Chapter 0.9: Diamond Rings

Jedidiah becomes a young adult.

...Not much changes, really.

Except for one thing. After being rejected by almost every girl in Anne Arbor, he finally gets a girlfriend, Selina Starr.

They move in together almost immediately, but still Selina wants more of a long-term commitment out of him.

"I saw this beautiful engagement ring in the window at the mall yesterday," Selina tells Ryder, loudly enough for Jed to hear.

Jed buries his nose in a book as Ryder squirms uncomfortably. He's known Jed for long enough to understand that his friend suffers from commitment issues. He really likes Selina, and he worries that she'll push him too far too fast and drive him away.

Jedidiah decides to drop his own, not-so-subtle hint later that day.

...Selina's face speaks for itself.

The following afternoon, Ryder meets up with Jane outside the library for their usual Saturday night date when he hears a familiar voice calling his name.

"Ryder!" Shanna exclaims as she walks over to him. Ryder pretends not to hear, so Shanna yells louder. "Ryder! Ryder! RYDER!" She waves at him excitedly.

Ryder clears his throat uncomfortably as Jane turns around to see who it is. "Oh, uh, hi Shanna. Nice to see you again. Me and Jane were just leaving, right Jane?"

Jane narrows her eyes in an devious smirk. "No, let's stay Ryder. Shanna wants to say hello."

Shanna smiles halfheartedly at Jane before turning her attention back to Ryder. "So, Ry, there's this awesome new video game that just came out and I was wondering if you wanted to come over some time and try it out. My parents just bought a huge flat-screen, and since Jed is always so busy with Selina I thought you and I could give it a go..."

Ryder opens his mouth to respond, but Jane cuts him off.

"Aww! How adorable Shanna!" she says, her voice sweet as syrup. "Look, honey, everyone knows you have a thing for Ryder. I mean, I get it. What girl wouldn't? But," she pauses, lowering her voice to a chilly whisper. "He's my man and my man alone. And if you don't keep your nasty little paws off of him, I swear I will make sure you never show your face at school again. Understand?"

Shanna stares blankly at Jane, her eyes wide with shock. For a second, she looks like she's about to cry, but then the anger hits. "You're nothing but a two-faced bitch," she spits, her voice quavering with rage. "A lying, unfaithful bitch. The whole school knows about you and your "friend" Terrence, but everyone's too scared to tell Ryder. Well, you know what? He deserves to know!"

Jane's face turns red with embarrassment. "You little liar!" she shrieks. "Ryder, don't listen to her. She's just jealous." Turning to him, she yells, "Are you just going to stand there and let her speak to me that way?!"

Ryder doesn't falter for a second. "How dare you say that to Jane! That's it Shanna! Go find some losers like yourself to hang out with. Cause you and I are through!"

Jane watches gleefully as Shanna's face turns from complete shock to confusion and anger.

"I hope you two will be very happy together," Shanna whispers through her tears. "You deserve each other." And with that, she turns and runs away.

Through his blind fury, Ryder doesn't give Shanna's words a second thought. He doesn't think about the encounter again, too angry to actually process what she was telling him.

That night, Ryder can't sleep. His birthday is tomorrow, and he's not so certain he's ready to be an adult yet.

"So, you want to be an actor, huh?" his dad asks as they sit on the couch watching sports together.

"Yep..."

"Are you sure? It's hard to catch a break in that industry kid. I can easily secure you a position in law enforcement. You can become a cop, like me..."

Ryder smiles. "No. I don't care how tough it is, I want to act."

Brian sighs.

The next afternoon, Brian gives his son one final hug before he becomes an adult.

"You will do wonderful as an actor. I don't doubt it for a second," he tells him gently.

"Oooh. I am pretty."

Beatrix also has a birthday that night. Brian is very excited.

Ryder decides to pay Jedidiah a visit. He knows his friend has some news, but he wants to hear it first hand.

"...And she said we were just going down to city hall to file some tax returns. I didn't even think about why all her sisters were there, and why she was wearing a white dress, and-"

Ryder smiles. "Congratulations Jed! I'm so happy for you!"

"Dude! You don't understand! It's a conspiracy! These aliens planted a homing device inside her uterus, called a "biological clock". It's all she talks about, and now I'm pretty sure she wants us to spawn and use our children to take over the world..."

Ryder finds Selina and gives her a congratulatory hug.

"Is he still going on about the biological clock?" she whispers in his ear.

"Yeah. He's just kidding, right?"

No answer.

The three friends decide to celebrate the occasion by heading down to the tattoo parlor and getting inked.

Selina looks rather mischievous tonight...

She gets a cute little heart with Jedidiah's name tattooed on her shoulder blade.

...Jedidiah gets a post-it note with sparkles on his back.

"She said that it would look sexy!!" Jed replies defensively.

"Dude, you actually believed her?" Ryder laughs so hard he starts crying.

Angry face.

 Ryder gets one too. He thinks it looks neat.

Jane ages up a few days later.

"Why did you want to meet outside the old school house?" Jane asks innocently. "And why are you wearing your hair like that? Eww."

Ryder ignores her last question. "There's something I want to ask you," he says, his eyes bright and hopeful.

"Oh. I have no idea what you are talking about. What could it possibly be?" Jane tries to sound confused, but she's a horrible actor.

"Jane MuMacker, I've loved you since we were in elementary school. Will you marry me?"

She giggles excitedly. "Um, okay!"

"That's the ring you wanted, right?" Ryder sounds nervous. "My mom told me you specifically had to have that one..."

"Well, it's a bit small," she complains. "But it'll do."

Ryder pulls her into a hug. "I love you so much Jane. I can't wait to marry you and spend the rest of my life with you."

"I want a really big wedding Ryder." That's all she says.


Challenge Notes:

I squealed when I got the story progression notice that Jed and Selina were going steady. And then I squealed even louder when they moved in together a few Sim hours later. Then, they got married a couple Sim days after that and I almost fell out of my chair in shock. Jedidiah really does have the commitment issues trait, and I have found that those Sims rarely get married autonomously. But maybe that's just my experience. So yay. I'm really happy how that turned out.

And, this might be a total spoiler, but Ethan (Beatrix's ex-boyfriend) hooked up with Selina's evil sister Sharla Starr. Totally autonomously. I desperately want them to have a baby or two. They've been dating for what feels like forever, but still no kids. I might intervene. I don't know, we'll have to see. Oh, and Selina is Ryder's film co-worker and Sharla is his boss. <3 I haven't thought of any fabulous story lines yet, but surely I can do something with that complicated web of relationships.

Oh, and for whoever cares, there was a picture of Selina a few chapter ago, but I changed her clothing and hair once she started dating Jed because I thought it suited her personality better.


Outtakes:

One of the weirder glitches I've seen. Ryder got stuck in the elevator doors... after he was already out of the elevator.

Whee! I can fly!

Shanna, you are adorable.

Selina really is a good match for Jed. <3

I think Jed knows it, too.

Chapter 0.8: The Eye of the Beholder

"Are you sure you're ready?" Brian asks, concerned.

Beatrix smiles and nods her head. "I've been waiting for this day for years," she reassures him.

Ryder watches from a distance as his parents squeeze in a few private moments before the wedding ceremony. He sighs contentedly, hoping that one day he and Jane can be just as happy as they are.

Ryder is mortified when Jedidiah, his best friend, arrives to the formal event in his casual clothes. He's praying that Jane won't notice.

He's so worried about it that he doesn't even see his friend Shanna arrive.

Shanna feels her stomach do somersaults as she walks by Ryder. She thinks he looks so dapper all dressed up in his tuxedo. If only he would turn around, he might notice that Shanna looks rather lovely herself.

Surrounded by their closest family and friends, Brian and Beatrix get married.

While the rest of the guests clap and cheer, Shanna weeps. She cries so hard that she ends up excusing herself and leaving for the evening.

As the guests linger about the wedding gazebo, Jedidiah takes it upon himself to liven up the quiet crowd.

"Woo!" he hollers loudly. "Time to part-AY! And rock your bod-AY! Like you are naught-AY!"

Ryder finds his friend's antics embarrassing rather than humorous. He hopes Jane isn't watching.

Lucky for him, she isn't. She is far too busy primping herself in front of the mirror in the bathroom to actually attend the ceremony.

She finally makes an appearance at the reception, where she immediately locates Jedidiah.

"Ha. Ha," she sneers. "You're wearing a t-shirt! To a WEDDING! Ha! Ha! Ha!"

"Damn straight!" he yells back at her. "And I still look better than you!"

Skylar shows up late and misses the ring exchange, but at least he makes an appearance. He's a big shot athlete now, and Beatrix is just happy she gets to see him at all.

(The smoldering angry look suits you, Sky.)

Ryder sees Jane and immediately makes his way over to her.

"Hi beautiful," he whispers as he pulls her in for a kiss.

(By the way, the pretty, pregnant blonde on the left is Dulce Little, formerly Enmity. <3)

Beatrix approves.

Jedidiah, on the other hand, does not. He frowns and gives Jane his best impression of the "evil eye".

After the last guest leaves, Brian and Beatrix finally get to head home and have some quality alone time on their wedding night.

"It was perfect, wasn't it?" Beatrix asks Brian as they cuddle together on their bed.

"I couldn't have wanted anything more," Brian replies with a smile.

The next day, Beatrix decides to visit her daughter-in-law Irma, who makes a surprise announcement. She and Skylar are expecting their first child!

Beatrix thought she would be upset about becoming a grandmother, but she's actually quite overjoyed. She insists on playing peek-a-boo with the unborn child, despite Irma's insistence that the baby can't actually see her.

When she gets home, she finds another surprise waiting for her in the kitchen.

Beatrix completely forgot it was Brian's birthday.

"Do you still love me?" Brian whispers.

Bea pulls him into a hug. "More than anything," she tells him softly.

Meanwhile, Ryder and Jedidiah hang out upstairs.

"Dude, you've totally changed since you landed the lead in the school play," Jed complains.

"Whatever!" Ryder laughs. "I'm still me. Just now I actually have friends."

Jedidiah glares at him. "And what was I? Your pet monkey?"

"No. Jed, that's not what I meant..."

"Oh, I know what you meant," Jedidiah interrupts. "You meant that now you actually have friends you're not embarrassed to be seen with."

Ryder looks down awkwardly. "No! Jed, I-"

"Whatever, dude. I totally saw the way you avoided me at the wedding party." Jedidiah pauses for a second, carefully considering his next statement. "It's all Jane," he says at last. "She's turned you into another one of her mindless groupies. You're just a prop to her, dude, something she can show off to her friends."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! You better watch it, Jed. That's my girlfriend you are talking about!" Ryder tries to keep his tone light and easy, but his words are laced with a bitter edge.

Jedidiah sighs. He figured that Ryder would probably react that way, but he knew he had to try. He's graduating in a couple of days anyway, and hopefully then he can leave all this high school drama behind.

A few hours later, Ryder still can't stop thinking about what Jedidiah said to him earlier. His comments about Jane really bothered him.

"I'm going to marry her, you know," Ryder blurts out. Jed continues to stare silently at the TV, so Ryder continues. "I'm going to marry Jane. I plan to propose to her right after graduation."

In his usual dramatic fashion, Jedidiah pretends to gasp. "And this is supposed to shock me?" he asks sarcastically.

"Perhaps not, but I just don't want you to keep talking shit about her. I love her, and that's all that matters."

"Love is in the eye of the beholder," Jedidiah replies vaguely.

Ryder doesn't know whether this is another one of Jed's crazy, not-quite-there remarks or whether he's actually trying to tell him something. Ryder decides it's the former and drops the subject.


Challenge Notes:

I officially hate wedding parties in the Sims. Bea and Brian's wedding was such a BITCH! Seriously, the only person who actually sat during the ceremony was Shanna. And she got glitched and wouldn't stop crying. I had to reset her and send her home, that's why she randomly decided to "leave early".

Everyone else stood in the aisle, making it nearly impossible to take decent photos. And then they all randomly switched into their everyday outfits halfway through, so I had to master controller them back into their formal attire. Skylar really did show up late to the party (like right before it was almost over), and Irma kept trying to chat with Bea during the vows. Annoying!

Oh, and I totally realize Jedidiah's last line about "love" and the "eye of the beholder" is not the actual saying. Just so y'all don't think I'm an idiot.

Chapter 0.7: A Rising Star

At school, Ryder struggles to make friends. He's painfully shy around kids his own age, and during recess he prefers to hang out inside and work on extra homework. He finds that the teachers treat him much nicer than his classmates do.

At home, he spends most of his time with Joey, his stuffed bear. He likes to play pretend, and unlike the other children Joey doesn't give him strange looks.

"I, King Ryder the Magnanimous, command you, Joey the Abysmal, to fetch me some apple juice," Ryder proclaims, imitating an old English accent.

Jane MuMacker is by far the prettiest girl in school. Ryder fell in love with her the first time their eyes met across the cafeteria lunch line.

One day at the library, Ryder works up the courage to walk over and talk to her.

"Hi," he says, his voice shaking with nerves. "I'm-"

"I know who you are," she grimaces as she pulls away in disgust. "Please don't stand so close to me. I don't want any of your loser germs to infect me!"

Rejection stings. Ryder hangs his head sadly and wonders how someone so pretty on the outside could be so mean on the inside.

Ryder playing "pirate invasion" by himself at the local playground. (What the hell are you doing up there Ryder?!)

He tries to pretend that he's not sad playing by himself, but secretly he wishes he had someone besides Joey to hang out with.

He spots another boy on the playground and decides to introduce himself.

Okay, so they aren't exactly the same age, but whatever. A playmate is a playmate.

"Hi. I'm Ryder, and I want to be your friend," he blurts out quickly, the words tumbling out of his mouth.

"Yeah right kid. And I want that woman back there to show me the inside of her elevator. It's just not gonna happen..."

"Dude! I know where she lives! I can show you her elevator!" Ryder shouts excitedly.

"Not. What. I. Meant."

"Oh..."

Ryder starts to walk away, his shoulders slumped sadly.

The teenager sighs and mutters something about being too nice for his own good. "Ryder. Wait," he calls after him.

Two hours later...

"....Then a giant dinosaur leaps out of the sea and bites off your head! And that, Ryder, is why I wear this shirt. To raise awareness about the deadly monsters in our drinking water."

So, Jedidiah is a bit insane, Ryder knows this. But still, he's more fun than that smelly old teddy bear.

Despite their age difference, Ryder and Jedidiah become fast friends. Whenever Ryder needs someone to talk to, he just heads to the children section at the local library where he is guaranteed to find Jedidiah playing video games on the old tube TV.

"Dude, you don't need a girlfriend. Ever. Women are just gonna break your heart."

"Jed, you haven't even met Jane. She's wonderful. And beautiful. And..."

"A total player. Dude, she will eat you for breakfast and spit you out before lunch."

Ryder glances over at Jedidiah. "And you speak from experience?" he asks skeptically.

Jedidiah never takes his eyes off the game. "Her name was Colleen. Colleen Parsons. She's your brother's wife's sister. I thought I loved her, I really did. But then that conniving bitch up and left me for another man. Claimed I scared her, that I was too "involved". As if! Just because she caught me hiding out in the bushes in front of her house. I was devoted, man. Devoted."

"Uh huh," Ryder says absently, not really listening. The score is close, and Ryder isn't about to let Jed beat him on this level.

Brian spends so much time at Beatrix's house that he practically lives there.

Bea loves that Brian (autonomously) gives her flowers. Even after all these years, they've still got that spark.

Family bonding time.

"So when are you guys going to get married anyway?" Ryder wants to know.

Beatrix and Brian sit in awkward silence. As a point of tension between the otherwise happy couple, they don't really know what to tell their son. Brian would like to move in and get married, like, yesterday, but Bea wants to wait a while. It's not cold feet. Really, it's not. She just likes things the way they are right now. Comfortable and casual. No pressure.

Ryder is anxious for his father to move in. He looks up to Brian, and he desperately wants him to become a permanent part of the family.

Beatrix pays Skylar a visit at his fancy penthouse apartment. He and Irma have been married for ages now, but still no grandkids. Although, if she's being completely honest, Bea is less than excited to become a grandmother. In her mind, she is far too young.

Ryder's birthday! Brian comes over to celebrate, but Beatrix unfortunately gets a last minute firefighting emergency and can't make it.

No doubt about it, Ryder is a nerd.

The reason Beatrix misses her son's birthday. She's busy saving lives.

After she extinguishes the fire, Bea scrambles to remove debris from atop an injured girl. She's had to save people before, but never a child. She works quickly, and after a few minutes she manages to clear the rubble and pull the girl safety.

It was a close call. Too close. Beatrix rushes home to find Brian waiting up for her.

"I love you Brian," she says as she pulls him in for a kiss. "And I do want to get married. As soon as possible. Life is just too short to waste time worrying about what-ifs."

Brian doesn't know why she's suddenly changed her mind, but he's not going to ask. He's just happy that they are finally going to make their union official.

That night, they set a date for their wedding and begin to plan the event.

It's Friday afternoon, and Ryder is about to board the bus home when he spots Jane standing silently by the school steps. Usually surrounded by a gang of giggling girlfriends, or worse, her jock boyfriend, Ryder is surprised to see her all alone. He decides to seize the opportunity and say hello.

"H-H-Hi Jane," Ryder stutters. His crush on her has just gotten worse now that they're teens, and simply being in her presence makes him nervous.

"Don't talk to me," she sneers. "As far as I'm concerned, you don't even exist."

"Oh. Okay." Ryder sounds crushed. He watches dejectedly as Jane strides away.

"She's such a bitch." Ryder turns around and sees Shanna Lively walking toward him.

"No she's not," Ryder replies defensively. "She's just having a bad day..."

Shanna snorts. "Every day is a bad day around her. Geez, did you hear that? And all you did was say hello."

"She's not that bad Shanna."

"Can I tell you a secret?" Shanna asks as she leans in.

Ryder nods.

"Jane's boyfriend dumped her. She's telling everyone that she broke up with him, but no. He dumped her. And now he's dating her best friend Kimberly."

Ryder's eyes widen. No wonder she was all by herself.

Even though Ryder's a teenager, not much changes between him and Jedidiah. They still hang out at the library and talk about girls.

Only now there's a third member of their gang. Ryder invited Shanna to join them, and she eagerly accepted.

"Quit whining and start playing," Shanna laughs. "You're making this far too easy."

"Dude," Jedidiah moans quietly. "Why'd you have to ask her to play?! She's gooood!"

Ryder grimaces, his eyes narrowed in focus. Shanna is really, really good.

After whooping their asses, Shanna excuses herself and leaves for work. Ashamed of getting beaten by a girl, Jed and Ryder decide they've had enough for the day.

"I think you should join drama club with me," Jed says casually.

Ryder busts out laughing as Jedidiah stares at him calmly. "Dude, I'm serious."

"You're... What?!" Ryder asks incredulously.

"Drama club. You and me and a stage full of hot chicks."

"Uh, yeah right Jed. I can barely talk to one person at a time. I don't think standing in front of a captive audience reciting lines from Shakespeare is really up my alley."

"That's just it Ryder! You don't have to act to be in drama club. We just need an understudy to help people memorize their lines."

Ryder frowns. "Why do you want me to do it?" he asks suspiciously.

Jedidiah rolls his eyes. "Cause, dude, Jane's gonna be there."

Ryder doesn't need to hear anymore. He's in.

Two weeks later...

"Ryder, you were AMAZING!" Jedidiah exclaims excitedly as they sit down to work on their homework.

Ryder feels his cheeks flush at the memory. "Yeah, I was pretty good, wasn't I?"

"I swear, every girl in school was madly in love with you by the time the curtain fell."

Ryder laughs at the thought. "Whatever Jed. You were pretty awesome too."

Jedidiah snorts. He had about two lines in the entire production, both of which he promptly forgot.

Tonight had been the premiere of the annual school play. As an understudy, Ryder spent the last few weeks diligently practicing lines with the real actors. He never thought he'd actually have to go on stage and perform, but when the male lead fell ill at the last minute it was Ryder's job to take his place.

And he rocked it. As soon as he put on that costume, Ryder's shyness disappeared. He nailed every single line and even brought the audience to tears at one point. He never imagined that he could be an actor, but he is a natural.

"Ryder! There's someone at the door for you!" Ryder hears his mom call out. He exchanges surprised looks with Jed before walking into the living room to see who it is.

"Jane?" Ryder sounds shocked. "Hi! Come in, come in!"

He leads her into the kitchen. "Ryder, babe, you were fab-u-lous!" Jane gushes. "Seriously, you just blew my mind!"

Ryder stares at her in wide-eyed amazement. "Uh, thanks. Jane, do you know Jedidiah?" he asks, trying to be polite.

"Hey Jane," Jed waves enthusiastically from the kitchen table.

"Um. Yeah. Whatever," she says without even glancing over. "Ryder, you are going to be a superstar. I never knew you could act!"

"Well, you never asked..." Ryder responds nonchalantly.

"Honey, darling, what are you doing tomorrow?" she asks quietly, stepping closer to Ryder.

"I, uh, I-"

"Excellent," she interrupts. "Meet me at the local salon after school." Lowering her tone seductively, she adds, "And don't bring him. I just want it to be us two..."

The following afternoon...

"Why do I need a makeover?" Ryder asks, confused.

Jane giggles. "Silly boy. If you are going to be my boyfriend, you need to look the part."

Ryder blushes. "Oh, right. Yes, okay," he stammers.

You clean up nicely Ryder.

"So, now can I be your boyfriend?" Ryder asks shyly.

Jane giggles again. "You have to kiss me first."

Ryder obligingly agrees.

"You and I are going to rule this school," Jane tells him. "Screw Kimberly. Who needs that loser boyfriend when I've got you on my arm."

Ryder smiles happily, her words bouncing right off of him. He's dating the most popular girl in school, the love of his life. Who cares that she can't stop talking about her ex?


Challenge Notes:

I absolutely love Jedidiah. He really does have the insane trait. And whenever he and Ryder are together, all they ever talk about are other teenage girls. And then Jed will flash the broken heart thought bubble. It makes me laugh so hard. <3 

And, I swear I'm not a narcisist. There really is a girl named Colleen Parson who Jed is totally obsessed with. He talks about her all the time. I think I'm in love with him. :)

Fun fact: The girl in the firefighting pictures under the pile of rubble is Shanna Lively as a child. She doesn't have a huge part in this chapter, but you will see more of her in the future. She's adorable.

When I first saw Ryder as a teenager, I freaked out a little bit. His eyes are HUGE. But actually they don't look so bad in the screenshots. Not that they are really that bad, they're just very feminine.


Outtakes:

The woman making the creepy face in the background is Andrea Williams. She's the daughter of Donoph Williams (formerly Archer) from the Archer legacy. She stalked Beatrix and Brian throughout this whole date.

Another stalking photograph. Yes, she did just catch Beatrix and Brian woohooing in the elevator. ;)

She's SO pretty. Donny has really good genes.

Ryder has no romantic traits whatsoever, but still he insists on watching sappy romantic comedies on the television. Figures.

The Starr family portrait. Serenity Starr (from the Starr legacy) got knocked up by Lincoln within the first 24 Sim hours of moving to Anne Arbor. They had a shotgun wedding, and subsequently produced four children, all girls, all vampires.

Serenity's husband, Lincoln Starr. He was the only vampire in Anne Arbor
prior to his daughters.

Serenity Starr and her youngest daughter Sofia.

Sabrina Starr, the second youngest.

Selina Starr, the second oldest.

Sharla Starr, the oldest and my personal favorite. She's totally evil. <3

I have several other characters from the other legacies in my town, but I don't have screenshots of them. :( Sorry.