Friday, February 11, 2011

Chapter 23: Enthralled



The residents of Twinbrook are woefully fashion challenged, and in desperate need of help.




Though she can't start work as a stylist until after graduation, Oregon gets started on researching fashion concepts so she'll be ready for the challenging career she's chosen for her future.




She's also started making future plans with her boyfriend Jeromy. 




Ewan passes away right after finishing his final manuscript, a history book titled "Who Built the Pyramids?"




Allyson was at the studio when her husband died. When she gets home she places a canopic jar by his grave as a memorial, and mourns.




She spends the next day sitting at his desk, reading his last book. She would trade all her fame and wealth to have her husband back.




Shepard and Allyson drown their sorrows with the aptly named Sorrow Annihilators. 




"Mom, the remote doesn't work on me." Maybe Allyson has had a few too many.




Josiah is growing up quickly, as children do, and Shepard worries that he doesn't spend enough time with any of his children, or with Anne. 




On Saturday morning, Oregon visits the salon to speak to the manager there about her future employment. Graduation is only a few short days away. When she gets there she runs into her best friend Bree, with her younger sister Yesenia, who just started high school.


"I brought her here to get her a makeover," Bree explains, "She has no fashion sense. A vampire in a mummy shirt, really?"


"It's ironic," Yesenia explains.


"It's stupid," Bree answers.


"The yellow clashes with your purple skirt," Oregon says, avoiding the whole mummy/vampire issue.


"I hate you both," Yesenia says and storms off before anyone can make her over.




As Yesenia departs, Bree's father approaches, expressing apparently sincere condolences for Oregon's loss.




Then follows an uncomfortable silence while Beau stares at Oregon without blinking or moving in the slightest.


"So, I, uh, have an appointment," Oregon mumbles and backs away from the creepy stare to find the manager.




"Her family is quite wealthy, aren't they?" Beau turns to his daughter after Oregon is out of sight.




Bree glares at her father. "Let me make this clear," she says, her voice hard and cold as his, "She's my best friend. If you touch her, I will come after you, and I will make you pay."


"You think you can cross me?" Beau sneers, "I made you."


"Just try me," Bree answers.




Shadow the ghost contemplates the shrine to his life's work as a ghost hunter.




Monday after school, Carter brings home a new friend, Pauline Sargeant, who just started high school. Her snobbiness conflicts with his easily impressed nature. But she's a Libra, which is compatible with his Aquarius, so Carter decides he can overcome their minor differences.




"Anyone would be easily impressed by you, Pauline" he says, making a smooth recovery. 




And so Carter secures a girlfriend for himself.




Carter's greatest ambition is to become an astronaut, so he's started training in preparation for his military career.




Allyson has a predawn encounter with Ewan's ghost.




She barely gets her arms around him before he dematerializes. 




Because she's a a superstar, Allyson gets a lot of freebies. Someone gave her an electric guitar, which she handed over to her granddaughter.




The Leader of the Free World prepares for work.



Oregon chose not to have a birthday party, just a cake with her immediate family.


She got her hair and her body from her mother, Lilly-Bo, but her face is all Allyson.


While they have cake, Carter tactfully points out that Allyson is lucky to be alive to see her granddaughter graduate from high school, since most elders die when their grandchildren are toddlers.




Oregon planned to hit the Red Rendezvous and meet up with Bree, who also graduated recently, but finds herself instead at the cemetery, without knowing why she she's there.




"I'm glad you came," Beau says, "You look lovely."


Was she supposed to meet Beau here, Oregon wonders. Her head is kind of fuzzy and she can't think straight. "Uh, hi, Mr. Merrick," she mumbles, trying to be polite while she tries to figure out what she doing here.


"Please, call me Beau. I'm your lover, after all."


Oregon's forehead wrinkles, she's pretty sure she would remember that, if it were true. "But, you're Bree's Dad, and you're married," she protests weakly. And there's someone else, she thinks, a fuzzy image of a blonde boy whose name she can't quite recall coming into her mind, and fading away again.


"You don't care about my daughter or my wife," Beau says, "All you want is to be with me."


"Yes, Beau," Oregon answers, feeling it now, "All I want is to be with you."




 "I need you, Oregon," Beau says, "Will you feed me?"


Oregon nods, "Of course, my love, my blood is yours."






"Give me your arm."




The bite hurts like nothing Oregon has ever felt, but there's also something erotic about the feeding.




Beau finishes he meal with a deep kiss that tastes of her own blood.


"Let's go home," he says.


"Home?" she asks, "But you live with your wife..."


"I left her. I live with you now. You do want me to live with you, don't you?"


"Yes, of course," Oregon answers.




Oregon brings her vampire lover home to live her. Some small part of her consciousness tells her this is wrong, that she had other plans, that Beau Merrick has always creeped her out and she'd never want to make love him, but that small voice is drowned out by the powerful desire that's come over her and taken control of her life.


Challenge Notes:
I'm not all that into the vampire thing, but since they exist in my game, I thought I should try them out, and decided that Oregon's roll for couple with half-sibling children would be a good opportunity for that.
I got a little cheaty by moving Beau in via master controller rather than by invitation, because I wanted to do the feeding scene in the graveyard without taking forever about getting a move in interaction to show up. So, it made things a bit easier (Oregon already had good friend status with Beau as a teenager, so it wasn't as cheaty as moving in a stranger) and it also made it so no money came into the house. Oregon did ask Beau to break up with Bianca, I didn't use a mod for that. So, I don't feel like it was an outrageous sort of cheat, I did it for the story, not for the benefit of the family.
Oregon's partner is to have a part time job, which Beau already has, working in the mausoleum. 
Oregon is still in 'partner' status with  her high school boyfriend Jeromy (she's only 'romantic interest' with Beau at the moment). Jeromy will age up in a day. I'm not sure exactly how I want to play this out, except that I know there will be half-siblings.
Shepard is about 5 days until elder. Allyson is surprisingly old, about 108 or so.
Carter will graduate and move out in two days. His girlfriend Pauline is several days younger, but he's lucky to even have one as once again I have a boys outnumber girls situation.
Oh, Oregon's last trait is Great Kisser. Random rolled, because I couldn't choose.
And, lol, Beau's ex-wife Bianca is about 5 days from becoming elder. As soon as she and Beau divorced, story progression has her dating one of the YA males in town.

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