There are obviously Sirio and Toq, and also Venus, Steve and Halley (who always invites her best friend Sophia as well). Then there are also Antaan, Edward and Florian, who at this point we consider as family friends. But the person who surprised us the most by accepting the invitation was…
Toq: Welcome, Arizhel.
Arizhel: … It is in these moments that I realize how much time has passed since we last talked in earnest. When you talk like that I hardly recognize you, you know Toq?
Toq: You always sound the same, instead.
Cassy: C'mon, I don't want to hear any serious talk today!
Arizhel: I have to thank you for the invitation, the atmosphere here is undoubtedly warmer than on Sixam.
Cassy: Don't worry, you can come whenever you want!
Arizhel: I see.
Arizhel told us she'd just returned from Sixam last night. She seems to have found absolutely any error in our update to her simulations, and now she too seems convinced that, after all, it is still worth spending her energies trying to save the Earth, before looking for another planet to colonize.
Cassy: By chance, do know how to play chess?
Arizhel: Edward taught me the rules a few years ago. It was quite intellectually challenging for being a board game.
I think we could even get along after all, who would have ever guessed it?
We really had a fun day, just chatting, telling stories and having good food. Or maybe we are really just getting older, so it is probably normal that we seek for peace and serenity in our life.
For the kids, who are still in the midst of their teenage instead, the exact opposite is often true. I get the impression that their diaries are now much more interesting than you are, isn't it so my dear diary?
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From Sirio's diary
Sirio: I had so much food, I might explode...
Florian: Yeah, same.
All that food slowed down our reasoning, yet there were a few things we really couldn't ignore for any longer.
Florian: If you have any questions, just ask.
Sirio: I don’t want to intrude, but... Yes, actually I'm quite curious.
Sirio: So, how are you doing at home now that Arizhel is back?
Florian: Bah, hard to tell... She barely had the time to pass from home, before coming over to your place.
Sirio: Oh, I'm sorry about that...
Florian: Don't worry, it was actually a quite good distraction. We all have quite a lot to think about.
Sirio: ...
I had noticed something seemed a bit off among them earlier that day, but I cannot say I know what's normal to them and so I wasn't sure about what to think. Florian, on the other hand, was quite easy to read at that moment: he was really unsure about the future.
Florian: Actually, I'm not sure about what my parents will decide to do now. I mean, whether they will decide to keep living together or not.
Sirio: I'm... I'm sorry to hear that.
He probably perceived a lot of contrasting emotions from me at that point, because he hurried up to explain further what he meant.
Florian: I know it's confusing, and it's also hard to explain... But try to think about it: dad really should forgive her a lot of things in order to make things return back to how they were. And so should I. I mean, we understand that for her what she did was quite normal, yet for us it really wasn't normal to have our memories wiped and see her leaving, we would have much preferred to just sit down and talk instead. We really have a few points to clarify with her, that's for sure.
Sirio: I understand. Sort of.
It was really confusing, actually. He had a lot of reasons to be mad, disappointed, sad... Yet, among all that mess, I could also perceive... hope from him?
Florian: Don't make that face, even if this sounds like a mess it's still better than how we were doing a few weeks ago! I retrieved a lot of nice memories, and at least Arizhel now is on my same planet and I can spend time with her anytime I want to. I think we'll manage to sort things out somehow, this time.
Sirio: I see. Also, I really wish you to find the best solution for you all. I mean, your situation has been messy enough already, you would really deserve it.
Florian: Thanks.
I really meant it, and he knows it. Also, I swear I will never complain about my family being a complete mess ever again...
Glad to see Arizhel made it to Winterfest -- seems like the perfect holiday for a homecoming and I hope she's able to work things out with her family, even though it would be understandable if they had a hard time forgiving her. I look forward to reading more of Sirio's perspective, but I really love how you tied everything the game gave you (Arizhel's surprise family, etc.) together in this generation to make a fun and interesting story/plot. It's super well done.
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot for this and the previous comments! Gen 5 is probably the most sci-fi after Gen 1, I had a lot of fun writing it! (Even if my job makes me a bit conflicted about all the very creative scientific explanations to impossible events...)
DeleteThis was also a funny generation full of weird characters (and unexpected in-game surprises!), it was interesting to match all those pieces together as a bit puzzle!
With Sirio the plot will change quite a lot, I hope you'll enjoy it as well!