The Spifftastic Legacy Chapter 8, Part 2

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What you folks call ‘Borked’.

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Once upon a time, there was a cliffhanger. Naturally people expected that the cliffhanger would be resolved next chapter. But then there was a new arrival to the legacy… that changed everything.

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It was a huge virus. The Spiff’s attempts at defending themselves were fruitless! The monster virus ate them all. Then he burped. Then I had to load the sims back on… EEK!! BLAHHH! I HAVE COME TO EAT YOUR PIXEL CREATIONS!

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And I stayed up quite late for a couple of nights, trying to make everybody again. (Just fyi, Beaux got an internship in Belladonna Cove, and Lotus moved to Romania. Well you couldn’t have expected a spotless recovery… did you?) For example, here is Boots. Mhm, mhm… yes, I believe, personality-wise, that he is the same as ever. But I forgot to turn Picture Quality to ‘high’ for a bit, so bear with me.

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My biggest triumph was that I somehow managed to get Fern, who you may remember as being my favourite sim of all time, to look almost exactly like she did before. I don’t know how, but I am quite delighted. I gave her and her husband Brian– formerly of llama-mascot status– a stylish new home, one that came with Ikea Stuff (a fantastic SP by the way).

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And after a couple of false starts, I also rebuilt the house, and I’m quite pleased with how it turned out. It’s almost better than it was before! Note Boots out the front, complaining already. Awesome. Now I think a recap is in order, don’t you? (Hell, I need a recap. I had to read the latest chapter of my own legacy 3 times in order to remember everything that happened.)

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Rowena learnt that Egypt was living in Pleasantview, but was not able to call her, and nobody has seen or heard from her since. Aerie died, and it was decided that the cowplant (that Clare left Tess upon her death) should be used to eat Joe, such was the threat he posed to the family. The first two children of Gen. 4 were born: Caspian and Echo. Tess got struck by lightning. THE RECAP! <--- I hate that font so I don’t know why I chose it. Now, on with the story.

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“I’m glad we were saved from the big monster thing. That was a close one!” Caspian proclaimed dramatically, twisting around slightly to see if his mother was laughing. She was. “I am too, Casp. I’m so glad I still have Echo, and your father. And you, of course! What would I do without my clever blonde-haired little boy?” “Big boy,” Caspian corrected her. “Ok, big boy.” They smiled.

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“Hello, Ermyntrude. How’s baby Echo doing?” Clarence exclaimed brightly, strolling into his granddaughter’s bedroom. “Ermyntrude? Who’s that, the wall?” “Isn’t that your name, dear?” Rowena sighed. “Echo is doing fine, Clarence, but my name is Rowena, for heavens’ sake!” “…Oh.” Clarence looked sheepish. “Exactly like my mother,” Rowena muttered, rolling her eyes fondly.

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It was another day back at school for Caspian. He didn’t worry about school anymore. Lots of people liked him there. And best of all, they had a new bus driver! (The old one having been fired on suspicion of inappropriate acts towards minors.)

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Boots and Claudia, meanwhile, were still as much in love as ever. But something was changing between them. Between Caspian, Echo, and her aging parent-in-law, Claudia was a constantly busy woman. She didn’t have the time anymore to apply all the extravagant makeup that had seemed so important to her in her youth; being a mother was more important than an old fashion statement, she told herself.

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She had also driven all the way to Strangetown to visit the nearest opthalmologist, who had prescribed her reading glasses– her eyesight was not so good as it once was, and she squinted without them. Boots wasn’t sure what to think, but he knew he wouldn’t be caught dead without his eyeliner. It was like a part of him, he thought fondly.

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He made a point of never bringing up Claudia's change in style, but he would shower her with compliments whenever he noticed she was wearing makeup. Harsh though it may seem, he liked her better that way. And when he was the only one wearing heavy makeup, he felt lonely– like the black sheep of the family. He couldn’t help feeling a little deserted.

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Soon we came to another birthday– baby Echo’s. The picture on the left is your typical ooh-isn’t-the-baby-cute picture. The one on the right is the general view towards life at the moment. Ah well. That’s ok.

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Eeee! Gads! Purple hair! Ok, it’s cute that she automatically acquired the same hair as her mum, but I draw the line at purple hair being genetically inherited. Sorry, little dude. To the mirror for you:

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Ahh, that’s much better. I think she’s cute. Sullen, but cute. “I think she might be tired. Let’s get you to bed, eh Echo?”

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“Would you like me to cut a piece of cake for you, Ermyntrude dear?” “Surely you must realise by now that my name is not Ermyntrude!” Clarence pondered this. “No, you are quite right. It must be my great-grandmother I am thinking of.” He wandered past Rowena, avoiding her eyes. “Am I that old?” Rowena murmured vaguely.

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Echo turned out to be to a temperamental, often bad-tempered child. Her little set of building blocks quickly became her biggest fascination and biggest enemy. When she couldn’t figure out how the toy worked, she was prone to throwing tantrums (and building blocks), or just hunching over and sobbing for a bit until she felt better.

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On the other hand, she could often be see munching on the bricks happily, as if they had never done her an injustice in the world.

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Echo was often a bit shy with strangers, but she took a great liking to Fern. Fern thought she was wonderful. Echo somehow led her to entertain the possibility of having a child of her own.

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And, one day, Fern popped! I was excited and decked the spare room out in pink furniture– I was sure it was going to be a girl, see. She was a bit nervous at the responsibility, but she knew that Brian would make a great father.

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Then she had the kid!

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Brian came just in time and enthusiastically voiced his adoration for both mother and baby. Primarily because I had been so sure it was going to be a girl, Fern and Brian’s first child turned out to be… a son. Of course. I called him October, and he’s just going to have to live with his pink-bedecked room for the time being.

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Caspian was quite a busy boy. His likeable personality (possibly helped by his good looks) had quickly turned him into quite the Mr. Popularity at his school. He had friends over as often as his mum would allow– and her only condition was that he had to have all his homework done by bedtime, so he made sure he could at least squeeze it in.

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Echo also had a great fondness for Caspian, and spent lots of time following him around the house and trying to get him to play dolls with her– usually when Caspian was trying desperately to complete his homework. He tried to let her down nicely: “I’m sorry, Echo, but I can’t play with you ‘cuz I have to do my homework. And if I don’t then I can’t have my friends over. Ever. And they’re more important than—” he stopped; he had been about to say ‘you’. What a horrible thing to say to his little sister, who he loved! She smiled and blinked innocently at him, uncomprehending.

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Caspian sighed and scruffled his sister’s hair a little. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean they were more important than you. You’re my sister, and I think you’re very important. And I’ll play with you right after I’ve finished my homework, alright?” Though he wasn’t sure he had the time. “Eeeee!” Echo squealed, sublimely happy with this result.

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This is one of the, erm, shall we say… more embarrassing sides of being popular. It’s fuzzy, but since it is Marsha, it is probably better off that way.

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But life couldn’t stay normal for long, at least not as far as the Spiffs were involved. It was a seemingly normal night, fairly late, and Caspian and Echo were both fast asleep. Rowena and Clarence were discussing Fern and Brian’s son October, when Clarence was alerted by the sound of a car pulling up at the curb. It was a taxi. “Hey, see the taxi out there? Who’d come to our house at this time of night?” he murmured to Rowena, his mind jumping automatically to the worst. They both looked at each other and almost ran to the window.

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They watched, and it soon became clear that the figure emerging from the vehicle did not look particularly dangerous– nor was it even a man. Rowena edged out from behind the curtain, and as the woman moved closer to the front door, looking around at the black night, Rowena knew exactly who she was. “Clarence– it’s Egypt!” she exclaimed. The brown-haired girl stopped halfway to the house, as if bracing for something. She appeared not to have noticed Rowena and Clarence staring at her. And before anyone knew it, the doorbell rang.

...… : 

...…

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“Egypt, what’s happened to you?” Rowena asked her daughter gently. They were all seated in the dining room. “You look terrible.” She did look tired– there were huge bags beneath her eyes, and her skin had taken on a greyish tinge. Her hair hung limply in clumps.

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Egypt sighed. She didn’t want to think about the past year, but she knew she had to tell. “I moved to Pleasantview, like I said. I thought it was going to be the answer to everything. I needed to get out of the desert. I thought that a big city was what I needed.” She shook her head. “I was so cocky, I thought I knew everything about living in the real world. That I didn’t need anybody’s help.” Her voice was bitter with regret.

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“Pleasantview was the opposite of what I expected. Of course I wanted to be glamorous now that I was out of Dyspaire, but I couldn’t afford that. I had to live in the cheapest, seediest apartment in the most derelict corner of town. It was awful. “And of course, there were no jobs in the city, so I never had any money to speak of. And the men…” she shuddered. “I don’t even want to talk about them.” “Why didn’t you ask us for help?” Rowena cried. “I was too proud, at least at first. I was so stupid. Besides, a phone was one of the first luxuries I had to give up. You have to understand that my first priority was getting enough food into me every day. I’m so sorry.”

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“Oh, Egypt, don’t apologise,” Rowena sighed. “You were foolish, but we understand that keeping in contact with us was the least of your worries. If only you’d just told us what was going on, before it got too late!” But Boots thought he knew why Egypt had done what she’d done. She had been pushed to the very bottom all through high school. She’d been tortured; her pride was all she had left. Had he contributed to that? He pushed the guilty thought away.

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“But you’re back now,” Clarence said. “And you’re welcome to stay here as long as you’d like. Get your… get your life back together.” “Thank you, Dad,” replied Egypt. “I’ll keep my senses about me this time.” Forget about the past and all your sorrows,The future won't last,It will soon be over tomorrow.I don't ask for much, I only want your trust,And you know it don't come easy. –Ringo Starr, ‘It Don’t Come Easy’.

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So it was that Egypt settled into the legacy lot for the second time in her life. She agreed to a haircut, but for some reason she refused to give up her faded grey dress. Claudia was glad to see her old friend again, and made a great effort to make her feel at home. But it was hard to talk to Egypt; it was as if something had gone wrong inside her, making her blank and hollow. She was not the same Egypt Claudia had partied with at college. Claudia thought she kind of knew how Egypt felt; she was feeling extremely tired lately, too. She figured time would fix them both.

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It killed Rowena to see the empty shell of her daughter. She realised that returning to her old home wasn’t doing Egypt’s self-esteem any good. She needed to be with a man she loved. Caleb? “Egypt, honey?” she began timidly. “Do you have a moment?” Egypt was staring out into space, head in her hands; into nothing.

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“Sure,” Egypt gave her head a quick shake, dislodging the thoughts that had been manically flitting around it. “I was just wondering… did you want to see Caleb again sometime? I can call him for you, if you’d like.” Egypt gave a small gulp. No, honestly, she didn’t want to see Caleb again. But then again, what other choice did she have? She couldn’t be alone forever, and her family were obviously already tired of her being around. She turned to Rowena and managed a shaky smile. “Yeah. I guess I should.”

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And so a taxi came to pick Egypt up, taking her away to her old boyfriend. Boots rushed out to say goodbye. He doubted she would come back. He had been avoiding her. He didn’t like to admit it, but he had. Seeing his sister acting like this scared him a little. It made him realise that life wasn’t always on your side. And of course, he felt guiltier than ever.

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Soon came Echo’s birthday, and I was too lazy (again) to throw a proper party (since I haven’t got everyone in the ‘hood phones yet– not that Echo minded too much), but Fern’s husband Brian came along as a walk-by and we invited him in. So that all turned out ok, though you can’t see him in this picture.

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“FffFfFFFfffFF.” Well obviously Caspian, for one, is already bored with this happy-families state of affairs. I’d better get on with it. YES, GET ON WITH IT! Oh, I am enjoying this scene.

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Shame it’s a terrible photo, since she’s really cute. And she is embracing her darker side, I see.

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One night Claudia realised just why she had been feeling so tired lately. She ran upstairs to tell Boots. “Boots! I have some great news!” “Whassamatter.” “I’m pregnant again!” “Mmmph... sleepy... ”

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Random interludey picture! Caspian = Cute AND Smart! Isn’t it refreshing to know my writing has not improved one jot over my two-month break.

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Then, after several uneventful days had passed (for what other kinds of days are there, in a legacy) the house was suddenly filled with shrieking and wailing. You’ll notice the only person it failed to wake was Boots, but everyone else sure heard and luckily Brian was there, again, to step in. Ok, Brian, I like you but this ubiquitousness has got to stop!

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“My suffocating dreams were driven jarringly, shudderingly to a halt by the sound of wailing and horrible, banshee-like screeches. I really must stop drinking so much coffee.” No, you silly mop top. Claudia has just given birth to your third child, that’s all. “Yes Boots, thanks for the support.” “I can never win...” *sigh*

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Nevertheless Boots managed to drag himself out of bed. “It’s a girl,” Claudia told him. “Isn’t she a cute one,” Boots said, forgetting all about his disturbing/emotastic dreams. “But what should we call her?” They hadn’t thought much about this; Egypt’s sudden arrival had driven much else out of their minds. At that moment there was the sound of thundering footsteps coming up the corridor.

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Rowena and Clarence burst into the room, panting considerably and clutching various aching joints. “We came as soon as we could!” gasped Rowena. “We heard shrieking and the sound of a disgruntled emo being woken up! Is everything all right?” “Oh, yes,” replied Boots, looking happier than he had in days. “It’s a girl.” “Ah! Another young ‘un, I see,” said Clarence, spotting the baby from across the room. “I was wondering why my wife was hurtling around the house like that. What are you going to call her?” “We’re not sure.” “How about Ermyntrude? A perfectly nice name.” “Oh, that is a very nice name. What do you think, Boots?” And so it was: the third child of Generation 4 was to be named Ermyntrude. Rowena fought the urge to smack her head into the nearest available surface. I am deeply sorry for this picture quality. I know, it hurts mine eyes too.

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Then everyone left to go and have (more) coffee, leaving Claudia alone with her baby. “I love you already, Ermie. But I think you’re going to have to be my last child, at least for a while– you sure did tire me out!” she kissed the top of her bald head.

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“Bam! Bam! I got you this time, Sergeant... er... Sergeant Pepper-pot!” “Ack! Noooo!”

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“What is going on in here, kids?” Caspian giggled. “We woke up when we heard the wailing, and the sound of an unhappy emo being woken up, but Grandma came by and told us not to worry...” “...So we were playing Cops and Robbers...” “...And I died!” Caspian finished with a grin. Boots rolled his eyes good naturedly. “You kids. Well, I have some good news for you. You have a new baby sister!” “Really? Wow!” “Can we get a cat next?” asked Echo.

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Peridot had recently taken to spending her nights outside with the cowplant. She felt a sort of necessity to guard it. She knew that Joe was going to come for her, like he had come for Aerie. And she knew she was going to have to kill him. Somehow. Meanwhile...

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It turned out to be quite a mild night, the night he came. She knew he was there even before she saw him.

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Joe Carr waded across the thin stream of water that seperated the house from the cowplant. The wind rustled the trees, but Peridot didn’t feel cold. She stood up and looked him up and down. He had chiseled cheekbones and smooth dark skin. His bright blue eyes were gleaming.

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He reached Peridot. Nobody spoke. “I’ve been waiting to see you,” Joe said quietly. It didn’t really sound like a threat. “Why didn’t you come sooner?” “Just biding my time.” Peridot shook her head. “You killed my mum,” she spat. “Why did you kill her?” “I realised too late... Aerie... wasn’t what I wanted.” “Then what do you want?” Joe sighed. “I don’t know what I want, Peri dear. I’m just a lonely old man...” Peridot gave a derisive snort. “Don’t give me that. You expect me to believe that? You’re a murderer, that’s what! And I want an explanation. Before I kill you.” She tried to end confidently, but her voice shook.

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“Going to kill me, Peridot?” Joe sneered. “How touching.” Peridot’s glare was hard as rock. “Well, I suppose I do owe you an explanation... I came after Aerie because she humiliated me, in another time... far before you would remember. She owed me. You know how they say, the thrill is in the chase? I chased her, and indeed it was thrilling. Once I’d caught her, the thrill was gone. I disposed of her. And good riddance– now, she owes me nothing.” The nasty sneer was back on Joe’s face. Peridot looked at him. She couldn’t tell what was going on in his mind. He was deranged, yes, but how far would he go in his revenge? Was his exacting of revenge already complete? Was Joe really as dangerous as they’d all thought? “You know what, Joe?” Peridot said softly, “You are just a lonely old man. And I think it’s time for you to die.”

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Okay, that’s all for this chapter. MASSIVE anticlimax, I know. And I’m really sorry about that. My excuse is that the computer’s acting up again and won’t let me play for more than 10 minutes before coming up with weird error messages that scare me a little. I don’t want to lose this computer again because it may be the last time. So I’ve decided to cut this legacy short; I’ll finish at 5 generations instead of 10. I’m really sorry about this, but in the long run, having a computer that functions is more important than having a legacy that functions. Thanks so much for reading. Sorry about the wait. See you next time :)