happy divorce day, Stephanie Nova!

February 4, 2087. Stephanie Nova is 27.

Stephanie Nova could worry like nobody else alive. She worried every morning as she sent her daughter off to kindergarten that today would be the day Jeremiah came to snatch her out of school. She knew which cars belonged to which parent, and her heart skipped a beat whenever someone drove something new. She lay in bed each night, safe in the arms of her beloved, only to slide out of his embrace to double check door and window locks, her ears peaked at a sudden gust of wind or the howl of a wild fox.

gameplay notes on injury damage

notes for inflicting gameplay upon story characters: 

This is sort of like the reverse of writing a story based on gameplay—here, I want to inflict gameplay upon my sims for something that happened in the story. Because otherwise, you know they'd walk around all smiley and happy and sim-like, even though something terrible just happened. TS4 sims don't have memories like TS2 sims do, so once their bad moodlets wear off, they completely forget that anything bad ever happened to them. No matter what it was.

And the moodlets are ridiculously short, most of the time. This brand new mod looks promising to help them last a little bit longer.

In game, the fight moodlet only lasts four hours, so that was kind of useless to me. I did let Justin and Jeremiah actually brawl in game, and yes, Justin loses every time against Jeremiah, lol! It must have to do with either their traits (Jeremiah's are much meaner) or their muscle strength (Jeremiah is stronger), because I think they're about matched on their fitness skill.

Anyway, this was more than just a little brawl, so I'll use several mods and cheats to inflict some lingering physical and psychological damages for these sims. (I am a cruel, cruel pixel-god, lol!)

Drown #13: the story we tell, part 6

August 2086. Jeremiah Day is 29. Angelo Shaw is 24. Aliyah Sylvester is 25. Hudson Lawrence is 27.

*** NSFW



Jeremiah drove all through the night to Chicago. He had this all planned out, knowing that once he had Willow, he would be a fugitive for kidnapping. Instead, he didn't have Willow and was a fugitive for other reasons.

He ditched the cheap red van in the parking lot of a supermarket where nobody would notice it for weeks. The vehicle was worth nothing to him.

Then he took a bus to the train station.

Drown #13: the story we tell, part 5.5

August 2086. Justin Kim is 26. Willow Nova is 5. Jeremiah Day is 29. 

* content advisory for Drown #13: the story we tell, parts 5.4-5.5: violence/gore


The little voice inside Willow’s watch said, "Keep talking to me, Willow. Can you crouch down on the floor and cover your face?"

"I can't. Justin needs help," Willow said.

"We're coming to help. We'll be there in three minutes. We can count together. Do you like to count? But first, I need you to stay safe. Can you get away from the glass?"

Willow couldn't do that. She saw was Justin’s arm fall limp to the ground, and in the pit of her stomach she felt a panic rise up inside her. She knew she wasn’t allowed to touch the door locks, but there was no question about it. She had to unlock that door. She got out of the car and burst across the concrete.

Drown #13: the story we tell, part 5.4

August 2086. Justin Kim is 26. Willow Nova is 5. Jeremiah Day is 29. 

* content advisory for Drown #13: the story we tell, parts 5.4-5.5: violence/gore

Justin stopped for coffee somewhere halfway home, in the wilderness north of Milwaukee, where the speedway ended and he had to drive manual. The day had been long, and he needed to wake up.

"Willow?"

Drown #13: the story we tell, part 5.3

August 2086. Stephanie Nova and Justin Kim are 26. Willow is 5. 




Justin bought a cannoli at the cafe, but he didn’t have the appetite to eat it. He took a seat on the patio, overlooking the town square. He watched the door to the community center and his eyesight was just good enough to make out the rough shape of people coming and going. He could tell only as much as whether they were men or women or children, but he was certain that none of them had looked like Jeremiah so far.

He stopped just short of bringing binoculars because that would have been paranoid.

Drown #13: the story we tell, part 4

August 2086. Angelo Shaw is 24. Jeremiah Day is 29. Stephanie Nova is 26. George McCarthy is 32.

* disclaimer: bad courtroom writing, probably. I write chick-lit, not legal dramas. ;) 


Jeremiah glanced into the courtroom. Stephanie was already there with her lawyer, but the sight of her was wrong. At first, in his head, he tried to bargain with the universe that she'd just gotten really, really fat. But, no, that wasn't right.

Then he tried to bargain that she was having his baby. Some fluke of genetics, some unnatural accident. Then he realized that was impossible. No amount of math, no stretching of the years or dates, no lingering sperm on some forgotten towel could make that even remotely possible.

She was pregnant by another man. Judging from the size of her, she was almost due.

Drown #13: the story we tell, part 3

August 2086. Angelo Shaw is 24. Jeremiah Day is 29.


She told him what her name was, but Angelo had already forgotten it. She was wearing the brightest top in the whole room. It was like a beacon. "I can't help it," he said. "It's just like you're a tulip and I'm a honeybee."

She laughed. He couldn't quite tell if she was laughing for him or at him.

"But don't worry, I don't sting. I'm just after the sweetness."

"Are you trying to hit on me? I bet you don't even have a job."

"Nah, baby, I got a job," Angelo said. "I’m a lawyer."

"You’re too young to be a lawyer."

"Alright, I’m a junior, but exam passed and licensed! I’m a lawyer. Wanna see my card?"

He handed her a card with his name in gold plating. His firm would only print him twenty cards, being a junior, but she could have every one of them.

Drown #13: the story we tell, part 2

July 2086. Jeremiah Day is 29. Isabelle Gibson is 30. 

soundtrack: "Smile Like You Mean It," by The Killers

* sensitive content advisory for Drown #13, parts 1-7


If this was the game they wanted to play, then Jeremiah would play it. He would jump through their hoops. Tell him which hoops to jump through and how, and he would do it. He would answer all of their ridiculous questions. Jeremiah had never felt any less than physically strong and healthy. "But go on," he said. "Give it your best shot."

Drown #10: the mouse, part 7

January 2086. Jeremiah Day is 29.


"Go to South Carolina," she said. "Go to the ocean. You can start over. You’ll be happy there."

"Come to Fort Palmetto," Jeremiah's ISCA-appointed public defender said. "You are doing this so wrong, my friend."

Drown #10: the mouse, part 5

January 2086. Stephanie Nova is 26, Justin Kim is 25, Cynthia Kim is 48, Willow is 4, Lily is 3. Jeremiah Day is 29.

* sensitive content advisory for Drown #10: the mouse, parts 3, 4, & 5

But she told Justin about the messages. She asked him to read every single one. Because she wasn’t weak or stupid, and she did believe that he loved her. Because he promised her, before they were lovers, that nothing could ever change them. He was her best friend first and nothing would ever change that.


"So tell me the truth and I'll believe it," she said. "Tell me anything and I'll believe it because you were the little boy who used to bring me two birthday presents because my birthday was nine days before Christmas and you didn't want me to be sad."

Drown #10: the mouse, part 4

January 2086. Stephanie Nova is 26, Justin Kim is 25. Willow is 4, Lily is 3. Jeremiah Day is 29.

* sensitive content advisory for Drown #10: the mouse, parts 3, 4, & 5


Justin said not to even think about the messages, but Stephanie thought about them all night. She felt weak in her heart and they'd hurt her there. She should have been stronger. She tried, but she wasn't stronger.

Drown #10: the mouse, part 3

January 2086. Stephanie Nova is 26, Justin Kim is 25, Keri Riley is 24, Jeremiah Day is 29.

* sensitive content advisory for Drown #10: the mouse, parts 3, 4, & 5


They drove back down to Lakeside Heights the next morning. They had so much to take care of still—jobs to quit, things to pack, bank accounts to transfer. Justin had to decide when his last day at work would be, before he even had his next job lined up. He had to decide what on earth he would do next. Bryson had offered to write him a nice letter of recommendation, but the problem was that Justin hadn't found any jobs to apply for anywhere near Copper Hill, Michigan. And now he could only try to convince himself that moving his family there was still the absolute right decision.

Now that Bryson knew they were moving, Madison would know shortly. Once Madison knew, Keri would find out within seconds. Justin figured he should probably tell her himself.

who gets the cabin?

* even though this story is from a novel, these characters are also sims that will continue to live in my neighborhood when I’m done with this part of the story. Then they'll be allowed to just be sims. So I wanted to draw up actual paperwork for Stephanie and Jeremiah, even if it's just for my own record-keeping to use in the future.

** at the bottom of these divorce documents (previous divorces and future ones, of which I think Bruce and Pamela were the only ones I had so far on this blog) I've added a section of notes and amendments as they go back and forth with their lawyers. I won't be writing a story update for every single little squabble in the divorce proceedings, but I'll note what things are happening "off-camera" as they happen in case anyone is interested and for my own notes.

*** also note, in case anyone was doing the math: I'm calling Willow aged 4 years old for the story because I feel like her character is 4-5 years old maturity wise and it suits the story I wrote. Although, as a sim in my gameplay world and according to the dates, she won't be 4 for nearly eight more months. That's totally a minor detail in a game where we don't even have freaking toddlers, lol! But, in real life, there can be a world of difference in a child's maturity between the ages of 3 and 5, and so it matters to me in the writing.

And so, the divorce papers...

on pivot points of the universe

I was wondering if anybody wondered about that! :D

happy new year, 2086!

Happy New Year, 2086! Stephanie is 26, Justin is 25, Jeremiah is 28, Willow and Lily are 3. Alice is 64, Jeremy is 69, Bryson is 64. 


It's New Year's Eve and Stephanie feels terrible. She won't be able to drink anything tonight and she doubts that she'll even make it to midnight before she passes out.

Does Justin feel a little bit guilty? Maybe. Proud, too? Probably.

Drown #9: the best laid plans, part 5.5

December 2085. Stephanie Nova is 26, Jeremiah Day is 28, Justin Kim is 25, Willow and Lily are 3. Cynthia Kim is 49, Robert is 52.  

* sensitive content advisory for Drown #9: the best laid plans, parts 1-5

A couple of days after Christmas, Jeremiah stopped by the house.

"I saw your car in the driveway," Jeremiah said. "Stephanie, I feel like we got off to a bad start. We're going to be co-parents now, right? That's what they call it? It's not what I wanted, but we'll just have to put aside our grievances and make the best of it."

Stephanie had the girls corralled behind her, her elderly father in front of her, and she didn't know what to do. Jeremiah wasn't supposed to show up like this, but she didn't want to tell him that there were rules now. Not like this, not today. He'd get the paperwork in days, but he didn't have it yet and she didn't want to be the one to break it to him.

"So, do you think I could chat with my daughter for a couple of hours?"

"If you stay here with her," Stephanie said.

"Great, we'll watch some cartoons or something."

Drown #9: the best laid plans, part 4

December 2085. Justin Kim is 25, Stephanie Nova is 26, Alice Nova is 64, Jeremiah Day is 28.  


In Stephanie's dream, she and Jeremiah stood in a mountain lodge in Three Lakes and he was trying to put a gift shop ring on her finger. It was neon green and made of plastic. Justin was about to fall off of the mountain, but he wasn't falling yet. He was suspended by nothing, just toppled back at forty-five degrees, his arms flailing. She was scared for him.

I need to help him, he's gonna die.  
You can't. We're getting married now. 
I don't want to. 
But you do want to, you said so. I heard you say it and you can't take it back.

The green plastic ring had jagged edges and hurt her finger. Once it was on, it melted into her skin and became part of her flesh. Inextricable.

Would you be scared if I fell off that mountain?
Yes. 
Don't lie to me, babe. 
I'm not lying. 
I want to see how scared you are. Show me your face.

But she was still watching Justin, afraid that if she glanced away for even a second the magic would break and he would start to fall.

I don't believe you. You're a liar. You weren't supposed to be a liar. You were the good one. 

then comes divorce... gameplay notes on marriage and divorce in TS4

We will call this a part two to my previous "first comes love... gameplay notes on love and marriage in TS4." Next comes divorce for an average 28% of my couples, who still happily reap a better chance of marital success than most real life couples do. Even so, I think I still let my couples throw in the towel much more frequently than most simmers do. What can I say? Relationship strife interests me? lol!

In TS4 in just a year of gameplay so far, I have had four married couples come to the brink of disaster, three of which are almost certainly going to make it through to their divorces. Bruce and Pamela, Keri and Justin, Stephanie and Jeremiah—I'm calling Bella and Cameron my fourth couple, even though they've decided to give counseling a try and not call it quits just yet, because they've given me enough chaos and fodder to be part of this study.

Drown #9: the best laid plans, part 2

December 2085. Stephanie Nova is 26, Willow is 4. Jeremiah Day is 28.  

* sensitive content advisory for Drown #9: the best laid plans, parts 1-5


"That's better, huh?" Jeremiah said. "Just the three of us, just the way it's supposed to be."

Stephanie couldn't hide the mix of emotions on her face, wavering between annoyance and disappointment and terror, so she turned her face to the dishwater.

"They were nice people," Stephanie said. "I liked talking to them."

"So let me get this straight, your husband is home after three years at war and you’d rather socialize with two strangers?"

"I didn’t mean it like that. I mean … it’s not like we haven’t been talking at all."

"You’re right," Jeremiah said. "We have been talking. All we’ve done for three years is talk and I don’t want to talk right now, either. I can think of a hundred other things I’d rather do than talk."

"Oh," she said.

She didn't like the way he looked at her then. Not because he looked angry, but the opposite. He looked calm, eager, and expectant.

"But if you liked them so much, maybe we’ll have them over again some other time. You're upset now?"

"No, I’m fine."

"Good, because I have some good news. Tonight was supposed to be a happy occasion. So perk up. It can't get much worse, right? I already know what you did."