The Casimir Legacy – 2.5 – Celebrations Galore

We’d waited long enough to get engaged, so we didn’t waste any time with the wedding preparations.

Unfortunately Alfred received notice soon after that the Chez Llama had gone bankrupt (I wasn’t surprised) and thus would be closing and letting all of its employees go.

It meant Alfred had to find an new job, so I allowed him to use my computer. We were in the process of covering the paperwork for him to move in. It would soon be his, too.

He announced later he’d signed up for an internship at SpaceY. He was a little nervous as it could possibly be a desk job for the rest of his life (something he didn’t find ideal) or the chance to be promoted to train to become an astronaut!

Since Alfred had still been living with his sister it also meant he wouldn’t be bringing any money with him, but I assured him that it was perfectly fine. I loved him for him, not for his money.

I ensured our wedding date didn’t coincide with Hannah’s birthday but it did mean we were heading to her party soon before. I wished her the best as soon as Alfred and I arrived.

I couldn’t believe how time was passing us by!

It was certainly a tight squeeze for all the guests she invited to her tiny home!

Eventually Hannah aged up and we had to move outside for lack of space. Hannah didn’t look all too chuffed about the mess everyone was making!

Soon enough the fateful day arrived. I’d booked the date almost right after we’d gotten engaged- it was the spot where my parents had gotten married and- apart from a few changes- it was exactly the same.

I’d always fantasised about wearing my mother’s dress- however I had discovered that she had been much more heavily pregnant during her wedding than she’d let on- and I found the adjustments made to the dress to allow her to wear it meant it wouldn’t look right on me. No matter, I found a dress that I loved just as much.

Hannah was in attendance of course, and was absolutely gushing.

“All this excitement makes me regret not having a bigger wedding…” She admitted.

Soon enough the time to get married was here- and Alfred and I stood under the arch, waiting for the guests to gather.

“Our meeting was by chance, and our relationship was long… and awkward,” I admitted, much to the glee of the crowd. “But I couldn’t imagine standing here with anyone else.”

Through Alfred’s vows I learnt that his lifetime aspiration was to have Successful Lineage, which was a surprise to me. We had never talked about it- but we both had goals of having a large family.

Exchanging of the rings followed…

And finally, the kiss…

As per the rules of my mother’s legacy, Alfred took my name. Alfred Frias was now Alfred Casimir!

Celebrations with cake followed, although the caterer sorely misjudged how much cake we would need!

Our celebrations ran late into that night.

Needless to say that the celebrations didn’t stop when we got home.

It was quite sobering having to return to work the following day, however all the celebrations still left me in a happy mood. Work always kept things interesting, too. Today I was on a house call.

At the end of my shift I was notified that I was being promoted to R.N. ! This was level six in my career, not too long until I was at the top!

The good news couldn’t end!

….That was until I found the mountain of laundry left by Alfred. He admitted he’d been lazy with the laundry at his old home and thus once he’d moved in, most of his clothes required a wash.

I didn’t know how my mother always did this with the same old wash tub for four of us in the household at one point. I certainly knew that building a laundry was going to be a priority.

Having spent the last few days unwell in the mornings, I decided to pick up a pregnancy test on the way home from work, considering our… activity following the wedding. It turned out to be positive and I was thus eating for two!

I couldn’t help but wake Alfred to tell him the good news!

“I’m going to be a father!” He shouted, barely aware of the fact it was late at night. Lucky we didn’t have many neighbours.

For the while, I continued at work in much the same way. I was much more cautious of catching any illnesses and mostly treated patients with physical or non-contagious ailments.

I had a sudden craving for almond macarons while on a house call. They didn’t seem to mind my use of their kitchen.

Alfred was a wonderful husband through the ups and downs of my pregnancy.

I also went in the evening to tell Hannah the big news- only to find she was also pregnant! Talk about coincidence!

“I honestly didn’t pick you as the motherly type.” I admitted to her.

“I admit I didn’t really choose this, it sort of… happened. But I’m happy to give it all a go.”

“I’m glad.” I grinned.

“Yeah,” Hannah replied, “Our kids can have play dates!”

With a little bit of money in the bank Alfred and I opted to build our laundry and enclose the backyard in a fence- for the safety of the little one who was currently on the way.

I was quite happy with the laundry- simple and practical.

We also moved on to the upstairs- finally finishing off the walls and floors and decorating with some pieces of art.

And last but not least, we fitted out one of the spare rooms in preparation for our little bundle of joy.

I really had my mother to thank again for all the renovations. Harvesting the perfect produce from her plants in the park earned us quite a sum.

Hannah surprised me with a visit towards the end of her pregnancy. She knew at my career level I was able to tell the gender of babies and she wanted to know. I’d opted to leave my baby’s gender a mystery but obliged her.

After a careful examination I was certain. Hannah was having a boy!

“I wonder what gender our baby will be…” I wondered.

“Whichever it ends up being,” Alfred added, “I’ll love them all the same.”

The Casimir Legacy – 2.4 – Tentative Beginnings

The next morning saw my return to work. With my recent promotions, my days off were jumping all over the place. I didn’t mind though, as I gained new privileges with each step up.

I was now allowed to run treadmill tests, for example.

Aaand use the surgery table! Although someone should really have taught me how to use this thing first…

During the evenings Alfred wasn’t working I invited him over for dinner. During a recent visit to his home, I had found that despite working in a restaurant… that he wasn’t too great at actually cooking anything.

Related to the fact that Alfred was a hopeless cook, I questioned whether he would ever consider a change in career.

“Certainly,” He replied, “I’m a bit of a Perfectionist so working in a restaurant when I can’t cook sort of limits my options to excel. I’m definitely looking into moving jobs but getting the experience as Host is still fine for now.”

The following day bills were due- it was quite a hefty amount for just little old me in this big house all alone!

I received a call from Alfred inviting me out for a picnic at my mum’s park just after.

Of course, I was in charge of cooking lunch.

“Hey Maria…. I’d… like to ask something…” Alfred began awkwardly, before another lady came and joined us at the table. “Uh, nevermind, later.”

I did seem that some people didn’t realise the intended private nature of our lunch. Alfred didn’t look all too pleased about being interrupted.

Apparently our food was free pickings as well…

Eventually we decided to move so we could have some time to ourselves.

Soon enough night rolled around, and we had to say our goodbyes- with work tomorrow I couldn’t be out too late.

It was only when I was walking home that I realised Alfred never got to tell me what he was trying to say earlier.

I hoped he would tell me soon.

The next day after work I elected to visit Hannah, only to find she wasn’t home.

The door was answered however by one Ronen Cotton, and I was surprised to learn that Hannah Casimir was now Hannah Cotton, and that this was her new husband!

Ronen explained that the nature of their wedding had been kept quiet, just between the two of them. I understood as Hannah had always raced into decisions- the first situation that came to mind was her change of hair colour.

I was simply happy for her and hoped the relationship would last.

I elected to wait a while in the hopes of catching Hannah on her way home, and Ronen and I got to know each other in the mean time. It appeared that Hannah had told him a lot about me, but I had heard nothing about him!

It appeared Hannah was working late that night and so, tired as I was, I elected to leave. Asking Ronen to let Hannah know I’d been wanting to see her.

Hannah called the next morning to apologise and ask what was up.

“Not too much… I just… I don’t know… I feel like we’re stuck in our relationship.” I admitted, having spoken to her previously about how things were going with Alfred.

“He’s a great guy and all but we’ve been good friends for ages… and… I don’t know, I just keep looking for things to move forward but they don’t, or I wuss out or he wusses out or something.”

“I totally get that, sis.” Hannah’s voice came through the phone, “I’ve had the same struggle. Here’s what you do- make something cute- something that will show him just how you feel. Invite him over and give it to him. If nothing happens after that- then let him loose. He’s obviously not interested if even that doesn’t work.”

“Thank you so much Hannah, love you. Buh-bye now.”

Following that I got ready and baked some cookies. I hoped this would work. I really cared about Alfred. I hoped he felt the same way.

“Hey Alf!” I grinned, filled with new hope. “I made us some cookies. They’re in the kitchen.”

“Awesome, I love cookies!” He replied.

“Wow! These look-” he went in for a bite- “-and taste great!”

“Thanks,” I replied, “They’re completely homemade.”

Once we’d finished he stood and took my hands.

“Maria, I’ve been meaning to tell you something, and I’ve been afraid to do so for a long time now.” He began, “I think I was nervous you wouldn’t feel the same way but today you’ve made it clear that I deserve to give it a go.”

He leaned towards me, and I found myself leaning into too.

We both leaned back surprised, and it my stupor all I could come up with was “I’ve never kissed anyone before…”

“Well, you certainly kiss like a pro.” He grinned.

We headed into the living area for a brighter setting.

“I guess you’re my girlfriend now.” Alfred giggled.

“I hope so!” I laughed with him.

Glad to finally be past the awkward hurdle between friend and girlfriend, we continued merrily along with our relationship.

It sort of settled into the way we were before, but with more kissing and romantic advances.

We headed to my mum’s park frequently- I mean, there weren’t too many other places to go- I mean, apart from the Chez Llama, but since Alfred worked there it wasn’t as enjoyable for him.

I still thought about my parents a lot… but… a lot of time had passed now.

Having someone new to love and be loved by made it all okay.

“Mar, I need to ask you something important.” Alfred whispered as we snuggled in the park on a warm afternoon.

He stood up and helped me up, brushing my cheek fondly.

“What is it?” I asked.

He took a deep breath, and lowered to his knees. My heart began racing.

“Will you marry me, Maria?”

“Yes!”

It was my turn to jump into his arms for a change.

The Casimir Legacy – 2.3 – Moving On

I didn’t have a lot of vacation time accrued up from work, so with one day left before I had to front up back at work, I spent the previous evening and a large amount of that in bed.

Eventually I was getting too hungry to continue to stay this way, and the only thing that encouraged me out of bed was the thought of the final plate of Mum’s leftover salmon.

One last taste of Mum’s cooking before it was gone forever.

I couldn’t let it go to waste.

I was still feeling the effects of my father’s passing but ended up electing to head back to work. I didn’t want to use all my vacation days in one go.

I also realised that helping people always makes me happy, and so hoped it would be a good way to cheer me up.

It was easy to work later when the job took my mind off the situation at home. My dedication also rewarded me with a promotion to Medical Technologist!

It was a shame that all the money I earned from the promotion had to go towards the bills.

I decided to treat myself to dinner out that evening, and dug out the 30% discount card from the bin I’d tossed it into a couple nights before.

I was going to give this restaurant a second chance.

But not for the food.

My heart lifted when I saw the host was the same as a couple nights before.

“Hello again ma’am! Glad to see you decided to give this humble establishment another chance. My apologies, but I didn’t catch your name the last time?”

“It’s Maria,” I smiled.

“I’m Alfred.” He grinned, waving his hand towards the seating. “Let me get to a table. I’ll put a word in to make sure you receive your food this time.”

“Let’s hope so.” I smiled as I followed him to my table.

I soon discovered the same table as last time was free. I appreciated the gesture, especially considering the table was quite secluded, but all it did now was bring back bad memories.

I placed my order and watched as the chef cooked away through the windows that gave a view into part of the kitchen. I found it interesting to note that tonight the cooking station in view of my table was being used, as the previous time it had been empty.

I was filled with glee to find my order did arrive tonight! The extravagant flavours made the wait worth it.

With the 30% off card in mind, I even treated myself to an experimental desert. It was quite a…. fascinating dish. A bit too… ‘out there’ for me, however.

Electing to end my bill there before the cost launched into 3 digits, I paid the host what was owed and tentatively asked a question that I had been considering all night.

“I was wondering if I might get your phone number, I’d really like to get to know you better.” I added, casually.

His smiled widened printed my receipt and wrote some numbers on it, handing it over. “Certainly, that’s my number at the bottom. Admittedly, I’d been wanting to ask you the same thing.”

He handed me some paper and pen and I wrote my number down. We smiled and said goodnight. I nervously looked at the late time and hurried home to hop into bed. My celebrations had gotten a little out of hand- I had work tomorrow!

I’m beginning to learn that staying out late the night before a shift is not a good idea.

Especially when your career is on the line when tasked with testing emergency patient samples.

Thanks to my childhood dabbling in emotion potion creation, I made quick potions on the fly to keep me going throughout the day.

Outside of work hours, Alfred and I spoke on the phone a lot. It was difficult to meet up, considering I worked days and he worked nights.

We did have a common day off, however, and so I was looking forward to when that day rolled around.

Some changes were made at the hospital, and I quickly noticed that Kash was no longer our receptionist. I wasn’t sure whether he’d quit, been fired, or transferred, but one thing was clear…

…this new guy was not as good as Kash.

The week ended on a high with a promotion to Assistant Nurse!

I wasn’t quite a fully fledged doctor yet, but I was getting there!

That weekend was the first weekend I had to start cooking for myself. Apart from the bountiful harvests from her plants, I had no more remaining dishes of Mum’s cooking and had to learn to cook myself.

It was rough, but the atmosphere and the memories of her toiling away above the stove helped me to learn quickly.

On the Saturday Alfred made use of his access to my number and invited me to a midday movie and drinks in an old cinema. From memory I think Hannah had visited this place when it was newer, but I must have been fairly young at the time.

We were too early for the movie session so we spent a bit of time at the bar getting to know each other. I learnt that he was Active, just like my father and a bit of a Kleptomaniac. I guess I’d have to learn to see past his… short comings.

Let’s just say he was also a bit of a light weight when it came to drinking. As a trained medical professional, I checked his temperature, only to have him jump straight into my arms!

The movie session time rolled around, and with no desire to waste our tickets, we grabbed our popcorn and headed up to the movie. It was some… space simulation one. It was Alfred’s pick and I didn’t mind it… although the amount of empty seats said otherwise.

Once it was over we headed back downstairs to join the masses. Alfred opted for another bowl of the ‘all-you-can-eat’ popcorn, but I was in for another surprise.

I could swear I could see the ghost of my dead father!

After confirmation from Alfred that he could also see the green outline of a man, I raced over to greet him.

I was… in absolute shock. I couldn’t believe my eyes.

“I came to tell you that your mother and I are so proud of you, baby girl.” He spoke, his voice augmented by some otherworldly power.

He made a pointed glance towards Alfred, giving an approving nod. “We want you to move on with your life and be happy. Your mother reminds you that you are the sole heir of her legacy now.”

“I miss you guys so much,” I replied, “I wish you were still here.”

“Just know that we are happy. We’ll be haunting for a little while longer, don’t you worry.” He said with a smirk.

His ghost turned to a shade of blue, indicative of his apparent confidence as he played some scary ghost tricks on me.

“I must go now, but I have one more request.” He said, leaning in for a hug and whispering one final thing into my ear.

“I can do that.” I whispered back.

“I love you,” He said, stepping back.

“I love you too,” I managed to reply, before he evaporated into thin air.

Following that I decided to invite Alfred to my place. The intention was to have dinner, but we ended up eating a lot of popcorn, so neither of us were really all that hungry.

Instead we passed the time by playing on the new video game console I’d bought with my latest pay check.

After Alfred left for the night, there was one more thing I had to do.

When I was finished, the ghost of my mother appeared. I ran into her embrace.

“Thank you baby,” She said, tears staining her translucent cheeks. “Now Paolo and I can watch over the park and my garden forever.”

Obviously seeing my parents ghosts had filled me with a lot of emotion, but being able to talk to them, gain some finality and know that they were buried exactly where they had asked to be gave me a sense of closure.

I could finally move on.

The Casimir Legacy – 2.2 – When You’re Gone

Breaking the news to Dad was the worst thing I’ve ever had to do in my entire life.

He was older than my mother and so it was a surprise to both of us that she had gone so soon.

They had always been an affectionate pair but he was devastated that he hadn’t truly been able to say proper goodbyes.

We knew we had to decide what to do with her remains. Dad was determined to keep her close, although I had my own ideas about where Mum might have liked to be laid to rest. I let it be for now, as Dad needed to grieve.

I took the next couple days off work to settle all of the affairs. In the will Mum had left behind the few things in her inventory that she had not donated to the park, which included a Potion of Youth and a Moodlet Solver. The prospects of what these small potions could do scared me, and so I locked them away for safe keeping.

Later in the evening of my first day off I received a phone call.

“Oh, hi, Kash!” I said, putting on my happiest tone of voice.

There was a deep breath before he spoke. “Hi, Maria… I, uh, heard about your mother. I’m sorry for your loss… I was hoping maybe I could treat you to dinner tonight at the new restaurant in Magnolia Promenade?”

I hesitated, and was about to say no. Instead I shocked myself.

“Uhh- okay. Yes, sure. I’ll be there at seven.” I replied.

I found myself actually nervous to head to this date, realising I had never met up with Kash, or rather, any of my coworkers outside of the workplace.

I soon discovered that when not confined to his usual uniform, Kash had an interesting sense of style.

“Thanks for inviting me…” I began awkwardly as we waited for our food. “It’s been kinda quiet around the house.”

“No problem,” Kash replied, chirpy as always. “It was my wife’s idea actually. She just lost her brother recently and was able to empathise with your current feelings.”

“Oh, you’re married? I didn’t realise.” I laughed nervously.

He grinned, “Yep! Happily for two years now. We also have a young son.”

“Oh- I- uh- that’s lovely, I- If you’ll excuse me, I need to go to the bathroom.”

I genuinely had to go, but I also needed to step away from a moment. I thought there something going on between the two of us, as Kash had always gone out of his way to be kind to me, more so than with other coworkers. Now I just realised it must have just been in his nature. I felt even worse as I headed towards the toilets.

The host called out to me on my way back to the table.

“Everything alright ma’am?” He asked. “You don’t look very happy, and it’s my obligation to make sure every diner’s experience is nothing short of perfect.”

“Everything’s wonderful,” I smiled. “I’ve had a loss in the family recently. Your restaurant is great.”

“Sorry to hear that ma’am.”

I returned to my seat only to be told by the waiter that there was a delay on their food. So much for the stellar review I’d just given the host.

Not only that, I realised I had forgotten to shower today, and I was certain the smell was starting to show.

Tonight was a disaster.

It reached 2am and with no signs of our food I apologised to Kash, cancelled my order and made moves to leave.

The host approached and apologised to us both, handing us both a card which described a 30% discount on our next meal. I doubted I’d be back.

What a disaster.

I wished I’d just said no to Kash’s invitation in the first place.

This bathroom would never be the same.

The next day I finally managed to catch Hannah at home to tell her the news. It was rough, but Hannah was always in control of her emotions and managed to cheer me up more than anything.

We caught up for a while and Hannah explained that there was a special guy in her life now.

“I think things are getting real this time. Like proper real. And I checked, he’s not married, and he doesn’t already have kids.” She gushed.

I giggled a small amount, remembering Tyler, her long time beau who ended up being married and with kids when Hannah tried to make a move.

“I’m happy for you sis. I hope things go well.”

“Me too,” She smiled, “But sis, you’re ready to move forward in a relationship too. Don’t let all that stuff pass you by.”

I nodded silently.

“Mum’s gone, yeah, but she would want you to be happy.”

“You’re right.” I responded. “You know what?” I dug the crumpled up card out of my pocket. “There was a cute host at the restaurant last night. I’m going to see if I can get a hold of him.”

“You go girl!” Hannah whooped as I pulled out my phone.

An unfamiliar voice picked up. After the voice gave the standard introductory line, I spoke up.

“Hi there, I was wondering if you could pass the phone on to the host that was at your restaurant last night. He had red hair and.. uhh…”

“Do you mean Alfred?” The voice enquired.

“Yes, I suppose. I mean, I never found out his name.”

“Unfortunately he’s not working at the moment, and I’m not sure when he’s working next. The best advice I can give is try to call at another time or perhaps visit the restaurant at a similar time to your previous visit?”

“Okay, thanks”

Hannah gave a disappointed sort of look.

Eventually I had to get going back home. I was a little worried to leave Dad on his own for too long. I’d tried to encourage him to see Hannah, but he hadn’t felt up to it.

“Thanks sis, you really know how to set me straight.”

“Anytime Mar,” She smiled. “You’ve really gotta have me over for dinner some time. I still haven’t seen your new place.”

When I got home I took a short nap before I checked on Dad, only to find him struggling for breath, supporting himself on the floor.

“Dad?” I questioned.

“It’s okay Maria, it’s my time to go now.” He struggled to say, lowering himself to the ground.

“Dad, no!”

“It’s okay, hun. I’m going to be with your mother. I’m happy now.” He whispered, before closing his eyes.

All I could do was stand in shock. I knew what was coming. The Grim Reaper.

I’d heard what Dad had said, but I couldn’t help it. I was selfish. I pleaded with the Grim Reaper for more time.

But alas, Death knew all. He knew Dad’s desperate wish was to be reunited with Mum. And so, he refused.

Blinded by grief and anger, I couldn’t watch as Grim Reaper took my father away.

Unsure what to do, I stumbled in a haze to the couch in the next room, and collapsed.

I was alone now.

The Casimir Legacy – 2.1 – Harder Than It Looks

Oh boy, let me tell you- a lot of things are harder than they look.

The prospect of being the heir for my mother’s legacy had seemed exciting- but right now I was discovering it to be a lot of work- a lot of negotiating and reporting to the Simsville council.

A lack of funding on my own end meant that despite our fantastic new home – a lot of the upper floor was left bare. Mother and I had a good laugh as we shuffle through photos of our old family home when she had first built it- looking much the same.

They often spoke about the early days- their first outings together and Paolo’s first nights on the couch. It brought me a mixture of joy and sadness to see them reminisce about the past – to them it was almost as if it could be yesterday – to me, a whole lifetime ago. I couldn’t begin to imagine living so long.

Good old mum and dad- I tried to spend as much time as I could with my parents- while they were as lively as ever I knew they were getting on- I wondered how much time I had left. Working hard in the medical field meant I would be able to react if anything happened but…

The long hours I was working meant I was away from home nearly all day- I worried something might happen while I was gone.

I had started recently as a Medical Assistant- thankfully my good marks in high school and medical school had seen me skip the clean up and begin helping patients immediately- the part I had always dreamed about.

Although I still had far to go in my career, life felt complete. I was able to support the three of us and give my parents the comfortable life they deserved.

 

I could tell that mum missed her garden and Dad missed his athletic career, but considering both past times required a long of physical exertion they both understood that their bodies just weren’t up to it anymore. In the mean time Dad became a bit of a handy man around the house.

Mum continued to leave the care of her garden to the park’s caretaker. She would, however, frequently take the time to visit to harvest the fruits of her labour and answer questions of aspiring gardeners who visiting to view her infamous perfect plants.

It was great for the rest of us, as it meant the fridge was always full to the brim with fresh ingredients.

It was easy to be convinced that life was perfect. And I suppose… it was. But it just felt… incomplete. Like something was missing. For a little while I wasn’t quite sure what it was.

But there were little hints everywhere. At work…

Online…

And even during conversations with my mother.

What I was missing was something I’d never experienced in high school and watched Hannah have a rough go of.

I was missing love. A partner. Someone else that I could really care about…

Someone that could love me and tell me I was beautiful so I didn’t have to keep doing that in the mirror.

And perhaps… beyond that, I could start a family?

My parents had already shown me just how special that could be.

The only issue is that work either had me treating sick people- or becoming sick, from those people. So finding the time to date would be hard.

I was also quickly beginning to realise how difficult it was going to be to find a match in a town with only 3 residences and a park. We didn’t exactly entice a lot of visitors just yet. Other towns weren’t exactly safe to visit right now.

“Hey, Maria! Are you feeling better today?” Kash, the hospital assistant greeted me at work with his trademark smile when I clocked in for my next shift.

“Lots better, thanks.” I replied on my way through. “Better get started though. The boss wasn’t exactly happy that I left early yesterday.”

Kash gave a sympathetic look as I moved on to mop floors and analyse patients.

In my current position I wasn’t allowed to diagnose any patients, only practice procedures.

I was, of course, allowed to administer medication after one of the other doctors had generated a diagnosis.

I arrived home that evening to a quiet house. An extremely quiet house. There was an eerie chill in the air, and I rubbed my arms to warm myself up. I knew Dad was out with an old friend this evening, but Mum should be home. It was not normal, considering she was nearly always watching the gardening channel.

It was then that I heard it. “Maria!” It was my mothers voice, coming up stairs, and she sounded distressed.

“Mum! I’m coming!” I called as I raced up the stairs.

I located her voiced as being in the master bedroom bathroom. But when I got there…. it was too late.

Mum had collapsed and was unresponsive on the tiled floor. I tried to revive her but had no luck. Shocked, I jumped out of the way when the Grim Reaper appeared.

Quickly realising he was my last chance at keeping my mother for a little longer, I got on my knees and pleaded with him.

“Mr Reaper, please! This is Rose Casimir! Surely you’ve heard of her. She’s the unofficial mayor of the town and responsible for the construction of it’s buildings!”

“I see and hear all, young Maria, and your mother’s quest has been fulfilled. She grew 8 perfect plants and built her park. She passed on the title of heir and mayor to you. Her work in this world is done. She must move on.”

Alas, my pleads had fallen on deaf ears, and I watched in shocked silence as the Grim Reaper took my mother away.

All I was left with was her remains.

She was gone.

Rose Casimir was dead.

Long time, no see…

*shuffles in, head hanging in shame*

Hello everyone :3

Not sure if anyone still reads/will ever read this, but after a long, busy year filled with hard work and personal loss, I’m finally back with some free time. If I’m completely honest, I forgot about this legacy. It slipped my mind until I was playing sims and found the save for it. All the memories came flooding back and here I am, back on the blog. At first I was content to leave it be, another failed legacy destined never to finish like so many others that I have started but… the feeling I get before I start a legacy was back.

I wanted to write SimLit again.

So I thought about starting anew- but something was holding me back. I knew that continuing on this website would mean that the Casimir Legacy would sit for eternity, unfinished, because I would certainly not want to delete it all. So I thought about creating a new platform to get away from it all but… something was holding me back. If you’ve read about me, you know about my history of unfinished legacies. I never have completed a legacy. In fact, I’ve never made it past Generation 2. Every time I get there I… I don’t really even have an explanation for it. By the time I get there I… I get busy I guess? But that’s beside the point.

In the end I decided I don’t care if no one reads the legacy from here on out. I’m going to write it for me. For once I’m really going to try and finish this legacy, no matter what it takes. I want to do this.

So to TLDR that whole statement, I’m back, and the Casimir Legacy shall continue shortly, stay tuned!

Sunshine Blogger Award – The Casimir Legacy

Wow guys, I’m sorry I disappeared for so long without any notice. I’ve been very busy- I’m graduating from high school in a week and after that I have my final exams. I’m going to post whenever I can, though! First thing’s first- I got nominated for the Sunshine Blogger Award by pixelatedknight – https://buildnewcrestblountlegacy.wordpress.com/

Thanks so much!

First and foremost, here are the rules:

1. Thank the person who nominated you and add a link to their blog.
2. Answer the 11 questions sent by the person who nominated you.
3. Nominate 11 bloggers and add their links.
4. Notify the bloggers you included.
5. Keep the rules in your post.

 

Now here are my answers to the questions I was asked 🙂

What style of writing do you prefer for your Simlit? (ie. gameplay then write or write before gameplay) And why?

Gameplay AND write! Hehe. I have a double monitor set up so Sims 4 is open on the main monitor in front of me and I’ll have the blog post open on my second screen to my left. I always have the story in my mind as I’m playing so I’ll take pictures and insert them into the blog post with the writing as I go along.

How long have you been writing Simlit?

The first Simlit I have ever written was with Sims 3 – The Small Legacy which was first posted February 2010. I used the story maker they had on the old website- it was quite good, I loved using it. It’s on my old old account – I’ve very awful with passwords and have forgotten them along the way, hence the fact I have a different account now. All the pictures have since disappeared, but here’s a link if you were curious:
http://www.thesims3.com/contentDetail.html?contentId=176427

What made you decided to write about the challenge you choose? (ie. Legacy/Amazon/#buildnewcrest)

I’m assuming this is talking about my current legacy, the Casimir Legacy. Well, I was looking for something fun to get back into legacy writing- and I didn’t want to do just a generic legacy. I wanted a challenge. I spotted the #buildnewcrest legacy in a list of challenges and realised it would be perfect- I had always been looking for an excuse to improve my building skills… and here we are 😛

Favourite expansion from any of the Sims franchise?

Ooh, this is a tough one.. Sims 4 definitely has a lot of good ones but.. I might have to go and say Sims 3 Pets? I just love the pets. If had to choose one EP to have for the rest of my life… it would be pets.

Is there anything you would change in your story? If so, what and why?

I don’t think so 🙂

What country are you from?

I come from a land down under! Australia 🙂

What character is your favourite?

I think everyone always has a soft spot for their founder, but I’m really looking forward to playing Maria, my gen 2 heir. I don’t think I could truly pick a favourite, though 😛

What expansion pack to hope for next for the Sims 4?

Pets! I love dogs so much, and I need them in my game NOW!! 😛

Age?

17… but it’s my birthday in 4 days!! so… 18? 🙂 I’m an adult!

Favourite dessert?

Chocolate mousse!

How did you come up with your username?

So, IchiRukii. Well, my favourite anime/manga is Bleach and two of the main characters are Ichigo and Rukia. Their ship name is IchiRuki- and IchiRuki was taken when I tried to sign up to origin so I just added another i on the end and here I am 😛

 

~

 

Okay! Time to nominate! I don’t know 11 bloggers (sad violin music plays) but I’ll nominate as many as I can. Sorry if you’ve already been nominated before 😛

1. lisabeesims – https://lisabeesims.wordpress.com
2. totalrainbow – https://totalrainbowsims.wordpress.com

So uuhh. that’s all I got. Heh…. if anyone wants to ‘self nominate’ and be my friend … comment and I’ll add you 😛

So here are my questions for you 🙂

1. Why did you decide to start writing SimLit?
2. When did you start writing SimLit, and what was your first story, if it’s not your current one?
3. Whats your favourite franchise (1-4) and why?
4. What is your favourite thing about the Sims?
5. What’s your favourite food?
6. Where are you from?
7. When did you first start playing the sims?
8. What’s your favourite thing about writing?
9. Other than sims, do you have any hobbies?
10. If you were a sim in the Sims 4, what job would you have?
11. If you could make the next Sims 4 EP, what would it be?

The Casimir Legacy – 1.14 – The Park

It was finally done. It took a long time, but it was done.

I could hardly believe my eyes as I stood outside the finished product, already filled with people.

It was so exciting to see my dream become a reality. It was so much better than I had ever imagined.

There was a spot to eat…

A place for the children to play and the parents to sit…

And most importantly of course, my garden was a feature!

The pond that was out the back and technically not actually part of our land made a good feature too!

It was now that I realised my time was well and truly over.

Generation one of my long legacy has finished.

It’s time to step aside and let Maria take the reigns.

 

~*~

 

Download the park here!

 

The Casimir Legacy – 1.13 – The End

It took awhile to get used to one less body moving around the house. Especially since Hannah was the musician of the household, it was a lot quieter.

While we all desperately wanted to visit everyday, we decided to leave Hannah on her own for a while. There was no sense in her even moving out, despite the short distance, if we kept visiting her everyday. I knew this was her way of gaining independence. And well, she was an adult now.

That was still hard to believe.

Things weren’t so bad. I had my pristine and almost perfect garden to keep me busy. I even started drawing up plans for the park! Now that was exciting.

Maria continued to bury herself in work- there was a lot for her to do. With two houses in the neighbourhood built at last there was only one last house to build- her own. Not only that but she was busy with her studies as well as deciding what to do when she left school.

Paolo finally accepted that perhaps his body wasn’t made for exercise anymore, and so we made the big decision to sell on the treadmill. While it broke his heart to see it go, he knew it was the right thing to do.

“Time to find a new hobby,” He smiled. The money from the treadmill went towards a microphone at first, but Paolo soon found he wasn’t as funny as he thought.

Next up was pumpkin carving- but with the funny faces her managed to carve only seasonal during the month of October and the struggle to continually be supplied with pumpkins for it to be a continuous hobby meant it was out too.

He did make some pretty cute designs, though.

The art of carving pumpkins however did lead to woodworking- which turned out to be a perfect fit!

For awhile after that, life continued as normal.

Soon enough Maria’s graduation was just around the corner, and we almost couldn’t believe it. One week left and she was an official adult too! One afternoon we were sat down at the table and she made her announcement.

“I’ve decided I want to be a doctor,” She said happily. Maria had been tossing up between becoming a scientist or becoming a doctor, “I just thought that while the possibilities of scientific discovery are practically endless and definitely intriguing, I want to help people too. The best way to do that is being a doctor.”

“We will support you either way honey,” I reminded her. “We’re glad you’ve made a decision. But remember, there’s no right or wrong decision. If you decide you want to be a scientist instead, that’s fine too. Don’t be afraid to change your mind.”

Maria nodded, “Thanks mum, but I’m pretty sure.”

After that Maria enjoyed some well earned time off, away from the books. She’d been studying hard as both the doctor and scientist careers required very high marks.

She ended up scoring a mark much higher than the prerequisite and like any proud mother, I wasn’t afraid to share.

Even all my plants heard the wonderful news. My daughter was going to be a doctor!

Maria even visited Hannah for the first time in a while to tell her the news in person.

However with three patient knocks no answer came. Maria arrived home slightly defeated but in defense of her sister.

“I heard about a big party tonight, Hannah’s probably there already, it is pretty late in the afternoon.” She explained. “No worries, I’ll catch her another time or maybe just call.”

The next day began with joy as I was able to evolve 5 of my plants into perfect ones. I wanted to show off my gardening skill in the park with at least 8 perfect plants so I wasn’t done yet, but definitely very close!

More and more Maria generously offered to take turns making meals. Of all the things she was good it, we were slightly shocked that cooking wasn’t exactly her forte.

“Ouch!”

I looked on worryingly from the table. “Need any help?”

“No don’t worry mum, I’ve got this.”

Most nights she pulled through in the end- even if everything was just a little over done.

Life was bliss, even though Maria got a little lonely sometimes.

She continued to visit Hannah’s home nearly every night, but it seemed she was never home when she dropped by, and never answered when she called.

Seeing her so hopeful when she left and so defeated when she came home broke my heart. I wanted to give Hannah a stern talking to for the way she was ignoring her sister.

But even I couldn’t get through to her.

I busied myself with my plants while I worried about Hannah and finally got my 8th perfect plant! My other plants were still yet to evolve- some magnificent, some pristine, but 8 was the minimum I’d always set so I was happy to have reached it. Soon enough once it was Maria’s birthday we could move out and I could build the park!

Luckily it was very soon. Paolo and I weren’t getting any younger.

Early the next day there was a knock at the door and to our great surprise, Hannah showed her face. We were all waiting for answers. Where had she been? Why hadn’t she been answering the phone? Why was she never at home?

“I’m sorry everyone, I’ve just been out a lot. Partying, working, finally being able to see what life has to offer.”

Maria forgave her practically instantly. “I’m just glad you’re here.” She sighed, never one to hold a grudge.

“I’d never miss my little sister’s birthday for the world!” Hannah exclaimed.

Hannah was the perfect distraction for me to finally get a chance to make Maria’s cake. Since she’s around all the time it can be quite difficult to be secretive about it. They decided to head over to Hannah’s house to have some time alone and watch a couple movies. I had a quiet word with Hannah on the side so she was in on the plan.

Soon enough it was cake time! Unfortunately Hannah had to race off to work, but Maria didn’t mind. Her spirits were already high from the time they had spent together. Maria grew up to be Good, so I could understand why she wanted to be a doctor.

And with that, the generation was complete. As an adult Maria was ready to take over.

We were all teary eyed looking on at the home we had built, grown and lived in, but it was time to see it go.

With the park in progress and our new home right in front of us, it’s time to head into generation 2!

 

~*~

That’s it!! We made it! End of gen 1! I had wanted to build the park for this chapter but that didn’t turn out, it’s going to take longer than I thought to make it absolutely perfect 😛

But for now you CAN download the generation one legacy home here, complete with plants!

Click here!

Stay tuned for gen 2, it’s Maria’s time to shine!

Second Newcrest Starter Home

Hello everyone! Sorry that this post isn’t a new chapter, but I’ve been pretty busy and probably will be for the next few months studying for my trials and then HSC, the Australian equivalents of…practice finals and finals I suppose? Or A-Levels? I’ll try to post within a week, but will let you guys know if I’m going to take any super long hiatus’.

Anyways, in my spare time I have managed to build the second house for the generation 2 lower class hood. Starter homes are probably my least favourite type of house to build. Keeping to budget is really difficult but I made it, and I think the house isn’t too bad, despite my desire to decorate more 😛

As always you can download it from my gallery by clicking here!!

Without further ado, here is the house :3