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Not A Love Story Character Introductions

I am taking a bit of a break from my Landcaster legacy to make sure I don't get burned out, so in the meantime I'm planning on playing through a new story I came up with. I've decided to do small character introductions for the main and reoccurring characters throughout the story, so you can get to know them a bit better before I start posting after I get back from vacation. I've decided to name this small story Not A Love Story, and hopefully as I start posting you'll see why.

First up is my MMC, Garreth White. Traits: Bookwork, Overachiever, Gloomy Aspiration: Bestselling Author

Garreth is originally from Windenburg. He's currently a senior at Britechester university studying language and literature. He has 3 older sisters, Marlowe, Sloane, and Cecily. His dad is a lawyer, and his mother is a bestselling romance author. Garreth has always been a pretty quiet guy. Since his mother is a bestselling author he was encouraged to read from a very young age and this sparked his love of reading and writing and it made him want to be an author.

He has a reputation around the writing department at Britechester as being a grade A asshole. Due to this many of his peers ignore him and all of the younger students in the program are a bit scared of him. Garreth doesn't have any friends, and is considered a loner. He has a Persian cat named Esther.

I don't want to spoil too much about Garreth's lore, but I absolutely adore this man, and I would die for him

Second is my FMC, Ainsley Gains. Traits: Outgoing, Bookwork, Romantic Aspiration: Bestselling Author

Like Garreth, Ainsley also grew up in Windenburg, but their upbringings were quite different. Ainsley's father died when she was a toddler and when she was 6 her mother remarried and had her younger sister, Fiona. Ainsley has been quite protective of Fiona always trying to give her all the opportunities she never had growing up. Their family lives above (but doesn't own) the local bookstore where Ainsley spent most of her days reading between the shelves. She used reading as a form of escape from some of the things she was dealing with in regard to her home life. This is why she's decided to study Language & Literature at Britechester, where she's currently a junior.

Around the writing department Ainsley is highly regarded and generally a very well-liked sim. People find her approachable and have no issue coming to her for help or advice. I'd also die for Ainsley.

Third is Diego Gonzales Traits: Art Lover, Loyal, Lovebug Aspiration: Party Animal

Diego is originally from Ciudad Enamorada, but he moved to Windenburg as a child where he met and became best friends with Ainsley. He's currently in his junior year at Britechester studying art history with the hope of being an arts critic after graduation. Diego is a RA (Resident Assistant) in Wyvern Hall. Although he hates this job, he gets free room and board at Britechester as well as his own room, so he puts up with it.

Diego does enjoy attending parties and getting that full college experience. In his friend group he's part of what Ainsley and Delilah have dubbed the 'terror trio', which consists of himself, Scarlet, and Jae, mostly because those three like to have fun and are often getting everyone into trouble.

Diego is ride or die for his friends, and he would do just about anything for all of them, even if he teases them at times.

Fourth is Scarlet Daniels Traits: Creative, Self-Assured, Self-Absorbed Aspiration: Painter Extraordinaire

Scarlet was Ainsley's Freshman year roommate at Britechester. Like Diego, Scarlet is studying art history, but she wants to be an artists after graduation. Due to their shared major, and Scarlet's roommate status with Ainsley she became roped into Diego and Ainsley's little duo and the three have been friends since. Scarlet currently lives in an off campus townhouse with both Ainsley and Jae.

Scarlet is originally from Del Sol Valley, and her parents wanted her to pursue a much more serious career in college, but Scarlet refused. She's never been good at following directions or doing what others want her to do. She can sometimes be a bit mean and judgmental, but that is due to the fact that she's self-absorbed. At the end of the day Scarlet (usually) means well, and she always tries to be there for her friends even if sometimes she needs them a bit more.

Fifth is Ainsley and Scarlet's third roommate, Jae Park. Traits: Ambitious, Outgoing, Nosey Aspiration: City Native

Jae is originally from Oasis Springs. She's a junior at Britechester studying Language and Literature. Unlike Ainsley, Jae is hoping to become a lawyer with this degree instead of going the writing route. That being said she does still enjoy creative writing in her free time. Jae and Ainsley met during the second semester their freshman year. They shared a writing class together, and became friends over the course of the class. Eventually Jae got folded into Ainsley's little friend group with Diego and Scarlet.

Jae is a nosey sim, so she's always interested in whatever gossip is making its way around the department. She is also quite sarcastic, and very rarely takes things seriously. Most anything out of Jae's mouth is likely a joke. She does have an on again off again boyfriend names Milo. At the start of the story they are currently on the outs in their relationship.

Sixth is Delilah Jennings Traits: Loyal, Genius, Perfectionist Aspiration: Academic

Delilah is currently a senior at Britechester studying Biology. She's top of her class, and an honors student. After graduation she does plan on going into the doctor career.

Delilah is a pretty laid back and level headed sim. During her Sophomore year she rescued Scarlet from a group of fratboys who were trying to take advantage of her. Upon finding out that all of Scarlet's friends were out of town for the weekend, Delilah spent the evening taking care of her and making sure Scarlet was okay. After this she and Scarlet became friends.

When Ainsley, Diego, Jae, and Scarlet needed a Biology tutor for one of their gen ed classes, Delilah volunteered herself and she's been good friends with everyone since. Delilah is originally from Willow Creek, and she often considered one of the only sane members of their little friend group. She currently has a boyfriend named Jamal.

Seventh is Jamal Jameson Traits: Good, Ambitious, Active Aspiration: Academic

Jamal is a first year med student at Foxbury studying to become a surgeon (because I say Med/Grad school is a thing). Jamal is the cousin of my sim, Nat, from my Landcaster legacy. He's also been dating Delilah for the last two years, and they live together in a townhouse located in Britechester.

Jamal met Delilah when he was a junior and she was a sophomore in college. They met when Delilah decided to go to Foxbury to attend the guest lecture of a famous medical specialist.

While Jamal has gotten folded into Delilah's friend group, and he does regularly spend time with them, he does have several of his own friends at Foxbury, whom you'll meet they just aren't as relevant to the story.

Overall, Jamal is a very laid back and chill sim, and he doesn't really let much get to him. He is originally from San Sequoia.

Eighth is Isabelle (Isa) Felix. Traits: Romantic, Mean, Noncommittal Aspiration: Romantic Explorer

Isa is a fellow language & literature major at Britechester alongside Ainsley, Garreth, and Jae. Isa is currently a senior, and she's also Garreth's ex-girlfriend. Isa and Garreth started dating about midway through their freshman year at Britechester. They broke up during the spring of their sophomore year, for reasons that will be revealed at a later date.

Around the writing department, Isa is known to be very bubbly and outgoing, but she cycles through friends quickly. Isa has a tendency to know everything about everyone, and she's not above using other people's secrets for personal gain. She loves creating stories, and people are like the pawns in a chess game to her.

She does currently have a boyfriend named Anthony, and she is originally from Ciudad Enamorada. She is not a part of Ainsley's friend group, but Ainsley does try to be nice to her in class.

Last, but certainly not least, is Ainsley's younger sister, Fiona Gains. Traits: Perfectionist, Geek Aspiration: Goal Orientated

Fiona is currently a Freshman at Windenburg high school. Fiona is known to be quite naïve when it comes matters of her home life, mostly because Ainsley did a great job at shielding Fiona from a lot.

Fiona currently works at the bookstore, just like her sister did during high school. Her favorite band, currently, is Janie and the Misfits (👀). Fiona is usually very cheerful. She's also wanted a pet cat for forever, but keeps getting denied.

Ainsley does her best to make time for Fiona whenever she's in Windenburg, so Fiona is no stranger to tagging along with Ainsley and her friends. Fiona does look up to Ainsley a great deal, she absolutely adores her older sister. Fiona is as much Diego's younger sister as she is Ainsley's, he'll tell you as much. Fiona's best friend's name is Eleanor. Fiona likes reading, just not as much as Ainsley does.

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Landcaster Legacy Gen 7 Update #80 Part 2

While Leo and Nat continued to chat with guests, Lacy spotted an all too familiar face (or back?) at the bar. She tried her best to refrain from saying hi, because nothing good was to come from her talking with Owen, but eventually, Lacy couldn't restrain herself and she made her way towards him.

"Hey," Lacy said as she slid into the vacant seat. Owen had to do a double take, "Lacy, hey." "Just thought I'd say hi, it's been a few years." "I know. Since that day on the pier in high school…" Owen trailed off. "When I tried to convince you not to date Maggie. You two seem happy now though."

Owen didn't know what to say, so instead he just said nothing. "You are happy, right?" Lacy pressed. "What if I said you were right," Owen said slowly. "About Maggie." "I've seen you two, on social bunny. You've seemed happy." "Social media lies, Lace. There's a reason I didn't bring her tonight."

"Why are you still together then?" Lacy asked. "Can we not talk about this?" Owen asked her. "Any other topic, please." "Okay…" Lacy paused. "What've you written recently? I miss reading your scripts." "I haven't been writing," Owen said quietly. "What? Why? You're so talented." "Lacy…"

"No, Owen. Look," Lacy began "I know we haven't kept in touch these past few years, and maybe it isn't my place, but if you're not happy then you need to fix that. I'd like to think we're still friends, and I can't stand the idea of you being unhappy. Start writing again, do something!" "I'm trying"

Owen knew he'd see Lacy tonight. He'd spent the last week prepping for it, figuring out what he was going to say, how he was going to act. Then she'd sat down and his perfectly crafted script had gone out the window. Instead he found himself telling her everything. Lacy was always easy to talk to.

"Move in with Vi and me," Lacy said finally. "I mean if you're going to be without work once breaking up with Maggie anyways, move to Del Sol with Vi and me. You can try your hand at being a screenwriter." "I don't think Violet would like that." "She'll get over it." "I don't know, Lace." "Please."

"I'll have to think about it," Owen finally said. "And you should talk to Violet first." "Nah, she'll be fine," Lacy brushed him off. After a moment she said, "I should head to the hotel anyways, it's getting late." "Let me walk you." "You don't have to." "Lace, it's dark. You're not walking alone."

"You know," Owen began as he and Lacy arrived at her hotel room. "It was nice to see you tonight." "Yeah. If I'm being honest, it was nice to see you too," Lacy admitted. A comfortable silence came over them. Owen found himself not wanting to leave. Especially not knowing when he'd see her next.

"Think about what I said earlier," Lacy finally said. "About moving to Del Sol with Violet and I." "I will," Owen assured her. "Promise." "If you don't, call sometime," Lacy told him. "And, if you don't start writing again I swear I'll track you down and give you a piece of my mind, Owen Barker."

"Will do," A small smile broke across Owen's face. Together, Lacy and Owen continued to stand there. With every passing moment they found themselves moving closer and closer together like two magnets. Then, before either of them could register what was happening, they were kissing.

Lacy fumbled with the handle to her door before pulling Owen inside and towards the bed. "Lacy," Owen broke away for a moment. "Is this something you want to do? With me?" "Yes," Lacy said let out a small breath. "Now just shut up and keep kissing me."

"OMW!" Lacy exclaimed in a panic once the reality of what she and Owen had just done sunk in. "What?" Owen asked after buttoning his shirt. "I, uh, we just…"Lacy trailed off. "Don't tell me you regret it?" "Yes, well no, not exactly, it's just," Lacy paused. "You still have a girlfriend."

Lacy pulled her dress back on before turning back towards Owen. "Look," she began to tell him. "I'm trying really hard right now to be a good person, because I haven't always been one. And, as much as I dislike Maggie, you're still with her right now even if you're planning to break up with her."

"And, I just can't do this if you're still with her, it's not right," Lacy finished "I'm breaking up with her," Owen told her "Not for another couple of months an-" Owen cut her off. "Tomorrow," he said. "I'm breaking up with her tomorrow." "But, what about retaliation from her dad?" "I don't care."

Owen took a few steps towards her, "are you serious about us this time?" he asked. "No bullshit about 'oh I'm just going to ruin everything'" "Not this time, no," Lacy said. "I'm genuinely trying now, to be better." "Then I'm breaking up with her first thing in the morning, I promise."

Being a man of his word, as soon as Owen arrived back in Copperdale the following morning he went straight to Maggie's. "Maggie," he called as soon as he came through the door. "We need to talk." Maggie stepped out into the kitchen, an angry look on her face. "You slept with her didn't you."

"I'm not an idiot," Maggie snapped. "I KNOW that Leo and Nat got married this weekend, and I KNOW that you didn't invite me on purpose, just like I KNOW that you slept with Lacy." "You know what, Maggie, yeah I did," Owen admitted. "I'm not even sorry about it, because I can't be with you anymore."

"You make me miserable, and frankly you're just a terrible person," Owen continued. "So no, we're done, over, whatever the hell you want to call it but I want you out of my life." "No," said Maggie simply. "You can't break up with me." "And why not?" "Because I'm pregnant." "Excuse me?"

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Here's several of Leo and Nat's wedding photos, because they turned out cute.

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Landcaster Legacy Gen 7 Update #80 Part 1

After this update I am going to be taking a break from my legacy for a bit, and playing through another story idea I have. So, consider this the season finale. Also, this update is split into 2 parts, because it was very long.

As summer drew to a close, both the Landcaster and the Wilks families gathered in Tartosa to celebrate Leo and Nat's upcoming nuptials.

"Oh sweetheart, just look at you!" Jackie exclaimed. "You're beautiful." "Mom, relax. I'm not even in my dress yet," Nat pointed out. "I can't believe my baby is getting married!" "It's just to Leo, you've known him for his whole life," Nat reminded her. "Still, I'm just so happy for you both."

"I think this whole day is just making me emotional," Jackie said whilst pulling her eldest daughter in for a hug. "Well you can't get upset, bride's orders," Nat joked. Nat's younger sister, and sim of honor, Jayda poked her head into the room. "Can you just put your dress on, I want to see it."

Meanwhile in the groom's suite, Leo was busy going over his vows, again. "You look like an idiot," Violet joked as she and Lacy came up behind him. "Really, Vi!" Leo exclaimed. "You made me mess up!" "I just think it's lame you still need to practice your vows." "I want them to be perfect."

"I mean shouldn't you have been practicing these for weeks?" Violet asked. "Can you just leave me alone," Leo snapped. "Girls," Mads interjected. "What, Mom?" "Why don't you and Lacy go downstairs and start greeting guests. Get out of your brother's hair." "I suppose," sighed Violet. "Thank you."

"I think your vows sound wonderful, sweetheart," Mads assured him. "Thanks, Mom," smiled Leo. "I just want them to be perfect. I'd hate to mess up on a day like today, you know?" "I'm well aware," Mads told him. "You make such a handsome groom." Before Leo could reply, Mads pulled him in for a hug.

Downstairs, Violet and Lacy did in fact take Mads' suggestion and begin greeting guests. As Jenna and Marcus came through, both girls let out a squeal of excitement. "OMW, Jenna!" Violet and Lacy both exclaimed. "Ah! It's so great to see you guys!" Jenna exclaimed "Hey Violet, Lacy," Marcus greeted.

The girls rushed in for a group hug. "OMW, how are you both?" Jenna asked. "How's the roommate situation going." "Not great," Lacy replied. "Everyone we interview is weird." "They're not all weird," Violet cut in. "Some are fine, Lacy's just picky." "I'm going to find our seats," Marcus announced.

After everyone had taken their seats (and giving the watcher a severe headache), the ceremony began. The first person down the aisle was Jackie, Nat's mother, who was going to be officiating the ceremony.

The next person down the aisle was Leo's younger sister, Rosie as the flower pal. After Rosie, Nat's younger cousin, Keon made his way down the aisle as ring bearer.

Next came Nat and Leo's sims of honor. Nat had chosen her younger sister Jayda, as the two had always grown up quite close. Leo picked his best friend, Owen, because until his younger brother, Alex, had been born, Owen was the closest thing Leo had to a brother.

Lacy drew in a sharp breath as Owen and Jayda made their way down the aisle. "What?" Violet asked quietly not wanting to disrupt the ceremony. "I wasn't expecting Owen to look so good," Lacy admitted quietly. "He looks like Owen," said Violet. "So, gross." Lacy just shook her head.

Next came Leo, who was trying his best not to trip. He was so excited to be marrying Nat, that he began to cry. He did his best to wipe them away.

Finally, it was Nat's turn. As she made her way down the aisle she gave Leo a small wave. Even though she'd been stressed the past few weeks, about her new job, the wedding, and moving to Brindleton Bay, Nat was equally as excited to marry Leo as he was to marry her.

As Nat made her final steps up to the altar, Leo took her hands. "Now," began Jackie. "We are gathered her today to celebrate the union of Natasha and Leo as they join their lives in marriage."

Nat and Leo exchanged their vows, and their rings. "Now," continued Jackie. "With the power invested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride!" Leo didn't hesitate before pulling Nat towards him. "Now, let the celebration commence!" Jackie added enthusiastically.

As everyone gathered for the reception, many sims were eagerly waiting their turn to give Leo and Nat their congrats. Among these sims was Leo's uncle, Ike. "I've been wanting to talk to you both for quite a while," Ike said after giving them his congratulations. "About what, exactly?" asked Leo.

"Well, I heard you're both moving to Brindleton Bay soon," Ike began. "Nat got a teaching job there and I'm opening a vet clinic," explained Leo. "Well, your cousins are going away to college and Ayla and I are looking to downsize, and Mathew did always want to keep the house in the family."

"So," Ike continued. "I was wondering if you two would like to buy the family house from me. For a discount of course." "Are you serious right now?" Leo asked dumbfounded. "Quite," grinned Ike. Leo glanced at Nat, a silent conversation passed between them before Leo replied with, "Absolutely."

As the evening continued, Nat spotted one familiar face that she had yet to say hello to. "OMW, Jamal!" she exclaimed while launching herself into a hug. "Nat, hey!" he hugged her back. "Leo, you remember my cousin, Jamal," said Nat. "Of course. We met at Foxbury a few semesters ago," replied Leo.

"I just got accepted into the grad program there. Starting this fall," explained Jamal before gesturing to the women beside him. "This is my girlfriend, Delilah. She'll be a senior at Britechester this coming year." "Congratulations to both of you," Delilah smiled. "The ceremony was beautiful."

"Thank you," grinned Nat. "Jamal has told me so much about you. I'm so glad we could finally meet." "What are you studying at Britechester?" asked Leo "Biology," Delilah replied "Biology at Britechester?" Delilah shrugged, "it's cheaper & I'm still an honors student." "Top of her class," Jamal added

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Landcaster Legacy Gen 7 Update #79

Note: This first bit of the update where Owen is conversing with Jo takes place before Leo and Nat got engaged. The rest of the update takes place after Leo and Nat's engagement and about a week before the wedding.

A few weeks after the disastrous dinner party in which Owen had attempted to introduce his girlfriend Maggie to his siblings, his sister, Jo, asked Owen to meet her and their youngest brother at the park "I've got an idea," Jo told him while Frankie swung around on the monkey bars. "About what?"

"About how you can break things off with Maggie and not have her father come after you professionally," Jo told him like it should have been common sense. "Jo, you really don't have to," Owen reminded her. "But you're my baby brother and you still want to break up with Maggie, right?" "Well, yeah."

"Then let me talk," Jo said. "So, your main concern is not having enough money for student loans-" "And to help you guys out." "Forget about that," Jo hissed. "I told you to shut up. I'm assuming you're smart enough to have a separate account from Maggie when it comes to finances." "Obviously."

"Okay then. That job pays well, so figure out how much money you need to pay off your student loans and save enough to support yourself while you're between work. Then break up with Maggie once you've saved enough," Jo explained. Owen thought for a moment, "You might have a point." "Of course I do!"

"How exactly does this prevent her father from ruining my career?" Owen asked "Okay, maybe he'll still ruin your professional career, but you won't be with Maggie anymore," Jo admitted. "The only thing is you can't give Maggie any indication that you're going to break it off with her. She's sneaky."

"You're saying I have to pretend to be the perfect boyfriend and that I have to use any means necessary to make her think I still want to be with her," Owen clarified. "Yup." "Lovely," he sighed. "O?" "Yeah?" "Don't get her pregnant." "Hell no." "Not even by accident." "I don't even want kids, Jo."

With Owen's calculations it would take him 6 months of working overtime before he'd have enough money to pay off his student debt and create a cushion in his savings to support himself, so when he wasn't working, Owen did everything he could to convince Maggie he was still the perfect boyfriend.

"I made you dinner," Owen told Maggie one night a few weeks before he was to head to Tartosa for Leo and Nat's wedding. "You're not eating with me?" Maggie pouted. "I have plans with Leo tonight." "What kind of plans?" "We're just going out to dinner." "Not drinks?" "Leo isn't much for drinking."

"Well, when will you be back?" Maggie whined. "I don't like when you aren't home." "I don't know, probably around 11pm," Owen explained. "I haven't seen Leo in a while, so there's a lot to catch up on." What Owen didn't tell her was that tonight was a celebration of his friend's engagement.

"I miss you when you aren't here," Maggie's voice became even more high pitched as she continued to whine. It gave Owen a headache. "You'll be fine, it's just several hours." "I'll be alone." "Go to your Dad's or something." "Ugh, fine," Maggie grumbled. "Tell Jax I said hi, will you?" "Whatever."

"Hey! Congratulations on the engagement!" Owen exclaimed as he sat down. "I'm so happy for both you and Nat. You guys deserve it." "We're really happy. Well, I'm really happy, and I'm pretty sure Nat is too," answered Leo. "She wouldn't have said yes if she wasn't." "So, here's the thing."

"What?" asked Owen hesitantly "Nat wanted me to ask you not to bring Maggie to the wedding," Leo said quickly. "We want you there, Maggie just can be a bit-" "Rude, condescending, full of herself," Owen finished. "Don't worry I have no plans to bring her. She doesn't even know about the engagement."

"But you two are still dating?" asked Leo clearly confused. "For now," Owen said simply. "What's that supposed to mean?" Owen took a deep breath before telling him everything that'd happened with Maggie and her father over the course of the last few years. "Are you serious?" Leo asked in disbelief.

"You know," Leo began. "You could have come to me. My Dad is an engineer, same as you. I could have asked him to put in a good word for you with his company. You could have bypassed the Reed family entirely." Owen just sighed, "Hindsight is 20/20. I'm only staying with Maggie for 4 more months."

"You are still my best friend, terrible girlfriend and all," Leo told him. "So, if you ever do need anything in the future, don't hesitate to ask. It's better to ask for help then get yourself into another situation like this one." Owen let out a small laugh, "Thanks, man."

Meanwhile, at the Reed family home, Maggie was making an evening trip to speak with her father "Daddy, you don't understand," she hissed. "I think Owen's going to leave me." "Sweetheart, he'd be an idiot," Whit brushed her off. "Not with the amount of money he makes and what I can do to his career."

"You don't get it!" Maggie exclaimed in frustration. "We went out to eat the other day and I called the waitress a fat cow and that she was a colossal waste of space. He didn't even tell me that was mean. He always tells me when I'm being mean." Whit paused for a moment, "oh dear, that is a problem"

As Maggie and Whit continued to argue in the kitchen, Jax made his way downstairs in need of some serious help. "Dad," he said quietly. "Can you spray the monster under my bed, please? I'm scared." "Oh, for fucks sake," Maggie hissed. "You're 8, grow the hell up." "There's a monster I swear!"

"Son," Whit looked down at Jax clearly disappointed. There was a time when all he ever wanted was a son, but then Jax turned out to be so different from him, and Whit found himself unable to connect with Jax. "Monsters aren't real, just go upstairs your sister and I are having an adult conversation"

"But there's a monster and I'm scared," Jax said his voice small "I really don't care right now," Whit hissed. "Just go upstairs and read a book or something if you can't fall back asleep. I don't care just leave your sister and I alone" Jax's face fell, but he turned around to head back to his room

Whit waited until Jax had left before turning back to Maggie. "Sorry about that." "It's whatever, Jax has always been fearful of stupid things like that," Maggie sighed. "Seriously though, how do I keep Owen this time? I love him, daddy." "I know," Whit said. "Now, here's what you're going to do."

Still too scared to return to his room, Jax stood in the hallway just out of sight hoping that maybe once their conversation was finished his father might finally help. However, as Jax listened he found that maybe his father did have a point and monsters like the one under his bed weren't real.

But Jax had read enough books in his lifetime to understand that monsters like the two standing in his kitchen were very much real, and maybe he did have reason to be afraid.

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Landcaster Legacy Gen 7 Update #78

Dear Diary, This morning Lacy and I are meeting with the first few roommate applicants. I'm kind of nervous, what if we don't find someone who fits with the two of us? Then, this afternoon I have to head to the studio to finish recording the vocal portion for my very first single!!! -Violet

The girls decided to do the roommate interviews at a local cafe. Inviting all these people to their home felt a bit too invasive for them. "I'm nervous," Violet said. "Don't be. If we don't find anyone today, then we'll interview more roomies later." "I suppose." "Now, first up is Carmen Wiley."

"Tell us a bit about yourself," Lacy began. "Well, I'm 22 and I love partying and clubbing," Carmen introduced herself. "Sounds like my kind of friend," joked Lacy. "What are some of your traits?" asked Violet. "Oh, well, those aren't too important…" "What are they?" Lacy insisted a bit on edge.

"Normal traits," Carmen said. "Such as?" Lacy asked. "Um party animal, uh I can be messy at times, and…" Carmen trailed off. "And?" Violet asked. "…Lazy?" "What do you do for work?" Lacy asked hesitantly. "I mean, I don't really work. I sell feet pics occasionally." "Gross, bye." said Lacy.

Lacy sighed before continuing with the next applicant. "Rue Matson," she said. "Good day," Rue said as she took a seat "Tell us about yourself," Violet began "My favorite color is black. I'm interested in all things occult & death related. I don't like people, but I cannot afford to live on my own."

"Do you have a stable job?" Lacy asked. "I do. I work full time as a reaper," Rue answered, her eyes narrowing on Lacy. "You have an aura of death around you." "Excuse me?" asked Lacy shocked "An aura of death," Rue repeated. "Like you will die soon." "You know what, we'll be in touch," Lacy replied

"What was that?" Lacy asked as soon as Rue left. "I have an aura of death?" "She was probably picking up on the fact that you were resurrected from the dead," Violet answered. "And mistook that as 'you will die soon.'" "Let's just go to the next applicant," Lacy shook her head. "Kasey Zimmerman."

"Good morning, ladies," a man said as he sat down on the couch. "Who are you?" Lacy demanded. "Your next applicant, sweetheart," he replied trying, and failing, to be charming. "Kasey Zimmerman, you're a pretty thing." "What's that smell?" Violet asked disgusted. "You have a big nose," Kasey noted.

"Excuse me?" Violet asked, offended. "You're a jackass," Lacy snapped. "Also, our applications were for female only applicants, so you and your nasty stench can get the hell out." "Oh, come on, stop being bitchy. It's not a big deal. I'll even let you shave my back hair, free of charge." "Get out!"

Lacy just sighed, let's hope the next applicant is better than that one." "Who is it?" Violet asked. "Says her name is McKenzleigh Pierce," Lacy told her. "Not promising then," said Violet. "No," replied Lacy. "Well, howdy," a peppy blond women said as she sat down. "So blessed to meet y'all."

"Let me just get stated telling you all about me," McKensleigh said excitedly. "I'm out here looking for my future husband, but for now I'm a businesswoman, I sell cosmetics so just let me know if y'all need anything." "If you don't mind," said Lacy. "Who did you vote for in the last sim election?"

"Oh, my daddy says it's impolite to ask another sim about their political beliefs," McKenzleigh told her. "But just know I voted for our beloved economy." "Okay," Violet said quickly. "I don't think the roommate situation is going to work out with us." "We can all still be friends." "No, we can't"

"We can't room with someone whose values don't align with ours," Lacy explained. "That's a load of mumbo jumbo," McKenzleigh said clearly irritated. "We're done," said Violet. "Clearly the two of you are sinners." Lacy tried to mask her laugh, "then I guess we're sinners. just leave, please."

"You know if you ever want to get your nose fixed, I can give you the number for the guy who does my lip filler, it always looks great,"McKenzleigh turned her attention to Violet as she stood up. "No, McKenzleigh, it really doesn't," said Lacy.

"That was awful," said Violet after McKenzleigh left. "It really was," Lacy agreed. "I don't think any of them would be a good fit." "I don't know, Rue didn't seem so bad." "She said I have an aura of death!" "She at least has a stable job, and she'll probably just stick to her room all the time."

"Vi, I'm pretty sure she's a vampire!" Lacy exclaimed. Violet just rolled her eyes. "Vampires aren't real." "You brought me back from the dead, but don't think vampires are real?" asked Lacy, confused. "I promise you they are, and I'm not interested in having my plasma drank ever again." "Whatever."

That afternoon, Violet headed to the recording studio to finish up the last of the vocals she had to do for her soon to be released single. "That sounds great, Violet," Amelia Alden said as Violet wrapped the song. "Exactly what we're looking for." Violet beamed. "Can you come in here for a moment?"

"Is something wrong?" Violet asked nervously. "Nothing at all," Amelia assured her. "The contrary actually. I've been talking with my father, and it's important that we get your music out there. The more people who know about you the more sales we'll get on your album once it's released." "Okay…"

"One of our bands is going on tour soon, and they're in need of an opening act," Amelia continued. "And we thought you'd be perfect. It'd give you time to get your music out there, reach a much larger audience than those little open mic nights were allowing." "Which band?" "Janie and the Misfits."

The name hit Violet like a ton of bricks. They wanted her to go on tour with Janie's band. The same band who'd stolen and made money off of the songs that Violet had written in high school. "Is everything alright?" Amelia asked. "This is an incredible opportunity." "I know…" Violet trailed off.

"So, can we count you in?" Amelia asked. "Oh, uh, yeah. Count me in," Violet said less than enthusiastically "Wonderful!" Amelia exclaimed. "I'll get to work setting everything up." Violet just nodded as Amelia left. Now Violet had to find a way to tolerate going on tour with Janie for months on end.

[00katrinka00]

Landcaster Legacy Gen 7 Update #77

As the term break drew to a close, Leo decided to book a small weekend trip for him and Nat to Tartosa. He used the excuse that it was to celebrate Nat's first professional teaching job, but really Leo had much bigger plans for the weekend. While Nat got ready, Leo did his best to prepare breakfast.

"So," began Nat. "What are your plans for this weekend?" "Today is the only full day we have, so I was thinking we could head down to the beach in the morning, and then in the afternoon do some souvenir shopping. I did book us a dinner reservation later tonight, though." "That all sounds fantastic!"

"I want to try to find a stuffie for Sawyer," Nat told him. "I want her to have something from our trip, and maybe something for my mom as well since she's being so kind to watch Sawyer this weekend." "That sounds like a great idea," Leo smiled. "We'll have plenty of time to look around.

After breakfast, Nat and Leo headed down to the beach. They spent some time just relaxing on the lounge chairs. Nat couldn't remember the last time she had this much down time. It was difficult to get any sort of peace and quiet with a toddler around. Despite this, she still missed Sawyer terribly.

After a while Leo and Nat decided to make a sand sculpture together. Mostly because Nat knew it's something Sawyer would have wanted to do had she been there. Afterwards Leo and Nat took a few photos with their sand sculpture so they could remember it once they went back home.

"Race you to the water," Nat challenged, a large grin spreading across her face. "You're going down," joked Leo as the duo took off towards the water. With it still being summer in Tartosa, the temperature was still quite warm, so the water helped cool Leo and Nat down.

"All of this reminds me of when your family lived in Sulani," Nat reminisced. "Me and my mom's would come to visit, and you and I would build sand sculptures." Leo laughed, "then Violet and Gianna would come barreling through to ruin them." "Whatever happened to Gianna?" "I'm not entirely sure."

"I think us moving to Copperdale was just too much for Violet and Gianna's friendship," Leo admitted. "Then they stopped talking." "That's sad, I always liked Gianna," Nat said. "Me too," Leo agreed before splashing water into Nat's face. "Oh, you're going to pay for that," she teased.

After drying off, and spending the afternoon souvenir shopping, Leo and Nat made it just in the nick of time for their dinner reservation. "What's name the reservation is under?" asked the hostess. "It should be Landcaster," Leo explained. "I see it, right here, follow me," said the hostess.

"This place is beautiful," Nat commented pulling out her menu. "I heard the food is supposed to be amazing," added Leo. "This whole weekend has been great." "I wanted to do something special for you. You've worked so hard with school and taking care of Sawyer these last few years, you deserve it."

"Well, this is all very sweet of you," smiled Nat. "I wanted to ask how the coparenting thing is going with Noah?" "Surprisingly not bad. He does seem to be taking this seriously. Maybe he has matured a bit since high school." "That's good, Sawyer deserves to have a relationship with her dad."

"I think the whole Dad thing is confusing for her, considering he hasn't been around for the last 5 years," Nat continued. "But she seems to enjoy her supervised visits with Noah, and he's actually pretty good with her. Her birthday is coming up soon and I was thinking of inviting him to the party."

"Really?" asked Leo. "Well, yeah. I mean he's her dad and if he's serious about being in her life now then she should be there," Nat explained. "That makes sense," agreed Leo. "Have you started making plans for her birthday yet?" "No, it's been kind of overwhelming with the move and everything."

"I'm always here if you need anything," Leo said as their food was brought out. "I know I've been busy setting up my veterinary practice and everything, but don't hesitate to ask if you need anything." "I know, I'm just so used to doing everything on my own. It'll be fine once this move is over."

After their meal, Leo and Nat went up to the bar area of the restaurant when they were playing some romantic music. It didn't take long before Nat was pulling Leo towards the dance floor.

After their dance, Leo and Nat decided to take a walk around the property. "You know, Nat," Leo said as they came to a stop. "I've loved you ever since we were kids. You've been in my life since we were Sawyer's age, and I can't even imagine what my future would look like without you in it."

"I guess what I'm trying to ask you is, will you marry me?" Leo asked as he got down on one knee Nat had known a proposal was coming this weekend, there was a reason she'd booked a nail appointment before they left. Despite this, she was still beyond happy. "Yes!" she exclaimed slipping the ring on.

Nat held her hand out to admire the ring, "You know," she began. "Sawyer totally told me you were planning to propose." Leo just sighed, "I had a feeling she'd do that." "She's 5, can you blame her?" "No," Leo smiled. "You can't" Before anymore words could be exchanged, Leo pulled Nat in for a kiss.

[00katrinka00]

Landcaster Legacy Gen 7 Update #76

Leo found it weird to be back in Copperdale after three years away at university. Sure, he'd come home from time to time to visit his parents, and of course Nat, but being back full-time while he searched for jobs felt different, so he decided to go for a run to try and take his mind off things.

Leo spent time searching for job openings and working on applications. With a distinguished degree, & perfect grades he thought he'd have been a shoe in for any open positions, but he had yet to hear back about an interview. This whole process has become rather demoralizing in Leo's opinion.

Still, he had hope. So, Leo spent more time calling back protentional employers and inquiring about the status of his application and making it known he was still interested in the positions. Much to his dismay, the response he got was almost always that they'd already filled the position.

Meanwhile, a heatwave was blasting its way through Copperdale. Mads had the kids outside. Rosie played in the treehouse with her new friend, Jax Reed, whom Mads was weary of. Sophie was in the kiddie pool while Alex insisted on going down the slide, over and over and over again.

"Now that we've escaped the evil pirate lord, we've found ourselves marooned on a deserted island," Rosie explained to Jax while they played. "That's a good storyline," Jax agreed. "We have to hunt for food, so we don't starve. What if the pirate lord comes back?" "Then we'll steal the ship back!"

Eventually, Leo decided to come outside to see what everyone was up to. Sophie was now dry and off playing with Alex while Mads kept a close eye on the children in the treehouse. "Mom," Leo began. "Jax is 8, I don't think he's evil." "Yes, but his father is Whit Reed, who is very much so evil."

"I don't think you can judge an 8-year-old's character by the sum of his family's choices," Leo pointed out. While it did seem that the Reed family was exceptionally good at having horribly rude children, Jax had never been anything other than polite to Rosie and the rest of their family.

"I know, I know," Mads said. "I just worry about Rosie. Especially after everything you told me about that Maggie and your friend Owen." "I know, but maybe just give Jax a break," Leo said. "Just because his family is horrible doesn't mean he is." "When did you get so wise?" "I have wise parents."

"You know," Jax began after he and Rosie defeated the evil pirate lord. "I like coming to your house a lot." "I know," Rosie puffed her chest out. "It's pretty cool." "No," Jax paused. "Well, yes, it is, but your mom is nice, and your parents don't yell at each other, or you, all the time."

"Your parents yell?" Rosie asked as though the concept was foreign to her "Mostly at each other, yes," Jax admitted quietly. "Aren't they in love?' "I don't think so." "You have siblings though, sisters." "Maggie is mean, and Daisy is too small. I like Maggie's boyfriend, Owen, though. He's nice."

"I know Owen!" exclaimed Rosie. "He was always nice when he came over to hang out with either Leo or Lacy." "Yeah, he plays video games with me and asks me about school, and what books I like, and stuff," Jax explained. "I don't know why he's with my sister though, she's too mean for him." "Really?"

Jax nodded, "but I still like coming here even more than playing video games with Owen." Rosie grinned, "Well, you can come over any time you want and then my mom will make us cookies and we can play pirates or draw pictures or watch movies, anything really." Jax smiled back, "I'd like that."

Later that afternoon, Leo headed to Nat's house. Nat had a job interview and had asked Leo to watch Sawyer. He was nervous, because despite how serious he and Nat were, Leo hadn't spent one on one time with Sawyer yet; however, it didn't take long before Leo found himself roped into playing dolls.

"Can we have a talk, Sawyer," asked Leo a little while later "Yu-huh," Sawyer agreed with a small nod "I have something I want to ask you, but can you keep it a secret from Nat?" "Momma says secrets bad. Always tell her." "Well, yes, that's actually really good, but this is a good secret I promise."

Sawyer got up and climbed onto her bed, "maybe I keep secret." Leo didn't fully believe her, but he figured why not. "How would you feel if I asked your mom to marry me?" Sawyer thought for a moment. "You be my daddy?" "Yeah, well sort of," Leo said. He and Nat hadn't discussed this part yet.

Leo also didn't want to take away from the fact that Noah was making a genuine effort to be in Sawyer's life now. Maybe a lot of things were up in the air with his life right now, but the one thing Leo was certain of was that he wanted to permanently be in Nat and Sawyer's life.

"Okay!" exclaimed Sawyer. "You can marry momma." "Really, you'd be okay with that?" Leo asked "Yu-huh," Sawyer nodded. "It be fun, and pretty dresses." "Yes," Leo agreed. "There'd be lots of pretty dressed." "Yay!" "Now," Leo began. "I do think it's time for your nap. I'll read you a story." "Otay!"

Leo was just finishing up dishes when Nat came through the door. He rushed into the living room to greet here, eager to hear how her interview went. "I want to hear all about your interview," Leo said excitedly. "I just know you nailed it."

Nat grinned at him from ear to ear, "You might just be looking at the new third grade teacher at Brindleton Elementary." "Nat, that's fantastic!" exclaimed Leo. "I knew you'd get it. They'd be stupid not to hire you." "I know! Oh, I can't wait!" Nat said excitedly before Leo pulled her in for a kiss

After celebrating for several more moments, Leo and Nat took a seat on the couch to talk about some more serious matters in regard to Nat's new job. "So, I start as soon as term break is over," Nat explained. "And Brindleton is kind of far, so I'd have to move there with Sawyer full time."

"And I know you're still job hunting here," Nat continued. "About that," Leo said. "So, it's actually been quite difficult to find a veterinary position really anywhere right now, so I was thinking it might be a bit easier to start my own veterinary practice." "Are you serious?" Nat asked.

"Not that you can't start your own practice, if anyone could nail it, it'd be you. You're serious about this though?" Nat asked. "I can rent a building, and I have inheritance money from my grandpa that I can use for the remodeling process. This way I can move to Brindleton Bay with you too."

"You're sure moving to Brindleton bay is something you'd want to do?" Nat asked. "It is kind of far." "Nat," Leo began. "All I want is to stay close to you. We've done this whole long-distance thing for long enough. If you go to Brindleton Bay, then I go too" "I guess it's settled then" "It sure is"

On the other side of town, Mads and Ethan were busy readying Sophie and Alex for bed. Usually it was a split effort, each parent putting a twin to bed each night. Typically, they alternated which twin was put to bed by which parent each night too, in order to avoid fighting.

After the twins fell asleep, Mads sat down to have a conversation with Ethan about something that'd been bothering her since Violet and Lacy finished high school. "I've been thinking," Mads began. "I know when we moved here, I quit working to spend more time with the kids and that's been great."

"It's just, I think I want to go back to work," said Mads. "I'm not a fan of the whole PTA thing without Jackie, and it's not like we can't afford to send Alex and Sophie to daycare. I just really want to go back to work." "Mads," Ethan began. "If you want to go back to work then go back to work."

"We'll figure it out," continued Ethan. "I want you to be happy as much as the kids. If going back to work is something that will make you happy, then go for it." "Really?" "Absolutely," Ethan grinned. "Besides, am I supposed to expect you to play PTA mom with Brenna Reed of all people?" "OMW, no."

[00katrinka00]

Landcaster Legacy Gen 7 Update #75

Dear Diary, Jenna's all settled in San my, and I've spent the last few months perfecting a whole set of new songs. Tonight is the first time I'm going back to open mic night after my breakup, and I'm excited. It'll be the first time I get feedback on my new music from someone other than Lacy -Violet

"So, I was thinking, how do we want to go about getting a new roommate now that Jenna's gone?" asked Violet. "Well, I think I'd rather have a permanent roommate rather than renting it out to new sims weekly or even monthly if you know what I mean." "Yeah, I think I'd like the same," Violet agreed.

"Great!" exclaimed Lacy. "I can put some kind of roommate application up online. I don't want just any random sim moving in with us." "Finding someone we could be friends with would be nice." "I'll get that application up before my date later, don't worry. Just focus on your songs for tonight."

Violet got the okay from Dean, the owner of the bar, to come in early, before it opened, to practice her set a few times. She found herself surprised by how different the bar looked during the day. "Dean, I'm here!" she called out. "Where's Kalia and Kian?" "Oh, they're upstairs, third floor."

"Why?" Violet asked skeptically. "Open mic night is always on the first floor" "Not tonight," chimed Dean. "Well, it is, but you're performing on the third floor. I made fliers advertising your return tonight and everything." "You did what? I'm not a big enough act to perform on the third floor yet"

"Sure, you are," Dean brushed her off. "I've had people in here asking when you were coming back for weeks. Half the crowd we'd get on open mic night were just here for you, so I upgraded you to a larger space. It's good for my business too you know, symbiosis or whatever." "Oh. My. Watcher."

After getting their roommate application up, Lacy headed out to meet her date. She'd made the decision, after seeing Owen briefly at Leo and Nat's grad party, that she was ready for something a little more serious. "Lacy, right?" her date asked. "Yup and…" Lacy trailed off forgetting his name.

He laughed awkwardly, "it's Brad." "Right, Brad," Lacy cringed. The name Brad was too close to Chad, and she never wished to think about her ex ever again. "So, uh, how have you been?" Brad asked. "Fine, you?" "Pretty good," said Brad before launching into a conversation Lacy had no interest in.

As Lacy listened to Brad talk, she couldn't help but grow bored. There was no substance to the words he was speaking, and she couldn't bring herself to care. Lacy's mind went to Owen who always spoke with such passion about what he'd been writing recently or about his family, she had loved that.

"This isn't working," Lacy blurted out. "I'm going to go." "It hasn't even been an hour yet," Brad told her "You're boring, and the fact that your name is so similar to my ex's gives me the ick, so I'll be leaving," Lacy admitted "Well, you're hot but otherwise have nothing going for you." "Asshole"

That night, as Violet's performance began, Lacy did her best to push Brad's words out of her mind. She'd plastered a smile on her face as she danced to Violet's music. Despite this Lacy couldn't help but wonder if maybe he was right, and she didn't have anything going for her aside from being hot.

"Well, well, well," Dean joked. "Look who decided to stop dressing like she's going to a board meeting." Amelia glared at him, "This is a club is it not?" "We're classified as a bar in build mode, so no" Amelia rolled her eyes, "I'm here to speak with Violet, leave me alone. You're ruining my night"

"And then what? After you talk to Violet, get her signed to your Daddy's music label, you just stop coming in?" "That is the plan," Amelia said tensely. "Then tonight is the last night I have to suffer through your company, forgive me if I want to cherish it a little longer." Amelia scoffed at him.

As soon as the set finished up, Amelia ditched Dean and hurried over towards Violet, "excuse me," Amelia said Violet turned around a look of recognition passing over her face, "Ms. Alden?" "I'm glad you remember me," Amelia smiled at her. "If you don't mind, I'd love to talk to you quickly."

Violet excitedly followed Amelia downstairs. "So, my father and I saw your viral video a few months back," Amelia began. "We'd love it if you'd come in tomorrow to discuss a few things with us." "Absolutely, anything," Violet said excitedly. "How does noon sound?" "Perfect!" "See you then."

The next day, Lacy was busy helping Violet decide on an outfit to wear for her meeting in just a few short hours. "I look like my mother in this," Violet complained. "No, you," Lacy stopped herself. "Okay, yeah you do look like Mads." "I'm fairly certain that these are my mom's pants!"

"Okay well you can't walk into a meeting like this one in ripped jeans and combat boots and be taken as a professional," Lacy pointed out. "This blouse just, so isn't me," complained Violet. "No leather jackets in professional settings either!" "Ugh!" exclaimed Violet in defeat. "I hate this."

"Just promise me one thing, Vi," Lacy's voice turned serious "What?" "No matter what happens in there, do not sign anything without having a lawyer look over it first. I fell victim to that during gen 3 and it fucked me over." "Yeah, yeah, yeah," Violet rolled her eyes. "Don't sign without a lawyer"

At exactly noon, Violet was called into Archer Alden's office. "Ms. Landcaster, correct?" he greeted her with a firm handshake. "Yes, but call me Violet, please." "Have a seat, I insist," Archer gestured to the lone chair opposite his desk. "I've been waiting a long time to speak with you."

"You're a difficult girl to track down," Archer joked. "Had my Amelia here on a wild goose chase these last few months." "So sorry about that. I had some personal issues to attend to," Violet explained nervously. "And they're all sorted now I presume?" "Oh, of course, absolutely. All sorted."

"Let's get to it, shall we?" Archer began "I saw your viral performance from a few months back. I think you would fit right in here at Williams and Co" "Really!" "I'd love to begin working with you on your first album. First I have some documents that need to be signed." "Anything, where's the pen?"

[00katrinka00]

Landcaster Legacy Gen 7 Update #74 Part 2

"It's so…quaint," Maggie commented as she and Owen approached his childhood home "Please don't make any passive aggressive comments like that once we're inside," Owen pleaded "What? It's so small." "If Jo hears you talk like that, she won't be afraid to yell at you." "Who's Jo?" "My older sister."

"So, everyone this is my girlfriend, Maggie," Owen introduced. "Hey guys!" Maggie tried her best to sound as upbeat as possible, though it was hard in a house as cramped as this one. A torrent of hellos came from Owen's siblings. "Oh, she's so fashionable!" Cassidy exclaimed. "I love her already!"

"OWEN!" Frankie bellowed before running across the room to greet his oldest brother. "Hey bud!" Owen exclaimed. "It's good to see you." "I was actually wondering," began Frankie. "I have a science project due soon, can you help me with it? I want to get a good grade." "Sure thing, kiddo."

"I have a history paper I'd love for you to proofread too!" chimed Max. "I see why you guys want me around," Owen joked. "Where are your boots from" Cassidy asked Maggie. "I don't really remember," said Maggie. "All I know is I got them at the last San My fashion week I attended." "So cool."

"Whatever happened to that Lacy girl you'd hang out with all the time in high school?" Sophie wondered aloud. "She'd come over all the time." "I think I saw her in a pharmaceutical commercial not too long ago," commented Cassidy. "Can we not talk about Lacy right now," Owen tried to feign annoyance.

Mostly for Maggie's benefit. He knew if the conversation stayed on the topic of Lacy for too long, Maggie would get angry, even though Owen really wanted to keep talking about Lacy too. Even though it'd been nearly 3 years since he's last seen her, his heart still skipped at the mention of her name.

"Hey baby brother," Jo pulled Owen in for a hug once the conversation had died down a bit. "Congrats on finishing university. How are you?" "I'm fine," said Owen. "Don't you dare lie to me, how are you?" "I told you I'm fine." "Kitchen, now. I have superb deductive reasoning skills you little shit."

"Seriously Jo, I'm fine," Owen kept insisting. "You brought a bleached blond bitch into my home and are trying to pass her off as your girlfriend, you're not fine." "You've barely spoken to her" "And I can already tell she's Satan reincarnate. I told you my deductive reasoning skills are unmatched."

"You just need to get to know her a little more," Owen suggested. "I'd rather contract rabid rodent fever than spend quality time with your girlfriend," Jo said dryly. "I can tell by your body language that you don't like her, so why is she here?" "I don't know!" Owen finally said, his voice raised.

"I thought you might want to meet Maggie," Owen said a bit calmer this time. "I mean I did until today. Why are you with her, Owen?" "I don't want to talk about it." "You're going to, because I've about had it with this whole situation." "No." "If this is a battle of wills, just know I always win."

"I really don't want to talk about this," Owen snapped his voice a bit louder this time. "If you're about to yell we're taking this conversation outside, Frankie doesn't need to hear us fight," Jo pointed out. "If I have to piss you off to get you to tell me what's going on, then so be it."

"Owen, just tell me what's going on," Jo said once they were outside. "I want to help." "You can't help, okay!" he snapped "What's that supposed to mean? Is she blackmailing you to be with her or something?" "No…" Owen trailed off. "Not quite." "Just tell me, please. This is starting to scare me."

Every bit of rage came spilling out at Owen, not towards Jo, but towards Maggie, towards her father who put him in this impossible situation. "She makes me miserable!" Owen finally lost it. "There isn't one thing I actually like about Maggie. You're absolutely right." "Break up with her." "I CAN'T!"

"Her Dad is super connected. If I break up with her, he'll make sure I'm blacklisted from every engineering job. Do you know how much those jobs pay. If I stay with her, he'll help me get a good job, so I can help support all of you. I want you guys to be taken care of, to hell with myself."

"Oh, Owen," Jo said. "I never asked you to do that for us, we're fine. You might not care about your own happiness, but I do. You're my little brother. What I want, more than anything, is to see you happy, and that's not going to happen if you're with her. Don't be a martyr for this family."

"Unfortunately, Jo" Owen began to say. "I'm in too deep now." "Don't say that" Jo told him. "We'll come up with something." "You don't understand. Her father swore to me that if Maggie and I break up I will never find an engineering job." "Do don't go into engineering." "And waste my degree?" "Yes."

Unbeknownst to Jo and Owen, Maggie had followed them out and heard their entire conversation from where she stood on the porch. She was furious to hear what they were saying. "Well," Maggie muttered to herself. "I might just have to try a bit harder to keep him."

[00katrinka00]

Landcaster Legacy Gen 7 Update #74 Part 1

I always post my legacy story to BlueSky first. As it turns out, this update came out quite a bit longer than I had anticipated, so that's why it's split up here on Tumblr. If anyone is interested in keeping up with my story in real time, then follow me on BlueSky: 00Katrinka00, or not.

After three terms of grueling schoolwork, Leo's finally gotten his biology degree, and he graduated with a perfect GPA no less. Now he's back in Copperdale living at his parents' house while he searches for a job.

Mads and Jackie (Nat's mom) have been busy all morning preparing a dual graduation party for both Leo and Nat. "I just can't believe they're both done with uni," Jackie said. "Just yesterday they were little, tiny toddlers." "I know exactly what you mean. Time is moving way too fast."

"Speak for yourself," Jackie joked. "You still have three littles. My youngest is a senior in high school this year. I'm about to be an empty nester." "You should be lucky," commented Mads. "Ethan and I won't be empty nesters until our 60s!" "And whose fault is that?" teased Jackie.

"There he is!" exclaimed Ethan as soon as Leo arrived home. "Hey Dad," Leo greeted his father "We're so proud of you, your mother and me. You remember all the tips I gave you, about job applications and interviews?" "Yes dad my resume is perfect" "Is that Leo?" called Mads from the kitchen "Hi Mom!"

"Come here!" Mads pulled Leo in for a hug. "Congratulations, you deserve it!" "Thanks Mom. Now you won't have another kid graduate college for another 14 years," joked Leo "Oh hush," scolded Mads. "Leave the girls alone, they're just going about things the unconventional way. I'm proud of them too."

"And you have everything ready to go, for your job applications?" asked Mads. "Yes Mom. This is me we're talking about. I'm always on top of it," said Leo. "Oh, Mads just leave the boy alone," Jakie cut in. "You'll have plenty of time to hassle him about Jobs tomorrow. Today's for celebrating."

"Bring it in, kid," commented Jackie. "You're as much my child as you are Mads' at this point." "Thanks, Jackie," Leo grinned. "Speaking of children, where is my daughter?" "Pretty sure she had to pick Sawyer up from one of her supervised visits with Noah." "I'm here!" called Nat from the doorway.

"Oh, come here my sweet little grandbaby!" exclaimed Jackie as she reached for Sawyer from Nat's arms. "Always more excited to see Sawyer than you are me, huh mom," joked Nat. "She's so much cuter," Jackie teased, Nat laughed. "You look beautiful by the way," Leo leaned in and kissed Nat's cheek.

"Oh, I'm so proud of you for graduating university, Nat," Mads pulled her in for a hug. "Thanks, Mads. Hey, are Alex and Sophie upstairs?" "Yes, they're playing dolls in Sophie's room." "I might take Sawyer up there quick so she can play with them." "Go right ahead."

"Sawyer!" Sophie exclaimed as soon as Nat opened the door. "Sophie!" Sawyer exclaimed back. "You play nice with Alex and Sophie, alright," Nat knelt down. "Remember what we've been working on, with sharing?" "I a'member," Sawyer said. Nat kissed her cheek, "I love you." "Love you too, Mama!"

"We are happy to see you," Sophie exclaimed while pulling Sawyer in for a hug. "Like playing with you." "Me too!" agreed Sawyer. "Come, let's play wif Alex. You have first go, I wait," Sophie said as she took a seat to watch Sawyer and Alex play.

"Now that we've found ourselves in an empty hallway, no parents around," began Leo. "I do just want to reiterate how beautiful you look today." "Well thank you, it's not every day we both graduate from university," Nat smiled and Leo pulled her in for a kiss. "Ahem," piped a voice from behind.

"You're blocking the ladder to my room, you do realize this right?" Rosie complained. "I'd like to play with blarfy." "Sorry Rosie," Leo apologized. "You should be, making me watch that kiss was gross. More gross even than when Mommy and Daddy kiss," Rosie explained. "Little harsh there, Roe."

"I know!" Rosie said cheerfully before turning her attention towards Nat. "Your dress is very pretty." "Thank you very much." "Why do you date my brother? You're out of his league." "I certainly don't think, he's smart and handsome." "Gross," Rosie said as the doorbell rang. "You better go get that"

Leo and Nat found Owen and Maggie waiting downstairs. "We're just stopping by to say congrats really quick," Owen explained. "Before we head to my house to have dinner with my family." "You must be Maggie. I've been wanting to meet you," exclaimed Nat. "And you must be the teen mom," said Maggie.

"Really Maggie?" hissed Owen. "What?" "I mean, yes I had my daughter when I was a teen," Nat began. "But I mean that's not my only defining characteristic." "She's also smart, and kind, and it's Nat's graduation too," said Leo. "So sorry," Owen apologized. "Congrats again, we'll be heading out."

"You can't say stuff like that," Owen said clearly annoyed. "Why not? It's true" "It was how you said it, like it was a bad thing. Nat's a great mother, and a great person"

"Is that Owen?" Lacy couldn't help but feel her heart flutter. She stopped to watch as he and Maggie walked away "I think so."

"Was that Owen?" Lacy kept her eyes locked on the back of his head, even through the window "Yeah, he and Maggie were just stopping by to say congrats," Leo explained "Speaking of," Violet continued. "Congratulations to you and Nat who is so far out of your league it's funny" "Really, Vi?" asked Leo

"How's everything going after the breakup?" Mads asked. "It's better now. I've been writing some new music. Still haven't gone back to open mic night, but I'm planning to soon. I want to debut some of my new songs," explained Violet. "That sounds fantastic, sweetheart." "I'm excited."

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Landcaster Legacy Gen 7 Update #73

As the days turned into a month, Violet's anger turned to sadness, and she was unable to do anything other than work. She'd stopped writing songs and performing at open mic night entirely. To her, there was no point when one of the few people who believed in her had broken her heart so thoroughly.

Jenna still hasn't found the right time to tell Violet about her plan to move out, but time is slowly running out for her. "Lacy, I just don't know what to do. I thought she'd be better now." "I know, I know," said Lacy. "It's been a month, and my new lease starts in 5 days! I have to pack."

"Let me try and talk some sense into her," Lacy offered. "Are you sure, she might bite your head off. It's what she tried to do to me." "I'll be fine. It wouldn't be the first time she's gone off on me, and it probably won't be the last. I think I know what to say to her." "Good luck," Jenna said.

"Vi, we need to have a serious conversation," Lacy said as soon as she entered Violet's room. "Not now," whined Violet. "Yes now, and you can scream and cry and yell at me all you want, but you need to hear what I'm about to tell you, because this is all getting a bit ridiculous." "Please, no."

"I understand and Sage broke your heart, she was your first love, and you're allowed to be upset," began Lacy. "But what you aren't allowed to do is let yourself waste away because of her. You have all these feelings, I get that, but you need to turn them into something productive." "How?"

"Violet, you write songs, really really good songs. Take your feelings and write about them. I think it just might help you get over Sage," Lacy suggested. "She was one of the few people who believed in me and my music though." "Not the only one, you have me, Jenna, your parents, so many others."

"There are so many people who believe in you, Violet. I know you're hurting now, but channel that into your music. There could be so many other sims going through a similar thing right now and your music might just help them too." "You might be right…" "Maybe you'll even write a hit song."

For the first time in a month, Violet decided to sit down at her piano and at the very least try to focus on her music. Violet thought about all the times other people's music had helped her get through tough times, and she realized that Lacy had a point. Maybe Violet could do that for someone else.

Dear Diary, Lacy and I had a good conversation yesterday about my breakup with Sage. She made me realize that even though I'm still hurting, I can channel my feelings into my music and create something with them. It feels nice to be writing music again. Even if only a few sims will hear it. -Violet

With Violet seemingly doing better, Jenna thought it as good a time as any to break the news to her. "What's all this?" asked Violet. "It feels like and intervention, and Lacy just had one with me." "There's something important I need to tell you, but I want you not to freak out," Jenna began to say

"Freak out about what?" asked Violet skeptically. "I'm moving to San My in a few days," Jenna told her. "WHAT!" exclaimed Violet. "I told you not to freak out. Look, San My is the place to be for simfluencers like me right now. It'll be better for my career if I move. I know it screws you and Lacy."

"Actually," Lacy began. "I've had like a month to come up with some solutions. We aren't that screwed. For starters, I've been booking pretty consistent gigs which helps a lot. We can also rent the extra room out or just get a full time third roomie entirely." "You've known?" asked Violet angerly.

"Vi, you were in no state to hear the news," Lacy pointed out. "Also, you can move into my room," suggested Jenna. "It's bigger and you can get your piano out of the living room." "You have a point," said Violet. "I guess I'm fine about this." "OMW, thank you Vi!" Jenna exclaimed. "You're the best."

The girls decided to spend one more night out together, as a sort of going away party for Jenna, but also a celebration of the last two years they've spent in Del Sol together. Lacy and Jenna even convinced Violet to get out on the dance floor, even though she's never been a good dancer.

"Three martinis please," Lacy said as she slid into a seat at the bar "Hey," Dean greeted her. "Long time no see. Haven't seen you three, in weeks" "Vi had a bad breakup," Lacy explained. "Couldn't get her to leave the house" "That reminds me. Some lady's been in here every week asking about Violet"

"Who?" asked Lacy. "I don't know. She's rich, walks around with her nose in the air like she's better than everyone. Guess she saw Violet's performance a month ago or something." "You didn't get a name though?" "No. Just tell Violet some rich Ladys looking for her." "I will" "Don't forget" "I won't"

"You know, I've always heard that the best way to get over a breakup is to get with someone else," Jenna said. "I don't know," Violet hesitated. "C'mon, just try and flirt with someone. What's the worst that could happen?" "I really don't know." "There's not even one girl here you think is pretty?"

Violet caved, because Jenna was right. What could possibly go wrong? "So, uh hi there," Violet said as she approached a sim who'd caught her eye. "Hi?" "So, um if we were in the alphabet they'd put U and I together." "Oh, hell no!" exclaimed the girl. Apparently, a lot could go wrong.

"OMW, I'm so sorry," exclaimed Violet. "Look, it's all good," the sim began to say. "But you really got to get yourself some better pickup lines. That was so embarrassing." "Sorry, um I'm just going to uh go over here then, thank you," Violet said sheepishly before running back towards Jenna.

"What was that, Vi?" exclaimed Jenna. "I panicked okay," Violet defended herself. "I've never flirted with anyone before." "Where'd you even learn a pickup line that bad?" "I don't know, I think it was in one of those bad joke books I read when I was a kid." The girls burst into a fit of laughter.

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Landcaster Legacy Gen 7 Update #72

Dear Diary, Mom and dad left yesterday afternoon, and Jenna came back that evening. I don't know what to do with myself now that Sage has dumped me, over text by the way. On one hand I'm devastated, but on the other I'm absolutely furious. I don't know what to do with all these feelings. -Violet

Despite everything going on with Violet currently, Lacy actually had a pretty good morning. She got news from her talent agency that she'd received phenomenal feedback after her performance in that pharmaceutical commercial, and she even got a promotion!

Jenna spent her morning studying the current Simfluencer trends. The results only further confirmed the conclusion she'd made after spending the last few days in San Myshuno. She needed to have a serious talk with her roommates, but she couldn't possibly talk to Violet in her current state.

"Hey Vi," Jenna took a few steps into Violet's room before taking a seat. "I think it might be good for you to get out of the house. Lacy and I were planning on going to the park. Maybe it'll get your mind off everything." "Ugh!" snapped Violet. "Just leave me alone, I'm fine!" She definitely wasn't

"I have no idea what to do about her," Jenna admitted after leaving Violet's room. "She just went off on me for no reason." "Join the club," Lacy sighed. "I think we just have to let her get over this on her own." "That could take weeks!" exclaimed Jenna. "Do you have any better ideas?"

"Listen," Jenna began awkwardly. "There's something I want to talk to you about, privately, but first you have to promise not to tell Vi, not right now at least." "Jenna, what is it?" asked Lacy. "Promise me you won't tell Violet!" "Okay, okay, I promise." "Good, let's go someone private then."

"Jenna what's all this about?" "Obviously I spent the last few days in San Myshuno, and if I learned anything from my trip it's that San My is like the place to be for simfluencers right now. My views have kind of plateaued since we first moved to Del Sol, and I was thinking of moving to San My…"

"You want to move to San My?" asked Lacy in shock. "But what about Violet and me, and rent here?" "I know it's horrible timing, but you've been doing more auditions lately, and Vi's starting to earn tip money from her open mic performances. I just think this will be really good for my career."

"When are you leaving then?" asked Lacy "I mean I'm going to wait for Violet to get over her breakup with Sage, I can't spring this on her now. Plus waiting a bit will give you time to find a solution, maybe a new roommate or something." "Yeah," agreed Lacy. "Violet definitely can't know right now."

Meanwhile, downtown, Amelia Alden decided to head to the bar Violet's performance had been filmed in. It seemed as good a first step as any in trying to track her down. She was surprised to see how dead it seemed tonight. In fact, it seemed she and the bartender were the only ones in the building.

Amelia decided to take a seat at the bar, maybe the bartender knew of Violet. "Slow night," she commented. "No shit, it's a Monday evening. Not too many people party this early in the week." Amelia just glared at him, "I'm looking for someone," she finally said. "Date stand you up?"

"I don't have time for dating. I'm looking for someone who recently performed here. Her name is Violet," explained Amelia. "Yeah, I know Violet. She signs here every Saturday." "Do you know where I can find her?" "She performs here every Saturday. It's currently Monday, come back in 5 days." "Ass."

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Landcaster Legacy Gen 7 Update #71

Dear Diary, Ever since I mentioned playing at that open mic night to Dad, he and Mom have been wanting to come and watch my performance. They're having Mom's friend Jackie watch Rosie, Sophie and Alex while they come to Del Sol to visit with me and Lacy. Jenna's in San My for the week. -Violet

"It's so nice to see you both!" Mads exclaimed after her and Ethan's arrival. "Mom, you saw us like a month ago for Grandpa Matthew's funeral," Violet pointed out as she was enveloped in a hug from her father. "We'll always be excited to see you, sweetheart," Ethan told her. "Love you too, Dad."

"How has everything been?" Mads asked Lacy. "Paying rent on time, no shut off power bills?" "None whatsoever," Lacy grinned. "So, you're good on money then?" "Yes, and speaking of money making, I'm actually on my way out for a gig, but I'll see you guys at Vi's performance tonight." "Break a leg!"

"All your appliances working alright?" asked Ethan. "I brought my tools just in case you need me to look at something. It'll put my handiness skill to some good use." "Dad, we're fine. Appliances work great," Violet told him. "You sure? I can just take one quick look." "It's fine, Dad!"

After Lacy left, Mads turned to Violet. "How are you, sweetheart?" "I'm good Mom." "You're staying out of trouble and everything?" "Yes. No troublemaking over here. It's almost like you don't trust us." "It's not that I don't trust you, I worry. I'm a mother it's my job. You'll understand one day."

After arriving on set for her (second) first ever acting job, Lacy was instructed to head to hair and makeup. "You're Heather, right?" she asked the makeup artist. "I'm guessing you're miss Landcaster?" Lacy nodded and took a seat in the chair. She'd forgotten how much she enjoyed all of this.

After hair and makeup, Lacy went to get fitted for her costume. It definitely wasn't the cutest costume she'd ever worn, but what could you expect when the gig you booked was a pharmaceutical commercial?

After getting dressed she headed over to let the director know she was ready to begin filming.

On the stage, Lacy felt like she was home. Ever since she was a girl trying to get her parents' attention by forcing them to watch the elaborate skits she'd act out. Her mother always said she needed to focus her spirited energy on something more productive, but what did Madeline Landcaster know?

As Lacy's gig wrapped up, Violet was just getting started with her set. Most of her attention was on her parents, cheering right in the front. "Let's go, sweetheart!" exclaimed Mads. If Violet weren't in the middle of a performance, she would have told her mother to stop embarrassing her.

Lacy didn't have time after her gig wrapped to head home and change before going to watch Violet's performance. It left her feeling just a bit underdressed. "How much did I miss?" she asked Mads. "Just the bit at the beginning," Mads told her. "She's doing really well." "She always does."

The following morning, Violet woke up to dozens of missed calls from Jenna. Immediately, her mind went to the worst, so she gave Jenna a quick call. "OMW, Vi!" Jenna answered immediately. "Have you opened SimTok?" "Not yet." "Someone filmed your performance last night, you're going viral!"

Violet opened SimTok on her phone to verify. Sure enough, her performance had tens of millions views and hundreds of thousands of likes. She let out an excited squeal before bolting to the kitchen.

After seeing the state of the girl's fridge, Mads decided to make them a few meals. While she was cooking breakfast, Violet burst into the room. "Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, MOM!" she exclaimed from behind "Just give me a moment, I have to turn the stove off. I'd hate to set your kitchen on fire," said Mads

"What, sweetheart," asked Mads. "Someone filmed my performance last night and it's going viral!" Violet exclaimed. "That's wonderful," Mads said. "Um, what exactly does that mean?" "Millions of sims have seen it! What if a record label sees it and wants to sign me." "Oh, that's fantastic!"

What better way to celebrate Violet's viral success than spending a nice lazy day inside playing board games. If losing Grandpa Matthew had taught her anything, it was that you needed to cherish moments like this. Suddenly, Violet's phone pinged with a text message. "Hold on, it's a text from Sage."

Violet excitedly stepped into the kitchen to answer Sage's text which read:

'Hey, Vi, I don't think long distance is working for us and I think we should break up. I still care about you and would like to remain friends."

Not knowing what else to do, Violet sat down at the table and sobbed.

Eventually, Violet found herself in her bedroom feeling more angry than sad. "Is everything okay, sweetie?" Mads asked. "No, everything is not okay, Mom. Sage just broke up with me, over text! She didn't even have the courage to do it to my face and I'm mad, because I really liked her." "I'm sorry."

"I know you're mad, and you're hurting right now, but it won't be forever," Mads comforted. "One day, you'll meet the one person the watcher has planned for you, and all of this will just be a moment in the past." "But I wanted the watcher to choose Sage for me!" "I know, sweetie, I know."

Meanwhile at Williams and co, the biggest record label in the save file, Amelia Alden, daughter to notorious Archer Alden, CEO of Williams and Co, was called into her father's office. "You've seen that viral video, correct? That girls' performance." "Yes, father, what are you getting at here?"

"Sign her to the label," Archer demanded. "Are you being serious right now?" Amelia asked in disbelief. "Don't use that tone with me young lady, of course I'm serious." "That's Violet Landcaster. You passed on the opportunity to sign her like two years ago when you hosted battle of the bands."

"You said she didn't qualify to win because she entered as a solo act. Then you signed Janie Graham's band, who's a nightmare to work with by the way, and I pulled strings to have Violet attend our music program. Then you spent the whole thing ignoring how talented she is. Now you want to sign her?"

"I don't care what happened two fucking years ago," Archer slammed his fists down on the table. "I want her signed with us before one of our competitors gets to her first, is that clear?" "Yes, your majesty, anything," Amelia quipped before turning to leave. "Maybe listen to me next time, yeah."

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Landcaster Legacy Gen 7 Update #70

Between term papers, presentations, and the passing of his grandfather, Leo still managed to finish out his penultimate term at Foxbury University with a perfect GPA. During the short break between terms, Leo had plans to head back home to Copperdale and spend some time with his girlfriend, Nat.

But first, he needed to bid farewell to his roommate. Over the last few months tensions had risen between Leo and Owen over the fact that Owen had made the decision to stay with his awful girlfriend, Maggie "I was thinking," Leo began. "You Nat and I should hang out while we're back home over break"

"Well…actually," Owen began. "You're not coming back to Copperdale for break, are you?" "Maggie's family is spending break in Sulani, and they invited me to join them," Owen explained Leo rolled his eyes, "I don't even understand why you're still with her; she assaulted someone, and you hate her."

"You know, not everything is always black and white," Owen snapped. "Sometimes people don't have a choice in the decisions they make." "Nobody is forcing you to stay with Maggie!" exclaimed Leo. "You have no idea what you're talking about, Leo. I have no other choice." "You always have a choice."

"Look, Leo can we-" Owen was cut off by the sound of a knock at their door. Upon answering, Maggie ushered herself inside. "Are you ready, baby?" she asked. "I can't wait for you to see the beach house, it's stunning." "All ready," Owen said quietly. "Hey, Maggie," greeted Leo. "Oh, hey Lucas!"

"Maggie, his name is Leo," Owen said "That's what I said, silly! My dad is waiting downstairs, so we need to go," she gave Leo a quick wave goodbye. "You know, Owen," began Leo. "I'll always be here if you ever need something." "See you later, Landon!" called Maggie before rushing Owen out the door.

Leo used the next hour to finish packing. On his way out, he noticed a familiar face getting a little too close with someone he barely recognized. "It's just a few days," the red head was saying. "I still wish I could spend break with you," replied the second girl. "I'll miss you so much." "Me too."

"When we get back, I'll take you on that date I promised, alright?" said the red head. "That sounds great!" the girls pulled each other in for an embrace before parting ways. "Sage?" said Leo. The read head turned around, "OMW, Leo? Um, that wasn't what it looked like." "Are you sure about that?"

"Because, to me it looks a lot like you're cheating on my sister," Leo accused. "I'm not really cheating," Sage tried to explain. "Then what was that?" "It's just," Sage paused for a moment. "It's hard with Violet in Del Sol Valley, and Anna and I have gotten close. We haven't even kissed though."

"Are you going to tell Violet?" asked Sage. "One of us has to, and I'd rather you do the right thing and break up with her than she finds out from me that her girlfriend is cheating." "I don't want to hurt her." "Janie cheated on her in High School, it'll hurt her more to find out you did the same."

After his encounter with Sage, Leo was happy to finally make it to Copperdale to see Nat. As he went to knock on the door, Leo caught the sound of arguing from inside. The first voice he could immediately identify as belonging to Nat. The second voice sounded familiar, Leo just couldn't place it.

"I want to see her, Nat, what's so difficult about that?" "What's difficult about that? Well for starters you show up at my house unannounced, and after wanting nothing to do with MY daughter for the last 4 years you start demanding custody," argued Nat. "I've changed, I want to be in her life now."

"That's all well and good, but if you want to be a part of Sawyer's life, then get a lawyer and file for visitation that way." "C'mon, Nat. You want to get lawyers involved, seriously!" "Yes, I do want lawyers involved. I don't trust you." "Everything alright in here?" Leo asked from behind.

"Noah was just leaving," Nat said from the couch. "I guess I was," Noah grumbled as he slowly made his way towards the door. "Listen," Leo snapped at him. "If Nat says she doesn't want you seeing Sawyer without lawyers, then get lawyers." "Yeah, yeah yeah. You're still a loser, Landcaster." "Jerk."

"Everything alright?" Leo asked Nat as soon as Noah left. "Nothing I can't handle," Nat told him. "It's nice to see you," Leo kissed her cheek. "Where is Sawyer, anyways?" "Napping upstairs. I'm lucky she sleeps like the dead, otherwise that argument would have totally woken her."

"Do we have time to watch a movie before Sawyer wakes up?" asked Leo. "I think we do," Nat smiled as she led him over to the couch. "What are your plans after the movie?" "I was thinking, picnic in the backyard for dinner." "That sounds perfect."

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Landcaster Legacy Gen 7 Update #69

Dear Diary, Lacy and I are back in Copperdale for Grandpa Matthew's funeral. I know he was old, but his death still doesn't feel real. I keep thinking he's about to waltz through the front door and start passing out candies like he always did. I hope he's happy in the forever save at least. -Violet

"Ethan, I really don't think I can do this today" Mads admitted. "I mean why did Ike ask me to give the eulogy?" "You were the gen 6 heir," Ethan reminded her Mads rested her head on his shoulder and let out a sob "This is all just so hard without my Dad" "I know, but we'll get through it, together"

"I know it's going to be hard, but I couldn't think of anyone else to give Matthew's eulogy," Ethan pulled Mads in for a hug. "We'll all be there for you, okay?" "Okay." "Now, we have to get the twins ready. You get Sophie, I'll get Alex?" "Sure."

"Mama, why sad?" Sophie inquired. "I just miss Grandpa Matthew is all," Mads told her. "Cause I no like when you sad. I like happy mama," an idea popped into Sophie's head. "I give you hug so you no be sad." "Aw, thank you sweetheart." "Happy now?" "Definitely."

Meanwhile, Ethan sat down with Alex. "Okay, bud, here's the deal. This is going to be a hard day for Mom, so I'm going to ask you to be on your best behavior. No making messes today, okay?" "I like messes." "I know, but it'll help Mom out if you don't make any, okay?" "Otay, fine," Alex grumbled.

"Lacy, what's the forever save like?" Violet asked. "You can party all day and never grow old or get hungry. Never have to worry about dying, ever again." "Really?" "I mean I think, I never actually made it that far. I got stuck as a ghost before a certain someone decided to resurrect me."

"You're no help with the comfort thing," Violet sighed. "I'm sorry, I've never had to deal with a big familial death like this before" "You parents?" "We weren't ever close, so it wasn't a big deal when they passed. If it makes you feel better, I'm sure Matthew is with his wife, Emily" "Elena." "OK"

Later, Ethan found Violet sitting alone in the living room. "How's everything going?" he asked. "Dad, really?" "Fine, let's talk about something else. Have you made it big in Del Sol Valley yet?" "No, I mean I've been performing at an open mic night every week for the last few months but that's it."

After everyone took their seats in the funeral hall, Mads began her eulogy. "I want to begin by thanking everyone for coming to help celebrate my father's life. He truly was such an amazing sim," Mads' voice cracked as she wiped tears from her face. "He was an excellent father and grandfather."

"I've learned so much from him over the years, and I wish I'd told him more often how big of the impact he made in my life. I can at least say I'll be at peace knowing that after all these years, he can finally be reunited with my mother who he's been waiting for a very long time to see once more."

"Mom, you did a nice job with that eulogy." "Thank you, sweetheart." "I just feel bad now." "What for?" "I wish I'd gotten to spend more time with Grandpa Matthew before he passed," Violet admitted. "I wish I'd been able to tell him how much I loved him." "Trust me, sweetheart, he knows."

Meanwhile, in the forever save, Elena and Jay found themselves on the beach needing a small reprieve from Madeline and Garrett's incessant bickering inside the house.

Ever since Jay had crossed over, he and Elena had become fast friends since they were the only two without their partners.

"I just don't understand why Isla never crossed over with me," Jay was saying. "We died at the same time." "Maybe she had some unfinished business. I've heard that's sometimes why sims get stuck in the main save," Elena explained "Then she needs to hurry up and finish that business so I can see her"

"I'm sure Isla will arrive soon," Elena encouraged Jay. As much as she missed Matthew, she knew that the longer it took for his arrival, the more life he'd gotten to live. Elena was taken from their family too soon, and she never wanted the same fate for Matthew. She'd wait however long it took.

"I've always wondered why Madeline and Garrett continue to put up with one another if they hate each other so much," Elena wondered out loud "Misery loves company, or so I've heard." "This is an awfully long time to me miserable though." Footsteps crunched in the sand behind where Jay and Elena sat.

Elena and Jay suddenly turned around to find both Isla and Matthew approaching. With a shout of happiness, they both leapt to their feet and rushed in for a long-awaited embrace.

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Landcaster Legacy Gen 7 Update #68

Dear Diary, I've been performing at that open mic night every week for the last two months. It's going pretty well; some people even seem to be coming just to see me perform. In other news, I talked to Mom the other day and she says Grandpa Matthew isn't doing so well, I'm worried. -Violet

"Hey, so whatever happened with that audition you had a few months ago. Jenna and I have been so busy I've forgotten to ask." Lacy let out a nervous laugh, "so, uh, about that…" "What happened!?" "Nothing happened per say, I just didn't get the part." "What do you mean you didn't get the part?"

"I mean it's pretty straight forward; I auditioned, they didn't pick me. Not much to it," Lacy shrugged. "Have tried to find anything else?" Violet said clearly starting to get more annoyed. "I mean…I've looked." "Lacy! This is like the millionth time we've had this conversation." "I KNOW THAT!"

"It doesn't seem like you do." "Violet, it's all just-" "Just, what, Lacy?" "It's hard, okay. I find auditions and I sit there, and I try to book them, I really do but I can't. I sit there frozen until I eventually I just close my computer and go out and party, so I don't have to think about it all."

"What's so difficult about all of this?" "I just," Lacy took a long pause. "I don't feel like I deserve it." "What do you mean?" "I was a horrible sim during gen 3, and I'm not proud of it. I want to be better now, but what if I get famous and I'm not and I'm just as horrible as I was during gen 3?"

"Lacy, you can't think like that." Violet's face softened. "You aren't proud of the sim you were during gen 3, and you can't go back and change any of that, but what you can do is try to be a better sim going forward, and that might just start with you booking some auditions to help with rent."

"Can't go back and change anything…" Lacy muttered to herself. "That's what I just said, yes." A lightbulb went off in Lacy's head. "I have to go," she said suddenly. "What?" "I, just…there might be one thing I can change, maybe." "What are you talking about?" "I just have to go, trust me."

Lacy headed to the cemetery in Ravenwood, where the watcher had so graciously transferred all the Landcaster family graves to. Maybe everyone she once knew were now dead, but perhaps their ghosts were still lingering "Isla?" Lacy called out her voice small. She wiped a few tears away. "Isla, please"

When Lacy got no response, she knelt down at her daughter's gravesite. "Look, I don't even if your spirit has passed on yet, it might have. But please, if you can hear me, I want to talk to you. I need to talk with you." A light wind blew through her hair, and Lacy shakily got to her feet.

"What, the hell do you want?" a ghostly form took shape and Lacy sobbed at the translucent form of her only child. "Isla," Lacy wiped her tears away "We've established that you, at the very least, remember my name." "I deserve that. I know I was never good at the whole mothering thing." "You think?"

"From what I recall, you weren't bad at the 'mothering' thing, you were downright awful. You didn't even try to know me" Isla fumed. "You'd pawn me off to whatever nanny you'd hired that week so you could party. I spent my whole childhood alone thanks to you. I don't even owe you this conversation."

"I know you owe me nothing," Lacy said. "Then I'm going," Isla made to turn around. "Wait!" Lacy called out. "I know you don't owe me anything, but I want to apologize, for everything. If you'll allow it, you don't even have to accept my apology, just listen to it. Please." "Fine."

"I know I was a terrible mother. I never knew what a good mother figure looked like. I was so screwed up in the head, still am, I think. You were a child, and I never should have taken that out on you. I should have gotten help, seen a therapist, something. I'm trying to be better, and I'm sorry."

"I'll just go," Lacy said quietly before turning around. Isla was silent for a moment before calling out, "Wait! I never got to cross over with my husband, Jay, and I think it was because I needed to hear your apology." "Really?" Isla nodded before pulling her mother in for one last hug.

While Lacy was busy in Ravenwood making amends with Isla, Matthew was taking his final breaths in Brindleton Bay. The concept of dying never scared Matthew, he'd lived a long and fulfilling life. If anything, he was at peace knowing that soon he'd be able to see his wife, Elena, once more.

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Landcaster Legacy Gen 7 Update #67

Dear diary, Tonight is open mic night, and I'm so nervous. I've practiced my songs probably a million times, but I'm still worried I'm going to make a complete fool of myself. I'm not usually the type of person to doubt myself like this, self-absorbed trait and all, so what's wrong with me? -Violet

Lacy had just gotten off the phone with her agent letting her know that she didn't get the role she'd auditioned for "Hey, Lace. Can I have my guitar, I want to run through my songs with it" "Yeah, but I swear if you don't calm yourself down you'll blow it tonight" As if Violet wasn't nervous enough

The girls met up with Marcus at 9pm sharp, before heading over to his friend's bar where the first performance was already on stage. "Hey man!" Marcus exclaimed while pulling his friend, Dean, in for a hug. "Long time no see," Dean replied. "You're always off one place or another for work" "Yeah…"

"Anyways," Marcus continued. "This is my girl, Jenna, and her friends Violet and Lacy. Pretty sure Violet here is looking to perform tonight." "Awesome," Dean replied and turned his attention to Violet. "I can get you on the list, it'll probably be about 30 minutes." "Thank you," Violet replied.

Violet decided to ask Dean a few questions, to try and calm her nerves "How does all this work exactly?" "You're on the list. If you brough your music with you can pass that to Kian and Kailia over on the piano and guitar. That way you don't have to worry about singing and playing an instrument"

Meanwhile, Jenna, Lacy and Marcus took a seat at the bar. Violet's going to kill it," Jenna said. "I mean she's been practicing all week and sounds amazing." "She really does," Lacy agreed. "Well, I'm excited to hear her perform then," Marcus smiled.

As the current act wrapped up their set, Dead headed on stage to introduce Violet, who was thanking the watcher that she had decided, to bring her music with. Now all she had to focus on was remembering the lyrics. As she launched into her first song, Violet forgot about all the eyes on her.

Jenna and Lacy rushed to the front to see their friend perform. "You're right, she is pretty good," Marcus commented. "I told you," Jenna grinned. "She's been practicing nonstop since high school." Lacy nodded, "Violet eats and breathes her music."

"Let's go Vi!" Jenna and Lacy cheered in unison before making it their personal mission to ensure that everyone in the audience was dancing along to Violet's songs.

After Violet finished with her set, she rushed off stage towards Lacy. "That was incredible! And I didn't forget a single lyric." "You were great!" Lacy exclaimed as she pulled Violet in for a hug. "I think that's the best you've performed it." "Really?" "Yes!" "Excuse me," said a voice from behind.

"Yes?" Violet and Lacy turned to see one of the performers from earlier standing there. "I just wanted to say you sounded so good! It kind of reminded me of that new band, Janie and the Misfits. Their music is so good." Violet's face fell, and without another word she stormed outside "What'd I say?"

"Violet, wait," Lacy called after her. "Who cares about what that rando sim thinks?" "She said I sound like Janie." "So?" "Of course I sound like Janie. It's my music that Janie stole. Every last song on her album. She got famous using my music, and nobody would believe me if I said so, I hate it."

"I hate it because it isn't fair," Violet began to say. "It's not fair that Janie's done all of these horrible things and is still successful. Meanwhile, I wanted to do everything right and now I'm here working my butt off, and I haven't even made it half as far as Janie has. It isn't fair."

"There's this saying that I heard a lot in gen 3, that the higher you rise the harder you fall, and if anyone knows how true that statement is, it'd be me. Janie might be successful now, but karma always has a way of biting people in the ass, and she's got a looooong way to fall now."

"I guess you're right," Violet smiled a little. "Of course I'm right, I always am." "I wouldn't go that far." "I would," Lacy said cheerfully. "What we're going to do now is go back inside and spend the rest of the night dancing and enjoying the music, and absolutely no thinking about Janie." "Okay"