O'Hara Random Legacy

[ArianaJade]

Thanks Alex, loveSims and Fez!

There's about another two chapters left of Ellie's generation (not that I've written them yet ) and so I'm going to put up the heir vote now. I've made a webs site for the legacy so I can put a poll on it, which is here. There's pics of each kid at YA and their traits. I'm going to leave it open until after I've posted the next two chapters though, so there's a chance for them to develop a bit more personality.

[ArianaJade]

Children Can Be Mean



The little family was growing up fast. Ellie soon found herself cheering on Skye's birthday as James held her up to the cake. She grew up into an adorable little child. If a little bit... bizarre. Sometimes she'd wear odd outfits, putting her wellies on with her nicest dress or wearing her athletic clothes to bed. Other times she'd be playing by herself, as children do, but then snap and start shouting at the air.

Soon afterwards the twins too had a birthday. Winter was a good child, Rowan a little bit of a technophobe. He started clamouring for a chess set, while Winter claimed the easel and Skye wandered off to chatter to herself.





Despite the oddities of her children, Ellie felt blessed. She had  three beautiful children, a job she loved, and the best husband a woman could wish for. If only life could always be this perfect, she reflected as she sat grading her student's test papers.

Perhaps that was always too much to ask for, or perhaps she jinxed it a little bit. Winter and Rowan were much closer to each other than to Skye, which her and James had taken as to be expected with them being twins. They would sit next to one another on the bus to and from school , whispering to one another and giggling. Skye would sit behind them, much quieter.





There was never any signs of anything being wrong between the three children, and all of them seemed happy. They were all doing well in school. Skye and Winter both loved painting, Rowan was more logical and would happily play chess for hours with Ellie. All three showed an interest in the building blocks they'd had as toddlers, and James was teaching them to cook on the children's oven. He was determined for them to learn as many skills as possible, and be the perfect children.



“Why are you wearing your swimming costume?” Winter shouted after her sister as they left school one afternoon. “You're silly!”

“Shut up!”

“I bet the fairies told you to wear it, didn't they? Hey Rowan! Skye imagines these fairies, and they told her to wear her swimming costume to school!”

“You said you wouldn't tell!”

As other kids started to notice and laugh, Skye started running. All the way home, from the centre of Twinbrook out to the little house in the swamps.

“Skye?” Ellie lowered herself to the floor and sat on the damp earth next to her daughter. “What's the matter?”

“They're all horrible to me, Mummy.”

“Who is?”

“Winter. Rowan. Everyone. Why do they hate me?”

“I don't think they do hate you. Maybe it's all just a misunderstanding.”



“They said I need to go to the loony bin. I don't want to go to the loony bin. I was arguing with the fairies and they didn't believe me that they were fairies and they laughed at me and now all the kids at school hate me. Can I be homeschooled? Please?”

“Oh darling,” Ellie paused for a moment. She'd wondered herself whether her eldest child was mad, but maybe she was wrong. Maybe it was just a phase. “You're a very special girl to me and your dad. Remember that. I'm sure the other children will have forgotten it by tomorrow. And I'll have a word with Winter and Rowan.”

“Mummy?”

“Baby?”

“Do you still love me?”

“Of course I do!” Ellie pulled her daughter into a hug.


Bonus toddler pictures:

[loveSims]

I feel so sorry for Skye. They are so mean! Great update.

[alex51299]

Ugh, kids can be so mean! I hope Skye gets through it.

[ArianaJade]

Apologies



For a few days the atmosphere in the house was strained. Skye spent a lot of time in whichever room nobody else was in, with Winter and Rowan hanging around outside it, muttering. Every time any of the children were approached, they'd insist nothing was wrong, and Ellie was beginning to worry about them. The afternoon before Skye's teen birthday, Ellie decided on the way home from work to finally get to the bottom of it.





But when she arrived home all three children were playing together, and the look on James' face suggested that he'd had nothing to do with it either.

“Mummy?” Winter tapped Ellie on the shoulder. “We're sorry. We told Skye too.”

“We did!” Rowan stood behind her, nodding. Winter pulled Skye into a hug, as if to demonstrate that they were once again all friends.

“I think we're all friends again,” said Skye quietly, once Rowan had let her free.

“That's good,” said Ellie. “And we're not going to be spreading rumours or being mean to each other again, are we?”



“No,” Winter replied. “Because I wouldn't like it if she did it to me.”

And she skipped off to go and finish her homework. Rowan followed at a more sedate pace. Skye still hovered next to Ellie, though, and Ellie could see that something wasn't quite right.

“Can I not have a party tomorrow?”

“Why not?”

“Because everyone says they don't want to come. And if they don't want to come I don't want to invite them. I only want to invite you and Daddy.”

“Okay, we can cancel the party if you want to. I think some of them would come, though.”

“No they wouldn't.” She shuffled her feet, and made as if to swat an invisible fly. “I'm going to go and paint,” she announced before Ellie could ask any more questions, and shuffled off towards the easel in Rowan's room.

As promised, her birthday was celebrated with just family. She asked for a sculpting station for her birthday, which Ellie was somewhat worried about providing for her. Did a responsible mother let her young daughter use chisels and chainsaws? Surely the easel and paints she'd had since childhood were more appropriate?



James gave in and bought the equipment before she could panic too much, however, and she did have to concede that it was safer than she had imagined even if chainsaws would remain banned. She had to laugh at herself too, when she realised she'd been over-reacting. A memory of her own teenage years came flooding back, when she had promised herself she would never be overprotective of her children or try to stop them doing things everyone else thought were safe. Maybe all mothers are genetically programmed to do this, she thought as she watched Skye happily chip away at her clay.



And some of the worries that she'd had about her eldest daughter in childhood were beginning to fade away. Her, well, insanity, was showing less and she was regularly bringing a friend home from school. Ted Jones-Brown seemed like a nice boy, from a nice family, and Ellie was pleased that she seemed to be fitting in better than she had at the primary school.



James was a little worried, still, but Ellie shrugged that off as fatherly protection. It was just fatherly protectiveness, the same way her dislike of the sculpting station idea had been motherly protectiveness. And besides, Ted and Skye mostly played video games in the living room, and usually with Rowan too.

Yes, life was good. Three happy, well adjusted children. Promotions regularly rolling in at work, and being regularly asked to give lectures at teaching conferences about her methods. Her brother had moved to Twinbrook with his wife Rosemary, and they were expecting a little one. Her marriage to James was as strong as it had always been.



She had the life she had always wanted, even if some things along the way hadn't happened how she had expected.

[xFezIsAFreakx]

Your pictures look like they've been done with Instagram, they're all so beautiful. Great update.

[alex51299]

I agree with Fez, your pictures are always great! Great update.

[ArianaJade]

Thanks! I use Pixlr to do the editing. The top link on the homepage I've never tried but the bottom one is really easy to use.

I've got one more chapter of Ellie which I will hopefully be putting up tomorrow, then I'm going to close the heir vote on Friday.

[ArianaJade]

Ellie's Happy Ending



The knock on the door came the day after the twin's teenage birthday party. Ellie, tired and irritable after being kept up half the night by what seemed like their entire class at school, shouted to James to get it.

“Ells?” he called back to her. “It's for you!”

“I'm busy!” Busy relaxing.

“I really think you want to come to the door.”

Reluctantly, she got up and made her way to the door. Standing there on the porch was a blonde woman, with dark eyes eerily similar to Ellie's own.

“Ellie?” the woman asked.

“Yes?”

“Don't you know who I am?”

“No. So, if you don't mind...” Ellie went to shut the door, in no mood for guessing games.

“It's me. Crystal. Your mother.”

“Mum?”

Ellie was speechless. For years she'd imagined what this moment would be like. But in her mind it had never been quite like this. It was supposed to be magical, like finding part of yourself you'd lost a long time ago. It was supposed to give her a feeling of completeness. It was supposed to be... not like this.

Instead, it felt like a disappointment. This woman was a complete stranger, despite having given birth to her.

“I have a family. I don't know if I can just accept you into it, I barely know who you are!”

“Your mother. The one who gave birth to you. You know.”

“Where were you? It's been forty years.”

“Trying to sort my own life out. I never wanted kids, you weren't exactly planned. I wanted a career, parties, to live a bit. I was only sixteen, I wasn't ready for responsibility.”



“Mum?” Skye shouted from the doorway. “Dad says tea's ready!”

“Give me a second,” Ellie shouted back, before returning her attention to Crystal.

“Is that my granddaughter?” Crystal asked.

“You have three. Skye's the eldest, then Rowan and Winter are twins,” Ellie said, beginning her usual explanation of the personalities of all three of her children but then stopping suddenly. “But you didn't know that, because you didn't show an interest in my life.”

“I was busy.”

“Busy, with what? Busy, in that you couldn't spare the time to even contact your daughter to let her know you existed? Busy, in that you didn't care?”

“That's harsh. I care. I just didn't want children yet.”

“You're not my mother. My mother was there throughout my childhood, she made me cakes on my birthday and ironed my school uniform and worried when I was home late. My mother cared.”

“I think that's my cue to leave. Maybe I'll see you some other time.”



“You didn't even say you were sorry,” Ellie whispered to herself as she watched her mother leave. Turning to walk back into the house, she had a sudden flash of realisation. For years she'd been desperate to find this woman, and now she'd turned her away the moment she found her.

“Have I done the right thing?” she asked James later that evening.



“Only you know that,” James replied. “I don't for a second doubt that you've done what's right, and anyway it's not my place to judge on this. And if you change your mind, maybe there's still chance to sort it out.

Maybe she had made the right decision, maybe she hadn't. But everything would be just fine.

[GlassMirrors]

Amazing story! I absolutely love your writing, it's really great to read and all of your characters are very well developed. Your pictures are lovely as well. Can't wait to read more! (:

[loveSims]

I think she have done the right thing. Her mother is so selfish! Great update

[alex51299]

It's cool to see her mother but I'm glad she made the right choice.

[ArianaJade]

Amazing story! I absolutely love your writing, it's really great to read and all of your characters are very well developed. Your pictures are lovely as well. Can't wait to read more! (:

Wow, thanks! I hope you enjoy the next gen just as much!

I think she have done the right thing. Her mother is so selfish! Great update

It's cool to see her mother but I'm glad she made the right choice.

Thanks, both of you! I didn't know what she was going to decide to do until I was writing it, I actually took screenshots for three different endings. This one just seemed like Ellie though when I was writing, so I'm glad you thought she made the right choice!

Announcement:

Skye is going to be the next heir. I'm really pleased about that as she was my secret favourite and I've had her story planned out since she rolled the insane trait. The next chapter will be the beginning of that, hopefully either tomorrow or Tuesday.

Marital Structure: Second Chance
Number of Children: 3
Primary Income: Artist
Secondary Income: Author
Generation Goal: A Party To Remember
Misc: No strangers

[ArianaJade]

Chapter 1: Skye

Skye hadn't been intending to go to the prom. It was only when her boyfriend, Ted, said he wanted to go that she even considered it. He'd been her boyfriend since the early days of high school, and she did everything with him. Barely a day went by when he wasn't at her house, and on those days she usually met him in town. He preferred to meet in town, mostly because of Ellie feeling the need to constantly make sure they were supervised. Despite pretending her housework was making her walk past at regular intervals, or that she wanted to offer them a snack, it was fairly obvious that she was checking up on them. Skye didn't mind so much as Ted did, but even she had to admit it was awkward when a kiss had to turn into a hug because her mother walked past for the fourth time that hour.





For Winter, on the other hand, it was going to be the best night of her teenage years. Getting near the mirror the night of the prom proved impossible, as she spent hours agonising over which necklace to wear with her dress, what style to have her hair in, which shade of lip gloss, and a variety of other decisions Skye ignored.



Rowan's preparation for the prom was much simpler. He'd showered, found his tie, and then sat down to do his homework. He wanted to go, he said to Winter when she rushed past, but his education was more important than one night. Ellie, floating around in the background, made it clear that she thought he had the right idea, but there was no way Winter was going to do her homework that night, whatever anyone said.



“Ro, which necklace?” Winter asked him, her voice slightly shrill.

“The one on the left,” he replied.

“You're not even looking!”

“Definitely the one on the right,” James said from his position of safety behind his newspaper. “And your mum is probably the best one to ask those questions to. But, you look beautiful.” Both Rowan and Winter shot their dad looks of relief, and James went back to his newspaper, peacemaker role fulfilled for another day.

--



“Why did you have to go and win it? You didn't even want to go!”

“I didn't even want...”

Livid was the only way to describe Winter when Skye won Prom Queen. She was the popular one. And Skye, for her part, would have been perfectly happy to have seen Winter win it. That way, she could have remained at the back of the hall and clapped for her sister, rather than having to go up onto the stage and accept a crown whilst all of the popular girls stared daggers. And any one of them had far more claim to the crown than she did. There'd probably been a mess-up with the votes, but when she tried to explain that to the teachers she'd just been shoved up onto the stage.

“Look, you can have the crown,” she said, grabbing it and pushing it into Winter's hands.

“It's not the same! You ruined my night! Just because you're some mad weirdo and mum and dad make allowances for you, doesn't mean you get to ruin my life!” Winter turned and stormed off into their shared room, slamming the door behind her. That didn't bode well for Skye being allowed into there to sleep later. She might have tried Rowan's room, if not for the sound of him on the phone to the girl he'd met that night, Chloe. She didn't want to disturb him, and she wasn't sure she wanted to be at the house anyway.



The rest of the night, she spent at the park by the school. Was Winter right that her mum and dad made allowances? Was she mad? Was she ruining Winter's life? By the dawn breaking over the centre of Twinbrook, she still had no answers to those questions.

[alex51299]

I feel so bad for Skye, Winter is such a brat.