tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24651248553747840272024-02-18T21:21:23.330-08:00Random Legacy - Ramaswami/McDermott FamilySims 3 Random Legacy storyyangthecathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15083940950118677312noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2465124855374784027.post-56620782111696378022011-02-11T10:55:00.000-08:002011-02-11T10:58:15.877-08:00ooopssorry, posted to wrong blogyangthecathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15083940950118677312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2465124855374784027.post-43448912065994470742010-12-16T06:06:00.000-08:002010-12-16T06:09:48.939-08:00New BeginningAs I mentioned in the comments, this legacy neighborhood was plagued with error 12s and became unplayable.<div>Now that the Random Legacy rules have been updated for Late Night, I've started a new random legacy, and a new blog.</div><div>The new legacy founder is a clone of Risk McDermott, the son of Rain and Chess, last seen as a toddler in this legacy.</div><div>The new legacy can be found <a href="http://mcdermottrandomlegacy.blogspot.com/2010/12/chapter-1.html"><b>HERE</b></a>.</div><div>Thanks to everyone who read and commented!</div>yangthecathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15083940950118677312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2465124855374784027.post-38139638915023408422010-08-27T06:09:00.000-07:002010-08-27T07:13:40.905-07:00Ramaswami/McDermott Random Legacy ch. 27: Risk<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUQDK9UAB_IhvU-yBvGq_QnwPJAoV3vlqePbcXLNeBW9FhKhd1_xmaCEgp2sg5U5kAji99gb3xlguXq2ARW8U_Bx0feUkKmpzRmiv8VcBG4c8qn-B4phtJ1KwWSaS07ZxjFBzcKzcSULcb/s1600/rainchess1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 278px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUQDK9UAB_IhvU-yBvGq_QnwPJAoV3vlqePbcXLNeBW9FhKhd1_xmaCEgp2sg5U5kAji99gb3xlguXq2ARW8U_Bx0feUkKmpzRmiv8VcBG4c8qn-B4phtJ1KwWSaS07ZxjFBzcKzcSULcb/s320/rainchess1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5510077221498914386" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"You know you don't have to work in an office," Rain says after Chess relates another humiliating prank played on him by his coworkers, "You are such a good artist, maybe you would be happier staying home and painting."</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"It would be easier, no doubt about that. But I can't run away from this. This is something I need to do," Chess answers. Rain doesn't quite understand his need to force himself into a role that doesn't suit him, but she knows she can't convince him to quit. And despite the adversities of the workplace, he has been rising very quickly in his career, and every promotion has added to his self-confidence.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"I love you no matter what you do, you know that," Rain says her final words on the subject.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHSowMSNyRrB9zRJrRTO1gD5UnszmkOCn9MQenWY6t5havapiyX3AJPciS-yKkPa0C-0x7gRmUA-B8Lx92hE7ZM-Q8rpjmuv07ZOSf_K5y42Xx1xx2ew1QVowT5A9Dn0YnsfvaVqgcnBS3/s1600/rainchess2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 273px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHSowMSNyRrB9zRJrRTO1gD5UnszmkOCn9MQenWY6t5havapiyX3AJPciS-yKkPa0C-0x7gRmUA-B8Lx92hE7ZM-Q8rpjmuv07ZOSf_K5y42Xx1xx2ew1QVowT5A9Dn0YnsfvaVqgcnBS3/s320/rainchess2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5510079008679763186" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"You've been getting more muscular," Rain comments.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"I've been working out. You like?"</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"Well," Rain hesitates, "I've never been into the muscular look."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"You said you'd love me no matter what," Chess teases her.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"Well, of course I will..." Rain answers, not sure how to tell him to stop working out so much.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Chess leans over and kisses her, "I'll focus on cardio workouts from now on," he promises her. Rain smiles in relief. Chess moves on to another subject, "How do you feel about having a baby?"</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"I think that's a great idea," Rain answers, "Let's get started."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1irDbokZGMh-S0YsI6Pv_BxcTTjctKycRD1XOso4UfuLWB4xuUMOJrXLJZ40CztePNUFqxEVqtVg8VaQ5q11PAzqXvh6WLqaXU_XmEV3V5lYjf2xZpgIwiTNSR1tE-y4iTUSQkcaWB79p/s1600/taomeilin1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 244px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1irDbokZGMh-S0YsI6Pv_BxcTTjctKycRD1XOso4UfuLWB4xuUMOJrXLJZ40CztePNUFqxEVqtVg8VaQ5q11PAzqXvh6WLqaXU_XmEV3V5lYjf2xZpgIwiTNSR1tE-y4iTUSQkcaWB79p/s320/taomeilin1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5510080936574207410" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Meilin and Tao parted on bad terms, and Tao has decided it's time to mend that fence and visits his daughter and her husband, Deon. Having a child of her own has matured Meilin some, and she understands her father better now, and greets him with warmth. Deon is a likable enough young man, Tao thinks, and as the heir to the Wolff manor, he's quite wealthy. But he won't talk about what he does for living, only saying it's 'legitimate business' in a way that sounds highly suspicious. But Meilin seems happy enough, and Tao decides not to interfere.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_IloYDpzpmpnxxqUYmoWq1KVEEhsSu0Ibjo5-AeJG40WCpur068vBnARF0UhdtCSuvc6OCaREBR-_0mxITRXlaMgzK0dp5HKm8K1Uewh46kYBRhPwPMkIM4pWA4wJuCN_5RrAKpzBTF4s/s1600/taomeilin2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 294px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_IloYDpzpmpnxxqUYmoWq1KVEEhsSu0Ibjo5-AeJG40WCpur068vBnARF0UhdtCSuvc6OCaREBR-_0mxITRXlaMgzK0dp5HKm8K1Uewh46kYBRhPwPMkIM4pWA4wJuCN_5RrAKpzBTF4s/s320/taomeilin2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5510082610269692994" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Tao spends some time with his grandson, Jamie.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFZNwR7dUTVhyphenhyphencxmLb9uEkU0e9SJjid-ztTRg9rdleyaZkgxV3k3Iwbfe9BE-SVvgRYEhzV4YA7ZpTszAExnfSMIqthMK5RDMX5ESMCqXl2B5iKgRbGARH8Fpc3OCXtssN2WSbhbkTu_Z7/s1600/rainmaternity1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 238px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFZNwR7dUTVhyphenhyphencxmLb9uEkU0e9SJjid-ztTRg9rdleyaZkgxV3k3Iwbfe9BE-SVvgRYEhzV4YA7ZpTszAExnfSMIqthMK5RDMX5ESMCqXl2B5iKgRbGARH8Fpc3OCXtssN2WSbhbkTu_Z7/s320/rainmaternity1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5510083134805737890" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Rain's pregnancy has not deterred her from her work, despite the pleas of her father and husband to stay home and relax.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipKYSgRNOkpUk6Sn8PFCIFbbPyhFlOIMfPmf3R2bOQvVhyphenhyphen1dpndqbUktuStENyzO_rSjksqydUSQ9Br-B7-M8rbLmoxxuyFcvxaNYQAO8EzpdKDkIzZDZ9u2OQLonqA8HwGc6Ee8WtFIHD/s1600/raintimemachine.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 293px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipKYSgRNOkpUk6Sn8PFCIFbbPyhFlOIMfPmf3R2bOQvVhyphenhyphen1dpndqbUktuStENyzO_rSjksqydUSQ9Br-B7-M8rbLmoxxuyFcvxaNYQAO8EzpdKDkIzZDZ9u2OQLonqA8HwGc6Ee8WtFIHD/s320/raintimemachine.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5510083723152082210" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">She's discovered a way to bend Time to her will, she can hardly sit at home while such ideas are waiting to be born. On the day before she goes into labor, Rain completes her time machine.</span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0XUgzWs4s1O08LMVsrfVJXWan5Si62KFhKkfTVrcAwRv3uXU312iv7IWR5H1WyqpmUabhZLcUBN8ylY2355wti5fErHomiOequye4X-8KNh29Qliariuu031Cj4PmQecAb-KaUhwpy92G/s1600/riskinfant.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 298px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0XUgzWs4s1O08LMVsrfVJXWan5Si62KFhKkfTVrcAwRv3uXU312iv7IWR5H1WyqpmUabhZLcUBN8ylY2355wti5fErHomiOequye4X-8KNh29Qliariuu031Cj4PmQecAb-KaUhwpy92G/s320/riskinfant.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5510084434203371042" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Rain and Chess have a son, named Risk.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlyIth2dXMZWo3GzQ6pkbh7uIiheTfyl6gXb6Z-EMSRuxzhU9GijcyEto_ordjYek-S8fWwyoceUY_QJ8zU2cEXBa1sD_kPUlkKhEwPtZtMmijnZYElRFW7WXHhYDHGVC4PclSsm-lDC53/s1600/park1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 217px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlyIth2dXMZWo3GzQ6pkbh7uIiheTfyl6gXb6Z-EMSRuxzhU9GijcyEto_ordjYek-S8fWwyoceUY_QJ8zU2cEXBa1sD_kPUlkKhEwPtZtMmijnZYElRFW7WXHhYDHGVC4PclSsm-lDC53/s320/park1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5510084878705637762" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">For all the junk Rain repurposes, more junk shows up to replace it. While she loves what she's doing, all the time spent in the junkyard has made her long for a truly green and wild space for her son to play in as he grows up. Suunset Valley has a nice, formal park, but Rain wants something more natural, and so she purchases the land across the street from their house and transform it into a wilderness park.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtU0zvTVdyoI46MMFjRusau9i-0P3YEzhnv8mPhHeLasnfNJ7X99C3W0wlummIm_iRddhYqVP88yPw7zO1eOq5hNC5-3n1ui0H-EGGmZ-SeRWt5KVvpMjbVyWuG48KZizwX2BaKxPf3V20/s1600/park2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 239px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtU0zvTVdyoI46MMFjRusau9i-0P3YEzhnv8mPhHeLasnfNJ7X99C3W0wlummIm_iRddhYqVP88yPw7zO1eOq5hNC5-3n1ui0H-EGGmZ-SeRWt5KVvpMjbVyWuG48KZizwX2BaKxPf3V20/s320/park2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5510085834910890130" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Though Risk is still too young to appreciate the excellent fishing in the pond, or to play on the playground, his parents bring him to the park often, teaching him to walk and talk in the natural atmosphere.</span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf-gIHrq2nfX3rhyhPDaRGRJ352wk_FnP8j40JOnYAlO8Fh_GORFfp3HWxe1s-ufqb_KMQHuIAQ5LxnWj4gVmMCKxoomXvdTcYs68Fi5jcfNVUCI3lcY9_D9Tcw-3b8jwcUGOah9-SYhtZ/s1600/park3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 282px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf-gIHrq2nfX3rhyhPDaRGRJ352wk_FnP8j40JOnYAlO8Fh_GORFfp3HWxe1s-ufqb_KMQHuIAQ5LxnWj4gVmMCKxoomXvdTcYs68Fi5jcfNVUCI3lcY9_D9Tcw-3b8jwcUGOah9-SYhtZ/s320/park3.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5510086316003170962" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Always a great lover of the outdoors, Tao frequents the new park as well, and often meets Adria there. They both know they don't have much time left, their friends and age-mates have been passing on, one by one, so they try to spend what time is left to them wisely, enjoying each other's company, or the company of their families.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Challenge Notes: So, not much drama this generation, I've been focused on Rain's inventing and sculpting skill building, which isn't much of a story. And I've learned that I can't put any of the sculptures Rain makes in her junkyard in family inventory to move them to the park, or anywhere else. Since I have the living green restriction, I can't buy a sculpting station for the home lot, either. So, the junkyard has a ton of sculptures littering the place, I haven't had the heart to detonate any of them. Rain has reached level 10 inventing skill, and I've ignored the call to start the Simbot building quest, as I don't like simbots much. I'm torn between trying to achieve Rain's LTW to max inventing, sculpting and painting, or trying to max her career as an inventor. I don't think I can do both, the inventor career requires making a lot of sales of inventions, so to do that while trying to skill both sculpting and painting will be difficult, if not impossible. She's currently at 7 in sculpture and like 4 in painting, and at level 6 of the career.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Tao has achieved his LTW, Renaissance Sim, maxing gardening, fishing and charisma. He's at level 9 of the gardening career, and needs to sell around 25k more worth of produce to reach level 10. He's over 90 days old, however, and could go any day now, so he may not get level 10. That's not required of course, he achieved his challenge goals ages ago. Regan Goth has passed on, which makes me sad. His son Xander looks just like him, and unlike his father has no commitment issues. He's happily married and has a baby on the way.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">With the purchase of the park, Rain achieved a main objective of her generation goal, living green. So she just needs to continue her eco-friendly lifestyle, and not call on any NPCs for her No Strangers restriction and her generation goals will be fulfilled.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Generation 7 rolled couple with one child (again, despite the fact that I used lytefoot's new expanded family structure rules.) with Architect career as primary income, and no income for secondary. The generation goal will be Fulfilled and the Misc. Fun is Random. Risk's first two randomly rolled traits are Friendly and Light Sleeper. It will be interesting to see what traits he rolls up in the future, and what sorts of LTW will be available to him, since he will required to fulfill it. And hopefully he can find a spouse who will be able to fulfill a LTW outside of a career.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div></div>yangthecathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15083940950118677312noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2465124855374784027.post-71298142516150955242010-08-23T05:08:00.000-07:002010-08-23T06:34:32.111-07:00Ramaswami/McDermott Random Legacy ch. 26: Heir and Spare<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmv-jjenoZHvDIueCfR6XIl4r2fTwmL0shqDhSKr7mwklZilJ-QhBwxgjL_NvsOXOO7kj_p-dBGkrUG7aUXnG-ieay_z5BbkUkDBkVgr_rbMsr-xlDQ4C2tlMpOJ8f0v1CM9YlxUDlx_uS/s1600/meilinrain.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 257px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmv-jjenoZHvDIueCfR6XIl4r2fTwmL0shqDhSKr7mwklZilJ-QhBwxgjL_NvsOXOO7kj_p-dBGkrUG7aUXnG-ieay_z5BbkUkDBkVgr_rbMsr-xlDQ4C2tlMpOJ8f0v1CM9YlxUDlx_uS/s320/meilinrain.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508576501487374674" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"Why do you want to spend so much time in a junkyard?" Meilin asks, not understanding her sister's newfound fascination.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"I just think it's a shame to waste stuff that could still be used," Rain answers.</span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis4MirUu9VLN9usmAPHZBhkLOUHmV8-J7V_fSU2Uk6Vb7yiu4KobcaJ6d8SWmQ4xdE6hUmupLAX3YThrpE4W7bXv8-VwrijOQEJvYHyuL528_afxRYPynPr3MN74GKQHE4yav2YjbPAy05/s1600/teenjunk1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 256px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis4MirUu9VLN9usmAPHZBhkLOUHmV8-J7V_fSU2Uk6Vb7yiu4KobcaJ6d8SWmQ4xdE6hUmupLAX3YThrpE4W7bXv8-VwrijOQEJvYHyuL528_afxRYPynPr3MN74GKQHE4yav2YjbPAy05/s320/teenjunk1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508577004430347602" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">While not exactly the most romantic spot in the world, the junkyard also offers Rain a private place to hangout with her boyfriend Francesco, away from her father's close supervision.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicR0zAhwaio-23zDhDbkXspjd6X9AgdiFnvTY6bu8Mw7fnVyvPQRZUCq8onAntAYiJP7WAUG8cT2NUNnjXyvSBeQ7gI49M_8dr_t4R8VmeWytSfnz3nx5znpJ54TVJwm6UThWIfnKrFVfx/s1600/teenjunk2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 239px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicR0zAhwaio-23zDhDbkXspjd6X9AgdiFnvTY6bu8Mw7fnVyvPQRZUCq8onAntAYiJP7WAUG8cT2NUNnjXyvSBeQ7gI49M_8dr_t4R8VmeWytSfnz3nx5znpJ54TVJwm6UThWIfnKrFVfx/s320/teenjunk2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508577521582300402" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Even when Francesco is with her, Rain is absorbed in finding uses for the scrap she finds. While she dabbles in invention, Francesco works on his homework.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_s1aAx0UH9pZ1fOq0tAUip8O8PwZx0vYbSrMWOFM-OdEGuBn5hMjutvSmzz0Ko1_0m1e6OMA9wp_ur6EMqdGUjhzrGmGnseNW8uZyXyeT8cTC9FRMLVBP37LL6UWGL67qcz6H5k24UYMH/s1600/teenjunk3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_s1aAx0UH9pZ1fOq0tAUip8O8PwZx0vYbSrMWOFM-OdEGuBn5hMjutvSmzz0Ko1_0m1e6OMA9wp_ur6EMqdGUjhzrGmGnseNW8uZyXyeT8cTC9FRMLVBP37LL6UWGL67qcz6H5k24UYMH/s320/teenjunk3.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508578139988703762" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Tao approves of his daughter's decision to devote her life to making useful things out of things others have cast off, and buys the property for her, so that she can set up shop there when she graduates high school.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Meilin is livid, and screams at her father that it's not fair for him to buy property for Rain and nothing for her. Tao tries to explain that the junkyard isn't some toy he's offering to one and not the other, it's for Rain's future career.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"What about my future career?" Meilin shouts.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"You want to be a doctor," Tao answers, "I can't buy the hospital for you."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"You've always preferred Rain over me," Meilin retorts, getting to the heart of the matter.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Tao doesn't believe that's true, and doesn't realize that the small things he did for his second daughter, whose mother denied her existence, was giving his older daughter the impression that he favored her. He offers Meilin the family car, and expensive BWAN Speedster handed down to him through the generations, still in excellent condition. Meilin appears pacified by the gesture, but something has broken between father and daughter that the gift cannot heal. The night after her graduation, Meilin takes her car and elopes with Deon Wolff, leaving her family behind without a word.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyv3aj8FHILkySSoElEuyiwtQmu5yeh1nxN8jusA_Oj8mjoDGXkF3dScvKC3VdBe2C2qYyuYDezd7RN792oyqNTNmKh7rJ1IQMNAzx7qAf3SA4lMeITjgR1ojunJtqk55fOfIH1bniMo2v/s1600/teenjunk4.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 242px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyv3aj8FHILkySSoElEuyiwtQmu5yeh1nxN8jusA_Oj8mjoDGXkF3dScvKC3VdBe2C2qYyuYDezd7RN792oyqNTNmKh7rJ1IQMNAzx7qAf3SA4lMeITjgR1ojunJtqk55fOfIH1bniMo2v/s320/teenjunk4.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508581642705601938" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Invention is not without its dangers, Rain discovers.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz6-klnPotGbSPpKIPi1Ou4AppDv2vDiNb9ybIj22d4UAuiLw_WWqW1UiCsQ-XARSibZANl7ylQzCgiyiuTVVS1Qh8hyphenhyphenjraloLi-LmesohIPqsHgYLds4BvmzJHJ3tBI-CTpfvppQw0Wui/s1600/teensculpt1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 284px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz6-klnPotGbSPpKIPi1Ou4AppDv2vDiNb9ybIj22d4UAuiLw_WWqW1UiCsQ-XARSibZANl7ylQzCgiyiuTVVS1Qh8hyphenhyphenjraloLi-LmesohIPqsHgYLds4BvmzJHJ3tBI-CTpfvppQw0Wui/s320/teensculpt1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508582744165976434" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Besides dabbling in widgets and toys, Rain put the found scrap to use as sculpture.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW58WXDOSl8tmHFJcplLYDGc4-BGy5e8X9nSmUHmqUiXu0tovTCDncAUbEFmlCLPpofSuguYYSM9mzFcfymhUcnzqeblbNaJS-XPiKALVloWpFW0GsUZ8bPVxmdn87g0R3_XWEymgdzpEw/s1600/teensculpt2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 304px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW58WXDOSl8tmHFJcplLYDGc4-BGy5e8X9nSmUHmqUiXu0tovTCDncAUbEFmlCLPpofSuguYYSM9mzFcfymhUcnzqeblbNaJS-XPiKALVloWpFW0GsUZ8bPVxmdn87g0R3_XWEymgdzpEw/s320/teensculpt2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508583218850211474" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Pyromania runs in her family, and Rain loves a good fire herself, but not when it's her pants that are on fire.</span></div></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT8PLU-jrL4SV6bmmoPwjcOr0HpeS0HxICx2rUh18zz2QahfbAm-NAOnOaCm7QEo6ttohwzJVDr27Yu5KGX_2gEmYQsXRuzDV1khj7lwuUxXkA249Aaho-4wyZoMfpIfW41bjfbp8yOZC3/s1600/consignment.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 254px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT8PLU-jrL4SV6bmmoPwjcOr0HpeS0HxICx2rUh18zz2QahfbAm-NAOnOaCm7QEo6ttohwzJVDr27Yu5KGX_2gEmYQsXRuzDV1khj7lwuUxXkA249Aaho-4wyZoMfpIfW41bjfbp8yOZC3/s320/consignment.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508584007282973522" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">The little mishaps with fire have not deterred Rain from her purpose, and as soon as she graduates, she hires Allan Peoples to work for her, selling the the things she invents.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDhmDT50iyITTNarh6V1cVZYj4Kj19R9WaipHT78JcG3o-t1HNvzULrjLT_o3C89U4xr9Z83TlZw0f6d3pOhL-pbuSCYl_agPmxGPd4r_QPbrKeEBpoPj9mckTfRm2FhiJSufWmoLF803_/s1600/detonation1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 269px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDhmDT50iyITTNarh6V1cVZYj4Kj19R9WaipHT78JcG3o-t1HNvzULrjLT_o3C89U4xr9Z83TlZw0f6d3pOhL-pbuSCYl_agPmxGPd4r_QPbrKeEBpoPj9mckTfRm2FhiJSufWmoLF803_/s320/detonation1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508585386006653218" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Having been burnt a few times and survived, Rain fearlessly detonates old appliances furniture left in the junkyard.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3HlvINcPf-eFvs9wHZj8CrPD9rpZPdQ2JrX5VxRS8TIkribKXRS3wRuXdW7XFyroGrqTOnHPGeS1fVF1964FAzBALK3BcuAgEj66qK7ESDu_3g05nGFjsKaduH30YFVnGcHxkgaCP_Oqk/s1600/detonation2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 286px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3HlvINcPf-eFvs9wHZj8CrPD9rpZPdQ2JrX5VxRS8TIkribKXRS3wRuXdW7XFyroGrqTOnHPGeS1fVF1964FAzBALK3BcuAgEj66qK7ESDu_3g05nGFjsKaduH30YFVnGcHxkgaCP_Oqk/s320/detonation2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508585982872813458" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">She set the charge properly; why isn't it exploding?</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii1At3bGx-34140EmtczZ0gAs3e-Vl0nQCYULI8G9E3DiDb-DeSO_nAZdXBT1g0sWak-UwyFc1wrf7U-TUV43xF21dpZY6hbkVhzfwb_svpBYwmoIAApvEVZL7WMza1lhrVXUVwlc8p5nO/s1600/detonation3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 262px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii1At3bGx-34140EmtczZ0gAs3e-Vl0nQCYULI8G9E3DiDb-DeSO_nAZdXBT1g0sWak-UwyFc1wrf7U-TUV43xF21dpZY6hbkVhzfwb_svpBYwmoIAApvEVZL7WMza1lhrVXUVwlc8p5nO/s320/detonation3.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508586302648789586" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Rain survives the explosion, slightly charred.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm5ELAoBruh3RIaZUGyePk4YRoW9XEyFUozwbkBMttafh9qGO8Z04EFZ7xl554BeANpnziXyLGzPd-gdADYtorpfMb-euVAZJuQlkbLzDI2dLahCfzrkvO0vNHKh-rgJ024GGKXK8xCVFm/s1600/rainchessya1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm5ELAoBruh3RIaZUGyePk4YRoW9XEyFUozwbkBMttafh9qGO8Z04EFZ7xl554BeANpnziXyLGzPd-gdADYtorpfMb-euVAZJuQlkbLzDI2dLahCfzrkvO0vNHKh-rgJ024GGKXK8xCVFm/s320/rainchessya1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508587007455100562" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Francesco moves in with Rain and her father now that they are both adults.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX9QXnP8WPA52jMSJzcIaH3avulMsLFpXbQ2baWan4t6nqMRRWTMTwfAO4epToCRwBTAZr5KfVGCCsoaLPeZJQ9lTROtMD_igB12QfXkw7tPQaKzFOW0DAjBjXUv-6a3M0kDcj-EAjyXIy/s1600/chesspaints.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 306px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX9QXnP8WPA52jMSJzcIaH3avulMsLFpXbQ2baWan4t6nqMRRWTMTwfAO4epToCRwBTAZr5KfVGCCsoaLPeZJQ9lTROtMD_igB12QfXkw7tPQaKzFOW0DAjBjXUv-6a3M0kDcj-EAjyXIy/s320/chesspaints.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508587451190723042" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Chess, as Rain calls him, enjoys artistic pursuits like painting and playing guitar, but has chosen to go into business as a career. </span></div><div><br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0HRxjYeP9X9P9NQSHGJH7fw4W4iSiEZWqbQ5QEyUKGGC1s3K6_GXMwYfec0t0_9p7rVNmISCRI3h1Ac4AJ0Ke7Wx01KHVwRPD0xmmcUr_aLDb5XSacd3Sy09jX946KFu_7jvuEpiQH0Ib/s1600/chessguitar.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 294px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0HRxjYeP9X9P9NQSHGJH7fw4W4iSiEZWqbQ5QEyUKGGC1s3K6_GXMwYfec0t0_9p7rVNmISCRI3h1Ac4AJ0Ke7Wx01KHVwRPD0xmmcUr_aLDb5XSacd3Sy09jX946KFu_7jvuEpiQH0Ib/s320/chessguitar.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508588084815119618" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Though he prefers solitude and working alone, he's forced himself into a busy office, believing that that's what he should do.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggHn7te7yMzNaFnB-AnhHb0E86pX_FdotbSF-yeLS8WCbPtfRboaIlexil9W5WkQTTo_Pfb8UQVcLSHicoWUYSaY70_AMDeve-oU7kPal0P7impP0XD5W_9bLPqha-qeUtCf3Vm24XMwec/s1600/chessgym.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 261px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggHn7te7yMzNaFnB-AnhHb0E86pX_FdotbSF-yeLS8WCbPtfRboaIlexil9W5WkQTTo_Pfb8UQVcLSHicoWUYSaY70_AMDeve-oU7kPal0P7impP0XD5W_9bLPqha-qeUtCf3Vm24XMwec/s320/chessgym.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508590627302181154" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">After the stress of being around his coworkers, who play the same juvenile pranks on him as they did in high school, Chess works off his anger and humiliation in the gym, which is usually empty at this time of day, and jogs home when the crowds start trickling in.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCnvBFsCkdAV3O9kEDGDYLcks96mY-fWZC3U8jgAzjwzyLAjjcY2j9jC94qW9U1LL0fxJp5aYSpfWy241rhQbc8PAUd28ziOkUc1Z2Hx7EiYMTBRj0sjHLKyzbQtuN5gudF9oqqUZblYAb/s1600/proposal.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 254px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCnvBFsCkdAV3O9kEDGDYLcks96mY-fWZC3U8jgAzjwzyLAjjcY2j9jC94qW9U1LL0fxJp5aYSpfWy241rhQbc8PAUd28ziOkUc1Z2Hx7EiYMTBRj0sjHLKyzbQtuN5gudF9oqqUZblYAb/s320/proposal.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508588825661279458" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Not long after h moves in with her, Chess asks Rain to be his wife. She has always loved him and stood by him, proud of him despite the fact that all their peers labeled him a loser, because she sees the world, and him, with different eyes, and never lets the opinions of others cloud her judgment. Because she has no great love of parties and he hates crowds of any kind, they have a private wedding.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRxDeach0vAzEr5IPDVERV4GeQXQuChyphenhyphenyWMJ_Rugug6hhYfUgxH9BuL0Na1dUmTR3GuOvgpgEapXkkLg728pwsKMY3Z1hBXVU6bq_YtWc9yT38lTOSus1tGsBdPUu4I9lzeTCHRwcvPr2z/s1600/taoadriaelder.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 272px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRxDeach0vAzEr5IPDVERV4GeQXQuChyphenhyphenyWMJ_Rugug6hhYfUgxH9BuL0Na1dUmTR3GuOvgpgEapXkkLg728pwsKMY3Z1hBXVU6bq_YtWc9yT38lTOSus1tGsBdPUu4I9lzeTCHRwcvPr2z/s320/taoadriaelder.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508589372754955666" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Now that they are elders and their children are grown, Tao and Adria are more open about their relationship, and she often spends the night as his place. They don't consider marriage however, as they both hope to help raise their grandchildren from their own homes.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbsITh527PjqgaeWVKw7apVV_GG6KAwCDE1QqAbIXzoo61C_wU2wNXPofi1-2sYFvC35kmMVZeYpNUUNgOK2DbzjyKKRwFc3J0LDV-n2d7w4vKjfMO3t56OoL_ROZotICswRahOrEh6tiS/s1600/haunt1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 263px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbsITh527PjqgaeWVKw7apVV_GG6KAwCDE1QqAbIXzoo61C_wU2wNXPofi1-2sYFvC35kmMVZeYpNUUNgOK2DbzjyKKRwFc3J0LDV-n2d7w4vKjfMO3t56OoL_ROZotICswRahOrEh6tiS/s320/haunt1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508590055228635394" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">One night, Tao is awakened by odd noises in his room. One of his grandmother's trinkets appears possessed, hovering and shaking in the air above the end table.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUHt6ihA3AQGId9KIyN8-GPyqbYVmy2IdVNfLFWENGD8xlXSmyatd3HlM5Qv8xwlUPb9RzmIk3K2zYnzbSLgQ4lpjCIn0N0Gd-9NMTfK5E_FzKxgFTLymdBoZMbPKRpzKLaumhv7jLlGK8/s1600/haunt2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 288px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUHt6ihA3AQGId9KIyN8-GPyqbYVmy2IdVNfLFWENGD8xlXSmyatd3HlM5Qv8xwlUPb9RzmIk3K2zYnzbSLgQ4lpjCIn0N0Gd-9NMTfK5E_FzKxgFTLymdBoZMbPKRpzKLaumhv7jLlGK8/s320/haunt2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508591405844190434" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">As the little chest settles back down into its place, the ghost of Harlan McDermott materializes. Tao was a toddler when his grandfather died, and he remembers him with great affection. He approaches the ghost and speaks to him, wondering if he's come back with some important message from beyond. But Harlan just wants to talk about the garden, and share cooking tips with his grandson.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqRqjv-jhQLosrM_a69qJE4uFC3AX_8TYc56k1qybWjkZ8zn5xyZzdz3gBhyxt-Z2feGJl4zciwRBvvTs-vFZTNAQAqsHMKczwd8g3uolS_bakVRCiuHl7NZmn9NigTjqYz8nRtxol-O41/s1600/haunt3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 309px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqRqjv-jhQLosrM_a69qJE4uFC3AX_8TYc56k1qybWjkZ8zn5xyZzdz3gBhyxt-Z2feGJl4zciwRBvvTs-vFZTNAQAqsHMKczwd8g3uolS_bakVRCiuHl7NZmn9NigTjqYz8nRtxol-O41/s320/haunt3.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508592866046243490" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">After imparting a recipe for fruit parfait to Tao, Harlan hugs his grandson and disappears.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Challenge Notes: We are now on Generation 6 rules, Living Green and No Strangers. So, the family car went with Meilin and everyone has bikes. The dryer has been placed in the family inventory and a clothesline has been placed in the yard. I bought Rain her double bed when she was still a teen, before the restriction was in place. Tao sells all the produce he grows as his career is Farmer, but there is still so much left in the fridge from previous generations that we don't need his produce yet. Also, Regan's culinary career fridge reward keeps all meals preserved forever, so we actually still have some key lime pie leftover from Tao's party where Tomika broke up with him.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">No Strangers will be easy for me, as I've explained before, I'm not a big user of NPC help to begin with, and with my heir in a self-employment type job, she won't ever need to call a babysitter for the one child her generation will have. With her handiness skills, she will easily be able to do any repairs that come up. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">About Meilin and the lack of pictures of her as an adult: the rules require the non-heirs to be out of the house within 24hrs of becoming YA. The game was being very uncooperative with me in terms of getting her boyfriend, who turned YA a few days before her, over to the house so she could marry him and move out. To get her out on time, I had to move her out on her own and then use master controller to get her married. And I completely forgot to take any pics of her after her transition when I failed to get the marriage pics I wanted.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Francesco, or Chess as Rain is calling him, is the first spouse I've had to be totally incompatible with his rolled career. He's artistic, loser, loner, heavy sleeper, and absent-minded, and he has to be in business. His LTW is Renaissance SIm, and the three skills he's working on are painting, guitar and athletic, chosen based on the first three wishes he rolled for skills to learn.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">I had to zone the junkyard I placed as a consignment store in order to buy it. When it was zoned as a junkyard, it was not available for purchase, but rezoning it to consignment shop made it available. So, I decided to make it a proper consignment shop with a register, which allows Rain to sell her inventions right there. She can't sell her sculptures, so right now they are decorating the junkyard. She can detonate any she doesn't like, and perhaps some will go into the park she will eventually build. She has the Descendant of Da Vinci LTW, to max invention, sculpture and painting.</span></div>yangthecathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15083940950118677312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2465124855374784027.post-64014743248465019112010-08-20T05:40:00.000-07:002010-08-20T07:09:17.547-07:00Ramaswami/McDermott Random Legacy ch. 25: Junk<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9BwPYcMGno65uxXiWV90i4drEBfJI2gaML1CWn8Ba3csqpYz5ZgevS8opCxAgYV4Pu1HkS6zYf0abSQ_C5JBiifxIAM86mE_SiUneOZDU7yF4gLFlc9QeBeGJReTQycs9gLuRQfGUPrlU/s1600/taolauren.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 277px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9BwPYcMGno65uxXiWV90i4drEBfJI2gaML1CWn8Ba3csqpYz5ZgevS8opCxAgYV4Pu1HkS6zYf0abSQ_C5JBiifxIAM86mE_SiUneOZDU7yF4gLFlc9QeBeGJReTQycs9gLuRQfGUPrlU/s320/taolauren.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5507472321607841266" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"Following in Mom's footsteps, aren't you?" Lauren greets her brother as he brings his youngest for a visit while Meilin is in school. It never occurred to Tao to compare his life to his mother's, but it's true, like her, he's raising two children on his own without ever having married either of their mothers. Unlike his mother, however, he's taking a very active role in parenting. He and Lauren were allowed to do pretty much as they chose, as long as they stayed out of their mother's way. His girls are never without proper adult supervision.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Lauren is pregnant for the third time. This one is another son, who they named Luther.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjwMO0idv_8K0mYdAFAM-rmpomgMIQVsLBPbv2B7-FwSoJspGnJLfWkf11ZkBtyb8gKWbKGiHQqvlmaD_CKrAc3S5jNKny5rE4uzcA8bJrjGBGzWQcltXDu3SUGbTR5KNL92ZpW0x2VkdP/s1600/taoadriabistro.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 252px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjwMO0idv_8K0mYdAFAM-rmpomgMIQVsLBPbv2B7-FwSoJspGnJLfWkf11ZkBtyb8gKWbKGiHQqvlmaD_CKrAc3S5jNKny5rE4uzcA8bJrjGBGzWQcltXDu3SUGbTR5KNL92ZpW0x2VkdP/s320/taoadriabistro.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5507473352706217058" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">When both of his daughters reach school age, Tao finds himself with free time in the afternoon after his morning work in the garden is finished. One afternoon, after delivering his produce to the market, he runs into Adria Landgraab, Donovan's daughter and current mistress of the Landgraab estate. They knew each other in high school, but never became friends, due to the fact that her father was having an affair with his mother. Now, Adria is recently divorced, and like Tao, has free time during the day while her son James is in school. Tao and Adria begin spending some of that free time together, and find they have much in common.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-ZBPL6xstdXLQkwVKCaJOYYjYbvP5qWf107RllwJdg15tg96SPj5gZbIV8_MF4eUbmzORcZDL_hlf-ZObaIin0vzrewY1VBTYEabfoJphCfI9wahy83-BovaNrZFqNsTQ6OYAU5LqfKQI/s1600/taoadriatheater.jpg"></a><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-ZBPL6xstdXLQkwVKCaJOYYjYbvP5qWf107RllwJdg15tg96SPj5gZbIV8_MF4eUbmzORcZDL_hlf-ZObaIin0vzrewY1VBTYEabfoJphCfI9wahy83-BovaNrZFqNsTQ6OYAU5LqfKQI/s1600/taoadriatheater.jpg"><img style="text-align: left;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 246px; " src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-ZBPL6xstdXLQkwVKCaJOYYjYbvP5qWf107RllwJdg15tg96SPj5gZbIV8_MF4eUbmzORcZDL_hlf-ZObaIin0vzrewY1VBTYEabfoJphCfI9wahy83-BovaNrZFqNsTQ6OYAU5LqfKQI/s320/taoadriatheater.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5507475185731862930" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">They have lunch together at the bistro, or take in a matinee, and very soon find their new friendship has blossomed into a romance.</span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCcsRldGbYF3V6HKukVq9erlvPBs-Nw6KcYbubiI-AWSMEQLJVkJ1PVgnTeAgKffPnmfF-H8QceHFE7oCbvvzEW319sMS1OBHQZu9RAmQIIw-nXNq2elmFbaBaf7rNgBpLEMIKSu5aQivY/s1600/taoadriabed.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 258px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCcsRldGbYF3V6HKukVq9erlvPBs-Nw6KcYbubiI-AWSMEQLJVkJ1PVgnTeAgKffPnmfF-H8QceHFE7oCbvvzEW319sMS1OBHQZu9RAmQIIw-nXNq2elmFbaBaf7rNgBpLEMIKSu5aQivY/s320/taoadriabed.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5507476123208317922" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">At some point they skip lunch and movies and simply spend their afternoons together in Tao's bed. Adria always leaves in time to be home before her son gets out of school, leaving Tao free to help his daughters with their homework when they come from school as well. Their children are the priority for both Tao and Adria, and their affair is not allowed to in any way compete or collide with their family. Their children are not even aware that their parents are acquainted.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdhY1fnQW8zG01jkLT1HXISUi9X6nc4afO1ndKUJA1wIaNx7nIhWRZLEVS41dB8qnEmg_anQds9KyWLkEzEjfN1MxxYK0YuoHIaKvVnnbZzWfr7JJV9GXlQ3UvG2rMs51eO3gYxD8u4N0E/s1600/meilintomika1.jpg"></a><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdhY1fnQW8zG01jkLT1HXISUi9X6nc4afO1ndKUJA1wIaNx7nIhWRZLEVS41dB8qnEmg_anQds9KyWLkEzEjfN1MxxYK0YuoHIaKvVnnbZzWfr7JJV9GXlQ3UvG2rMs51eO3gYxD8u4N0E/s1600/meilintomika1.jpg"><img style="text-align: left;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 290px; " src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdhY1fnQW8zG01jkLT1HXISUi9X6nc4afO1ndKUJA1wIaNx7nIhWRZLEVS41dB8qnEmg_anQds9KyWLkEzEjfN1MxxYK0YuoHIaKvVnnbZzWfr7JJV9GXlQ3UvG2rMs51eO3gYxD8u4N0E/s320/meilintomika1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5507477681694475234" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Meilin's mother, Tomika, surprises her with a birthday visit. Tomika hasn't played much of a role in her daughter's life beyond the occasional phone call, and Meilin is not especially thrilled to have her show up on her birthday. "Dad is my only real parent," she says defiantly, "You haven't ever been here for me before, why show up now? "</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG3Alsu-_nmR9pjQu6FhyyeEHx7Re_l1JUNHKKGePnfM-i4YYj3BbBMdDOmKJzEWP_qbT942w6jU48XPKPMut04pkBNKcVSe3jOJ5DxYUG-yNCr0uUkDdAshiif4Y0scXi6v08yGd9aU1d/s1600/meilintomika2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 311px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG3Alsu-_nmR9pjQu6FhyyeEHx7Re_l1JUNHKKGePnfM-i4YYj3BbBMdDOmKJzEWP_qbT942w6jU48XPKPMut04pkBNKcVSe3jOJ5DxYUG-yNCr0uUkDdAshiif4Y0scXi6v08yGd9aU1d/s320/meilintomika2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5507479030222566114" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Tomika doesn't answer that question, instead she launches into some conspiracy theory as though her daughter hadn't even spoken. Meilin suddenly understands what her father meant when he said her mother hadn't rejected her, she was just preoccupied. Meilin just hopes her mother's neuroses isn't genetic.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQxOCJ1jK8sM4X2w9J8QrrjT2kRTgle1_NXT5Mc0POu5iHyG2otyDoymdP42wBW0I_bNCduMrfmWMUZwz6D0Cm6tjasYb1m4KynCsZp1k_g1xeTFI9SQFFBgQhYkUWp8eaaM7VN1oRMMEz/s1600/meilintomika3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQxOCJ1jK8sM4X2w9J8QrrjT2kRTgle1_NXT5Mc0POu5iHyG2otyDoymdP42wBW0I_bNCduMrfmWMUZwz6D0Cm6tjasYb1m4KynCsZp1k_g1xeTFI9SQFFBgQhYkUWp8eaaM7VN1oRMMEz/s320/meilintomika3.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5507481122769826130" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Tomika leaves with a pang of regret. She didn't know it at the time, but she abandoned the sweetest situation she was ever to have. Now, she works part time at the spa while raising a second daughter, Felisha, and supporting her jobless live in boyfriend Shayne. Life with Tao would have been much better, but he doesn't have much to say to her now.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5KNrwcp9weupzpRc8gHowWDVMVDilSKHf5dyW2t3Rq_GlPwpb8GMjqWLQ0gkkQL92em6GO5lfBLi8U9CFb_928Slmom5cMd-vXKnA8pdpHpMqHJB3XPzqsgRMtt2eO5kcC75Hpgu-Dxvu/s1600/meilindeon.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 290px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5KNrwcp9weupzpRc8gHowWDVMVDilSKHf5dyW2t3Rq_GlPwpb8GMjqWLQ0gkkQL92em6GO5lfBLi8U9CFb_928Slmom5cMd-vXKnA8pdpHpMqHJB3XPzqsgRMtt2eO5kcC75Hpgu-Dxvu/s320/meilindeon.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5507482094164017090" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Meilin is dating her childhood friend Deon Wolff, the heir of Wolff Manor.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihtxuhV69M022HiXPH057qh9LgGlnxHPwD4wzcU3NMyD63WyXoH0GDXqrR44T9xSf5hpQXpTXQKZpiyYe9IqufJJ-PMrSDYD4bV4a0X9haOVABB4p0gFbRDQ9OL1jmnzAEfJgHKJw45qWj/s1600/rainbday.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 226px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihtxuhV69M022HiXPH057qh9LgGlnxHPwD4wzcU3NMyD63WyXoH0GDXqrR44T9xSf5hpQXpTXQKZpiyYe9IqufJJ-PMrSDYD4bV4a0X9haOVABB4p0gFbRDQ9OL1jmnzAEfJgHKJw45qWj/s320/rainbday.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5507483145039644130" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">The McDermott's have never been much for birthday celebrations, but Tao decides to have a cake for Rain. A cake can in no way make up for the lack of her mother's love or attention, but it's the best he can do. Unlike Meilin's mother, who was just generally too lazy and preoccupied to be even a part time mother, Rain's mother Ivy has made it clear that she wants no part of her daughter's life. Since her 'true love' Regan Goth married Ashley, Ivy has tried to put her past behind her, moving on to marry Ken Rhodes, and leaving everything that came before in the dust, not even acknowledging that she had a child.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Besides her father and sister, Rain has invited her best friend, Francesco Corcoran to her little party.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7gq5wyXof4ExlLxL3MSMPPJQZTCl8Rv_ZNo0HXSNIffC8pW__LJCU9_IFR1oELziBdXiiAKsnSP9Tu9gWwBP9VteJ7GOa3QaGhNqE17c-oYPu8-9g91aBVuWERZq-vU0ZTKtw8LAbzZmK/s1600/ranfrancesco1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 208px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7gq5wyXof4ExlLxL3MSMPPJQZTCl8Rv_ZNo0HXSNIffC8pW__LJCU9_IFR1oELziBdXiiAKsnSP9Tu9gWwBP9VteJ7GOa3QaGhNqE17c-oYPu8-9g91aBVuWERZq-vU0ZTKtw8LAbzZmK/s320/ranfrancesco1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5507484841139875506" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Francesco's birthday falls right after Rain's, and once they are both teens, she asks him out. Though they've been best friends forever, always together at school and out, he seems surprised by her romantic advances.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"I thought for sure you would ask out Theron Rhodes," he says, "I can't tell you how happy I am you chose me."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-Pdjlo-bBlg_9tn-esKpXya5avGh5Sk6ySFVEF-zljAp5DyUYS7oap5QAk3SItWXpsP0ZixMP7Zya5sF_S1aWev_vtQXCFw1KKGskGeE0WYOgQRD5dZOQ2InzRq34FomsLZfQ1nlLJ8hE/s1600/rainfancesco2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 227px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-Pdjlo-bBlg_9tn-esKpXya5avGh5Sk6ySFVEF-zljAp5DyUYS7oap5QAk3SItWXpsP0ZixMP7Zya5sF_S1aWev_vtQXCFw1KKGskGeE0WYOgQRD5dZOQ2InzRq34FomsLZfQ1nlLJ8hE/s320/rainfancesco2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5507485840889610546" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Theron Rhodes would have been the obvious choice for most girls, athletic, confident and handsome, while poor Francesco is sensitive and frequently picked on. But Rain rarely goes for the obvious choice, and loves Francesco for the sensitivity that he is often teased about.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXk6FUhyphenhyphen7tVKS8e2hDt5eb9i6ygsswgE93aWwT01t2eYrjji65iZJ4GX5jxVuDc0EwSgLXpmvmj93eArvVn1ncBfCrzfiIELq6LEW2oNw_lqFEt_tvPMyCUep7GguH1EDFltuAKZvfOnIo/s1600/junkyard1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 298px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXk6FUhyphenhyphen7tVKS8e2hDt5eb9i6ygsswgE93aWwT01t2eYrjji65iZJ4GX5jxVuDc0EwSgLXpmvmj93eArvVn1ncBfCrzfiIELq6LEW2oNw_lqFEt_tvPMyCUep7GguH1EDFltuAKZvfOnIo/s320/junkyard1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5507487018494508738" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">On Saturday afternoon, Rain bikes over to the military base to take a class in mechanics, and discovers and old abandoned gas station that has become a dumping ground. Intrigued, she decides to explore.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN0lk2L4Ss-rLAMxTjfCeaOCAx9ZoIY5h4ThOZKKTn4CzG2lIcWEOwcjdgxYiv2Vb_qVre9ZsQpPDRNgLXgtlNHCkaKYmm7v00zUtSJmaUAfu-IT5iQ4av7OyH1N_d0vI2sLmH7sFGS7GI/s1600/junkyard2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 286px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN0lk2L4Ss-rLAMxTjfCeaOCAx9ZoIY5h4ThOZKKTn4CzG2lIcWEOwcjdgxYiv2Vb_qVre9ZsQpPDRNgLXgtlNHCkaKYmm7v00zUtSJmaUAfu-IT5iQ4av7OyH1N_d0vI2sLmH7sFGS7GI/s320/junkyard2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5507487606847280226" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Picking through the piles of junk, Rain can't believe how wasteful people are, throwing away things that could still be of use. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwTamYC_M3nA8G7-5N7vEYCI_XnKTnYALmrHMJFRtPFA9qBVziPWikLdfwXssH7UF0NOL1CGUoGs0Nr31XLFwMv5w_fs81ju0VNbREy5s7pvUp7A3NXzbJIR9ZfVlCX3R5ZQIMCfgOcDJg/s1600/junkyard3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 283px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwTamYC_M3nA8G7-5N7vEYCI_XnKTnYALmrHMJFRtPFA9qBVziPWikLdfwXssH7UF0NOL1CGUoGs0Nr31XLFwMv5w_fs81ju0VNbREy5s7pvUp7A3NXzbJIR9ZfVlCX3R5ZQIMCfgOcDJg/s320/junkyard3.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5507488104021598930" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">She finds an old workbench inside the building and uses the tools there to recombine the various parts and pieces she plucked from the trash, and in the process, discovers her life's calling.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJr0PDqNn_Y4OsRK5cSvMZb7_XrI6R9Y8SZK2KsJ2KFbVbPY_YxxYzfDzt2W9zHjjzPz0X2uoQ82szH2pOKv0KEHmOheCkXpKzXqRJqc-Ew0bCJ1I5nfkaENy8OuPisOnE8v0g1qEuFWUM/s1600/taofrancesco1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 308px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJr0PDqNn_Y4OsRK5cSvMZb7_XrI6R9Y8SZK2KsJ2KFbVbPY_YxxYzfDzt2W9zHjjzPz0X2uoQ82szH2pOKv0KEHmOheCkXpKzXqRJqc-Ew0bCJ1I5nfkaENy8OuPisOnE8v0g1qEuFWUM/s320/taofrancesco1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5507488921651139218" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">That evening, she invites Francesco over to be grilled by her father. Tao knows the boy as her childhood playmate, and Francesco is the son of his own good friend Raphael Corcoran (formerly Goth), but now that he's dating his daughter, he needs to answer to her father.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1SJrzndVI6zkujqTtrAJ4SK92q7ykTeGRnp9lXH8XiOAzPyETIvdfWy_7SNc-79TgAYkMU-c9tsYLKqIbGswsHAbGtIa3RK884m3qJ1rbiHZgVkYI6P8v4_A7sSvZtRLE_6QOVm178WMp/s1600/taofrancesco2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 270px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1SJrzndVI6zkujqTtrAJ4SK92q7ykTeGRnp9lXH8XiOAzPyETIvdfWy_7SNc-79TgAYkMU-c9tsYLKqIbGswsHAbGtIa3RK884m3qJ1rbiHZgVkYI6P8v4_A7sSvZtRLE_6QOVm178WMp/s320/taofrancesco2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5507489720945585378" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Tao remembers his sister Lauren's difficult teen years, her dates with Tracey often involving stealing public property and setting things on fire. Though they both grew up into responsible adults, Tao is not about to let his teens run wild like that, and keeps their dates where he can supervise them.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Challenge Notes: Generation 5 is nearly finished, once the girls are both YA all goals will have been met. Rain has been chosen heir, and she got the Eccentric trait to help her with her destined career as an inventor. Tao is doing well in the gardening career, though that one is difficult to advance in since it depends on selling tons of produce. He may or may not reach the top of his career. He's getting close to his LTW, he's maxed gardening and fishing and just needs to max one more skill. He's a charisma 9, so he will likely max that out just through socializing. I haven't been putting a lot of effort into skilling Tao, he just earns skills from doing stuff he normally does.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div>yangthecathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15083940950118677312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2465124855374784027.post-82356022006050034982010-08-15T09:50:00.000-07:002010-08-15T11:32:25.030-07:00Ramaswami/McDermott Random Legacy ch. 24: Rebound<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4qL2NjQ1I2J7eNrS80UjALpVD0vJt2nHALz8IiUj6LKWx4h9-eSVzGAQX9al1tFbEQTaLDlAzFRVx_eTNRaZHLu3t8mia-M6JLrj18PXmsF3_dn_4BdSBsBF5EcKJbUughcI8cZ59wRpD/s1600/heartbreak1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 307px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4qL2NjQ1I2J7eNrS80UjALpVD0vJt2nHALz8IiUj6LKWx4h9-eSVzGAQX9al1tFbEQTaLDlAzFRVx_eTNRaZHLu3t8mia-M6JLrj18PXmsF3_dn_4BdSBsBF5EcKJbUughcI8cZ59wRpD/s320/heartbreak1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5505680243547094962" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Tao wakes up the morning after his disastrous party with the crushing realization that Tomika is out of his life for good.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgIuUArnxf81xtHyoVhsh0WroeypByRxUwzCSwq9jCUUPjIRKhD_P-lXDlVB0dat9NiGHKoAeDCwhw_E9MZPX-3qWTjlkEUX76xI_VG2ULwoe4-srJIvhfb5R8oCgNQAkf6Y-dUtSW1ngj/s1600/heartbreak3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 242px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgIuUArnxf81xtHyoVhsh0WroeypByRxUwzCSwq9jCUUPjIRKhD_P-lXDlVB0dat9NiGHKoAeDCwhw_E9MZPX-3qWTjlkEUX76xI_VG2ULwoe4-srJIvhfb5R8oCgNQAkf6Y-dUtSW1ngj/s320/heartbreak3.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5505680781357231586" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"She wasn't good enough for you," his mother insists, "You are much better off without her."</span></div></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"I love her," Tao answers, "I just want her back."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"You'll get over her," Regan promises.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ7mgkG1tkozpdkDDgDqDfDhMAsvreTtmEUtL-nvybagK6SspwfG4pjmEbhVjGtW9MvpMfqI6ed8UIk8mjf677F5I7iB7pavJ2Gv4B8Wl9rR7zIHaL5f03BFbiszzMWuuJz8_6h2odZtgg/s1600/hbregan1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 270px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ7mgkG1tkozpdkDDgDqDfDhMAsvreTtmEUtL-nvybagK6SspwfG4pjmEbhVjGtW9MvpMfqI6ed8UIk8mjf677F5I7iB7pavJ2Gv4B8Wl9rR7zIHaL5f03BFbiszzMWuuJz8_6h2odZtgg/s320/hbregan1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5505681767802393602" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"I hope you aren't angry at me," Regan says.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"I heard what she said to you," Tao answers, "I know you weren't the one trying to seduce her. It's not your fault."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"I'm several kinds of asshole," Regan agrees, "But I'm not the kind of asshole that sleeps with his best friend's girl."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"She's not my girl anymore," Tao says, starting to tear up. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmp1kLtZOBrDCsxMS6INTt1cO4QIEsZJ9kNL27LwUqSjoXIX7e9LL7BPMpsYxAKjUkfTpdjy6LoYZzX6_mhxXrMJQJfreF491-AY-YnD9P2REHdFC05PwFmAwR9olsKvLQCmH99dBlTmzV/s1600/hbregan2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmp1kLtZOBrDCsxMS6INTt1cO4QIEsZJ9kNL27LwUqSjoXIX7e9LL7BPMpsYxAKjUkfTpdjy6LoYZzX6_mhxXrMJQJfreF491-AY-YnD9P2REHdFC05PwFmAwR9olsKvLQCmH99dBlTmzV/s320/hbregan2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5505683116969473474" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"And that's her loss," Regan says, smiling, trying to cheer his friend up. "She was nowhere near good enough for you, you know. You deserve a lot better. If I were a chick, I'd be all over you, you know. But you actually deserve better than me, too."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUFpqhkRec2qoran5QaC8j1NtNcpwVKxrH6sdRiGZNAL0RiC-sEQAjFiSZLoNVbtokndhnY0fJI6sac8RwX22KszmgIq5_zn0FnYx8878LwnSD1JAmihjt3TzjQ7tzQFjLxLFUEHFLuDbP/s1600/taoivymeet.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 277px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUFpqhkRec2qoran5QaC8j1NtNcpwVKxrH6sdRiGZNAL0RiC-sEQAjFiSZLoNVbtokndhnY0fJI6sac8RwX22KszmgIq5_zn0FnYx8878LwnSD1JAmihjt3TzjQ7tzQFjLxLFUEHFLuDbP/s320/taoivymeet.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5505684303139398146" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Days pass without bringing Tao any relief from his misery. The best he can do is try to distract himself by going to the movies. Outside the theater, he meets a young woman going to watch the movie alone, like him.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"You're Tao McDermott, aren't you?" she says, "You're Regan Goth's friend."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Tao nods, now recognizing her as Regan's most recent girlfriend, Ivy Gilliland.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"Does Regan every talk about me?" she asks. Tao winces uncomfortably; Regan talks too much about his girlfriends, and says nothing Tao would ever want to repeat to any of them. Before he is made to answer, Ivy continues, "Did he say anything about why he broke up with me? Everything was going so great with us, I really thought we had a good relationship, and it was getting serious. Then, out of the blue, he told me it was over. I just want to know why. What did I do wrong?"</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"I promise you, it wasn't anything you did," Tao sighs, "That's Regan's pattern. He falls for a girl, gets too close and cuts and runs." Ivy looks sadly up at him, like she was expecting some miracle from him that would reunite her with his fickle friend. "The movie is going to start soon, why don't we go inside?" Tao suggests.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf-xub86Z21AeNGHLaflw-8Pq_eTfMviYweeusYFhiER4rbKS5ta7snVsxm0dDAGFYhY6WScIHheLi56JQXATDOiHB2AOxAWaxxpAq6Fe7yrDvfWqYOyT4_NYF1vo6R1cCBNnn-G5dc45T/s1600/taoivybed.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 310px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf-xub86Z21AeNGHLaflw-8Pq_eTfMviYweeusYFhiER4rbKS5ta7snVsxm0dDAGFYhY6WScIHheLi56JQXATDOiHB2AOxAWaxxpAq6Fe7yrDvfWqYOyT4_NYF1vo6R1cCBNnn-G5dc45T/s320/taoivybed.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5505687056405973314" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">After the movie, Tao and Ivy get dinner, and talk about their broken hearts. Eventually, they ended up in his bed, spending their grief in passion. After he fell asleep, Ivy slipped out of his bed and left, and he didn't hear from her again the next day.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_vrMhIhJ6YCCWln58aCd81djnWMiFwHCdR9uKyHmGrD5sNSr-yXF98I46WAcqLiKQ8i0sTwK3pqQTwrY9Ec-ACJeLiT_cM1xlC3nffWssgya0lhUvP8_F3wzGEXfKa65KFGO_rnpvwZO_/s1600/meilintoddler.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 295px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_vrMhIhJ6YCCWln58aCd81djnWMiFwHCdR9uKyHmGrD5sNSr-yXF98I46WAcqLiKQ8i0sTwK3pqQTwrY9Ec-ACJeLiT_cM1xlC3nffWssgya0lhUvP8_F3wzGEXfKa65KFGO_rnpvwZO_/s320/meilintoddler.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5505687724472954850" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Time eventually dulls the pain, and while Tao does still think of Tomika from time to time, he isn't reduced to tears by it any more. His energy is focused on raising his daughter Meilin. He's heard that Tomika is already dating again, she's been seen around town with Ricky Andrews.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBIvQwxmSiRX1WOh7PsUhMHNhEJOC2b7NvtMsI77Wor0SYniV_Nti16sj6K851jqJZJDjRmjUSQZFYb4aZ7syKs_T3ljwjHw1hj721vGfrhWdsJIA_XGVl8I6uzrUHG5t14ri2uUM85yML/s1600/ivypreg.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 287px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBIvQwxmSiRX1WOh7PsUhMHNhEJOC2b7NvtMsI77Wor0SYniV_Nti16sj6K851jqJZJDjRmjUSQZFYb4aZ7syKs_T3ljwjHw1hj721vGfrhWdsJIA_XGVl8I6uzrUHG5t14ri2uUM85yML/s320/ivypreg.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5505688829004642226" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Tao is surprised to get a call from Ivy, asking him to drop by her house. When he visits her, he is even more surprised to see she's pregnant. As though it weren't obvious, she announces her pregnancy to him, and informs him that the child is his.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"You're sure about that?" he asks.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Ivy's face grows red, "What are you implying?" she demands, "If it were Regan's, don't you think I'd be going after him and his wealth for support? I wish it were Regan's, so I could get him to talk to me. Of course it's yours."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Tao apologizes for doubting her, and asks what she was planning to do. Their one night stand isn't really enough to base a relationship on, especially when she's still hung up on Regan. But he's ready to accept responsibility for his child, in whatever form Ivy demands.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"I don't have the time or money for a child in my life," Ivy tells him, "Can you take her once she's born?" Tao agrees readily.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAttI4ulUojldLaPHf3ZXb7Eyv9TbcHzu1nWh6VPlQdxqR90WKd0kqBQbwVseDzTEhFuY6zbyVQEvrgnrO7lxGHKLHSrIJkfcsmiy0I-sYhJvcFWsHZPxKupku294JtVG00D6A6iZSoWA_/s1600/ashley1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 278px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAttI4ulUojldLaPHf3ZXb7Eyv9TbcHzu1nWh6VPlQdxqR90WKd0kqBQbwVseDzTEhFuY6zbyVQEvrgnrO7lxGHKLHSrIJkfcsmiy0I-sYhJvcFWsHZPxKupku294JtVG00D6A6iZSoWA_/s320/ashley1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5505691153096583522" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Regina Goth died suddenly, quickly followed by her husband, Herman. After the funeral, Tao went up to the Goth house to offer condolences to Regan, and was greeted at the door by a woman he'd never seen before, who introduced herself as Ashley Goth. "You must be Tao McDermott," she says, "Regan has told me so much about you."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"Are you a relative? I didn't know the Goths had any relations outside of Sunset Valley."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"I'm Regan's wife," Ashley answers. Tao's jaw drops. Regan? Married? </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7kIbN0_I6JtR08DmiAC7IC4KpZiw-XegI835nL2tNe_xujA7xvTJxBKO-Y8LYMwpqaJiH-zYzHHv2t_s7M7Lh6SdkL2ZULml2upLy3nJW-140jeLwnnsToi8uj7M91h2kSp1mad8n8THv/s1600/ashley2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 254px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7kIbN0_I6JtR08DmiAC7IC4KpZiw-XegI835nL2tNe_xujA7xvTJxBKO-Y8LYMwpqaJiH-zYzHHv2t_s7M7Lh6SdkL2ZULml2upLy3nJW-140jeLwnnsToi8uj7M91h2kSp1mad8n8THv/s320/ashley2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5505694479722862386" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"I see you've met my lovely wife Ashley," Regan says as he pulls Tao into a hug.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"I'm sorry about your mother," Tao says, saving his questions about Regan's new wife for when she's not in the room.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"My love, could you give me a minute alone with Tao?" Regan says to Ashley. Ashley nods and leaves the men alone in the kitchen.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJN6XvVU8WAuZWOPouQkcccGLFsF9s-tBalzVGOrCx02YDg45bC8bpmt7SLLngs04YHMLRqtp-pgNBgYRPP3rMi0hvmrDnLpudgXh58VDWGexVVhV1CZ-tcSXGT56xv9vgD3_-Tk3VQrzF/s1600/ashley4.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 317px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJN6XvVU8WAuZWOPouQkcccGLFsF9s-tBalzVGOrCx02YDg45bC8bpmt7SLLngs04YHMLRqtp-pgNBgYRPP3rMi0hvmrDnLpudgXh58VDWGexVVhV1CZ-tcSXGT56xv9vgD3_-Tk3VQrzF/s320/ashley4.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5505695743502307074" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"I am so freaking out right now," Regan gasps as soon as they are alone. "I can't believe I'm married."</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"Yeah, that's completely not like you. Who is she? What made you decide to get married so suddenly?" Tao asks.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"My mother," Regan sighs, "She put it in her will that if I don't produce a proper heir before I turn 35, the estate will fall to my half-brother Lawrence. As if! The clock is ticking fast, and I've dated nearly every girl in town. Ashley just relocated here, she's a cop like me. She liked me right away, and doesn't know me by reputation, which is a huge plus. She's got the kind of genes I'm looking to pass on to an heir, so I swept her off her feet, made her completely crazy about me and proposed. I probably should have knocked her up first, just to be sure I'm getting an heir out of the deal. But done is done, and I'm married now."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdqleBfNP6RY8VqWfORYc7aanyIZVBKtid06-maiokUMfntUlW7SZw1Zj3a30ia84gDWwTBfLpq5spXGirgnQz-sgt5M_xEbgFqrWtEuYAZhkT991sFOqz9hptF9-LNi0VtOYuf8mlQtuq/s1600/rain1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 314px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdqleBfNP6RY8VqWfORYc7aanyIZVBKtid06-maiokUMfntUlW7SZw1Zj3a30ia84gDWwTBfLpq5spXGirgnQz-sgt5M_xEbgFqrWtEuYAZhkT991sFOqz9hptF9-LNi0VtOYuf8mlQtuq/s320/rain1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5505699287517658658" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">As soon as Ivy brings their daughter, Rain, home from the hospital, Tao comes to take her home with him.</span><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4-qoMDwXfzBAwOR8x3I5Cocawln8-lmAajcv4EpofNrTZh9re8L2S_KNxdpUMG4Tatba2bd-Xk2QxLSdzlEUQ-ZuLeIA1m4tgjCS79zswYvHld4NEp2JIA2pDqDVmh4IV5HDrbsAA3d0c/s1600/regandeath.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 317px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4-qoMDwXfzBAwOR8x3I5Cocawln8-lmAajcv4EpofNrTZh9re8L2S_KNxdpUMG4Tatba2bd-Xk2QxLSdzlEUQ-ZuLeIA1m4tgjCS79zswYvHld4NEp2JIA2pDqDVmh4IV5HDrbsAA3d0c/s320/regandeath.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5505700107967999618" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Regan had been on the phone with her namesake, Regan Goth, to congratulate him on the birth of a daughter, Cassandra. Regina would have been so pleased, Regan thought as she hung up. She missed her friend and cousin dearly. At that moment, death came to claim her as well.</span><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj26NPHppR3SpitUvRa7MBtlrmn8Jw3BtYPiU4eci94RPVSpijdLq10QiTecuccQ-aEUYHmcYlSsHxe2rkjIVEi6T7HK28txT6c0cSD0OoCzUZcQY2ZkZTm7jk997jOyoMKMTL3V22oYsod/s1600/twotoddlers.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 282px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj26NPHppR3SpitUvRa7MBtlrmn8Jw3BtYPiU4eci94RPVSpijdLq10QiTecuccQ-aEUYHmcYlSsHxe2rkjIVEi6T7HK28txT6c0cSD0OoCzUZcQY2ZkZTm7jk997jOyoMKMTL3V22oYsod/s320/twotoddlers.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5505700867093272290" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">With the death of his mother, Tao is left to raise Meilin and Rain on his own.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">(Challenge Notes: I neglected to mention my roll for generation 6 in my last post. Gen 6 will be a couple with one child, Inventor as primary carer and Business as secondary. The generation goal will be living green, which I look forward to because you need to build a community lot park, and misc. fun will be No Strangers.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">So, with Tao's second child I ended up not moving the mother in while pregnant. I tried to, but I got an issue where the game got hung during the move in process and I had to restart the PC just to get out of the game. So, I let Ivy give birth on her own and used Twallan's master controller to move Rain in after birth. I hope that isn't considered cheating, it's the only thing I could think of to do when moving pregnant Ivy in failed. The rules say you <i>can</i> move in the pregnant mother, not that you <i>must</i>. On the downside, Rain's traits, Friendly and Heavy Sleeper, were chosen by the game. On the plus side, even though I have SP set for normal baby aging, when I moved Rain in she had 0 days to transition to toddler. She was born around 11pm and I moved her in the next morning around 7:30 am, after I took pictures of Tao holding her in Ivy's house.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">So Tao has two children as a single parent, which completes Gen 5 requirements. Assuming both girls live to YA without being taken by SS, but I've never lost a child in my history of playing Sims since S1, so I don't expect anything to go wrong here.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Tao has reached level 6 of the Gardener career, and has maxed gardening skill. I still haven't decided what other two skills I want to max for his LTW, but he's at 8 Charisma just from interaction with Sims, and he fishes a lot, so they might be the ones.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">I haven't yet chosen an heir for Gen 6, I'll decide when I see what the girls look like as teens.)</span></div><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div></div>yangthecathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15083940950118677312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2465124855374784027.post-5797976337519080142010-08-13T13:59:00.000-07:002010-08-13T15:44:45.504-07:00Ramaswami/McDermott Random Legacy ch. 23: Party to Remember<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUMQezaiz-B7rIvftWz3wchw5-u1WTI6R4rt8StlvAe62ho83nOgZy7H_tSQNWKQuL0yHr1g7IX4nvTg5ZSywF1YMKW8Cq8DqsV4jNlnxYhizo2Uiu02LpBrZyvN5du0SvA74Wo7XpmaVn/s1600/taojosephine.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 294px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUMQezaiz-B7rIvftWz3wchw5-u1WTI6R4rt8StlvAe62ho83nOgZy7H_tSQNWKQuL0yHr1g7IX4nvTg5ZSywF1YMKW8Cq8DqsV4jNlnxYhizo2Uiu02LpBrZyvN5du0SvA74Wo7XpmaVn/s320/taojosephine.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5505002808772773634" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Tao visited his sister as soon as she brought home her new daughter, Josephine. He can't wait for the day when he can hold a child of his own, but Tomika changes the subject whenever he tries to talk about marriage and their future.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyo_tZmn5NROS0TuuiMlX-2zI5AGQWJEyPKi0O_ZbKfJ1Lg2gn2DaXgG8c7fvW_djFYHx6MY7NEyVEQQYUSiQzRsUvIrAaAFczIH-IYrTNzMGJTMNzDuy8WJ45SbhxSPM325yNUTJwLw9x/s1600/taolauren1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyo_tZmn5NROS0TuuiMlX-2zI5AGQWJEyPKi0O_ZbKfJ1Lg2gn2DaXgG8c7fvW_djFYHx6MY7NEyVEQQYUSiQzRsUvIrAaAFczIH-IYrTNzMGJTMNzDuy8WJ45SbhxSPM325yNUTJwLw9x/s320/taolauren1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5505003032846890034" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">After he puts his niece back in her crib, Tao joins Lauren and Tracey in the living room.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"Tao, don't you ever think about moving out of Mom's house? You can't really want to stay with her now that you're an adult?"</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"Sure, I've thought about it," Tao answers, "But I don't want to leave the garden behind."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Lauren rolls her eyes, "You can plant a garden anywhere."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"It wouldn't be the same. Our family has worked that land since they came to Sunset Valley. I can feel their presence in that soil. It wouldn't be the same anywhere else."</span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEH9S80ZqhwMWSWZwY8gReEznfGLGUMxQwSiSfgTnkWpyBqD2JbSAr9VyRdcpgT5Q0O0nR4hhseEoDEX-O1vOiJnBKEDZG6rDLrUxmHvRl7vtz-qH5TYvQmq-1Lax6UrBPAs3m-A0VsGmF/s1600/taolauren2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 277px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEH9S80ZqhwMWSWZwY8gReEznfGLGUMxQwSiSfgTnkWpyBqD2JbSAr9VyRdcpgT5Q0O0nR4hhseEoDEX-O1vOiJnBKEDZG6rDLrUxmHvRl7vtz-qH5TYvQmq-1Lax6UrBPAs3m-A0VsGmF/s320/taolauren2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5505004133147951922" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"That's just silly," Lauren laughs.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"It's not silly," Tracey defends his brother-in-law, "I feel the same way about Sacred Spleen. I could work in any hospital, but Sacred Spleen is my hospital, when I walk down the corridors, I know my father, my grandmother and my great-grandmother walked them too, saw their patients in the same rooms where I see mine. It wouldn't be the same in another hospital."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha8jlGqrs2uqiqU5Oxx-4JHt3M8XjCPgFbwKY58y9gU2KvdxSH0sXV-zcXSnKoN-N4YYNAyIDprDADNhfOi-yQWbT6pKC6tWjOeDtn5uOJsPjHk-CqOudH8RoxOmiVzE4oATLaZj979daH/s1600/tomikanausea.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 288px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha8jlGqrs2uqiqU5Oxx-4JHt3M8XjCPgFbwKY58y9gU2KvdxSH0sXV-zcXSnKoN-N4YYNAyIDprDADNhfOi-yQWbT6pKC6tWjOeDtn5uOJsPjHk-CqOudH8RoxOmiVzE4oATLaZj979daH/s320/tomikanausea.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5505007447238208754" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Although Tomika has avoided making any commitments to Tao, she does spend many nights at his house. Since she doesn't work, she often spends her days lounging around his house in her underwear while he tends his garden. Regan worries about her son's relationship, fearing this girl will break his heart, or worse, will end up as a permanent anchor around his neck. It's true, her family has made itself comfortable enough financially that it could support someone who didn't work, but Regan objects to laziness on principal. Even if Tomika isn't out earning money, she should be doing more than loafing on the couch watching the shopping channel.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Tomika mostly tunes out Tao's mother's lectures the way she does her own mother's, but today it makes her so physically ill, she runs to the bathroom to vomit.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3Leoll0c1Igd0PsCifcu838h4XayeGN4JuaQvLeVfA34bLLBwxALeSFnL9os1NC20kMKEhKGUpm9R_xb2Ejec08Gvaw4Cjm9-3mPtyZhx04J1mbWbdve0LouZeG4W1SR6R7Y0O1KV5iRa/s1600/tomikapreg1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 288px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3Leoll0c1Igd0PsCifcu838h4XayeGN4JuaQvLeVfA34bLLBwxALeSFnL9os1NC20kMKEhKGUpm9R_xb2Ejec08Gvaw4Cjm9-3mPtyZhx04J1mbWbdve0LouZeG4W1SR6R7Y0O1KV5iRa/s320/tomikapreg1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5505010325413834754" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">When Tomika realizes she's pregnant, she's not very happy about it.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaKVPDwlSuNKAC6MUpG-UCmACH_alv-jaUsHouKU87Gl1RAXo8ga8xRGJH3h_T-4k9FnFV5kr99uapJKjh1oG8H_N-8xEPdZGXe2pMVs1M2DhIsseSHvcukghlN442M5lPrT3SVJMyt3q_/s1600/tomikapreg2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 259px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaKVPDwlSuNKAC6MUpG-UCmACH_alv-jaUsHouKU87Gl1RAXo8ga8xRGJH3h_T-4k9FnFV5kr99uapJKjh1oG8H_N-8xEPdZGXe2pMVs1M2DhIsseSHvcukghlN442M5lPrT3SVJMyt3q_/s320/tomikapreg2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5505010721257307698" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Tao is very excited about the prospect of becoming a father.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"So, my mother isn't too happy about having another baby in the house," Tomika says, "Since she has four kids still in school herself. So, I was wondering if I could stay here for awhile."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"Of course you can stay," Tao answers, "I want you and our baby with me all the time. And I think we should get married."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Tomika shakes her head, "The last thing I want to do while I'm pregnant is have a wedding."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"After the baby is born, then," Tao compromises.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"We'll talk about it." Tao doesn't like her indecisiveness, but he's sure once they are parents, Tomika will want them to be a family as much as he does.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4_wk7JSOEO32d9BUO0t0Ec6mGGNfdEEPhb6KqmXlAHVvJpopc8gsV40HjzT_8R2QsV22Sh_MTcwprVC6UgKbXLYkgY4-5g8MU4o8PBViPh6jMjvi_2gcGG7Cphvn9hAM9ZWHTOtmu_b5V/s1600/taoraphe1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 288px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4_wk7JSOEO32d9BUO0t0Ec6mGGNfdEEPhb6KqmXlAHVvJpopc8gsV40HjzT_8R2QsV22Sh_MTcwprVC6UgKbXLYkgY4-5g8MU4o8PBViPh6jMjvi_2gcGG7Cphvn9hAM9ZWHTOtmu_b5V/s320/taoraphe1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5505012702174040658" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Tao's friend Raphael announces his own impending nuptials, he's gotten engaged to his girlfriend Georgia Corcoran.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"I'm going to take her name," Raphael tells him, "The last thing I want is to pass the Goth name to another generation. Let the 'real' Goths keep their name and their estate."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"Is Regan still bothering you?"</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"He's got a new girlfriend to bother," Raphael laughs, "So I'm safe for now."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzEx2fovmQdK8DONFFal5q7RCB-nfKc9sm6bQpfeh0BvkSwvyRYdNeX5bRZN7ffMOwqLsyYoL68WOCHjeSHESs934C9D6W4XtjWt6O50SmR-l2a940GVoJuzoAXS0cdQXvR4zYphAYHMzG/s1600/meilin.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 311px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzEx2fovmQdK8DONFFal5q7RCB-nfKc9sm6bQpfeh0BvkSwvyRYdNeX5bRZN7ffMOwqLsyYoL68WOCHjeSHESs934C9D6W4XtjWt6O50SmR-l2a940GVoJuzoAXS0cdQXvR4zYphAYHMzG/s320/meilin.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5505014243818676962" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Tomika and Tao have a daughter, Meilin. Tao decides to throw a party to celebrate. After the party, he will officially propose to Tomika.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYCY4iJAgSaRKPBMKZqiwcfq51kZBivWhytC6qY7DUKmqPGv_VnXN9SQVrwD9aPEI7IDOh4-AmzK_ZfcPiCWOPHLwiv7zChWFgVjCgdK8XI6m7A5MPkX_MEC-WRHqxxK8HTgVI9EvySNFS/s1600/party1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 269px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYCY4iJAgSaRKPBMKZqiwcfq51kZBivWhytC6qY7DUKmqPGv_VnXN9SQVrwD9aPEI7IDOh4-AmzK_ZfcPiCWOPHLwiv7zChWFgVjCgdK8XI6m7A5MPkX_MEC-WRHqxxK8HTgVI9EvySNFS/s320/party1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5505015048508043282" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Tao's best friends, Regan and Raphael are among the first guests to show up. Regan didn't bring his latest girlfriend along, usually a sign of an impending break up.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"Dude, I'm a cop!" Regan announces. Raphael couldn't be happier about Regan's change of careers, since it means he won't be seeing him in the office every day. "I couldn't take working for Landgraab anymore," he explains his career move, "Plus, sexy uniform."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr8sf8l-VSQo8Yk8Kb8YDymc-r8TAoMKcHPRkqJZlsAlsZ_mNChYziDcofucNfRbkjvwgB0UWQdLo9bBonn6QdWB13TkH0BH1q5c7BfA5RopIOyd8LZWm-LWsyQ2JUtgfz-qTccmFmJFmd/s1600/partyrafegeorgia.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 258px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr8sf8l-VSQo8Yk8Kb8YDymc-r8TAoMKcHPRkqJZlsAlsZ_mNChYziDcofucNfRbkjvwgB0UWQdLo9bBonn6QdWB13TkH0BH1q5c7BfA5RopIOyd8LZWm-LWsyQ2JUtgfz-qTccmFmJFmd/s320/partyrafegeorgia.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5505016572059003394" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Raphael did bring his lovely new wife Georgia to the party.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9veLYXZ4J_Jy-ujUQ9i0tiUjVAq9wdMFTdlG5Ya5VqGFS9HKbGmEYw_HgWJXPceQUqk52kISNgFgCyyh5T9rU3LjwwE0r4x-lMho2Vp758Ht6TqAddB47rmB6gTLPuIDqfwbKETK-H-rO/s1600/partylaurenlabor.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 279px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9veLYXZ4J_Jy-ujUQ9i0tiUjVAq9wdMFTdlG5Ya5VqGFS9HKbGmEYw_HgWJXPceQUqk52kISNgFgCyyh5T9rU3LjwwE0r4x-lMho2Vp758Ht6TqAddB47rmB6gTLPuIDqfwbKETK-H-rO/s320/partylaurenlabor.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5505017244020349090" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Lauren and Tracey came, though Lauren was heavily pregnant with their second child. She went into labor during the party and Tracey rushed her off to the hospital. He called later to tell them Lauren had a boy, named Noah.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYTHw8DpUCy8XDbvNhuYJzXkbC0dJVKmvQ8tbxZRKq6XRg7SNUD9uxtjwmHZFw9JIc-rz6CLX_trnqZw6P4iGxFYjEzcoQgZJN4jiumubmaDKahgyoZmclRjSXPFOFK26gH06HhAZJ5bW4/s1600/partybreakup1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 248px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYTHw8DpUCy8XDbvNhuYJzXkbC0dJVKmvQ8tbxZRKq6XRg7SNUD9uxtjwmHZFw9JIc-rz6CLX_trnqZw6P4iGxFYjEzcoQgZJN4jiumubmaDKahgyoZmclRjSXPFOFK26gH06HhAZJ5bW4/s320/partybreakup1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5505018108301558738" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Donovan Landgraab was invited as a courtesy to his mother. Tao makes a point of having a polite, non-confrontational conversation with him, as he'd like to get past his old animosity. Tomika takes advantage of the moment to dance with the dateless Regan Goth.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfWj-FV12Mu_FhCkQJGwGLql3GT2rg4FrB4NsRz1012JqappxPQEnkMvrGYU7NnNa5HF0FX-CYOaCC1r4Y-0G6VQGxIawARrtOAQMo7EK3oE_eI8Z4D76GG86pQLVxzLUjlTOYvELuuqdJ/s1600/partybreakup2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 282px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfWj-FV12Mu_FhCkQJGwGLql3GT2rg4FrB4NsRz1012JqappxPQEnkMvrGYU7NnNa5HF0FX-CYOaCC1r4Y-0G6VQGxIawARrtOAQMo7EK3oE_eI8Z4D76GG86pQLVxzLUjlTOYvELuuqdJ/s320/partybreakup2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5505019084734972130" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">All through high school, Tomika had wanted Regan to notice her, but he was always involved with the prettier girls and had no interest in her. Now that she's got him alone at a party, she confesses her attraction, hoping they can get together.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"Ruin my best friend for you? I don't think so," Regan answers in disgust.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjemZOFF1-PsniSrTcCyenE-ZxWwj53I-RvNfCnKgWfXJFc5oXpSbJPitNP9-1JHtpzsagWT5pMav5f7FgtWwZ1uyLclG3vhyphenhyphen2oqGpObKB4eCI_-P3OsnnSYjHAOz3zJWJQymsXqvYlGD3c/s1600/partybreakup3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 239px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjemZOFF1-PsniSrTcCyenE-ZxWwj53I-RvNfCnKgWfXJFc5oXpSbJPitNP9-1JHtpzsagWT5pMav5f7FgtWwZ1uyLclG3vhyphenhyphen2oqGpObKB4eCI_-P3OsnnSYjHAOz3zJWJQymsXqvYlGD3c/s320/partybreakup3.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5505020472840129058" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Tao isn't standing so far way that he can't hear what is going on behind him.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSTEYZ0gDLDn3JVu2ZStLSYXNEak9EdSSgilChHYbfntggsjW57Q8rstGZWA1901R3K4Zgjjojjs3UjVWy-O_wSfTHJCqwLO8n4Jj68XCnF2j2DoEXt7aM5tgA53j80iviccjbGFcZTWKl/s1600/partybreakup4.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 229px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSTEYZ0gDLDn3JVu2ZStLSYXNEak9EdSSgilChHYbfntggsjW57Q8rstGZWA1901R3K4Zgjjojjs3UjVWy-O_wSfTHJCqwLO8n4Jj68XCnF2j2DoEXt7aM5tgA53j80iviccjbGFcZTWKl/s320/partybreakup4.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5505020988082888882" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Despite being rejected, Tomika tries again. Regan still isn't having it.</span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0XnonL-vSaXqUeGjAa_0RtlZrL3mODseuN_KV5Xsyeemz8os4bwgevWxW2WBkffUTlyzzcL8-pnCSzrLA7kifwmxDXCo0xbqAxTk46cmjnecNFD-N8rd1fftiId-DUiwM4-FqCc5Dd6lI/s1600/partybreakup5.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 235px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0XnonL-vSaXqUeGjAa_0RtlZrL3mODseuN_KV5Xsyeemz8os4bwgevWxW2WBkffUTlyzzcL8-pnCSzrLA7kifwmxDXCo0xbqAxTk46cmjnecNFD-N8rd1fftiId-DUiwM4-FqCc5Dd6lI/s320/partybreakup5.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5505021450434894786" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"What the hell, Tomika!" an angry Tao exclaims, "We're supposed to be celebrating the birth of our child here. I was going to propose to you tonight. And you're trying to seduce my best friend?"</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFEiNe0jaRAHPqW0YzRDgYN7xeWHevUuZhONwISE9YMO980hxZNax1RaE5idByAOJZyuCP3BcXftdFWeEjAAvk6PFtgp24q_GhWQe6d59WO9YlvFDA1k6cgPJGS0RYTnogp4w5nP6sI3jr/s1600/partybreakup6.jpg"></a><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFEiNe0jaRAHPqW0YzRDgYN7xeWHevUuZhONwISE9YMO980hxZNax1RaE5idByAOJZyuCP3BcXftdFWeEjAAvk6PFtgp24q_GhWQe6d59WO9YlvFDA1k6cgPJGS0RYTnogp4w5nP6sI3jr/s1600/partybreakup6.jpg"><img style="text-align: left;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 257px; " src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFEiNe0jaRAHPqW0YzRDgYN7xeWHevUuZhONwISE9YMO980hxZNax1RaE5idByAOJZyuCP3BcXftdFWeEjAAvk6PFtgp24q_GhWQe6d59WO9YlvFDA1k6cgPJGS0RYTnogp4w5nP6sI3jr/s320/partybreakup6.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5505022226080693618" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"I don't want to get married!" Tomika snaps, "I've told you over and over, but you just kept pressing, thinking I'd change my mind. It's not going to happen, Tao. I'm not the girl you think I am, or want me to be. I can't deal with this any more. I'm leaving!"</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-JVPI0-ksB29Ejqfehv1f3K0Ufhcn9CW94VIvgneVRbeWnBxc6Jn5ryy1mLSfdjiLlHAA7zT2I7Alk73LRuX9cW97HFHknTIfRzeyppUSexQ5kz3QkS7Ifq982Ezo79glqk7LMoHfPAWw/s1600/partybreakup7.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 305px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-JVPI0-ksB29Ejqfehv1f3K0Ufhcn9CW94VIvgneVRbeWnBxc6Jn5ryy1mLSfdjiLlHAA7zT2I7Alk73LRuX9cW97HFHknTIfRzeyppUSexQ5kz3QkS7Ifq982Ezo79glqk7LMoHfPAWw/s320/partybreakup7.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5505023947122744690" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Tomika's sudden departure pretty much ended the party. His guests murmured uncomfortable condolences as they took their leave, and Tao was then left broken hearted, alone with his daughter.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Part of him wanted to believe Tomika would come back, but he finally understood that she meant what she said, and she was never going to love him the way he had loved her, or want to be family the way he wanted to be.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">(Challenge Notes: Party to Remember achieved. I didn't post a picture of Regan playing the guitar at this party, but she did, so there was live music. I have the pic if anyone needs proof. Three course meal included Egg Roll appetizer, Dim Sum main course and Key Lime Pie dessert. There was perfect nectar served, which Regan had obtained when she was in France. There were over 5 guests: Raphael and Georgia, Regan Goth, Regina Goth, Donovan Landgraab, Lauren and Tracey, who left early on account of her labor, plus a couple of crashers. As for the drama requirement, I had the break up of course, and also a guest went into labor, which I hadn't planned for. I forgot Lauren was pregnant again when I started the party.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Meilin was born at midnight the night before the party, and Tomika moved out around 10:30pm during the party, so she was out of the house within 24 hours of the birth. So, all requirements met so far. Tao just needs to have one more child as a single parent to meet all his generation goals.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">I must say, I was very proud of Regan Goth. I wasn't sure how he was going to react to Tomika's romantic advances. He has Commitment Issues, so I thought he might have gone for it, and that Tao might lose his friend over this. But he completely rejected her, so Tao at least gets to keep his friend.)</span></div>yangthecathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15083940950118677312noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2465124855374784027.post-16266882875172433832010-08-12T05:13:00.000-07:002010-08-12T06:57:28.678-07:00Ramaswami/McDermott Random Legacy ch. 22: Forbidden Fruit<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn8QGS5jviJrqPCwfMyHmPoxdNecBo_IAVsca9tJt8f_k4z48HkCLc9mpspAXqwbFqCMRYwZS8n1YtQ9wg-fI4xj_YFM8d4QS4Kkk8G-E4mJEUg6GQ1oUHvOFf3cWR5VIdFogP_UeAB1d3/s1600/laurenya.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 290px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn8QGS5jviJrqPCwfMyHmPoxdNecBo_IAVsca9tJt8f_k4z48HkCLc9mpspAXqwbFqCMRYwZS8n1YtQ9wg-fI4xj_YFM8d4QS4Kkk8G-E4mJEUg6GQ1oUHvOFf3cWR5VIdFogP_UeAB1d3/s320/laurenya.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5504496688080069682" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Lauren moved out of her mother's house the day she graduated. Her dream is to become the CEO of a mega-corporation. She also plans to marry and have children, a nice traditional family completely unlike the one she came from from.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3AXfN3lkvSEui9YAk0ve-P4G2ysOmOLLyu7cy50klrgIGtTHtKpk3tVswW5M6hZBeRPDYAFjDL7M8UqpuEGcSXjyw1Sd7BZWqH8cKi7dnHP6FfV5DRK5iWtgLNMu9l2ZktgMj16OAKb_u/s1600/regantracey.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 247px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3AXfN3lkvSEui9YAk0ve-P4G2ysOmOLLyu7cy50klrgIGtTHtKpk3tVswW5M6hZBeRPDYAFjDL7M8UqpuEGcSXjyw1Sd7BZWqH8cKi7dnHP6FfV5DRK5iWtgLNMu9l2ZktgMj16OAKb_u/s320/regantracey.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5504496963805402594" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Just a few days after moving out, Lauren married her high school boyfriend Tracey Wolff. Regan ran into her new son-in-law outside the grocery store, meeting him for the first time, since Lauren hadn't invited her family to her private wedding. She hadn't even known her daughter had been going steady with anyone, so her marriage so soon after graduation came as a huge surprise to her. Tracey, she discovered, is in the medical field, a commonly chosen career for his branch of the Wolff family. </span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeu0fzvy9SvIMoBDjNWigHVes8KfwdpzQeh1YjZyOGaNuzyVRTbPuzN7Yq5oqr5HSTdGlZq5YrjM8rxA547-KATSZNEVvdEVxFwah-y8VIPFseDyfECiqSMDTxMfq09fWkP4lXreVbsSiZ/s1600/regregbookstore1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 271px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeu0fzvy9SvIMoBDjNWigHVes8KfwdpzQeh1YjZyOGaNuzyVRTbPuzN7Yq5oqr5HSTdGlZq5YrjM8rxA547-KATSZNEVvdEVxFwah-y8VIPFseDyfECiqSMDTxMfq09fWkP4lXreVbsSiZ/s320/regregbookstore1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5504498763398148962" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Regan ran into Regina outside the bookstore. The cousins hadn't spoken to each other since Regan failed to help with Regina's revenge plot against Donovan, but time seemed to have cooled Regina's fury, and she was no eager to catch up with her former best friend. Regina had recently gotten married and had another child, a son named Lawrence. </span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"My back up heir in case Regan doesn't work out," Regina laughs, "My oldest boy has serious commitment issues, he's got a new girlfriend every other day. If he goes through them all when he's still in high school, there won't be any left when he grows up to marry and make a proper Goth heir with."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHsjqC0QPI7TgHXETkjEQT1JDLHD8fGC2MN9x9ackAb-R5rXnUmZ353zUb8tolSUedRGp83if0fPWBF-JZm0XG_acY6BOjptwdMilbHznZeii-u0x9R4zL8nXGJMB1Yrc-IHdf_EUU2Q9o/s1600/regregbookstore2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 280px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHsjqC0QPI7TgHXETkjEQT1JDLHD8fGC2MN9x9ackAb-R5rXnUmZ353zUb8tolSUedRGp83if0fPWBF-JZm0XG_acY6BOjptwdMilbHznZeii-u0x9R4zL8nXGJMB1Yrc-IHdf_EUU2Q9o/s320/regregbookstore2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5504500773773645314" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Alison Landgraab walks by their reunion unnoticed, glaring at the two other women, that she knows of, who have had her husband. Her sister may have his son, and her cousin has his heart, but Alison has his name, estate and heir. Being the mistress of an estate as fine as the one she came from, the one her sister inherited, was always Alison's dream, one she achieved very quickly. She would have been happier with her life if she had dreamed bigger, she thinks.</span><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhjobadHcijeUu12FHrAFpnaZ3Fiu3lqAMRbtvNF0Km2A6aF9kFijrWIvYSEiM7gO-HB9UTBs38lAdpeSlrWrP3ASLTvzUavpPMqOW5fxvk3LIg1dcKCbDUIgOIjXZoeKRvh5iCFIF7piQ/s1600/taodonovan.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 258px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhjobadHcijeUu12FHrAFpnaZ3Fiu3lqAMRbtvNF0Km2A6aF9kFijrWIvYSEiM7gO-HB9UTBs38lAdpeSlrWrP3ASLTvzUavpPMqOW5fxvk3LIg1dcKCbDUIgOIjXZoeKRvh5iCFIF7piQ/s320/taodonovan.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5504502607120117186" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Though his mother has told him not to pick fights with Donovan when he visits, Tao can't help it. He hates the way everyone in school knows what's going on between his mother and Adria Landgraab's father, including Adria herself, just as Regan Goth hates the way everyone knows who his father is, though no one will dare say it out loud. This one man is the greatest source of teenage angst in Sunset Valley.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigx4ANZesqWvMq8hPvyhNcus8jDMUIfHcUdI9L-WzYDVZkaeJfS2YmWhZDR_rtQnYtnWlrDwnf9_3x8ZnZ8imnnok9q6DToyxiSBEBGR1hgSPp3B9fD3wFQ94nkqxK0Nm_cVR4_aA3p8RJ/s1600/taotomikahomework.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 241px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigx4ANZesqWvMq8hPvyhNcus8jDMUIfHcUdI9L-WzYDVZkaeJfS2YmWhZDR_rtQnYtnWlrDwnf9_3x8ZnZ8imnnok9q6DToyxiSBEBGR1hgSPp3B9fD3wFQ94nkqxK0Nm_cVR4_aA3p8RJ/s320/taotomikahomework.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5504503872130271778" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Tao avoids being at home as much as possible, and when he doesn't have to work at his after school job, he does homework with his girlfriend, Tomika Rhodes, by the beach across the street from her house, or he hangs out with his Goth friends, Regan or Raphael. Separately, of course, as Raphael Goth is a descendant of Helmut Goth, and therefore shunned by Regan's side of the family.</span><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfIG4Qiw9CRK4PE27V9lWNLspWbyFT1_ATyaV4UhjImqGV9JTQwQxx1QQk6schHyvJmt08JNTkPuMxVyGwuD1533scEOGxSJDizTDBhKr584v6cM7HrE7N4yTeOAXJ61RP69teM5QtjLyX/s1600/taogardens.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 251px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfIG4Qiw9CRK4PE27V9lWNLspWbyFT1_ATyaV4UhjImqGV9JTQwQxx1QQk6schHyvJmt08JNTkPuMxVyGwuD1533scEOGxSJDizTDBhKr584v6cM7HrE7N4yTeOAXJ61RP69teM5QtjLyX/s320/taogardens.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5504504899058998146" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">When he is at home, Tao spends most of his time in the garden. Like his great-great-grandfather Maximus, Tao has a green thumb and is happiest when surrounded by his plants.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGNCScKJA9i9WI0jhyphenhyphenHzFjiwKIXkLlDHD5QGQftrKOL62N5HWJBGE7CcW0rePNtw9oqyy8TNhuEneG446OdEDmrKa2LY3-7vthQQ9_rqPsj_FvrsK14yPpwwqfjgAOH02kvD7p0R30oulD/s1600/regandonovanelder.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 279px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGNCScKJA9i9WI0jhyphenhyphenHzFjiwKIXkLlDHD5QGQftrKOL62N5HWJBGE7CcW0rePNtw9oqyy8TNhuEneG446OdEDmrKa2LY3-7vthQQ9_rqPsj_FvrsK14yPpwwqfjgAOH02kvD7p0R30oulD/s320/regandonovanelder.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5504506288217079154" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Age has done nothing to diminish Reagan and Donovan's passion for each other, his visits continue even after they've both gone grey.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBjjRTpKcD8rYjFTxJo-uVg-83wOf0mDB8rsAIGoeBjNVYLEw5tNNL8jManAOxzFrFBIP0m4uSCVeCH-FPMLqqGopiR-omcHXBF2lRfVCFNcePMdAgfTzKCkmfu-vxJIs9RrqWmE0ylNR4/s1600/laurenpregger.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBjjRTpKcD8rYjFTxJo-uVg-83wOf0mDB8rsAIGoeBjNVYLEw5tNNL8jManAOxzFrFBIP0m4uSCVeCH-FPMLqqGopiR-omcHXBF2lRfVCFNcePMdAgfTzKCkmfu-vxJIs9RrqWmE0ylNR4/s320/laurenpregger.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5504507034443278146" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">After getting a couple of promotions, Lauren decides it's time to start her family. Regan can hardly believe she's going to be a grandmother.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7_60wB7SvnB9BYiUTnQM5s9J92xvDZXW_QYtNUaDxgWy2ECfS2jLPXSGrBPi3X9oLq6odiU1yub5FMeTnxD85IiT8hXy_9BuHv8Zib6uneSbtkTV_Q9bM4no8Q4COOZVitLAZo5r35yQ4/s1600/taoraphe.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 262px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7_60wB7SvnB9BYiUTnQM5s9J92xvDZXW_QYtNUaDxgWy2ECfS2jLPXSGrBPi3X9oLq6odiU1yub5FMeTnxD85IiT8hXy_9BuHv8Zib6uneSbtkTV_Q9bM4no8Q4COOZVitLAZo5r35yQ4/s320/taoraphe.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5504508152026143394" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">After his birthday, Tao makes plans to meet Regan Goth at the local bar. While he waits, he runs into Raphael Goth. Tao warns his friend that Regan will be showing up soon, and to prepare to be shunned.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"We're working in the same office," Raphael informs, "I see him every day."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"That must be difficult," Tao remarks, "He can't really snub you if he has to work with you."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Raphael shrugs, and laughs, "He's actually gotten quite friendly with me, in a creepy, handsy sort of way. I almost miss the shunning. What Regan is having problems with is the fact that Donovan Landgraab is our boss. You can see how much Regan wants to tell him off, but can't because he's in charge."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwwzfPvd1jn0P9spjlXT4vLWLKy2VHA9mz4O8_SK6cQ285BECvX8WjT1q6_QZLU7F7EA4TjMvU1FNp1ADb-PZHD0tY5eDcuwFnTDeIJ1QEdIcJu0_vtYJvHITHGHY5lwT_rB4X2yWdg0ww/s1600/taoraphreg.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 276px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwwzfPvd1jn0P9spjlXT4vLWLKy2VHA9mz4O8_SK6cQ285BECvX8WjT1q6_QZLU7F7EA4TjMvU1FNp1ADb-PZHD0tY5eDcuwFnTDeIJ1QEdIcJu0_vtYJvHITHGHY5lwT_rB4X2yWdg0ww/s320/taoraphreg.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5504510076130936978" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"Talking about me?"" Regan shows up as if on cue.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Raphael shifts uncomfortably, "I'm going to take off now, Georgia is expecting me."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"I hope you aren't leaving on my account," Regan says, his hand on Raphael's shoulder, "Hang around for awhile."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Raphael shakes his head, "Not on your account, I'm supposed to meet my girlfriend at the theater. See you later, Tao," he says and makes his exit before Regan can get in another word, or hand.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Regan sighs, watching Raphael walk off, "The only guy in town who's prettier than I am, and he won't even look at me."</span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5PQl6cGqhVfqKJAIHY-j3Yz2AX9hfV1fzyEUMIs6fquu8G35zzGKgqtq7IYOFmi1rgN6zTwSttzDcY7xgvXnxIVRQO-mrYriUSXRl-4z6jiy87qOUDCSEM2VGeR34ExU9P_LyCTS8drdq/s1600/taoregan.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 227px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5PQl6cGqhVfqKJAIHY-j3Yz2AX9hfV1fzyEUMIs6fquu8G35zzGKgqtq7IYOFmi1rgN6zTwSttzDcY7xgvXnxIVRQO-mrYriUSXRl-4z6jiy87qOUDCSEM2VGeR34ExU9P_LyCTS8drdq/s320/taoregan.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5504511874010148306" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"He does have a girlfriend," Tao comments, "And so do you."</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"Actually, I don't, as of this morning," Regan responds.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"You broke up with Katherine?"</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"Katherine?" Regan laughs, "Yeah, I broke up with her last week. Today I broke up with Jessica Landgraab-Wainwright. Do keep up. And now I'm a free man again."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"So you're harassing Raphael? Since when are you into guys, anyway?"</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"I'm not, usually. But I wouldn't say no to some hot Goth-on-Goth action. Forbidden fruit, you know, on so many levels. My mother's head would explode."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdsimbgUddwJdrEOb00-NlzkZ8u-FF3tBBCWOPLQ5Lo8lNHMf2KOkJ1jSvUghhNaK5iTqEP8G9SfJ5Y4qr_B6CsQEtrChRaF9U36DIakcX1AJ86sXcom5A4wEpglQaLxKRPbzJqz48IIYC/s1600/taotomikaya1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 273px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdsimbgUddwJdrEOb00-NlzkZ8u-FF3tBBCWOPLQ5Lo8lNHMf2KOkJ1jSvUghhNaK5iTqEP8G9SfJ5Y4qr_B6CsQEtrChRaF9U36DIakcX1AJ86sXcom5A4wEpglQaLxKRPbzJqz48IIYC/s320/taotomikaya1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5504514834674367938" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Tao will never understand Regan's approach to romance. He wants only one woman, his soul mate, to marry and be with forever, and he believes he's found that with Tomika.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbBUjD0AN5tl9MtQM4cBz_JDUaOwNeTJtKngz3QhtpfOHQL8evlQ7iqRKrQqjdyr64Hn_vd-XdRZMsjUQVEduBM28Uv2ykKWaxbneEMhnpGj9W8VSujcmj9HxQ7zoddLflsCwRM9kJrPqn/s1600/taotomikaya2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 278px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbBUjD0AN5tl9MtQM4cBz_JDUaOwNeTJtKngz3QhtpfOHQL8evlQ7iqRKrQqjdyr64Hn_vd-XdRZMsjUQVEduBM28Uv2ykKWaxbneEMhnpGj9W8VSujcmj9HxQ7zoddLflsCwRM9kJrPqn/s320/taotomikaya2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5504515560993057778" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">While Tomika returns his passion, she doesn't quite return the emotion."I don't know if I believe in true love, Tao," she says over breakfast. "I don't think we should rush into anything permanent."</span><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuM5EOkNECgusno8b3562qvh7yLHD0Cph-1NyLBAzo6LVDcDR79C8UvJtQP_VGf-eiggbu77Jtya-CVVuqH4Zsb8yhcpo9kkjETnE-l3Lf7cZp6WOnb6wtm1aHaNkm-Xtwwz7JvBQ4Bg65/s1600/regantomika1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 303px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuM5EOkNECgusno8b3562qvh7yLHD0Cph-1NyLBAzo6LVDcDR79C8UvJtQP_VGf-eiggbu77Jtya-CVVuqH4Zsb8yhcpo9kkjETnE-l3Lf7cZp6WOnb6wtm1aHaNkm-Xtwwz7JvBQ4Bg65/s320/regantomika1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5504516218584075346" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"It's nice to see you feel so comfortable in our home," Regan remarks, finding her son's girlfriend hanging around the living room in her underwear while Tao works in the garden. Tomika doesn't quite catch the sarcasm, her attention on the TV.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP7ha5M0KNzWKGymZ5Qll2KhetxsIhpg-YbBlG33g46r72QDCoLxhKeNuRwLIsEkcj14PDBwSefox_hqa05c_ADvizg8IEvKycwuyHHTtGvILYmmT5DUOGV19eVAV85Vrdgo8uiR_mkxDf/s1600/regantomika2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 282px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP7ha5M0KNzWKGymZ5Qll2KhetxsIhpg-YbBlG33g46r72QDCoLxhKeNuRwLIsEkcj14PDBwSefox_hqa05c_ADvizg8IEvKycwuyHHTtGvILYmmT5DUOGV19eVAV85Vrdgo8uiR_mkxDf/s320/regantomika2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5504516791315695170" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Regan begins questioning Tomika about her relationship with Tao, asking if they are thinking of getting married any time soon.<br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDEzUyAy0rmJUjP_zvtYPLzri90M83J9PwUBdYjygmkswmztOAKkGC3sMyDOfuO1tfKZYX_RQbR6SpPJLN8g433Hkub4tQ8DQzmy3Dffijgd2tDGRA5MkgEUZCLDA8SQwQ8VL99PYzgoz3/s1600/regantomika3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 250px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDEzUyAy0rmJUjP_zvtYPLzri90M83J9PwUBdYjygmkswmztOAKkGC3sMyDOfuO1tfKZYX_RQbR6SpPJLN8g433Hkub4tQ8DQzmy3Dffijgd2tDGRA5MkgEUZCLDA8SQwQ8VL99PYzgoz3/s320/regantomika3.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5504517329220492850" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Talk of engagement caught the girl's attention. "I'm not in any big hurry to get married," she answers, "I've always admired your life, traveling, having different lovers and never having to settle down with just one."<br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Regan hadn't ever really examined her life in those terms before. She never had anything against marriage, nor did she have any desire to be married just for the sake of being married. She would have married Donovan in a second, if that had been possible, and had turned down the only proposal she'd received because of her love for Donovan. Though her life didn't follow any plan for happiness, she just dealt with whatever came up, Regan didn't really have any regrets about how she lived it. Still, she wouldn't recommend it as a template for other women to follow. Especially not the woman her son is in love with. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">(Challenge Notes. Generation 4 goals were all achieved. Tao and Lauren both made the Perfect Children requirement. And Regan had two multi-cultural children while staying single. Not required, but Regan also achieved her LTW, to master photography and painting, and reached level 10 in the Culinary career and maxed cooking skill. So we have an awesome new fridge. Tao's roll is single parent of 2, farmer career, and Party to Remember. I have a few ideas for how Tao will end up as a single parent. One idea I've had for awhile, but the fact that his girlfriend got Commitment Issues as a trait when she turned YA might shift it to another direction. So we'll see. Tao's traits are Brave, Loves the Outdoors, Adventurous (the runs in the family trait), Green Thumb and Hopeless Romantic. His LTW is Renaissance Sim, to max out 3 skills. Gardening will be one of course, he's already up to 8 on that skill. He's already got points in other skills, from the perfect children requirement, and I haven't decided which other two he will aim to max yet.)</span></div>yangthecathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15083940950118677312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2465124855374784027.post-12956644856733882362010-08-08T19:36:00.000-07:002010-08-08T21:21:28.928-07:00Ramaswami/McDermott Random Legacy ch. 21: Father's Image<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDLJbgLvyijTTNPCCjUfqUVEdRqjgONvIfSnmJqOJ11Lmzg5bOWmx12Bz8QCZWfzga90G8ZW9Cg8o2gPSXBVHmzmc5YkPSd5TlKQs_MwgYta5MEmK4N9F2ZupEgocw0m_mf6iRiZ1P3MGo/s1600/regregina1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 230px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDLJbgLvyijTTNPCCjUfqUVEdRqjgONvIfSnmJqOJ11Lmzg5bOWmx12Bz8QCZWfzga90G8ZW9Cg8o2gPSXBVHmzmc5YkPSd5TlKQs_MwgYta5MEmK4N9F2ZupEgocw0m_mf6iRiZ1P3MGo/s320/regregina1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503234869132125154" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"What do you mean you just couldn't do it?" Regina demands, not happy with Regan's failure to seduce Donovan and get caught by his wife.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"I don't like this scheming. Why can't you just talk to Alison about Donovan?" Regan didn't tell Regina what Donovan told her, that Alison already believes he's cheating on her and has chosen to stay with him anyway. That isn't her story to tell, but perhaps Alison would open up to her sister if asked.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Regina sighs, "Alison and I have never been close. Now she won't even talk to me."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"Then maybe you should let this go," Regan answers coldly, beginning to suspect that it isn't sisterly concern that motivates Regina, but simple revenge against Donovan. "Consider your niece, any money that falls into Donovan's hands through Alison's inheritance will go to their daughter." Regina isn't pleased with this answer, but cannot convince Regan to aid her in her plans, and a cold distance comes between the cousins who had long been best friends.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieFoydHaGE1rLYKa7XwscrrrWB_ZT2pccEJU9uWdI4ld8tut7jGoGV7fR1K-z0nS5gICdVgbCcCSqfr8D7GPLzcVSyTbJ_USjPe00jjWTPY5JFxeP1zYqJS1JhnDm-187r1zWVs1OKzowO/s1600/harlandeath.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 295px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieFoydHaGE1rLYKa7XwscrrrWB_ZT2pccEJU9uWdI4ld8tut7jGoGV7fR1K-z0nS5gICdVgbCcCSqfr8D7GPLzcVSyTbJ_USjPe00jjWTPY5JFxeP1zYqJS1JhnDm-187r1zWVs1OKzowO/s320/harlandeath.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503238303447419698" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Harlan dies a few days after Saranya passes. Death chose an embarrassing moment to visit, but at least the bathroom was sparkling clean.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7g04GI95OOm3yhwhE5FJQBS9xpMPge9aYj68gFuN41JvHLsxJ5FqjMxrBRa-eVyRPdGFP_VGOiIMaNmdWkRcK9nYKc4yHCiMjwPPWYM9_3qjp4SPn6TT2e3Xo4UT4HBIV7Ms1pwNXiEBl/s1600/console.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 308px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7g04GI95OOm3yhwhE5FJQBS9xpMPge9aYj68gFuN41JvHLsxJ5FqjMxrBRa-eVyRPdGFP_VGOiIMaNmdWkRcK9nYKc4yHCiMjwPPWYM9_3qjp4SPn6TT2e3Xo4UT4HBIV7Ms1pwNXiEBl/s320/console.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503238976166966130" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Without Regina, Regan has no other friend she feels comfortable enough to cry with except Donovan. He comes as soon as she calls for him, and offers his consolation. She's avoided him since their last meeting because she knows his nearness, his touch, would ignite her love for him, and even though she is grieving, that is exactly what happens.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"I love you," she sighs, holding him, "I want to be with you."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"You're upset about your father, and lonely. I won't take advantage of that," he answers. "I'm here for you, as a friend. We can talk about love another time."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxYKyCQQqAOefKKHyrkVRiK8IZsKls0iPHAEgjunfbnCWw4Zb_uFkhpgeIX-Gha2sz8utgnFqbx0lzKXZwK88QPiJfa244ys446e1MPcKcJ-qxUWkgZ5i5zQwg6gdRDcesULSBvTyxn_ie/s1600/donovanvisit3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 298px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxYKyCQQqAOefKKHyrkVRiK8IZsKls0iPHAEgjunfbnCWw4Zb_uFkhpgeIX-Gha2sz8utgnFqbx0lzKXZwK88QPiJfa244ys446e1MPcKcJ-qxUWkgZ5i5zQwg6gdRDcesULSBvTyxn_ie/s320/donovanvisit3.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503242243048954818" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">'Another time' is not long in coming. Regan has had other lovers, but none have been to her what he is, and though he's married to another, she's not going to go without him any more.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0cdiVrY5LJf-fVCRNJXnEL2pPFq__oCtV6GccyQDldkr9PxQ7j_GEnBLJlk10n_fJ843p6mJHuif61Ob7vlL6X3FzqP0AB6SsmZL9KlWr4JAwPdW_7S0gcDxc3psUA0wOqpnogVmNFCnZ/s1600/donovanhangs1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 261px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0cdiVrY5LJf-fVCRNJXnEL2pPFq__oCtV6GccyQDldkr9PxQ7j_GEnBLJlk10n_fJ843p6mJHuif61Ob7vlL6X3FzqP0AB6SsmZL9KlWr4JAwPdW_7S0gcDxc3psUA0wOqpnogVmNFCnZ/s320/donovanhangs1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503243364666464482" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Though his wife suspected this affair before it had begun, that didn't give him license to carry it on in public view. He'd visit her house when Alison was busy elsewhere, putting up a charade of a platonic friend while her children were awake, only behaving like a lover when they were asleep. The charade became more difficult to maintain as Lauren became a teen.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg57t9g50aWPKvsqehtfRaQlFAsdicVJM-jwhaaOXjLNtFg1fFENu5CymHMwlNsj7yZscfVsY1tJZTZFDDP_COQNahRcNdJiMDBeWLlS6xKzp4eK3xteYmZEXW9pJnjpRoYNdrx8sLcSbYx/s1600/laurenteen.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg57t9g50aWPKvsqehtfRaQlFAsdicVJM-jwhaaOXjLNtFg1fFENu5CymHMwlNsj7yZscfVsY1tJZTZFDDP_COQNahRcNdJiMDBeWLlS6xKzp4eK3xteYmZEXW9pJnjpRoYNdrx8sLcSbYx/s320/laurenteen.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503245989391352386" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Lauren was quick to figure out what was going on between her mother and Donovan Landgraab. Her mother was irresponsible and self-indulgent, and Lauren mostly expected the worst from her. All she had of her father was a few snapshots her mother had taken of him in France, but Lauren just knew that if only he were here, things would be different. He would be around for her when she needed him, not focused on some lover rather than his own child.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIQy8SXLoXCqHG5dC6KiZyJVp3YyfdhsujJKYda5kJBGASmOeIJ_Pw3PWhxjXHelcHxqGN5CyqTeyatxwJR5WjBWqR7wcGEp8fIEwvlM6cYz-D6lwYoAJ1LDb0h6xCr0EeVRVdexlc0_9B/s1600/laurentao.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 319px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIQy8SXLoXCqHG5dC6KiZyJVp3YyfdhsujJKYda5kJBGASmOeIJ_Pw3PWhxjXHelcHxqGN5CyqTeyatxwJR5WjBWqR7wcGEp8fIEwvlM6cYz-D6lwYoAJ1LDb0h6xCr0EeVRVdexlc0_9B/s320/laurentao.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503247902370665506" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Regan's career in the restaurant business kept her away from home in the evenings, and caring for little Tao Zu became Lauren's responsibility. More than anything, Lauren looks forward to the day she graduates from high school and can move out of this house, and be responsible for only her own life, not her mother's.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV8gZpY8ow2pe8Gf7FTGpYvHZnS727nGrr0d7tyRRxId5S_-wQ9fDrKi3xwXPPAILRuX3SVD6zD2ofz70QBiy5xTKIR-hL9-c1AsF_AuD47N3ONEQBaloojm0LjdKDiKGChPySSZ8asItV/s1600/pyro.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 305px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV8gZpY8ow2pe8Gf7FTGpYvHZnS727nGrr0d7tyRRxId5S_-wQ9fDrKi3xwXPPAILRuX3SVD6zD2ofz70QBiy5xTKIR-hL9-c1AsF_AuD47N3ONEQBaloojm0LjdKDiKGChPySSZ8asItV/s320/pyro.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503248827689445410" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Sometimes she gets so frustrated by it all, she lights fires in the house. Her grandmother, Saranya, the former Fire Chief, had so thoroughly fireproofed the house that nothing ever burns for long or takes any real damage. But, Lauren doesn't give up. Maybe someday she'll get lucky and the whole thing will come down in flames.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpmFo9d3o4JExx0Fvzj7D5jOH1npdGEM1Svk7ulUFjF5mstyrWtTYzDaJS12-F5m4nV_atmbYZ94ZteoBllSW1KKpVClIVoKffP_fxVG6_FvYcCSP_KUepjf2zTs5SkTpBQwFnOKrtwVDo/s1600/laurentracey.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 242px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpmFo9d3o4JExx0Fvzj7D5jOH1npdGEM1Svk7ulUFjF5mstyrWtTYzDaJS12-F5m4nV_atmbYZ94ZteoBllSW1KKpVClIVoKffP_fxVG6_FvYcCSP_KUepjf2zTs5SkTpBQwFnOKrtwVDo/s320/laurentracey.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503250125276471602" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Lauren's one consolation through her trying teenage days is her boyfriend, Tracey Wolff. He has his own dark streak, and likes to steal things. The fact that he's a Wolff means they share ancestry, as all Wolffs descend from her great-great-grandfather Thornton Wolff, but the relation is by now distant enough that no one would remark on their pairing.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8SM5yIbvtNEsdLwq3yn1lCh6xekan3S2pmNTgWVqZIuRauJ96nQgFzR7WZRXKmGQtGVV67xvQZIOJB0fXLiGA3hDWDZYpnEKVgKewbs3nsJl1yM6P6EQuCf25FJVET6c2EU-N341fxK1Y/s1600/taoteen.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 302px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8SM5yIbvtNEsdLwq3yn1lCh6xekan3S2pmNTgWVqZIuRauJ96nQgFzR7WZRXKmGQtGVV67xvQZIOJB0fXLiGA3hDWDZYpnEKVgKewbs3nsJl1yM6P6EQuCf25FJVET6c2EU-N341fxK1Y/s320/taoteen.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503251766882865266" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">When he was very young, Tao Zu believed Donovan Landgraab was his father, and longed for paternal attention from him that never came. The pictures his mother showed him of his actual father never seemed real, until he grew up enough to see his father's face looking back at him in the mirror. The hair color was wrong of course, as were his green eyes, but his features closely matched the pictures of the Chinese man. Tao Zu eventually grew to hate Donovan Landgraab, though he couldn't pinpoint a reason why.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpHQonTpzl9IBDlzjjrBFyi9Begay7Xp1JClBO6XGmthMjN-s3k1KNwPutDEwn19_UazWNG0S-PxHO85lCROZjN8C2TSB7_5WyEo4yMu-36UDxoUxnNyL3PIUJrHg0Vb0q8UtKMfAAN6zy/s1600/regangoth.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 305px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpHQonTpzl9IBDlzjjrBFyi9Begay7Xp1JClBO6XGmthMjN-s3k1KNwPutDEwn19_UazWNG0S-PxHO85lCROZjN8C2TSB7_5WyEo4yMu-36UDxoUxnNyL3PIUJrHg0Vb0q8UtKMfAAN6zy/s320/regangoth.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503255215371347490" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Tao Zu's friend Regan Goth knows exactly why he hates his 'uncle' Donovan, and every time he visits the McDermott house, he hopes to run into him and force a confrontation. His beautiful face is a curse, because his mother despises the man that gave it to him. Though Donovan is married to his aunt Alison, Regan has never met the man himself, as Regina and her sister are estranged and their families do not meet.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">(Challenge Notes: The 'Perfect Children' requirement is almost fully achieved. Lauren got all hers in and Tao Zu just has to get one more promotion in his part time job to fulfill his end. I decided early on that Regan's younger child would be the heir, mostly because I prefer to have no younger siblings leftover from previous the generation when my heir takes command. I did make an exception for Saranya, because of the red hair. I was tempted a few times to do that again for Lauren, as I do like her quite a lot, but my next gen rolled single parent again, and I've done that twice with female heirs. I've never had a male heir at all, and I'm up for some variety. The 'runs in the family' trait that Lauren and Tao Zu share is Adventurous, which is meh. It doesn't do much for their personalities either way, except for the stupid idle animation and the possibility of wants to travel that won't be likely to get fulfilled. But it's what I rolled. Lauren has the Pyromaniac trait, from being descended from a firefighter. Unfortunately, the trait only allows you to start fires at home. I was going to have Lauren start a fire at school, but there was no option for that. Regan and Tao Zu have Immune to Fire from Saranya.)</span></div>yangthecathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15083940950118677312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2465124855374784027.post-66784371299348056192010-08-05T04:59:00.000-07:002010-08-05T06:53:58.152-07:00Ramaswami/McDermott Random Legacy ch. 20: Before We Were Lovers<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnXmAfjghuSfRcx0ZspnO6m9S4ezgWmADxyfyRviz67Bda2IvUjAfzy_G_iNJRaMFgnqHKYQo7v45D39LpCg5nveYnJqI7E_CVv3JVB-iS_jaNldS_qfoOxD95oSdFGAHISogpGADvxU7J/s1600/reginapregs.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 270px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnXmAfjghuSfRcx0ZspnO6m9S4ezgWmADxyfyRviz67Bda2IvUjAfzy_G_iNJRaMFgnqHKYQo7v45D39LpCg5nveYnJqI7E_CVv3JVB-iS_jaNldS_qfoOxD95oSdFGAHISogpGADvxU7J/s320/reginapregs.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501895211231870194" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"When most people travel, they just bring home tchotchkes," Regina comments on Regan's new pregnancy, a souvenir of her trip to China. "So, tell me about your latest exotic baby daddy."</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Regan tells her cousin about Tao and her trip, and Regina fills her in on what's been going on in Sunset Valley. "My sister spawned, she and the Landgraab have a daughter, Adria. So now my son and Alison's daughter are both half-siblings and cousins. Pretty soon we'll all be grotesque inbreds. But I guess I should be happy I at least have a proper Goth heir, even if it is part Landgraab. I would die of shame if the estate got transferred over to one of the Helmut Goths. Well, I'd already be dead, but my ghost would die of shame." Helmut Goth was the son of Gunther Goth by his second, younger wife, after he divorced Cornelia. The descendants of Cornelia's son, Mortimer, have ever held the descendants of Helmut Goth in contempt, and have sworn to keep them from inheriting any part of the estate in perpetuity. "At least the pressure is off me to get married, since I don't need to get another heir."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs8v8ZP0Se26kEc1gMe88jKzxaHdKuJSs-GY_a4TvO1wzprgyBgihRAzuli7zoB13mqmCR4oIe6Y9lzvdWsGwagcVXWFO5QXEwt9SgipjwPvWddrmt_uyUYj0PR3nForVXORNsANFTg6ty/s1600/bistro.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs8v8ZP0Se26kEc1gMe88jKzxaHdKuJSs-GY_a4TvO1wzprgyBgihRAzuli7zoB13mqmCR4oIe6Y9lzvdWsGwagcVXWFO5QXEwt9SgipjwPvWddrmt_uyUYj0PR3nForVXORNsANFTg6ty/s320/bistro.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501898262571035602" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Regan is on maternity leave, but the bistro asked her to bring by a plate of the stir fry recipe she learned in China so they could decide if they wanted to add it to the regular menu. As she was leaving, she ran into Donovan on the patio.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"Are you stalking me?" she asked him as he approached her.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"I heard you were pregnant," he answered. She only just found out herself recently, but gossip travels fast in this small town. "I just wanted...if you need anything, anything at all, I'm here for you, that's all."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"What could I possibly need from you?" Regan asks, her voice sharp, but her heart soft and bleeding. Her trip to China, her affair with Tao, time spent away from Donovan, none of it has done anything to alleviate the powerful need she feels for him, her desire to be with him.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"We were friends before we lovers, Regan," Donovan says, hurt in his voice.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"Leave me alone!" she hisses, running off before she starts to cry. She absolutely won't let him see her cry for him.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRKKyF886p22ZwBRcMLUxgSg0GX3bCRD739-lsWD-fncd0icbzBNPUw72Mtb8klArmZWZLecuwlSUhNKuIIS4waJ7zOzArK7HTNPrUV38ecN2kfa18V1hLE5dM1Kezs5sdlJxgSAotFJ9P/s1600/taovisit1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 282px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRKKyF886p22ZwBRcMLUxgSg0GX3bCRD739-lsWD-fncd0icbzBNPUw72Mtb8klArmZWZLecuwlSUhNKuIIS4waJ7zOzArK7HTNPrUV38ecN2kfa18V1hLE5dM1Kezs5sdlJxgSAotFJ9P/s320/taovisit1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501901386858375810" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Regan did call Tao to tell him about her pregnancy, and he came to visit her straight away.</span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX9_iQHZFhm4C2L0QcEOrzRMVuG8Zi4QtwucvndViMTV9PyogagPk1qIbWUb2tr6qXGy4pDumCcPdzEfcpsg_H3QdooUtiCND7w9RI5xZ3hQqE1OF9l2Xi7noR08tJ-EUB5BQjC_bH6lSB/s1600/taovisit3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 277px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX9_iQHZFhm4C2L0QcEOrzRMVuG8Zi4QtwucvndViMTV9PyogagPk1qIbWUb2tr6qXGy4pDumCcPdzEfcpsg_H3QdooUtiCND7w9RI5xZ3hQqE1OF9l2Xi7noR08tJ-EUB5BQjC_bH6lSB/s320/taovisit3.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501901975671587218" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">During his stay, her parents were pretty direct in their hints about wanting to see a wedding happen. Tao had offered to marry her back in China even before they knew she was pregnant, to have her live there with him. But Regan had turned that down, not wanting to leave her home forever. Though Tao was as loathe to leave his own home, he did offer to do so, to be with her and their child. But Regan turned that down as well. As much as she adored Tao, he didn't have the place in her heart that Donovan did, and it wouldn't be fair to ask him to leave everything behind for a relationship like that. And though she wouldn't admit it to herself, Regan wants to keep herself free for the day that Donovan is himself free, if such a day should come.</span><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZg2TbDdjADZ-gjWtRBz3RZTHXVpYO5F76JLNN2h1W6FIrYU2e2MLJiknmTi8n7nWDZ9tn9dFoaym6VlnYofB8LRTLrPMJ4sk1aUEADeJp3Btxffn1ZGjcij_FzBQRJaEssCYPMCnaQRIv/s1600/babytao.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 296px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZg2TbDdjADZ-gjWtRBz3RZTHXVpYO5F76JLNN2h1W6FIrYU2e2MLJiknmTi8n7nWDZ9tn9dFoaym6VlnYofB8LRTLrPMJ4sk1aUEADeJp3Btxffn1ZGjcij_FzBQRJaEssCYPMCnaQRIv/s320/babytao.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501903584427067810" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Regan has a son, the first boy born in this house since Liam McDermott. She names him Tao Zu, after his father. Tao's visa expires shortly after the birth of his son, and he returns to China after only a brief time with his little namesake.</span><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj2_uALG5Pb71LqkBbVOzgz8QmExiOW6OTcVMdle7wG2aTssTd5p8bfdAfqqMN0S55sPcK1sd9RT3tefbS5QAUa3tgm7FpGf1oz5UYgTeC5rdMLuFwLg_SneiPibff2tgtbLZkr6b5cugp/s1600/saranyadeath.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj2_uALG5Pb71LqkBbVOzgz8QmExiOW6OTcVMdle7wG2aTssTd5p8bfdAfqqMN0S55sPcK1sd9RT3tefbS5QAUa3tgm7FpGf1oz5UYgTeC5rdMLuFwLg_SneiPibff2tgtbLZkr6b5cugp/s320/saranyadeath.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501904455200558818" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Saranya dies not long after her grandson is born.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixIXTWuhZ8YXuKxEvDCF3eT0ek9UlkyvqDvWgzWBJ_xaOhseCRED1nqq5YJgGEyuI2m6us-6_2TZR-4kwOVSy8q_EBKgWi2wy2A3uiMJf6wxlEaNLqvBa5jIQrot4a-gTa8X14S2vEVIhH/s1600/harlangrave.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 307px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixIXTWuhZ8YXuKxEvDCF3eT0ek9UlkyvqDvWgzWBJ_xaOhseCRED1nqq5YJgGEyuI2m6us-6_2TZR-4kwOVSy8q_EBKgWi2wy2A3uiMJf6wxlEaNLqvBa5jIQrot4a-gTa8X14S2vEVIhH/s320/harlangrave.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501905864729606130" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Harlan stands on the spot beside her grave where he will lie himself, grieving, wondering why she had been taken first when he was older, and she was so healthy with her work outs and martial arts. Life is unfair, and death even more so. </span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2eSlsPM-7LsPb1E2QxBryimEhWu7rnf3-F8kaVkUUgZOd3gEc-SY5LrJGI52MlmCg-BxMwYF-26BBkOu-ilzghRggUCqDSGpVhosZBXxLBf-FAW5DaHstws49JsbiAH1R8DwVXaMsWTOB/s1600/reginagrave1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 314px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2eSlsPM-7LsPb1E2QxBryimEhWu7rnf3-F8kaVkUUgZOd3gEc-SY5LrJGI52MlmCg-BxMwYF-26BBkOu-ilzghRggUCqDSGpVhosZBXxLBf-FAW5DaHstws49JsbiAH1R8DwVXaMsWTOB/s320/reginagrave1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501906579054955842" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Regina meets Regan in the cemetery to console her cousin. After Regan cries on her shoulder for a bit, Regina says, "Listen, I have a plan, and I need you help."</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Regan lifts her head. "A plan? What do you mean?"</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"I've figured out a way to get my sister out of Landgraab's clutches, and keep his filthy hands off the inheritance she'll get when my mother dies. If you were to seduce him, and Alison were to catch him cheating on her, she'd leave him, and their prenup would be void because he's an adulterer. He'd lose everything."<br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4gAtXsFn6uCI2ZesdCtQ6ilAHKl8DTGGOl3nv7eBqHo3sTbWoOdtLmYjYmRZy82wNOFNfRnFvdPwfAjSE1t3Gi1C_mo6V957jRaTIXo8_dyWqss8PQ7HkP4y4E8enIC64Ufd4W_Sc__YB/s1600/reginagrave2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 252px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4gAtXsFn6uCI2ZesdCtQ6ilAHKl8DTGGOl3nv7eBqHo3sTbWoOdtLmYjYmRZy82wNOFNfRnFvdPwfAjSE1t3Gi1C_mo6V957jRaTIXo8_dyWqss8PQ7HkP4y4E8enIC64Ufd4W_Sc__YB/s320/reginagrave2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501907955120455186" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"That just seems so...wrong," Regan answers hesitantly, "What if Alison is happy with him? Should we interfere?"</span><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"Come on, Regan, you know why he married her. He doesn't love her, and if she's happy with that, it's a false happiness. It isn't right for him to get what he wanted out of this, after what he did to get it. We have to stop it before he gets all her money!"</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Even though Donovan's nasty schemes did lead to success, Regan isn't convinced that getting him to cheat on his wife and causing a divorce would make things any better. But her grief isn't allowing her to think clearly, and she trusts her cousin's judgment. It is her sister after all, and surely Regina would want what is best for her own kin.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikQulhP4JsXsnz3ga0TWJcz4cqzyGeJfhqggckpYxO7qiks29NNF3qUa0Qpw9QEv0t14zMYvVhtKFgiwJysUyY-bOPFbExDipEEp0Elv3DwFDSnpTbe_FIjz_MDVMiXZxWN52QJHEiHI7m/s1600/donovanplot1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 287px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikQulhP4JsXsnz3ga0TWJcz4cqzyGeJfhqggckpYxO7qiks29NNF3qUa0Qpw9QEv0t14zMYvVhtKFgiwJysUyY-bOPFbExDipEEp0Elv3DwFDSnpTbe_FIjz_MDVMiXZxWN52QJHEiHI7m/s320/donovanplot1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501910103871476162" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Donovan is surprised by Regan's visit, and by the fierce hug with which she greets him.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"I'm so sorry, about your mother," he whispers in her ear, assuming it was grief that lead her to his door.<br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"I've missed you so much," she murmurs into his chest, and it's not a lie. She thinks of him every day. Before she can think better of it and back out of Regina's plan, Regan pulls his face down to hers for a deep kiss. She hasn't kissed him in so long, and it feels so good...she pulls away suddenly, tears streaming down her cheeks, "I can't go through with this. I just can't."</span></div></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Donovan squeezes her tightly. "You don't have to do anything," he says, "If you want to talk, or cry, or whatever, I'm here for you."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"I should never have let Regina talk me into this," she says, face pressed against his collar. "Even you don't deserve this."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"Regina? What has Regina got to do with this?"</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir4PMLqz5YAMuoC1Wjfldh2xmgd3tfElaHc9X-AeKlyV7qVLLYmwj-VFcXWzCkpPw2xyj_l5oydtytj7ndkEbS3sDKThIjbhytfvbSXys4hZEM-KPZqafi8Rwx1Xujw7V9ubEY-BwGOu8G/s1600/donovanplot2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 289px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir4PMLqz5YAMuoC1Wjfldh2xmgd3tfElaHc9X-AeKlyV7qVLLYmwj-VFcXWzCkpPw2xyj_l5oydtytj7ndkEbS3sDKThIjbhytfvbSXys4hZEM-KPZqafi8Rwx1Xujw7V9ubEY-BwGOu8G/s320/donovanplot2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501913025360141474" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Grief and desire had been pulling on heart, and she'd spoken without thinking, revealing Regina's part in her visit. Having let the name slip, Regan now lets the entire plot out, feeling relief from the pressure it put on her with every word. "Regina sent me here to seduce you," she tells him.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"She was hoping I'd pull a Gunther?" After Gunther Goth left Cornelia for a younger, estateless woman, the inhabitants of Sunset Valley used the phrase 'pulling a Gunther' to refer to a rich man abandoning his estate to his wife to live with another, poorer woman.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"No, she wanted Alison to catch us, and leave you. So you don't get the rest of her inheritance," Regan admits, finally realizing that this plan she taking part in is as ugly as anything Donovan has ever done. "I'm so sorry, I should never have agreed to this."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Donovan hugs her again, "Don't blame yourself. Regina is a bitch, and she used you while you were in mourning, knowing you'd be more malleable then."</span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjahRLM0IyGiGOqxm4aBY-JFnsRTxU829Gql6nu72GlCtX1xc0PYI6Kxra5XakLSrDvmPcD7mp2hY6quqYenSk_PTYKZHAu7-52QNcSwH4qyAVsrP1_STd3yQ1xwNfQOgM1mjbiOv-ld-1/s1600/donovanplot3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 283px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjahRLM0IyGiGOqxm4aBY-JFnsRTxU829Gql6nu72GlCtX1xc0PYI6Kxra5XakLSrDvmPcD7mp2hY6quqYenSk_PTYKZHAu7-52QNcSwH4qyAVsrP1_STd3yQ1xwNfQOgM1mjbiOv-ld-1/s320/donovanplot3.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501915829331706994" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Donovan gently led her to the parlor, and sat her down with a glass of water. Pacing in front of her nervously, he spoke, "Regina's plan probably wouldn't have worked the way she expected," he said, "You see, I have this unfortunate habit of calling out your name when I... at inopportune moments. I've had numerous frank discussions with Alison about my relationship with you, and I haven't been able to convince her I'm not actually sleeping with you. As far as she's concerned, I am an adulterer, and you are my mistress. I don't think that actually witnessing what she already believes is true will change anything in our relationship, and most certainly won't get her to leave her current situation. She may be disappointed with me as a husband, be she's very invested in being the mistress of my estate and the mother of the Landgraab heir. If she left me, she could ruin me, again, financially, but she couldn't claim the estate, or prevent me from remarrying and displacing her child as heir. Or, for that matter, prevent one of my brothers or uncles from stepping in and claiming the estate, not that anyone in my family wants the responsibility of it."</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"Are you happy, Donovan?" Regan asks. She knows rich people often marry for money, and that their estates often come before their own happiness. Regina's own love life is a testament to that, her long relationship with Wade Alto was all about having a man equal to her in wealth and status, whether she liked him or not.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"My estate is saved and my family name and honor is upheld. I've done my duty," Donovan answers. "My father married for love, he was happy. They were blissfully happy," he says with a nostalgic sigh, "But he ruined us for his happiness. Unlike Alison, my mother had no idea what running and estate like this entails, and my father just indulged himself and her with his wealth, until it was gone." Raymundo and Marsha Landgraab were often held up as an example of truly devoted love in Sunset Valley. (That is, after they were married. Before that, when Raymundo was a young man and had moved the homeless teenage Marsha into his house, everyone suspected something illicit and there was much whispering and gossip. The phrase 'adventures of Raymundo' had come to mean something salacious and illegal. But once Marsha came of age and Raymundo married her, all the gossip was forgotten and the whole town sighed whenever the loving couple appeared in public.)</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"And you've actually remained faithful?" Regan continues her inquiry into Donovan's married life.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"Well, of course. Why wouldn't I?"</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Regan raises an eyebrow, "You need a reason to cheat?"</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"I'm not a womanizer by nature, Regan," he answers. Regan raises her brow again in response, and laughs, "Be fair," he continues, "I was with you for love. Everything else was about money. That makes me a bit of a scoundrel, sure, but I've never pursued women for the sake of sex. If I am going to cheat, it would be with you, and you only."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div>yangthecathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15083940950118677312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2465124855374784027.post-57932009123110250212010-08-02T04:48:00.000-07:002010-08-02T05:49:54.825-07:00Ramaswami/McDermott Random Legacy ch. 19: Tao Zu<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOXAhM0vodi204963Td0pdF4OFj7JhaWA_MBWAvdY8rdavaPQVqgfGRJyHZuMKSpNdrCQj3KGEWci8mXJNh43Dkk2a80WAcNmzNrGTW26jpjwezmqKowDiBV5yzAJ-ygA9cjYJfvfyL0jS/s1600/taozu1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 242px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOXAhM0vodi204963Td0pdF4OFj7JhaWA_MBWAvdY8rdavaPQVqgfGRJyHZuMKSpNdrCQj3KGEWci8mXJNh43Dkk2a80WAcNmzNrGTW26jpjwezmqKowDiBV5yzAJ-ygA9cjYJfvfyL0jS/s320/taozu1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500780428601575682" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Regan wanted to spend her vacation time honing her photography skills. At home, she was spending most of her time either working or pursuing her affair with Donovan, and had little time for the arts that had once meant so much to her. The Scholar's Garden seemed a lovely spot to start a picture taking expedition, so she biked her up the hills behind the Forgotten City. She met a young scholar there, Tao Zu, who was very helpful in suggesting places with great views she could capture with her camera.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaksCK8CF0cl7odOIsoYbc69sa0RPnJUPyCRFEDRrXA6aBzu6q3ljqVOIo0wKrryirKv1zSv_2_0v0E5HyHzS-bqGaxPE0ZdEjmR-o-wa0PfflTk2sMf-i9WYHRD4i6NCV8ZoFwmF4ttHN/s1600/taozu2.jpg"></a><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaksCK8CF0cl7odOIsoYbc69sa0RPnJUPyCRFEDRrXA6aBzu6q3ljqVOIo0wKrryirKv1zSv_2_0v0E5HyHzS-bqGaxPE0ZdEjmR-o-wa0PfflTk2sMf-i9WYHRD4i6NCV8ZoFwmF4ttHN/s1600/taozu2.jpg"><img style="text-align: left;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 259px; " src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaksCK8CF0cl7odOIsoYbc69sa0RPnJUPyCRFEDRrXA6aBzu6q3ljqVOIo0wKrryirKv1zSv_2_0v0E5HyHzS-bqGaxPE0ZdEjmR-o-wa0PfflTk2sMf-i9WYHRD4i6NCV8ZoFwmF4ttHN/s320/taozu2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500780596464852642" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">She got much useful information from Tao, and should be going while the light was still good to get those shots, but Regan was reluctant to leave his company. She lingered, coming up with questions about the town, the culture, anything at all, just as an excuse to stay. Tao responded to every question, and responded to her body language, drawing closer to her as she drew closer to him. His fingers reached across the space between them to touch hers, and Regan knew he would be her lover.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"Would you like to see the Academy?" he asked.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLBrRBIoldLp3WL2kATQknHvviNAqRuI-HCdkb2Khkp6LlSqQL5PYJypuDzcij-FwtAoldbG62qlKn2jxeOHDmz-4o3jOpK6_CMyjeWa5rM4xcWbGF3RCm7vyUGcwO9H6I435I0pWheYK9/s1600/taozu4.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 247px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLBrRBIoldLp3WL2kATQknHvviNAqRuI-HCdkb2Khkp6LlSqQL5PYJypuDzcij-FwtAoldbG62qlKn2jxeOHDmz-4o3jOpK6_CMyjeWa5rM4xcWbGF3RCm7vyUGcwO9H6I435I0pWheYK9/s320/taozu4.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500782942905273682" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">The view from the Academy was splendid, but Regan couldn't look away from Tao's eyes to enjoy it. As the sun began to set, he offered her dinner in his home. "One of my roommates just got married and left the house, so we have a spare bed if you don't want to stay at the hostel."</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">The word 'roommates' awakened memories of Gustave and his complicated relations. "Would one of your roommates be female?" she asked Tao.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"Yes, Biyu Shen. Our other roommate, Shen Su, is male," Tao answered, an eyebrow raised quizzically. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"And do you sleep with Biyu sometimes?" It was a direct question, but Regan is determined not to replay her past mistakes.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Tao laughed. "No, Shen wouldn't be very happy with me if I did. Biyu is his girlfriend."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEida9wbKFcJ12JRvloymOFjysEmmVXN3MblzrQU6DEnLVYe2uaM1proPdH3fqxTJYTKwYLjkjgFod5I3MHXMaLaCqX1Qmhn7_src1Fk44e4ZrPW7b0v_94qGRuvo3XxbfsLUlFdM1aPWOOQ/s1600/taozu5.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 302px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEida9wbKFcJ12JRvloymOFjysEmmVXN3MblzrQU6DEnLVYe2uaM1proPdH3fqxTJYTKwYLjkjgFod5I3MHXMaLaCqX1Qmhn7_src1Fk44e4ZrPW7b0v_94qGRuvo3XxbfsLUlFdM1aPWOOQ/s320/taozu5.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500785029517659970" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"And what about you, do you have a girlfriend?" Regan continues her inquisition.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"If I did, I'd be with her rather than spending the day with you," he answers, smiling. The path Regan's questions were following were leading her directly into his arms.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwxZ4QHvz9hnOIhyphenhyphenL4n-iQ75qQ1r3E6HAPbS09EGSPE3mnyWAR_Mw3oCuvcQng2rYiV1gXovSk7Qus1FJSfq1BV1DJe1zioFQfdLO8VUgfMYHd6IxU-iopdOuaGWPsJd4F7CpP0BPrVT0T/s1600/taozu6.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 270px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwxZ4QHvz9hnOIhyphenhyphenL4n-iQ75qQ1r3E6HAPbS09EGSPE3mnyWAR_Mw3oCuvcQng2rYiV1gXovSk7Qus1FJSfq1BV1DJe1zioFQfdLO8VUgfMYHd6IxU-iopdOuaGWPsJd4F7CpP0BPrVT0T/s320/taozu6.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500786518524591586" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Regan took him up on his offer of dinner, but she didn't need the spare bed, preferring to spend the night in Tao's.</span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWRtTQtZE7mTr7FziSq2NcVnhTX2Wp3_eLgktSmKJdgu2dscMjNpLnPzrvUi7VrgyE1l2SPrwSSRkM0tNYqX2AAV_0L-JItSM_yHNlOgCv9K76vXo5martvci-7FHyWOMgwKu0gFJp0LHd/s1600/taozu8.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 245px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWRtTQtZE7mTr7FziSq2NcVnhTX2Wp3_eLgktSmKJdgu2dscMjNpLnPzrvUi7VrgyE1l2SPrwSSRkM0tNYqX2AAV_0L-JItSM_yHNlOgCv9K76vXo5martvci-7FHyWOMgwKu0gFJp0LHd/s320/taozu8.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500787229024167954" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Biyu and Shen were happy to have her company, and made her feel as welcome in their home as Tao had. They didn't even feel the need to get dressed in her company, treating her as a fellow roommate rather than a guest.</span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOnGmzesnJ1GOu7-JPtgsie9XaTYK6nlNfrTPjpbCv7tVmYINKkTy-5NsosW8yHL6Mb8bAbPGO62GIa5Y7qfWSfmRcYEdJOhdw6K1s22Ax10bMzkgzIvOvB4vlXwkSW9pckaqhEqUfOZ3N/s1600/taozu7.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 249px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOnGmzesnJ1GOu7-JPtgsie9XaTYK6nlNfrTPjpbCv7tVmYINKkTy-5NsosW8yHL6Mb8bAbPGO62GIa5Y7qfWSfmRcYEdJOhdw6K1s22Ax10bMzkgzIvOvB4vlXwkSW9pckaqhEqUfOZ3N/s320/taozu7.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500787916631212306" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Regan spent the rest of her vacation in their house. While she did go out on a few touristy sight seeing tours, she was becoming more of a temporary resident of the town, simply enjoying living with people her own age, without her parents constantly over her shoulder, without having to worry about her career or her child.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnKxXLUG4nkZrgIYjbjTSSu32zoG1IOLIetk7hDSRd800T1CZ4TwvSgTGzY3p_LFtTSmMzSKSs54KEEMtD5QFCWDG6imLRmWUwh4RspXBjVl8XTDRYEv4ucV5RTlV3vVWKThMyX93YJXuH/s1600/taozu9.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 254px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnKxXLUG4nkZrgIYjbjTSSu32zoG1IOLIetk7hDSRd800T1CZ4TwvSgTGzY3p_LFtTSmMzSKSs54KEEMtD5QFCWDG6imLRmWUwh4RspXBjVl8XTDRYEv4ucV5RTlV3vVWKThMyX93YJXuH/s320/taozu9.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500789049783849074" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Only once had Regan ever spent a full night sleeping in her lover's arms, with Gustave in France, but even then she had woken up alone while he was arguing with his sometimes girlfriend Jolene. For a full week, she sleeps besides Tao, and wakes with him, a small kind of bliss she could never have had with Donovan.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDv_Ej_dV7a3E2yJkVgfQguRsa1Lbz75Qkepa1DNnzRK0vOj3ev-BoQn8X6IeWApVtF0a-fEDF0gEJMQ4FKA0oqS8TdjN7yNywzolUYfVLgLQWr_qD0QLAXzHwfKINl7xtgRyMT1R_tB-X/s1600/taozu10.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDv_Ej_dV7a3E2yJkVgfQguRsa1Lbz75Qkepa1DNnzRK0vOj3ev-BoQn8X6IeWApVtF0a-fEDF0gEJMQ4FKA0oqS8TdjN7yNywzolUYfVLgLQWr_qD0QLAXzHwfKINl7xtgRyMT1R_tB-X/s320/taozu10.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500790062771833218" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Regan's Visa is only good for 6 days, and that time passes quickly. After waking beside Tao on the last morning of her trip, he asks her to stay.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"If you marry me, you won't need a Visa," he explains, "We could be together forever."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">It's a tempting offer, but Regan knows she cannot accept it. Her real life, her daughter, her career, are all waiting on her return. "Come visit me in Sunset Valley," Regan offers. Tao promises to visit as soon as he can.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"It won't be the same here without you," he sighs.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">(Challenge Notes: Every time anyone used plumbing in Tao Zu's house, it would break. It started to drive me a little nuts. Regan has no handiness at all and I didn't want to waste her time repairing the plumbing, so I was calling the repair person twice a day at least. Luckily, Regan has tons of money (shh, don't tell Donovan Landgraab) so she could afford to pay for the service. But I got to a point where if I heard the broken toilet music again, I was going to scream.)</span></div>yangthecathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15083940950118677312noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2465124855374784027.post-45375838295481719492010-08-01T17:44:00.000-07:002010-08-01T18:58:25.509-07:00Ramaswami/McDermott Random Legacy ch. 18: Poison<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8-fZzzH0UM04jNRVCvA0xIlS7QDI8HP_mc58ZQgQBwwhTz_sRmPq1GxpDzT5tWPMA3hqnU27r8Imiyscu59HTTWM1xliNVRs98DSllk2GunqyqZN1TRttXiSXMWG574eAL2R9Ylf9xyEr/s1600/laurentodler.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 239px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8-fZzzH0UM04jNRVCvA0xIlS7QDI8HP_mc58ZQgQBwwhTz_sRmPq1GxpDzT5tWPMA3hqnU27r8Imiyscu59HTTWM1xliNVRs98DSllk2GunqyqZN1TRttXiSXMWG574eAL2R9Ylf9xyEr/s320/laurentodler.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500607540075790402" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Lauren becomes a toddler. She has her grandmother's red hair, her mother's blue eyes, and her father's nose and eye shape.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbuojLBFkV0bENR1UzRhoTUKUG5Ab1akrcG78FH3ot0_VU-10pSGGZvff1EyhdlG0atvNW4HZdR4okIt_ZrFplT_odKt_r8yRfJPoegzTG5RbbVxx6ITTce9Ekp17Is5j7xxERVxNz53DL/s1600/regreg1.jpg"></a><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbuojLBFkV0bENR1UzRhoTUKUG5Ab1akrcG78FH3ot0_VU-10pSGGZvff1EyhdlG0atvNW4HZdR4okIt_ZrFplT_odKt_r8yRfJPoegzTG5RbbVxx6ITTce9Ekp17Is5j7xxERVxNz53DL/s1600/regreg1.jpg"><img style="text-align: left;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 264px; " src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbuojLBFkV0bENR1UzRhoTUKUG5Ab1akrcG78FH3ot0_VU-10pSGGZvff1EyhdlG0atvNW4HZdR4okIt_ZrFplT_odKt_r8yRfJPoegzTG5RbbVxx6ITTce9Ekp17Is5j7xxERVxNz53DL/s320/regreg1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500607638035419602" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Regina's baby is a boy, who she names Regan. Regan of course has to ask her cousin why she gave her son her name.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9cUgKVLmYISqLRxg6WY9IwtMEuRbAR28vVJQkB77Ba6ijRM2oVu8x4InDY9yRmlO8ue952eQdcFGdwduhmcfcZu7lCjzfcQXgFo9k83HqsVkpI0uU_5ZWjB_iMzsd8cyvxFXYqeMRrWNp/s1600/regreg2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 265px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9cUgKVLmYISqLRxg6WY9IwtMEuRbAR28vVJQkB77Ba6ijRM2oVu8x4InDY9yRmlO8ue952eQdcFGdwduhmcfcZu7lCjzfcQXgFo9k83HqsVkpI0uU_5ZWjB_iMzsd8cyvxFXYqeMRrWNp/s320/regreg2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500607952225162850" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"What could be more fitting than giving him the name his father cried out when he was making his baby," Regina laughs, "It could be worse, I could have named him Mortimer."</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"Are you angry at me?" Regan asks, detecting something wrong in Regina's laughter.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"As a matter of fact, I am. I'm angry that you're still sleeping with that bastard, despite everything," Regina answers, "You're not just my cousin, you're my best friend. One day Donovan is going to break your heart, and I don't want that to happen, especially when I know it can be prevented. You've wasted too much of yourself on him already. Dump him now before you're old and bitter, and alone."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"Regina, I love him. I can't just stop how I feel for him."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzzT5tBbuM_ArDJ4HdDrEuKycACq6GnMsqjuUWP1uLwoz7fEF6htAvPG2Mi_rEX92GB4QcVfSO0SbeeLnRNej8eK-u8tsR46iUErN7P9O-f_g7iA33oOQG-p72lQzkZ8Oxq0r0-kMKHB5i/s1600/regregali.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 237px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzzT5tBbuM_ArDJ4HdDrEuKycACq6GnMsqjuUWP1uLwoz7fEF6htAvPG2Mi_rEX92GB4QcVfSO0SbeeLnRNej8eK-u8tsR46iUErN7P9O-f_g7iA33oOQG-p72lQzkZ8Oxq0r0-kMKHB5i/s320/regregali.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500610916377100338" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"Love doesn't go seducing other women for their money, Regan. Love isn't afternoon sex on a desk in an office, and you know it. He's treated us all like dirt, you most of all."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">As the cousins talk, Regina's younger sister walks by unnoticed. Alison Goth has only recently graduated high school, and her older sister still treats her like a child to be ignored. But Alison is an adult now, and she's going to make sure her family knows it and starts treating her like one.</span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSACCz2tp8k-FpZ-OuLQidIr_Jz1WPQ9Ko47sDjCoRypdBrzqX9C-cRNUx_ID6tju8md7bKFM4QCcv7yi0JVXCL_xo2e23FE6QUXfXsrt1qL-i47uhXzSV5cqr9UL9TAQ_PhzrtX9Y-zgZ/s1600/alielope1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 265px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSACCz2tp8k-FpZ-OuLQidIr_Jz1WPQ9Ko47sDjCoRypdBrzqX9C-cRNUx_ID6tju8md7bKFM4QCcv7yi0JVXCL_xo2e23FE6QUXfXsrt1qL-i47uhXzSV5cqr9UL9TAQ_PhzrtX9Y-zgZ/s320/alielope1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500612487703170690" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Late at night, when they're all asleep, Alison meets Donovan as they planned. He's always treated her like an adult, even when she was still in high school.</span><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv0tN6XM5G0kt9I0Y9pGv7S9Qdkmg-Z54d7x24-hvd20_hpudcwWaKDTlzC13u7Fxwl05hw_dz-9Ev4-dyunyuzrvmbcYvkJ5t-XNgqfrCfr3vs0Bxk6XfZhzIFYgbbmoZ1nuuZ9JotDFk/s1600/alielope2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 309px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv0tN6XM5G0kt9I0Y9pGv7S9Qdkmg-Z54d7x24-hvd20_hpudcwWaKDTlzC13u7Fxwl05hw_dz-9Ev4-dyunyuzrvmbcYvkJ5t-XNgqfrCfr3vs0Bxk6XfZhzIFYgbbmoZ1nuuZ9JotDFk/s320/alielope2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500613650778152034" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">No one before Donovan has ever needed her, or even wanted her around. So, she leaves Goth Manor and her family behind to elope with him. Her trust fund, of course, comes with her.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxqsmKQ3akXzvE_YlrDPQew79HrT0Vp0vanBrMklgj3VLAPTk1ejohtS5r_0gHpRP28t2KQYXYS7EO0eegbC-Z_yz-LMw6Mrz_M3l9fK2USh_YRF0xS21TjNeclfub3UUd4kA9FtIJYLPs/s1600/donovanfinal1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 260px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxqsmKQ3akXzvE_YlrDPQew79HrT0Vp0vanBrMklgj3VLAPTk1ejohtS5r_0gHpRP28t2KQYXYS7EO0eegbC-Z_yz-LMw6Mrz_M3l9fK2USh_YRF0xS21TjNeclfub3UUd4kA9FtIJYLPs/s320/donovanfinal1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500615477925128210" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Unbelievably, he shows up on Regan's doorstep the next day as she's heading off for work.</span><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"Congratulations," she says bitterly, "I hope you're happy you finally married the money you were after." The whole town has heard about Donovan Landgraab's midnight elopement with Alison Goth.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"You know why I had to do this, had to marry her. But this doesn't have to change anything between us, Regan."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg790cmSX7eelmPGRdrGUdTLIsaLzOhhMX3ZGWVihRt6qk0HS31MDdwg92tR2DXlvcugGjJg4xF0sgfU3TKPWm8NKmMsyByqWzrLxJwLi9LFPW4-eqxqV3nCIIKgWid0W-8PaCIo1cz8fcw/s1600/donovanfinal2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 258px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg790cmSX7eelmPGRdrGUdTLIsaLzOhhMX3ZGWVihRt6qk0HS31MDdwg92tR2DXlvcugGjJg4xF0sgfU3TKPWm8NKmMsyByqWzrLxJwLi9LFPW4-eqxqV3nCIIKgWid0W-8PaCIo1cz8fcw/s320/donovanfinal2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500617146717021682" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"It changes everything, Donovan. I should never have gotten involved with you in the first place, and now I'm stopping it."</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"Do you think I wanted it to be like this?" he asks, nearly shouting in his anger, "I love you! I would give anything to be with you. If I didn't have this debt and the estate to keep up, you would be the only woman in my life. Please, you can't desert me now. You are the only woman I've ever loved or ever will love."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4L_MPhZURuof4qV0ltuBm_-k8pAvmcVbeGCGIuf8Zdm67zzVvSTu1p9j4P8PlYA6ZBM-iCp8LHiQKKtE8ISSHK2JgyT-kBUEhgH-QuIcU5QoUY3femGtGaxYq9_QQakf11WcMIo51dULv/s1600/donovanfinal3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 255px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4L_MPhZURuof4qV0ltuBm_-k8pAvmcVbeGCGIuf8Zdm67zzVvSTu1p9j4P8PlYA6ZBM-iCp8LHiQKKtE8ISSHK2JgyT-kBUEhgH-QuIcU5QoUY3femGtGaxYq9_QQakf11WcMIo51dULv/s320/donovanfinal3.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500619169130478322" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">He pulls her to him in a deep, passionate kiss, and she returns the passion, still weak to him despite everything.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">But she's not so weak as to given in completely. The business with her aunt Kamala, the seduction of her cousin Regina hadn't been enough, but his running off with Alison finally opened her eyes, and she pulls herself, reluctantly but firmly, out of his grasp.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"I'm sorry, Donovan. We could have been great together, but your estate and family name meant more to you than I did. You seduced and married a girl you don't love for her money, to save your own ass. I can't be a part of that anymore, I have to let you go. Try to be a good husband to Alison."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Regan walks away from him to her car, glad she has to go to work, an excuse to get away now before he manages to talk his way back into her life.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsejlj3YFV09FL7cvQn9gPSDQKjsUrkJPBL9f4-llBrTm-b2oUppDUNmB4q1R2URCku9iKLWDYg4KBkeAp_an8jQqGhh7KKAILweZdnIh1n4wUNdZOSjvzPAXnl27tbH3zHu5rn3X5KVbd/s1600/china1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsejlj3YFV09FL7cvQn9gPSDQKjsUrkJPBL9f4-llBrTm-b2oUppDUNmB4q1R2URCku9iKLWDYg4KBkeAp_an8jQqGhh7KKAILweZdnIh1n4wUNdZOSjvzPAXnl27tbH3zHu5rn3X5KVbd/s320/china1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500622621324447554" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">It took everything she had to say goodbye to Donovan. She has every reason to hate him, but she still loves him anyway. Every day is an exercise of will to not call him, or show up at his office for an afternoon' date'. Finally, Regan decides to try travel, hoping that getting far away from Sunset Valley for awhile will get him out of her mind, cure her of her addiction to the poison that is Donovan Landgraab. </span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">(Challenge Notes: If little Lauren didn't have such great grandparents, there's no way she'd make it through the 'perfect children' part of this generation's challenge. While Regan was gallavanting around town, one of her grandparents would be parked with Lauren, doing the training and toddler book skill reading. Lauren has one day left before becoming a child, and we've got it all done. Finally, she can play with the dollhouse.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Regina naming her son Regan actually happened in the game, I didn't name him. I was floored when it happened. I've seen him as a toddler now, btw, he has Cornelia Goth's purple hair (as does Regina, though sometimes it looks black in pictures), and Donovan's blue eyes.)<br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div></div>yangthecathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15083940950118677312noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2465124855374784027.post-30598925546782384712010-07-31T15:42:00.000-07:002010-07-31T17:07:44.232-07:00Ramaswami/McDermott Random Legacy ch. 17: Kissing Cousins<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3VpLXmidzgUsggqh2lh_xE28R-CuFl-EJv-qh66V_yw2Sq9WkU_KrFQxiyg0-xf1Ap-TLplVE7ebU_4Wu7tkZsllYtSbbI5CEXVHoTavwB1QSO85sr2W-Y4f3F0bdPO1RNNTILlmvpFoP/s1600/late1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 252px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3VpLXmidzgUsggqh2lh_xE28R-CuFl-EJv-qh66V_yw2Sq9WkU_KrFQxiyg0-xf1Ap-TLplVE7ebU_4Wu7tkZsllYtSbbI5CEXVHoTavwB1QSO85sr2W-Y4f3F0bdPO1RNNTILlmvpFoP/s320/late1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500206438205473906" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><div>She showed up at the Landgraab estate unexpectedly, a between the end of his office hours and the start of her shift at the bistro. Yes, she knows he has a 'date' that evening, but she doesn't care, she wanted to see him.</div><div><br /></div><div>"You'll make me late," Donovan sighs. "You'd like that, wouldn't you?"</div><div><br /></div></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTblQ_tNhPgyWl5lKSCDRgTqm2GeF_Ac45DakgHwQtr3VyIMfD0q2n3Ngo1n4LKy8n6RaAqJ4ihCaac6WYoAMvGfEFCrlXO2Z1I87iNhKZ5vy5TGgBNWPbnhxCpB0hXAcYRUkaB2djKMpk/s1600/late2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 239px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTblQ_tNhPgyWl5lKSCDRgTqm2GeF_Ac45DakgHwQtr3VyIMfD0q2n3Ngo1n4LKy8n6RaAqJ4ihCaac6WYoAMvGfEFCrlXO2Z1I87iNhKZ5vy5TGgBNWPbnhxCpB0hXAcYRUkaB2djKMpk/s320/late2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500207406017702818" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><div>Is she deliberately trying to undermine his schemes against her aunt? No, she isn't thinking clearly enough to be so devious. She just came over because she wanted him,and damn the consequences.</div><div><br /></div></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCJdc8V2vncByPhDMay9RJ8BwOwd7byAQMz_N4LraTuEewwFMdim4tiB0juWnFUKr35l1TRJpPbx-hVhCZZYMFyPv1sNe7wu_ZnaUkC8s6M_0dx2RGWK0xnlxrIrPVL55hbY1c7Dqx0ZCB/s1600/late3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCJdc8V2vncByPhDMay9RJ8BwOwd7byAQMz_N4LraTuEewwFMdim4tiB0juWnFUKr35l1TRJpPbx-hVhCZZYMFyPv1sNe7wu_ZnaUkC8s6M_0dx2RGWK0xnlxrIrPVL55hbY1c7Dqx0ZCB/s320/late3.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500208202065546018" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><div>"I'm definitely late now," he says, "Kamala will be pissed. I really have to go now. Can I see you tomorrow?"</div><div><br /></div><div>"I have to work," she answers, "I have the dinner shift."</div><div><br /></div><div>"Come to my office, then. A lunch date," he suggests. By 'date' of course, he means sex on his desk, which is perfectly fine with Regan, so she agrees to his plan.</div><div><br /></div></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbqn7v8TIy9XjwJbCNU2Od0OajCT8Auiq0-_HSByJTNEBwEraUCNyKs8RoEdGDNDrD-2fucSj-5LRMSVlbceEZeTfMBOpNwM4Gtj97gE0Dt-5leZshF9JVLRigzDoYuT_w7J2zmW6Qemt7/s1600/late4.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 237px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbqn7v8TIy9XjwJbCNU2Od0OajCT8Auiq0-_HSByJTNEBwEraUCNyKs8RoEdGDNDrD-2fucSj-5LRMSVlbceEZeTfMBOpNwM4Gtj97gE0Dt-5leZshF9JVLRigzDoYuT_w7J2zmW6Qemt7/s320/late4.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500209383413991522" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><div>When she gets home, she gets a stern lecture from her father. "You are out at all hours when you should be spending time with your child!" he says, and carries on about her parental responsibilities. Through her whole childhood and teen years, her father has never spoken a harsh word to her, so his angry outburst comes as a total surprise.</div><div><br /></div></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYg2MBzs9aYiZlxCE6OCkUgu9xpaDcWaobDxTFuEE8oesjozLz2uNCVPc5VSjCD82lvRQWI_2ZUvayiMpbQbcjxs53-mcYBvx_K2ov4p_6SKPgey-_ifru5gzznzZ8ig566LL0S9h43h7o/s1600/late5.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 278px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYg2MBzs9aYiZlxCE6OCkUgu9xpaDcWaobDxTFuEE8oesjozLz2uNCVPc5VSjCD82lvRQWI_2ZUvayiMpbQbcjxs53-mcYBvx_K2ov4p_6SKPgey-_ifru5gzznzZ8ig566LL0S9h43h7o/s320/late5.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500210302033282466" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><div>His anger spent, Harlan ends with a sad sigh,"Regan, my dear child, I love you more than anything. But you must learn, your mother and I won't be here forever to take care of things for you." It's not a lesson Regan is particularly interested in learning.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUJUJD98X4cicu_cwkZLyCVa2ZpnB6tBg2Ke8Xx9aiL4tc86NB_zwDoHd0uehrqNiiN5ZhczhTOQam1OIpko4eZb-NWvAu6Ifqy7a3FNYQgdtiniHUFKBM_Jcf1bv20Sob4YIHICWtcLli/s1600/pictures.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 262px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUJUJD98X4cicu_cwkZLyCVa2ZpnB6tBg2Ke8Xx9aiL4tc86NB_zwDoHd0uehrqNiiN5ZhczhTOQam1OIpko4eZb-NWvAu6Ifqy7a3FNYQgdtiniHUFKBM_Jcf1bv20Sob4YIHICWtcLli/s320/pictures.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500211741450030642" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><div>She has a new bedroom, a new dresser, but she still keeps her photos of Gustave where she can see them every morning when she wakes. She doesn't have any photos of Donovan, none that she can put on display, anyway.</div><div><br /></div></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHkdtFIEuDsmdn_wf1GrqNBaFF3tacJI3n3qjFSLRUAabQXMr0Bm1RLsb7RNz8GjvXCBTfi2S6qwOUkuyijInNZmiWvtryqCg7EAXl5wubHNbSg6MkkHKWrmqs9H-Qq1I_aFwEA0RScChU/s1600/regina1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 235px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHkdtFIEuDsmdn_wf1GrqNBaFF3tacJI3n3qjFSLRUAabQXMr0Bm1RLsb7RNz8GjvXCBTfi2S6qwOUkuyijInNZmiWvtryqCg7EAXl5wubHNbSg6MkkHKWrmqs9H-Qq1I_aFwEA0RScChU/s320/regina1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500212554086007426" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><div>"I'm so glad you came by, I'm about to burst," Regina greets Regan at the Goth mansion. "I just found out I'm pregnant. I could just about die."</div><div><br /></div><div>"Wade or Kent?" Regan asks. Regina has recently, finally, broken up with Wade Alto, and started dating Kent Wainwright, so both the former and current boyfriends are likely suspects.</div><div><br /></div><div>"Neither! Which is probably a good thing. At least, I'm glad it's not Wade. I don't want an evil slob spawn coming out of me," Regina answers. "You won't believe this, but I'm having Donovan Landgraab's baby. God, I hope it doesn't end up all blond and Landgraaby, I'd be shaming my Goth ancestors."</div><div><br /></div></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDiu8m9boGqbBS4HzEMtyQK1QPVJb_fps523CZA_nHIyZfjBAZ5izwxZRqpElAEBXLQEi_ZVBTdgk6z1yFD7xK3_PRErX1IBb0hDM703Yu9Okd9DCej7xSLUV-t72G4iADSmuiXQA5rvk0/s1600/regina3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 262px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDiu8m9boGqbBS4HzEMtyQK1QPVJb_fps523CZA_nHIyZfjBAZ5izwxZRqpElAEBXLQEi_ZVBTdgk6z1yFD7xK3_PRErX1IBb0hDM703Yu9Okd9DCej7xSLUV-t72G4iADSmuiXQA5rvk0/s320/regina3.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500214149669063138" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><div>"You slept with Donovan?' Regan tries to only sound surprised and not completely enraged in jealous. The bastard! It was bad enough he's screwing her aunt, but her cousin, too? Regina doesn't know about Regan's affair with Donovan, so the fault lies entirely on his side.</div><div><br /></div><div>"Well, obviously. I didn't get his baby through osmosis from my mother. Oh, eww, I can't believe I just said that. I have no idea what I'm going to tell her."</div><div><br /></div><div>"Have you been, uh, seeing him very long?"</div><div><br /></div><div>"No, we just had sex once. No romance involved," Regina sighs. "He had an 'appointment' with my mother, but before he showed up she got a page from the hospital, she needed to do an emergency appendectomy. This was right after I broke up with Wade, so I was feeling all mushy and maudlin, cried on Donovan's shoulder when he got here. And of course he jumped my bones. He's smooth, I'll give him that, he had me on my back before I knew what I was doing. Oh, God, he probably impregnated me on purpose. He's got to have figured out by now my mother isn't going to marry him and hand over a big chunk of the estate just because he's cute and a good lay. So he came after me. What a skank."</div><div><br /></div></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj98OJiE7sCJd3b-dUNxqphDmrCj0g9wh49Q1OQanO7QsltLTlzN-V1gZkUDJNeMJkfHqog_zA2QKbAZGok2Yzv_iGPp7X_nwDFUavnrlwowpT_uik-5OUQbtewOi30HPKxdfQAAZseYW_O/s1600/regina4.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 256px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj98OJiE7sCJd3b-dUNxqphDmrCj0g9wh49Q1OQanO7QsltLTlzN-V1gZkUDJNeMJkfHqog_zA2QKbAZGok2Yzv_iGPp7X_nwDFUavnrlwowpT_uik-5OUQbtewOi30HPKxdfQAAZseYW_O/s320/regina4.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500218236810558770" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><div>"And you know what else, you won't believe this, or maybe you will," Regina continues, giving Regan a funny look, "He called out your name when he came. Is there something going on between you two?"</div><div><br /></div><div>Since Regina has figured out Donovan's schemes on her own, Regan sees no point in denying her own relationship with him anymore, "Yeah, we've been lovers for awhile now. Please, don't tell your mother." She tries not to be smug about the fact that he called her name rather than anyone else's.</div><div><br /></div><div>"As if," Regina rolls her eyes. "I'm going to have a hard enough time explaining this baby to her. And to Kent! I haven't even put out for him yet, and now I'm having some Landgraab baby after a sleazy one night stand. But you have got to be careful with this one, cousin. He's gorgeous, and charming, and one heck of a lay, but he's a snake. That's fine if all you want is sex, but don't get yourself all wrapped up around him."</div><div><br /></div><div>"Have you told Donovan yet?" Regan asks.</div><div><br /></div><div>Regina shakes her head, "No, he's not really my priority right now. I'm not expecting or wanting him to be all involved in my life, his kid or no. Though it would be funny as hell to hit him up for child support. Teach him a lesson. But I don't want his money, not that he has any, or his help, or anything to do with his skanky ass. Feel free to tell him yourself. I'm sure you'd like to slap him silly right about now."</div><div><br /></div></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBW4i9c3TOI2h-fD_GffrGVDGmkFtygwjsebsq4ZZ_zGOpqXHqAP2GipbQF0kb4JxmLr7Hbore1uqz2Ev9kXNldrzPyLAAcHCPRo0-WFXNWJbEKq1heeU8jft96W0os7Ff5oSgSkdLkKeR/s1600/dl1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 243px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBW4i9c3TOI2h-fD_GffrGVDGmkFtygwjsebsq4ZZ_zGOpqXHqAP2GipbQF0kb4JxmLr7Hbore1uqz2Ev9kXNldrzPyLAAcHCPRo0-WFXNWJbEKq1heeU8jft96W0os7Ff5oSgSkdLkKeR/s320/dl1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500221704119254978" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><div>Regan wastes no time confronting Donovan. "You slept with Regina! How could you?" </div><div><br /></div><div>"Just once..."</div><div><br /></div><div>"Once is more than enough. She's pregnant, you know, you bastard. Lucky for you she's so rich she doesn't want your help with it. But then that's why you slept with her, isn't it? Hoping to knock her up and get her to marry you? Damn it, Donovan, what about us? Do you ever think of me when you're screwing my aunt or seducing my cousin?"</div><div><br /></div><div>"Yes, I do think of you, Regan," he answers,"I think about you all the time."</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOb98BTjhMl0FBTCAt1-j1eDVTut5xi8PE6mxLDucMdO3w5oqUaLdXYRKvVK6OW3yzo-ajnjZlYAv2umaADl_VFvZCSK_S_7bgvA3nxwUIhdvF4WfOgD612nVm_lh7uxYDyw4j-bs87R3s/s1600/dl2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 270px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOb98BTjhMl0FBTCAt1-j1eDVTut5xi8PE6mxLDucMdO3w5oqUaLdXYRKvVK6OW3yzo-ajnjZlYAv2umaADl_VFvZCSK_S_7bgvA3nxwUIhdvF4WfOgD612nVm_lh7uxYDyw4j-bs87R3s/s320/dl2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500224583830549074" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><div>And that was all it took for him to get her to back down, get her back in his bed, just one softly spoken sentence. Whatever he's done, whoever he betrays her with, she's in too deep to resist him.</div><div><br /></div></span>yangthecathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15083940950118677312noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2465124855374784027.post-4396812979870924772010-07-30T19:52:00.000-07:002010-07-30T21:30:17.166-07:00Ramaswami/McDermott Random Legacy ch. 16: A Complicated Relationship<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAk6V-yXPIvOIaL4MWpBSeQESlT8kH1GFQLgB9Go__bYP_NZE1GneujQPT89eZNlvJ1nHMoGWkJkugOv4FbeNDdEyk16Xdhbf9Wh5F_rphN7Jz1iWq0qtxMRT7jYRGmXKck21iZnkdxcrh/s1600/donovanfoyer1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 246px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAk6V-yXPIvOIaL4MWpBSeQESlT8kH1GFQLgB9Go__bYP_NZE1GneujQPT89eZNlvJ1nHMoGWkJkugOv4FbeNDdEyk16Xdhbf9Wh5F_rphN7Jz1iWq0qtxMRT7jYRGmXKck21iZnkdxcrh/s320/donovanfoyer1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499899189606037906" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Donovan called Regan and asked to come by his house. "I'd really like to see you," he said. It was a request she couldn't refuse, even though she felt and bit bloated lately and not looking her best, so she put on a loose shirt that she hoped hid her bulging waistline and drove over to the Landgraab mansion. She barely got into the foyer before Donovan had her in a tight embrace, kissing her like they were lovers.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">She had fantasized about this kiss so often, she let it happen, responding eagerly. But she couldn't forget that he had been dating her aunt Kamala, and that kind of spoiled the pleasure, and she pulled away from him.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivIQ7ZA4iQxQAFQWh5wgxQr8-g0Bsr5lRzZBGGWe4XhI3-jnSsw_bpgzJoZXhTbKR9_jAu_MVOFcrRJqD8t4YzZz7zAkOTI9ZA6zfTqMNt2SvbX_bipjkrqDjynZonBGGjWROZSYGJ5S94/s1600/donovanfoyer2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 239px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivIQ7ZA4iQxQAFQWh5wgxQr8-g0Bsr5lRzZBGGWe4XhI3-jnSsw_bpgzJoZXhTbKR9_jAu_MVOFcrRJqD8t4YzZz7zAkOTI9ZA6zfTqMNt2SvbX_bipjkrqDjynZonBGGjWROZSYGJ5S94/s320/donovanfoyer2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499899982384158610" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"I'm sorry, I'm taking this too fast," Donovan said, not quite letting her out of his grasp.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'trebuchet ms';"> </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"It's not too fast, I've wanted this for a long time now," Regan answered honestly, "But what's going on with you and my aunt Kamala?"</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"You heard about that?" he asked, surprised, then continued, "Of course you did. Regina can't keep her mouth shut about anything."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"Don't blame Regina for what you're doing," she answered, shaking herself free of his arms, "If you're with Kamala, what are you trying to do with me?"</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Donovan ran a nervous hand through his hair. "My father made a lot of bad investments, lost pretty much the entire Landgraab fortune, what there was of it left to lose, and I inherited a huge debt and an estate I can barely manage to upkeep with my salary. Kamala has been...very generous."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"She pays you to screw her?" Regan gasps.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Donovan winces. "Well, I doubt she'd put it that way, but it's what it amounts to, sure. Ultimately, I'm after a piece of the Goth fortune. Just a tenth of their liquid wealth could save the estate."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'trebuchet ms';">What's worse, a prostitute, or a gold digger? Regan has trouble accepting Donovan in either of those roles. "And where do I fit in in all this? I don't have a family fortune, and I'm not quite desperate enough to pay for sex." Not even with Donovan, as much as she wants him.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"Please, don't despise me. You're my best friend, you always have been. I just want to be with you."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRTeutymIa6VPiRFIFtMxBRuJzf4Dj3EGLBjqt-hwEonzqft_9kFkGn5NKsDCwPVXd4XGCu3JeaoZ1gF4eyZx9tdmx-tPg93W7bjTedRlDhMxyJSq-rUfIQd73XyBQz0HLxaf7giNMaLMv/s1600/bedroom2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRTeutymIa6VPiRFIFtMxBRuJzf4Dj3EGLBjqt-hwEonzqft_9kFkGn5NKsDCwPVXd4XGCu3JeaoZ1gF4eyZx9tdmx-tPg93W7bjTedRlDhMxyJSq-rUfIQd73XyBQz0HLxaf7giNMaLMv/s320/bedroom2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499906436468319010" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">What he's doing is wrong, Regan knows. She she should walk out now and go warn her aunt about the gorgeous young predator after her wealth, warn her cousin Regina to protect her inheritance. It's wrong, but she goes up to his room with him, anyway.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-svBjYzixnfgDttYSp4R9DXXFasHlu2d_FbSMAxb8En7dMlHWkk-FwbykjMqgXQcM_ZWjPySBxR_cEKpp-j1HS8Fh6yAW19lBs6X1vFxnrpRwWZqX4GUtkZyG0Y83ObZled_1rNqlhv9t/s1600/bedroom1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 306px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-svBjYzixnfgDttYSp4R9DXXFasHlu2d_FbSMAxb8En7dMlHWkk-FwbykjMqgXQcM_ZWjPySBxR_cEKpp-j1HS8Fh6yAW19lBs6X1vFxnrpRwWZqX4GUtkZyG0Y83ObZled_1rNqlhv9t/s320/bedroom1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499907590341955650" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">She's wanted him for too long to deny herself the pleasure when he's finally offering himself to her. Whatever the consequences to her family, to anyone else, even to herself, she's pleasing herself now.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3V73zdBb4rNy43pTSruFqtLhI34_uzuUdXqJIfz5NVooS31ey6QaKcVsciyqsOQASIzdDvfTvLcE1VBb5qZclU0-SlDFiF4EjHKBzr1nqC-z708lFwzVu-c0ue8qeDHQk1bvHws8nVyrM/s1600/thenews.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 255px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3V73zdBb4rNy43pTSruFqtLhI34_uzuUdXqJIfz5NVooS31ey6QaKcVsciyqsOQASIzdDvfTvLcE1VBb5qZclU0-SlDFiF4EjHKBzr1nqC-z708lFwzVu-c0ue8qeDHQk1bvHws8nVyrM/s320/thenews.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499908308868297522" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Though she tried to pass off her growing stomach and persistent nausea as after effects of eating rich French foods, she can no longer deny the truth to herself, she's pregnant. Telling Gustave is out of the question, though it's his child, what could he offer? She hasn't spoke to him since she came home, and isn't interested in trying to maintain a long distance relationship with a man who lives with two women he sleeps with but doesn't take seriously.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Her current lover has only one other woman to contend with, and lives in the same neighborhood. She tells Donovan about her condition when he drops by her house after work.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">The fear on his face is almost laughable,"Oh, wow, that's like the last thing I needed right now," he sighs. "I'm in no position to be a father."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"Don't worry, lover, it's not yours," Regan tells him, suppressing a giggle.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"Are you seeing someone else?" he asks, his fear turned to jealousy.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"What if I am?" Regan asks, wanting to know his answer.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6oPWHUI62jDmNWGdiyQf-b0jD24Z9W8FweIXW8_xaBqCoGL6mZg5ESXBlgPHEQToj1JuJxNfuqmM6xrlW6pMhFDzFBN4BwriPuRI9R75K8VU2FvtOwaUpiqPGPXk1rzPAmHHTeeOhe_tR/s1600/thenews2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 247px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6oPWHUI62jDmNWGdiyQf-b0jD24Z9W8FweIXW8_xaBqCoGL6mZg5ESXBlgPHEQToj1JuJxNfuqmM6xrlW6pMhFDzFBN4BwriPuRI9R75K8VU2FvtOwaUpiqPGPXk1rzPAmHHTeeOhe_tR/s320/thenews2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499912499231799810" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"This is grossly unfair of me to say," Donovan replies, "But I want you all to myself. Tell me I'm not going to lose you to someone else."</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"I had a fling while I was in France," Regan tells him, unable to hold him over the fire any longer, "And he's no competition for you."</span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqRbGYnRbJBF_CFvCY5ue43EzOH76nIH7MMDXDcdDSLUvAkecSHQEIYxMMesOF8iok2Vz3eyfHFgGO72WqEQy0vuU7xVK8-3JETXejrgXvDhWSkRl_DkkqdWJOfmNTywIyNGa9Vms7HrYa/s1600/photogustave.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 257px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqRbGYnRbJBF_CFvCY5ue43EzOH76nIH7MMDXDcdDSLUvAkecSHQEIYxMMesOF8iok2Vz3eyfHFgGO72WqEQy0vuU7xVK8-3JETXejrgXvDhWSkRl_DkkqdWJOfmNTywIyNGa9Vms7HrYa/s320/photogustave.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499914609906266098" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">She spoke lightly of Gustave to Donovan, but she isn't as entirely over him as she pretends, especially to herself. She keeps a snapshot of him on her dresser, and sees his face before she goes to bed at night more often than she sees Donovan's.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdZ1fnqKpLulrpxmu-tRuEn9bZ2D6ipCEgS89XGJpcuZxR8Uq0uHPzRTrl4TteB_G0hkMSN9L_ZBbTYhu5-Z3aBcrFPRjsuFOxE7PTItI3Pd4JQcmQbd8OSdjJ2mTwgCBBAlPMHr3PHBEE/s1600/parents.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 247px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdZ1fnqKpLulrpxmu-tRuEn9bZ2D6ipCEgS89XGJpcuZxR8Uq0uHPzRTrl4TteB_G0hkMSN9L_ZBbTYhu5-Z3aBcrFPRjsuFOxE7PTItI3Pd4JQcmQbd8OSdjJ2mTwgCBBAlPMHr3PHBEE/s320/parents.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499915589464643010" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Her parents are of course entirely supportive, offering to help Regan raise her baby while she pursues her career. Her mother has murmured a few times about the importance of having a father around, and how difficult it was for her growing up with her father as a part time guest in their home, but she can't exactly blame her daughter for getting pregnant by a man who lives too far away to be a proper parent.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">They don't know about Regan's relationship with Donovan, no one knows about that. He wouldn't want Kamala to find out about that and ruin his chances at marrying into a big inheritance. On the plus side, Kamala isn't talking about her doings with him, either, apparently seeing him as more of a dirty secret than a relationship you'd display in public. How is it her parents have such a wholesome, loving relationship, but Regan only gets involved with guys like Gustave and Donovan?<br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw-egGkDSlPXFvXuGTzq6rRBXTq_wzby9NJ4HpcduruTGIDQfYIUvKswgvkToRAy3L-3ApPVDDBRwd_rM5LhpMxfl1zD-I-9PbetaInMe3k9vSuj1ZpQW23iNuzz7nGZiXbasTu8-TiO3V/s1600/lauren.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 241px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw-egGkDSlPXFvXuGTzq6rRBXTq_wzby9NJ4HpcduruTGIDQfYIUvKswgvkToRAy3L-3ApPVDDBRwd_rM5LhpMxfl1zD-I-9PbetaInMe3k9vSuj1ZpQW23iNuzz7nGZiXbasTu8-TiO3V/s320/lauren.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499918206144219490" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Regan has a daughter she names Lauren. The bedroom she grew up in once again becomes a nursery, and Regan takes over the second floor for herself, tearing down walls to create one large master out of two narrow single bedrooms. Regan wonders about Gustave's other child, back in France. Is it a son or daughter? Is he still with Capucine? And what about Jolene, are they all living together? She could find out if she called him, but she's consistently avoided doing so. What will she tell Lauren about her father when she's older? Regan can't answer that question, and tries to put it out of her mind.<br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">(Challenge Notes: My roll for Generation 5 is Single Parent, 2 kids (again), Farmer career, Party to Remember, and Runs in the Family trait. That trait hasn't been selected yet; when Lauren transitions to child, I'll roll a random trait for her and that trait will be given to the second child as well. We're still early in Gen. 4, one out of two multi-cultural children has been born. Luckily I will have Saranya and Harlan around to help make the perfect child thing happen for Lauren. I haven't even decided what culture child two will come from. Too bad it can't be from the Landgraab culture.)</span></div>yangthecathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15083940950118677312noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2465124855374784027.post-46673997596872999572010-07-29T18:56:00.000-07:002010-07-29T20:41:26.923-07:00Ramaswami/McDermott Random Legacy ch. 15: Menage a Trois<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiez1RKleLSBQ-LraunUutL7CIhYD5McpS1VUkWjiz6hyEFfsiwcRinx_AiY_HCphijQg2RkGgpT5Mf8IB00jBrjk_geI9ufY2EiadC-In0254WKYFQv7EM3xxRq1MxNwm0K-4VZD1wGYbF/s1600/maxdeath.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 279px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiez1RKleLSBQ-LraunUutL7CIhYD5McpS1VUkWjiz6hyEFfsiwcRinx_AiY_HCphijQg2RkGgpT5Mf8IB00jBrjk_geI9ufY2EiadC-In0254WKYFQv7EM3xxRq1MxNwm0K-4VZD1wGYbF/s320/maxdeath.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499512812031384130" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Max died not long after his marriage, leaving poor Marsha Landgraab a widow again. Saranya had her father buried beside her mother in their family plot.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioh6VImhXhHUc8AS5PPZGmKPS0nXSgUEQAtDUYnxwSN7nbgoAoxM6FIVGppS1qTHbkVKK59MsB4M0UCfSZywO-PSwop1LiDvjXKyS8PhQGDIRQOcHyT2feOT4xHdESadUVdwWIZ_H7KgGf/s1600/saranyaretires.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 274px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioh6VImhXhHUc8AS5PPZGmKPS0nXSgUEQAtDUYnxwSN7nbgoAoxM6FIVGppS1qTHbkVKK59MsB4M0UCfSZywO-PSwop1LiDvjXKyS8PhQGDIRQOcHyT2feOT4xHdESadUVdwWIZ_H7KgGf/s320/saranyaretires.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499512974452894562" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Saranya retires as soon as she reaches elder status. She's put out enough fires for one lifetime.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBqkjkS0YlQaa2j3fFX6rmOGAus9FCPX5Zksx3CP9IV3BdBAo7oxQCy_OdsIO4AGXlzPVzQ5_IrmusyETGyX4ihD1IAo7Ll5tZ4PZGXwndeSUiEnlDOwFBLASYDH_xokTwXfLKoreCMI24/s1600/regandonovanteen.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 210px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBqkjkS0YlQaa2j3fFX6rmOGAus9FCPX5Zksx3CP9IV3BdBAo7oxQCy_OdsIO4AGXlzPVzQ5_IrmusyETGyX4ihD1IAo7Ll5tZ4PZGXwndeSUiEnlDOwFBLASYDH_xokTwXfLKoreCMI24/s320/regandonovanteen.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499513468367834178" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Regan has many friends in high school, but has never gone on a date. Her crush on Donovan Landgraab is so strong, she has no interest in anyone else. Unfortunately, Donovan has been going steady with Louise McIrish since freshman year and can't be more than best friends with Regan.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKngfV00WefQpau2bd_-mN5OSeuhZGDKx5YeGGF34B07c6DYd-RRHVAnuULO-19B9VA50AlzSCM2gSvlz2JXs462WoZr_agfViFStk2PDV7RvB_3wljkavy4emDQhvaSZJDPEQrZJF9QHX/s1600/france1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 314px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKngfV00WefQpau2bd_-mN5OSeuhZGDKx5YeGGF34B07c6DYd-RRHVAnuULO-19B9VA50AlzSCM2gSvlz2JXs462WoZr_agfViFStk2PDV7RvB_3wljkavy4emDQhvaSZJDPEQrZJF9QHX/s320/france1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499514335055618146" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">After graduation, Regan decides to put off getting a job and taking time to travel. France is renowned for its arts, culture and fine cuisine, so it's off to Champs les Sims.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1wMx9xeiH_sHVHUXH7b6jxr0-WqqzckfkixJNBeJgmlCv-JqniBMHFC0lm1IqDutOmOwKsPaYwCpRxdNlB4Q-m1SFJsiAKdmCfRnrwbphmz_OimjPK4vKHLlz9ehN8OgtRitOwZUX8qu5/s1600/gustavenectary1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 237px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1wMx9xeiH_sHVHUXH7b6jxr0-WqqzckfkixJNBeJgmlCv-JqniBMHFC0lm1IqDutOmOwKsPaYwCpRxdNlB4Q-m1SFJsiAKdmCfRnrwbphmz_OimjPK4vKHLlz9ehN8OgtRitOwZUX8qu5/s320/gustavenectary1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499515300495875826" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">She first visits the nectary, to taste the fine nectars made from locally grown grapes, and to try her hand at nectar making herself. While she's there she meets a handsome Frenchman named Gustave Delven. For the first time, Regan finds herself attracted to someone other than Donovan Landgraab, and it is with great reluctance that she bids him adieu and returns to the hostel for the evening.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEingdRfToG-u39Gv1D_-zst9uShz8jc4u65k5R0rQOjpyJ1GMg4OnPAqPTxJgP3eys39dScEhkBPUeRNuobmWrLSsYMWGI2rb5uvUxiFY1fCuFT7OoukN-7Ej0P94UIaR9NFfk46AlAj9zS/s1600/gustavemarket1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 257px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEingdRfToG-u39Gv1D_-zst9uShz8jc4u65k5R0rQOjpyJ1GMg4OnPAqPTxJgP3eys39dScEhkBPUeRNuobmWrLSsYMWGI2rb5uvUxiFY1fCuFT7OoukN-7Ej0P94UIaR9NFfk46AlAj9zS/s320/gustavemarket1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499517217548355538" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Regan runs into Gustave the next day in the market square. At the nectary, he was mildly flirtatious, today his attentions are more direct.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglDJEJGLvqbfm2m7kT3Lmw2QWSPUR9yh3zbdQSi5QZFMPbB0fiRFn37WlyzHBYt0JLFdnwtxDc5ru3-GelGJp9Oy2F706TvMm85mKFIG27Ck6Ad6FChbCWn0az56KIoyFLMkUwZ7SDJihD/s1600/museum.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglDJEJGLvqbfm2m7kT3Lmw2QWSPUR9yh3zbdQSi5QZFMPbB0fiRFn37WlyzHBYt0JLFdnwtxDc5ru3-GelGJp9Oy2F706TvMm85mKFIG27Ck6Ad6FChbCWn0az56KIoyFLMkUwZ7SDJihD/s320/museum.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499518883138525938" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">This time she's not saying adieu so easily, and invites him on her sightseeing tour of the museum. </span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilqX5lNRcQttg_MVLCsK9rTVAL9UPYINCmuNKJflRvm2qL3NPVktI4Ds5ie-wHul_S1mgZz1a37H6pSlutzGDs4YdPyjr2ap0otkdHJqsSUHzQsVdAiJEIviP8WVKcV-wxJOJ6W82xX3NE/s1600/gustavebed.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 259px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilqX5lNRcQttg_MVLCsK9rTVAL9UPYINCmuNKJflRvm2qL3NPVktI4Ds5ie-wHul_S1mgZz1a37H6pSlutzGDs4YdPyjr2ap0otkdHJqsSUHzQsVdAiJEIviP8WVKcV-wxJOJ6W82xX3NE/s320/gustavebed.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499519746767937298" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">And then he invites her back to his house to spend the night.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt55OWSqdG5qC-heNqYe3fVb4k4AWc60bVZ8erkhSM5ZeQgTXjGi3YK_0Dzs5xkmtkSeb46cDHtDHq2fSJ-tJWRhyphenhyphenXNgeakm2-NyrcLQJYrSqE5p5CdRPL2jky6UBjiLSZeSRiUQkfJ9pv/s1600/gustavejolene.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 278px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt55OWSqdG5qC-heNqYe3fVb4k4AWc60bVZ8erkhSM5ZeQgTXjGi3YK_0Dzs5xkmtkSeb46cDHtDHq2fSJ-tJWRhyphenhyphenXNgeakm2-NyrcLQJYrSqE5p5CdRPL2jky6UBjiLSZeSRiUQkfJ9pv/s320/gustavejolene.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499520095378071938" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Regan wakes early in the morning, alone in Gustave's bed. She hears a woman's angry voice, and Gustave's, but her French is not good enough to understand what they are saying. After she hears the front door slam and the ensuing silence, Regan creeps out of the room.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmlcLIym5tGKXeqd6umf_fZKMS9XASyq1AT5MBXEU5j7O3Ox0N6P7BAK6m3iL6G5Q1ebV8P5Ev598WepaLlfry4axOcO6DmpnvWk68Ze4hVGuCjd4xsaBROGWqtEg3ru87Y87jOm8NeD_K/s1600/morningafter1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 252px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmlcLIym5tGKXeqd6umf_fZKMS9XASyq1AT5MBXEU5j7O3Ox0N6P7BAK6m3iL6G5Q1ebV8P5Ev598WepaLlfry4axOcO6DmpnvWk68Ze4hVGuCjd4xsaBROGWqtEg3ru87Y87jOm8NeD_K/s320/morningafter1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499520918198517954" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"What was that about?" Regan asks Gustave as he takes her in his arms.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"My roommate, Jolene," Gustave sighs, "She didn't like that I have a girl with me."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"That sounds like more than a roommate to me," Regan answers.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"Well, we sleep together sometimes, but it's nothing serious."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhce7QvPbzpEx5R8HXArFJWNNTDzUmeDPEokDpiJlEYYObYnvaBUwJJPOpz9iJ5f0A1B_rs6RrWt6RwQwmtQHTODm03cbqq29Sex3jU65hHOTLeTs0ljsjVLRXQ3tJ6ZCNdlGMncUV2GL0g/s1600/morningafter2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 270px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhce7QvPbzpEx5R8HXArFJWNNTDzUmeDPEokDpiJlEYYObYnvaBUwJJPOpz9iJ5f0A1B_rs6RrWt6RwQwmtQHTODm03cbqq29Sex3jU65hHOTLeTs0ljsjVLRXQ3tJ6ZCNdlGMncUV2GL0g/s320/morningafter2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499521633671642050" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">It sounds to Regan like Jolene takes it very seriously, and is glad she won't be in town long enough to be in the middle of it. The thought of leaving Gustave behind and returning to Sunset Valley makes her wistful, and she kisses him long and hard before heading out for another day of sightseeing. </span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuxxytoznuUtOXwPl7pmQachkgjYtToZ70kMsLn8uUurga5lfUAuJZhUeo-wPJ_jwDnsrBiEdporruNHp5BFMBQO2_ZCzoz1gnKRkcKaC0WN9eRFRrEIubuIgH3MqvHpR_i1ja9QFlucPW/s1600/gustaveconfess.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 282px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuxxytoznuUtOXwPl7pmQachkgjYtToZ70kMsLn8uUurga5lfUAuJZhUeo-wPJ_jwDnsrBiEdporruNHp5BFMBQO2_ZCzoz1gnKRkcKaC0WN9eRFRrEIubuIgH3MqvHpR_i1ja9QFlucPW/s320/gustaveconfess.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499523043765515618" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Regan doesn't see Gustave for the next few days while she travels about town visiting and photographing all the sights. As the time for her to return home nears, she runs into Gustave again walking by the river, looking very dejected. She doesn't for an instant believe he's heartbroken over her, so she asks him why he's so sad.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"I have a big problem," he sighs, "My girlfriend is pregnant."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"Jolene?"</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"No," he shakes his head sadly, "Her name is Capucine. She lives not too far from here. And now she's coming to live here. With me."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"With you and Jolene?" Regan tries not to laugh.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"Oui," he answers,"It will be the worst menage a trois ever."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT0CDGdpgt88CzUbFLBRGRL64kk7ZQRT7wx5J3Ser6EYDNB5Fyqc__M72lWFta9oLF80OsZyw2I2XGZpI9-M3WMyvC-3Oct50mnN_ccpqBN1JN4OfyzyI5iZoLBx4szEziS7HH4718J_9Q/s1600/donovan1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 258px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT0CDGdpgt88CzUbFLBRGRL64kk7ZQRT7wx5J3Ser6EYDNB5Fyqc__M72lWFta9oLF80OsZyw2I2XGZpI9-M3WMyvC-3Oct50mnN_ccpqBN1JN4OfyzyI5iZoLBx4szEziS7HH4718J_9Q/s320/donovan1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499524847036480578" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Though she had a wonderful time and had her first romance, Regan was happy to return home. As soon as she arrived to her parents' house, she was on her cell phone, asking her friends what had gone on in town while she was gone. The big news was that Donovan Landgraab and Louise McIrish had broken up. This was a huge bit of gossip, because everyone assumed they were destined to marry as soon as they graduated. Hearing this, Regan rushed over to the Landgraab mansion to talk to her old friend Donovan, and snap him up off the market before anyone else got to him.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">He was out in front of his house as she pulled up, prepared to go out somewhere, but he stopped to give Regan a long hug, more affectionate than she expected.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"How was France?" he asks, but didn't wait for her to answer, "It's so great to see you. I really missed you."</span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2TtIUOC_nKwoUtdKCawIpOiHryvhYerg_mNyR1Ji5tYoXU7zrxKS1STtGGSZlpWm-3WgATqyR0CIF6YfEXyIF8MYT2q0_KEokxLSr5UH_SD36ozMriTgcfifa2f3GLCxj6-VmvDtKIIW4/s1600/donovan2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 262px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2TtIUOC_nKwoUtdKCawIpOiHryvhYerg_mNyR1Ji5tYoXU7zrxKS1STtGGSZlpWm-3WgATqyR0CIF6YfEXyIF8MYT2q0_KEokxLSr5UH_SD36ozMriTgcfifa2f3GLCxj6-VmvDtKIIW4/s320/donovan2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499528975995034130" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Regan is pleasantly surprised, she was sure she was going to have to work her way to this point slowly.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"I'm kind of late, so we'll have to catch up later," he says, caressing her face, "But I"m really glad you came by, I'm really happy to see you. I want to see you again, soon."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Regan promises to see him soon, and lets him go off wherever he was headed, and goes back to her own house, where she can barely sleep, being kept awake by the promise of her greatest dream coming true at last, and fantasies of what it will be like to make love to Donovan Landgraab.</span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYc_xsjmx4-LjIPaAAG5rWdRwuw6tY8IoFpfDfF6zVoPkfzc40sM1uRRL9mmv_YmjePkRSGeX1NofarnYkitwUIpAbNDxalcYDZrmSrs877p76ruSWIlgQuuifIEjhnWHBInbGylA9x7_L/s1600/reginawade.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 270px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYc_xsjmx4-LjIPaAAG5rWdRwuw6tY8IoFpfDfF6zVoPkfzc40sM1uRRL9mmv_YmjePkRSGeX1NofarnYkitwUIpAbNDxalcYDZrmSrs877p76ruSWIlgQuuifIEjhnWHBInbGylA9x7_L/s320/reginawade.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499530574967143970" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Though she would have loved to run straight up to the Landgraab estate the next morning, Regan knew Donovan would be at work and she wouldn't be able to see him until later in the day, so after stopping by the bistro to apply for a job, she dropped by the pool, where she found her cousin Regina Goth having yet another fight with her on again, off again boyfriend, Wade Alto.</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZL7MI3IRQcZbHExgRy2UM4dlb0QVWSfyd5bG-hLxmlJ6a-HIldULtz_ZFDES5g9tANAru8XBvVJymX1RDEvTkG7Z37wlNA_03E-FoAF6ubJDUrx5QJbnEo9e8XFVgHR170omFjbPGXiHc/s1600/reganregina1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 230px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZL7MI3IRQcZbHExgRy2UM4dlb0QVWSfyd5bG-hLxmlJ6a-HIldULtz_ZFDES5g9tANAru8XBvVJymX1RDEvTkG7Z37wlNA_03E-FoAF6ubJDUrx5QJbnEo9e8XFVgHR170omFjbPGXiHc/s320/reganregina1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499531270571975394" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">After greeting Regan, Wade took off to let the cousins chat. Regan talked about her trip to France and her brief but passionate affair with Gustave.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"Maybe I should go to France and find a lover," Regina quipped, "I could use a vacation from Wade."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"How are things with you and Wade?" Regan asks, pretending she didn't just witness their little fight.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"We fight all the time. Sometimes I want to give up on it, but I just know we'll end up married and fighting with each other forever, like my parents." After she spoke, she got quiet. Her father, Vernon Goth, had recently passed away. "My mother barely waited until his funeral was over before she turned cougar," she added, disgust evident in her voice, "You won't believe who she's seeing. Donovan Landgraab!"</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Regan's jaw dropped, "But he's..."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"Half her age? Just out of high school? It's disgusting. I came home last night and they were going at it on the couch. I nearly hurled."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Did she imagine the affection when he greeted her yesterday? Were his caresses just a fantasy? Regan feels like her head is about to explode. "I can't believe it," she gasped, "It's so..."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"Totally unfair? The hottest guy in town goes back on the market and my mother pounces him. I'd throw Wade out a window for Donovan Landgraab. So would half the girls in this town. But, no, he goes for my mother." </span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDJ92aGEm3ttumakzpi7_jD04rKrH6NaOk6ZWcGM0OzS1NHVNRZsZFEwxmhNSVKWU1ZPICBFrRyhdOaI5oCp5_2Lc1dQYnrRANBmoEEHzqBt7MIftUxZzNLRhCqAyxcDwKEJsMqTFc_HJ3/s1600/rnausea.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 269px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDJ92aGEm3ttumakzpi7_jD04rKrH6NaOk6ZWcGM0OzS1NHVNRZsZFEwxmhNSVKWU1ZPICBFrRyhdOaI5oCp5_2Lc1dQYnrRANBmoEEHzqBt7MIftUxZzNLRhCqAyxcDwKEJsMqTFc_HJ3/s320/rnausea.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499535288322405970" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Regan doesn't have the heart to visit Donovan that evening, she doesn't know what she'd say to him, or how to handle the disappointment of being so close to having him, or at least imagining it was close, only to have it ripped away. As she returns home, her stomach churns and heaves violently. Like Regina said, the image of Donovan with her aunt Kamala was just that disgusting.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">(Challenge Notes: Generation 3 passed all requirements, Generation 4 is now begun. That's single parent, 2 children, multi-cultural, Culinary career, perfect children.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">I have to thank Twallan's story progression mod for two major plot points this update. One day after I did my scenes with Gustave, I got pop up notices saying that Gustave Delven had been 'canoodling' with some girl named Capucine, and then, pop, she's pregnant and moving in with him. I laughed and laughed, and made it part of the story. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Then, at home, story progression broke up Donovan Landgraab and Louise McIrish, only to pair him up with recently widowed Kamala Goth. I'd be hugely bummed about this if Regan weren't forbidden to marry or breed with anyone but foreigners. As it is, it plays nicely into my story for this generation.)</span></div>yangthecathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15083940950118677312noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2465124855374784027.post-7844857717395790872010-07-27T04:35:00.000-07:002010-07-27T05:41:08.761-07:00Ramaswami/McDermott Random Legacy ch. 14: Daddy's Girl<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNjW4mvROBE4Ejxm0dvlV7Muvz-QEnCWUMZDN4kPCeCWFy6L1veJYyJStE40CSwl2Z5iY0YiIk8G_JF2oOrqVJQrfqu2CNV_CJRSx_2dehBIfxBmPqT33rhuOt4EQyWNwQGr2m7UhStlPK/s1600/regantoddler.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 282px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNjW4mvROBE4Ejxm0dvlV7Muvz-QEnCWUMZDN4kPCeCWFy6L1veJYyJStE40CSwl2Z5iY0YiIk8G_JF2oOrqVJQrfqu2CNV_CJRSx_2dehBIfxBmPqT33rhuOt4EQyWNwQGr2m7UhStlPK/s320/regantoddler.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498548843162332994" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">As a toddler, Regan shows astrong resemblance to her father, except for the nose which is distinctly Wolff.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIKdDqiz3dPJvJJ3IvSyuBZ5O1zViwfHsgOVAgTfB3zlpuJuVKaRDTESh854gBbLiXOIAv2tfoA-hO7F9Ua4M5hYGmpr7qOPFi4V4JThlgq-lo-drbEmarQXOyzKmym7E_9A14SjiOjaUg/s1600/regantalktoddler.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 316px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIKdDqiz3dPJvJJ3IvSyuBZ5O1zViwfHsgOVAgTfB3zlpuJuVKaRDTESh854gBbLiXOIAv2tfoA-hO7F9Ua4M5hYGmpr7qOPFi4V4JThlgq-lo-drbEmarQXOyzKmym7E_9A14SjiOjaUg/s320/regantalktoddler.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498548961378027170" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Even before she's off the bottle, she's discussing fine cuisine with Harlan.</span><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_q-WmAPS4nFOpnu3IZc2wcsOiCX3N1rDSsR-2GYg1vuIRs8UFzNP0iXDsnw3h4s9oNKim8dG6ODy0uxWrX4oE_Ic7BmsgtBd-qjC4P-jhwC4cKu7WkkHxb8otjvsAs8iqWICM7MLUq2La/s1600/rukminisgrave.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 281px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_q-WmAPS4nFOpnu3IZc2wcsOiCX3N1rDSsR-2GYg1vuIRs8UFzNP0iXDsnw3h4s9oNKim8dG6ODy0uxWrX4oE_Ic7BmsgtBd-qjC4P-jhwC4cKu7WkkHxb8otjvsAs8iqWICM7MLUq2La/s320/rukminisgrave.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498550353157668194" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Rukmini doesn't live to see her grandchildren grow up, she passes away not long after becoming an elder. Saranya has her buried in their family plot. Max is devastated at the loss of his wife, but is comforted to have their daughter Sundari living with him, with her husband and two children, Melissa and Mario.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRGMoMrr1OG1GSFm2S6hpWXI7vmYxL4vJEkCdGQMjesQQVGvl7f6S5Vce7GkuaK6COqMcSgr8y8sofFOnjidMLrxhTLkZFy29UrncwqnK8CcLqgBLYapGINDI9LUKB7bNOxfTRW40tdNeQ/s1600/reganchildcook.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 274px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRGMoMrr1OG1GSFm2S6hpWXI7vmYxL4vJEkCdGQMjesQQVGvl7f6S5Vce7GkuaK6COqMcSgr8y8sofFOnjidMLrxhTLkZFy29UrncwqnK8CcLqgBLYapGINDI9LUKB7bNOxfTRW40tdNeQ/s320/reganchildcook.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498551676103571922" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">As a child, Regan spends a lot of time playing with her toy oven. Today, muffins and brownies, tomorrow, crepes and lobster thermidor.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1v3Wnm3CZiGYiRJ5n-qYSkg9HOuztjqdB44PQHPbnPwW5_djxsYuMax-zw2HtiOzo69c0x7YWCztrjz3E4tXgF8HoemUicsgUehnfTxrYIUtZbgXAsyVPWusm1nHoSv3S6udQD2euSwpo/s1600/reganchildpaint.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 259px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1v3Wnm3CZiGYiRJ5n-qYSkg9HOuztjqdB44PQHPbnPwW5_djxsYuMax-zw2HtiOzo69c0x7YWCztrjz3E4tXgF8HoemUicsgUehnfTxrYIUtZbgXAsyVPWusm1nHoSv3S6udQD2euSwpo/s320/reganchildpaint.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498552311067678498" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Regan is also passsionate about the arts. She loves painting, and Harlan gave her his cheap plastic camera to practice photography with, promising to give her his expensive Hikon when she's older, if she's still interested. Regan is quite sure she will be interested, in fact she's decided her goal in life will be to master painting and photography.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBrOCZEEjJK8MponXltqwmbp7k4UJ8hoEv4IfC2zJsC8QLGTvQuH1DNXgUT76F3RutOsFEMgUfuOojSM9H65EGm45_nMz1fQtr4SZiYaxjTE_x-RvrO6hk-u_XvV8HjMLGKMxSM66xF7O8/s1600/saranyablackbelt.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 302px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBrOCZEEjJK8MponXltqwmbp7k4UJ8hoEv4IfC2zJsC8QLGTvQuH1DNXgUT76F3RutOsFEMgUfuOojSM9H65EGm45_nMz1fQtr4SZiYaxjTE_x-RvrO6hk-u_XvV8HjMLGKMxSM66xF7O8/s320/saranyablackbelt.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498553253934200482" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Saranya spends a lot of time training in the martial arts. The discipline and meditation has made her more focused and less reckless. While she still loves her job as a firefighter, she finds she's less excited by fires than she was when she was younger.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYK_LrQ8ucJl2VZG626zl_yzMQAa0rStv3JkmA2RSaiiGbRkNz5e8B9vluWIE00Nbk_xd66dnKiC4NOM1lfa2ATJ3vW5ngCY9oZtdrW5CVAApGF2GlgHq-ycbSy_XCx0dgTtHCHzhn6f4e/s1600/reganteen.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 279px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYK_LrQ8ucJl2VZG626zl_yzMQAa0rStv3JkmA2RSaiiGbRkNz5e8B9vluWIE00Nbk_xd66dnKiC4NOM1lfa2ATJ3vW5ngCY9oZtdrW5CVAApGF2GlgHq-ycbSy_XCx0dgTtHCHzhn6f4e/s320/reganteen.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498554101448378818" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Time passes and Regan becomes a teen. Her eyes, mouth and face shape all come from her father, but she has her mother's nose, a trait passed through the Wolff genes.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwqhMZ5382KZ6HjoC53hZASyte2KCWhj8KuAT_cOzogto0ZOKiLO84D8n5uFch_CYHbov91vFxyDADzgMdT2kiDt67DTkC7AuRYdmXMDeiMRnN68w7bXowb5cSLQB3akvw5k40_-6HqC8B/s1600/reganteencook.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwqhMZ5382KZ6HjoC53hZASyte2KCWhj8KuAT_cOzogto0ZOKiLO84D8n5uFch_CYHbov91vFxyDADzgMdT2kiDt67DTkC7AuRYdmXMDeiMRnN68w7bXowb5cSLQB3akvw5k40_-6HqC8B/s320/reganteencook.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498554869849235554" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Harlan hovers nervously as Regan prepares her first meal on the grown up stove, <i>his</i> stove. He's pretending to be focused on cleaning the counter, but he's watching her from the corner of his eyes. He didn't need to worry, she made her pancakes without burning the house down, and while they weren't as perfect as his pancakes, they were still quite good. With practice she will become as good a chef as her father.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiZ2awh1ytDMLk5qMI1E6l8i15YtOLOWNfhkQ4_wkBN7EHAp_4RaIxell_RMQ_LGnEQBk6cc_OtrdPEC153nFDjccFmNgzGor7FK9ouhwJZESkrrzyKQZW9yKCyDyiJOkMxf3-WEF0o8ox/s1600/grillathon.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 272px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiZ2awh1ytDMLk5qMI1E6l8i15YtOLOWNfhkQ4_wkBN7EHAp_4RaIxell_RMQ_LGnEQBk6cc_OtrdPEC153nFDjccFmNgzGor7FK9ouhwJZESkrrzyKQZW9yKCyDyiJOkMxf3-WEF0o8ox/s320/grillathon.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498555476396330370" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">As much as he hates crowds, Harlan attends the community grill-a-thon when Regan wishes to participate. Her hotdogs are better than any other hotdogs offered. He won't even mention the burnt grilled salmon cooked up by Megan Steel.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_VB_t3FJeQoEFGMXgg0KKcz9pUnPT1ik2LWPl8LEJESsxeokL2R1gMOffnoe7QxFLI51qRrMtUN77lGWpxsWw8eamgHAS4jhhU_J4Ct134H3Q8r9FC4YOLXR38LQS4vqzys-SfC5wjOfI/s1600/maxcongrats.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 256px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_VB_t3FJeQoEFGMXgg0KKcz9pUnPT1ik2LWPl8LEJESsxeokL2R1gMOffnoe7QxFLI51qRrMtUN77lGWpxsWw8eamgHAS4jhhU_J4Ct134H3Q8r9FC4YOLXR38LQS4vqzys-SfC5wjOfI/s320/maxcongrats.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498556653551790914" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Max visits to tell his daughter he's remarrying. Marsha Landgraab, like him, has been widowed for some time, and they've been spending a lot of time together. "I'm leaving Wolff Manor to Sundari," he tells Saranya, "As much as love being around her and her kids, it's time for her to have her own life. Saranya sincerely congratulates her father. He loved her mother far more than, in Saranya's estimation, she deserved, and she's glad he's found someone new rather than spending the rest of his days grieving and alone.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9mno9oLj_-jTmrqpJICHzJa08XN2QWZlB9_RRozyjPYL9fY6lcJiHpSjETUK7Rx5C3BArVlC_fJQmfg8JTiuomwb2LIXevTRycRqOO-URc0DYTbMzmKKSpOt9K5iw7SjLqMgz4V59cfLQ/s1600/maxregan.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 242px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9mno9oLj_-jTmrqpJICHzJa08XN2QWZlB9_RRozyjPYL9fY6lcJiHpSjETUK7Rx5C3BArVlC_fJQmfg8JTiuomwb2LIXevTRycRqOO-URc0DYTbMzmKKSpOt9K5iw7SjLqMgz4V59cfLQ/s320/maxregan.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498557941484215554" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Regan spends some time with her grandfather, her only living grandparent. Harlan's parents had passed on before she was born.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNIW0CVYUMyCQp7jRIeUc0nJc8fJTqXaZJQNYjB-L18wlqKQ-VDH9SZqyue4Vc9lTYuaMHuOCMGN5xDKa4allfh6OMaF_chJ922ordj1GtO_3PXZqhLwtW6Ryvhm0L0PkctBWVgFAAXW4N/s1600/frenchtourist.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 281px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNIW0CVYUMyCQp7jRIeUc0nJc8fJTqXaZJQNYjB-L18wlqKQ-VDH9SZqyue4Vc9lTYuaMHuOCMGN5xDKa4allfh6OMaF_chJ922ordj1GtO_3PXZqhLwtW6Ryvhm0L0PkctBWVgFAAXW4N/s320/frenchtourist.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498558927177682834" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Regan meets a tourist from France outside the theater in town, and learns about Champs les Sims. Someday, Regan will visit there herself. She'd like to try her hand a nectar making, visit the art museum and take lots of photos.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm0iv0SpKacEKArwKYtsxYuNmg-T2fYldiYB_OEp_MPqRsiHVLLJC9S6SW_sr-icUy6VlvChKVYP9OsuIno9SU5xEnczlBqUGsqRdkX235zvl0Zc7zLn_SlmuDBwi_casnUBBCBBXjk4gr/s1600/reganregina.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 258px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm0iv0SpKacEKArwKYtsxYuNmg-T2fYldiYB_OEp_MPqRsiHVLLJC9S6SW_sr-icUy6VlvChKVYP9OsuIno9SU5xEnczlBqUGsqRdkX235zvl0Zc7zLn_SlmuDBwi_casnUBBCBBXjk4gr/s320/reganregina.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498559582554317714" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">That evening, shortly before curfew, she runs into two of her cousins, Regina Goth, her aunt Kamal's daughter, and Melissa Wolff, daughter of her aunt Sundari.</span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw8MZ5wD3exM4oqO2aOM2GPdxgXQHbcp7GeUWPheEIx4mjwa3Y_NfC5yM83kBwHGbmlXhb5Swcq92DZX5RlCT2Tb0Iqt6emsBCo9DsRXVOSiFuEKMvMCfJ-x9y_CabSdo6Xz1t6SL5-rqZ/s1600/saranyatrains.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 249px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw8MZ5wD3exM4oqO2aOM2GPdxgXQHbcp7GeUWPheEIx4mjwa3Y_NfC5yM83kBwHGbmlXhb5Swcq92DZX5RlCT2Tb0Iqt6emsBCo9DsRXVOSiFuEKMvMCfJ-x9y_CabSdo6Xz1t6SL5-rqZ/s320/saranyatrains.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498560223030562754" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">With perseverance comes success, Saranya achieves the top level of the martial arts skill. It will not be long now before she and Harlan are elders, and she will be able to retire.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">(Challenge Notes: Saranya's original LTW was to rescue 30 Sims from death in fires. The problem was, for two Sim weeks straight, she only got small fires and rabbit hole emergencies to deal with, and was stuck at 16/30 rescues. Though achieving LTW is not a requirement for her generation, I've never not achieved a Sim's LTW, and began to worry about this one, since it wasn't dependent on anything I could do for her, really, it was up to the game to give the large houses fires that have Sims to rescue. So, I used Saranya's reward points to buy her a new LTW. First, I had to spend 20k to get the change traits reward, dropping her 'daredevil' for 'disciplined', so that when I changed her LTW, for 10k, she'd have available the LTW to max athletic and martial arts skill. LOL, so I spent 30k to buy a LTW that pays out 27,500 when achieved. But I have the satisfaction of fulfilling the LTW. I reach a point where I stop buying perks anyway, most I feel are too cheaty and avoid them, and end up with elders with 100ks of points and not wanting to spend, so, whatever.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">As for generation goals, Perfect careers is met. Saranya is a level 10 firefighter (I can't wait to retire, the ambitions professions get boring after awhile, since you have to babysit the Sim that is in one), with maxed Athletic and Handiness. Harlan reached level 3 of his part time job, and he's maxed Gardening and Cooking, as part of his 'house-husband' career.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">No Strangers was very easy, my game play style is already mostly No Strangers, I've never once hired a maid or ordered pizza in Sims 3, and rarely call for repairs, preferring to have a handy Sim around for that. The only NPCs I do ever use are babysitters, but that wasn't a problem to avoid this generation with Harlan around and only one child to raise.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Regan has a few days left before becoming YA and her generation taking over. Harlan turned elder yesterday, but I had a crash shortly after his birthday and will have to live through his birthday again when next I play. Saranya will become elder 2 days after he does.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Liam died some time ago, and Bridgette Wolff, his wife and Max's half-sister died recently, making Max the only one of his generation still around. There are too many Wolff cousins around now for me to count.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Kamala has had two girls, Regina and Alison. Sundari has a girl, Melissa, and a boy, Mario.)</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div></div>yangthecathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15083940950118677312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2465124855374784027.post-11407979639663083372010-07-24T06:12:00.000-07:002010-07-24T07:01:26.954-07:00Ramaswami/McDermott Random Legacy ch. 13: Hero<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiChmPCC-1nNLMiY2NR-wWqv5NXzGNYocW7nEjui2XHwmED7FGGkDStg9XHAns4azvO9PzbDgwQ5UzC0dpWQxRsQtA7PhMMaO_3HSRq3lKsXJ_DpIznPFd3KxJ9YuWGMp2lI2cy3H4IbLEJ/s1600/hero.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 257px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiChmPCC-1nNLMiY2NR-wWqv5NXzGNYocW7nEjui2XHwmED7FGGkDStg9XHAns4azvO9PzbDgwQ5UzC0dpWQxRsQtA7PhMMaO_3HSRq3lKsXJ_DpIznPFd3KxJ9YuWGMp2lI2cy3H4IbLEJ/s320/hero.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5497460426410584690" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Sunset Valley awarded Saranya with a key to the city for her heroic service as their Fire Chief.</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZU8Zur_eC-2C5NTr50gSpG-frzhrOmeIYknT8GWX6GvJqg1Lzo1ZtcjcOsLLI6nu9544FWy6FQql2RGFc0VLdOdLSaS1L_RtfwK2aWCQZqX3FWT23ueo9hiHhwYRqwr5iZhuohyphenhyphenBd0Qx7/s1600/herochild.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 259px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZU8Zur_eC-2C5NTr50gSpG-frzhrOmeIYknT8GWX6GvJqg1Lzo1ZtcjcOsLLI6nu9544FWy6FQql2RGFc0VLdOdLSaS1L_RtfwK2aWCQZqX3FWT23ueo9hiHhwYRqwr5iZhuohyphenhyphenBd0Qx7/s320/herochild.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5497460539705683010" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">The commendation is nice, and saving people does make her feel good, but Saranya became a firefighter for the thrill. Fire and danger have always excited her.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk9UcHuIS2oF4BUw_kcirJIRYyQ-JVxt2UooLIHocLweiEtGrzk9V05tPW9mqglhm9U8qGWbVetUsi7ppdqxEpApKjNpJ_pfr3A_7VFWj9q3H3RmCIlCG6YXdTI3zVkpVMilPy3psV6Sdw/s1600/egypt1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 226px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk9UcHuIS2oF4BUw_kcirJIRYyQ-JVxt2UooLIHocLweiEtGrzk9V05tPW9mqglhm9U8qGWbVetUsi7ppdqxEpApKjNpJ_pfr3A_7VFWj9q3H3RmCIlCG6YXdTI3zVkpVMilPy3psV6Sdw/s320/egypt1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5497461307732874018" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">The military asks her to Egypt for them, to learn about a game played there, called Senet. They don't tell her why they need this information or why a game is so important, that's all on a 'need to know' basis. Whatever the reason, Saranya is happy to serve her community, and it gives Harlan an opportunity to learn new recipes like falafel and shawarma, and to get new fruits, pomegranates and plums, to grow in his garden.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmobF3569u3nfTx61hwEEhzliVnkK4coU7CBVVc9ZcskD74NXOCYJLZCGd888iPxDu8Jo3UkwlskxCfvxN-X929efCCSdiNBaW5IgE0Jbr4EiQcd-HoM8BLYJgJit8wXrbpomJxR3kY8kB/s1600/egypt2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 244px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmobF3569u3nfTx61hwEEhzliVnkK4coU7CBVVc9ZcskD74NXOCYJLZCGd888iPxDu8Jo3UkwlskxCfvxN-X929efCCSdiNBaW5IgE0Jbr4EiQcd-HoM8BLYJgJit8wXrbpomJxR3kY8kB/s320/egypt2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5497462073662262866" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Al Simhara doesn't have a decent hotel, or any hotel, and while sleeping in a tent with a view of the pyramids can be romantic, it's not very comfortable, so the couple stays only long enough to get the information for the military, Harlan's recipes and fruits and a few trinkets to take home.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF_59n6YUk0e8wAzn9bjzv4woIBrFMj6AK0Ea32q-GkhGRJ4Z72N7LSeK0zaf1behkEJqI0IpubZv72HsoH7G_Mjx4Bcb7TrEpwIh8y2pVrIwE8afEMr2YM8vm2SEfbEm7ZdEyZvoLgWva/s1600/firehouse.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF_59n6YUk0e8wAzn9bjzv4woIBrFMj6AK0Ea32q-GkhGRJ4Z72N7LSeK0zaf1behkEJqI0IpubZv72HsoH7G_Mjx4Bcb7TrEpwIh8y2pVrIwE8afEMr2YM8vm2SEfbEm7ZdEyZvoLgWva/s320/firehouse.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5497462938305280802" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Saranya is happy to be back to her daily grind at the firehouse.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDpauaOofrNfaWbkmGdANKNPyeQLvgd2PFwEcyF0-Aj-L0YkKpqEzDZTt5ES8X0ZS8gar7QNZHPHqD_Ajx_j6AZbYTeChnSwzMzZLJVgtI0JHyoDeQQKp_u2gBT71CvObQFSJaSFLQ14At/s1600/newlivingroom.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDpauaOofrNfaWbkmGdANKNPyeQLvgd2PFwEcyF0-Aj-L0YkKpqEzDZTt5ES8X0ZS8gar7QNZHPHqD_Ajx_j6AZbYTeChnSwzMzZLJVgtI0JHyoDeQQKp_u2gBT71CvObQFSJaSFLQ14At/s320/newlivingroom.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5497463267809714434" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Harlan has been busy redecorating the livingroom, using the trinkets they've picked up in their travels as accent pieces.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCfbY7QELUEeFntXd8fSvdw1bAEs47JzTMgZS9OX5TBVHB76aype76Vi8p7QgAs6eD4yUvXs2wwXuyY00Wy1Qo_u7tqhyeHNm-s3294FOEctxdKXVIWTfITm-1iPSkU5wRtJMe_uQT-zr7/s1600/nausea1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 246px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCfbY7QELUEeFntXd8fSvdw1bAEs47JzTMgZS9OX5TBVHB76aype76Vi8p7QgAs6eD4yUvXs2wwXuyY00Wy1Qo_u7tqhyeHNm-s3294FOEctxdKXVIWTfITm-1iPSkU5wRtJMe_uQT-zr7/s320/nausea1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5497463777356449714" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">While dealing with a fire at the Hart residence, Saranya suddenly feels very sick. This nausea can't be from the smell of burning, surely she's used to that by now.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhweAojINGNEDUYbdV_7MTf5oKpG5zLJ1RgYdSf6DSNJXhomD2jDzCtUBT_tnKrAVudo5xYngU8axb88l0STGcuK5fo-Qa7_pP-QlJwo4_t8uAiFm6VykWRixAoUYJgXUfgB_P2DhdoThKZ/s1600/nausea2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 285px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhweAojINGNEDUYbdV_7MTf5oKpG5zLJ1RgYdSf6DSNJXhomD2jDzCtUBT_tnKrAVudo5xYngU8axb88l0STGcuK5fo-Qa7_pP-QlJwo4_t8uAiFm6VykWRixAoUYJgXUfgB_P2DhdoThKZ/s320/nausea2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5497464443583791938" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">She manages to hold it in while she's working, but as soon as she gets home she rushes to the toilet.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4tBJzC2sG2Q-8etcUpuX1BEVXvrEsLZkzsDRx6aPKTPD4Kvq3MPGnSdWO102Cjc28RMD64uAEP9SVXZPHnDEanEIJ7RuTLmywzPFBw7AaFoWlCgJ-xNH1qdelMBJFzOIQNPVSSimLpg_e/s1600/oldmaster.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 289px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4tBJzC2sG2Q-8etcUpuX1BEVXvrEsLZkzsDRx6aPKTPD4Kvq3MPGnSdWO102Cjc28RMD64uAEP9SVXZPHnDEanEIJ7RuTLmywzPFBw7AaFoWlCgJ-xNH1qdelMBJFzOIQNPVSSimLpg_e/s320/oldmaster.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5497464913860204258" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"So, what's the deal with this room, anyway?" Harlan asks. The room has a pretty view of the backyard, and it's own door to the outside, but it's wallpapered oddly and is being used to house exercise equipment, a computer desk, an old dresser, various trophies and awards, and an easel.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"This used to be the master bedroom, when my grandparents built the house. After they died my mother converted it into an office, sort of. She never changed the wallpaper or the carpets, and just kind of threw anything in here she didn't have a place for."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"Is it okay if I pull up the carpet and make this into a proper office as my next project?"</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Saranya smiles, "It's all yours, Harlan. But you might want to put a priority on fixing up a nursery."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_G7Bb-gAyOQEN9C7VpTysDmafygoCiUAzj5ew30BhT9TGJjdCaE3EI-_BrghW1ZaBBAXcQZdY847DV6OieX7YMakfa9JTZr0hy09KdyMYWhQ75O36O2QkXaEzkuSEG1EF0p9UzPqurzLu/s1600/kamalvernon.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 281px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_G7Bb-gAyOQEN9C7VpTysDmafygoCiUAzj5ew30BhT9TGJjdCaE3EI-_BrghW1ZaBBAXcQZdY847DV6OieX7YMakfa9JTZr0hy09KdyMYWhQ75O36O2QkXaEzkuSEG1EF0p9UzPqurzLu/s320/kamalvernon.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5497467113456344674" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Kamala visit the family mausoleum with her husband Vernon. She is pregnant with their second child. (The first, a daughter, Regina, was born very shortly after their elopement.) Kamala has come to realize her hasty marriage might have been a mistake, she and Vernon are known around town for their heated arguments. While she visits the family cemetery, she doesn't visit her sister, not wanting to admit Saranya may have been right about Vernon.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Their younger sister, Sundari, has married her high school sweetheart Darius Hatch (now Wolff) and is also pregnant.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPEv-S0qlUdcrAQSZzroHsO0adKhJ6VM8M4EcqRF9PvYFAR59aboamFdco-sa0Jm9CtRUvVNLNf6O3bupvkNdnEbfcX72TwRurCQG-vy1PlkjzvmRshxdI6sGMlRFr3sk5Glx48DxdP1SS/s1600/regan.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 287px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPEv-S0qlUdcrAQSZzroHsO0adKhJ6VM8M4EcqRF9PvYFAR59aboamFdco-sa0Jm9CtRUvVNLNf6O3bupvkNdnEbfcX72TwRurCQG-vy1PlkjzvmRshxdI6sGMlRFr3sk5Glx48DxdP1SS/s320/regan.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5497468512721465026" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Saranya and Harlan have a daughter, Regan.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">(Challenge Notes: Saranya has achieved her Perfect Career requirement, having reached level 10 in Athletic and Handiness, and in the firefighter career. I didn't mention it in the story, but Harlan has started his part time career, working in the family mausoleum. He's already been promoted to level 2, so he should have no trouble achieving perfect career.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Harlan has achieved his LTW (not required) of learning 'all recipes'. He didn't actually learn all the recipes, though, and is only level 9 cooking skill. But the LTW triggered when he hit level 9. So I think the WA recipes do not add to the total you need to learn, so if you do learn WA recipes, they count toward the total and leave you not needing to learn all the at home recipes. He's learned all the recipes available to his skill level, so all he had left was turkey, angel cake and ambrosia. The fact that he learned egg rolls, stir fry and falafel replaced those. Not that any of this matters, lol, he wasn't required to get his LTW anyway. But it surprised me, I thought he'd have to learn, you know, all the recipes.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Saranya's LTW is to rescue 30 people as a firefighter. She's got 13, so 27 to go.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Regan will be the only child in this generation, so she's the heir. Her generation roll is: Single parent, 2 children, Culinary career, Perfect Children, multi-cultural.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Regan's favorite music is Chinese and her favorite food is shawarma, so I might use those as indicators of what two cultures her two children come from. But I'm not ruling out France yet, you never know what could happen while traveling to learn new recipes. I love that her career will be Culinary, because it's like she's taking after her dad, who is a natural cook.)</span></div>yangthecathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15083940950118677312noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2465124855374784027.post-11156690361216454842010-07-23T04:13:00.000-07:002010-07-23T05:36:18.642-07:00Ramaswami/McDermott Random Legacy ch. 12: Taking Charge<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-JUlVayPeFT8v-DPGtn55AUTvcsGMoxshstgkRVaYMox974bye2qicLqo3yH3bg5QpChq0Gqv33_-PAiGZQhT4QmgyrEKhUnt3f3xhF_9QBcdy9h8CNBCAi_u25kzWia68lo8MD4vAIee/s1600/saraharlanadult1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 282px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-JUlVayPeFT8v-DPGtn55AUTvcsGMoxshstgkRVaYMox974bye2qicLqo3yH3bg5QpChq0Gqv33_-PAiGZQhT4QmgyrEKhUnt3f3xhF_9QBcdy9h8CNBCAi_u25kzWia68lo8MD4vAIee/s320/saraharlanadult1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5497059182613503906" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"I can't believe they left me alone with Kamala and Sundari," Saranya complains to her boyfriend Harlan. As soon as she graduated high school, her parents married and took off for a long honeymoon on Twikkii Island, leaving Saranya in charge of her two younger sisters.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"You can handle it," Harlan assures her.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"I know," she sighs wearily, "But I don't want to do this all on my own."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"You aren't on your own," Harlan says, "You have me, you know."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Saranya smiles, "I didn't want to take you for granted." Her mother took her father for granted, and Saranya often resented her for it. It's a mistake she intends not to repeat. "Will you marry me, Harlan?"</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"Absolutely."</span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQQxDfNyjEpK_Ay3WxP6b6wAuAPcDkZQRML6f0gB5RW15sEKDY0pyHnya_bd-XRyanH9zy5IBO9Xd_SiU6uCdF9QL765OgP7Ly8_uSr9y5_2Sbe7C5Iu9vM7nthiZiGOcJIvJB9QDP2Hr4/s1600/newbedroom.jpg"><img style="text-align: left;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px; " src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQQxDfNyjEpK_Ay3WxP6b6wAuAPcDkZQRML6f0gB5RW15sEKDY0pyHnya_bd-XRyanH9zy5IBO9Xd_SiU6uCdF9QL765OgP7Ly8_uSr9y5_2Sbe7C5Iu9vM7nthiZiGOcJIvJB9QDP2Hr4/s320/newbedroom.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5497060591190905106" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Saranya and Harlan marry; she starts her career as a firefighter and he sets to work making her childhood home into their own place, starting by redecorating her mother's old master suite to suit their own tastes.<br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht-VrUs1Ncw119icwbzzjJP9Vt-DVBpKqzmqY75n8GFFLf_7qO-4-QfGkWbcfhmWywL3k8zjQ8Ci-88F9Iu2GIN1V_Sx-xIKiqbshqEsNi-k9wjhHCyAzR5Tidko7VxeHYtDZSDEDnh56g/s1600/busykitchen.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 224px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht-VrUs1Ncw119icwbzzjJP9Vt-DVBpKqzmqY75n8GFFLf_7qO-4-QfGkWbcfhmWywL3k8zjQ8Ci-88F9Iu2GIN1V_Sx-xIKiqbshqEsNi-k9wjhHCyAzR5Tidko7VxeHYtDZSDEDnh56g/s320/busykitchen.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5497061463829032722" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Harlan prefers solitude, and living with his wife's two younger sisters is not his idea of marital bliss. But having grown up in a house with two parents, his older sister and younger brother, plus two of his father's siblings, Lisa and Arlo, who never married or moved out of the Bunch house, Harlan is definitely in a better position here than he was before. The galley style, open plan kitchen wasn't exactly what he wanted either, but for Saranya, he'll make do. But he's not going to live with these pink tile counters much longer: no matter how much he scrubs it, he's sure the grout is harboring secret germs and bacteria. The kitchen is next on his list of remodeling projects.<br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Kamala and Sundari have a hard time taking their older sister and her husband seriously as parental figures. They all went to high school together, after all, and to them this time is like a parent-free vacation where they can do as they please.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrC51gu68rH7lpm9H7OWZb0SCcXJEdYUpoO2MJUvjXWH7zqb1aCE6OWk7eCVd0gl_R-V2AxKShuWTSIG-kaysPPCV1GZU-i7zo1jLhetqqAyXCn7T3Jqi9E2V2jsUUDxTSQtMHPqNHoWit/s1600/kamalavernon.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 225px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrC51gu68rH7lpm9H7OWZb0SCcXJEdYUpoO2MJUvjXWH7zqb1aCE6OWk7eCVd0gl_R-V2AxKShuWTSIG-kaysPPCV1GZU-i7zo1jLhetqqAyXCn7T3Jqi9E2V2jsUUDxTSQtMHPqNHoWit/s320/kamalavernon.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5497064765551609330" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">While Sundari has been dating the age appropriate Darius Hatch, Kamala has been spending a lot of time with Vernon Goth, an adult with a long trail of ex-girlfriends in his past. Every time Saranya tries to warn her sister about getting involved, or tries to forbid her from seeing him, Kamala always responds with "You're not my mother, you can't tell me what to do!"<br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg84MxrH1-uBhF8oenIJTcQC9QH1-hk6OtmOw8l_q9yow0a5CVcZM57kJT9yMroTCTFtBvcGn4G1SXi5WvKmV3VzeKEod_R82MHPmy90vX-D253zcZY1a4wOWIFtS0vTdSsMaw71fLDmvma/s1600/blaze1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 272px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg84MxrH1-uBhF8oenIJTcQC9QH1-hk6OtmOw8l_q9yow0a5CVcZM57kJT9yMroTCTFtBvcGn4G1SXi5WvKmV3VzeKEod_R82MHPmy90vX-D253zcZY1a4wOWIFtS0vTdSsMaw71fLDmvma/s320/blaze1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5497066060956480322" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Saranya is too preoccupied with her rather demanding career to put the effort into raising her teenage sisters. Athletic and mechanically skilled, Saranya excels at firefighting, and finds her self being quickly promoted through the ranks.<br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibbyzNyXnNTE_Z9M665QceRSxthcro-eqS_EYYS-T2s1ePlHKwTmcGQ-CDCUaJ3tFDgM5qwpVUmEICcl61KAoHWbXs_Cb28d_vMH5t2B96dIpfzFXcNxWiCGYW6EjGemkfQuRiYht-UbKO/s1600/firefighhter.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 254px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibbyzNyXnNTE_Z9M665QceRSxthcro-eqS_EYYS-T2s1ePlHKwTmcGQ-CDCUaJ3tFDgM5qwpVUmEICcl61KAoHWbXs_Cb28d_vMH5t2B96dIpfzFXcNxWiCGYW6EjGemkfQuRiYht-UbKO/s320/firefighhter.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5497067120622509218" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">The firefighter thing is a huge turn on for Harlan.<br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLVHzzHdRQNQBRZH3XeI34WNRxMx2YGcMFM-lNKZXm-TBW3h9eUc6gym-BDFSCxqOuIAEZXd5SP0HoUycSf7MWlkFJ7s6PTKEwVC7tFECyL1qADEfA74WOfKQPalAXRn91Q7Up8aOs9esR/s1600/kamalaelopes.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLVHzzHdRQNQBRZH3XeI34WNRxMx2YGcMFM-lNKZXm-TBW3h9eUc6gym-BDFSCxqOuIAEZXd5SP0HoUycSf7MWlkFJ7s6PTKEwVC7tFECyL1qADEfA74WOfKQPalAXRn91Q7Up8aOs9esR/s320/kamalaelopes.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5497067960668251346" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">On the night of her graduation, Kamala elopes with Vernon Goth. That will show Saranya who's boss!<br /></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDnzxy4dyTCMWy0CSzthBhIVBAjzygKSx_i7FDJK4BmHRBjlpTDArcuUYOIx48HI8fXS2poZ79UV8fKehyUXEQGxYdPMpPvZVxPqk70QPVDWgtvYpKxJwOIjj-0ie599pIQxBxAcqo21JN/s1600/newkitchen.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 218px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDnzxy4dyTCMWy0CSzthBhIVBAjzygKSx_i7FDJK4BmHRBjlpTDArcuUYOIx48HI8fXS2poZ79UV8fKehyUXEQGxYdPMpPvZVxPqk70QPVDWgtvYpKxJwOIjj-0ie599pIQxBxAcqo21JN/s320/newkitchen.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5497068504656713682" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Harlan's new stainless steel countertops are much more sanitary than the old tile and grout. And while Kamala's manner of leaving the house distressed Saranya, making feel as though she failed her younger sister in some way, they are both relieved to have one less teenager in their marital nest.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO0YJBcrskSQvKVHAxDReuyK_MyVQMUOisBpmfXIvQgS8oIauK0kTLrpQ8Jhw_T8C61BUq1jUTlW4muqevLaCBOHXlMTTIUxJgswC5P8-AmL9dR-HQxFI2UOlDR1eVeU_Vhfz_BF95ZITW/s1600/familyplot.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 192px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO0YJBcrskSQvKVHAxDReuyK_MyVQMUOisBpmfXIvQgS8oIauK0kTLrpQ8Jhw_T8C61BUq1jUTlW4muqevLaCBOHXlMTTIUxJgswC5P8-AmL9dR-HQxFI2UOlDR1eVeU_Vhfz_BF95ZITW/s320/familyplot.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5497069623623127938" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Odd noises at night, TVs and stereos being turned on when everyone is asleep, cold spots in the house, all tell tale signs of a haunting. Saranya uses a large chunk of the family wealth that was left to her to buy the land behind the house and set up a cemetery for her grandparents' graves, and to serve for future generations of her family. Her grandmother, Lakshmi, had amassed quite a fortune, and Saranya hopes this memorial it bought pleases her.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8nBweM32UUWtNqTNxx-oQ2UwCHkgpj0IGjrAOpsVuZEQyrfxQmv_JCc3jyDMJDFU9QQ163PlBtHsRPzaSkKrzrZNymb40WyalFp_i-GeJrDgDEFNyHl2QWavfmZY_wddT21Lxd55Sz9iz/s1600/liamfire1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8nBweM32UUWtNqTNxx-oQ2UwCHkgpj0IGjrAOpsVuZEQyrfxQmv_JCc3jyDMJDFU9QQ163PlBtHsRPzaSkKrzrZNymb40WyalFp_i-GeJrDgDEFNyHl2QWavfmZY_wddT21Lxd55Sz9iz/s320/liamfire1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5497070872440385362" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">For the first time, Saranya must use her skills to rescue her own family. A large fire has broken out at her Uncle Liam's house.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRNk4r9w6avn4D_G_gFuXv76oP477o6IF7dWEE_jWSl2sqCI7rDGZ5RzYClejInYnDq5dEWqKW4FM_w5yvnYZLxf_Bnh8GGfyIJnkOhSEOLaQg90NC2eJ6ciiJyHVz-P0L73uyZKW1CHzr/s1600/liamfire2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 288px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRNk4r9w6avn4D_G_gFuXv76oP477o6IF7dWEE_jWSl2sqCI7rDGZ5RzYClejInYnDq5dEWqKW4FM_w5yvnYZLxf_Bnh8GGfyIJnkOhSEOLaQg90NC2eJ6ciiJyHVz-P0L73uyZKW1CHzr/s320/liamfire2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5497071331649236274" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Happily, she gets everyone out of harm's way and extinguishes the flames before they do much damage.</span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTmJpX25W0381fNytjEo2USggmGbxu1skvvtKe1I_-ov1poJHOvSqyhL0Z5CmqgjHdSZ_15yTpCMPlT89xYtN_KkETw_W7dGhx5udZUbSi4jbBfsd8m5Rtu-WLYyQ32XJVK0wMiFpOOkbo/s1600/sundariya.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTmJpX25W0381fNytjEo2USggmGbxu1skvvtKe1I_-ov1poJHOvSqyhL0Z5CmqgjHdSZ_15yTpCMPlT89xYtN_KkETw_W7dGhx5udZUbSi4jbBfsd8m5Rtu-WLYyQ32XJVK0wMiFpOOkbo/s320/sundariya.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5497072042576854162" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Sundari graduates high school. The good news is she's to be the heir to the Wolff fortune and family estate, changing her name to Wolff as her father did. The downside is she has to move into Wolff Manor and live with her aging parents before she can inherit it.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2haXiZSLtcDASwEpXjH9zWa_MEbZ-V0zC-HBc_NJQm9oGVmxAmYpIyEdKXbDTHcKKE7ztX_5ArrxuJe_XNorGvpsyak_HTl1oMKge9B5LGvwTY7If4j9UaHUsD_tZfgw5TNqJn73A29w7/s1600/china1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 261px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2haXiZSLtcDASwEpXjH9zWa_MEbZ-V0zC-HBc_NJQm9oGVmxAmYpIyEdKXbDTHcKKE7ztX_5ArrxuJe_XNorGvpsyak_HTl1oMKge9B5LGvwTY7If4j9UaHUsD_tZfgw5TNqJn73A29w7/s320/china1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5497073011846873810" /></a><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Finally on their own, Saranya and Harlan take a romantic trip to China.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR23mZ-aAJl_xq_l6VGRDjrs0eaSpuKHPIwzbL7gV61l18slMV1H9WlYyZniKDsV7J5IUrSxRmrZBJkVsXr21VTdlgerXoABS79q8embTRSPLn56BZVWCH4f5BxpnLsDzdCx-UPK53CREU/s1600/recipes.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 253px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR23mZ-aAJl_xq_l6VGRDjrs0eaSpuKHPIwzbL7gV61l18slMV1H9WlYyZniKDsV7J5IUrSxRmrZBJkVsXr21VTdlgerXoABS79q8embTRSPLn56BZVWCH4f5BxpnLsDzdCx-UPK53CREU/s320/recipes.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5497073403471353442" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Harlan is interested in studying Chinese recipes, learning the secrets of making Stir Fry and Egg Rolls. He also acquires some cherries and pomelos, rare fruits in his part of the world, to add to his garden at home.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC7KZbWsCrDO2b0Mu33ZibnViYTBpso4fwKKZodD-VLdlXwr7OdHiW_7Ce-ON5YLEi2shNi7goz3ph4EsjEJzcyKdRTj2542eSUTExGg9EVve5C0OCkpM5exkmyoXE1oxzG30CiT7CNaaY/s1600/martialarts1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 254px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC7KZbWsCrDO2b0Mu33ZibnViYTBpso4fwKKZodD-VLdlXwr7OdHiW_7Ce-ON5YLEi2shNi7goz3ph4EsjEJzcyKdRTj2542eSUTExGg9EVve5C0OCkpM5exkmyoXE1oxzG30CiT7CNaaY/s320/martialarts1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5497073920728671746" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Saranya enjoys some martial arts training, and purchases a training dummy to practice with at home. </span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">For some reason, locals keep calling them both, asking them to go look for some relic they've lost. Why do they think tourists want to go digging around in tombs? Do they not understand what a honeymoon is?<br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUHsateiss0J8YRRxXcM3Z4oxVscdOJxJ2UhYwsUYBJLgKM_PfvMXiXt81iC7x07qSF9gBGk10sQ13ZEpOr2SrESHE9EQzPCC2gz_bhq6iLaCmmySW431soxnxIbqK07hAZE8_tfl1AvzV/s1600/boardbreaker.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 308px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUHsateiss0J8YRRxXcM3Z4oxVscdOJxJ2UhYwsUYBJLgKM_PfvMXiXt81iC7x07qSF9gBGk10sQ13ZEpOr2SrESHE9EQzPCC2gz_bhq6iLaCmmySW431soxnxIbqK07hAZE8_tfl1AvzV/s320/boardbreaker.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5497074692135412130" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Harlan can barely watch as Saranya stacks up five boards to break. "Don't hurt yourself!"</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"It's just foam board. Piece of cake," Saranya laughs.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHUpd4IcKGPhAoRrSQ8j3gEa4VbyC7Q5KqPqjBQLb53pP7wvRBWkvpJXjDAHh60OuiZVKlTawCBP-V6eNhwn3wQjVPt2H4Byc8iVOdSX6ci3QfhIRtohP4JdcAKv-77C2AvKT_IE-yLAIm/s1600/boardbreaker2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 246px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHUpd4IcKGPhAoRrSQ8j3gEa4VbyC7Q5KqPqjBQLb53pP7wvRBWkvpJXjDAHh60OuiZVKlTawCBP-V6eNhwn3wQjVPt2H4Byc8iVOdSX6ci3QfhIRtohP4JdcAKv-77C2AvKT_IE-yLAIm/s320/boardbreaker2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5497075260149734546" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"See? I told you, piece of cake."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">(Challenge Notes: Saranya was promoted to level 5 of the firefighter career as soon as she took the job, because she'd work on her handiness and athletic skills as a teen. On her first two days on the job, there were no emergencies, and I even thought it might be a bug, but she got a fire on the third day. Still, even just upgrading the fire truck and alarms on the first days got her even more promotions, and she's already reached level 10. Her generation goal is Perfect Careers, so she just needs to max athletic and handiness. Though it's not required, I'm going to have her max martial arts, too. Harlan's career will be a part time job. I haven't started him on that yet, since it's only 3 levels to raise, and I'd kind of like to keep the money down if I can. Firefighters pull in a huge bit of money, so he'd only be working to fulfill the requirement.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Buying the cemetery cost just over 50k, which brought the family wealth down to under 20k, still enough to upgrade all the furnishings (Harlan loves to redecorate, lol).</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Harlan is like the ideal spouse, I set him to do the gardening when I go to work with Saranya, and he has the Neat trait, so he'll autonomously clean the whole house even if I don't assign in it in his queue. I love coming home and seeing the beds made and the laundry done! And he cooks, too, lol. I don't have to fulfill his LTW, Culinary Librarian, but I'm going to try, so that will mean traveling to buy the world specific recipes. He's also an amateur photographer and has been shooting some travel photos.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">They will only have one child, so I'm letting them live a little while before they have their baby.)</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div></div>yangthecathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15083940950118677312noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2465124855374784027.post-84056516732641692962010-07-21T04:31:00.000-07:002010-07-21T05:53:02.153-07:00Ramaswami/McDermott Random Legacy ch. 11: Change of Heart<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQLjG3xxn07-_Iw0g8BCsBnNYd6uxLfwsRFQ2iT9_acqpo0cJpg0U_ewsu5tzeGxJEj5OCUwEL2RVF7smprnw7d_A0YcLJWb_6iSS8v1eWcS8IME6HF44Re2ZeanPPnv1gkgwLAtNIOZsv/s1600/saranyateen.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 308px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQLjG3xxn07-_Iw0g8BCsBnNYd6uxLfwsRFQ2iT9_acqpo0cJpg0U_ewsu5tzeGxJEj5OCUwEL2RVF7smprnw7d_A0YcLJWb_6iSS8v1eWcS8IME6HF44Re2ZeanPPnv1gkgwLAtNIOZsv/s320/saranyateen.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496321402561384066" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Max has been promoted to Resident at Sacred Spleen Hospital. His oldest daughter Saranya has become a teen.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrVRXZ74mT_XGGT3dwZuF3KZ008fhDG58Awod4ttSwRQ0Kk8__q4X_-fSNDKJyoUumsltr_AJIFuKMUfYsQPqwDQ3sED1mEeJ94Yci6zL2q0ZTSAbbWLEfIHOwriT5MgJaZcbaOr2GCe9u/s1600/kamalachild.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 318px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrVRXZ74mT_XGGT3dwZuF3KZ008fhDG58Awod4ttSwRQ0Kk8__q4X_-fSNDKJyoUumsltr_AJIFuKMUfYsQPqwDQ3sED1mEeJ94Yci6zL2q0ZTSAbbWLEfIHOwriT5MgJaZcbaOr2GCe9u/s320/kamalachild.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496321866482192802" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Their second child, Kamala, is also growing fast. She's a very bright child, her teachers even say she's a genius. She's already decided that she wants to be a doctor when she grows up, just like her father.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidmA8s6RwT7gW_5sbGtxJI6zBEvEsCrDdGlMVZSrwuuepnvdanoAhR6bFt05joMcaUe50gg1dqubILXDZFMldh-wQIe0f924RQhLdKlscNdfuZCc_sh8YXFG8aWZWqL9TdRAhQoj3vZz8R/s1600/kamalacolby.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 263px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidmA8s6RwT7gW_5sbGtxJI6zBEvEsCrDdGlMVZSrwuuepnvdanoAhR6bFt05joMcaUe50gg1dqubILXDZFMldh-wQIe0f924RQhLdKlscNdfuZCc_sh8YXFG8aWZWqL9TdRAhQoj3vZz8R/s320/kamalacolby.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496323583341036162" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Kamala has become good friends with her cousin Colby, who is so far the only one of Thornton Wolff's grandchildren to inherit his black and silver hair. </span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp7fF6-lSugpPyE9NLGx6h1YZWXANOZScEK4tQKzY6lyHgYV1zaTTb7mYND5zE3ViY2m9lDJeTWApXLLW_fT5b1Zv57L4pw8_ID-1YQwH0SgehW4dSsn25kC2UqHCoNjENdDa8QaX5j7pz/s1600/homework.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 241px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp7fF6-lSugpPyE9NLGx6h1YZWXANOZScEK4tQKzY6lyHgYV1zaTTb7mYND5zE3ViY2m9lDJeTWApXLLW_fT5b1Zv57L4pw8_ID-1YQwH0SgehW4dSsn25kC2UqHCoNjENdDa8QaX5j7pz/s320/homework.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496324432060726258" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Max is Resident for only a short time before being promoted to Trauma Surgeon. That's great for his career, but the schedule takes a huge bite out of his family time. Working from 7pm to 3am means no more sleepovers with his family. He visits after the girls are home from school and Rukmini is home from work to help with homework and have a quick dinner before his shift begins. Sundari, the youngest child is the most neglected of all the girls, no one ever has time to read to her.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyALyXsroG9fLMmcrCgwEvmg-fTj35-LtXg8kG3lWCmuSFwtt8MBFHCwVJpBjCpW2kxAi3U65FkyJ2EsPTrOIw2_fJV1Tp7zZY2YNDFnkX0wpIJFmfLAkhUPTC2qwgbQqleXl6HvahChEQ/s1600/rukminialone2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 273px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyALyXsroG9fLMmcrCgwEvmg-fTj35-LtXg8kG3lWCmuSFwtt8MBFHCwVJpBjCpW2kxAi3U65FkyJ2EsPTrOIw2_fJV1Tp7zZY2YNDFnkX0wpIJFmfLAkhUPTC2qwgbQqleXl6HvahChEQ/s320/rukminialone2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496325656095615634" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">For the first time in her adult life, Rukmini is sleeping alone most nights while Max works his late shift. The bed seems disturbingly cold without him in it, and the room has an eerie chill that keeps Rukmini up at night. It had been easy to not get married and have Max move in since he was always around anyway, and his absence now has caused Rukmini to think about her life and the choices she's made with it. She had wanted something different than the expected route that her brother had gone down, marrying his high school sweetheart, having kids, but the only thing different about the life she made was that she had raise her kids without being married to their father. She and Liam even had the same number of children, his third son Joseph having been born recently. And now Liam's hair was gray and he was thinking about retiring. If Rukmini still wanted more from her life, she'd have to act fast.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR9MQFUyNrQUQjjQhnY8_w9_-mPgloxGcn8FhDZuaZdKzPTtk9320ZZW_dgDP7AKtVGbylpf-5BtsqtOy_Jp9ohb9mQJR1DSX92N0bdmAecxEAlaDec2PyEHkQ2bDzjxHt1OoDeZtcdp6F/s1600/sundarichild.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 302px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR9MQFUyNrQUQjjQhnY8_w9_-mPgloxGcn8FhDZuaZdKzPTtk9320ZZW_dgDP7AKtVGbylpf-5BtsqtOy_Jp9ohb9mQJR1DSX92N0bdmAecxEAlaDec2PyEHkQ2bDzjxHt1OoDeZtcdp6F/s320/sundarichild.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496328027831567938" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Sundari has grown into a child. Her birthday came and went without notice from her family.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYc9pam8FNGiYf5e18n4G5Gk4TB7ejC6e81NOZnUntsNu_xy9Y1zo94beLdvmNrw-EsRiBROPiyQaQstm9Q62ezZnK9rpS_JLLtJRpSA93rIMx8vndXv1ng22fi06H86_a6hQ5aYY2OFxT/s1600/saraharlan1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYc9pam8FNGiYf5e18n4G5Gk4TB7ejC6e81NOZnUntsNu_xy9Y1zo94beLdvmNrw-EsRiBROPiyQaQstm9Q62ezZnK9rpS_JLLtJRpSA93rIMx8vndXv1ng22fi06H86_a6hQ5aYY2OFxT/s320/saraharlan1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496328737011336914" /></a><br /><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Saranya has become very close with her classmate Harlan Bachelor-Bunch. She'd like to get closer in the romantic sense, but Harlan is notoriously shy and the effort required to get him out of his shell has put off many girls before her. Saranya is more determined than most, and having decided what she wants has plotted the course to get her there. Making no demands on him, she's simply spent time with him, hanging out, playing games, letting him talk when he felt comfortable opening up. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"Have you thought about what you're going to do after graduation?" he asks her.</span></div></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"Oh, yeah," Saranaya answers with great self-assurance, "I'm going to be a firefighter."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"Really? That's so hot!" Harlan says, blushing as the words leave his mouth.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZawS4aFo8lBsTIH_tIEcZ6hNchGAwuz35azgxK0Dp91feS7tt1zKFfVkdThh3yBlEr9E556QtejEzqq9RaV-Elb2EbMdvAZH0kIFd9hMOBveUIGkD45Gimap5_-zG0h-u_Fg5mbyWGK-l/s1600/saraharlan2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 230px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZawS4aFo8lBsTIH_tIEcZ6hNchGAwuz35azgxK0Dp91feS7tt1zKFfVkdThh3yBlEr9E556QtejEzqq9RaV-Elb2EbMdvAZH0kIFd9hMOBveUIGkD45Gimap5_-zG0h-u_Fg5mbyWGK-l/s320/saraharlan2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496331138167111698" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Saranya seizes the moment and throws her arms around him. "What about you, Harlan? What do you want to do with your life?"</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"I'm just hoping I can avoid anything that forces me to be around people all the time," he answers, "What I want...isn't a career. This will sound kind of stupid, but my dream is to have a really great kitchen. I love cooking."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"It's not stupid," Saranya assures him, and then kisses him.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrmxr-ANoYvuKomAGECqn8BmG6e_kEkzobU821YmREWdGvvfJ0H1XrJalbeO1IT_h6y3WExftIXDcwBwMHJk3zOhTwMLZ7FNrkAIOBWLwxi78vUfnaGTYlkNVsN4-VV_6eMZN_LMseslEQ/s1600/kamlateen.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 221px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrmxr-ANoYvuKomAGECqn8BmG6e_kEkzobU821YmREWdGvvfJ0H1XrJalbeO1IT_h6y3WExftIXDcwBwMHJk3zOhTwMLZ7FNrkAIOBWLwxi78vUfnaGTYlkNVsN4-VV_6eMZN_LMseslEQ/s320/kamlateen.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496333547725776050" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Kamala becomes a teen.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLff4j3NQbN9USE1dSFn_JU6UzBKGz-CAdnzQZ6we8UUxoB7stA11Z0dT5aZDobt998wDy8AqEFcnB06nS-SFhDttqI70f0kEyVDw-rOWk-etLAsKnBwHe2kdLofSVEwMm5nrDcTp2Yrhr/s1600/maxkamalachess.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 271px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLff4j3NQbN9USE1dSFn_JU6UzBKGz-CAdnzQZ6we8UUxoB7stA11Z0dT5aZDobt998wDy8AqEFcnB06nS-SFhDttqI70f0kEyVDw-rOWk-etLAsKnBwHe2kdLofSVEwMm5nrDcTp2Yrhr/s320/maxkamalachess.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496333997715151666" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">The weekend finally comes and Rukmini is thrilled to have Max back for a solid two days and most especially, nights. He spends as much time as he can with each of the girls, who miss them as much as their mother does. Rukmini waits her turn, knowing she'll have him to herself all night. As the sun sets, however, his beeper goes off, he's needed at the hospital, and Rukmini has to spend another night alone.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZfa8PIeV6Q_0NnegZmnapTYig_H3wFIjupcOEprp1zXEx0-znmgJmi7R8BpYyz6LNQJakXxdxWMTtQIRcN4s7xJMpM5Z6993e9DiaRzOqm-lztP3e_PL-JJPssNqE4f3LONzk1lbIm0lP/s1600/sundariteen.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 301px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZfa8PIeV6Q_0NnegZmnapTYig_H3wFIjupcOEprp1zXEx0-znmgJmi7R8BpYyz6LNQJakXxdxWMTtQIRcN4s7xJMpM5Z6993e9DiaRzOqm-lztP3e_PL-JJPssNqE4f3LONzk1lbIm0lP/s320/sundariteen.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496335478479456994" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Sundari becomes a teen.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp7K2QddaMNk0eAvvhFHqwVNkVQKw9hCxP_lUCpJcxhO_iW4LrRaS5JYwB6u_Bxpx61ttY97LO4oLz8WXn_bL_ntM-CY-0h0allIVdu40s3USZhnxalIlmtwcc7enRjEUd6O4-rwkSVK8t/s1600/rukminimax.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 254px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp7K2QddaMNk0eAvvhFHqwVNkVQKw9hCxP_lUCpJcxhO_iW4LrRaS5JYwB6u_Bxpx61ttY97LO4oLz8WXn_bL_ntM-CY-0h0allIVdu40s3USZhnxalIlmtwcc7enRjEUd6O4-rwkSVK8t/s320/rukminimax.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496336480294726818" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Max surprises Rukmini with the news that he's demoted himself back to Resident so he won't have to work nights anymore and can spend more time with her and the girls.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"You'd do that for us?" Rukmini asks.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"Of course. My career has never been as important as my family," he answers.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Rukmini follows up on that with a surprise of her own. She wants to get married. Saranya will be graduating, and Rukmini wants to give her the family house, leave her in charge of her sisters for awhile while she and Max take a long honeymoon together. Max is reluctant at first to leave the girls, but the Kamala is nearly grown up herself and he trusts Saranya to be able to handle the responsibility. It won't be long before all the girls are on their own, and he's waited for Rukmini all his adult life, he wouldn't be able to turn her down now.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">(Challenge Notes: So generation 2 comes to an end. Rukmini will marry Max and move into Wolff Manor with him as soon as Saranya reaches YA. Rukmini achieved her generation goal, Expansionist, as soon as she reached YA, and playing Hands Off wasn't too hard, so generation 2 wasn't much of a challenge. The goal I set for myself was to have Max become friends with all three of his daughters, which was a bit challenging since as a guest his autonomous interactions with infants and toddlers was minimal. When the girls got older and could initiate interaction it did happen for him, however. Rukmini did make it to the top of her career, though she spent so much time on maternity leave, there was some doubt on that. Saranya's goal will be Perfect Career, in the firefighter field, and No Strangers allowed. Her spouse will be part-time job only. Lucky for her she's got Harlan, who is a Loner and a Natural Cook, he was born in game, to Bella and Ethan Bachelor-Bunch, but it's like he was made especially to fit into generation 3's spouse.)<br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div></div>yangthecathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15083940950118677312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2465124855374784027.post-31582671051290322712010-07-18T05:47:00.000-07:002010-07-18T07:02:23.365-07:00Ramaswami/McDermott Random Legacy ch. 10: Life and Death<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6prvsbiEU-AXZVtIoCbeBVodtOaeN8SWR0crL4x9NuhVMcbB_dFnIk6riK76qyb2brWIoxH9cAMDgaUljldITXanz-7l4KrL3CYUD4xP2FZfVtMdyxnvssPANF-BvMFC4dvagzXtE_ms7/s1600/pregger2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 271px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6prvsbiEU-AXZVtIoCbeBVodtOaeN8SWR0crL4x9NuhVMcbB_dFnIk6riK76qyb2brWIoxH9cAMDgaUljldITXanz-7l4KrL3CYUD4xP2FZfVtMdyxnvssPANF-BvMFC4dvagzXtE_ms7/s320/pregger2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5495229087251445714" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Max spoke with Morgana as she had requested. She not only offered Max a job at the hospital, she also informed him that Thornton had meant to leave his house to his only son. Her husband had died before he had amended his will, but she intended abide by his last wishes. Her daughter Bridgette certainly did not want Wolff Manor; she was better able to love her father when she wasn't constantly reminded of what it was like growing up with him. Morgana had only one request, that Max take the Wolff name. That was easy enough for Max, since his own mother had given up their family name when she married his stepfather. </span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">So now Max is a bed pan cleaner, wealthy heir to the Wolff name and fortune, and a father-to-be yet again. With Rukmini's second pregnancy, Max doesn't bother to propose again, knowing what the answer will be.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIXCc2GyF7k4MSRsB6dGGeFRTTMMEef8_kQTxrpQMhOmF-VhrqU_3pigpO6t1tKW-09d_ApueEVtsMKV5xz2scvs8s-Lbg0MS-6tInLZIGc1yQY-fixOUo1dzbIt_y76LaEODaiD9VcrVz/s1600/saranyatoddler.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 271px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIXCc2GyF7k4MSRsB6dGGeFRTTMMEef8_kQTxrpQMhOmF-VhrqU_3pigpO6t1tKW-09d_ApueEVtsMKV5xz2scvs8s-Lbg0MS-6tInLZIGc1yQY-fixOUo1dzbIt_y76LaEODaiD9VcrVz/s320/saranyatoddler.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5495230430427641010" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Their first child, Saranya, has grown into a toddler. She's inherited her grandfather Maximus' red hair and green eyes, but has the distinctive Wolff nose.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBPCqk6IhPPbDcfdWfrNbY6UhibUr25XzUgDRzAUlF8F-tEKNzSSdv9z3lWNujhBHPeqkC252OLJjaBPRDzoH_Ki_5uuzabfbI8RpU66YRyUpj3NMyl88UPU2DoZ5V78oNJawmIrQn4B0j/s1600/maximusdeath.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 223px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBPCqk6IhPPbDcfdWfrNbY6UhibUr25XzUgDRzAUlF8F-tEKNzSSdv9z3lWNujhBHPeqkC252OLJjaBPRDzoH_Ki_5uuzabfbI8RpU66YRyUpj3NMyl88UPU2DoZ5V78oNJawmIrQn4B0j/s320/maximusdeath.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5495231549730488290" /></a><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Maximus dies suddenly after eating his last autumn salad, which had been his favorite meal.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJophqjrJgRXYbjgZUvhQHW5foT8vH2v0-XO4Q47jrdUJR2GPRPI6KsfTAh-mQe0Ffqj5zN7e9r4WS5XEW-T3nURqD1p1ctqGdw_ukM6LWCYmM0UFswjHq1tYXdo2RbtkHVjhrHPW8wm47/s1600/maximusdeath2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJophqjrJgRXYbjgZUvhQHW5foT8vH2v0-XO4Q47jrdUJR2GPRPI6KsfTAh-mQe0Ffqj5zN7e9r4WS5XEW-T3nURqD1p1ctqGdw_ukM6LWCYmM0UFswjHq1tYXdo2RbtkHVjhrHPW8wm47/s320/maximusdeath2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5495232341671187874" /></a><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Max does his best to console Rukmini while dealing with his own grief. Maximus was more of a father to him than Thornton had been, or his step-father, who his mother had only recently married.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5YW2gXHMRuUW9m-G15ZCYsuOFvNxkSKYQZ3Z3XTVQ29igA8QiZ2TZ_GO0_kiNwKj7F1thObKNhUBRDXtfL9ozw3hEAy8WI7NK_IvbKs8l8Ld8X6xEnfQPPHbVne_OK_zwbjGjGacq1uYG/s1600/kamalainfant.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 255px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5YW2gXHMRuUW9m-G15ZCYsuOFvNxkSKYQZ3Z3XTVQ29igA8QiZ2TZ_GO0_kiNwKj7F1thObKNhUBRDXtfL9ozw3hEAy8WI7NK_IvbKs8l8Ld8X6xEnfQPPHbVne_OK_zwbjGjGacq1uYG/s320/kamalainfant.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5495232826129509762" /></a><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Their second daughter Kamala is born that next morning.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi89Hx7qEEyCg7o_KhkAYrUHd-_df4yUtvSWWMK2FzZLMulBMwK9CFUT3-rTOTBmQfM35VGKhOs80cVxP0GXgWvjKrO68At7G4KwbqU3JmRBLXV_RdHEb-Hs2ybD7BWDmoWU_v5KXCozsvs/s1600/laktendinggarden.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 315px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi89Hx7qEEyCg7o_KhkAYrUHd-_df4yUtvSWWMK2FzZLMulBMwK9CFUT3-rTOTBmQfM35VGKhOs80cVxP0GXgWvjKrO68At7G4KwbqU3JmRBLXV_RdHEb-Hs2ybD7BWDmoWU_v5KXCozsvs/s320/laktendinggarden.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5495233629475808610" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Lakshmi tries to tend Maximus' garden, but it's difficult work as she knows nothing of gardening, and is constantly reminded of her husband just by being near his plants.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIRYQaBfeTkjFqyMzr-OvUUGR5ZXSAsejTFqyLfSgnWLID5EtzNKzpgYlmKPv30334K8hqLAvvjJuuEX9jwTm6hN1gKgU_8PL99zF5WQ6muaAJ8eQ6LB_AzMlr52Ry6l-75aO1mtVru_Ab/s1600/lakshmialone.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 315px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIRYQaBfeTkjFqyMzr-OvUUGR5ZXSAsejTFqyLfSgnWLID5EtzNKzpgYlmKPv30334K8hqLAvvjJuuEX9jwTm6hN1gKgU_8PL99zF5WQ6muaAJ8eQ6LB_AzMlr52Ry6l-75aO1mtVru_Ab/s320/lakshmialone.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5495234394811727298" /></a><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">It's just as difficult getting into bed alone at night, and trying to sleep without her husband by her side.</span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfAiCmJWBC-Tf7H9yl5_0zSfeH-MzlAXQlsLD7RMI84TTEdxMNJi6VhQMpnebgwAbfTJGCIVQWwOtdGyzuMF0vH6lPUGNYu1oDZtRqIt4ePBO67_jwzAULz7qIXSb6qDQhhbG5z1QAwoL7/s1600/lakshmikamala.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 275px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfAiCmJWBC-Tf7H9yl5_0zSfeH-MzlAXQlsLD7RMI84TTEdxMNJi6VhQMpnebgwAbfTJGCIVQWwOtdGyzuMF0vH6lPUGNYu1oDZtRqIt4ePBO67_jwzAULz7qIXSb6qDQhhbG5z1QAwoL7/s320/lakshmikamala.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5495235757956498802" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">In the days following her husband's death, Lakshmi devotes herself to raising her young granddaughters. Little Kamala has become a toddler. Liam and Bridgette have also had another child, a boy named Colby. Lakshmi tries to make time to visit them as often as she can.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRQLBzpEMRfxR3nJpZkU67HZ2TSbX0P6cdZVBRHMxbd0Yy70zziM0cYJh9zrNQeyfJpWBc2MWmlR46OqSvsJ5u7kcVEvLFPM03DwOgShh33o0uZRDx2da5IVJIKCwt3QyroDPS_qIxKS5G/s1600/mourningwoohoo.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 270px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRQLBzpEMRfxR3nJpZkU67HZ2TSbX0P6cdZVBRHMxbd0Yy70zziM0cYJh9zrNQeyfJpWBc2MWmlR46OqSvsJ5u7kcVEvLFPM03DwOgShh33o0uZRDx2da5IVJIKCwt3QyroDPS_qIxKS5G/s320/mourningwoohoo.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5495236655516109874" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Rukmini and Max seek consolation in each other. Not surprisingly, Rukmini becomes pregnant again.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHSXfaCHeB3K90Btzd4SiaKLmgPhZadhH2yAWe51YAXnjGHYYYyrLbGvczbhAM6N8tC4_4mPRyH0ZcqIrMsdPEuv_Nequ3bncuxsctYTIYtAtZVfxJgbkNqvBCfING0F01HmJprKlPU97w/s1600/saranyachild.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 282px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHSXfaCHeB3K90Btzd4SiaKLmgPhZadhH2yAWe51YAXnjGHYYYyrLbGvczbhAM6N8tC4_4mPRyH0ZcqIrMsdPEuv_Nequ3bncuxsctYTIYtAtZVfxJgbkNqvBCfING0F01HmJprKlPU97w/s320/saranyachild.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5495237931604223762" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Saranya enters childhood, Rukimini and Max have a third daughter, Sundari, and Max is promoted to intern. Though the medical field is very demanding of his time, he does his best to be with his 'family' as much as possible, spending the night with them every night, no matter how late his hours.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZNQ1fifgizdwtb07wehpVDTU1oGRE0Nc9bvni_9gGoQEcezatAF1S6JAAwbIfboSrTy_SKN5BEou7DgIKO6cZT1CvOf6dv8oKiSeY_v9MSbWSBZIUQT9DVI7VOd9HbUoYMLq3Vnd5k4mP/s1600/maximusghost1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 269px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZNQ1fifgizdwtb07wehpVDTU1oGRE0Nc9bvni_9gGoQEcezatAF1S6JAAwbIfboSrTy_SKN5BEou7DgIKO6cZT1CvOf6dv8oKiSeY_v9MSbWSBZIUQT9DVI7VOd9HbUoYMLq3Vnd5k4mP/s320/maximusghost1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5495239042096127522" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Maximus' ghost isn't very happy about the state his garden is in these days. Some of these plants are deader than he is.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh64OFPa2K8OmMLyJUONNEspdBfz-USNsn7jluzAYB9_199GrctDyuMweCS_jcLGqcqdOM7F-0xpxOGZUt2WHGhfdqSavlHD3PRotXoqIehuK8P2LPdLdNcbxEDlmXt5XBHRdcNrojRoN3j/s1600/maximusghost2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 215px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh64OFPa2K8OmMLyJUONNEspdBfz-USNsn7jluzAYB9_199GrctDyuMweCS_jcLGqcqdOM7F-0xpxOGZUt2WHGhfdqSavlHD3PRotXoqIehuK8P2LPdLdNcbxEDlmXt5XBHRdcNrojRoN3j/s320/maximusghost2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5495239687473348178" /></a><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">At first, Lakshmi is not able to deal with what she's seeing.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG-fkHbd5uBBYJwKQsnll5VQ2QbCjoEvGmhyoImPyNUpCwG405xOkADp70TwG6ti5Ar6XzXiwUuZLJ7CdMtKtuSAMF1D5ClFc7k0C_WoxZh4OmTu9KHIF7_MHzGD53PL2c-vqHZEP9v7Qu/s1600/maximusghost3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 272px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG-fkHbd5uBBYJwKQsnll5VQ2QbCjoEvGmhyoImPyNUpCwG405xOkADp70TwG6ti5Ar6XzXiwUuZLJ7CdMtKtuSAMF1D5ClFc7k0C_WoxZh4OmTu9KHIF7_MHzGD53PL2c-vqHZEP9v7Qu/s320/maximusghost3.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5495240827243941778" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">But she misses Maximus so much she overcomes her fear and horror. Perhaps, she thinks, she is near her own time.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0EDoI7D8NNY7kRNbMHSmfu-j1klYPgjj7ikj55kHkwSC-NDSA7_iU45TtTihBNh64XVs_1C7kF850SmMA8zC2g5liNHGomrUw3Czo13tr6xmYEwM3oNsPQ1Kgf_PEuDVXqZ-ZgS6ZyYZ3/s1600/lakshmideath.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0EDoI7D8NNY7kRNbMHSmfu-j1klYPgjj7ikj55kHkwSC-NDSA7_iU45TtTihBNh64XVs_1C7kF850SmMA8zC2g5liNHGomrUw3Czo13tr6xmYEwM3oNsPQ1Kgf_PEuDVXqZ-ZgS6ZyYZ3/s320/lakshmideath.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5495241649044624674" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Lakshmi's time comes the next evening, shortly after little Sundari becomes a toddler, while she's potty training her third granddaughter. Max runs into the nursery when he hears the commotion, but there's nothing he can do for someone dying of old age.</span><div><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div></div></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6hiJZnVy4rD9V0G5YS7E_huqKkZ57rryi3o1y9HFDKwtuUXWinfTAsCwFx42jMziwX6D8q0SI7OAXpWvc24WrdBAS3YDD_Mv97sifv-Nmzi9mgaV1-zcQr0644Fa2xOQ0ywYkFt1V8JPG/s1600/graves.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 247px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6hiJZnVy4rD9V0G5YS7E_huqKkZ57rryi3o1y9HFDKwtuUXWinfTAsCwFx42jMziwX6D8q0SI7OAXpWvc24WrdBAS3YDD_Mv97sifv-Nmzi9mgaV1-zcQr0644Fa2xOQ0ywYkFt1V8JPG/s320/graves.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5495242942174962338" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Rukmini mourns her parents. She's alone now, her children's father a mere guest in their home. But still, she cannot find it in her to make the final commitment to him.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioLxDnp_JgGtgRHEEJw80KyUm9hhEPMCLEIJrx-yxBahh249JK9fzLOT6CyPv9MaGiG8rnIegjQE1sxqSheFg_2LLqFOuBKQPb9WHfxC5mZCdfn_1UphrXwqdpdZocP7MyNIbg6UEakgD0/s1600/maxfamily.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 245px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioLxDnp_JgGtgRHEEJw80KyUm9hhEPMCLEIJrx-yxBahh249JK9fzLOT6CyPv9MaGiG8rnIegjQE1sxqSheFg_2LLqFOuBKQPb9WHfxC5mZCdfn_1UphrXwqdpdZocP7MyNIbg6UEakgD0/s320/maxfamily.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5495244469157329586" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Max's own mother, Narcissa, passes away, as does Morgana Wolff, leaving Max the sole owner of Wolff Manor. His offer to marry Rukmini stands open, but his need for a rigidly defined family has lost some of its significance. Though she isn't his wife, Rukmini has given him everything he wanted from a family, and while Wolff Manor is now his house, this place is is home.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div>yangthecathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15083940950118677312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2465124855374784027.post-31949024285380407502010-07-16T06:08:00.000-07:002010-07-16T07:41:27.916-07:00Ramaswami/McDermott Random Legacy ch 9: Real Family<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbNG2SPmaFDg11QC979RHjPgtI_e593-6SofubOUXtRYfndhZDo33LYMbWtW6sTfFM7s9Pg4C_yg6Pce_T4Pto4jDxzXzvZ8qBcsDyW_KwdutYBf33MF4Bz-kNCz9CJl1zrgrhLHJ4BEI7/s1600/lakshmivisit2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbNG2SPmaFDg11QC979RHjPgtI_e593-6SofubOUXtRYfndhZDo33LYMbWtW6sTfFM7s9Pg4C_yg6Pce_T4Pto4jDxzXzvZ8qBcsDyW_KwdutYBf33MF4Bz-kNCz9CJl1zrgrhLHJ4BEI7/s320/lakshmivisit2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494490803325315010" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Thrilled at the news of Bridgette's pregnancy, Lakshmi visits her daughter-in-law meet her new grandchild before he is born.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS0WYGBPS3y4ckzIsLg9V7ah7iI9QHWxDR8M2KuYGosGe9jPmFb82yEE9bVE7pWNV4Fj_b6uB50_DzMjbRcYo4tmr_zJaHy94wsyRAuBia-dVENnNIHnV3zNp16LaAMEk0q6VglqR4P_C1/s1600/rukminimaxbed1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 253px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS0WYGBPS3y4ckzIsLg9V7ah7iI9QHWxDR8M2KuYGosGe9jPmFb82yEE9bVE7pWNV4Fj_b6uB50_DzMjbRcYo4tmr_zJaHy94wsyRAuBia-dVENnNIHnV3zNp16LaAMEk0q6VglqR4P_C1/s320/rukminimaxbed1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494491397766189666" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Max goes directly to Rukmini's house after work everyday and sleeps over every night, as though he lived there. He's wanted to propose to her more than once, but every time he's tried to get the words out, she stops him from speaking.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhilfoladTlZ-xjrJ8AMjB8HXJLKsbskAr1_0KcAQghgtl0G9LaDK-67NhqM8cnhvtXu0WzjN-0fXGodFKDMgc_E3dfqy2NxEuRFbFyFYZy8A_QxwJj0i9nlBPt7Jx_1CT6Xivkl0PuhNqm/s1600/proposal1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 236px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhilfoladTlZ-xjrJ8AMjB8HXJLKsbskAr1_0KcAQghgtl0G9LaDK-67NhqM8cnhvtXu0WzjN-0fXGodFKDMgc_E3dfqy2NxEuRFbFyFYZy8A_QxwJj0i9nlBPt7Jx_1CT6Xivkl0PuhNqm/s320/proposal1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494492836505394386" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">One morning while they were enjoying some cuddle time before work, Max decided he could wait no longer, and delayed a kiss to say, simply, "Marry me."</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsSb2x_VcrkXtRXtDZiQpPqBKZCngN2NIU8WmLVTKwIICCGpLOHi24o9BFSf_XdtVOmn2twECMXKHkxUSEF9P5FRRkJr4MjlMqT1htrO7ThoFWfWZXCuZKzUageLLZjG3FuBzJkhzjEucm/s1600/proposal2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 293px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsSb2x_VcrkXtRXtDZiQpPqBKZCngN2NIU8WmLVTKwIICCGpLOHi24o9BFSf_XdtVOmn2twECMXKHkxUSEF9P5FRRkJr4MjlMqT1htrO7ThoFWfWZXCuZKzUageLLZjG3FuBzJkhzjEucm/s320/proposal2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494493710655654514" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">To his surprise, Rukmini pulls away from his embrace. "I'm sorry, I'm just not ready for that," she says.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"Why not? Don't you love me?" Max asks, trying to get his head around her rejection, "Is there something I should be doing, or not doing?" As far as he knew, they were passionately in love and happy together, and marriage seemed like the obvious next step in their relationship.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"I love you, Max. You're great, the relationship is great, everything is perfect. I'm just not ready for marriage," she answers.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSAH4rMBUVH7fvjcFcgqFdUG3Xy9GCkKUDhMSMvS3R5R67hwgYYGwnQNBh3w0Xf6vVfu-RfK0XhkZKI_yjEyzAW8qUxXJhvFO6Q3yoGjATC0eaJ5RORayq8D4pudAhTU1fDNAYAbpqeBw3/s1600/proposal3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 226px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSAH4rMBUVH7fvjcFcgqFdUG3Xy9GCkKUDhMSMvS3R5R67hwgYYGwnQNBh3w0Xf6vVfu-RfK0XhkZKI_yjEyzAW8qUxXJhvFO6Q3yoGjATC0eaJ5RORayq8D4pudAhTU1fDNAYAbpqeBw3/s320/proposal3.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494496959226632962" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"I just don't get it, Rukimini. We're in love, we've been together since high school, we're great together and spend all our time with each other. We live like we're married. Why can't we make it legal?"</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Rukmini has known this was coming, and has tried to put together the explanation she would give him when he finally proposed, but she never been able find them. "I don't understand it myself, Max. I love you, I want to be with you, all the time. But I'm just not ready for marriage yet."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYGbEeRqtpwdqQyECWfR8YBDJG1nuFnM7P2jI3BgEBTKyMoJwU96mvqrDXSDBMpfsvDZJS2xhZr76J3jP9BOo3byozdhyphenhyphenbm0nhsPZqMXknsOO_NBDqfM6E2egaxguS71K0oDW7OmWpP9tC/s1600/proposalfinal.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYGbEeRqtpwdqQyECWfR8YBDJG1nuFnM7P2jI3BgEBTKyMoJwU96mvqrDXSDBMpfsvDZJS2xhZr76J3jP9BOo3byozdhyphenhyphenbm0nhsPZqMXknsOO_NBDqfM6E2egaxguS71K0oDW7OmWpP9tC/s320/proposalfinal.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494499269179794642" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Max leaves for work disturbed, angry and hurt by the rejection of his proposal. But it doesn't stop him from returning to her house that evening, and carrying on just as they had been doing, and hoping that with the persistence of his love he'd overcome her commitment issues.</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkRsb0-DeFXo2UjUVEs7AHuGJom0rDSzs4BXNSGm7bUEs_aIe-dUnC-j6DasjDa_z4TS4TWCOZSjxFSXL24O4reoKKJWj_4SLW8ss0SMQd6dSzBBdXl1sAlflffl_UTvNL69ZCnFTiqvX7/s1600/pregger2.jpg"><br /><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 275px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkRsb0-DeFXo2UjUVEs7AHuGJom0rDSzs4BXNSGm7bUEs_aIe-dUnC-j6DasjDa_z4TS4TWCOZSjxFSXL24O4reoKKJWj_4SLW8ss0SMQd6dSzBBdXl1sAlflffl_UTvNL69ZCnFTiqvX7/s320/pregger2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494500399792569010" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Max's persistent attentions hasn't produced the desired effect, but it has lead to unexpected pregnancy. Rukmini tells him of their impending parenthood, and before he can react says, "I see that look in your eyes. You're going to propose again. Please don't. I'm still not ready for marriage."</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"I'm willing to wait for you, Rukmini," he answers,"But this isn't just about us anymore. We're having a baby. I want us to be a family, a real family. I don't want to be just some guy her mother sleeps with."<br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA_txp0NSYNSByHZBVgeMBOsMp6BBNOk8Y4ckKC_Rt7RjRPatIistuz9Vuo6WEQJX5YjqhmrpIZZ-DHKTRbxrOJBFM5sEWwYJEB0Sq2p-4VaWE1sbaynUNBVXYb8MR-DYG39Vza5vmtiTq/s1600/pregger4.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 293px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA_txp0NSYNSByHZBVgeMBOsMp6BBNOk8Y4ckKC_Rt7RjRPatIistuz9Vuo6WEQJX5YjqhmrpIZZ-DHKTRbxrOJBFM5sEWwYJEB0Sq2p-4VaWE1sbaynUNBVXYb8MR-DYG39Vza5vmtiTq/s320/pregger4.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494502087126973826" /></a><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Because she's known him since childhood, Rukmini knows the trouble Max has had dealing with his father's complete absence in his life, and his mother's many boyfriends. "Max, it won't be like that, you'll be a real father to our baby. You aren't like Thornton, you never will be."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5iDk6lM1R1UoT-KUj4n80f-qIlRMofEi4ymO7rOPYpWAj_giiNKoGVLKUNUbzCKcZ5SBy2Vuak98JKHKhNczB3KufGN7eQG1zBXg44_TeyVliRmnDcbBLl3e9nhKhp2HMNEe4ZwEOFigO/s1600/lakshmisidneyinfant.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 230px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5iDk6lM1R1UoT-KUj4n80f-qIlRMofEi4ymO7rOPYpWAj_giiNKoGVLKUNUbzCKcZ5SBy2Vuak98JKHKhNczB3KufGN7eQG1zBXg44_TeyVliRmnDcbBLl3e9nhKhp2HMNEe4ZwEOFigO/s320/lakshmisidneyinfant.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494504326470257458" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Meanwhile, Liam and Bridgette have given birth to a baby boy named Sidney. Lakshmi is thrilled to have a grandchild, and already hoping to have five of them in the future.</span></div></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUlwxLWPtDMvpBVC1x1_PYswf4UEdPVuiYw_GdJij3jr8sjkojBqhM7thNhgo67dkT5g4NPJSyd-iqGLgb3nGv8-DKmoypF-mZPWrFN6HXo6kB9C3-JQK3RgxASHN2FA3wPn3MzGR0Flzo/s1600/familyvisit1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 273px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUlwxLWPtDMvpBVC1x1_PYswf4UEdPVuiYw_GdJij3jr8sjkojBqhM7thNhgo67dkT5g4NPJSyd-iqGLgb3nGv8-DKmoypF-mZPWrFN6HXo6kB9C3-JQK3RgxASHN2FA3wPn3MzGR0Flzo/s320/familyvisit1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494504965671405682" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Her parents have been nagging her about her rejection of Max's proposals, and now her best friend and sister-in-law Bridgette chimes in. "Why don't you want to get married? You and Max are so good together?" Rukmini tries to explain her reluctance, but how do you explain what you don't understand yourself. She can't imagine a future without Max by side, but the thought of actually committing to that makes her choke. </span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"I'm just not ready for that," she answers, knowing it's no answer at all.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO96nL3CN2ly4hZA4aFLCDVI74w8WT5iQQ52HJOeqgqgV0mHIUoQjxRESQSzJCkwO86R6TSVnYcNLsFkXTs61TqIwTx4I8WPQx-QoEnPm_VAsg0QW27QDg7pAJHaf8rOCo1afLpUaGUekR/s1600/saranya1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 286px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO96nL3CN2ly4hZA4aFLCDVI74w8WT5iQQ52HJOeqgqgV0mHIUoQjxRESQSzJCkwO86R6TSVnYcNLsFkXTs61TqIwTx4I8WPQx-QoEnPm_VAsg0QW27QDg7pAJHaf8rOCo1afLpUaGUekR/s320/saranya1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494506342239835602" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Because Max spends every night with her, he's with her when she goes into labor in the late hours, and accompanies her to the hospital, where she gives birth to a daughter named Saranya.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg4mOiQ0SxlavztUwTo5sf0cz57Ubw5MjMBHew0DYh7r-l-EcGciS56BV4_CC2QSl-xTzbE3Q-wTQ2m9R1QvzLqCA8QZ10pX4UoOuabUq3mVcnYHwX8xxd0mynnA6LjcOLoF7k5VhQPGk0/s1600/saranya2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 206px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg4mOiQ0SxlavztUwTo5sf0cz57Ubw5MjMBHew0DYh7r-l-EcGciS56BV4_CC2QSl-xTzbE3Q-wTQ2m9R1QvzLqCA8QZ10pX4UoOuabUq3mVcnYHwX8xxd0mynnA6LjcOLoF7k5VhQPGk0/s320/saranya2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494507080569992082" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">They return at dawn with the baby to find Lakshmi and Maximus waiting expectantly to meet their new granddaughter.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiJQuu32Y7oC4anWPNPE2YpnfPrxRpTp0U9vu-lU9VxkHWGS-uneWL3gb0cTJlADNTqzRYK_oSU4Ha47AV4f4C2gKgO_sGhnY2w0s0lYwyEcghJlMphu0n0AxgQOSgIPK3sakKcIvnq7d_/s1600/saranya3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiJQuu32Y7oC4anWPNPE2YpnfPrxRpTp0U9vu-lU9VxkHWGS-uneWL3gb0cTJlADNTqzRYK_oSU4Ha47AV4f4C2gKgO_sGhnY2w0s0lYwyEcghJlMphu0n0AxgQOSgIPK3sakKcIvnq7d_/s320/saranya3.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494507666541580770" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Lakshmi can't make her daughter marry Max, but she can find other ways to interfere. "This is my house," she tells her would-be son-in-law, "Rukmini is being stubborn about it, but I can invite you to move in with us." </span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"I appreciate that, Mrs. McDermott, but going over Rukmini's head like that would just piss her off," Max answers with a slight smile. They may not be the real family he'd wanted, but Rukmini's parents treat him like he's one of them, and that's something, at least.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEise5jXy_PkX5stjEnyrRP5hKWLEjniFpbrvYBmk_RxTRWoRaE3UFZaL5nFAviz91nrBr4P5KKyMJofuMij6Fe9jyacxsh1ikk9D2ZWHWQ799h5irK8CRCj0mPZ9upKbPPTu-4-hK7_xj-B/s1600/rukminimaxnursery1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 295px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEise5jXy_PkX5stjEnyrRP5hKWLEjniFpbrvYBmk_RxTRWoRaE3UFZaL5nFAviz91nrBr4P5KKyMJofuMij6Fe9jyacxsh1ikk9D2ZWHWQ799h5irK8CRCj0mPZ9upKbPPTu-4-hK7_xj-B/s320/rukminimaxnursery1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494509083812093426" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Before the morning is over they get the news that Thornton Wolff died suddenly last night, while Rukmini was in labor. Max takes it a little harder than she expected, "I hardly knew him. I shouldn't care, right? But I do."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRP5N-cNYy_82zHR8VyfiDAjddUKqxGuui42qDgs6d6a_3RS27aV7LpY068eNtzhPItwlHqTwDsqs1TbCIYHM8RqZlODxlXVnHxKS0m2E7aHcX9-qmBjGs23w-zAu5JTqr79iZIl1ljo2b/s1600/rukminimorganagym.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 282px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRP5N-cNYy_82zHR8VyfiDAjddUKqxGuui42qDgs6d6a_3RS27aV7LpY068eNtzhPItwlHqTwDsqs1TbCIYHM8RqZlODxlXVnHxKS0m2E7aHcX9-qmBjGs23w-zAu5JTqr79iZIl1ljo2b/s320/rukminimorganagym.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494510157847885234" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">While she has the maternity leave, Rukmini spends some time in the gym working off her baby fat. She runs into the grieving Morgana Wolff working out there, and after she expresses he condolences, finds that Morgana wants to talk with her.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"Thornton talked a lot about Max in recent years," Morgana says, "He wanted to do something for him to make up for...well, you know. I understand from my daughter that Max wanted to go into the medical field but hasn't out of respect for me? He's concerned about how I'd feel having him working in my hospital? Could you have him come see me? I'd like to speak with him about this, and about his father."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Rukmini thinks it must take a lot of strength for the widow to want to do right by her husband's son with another woman, and she thinks about the encounter she had with Thornton Wolff in the park when shewas a teenager, his questions about Max and the odd way he hugged her, as though he could reach Max through her. Rukmini promises Morgana to relay her message, and she does so as soon as Max comes to her house that afternoon.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9kE0fDnaRkW1K64qWvhiCsahlT68_2FPdzXp-9iQgkp356A2epi2MwUi_sM89-cxriN2vc8TBojK2LeHi0Lh321ro3a-gApCfWdAovoLscfT9RoSBLhFOxOPaVuhi0F4eHiOBsPVIhiip/s1600/sidneytoddler.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 253px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9kE0fDnaRkW1K64qWvhiCsahlT68_2FPdzXp-9iQgkp356A2epi2MwUi_sM89-cxriN2vc8TBojK2LeHi0Lh321ro3a-gApCfWdAovoLscfT9RoSBLhFOxOPaVuhi0F4eHiOBsPVIhiip/s320/sidneytoddler.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494512450657185538" /></a><br /></span></div></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Liam and Bridgette's son Sidney grows into a toddler. Maximus remembers when his hair was that color.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">(Challenge Notes: Generation 3 rolled a couple with one child, Firefighter for primary income, and part time job for secondary. Perfect careers is the generation goal, and No Strangers is the misc. requirement.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Right now my biggest challenge is having Max over as a guest every night. Rukmini has to work the flirt interactions for a time before 'Do you want to sleep over?' appears. She has less time to work on skills because of this, so that's a new twist for me.)</span></div>yangthecathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15083940950118677312noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2465124855374784027.post-7321158325229649982010-07-14T05:05:00.000-07:002010-07-14T06:14:16.933-07:00Ramaswami/McDermott Random Legacy ch 8: Commitment Issues<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8TjVN6JTBlvwHlA7DtnEIrFkgV-kux4u7KNq6R8-ujl7TKnHdgLErbDfyFc-6xyhCz-myfjmhiuK9WUdD0qxZoUVzwvz7fiuEJEgisUS0TSjn7JWDhtnvzTHLR2PpuW2oOhPyAlnZ5NfA/s1600/liamweddingparty2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 262px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8TjVN6JTBlvwHlA7DtnEIrFkgV-kux4u7KNq6R8-ujl7TKnHdgLErbDfyFc-6xyhCz-myfjmhiuK9WUdD0qxZoUVzwvz7fiuEJEgisUS0TSjn7JWDhtnvzTHLR2PpuW2oOhPyAlnZ5NfA/s320/liamweddingparty2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5493732816334186258" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Liam and Bridgette wasted no time, as soon as she came of age, they got married. Lakshmi was disappointed that they didn't throw a huge wedding party, so she threw a small party for them at her house. Morgana came, but Thornton did not. Morgana said he was away on business, but she didn't sound sincere. Lakshmi worried the rich old bastard might not approve of his daughter's choice, but if he didn't approve, why had he been so insistent that Liam take his family name? Lakshmi also wished Morgana had consulted with her before coming to the party in that frumpy dress. What was she thinking?</span><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0JzIDj2b-OKbrQDcASLpFmWryXfYTS3ovXWpPWE5EsSTXogZDJVOI3lp9QaFxIL3jZ5u2o3m0eVj9GXr1-OJK_A-znuKqghx1bK2KhZKvaHrzd6s8K1rhW0pPpCODL6c4bM47kokMAQAU/s1600/rukminithornton1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 295px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0JzIDj2b-OKbrQDcASLpFmWryXfYTS3ovXWpPWE5EsSTXogZDJVOI3lp9QaFxIL3jZ5u2o3m0eVj9GXr1-OJK_A-znuKqghx1bK2KhZKvaHrzd6s8K1rhW0pPpCODL6c4bM47kokMAQAU/s320/rukminithornton1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5493734706365413906" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Rukmini was approached by Thornton in the park after school, asking her questions about Max. Thornton Wolff was not the richest or most powerful man in Sunset Valley, that honor would belong to mild-mannered, bookish Mortimer Goth, or self-absorbed playboy Malcolm Landgraab, or maybe even shady old Nick Alto, but the town generally treated him as their king, walking on eggshells in his presence, deferring to his authority and quaking in fear of his wrath. So he was quite surprised to be lectured by a teenage girl about his parental responsibilities to his bastard son. </span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"And it was very rude of you not to show up to Bridgette and Liam's party," Rukmini concluded. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"I couldn't face him," the old man admitted quietly, "I knew he would be there." By him, he meant Max.</span></div><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicB1BFfaHXhTjjL_zuCTrECKeKzq8vIY0hqq13LmscL8hS2UIDmKd7uc9r0CBmInellJo3LqEnECeKLIxcen7gLMs1SRDXF660y7jI28uTNgbJbO0BaEFoAOlrAhKHPd_x2dDn7KL2wXf3/s1600/rukminithormton2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 312px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicB1BFfaHXhTjjL_zuCTrECKeKzq8vIY0hqq13LmscL8hS2UIDmKd7uc9r0CBmInellJo3LqEnECeKLIxcen7gLMs1SRDXF660y7jI28uTNgbJbO0BaEFoAOlrAhKHPd_x2dDn7KL2wXf3/s320/rukminithormton2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5493737045352091906" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">And then Thornton swept her up into a bear hug. That was totally *not* creepy.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNHUvKrwTVZhHDHi7RiRhdOqPPCrEkQJt0vgiGQHrm20b8YVLHVjckjKhKlYpEWMiIE8pI2X2Gw-zcC7v6ni8SbTNgKd7odSE9E28Y7yuzO5GOn1vu_K1YD0zkaFpV-v6B3KFrqq6HOOMy/s1600/rukminiya.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 260px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNHUvKrwTVZhHDHi7RiRhdOqPPCrEkQJt0vgiGQHrm20b8YVLHVjckjKhKlYpEWMiIE8pI2X2Gw-zcC7v6ni8SbTNgKd7odSE9E28Y7yuzO5GOn1vu_K1YD0zkaFpV-v6B3KFrqq6HOOMy/s320/rukminiya.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5493737688091835826" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Rukimini came of age, looking just like her mother, except for having her father's green eyes.</span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFiG62FDUZgnzTMAHhN4IYhyautXTM3sRxred-97csW5vAobVkq1sg6B7Gxr3xe7TtcVrDWC6JY8T2vMUmyB8qeyp5AM-4Eqw1nvSfirWCTvtHKYYMIfuMOphJ1VBqu6cn78UhN2NeK5-I/s1600/expansion.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 222px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFiG62FDUZgnzTMAHhN4IYhyautXTM3sRxred-97csW5vAobVkq1sg6B7Gxr3xe7TtcVrDWC6JY8T2vMUmyB8qeyp5AM-4Eqw1nvSfirWCTvtHKYYMIfuMOphJ1VBqu6cn78UhN2NeK5-I/s320/expansion.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5493738239331714066" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">She expected that he parents would buy her a house like they did for her brother, so Rukimini was surprised to learn they expected her to stay with them. She wasn't going to be able to buy a house on her own, so she had no choice. So she suggested they move into a new, larger house together. But no, her parents were attached to the pokey old house and her father was especially loathe to leave his garden. As a compromise, they allowed their daughter to expand the house, building a master suite for herself, plus a new laundry room, and adding a proper second story rather than the just the narrow attic room she'd been using as a bedroom. They also bought her a new car, a pricey Bwan Speedtster.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIfF62FCjTqQyQj8xufOPs6y8zEvEVkxEkwENP33GJZK65VDtZ9IkJeteWSwgFuB6viMlZBpI0TMou_LL_0VThKeXRBYoKPPKlZnSeHnnB74wGEZ8iR-w2x3rikvS_eWWTiQqIM8-q5VLC/s1600/rukminigym1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 282px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIfF62FCjTqQyQj8xufOPs6y8zEvEVkxEkwENP33GJZK65VDtZ9IkJeteWSwgFuB6viMlZBpI0TMou_LL_0VThKeXRBYoKPPKlZnSeHnnB74wGEZ8iR-w2x3rikvS_eWWTiQqIM8-q5VLC/s320/rukminigym1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5493740395262325858" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Rukmini ran into her brother and Bridgette at the gym, and excitedly told them about her new career in law enforcement.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxw-0pNoWVA9oULnMFTnifzhK8OtYxr1FYNPv8HMEmv3BlAZwkib_oWMF_8HrfzTj4V7ITOByT2gSyLaSkmxrtA_I24t8wdmZIKKIkpsIL6G3XZ2KKZWM6bJAA15zTQ8H0SWcczKvQdFfp/s1600/rukminigym2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 222px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxw-0pNoWVA9oULnMFTnifzhK8OtYxr1FYNPv8HMEmv3BlAZwkib_oWMF_8HrfzTj4V7ITOByT2gSyLaSkmxrtA_I24t8wdmZIKKIkpsIL6G3XZ2KKZWM6bJAA15zTQ8H0SWcczKvQdFfp/s320/rukminigym2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5493741155437842306" /></a></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Bridgette has news of her own; she and Liam are expecting a child. "Wow, already?" Rukmini gasps, "Didn't you want to wait?"</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"It wasn't exactly planned," Liam answered from the treadmill.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"Stuff happens," Bridgette agreed, "But we're pretty happy about it, all the same."</span></div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwzgw-w95dlvhjV4dWGHlLOJJCBjpbUBEzBckjBM8l-cyyH0UlJx9Cpx0nGBogCnPQyTk77Ya0V8AAMn-Lx3PSpC0NaIwJ6AYMvWiVRKlU6D9soj4OkHRE9hZ2NV4g8nEbnlKYQPvbb-Os/s1600/rukminimaxya1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 261px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwzgw-w95dlvhjV4dWGHlLOJJCBjpbUBEzBckjBM8l-cyyH0UlJx9Cpx0nGBogCnPQyTk77Ya0V8AAMn-Lx3PSpC0NaIwJ6AYMvWiVRKlU6D9soj4OkHRE9hZ2NV4g8nEbnlKYQPvbb-Os/s320/rukminimaxya1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5493742648443020994" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">She may have to live with her parents, but that's not going to stop Rukmini from living her life, and having her boyfriend over. Her father is hoping there will be a wedding soon, and new babies in the house to raise.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixAzUG2GXVq_NPHeuEgG-djKQrc_DhrUclhG4a_1jD0NnyPbPlK_4EpBeXJG6unw3R9IT20hyphenhyphent3Zcygkg2DPsiO1di30ITTQX5wTQwkmRThhJ00uA7FIYOhJv936FgRdNY4BFFS3cbmmtc/s1600/rukminimaxya2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 262px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixAzUG2GXVq_NPHeuEgG-djKQrc_DhrUclhG4a_1jD0NnyPbPlK_4EpBeXJG6unw3R9IT20hyphenhyphent3Zcygkg2DPsiO1di30ITTQX5wTQwkmRThhJ00uA7FIYOhJv936FgRdNY4BFFS3cbmmtc/s320/rukminimaxya2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5493743422093907794" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"Your dad is...applauding us..."</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"Yeah, let's just go to my room."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB_ov6X8OYagNmRhVa8N5nhi2AGIDt1e_d71wWvlf7b6BUWnovqHYZ67M2zKBpDZzIoz4-ZZjMNU2ZjpMhgcyUBrWAjKtbiTHK6Ynfucs7JLg_V-E_sm8oCthu5y2ZU3PmrL_1waXMYJ0J/s1600/rukminimaxya3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 246px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB_ov6X8OYagNmRhVa8N5nhi2AGIDt1e_d71wWvlf7b6BUWnovqHYZ67M2zKBpDZzIoz4-ZZjMNU2ZjpMhgcyUBrWAjKtbiTHK6Ynfucs7JLg_V-E_sm8oCthu5y2ZU3PmrL_1waXMYJ0J/s320/rukminimaxya3.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5493744000593630194" /></a>"So, now might be a good time to talk about our future," Max suggests.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"No, it wouldn't," Rukmini replies, avoiding what she knows is coming "Right now, I don't want to talk at all."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizhGDBm8dJsjD4C22VHBSFfAcU__uvSyUAxY7dcuPUQicJgbeHB2U3trbmIMt2Ljxpa7KZy1yt0lCV_yQcq4gHTSTveEu4x4DIG5tFt7ECnnleGm_VcpyenzXhXt9oaruaYv4pGU50J-gA/s1600/rukminimaxya4.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizhGDBm8dJsjD4C22VHBSFfAcU__uvSyUAxY7dcuPUQicJgbeHB2U3trbmIMt2Ljxpa7KZy1yt0lCV_yQcq4gHTSTveEu4x4DIG5tFt7ECnnleGm_VcpyenzXhXt9oaruaYv4pGU50J-gA/s320/rukminimaxya4.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5493744838871082178" /></a><br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">The goddess of love smiles down on the couple.</span></div></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjACcSSsx6Uv77IX3UGJgx11PNl5mbzF6uUv9hANvJqKAOwl46xjdQPg34Tztm5eja40SqIiI-XoRJKJ3pfwaq7eHjTqyIJSSYLMspaV8hxJdgXr_znJVvMTJ-uBDAWzcYAf9mdwAaio8XC/s1600/rukminimaxya5.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 297px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjACcSSsx6Uv77IX3UGJgx11PNl5mbzF6uUv9hANvJqKAOwl46xjdQPg34Tztm5eja40SqIiI-XoRJKJ3pfwaq7eHjTqyIJSSYLMspaV8hxJdgXr_znJVvMTJ-uBDAWzcYAf9mdwAaio8XC/s320/rukminimaxya5.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5493745137338357794" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Max sleeps blissfully that night, dreaming of happiness and home.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4nCYib_FCTcZrfKCIaEBOMC6ti_vhfkNHeZEgniUAQjUzbcrfKnhqKgdgqstdZ2STkAx7567h1lA0x6eeYIvF6K10qenCuf6B_-3NjJwPXQxFHZ1WXdDapDZLHw2SeJXpyuaEjeEu-hYq/s1600/rukiminimaxya7.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 246px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4nCYib_FCTcZrfKCIaEBOMC6ti_vhfkNHeZEgniUAQjUzbcrfKnhqKgdgqstdZ2STkAx7567h1lA0x6eeYIvF6K10qenCuf6B_-3NjJwPXQxFHZ1WXdDapDZLHw2SeJXpyuaEjeEu-hYq/s320/rukiminimaxya7.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5493745570495526482" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Rukmini's sleep is a bit more fitful, her dreams a bit more disturbed.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHEjsWebjFACFdLdxbFUzzXKs2oQWXkkX5ocWyleigipzjWiEsIAGYZzhVM3H06w47OrAGKKaJAWZrJ42GlClH6WJ9RCYu2cRQgLoBLD0QoxSjTnWWN_KkImjsn1JJkKkqzPCYYUj1Ji54/s1600/rukminimaxya8.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHEjsWebjFACFdLdxbFUzzXKs2oQWXkkX5ocWyleigipzjWiEsIAGYZzhVM3H06w47OrAGKKaJAWZrJ42GlClH6WJ9RCYu2cRQgLoBLD0QoxSjTnWWN_KkImjsn1JJkKkqzPCYYUj1Ji54/s320/rukminimaxya8.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5493746268980647346" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">When Max leaves for work the next morning (he's a teacher at the school they attended as children) Rukmini ponders the future that he wanted to discuss the night before. They've been inseparable since childhood, they went steady in high school, and now of course, they should be getting married and having children, just like Liam and Bridgette. Rukmini loves Max, but that's not what she wants. She isn't sure exactly what she does want, but she's sure there is more out there to experience, and she's not ready yet to settle down.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiPRFGROG5Lhfv91uhsYSNq0X7K4CtXRxgJnEYvW7FscfB4DfouCK99DiEGd7VC25B-67S0FihhmJSGm2dV-DHvZYmzQt1hLky_yItoy5H6vw36AevuI6P_fBikmIpR-56BqfgrJ2DO_br/s1600/rukminimaxya9.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiPRFGROG5Lhfv91uhsYSNq0X7K4CtXRxgJnEYvW7FscfB4DfouCK99DiEGd7VC25B-67S0FihhmJSGm2dV-DHvZYmzQt1hLky_yItoy5H6vw36AevuI6P_fBikmIpR-56BqfgrJ2DO_br/s320/rukminimaxya9.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5493747642608514338" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Max leaves for work happier than he's ever been in his life, confident that soon he will have the real family he's always hoped for.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">(Challenge Notes: Generation One goals have all been met. The generation 2 'Expansionist' goal has also been met, and I'm currently playing 'Hands Off'. Rukmini's Traits are: Artistic, Brave, Vegetarian, Schmoozer, Commitment Issues. I feel very sorry for Max, lol, as Rukmini is committed to being a single parent of 3.)</span></div>yangthecathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15083940950118677312noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2465124855374784027.post-24112762049038017122010-07-12T04:58:00.000-07:002010-07-12T05:33:14.283-07:00Ramaswami/Mcdermott Random Legacy Ch. 7: Fulfilled Up Perfect<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNyPyThJgZxlNAhjBPzmdD2E5oOA-Tip3AWPIoyXhJWUiColUYfDaVGvhaOWfUH9-TbC82OEVfW79lGZkmYD_fJiFXmz1EVBlTGvnvcWkkxgMxohNeOm0lumGwOWHCUb4RP319IshntBc0/s1600/liamphonepromise.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 290px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNyPyThJgZxlNAhjBPzmdD2E5oOA-Tip3AWPIoyXhJWUiColUYfDaVGvhaOWfUH9-TbC82OEVfW79lGZkmYD_fJiFXmz1EVBlTGvnvcWkkxgMxohNeOm0lumGwOWHCUb4RP319IshntBc0/s320/liamphonepromise.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5492988271794929442" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Liam has graduated high school and is preparing to start his life as an adult. He makes a promise to his girlfriend Bridgette, who is younger than he is, to wait for her to catch up to him.</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvoiVL212NU2xEkrUKYhedZr4eM-8YgmdIGuF9VD1t1umwByO1lB77ILaplSKSdx8VGuCtvu4yXNX9CTvVCuaBv5NvtcH1xn83j8v6psSV4cGNCP2CCxnAKr7-nLSi-t7u4PD9B5ngbMfb/s1600/liamya.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 319px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvoiVL212NU2xEkrUKYhedZr4eM-8YgmdIGuF9VD1t1umwByO1lB77ILaplSKSdx8VGuCtvu4yXNX9CTvVCuaBv5NvtcH1xn83j8v6psSV4cGNCP2CCxnAKr7-nLSi-t7u4PD9B5ngbMfb/s320/liamya.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5492988941143861042" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Now that he's a young adult, it's time for Liam to move out and start his own life. Lakshmi has made a lot of money in her stylist career, and was recently offered a huge commission from City Hall for 15 of her paintings, so there is money to buy Liam a nice house nearby. Susan and Boyd Wainwright have recently passed on, leaving their house unoccupied, so Liam snatches it off the market.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuqhGJU_OuJZ9UeLOYLjSzd6p9JoSu30FrJ1jz0BBGxFKQd4-wLt-sGRSAhtlaI-TbdpCXKjvQTqT1AnbuIIpSif2jtVVlsT_OiJb45OuEBfS5HmQaygC3BrOd2muySDIoF7Gytu-Foch5/s1600/rukminiteenroom.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 252px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuqhGJU_OuJZ9UeLOYLjSzd6p9JoSu30FrJ1jz0BBGxFKQd4-wLt-sGRSAhtlaI-TbdpCXKjvQTqT1AnbuIIpSif2jtVVlsT_OiJb45OuEBfS5HmQaygC3BrOd2muySDIoF7Gytu-Foch5/s320/rukminiteenroom.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5492990119792353586" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">With Liam out of the house, Rukmini takes over his attic bedroom with its private bathroom, repainting it to suit her style.</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjx1xtq8d0DrgFy14LYtNUqHiFHq1erbqBYSv31QhpiKVkDKp99EBf6aTAb8aHiSZKsLkvsq_DXvX9nHe4Jnro21G-5e2QXGpHKyktPlFg2fOMfPpjWCFj5bXA7UhQAOy5bzqVAMMFPHTU/s1600/rukminimaxbridgette.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 242px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjx1xtq8d0DrgFy14LYtNUqHiFHq1erbqBYSv31QhpiKVkDKp99EBf6aTAb8aHiSZKsLkvsq_DXvX9nHe4Jnro21G-5e2QXGpHKyktPlFg2fOMfPpjWCFj5bXA7UhQAOy5bzqVAMMFPHTU/s320/rukminimaxbridgette.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5492990759028649746" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Bridgette Wolff and Max Vatos have figured out on their own that they have the same father, but like the rest of the town, they never speak of it.</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0SMhjABvIw_g4HDQ-qnNtiUDX9OwJxGuG62knEedk42WrPlJ9fK2KdERgvYhtXTc1oijxp84FUHC_IlDYvu1ud0rRxl_y_6e720NbB1tWVITOBi2IvaSCvOaPcm2OxF00pbvWCTxditDC/s1600/lakshmikey.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 258px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0SMhjABvIw_g4HDQ-qnNtiUDX9OwJxGuG62knEedk42WrPlJ9fK2KdERgvYhtXTc1oijxp84FUHC_IlDYvu1ud0rRxl_y_6e720NbB1tWVITOBi2IvaSCvOaPcm2OxF00pbvWCTxditDC/s320/lakshmikey.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5492991811871850130" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">For her service to the community as a stylist, Lakshmi is awarded a key to the city by the mayor in a big ceremony. Lakshmi's life mission is fulfilled.</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8sVUCkSd3FFJXRx2HEDeh0KgXFhPN1T6LRCuNyAYqBcp-KbMmL6-MgIw0TL7DMnBjh5DlUPshWaGwb2bz5UYgmrnFnq24EqiZqVW7kB3xaxu7pct55VHWgoVvLEisCYLFCjdIB3O0b2Ng/s1600/elders.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 285px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8sVUCkSd3FFJXRx2HEDeh0KgXFhPN1T6LRCuNyAYqBcp-KbMmL6-MgIw0TL7DMnBjh5DlUPshWaGwb2bz5UYgmrnFnq24EqiZqVW7kB3xaxu7pct55VHWgoVvLEisCYLFCjdIB3O0b2Ng/s320/elders.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5492992526312322626" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Maximus and Lakshmi reached their golden years, and Lakshmi retires. Her pension will be more than enough for them until Rukmini grows up and starts her career.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqln11GHJb3_dAYwE0NXK23yPrG-M7v039nHqtBrsl5wEWUfc1NMaofBuSXUgrq-ldHNa0TVcPeqCy7fTdWo6kytS5p2Jul3TErYN861K4-QiamqKO-gByo5CZZcHWxPb9aVt_2_8NjOfD/s1600/lakshmivisitsliam.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 298px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqln11GHJb3_dAYwE0NXK23yPrG-M7v039nHqtBrsl5wEWUfc1NMaofBuSXUgrq-ldHNa0TVcPeqCy7fTdWo6kytS5p2Jul3TErYN861K4-QiamqKO-gByo5CZZcHWxPb9aVt_2_8NjOfD/s320/lakshmivisitsliam.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5492993046867248882" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Having no work during the day means Lakshmi has time to visit Liam in his new home. He works late in his new job in the music industry and has apparently just gotten home as his mother showed up at the door. "Why are your clothes torn?" Lakshmi demands. She didn't raise her children to go around in ripped clothing. Liam tries to explain it's part of his job and that he'll be able to dress better once he's a hit movie composer, but Lakshmi has a hard time accepting that any job would require someone to wear a torn shirt. What is the world coming to?</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">(Challenge Notes: Though attaining LTWs aren't required for mygeneration 1, Lakshmi has attained hers, to reach the top of the stylist career. Maximus has the tinkerer LTW, to max handiness and logic. He's already maxed handiness through repairing and upgrading plumbing and appliances in the house, and he's up to nine logic, so he has a very good chance of attaining his. Liam has met all the requirements of being a Perfect Child before moving out, and is now in the music career path. Because Lakshmi had made so much money I decided to but him a pricey house to bleed off some of the family wealth. As it is there's still enough in the bank for Rukmini to do a sizable expansion on the house to fulfill her generation goal. She's reached level 3 of her teen job and is on the honor roll, so something would have to go horribly wrong at this point for generation 1 to fail. She's got a few days left as a teen. For what it's worth, Liam is still partnered with Bridgette, who will be a YA herself soon. I'm using Twallan's story progression, so anything can happen there.)</span></div>yangthecathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15083940950118677312noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2465124855374784027.post-22287575271482600852010-07-11T20:32:00.001-07:002010-07-11T21:31:03.942-07:00Ramaswami/McDermott Random Legacy Ch. 6: Growing Up Perfect<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxpWjWSwSO3QrFuZo0yp6qWaIdbLxTMxG1dVZJlS-6UXg3vYXCmxdQ-GdTESVF1Bez-PH_BwBNIjYamgOsz7LUrFhEM4gea0m_L-jXFC17KmEOw0QVY5T-Fbm2fOZYxCc56Cfo7JL2uZSV/s1600/liamsroom.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 275px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxpWjWSwSO3QrFuZo0yp6qWaIdbLxTMxG1dVZJlS-6UXg3vYXCmxdQ-GdTESVF1Bez-PH_BwBNIjYamgOsz7LUrFhEM4gea0m_L-jXFC17KmEOw0QVY5T-Fbm2fOZYxCc56Cfo7JL2uZSV/s320/liamsroom.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5492857731895670082" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Liam got his own room in the attic, with an attached bathroom. Finally, some privacy.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVTRD76GussLrXZdJtTDg0eQmnzSkPR3dUeU86FghyrPCG1jx__Sl3iz4jEkUdMMT543V_I-svofBuxZBgehDyjSU8d4ciJhT7f1xodpJMEflyptSj2xslx9JQ9tVx6tzMmaPL1Vc4EAGN/s1600/rukminitoddler.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 294px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVTRD76GussLrXZdJtTDg0eQmnzSkPR3dUeU86FghyrPCG1jx__Sl3iz4jEkUdMMT543V_I-svofBuxZBgehDyjSU8d4ciJhT7f1xodpJMEflyptSj2xslx9JQ9tVx6tzMmaPL1Vc4EAGN/s320/rukminitoddler.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5492858504388626098" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">When Rukmini becomes a toddler, Maximus and Lakshmi give her the same educational advantages they gave her older brother, educational toys and books and much training and attention from her parents.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"></span></div></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJMwyvByabUqsvGTrQWf6ujJtdr1an8h1nm1qHLmIvW4lcYWw2rmSlB0As9wb6RhhV7JxS0HsvnIGgk3aovFFXutPiSYMNPL2wqtbO2Q5PJ4lN_SrzCgwVE9QAKK8LdXScB4BTvUI1IQYf/s1600/lakshmimorgana.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 246px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJMwyvByabUqsvGTrQWf6ujJtdr1an8h1nm1qHLmIvW4lcYWw2rmSlB0As9wb6RhhV7JxS0HsvnIGgk3aovFFXutPiSYMNPL2wqtbO2Q5PJ4lN_SrzCgwVE9QAKK8LdXScB4BTvUI1IQYf/s320/lakshmimorgana.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5492859815777319058" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">These days, Lakshmi does more stylist house calls than she does in the salon. She gets sent to give wardrobe advice to Morgana Wolff, and she's more than impressed by the size of Wolff Manor, and the amazing views of the ocean it affords. Narcissa told Lakshmi that Thornton wanted to work on his marriage, but the relationship didn't seem to change. One day they'd be walking arm in arm at the beach, the next day they'd be having heated arguments at the bistro. There's a sadness in Morgana's eyes that says she might be aware of her husband's straying. Lakshmi wouldn't trade places with her for anything, the fabulous house and incredible wealth would not be worth the pain.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_Kvg2I8ylcBSrR281so27ys6NCFcU4Wh7QPBdexthg3uvU3HAgiv6sksci3jBngP_tCUaMn7jAbzQluGutUUaVfDedTVLOR7wHmBTF9nlsXX02AN3TjoUJGjuHL8xAo50Q6WDVovh5EfV/s1600/rukmnibridgettechild.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 265px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_Kvg2I8ylcBSrR281so27ys6NCFcU4Wh7QPBdexthg3uvU3HAgiv6sksci3jBngP_tCUaMn7jAbzQluGutUUaVfDedTVLOR7wHmBTF9nlsXX02AN3TjoUJGjuHL8xAo50Q6WDVovh5EfV/s320/rukmnibridgettechild.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5492862204833326322" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Rukmini's first school friend is Bridgette Wolff, Thornton and Morgana's daughter. Bridgette inherited her father's silver-tipped hair, a distinctive trait of the Wolff family.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"></span></div></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0C6z6G8m0kF2dNkezsGHL8wojZ3G7UqPLnmq25DyagaiVd9TiHCMsyqFWSxA3qaYuBaYpS5z1cqDI1Tzryd2qQKDUjnNG61CQoFDp3L61KvD5BKGPJ5kFHuv6VnoOgAo2K7a4rgPbJNV-/s1600/rukminimaxchild.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 231px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0C6z6G8m0kF2dNkezsGHL8wojZ3G7UqPLnmq25DyagaiVd9TiHCMsyqFWSxA3qaYuBaYpS5z1cqDI1Tzryd2qQKDUjnNG61CQoFDp3L61KvD5BKGPJ5kFHuv6VnoOgAo2K7a4rgPbJNV-/s320/rukminimaxchild.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5492863083809379314" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Max Vatos, Thornton's son with Narcissa, has also inherited his father's distinctive hair coloring, as well as bearing a strong resemblance to Thornton in all his features. Rukmini and Max quickly become best friends, as their mothers wanted.</span><div></div></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiLX07pTJAGg-_dW3efPt9Z3h7c-gcU5JT6LR11abbzfLhFDbTjJIXgXL1-Ogk6toHM3IhqO4TsvbAwRr3PwD8vbEz2zziwoZyAwxn92FisaioEPHDIvZPYKVl-h_6d9052G2GSqqZLOBd/s1600/liamteenjob.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 305px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiLX07pTJAGg-_dW3efPt9Z3h7c-gcU5JT6LR11abbzfLhFDbTjJIXgXL1-Ogk6toHM3IhqO4TsvbAwRr3PwD8vbEz2zziwoZyAwxn92FisaioEPHDIvZPYKVl-h_6d9052G2GSqqZLOBd/s320/liamteenjob.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5492864228809299346" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">When Liam becomes a teen, his parents make him get a job. Well, his mother made him get a job. Unemployed Maximus just didn't feel like arguing with her about the issue, since she felt it was so important for the boy to learn responsibility. So Liam got and after school job at the bookstore.</span><div></div></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhibOez2fBDmCFPsmDe6aLTZ4-el3D1Qy2eiz-r_c-RH57qU4WcUD9LxENgrnsREFKBfiwgFAx6HuwxkfXsakT-V8R5i1wL5fSo85WdrqX7VDdQHbHjV24lwDTnvR3VT8LTe3kf7iiQ4KBY/s1600/liamfirstkiss.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 256px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhibOez2fBDmCFPsmDe6aLTZ4-el3D1Qy2eiz-r_c-RH57qU4WcUD9LxENgrnsREFKBfiwgFAx6HuwxkfXsakT-V8R5i1wL5fSo85WdrqX7VDdQHbHjV24lwDTnvR3VT8LTe3kf7iiQ4KBY/s320/liamfirstkiss.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5492865454640031810" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">With school, homework and a part time job, Liam hardly has time for fun or dating, but he manages to start a relationship with Bridgette Wolff once she becomes a teen.</span><div></div></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKDCdrsUwacw69p61Ch5gRzdME62oniV6OeMS2yBo7ppcpWYJ3ZPEJ9OoQTYoSVLDTP-a49vS6vbtfMYXt21DA_tZKdblBmBvo7-wr7eZl1gR2fQ3C-THrAqPvVqQnrwc8LuaFyZZfw5Kd/s1600/liamrukminiteen.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 270px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKDCdrsUwacw69p61Ch5gRzdME62oniV6OeMS2yBo7ppcpWYJ3ZPEJ9OoQTYoSVLDTP-a49vS6vbtfMYXt21DA_tZKdblBmBvo7-wr7eZl1gR2fQ3C-THrAqPvVqQnrwc8LuaFyZZfw5Kd/s320/liamrukminiteen.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5492866792517182674" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Rukmini becomes a teen not long after her friend Bridgette. Like Liam, she's required to get a part time job. Rukmini chooses to work at the spa, since Bridgette has a job there already.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6XigO7tVPkwjbGN0XuPVBvf0j67soRz832Bm6K03LfvEYcYF-LaKzf551UWw7vHsKTHwVXO92aRXbSLZXuBwMrLpBnADGzCzlDmdEJr-zJGp8GtrOsmNirXVsEZq83KxJaA6EHdlbwoKn/s1600/rukminimaxteen.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 270px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6XigO7tVPkwjbGN0XuPVBvf0j67soRz832Bm6K03LfvEYcYF-LaKzf551UWw7vHsKTHwVXO92aRXbSLZXuBwMrLpBnADGzCzlDmdEJr-zJGp8GtrOsmNirXVsEZq83KxJaA6EHdlbwoKn/s320/rukminimaxteen.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5492868772305904338" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Max Vatos is next to grow into a teen, and as soon as he does, he and Rukmini begin dating. The older he gets, the more obvious the resemblance he bears to his father. Lakshmi is sure the whole town will know Thornton's secret even though she's never breathed a word, not even to her children, who are both dating his children, legitimate and illegitimate. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">(Challenge Notes: Liam and Rukmini have satisfied all the requirements for the Perfect Children rule in generation 1. Rukmini got the family trait, Vegetarian, on her transition to childhood. Lakshmi and Maximus have both become Adults somewhere in there.)</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div>yangthecathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15083940950118677312noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2465124855374784027.post-83569147242027103892010-07-09T05:30:00.000-07:002010-07-09T06:28:37.453-07:00Ramaswami/McDermott Random Legacy Ch. 5: A Perfect Child<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Deaiz0M3vVzFN_nFpSxL1_7Bd1F6kXX5iw6KvZwVhfRk_j5yoc49qZBXRoJcw3V1K7pKWb8HvCz-oD-1COi9BYhmA_0UlIDJR819s0GsBqWIGwu2FfKEgTfTdVyqYuMUsChXTIzGCdh3/s1600/liam.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 252px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Deaiz0M3vVzFN_nFpSxL1_7Bd1F6kXX5iw6KvZwVhfRk_j5yoc49qZBXRoJcw3V1K7pKWb8HvCz-oD-1COi9BYhmA_0UlIDJR819s0GsBqWIGwu2FfKEgTfTdVyqYuMUsChXTIzGCdh3/s320/liam.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5491883685610005762" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Lakshmi and Maximus have a son, Liam.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl7Y6zjikVugwBql0RT0NfVjl27MfWJSCWlLpc0cAghMSE4bWebQlnlgVUGaJwhHY9CPbHU8ltIQcHReG9Vfb9fbEIgtSvIc-qW09JhrUXGoy4HS69tPju6Nk4UHSHpUtLAqqpm65EYeaG/s1600/toddlertraining1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 288px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl7Y6zjikVugwBql0RT0NfVjl27MfWJSCWlLpc0cAghMSE4bWebQlnlgVUGaJwhHY9CPbHU8ltIQcHReG9Vfb9fbEIgtSvIc-qW09JhrUXGoy4HS69tPju6Nk4UHSHpUtLAqqpm65EYeaG/s320/toddlertraining1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5491883992163039234" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">As soon as he's old enough, his devoted parents begin teaching him to walk and talk. </span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4tqo3PTml9WJFHBqs1VUQtNX0CWtfz5odKIe042lr_84e94Ib83xR41KfkXIY07v4GlgIk32iuP8KP75_izpzfMZjZLWMch0wTfdfbGou9y54jqIF_GknlTfykRqoUAIhOjbw717p-XoA/s1600/toddlertraining2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 274px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4tqo3PTml9WJFHBqs1VUQtNX0CWtfz5odKIe042lr_84e94Ib83xR41KfkXIY07v4GlgIk32iuP8KP75_izpzfMZjZLWMch0wTfdfbGou9y54jqIF_GknlTfykRqoUAIhOjbw717p-XoA/s320/toddlertraining2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5491885120217389682" /></a><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">They read to him and give him only educational toys to play with, hoping to give him every advantage in life. </span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUhGffVgbH5TlrV9TDZm2wlNbxxtQu3rXbqu0fZIY7lP-RlBVXr0J9lKuQnug_LEe8k2V6INn61drUKIp0bUvJdB-VQkbJWKrHNisq5A5M7ryjfLCrE73JPmIMdyXOAt3D1oaCVGU7Hjh1/s1600/preggersagain.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 264px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUhGffVgbH5TlrV9TDZm2wlNbxxtQu3rXbqu0fZIY7lP-RlBVXr0J9lKuQnug_LEe8k2V6INn61drUKIp0bUvJdB-VQkbJWKrHNisq5A5M7ryjfLCrE73JPmIMdyXOAt3D1oaCVGU7Hjh1/s320/preggersagain.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5491886371933051698" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Just a few days before Liam's next birthday, Lakshmi discovers she's pregnant again. Maximus hopes for a girl this time.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-LsqdDiKkUshq_mwVJyr2j0Q1rOVQBSh3k7SwzkBnIREtYXGcw5gEIhvh7oKvUhR2DHhEYeySj4btn-_LZAkbfP8SgdBJ7bvsKo1DlG7MP7USvTDLBkXSidGCS9kDCdx0W1_PNvKGH-Nh/s1600/narcissababy.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 274px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-LsqdDiKkUshq_mwVJyr2j0Q1rOVQBSh3k7SwzkBnIREtYXGcw5gEIhvh7oKvUhR2DHhEYeySj4btn-_LZAkbfP8SgdBJ7bvsKo1DlG7MP7USvTDLBkXSidGCS9kDCdx0W1_PNvKGH-Nh/s320/narcissababy.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5491887606198295266" /></a><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Though she's on maternity leave, Lakshmi visits the salon to share some gossip with her friend Narcissa, who is dressed in an uncharacteristically frumpy fashion, very similar to Lakshmi's own maternity wear. "Our kids can be best friends," Narcissa quips, making it clear that she, too, is pregnant. Lakshmi didn't know her best friend was even seeing anyone, and tries to think of a tactful way to ask who the father is.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"Promise you won't tell anyone," Narcissa demands, not waiting for Lakshmi to ask, "It's Thornton Wolff."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"<i>The</i> Thornton Wolff?" Lakshmi gasps, as though there was another one. "But he's..."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"Married, yes," Narcissa replies with a sigh. "You know how it is with him and Morgana, one day hot, the next day cold. On one of those cold days he got kind of hot with me."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"Will he leave her?" Lakshmi asks.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Narcissa shakes her head. "She's pregnant too. Poor Thornton, he hates kids."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Lakshmi rolls her eyes, not feeling any pity for Thornton Wolff, but she promises her friend not to reveal her secret.</span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsI6VPImbbpdX0SpHlSG69wgXPlT-JZgk9JwQyMwnTKJjj9bHM3kxri1yBgWSVWxz3fpEUemp4zwOycH3xrVaVEfbTV7b9d9sNQ4o-yu2fDv2WgK69viku-EOg0JTQiIjvYXaWs9SJtVBV/s1600/liambelly.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 246px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsI6VPImbbpdX0SpHlSG69wgXPlT-JZgk9JwQyMwnTKJjj9bHM3kxri1yBgWSVWxz3fpEUemp4zwOycH3xrVaVEfbTV7b9d9sNQ4o-yu2fDv2WgK69viku-EOg0JTQiIjvYXaWs9SJtVBV/s320/liambelly.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5491891372717422562" /></a><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Liam has a birthday, and is now a child. The house has just two bedrooms, so Maximus and Lakshmi put Liam's new bed in the nursery with the crib they're keeping ready for the baby on the way. "Am I going to have to share my room with the new baby?" Liam asks, already anticipating conflict. Smart boy.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr05p_ktqTtAd3FWClYXnXbG9pabrY_QuN44jAiwsigg-OE6HVcq2juGqYYeGrV23hzUAlcs5ztNAxTWX0B9J_6aZ7kP_bZgpi391mpvDvyoGn8j2gneRSxJVA__cPZP7Ux3WQ_6auv-PC/s1600/noisemaker.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 290px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr05p_ktqTtAd3FWClYXnXbG9pabrY_QuN44jAiwsigg-OE6HVcq2juGqYYeGrV23hzUAlcs5ztNAxTWX0B9J_6aZ7kP_bZgpi391mpvDvyoGn8j2gneRSxJVA__cPZP7Ux3WQ_6auv-PC/s320/noisemaker.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5491892975815340914" /></a><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">The next child is a girl, just as Maximus hoped. They name her Rukmini. Liam hates sharing his room with his noisy, smelly little sister. There's room in the attic to add another room and a much needed second bathroom, there just isn't the money to do it, so Liam will have to share for awhile.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEZQcfYbhayXQgM1JatQIGDQsBhwZqmzPHpFPhxp0soFDdOas-AU68jwuZ_eBXi3yGlHCUXhPXALwI_Zsmd5AkdSUcMEBMQvtSYZzs1PVMRxwNwcZmNQa6YLScR1LVfPQLz2xRPcm_LGea/s1600/businessoffice.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 309px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEZQcfYbhayXQgM1JatQIGDQsBhwZqmzPHpFPhxp0soFDdOas-AU68jwuZ_eBXi3yGlHCUXhPXALwI_Zsmd5AkdSUcMEBMQvtSYZzs1PVMRxwNwcZmNQa6YLScR1LVfPQLz2xRPcm_LGea/s320/businessoffice.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5491894404037282226" /></a><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Lakshmi gets a commission from the Doo Peas Corporation for ten of her paintings. Painting is more of a hobby for her than a profession, but she does have many examples of her work on her own walls, and is more than happy to sell a few if there are buyers. When Thornton Wolff hands her the check for ten grand, there is something in his eyes that says 'hush money' and Lakshmi feels dirty taking it. She wonders if he's paid off Narcissa like this too, if he plans on supporting his child. Lakshmi would like to throw the check back in his face, but they really need the money to add a room for Liam, and it's not like Thornton Wolff is actually buying her silence, which she's already promised to Narcissa.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">(Challenge notes: Liam as a toddler succeeded in reading all nine toddler books and reaching level three on peg box and xylophone, and he was potty trained and taught to walk and talk. So the Perfect Children requirement, Phase One is complete. He's started working on the blocks table and toy oven. The Runs in the Family trait is Vegetarian, and Liam was given that trait on age up to child.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">My roll for Generation 2 is Single Parent, 3 children, career in Law Enforcement, Spy track. Generation goal will be Expansionist and the Misc Fun will be Hands off. Note that the coming addition I'm planning to make a bedroom for Liam in the attic will not be counting toward Expansionist, that won't happen until the heir becomes a young adult and makes an expansion on the house. The heir will likely be Rukmini.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; ">) </span></div>yangthecathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15083940950118677312noreply@blogger.com0