about how crafty I can be," Ariel replied with an innocent smile.

"You're getting good at butting in."
"BUT OF COURSE! It was only a matter of practice!" There was a pause. "Hey! I am not butting in!"
"You're eavesdropping. That's butting in."
"Fie!"
"Gentles, Gentles...Settle down." Ariel took another sip. "We don't want fighting on my granddaughter's wedding day."
"...About that..." The Angel of the Axe paused. "Do you really suppose this business is legitimate, Uriel?"
"I'da never let Ariel go first if I didn't! Everyone says 'Uriel is schemer! Uriel will do whatever it takes to get ahead! I'm sick of it!"
The silent air blazed with passion.
"I believe you," The Axe said at last, "I keep forgetting the way things are for you two. I apologize."

Ariel held up her hands, and with a pale smile, urged the conversation away from debate.
"You're in a good position -- Orchid will help you if she can, and if she can't, you'll see from me how this plays out. I'm really glad she found you."
"I am only showing a certain heroic concern. But, I will have faith in your methods, Ariel. Uriel."
With that, their conversation fell back into mundane chatter -- the mundane music that fills up the world of sims. Ariel reported her garden's progress, Uriel discussed plans (he is, after all, a schemer), and the Axe told of his adventures being trapped in an Axe until the end of time.

After all, there's nothing he'll ever get to do -- For the plan laid out only needs the power Ariel's line will generate. Anything else is superfluous. The sort of power that let Uriel receive the instructions, that let Ariel take human form... I won't give that power to anyone else. It nearly drove me mad to do it even this once... Well, madder.

In the house, wedding preparations of a different sort were ongoing. In the room that had been for single sims since before Aster's generation was born, still with its blue rug and its half-occupied bunk bed that had been there longer than the bride and groom had been alive, sat its current and (in its present form) final occupants:  Evanthe, the living doll, and her young son, the groom of the day.
   Linden tightened his tie, examining himself nervously in the mirror. He turned and spread his arms for a double-check. Evanthe laughed warmly once and placed a hand on his shoulder.
   “You look fine. And, either way… Orchid’s agreed to marry you, right? She’s seen your true self… So don’t worry about anything else.”

   There was a long silence. Linden must have heard it, an unknown quality X in his mother’s words, and as he reviewed them, he came closer and closer to understanding the quantity of X. Until at last, he said,
   “Mom? Do you regret not marrying Dad when you had the chance? Before he was turned?”
   She sighed.

   “Yeah, I do. Ross and I… I was so nervous. And so scared. I’ve never been sorry, for what I am, or ashamed… Just scared. Like it’d kill anything between us. So, I took a long time to even tell him. I still haven’t shown him… I hesitated, and I missed my chance. I regret it – but I think I’m ready to endure it. I’m done running. So you, boy! You gotta get out there!” She laughed him out of the room and into the hall.
   He gulped. “Well, here I go.”

   The bride had spent the morning in her red kimono, lost in intense meditation. Her heart fluttered, and she folded it into her breathing, made its motions the count of her breath.  Living by her heart is all this girl knows to do, and so her meditation had a fundamentally different energy than that of most ascetics, who lived by allowing it to move along without them. However, like those practitioners the world over, those people she wanted to seek out one day regardless of how high their mountaintop, her meditation ground all the resistance in her heart away, to create a discipline made of steel.  She may have been as otherworldly as her mother and grandmother, in her own way – that is magic itself, after all.

   So when she rose, her heart was honed to a fine point. Her face lit up with radiance, hearing the sound of distant bells and the grinding of the wheels of her guests. Yes, she had invited so many people that there wasn’t possibly room on the guest list for even one more!
   “That’s the only way it should be!” She declared as she dashed down the spiral stairs, her hair fanning out behind her.
   “Ah-ha! What wonderful courage, young lady!” The voice of the Axe declared boomingly, “To face your fate without fear!”
   “I’m plenty frightened! I’m nervous out of my skin!” She smiled and pumped her fist. “But I’m a blushing maiden on her wedding day – that’s how it is. Even the fear… Is absolutely thrilling!”
   “Is that how love is, then?”

   “Absolutely. Today, my life begins totally differently. Even if it looks the same to everyone else… my fate will not be my own. My life will not be my own. My skin, my dreams, my breath – they’ll belong to another person, too…And his soul will be mine, too. We’ll be together until the end – and I’ll be immortal, so that’s going to be a long time…. It’s an adventure! If I’m scared, it’s only an affirmation of what a wonderful adventure we’ll have!”
   “Stop, stop. Please, Miss Orchid… I understand war, but not love. Angels are limited to their purpose… Except perhaps your grandmother and Ser Uriel, now. Still; I can hear   the passion of your words. Save them for him.”
   She smiled and nodded gracefully.
   “I’m sorry. Wish me luck!”
   “I’LL PUT ON ALL THE LUCK I HAVE TO BEAR!”

   She ran, out into the yard, her sandals kicking up blades of grass and small clods of dirt, her kimono lifted slightly to give her legs the clearance they’d need to run. Around the back of the house, she reaches it – the flower-strewn path between the chairs, leading to the grand wedding arch. Red heart-shape bubbles rose into the air and broke, sending showers of red onto the fields, tinting the light of the early afternoon.
   And Linden, standing there with a smile that lost all its nerves in that moment. He tilted his head gently to the side, and held out a hand towards her.
   Before either of them could say anything, they knew: in that moment, a lifetime’s worth of happiness was theirs. Between the two of them was a universe all their own, where words did not need to exist. It was a world the color of sunset and the color of dawn, with aquamarine seas the color of the Caribbean, and vast fields of gold. Orchid began to walk towards him, her steps delicate and tentative. As the distance closed, that world expanded, connected by their gaze.
   Somewhere outside, in what sims would foolishly call the “real world,” Aster broke into something half-laugh and half tears, clapping with one hand and wiping away tears with the other. To them, it must have been a million miles away. They were the centers of their own galaxy, everything else in orbit around their gazes.
   Orchid took his hand and stood beneath the wedding arch. They smiled.

   “Orchid. You are my treasure – the only treasure I’ll ever need to search for, and the one I’ll go into a million tombs just to be sure I can retrieve. You’re the one who taught me how to be brave, and more than that, to follow my dreams – and they all led straight to you. I promise, I’ll follow you into whatever madcap adventure in the world you find, and I’ll back you up whether you’re wrong or right. I may not be the best fighter, but if you ask it, I will make the world my enemy for you. Now, and until the end of time.”
   “Linden, being with you is all the adventure I could ever want: you make life a joy, because no matter what happens, I know you’ve got my back. Because you’re patient and clever. Because you’re there, I’ve got courage and not just bravado. Because your smile is better for lighting up the world than any torch. I promise I’ll slow down when you ask me to, and lean on you when I can’t go on – even if I’d rather pretend I could. I promise I’ll always find a way back to you, in defiance of any fate. Now until the end of time.”

   He slipped a ring onto her finger, and she onto him – movements so perfectly in unison they almost seemed rehearsed. But their completely unrestrained, undignified faces told the truth.

   “” I Do. “”
And, as the hearts rained around them, they kissed. It blazed hotter than the setting sun, and tasted sweeter than strawberries ripe from the runner. It was completely pure, and they melted into each-other’s arms.

   There’s more to the story of that day than this, but…
They lived happily ever after, right there in that kiss. The rest would just be details to them.

[BlazeGirl12]

I'm still gaping at the computer. Wow. Just wow. What a beautiful wedding, even without pictures, and what an amazing story. Can't wait to see their nooboo.

[MarianT]

Aww, you don't need pictures -- the writing holds up on its own.

[xFezIsAFreakx]

Wow, this was the best chapter yet! What a beautiful wedding, as the others said above me: It didn't need pictures. I'm blown away.

[Deme]

Thank you all very much. I admit, I'm not as satisfied with part 2... But if I kept trying to make it perfect, it'd never get done!

Chapter 44, Part 2

Before the cake was cut, Ariel tapped on her daughter's shoulder. It was time.
"But caaaake," Aster wailed. "And I wanted to throw some doves!"
"...Throw doves?"
"Like throwing rice, but cooler. I hope there's an inventor in this family one day, so they can build me a dove-launching party cannon."
"...Perhaps," Ariel replied. She didn't exactly think that it'd be possible to build that, but technology still impressed her. Maybe she was mistaken -- she'd consider it more seriously if this weren't an idea of Aster's.

"So, I'll have all the time to wait. All the time, collected in up in spools and fish and fruit and the taste of shaved coconut..."
"There's no shaved coconut in this dish."

The two of them spoke as if nothing was different about today as they walked down the stairs. Down and down they went, entering the lower basement.

Aster stared, as she did periodically when nothing interesting struck her, at the portraits and the sculptures. There were things there documenting a time before she existed; there were things there that pointed toward a time after ‘she’ would ‘die.’ That’s how she saw things, looking at the portraits of her mother and her daughter – she was going to die, except that neither of those words meant what they used to mean.

She knelt down and placed a hand on the head of the little beaming child, frozen in time and ice, that she used to be.  She laughed. She laughed and laughed. But if it was so funny, why were there tears streaming down her face?

“…I’ll go get it from the replicator.” Ariel left her daughter alone with her thoughts as a gesture of tenderness.

“I’m sorry, Evanthe – I guess I should have apologized sooner. The two of us…Won’t be the same anymore. Maybe we’ll have a while…But our breaths lose their schedule and day doesn’t follow night…And the moon and the stars don’t have to be out at the same time anymore – that thin, soap-bubble moon in a high summer sky, stripped of the stars… That’s my fate. You’re free of me.”

She rose and faced her sculptures and scared into the half-gleeful, half-furied eyes of her portraits.

“You’re all free, too, OK? Fly away, darling selves! You don’t have to have been me, OK?”

What she did not say, but felt, was that she, too, was free. Free of fear of death, free of the requirements of her past selves, free of the in-synch life she had been.

I have been trapped in my suffering, bound to slave forever, since the first thing in the universe drew breath. I’d break the world to pieces to walk it freely once more. I barely comprehend the meaning of the word now.

…But when she thought it, it felt to her like a nightmare. Ungrateful child.

“But…I think it’ll be good, too. I’m going to enjoy knowing what forever tastes like. Maybe I’ll paint the taste – sort of greenish-silver-purple, or else yellow. Like when you dream you know the meaning of life and wake up crying in the morning and you don’t remember why.”

To the little beaming toddler, to the child bound to her dearest companions, the teenager discovering love, to the young wife coating the world with her views, and to the proud mother and the old woman caught mid-fit of rage at something unseen, she said goodbye as her mother came and brought her the ambrosia.

The two of them sat down to eat. The flavor she had worked so hard for hit her. It tasted, to her, like fireworks and fireflies, like the light of the winter moon. Also like chili and chocolate, and a bit like corn and pepper ice-cream.
“Congratulations, ladies!” Uriel shouted happily.
“…Oh, heavens…The unseen…” She murmured.

The truth of what happened, I cannot attest to. I will only say what she said happened, as she would explain it to her mother.
   
“The flavor was wonderful… But as I was sitting there, I wasn’t sitting there anymore. I mean, ‘I’ was sitting there, but ‘I’ wasn’t sitting in me anymore. I was watching me. And then…There was something behind me – some big black and white space. And I walked into it by standing still, and moving all the space around me. You know the times in the late afternoon where it looks like you can take the sunbeams and wear them like a scarf? Everything there was like that. And you could see the house from there.
   There was another person there. A not-person, anyway. It was sort of like a man, but not a man, all white. I think it had wings it didn’t have at the moment. There aren’t good words for this stuff. Want me to make my own?” Her mother would assure her that no, she understood. ”It actually reminded me of you, Mom…Ummm...I’m not sure why. You have the same color in your hearts. Exactly the same color. It was very excited about something.

…But I kept walking. And eventually…

I came to a room. It was all in white and silver – and it all gave off light. Nothing in there was a sim, but I guess they were all people, like the way the fireflies are people. Un-sims, in an un-office. There were three of them…I guess you’d call them all masculine, but they weren’t men.
   There were two on the chair side of the desk. They looked sort of red-colored. I don’t mean their skin or their hair or anything  -- those were both very white and shiny like powder-snow. But… there, light broke down. It shattered into a million pieces and became neither a wave nor a particle but almost a syrup, and it was souls that seemed to give off light. So they were red and grey. The one sitting down was smiling, but neither of them was happy, or they’d be some other color. They had big wings.
   
The other one was black. Everything about it was black – its skin, its hair, its breath, its soul. It was wrapped up in darkness that draped off him like a long robe. It was the blackest thing you could imagine, and then a few shades darker. Its skin ate the light of the room. If it opened its wings, there would just be holes in the world, shining through like stars of another reality.
   
Its eyes were very, very blue.

…
And they were talking. The one sitting said,
‘I’m sorry about all this trouble. It must be a bother, being interrupted from your busy schedule to meet with us.’ It was met with silence.
‘Ah, actually , that’s exactly what Enoch wanted to talk to you about, even.’ Said the one that stood behind the chair.
More silence.

‘You see, we’ve noticed…Well, you’re sort of getting run-down, aren’t you? We’re getting a lot of complaints. Your last victim –‘
‘They are not victims. They are simply themselves,’ the black one burst out, his words dripping a sort of cold fury.
‘This is exactly what we mean, Oh Winter’s-First-Frost.’ The one standing behind the chair said with a nervous smile.
‘Don’t butter me up with ceremony. What do you want.’

‘Well, we were thinking…You cannot act as psychopomp anymore.’
‘Consider it a vacation.’
‘…I cannot Vacate. The duty must be done. I must exist, and allow the world to operate… As the world stands, there is no other way.’

The other two laughed at this, nervous. I think the redness was draining from them like blood.

‘Well, no. The duty will still get done – your mere existence on this plane will ensure that. We’ll just have someone else act as psychopomp. We’ve got a squad, and you’ll have a nice rest.’
‘This will also give us the opportunity to investigate that unusual situation on the earthly plane as well. It’ll be profitable for everyone. And no more complains to our department, you see?’

‘…That is not…a rest. My duties remain the same. I will know it; the weight of every soul, until it drives me mad. You cannot remove that from me. You’d not risk the end of creation for it.’
‘Nonsense! It’ll be wonderful to get away from those sobbing mortals, right?’
‘Yes. We forbid you from going near that plane, understand? We can’t have… any more trouble.’

The black being pounded on the desk with a fist as thin as bone.

‘You. Piddling. Buerocrats. You know nothing of true duty. Nothing of real work. Restrain me as you see fit. Think things are right because you receive no complaints… But… Perhaps this will only delay matters. There must be an Angel of Death – there’s no power enough to substitute for that. Your reaper men do not know how to care for a harvest.’
His eyes, those very blue eyes like the day sky or the color of infinity, the color of true love, blazed.

…And there aren’t any words at all for what happened next, except that all three of them were gone afterwards.

And then the fireflies came to take me back, and I was properly me again, and people could see me.”

…If she really did see that…Then certainly, she, too, knew the power of the cosmos, generated by this gerrymandered ritual of mine.
The power that will set me free. But it will be only harder from here on out, and all on the shoulders of this family.

…But today, Aster Seraphim goes to bed, listening to the distant chimes coming from upstairs, wraps her arms around her husband, and sleeps the sleep of the conquerer. Sleeps the sleep of the immortal.

Today has been a grand, momentous day.


Aster Seraphim's Requirements: Complete!

Lifetime Wish: Living in the Lap of Luxury
Career: Architect
Supermax Skill: Painting
Building, Property: Hogan's Deep-Fried Diner, Romper Recreational Park
LTR: Innapropriate in a Good Way, Artisan Crafter, Extra Creative
Best Friends: Ariel Seraphim, Reed (Joy) Seraphim, Evanthe Seraphim, Lindsay Coulter, Helmut Roderickson, Jacob Roderickson, Ross Dorman, Orchid Seraphim, Gabriel Seraphim, Cyriaque Cantu, Ami Oakley
Black Ops: When Dream Come True, Scavenger Hunt: Rare Elements, A fishy science project, Outside Reading, Larger than Necessary Doorstop, Local Artists' Gallery
Portraits: Toddler, Child, Teenager, YA, Adult, Elder
Sculptures/Photos: Child (sculp), Teen (sculp), YA (sculpt and Photo), Adult (Sculp/ Photo), Elder (Sculp)

Orchid's Requirements:

Lifetime Wish: Physical Perfection
Career: Sports
Supermax Skill: Martial Arts (Maxed, 1/3 Challenges)
Building/Property: Everfresh Supermarket, Riverfront Swim Club
LTR: Opportunistic, Learned Relic Hunter, Jetsetter
Best Friends: Aster Seraphim, Reed Seraphim, Ariel Seraphim, Linden Seraphim, Waylon Shwarz, A bunch of old people (darnit)
Black Ops: Mustle Hustle, The Ultimate Challenge, Celebrity Body, Ticket Counting
Portraits: Toddler, Child, Teen, YA
Sculptures/Photographs: Toddler (sculp&photo), Child (sculp&photo), Teen (Sculp&Photo), YA (Sculp&Photo)

[alex51299]

Congrats on the wedding and second immortal! I like the second part too, very well-written. I love Ariel, but sometimes I wish she would have more faith in her daughter. Like how she said she would've taken the idea seriously if anyone else had suggested it.

[xFezIsAFreakx]

Oh, I love Aster so much, she's awesome! Again, in love with your writing. Fantastic update, congrats on the second immortal!

[ArianaJade]

I love this dynasty so much. I can't wait to see what happens next. Congratulations on Aster's immortality and the wedding!

[MarianT]

This made me think of John Donne's sonnet, "Death be not proud"-- the last line, especially, "Then, Death, thou too shalt die!"
Excellent writing, a lovely Easter treat. (Hmm, Aster, E-Aster?)

[Deme]

Thanks, everybody! Glad to hear you all liked it...Though I really hope nothing like that has to happen again.

Chapter 45: Baby Blues

Ta-daaaaaa!

This living room, by the degree of Orchid Seraphim, is now 20% cooler! I've added some arcade machines and a few other games -- my living room should be a place of intense and spirited competition!

I've also colored the rest of the house in my intense color designs. But not much has changed up here.


"Hooooommmmmmme....There's not place like hooooommmmme...."
"...What are you doing?"
"She's trying out a new meditation technique at my advisement, Uriel old chum!"
"...Does meditation even work that way?"
"I don't have breath to control or a body to ignore, so I have no idea!"
"...At least he's honest."
"Shuuuut uuuuppp..... You guuuuuyyys....."

In addition to having to deal with those two interrupting my meditation, I also have to block out the sound of the miner digging away. After it dies down, at least Uriel gets distracted.

"Ah, Uriel. Mind giving me a slight ease-down into this hole?"
"No hands, remember? I'd like to, but... Wait. Why are you going in a glowing hole where I can't follow you? Whyyyy?"
"It seemed like it'd be fun! And there was this darling white rabbit in this little waistcoat, and I thought I might want to see where he's gone."
"...Well, as long as you're down there, think you can punch the Mock Turtle for me? I hate that guy."
"I'll see what I can do."

...But I think all those interruptions upset my stomach. Ugh. Never sick a day in my life, but sick a day after my wedding!

"...I refuse...to cancel...the honeymoon!"
"Honey, it's alright. Your health comes first...Like I said, you make my life an adventure all on your own."
"Hearing that makes my heart sing."
In light of that display...Yes! A vacation will have to wait! It seems spineless, I know, but when my husband (squeeee! <3) asks me to stay, then I'd wish it!
"Don't worry. You'll probably feel better soon. I know what this is."
"You do! Tell me you...Urggg....I'll get back to this later!"

I eventually settle my stomach and come into the kitchen for some alkaseltzer.
"Oh, hey. You're feeling better!...Well, I guess now's a good a time to tell you...I'm pretty sure you're pregnant."
"Pregnant?"
"I was thinking about that myself. It does seem to match the symptoms..."

"...Pregnant."
"That's what we're saying, honey."
"We're gonna have a baby!"
I jump up and hug Linden.
"Easy, easy..."

I couldn't help it, though. I was so excited! I hope whatever sort of child it is, we'll be able to play catch. I don't care about whether my kid's a boy or a girl...But I don't want someone really delicate.

"You're going to wear yourself out like that really quickly. Here, turn around..."
Linden puts his hands to work at my shoulders, and all the nerves that came with that excitement melt away.

I guess delicacy does have its merits...

"I hope we'll do a good job." Oh, dear. I think he's about to go into freak-out mode.
"...Do you think we have the right sort of food? And the room -- you think it's too cold? Should you be eating apples? Listening to music?"
"Linden! It's fine!"
"...Do you know anything about raising children, Orchid? I don't!"
"Well, then let's attack this problem head-on! As a team!"
"Alright! I'll go to the book store!"
Not exactly what I meant!


However, I do like the idea of preparing 'with vigilance'! Everything should be done with vigilance!


The animals are still great company for each other. What a lovely and inspirational moment!
But there's also a sort of love triangle impression that I get -- after all, Dog likes cat. Cat likes ducky. Who does ducky like? It's a mystery.


"...It's come to drink Ariel's blood!"
"She is a little odd."
"Oh, she just came to admire the plasma bushes in my garden, didn't you, sweetie?" Grandmother coos.
"But she's a vampire!"
"...So's my father." Linden points out.
"...Yeah, I'm just walking this conversation, then."

Ugh. Gnomes and pets aside, this baby thing is really taking its toll on me.

Not even a trip to the spa helps my back out, and the weight's throwing off my balance. I've always been a really active person -- being hobbled like this is driving me up the wall!



But some attention from my man makes everything better.
"Our little one's a fighter, too -- listen to that moving around."
"Yeah, baby's gonna have to kick harder to take out his momma, though!"


And no amount of baby bump can keep me out of the fray! It just makes it a safer fray..

Well, safer for my little one. I can't make any promises about Mother.

The only way I can use my time wisely right now...

Is like this. I spend most of my pregnancy in deep meditation. I hope my inner peace will help things along.


"...Aster. With a blow torch. This seems like an incredibly bad idea."
"Don't worry! I have all the best saftey gear!"
"You mean a formal gown?"
"And a top hat! That's the essential element of saftey."
"...Whose idea was it to save the happiness-based spell to make the household fire proof for a later generation? Because that seems like a bad idea now."


"Another night, another case..."
"Like, jinkies, Linden. Found anything? Besides Ariel's very old friends?"
"Well, given the chemical traces on the tattoo needles and the muddy footprints with traces of hair in them, I have determined... That this place is not up to sanitation code!
Oh, and also that the tattoos are fakes. We'd be hearing about more infections if they weren't."
"...Does any of that have anything to do with the case?"
"Somewhat."
"...Pffft. Sims have wierd crimes."

Meanwhile, my parents enjoy their evenings together.
"...Does...Does it bother you? That I'm definately immortal now?"
"Hey, what man at this age doesn't want a younger wife?" He laughs, jovial...And then he becomes very gentle-looking.
"Do you remember what you told me after my mom died?...We're all immortal, because nothing completely leaves the universe. So even after I've died...Because you're alive, some of me will still be with you. And some of me will be in the stars, because I know you love to look at them."
"That's good...Then...I'll look at the stars every night. So you'll know I'll always love you. And I'll tell our granchild's granchild, or whoever's the family stargazer will be, to name everything after you. So everyone will remember that you're there."


Not to interrupt this wonderful moment full of tenderness between a husband and wife...

But the baby's coming!

In the end, I end up going to the hospital -- Linden drives me there in spite of my protests. I could have toughed it out!

But all the same, I come out with my precious little man... Heath. Heath Seraphim.
He's Good and Friendly! His favorites are Veggie Burgers, Latin Music, and...
The color pink. Well, he'll have to be tough enough to live with favorites like those!


And immediately, he's the center of a family full of love.

Orchid's Requirements:

Lifetime Wish: Physical Perfection
Career: Sports
Supermax Skill: Martial Arts (Maxed, 1/3 Challenges)
Building/Property: Everfresh Supermarket, Riverfront Swim Club
LTR: Opportunistic, Learned Relic Hunter, Jetsetter
Best Friends: Aster Seraphim, Reed Seraphim, Ariel Seraphim, Linden Seraphim, Waylon Shwarz, Jamie Neff, A bunch of old people (darnit)
Black Ops: Mustle Hustle, The Ultimate Challenge, Celebrity Body, Ticket Counting, Meditation Benefits
Portraits: Toddler, Child, Teen, YA
Sculptures/Photographs: Toddler (sculp&photo), Child (sculp&photo), Teen (Sculp&Photo), YA (Sculp&Photo)

Heath's Requirements:
Lifetime Wish: We'll see!
Career: Oh, yeah, he needs one of those, doesn't he? Well, luckily, there's some up his alley...
Supermax Skill: He won't even be able to do prep for this until he's a child.
Building/Property:
LTR: I may want 'change of taste' for him. Your opinions?
Best Friends:
Black Ops:
Portraits:
Sculptures/Photographs: