Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Ch 1.10: On Human Bonding


Luke had called Polly and requested that she bring the triplets over that weekend. He had just bought a new house (“A loft,” he bragged), and he wanted to celebrate with the kids.

He waits at the front door anxiously. It’s been awhile since he had seen the triplets. Worries of being a bad father plague him—he didn’t want to be like his father. When he sees them walking up the pier towards his house, he rushes out the front door.

“Ahoy!” He yells. It sounded less dorky in his head. Elysia and Solaris continue to walk at a snail’s pace, but Luna takes off running towards him.

“Daddy!” She yelled.

He smiles as he kneels down, arms outstretched. He hadn’t realized how much she had grown. He wraps his arms around her and picked her up. “I missed you,” she says through a wide grin.

Elysia and Solaris looked less than excited to see him. Solaris was doubtful of any sort of change: he predicts that his father will spend this weekend with them, and then promptly forget about any sort of parental responsibility. Elysia, on the other hand, is annoyed because anytime she peers into her sister’s head, all she can ‘hear’ is an ongoing performance of “99 Bottles of Nectar on the Wall.” She has the suspicion that Luna was trying to keep something from her, and she is frustrated that it’s actually working.


Luke holds Luna tightly, cherishing the moment. Finally, Solaris clears his throat.

“It’s raining,” he says.

“Well…let’s go inside, kiddos,” Luke says cheerily, “I’ve ordered pizza and it should get here soon.”


Pizza was Luke’s favorite food when he was a kid. His mom would order it when she was too tired to cook, which was quite often. The triplets are hesitant, though.

“Mom always makes sushi,” Solaris says. He likes routines, and sushi is routine in the Bee household. Polly even sends them to school with sushi lunches.

“Well, this is better than sushi,” Luke replies, “for one, it doesn’t include any raw fish.” The triplets look dubious. Luke sighs. When he asked Polly to bring the kids over, he was expecting it to go better.


The triplets are unimpressed by the pizza. They eat quietly, chewing deliberately, trying not to make faces. Luke reflects on how he imagined the night going: the kids would be ecstatic to see him, they would cheer at the sight of pizza, and there would be joking conversation during dinner. He struggles to even find a suitable conversation topic.

“How’s scho—“

“School’s fine,” Elysia interrupts him.

“And your mo—“

“Mom’s fine, too.” Small talk is too predictable for Elysia. Luke is quiet for a moment, internally debating his next move. He was counting on being the fun, hip parent. Silence quickly overtakes them.

“So…I have video games,” Luke finally says, “and two arcade machines.” This was his second-to-last resort, next to simply bribing them to like him. The girls perk up. They don’t have a game system, though many of their friends at school brag about the various gaming feats they’ve accomplished.

“I have homework,” Solaris says, “and I don’t want to put it off all weekend.” Luke raises his eyebrow—this can’t be his son.

“Well, come join us when you finish.”


Elysia settles on a single player arcade game. She enjoys solitary activities sometimes. She can focus on what’s in front of her, and everything else becomes white noise.

Luna opts to play a fighting game with her father: Bloodinator 9000. The game quickly turns to playful trash-talking.


“I’m going to whoop you, ya brat,” Luke taunts Luna mercilessly as he deftly punches in combos.

“You can’t whoop what you can’t catch, dingleberry,” Luna retorts. Her character swiftly jumps around the screen, avoiding Luke’s attacks.

“Dingleberry?! You’ll pay for that,” Luke vows while laughing.

Elysia soon grows bored of the arcade game. She sits on the couch and watches the bloodshed. Luna is handily beating Luke


 She listens to Luna: 99 bottles of nectar on the wall, 99 bottles of nectar—take one down, pass it around…Elysia scoffs to herself. Luna isn’t even counting down; she's just playing the first part on repeat in her brain.

She decides to listen to her father. He was easier to read, like an open book. Maybe more like a picture book, actually: his mind was a mess of images and emotions. Worry, regret, a small bit of hope. Risqué memories of her mom, a snarled tangle of red and an image of punching someone. Boring adult stuff, really. She turns her attention back to her sister.

“He’s letting you win,” Elysia sneers, “’cause he feels bad for you.”

“No, I’m not,” Luke frowns, “Lulu is kicking ass and taking names, and then kicking those names in the ass.” He was a bit embarrassed that he was losing to his daughter.

“Yeah, I kick ass!” Luna cheers. Luke wonders for a moment if he should hold back on the foul language, until he remembers Polly’s sailor-esque vocabulary.


Solaris wished they would be quieter. The periodic table wasn’t going to memorize itself.

 “I bet I can beat Lulu,” Elysia declares. She grabs a controller and selects a character, a particularly breasty woman. The game counts down to the beginning of the match: 3…2…1…


“How did you beat me so quickly?!” Elysia cries. Luna had decapitated her in four seconds, giggling madly the whole time.


“Because she’s demon spawn,” Luke explains, “sent here to destroy the world and crush mankind through video games.” He’s feeling particularly demoralized.

“It’s called skillz, sister—and I got them,” Luna brags.

“Not fair,” Elysia protested, “I don’t know the rules! Play me again.” She is determined to win…

…Except she totally doesn’t. This time, Luna only took two seconds to kill her.



“How are you so good at this, Lulu?” Luke is incredulous
.
“Oh, father. There is a lot you don’t know about me,” Luna giggles. She means it as a joke, but it’s true. Elysia can feel the shift in emotions.

“Hey, let’s play again,” Elysia suggests, “this lady sucks. I wanna play someone else. Let me play your guy, Lulu.”

“No! We’re partners—he doesn’t want to play with you.”

“He’s a fictional character, Lulu,” Elysia rolls her eyes, “he doesn’t have feelings.”

“Says you,” Luna mutters.

Solaris, having given up on his homework, wanders into the living room and stares at the TV. He watches Luna’s character rip the spine out of Elysia’s character.

“I’m not quite sure mom would approve of this,” he says doubtfully.

“It’s just a game,” Luke shrugs, “I don’t think your mom would mind.”

Solaris picks up a controller and selects a character—a buff man in a zoot suit—and the group plays a free for all.


And a good time is had by all.

***


Luke’s loft only had one bedroom, so he bought sleeping bags for the triplets. They were young enough that sleeping on the floor was a novelty.

After the triplets go to bed, Luke settles in to watch some television. He’s had difficulty sleeping recently—at times, he’s unable to even close his eyes. His mind wanders, and he jumps a little when he notices Luna standing in the doorway.

“I can’t sleep. Can I watch TV with you?” Her voice is almost inaudible.


“Of course,” he pats the couch, gesturing for her to sit down, “I can’t sleep either.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Sure."

“Why don’t you and mom get along?” she asks directly.

“Well...it’s complicated,” he stumbles. He could be honest: I knocked up your mom without ever knowing her. We didn’t know we were incompatible; we were just horny. I was jealous, and she always seemed like she was hiding something.

“Are you and mom ever going to get married?” Her voice sounded pleading.

“No,” he says quickly, “I’m sorry,” he adds, seeing her anguish.

She wraps her arms around him and begins crying.


“I’m sorry, Lulu. We’re just never going to get married,” he hesitates, “But that doesn’t mean I’m not your father.” The platitude feels unnatural coming from his lips.

“That’s not it,” she cries.

“Then what?”

“I saw mom with another guy,” she sobs, “the other night. I woke up when I heard a bump and I went to find mom, but she wasn’t in her room so I went to living room and I saw her walking him to the door and I don’t know who he was but she was being much nicer to him than to you.” She hiccups pitifully, “he looks weird. I don’t like him.”

“Yeah, I think I know who you’re talking about….” Luke trails off. At the time, it’d felt awfully good to punch that guy in the face, but he’s embarrassed about his reaction now.

“Who is he?” Luna sniffles.

“I don’t think that’s important.” It’s a realization for him, not a reassurance for her.

“I could poison him” Luna mutters, “and then you and mom could get back together.” Luke laughs.

“That guy isn’t why we’re not together. Like I said, it’s complicated,” he replies.

“I could dump his body in the lake. Then the fish would eat it and destroy the evidence,” she turns her head away, hiding a grin.

“I don’t think I should be condoning this behavior,” he says, “And I don’t think the fish would eat his skeleton. Besides, I don’t want to have to visit you in jail. ”

“I would get away with it. No one would suspect a little girl…”

“I think it’s time for you to go to bed, you little psychopath.”

“If I’m a psychopath, should you be bossing me around?” she raises an eyebrow, trying to hold in a laugh. That’s like something Polly would say, he thinks. Her weird sense of humor was what first attracted him to her—that, and her odd, striking appearance. Almost inhuman… Luna is practically a clone of her mother.

“I have a big day planned tomorrow, so you need to get some sleep."

"Just let me watch TV with you for a little bit? Please?”

Luke sighs dramatically, “fiiiiiiine.”

Luna falls asleep five minutes later. Luke scoops her into his arms. She stirs a little as he carries her to the bedroom.


“Can we do this every weekend?” Luna mutters, half asleep.

“I’ll talk to your mom,” Luke promises, “but I’d like to.”

***

Author’s Note: Ugh, there are so many mistakes in the backgrounds of the pictures. I hope you didn’t notice my shame, dear readers.

This   chapter was really, ridiculously difficult for me to write for some reason and at some point I just gave up. THERE. IT’S DONE. WHATEVER.

I already have the screenshots for another forum post and another chapter, and I think those will be much easier for me to write.

22 comments:

  1. That's exactly how I am feeling at the moment while trying to write my next chapter lol. I can understand completely. I'm at that point now where I like just finish it and be done with it! I kept going back and revising over and overr..

    Ok any who....I still loved this chapter though. I like how we get to see how Elysia's talent works. Lol at Luna for the 99 bottles of beer...Was she thinking that on purpose because her sister was around? I wonder. I love how each child is so different from another. Solaris the serious one lol. Well I guess someone had to be the serious one in the group. I was rooting for Luna as she kept beating Elysia in the game. :P

    Although Luke and Polly couldn't work out, I'm glad Luke is good to his kids and that Polly let them spend time with him. I wonder what she got to do with all that free time. :P

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    1. That's how I was with this one! I wrote it last night and revised it over and over tonight until I just gave up.

      I'm glad you enjoyed it! Thanks so much. :D Yes, Luna is trying to keep Elysia from 'hearing' her thoughts. I have to admit, I take a special delight in writing Elysia. And Luna was kicking ass at those games for realsies, too. I had them play for a few hours while I took pictures and she was constantly cheering and winning while Elysia threw hissy fits and Luke pouted.

      I think part of the reason that I had a hard time with this chapter is because I desperately wanted Luke to come across as a good dad in this chapter. He's clueless, not heartless.

      Maybe you'll find out what she did with that free time soon. ;)

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  2. Poor Luna, she really doesn't want anything coming in between her mom and dad, does she?
    I'm taking Elysia is psychic? That, or she is that good at reading people that she can assume what they are thinking...
    I feel bad for Luke. He's really trying his hardest but... It doesn't seem to be working too well, until he brought out the video games of course.

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    1. Elysia is psychic, yes. I feel bad for Luke, too, constantly! Everyone seems to dislike him, so I thought he could use some love. At least Luna likes him. :p

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  3. I'm glad Luke is trying to be a good dad, even if he wasn't much of a boyfriend to Polly. I love Luna's method of stopping Elysia reading her thoughts, but I'm a bit worried about her attitude towards Cruz - she's quite violent there and even were she to follow through with it, I doubt it would change anything between her parents anyway.

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    1. Luna has said a few violent things in the past, and this exchange was particularly violent. I'd say she's joking, though that is a bit dark for a child...

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  4. N'AAAWWWWWWWWWWW!!!! :D
    I'm so happy Luke is a good dad, even if he and Polly won't ever be together. I mean, I didn't like them together, they just didn't work, but hes totally really hot like omg *high school girl mode*
    Things were awkward at first, but i think he did a great job in the end, and it would be great if they could do it more often, maybe every other weekend or something.

    What is going on with the whole 99 bottles thing? What is Luna hiding from her sister, and why? Is it the Crux sighting or something else? :|

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    1. I'm totally with you--Luke is sooooooo dreamy. He's totally fine (fine is the word kids these days use, right?).

      Luna is trying to keep Elysia from hearing her thoughts. It is partially the Crux sighting, and partially because Elysia uses her powers to annoy/cut down others. I don't think Luna has any other secrets, though I guess she could be keeping them from me, too. :|

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  5. Poor Luke. Trying to be a good dad without really knowing how. Talking to your kids (or their mom) to get to know their likes and dislikes would have been a better first choice. Still it looks like they all had a good time, especially Luna, bless her. I wish she could talk to her mom like she could her dad. And I'm sure keeping her mind busy so her sister can't find another sore spot to use to pick on her is not only tough, but exhausting. Does Polly have any idea of Elysia's abilities yet?

    Also- Solaris wanting to complete his homework making him Not Luke's son cracked me up.

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    1. That probably would have been the smartest thing to do, but I think Luke is kind of dumb sometimes (he handles babysitting like I do--just do things that you liked as a kid and hope others like it too. I'm not a great babysitter, btw :p). In Luna's mind, her mom is being very secretive about Crux--I think that caused her to identify more with her dad. I think Polly has a slight idea.

      Haha, I was hoping that would come across as funny and not mean spirited. :D

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  6. This chapter was really cute! It's good to see the kids presented with a challenge (hanging out with their father) because their different personalities really came out.

    I still don't really like Luke, but at least he's trying. Maybe instead of competing with Crux for Polly, he'll compete for the kids? Healthy competition, so he'll try to be a better dad.

    I like Elysia's comments that Luke's mind is like a picture book. XD
    I can't say that's not how my mind works too, though.

    And Luke, just because Polly swears like a sailor around you doesn't mean she does the same around her kids.

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    1. Thank you! I'm glad to hear that their personalities are discernable--writing kids is really hard.

      I think healthy competition with Polly over the kids would be great! The kids would probably like it, too.

      I think my mind is a picture book, too. I'm very easy to read. :D

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  7. Awww, this chapter was super cute. It was nice to see Luke bonding with his kids. It's so easy to write-off the partner of a sim when you roll single (that's what I did ><) but it's great that you have him still being involved. I also adore the triplets, particularly Luna. She's such a cutie and the way she and her dad bonded was super enjoyable to read.

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    1. Thank you! I didn't want Luke to become a deadbeat dad simply because I know a lot of single mothers who still have contact with the fathers. I think next time I roll single I might just write off the partner because it is easier.

      I have a soft spot for Luna, I think because she looks like Polly and I really like Polly. Thank you for reading! :D

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  8. Interesting that Elysia is trying to read her sister's mind, and even more interesting that Luna is trying to keep Elysia from seeing anything. What is little Luna hiding? and what is Elysia looking for?

    Kids who don't like pizza?!

    I feel bad for Luke; he's not a bad guy. He just wants the kids to like him, and the fun and pizza he had planned would've gone over well with most other kids...just not Polly's kids. Hopefully he gets to spend more time with them.

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    1. Elysia reads people's minds for fun, mostly. It's what I imagine I would do if I was telepathic. Luna might just be sick of the invasion.

      I know! I figure they're half alien, so they have to be a little weird. ;) Plus, Polly only makes sushi for them (seriously, that's pretty much all they eat).

      Luke is definitely not bad; he's just a dope. I'm planning for him to get more time with them, but it'll probably be off-screen a lot of times.

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  9. I think it's awesome that Luna keeps hwr sister out with the 99 bottles song. Good thinking there, Luna! Ugh, Elysia, what a little brat. Solaris is cute with his periodic system that aint gonna learn itself.

    Reference to Of human bondage in the titel of the chapter? I just picked up The razor's edge in antiquarian book shop today, and was going to start reading it after I catch up on som legacies, and it just hit me.

    I like that Luna is both sweet and has a violent imagination. Poor Luke though, that bonding effort didn't really go so well. Loved the chapter though! I think you write them really well.

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    1. Yes! It is a really dumb pun, I know. I was initially going to make all of my chapter titles puns, but I am not that witty.

      Luna is me as a kid. Sweet, whiny, overactive imagination, kind of needy. I feel like she's a better representation of me, though. Thank you so much! That's nice to hear. :)

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  10. I loved that Luna beat everyone at video games! I like her the best...sorry, but I do. I just hope her 'joking' about killing off Crux really is a joke O.o

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    1. No need to apologize--Luna is very cute. She is joking about killing off Crux. I made similar jokes when I was a kid. :p

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  11. Aw, I loved Luke and Lulu's late night conversation.
    It's too bad she already dislikes Crux so much, that could be problematic.

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    1. Thanks. :) I wanted to make Luke likable because I really do think he's a good guy.

      Yes, her dislike of Crux might be a bit problematic. :/

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