tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-49898867764859972162024-02-07T20:43:42.684-08:00McDermott Random Legacyyangthecathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15083940950118677312noreply@blogger.comBlogger43125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4989886776485997216.post-23608318278156394902011-05-10T05:14:00.000-07:002011-05-10T05:14:42.046-07:00Chapter 43: The Gnomes are Worried<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwq7-1JXN2KOp3j4I0_6cm9tDf9McTv6VOrVn2WSg_YvHlxA_ArLmcZw5HIWmOkotsyGQ4Me2zV0Nofqj0sX7no0e7BooLWZ-qPn_4umKKMBNmrCBGaVGK752_-pWSgkdZxP5tGN1FxGuD/s1600/risk43a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwq7-1JXN2KOp3j4I0_6cm9tDf9McTv6VOrVn2WSg_YvHlxA_ArLmcZw5HIWmOkotsyGQ4Me2zV0Nofqj0sX7no0e7BooLWZ-qPn_4umKKMBNmrCBGaVGK752_-pWSgkdZxP5tGN1FxGuD/s1600/risk43a.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">After Meghan's death, no one has been tending the garden. The gnomes gather around the weedy, dessicated plants, but are unable to do anything about it.</span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Rji5txX04nKv1VoBdz_YxC4K1fMAdb0M5389wwAG2Odm9YAf9y4gjySQiUeB79_zknYHsluImTgbqN3Ol3jEyat6uEjtBSBWkFGEbBnHUq86thkhpuPurHVuX338UtlhEZg9PpzpqQno/s1600/risk43b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Rji5txX04nKv1VoBdz_YxC4K1fMAdb0M5389wwAG2Odm9YAf9y4gjySQiUeB79_zknYHsluImTgbqN3Ol3jEyat6uEjtBSBWkFGEbBnHUq86thkhpuPurHVuX338UtlhEZg9PpzpqQno/s1600/risk43b.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Rhys becomes a child, and takes over the bedroom recently occupied by his grandparents. His favorite color is the same as Archer's, so no changes in decor are needed.</span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEBpCihgZYAn13LYuY8QlxzdtdZMnjdS9fi08o1-YUD6d3prfAF5EByVfVXBPG-XZ6bFX7wv297j0JW0qV3LJLNQ-7pP1ixcAbWq_VDGhaH12JFvs98RpD8WLJfjI1J_Rpf6_h6UBaO7QG/s1600/risk43c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="352" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEBpCihgZYAn13LYuY8QlxzdtdZMnjdS9fi08o1-YUD6d3prfAF5EByVfVXBPG-XZ6bFX7wv297j0JW0qV3LJLNQ-7pP1ixcAbWq_VDGhaH12JFvs98RpD8WLJfjI1J_Rpf6_h6UBaO7QG/s400/risk43c.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Jessica discovers a new hobby.</span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcuU9710vayRrDP8MAB3jdaUMVYAE1oUkxso2OlNX23zT6f0m92R6lIkOJbVSXuxjSCSAWa3DhxFKSn4BhrsimdhWwcEkd-cuL9pkETsLrw-VnTVoMZsxy65B8_07BfhbVGVqdk5n2m9ey/s1600/risk43c1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcuU9710vayRrDP8MAB3jdaUMVYAE1oUkxso2OlNX23zT6f0m92R6lIkOJbVSXuxjSCSAWa3DhxFKSn4BhrsimdhWwcEkd-cuL9pkETsLrw-VnTVoMZsxy65B8_07BfhbVGVqdk5n2m9ey/s400/risk43c1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Mining has produced a large glowing hole in the yard, so Jessica inspects it, and falls in. On her underground adventure, she meets a Grey Warden who warns her away from a darkspawn infested cave.</span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7mZ6Vqtck2LH8y5ghr773ekB9sYq4VcKuySjiCXwEfH0sTYM4X-FW4uvsgxomb3THwv6DFEFkVNlhLy3vi3yatYBahWEKxWG7QwreVkxxgUVbLDeR6L4sIAVFN0VOlEB6gxweps3pOmfk/s1600/risk43d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7mZ6Vqtck2LH8y5ghr773ekB9sYq4VcKuySjiCXwEfH0sTYM4X-FW4uvsgxomb3THwv6DFEFkVNlhLy3vi3yatYBahWEKxWG7QwreVkxxgUVbLDeR6L4sIAVFN0VOlEB6gxweps3pOmfk/s400/risk43d.jpg" width="354" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Alis becomes a child.</span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3BAXGyMLev0_klU36HI5xs1IawRcvk_F-RGYVj3EC7dxsSrbBgH36oz8Tt8aGiEAgPWg-WzbKBfdj0MTwyAnEqvSokpAGTy8pVibdyemMC-P7ILfx55h1LPqabR6pKT88NqllC5mrnIA1/s1600/risk43e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3BAXGyMLev0_klU36HI5xs1IawRcvk_F-RGYVj3EC7dxsSrbBgH36oz8Tt8aGiEAgPWg-WzbKBfdj0MTwyAnEqvSokpAGTy8pVibdyemMC-P7ILfx55h1LPqabR6pKT88NqllC5mrnIA1/s1600/risk43e.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Playing tag in the family graveyard after dusk.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Challenge Notes:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Talfryn and Jessica have both achieved their LTWs and have thus officially completed all their goals for their generation.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The legacy is supposed to continue until the gen 11 dies, but my plan was just to go until the gen 11 heir (Rhys) becomes YA. However, now that Gen 10 has met its goals, I'm finding the actual playing of the legacy to be kind of tedious. I can't get too interested in or attached to the kids because I know I won't be playing them as adults.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I did intend to carry on with this legacy and give it a proper wrap up, but as I've moved on to my next legacy, the longer I go without playing this one, the less I feel like loading it. So I can't say for sure when or if this legacy will be updated again.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Here is a link to my new legacy:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://fosterenmity.blogspot.com/">Foster Enmity: A Random Legacy</a></span>yangthecathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15083940950118677312noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4989886776485997216.post-88687369474853615432011-05-01T10:30:00.000-07:002011-05-01T10:30:47.764-07:00Chapter 42: Leftover Party Drinks<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj87RxY_p9fRw5Oc3QP2iXs4U6Jtrnc90rUWj52oC_VywmjqtqpMdr5liK9eklI0pXY5OnZt4T0EzWjF4aa11KhsDVg5veWZoSWV6iHpNvgaH0dqzemgcIYQJ9MiiRcXbs5x4RjklJ1zVqM/s1600/risk42a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj87RxY_p9fRw5Oc3QP2iXs4U6Jtrnc90rUWj52oC_VywmjqtqpMdr5liK9eklI0pXY5OnZt4T0EzWjF4aa11KhsDVg5veWZoSWV6iHpNvgaH0dqzemgcIYQJ9MiiRcXbs5x4RjklJ1zVqM/s1600/risk42a.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Guests begin arriving for Talfryn and Jessica's wedding.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiBe4UFIIxJ9D5zlpAngfUAYrZK4pTcPDJY5Ghs0A7ljDbSpJ2_E-4TAAzpHG_F8lpTEhvRFt3La0D8LeUODLL2qUayu4SHMfaMIzOfbiMqsPmeDkI-4SHtc6PDpEuWa9c5KPvR5U-0pw4/s1600/risk42a1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiBe4UFIIxJ9D5zlpAngfUAYrZK4pTcPDJY5Ghs0A7ljDbSpJ2_E-4TAAzpHG_F8lpTEhvRFt3La0D8LeUODLL2qUayu4SHMfaMIzOfbiMqsPmeDkI-4SHtc6PDpEuWa9c5KPvR5U-0pw4/s1600/risk42a1.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">As soon as everyone arrives, and before they all start wandering around the house, the couple take their vows.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipV7gZyrNJFQnaGJy8wGhPF-mgftcNjrz15P7z36XORFlJJ-QJ3MmitLxC4mtiyzNMPoO6QJsWG8BwSq8YaBZ4YeLRmP6d3TOS_PO_gj1upACembOM0HLxCq4ogZRONVafQKtzibsONSsN/s1600/risk42a2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="398" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipV7gZyrNJFQnaGJy8wGhPF-mgftcNjrz15P7z36XORFlJJ-QJ3MmitLxC4mtiyzNMPoO6QJsWG8BwSq8YaBZ4YeLRmP6d3TOS_PO_gj1upACembOM0HLxCq4ogZRONVafQKtzibsONSsN/s400/risk42a2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Now Jessica is officially a Carlton.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3M0w7Dur2vdGrFAAwPvcFLWCCKwGXIwDLvSxlhVmsyB-epmI4lR_VNnAonojKdtLZ7-tFNXu7reaWSepEwgy1G8wYP-RDtgL9c6vk3FMqKlJM9zTI4EGMXAgkHj5tToin3S3AetlZOXL6/s1600/risk42a4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3M0w7Dur2vdGrFAAwPvcFLWCCKwGXIwDLvSxlhVmsyB-epmI4lR_VNnAonojKdtLZ7-tFNXu7reaWSepEwgy1G8wYP-RDtgL9c6vk3FMqKlJM9zTI4EGMXAgkHj5tToin3S3AetlZOXL6/s1600/risk42a4.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The three Carlton brothers enjoy the angel cake, baked generations ago by Violet Carlton, but still flaming.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0mEKZVx-Fa_ltMbJcphUPe_Vz8pTE53IefgEck9d2khaZa39av2F6DcKBG90WZaFIfZXhK5cmTEnP3vSyww1cWWGq5y-jYTCA9oXE2xKjl31P_Y-B5hAWQ8wn8w4Sv-qt1uo9wVzn5QXY/s1600/risk42a5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0mEKZVx-Fa_ltMbJcphUPe_Vz8pTE53IefgEck9d2khaZa39av2F6DcKBG90WZaFIfZXhK5cmTEnP3vSyww1cWWGq5y-jYTCA9oXE2xKjl31P_Y-B5hAWQ8wn8w4Sv-qt1uo9wVzn5QXY/s1600/risk42a5.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Dylan does his Yeti hand puppets for Carys, who is expecting her first child.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicy_a9GHNkIwJuxx2O36Qjogg5JQX3zD8iGuLzrF_36-6xB1ehCofjk0jMRx9jGm2gkwAuvxD23udXY6s-uj0KFCI6OjBieWKUsZMLExYusnuHan4TfC0rblsmqPe34gssTk39miqa1XVu/s1600/risk42a6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicy_a9GHNkIwJuxx2O36Qjogg5JQX3zD8iGuLzrF_36-6xB1ehCofjk0jMRx9jGm2gkwAuvxD23udXY6s-uj0KFCI6OjBieWKUsZMLExYusnuHan4TfC0rblsmqPe34gssTk39miqa1XVu/s1600/risk42a6.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The bridal couple dance.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrCCxKxbTh-1MGWmcTJAC9Gyjtu3SB7TP7LTajEMVC6oSF8vqp-nvI78IjTzC7KbNeuoIfZTOSvoWef9cXQRcZG1eVO7zKWx3Ebbj_JIzNbxECR3eYDJDMjnhynFerWhQ0gUDOfIzsDBjs/s1600/risk42a7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrCCxKxbTh-1MGWmcTJAC9Gyjtu3SB7TP7LTajEMVC6oSF8vqp-nvI78IjTzC7KbNeuoIfZTOSvoWef9cXQRcZG1eVO7zKWx3Ebbj_JIzNbxECR3eYDJDMjnhynFerWhQ0gUDOfIzsDBjs/s1600/risk42a7.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Do we really have to stay down here? I'd like to go upstairs and be alone," Jessica suggests.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"These parties are more about my Dad than anyone else," Talfryn answers, "We don't have to stay."</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuCZPTIRcMaeO7VKFfkQ5HvuyDICUF38qTbj4nvIFqT4VlXyVc5TiXcxoTlxFiBkaaXGLZEtG0aPIs73NtwGjdFNNdoaqL72YktOSsQntN3nn3WCIPpq1RGQFpPV4d-9Uszp5maPqKrxyE/s1600/risk42a8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="327" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuCZPTIRcMaeO7VKFfkQ5HvuyDICUF38qTbj4nvIFqT4VlXyVc5TiXcxoTlxFiBkaaXGLZEtG0aPIs73NtwGjdFNNdoaqL72YktOSsQntN3nn3WCIPpq1RGQFpPV4d-9Uszp5maPqKrxyE/s400/risk42a8.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Caitlin picks a fight with Carys.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqqdjD7xF3-Rb38NCk4A-OLIGiQ9sfjQ3qS62eGfOUjKGqkG5ZD2yoQu1oFEumQ_5_XZuFr8vcpyYn4O166IVu1rPCVbXIcrVpKcKqtpduNCahtnDpSpsIH4_rWMq3piMlgeN6RaKfNdCP/s1600/risk42a9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqqdjD7xF3-Rb38NCk4A-OLIGiQ9sfjQ3qS62eGfOUjKGqkG5ZD2yoQu1oFEumQ_5_XZuFr8vcpyYn4O166IVu1rPCVbXIcrVpKcKqtpduNCahtnDpSpsIH4_rWMq3piMlgeN6RaKfNdCP/s1600/risk42a9.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Alvin and Kristian go out to the yard to get away from their in-laws.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHt9o0Gw_yCEgTZTvdtZiXG3iGuYJNYsTg1jln8v6KsKzQT_yLGpM7bIBATIztaNcS2TcG7JTewkQzflH5Sjgp5vgnSjaHxA9dZSoVg8Y7lpoHkJ7V7Q2VldiayjyiEc2rqhY_L7Fp8bvS/s1600/risk42a10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHt9o0Gw_yCEgTZTvdtZiXG3iGuYJNYsTg1jln8v6KsKzQT_yLGpM7bIBATIztaNcS2TcG7JTewkQzflH5Sjgp5vgnSjaHxA9dZSoVg8Y7lpoHkJ7V7Q2VldiayjyiEc2rqhY_L7Fp8bvS/s1600/risk42a10.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">And the happy couple sneak up to their bedroom.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE1TgP35VVjrOQW67fFrPQgWnT3LoH5hUN_qP-XrWcH1RHaZknyT5OGXGFeVR0y8RdS3Q_ofDIxPcDjdG9lfGUP0sNZTJjLmmW_l5a3C7SH_XYejSNyHAcJ7t8ym7BWZY2mKGpmq4XcSh1/s1600/risk42b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE1TgP35VVjrOQW67fFrPQgWnT3LoH5hUN_qP-XrWcH1RHaZknyT5OGXGFeVR0y8RdS3Q_ofDIxPcDjdG9lfGUP0sNZTJjLmmW_l5a3C7SH_XYejSNyHAcJ7t8ym7BWZY2mKGpmq4XcSh1/s400/risk42b.jpg" width="391" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Archer starts off Sunday morning with leftover wedding party drinks.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-7ME4MG8CjVdIjbM0vM9Wesd6sQJZPK45H0PmaYCAcSNLug1BStaFHjujYZ48to1hYAcOFfwT4jGXKT3NrqiKeB9FkJGoiCiLClzx0Dg1oTe-WA6T9qYmOcmcTAz4mzC7U9ycJi7xdOfg/s1600/risk42c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="361" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-7ME4MG8CjVdIjbM0vM9Wesd6sQJZPK45H0PmaYCAcSNLug1BStaFHjujYZ48to1hYAcOFfwT4jGXKT3NrqiKeB9FkJGoiCiLClzx0Dg1oTe-WA6T9qYmOcmcTAz4mzC7U9ycJi7xdOfg/s400/risk42c.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Not long after their wedding, Talfryn and Jessica are expecting.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHvwxzU01jst3BDSQpgjz-vS65bniw7gCIBMwWVDu7dU6ZFY82qURku9b3npI1sgXLvwagK3u2iHCLmC-OYaIRfoBuE7tDXva-MMyHmjr5z1azdrAg7dqD6JhASn1lkebFyFEkBXzug5wZ/s1600/risk42d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHvwxzU01jst3BDSQpgjz-vS65bniw7gCIBMwWVDu7dU6ZFY82qURku9b3npI1sgXLvwagK3u2iHCLmC-OYaIRfoBuE7tDXva-MMyHmjr5z1azdrAg7dqD6JhASn1lkebFyFEkBXzug5wZ/s1600/risk42d.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Dylan gets a cake for his birthday, but no party. The only person he wanted invite, his girlfriend Candace, couldn't make it because of her working hours in the music career.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwSl5D0xkHT5be5c9BiY6eN1K4DahUY5G2O7bXaiJjf-MFhm9plWivm57GZlMdaFOoHhO6loNlrAhi0xHgKZVwP_NIxx4quXn_Qan-VaaEhF4gZOVLJTtYFVagnxeS1cwyZkn0bYHZQWsH/s1600/risk42d1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwSl5D0xkHT5be5c9BiY6eN1K4DahUY5G2O7bXaiJjf-MFhm9plWivm57GZlMdaFOoHhO6loNlrAhi0xHgKZVwP_NIxx4quXn_Qan-VaaEhF4gZOVLJTtYFVagnxeS1cwyZkn0bYHZQWsH/s1600/risk42d1.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Dylan becomes a man. Following in Shadow McDermott's footsteps, he gets a job as a ghost hunter. Then he moves in with Candace. The couple marry shortly afterwards.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqT_tW6rOoXY68Nkda8F0XeazwQp_Mfdaa_LhyD_tz4q0rEuO0jFUfBO3ppZWzmpa789nTQBXTPJJw6qPxwanfxRKm6i53OzygefdOiqIVHFMmPw2Jlt-ucxQnHuD9LpeAELQ9Q4EZejt_/s1600/risk42e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="375" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqT_tW6rOoXY68Nkda8F0XeazwQp_Mfdaa_LhyD_tz4q0rEuO0jFUfBO3ppZWzmpa789nTQBXTPJJw6qPxwanfxRKm6i53OzygefdOiqIVHFMmPw2Jlt-ucxQnHuD9LpeAELQ9Q4EZejt_/s400/risk42e.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Talfryn and Jessica have a son, Rhys.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidwM7z6P5QqjAt-Fx_V2p-ylqPxrvYmhKXWBg3l6BTnje2YX2qNqYbJnkh5fRHhxxFt6iErsK9fuO6N72QKhlpXJRx_LBIMpD9aR3FmnXo2WFghmimkncjUN1ABfEkzPcZY-brdmWK0rWS/s1600/risk42f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidwM7z6P5QqjAt-Fx_V2p-ylqPxrvYmhKXWBg3l6BTnje2YX2qNqYbJnkh5fRHhxxFt6iErsK9fuO6N72QKhlpXJRx_LBIMpD9aR3FmnXo2WFghmimkncjUN1ABfEkzPcZY-brdmWK0rWS/s400/risk42f.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">And quickly follow up with a second pregnancy.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrorn6NlOGxG1JJAuA9rD8Tt46PLPLnbQsSN9yKdNJRrs1CMCtSkZNJC4EIiOMDUcMjFy16dnY1S0twCmyUaQGVE7Tf7-eNq8RNoPY-cM0rSkTBdOBWaLi2PZYq9TlbRfAFx8qMri1LXdb/s1600/risk42g.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrorn6NlOGxG1JJAuA9rD8Tt46PLPLnbQsSN9yKdNJRrs1CMCtSkZNJC4EIiOMDUcMjFy16dnY1S0twCmyUaQGVE7Tf7-eNq8RNoPY-cM0rSkTBdOBWaLi2PZYq9TlbRfAFx8qMri1LXdb/s1600/risk42g.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"You can't take me now, I've got another grandchild on the way!"</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Archer's pleas do not move the Reaper.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgm6pvtsUXtEFQ3ybzWfkMJIYPXB4DJdxuAfrzHicJqX0IvW3bw3jS0Dn9iCae4Ixy_pw_Bnmy23CmKez8b681JhQwbFs8igw7TISyzwnohPKcF64r7KpXfAmDfgzAZeVlYsEWxo1fLS7M/s1600/risk42g1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgm6pvtsUXtEFQ3ybzWfkMJIYPXB4DJdxuAfrzHicJqX0IvW3bw3jS0Dn9iCae4Ixy_pw_Bnmy23CmKez8b681JhQwbFs8igw7TISyzwnohPKcF64r7KpXfAmDfgzAZeVlYsEWxo1fLS7M/s1600/risk42g1.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Talfryn shares his grief with Jessica.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijFvl3BaYDxY-hwZ_KqwE_flT5gRsyKxRrxxVW_3Q2vnlcLd3N38pStWA0qNgIHmcfchNuzgIYpn7FFEZuMFYP_cUsAcegI2Vl1xCNEWyrcOmfInvx3dypdxmEEyVwwD7ck8kV60fNKzUk/s1600/risk42h.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijFvl3BaYDxY-hwZ_KqwE_flT5gRsyKxRrxxVW_3Q2vnlcLd3N38pStWA0qNgIHmcfchNuzgIYpn7FFEZuMFYP_cUsAcegI2Vl1xCNEWyrcOmfInvx3dypdxmEEyVwwD7ck8kV60fNKzUk/s1600/risk42h.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Rhys becomes a toddler.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI7v2XCDKtQP6NjsdNx_spPOHbW90txeDIEBrEmeshbsF_p0qn1Bj0563E5xIjE8MKsAR5i6IkrG9uNvH2xuKwYKRBYrY456PxDgV-bhRtv-rMOuSOoSryYWFc-t9b8T9jjitB1-uRSsal/s1600/risk42i.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI7v2XCDKtQP6NjsdNx_spPOHbW90txeDIEBrEmeshbsF_p0qn1Bj0563E5xIjE8MKsAR5i6IkrG9uNvH2xuKwYKRBYrY456PxDgV-bhRtv-rMOuSOoSryYWFc-t9b8T9jjitB1-uRSsal/s1600/risk42i.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">And he gets a little sister, Alis, to share his nursery.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvV-II8gYI9BeJCrBL5I97XN5TWPuajplQnH5rmMNzpwHHGCephy4K8e8qhM7-j2s5RF3QLkvck5LPPCfnuCF4-QHgxTDgHI1paWCUotYxjtAC0GnQjObZd8WqpcWg91KLngbxa1b6Uukv/s1600/risk42j.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvV-II8gYI9BeJCrBL5I97XN5TWPuajplQnH5rmMNzpwHHGCephy4K8e8qhM7-j2s5RF3QLkvck5LPPCfnuCF4-QHgxTDgHI1paWCUotYxjtAC0GnQjObZd8WqpcWg91KLngbxa1b6Uukv/s1600/risk42j.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Ghosts: more afraid of you than you are of them.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuS1E4X8raiDdh4fXdZP3gQyN2_KOuCnU1ME6yb_die4JCbDfgwM4_pQby5C62p3TKDxidP1Ekloo3W5nmsoBA_mZnp3Eje5lgr_GPmx_TnKeM3SjFZLgmjZR-EF7f8-ooCoRg9cy-sivn/s1600/risk42k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuS1E4X8raiDdh4fXdZP3gQyN2_KOuCnU1ME6yb_die4JCbDfgwM4_pQby5C62p3TKDxidP1Ekloo3W5nmsoBA_mZnp3Eje5lgr_GPmx_TnKeM3SjFZLgmjZR-EF7f8-ooCoRg9cy-sivn/s400/risk42k.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Alis becomes a toddler. Meghan spends a lot of time in the nursery, helping to raise her grandchildren.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi740e8wLda3y4H0JOgxPrqxVKqicmodYUNDWCIqNBkFvc08VhmSQVbZS2aa5DQw3_fAlVMl2h7P3r5jamhuQ0VIaY0k5XT1z9KqHJl2WxiUFMs9-MHbpA23N4CjegFh2T6u3_5O1mKhLFx/s1600/risk42l.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi740e8wLda3y4H0JOgxPrqxVKqicmodYUNDWCIqNBkFvc08VhmSQVbZS2aa5DQw3_fAlVMl2h7P3r5jamhuQ0VIaY0k5XT1z9KqHJl2WxiUFMs9-MHbpA23N4CjegFh2T6u3_5O1mKhLFx/s1600/risk42l.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">So it's no surprise that Grim comes for her while she's teaching little Alis to walk.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWDKszxwJ6MeW-6xkuEcVhYRpQJGARVysnjO_6D8JMn8TRSw9vzalO9aC6Rw7FHBrmTHCkmA5Gqy3FC91_Hc8w6UYBTK32HnQOHx6gvl8JkPdM7lzC4erq7ANQaQtNuwKoPjbdLkePL_nc/s1600/risk42m.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWDKszxwJ6MeW-6xkuEcVhYRpQJGARVysnjO_6D8JMn8TRSw9vzalO9aC6Rw7FHBrmTHCkmA5Gqy3FC91_Hc8w6UYBTK32HnQOHx6gvl8JkPdM7lzC4erq7ANQaQtNuwKoPjbdLkePL_nc/s1600/risk42m.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Archer and Meghan are buried together with the rest of the family. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Challenge Notes:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Generation 11 is born. I didn't roll any rules for Rhys and Alis, since this legacy will be ending when Rhys becomes a YA. As long as I can fulfill Talfryn and Jessica's goal of Fulfilled, to achieve their LTWs before then.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">They are both looking good to achieve this before Rhys a YA. Jessica is level 9 Handiness and level 8 Logic (she must max both). Talfryn is level 9 painting, level 7 Logic and level 8 Charisma (must max all 3).</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I'm really bummed out I don't have a picture of Jessica's Gnome of Invention. I was sure I shot one right after she made it, but there is no picture of it. Lyle never made one of those, so I was excited for Jessica that she did. Oh, well, lol.</span>yangthecathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15083940950118677312noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4989886776485997216.post-87017119091431992102011-04-29T06:16:00.000-07:002011-04-29T06:16:35.737-07:00Chapter 41: World's Greatest Uncle<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOj68sWe4g6IkCPtw3niybvN9NckeLBErdov7GU_S0Kc1zJHCrFwePbpCVq1j75AsG4d6_35cJVeYb05W2b4hI-pXZCmmHMR2D1MOPXVpmzxb7knqB2NMgJYZTiYi33KicQIOSB-Xqe3g/s1600/risk41a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOj68sWe4g6IkCPtw3niybvN9NckeLBErdov7GU_S0Kc1zJHCrFwePbpCVq1j75AsG4d6_35cJVeYb05W2b4hI-pXZCmmHMR2D1MOPXVpmzxb7knqB2NMgJYZTiYi33KicQIOSB-Xqe3g/s400/risk41a.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Archer has thrown many parties in life, mostly birthday parties for his children, but celebrates his own birthdays in private.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid2kkwp9NateY-SlEge3Aax4ngx53jxhEN6s9sc5UGdGsTcLjUF7IrRvPOk6ItYq4f_M03z7e-jnBNSF2SWpGilbawLktVdk8qYvxZ8e72IUYGVxSj0i8aDxwBo19AryIiqu6nUIP5fTo/s1600/risk41a1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid2kkwp9NateY-SlEge3Aax4ngx53jxhEN6s9sc5UGdGsTcLjUF7IrRvPOk6ItYq4f_M03z7e-jnBNSF2SWpGilbawLktVdk8qYvxZ8e72IUYGVxSj0i8aDxwBo19AryIiqu6nUIP5fTo/s320/risk41a1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Already a grandfather now that Emery and Caitlin have had their first child, Archer now looks more the part.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSRYOnc2pzV75w755KYdAhzeBUckFZXH0fuA4Ruacbiy79asILwPMI2NuNT-2h8lDeVLGx9N5S6ahZLGOI0UBaXiuDL82FTLaNbSpmZK2QXGyAhuO5iIus_kaZtQ1ja3kLlKsdWQ4xQe0/s1600/risk41b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSRYOnc2pzV75w755KYdAhzeBUckFZXH0fuA4Ruacbiy79asILwPMI2NuNT-2h8lDeVLGx9N5S6ahZLGOI0UBaXiuDL82FTLaNbSpmZK2QXGyAhuO5iIus_kaZtQ1ja3kLlKsdWQ4xQe0/s1600/risk41b.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Since it's a school day, Dylan doesn't get a real birthday party, either. But he does get a cake, for once.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCgPC6-c7veV1B80e0G9Yr8RisljBINfrhpbb8Nd-JeyaBnPESvImWxGpqXtMltW5vnjazk5iMhs6g6TUfs1RLHsCPeUsCgq4T1DS9_1cLpSxn7QOPlN0x0BwY1qXLi2ax94W7l2UNqBY/s1600/risk41b1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCgPC6-c7veV1B80e0G9Yr8RisljBINfrhpbb8Nd-JeyaBnPESvImWxGpqXtMltW5vnjazk5iMhs6g6TUfs1RLHsCPeUsCgq4T1DS9_1cLpSxn7QOPlN0x0BwY1qXLi2ax94W7l2UNqBY/s1600/risk41b1.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Dylan becomes a teen.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinbbaktYhJHAA1g8LmZ9i5A8QUc9u2XR1CM7S7D1S0IG_N72f6x5uLtTV9OXb2rkriAk6x2hZDLLLQbuSTtJlokV-CemxtogrR_OEuCp7Lg-dO9LNkXBV7_Mk_3rtNXm6tw5wsOMu38_o/s1600/risk41b2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinbbaktYhJHAA1g8LmZ9i5A8QUc9u2XR1CM7S7D1S0IG_N72f6x5uLtTV9OXb2rkriAk6x2hZDLLLQbuSTtJlokV-CemxtogrR_OEuCp7Lg-dO9LNkXBV7_Mk_3rtNXm6tw5wsOMu38_o/s1600/risk41b2.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">His childhood friend Candace became a teen a few days ago and has been patiently waiting for him to catch up to her.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Talfryn's girlfriend Jessica has come to the little non-party, too, but she's not much in the mood to celebrate. Her elderly mother has just passed away and she had to move in with her older sister Norma and her husband. Jessica has never been close to her sister and the couple resent having to be responsible for her.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb3bHgKYwtyBzxYj5JUbNkH6T9q7FRrketwZ-K8Qecj-LlHNGNPIlKI9T4agR47smAyIiVCFJJLGOkQM3xG5RciUU6BaqQGbzVEHAwv9EK7obBfU3QJm1KC1oIJ2tK2RbwRmpEEjh1PFI/s1600/risk41b3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb3bHgKYwtyBzxYj5JUbNkH6T9q7FRrketwZ-K8Qecj-LlHNGNPIlKI9T4agR47smAyIiVCFJJLGOkQM3xG5RciUU6BaqQGbzVEHAwv9EK7obBfU3QJm1KC1oIJ2tK2RbwRmpEEjh1PFI/s1600/risk41b3.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Dylan is growing up, but still clings to childhood.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF4cz-LI0DP5P5jZJOcO1-YKurYVpjE7RaW29yXJhIjMLbP_JUwB3UTfqhbfB2n0rHDDP2Grq1Wvu0gsMWf_2n1X6J5TfSAng-A-GHvZX8TcrpSgEW4Ni6s_Sr4kibdixAwhQblDcK7A4/s1600/risk41c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF4cz-LI0DP5P5jZJOcO1-YKurYVpjE7RaW29yXJhIjMLbP_JUwB3UTfqhbfB2n0rHDDP2Grq1Wvu0gsMWf_2n1X6J5TfSAng-A-GHvZX8TcrpSgEW4Ni6s_Sr4kibdixAwhQblDcK7A4/s1600/risk41c.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The following Saturday is Talfryn's birthday, which of course is celebrated with a party. The town has come to expect a large party at the Carlton house every Saturday.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Griffin lives across the street and is first to arrive.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi20ShvjLWpXV6XwhMlliE6Z91KBuX55WRsYJ-oBAP_qcbE5bJgxMY4gZieUeCdoUDO2AADvpnNwGa67Z_VY3RFCyiGDc5XEjKnJ-2M4D-zB_iKls8gO8hth0nqzO_jqv5LOjdmsv8Pt1o/s1600/risk41c1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi20ShvjLWpXV6XwhMlliE6Z91KBuX55WRsYJ-oBAP_qcbE5bJgxMY4gZieUeCdoUDO2AADvpnNwGa67Z_VY3RFCyiGDc5XEjKnJ-2M4D-zB_iKls8gO8hth0nqzO_jqv5LOjdmsv8Pt1o/s1600/risk41c1.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Bronwyn and her husband show up next. They are expecting their first child any day now.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3-3E_4yfc2pvalC8nJ6gG5kiB3kDQ4hM3x00ONEzwU8n36HVrQ6u5oU3yuBmX12mWzGb-KGzCLAIOSuTz1CHNCx020v-HMlHS9cv4EnZn52ommPci__mYyxZJ2HdmyWJY-aXxW5L0y2I/s1600/risk41c2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3-3E_4yfc2pvalC8nJ6gG5kiB3kDQ4hM3x00ONEzwU8n36HVrQ6u5oU3yuBmX12mWzGb-KGzCLAIOSuTz1CHNCx020v-HMlHS9cv4EnZn52ommPci__mYyxZJ2HdmyWJY-aXxW5L0y2I/s1600/risk41c2.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It's not a party without cake. Carys' husband Kristian shows up without his wife, saying she'll be along later.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwpnvCOZi2dexDMO0EluKcf-qoYgF5uDXglw2oxrdCpuRqh2s8uj44twNaNIUt1szrjwCQ9hCZJXvhvG65En5yy0HfXonE3UAdtssW-Ha0_dak0HVxH_8TdRdm74rOtIrmIuRB4XTrDw4/s1600/risk41c3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwpnvCOZi2dexDMO0EluKcf-qoYgF5uDXglw2oxrdCpuRqh2s8uj44twNaNIUt1szrjwCQ9hCZJXvhvG65En5yy0HfXonE3UAdtssW-Ha0_dak0HVxH_8TdRdm74rOtIrmIuRB4XTrDw4/s1600/risk41c3.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Talfryn becomes a man.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeLmAJkmubnWrXjRYVhcGilJZ9hvrFYeTbNokLhGwBM1P3SMpVIQWZ95J4UJvu5TMA1PbGEukBnowl_j9vPXhRM6PTFI41rOcBZTXnZNrjNezCVAE9K3jtXxYmdBXpUb86cJ3T_CPbIf0/s1600/risk41d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeLmAJkmubnWrXjRYVhcGilJZ9hvrFYeTbNokLhGwBM1P3SMpVIQWZ95J4UJvu5TMA1PbGEukBnowl_j9vPXhRM6PTFI41rOcBZTXnZNrjNezCVAE9K3jtXxYmdBXpUb86cJ3T_CPbIf0/s1600/risk41d.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Before anyone can get a slice of cake, Bronwyn goes into labor. Her husband Alvin is woefully unprepared for this.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjweYva5-2wy9-v9Iwb7GPlZ9Xhbud8xYVFCeo57uvGOC3f9-IZTXnwdYJhdSjaX8thyphenhyphen3PwgVvhY1potDqMjlvFxVFcmtIkXNbkvkCsCnji5phI5l-Ko6XThLxCRO_BtXX7GtXzfh1stfE/s1600/risk41d1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjweYva5-2wy9-v9Iwb7GPlZ9Xhbud8xYVFCeo57uvGOC3f9-IZTXnwdYJhdSjaX8thyphenhyphen3PwgVvhY1potDqMjlvFxVFcmtIkXNbkvkCsCnji5phI5l-Ko6XThLxCRO_BtXX7GtXzfh1stfE/s1600/risk41d1.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">So Talfryn steps in and drives his sister to the hospital. At that moment, Carys finally shows up.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Are you sure you want to leave your own party?" Bronwyn asks, "Dad could take me to the hospital..."</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"These parties are more about Dad than about us," Talfryn says with a smile, "And I'm hoping to get one of those 'World's Greatest Uncle' mugs."</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmKjd1-kfrazsYR49Md26LZEcF4CkO7ZjR8-tnsRHT8VVDEI97wpzjJksz_qDKnYPn5e572qopXVXOxkPCCwghS7E2KbFyz9N8eU_Ob0RgLG1Js18ELw9QfHrlsWK3y_AjYn_mWzM5B2w/s1600/risk41d3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmKjd1-kfrazsYR49Md26LZEcF4CkO7ZjR8-tnsRHT8VVDEI97wpzjJksz_qDKnYPn5e572qopXVXOxkPCCwghS7E2KbFyz9N8eU_Ob0RgLG1Js18ELw9QfHrlsWK3y_AjYn_mWzM5B2w/s400/risk41d3.jpg" width="362" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Talfryn gets his sister to the hospital.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhreBJZ1MQevZtaNGukyqIvbscQaMj5CSp7Eg8-g28rKzp814CM4jfDDQVu0oKPtflU__MuGv2yrmw2Op6_hKwpOY4a6oZbWx8e5NKVaPYGP3krrxypuHojedaRUooTP7yn9vzM4oAESk/s1600/risk41d4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhreBJZ1MQevZtaNGukyqIvbscQaMj5CSp7Eg8-g28rKzp814CM4jfDDQVu0oKPtflU__MuGv2yrmw2Op6_hKwpOY4a6oZbWx8e5NKVaPYGP3krrxypuHojedaRUooTP7yn9vzM4oAESk/s400/risk41d4.jpg" width="369" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Alvin eventually gets himself together and arrives at the hospital just in time for the birth.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMPZXxN1_lbIG25jSdJHsT8wVLH5Jbd-29Q1vqmR1Haz-1jRgltxlgcj3jt3YJhpsvjBefID7rBybuAnXIkOWOH52GJ-WTSvNctUO5i0ZYEmBoWFYUGJsfrAUpWfg6QPzfLUkUKCrB7rI/s1600/risk41d5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMPZXxN1_lbIG25jSdJHsT8wVLH5Jbd-29Q1vqmR1Haz-1jRgltxlgcj3jt3YJhpsvjBefID7rBybuAnXIkOWOH52GJ-WTSvNctUO5i0ZYEmBoWFYUGJsfrAUpWfg6QPzfLUkUKCrB7rI/s1600/risk41d5.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Bronwyn and Alvin have a son, Jeffrey.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYTGOon0NqfvkwPfvDGdYdPe4KxI9qKTGBb3Uv3O0PM-Ep8UhO5ZSzoXPPEODQ7JhLw_DFK8tlhHk9GkyaRCk6k07ZKEFCKEr4nbZ5JUsnL9BIgzvS4rKYga5oKVAgL8S6DXSYb11XFSA/s1600/risk41e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYTGOon0NqfvkwPfvDGdYdPe4KxI9qKTGBb3Uv3O0PM-Ep8UhO5ZSzoXPPEODQ7JhLw_DFK8tlhHk9GkyaRCk6k07ZKEFCKEr4nbZ5JUsnL9BIgzvS4rKYga5oKVAgL8S6DXSYb11XFSA/s400/risk41e.jpg" width="345" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I'm glad you came," Tricia Merrick greets Talfryn outside her house, "He's waiting for you inside."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Talfryn had got a call the night before from Beau Merrick, requesting a visit. Talfryn was a bit hesitant to meet the old vampire, but decided to honor his ancestor's invitation.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4KgbvW4YWhfAQY9ARzpS7icOt02CtWMhmDX1tFlqpbSN-C_fEOCsL7Qnq87XK4gBTksB02DQKOHPMThTH7D33zAB_6qPlqIhTGYdtlFP-5XBU0W2CGJrMGI4VB9uBFZ5PeNrWMAwfN_4/s1600/risk41e1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4KgbvW4YWhfAQY9ARzpS7icOt02CtWMhmDX1tFlqpbSN-C_fEOCsL7Qnq87XK4gBTksB02DQKOHPMThTH7D33zAB_6qPlqIhTGYdtlFP-5XBU0W2CGJrMGI4VB9uBFZ5PeNrWMAwfN_4/s1600/risk41e1.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"You know who I am?" Beau asks as soon as Talfryn steps into the room.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Of course, you are my great-great-grandfather," Talfryn answers, "My grandfather wrote your biography."</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Unauthorized biography," Beau scowls, then relents, "But he did it for Briar Rose, I suppose."</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Is there something you wanted from me?" Talfryn asks nervously. He grew up around vampires, his uncle Griffin married one, his cousin Jaimey is one, and the principal of the school he attended as a child and where he's now employed as a teacher is one, but this vampire, the ancestor of them all, makes him uneasy.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I've lived a long life," Beau answers, "For generations, I've worked in this town's cemetery, tended to the dead. My own death is not long in coming, and I do not wish to be buried with all the others. I would prefer to rest with...my family. With my daughter, and her granddaughter."</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Beau has three daughters, one a still living vampire, and two who were cured of vampirism, Yesenia Merrick and Talfryn's great-grandmother Violet. Talfryn assumes the daughter Beau wishes to be buried with is Violet, who lies in the Carlton yard with the rest of the family. Having read his grandfather's biography of the vampire, Talfryn is quite sure that Violet, and her mother Oregon, would want him to refuse the old vampire's request. But his grandmother Briar Rose would have wanted him to accept, and with fond memories of her still fresh in his mind, Talfryn takes Beau's hand and promises to bury him with the family when the time comes.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsFSgqXBHCpl1Km95HpFyxv2cbDqRKq_ILJFlrT7_7lGfPzbfWQEb8JWRDfQXpMHAwQHmVYnSxoQS6rYGTkvmY0AoqCZwvGhpuBMTl8AlT2vRLYR1H2noK3ERX9FFpl1Uv3DTnH0BBmLw/s1600/risk41f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsFSgqXBHCpl1Km95HpFyxv2cbDqRKq_ILJFlrT7_7lGfPzbfWQEb8JWRDfQXpMHAwQHmVYnSxoQS6rYGTkvmY0AoqCZwvGhpuBMTl8AlT2vRLYR1H2noK3ERX9FFpl1Uv3DTnH0BBmLw/s1600/risk41f.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Carys lives in the house next to Beau and his wife, so Talfryn drops by after he leaves the old vampire, and tells her about his strange request.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Do vampire ghosts drink blood?" Carys wonders, "Our ghosts used to raid the fridge all the time."</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3QhTrMhcULIvcuBhDS69ym0XRWYWEQkipYJLa1lPX1f8B0JX2PV4dTXdwYFARWjFnRidcuGJ8P3K5SoFkAsLXr3UYXTIeEPqHY291nToonbhNZNJCdx7US5rCJTCFZrrMKseUaIaefJE/s1600/risk41f1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3QhTrMhcULIvcuBhDS69ym0XRWYWEQkipYJLa1lPX1f8B0JX2PV4dTXdwYFARWjFnRidcuGJ8P3K5SoFkAsLXr3UYXTIeEPqHY291nToonbhNZNJCdx7US5rCJTCFZrrMKseUaIaefJE/s1600/risk41f1.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The siblings end their conversation with a game of tag, running around in the street like they did as children.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I'm too old for this," Carys sighs, out of breath.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Nonsense," Talfryn answers, "I'm just better at it than you."</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8tJSkIx0LzClxHIQUw43nnwwFYmfyBwRNrb-zB01dhEUZatcYC0mS422e_lr1GyPDU4-2MGNKQLAPJHQrwrhdYesOaNv87wMSHXC97RJnzoH72_T_jEdg2nbnf4adWgglNDuEKYvqa8g/s1600/risk41g.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8tJSkIx0LzClxHIQUw43nnwwFYmfyBwRNrb-zB01dhEUZatcYC0mS422e_lr1GyPDU4-2MGNKQLAPJHQrwrhdYesOaNv87wMSHXC97RJnzoH72_T_jEdg2nbnf4adWgglNDuEKYvqa8g/s1600/risk41g.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">That afternoon, Talfryn has a birthday cake for Jessica, since her own family can't be bothered with her. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtSYKUmlbI6qYkBU9jvkTihviJWvLpcLNR_0FJgifXvZOsjpPYq7VQsCZD6ZvSP3xxv2XBdjmOOm06Twmd4MW5TkCf3nQFpbHz65cJ3JwYWiw4hPYEuXrzW0IQZTov7mZCX1gr9i2UxdA/s1600/risk41g1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtSYKUmlbI6qYkBU9jvkTihviJWvLpcLNR_0FJgifXvZOsjpPYq7VQsCZD6ZvSP3xxv2XBdjmOOm06Twmd4MW5TkCf3nQFpbHz65cJ3JwYWiw4hPYEuXrzW0IQZTov7mZCX1gr9i2UxdA/s400/risk41g1.jpg" width="388" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">He also invites her to move in, and lets her redecorated his room, her room, too, now, in her favorite color. She's had a difficult time since her mother died, and he'd do anything to make her happy.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfVmueJFOoyBy5oxZwCbhcIzE59IA_uuJmXqTDfmP_G0fuTH8_L6htFUfVu7TT4gm4B2Dclw62D46dvIxg2_fv1RoUxkKtNHmWS9M-BJeR6_r1fMvpylWJCPsvjfXXgzWst4CTps21BkM/s1600/risk41h.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfVmueJFOoyBy5oxZwCbhcIzE59IA_uuJmXqTDfmP_G0fuTH8_L6htFUfVu7TT4gm4B2Dclw62D46dvIxg2_fv1RoUxkKtNHmWS9M-BJeR6_r1fMvpylWJCPsvjfXXgzWst4CTps21BkM/s1600/risk41h.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">While redecorating, Jessica found Lyle Carlton's old workbench in storage, along with the schematics for his various widgets and other inventions. Working for his own amusement rather than monetary gain, Lyle had never patented his work or shared the results outside his family. Jessica decides it's time the world was let in on Lyle's genius, and gets the required patents for the inventions, and starts producing them quantity for sale to the public.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl15ne439ZSkknBvyInx9CM8hgP35Dt_KElAnWK1Xt32W_SKvVDB8SZjGnlZ6A10hKAi_cXAQjuNJq3UYLBdfmJv40PntiFL80LnH_TqiHEL1x3fJquRAtKJEc_L7hyKChB6q0R2rA_8E/s1600/risk41h1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl15ne439ZSkknBvyInx9CM8hgP35Dt_KElAnWK1Xt32W_SKvVDB8SZjGnlZ6A10hKAi_cXAQjuNJq3UYLBdfmJv40PntiFL80LnH_TqiHEL1x3fJquRAtKJEc_L7hyKChB6q0R2rA_8E/s1600/risk41h1.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Lyle's notes also mentioned the dangers of ass on fire. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicUFtw_gZqQyLOSPufUB_nPcud674kbgmcXsFFvWE_DNWdqGcLlkCUTS-ZmyX2HQiaZ4L0L7wj-nZOuI7xiD_m3xu1OgGLqu7LkswCVVIWzrFzWYJuL01j8tPz36bPruXy3xwShBpjMNU/s1600/risk41i.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicUFtw_gZqQyLOSPufUB_nPcud674kbgmcXsFFvWE_DNWdqGcLlkCUTS-ZmyX2HQiaZ4L0L7wj-nZOuI7xiD_m3xu1OgGLqu7LkswCVVIWzrFzWYJuL01j8tPz36bPruXy3xwShBpjMNU/s400/risk41i.jpg" width="393" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Talfryn comes home from work with a surprise for Jessica. For one, he's been promoted.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgduek6olhTkDGFJTOOo24VbG6eqoii4byYZZ14oyG-14VFoVrG9u02pNSFW2o-IorV1le_bw-4B701sFWAD0ayqfaDBzbl24Q3AoOXV7AYvZ3fOiHo2zI6UgHcmxooZHBlQLerGkneDc4/s1600/risk41j.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgduek6olhTkDGFJTOOo24VbG6eqoii4byYZZ14oyG-14VFoVrG9u02pNSFW2o-IorV1le_bw-4B701sFWAD0ayqfaDBzbl24Q3AoOXV7AYvZ3fOiHo2zI6UgHcmxooZHBlQLerGkneDc4/s400/risk41j.jpg" width="380" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">More importantly, he's bought her a ring, and asks her to marry him. Jessica is thrilled to accept his proposal.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"My Dad will want a huge wedding party. On Saturday," Talfryn says.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Challenge Notes:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Generation 10! It feels great to be near the end.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Archer achieved all his goals (well, still waiting for Dylan to grow up to YA) and now that Talfryn has taken over, he is no longer required to throw a weekly party. But we'll have the wedding party, anyway.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Archer achieved his LTW to be a Super Spy. Meghan's original LTW was something career related, so I used her happiness points to buy her the Surrounded by Family LTW, which was fulfilled when Dylan became a teen.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Talfryn is employed in the Education career, and Jessica has taken on inventing. Her original LTW was to be an astronaut, so as soon as she got the 10k points I changed that to Tinkerer (max handiness and logic). Because this generations goals if Fulfilled, I wasn't happy until I got her a LTW she could actually do.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I might change her traits up a little, too, when she gets the points. She doesn't have any really bad traits. She's Good, Handy, Heavy Sleeper, Ambitious and Vegetarian. I'm worried about Ambitious because she doesn't have a regular career and the skill careers get harder to advance in in the higher levels. Also, not keen on Vegetarian. I am a vegetarian myself, so, nothing against vegetarianism, but my problem is not knowing what foods cooked by non-vegetarian Sims are going to be 'meaty'. I mean, obviously, cheesesteak, but I get tripped up by things like spaghetti. Even when I was a meat eater, my spaghetti normally wasn't in meat sauce, so I've frequently had my vegetarian Sims get sick on stealth meat spaghetti. It doesn't help that the game assumes meat in recipes that don't require meat (like spaghetti, which only require tomato). The fridge is still full of foods prepared by Violet, and Archer has also done his share of cooking. I could have Jessica prepare her own vegetarian meals, but I'm concentrating on her LTW skills and her career, so she's been eating leftover salad and grilled cheese. Happily, there are no stealth bacon bits in the salad, lol.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Talfryn's LTW is Renaissance Sim, to max three skills. His job requires Logic and Charisma, and he has the Artistic trait, so he'll be going for Logic, Charisma and Painting for his LTW.</span><br />
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</span>yangthecathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15083940950118677312noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4989886776485997216.post-80218311315978428822011-04-25T05:14:00.000-07:002011-04-25T05:14:14.166-07:00Chapter 40: Eight Minus Four<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9nBbVfOwc_DQcmEgxyNZxbPxeKz2ROlikMb8iSEA4RRRMaDu6mtGxZO0AttuJgAPXtxjjnJc18hPt0HBi5Zwd7Z26f3XldMsvzdvokJfRtDyXKoFHw7gDFXXebUIX4ny114xj6y655AI/s1600/risk40a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="337" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9nBbVfOwc_DQcmEgxyNZxbPxeKz2ROlikMb8iSEA4RRRMaDu6mtGxZO0AttuJgAPXtxjjnJc18hPt0HBi5Zwd7Z26f3XldMsvzdvokJfRtDyXKoFHw7gDFXXebUIX4ny114xj6y655AI/s400/risk40a.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Ewan worries about Drew, who still faints every time he sees him.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCQSia9wNSqJFWDtSxFjjn9a9SIxl0inxusBvbxIpmzWJqF17yZnbPkkunrLWX3hXvNeUZhOFUoZatDf_zJ6fQcCgTVQ78mzVkevLqIkxA-8osoRx6Zgjt5btnWUv-Jg7kkXT-OP0XVoY/s1600/risk40b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="380" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCQSia9wNSqJFWDtSxFjjn9a9SIxl0inxusBvbxIpmzWJqF17yZnbPkkunrLWX3hXvNeUZhOFUoZatDf_zJ6fQcCgTVQ78mzVkevLqIkxA-8osoRx6Zgjt5btnWUv-Jg7kkXT-OP0XVoY/s400/risk40b.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Death comes for Briar Rose right after she finishes chatting with her vampire grandfather, Beau.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidVZMKvKr4xJ6AW05kffIb-gsEip0oCywDonNoK1DbrBqHCDXFUnh2VOmOVDra2UEzGtyKfYfXNaJdgI7jwDKs3cSghJg2M0moqixFPxf2KFURvQggbfyu_1fOcP1FVOWKFWyzUMK_yiU/s1600/risk40c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidVZMKvKr4xJ6AW05kffIb-gsEip0oCywDonNoK1DbrBqHCDXFUnh2VOmOVDra2UEzGtyKfYfXNaJdgI7jwDKs3cSghJg2M0moqixFPxf2KFURvQggbfyu_1fOcP1FVOWKFWyzUMK_yiU/s400/risk40c.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Grim is apparently insane, having a tendency to choke himself. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_r0RssKoT5V4pMDoKBXs_zKjmQGyg0YuuQWFeOPmON0Z-zzn4rJ2GE37_yRDtjuVEzdI4fCwwkDS9-H4x78TBsEM6g8uCUcYraLxb24U6UEm3DoDFfgpWO_zJ-DbkLJYj1jvgIH147W4/s1600/risk40d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_r0RssKoT5V4pMDoKBXs_zKjmQGyg0YuuQWFeOPmON0Z-zzn4rJ2GE37_yRDtjuVEzdI4fCwwkDS9-H4x78TBsEM6g8uCUcYraLxb24U6UEm3DoDFfgpWO_zJ-DbkLJYj1jvgIH147W4/s400/risk40d.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Brair Rose and Drew are laid to rest together. His grave is decorated with his Hugo award, and hers with a meteorite, commemorating the story that launched her journalistic career, about the meteor that fell on Twinbrook.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAjIR7cEdgq4kGFqdnJLlqrZr2pHVlNASWdrh77qjwLyRkU_633IYz48rLPukzpKwqtSWC9JVBRpPdOqwzUqS1i7jf8OyexEBXw9d7iTH3OoPMz_KKmKiiX31rvQrh9q_jqAVxvdQ02MQ/s1600/risk40e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAjIR7cEdgq4kGFqdnJLlqrZr2pHVlNASWdrh77qjwLyRkU_633IYz48rLPukzpKwqtSWC9JVBRpPdOqwzUqS1i7jf8OyexEBXw9d7iTH3OoPMz_KKmKiiX31rvQrh9q_jqAVxvdQ02MQ/s1600/risk40e.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Like her great-grandfather Lyle, Carys likes to play with fire.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUD5SgpoEPppKxHJYP_xJq-_933e0R1sjX7HleY8-ni0GFzQzgLKXELSWY3k8zWC7SVx0RvpSevJHIL5OxFmsYdk3Y3Bv_yCwWjdc6X8rzYMEpYXs8lGtYRPt6UPtdgQ9cZEnlg7pl8sc/s1600/risk40d1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUD5SgpoEPppKxHJYP_xJq-_933e0R1sjX7HleY8-ni0GFzQzgLKXELSWY3k8zWC7SVx0RvpSevJHIL5OxFmsYdk3Y3Bv_yCwWjdc6X8rzYMEpYXs8lGtYRPt6UPtdgQ9cZEnlg7pl8sc/s1600/risk40d1.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Yes, it does burn, but that doesn't stop her from sticking her hand in the fireplace.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmE_ulytLIqUvzTWPDD1bi4-61JxHmSQmN-CPLq1_CNqu3GVzSZWZ6PiEVSbspVc57_DjX9wzKp3KE3o15SAMxpAW21sjzenDqdy9d3PLM43A80Y6lpQAgksaI0Rrph6Vl7An_PZCJ96Q/s1600/risk40f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmE_ulytLIqUvzTWPDD1bi4-61JxHmSQmN-CPLq1_CNqu3GVzSZWZ6PiEVSbspVc57_DjX9wzKp3KE3o15SAMxpAW21sjzenDqdy9d3PLM43A80Y6lpQAgksaI0Rrph6Vl7An_PZCJ96Q/s1600/risk40f.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Dylan becomes a toddler, with Drew's hair and eye color.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNOX7-ExKY6ZGpbzSs28QboplLk__jHMeVKRN_-r6qRglVFKsh99vQqcGcwyHVgokat5m1sZnzYRq1y0vjA1-rf29lpHBOrJuSU5jHaOiNuc-U4Zr3wiep2ruKk1z9eeRryfj2OJL8e5g/s1600/risk40g.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNOX7-ExKY6ZGpbzSs28QboplLk__jHMeVKRN_-r6qRglVFKsh99vQqcGcwyHVgokat5m1sZnzYRq1y0vjA1-rf29lpHBOrJuSU5jHaOiNuc-U4Zr3wiep2ruKk1z9eeRryfj2OJL8e5g/s1600/risk40g.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Friday night is triple date night at the Red Rendezvous, Emery and Caitlin, Bronwyn and Alvin and Carys and Kristian. Though she's been going steady with Emery for quite some time now, Caitlin still has problems with her former fling Alvin's relationship with Bronwyn.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0nhGiekQicG3QoBDMiYHvxgDhHpSSOR0br4JUFNu-VTnplVpAuScBgxisyhRV2UmzrH3jOJ0MQ3Y876PxX6M0YiNYVtMkrcfmig4GI2ZYQ_AJfjdPQdDU3CJYtvHl66cu-g13YF3sneQ/s1600/risk40h.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0nhGiekQicG3QoBDMiYHvxgDhHpSSOR0br4JUFNu-VTnplVpAuScBgxisyhRV2UmzrH3jOJ0MQ3Y876PxX6M0YiNYVtMkrcfmig4GI2ZYQ_AJfjdPQdDU3CJYtvHl66cu-g13YF3sneQ/s1600/risk40h.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">That problem persists through the Saturday birthday party for Talfryn.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4hBOsvTugMxE0uCfLr7tygmBbl2iC0BI9v4EjwitoKdc4_pUVAH0AUJSc2UQMPkimVM8D0hTFo_mCJIZfunSKOsIM4Q0ztHSM_avFy3gaKnHS6UjeZtGV4p0yhf5u3sBtGt8ssY-NhZY/s1600/risk40h1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="353" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4hBOsvTugMxE0uCfLr7tygmBbl2iC0BI9v4EjwitoKdc4_pUVAH0AUJSc2UQMPkimVM8D0hTFo_mCJIZfunSKOsIM4Q0ztHSM_avFy3gaKnHS6UjeZtGV4p0yhf5u3sBtGt8ssY-NhZY/s400/risk40h1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Only one cake for this birthday party.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTxwXc-a1-NofQTMRQWZoHTwHib6_XGCxO9TQMwRddfoICt0-08xj75ZDVyqnSB1PouXR0hBePwuXRw6Fz5R6vAwuxgnsGg7csyR1rpZ4BMvXcadmHCIJ5xg3JqBZjfQbRok840HQ8S0M/s1600/risk40h2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTxwXc-a1-NofQTMRQWZoHTwHib6_XGCxO9TQMwRddfoICt0-08xj75ZDVyqnSB1PouXR0hBePwuXRw6Fz5R6vAwuxgnsGg7csyR1rpZ4BMvXcadmHCIJ5xg3JqBZjfQbRok840HQ8S0M/s1600/risk40h2.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Talfryn becomes a teen.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0PRHY4QlGFRAlfu3XdLh92w_-Sb1ovCh6kQPy3qTpHasHrf9WlBOSEWdViVVqBg90Iczd9DcbbxDLhT5sxJel76VMt4BGnfqRbwDjMOKlqtYs9ZGVOJXef0RTXBKVMTUg4UZwo0eOWuE/s1600/risk40h4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0PRHY4QlGFRAlfu3XdLh92w_-Sb1ovCh6kQPy3qTpHasHrf9WlBOSEWdViVVqBg90Iczd9DcbbxDLhT5sxJel76VMt4BGnfqRbwDjMOKlqtYs9ZGVOJXef0RTXBKVMTUg4UZwo0eOWuE/s1600/risk40h4.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Caitlin obviously has issues. Kristian is so glad he never dated her.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPqf5-ze7ukAyZab3N9i0OIHYiqtcU-OOGW5qYpB0-eYOwbh01NaU-lMXMexFkna4sUpXhif4vEfXhFXQJRNac27BWdbk74M4_I0i1I0lFXN2WFWLPOhzByOfWT9Ikrr4WCjOtIlqF6XI/s1600/risk40h5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPqf5-ze7ukAyZab3N9i0OIHYiqtcU-OOGW5qYpB0-eYOwbh01NaU-lMXMexFkna4sUpXhif4vEfXhFXQJRNac27BWdbk74M4_I0i1I0lFXN2WFWLPOhzByOfWT9Ikrr4WCjOtIlqF6XI/s1600/risk40h5.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">After the party is over, the four Carlton teens hang out in the hot tub together.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSFDvHZehJbgwYYsq-mV_tN_mltP05YTT5DiKqBuUmJj8JiYdfHfCwPX1n3zDUvs_zUzoTdCYl864f0NsIdTuAQdVlY7-sJ5dnfhBUh-WTvqjSPNswPPO7OIKMuywNScrz-GmFiZZ8Dtk/s1600/risk40i.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSFDvHZehJbgwYYsq-mV_tN_mltP05YTT5DiKqBuUmJj8JiYdfHfCwPX1n3zDUvs_zUzoTdCYl864f0NsIdTuAQdVlY7-sJ5dnfhBUh-WTvqjSPNswPPO7OIKMuywNScrz-GmFiZZ8Dtk/s1600/risk40i.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Talfryn starts dating his childhood friend Jessica Smith-Jones.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVW5Arqqgzzm99ko7s_76cNKHrEM1W14I3Gx0P93DMNfggS8LCXJjNZlBvcFb78zCVa1jcuKpdGK2FXGkru4f0SmZax_JA5rVLt0lZSFM3utgsVT7VRQTeH-x3HQrrKUS2TSSVCXXIv7g/s1600/risk40j.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVW5Arqqgzzm99ko7s_76cNKHrEM1W14I3Gx0P93DMNfggS8LCXJjNZlBvcFb78zCVa1jcuKpdGK2FXGkru4f0SmZax_JA5rVLt0lZSFM3utgsVT7VRQTeH-x3HQrrKUS2TSSVCXXIv7g/s1600/risk40j.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Dylan's birthday again goes uncelebrated.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJRe9kj3rPXyKCuw_Vfa3wZV8y3TYX0B0BEHPpBakQihldeacOrXQZIjlO5SEXTg0nLuEEG96W_pPQTGV5cfVlBJFGbEsUqvuC5lxkw3JeQWYXmm-wCAKeRWHcBAq6ASz3nXNEgSSK5v4/s1600/risk40k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJRe9kj3rPXyKCuw_Vfa3wZV8y3TYX0B0BEHPpBakQihldeacOrXQZIjlO5SEXTg0nLuEEG96W_pPQTGV5cfVlBJFGbEsUqvuC5lxkw3JeQWYXmm-wCAKeRWHcBAq6ASz3nXNEgSSK5v4/s1600/risk40k.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Emery has a birthday, too, becoming a young adult. He gets a job in the medical career, buys a house and marries Caitlin.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEONhyBoAAY1H4TQAFYmmP1LXpdtKpoQ0ui62xkBQESFfP_EaoLEyDgN-ztwGA0W9nemMv-XQq8YjfZrOBt_oLwQ1EyXH0ZvP3fuZgsZW4eACCXkaNIO6oxRAT6CCn3n8V0Yh5iFj4Gpg/s1600/risk40l.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEONhyBoAAY1H4TQAFYmmP1LXpdtKpoQ0ui62xkBQESFfP_EaoLEyDgN-ztwGA0W9nemMv-XQq8YjfZrOBt_oLwQ1EyXH0ZvP3fuZgsZW4eACCXkaNIO6oxRAT6CCn3n8V0Yh5iFj4Gpg/s1600/risk40l.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Dylan's first best friend is Jaimey Merrick, Griffin and Sommer's daughter. She also inherited Drew's hair.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG0i6XWb_OPNncH7D_iPjM1GQYmnuLUhfcyU75Hnx6hy_huDbx0QhAKfQRa89HAUpitAEpsOqiqyTajCFS_DIkfxTHXUpreyxRs6hV_0CJ6buwUr-SIej1rakDQGUX6Gx5yQQisS5lzyM/s1600/risk40m.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG0i6XWb_OPNncH7D_iPjM1GQYmnuLUhfcyU75Hnx6hy_huDbx0QhAKfQRa89HAUpitAEpsOqiqyTajCFS_DIkfxTHXUpreyxRs6hV_0CJ6buwUr-SIej1rakDQGUX6Gx5yQQisS5lzyM/s1600/risk40m.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Emery never got his own birthday parties, but he still has to come to his younger siblings' Saturday birthday party.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE4X33NJxPe8eivDZWzHw7sJ0TnDctoBSjDnxkLX7afLMZSn0jGQFgRQPZWP41LIG0eBorouvEnhcNiOCDpkLY6JuddvA7TC4H8A-y42hIfgXtom1hCpRwdNBbu7jJzEOOgdXbGtvFoD8/s1600/risk40m1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE4X33NJxPe8eivDZWzHw7sJ0TnDctoBSjDnxkLX7afLMZSn0jGQFgRQPZWP41LIG0eBorouvEnhcNiOCDpkLY6JuddvA7TC4H8A-y42hIfgXtom1hCpRwdNBbu7jJzEOOgdXbGtvFoD8/s1600/risk40m1.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Bronwyn's boyfriend Alvin already had his birthday and is a young adult. He's started a career in politics, but is also very devoted to his sculpting hobby. So devoted that he never puts down his chisel.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBC93VX8uqIzSsGapLL2TIRZLUi0NRVxuI1gG_i5xPvVi7pDIT6BPoG6lhyphenhyphen8Bz6LeEZMl_N65lkquWoyZlA80TzJQSvQBvzd7FIBPpWow70zkHiispJhdl6tEq0Tiyj20JN-YqYfJ4m7I/s1600/risk40m2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBC93VX8uqIzSsGapLL2TIRZLUi0NRVxuI1gG_i5xPvVi7pDIT6BPoG6lhyphenhyphen8Bz6LeEZMl_N65lkquWoyZlA80TzJQSvQBvzd7FIBPpWow70zkHiispJhdl6tEq0Tiyj20JN-YqYfJ4m7I/s1600/risk40m2.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Bronwyn is first to the cake.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPvH-XzyeeQ3WF2N6DZCLwVJ9wpSaE9r8H3U2vrdWsmFQmkAlAWwGC4wvFDkDFJrDDGDMCHwxkB6YCqXxKx15moJ6U6tCtqfLjDjjqOcqJQndTYXduny-U2RnoIKYBm5SH5-KYCqKsbGQ/s1600/risk40m3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPvH-XzyeeQ3WF2N6DZCLwVJ9wpSaE9r8H3U2vrdWsmFQmkAlAWwGC4wvFDkDFJrDDGDMCHwxkB6YCqXxKx15moJ6U6tCtqfLjDjjqOcqJQndTYXduny-U2RnoIKYBm5SH5-KYCqKsbGQ/s1600/risk40m3.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Bronwyn becomes a young adult. Her goal is to be an Illustrious Author. Right after the party, she moves in with Alvin, and they marry a few days later.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDjA1AKExA7LZlNPkHphSVW3W-wZ0NtcCXHSG00EHjQYdB8zGNc9fpyrTKvu7e3RasLsjFmwKFwPiSca3lYz5J7ulIlaPptdzmuxFYqJifdpPWlpSe4N4FdFKTD8dTlhWIOwfphWMe1V0/s1600/risk40m5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDjA1AKExA7LZlNPkHphSVW3W-wZ0NtcCXHSG00EHjQYdB8zGNc9fpyrTKvu7e3RasLsjFmwKFwPiSca3lYz5J7ulIlaPptdzmuxFYqJifdpPWlpSe4N4FdFKTD8dTlhWIOwfphWMe1V0/s1600/risk40m5.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Carys gets her cake next.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEAwHb21QKPtUb1p5ym-ceMFtrTaX5raT_B3QIVjIqmF0HBhw2v3kjThNewW4oI6xDnmdCcZeCMKfLJEsDZdwi1lbTi0oMmKGfgWZuPEbyfqBw1ESZvAhz5nuRBU05lapG2MOUr0gc0u8/s1600/risk40m6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEAwHb21QKPtUb1p5ym-ceMFtrTaX5raT_B3QIVjIqmF0HBhw2v3kjThNewW4oI6xDnmdCcZeCMKfLJEsDZdwi1lbTi0oMmKGfgWZuPEbyfqBw1ESZvAhz5nuRBU05lapG2MOUr0gc0u8/s1600/risk40m6.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Carys' dream is to be a Creature-Robot Cross Breeder. Like her sister, she moves in with her boyfriend Kristian after the party, and then marries him a few days later. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo76JW2rh32GmsAG91d7yhZb2QCjlRd9pz1u_mlQCqf4Z_jX3X0kUmyKsKr1BTTmsj5CDKN_YtqQPSvbaZdUunPAbB78_YPlLMOLhN9v5d9M6gLjKcCPARB23JsOp2gakTTqiTDw4DyrI/s1600/risk40n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo76JW2rh32GmsAG91d7yhZb2QCjlRd9pz1u_mlQCqf4Z_jX3X0kUmyKsKr1BTTmsj5CDKN_YtqQPSvbaZdUunPAbB78_YPlLMOLhN9v5d9M6gLjKcCPARB23JsOp2gakTTqiTDw4DyrI/s1600/risk40n.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The Carlton house, once full to capacity, is now down to just Archer and Meghan and their two youngest children.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Challenge Notes:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Micromanaging eight Sims in the house is hard work! I know some people use mods to have more than eight, but bleh, I don't like having more than five if I can avoid it. So it's great to have the household down to a more manageable size. But I miss Bronwyn and Carys. Especially Carys. If were choosing my heirs, she'd be the one I chose.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Talfryn's girlfriend Jessica is actually related to the family. She's Lyle's brother Willard's granddaughter. She's also a descendant of Chad Kindle, like Meghan. But I've gone past the point of caring about inbreeding in this legacy. She's the only female teen in a decent age range for Talfryn, and they are distant enough relations for the game to allow romance.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">As the heir, Talfryn has taken over the master suite recently occupied by Briar and DRew. His favorite color is Sea Foam, so it's all been repainted.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Archer will be an elder in a couple of days. Meghan is about six days younger than he is. The last party he will have to throw will be Talfryn's birthday. Then, when Talfryn's generation takes over, the partier goal and generation will be officialy finished. (Except for the raising 5 kids, which will officially end when Dylan becomes a YA. But it's not like I have to do anything else for generation 9)</span>yangthecathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15083940950118677312noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4989886776485997216.post-16807979485501227232011-04-22T11:04:00.000-07:002011-04-22T11:04:36.644-07:00Chapter 39: Cake<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoBows71L927hm092sl0SPoY5UjRNrzzSi9uuZo-LqAux34m52qmmzmCVUchcgw-AcKt08gfTHjf3wVqETbzGjltGRjOQIhDbcAxF2kGN0HHCW2jCFg-RK85Cnmrzm_JNLFCUHQhbyw2A/s1600/risk39a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoBows71L927hm092sl0SPoY5UjRNrzzSi9uuZo-LqAux34m52qmmzmCVUchcgw-AcKt08gfTHjf3wVqETbzGjltGRjOQIhDbcAxF2kGN0HHCW2jCFg-RK85Cnmrzm_JNLFCUHQhbyw2A/s400/risk39a.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Though he's shared games and conversation with Ewan's ghost multiple times, Drew still faints every time he sees him.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA4f2GBmv2y5O-M19j5lu5jIlV8Y0zJp-kTnJ0zn-wkptkinsGuggJzDqQsURSXTw0Q1iYoA0-78d23Gsjy2phE8pAVdoNMwhP58pcTY7f4d4X8WN1l_DA_pK2RG3nEWOs9A6xvP3kzfM/s1600/risk39b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="327" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA4f2GBmv2y5O-M19j5lu5jIlV8Y0zJp-kTnJ0zn-wkptkinsGuggJzDqQsURSXTw0Q1iYoA0-78d23Gsjy2phE8pAVdoNMwhP58pcTY7f4d4X8WN1l_DA_pK2RG3nEWOs9A6xvP3kzfM/s400/risk39b.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"So, I'm officially a suspect?" Raheem asks nervously.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"You had opportunity and motive, and you don't have an alibi. But there's no hard evidence, or even enough circumstantial evidence to convict you," Archer answers honestly, "The general opinion in town is good riddance, and the department isn't exactly eager to see one of their own go down for this. You understand, I do have to question you, but this case is likely going into the unsolved file."</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUkGGf9bNxo70MU4JhjvF-ftUM_Em1RTFOOiRQoOBqeZQ0YuEY8fDDkqLzL8MwReyUXnh5td3W4Pft3nfggIBUM8xt3xvXLpV3Q1dfJiiNGulN20ElXjbVEF0WYJPX_fLUS1flFYLP8bc/s1600/risk39c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUkGGf9bNxo70MU4JhjvF-ftUM_Em1RTFOOiRQoOBqeZQ0YuEY8fDDkqLzL8MwReyUXnh5td3W4Pft3nfggIBUM8xt3xvXLpV3Q1dfJiiNGulN20ElXjbVEF0WYJPX_fLUS1flFYLP8bc/s1600/risk39c.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Saturday is party day. Emery's birthday falls on a Wednesday, so no party for him. He ages up alone in the nursery.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu-B7jgW9px5eyTCuwkBylokKyDwjW_vEK3QZX77XfbFNFo8M21h-UqntO_HEvxqNStu_mYu6LJ79LxgTteMyNd5dDgIVWimah-Z3ZULUnBphmdv4z5jTb-dWRp44Kwg2d-9PfPGTVmu4/s1600/risk39d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu-B7jgW9px5eyTCuwkBylokKyDwjW_vEK3QZX77XfbFNFo8M21h-UqntO_HEvxqNStu_mYu6LJ79LxgTteMyNd5dDgIVWimah-Z3ZULUnBphmdv4z5jTb-dWRp44Kwg2d-9PfPGTVmu4/s1600/risk39d.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Archer and Meghan have a fourth child, a son called Talfryn. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">For the outstanding job he did in keeping a fellow officer from being charged with murder, Archer is promoted to Triple Agent. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlgqtS7ZOYHP5w9CmIHxmaUPFzJ8J8_yyj_DGYukhPUVjiHibBNC9gYwKx_B2TYqpZ7jYTubSXlk7TzOkL8im2_bnw-2DcgDLNJ4waaiDv2Pwdm5uAVr79WkDhFzgOmpOoF_1AEAjKHnA/s1600/risk39e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlgqtS7ZOYHP5w9CmIHxmaUPFzJ8J8_yyj_DGYukhPUVjiHibBNC9gYwKx_B2TYqpZ7jYTubSXlk7TzOkL8im2_bnw-2DcgDLNJ4waaiDv2Pwdm5uAVr79WkDhFzgOmpOoF_1AEAjKHnA/s1600/risk39e.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Saturday is party day, and this day has three birthdays to celebrate, Carys, Bronwyn and Talfryn. Archer and Raheem also celebrate Archer's success in keeping Raheem out of prison and in the police department. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzV6yN2nHzoqqlBjiUiL79ALyZhCt8l7wS40A_3vufqoO8cXRwuhvUTDL4ku_KmJpS_tdZ8NRkFlH9VP6HLFCKRv-y5TNVxdXJNGv5G-CMQCJ_wfAJ02_kKMOpbKnJhGWtacQRY3HwC_g/s1600/risk39f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzV6yN2nHzoqqlBjiUiL79ALyZhCt8l7wS40A_3vufqoO8cXRwuhvUTDL4ku_KmJpS_tdZ8NRkFlH9VP6HLFCKRv-y5TNVxdXJNGv5G-CMQCJ_wfAJ02_kKMOpbKnJhGWtacQRY3HwC_g/s1600/risk39f.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Griffin and Sommer recently tied the knot, and Griffin took the Merrick name. Drew immediately starts pestering them about grandchildren. He has four, and wants five.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg58kOQXFPbv2T3N9l1tOdZQWbzGwxxP-Y-yFmprdLUsZvTZLMEG1sGJuPvvS_gB9y0ph77hv06-AuQSkp7w4K-flSt9ZUeGP6WD94ybW7S_PZ3v_GIADueuFFtrtJexg2TAght_Aepp30/s1600/risk39g.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg58kOQXFPbv2T3N9l1tOdZQWbzGwxxP-Y-yFmprdLUsZvTZLMEG1sGJuPvvS_gB9y0ph77hv06-AuQSkp7w4K-flSt9ZUeGP6WD94ybW7S_PZ3v_GIADueuFFtrtJexg2TAght_Aepp30/s1600/risk39g.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Bronwyn is first to the cake. Dermott's son Reynaldo is too absorbed in his homework to join the festivities.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEholqiCTH1AYSMxWOEt6iBUuRvt88Ue1yoQIW8QLyUDZ0JcamoBXBARu4R5Um1VjzhZhlUXhBxDi-yiNI8FBpcWtCiIrls8B5Z7Me75w7xaUAm7NXdWKpy2UL6JMomdo4VFJRQe_3CR0yY/s1600/risk39h.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEholqiCTH1AYSMxWOEt6iBUuRvt88Ue1yoQIW8QLyUDZ0JcamoBXBARu4R5Um1VjzhZhlUXhBxDi-yiNI8FBpcWtCiIrls8B5Z7Me75w7xaUAm7NXdWKpy2UL6JMomdo4VFJRQe_3CR0yY/s1600/risk39h.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">More cake, more horns and noisemakers.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgypYlVf5t0DzaP-ZEChsPxs4F0e4gVAwzYXh6STLIrrrGK_ZIu-4bNWtbTuwOy938-BDFwDM9pJ0NImWH-PpW7DVNykeDBmwyhQgRNMULFjrDOZPyhyphenhyphenxAUmDAZWpYzczIOmwJV1ZRZy2Y/s1600/risk39h1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgypYlVf5t0DzaP-ZEChsPxs4F0e4gVAwzYXh6STLIrrrGK_ZIu-4bNWtbTuwOy938-BDFwDM9pJ0NImWH-PpW7DVNykeDBmwyhQgRNMULFjrDOZPyhyphenhyphenxAUmDAZWpYzczIOmwJV1ZRZy2Y/s1600/risk39h1.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Bronwyn and Carys become children.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0f7mm1AMnBGudV9b74SF6OWY-rcOnXpdwx2fuIzFPZ0rOmhphyWt_G5T6B_VIaID_qkCJNwpu3BJrpMQaTe2Aa_TN55au866KPqo8sMAwUmwM-d1HTqoe2D3-BI2x_kKi1HphFKr6wPA/s1600/risk39h2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0f7mm1AMnBGudV9b74SF6OWY-rcOnXpdwx2fuIzFPZ0rOmhphyWt_G5T6B_VIaID_qkCJNwpu3BJrpMQaTe2Aa_TN55au866KPqo8sMAwUmwM-d1HTqoe2D3-BI2x_kKi1HphFKr6wPA/s1600/risk39h2.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">And Talfryn becomes a toddler.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi40lChZL1ehGfTsbBDFxlCxxBlPc9zlZJH4YDbzuMnCN7VKVPrYvKzkFxNtEjqrLAW5sJHbQqTOfsPYfvQCkfDAjrvXI_XToAowJNeZdoCtza0cUppzKlQZwtKqzbv3_-gEv5j2MadCzw/s1600/risk39i.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi40lChZL1ehGfTsbBDFxlCxxBlPc9zlZJH4YDbzuMnCN7VKVPrYvKzkFxNtEjqrLAW5sJHbQqTOfsPYfvQCkfDAjrvXI_XToAowJNeZdoCtza0cUppzKlQZwtKqzbv3_-gEv5j2MadCzw/s1600/risk39i.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Drew harps on about wanting five grandchildren. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd9iw3KaVqHyaHmuFfCtIqb1u1ITRBZruNrDHtgDwwxF8rp2cAv7kxtJDvlm4rsAC50vQrHzbK68VBntFyPhbOyxXjLn3X5fE7Vc01_yO3qeXYu1V6W3ROS10zrbQj4goPy4ib80tWlOo/s1600/risk39j.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd9iw3KaVqHyaHmuFfCtIqb1u1ITRBZruNrDHtgDwwxF8rp2cAv7kxtJDvlm4rsAC50vQrHzbK68VBntFyPhbOyxXjLn3X5fE7Vc01_yO3qeXYu1V6W3ROS10zrbQj4goPy4ib80tWlOo/s1600/risk39j.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Sadly for Drew, he's not going to see five children. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH_0ANaYr_niWfjw_el0bF_M6_5SjcHRnH25mysYmNmGQafXoQdQfYqGQJajBL3xLaUg0ww3IwYC6Ep8NWTMDcG2kuK9a1uBfiHeSwL769ZQEs3ZGHWWrPrD_WNElQ365ROd8RDHZvjVg/s1600/risk39k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH_0ANaYr_niWfjw_el0bF_M6_5SjcHRnH25mysYmNmGQafXoQdQfYqGQJajBL3xLaUg0ww3IwYC6Ep8NWTMDcG2kuK9a1uBfiHeSwL769ZQEs3ZGHWWrPrD_WNElQ365ROd8RDHZvjVg/s1600/risk39k.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Talfryn has a brilliant scheme to surprise the maid.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUNXk_D6ab0NAMfAnw5Ea9rSmoM-imTVqSXQajpH73H5NeDLu8aQz0caY58BlYC7cp5O-It32AJxT-xPP1ADKCiaBjWs4pOimk2ljZtdW8Y3j5CwpZoSrRXKJLsGAhFYKtGD6dbj0uHX0/s1600/risk39k1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUNXk_D6ab0NAMfAnw5Ea9rSmoM-imTVqSXQajpH73H5NeDLu8aQz0caY58BlYC7cp5O-It32AJxT-xPP1ADKCiaBjWs4pOimk2ljZtdW8Y3j5CwpZoSrRXKJLsGAhFYKtGD6dbj0uHX0/s1600/risk39k1.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"So now that Grandpa is dead, do we still collect his royalties?"</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHbGQWMHxdaw0FW0njVoy4PbgKJ64eQrKY-ak8Md4G3zIN_Itx-wgJc5B0H58ZoKsI-kezdk8Qxr_09YvNtAiS4g_Nd6WogLLNJOiRDEOW68ZhdJBLPVnVQoP-s8n5oJw7sTrL_vQCNqc/s1600/risk39l.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHbGQWMHxdaw0FW0njVoy4PbgKJ64eQrKY-ak8Md4G3zIN_Itx-wgJc5B0H58ZoKsI-kezdk8Qxr_09YvNtAiS4g_Nd6WogLLNJOiRDEOW68ZhdJBLPVnVQoP-s8n5oJw7sTrL_vQCNqc/s1600/risk39l.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Once again, Emery has his birthday with no cake and no party.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXl2PJTuMgMVbKbAcyY5oRNg7bumR14gcfoGl8hVka3c0qEWatYxf7ymN0Joqv1fOXIIiqpy1nJK8QvPBEsbJPGeLiI1nAF7fJDhKB8JMtncB9tm6FMxRJ9fQbTuWdTlkapCJLlwyZS9k/s1600/risk39l1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXl2PJTuMgMVbKbAcyY5oRNg7bumR14gcfoGl8hVka3c0qEWatYxf7ymN0Joqv1fOXIIiqpy1nJK8QvPBEsbJPGeLiI1nAF7fJDhKB8JMtncB9tm6FMxRJ9fQbTuWdTlkapCJLlwyZS9k/s1600/risk39l1.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Emery becomes a teen. He want to be a world renowned surgeon.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEteMig25jY8TNQopzatAVVGle117A137sOs18X4IKzb3x6SOCO0A1pYVgg7QKgP5vPbz8K6CA-Pv4OohSQ5QrndLzUMDljHDB-U8PplrA0kwfdn0ncKz5mAXGk7wA7l0Su94TWZ4yzsA/s1600/risk39m.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEteMig25jY8TNQopzatAVVGle117A137sOs18X4IKzb3x6SOCO0A1pYVgg7QKgP5vPbz8K6CA-Pv4OohSQ5QrndLzUMDljHDB-U8PplrA0kwfdn0ncKz5mAXGk7wA7l0Su94TWZ4yzsA/s1600/risk39m.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Sommer is pregnant.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaRcRtPvQ34RBV9LTCpYlA6WkopqWyoyTHZAAdlGWdX2rAguLnE2uOLfXouRBw9Ec9_UBu478k4xEO35LT0nUEHQIT9tE09fwDnIJe3GhyUdOZqg1ywr4lIzX5_fIbuPm3smskpV1cfag/s1600/risk39m1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaRcRtPvQ34RBV9LTCpYlA6WkopqWyoyTHZAAdlGWdX2rAguLnE2uOLfXouRBw9Ec9_UBu478k4xEO35LT0nUEHQIT9tE09fwDnIJe3GhyUdOZqg1ywr4lIzX5_fIbuPm3smskpV1cfag/s1600/risk39m1.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">And so is Meghan. Again.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtRnwNOUHmDdCVwOhs6qoScIoJXFjdDY-VeHfvxuBQt4MwsIdtLpn59n8fX6b_EMOa_aJOF5dazl9F2CYMZe3m5ZBUu5lsDRZtZvrnIYgxUM5MBRq1xYI68IQc7-P37G2nhb8z37oq1HI/s1600/risk39n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtRnwNOUHmDdCVwOhs6qoScIoJXFjdDY-VeHfvxuBQt4MwsIdtLpn59n8fX6b_EMOa_aJOF5dazl9F2CYMZe3m5ZBUu5lsDRZtZvrnIYgxUM5MBRq1xYI68IQc7-P37G2nhb8z37oq1HI/s1600/risk39n.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Saturday brings another round of birthdays, for the twins and Talfryn. Bronwyn introduces herself to teen Alvin Goode-Peddler, who is feeling betrayed by something.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7phqPnX9GRkZ5lrQHmY5i1QTtBP733LwNKdvuc4tBguSPnani9L517wVdjxLWTM9dJr6QwpDZUCCmjKqtLAhenLyU50rIef3adhQxsF4KADfGNaYRpdDrnUQXIiGm70OuHyzxj6BpGE4/s1600/risk39n1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7phqPnX9GRkZ5lrQHmY5i1QTtBP733LwNKdvuc4tBguSPnani9L517wVdjxLWTM9dJr6QwpDZUCCmjKqtLAhenLyU50rIef3adhQxsF4KADfGNaYRpdDrnUQXIiGm70OuHyzxj6BpGE4/s1600/risk39n1.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Most probably by Emery's romantic advances on Caitlin Lillard. Whatever was going between Alvin and Caitlin wasn't serious enough for her turn Emery down when he asked her to go steady.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5TfE4sXFzWxC2No9BtzQHvFHH9E6z36Fub0m_GUHTi_BHglDfVCdrHZL7C5T2F3WlSKFuTeZN4-FEpp7bZLMxFxG2MIH8b0IaLbHXeQig0g7i1G3890fYm6_x20DFSrrZKsX59zKkLww/s1600/risk39n2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5TfE4sXFzWxC2No9BtzQHvFHH9E6z36Fub0m_GUHTi_BHglDfVCdrHZL7C5T2F3WlSKFuTeZN4-FEpp7bZLMxFxG2MIH8b0IaLbHXeQig0g7i1G3890fYm6_x20DFSrrZKsX59zKkLww/s1600/risk39n2.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">This time Talfryn gets the first cake. Before he has a potty emergency.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXUtzuDl2duRzXzfD5rFbVO4K87C3jSFlmr_n8jYoIdnCRf8Cvwly4RU6UjwUTbt18I-bNM_SnAgAfWhUB-bXZ28bYeSRyCfk6w3k7OtaDYH7EJ-Ui-QusIND-FdjQ7Btc0o9Kyhz5DMM/s1600/risk39n3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXUtzuDl2duRzXzfD5rFbVO4K87C3jSFlmr_n8jYoIdnCRf8Cvwly4RU6UjwUTbt18I-bNM_SnAgAfWhUB-bXZ28bYeSRyCfk6w3k7OtaDYH7EJ-Ui-QusIND-FdjQ7Btc0o9Kyhz5DMM/s1600/risk39n3.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Now he's old enough to celebrate his sisters' birthdays.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyJeOxNKAjKDzHSLxj5lZzKYGZSzJ6wdSOco7ak2zm8bAa_bo0GWrVXgAwvDIxA7fvCCKNyQqmaBQZ5IeCJtP74VTz3wfyWEuvwvHzNFWm-Z9I2xXfuScVMMkXp2jjLHczbyDmANuS1A8/s1600/risk39n4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyJeOxNKAjKDzHSLxj5lZzKYGZSzJ6wdSOco7ak2zm8bAa_bo0GWrVXgAwvDIxA7fvCCKNyQqmaBQZ5IeCJtP74VTz3wfyWEuvwvHzNFWm-Z9I2xXfuScVMMkXp2jjLHczbyDmANuS1A8/s1600/risk39n4.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Bronwyn takes her turn at the cake.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRZeypALDQBRwFMhPf1NCfhRnL8vP4g2_Qy6Lnhl7YFUWmlSF4WICxyM9AqkzEwIAxpVY0FbE62wIgYLlmer_zUftBnE9EAzof1t_spkbMAz48iu8lBYlY-f9FRZjt6pwDyQhyR0YLWUM/s1600/risk39n5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRZeypALDQBRwFMhPf1NCfhRnL8vP4g2_Qy6Lnhl7YFUWmlSF4WICxyM9AqkzEwIAxpVY0FbE62wIgYLlmer_zUftBnE9EAzof1t_spkbMAz48iu8lBYlY-f9FRZjt6pwDyQhyR0YLWUM/s1600/risk39n5.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">And becomes a teen.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-4ATe7jH2nvV2j2sgcN8sh8i2N8MPW7a8SJmO5RBy7qMxMYhyphenhyphenR4wJgsF-Yh5ext4D-nECWgYwyCQSOsRT_WIdFVR-4p4ei9HxCL5e9apQgMNbYsJush7dVwUOIlp_eI7Hu2SUtY-cUBg/s1600/risk39n6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-4ATe7jH2nvV2j2sgcN8sh8i2N8MPW7a8SJmO5RBy7qMxMYhyphenhyphenR4wJgsF-Yh5ext4D-nECWgYwyCQSOsRT_WIdFVR-4p4ei9HxCL5e9apQgMNbYsJush7dVwUOIlp_eI7Hu2SUtY-cUBg/s1600/risk39n6.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Carys' celebration ceases to be the center of attention as Meghan goes into labor. Archer rushes his wife off to the hospital, and the party continues.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfxzq5-X6gv-q8QOxD3FnifFwluAeBGK7hH56O8ah_HG0OavGb_bwbz2olFbhRjADY94_Hh0sF41Oura7bCHixy6VY8q3C1jIcBrBDkzEjzY_lsD2LR-_tkDTEiq7o4opsbTdpKtBi6wc/s1600/risk39n7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfxzq5-X6gv-q8QOxD3FnifFwluAeBGK7hH56O8ah_HG0OavGb_bwbz2olFbhRjADY94_Hh0sF41Oura7bCHixy6VY8q3C1jIcBrBDkzEjzY_lsD2LR-_tkDTEiq7o4opsbTdpKtBi6wc/s1600/risk39n7.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Carys joins her twin as a teen. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Sommer gave birth to her daughter Jaimey the night before.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEida-r56kPxIT9fQ8QGDl_XJEea2skL4UTtKPahGRdgyFmF7xJt-rztJvYLkRNsOaIisd6o50Fc3K51nxqyE9_LiAiDVpXfOuQjT1_VI-MKA3qqOoVID3JsP0_yUI4iQ1QrW8aJExgZ-r4/s1600/risk39n8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEida-r56kPxIT9fQ8QGDl_XJEea2skL4UTtKPahGRdgyFmF7xJt-rztJvYLkRNsOaIisd6o50Fc3K51nxqyE9_LiAiDVpXfOuQjT1_VI-MKA3qqOoVID3JsP0_yUI4iQ1QrW8aJExgZ-r4/s1600/risk39n8.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">While Talfryn fulfills his birthday wish to meet a vampire, Meghan and Archer return home with their fifth child, a son named Dylan.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh_iSBYTeyKNtHFcf7NVLikQSYBW4jDuEpH5MkF7Z6gz0FAllgSxq4jqbRvFx57uRevwFTF9RUa7L-V6cuDgRntPWWj0dlgWMQLgILm6U_2ve2YG55y5-I_lws1yvQLoLCtC9AAd6NlO4/s1600/risk39o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh_iSBYTeyKNtHFcf7NVLikQSYBW4jDuEpH5MkF7Z6gz0FAllgSxq4jqbRvFx57uRevwFTF9RUa7L-V6cuDgRntPWWj0dlgWMQLgILm6U_2ve2YG55y5-I_lws1yvQLoLCtC9AAd6NlO4/s1600/risk39o.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Haunted bed!</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxMsX5fwaswMojbb6tWEk9TysmOn7Il4DBVrIc9oBSS1Em-Q8RCUZsIH3jux7CpZMsCBvSJKOtbeiQ8gZ4eNokoFv5WhmnP-c-ALfd92UTR2tqo_6KOIx9NVTJbI_pTsa49LQMGHF8FbI/s1600/risk39p.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxMsX5fwaswMojbb6tWEk9TysmOn7Il4DBVrIc9oBSS1Em-Q8RCUZsIH3jux7CpZMsCBvSJKOtbeiQ8gZ4eNokoFv5WhmnP-c-ALfd92UTR2tqo_6KOIx9NVTJbI_pTsa49LQMGHF8FbI/s1600/risk39p.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Carys has her first kiss at the beach with Kristian Keane-Ball.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvJScQuNRDsM4YdoabYaaFlI7VC8QdybhZWrxKVwi_nhzDWBZK5F_geXoqYpQYn76YrvOtLow9Ox07Om8zgDBnIB9bGGTej9b-J4DebWQTXDUdVeqwEEPF5NwwXAv7G7FsMasLKtYdbtI/s1600/risk39p1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvJScQuNRDsM4YdoabYaaFlI7VC8QdybhZWrxKVwi_nhzDWBZK5F_geXoqYpQYn76YrvOtLow9Ox07Om8zgDBnIB9bGGTej9b-J4DebWQTXDUdVeqwEEPF5NwwXAv7G7FsMasLKtYdbtI/s1600/risk39p1.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Carys gains a boyfriend and an enemy.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9DPX53xyijdE7rKMaoXnXpK0d5-ecSymu7_aJ3tXw8L8jUcx_riJ11t2djVz-lRrPtex1OqcDydXzDAsm4lyM7t4mlJFbzlyvjm8ocbW7odcPem3XSKl57mJV6wpkors-Rq-ty84mGg8/s1600/risk39p2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9DPX53xyijdE7rKMaoXnXpK0d5-ecSymu7_aJ3tXw8L8jUcx_riJ11t2djVz-lRrPtex1OqcDydXzDAsm4lyM7t4mlJFbzlyvjm8ocbW7odcPem3XSKl57mJV6wpkors-Rq-ty84mGg8/s1600/risk39p2.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Bronwyn has also been finding romance at the beach.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeNcrzNFXHyAynt202Z9pv8PWvfAho_F4wbZa97dWL6qChVgNzecTw5cWMCyiFHC3Dt9SAokQuQqYi9EayyTgRPyKIe7ZdfuXiIMC2AvirOLbWkE9Wp9iLNjiDiQU48mk3xIN25MU-TBw/s1600/risk39p3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeNcrzNFXHyAynt202Z9pv8PWvfAho_F4wbZa97dWL6qChVgNzecTw5cWMCyiFHC3Dt9SAokQuQqYi9EayyTgRPyKIe7ZdfuXiIMC2AvirOLbWkE9Wp9iLNjiDiQU48mk3xIN25MU-TBw/s1600/risk39p3.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Yesterday, Alvin was feeling betrayed to see Caitlin Lillard flirting with Emery, and today Angela Wolf-Drudge feels betrayed to see him flirting with Bronwyn.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijShvcRQta3YM6raSY4gYZgAP4tCeY5bsA5EvqUYsqLnQUV9QgmvNjUGrr1MfdFIsV_w5hyphenhyphenAVB1JM7fi_owEOZg8oZRwHxu1L5QQ42TnLcXHftIXYky41CuEeK0hHYvFGPXdyj-EGsS_s/s1600/risk39p4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijShvcRQta3YM6raSY4gYZgAP4tCeY5bsA5EvqUYsqLnQUV9QgmvNjUGrr1MfdFIsV_w5hyphenhyphenAVB1JM7fi_owEOZg8oZRwHxu1L5QQ42TnLcXHftIXYky41CuEeK0hHYvFGPXdyj-EGsS_s/s1600/risk39p4.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">By Sunday's end, both twins have secured steady boyfriends for themselves and made enemies with two of their female schoolmates.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Challenge Notes:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Archer and Meghan have their 5 required children. The 4th, Talfryn is heir. They all have the Eccentric trait for the Runs in the Family requirement.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Archer has reached level 10 of of the Law Enforcement Spy career. He got that a full week before his adult birthday, the youngest of my Sims to reach the top of a career. The overtime really helped with that.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">While Meghan does tend a garden and sells most of the produce, I'm not even trying to reach the top of that career. I think she's at level 5.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I've been rolling random traits for all this kids (except for giving them the Eccentric trait), and I mostly can't remember what traits they have. Emery is a genius, Bronwyn is a Bookworm, Carys is my first Sim to have Vehicle Enthusiast. Talfryn is Friendly. Poor Dylan gets forgotten about. He's not even a toddler yet.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Archer throws a party every Saturday for the Partier requirement. The last two were birthday parties. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Drew's last book was a biography of Beau Merrick. That came up as an opportunity, and I was very happy he was able to finish it.</span>yangthecathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15083940950118677312noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4989886776485997216.post-89111350716045955692011-04-19T05:56:00.000-07:002011-04-19T05:56:12.381-07:00Chapter 38: Deadbeat and Dead<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEjbExk33I_IzQrMQBnRQub-YwDvZpG-U8gP91NcAsnno6UKMkoOjLmoZSXvfq66H9U6NMBaFetKq9AVdOfaZ3bEI1ZCnT_QDf-eGYz3j32bsk2J5z-vvUUq-kJh0wpHNgtiWf6RDuiVw/s1600/risk38a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="367" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEjbExk33I_IzQrMQBnRQub-YwDvZpG-U8gP91NcAsnno6UKMkoOjLmoZSXvfq66H9U6NMBaFetKq9AVdOfaZ3bEI1ZCnT_QDf-eGYz3j32bsk2J5z-vvUUq-kJh0wpHNgtiWf6RDuiVw/s400/risk38a.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Are you okay?" Archer asks his wife while they care for their newborn twins in the nursery, "I mean, about your Dad..."</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"All I ever knew about my father was from my mother complaining about the child support he wasn't paying," Meghan sighs bitterly, "I never even saw him. To me, Wesley Greenwood's death is just an obituary in the paper."</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It's a hard concept for Archer to get his mind around, never having met your own father. Or having children you don't love and support personally.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW90m-_Q1t31_UMDy0z2N06Y3EUtvEGytr9XMDitgI_5wU0bQsUAqvhCQVb1VAYyKmsnHXTadG21m4UcujhXgLin-YBoJBDqsu3Phqx2HyZz7qERqXjwXhEuiDUh6t5yZ3gly-r29dpM0/s1600/risk38b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="341" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW90m-_Q1t31_UMDy0z2N06Y3EUtvEGytr9XMDitgI_5wU0bQsUAqvhCQVb1VAYyKmsnHXTadG21m4UcujhXgLin-YBoJBDqsu3Phqx2HyZz7qERqXjwXhEuiDUh6t5yZ3gly-r29dpM0/s400/risk38b.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">After work Archer runs into his mother-in-law, Shawn Curious-Kindle with her youngest offspring, Meghan's half brother Donovan, busking outside City Hall. Meghan has no idea who the father of this toddler is. Between her mother and her dead beat father Meghan has four half-siblings. Marrying into the Carlton family was like entering a refuge of stability.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7-FdXtrlhoHQPJ0zbD1vYRvnR4_KZcMljpVcLQ3LJXBQM7kO2SGGFmjqeT_9H3hrDDDz4gHcR6H0C_uFiuC0sGX-3BoW-b7l4yqHudx-mprNzGvpT0faJxlbCv-RcwMbU1bz1uEQTMHI/s1600/risk38c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="390" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7-FdXtrlhoHQPJ0zbD1vYRvnR4_KZcMljpVcLQ3LJXBQM7kO2SGGFmjqeT_9H3hrDDDz4gHcR6H0C_uFiuC0sGX-3BoW-b7l4yqHudx-mprNzGvpT0faJxlbCv-RcwMbU1bz1uEQTMHI/s400/risk38c.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Later that evening, Archer's buzzer goes off, and he has to go back to the station. A body was found in the river that runs through Twinbrook. Before he goes to the station, Archer stops at the Red Rendezvous to talk to fellow cop Raheem Lillard, to give him fair warning.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"They found Kristian Merrick-Curious," Archer tells him, "Dead. Not far from your house. Sharita's house." Raheem recently married Sharita after she became pregnant with his child. Shortly before that Sharita had given birth to Kristian Merrick-Curious' child, and he had moved in with her, along with one of his daughters from a previous relationship. A notorious deadbeat and womanizer, Kristian had continued seeing other women even while living with pregnant Sharita. And then he disappeared right around the time Raheem started dating Sharita. And today he turned up dead in the river.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"They suspect foul play?" Raheem asks.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Forensics hasn't said yet. I'm on my way in now. I just wanted to give you a heads up. If they call it homicide, Sharita will be the prime suspect."</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM6TpUQ7FeKajzYLfiwVpAHQeza7KEaWE8qsYLm_4nLIDmu7iWHdffN-uoC2FqPMVscQFkZBDmWIAPnxEHxolLnuuEKBYdIGYrjzF1Ro0j0kl7XNuXEJqw0KLAvmfSa-bS_ArQmeVXNJA/s1600/risk38d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM6TpUQ7FeKajzYLfiwVpAHQeza7KEaWE8qsYLm_4nLIDmu7iWHdffN-uoC2FqPMVscQFkZBDmWIAPnxEHxolLnuuEKBYdIGYrjzF1Ro0j0kl7XNuXEJqw0KLAvmfSa-bS_ArQmeVXNJA/s1600/risk38d.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Forensics did declare the death a homicide. The victim had been strangled before being tossed in the river, his clothes weighted with stones. Archer goes out to the Lillard house the next day for preliminary questioning.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I honestly don't remember the last time I saw Kristian. I was so busy with the baby, and he was hardly ever home. He'd stay out all night, for days at a time. You know how he was. That's why I hooked up with Raheem. He's steady, you know. He comes home after work, he takes care of the kids. Even the ones that aren't his."</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"This isn't about Raheem, Sharita," Archer reminds her. "This is about Kristian. And you."</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBvfE4A0CV7OrOQnW2sOnEo_aw_cayNMe6aZ49lucVsmN6uxyJyT4BsIMHyFAPbHzjq6sf0pAgZ8r5bhspuL6_J8MwoATotff6L1QrURL9dXY3k65-PzWEkjbTpPCsUx_kwjp7jRxSUbo/s1600/risk38e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBvfE4A0CV7OrOQnW2sOnEo_aw_cayNMe6aZ49lucVsmN6uxyJyT4BsIMHyFAPbHzjq6sf0pAgZ8r5bhspuL6_J8MwoATotff6L1QrURL9dXY3k65-PzWEkjbTpPCsUx_kwjp7jRxSUbo/s1600/risk38e.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Look, he was a deadbeat. And he was cheating on me. And I guess I cheated on him with Raheem. If he ever turned up again, I would have asked him to move out. But I didn't want to see him dead."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Archer isn't entirely convinced of that, but he's also not convinced she killed him, either.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiKjkbW3jdBD7_ubzsHOFPMnS9Wp2hheR1xTVGnOI7D1FPdkavmsY0G5j18sgYd-d5QC5OnhTeavySz_afK-VZOW6hMojMUPAxkZ9_TAuXO8ICur_CfOSP5alyK0ONXPL8qtjOJ4jf0kA/s1600/risk38f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiKjkbW3jdBD7_ubzsHOFPMnS9Wp2hheR1xTVGnOI7D1FPdkavmsY0G5j18sgYd-d5QC5OnhTeavySz_afK-VZOW6hMojMUPAxkZ9_TAuXO8ICur_CfOSP5alyK0ONXPL8qtjOJ4jf0kA/s1600/risk38f.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Questioning Kristian's teenage daughter Amy is a lot harder. The poor girl hardly knew her father, she'd only recently moved in with him after the death of her mother. And now he's dead, leaving her with the woman her father bedded, impregnated and abandoned as he had with so many others in this town.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiObBcPSRjor2PjdEMVcboAbLN39P7VVNMpBEevSSoNj3d3ey0JXxetEnU-cXK2jV7Q9dy87tDVv2193tT_fN4u0MBC5KM3WE-pUv7IJDdxvYDZT-WAEb7c_4sMz7EStWAlV8x1oI1jD3o/s1600/risk38g.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiObBcPSRjor2PjdEMVcboAbLN39P7VVNMpBEevSSoNj3d3ey0JXxetEnU-cXK2jV7Q9dy87tDVv2193tT_fN4u0MBC5KM3WE-pUv7IJDdxvYDZT-WAEb7c_4sMz7EStWAlV8x1oI1jD3o/s1600/risk38g.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Archer's preliminary investigation ends with a search through the family's trashcan. He doesn't find anything he thinks is noteworty, but he bags it up for the forensics team nonetheless. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE7eK-5NYuFxOujlXrIsfnE2q3zzgfZcUr9JuCODoVhSF6sa-AXZ6xw1rWdLoLP08ipZ-1z_zUkuMvFu52590bBo4Kqc1E83jupJW-McB8gLVknzV5IMGbV43RXDzXqLYS1RDSml55-4Y/s1600/risk38h.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE7eK-5NYuFxOujlXrIsfnE2q3zzgfZcUr9JuCODoVhSF6sa-AXZ6xw1rWdLoLP08ipZ-1z_zUkuMvFu52590bBo4Kqc1E83jupJW-McB8gLVknzV5IMGbV43RXDzXqLYS1RDSml55-4Y/s1600/risk38h.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">This Saturday, Archer doesn't throw his usual party at the Red Rendezvous. Today is Bronwyn and Carys' birthday, so the party is at home, for them.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Meghan reluctantly greets her younger sister, Lilah, with her new husband Kristopher, and their mother. She had wanted to cut all ties to her former life when she married Archer, but thus town is too small to get away from her family that easily.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJS0FJ8KvaM2_kk1gTTrWEsZndFOXPPMkS52T-hwaekdqgF9Vf0UNlpf3t5sid4huQIXw6SGNR_1yZZ-6YlrpcufP9BDa1klEyZF-g7pWr7svP7brRIAGUz0s0yhxRDtrmy5f_iSLxga0/s1600/risk38i.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJS0FJ8KvaM2_kk1gTTrWEsZndFOXPPMkS52T-hwaekdqgF9Vf0UNlpf3t5sid4huQIXw6SGNR_1yZZ-6YlrpcufP9BDa1klEyZF-g7pWr7svP7brRIAGUz0s0yhxRDtrmy5f_iSLxga0/s1600/risk38i.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Archer greets his brother and his date, who at first he thinks is Lucida Merrick, but he quickly recognizes she's not Lucinda, but her mother Sommer, somewhat recently widowed. Her human husband had died of old age while she remained young. Lucinda had recently gotten married to Angelo Wolf-Ball, so of course she wouldn't be dating Griffin anymore. But her mother?</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq1hDBUW-T5gdKHuE9RsoUxwv7rLK-GLcEQx0vCdvrFKrwUB1YDlSnU-1mxwx93jKkuJA8E_LWGDsURwAdxdLd0zZGsm0WRGo04SDEkLb6q8cPvasN71mcB7i4nRJ3a5YiMIe9aYr74Uk/s1600/risk38j.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq1hDBUW-T5gdKHuE9RsoUxwv7rLK-GLcEQx0vCdvrFKrwUB1YDlSnU-1mxwx93jKkuJA8E_LWGDsURwAdxdLd0zZGsm0WRGo04SDEkLb6q8cPvasN71mcB7i4nRJ3a5YiMIe9aYr74Uk/s1600/risk38j.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">From a brief conversation with the couple, Archer discovers they are planning to move in together. What is Griffin thinking?</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfdR21yoOpgCPK2Tq87yx4HlwEQ57bkjqrGTWGd8rdPvoccp2qvtqMJHISZUd2YrbkVa3Tbssuz7PoYVQIJThRG6GSfymqAm0uqy5zyUcSqYdPAyZOAakZUsO7x1Td1IrUS6NN6UACcvM/s1600/risk38k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfdR21yoOpgCPK2Tq87yx4HlwEQ57bkjqrGTWGd8rdPvoccp2qvtqMJHISZUd2YrbkVa3Tbssuz7PoYVQIJThRG6GSfymqAm0uqy5zyUcSqYdPAyZOAakZUsO7x1Td1IrUS6NN6UACcvM/s1600/risk38k.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Cake time. Going alphabetically, Bronwyn is first to blow out the candles, assisted by her grandmother.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW0yHZ_Op-qzg2FgSMDKbrG6MDwXD1XB9k5LQvHNW_EdZl-uuTaRmloP_Is8xLraV0QC_InQaQcjm57MNXZl9Viq88UvT35-lScMcQF6SG8qH3m587MeDFwWSVFem2YTm9oqFhVjTc0DI/s1600/risk38l.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW0yHZ_Op-qzg2FgSMDKbrG6MDwXD1XB9k5LQvHNW_EdZl-uuTaRmloP_Is8xLraV0QC_InQaQcjm57MNXZl9Viq88UvT35-lScMcQF6SG8qH3m587MeDFwWSVFem2YTm9oqFhVjTc0DI/s1600/risk38l.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Bronwyn has her mother's hair and her father's eyes.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBz8oqseCiBPXUGrWJ5MbcfoRi4HZN_MHI15y0dz5xtiv1C0d7HkGNPNhQMt6uwxkdP7Qto4LpyogF3dSxcdXdpk15ySebO_H7W_8d0o2_0QQCgbpYyxpeY1nk-12YcgV2aWrVsDeQ4e0/s1600/risk38m.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBz8oqseCiBPXUGrWJ5MbcfoRi4HZN_MHI15y0dz5xtiv1C0d7HkGNPNhQMt6uwxkdP7Qto4LpyogF3dSxcdXdpk15ySebO_H7W_8d0o2_0QQCgbpYyxpeY1nk-12YcgV2aWrVsDeQ4e0/s1600/risk38m.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Carys has her grandmother Shawn's hair and Drew's violet eyes.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE7Af8-HnRCYC9gYq8aze7y7DvYCqZ4F_YC5TC8t4Z1KWImHkoHyYIcn4g2RE0Mdz4sp9m2qcwxY-AsCCCNrF3ZQFAoA8YoEDmBdcb3vlIGDDG9SJ5Uy4sbVKctXLpwvnz8m-yGvXRAa8/s1600/risk38n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE7Af8-HnRCYC9gYq8aze7y7DvYCqZ4F_YC5TC8t4Z1KWImHkoHyYIcn4g2RE0Mdz4sp9m2qcwxY-AsCCCNrF3ZQFAoA8YoEDmBdcb3vlIGDDG9SJ5Uy4sbVKctXLpwvnz8m-yGvXRAa8/s1600/risk38n.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">After cake, Archer corners his brother for a chat. "You can't be serious about Sommer. I mean, you dated her daughter. She's way too old for you!"</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"She's older than me in years, but she'll still be young when I'm an old man," Griffin explains, "Vampires age on a totally different scale from us."</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"What is it with you and vampires, Griff? They're creepy! They suck blood!"</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Griffin laughs. "Actually, the whole blood drinking thing is kind of erotic."</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Archer sticks his fingers in his ears. "I'm not hearing that from my little brother!"</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6H8N1bnBmF8SR1Ijb4HzIiEMo39n0ZjkDkjC56YknqF3O6JlpdqBMqgMJnDJzvcQe9z3ePF3NkQX37fsifviPloejdGzzEj7Ei05LZC2dJE-WmCgF74vQbj_8MLiQ2r6AAjDePtK84-8/s1600/risk38o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6H8N1bnBmF8SR1Ijb4HzIiEMo39n0ZjkDkjC56YknqF3O6JlpdqBMqgMJnDJzvcQe9z3ePF3NkQX37fsifviPloejdGzzEj7Ei05LZC2dJE-WmCgF74vQbj_8MLiQ2r6AAjDePtK84-8/s1600/risk38o.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Briar had meant to avoid her vampire grandfather after she became an elder, but she decided to invite him to the twins' party. While the party carries on after the girls have been put in their cribs, Beau slips up to the nursery to get a look at his great-great-grandchildren. They are human, not like him, and thus should have nothing but his contempt. But they are his blood, born in the only family of his descendants who had wanted anything to do with him. The only other vampire at this party, his granddaughter Sommer, didn't speak so much as a word to him, having learned to hate him from an early age by her mother Bree.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXCzQDEz-5sTT81d7tqNtxAH4BLsiMfZmW5l4AtY36Tsd4CY2gjzfv3jIzXhzz3q3w-i-VLJe2i2u9uSggUoWUoPljbMQNagV-mzUwsGLkV-fXk-CrEi59l0rDRxpZqNVlMrB7AtCXtm4/s1600/risk38p.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXCzQDEz-5sTT81d7tqNtxAH4BLsiMfZmW5l4AtY36Tsd4CY2gjzfv3jIzXhzz3q3w-i-VLJe2i2u9uSggUoWUoPljbMQNagV-mzUwsGLkV-fXk-CrEi59l0rDRxpZqNVlMrB7AtCXtm4/s1600/risk38p.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">As he leaves the house, Beau tries to grasp what he feels about this human family. That he feels anything at all is somewhat of a surprise. Allowing himself to get attached to these humans has brought great pain. But it has also brought the only real joy he's ever found in life.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihTZ1jAaNBsDLvV2vVWVQdLxcf78cDK_MFZAD6wkPNYtffZ2Q3ndu-kaaRqelnD_2nUC2f5_-Q7wYJ4HDlC8kKOubnYa4PjvSkoUUN6k7K2SzwXWZYltgHGkLODK_1t6gbOUVLPauP1O0/s1600/risk38q.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihTZ1jAaNBsDLvV2vVWVQdLxcf78cDK_MFZAD6wkPNYtffZ2Q3ndu-kaaRqelnD_2nUC2f5_-Q7wYJ4HDlC8kKOubnYa4PjvSkoUUN6k7K2SzwXWZYltgHGkLODK_1t6gbOUVLPauP1O0/s400/risk38q.jpg" width="398" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"That wasn't so bad. I actually had a good time," Meghan admits after she and Archer finish cleaning up the cake plates. She had initially resited the idea of a birthday party, hating crowds as much as she does. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcTWEh06fNc96JDQ4otD277JcOwIYqzTj-YJV2i61pEA51Dkk7AQ-ZqLdiVPBVWtGSGkK5VTLBpMYbQR7BveyOuxMerNpuxi3oEt0imDlXyGg92rIfgN4s2c6Pr0hBRx73EWEAma_OKX8/s1600/risk38r.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcTWEh06fNc96JDQ4otD277JcOwIYqzTj-YJV2i61pEA51Dkk7AQ-ZqLdiVPBVWtGSGkK5VTLBpMYbQR7BveyOuxMerNpuxi3oEt0imDlXyGg92rIfgN4s2c6Pr0hBRx73EWEAma_OKX8/s1600/risk38r.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Forensics has analyzed the evidence Archer found in the Lillard's trash. Sharita is no longer a suspect, she wouldn't have had the strength to strangle Kristian. But Raheem Lillard is capable of strangling another man, and he had motive. Archer doesn't like it, but his fellow cop is now the prime suspect.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV5ISSzcv6RB0x-PsTwnUA7l4sGP65KG3rwoxhGRsW9S1vUwEqBn3TAORmqI358UTvkwodzodxTD4-JeHelE_9j9Sr_VD7L6h1vUHuzJ2y_uorzQyuJnKzaoQc39j-IzXb_wlT1UJMMLw/s1600/risk38s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV5ISSzcv6RB0x-PsTwnUA7l4sGP65KG3rwoxhGRsW9S1vUwEqBn3TAORmqI358UTvkwodzodxTD4-JeHelE_9j9Sr_VD7L6h1vUHuzJ2y_uorzQyuJnKzaoQc39j-IzXb_wlT1UJMMLw/s1600/risk38s.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">With three toddlers, the nursery is chaos. Even with his parents here, Archer has had to cut back on his partying and socializing to help raise his children. And he wouldn't have it any other way. It's hard, but he's no deadbeat like Meghan's father, and while he's often tempted, he doesn't want to be a womanizing Kristian Merrick-Curious, either. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Would he kill to defend his wife and family, as his friend Raheem is suspected of doing? It's not a question Archer wants to answer, but it keeps rolling around in his head. If Raheem killed Kristian, it was with good reason, good enough for Archer, anyway.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Challenge Notes:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">From the time he turned YA, Kristian Merrick-Curious' MO has been to date a girl briefly, get her pregnant and move on to the next girl. I use the expanded version of Twallan's story progression which makes non-custodial parents pay child support. And sometimes those parents fail to pay their child support. You get pop up notices when they pay or fail to pay. Kristian usually failed to pay (as did Meghan's father Wesley Greenwood).</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Kristian was also an ugly troll of a man who was determined to pass on his ugliness to as many children as possible. After impregnating Sharita he started dating again, and I decided to put a stop to it. He's already got 4 or 5 ugly kids in town (I edited his daughter Amy before Archer questioned her. Her lower teeth were sticking out of her chin. When I say his kids are ugly, I mean hideously deformed. He's a Bayless descendant as well as a Curious, and people who've played Twinbrook know what that means)</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So, I used master controller to drown him. Ha ha! Yes, I murdered Kristian Merrick-Curious.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I had a moment of ick when I got the notice that Griffin and Sommer were going steady and she moved in with him. But I got over it. If she makes Griffin happy, it's all good.</span>yangthecathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15083940950118677312noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4989886776485997216.post-16267113141679410202011-04-17T12:06:00.000-07:002011-04-17T12:06:39.557-07:00Chapter 37: Fatherhood<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0956FlZh901Ah1DkJFflULSrx5jO5BcFuTYFiVyuy7qCGNRj9KwJIcx6DMlu2-ceLq7rel3gL_VqYlabSeeRMYwc2z4iJ2FrN6qp2fHfd1lYcsKQ_T86oNVKNa0FWOCc1OMZ8gdHO_dE/s1600/risk37a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="372" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0956FlZh901Ah1DkJFflULSrx5jO5BcFuTYFiVyuy7qCGNRj9KwJIcx6DMlu2-ceLq7rel3gL_VqYlabSeeRMYwc2z4iJ2FrN6qp2fHfd1lYcsKQ_T86oNVKNa0FWOCc1OMZ8gdHO_dE/s400/risk37a.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">After work, archer usually walks through the park to the Red Rendezvous. Today he stops along the way to introduce himself to a young woman he's never seen before. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid46KJUfx8QriYpr-GcNixoE6uqNAn4ZqIVNOZ60cLWlkRCQbnAPg_j_T_NPVTWaLsPXT_-KqlNSs6vyTuhGyobGjlABu1kY0WsZjWq4pPkW08HHWBRghgEnDZNEoZYAFJdH4mAJHU6Cc/s1600/risk37b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid46KJUfx8QriYpr-GcNixoE6uqNAn4ZqIVNOZ60cLWlkRCQbnAPg_j_T_NPVTWaLsPXT_-KqlNSs6vyTuhGyobGjlABu1kY0WsZjWq4pPkW08HHWBRghgEnDZNEoZYAFJdH4mAJHU6Cc/s400/risk37b.jpg" width="385" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">He greets Nickey in his usual charming style, but utterly fails to impress her. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYOWfBEBn41_JpShBGMYELXI7uya8IGqp2e_D32H_5vgjMZ_BKsSDZHjBHCC0CnsTZbudthDqaknvlctCmIuXc-HZ07TD-QjUNX75HvDJcjGc-_dH2m9jWUAUV57rjVeVXskPX_RNFlPc/s1600/risk37c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYOWfBEBn41_JpShBGMYELXI7uya8IGqp2e_D32H_5vgjMZ_BKsSDZHjBHCC0CnsTZbudthDqaknvlctCmIuXc-HZ07TD-QjUNX75HvDJcjGc-_dH2m9jWUAUV57rjVeVXskPX_RNFlPc/s1600/risk37c.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">But she agrees to have dinner with him at the Red Rendezvous despite her negative first impression. She is new in town and doesn't want to alienate her new neighbors right away. And Archer is the son of Drew Carlton, one of Nickey's favorite authors.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Is it true that your father is a total recluse?" Nickey asks, wondering how to get Archer to invite her to the family house without having to get involved with Archer himself.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"My father never leaves his office, let alone leave the house," Archer confirms the rumors about his author father, "We hardly ever saw him when we were growing up."</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">That doesn't bode well for Nickey's chances to meet Drew, even if she got into the house, she might not get so much as a glimpse of the reclusive writer.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYaN4EPXZuXVomNhANREwgvcrEtpzYvnV_5DTrA3GAvju-CtVBFq3z_1YY8i1Kd5vIhMrrZo3uoF3KCBCU0KI6VjYwimXcrMaetFyV5zDCH0Ek46qoi6kjJ8DYzcEbmpg_1qnG1KGQDvM/s1600/risk37d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="383" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYaN4EPXZuXVomNhANREwgvcrEtpzYvnV_5DTrA3GAvju-CtVBFq3z_1YY8i1Kd5vIhMrrZo3uoF3KCBCU0KI6VjYwimXcrMaetFyV5zDCH0Ek46qoi6kjJ8DYzcEbmpg_1qnG1KGQDvM/s400/risk37d.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Archer offers her a dance and a drink, but Nickey declines, saying it's about she got home. She'll find a way to meet Drew Carlton without having to go through his son.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgMJ0TkLHnzFIFBkWu5guEe-IJxMw4DMmpURJYTRqAzKLER9xOrifyeHRCXhUAVwPKlTqvcjrD6k6Wwjpxb9D7EGlQ-mASSYEf8xwwcme-V9wTJB9Mi7syBYn_Svyi2gBBpjLbIy6-6FI/s1600/risk37e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgMJ0TkLHnzFIFBkWu5guEe-IJxMw4DMmpURJYTRqAzKLER9xOrifyeHRCXhUAVwPKlTqvcjrD6k6Wwjpxb9D7EGlQ-mASSYEf8xwwcme-V9wTJB9Mi7syBYn_Svyi2gBBpjLbIy6-6FI/s1600/risk37e.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Archer is not used to being turned down for anything by anyone, and wonders how this one girl is able to resist him.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxe-ylM-psmDw4HJUZaBXMx36Lz6h304eNZSkmtis-VUaDzv4E6CFDQennKDfmIJrumSv3qXn0k3aDVmGiUuerwWpvXt5HJTlhNpiM-4gINuERNaIWQajd50GmkABw0PcAbw8ctJFaE00/s1600/risk37e1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxe-ylM-psmDw4HJUZaBXMx36Lz6h304eNZSkmtis-VUaDzv4E6CFDQennKDfmIJrumSv3qXn0k3aDVmGiUuerwWpvXt5HJTlhNpiM-4gINuERNaIWQajd50GmkABw0PcAbw8ctJFaE00/s1600/risk37e1.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Drew spent the better part of his life in front of his computer, and old age takes him completely by surprise.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixhP-zzIo-LzECK-kEYu8T-kSD1W4G_vV0JlpNIkNeBpWKboPKJ3Vpv9oxWX3wAzGlhS8FhmWc5upOoceB3L6HEcmQhBHkoPWXKIVCUmlS3hNztKTmxAQ-tEQSUlrYI8NcaTZ4HeJ-qNc/s1600/risk37f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixhP-zzIo-LzECK-kEYu8T-kSD1W4G_vV0JlpNIkNeBpWKboPKJ3Vpv9oxWX3wAzGlhS8FhmWc5upOoceB3L6HEcmQhBHkoPWXKIVCUmlS3hNztKTmxAQ-tEQSUlrYI8NcaTZ4HeJ-qNc/s1600/risk37f.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Briar Rose wakes in early hours to discover her father's ghost lurking around her bedroom.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">He died when her children were still young, and she could use some good parenting advice now that her oldest son has been developing a reputation around town as a sex-crazed party monster.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"You were so much better at this that I am," Briar sighs, remembering her own childhood and teen years.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ8mQ_uXzZtDd-7llviCAl6m-lBMvgM1ryHxJ3-JDrQWsEXalQzn1im9IE35-jdvfK38W-pIbLDVUMLDBJdJRgIJ8Twoe285G19OLLBUKuldDTGrgiN3Fb2ReI9vp05GoMWP0KIdeofzI/s1600/risk37g.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ8mQ_uXzZtDd-7llviCAl6m-lBMvgM1ryHxJ3-JDrQWsEXalQzn1im9IE35-jdvfK38W-pIbLDVUMLDBJdJRgIJ8Twoe285G19OLLBUKuldDTGrgiN3Fb2ReI9vp05GoMWP0KIdeofzI/s1600/risk37g.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Lyle comforts her with a ghostly hug, but offers no coherent advice.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJGKfJyndvARQiak1rrfZT1Zf2ne5X3lpFjJ3qys9PM3Q017VP8Lrf37w3XUdltgyey5XOsjKLQp8qxDeLZEMy1Wg_FckBtq3WZ1AR2z46AijojGJIXfQew0ikFWWnoV2XVd3SyJTbQHA/s1600/risk37h.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJGKfJyndvARQiak1rrfZT1Zf2ne5X3lpFjJ3qys9PM3Q017VP8Lrf37w3XUdltgyey5XOsjKLQp8qxDeLZEMy1Wg_FckBtq3WZ1AR2z46AijojGJIXfQew0ikFWWnoV2XVd3SyJTbQHA/s1600/risk37h.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It won't be long now before Briar's hair is as gray as her husband's, so she pays one final visit to her vampire grandfather. Knowing how much he suffers to see his human relations grow old and die, she won't visit him again when she appears older than he does. Already she can see the pain in his eyes as he looks at her, knowing she hasn't got that much time left.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Briar Rose.." he starts, but she raises a hand to stop him, knowing he's going to offer to turn her one more time.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Don't," she says, "I made my decision to stay human long ago."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Beau nods sadly, "I will not offer again. And I thank you for seeking me out, and being a part of my life, Briar Rose. You are the best of my line and I...love you."</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtc1ydmrE__W2xo5qKJ9ZrdEKbteow9WJBsodMz8TA0zUY7cE-3dAsVB6FuX6nuXse1fmKUOKPoYi5bLfS9t1EOPaUIt5oef044JKEqVNOtD57ESv_rlIaipLGEJnsIIaROCKxVRdVhNc/s1600/risk37i.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtc1ydmrE__W2xo5qKJ9ZrdEKbteow9WJBsodMz8TA0zUY7cE-3dAsVB6FuX6nuXse1fmKUOKPoYi5bLfS9t1EOPaUIt5oef044JKEqVNOtD57ESv_rlIaipLGEJnsIIaROCKxVRdVhNc/s400/risk37i.jpg" width="393" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Meghan graduates high school and is finally of age to resume her romance with Archer. She meets him at the Red Rendezvous, which he now owns.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"You know what they say about you around town," she says, "That you've been sleeping around."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"That's an exaggeration," Archer explains, "It's true, I haven't been completely faithful, but there's only been one woman. And we're done now."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I should tell you to get out of my life," Meghan sighs.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Archer pulls her into an embrace, "You know you can't leave me," he says, "Whatever I've done, you're crazy about me."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Meghan doesn't have an answer to that, because it's true. She's always adored him and has no intention of letting him get away now.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwQJMH4MQpOUOEbFleauszxR130DxPpwVkO9LarrAXi-Vjt7S7ohBaIgyXzi1e9eQFPKZuIqY8m3L0WT_MjodzNONi6PFbDclOgI07PklO4DHmEmaMA2I2KrvGvxSOjzCasR7hF20YJU0/s1600/risk37j.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwQJMH4MQpOUOEbFleauszxR130DxPpwVkO9LarrAXi-Vjt7S7ohBaIgyXzi1e9eQFPKZuIqY8m3L0WT_MjodzNONi6PFbDclOgI07PklO4DHmEmaMA2I2KrvGvxSOjzCasR7hF20YJU0/s1600/risk37j.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">He promised to marry her when they were still in high school, and Archer hasn't changed his mind, despite his flirtations with other women. He gets down on one knee and offers Meghan his ring.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"From now on, Meghan, It's just you and me, I promise."</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Meghan accepts, as she knew she would, even if she has her doubts about his promises.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtNeCWFy5lkwcUe0hzKiKBaI0JkRvEMY536bTU2J4EVH5FDOtZTyG-xya3ZjNR5aNW1yrhapDr0OLyGDlyY-XOWSrku2DXo_ma6_ub4MGhx3Yl3hNxjdRcWrlmMKE33J5IaQcy5g-F674/s1600/risk37k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtNeCWFy5lkwcUe0hzKiKBaI0JkRvEMY536bTU2J4EVH5FDOtZTyG-xya3ZjNR5aNW1yrhapDr0OLyGDlyY-XOWSrku2DXo_ma6_ub4MGhx3Yl3hNxjdRcWrlmMKE33J5IaQcy5g-F674/s1600/risk37k.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Archer wanted a huge wedding party, but Meghan is uncomfortable in crowds and wants a simple private wedding. So Archer obliges her and the marry privately, and celebrate their union in the hot tub in their back yard.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS45XV0yG1YhE2GT3_ubvribqofFOZlBV90ii3CuPybNQDuLU1UOHgR3d6LIWDRzz8UFmcJn32Xlr85myjNmD7XvRt7-6671g461pFK0ZM_04iJz_27JiX1xa7oHlE_70c67AfLT99tp0/s1600/risk37l.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS45XV0yG1YhE2GT3_ubvribqofFOZlBV90ii3CuPybNQDuLU1UOHgR3d6LIWDRzz8UFmcJn32Xlr85myjNmD7XvRt7-6671g461pFK0ZM_04iJz_27JiX1xa7oHlE_70c67AfLT99tp0/s1600/risk37l.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Griffin graduates the day after Meghan moves in. His dream is to be a great artist and photographer.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzEeFCk70Rep6mtLcoP7nV60sqeEhgnYCGA0DPspfgRR2H2JHGQ1oM3r2cy9F0OY9VlpOdnadV-GKeKfuOYuJHbRJZvDOFYwEhQSq81Z9PILRWdQr1tn2v2pmJkny0ZvhfZJ_WppL9IPA/s1600/risk37l1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzEeFCk70Rep6mtLcoP7nV60sqeEhgnYCGA0DPspfgRR2H2JHGQ1oM3r2cy9F0OY9VlpOdnadV-GKeKfuOYuJHbRJZvDOFYwEhQSq81Z9PILRWdQr1tn2v2pmJkny0ZvhfZJ_WppL9IPA/s1600/risk37l1.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The huge fortune his parents have amassed allowed them to build him a mansion in the empty lot across the street.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguy9rWaQrfcucJg1BaVnPyzQl04XouVGdVD1JnaLCoZT_Y7ZAoXRW_sH18pklPsROz_Ip6qW6WMFTNOCxmQ35hcBUWIqU-0V-NJnmZAZvUX-H9nFLEXmpt2VeqY9H9AG8jnMzdQAnutO8/s1600/risk37m.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguy9rWaQrfcucJg1BaVnPyzQl04XouVGdVD1JnaLCoZT_Y7ZAoXRW_sH18pklPsROz_Ip6qW6WMFTNOCxmQ35hcBUWIqU-0V-NJnmZAZvUX-H9nFLEXmpt2VeqY9H9AG8jnMzdQAnutO8/s1600/risk37m.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Archer passes up his personal patrol car in favor of a new motorcycle.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhto8WtLo-cM7cQvnTfDjvPIQleVc45ilWOGuwIsP0RmUoxuJ2v7LJ-Is7W2w8ppuJJsXovMet0Muxb92TsYlk-Rk4zJPeMe-bWiQWU9LR1boz6DhPWDTBtvPhmwEVt2pMFcoW_EFXlZIw/s1600/risk37n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhto8WtLo-cM7cQvnTfDjvPIQleVc45ilWOGuwIsP0RmUoxuJ2v7LJ-Is7W2w8ppuJJsXovMet0Muxb92TsYlk-Rk4zJPeMe-bWiQWU9LR1boz6DhPWDTBtvPhmwEVt2pMFcoW_EFXlZIw/s1600/risk37n.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Meghan is pleased that she won't be required to work outside the house. She prefers being alone and outdoors, and immediately starts seeing to the dying garden that Lyle Carlton left behind.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLphL4RgiICiP-M8KT9p2s2b5WdtFuH8THAn5VckR36K2_bbMC_dlMwKzZerbfRikjfkemx-EO4yt48hjT-HTd92rGPYymN1fEmWcc3MefWByqFingh2QtmeAC7qr-3NIhQRhFM2d5SQY/s1600/risk37o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLphL4RgiICiP-M8KT9p2s2b5WdtFuH8THAn5VckR36K2_bbMC_dlMwKzZerbfRikjfkemx-EO4yt48hjT-HTd92rGPYymN1fEmWcc3MefWByqFingh2QtmeAC7qr-3NIhQRhFM2d5SQY/s1600/risk37o.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Though he's a newlywed, Archer doesn't change his pattern of hitting the Red Rendezvous after work. He loves his wife, but he's not in a huge hurry to get home to her. Fellow cops Irving and Joaquin join him for a few drinks.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj811-B4X7IVXyaWzqBxNfnMu2_Vg3s_E9sQL5iTJMAxpvk62-5pcOhyphenhyphent90UFQ3d0uikoJEE5OLCzrJnoR6UZvVH5xgeZ0-Mw7Vq2E7ZXKqjjKDxv4ISbr74IZkhHEeHuGE5AxbtLiB1eg/s1600/risk37p.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj811-B4X7IVXyaWzqBxNfnMu2_Vg3s_E9sQL5iTJMAxpvk62-5pcOhyphenhyphent90UFQ3d0uikoJEE5OLCzrJnoR6UZvVH5xgeZ0-Mw7Vq2E7ZXKqjjKDxv4ISbr74IZkhHEeHuGE5AxbtLiB1eg/s1600/risk37p.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">And drinks are the only kind of trouble Archer can get himself into tonight; Joaquin is Meghan's uncle, and anything Archer does or says in his presence can and will be used against him later. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2UxCaP6zGNmBYrHSI4zQwCuORarQIBNMjsMo-m-vFWfjHu3gk0FZs4Zs8CTYptv673RsofC2f-GTtz0x6POXsxllGWt0bcdP5AIYBQc9iFj-DNynlAKfZYyiiyblxzGuiNAeus-Ep1ZA/s1600/risk37q.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2UxCaP6zGNmBYrHSI4zQwCuORarQIBNMjsMo-m-vFWfjHu3gk0FZs4Zs8CTYptv673RsofC2f-GTtz0x6POXsxllGWt0bcdP5AIYBQc9iFj-DNynlAKfZYyiiyblxzGuiNAeus-Ep1ZA/s1600/risk37q.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">On Saturday, Archer doesn't have to work, so he throws a party at the Red Rendezvous for all his friends and anyone else who wants to show up. On his way to the bar he runs into Sharita. He hadn't seen her since their fling the night of his birthday, and he can't help but notice how huge her belly has gotten since then.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Oh, wow, Sharita, that's not..."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Not yours, don't worry," she giggles, "Kristian Merrick-Curious is the culprit."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I'm really sorry," Archer says, "You know he's a dog, don't you?"</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Sharita nods, "He moved in with me, with one of his other kids. But I know he's sleeping around."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"And he's kind of known for not paying his child support most of the time," Archer adds, and takes her hands, "If you need anything, let me know. I can help."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"You're a sweetheart, Archer," Sharita answers, "I'm fine with raising this child without Kristian's support, and the fact that he's sleeping around. But I may have other needs I'll want to call you on."</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjizrSyBvqTBPuy1Zq6CICeE06gxld1lgj3Y7COpkz5nSsAkf6zbLhg2FtQD-4CnqUIrP3Wxkk-16_6hyphenhyphenC29JGCZfpXJpAKbmGi1JFrs4zwuHny9PqEC0voC2Ai-8iRScIHL3L_LjmBiW4/s1600/risk37q1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjizrSyBvqTBPuy1Zq6CICeE06gxld1lgj3Y7COpkz5nSsAkf6zbLhg2FtQD-4CnqUIrP3Wxkk-16_6hyphenhyphenC29JGCZfpXJpAKbmGi1JFrs4zwuHny9PqEC0voC2Ai-8iRScIHL3L_LjmBiW4/s1600/risk37q1.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Archer slips away from Sharita before anyone sees him with her, and heads into the bar to join his party. Nickey is there with her new boyfriend, Allan Eckert-Craven. What has Allan got that Archer doesn't?</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHPF-vET6XVdxhhD9YZpsoMcZezMUC9Ra9YEQATVEd7VRnrruaegsHPJDF7UW2Ei44-loyXKKj39AV_R130mWI2GNfC_gTX-7fsWT4445z4rgOvydOXz3KwwVUab0nk6S6FMbQLhkB4fM/s1600/risk37q2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHPF-vET6XVdxhhD9YZpsoMcZezMUC9Ra9YEQATVEd7VRnrruaegsHPJDF7UW2Ei44-loyXKKj39AV_R130mWI2GNfC_gTX-7fsWT4445z4rgOvydOXz3KwwVUab0nk6S6FMbQLhkB4fM/s1600/risk37q2.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Of course Archer invited his little brother to his party. And Lucinda Merrick shows up despite the fact that Archer didn't invite her.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Are you still seeing her?" Archer asks, worried about Griffin, "She's a fully grown vampire now."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Yes, she's fully grown," Griffin laughs, glancing appreciatively at her, "And we do date. But we're both seeing other people, too. I told you when we were kids, I don't want to go down that 'marry right out of high school' road. I'm going to live a little before I settle down."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Who have you been dating?" Archer asks.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Elena McGraw, Yvette Sargeant, Jodie Merrick-Curious..." Griffin rattles off a list.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Wow. You deserve my reputation more than I do!" Archer complains.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I keep a low profile," Griffin answers, "Something you might consider trying..."</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0MdhTmflvfw5oN5rvgvq2VrgSF4qhLIxqFZY01PRBPotjMDWhmSF4Sx9ZT9A4zDvMeWL3Mokb9gnGkg3YxTOGzC24URXXKD8smFfHRgXAPhJBGHQaoGJdf_2EoxLPlHuhQPhZcAcm_mI/s1600/risk37r.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0MdhTmflvfw5oN5rvgvq2VrgSF4qhLIxqFZY01PRBPotjMDWhmSF4Sx9ZT9A4zDvMeWL3Mokb9gnGkg3YxTOGzC24URXXKD8smFfHRgXAPhJBGHQaoGJdf_2EoxLPlHuhQPhZcAcm_mI/s1600/risk37r.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Archer has to leave his party early to attend the birth of his son, Emery.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFEMC6IMn2ADFYRw6vwt-QTPJ2NG0cH5ZlvbpV5Adon3SI1FBaRJ6jhHlRgnp3AjKZxV7LDx2piG7alMRWOP6FujzyF3WDNDT5Oigy1i_v7p6ADYW6sTG5xI7oAVZcTjGkLkxfDYQf848/s1600/risk37r1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFEMC6IMn2ADFYRw6vwt-QTPJ2NG0cH5ZlvbpV5Adon3SI1FBaRJ6jhHlRgnp3AjKZxV7LDx2piG7alMRWOP6FujzyF3WDNDT5Oigy1i_v7p6ADYW6sTG5xI7oAVZcTjGkLkxfDYQf848/s1600/risk37r1.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Still in shock over being a father, Archer pours himself a stiff drink.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp-KxwKiKAmDOPmLi2KIEuBcRXvzfcwgYVs6bccuCwMfx2AFFjWLBk3YsLC-xpmOqEbAscIPhvrzA35EIT4k5T66vZtlYYCfiwDLrg-4IupYrZGfwxnjKyPzZYZV4lbzlV72s9xushPTU/s1600/risk37s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp-KxwKiKAmDOPmLi2KIEuBcRXvzfcwgYVs6bccuCwMfx2AFFjWLBk3YsLC-xpmOqEbAscIPhvrzA35EIT4k5T66vZtlYYCfiwDLrg-4IupYrZGfwxnjKyPzZYZV4lbzlV72s9xushPTU/s1600/risk37s.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Drew has never gotten over his fear of ghosts, and still faints nearly every morning at the sight of one of his wife's ancestors playing video games in his office.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSAU63ggOW43mSkSz99SUphRORoSFZhI8qdFHOfNl85bfQxyG9VIStDLqWJyjDyW2CQ5nnuffCIyGVLQUAhGExxYR6zP5AkK1TYL_qxeQgqIQpz4jqX3BXBzmb5GRkCUNordNT-RP42bo/s1600/risk37s1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSAU63ggOW43mSkSz99SUphRORoSFZhI8qdFHOfNl85bfQxyG9VIStDLqWJyjDyW2CQ5nnuffCIyGVLQUAhGExxYR6zP5AkK1TYL_qxeQgqIQpz4jqX3BXBzmb5GRkCUNordNT-RP42bo/s1600/risk37s1.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">But once he regains consciousness, he joins Ewan for a game and enjoys a some heady write to writer discourse.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyxYmPXwBezsuV0tORybr7KGFYq4kxfT3LxOv3TdEoLai8vs_mWXWrvM0biiebpRRirLpcGrUKZ9_DtqUPs-Jo0qfckQK8YF3AVN927oJrjjMIKKEcrgjmRGkQ0LnZUqoNQiyt8W2sogg/s1600/risk37t.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyxYmPXwBezsuV0tORybr7KGFYq4kxfT3LxOv3TdEoLai8vs_mWXWrvM0biiebpRRirLpcGrUKZ9_DtqUPs-Jo0qfckQK8YF3AVN927oJrjjMIKKEcrgjmRGkQ0LnZUqoNQiyt8W2sogg/s1600/risk37t.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">While compiling reports on his neighbors for work, Archer glances at a snapshot of his grandfather Lyle on the desk. Archer was closer than Lyle than to his father, and looked up to him. He wanted to be the kind of father Lyle was, but so far he's been more like his own father, too involved in himself to spend time with his family. But he has time to change that.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzsfI-rqWk9V8t58Q_BzpBzWYRsMo8ZEWrxJOgouXhyphenhyphenypy1p2aMPuK7uEr4WiMaziS5yItx3whs1JW87SG9rP9sJyAoA4XN8LKxG88SEH1Bhyphenhyphen7hEyNAMB4o06S3T6eaJEjPLWEtV6iHQw/s1600/risk37u.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzsfI-rqWk9V8t58Q_BzpBzWYRsMo8ZEWrxJOgouXhyphenhyphenypy1p2aMPuK7uEr4WiMaziS5yItx3whs1JW87SG9rP9sJyAoA4XN8LKxG88SEH1Bhyphenhyphen7hEyNAMB4o06S3T6eaJEjPLWEtV6iHQw/s1600/risk37u.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Meghan got pregnant again almost immediately after Emery was born. Archer tries to improve his record by coming home straight from work, at least a few days a week to spend time with her and their son.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Genius runs in your family," Meghan remarks, "The doctors says they already see signs of it in Emery, and that there's a high chance this baby will be a genius, too."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Genius doesn't necessarily make a good person," Archer says, "They say I'm a genius."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"And you're not a good person?"</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I'm trying, Meghan."</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7ZOZoUqbhTGwaRsFi-tSmyEkvPfJ2LRrU1DjNPj6Fhg__23h2bQEYDmJVYAwRPOTAi3peAcNv-StTHTphDpwBzeQutzhdOr4KNRaNdCBf2YDY9pbG4w5iEGTDw7q3pgSdhTqW0HCe1KE/s1600/risk37v.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7ZOZoUqbhTGwaRsFi-tSmyEkvPfJ2LRrU1DjNPj6Fhg__23h2bQEYDmJVYAwRPOTAi3peAcNv-StTHTphDpwBzeQutzhdOr4KNRaNdCBf2YDY9pbG4w5iEGTDw7q3pgSdhTqW0HCe1KE/s400/risk37v.jpg" width="382" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Archer likes a good drink before he goes to work.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmXsb_hRjZhcDa47qXll0Q-kq1tlYA-gpfTSeOrOi6I7Seaqk7tKebp-loMk5fKUPIqBGkj9PtNhyphenhyphen1cVVTndFKXZNLG14wf1zP4DTFwZOAF-62geMJuu5AVPkFjb2pZ6Mz7_wBSkB9kSA/s1600/risk37w.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmXsb_hRjZhcDa47qXll0Q-kq1tlYA-gpfTSeOrOi6I7Seaqk7tKebp-loMk5fKUPIqBGkj9PtNhyphenhyphen1cVVTndFKXZNLG14wf1zP4DTFwZOAF-62geMJuu5AVPkFjb2pZ6Mz7_wBSkB9kSA/s1600/risk37w.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Meghan gives birth to twins this time, both girls, Carys and Bronwyn.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie6eMA8E_dpCx7_XWIcprzKSiYIBXwek8iGnfE8skah4xW_XEUFfoHccFwHVIPyXLzbMnLywBd4_MI3Chx7xV2gxqZyQzafnFPyg1O1OoZUs8zGRs_Sxc3_GepBUgeYZCTpRKmuW0Z-XE/s1600/risk37x.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie6eMA8E_dpCx7_XWIcprzKSiYIBXwek8iGnfE8skah4xW_XEUFfoHccFwHVIPyXLzbMnLywBd4_MI3Chx7xV2gxqZyQzafnFPyg1O1OoZUs8zGRs_Sxc3_GepBUgeYZCTpRKmuW0Z-XE/s1600/risk37x.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Emery's birthday is the same day his sisters are born.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH2e-V9NE_dOuNZLmczCqxUiPzcWU6oXAhDreoCGjtepSZXJQ9e88ssU2EWutu4SnxSQ-WHPO_VZIaBkFne5h8ldM2axwkAy-4N4ukJisYhjx0SWvvHWtsVWBTLsLJx7dfRoDUoTHlm4I/s1600/risk37y.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH2e-V9NE_dOuNZLmczCqxUiPzcWU6oXAhDreoCGjtepSZXJQ9e88ssU2EWutu4SnxSQ-WHPO_VZIaBkFne5h8ldM2axwkAy-4N4ukJisYhjx0SWvvHWtsVWBTLsLJx7dfRoDUoTHlm4I/s1600/risk37y.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Reclusive Drew has been coming out of his office more often to help Meghan with the babies.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF1M1_cEyZq9Da1LIAX15fqQbm19Bu1PEVZlL2pqOnda1s3ClipGQd0AIv4rbY6PT6MZXL5aeHPsW61ejxj2tP5MWUVbg5uHXiVS8CPyrKPmZ62O4z8-fsttjLIwQGGdCYltlNoloOLPw/s1600/risk37z.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF1M1_cEyZq9Da1LIAX15fqQbm19Bu1PEVZlL2pqOnda1s3ClipGQd0AIv4rbY6PT6MZXL5aeHPsW61ejxj2tP5MWUVbg5uHXiVS8CPyrKPmZ62O4z8-fsttjLIwQGGdCYltlNoloOLPw/s1600/risk37z.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Faced with own mortality, Drew has realized that he's spent most of his life locked away from his loved ones, and now he's trying to make up for lost time, to connect with his grown sons and his new grandchildren.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Challenge Notes:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So, Drew did finally achieve level 10 of the writer career, finishing off that generation's goals. He still spends a lot of time writing, but he's not a slave to it like he was before, and whenever he gets stir crazy, he goes to bother Griffin who conveniently lives across the street.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Griff is a self-employed photographer. I gave him a camera before he moved out, and story progression makes him work on his career. His LTW is to max painting and photography.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">For gen 9, I have achieved the property mogul goal, the family has partnerships in the bookstore, grocery and bistro, plus full ownership of the Red Rendezvous dive bar.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">For the Partier goal, Archer throws a party at the bar every Saturday. Having it on saturday is the only way I'll remember to get it done every week, lol.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Three out of five kids are born. Since I rolled the 4th as heir, we still don't have an heir yet. I gave Archer & Meghan fertility treatments to increase the odds of twins. Right now there are 7 Sims in the house, so they can only have one more while Drew and Briar are still alive. I'm kind of wanting wait to have another pregnancy until there is room for two, so we can finish off the 5 in one go. But if the elders take too long to die off...</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The roll for generation 10 is Couple, 2 kids, Education career and Inventor as secondary. The goal will be Fulfilled and misc. fun is Runs in the Family. That one applies to the kids in this generation. The way I determined the trait for this is to roll random traits for the first born, Emery, he got Brave and Eccentric. I then rolled random traits for Carys, the 2nd, and she got Genius and Eccentric. Since Eccentric came up twice in random rolls, thats the trait. So, I rolled random traits for Bronwyn (3rd child) and got Light Sleeper and Slob. I switched slob for Eccentric. I hate the slob trait, so I'm glad it didn't come up as my run in the family trait.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Thanks to Nickey Elysse for her self Sim. Nickey the Sim turned down the gig of mothering Archer's brood and chose her own destiny. She's now married to Allan Eckert-Craven and has not started having kids.</span>yangthecathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15083940950118677312noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4989886776485997216.post-91436146903100292052011-03-21T05:34:00.000-07:002011-03-21T05:34:06.998-07:00Chapter 36: That Guy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTOwR-gc5GlL0QSsB8wRlkKRkrR7DibhKF2lXokmsvRXujJ9vVH3kMWFPimods-x1n9XvcfXzf-YGodjkzM8-WypfOzBdFAu8If_ZLOYnxurJsz3nBoM58hx8WrMUXxw_YwNWRbjJoK2s/s1600/risk36a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="348" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTOwR-gc5GlL0QSsB8wRlkKRkrR7DibhKF2lXokmsvRXujJ9vVH3kMWFPimods-x1n9XvcfXzf-YGodjkzM8-WypfOzBdFAu8If_ZLOYnxurJsz3nBoM58hx8WrMUXxw_YwNWRbjJoK2s/s400/risk36a.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Instead of going home after school, Griffin is going home with Lucinda Merrick.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO2BEq2cJmOOkRaX_-G_hrqRVuiEluoMLYcNszlsavgpc8qtccX58NouG__5zDn9ZP54fFNA2JixtqnErDO9Z8yLFZjrKHWrMpWTBZKjXXyoJTwHqfvigL74QS9UxVCg9rDe_YQByAXEc/s1600/risk36b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO2BEq2cJmOOkRaX_-G_hrqRVuiEluoMLYcNszlsavgpc8qtccX58NouG__5zDn9ZP54fFNA2JixtqnErDO9Z8yLFZjrKHWrMpWTBZKjXXyoJTwHqfvigL74QS9UxVCg9rDe_YQByAXEc/s400/risk36b.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The stated purpose of the visit is to hang out and do homework.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6L2lUwpuGzGwvI9ouEbvOYoidcxAeJBat__OE2w0yx1kftcQ1ahlH2ehEnzsMAW57fDo0WguOJmBgi_2sznsPirqJ-X1ctBhepCsbN_rgmvghgaRKbN1tP-fSRwmb4X3LlWu7Lc5Be-A/s1600/risk36c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="352" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6L2lUwpuGzGwvI9ouEbvOYoidcxAeJBat__OE2w0yx1kftcQ1ahlH2ehEnzsMAW57fDo0WguOJmBgi_2sznsPirqJ-X1ctBhepCsbN_rgmvghgaRKbN1tP-fSRwmb4X3LlWu7Lc5Be-A/s400/risk36c.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">But a strong attraction has been developing between Griffin and Lucinda, and as soon as her brother Silas wanders off to play on his own and they find themselves alone, their conversation turns to flirtatious banter.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_7PCEaU3x_UZqo4ic40YgmIV23GWlce21Hc_xD7KBGJ1xwhvr9-_WuiNJbfjUKKzzE6YYFk-WWdZmJuCnHLF9jr-51KUw4wLD7uRo0b4rFx3M7YklXHVo2fhyLmjuW-0cgUekoWEsY-w/s1600/risk36d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="381" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_7PCEaU3x_UZqo4ic40YgmIV23GWlce21Hc_xD7KBGJ1xwhvr9-_WuiNJbfjUKKzzE6YYFk-WWdZmJuCnHLF9jr-51KUw4wLD7uRo0b4rFx3M7YklXHVo2fhyLmjuW-0cgUekoWEsY-w/s400/risk36d.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"We aren't <i>that</i> related, Griff," Lucinda sighs. Lucinda is a Merrick, and she and Griffin both have Beau Merrick as a great-grandfather.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"In Victorian novels, people more closely related than us get married," Griffin agrees. But while the young couple have tentatively agreed to move forward with their romance, neither wants to tell anyone in their families about it.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2o_V5gZSpliSY2R6AXV3jS73lDGwz4zK8iQLnoPOildmcbZocrn82qXryOoE10_BmdH-SuZoYMZv9SGqZ4DdJurQnSguUVyBVN42H58v-D6fgh-ay0jOZ0SmrYH-sWfybVlKcx-g61Js/s1600/risk36f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2o_V5gZSpliSY2R6AXV3jS73lDGwz4zK8iQLnoPOildmcbZocrn82qXryOoE10_BmdH-SuZoYMZv9SGqZ4DdJurQnSguUVyBVN42H58v-D6fgh-ay0jOZ0SmrYH-sWfybVlKcx-g61Js/s1600/risk36f.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">They try to keep it a secret, pretend they are just friends, people who see them together quickly figure out what is going on between them.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Archer, I think your brother is flirting with Lucinda Merrick," Megan observes, interrupting a dance. "Don't turn around!" she exclaims as Archer starts to turn his head, "They'll know we're talking about them."</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Despite Mega's warning not to look, Archer got a glimpse of Griffin and Lucinda. 'I don't think they'd even we notice if we both just stood staring at them. They seem pretty wrapped up in each other."</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuO5BkdWZDNoQMu_lEaI2RRxi40zeFtnNlyQ52SIgzAg5EchZ6Aku6vYyufqLEqAbcfSRjZlEDWMGOm7LGq067XGfkNoCrRzf9hDXde-QV3uBoIW4qo8LvzbeZl0yQCFRapn8HcAAc_WQ/s1600/risk36g.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="345" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuO5BkdWZDNoQMu_lEaI2RRxi40zeFtnNlyQ52SIgzAg5EchZ6Aku6vYyufqLEqAbcfSRjZlEDWMGOm7LGq067XGfkNoCrRzf9hDXde-QV3uBoIW4qo8LvzbeZl0yQCFRapn8HcAAc_WQ/s400/risk36g.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Archer keeps an eye on his brother, and when Griffin disappears into the restroom, he approaches Lucinda to ask about the relationship. Griffin usually tells him everything, so he's surprised he would keep a girlfriend a secret.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Cornered, Lucinda admits the truth, she and Griffin have gotten romantically involved.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"How serious are you?" Archer wants to know.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"We're afraid of what people will say, because of the family relationship," Lucinda says, "We might not be able to ever really be serious."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Archer waves away her concern, "That's hardly an issue. Not in this town. But..you're a vampire. I don't want you sucking my brother's blood."</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Lucinda's pale skin flushes angrily, "For one, I can't do that until I'm mature. And two, what Griffin and I do once we're adults will be none of your business."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"My little brother will always be my business," Archer answers. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGzH7Qma4vQyil604QF3fAefChc4VlObCp1DqEP67XLOzwkGV2R9jMVu4Cwaf5L7YexmpgsyB5LKxRb_Dp5YKT79f2c1axlERLA9TuwYCnvkS62Xe1gX0Cqxr7R3luOHT9rhzB_-ubZJU/s1600/risk36h.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="346" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGzH7Qma4vQyil604QF3fAefChc4VlObCp1DqEP67XLOzwkGV2R9jMVu4Cwaf5L7YexmpgsyB5LKxRb_Dp5YKT79f2c1axlERLA9TuwYCnvkS62Xe1gX0Cqxr7R3luOHT9rhzB_-ubZJU/s400/risk36h.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">On his last day before he graduates, Archer visits Megan for one last teenage make out session. Despite a few bumps on the road, they've gone steady throughout high school.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Archer, are we going to stay together when you graduate?" Megan asks when they come up for air, "Are we going to get married?"</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Yeah, sure, Megan," Archer promises half-heartedly, "We'll get married as soon as you graduate." That's what everyone does, after all.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The next day, Archer becomes a young adult.</span><br />
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</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">That night, he goes out to party, finally free of the curfew that every teen in Twinbrook is subject to. He buys a drink for Sharita Lillard, who recently moved into town.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It's his birthday, and Archer wants to celebrate.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilEkZA99uwMx6LUCJDMCREArQiKBlhNNioC2NMpb2T7g1-cEhILNV1t4K0fv8u6uslAL3O3h3S5aEXi-dHYTBm44_FXSObP1ZvmveoosU0hQhryWoE1Us4FVyh1VH_7CHq40F1p0Y0UmY/s1600/risk36l.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilEkZA99uwMx6LUCJDMCREArQiKBlhNNioC2NMpb2T7g1-cEhILNV1t4K0fv8u6uslAL3O3h3S5aEXi-dHYTBm44_FXSObP1ZvmveoosU0hQhryWoE1Us4FVyh1VH_7CHq40F1p0Y0UmY/s1600/risk36l.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">He and Sharita spend a few hours in the club's hot tub until the club closes in the early morning hours.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Sharita invites him back to her place to continue his birthday celebration.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">They celebrate until late into the afternoon of the next day.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"We should do this again soon," Sharita sighs as Archer gets ready to leave.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Sure thing, Sharita," Archer promises.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD8cHzMDNxHQBpe7i9qbyE1xBxFxwrfkIEdaDFmPz1R_eBfsWoUmlJ08rmGPEvoqFkqqv7buPpCOaJAoZnZ0fi1jLVYcGCPTVswrZkBNvHoCazvvdOndre1y2OodhXwJopAA_ghrMhUQs/s1600/risk36o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD8cHzMDNxHQBpe7i9qbyE1xBxFxwrfkIEdaDFmPz1R_eBfsWoUmlJ08rmGPEvoqFkqqv7buPpCOaJAoZnZ0fi1jLVYcGCPTVswrZkBNvHoCazvvdOndre1y2OodhXwJopAA_ghrMhUQs/s320/risk36o.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Before he goes home, Archer stops at the Red Rendezvous for a drink. The place is largely dead, except for his aunt Kalilah McDermott, who immediately lays into him about where he's been all night.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Your parents called everyone they knew trying to find out what happened you," she informs him.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Someone told them where I was, I suppose," Archer answers, not looking away from his drink.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Darren Drudge saw you going home with that new girl girl...Sharona?"</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Sharita," Archer corrects her, "And this is really none of your business."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"But what about Megan Curious-Kindle? Aren't you going steady with her?"</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Archer sighs. He came here instead of going home to delay this inquisition from his mother, and now he's getting it from an aunt he barely knows. Kalilah is a McDermott by marriage to Sonny McDermott, a grandson of Wyoming McDermott. Her relationship to Archer is on his father's side; she's Drew's younger sister. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Again, none of your business," Archer answers, and quickly finishes his drink. He might as well go home and face his mother rather than put up with this any further.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTWfXlDgMW3iSh494EMC_5YO8Roj8HLBlNDbVjIJeZbememNd9YZhyphenhyphen3H1ZOi-xpddNkNrxeivt2dSQ086x-cjw5r9wB3WYRXuF7tRfbOpTmbhWCEv6dKaZBplltiDAiHmjQ04Iya5hxT0/s1600/risk36p.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTWfXlDgMW3iSh494EMC_5YO8Roj8HLBlNDbVjIJeZbememNd9YZhyphenhyphen3H1ZOi-xpddNkNrxeivt2dSQ086x-cjw5r9wB3WYRXuF7tRfbOpTmbhWCEv6dKaZBplltiDAiHmjQ04Iya5hxT0/s1600/risk36p.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Briar questions him as soon as he gets through the door. "Where were you all night? Do you have any idea how worried we were?"</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I stayed with a friend," Archer explains, "You didn't need to worry."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"You could have called and told us."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"At 4 a.m.? I didn't want to wake you. I expected to be home in the morning, anyway. But I...overslept."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Briar rolls her eyes. "I'm not an idiot, Archer. You were out with a girl."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"And I'm a grown man, Mom. You can't hold me under a curfew."</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjChqBUDrAh0y4RcNuoBNvhd7KhPtTyl1XEjKkJUfzk4AEY2hukok6VUn5IXH4ahQIhJULACCmb7RaAoszcELlUAAZ_IfDt-i9K77SgKxIKgur-wPhNI8VyA7D9Du_lHbgaoPXZthkX2LU/s1600/risk36q.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjChqBUDrAh0y4RcNuoBNvhd7KhPtTyl1XEjKkJUfzk4AEY2hukok6VUn5IXH4ahQIhJULACCmb7RaAoszcELlUAAZ_IfDt-i9K77SgKxIKgur-wPhNI8VyA7D9Du_lHbgaoPXZthkX2LU/s1600/risk36q.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">After the confrontation with his mother, Archer makes himself another drink.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"You spent the night with Sharita Lillard? You know everyone in town knows about it, right? I thought you were going to stay with Megan and get married when she graduates," Griffin says.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I am," Archer answers, "I'm just having a little fun in the mean time."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Don't be <i>that</i> guy, Archer," Griffin sighs, "I'm so disillusioned."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Challenge Notes:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Generation 9 has begun. To recap the roll, it's couple with 5 kids (heir is child #4), Law Enforcement (spy) career with Farmer as secondary. The goal is property mogul and Misc. Fun is Partier.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I already got Archer into his career and have bought partnerships in the bookstore and theater. Next I'll have him buy a venue, probably the Red Rendezvous. The family has boodles of money, Drew takes in 46k a week in royalties.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Megan will become a YA in a couple of days.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Archer's birthday celebration at the club was actually a party (an epic party, lol) though I treated in the blog as just a night out. So that's one down.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Drew has reached level 9 of the writer career. He'll be an elder in 1 day. He only needs to write 2 masterpieces to each level 10. They take about a week to write, so I think he can do this before he dies. He has sacrificed any kind of life for this, lol. He writes all day, with a few breaks to get the fun meter up once his stress level maxes out. I've given him all the happiness rewards for his needs (Hardly Hungry, Steel Bladder, Trance Sleep, etc so he doesn't have to get up from writing to eat or pee.) </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Griffin will be a YA in a few days. He and Lucinda are only Romantic Interest rather than going steady. I'm going to leave it up to story progression to decide where that relationship goes after he moves out. (With all my other spares who had steady relationships, story progression married them up as soon as they were both YA.)</span>yangthecathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15083940950118677312noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4989886776485997216.post-66149343736929155112011-03-18T10:38:00.000-07:002011-03-18T12:05:56.925-07:00Chapter 35: Love Kills Slowly<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix_pHzzgkfZpG7PvSnmoxKinx4YYJXD1SoD2uEfQRYihwSuVo9DEToMp8ANDm9pgGPXoyd25XlMT3CcjvC8kdBKskmoZA5-rj7442ooWtNp8Iyae2T7qy1OqQ0OCVKj7OG4XdotSYlTAE/s1600/risk35b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="328" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix_pHzzgkfZpG7PvSnmoxKinx4YYJXD1SoD2uEfQRYihwSuVo9DEToMp8ANDm9pgGPXoyd25XlMT3CcjvC8kdBKskmoZA5-rj7442ooWtNp8Iyae2T7qy1OqQ0OCVKj7OG4XdotSYlTAE/s400/risk35b.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Violet's grave is placed beside Lyle's, and decorated with a top of the line serving dish to commemorate her culinary career.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The death of his grandparents hit Archer hard. Even getting their old bedroom for himself is no consolation for his loss.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_id4vw9nyvx4na8N2GTlpuaQVkS7Dr8db5fULPdKEaODgDDzeHVYS_3uWoq3SYpxu0T7FMEUuwCQybBqt3ScAcrc9CT4rQSxVTkW2GK6IDFZuJLAbcca_n5H3UNioi_mn0v2qhSDl8s8/s1600/risk35d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_id4vw9nyvx4na8N2GTlpuaQVkS7Dr8db5fULPdKEaODgDDzeHVYS_3uWoq3SYpxu0T7FMEUuwCQybBqt3ScAcrc9CT4rQSxVTkW2GK6IDFZuJLAbcca_n5H3UNioi_mn0v2qhSDl8s8/s1600/risk35d.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Their parents are completely devoted to their work, and Archer and Griffin are pretty much on their own without their grandparents to take care of them.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Archer misses Lyle especially, and spends a lot of time in his old office, playing on his old laptop.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOatIoeyg7USHO_CFUCPAOLDexi2QD3Oe6zXB4OA3irJ__W3EgloSrp1Qvp-bF8fWzp7YyAMal-JUxgP5y9sTYr690D4E4rcI0TZByYQWlG-IkugygXBViHo1rloC-0w92VaezGa2VMZ8/s1600/risk35c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOatIoeyg7USHO_CFUCPAOLDexi2QD3Oe6zXB4OA3irJ__W3EgloSrp1Qvp-bF8fWzp7YyAMal-JUxgP5y9sTYr690D4E4rcI0TZByYQWlG-IkugygXBViHo1rloC-0w92VaezGa2VMZ8/s400/risk35c.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Briar's most recent tattoo.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUF52jFLd5SqHhJWMutB_lM22YWu41RokBI58CMyU2YjzgtkNGiGVBTIZXDifGaT0jBEemkZomU4YkzINEUBz6ZDnu8zv4rA1vjrIgnyq4-SnWXiZKYrLe4Zt4Z8kybJK5hJ9SWsKH_vA/s1600/risk35f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUF52jFLd5SqHhJWMutB_lM22YWu41RokBI58CMyU2YjzgtkNGiGVBTIZXDifGaT0jBEemkZomU4YkzINEUBz6ZDnu8zv4rA1vjrIgnyq4-SnWXiZKYrLe4Zt4Z8kybJK5hJ9SWsKH_vA/s1600/risk35f.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Griffin grows out of the toddler stage and into childhood. Though time has passed, the death of their grandparents remains the dominant influence in their lives.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjywS2QoGvHirX5f3FwDyuqy39erDhRpwyPlWgDKRKka-Nblqz07fyLppcs_f4jEXeUqjaEPtpuQeDlSMp0H7iC0rzfQLbf4hY3PHFH0XHqcRuiSsHQ6gbYT86QtAIL2_oXdlK1MN7bhI/s1600/risk35g.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="375" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjywS2QoGvHirX5f3FwDyuqy39erDhRpwyPlWgDKRKka-Nblqz07fyLppcs_f4jEXeUqjaEPtpuQeDlSMp0H7iC0rzfQLbf4hY3PHFH0XHqcRuiSsHQ6gbYT86QtAIL2_oXdlK1MN7bhI/s400/risk35g.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">For the first time, the family has need of outside help. Though Drew stays at home all day, his time is completely absorbed in his writing, and he has none to spare for housework, so a maid is hired to clean up after them.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibPmC5AA3nIsFvV-Htn1q8wQBto8SUZ7L7UebEoZq058mGLX9gAH5uaWxZHItE_WGZARe2P10JDMc0B9KTzxK8MH3znTPEkf3-IGsPCx5QE-K9eXpAn_QIGkXjWOWHNK9Ihu1gcvGDnm4/s1600/risk35h.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibPmC5AA3nIsFvV-Htn1q8wQBto8SUZ7L7UebEoZq058mGLX9gAH5uaWxZHItE_WGZARe2P10JDMc0B9KTzxK8MH3znTPEkf3-IGsPCx5QE-K9eXpAn_QIGkXjWOWHNK9Ihu1gcvGDnm4/s1600/risk35h.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Much like his great-great-grandfather Shepard, Archer is a born dancer.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0_TdBOtruyb-SgL3su4YLzy95AWrDWVhT2-LfzY7Z60fv7JSJm329-YHa8I61r1wq7FevEtj-1VVcVlhQ8Q065Mb812EwmJAd6I1hgejnBchqzlUncEOpyhyphenhyphenxnGEEPoNtlpfMTxzXLO8/s1600/risk35i.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0_TdBOtruyb-SgL3su4YLzy95AWrDWVhT2-LfzY7Z60fv7JSJm329-YHa8I61r1wq7FevEtj-1VVcVlhQ8Q065Mb812EwmJAd6I1hgejnBchqzlUncEOpyhyphenhyphenxnGEEPoNtlpfMTxzXLO8/s1600/risk35i.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Archer becomes a teen.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFUtz432GD2lyUha6eQrk2A6ADxa0WUrOqJiyYqYeqiJ8Llqxj67VOxKf8wZQrCQTfvwEJ-ElLMwcQmcy-CNgwpLdi892-a3-WIk7WrpTXeCHyMNldPC2bEHEXlmT-kPW8vvRtlPr8mo8/s1600/risk35j.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFUtz432GD2lyUha6eQrk2A6ADxa0WUrOqJiyYqYeqiJ8Llqxj67VOxKf8wZQrCQTfvwEJ-ElLMwcQmcy-CNgwpLdi892-a3-WIk7WrpTXeCHyMNldPC2bEHEXlmT-kPW8vvRtlPr8mo8/s1600/risk35j.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Briar gets another tattoo.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy7yVMBSRax6eFAeXsFSVj7XU8e9584c0pFige-fxFjALZwNZD7ElRdM2sFVMoGNXzrbAx51tAebSN28rVXNum_tlUjEy2OhEKVP-7GSLxlmErTuC3GhAkgYVlnVZgLPdxdYLf-rvNOkg/s1600/risk35k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy7yVMBSRax6eFAeXsFSVj7XU8e9584c0pFige-fxFjALZwNZD7ElRdM2sFVMoGNXzrbAx51tAebSN28rVXNum_tlUjEy2OhEKVP-7GSLxlmErTuC3GhAkgYVlnVZgLPdxdYLf-rvNOkg/s1600/risk35k.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The long family tradition of defending themselves from burglars is broken when the police show up to apprehend the thief this time.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrzPzNN5M0ZtF3tgsCY_6CrA6ZMPj1QITZ4zk2dcHT8KDYuOmMT1e4uaAce6AK5wMVBkrEL_8bMvmKDWD8IRCEJI0QmcWBFEXntQoX0hKaqOCZdBSVJmKXRGEnI1atJxIpXQW5dalnEV8/s1600/risk35l.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrzPzNN5M0ZtF3tgsCY_6CrA6ZMPj1QITZ4zk2dcHT8KDYuOmMT1e4uaAce6AK5wMVBkrEL_8bMvmKDWD8IRCEJI0QmcWBFEXntQoX0hKaqOCZdBSVJmKXRGEnI1atJxIpXQW5dalnEV8/s1600/risk35l.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Briar is disappointed to be cheated out of a fight, but it's probably just as well. The burglary alone was enough to make Drew faint. Watching his wife get into a fight might have put him into a coma.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3COajUo33yniczmlj0HmN6ZG8wx9uYeYYYNOo6nUZo6-aB19ZIVHTXrZBPmrL7U4Tkc9yiG3loqYNGddeIYT9Xsy9prIlUeoVqEBHUb0zv6J6bdyJ_AWTwZC1EEEwtnepoBVPYddrUrg/s1600/risk35m.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="392" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3COajUo33yniczmlj0HmN6ZG8wx9uYeYYYNOo6nUZo6-aB19ZIVHTXrZBPmrL7U4Tkc9yiG3loqYNGddeIYT9Xsy9prIlUeoVqEBHUb0zv6J6bdyJ_AWTwZC1EEEwtnepoBVPYddrUrg/s400/risk35m.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Griffin becomes a teen.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAWCDZlNMwTHGlwpMlXi1V7L1c5C1-eQFohVsYxzQECycBS-wykTFwF99Jb0Fcrx31hwr74pOVGyP2PGGGFB6qLvlqw-8TXcVS7LQQwOhMUKCdwqnAdPmH0p48_jiUQto1g7K0eh_C9BI/s1600/risk35n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAWCDZlNMwTHGlwpMlXi1V7L1c5C1-eQFohVsYxzQECycBS-wykTFwF99Jb0Fcrx31hwr74pOVGyP2PGGGFB6qLvlqw-8TXcVS7LQQwOhMUKCdwqnAdPmH0p48_jiUQto1g7K0eh_C9BI/s1600/risk35n.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Archer has been courting Megan Curious-Kindle.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAIBA7dLYxPVCrrCF8MNTRlXF7Rzr2nhC3zKyoBUswtQzPubMYonPAK-9AiOiG9HolLM3E6EX2ElWXnqX7OvsPiNaO9hJxW8P20YdR07lYvjc77qlNYnrGE8b0qN6Sf_jLkJNftGnZcGc/s1600/risk35o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAIBA7dLYxPVCrrCF8MNTRlXF7Rzr2nhC3zKyoBUswtQzPubMYonPAK-9AiOiG9HolLM3E6EX2ElWXnqX7OvsPiNaO9hJxW8P20YdR07lYvjc77qlNYnrGE8b0qN6Sf_jLkJNftGnZcGc/s1600/risk35o.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">He's not sure he would call it love, or even a crush. He just wants a dancing partner, really.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk5q6y0VKVfMpx6yk5fU2XCPmavhBgbsQJmeG8KNxWYoP2wymQ3yi-Y9V9t_AWdCLMGPR_W2EAylnZ5RbaegTiQ0TQYU_TnRRBc2KkD3ybFVBAPmCad16VqQhQDi6LinK0XssAZqVXZZo/s1600/risk35p.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk5q6y0VKVfMpx6yk5fU2XCPmavhBgbsQJmeG8KNxWYoP2wymQ3yi-Y9V9t_AWdCLMGPR_W2EAylnZ5RbaegTiQ0TQYU_TnRRBc2KkD3ybFVBAPmCad16VqQhQDi6LinK0XssAZqVXZZo/s1600/risk35p.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">He spends most of his free time trying new hobbies, like mixology.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDL7s3tNkTUQ4aYF3ZyRTs-zEP4xBYEmnDWagEa-D78dxdG6nPWTf3HZzu3JASAam_x4EP5Z_nSSo6iV1Di6mjpRPHOBzV1VYOMY-FmiyDZl8OyQ3K2fq1LDkIpsuQadn197idILs91vs/s1600/risk35q.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDL7s3tNkTUQ4aYF3ZyRTs-zEP4xBYEmnDWagEa-D78dxdG6nPWTf3HZzu3JASAam_x4EP5Z_nSSo6iV1Di6mjpRPHOBzV1VYOMY-FmiyDZl8OyQ3K2fq1LDkIpsuQadn197idILs91vs/s1600/risk35q.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">And martial arts.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9abdyKGz9u5HDjH2mNUv5mrCZcJCvqmc_vTKzcixy93DUqiWbmHGvN15abTP0aFwWtrKq5wmyL6KQKvftxZY7g8LbeqWPmc6xHVmouoQwbFaq1UKYL8H8Wl0ok4J7qmRmQ52WqPauFE4/s1600/risk35r.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9abdyKGz9u5HDjH2mNUv5mrCZcJCvqmc_vTKzcixy93DUqiWbmHGvN15abTP0aFwWtrKq5wmyL6KQKvftxZY7g8LbeqWPmc6xHVmouoQwbFaq1UKYL8H8Wl0ok4J7qmRmQ52WqPauFE4/s320/risk35r.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Another tattoo for Briar Rose.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipNCHm_3X_Xzz4A6dwyOBI8NpeUw_42dTD_tdpKni6skW3d8zyjkKOcz_o8jebBuVP8b1vmZlOhcdnzXkIGIwvcI29KFLFNFEPft-Sbbvslnbdz03nZ3LZoPfkPCz3Oy8XMwc4yk07rgY/s1600/risk35s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipNCHm_3X_Xzz4A6dwyOBI8NpeUw_42dTD_tdpKni6skW3d8zyjkKOcz_o8jebBuVP8b1vmZlOhcdnzXkIGIwvcI29KFLFNFEPft-Sbbvslnbdz03nZ3LZoPfkPCz3Oy8XMwc4yk07rgY/s400/risk35s.jpg" width="390" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">While no one's looking Andre the maid tries some of the plasma juice leftover from Violet's days as a vampire.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaIpFPKpuYYidyZiWaU7h2VKBXiyOV4Av9fmqHKZp3bFZMrwC5NXjLTLBZq5rbgkZD8UKKSO5EQ-_UPACF0Lt3zrZqpmro0vh4oiIlwzLwEl7nnIp71U6Q2QCp8UdavPKmmpxmcv7KzLA/s1600/risk35t.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="376" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaIpFPKpuYYidyZiWaU7h2VKBXiyOV4Av9fmqHKZp3bFZMrwC5NXjLTLBZq5rbgkZD8UKKSO5EQ-_UPACF0Lt3zrZqpmro0vh4oiIlwzLwEl7nnIp71U6Q2QCp8UdavPKmmpxmcv7KzLA/s400/risk35t.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">He regrets it by the time he's throwing the empty juice box into the trash compactor.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt1lbGUBYpUJpV-2XQ_5ypjCIXmQ3icEpnpI27z1PXmh5S4abbPQjYW744uztP8zQkF0zLG9Dj75MyzgntX9H8qwHscrFMBcbrmvma6NbrgUAQRzuD3DgQDIa1UIi9C2sjVD0TBo_w4R0/s1600/risk35u.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt1lbGUBYpUJpV-2XQ_5ypjCIXmQ3icEpnpI27z1PXmh5S4abbPQjYW744uztP8zQkF0zLG9Dj75MyzgntX9H8qwHscrFMBcbrmvma6NbrgUAQRzuD3DgQDIa1UIi9C2sjVD0TBo_w4R0/s1600/risk35u.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Briar heard about the death of Beau's wife, Lea, and went to pay a condolence visit. She found him wandering the swamps around his house.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"It's daylight, shouldn't you be inside?" she asks gently, seeing his fragile state. He bursts into sobs upon seeing her, and cannot answer her with words.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbjQKAv8VW3V7hoJ2xdAam6b7xC0LGeepAd2kbSy8XBW2UFrVN6CtyyB9WpaD1WE2Zzgt3bUeeTqb_q0F1TKv58pQeU5bp4RpmS-IkpnSddAysGU0Pmd21HTHWc8xWHyLkLF2KVP9pzd0/s1600/risk35v.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbjQKAv8VW3V7hoJ2xdAam6b7xC0LGeepAd2kbSy8XBW2UFrVN6CtyyB9WpaD1WE2Zzgt3bUeeTqb_q0F1TKv58pQeU5bp4RpmS-IkpnSddAysGU0Pmd21HTHWc8xWHyLkLF2KVP9pzd0/s1600/risk35v.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">She leads him back to his house, getting him indoors and out of the burning sun, and his sorrow turns quickly to fury.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Why? Why do you humans insist on dying on me?"</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXhe0x-2rKmxXPNFvWiAsoxASZ_E0PGXJMJj9Vead6hbQhCdAkFZTX2kBWZepa70RJG1dKE6MdhZrdO2fmdxZ3SWRv-8ocd4z10BgHQ5Fn5z9KLV2c4PeDVJcsireWLjIoL-4agtP9gkM/s1600/risk35w.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXhe0x-2rKmxXPNFvWiAsoxASZ_E0PGXJMJj9Vead6hbQhCdAkFZTX2kBWZepa70RJG1dKE6MdhZrdO2fmdxZ3SWRv-8ocd4z10BgHQ5Fn5z9KLV2c4PeDVJcsireWLjIoL-4agtP9gkM/s1600/risk35w.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">For one who has claimed to be immune to love, Beau is clearly deeply affected by the loss of his wife.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"It's what we are," Briar says gently, "You know that. Lea didn't abandon you, it was just her time."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I should have turned her. She said she didn't want to be a vampire, and I was happy enough to feed on her human blood. But now she's gone, and I miss her, Briar Rose."</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc2TpG0F2VyDwDQv6f3PI6-TEp8FKvWJdCdqeH8PBGN7x860MZ-UOqeIxo9ubnaXJ1crzCf8LxlCL6G5TWDSDnaC6gXJPBCB0VBCQk76wJmFK5-A4qP4jYxoSl9yxIHu0mDYsomAgGlJg/s1600/risk35x.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc2TpG0F2VyDwDQv6f3PI6-TEp8FKvWJdCdqeH8PBGN7x860MZ-UOqeIxo9ubnaXJ1crzCf8LxlCL6G5TWDSDnaC6gXJPBCB0VBCQk76wJmFK5-A4qP4jYxoSl9yxIHu0mDYsomAgGlJg/s1600/risk35x.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Since Griffin wasn't making effort toward getting himself a girlfriend, Archer decided to help out by inviting Megan's younger sister, Lilah, over for a visit. Instead of greeting her himself, he sent Griffin out to do it. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Lilah picked up on Archer's plans intuitively, and accuses Griffin of putting his brother up to inviting her over on false pretenses.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2OffofHGYljrA51vJWZqmJ3KjpEzXLQ9sFC49T-A_T43ochW097aRG6ZctLR1J2ZUC8lyquGHF6njBcuMVbynA3Cjik2FfAgM9qcfBAbyc_TvuPcxHl8OFqDmdwKEd77dzFraM1Huti4/s1600/risk35y.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2OffofHGYljrA51vJWZqmJ3KjpEzXLQ9sFC49T-A_T43ochW097aRG6ZctLR1J2ZUC8lyquGHF6njBcuMVbynA3Cjik2FfAgM9qcfBAbyc_TvuPcxHl8OFqDmdwKEd77dzFraM1Huti4/s1600/risk35y.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The situation doesn't improve when the teens settle in for some TV watching. Anything Griffin says, Lilah argues against. Archer decides not to try to play matchmaker in the future.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiba8QJ-w1kBeaDfEBfoggAS2MLNu3C4i75XtA1sg337L1NfJDu1znJGyj7IrE6kNj95doddLE7R8plmgX5jKPA_gu8SRt1OtZvuYqjN_cRALOIn3KWzIIP-8NK9b24E8qAx-NtNA38XqE/s1600/risk35z.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiba8QJ-w1kBeaDfEBfoggAS2MLNu3C4i75XtA1sg337L1NfJDu1znJGyj7IrE6kNj95doddLE7R8plmgX5jKPA_gu8SRt1OtZvuYqjN_cRALOIn3KWzIIP-8NK9b24E8qAx-NtNA38XqE/s1600/risk35z.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Briar gets invited to a party Bree and Bennie Merrick are hosting. Though she doesn't socialize much with her vampire relations besides Beau, Briar accepts this invitation and uses the opportunity to get to know her vampire aunt. Or rather, to grill her aunt for information about growing up with Beau, because she's decided she want to write an article for the paper about her grandfather, a human interest piece that will help people understand vampires better.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"He was cold and unforgiving," Bree says, her own voice cold and unforgiving in the description. "He dumped my mother as soon as she showed signs of aging and seduced my best friend, your grandmother, right out of high school. He treats humans like cattle, and is incapable of love."</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Briar has heard all this said about Beau before, and wonders why her own experience with him seems so different from his daughters'.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiQotXhAN7QoAEMrgPpJ7Cz5vLIlw9hKSjgR2H7hye-evFx5Q3HS_9Mpk9tlmp104euaHbjaXIXlUFGr54n2Mwld9_-vQoYTfE7X7lh4Mhkxj6SbFwknPTbVOAmGZHLfoCs59K6AeMQOM/s1600/risk35z1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiQotXhAN7QoAEMrgPpJ7Cz5vLIlw9hKSjgR2H7hye-evFx5Q3HS_9Mpk9tlmp104euaHbjaXIXlUFGr54n2Mwld9_-vQoYTfE7X7lh4Mhkxj6SbFwknPTbVOAmGZHLfoCs59K6AeMQOM/s1600/risk35z1.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">On her days off, Briar makes occasional attempts to tend her father's abandoned garden. This evening she's interrupted by a visit from Beau.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLlXcE2ZQqJYMMWTiBxPRrEnTG224qqpamTL6x2PgJtj6BDatEMoT7XTx6VMPdDHw4tPIZuSJESi9wIlpzZxXiXI0VIqsK3i8I5ClwgnFPVvYqupMG_msjzB4RxxTeuS6TF3YArLvgOhY/s1600/risk35z2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLlXcE2ZQqJYMMWTiBxPRrEnTG224qqpamTL6x2PgJtj6BDatEMoT7XTx6VMPdDHw4tPIZuSJESi9wIlpzZxXiXI0VIqsK3i8I5ClwgnFPVvYqupMG_msjzB4RxxTeuS6TF3YArLvgOhY/s1600/risk35z2.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">She invites him inside, where he immediately begins crying on her shoulder.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"You are the only family I have, Briar Rose," he sobs, "Lea wanted children, but my children all rejected me. Oregon told me I was a failure as a father, and she was right. I couldn't go through that all again."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"You were younger then," Briar says, "Maybe now that you've gotten in touch with your emotions, you could try again?" Though he's her grandfather, he doesn't appear to be any older than she is, so Briar assumes could conceivably marry and start a new family.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk4-cR8SfdK7-kThrdBSfEMtDHQ6s4J3UQrbqwNG5szI6JZEqxOUO2Eiln9vvXMkh3wpeFVKikc4dKfR0mlplrc8vDoMTszNpYqdSPUFItQhCm3DzyYhozdD-Hr3_MU6KZA8Jigr9k3oQ/s1600/risk35z3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk4-cR8SfdK7-kThrdBSfEMtDHQ6s4J3UQrbqwNG5szI6JZEqxOUO2Eiln9vvXMkh3wpeFVKikc4dKfR0mlplrc8vDoMTszNpYqdSPUFItQhCm3DzyYhozdD-Hr3_MU6KZA8Jigr9k3oQ/s1600/risk35z3.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Archer's romance isn't going very smoothly.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcHNPe-JR72pfTYSz4j8s1q-dGG0YU3GBWhtuXMhQtT_JxY4ns54AjjfzxlEH10CkuKMzaLW3mq1LUE22WP218oiYe8A-U2G6bJAKV6AUt782eIEjeVvkdePQ2k7SxvzgfbhVa5CUbmZw/s1600/risk35z4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcHNPe-JR72pfTYSz4j8s1q-dGG0YU3GBWhtuXMhQtT_JxY4ns54AjjfzxlEH10CkuKMzaLW3mq1LUE22WP218oiYe8A-U2G6bJAKV6AUt782eIEjeVvkdePQ2k7SxvzgfbhVa5CUbmZw/s1600/risk35z4.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">But despite the rocky relationship, Archer still believes in romance, and questions Griffin about his continued single status.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Dude, I don't want a girlfriend," Griffin says, "Everybody hooks up in high school, then gets married and pops out a bunch of kids. It's totally depressing. Don't you want to do something different? Or do you seriously want to marry Megan as soon as you graduate?"</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Well, I hadn't thought that far ahead..." Archer admits. "But it's not like there are a ton of girls out there who aren't our cousins. If you don't act fast, you could lose out altogether."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"That's depressing," Griffin sighs.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Challenge Notes:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Gen. 8 has been kind of boring to play. I'm trying to get Drew to achieve a perfect career, so all he does is write all the time. He's currently at level 8 of the writer career. He's got max writing skill, and achieved all the writing skill challenges. He's 5 days to becoming elder.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">He's now got the ability to write masterpiece novels, which take longer to write but pay really well, so he might just be able to get the perfect career before he dies.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Briar has achieved her perfect career, level 10 of journalism with max writing and charisma skills. And she's gotten a new tattoo every Sunday since she turned YA. Archer will be turning YA the next Saturday, so at that point the generation changes and she will no longer be required to get more tattoos. And I will then be having to have a party every week for Archer's partier requirement.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Most of the other teens are related in some way to Archer and Griffin. Most are still eligible to be romanced by EA standards, but I feel creepy about hooking them up with Carter Sargeant's (Oregon's brother) granddaughters, or any of the Merrick girls (vampire or non), or anyone with McDermott or Carlton in their names. So that leaves them with little choice.</span><br />
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</span>yangthecathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15083940950118677312noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4989886776485997216.post-90463818050980897882011-03-09T05:56:00.000-08:002011-03-09T05:56:44.400-08:00Chapter 34: Turn, Turn, Turn<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBHAvuxyxVD4llOQBDh1zKYgi4Z81N4LI3Qbwoyucbld2Vsv1is-gEdJu-Q7YMD7erWYI8O96Q7SnzfM0r1V01ZAqXjqa-J46BgXPycWMEdb91WOQsWabYHxJQ66pXEf2DthoGbqoi5rc/s1600/risk34a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="371" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBHAvuxyxVD4llOQBDh1zKYgi4Z81N4LI3Qbwoyucbld2Vsv1is-gEdJu-Q7YMD7erWYI8O96Q7SnzfM0r1V01ZAqXjqa-J46BgXPycWMEdb91WOQsWabYHxJQ66pXEf2DthoGbqoi5rc/s400/risk34a.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Being shot at by lasers is a total rush!</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZZGYZjO76in4NG2SO3iRbaXnGFzLWbgzWk3T2ZsT7tjwFc2SnTYpEz8Frc955ovQHBbohaKR7rd2nJoPG3qLvoMsSHOguJapKXngUgPf90h6-brOZFF3lR95xqdv83oiJ4S2IglVRSG0/s1600/risk34c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZZGYZjO76in4NG2SO3iRbaXnGFzLWbgzWk3T2ZsT7tjwFc2SnTYpEz8Frc955ovQHBbohaKR7rd2nJoPG3qLvoMsSHOguJapKXngUgPf90h6-brOZFF3lR95xqdv83oiJ4S2IglVRSG0/s1600/risk34c.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">All the time traveling has been wearing out the old time machine. Luckily repairing it is far easier than building it was, and Lyle will be back to the future in no time.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDGUJI4pT3likcvNMKWWi9bAmsxbhbofue2ginekYnMPCcHNa90nQc5dGgOIkHTznSZCRDketBkyb3y-r-MC1BfiSmQIaGdX0W_ggtUdqpZYYBJD-qSsMxKlGIa7xqjGTTb4zE1wHC4_Q/s1600/risk34c1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDGUJI4pT3likcvNMKWWi9bAmsxbhbofue2ginekYnMPCcHNa90nQc5dGgOIkHTznSZCRDketBkyb3y-r-MC1BfiSmQIaGdX0W_ggtUdqpZYYBJD-qSsMxKlGIa7xqjGTTb4zE1wHC4_Q/s1600/risk34c1.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">A week after getting her first tattoo, Briar Rose got the urge for more ink, this time choosing a butterfly design for her ankle.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFdCcTMgCFEadDm42h2h2RhNBPiBJTXuiysbPgY7ydepbcEFpDl7B33nQCuG9M3mNzezccZ4UXI9W1wEb96arWP0FhufXBn4HJ_uysuzaWfvtamg1YcEV6Myoz4zYWqexlDCKYhBeiIek/s1600/risk34b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFdCcTMgCFEadDm42h2h2RhNBPiBJTXuiysbPgY7ydepbcEFpDl7B33nQCuG9M3mNzezccZ4UXI9W1wEb96arWP0FhufXBn4HJ_uysuzaWfvtamg1YcEV6Myoz4zYWqexlDCKYhBeiIek/s400/risk34b.jpg" width="396" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Dermott graduates high school. His girlfriend Candy Greenwood is a bit younger and still a teenager. The youngest of three, her older siblings have all moved out with their spouses, and with the recent death of her mother, she's been living alone with her elderly father. Right after Dermott gets a job at the science facility, he moves into Candy's house to help her take care of father, who won't be around much longer. They plan to marry as soon as she graduates.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjioBr1RRU8UOnpzpBMltiQj8rAjH0aZvmi0YXjKclpdFvq6Hlavrb4A_FpF1w6w_6p0yRgzQFK0Jz0_bf8lsfC11-bzoZgngqO_U-kvaYugZE_GtCn8Sq3RWdGnhoM-BkPnkMhLDfO1kU/s1600/risk34d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjioBr1RRU8UOnpzpBMltiQj8rAjH0aZvmi0YXjKclpdFvq6Hlavrb4A_FpF1w6w_6p0yRgzQFK0Jz0_bf8lsfC11-bzoZgngqO_U-kvaYugZE_GtCn8Sq3RWdGnhoM-BkPnkMhLDfO1kU/s400/risk34d.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The paper sends Briar out to inteview Cletus Lorenz. She has no idea why the paper would want to do a story on a loser like Cletus, he's best known for not paying the child support he owes to the mothers of his children. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2XQ1LoavMOhXVWVsPH7gtyG1sDn-WBl4T7s4SwkQ4qju-i83z27ubLJAYE6KeFzaExBMX4a_f93xbqXF-pOWsY4y66zDjdv-4NSpBVKFNdXMixJquuutE-HqhCGuaxqEZVAnBFFUyvcU/s1600/risk34e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="346" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2XQ1LoavMOhXVWVsPH7gtyG1sDn-WBl4T7s4SwkQ4qju-i83z27ubLJAYE6KeFzaExBMX4a_f93xbqXF-pOWsY4y66zDjdv-4NSpBVKFNdXMixJquuutE-HqhCGuaxqEZVAnBFFUyvcU/s400/risk34e.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Allyson and Ewan have a nice afterlife chat.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW3_IxLivNRn4H4SHi0E2IC7cLNEzGgR5L3zj_Eu_wADXlYFTGE57vvMLAzRiNF6kI_erz2_tleQGwo0flL0JfYPzH_eM7eYac17HvnpESKDBmo5RuqLcIJQIhcRkLfxIe7mLgoxIsYmU/s1600/risk34f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW3_IxLivNRn4H4SHi0E2IC7cLNEzGgR5L3zj_Eu_wADXlYFTGE57vvMLAzRiNF6kI_erz2_tleQGwo0flL0JfYPzH_eM7eYac17HvnpESKDBmo5RuqLcIJQIhcRkLfxIe7mLgoxIsYmU/s1600/risk34f.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Ghosts! Again! Drew is having a hard time living in this haunted house. Briar has assured him numerous times that they are perfectly harmless, that she grew up with them and they never do anything worse than temporarily possess household objects. But nothing she says can prevent Drew from fainting every time he sees one. Or two, in this case.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXBFHPCgt4tXZq5UjKqnPdSZudT0-Nlbu254OUHTOPRxjg0Jt8lanK5GVB_GcDJa0VhQ0KnmfkwZX3IVAramAzUnzjKVOOIjDd-dJZbz0SB47TxvvZy7bMQh0_SpEatigsNR39Y93dti0/s1600/risk34g.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXBFHPCgt4tXZq5UjKqnPdSZudT0-Nlbu254OUHTOPRxjg0Jt8lanK5GVB_GcDJa0VhQ0KnmfkwZX3IVAramAzUnzjKVOOIjDd-dJZbz0SB47TxvvZy7bMQh0_SpEatigsNR39Y93dti0/s400/risk34g.jpg" width="335" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Because Briar is so career oriented, she and Drew waited to start having children. Their first is a son, Archer.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitZmyI6npQdfqkGCrTulrRmB6l-UqwtY360c166onSfwxgBWYZEnLaFIa1OJfLMLcmBHtKcpy43dB8CAN4MCssow89WXGxUGkR7FuSGSCv95Mq3-aGvvFbRc_y4rxpCDZBjDBEAVKRCYI/s1600/risk34h.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitZmyI6npQdfqkGCrTulrRmB6l-UqwtY360c166onSfwxgBWYZEnLaFIa1OJfLMLcmBHtKcpy43dB8CAN4MCssow89WXGxUGkR7FuSGSCv95Mq3-aGvvFbRc_y4rxpCDZBjDBEAVKRCYI/s1600/risk34h.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Lyle was gone a long time. He hopes he remembers how to live a contemporary life.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbz7zDK-vVVSEBqjIByIhyVQMxwWjrpSd89LPQCfU6JC9E99BMWYu12Em2d6nDMW1D8zFZ_PxcQcdpn93CZsBN8rFDa459cew0vkxFStihm39xPgdDfzyUkYvqnExlETgyle0-4Sqhzy4/s1600/risk34i.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbz7zDK-vVVSEBqjIByIhyVQMxwWjrpSd89LPQCfU6JC9E99BMWYu12Em2d6nDMW1D8zFZ_PxcQcdpn93CZsBN8rFDa459cew0vkxFStihm39xPgdDfzyUkYvqnExlETgyle0-4Sqhzy4/s1600/risk34i.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Dermott comes by for a visit, and discusses his work with his father. He and Candy have married and are expecting their first child.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5NtSJDyEi295gPcJQ5QpP01DBHWGPK0XHhQ9y03J-HwCzfYBXcAB_1SiU3_NeBZ622qTuNS-H7jiLFGO_bKmD979EQKgGF2iRI9GbFaqLXjkOSoM5LWy6_5Km0dTcCGCaz0cXw7ZxlOU/s1600/risk34j.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5NtSJDyEi295gPcJQ5QpP01DBHWGPK0XHhQ9y03J-HwCzfYBXcAB_1SiU3_NeBZ622qTuNS-H7jiLFGO_bKmD979EQKgGF2iRI9GbFaqLXjkOSoM5LWy6_5Km0dTcCGCaz0cXw7ZxlOU/s1600/risk34j.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Briar never misses an opportunity to do an interview. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I'm a fertilizer analyst, Briar. What could you possibly want to know about analyzing fertilizer?"</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9YCi8J0amviZHubFZvx47sfQ4S9gEpaWAU6T2bQodU41KY7QpNjKZLmtQAI2absrJmkNmtzwS1Yy92Li9IqFNMZrVuv0PXxqqtLu2CgoiDJBaV8HsMhyphenhyphen9mdvlyYBxaLRprr_EGZz16dA/s1600/risk34k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9YCi8J0amviZHubFZvx47sfQ4S9gEpaWAU6T2bQodU41KY7QpNjKZLmtQAI2absrJmkNmtzwS1Yy92Li9IqFNMZrVuv0PXxqqtLu2CgoiDJBaV8HsMhyphenhyphen9mdvlyYBxaLRprr_EGZz16dA/s1600/risk34k.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Archer becomes a toddler. The family hasn't seen black hair in two generations, though it used to be quite common. Drew's father had black hair.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTCua5qADOBLyO0DFY3SUqmqmawqNDkYLT4FWG2vrAAaFV4Yjyajrn6Qa4-PWGW9s07sbPVWUUryfIGhI3TfrPdGKzUbkWbW3JgscNxfBQZ-QxSfkagXtW8g8Mnc4Ytm905xUWgUl_kcI/s1600/risk34m.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTCua5qADOBLyO0DFY3SUqmqmawqNDkYLT4FWG2vrAAaFV4Yjyajrn6Qa4-PWGW9s07sbPVWUUryfIGhI3TfrPdGKzUbkWbW3JgscNxfBQZ-QxSfkagXtW8g8Mnc4Ytm905xUWgUl_kcI/s400/risk34m.jpg" width="355" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Archer gets a little brother, Griffin.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh74zFiGrnmcYNrjQH6Icgs0uvmD1BXfdWDYgSCSifVIjqu4mSGhCDZ8N972bnlyOTt95h1q8gJv8R5Ug5PNlhyphenhyphen-CZ6J7D1vRwS2xGVo2ENYD7NoxXYPD9IZ_RHTaXmPdLjkrdCvjgvl-s/s1600/risk34n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh74zFiGrnmcYNrjQH6Icgs0uvmD1BXfdWDYgSCSifVIjqu4mSGhCDZ8N972bnlyOTt95h1q8gJv8R5Ug5PNlhyphenhyphen-CZ6J7D1vRwS2xGVo2ENYD7NoxXYPD9IZ_RHTaXmPdLjkrdCvjgvl-s/s1600/risk34n.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Briar celebrates the birth of another son with another tattoo.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv4xykFpgQ5BePFL_zCqJCTUR471jr6osRDAymG3R8oq17OFfTrmfvI6wXhTosVK_oIA6KCZ-2JbiziByzkmWDOgSCzhfkpeMC7XaAuux0yjYGI35hk_wcJyPLEsYaUFQKX31tWJnVA9g/s1600/risk34o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv4xykFpgQ5BePFL_zCqJCTUR471jr6osRDAymG3R8oq17OFfTrmfvI6wXhTosVK_oIA6KCZ-2JbiziByzkmWDOgSCzhfkpeMC7XaAuux0yjYGI35hk_wcJyPLEsYaUFQKX31tWJnVA9g/s1600/risk34o.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Can you see it okay in this blouse? Maybe I should wear something more revealing?"</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I can see it fine, Briar," Drew says, "But I think it's okay for you have some areas only I get to see."</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7DkvZuSt4D1O9FdL9gYrTZRY62oZ5yj5AcqgyPn0zhOLeThMU_N2MoBbWGr-rwMH2EjZZuM4l7tlP6W70IlgHOu5uDypMFEECYaGb47gJYL3fc9YE38TspnwJ7WPCVp7nyDDsElXhCC8/s1600/risk34p.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7DkvZuSt4D1O9FdL9gYrTZRY62oZ5yj5AcqgyPn0zhOLeThMU_N2MoBbWGr-rwMH2EjZZuM4l7tlP6W70IlgHOu5uDypMFEECYaGb47gJYL3fc9YE38TspnwJ7WPCVp7nyDDsElXhCC8/s1600/risk34p.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"You're so sweet, Drew. I promise my next tattoo will be just for you."</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGKznPS1qN3vZwxNXc_WtYzNDn3mIbec707Thm-PxafA7rejn9B35_saTyxQX-cqIPv-lKLPKn-8_4zdmmw7r57dzuhuZmGTfQ6I92NQjaOWjlYMosX0ROaisbU7z3IBz4udDpzJ12tKc/s1600/risk34q.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGKznPS1qN3vZwxNXc_WtYzNDn3mIbec707Thm-PxafA7rejn9B35_saTyxQX-cqIPv-lKLPKn-8_4zdmmw7r57dzuhuZmGTfQ6I92NQjaOWjlYMosX0ROaisbU7z3IBz4udDpzJ12tKc/s1600/risk34q.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">This is what happens when you send Lyle out to get the mail.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvRYkdD_WM4ne9K2yB8l0txkHAHSxuEuOnSRFDd6CCube4McPBhgyIM7no0y9B-50F79rdgi9KTo203OEAskWNkfR5vdpm754yrjJPPVAu4K7nJhoBpxISu7O5V2hjIXoZHTNmNVXY0oo/s1600/risk34r.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvRYkdD_WM4ne9K2yB8l0txkHAHSxuEuOnSRFDd6CCube4McPBhgyIM7no0y9B-50F79rdgi9KTo203OEAskWNkfR5vdpm754yrjJPPVAu4K7nJhoBpxISu7O5V2hjIXoZHTNmNVXY0oo/s1600/risk34r.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Briar and Drew both work hard. Archer and Griffin are largely raised by their grandparents.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix2Gyvm-p38z_ScEGw-2hyphenhyphenBWjuIF_s_XFaH-iXbDTxM97PCRUPQEjUzHLSrQ_q5m_4Lp9Ns9HxG_gt2PhI4trFjGc3Sl8BxBMWsbraEBqQMnuvPlfxw2BmkbjuB9uTKjR_5TLWa88kALs/s1600/risk34s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix2Gyvm-p38z_ScEGw-2hyphenhyphenBWjuIF_s_XFaH-iXbDTxM97PCRUPQEjUzHLSrQ_q5m_4Lp9Ns9HxG_gt2PhI4trFjGc3Sl8BxBMWsbraEBqQMnuvPlfxw2BmkbjuB9uTKjR_5TLWa88kALs/s400/risk34s.jpg" width="386" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Griffin becomes a toddler. He's got Violet's hair.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLyn1gp7u-VbkkXLuYVqYZoHN1zYcPMfFqNb-e37rRQM9efa-yV4ZgcOuEA3KAlk_hzkrkidZA4erzDQKy_-6FnlOp67jv5KdZOXVonq8jR04Z6Kdq23A_k_r3mdiHuPV04P-MW13OF28/s1600/risk34t.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLyn1gp7u-VbkkXLuYVqYZoHN1zYcPMfFqNb-e37rRQM9efa-yV4ZgcOuEA3KAlk_hzkrkidZA4erzDQKy_-6FnlOp67jv5KdZOXVonq8jR04Z6Kdq23A_k_r3mdiHuPV04P-MW13OF28/s1600/risk34t.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Lyle usually stays up all night and just sleeps a few hours during the day. Today his daily sleep is the final one. Lyle has had an amazing life, and is as fearless in death as he was in life.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"All right, let's do this!"</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghJpMGUB0gxY6jac_vd5ictTdCdNApYFMcdZYp3GmJmbUju6JCfI8hZAsQZ9G9pzvBIBuZxVjaGdS253IdgK-Tcy0LLmN9ZUaLMtpDPD6CSBhRM694EUyjQ9pduh7c3ziKaH-ZiH62oSc/s1600/risk34u.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghJpMGUB0gxY6jac_vd5ictTdCdNApYFMcdZYp3GmJmbUju6JCfI8hZAsQZ9G9pzvBIBuZxVjaGdS253IdgK-Tcy0LLmN9ZUaLMtpDPD6CSBhRM694EUyjQ9pduh7c3ziKaH-ZiH62oSc/s1600/risk34u.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Grim's visit is more than Drew can handle.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFyecnQjh2fIGM74l4rvEc7-iRnYJ-AfJe9oT4eofdpoifVklpdd3n_UpL544FEVNIqQE4fVkeNKdMg205bYY2MS3GRKvC1InKE1DAsV7ASTM7loh3MRcuP0wsD7ilDdftTcsYKpBsJ3A/s1600/risk34v.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFyecnQjh2fIGM74l4rvEc7-iRnYJ-AfJe9oT4eofdpoifVklpdd3n_UpL544FEVNIqQE4fVkeNKdMg205bYY2MS3GRKvC1InKE1DAsV7ASTM7loh3MRcuP0wsD7ilDdftTcsYKpBsJ3A/s1600/risk34v.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Lyle's grave is decorated with one of the widgets he invented. Briar was checking out a lead at City Hall when he father died and learns of his passing when she gets home.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGR_jWHAzwSFx4yESxmnLJMUh1QIN8dOEBoYkREmb7kTgoDw4SFxK_nR_1RSBik22IhTf2_K7vuLmtDqZAjuUkhTErepwnZTKj7AI26G1Pc8ooa9d1Egdhm-ZfykBqn3nruOX36zXvVGI/s1600/risk34w.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGR_jWHAzwSFx4yESxmnLJMUh1QIN8dOEBoYkREmb7kTgoDw4SFxK_nR_1RSBik22IhTf2_K7vuLmtDqZAjuUkhTErepwnZTKj7AI26G1Pc8ooa9d1Egdhm-ZfykBqn3nruOX36zXvVGI/s1600/risk34w.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I should have been here," Briar sobs on her husband's shoulder.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"You didn't know," Drew soothes, "And he understood how much your career means to you. He was proud of you."</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIbwTr9qj8Gbn5nwF8Ncpu8hdNgBiUqykQXuu7ayB4HzAZ2Rc-6HuI_mG1fzqNSh3cla3v4e2tc9-DUdNpyjK0JdmXt7E-17lTEG_1TejskP2S6-wNCr5fZYSDiRE64hfEt7AN8DHthu8/s1600/risk34x.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIbwTr9qj8Gbn5nwF8Ncpu8hdNgBiUqykQXuu7ayB4HzAZ2Rc-6HuI_mG1fzqNSh3cla3v4e2tc9-DUdNpyjK0JdmXt7E-17lTEG_1TejskP2S6-wNCr5fZYSDiRE64hfEt7AN8DHthu8/s1600/risk34x.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Archer's birthday is the next. Briar had wanted a party, but with the death of her father, she invites only a few close family members. Dermott was invited but his wife Candy comes without him, saying her husband was too deep in grieving to come out. Over her mother's protests, Briar also invited Beau Merrick.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxEvLFxRvWFSUcRxSr6LGZtHZ6U0pd8jgPfaWnQA7UjSKr45qFM59DSojiIr40UyjObcNTN7b0PajHnyc2jjFrXjcbjvF73HpyLXJlElWCqowcWIYZca2PvjfYFdw90_aQWoljywhi9QY/s1600/risk34y.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxEvLFxRvWFSUcRxSr6LGZtHZ6U0pd8jgPfaWnQA7UjSKr45qFM59DSojiIr40UyjObcNTN7b0PajHnyc2jjFrXjcbjvF73HpyLXJlElWCqowcWIYZca2PvjfYFdw90_aQWoljywhi9QY/s1600/risk34y.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">As she sits down for some birthday cake, Violet feels a tingle. "Lyle?"</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQKyqp_4ruTrQ8ArOZq7TTFp9oPsxussI-94RxJQHgmbqdUdtByQBswJ9Bs4ImiFR792TTqDhRiornvJcZd2iYm19ZLF9hJ5iFm3JzEcD4yddHgmLrjdD0FDzY4_vampH7UzezETvPj20/s1600/risk34z.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQKyqp_4ruTrQ8ArOZq7TTFp9oPsxussI-94RxJQHgmbqdUdtByQBswJ9Bs4ImiFR792TTqDhRiornvJcZd2iYm19ZLF9hJ5iFm3JzEcD4yddHgmLrjdD0FDzY4_vampH7UzezETvPj20/s1600/risk34z.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The birthday party becomes a funeral. Beau is horrified to watch his daughter die.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3U3IW2nIaxThSP_y8_N4ppfbFEdEVcPY-3-uFcEewG-omQFlZ-bij_2dOKq0wmJovTEki1XCqabBU2hV0Fr9vEqKOF7y72hZBlBLpRS4Iq8oVNgalhtgiq_HGS0Xcpmpji7UlGFnq3eM/s1600/risk34z1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3U3IW2nIaxThSP_y8_N4ppfbFEdEVcPY-3-uFcEewG-omQFlZ-bij_2dOKq0wmJovTEki1XCqabBU2hV0Fr9vEqKOF7y72hZBlBLpRS4Iq8oVNgalhtgiq_HGS0Xcpmpji7UlGFnq3eM/s1600/risk34z1.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Lyle had only been gone for a day, but that was one day more than she wanted to be without him, and she's quite ready to meet him on the other side.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicXdVBNuYHfaD189dFaFw7l_7PA5T4slEaw3Jh_Qps_O8OwBmcj5siaCSBNXkmLtHR_3qbzVI2SFOCajgh8au4DDIkRIk7JRZDyATHCxKIcG2uFY8X9OR1W3Su25L70p9S9btqsXQLKso/s1600/risk34z2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicXdVBNuYHfaD189dFaFw7l_7PA5T4slEaw3Jh_Qps_O8OwBmcj5siaCSBNXkmLtHR_3qbzVI2SFOCajgh8au4DDIkRIk7JRZDyATHCxKIcG2uFY8X9OR1W3Su25L70p9S9btqsXQLKso/s1600/risk34z2.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">At this moment Candy realizes she'll have to tell Dermott that she watched his mother die.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijVOIFnXm1Wo-dfhCeBJmmpeDw9YjF3Wifgt0EaVn_RuWFnujbBPNC61V46rI3xo5JlV5BDIbU7tYdvOzX9VAOVfk-VlAntvNkVKXiBfWRn_WfocA_XCqGICHgybI9pwDCGedtmDLHzBg/s1600/risk34z3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijVOIFnXm1Wo-dfhCeBJmmpeDw9YjF3Wifgt0EaVn_RuWFnujbBPNC61V46rI3xo5JlV5BDIbU7tYdvOzX9VAOVfk-VlAntvNkVKXiBfWRn_WfocA_XCqGICHgybI9pwDCGedtmDLHzBg/s1600/risk34z3.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Briar was not expecting such a fierce reaction from Beau. He's not taking this death well at all.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlZCkhxunGQSw82G-vkhZHCgL06XURkFS3xAz5EIj9WtsBo2j8h36Px_8GhRy1hDDObFdlxjBMAZW6Ek2MbUCYXnuZrn1nVFlJ44wKKbGxj9LcclJcGjFAUuqNgxF1fVoYjTB0XxsEvgs/s1600/risk34z4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlZCkhxunGQSw82G-vkhZHCgL06XURkFS3xAz5EIj9WtsBo2j8h36Px_8GhRy1hDDObFdlxjBMAZW6Ek2MbUCYXnuZrn1nVFlJ44wKKbGxj9LcclJcGjFAUuqNgxF1fVoYjTB0XxsEvgs/s1600/risk34z4.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Briar takes him aside, and he does apologize for the outburst. "It shouldn't have been this way. She was born vampire, she should still be a young woman. I shouldn't be watching my daughters die of old age! Briar Rose, I beg you, let me turn you now while you are still young. I don't want to outlive you, too."</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzJlzwIwl8vfseOy2xOvttlvBEha5_YPGUd5BPMcC9akarJRS3f-OhQ4xhueRuBSbnF0B1JTHRZjAseACxe82Kq82SWau7jobw8BDGgD0PKbpikYADvMgzhYvywGOJGH-zO0SdYLywJGQ/s1600/risk34z5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzJlzwIwl8vfseOy2xOvttlvBEha5_YPGUd5BPMcC9akarJRS3f-OhQ4xhueRuBSbnF0B1JTHRZjAseACxe82Kq82SWau7jobw8BDGgD0PKbpikYADvMgzhYvywGOJGH-zO0SdYLywJGQ/s1600/risk34z5.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Briar is moved by his show of emotion. He had kept his feelings repressed for so long, denying even to himself that he felt anything at all.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"My mother chose to be human, knowing it would shorten her life. She loved her life and met death with grace. It's hard to lose loved ones, but even while you grieve, you should be happy for the life they lived, for what they accomplished."</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Challenge Notes:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This generation is whizzing by. Drew is focused on writing, he rarely does any thing but write. Briar's career is less demanding, but there are interviews to do, venues to review and articles to write. So a lot of game time passes with nothing to blog about.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Drew will be turning Adult the day after Archer's birthday party, and Briar will be the next day. She's currently on track to achieve perfect career before turning elder. She'll need to max Charisma and Writing. She's at 8 and 9 on those.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Drew just reached level 6 of the author career. It gets progressively harder. I had to spend 10k of his happiness points to change his LTW to professional author. And now he's achieved it. I then spent 20k points to change his traits. Well, I only swapped his Kleptomaniac., which he doesn't use, for Bookworm. As much as I don't love Coward and Shy, I didn't want to change his personality, just give him a bit more of a professional edge.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">He has reached level 10 of writing skill. He's focused on SciFi and Fantasy novels. The Fantasy pays more, but SciFi are quicker to write. He's currently working on getting the 'prolific writer' skill challenge, to write 20 books. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">About tattoos: I'm using the expanded master controller tattoo module that adds better tattoo placement options. While adding the third tattoo I accidentally hit the 'remove all' button' and then had to reapply the original tattoos. I think I put the butterfly on the wrong ankle second time around, lol. Briar gets a new tattoo every Sunday.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">My roll for generation 9 is Couple with 5 children (mimi will be pleased). Law Enforcement, Spy branch career, with secondary Farmer. My goal is property mogul and misc. fun in partier. First child will be heir, so it's Archer. Archer's traits are Brave, Genius and Party Animal.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Griffin got Artistic and Loves the Outdoors as a random roll.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So, this is the second time I've given my heir a name that's a last name of someone else's legacy family. I don't do this intentionally, lol. I was fishing around for a name a Fantasy writer would use for his son. I thought of Hunter, but I already used that. Archer came up next. I thought 'cool name!' and went for it. Interestingly enough, Archer's favorite color is the same as <a href="http://r2simslegacy.blogspot.com/">R&R Legacy</a> Founder Randy Archer's hair color.</span>yangthecathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15083940950118677312noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4989886776485997216.post-702908264305649692011-03-06T14:36:00.000-08:002011-03-06T14:39:36.280-08:00Chapter 33: Dead Man's Party<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIawbhjwXAsRwf-eRcjpu2qJBz9-Z5cuCl_OKevARovEE6h2PBP0upr8131aOIxPF8xWJXGoSSZ7d_dEVPGwmKRoYVYmmlHpyDXNEwGXxpZDxvAFiFrBPtBjNeiCWRjpuK8XaZld-3vVI/s1600/risk33a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="397" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIawbhjwXAsRwf-eRcjpu2qJBz9-Z5cuCl_OKevARovEE6h2PBP0upr8131aOIxPF8xWJXGoSSZ7d_dEVPGwmKRoYVYmmlHpyDXNEwGXxpZDxvAFiFrBPtBjNeiCWRjpuK8XaZld-3vVI/s400/risk33a.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Lyle is not easily distracted from his work.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">After her anti-gravity experience, Violet suddenly understands Lyle's addiction to the adrenaline rush.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsu8AjKu8TRlSkwZ_7j014-65bd_ttIgo4TwoOnUe8f_MXKfu8sZZqrhrfGKY-Sl2W3ZwPTbB9AVq2kNFdCwH7ZMC-GbAEd1HK-XAX5RzwMNceD3tlQ1vbzfg-bH0IBvgiwurUvFS6140/s1600/risk33a1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsu8AjKu8TRlSkwZ_7j014-65bd_ttIgo4TwoOnUe8f_MXKfu8sZZqrhrfGKY-Sl2W3ZwPTbB9AVq2kNFdCwH7ZMC-GbAEd1HK-XAX5RzwMNceD3tlQ1vbzfg-bH0IBvgiwurUvFS6140/s400/risk33a1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Violet and Lyle have kept up their night owl lifestyle, and are up long after their kids have gone to bed. Tonight, a broken hot tub interferes with their late night fun.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I'll have this fixed in a flash," Lyle says.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I'll be in bed when you're ready," Violet answers.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Wait up for me, then."</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1PGc2tN_lcFboQQv3joGy1xxa25tt1__7dYYKpzGNkl84f6-DO1DbrxpTy0rPdy5BzLx1u4Kh4yrzfKOW3XWVNZpbk0ratA97K2aWRfhUS1U6dPk30CoRjwT6LkBQByenPWUgMhvBSlM/s1600/risk33c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1PGc2tN_lcFboQQv3joGy1xxa25tt1__7dYYKpzGNkl84f6-DO1DbrxpTy0rPdy5BzLx1u4Kh4yrzfKOW3XWVNZpbk0ratA97K2aWRfhUS1U6dPk30CoRjwT6LkBQByenPWUgMhvBSlM/s400/risk33c.jpg" width="377" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Allyson is pleased they've left some cocktails out for her.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It's a dead man's party.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Dermott meets up with Candy Greenwood in the park after school. She's a genius like he is, and they've been best friends since childhood. Now that she's started high school, Dermott confesses his attraction.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Candy hoped her first day of high school would end like this. Besides being a genius and a virtuoso, she's also a snob, and Dermott's intelligence, looks and wealth satisfies all her requirements in a boyfriend.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Behind them, classmates Moshe Greenwood and Clint Keane-Still have a heated argument about dim sum.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">While her brother discovers first love, Briar Rose meets with their vampire grandfather at the Red Rendezvous. At this early hour, the bar is rarely busy. Even with the thin crowd, Beau is more comfortable in the deserted second floor of the bar, by the stage where no band has ever played. Despite his advantages over them, being around groups of humans makes him nervous.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Tell me about your family," Briar requests, "Tell me about your life before you came to Twinbrook."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Beau hesitates. "There's nothing to tell," he says, and Briar gives him a stern look. "All right," he sighs in acquiescence, "What do you want to know?"</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Start with your childhood," she says, "Who were your parents?"</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"My parents were traditionalists. Both vampires, who didn't believe in breeding with humans. They were also traditionalists in their feeding habits, so they would have nothing to do with hospital plasma or plasma fruits. They were lone predators, and they were for the most part competitors. They came together for the simple purpose of breeding. Once that was accomplished, once I was born, their brief partnership ended. They shared responsibility for my upbringing, and my time was divided between them."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"How sad," Briar remarks. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Beau shakes his head, "No, not sad. That was a fairly vampire childhood." </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"So I'm guessing there weren't a lot of hugs."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Beau laughs harshly. "None, in fact. Hugs aren't a common vampire activity."</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Your children all have human mothers," Briar says, "You aren't a traditionalist like your parents."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I left home when I came of age," Beau says, "Because I was in competition with my parents for prey. It was time to find my own hunting grounds. I went first to Bridgeport. Though there was much competition there, but I did well for myself, securing three fe - women for myself. The vampires there, though, were very clubby. They had leaders and expected all the vampires in town to check in with them, attend meetings...not for me. I struck out for Twinbrook, a place where there were no vampires, where I could found my own dynasty, and live by my own traditions."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"But your children..."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Have largely turned from me, yes. Your grandmother pointed this out to me on the day you were born. They all had human mothers, and expected human affection from their father, I suppose. And yet despite my failings, I have a human granddaughter who seeks my company. Though you aren't vampire, you take after me more than any of my vampire descendants. You're intelligent, quick-thinking, and unafraid."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Well, I get that from my father, too, I think," Briar says, giving credit where it's due.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Mmm, yes. The Carlton." Beau agrees, "He funded the research that resulted in the 'cure' for vampirism. I hated him for that, but he fathered you, didn't he? Violet chose well." </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Beau takes his leave then, running away in a blur of speed.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuk5rBcZohdNCm_bqXpitQJU4EyZLy-RuFUfe-ESAGF1vRwYEErKbEJe1Lf5T09zOZp3ML2qyGURoiA0xI3T7ux_toRDG8Zsb6pktSnjX2uBOwEwabY6nqNPsDuwUoCnZAgVqinpWwo70/s1600/risk33j.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuk5rBcZohdNCm_bqXpitQJU4EyZLy-RuFUfe-ESAGF1vRwYEErKbEJe1Lf5T09zOZp3ML2qyGURoiA0xI3T7ux_toRDG8Zsb6pktSnjX2uBOwEwabY6nqNPsDuwUoCnZAgVqinpWwo70/s400/risk33j.jpg" width="382" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Though Briar's meeting with Beau took place away from the rest of the bar patrons, word quickly made it's way to her father. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Your mother told you not to speak with the vampire," Lyle reprimands her as soon as she got in the door.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"He's not going to hurt me," Briar protests, "And Mom should know that, she was a vampire once, herself. He's my grandfather."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"It's not a matter of him hurting you," Lyle explains, "Beau Merrick is your grandfather, but he was no father to your mother. She doesn't want him infiltrating her family."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEzsz-8flL-EPamtEkSOHP1bDpvgjFqvzWOfoehW3IRHIp3h8c7zw7c-BXIjBmSakfGh32phABVSc-hDHi4QBG9xxr6iCRsUarx-LqFr0bbM0rCKY94xXYqBstUMXsAMTSOLJCIRjIwuc/s1600/risk33k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="396" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEzsz-8flL-EPamtEkSOHP1bDpvgjFqvzWOfoehW3IRHIp3h8c7zw7c-BXIjBmSakfGh32phABVSc-hDHi4QBG9xxr6iCRsUarx-LqFr0bbM0rCKY94xXYqBstUMXsAMTSOLJCIRjIwuc/s400/risk33k.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Mom can't keep him out of my family if I choose to include him," Briar says.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Listen, Briar, when I was your age, I couldn't be told what to do, either. You are too much my child for me to think you'll do anything besides what you want to do. I'm just asking you to respect your mother's feelings on this. The less she hears about him, the better. Are we agreed?"</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Agreed," Briar sighs.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Briar's birthday comes. Dermott looks forward to own birthday.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZPXXTmmv2LWz8qWZKVAGxlhvwRRTHIRu6NdhQ-aMP4bbTL-eXfhyphenhyphenpfzvVqfFKwuPd1rXHFB6SVqh1HCfuJEiOcjeDG2Y1Sp-O6gZwcgdwWRIu9Jbf1cxqAAtLdGP0RyeOmzsSuno5dsw/s1600/risk33m.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZPXXTmmv2LWz8qWZKVAGxlhvwRRTHIRu6NdhQ-aMP4bbTL-eXfhyphenhyphenpfzvVqfFKwuPd1rXHFB6SVqh1HCfuJEiOcjeDG2Y1Sp-O6gZwcgdwWRIu9Jbf1cxqAAtLdGP0RyeOmzsSuno5dsw/s1600/risk33m.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Briar Rose becomes a young adult.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The first thing she does is invite Drew over to discuss their plans for the future.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjU0BGc7GAqj5ZSOh52e_MPwZx-NsE0IlVgWKJaskxebaHcr5QBljKNFJqBi65NsrXW_hyvOqFT7nwHCAJTUMytbGXcmhOTz6lR4jqJ8Hk3POPdkJdLVqfjvugIwhJtarToe2oOsduog0/s1600/risk33o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjU0BGc7GAqj5ZSOh52e_MPwZx-NsE0IlVgWKJaskxebaHcr5QBljKNFJqBi65NsrXW_hyvOqFT7nwHCAJTUMytbGXcmhOTz6lR4jqJ8Hk3POPdkJdLVqfjvugIwhJtarToe2oOsduog0/s1600/risk33o.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Just the mention of a wedding party put Drew on the verge of fainting, so Briar agreed to marrying him privately right there in her kitchen.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Once her marital plans were taken care of, Briar went to the High Products office building to get a job with the local paper. On her way home, she stopped at the tattoo parlor to get a tattoo, a small rose on her wrist.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Did it hurt much?" Drew asks, wondering how she got the courage to endure that kind of pain.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"A little sure. But it was exhilarating, too," she answers, "I may get another one."</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Briar and Drew share a love of the written word. Extroverted Briar expresses that love in the field of journalism, while her introverted husband stays home and works on his novel.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It started as just a typical day in Twinbrook. Then, fiery destruction fell from the sky.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The meteor struck the High Products office building directly.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Miraculously, no one was hurt and the building suffered no damage, except for the large meteorite that got lodged in the front door. Briar made a quick call to her father, who rushed over before the science facility types could come and claim this find.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Lyle decorates the front lawn with the fallen meteorites. Violet wonders if having space debris in the yard violates the homeowners association rules.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Despite the lack of casualties and damage, the meteor strike is the biggest news to hit Twinbrook ever, and Briar Rose quickly gets to work interviewing the local populace. She starts with her uncle, Hunter McDermott-Bayless, a world renowned surgeon. for information on any injuries suffered. There were no physical injuries to report, only psychological trauma.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Her next interview is with her mother-in-law, Ariana Meredith-Coddle, a prominent scientist at the science facility. She doesn't reveal anything that Briar couldn't learn from her father, but she's an 'official scientist' and is therefore more quotable.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Briar is confident that this article will catapult her career forward.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGFOf-1jmhqE3rVaE9LHwj7X2I_4U9qw-06qNC7p-OWXnohqb6WZrgMwLKYVettECHNVDEIgGCOA09JwkL3rqnx1_5_lKPK_Tzpsl8QcFQP8Idb471Dhlto-Z40Y_FeTB0EFD-GLouvPw/s1600/risk33za.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGFOf-1jmhqE3rVaE9LHwj7X2I_4U9qw-06qNC7p-OWXnohqb6WZrgMwLKYVettECHNVDEIgGCOA09JwkL3rqnx1_5_lKPK_Tzpsl8QcFQP8Idb471Dhlto-Z40Y_FeTB0EFD-GLouvPw/s1600/risk33za.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Fishing Fracas is so fascinating.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Lyle and Violet, still in love after all these years.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Drew has never done anything this scary in his life. And that's why he does it. He'll be a much better writer if he has some real experiences to write about.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The tattoo he chose matches Briar's.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Challenge Notes:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Generation 8 is officially begun. My roll was Couple, 2 kids, Journalism & Author careers, with Perfect Careers and Tattoo addict.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Note, I'm not trying to count Drew's tattoo as part of the tattoo addict. He just rolled a wish to get one. Briar will be the actual tattoo addict. About that, I'm having some issue with that tattoo chair; when I get the screen to create the tattoo, the Sim is fully dressed and I can't actually see the tattoo I'm creating. So, for future tattoos I will be adding them through CAS and deducting the 150 simoleons to pay for them, rather than using the tattoo parlor.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I'm kind of worried about achieving perfect careers for Drew. The skill careers at higher levels require huge sales to progress. I've reached level 10 with other skill careers, like sculpting, but only in the last days before the Sim died. And I've had Sims die of old age before getting to level 10 of skill careers. So there is a possibility of failure this generation. I'm saving up Drew's happiness points to get the author reward that increases the pay for written books, but that costs 30k, so it will be some time before I can accrue that.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Dermott has 2 days before becoming a YA.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Drew's traits are Coward, Good, Artistic, Kleptomaniac and Shy.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Briar Rose got Excitable as her adult trait. I rolled for that one, it shows up fairly frequently in this family in random rolls.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">And yay, my first meteor strike. It was kind of anti-climatic. No one died, lol.</span><br />
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</span>yangthecathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15083940950118677312noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4989886776485997216.post-59609605994060649952011-03-04T06:57:00.000-08:002011-03-04T07:41:16.378-08:00Chapter 32: Interview with a Vampire<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQeJApMXZmIvLDoukIzqRP9IGsS6cwxlQoa-H5HhBHeTTT5bqRJ-GuVpZqsy41sJxpyZ3cBIVIpVMTSMt6UInx_fRwfuUWVQweOyuwgxg_atIKQbn16o-XxGjJODFVVU1wa_XsxThcouo/s1600/risk32a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="335" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQeJApMXZmIvLDoukIzqRP9IGsS6cwxlQoa-H5HhBHeTTT5bqRJ-GuVpZqsy41sJxpyZ3cBIVIpVMTSMt6UInx_fRwfuUWVQweOyuwgxg_atIKQbn16o-XxGjJODFVVU1wa_XsxThcouo/s400/risk32a.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"But why do I have to go to school? I'm light years ahead of my class already!" </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"And you always will be," Lyle tells his son, remembering his own struggles within the system that was supposed to educate him. "Society requires all children to attend school, and even I can't get you out of it. But there are other things to learn there beyond what's in the lesson books. Be observant."</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Lyle and Violet are getting older, but their passion endures. Now that Violet is a superstar chef, she only works three days a week, giving them lots of free time to spend together while the kids are at school.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Briar Rose wonders about her genius father. Sure, he has a brilliant mind, but he plays with fire. And with her old dollhouse.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirW4z8erBZDw5sBDdTht9vjjgeHgmrCVMqnSfgoc-XNgRJz-gOou3al_94R6av2rEau_C4ScZMLI_k-wGMfCA34EBqMmoUliy72rG1fhPZ7YxT4zNGauHu8jMsExz8-99maW-SHnHjBok/s1600/risk32d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirW4z8erBZDw5sBDdTht9vjjgeHgmrCVMqnSfgoc-XNgRJz-gOou3al_94R6av2rEau_C4ScZMLI_k-wGMfCA34EBqMmoUliy72rG1fhPZ7YxT4zNGauHu8jMsExz8-99maW-SHnHjBok/s1600/risk32d.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The reaper comes for Jeromy. He goes without protest.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxH0DdxmjIj0yzthzH0DSYqV0oaO7PQyJGQ1AHMf5PxO31UHKXWAv3Voq7cBY3PFX-wuRAwQP66tHIEL-kYtPnMBMEICb1_ns7i8Jxk5sIELkfmXIdn4rRGw-DJ01NeLK0ltFZ3sy_J1Q/s1600/risk32e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxH0DdxmjIj0yzthzH0DSYqV0oaO7PQyJGQ1AHMf5PxO31UHKXWAv3Voq7cBY3PFX-wuRAwQP66tHIEL-kYtPnMBMEICb1_ns7i8Jxk5sIELkfmXIdn4rRGw-DJ01NeLK0ltFZ3sy_J1Q/s400/risk32e.jpg" width="367" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Lyle attacks the buttons furiously, forcing the doors to close before the creature that's chasing him can follow him through. As the portal seals shut, he hears wailing downstairs.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSaevNN88YDJut-npcRghaxFhtu6wfhZGRuPhZpowE0zpa3D3uWGbyb9nlAiZkjWFT2h2wf91omARQkgL3yb68gqWsDDpqdwSVBUzn4PDDUFO57cBxHzstZud0TSG_bRlFXPq8vZBc4T8/s1600/risk32f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSaevNN88YDJut-npcRghaxFhtu6wfhZGRuPhZpowE0zpa3D3uWGbyb9nlAiZkjWFT2h2wf91omARQkgL3yb68gqWsDDpqdwSVBUzn4PDDUFO57cBxHzstZud0TSG_bRlFXPq8vZBc4T8/s1600/risk32f.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Violet throws herself into his arms, sobbing, and Lyle quickly ascertains he just missed the Grim Reaper's visit.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Where were you?" she asks him between sobs.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Upstairs. In my office." Lyle still hasn't told his family about his travels through time, and probably never will.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyo2_7rLirDN_R34eqJdBwwodbebOQjM81bq273PpU1RljwnVNf_Qmlz5IEqihwshYWekG4n8rB7yuJpj6DCEwH4OC2NG1MuX223X0tZDd0d6XFEeM0y12nsgIFjyBuMXCLZ8iKhKoKn8/s1600/risk32g.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyo2_7rLirDN_R34eqJdBwwodbebOQjM81bq273PpU1RljwnVNf_Qmlz5IEqihwshYWekG4n8rB7yuJpj6DCEwH4OC2NG1MuX223X0tZDd0d6XFEeM0y12nsgIFjyBuMXCLZ8iKhKoKn8/s1600/risk32g.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Briar takes over her grandparents' bedroom suite, repainting it to suit her tastes.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilfSOKwV6F6Vu4N-E9XaGgshF5nKlLXOcAILtrnEDq9EvboZ6ITzkoWrkPfeKj0JTq2CXcCcHI5o4SO6KJX-X0lBbo0MnSv8z64VfeBzFuwL9LEKTK7UA-ymsmdktmf2_792n_gFFraJc/s1600/risk32h.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilfSOKwV6F6Vu4N-E9XaGgshF5nKlLXOcAILtrnEDq9EvboZ6ITzkoWrkPfeKj0JTq2CXcCcHI5o4SO6KJX-X0lBbo0MnSv8z64VfeBzFuwL9LEKTK7UA-ymsmdktmf2_792n_gFFraJc/s1600/risk32h.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Jeromy's grave takes its place beside Oregon's. His absent-mindedness prevented him from having any kind of career, even in professional sports, but in high school he had been a champion on the field. So, they decorate his grave with one of his old trophies.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFgveB7PdOOdRdEWciSz2Cu_xVx9Xl1SUWKsCeLy_1zgPSWQJDFAN3-aqN3dihjVXC6PqGHsJUmbjr-n_mTjHBMIhuZ9NqSVrqNqTC6nFRL2rwzvHWCMGHIYho4IqjSAhPVcOncSMYZpE/s1600/risk32i.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFgveB7PdOOdRdEWciSz2Cu_xVx9Xl1SUWKsCeLy_1zgPSWQJDFAN3-aqN3dihjVXC6PqGHsJUmbjr-n_mTjHBMIhuZ9NqSVrqNqTC6nFRL2rwzvHWCMGHIYho4IqjSAhPVcOncSMYZpE/s1600/risk32i.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Briar is a genius like her father and brother, but her intellectual inclinations run more towards literature, politics and history than towards science. Though her biology class isn't her favorite, she still excels in it as she does with anything academic, and what she's learned has caused her to question her lineage. Her parents both have unusual hair colors, and her own hair color as unusual as well, but completely unlike either of her parents, or their parents and so on through her family history. While the Asspullian theory of genetics states there is a 10% chance of a child getting a random hair color rather inheriting it from an ancestor, the 'random' color always come from a fixed spectrum of 'normal' colors. Deep wine red with black tips is not in that group. And while one might describe her hair color as unique, it is in fact present on other people in Twinbrook, including a fellow high school student, Gary Merrick.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Briar asks Gary to meet her at the beach, where she quizzes him about his family history and how often his hair color appears among them.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Both of your parents were blond, correct?" she asks.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Gary nods, "Yes. My mother inherited her mother's hair color. My hair color comes from her father, Beau Merrick. My mother's sister, my Aunt Bree, also has this hair color. And Her son, my cousin Jay."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"So this hair color is a Merrick family trait. How did I get it?" Briar wonders.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Gary shuffles a bit. "I used to have a crush on you," he says. Briar starts to protest that she already involved with Drew, but Gary presses on before she can say anything, "I told my mother I was thinking of asking you out, and she told me I couldn't, because you are my cousin."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"How am I your cousin?" Briar wants to know. Gary then tells her what his mother told him, that Violet's father was actually Beau Merrick. "How is it we're not vampires?" Briar wonders.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"My mother and your mother took some kind of cure," Gary answers.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"My mother was a vampire?" Briar asks. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"As far as I know," Gary answers with a nod.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwvIJY2T3ZKTwtI6LXNQXqAlAA4nlCYkKjajgKVmb4SK_p_A2k7tqq2-oX9vgGH_4OSmKjJ_xpzsOUpFZbw79NUiT7goqL4fFOOCqES6sjOx5LfXh8-l3770NDL6ldmRyQs5boWu87UfM/s1600/risk32j.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwvIJY2T3ZKTwtI6LXNQXqAlAA4nlCYkKjajgKVmb4SK_p_A2k7tqq2-oX9vgGH_4OSmKjJ_xpzsOUpFZbw79NUiT7goqL4fFOOCqES6sjOx5LfXh8-l3770NDL6ldmRyQs5boWu87UfM/s1600/risk32j.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Having made such an important discovery, Briar decides she must meet this grandfather vampire for herself. When she approaches his swamp lair, she's a bit frightened, but presses on, knowing that knowledge is power.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgst_mLY8wuG0Mqh5GXXn9HOVwMVKkg5WDG5EQiEL5Q38x-X9J5aMYZocPSwTSXOsZap46B0uwnnTA5EGtWHeilpODHLL9s2jqNs7J5_x8-YIc5Y0fYJEGNVF_Kkrs_UesafJ50h47eLn4/s1600/risk32k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgst_mLY8wuG0Mqh5GXXn9HOVwMVKkg5WDG5EQiEL5Q38x-X9J5aMYZocPSwTSXOsZap46B0uwnnTA5EGtWHeilpODHLL9s2jqNs7J5_x8-YIc5Y0fYJEGNVF_Kkrs_UesafJ50h47eLn4/s1600/risk32k.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Have you come to call me a monster and repudiate me?" Beau asks by way of greeting.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"If I thought you were a monster, I wouldn't have come," Briar answers. "Did you know that I'm your granddaughter?"</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Of course I know."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Yet you never tried to contact me."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Oregon told me to 'butt out'. I couldn't visit your house without an invitation. And lurking around schoolyards is...not something humans appreciate. Or safe for a vampire in daylight. And, since your mother was...cured...and you were born human, I did not see the point of pursuing it." </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Briar stares at his fangs as he speaks. Fascinating.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCcnaCnBNG96rHyOOHD5eNX9_XDPnNGUUIAXwAP-AUwlwRJV7IZf7Zhj4FOdYrx78t9Ask4xdZaKx5PwQk_WJZobHf3b4O8ksAPDkgzUYRixticbCWY1jR3unns-NkkAWbJ4rMQVoSV3w/s1600/risk32l.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCcnaCnBNG96rHyOOHD5eNX9_XDPnNGUUIAXwAP-AUwlwRJV7IZf7Zhj4FOdYrx78t9Ask4xdZaKx5PwQk_WJZobHf3b4O8ksAPDkgzUYRixticbCWY1jR3unns-NkkAWbJ4rMQVoSV3w/s1600/risk32l.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The man she had thought of as her grandfather had recently died of old age. This grandfather looks no older than her father. "How old are you?" she asks him.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I am the same age as your great-grandfather, Shepard McDermott."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"So you've been here through two generations, and will outlive at least that many more," Briar observes. "Doesn't that get lonely?"</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I have new companions to replace the old."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"But isn't it painful to watch your loved ones die?"</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Love is a human thing," Beau answers, "Vampires do not love."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"But your daughters...Bree married and turned her husband to keep him with her. Yesenia took the cure to be human with her husband. And my mother...You can't say that vampires don't love. It's just that you shut yourself off from love to spare yourself the heartbreak."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Beau stares at her silently for a moment. "There are times I have thought I would turn one of my human lovers, to keep her with me rather than watch her die," he admits.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"But you never did. Because you never found the right woman?"</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">He shakes his head, "It would change the relationship. My human lovers are my source of food. The feeding creates a bond...maybe it is like love, a vampire kind of love. That bond would be severed if I turned a lover into a vampire. And if I were bonded to a vampire lover, I would not able have the same kind of bond when feeding on others. Vampire paired with vampires tend to subsist on plasma from the hospital, or plasma fruits."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"And you crave it fresh from the source."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Yes, very much. Do you want to be a vampire, child? I could turn you, when you come of age."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Briar thinks about it. "No, I don't think so," she answers.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Why did you come here?" Beau asks.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjayFv_nEI3dXDOYl92nJO78n4HUjZbIRqDOeSmb72Q9LwQuUYqt-CAypDDNpDdgay5VSoYvDlCOTURHQhMxOJeGm2R78i7lSiBY7cL16Ozen2gXHzwa_vC4ruDKYO_naDw6vaLM1ZCDEg/s1600/risk32m.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjayFv_nEI3dXDOYl92nJO78n4HUjZbIRqDOeSmb72Q9LwQuUYqt-CAypDDNpDdgay5VSoYvDlCOTURHQhMxOJeGm2R78i7lSiBY7cL16Ozen2gXHzwa_vC4ruDKYO_naDw6vaLM1ZCDEg/s1600/risk32m.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">She hardly knows him, but she feels a strong connection to the vampire. Briar draws him into a hug, "Because you are my family. I wanted to know you, that's all."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Beau is surprised by her embrace, and surprises himself by returning it with affection. He never thought he could care for any of his human descendants, but this one, even without the vampire enhanced abilities, is not slow and pathetic like other humans.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQd7DTALUpgOFFHM6RW8LumFM5Gs8ja4LXXFOZZPTSvromHS_u4ZekM5OC0dsaMIbcFd6uHRjUzT_TIGxIbgZCvlUV6nu78vmZ78C_ChUhtHvqc7j3-E7Lr7YJ7HnEhEZUEdiUE4kgh7Q/s1600/risk32n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQd7DTALUpgOFFHM6RW8LumFM5Gs8ja4LXXFOZZPTSvromHS_u4ZekM5OC0dsaMIbcFd6uHRjUzT_TIGxIbgZCvlUV6nu78vmZ78C_ChUhtHvqc7j3-E7Lr7YJ7HnEhEZUEdiUE4kgh7Q/s1600/risk32n.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"You are...very interesting. Not at all what I expect from a human," he says, "I hope you will visit again."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTNI5ep4cXHO8fBmlAPivYwJ0W1ne31kEKy2xvlTZNWFjRSGlY3nqZoM3TIavFssbT1UfxVJY0PJ9wLE97L2DfJd85u7dbjVPCXdXczlO-SRk3DbpC4rTAnxXFYUh5N8zpr4Mu-Nh4MSg/s1600/risk32o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="377" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTNI5ep4cXHO8fBmlAPivYwJ0W1ne31kEKy2xvlTZNWFjRSGlY3nqZoM3TIavFssbT1UfxVJY0PJ9wLE97L2DfJd85u7dbjVPCXdXczlO-SRk3DbpC4rTAnxXFYUh5N8zpr4Mu-Nh4MSg/s400/risk32o.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Later, Briar tells Drew about her visit with her vampire grandfather. He trembles a bit at just the telling.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"You weren't scared?" he asks.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"It was a little scary, at first. But he's my grandfather. And he has a wife to feed from, so it's not like was going to attack me and suck my blood."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Drew nearly faints just thunking about that. "So...you won't grow into a vampire or anything, will you?"</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Briar laughs, "I highly doubt it, The cure my mother took seems permanent. And if I do sprout fangs and start craving blood, I'll take the cure myself. Vampires are interesting, but it's not for me."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWtXHHwoZNNNxpBo0pwMDWFrQeHIDIWX4yBlwddC682LaEbDWVFZ9V6QT_XJVHySOWBY5pH7q7rIo23tk7E9hMXljkzzj7FpalX97EqJlyCcrY9YeDnZrnm6Nd-5Cm4CTnC6XqPNfFQT0/s1600/risk32x.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="380" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWtXHHwoZNNNxpBo0pwMDWFrQeHIDIWX4yBlwddC682LaEbDWVFZ9V6QT_XJVHySOWBY5pH7q7rIo23tk7E9hMXljkzzj7FpalX97EqJlyCcrY9YeDnZrnm6Nd-5Cm4CTnC6XqPNfFQT0/s400/risk32x.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Briar tells her mother about her visit with Beau Merrick over dinner.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"He's a monster," Violet says, 'I don't want you around him."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"But he's not a monster," Briar protests, "He's just different. And he was very nice to me."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"He uses mind control to seduce his victims," Violet says, "He's a monster, and I forbid you to have any more contact with him. I don't want to hear his name again." With that, Violet turns back to her frogs legs. Acquiring the recipe had been very difficult without traveling to France, and she had waited a long time to try this dish. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Briar is surprised by her mother's fervent rejection of even the subject of Beau Merrick. She has no intention of heeding her mother's wishes, she will continue to visit the vampire as she pleases. She just won't speak of it.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTGgmrxeXahzNC9Vb5BfubDCDfQR91afj3vd58k5t9qEvlaumG7L-a1H6ZL6H07RYWY9WpaOhFegkpkvvJCg0H_m6EL0bTj5m6vzPxsQcEq8enYh4iCrRjH2p1C5AiaCqkBOskYPUG2Ig/s1600/risk32p.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTGgmrxeXahzNC9Vb5BfubDCDfQR91afj3vd58k5t9qEvlaumG7L-a1H6ZL6H07RYWY9WpaOhFegkpkvvJCg0H_m6EL0bTj5m6vzPxsQcEq8enYh4iCrRjH2p1C5AiaCqkBOskYPUG2Ig/s1600/risk32p.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvCsJn2b2ZVW_sFV4CnhUjqq3AC6-94sAO8JluUrVUX_y2aq-3S-yMJi6ocOthI5TchTsmHO4jU54wBX_4rCOh38JDt_g_P57xMIua0_TK6oVoKik4pLAgrar2CBNzAcl4ugDJV05qZmU/s1600/risk32q.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvCsJn2b2ZVW_sFV4CnhUjqq3AC6-94sAO8JluUrVUX_y2aq-3S-yMJi6ocOthI5TchTsmHO4jU54wBX_4rCOh38JDt_g_P57xMIua0_TK6oVoKik4pLAgrar2CBNzAcl4ugDJV05qZmU/s1600/risk32q.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><div style="font-family: Times; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Times; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Dermott loves the outdoors. There is much more to learn out here than there is in the classroom.</span></div><div style="font-family: Times; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSFlEad9N3uGiOjDguT0S0APgiL5kU0LLFXN8OJxIKPc2leKYGVCRu8cvPKbp9mGBJJf_f_K9f9i2U95DIxBVrX7awvliFeZ8Bd8cj5ZYtjSwpTJbqbAofaUTb3JvYe3SWC3slSZb-Xvc/s1600/risk32r.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSFlEad9N3uGiOjDguT0S0APgiL5kU0LLFXN8OJxIKPc2leKYGVCRu8cvPKbp9mGBJJf_f_K9f9i2U95DIxBVrX7awvliFeZ8Bd8cj5ZYtjSwpTJbqbAofaUTb3JvYe3SWC3slSZb-Xvc/s1600/risk32r.jpg" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Times; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Violet worries about all the fire hazards in her home. Lyle insists everything is fireproof, but she can't stop worrying.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhftakDS8GD-l163dHo1gML8efJReaESR_xbhoaPVAhR0e7tQIds8go3xBpjk9NlsLAoU7BN_Y9o-GAvRBZRDEHxUs3hpXniIlfeEVuXTdTI_PnL-SUG4_SVdqcoXnHNCNfXnmsJczm8s0/s1600/risk32y.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhftakDS8GD-l163dHo1gML8efJReaESR_xbhoaPVAhR0e7tQIds8go3xBpjk9NlsLAoU7BN_Y9o-GAvRBZRDEHxUs3hpXniIlfeEVuXTdTI_PnL-SUG4_SVdqcoXnHNCNfXnmsJczm8s0/s1600/risk32y.jpg" /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">But fire can also be a source of pleasure, as her experiments with mixology has shown her. Lyle is impressed; his wife breathes fire! How cool is that?</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuGdwkoc2JCGmIhapz8g4ArAsuOmn4YWl1Eun1OJQh0YewqX_xlmySznhZfWTb2uPRpvtEK92GDhrt3ixUoZzN3ufsa_8QAUPsvbF8DRfhxFaT3uR0GjQbnsrY9-Mdmg3DrL5xwQieUeQ/s1600/risk32u.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuGdwkoc2JCGmIhapz8g4ArAsuOmn4YWl1Eun1OJQh0YewqX_xlmySznhZfWTb2uPRpvtEK92GDhrt3ixUoZzN3ufsa_8QAUPsvbF8DRfhxFaT3uR0GjQbnsrY9-Mdmg3DrL5xwQieUeQ/s1600/risk32u.jpg" /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Briar and Drew have romantic library dates.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYw3lo7tIOb1QKY4lWbI-D4Ip0o8pE71rPsciF6rtNauVkbVoCTe0KoXi7rj-mQome-ufCO2jhf2sSVKVR1SqWoo1xjqOgN7NFxCTNPTySfDKZfImEtw3voO_xSxdQCbGGdpo5k15TMUE/s1600/risk32s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYw3lo7tIOb1QKY4lWbI-D4Ip0o8pE71rPsciF6rtNauVkbVoCTe0KoXi7rj-mQome-ufCO2jhf2sSVKVR1SqWoo1xjqOgN7NFxCTNPTySfDKZfImEtw3voO_xSxdQCbGGdpo5k15TMUE/s1600/risk32s.jpg" /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">When Dermott becomes a teen, he looks less like his father's clone.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrNsS0OEeyr0VU9GDAKpOgYG6KBFdO9hvMjCDv8yUg7JriyuRi3NJ23ot0V0-NnN1_-fUyYHlFIHGU6vXFkpehCWvq2E9w9KitFuGEq_KB6i2u3_dY-WrERxfP7c6wMf86ltrjXMfKTE0/s1600/risk32v.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrNsS0OEeyr0VU9GDAKpOgYG6KBFdO9hvMjCDv8yUg7JriyuRi3NJ23ot0V0-NnN1_-fUyYHlFIHGU6vXFkpehCWvq2E9w9KitFuGEq_KB6i2u3_dY-WrERxfP7c6wMf86ltrjXMfKTE0/s1600/risk32v.jpg" /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Father and son bonding.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3b8A441f36nyfKqYHWWXp5j2cX3QSeQdwqEO5VwEQOObfZHdeY01Y6GDS55xd7pX_4zidM326og0GeKjgdtzuvsDedl7TdPRw1SGiw6t8I_JwQSwlrT5FXwlaizqPDT7XPoFWkKgMwIg/s1600/risk32w.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3b8A441f36nyfKqYHWWXp5j2cX3QSeQdwqEO5VwEQOObfZHdeY01Y6GDS55xd7pX_4zidM326og0GeKjgdtzuvsDedl7TdPRw1SGiw6t8I_JwQSwlrT5FXwlaizqPDT7XPoFWkKgMwIg/s1600/risk32w.jpg" /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Like his father, Dermott is primarily interested in science. He's already decided he'll enter the science career when he grows up.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi12UTqSKCWPH6xJvO1A1p_iC_3uTcpNr1jV1pU3bvhSo20G42H9U-Rqoz61MaZWcbFugU4fJ7rRDHV5QhB_qRWu_Saj6tzjJZ5FAZLDThXzj9GT5YS74461CFXT5XuSItyBCw3eZnZFmw/s1600/risk32t.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi12UTqSKCWPH6xJvO1A1p_iC_3uTcpNr1jV1pU3bvhSo20G42H9U-Rqoz61MaZWcbFugU4fJ7rRDHV5QhB_qRWu_Saj6tzjJZ5FAZLDThXzj9GT5YS74461CFXT5XuSItyBCw3eZnZFmw/s1600/risk32t.jpg" /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Images of broken light which </span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica; font-size: 11px;"></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica; font-size: 11px;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">dance before me like a million eyes </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"> That call me on and on across the universe</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"> Jai Guru Deva Om</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Challenge Notes: (Above quote is from Across the Universe, by John Lennon)</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I've continued to give Dermott random traits. He's got Genius, Loves the Outdoors, Good Sense of Humor and now Party Animal. he's already got the LTW for the science career locked in.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Since Gen 7 has achieved all goals, I'm just carrying on until Gen 8 takes over. Violet and Lyle will turn elder one day before Briar has her birthday. Dermott will be a teen for around 6 days after Briar takes over.</span></span></div></span></div></span>yangthecathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15083940950118677312noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4989886776485997216.post-3577632818556638862011-03-01T05:49:00.000-08:002011-03-01T07:08:03.714-08:00Chapter 31: Time Travels<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA4WiAOy6K6pCYQX6kqP8rA2pSgkPw3kTxCxCahd4AQnAi0QlVy-p-3WUaxFfLTBFNlf7t1iNEgfhHpXHFiyegLFppkbnHD0UVpojO-cDq8rMOIoLdSVa-PR5C_q46GjT3w5uCr1lNA_s/s1600/risk30z4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA4WiAOy6K6pCYQX6kqP8rA2pSgkPw3kTxCxCahd4AQnAi0QlVy-p-3WUaxFfLTBFNlf7t1iNEgfhHpXHFiyegLFppkbnHD0UVpojO-cDq8rMOIoLdSVa-PR5C_q46GjT3w5uCr1lNA_s/s400/risk30z4.jpg" width="395" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Violet called Lyle to join her in her great-grandmother Allyson's old star trailer. Lyle's grandmother Sofia Carlton used to have one just like it, and he'd spend hours playing in it as a kid.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2UgHOLMhc2c08jNfND0qZHpBaPgAh9PVGEl-2Qot6bgeCO0xQD4HxtNWErYouwIjQIybiQ1IL6nl7k-bRddBaPIypt35RmJ_UQMdg2PILKlBH6BiIzfjCxmCRe97x8e22vdq_WlODCf4/s1600/risk30z5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2UgHOLMhc2c08jNfND0qZHpBaPgAh9PVGEl-2Qot6bgeCO0xQD4HxtNWErYouwIjQIybiQ1IL6nl7k-bRddBaPIypt35RmJ_UQMdg2PILKlBH6BiIzfjCxmCRe97x8e22vdq_WlODCf4/s400/risk30z5.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Violet's has some more adult games planned for him.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1ohsMYSRrROPrQTIw1L6OMwy-vCukK11yLIVzXfgJV5mIQi5GOg3JmVVH9-zEIO3mPmB-XX6QyzxFVCfORYLQvYMBVndfBu-cRuEJ2c37yUHNH1mLEXNyocjvmcx93VXKUMyDEIbgCjM/s1600/risk31a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1ohsMYSRrROPrQTIw1L6OMwy-vCukK11yLIVzXfgJV5mIQi5GOg3JmVVH9-zEIO3mPmB-XX6QyzxFVCfORYLQvYMBVndfBu-cRuEJ2c37yUHNH1mLEXNyocjvmcx93VXKUMyDEIbgCjM/s1600/risk31a.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Late at night, ghostly noises haunt the house. Lyle was working in his office and came out to investigate the sounds coming from the hallway. He'd lived here long enough to see all manner of objects be possessed by the spirits of Violet's ancestors, but finds it strange one would choose a stack of Shadow McDermott's spirit jars to inhabit. Lyle holds Shadow McDermott in great admiration, and has often hoped to meet his ghost, but has yet not been so lucky.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2ES1vLXa679W_s1BEmzQmQ_gM-trjXe4NQwOad9QrHrW-_-As0bkYNFYMe5GG-cD0IY9EqFTyEBTpkf2_WBJHA-iYpVbwqe-MH5qBQiT0qjhHEBWxWLEvjQUPttU6aDVfzhelhVolrus/s1600/risk31b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="367" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2ES1vLXa679W_s1BEmzQmQ_gM-trjXe4NQwOad9QrHrW-_-As0bkYNFYMe5GG-cD0IY9EqFTyEBTpkf2_WBJHA-iYpVbwqe-MH5qBQiT0qjhHEBWxWLEvjQUPttU6aDVfzhelhVolrus/s400/risk31b.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The ghost that emerges from the jars is Shadow, as Lyle hoped.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I'm your biggest fan!" Lyle introduces himself with a squee.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4OpWYU82wT6W1FktGegr7Ps5HfnrNB5J0Z0Wb-DTVdsYqu75_JpiXKz0fvsVtsKNcrUdBJ65peCCztFWJj9TI0xzVQZQDo7QyRQxuk4-sKsV63VmWAryElPUN3MN8jEQm37-EKJVM0uA/s1600/risk31c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="392" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4OpWYU82wT6W1FktGegr7Ps5HfnrNB5J0Z0Wb-DTVdsYqu75_JpiXKz0fvsVtsKNcrUdBJ65peCCztFWJj9TI0xzVQZQDo7QyRQxuk4-sKsV63VmWAryElPUN3MN8jEQm37-EKJVM0uA/s400/risk31c.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Violet and Lyle have a son. Since she choe to take Lyle's family name, Carlton, when they married, Violet gives her son her family name as a first name, calling him Dermott.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinqZ8ekgaWTwOII8crZh6yrnYAyuYYPxoxsJquo5OZfs4Aw3Lewp_tZHMwUGxt6_lgeu3koNxoX4RxEJ6WkiY1p2OObI7X_FywN-2oqgM6g7Q-8vJZVb-iTHO_dn92kifs9SqrnPFMMJ8/s1600/risk31d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinqZ8ekgaWTwOII8crZh6yrnYAyuYYPxoxsJquo5OZfs4Aw3Lewp_tZHMwUGxt6_lgeu3koNxoX4RxEJ6WkiY1p2OObI7X_FywN-2oqgM6g7Q-8vJZVb-iTHO_dn92kifs9SqrnPFMMJ8/s1600/risk31d.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Lyle has been getting deep into the physics of space and time, and has finally come up with what he believes is a time travel device. Wouldn't the science facility love to have a hand in his research! But Lyle experiments for his own pleasure, and not for profit or even the advancement of Simkind. Fearless and ready to try anything, Lyle leaps into the shining void, counting on his calculations to be correct.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Luckily for himself and his family, his calculations are spot on, and he has some adventures in the future and still gets home before dinner.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaLQPnDn5lc4JdNXfyyHgSTFRxMYaF6fBzfsWbZbFj0QT17ZmhuHlTVP513R02iJmy60y0IF8Tj7Lc4yURNvqVVRfSs8s2YzM6C9AuA6IZy1G_179maehucYuTqrTxkxwPZfF4kgf6emA/s1600/risk31e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaLQPnDn5lc4JdNXfyyHgSTFRxMYaF6fBzfsWbZbFj0QT17ZmhuHlTVP513R02iJmy60y0IF8Tj7Lc4yURNvqVVRfSs8s2YzM6C9AuA6IZy1G_179maehucYuTqrTxkxwPZfF4kgf6emA/s400/risk31e.jpg" width="325" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Briar Rose grows into a child. Except for the eyes, which are her father's, she strongly resembles her mother.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh50rivxz7GfVg0Q8GVMbzzAUeWYXx_07oTKehDWlgsyi5_G8Cft_bZrrpl-oXNJeNIN-0wPICDvCtzFBe0VZaHeFrTNnDZBw3DSwqE8I3fiqqWOuNlFYITqL-jc7c3RSqLZCXIdAQ2_qA/s1600/risk31f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh50rivxz7GfVg0Q8GVMbzzAUeWYXx_07oTKehDWlgsyi5_G8Cft_bZrrpl-oXNJeNIN-0wPICDvCtzFBe0VZaHeFrTNnDZBw3DSwqE8I3fiqqWOuNlFYITqL-jc7c3RSqLZCXIdAQ2_qA/s1600/risk31f.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">She quickly makes friends with Drew Meredith-Coddle, visiting his house after to school to do homework and hangout together.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijQxWZVgYtHCj7KPGa98shGbrjgLrir-SoxALFFiQHLARaQvGzY5wg1Xt1wMrRYTebi-Rrz0pbdEylvrHCVEFoM3iJhQKvGBul5tI2LSIgFDwGYDoY0vaPGm-w0BRDJ3PER4O0mawh8NI/s1600/risk31g.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijQxWZVgYtHCj7KPGa98shGbrjgLrir-SoxALFFiQHLARaQvGzY5wg1Xt1wMrRYTebi-Rrz0pbdEylvrHCVEFoM3iJhQKvGBul5tI2LSIgFDwGYDoY0vaPGm-w0BRDJ3PER4O0mawh8NI/s1600/risk31g.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Dermott becomes a toddler. He's his father's image in every way.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEZlv1BChoaWlDzSOrjOmkXsbbWPyz29uO7lC2tNeh9NlUP2KMcADomRF42BV4BBVrvUKMPs1pJ0tAPfjSB6tgr0FUR3HJavDk0E4bxjFMTKEb2d_CjSYNQ3PzSexuhjJ3BNVhAo5GoOE/s1600/risk31h.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEZlv1BChoaWlDzSOrjOmkXsbbWPyz29uO7lC2tNeh9NlUP2KMcADomRF42BV4BBVrvUKMPs1pJ0tAPfjSB6tgr0FUR3HJavDk0E4bxjFMTKEb2d_CjSYNQ3PzSexuhjJ3BNVhAo5GoOE/s1600/risk31h.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Lyle continues to take travels through time. Sometimes he gets himself involved in dangerous situations from which he's barely able to escape alive.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The doors close behind him, nothing has followed him back to his time. What a rush!</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl3C4Er83LPazyzO2C5IprWkEsja8pase5GRe3rao0iWfKl_7xDoTWfpYLmyQUGmCn7tLuXktbJaUzBtAEmc4azcGU9HmvWh7ELAcWgE4BnhrdwqUhwijOUHSBJPcwHSTLY74VxSbJ0eQ/s1600/risk31k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl3C4Er83LPazyzO2C5IprWkEsja8pase5GRe3rao0iWfKl_7xDoTWfpYLmyQUGmCn7tLuXktbJaUzBtAEmc4azcGU9HmvWh7ELAcWgE4BnhrdwqUhwijOUHSBJPcwHSTLY74VxSbJ0eQ/s1600/risk31k.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Oregon is complacent when the reaper comes for her. Her brother Carter died the day before, and she didn't expect her life to go on much longer.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">She joins her ancestors in the yard, her gravestone decorated with an expensive make up case.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaPwzQaV3XvQIntVzYAv5mhswKIQ26sn93RyVBnoWxgKBwyRIEqRDp520WDFpq8OjoG7vt5w2Z5AFRluOFor9iJTZH5Fi7CFj4bZhwM1Jvo2dLqkimR8zreF-I29OzXYdFwqhZWcLXYro/s1600/risk31m.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaPwzQaV3XvQIntVzYAv5mhswKIQ26sn93RyVBnoWxgKBwyRIEqRDp520WDFpq8OjoG7vt5w2Z5AFRluOFor9iJTZH5Fi7CFj4bZhwM1Jvo2dLqkimR8zreF-I29OzXYdFwqhZWcLXYro/s1600/risk31m.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">With the family in mourning, Briar celebrates her birthday with just a cake and her immediate family.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh688Ky5gLKjcQYpGna95I5LfLYHdE8go_KxP61wnJyCmEEW4ap03LSnKWTWznqfaourtGulCdd-hvKIJRh6M3idoQcsUjEmaAVWEq3Zo9Aobqp33GRdHTzqiTYAqLtgUPYWWfLBqEM7Tw/s1600/risk31n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh688Ky5gLKjcQYpGna95I5LfLYHdE8go_KxP61wnJyCmEEW4ap03LSnKWTWznqfaourtGulCdd-hvKIJRh6M3idoQcsUjEmaAVWEq3Zo9Aobqp33GRdHTzqiTYAqLtgUPYWWfLBqEM7Tw/s1600/risk31n.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The older she gets, the more she looks like her mother. No one has ever mentioned the name Beau Merrick to her, or told her that Jeromy is not her real grandfather, but anyone who saw her could instantly tell that she's a Merrick, resembling all his daughters.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Drew has become a teen as well, and Briar invites him over to celebrate their mutual birthdays.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Your eyes are such a pretty, unusual color," she says, "Like amethysts."</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Drew blushes and stammers.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9hdcWaNauovum4XKy36s5DhGkc2C3axTGJwC3psJlhWAQxePqt2oTEDjXY7DD-x1TYBwL9VXHIbHVNLM0cXwVEvyBu8VVonoUjxMQmz2sDu5iLUTa_HPivuKEOk-cN9FCJxR6vSCE6c8/s1600/risk31q.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9hdcWaNauovum4XKy36s5DhGkc2C3axTGJwC3psJlhWAQxePqt2oTEDjXY7DD-x1TYBwL9VXHIbHVNLM0cXwVEvyBu8VVonoUjxMQmz2sDu5iLUTa_HPivuKEOk-cN9FCJxR6vSCE6c8/s1600/risk31q.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">He's not the courageous type; he's the opposite in fact, so Briar makes the advances she's knows he's trying to muster the courage to make, and suggests they go steady.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Lyle plays with fire.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Not surprisingly, fire burns. But still, what a rush!</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY28nSw5j9SIp36kzMFSt-isqt1BScFxvReZC90IRMrh-jAEHxBEjEBL9c1dvRIy_G-O0-1M2-cyAyXzK0XbAITPl3ZhAXuf8RbdBbeXDzhQO79tWMP3oRaU_9o07OrYVacocE1vzAoo0/s1600/risk31t.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY28nSw5j9SIp36kzMFSt-isqt1BScFxvReZC90IRMrh-jAEHxBEjEBL9c1dvRIy_G-O0-1M2-cyAyXzK0XbAITPl3ZhAXuf8RbdBbeXDzhQO79tWMP3oRaU_9o07OrYVacocE1vzAoo0/s320/risk31t.jpg" width="277" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Dermott becomes a child. He looks so much like father, one might suspect Lyle had cloned himself. But Lyle swears he's never conducted any kind of genetics experiments, he's strictly been playing with the space-time continuum.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Dermott is a genius like his father, and pwns his grandfather at chess.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf1cU5a5LZ30bRpf9DlcQntyQ5fTrI0AkPS9XdjWsrAwseLBNqQsvnhNS6w5rXaYuK-VilRUwkzVy3qtFp5k9d6z4_VrE9AWYWYHQErDx1hnikYLbdy0xtg3w-mndlv-vw6sSl21pMo5Q/s1600/risk31v.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf1cU5a5LZ30bRpf9DlcQntyQ5fTrI0AkPS9XdjWsrAwseLBNqQsvnhNS6w5rXaYuK-VilRUwkzVy3qtFp5k9d6z4_VrE9AWYWYHQErDx1hnikYLbdy0xtg3w-mndlv-vw6sSl21pMo5Q/s1600/risk31v.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Lyle has never had any respect for the public school system, so he makes sure his genius children are getting proper educations, reading outside materials and questioning everything they are taught.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Having mastered Logic, Handiness and Inventing, Lyle has found a new science to experiment with, botany. NOT gardening, botany.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0_BhjIrGtZcrFLdHheTHnZU54Wtqs9CixGxeJt3j2jWN1GbZcsKyBy2Q_TWqdUSYZz3781FdTySgGX1bpNeanPN9z_hyphenhyphenNhD_MmvqV4yZHhTKeOVf_15ZrNWx7Il1QcqhEr_OTUocdZjA/s1600/risk31x.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0_BhjIrGtZcrFLdHheTHnZU54Wtqs9CixGxeJt3j2jWN1GbZcsKyBy2Q_TWqdUSYZz3781FdTySgGX1bpNeanPN9z_hyphenhyphenNhD_MmvqV4yZHhTKeOVf_15ZrNWx7Il1QcqhEr_OTUocdZjA/s1600/risk31x.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">As a gamer, Lyle is strictly a PC elitist, but he's willing to stoop to the console level to play with his children. The parent/child bonding is more important than his standards of gaming. But he can't help expressing some of his scorn for the medium.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"This is completely dumbed down! The PC version is far superior."</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Dad, just take care of the darkspawn mobs while I go after the Archdemon."</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Challenge Notes:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Generation 7 goals are complete. Violet reached level 10 in the culinary career and maxed cooking. She achieved her LTW to read all recipes.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Lyle maxed Logic, Inventing and Handiness (which also achieved his LTW).</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">They have their 2 children, so all that's left is to get them to YA.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I also have No Strangers, never a problem for me. And I've been voluntarily living by the Live Your Trait rule even though I didn't roll it, using Violet's Neurotic as the trait. That's been fun and successful.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Briar's traits are Artistic, Genius, Bookworm and Hopeless Romantic.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Dermott's traits are Genius, Loves the Outdoors and Good Sense of Humor. He's been getting random traits, which I do for my spares pretty often.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Interesting tidbit, my family is still living on the veggies grown in generation 1. No one has took up gardening since Zoe. We have to buy eggs, meats and cheeses, because Zoe only got the egg & cheeses growing opportunity as an elder, so never grew that much of those, and never got the meat opportunity before she died. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Lyle kept rolling the wish to learn gardening, so I indulged him. I let Lyle get whatever he wants. Except for a career, of course. And rolls tons of wishes to get into a career. He's rolled a wish to get into every possible career available. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Briar's boyfriend Drew is Artistic, Klepto, Coward, and I forget the fourth trait. Artistic will help with his author career, at least. His coward trait will be fun in my house full of ghosts.</span>yangthecathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15083940950118677312noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4989886776485997216.post-49314011488390316552011-02-25T08:35:00.000-08:002011-02-25T08:35:21.661-08:00Chapter 30: Vampires, Swamps and Thieves<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFc5aLA2Z5ZNdZUj8KyUXiyDIO_BsO7HbevKk0xqLsy3jM7uzduYLTn-_vwOPkBASNP5T8_Hv-DXh1P1_uSGbhdcz_LGgxVPWNwTm8w5AmyKkRfImEm8b2oIBHWI_eLTfN-IZK8wjLRgY/s1600/risk30a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="382" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFc5aLA2Z5ZNdZUj8KyUXiyDIO_BsO7HbevKk0xqLsy3jM7uzduYLTn-_vwOPkBASNP5T8_Hv-DXh1P1_uSGbhdcz_LGgxVPWNwTm8w5AmyKkRfImEm8b2oIBHWI_eLTfN-IZK8wjLRgY/s400/risk30a.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Violet's favorite subject is Lyle.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsWfjcaJdXqjE8YibnMRO2hr1rYomKUQ0r6KWDYnyhKw9_CaQkX8Gb1hT6PNqXx45r0QOMhGgzzKyob14A6aQtSMI_vlXxgzlqRdjsxhIMFAPw1woYdklpjcutmEuV2M-t_wJtsgVaB48/s1600/risk30b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsWfjcaJdXqjE8YibnMRO2hr1rYomKUQ0r6KWDYnyhKw9_CaQkX8Gb1hT6PNqXx45r0QOMhGgzzKyob14A6aQtSMI_vlXxgzlqRdjsxhIMFAPw1woYdklpjcutmEuV2M-t_wJtsgVaB48/s400/risk30b.jpg" width="383" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Oregon and her daughter have never had a close relationship; the fact that Violet was born from the unwanted seduction by a vampire stood in the way of any closeness the mother and daughter might have shared. But they share a common talent and hobby, and have found the painting room as a place where they can relate to each other.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Violet's best friend from high school, Annmarie Kindle, has gotten pregnant from her fling with Willard Carlton, Lyle's younger, insane brother. Annmarie has moved into the Carlton house, but Willard has given no signs he intends to marry her, or to stop seeing other women.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Lyle and Violet visit her one evening while both Willard and his parents are out.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I dated Beau Merrick a little before I got involved with Willard," Annmarie says, "You should be happy you got cured, Violet. The feeding was so gross!"</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Violet's smile at this point is quite forced.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">While Violet coos over he friend's growing belly, Lyle sneaks off to the basement to indulge his urge to steal.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAZ0uF8TeZCKSiHnjdR2EaeJImrE2TdaRwIlDm-VUHJ6llYwhPkxAT0KU_Sdzrtr6RgdGoyYhcFN1Sck9FuFlGeJM2zjKCMcRc3FE5ZZZH85hBRnMA9GEDPmQHLYRCCOjiAOFC_HBb5To/s1600/risk30e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAZ0uF8TeZCKSiHnjdR2EaeJImrE2TdaRwIlDm-VUHJ6llYwhPkxAT0KU_Sdzrtr6RgdGoyYhcFN1Sck9FuFlGeJM2zjKCMcRc3FE5ZZZH85hBRnMA9GEDPmQHLYRCCOjiAOFC_HBb5To/s1600/risk30e.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Beneath the Carlton house lies an underground kitchen bunker that belonged to Chanel's mother, Julienne Knack-Racket. She had been a renowned chef, but no one knew why she needed an industrial kitchen underground, and no one in the family ever used it after she died. So Lyle figures he can pilfer a few items here without anyone ever noticing their absence. But when Chanel gets home and sees Violet talking with Annmaries, she makes a beeline for the basement as though she knows her son must be there and what he must be doing.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"How dare you steal from my house!" Chanel shouts at him, "Ungrateful brat! If you are going to be a criminal, why don't you work for your father like your brother Willard? Petty burglary is not a proper career!"</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw0tkS1_SS3Y9Yns3qBGCqs3nl1PPTNo3QPbsgbeTszw-fEGDQOFg5lLzyzxlzke8lZne2MBki-Oq8-usB7OQb5eKC-HLMoL0ec0H9WBF-gcZStW0AIB-DyAQbhyphenhyphenuC2zh9VwJl_n6owIw/s1600/risk30f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw0tkS1_SS3Y9Yns3qBGCqs3nl1PPTNo3QPbsgbeTszw-fEGDQOFg5lLzyzxlzke8lZne2MBki-Oq8-usB7OQb5eKC-HLMoL0ec0H9WBF-gcZStW0AIB-DyAQbhyphenhyphenuC2zh9VwJl_n6owIw/s1600/risk30f.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"You're comparing me to Willard? He's insane. And irresponsible!" Lyle protests.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Willard's a good boy. And he has a real career working for his father. You are just a lazy lay-about."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"You've always like Willard best," Lyle shouts.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"And why shouldn't I? Nicholas is a stupid jock who married a Drudge. And you, you're nothing! You're a criminal who can't even do that properly. Petty thieving is not a career!"</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I'm not a criminal!" </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"You certainly aren't a professional criminal, but I if I wanted I could have you arrested for stealing from me, now couldn't I? And what does that make you? A filthy no account criminal, that's what."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgSh4T0B1p2QqYa-y4FHuIdS_Ry3JsSiXfgxv4FWNpGnHHHKNhIv5bS6CwCVV6lkGuo4-yJIgNCxYuKIK3WWJobKgCHlqrp44jRixnBF0tsr4yr0moCvr2zmGrkPD30ZsCnHWj_ndGW0U/s1600/risk30g.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgSh4T0B1p2QqYa-y4FHuIdS_Ry3JsSiXfgxv4FWNpGnHHHKNhIv5bS6CwCVV6lkGuo4-yJIgNCxYuKIK3WWJobKgCHlqrp44jRixnBF0tsr4yr0moCvr2zmGrkPD30ZsCnHWj_ndGW0U/s1600/risk30g.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Lyle's father is a master thief by profession, as was his father Sinbad Rotter, before him. Lyle has been stealing things for as long as he can remember, but never considered himself a criminal. Is his mother right?</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Stay out of my house, boy, until you get a proper career. I won't have your kind here," Chanel speaks her final words to her son.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCh06QwBmSb-9XqNRjIoFvi9lBdySHZx5hCvfsQTHDLXhNiUGSJH-Iipq5o14dy-Yx0N4leyRHXl_4ooJ_ic1mKtt3g4ejpRTZAc5qO1eojPZdMmdURlIHppAf0scOOPm5WF1_F28fTLc/s1600/risk30h.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCh06QwBmSb-9XqNRjIoFvi9lBdySHZx5hCvfsQTHDLXhNiUGSJH-Iipq5o14dy-Yx0N4leyRHXl_4ooJ_ic1mKtt3g4ejpRTZAc5qO1eojPZdMmdURlIHppAf0scOOPm5WF1_F28fTLc/s1600/risk30h.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Hunter grows up, gets a job at the hospital and moves in with his girlfriend, Megan Wolf-Bayless.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzeBQcBOLyDJATL4sZFBahzKNLLyPXrqVQb3gEVIy3AEANPvkVAK8G4rlL0-cKAkIP9zpoNzjePEkgkjT6Y9XcFHByEKA2YqGz-KET6j1M6iH-M6bNzUSjZht2tFb2qYPqsSBfMgxa0Q0/s1600/risk30i.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzeBQcBOLyDJATL4sZFBahzKNLLyPXrqVQb3gEVIy3AEANPvkVAK8G4rlL0-cKAkIP9zpoNzjePEkgkjT6Y9XcFHByEKA2YqGz-KET6j1M6iH-M6bNzUSjZht2tFb2qYPqsSBfMgxa0Q0/s1600/risk30i.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">As she gets closer to retirement, Oregon takes fewer styling jobs in favor of staying home to work on her paintings. But she cannot refuse the call from Lea Greenwood, Jeromy's niece. Lea has recently married Beau Merrick, moving into his swamp lair with him. Pity moved Oregon to come out to the swamp shack and see the girl, who is just out of high school, as Oregon had been when the vampire seduced her.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I want a sexy new look for Beau," Lea tells her.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"You have to get out of here," Oregon answers, "He's not capable of love. He's using you for his feeding, nothing more."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Lea turns up her nose, "That's not true. Beau loves me. You're just jealous because you're all old and he doesn't want you anymore."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuvYUsC_1WBJ3SGKWXSxZqw_o8AMNvCBRQx7A8XCo-gegPSMhUzbX20zhVdNW83DITp4GiZY_Wf8iwqDViNurqsgA6fwyKX8qn49fFs3zOUceTepWp-02lvDhRRZQsnJjYWNt_cgX8BA4/s1600/risk30j.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuvYUsC_1WBJ3SGKWXSxZqw_o8AMNvCBRQx7A8XCo-gegPSMhUzbX20zhVdNW83DITp4GiZY_Wf8iwqDViNurqsgA6fwyKX8qn49fFs3zOUceTepWp-02lvDhRRZQsnJjYWNt_cgX8BA4/s1600/risk30j.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Oregon knows the words of a distant aunt won't be enough to overcome the hold the vampire has on her, but she had to try. So, she gives the girl the requested makeover. The spiked collar she wraps around Lea's neck will do nothing to prevent Beau's feeding, but Oregon does it anyway, hoping to at least annoy him.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Beau comes home at that moment, and waves at Oregon like an old friend. Is he really that oblivious? Oregon wonders. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxnbYSjTAbJNhXJO4b6zbhzG-5yzJ5LAZCQqXHp2bBrnT3dgD0KbUnIjUXD8Uf5jrK1S1Z4EFtlCUdbc_N656NQaRoEPR6gsC2ZCLU4GVxYOkL-pcksm6GN1PZ8gwN_LZ-tNo52wUN2LU/s1600/risk30k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxnbYSjTAbJNhXJO4b6zbhzG-5yzJ5LAZCQqXHp2bBrnT3dgD0KbUnIjUXD8Uf5jrK1S1Z4EFtlCUdbc_N656NQaRoEPR6gsC2ZCLU4GVxYOkL-pcksm6GN1PZ8gwN_LZ-tNo52wUN2LU/s1600/risk30k.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The catty look Beau casts at her as he walks by says, "I'm still young and beautiful, while you are getting old. I have a hot young wife. Are you jealous?"</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">He's not oblivious, Oregon decides, he's just a complete bitch.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQU_RfvV3j6kGkElH-PtGe0oy_2ETFT6vTy3hEHfXXnMmrcsKPwnp896_gFxgyHTH__zvSDqrk_5Zh5rwkuRA68rqLNWlemNn0yRRkwWw9XGsj3sNKSx3tnKLjM-_Zu3QXZxrEpZDi64w/s1600/risk30l.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQU_RfvV3j6kGkElH-PtGe0oy_2ETFT6vTy3hEHfXXnMmrcsKPwnp896_gFxgyHTH__zvSDqrk_5Zh5rwkuRA68rqLNWlemNn0yRRkwWw9XGsj3sNKSx3tnKLjM-_Zu3QXZxrEpZDi64w/s1600/risk30l.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">While Lyle is out prowling, stealing from porches a night, his mother's words haunt him. He's not a professional thief, never wanted to be one. But does his compulsion to steal make him a criminal?</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdgtIQYUMX1qcwW10KgDnhi1zWbXzt80wcGtpXMq1LQ4Amvir6hQ8STRPii98cL6dlcBYvdcJ31Ovq1xNYHyl4v9HN44cz40RMsqX0tz4RFH_-5tmFVWFt4NFgMh5HFUR3G7md-vNww6k/s1600/risk30m1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdgtIQYUMX1qcwW10KgDnhi1zWbXzt80wcGtpXMq1LQ4Amvir6hQ8STRPii98cL6dlcBYvdcJ31Ovq1xNYHyl4v9HN44cz40RMsqX0tz4RFH_-5tmFVWFt4NFgMh5HFUR3G7md-vNww6k/s400/risk30m1.jpg" width="397" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">While messing around on the family computer, Lyle discovers some heavily encrypted files. Decoding them, he discovers Ewan McDermott's memoirs, obviously never intended to be read, let alone published. They detail Ewan's time as an adventurer in foreign lands, breaking into tombs and people's houses to steal relics and treasures. Like Lyle, he expresses doubts about what he's done, concerns that he's no more than a common criminal.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7CNRGcPmLRz-9ww7QMH_F3gDsIvntbm-jmj584QHS5PGHBK-fcYbzcFRcyaQu0_Pnuif3-x9VdQQyrSv7J7j71AiKo70k-fEmFxZeBUj3q-C6e2NWniAej46ByCyOOANasSCxbhmJSVs/s1600/risk30m.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7CNRGcPmLRz-9ww7QMH_F3gDsIvntbm-jmj584QHS5PGHBK-fcYbzcFRcyaQu0_Pnuif3-x9VdQQyrSv7J7j71AiKo70k-fEmFxZeBUj3q-C6e2NWniAej46ByCyOOANasSCxbhmJSVs/s400/risk30m.jpg" width="368" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Lyle wastes some time playing in the empty nursery with a toy he's crafted on his work bench. His mother ordered him to get a proper career, to work for his father's criminal organization, but Lyle knows himself too well for that. He;s never been able to play by the rules, he can't even play games without modding them to suit himself, and school was a constant battle between himself and authority. Organized crime may be against the rules of society, but is laden with its own rules that Lyle knows he could never bend himself to.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">But the petty thieving, the constant urge to steal, that is something he needs to get control of. It was one thing when he was a juvenile, now it's serious. It is criminal, as his mother said, and it makes him, and his family, the subject of scorn and gossip. Ithas to stop, but how?</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The counselor at school always told him that he stole to fill a void inside him. Even as a child Lyle knew that void was created by his parents', his mother's lack of affection, and he believed that marrying Violet would finally fill it. But since he still steals compulsively, he clearly needs something more. Maybe, he thinks, if he became the parent he never had, he could become whole.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUtiAvLiKkkhiX5WB-fIKMljPkS5aIW3eJMqmgw5Yzo-wdr6uBxnHMY-1Z_cGskKkBOL4ruJxymcqnRmwAvoMmYo7417mwhNKhnDy-FN318osHU_dqGyhnnOpHLM1z_GBO28D_Kty6cg4/s1600/risk30n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUtiAvLiKkkhiX5WB-fIKMljPkS5aIW3eJMqmgw5Yzo-wdr6uBxnHMY-1Z_cGskKkBOL4ruJxymcqnRmwAvoMmYo7417mwhNKhnDy-FN318osHU_dqGyhnnOpHLM1z_GBO28D_Kty6cg4/s1600/risk30n.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">As Violet leaves work that night she spots Sommer Merrick, Bree's daughter, glowing in the candlelight, enjoying lobster thermidor. It won't be much longer before the young vampire will have to give up such delicacies for plasma; she's at the same age Violet was at when she got herself cured of vampirism.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Back then, it seemed like such an obvious choice, to be normal rather than a freak, to eat food rather than have to get used to sucking the blood from her lover's veins. Giving up the long lifespan seemed like nothing to a teenager, who saw life as going on forver no matter what she was. But now that she's older, she feels the quick pace of this life and sees the road to age and death is not very long at all. If she had stayed a vampire, her youth would stretch out ahead of her instead of the constant creeping of age she traded it for. She feels a pang of regret for the loss of all that extra time, but then remembers if she were a vampire, she would outlive Lyle, outlive whoever took his place, and outlive the next. Life is good, she thinks, but it is possible to have too much of a good thing.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIguUZakou0DXDORQIMEKgqpRD2hv9l0mXK9Nn23bVDOYz87F-fEpVRm81YIXjNUAKYnC2ZIsikVbdgTsHE2lE_HeU5bpq1SDK5kUdk928Xpeg2J9hpK1Iznsul-0uhkrSkCYUXeG5Ub8/s1600/risk30o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIguUZakou0DXDORQIMEKgqpRD2hv9l0mXK9Nn23bVDOYz87F-fEpVRm81YIXjNUAKYnC2ZIsikVbdgTsHE2lE_HeU5bpq1SDK5kUdk928Xpeg2J9hpK1Iznsul-0uhkrSkCYUXeG5Ub8/s1600/risk30o.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Lyle and Violet are night owls who rarely go to bed before the early dawn hours, and they sleep into the day. As Violet wakes to start her day, Lyle pulls her back into the bed. "I want to talk," he says.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Are you sure it's talk you want?" Violet teases.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Lyle smiles, "Ideally what I have to say will lead to more. But, yes, I do want to talk. We've never discussed children."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I'd always we'd have some, someday," Violet answers, "You do want children, don't you?"</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I do, Violet. I want to be a father. I want to do it now."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I think now would be a perfect time," Violet answers. Having concluded the discussion, the couple puts their new plan for a family into action.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZvSQtD_zg4_mneLB1VMwy-IENMh_oYSL7cE0qiNhmEAO-3LppTkyNv2uv1r_5vjhUvz3XJ1xawseGndwB9yteOBdyBbb_VqDsgl_IB-Ewgs2_v1kZHPb73gK2w0si8BHkSvCn2xMO-9A/s1600/risk30p.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="363" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZvSQtD_zg4_mneLB1VMwy-IENMh_oYSL7cE0qiNhmEAO-3LppTkyNv2uv1r_5vjhUvz3XJ1xawseGndwB9yteOBdyBbb_VqDsgl_IB-Ewgs2_v1kZHPb73gK2w0si8BHkSvCn2xMO-9A/s400/risk30p.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Oregon and Jeromy become elders. Jeromy had often thought about quitting his part time job at the grocery store, but always stuck with it out of habit. Now that he's reached retirement age, he finds he likes having something to do outside the house for a few hours a day, and decides to carry on working. Oregon, however, retires immediately. Despite her efforts to beautify he neighbors, they've learned nothing from her work. The children and grandchildren of those she's made over continue to dress abysmally and the town will continue to be inhabited by walking nightmares long after she's gone. She's given up on them and decided to focus on painting, creating beauty that will endure over the generations.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho8X5pj8E3vRhqEaY8DbFE7CNVQeyJwcmt3qXQBGGHDgXBbG6SJyo0stSL5hba9-CKAfwksYrYl8FXQgv2bk2ugoV8FLgV5yalUTcXF7bBmEvW4oDqDm7kVMN2KOpnqy5hU75Bh6mg3Xg/s1600/risk30r.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho8X5pj8E3vRhqEaY8DbFE7CNVQeyJwcmt3qXQBGGHDgXBbG6SJyo0stSL5hba9-CKAfwksYrYl8FXQgv2bk2ugoV8FLgV5yalUTcXF7bBmEvW4oDqDm7kVMN2KOpnqy5hU75Bh6mg3Xg/s1600/risk30r.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">After retiring, Oregon turns her office over to Lyle completely. He gives the walls a good papering, gets himself a desk and some cabinets to display his inventions. Only Oregon's styling trophies and awards are left behind.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Safety goggles? Bah, the goggles do nothing!</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiofn-1P0xctOcXvVVn-leK16BruMRkBzUcmCLR1hWNchuYRxo6judXAzp21XRlZdJkcIfN3OikeeI8f52LD0f2JqFUtcdXKtuSCarmTVAko2t8Yb1oUinIkyzsxomfj8g8kfMvGYCrLnI/s1600/risk30s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiofn-1P0xctOcXvVVn-leK16BruMRkBzUcmCLR1hWNchuYRxo6judXAzp21XRlZdJkcIfN3OikeeI8f52LD0f2JqFUtcdXKtuSCarmTVAko2t8Yb1oUinIkyzsxomfj8g8kfMvGYCrLnI/s1600/risk30s.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Goggles are completely useless when you set your ass on fire.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmeroAFI4gFgiSZ1CGnwaaD7BXW51dOcY5HhfCuw1VOT8Qoj1gSdBI-YKMK1BPwMqu2YS1n88WDJYarI-x9xa4S85yFyK2H6cI6m9NGeMOKzUEJsRHFibwUdiEsg4FEvEm9WSmr-PPAzg/s1600/risk30t.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmeroAFI4gFgiSZ1CGnwaaD7BXW51dOcY5HhfCuw1VOT8Qoj1gSdBI-YKMK1BPwMqu2YS1n88WDJYarI-x9xa4S85yFyK2H6cI6m9NGeMOKzUEJsRHFibwUdiEsg4FEvEm9WSmr-PPAzg/s1600/risk30t.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Ewan's old shower-in-cans come in handy for handling inventing mishaps. Being on fire is a total rush. Lyle looks forward to setting his ass on fire again in the near future.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFzoa9qRATE3ppd9WIqrRq37gYw2G_iWpIjTex8HDxsW9u342ZsIta0koMYqPaHPKPFtyTcru-YDQuEkwCQ5abgNi2oaFUJwrqg4hSLAGgi5IdpRERxerNBC3R__QO3Z8VM0Yx5HOm2Ls/s1600/risk30u.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFzoa9qRATE3ppd9WIqrRq37gYw2G_iWpIjTex8HDxsW9u342ZsIta0koMYqPaHPKPFtyTcru-YDQuEkwCQ5abgNi2oaFUJwrqg4hSLAGgi5IdpRERxerNBC3R__QO3Z8VM0Yx5HOm2Ls/s1600/risk30u.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Violet becomes pregnant as they planned.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyMNcJn-LN-Ibq04Pdm-c2gtoCISVEdnIBgbGky6FwcoYQTnP-aPkcmrCGEt5sHplDsNfgdY7GUFGOQXpEkUS4K01bNsXtSTKDG8LtpfSbxZMbtQNj1ZAYkwfPfPbuqu0oJRNT8SessVU/s1600/risk30v.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyMNcJn-LN-Ibq04Pdm-c2gtoCISVEdnIBgbGky6FwcoYQTnP-aPkcmrCGEt5sHplDsNfgdY7GUFGOQXpEkUS4K01bNsXtSTKDG8LtpfSbxZMbtQNj1ZAYkwfPfPbuqu0oJRNT8SessVU/s1600/risk30v.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Always wanting to be informed, Lyle studies "Totally Preggers" before his child is born.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_pCjSHxWzaIiqb7mWTyi7TEQkUROPE8oS-7TtqXLQkIj4p97_7QXS5p5tvigblF9PKz_Av2PFa8gWNAC5JmZP136OxrS_ldof1LI9p5pJYE-av5LyKYz4ZejA_NW_It3LNc-iwb-M72o/s1600/risk30w.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_pCjSHxWzaIiqb7mWTyi7TEQkUROPE8oS-7TtqXLQkIj4p97_7QXS5p5tvigblF9PKz_Av2PFa8gWNAC5JmZP136OxrS_ldof1LI9p5pJYE-av5LyKYz4ZejA_NW_It3LNc-iwb-M72o/s1600/risk30w.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Violet wakes in the early morning with labor pains. Lyle rushes her to the hospital.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKIruJalg2BRKZt1LoIVnCve9m6mI7pwASBvfAlyjiXtmMSN6xrwab4oWfJ64sWbn3_8-Bvm2BIkyxSSjLX-0BWRd-iDLNIy9AuuIaOTB3klyaAXleJjlH5RbtuCYMFfnYgTjqZVrGDHI/s1600/risk30x.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKIruJalg2BRKZt1LoIVnCve9m6mI7pwASBvfAlyjiXtmMSN6xrwab4oWfJ64sWbn3_8-Bvm2BIkyxSSjLX-0BWRd-iDLNIy9AuuIaOTB3klyaAXleJjlH5RbtuCYMFfnYgTjqZVrGDHI/s400/risk30x.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">They have a daughter, Briar Rose.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmO3GAqAqpke8XcX5-S6Ku3oOnVRs-QFXOcYpxllka454gw383shchE5jT3ff0cZ_De-LbhfWVWTO81YxVBtUkf1UT6Bj8TvMbxWjRuWxt3b_qANljtrUJ8T3QD22KQu9D1lolg9JZIT0/s1600/risk30y.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmO3GAqAqpke8XcX5-S6Ku3oOnVRs-QFXOcYpxllka454gw383shchE5jT3ff0cZ_De-LbhfWVWTO81YxVBtUkf1UT6Bj8TvMbxWjRuWxt3b_qANljtrUJ8T3QD22KQu9D1lolg9JZIT0/s1600/risk30y.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Beau Merrick has the audacity to call and enquire after his new granddaughter, wanting to know if she shows any sign of vampirism. Though Violet was cured of the trait, it was not known if she could still produce a vampire child. Oregon assures him that Briar is a normal, human child, and that he should butt out of their lives.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"And," Oregon adds,"You might want to think about the fact that two of your three children, including one you raised yourself, have sought cures for vampirism, and all three of them have rejected you. Now that you've married again, you might want to keep that in mind before you have more children."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I thank you for your concern, Oregon, it is much appreciated," Beau answers, "It is indeed a matter for deep consideration." Oregon meant her words as a dig, not as advice, but with Beau's monotone, it's hard to tell if his response is sincere or sarcastic.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuUQ7XXwB39OHtsbol0BvmFB8ZKlS79ojNuULpByKSYAR-gpCohWgYBY4DJzIihlZqDGJbwSf5SnysLYLzwRYX7U1nFbzPWZc4oVH-cs4p6EPcsIokWbphLUPz8aqaPCr6OoABykzxBac/s1600/risk30z.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuUQ7XXwB39OHtsbol0BvmFB8ZKlS79ojNuULpByKSYAR-gpCohWgYBY4DJzIihlZqDGJbwSf5SnysLYLzwRYX7U1nFbzPWZc4oVH-cs4p6EPcsIokWbphLUPz8aqaPCr6OoABykzxBac/s1600/risk30z.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Lyle isn't entirely cured of his kleptomania, but he has been staying in at night instead of out prowling. He does still hack funds into his account, which is technically thieving, criminal behavior. But he's not preying on his neighbors, and as such is sparing his family the gossip and attention. And, he's come up with a great way to dispose of the goods he's already taken. Detonation!</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisC4I_BYumcwfIKARnBbayUP2Fr2DWsf3GIlHmqpcTjZsRqlqkopG9dekH08lCC7nYErZIIr3qf6ZBKy4YcAHfl5fxd5e4c96eMX0wtnwWQozSR8G3TY4Uc9ln91erOaWgoEaNsX8DjWs/s1600/risk30z1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisC4I_BYumcwfIKARnBbayUP2Fr2DWsf3GIlHmqpcTjZsRqlqkopG9dekH08lCC7nYErZIIr3qf6ZBKy4YcAHfl5fxd5e4c96eMX0wtnwWQozSR8G3TY4Uc9ln91erOaWgoEaNsX8DjWs/s1600/risk30z1.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Being exploded is such a rush!</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHFuXu4eynA7o2ySjXFpOB17qeHzYAeVNDOa-Rsqm0pwqCnLKYlXmtxnL7Drm8sGSHtKgjPeB7ria9sjmGvKdrAN6fA13wRf9DNB2H_bkepdDUo6XO85OSDh6XScWKMsaaEY_vKPhFtZA/s1600/risk30z2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHFuXu4eynA7o2ySjXFpOB17qeHzYAeVNDOa-Rsqm0pwqCnLKYlXmtxnL7Drm8sGSHtKgjPeB7ria9sjmGvKdrAN6fA13wRf9DNB2H_bkepdDUo6XO85OSDh6XScWKMsaaEY_vKPhFtZA/s1600/risk30z2.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Briar becomes a toddler. She's not a vampire, but she does have Beau Merrick's hair.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG3IQs_QIddm3F2tq16UMgIECenB2x6iu4617mi4xkuKJZdVLAYvFchQImsl_KtiqucD0bxp9zLeqdd9OyIwDDM8rT9g5lOjhhUMWrE-dq7GyQND_ex6zoqukTf5o0Y9qysNbZjMfCz1E/s1600/risk30z3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG3IQs_QIddm3F2tq16UMgIECenB2x6iu4617mi4xkuKJZdVLAYvFchQImsl_KtiqucD0bxp9zLeqdd9OyIwDDM8rT9g5lOjhhUMWrE-dq7GyQND_ex6zoqukTf5o0Y9qysNbZjMfCz1E/s1600/risk30z3.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Most importantly, she's finally old enough to play dolls with her father. He was so tired of playing by himself all the time.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Challenge Notes:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">At first I was stoked to have Lyle's LTW to have 50k of stolen goods. But after a week of nightly stealing, taking the max amount of swipes, we only had 5k worth of goods. Including a car and computer. It might be possible to achieve the LTW before he dies, but it would take dedication. And since thieving can only happen at night, and two of Lyle's allowed professional activities, stargazing and hacking, are also only available at night, I decided something had to go. As my generation goal is Perfect Careers, I figured Lyle should devote himself more to that than his klepto hobby. So, he used 10k happiness points to change his LTW to Tinkerer, to max Logic and Handiness. While his 'career' has no levels to max, I've decided he needs to max Logic, Handiness and Inventing to achieve the generation goal.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Lyle is a daredevil, so he gets good moodlets from setting his ass on fire. I love Lyle.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Violet has achieved her LTW of Culinary Librarian, before she maxed cooking skill or read the top level recipe books. Foreign recipes aren't added to the total required, so learning them means you achieve the LTW before reading all the base game recipes. She has since maxed cooking and is level 8 in cooking career. I'm going to make her learn all the base game recipes before I will consider the generation goal complete. She's only got 3 left to read.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">They've got the first of their two required children. They started their family a bit later than previous generations. Lyle and Violet are just days away from being adult.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The roll for generation 8 is: Couple, two children, (Again!) Journalism career and author as secondary. Goal is again Perfect Careers and the Misc. Fun is tattoo addict. I rolled 1st child as heir, so Briar is heir. When she was born, she was given the artistic trait by the game and I was allowed to chose the second. I gave her genius, like her father.</span>yangthecathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15083940950118677312noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4989886776485997216.post-73369807047704874692011-02-22T06:27:00.000-08:002011-02-22T06:27:08.906-08:00Chapter 29: Thief of My Heart<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtWawCvUL3NxU3MkrNN5nT8pDugm86T5irnLQ59CTp6TaVkoMT-U78Z5UfR4ZHHGT4AAYpdlHsWtg8jC7TGaGLSYExggaDd4WNCJNUH7wq0CtuAujFZGzOBBi8PMBwkm5xNW-Xd7hbqs4/s1600/risk29a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtWawCvUL3NxU3MkrNN5nT8pDugm86T5irnLQ59CTp6TaVkoMT-U78Z5UfR4ZHHGT4AAYpdlHsWtg8jC7TGaGLSYExggaDd4WNCJNUH7wq0CtuAujFZGzOBBi8PMBwkm5xNW-Xd7hbqs4/s400/risk29a.jpg" width="399" /></a></div><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"You should smile more, Lyle," Jeromy comments over breakfast, "You always look like someone pissed in your cornflakes."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Lyle knows how much Violet loves her father, so he reins in the sarcasm, "It's genetic. My natural expression is a frown."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"A frown is just a smile turned upside down," Jeromy says. Lyle gives up on the conversation and waits for Violet to get out of the shower.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYKSQzK1LGZyRZfEmUsu9zGuoTwLXvMHFmZQY4Sq3eW7nNyEV24KZ43I38qFILnpG7fc1CMpaZRUNjB1B-WKu4vk-Xr0M64s0b8AEiOOj2_kxoQt73rrxuJbHUCBoFoPv3EGDtJl8lA9s/s1600/risk29b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYKSQzK1LGZyRZfEmUsu9zGuoTwLXvMHFmZQY4Sq3eW7nNyEV24KZ43I38qFILnpG7fc1CMpaZRUNjB1B-WKu4vk-Xr0M64s0b8AEiOOj2_kxoQt73rrxuJbHUCBoFoPv3EGDtJl8lA9s/s1600/risk29b.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Smiling isn't something Lyle does often or for just anyone. For Violet, however, he does it without thinking about it.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I have something for you, " he says, getting down on one knee and offering her a ring. "Do you recognize it?"</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Violet gasps, "Of course I do. That's Sofia Carlton's ring." When they were kids, Lyle showed her this ring the first time she visited his house. He told her it was his grandmother's favorite piece of jewelry, and it was the first thing he ever stole. He called it his greatest treasure, and said he'd never part with it for any reason. "You're giving it to me?"</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"You're my greatest treasure now, Violet. I would be honored if you'd wear it."</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsCDgkrxMg95lAIi0C3CoUqtul-9Bfa2FMd5-27A_3vHNWnVe6KemVEQJh_Vvk51rakHyGdZlP9UP8SExT7Cc9QEF1C8I3gkI9u2FxVxwXLkzNAX1rzwUJiRDzTWO8-ZqnRQ-r3uUVngk/s1600/risk29c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsCDgkrxMg95lAIi0C3CoUqtul-9Bfa2FMd5-27A_3vHNWnVe6KemVEQJh_Vvk51rakHyGdZlP9UP8SExT7Cc9QEF1C8I3gkI9u2FxVxwXLkzNAX1rzwUJiRDzTWO8-ZqnRQ-r3uUVngk/s1600/risk29c.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">That night Violet is invited to a party hosted by her Aunt Jammie and Uncle Josiah. As they arrive Violet is greeted by her uncle Carter, who is very excited about her engagement.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrNT-ZmnUEdffePFUSEztwZy52rPAuNyMNceTTQwelWFiM0wPWRFj7Sq0WSU1SjTvS6X-n_xxA2lp91lBVs1vAdSjzyS88Q4zqcM8BZ0gsSmDKp4zqzN_OKUzKtdiu213MOMz1jcsFohM/s1600/risk29d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="378" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrNT-ZmnUEdffePFUSEztwZy52rPAuNyMNceTTQwelWFiM0wPWRFj7Sq0WSU1SjTvS6X-n_xxA2lp91lBVs1vAdSjzyS88Q4zqcM8BZ0gsSmDKp4zqzN_OKUzKtdiu213MOMz1jcsFohM/s400/risk29d.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">While Violet chats with her uncle, Lyle is left to prowl the house unsupervised.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqiG-UVBChucWFeGJMkhKHq6IG5EBTD_3yzInSrJYfRQlXMGrZDPLmQsxaTl2Bh-EU1ZXTa3jUij2oV5uuHSmv_pclj5UnuXNxizP2WUpIdgUa7dO6pph2VpM5hXyXyQwd_R2mE7HLYf4/s1600/risk29e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqiG-UVBChucWFeGJMkhKHq6IG5EBTD_3yzInSrJYfRQlXMGrZDPLmQsxaTl2Bh-EU1ZXTa3jUij2oV5uuHSmv_pclj5UnuXNxizP2WUpIdgUa7dO6pph2VpM5hXyXyQwd_R2mE7HLYf4/s1600/risk29e.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">He certainly doesn't need a new computer, they have one just like this at home, and he has his own laptop, as well as enough money to buy several more computers just like this or better if he wanted. But kleptomania isn't about need or even desire, it's a compulsion, and the unattended PC calls to his twitching fingers.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiht6yJt1a4mX73mH4kbIrAs-w-PWKFFp75RuWlEM6mtG9kqx6XdUiidxxiMf8KzEvi29ZqfJQfkHGPljGJLGL8N-VYNRcCFQBXkIu9VdfGpbd__Hjs_6Puz0PyjppyAZrg1QGfZSnlP3w/s1600/risk29f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiht6yJt1a4mX73mH4kbIrAs-w-PWKFFp75RuWlEM6mtG9kqx6XdUiidxxiMf8KzEvi29ZqfJQfkHGPljGJLGL8N-VYNRcCFQBXkIu9VdfGpbd__Hjs_6Puz0PyjppyAZrg1QGfZSnlP3w/s400/risk29f.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Violet can't sleep until she's checked the faucets.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I didn't even use the sink," Lyle informs her from the shower.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I know," Violet says, "I just need to check it anyway."</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPDPc68JGjEOuPAewq4csqZhyphenhyphenU9pE-SicUJq7yWaBZlnHR-10l4wusH5GrJZ08X2sbotAqlcQphSshaULIxUYXvyZ9dhzDFk6asNmPLT45lSM8bIWAoMax8DSl1uLeCu6d0w0NuiFinp0/s1600/risk29g.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="397" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPDPc68JGjEOuPAewq4csqZhyphenhyphenU9pE-SicUJq7yWaBZlnHR-10l4wusH5GrJZ08X2sbotAqlcQphSshaULIxUYXvyZ9dhzDFk6asNmPLT45lSM8bIWAoMax8DSl1uLeCu6d0w0NuiFinp0/s400/risk29g.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">That night, Violet has a nightmare. It's her wedding day, but when her guests arrive, the sinks all explode causing a huge flood in the hall, drowning everyone. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">After that nightmare, Violet cancels her wedding plans and opts instead for an at home wedding party.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggeYXtl2QyrRSQ0nZRW0PCZGNRB4F6zEbU59r-uW5yWEA7Dnukq_Cg83BE0Pk9V00eZj5hOJdYsWKosW7fl8LCNaBV1UynJb7a-7K-WV79yd168klZTlu2ADhz3tQuZjLFA1uMc83HnFI/s1600/risk29h.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="393" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggeYXtl2QyrRSQ0nZRW0PCZGNRB4F6zEbU59r-uW5yWEA7Dnukq_Cg83BE0Pk9V00eZj5hOJdYsWKosW7fl8LCNaBV1UynJb7a-7K-WV79yd168klZTlu2ADhz3tQuZjLFA1uMc83HnFI/s400/risk29h.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Her home wedding party is not without its emergencies. Though she's becoming a talented chef, she'd decided not to stress herself about the food served at her party, and planned to use the food from the replicator. But when she replicates Allyson's key lime pie, it's spoiled. Violet freaks out, and then throws together a salad as fast as she can. She barely has time to dress before the guests start arriving.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3pv3xy9Ae6Y2jDhIDuajYFaonUOYvleQjf6SwewtEJah3gX1Iztkuudhdo5jSpcNJIwSv0JaDxCJvWPVrGSqmRyS8YtBwZZTzQiG0Hj41adCpZUhpADGBbwhIOiMkaarqkUJzf0Nhkf0/s1600/risk29i.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="392" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3pv3xy9Ae6Y2jDhIDuajYFaonUOYvleQjf6SwewtEJah3gX1Iztkuudhdo5jSpcNJIwSv0JaDxCJvWPVrGSqmRyS8YtBwZZTzQiG0Hj41adCpZUhpADGBbwhIOiMkaarqkUJzf0Nhkf0/s400/risk29i.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Lyle is freaking out, too, just in a more subtle manner.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgal2Z619hmzarv_MiOu78mf-lOweKGZIGQXDHcPAhNv1avAMYxyPtphIDrNk5-vjQqHKfT8P6PPf4OekdOa-yP48LV68yF33d6fs52ZapiAVJUepkQn6jlwL6pmyUpifNpkw32UuRfZVc/s1600/risk29j.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="371" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgal2Z619hmzarv_MiOu78mf-lOweKGZIGQXDHcPAhNv1avAMYxyPtphIDrNk5-vjQqHKfT8P6PPf4OekdOa-yP48LV68yF33d6fs52ZapiAVJUepkQn6jlwL6pmyUpifNpkw32UuRfZVc/s400/risk29j.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Guest start to arrive. Lyle's father Loren comes up and introduces himself. "You look familiar. Do I know you?"</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I'm your son, Lyle."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"No, I don't know any Lyle."</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgPPsfwyH9r2yWWn0oPWYK1xr7EHHZE9aFbtQdkrZLmJT6HUX2UwwnEJWgjpAM35-E_5DC5k6iCWYatf_0DrTDII7tSBaQtKU4jrdPC26vwcxUCP20onswnCeCL0jPlXicBxMFjtK6eh0/s1600/risk29k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgPPsfwyH9r2yWWn0oPWYK1xr7EHHZE9aFbtQdkrZLmJT6HUX2UwwnEJWgjpAM35-E_5DC5k6iCWYatf_0DrTDII7tSBaQtKU4jrdPC26vwcxUCP20onswnCeCL0jPlXicBxMFjtK6eh0/s1600/risk29k.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Go mingle, Dad, Try not to ruin my wedding," Lyle says sadly.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjgRXZEw_KOWv7lXzFmFhQ91FL-ejpsElr-IGGaBWMMvEJMa8EVVM4tA76r1f01u-kTnKdj0Lt-2fENABVsnvT6N50FJPjA-M5eO7N0k9bIU1r-OEyTp7PwINvP9OMnDa4njpdBKsikCo/s1600/risk29l.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjgRXZEw_KOWv7lXzFmFhQ91FL-ejpsElr-IGGaBWMMvEJMa8EVVM4tA76r1f01u-kTnKdj0Lt-2fENABVsnvT6N50FJPjA-M5eO7N0k9bIU1r-OEyTp7PwINvP9OMnDa4njpdBKsikCo/s1600/risk29l.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Antone and Tamika (Wyoming McDermott's youngest daughter) want everyone to know they are newlyweds.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Not all of Lyle's family are insane, evil and criminal. His brother Nicholas and sister-in-law Janelle are sincere and gracious in their congratulations. Nicholas is considerably older than Lyle and escaped the Carlton house when his brother was just a toddler.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">As they prepare to take their vows, Violet freaks out.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"You stole my heart," Violet says quietly as Lyle slips the ring onto her finger.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><div style="font-family: Times; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Times; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The room is full of their families and friends, but the Violet and Lyle barely notice them.</span></div><div style="font-family: Times; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">After the ceremony is done, Lyle approaches his mother, Chanel Carlton. As though this were just any other day, she launches into a boast about her business successes, ignoring that her son just got married.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Well, I guess I should take your father home now. You be a good boy, now. I don't want to hear you've been misbehaving."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Sure, Mom, thanks," Lyle says, and his mother leaves without a word of congratulations. A hug would be out of the question, Chanel doesn't engage in that kind of affection, but the preemptive reprimand wasn't really called for.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Finally, it's over and the couple are alone.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"That went pretty well," Violet observes, and then notices the expression on her husband's face, "What's wrong?"</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"This was a mistake. I'm not good enough for you, Violet. I'm going to disappoint you..."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Violet knows him and knows the deep insecurities that lie beneath his cocky, self-assured demeanor, and she knows the source of his self-doubt all too well.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"You know that's not true. Do <i>not</i> let her ruin our happiness."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrp5je_U_SwX6puRVZKBuJU08aHye2J7o6PIHW8IiCnH26VgJE3LM57DJ3AyyXd9VNNb9iATiM-byi3qdrw4yOZkoPmI0MXGxZh6VICVoTC-uKqHlili_7hb4kXg0hBX1xQj7Ah9PNxAQ/s1600/risk29u.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrp5je_U_SwX6puRVZKBuJU08aHye2J7o6PIHW8IiCnH26VgJE3LM57DJ3AyyXd9VNNb9iATiM-byi3qdrw4yOZkoPmI0MXGxZh6VICVoTC-uKqHlili_7hb4kXg0hBX1xQj7Ah9PNxAQ/s1600/risk29u.jpg" /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Violet guides him over to the bed. "I've watched you try over and again to make your mother happy, to make her say she's proud of you. It's never going to happen, Lyle. Not because you aren't worthy, but because she can't be pleased. She refuses to be anything but critical, to find a flaw in anything you do, no matter how good it is. But I <i>do</i> love you, and I'm proud to be your wife, so let's put our mommy issues behind us, and be happy together."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I noticed your mother didn't say a word to you all day," Lyle observes.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Violet shakes her head, "Even though I'm not a vampire anymore, she still can't look at me without seeing Beau Merrick. It hurts, but I guess I understand. If someone did that to me, if I was made to carry a child from a man who forced himself on me..."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmU6ATfiR9-8vf1HLQZm7OX6B-gMUeb2kvAbKJDiosHz0LU07DRh0HU45jfSGbzrnThyphenhyphenmZtkbkf4koYF16LCbWkecdE4CKBxSC8sc3ZY3kkE2yxCssOx_GaDB95OgwmDNov8caBoo3lC8/s1600/risk29v.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmU6ATfiR9-8vf1HLQZm7OX6B-gMUeb2kvAbKJDiosHz0LU07DRh0HU45jfSGbzrnThyphenhyphenmZtkbkf4koYF16LCbWkecdE4CKBxSC8sc3ZY3kkE2yxCssOx_GaDB95OgwmDNov8caBoo3lC8/s400/risk29v.jpg" width="399" /></a></div><div><br />
</div><div>Her words rouse Lyle's protective instincts. "I would never let anyone hurt you, Violet."</div><div><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9WyXws9rl5N9tfwZnBLnddYPl9EM_SO4uZ7yngC2eMwPQKdnCsvLbIqAJ9F4i1-VAq2te1QXmAyLdYuxN1oAz4p17lBNCp4pv38VERjM1OWeqCGlrHu9VgYn0temsZjP_V1a0y-dljpE/s1600/risk29w.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="365" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9WyXws9rl5N9tfwZnBLnddYPl9EM_SO4uZ7yngC2eMwPQKdnCsvLbIqAJ9F4i1-VAq2te1QXmAyLdYuxN1oAz4p17lBNCp4pv38VERjM1OWeqCGlrHu9VgYn0temsZjP_V1a0y-dljpE/s400/risk29w.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div><br />
</div><div>Violet has got a job at the Little Corsican Bistro. Lyle isn't cut out for regular employment, instead he dabbles. He's set up shop in Oregon's office, working on various projects. It doesn't bother him in the least that that the walls are purple and decorated with fashion sketches.</div><div><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbiddy9JDz_acpeCcMNhEzehy3oKITsrNhgOzPzi19aes_Am6pJOipKwsjq8V1uC1i6ODJjD2nuNsEvGkqzqLjhj6Y_rEOv8ylzNEKWyKGCm-ovvN4cY8-ZRicI6_jzq6PA99zLcXADCU/s1600/risk29x.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbiddy9JDz_acpeCcMNhEzehy3oKITsrNhgOzPzi19aes_Am6pJOipKwsjq8V1uC1i6ODJjD2nuNsEvGkqzqLjhj6Y_rEOv8ylzNEKWyKGCm-ovvN4cY8-ZRicI6_jzq6PA99zLcXADCU/s1600/risk29x.jpg" /></a></div><div><br />
</div><div>He also does freelance work for the science facility. And hacking, because his kleptomania is not limited to swiping real objects, but also extends to breaking into computer files and transferring money into his offshore accounts. He's also not above industrial espionage, selling one business' secrets to another for his own profit.</div><div><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwm_2WwV-uQvJBBde1QE9Z8YpbfJGuR_utvRMpdiGMRf2dOBFS5e-6ExEUu30joKIkTgmSQMSaNk9btjVMJun-uoZKOuq6t6W9Q75urTO72lVn0OzzdZuaTth7j0Iz99VZ608DvYGe1i4/s1600/risk29y.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwm_2WwV-uQvJBBde1QE9Z8YpbfJGuR_utvRMpdiGMRf2dOBFS5e-6ExEUu30joKIkTgmSQMSaNk9btjVMJun-uoZKOuq6t6W9Q75urTO72lVn0OzzdZuaTth7j0Iz99VZ608DvYGe1i4/s400/risk29y.jpg" width="388" /></a></div><div><br />
</div><div>One evening Violet is invited to a party hosted by Tamika and Antone McDermott. Violet is working that evening, so Lyle shows up alone.</div><div><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8mZNehQ6GipR-uZjToJA4ir-HX-3lDnX7_L9uf-DimIzadif5kHq41HmTIuIfZA-aF57rcrV8pzo_-rbI9fVxkoliij0vnjzw-JL0e3TDeiiypWfeH40dN4SEeVwAxlYSw4qfhKrj_Wo/s1600/risk29z.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8mZNehQ6GipR-uZjToJA4ir-HX-3lDnX7_L9uf-DimIzadif5kHq41HmTIuIfZA-aF57rcrV8pzo_-rbI9fVxkoliij0vnjzw-JL0e3TDeiiypWfeH40dN4SEeVwAxlYSw4qfhKrj_Wo/s1600/risk29z.jpg" /></a></div><div><br />
</div><div>He's not interested in socializing, of course. It's the access he's here for. Your teddy bears are not safe.</div><div><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLvtY5NuwdHLaXFMUhbV0JWxcZ2pdnmTgLdc9moK01RLDAZV_-qXoFuv-hG_q3BDfZ94Q2d2M1JQlxj9dIx5OKARCbGvStdGyWezwqdHRH9i0Zc6CObVw8gKd9ZxJ2ysqm0gRQgE6qhYw/s1600/risk29za.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLvtY5NuwdHLaXFMUhbV0JWxcZ2pdnmTgLdc9moK01RLDAZV_-qXoFuv-hG_q3BDfZ94Q2d2M1JQlxj9dIx5OKARCbGvStdGyWezwqdHRH9i0Zc6CObVw8gKd9ZxJ2ysqm0gRQgE6qhYw/s1600/risk29za.jpg" /></a></div><div><br />
</div><div>Because of her late hours, Lyle and Violet eat dinner after the rest of her family is in bed. Tonight, she made Lyle's favorite, cheesesteak.</div><div><br />
</div><div>"Tamika called me," Violet says while they eat, "She says you showed up to her party, disappeared upstairs, and the next day she discovered some of her things went missing. She suspects you took them."</div><div><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY96nYrlwo84xDfYxoWlynH5HFwSDr0Tawg6tUXG37_IGOYc9n2jufx0BOV3_uab5z3hlmoG6u51SprdJbDI20eM7GnRO0XZdhVw72L_KnH_tvP19_YuDpSV9eIaWtAg4yEY6fLKUeowc/s1600/risk29zb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY96nYrlwo84xDfYxoWlynH5HFwSDr0Tawg6tUXG37_IGOYc9n2jufx0BOV3_uab5z3hlmoG6u51SprdJbDI20eM7GnRO0XZdhVw72L_KnH_tvP19_YuDpSV9eIaWtAg4yEY6fLKUeowc/s1600/risk29zb.jpg" /></a></div><div><br />
</div><div>Lyle stands up, "I told you I'd disappoint you. Now you want me to leave, I suppose."</div><div><br />
</div><div>"Sit down and finish your dinner, Lyle," Violet answers with a smile, "I told you that I love you, knowing full well who you are. I just want you to be more careful. If stuff disappears every time you show up to a party, we aren't going to get invited to any more parties."</div><div><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyfeM1qxUg75GoGWz7hHZXUdwn5Ihh_UEHW4HTXSpJpkHa30flP719UJ1RdXJnWYx7lF1wwwBJno0Ibfyuw5GEK0krabOBNalEk1Km81nXaaGetk5jcbZ-DKv06YWCOADSx796UxNxZjA/s1600/risk29zc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyfeM1qxUg75GoGWz7hHZXUdwn5Ihh_UEHW4HTXSpJpkHa30flP719UJ1RdXJnWYx7lF1wwwBJno0Ibfyuw5GEK0krabOBNalEk1Km81nXaaGetk5jcbZ-DKv06YWCOADSx796UxNxZjA/s1600/risk29zc.jpg" /></a></div><div><br />
</div><div>Lyle could do without the parties, but he wants to please Violet, so he finds other ways to indulge his kleptomania, like stealing Crissy Carlton-Wheloff's car.</div><div><br />
</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Challenge Notes:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I originally threw a wedding party for Violet and Lyle at my community lot party hall. But shortly after I got the pic of Violet freaking out in front of the buffet, my game crashed. I had last saved right before she made the party call, so I decided to have a home party instead. And then I used my one community party pic as her 'nightmare'.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">When I first had Lyle interact with his father at the wedding, he had the introduction interactions only available. Which I found very weird, as Lyle grew up in the same house as his father.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Lyle's mother does actually have the mean-spirited trait. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Though I had Violet initiate the 'get married' interaction, the couple ended up with Carlton as a last name. I know that can be changed easily with master controller, but I haven't done it. It might be fun to change my legacy family name. I'm dithering. Will decide before they have kids, lol.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Lyle earned enough points to get the trait change reward, so I swapped his Snob for Computer Whiz, allowing him to hack for money. His LTW is to have 50k worth of stolen goods. I've never done that one, so it should be fun. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">He's also dabbling in invention, though obviously I can't sell anything he invents.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Oregon and Jeromy will be elders in a few days, and Hunter will become YA and move out.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div></span>yangthecathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15083940950118677312noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4989886776485997216.post-15265852186219042972011-02-20T09:12:00.000-08:002011-02-20T09:12:45.232-08:00Chapter 28: Family History<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBB_UEbgtMfaPzVCGK1QJcSPRahGL9bGCoNzkRsAKLTGJS35CYpLO5_dV6cN9P7RlWT3a_DLmBCbtsdV_zhbcPVcxtzzKmYMCRSbiBFUIW3183JCfIFw_Qr2-8ldhBuUllDmjMKfy-nR0/s1600/risk28a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="388" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBB_UEbgtMfaPzVCGK1QJcSPRahGL9bGCoNzkRsAKLTGJS35CYpLO5_dV6cN9P7RlWT3a_DLmBCbtsdV_zhbcPVcxtzzKmYMCRSbiBFUIW3183JCfIFw_Qr2-8ldhBuUllDmjMKfy-nR0/s400/risk28a.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Saturday morning, Lyle calls Violet and asks her to meet him at the park. He has something important to tell her.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKKMCIYVtJw8-Po8MJj-hcnkAlV2jXa4OB75f5elvIc5U3sXQaLiqvfZEUNZCO_EKPD0UkqBosQeC_RTLA6E1O7Z4DFoxGASu5QC7oPHJ0L_JHB6_H8I51YSOrHpw2vWBp9-9ugfkSNmM/s1600/risk28b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKKMCIYVtJw8-Po8MJj-hcnkAlV2jXa4OB75f5elvIc5U3sXQaLiqvfZEUNZCO_EKPD0UkqBosQeC_RTLA6E1O7Z4DFoxGASu5QC7oPHJ0L_JHB6_H8I51YSOrHpw2vWBp9-9ugfkSNmM/s1600/risk28b.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Tell me my father isn't doing something insane behind me," Lyle sighs, noticing Violet's distracted glances in Loren's direction.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I don't want to lie to you, Lyle," Violet answers. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Lyle sighs, "You see what I have to deal with? Try to ignore him."</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoA2OvnvhUU9g30M6h7ELgoxJAL9yaFQqxrhtXm_qlJE5z33gQcbyTcj45UMgnx0_2Prtn2rrE32KgYd_UBQwmQLa7pu3MC9Hrkoq6w1h12Dlngfs2t5SZ0IBENUtjmPqC9gXGDNvUsPY/s1600/risk28c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoA2OvnvhUU9g30M6h7ELgoxJAL9yaFQqxrhtXm_qlJE5z33gQcbyTcj45UMgnx0_2Prtn2rrE32KgYd_UBQwmQLa7pu3MC9Hrkoq6w1h12Dlngfs2t5SZ0IBENUtjmPqC9gXGDNvUsPY/s1600/risk28c.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I've been researching the town's records, and I've found something interesting," Lyle tells her. "Your 'aunt' Bree isn't really your aunt."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I knew it!" Violet xclaims, "I asked my father if she was my real mother once, but he denied it. How could he lie to me?"</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Lyle shakes his head, "She isn't your mother, either. She's your half-sister."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"How is that even possible? She's the same age as my parents."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Have you ever heard of a vampire named Beau Merrick?" Lylke asks. Violet shakes her head. "It's not surprising. He keeps a low profile, and people are pretty careful about not mentioning him in front of your family. He moved to Twinbrook around the time your grandfather was starting his political career, and he married one of the three women he moved here with, Bianca Rubble. They had two daughters, Bree and Yesenia. As you know, Bree was born around the same time as your mother. Immediately after they graduated high school, Beau divorced his wife and moved in with your mother. It was the talk of the town at the time, but it was a very brief affair. Shortly afterwards, she kicked him out and married your father. She was pregnant with you when they married. The town has kept up the pretense that you are Jeromy's child, but it is certain your real father is Beau Merrick, the only male vampire in Twinbrook."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Violet is stunned by the news. She had been ready to accept that Oregon wasn't her real mother, but she was not prepared to be told that Jeromy was not her real father. But she knows Lyle is thorough in his research and would never tell her this if he hadn't checked all his facts, so she believes him.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Where does Beau Merrick live now?" she asks.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Lyle gives her a worried look. "You want to meet him? Are you sure that's a good idea?"</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Violet nods, "I have to meet him. If I'm going to live as a vampire, I have to know what that means."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguswKdhaS-zo5tKvlkIb8ikWYWvMoSja3pvoC383Xk51zjaM7mN6PfmP0xVgnnF5kOMqxzTeHvvVSm6mt1gbjnr-J0tIiWuWQDSOeczYo-h_G0kxkm_xwjCZSgNm5J29tmMbs4wH-ZLOk/s1600/risk28d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguswKdhaS-zo5tKvlkIb8ikWYWvMoSja3pvoC383Xk51zjaM7mN6PfmP0xVgnnF5kOMqxzTeHvvVSm6mt1gbjnr-J0tIiWuWQDSOeczYo-h_G0kxkm_xwjCZSgNm5J29tmMbs4wH-ZLOk/s1600/risk28d.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"What if you didn't have to live as a vampire?" Lyle asks.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I wish," Violet sighs, "But sooner or later, I'm going to have to accept it."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Actually, you may not have to," Lyle answers, and smiles to see the brightening of her expression, "I have some connections at the science facility, and they've been researching a cure for vampirism. It's still experimental, but Yesenia Merrick has been successfully cured."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Can they cure me, too?" Violet asks.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"You can't give legal consent until you are an adult," Lyle answers, and Violet's smile turns to a frown, "But they'll give you the treatment if I tell them to."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Violet laughs, "If you tell them to? What, are you their boss?"</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I funded their research," Lyle answers. Violet raises her eyebrow. "The advantage to having an insane father is I can forge his signature on his checks and he can never remember for sure that he didn't write the check himself."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"You are amazing, you know that?" Violet sighs.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I'd do anything for you."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Can you make me an appointment for tomorrow?"</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQCW01B5oeIo9ljUoyU9vRTDkeCyL5T-4LAxwwIevtHYM-7Vs7VqhDJDg-lOxpTGoSfnJoG2knlUEpOCYuVwWsw4yls7mKkbUxSpSyznOLMMKw6Wbz8vpAPVrBRIjCq1b3WP1bsffNoX4/s1600/risk28e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQCW01B5oeIo9ljUoyU9vRTDkeCyL5T-4LAxwwIevtHYM-7Vs7VqhDJDg-lOxpTGoSfnJoG2knlUEpOCYuVwWsw4yls7mKkbUxSpSyznOLMMKw6Wbz8vpAPVrBRIjCq1b3WP1bsffNoX4/s1600/risk28e.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">That evening, Violet confronts Jeromy, "I know you aren't my real father."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I'm not your biological father," Jeromy answers, "But I am your father in every way that's important."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"How could you keep from this from me? Did you think I'd never find out?"</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I always intended to tell you someday. I guess I waited too long. I wanted your mother to be the one to tell you, to be honest, but she's never gotten over what the vampire did to her," Jeromy sighs, "Try to understand, Merrick used mind control powers to seduce your mother away from me. Bree and I were able to overcome the hold he had on her, but she was already pregnant. I raised you as my own child, and I love you like my own child..."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"But my mother doesn't. She never wanted me and she still tries to avoid me because I remind her of him." Violet says, suddenly understanding.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Your mother loves you," Jeromy answers, but he doesn't sound very convinced. He's often wondered if Oregon actually loved her daughter at all.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"How could she love me? I'm a freak, a monster, a vampire, just like the one that mind-controlled her and used her!"</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"You aren't a monster, sweetheart," Jeromy protests, but Violet stomps off to her room, ending the discussion. She is a monster, a blood-sucking, mind-controlling freak, or at least she would be. But Lyle offered her a cure, and tomorrow she's going in for the treatment.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivq1-eVtMv1q_Xeun6v_6FIoQ0A3bChGl4_q5-iknA3LKLVxsMY8wh-OeRdeGtl5rOFKmAhpDL7izlGnyzcZ9DxHd4JG1MlRDdMpz-wvDuUftYm9UILGm_xEFoPG3S2woP6-lX5chb83Y/s1600/risk28f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivq1-eVtMv1q_Xeun6v_6FIoQ0A3bChGl4_q5-iknA3LKLVxsMY8wh-OeRdeGtl5rOFKmAhpDL7izlGnyzcZ9DxHd4JG1MlRDdMpz-wvDuUftYm9UILGm_xEFoPG3S2woP6-lX5chb83Y/s1600/risk28f.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Before her appointment at the science facility, Violet visits Beau Merrick in the swamp lair he's been holing up in since Oregon kicked him out of her house.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"You!" she screams at him, "You monster! You made my life a nightmare!"</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYCrHjWOz8LEna9UC6b2kX6X5gZFZoItciQ_KpgGizl0Pv3OjvfIhXNwsn2Eyh0Quu18CqvmuwPsfVrZId0DIiZvX4kPg47fnreD2fz0auo7Xo7Qs-qQqjMUFiDCANUppMSRHFxVCnKTk/s1600/risk28g.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYCrHjWOz8LEna9UC6b2kX6X5gZFZoItciQ_KpgGizl0Pv3OjvfIhXNwsn2Eyh0Quu18CqvmuwPsfVrZId0DIiZvX4kPg47fnreD2fz0auo7Xo7Qs-qQqjMUFiDCANUppMSRHFxVCnKTk/s1600/risk28g.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I knew you would seek me out eventually," Beau answers calmly, "You've been raised by humans, and that's confused you. You are vampire, my daughter. To them, you are a monster, but you are superior to them in every way. You are the predator, and they are the the prey. Put aside your human feelings and become what you truly are."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I don't want to a vampire," Violet answers, "I just want a normal, human life."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Beau snorts derisively, "A short, fearful life. We live longer, we're stronger, faster, smarter and have the power to read and control their minds. How can you want to be one of them?"</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It's a difficult question to answer. She <i>was</i> raised by humans and has always viewed her vampirism through human eyes, seeing herself as abnormal, a monster. It never occurred to her to look at humans through the eyes of a vampire. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Did you love my mother?" Violet asks.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Love?" Beau laughs, "Don't make that mistake, child. Your human lovers are for feeding, for sexual gratification and for breeding more of your kind. You'll have them for awhile, like pets, but they'll wither and die in just a fraction of your lifespan. Getting attached to them only brings pain."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Talking to the vampire confirmed Violet's decision to take the experimental cure. Living longer would be a curse, not a blessing, if it means losing love in the process. She's not going to spend a life feeding on Lyle then watching him grow old and die while she moves on to new prey. She walks in to the science facility with no doubts or fears left. She wants to be human.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEAnNA3RmP3yn1VdUahhAe-BPHvTvY6IskvPoMGN0xIhp4CaN_x7bdZGeUOUTP7DKvQ7HAdDhaMH3M6XGNwKE9lavza-xeNHj6jH8zhsrdsrNCmFPU14a97dccO4Yrifv5kKFjFTNBmD8/s1600/risk28i.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="375" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEAnNA3RmP3yn1VdUahhAe-BPHvTvY6IskvPoMGN0xIhp4CaN_x7bdZGeUOUTP7DKvQ7HAdDhaMH3M6XGNwKE9lavza-xeNHj6jH8zhsrdsrNCmFPU14a97dccO4Yrifv5kKFjFTNBmD8/s400/risk28i.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">They administered the treatment and told her it should work overnight. Violet goes to bed a vampire, and transforms in her sleep. For the first time in her life, she dreams. It's a simple dream about hanging around with Lyle after school, nothing anyone would make note of if they were used to having nightly dreams, but for Violet, it's a miracle.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZbyvHvEx9g35E1tTQDg-ayhJyOI8978X3_I3631PaqCbQALp6xdemUGfNltCpQGChkrxxxXhfWX7yjuvLLXwbm-UfC0w86PWK3SpYc45c_BoQgu4V9s0qNW2r9CTWGIZLOwblk5oY9SQ/s1600/risk28j.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="348" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZbyvHvEx9g35E1tTQDg-ayhJyOI8978X3_I3631PaqCbQALp6xdemUGfNltCpQGChkrxxxXhfWX7yjuvLLXwbm-UfC0w86PWK3SpYc45c_BoQgu4V9s0qNW2r9CTWGIZLOwblk5oY9SQ/s400/risk28j.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">When she wakes, she sees the change to her skintone, confirming that the treatment worked.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja5xrStAdPIbGQx1hHXHD3LMrLRpnpebvh0GsRMTMvZl8dQ8U1YjyU1HIhe61GcJF1eo46gmPWfjxFjfiD732oG59mhReUvlCLZV-r7FUmmXZI1idEd0qd752vz5JeuhZMWq8pJnSSTN8/s1600/risk28k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja5xrStAdPIbGQx1hHXHD3LMrLRpnpebvh0GsRMTMvZl8dQ8U1YjyU1HIhe61GcJF1eo46gmPWfjxFjfiD732oG59mhReUvlCLZV-r7FUmmXZI1idEd0qd752vz5JeuhZMWq8pJnSSTN8/s1600/risk28k.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">She's made pancakes before, as she hadn't yet reached the age where vampires must drink plasma to live, but now the process of food preparation brings her a new joy. She's not going to have to give up the pleasure of food, or ever have to drink the blood of a lover.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2sgy6CkEPYTnYkJm5kJpu7Y9aEjJVxSnttWQJPY0uZ7mXfmBwRu3JHrAdtgjX5Jzx5GOYLQkr3StneoZQ_OgOupTDSwEQ-KChe9PHE8GEl6M4q1FW8O8s3cRI32uILcWXVYw50-pMxbk/s1600/risk28n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="398" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2sgy6CkEPYTnYkJm5kJpu7Y9aEjJVxSnttWQJPY0uZ7mXfmBwRu3JHrAdtgjX5Jzx5GOYLQkr3StneoZQ_OgOupTDSwEQ-KChe9PHE8GEl6M4q1FW8O8s3cRI32uILcWXVYw50-pMxbk/s400/risk28n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Jeromy wasn't pleased that Violet took part in an experimental procedure without talking to him about it.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I talked to Beau Merrick, I learned from him what it is to be a vampire, and I knew I couldn't become the same kind of creature that preys on human minds like he did to my mother. I <i>had</i> to do this, Dad, and I'm happy I did it."</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV-2H9dIVegN4W8rGdjI1A6f9HfE1GhXL5rR-p-CNIyJeWwLaud9buucGJ0ct257h_pJON3tgit3wsxRZkIJcUMaI7slYsIUzx9Dx96UppHTI4iVWInQacps3AB1ebX4fvBkz8un0Uzeo/s1600/risk28l.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV-2H9dIVegN4W8rGdjI1A6f9HfE1GhXL5rR-p-CNIyJeWwLaud9buucGJ0ct257h_pJON3tgit3wsxRZkIJcUMaI7slYsIUzx9Dx96UppHTI4iVWInQacps3AB1ebX4fvBkz8un0Uzeo/s1600/risk28l.jpg" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Violet meets up with Lyle at the Red Rendezvous after school. "I'm cured," she says "How do I look?" He hadn't been in class all day to see the results of her treatment because he'd been caught stealing equipment from the chemistry lab again and had spent day in a counseling session.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Your eyes...they're beautiful," Lyle answers, "I mean, you were always beautiful, but now..."</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7wErRj1AL6zPm6uyOH2fqEPvHwDXYAQXTy6mwbUl9QgXzs2UWdBYBpkMeqgkP8oQszAtbyFYvsz_lMb8juflKf6-r9ZG3p_4jXQvAUm8SNW88qAAi0fsMfOj8M9ckrADQug3n-79QaqE/s1600/risk28m.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7wErRj1AL6zPm6uyOH2fqEPvHwDXYAQXTy6mwbUl9QgXzs2UWdBYBpkMeqgkP8oQszAtbyFYvsz_lMb8juflKf6-r9ZG3p_4jXQvAUm8SNW88qAAi0fsMfOj8M9ckrADQug3n-79QaqE/s1600/risk28m.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Lyle stops talking and kisses her. He'd spent a worried night wondering if he'd done the right thing in telling her about the cure while it was still so experimental, and arranging for her to take it. It was a huge risk, and while he takes lots of risks for himself, putting Violet at risk made him understand for the first time why his mother worries about <i>him</i> so much.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZk7v19DYd_u1X7DwVSu4m1ATv5ZhpSb_Xg6JgJp5dgziEz9qM4Kv9PFhZ3Sz_X82QR440TRAQfq4hh5adCcTIdvxXT0ICLc4eTkQutLPIfErtbTsCCSVnX2Z5CCSt2bePBSJ97Z8WwOU/s1600/risk28o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZk7v19DYd_u1X7DwVSu4m1ATv5ZhpSb_Xg6JgJp5dgziEz9qM4Kv9PFhZ3Sz_X82QR440TRAQfq4hh5adCcTIdvxXT0ICLc4eTkQutLPIfErtbTsCCSVnX2Z5CCSt2bePBSJ97Z8WwOU/s1600/risk28o.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Lyle comes home with Violet after school the next day. "That's a fully grown spire cut tiberium," he exclaims when he notices the glowing gem on the shelf, "They are incredibly rare. Where did you get it?"</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"That? It's always been there," Violet answers.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Your house is filled with remarkable treasures," Lyle notes. Every visit is a struggle with his kleptomania. He could probably swipe a few gems and relics without the family ever noticing, as they don't seem to be aware of what they have, but while Lyle's conscience doesn't prevent him from stealing from his parents, other people and public places, he's not going to steal from Violet's family, no matter how much his fingers twitch at the sight of such exposed and easily accessible treasures.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijVcHSwfrvNyVUlM8IpKL91wDoc_f1vWkUDuSrwAbCw07ozUpvtoxBAQFAzscnSbvG5FXX2lhyphenhyphenvhKjHVXj1jtvy5jwgGrJbjB3WMo9GOi67P01rXvfki8vHTwMnbHWzhM5lolzqrZlrlI/s1600/risk28p.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijVcHSwfrvNyVUlM8IpKL91wDoc_f1vWkUDuSrwAbCw07ozUpvtoxBAQFAzscnSbvG5FXX2lhyphenhyphenvhKjHVXj1jtvy5jwgGrJbjB3WMo9GOi67P01rXvfki8vHTwMnbHWzhM5lolzqrZlrlI/s1600/risk28p.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Violet gets up to sit next to him, "My parents aren't home, you know," she says.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"But they will be, soon," he answers. Repeated counseling sessions have taught Lyle to balance risk with consequences. Above all, don't get caught. "Violet, let's run away together," he says, speaking an idea that's been percolating in his mind for some time, "I've got my father's credit cards, we could just blow off finishing high school and run off to France, and be together. No more waiting to grow up."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Lyle, that's just crazy," Violet answers, "You are already way beyond us in school, but I kind of need to finish my education. It won't be much longer to wait. Can you hang in there with me?"</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLhjb4ie7qoXZGrGQ2wgTtvlDg-FjsYR0_s47jFdIic_UrPfqGxpUXxAbGVGdn9S91CB-tXVtQS3KlxxXxkbILrdp8FAO6rPwCgctCVQxr42XSTvewgryuecHajcMmk2sW6BttFr0vV-Q/s1600/risk28q.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLhjb4ie7qoXZGrGQ2wgTtvlDg-FjsYR0_s47jFdIic_UrPfqGxpUXxAbGVGdn9S91CB-tXVtQS3KlxxXxkbILrdp8FAO6rPwCgctCVQxr42XSTvewgryuecHajcMmk2sW6BttFr0vV-Q/s1600/risk28q.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"We'll do it your way," Lyle answers. He hadn't really expected her to go along with his plan, but it as worth a shot. "Promise me you'll marry me as soon as we graduate. No waiting."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"No waiting, I promise," Violet seals the deal with a kiss.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5xVBPIv22G_PJxH-73tl82aUpdCu-pu45pv8faOKkxIrx16pADse4pdlLBOP4kQ9G8Rv1WnQiY1ISL6pkK2iJaulx_skTzXn22lFcGTb0ue9-V_If_qUKHOuB3zxxBPraGyJbSJmdew0/s1600/risk28r.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5xVBPIv22G_PJxH-73tl82aUpdCu-pu45pv8faOKkxIrx16pADse4pdlLBOP4kQ9G8Rv1WnQiY1ISL6pkK2iJaulx_skTzXn22lFcGTb0ue9-V_If_qUKHOuB3zxxBPraGyJbSJmdew0/s1600/risk28r.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Jeromy comes home from work at that moment. "Okay, Lyle, time to go home."</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGaUPdOLDFWkmfE2fN6168ZCBAtWdilC8QES44mCfelSkdMQYds09G2pKVx9hmaki_wTHygYQuAwcs5QSUGz798cA4MtzZp_FP537QbtI1FgEUKEAoUO7hp_ic5fZaaEpx1J0lZgkuOXI/s1600/risk28t.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="325" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGaUPdOLDFWkmfE2fN6168ZCBAtWdilC8QES44mCfelSkdMQYds09G2pKVx9hmaki_wTHygYQuAwcs5QSUGz798cA4MtzZp_FP537QbtI1FgEUKEAoUO7hp_ic5fZaaEpx1J0lZgkuOXI/s400/risk28t.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Hunter becomes a teen. Lilly-Bo has contributed scrawny arms to the McDermott gene pool as her permanent legacy.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Violet and Lyle go one a double date with Hunter and his girlfriend Megan Wolf-Bayless.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Having seen how serious Violet's relationship with Lyle has become, Jeromy decides it's time to get to know the boy better. The Carlton family has a long history of criminal activity; Lyle is descended from both Bill Racket and Sinbad Rotter, some of the most notorious criminals in Twinbrook, and everyone knows his father Loren is a burglar, though his wife Chanel tries to maintain the family's cover with her career as a power broker.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Lyle realizes immediately he's been invited over with an ulterior motive. But he doesn't blame Violet, he knew sooner or later he'd be having a talk with his future father-in-law.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Lyle is smart enough to put his best face forward and keep his petty crimes to himself. Luckily his family has enough influence that all records of his misdeeds have been expunged. For a Carlton, there are no permanent records.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Jeromy finds himself impressed with Lyle's intelligence and decides not to judge him based on his family history.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Shepard McDermott passed away, and Oregon has to go to the mausoleum to retrieve his remains for the family graveyard. The only time she's ever been to the cemetery was when Beau summoned her there, so long ago now. And here he is again, lurking around when she goes tp pick up her father's urn.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"You! Why can't you leave me alone?" she demands.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I have left you alone," Beau points out, "I made the mistake of allowing you and your human husband to raise my daughter. You ruined her, made her doubt herself and hate her vampire nature. If I had been there to raise her, she would never have sought to make herself human."</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Then what are you dong here?" Oregon asks, avoiding any discussion of Violet with the vampire who fathered her.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I work here," Beau answers simply, "I'm surprised you didn't know that. You are here for your father's remains. I'm here to help you with that. You couldn't possibly think I'd still be after you now, could you? I had considered turning you, keeping you as a partner instead of watching you die, but you have aged too much for such considerations now."</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Oregon grieves the loss of her father, wishing she hadn't driven him out of the family home by inviting the vampire to live with them.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">His death and her graveyard encounter with Beau has made her consider her own mortality. How much longer does she have before she joins her grandmother and great-grandmother in a grave behind the house? The long life of a vampire seems to tempting now, and Oregon feels some regret. Would Beau have really turned her? There is no way to ever know.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Shepard is laid to rest beside his parents. As it has become a family tradition to lay a memento of the deceased's life on the grave, Shepard's grave is decorated with party balloons to commemorated his love of parties.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Graduation day has come, and Lyle comes to Violet's house that night, eager to get away from his family and join hers. With the Carlton house's barn visible from the McDermott's front yard, he'll always be reminded of where he came from.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Everyone has gone to bed except Violet, who waited up, expecting him.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"You made me a promise," Lyle says, serious in his greeting, "No more waiting."</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I want a wedding party," Violet says, "We can wait that much longer, can't we?" Lyle looks hurt, so Violet takes his hand, "We don't have to wait for everything...you can spend the night."</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"The night isn't enough, Violet, I want forever."</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Violet can't resist his urgency. "Move in for now, then, and we'll have a proper wedding as quick as I can arrange it."</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">That satisfies Lyle, and the couple kiss to seal the deal.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The waiting is at long last over. Both Violet and Lyle are relieved that their lovemaking won't involve a vampiric feeding.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Challenge Notes:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Generation 7 is on. I mentioned in the forum that since my misc. fun for No Strangers isn't much of a challenge for me since I rarely use NPC services to begin with that I would take on an extra misc. fun and test the new 'Live your Trait' rule. So, I've chosen Violet's Neurotic trait as the trait to live. She will have to fulfill neurotic wants to wash her hands and brush her teeth multiple times, and I will make sure she freaks out or checks the sinks/stove everyday to fulfill it.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Lyle has moved into the house and I'm planning on a wedding party for the weekend.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">His traits are Genius, Snob, Childish, Kleptomaniac and Daredevil (and the hidden Burglar trait). Because his rolled career of Freelance Scientist has an activity only allowed to the computer whiz trait (hacking), when he earns enough points I'm going to swap Snob for Computer Whiz. I'll keep the rest of his traits as is.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Violet got the Lucky trait for her adult trait. I rolled that one randomly. So, she's Neurotic, Artistic, Natural Cook, Perfectionist and Lucky. I'll get her into the culinary career when I next play.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Since my goal is perfect careers and Lyle's career doesn't have any measure of perfection, I'm going to have him max Logic at the very least. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Oregon has achieved her LTW, and Jeromy is not too far behind. He maxed athletic and is at level 9 Logic. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Hunter will be a teen for 6 more days or so.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I followed the R&R legacy example of curing my vampire as a teen using master controller. Because I also didn't trust the EA cure for YA's to get it right, lol. and also because I couldn't stand the skilling bonus any longer. Though she still seems to skill rapidly. She's maxed painting already with just a few paintings done. She's got cooking at level 6 before starting her career. Her LTW is Culinary Librarian.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I also cured Beau other daughter, Yesenia, because I want to keep control of the vampire population. Bree Merrick married and has turned her husband, They alreay have two baby vampires. I cured Yesenia before she got pregnant. She never turned her husband, so they are both mortal now. Interestingly, Yesenia named her daughter Bree.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">After Oregon kicked him out, Beau hooked up with widow Zo Wheloff-Rotter (I love the Wheloff-Rotter name combination, btw) so since she was elder he was safe from breeding for awhile. But now she's dead and Beau will likely be on the prowl.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>yangthecathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15083940950118677312noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4989886776485997216.post-35426138139283630822011-02-17T22:20:00.000-08:002011-02-18T06:06:45.430-08:00Chapter 27: Blood<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Since learning about her vampire nature, Violet has become obsessed with food.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">She only has so many years to enjoy real food before she becomes limited to drinking plasma juice.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I'd like to try frog's legs at least once before I have to give up real food," Violet confides to her friend Lyle Carlton. Normally, she avoids discussing her vampirism with the other children, not wanting to bring attention to her abnormality, but with Lyle it's different. Lyle is a genius, and he's done some research on vampires for her, giving her more information than her parents ever did.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx20-JNiTWMBw0wPms0PBv2bR0ZF5gWXIE2PAYOCDXUrVCnop7wgyMpfT6qRx5963eKhb6VDBNoZQY3eVUgcT8_uThv3Fb9zCt74cxCTZuYH5ztNqlTrcr2KaQSTZ7LbakuXBv5f66JDY/s1600/risk27d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx20-JNiTWMBw0wPms0PBv2bR0ZF5gWXIE2PAYOCDXUrVCnop7wgyMpfT6qRx5963eKhb6VDBNoZQY3eVUgcT8_uThv3Fb9zCt74cxCTZuYH5ztNqlTrcr2KaQSTZ7LbakuXBv5f66JDY/s1600/risk27d.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I found a website on vampire bloodlines," Lyle tells her. "It isn't possible for a vampire child to be born from two non-vampires. I think your parents are withholding vital information from you."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Are you sure about that?" Violet asks.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Absolutely, all my sources say the same thing, vampires are either born from at least one vampire parent, or they are turned into vampires by another vampire. Only grown ups can be turned, so you must have a vampire parent somewhere."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQb03cA0oe1H7ZQUGoN_Ew0cBcj3Eqtp0r0lHq1-opnrsjpeaMABEDRjgHLRlvZWBq5sOVoz87GSf3GKZhshlZetk6ovh5hztfYy7gbET_EzIc_7yLET-LCdJwDjVNtqzzVhSUgw1IDmU/s1600/risk27e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQb03cA0oe1H7ZQUGoN_Ew0cBcj3Eqtp0r0lHq1-opnrsjpeaMABEDRjgHLRlvZWBq5sOVoz87GSf3GKZhshlZetk6ovh5hztfYy7gbET_EzIc_7yLET-LCdJwDjVNtqzzVhSUgw1IDmU/s1600/risk27e.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Because she was curious about plasma juice, Jeromy bought some for her to try. "How is it?" he asks her as he tucks into his breakfast.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"It's okay," Violet answers, "Not as good as pancakes. Daddy, was I adopted?"</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Adopted?" Jeromy asks in surprise, "No, of course not. Where did you get that idea?"</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Violet tells her father about Lyle's research and his conclusion that she must have a vampire parent. "Is Aunt Bree my real mother? Is that why Mom looks at me funny sometimes, because she's not really my mother?"</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Aunt Bree is not your mother, sweetheart," Jeromy answers. He's not sure what to say about the rest of her questions. Luckily for him the school bus arrives right then, and he can avoid continuing this discussion for now.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr6b4hvjqoYtQOIr9LC88jB2RlhmXz2ybt7NTOA9qCbzkfKt6TZpRyYZ76XkqGPaNennGLRk9LwgTWxqeH300I2GJKDasuVgvmlwobeDJD-QwvQwMhMLfG-tfHPqFdcBDAd3zden7hfPo/s1600/risk27f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr6b4hvjqoYtQOIr9LC88jB2RlhmXz2ybt7NTOA9qCbzkfKt6TZpRyYZ76XkqGPaNennGLRk9LwgTWxqeH300I2GJKDasuVgvmlwobeDJD-QwvQwMhMLfG-tfHPqFdcBDAd3zden7hfPo/s1600/risk27f.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">That evening after the kids are in bed, Jeromy tells Oregon about Violet's questions.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"She's become obsessed with finding out about her vampire heritage, and I don't know how much to tell her. Maybe you should have a talk with her."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"You're doing great, Jeromy," Oregon says, "Tell her whatever you think is best."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Jeromy didn't tell her what Violet said about the funny looks Oregon gives her sometimes. "I know this is hard for you, but you're her mother, she should learn about this from you."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"What can I tell her that you can't?'" Oregon protests, "I'm not some vampire expert, you know. This talk just reminds me of <i>him</i>, can we please drop it?"</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf8-3QkJ__mZrEhmhw16v93oc3CtyRTMl0MiLhmpDb8WoGNJUyefsYCfmmRXyODMFRNRGfPZjeflkbJWoJZQ6ovJ4pDjgvkd_18ngxNtHm9WyWOZUce3_P39mIMUzSDevyugV1IiSFAIc/s1600/risk27g.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf8-3QkJ__mZrEhmhw16v93oc3CtyRTMl0MiLhmpDb8WoGNJUyefsYCfmmRXyODMFRNRGfPZjeflkbJWoJZQ6ovJ4pDjgvkd_18ngxNtHm9WyWOZUce3_P39mIMUzSDevyugV1IiSFAIc/s1600/risk27g.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Instead of driving to work the next afternoon, Jeromy takes a long jog. The exercise usually clears his mind, but today it does nothing to help. He understands how difficult it has been for Oregon to raise the vampire's child, but her reluctance is being seen as rejection by Violet. He wants Oregon to love her daughter as much as he does, but the vampire continues to stand between them.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1KNJryfYVj7sKEF-j-tsmBWzrj83lWMABwF2BUHHktCFSlvc8o7OFfTnWON9MwxERsYKVEZM_7yPru7B6EX4OeAAvlaOpYmdgYhEXhbMqA6KcTa9BapAISw6F09clHDonk_e3xDGeqy4/s1600/risk27h.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1KNJryfYVj7sKEF-j-tsmBWzrj83lWMABwF2BUHHktCFSlvc8o7OFfTnWON9MwxERsYKVEZM_7yPru7B6EX4OeAAvlaOpYmdgYhEXhbMqA6KcTa9BapAISw6F09clHDonk_e3xDGeqy4/s1600/risk27h.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">When he arrives at the grocery store where he works, Jeromy runs into Beau Merrick. It isn't a pleasant meeting for either of them, both men consider themselves wronged in some way by the other.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"You...human," Beau hisses, "Get out of my way."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDiPCMuC3Z_i_w0MsfJgSo7y0dqHAYCXoIAPDCf-7e5Wzy1NfeZEyKG4diDD6NYTC-gleZwO3sTmVP7atjOa4rRdt3O1W6Ervu-rhCUuH9mb3GQkTyrre8_lS3e5RjzvZseqUBAtAIcHc/s1600/risk27i.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDiPCMuC3Z_i_w0MsfJgSo7y0dqHAYCXoIAPDCf-7e5Wzy1NfeZEyKG4diDD6NYTC-gleZwO3sTmVP7atjOa4rRdt3O1W6Ervu-rhCUuH9mb3GQkTyrre8_lS3e5RjzvZseqUBAtAIcHc/s1600/risk27i.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Beau is the source of every problem Jeromy has at the moment. Oregon has never fully recovered from her feelings of violation after the vampire took control of her mind and made her his thrall, and now those unhealed wounds are creating identity issues for Violet. Jeromy has had to handle these problems on his own while stifling his own jealousy and outrage, and now he lashes out at Beau, unable to hold it in any longer.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhad7MqG0nSRTxJqyVExjzKg5KQEnHm0AxjMSLVEoJ7pHxp83rIk9uF7tMHbdSl8XhDOE16L1lo4aHxqgZUaIP77GYZKzs1gdfj_cE89o-ODm-8YBptnZoOs-HH5Qgea7x2e5h9rmxu-sc/s1600/risk27j.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhad7MqG0nSRTxJqyVExjzKg5KQEnHm0AxjMSLVEoJ7pHxp83rIk9uF7tMHbdSl8XhDOE16L1lo4aHxqgZUaIP77GYZKzs1gdfj_cE89o-ODm-8YBptnZoOs-HH5Qgea7x2e5h9rmxu-sc/s1600/risk27j.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Beau is not one to take a verbal lashing without fighting back. While Jeromy has always been fit and had a reputation as a dumb jock throughout high school, he's no match for the super strength of the vampire.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixs_gRIvx3TU-pmYrmHHq5pDfkQDG-NNncOo372xweCYJa5_5StmYvVuCLhZYKK4RfRpxFawU0oOthT1SloKWHvgZZBGoXeKdOA0r8BnfcXeiTnnGHIpd7SPmbqP8gTG5hNsF3QV642R0/s1600/risk27k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixs_gRIvx3TU-pmYrmHHq5pDfkQDG-NNncOo372xweCYJa5_5StmYvVuCLhZYKK4RfRpxFawU0oOthT1SloKWHvgZZBGoXeKdOA0r8BnfcXeiTnnGHIpd7SPmbqP8gTG5hNsF3QV642R0/s1600/risk27k.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The pathetic human stole his female and is raising his daughter. Giving him a public beating doesn't begin to make up for it, but it certainly felt good. His skin beginning to smoke in the daylight, Beau speeds off to seek the shelter of his lair until nightfall.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE6Rjt0sgSta4izublSpvye2vAOzV9OjbB7npiDH2wavuUUMoxOW5ELbqJXP026e2vOJlij0lScDwsSuYiAIVoZ4LdHhoKO8y-qDx5Ai1eogjah2LUJCFSVusR-EhJ3EHa2fjPD9vhlGA/s1600/risk27l.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="377" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE6Rjt0sgSta4izublSpvye2vAOzV9OjbB7npiDH2wavuUUMoxOW5ELbqJXP026e2vOJlij0lScDwsSuYiAIVoZ4LdHhoKO8y-qDx5Ai1eogjah2LUJCFSVusR-EhJ3EHa2fjPD9vhlGA/s400/risk27l.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">By the time he gets home from work, Oregon has heard about the fight. New travels fast in small towns.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Are you hurt?" Oregon asks, concerned.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Mostly my ego," Jeromy laughs. It was foolish of him to start a fight with Beau, as even if he had won, it would have proved nothing, solved none of his problems. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUbAmZ2afz37UPCYqIDidvegS_6X4PLU4BSdQtssiypX4Ki98NGXd7UkQt9_B84b4zDvaRAVcDLqFbpowguyCdy5D7xRkR5jwljx4VEggSa0ubEL9yJ89qkjUmEYKP3mrpd2kUSUm3jVE/s1600/risk27m.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUbAmZ2afz37UPCYqIDidvegS_6X4PLU4BSdQtssiypX4Ki98NGXd7UkQt9_B84b4zDvaRAVcDLqFbpowguyCdy5D7xRkR5jwljx4VEggSa0ubEL9yJ89qkjUmEYKP3mrpd2kUSUm3jVE/s1600/risk27m.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Oregon gets an appointment from her half-brother Josiah. He just broke up with Bertha Curious, and wants a new wardrobe to celebrate his freedom.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"So, you've been working out," Oregon observes, looking at his well-muscled and very exposed legs.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Yeah, I'm in the gym every day," Josiah beams proudly, "I like to show off my muscles. The chicks really dig it."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Chicks also really dig pants."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ9EVfZ_KssElXyHpRc_NGsucED5Z4Z4IR_rTarM57gUJ9M_HPaKcEHJPbbp1J-mCV5DSxBOJIU417uoV_s4KtDWsPLnZoGctZbSoHWQIuitdGpr7urEaqjSaseKrGs5P5_0xgTu7yxyc/s1600/risk27n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ9EVfZ_KssElXyHpRc_NGsucED5Z4Z4IR_rTarM57gUJ9M_HPaKcEHJPbbp1J-mCV5DSxBOJIU417uoV_s4KtDWsPLnZoGctZbSoHWQIuitdGpr7urEaqjSaseKrGs5P5_0xgTu7yxyc/s1600/risk27n.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"It's amazing how much you look like Dad," Oregon observes once she's got his wardrobe made over.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Yeah, I get that all time," Josiah says, "It really helps with the ladies, if you know what I mean."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Do you have any other interests?" Oregon asks with a laugh.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Sure, sports, working out, partying..."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Oregon wishes her younger half-brother luck with his romantic life and leaves for her next client.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDTjacBitwUyfaU9r232ClmGrk2H2KfHjTzX7-wx85u5eQ1Sz6LOkFCN2BUc81JJOlhOmyxFZtxFEy6HnFkOGhU0zuZ2oeM_z4DbdPR0kPuhiOQsTMEH5nxOet_A9NzgZbh5DlqZXrVG4/s1600/risk27o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDTjacBitwUyfaU9r232ClmGrk2H2KfHjTzX7-wx85u5eQ1Sz6LOkFCN2BUc81JJOlhOmyxFZtxFEy6HnFkOGhU0zuZ2oeM_z4DbdPR0kPuhiOQsTMEH5nxOet_A9NzgZbh5DlqZXrVG4/s400/risk27o.jpg" width="358" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Hunter becomes a child.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWBGAGnCvXTXzdk9BELme52cpyS-CfM4D2pwp9QRcydTNT-zsbFqPt8nW4azgNGSj9IdsdxIqZXRswJCO47zr5pwP1RSaTNaMbMHMQGtvkJLRpQFZkWVHkc5umBgKQHTCu2Xa3YcSRGWI/s1600/risk27p.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWBGAGnCvXTXzdk9BELme52cpyS-CfM4D2pwp9QRcydTNT-zsbFqPt8nW4azgNGSj9IdsdxIqZXRswJCO47zr5pwP1RSaTNaMbMHMQGtvkJLRpQFZkWVHkc5umBgKQHTCu2Xa3YcSRGWI/s1600/risk27p.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">At night, Violet feels the advantages of being vampire, her homework goes by in a flash, she feels smarter, stronger, more alert. But none of that makes up for what she will lose when she becomes a full grown vampire.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Violet has her teen birthday, bringing her one step closer to her dreaded adulthood.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0x-7rCai-amOQnQzUJHLxjHKHaQQmtxWOnt0woOymeIfGVDEF8URFm5Og56vRj6ulMmbiRNoCuD1E3VcKDTpOjMzTsk-qeU79ikGWsQ1M1KDJ5ZpnovC5kbFBgkvQ2xVc36PMvl5YTOI/s1600/risk27r.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0x-7rCai-amOQnQzUJHLxjHKHaQQmtxWOnt0woOymeIfGVDEF8URFm5Og56vRj6ulMmbiRNoCuD1E3VcKDTpOjMzTsk-qeU79ikGWsQ1M1KDJ5ZpnovC5kbFBgkvQ2xVc36PMvl5YTOI/s1600/risk27r.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The next morning she meets Lyle out on the bridge before school starts.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Thinking of jumping off?" she quips as she approaches him.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Drowning <i>would</i> be better than school," he answers.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8_bGy54yHzc1VlTnQa83kmZDEnI353bg0Ex6WRqtBpyj62ko3Iing2zsXPAE1hn0i305gNYTLdDrFZt9wnZ5N0icDppJggfeOD3vJ3ynRpq2J8CmYeX-HZ-FhbY1tWsqpEuz9MGtoas0/s1600/risk27s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8_bGy54yHzc1VlTnQa83kmZDEnI353bg0Ex6WRqtBpyj62ko3Iing2zsXPAE1hn0i305gNYTLdDrFZt9wnZ5N0icDppJggfeOD3vJ3ynRpq2J8CmYeX-HZ-FhbY1tWsqpEuz9MGtoas0/s1600/risk27s.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Don't be so dramatic," Violet laughs.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Don't worry, I have too much to live for. Like my first kiss." Lyle leans in close to her, preparing to kiss her, but the school bell rings at that moment. "Crap," he sighs, "Let's go pretend to learn stuff."</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiih9ga5vPTZ-0tIzuX9nTOtmK_tLAwfo6h_dJ5pu1MpqHs6W5DTqT31VZp4vWdzI8VT9DtxGJDPa7jCyQ34P6I3vNzwzTIKfcL3LqG2_v-Tes9Zw-sadcOcPvjI9OeCeUvYntGJygj9j4/s1600/risk27t.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiih9ga5vPTZ-0tIzuX9nTOtmK_tLAwfo6h_dJ5pu1MpqHs6W5DTqT31VZp4vWdzI8VT9DtxGJDPa7jCyQ34P6I3vNzwzTIKfcL3LqG2_v-Tes9Zw-sadcOcPvjI9OeCeUvYntGJygj9j4/s1600/risk27t.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Immediately after </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">school, they pick up where they left off.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I wasn't able to think about anything but you all day," Lyle says.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I guess it's a good thing you're such a genius, then," Violet says.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I'm a genius who is still waiting for his first kiss."</span><br />
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</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Let me help you with that, " Violet says, and kisses him.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Violet, I want you to know, when we get older and you need to feed, you can always feed on me."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Ew, you don't seriously want me to suck your blood? That's so gross."</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcBb4q7Xh8-sSltEM6FRjBvcMxsDvNdTrgaLQ3UAoZTHP5mL38fjSN4uowLaH6Jp_VQ8_ovtvwJiunNx9iPJ5zum0yn-4mmMXwMgXBOUJAdNB1Lw8IKP2_eNwGS5G77EVovGgMHK-eZYU/s1600/risk27w.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcBb4q7Xh8-sSltEM6FRjBvcMxsDvNdTrgaLQ3UAoZTHP5mL38fjSN4uowLaH6Jp_VQ8_ovtvwJiunNx9iPJ5zum0yn-4mmMXwMgXBOUJAdNB1Lw8IKP2_eNwGS5G77EVovGgMHK-eZYU/s1600/risk27w.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Actually, it sounds painful and totally scary. But everything I've read about vampire/human relationships is that they center around the feeding. It's not so much that I want blood sucked out of me as I'd be incredibly jealous if you did it to someone else."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Lyle, that's sweet in a twisted and bizarre kind of way. But I don't want to feed on anyone. I don't want to drink blood. The whole idea is totally disgusting."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Violet, you're a vampire. It's what vampires do."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Not me," Violet says defiantly.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Y0zRTD9D_p9e__DFV_iAyFtE7XLU-0N9v5EnuHr0teby0G3rfzXvm8SeORzO9CP2xAif2VWIrX1yNiTxUhiLHYvPrneK9JrE6bzyp3_nutAcGa0PuLeVvJCPM7x1FaAwoiTrrGvWo7s/s1600/risk27x.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Y0zRTD9D_p9e__DFV_iAyFtE7XLU-0N9v5EnuHr0teby0G3rfzXvm8SeORzO9CP2xAif2VWIrX1yNiTxUhiLHYvPrneK9JrE6bzyp3_nutAcGa0PuLeVvJCPM7x1FaAwoiTrrGvWo7s/s1600/risk27x.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Since it's Friday night, they head out to the Red Rendezvous for their first date. Lyle orders his first drink, and Violet gets a pizza. There's no way she's going to ever give up pizza.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYXxuScIRUzoCSOL2RSllgOZ4mRngwQFhywUxA0T29MF361nFZKdSAGZQWnwO3c9fRR5i-eUq-TPGRfHTtpghb4uF898ocF_QvKwRmSWmCLbJ_YQT6FsmM87mLNDDR1fl-X03xUL65ctQ/s1600/risk27y.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYXxuScIRUzoCSOL2RSllgOZ4mRngwQFhywUxA0T29MF361nFZKdSAGZQWnwO3c9fRR5i-eUq-TPGRfHTtpghb4uF898ocF_QvKwRmSWmCLbJ_YQT6FsmM87mLNDDR1fl-X03xUL65ctQ/s1600/risk27y.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The town has a strict curfew for teens, so the young couple only have enough time for a few dances and a little making out before Violet has to drive them home.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Maybe you should turn me, when we grow up," Lyle says quietly.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"You want to be a vampire?" Violet asks sharply. "Being a vampire is a curse."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I want to be with you, and I want you to be happy. If I were a vampire, you wouldn't be alone with it anymore, Violet."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Violet is quiet for a moment, then says, "I could never forgive myself if I did this to you."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh97fIzeuA7dBtdsR4kicqHqFoolp8W_TOhUbwlNy2KENLWuL8dypp1fsM4HE0ZJlFim1jAroJHehgVu1agKMqqYra8_pVBii85SMv6y_kx48sDzIsoQIb84z9l4aCyw5yWEptmjTfSirs/s1600/risk27z1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh97fIzeuA7dBtdsR4kicqHqFoolp8W_TOhUbwlNy2KENLWuL8dypp1fsM4HE0ZJlFim1jAroJHehgVu1agKMqqYra8_pVBii85SMv6y_kx48sDzIsoQIb84z9l4aCyw5yWEptmjTfSirs/s1600/risk27z1.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Lyle's house is just up the road from her house, so he walks the rest of the way home from there, his mind busy trying to figure out a way to help Violet. He's a genius, there must be something he can do...</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7gn9fPTiWLScD0yrs7c1HwzBxZ6avqAnpaX3goARh0lKfVzNol4jr0JoONzhQYnfbcfP7WzH1-Wp8QEAW1IhUn2Nt-CsrKRY1Q3SifF8sBfzjhGyT40ylGW2d36OCtDcSC3CSCYVMA4k/s1600/risk27z2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7gn9fPTiWLScD0yrs7c1HwzBxZ6avqAnpaX3goARh0lKfVzNol4jr0JoONzhQYnfbcfP7WzH1-Wp8QEAW1IhUn2Nt-CsrKRY1Q3SifF8sBfzjhGyT40ylGW2d36OCtDcSC3CSCYVMA4k/s1600/risk27z2.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Violet brushes her teeth three times after that date. Nothing against Lyle's kisses, but, you know, germs. They're everywhere, and they congregate inside mouths.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Challenge Notes:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Violet is confirmed as heir at this point. Her traits are Neurotic, Artistic, Perfectionist and Natural Cook. She's also got Pyromaniac from Beau, Pizza Appreciator from her mother, as well as Can Apprehend Burglars which all McDermotts have had since Cameron</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Lyle Carlton is the son of Loren Carlton and Chanel Knack-Racket. Loren Carlton is the bastard son of Sofia Carlton and and Sinbad Rotter. Chanel is the daughter of Julienne Knack and Bill Racket. From one of these ancestors, Lyle has the Burglar trait. Probably Sinbad or Bill, as they are some of the neighborhood criminals in Twinbrook out of the box.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Lyle definitely got his permanent 'someone pissed in my cornflakes' facial expression from Sinbad Rotter. His traits are Genius, Snob, Childish and Kleptomaniac. Genius is excellent, as Violet's spouse will be a Freelance Scientist.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I did lighten his hair when he turned teen. It's originally a canary yellow that really bugged me, so I made it more of a straw color. It looks platinum in the outdoor pics. I left the pink tips exactly as they were. The hair comes from Sofia Carlton.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Oregon has reached level 10 of the Stylist career. She's close to achieving her LTW of maxing painting (9) and guitar (8). Jeromy is a little further behind on his LTW of maxing athletic (7) and Logic (6). They both just turned adult, so they have time to skill more.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I'm a little sad about not keeping Jeromy's genes in the main family. But Violet was just too interesting, and I can only have one heir.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Shepard and Anne just gave birth to another son, Steve.</span>yangthecathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15083940950118677312noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4989886776485997216.post-11256591206853008092011-02-15T20:54:00.000-08:002011-02-15T20:54:23.574-08:00Chapter 26: Being Normal<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRAEMff_0ugDcN4vF203F9OfBmp1I51bhNPmG857oog_4xry0hYU2Cq917gEfUkD5ulsgnxYzY4Zo3CAy3izh7lNWdRplTUAyjRcghNyWN8Gm9Ew94RT3AKoGptkXHhfcde5z_h80OAE8/s1600/risk26a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRAEMff_0ugDcN4vF203F9OfBmp1I51bhNPmG857oog_4xry0hYU2Cq917gEfUkD5ulsgnxYzY4Zo3CAy3izh7lNWdRplTUAyjRcghNyWN8Gm9Ew94RT3AKoGptkXHhfcde5z_h80OAE8/s400/risk26a.jpg" width="342" /></a></div><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Oregon is surprised when Bianca Kindle (formerly Merrick) calls her for a makoever. But a client is a client, so Oregon drives out to Bianca's house, only to be accused of stealing Bianca's husband Beau as soon as she arrives on the doorstep.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Steal him! He used his vampire mind control on me and seduced me!" Oregon shouts angrily. But Bianca is having none of it, and the argument continues fruitlessly.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwpl3WNpkfAFcEDe5F0ZEdZpWXhnxwBUTaJpUPTBBgRisGCBToorJ79aIt5w2NonM9GcHnzojBjWsPst18E6UzbnJFw6FRG0K-PqYJpQk2EqCMJiPdo9r9ydKbJwFLcy_tNP9-hztwXGg/s1600/risk26b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="363" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwpl3WNpkfAFcEDe5F0ZEdZpWXhnxwBUTaJpUPTBBgRisGCBToorJ79aIt5w2NonM9GcHnzojBjWsPst18E6UzbnJFw6FRG0K-PqYJpQk2EqCMJiPdo9r9ydKbJwFLcy_tNP9-hztwXGg/s400/risk26b.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Finally, Oregon gives up trying to make Bianca understand. "I'm not the only stylist in town" Oregon sighs, exasperated, "Why did you ask for me if you hate me so much?"</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"You're the only stylist that knows anything about fashion. The other stylist makes everyone look like a clown. And you did such a great job with Chadd," Biance answers sheepishly. Chadd Kindle, Bianca's young second husband comes out at that moment holding their newborn daughter Annmarie.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn17MQbJWUGVPbB1GypPfmjQF5V2_Uq7X8qywz48SoymsFckcG1MudhCqK9h6TaXgErxKukFoYnYph2ahXB4jfT7BjXCF2-6AHD0Z8QmyDikJ1RXoHnmyPFJPmSgIbqOOPEVpzP7d1Dhk/s1600/risk26c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="378" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn17MQbJWUGVPbB1GypPfmjQF5V2_Uq7X8qywz48SoymsFckcG1MudhCqK9h6TaXgErxKukFoYnYph2ahXB4jfT7BjXCF2-6AHD0Z8QmyDikJ1RXoHnmyPFJPmSgIbqOOPEVpzP7d1Dhk/s400/risk26c.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Violet becomes a toddler, glowing skin and eyes a sure sign that she's a vampire like her father.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipmzfQTRl3WS9Z-O1eas_oC2rWUbpgNs-Bxpbjg0Mu4Rx2GO3DL7kHvoO2VgW6Zn8CHlrkT88PVAyvAC45jaRBymO7rvWBWWp1WHl7VCG5ZrhrdvL0PXzlWO2GNRTIfCpxyuzmYCGMamw/s1600/risk26d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="390" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipmzfQTRl3WS9Z-O1eas_oC2rWUbpgNs-Bxpbjg0Mu4Rx2GO3DL7kHvoO2VgW6Zn8CHlrkT88PVAyvAC45jaRBymO7rvWBWWp1WHl7VCG5ZrhrdvL0PXzlWO2GNRTIfCpxyuzmYCGMamw/s400/risk26d.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">While he was kissing her neck, his teeth grazed over skin. Oregon flinched and pulled away with a sharp squeal.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I'm sorry," Jeromy sighs, "I should have been more careful."</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I don't want you to have to be careful," Oregon says, her eyes welling with tears, "I don't want to be reminded of him every time you nuzzle my neck."</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"The memories will fade in time, I'm sure," Jeromy tries to be reassuring, doing his best to keep his own jealousy at bay. It wasn't her fault, he reminds himself, she didn't want Beau.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Oregon pretends to be comforted. Sometimes she's sure that Beau is still in her head, calling to her, influencing her, and she's afraid that he will never stop pursuing her.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghkK2XISzmq2cGwtha_sMf8n6KxuJGBj92wxE4AhmZ06sDBC7a63bhjBTjTyVHevk7QWA8v5lZYZ5mshAQ21i-uqXuPQKHyFXmECmGVrupWoMIarvsA0_wWSFfY2CqvdZ9_JRoiHcN3wY/s1600/risk26e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghkK2XISzmq2cGwtha_sMf8n6KxuJGBj92wxE4AhmZ06sDBC7a63bhjBTjTyVHevk7QWA8v5lZYZ5mshAQ21i-uqXuPQKHyFXmECmGVrupWoMIarvsA0_wWSFfY2CqvdZ9_JRoiHcN3wY/s1600/risk26e.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I want to have a baby, your baby," she says, hoping to strengthen the bond she has with her husband, and weaken the bond the vampire forced on her.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I'd love to have another baby," Jeromy agrees, "But we shouldn't distinguish between mine and...not mine. Violet is my child as much as any other we'll have."</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG8O1e67mC-WSGKUVKPrZvxuTh_MdwBc3hHi9hbFQzvCseKFZ4PXcHLFKSvo4a838N6vgn1m_7GcefgdxEwPUg70mv5N4nuFkL73Q85USgqp_yNvqmmVsqxoGel6BRDC_hVkFDyd-kraU/s1600/risk26f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG8O1e67mC-WSGKUVKPrZvxuTh_MdwBc3hHi9hbFQzvCseKFZ4PXcHLFKSvo4a838N6vgn1m_7GcefgdxEwPUg70mv5N4nuFkL73Q85USgqp_yNvqmmVsqxoGel6BRDC_hVkFDyd-kraU/s1600/risk26f.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Oregon is the professional and Jeromy is the primary caretaker. He makes good on his promise to care for Violet as though she were truly his daughter, treating her in every way like his own flesh and blood. He won't allow the child to suffer for what her father did.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibLIgDNIG1nasejxZaLdAn_4tfnCLOdU4TvWD4dxHijfHYHLUfexlzQZmlZ6TuOGEFbuq47dN3czGQQe9iH8xwH_hCJ2GACBqbF6nbumbycNJDycdoSaKpn56CqFrpbsJO9AKxxZj2_0U/s1600/risk26g.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibLIgDNIG1nasejxZaLdAn_4tfnCLOdU4TvWD4dxHijfHYHLUfexlzQZmlZ6TuOGEFbuq47dN3czGQQe9iH8xwH_hCJ2GACBqbF6nbumbycNJDycdoSaKpn56CqFrpbsJO9AKxxZj2_0U/s400/risk26g.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Jeromy and Oregon have a son. Since Violet was named for her mother's favorite color, the couple decide to name their son for a color, as well. Jeromy's father's last name was Green, so they name their son Hunter, a shade of green. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ2PP3uz6aqpNqN3I3QPOY370BuT4uXZgr4aFzIpbKOKnZpnsLbYQ4ti0RVKUUiWVf5vzCK8GbQnQRI6xMhH9WlP_ePF7e3plW8TUfuBuWliOntHlZeES8NqYcwsbX7kw_f0SnqZkE3G0/s1600/risk26h.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ2PP3uz6aqpNqN3I3QPOY370BuT4uXZgr4aFzIpbKOKnZpnsLbYQ4ti0RVKUUiWVf5vzCK8GbQnQRI6xMhH9WlP_ePF7e3plW8TUfuBuWliOntHlZeES8NqYcwsbX7kw_f0SnqZkE3G0/s1600/risk26h.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Even after his son born, Jeromy continues to treat both children as his own, but Oregon has a hard time showing affection for her daughter, who already bears all the signs of being a vampire. Every time Oregon looks at her, she sees Beau, and she shudders. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh70A9grurMbhfHfKTJBaHmpa1H8POTwAxunL-Wcc7NNvZovj04EKGgkLQTFR3P51QFvBWoHZx_2ixIo_-g6qlJ-NrUBseYArCWG07Z8WnMy4BnPs1ZIHZeQ7i31A0Errr93-PdYd87dm8/s1600/risk26i.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh70A9grurMbhfHfKTJBaHmpa1H8POTwAxunL-Wcc7NNvZovj04EKGgkLQTFR3P51QFvBWoHZx_2ixIo_-g6qlJ-NrUBseYArCWG07Z8WnMy4BnPs1ZIHZeQ7i31A0Errr93-PdYd87dm8/s1600/risk26i.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Hunter becomes a toddler. He has his grandfather Shepard's eye and hair color, and seems to take most after the McDermott side of the family. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"As long as he doesn't look like my father," Jeromy quips. Buck Green was not an attractive man. Jeromy fortunately takes after his mother.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxeUqXZRDyXiB-8f2OisiNaVxIkQ4iiINnsO8_KxJu_2FEvESB1FA2pt-aJ9vpxFMdLqNMQZ1G4ggV30v3sHCs1YlxTepJ0lgtWELB5TmLrjDqJkVhW4nT7ZSlZINq9OqC5DOboyuZkK0/s1600/risk26j.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxeUqXZRDyXiB-8f2OisiNaVxIkQ4iiINnsO8_KxJu_2FEvESB1FA2pt-aJ9vpxFMdLqNMQZ1G4ggV30v3sHCs1YlxTepJ0lgtWELB5TmLrjDqJkVhW4nT7ZSlZINq9OqC5DOboyuZkK0/s1600/risk26j.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">When Violet becomes a child, she takes over the bedroom on the third floor across from the nursery, the one that used to belong to her great-grandparents, Allyson and Ewan. The room is redecorated in her favorite color, sea foam.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Though young, Violet is a perfectionist, and always makes her bed every morning.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2YB7aESrohDvYtUBGdtB_foxMrfiQrtsA-CW4dE8h3HqZHGC-FRn0yb6B1Pa4qUMZRCFk_eV2Dn3nOeBvnIudv4Xzwk_W2i5nBX2Lwzn3vLKKc-yti2hIs0AXTSWPx36cG4dKjbE1UnE/s1600/risk26k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2YB7aESrohDvYtUBGdtB_foxMrfiQrtsA-CW4dE8h3HqZHGC-FRn0yb6B1Pa4qUMZRCFk_eV2Dn3nOeBvnIudv4Xzwk_W2i5nBX2Lwzn3vLKKc-yti2hIs0AXTSWPx36cG4dKjbE1UnE/s1600/risk26k.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">On Friday evening, Oregon and Jeromy host a small dinner party for a few friends. Newlyweds Carter and Pauline are invited, as well as Bree and her husband Bennie (Bree shows up, but Bennie does not) and Oregon's cousin Karen and her husband Armando.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Shepard wasn't invited, but he has keen sense for parties and just happened to drop by when this one started.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilsH0e_Tt_5g-mhIaOHBBe3IhtS5G9U6ls7iZrwv8ghKutS3DZr1sOe5uTnGNrCaTA3xZUihs1gvqjmbOmhuECy_0FsZys1a-3_LaZQfzyeQAr6qFrfe9sPOPhyHA63z2P0Jm5_r-jSn8/s1600/risk26l.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilsH0e_Tt_5g-mhIaOHBBe3IhtS5G9U6ls7iZrwv8ghKutS3DZr1sOe5uTnGNrCaTA3xZUihs1gvqjmbOmhuECy_0FsZys1a-3_LaZQfzyeQAr6qFrfe9sPOPhyHA63z2P0Jm5_r-jSn8/s1600/risk26l.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Although Bree is Violet's half-sister, she is introduced as Aunt Bree. Someday Violet will learn the truth, but her parents think she's a bit young for that now.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"100% Plasma Fruit Nectar," Jeromy says as he offers the glass to Bree, "I hope that's all right." The last thing he'd want is to have one of his guests go hungry at his dinner party.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Perfect," Bree answers, "Now I won't have to gnaw on your father-in-law."</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Violet can't keep her eyes off her Aunt Bree. She's never met anyone before with skin and eyes that glow the way hers do.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Violet makes note of the fact that Aunt Bree doesn't eat the grilled salmon, she just drinks the plasma fruit nectar. She'll have to ask later what a plasma fruit is, as she's never heard of it.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Although there are normal drinks served up at the bar, Carter decides to drink a glass of plasma fruit nectar. Pauline rushes past him in an awful hurry.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Pauline is pregnant.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Oregon corners her cousin Karen in the kitchen and demands she let her make her over. "It's on me," Oregon says, "I just can't have my relatives going around dressed like that. It's bad for my business."</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"What's wrong with my clothes?" Karen wants to know.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Everything!" Oregon answers, exasperated.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgck6xf8Pk5z1h0dSHRbxu35U2CxxUsW0ppFRVG4OTMtMkcKCJjQwDXJvGFUjYo8KBirgKUVc2oRW8tfccGy3WXadPq9OnBSz0HmvbWWKO4c-SdCzOAq89kkfbUX77qYTjI_s7wESzzmeU/s1600/risk26r.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgck6xf8Pk5z1h0dSHRbxu35U2CxxUsW0ppFRVG4OTMtMkcKCJjQwDXJvGFUjYo8KBirgKUVc2oRW8tfccGy3WXadPq9OnBSz0HmvbWWKO4c-SdCzOAq89kkfbUX77qYTjI_s7wESzzmeU/s1600/risk26r.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Okay, but I want all my fabrics to be organic. I don't want this makeover to add to my carbon footprint." Karen is very eco-conscious.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Oregon gets Karen into an organic cotton fair trade twin set and a pair of second hand jeans. She doesn't have any make up that wasn't tested on animals, so Karen does without.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Her uncle Carter asks Violet weird questions about her sensitivity to the sun. "Do you, like, have to stay away from open windows during the day?" Violet has no idea what he's talking about.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"That doesn't happen until adulthood," Bree says over a second glass of nectar, "Leave the poor girl alone."</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Carter regrets trying the plasma nectar.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Not wanting anyone to feel unwelcome, Oregon and Jeromy spend some time with the party crashers. Shepard tells Oregon all about his son Josiah, who just became a young adult.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Joanna Prattle-Baker is their next door neighbor and a good friend of both Jeromy and Oregon. She's also Carter's half-sister, the daughter of Marina Prattle and Buddy Baker.</span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The next morning, Oregon is back to work. Nawwaf Wolf-Ball has read an article in a fashion magazine about a stylist in Riverview who started a hot trend with the Han Solo look. Nawwaf wants in on this hot new trend. Oregon obliges.</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtUYZxwVqKHDrVH7hRbpyrqnTtIp6u8-IhRS7ylqqx4_d8vseLNPcmD63C8hcTbBgFtesUJdWGom8vMo61I6B2GUVI6jurTLFbdO_AYFjHefowRwyitT-vOkVgAMZskNNRJRiER_xJRpw/s1600/risk26w.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtUYZxwVqKHDrVH7hRbpyrqnTtIp6u8-IhRS7ylqqx4_d8vseLNPcmD63C8hcTbBgFtesUJdWGom8vMo61I6B2GUVI6jurTLFbdO_AYFjHefowRwyitT-vOkVgAMZskNNRJRiER_xJRpw/s1600/risk26w.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"What was that juice you gave Aunt Bree at the party last night?" Violet questions her father, "No one else drank it except Uncle Carter, and it made him sick."</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"That was plasma fruit nectar," Jeromy explains, "It will make most people sick."</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"But not Aunt Bree," Violet observes, "And Aunt Bree didn't eat any food. Why?"</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Aunt Bree doesn't eat regular people food, she just drinks plasma." Jeromy and Oregon hadn't discussed how and when they were going to tell Violet about her vampire nature, so he's just winging it here, taking each as question as it comes. He's not going to tell any lies he'll have to take back later, but he's not ready to talk about blood drinking just yet, either. "Your Aunt Bree is a vampire."</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Am I a vampire?" Violet asks. "My skin and eyes glow like Aunt Bree's"</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Yes, you are a vampire," Jeromy confirms her suspicions.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"But I eat regular food."</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"You will until you grow up. Then, regular food will make you sick the way plasma makes norm... non-vampires sick."</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"So, what do you want for lunch?" Jeromy dives into the fridge, hoping Violet's questions are done for now, wanting to discuss this with Oregon before he gets any deeper into it.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Violet thinks about a future where regular food makes her sick and she has to drink some plasma juice instead. She heard how her father almost referred to non-vampires as 'normal', but stopped himself. Vampires are not normal, she surmises. Violet would very much like to be normal, to eat normal food and have normal eyes and skin. Why does she have to be a vampire?</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Challenge Notes:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So, misc fun</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">half-siblings is achieved. That's actually all that's required of this generation, except for raising the kids to adulthood.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Oregon is up to level 9 of the stylist career. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Jeromy still has his part time job, but he may quit soon, as it doesn't make much money and I have better things for him to do. But money is actually very tight this generation, the bills are 12k a week and until recently Oregon wasn't making very much money. Now she makes over 1,000 per makeover and gets in two or three makeovers a day, 5 days a week, so we are finally in the clear for getting the bills paid. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I didn't roll for heir this time because I wanted the choice between the vampire child and the normal one. Right now the Violet is heavily favored for heir because she's already got a story developing around her. Also, the heir will be going into the culinary career, and Violet has some issues with food and normalcy that could play into that.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Hunter is just a toddler, lol. So I won't know if he's in the running until he gets older. But as of right now, Violet has more story.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Credits to the <a href="http://r2simslegacy.blogspot.com/">R&R Legacy</a> for the hot new Han Solo trend.</span>yangthecathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15083940950118677312noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4989886776485997216.post-61891771357840196662011-02-13T07:37:00.000-08:002011-02-13T07:37:22.862-08:00Chapter 25: Violet<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_gplAqpDnFgSg6IZb90TKTT5RNL2qBZgyPoQ6Z0vW4y4pWYhB79VCM0uAMGolCbEldiUdLAtZdRO9pxOiQAkDBddkk0fzvud8_In9pSuxQJVmW9OAWncdO5wfwi1uWS8ZfxmXBTiAonY/s1600/risk25sa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_gplAqpDnFgSg6IZb90TKTT5RNL2qBZgyPoQ6Z0vW4y4pWYhB79VCM0uAMGolCbEldiUdLAtZdRO9pxOiQAkDBddkk0fzvud8_In9pSuxQJVmW9OAWncdO5wfwi1uWS8ZfxmXBTiAonY/s400/risk25sa.jpg" width="347" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Carter becomes a man. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">And immediately dresses for a successful military career.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPhWEajWK8s5ehu0jn5TWdmbnH3SVzy5uPQHMfNCd2fsv212xU2ycvMplQwrxb1F1KJ2FXXDohCxOmvkSDZSDSpp1N4MK6R_T3fwTX7Daroi86EUl3HJ2lOB_OFJom5HARGgAvVf3Sgg0/s1600/risk25b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="347" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPhWEajWK8s5ehu0jn5TWdmbnH3SVzy5uPQHMfNCd2fsv212xU2ycvMplQwrxb1F1KJ2FXXDohCxOmvkSDZSDSpp1N4MK6R_T3fwTX7Daroi86EUl3HJ2lOB_OFJom5HARGgAvVf3Sgg0/s400/risk25b.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Oregon had thought the queasiness had come from her nervousness about kicking Beau out. But the symptoms persisted even after the vampire left and Jeromy moved in, and it has become obvious that the nausea has another cause.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Telling Jeromy about the pregnancy was difficult at first. She had wanted to Beau behind them and get on with their lives, but now she was carrying a permanent reminder of her affair with the vampire. Jeromy is the sweetest, most understanding guy in the world, but Oregon fears this might be the final straw for him.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKTPz4OffiIXHzAtNUmKh7Kxir15lW5eld-m6baclpGG4aWPqyq7FZFt5bDfCHA3XHXy4Xx9zB8LSCKBFe09aeIb9CCGGgwDMf1SPPj7OQ_7pivTBRCdXQ_yIowYa8ncLzP5ATeww9SMA/s1600/risk25d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="377" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKTPz4OffiIXHzAtNUmKh7Kxir15lW5eld-m6baclpGG4aWPqyq7FZFt5bDfCHA3XHXy4Xx9zB8LSCKBFe09aeIb9CCGGgwDMf1SPPj7OQ_7pivTBRCdXQ_yIowYa8ncLzP5ATeww9SMA/s400/risk25d.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">She needn't have worried, Jeromy's response is supportive.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"You still want to marry me, even though I'm carrying another man's child?" Oregon asks, not sure she could be as patient if the situation were reversed.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"The baby may have come from Merrick, but it will be our child," Jeromy insists, "I won't abandon you now."</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXNinU4d1W7WmOItM2QRGxPuR79bCyJSgwLA5idOuVtXDBg2K4nm8j2CK3LsYtrY_4pgaPHWBJlYcCGXKEAQakViJBDKG8uJpOYVXdvhqLhxaf2pMr3rPAg14ms4oeFOSKLlQ-7Rl1NBU/s1600/risk25e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXNinU4d1W7WmOItM2QRGxPuR79bCyJSgwLA5idOuVtXDBg2K4nm8j2CK3LsYtrY_4pgaPHWBJlYcCGXKEAQakViJBDKG8uJpOYVXdvhqLhxaf2pMr3rPAg14ms4oeFOSKLlQ-7Rl1NBU/s400/risk25e.jpg" width="395" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The couple were taking their time about planning their wedding, but with a baby on the way, they decide to get married quickly before the baby is born.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlvWTKbuwfC1-F8GuWG7P6BL-FD-YqDUm92B5pZkeKZn2iOV-q16HesEederTnzqFeLR3Znb-w7dYzj1lcMhf4QMgYaLQSjDpAQlLVdV3apHaGehuksZWmCkYmXKFxZLwhGZCNGwBdaW4/s1600/risk25f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlvWTKbuwfC1-F8GuWG7P6BL-FD-YqDUm92B5pZkeKZn2iOV-q16HesEederTnzqFeLR3Znb-w7dYzj1lcMhf4QMgYaLQSjDpAQlLVdV3apHaGehuksZWmCkYmXKFxZLwhGZCNGwBdaW4/s1600/risk25f.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">They held their wedding the next day. The timing wasn't convenient for all their guest; Oregon's uncle Wyoming had to leave right after he arrived. He had important Superstar Athlete business to attend to. His daughter Karen stayed behind for the party.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Ewan's ghost, who hadn't been able to find his grave this morning, flits around among the guests.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGgv-u6UstxGBl5OfdWxmwPVwGr0TTG3bRyFxSQdoy3zD5PnxPp-wiabNN7RIjqMXh9MXjIr60YvM_53grVXVBIz-wzdbEKkGAdNndgtT1YAwRyQMHSSgwgdPYCVbWQ7z5ptCgGUX06jY/s1600/risk25h.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGgv-u6UstxGBl5OfdWxmwPVwGr0TTG3bRyFxSQdoy3zD5PnxPp-wiabNN7RIjqMXh9MXjIr60YvM_53grVXVBIz-wzdbEKkGAdNndgtT1YAwRyQMHSSgwgdPYCVbWQ7z5ptCgGUX06jY/s1600/risk25h.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">As soon as their guests all arrive, Oregon and Jeromy prepare to make their vows. Shepard, Anne and their son Josiah, now a teen, are here, along with Oregon's mother Lilly-Bo, and Carter and his girlfriend Pauline Sargeant. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIrTbjX2M0Q_-aRZyxKQ5UZfPBVLKaSt86Ku2uuz1ZQKilV7sVs30kEI-77Kc_41NR7B2A-yEiLW4SyP9mCsImvCwINbbNhbc8c4rSSWZ3Vz9jMK91x3gL92ktiteLiDes0lT1NIXNEZU/s1600/risk25i.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIrTbjX2M0Q_-aRZyxKQ5UZfPBVLKaSt86Ku2uuz1ZQKilV7sVs30kEI-77Kc_41NR7B2A-yEiLW4SyP9mCsImvCwINbbNhbc8c4rSSWZ3Vz9jMK91x3gL92ktiteLiDes0lT1NIXNEZU/s1600/risk25i.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Vows are exchanged.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzKZibZQVTPcLSStrpbbswda8TTaytV8Wf_ljvs5vkFz1vH5bnKtVfACfx0x3dH4_wFYFESkjam_B9Pd0v-NZgoD2Rm5p1HIMYsU-UeFSsY0MLqqlZVQkFXbzQ7S-hnaj67XzqrpakYvY/s1600/risk25j.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzKZibZQVTPcLSStrpbbswda8TTaytV8Wf_ljvs5vkFz1vH5bnKtVfACfx0x3dH4_wFYFESkjam_B9Pd0v-NZgoD2Rm5p1HIMYsU-UeFSsY0MLqqlZVQkFXbzQ7S-hnaj67XzqrpakYvY/s1600/risk25j.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">And rings.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigf1ZXtp0XmhCfU96Ns2JkgjABZ0kxtMjGQPBlWpRs1i2heKm8Ljud9SL8i5hrv3b12Vao632P5whxNLZBSOXsJe1fMP2OpLsoLBc3Khb6z5511z36fDFDfNfgBuNA-9NgcxM7jHTXyO0/s1600/risk25k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigf1ZXtp0XmhCfU96Ns2JkgjABZ0kxtMjGQPBlWpRs1i2heKm8Ljud9SL8i5hrv3b12Vao632P5whxNLZBSOXsJe1fMP2OpLsoLBc3Khb6z5511z36fDFDfNfgBuNA-9NgcxM7jHTXyO0/s1600/risk25k.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Romantic wedding kiss.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Audience reaction.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-He21ec4ZVG4qIWjxCYsfKvJVm0pbQq4cI3qjwa3Zj_DenmYUgk_cG1E_8fb7iNezWgGFz9DdT4DhF8sGn_12gV8nDyJYOKvZ0BbN5isUkewKGgOgpo1afyxGNQ1Y75dvmbVOqClYRh4/s1600/risk25m.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-He21ec4ZVG4qIWjxCYsfKvJVm0pbQq4cI3qjwa3Zj_DenmYUgk_cG1E_8fb7iNezWgGFz9DdT4DhF8sGn_12gV8nDyJYOKvZ0BbN5isUkewKGgOgpo1afyxGNQ1Y75dvmbVOqClYRh4/s1600/risk25m.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"So, both of you have had out of wedlock children with my son..." Ghosts aren't that great at small talk.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSxUVFXGEseG-6B8puqLVsjqYiOnVFUUO8Rkmo1EY1G8oCp4krZmZztkd_GYOFgPCz2e5j7vKh2Sd7OXPRyJBiqsU_7VjXBD75GjVCqomilWHNW123ttCa5cZRP8xn2GFDaNR7xUl21mE/s1600/risk25n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSxUVFXGEseG-6B8puqLVsjqYiOnVFUUO8Rkmo1EY1G8oCp4krZmZztkd_GYOFgPCz2e5j7vKh2Sd7OXPRyJBiqsU_7VjXBD75GjVCqomilWHNW123ttCa5cZRP8xn2GFDaNR7xUl21mE/s1600/risk25n.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It isn't a wedding until someone plays 'Yes ma'am, I do' on guitar. While his bride performs, Jeromy gets to know his father-in-law. Jeromy is the youngest of three siblings, and both of his parents died when he was a teen. He didn't invite his brother and sister, as the one has severe anger management issues and the other is insane.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLfjtO0oEMDa5PsYYQlZjw1hILBaDNNV5WXFbhYxE1vBycWdkx719UOOkXRaQDfzQntvpmAAGti5S_1t6PG570njgC82PXQ1wnuX38t87gr4O96XY8tUHJeaZlH1Gcl9sOu0KSN3gDDI4/s1600/risk25o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="380" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLfjtO0oEMDa5PsYYQlZjw1hILBaDNNV5WXFbhYxE1vBycWdkx719UOOkXRaQDfzQntvpmAAGti5S_1t6PG570njgC82PXQ1wnuX38t87gr4O96XY8tUHJeaZlH1Gcl9sOu0KSN3gDDI4/s400/risk25o.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Pauline is still in high school, and she hopes her prospective husband will be an astronaut by the time she graduates and is ready to marry. She wants to have an important husband to show off to her friends. He probably won't be that high in his career, but he's pretty sure he will at least be past the latrine cleaner stage by then.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSRa4q6gPp_VMe9tuUA5oFV_w39wqWe3mN-UrTSIf8_sVP0e1bkpSX8C2Em4DbF1SP04mTXjFP1Zn0EkdVhAYBAvT2c_lQmMM_YcGkJM9zuknE0LyjpngPnp12XY8JUVlCVNv9H4MrfB0/s1600/risk25p.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSRa4q6gPp_VMe9tuUA5oFV_w39wqWe3mN-UrTSIf8_sVP0e1bkpSX8C2Em4DbF1SP04mTXjFP1Zn0EkdVhAYBAvT2c_lQmMM_YcGkJM9zuknE0LyjpngPnp12XY8JUVlCVNv9H4MrfB0/s1600/risk25p.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Oregon asks her father his opinion of her new husband. Given Oregon's previous choice of partners, Shepard would be happy with just about anyone she chose to replace Beau, but Jeromy is genuinely likable in his own right, and Shepard approves of her choice.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnWwwE930P0aAyVn4EQW9yfASVtv02OKRsyjO0VVubAAUXU13lPjyi59-QPZaoU9xVYz3FI27p8tKFTHkBkGG151xXQ7JU2AET_T7TSB8UeGs1xZj_54SebBk1wjRZlW1qpzAQ8g_JRII/s1600/risk25q.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="380" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnWwwE930P0aAyVn4EQW9yfASVtv02OKRsyjO0VVubAAUXU13lPjyi59-QPZaoU9xVYz3FI27p8tKFTHkBkGG151xXQ7JU2AET_T7TSB8UeGs1xZj_54SebBk1wjRZlW1qpzAQ8g_JRII/s400/risk25q.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Shepard doesn't ask about the baby's father. The timing would indicate Merrick, but he'd rather pretend for now that he isn't going to be grandfather to a vampire.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Oregon sold her bed, not wanting any visible remembrances of the time Beau lived here, and she made the old bedroom into a studio.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoeWjZahAm83aaWynzeoccIGTCY3_4Lh9tyE8ZQlPRO6y3pU7WTjB0KWEJhCncktqOgNBtJOa1E2MjtW7hyao25pmGJuc628dj7RAJP-PR95HEwRvEK2blgL_2VLWS5mJ2Eam-TrHh6CM/s1600/risk25s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoeWjZahAm83aaWynzeoccIGTCY3_4Lh9tyE8ZQlPRO6y3pU7WTjB0KWEJhCncktqOgNBtJOa1E2MjtW7hyao25pmGJuc628dj7RAJP-PR95HEwRvEK2blgL_2VLWS5mJ2Eam-TrHh6CM/s400/risk25s.jpg" width="373" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Jeromy was diagnosed as Absent-Minded as a child. His tendency to forget what he'sdoing in the middle of doing it has render him unfit for most work. So he has a part time job at the grocery store. Despite his handicap, he's remarkably good at housecleaning, so he's making a serious career of house-husbandry.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyHw6asnHMRxSNnCfNsvgxvPSNkdUY1hqGRzZD133KlYlUc03kFHTUNjSyMZK5ZER7hZlQmdAwPfH1up1zxJXe2QtQopcPzH0M0FulWHbxucpBK_gpRvuqAHO8BnfZ9f9x1nbgv_fPff0/s1600/risk25t.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="390" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyHw6asnHMRxSNnCfNsvgxvPSNkdUY1hqGRzZD133KlYlUc03kFHTUNjSyMZK5ZER7hZlQmdAwPfH1up1zxJXe2QtQopcPzH0M0FulWHbxucpBK_gpRvuqAHO8BnfZ9f9x1nbgv_fPff0/s400/risk25t.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Out, damn spot.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_gqJ_pkE7ZZvwYKVh5afkdf-CWYhW89z4VhN1qUBIMEeozckCn0V-FwUO48EnUV-obqLur4ehlhdpdCqRtWSoIgCxpCuVQRTbZuHAbtHEA84nKzTJrN2xS8vggXV_F50lxK442c0jMCw/s1600/risk25u.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_gqJ_pkE7ZZvwYKVh5afkdf-CWYhW89z4VhN1qUBIMEeozckCn0V-FwUO48EnUV-obqLur4ehlhdpdCqRtWSoIgCxpCuVQRTbZuHAbtHEA84nKzTJrN2xS8vggXV_F50lxK442c0jMCw/s1600/risk25u.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">When she goes into labor, Jeromy and Oregon go to the hospital together.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Q4V0PbrGZvOBmPol90Xa8bALnSWajFy1mWnMduqy-QDkcnpFTU5UW0Gc-HPX5R7iW_1p2ODhvc5vg0KzUU0U_Gizs1yAlLFU_D3xPeobawnGt-tsI7FAmGXId8cTkee-4GOCpobgAfM/s1600/risk25v.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Q4V0PbrGZvOBmPol90Xa8bALnSWajFy1mWnMduqy-QDkcnpFTU5UW0Gc-HPX5R7iW_1p2ODhvc5vg0KzUU0U_Gizs1yAlLFU_D3xPeobawnGt-tsI7FAmGXId8cTkee-4GOCpobgAfM/s1600/risk25v.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Oregon gives birth to a girl they name Violet. The couple never saw Beau Merrick show up to attend the birth of his daughter.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiASEH_4s6BYocrM5Bzv3TA1WWS2hpHQwK5u0EwaFN-oSjbqPRSDAAxn-uQJaO1QEsXYFk_qFgWq8AOlhl29QFQQ8RMLm0PIfNYt9wvtn6Ucrr4X5xyexMIu9oeD1JpM7qTa2Ug4PFZguI/s1600/risk25w.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiASEH_4s6BYocrM5Bzv3TA1WWS2hpHQwK5u0EwaFN-oSjbqPRSDAAxn-uQJaO1QEsXYFk_qFgWq8AOlhl29QFQQ8RMLm0PIfNYt9wvtn6Ucrr4X5xyexMIu9oeD1JpM7qTa2Ug4PFZguI/s1600/risk25w.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">He's not a sentimental vampire, and he has nothing but contempt for the pathetic, short-lived humans. But they have his child, and this disturbs him for reasons he cannot name.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW40XviPY70F5OGd1RX4a-5qn5APr1Kn8KzvE_pgBJdajki3gS3Y7Tfxq0p8XxP4oHNDfqDRx7MlsCQk4aRuQ_2gQcV37I-NIYNeO2zeeYgzA6nVBzsQTllWjhlwPt22oBTzA5_4vMzBQ/s1600/risk25x.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW40XviPY70F5OGd1RX4a-5qn5APr1Kn8KzvE_pgBJdajki3gS3Y7Tfxq0p8XxP4oHNDfqDRx7MlsCQk4aRuQ_2gQcV37I-NIYNeO2zeeYgzA6nVBzsQTllWjhlwPt22oBTzA5_4vMzBQ/s1600/risk25x.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"It's just a makeover, sweetheart, it won't hurt, I promise," Noemi reassures her husband before Oregon begins the makeover procedure.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN8myhS9Dhk-tiNj_2F1Fw_TYDbXPOH_Ul2lUIR-31Fu7r6oGjKuE9LRM7NWtmIAwHpXK37OVwhgxba6NqzhJ5RjMvNQmhRsR_GEiNk9izgxpfFs2LbdjJUV-ikWlyd-CfSFWX1CI4wkE/s1600/risk25y.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN8myhS9Dhk-tiNj_2F1Fw_TYDbXPOH_Ul2lUIR-31Fu7r6oGjKuE9LRM7NWtmIAwHpXK37OVwhgxba6NqzhJ5RjMvNQmhRsR_GEiNk9izgxpfFs2LbdjJUV-ikWlyd-CfSFWX1CI4wkE/s1600/risk25y.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Oregon shows Jarret some samples of her previous makeovers. </span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I can get a gnome implanted onto my face?" Jarret asks, "That would be rad."</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB6S1YyxQomMZ-3_0CgE6pQY3e2A0fV1MryvArGHc7sVv6T0cpnDgmJrmu7CMAXYLGQ19fML_UQvaf5uza0hjc0EomuYa24czYcL7UNy8vqgRz_EWNCu7euOuB65GEpZ_mNazmJ1-eOFE/s1600/risk25z.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB6S1YyxQomMZ-3_0CgE6pQY3e2A0fV1MryvArGHc7sVv6T0cpnDgmJrmu7CMAXYLGQ19fML_UQvaf5uza0hjc0EomuYa24czYcL7UNy8vqgRz_EWNCu7euOuB65GEpZ_mNazmJ1-eOFE/s1600/risk25z.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Jarret Goode-Peddler now no longer stands out as the worst dressed resident of Twinbrook.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Where do I pick up my free gnome?"</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Challenge Notes:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Party to Remember goal achieved. We served had sushi, grilled salmon and key lime pie. These dishes were all replicated, because right now neither Oregon or Jeromy can cook much. So I had Allyson prepare and store these dishes ahead of time, knowing she would likely die before I got to the wedding. We had more than five guests, some never appeared in photos. Wyoming came and left minutes later. His daughter Karen was there, Shepard, Anne and Josiah, Carter and Pauline. Bree came but never got in the door. She stood there sparking and smoking for a second, then said she had to go. I also invited Oregon's co-worker, stylist Garth Allen and his wife Deborah. Deborah showed up, but Garth didn't. You can see Deb in some of pics, she's the redhead.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I served nectar, perfect quality pomegranate and flame fruit nectar, that no one touched. Since Shepard moved out, there was no one to serve bar drinks, lol.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">And of course Oregon performed a song on guitar. The party was epic.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Oregon's LTW is to max painting and guitar skills.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Jeromy came in with the LTW to be a stylist. As soon as he got the points accrued, I got him an aspiration change, so now he wants to max Athletic and Logic skills.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">His traits are Athletic, Friendly, Absent Minded, Good Sense of Humor and Neat.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I got him a part time job at the grocery, but I may have him quit and devote himself to full time house husbanding.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We are a little strapped for cash this generation. Carter bought a 40k house, leaving 50k in the family funds. The bills are 12k. Oregon isn't quite bringing in that much yet, and Jeromy's job barely helps. But I'm hoping with promotions Oregon will be able to cover it.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Beau Merrick made off with Ewan's motorcycle. It was in his inventory when I moved him out, and I forgot about it. Well, it suits him more than the bicycle he was using previously, lol. But it was ours, and now it's his, lol.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Ewan's ghost wandered around the lot for four days without going back to his grave. The ghosty haunting noises were annoying, and the paparazzi kept coming around, because Ewan has 3 stars even as a ghost. So, I reset the lot and he disappeared.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">My roll for generation 6 is Couple with 2 kids (I get 2 kids all the freaking time!), primary career in Culinary (yay, awesome fridge reward) and secondary as non-standard freelance scientist. Which is probably going to be very dull. I got Perfect Careers as a goal, and No strangers for Misc fun. Dull, dull and dull. I did not roll for my heir this generation, because it's going to come down to vampire or no vampire, and that's a decision I will not leave up to chance.</span><br />
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</span>yangthecathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15083940950118677312noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4989886776485997216.post-52920370532305608332011-02-12T15:07:00.000-08:002011-02-12T17:40:52.048-08:00Chapter 24: Intervention<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiecETuNxyqRgmsru_bwxOKo_oCAZkZHOfSNMLbxmhFNt1YLA21GDCb_j4nybytZoTlrp6tm3F8xXSSCKeo1k4XMzVjDvyfqQa5s6iwnVmNgZPwQXtNgWjlqlISEUC8iA3MeRdKlaODquU/s1600/risk24a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiecETuNxyqRgmsru_bwxOKo_oCAZkZHOfSNMLbxmhFNt1YLA21GDCb_j4nybytZoTlrp6tm3F8xXSSCKeo1k4XMzVjDvyfqQa5s6iwnVmNgZPwQXtNgWjlqlISEUC8iA3MeRdKlaODquU/s400/risk24a.jpg" width="332" /></a></div><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">When Shepard hears strange noises downstairs early in the morning, he expects to find ghosts, but not vampires. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaVCzpDMIxA9FaoVDX9p9GnoN0S7PzlWdq45-R4wp8U34WtTtsdpYx0bl8ZtbAbNUyr-LNkHynn-QzKhY_mxM5IvDc-6uOnz2cWvoY881GTnXW7S6cLlekqN4bAdpucUvm7RXXwWq1xqA/s1600/risk24b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaVCzpDMIxA9FaoVDX9p9GnoN0S7PzlWdq45-R4wp8U34WtTtsdpYx0bl8ZtbAbNUyr-LNkHynn-QzKhY_mxM5IvDc-6uOnz2cWvoY881GTnXW7S6cLlekqN4bAdpucUvm7RXXwWq1xqA/s1600/risk24b.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Oregon came home late last night, long after everyone had gone to bed, so Shepard assumes Beau is her guest. He doesn't much like the company his daughter has taken up with, but Shepard was a bit wild when he was her age, so he's prepared to cut her some slack. But there is one thing he wants to make clear, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"You're a married man, Beau. It won't look good for you to be spending the night here."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I left my wife, and I live here now, with Oregon."</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Shepard doesn't like the sound of that at all, given the way Beau treated Marina, Lilly-Bo and Bianca as his personal harem and buffet. When he questions Oregon about it later, she confirms Beau's assertion, that she invited the vampire to live with them. When he suggested that the move was rather sudden and that she should consider, Oregon became distraught andtearful, insisting she was in love. Shepard backed off, but remained uneasy about the situation.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwCLKn86yrNAfH0Fjvoq1hiHkB4XcVIDzIY5_roFj61k_RiG3_ovH2sHApKxe1dTFo51cVDjdV6XQasGadB8LxxyGkDsa8PY3ruzAc967BTntJwfSJ4Tj32KDoHwNdjENddLMFfjpUt6g/s1600/risk24c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="386" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwCLKn86yrNAfH0Fjvoq1hiHkB4XcVIDzIY5_roFj61k_RiG3_ovH2sHApKxe1dTFo51cVDjdV6XQasGadB8LxxyGkDsa8PY3ruzAc967BTntJwfSJ4Tj32KDoHwNdjENddLMFfjpUt6g/s400/risk24c.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Shepard brought his fears to Anne, "She says she's in love with him, but just yesterday he was no more to her than one of her friend's fathers. And he's, well, creepy, to put it mildly. But when I tried to talk to her about it, she just got upset with me. I feel like I've failed her, and I don't know what to do."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Merrick gives me the creeps, too," Anne agrees, "But Oregon is grown up now, you have to let her make her own mistakes. You can't tell her who she loves or doesn't love, she has to figure that out for herself."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I'd like to kick him out of the house, but I'm afraid she'd follow him," Shepard sighs. He's the leader of the free world but he still can't order the world to do as he bids.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"That would be a bad idea," Anne says, "If you try to come between them, she'll be more determined to stay with him."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I don't know how I'm going to live under the same roof with him without it getting ugly," Shepard says.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Maybe it's time you moved out," Anne says, "You could move in here with me and Josiah."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The sudden turn in the conversation shocks Shepard into a brief silence. "I'm still the president, Anne, I'd still be bringing the same baggage with me that you've always said you didn't want."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I've been selfish," Anne sighs, "I've taken the parts of your life that I wanted and left the rest for you to deal with alone. But you need me, now, and it's time for me to help you shoulder that burden."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">With some regret for leaving his daughter in a bad situation, Shepard moves out of the family home and marries Anne in a private ceremony, moving in with her and their son.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4hrd7gX-IhnrOj2w0nyQHjnxOKU64JQlSZ3IJlvF5gdc8rdJm3UmEEHqLLfuJQljIiX8KjZi8-FM-zm3g_PB5QYu8AqR969fqMCn9UyNzWomesdVRqU36SUnAZ-L1tY6NuIyGK4q5CYY/s1600/risk24d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4hrd7gX-IhnrOj2w0nyQHjnxOKU64JQlSZ3IJlvF5gdc8rdJm3UmEEHqLLfuJQljIiX8KjZi8-FM-zm3g_PB5QYu8AqR969fqMCn9UyNzWomesdVRqU36SUnAZ-L1tY6NuIyGK4q5CYY/s1600/risk24d.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Beau is pleased with his new situation, living in this fine house with all its expensive and rare treasures. They even have an ankh shaped incense burner. Vampires love ankhs.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVZ56FjaCyfoNQmZJeyLITBJ3D379vK5PcI8F79hcu8mrCEqjAGCqcXcpeM3lZBIBxWIX3Iubrct1Im_eRSMl3pBER6ASUAC14GPCIUKEiOiz4BjuA-akV-lPm7WiHmkcECXr0vlfGtv0/s1600/risk24e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="397" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVZ56FjaCyfoNQmZJeyLITBJ3D379vK5PcI8F79hcu8mrCEqjAGCqcXcpeM3lZBIBxWIX3Iubrct1Im_eRSMl3pBER6ASUAC14GPCIUKEiOiz4BjuA-akV-lPm7WiHmkcECXr0vlfGtv0/s400/risk24e.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">He's taken up painting as a hobby. The hummingbird sucking the sweet sustenance from a flower is a metaphor for himself.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpGc8Z_A7T3TC9xPiPvFArrijAwQOfpmvYbNk_8QzZEMx9Zag5ADF9cRyW0o-2mAiXBo7xlRjuzOK72ibOn3Hoh4N4VTyG-OydwQxmfd82ZlcP6yf2Ym7TjyGI9syMigIY29JEM9UOYLo/s1600/risk24f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="378" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpGc8Z_A7T3TC9xPiPvFArrijAwQOfpmvYbNk_8QzZEMx9Zag5ADF9cRyW0o-2mAiXBo7xlRjuzOK72ibOn3Hoh4N4VTyG-OydwQxmfd82ZlcP6yf2Ym7TjyGI9syMigIY29JEM9UOYLo/s400/risk24f.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Oregon starts work in the salon. Her first customer is Noemi Goode-Peddler, who needs a new bathing suit.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"It's best when the top matches the bottom," Oregon explains.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUIPQsA_UWKDUHyCxS_brZoUV-E7lGnY4l9ukbruZkrQBTXBwuX-7fqKxILelzZhusMhQ3NI-7sNgjfgBF0_P4eONNsDu2uGVN6ONKq_o3E3orHxa7q-VGwmC_SqcLa4NDX3F5in1wNPs/s1600/risk24g.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="369" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUIPQsA_UWKDUHyCxS_brZoUV-E7lGnY4l9ukbruZkrQBTXBwuX-7fqKxILelzZhusMhQ3NI-7sNgjfgBF0_P4eONNsDu2uGVN6ONKq_o3E3orHxa7q-VGwmC_SqcLa4NDX3F5in1wNPs/s400/risk24g.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Noemi is very pleased with her new matching bikini, and cool shades.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"My pleasure, Noemi," Oregon says, "Why don't you bring Jarret down to the salon sometime. Maybe he'd like a makeover?" Noemi's husband Jarret is known around town as 'the weird mohawk dude in the hospital gown' and Oregon would like nothing more than to get him into a pair of pants.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWUcTiTI3PP3l5MJQ9K08u6BlPrJVrS_OQhX8uP1ONaKdYnROObFqJ4YHDnNkCVLflPdy_YN2rXs0y1WfkXAEQmy1LFtWbarlc5J9QwfEMy1NHuq9SU7T2ame4VX3R5SHE1NPPe-DcjUM/s1600/risk24h.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWUcTiTI3PP3l5MJQ9K08u6BlPrJVrS_OQhX8uP1ONaKdYnROObFqJ4YHDnNkCVLflPdy_YN2rXs0y1WfkXAEQmy1LFtWbarlc5J9QwfEMy1NHuq9SU7T2ame4VX3R5SHE1NPPe-DcjUM/s1600/risk24h.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Jeffrey Bayless-Castor loves his look, which he describes as 'totally Sgt. Peppers' but he'd like a new pair of shoes.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Sure, shoes would be a good start," Oregon agrees.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNwx8I2uZHf8Unikyu-kbhQPyHQAuPySMzdMEuZOTkPK1_bSy4z44ebuCMpBg4RUYOmAvOv2tjq2cJfcRVT_Cby7MQ8XRTwPuXZPYiHIKDH1Bqbz7yrAS1ccRDBJRGZ9JrFb9t2xuDFtw/s1600/risk24i.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNwx8I2uZHf8Unikyu-kbhQPyHQAuPySMzdMEuZOTkPK1_bSy4z44ebuCMpBg4RUYOmAvOv2tjq2cJfcRVT_Cby7MQ8XRTwPuXZPYiHIKDH1Bqbz7yrAS1ccRDBJRGZ9JrFb9t2xuDFtw/s1600/risk24i.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Oregon gives his hair a trim, gets him a new outfit, and, yes, new shoes. "Wow, totally Let it Bleed," Jeffrey says. Oregon assumes that's a good thing.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4P3WxCrNfIR13HuWLQI_4o9dG1-c0VG7pCeX9og1YOPDpATSw6eJF9xPEHvw6O_oGgsG8G_unbBXd-SIgr7yw0nU83rAde0C-I3DbedhWn01wBwWvUgkqyggRyE8tFrgtfJ5H3_Q3cWE/s1600/risk24j.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4P3WxCrNfIR13HuWLQI_4o9dG1-c0VG7pCeX9og1YOPDpATSw6eJF9xPEHvw6O_oGgsG8G_unbBXd-SIgr7yw0nU83rAde0C-I3DbedhWn01wBwWvUgkqyggRyE8tFrgtfJ5H3_Q3cWE/s1600/risk24j.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Carter comes home from school and confronts the new man in his sister's life. "She already has a boyfriend," he informs the vampire. Carter is good friends with Oregon's erstwhile boyfriend Jeromy, and is very hurt by her betrayal.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Your sister has me now," Beau says, "Stay out of my way, punk."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"At least put on a shirt," Carter grumbles as he backs off. Beau can be very intimidating.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEAv_GIl3EN_EttN2eyGAtBhvEpt_Vf1cCy_rWtgWkxDJeFUmC-Tk49bQ3RoyuKWBwyX1qxn8KdrOVjYV2sG3xLnpvQk7s5PeiFNl-EL_BAMO9S3IBwQ2dBdCj-CrGJBgqKTxdtK_zm8U/s1600/risk24k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEAv_GIl3EN_EttN2eyGAtBhvEpt_Vf1cCy_rWtgWkxDJeFUmC-Tk49bQ3RoyuKWBwyX1qxn8KdrOVjYV2sG3xLnpvQk7s5PeiFNl-EL_BAMO9S3IBwQ2dBdCj-CrGJBgqKTxdtK_zm8U/s1600/risk24k.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">When Oregon gets home from work, it's feeding time for Beau.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDiRm5PlaEEneENk6UE8ROoMsr8BgYYXFzaL701TZRXsWGdWIuFWXPf7DjEMuNntKFgFJWlrdmL3Gd9T95JNBzvrJLcPM9d-eWTUFlnuPOBVKG35ia_isY3gcxgbxwrrD9gBBBlYxJTzg/s1600/risk24l.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDiRm5PlaEEneENk6UE8ROoMsr8BgYYXFzaL701TZRXsWGdWIuFWXPf7DjEMuNntKFgFJWlrdmL3Gd9T95JNBzvrJLcPM9d-eWTUFlnuPOBVKG35ia_isY3gcxgbxwrrD9gBBBlYxJTzg/s1600/risk24l.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">In the privacy of her bedroom, he feeds from her neck rather than her arm.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqOIdciTiUTrgF2ZEz41E9K6t0WtqgVq8FeR0-sT4kJjoSOUg2Y6pb_UraWXWFFTG5Waq1oSVooXPiDdvjawBUnNw_SFkKC50Ye-hSHx9XQp9Y4CzV_c9_-Nr4icD44Hy1ReW2zbtgW9U/s1600/risk24m.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqOIdciTiUTrgF2ZEz41E9K6t0WtqgVq8FeR0-sT4kJjoSOUg2Y6pb_UraWXWFFTG5Waq1oSVooXPiDdvjawBUnNw_SFkKC50Ye-hSHx9XQp9Y4CzV_c9_-Nr4icD44Hy1ReW2zbtgW9U/s1600/risk24m.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The feeding leaves her light-headed and weakened. But she loves him so much, she's happy to give him her blood.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"You are mine," he says.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I am yours."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibwzYktkRxBJwgUa4doFJB6v_et3qzTcEaz-9dmz7X4hqJHrnupU_FlvVB_tFvZb4Y2kaWnzgrYQ3Q5RcYAv6lQkX4sY1Gg_8U9OuI5HU5pPnVHxYNxyqOflah4uB9M3UN85aPjbdCZv0/s1600/risk24n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibwzYktkRxBJwgUa4doFJB6v_et3qzTcEaz-9dmz7X4hqJHrnupU_FlvVB_tFvZb4Y2kaWnzgrYQ3Q5RcYAv6lQkX4sY1Gg_8U9OuI5HU5pPnVHxYNxyqOflah4uB9M3UN85aPjbdCZv0/s1600/risk24n.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">After the feeding comes sex. For Beau, the two acts are intrinsically intertwined. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimx3mlijv4A9WDd9lJmSV0qfFlqUyY105cLDckGmTfEmF9sLix_5hOzy-CuENkDNnLZKDV6xxPP52wHGcYv00p8_NsLX9v0agIl81vRwf4M0gm_OOqK6zjrP0wZnF8SktaR6EOhqnH5Vg/s1600/risk24o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="367" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimx3mlijv4A9WDd9lJmSV0qfFlqUyY105cLDckGmTfEmF9sLix_5hOzy-CuENkDNnLZKDV6xxPP52wHGcYv00p8_NsLX9v0agIl81vRwf4M0gm_OOqK6zjrP0wZnF8SktaR6EOhqnH5Vg/s400/risk24o.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Allyson thinks she might succeed in reasoning with her granddaughter where Shepard failed, and sits down to have a serious talk with Oregon. But before she can say a word, she feels and odd tingle.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwuXhIwDdi7XjjkxU0A-oucB1V3r0uggg6tzxazTzJS6QNn_GiOyn9o-HTzdLBft39eI_4OGMMJcK1eYsDSS-TVEPDYNLmXaCKGwxDZ1jsYPghfNpxIW-1l5Kus8fOOI7KUR4Ie8vno9k/s1600/risk24p.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwuXhIwDdi7XjjkxU0A-oucB1V3r0uggg6tzxazTzJS6QNn_GiOyn9o-HTzdLBft39eI_4OGMMJcK1eYsDSS-TVEPDYNLmXaCKGwxDZ1jsYPghfNpxIW-1l5Kus8fOOI7KUR4Ie8vno9k/s400/risk24p.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Sensing despair, Beau comes in to gloat at the misery of others.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9NmvyhKixrONZUVn4NhsuKBAWmky4l9XJHUvvxEqA2BQWQY8ZyIcD_TGaq3sDpfFqoTcBPF9licrHiWWTafLqdGbt-Cg7RiLSuwAh8sZBCO9HZcEp7Sy9OeDNq4Rf8OZza7KJazRhHwY/s1600/risk24q.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9NmvyhKixrONZUVn4NhsuKBAWmky4l9XJHUvvxEqA2BQWQY8ZyIcD_TGaq3sDpfFqoTcBPF9licrHiWWTafLqdGbt-Cg7RiLSuwAh8sZBCO9HZcEp7Sy9OeDNq4Rf8OZza7KJazRhHwY/s400/risk24q.jpg" width="295" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">She's had a long life and has no regrets about leaving it to join her husband in the next, but could she just have fifteen minutes to talk to her granddaughter?</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The reaper says no.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Allyson is laid to rest beside Ewan. Oregon places an award on her grave. Allyson had won many awards as an actress, but this isn't one of them. Oregon wouldn't leave an actual award out where it could get stolen.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Oregon went into work the next day, but they told her to take a bereavement day. Walking in the park, she runs into her mother, Lilly-Bo, who expresses concern about her daughter's relationship with Beau.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I was wrapped around his finger once, just like you. I thought I would die when Bianca threw me out, but after I was free from him for awhile, I finally saw how pathetic I was. He's a user, Oregon, he's not human, and he's not capable of love."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Her words are wasted, Oregon insists that Beau does love her, and she loves him.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Not long after Lilly-Bo gives up and leaves, Oregon gets a call from Bree asking her to meet her at the Red Rendezvous for lunch.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Oregon shows up to the bar a little early; Bree isn't there yet. But there is a man at the bar who looks familiar. After taxing her brain, Oregon finally comes up with his name, Jeromy, and remembers they used to date back in high school. So she goes over to greet him like an old friend.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">There is pain in his eyes when he looks at her, and that makes Oregon feel guilty, though she can't imagine why. "I'm sorry about your grandmother, Oregon," he says.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The mention of her grandmother brings the tears up again, and Oregon falls into his arms to cry, like reflex, because in that moment it seemed like the most natural thing do, like she'd find no better comfort in this world than in his embrace. As soon as he face touches his chest and she breathes his familiar scent, feels his hands on her back, she remembers clearly everything he meant to her once, not in some distant blurry past, but only days ago.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"What happened to us, Jeromy?" she asks him, confused by the gap in her memory between her graduation and her date with Beau in the cemetery. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I was wondering that myself," Jeromy answers, "One day we were planning on getting married right after graduation, and the next you're living with Beau Merrick, without even calling me to break up."</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I'm sorry," Oregon says, "Everything has just been happening so suddenly. When Beau moved in, I thought I was single. I guess I...just forgot about you. You must be pretty angry with me."</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Jeromy takes her hands, "I'm not angry with you," he answers, "Merrick has done something to you, you aren't in control of yourself."</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"That's silly," Oregon protests, but there is something to what he says. How could she have forgotten about Jeromy, when she loved him so much?</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I love you, Oregon, and I know that, somewhere in there, you still love me. Let me help you. Let Bree help you."</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Bree?" Oregon turns and sees that Bree has come into the bar, and is hanging back, watching her and Jeromy.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Bree can help you, you have to trust her," Jeromy says, "I have to get to work. You call me if you need anything, and I will be there for you," Jeromy says, squeezing her hands before he hands her over to their mutual friend.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I'm surprised you don't hate me for stealing your father away from your mother," Oregon opens the conversation frankly once she's alone with Bree.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"You didn't steal anyone," Bree answers, "My father is a predator, and he's been stalking you since we were kids. I meant to warn you that night after graduation, but he got into you before I did. I'm angry at myself for not acting fast enough. I should have known he wouldn't wait even a day before pouncing on you."</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Oregon hugs her friend. "Bree, I'm so confused. One minute I was on my way here to meet you, the next I was in the cemetery with your father. I feel like there's a whole chunk of my life that's just gone missing. Everyone is giving me dire warnings about Beau, but we seem to be so perfect together."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"That's because my father has your mind under his control, he's made you forget everyone else and think only about him. You believe you love him, but that's a lie he's planted in your consciousness. And he acts like he loves you, but to him you are just prey. He'll stay with you, feeding off you, using you, until you get old, and then he'll find another young victim to prey on."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Oregon struggles with Bree's words. She's always trusted her friend, and wants to believe what she says, but she can't believe her Beau is the monster Bree makes him out to be, despite all the evidence. "Did you ask Jeromy to come here today?" Oregon asks, putting aside the main issue for the moment. "He seemed to be expecting you."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Yes," Bree admits, "I counted on some of your memories and will coming back when you saw him. My father has strong mind control, but you and Jeromy were too tight for him to sever the bond completely. I could try to fight my father, I even threatened to do that if he touched you, but the only one who can free you from his control is you. You have to realize what he is and want to get away from him."</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">A strong compulsion urges Oregon to walk out of this bar and go back to Beau, but if what Bree says it's true, that compulsion is coming from Beau, not from her own desires. So Oregon fights it, trying to discover what she does actually want, to remember the things she's forgotten in these past few days. With some effort, Oregon finds her missing pieces, the promises and plans she'd shared with Jeromy, her real love. "How do I do it, Bree?" Oregon asks, "How do I get him out of my life?"</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Bree smiles, "Getting a vampire out of your house is the easiest thing in the world. Rescind your invitation, and he will be compelled to leave. But do it quickly, before he can get your mind under control again. Do not let him feed from you, that weakens your will and brings you further under his compulsion. Don't even let him talk to you, just go home and tell him to leave. And then, if you see him in public, avoid him, don't speak to him, or look into his eyes. Knowing him, he'll look for another victim rather than persist in pursuing you once you've thrown him out. I'll keep my eyes on him, as well, to keep him away from you."</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Before she goes home, Oregon goes to visit her father. "Daddy, I'm so sorry," she cries, "I've made such a huge mistake, and I nearly lost all my friends and family for it."</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Shepard comforts her and assures her that everything will be all right once she gets rid of Beau. Oregon's stomach churns as she thinks about having to tell Beau to get out of her life. What if she fails, falls back under his spell? Her father tells her she's strong, that she can do it, so Oregon steels herself and drives back home, ready to take control of her life back from the leech who stole it.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Oregon heeded her friend's advice, and made the break up quick, giving Beau no time to respond. "I rescind my invitation. Leave this house and never come back."</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Vampires are quick and deadly predators with great powers of the mind, but no human intruder could be compelled to leave by just a word. When the invitation is rescinded, Beau has no choice but to leave the house, and there is no way he'll be able to renter without a new invitation.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAAJJQGU4wh8lZCpBRtaaRXrwcLt5l_BoEF36RIIe2WPfb0NWAqO9BUtS-EmnDss_PFpQlnXi1tSJ6ZrUsddzMQE9lpGPrj0m6OWHsHMPn22C3YqslViTezKz9zm_MKGjgdiIvB1stTGI/s1600/rik24z2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAAJJQGU4wh8lZCpBRtaaRXrwcLt5l_BoEF36RIIe2WPfb0NWAqO9BUtS-EmnDss_PFpQlnXi1tSJ6ZrUsddzMQE9lpGPrj0m6OWHsHMPn22C3YqslViTezKz9zm_MKGjgdiIvB1stTGI/s320/rik24z2.jpg" width="308" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Jeromy come as soon as she calls. She tries to apologize for what she put him through, but he insists it's not her fault.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I'm just happy you're you again," he sighs.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Will you stay with me?" she asks, "I don't want to be alone."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I'll stay," he promises, "As long as you want me."</span><br />
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</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOFACFfPUwNJdFkzX9GzjYk6pL7BhJ-QMXMX2wAs_4Z8yrr7CG-MPAvh6cHz5Dc43hG6O7MmIlXNg6MTreAvs71XzwyXa4BvotiUqLDwjTPCbKCyaSPf-BzUX72pR7csPJO_XvaNn2uHI/s1600/risk24z3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOFACFfPUwNJdFkzX9GzjYk6pL7BhJ-QMXMX2wAs_4Z8yrr7CG-MPAvh6cHz5Dc43hG6O7MmIlXNg6MTreAvs71XzwyXa4BvotiUqLDwjTPCbKCyaSPf-BzUX72pR7csPJO_XvaNn2uHI/s1600/risk24z3.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Oregon can't sleep in the bed she shared with the vampire, so she brings Jeromy into her father's vacant room, and the reunited couple quickly pick up where they left off before they were divided.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Challenge Notes:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I had a hard time with deciding to let Shepard go. I prefer to keep my heirs in the family house until death, but Shepard continually rolled wishes to propose to Anne and get married, and once his obligations to the legacy were fulfilled, I couldn't hold him hostage any longer. When he dies I will get his gravestone and bring it back home, so I will at least have his ghost later.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I forgot to mention last time that Allyson did finally get her 5 stars of fame. On the day Ewan died. Small consolation, there.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Now that Allyson is passed, I've removed the stars from Oregon and Carter, because I'm tired of paparazzi and celebrity.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">My original intention was to have Oregon marry Beau and have an affair with Jeromy for the half-sibling requirement. But I ended up feeling bad for Oregon and Jeromy, and feeling not much for Beau, so I went with plan B.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Jeromy's traits are Absent Minded, Friendly, Athletic, Neat, and one more I've forgotten, but they add up to Nice Guy in contrast to creepy Beau. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span>yangthecathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15083940950118677312noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4989886776485997216.post-23276274626838281832011-02-11T10:56:00.001-08:002011-02-11T10:56:58.413-08:00Chapter 23: Enthralled<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsEFX57g9DMJvXyF-3wKLNrDQWDx8hpEOs-ycy0HCtxs1gGFEhvHYPxjg56ea5DGsthzhf6oetVGsoQwtmgSWFsbg0u1TzviDmJwskkoCnKYKu9Orp9GtiDUegZLg6-sEzgbh3Rx4N08Oh/s1600/risj23a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsEFX57g9DMJvXyF-3wKLNrDQWDx8hpEOs-ycy0HCtxs1gGFEhvHYPxjg56ea5DGsthzhf6oetVGsoQwtmgSWFsbg0u1TzviDmJwskkoCnKYKu9Orp9GtiDUegZLg6-sEzgbh3Rx4N08Oh/s400/risj23a.jpg" width="385" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The residents of Twinbrook are woefully fashion challenged, and in desperate need of help.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv1mQFDXWvP2voH9WgMapdOlIXSS_V3zWOO0zjUApXUrNfEQsS2LRtTAJqRCqtBLwtlV3-KHF97oQatpFs4JB0JgjhcH4O4lt_3lsrM2eEfZ74wdJSm-7dnEsLnF5gOjdRaH_X1c8RXbTd/s1600/risk23b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="378" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv1mQFDXWvP2voH9WgMapdOlIXSS_V3zWOO0zjUApXUrNfEQsS2LRtTAJqRCqtBLwtlV3-KHF97oQatpFs4JB0JgjhcH4O4lt_3lsrM2eEfZ74wdJSm-7dnEsLnF5gOjdRaH_X1c8RXbTd/s400/risk23b.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">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.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3E982qnu51cT_mxa7nOOTc80E_YXCf2wf18N04lB0S3WEAOmqP4PL7Zm3JeQz8798gx1Ff6GTyReqPXvNatIBWlAdeAH7LejuN-9DU-dAB_t2hNhOeg08EE3h9LvrVZdYQzJyrG-Be3c4/s1600/ris23g.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="386" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3E982qnu51cT_mxa7nOOTc80E_YXCf2wf18N04lB0S3WEAOmqP4PL7Zm3JeQz8798gx1Ff6GTyReqPXvNatIBWlAdeAH7LejuN-9DU-dAB_t2hNhOeg08EE3h9LvrVZdYQzJyrG-Be3c4/s400/ris23g.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">She's also started making future plans with her boyfriend Jeromy. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg44wQpoVAfGvbudtfQLzjyWmHt6f2nL_RsOBzqKDsohQJayqTCNMGIX_SaLjeX0lYak9PGukdsJ6NvEqQLKFwhPY62585JABuglgUkJwfNzd8gLvIswtKjp6YTUq-u090EA_8-BSlhLBXk/s1600/risk23c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg44wQpoVAfGvbudtfQLzjyWmHt6f2nL_RsOBzqKDsohQJayqTCNMGIX_SaLjeX0lYak9PGukdsJ6NvEqQLKFwhPY62585JABuglgUkJwfNzd8gLvIswtKjp6YTUq-u090EA_8-BSlhLBXk/s1600/risk23c.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Ewan passes away right after finishing his final manuscript, a history book titled "Who Built the Pyramids?"</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdysECOK-KucEOibi_mZ6YIRbdr6hr1-BO6MHYgWXGkWtac6gbCLfECF94MCwY8uqCQAOK03nJgUYA71Chp3bqjiPEpGrEgn9xWW0f6-CE8NSVoqCpZ7Krx6-h3afeWzPSnk5BRoEVOwj4/s1600/risk23d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdysECOK-KucEOibi_mZ6YIRbdr6hr1-BO6MHYgWXGkWtac6gbCLfECF94MCwY8uqCQAOK03nJgUYA71Chp3bqjiPEpGrEgn9xWW0f6-CE8NSVoqCpZ7Krx6-h3afeWzPSnk5BRoEVOwj4/s1600/risk23d.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">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.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLH4n5IEFwF4u1i94tNPEiQ4FJb2g3N85qk-eBqMqPePrB0iyU_eunrqiTSLjY174gE68ZuqheiQYdVYHmZYy-5CqnrbjyXvOG075HayeZjZuxUMefJqRZj2wMLucu66V9uK-ZE5udGyB5/s1600/risk23e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="383" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLH4n5IEFwF4u1i94tNPEiQ4FJb2g3N85qk-eBqMqPePrB0iyU_eunrqiTSLjY174gE68ZuqheiQYdVYHmZYy-5CqnrbjyXvOG075HayeZjZuxUMefJqRZj2wMLucu66V9uK-ZE5udGyB5/s400/risk23e.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">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.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitePFOwMLBwJ4Hew7cprs2_4geBcH9WqvfzYRboeyzyuAVcm_A_p34AOB0pMGlHWo7l6wqwSLckte6aA8_0mLqXaY9qTv-__hMTVabgaxNqkYSyFGQPK0PCwYJSba4liZ5LJNug9DVGqAH/s1600/risk23m.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitePFOwMLBwJ4Hew7cprs2_4geBcH9WqvfzYRboeyzyuAVcm_A_p34AOB0pMGlHWo7l6wqwSLckte6aA8_0mLqXaY9qTv-__hMTVabgaxNqkYSyFGQPK0PCwYJSba4liZ5LJNug9DVGqAH/s1600/risk23m.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Shepard and Allyson drown their sorrows with the aptly named Sorrow Annihilators. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjt8yiGEECT-AZ2BW3TVK36PgkAGgGIqv1zwOQn9F182dkKhDfLfR3D0j_FIbQndl7JCP0bHg72hJZz-Dna4KIJ77lILxs82tquF0nsuwB5r_wkBQes1bXIkIULk3CAqWoGscaCtXoUpgW/s1600/risk23n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjt8yiGEECT-AZ2BW3TVK36PgkAGgGIqv1zwOQn9F182dkKhDfLfR3D0j_FIbQndl7JCP0bHg72hJZz-Dna4KIJ77lILxs82tquF0nsuwB5r_wkBQes1bXIkIULk3CAqWoGscaCtXoUpgW/s1600/risk23n.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Mom, the remote doesn't work on me." Maybe Allyson has had a few too many.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNYY_fUlUoUv4Ubg9knViigwKQrTPr_al-ZVdUkMD5D5XT4uPq1Kc4rrXfiTmipSh3R3LI39k0pSXZbcrDL474tBOxE4I2pd2NfU96JtRSQaLBxZW_r1Py3Z5cjwzVLQTadUhyphenhypheneEB3vAN7/s1600/risk23f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNYY_fUlUoUv4Ubg9knViigwKQrTPr_al-ZVdUkMD5D5XT4uPq1Kc4rrXfiTmipSh3R3LI39k0pSXZbcrDL474tBOxE4I2pd2NfU96JtRSQaLBxZW_r1Py3Z5cjwzVLQTadUhyphenhypheneEB3vAN7/s400/risk23f.jpg" width="398" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">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. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHUEL9IygItkEIYRA4QpdjdNvR-XpxABGn30kRjSyTxAd9xpkSW1A6pLBnOHodSqySbFMKVl06aDPLF_6zURO5XqIWL6KlXEspr5qyqFh4SEhQrY-F2GOavdQVVQgJcHq9SImc5tBKPS5m/s1600/risk23h.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHUEL9IygItkEIYRA4QpdjdNvR-XpxABGn30kRjSyTxAd9xpkSW1A6pLBnOHodSqySbFMKVl06aDPLF_6zURO5XqIWL6KlXEspr5qyqFh4SEhQrY-F2GOavdQVVQgJcHq9SImc5tBKPS5m/s1600/risk23h.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">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.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I brought her here to get her a makeover," Bree explains, "She has no fashion sense. A vampire in a mummy shirt, really?"</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"It's ironic," Yesenia explains.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"It's stupid," Bree answers.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"The yellow clashes with your purple skirt," Oregon says, avoiding the whole mummy/vampire issue.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I hate you both," Yesenia says and storms off before anyone can make her over.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdDLNQ9Ifh_-v3d7D9j8jeZrCdIOMv2rg4Mgp0BgCRkCn7Fg6EqO5AO38orFtDyGEPHghxLJQIxmq1fnyPpXpL0ZpuP9XzEtSD_OcUKDw6R592_YyvNmIxBK6Z8qlQysWtwLoXxIuCqBy2/s1600/risk23i.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdDLNQ9Ifh_-v3d7D9j8jeZrCdIOMv2rg4Mgp0BgCRkCn7Fg6EqO5AO38orFtDyGEPHghxLJQIxmq1fnyPpXpL0ZpuP9XzEtSD_OcUKDw6R592_YyvNmIxBK6Z8qlQysWtwLoXxIuCqBy2/s1600/risk23i.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">As Yesenia departs, Bree's father approaches, expressing apparently sincere condolences for Oregon's loss.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgisIR2n2axOb8lATcD3jaJOXxnyww7fPN4BDwjDuSReYpMND0nz4Xrp-JUB66JC8nModZ4f9I9xNZCQux_eHZFbi95sE28dut0nlmMmrRZxSdAAecyZe1BHfjLdRB5P8KGRyqRhyL39Rs/s1600/risk23j.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgisIR2n2axOb8lATcD3jaJOXxnyww7fPN4BDwjDuSReYpMND0nz4Xrp-JUB66JC8nModZ4f9I9xNZCQux_eHZFbi95sE28dut0nlmMmrRZxSdAAecyZe1BHfjLdRB5P8KGRyqRhyL39Rs/s1600/risk23j.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Then follows an uncomfortable silence while Beau stares at Oregon without blinking or moving in the slightest.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"So, I, uh, have an appointment," Oregon mumbles and backs away from the creepy stare to find the manager.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglXra7mcZnvw1ha5SNYOx5zN-EYGhHORB_QgbnOwCHE5wnprFgJ9g83YbAfFiLih6NgyOu8g3qBqFlqC1k3x9BLOl-go6Jfn3io_3tgYRkDB4CmeQxN0t2nhTvwtizeUDu7-NQvlgdygRn/s1600/risk23k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglXra7mcZnvw1ha5SNYOx5zN-EYGhHORB_QgbnOwCHE5wnprFgJ9g83YbAfFiLih6NgyOu8g3qBqFlqC1k3x9BLOl-go6Jfn3io_3tgYRkDB4CmeQxN0t2nhTvwtizeUDu7-NQvlgdygRn/s1600/risk23k.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Her family is quite wealthy, aren't they?" Beau turns to his daughter after Oregon is out of sight.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk21cgD-8BSlfN_3hCIiNnWvZymAgeS-TupvkgyixgQ0V1da0sx5cwI2t5jqJxJ3dGr0Gj67jtFcTmygj6rAxZeBSzeyyg1oVkm3Yw5hYZ3Jsfqi0EKdiXi3J9KOH0EgnVpOJ1kMHpU30x/s1600/risk23l.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk21cgD-8BSlfN_3hCIiNnWvZymAgeS-TupvkgyixgQ0V1da0sx5cwI2t5jqJxJ3dGr0Gj67jtFcTmygj6rAxZeBSzeyyg1oVkm3Yw5hYZ3Jsfqi0EKdiXi3J9KOH0EgnVpOJ1kMHpU30x/s1600/risk23l.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">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."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"You think you can cross me?" Beau sneers, "I made you."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Just try me," Bree answers.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4X7mUwq-zZe7UWBTz7Aq7EtiE7kSkI692k_lkbuWI3nHUIrBM_5cHWoEVG6gxwdAF7imG3zNwTvp1C2cyqaHk3gTt3BKaiL11aPl1uegZETKhdqwPHUlDBRIU-hritfyQ3qBhPmHYYM6W/s1600/risk23o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4X7mUwq-zZe7UWBTz7Aq7EtiE7kSkI692k_lkbuWI3nHUIrBM_5cHWoEVG6gxwdAF7imG3zNwTvp1C2cyqaHk3gTt3BKaiL11aPl1uegZETKhdqwPHUlDBRIU-hritfyQ3qBhPmHYYM6W/s1600/risk23o.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Shadow the ghost contemplates the shrine to his life's work as a ghost hunter.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy0ID1aYASHwh2eseU5nD8pgaCoBvkrMOMTFAyuNrb1zri9qM14ZMJ72EOmv37IW5FFCXMLYGt16g8CLNXBz9esv3mpOlW704mE4X_Kr1vfHwk7X-S1BF9MWWmlhjyLEEczr__u1_1b3x3/s1600/risk23p.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy0ID1aYASHwh2eseU5nD8pgaCoBvkrMOMTFAyuNrb1zri9qM14ZMJ72EOmv37IW5FFCXMLYGt16g8CLNXBz9esv3mpOlW704mE4X_Kr1vfHwk7X-S1BF9MWWmlhjyLEEczr__u1_1b3x3/s1600/risk23p.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">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.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB_m9dqWVUAn5wDqrcksc8NrM2l8oPsGQJ4aeHbVl7NGlzefCI0N6gXQYj0GH-Zg-jQ7eYykyfLINvoM0u8nRmsAwEI4lzys5m_ZiZrWXNOb3fvUCrYz21P7BcLuIgFX756GhTeu45zYZe/s1600/risk23q.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB_m9dqWVUAn5wDqrcksc8NrM2l8oPsGQJ4aeHbVl7NGlzefCI0N6gXQYj0GH-Zg-jQ7eYykyfLINvoM0u8nRmsAwEI4lzys5m_ZiZrWXNOb3fvUCrYz21P7BcLuIgFX756GhTeu45zYZe/s400/risk23q.jpg" width="366" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Anyone would be easily impressed by you, Pauline" he says, making a smooth recovery. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2ojhg__pCoba2IksC0M1aO1_Ko7suQ5zq8N66J9-Jg3YUQC2-zL_4Gjv_Dfh6AVS4UXIZxCDmmToTL56cOkHof8skUlKwNEz6YC7RbtHh8iZ4QWb5BIiWBWzMu1_upP_fc1ziewd8GOvf/s1600/risk23r.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2ojhg__pCoba2IksC0M1aO1_Ko7suQ5zq8N66J9-Jg3YUQC2-zL_4Gjv_Dfh6AVS4UXIZxCDmmToTL56cOkHof8skUlKwNEz6YC7RbtHh8iZ4QWb5BIiWBWzMu1_upP_fc1ziewd8GOvf/s1600/risk23r.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">And so Carter secures a girlfriend for himself.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpA4SxurdoMoi7a_682r2RPahEZ-X4RueO6pY4Ub9Wg8GnvL7-scWriG6Xzt1BTFEHWwx-sNT4VarxD9tt798Nq38Bu-7rn1Z3ldgE5fYbrBnPJs1yJdzD5djl_JOqcqa3dCYYarepSw4H/s1600/risk23v.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpA4SxurdoMoi7a_682r2RPahEZ-X4RueO6pY4Ub9Wg8GnvL7-scWriG6Xzt1BTFEHWwx-sNT4VarxD9tt798Nq38Bu-7rn1Z3ldgE5fYbrBnPJs1yJdzD5djl_JOqcqa3dCYYarepSw4H/s400/risk23v.jpg" width="373" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Carter's greatest ambition is to become an astronaut, so he's started training in preparation for his military career.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirkr7J4iX1ymt7yR8gt_8E1qaYMhnyFqduA0bHULtx8v9XUsmIpAuKXPM-HoJIKmuJlpE52oAAD0hYmcywK3Qj2doMn5qsOssXkVHVA1RZCVYZfr_Nj2jlHA1guYVFAQS-F-VI1QTlT4f2/s1600/risk23s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirkr7J4iX1ymt7yR8gt_8E1qaYMhnyFqduA0bHULtx8v9XUsmIpAuKXPM-HoJIKmuJlpE52oAAD0hYmcywK3Qj2doMn5qsOssXkVHVA1RZCVYZfr_Nj2jlHA1guYVFAQS-F-VI1QTlT4f2/s400/risk23s.jpg" width="396" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Allyson has a predawn encounter with Ewan's ghost.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNHbSDbf6J48EUT3-6Gxzucg5gOT4au2CeEmwqkKN1iQf4DK4O6FIcsW3-y4fZsE8sLZ11pbqrOa4xC4-ug7igqlGTG-lvwoOHhM29Twpqn9ZNx3AOAbzc55k9ZV58QaS-_l23UE3-6kZR/s1600/risk23t.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNHbSDbf6J48EUT3-6Gxzucg5gOT4au2CeEmwqkKN1iQf4DK4O6FIcsW3-y4fZsE8sLZ11pbqrOa4xC4-ug7igqlGTG-lvwoOHhM29Twpqn9ZNx3AOAbzc55k9ZV58QaS-_l23UE3-6kZR/s1600/risk23t.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">She barely gets her arms around him before he dematerializes. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFuo_o237OD9dqbX6xx7u_by114ab747EV73UQl3sZ3syxDcRCZppWVm-Hx4gTLjOecNoHHlS0029q2GJHBJPLtyIfteXAfRGAdu19hnr_h2SbUarHSicCjx3ZpUrDDkNobinCDMCeIyQE/s1600/risk23u.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="381" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFuo_o237OD9dqbX6xx7u_by114ab747EV73UQl3sZ3syxDcRCZppWVm-Hx4gTLjOecNoHHlS0029q2GJHBJPLtyIfteXAfRGAdu19hnr_h2SbUarHSicCjx3ZpUrDDkNobinCDMCeIyQE/s400/risk23u.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">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.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI2upRpUW0RR9R-mIviKkHPobSVpDN-O4SEz-jXdHdbMza14ebrvTS-I6krEuUlrQOayk7yhW6_OH_thkuf_3o_fFIn5jzEY_nJbftQavPs2y0ZEvr-Ema2wrS9p0Q7VZJ_edrJ5pEpYfM/s1600/risk23w.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI2upRpUW0RR9R-mIviKkHPobSVpDN-O4SEz-jXdHdbMza14ebrvTS-I6krEuUlrQOayk7yhW6_OH_thkuf_3o_fFIn5jzEY_nJbftQavPs2y0ZEvr-Ema2wrS9p0Q7VZJ_edrJ5pEpYfM/s1600/risk23w.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The Leader of the Free World prepares for work.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkHiSabPSNsisu2YbeWcK3Ps-NA8LlCzi3R4_VLshzzgW00XAqkwS0wjrbNz19zxU0YTRKuVAdlLR2BgcEpap4FMU3RIUuZTCe1xfLJm6trB32ok6H9Yx1g2KCfIoTbthtDl00twhLDnwk/s1600/risk23x.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkHiSabPSNsisu2YbeWcK3Ps-NA8LlCzi3R4_VLshzzgW00XAqkwS0wjrbNz19zxU0YTRKuVAdlLR2BgcEpap4FMU3RIUuZTCe1xfLJm6trB32ok6H9Yx1g2KCfIoTbthtDl00twhLDnwk/s1600/risk23x.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Oregon chose not to have a birthday party, just a cake with her immediate family.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidn9llNOemf0d9GGL1vOMRkGd1vnDSqELfswZ01M_xL-2SCRbwdXA4UUnuJEtqXtx-75-0W4kYkyNKwq4YFkJ8c5lrBhqEpptnUcq_krMdhRLbk_dKr9XD52nberOZwCrdUKihGNu8JN5k/s1600/risk23y.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidn9llNOemf0d9GGL1vOMRkGd1vnDSqELfswZ01M_xL-2SCRbwdXA4UUnuJEtqXtx-75-0W4kYkyNKwq4YFkJ8c5lrBhqEpptnUcq_krMdhRLbk_dKr9XD52nberOZwCrdUKihGNu8JN5k/s1600/risk23y.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">She got her hair and her body from her mother, Lilly-Bo, but her face is all Allyson.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQLETqs-XRKEoD5QL4EBsFIGpMXJHTDAu6EU2dvngeXMslpSCHJfnNpHE04o_sdkKljD8tK7uucSo0gATV-37afIcxoN1bPSUFb-7NfdwqAB1NX-HPsUYcHbi63vVuS8yuHbKddNjbct5l/s1600/risk23z.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQLETqs-XRKEoD5QL4EBsFIGpMXJHTDAu6EU2dvngeXMslpSCHJfnNpHE04o_sdkKljD8tK7uucSo0gATV-37afIcxoN1bPSUFb-7NfdwqAB1NX-HPsUYcHbi63vVuS8yuHbKddNjbct5l/s1600/risk23z.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">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.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-pgq_Ppdk9aJLKiGmS9XFWnKtLkDEblkZ-It5HcONNTGwSewIo1cStnRyN2PfEh7OV3GgEJdH97kKFT2fo4gL1i8aWZap8kh8d2YM0WF1a7gG_U69qFdIszqBVeMPth9koUUT2ZpgjGdF/s1600/risk23z1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-pgq_Ppdk9aJLKiGmS9XFWnKtLkDEblkZ-It5HcONNTGwSewIo1cStnRyN2PfEh7OV3GgEJdH97kKFT2fo4gL1i8aWZap8kh8d2YM0WF1a7gG_U69qFdIszqBVeMPth9koUUT2ZpgjGdF/s1600/risk23z1.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">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.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcRH7w_j-WLgNhZHmKQgELD0cZwyw5yKS-uKuzULXS7iUMDEPPusr_O88cMdWqQru-3SZzenKc256j8BiJDES0mL2PUZWW8HJ5qVHAisk1K15wf3cbyNOTrkLT_FnqVsZ5s-Hjq_aGl3Nt/s1600/risk23z3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcRH7w_j-WLgNhZHmKQgELD0cZwyw5yKS-uKuzULXS7iUMDEPPusr_O88cMdWqQru-3SZzenKc256j8BiJDES0mL2PUZWW8HJ5qVHAisk1K15wf3cbyNOTrkLT_FnqVsZ5s-Hjq_aGl3Nt/s1600/risk23z3.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I'm glad you came," Beau says, "You look lovely."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">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.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Please, call me Beau. I'm your lover, after all."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">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.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"You don't care about my daughter or my wife," Beau says, "All you want is to be with me."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Yes, Beau," Oregon answers, feeling it now, "All I want is to be with you."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii3ieGdsZ8SNY3VJebO6ydncB6vRg-E-IJ5B7gvN3iW-J1wNPp4pBLQWDti7SbX6RpVSuKENGeRb1bdZ8HWuxt9QSh2d8yfO3sUxXaGamU48hRL8ZermXmiTScho1DpmsRtl3DrCX5qbDA/s1600/risk23z2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii3ieGdsZ8SNY3VJebO6ydncB6vRg-E-IJ5B7gvN3iW-J1wNPp4pBLQWDti7SbX6RpVSuKENGeRb1bdZ8HWuxt9QSh2d8yfO3sUxXaGamU48hRL8ZermXmiTScho1DpmsRtl3DrCX5qbDA/s1600/risk23z2.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> "I need you, Oregon," Beau says, "Will you feed me?"</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Oregon nods, "Of course, my love, my blood is yours."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh51DEM-fyVU2Rm8XGTQslGFNTSQyFm-nZsWG3zSCsIp4YvqORzfWuhThGsNgevFfuyyf8PqiNXUB1-m6qSCSZW4tVbsrC_Swz0ShtxyphEdUFM3KflVpWf80GFTV_92NeDN2mWLgHeryuB/s1600/risk23z4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh51DEM-fyVU2Rm8XGTQslGFNTSQyFm-nZsWG3zSCsIp4YvqORzfWuhThGsNgevFfuyyf8PqiNXUB1-m6qSCSZW4tVbsrC_Swz0ShtxyphEdUFM3KflVpWf80GFTV_92NeDN2mWLgHeryuB/s1600/risk23z4.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Give me your arm."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAI9-99ZIiiSPRKoEIwbL-jqVV4qIzursM0RP-gEVgqGn3clrndBbe8LJpZyP_N9K7Z2mzx0rjs3eGbVGaKQXtRI8GMINL70kbI1RHag5rQ-mJWma3rlZDgMcYkAmaAPAeBtSj9xtPG1QD/s1600/risk23z5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAI9-99ZIiiSPRKoEIwbL-jqVV4qIzursM0RP-gEVgqGn3clrndBbe8LJpZyP_N9K7Z2mzx0rjs3eGbVGaKQXtRI8GMINL70kbI1RHag5rQ-mJWma3rlZDgMcYkAmaAPAeBtSj9xtPG1QD/s1600/risk23z5.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The bite hurts like nothing Oregon has ever felt, but there's also something erotic about the feeding.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd1xr0n_jgS6cVj5tW6JhqRqHhDMyzsiu3Xs7wCc3sGnSyhwqtdriQaXJInSwL1qswroiA1F3LXz1TNGwchI7ihCq_vkyQKkFvxCqTrqF2tcl2TWFlk6LwS5ukOdguMToPmzWss-S_Iy8g/s1600/risk23z6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd1xr0n_jgS6cVj5tW6JhqRqHhDMyzsiu3Xs7wCc3sGnSyhwqtdriQaXJInSwL1qswroiA1F3LXz1TNGwchI7ihCq_vkyQKkFvxCqTrqF2tcl2TWFlk6LwS5ukOdguMToPmzWss-S_Iy8g/s1600/risk23z6.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Beau finishes he meal with a deep kiss that tastes of her own blood.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Let's go home," he says.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Home?" she asks, "But you live with your wife..."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I left her. I live with you now. You do want me to live with you, don't you?"</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Yes, of course," Oregon answers.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-oMAgK0cCKWnHgCp6O53rMljQX8tCgZcYHHQHrmyvKbryapslVPoFYH4yyAedJjgtaf-RBMnOAphzvfTTqOfE4J3Y5ZkYTHpEnyEIfpCyLtV07-ucIUrv0OAcSqb-GDfTppYz43IB78Yx/s1600/risk23z7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-oMAgK0cCKWnHgCp6O53rMljQX8tCgZcYHHQHrmyvKbryapslVPoFYH4yyAedJjgtaf-RBMnOAphzvfTTqOfE4J3Y5ZkYTHpEnyEIfpCyLtV07-ucIUrv0OAcSqb-GDfTppYz43IB78Yx/s1600/risk23z7.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">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.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Challenge Notes:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">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.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">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.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Oregon's partner is to have a part time job, which Beau already has, working in the mausoleum. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">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.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Shepard is about 5 days until elder. Allyson is surprisingly old, about 108 or so.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">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.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Oh, Oregon's last trait is Great Kisser. Random rolled, because I couldn't choose.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">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.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span>yangthecathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15083940950118677312noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4989886776485997216.post-16800566664442302182011-02-09T06:04:00.000-08:002011-02-09T06:04:33.964-08:00Chapter 22: O Positive<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBaGDY4Q1YQ8QYgA2zvxpXTYP-CD6k4d61PZSfaDit09i8duqML0R-F0-shmqLGcCn0AD1SbEmAEoMVKEtmKlrkhMnJeihd-JqdwGOrgqauaWtUMEps2oB6SYwOn9QqmqdjEkgeDKID2s/s1600/risk22a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBaGDY4Q1YQ8QYgA2zvxpXTYP-CD6k4d61PZSfaDit09i8duqML0R-F0-shmqLGcCn0AD1SbEmAEoMVKEtmKlrkhMnJeihd-JqdwGOrgqauaWtUMEps2oB6SYwOn9QqmqdjEkgeDKID2s/s400/risk22a.jpg" width="373" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Carter becomes a child. Unlike his half-sister, his mother doesn't show up to see him age up.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx2M0_ea6pIfMk8genIXolyvB6PW2QpcLXSAU3e0cKD69y3F6kUTMlAPP8-NSm4uJO3d8dQVethhWes_y_t-Y_ylbW1t5Oz7BMD-I3QPIxQxlVRCePX9XtV3Ee9rrp0JwTtHojrNcvwow/s1600/risk22b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="366" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx2M0_ea6pIfMk8genIXolyvB6PW2QpcLXSAU3e0cKD69y3F6kUTMlAPP8-NSm4uJO3d8dQVethhWes_y_t-Y_ylbW1t5Oz7BMD-I3QPIxQxlVRCePX9XtV3Ee9rrp0JwTtHojrNcvwow/s400/risk22b.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">With his presidential election so close, Shepard's campaign manager suggested he not spend so much time hanging around bars. So Shepard bought a home bar and has been developing a new hobby.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVZexgLBarT5UmhHcWRd-uwsGE9zCJTdKK7LyNP5R_iR3zbIkIPspw3bTCjGCozE6n9zFzqyE1lRrDu6YSsJcSAyIbLw5pQH-pKtdJEMkahFWicf3_Jeri_ksbWhPuojMZMAPtdn0AB7c/s1600/risk22c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVZexgLBarT5UmhHcWRd-uwsGE9zCJTdKK7LyNP5R_iR3zbIkIPspw3bTCjGCozE6n9zFzqyE1lRrDu6YSsJcSAyIbLw5pQH-pKtdJEMkahFWicf3_Jeri_ksbWhPuojMZMAPtdn0AB7c/s1600/risk22c.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Between stump speeches and TV appearances, Shepard makes time to visit his pregnant girlfriend.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-LMq42Jm7aX7u-m-35FN9uV_XeRH4T10fdkauyotyPTNAksYRQZWTm3Iij8XJZU3tvVyrf9wK8VG02fwz5DZQ-p-64abGGRgTCqav-ThXlgAH8igdDmoIELvM7MW2hk2vXfuTMT72mEI/s1600/risk22d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-LMq42Jm7aX7u-m-35FN9uV_XeRH4T10fdkauyotyPTNAksYRQZWTm3Iij8XJZU3tvVyrf9wK8VG02fwz5DZQ-p-64abGGRgTCqav-ThXlgAH8igdDmoIELvM7MW2hk2vXfuTMT72mEI/s1600/risk22d.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">His campaign manager flipped when he told her he was expecting yet another out of wedlock child, but the scandal hasn't been as damaging to his poll numbers as one might expect. The public have grown used to Shepard's unusual family, and unlike a lot of other politicians, he isn't cheating on a wife or caught up in any prostitution scandals.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">When election day comes, Shepard wins, and becomes Leader of the Free World.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCz0rKnyW9on-TAGBa_xTmH4sBBYSXI9XGRnjSx19oKtmMvp3mSwUNtbfR0NOz5iXYoiLrpcGFMH0gmuAb0wIVvGoCHKKNbmiqbhIYnFaxrYSrUq03lKmFudGixfmQgozbNvE_rbk9AdE/s1600/risk22e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCz0rKnyW9on-TAGBa_xTmH4sBBYSXI9XGRnjSx19oKtmMvp3mSwUNtbfR0NOz5iXYoiLrpcGFMH0gmuAb0wIVvGoCHKKNbmiqbhIYnFaxrYSrUq03lKmFudGixfmQgozbNvE_rbk9AdE/s400/risk22e.jpg" width="385" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Shepard still wishes Anne would marry him, but she continues to refuse. He's even asked his mother for advice, but all she can say is that any girl who refuses to marry her son is a fool.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKVRWjnig9blGEugNcPCONoWsheqGL3BO15Wah0hnD70-tmCNodY15gl-eVAQGB4dMu2e_SP7-zU1oa1X7q3SCSaXxY2DPkR82HyrZXWXg1cBbysmLkWg1FtUS9Sim7MJXLC5uAUcMbjg/s1600/risk22f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKVRWjnig9blGEugNcPCONoWsheqGL3BO15Wah0hnD70-tmCNodY15gl-eVAQGB4dMu2e_SP7-zU1oa1X7q3SCSaXxY2DPkR82HyrZXWXg1cBbysmLkWg1FtUS9Sim7MJXLC5uAUcMbjg/s400/risk22f.jpg" width="397" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Oregon's best friend is Bree Merrick. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I can go out in the sun now, but when I grow up, I'm going to have to stay in the shade, or burn up." Bree is a vampire, like her father Beau.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitX5unlgrDIDH-wIc6TJKe_ZNay4Ccy3I8RqTfl2I1K1QCa7ZJWE7bze5ha11i7LU6M6xwjdilcb935tZYK7tkwgIcgy-gzU2q5E-ir_hzeGRldNwQrAl_vJjnzBTiuq5CBSjPvmYOKpI/s1600/risk22g.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="364" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitX5unlgrDIDH-wIc6TJKe_ZNay4Ccy3I8RqTfl2I1K1QCa7ZJWE7bze5ha11i7LU6M6xwjdilcb935tZYK7tkwgIcgy-gzU2q5E-ir_hzeGRldNwQrAl_vJjnzBTiuq5CBSjPvmYOKpI/s400/risk22g.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Shepard rushes to the hospital to be with Anne when she gives birth to their son, Josiah.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiq0Q1Pm-bJdU0O3b6c6rMDksjOAsDu7medi-vZRXyGD2hOrt6p0pWfJXjHZSTaw7r4W-kGuAFgm_YacX3AfKK2FIJ1c9zz7g7SKW0jui2Oh5uJXL9TvW4K0B1x5tWVrSQ2bWmIp1VnSo/s1600/risk22h.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiq0Q1Pm-bJdU0O3b6c6rMDksjOAsDu7medi-vZRXyGD2hOrt6p0pWfJXjHZSTaw7r4W-kGuAFgm_YacX3AfKK2FIJ1c9zz7g7SKW0jui2Oh5uJXL9TvW4K0B1x5tWVrSQ2bWmIp1VnSo/s400/risk22h.jpg" width="391" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Though it didn't effect him politically, Shepard is worried about what having a child will do his relationship with Anne. She insists everything wiil be fine, great even, because she's thrilled to have a baby of her own. But his new executive position comes with new responsibilities and pressures. Making to time for two families will be difficult.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1vK7pksn48Ld1SfPTYxYdYbvlnamNV-15UpexiRP5cuZJaDJbY5k1xR2Ixf8zT7jQMXyUFtoFq6NTnaC3jYz3RS-obhjfFrhMB1NOvgvb6t4T7IeoTtM9q3ontByU7sMbH3iDeeNftyE/s1600/risk22i.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1vK7pksn48Ld1SfPTYxYdYbvlnamNV-15UpexiRP5cuZJaDJbY5k1xR2Ixf8zT7jQMXyUFtoFq6NTnaC3jYz3RS-obhjfFrhMB1NOvgvb6t4T7IeoTtM9q3ontByU7sMbH3iDeeNftyE/s400/risk22i.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">After spending time with his new son, Shepard gets home in time to play some games with Oregon and Carter.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDN3OUw6UpnWHql8aJhPAz0KIqw7Pfc1QRxon4gb4lE__2bVmZf_wO5S19DswZmaAAABPGMp-rBaJZlQ827YA80nCcO40ORlpd35J04JSmSjAScrY250EViL1l63495e84z2nJvPIqZDk/s1600/risk22j.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDN3OUw6UpnWHql8aJhPAz0KIqw7Pfc1QRxon4gb4lE__2bVmZf_wO5S19DswZmaAAABPGMp-rBaJZlQ827YA80nCcO40ORlpd35J04JSmSjAScrY250EViL1l63495e84z2nJvPIqZDk/s320/risk22j.jpg" width="318" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Shepard orders a pizza for Oregon's birthday.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Your father would rather you didn't have strangers coming to the house," Allyson protests.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Mom, MorcuCorp isn't hiring pizza deliverers to spy on us. I'm the Leader of the Free World, I can order a pizza for my kids if I want."</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvpXdRWDwLCvCc-j5rreKamYbARF0SODVfkoWv_TliB6iuGJ9sKaK6SHn2Oh_HIB2YbQr9-JybFyCsO8nsruQEk-w8_YS5nTCzYAlqDXo6vW13B2geaBlwv3z4ugmQ2Kviq2BmyDZD7vM/s1600/risk22k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvpXdRWDwLCvCc-j5rreKamYbARF0SODVfkoWv_TliB6iuGJ9sKaK6SHn2Oh_HIB2YbQr9-JybFyCsO8nsruQEk-w8_YS5nTCzYAlqDXo6vW13B2geaBlwv3z4ugmQ2Kviq2BmyDZD7vM/s1600/risk22k.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Mmmm, pizza. Oregon celebrates her birthday with the best food ever created.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLuZVhGNCNGjFg5q3sIbpv6-1maOT1wkkT8TXQWAxqiqYkrzkxZF85vFvetCjRsFjx-MY8VlOFGHvz6WCUtnLGS-acSmkT9_2zzOuptMhfsn7eoGN9FzZ9Jp7lWlPZMd4xWaPXP8zK_cI/s1600/risk22k1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLuZVhGNCNGjFg5q3sIbpv6-1maOT1wkkT8TXQWAxqiqYkrzkxZF85vFvetCjRsFjx-MY8VlOFGHvz6WCUtnLGS-acSmkT9_2zzOuptMhfsn7eoGN9FzZ9Jp7lWlPZMd4xWaPXP8zK_cI/s1600/risk22k1.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Oregon also got a guitar for birthday. She's a natural, like her grandfather, Shadow.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6reyYvbavtJpeeO9gXKOivk7qrEpLgraz4q0ReS86YfTS72-ZT-Dup_18x_A0M6x5CBnrNSOtEig1vy1_uGhHHhLeS2USN58olV8olXE7olAhAQHGgDD6dNSqEwdd-PfLAffCBFa1fx4/s1600/risk22l.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6reyYvbavtJpeeO9gXKOivk7qrEpLgraz4q0ReS86YfTS72-ZT-Dup_18x_A0M6x5CBnrNSOtEig1vy1_uGhHHhLeS2USN58olV8olXE7olAhAQHGgDD6dNSqEwdd-PfLAffCBFa1fx4/s1600/risk22l.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Bree Merrick had her birthday around the same time as Oregon, and the two remain inseparable friends.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I wish I had your complexion."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Are you kidding? I wish I had your complexion!"</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhrIRq3_JQZPxby2-s3dg821vvckAEdOiWG0rTfPW6YtJ7yGLDWWVOPv_CnjJQvClt7wIko5VFhSxSNUr8JyYcdLGsoDDN1n7M0S7iC2uYWChHMt7AdtgdCOEkVW-2bR46u_xrgrNZpzg/s1600/risk22m.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhrIRq3_JQZPxby2-s3dg821vvckAEdOiWG0rTfPW6YtJ7yGLDWWVOPv_CnjJQvClt7wIko5VFhSxSNUr8JyYcdLGsoDDN1n7M0S7iC2uYWChHMt7AdtgdCOEkVW-2bR46u_xrgrNZpzg/s400/risk22m.jpg" width="347" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Oregon also remains close to her mother, Lilly-Bo. Oregon got her artistic flair and fashion sense from her mother.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw1YeZegI2KZkhDeeojLN8_t9dAhH6vrGHyh4Rhmu-y8kS62dpW__gmZs0CXV0_6MZBUWRdbtkoXv40e0HXfUje6RHdF6KF09A7y9-DXfU9C4wAc4z5elFl3HKRaJ1CfH-c90RQBDLEfw/s1600/risk22n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw1YeZegI2KZkhDeeojLN8_t9dAhH6vrGHyh4Rhmu-y8kS62dpW__gmZs0CXV0_6MZBUWRdbtkoXv40e0HXfUje6RHdF6KF09A7y9-DXfU9C4wAc4z5elFl3HKRaJ1CfH-c90RQBDLEfw/s1600/risk22n.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Raising a child os a lot of work, and Shepard helps Anne out as much as he can. As he feared, it has put a damper on their romantic life. What little time he has to give them goes primarily to Josiah.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLw980sUAd2gudiBFJ3jPoriEGmfyrtrzARAkUGTL-nzsckReE5Dgt4otk2lxYDZfKzyliYOm5AIZNPCKWzdaCB8_ETzusQSlONnz1rJbfTyhcJw34JI_hb9LSkZe8R5zn81CaOmEoUaE/s1600/risk22o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLw980sUAd2gudiBFJ3jPoriEGmfyrtrzARAkUGTL-nzsckReE5Dgt4otk2lxYDZfKzyliYOm5AIZNPCKWzdaCB8_ETzusQSlONnz1rJbfTyhcJw34JI_hb9LSkZe8R5zn81CaOmEoUaE/s400/risk22o.jpg" width="390" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The Leader of the Free World still has to hold fundraisers. In fact, fund raising is one of his primary responsibilities.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivy3ukRNj2aZpDRGiULASCPNQEG5UdTbOGmb4e60_rwiU_2SGSAfvj5ZARZm-l5IGay295qkqi1UDULAWk-OMJJma7NKC0jG-K4tA-79epr0DA79lIM8apvzQ_AwV3VJeWPzvAkTZv1vA/s1600/risk22p.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivy3ukRNj2aZpDRGiULASCPNQEG5UdTbOGmb4e60_rwiU_2SGSAfvj5ZARZm-l5IGay295qkqi1UDULAWk-OMJJma7NKC0jG-K4tA-79epr0DA79lIM8apvzQ_AwV3VJeWPzvAkTZv1vA/s1600/risk22p.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Seeing her neighbors in their formal finest has inspired Oregon. When she grows up, she's going to be a stylist and help these poor people.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhftUZ6u4gqqgS9u-oQ3PBT24kZcB0YkHlAisOXSLro-LLx56i6v5quPxzeneQe42dfeqgTcNftMBY8WfPfOCa2BgzD8-U8yyneI-bzlPaaPFH0kC0s2DPaUDH5ug0EmRsIMOLR4vw7Ox4/s1600/risk22q.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhftUZ6u4gqqgS9u-oQ3PBT24kZcB0YkHlAisOXSLro-LLx56i6v5quPxzeneQe42dfeqgTcNftMBY8WfPfOCa2BgzD8-U8yyneI-bzlPaaPFH0kC0s2DPaUDH5ug0EmRsIMOLR4vw7Ox4/s1600/risk22q.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Oregon senses Beau Merrick staring at her from across the banquet hall, so she goes up to introduce herself.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"You're Bree's Dad," she says, "I'm Oregon McDermott."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I know who you are," Beau answers in his creepy, yet oddly seductive monotone, "You're Lilly-Bo's girl. Your mother was O positive, my favorite type. What type are you?"</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"What....type?" Oregon asks, confused.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Blood type," he says with a smile that shows his fangs.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Oh, uh, excuse me," Oregon stammers and runs off to find her father.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijkqrcz58K8bm9RW5odYL-QjUqlUOwkA00pqeBto3eFKkzY41EHhrQhyphenhyphenJVV1oCCHV32Udbn_UUeCn2_aMxDprui2TVINQK42jgbBFX3c7KpnSvTgtcozsdywBJB2d43sz3JTlWDN0qTgk/s1600/risk22r.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijkqrcz58K8bm9RW5odYL-QjUqlUOwkA00pqeBto3eFKkzY41EHhrQhyphenhyphenJVV1oCCHV32Udbn_UUeCn2_aMxDprui2TVINQK42jgbBFX3c7KpnSvTgtcozsdywBJB2d43sz3JTlWDN0qTgk/s1600/risk22r.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">When Carter becomes a teen, he seeks out his mother, who lives in the house next door but has never made an effort to see her son. He quickly discovers that Marina is a shallow gold digger who is only interested talking about her wealth and personal possessions. She left her son with his father at birth and hasn't had a single thought about him since.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh00mra6dzTnRTkvUS2fPYGXK27-D2-IIwIiExAUo8XHDxptQAR9DkZ55JmL5n99hacQOmKBBqoVdNzWXVkCavcaFNtRYAC-L4VqNxglIYNhcH69EXo3-mycReYbm2_dlInoWfqkRzQvDY/s1600/risk22s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh00mra6dzTnRTkvUS2fPYGXK27-D2-IIwIiExAUo8XHDxptQAR9DkZ55JmL5n99hacQOmKBBqoVdNzWXVkCavcaFNtRYAC-L4VqNxglIYNhcH69EXo3-mycReYbm2_dlInoWfqkRzQvDY/s1600/risk22s.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Oregon has her first date, and first kiss, with Jeromy Green-Maynard.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgIdmoTqNO4hhkoLe7wAGq21vIEfzNiGvps581SidTRT8CQ6aaiT6HG292xzwpUqPXC7mnrSD3TL0pqUoAQvKn3I2pyr-MWWgN8BkPCIdXjFUgO3FZY7m4bGMZJ5IU_GWP6YZpq6K5ln4/s1600/risk22u.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="354" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgIdmoTqNO4hhkoLe7wAGq21vIEfzNiGvps581SidTRT8CQ6aaiT6HG292xzwpUqPXC7mnrSD3TL0pqUoAQvKn3I2pyr-MWWgN8BkPCIdXjFUgO3FZY7m4bGMZJ5IU_GWP6YZpq6K5ln4/s400/risk22u.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I always knew you'd be Leader of the Free World someday, Shepard," Misty proclaims proudly, "And you're a great dancer. You make me proud."</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2HOOPGImvz38lsByYa9zQ7eCXdMstT6JDQhPQkSPkqDgxGyghSTrlT4KtkQMqPQfFZokdwrtKVS2zNIKnaSARedP74coNbSa1FmbFOP8TNi5cIwAfsE-gEX_Dm9MNmVRdhO2_yj9hJZY/s1600/risk22v.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2HOOPGImvz38lsByYa9zQ7eCXdMstT6JDQhPQkSPkqDgxGyghSTrlT4KtkQMqPQfFZokdwrtKVS2zNIKnaSARedP74coNbSa1FmbFOP8TNi5cIwAfsE-gEX_Dm9MNmVRdhO2_yj9hJZY/s400/risk22v.jpg" width="393" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Ewan decides he wants to meet his newest grandchild, and visits the Navarro house. Anne has done everything she could to keep Shepard's family separate from hers, but she can't refuse Ewan's request when he comes to her door.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Anne directs Ewan to Josiah's room, and leaves the old man to spend some time with his grandson, while she returns to her studio to paint.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">A short time later, Shepard appears at her door. "You father is here," she tells him.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"My father?" Shepard asks in surprise, "I'm sorry he intruded on you. I'll tell him to leave if you don't want him here."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"No, it's okay," Anne answers, "Everything is just so much more complicated than I thought it would be. I wanted to keep my family separate from yours, but..."</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I guess you have to take that," Anne says when his cell phone interrupts her.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Yeah, I do," Shepard answers. If he doesn't answer his phone, it could cause a huge panic.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">No matter where he is, the leader of the free world is always at work. When she's alone at night, Anne frequently thinks about marrying Shepard, wanting to be with him more, have their child grow up in the same house with him and his other children. But whenever she's with Shepard, the paparazzi follow, his phone rings non-stop, and she becomes more firm in her resolve to not subject herself and her son any further to the constant demands the world makes on her man.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Whenever he spends time with Anne, Shepard makes sure to have an equal amount of time for Oregon and Carter.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6q-veHFPE3WhyphenhyphenyCNZmQtg9OEZUckNgBBJc_3m02PFr70jkzNpjbxGTm_ViuALEdYDZlfQ04mxtv_ip8LchNmzXGoIVw5e2T5Vc_T-_liC2RVKFE_lrefgm0LzxS1whY47hYl-AgiYqhI/s1600/risk22z2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6q-veHFPE3WhyphenhyphenyCNZmQtg9OEZUckNgBBJc_3m02PFr70jkzNpjbxGTm_ViuALEdYDZlfQ04mxtv_ip8LchNmzXGoIVw5e2T5Vc_T-_liC2RVKFE_lrefgm0LzxS1whY47hYl-AgiYqhI/s1600/risk22z2.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Shepard is Leader of the Free World, but he's also a McDermott, and will personally defend his home from intruders in his underwear.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Allyson gets in line to beat up on the burglar.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Challenge Notes:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Shepard has achieved his Perfect Career goal, he's Leader of the Free World and level 10 Charisma. He turned adult the day before he got his last promotion.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Oregon's traits are Exitable, Virtuoso, Artistic and Charismatic. The first two were random from her birth outside the household. I chose artistic for her as child, since she will be a Stylist. For her teen trait, I couldn't quite decide, so I hit the randomize button and it came up Charismatic. More than one of her ancestors has had that trait (Allyson included) so kept it. Her favorite color is Violet.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Carter's traits are Brave, Clumsy, Kleptomaniac and Easily Impressed. He's been getting all random traits. He's going to have a hard time finding a girlfriend, the few teen girls are all one or two days from YA (except for his sister and her friend Bree Merrick, who is dating someone), and the child girls are all still several days until hitting teen.) </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Allyson and Ewan managed to see their grandkids grow to teens. Well, the ones in their house, anyway. Wyoming's daughter Karen just turned child and he and Rosalie just had another, Tamika. They are both over 90 and could be visited by the reaper any time now.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Allyson is still at celebrity level 4. She still works and does celebrity opportunities, but HP's mod makes it harder. So, if I ever actually roll 5 star celebrity as a goal, I might have to take out the mod. </span>yangthecathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15083940950118677312noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4989886776485997216.post-37383660286148034082011-02-06T09:14:00.000-08:002011-02-06T09:14:43.326-08:00Chapter 21: A Politician's Wife<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTju3BdwlJF6uKY3AM41wH_zkgqN8gBwNArEPu04NjHu3KEaFtRwOGIqzg1c44D7UX-harFPzyJSDCr3ye1rRB04UMfeISWCc5C3nDefpVEGOHOfv6mlZl9Y6lgF3N0eem990PBUJcYy4/s1600/risk21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTju3BdwlJF6uKY3AM41wH_zkgqN8gBwNArEPu04NjHu3KEaFtRwOGIqzg1c44D7UX-harFPzyJSDCr3ye1rRB04UMfeISWCc5C3nDefpVEGOHOfv6mlZl9Y6lgF3N0eem990PBUJcYy4/s400/risk21.jpg" width="315" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Shepard is elected mayor of Twinbrook.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHKnOCU8wLjGXWENxsaDtiAZvVuOsXjbTf6cj1FlQo4psiApGYHvh-FwMngXsF6Gm-vfcOtBn470a0FadMc7N1Ok7KwQX13ywyRDTlZfqtpiNtNtbKm3ruv5ovX9yKPM_0OIS78WQlSx8/s1600/risk21a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="375" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHKnOCU8wLjGXWENxsaDtiAZvVuOsXjbTf6cj1FlQo4psiApGYHvh-FwMngXsF6Gm-vfcOtBn470a0FadMc7N1Ok7KwQX13ywyRDTlZfqtpiNtNtbKm3ruv5ovX9yKPM_0OIS78WQlSx8/s400/risk21a.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">As he promised, Shepard takes Anne out on a date 'somewhere nice'; the only nightclub in Twinbrook. As usual, the paparazzi follow him.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Shepard invites her back to his place, but she refuses, saying it wouldn't be right to sleep with him in the house with his children. His children are too young to understand grown up relationships, but Anne isn't persuaded.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"They won't be too young for long, and they understand more than you think," she says, "I don't want to be in the habit of staying over." She also refuses to invite him to spend the night at her place, because she insists he should be in his own home when his kids wake. The fact that his parents are there to take of them doesn't change her mind. "Come visit me tomorrow morning," she says, "After you have breakfast with your family."</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">So Shepard rushes to her house the next morning. "Can I take you out somewhere?" he asks.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"No, let's just pick up where we left off last night."</span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Anne invites him up to her room, and into her bed.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Carter becomes a toddler. He has his grandfather's hair.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghYv3ldeo4ObX5L9qPS67hDI4FBP8WvH82n2_5gvByCa6IOvJ6GgnjA9P-tVfUAQMSy3bSoaRumG07bPDC6yoJweYOz-x909NZJ-xIsiy8LdPnOuQQoMBH_3_qO62GGuTPPPKE4BgLS4w/s1600/risk21f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="357" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghYv3ldeo4ObX5L9qPS67hDI4FBP8WvH82n2_5gvByCa6IOvJ6GgnjA9P-tVfUAQMSy3bSoaRumG07bPDC6yoJweYOz-x909NZJ-xIsiy8LdPnOuQQoMBH_3_qO62GGuTPPPKE4BgLS4w/s400/risk21f.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"A good smile can get you anywhere, with anyone." </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqWZu-LFIzyG7RfEmR9Pgqkff-0uXMkRQploos0NPcfSkbFrRYhwiDSJBSbuti34S_gvkRbZIqmWhOvIerIE1_MZ6Jmvk1GBCsSNRyB58wdYiDOvZH7En71kQAcl-JXAMcPq-Lf6IZdCY/s1600/risk21g.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="340" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqWZu-LFIzyG7RfEmR9Pgqkff-0uXMkRQploos0NPcfSkbFrRYhwiDSJBSbuti34S_gvkRbZIqmWhOvIerIE1_MZ6Jmvk1GBCsSNRyB58wdYiDOvZH7En71kQAcl-JXAMcPq-Lf6IZdCY/s400/risk21g.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Shepard chooses the most romantic spot in Twinbrook to make his proposal, the Esplanade at sunset. Anne kisses him in greeting when they meet beneath the mermaid sculpture. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"You're nervous," she observes, "What's going on?"</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghmGsnce6RZPjBPRGR2ZssGkLKimiwOQ4bIsjC7UgtRS9ha45YGJYF6SramKELFXmiHeV6w9hzbjPrngebfunlAotMJgctC7BdSE16ledliZVzsWYxd2xkmAn96MCYgIa7BipsNHRhzuk/s1600/risk21h.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghmGsnce6RZPjBPRGR2ZssGkLKimiwOQ4bIsjC7UgtRS9ha45YGJYF6SramKELFXmiHeV6w9hzbjPrngebfunlAotMJgctC7BdSE16ledliZVzsWYxd2xkmAn96MCYgIa7BipsNHRhzuk/s400/risk21h.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Shepard laughs. He gives speeches all the time, and is constantly in the public eye, but the thought of asking her to marry him has given him stomach butterflies like he was a shy teenager.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I want to propose to you, Anne, but I haven't figured out how I want to say it. But since it's out there, now - I love you. Will you marry me?"</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">She pulls out of his arms and stays silent, looking at him. There's no way a 'yes' is going to follow, but Shepard presses. "Well?"</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivGREnDLnvSqplUQnhVD3Uba7PL7Xvle-RSqgRZ65iXw6bx99599R4j_-FOOp_hBSRTpFWQWKDzed0V0OtM1AtqDNiUZrWlXCxkA-QhDETRlMgCRDFhRLas98KepEkq4tkljAcVFs_9IU/s1600/risk21i.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivGREnDLnvSqplUQnhVD3Uba7PL7Xvle-RSqgRZ65iXw6bx99599R4j_-FOOp_hBSRTpFWQWKDzed0V0OtM1AtqDNiUZrWlXCxkA-QhDETRlMgCRDFhRLas98KepEkq4tkljAcVFs_9IU/s400/risk21i.jpg" width="382" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I'm sorry, Shepard," she says, "I love you, too, but I'm not a politician's wife."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"You aren't now," Shepard answers, "But you could be."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"No, I can't. I can't stand behind a podium and smile while you make some public apology for your affairs."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I'm not going to have affairs, Anne. You are everything to me, I'd never cheat on you."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Says the man raising two children by two different mothers, neither being his wife," Anne laughs, making light of the situation.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"That was before I met you," Shepard protests, "I've changed. I don't want anyone but you. Marry me, and I'll prove it, I swear."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I actually believe that Shepard," Anne says, without smiling, "But that's not really the issue. I love being with you, but being your wife would be more like a job than a relationship. The paparazzi follow you all the time, I'd be under the same public scrutiny as you are. I'd always have to watch what I do, what I say. I can't take that kind of pressure. I just want to continue on as we are."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF6Zxrkr8Y76XDFYZ7I_dfN-HGJK4ZO_yhYWXamgO4R_2d2F3xE88XUI3sq82z1Nv0h35RmN_IEVAv2rKnWQiw_FZk2TunwcxpisIB33tI-ihm2RMqsicYVFeAYojABLyAq1fS-qruqh8/s1600/risk21j.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF6Zxrkr8Y76XDFYZ7I_dfN-HGJK4ZO_yhYWXamgO4R_2d2F3xE88XUI3sq82z1Nv0h35RmN_IEVAv2rKnWQiw_FZk2TunwcxpisIB33tI-ihm2RMqsicYVFeAYojABLyAq1fS-qruqh8/s400/risk21j.jpg" width="388" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Shepard is immensely disappointed at her rejection, but as long as he hasn't lost her completely, he still has hope that she'll change her mind sooner or later, and so continues on as they were before.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglb3miSuPU9m-X0RuCjGqtNVpk5QJIz8bKAvDxuTCemB7b260ZxvU5HBDeK53Zf9wNPzp2ryWP-z4TbdY_T6FGAV5ZG9aB1sG-UGlOiOaM44S3kbLNUQNLqNwTXlcs7uxbwZ8iAl0CkjU/s1600/risk21k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglb3miSuPU9m-X0RuCjGqtNVpk5QJIz8bKAvDxuTCemB7b260ZxvU5HBDeK53Zf9wNPzp2ryWP-z4TbdY_T6FGAV5ZG9aB1sG-UGlOiOaM44S3kbLNUQNLqNwTXlcs7uxbwZ8iAl0CkjU/s400/risk21k.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Except it isn't quite the same as it was before, her rejection of his proposal hangs silently between them, even when they make love.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPu9v4iVzXZBBdauAKmqfsNnhwQjC9B-fMmYiDRq8jcpae8UTHzHP68LMU7Iz8EEnhg-MaM-xrcm7SOCJOTNKLlK8SWUhF3SwsJiz00Rhbylvda_H3vl6Ik2V-abw0MVEDZrp0F0zd6Pw/s1600/risk21l.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPu9v4iVzXZBBdauAKmqfsNnhwQjC9B-fMmYiDRq8jcpae8UTHzHP68LMU7Iz8EEnhg-MaM-xrcm7SOCJOTNKLlK8SWUhF3SwsJiz00Rhbylvda_H3vl6Ik2V-abw0MVEDZrp0F0zd6Pw/s400/risk21l.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Anne still refuses to spend the night at his house, or to allow him to stay overnight at hers, for the sake of his children. And though Shepard hates the solitary drive home after their dates, he knows she right. Not just for his children, but for his career. He can't have the paparazzi snapping photos of him coming out of his girlfriend's house in the morning. Even though he's single, it's not the image he wants to see in the morning papers.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj56ljxOufpeM42KrH-4F61m0-pK5lBX3h94qA_iJ5Dm8RqBbYnbhyphenhyphenCP4VHhvchoXddkoOaM38CTfcztXI3yqsbQzaWv4bldTtxbHnunCOjNxcyOOUc7f1xp_4cU-zVRZEN4D9aJqpv3E0/s1600/risk21m.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="323" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj56ljxOufpeM42KrH-4F61m0-pK5lBX3h94qA_iJ5Dm8RqBbYnbhyphenhyphenCP4VHhvchoXddkoOaM38CTfcztXI3yqsbQzaWv4bldTtxbHnunCOjNxcyOOUc7f1xp_4cU-zVRZEN4D9aJqpv3E0/s400/risk21m.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The McDermotts hold a small family party for Oregon's birthday. Oregon's mother, Lilly-Bo comes to see her daughter grow up.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb6fG2CnRR-fbiZ9zewWC3remjllXya7jCgSqTjGU5hRpdX3IDOerupNiZwd2WhET67NaMj2lsjOzifPHqz4JM5x5GXejjdZw4-5QRrGfqAbzFlT8sdTM3dY-SDFM9iG1Nqdf6iBG7FR0/s1600/risk21n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb6fG2CnRR-fbiZ9zewWC3remjllXya7jCgSqTjGU5hRpdX3IDOerupNiZwd2WhET67NaMj2lsjOzifPHqz4JM5x5GXejjdZw4-5QRrGfqAbzFlT8sdTM3dY-SDFM9iG1Nqdf6iBG7FR0/s400/risk21n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Though Lilly-Bo loved Beau Merrick enough to stay with him even after he married Bianca, Bianca wasn't very happy about keeping her new husband's other lover around after the marriage, and eventually threw Lilly-Bo out. Lilly-Bo was on her own for awhile, and eventually married Lang Gwydd.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Wyoming and his wife Rosalie, also came to the party; they just had a daughter, Karen.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkmmKcW8rlJaNcWV8xlbu59ZT4y7hkxcshyphenhyphenA-Nztdtnn69aoBwe0fZsK27q0KOB6bGq_okyRSccxrsx4pv3bZDH7Exzdnn8CkYEDTLqxN3t1ZYLXDeWIKBnjgFkFaALjcAHzJtBHigYso/s1600/risk21o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkmmKcW8rlJaNcWV8xlbu59ZT4y7hkxcshyphenhyphenA-Nztdtnn69aoBwe0fZsK27q0KOB6bGq_okyRSccxrsx4pv3bZDH7Exzdnn8CkYEDTLqxN3t1ZYLXDeWIKBnjgFkFaALjcAHzJtBHigYso/s400/risk21o.jpg" width="373" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Oregon is happy to finally meet her mother, who she hasn't seen since she was born.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3yBnoor4pl4uFQZiXW4EcS57AH25w2BtaPi1ysxlxOBJ-Shry-d7kbREdodC3XTDFK6JWR7r0vi86Fc5fohIiUX0O4II4sjq2Glq3a0xLYlQ6uBMJhk0w4eCHztyf_zh0NmyRO43P9NA/s1600/risk21p.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="388" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3yBnoor4pl4uFQZiXW4EcS57AH25w2BtaPi1ysxlxOBJ-Shry-d7kbREdodC3XTDFK6JWR7r0vi86Fc5fohIiUX0O4II4sjq2Glq3a0xLYlQ6uBMJhk0w4eCHztyf_zh0NmyRO43P9NA/s400/risk21p.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">As a grandfather, Ewan hasn't pressed as hard for educational and toys and books as he did with his sons, but he's still keenly interested in his grandchildren's education, and helps Oregon with her homework.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWgjawHYWceg0OpEiejiwj3sDC119WYoN6EMzY4fRoOcyNXMcEwixHtdCrYQHRk6BQaxxW1cOWQMLxj2Q5TgXhBugxx3WWn6cMyi7Gvu-wOCp8S7Iio9seJEVoTHyjirwA0cSCCIzulwM/s1600/risk21p1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWgjawHYWceg0OpEiejiwj3sDC119WYoN6EMzY4fRoOcyNXMcEwixHtdCrYQHRk6BQaxxW1cOWQMLxj2Q5TgXhBugxx3WWn6cMyi7Gvu-wOCp8S7Iio9seJEVoTHyjirwA0cSCCIzulwM/s400/risk21p1.jpg" width="347" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Oregon is artistic and loves to paint.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPPqcbvG_HGHXDE-co1Y52vdNPgHUGY1wrt1tj9mYS5juIxbxkoJM8_GMg9MtdR_ScCtCMpJQJn9SEABn9sIWH33fq92LJA57hEHHJh1FVkVE9zkGB468IihgCBijsSIhYoO38B2uKitc/s1600/risk21q.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPPqcbvG_HGHXDE-co1Y52vdNPgHUGY1wrt1tj9mYS5juIxbxkoJM8_GMg9MtdR_ScCtCMpJQJn9SEABn9sIWH33fq92LJA57hEHHJh1FVkVE9zkGB468IihgCBijsSIhYoO38B2uKitc/s400/risk21q.jpg" width="382" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Shepard is elected governor in an emergency special election after the previous governor disappeared for a weekend without informing his staff of his whereabouts. The press discovered him pursuing an affair with a woman in Champs les Sims, and the scandal quickly ended the governor's career, leaving the seat open for Twinbrook's popular, young, unmarried mayor to claim in a landslide election.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7wsJ_McujWU1HmFk0Q7QG1tPWaZFcgSmvlOlx9olIWFecoRM7lFcJ0iNu8zafm55AzSg53wEUCgYEhvzi0GMjVcGUj1vt0qfD-Vittb7NZpw81JZcG3c3QbRVaysv3ri1FhDyqmcvUPA/s1600/risk21r.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7wsJ_McujWU1HmFk0Q7QG1tPWaZFcgSmvlOlx9olIWFecoRM7lFcJ0iNu8zafm55AzSg53wEUCgYEhvzi0GMjVcGUj1vt0qfD-Vittb7NZpw81JZcG3c3QbRVaysv3ri1FhDyqmcvUPA/s400/risk21r.jpg" width="338" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The new governor immediately starts raising funds for his presidential bid. The next election is coming up, and Shepard hopes to be the youngest leader of the free world in Sim history.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I would totally vote for you," Loren Carlton promises, "If I could figure out the ballot. It's like so confusing! I don't know which box to check."</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Loren Carlton might be dumb as a brick, but his family is extremely wealthy, and his 10,000 simoleon contribution to Shepard's war chest is much appreciated.</span><br />
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</div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Anne attends Shepard's fundraisers as faithfully as any politician's wife would, and waits patiently while he schmoozes with his supporters and campaign contributors.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">After he's hit up all his guests for money, Shepard has time for dancing. It's not a party without at least one dance.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmMLAC8qtoDu24tqlc7mZPhmU9_N_WOm_kXkZWKL2PUWnjIm1vuvt2U0DuQk0Rr5MsRLQQfSLuJVyYNi2sMrARRmRBas4vJfhSkJpW9ZeYp8JRkOaLq_O0khc5-Q9Wb3nqQRsTAaRTYpg/s1600/risk21v.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmMLAC8qtoDu24tqlc7mZPhmU9_N_WOm_kXkZWKL2PUWnjIm1vuvt2U0DuQk0Rr5MsRLQQfSLuJVyYNi2sMrARRmRBas4vJfhSkJpW9ZeYp8JRkOaLq_O0khc5-Q9Wb3nqQRsTAaRTYpg/s400/risk21v.jpg" width="381" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">After the party is over, Shepard goes back to Anne's place to 'visit' before he has to go back to his own lonely bed.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I want a baby," Anne announces, taking him completely by surprise.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I we got married, we could have as many babies as you want," Shepard answers.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Anne shakes her head, "Being the mayor's wife was more of a job than I wanted, there's no way I want the First Lady gig. I don't want to be your wife, Shepard, but I don't want to give you up, either. And I want a baby, your baby."</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Anne, you've always been so concerned about my children, making sure I'm home every night with them instead of being here with you. How are we going to manage having a child together if we aren't in the same family?"</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I don't know, Shepard," Anne says, tears forming in her eyes, "I just know I want to have a baby of my own. Please, I've never asked you for anything, just give me this. We'll figure out the details later."</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Though it goes against his better judgment, Shepard cannot refuse her anything.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Challenge Notes:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Shepard gets promotions every other day. Which is great for achieving his Perfect Career requirement, but makes the story a little difficult. Because election cycles are a little longer than every two or three days, lol. So for story purposes, I don't mention every promotion in the blog.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">He's currently at level 9 of the political career (Vice President) and will soon be leader of the free world. He's also level 9 charisma, and once he hits level 10, he will achieve the perfect career goal. He's one day away from his adult birthday.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Oregon got the Artistic trait for her birthday. Somehow she was put at Friend status with her mother at birth, maybe her mother has high charisma or something. But it made that relationship easy. Oregon also inherited Pizza Appreciator from her mother.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Anne actually does constantly bring up babies, she always talking about blocks, teddy bears and baby bottles. She's Hopeless Romantic and Over Emotional.</span>yangthecathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15083940950118677312noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4989886776485997216.post-17615572126590316242011-02-02T14:09:00.000-08:002011-02-02T15:17:20.331-08:00Chapter 20: Mr. Mayor<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk0vA2nHlfwXyWJbJZBCGaUVXDKu8yH-EdRWxWwLglkCKCmwxGdiJbcqSMejOSWNBaxEZJR3z6onAo44st7WIM9hSpd0cARflwLl2Tc_Wn_G2aFE-Il13NTgTFIPcPBHGHA-kEiItB1qk/s1600/risk19s.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 377px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk0vA2nHlfwXyWJbJZBCGaUVXDKu8yH-EdRWxWwLglkCKCmwxGdiJbcqSMejOSWNBaxEZJR3z6onAo44st7WIM9hSpd0cARflwLl2Tc_Wn_G2aFE-Il13NTgTFIPcPBHGHA-kEiItB1qk/s400/risk19s.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569218435953302082" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Shepard's habit of hitting the Red Rendevous every night after work hasn't changed after his baby daughter moved in.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"Hot wings again?" Anne tsks at his order "Those things will kill you, you know. Don't you ever eat a home cooked meal?"</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ2Gn0AOmoPrnm9SUN-EAcJohLKZ_5PYlHzU40JCa38X-96FE2a_ixfGm0xGQT1PYg5d1IiCOi2YUnOf0cblkHgfWwDB-cWYMsvpOuwRUfaQtyjCHOtZLO0N6itCygvxgeuw3GwcUjfm0/s1600/risk19t.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 362px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ2Gn0AOmoPrnm9SUN-EAcJohLKZ_5PYlHzU40JCa38X-96FE2a_ixfGm0xGQT1PYg5d1IiCOi2YUnOf0cblkHgfWwDB-cWYMsvpOuwRUfaQtyjCHOtZLO0N6itCygvxgeuw3GwcUjfm0/s400/risk19t.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569219263171076114" /></a><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Since the bar is dead as a tomb, Anne agrees to play some foosball with Shepard.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"I'd like to take you out sometime, Anne," Shepard says, "Somewhere nicer than this, where you aren't on the clock."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"I work here every night until 3 am," Anne answers.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV87Z5Io_WkYK7rJshjp6FN-LxnhEX5YGaPUm4P5VNeG5oEFAEEJxdJWkP_DXDCT82kUi45ygLc62ZujkMQcmteVGp62N5gtmNMCtwjLAZmQQDahFKcrloj-lC0gFUPhEwNsbNPQ5ufBY/s1600/risk19u.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 344px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV87Z5Io_WkYK7rJshjp6FN-LxnhEX5YGaPUm4P5VNeG5oEFAEEJxdJWkP_DXDCT82kUi45ygLc62ZujkMQcmteVGp62N5gtmNMCtwjLAZmQQDahFKcrloj-lC0gFUPhEwNsbNPQ5ufBY/s400/risk19u.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569220223231591026" /></a><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"I'd really like to kiss you," Shepard says.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"Well, why don't you, then?"</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPGwCXau28J2MM-5ViVXf2Y5vHuRWObYojfsQ3VB7V9AbSCS6KHXN6wsxr40y9YKz7HWtt-F-WFaKMxF71HAofBLo5oJ_epCaWnQDSex4StHRLtDyRyJPGqFYYpsr3r_cMyodGpsjc_bs/s1600/risk19v.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 394px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPGwCXau28J2MM-5ViVXf2Y5vHuRWObYojfsQ3VB7V9AbSCS6KHXN6wsxr40y9YKz7HWtt-F-WFaKMxF71HAofBLo5oJ_epCaWnQDSex4StHRLtDyRyJPGqFYYpsr3r_cMyodGpsjc_bs/s400/risk19v.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569220597890825970" /></a><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">And so he does. It's the sweetest kiss he's ever had. Before it's over, a few customers amble in, and Anne has to slip away from him and get back to her job.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzSbVqe5DkHaUw5xne_wlaFFqqhiXjaWozeauGOfVRrWM7JIbIZTrnm6pKcTYE4eGBNZCw2Het2QwtBUKyffeslfEOuf7kyO4x4qmTvyovAHXghfme4FIYO4D5d6cKdkPC1WUFrk-4zRA/s1600/risk19w.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 386px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzSbVqe5DkHaUw5xne_wlaFFqqhiXjaWozeauGOfVRrWM7JIbIZTrnm6pKcTYE4eGBNZCw2Het2QwtBUKyffeslfEOuf7kyO4x4qmTvyovAHXghfme4FIYO4D5d6cKdkPC1WUFrk-4zRA/s400/risk19w.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569221729047463426" /></a><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Shepard's son Carter is born the next day, and once again it is Ewan who picks him up from the hospital.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJqAJ3keK4DIcig1NaKq9tWssKus_5IxFRqerDgabyrDhPvz3CbyTieNc1kXMnzOkuAoXcmLApTgmgrTmhrQm8dfySlrhxIzkDfJNAlvnAOYLUEkoZTxtjrgXiIdNB_A2WcIvi2vx3f6o/s1600/risk19x.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 377px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJqAJ3keK4DIcig1NaKq9tWssKus_5IxFRqerDgabyrDhPvz3CbyTieNc1kXMnzOkuAoXcmLApTgmgrTmhrQm8dfySlrhxIzkDfJNAlvnAOYLUEkoZTxtjrgXiIdNB_A2WcIvi2vx3f6o/s400/risk19x.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569222214336278594" /></a><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Oregon becomes a toddler. With her mother's hair, she is clearly born to be a stylist. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Shepard is elected Local Representative, and he has his eyes on the upcoming mayoral election.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5uoznBt6hS_3p89GR1_fieNxIuCVTRsFlqnZINxk6Ajvp9hiOBKF0mjEqf_zs9wa55i1NDWAtq5TIPJtHvCMzqDs4V4fAl-pyZd8e4vCs7D5Zs5xamVOTjdYwDPFmHx6r9hYhrVOwAWg/s1600/risk19y.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 389px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5uoznBt6hS_3p89GR1_fieNxIuCVTRsFlqnZINxk6Ajvp9hiOBKF0mjEqf_zs9wa55i1NDWAtq5TIPJtHvCMzqDs4V4fAl-pyZd8e4vCs7D5Zs5xamVOTjdYwDPFmHx6r9hYhrVOwAWg/s400/risk19y.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569222712318291682" /></a><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Allyson becomes an elder.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"Where did I get this horrible vest? I can't be seen wearing this!"</span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhieC0UN7ZqdtIaBTPynGuiLIlgz1_5SytEUpGLcUX8BOndye9ilqFWx9li2PzLD7dHWHtLl3-FVAj0d1I0bBcjZny5r2FvzljFZtZUfpSxJH0hXFKFVnHuyMfhmi4sDJVq9K3Me8CwJDQ/s1600/risk19z.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 381px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhieC0UN7ZqdtIaBTPynGuiLIlgz1_5SytEUpGLcUX8BOndye9ilqFWx9li2PzLD7dHWHtLl3-FVAj0d1I0bBcjZny5r2FvzljFZtZUfpSxJH0hXFKFVnHuyMfhmi4sDJVq9K3Me8CwJDQ/s400/risk19z.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569222980474733090" /></a><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">That's a bit better.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg73eNtS54zyzBn6ykfuMYTXQqgwNPr6GOy8JpH6qXKRtgNm26aoJedElE7Er-nDiNEIU4yjxJlrbiQvVuCak63S8njMnnX369Jw6l0BYpPPN_hxR3oR_yclaaT-zlhJXjfaBmPNEyXem4/s1600/risk19za.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 366px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg73eNtS54zyzBn6ykfuMYTXQqgwNPr6GOy8JpH6qXKRtgNm26aoJedElE7Er-nDiNEIU4yjxJlrbiQvVuCak63S8njMnnX369Jw6l0BYpPPN_hxR3oR_yclaaT-zlhJXjfaBmPNEyXem4/s400/risk19za.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569223307792255026" /></a><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Ewan's turn follows.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7AlAvWrbyuwbxIgIT5KGNAywOPV2JhZ0avO5vWICWuYRMmTr-NuVJ0P5Ue8n86M32KzD1lyNOro80hVGn2KPNe_cJ_VW1Oil-63wP_QlTWUC3hpylunCs_KAYi-506Mm9jW2y8ykaffE/s1600/risk19zb.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 338px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7AlAvWrbyuwbxIgIT5KGNAywOPV2JhZ0avO5vWICWuYRMmTr-NuVJ0P5Ue8n86M32KzD1lyNOro80hVGn2KPNe_cJ_VW1Oil-63wP_QlTWUC3hpylunCs_KAYi-506Mm9jW2y8ykaffE/s400/risk19zb.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569223554017516674" /></a><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"Did I say you could come behind my bar?" Anne asks the paparazzi, photographing Shepard as she makes him a Sweet Hijinks. Paparazzi are not known for their sense of propriety.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSfxnmLiqH2ezr94Ad0YZg66qOrighRtUTQhSR5Gu4qb-YDhWRgv7TygjTR_pzrl5qlT838LrLBoTD_vediISM9s-fS1EefdLQFlojWog8_OElRZRRNc5q45coOOBb5xfO3PhzgTx8rSY/s1600/risk19zc.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 348px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSfxnmLiqH2ezr94Ad0YZg66qOrighRtUTQhSR5Gu4qb-YDhWRgv7TygjTR_pzrl5qlT838LrLBoTD_vediISM9s-fS1EefdLQFlojWog8_OElRZRRNc5q45coOOBb5xfO3PhzgTx8rSY/s400/risk19zc.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569224116989997602" /></a><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">The Red Rendevous is hopping tonight; there won't be any dancing or games for Anne. The current mayor, Holly Greenwood, is here with Shepard tonight. She's vacating her seat and has been grooming him to be her successor. With the election so close, Shepard is glued to his phone, talking to his campaign manager. But despite the intense focus on his election, part of his mind is on Anne and how much he wants to get her alone and kiss her again.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYb5nQ8XLawptLI9VnAmuWUzU3hwZM_j401tFe0SCoFStOta9w117TPoTa-IvfDO3cAP1aiJahe4Ca1xU7LpdQe4nnWVzeWMCxl5scGMLsVpD6tsnf3b61pTBelgwcm2t9Qtw-rJ3TZ8A/s1600/risk19zd.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 339px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYb5nQ8XLawptLI9VnAmuWUzU3hwZM_j401tFe0SCoFStOta9w117TPoTa-IvfDO3cAP1aiJahe4Ca1xU7LpdQe4nnWVzeWMCxl5scGMLsVpD6tsnf3b61pTBelgwcm2t9Qtw-rJ3TZ8A/s400/risk19zd.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569225269464115698" /></a><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">That Friday night, Shepard throws a huge fundraiser for his campaign. His childhood friend Dennis Sargeant shows up. Though Shepard had used his influence in high school to get Chanel Knack-Racket to choose Dennis, Dennis ended up marrying Emilie Smith-Jones.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPOmcJA-7gM3_oES8I_6qbP-9jEEjJw3fgSfXXBE01bI4J3x_bbOtfdHq-7jSzqBPhWYhA4PC-XFJmBb5dUJ8IedIWHZflAvR3NxQWW2A3SXCgsPyUDzta8kymR4uOZQbdWahZs3IYqJI/s1600/risk19ze.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 345px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPOmcJA-7gM3_oES8I_6qbP-9jEEjJw3fgSfXXBE01bI4J3x_bbOtfdHq-7jSzqBPhWYhA4PC-XFJmBb5dUJ8IedIWHZflAvR3NxQWW2A3SXCgsPyUDzta8kymR4uOZQbdWahZs3IYqJI/s400/risk19ze.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569225838584067458" /></a><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Probably not the most dignified way for the future mayor to greet his guests, but parties, even formal fundraisers, have that effect on Shepard. His campaign manager says it makes him more likeable, "You're the kind of guy people feel they could have a beer with. People like that in a leader."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBdlHu5v6sKvSDIXkYzQXtcWl6WrgZQNMrqIFdA7wdAtlHL5ouqvqGtxwqUs6S8b5Kx3-0LnfW7-hxe9dd-rHl5Xj78sA7_ZfkuGiHH373sT6Ub2Ql7i03NyvofbuTfDpD7E8YsrCjDLs/s1600/risk19zf.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 342px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBdlHu5v6sKvSDIXkYzQXtcWl6WrgZQNMrqIFdA7wdAtlHL5ouqvqGtxwqUs6S8b5Kx3-0LnfW7-hxe9dd-rHl5Xj78sA7_ZfkuGiHH373sT6Ub2Ql7i03NyvofbuTfDpD7E8YsrCjDLs/s400/risk19zf.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569226627899024306" /></a><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Marina, the mother of his son, is here because she works for Shepard. These days she's proudly showing off her sparkly new wedding wing. She married Buddy Baker, a recent widower who inherited his wife Mary's entire fortune. Shepard is just grateful she had her eyes on a bigger prize than he represented; he couldn't imagine making his life with her.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Shepard is surprised to see Anne among his guests; she had told him she couldn't make it on account of her work.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgYxIuhaYj2KWTyXiC5zDf1E54UGajYWsSfxaNNBhlK8ktVb9rkEWM7WwKayglAGcyrOANp9xfv4g-PrOjaOZPJECFCYvg_53C6uqAGJxUm-2tzAZ1ffekrF1969vM_ydvdwH6GS_c11Y/s1600/risk19zg.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 330px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgYxIuhaYj2KWTyXiC5zDf1E54UGajYWsSfxaNNBhlK8ktVb9rkEWM7WwKayglAGcyrOANp9xfv4g-PrOjaOZPJECFCYvg_53C6uqAGJxUm-2tzAZ1ffekrF1969vM_ydvdwH6GS_c11Y/s400/risk19zg.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569227625715725778" /></a><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">He's thrilled to see her, of course, and heads right to her as soon as he notices her.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"Are you sure you want to be seen with me?" she asks as he takes her hand, "I'm not the kind of girl most people expect their mayor to be involved with. In public, at least."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"Anne, I'd like to be seen with you more often, all over town. We haven't even had the chance to go on a date, or had more than one kiss, but I would like nothing more than to acknowledge you as my girlfriend to the entire town."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcKOzc1Veg0fK8bOLmmHbLKdYEgMWFl0O592S3O-Igjpl-z_XgMg9fgWB7N76CBRTmA1yEV9uRQ1xgs_eFUBkAB9syZdraXwMsqKy-SDryvLIvVHhTjVkvYet4clEwLck93D3JG_gP4M4/s1600/risk19zh.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 388px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcKOzc1Veg0fK8bOLmmHbLKdYEgMWFl0O592S3O-Igjpl-z_XgMg9fgWB7N76CBRTmA1yEV9uRQ1xgs_eFUBkAB9syZdraXwMsqKy-SDryvLIvVHhTjVkvYet4clEwLck93D3JG_gP4M4/s400/risk19zh.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569229411224378930" /></a><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Shepard was a little afraid she'd laugh at his declaration. Because he's only seen her in the bar where she works, and they'd only had that one kiss, he wasn't sure she felt the same way he did.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"You should kiss me after a speech like that," she says, and Shepard does as she asks. "I quit my job at the bar," she whispers in his ear, "I've made enough in tips that I can give it up and paint full time. And I'll be taking you up on that offer to go out somewhere nice." Shepard kisses her again, thrilled at the news. "You aren't raising any funds by spending all your time with me. Go do your political thing; we'll have plenty of time for dating tomorrow."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Shepard reluctantly pulls away from her, but she's right, he's here to raise funds for his campaign, not pursue his romance.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdWUaCkKTxSE-DnHMhLsHtuNBS8tljUA5BT1YUr4-sESsD7tZE-EO062vqwVSt6YmeB-SEzgRFZn5MFkPq0xVsu_22NqFQEWhzWf20XKMZnQBH4kLyCU0mJ6D8aHiEMP9Ht2WW817qbdk/s1600/risk19zi.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 365px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdWUaCkKTxSE-DnHMhLsHtuNBS8tljUA5BT1YUr4-sESsD7tZE-EO062vqwVSt6YmeB-SEzgRFZn5MFkPq0xVsu_22NqFQEWhzWf20XKMZnQBH4kLyCU0mJ6D8aHiEMP9Ht2WW817qbdk/s400/risk19zi.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569231332191450818" /></a><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">After a long evening of schmoozing and securing campaign donations, Shepard caught up to Anne by the buffet, having dinner with his mother. In that moment, he decides he's going to marry her someday.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Challenge Notes:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Dating a bartender NPC is next to impossible. The dive bar hours are 11am to 3am, 7 days a week. So for Shepard to pursue this, I had to move Anne into a house and change her job. I made her a self-employed painter. Now she'll be free all the time. (note to anyone who does this, even after I changed Anne's career, she was still assigned as mixologist. I had to go into edit town, go to the bar she worked in and delete the bar and replace it with a new one.)</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Shepard actually did roll a wish to get married right at that moment when he was walking toward the buffet. Poor guy, you rolled single parent, it's not happening for you. Sorry.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Marina got married and is pregnant. Her husband Buddy will be turning elder in a few days, and has no kids with his first wife, who turned elder right after she married him. It's like he was a gold digger who got his older wife's fortune and now he's married a gold digger who'll take it from him.</span></div>yangthecathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15083940950118677312noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4989886776485997216.post-72331385201106989102011-02-02T04:32:00.000-08:002011-02-02T05:58:49.107-08:00Chapter 19: Youthful Indiscretions<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgabR6n0akhGGe_h22PdDQnc59UiipNqcYOvcV_R0hGvg1GKcl8HU8WL_TxbOL4mxJw2Mpgzznd-ZmAOjgmBBb0N5ahySmJIDZC_6QUi6DZJ_A4vMLXMVaJsmNeMJo79_t5kLoVKCgEuG0/s1600/risk19a.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 386px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgabR6n0akhGGe_h22PdDQnc59UiipNqcYOvcV_R0hGvg1GKcl8HU8WL_TxbOL4mxJw2Mpgzznd-ZmAOjgmBBb0N5ahySmJIDZC_6QUi6DZJ_A4vMLXMVaJsmNeMJo79_t5kLoVKCgEuG0/s400/risk19a.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569069438892440786" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Wyoming becomes a man. His mother is so proud.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG4KX7evugQpflYWULqKSR6aY4nVvmCS2fVn0YZO7zZfRtRUgGKNYEkBS7tBsiCsCxSbhapvZd_A6yEETMbUE9LE2yur9FfVZ9G_KUufF9qGRCHb5NoLyhp6P-DfAF3vrHpZxcCXWv264/s1600/risk19a1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 355px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG4KX7evugQpflYWULqKSR6aY4nVvmCS2fVn0YZO7zZfRtRUgGKNYEkBS7tBsiCsCxSbhapvZd_A6yEETMbUE9LE2yur9FfVZ9G_KUufF9qGRCHb5NoLyhp6P-DfAF3vrHpZxcCXWv264/s400/risk19a1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569069654810138130" /></a><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Being the athletic type, Wyoming gets a job in professional sports. Being family oriented, he moves into his girlfriend Rosalie's house with her two elderly guardians and waits patiently for her to be old enough to marry him. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwVYd0oo2abSyT37sswpXKvXh99RAZkWqRQWVaSRBT35JeZu2_pio2biWCHO7TVM0Llbgk7WCaSvbUYFUcoZe0qshiQ6iqBrJeo246Ld9UEsr1C2apBNvOKgqfIRZfxGczbqlKHmagY7o/s1600/risk19b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 388px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwVYd0oo2abSyT37sswpXKvXh99RAZkWqRQWVaSRBT35JeZu2_pio2biWCHO7TVM0Llbgk7WCaSvbUYFUcoZe0qshiQ6iqBrJeo246Ld9UEsr1C2apBNvOKgqfIRZfxGczbqlKHmagY7o/s400/risk19b.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569070400534679346" /></a><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Shepard gets a call from the mysterious Beau Merrick demanding he come for a visit. Shepard's affais with both Lilly Bo and Marina have become a huge public scandal.Lilly Bo has refused to speak to him since. Since both girls are members of Beau's harem, he has a pretty good idea about what the alleged vampire wants to discuss. So Shepard is surprised by the first words out of his mouth.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"You have impregnated two of my females," Beau says in an odd monotone.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"Your 'females'? You talk about them like they're cattle!" The 'impregnation' part has not quite sunk in yet.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"Well, I do feed from them," Beau answers with a creepy grin.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"That's just, ugh," Shepard says, "Wait, they're pregnant? Both of them? Why didn't they tell me?"</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"I'm telling you," Beau answers.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Shepard is currently running for city council. His campaign manager will pitch a fit when she finds out about this. "And you're sure they're mine?" Shepard asks, "I mean, they could be yours, couldn't they?"</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">The vampire shakes his head, "They carry human spawn, not mine."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhP8GKA8cnz9slbgn0wirnH8Iot8HCDPYRdQohtQ9vcG1s23TUMgX0RQhPXHKeM74bPnjIJ0t_liY7pDXc8tZvlSRMfy15OozzTU6233BBljz8bOtFTXDg1SENTf0MRm7wGT-NFmLijc0/s1600/risk19c.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 383px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhP8GKA8cnz9slbgn0wirnH8Iot8HCDPYRdQohtQ9vcG1s23TUMgX0RQhPXHKeM74bPnjIJ0t_liY7pDXc8tZvlSRMfy15OozzTU6233BBljz8bOtFTXDg1SENTf0MRm7wGT-NFmLijc0/s400/risk19c.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569073941040291410" /></a><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"Things have always been tense between the females," the vampire continues, "And the fighting got worse when I impregnated Bianca and then married her. Now Lilly Bo and Marina are fighting about you, as well." Beau sighs deeply. Shepard can't muster any sympathy for him. "I can't have my child raised with their human spawn. I need you to claim these babies when they are born and raise them yourself."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"That's what you want; what do Lilly Bo and Marina want?" Shepard demands.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"Who cares? I'm not raising your human spawn in my house," Beau speaks his final words.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"I care," Shepard says, but Beau is already walking away, leaving Shepard alone with the women.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB1jdtaGOO_hfnpcFylOtsysyRrP7lsgfYRDnticEC2uKjhe-dlger3oEhJ99uAxUkGPWzQEbYDINpw6dpKwyCA0X6C-745yk4bH0jm7DpKUYJ6BqAuDnRoxj4CKQgMSNbZtyyjc28YNA/s1600/risk19d.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 312px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB1jdtaGOO_hfnpcFylOtsysyRrP7lsgfYRDnticEC2uKjhe-dlger3oEhJ99uAxUkGPWzQEbYDINpw6dpKwyCA0X6C-745yk4bH0jm7DpKUYJ6BqAuDnRoxj4CKQgMSNbZtyyjc28YNA/s400/risk19d.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569075353742614834" /></a><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Shepard offers the visibly pregnant Lily Bo a massage. Though she's still angry at him, she's also very sore, and accepts. "I can get you out of here, Lilly Bo," Shepard says while he rubs her shoulders, "You don't have to give up your baby for that creep."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Lilly turns to face him. "I love 'that creep', and I'm disgusted by the thought of bearing your child. Don't try to weasel out of this, Shepard McDermott!"</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"I'm not weaseling out of anything," Shepard protests, "I'll take the child, if that's what you want. But that guy is a creep, he treats you like cattle. You should seriously consider getting away from him."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"And you treated me any better?" she hisses. Shepard starts to argue his case, but drops it. It's obvious Lilly Bo has been blinded by love for Beau Merrick, and argument will get him no where.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC1NTgVIoDjTKcVh971nNT7-9h0q3KwhCMBXbPH27TqTislIGNpv7pZ7YQlrCOaPGj9Ug6ALKe-iLC5DmtK-sAVmoB7yUsP28_RGVNw0UBx29qZTuZnUI92TJjS8VhNYAQLRRPpVTiaOo/s1600/risk19e.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 373px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC1NTgVIoDjTKcVh971nNT7-9h0q3KwhCMBXbPH27TqTislIGNpv7pZ7YQlrCOaPGj9Ug6ALKe-iLC5DmtK-sAVmoB7yUsP28_RGVNw0UBx29qZTuZnUI92TJjS8VhNYAQLRRPpVTiaOo/s400/risk19e.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569076961892254402" /></a><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Marina's turn come next. "I want out of here. It was bad enough before with all three of us fighting for attention, but now that he's raised that bitch Bianca above us all, it's insufferable. You are going to buy me a nice house, and make sure I get promoted. Do that and I won't sue you for sexual harassment."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Shepard wouldn't call their consensual sex sexual harassment, but she's his underling and she'd win any case she brought against him. And that's the last thing his campaign needs right now. So of course he agrees to her terms.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"And I think it would be better if you take the baby," Marina adds, "Having a child right now would be an extreme inconvenience, and you're so rich, you'd take better care of him."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicYBLj6o4TO_T9r2AyO5NXNKOHn7p1Sbfh5dRossxlJPUAT2G7NnJnWMUYXsJKF83xK_sBT4UM81nS8SSzFQ5CZ27XT8UlNIxmVRiD8mMwxBmUzbvRCB2Ryyp5F3Dawj-K-ewVuET-zSw/s1600/risk19f.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 368px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicYBLj6o4TO_T9r2AyO5NXNKOHn7p1Sbfh5dRossxlJPUAT2G7NnJnWMUYXsJKF83xK_sBT4UM81nS8SSzFQ5CZ27XT8UlNIxmVRiD8mMwxBmUzbvRCB2Ryyp5F3Dawj-K-ewVuET-zSw/s400/risk19f.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569078659070442962" /></a><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Shepard calls his campaign manager from his car to explain the situation and let her come up with a plan.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"Way to shoot yourself in the foot," she sighs, but quickly bandages the wound, "We'll call it a youthful indiscretion and make the most of the fact that you are taking full responsibility for your misdeeds and raising the children yourself, that will play well with the family oriented vote."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Not wanting to go straight home and tell his parents they are to be expecting two new grandchildren, Shepard heads to the Red Rendevous for a few drinks first. The place is dead tonight, which is just as well, and the old bartender, who couldn't make a drink without dropping bottles and glasses on the floor, has been replaced by a new, more competent mixologist.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1jDNQITTYnYTJ3aXYI92fFonKpeFlayZ67hO3MMgtT4dZR6Cr_aVvkso07JOAGEeYZchfmG4fpkFYE_Vb_VPIvYkOZD-6uyQHPzi1VOF9DPeBvOKrEyztVlFr7MNz_nYGMuLsoykTBHA/s1600/risk19g.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 356px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1jDNQITTYnYTJ3aXYI92fFonKpeFlayZ67hO3MMgtT4dZR6Cr_aVvkso07JOAGEeYZchfmG4fpkFYE_Vb_VPIvYkOZD-6uyQHPzi1VOF9DPeBvOKrEyztVlFr7MNz_nYGMuLsoykTBHA/s400/risk19g.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569080069488652626" /></a><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Shepard orders a Big Mistake. That seems like the most appropriate drink for his situation.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6DrkdVuY0-Cew8RhBwlHqhiFTDeGS7a2GJiDyATFvCW6RcvNe9SxUEbtTp2nQhAEidDPfagOKjbpvtTIOqFWCP3iVLevDkN27ntj9cYs4PF1SGQPwTitq8ChVIeYA5JX0_rjzIgeErAQ/s1600/risk19h.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 309px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6DrkdVuY0-Cew8RhBwlHqhiFTDeGS7a2GJiDyATFvCW6RcvNe9SxUEbtTp2nQhAEidDPfagOKjbpvtTIOqFWCP3iVLevDkN27ntj9cYs4PF1SGQPwTitq8ChVIeYA5JX0_rjzIgeErAQ/s400/risk19h.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569080455726612962" /></a><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">It's also a very strong drink, and Shepard finds himself spilling his sorrows to the new bartender. The only other customer she had tonight has left, so hasn't got much else to do besides listen to him.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi13ZC7iMPlKd1AkCyCcbnY73_bB90G8dTjOaRbO8hj7GFcL8PYeEq7d13buPIiZ-4X0wj2hvWToSC7ihgW_cY-GOhNJZThAEU4WQBhySgr3Lv97lbjh_yuRM2fJ8_8dPQgzmt_ljEGH-U/s1600/risk19i.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 395px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi13ZC7iMPlKd1AkCyCcbnY73_bB90G8dTjOaRbO8hj7GFcL8PYeEq7d13buPIiZ-4X0wj2hvWToSC7ihgW_cY-GOhNJZThAEU4WQBhySgr3Lv97lbjh_yuRM2fJ8_8dPQgzmt_ljEGH-U/s400/risk19i.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569080970056356322" /></a><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Everything she does, even washing the glasses, she does with an indescribable beauty and grace. Shepard cannot take his eyes off her. Either he's very drunk, or in love.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSHmip71pvGlhUMWIjPQLF2dZpyCgsIujfKDtPpFYgAJRDqKIDLcrhUDMfcSF6kws0neTtSUWmFDhntnpOc4lrE4rudJ5Eprs66RD0rX3_ZnopRCMjzHdjmf1Q2W-FJ8lXnsSkAUW6SDE/s1600/risk19j.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 391px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSHmip71pvGlhUMWIjPQLF2dZpyCgsIujfKDtPpFYgAJRDqKIDLcrhUDMfcSF6kws0neTtSUWmFDhntnpOc4lrE4rudJ5Eprs66RD0rX3_ZnopRCMjzHdjmf1Q2W-FJ8lXnsSkAUW6SDE/s400/risk19j.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569081533335058578" /></a><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"Dance with me," he says, trying to ure her out from behind the bar.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"I'm working here," she refuses with a laugh.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"I'm your only customer," Shepard observes, "And I'm not ordering anything. What's the harm in dancing a little."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"I'm not supposed to mingle with customers," she sighs.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4yowBXZGMiDTDIr5qFry_99xnwXTdhMzdeFHcqLFM_7xyKeJEoamlsBPW_bxLbZ7ZRKeRzU3kboMycXvvtMcPzx6c-J4w4fuqDFMcFF3BjEiDZ_YhE03s-orMEMjScuEgmW7dhi6IArQ/s1600/risk19k.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 289px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4yowBXZGMiDTDIr5qFry_99xnwXTdhMzdeFHcqLFM_7xyKeJEoamlsBPW_bxLbZ7ZRKeRzU3kboMycXvvtMcPzx6c-J4w4fuqDFMcFF3BjEiDZ_YhE03s-orMEMjScuEgmW7dhi6IArQ/s400/risk19k.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569082139190260466" /></a><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">After a bit more pestering, she finally joins him for a dance. As she does, the paparazzi that have dogged him since childhood arrive to get photos. But he's just dancing, nothing more salacious than that.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"Why are paparazzi following you?" the bartender asks.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"I'm running for city council," Shepard explains, "With the election so near, I'm big news."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"You're running for office, and you've got two bastard kids by two different others on the way?" she laughs.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"Yeah," Shepard sighs, "But my poll numbers are really high. I have an excellent campaign staff."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDqm96Tf_0QBLKiv60TVJnI3bYnir1JaKXb4J1WdBnKtXBU37ptk9sluYCSCAXpUoxDbT8tcNhziyDgGiS3mME-ToMxeSuJoCpGcSVY6i7uhTwLQdSbs38Gw-Sz4bGMgmgaOHDlDyt8-U/s1600/risk19l.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 331px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDqm96Tf_0QBLKiv60TVJnI3bYnir1JaKXb4J1WdBnKtXBU37ptk9sluYCSCAXpUoxDbT8tcNhziyDgGiS3mME-ToMxeSuJoCpGcSVY6i7uhTwLQdSbs38Gw-Sz4bGMgmgaOHDlDyt8-U/s400/risk19l.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569083198497185874" /></a><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Shepard wants to kiss her, but he doesn't dare try that in front of the paparazzi's camera. "What's your name?" he asks.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"Anne. Anne Navarro."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"Shepard McDermott," he introduces himself, "Will you be here tomorrow?"</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"If I don't get fired for dancing with the customers, yeah," she answers.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"I'll see you tomorrow, then," Shepard says, and goes home to tell his parents about their coming grandparenthood before they read it in the morning news.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdToga0zK-XRRgE3SFnV123qyG1Hu8ZRk3Z8jkGn_BWF0p3sBJZcQ41J0JfHCw9qPaZ7zg2e81v5tzKtYg6Uy_D5kASe9HIgxUoZ-AUsB56VmNu_q5raxRbsiMzjJp-CbP9xFBckDepfs/s1600/risk19m.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 353px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdToga0zK-XRRgE3SFnV123qyG1Hu8ZRk3Z8jkGn_BWF0p3sBJZcQ41J0JfHCw9qPaZ7zg2e81v5tzKtYg6Uy_D5kASe9HIgxUoZ-AUsB56VmNu_q5raxRbsiMzjJp-CbP9xFBckDepfs/s400/risk19m.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569084194819985442" /></a><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Shepard returns to the Red Rendevous the next day after work as promised, and immediately starts to chat Anne up. But he gets no further than asking her sign (she's a Gemini) before Lilly Bo walks in. Awkward.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn2Rris3nQ8huc2A-gFgVB1Nm3bfzig8GZFNMsB_m7LIC33DAhVAZkbLlyYoz1WA5kVZJjpjHw7uDKwTJtkuiKCH1uQXGkC6bhGmTajaZQzkpAf6IBIJpXWyREN9EM3x9xzAib0uZ_pv0/s1600/risk19n.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 332px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn2Rris3nQ8huc2A-gFgVB1Nm3bfzig8GZFNMsB_m7LIC33DAhVAZkbLlyYoz1WA5kVZJjpjHw7uDKwTJtkuiKCH1uQXGkC6bhGmTajaZQzkpAf6IBIJpXWyREN9EM3x9xzAib0uZ_pv0/s400/risk19n.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569084689881530018" /></a><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"Let me guess, one of your baby's mommas?" Anne quips. Lilly Bo gives him a hard stare.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUi0h7BBdDUjTESwABSqJ5XwqpJ4TDAYhZ9PMXHunoexkGmz9NR76cQMWvk3PQgKY9R-WdcXU210b6FKNmnCHQK2lP_Or5K-7hQQImM3Dfp-6JtAiePQf47r4QdmZqsmJ_f5xyogG6HaU/s1600/risk19o.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUi0h7BBdDUjTESwABSqJ5XwqpJ4TDAYhZ9PMXHunoexkGmz9NR76cQMWvk3PQgKY9R-WdcXU210b6FKNmnCHQK2lP_Or5K-7hQQImM3Dfp-6JtAiePQf47r4QdmZqsmJ_f5xyogG6HaU/s400/risk19o.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569085015431712082" /></a><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">"Better watch your back, Shepard," Anne warns as she makes her way back behind the bar, "Or you'll find a dart stuck in it."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMiX_7D48rxWFT0Vh6otpx568EFXneiNfECTGfjmqUTEp8qcsdBBrUak-k4KWiMoblx7C-6XrucpZzq2W2hhZq2Hwh1_tzi7g8djhDgQvAwzxuqi-3g_UsfHofVdhJiQPpXkTVfxxBDLA/s1600/risk19p.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 398px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMiX_7D48rxWFT0Vh6otpx568EFXneiNfECTGfjmqUTEp8qcsdBBrUak-k4KWiMoblx7C-6XrucpZzq2W2hhZq2Hwh1_tzi7g8djhDgQvAwzxuqi-3g_UsfHofVdhJiQPpXkTVfxxBDLA/s400/risk19p.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569085485158093314" /></a><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Shepard didn't want to be a father so suddenly, but it's happening, so he tries to do what he thinks his father would do.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDf_FXvHezpsGA2wt9p0Hgv2eW-J3fRztBntDCL03YFIScUdYiD98PXAdPO584By-hjsM4zGwLZTbIgsu2wzxztwwuAdos4w6vAcSzElj-0oJ6LAq_S5O36GLfFQBf_nQkga-VPznQOvU/s1600/risk19r.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 358px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDf_FXvHezpsGA2wt9p0Hgv2eW-J3fRztBntDCL03YFIScUdYiD98PXAdPO584By-hjsM4zGwLZTbIgsu2wzxztwwuAdos4w6vAcSzElj-0oJ6LAq_S5O36GLfFQBf_nQkga-VPznQOvU/s400/risk19r.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569086525046797074" /></a><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Anne is conspicuously not staring at Shepard.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjkHh_qLad93cc1L7gFZhtpZ98-KtamJ5Jr7RvbUVbE0ABOKciGHBwXS7aGsOT0vJvtcDvk9_mxCWOFnmJthw4xB2qDjXYx624en4ftXfYpH_N5jDXCi8-B3zFYmIwrWRg-bZdJExz4yQ/s1600/risk19q.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 383px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjkHh_qLad93cc1L7gFZhtpZ98-KtamJ5Jr7RvbUVbE0ABOKciGHBwXS7aGsOT0vJvtcDvk9_mxCWOFnmJthw4xB2qDjXYx624en4ftXfYpH_N5jDXCi8-B3zFYmIwrWRg-bZdJExz4yQ/s400/risk19q.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569086917333357250" /></a><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Shepard is at work when Liily Bo's baby is born, so Ewan goes to the hospital to claim his new granddaughter. Her name is Oregon.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Challenge Notes:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Roll for Generation 6 is couple with 2 children, primary income as Stylist, secondary part time job. The generation goal will be party to remember and the misc fun is half siblings. So, adultery or serial monogamy, lol.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">So, I updated my story progression and suddenly the old bartender, who really did drop something every time he made a drink, got replaced. Don't know if that's related to the update in SP, but Anne is a very competent mixologist.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Of course she was vanilla when she spawned, but I edited her in CAS, giving her the face of a clone of one of my born in game Sims from Sunset Valley. The Sim she was cloned from was actually an ancestor of Shepard's (squick!). She was Heidi Goth, who was Raphael Goth's mother. In my old legacy, Rapheal Goth's son Francesco married my gen 5 heir Rain McDermott. They were Risk McDermott's parents. And Risk of course was cloned and made the founder of this legacy.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Wyoming did marry Rosalie immediately after she aged up. I gave Family Oriented as his adult trait.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Since I didn't mention it last time, Shepard's traits are Brave, Excitable, Schmoozer, Party Animal and Flirty.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">I'm not moving in the mothers of Shepard's children, I'm just using master controller to add the babies to the household when they are born. That means I don't get to pick their first traits. Oregon is Excitable and Virtuoso. I like those, as they run in this family.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">I rolled the first child as heir, so Oregon is the heir.</span></div>yangthecathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15083940950118677312noreply@blogger.com0