Last night on our date there was a special moment between Sherri and Karis.

I caught it on my phone to share it with you, and to keep it forever.

Now read these words, “I will comfort you there as a child is comforted by its mother.” God (Isaiah 66:13).

Be aware today that your Heavenly Father is looking at you with love.

biz yorumlar gagıl da çıkıp siteye hit getiriyor deyüvere vere kendimizi kandırmaya devam ederken, google searchte (karışanlar karisanlar karı$anlar etc.) aramalarında dahi çıkmıyoruz lan ! yemeyelim kendimizi böhü :/

Lianndra Kyoti arrived in Sunset Valley with nothing but a few simoleans and a dream…

…to establish a legacy…

…that would impact the community…

…and last for ten generations.

Through trials and tribulations…

…death and (or should that be at?) celebrations…

…the members of the Kyoti family…

…clearly made their mark.

From Lianndra, the legacy passed to Kali, Amanda, Joseph, SatelliteJuno, Abel, Karis and Michael.  And now it was Gemma who was ready to complete the ten-generation dream.

She arrived back at the legacy house…

…with her newborn son…

…and daughter.

Kalijo Abemi Kyoti and Laska Gemma Kyoti had completed the Kyoti legacy.

The future was theirs and theirs alone.

Skonis: 8/10. Štai ir pasireiškė vieną dieną staiga ir netikėtai mūsų skonio konservatyvumas Duona (na, labiau keksas iš tiesų, bet vis dėlto tebūnie duona) tikrai labai puikios konsistencijos ir kaip ragavę vieningai kartojo – būtų be galo skanu, jei nebūtų to keisto aštrumo… Taip taip, karis viską (ne)sugadino. Čia tikriausiai jau skonio reikalas – bent jau aš mažą gabalėlį su puodeliu arbatos suvalgiau tikrai skaniai, o tas neįprastas aitrumas buvo netgi malonus, tačiau… būna ir skaniau

Sudėtingumas: nieko labai sudėtingo.

Porcijų skaičius: ~ 12 riekelių

Energetinė vertė: 250 kcal/riekelė

Ar gaminčiau dar kartą? Ne.

Kur radau? Closet Cooking

1 puodelis (170 g) miltų
1/2 puodelio (75 g) rupių kvietinių miltų
1 arb.š. kepimo miltelių
1/4 arb.š. druskos
3 valg.š. kario miltelių
3 (~ 300 g) prinokę bananai, sutrinti
100 g sviesto, tirpinto
1 puodelis (200 g) cukraus
1 kiaušinis
1 valg.š. citrinos sulčių
1 puodelis (160 g) kubeliais pjaustytų konservuotų ananasų
2 valg.š. kokoso drožlių

1. Dubenyje sumaišyti miltus, rupius kvietinius miltus, kepimo miltelius, druską ir karį.
2. Išplakti sviestą su cukrumi, įmušti kiaušinį, supilti citrinos sultis ir išplakti. Įmaišyti trintus bananus ir gerai išmaišyti.
3. Sausus produktus supilti į paruoštą plakinį, išmaišyti.
4. Į gautą masę suberti ananasų gabalėlius, kokoso drožles, išmaišyti.
5. Paruoštą tešlą supilti į riebalais išteptą 22,5 x 12,5 cm. kepimo indą (aš iškepiau vieną 20 x 13 cm. kepimo indą ir tris standartinio dydžio keksiukus).
6. Kepti iki 180 C temperatūros įkaitintoje orkaitėje, kol medinis pagaliukas, įkištas ir ištrauktas iš kepinio centro, bus švarus ir sausas, apie 60 minučių.
7. Atvėsinti, supjaustyti riekelėmis ir patiekti.

Ultra Fabulous, Beyond Drag: Part Deux
Curated by Austin Young & Saskia Wilson-Brown
December 2nd 2009, 7:45 PM
Downtown Independent Theatre in Los Angeles

Squeaky Blonde, by Austin Young

Curated by Austin Young and developed by Saskia Wilson-Brown, Ultra Fabulous: Beyond Drag was first screened at the LA Gay and Lesbian Center in 2007 as part of the fiercely independent Silver Lake Film Festival (so punk rock indie, indeed, that the festival died in a blaze of rancour and debt…  But that’s another story).

This new follow-up program – the part deux – presents a comprehensive look at the new developments in transsexual/transgender/tranimal culture through short films by and about the performers working in this space.

International in scope, with a healthy dose of the LA/NY/SF  scene(s), Ultra Fabulous, Beyond Drag: Part Deux goes way beyond the anticipated boas, glitter and whip-smart sass. Indeed, it aims to showcase a new genre — a genre we are (predictably) dubbing ‘Transploitation’ — born of, and predicated on the instant accessibility of internet culture, the do-it-yourself ethos of home publishing, and, yes, the narcissism inherent to self-reflection and ‘otherness’.  All this, through the best new performance video and short film work by established filmmakers, avant-garde performers and digital video sensations.

“Ultra-Fabulous: Beyond Drag is a tribute to the ‘other’ among us.”
–Buzznet, 2007

“Viewed collectively, [the films in Ultra Fabulous Beyond Drag] make a solid case for the continued relevance of an art form that is as diverse in its roster of artists as it is festive— and challenging— in its entertainment value.”
–Frontiers Magazine, 2007

An evening hosted by Jer Ber Jones, featuring the work of: Mathu Anderson & Andrew Schneider with RuPaul; Willam Belli; Jer Ber Jones; Lawrence Elbert with Jackie Beat, Selene Luna and Nadya Ginsburg; Mike Karma; Kurt Koehler with Chicos Angels; Clay Weiner; Calpernia Addams; Matthew Snead with Taylor Mac; Zackary Drucker; Austin Young; Karis; Fredrik S. Hana; Scott Boswell with Peaches Christ; Peter Pizzi with Ben McCoy; And more…

Critical Panel: ‘Gender Identity and Transploitation in Contemporary Media’
Featuring Zackary Drucker, Calpernia Addams , Buck Angel, Moderated by Jackie Beat

And finally: A Buzznet segment on the May 2007 edition, hosted by a slightly hoarse but no less fierce Clint Catalyst.

PS. You can see more videos (including one featuring a very tired me) on Buzznet, here!

Lucha & VaVoom

I am standing next to a group of 10 white guys in their twenties that have arrived to the event sufficiently intoxicated. I assume there are several around me that marketers have labeled as ‘biculturals’. There is a woman for every two men and, in general, it is not the public one would see at a Mexican lucha libre or a WWF event. The show begins without anyone in the audience really knowing what they have come to see.

The comedians explain that every time they say “Lucha!” we are to yell “VaVoom!”. We practice several times. The resulting chant makes me feel like I am in a coliseum about to see gladiators go at it. But as we continue to be coaxed for the reply, I feel it is a joke where the public is the subject of who the comedians are laughing. The interchange has begun.

Before it is time for intermission, three of the guys in the group next to me have left, commenting that they want to see real strip-tease and no more men slapping each other. The others stay, stating that they have already paid and want to see how the night progresses. Now, Karis appears dressed as Cleopatra or, as the announcer states, as the “Queen of Denial”– for she is a he. The dance captivates the attention and admiration of both sexes. Every movement involved in undressing is precise, and the dexterity with which the hula hoops flowed through the body have caused it to be one of the most memorable artistic presentations I have ever seen. I am reminded of Sojourner Truth’s quote, “It is the mind that makes the body.” The applause is resounding.

In Professional Wrestling: Sport and Spectacle, Sharon Mazer discusses how those that participate in lucha libre are living something ‘real’ by internalizing the rules, movements, and behaviors of that which many may take as ‘false’(1998:1-13). The spectators participate through the physical and theatrical interaction that exists at these events. Everyone that is present celebrates what is being expressed, affirmed and even criticized about masculinity (Mazer 1998:19).

The next fight is between the duo of Cassandro (Queen of the Ring) and Lil’ Chicken (a midget) and the duo of a giant fighter dressed in hot pink accompanied by his respective midget. At first glance, it seems likely a massacre of the poor chick and his elegant and dignified partner will ensue. We all know that to be called a “chicken” means one is a coward, completely lacking in virility. However, when we see Lil’ Chicken carry the linebacker-sized luchador in pink over his head around the ring, it is obvious that his strength is immense. The comedian reminds us that this is not Jack Black-style acting like in Nacho Libre (2006) by stating, “you are not seeing a movie, you are really seeing this.”

However, based on the reviews I have seen of Lucha VaVoom, I am not sure the media is ‘really seeing’. Instead, they are merely repeating patterns. This past Cinco de Mayo , Corey Takahashi from NPR did a story that included quotes by Cassandro (39 years old according to the My Space page) but in which we are not informed that he is a luchador dressed in drag. By omitting this detail, and considering it is radio and not television, a traditional connotation tints the otherwise transgressive comments and what they represent. For example, when Cassandro says, “We get a little bit hurt out there. It’s wrestling. It’s not a beauty salon, so we do what we have to do, right,” the effect is lost and instead, becomes a reinforcing and expected stereotype. It’s as if Shrek (2001), ended with a blonde, blue-eyed couple.

Not surprisingly, a listener who apparently hasn’t seen the show reacts to the story in the following way: “So the men fight and the women strip. Very original. I’ve been told that burlesque is ‘gender bending’ and revolutionary, but it certainly doesn’t appear to be either of those things, here.” My response: A man dressed as a woman that fights and wins, and a man dressed as a woman that undresses, followed by a dwarf that carries a giant, I do believe to be original and transformative.

The main principle behind performance is neither athletic nor aesthetic; it is a moral victory. Whether lucha libre is a sporting event is debatable. Therefore, housing the event in a Renaissance-style theater is more fitting that it may appear, as it permits the elimination of the distinction between high and low culture, between Art and art. Of course, the competitors are athletes, trained to be aggressive and impose themselves on each other. In traditional lucha libre, he who best appropriates masculinity (as a villain or as a hero) and is able to persuade the public of such, becomes the winner. However, in Lucha VaVoom what is played-out, risked, and established is a new paradigm, with new parameters of victory and strength, and the effect is very real.

———

Lucha VaVoom, originalmente de Los Angeles, se llevó acabo el pasado viernes 18 de septiembre en el Congress Theater de Chicago, considerado por Wikipedia como un ejemplo sobreviviente de un cine palaciego. El evento se anuncia como un cóctel poderoso de ‘sexo y violencia’ consistiendo en partes iguales de lucha libre estilo mexicano, baile burlesque estilo americano y comedia. El resultado es un performance que transciende lo anunciado al entablar una inesperada discusión moral.

Me encuentro parada enseguida de un grupo de diez anglosajónes en sus veintes que han llegado al evento ya bastante tomados. Asumo que a mi alrededor hay varios de los que el marketing denomina ‘biculturales’. Hay una mujer por cada dos hombres y, en su mayoría, no es el público que se vería ni en una lucha libre mexicana ni en una pelea del WWF. El espectáculo comienza sin que nadie en el público realmente sepa a que han venido.

Los comediantes explican que cada vez que ellos digan “¡Lucha!” nosotros tenemos que gritar “¡VaVoom!”. Practicamos varias veces. La porra resultante me hace sentir que estoy en el coliseo por ver a los gladiadores salir. Pero, conforme continúa, siento que es una burla donde el público es el sujeto y el comediante el que se rie. El intercambio ha comenzado.

Antes de que llegue el intermedio, tres de los del grupo a mi lado se han ido, comentando que quieren ver strip-tease verdadero y ya no quieren ver a más hombres dandose de palmaditas. Los otros se quedan, respondiendo que ya han pagado aquí y quieren ver que sigue. En esto, aparece Karis como Cleopatra. Se nos informa que es “Queen of Denial” (un juego en la idea de “Reina del Nilo” donde se ha cambiado la palabra “Nilo” por “Negar”, es decir la “Reina del Negar [que no es mujer]“). Su baile cautiva la atención y admiración de ambos sexos. Cada movimiento al desvestirse es preciso y sus destreza con los aros de hula es una de las presentaciones artisticas más memorables de mi vida. Pienso en el refrán de Sojourner Truth, “La mente hace el cuerpo.” Los aplausos estremecen el recinto.

En Professional Wrestling: Sport and Spectacle [Lucha profesional: Deporte y espectáculo], Sharon Mazer discute como los que participan en la lucha libre están viviendo algo ‘real’ al internalizar las reglas, movimientos y comportamientos de lo que a muchos les podría parecer ‘falso’ (1998:1-13). Los espectadores también son participes a través de la interacción física y teatral que existe en estos eventos. Todos los presentes celebran lo que se expresa, afirma y hasta lo que se critica de la masculinidad (Mazer 1998:19).

La pelea que sigue es entre el duo de Cassandro (la reina del ring) y Lil’ Chicken (el pollito enano) y el duo de un peleador enorme vestido de rosa mexicano al lado de su respectivo enano. A primera vista, parece que sera una masacre del pobre pollito y su pareja, elegante y digna. En inglés, ser llamado un “chicken” (pollo) signifíca que uno es un cobarde, carente de hombría. Pero cuando vemos a Lil’ Chicken cargar al luchador de rosa con cuerpo de jugador de fútbol americano arriba de su cabeza al rededor del cuadrilátero, es obvio que su fuerza es inmensa. El comediante nos recuerda que no es una actuación estilo Jack Black en Nacho Libre (2006) al decir, “no estan viendo una película, realmente estan viendo esto.”

Sin embargo, basado un repaso de las rese~as que se han hecho sobre Lucha VaVoom, no estoy segura que los medios realmente estan viendo, en lugar de simplemente repetir patrónes. Este pasado 5 de mayo, Corey Takahashi de NPR (la estación nacional de radio pública) hizo una entrevista en la cuál incluye a Cassandro (de 39 a~os según su página de My Space) pero no nos informa que es un luchador travestido. Al dejar fuera este detalle, y considerando que es radio y no televisión, se le da una conotación tradicional en lugar de transgresiva a los comentarios de Cassando y lo que representa. Por ejemplo, cuando Cassandro dice, “Nos lastimamos un poco allá arriba. Es una lucha. No es un salón de belleza, entonces hacemos lo que tenemos que hacer, verdad,” se pierde el poder del mensaje y se convierte en un refruezo para estereotipos esperados. Es como si Shrek (2001), terminara con una pareja rubia de ojos verdes.

No debe de sorprender entonces la reacción a esta entrevista por un radioescucha que aparentemente no había visto el evento cuando dice, “Los hombres pelean y las mujeres se desnudan. Muy original. Me han dicho que el burlesque ‘transforma generos’ y es revolucionario, pero definitivamente no parece estar logrando eso aquí.” Mi respuesta es: El hombre vestido como mujer que pelea y gana y el hombre que vestido como mujer se desnuda seguido por un enano que carga a un gigante, yo sí creo que es original y tranformativo.

El punto principal del performance es la victoria moral, no deportiva ni estética. La lucha libre es discutible como competencia deportiva, de manera que el llevar acabo el evento en un teatro de estilo renacentista es más apropiado de lo que parece, ya que permite eliminar la distincción entre alta y baja cultura, entre Arte y arte. Eso sí, los luchadores son atletas, entrenados para agredirse e imponerse uno sobre el otro. En la lucha libre tradicional, aquel que encarna mejor la masculinidad (como villano o héroe) y logra persuadir al público es el vencedor. Sin embargo, en Lucha VaVoom se juega, arriesga y establece un nuevo paradigma, con nuevos parametros de victoria y fortaleza, y el efecto es real.

Life with triplets was full of challenges – when to feed them, when to change their nappies, when to snuggle them – and when to get time to sleep, eat and bathe yourself.

But there was also great reward in seeing the girls grow and thinking about all the things they could achieve with their lives.

It was soon time for the girls to become toddlers, and Rae was slightly nervous – she’d heard numerous tales of how demanding toddlers could be.

Gemma was first, and inherited her father and grandfather’s light blonde hair.

Nicola had very dark hair… and there was something very brooding and almost sinister about her demeanour… almost… evil.  But Rae shrugged off her fears.  Nicola was just a baby, she couldn’t be evil… could she?

Joanna looked a lot like Nicola, but where Nicola’s eyes were yellow, hers were a bluey-lilac, and she seemed sweet, very good in her demeanour – the opposite of her sister.  Trapped between these two, it was no wonder little Gemma often seemed panicky and somewhat neurotic.  But of course, babies aren’t inherently good, evil or neurotic… are they?  Rae hadn’t come across many people in the medical field who believed that… but she thought there might be something in it – her girls were certainly developing strong personalities.

As ever, the family all pitched in to help raise the girls.

In time, they were all walking, talking and using the potty.

Karis encouraged them to be tough and prepared for whatever life threw at them.  Gemma, showing early couch potato tendencies, was more concerned with getting a good night’s sleep than hearing about athletics.

The junior Kyotis weren’t the only ones working hard.  Rae, in between medical shifts, was playing her guitar at the park and city hall on a regular basis.  She was friends with a lot of the Valley residents now and her music skill was really improving.

Harry, meanwhile, received a royalty cheque… for 4,000 Simoleans.  He’d achieved his wish – he was a Professional Author at last.

Despite their careers not being their main priorities, both Michael and Rae were making great strides in the fields of business and medicine.

Joanna was generally happy – as long as she had things to do and people to talk to.

Gemma was mostly happy, as long as she got plenty of sleep as well as time to play.

Nicola, though, was almost constantly happy – whenever one of her sisters cried or one of the other members of the family felt sick from the dirty potties, she’d get a sneaky look on her face and have a fit of giggles.

It wasn’t long before it was time for the girls to grow up.  The night before their birthday, Karis arranged the party and got some of Wesley’s best pancakes out of the fridge for an evening snack.  But as she went to reach for the plate…

…she found herself transported away.

When Karis’s father, Abel, died and she became heir, she’d warned the Grim Reaper not to mess with her – and he had stayed away from any parties she’d ever hosted – she was the only Kyoti heir with this honour.  And so to take her on the eve of a party meant that he was honouring this record of Karis’s, whilst sending a clear message to Michael about what his usual business with the family was.  He was also gracious enough to take her while the children were too young to really grieve for her.  Karis appreciated this.  She was 103 and she was ready to join Dino, her parents and her ancestors.  Karis and the Grim Reaper shook hands – they had reached a sort of truce, and a level of mutual respect.  Karis Kyoti entered into her death willingly and graciously, with her head held high.

Dino’s funeral was a sad affair.  Karis and he had been together since they were teenagers, and she found it hard to imagine her life without him.  He had been her right-hand-man, her rock, the father of her children, and the love of her life.  Karis very rarely crumbled, she faced life head-on most of the time – but losing your soulmate was different.

Emma Mabel came over for the funeral, and Karis was so pleased to see her youngest child again, although she wished it had been in better circumstances.

Wesley was also distraught by his father’s passing.  They had bonded over cookery and their shared workplace, the Bistro.  He could talk about cookery with his brother Michael, but Wesley was aware it was a sensitive subject – Michael had always wanted to cater, but it wasn’t compatible with his dream of having a family, and although Wesley knew the choice had been Michael’s entirely, he still worried about hurting his brother.

However, to honour Dino, Wesley vowed to cook the best meals he could so that the family would never go without.  With the next generation on the way, the family would need all the sustenance they could get.

He also decided to take on responsibility for caring for the garden.  Dino had worked long and hard to produce that perfect garden and Wesley was aware of what it had meant not just to Dino, but to many generations – right back to Jared Frio.  In some ways, Wesley was taking on Jared’s mantle – trying to achieve the dream that had eluded his ancestor of being a Five Star Chef, fishing and gardening.  These three hobbies gave him a link to so many of his ancestors: Abel the fisherman, Jared and all those like Kali, Amanda and SatelliteJuno who had also tended the garden or fished.

After Daisy moved out, Michael took on the role of house painter.  He found the job very therapeutic and was incredibly excited to think that he might eventually be painting the portraits of his five children.

Rae, meanwhile, spent a lot of time in the park playing her guitar in order to fulfil her lifetime dream of having a Golden Tongue and Golden Fingers, but she also had a job in the medical career she wanted to succeed in, so she spent time star gazing as well.  Pregnancy suited her – she was rarely ill and she knew that there was a large family around her and Michael to support them as they raised their children.

Harry continued with his career as a novellist.  He was now gaining a reputation in the Valley for his biting satire novels and his quirky non-fiction works.  He occasionally made ventures into the worlds of drama and sci-fi, but it was in satire and non-fiction where he really made his name.  With royalties now approaching 3,000 Simoleans a week, he was confident he could make a very sustainable living from this activity.

Soon, Rae went into labour, and the pain kept coming, and kept coming and kept coming…

…until Joanna, Nicola and Gemma had all safely arrived.  Karis marvelled at her granddaughters.  To think, one of these girls would have the honour of bringing Lianndra’s desire of ten generations on the same plot of land to fruition.  She just wished Dino had lived to see this.

The Kyoti boys were all very close in age, and had been infants at the same time.

Throughout that time, their family had all pitched in and helped with their care.

Now it was their turn to do the same for the next generation… and they were a little shell-shocked, to say the least.

Dino Kyoti was leaving work, when one of the Bistro patrons passed away in front of him.  It sent a chilll up his spine.  He had become accustomed to life with Karis and the kids, and neither of them had really talked about the fact that they were old, that death was an inevitability, and one that was creeping ever closer.  For the first time, he was forced to face his own mortality.

Mortality wasn’t what Emma Mabel or Harry Kyoti were concerned with – though both were thinking ahead to the future.  Emma Mabel was counting down the days until she was an adult and able to set out on her own adventure.  Harry was furiously working on another novel, dreaming of the day he would make 4,000 Simoleans a week in royalties.

Dino’s experience with death made him consider what he would do with the time he had left.  He spent time with his children, as much time as he could.

Now Wesley was working at the Bistro as well, both men would often sit and watch Cookin’ Cable together and discuss work.  Dino really hoped Wesley would get to the top.  He would never be a five-star chef himself, but he hoped his boy would become one.

Soon it was Harry’s birthday.  He was so excited that now he could leave school and concentrate on being a full-time writer.  He could feel his dream inching closer.

Daisy was also getting closer to moving out – as she painted Harry’s portrait, she was mentally counting the days until Emma Mabel aged up.  Her sister Freya’s tinkering business was thriving.  She had purchased a home by the sea and had asked Daisy to move there.  Daisy couldn’t wait to retire and live out the rest of her days by the sea.  She would miss the family, but she’d visit them for parties – it had been time for her to move on for a while now and she couldn’t wait.

Wesley, spurred on by Dino’s enthusiasm, took on the role of being house cook (although he let Michael and Dino keep their hand in by preparing the occasional meal).  His cooking was becoming more and more impressive and he was really throwing himself into his work as a vegetable slicer.

Michael had taken on a steady job at Karis Kyoti Towers (his mother now owned the business centre outright) and was looking forward to becoming a father – it was all he could think of.  Rae had now become his girlfriend and Michael was sure she would be the ideal mother for his children.

Soon enough, they were married, much to the delight of the whole family.

They had a long chat about children and Michael was pleased that Rae wanted them just as much as he did.  They talked long into the night about what they wanted from life.  Rae was working at the hospital, but her true desire wasn’t to be a medic – she wanted to be a charismatic musician with a Golden Tongue and Golden Fingers.  Michael didn’t object.

Soon, there was room in the house for Michael and Rae to seriously consider their own family.  Emma Mabel was an adult, and she moved out to live with some of her many friends.

Daisy was on her way, too.  She finished her niece’s portrait and then packed her things.  Karis and Dino were sad to see Daisy and Emma Mabel go, but knew it was the right thing for both of them.  And they didn’t have time to be sad for too long…

…because the first of Rae and Michael’s hopefully large family was on the way.  Everyone was thrilled that the ninth generation would be arriving soon.  The child Rae was carrying (or one of the children, given the family history of twins), would be the one to give birth to the tenth generation and complete the mission Lianndra Kyoti had set for her family all those years ago.  Karis and Dino were very excited about becoming grandparents.

So it was a surprise to everyone when 91-year old Dino went to take a shower… and was taken from them.

It was the first death in the house since Karis had become the heir.  She had ruled over a peaceful time, a happy time, and this was the first experience of seeing death for everyone in the house except Karis herself.  But as Michael Kyoti, the man who would one day take on the mantle of heir, grieved for his father, he felt the Grim Reaper almost mocking him.  Karis Kyoti’s time as heir may have been a peaceful one… but her time was coming to an end…

It was Daisy Kyoti’s birthday…

As usual, Karis had invited all the neighbourhood girls.  Michael tried to get close to Rae Luna, the girl he’d met at the Bistro the other night.  They’d chatted and flirted a little but hadn’t managed to exchange numbers.  However, faced with Sunset Valley’s finest teenage girls in a pack, he was a little nervous to try and single Rae out.

Daisy Kyoti knew age was coming, but it still shocked her – she’d managed to retain a youthful vigour throughout her adulthood, so this big change was a lot to take in.  Age had also got her thinking about the future – once all the kids had grown up and she’d painted their portraits for the family collection, she would move out – it was time to let the next generation make a go of things without too many of their elderly relatives hanging around.

Michael changed out of his formal clothes into his civvies and went for a play in the sprinklers… and he was soon joined by Rae.

And after a lot of flirting, Michael Kyoti eventually got his first kiss.

Lots of the Kyoti family were thinking about the future.  Freya was no exception.  She’d been working in the science career to help put something back into the family funds to thank Karis and Dino for supporting her while she was training to run her own tinkering business – but she was still dreaming of opening her own outlet.  However, this time, the dream was to become a reality.  Freya had some contacts on the other side of Sunset Valley who’d sold her a plot to move to and start a business from.  It was time for Freya Kyoti to step out on her own.

Harry and Emma Mabel were making great progress in their lifetime dreams.  Harry was writing the draft of his fifth book.  With his aunt Daisy’s encouragement, he’d managed to really find a voice in his writing, and it had helped him feel like there was something in the world that was really, truly his.  Emma Mabel had been out playing the giutar after school most days and was now good friends with 18 local residents.  She just needed to get to know two more of her accquaintances a little better and she really would be Super Popular.

Karis was loving life as the Leader of the Free World, and she was about to publish her second volume of memoirs.

Soon it was time for the twins to age up.  Karis and Dino wondered what they would want from life, and who would be the heir that would bring in the ninth generation.  As Wesley had tried his hand at everything from writing to painting to athletics, they fully expected they had a Jack of All Trades on their hands, and they were anticipating Michael choosing to go into cookery.

They were very surprised when Wesley told them what he really wanted from life was to be a Five Star Chef, and when he promptly rushed off to make autumn salad.  Dino was pleased that one of his sons was entering the catering trade he’d started to enjoy working in, though, and promised to ask whether there were any jobs going at the Bistro.

Michael and Wesley had always been very close, and when Michael was baking lots of muffins as a child, Wesley was always his partner in crime, tasting them and making suggestions.  It might have been Michael doing the cooking, but it was very much a joint endevaour.  For a long time, the brothers had decided one of them needed to make it as a chef, and that one would help the other learn more about food.  Michael would dearly have loved to be a chef, but there was something in life he wanted more, and the anti-social hours a chef worked wouldn’t have been compatible with it, so he gave up on his cookery dream to pursue a dream he wanted much, much more.

Michael Kyoti’s heart’s desire was to be Surrounded by Family.  The issue of who would be the next  heir was solved.

At the party, whilst the boys were deciding their life’s ambitions…

…Emma Mabel Kyoti, though still a teenager, achieved hers.

Emma Mabel Kyoti was one of the most carefree children you could ever meet.  She took every day in her stride.  She loved school, she had lots of friends and she enjoyed playing on the swings and playing chess.  But tomorrow was going to be a very exciting day for Emma Mabel.  She was going to become a teenager, which meant she could finally play the guitar – something she’d been wanting to do for ages.

When Karis Kyoti took over the running of the Kyoti household, she had very strict words to the Grim Reaper not to mess with her or her family – and she had been the first Kyoti heir to escape the party curse.  However, Death was still at work in the Valley, and when Dino went to the shop, he witnessed death taking one of the people there.

Whoever he was, he must have been loved, because when Karis went out to meet the electorate the next day, people were still grieving.

One of the mourners was Karis’s aunt Ariel.  Karis tried to comfort her, but Ariel had seen so many of her friends die, and she knew her time was coming.  Karis told her not to be silly, and they’d see her at Emma Mabel’s party that afternoon.

But Ariel was right this time.

Ariel had been best friends with the whole of Sunset Valley from her regular outdoor gigs.  And though she had departed the world, she had passed something of herself onto her great-niece.

Emma Mabel knew what she wanted from life, and that was to be Super-Popular.  Ariel had inspired her – by playing her guitar for the residents of the Valley, Ariel had become everyone’s best friend, and Emma Mabel wanted to carry on that tradition.

A quick change of clothes and hair later, and Emma Mabel was soon chatting to all the party guests.  Karis was pleased – her baby girl was happy, and what’s more, if she managed to befriend the local teenage girls, it might be a way for her brothers to finally be able to connect with them.

Soon enough, all Emma Mabel wanted to do was play the guitar…

…or rehearse speeches in the mirror.

Seeing his little sister find a purpose in life spurred Harry on.  He’d always felt a bit of an outsider in the house, but the one person who seemed to understand him was his aunt Daisy.  Daisy had often talked to him about her troubled childhood and teen years, when she felt lonely and neglected, and how she found solace in writing.  Harry asked her to help him brush up his skills, and the two very quickly bonded over their shared enjoyment of creating characters, plotlines and pithy one-liners.  Harry realised this was what he wanted to do for life – become a Professional Author.

Whilst the two youngest Kyotis were getting on with fulfilling their dreams, their big brothers were struggling with many things.  Both were doing well at school, but were still having no luck with the ladies – or with deciding what they wanted to do with their lives.

Wesley was athletic, but he was clumsy and kept falling over on the treadmill, so maybe he wasn’t cut out for a life of exercise.

He also tried his hand at fishing and writing, but didn’t think either of them were really for him.

Michael had enjoyed baking a lot as a child, but found it was losing some of its allure now he was a teenager – the fact that he burned the waffles was purely a coincidence, of course.

Things were looking up for Karis Kyoti, though.  She was a little sad that her aunt Cinderella had also passed on (though relieved that she didn’t have to balance being a politician with being the Emperor of Evil’s niece any longer) – however, she was thrilled, because she had finally achieved her lifetime wish – she was the Leader of the Free World.

To celebrate, she went for a meal at the Bistro.  Dino was working there that evening and made sure she got only the best food.  She invited Michael and Emma Mabel over, thinking that Emma Mabel’s music would impress the other diners, and Michael might be able to pick up some handy cooking tips.

Emma Mabel’s music did indeed inspire some of her fellow diners, including her big brother…

…Cooking tips were not what Michael Kyoti picked up at the Bistro that evening.

This picture is of my sweet little girl helping her daddy with the laundry. We had just returned from the basement after filling the basket with dry clothes. Our trek to the downstairs and the purpose for our going there (laundry) stirred up my thoughts regarding daily life and the gospel. I want to take every opportunity in my life to think on gospel truths and to look to the Savior. In regard to the particular situation upon which I was reflecting, I want to learn to be a master at pointing my little girl to Christ no matter what the circumstances. In this particular instance, if my daughter was old enough to understand me, I would want to speak to her about the function of the washing machine and dryer and intended purpose. This would be a great opening to illustrate gospel truths. This occasion would lend itself to discussing our great need to be cleansed from our sins, the cleansing power of the blood of Christ that removes all spots and blemishes of our iniquities, the means of cleansing, and the cost of being cleansed. There are a thousand of these opportunities everyday. I want to take advantage of them. I never want to trivialize gospel truths, but I always want to take every opportunity to illustrate and recall gospel truths for the benefit of the soul. How truly profitable for my soul it would be if every time I went to put on my clothes, I thought about being clothed with the righteousness of Christ. Every time I do the laundry, eat dinner, or take a shower, there are many opportunities to remind myself of gospel truths by illustrating, comparing, and contrasting. Some people are excellent at illustrating gospel truths from daily life. I am certainly not one of them, but I desire to become more skillful in illustrating deep truths with everyday life. May God help me to see the gospel in all the built-in mercies He has placed around me.

Michael and Wesley Kyoti were full of hormones, like most teenage boys, and were both desperate to get out and meet girls.

They would try and talk to girls on the school steps, at the shops, and at the park.

But every time they met an eligible girl, they would find themselves tongue tied and unable to blurt out more than a few words.  To make matters worse, when they did pluck up the courage to call girls, the girls would make excuses that they were going out and would hang up on them.

Karis saw her sons’ plight and decided to take some action (after all, one of them needed to produce an heir!).  When it was time for her and Dino to age up, she threw a campaign party at the park, brought a couple of cakes and invited all the local teenage girls (Karis was nothing if not resourceful – you didn’t get to be Governor of Riverview without being somewhat canny).

Dino and Karis were both quite at ease with becoming elders.  Dino had achieved his lifetime wish and was enjoying working in the catering trade now, but had no more burning ambitions – he was content simply to enjoy whatever time he had left.

Karis hoped the grey hair would give her the distinguished, mature air that would secure her the two promotions she still needed to become Leader of the Free World.

Of course, they had ‘distinguished’ elders in the family to be a good example to them.

Karis’s plan to get the boys paired up at the party wasn’t going so well.  All the female guests bar one had left by the time Michael plucked up some courage – and she ran off barely five minutes after he spoke to her.

Welsey, meanwhile, seemed more interested in playing chess with his aunt Freya.

Getting older obviously agreed with Karis, who was promoted to Vice President the next day.

Dino, meanwhile, was less fortunate – he got electrocuted by a bear.

As for the twins, they kept trying to chat up the girls of the Valley…

…and they kept getting rejected.

Soon it was time for Harry Kyoti to become a teenager as well.

Harry had always lived in the shadow of his brothers, and had always wanted to be like them – and in starting to talk to girls, he found out he was just like them – equally inept at getting girls to like him back.

Would any of the Kyoti boys ever be lucky in love?

Und noch einmal: Wow, was für ein Auftritt! Was für eine Show! Und was für eine unglaublich arbeitsintensive Auftrittsvorbereitung!

Daher müssen wir uns zuerst mal bei allen Leuten bedanken, die irgendwie zum reibungslosen Ablauf des gestrigen Abends beigetragen haben. Ich will hier keine Namen aufzählen, aber hiermit geht ein dickes DANKE an alle raus, die sich angesprochen fühlen. Dazu gehören u. a. alle Gastsänger, alle Leute hinter der Theke, alle Film- und Fotokameramänner, alle Licht- und Technik-Menschen, der “Ich mach immer den Vorhang auf und zu”-Mann und vor allen Dingen der Typ, der sich das Bühnenbild ausgedacht hat. Denn das war einfach unglaublich.

Für alle diejenigen, die nicht anwesend waren: Ihr habt was verpasst. Hier einige Highlights von gestern:

• Die Bühne. Oh ja, die Bühne. Speziell angefertigte Traversen, eine Armee von Moving Heads, Live-Übertragung auf eine Leinwand während des Auftritts und gerade erst aufgenommene Fotos während der Pausen. So viel Technik hat die Aula des St. Wolfhelm Gymnasiums sicher noch nicht gesehen.
• Dieter als Gastmusiker am Klavier bei Rosanna und You can leave your hat on. Unglaublich, der Mann.
• Tobi packt noch einmal die Perücke bei Highway to hell aus und wir rocken mit neuen Luftgitarren.
• Ein Unentschieden beim Gesangswettbewerb “Männer gegen Frauen” bei Ein Kompliment. Wer hätte gedacht, dass sowas mal vorkommt.
• Tobi zeigt bei The Best auch seine Qualitäten am aufblasbaren Saxophon. Versucht mal einen vielseitigeren Musiker zu finden. Ich kenne keinen.
• Viva la vida mit dem gefühlten kompletten Publikum auf der Bühne als Hintergrundchor.
• Die Auftritte der Gastsänger. Immer wieder das Salz in der Suppe. Jule brachte die Menge schon im ersten Set zum Grooven, Sylvia ließ die ersten Feuerzeuge auftauchen und Jennifer rockte mit uns ab. Timo & Olivia brachten zweistimmige Romantik in die Aula, bevor Golo die Frauenherzen für sich gewann und Jan den perfekten Deutschrocker verkörperte. Respekt!

Und an dieser Stelle könnt ihr auch abstimmen, welche/r Gastsänger/in den besten Auftritt hingelegt hat. Zu gewinnen gibt es für denjenigen mit den meisten Stimmen… äh… Ruhm und Ehre. Und den Titel “School of Rock-Rocker”. Also stimmt ab!

Fotos und Videos gibt es, sobald ich was in die Finger kriege. Also checkt die Seite einfach auf Updates und freut euch, wenn sie da sind.

Unser nächster Auftritt ist übrigens am 02.10.09 im Vogelsrather Hof. Motto: Oktoberfest. Kommt doch vorbei und feiert mit uns!

Der Peter

Like her father Abel, Freya was a no-nonsense kind of person.  She tried to get as much as she could out of life, and she just got on with whatever needed doing.  She mended showers, dishwashers and laptops every day and still found time to keep in shape.

She worked most days at the Science lab, but still found time to help raise her niece and nephews.

But one thing still eluded Freya.

No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t quite max out the logic skill she needed to become a full-time Tinkerer.

Freya’s brother-in-law, Dino, was also frustrated.  He’d been working for years on trying to develop a perfect garden, but he was struggling to get all his perfect produce to flourish at the same time.

Dino’s wife, Karis, had found her career going well – but then she’d taken a lot of time out to have her four children, and now she was concerned she wouldn’t get to reach her goal of becoming the Leader of the Free World.

She threw herself back into hosting campaign parties for the local residents.

Not everyone in Sunset Valley was impressed that the Emperor of Evil kept attending Mayor Kyoti’s parties – but they had such a good time at the parties that they couldn’t help elect Karis as governor.  Karis was making strides once more – but with elderhood fast approaching, she still had some way to go.

Karis and Freya’s sister, Daisy, was working her way steadily up the police forensics track, but she’d fallen a little out of favour since her failure to secure any information from Cinderella.  She spent a lot of time painting, imitating the great masters like Van Gogh and Odan to move one step closer to her dream.

The efforts of their parents and aunts to fulfil their life dreams hadn’t gone unnoticed by the younger Kyotis, and so when Wesley, Michael and Emma Mabel celebrated their next birthday, they didn’t wish for girlfriends, money or fame, but for their family to be happy and their parents and aunts to get what they wanted from life.

Michael grew up to be a very handsome young man, with a real mixture of both Dino and Karis’s features.

Wesley grew to look even more like Dino than ever before – and he was determined to change his hair as soon as the party was over so that he could look like himself and not a carbon copy of his dad or his twin.

The family were especially excited to see Emma Mabel grow up, after the traumas of Karis’s pregnancy with her.

Like her big brother Wesley, Emma Mabel wasn’t best pleased with her hair.  She’d been so used to short hair that she found the long hair quite restrictive and a bit tickly.

Seeing his brothers and sister share a birthday party yet again made Harry Kyoti feel a little sad.  As the middle child he wasn’t neglected – his auntie Daisy made very sure of that, as she’d struggled with being in the middle herself.  No, he was loved, and he knew it – but being in the middle meant he had a different birthday from his siblings and where he had been at the same school as his brothers, now he was at the same school as his sister.  On the one hand, it meant he could be friends with all of his siblings – but on the other, he felt a bit detached from them all as well – always in the middle, never quite fitting.

Daisy encouraged Harry to channel his energies into writing – she’d done the same when she was young and it had really helped her – although she warned him against using his family as the subject matter after all the trouble it had caused her!  He decided to start that night by experimenting with sci-fi stories.

Karis’s warning to the Grim Reaper was obviously having a positive effect – there were several elders at the party, including her aunts Ariel and Cinderella, and yet even with the mausoleum in the back of the garden standing as a reminder of those perished at parties gone by, the family were defiant and the party was a success.

In fact, the party was a success in more ways than Karis imagined it could be.  As they were clearing the plates and cutlery away, Dino went over to attend to his plants as usual.

… and he went to bed that night having finally achieved his dream of the perfect garden.

Before going to bed, Emma Mabel and Wesley decided to get their hair cut into styles that were much more practical.

Athletic Wesley was especially pleased that people in town would no longer keep calling him Dino or Michael by mistake.

When Freya awoke the next morning and felt the sun streaming trough the window, she knew it was her lucky day… or at least it would be, when she’d had a shower.

Freya took to the telescope yet again… and finally maxed out her logic skill, achieving her goal of being qualified to be a  Tinkerer and open her own business.

And when Daisy returned from work that evening, it was as a Forensic DNA Profiler.

Three birthdays… three wishes… three dreams come true – and no labour or death.  It had been the most successful party in the entire history of the Kyoti family.

Having four small people in the house was an interesting challenge for Dino and Karis Kyoti.  They were very glad for Karis’s younger sisters, Daisy and Freya, who were great with the children.  However, they were even more grateful that this stage of their family life wasn’t one that lasted too long.

Soon enough, it was Emma Mabel, Michael and Wesley’s birthday.  Karis and Dino put a small party on for their children, but kept it as household only (although the maid got in on the act as well).  They weren’t really superstitious, and didn’t entirely believe in the curse of the Kyoti party that Karis’s elders had taught her about (especially as she’d given the Grim Reaper a good talking to when her father died), but still, it couldn’t hurt to be careful, could it?

Although Michael and Wesley had looked different as toddlers, they were almost identical as they aged up.  Wesley went first, and his hair was slightly yellower than his brother’s.

Michael was somewhat embarrassed that the hard work he and his parents had put into his potty training seemed to fall apart as soon as he aged up.

Their genius little sister was straight onto reading the books in what local education experts called the TSAL scheme – designed by a Professor DeCasim in order to help toddlers make the most of life.

The children weren’t the only ones who were growing, though.  The older members of the family were developing in skills and confidence.

Freya maxed out her handiness, bringing her one step closer to her dream of having a Tinkering business.  The science facility were so impressed by her skills that they employed her to help with their maintenance.  Her dream wasn’t to work there for ever, but it would help Karis and Dino with the bills, and now that the twins were old enough to go to school, they didn’t need her to be at home so much in the day.

Daisy was working her way up the Forensic track quickly, but she was feeling slightly nervous about the assignment she’d been given by her boss – to interview Sunset Valley’s most notorious villain.

Unsurprisingly, her aunt Cinderella, the Valley’s resident Emperor of Evil, was not impressed by Daisy’s questioning technique.

She was angry that the young police woman had the audacity to question the aunt who’d helped raise her.  Sheepishly, Daisy apologised and went home.

But after she’d gone, Cinderella’s cowardly side exerted itself again – she’d just been visited by one of the Kyotis from the legacy house – did that mean she was about to die?

One place where life really was thriving was in Dino Kyoti’s garden – he’d now grown nine types of perfect plant and was just hoping he could get them all to come back to harvest at the same time so he could claim his lifetime ambition of having a Perfect Garden, and being crowned as Sunset Valley’s gardener of the year.

With Emma Mabel no longer a baby and Dino at home full-time, Karis was ready to go back to work.  She was so excited that she could start to be a good Mayor again that all she could talk about was work.  That didn’t mean that she wasn’t attentive to her family, though. She taste-tested all kind of dry and burnt muffins…

…because Michael was so keen on making them.

Wesley was also keen on tasting his brother’s culinary efforts, and Michael took very detailed notes of all the things his brother told him he liked and disliked in the muffin recipes.

Wesley himself was keen to develop his athletic side…

…and Emma Mabel enjoyed learning about everything.

Harry, the middle Kyoti child, was soon ready for his birthday as well, and he was very excited about it.

He was even more excited to have the same pyjamas and haircut as his big brothers.  All the big boys in Sunset Valley  had that haircut these days, and Harry was very glad that he was just like all the others.

Karis and Dino were proud of the way their boys all played together – but they had their suspicions that when the boys’ teenage hormones kicked in, there was going to be chaos…

Karis Kyoti was in labour with her fourth child.  But she was scared.  Something was wrong, she could feel it.  This labour wasn’t like the others.  It felt strange, as if the child she was giving birth to was a different shape, a different form to her sons.  She started to panic.  The labour pains were excruciating.  She was afraid she might die.

She’d given birth to something… but she wasn’t sure what it was.  It needed feeding and changing and burping like her sons, but it was sometimes invisible and sometimes just a strip of the faintest pink.  Karis wished her grandmother was here to impart medical knowledge.  For the first time since she’d become heir, Karis felt suddenly young, and afraid, and incapable of coping with the hand life had dealt her.

And then…

…it mutated.

It had the head of an innocent, beweildered little blonde girl… but the body of a monster, all pink talons and limbs.

Karis screamed and screamed and screamed.

——————————————————————————————————————-

Dino Kyoti was woken by his wife.  She was groaning and screaming and crying in her sleep.  He gently shook her to wake her.  Startled, Karis opened her eyes to see her husband’s face, staring at her with concern.  Her breathing was fast as her heart pounded, but as the moments passed, she began to breathe more slowly.  Dino stroked her face and told her it was a dream, she’d just had a bad dream.

Dino got up to make breakfast and implored his wife to rest.  But Karis was too shaken to settle.  She got up… and realised she felt nauseous.  She hoped it was just the dream.  She couldn’t be pregnant, could she?  They didn’t hear a lullaby, after all.

She went straight up to the nursery to spend time with her boys, her precious, precious, perfect little boys.  She gripped Michael tight, so glad for her sons, so glad that they were healthy.  But as she felt his leg sitting over her tummy, she could also sense that there really was a bump growing there.  Karis was terrified.  What had the dream meant?  What would happen in this pregnancy?

Dino was excited about the new baby, and Daisy and Freya seemed to be, too, despite their reluctance to change even more nappies and carry out even more night feeds.  But Karis felt alone.  She’d told the others of her nightmare, but couldn’t articulate just how horrifying the vision was.  She had no-one to turn to – her mother, Marcie, had passed away recently, and her father and grandparents were long dead.  Karis Kyoti was afraid and there was nowhere she could turn to for help.

She channelled her energies into the boys.  Helping Wesley to walk gave her a welcome distraction.

And her youngest son, Harry, was so precious to her.  She couldn’t believe she’d been a little disappointed when he wasn’t born a twin or a girl.  She loved him more than she could say.

When Karis went into labour, though, Dino started to panic as well.  Would his wife be OK, would his baby be healthy?  What if Karis’s dream had meant something?  They both decided that this baby would be born in the hospital.  They’d had home births for the boys but were taking no chances.

The delivery was long, but otherwise uneventful, and the tired parents came home feeling a weird mixture of trembling and exhiliration.

Karis Kyoti held her new baby in her arms and cried tears of relief.

Karis and Dino named their daughter Emma, and gave her the middle name Mabel to honour Marcie and Abel.  Yes, Emma Mabel Kyoti was their fourth and last child…

…and she was perfect.

The Grim Reaper may have taken her father, and may have blighted many of her ancestors with his appearance at family parties, but Karis Kyoti was clear: he wasn’t going to find her a pushover to deal with.

Karis was pregnant again.  She and Dino were hoping for twins to make their family complete and allow Karis to return to work in the near future.  With all the watermelon she was craving, they were expecting to have little girls.

Whilst the baby (or babies, as they hoped) was gestating, their existing twins, Michael and Wesley, became toddlers.

Wesley was like his father’s very own mini-me.

Michael looked more like Karis in his facial features, but the poor boy hadn’t yet grown any hair.

Daisy and Freya were very willing to help out with their nephews, which was a good job…

…as brand-new baby Harry was about to make the job even harder.  Karis and Dino were very happy with their new baby, although slightly disappointed he wasn’t a twin – and surprised he wasn’t a girl.

Karis made the most of her maternity leave.  She hosted some very popular parties and added thousands of simoleans to her campaign.  Even her aunt Cinderella, back from touring with Ariel, gave money – perhaps to ensure her niece turned a blind eye to that whole Emperor of Evil business.

Dino, meanwhile resigned from his job so he could spend time looking after the children (and his garden – now with five perfect plants) when Karis went back to work.

Soon enough, it was Harry’s birthday, too.  In order to avoid the curse of Grimmy, the family had decided to avoid birthday parties until the children were old enough to remember.  Daisy shuddered, remembering her own childhood disappointments over not having a party, but Karis promised the boys would get parties when they became children and from then on – although whether they would invite elders or pregnant women remained to be seen.

Harry’s birthday was meant to signal Karis’s return to work.  However, although she was missing work, she still desired a larger family – and so did Dino.

Perhaps trying to conceive with all your relatives (both alive and dead) looking down on you wasn’t conducive to conception – or perhaps the fertility treatment had just worn off – but whatever it was, Karis and Dino tried and tried and heard no lullaby.  They went to sleep down-hearted – perhaps they were just getting too old for babies.

As sleep took them over that night, Karis Kyoti had a very vivid dream…

Dino and Karis Kyoti were so excited that Karis was pregnant.  As they weren’t getting any younger, Karis had fertility treatment to help them conceive.  They were told that such treatment could result in multiple births, but they weren’t worried about this – in fact, they welcomed it.  Twins ran in the family, and they would have been very happy with triplets.  They wanted at least three children, and Karis didn’t want to miss too much work with maternity leave – the people of Sunset Valley needed their mayor, after all. Triplets, they thought, would be just perfect.

Things were all change in the Kyoti household.  Ariel Kyoti was embarking on her first ever world tour.

She asked Cinderella and Marcie to come with her and be her bodyguards, to take the heat off them in Sunset Valley, where people were still suspicious of the Emperor of Evil and a Super Spy being related. Marcie refused – she wanted to see her granchildren born, but Abel urged her to go.  He knew she would need something to keep her active in elderhood… and to take her mind of what was coming.  Abel knew that dark times were ahead, but he wasn’t going to tell Marcie until he knew she was happy.

Freya and Daisy Kyoti were quietly getting on with their own ambitions.  Freya upgraded everything she could, both at home and for her neighbours.  She could feel her tinkering business coming that much closer to fruition.

Daisy took to interviewing everyone she could find, although her uncle Daniel was hardly top of Sunset Valley’s most wanted list.

Both girls were about to be needed at home a lot more, though.

Karis was about to have a bath to soothe her aching back, when she went into labour.  She wasn’t as placid as her mother during the birth…

Little Michael Kyoti was welcomed into the world

…and so was his brother Wesley.  They weren’t the triplets Dino and Karis had been hoping for, but twins were a good start in building their family.

That night, Abel Kyoti travelled to Riverview to watch Ariel perform and to celebrate becoming grandparents with his beloved wife Marcie.

He also had some sad news for her.  He had been holding on to the news for a while, wanting to spare her, but now it was time.  She had to know.

There had been a series of experiments at the lab, and Abel had volunteered to be a tester.  Something had gone wrong, though, and he had developed cancerous growths.  There was nothing that could be done.  He didn’t know how long he had left, but he suspected it wasn’t long.

Marcie grasped her husband tight.  They both knew it would be for the last time.

Abel was sad he would probably not get to see his grandsons grow up, but happy that he’d seen them born.  He wasn’t going to tell his daughters or son-in-law about his illness – he was an old man now, it would have been his time soon anyway.  He was at peace with his destiny.

Oblivious to Abel’s plight, Karis and Dino decided to try for more children straight away.  They were loving having the babies at home and wanted to make the most of the fertility drugs they still had.  Thought that with so much family around them to help out, they could cope with another set of twins, or even triplets, and then Karis would return to work once they had the four or five children they craved.  As far as they were concerned, the quicker they built their family, the better.  They would be elders by the time the boys were teenagers so they didn’t want to waste time.

At the exact moment they heard a lullaby…

…101-year old Abel was taken.

Everyone in Sunset Valley was excited about the weekend – there was going to be a huge gig at the stadium, by the Valley’s premier Rock Star.  Yes, Ariel Kyoti was at the top of her profession, and she was loving it.

Determined not to be outdone by her sister, Cinderella took to stealing even more audacious things.

Every night, she slept in her lair, hoping that she would overcome her cowardice once and for all.

Daisy, meanwhile, was following her mother’s advice about how to get ahead in the police force, but she wasn’t convinced… was this all gross bin rummaging REALLY neccessary?

But Marcie knew best… after all, she had just been promoted to the role of a Super-Spy.

Karis Kyoti became a rising star in the political world.

Her campaign parties were legendary.

Her uncle Daniel came along to provide entertainment for her guests – and still gave money to the campaign.  She was raising between 30 and 60,000 Simoleans each time.  Her campaign coffers were swelling!

Her beach party even made the front page of the local news – the whole town was talking about the legendary event hosted by Sunset Valley’s favourite politician.

Pulling off the coup of having legendary rock star Ariel Kyoti playing there the night before her stadium show also got Karis a lot of headlines and good will.

Campaign parties weren’t the only gatherings the family were hosting – Freya Kyoti was now about to reach adulthood.

As she grew up, she dreamed of only one thing – to be Sunset Valley’s resident tinkerer and run her own business repairing and upgrading objects.

She got stuck into reading all about how to make the most of her skills.

It wasn’t long before word got out that she was becoming rather handy, and soon she was inundated with calls from the neighbours asking her to upgrade their showers.

One evening, after a long night on the prowl, Cinderella Kyoti came home and started feeling a warm glow, as if she’d eaten too much Ready Brek…

…Sunset Valley had a new Emperor of Evil.

Ariel Kyoti was concerned about her sister.  Although she was pleased that Cinderella had achieved her dream, she didn’t think the lifestyle was good for her.  Ariel was also worried that a cowardly Emperor of Evil who lived with a Super Spy cop would bring trouble upon the family.  Marcie and Cinderella had taken a long time to recover from the scandal of Daisy’s expose book and Ariel didn’t think they had ever really earned the respect they deserved in the Valley. Ariel, therefore, had a proposal for her sister and aunt.

There was another reason Ariel was concerned about having the Emperor of Evil in the house…

…and that was because Karis had just been elected as the Mayor.

However, as Ariel gave Cinderella, Marcie and Abel a decision to make that would change their lives, the new Mayor of Sunset Valley was also facing something life-changing…

Abel Kyoti was one of those men who lived life in a fairly unassuming way – yet in his own, quiet style, he did great things.  As a younger man he’d created Sunset Valley’s premier private aquarium.  In his middle years he’d married and raised three daughters, and in his older days he’d got to the top of his career.  He could fish, garden, play chess and mend things as well as anyone else in the Valley – and he didn’t boast about any of it, he just got on with things.

His mother dying and his eldest daughter marrying had given him pause to think about his role as the sixth generation heir of the Kyoti family.  He knew his time as head of the household would be short, as he was already very advanced in years.  But he wanted to leave things in the best condition he could for Karis to take over, and to ensure his other daughters were cared for and able to achieve whatever dreams they had set their heart on.

Abel decided to go out and purchase the supermarket.  The family had owned shares in it since the time of his grandfather, so it was time they owned it outright.  Abel renamed the store SJ’s in memory of his late mother.  He also bought shares in Doo Peas Corporate Towers for Karis and her descendants to do with as they saw fit.

Abel wasn’t the only member of the sixth generation working to secure a future.

His wife Marcie took to interrogating the local residents and rummaging through their bins late at night in order to file reports on them.

Sometimes residents even spoke to her when she went undercover as a thief. which amused both Marcie and Cinderella no end.

Marcie and Abel still had a lot of fun together and kept the romance in their marriage. Marcie embraced old age with the stoicism she’d faced every major life event with – it made no difference to her whatsoever – other than perhaps making her more committed to her work and family.

They also invested a lot of time in their younger daughters.  Both Daisy and Freya had been quite badly affected by SatelliteJuno’s death and they wanted the girls to enter into adulthood well.

Abel’s sisters were also making great strides in their careers.

Cinderella got promoted very quickly and soon found herself one step away from that lifetime dream of being the Emperor of Evil.  Of course, the time she spent cowering in a corner in prison hoping people wouldn’t beat her up didn’t help matters.

Ariel’s rock career was going from strength to strength, mainly because she kept herself grounded and spent lots of time with her fans.  She busked in the park, by the City Hall and outside the theatre most days and always took time to talk to people – in fact most of the residents of Sunset Valley were considered to be her close friends.  Daniel Kyoti was a keen supporter of her music after spending so many years jamming with her in the family kitchen.  He was so excited to see how she’d blossomed.

As the sixth generation were focussing on achieving the goals they’d been working towards for years, the seventh generation were only starting to think about theirs.  Dino Kyoti, Karis’s new husband, was very confused about what to do with his life.  She got him a job at the City Hall where she worked but he wasn’t cut out for politics at all.

He thought about the police or sports career, so he started working out, but that didn’t feel ‘right’, either.

Abel was worried about his son-in-law.  Dino was a lovely guy but lacked the drive Karis had, and he was worried the young man would get more frustrated as he saw his wife move up the political career ladder.  He asked Dino to help him weed the plants and they had a man-to-man over the gardening.  It was during this chat that Dino realised what he really wanted out of life – it wasn’t that he didn’t want to work, but it wasn’t the thing he was passionate about.  Hearing about how Abel had worked and raised a family yet still achieved his passion of having a perfect aquarium inspired Dino.  He wanted a perfect garden.

Abel was delighted that the young man had found something he cared about.  He went straight out and caught Dino a range of special fish to use as fertilizer as a gift to help him along the way.

Karis’s political career was going very well, and she was fast rising up the ranks at City Hall.  Her aunt Ariel advised her that if she really wanted people to vote for her she needed to get to know them, so Karis followed Ariel’s lead and went out to play the guitar in public sometimes – it really was a great way to meet constituents and her star continued to rise.

The person whose life was about to change the most, though, was Daisy Kyoti.  Since her grandmother died, the family spent a lot more time with her, listening to her fears.  Marcie and Cinderella had forgiven her for the controversial novel she’d written about them, but the book was still continuing to sell well, and on the eve of her birthday, she got a very interesting phone call.

The family decided to make Daisy’s birthday extra special for once to make up for all the times they’d neglected to celebrate it when she was younger.  They made cocktails and played Daisy’s favourite music.  Daisy was overwhelmed by experiencing blowing out candles on a cake for the first time.

She took her mother aside and told her about the phone call she’d received earlier.  It was a job offer and it had come somewhat out of the blue, but the people recruiting had been so impressed with her book that they wanted to utilise her skills.

Daisy Kyoti was now employed by the Sunset Valley police force, on their Dynamic DNA Profiler training track.  She asked Marcie to help teach her some of the tricks of the trade.  Marcie was overwhelmed that this girl who’d been so sullen as a child and teen was now following in her footsteps.  It had been an amazing transformation and she was so proud of Daisy.

Abel Kyoti closed his journal that night with a smile.  He hadn’t led a perfect life (who had?) and he didn’t know how much he had left of it, but as he looked over his achievements and watched the family around him living out their own dreams he was contented – he hadn’t done a bad job really, had he?

Daisy Kyoti was sleeping in the room next door to her grandmother when she heard a whooshing sound.  She ran in to the room… to be confronted not only with the ghost of SatelliteJuno, but also with a scary figure in a hood.  The encounter terrified her and she ran straight to her parents’ room, crying.  Abel and Marcie comforted their daughter as best they could whilst trying to take in the news of SJ’s passing.  Amid sobs, Daisy confessed how sorry she was for writing things about them and upsetting her family.  She was worried SJ’s passing was her fault for being so bad.  Her parents reassured her that SJ was a very, very old lady, and it was simply her time.

The family made arrangements for a private funeral at home for family and close friends only.  Over tea and cake, they discussed their memories of SatelliteJuno.  Ariel was so cut up by her mother’s death that she took to hugging her guitar, as if afraid that it, too, would be taken from her.

It was an especially sad day for the youngest member of the family, Freya.

It was the first time she’d ever been to a funeral – and it was on her birthday.  The family couldn’t face hosting a separate party for each event, so she had to grow up whilst everyone was grieving.

She grew up wearing an outfit that perfectly suited her serious, studious persona.

The events prompted Karis Kyoti to make some serious decisions about her future.  She knew she was the heir apparent, and although she wasn’t planning on taking a career break to havce children for some time yet, she did know she didn’t want to take on the mantle alone.  So she took the plunge and did something she’d been thinking about for some time…

In the middle of the funeral and birthday party, Karis and Dino Kyoti also celebrated their wedding.

Karis Kyoti rolled her eyes – they were fighting again.  The last few weeks in the Kyoti household had been tense, to say the least.  It had all started when they didn’t give her little sister Daisy a birthday party.  Daisy spent days locked away in her room, furiously typing at her keyboard.  She stopped doing her homework, stopped seeing friends and if anyone tried to talk to her, she’d snap at them.

Then one day, their mother, Marcie, was reading the newspaper and she read a review of a new book by one Daisy Kyoti.  The book was said to expose the true heart of Sunset Valley’s police corps and of its criminal underworld.  The book even described a household where a criminal was living with a cop and the cop didn’t even know.

It didn’t take long before accusations were flying around – how could Daisy betray her family?  How could there be a criminal under the roof?  The family soon realised Cinderella was the one working in the criminal underworld.

SatelliteJuno was angry with her daughter, accusing her of looking ridiculous in that silly mask and outfit she wore to work, and of letting down Marcie and the rest of the family.  Cinderella pointed out she was only doing what SJ’s own father, Joseph, had done – working in the crime field was in her blood.

Marcie sought Karis’s advice – what could they do for Daisy?  Karis shrugged – she reckoned Daisy thought the world should revolve around her and threw a strop when it didn’t.

As Daisy began drafting out her next novel she tried to pretend she didn’t care about the chaos going on at home, that she was happy about it – but the truth was, she was sadder than ever.  She’d wanted to punish them for forgetting her, but she hadn’t realised the ramifications of her book would be so huge.  She felt so alone and so uncomfortable.  She knew she’d done a really bad thing, and she didn’t want to be a bad person.

The stress was all too much for Abel – he felt as if he’d aged overnight.

Soon, though, there was a happy event to take the family’s mind off things – another birthday party.

Little Freya was having her birthday…

…but had to go to bed soon after she aged up to get ready for school the next day.

She wasn’t the only one who had a birthday.

Karis and her boyfriend Dino had a joint party and for the first time, Dino stayed the night.

The next day, Karis was so excited – she’d spend her first night with her boyfriend, and she was driving to her new job at the City Hall.  One day, she hoped she’d be the Leader of the Free World, but for now, if all she got to do was polish the podium, it’d be a start.

Cinderella and Marcie declared an uneasy truce.  Cinderella moved away form the frontline of burglary and became an evil henchman.

Marcie, meanwhile, went undercover to investigate the burglars of the city.  Cinderella wasn’t pleased that her sister-in-law would be arresting her criminal buddies, but Marcie had at least promised to keep her name out of all the reports.

Ariel channelled the angst she felt about her sister’s deviousness into her music and it worked, as her fanbase continued to grow each day.  She was also a very accessible pop legend – she was on good terms with pretty much everyone in the Valley, knowing it would be them who would make her a star.

Freya thought her family were all crazy.  She loved them all, but they were far too much for her at times.

She preferred to spend her time in the library, reading about all kinds of different and exciting things.  Freya was a genius and just loved to learn.

Abel Kyoti quietly got on with things, as always.  He’d not only achieved his lifetime wish, he’d now topped his career and become a mad scientist just like his great-grandmother Amanda.  To celebrate, he played with his funky new experiment gun.

That evening, SJ took Abel aside to congratulate him.  She apologised for not trusting him enough when he was younger – but she was very, very proud of him and the way he’d lived his life.

SJ retired to bed, thinking of the future of the family legacy.  Much as she loved her son, and thought he would be a good head of household, he was in his mid-80s now, and he wouldn’t be the heir for long.  But her eldest granddaughter Karis was ambitious, strong-willed, career-focussed and in love with a wonderful young man.  She felt confident the future was safe in her hands.

With that thought in her mind, 119-year old SatelliteJuno Kyoti (along with Elias, the oldest ever member of the family) fell asleep.

There was a new arrival in the Kyoti household.  Marcie Kyoti had had another typically easy labour – she popped into the bathroom to use the loo and popped out with baby Freya.  Everyone was mucking in with caring for the little one…

…well, everyone except her sister Daisy.  Daisy was fed up of the baby crying all the time and everyone giving her lots of attention.  She spent most of her time writing a blog about how fed up she was with her family and how unimportant she seemed to be to them.  She kept all the details anonymous, but just being able to share how sad and lonely she was helped her feel a little happier.

To add insult to injury, they even threw the stupid baby a birthday party.  What for?  It wasn’t like she was old enough to remember it… unlike Daisy, who remembered very well that they forgot to throw a party for her.  But, of course, the family loved Freya.

Ariel loved being able to teach Freya to play music.

Cinderella was always whispering in her niece’s ear.  If the family didn’t know better, they’d think she was plotting something.

SatelliteJuno helped her third granddaughter learn how to walk.

Marcie taught Freya to talk.

And Abel just liked having a mini-me.

Daisy’s big sister Karis didn’t seem too bothered with Freya…

…but only because she was so interested in that boy Dino Martinez who lived in the big house across the road that she couldn’t think about anything but him.

Daisy Kyoti felt she might as well be invisible.  She didn’t feel like anyone in the family really wanted her around.  She had to beg someone to play chess with her, and most of the time they were too busy with Freya to play more than two or three moves at a time.  She couldn’t get any help with her homework and she was beginning to fall really behind at school.

The only ones who understood were her teddy and her blog readers.  Writing the blog had encouraged her to develop her skills and she was starting to write novels about her life and her family.  Her latest was a crime novel, starring a criminal character she’d based on her auntie Cinderella and a stupid police character based on her mum, Marcie.

She couldn’t believe the family were so dumb they still thought Cinderella worked at the gym – especially her mother.  What kind of a cop was she, not realising she had a thief living in the house?  Daisy had seen her aunt sneaking in at night, though.  She knew what was going on.

She felt a little guilty though and didn’t know whether or not to publish it when she finished it.  Dasiy Kyoti was essentially a good girl – but she was a lonely and hurting one.  She knew it’d be wrong to do things that damaged her family, and she so wanted to be good – but inside she just hurt so much.

But being well-behaved was in her nature, and she decided not to publish anything too nasty about them…

…until they forgot to celebrate her next birthday as well.

SatelliteJuno Kyoti was saddened by the loss of so many people she loved, but was determined to spend whatever time she had left investing in family and continuing to serve the people of Sunset Valley with her life-saving skills.  Her second grandchild, Daisy, was a toddler now, and SJ was happy to help teach her vital life skills like using the potty, cleaning her teeth three times and checking taps.

The girl’s sporty auntie Cinderella also taught her how to do gymnastics.

However, the family forgot to throw her a birthday party and so in the middle of reading her favourite books, Daisy was surprised to find she was suddenly not so little anymore.

She wasn’t impressed by how much she looked like her big sister, so rushed off to tidy her hair up.

Seeing as nobody else had bothered celebrating her birthday with her, Daisy celebrated herself by playing some games.

Whilst Daisy was busy becoming a child, Daniel had some growing-up of his own to do.  He was about to play the final game of chess before achieving his dream of becoming a Renaissance Sim.  He decided he wanted to play this game with his auntie SJ.  They talked into the night about SkyBlueGinger and how much they both missed her.  Daniel wanted to do something to make his mum proud – he was planning to move out and get his own place, and start earning proper money.  He was going to start teaching at the local school – and carry on painting and playing gigs on the side for some spare cash.

He also carried out some tutoring to get himself used to being around kids.  SJ persuaded him to stay a little longer, so they could throw a big party to celebrate Karis and Daisy’s birthdays and his leaving.

Later that evening SJ went to tell the family about the party plans.  Daisy pointed out she’d already had her birthday and was very glad that the family had gone to so much trouble for her.  SJ felt a little sorry for her granddaughter and promised they’d make it extra special for her to make up for it.

Rain and Jet came to the party.  Rain had aged up and looked just like Kiley as an elder, right down to the clothes.  Clearly her CEO’s salary wasn’t going on grooming.

Karis grew up to be very slim, and her blue eyes became incredibly striking now she was a teen.

Daisy wasn’t entirely impressed that her special ‘birthday’ treat was a hamburger.  She didn’t even like them very much.

Ariel, on the other hand, liked burgers just fine.

The next morning, before sunrise, Daniel Kyoti packed up his things and bid his family farewell.

After waving him off, Daisy setttled down to complete the previous day’s homework and asked her big sister Karis to help her.  Karis wanted to know why their parents couldn’t do it.

When Daisy told her that they’d gone back to bed, Karis sighed.  She had a pretty good idea what was coming…

Apparently, seeing Marcie in her uniform was all Abel needed to get in the mood – which was ironic, as that very act meant she wouldn’t be wearing that uniform again for a little while…

Being pregnant again couldn’t keep the ever-resourceful Marcie down.  She got Karis up on the treadmill….

…and started teaching Daisy to play chess.

Sadly, Marcie was a lot more resourceful than certain other members of the family.

Cinderella got caught doing a job and thrown in jail.  The so-called wannabe Emperor of Evil was terrified – what if the other inmates beat her up?  What if the warders were nasty?  What if it was dark?

When she was released unharmed, all she could do was moan about how uncomfortable the beds were.  Yes, Cinderella Kyoti was truly cut out for the life of crime she’d chosen for herself.

Still, her big brother Abel wasn’t faring much better.  When repairing the teleporter, he became the first ever member of the family to get electrocuted, proving why Kyoti men should never be let near a toolbox.

If Abel continued down this path, would the Kyoti legacy heirdom bypass the sixth generation altogether?