Link To New Story

(Here is a link to my new story, Soif de Sang:)

http://soifdesangsds.blogspot.com/2013/08/prologue.html

(So far, I only have a few posts up. Still, I can only hope it is as good as Rötterdämmerung was.)

(Read it so far, and I hope you like it as much as you liked this story! -rednenemon)

 

Leftover pictures (and why I didn't use them)

(These are some pictures that I intended to use in the story, but ultimately never did. All screenshots are unedited (not run through a photo editor), and in no particular order: )

(Another picture of Shark when he was going through his 'nerd phase'. I didn't use this one because, if I remember correctly, this was taken in the Racket Mansion.)

(i.e. It was a continuity error. Shark would have been living with his Uncle Dudley by this point, and would not really have any business in his old house.)

(Sinbad actually told Shark about his infidelity earlier than the story states. I figured it would be more believable if I placed it later in the story.)

(Which is why I didn't use this screenshot. Why would Shark be getting upset over something he doesn't even know about yet?)

(I intended to use this one for the whole 'resurrecting the Rackets' situation.)

(I didn't use it, because of the fact that Shark sneezing made it look, at least to me, less dramatic.)

How This Story Came To Be

(Sometime before I started actually writing this story, I actually had two important events already planned:)

(The deaths of Shark's family,)

(and Sinbad eventually performing what some might call a Heel Face Turn.)

(The first event, Shark's family drowning, I actually started doing that waaaaaay back in January.)

Trivia, Headcanons, and What Could Have Been

(These were some general ideas and whatnot that I had while writing.)

(Masaru and Yukiko were actually both at Elder stage when Sinbad and Shark adopted them. In fact, they only had a few days left before dying of old age. However, since aging had been turned off at this point, they didn't age, and were able to get enough points for their ghosts to be blue.)

(The same goes for Tomoaki and Akira. They, too, were elders when they were adopted.)

 (Jeri (Echo's wife) was a time machine child. I had just aged her parents up to Young Adult, and I had them test out a time machine I got from the Consignment Store. Lo and behold, out came Jeri.)

(This explains how she and Echo were the same age range, despite aging still being off.)

Chapter 7, Part 3: Happy Golden Years (FINAL)

(Continued from Part 2.)

Aging gracefully... if anyone was capable of doing it, and actually pulling it off, it was Shark.

He always got worried about how he would look when he got old. In turn, I told him not to worry about it.

He couldn't have looked any worse than I did. When his birthday came, I promised him that however he looked, I wouldn't freak out.

He still had me stand a few feet away, in case he freaked out and accidentally decked me in the face.

When I asked him to make a wish, he wasn't sure what to wish for. His exact words were: "how can I wish for something, when I already have everything I could ever want?"

Ch. 7, Part 2: The Racket Ceases Fourfold

(Continued from Part 1.)

 Death is always a sad thing, no matter how many times you experience it in your lifetime.

When I played a role in resurrecting the Rackets many years ago, I knew that they would die again at some point. I knew it was going to affect me, given I helped bring them back.

There was something else I knew, as well: It was going to hit Shark hard.

He knew that the time had almost come for four of his relatives. Two of them hadn't even died before. The fact that they all lived this long, could only be considered a miracle.

Shark made it his goal to visit his relatives before their time came. It still didn't make the process any easier, and he sure as hell wasn't ready to say goodbye. Though, I suppose no one ever is.

Ch. 7, Part 1: Gettin' the Willies

(I typed this up in a hurry, during an unusually good thinking session, hence the updates so close to each other.)

There honestly isn't much to say about my youngest daughter.

That's not to say Cortana wasn't a good kid. She was. She just didn't really talk much. Not to mention she was painfully shy.

She never said what was on her mind. Whenever we asked her how school was, she'd give a one-word answer and then hide in her room.

Usually, she only came out to use the bathroom or when it was dinnertime. Other than that, she'd always hide away.

It was almost like I was living with some kind of ghost. But then, her siblings had all left home, and her parents were aging quickly.

Maybe it could've been she didn't have anyone to talk to. Her main confidante had moved out just a little while ago, and she probably missed him.

There was only one other thing she came out of her room for, besides school or family time.

Ch. 6, Part 3: Voice of an Angelo

(Continued from Part 2.)

Angelo was actually at a bit of a loss when his older brother moved out. The two of them had spent a lot of time together, and now that Kaidan had moved out, he wasn't sure what to do.

He didn't know how to be the "big brother" in the house, given three of his siblings were older than him.

But believe me when I say he tried.  He did his best to be a good brother to Cortana, even if their games of playing tag left him at least a little winded. 

At least once, he admitted to me he wished he didn't have asthma. I told him that it's a part of his life. It was a sucky one, but he had to work with it. And it wasn't like he was alone in all of it. 

He had me and Shark, and his siblings. Sometimes, he visited his older brother after school. 

Ch. 6, Part 2: Power of the Son

(Continued from Part 1.)

I just had that feeling that as soon as Kaidan and Lynnette graduated, we'd be hearing about his wedding plans, and he'd be asking us for advice.

And of course, Shark and I wouldn't know what to tell him. We didn't have a fancy wedding ceremony, like our kids thought we had.

I remember one time, Kaidan asked me where my tuxedo was, since he never saw it and wanted to wear it for his wedding.

Kind of obvious why I couldn't let him wear it.

No matter what they wanted, Kaidan opted for something quiet.

Of course, I reminded him that if he wanted to marry her, he had to get permission from Goodwin.

Ch. 6, Part 1: Outlook not so Goode

You know those cultures that put a ton of importance on the firstborn son, claiming they're destined for great things, carry on the family name, and all that?

Well...I suppose I thought of that for Kaidan. The great things concept, that is.

I thought of it for all my kids, and when his two older sisters left, he was technically the eldest child in the house.

But we didn't need to worry about him. Whenever Shark and I were at work, he gladly watched his younger brother and sister.

We didn't need a babysitter. Kaidan was perfectly capable of keeping an eye on them.

(Why didn't I take more pictures of Toddler Cortana?)

I had a feeling he'd become a "family man". He just had that way about him, I guess.

At some point, he started taking on most of the household chores and responsibilities. He was even the one who got Angelo's birthday cake set up for his birthday.

It was a load off our minds, that was for sure.

In fact, Kaidan was spending so much time with his siblings at home, Shark and I were worried that he'd never go out and find a significant other of his own.

Of course, he proved us wrong. As a matter of fact, he did have a girlfriend. He just never brought her over to meet us.

I thought maybe he just didn't want a situation like Amaranth did. But it was weird. He never brought her home, but he was perfectly willing to spend time at her place.

It almost seemed as though he was hiding something from us.

Ch. 5, Part 3: Time of Crisis

(Continued from Part 2.)

Given that recent years presented to us the deaths of our two cats, and our children growing up, I can only wonder how Shark was taking it all.

I mean, I didn't want to ask him, since it didn't feel right to do so. I was taking it as best as I could, but...

With him, you had to be careful. Things could get turbulent with him.

I tried to cheer him up with other events coming up, like say...

His own birthday?

I waited until the kids were in school and asleep, and I made it so it was just me and Shark, celebrating his happy birthday.

Or it was supposed to be happy, anyway. After he made a wish, and blew out the candles, he started saying he hoped it'd come true.

I know a lot of people say that, but the way he said it, well...he didn't sound very confident. And in fact, he actually opted not to eat any cake. He told me to save it and give it to the kids for dessert tonight.

There was a reason he was acting like that, actually. 

Ch. 5, Part 2: Niveous Victory

(Continued from Part 1.)

At one point, I knew Shark, the kids, and I had to face death again sooner or later.

After all, I'd probably seen the guy with the scythe numerous times when I was younger. And Shark was obviously no stranger to him.

But I didn't think he'd come so early.

But I suppose you don't fight it, like many people try to do when their time is up. Rather, you should greet Death as if he were an old friend.

And if you believe it's fair that your time has come, good on you. Sometimes it's best not to protest.

Then again...the ones who died when we were living there...I don't think it would've mattered, since they couldn't speak, more or less.

Ch.5, Part 1: Growing Up Sucks

(Note: This is a long chapter under the cut.)

You know how they say 'with age comes wisdom', or...one of those supposedly philosophical quotes that everyone spews out one time or another? Most don't really know the true meaning of that phrase.

It's like they expect to coast through life knowing nothing, then when they hit the age that's considered 'old', suddenly they're these all-knowing beings.

Whenever I heard someone say that phrase, I just wanted to go over and clock them in the jaw.

I mean, look at me. I'm old enough to be the grandpa to a bunch of people in town, and I still can't remember what time the paperboy comes in the morning.

What they mean by that quote is, "as you age, you learn more from your mistakes", actually. I suppose. And there's no way to stay the same age forever as you learn.

It's not as simple as, say, waving a magic wand. You're going to age, like it or not. And it's not just you, it's everyone around you, as well.

Your children are going to grow up, and learn what they want to do in life. They'll become independent, they won't need you anymore.

Before you know it, your little baby birds are grown, spreading their wings, and leaving the nest.

Sometimes I wonder if Shark knew that when we adopted our kids. I'm sure he did, but he never said anything about it.

Ch. 4, Part 3: The Blue and the Green

 (Continued from part 2.)

You know how some teens are when they start out at high school? At first, they're all confident, and raring to go and make a name for themselves?

And then there are other teens who are all shy at first, then they get all confident?

I don't think Echo fit either of those. She was...she was her own woman. Shark and I were worried about her, at first. We didn't want any boy in school to tease her for anything.

In fact, Shark promised her that if any guys got fresh with her without her permission, he wasn't afraid to bust some heads for her.

 Echo said that it wasn't a problem. She could handle it. I know she could, but it still didn't mean we worried about our little girl.

As for Amaranth, well, she did her own thing.

We actually had to convince her to leave her doll at home. We assured her, nothing was going to happen to her little Pal. She held onto it like some kind of security blanket.

As for her school performance, well, she kept wanting to see how her big sister was doing, you know, with all the grades in one building and all. They kept sitting together during lunch.

Amaranth even wanted to go into the same after school shop class Echo was enrolled into. When we told her she was too young, though, she settled for scouting.

Both of us were happy for our daughters, starting to grow up on their own, and the time was just going too fast. Before we knew it, we were going to be attending Echo's graduation.

I made sure not to say that in front of Shark, though. The last time I did, he started bawling about how they weren't babies anymore, and he just wanted them to stay small just a little longer.

Well, I couldn't exactly control time. What, did I look like that green-haired chick from Sailor Moon? If I could, I would. But I couldn't, so...

Time just kept going, whether we wanted it to, or not. And time stopped for at least one of our relatives, in a sense.

Ch. 4, Part 2: Leaf and Nature

(Continued from Part 1.)

(Note: To explain the seasons changing drastically, just pretend everything took months or even years during certain events. In the game file this story was based on, each season only lasted seven days. Other than that, just try to ignore it. )

(This may also be one of the longest posts I've written so far. It's mainly because there was a lot of events I didn't want to split up, and whatnot.)

When the Rackets moved out after I brought them back to life, Shark and I realized we still had a plate of Ambrosia left.

The obvious first choice for me was: Jenni. I figured, I was essentially the one that caused her to kill herself all those years ago, so I wanted to make things right.

I was even about halfway to the graveyard and start to find her, until Shark stopped me. He first, told me to stop and think about this.

Second, he gave me reasons on why this was a bad idea. He told me that, yes, it seemed best to bring her back, but would she want me to do so?

He went on to say that the circumstances of her death had to be brought up. Even if Jenni was brought back to life, chances were seeing Goodwin and Amy still together would likely just push her over the edge again.

Did I just want to repeat history again? I gave it some thought, and by the time I got to the cemetery, I decided he was right.

But I didn't want to have gone all that way for nothing. There was no way I was going to leave empty-handed. So, I scouted the area for someone else that had died, and maybe I could give the Ambrosia to them.

I quick made my choice, and when I came back home, I brought her with me.

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.)