Welcome back to Familiar Faces!

Chapter 19: The Circle of Life

"Come on Ems you're never gonna make it in this family if you keep letting me cheat you at chess. Familiars aren't supposed to be nice and gullible."

"But I wanted to see the purple pony with the pink wings!"

"There's no such thing as a purple pony with pink wings, think about it have you ever even seen a pony?"

"I have a pony in my toy box."

"I mean in real life?"

"Do you think I'm nice and gullible Puck?"

"Maybe you are a little bit doll, but that's not so bad. There's nothing at all wrong with being nice. We do need to work on the gullible part somewhat, there's a difference between being nice and being a doormat. You've got to learn to stand up for yourself"

"Delphy says Familiars aren't supposed to be nice."

"Well, Delphy's a loon; there are lots of nice Familiars."

"Who?"

"Umm well there's, wait how about, never mind he's an Indie but there's, nah she's a London."

"Does everyone have their buddy? Look at the person standing beside you. That's your buddy for the day; you're responsible for making sure that they are with us whenever we leave a lot. Puck move on up and buddy with Delphy, Grandpa will be Emma's buddy. Now does anyone else need to use the potty or are we ready to go?"

The Familiars were having a rollicking good time in three lakes. They'd seen all the sights met a lot of new people, learned to pound their chests and how to slap dance. Oy! Slap Dance.

But all too soon it was time to take the final dip in the lake and get packed up and ready to return home. For the kids of the first circle it was a vacation to remember, and they were all looking forward to the time they'd be together again at University. Due to the varying ages among the children some would be leaving for University sooner than the rest. Puck had already completed his first semester and both Delphine and Bottom would be joining him in the dorms soon. For Emma, Elliot, Denise and Elle though University was still a ways away they had some growing up to do before they'd be ready to join the others.

"There has to be some reason why David believes that Elliot could be the legacy heir. I know it has to be here somewhere. It couldn't be as simple as just misunderstanding the rules. It's plain as daylight that Elliot couldn't be moved into the legacy house legally so they must have found a loop-hole. If I'm going to prevent my son from having heir ship forced on him I'll have to close that loop-hole before the family is able to activate it."

Let's see okay here it how to move a sim into a legacy house legally:1) Townies can be moved in via the propose move-in action2) NPC's can be moved in via the propose move-in action3) Returning University students can be moved in via the combine household action from the sim bin only.4) Children may be adopted and added to the family from the standard adoption pool.

Wait a minute"

"Well sure kids get adopted all the time, well okay not all the time but it happens on occasion. I spent some time volunteering at the city orphanage during training most of the kids there are the standard townie types but there are a few hard luck cases where a child was considered to be abandoned and a social worker brought them to the orphanage. That's why you have to have the nanny, not that nannies are always the most responsible but you've taken all the precautions against nanny suicide that you can."

"The only other way that a child could end up being seen as abandoned would be if their family died, but that doesn't happen very often. Life expectancy in Familiarity is way above national sim averages. There hasn't been an accidental death since all the hot tubs were moved under the roofs."

"But what about the fires that swept through challenge land? Those weren't accidents were they? Look around the hood Robert there used to be some twenty other families living on this side of the river but now there's only what five? Six? There???s me and Charles and the UA safe house and then there's the Mints, the Boards and the Simsons. Where did the rest go? I'll tell you where they went. They were killed off in order for there to be more housing space for the Familiars!"

"If it could happen to all those people what makes you think it won't happen to me? The people living in those houses didn't do a thing to upset the Familiars and yet they were all killed anyway and here I am standing in the way of the Familiars claiming their vaulted heir."

"How likely is it that all of those houses were always missing fire alarms? One or two maybe, but fifteen get real? Nobody is that bad a builder."

"Those families were relocated to a new hood as fresh downloads. Only the visible renditions of the households that were located in this neighborhood were purged in the fires. They weren't killed they were transferred."

"Come on Robert don't be so dense, they were transferred to the graveyard. The only families that were left here were ones that have characters that are needed by the legacy family in some way, either they work for one of the businesses or they are love interests for a romancer."

"Well you have a connection to the legacy as well."

"Not me Elliot, he's the only one in this house that matters to the Familiars most of them would be more than happy to see my grave. After David broke up with me I became a pariah in the hood, no one wanted to maintain my friendship for fear of getting on his bad side."

"Don't you get it they're going to kill me! Then they'll take my son and have him adopted by his father making him a legal legacy heir. Of course it won't be as straight forward as that, there will be some type of elaborate plot involved but none of that matters because in the end I'll be dead and my son will be in that house!"

"You have no proof of any of this Juliet; you're jumping to conclusions here. First off David didn't say that Elliot was his heir, or that he even wanted Elliot to be his heir. All he said was that Elliot might be the heir but he didn't know and that they were going to have to research it and find out. If you'd only stayed and talked to David you most likely wouldn't be having these thoughts. I love you babe but you have a real tendency for the dramatic."

"And to prove just how much I love you I'm going to marry you right here right now. By marrying me Elliot gains a second layer of protection. If anyone wants to get to him they'll have to go through both of us. And not that I think it will but if anything happens to you I swear I'll take care of your son."

"You'd put yourself in danger for us?"

"I don't think that there really is any danger, I'm willing to bet my life on that. I just did."

Gah! I really need to tell these guys to trim their hedges, this place is a disgrace! Worthless gardeners!

*My apologies for the poor quality of the following photo's patching BV apparently reset my photo quality options and I didn'tt realize it until after I'd finished playing Clint's house. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get them re-shot before his death.*

"Clint"

"Jenn"

*air kisses*

"I'm so confused by this whole legacy code Jenn, the family thinks that because I'm a lawyer I'm somehow supposed to be smart enough to decipher it. Being the law the toughest stuff I've ever have to do is decide whether or not to outlaw weather machines, I'm not equipped to handle this 'legacy code'."

"Why do you think so few people play for points? Just wait till you start trying to understand the apocalypse rules now those are killer confusing."

"But really this part's very basic; just take a look at section nine, paragraph twenty, line five."

"New sims can join your household, but there are restrictions. Only 'Townie' and 'NPC' sims may join your household from the outside. They may join either by the 'move in' proposal or marriage. You may not 'move in' or marry any player sims."

"Elliot is a player sim there's no way that he could be moved into the main house and if he can't be moved into the main house he can't be heir."

"But what about this part? Section twenty three, paragraph five, line four: 'Only sims that have been played from freshmen to graduation (or drop out) may join the Legacy house from college." That would mean that anyone that goes to university could legally be moved into the main house no matter their original status. So as long as Elliot goes to college"

"What? Let me see that! No I don't think that's what Pinstar means there, I think that's referring to dormies not to playable sims."

"But it's a loop-hole right? David asked me to find out if Elliot could be the heir and that would allow Elliot to be heir."

"Even if it is a loop-hole I wouldn't use it. Look Clint there are plenty of things that can legally be done in a legacy that I would never do because I feel they go against the 'spirit' of the legacy. Like moving in townies, stealing their money and then moving them out. Bottom line is that Emma is heiress and that's that. It's my decision and even if something were to happen to Emma then it would be Elle not Elliot that would take over."

"Good news bad news. First the good news is that I found a loop-hole in the legacy rules that might allow Elliot to be heir. Bad news is that Jenn vetoed it right off the bat. Something about 'spirit of the legacy' and how even if it wasn't cheating it would feel like cheating to her so she won't touch it. You don't really want Elliot to be heir do you? If you do then I'll keep digging and I might come up with something else, but it sounds as if Jenn is adamant about Emma being heiress."

"Understood, yes it is better to clear up any doubts, we wouldn't want Emma to grow up thinking she was heiress and then be surprised or disappointed later. As long as you're satisfied then I'll leave it as is. Now if you'll excuse me I need to go sing the sea chantey with Lucy. Best to the rest of the family Dave I'll talk to you later."

His job done Clint went to join his wife Lucy in singing the Sea Chantey for the thousandth time that day. This is all they do, and they've infected the entire hood with the dang song. Argh! Between singing the Chantey and slap dancing I'm sick of BV; half my sims now wake up every morning with the want to sing and the rest want to slap dance.

"So I just wanted to make sure that you understand everything that's been going on Emma. It wasn't that anyone in the family didn't want you to be heiress we just wanted to be sure of the rules, and that's why we had Uncle Clint look into them. We didn't want you to get your hopes up about being heiress and then have those hopes dashed at some point in the future. It was new territory for us; there???s never been any question about heir ship in the past."

"I understand Daddy, but what if I'm no good at being heiress. Delphy says I'm too nice to be a Familiar, and even Puck thinks I'm gullible. Maybe Elliot SHOULD be heir he's mean enough. He was always trying to start fights while we were on vacation."

"Hehe, well a good argument can be a lot of fun and he probably is a lot like me that way. But maybe it's time for a personality shift in the household. It's good to stir things up from time to time. I think you'll make a great heiress; you're good at everything you try so I'm positive that you'll be good at this as well. And anyway if for some reason you couldn't be heiress it would be Elle not Elliot that would take over."

"I guess I'll be heiress then. Daddy I don't think Elle's all that smart sometimes. Did you drop her on her head as a baby or something? I mean look at her, she's over there playing in a puddle of puppy pee. Eww! That's so gross and she does that all the time."

"*sigh* I guess I'd better go get her cleaned up before your mother gets home. And don't worry about Elle she's plenty smart enough she just got her messy genes from me and not your Mom's clean genes like you did. One of these days you should ask your Aunt Demi about her favorite toy as a child."

"I'm telling you Jules, Emma is heiress. Uncle Clint spent a lot of time digging into the rules and only found one possible loop-hole but when he talked to Jenn about it she vetoed it. There's no possible way that Elliot could be heir, so you're getting yourself all worked up about nothing."

"I'm sorry Dwight but I don't believe you. No matter what Jenn says I don't trust David, he'll make Elliot heir just to spite me."

"It's not Davids decision, even if he wanted Elliot to be heir; which he doesn't, he wouldn't be able to. You've turned David into some evil image from your imagination. He's mean as a snake but he's not evil, he never was and you know that. Think about it."

"I have thought about it, and I know what I know. Just tell David that Robert and I are married now. That will tie a knot in his plans, hopefully enough of one to let Elliot have his birthday in peace with his mother by his side."

"Why don't you tell him yourself if you think it will matter to him?"

"I'm not speaking to that man, not now or ever."

"I don't know what to do Dems, every time I turn around it seems as if I'm in the middle of one of David and Juliet's fights. I've tried to do what I thought was best all along but it's like pounding my head into a brick wall repeatedly. First David wouldn't talk to Juliet, and now Juliet won't talk to David. He still hasn't gotten to see Elliot, every time he tries Juliet stone walls him. At least he has been able to talk to him on the phone a few times, but never for very long and he's pretty sure that when he does Jules is listening on the other line. He says he hears her breathing."

"See Dwight the problem is that you're trying to mediate between them and that's not going to work. Both David and Jules are stubborn and pigheaded they aren't going to come to terms with each other unless they are forced to do so. If they are acting like children you have to treat them like children."

"I don't think stuffing them with candy and taking them to the zoo is going to work here Sis."

"*sighs* Dwight there's more to dealing with children than spoiling them. But I guess I now know who's to blame for Denise's last cavity. Leave it to me this time, I'll handle it."

"Hey David, could you come over tomorrow for a little bit? Chay's parents bought us this painting for our anniversary and it's wonderful but I think they got ripped off on it. I didn't want to say anything to either of them but I think it's a forgery and I'd like you to look at it and see if it's one of your guys work."

"No I don't expect you to give them a refund if it is, I just need to know so I can start rolling the proper buy a painting worth X amount wants again."

"Hey Chay, Demi called and asked me to stop by for some girl talk is she in the house?"

"Yeah she asked me to tell you to go on into the den, she's getting dressed and then she'll be right down."

"Hmm I think this is the real thing I don't recognize the artist at least. If it is a forgery it's not from one of my syndicate artists. If it is a forgery then I want to find the artist and put him to work for us 'cause it's dang good."

"Hey Dems? Good news you can start rolling the big wants this is the real thing. I hope Bea and Castor at least got a good discount on it. Pretty nice present if you ask me."

"David! What are you doing in here? Why didn't Chay warn me you were here?"

"It's a set up isn't it? You convinced your sister and her husband to bring me here under false pretenses so you could do your dirty work. I've got to get out of here; you aren't going to get away with this David Familiar! My husband knows where I am and if I don't come home he'll investigate. Even if you hide my body he'll know what happened and he'll keep Elliot safe from you and your plots!"

"What the heck are you talking about Juliet? Hide your body? Are you crazy why would I be hiding your body?"

"Frammit why can't I get out this door, did you lock us in here David? No it wasn't you it was your sister! I can't believe that Demi would let you convince her to help you commit murder. Why did I ever think that I could trust a Familiar?"

"Demi let me out of here, I'm telling you sis she's gone off the deep end. This isn't a joke Demi you got to let me out. Demi?"

"Oh no did David and Juliet get locked together in the den? Will they be forced to actually talk to each other?"

"I can't hear your pounding and I won't be able to hear it until the two of you stop acting like children and actually talk to each other. And don't waste your time pounding on the door Chay and I are leaving now."

"We're not really going to leave them alone in the house are we? I kinda like this house; I'd like to keep it awhile longer."

"I'm not that crazy hon, but if they think we're gone they might stop pounding and actually start talking sooner. I'm sure we can find something to occupy us while we listen for blood curdling screams and glass breakage."

"I'm sure we can."

"Stop screaming Juliet! I don't know why Dems locked us in here but your screaming isn't helping us get out of here. I'm so sick of your dramatics. Now sit down, shut up and let me think!"

"Oh dear Wright I knew this was coming why did I let myself be setup like this. I'm going to die and I'll never see Robert or Elliot again. I've got to stop crying, if I'm crying he'll think I'm weak and I'm not weak I can face this, I can be brave. But I don't want to die!"

"Die? Why would you die? Jules are you sick or something? Do you need a doctor? I'll get Demi, never mind I can't do that Demi left. She wouldn't have locked us in here if she knew you were sick. I have my cell phone I'll call the paramedics they'll break down the door and get you to a doctor. Even if you're not sick maybe we should call them anyway. Even if they fine us for a false alarm they might still break down the door and let us out."

"You mean you aren't going to kill me?"

"Kill you? Why would I kill you? You drive me crazy sometimes but I don't hate you, and even if I did what makes you think I'd kill anyone?"

"You're a Criminal Mastermind, that's what you do isn't it?"

"Not really err umm I can't really talk about that, trade secrets and all. But why would you think I was going to kill you?"

"Because I did some research and I found the loop-hole in the legacy code - Adoption. In order for Elliot to be eligible to be adopted by you and Titania I'd have to die. But it won't work cause Robert and I got married so you'd have to kill him too and we made plans, if either of us go missing the other one will take Elliot and hide him until it's time for him to grow up. Once he's a teen he can't be adopted. So your plan won't work."

"Well your research was more thorough than ours was; the farthest we got was a possible move in after university graduation loop-hole. Jenn vetoed that, I'm sure she'd veto killing you even more adamantly she doesn't like killing all that much. But what I don't get is what makes you think I'd want to kill you anyway? At first I did want Elliot to live with me, he's my son of course I wanted him to be with me. And I never said that I wanted Elliot to be heir, if he was then he was and we would have dealt with it but Emma will be a good heiress."

"Why don't you want Elliot to be heir isn't he good enough for your precious legacy?"

"Good Wright Jules what do you want from me? There would be nothing wrong with Elliot being heir if he was the heir but he's not and I'm fine with that. You don't want him to be the heir and he's not you should be happy. But you're never happy are you; I can never do anything to please you."

"You've never tried to please me David, but that's old news and it doesn't matter any more."

"I think it must matter since you're bringing it up. I did ever thing I could to please you when we were together. I let you walk all over me and I looked the other way countless times while you flirted and more with my friends and my relatives. The only thing I wouldn't do was give up heir ship, which as we've just gone over wasn't my decision to make even if I'd wanted to."

"I should have been the most important thing in your life and I wasn't, the legacy was."

"Back then you were the most important thing in my life. Being legacy heir was just a title. If you think that our lives would have been different if I'd been a spare you're wrong. You know Jules I always considered myself to be lucky in that both of the women that I loved were considered legacy legal so I never had to consider a choice between love and legacy. I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't been legacy legal, would I have fought for you? Probably, I would have but who knows."

"No you wouldn't have, you wouldn't have looked twice at me if I hadn't been legacy legal. Your grandmother introduced us because I was legacy legal not because I was me, Juliet."

"But it was you I fell in love with, you weren't the first legacy legal girl I met. So what if the underlying reason for us meeting was because you were legacy legal? That doesn't change the way we felt about each other. She thought that we had potential, she was right we did have potential. She was also right when she said that we no longer made each other happy. In the end neither of us was happy, sometimes love just isn't enough."

"It should be, shouldn't it? Isn't love supposed to conquer all, why didn't it?"

"I think we had to go through what we went through in order to know how lucky we are now. I hope you've found the real thing with Robert, I know I have with Titania. What we had wasn't real, Jules. I don't blame you any longer, but you can't blame me either. We just weren't meant. And despite all of our problems we managed to produce a really awesome kid and it's a shame that he's being punished for our mistakes."

"Well I haven't heard any yelling in a while and no broken glass so I guess the big screen is safe. Do you think they're finally working things out?"

"I hope so, I want the drama over. David loves all of his kids and he wants to build a good relationship with his son. It's a pity really that Juliet's been such a witch about it all, Dave has a big heart he just doesn't let it show that much."

"He's always been good with our girls as well; I get jealous sometimes that their uncle's always get to play with them while I have to be their Father which means being the bad guy from time to time. Which reminds me it's almost time for Delphy to try and sneak out of the house again so I guess I better go catch her?"

"Aww hon let her have some fun for once; she's not going to be here much longer. She needs to at least think she's pulled a few over on us."

"Woo I made it! I swear Dad normally has ears like a bat!"

"So where are we going home girl?"

"Where else? The Mall of course!"

"Do you remember that time we . . . .?"

". . . . And then we"

"Oh Wright that was hilarious, I thought the Dean was going to yank the Greek charter for that. Do you remember the look on his face when Chris pulled out those photos?"

"They're laughing! I'm going to unlock the door so it's time to bring in the reserves."

What all was said between David and Juliet during their hours imprisoned in Demi's den may never be known, that's between the two of them. While they may never again be best friends they won't constantly fight about the past, they've resolved that part of their lives and agreed to move ahead. I was tired of the fighting and I'm glad it's all over, though I could do with out the three bolt stalking and heart farting whenever they are in the same room together. Sometimes it's better when they hate each other.

"So did the two of you get things settled? Can I stop the plans for protective custody now Juliet or do you still think David's going to kill you any second?"

"Robert! Hey I don't think I ever congratulated you on your marriage. I hope that the two of you will be as happy as Titania and I are. I think I got her convinced that I'm not a murderer but do her wrong and I may change my mind."

"Well thanks David, I umm think. Elliot is with me if you want to go talk to him for a bit; I think he'd really like to see you."

"Daddy!"

"Hey there big guy, am I ever glad to see you Elliot"

So David and Elliot talked into the night, with Elliot telling his father all the amazing things that only a child knows and David listening intently as only a father would do. The two were already good friends due to the magic of the telephone but nothing can replace the personal contact and one on one time between parents and their children.

"Rawr! Delphy you grew up fine!"

"Can it Puck negative attraction here if we've got to live with each other for three and a half years; let's make a deal right now I won't do the Puck's a popularity sim thought bubble every time I see you and you won't do the Delpy's a romance sim swoon every time you see me. Or else I could just kill you now and neither of us will have to worry about it."

"It's my breath isn't it; the Scope is just not working. Dang that cook and her extra garlic spaghetti sauce dinners."

"Hey there you are, where did you run off to last night Delphy? I knocked on your door to see if you wanted to go to Alex's dorm for awhile but you weren't there."

"It was the craziest thing, one minute I was in my room daydreaming and thinking about calling Dallan and then the next I was in some garden back in the main hood and there was a sexy alien guy, standing beside a wishing well, grinning at me."

"Woah! You got wished for? How frigging awesome is that? Come on come on spill the deets, you are soo lucky I never have anything exciting happen to me."

"Well at first it was pretty cool, as soon as I dropped out of the well he asked me on a date so that we could get to know each other better. He was really suave and sophisticated and I like I could tell that he was older than any of the guys I'd met before he was more mature and experienced if you know what I mean."

"But then like we were heading down to his hot tub and I was all like hmm I kinda recognize this place. Turns out it was Uncle Cody and Uncle Dwight's place and the smexy alien was their roommate Cameron!"

"Oh My Wright I've seen him he's walking advertisement for alien abductions. I mean what girl wouldn't want to be probed if the technician looked like him?"

"No kidding, but get this; when we got down to the basement the hot tub was already occupied, turns out Uncle Cody had one of his ladies in there with him. I mean how awkward was that? I turned around and did an about face there are some things I don't want to know about my Uncles. Unfortunately, he saw us and hopped out of the tub looking all embarrassed. It was kind of funny actually."

"And well you know how nice Uncle Cody is and he mistakenly thought that I was there to see him and so he got all sweet and sent his girlfriend home so he could play host. I could hardly tell him that I wasn't there to see him, that I hadn't even realized that I was at his house now could I? It kind of put a damper on my date, Cam seemed a little bit embarrassed so he went off to swim and left me talking to Cody."

"Eventually Cody went upstairs to fix dinner and told me I could have the run of the house and to have fun. *snicker* so I dived into the pool with Cam to make up for the lost time."

"So what happened?"

"I'll tell you what happened; it was like a landmine of Uncles in that place. Cam invited me up to his room. He was going to show me his pictures from his trip to Twikki, well that's what he said but we both knew what he was really going to show me, and I of course told him that I'd love to see his pictures. So we get upstairs and guess who was up there blowing bubbles? Uncle Dwight!"

"Dang rough luck."

"And well you know Dwight's no where near as nice or as dim as Cody is and he knew right away what was going on. He got in Cam's face and started going on about what a sweet innocent baby I am and what a leech Cam must be to even think about touching me. I wanted to just melt into the carpet."

"No kidding, gah how embarrassing."

"Tell me about it. Well Cam wasn't going to put up with being Dwight's punching bag and he was all come on man like you never touched a co-ed after graduation and how Dwight could afford to be righteous now that he was perma plat but how some folks were still working on their lifetime wants, and Dwight should understand how it was."

"So is Cameron still alive?"

"Amazing isn't it? Dwight pulled the 'oh well in that case isn't Dorme in college now? Maybe I should just give her a call and see how you'd like seeing me dating your niece' card and after Cam punched him they agreed to keep their hands off each others nieces. Cameron apologized and gave me a peck on the cheek and then they sent me back here in a cab."

"Aww man that sucks, hey I'm not Dwight's niece you mind giving me Cameron's phone number?"

"I thought you and 'Uncle' Alex were practically engaged? You've been connected at the hip since high school."

"I don't know, maybe I want to explore my options? We aren't in high school any longer and besides I've seen the way he looks at Danya. I know he loves me but she's family and he's knowledge and me? I'm pleasure, sometimes I really wonder what he sees in me."

"He sees a beautiful, and nice, and sweet and funny girl that he has a lot in common with and he knows he'd be a fool to give that up. But options are always a good thing to have. Look we've got plenty of time to decide what we want to do with our lives. You might just find out that Alexander Goth isn't the only fish in your sea. Now, we'd better get moving or we'll be late for Elliot's party."

As Elliot looked at the candles on his birthday cake he tried and tried to think about what he should wish for. If you'd asked him a few months earlier what he wanted most of all he'd have told you without a doubt that what he wanted most of all was for his Mom to be happy and to be able to see his Dad and his family whenever he wanted to.

Looking around the room at all the people that had come to help celebrate his teening, he felt that his wish had come true already. There was his Mom and his Dad and they were smiling at him, instead of yelling at each other. And Robert and Titania were there as well and they were smiling at him too.

At first he'd worried about how his step mother would treat him, he'd read all the stories about step mother's after all. But Titania was really nice and she never made him clean the fireplace or gave him apples unless they were in pies. And Robert, well it'd seemed like he'd always been around anyway, having him live with Elliot and his mother only meant that he was there all the time now and that was pretty cool cause Robert was a really smart guy, almost as smart as his Dad.

Elliot hoped that he'd be half as smart as either of them when he got big; he wanted to know everything they knew. And so he blew out the candles on his cake, took a swirl with the sparkles, admired his new build and then proudly announced to his audience that he was going to be a knowledge sim, just like his both of his Dads were.

The second part of his wish he kept to himself, the part where he wanted to find a girl as pretty and as nice as his two moms were. A few days later when he went to his sister's birthday party he was bowled over thinking that maybe he'd actually known that girl all his life. When Elliot walked in the door of his father's house his child hood friend Deanna Indie threw her self into his arms and said "It's about time you grew up!" popping the locks off their first kiss wants in the process.

"Elliot stop sucking face and come dance with me it's my party you have to do what I want you to do today! Everybody has to come and dance with me!"

And so everybody danced. They danced the slap dance and then the smutsle and some hearty folks even attempted the hula. And then the game crashed cause there where too many sims on the lot so we started again and sent about half of the crew home and tried again.

"Hmm what should I wish for? I still want to see that purple pony with the pink wings but Delphy says ponies don't exist in real life. But maybe if I wish really really hard I'll get one anyway. Or maybe I'll get a bubble blower and then I'll be able to hallucinate seeing a purple pony with pink wings. Yeah a Bubble Blower would be awesome!"

Having made her wish Emma promptly did the dance of the sparkles and then turned around and announced to the crowd that she had chosen to be a Pleasure Seeker. She said that she wanted to go on lots and lots of dates at least fifty, and they were going to be dream dates, she'd insist on that. But first she wanted to play the drums and then jump on the couch, take a bubble bath and maybe play some video games.

The next morning Elle: who has very little tact, brought up the issue that was concerning everyone in the household. The issue was that Emma didn't yet seem to know if she preferred males or females. Emma had rolled bi, which causes me a little bit of concern since the legacy legal options out there for same sex relationships are much lower than those for opposite sex relationships. I try to let my bi sims decide for themselves which way they want to go, which will mean hands off romance wise until a preference is chosen. There are options available to her no matter which way she decides but until she starts putting faces to her wants she won't be getting any of those dream dates. Considering how much I hate her lifetime want I'd like to get it started early so until she makes a choice both she and I will be suffering a bit.

"Hey boss what is with the new duds? You are a plantsim you are supposed to be all leafy and green from head to toe."

"Individuality rules, Adonis there are too many plantsims in town at the moment and someone is having a hard time identifying them all on sight so new wardrobe changes were decreed. I feel a bit restrained being back in street clothing. That default outfit may look weird but it sure is comfortable."

"And will we servos that have no identifiable markings at all be getting clothing changes as well? I went to one of the new shops last week and I kept getting accosted by shoppers who thought I was one of the employees! I do not mind that when I am at the fruit stand but when I am making a move on a hot number at Darkness Falls I do not want to be yelled at because some one left a juice cup on the ground."

Sorry Adonis I'd love to give you new clothing, but it's not possible to do. There are default changes available but none that give options for variety.

"And what do you think of my new clothing Tania? Am I still as hunky and studly as I was before?"

"Hmm well I've never been able to resist a guy with a tie, but there was something to be said for the easy access of your default wrap. I can live with the change, the outer wrappings not nearly as important as what is inside."

"Well then how about you and I go to our room and unwrap what's inside."

"Get your mind out of the gutter dear, I was talking about your heart and your mind not that! But then again I'm game."

One might think that with the variant personalities that Emma and Elle have that they might have some problems getting along. While Emma is in no way shy, she's hardly as outgoing as her little sister. Elle has no problem approaching virtual strangers and asking them the most intimate of questions while Emma's more likely to stand back and wait to be approached. Elle's also extremely active while Emma tends to be a bit lazy. Cary has worked with Emma to the point that she now has five active points, which is much better than her original two but still no where close to Elles nine.

Then there's the neatness factor. Again Emma's no neat freak but you'd never find her doing this. Emma can safely shower while Elle will moan so much about cleaning up the mess she makes showering that's it's easier to have her take baths. Cass could have corrected that but I actually like sims to be on the sloppy side since they eat faster. Sorry but no one takes three hours to eat dinner every night.

But despite their differences the two girls are very close and have been ever since Elle became a child. When they were both kids they'd start every morning with a rousing game of cops and robbers. Now that that's not an option they'll do the dance thing for hours. I don't really see the point of this interaction since it doesn't raise fun or social all that quickly. But it is cute to see the first few times at least.

Emma's also very supportive of Elle's business hopes and often provides entertainment for the lemonade stand. Unfortunately for Emma lemonade sells better than free styling does so Elle makes better profits off the partnership.

"Whippersnappers! Kids these days have no shame; in my day we did our dancing inside our homes not out on the streets for all to see our shameless cavorting!"

Yeah well in your day we didn't have stupid BV coding did we?

At least the slap dancing has to be done in the same room as the radio still. The one benefit that I've been seeing with the slap dance craze that has gone through the hood though is that about half my generation sixes have earned the Tsang Fancy Footwork dance scholarship this go round which very few of their predecessors did. So it does help raise dance skill. Of course it lowers hygiene and energy dramatically in the process. Elle's going to need a bath and a nap before she can get to her homework.

"Okay Emma I'm off to work can you help Elle with her homework before your Mom gets home? Oh and make sure she gets a bath as well. Would it kill the dogs to hit the grass at least once?"

"Can I go out to the show with Delilah tonight Dad? Please? Please?"

"Only if you're home by curfew you know the rules 9pm on a school night."

"But Dad it won't even have started by then, that's so lame you're so unfair."

"You're right I am unfair but the answer is still no."

For once when Titania comes home doing her I'm a family sim give me love song and dance she actually has something to celebrate. Titania has finally topped the journalism career ladder. Not that it was her lifetime want or anything but it took her forever to reach the top so I guess it's worth a small celebration.

*Bawk* Your father said you couldn't go out *Bawk*

"Shut up bird breath! If you wake up the house before I get out of here, I'll let Scotty have that parrot feast he's always drooling about."

*Bawk* I didn't see nothing *Bawk* nothing at all! *Bawk*

Ohoh Busted!

"Fricking legacy brats always thinking they can get away with breaking the laws. Think they're special or something. I hope you've learned your lesson this time."

"I caught Emma out after curfew; you shouldn't let her run around unsupervised like that it's not safe!"

"Oh dear, thank you for seeing her home Officer Kitty, it's good to know that there are observant police officers on the force in Familiarity. Don't worry about a thing we'll be sure that she behaves herself from now on."

"Alright well now that you've energized and show no evidence of being out all night what do you have to say for yourself Emma?"

"I'm really sorry Grandpa I won't ever do it again, please don't tell Mom and Dad on me."

"Yes I'm sure you are sorry. But next time you want to go to a Flying Llama's show just tell me and I'll get you backstage passes. You know they were my opening act way back when. I always knew that they'd make it big. Nice bunch of guys those Llamas. Tell me do they still butcher a cow mascot live on stage?"

"Now that you have narrowly escaped punishment for sneaking out at night, going to a concert that you were forbidden to go to and being brought home by the cops how about we top the morning by singing the Sea Chantey repeatedly while ignoring the toaster pastries that you put in the oven and burning down the house. Why stop at having just the cops on the premises? A day is not done until the firefighter's show up!"

I will say that as much as I'm sick of the Sea Chantey, you haven't heard it until you've heard a servo 'sing' it.

"Today's my birthday! All my friends are going to come over tonight and we're going to dance and then I'll do my swirl and we'll have cake and ice cream! It's going to be the best-est day ever!"

Unfortunately for Elle and the rest of the family the day didn't go quite the way it was planned. It was a day of highs and lows in the legacy household. The first low was the death of long time pet Buffy. Grim came for Buffy right on time; interrupting the work of all the NPC's on the lot so that they could help mourn. The mail would be late that day, but Buffy deserved the rousing send off of cries and howls that she'd received.

Directly following the low of Buffy's death was a small peak of a celebration. Buffy's mate Scotty had become an elder and would be able to retire honorably from his service as a rescue pet. He'd worked hard for years and deserves to spend his remaining years in comfort doing nothing more stressful than hunting down someone to give him a tummy rub.

The family began to trickle in for Elle's birthday celebration. All her Aunts and Uncles were to be there along with a few special friends of hers and her family. Titania had just returned from work when a chill settled over the lot.

Eddie and Scotty began a chorus of howls in the kitchen alerting the residents and guests alike that an uninvited guest had shown up for the party. Elle's birthday celebration had cruelly been turned into a wake.

"I'm ready for you Grim, but you can't take me first what will Cary do without me? I won't go quietly if he's to be left to mourn for me. It isn't right to separate us so. Even death can't be so cruel."

"Have no worries Cassandra Familiar we are well aware of the devotion between you and your spouse. Cary will be joining you quickly; I'm only collecting you first so that you may be in my realm to welcome him."

"Well then that's fine, let's get going then Grim. Now did you pack his fuzzy slippers? Cary really likes his fuzzy slippers."

"You'll find everything you need and more when you arrive. Take a drink and enjoy the ride."

Grim was true to his word. I had never actually seen a dual pickup before in all my time as a simmer. Most commonly when I have two sims that are due to join Grim on the same day he will take one and then leave and get them settled giving the second a few additional hours. But Cary and Cass in death as well as in life were in sync and Grim would not take one without taking the other. As soon as Cassandra made her final exit, Grim eerily floated through the house ignoring all walls and boundaries in his search for Cary.

Cary was waiting for him impatiently. He didn't want Cass to be alone for long, for what would Cass do if she didn't have him to fuss over?

"Well come on man lets get moving, Cass is waiting for me. She'll worry if I'm late. Such a worrier my Cass can be."

"Indeed she can be so we will be sure to make the transition as swiftly and peacefully for the both of you as possible. Now come with me Cary Familiar, your Cassandra is waiting for you."

As often is the case the cycle of life must continue to move forward, and through the tears of grief is seen the light of life and the hope of a brighter future for those that are left behind. Elle's birthday twirl was a bit more restrained than she had imagined it would be when she woke up that morning. Looking around her as she tentatively approached her cake she saw the hesitant smiles and not a few tears.

Elle took a deep breath and shook her head, parties were supposed to be fun not sad. As she blew out her candles she swore that never again would she throw a party where people would be sad.

After doing her spin and admiring her new sleek figure Elle turned to her audience and smiled.

"Come on everyone this is a party, we should be having fun! Grandpa and Grandma would want us to be happy not sad! We'll miss them but they're together the way they're supposed to be. Now let's party!"

Elle had decided to be a popularity sim, and a popularity sim always knows how to turn any party into a roof raiser.

While Elle was prettying herself up in the bedroom Emma was being approached in the kitchen. Romeo Monty had been passing by the house that evening when he'd noticed the commotion going on and invited himself to the party. He seemed bound and determined to help Emma set her gender preference to male.

Does anyone else think this relationship might be a bit too ironic?

In honor of the new teen the family danced and they reminisced and they laughed. Cary and Cass were indeed together just like they should be. If each of the family members took a moment now and then during the evening to shed a few tears no one said anything. Death is a necessary part of life, more cruel perhaps to those that are left behind than to those that move forward. But life is a journey to be savored and death can often leave room for new life.

Welcome to the World Eva Familiar

As the spawn of David and Ideal plantsim, Eva may well be a very interesting looking sim once she grows up. Looking at her at the moment though I mainly see David's features so she may turn out looking more like Emma than anyone else.

Eva is named for the familiar face of actress Eva Gabor.

If I'd been thinking correctly David would have spawned Eva in the afternoon. There was room in the house for another sim once Buffy passed away. And if she had been born before the evening events Cassandra would have gotten her second lifetime want to have six grandchildren fulfilled. However, I wanted Titania to be home when the new family member arrived. Titania and David have shown time and again that blood doesn't matter when it comes to family. Eva like all of the children was quickly welcomed into the wide a varied brood of Familiars.

We'll catch up with Eva and her family again soon, until then . . .

Thanks for reading and Happy Simming!

A general shout out to all the wonderful cc creators that help to make my sims and their houses look so good. Thank you for sharing your talents with the community!

Apologies to Orikes for stealing the idea behind the next few slides but I felt Cary and Cass deserved a special send off ->

"I could stay awake just to hear you breathingWatch you smile while you are sleepingWhile you're far away dreamingI could spend my life in this sweet surrenderI could stay lost in this moment foreverEvery moment spent with you is a moment I treasure

Don't want to close my eyesI don't want to fall asleepCause I'd miss you babyAnd I don't want to miss a thingCause even when I dream of youThe sweetest dream will never doI'd still miss you babyAnd I don't want to miss a thing"

"Lying close to you feeling your heart beatingAnd I'm wondering what you're dreamingWondering if its me you're seeingThen I kiss your eyesAnd thank God were togetherI just want to stay with you in this moment foreverForever and ever

Don't want to close my eyesI don't want to fall asleepCause I'd miss you babyAnd I don't want to miss a thingCause even when I dream of youThe sweetest dream will never doI'd still miss you babyAnd I don't want to miss a thing"

"I don't want to miss one smileI don't want to miss one kissI just want to be with youRight here with you, just like thisI just want to hold you closeFeel your heart so close to mineAnd just stay here in this momentFor all the rest of time

Don't want to close my eyesI don't want to fall asleepCause I'd miss you babyAnd I don't want to miss a thingCause even when I dream of youThe sweetest dream will never doI'd still miss you babyAnd I don't want to miss a thing

Don't want to close my eyesI don't want to fall asleepI don't want to miss a thing"-Aerosmith

Rest in Peace Cary and Cassandra Familiar, you will be missed.