Let's Sperg Sims 3 Random Legacy Challenge

[spiritofamermaid]

What kind of autistic spergery is this?
I've always wanted to write a Sims 3 legacy blog, but no one in my friend group (irl or online) cares about that. So I decided why not reach out to fellow autistics and hopefully there will be at least one person on this site who would be interested.

Following the rules of the Random Legacy Challenge, I will be working to follow the legacy of the Land family.
The rules are here, but to sum it up in simple terms, raise 10 generations of Sims, accomplishing specific objectives in each generation.
You work to raise 10 generations, building up the lot you started on.
You randomly generate the family structure, number of children, generational goal, and miscellaneous objective.

My rolls for Generation 1:
Family Structure: Single Parent with Help (Single parent, with one other adult who is not in a romantic relationship with them)
Number of Children: 1 child
Career 1: Fishersim (self-employed as angler, selling the fish they catch)
Career 2: Law Enforcement (Super Spy)
Generation Goal: Deadbeat Parents (no teaching toddler skills, reading books, getting good grades at school).
Misc Fun: No Strangers (not allowed to call for a babysitter/maid/butler, order pizza, or hire handyman)

I have made some edits to the town, such as changing the weather to better fit the town I am starting in, moving the ITF Portal to the family inventory, and adding lots from other expansions into it (if needed for careers), but other than that the town is unchanged.

I have all the expansions, and almost all of the Stuff Packs.

The only requirement to be the heir is that they must be a mermaid/merman. So I will not be doing a matriarchy or patriarchy. So yes, they will be merSims. But I promise to make it as interesting as I can.

Spoiler: List of Mods (hyperlinks added soonTM)

ani
1. Get Drunk
2. Fridge Mod
3. Dirt Collector
Arsil's DoHomeworkWith
brando130's Hitman
Buzz
1. Moar Interactions
2. No Vehicle Relationships
3. Take Home Foods
Catie's Mermaid Tweaks
Cherry's Toddler Interactions
NRAAS
1. DebugEnabler
2. Decensor
3. Error Trap
4. Go Here
5. MasterController (and Cheats)
6. Overwatch
7. PortraitPanel
8. Register
9. Relationship Panel
10. Relativity (speed set to 0.54)
11. Retuner
12. Saver
13. Story Progression (and Career, Extra, Money, Population, Relationship)
14. Traffic
15. Traveler
16. Woohooer
17. WrittenWord
18. Tempest
Olomaya's Smoking Mod
TwinSimming
1. Burglars Steal Simoleons
2. Dirty Laundry Mod
and more to be added when I have the time to edit this post

FAQ

Spoiler: Why don't you just make a blog and post it on MTS forums or even write it there, and not here?

I did, actually. But I didn't get any feedback, or interest, and I'm hoping that a different audience would be more interested. Plus for my legacy, I'll be writing topics that surpass MTS's PG-13 rating. I don't have a Tumblr, and don't really have an interest in making one.

Spoiler: Are you going to track points?

No, I am not. I know a lot of people do it, but my priority with this is to tell a fun story. Even if I technically "fail" the challenge, unless it's due to an heir dying or something irreversible, I'm still going to continue.

The first few chapters will be heavily scripted and pre-planned, but after Chapter 1.5 it will be much more "here's what happened."

Spoiler: Quick Chapter Links

Chapter 1.1
Chapter 1.2
Chapter 1.3
Chapter 1.4
Chapter 1.5
Chapter 1.6

 

[XL xQgg?QcQCaTYDMjqoDnYpG]

The rules are here

Jesus fucking Christ, I've seen banking regulations that were shorter than that ruleset.

Hope you're gonna include screenshots in the writeups so it's not just text-only

 

[Gog & Magog]

Build a gas chamber, kill the neighbors and decorate the yard with their tombstones.

 

[ye's Official KF Burner]

Shit, I'll buckle in. Why not?

 

[Star Classic]

Disgonbegood

I have some fond memories of this game. My only concern for this is how are you supposed to keep the town alive? I found even in the first generation the base townies all die of old age and their children don't seem to want to get married. Maybe Story Progression fixes it or something but that mod has terrible performance.

 

[Dagoth AMOGUS]

Add lolcows or kiwi farm users to the game for bonus fun. And make a dog like Null (the slobbermut was an old and cursed wikihow dog with this color fur and basically was a really lanky retriever mutt mix)

I hate to admit it but I have a few the sims 4 packs. If this takes off I might create a sequel thread. Best of luck and have fun

 

[Inside your walls]

Make a Sneed Sim.

 

[XL xQgg?QcQCaTYDMjqoDnYpG]

Make a Sneed Sim.

Make a Chuck sim and rename him to Sneed

 

[ye's Official KF Burner]

Add lolcows or kiwi farm users to the game for bonus fun. And make a dog like Null (the slobbermut was an old and cursed wikihow dog with this color fur and basically was a really lanky retriever mutt mix)

I hate to admit it but I have a few the sims 4 packs. If this takes off I might create a sequel thread. Best of luck and have fun

Lock Pat in the basement and force him to do menial tasks to make money for the legacy sims

 

[spiritofamermaid]

I am not sure if I will be adding cows/kiwifarms users to the game, as there is supposed to be a large element of randomness to the challenge. If there is a way to integrate it, for instance adding them as other people in the town when I need to reseed it after a few generations, I am certainly not against it, but at the moment it's not planned.

There will 100% be screenshots accompanying the story, and I have also made custom poses for some of the images.

First chapter is expected to go live sometime this weekend.

 

[SNEED.EXE]

Make a Sneed Sim.

Reminds me of my old Sims 2 save.

 

[Star Classic]

Add lolcows or kiwi farm users to the game for bonus fun. And make a dog like Null (the slobbermut was an old and cursed wikihow dog with this color fur and basically was a really lanky retriever mutt mix)

I hate to admit it but I have a few the sims 4 packs. If this takes off I might create a sequel thread. Best of luck and have fun

Adding onto this I have a Wingsofredemption Sim to add if need be lol

 

[Dagoth AMOGUS]

Adding onto this I have a Wingsofredemption Sim to add if need be lol

Hey post the screenshot of what you made! Maybe he can copy it

 

[Star Classic]

Hey post the screenshot of what you made! Maybe he can copy it

Someone could do better than this I imagine, I had a Incel and a Chad sim in the same household but they've been lost to time.

I've also included the .sim file in a .zip file as well so you just need to drag and drop it to the SavedSims folder.

 

[spiritofamermaid]

Chapter 1.1: Ashore and On A Mission


As he pulled himself on shore, Adrian grumbled to himself. Waves slapped him in the face.

I can't believe I'm doing this, he thought to himself. Coming ashore. He was finally starting to get used to how thin the air felt to breathe, but he still hated it. He continued to pull himself up. Unlike how graceful and powerful he felt under the waves, right now he was extremely irritated and frustrated with how ungainly he felt, and the granules of sand sticking to his skin. If his sister Aqua weren't in trouble, there's no way he'd be doing this.



She had gone ashore to study fin rot in the local fish populations, to cure it before it spread to them. While there had been a lot of hesitation on his part, there was no way he could go against the elders when they approved.



I was nervous but seeing how eager and happy she was, didn't try and stop her. Not enough to go with her, of course, but still happy.



But when it was time for her to come back, she wasn't there. I immediately regretted not going.

As twins, they had a special bond. They weren't psychically bonded, but if one thought of something really hard, the other twin could hear it.

Aqua, he thought, hoping she'd hear. Where are you?



No answer.

He tried again, but there was nothing. Taking a deep breath, he tried one more time, putting everything he had into it.

Aqua. Please.

Just when he was about to give up, he heard her.

... Adrian?

Aqua! He was worried. Her voice was incredibly weak. He could barely make it out. Yes, it's me. Where are you?

... caught... ley... Henley...

His brow furrowed. Where was Henley? He tried to ask, but there was no response.

So here he was.

Once he was far enough on shore, Adrian used his magic and painlessly cleaved his fin in half. He stared at the limbs that now appeared. Legs, they were called. And at each end was a foot.



Disgusting. But I need them to find her.

Thankfully, the magic also let him already know how to walk, and he didn't have to learn.


Adrian walked up the beach until he reached the house. Horace and Melanie lived there, and they helped merSims who are interested in spending time on land, whether that is for a short or long time.



They helped my sister, so hopefully they know where she is. Or at least how to get to Henley.

The door opened to reveal Horace. "Come in, come in!" he said. He turned to the side and yelled out, "Melanie, grab a pair of men's shorts for the lad here."



"Where's my sister?" he asked, unmoving. He had more important things to deal with than human clothes.

"Who?"

"Aqua. My sister. The one who wanted to study fin rot."



"She didn't come back? We got a letter from the school with her degree and a letter congratulating her for her finishing her research project."

======



"And that's why I need to go to Henley, wherever that is," he finished. Adrian itched his butt again, for the millionth time. These human clothes are so annoying. "That's the name of the university, right?"



"No," Horace said, shaking his head. "The university's called Sims University, and it's in Hiddleton Hills. We don't know where this Henley is."



His head collapsed, and he tried to not let despair fill him.

"Cheer up," Horace said, giving him a hopeful smile. "We know the last place she was at was the school, so why not start there?"

Adrian shot up, his face filled with glee. "Great idea! Let's go!"



"Sorry, son," Horace said. "We can't go with you. We're too old for such a crazy adventure. It's too far from the water for us."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm sure you've noticed by now, how your skin feels a little dry?" Melanie asked.



Adrian nodded. It wasn't bad now, but in a few hours he knew his skin would be crying out for water. "Yeah, why?

"If you are out of the water for too long, you'll dry up. You have to regain your tail, and soak up some water. Don't need to fully change, but you need to keep your skin hydrated."

"How do I do that?"

"Frequent showers, and making sure to drink lots of water. Otherwise you'll pass out, and if no one dumps water on you then you'll die. But if you're traveling by yourself, no one'll know you need it, and you'll die."

Adrian nodded in understanding. "But what about at night, when I'm sleeping? What if I dry out then?"



"It's a concern, true. You can still sleep in human form on a bed, but don't sleep too deeply, otherwise you'll wake up dried out. I'd set an alarm, so you can wake up in the middle of the night and refresh your skin."

"Some of the folks that can't afford or can't stay in a saltwater pool have told us about how they sleep in the bathtub, so maybe you can do that. You'll need to put some stuff in the water, but Melanie'll get some of that for you."

"Does it have to be saltwater?"

"Yeah, humans here put some chemicals in most of them that burn our skin."

"For food, eating stuff made with fish or seaweed is the best to get your energy up. Human food is fine in a pinch but won't fill you up." Horace gave Adrian a smile. "Some of their food though tastes amazing. Like my favorite, cotton candy!" He sighed dreamily.

Melanie smiled fondly at Horace then looked at Adrian. "We'll get you a flight tonight and take you to the airport tomorrow. The flight will get you to the college quickly, and you can ask about your sister."


Horace placed his hand on Adrian's shoulder reassuringly. "Everything will be okay, lad. You'll find her."

====



As he stood on the beach, he ignored the buzzing of the "phone" coming from his pocket. He wanted to be alone right now. Still wearing my legs, Aqua, he thought, glancing down at them and the sand that streamed between his toes. They want me to get used to them. He sighed. Aqua, what have I gotten myself into? I hope you're okay. Please be okay.

 

[spiritofamermaid]

Chapter 1.2: Fish and Cats Don't Go Well Together

Compared to the flight, the car ride was much less stressful. Adrian was still nervous though, because they warned him that there would be a lot of people there.

When he got out, he stared in shock. They weren't wrong! There was an entire school of humans! Adrian gave a chuckle at his own joke, but then got back to business.

He started walking, but then came to a halt. I don't even know where to go!



Looking around, he saw a lady walking out of a building. "Scuse me," he said. "Where's the administration building?"





She gave him a wry smile. "The building I just left," she said, pointing with her thumb to the building behind her. After thanking her, he quickly went inside.

"Are you Ms. Stevenson?" he asked, when he opened the door tot the buidling to see a woman sitting at the desk.

She shook her head. "No, Ms. Stevenson is two doors down on your left."

Adrian nodded and followed her directions, knocking on the door.

"Come in," a female voice said.

Adrian shivered. Something about that voice made his nerves stand on end. He opened the door to reveal a woman sitting down. "Are you Ms. Stevenson?"



"Yes, that's me. How can I help you?" she asked.

Adrian pulled his attention from something in the air that made his throat swell up. After a few coughs to clear his throat, he said, "My sister goes here, but I haven't heard from her in a while. Is she still attending?"



Each tap of her finger onto the flat mechanical board in front of her felt like a pick into his ears. To his relief it finally ended. She looked up at him. "No," Ms. Stevenson said, "it looks like she completed her research project. Left about three months ago, even had her award and certificate mailed to the address on file."



Three months ago? Why didn't she come home then? An idea niggled at his mind. What if Henley was a person, not a place? "Do you have a student named Henley here?"

She narrowed her eyes. "Are you related to him?"



He shook his head.

"Then I can't tell you without a warrant."

Adrian grew frustrated. He was clearly so close to finding her! He didn't have time to get whatever awThrowing caution to the waves, he ordered, "You will tell me what I want." He infused his Song with those words, putting as much power behind them as he could. Panic rose in him when he saw her trying to resist. Why didn't I practice more?

Thankfully after a few seconds she told him. "Terrence Henley lives at 350 Oak Grove Road in Sunset Valley."



Now that he knew the address, he dispelled the magic and left, ignoring the woman from earlier say something to him. "Hey Horace," he said, once the older man answered the phone. "I know where she is."

============
Previous Chapter
Home

 

[spiritofamermaid]

Chapter will be delayed by one week, having an issue with 2 poses and the time I would've used to fix it is spent watching the Super Bowl. Much apologies!

 

[spiritofamermaid]

Chapter 1.3: Loss of Innocence

Aqua was sleeping when the lights turned on, waking her. Where am I?



She squinted at the approaching figure, and when it resolved into Terrence wearing a white lab coat, she remembered.



"Good morning, my love! We will start with some speed tests, and then I'll get you breakfast." He looked up from his clipboard to smile at her.

Aqua was silent as his robots dragged her out of the tank and onto the stretcher. You haven't been my love for a while.



As she was pushed along, she stared at the ceiling. These two rooms and the hallway between had been her entire world for months.



While Aqua swam her laps, her body ached for the free ocean. She cast her mind to try and think of something else, and the dream she had last night offered a distraction. It was how she and Terrence had first met at the university. If only she had known how dangerous he would be...



"You look lonely. Mind if I join you?" She looked up to see a man she'd seen at the labs, working on his own project.



"Sure, I don't mind," she said, putting her book down. She scooted over slightly as he sat next to her under the shade of the tree.

"I'm Terrence, I've seen you working in the labs, as well. What's your name?"

"I'm Aqua. Nice to meet you." She gave him a soft smile. Was he a merSim too? He was wearing glasses, after all.

"Nice to meet you too, Aqua. What is your research project?"

"I'm working on curing fin rot," she said, busying herself with her phone. As she pulled up the various images, she cast a few glances at the man next to her. For a human, he was very attractive! "For when typical antibiotics aren't feasible." Having found the album, she handed the phone over.

She watched as he scrolled through the images of the poor fish. Instead of the normal winces and groans as people get grossed out, Terrence didn't react. "So," he said, after handing it back, "is it like leprosy for fish?"

"Kind of, yeah. What's your project?"



"Mine isn't as altruistic as yours, so maybe it will balance out." He chuckled. "I'm working on creating hybrids, to one day create my own. Right now I'm focused on human-robot hybrids."

A buzzer sounded, pulling her out of her thoughts. I should've been more careful, she thought, when he said he was interested in human hybrids.



"Great job sweetie!" Terrence said, looking at his clipboard again. "You've increased your average speed by a few x in the last week." Two robots stood beside him. "Take her to the imaging machine," he said to them. "I want a few more scans."

Biting back a groan, Aqua floated next to the wall and let the two robots manhandle her back into her stretcher. She glanced at the clock and noticed that she ahd been swimming for three hours. The information washed over her without emotion. What point did knowing the time matter? It was a human habit she had picked up at the university, but it was completely irrelevant back home or here.

Aqua bit back winces as the robots placed her in the machine. They struggled with fine motor control, and the mermaid had been subject to more than one rant by Terrance at the university about his lack of improvement on that front.





Aqua bit back her cries as the machine did whatever it did. It always focused on where her skin shifted to scales. Most likely for whatever he needs for his hybrid research. But I'm not a hybrid - I'm a full mermaid.

After an indeterminable amount of time, the sharp pain subsided to a dull ache. In the beginning, she used to beg and plead. After however long she'd been here, though, she knew it was pointless.

After a while, the machine turned off. Aqua jumped when she heard his voice next to her.

"You know, for some reason when I saw you at the labs there was something that seemed off about you. Not quite right. Now that I've seen you in your true form, however, I know why." Terrence placed a hand on her cheek. "You are most beautiful like this. Now that you're not crying anymore, we can get back to how we were. And you can get back to never having to worry about having legs anymore." He leaned down to press his lips to hers.



Aqua tried to turn away, but he held her in place with his hand. When she refused to react, he pulled away with a sigh. "Still so stubborn, I see," he said. A frown tugged at his face. "Why don't you kiss me like you used to, my love? I even gave you time to adjust."

"It's because you kidnapped me!" she cried, her voice somewhat hoarse from lack of use. "Keeping me against my will!"

Terrence rolled his eyes in exasperation. "It's literally been four months, why can't you just get over it?"

She glared at him, refusing to say a word. She had slipped up for a moment by answering him, breaking her silence as he begged to hear her voice, but she wouldn't speak again.

He snarled, gnashing his teeth in frustration. "No more waiting!" He lifted the side of the machine. Aqua's eyes widened, and she tried to roll off when he started to unbutton his pants.



"Ah ah ah," he scolded, his lighthearted words at odds with his furious expression. "You've been such a good girl lately, we haven't had to use the shock implant in over a week. I wouldn't want to break that record, would you?"

Aqua stared at him with wide eyes. She was quiet at first, but at his expectant look she shook her head. "No," she murmured.



"Good girl," he purred. He stepped out of his pants and climbed on top of her.



She stared at him with wide eyes, frightened beyond belief. Everything in her cried out to struggle, but the memory of the pain from the implant made her still.



"I'm going to make you love me," Terrence snarled, baring his teeth. "And once you do, we'll go back to how we used to be. Back when we were happy together."

=====
Previous Chapter
Home

 

[spiritofamermaid]

Chapter 1.4: Escape



After arriving at the house and waiting for night, Adrian went to the front door and turned the handle.



It didn't move. Sharks, it was locked! He walked around the house, trying to see where he could get in instead.

One of the windows wasn't fully closed, and with hope bubbling in him he tried to open it. Success! The window opened easily, and he jumped inside.

Looking around the house, Adrian didn't see anything that wasn't too different from Horace's and Melanie's house. Except for one thing - one of the doors had a weird white thing on the wall next to it.

He walked up to it, his brow furrowing in suspicion. The door here was locked, so maybe this panel made the door locked? He pushed his hand next to it, but nothing happened. With a grunt of effort, as his well of magic was running low by now and he needed to conserve as much as possible for when he found Aqua, he used a small amount and pushed it into the panel.



With a small ding, the door clicked. Adrian wiped a few drops of sweat from his brow. Not much magic left, gotta be careful.

He opened the door and walked down the stairs and into a long hallway. At the end of the hallway, he fell to his knees as he was faced with his worst nightmare - his sister Aqua, trapped in a human tank.




"Aqua!" he cried out. He stumbled to his feet and ran to her. "What happened?" He pressed his own hand to the glass. "No, we can figure that out later. What's more important is that we free you!"

His sister said something, but he shook his head. "I can't understand you." Adrian spied a ladder next to the tank and pointed to it. She nodded and swam up.

"Aqua! What happened!" He wiped tears from his face as he saw her up close when she surfaced. She looked worn, a little thin, and paler than she had been. "Who did this to you? Henley?"

Aqua gave a faint nod. "He kidnapped me," she said, after clearing her throat a few times. Adrian grunted with effort as he pulled her out of the tank and onto the platform.

His fear curdled in his gut as he heard how hoarse her voice was from disuse. He opened his mouth to ask more, but they both jumped when a loud noise echoed through the room. "We can talk about this later," Adrian said. "Split your tail so you can climb down."

Aqua closed her eyes in concentration. He watched expectantly, but when her tail didn't split he whispered her name. Her eyes opened, full of worry, to meet his. "It's not working," she said.

Adrian swallowed heavily. "Are you out of magic?" he asked. She shook her head. He let out a breath. "We'll worry about it later. First we have to get you out of here." He slid down the ladder.

"Just jump, I'll catch you," he said, holding his arms out.



Aqua nodded and jumped. He let out an oof when she landed, but other than that he caught her with no issue.

Just as they turned around they were met with the sight of Henley.

He stared at them, his arms crossed and his face twisted into a snarl. "I'm not letting you leave! She's mine!"

"She belongs to the ocean!" Adrian shot back. "And it doesn't matter what you say, we're leaving anyway!"

Henley didn't move. With gritted teeth, Adrian mustered his strength and began to Sing.

Henley smirked at them. "Siren Song doesn't work if the target knows what you're doing. Otherwise my love would've freed herself long ago."



Anger burned in Adrian. Freedom was just so close, he couldn't give up now! He let out a wordless shout, putting his remaining magic behind it.

To his shock and relief, Henley collapsed, his hands to his ears.

Taking advantage of this, Adrian ran out, not seeing the look Aqua gave Henley as they left.



At the hotel, Adrian put Aqua in the tub. He frantically downed a few glasses of salt water, trying to restore as much magic as he could to prevent regaining a tail. His sister needed him! After three cups, he felt the well of magic in him start to regrow.



Letting his sister rest, he called Horace. "I found Aqua! She was being held captive by this guy named Henley. I rescued her and we're at the hotel."



"That's great news! We'll get you both a flight soon so you can go home."

"Uh, there's a problem with that. She wasn't able to split her tail."

"She wasn't?"



"Yeah, and I'm terrified something's wrong. Can you please come and check on her?"

"Sure, no problem! We'll be there in a few days."

While the two waited on the older couple, Adrian was at least able to not tear his hair out in worry (it was a close thing, though). At Aqua's recommendation, he ordered lots of human food.



"Horace was so right," Adrian moaned as he ate a tub of "ice cream." "Human food is delicious."

Aqua nodded with a smile as she ate her "hamburger," but before she could say anything there was a knock at the door.



It was Melanie, with a large smile and an equally large purse. "I'm here to look at Aqua, dear."

Before he could let her in, though, she had already barged her way in. Next thing he knew, the door to the bathroom had slammed shut and he heard the click of the lock.

Not sure what else to do, he sat on the bed and waited for what felt like an eternity.



Finally, Melanie left the bathroom and looked at him. She gave him a soft smile and took a seat on the chair.

"Is she okay?" he tentatively asked.



Melanie hummed. "She's not going to die, if that's what you're asking. But we know why she can't change."

Adrian didn't like how she didn't answer with a simple 'yes.' "What is it?"

"She's pregnant."



=====
Previous Chapter
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[spiritofamermaid]

Chapter 1.5: Road Trip

"She's pregnant?" Adrian stared at the older woman in shock. "Who's the father? Henley?"

Melanie nodded. "Yes. Being part human, the child won't be able to fully handle the depths. So they won't be able to go home with you."



"So what do we do, then?"

"Well, that depends. Aqua has said that she wants to raise the child, so she won't be able to go home. What will you do?"



"I'm not leaving her!" He shot to his feet. "All of this happened because she went alone. So I have to stay with her. I'll help her raise it."

"But what about Henley? He's definitely trying to find her and could be tracking her down as we speak!" He began to spiral. "We can't go to the ocean because of the child, but if we stay here Henley's bound to find her!" His throat thickened as tears of frustration and worry filled his eyes.



Melanie placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "It'll be okay," she soothed. "I know a place where he'd never suspect." She handed over her phone.

"Lucky Palms?" Adrian stared at her in disbelief. "That's in the middle of the desert! We'll die out there!"

"That's exactly what Henley'll think. But you three will be just fine. The river next to the town is large enough that you can swim in and be fine. Plus it feeds from Lake Vidcund from the north, so it's a salty river."

Adrian nodded, trying to cope with it all. He wordlessly handed Melanie back her phone. "When are we leaving?"

"In the evening, two days from now. I need to rent a trailer to carry your sister." She hugged the young man, who barely felt it. His head was swimming.



"It'll be okay. I promise." Melanie waved goodbye, and after exchanging farewells with Aqua she was gone.

Adrian stumbled to his feet until he was sitting with his back to the tub. "What are we going to do, Aqua?"



Taking advantage of the cover of night, Adrian carried his sister into the trailer. She was silent as he placed her in the tank inside. He didn't like the look on her face, so when she was seated comfortably he took off his clothes and joined her.



"It's gonna be okay, sis," he said, hugging her tightly. Aqua merely hummed, and Adrian scraped desperately for something to get her out of her head.

"How was college?" he asked. "Did you have a roommate?"



Aqua shrugged. "Yeah," she said.

Adrian frowned. "What was her name?"

"Cynthia."

"Did you two get along well?"

"Yeah," Aqua said softly.

Adrian cast his thoughts around for a question that would give him more than a one-word answer.



"Tell me more about her," he asked. "What did she look like?"

With a soft sigh she answered, her tone flat, "She had short black hair, and was fairly tanned from all the mountain climbing that she did."

"What's mountain climbing?"

She moved her hands together to form an upside-down V. "Humans walk up where the land gets really tall."

Adrian furrowed his brow, trying to picture it. "Weird, but sounds kind of cool."

Aqua hummed.

Silence reigned for a bit, and Adrian cast his mind out again for things to talk about. He didn't want her to get lost in her head, clearly thinking about unpleasant things.

"Hey Aqua, do you remember when I got surprised by that octopus when I was just a little merling?"



To his delight, his twin sister laughed, the ever-present shadows in her eyes going away for a moment. "Yes! Mom tried for hours to get the ink spots on your face, but they were there for at least a month!"

The two laughed together. Part of Adrian's delight was that this was the first time he had seen his sister not look sad since he had reuinited with her.



He opened his mouth to continue the story, but stopped mid-sentence when the door to the trailer opened. He curled protectively around his sister, but sighed in relief when it was just Melanie.

"We're here!" she said.

Pulling himself out of the tank, Adrian quickly formed legs and picked his sister up. "Oof," he said, a smile on his lips. "You need to lose some weight. Eating too many tuna balls."

His smile grew wider when his sister huffed in frustration at his teasing, though inwardly he was very worried. She was already a little lighter than when he had first rescued her, and he was worried it was due to the baby.

"I'm sorry it's not much," Melanie apologized once Adrian had followed her to the door. "Most of the money was spent on the trailer and tank rental, and we still have to have enough to help others who need it."



"It's fine," Adrian said. "We'll work hard and make it better. If not us, then our children."

Melanie smiled. "That's the spirit! I have to head back now, but don't hesitate to call us if you need any help!" She turned back to Aqua and placed a hand on her cheek. "Now, remember. Your baby won't have a tail when born, as they won't get it until they become a teenager. They'll have scales, though, on their legs, as their magic isn't strong enough to maintain their legs."



Aqua nodded, and the brother and sister watched silently as Melanie got into the truck and drove away. Once the sound died off, they walked inside. Adrian placed Aqua in the tub and collapsed in the bed, quickly falling asleep.

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