esotheria-sims

[esotheria-sims]

As the first rays of dawn broke over the horizon, their golden glow fell upon a peculiar scene on the ground: two sims standing above the carcass of a large dragon.

Huddled together, father and daughter were gazing down on the beast lying lifeless at their feet. The sword in the girl's hand, still dripping with blood, gleamed in the morning light. Miraculously, Annika and Gabriel Blackbird had survived their encounter with the Great feral wyvern. Both were alive, albeit not entirely unscathed.

Annika looked up at her dad and tears began to well in her eyes. Gabriel had taken the brunt of the fight, keeping a protection spell around the two of them for the whole duration of it; he might have forgotten to account for himself at one point.

They stood like that for a few more moments. When Annika finally broke the silence, her voice was barely more than a shaky whisper: "Dad... Let's go home."

#tw blood #sims 2 #ts2 #sims #gameplay #bacc #wyverns bay #wb gameplay #blackbird #blackbird week 4 #gabriel blackbird #annika blackbird #crooked forest #mine

[esotheria-sims]

*Boss music playing in the background*

#No captions I'm letting the pictures speak for themselves #shooting this was SO much fun! #sims 2 #ts2 #sims #gameplay #bacc #wyverns bay #wb gameplay #blackbird week 4 #gabriel blackbird #annika blackbird #crooked forest #mine

[esotheria-sims]

It was the third night since Annika ran away from home, and her supplies were running low. She was out of her hideout gathering berries when she caught sight of her father entering the forest, his telltale aura glowing in the murky dark.

Ducking behind the foliage, Annika observed. She could only make out so much from the distance, but she clearly noticed the sad, tired slump of the illuminated figure. He'd probably been out all day looking for her, worrying himself sick. Annika tried to swallow back her guilt; she felt awful for her dad, but couldn't go home. Not yet.

Gabriel Blackbird had scoured every nook and cranny of Wyvern's Bay in the three days his daughter had gone missing, turned every stone, tried every spell in the proverbial spellbook. But nothing had come up with any results. There was only one location left to try, and it was the one place he simultaneously hoped to find but also not to find her: the Crooked Forest, notoriously known as the hunting ground of the Great feral wyvern.

And indeed, there were traces of beastly presence everywhere Gabriel looked: clawed footprints as big as truck tires; hot embers casting an eerie glow on a pair of gnawed skeletons (human skeletons, he noted); and even two large, scaly eggs tucked away in the depths of a cave. Gabriel would rather not be around when the mom of those eggs came back for them.

He was jolted out of his thoughts by a gust of wind coming from behind, closely followed by the thunderous clap of wings. Wand at the ready, Gabriel whipped around and gasped in horror at the sight before him. To his great misfortune, Wyvern's Bay's eponymous apex predator had returned to its nest.

And it was now staring right at him.

#the bad boi finally makes an appearance!!! #sims 2 #ts2 #sims #gameplay #bacc #wyverns bay #wb gameplay #blackbird #blackbird week 4 #gabriel blackbird #annika blackbird #crooked forest #mine

[esotheria-sims]

Gabriel all but crash-landed in the Wagamese front yard. Tom and Roland, who were drawn out by the unusual noise, were shocked to find him at their door at that hour, and even more shocked at the awful news he brought. Without a moment's hesitation, the men of the Smithy mobilized and moved out to look for Annika.

Meanwhile, Marcus had flown over to the Gladwyns' to get Phillip. The red-haired boy was mortified when he heard what had happened, instantly jumping on Marcus' broom to join him in the search. Riding shotgun on the shaky ride had nearly cost him his head last time, but his fear of flying paled in comparison to the fear he felt for Annika's safety.

Soon, half of Wyvern's Bay was out on the streets, searching every corner of the city and surrounding area for the lost girl, calling out her name.

Hidden away in a cave deep in the wild woods, Annika couldn't hear them.

#sims 2 #ts2 #sims #gameplay #bacc #wyverns bay #wb gameplay #blackbird #blackbird week 4 #gabriel blackbird #marcus blackbird #annika blackbird #dominick irving #tom wagamese #roland pelletier #phillip gladwyn #pets #rufus the dog #whitestone castle #romantic castle #calm clearing #haunted hilltop cemetery #mine

[esotheria-sims]

Meanwhile, back at the Blackbirds'...

When Gabriel returned from work that day, he found Marcus home alone. That wasn't unusual by any means (Annika loved spending most of the day outdoors), and yet, Gabriel couldn't shake the strange sense of unease that had suddenly come over him. Marcus not being able to recall when he'd last seen his sister only made the feeling worse; and by the time they'd checked the house and realized that her clothes were gone, as well as some food and Gabriel's sword, the unease had mutated into stone-cold dread.

Their usually observant next-door neighbour Dominick was none the wiser of Annika's whereabouts, but he agreed to join them in their search. Mounting their brooms in panicked haste, father and son flew out into the reddening sky to gather a search party for their missing family member.

#sims 2 #ts2 #sims #gameplay #bacc #wyverns bay #wb gameplay #blackbird #blackbird week 4 #gabriel blackbird #marcus blackbird #dominick irving #mine

[esotheria-sims]

The nightmarish creature stood squarely before her, blocking her escape. Annika could feel her pulse thumping in her throat - there was nothing normal about that horse! Fixating its eerie, glowing eyes on her, it let out a menacing snort and lowered its head. With a rising sense of panic, Annika realized that it was about to attack.

Instinctively, she drew her sword. As the spectre charged at her, she swung with full force. The blade sliced the creature's snoot, forcing it to abruptly stop. With an angry, bone-chilling neigh, the horse reared up on its hind legs, determined to get the better of the enemy. Annika swung again, taking advantage of the sudden opening to deliver a fatal blow to its chest. Letting out a panicked scream, the creature dropped onto the wet grass, motionless.

Was it really dead? Annika stood there for a while trying to steady her racing pulse. It looked that way, but remembering the tree spirits her father and brother used to fight off back in the day, she knew never to trust a fallen specter. In what she hoped would be the final nail in the horse's coffin, she knelt down and set it ablaze. As extra insurance.

The ease with which it kindled made her hair stand on end. I've had enough of this place, she thought resolutely as she bound for the exit, the blaze of the ghoulish bonfire still flickering in the background.

#sims 2 #ts2 #sims #gameplay #bacc #wyverns bay #wb gameplay #blackbird #blackbird week 4 #annika blackbird #haunted hilltop cemetery #mine

[esotheria-sims]

Atop the desolate hill, daylight seemed to falter as Annika found herself at the gates of a familiar location. Shrouded in a thick fog and heavy with the smell of decay, the old, abandoned cemetery was every bit as eerie as she remembered it.

In what seemed like a lifetime ago, she and her brother had ventured into the cemetery in search of thrill and adventure; but things turned sour when Marcus got poisoned after picking wild mushrooms. Annika couldn't recall all the details of the ill-fated expedition, but the nauseating panic as she raced to get help for her brother was still vivid in her mind.

Though haunting as the place may have been, she had no choice but to stop there. The old stone well within the cemetery was the only water source for miles around, and she was parched. The creaking of the rusted handle as she drew the water seemed deafeningly loud in the otherwise silent cemetery; almost like it could wake the dead, Annika thought with a shiver.

Just as she finished this thought, something in the shadows behind her stirred.

#sims 2 #ts2 #sims #gameplay #bacc #wyverns bay #wb gameplay #blackbird #blackbird week 4 #annika blackbird #haunted hilltop cemetery #mine

[esotheria-sims]

As was often the case with problems that went ignored, they tended to grow bigger the more time passed.

With a knot of dread in her chest, Annika realized one day that her belly had gotten too big to hide. Soon, her father and brother would start asking questions about her state; and when the truth came out, they'd go looking for the culprit. And not just to chat, either.

It was all her fault. She was the one who insisted on being intimate with Phillip without thinking of the consequences, even though Marcus had warned her. And now that her pregnancy had advanced this much, she was running out of options. It was either being a disgraced, single teenage mom... or being a married-off, trapped-in-a-castle teenage mom. She wasn't sure which of the two was worse.

So once she'd dried her tears and regained some composure, Annika began gathering her things, having chosen an unlikely third option. She packed clothes, provisions, and Spellweaver for protection, and headed out. She would handle everything on her own, she'd firmly decided.

But to do so, she needed to disappear for a while.

#sims 2 #ts2 #sims #gameplay #bacc #wyverns bay #wb gameplay #blackbird #blackbird week 4 #annika blackbird #Abandoned apothecary #mine

[esotheria-sims]

One year older and wiser, Marcus can now finally call himself a 'proper' adult! 😄 His stats haven't really changed since he was a teen, with a notable exception in his Turn off panel, which went from "Custom hair" to "Alien" courtesy of @episims Turn on/off replacement mod.

Also, this whole time I thought that he was a Family sim with a Knowledge secondary, when it was actually the other way around?? Wow, way for me to not know my own sims' stats. Embarrassing.

Marcus Blackbird

Species: Human/warlock

Gender: Male

Age: Adult

Zodiac: Cancer

Aspiration: Knowledge + Family

Sexuality: straight

LTW: Max out 7 skills

OTH: Nature

Personality: Neat 4; Outgoing 2; Active 6; Playful 5; Nice 9

Turn-Ons: Make up, Logical

Turn-Offs: Custom hair Alien

#sims 2 #ts2 #sims #bacc #wyverns bay #wyverns bay extras #wb gameplay #wb introductions #blackbird #blackbird week 4 #marcus blackbird #mine

[esotheria-sims]

After the party was over and most of the other guests had gone on their own way, queen Aruena approached Marcus to offer him a final parting gift.

Marcus: "A-another gift? Your Grace, this is too much! You've been so kind to me already, I couldn't possibly take any more advantage of your generosity...!"

Aruena: "Nonsense! It is merely a trinket to add some interest to your still life paintings. It may not be a blackbird, but I hope you'll like it all the same. Did you know that there were griffins living in the mountains of Wyvern's Bay?"

Marcus held the figurine aloft with an almost religious reverence. Elegant in its simplicity and expertly crafted, it depicted the winged beast with just the right amount of detail.

Marcus: "I had no idea. It's beautiful. Thank you!"

#sims 2 #ts2 #sims #gameplay #bacc #wyverns bay #wb gameplay #blackbird #blackbird week 4 #marcus blackbird #aruena moonfeather #mine

[esotheria-sims]

And then came the moment everyone was looking forward to the most: it was time for Marcus to blow out his birthday candles!

No longer a boy, a world of new opportunities opened up before his mind's eye. Where would life take him from here? He didn't know, but one thing was for certain: if he kept feeling this good about life, only sky was the limit!

#sims 2 #ts2 #sims #gameplay #bacc #wyverns bay #wb gameplay #blackbird #blackbird week 4 #gabriel blackbird #marcus blackbird #annika blackbird #dominick irving #phillip gladwyn #selina hauata #aruena moonfeather #feanor moonfeather #mine

[esotheria-sims]

With the arrival of the guests, the celebrations could commence!

The limited space of the little hut didn't stand in the way of a good time, even with a few extra visitors in attendance. There was chatter, laughter, dancing, and even a few magic tricks to keep the spirits high! ✨

#sims 2 #ts2 #sims #gameplay #bacc #wyverns bay #wb gameplay #blackbird #blackbird week 4 #gabriel blackbird #marcus blackbird #annika blackbird #dominick irving #phillip gladwyn #selina hauata #aruena moonfeather #feanor moonfeather #mine

[esotheria-sims]

Annika: "Hey bro, what's that fancy carriage doing in our street? Did you, like, invite the queen to your birthday party or something?"

Marcus was ready to smack his sister for her dumb joke, but a quick look through the window told him that, surpisingly, she was telling the truth. There was a carriage outside their house, and it did look rather regal. His breath hitched in his throat when he glimpsed a familiar silhouette through the latticed window.

Marcus: "Annika, quick!! How's my hair looking??"

Annika narrowed her eyes as she watched him fumble to get his hair down.

Annika: "Ugh. The queen doesn't care how your hair looks, you dweeb!"

But Marcus knew better. His heart thumping in his chest, he went outside to greet his unexpected royal visitors.

Queen Aruena and prince Feanor seemed in a jovial mood, dismounting their carriage in skipping steps that seemed more carefree than dignified. Marcus was about to bow in greeting, but Aruena beat him to it with a sudden, sweet peck to his cheek. "It's customary to kiss a sim on their birthday", she explained with a small smile; but Marcus' blood was pounding so loudly in his ears that he didn't register her words. Did he... really just get a birthday kiss from the Queen of Wyvern's Bay??

But the surprises didn't seem to end there. Marcus watched in stunned awe as the royal lackey began unloading a fortune worth of painting equipment from the carriage.

"Happy birthday!" - the elves chirped in unison.

#sims 2 #ts2 #sims #gameplay #bacc #wyverns bay #wb gameplay #blackbird #blackbird week 4 #marcus blackbird #annika blackbird #aruena moonfeather #feanor moonfeather #mine

[esotheria-sims]

The morning of Marcus' birthday had finally arrived, and the birthday boy couldn't have been happier about it! Ever the early bird, the dawn found him buzzing around the kitchen, intent on nailing a recipe he'd had his sights set on for a while.

Perhaps meat dumplings didn't seem like a luxurious birthday dish to most, but Marcus loved a hearty, home-cooked meal. He'd prepared the dough and filling the night before, so all that was left to do now was wrap each dumpling and cook them to perfection above the old hearth. A dollop of fresh sour cream, and the scrumptious dish was ready to be served to hungry guests!

And since no birthday party was complete without a cake, Gabriel made sure to get one from one of SimCity's best patisseries. Marcus was humble enough to offer to bake the cake himself, but his father had insisted. Who should he splurge on, if not his own children?

#sims 2 #ts2 #sims #gameplay #bacc #wyverns bay #wb gameplay #blackbird #blackbird week 4 #gabriel blackbird #marcus blackbird #mine

[esotheria-sims]

In the coming days, Annika did her best to ignore her little problem and keep up a careless front for her father and brother, simultaneously nipping any suspicions they had in the bud.

It turned out to be... easier than expected. Gabriel seemed content that she'd periodically ask him innocuous dating questions ('Is it okay if Phillip and I hold hands at Marcus' birthday party?'), while Marcus' offhand comment about her finally starting to dress like a girl was quickly dealt with thanks to a single (albeit particularly brutal) noogie.

She never helped much around the house to begin with so her slouching around didn't appear suspicious, and her father and brother knew to respect her privacy, meaning that dressing wasn't an issue, either.

Things were going smoothly for now. But how much longer could she keep up the secrecy? "I'll think about it tomorrow", she'd always tell herself.

#sims 2 #ts2 #sims #gameplay #bacc #wyverns bay #wb gameplay #blackbird #blackbird week 4 #gabriel blackbird #marcus blackbird #annika blackbird #mine

[esotheria-sims]

When Annika woke up from her emergency nap she found, much to her annoyance, that her swollen belly had not gone away and that her father was now sitting across from her with a worried look on his face.

So much for sleeping her problems away.

___

Uh-oh, Annika's in a pickle! 😶 This one turned out rather long, so another story post it is! Full scene available here, but feel free to leave comments under this post. Reading your thoughts will surely make my day! ^_^ ♥

#sims 2 #ts2 #sims #gameplay #bacc #wyverns bay #wb gameplay #blackbird #blackbird week 4 #gabriel blackbird #annika blackbird #mine

[esotheria-sims]

Fencing would always leave Annika famished and wanting for an extra serving of whatever was for lunch that day. She told herself she'd stop overeating, though, since she noticed she was putting on weight around the belly area. Which was odd, considering the amount of exercise she did daily.

She didn't pay any of it much mind until one fateful day, when she felt an odd movement in her gut. It couldn't have been food poisoning, because the food was most definitely fresh. Was she starting her period? When was the last time she was on her period, anyway...?

Right in the middle of her mental calculation that it wasn't last month, or the month before, she felt another kick (yes, kick; she was sure of it now), sending her into a full-blown panic. Missing periods, a growing belly... Was she...?

The third kick only confirmed her lingering fears. "...Great. Dad and Marcus are going to KILL me", she thought ruefully, though she knew full well that her family's ire was the least of her problems right now.

Her body felt heavy all of a sudden, her eyes grew tired; she slipped into a looser nightgown and crashed into bed, hoping to sleep through Gabriel's arrival and all the uncomfortable questions that would undoubtedly ensue. She was so not ready to face any of that right now.

And, who knows? Maybe once she woke up she'd find that none of it was real and that she'd just dreamed it all up.

____

To everyone who said 'fertility' in response to the pomegranate riddle - congrats, you clever foxes, you! 🦊That was indeed the implied meaning! 😉 But whether it was the only correct answer, remains to be seen...

#sims 2 #ts2 #sims #gameplay #bacc #wyverns bay #wb gameplay #blackbird #blackbird week 4 #gabriel blackbird #annika blackbird #mine