Ch. 4, Part 1: Redemption Earns Life

The very concept of resurrection is almost...sobering. Most people don't really talk about it in town. Basically, nearly everyone figured, once you died, you died for good.

I wanted, no, I needed to know, if it were even possible.

It was just so confusing. Shark and I were seriously thinking about messing with the balance of life and death, just to restore the lives of a bunch of former criminals.

But I guess in the end, it was all straightened out.

Shark brought the situation up with Dudley and Scout, and they said that should the Rackets actually not be willing to change, they would be dealt with accordingly. Otherwise, they said that if their dead relatives really were honest about it, it was worth a shot.

And as for me? I asked around, seeing if any of the older inhabitants in town knew anything about raising the dead. After having next to no luck, I wound up talking to one of my co-workers.

She told me that there was a recipe for a special type of dish called "Ambrosia". She herself had never cooked it, but she went on to say that it was believed to prolong one's life.

I asked her what would happen if it were consumed by a ghost. She seemed confused, but then told me that if the person eating it was already dead, then surely the ghost could come back to life!

After we were done talking, she ended up giving me what looked like weird glowy pears. Called them "Life Fruits" and, if cooked with another ingredient, could possibly be used for whatever I was doing.

I couldn't thank her enough. Of course, I still had to figure out what else I need to make this "Ambrosia". And I...needed to know how exactly to make it.

Ch. 3, Part 3: I See Dead People

(Continued from Part 2.)

At some point after adopting Masaru, Echo got older, and Jade had to move out. We were sad to see her go, but she couldn't live with us forever, just until Echo was old enough.

I almost felt bad for Echo, having to live with a bunch of guys, with the only other girl being her baby sister.

Well, at least she could explain things to Amaranth when she was older, like where not to crawl, why she shouldn't throw her toys everywhere, explaining that no, their parents weren't hurting each other under the sheets...

(Poor kid had to see her parents doing it)

In my defense, I thought the door was locked! And I didn't hear her come in until I was...

Anyway, that wasn't the point. Besides her walking in on us at the wrong time, our daughter had...a pretty decent childhood. She did what most girls her age did, play outside, go to school, watch TV, complain about homework.

Of course, she asked for a treehouse and, well, she got her treehouse. She played for hours in that thing. Sometimes she even slept in there.

Of course, all of our kids used it at some point, so maybe she was just breaking it in.

She always declared herself "Queen Echo" and ask that everyone bow to her. Apparently her subjects were all those stuffed animals she snuck up there.

I think one time she tried to bring up Masaru, but he would have none of that. At least, that's what I thought when he came tearing through the house in a little pink princess outfit.

And well, guess who had to tell her not to put doll clothes on the cat.

Well, after she was told Masaru was the family pet, not a toy, she decided to just go back to playing with that weird doll of hers.

Never understood why she didn't throw it out. It was obviously starting to show signs of wear and tear. It was probably for sentimental value.

Kid had an imagination. Whenever Echo was going through one of her little games, I guess I just played along.

Then her 'games' started taking a strange turn.

Ch.3, Part 2: What's in a Name?

(Continued from Part 1.)

You might ask me, did I ever think I'd ever have a big family in my lifetime? Like, did I ever realize that my life would be the way it was?

Well, no. But at one point in my life, all I cared about was, 'how do I hide from the cops?'. You know, before I changed my ways.

The turn of events was rather welcoming. Instead of my heels cooling in jail, they were being clung to and turned into the first section of the human mountain that was apparently I.

And later on, they got bit and eventually turned into scratching posts. No, not Echo in the terrible twos, though that was pretty harrowing in its own way.

I mean the guy we adopted shortly after we moved.

Ch. 3, Part 1: Boom, Baby

When we first got married, I had thought Shark and I would just be one of those married couples who wouldn't have to worry about other familial obligations.

You know, it would just be us? The whole idea of kids never really occurred to me. I suppose it was an honor I never really dreamed of. Or...however that one chick from that Shakespeare put it.

How'd that line go again? I know she was talking about marriage, but...

Anyway, for a while there, it was just the two of us, living in that little house of ours. It was that oddly idyllic thing going on between newlyweds.

Then it struck. Somewhere along the line...Hoo, boy.

Ch. 2, Part 3: Sparkling Ice

(Continued from Part 2.)

After I gave my "two weeks notice" at the abandoned warehouse, by which I mean I shouted "Up yours, I'm quitting forever" to the current boss and gave them the finger, I was out looking for a job.

You'd be amazed at how many people were willing to employ an ex-criminal. It was like they didn't seem to care that I'd probably ruined something important to them at some point in time. But the problem wasn't who was willing to hire. It was what I was good at, which...to be honest, wasn't a whole lot.

Then Shark brought up something one morning. Actually, he just asked, "What's for breakfast?" I shrugged, because I didn't know. We'd basically been living off of leftovers and takeout for...well, way too long.

I myself felt like, if I have to eat anymore cold pizza, I'm going to shriek. That, or barf, one of the two, maybe both.

(His hair grew fast.)

So I went out and got a package of bacon, fried that up, and we had that. Wasn't exactly gourmet, but it was better than nothing.

Shark seemed to like it. The moment he took a bite, he just had that surprised look on his face. Then he looked up at me and told me if I ever thought about working at the diner.

Well, I was after he mentioned it. So that day, I applied at the diner, and sure enough, I was working towards my first paycheck. Of course, I had to endure teasing from the other workers. It was mostly harmless stuff, though, so I could deal with it.

I kept saving up paychecks, and stashed them away for safekeeping. Shark asked me why I was doing this. I told him, in case we had something to fall back on if he somehow lost his fortune.

It was sort of the truth, since you never know when an emergency pops up. But of course, I had another reason for saving money.

Ch.2, Part 2: Knife to the Heart, Arrow to the Knee (Warning: mentions of suicide)

(Continued from Chapter 2, Part 2. Note: Long post under cut)

For a while, things between the three of us was...well, as decent as it could be, given I still hated Goodwin's guts.

Of course, Shark and I started dating, he got a job at the Stadium, it was all good. As long as he left me with a wad of cash to blow on fun stuff, it all stayed decent.

He probably had an inkling that I was just using him at this point, but he didn't seem to mind too much. Might've been some rationalizing on his part. The whole, "at least I'm not lonely", kind of deal.

After a while, things changed. Goodwin and I...well, we started talking more. He started to not seem so insufferable.

I almost wish I didn't spend so much time with him back then. But I did, and I got in way too deep with him...

...and ended up hurting Shark in one of the worst ways possible.

Ch.2, Part 1: Fate on a Collision Course

(Note: I don't have a definite update schedule (mainly because I am horrible when it comes to deadlines!), so you may get three updates in a week, and then none at all for a while. Just letting you know.)

(With that...!)

 From what I heard, Shark ended up living on the upper part of town for a while, by himself. You know, where those computer geeks lived? 

I think one of them became a werewolf, or something. I don't know, when most of your neighbors suddenly turn into supernatural creatures, it's a bit hard to get used to what's probably becoming the new social norm. 

But that's not really the point here. The point is being Shark getting settled into his first home on his own.

(Camera angle makes the house look bigger than it actually is)

Ch.1 Part 3: Phasing Out

(Continued from part 2.)

At some point, either before or shortly after we got married, Shark took me to his aunt and uncle's house, where he used to live.

I'm not entirely sure why he wanted to go there. He wanted to take a trip down memory lane, or he left something there that was important, or something.

I dunno, I basically got dragged along for the ride. 

Anyway, while Shark was rooting around in one of the other rooms, I figured I'd busy myself while he looked through stuff, talked with Dudley and Scout, that stuff.

I found one of those fancy, old photo albums, which I'm guessing they got from Racket Mansion. It had the usual, wedding photos, baby pictures, all the generic crap.

Then I got to near the end and I started to see pictures of a guy I didn't recognize.

Ch.1 Part 2: Blood is thicker?

(Continued from part 1.)

Some time after the execution was done that day, Shark popped up back at the mansion, they said.

He told me, he was so confused at what happened. He said, a few hours before, the place was loud and full of bickering relatives. And when he got back for the day the place was...silent. He said that was never a good thing at his house.

Given what transpired, I have to take his word for it, because in this case, he was right.

Ch.1, Part 1: Shark not in the Water

(Note: a lot of the screenshots of Elder Sinbad will probably be repeated throughout the story, for the sake of being less of a hassle. I will try to use different pictures, though, to keep it creative and such.)

As I've said before, all I know about Shark's past personally is what he's told me. Of course, anyone with a brain cell, working pulse, or basic knowledge of this town would know what family he was from back then.

Know his last name? Before it became Rotter after marrying me?

Yup. He was Shark Racket, heir to the most notorious family in Twinbrook. I might've worked for his grandma at some point.

Still, no one knew what happened that day. And I'm pretty sure Shark didn't know, either.

Prologue

(Note: The game file I based this on is already done. The story will be told mostly in flashbacks. I'm also bad at taking pictures, so certain events will be mostly in text.)

(I'm no good at trying blogs, so I'm learning as I go while I update on here.)

(This isn't a legacy (per se), or RPG. It's just a regular story, told through Sims screenshots.)

(I'm not good at writing stories, so forgive me if this is not that great.)

...

............

 

Is this thing on? Okay, yeah, it is. I dug this old camera up from...some box I didn't unpack when we moved into this house. Had no idea if it still had any life left in it. I remember using it to record all those times we taught the kids to walk and talk.

Heh...Well, I got a lot of free time on my hands lately. I'm retired now, and I was looking for something else to fritter away my free time when I found this piece of junk. Figured, I'm not doing anything right now, and Shark and the cats just went to go take a nap, so...

 I thought maybe I'd record a...I don't know what you'd call it. A video will? Recording storytime? Confession caught on tape?

 

*sigh* Look, I don't think it matters what it's called. I guess...I guess I just had a story to tell.

Well, it's not just mine. It's Shark's story, as well. It's everyone's. I guess I call it mine because I'm the one telling it.

If anyone who doesn't remember me is watching this...Let me try to refresh your memory. If you lived in Twinbrook a few decades back, you'd know who I am. Or rather...you'd know who I was. I might've carjacked some of you or broke into one of your houses at some point.

Thaaaat's right. It's your old neighborhood bad boy, Sinbad Rotter. Now that you know...

I suppose I start at the beginning, which was just Shark and his old family. I'll be honest, all I know is what he's told me, which...really didn't feel like all of it. But hey, we all have things we don't want to tell anyone.

With that, let me start with the story of the guy that became my future husband...

(A/N: End of Prologue.)

(To explain the pictures of Elder Sinbad at inconsisent angles and distances, pretend that's him moving the camera around and fiddling with it.)