The Crane Legacy: Chapter 3.7- A Time of Growth

Well, its FINALLY time for an update, yay! A quick recap and explanation before I beg for forgiveness: Right after the last post, way back in August, I got the wonderfully delicious Snagit, The program that takes screencaps. Since my pictures sucked, I thought that screencaps would help. They didn't. My pictures STILL sucked, and now, I had to EDIT them, and that took forever. But here's where I f-ed up royally: I didn't know that JPEGS were a loss file format, or however its called. So I would resize, enlarge, shrink, basically, f- them up so badly they sucked worse than the pictures in-game, and its too late to fix them now. So the pictures are worse. I am so sorry my dear readers. But, its only for like 10 more chapters, soon we'll be caught up, and the pictures will be as beautiful as the spoilers you see on my LJ, and on Boolprop. YAY!

Now, for the recap: Last we left off, the story actually was narrated in story format! Winnipeg had invited some friends to stay with her, but was upset by the tragedies to befall them. Her two Knowledge Sim roommates, Prof. Karna AND Charon got abducted by aliens. They soon gave birth to alien babies, both boys, Xenophilius Lampwick, and Xander Pyle. (Prof. Karna and Charon, respectively.) On with the story!



Currently ,living at the esteemed Crane Estate was an odd bunch, to be sure. The current heiress Winnipeg Crane, along with her spouse, former headmaster Atlas Crane. Then, family servant/friend Cressida. After that, family friends Prof. Karna and Charon, along with their alien offspring, Xenophilius and Xander. Prof. Leto, the once wise old Knowledge Sim turned Grilled Cheese fanatic made up the rest of the odd group living at the house.



Atlas was not amused. He had long put up with his wife;s whims and fancies, she was a popularity Sim after all. He had to deal with a relatively stale marriage, two ridiculous daughters, and family friends who LIVED WITH THEM. Of course, when he married into the family, he had expected some oddness, but not to this extent. But, he thought with a sigh, at least everything is better. "My daughters are off being strong women in college, while my marriage is finally happy now that he have achieved everything we wanted to in life." But still. Alien offspring? They weren't even related to the Crane family. They were just... there.



Cressida didn't mind. She was fascinated, simply fascinated with the alien children. She had helped raise Xerxes, who was now off at college. She loved helping raise these specimens. Sure, people thought that as a robot, she didn't have feelings, which was true. But she was... extremely interested in the thought processes and biological working of otherworldly Sims. She didn't mind them invading the Crane House for a couple of years.




Its not like Prof. Karna and Charon were just sitting idly by while their children were here. They decided to fully help the Crane family by going out and getting jobs of their own. Charon had found his niche in the Natural Science career, while Prof. Karna had been working for Kodak Development, Inc,* the faceless company that Atlas had run for many years before becoming a Hall of Famer for some random sport.



Prof. Karna had gotten sick working at the company. He was therefore convinced that Atlas had tried to kill him Prof. Karna was a very paranoid man, worldly and knowledgeable (some might call him a textbook nerd) but he wholeheartedly believed in conspiracies and things of the sort, while Charon was A LOT more laid back and "chill". Winnipeg joked that he was a mellow nerd. Cressida never understood.



Soon enough the boys transitioned into toddlers. Xenophilius was obviously more "alien like" he had gotten the extreme cheeks and downturned ears, while Xander was the spitting image of his father. Er, mother. Well, Charon.







Once the boys transitioned, the men could not contain their enthusiasm for teaching them. They wanted their children to be fully equipped to handle the world, and started them off with the three basic Sim instructions, Walking, Talking, and Using the Potty efficiently.



Soon enough, Charon had gotten far enough in his career to acquire another Cowplant. The first had been acquired by Odysseus Picasso, and he had named it Something Ridiculous. Now, there was another, and Charon humored him and named it You're Ridiculous. The men the Crane family associated with were obviously deranged. (The cowplants names are actually Austin and Dallas, I made all that up because I forgot their names really quickly.)



Cressida, of course, relished every opportunity she had to care for the kids. She would spend hours and hours just watching them practice their toddler skills.



Meanwhile, Prof. Karna was advancing himself in Kodak Development Inc. He had just been promoted to President. Prof. Karna could feel himself molding into a hardened businessman, more fortune Sim than Knowledge.



There were other people in the house, of coure. Prof. Leto chose to spend her time eating Grilled Cheese, while Winnipeg maintained her friendships and Atlas painted. On this sunny day (hell, it was always sunny in Kodak for about three or four generations) Prof. Leto was innocently making her favorite- Grilled Cheese.



It would be her last.



You can say all you want about feeling the chill rushing down your spine, but, truth be told, Prof. Leto Tale only felt the gooey warmth of cheese tumbling into her belly as the Grim Reaper himself approached. Prof. Karna and Charon were at work, while Winnie and Atlas were in the Music Room painting.



She turned and faced him. "Is there cheese up there?", She questioned softly. Even peering into the hood of the most powerful figure in the universe, (snicker) she thought only of her cheese obsession.

He nodded.

She nodded and smiled, and faded away as all Sims do.



Winnipeg had rushed over. She was devastated, to say the least. Another of her close friends, dead.



However, Winnipeg was a bit indignant at the amount of money left to her in her friends will.



At least she had Atlas to cheer her up.



Winnipeg honored Prof. Leto with a place in the family plot.*



Meanwhile, Cressida had taken up a hobby- Flower Arranging. She had eternity at her disposal, why not learn a couple of other trades while she was here? Her duties included taking care of children of the Crane family, but Prof. Karna and Charon were great parents, she had plenty of time to learn to make beautiful flower arrangements.



(I think Winnie is really pretty, of course in a generic face two sort of way, but still. I liked her as a Sim. She ruled.)



Time flew by after the death of Prof. Leto. They days were spent with friends, paining, playing with the bunny, flower arranging, and soon, the time came that the boys transitioned into adorable, well mannered, extremely intelligent children.



Prof. Karna pondered what to do next. The days had truly flown by, and he had no idea what to do. Now he was the CEO of Kodak Development, Inc., and he had a wondeful alien son. His instincts told him not to stargaze anymore. He knew that his dear friend Winnie would die soon, and she would leave the house to Cressida until her daughter graduated college. So, what would he do till then?



Charon had no fantasies. He wanted to train his son, get him off to SSU, then move out. He felt he had imposed on Winnie's kindness way too much. and now she was going to die. He wanted his son to be educated, and thats all. Perhaps they would be of some use later on to the Crane Family? [Maybe to work in their stores?;) ]



Of course, Charon sometimes got to carried away. Xander had maximized creativity, and become a master of lying. Not a skill all little boys claim to possess now can they?



Xander smiled inwardly. Granted, he looked like his father, and was a lot like him. He was... "chill." He was content to just stare at the sky, or other people, for hours on end. He enjoyed learning, but talking to people, trying to understand them was his true passion.



Of course, personalities aren't always genetic. Xenophilius was... frantic. He would read for hours and try to absorb as much as he could, always. He was hyper and energetic about it though.



They still found time to pose for a family portrait though. :)



Speaking of portraits, Cressida had finally finished the portraits of the Cranes. It was her duty to chronicle their lives as best she could, and the Cranes loved having portraits of times gone by hanging on the walls.





Yes, the paintings hung magnificently on the walls of the house.



Of course the boys were close. They were half siblings, they lived together, and they did everything together. While Xeno (as he had come to be called) enjoyed learning and reading, Xander enjoyed talking to people and playing around. They were as different as their parents.

However, not all was well.



Winnipeg didn't even turn when she felt him arrive inside her bedroom that evening.

"You're right on time."

The Reaper said nothing as he glided effortlessly towards her, his faithful Hula dancers materializing on either side.



Charon had felt the cold sweep over the house, and instinctively ran to this room. It was her time.

He began to sob.



Upon hearing the sobs, Xander, Xeno, And Cressida came to the room as well. Being young, and not understanding, the boys just stood and watched what happened, while Cressida cried, as much as a robot could anyway.



"QUITE A TURNOUT, WINNIPEG CRANE."

"I am loved by all. I am an Icon, after all."

"YOUR MOTHER IS PROUD, WINNIPEG. LETS GO."

"What about..."



Almost as if on cue, Atlas sprinted into the room.



He began to sob as well. His dear, dear Winnipeg.



Winnipeg Crane- Generation 2 Heiress
Popularity, Made 30 Best Friends
Had Two daughters- Charissa and Charity
Died Platinum



Winnipeg's tombstone was put in the back, next to her mother and fathers, and nearby those of her friends- Prof. Leto, Prof. Dylan and Juno, the cow.

*KDI- Kodak Development, Inc- The name of the neighborhood is Kodak, I named it that because there was nothing coming to mind and a disposable camera was lying there. Sue me. Howver, KDI will be a major plot point, keep it in mind!

*There was a family plot, but once I started killing Sims for points it felt wrong to have random Sims buried along with my Cranes, so after Atlas dies I built a mausoleum for them. (Please, we all know Atlas dies, its not like I spoiled it.)

Thanks for reading! All comments, questions, suggestions, and mockery of the pictures can be left here!

POINT SUMMARY:

+ 1/2 a point for Prof. Leto's Platinum Grave
+ 1/2 a point for Winnipeg's Platinum Grave
+ 1 point for the Net Worth increase

Total: 52.5 Points.

Once again, thanks so much for reading and commenting!