2.7 Keep on movin’

The Kyoti family loved a party, and they seemed to be throwing them most days.  With eight family members, that was pretty inevitable.  Liam was the next to age up, and he became a cute toddler, who caused the family very little grief.

The whole family pitched in to raise Liam, as usual, but things weren’t quite right with the three teens.  The girls were so stressed out with trying to keep up with homework, part-time jobs and skill development that they couldn’t meet boys.  They were getting incredibly stressed by this.  Not being able to do homework with his cousins was also making Christopher feel isolated, so he often withdrew to play his guitar, leaving the work undone.

Carmel was stuck in the middle of a toddler and some teens so was mostly left to her own devices.  She was happy to get on with school work, though, and lived to paint the rest of the time.  She didn’t seem to make many friends, but she didn’t seem to mind too much.  She never asked about her mother, figuring that Stacey was just a subject that wasn’t to be mentioned.

Kali maxed out his music skill and spent some time working on the garden as his parents had done.  He wasn’t lonely and had become accustomed to being a single dad.  Having Elias and Lola around had really helped.  They might be a somewhat unconventional household, but he wouldn’t have had it any other way.

Amanda and Rhiannon became fed up of mainlining coffee and scouring the job ads for something better.  Their part-time jobs were in careers they couldn’t care less about and their school work was suffering, not to mention their social life.  They made a pact to quit their jobs.

They spent the days trying to catch the attention of all the boys they could find, but nothing was working.  The day soon came for them to age up, and they held a joint party with Carmel.  No-one noticed Carmel’s transitioning, and she rolled unflirty.  It was probably a good job she wasn’t going to be the heir then.

Amanda hid Rhiannon’s deodorant.  This was their most important birthday party yet, and a good chance for them to find mates and get a step closer to becoming the heir.  She knew Rhiannon was the prettiest and wanted to increase her own chances of finding love.

Amanda’s wish, of course, was to be the heir.

Rhiannon, meanwhile, KNEW she would be the heir.  After all, who could resist her?

Whilst Rhiannon basked in her own self-assuredness, Amanda started to work on talking to the different men at the party.  The race was on…

2.6 The show must go on

Kali was heartbroken and told Carmel that he would always love her, and she didn’t need to think about that heartless woman Stacey ‘Kyoti’ any longer.  The rest of the family would be all she needed until she was old enough to strike out on her own.

Lola and Elias were sad for Kali and the girls, but they were also a little relieved at Stacey’s departure.  Now they could have a second child, and their family would be complete.  It didn’t take them very long before they heard that old familiar lullaby…

Amanda and Rhiannon were slightly stunned by their mother’s departure, and by their father constantly crying that he wanted her back.  They were sad, but seeing as most of their school friends only had one parent, they didn’t find adapting to their new situation as difficult as you might expect.  Well, Rhiannon didn’t, anyway.  Amanda took to playing chess and looking through her telescope all the time, and her homework began to fall behind very rapidly.

The girls didn’t cry about Stacey’s departure in the way their father did, but their grief showed in other ways: they were for ever gossiping with people about how broke their mother now was, and Amanda discovered a new star, which she christened ‘Stacey is a slut’.  Ouch.

Pregnancy suited Lola, and she spent her maternity leave paiting portraits of the family and working on her second novel.

Christopher liked to join in and paint next to his mum, chatting about what they might call the new baby.  Music lover that he was, he favoured Hendrix for a boy or Madonna for a girl.  Lola said ‘we’ll see’ and smiled at her little boy, who was on the cusp of adolescence.  She hoped he’d be a good big brother.

For his birthday, Elias and Lola bought Christopher a suit.  He wasn’t entirely keen, having lived most of his life thus far in pyjamas, but he humoured them.  After all, they had baby-brain at the moment and weren’t really thinking straight.

He grew up into a rather striking young man with the desire to be a hit composer.  However, he decided now he was going to be a superstar muso, he needed a more suitable image.

Over coffee and homework, he asked the girls for advice.  Rhiannon suggested organically sourced clothing was the way to go.  Amanda was more fixated on the goth look.  Or corn-rows.  She wasn’t especially fussy.

It didn’t take Christopher too long to figure it out.  As soon as he’d got changed, he picked up a guitar and started to rehearse.  He already had a well developed musical skill from playing xylophone as a child, so was well on his way to achieving his wish.

Lianndra popped by to see how the household were managing after Stacey’s departure.  Lola was delighted that her mother was able to witness this second pregnancy of hers.  That night, she gave birth to a baby boy.  She decided to honour Christopher’s wish for a musician’s name, yet keep her and Elias’s personal preferences for a more traditional one – they named him Liam.

Liam’s birth sparked off a host of family events.  Alli and Lola became adults, but chose not to celebrate their birthday this time.  Considering their previous birthday parties had always killed someone off, they simply phoned each other to mark the day rather than hosting a party.  Kali had never been one for superstition, though, and was happy to celebrate both his aging up to elder and Carmel aging up to become a child.

Just like Christopher, she’d inherited Lianndra’s hair colouring, but her face was definitely in Stacey’s likeness.  Not that Carmel really knew Stacey.  She hadn’t seen her mother since she walked out on her as a toddler.  An artistic child, she rolled the wish to become Master of the Arts.

Amanda and Rhiannon made sure that their parties were full of all the eligible young male sims in Sunset Valley.  Neither had yet got a boyfriend and both were eager to find one.

They also fought over who’d get to babysit baby Liam.  The girls had been close all their lives, but as they grew through their teens, they started to become rivals for the attentions of all the local boys, and of their baby cousin.  There was a good reason for this.  Their family legacy was determined by the eldest child, yet in the case of twins or triplets, the first to reproduce would become the heir.  If Amanda and Rhiannon were to determine who would carry on the legacy, they needed to develop their childcare skills and bag themselves some mates…

2.4 Please release me

The family decided to throw a pool party to celebrate Christopher’s growing up.  However, Rhiannon and Amanda wanted to wait until they’d finished their homework before joining in.  Alli couldn’t believe how different their relationship was to hers and Lola’s when they were growing up.

The girls’ cousin, Chastity Ursine, was becoming a firm friend and a regular visitor.  She also has something of Jared’s look about her.  Nobody knew who her father was though, Alison was resolutely single – or at least that’s the impression that she gave.

Miranda, still a family friend, turned up – and had gotten OLD.  No wonder there didn’t seem to be anything happening with her and Alli any longer.

Christopher was very excited about his birthday – mainly because now he’d be closer in age to his cousins and would be able to pay them back for all the times they put him in dresses and drew felt-tip hair on his bald head.

He grew up looking somewhat solemn – but inherited Lianndra’s hair, with the blue and yellow tips.  He may not be an official heir, but he was now a carrier of her legacy at least in his genetics.

Of course, a Kyoti party can never pass without incident…

Everyone at the party was shocked when Stacey went into labour!  Not least Stacey herself, who hadn’t expected this.  She thought they’d been careful, but then she’d always been convinced Kali was super-fertile.

Baby Carmel arrived and was immediately dumped in the cot in the back room out of the way.  Stacey didn’t even want to acknowledge this birth had happened.

Elias snuck out of the party to play with his new niece.  He knew that even if Stacey rejected the girl, he, Lola and Kali would make sure she was loved.  Elias longed for a second child, and was just pleased to have another baby in the household.

After everyone had retired to bed, Lianndra popped in to see her new granddaughter.  She took the opportunity to work out.  Even after death, she was concerned about keeping in top shape.

The next day, newly grown-up Christopher went to school with his cousins for the first time.  Rather sweetly, they offered to look out for him and protect him from any nasty bigger kids.  They also agreed they’d do their homework together so that they could all get good grades.

Stacey had some maternity leave to take, so she left Kali to deal with the baby and took herself off to the beach.  Whilst she was there, she bumped into Jamar again.

Stacey and Jamar chatted all night, ate hot dogs together and danced.  Being with him made her feel young again.  It reminded her of a time when she was carefree and childless.  If she’d had her time again, she’d have lived a little before marrying and having children.  If only for tonight, maybe she could pretend that she wasn’t Stacey Kyoti, married mum of three, but Stacey Steel again, young, free, single and going places.

As promised, the girls helped Christopher with his homework.  Amanda was a genius, though, and quickly got fed up of waiting for the other two to catch up with her.  She could be playing chess instead of waiting for them, after all.

After they’d finished their homework, their cousin Chastity came over.  Rhiannon started talking to her about weddings.  It was Rhiannon’s dream to have a wedding and a lovely marriage, just like her mum and dad and aunt and uncle.  Chastity felt sad.  Her mummy wasn’t married, she didn’t know her daddy, and her grandad, apparently, had been a selfish git – at least according to her late granny.

With Christopher now at school, Lola was able to focus on developing her writing skills.  Not only was she growing in success as a journalist, she was now putting the finishing touches to her first novel.  Elias continued to develop his career and his musicianship.  They both wanted a second child but were aware of the tensions between Kali and Stacey and didn’t want to aggravate things.

Kali focussed his energies on Carmel, the little baby he’d been wanting for ages.  She was the apple of his eye, and he devoted all of his time to her development.

At the beach, the drinks were flowing and Stacey was getting emotional.  She leapt into Jamar’s arms and begged him to take her away from the hell that was her life.

Jamar responded that he should probably get going, as it was pretty late.  Fuming and humiliated, Stacey stormed off home and arrived back long after everyone else had gone to bed.

Kali was worried about his wife.  She’d been so distant with him and had refused to bond with Carmel at all.  He sought solace, as ever, in his music.  In order to help provide for his girls, he would play for tips in the park and by the shops, and was becoming a popular local busker.  Sometimes he took Elias along and they’d play as a double act.

Rhiannon wasn’t really aware of the problems in her parents’ marriage.  She’d grown up remarkably secure in herself, and always loved to be the centre of attention.  At her and Amanda’s birthday party, she made sure she was the first to age up.

She grew up into an impeccably gorgeous teen.

Amanda was also pretty gorgeous, although her dress sense wasn’t so crash hot.

She certainly turned Jamar’s head.  Stacey felt sick at the thought of her daughters attracting the men she wanted for herself.  Kali stared daggers at Jamar.  He might be part of the ‘family’ but that didn’t mean they would ever become friends.

Speaking of the family, this was quite a gathering.

Kali, Jamar, Roberta, Alli, Alison and Chastity were all in attendance, along with a few family friends.  Even Stacey was prepared to play ‘happy families’ for a bit.

Carmel also aged up, but Kali let this happen quietly, out of view of everyone else.  He was glad, as he didn’t think Stacey would fall in love with their youngest daughter’s bald head and scary eyebrows.  To him, though, she was perfect.

Christopher worried that he would be neglected, what with the girls growing into teens and Carmel needing lots of attention in her toddler years.  Lola reassured him that he would always be loved, and she encouraged him to develop his own skills and personality.  He couldn’t play the guitar yet (although he was a virtuoso and couldn’t wait until he was old enough), but he tried his hand at painting and insect collecting, and Amanda took him to the park to play chess and do his homework on a regular basis.

Stacey returned to work after her maternity leave was over, and she was given the opportunity to take a client out for a meal.  She went to visit his house.

It wasn’t the most attractive place she’d ever seen, but she sensed in him a desperation for love that might mean he could be her escape…

2.3 What’s goin’ on?

Amanda woke up excited.  Her Auntie Alli may have gone yesterday, but she didn’t miss her too much – she’d be back later, because today was Amanda and Rhiannon’s birthday!  Now they’d get to make the most of the walking and talking they’d learned and they’d get to go to school.  As a genius, Amanda was very excited indeed about the prospect of school – lots of lovely learning!

Learning was something Christopher was getting plenty of, too.  It had taken the adults in the house no time at all to collectively train the twins, so with just one of him to work on, they were confident he’d soon be walking, talking and pooing like someone several days older than him.

Elias rehearsed some songs to play at the party.  Kali had been helping him work on his technique [apparently there is a real subtext beween Elias and Kali I hadn’t noticed until writing this blog!] and his skills were really developing.  He was still determined to do well in the law enforcement career, as per his lifetime wish, but music was a great way of relaxing.

Amanda aged up… but got a little confused about which of the lookalike gents in the kitchen was her actual daddy.

She looked at the imposter (actually Elias’ brother, Jamar) with suspicion.

Kali eyed up the young pretender.  He wasn’t ecstatic about having a rival.

Jamar reeled as Kali punched him in the gob.  No-one else noticed though, as they were busy watching Rhiannon grow up.  Even the elderly Miraj Alvi, a man Alli had unsuccessfully tried to come onto at a party when she was just a teen, turned up for the occasion.

Rhiannon aged up, looking very similar to her sister, hair colour aside, and immediately started thinking about cooking, just like her dad and grandad.

The girls immediately took pride in their status as the elder children and started bossing Christopher about in the guise of ‘playing’ with him.

Kali and Stacey retired for the night.  The girls’ birthday had been an emotional time for both of them and had stirred up a lot of emotions.  Seeing Jamar French had reminded both of them of their youth.  Kali felt insecure that he wasn’t that young.  Stacey was reminded of the young Kali she’d fallen in love with.  For the first time in months, they shared an intimate evening.

Amanda rolled a lifetime wish to be a creature-robot cross-breeder and got onto working on that wish straight away.  She regularly invited her aunt Roberta over to play chess.  This had several benefits.  Firstly, because Roberta’s chess skills were excellent, Amanda learned very quickly.  Secondly, Roberta’s life of crime made her excellent interview material for Lola, who then got promoted, and thirdly, if Roberta was busy playing chess, she wasn’t out beating people up, which was good for Sunset Valley as a whole.

Stacey, meanwhile, withdrew even more from the family and spent all her time chatting to men online [seriously.  She did this of her own accord with no prompting from me].

Stacey wasn’t impressed with Elias’s attempts at cooking.  Those waffles he made for breakfast had disagreed with her violently.  She decided to go and eat out instead.

On the way home, she popped into the library, where she bumped into an attractive young man.  They got talking, but she was offended when he asked her when she was ‘due’.  She’d always been exceptionally slim, how dare he insinuate she’d put on weight?

2.2 Here we go again

As Lola was putting Rhiannon to bed one evening, she told her a secret: another baby Kyoti was on the way: a cousin for Amanda and Rhiannon.  Lola and Elias were so excited about their new arrival but hadn’t told the others yet.  They weren’t sure how they’d all react.  Kali would be pleased, but they knew he wanted more children and Stacey didn’t, so it might also upset him.  Stacey would surely not be happy that there were yet more sleepless nights on the way.  As for Alli, they hoped she would be happy, but they knew things weren’t going too well for her with Miranda, and they didn’t want to rub her face in things.

It soon became difficult to hide the news though, particularly when the rest of the town got to hear about it.  Lola was a journalist, trying to become a Star News Anchor, so her face was pretty familar with the locals whom she interviewed on a regular basis.  She personally took to going round telling people she was going on maternity leave, but would be back with them soon.

With eight people living in the house, birthdays were a frequent occurence and there was nearly always cake in the house.  Kali’s cooking skills hadn’t advanced much recently.  Elias took advantage of this lull to grab a plate of cake and ask Kali about parenting books… whilst playing footsie with him…

Even though they thought they were prepared, when Lola’s waters broke and she got up to go to the hospital, Elias started to panic.

Baby Christopher arrived with very little fuss, though, and the rest of the family soon took to him as they had to the girls.

Kali was besotted with his new nephew, although it didn’t take away his desire to have more children.  Stacey, though, was adamant she didn’t want any more babies around.  She’d been very busy at work lately and hadn’t been coming home until very late.  The girls were starting to notice, and beginning to miss their mum.  Kali tried to comfort them as best as he could.

Stacey had troubles the rest of the family weren’t aware of, though.  She would leave work and her old friend the Grim Reaper would turn up to see her, killing off her colleagues in the process.

To add to this, her sister Roberta was causing all kinds of trouble, getting into fights and becoming someone the rest of the neighbourhood were slightly afraid of.

She did try to fit in with family life, though, even agreeing to have a joint birthday party with Christopher.

Christopher turned out to be a bald toddler, but no-one seemed to mind too much, not least his Aunt Alison, who went straight for the cake.

Party fever gripped Miranda and Alli.  Miranda finally agreed to stay the night, but explained she didn’t usually want to because she didn’t like the noise of all the children.

She did, however, finally woo-hoo with Alli…

…but left before Alli awoke.

As if sensing something was wrong, Lianndra visited the house for the first time after her death.  She met her grandson, who seemed remarkably unfazed.  She urged Alli not to waste her life waiting for someone who wouldn’t commit to her.  Alli needed to stand on her own two feet now.

Alli knew her mother was right.  Miranda had been flirting with her for a long time yet had never committed to being her girlfriend.  She would be waiting the rest of her life if she waited for Miranda to ask her to move in.  The house was becoming crowded, and she knew Kali was desperate for more children, and she suspected Lola and Elias would want more soon, as well.

It wasn’t an easy decision to leave her nieces and nephew, her brother and sister, especially as she and Lola were closer now than they were growing up.  But it was time for Alli to go and make a life for herself…

2.1 Daddy’s home

There was something heartbreaking about seeing Lianndra and Jared’s bed empty.

Kali knew he couldn’t mourn his mother for ever, though.  He was now responsible for the Kyoti family name.  It was his duty to care for the house, tend the garden and raise his daughters Amanda and Rhiannon well so that one day one of them would carry on as the new heir.

Sad as he was, he had to get on with life, and there was the little matter of the twins’ birthday to attend to.  He hoped they wouldn’t be too affected by the grief the fmaily was experiencing.  (He also hoped that with Lianndra passing away the night before, the twins would be spared his sisters’ usual experience of seeing death on their birthday).

He brought Amanda to the cake first.  He’d hoped to share this moment with the rest of the family, but they were all busy at work.  Alli had chosen not to take a career, but to live on the royalties from his guitar playing and gardening, and his part-time wage at the spa.  Stacey was missing her daughters’ first birthdays too.  Kali was secretly really cut up about this, but she’d just started back at work and was so eager to get on with things.

Amanda aged up to look just like her auntie Lola, but with darker hair.  She rolled the genius and good traits.

Alli got home in time to see Rhiannon grow up to become almost a clone of her infant self.  Rhiannon rolled good sense of humour and excitable.

Lola and Elias came home and were so excited to see the way their nieces had grown up.  They were eager to involve themselves in childcare.  Lola remembered how involved Kali had been in their upbringing and she wanted to make sure she repaid the favour.  Of course, this wasn’t the only reason they were so involved.  Stacey had been very distant since the girls were born, very rarely being the one to attend to their feeding or changing.  They didn’t want the girls to grow up feeling that distance from their family.

Lola and Elias loved playing with the girls, potty training them, feeding them and helping them to walk and talk.

Lola told Amanda that one day she hoped to go to her niece’s wedding, and if Elias had passed on by then, she hoped Amanda would throw the bouqet her way.

Elias and Lola got chatting.  They figured they were already pretty good parent figures to Amanda and Rhiannon, so maybe it was time to start to try for a baby of their own as well.  They could raise the child alongside its cousins.  With their family around them, the child would surely grow up well (and of course, they could stay in this nice house rather than scrimp and save for something rather small).

It may have been happy families where the rest of them were concerned, but Stacey was finding raising young children increasingly frustrating.  She hated the potty training and the messes that came along with it.

She was being driven slightly mad by the way they would wake up in the night demanding food or attention.  Stacey began to think this was all a case of too much, too young.

1.7 You raise me up

Alone, miserable and tired, Stacey gave birth to baby Amanda

… and her twin, Rhiannon.

Stacey rang Kali and begged him to come home.  The whole family came running.  Lianndra couldn’t wait to meet her grandchildren.

It truly was the happiest day of her life.

Of course, eight people in a family poses some problems, and newlyweds Elias and Lola still had to share a room with Alli, whilst the gym had to double as a nursery.

The newlyweds didn’t get to consummate their marriage that night, and had to sneak into Lianndra’s room the next day whilst she was changing the babies’ nappies in order to finally get some alone time.

Alli and Lianndra spent some time looking after Amanda and Rhiannon and sent Kali and Stacey off to have some time together as a couple.  They knew such moments were precious when you had young children, so they helped out where they could to ease the burden.

Kali was so excited by having twins that he tried to persuade Stacey they should have some more.  Stacey wasn’t impressed by this suggestion.  She had found the birth quite traumatic, was exhausted from the babies crying in the night, missed work and just wanted to get some sleep.

Alli made herself useful around the house, minding her nieces and doing bits of housework, but she knew it was time to move on.  She invited Miranda over several times a week.  She wanted nothing more than to get together with her and set up a home of their own, yet Miranda was so far proving elusive.

Finally, with the help of a few massages, Miranda succumbed to Alli’s charms, and they kissed.

Lianndra maxed out her gardening and art skills, helped play with the babies and spent time gardening, painting and running on the treadmill.  Although she’d lost Jared and all of her close friends, she had seen two of her children marry, the third at least find some level of romance, and two granchildren born.  On her 99th birthday, whilst she was painting, Lianndra finally passed away.

It had been a good life, a full life and a happy one.  Now it was time for Kali and his daughters to see what they could do to ensure the Kyoti legacy was a long and fruitful one.

1.6 Everything changes

Kali (lucky, bookworm, friendly, clumsy, ambitious – with the wish to live in the lap of luxury) and his new wife Stacey (good, hot-headed, can’t stand art, ambitious, friendly – wishes to be the leader of the free world) discussed Kali’s role as the heir to the Kyoti legacy.  They hoped their child would continue this legacy, but not feel it to be a heavy burden.

All and Lola were pleased to have a new sister-in-law and both were doing well at school – but they wanted to develop their own friendships and relationships.  They hoped, like Kali, they’d be able to meet someone to love whilst they were still young.

Both girls attracted a far it of attention, but Alli wasn’t too impressed at being hit on by a boy who looked just like her big brother.

Lola started to date Molly’s grandson, Elias French.  She knew Molly and Jared would love the idea of their families connecting.

The children endeavoured to honour their parents by developing skills.  Kali took to cooking, fishing and gardening; Alli to fishing and handiness, and Lola to cooking and painting.

Lianndra, meanwhile, was a little down.  She missed Jared, missed her sporting career, and had seen several of her friends pass away lately.  Stacey decided to cheer her up by announcing the news that she and Kali were going to become parents – Lianndra’s legacy was assured for a third generation.

The twins soon became young adults, and although Lola had found love with Elias, romance still eluded Alli.  She did have a very good friend in Miranda Chamberlain though.  Miranda came to all their parties, and when Alli aged up, Miranda was the first to celebrate.

Alli blew out the candles and secretly wished that this time she’d be the more attractive twin.

Neither girl was amused to grow up looking the same and wearing the world’s ugliest dresses.  The rest of the party, however, were.

Of course, the twins’ birthdays had always been characterised by one element, and this one was no exception…

As the girls blew out the candles, Lianndra’s friend Martha passed away.

Stacey got chatting to the Grim Reaper.  She figured that he was going to be a regular guest at family gatherings, so they might as well become friendly.

The next day, Elias popped round to visit Lola.  She made sure she’d changed out of that dreadful dress and sorted out her hair.  She was pleased to see he’d aged up as well overnight.  He told her she was the prettier twin, which she was also very pleased to hear.

Alli, meanwhile, invited Miranda over all the time.  She was growing increasingly fond of her friend… in fact, she thought she might be falling a little in love with her.  Miranda would always stay and chat for a while, but then run off.  Alli didn’t understand it.

Lola was desperate to outshine her sister, so she proposed to Elias.

He accepted and was bowled over by the rock she’d bought him.

Stacey wasn’t enjoying maternity leave very much.  All this time away from work was making her a bit stir crazy, so she spent most of it upgrading objects around the home.

The next day, the whole family went to the beach for the wedding.  It was the first public wedding any of them had attended so they were all very excited.  They wished Jared could come, but they invited his daughter Alison along with all of their friends from the town.

Alli bitched about being there.  Although deep down she did love Lola, she was so frustrated at being second best that it was making her bitter.

Lianndra lost patience with her daughter.  She told Alli she should be happy that her twin had found someone to share her life with and to grow up and stop comparing herself to Lola.

Everyone dressed up for the occasion – except Elias, who seemed to own nothing apart from those scruffy dungarees and that grotty grey sweatshirt.

As the couple exchanged vows, Miranda decided to go and cheer Alli up….but one family member had disappeared…

Yes, the Kyoti family rule of never having one big life event when two will do was coming into effect.  Stacey ran home to give birth.