From Gaia's diary
I was a little upset when Matt decided to leave in such a dramatic way, but in the end I can say that I recovered rather quickly. Among the work, friends, and trips to the mountains, my days are very full, and overall I feel satisfied of my life.
Gaia: Hey Pixel, did you find something?
Pixel: Wof!
Gaia: Thanks, it looks like a present! As soon as we get home, anyway, I must give you a bath...
Pixel: Woof?
The more weeks that pass the less garbage we find around, isn't it fantastic my dear diary?
All the projects and neighbourhood plans we have invested so much time and energy in are finally showing some preliminary results, and all of Evergreen Harbor is slowly changing its facade.
Here at the old mine, the old dump was recently turned into a community garden for the locals, they can cultivate whatever they want here. I designed this structure too, and I am very satisfied with the final result!
Gaia: It's beautiful, right Tommy?
Thomas: I don't understand much about plants, but it's very nice. I guess.
Tommy seemed strangely distracted, but it didn't take me long to identify the cause. Apparently, the famous girl he met at the Comicon (by the way, now I also managed to find out her name is Valentina), lives in that neighbourhood and, like us, she was wandering around the new building with curiosity.
Needless to say, a little later I bumped into them by chance while they were talking at the small table I put upstairs. I hoped people would use it to get to know each other, and you see, my dear diary? It's working already!
Gaia: Hey Tommy, I'm done here, I'm about to go back h— Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt anything!
Valentina: Are you, by chance, his famous chatty colleague? Gaia, isn't it?
Gaia: I guess so.
Shee looked at me for a few seconds, and while I was leaving she shrugged to go back focusing on Tommy.
C'mon, Tommy, don't waste your time talking about work, it's clear she's into you! He's so frustrating sometimes...
So I got on my bike and enjoyed the ride home. Until not long ago I had to slalom through the pieces of garbage, but now it's a whole different story!
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I have also recently started reading novels again, as I child I used to do it almost everyday and I didn't realise how much I missed it until I picked up a book again. The opportunity to start again was the publication of the sequel to the series that I used to love, I have read those books so many times that I could still repeat them by heart!
The characters and the setting are still there, yet I'm a bit puzzled, I have the impression something is different... I thought about it quite a bit, without being able to find any substantial difference with the previous books. What if I'm the one who changed, instead?
According to books like these, it's always trivial to solve the hardest problems and find loyal friends, not to mention the love stories that inexorably end with the usual "happily ever after". Why does no one ever talk about what the "ever after" is about, though?
I'm finally starting to realize that the spells and the magic school weren't the only fantastic and unlikely elements of these novels, maybe I should change literary genre and pass to something more realistic...
Gaia: C'mon Pixel, there's no need to make that face, let's go out!
As you can see, my dear diary, it is now late autumn, the leaves are falling and the temperature is also dropping quickly. Actually, Harvestfest it's just a few days away, and I decided to invite my parents over. This is a holiday to be celebrated with family, after all.
Gaia: What do you think, Nacho, does it look tasty?
Nacho: Mhhhh….
Gaia: I know you would prefer a real turkey, but even you know that mom wouldn't eat it!
Ignoring Nacho's disappointment, I finished cooking the tofu turkey and prepared to welcome my parents.
Gaia: Hi! How are you, is everything okay?
Rowan: We are in the middle of the monsoon season in Sulani, I don't think I've ever slept so much in my life...
Juno: Yes, me neither. But tell us about yourself instead, I'm sure you aren't staying still for a moment!
Both mum and dad seemed cheerful, but I know they now have many aches and health problems. Considering their age, I shouldn't be surprised, but I can't help but worry about them. On the other hand, however, my parents seemed to have every intention of having a carefree Harvestfest together, and so we immediately put aside the serious matters.
So I started talking about the latest news. Mom and dad looked surprised when I told them I was single again, but underneath they were quite clearly relieved too.
Juno: Don't worry, darling, this time it didn't work out, but sooner or later you too will find the right one.
Gaia: (sceptical) If you say so...
Juno: You're a splendid person, why are you so insecure now?
The conversation was taking quite a weird turn, but I went along with it. I just wanted to vent a bit, probably.
Gaia: That's not the point, it's more like, how to say... I think that I'm enjoying being on my own with Nacho and Pixel, making my choices alone and so on. Thinking about a hypothetical person, and spending all our life together... No, I cannot really picture myself in such an arrangement, you know?
At that point, mom suggested dad to move to the sofa and check the TV satellite connection. We all knew it was just an excuse to talk a bit alone with me, but no one protested. Actually, even for me it's easier to talk about these topics with her than with dad.
Gaia: You and dad are always stuck to each other, how do you always get along? I don't think I could ever do the same!
Juno: (amused) Oh, believe me, we don't always agree. But after all this time we have learned how to find common ground.
Gaia: So you too have to compromise, essentially.
Juno: I fear it is inevitable, within certain limits.
Gaia: Uhm...
Juno: C'mon, you don't need to decide about your life today, right? I'm happy to hear that you're satisfied with your independence now, but maybe later you'll change your mind, or maybe you'll decide something even different. And that's okay, really. There is no need to exclude any road now, anything could happen!
Gaia: (thoughtfully) Yes, you're probably right.
Juno: Changing the subject, would you like to join your dad in the living room now? He would also really like to talk to you a little, but you know that he just can't handle these conversations.
Gaia: Yes, I noticed it… But has he always been like this?
Juno: When we met he would shy away from these topics even more, to be honest.
Gaia: What? But then how did you manage to…
Juno: (amused) Are you sure you want to know the details?
Gaia: No, you're right, I'd rather not...
So we joined dad on the sofa. I actually had a few questions that he would have loved to answer, but that I hadn't had a chance to ask him yet.
Gaia: Listen, dad, a few days ago I read a, ehm... online blog that left me with some doubts... What do you think of the laws that prohibit sixamian people from using a disguise?
I haven't told him about Matt, I don't want to focus on him any longer. But, out of all the things he told me, the part that keeps buzzing in my ear is this. And what better person than dad to ask for details on this?
Rowan: Ah, this is an interesting topic, but very complex too, undoubtedly. The legislation in this regard varies greatly from country to country and is part of the broader context of laws on personal identification and public safety.
Gaia: But if a sixamian simply preferred the look they obtained with a human disguise, why would it be wrong to use it?
Rowan: From a purely ethical standpoint, there would be nothing wrong. Jurists, though, admit that these rules have mainly a practical reason. A sixamian disguise provides a completely plausible appearance, and in the past it was used to create one or multiple fake identities for fraudulent intents, or even to copy other people's appearance and make them appear like the culprit. Actually, the use of a disguise can be so elusive that even now the Sim Nation struggles to identify it, and this is a further reason why their police fear it so much and doesn't want to incentivise people to try it at all costs. In short, until they find a method to fight its illegal use, I don't think that the current laws will be lifted.
Gaia: I see...
Surprisingly, I actually enjoyed talking with my parents all afternoon about the most varied topics. Maybe I'm really getting old, after all...
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And so another day came. As usual I was woken up by Nacho and Pixel playing together, they didn't seem to care much about the fact that it was Sunday and that we could have slept until lunch time.
But never mind, I certainly don't intend to waste the day dozing. I have a couple of objects to finish for work, and then I plan to go to the mountains to ski again.
I just have to assemble a couple of other eco-update parts, it certainly won't take more than half an hour...
Gaia: C'mon! You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?
Having taken yet another shower to wash the paint off, I then hurried to teleport to Mount Komorebi.
Look at this, my dear diary, I think I'm really starting to grasp how this works!
Wow, how cool! I haven't had this much fun in a long time, what more could I want from life, my dear diary?
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§HermioneSims§ corner
Hello everyone! This time my little parenthesis is here to share a few other screenshots I took in-game at this time in the story, about the lifestyles Gaia unlocked:
^ Translation:
"Lifestyle acquired:
Gaia unlocked the lifestyle "Single and Lovin' It"!
Visit the section "lifestyle" in the Simology panel to learn more"
^ Translation:
"Nothing is constraining me! (for the lifestyle)
There isn't anything better than the sweet scent of independence
after a nice sleep! Gaia loves to wake up single!"
I'm actually happy for Gaia, isn't it great to be happy about one's life situation? Of course, I didn't want to ignore this lifestyle.
However, it also made me worry a bit, at first. This is a legacy, and Gaia is more than midway through her "young adult" life stage, how can we reach Gen 10 if she wants to remain single forever?
I can't say much now, of course, but I can leave some hints to create some more suspense :P
Some months ago, I wrote somewhere that, at some point in the story, I took inspiration from a documentary to decide what to do with this legacy. The moment I did it is just a few chapters away, and (as a hint) I can tell you that the documentary that inspired me was about... the mantis XD
I knew that Gaia would be happier without Matt, there was a lot of 'unsureness' to be had around him. Plus she gained a dog, what more could anyone want? I like seeing her watch Tommy trying to date Valentina, poor guy looks so nervous, just be yourself Tommy!
ReplyDeleteNacho in his natural habitat!
Judging by the colour of the Tofu turkey, did she burn it? At least she tried : P
I wonder if Gaia won't bother looking for a partner, kind of like Rowan was when he was younger. I love that Juno is open to any way her life could go instead of telling her 'You'll find someone some day!' I love Rowan and Juno as parents. < 3 Yep that Lifestyle trait solidifies it. I like the idea of her not marrying or finding love like the others, though I hope she'll find some close friends!
The uncomfortable part of the legislation against the disguises is that, actually, there are a few good reasons that they are actually in place (namely to prevent fraud) which is understandable, it's just a shame that it leaves the choice of being ridiculed for being Sixamian, or covering up one's true self. Though I do like the added details that some people do prefer disguises, because it allows them to craft an ideal self and play with things a little. It's all very complex and interesting.
Hi, and thanks for commenting!
DeleteThe story is actually close to some big turning points which will make this generation move apart from the previous ones even more, and of course I can't say much about it yet :x
When writing Rowan and Juno as parents I also had in mind that they would do their best not to be like Juno's parents, who always tried to control her and ended up causing a lot of problems and made her drift away from them. Sometimes (well, often) they may not understand or agree with Gaia, both their priority is seeing her happy about her life.
All the disguises part instead is honestly mostly an attempt I did to close that plotpoint I used a lot early on in the legacy. Early on, when Sixamians just arrived on Earth and people were still scared of being abducted by an alien spaceship, disguises were a matter of great concern, but how are things changing after so many generations? Sadly the topic would take much more time to be covered properly, for instance also partial disguises are canon in this story (and used to justify why some sixamians have hair), but I don't have the time to cover it because it would take too much space in a story that is going somewhere else and would be hard to cover gameplay-wise. The topic will be back later in the generation anyway, we'll see what will happen...