#(( malcolm: i was 'dead' but not anymore ))

[abbysimsfun]

Sims In Bloom: Generation 2 Pt. 33 (Detective Gordon Risks His Job)

Conrad couldn’t shake a strange feeling, like he wasn’t himself anymore, suddenly living an entirely different life. He was an honest cop, but he was willing to bend the rules for her.

Even Gord looked at his best friend strangely, barking as he followed him from the cruiser to Spire Tower. "I know what you're thinking," said Conrad. "But I think this is why the captain put me on the case."

Gord let out a low, cautious growl.

"I know it could just as easily put me on indefinite leave, but I can't be the cop who puts her behind bars, either."

Conrad thought back to the conversation with his captain that sent him to the coast.

"I need you for a special assignment, Gordon. Your father used to work Landgraab security, did he not?"

Conrad glanced at his hands. His dad had been dead a few years and he still missed him. "He was Chester Landgraab's head of security before they both retired."

"You knew their son, didn't you? That smarmy reporter on Simlandia National."

He shifted uncomfortably. "I knew Malcolm when we were kids, but I haven't spoken to him in at least sixteen years. Why all the questions about the Landgraabs?"

"You must've heard they were hacked."

"I expected to see a case file about it at some point."

"I got a call this morning about a lead. We're keeping this one off the books until there's solid evidence for a conviction at Nancy Landgraab's request."

Conrad chuckled. "I thought the Landgraabs loved being in the news."

"The hacker used her credentials to get into the system. Let's just say this one's personal, and I need a computer geek who can navigate the Landgraabs to handle this one before it blows back on our department somehow. You know the Landgraabs love spin."

The last thing Nancy Landgraab wanted was to give Heather a chance to court public opinion before she was hung out to dry. That alone left a bad taste in Conrad’s mouth, even before he drove to Brindleton Bay and met Heather himself.

Nancy answered when Conrad buzzed up from the lobby. He looked at the luxurious decor when he entered, patiently waiting. He used to think Spire Tower was the only place worth living in all of San Myshuno. But now the penthouse felt cold and stark, like the Landgraabs themselves. "Little Conrad Gordon, is that you all grown up?"

"It's nice to see you again, Mrs. Landgraab."

"Please, call me Nancy. I was sorry to hear about your father. He was always my father's favourite employee!"

Conrad nodded politely. "He loved his years working for your father."

Malcolm, in a glum mood, joined his mother and childhood friend in the living room. "So you became a cop?"

"Yeah, I don't really have the charisma to do the TV reporter thing."

"Nonsense. You were the most respectful of Malcolm's friends. If all his friends had been like you I might not have needed to send him to boarding school."

"Thanks, Mrs. Landgraab, but I'm not here to talk about the past. The captain sent me to Brindleton Bay this morning."

Nancy's polite smile faded to a scowl. "And? Did you come here to say that woman has been arrested?"

"Mom, what did you do?"

Nancy glared hawkishly toward her son. "I'm trying to clean up your mistakes as usual, Malcolm."

"I didn't find the evidence you need," Conrad lied. "But you know the captain keeps your investigations unofficially open until you call to close them yourself. She's still a suspect, but this all feels more like a family disagreement than a criminal investigation. She knows you stole her code."

"She is not family," insisted Nancy. "She is the woman manipulating my grandson."

"Mom, Ash can't even talk yet."

"And it's a shock you even know that, Malcolm!"

Conrad could feel the tension rising and he raised his hand to clear the air. "Listen, I'm just a detective and this case has nothing to do with me, otherwise, but you should think about whether sending his mother to prison is the best thing for your grandson."

"Please. She'd be out of the way and cease to be a bigger thorn in my side than my idiot brother," Nancy sniffed. "And we'll out-lawyer her every step of the way if she wants to charge us for stealing her code."

Malcolm threw up his arms in frustration. "Dammit, Mom. We're not pressing charges tonight, alright?" He turned to the detective. "It's nice to see you again, Conrad. Thank you for coming by. And for not filing a report."

This was a demand, not a request. Though Conrad was proper, polite, and a rule-follower by nature, he nodded in agreement. Conrad didn't want to file a report any more than he did.

With Malcolm again pulled in different directions, the young detective left him pondering what to do next. ->

<- Previous Chapter | Gen 2 Start | Gen 1 Summary | Gen 1 Start

[cakepoppresent]

No. Just No. 2

Malolcm is SICK of everyone in his family. Why can't they be normal!! Luna lowkey just wants to be laid up with her man

Transcript Under The Cut~

[Andre]: I should just rip the bandaid off and I need you BOTH to listen to me. Dad has been lying for years and he was the reason I had to leave and disappear the way that I did. The reason why I started to reach out was because I didn't want to keep you in the dark anymore

[Andre]: The reason I left was becasue I was looking for our mom.

[Luna/Malcolm]: What?!

[Andre]: I found out she wasn’t dead after I graduated from high school. Dad lied and when I tried to talk to him about it he told me to drop it and never bring it up again

[Luna]: You want us to believe that...that woman is alive and well and what? Dad the reason she ran away?

[Andre]: That’s what I’d been trying to find out. I kept asking Dad about her and he kept shutting me down. I finally found out where she moved to but I didn’t realize Dad had someone watching my every move.

[Luna]: What did he do?

[Andre]: I didn’t realize Dad would do anything to keep her hidden. When I went to her home she was gone. The apartment was wiped and Dad was sitting there in the living room. He told me if I kept going down this path he would disown me. I told him he can’t hide her forever

[Luna]: But...why would he do that...I don’t understand

[Andre]: Their relationship wasn’t the best and I believe she was the one who ran away. I was finally able to find her again

[Luna]: You did?!

[Malcolm] Shut up. Shut up. Shut up. What the fuck are you even saying right now...The woman who gave birth to us is alive? Are you hearing yourself?

[Andre]: I know it's hard to believe I’m not asking you for your trust but I just wanted you both to know she didn’t leave because she was tired of us or not interested in being our mom...

[Malcolm]: Is anyone in our family capable of actually being responsible and not abandoning their family? Is this fucking genetics?!

[Andre]: It’s not that simple Malcolm. Of course, she didn’t want to just get up and leave but she had to. Living with Dad was a nightmare...

[Luna]: We lived with Dad too. It's like no one is thinking about me or Malcolm at all. Do you think it was easy living with Dad? How come you get and that...lady get to leave but we were stuck with Dad?!

[Malcolm]: Excuses! thats all I'm fucking hearing. Excuses!

[Malcolm]: You don’t get to sit there and spin this sob story about that woman and think we are just gonna accept leaving us as some sort of self-sacrifice you're making it out to be. At the end of the day you BOTH left and I don’t CARE why you're deciding to reach out now but you can fuck right off. Luna, You heard it we had a mom she left and Andre followed right after nothing else to know. Lets fucking go

[Luna]: That wasn’t what I was expecting but I agree with Malcolm. I...have some resentment for the woman who could leave her children with a man she didn’t feel safe with. You know where she is and I’m guessing you told her about us?

[Andre]: Of course but shes not ready yet to expose herself. The moment she tries to reach out Dad is gonna know where she is and shes...not prepared for that yet

[Luna]: I came here for you. I just wanted to rebuild a relationship with you Andre, not that woman. Let me be honest I don’t think I would want one either.

[Andre]: There is a lot I can’t say because its not my place to say it...but she does love you guys and she misses you everyday.

[Luna]: Unfortunately, I can’t say the same but I need to sit with this and make sure Malcolm doesn’t explode. We won’t be in the city until the new year so...just keep me updated okay?

[Andre]: Okay...

[pamsimmerstories]

Promises

previous || next

-

[wolfgang]: you know you don’t need to come here everyday

[cassandra]: i know... but i promised her

-

[cassandra]: wait... i know this place

[cassandra]: who’s dead now?

[aurora]: *shouts* cassie!!

[cassandra]: rory??? no no no no no.

[aurora]: it’s so good to see you. malcolm said i could see you

[cassandra]: did you... die?

[aurora]: it’s not a surprise, cassie. i was... old

[cassandra]: i know. i just...

[malcolm]: hey, Addams

[cassandra]: mal!! this feels so good

[malcolm]: you still see me every day.

[cassandra]: but it feels different

[malcolm]: i know

[malcolm]: cassie, i can’t stay with you anymore—

[cassandra]: what? no! why?

[malcolm]: i overstayed there. remember when we talk about consequences?

[cassandra]: no! i can’t lose you again, malcolm. not again!

[cassandra]: please, stay with me

[malcolm]: i can’t, cassie. but soon we’ll see each other again. i’ve been there for you for all those years...

[cassandra]: i want to wake up from this nightmare. this is not happening. aurora is not dying and you aren’t leaving

[aurora]: you’re going to be okay, cassie

[aurora]: i know this is not a good time, but maybe... you and wolfgang will need each other. can you take care of him for me?

[cassandra]: no. because you’re not dead.

[aurora]: cassie...

[cassandra]: fine.

[malcolm]: you two can look out for each other

[cassandra]: ...

-

[aurora]: she’s not happy

[malcolm]: she’s not.

[aurora]: now, we wait

[malcolm]: yes... we wait

[scenegirlshooter2]

⛤⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽⛧☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅⛤

About-

IF YOU DONT LIKE NSFW CONTENT BLOCK THE #NSFW TAG FROM ME!!!!

16, cis, bi, pro 4n4, pro tcc/ proship, fujo~himejoshi. I go by z. I barely post tcc anymore though cause anhodenia is kicking my ass

Amekaji, emo-scene, goth, rokku, agejo but as of lately goth-emo.

I write really bad fanfiction sometimes.

☽༺𖤐༻☾ 𝕴𝖓𝖙𝖊𝖗𝖊𝖘𝖙𝖘-

maze runner, ww2, countryhumans, chrisker/ aberfield, divergent, resident evil <movies and movie books mostly..>, uglies, Malcolm in the middle, tcc (oldhead columbiner btw), legend series, twilight, hunger games, vampire kisses,battle royale, princess resurrection, dieting, corpse party, y2k shoujo, yaoi, girlblogging, hiki~neetcore,00s anime, watamoe, my immortal/harry potter, death note,jirablr, menhera, gyaru~scene~goth~emo, my immortal,creepy pasta, shock content,high school dxd, school of the dead, man in the high castle, futurama,unwind, fringe, numb3rs etc..

☽༺𖤐༻☾ music- Botdf, Boston lane, linkin park, kmfdm, my life with the thrill kill kult, chris korda, nin, korn, Jeffree star, otep, old bmth,

Dni- nivansfield/chreon shippers, anti tcc/ radqueer/ proship,parasocial fans, anti free speech idiots, jessi slaughter supporters

Oh and people who think the last resident evil anderson movie was Canon [joking]

[jtl-fics]

Fluent Freshman - Part 24

PREVIOUS

“What do you MEAN Smithy is in the hospital with a stab wound to his stomach?!” Nicky’s own voice is agony for his hangover but honestly, how the fuck else was he supposed to respond when he had asked Andrew where FF was and gotten that as a response.

“Calm down.” Andrew says and he looks tired, looks stressed, and maybe even just…a touch nervous?

Nicky isn’t as good as Neil at reading Andrew Minyard. He doesn’t think anyone will ever be as fluent in the language of Andrew Minyard as Neil Josten but Nicky has picked up some key phrases.

He can see when he’s making a joke that is a step too far. He can see when his cousin wants to kiss Neil but is holding back. He can see when his cousin is stressed.

He can see a guilty curve to Andrew’s spine.

“Andrew, answer me honestly, did you stab my sweet baby freshman?” Nicky asks and he’s not sure if the nausea he feels anymore is from horror or from the sheer number of drinks he had put in his system the night before.

Roland usually cuts him off before he gets this level.

Roland also has a habit of pouring heavier when he’s stressed.

Roland also also tends to make complicated fruity drinks that Nicky likes when he’s stressed.

Andrew’s jaw tenses but it’s Neil who speaks up, “It was an accident. It happened during a fight.” Neil says and Nicky throws his hands up in the air.

“You got into a FIGHT with my sweet baby freshman? Sweet little Smithy? The boy who made brownies that made me feel kinda straight for a dead woman?!” Nicky exclaims and sees Andrew and Neil open their mouths to say something but, “I promised him that if he wanted I’d get him something hard that’d mess his GUTS up but this isn’t what I MEANT.” He lets himself collapse dramatically over the table.

“Nicky, shut up!” Kevin hisses from his spot on the couch.

“When the fuck did Kevin get here?!” Because seriously, how fucked up was Nicky last night that he doesn’t remember Kevin coming on this Columbia trip? Where’d he sit? He couldn’t really remember coming over after Thanksgiving. Had Andrew put Kevin in the trunk? Had Andrew put Nicky in the trunk?

“He came with Wymack.” Neil cut in before Nicky started testing reality. “Wymack is at the hospital since he’s…uh…he’s the…”

“Medical Power of Attorney” Andrew answers.

“Yes! Thank you, the Medical power of attorney for Smith. He needed surgery and Wymack wanted to be nearby in case he had to make any pressing decisions.” Neil explains and yeah that tracks, he knows a little bit about FF’s family and knows that aside from his grandma on his dad’s side the rest can go take a long walk off a short volcano observation platform

“Okay, that explains why Kevin is here….how?! Despite all of the unwarranted advice, Kevin is not a medical professional.” Nicky says before turning to Kevin, “So Kevin, what insane Exy-related reason are you here? Don’t lie and say it’s because you want to sign the get well soon card.” He hisses.

“Fuck you!” Kevin spits, “I need to know how long Smiths is going to be out of commission and what his PT is going to look like. He was supposed to be starting during the spring season.” Kevin growls.

“There it is!” Nicky throws up his hands.

“Nicky, just calm down!” Neil pleads.

“How can I stay calm? Andrew stabbed Smithy! So not only is my favorite freshman in the hospital Andrew’s going to end up back on those god forsaken meds again!” Nicky shouts and buries his face in his hands.

“Smith isn’t going to say that.” Andrew’s voice is calm but Nicky can hear the slight edge.

“Oh yeah?” Nicky asks because he could see FF promising to never mention who stabbed him if Andrew would just spare his life. FF was going to be even MORE of a disaster when it came to his anxiety around Andrew. Nicky wouldn’t be surprised if his friend just straight up dropped out after this. His cousin is safe but he’s absolutely going to lose his friend.

“Because he’s saying Romero Malcolm stabbed him.” Andrew finishes.

Nicky sits up.

“Wait, what?” Nicky asks.

“Last night Romero Malcolm was at Eden’s.” Neil says voice even in a way that lets Nicky know that he’s trying to stay calm, “Smith recognized him, heard he wanted to grab,” Neil swallows thickly, “…grab one of my friends and saw them looking at…” Neil trails off and looks to Andrew who shakes his head, “…around for someone to grab.” Neil seems to decide and Nicky knows when something is being hidden from him but he’s more interested in the story than what Neil is hiding at the moment, “He got Romero’s attention so that he wouldn’t do anything bad in Eden’s and let Roland know to call help. He went out alone into the alley but Romero didn’t follow him.” Neil explains.

“Oh thank god.” Nicky sighs.

“Because he’d alerted Jackson Plank was lying in wait to ambush him.” Neil continues.

“Oh dear god.” Nicky exclaims.

“He uh…” Neil looks to Andrew who shakes his head again, “okay we don’t know exactly HOW Smith managed to do it but he beat Jackson up pretty bad.” Neil explains.

Nicky feels his brain stop working.

He has watched FF trip over his own feet, walk into four different trees, and almost sprain his ankle walking across a flat surface. He knows FF has been watching self-defense videos and had even gotten some pointers from Matt but even Matt had told him his better bet was probably just to yell “WOW WHAT’S THAT OVER THERE?!”, point behind the attacker, and run as fast as humanly possible away from a fight.

Neil is still talking.

Nicky boots back up quickly.

“…a gun. He tackled Romero into Andrew and Andrew’s knife ended up in Smith’s stomach on accident while they were wrestling for the gun. Smith is the one who said he’s going to tell everyone who asks that it was Romero. He even said it to me.” Neil says with an awkward laugh.

“And you believed him.” Andrew says and there’s warmth in his cousin’s eyes as he looks at Neil and teases him.

“And I believed him.” Neil confirms.

“Okay, so you swear to me that you did not INTENTIONALLY stab my BFF?” Nicky asks looking at Andrew seriously.

“BFF, seriously?” Kevin asks.

“Best Freshman Friend.” Nicky answers quickly, “Don’t worry Kevin, you lose out to Matt in all regards for my Best Senior Friend.” He says.

Kevin just flips him off but Nicky turns his attention back to Andrew, “Andrew, I need to hear it.” He says .

“I did not intentionally stab Smith.” Andrew confirms.

Nicky lets the horrified nausea leave him with only his hangover nausea.

“Okay, we can work with that.”  Nicky leans back. “Have you heard from that Agent?” he asks looking at Neil.

Neil nods but then looks nervous and shoots a look towards Kevin, “The FBI is sending Browning and a field office agent to talk with us but…Ichirou also contacted me.” He says and Nicky watches as Kevin perks up.

“He did?!” Kevin squawks looking around like he expected the head of the Moriyama family to appear from the shadows.

“He wants to make sure we do our part to keep the Moriyama name out of this. He is going to deal with Romero and Jackson himself.” Neil says looking nervous.

Nicky clenches his eyes shut, “Well you’re not going to mention them right?” he hears Kevin ask.

“Of course not Kevin.” Nicky hears Andrew hiss.

“Good.” Kevin says.

There’s silence in the wake of Neil’s statement.

Nicky takes a deep breath and wishes his head was a little less agonizing. “Why aren’t we at the hospital to see Smithy?” he asks because he has nothing he can do about Ichirou so he may as well put it out of his mind.

There is some grumbling.

“Wymack said that he’ll just make us sit in the waiting room without any updates.” Neil says. “We’re picking up Smith’s grandma from the airport and she’s our ticket to getting an actual update beyond ‘not dead yet’ from Wymack.” He adds.

“What, you really can’t get updates without Wymack?” Nicky asks.

Andrew looks at Nicky and Nicky can’t read a single thing his cousin is thinking.

“What’s Smith’s first name Nicky.” Andrew asks.

“Oh God fucking Dammit.” Nicky’s head hurts too bad for this.

MASTERPOST FOR ALL PARTS OF FLUENT FRESHMAN AU

NEXT

Per your requests:

@i-have-three-feelings

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The requests to be added to the tag list keep being spread out across a few different areas. If I missed you please just ask again in the replies I promise I just missed you.

As stated before if you’re up here and I spelled it right but you didn’t get a notification there might be something switched around in your settings that won’t let me tag you properly?

[theladyofshalott1989]

✨ My Favorite Movies and Books of 2024 ✨

Happy New Year! Every year on January 1st, I post my favorite books and movies of the prior year. I've been doing this on Facebook for a decade now, but I literally never go on Facebook anymore (LMAO), so I thought I'd post it here instead. I'm glomming what are usually separate posts into one this year because I wrote so much in 2024 that I didn't read or watch my usual amount. BUT I DIGRESS.

I'm just going to list them, but please feel free to ask me about any of them. I love to wax on about my favorite books and movies, as most people know about me, for better and for worse. 😅

TOP MOVIES (in order of viewing)

*My husband and I watched 8 movies in the theater this year, which is (extremely) low for us. This is definitely a trend now. I'm not sure how I feel about it.

1. American Fiction

2. Thelma

3. The Wild Robot

4. Wicked, Part 1

TOP BOOKS (in order of reading)

*I read 45 books this year, which was lower than usual but not by much, at least since I had my child.

1. Into the Gray Zone by Adrian Owen (non-fiction)

2. The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern (fantasy)

3. Interesting Facts About Space by Emily Austin (contemporary fiction / queer romance)

4. Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead by Emily Austin (contemporary fiction / queer romance)

5. The Husbands by Holly Gramazio (magical realism / romance)

6. One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig (fantasy / romance)

7. Tom Lake by Ann Patchett (literary fiction)

8. Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell (non-fiction)

9. What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher (gothic horror)

What were your favorite movies and/or books this year? I want to hear about them!

[anamoon63]

Geoffrey apologized to Clifford for how badly Malcolm had behaved to his late mother, Bebe. Geoffrey: We Landgraabs may be all sorts of things but we don't abandon our own. Clifford: (To himself): Oh yeah? and why didn't he help my mother leaving her to die in poverty? I guess it doesn't matter anymore.

Geoffrey: (Oblivious to Clifford's thoughts): So the third part of the fortune in Malcolm's will rightfully belongs to you, the other two thirds belong to your half-sisters, Natalie and Doris. Clifford politely declined to accept the inheritance. Clifford: Uh...

Clifford: Thank you very much but my family and I don't need money, we live quite comfortably thanks to mine and my wife's work. Geoffrey: Money is always needed. You could use it to pay for your children's University. How many do you have, three?

Clifford: I'm sorry for your loss, but I don't want anything coming from you or your deceased son. I came to offer my condolences, and I already have, so, have a good day, Mr. Landgraab. Mr. Landgraab. Clifford didn't even deign to call him grandfather. Why would he? Geoffrey never acted like one. And now he wants to buy off his great-grandchildren with that cheapskate Malcolm's fortune? Thanks, but no thanks.

*Note: I know it's super weird that Geoffrey is still alive when Malcom is dead and Clifford is already a Senior citizen, but my game, even with aging on, behaves in the weirdest ways. 😮

[agaypanic]

can you do a reese request where your his best friend but you like him and you didn't get a chance to tell him before he left the army and you're mad at him for leaving and scaring you and you confess . fluffy and kinda smutty .

Come Back, Be Here (Reese Wilkerson X Reader)

Masterlist

Request Something!

Summary: Fate seemed so cruel to convince Reese to leave and risk his life because of a broken heart the same night you wanted to go to him with a heart full of love. But a few weeks later, fate seemed to be kinder. Because now he’s popped up on your doorstep, heart ready to be mended.

A/N: couldn’t think of a title bc i’ve already written something with kind of the same plot so i used a TS song lol

***

“What do you mean he’s gone?” You asked Malcolm on the phone. This had to have been some sick prank. “Malcolm, this isn’t funny.”

“Y/n, I’m not lying. He ran away and joined the army.”

“Why would he do that? Reese hates the government and anything that has authority over him.” The line was quiet, but you knew he was still on the phone with you. “Malcolm, did you do something?”

“Maybe.”

“What did you do?” Quiet again. “Malcolm?” He sighed, ashamed of what he was about to say.

“He caught me with his girlfriend when he went to tell her he loved her, and she broke up with him. He told me to take care of her, and we haven’t seen him since.”

“I bet you’re not even with her anymore.” You sneered into the phone. His silence confirmed it. “Oh my God, Malcolm, I think you might be the worst brother in the history of siblings!” 

“How do you think I feel, Y/n?! You think I’m happy about this?!” He exploded over the phone, his outburst shutting the both of you up.

“Have you heard from him at all?” You asked, voice breaking. You refused to believe that Reese wouldn’t contact his family at all. 

“He sent a letter; that’s how we found out where he went.”

“What did he say?” You asked immediately.

“He said he’s okay and that he wanted to wait until he was a success to write to us. He graduated first in his training post and got some kind of reward.” Your breathing quickened. Suddenly everything felt too real for you to handle. You told Malcolm you had to go before hanging up, a sob breaking through. You slid down against the wall, crying your eyes out.

You were absolutely devastated. Your best friend ran off to one of the worst places to run to, and you had no way to contact him or, at the very least, ensure he was okay. You felt guilty. So, so guilty.

You knew, realistically, none of this was your fault. The situation had nothing to do with you. But you felt like you could have prevented it if you were quicker.

You had no idea if it was the same night. But a few weeks ago, you had taken enough of pretending to be content with friendship. As cliche as it was, you had been silently in love with your best friend for a few years. One night, you had snuck over to his house, finally building up all the courage in the world to tell him. But he wasn’t home.

Now you know why.

You started sobbing harder. You hated this feeling. The feeling of missing Reese, who was somewhere in the world, instead of down the road where he belonged. Loving a man who couldn’t be confirmed to be alive and mourning him even though he wasn’t confirmed to be dead.

***

For the next two weeks, you were a mess. Your mom had to excuse your absences and later called you out until further notice. Extenuating circumstances, she said. It was sort of funny, in a cruel way. Extenuating circumstances meant a situation that provided an excuse for an action, but you didn’t even fully understand the situation yourself. All you knew was that Reese was gone, and Lois was determined to find him.

Some days you couldn’t even get out of bed. You would stay under the covers that protected you from the hurt and the worry and the fear. All you did was overthink, wondering where Reese was or if he’d ever be found.

Today was a better day. You took a shower and ate some food, eating in your backyard to get some of the sunlight you had been avoiding like the plague. 

Because you were outside, you didn’t hear the phone ringing in the house. And because you didn’t hear it ring, you didn’t think to check the machine when you came back inside. You went back to your room, cleaning it up a bit. But that soon felt like a mistake when you picked up photos of you and Reese that you’d been looking at. You reminisced all of the memories you shared with Reese over the years.

Share. You meant ‘share,’ not ‘shared.’ Because talking about him in the past tense like that alluded to the idea that he wasn’t around to share memories with you anymore.

Setting the photos down gently on your desk, you laid back down. As you drifted off into sleep, you failed to hear the phone ringing again.

***

Hours later, you woke up to banging on the front door. You were surprised your parents weren’t answering the door, but maybe they were working late.

“I’m coming! I’m coming! Jesus.” You rolled out of bed, exhausted despite all the resting you had done. You navigated through the house to the front door, where whoever was on the other side kept knocking. “What the fuck do you want?!” You shouted, losing the very little patience you had. You yanked the door open and were about to curse out whoever was on your front step, but the words you were planning to scream got lost in your throat.

“Hey.” There he was, in the flesh. Reese stood in front of you, acting shy. You felt so overwhelmed all of a sudden.

“Hey?” You were both taken aback by the anger in your voice. But you couldn’t stop yourself. “That’s all you have to say? Hey? Do you have any idea how fucking stupid you are, Reese?! Running away and joining the army, leaving me here to worry about you and wonder if you were still even alive! I can’t believe you, Reese!” The words soon became mixed with tearful stutters. Unable to take the distance any longer, you threw yourself on him. “I can’t believe you would do such a thing.” You were much quieter than before, face smothered in Reese’s shoulder while you sobbed into him.

“I know.” His embrace on you was tight, refusing to let you go. “I know. I’m so sorry, Y/n.”

“You scared me so much. I thought you weren’t gonna come back.” You almost started crying harder at the thought, even though he was alive and well.

“Of course, I came back.” Reese cupped the back of your head. “I couldn’t leave you.”

“But you did.” It was just a whisper, but he heard it loud and clear.

“I know. But I didn’t know what to do, Beth broke my heart, and I couldn’t go home to face Malcolm again.” You lifted your head from Reese’s shoulder and immediately, his hand moved to wipe the tears from your face.

“Sure, she broke your heart. But I could’ve fixed it.”

“What?”

“You heard me.” Although it pained you, you stepped away, slipping from Reese’s hold. It seemed to have hurt him as well, based on his expression. “I was gonna see you that night. I wanted to tell you I love you, that I have for years. But you weren’t there.”

He just stared at you. You would’ve panicked, automatically assuming that you had said the wrong thing and that you had just damaged your relationship with Reese beyond repair. He wasn’t saying anything, but then again, he didn’t leave either.

That had to be a good sign, right?

“Reese-”

“Say it again.” There was a sense of urgency and dominance in his tone as he stared you down.

“What?”

“Say it again. Please.” He took a step closer. As if you could read his mind, you knew what he was talking about.

“I love you, Reese.” He pounced on you, taking your face in his hands as he pressed his lips to yours and pushed you against the wall. He kicked the door shut behind him, keeping you pinned. You came over your state of shock quickly, hands clawing at his hair and shirt. You don’t know how long you two went at it, but when you pulled apart, you were trying to catch your breath with swollen lips.

“I love you, Y/n.” You could help the grin that overcame you. Words you waited years to hear from him were finally being spoken.

“Stay.” You kissed him. “Stay, please.” You fell into a cycle of pleading and kissing him.

“I’ll stay, I’ll stay.” He silenced you with his own pattern of a promise followed by a kiss. The promise followed you two as you dragged him to your room. And the promise was kept when you woke up the next morning, covered in sheets and sweat and him, just to see that he was still there with you. And the promise was kept every day after.

[townsenddecades]

Recap 1320 – 1329

And that’s another decade done! It was certainly an interesting one. There was no deadly famine this time, but with the number of sims to manage increasing, the individual days have started taking longer to play through. Which explains why completing this decade has taken me almost four months.

Historically speaking, the 1320s were an…interesting time in English politics, to say the least. I touched on it in some posts, but the tensions between King Edward II, his nobility and Queen Isabella came to a head, first in the Despenser War, and finally in Isabella’s coup against her husband to oust him from power and instead place their son, Edward III, on the throne. In addition to these domestic troubles, there was also continuous war with the Scots (culminating in Edward III recognizing Scottish independence in 1328) and trouble with the English fiefdoms in France, a prelude to the Hundred Years War that will begin in the coming decade, and which ironically enough gave Queen Isabella the springboard from which to launch her coup.

Another prelude to the Hundred Years War was the death of King Charles IV of France, after which Queen Isabella put Edward III forward as a candidate for the throne. Unsurprisingly, the French weren’t too keen on having an English King, but we all know that that wasn’t the end of the matter.

When I started this challenge, I actually intended to incorporate the Scottish wars into my story, but in playing I shied away from the research I would have needed to put in to think up rolls for that. Maybe with the next one, because we also all know that this wasn’t the end of the border clashes between England and Scotland.

Because of this, my sims may have had a lot of heartache because of marital troubles and dead children this decade, but at least in terms of big historical events, they’ve had it rather easy. Which doesn’t mean I was bored, far from it!

Which is a perfect cue to stop waffling and finally get into the recap for the individual households. Of which there are far more than a decade ago. This will be a long post (hence the read more), but I hope the division into individual entries helps to read it if you need multiple sessions.

I have also decided to write posts with more in-depth descriptions of the deaths and weddings of this decade, and to intersperse some polls between posting these.

The Townsend Family (Tovar, Main Household)

Current members: 7

In 1320, the Tovar branch of the Townsend family consists of Benedict Townsend, his oldest son Benjamin and youngest son Gregory, Benjamin’s wife Malika and Benjamin and Malika’s two surviving sets of twins: Malcolm and Amye, who are seven, and Frank and Adeline, who are only infants.

Like most people of their community, the Townsends begin the decade by trying to rebuild after the devastating famine of the last few years, which means working on the field and buying new animals for the farm, among them a kitten named Mouser whose task will be, as the name suggests, keeping out mice. Amye, who loves animals, is especially happy about this. Sadly, even now that their fields aren’t waterlogged anymore, their crops are growing badly, so the harvest they bring in in early 1321 is small.

In that year, Gregory, who wishes to be a painter, asks his sister Anna, whose family moves in more well-heeled circles in Praaven, for help in securing an apprenticeship. He has always had an artistic bend, but it isn’t unlikely that the hardships of being a peasant have added fuel to the fire of wanting to escape life on a farm. Through some effort, Anna does manage to secure an apprenticeship with a painter in Praaven for him, although it doesn’t come for free. Before he leaves, Gregory travels to the Abbey of St. Wright to propose marriage to his childhood friend Agnes, who promises to wait for him.

Also in 1321, the younger set of twins ages up into toddlers. And to add to the joyous news, at the end of the year, Malika discovers that she is with child again.

In 1322, Malika gives birth to a son named Edwin. This year, the harvest is adequate, although they delay harvesting some plants that still haven’t grown as well as they would like. Fuelled by this, Malika starts thinking about ways to secure her family economically. Farming obviously comes with too many risks, and losing children, friends and family has left its marks on her. Independent of her thoughts, Benjamin has already started putting more emphasis on cultivating grapes for nectar, to be used by the local Guild of Nectar Makers. She proposes making nectar themselves, but Benjamin dismisses this as too risky.

Later in the year, Benjamin takes his older children to meet Sir Robert Chevalier, his recently married half-brother whom he hasn’t seen in years and whose new home is nearby. Malcolm is very impressed by having a knight for an uncle. Meeting Robert and seeing his spacious – by peasant standards - home gives him his first idea of wanting more in life than farmwork.

While this visit is happening, Clement Dudley, brother to the local earl, visits the Townsend's farm looking for party of riders. Instead of his quarry, he finds Malika, whom he had a brief flirtation with before her marriage. As she is still a beautiful woman, he is very interested but meets with rejection when he tries to charm her. Naturally, he is offended by this reaction and leaves in a huff.

Not to be deterred by a pesky thing like this he returns a few months later, in 1323. Malika, who has been considering gaining his support to push her idea of becoming nectar makers, reciprocates his advances this time and allows him to kiss her. They are nearly caught by Benjamin in this compromising position but manage to play it off. It is only after Dudley leaves that Malika confesses her plan to him, much to his horror and disgust. A few months later, he gives his reluctant consent and Malika and Clement become lovers, but Malika’s and Benjamin’s relationship suffers noticeably under this. Undeterred, Malika makes a first attempt to talk to Clement about the ways he could support her family, but he is clearly uninterested. For him, their relationship is a pleasant diversion, nothing more.

Ever the determinator, Malika keeps trying, which in 1324 begins to put Clement off. Only then does she admit to herself that he likely won’t help her. After he stops visiting her, she starts feeling ill, which is soon revealed to be the first signs of another pregnancy. This discovery (and the fact that neither can tell who the father of the child is) strains her relationship with Benjamin further, especially when she reveals that her plan failed.

In 1325, while heavily pregnant, Malika has a talk with Amye about marriage and childbearing. Amye is nearly a young woman now, which means that these matters, and the danger associated with childbirth, are starting to become more pressing for her. Despite her mother’s reassurances that many women survive multiple births without issues, Amye isn’t convinced. Later in the year, Malika gives birth to a daughter, Cecily, who strongly takes after her, which makes it impossible to tell who her father might be. During the birth, Benjamin realizes how much he still loves his wife by how scared he is to lose her. After this, their relationship very slowly begins to mend.

Some months after the birth Malika is visited by one of the earl’s men-at-arms. Sir Robert, informed about what has been going on via village gossip, has asked the earl to intercede, but as Clement’s paternity can’t be proven, nothing comes of it.

At the end of the year Amye and Malcolm age up into teens, Frank and Adeline age up into children and Benedict ages up into an elder.

In 1326, the four older children begin take on new duties. For Amye, this mostly means helping in the household, like caring for her little siblings Edwin and Cecily and taking over some of the cooking, cleaning and whatever else needs to be done. She likes the work, but still doesn’t think she wants to do this for a husband. Then, tragedy strikes: baby Cecily dies of a fever. Despite his uncertainty about the child and his feelings on the entire affair, Benjamin comforts his wife, who feels that Cecily's death may be divine punishment.

In 1327, Benjamin stuns his wife by announcing that he intends to apply to the Guild of Nectar Makers, as he has had all winter to ponder the merits of her idea and decided that they are worth the risk. He does just that, and after the requisite entrance fee is paid, they buy the necessary equipment, build a shed to house it and dig a cellar to store and age the nectar they produce. Their first attempt at mead-making fails, but Benjamin is undeterred, and later attempts to make cider and wine are graced with more success.

Amye turns out not to be the only Townsend child to ponder her future. Malika and Benjamin notice that Malcolm doesn’t seem to be quite sure what he wants out of life – which is a luxury problem for a peasant, truth be told – but reassure themselves by saying that he is still young and will find his footing sooner or later.

That same year, the Townsend children sans toddler Edwin attend the Mahlsberg Spring Fair, where Amye meets a young man named Alexandre de Bellefaye (grandson of the local baron) and Adeline meets a boy named Bertrand Pelham (also related to the baron, but more distantly).

In 1328, while making a delivery to his uncle Sir Robert, Malcolm meets the Chevaliers' new maid, the pretty and spirited Hawise Barton, whom he instantly takes a shine to. He also meets his newest cousin, little Jehanne, but because Malcolm isn’t overly fond of children, that part of the visit is far less pleasant for him. Hawise, though initially wary because she is home alone with the children and doesn’t know Malcolm, seems equally interested in him.

In the same year, Edwin ages up into a child.

Continuing their growing pains, the older twins are still thinking about the future. The years have helped Amye realize that she truly is content with living with her family, and glad that her parents don’t pressure her to find a husband. At around the same time, Malcolm has a talk with his mother about the future – he knows that she has ambitions for their family, and she admits that she would wish to see them rise in the world, but tells him that ultimately, it is his decision. That doesn’t really help Malcolm decide what he wants to do with his life and where his attraction to Hawise fits into his reluctance to settle down with a family like his own father has done.

Later in the year, Hawise visits the farm to carry over a message regarding Annette Crawley’s marriage and makes the acquaintance of Malika. On his mother’s prompting, Malcolm walks her home, and the two admit that they like each other, and share their first kiss.

1329 begins with the news that the family has to pay a tallage of nearly 13,000 simoleons. That is more money than they have at the time, but through hard work and a successful wheat harvest, they succeed in paying it off on time.

Since their kiss in the previous year, Malcolm and Hawise have been meeting often, which has deepened their attachment. After the harvest, Malcolm makes Hawise very bumbling, accidental proposal of marriage, which she accepts gleefully. His parents are equally content with his choice, and as the Chevaliers raise no objection either, the marriage is loosely planned for the following year, before winter sets in.

Everything seems to be going swimmingly for the Townsends – they have a budding nectar making business, at least one of their children is ready to start his own life, their farm is going well and they are content. So of course, tragedy has to strike them again. And so, the decade comes to a sorrowful conclusion as Edwin falls ill with some kind of stomach disease, which, through malnutrition and dehydration, claims his life. He is laid to rest near his grandmother and aunts in the Tovar churchyard, which means that the Townsends end the decade with the same number of children as they had at the start.

The Townsend Family (Lüghaven)

Current members: 5

Simon Townsend begins the decade as an apprentice to the witch Elea Ellesmere, which he has been for some years. Besides his teacher, he shares his home deep in Lüghaven woods with Elea’s daughter Mariora, who, unlike him and her mother, does not possess the gift of magic. 

Right at the beginning of the decade, in 1320, Elea gives birth to twin girls, both witches. Mariora, saddened by what she views as her mother now having the gifted children she always wanted instead of an ordinary daughter like her, feels superfluous and wishes to use this chance to to escape her isolation and start a new life. What holds her back is Simon confessing his love for her, feelings which she reciprocates despite herself. They agree to move a little closer to civilization into the half-destroyed village of Lüghaven, where they will live as husband and wife, even without a proper ceremony.

They make a home there, with her continuing her study of alchemy and him growing some plants and doing odd jobs in the nearby villages, which leaves them reasonably happy and comfortable. In 1321, they are already expecting a first child, which is born at the end of the year. They name the little boy Irving.  Sadly, he dies of a lung defect early in 1322, for which they both blame themselves.

In 1323, Mariora gives birth to a second son, Nicolas. They don’t see Mariora’s mother much, which Mariora views as confirmation of her fears that her mother doesn’t need either of them anymore – Simon was only ever a stopgap for her because she never had any gifted children to pass her arcane knowledge onto, and maybe as a means to have gifted grandchildren, should he and Mariora fall in love, as she thought likely. Surprisingly, Mariora doesn’t feel saddened by this. She feels free.

In 1324, Nicolas ages up into a toddler while Mariora is already pregnant with her third child, which turns out to be her and Simon’s first daughter. They name her Misty.

1326 brings with it both tragedy and joy. Mariora gives birth to another healthy son, Christopher, but they lose Misty due to illness a few months after his birth.  

Luckily, Christopher doesn’t follow his sister’s fate, and ages up into a toddler in 1327. Around the same time, Mariora starts musing about finally leaving Lüghaven woods, because their only link to the outside world is Simon venturing out to do his odd jobs and sell some of Mariora’s elixirs at market. She isn’t unhappy with her life – in fact, she is happier than she could have imagined when she accepted Simon’s offer of marriage – but she doesn’t want to spend her whole life hiding.

In 1328, Mariora gives birth to her fifth child, a boy named Joseph.

In 1329, Nicolas ages up into a child. The peaceful birthday party turns heart-pounding when a fire breaks out due to Christopher’s magic becoming uncontrollable in his frustration at being ignored, but thankfully, no one is harmed. The experience leaves a sour taste in Nicolas’ mouth, however.

Later in the year, Joseph ages up into a toddler (without a birthday cake, this time) while Mariora is pregnant with yet another child. Their year ends with troubling news: while at market, Simon was beseeched by a terrified father to help his daughter, who was dying of an infected wound. As a father himself, Simon couldn’t look away and helped the girl heal. While noble, both he and Mariora know that publicly using his magic like that could have dire consequences if his deeds reach the ears of the wrong people.

The Townsend Family (Praaven)

Current members: 3

The Praaven branch of the Townsend family (not to be confused with the Tovar branch and the Lüghaven branch) is established in 1321, when Gregory Townsend moves to town to undergo an apprenticeship to become a painter with a member of the painters’ guild named Jeremiah Browne. Because his father and brother had to pay a fee to give him this chance and his ability to marry his childhood love, Agnes, depends on his success, he is determined not to squander it.

And he doesn’t. Over the next few years, he acquits himself well, so that in 1325, he is made a partner by Master Browne. Browne also encourages him to marry Agnes and have her move in with them to keep house.

Following that encouragement, Gregory and Agnes are married in a joyous celebration with all of Gregory’s extensive family and many friends in attendance in 1326. While Agnes is a little intimated to be marrying into such a large clan, she is welcomed with open arms by most of them.

In the following year, 1327, Agnes gives birth to their first son, Colbert. Sadly, the boy seems to be born with some sort of birth defect that prevents him from gaining strength, despite his mother’s efforts to nurse and care for him. He dies only a few weeks old.

Luckily, in 1329, Agnes gives birth to a second son, Wymark, who doesn’t face the same issues. By the end of the year, she is already expecting her and Gregory’s third child.

The Crawley Family

Current members: 3

At the beginning of the decade, the Crawley family consists of George and Anna Crawley and their two daughters, Annette and Theodora. Of these two, only Annette is their biological child; Theodora is the bastard of George’s younger sister Caroline, which they are playing off as Anna’s child by George. Their attempts to conceive another child – ideally a male heir to the Crawley name – have so far been unsuccessful.

In 1321, Theodora ages up into a child.

Excitement is raised in the Crawley household when Anna finally falls pregnant again. Sadly, the child she gives birth to in 1322 is not only a girl, but also stillborn.

To compound Anna’s misery, in Illness marches through the Crawley household in 1324 and almost claims her and George’s lives, while the girls, Mary and Matthew recover comparatively quickly. Luckily, both of them pull through, although it seems like a small miracle to most.

In 1325, Annette ages up into a teenager, which makes it imperative to find a good marriage for her. While Anna and George may yet have a son – they are only in their early thirties – the current lack of one makes Annette and Theodora eligible heiresses, and thus prizes on the marriage market which the Crawley elders, especially Mary, intend to see well settled. While Anna, George and Matthew would be content with her marrying a wealthy merchant or gentleman, Mary aims higher and intends to snare the young Baron Elbenhawke, her aunt Caroline’s stepson, for her. Annette is initially repulsed by being decided over like this, but her Crawley ambition asserts itself enough for her to go along with the plan.

She uses a family visit to Elbenhawke Hall in 1327 try to charm the baron, with questionable success. But regardless of the young lord’s own feelings, his guardians settle on another marriage for him, which puts and end to the Crawleys’ plans in that direction.

A year later, in 1328, Theodora ages up into a teenager. By then, George, Anna and George’s parents have identified a new potential husband for Annette: Alexandre de Bellefaye, the baron’s cousin and scion of a minor branch of an aristocratic French family. After meeting him and thinking through the possibilities such a marriage could mean for her, Annette – or rather, her father, who nonetheless consults her – agrees to it. 

The marriage takes place in 1329, after which Annette leaves her home. This means that only Theodora remains to be married of – but while her parents and grandparents are already looking for an equally profitable match for her, Theodora has her own ideas about where to seek love.

The de Bellefaye Family

Current members: 2

The most recently established household of the sprawling Townsend bloodline, it comes into being in 1329, right at the end of the decade, when Monsieur Alexandre de Bellefaye, youngest of the three sons of Henri and Joan (née Pelham) de Bellefaye marries Annette Crawley. The wedding is held in great state in Praaven Cathedral. It is all the more joyous for them because while they expected a marriage of convenience – with her gaining status and him gaining her sizable dowry – they become quite fond of each other over the course of their engagement and are looking forward to their married life. With the wealth Annette brings into the marriage and Alexandre’s connections as nephew of the countess and cousin of the baron, they are certainly a couple to take note of.

 By the end of the year, Annette starts feeling nauseous, which she hopes is the first sign of pregnancy.

The Watmore Family

Current members: 1

Even at the beginning of the decade, the family isn’t big, consisting only of orphaned serf siblings Elsie and Wilfred Watmore. Because children that young can’t live on their own, they are being raised by their paternal uncles, Alaric and Noah. Neither of these men is pleased at having to take care of them, and are sometimes rather harsh with their niece and nephew.

In 1322, Wilfred ages up into a child. Sadly for him, that only means that he is old enough to take over duties on the fields.

In the following years, but especially 1325, the Watmore family gets into repeated arguments with a neighbouring serf family, the Bransons, about whose parcel of land ends where, which eventually leads to a brawl between Alaric and Freddy Branson. Because Sibyl Branson, Freddy’s mother, is tired of the constant conflict, she goes to the earl with her complaints, and the Watmores are threatened with a fine. This overshadows even the joyous occasion of Elsie aging up into a teenager.

Because the Watmores don’t have the money to pay the fine and to resolve the legal quarrel, the earl decrees in 1326 that Elsie is to marry Freddy Branson, with the disputed piece of land as her dowry. Her uncles are not pleased with this arrangement but have no leverage to refuse.

Accordingly, Elsie leaves the household after her marriage in 1328, at the age of fifteen.

In the following year, 1329, Wilfred ages up into a teenager. This means that he needs to soon start thinking about his own marriage prospects, but he isn’t too fond of the idea of settling down with a wife, especially after watching his sister’s none-too-happy marriage. Time will tell whether an intrepid young woman can win his heart and make him change that stance.

The Branson Family

Current members: 3

This household is established in 1328 upon the marriage of Elsie Watmore to Frederick “Freddy” Branson, the son of Sibyl Branson (formerly Crawley, the sister of Elsie’s aunt’s mother-in-law Mary) and Sibyl’s late husband Tom.

While the marriage itself was prearranged, Elsie has grown up socializing with the Branson children. Before her parents’ deaths, she had sometimes played with them, and since returning to the village after the famine, she has met them at church and during many gatherings at the village green. Despite the animosity over the piece of land, Elsie has always gotten along well with Freddy and while not overjoyed about the marriage, she has been able to bear it with equanimity. Until the moment that Freddy forces her to hasten it by consummating it early against her wishes. This breach of trust not only cools her relationship with her new husband, but also leaves her feeling unprepared for being a wife. Her only consolation is that his family, especially his mother, is very kind to her.

Other than Freddy and Sibyl, the family consists of Sibyl’s new husband, their son Michael, and Freddy’s older sister Corinne, who is pregnant out of wedlock, but refuses to name the father.

Soon after her marriage, Elsie does indeed soon find out that she is pregnant, which at least gives her the comfort of having acted wisely. Her grandfather Benedict visits her during her pregnancy and is worried at her tired look, but can only tell her to keep her chin up and make the best out of her situation.

In 1329, Elsie gives birth to her and Freddy’s first son, Elton. Despite having lived with the Bransons for more than half a year, she is still struggling with finding her footing in the family and to acclimate to motherhood. Sibyl remains to be her biggest supporter and does what she can to comfort her.

The Chevalier Family

Current members: 4

At the beginning of the decade, Robert is still Robert Townsend, a squire to his half-brother, the earl of Petersmarch, and betrothed to Mademoiselle Elisaria de Bellefaye, to be married once he receives his knighthood. Even before then, he and Elisaria are close to Lord and Lady Petersmarch, a status they will continue to enjoy.

Robert is finally knighted in 1322 and weds Elisaria only months later. They change their surname to ‘Chevalier’, as a nod to her heritage and his profession, and are given the use of a small estate outside of Praaven by the earl as a wedding gift. Robert is still thinking about Katheryn, whom he shared a romance with in the previous decade, but determined to treat his wife well. This sense of duty soon blossoms into real love.

They have their first son in the following year, 1323, but sadly, the boy is stillborn. They name him Roman anyway and lay him to rest nearby.

In 1324, Elisaria gives birth to their second child, a healthy daughter named Marguerite. Unfortunately, their third child (and second son), Elijah, is born early in a tavern while they are en route home from a visit to another noble in 1325. The boy dies of a fever after they arrive home, much to their distress.

Some good news comes in 1326, when Marguerite ages up into a toddler. They celebrate this milestone in Praaven, since the earl and countess have invited them to put their daughter in the castle nursery, but Elisaria, who suffers from depression after the death of her second son, finds it hard to find joy in it.

Her spirits brighten a little when she gives birth to another healthy daughter, Jehanne, in 1327.

Around that time, they notice that their maid, Hawise, has started to develop an attachment to Robert’s nephew, Malcolm, who becomes a regular visitor in the Chevalier home. So, in 1328, Jehanne not only ages up into a toddler, but Robert and Elisaria also reveal to Hawise that they are in favour of her interest in Malcolm, provided he conducts himself properly.

In 1329, Elisaria gives birth to her third son (and fifth child), Landon, who actually survives his birth. Relieved by this, she and Robert begin to plan their girl’s education, now that they finally have a son and heir. But their joy doesn’t last long; they find Landon dead in his cradle a few months after his birth, which utterly devastates them and launches Elisaria into a crisis of faith, because she can’t understand why the Watcher would take all of her sons away from her.

The Dudley Family

Current members: 8 (Dudley branches), 4 (Penrith branch)

At the beginning of the decade, the aristocratic Dudley family consists of Ralph and Mary Dudley, the Earl and Countess of Petersmarch, their daughter and heiress Lady Maud, Lord Petersmarch’s sister Lady Gwendolen, brother Clement and Clement’s wife Lady Katheryn, as well as the siblings’ mother, the Dowager Countess Elizabeth.

For the Dudleys, 1320 begins with a joyous event: Lady Gwendolen marries Arnulf Penrith, the earl of Windermere, thus becoming a countess, as arranged for her by her brother. They hold the marriage in great state, before she leaves to live with her husband at his seat, which is only a few days’ travel away. The other joyous occasion of the year is Lady Maud aging up into a toddler.

Over the following years, the new Lady Windermere (Gwendolen) gives birth to several children: a son and heir, Vincent, in 1321, and a daughter, Lady Viviane, in 1322. In that same year, Vincent ages up into a toddler.

But there is some trouble in that year as well. Near the end of it, Lady Katheryn discovers that she is expecting her second child and tries to flee to her father’s estate. Her marriage with Clement has never been easy, and she especially doesn’t want his influence on any child of hers, least of all on a son. She makes a halt at Amrhein Hall, where the Dowager Countess resides and where Lady Windermere happens to be a guest, and tells them about what has happened. The Dowager Countess disapproves but promises not to detain her. Unfortunately for her, this promise becomes meaningless when her husband catches up to her before she can continue her travels, and forces her to return to Praaven with him. This worsens their already contentious marriage further.

Regardless of this, in the following year, 1323, she gives birth to her child, a son named Ralph III after Clement's late father. Lady Windermere gives birth to another daughter, Lady Margaret. Sadly, the girl doesn’t survive birth long, but as if to make up for that, Lady Viviane successfully ages up into a toddler.

Much to Clement’s chagrin, the countess falls pregnant again and gives birth to another son in 1324, hopefully averting the looming succession crisis. Her and the earl have had several sons before, but all of them died young during the famine of the previous decade. They name this new son and heir Robin. In the same year, Lady Maud ages up into a child.

In 1325, Ralph III, Clement and Katheryn’s son, ages up into a toddler, followed by his younger cousin Robin in 1326. Both of them continue to be in good health. This is followed by Lord and Lady Windermere’s surviving children, Vincent and Viviane, aging up into children in 1327 and 1328 respectively. The last birthday of the decade is Ralph III aging up into a child in 1329.

The Pelham Family

Current members: 5

At the beginning of the decade, the Pelham family consists of Peter Pelham (the aging Baron Elbenhawke), his widowed daughter-in-law Caroline, née Crawley, his grandson and heir Richard and Caroline’s young children, David and Josephine. And while for the Dudleys, the year begins with a wedding, for the Pelhams, it begins with sorrow.

Because in 1320, Baron Elbenhawke, who has been such a support for Caorline after the death of her husband has left her position uncertain, dies in his sleep, thus making his grandson Richard the new Lord Elbenhawke at only six years old. The running of the estate is swiftly taken over by regents, who will care for the land until young Richard is old enough to manage them himself. Luckily, Caroline is allowed to stay, to order the household and care for the children.

After that, life goes on. In 1322, David ages up into a child, followed by his sister Josephine in 1323. Already regular guests for feasts at the Hall, Anna and her daughters travel out from Praaven to attend the birthday celebration. And as always, Caroline is wistful that she can’t tell Theodora that she is really her mother.

Some peaceful years pass, and in 1326, Richard, the young Lord Elbenhawke, ages up into a teen, ready to take over the running of his lands and to look for a bride of his own, to ensure the continuation of the family line. If he notices that his Crawley relations would like for Annette to fill the role as his baroness, he never breathes a word of this knowledge to them or his stepmother.

In 1327, Caroline causes furore in Anna Crawley’s life once again by admitting to her that she has fallen pregnant out of wedlock with the child of a lover; apparently, she has been “seeing” her steward for a while now, a rare glimpse of happiness in her otherwise rather melancholy life. While happy for her friend, Anna can only really shake her head at her. Luckily, this time around, the father-to-be knows of the child and has rectified the situation by offering her marriage, which Caorline accepts.

In the same year, Richard is betrothed to a young noblewoman named Lady Lettice Adair.

In 1328, Caroline gives birth to a daughter, Isabel, attended by Anna. The birth almost claims her life, but the Grim Reaper decides to spare her.

And finally, in 1329, David ages up into a teen, which means that he, too, will soon need to go on the hunt for a suitable bride.

And that is it, at least for this decade. That was quite a lot to get through (and took a while to put together), but I hope some of you find this helpful. If anyone has actually read this far, that is, in which case: thank you!

I’m actually very much looking forward to what comes next for my sims. Not so much because of big historical events, although there is the Hundred Years War coming in the next decade, but mostly because of the stories I have planned. I am really excited to see what becomes of the Townsends’ nectar business, how Malcolm’s and Hawise’s relationship will develop once it becomes clear that he has no interest in spending time with their kids, where Amye’s path might lead her, and how the story I have planned for one of the side households pans out…

Which doesn’t mean that the social upheavals that will follow in the next few decades aren't interesting. That will be fun, too. The beginning years of the Hundred Years war aren’t too exciting, to be honest, but…well…

The clock’s ticking down to the Black Death in 18 years. Let’s enjoy the last decade without that hanging over our sims’ heads.

See you first to a few other posts and polls and then in 1330!

Previous: 1329 Statistic | 1310 - 1319 Recap <--> Next: 1320 - 1329 Deaths | 1330 - 1339 Recap

[halothenthehorns]

Chapter 2: The Ties that Bind

The Athena cabin was the most brightly lit in Camp.

Not Apollo's, whose kids spent to much of their time outdoors or they'd all kill each other. Their music got the best volume and audience down in the amphitheater anyways, and the others dispersed in the archery range or med bay or anywhere else they pleased, like flirting down at the lake. No, the sun god's cabin got the most warmth through the beautifully constructed windows, but the lights inside were rarely on.

The large gray cabin had every light in the house on, often times bright as the crack of dawn in the dead of night. Currently, with one lone occupant in its center. Her curly blonde hair was a tangled mess, her orange shirt was more wrinkled than her bloodshot eyes as she stared down at a test with a B- on it as if it held the answer to all her prayers.

The name at the top said Percy Jackson.

He'd kissed her goodnight with one of the proudest smiles she'd ever seen on his face. He'd been going on about mailing this to his mother and threatening Hermes himself if it didn't arrive, he didn't want to wait for winter break to end to show his mom.

It was just a mock test, they'd come to camp together that winter holiday teasing and laughing each other they wouldn't get anything done, but he'd sat dutifully beside her every day after training. She gave him the test verbally, and it turned out she'd found a very helpful way to encourage him to focus on his studies involving gummy worms.

She'd never seen him smile so bright when she swore on the Styx she hadn't curved the grade for him, that had been his work on that paper, and he'd looked at her and said, "maybe I should go back to slacking off," teasing and squeezing her hand. "I'm worried if this becomes a thing Wise Girl, you'll stop calling me Seaweed Brain."

"I wouldn't dream of it," she'd kissed him gently and promised they'd drive to New York to hand deliver it to his mother. They'd spend the whole drive bickering where they'd spend Christmas. With Sally and Paul, or here at Camp, or maybe even risk finally introducing Percy to her dad as her boyfriend...

There was a corkboard, books, maps, a full plate of food, and more books piled around her than even her mothers temples could imagine holding as she sat in the center. Her siblings must have been staying at the Big House or something after the last time she'd chucked her earrings like throwing stars at the door for Malcolm opening it with worried eyes on her. They were still embedded. Her gray eyes fractured as the fluttering of pages went unnoticed by her from where she'd hurled her last attempt to find an answer against the wall.

He hadn't shown up at breakfast, a worrying thing all its own...

Annabeth felt the presence of someone arriving, but she didn't take notice. If it was one of her siblings crawling through the window for their toothbrush or Chiron again to exchange plates of food and no new answers, they held nothing important for her.

His cabin had been spotless. His bed made, not a speck of dust in sight, the wrappers stacked in the bin rather than ringing it. Somebody had cleaned up.

She was alone again.

Don't do this to me, she wanted to scream in Zeus's face or the universe itself. Haven't I suffered enough?! Please, do not do this to me! I can't take anymore!

The best outcome was a quest, one so time sensitive he had to go before he could tell her, to save someone. The logical answer.

But she was only mortal. It had been to long. There was another solution to this.

He was dead.

Or he had abandoned her too.

When exactly panic had turned into reality he was just, gone, vanished into thin air had been no set point in time. She kept expecting the terror to fade, dull slightly, but it never did. It was always there, like she'd grown a second heartbeat, pulsing away no matter what little sleep her mind claimed from her brain's frantic searches before she snapped awake again in full panic.

Calling Sally had been the worst of it. The dead feeling she knew she could never resuscitate in herself no matter the outcome. Her last desperate chance he'd just taken off to see her alone, and the choking words to explain when his mother was as lost as she was.

Will Solace had threatened to carry her over his shoulder to the med bay and strap her down if he heard of this continuing, and she'd chucked her backpack at him, dislocating his shoulder last she heard.

She'd prayed to every single God, sobbed until she passed out for air into Grover's shoulder as he held her tight, but they were the wrong arms. Pleaded with her mother to give her another clue and she wouldn't fail her again. Demanded of Hera to take her instead if this was some punishment. Waded into the frigid December Long Island Sound up to her chest and begged for Poseidon's help, sacrificing her hat strung onto her beaded necklace into the still water.

There was just a moment. A warm flash. It had felt like a promise her sacrifice had been seen, but dismissed.

She'd stood there waiting until she was blue for more, Chiron had dragged her out kicking and screaming because it didn't vanish. Her most precious object only stayed floating on the surface. He put it on her nightstand for her where it stayed.

The clock on the wall kept ticking. Over seven days. In mere hours it would be one hundred and ninty-two hours. Every second was another moment for her world to fall apart beyond the scope of her putting any of it back together.

Chiron had been beside himself trying to comfort her, trying to get her to sleep and eat. Will had apparently gone missing too, but all she'd heard was that the wisest person at Camp didn't have an answer for her if more were on the way. She hoped she was next.

All she'd found at the Grand Canyon were angry storm spirits as lost as her, empty and chasing their own tails...

Her dreams were a worse torment than being awake. She never knew if the awful pain she kept seeing Percy in was real or her imagination. The whispers of her mother's voice that things were wrong and out of place, like missing chess pieces on a board. She'd felt a presence snatch her away, she'd felt the distaste in that flying sensation and knew it must be Hera, showing her a vision, that a boy with one shoe would be her answer- there had been a fraction of a second, where she'd stopped in a room and looked right at Percy before it all went black.

"Annabeth Chase."

The use of her last name speared something in her, the last dregs of her sanity she'd been clinging to. She was on her feet with her dagger drawn to sever ties with anyone on this mortal world who dared imply she had anywhere to go back to.

"Artemis!"

She sat delicately on a stack of discarded books over Tartarus's many entrances, the number of which people could accidentally fall into much larger than Annabeth had anticipated.

The goddess of the moon and hunt had the same sad, soulful silver eyes as when she'd taken the burden of the sky away from her.

"Thalia," Annabeth's voice came up as her last breath, her knees trembled. "Is, is she..." of course. Of course this had happened. She'd begged for her sister's help that first day and Thalia had sworn she'd find him, slashing the Mist connection with vengeful eyes practically before Annabeth had finished explaining to get started. Now her patron goddess was here to tell her Thalia was dead in the search too-

"My Lueatinent is safe," Artemis said evenly, but there was a tick to her mouth. The kind of anger that a goddess could use to level natural disasters if she didn't smooth out her features again. "I can take you to her, and the one you seek, Percy Jackson."

There was no sense of movement. Annabeth's knife was embedded into the floor point first, she was on her knees in front of her savior once more as she spoke without hesitation, "I swear on the Styx, I'll do anything to help. What do you need?"

No god did anything without wanting something in return. She would pay that price.

There was a rumble of thunder in the distance, and her cold eyes turned warm as she smiled and stroked her hair. Artemis reached for her hand and Annabeth blindly took it without care of what came next. "That answer will suffice."

...

They interrupted the Titan of the Ocean and the Titan of Fresh Water and Nourishment having dinner.

Annabeth landed on the kale chips and heard the disturbing crunch under her rump while Artemis delicately plucked a shrimp out of her loose, brown hair.

The canyon like room was so dark Annabeth couldn't see the walls, the mosaic tiles were grimy and the floor had more tread it in than her favorite book. There was an empty chandelier hanging on by a single bolt above her head threatening to give out any moment with empty candle holders and dripping diamonds. The ceiling's white marble was so structurally unsound not even the best job involving duct tape would fix it. The one decoration that stood the test of time was an enormous, lovely stained glass window above the arched door. The happy couple gazing into each other's eyes in every shade of blue and green. It glowed as the only source of light.

Oceanus's bursting sigh caused it to quiver in its frame and one of the mottled chairs to collapse out of sight from her perch on the center of the long table. "Listening to Kronos really was the worst decision of my existence," he said as he stabbed at his salad. "Those kids don't go five minutes without disrupting my peace, now we can't get through dinner without gods popping in on us?"

"Artemis, it is lovely to see you again," but Tethy's smile was strained even as she pulled out a clipboard and flipped to a new page. "Something we can help you with? Why have you brought this mortal."

Oceanus stared blearily at her like he was seeing her for the first time through the mirky swill. There were cobwebs swaying around on his bullhorns.

"I cannot stay long, my lady," she tipped her head respectfully, but there was still a tightness about her Annabeth wasn't used to seeing in how the gods carried themselves. It seemed as if she was concentrating on her every word. "Poseidon played a dangerous move interrupting Hera's plan," Artemis kept her childlike appearance, sitting smaller than Annabeth in her chair, her forehead only just visible from where Annabeth sat. Her voice carried power in the room. "I do not follow Zues's wishes, and I do not appreciate being kept out of the loop."

A silver fork leapt off the table and flew across the room into the darkness. There was an ominous blue glow of a fish Annabeth couldn't hope to identify coming to life and eating it before the light faded back away.

"My second greatest regret," one of Oceanus's crab claws jutting from his ear started tapping his temple. "Harboring these children has been nothing but a miserable headache! If we didn't share a domain I wouldn't even care to make peace, but the fight isn't worth another pain in my-"

"You have not just dishonored Poseidon," Artemis's voice stayed calm, but Annabeth was starting to wonder if she had better luck against the fish too at the danger in the air. Some of the other silverware was starting to gravitate towards the goddess, and she didn't want to know what Artemis would do with a butter knife. "Typhoon nearly destroyed Olympus, you did us all a disservice by attacking Poseidon's home and keeping his attention from the true battle."

"Poseidon's choice-" Tethys came to her husband's defense.

"Now listen here young godling," Oceanus's flower robes began swirling dangerously around him and Annabeth really wished she hadn't left her knife in her cabin.

"I have come to offer a solution," Artemis smoothly kept talking as if Annabeth's hair wasn't standing on end from the danger crackling in the room. Perhaps the goddess could meld all of the silver to her in defense. Annabeth didn't like her chances as much.

Silence, and then the two Titans finally seemed to remember to look at her.

"Me?" Annabeth squeaked.

"She is a natural leader, she will keep your charges calm. She should have been there in the beginning," Artemis's voice was laced with mercury, it was plain as her forehead she was still angry Thalia had been taken without her knowledge, but the slight rift of movement in her auburn hair meant she probably just crossed her ankles and smoothed her shirt before continuing. "I am offering her to be in your court now to keep the god's children in a more quiet peace."

Silence was her answer, Annabeth felt sweat break out on the back of her neck, but she jumped to her feet with confidence. Crumbs fell from the seat of her pants. Her empty hands wished to readjust the straps of her bag and twist up her cap, but she had nothing but her wits about her. The same she'd always had.

"I will not only do this," she promised, wishing she knew what in the god's grand scheming was going on she was promising to do, "but I will do you one better Lord Oceanus. I will design you a new home, an even better retirement home. With soundproof walls."

That got his attention. He finally stared directly at her, his fractured eyes like a tempest.

The Titan was unfathomably old, and tired. Whatever Kronos had promised him for his services, Annabeth had a feeling it had not come to pass.

"I thought you were already in that room," he finally said.

"No dear," Tethy's voice was still patient and calm, if just as strained as her husband's. "The two that are giving me insurance hell are still in there. I'm still on hold, and haven't gotten a single call back from my representative of claims!"

"Ah," he tapped his chin, or tried to, as he tapped one of the crab claws that tapped back like a strange miniature version of paddy cake. "On one condition Artemis. You must take one of them with you. If you're down here interrupting my dinner, than we may have even less time before the rest of the gods such as Hera herself figure out our ploy and I have been assured I will not be involved in that business. My hands are free of this mess once those kids finish their homework and are gone. Any extra soul is already pushing the boundaries."

"A fair trade I will see to myself," Artemis assured. "I have permission to enter your bathhouse?"

"Yes, yes," he waved, eyes still on Annabeth who mouthed bathhouse with dread. "I have your word mortal? On the River Styx? Soundproof walls?"

"With luxury recliners and the best earmuffs in immortal existence," Annabeth assured.

There was no other explanation before Armies jumped on the table and took her hand again, and the last glimpse she had of one of the first immortal beings was the couple exchanging hopeful smiles again like the picture behind them.

...

They were standing in an empty hallway on the cracked floor right in front of a door that had a massive hole through the middle. Inside was a circular room that gave her heart failure, it was in more disrepair than the room she'd just left, its structure hanging on by divine intervention.

There were people inside sitting on green couches and cushions. Strangely only one of them seemed to be talking, their voice coming to her a bit forced as if they were reading something rather than just speaking. She'd practiced enough speeches in the mirror from her many botched and rewritten battle plans to hear the difference in someone's voice.

That voice, she knew that voice...she'd heard it so many times in her life. Exhausted, strained, about to crack with stress, but forcing a smile like nothing was wrong. Happy, laughing, saying her name in every way possible-

Without another glance at the goddess, she pushed the door open as Percy said;

"So," Beckendorf said, "I'm guessing you don't want me to mention that little scene to Annabeth."

"Oh, gods," I muttered. "Don't even think about it."

"Tell Annabeth what?" Annabeth said from the doorway.

[mk-writes-stuff]

Happy sts! What would each of your Pirate's Roost crew say is the most dangerous part of being a sailor?

Happy STS! Sorry this is late (as usual), I don’t get much time for tumblr on the weekends sadly

Anyway, this is a fun question, let’s get right into it! I’m going to do a lot of the ship’s crew characters, so this’ll be a long one. As always, credits to my gf for some of these lovely characters :)

Merry: “Probably the fact that you’re inevitably going to piss off some really powerful people, and you’ve got to figure out how to deal with them because they will kill you. Or worse.”

Malcolm: *laughs* “It’s the pirates. No, no, I’m not kidding. I love being a pirate, but we’re really a mixed bag. There are some truly despicable people out here on the seas.”

Tatum: “There’s always a few bad characters on any ship. They’re the worst. I can deal with the other threats.”

Amelia: “You’d think I’d say vampires-“ *gestures to the thick ring of bite scars on her wrists- “but nah, it’s the storms. Vampires can be scared off or reasoned with. The storm’ll kill you just because you’re in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Julian: “No one ever says illness, but you’re in a confined space with a lot of people and only so many medical supplies on board. It’s the illness every time.”

Finley: “I have to second storms. They’ll snap your mast in two, and if you’re no prepared, you’re dead in the water.”

Breeches: “VAMPIRES AND BRIGANDS AND MARAUDERS!”

Wallace: “Well, I’m dead, so nothing anymore. But if you’re referring to for someone living, there are dozens of structural hazards in carelessly-designed ships…” *unskippable autism cutscene*

Len (a vampire): “It’s the vampires.”

Azalea: “In retrospect, the fact that a helmsmage can bond to and control a ship they’re imprisoned on is pretty terrifying.”

Don, awkwardly: “Mutiny’s pretty bad. Also the therapist scares me.”

Onora: “Constantly being surrounded by seawater is pretty bad. My gills have never fully recovered from swimming in it.”

Corbin: “Honestly? The captain. Captain Merry is lovely, but the amount of control and power a captain can have over their crew is very dangerous if they don’t have the crew’s best interests in mind.”

Kiali: “Deckhands and their own stupidity. The things I’ve seen…”

Rogelio: “The cookstoves on the wooden ship always make me a little nervous. Every time we get a new apprentice in, I’m terrified.”

Helena: “Seconding deckhands’ stupidity.”

Francisco, proudly: “Francisco. I’m the pretty bird.”

Thank you so much for the ask! I had a ton of fun with it. I hope you like the new (and returning) characters - questions are welcome as always :)

[coffeecoloredpages]

Meet Me Halfway

Chapter 16

Sirius

Tick-tock tick-tock tick-tock 

The methodical ticking from the hallway clock thundered in Sirius' ears. He counted each tick, marking the minutes and hours in his mind as they passed. It'd been seventeen hours, forty-two minutes, and twenty-eight seconds since… since… since what? Why was he here again? Where was here?

He didn't know, couldn't remember. It was too dark to see. There was only dark, empty nothing. He felt suspended in empty space, as if everything had somehow ceased to exist. He had stopped fighting for air long ago. He wasn't sure he was even breathing anymore, his breath disappearing with everything else. Everything except for himself. Himself and that ticking. 

Ticking. 

Seventeen hours, forty-five minutes, and fifty-one… fifty-two… fifty-three…

There was pain, too, in his head. If he focused on it, he could feel another part of himself, existing separately inside him. A contained bubble of frustration and fear and pain, hidden inside the layer of dark and ticking and counting. If he pushed too far, he'd find himself sucked in, as if he had plunged his head into a pensieve. 

“Think about what you've done!” 

His mother's voice. 

“Think about what you've done!” 

That part was separate, a foreign entity in his mind, forcing him deeper into the memory. 

A cold, dead face. Predatory smile and bloodshot eyes. 

“I have heard much of your doings at Hogwarts. You've chosen to fall in with a rather… grievous crowd. Rebellion is natural among our young, but you have so much more potential than they do. Don't you want to know what glory feels like? I could show you power beyond your wildest imagination.”

“I'd rather renounce magic and live as a muggle than inherit the sort of has been power this lot has.” 

“Yes, the pureblood power has diminished greatly, but I can make you strong. You could be a part of something grander.” The man's tongue flicked out, as if tasting something in the air. His eyes glittered greedily. 

A chill ran down Sirius' back. “I don't fancy playing at royalty while wasting away.” He should stop talking. He'd been warned not to talk. He couldn't stop. “And my friend's have far more talent than everyone here combined, including you, so I don't plan on groveling like the rest of these poncey bastards, thanks-”

Someone grabbed him roughly from behind, forcing his head down.

“Your son seems to have been corrupted, Orion. I am disappointed. I had hoped the house of Black would be better prepared to welcome in the new age.”

“I apologize for my son's behavior. He will be properly admonished. It seems my wife's efforts to educate him have been lacking.”

“Of course, I am nothing if not forgiving. I'm sure you will not let such a failing persist.” Sirius saw the man wave his hand dismissively. His father bowed, forcing Sirius to do the same. “Wilhelm, Malcolm, come with me. We must find Reinhard, there is much to discuss.”

The memory faded as the - Voldemort, Sirius remembered - faded into the crowd. 

Tick-tock tick-tock 

The ticking reverberated through his brain, shaking the walls of the memory bubble as a cold, dead face came into focus once more. 

“Think about what you've done!” 

A spell of his mother's own invention, coupled with her legilimency. One she had used for punishment often when they were younger. Had she ever left him for this long before? 

How long had it been? 

“I’d rather renounce magic and live as a muggle…”

He pushed his focus away from the memory, pushing it back into a contained bubble. Pain shot through his head.

It felt like something was cracking, splintering into separate pieces. 

Where was he again?

Tick-tock 

Eighteen hours, seven minutes, and nineteen seconds… twenty…twenty-one…

(Wordwyrm on ao3)

[edwin-paynes-bowtie]

Finally found someone who isn't really into faerie and thule thing 😌 maybe that's 2 reasons why i didn't really like tda, I enjoyed it to some extent but not too much.

May I know why you don't like faerie world and thule in tda?

If you ever want to gripe about TDA, you can always come to me. There's very little I enjoyed about it. Lol.

I think faeries are really hard to write and pull off, and Cassie... well, she's actually not bad at it, but she's not confident when writing fae. And it really shows, and all of the rules feel forced. Idk. I also don't particularly like faeries in general in books - their trickiness usually feels like a weird forced ritual to me - and I didn't vibe with it. I also don't really like any of the courtly fae we're introduced to in TSC so it doesn't grab my attention.

Thule is just weird. It feels like Cassie wanted to write an AU angst fanfic of her own characters and shoved it into the book. It had very little meaning or relevance, and it also is written really weirdly and inconsistently. It's disjointed within the bigger book and really serves no purpose. I also hate multiverses in general, and this one opens up so many stupid questions that no one needed to ask or answer. Like, sure, this rupture happened in CoLS, right? So are these characters - Janus and all the dead people - extensions of that TMI cast? Are we following the "true" TMI cast now? And why was any of this necessary? It wasn't. Also, the Warlock Disease really wasn't looking scary anymore when Annabel was wandering around with froufrou dog Malcolm. It detracted from the seriousness of the situation.

Also, we really don't need evil butthole Jace. Sorry. There were a thousand better possibilities.

Luckily, since I'm pretty much here for TID and TLH, Thule isn't really relevant to me. I'm glad there's no stupid alternate dimension where the TLH characters would have been alive, because that would have annoyed me immensely.

[pamsimmerstories]

happy (almost) new pack day? sorry for the typos lmao, i know sometimes it's bad... but this time it's embarrassing

previous || next

malcolm]: it’s our baby

[cassandra]: wait! you’ve been joking about me and wolfgang while you and aurora had a baby? is that even possible?

[malcolm]: please, cassie. we’re dead. we can’t make babies here. it’s our baby. yours and mine. when you pregnant with morgana... one of the babies didn’t make it

[cassandra]: our baby?

[cassandra]: why didn’t you tell me?

[malcolm]: because you had just lost me, cassie. i didn’t want you to know... not yet. and then i started staying with you a lot

[cassandra]: is that why you vanished sometimes? you said you had things to do? i always wondered what kind of business a ghost ‘had to do’

[malcolm]: hey! it can be busy here

[malcolm]: but i was dying for you to meet him...

[cassandra]: you and your death jokes

[malcolm]: that’s something you like about me. my jokes

[cassandra]: i do. when you were with me... who watched over him?

[malcolm]: my dad, mila and wolfgang’s dad

[cassandra]: have you met your mother here?

[malcolm]: unfortunately, yes. but thankfully this is more like your personal heaven and you can choose the people you’re going to hang out with

[cassandra]: why is he a baby? i died as an elder and i’m young again

[malcolm]: maybe this is how he wanted to be. we choose the way we look. also, he was a new soul... there’s this new thing that you can choose to rebirth if you want. baby he’ll rebirth in one of our grandchildren’s child or another different family

[cassandra]: do we have to rebirth now?

[malcolm]: i think if the watcher wants it... there’s nothing we can do about it

[cassandra]: does he have a name?

[malcolm]: i call him phillip, we call him like this.

[cassandra]: it’s very you

[malcolm]: you know he had to fit the landgraab name

[cassandra]: i guess it doesn’t matter anymore... we can rebirth in any family now, if what you’re saying it’s true

[malcolm]: i hope i don’t get to rebirth in a poor family

[cassandra]: *chuckles* you know you just jinxed your future home, don’t you?

[malcolm]: oh god! please, don’t make born poor!

[cassandra]: *laughs* i just hope we’ll meet again in another life

[cassandra]: i’ll love you even if you’re poor, mal.

[malcolm]: don’t say that, cassandra. please.

[marointhemoon]

you know i'll take my heart clean apart / if it helps yours beat

In which a Reed man will die if it means his comrades do not.

Written for AI-less Whumptober 2024, day 5: Multiple whumpees; self-sacrifice

Length: 300 words

Your mission was simple enough: rescue Hoshi, destroy the Xindi ship, and (hopefully) leave with everyone alive. No such luck: the ship still exists, and you’re down to two of the five people you entered the ship with. Of those two: your left arm is gushing blood, and Hayes is unconscious—or dead, for all you know—from having been shot. You’ve got Hoshi, but she’s leaned up against him, not looking much better. You’ve called their names a couple times now. They haven’t responded.

You’ve called the Enterprise a couple times, too. They have responded; it’s a matter of time before you’re all found.

Then again, you're dying; you don’t have that luxury.

You unzip your jumpsuit and rip off your shirt. You tie it around your arm, tight enough to where you can barely bear the pain. Fuck your injuries; fuck your pain. The MACO and junior officer come first.

So, you wait. (For rescue or death? You’re not sure anymore. Neither sounds bad.)

You endure. (It’s harder by the minute.)

You listen. (Is everybody still breathing? You are, that's for sure.)

You try not to pass out. (It’s harder by the minute.)

You hear footsteps outside the door. You can feel your body shutting down, but that doesn’t matter. You raise your phase rifle, arms shaking. If you die now, you die protecting Hayes and Hoshi.

The door opens.

You see three figures in the doorway, humans: short, tall, slightly shorter. Blurry faces; grey uniforms. One's horrified. Another's face goes stony. Has either seen this much blood before? The third yells something you can't make out.

You put the rifle down. You're saved—at least, they are.

“Get the others,” you rasp. “They’re off worse. Get the others.”

You’re not awake long enough to know what happens.

Today's theme: Two - Sleeping at Last

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I originally meant this work to be a lot... gentler? I guess? Like there was definitely supposed to be peril, but not to this degree. In general, though, I wanted to explore similar themes to "Two" re: giving of yourself because you don't see value in giving to yourself, especially to your own detriment. Granted, this is an extreme example of that, but the point stands: generally speaking, Malcolm Reed is very self-effacing, to the point of putting his own life in peril multiple times to save his crew members.

[thewardenisonthecase]

Honestly, if Carver/Bethany survives the deep roads, i think that means that Leandra is the only family member who has a grave Hawke can visit.

Because Malcolm was probably buried in Lothering, and Hawke can't go there anymore. Bethany or Carver died in Lothering as well and for obvious reasons, they weren't given a proper burial.

But Leandra was most likely buried in Kirkwall ( I wonder if they have family graves in kirkwall because it'd be interesting if hawke buried their mom with her parents).

So personal HC is that Hawke would constantly visit Leandra's grave because even if they had a tenous relationship with her, she's the only dead family member that they CAN visit. I also picture them bringing flowers for their dad and their dead sibling, to make up for the fact that they can't do so for them.