5.20 Edit

Even as the sun chose to stay behind the clouds in the sky, it was more than warm enough to have the traditional summerparty. Neda kept her promise of keeping them family and friends only; no more officeparties. The ones that involved swimming usually didn't end very well for her.

From now on it was all about the family for her. Even if Irena and Signe- Catherine was to busy to show up. Something about working.

Might as well be for the best. She was done with drama in her life. Now, if just Tara could get off the slide, she could actually have some fun at one of these parties for a change.

Titania really wanted to try the waterslide, but with also grandma getting in line she decided on the pool instead. She'd had to wait for one of the oldies to break their pelvic before they'd let her have her turn.

As the pool smelled freshly, and suspiciously strongly of chlorine; she covered her nose. Tania was way to young to worry about footwarts anyway, so she just enjoyed summer and spending time with the family.

Summer was the absolute best!

Aurelius had taken it upon himself to cater the rest. Usually they'd just throw themselves at anything even remotely edible; like wild animals. But he was going to make sure it came off as atleast a bit classy. The most important thing was that this way mum could relax a bit, and enjoy herself.

He did his best not to mention Steve to anyone, but once and again the thought came back. Even if he knew the rest was right. He also knew that it had to be Steve that had done something to mum. After all, mum was practically perfect.

Oh no! I have that stupid article to write!

Served her right for beeing so greedy she didn't say no. Just one more article for a competing newsmagazine, and then Neda would start beeing all loyal again. Unless it payed really good ofcourse. Guess she'd had to stay awake for the rest of the night then, because she had the day off damnit!

Why had she even said yes to write an article about baseball, Neda wondered as she took some more nectar. She didn't know anything about baseball. They didn't even have a team. Like, who even knew anything about baseball? Why was it even a sport?

Scouting around a bit, she noticed her mum staring at her. Did mum know anything about baseball? No. Niko? No, definitely no. Damn. She had to do research online. She hated sport.

Just because Sam was really nice and calm today, didn't mean she wouldn't find something to get angry about. But it was difficult as everyone enjoyed the warm day. And reading a book whilst floating on water was an underrated joy.

She hadn't forgotten about Steve, but just had to believe that Lee wasn't dumb enough to do anything about it. Besides, just look at what mum did for everyone. Ofcourse it was that bastard Steve that had hurt Neda. Definitely not the other way around.

Well, Sam was almost at her best behaviour.

So you're a real witch? She really did her best to wipe a mean grin off her face: So, I bet you had a lot of fun with nerds in school. Right?

Oh yeah. Definitely. Lillian was all to happy talking about her youthful shenanigans with a fellow hothead. And the things she'd done was things Sam could never even dream of.

Kevin and Niko had gotten over the worst bumps to. He was an easy boy to get close to. Not surprisingly he'd chosen to stay with Neda, which Niko completely understood.

It made it easier for him to get used to his dad dating again. He was barely used to it himself after all. Niko hadn't really had any serious relationships since Kevins mum, but for some reason this one felt different. Or maybe not.

Neda and Tara sat down to enjoy the dessert her son had made. A dish she'd never be able to replicate no matter how much she'd wanted to. Which she didn't.

This is really good. Maybe he'll be a chef.

Tara was far from a racer in the kitchen herself. She'd love to have a chef in the family, that way she could get free meals, and would never have to cook again.

I wish, but my son is obsessed with making simoleons. 

Aurelius might think she didn't notice, but she heard the small comments and hints. And she suspected a chef wouldn't make enough for him to be satisfied. It was still really good.

Even as it kept getting darker, Titania kept hanging after her grandpa. She was definitely his favourite, because she was way cuter then the other kids. And she had so much in common with him, and with grandma. So this was the best thing in the world.

It did come as a surprise to them that he passed away that very night. He'd seemed so youthful, and then he was just gone.

Unfortunately it was how things went in simlife, and perhaps in was fitting to celebrate death and harvest shortly after. Because things always got better after some time passed.

Despite beeing  a weatherlady, Neda still took assignments for other magazines. Without her boss' knowledge ofcourse; didn't want to get fired. Journalism also meant she had to stay at the top of her game, and it payed some extra on the side.

This time around, she'd barely managed to say her name before the firesim interrupted her: Well well, we're supposed to quench fires, not start them. She winked at Neda, who took a second to understand that the firesim thought she was hot. Oh my.

Smoothly Neda came off as beeing as professional as possible, and pretending not to be flattered at the same time.

I'm not a new recruit. I'm a journalist. We contacted the chief here for an intervju.

The department had taken out some massive fires and recieved some rewards and stuff. It was mainly a followup intervju. What was the plan from now on, disasterprevention and such. Especially now. Winterseason was the one with most housefires starting.

The firesim smiled at her: That makes a lot more sense. You look a bit scrawny for this job. 

When she was right, she was right. Neda pretty much just did cardio to stay thin. That was, the viewers would hopefully stop complaining about her weight. Even if she could stand to gain some of it.

Well, you are looking at the chief here. 

Oh. That was great. She probably had a lot of work to do.  

Are you sure you're straight though? Because if you're not...

Ofcourse the entire thing didn't bother Neda. Her subjects kept hitting on her all the time. But she wasn't dating, and that was final.

Yes. I'm sure. I like men.

Why?

 I have no idea. Neda mumbled: But you were one of the first on spot at the subway?

Yes we were. They always said we. She probably meant the personell.

Unfortunately, the articles she wrote on the side, meant her boss eventually found out. He'd shown up on set and went:"My office afterwards". That was it. Bai was never that short. He might be an old fart, but he never talked to her that way. That was how he talked to dumbarse Benny.

She was getting fired. She was going to get fired, then she'd be out of work and she was to old to get a new job now. They'd have to move in with her mother. She hadn't even had time to wash of the clownmake up she had to wear on screen.

Oh no. That was her article about the firedepartment! And it wasn't even particullarly good. If she was going to get fired, couldn't he atleast fire her ower a one of the good ones?

That was it. Her whole life was over. Why did nothing good ever come her way? This was the life of a professional looser. Well, atleast now she didn't have to look anyone at the office in the eyes, after she fell over the postsims cart and it took off with her. And no more puddingtrick, it was getting a bit annoying.

You wanted to see me Bai? She absolutely refused to call him by his surname, even if she really wanted to.

Mhm. I did. He flipped the pages back and forth a bit, reading here and there.

Every cell in her body, told her to growel at his feet, and do everything he wanted.  She had no pride when it came to these things.

This is a really good article. Who edited it`?

 I did. Poorly at that.

She practced the speech in her head: please don't fire me! I'll work for half the paycheck. I have four kids at home! Was it possible to kneel in this stupid skirt?

It's a shame, wouldn't you say? Wasting all your skills like this?

This was it! Quick Neda! Growel! Growel like you've never groweled before!

Bai. I just wanted to write a bit again. Not that I don't LOVE beeing a weatherlady! Which she didn't.

Neda, you told me you hated it. 

I was just joking! Why did she always have to open her giant mouth?! Stop saying everything you think about!

There's no need to worry. I'm promoting you to editor in chief. I'm clearly getting to old to do everything around here. And who else is going to do it? Benny? Or that other idiot; Vegard? None of them have the skills you do. Congratulations on your new title. 

Really? Wow. This was how it felt not to be a looser: Thank you so much Bai! I won't let you down. Ofcourse I'm better than Benny! 

Ofcourse. And I'll let him take over your post as weatherman. 

Ahahaha! He was going to be graded beneath her. Take that for ruining her relationship all that time ago.

You start tomorrow. 

Yes! I'd love to start tomorrow! Fuck you Benny. And the rest of her coworkers! Soon, she'd be able to fire them if they ever pranked her again. This was to good to be true. No more clownmakeup!

It wasn't just Neda that was winning all over. Sam had learned that by not punching one nerd, the rest of the geeks flocked to her. Like, what was she? Their saviour? And it was so different. Instead of punching one into doing her homework for her, they actually helped instead. Almost like punching sims wasn't the solution to all her problems.

And when she didn't understand something, they actually explained it to her. Maybe... maybe nerds wasn't as bad after all. Like, punching other bullies was a lot more challenging. Sometimes they even punched her back.

Why was he acting all weird though. She swore, if he started crushing on her, the fists were coming out again.

No, no. It's true. Sam is so much calmer. She hasn't been hauled off by the police in ages. She's so different than before. 

Neda was flabbergasted by the relative change. 

Sometimes she even comes down to my room when I'm working, and reads on the bed. She'd never done that before. Not even as a little girl.

I mean, she keeps the shoes on in bed. So I have to clean the sheets all the time. But that's not important. 

She still have tempertantrums where she leaves, but not to the same degree as before. 

Neda still had no idea where she went and asking just made her angrier. She'd love to follow her. But as tempting as it was, talk about not showing trust in your kids.

Well, that's pretty good atleast. Tara agreed with her in that.

That didn't mean life was perfect. Blinking away a few tears was the best consolidation for now. But in the end it wouldn't change anything. Why did change always come when the weather was dreary?

There's always room for you here, you know. You don't have to leave yet. What about university?

No wonder sims always thought Kevin was her son. He looked a lot like his dad, and they were siblings; thus he also looked like her.

I'm just saying it's not necessary for you to leave just yet.

Well, I'm kind of grown up now Neda. You know. An adult. 

 
You weren't an adult yesterday. So you can pretend you're not one for a little longer.

Why was it so hard for him to understand that. Just because he was an adult now, didn't mean he'd been it for so long that it meant something.

I've gotten a job at the science sentre already. And dad has helped me get a small place. Dad had recently gotten married, so he'd never move in with him either. Not that he'd done that either way. But dad had suggested it.

I'll remember to thank him later. She would definitely remember thanking her dumb brother later.

Everything will be fine. I'll visit as often as possible. And you have my number.

She was such a worrywart. Neda wouldn't be happy until he slept in a crib again. Kevin wasn't an idiot, he knew it was hardest with the first and last kid. But come on, technically he wasn't even hers.

It was a lot more empty around the house without Kevin. But they'll get used to it eventually.

And even if Neda didn't like admitting it, it was a lot less crowded around the house. Now she just needed to find out where Sam was off to when she was upset, and all would be fine.

Smile! It was so rare they did anything together, just the small family.

Mum. Just take the picture. Aurelius thought it was a bit annoying. The only one posing was Sam anyway.

Smile a little then?

No. Tania rolled her eyes. Mum was so embarrassing. Why did she have to be here?

Other than that, Neda enjoyed her new jobtitle. She still chipped in doing intervjues. Beeing editor in chief, she liked helping around a bit; editor in chief. Such a nice ring. Unfortunately, the new title hadn't stopped anyone from pranking her. She definitely wasn't going to fire anyone for it either, because that would be a bit mean.

You're shorter than me!

Putting on her best smile, Neda did her best to get it over with. Editor in chief. Things couldn't get a lot better now. Even heightcomments. She saw sims shorter than her all the time.

I don't think you understand what that means. The lady looked around like she'd seen the light for the first time in her life. Come on, it was like max half a centimeter. Just answer the question already.
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Daniel died just a few simhours after the chapter was done. For some reason noone got the mourning moodlet. And Kevin aged up. He started dating his childhood friend Erland straight after. But they ended it after a few days unfortunately. Now he's living as a hermite.

I've had homosexuality turned off in the RLC until this generation. But, now every damned sim flirts with eachother all the time. So, I think I've done something a bit wrong in the settings. Neda has never been more popular with the weirdos around town.

Thanks for reading 

5.17 Feast

In true springfashion, Neda decided to throw a feast for the entire family. She rented Grandmas crazy, and ended up spending all the time cooking. Even if she'd brought with her an enormous ammount of food, the family kept on eating nonstop. It was called a feast for a reason.

It was nice seeing most of the family together; chatting loudly and stuffing their faces and drinking all her nectar. Niko and Jack was already catching up, with mum almost glued to his side. Even Dragans wife, Lillian, did her best to get to know him.

When they were done eating, they kept on drinking even more of Nedas fine nectar. She had to send Lee home to get some more bottles, as her family didn't have any limits. At this speed, her entire nectarcollection would disappear. All well spent, if you asked her.

Everyone was enjoying themselves. Even if the teens spent most time away from the oldies.

Kevin and Niko didn't get all along all the time. As far as Neda could tell, they were mainly friendly with eachother. But the teenaged Kevin could be a bit snippy, and she suspected Niko didn't handle it all to well.

Ofcourse, if her brother had any self- insight, he'd notice that his son resembled him a lot. That moody behaviour that had suddenly appeared when dad showed up again, wasn't a coincidence. She was sure they'd come around. But, it did mean that Kevin was staying with her. He didn't want to move in with Niko, and that was fine.

It was a lot easier with Titania. She loved when mum held large familyparties, because she got tons of attention from her grandparents. Grandpa and Grandma were the best.

Everyone waited for the longest time for Irena to show up, but she clearly wasn't ready to swallow her pride. Still, they all missed her. At the same time they all anxiously waited for the long missing oldest sister. They were finally going to meet her in a few days. And if anyone wondered why Niko knew how to contact her, no one said anything. Atleast that was a guarantee for Irena to show up, as she'd never been one to avoid drama.

The air this close to the swamp was a bit more humid than usual, but who had the time to care about something so trivial. Especially now that Neda done such a great thing.

She snook out into the fading day after Dragan. They often talked on the phone, but they rarely met up. Other than all of the parties she held. Which actually meant they met very often. But they could've met even more often. But, just as the two of them; twins.

I've done really good, haven't I? Neda deserved to brag about her amazing feet of using Jacks computer without permission.

Yeah, you've done great. Mum and dad haven't stopped talking about it yet. You really saved the day. 

She definitely deserved the credit for this. Even if she'd never find Catherine without Nikos help, but that wasn't important. The important thing was that everything was going to end well. Irena would come along eventually.

It was far from as aweful as Neda had feared. Aino finally got to meet all her kids, and it didn't matter how shy Signe-Catherine was, because grandma had pictures to show and that meant everyone had to look at them.

She also didn't have any other children than Kevin, but maybe that wasn't so strange. She also didn't mention that she'd just lost her husband. Somethings could wait, and she had other things to worry about at the moment. Atleast the kid seemed to have grown up just fine for beeing; well, and inbreed.

As much as Neda wanted to chat up her halfsister, they mainly left the three of them alone. It was more important that she talked to her son and mother. The rest of them would just have to wait a bit. And just as expected, Irena couldn't stay away from the potential of drama.

So? Any tempertantrums yet? Yelling? Attacking? Crying? And not one word of appology. Just as it should be.

I'm so glad you came! Neda couldn't hold it in anymore. Her sister might be aweful, but they were family. And she'd missed her snark and cruelty.

Yeah, yeah. Irena patted her on the back, but Neda just knew she was crying happytears on the inside. Because she sure was; that and she was proud of herself. All of this, and no failures.

Look at me! SAAAM! LEE!! LOOK AT ME! Titania went as fast as she could, the swing squeaking loudly. She'd loved to jump off at speed, but it was still to dangerous. Maybe she'd be slung out onto the road! Or into the sun! It was never good to know, but she still planned to get as high as she could. She was sure the two teens would stop her before it got dangerous. Because teens were definitely trustworthy.

LEE! What are you doing?

Tania was shocked to see her bigbrother destroy the sandcastles. Someone had spent time building them. Why did stupid older kids always destroy everything others built? They were so mean.

She tried pleading again: Lee! Stop it! Why are you destroying the houses?

I'm Leezilla! I'm destroying town, so you have to rebuild it from scratch.

But you're a big boy, godzilla is a dinosaur.

Is not!

Is to!!!

Is not!!!! 

Is to!! 

Sam rolled her eyes at the other two. Sometimes she swore Tania and Lee were closer in age, than she was with him. Because it sure sounded like that. Why did she have to be here with the two of them? She'd wanted to meet Kevs mum, because she was mature. Unlike these two.

Stop it! Stop it! Tania didn't really seen to mind him destroying everything to much though. It was just that kids sounded whiny no matter what.

GODZILLA BRINGS FORTH THE REIGN OF CHAOS ON TOKYSAND! As much as he loved movies, he'd never wanted to work in the industry. He just loved watching them. It was a great way to relax after a long day at school, and extracurricular activities. Because he did great in school, like the rest of the kids. Yes, even if he wasn't a genious. It just meant that he never got sent to the hallway, because he never corrected the teachers.

Sam rolled her eyes as the two kept bickering. Fine, they were good sims and wanted everything with Kevs and his mum going fine. But she had tried pushing away that knot in her stomach, until she realized it was jealousy; she wanted everything with Kevs and his mum to go down terribly- That they never spoke to eachother again; that he came home dissolved in tears. Why? Because she was a terrible sim, that's why.

It was just... Tania and Lee had their mum; Neda, and then there had been he and Kevs that didn't have parents. But now he'd gotten his dad back, and a few days later he was cozying up with his mum to. Now he got to have both of them, and Neda, whilst she didn't have anyone. Ofcourse she loved Neda, but she wasn't her mum. It just wasn't the same. Sam also knew she wasn't supposed to feel like that, but she did. She'd always known her parents were gone, and now she was the only one without parents.

She really was horrible. She was sitting hoping that Kevs mum would turn him down. Or atleast that the infamous Irena would ruin everything. But they were still there, so did it mean that thing were going well? Stop thinking like that! She wanted to be the bigger sim, and see everything go well, but that meant she'd be all alone in this. And she didn't want to.

See! Aurelius explained: Now that Godzilla has inflicted the reign of chaos, it's time for you to step up and rebuild the world. 

He sat down in the sand, ignoring the strange cold that always came from the sandpits. He just knew, at the bottom of his heart, that the box was full of catpoop.

I'm going to have a city dedicated to old Eric! She wasn't entirely sure who that was, but since he was old he was probably nice.

That's as good a dedication as any.
  

Aurelius tried eavsdropping in on Sams phonecall over all of Tanias chattering. She kept phoning someone everytime she was upsed, and then she left. But he had no idea who it was. Probably a friend of sort, but why did she keep it a secret from mum? He barely overheard her saying "ofcourse she's fine with it. Yeah, she'll text you afterwards". Who was fine with what? Sam had all kinds of secrets, but most of them weren't that big of a deal. He wasn't so sure about this though.

Then she hung up and left: Bye Sam! 

He barely got a wave back from her. If he hadn't been so scared of her, he'd ask where she was going and who she was meeting. Not that she'd ever harmed him or anything, but she had that explosive temper that scared him a bit. Maybe when he got a bit tougher.

As Sam dissapeared into the nearly underground, Tania kept on chatting: She'd meeting that man again. 

Huh? Was she playing now or?

Samantha is meeting that man. That's where she's going aaaall the time. To meet that man. She threw some sand around: Swwooosh! It's snowing! OH NO! Old Eric, save us all!! She grabbed a stick that he assumed as one of the residents, and snapped it.

Aurelius drew a bit in the sand; so Sam had a boyfriend, that did explain a lot. Probably someone from the other schooldistrict, but he had no idea who.

Titania was so cute though, still having problems with understanding that bigger didn't necessarily mean older. She still didn't get that he was younger than Kevin, even if he was bigger. And that him and mum weren't the same age, even if he was almost as tall as her. So he didn't worry when she'd called Sams boyfriend a man instead of a big boy; that just meant he was tall. Yeah, that made sense. Made it harder for her to beat him over the head then.

Everything was going so well that Neda was sure that things had turned. So, for once she accepted one of the many dates she was asked out for. It wasn't to ignore, that they had ran in a lot quicker after she got on tv.

Halvard was a lot older than her, but she didn't mind. Maybe it was the way to go. Trying to date mature men, instead of someone her own age. He was a bit strangely dressed, but beeing charming, fun, a gentleman and a great dancer, Neda was more than willing to ignore it.

He twirled her around with ease, to Nedas great delight. She already had butterflies in her stomach. But beeing a lot older now, she knew that they didn't mean anything than a hope of what might be. Not what was. It didn't stop her from enjoying the attention.

She also tried pretending she wasn't dying to feel a mans hands on her again. She hadn't been with anyone since before Titania was born. Not that she'd missed it really, it was just that standing this close to a man made her remember it. Could say what she wanted about Steve, but he'd been pretty decent that way. Wonder how long it was okay to wait? She didn't really want to rush into anything. And Halvard was a mature man, not some boy that just graduated.

 I can't remember last time I had this much fun! Neda had already decided not to pretend she wasn't enjoying everything. She was getting to old to play games. Either they were interested, or they weren't.

Well, I did tell you. Halvard sounded very confident in himself. He was a single man, with no kids of his own, he'd told her. So she was a bit surprised that he wasn't scared off by her four- but again, he was older than her. He'd just worked to become successful. And now that he was working less, he'd decided to date again. It was a good story; she liked it.

You sure did. She hadn't mentioned anything about where she lived either. Their house was nice, even if a bit small. But when sims heard that it was one of those old containers that had been remodeled, they usually imagined something completely different. So best not to say anything; atleast yet. She'd wanted to move, but the housing market was terrible.

So, is it tempting to do it another time maybe? He had to enjoying himself since he already asked for a new date, before this one even ended.

It soundes very tempting. She answered honestly. She could've tried beeing flirty, but wasn't really good at it. Best to avoid it then: I'd love to go out another time. I'm really enjoying spending time with you. 

I enjoy spending time with you to. He was just as honest. This might actually work.

It was way past her bedtime before she headed home, the entire house was quiet with the kids beeing asleep and all. She didn't really know what got into her. She'd already checked Halvard online before going out with him, and he'd seemed alright. But, for some reason she had this nagging feeling. He was just to good. Why would a single, successful man go out with a singlemother of four that kind of lived in a dumpster?

She sent a message to her brother, hoping he'd see it tomorrow: Hey brother-where-art-thou! Do my a favour and check out Halvard Olsen Røysland; some hotshot businessman. Not for work. She'd never gotten the hang of typing like a teenager, and wasn't planning on it either.

Clearly Dragan never slept, and texted her back a couple of minutes later: Halvard Olsen Røysland; kingpin. He's got 5!priv. profiles. 1 of them married with 3 kids. Then links to all of them.

That was him alright. Fucking hell.

Ofcourse he was a married man with several different profiles to hide it. And he was engaged on two of the others. She knew he was to good to be true. Why did she even bother?! Men were scum!

Refusing to be to disappointed, Neda went to sleep. She had a workday tomorrow, and atleast she'd gotten a free night of fun. Completely unaware of someone breaking into their house.

Nedas fan had waited outside her house forever, and didn't have any plans other than staring creepily at her. Maybe steal a few personal items for herself. All harmless! She just weirdly obsessed over the weatherlady!

She hadn't gotten into her room, before she was tackled by a skinny twin that threw himself on her from the staircase, sending her straight down. She quickly got up and ran off. This family was crazy!

Kevin drew breath through his nose. There was no point in calling police, because they never did anything. They just looked around and nagged, before leaving. Best to let Neda sleep instead. It was so rare she was out and having some fun. But, it wasn't the first time he'd thrown out one of her creepy fans, and probably wouldn't be the last either. He locked the door before going back to bed, damned freaks.
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I didn't have to much about Catherine, because this is Nedas story after all. But it did end well, so it's all good and she's good so it's why she doesn't hold any grudges. Have to use that trait for something. Irena was supposed to be cozy with the rest alot earlier, but she keeps on ditching all the invites. And all's good between Kevin and Niko to, he's just a bit moody there. They are bestfriends already.

The burglar was completely random, so nothing to worry about there either. I'd just forgotten that Kevin is brave, so I was a bit taken back when he launched at the poor burglar like that.

Thanks for reading