![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Dec. 17th, 2022 09:10 am
The Green Family Story - Chapter 8
Generation 2: Under the City Lights
Your parents lived a simple life on the farm, but that was never right for you. Instead, you dreamed of escaping to the big city and living under its ever-bright lights.
1. Complete City NativePand Friend of the World (spouse)P
1. Complete City NativePand Friend of the World (spouse)P
2. Reach the top of the Business careerPand Social Media (Internet Influencer) career (spouse)P
3. Max the charisma skillPand singing skill (founder)Pand video gaming skill (spouse)P
5. Have kid(s), but only a single pregnancy...you can't take more time off work! P
6. Learn all the city food stall recipes (25/27) FAILED
7. Attend every city festival at least once P
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Darwin and I's continued attempt at reconnection and strengthening our relationship continued with an evening out at the romantic Stargazer Lounge in the city.
We followed up a nice meal with some karaoke and a catch up with Darwin's sister, Sienna.
Darwin did take a moment to sign some autographs but mostly managed to keep the night focused on him and me. It was the best evening we'd had together in a really long time, and I was floating on air by the end of it.
We even kept the party going for a while once we got home...and I felt a weight lift off my shoulders as the anxiety around our relationship largely melted away.
I wanted more advice and reassurance about the effort Darwin and I were making, so the next day I went to my old home of Brindleton Bay, where I grew up, to visit my oldest sister Clover and her family. She still lives in a beautiful, huge beach house above the bay, not far from our old family home, where Fern has stayed.
Clover's husband Archer passed away not too long ago, a terrible loss to her and their children, but they'd enjoyed a strong marriage for all the years they'd been together. Despite our very different lifestyles, Clover was able to reassure me it sounded like Darwin and I were doing everything we could to stay connected.
I took a moment to try and comfort my nephew Joseph before I left. Losing someone you care about is always hard, and Archer had been a wonderful Dad to all five of his and Clover's kids.
Good quality family time together had been Clover's number one piece of advice, so when Darwin was finally promoted to the top of his career - Internet Superstar, in the pool of the top-earning internet creators for his company - I made sure we went out for dinner as a family to celebrate.
The small family restaurant, which I chose on purpose instead of Chez Llama to try and avoid the paparazzi, served a lovely meal, and I let Darwin know how proud of him I was. We were both top of our respective fields, and though our lives couldn't have been more different to the idyllic farm of my childhood, I was proud of both of us for reaching new heights of success in the city.
Darwin's celebrity skyrocketed with his promotion, and before long he was invited to lay his very own star on the walk of fame!
Again, Walt and I were along to see him receive his accolades, and this time the paparazzi were welcome as Darwin took his place among the most famous celebrities in the world.
Unfortunately, though I know Walt is proud of Darwin too, this is another way they are just so different. Walt has no interest in celebrity or fame, and he doesn't understand Darwin being not only comfortable with but desiring the attention and interest of fans. When Darwin suggested he could introduce Walt to people in the industry, help him leverage his interests in Sulani into a lucrative career and fame, I think Walt's obvious horror and emphatic 'no thank you' hurt Darwin's feelings.
Walt's interests seem to lean far more to the hands on and practical than Darwin's ever did. We've always just phoned repairmen to deal with any breakages around the apartment, but Walt has taken to learning about and carrying out basic repairs himself.
School, on the other hand, continued to be miserable for him.
I shouldn't have been surprised when I found out, after the fact, that he actually spent a fair amount of time he should have been at school cutting to hang out with his friend Eva.
She and her family lived in Copperdale, so it was easy for him to get off the bus and head to her place instead of into school. Not surprisingly his grades suffered and he never pulled above a C, though he didn't completely flunk out thankfully. Darwin and I talked about whether our expectations for him were fair, but surely it's okay to want better than a C for your only child?
Bringing it up with Walt never went well though, and was a source of nothing but arguments, so in the end I guess Darwin and I both more or less gave up. Walt continued to be a free spirit, ignoring curfew and doing what he liked, and I started to wonder what on earth he was going to do with his life, since he seemed totally disinterested in anything Darwin and I could provide contacts in - professional gaming, content creation, and the business world.
Instead, he continued to spend every weekend in Sulani, and also met a girl called Cheyanne Mondragon who he took there with him whenever she was free.
They started dating soon enough and they spent plenty of time together. She seemed like a nice enough girl so I wasn't so worried about that - Walt was getting in plenty of trouble of his own volition, so if anything maybe a girlfriend would settle things down.
Advice from Clover had been great when I was struggling with my marriage, so as I struggled more with my son, I asked my friend Miki what she thought. Miki has known us ever since we came to the city and in fact used to babysit Walt when he was a toddler. She gently reminded me that I had been very different to my own parents and had chosen to strike out in a completely different direction to them, and it had all turned out well. I suppose she's right, though I worry about Walt's apparent lack of ambition and a work ethic more than I do about his interests.
Walt was out again while Miki visited, though for a good reason this time - his prom! He'd agreed to go with Eva as friends because Cheyanne couldn't make it.
He told us afterwards it was a nice time - Eva won prom queen, and he enjoyed spending the evening dancing and hanging out with his friends.
It also made school a little more fun for a few days, as at least there was gossip and reminiscing between boring classes.
I can't always pin him down for a chat these days, so I was delighted to receive an update on how prom went, and a tiny bit of insight into other parts of his life too.
I was also still enjoying my own hobbies, and got good enough at singing that when I felt like putting on a casual performance, it tended to go down well with other city-goers.
And of course Darwin still made his annual appearance at Geekcon, where he always won the gaming contest and was absolutely swamped with delighted fans who were overjoyed to see him do his thing in real life.
I also took every opportunity to keep trying new street food as the vendors popped up around the city. These taquitos were amazing!
Sadly, around this time, a lot of grief came for our family. First Sienna, Darwin's sister, passed away. Walt met with her son Darrius, his cousin, to reminisce and pass on our condolences.
Then, not too long after that, both our adopted brother Brandon and my friend Miki passed away too. Basil came around after we heard about Brandon so we could be together to mourn.
Darwin and I were both feeling a little subdued for Winterfest that year as a result.
So we were both happy for Walt to invite Cheyanne to join us and cheer the place up a bit.
Walt wasn't as close to Sienna, Brendan and Miki as Darwin and I were, so I'm glad he got to enjoy Winterfest with his girlfriend, as I'm afraid we weren't great company.
Though we did make an effort to get together as a family and catch up the following morning, before work and school.
The recent losses we'd experienced made me realise I might not have my sisters around forever either. I'd seen Clover fairly recently, but Darwin and I decided to spend New Years as a family with Hina and Fern, since it had been a while since we visited.
Walt never met his grandparents - my parents died before he was born - but he seemed interest in learning about them and paying his respects. In some ways he's more sentimental than either Darwin or I.
Then we all have a lovely dinner together, prepared by Hina who is an amazing cook. It's a pleasant evening back in my childhood home.
Of course, Hina and Fern are a lot older than me and Darwin and went to bed right after the countdown, so when they went to bed we went back to the city and I met up with my niece, Clover's daughter, Nicole, for some karaoke. Walt went his own way with some friends.
Following New Years, we got back to life as normal for a while, but as I'd guessed it wasn't long before more unhappiness struck. My sisters Clover and Fern both passed away, within days of each other. Clover left behind her five adult children, most of whom still live in Brindleton Bay in the family home, and Fern left behind her devoted partner from her university years, Hina. When Walt's 18th birthday rolled around, therefore, I wasn't in much of a mood for celebrating. He was happy with a small party at home luckily, inviting just his girlfriend, Cheyanne, and Basil, his uncle and my brother.
Walt did all the cooking for his party himself. Darwin and I aren't great cooks - Darwin can manage passable basics and I survive mostly on takeout and street food - but Walt considers cooking an important life skill and is actually not too bad at it.
Despite the lingering sadness, we all sat down to fresh watermelon salad and chicken sliders, which even I can admit were pretty great.
Then Basil joined Walt and Cheyanne for an afternoon of spirited video games - Darwin was banned, as he is too good at everything and always wins!
And finally it was time for the cake. Unbelievably, our boy is an adult! Okay, so he never achieved much at school, didn't get a part time job, didn't join any clubs or sports, but at least he's a fun, outgoing, popular kid.
Unfortunately, that's exactly when the wheels fell off. The evening wound down, Cheyanne went home, and the conversation turned to Walt's future. Darwin and I offered again to get him started in our respective industries, or at least introduce him to some people, now that he was an adult and finished with school. But he refused.
"I'm not getting a job, Dad."
"What do you mean? How will you support yourself?" Walt looked a little nervous, but his voice was steady as he replied.
"I'm going to move to Sulani. I'll sell fish and souvenirs to cover basic living costs, but I don't need much to be happy. I don't need a fancy apartment like this, just a shack on the beach, some friends, and the water."
Needless to say Darwin was furious and I wasn't much happier myself. We argued for hours, and eventually it became clear Walt was set on going.
"Can I still have my trust fund, or are you going to make me do it completely on my own?" I hesitated for a moment, but I knew he was serious. He'd do it on his own, with no money at all, if made to. I couldn't bear the thought of my kid sleeping in a tent on the beach.
"We'll buy you the shack and fit it out, but that's it. The rest of the money is yours only if you get a job. A REAL job. It can be in Sulani, but it needs to have a paycheck and career options."
Walt thanked us, a little tensely. I knew he wouldn't be getting that job, at least any time soon. Then he started making the arrangements, and before I knew it we were watching him shift into his new home.
And it really was a shack. Okay, so not a horrible one - and we did give him enough money to install a kitchen, buy a new bed, that kind of thing, but Darwin was true to his word and reserved the rest of his trust fund in the hope he'd be motivated to be more responsible in future and get into a decent career. Seeing how happy he was with his simple shack at the beach, though, made me doubt it. He clearly didn't care about the finer things in life, so what kind of motivation could money even be?
It wasn't the way I wanted our adventure in the city to end - on shaky footing with our son, missing my sisters, and feeling sad. Of course Darwin and I have many years left here to enjoy ourselves, but it won't be the same with Walt so far away.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A/N: Well, it's a sadder way to end Willow's story than I'd hoped, but that's how it played out! If you're interested, this is a DITFT but I'm building my own challenges and playing it based on story, with random elements involved to help direct it. Walt rolled the "lazy" trait at random for his child birthday, which is when I decided he'd be the "beach" generation and head to Sulani.
I achieved most of the goals of this generation, although I forgot to leave Willow and Darwin unmarried (a brain fart on my part), and Willow was missing 2 of the 27 city recipes in the end, but it wasn't a bad effort. She and Darwin did finish their aspirations (Friend of the World and City Native), top their careers (Social Media and Business - Management), and max their required skills (Singing, Video Gaming, Charisma). In the next chapter we'll be joining Walt in Sulani as he takes over the legacy. Thanks for reading!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Darwin and I's continued attempt at reconnection and strengthening our relationship continued with an evening out at the romantic Stargazer Lounge in the city.
We followed up a nice meal with some karaoke and a catch up with Darwin's sister, Sienna.
Darwin did take a moment to sign some autographs but mostly managed to keep the night focused on him and me. It was the best evening we'd had together in a really long time, and I was floating on air by the end of it.
We even kept the party going for a while once we got home...and I felt a weight lift off my shoulders as the anxiety around our relationship largely melted away.
I wanted more advice and reassurance about the effort Darwin and I were making, so the next day I went to my old home of Brindleton Bay, where I grew up, to visit my oldest sister Clover and her family. She still lives in a beautiful, huge beach house above the bay, not far from our old family home, where Fern has stayed.
Clover's husband Archer passed away not too long ago, a terrible loss to her and their children, but they'd enjoyed a strong marriage for all the years they'd been together. Despite our very different lifestyles, Clover was able to reassure me it sounded like Darwin and I were doing everything we could to stay connected.
I took a moment to try and comfort my nephew Joseph before I left. Losing someone you care about is always hard, and Archer had been a wonderful Dad to all five of his and Clover's kids.
Good quality family time together had been Clover's number one piece of advice, so when Darwin was finally promoted to the top of his career - Internet Superstar, in the pool of the top-earning internet creators for his company - I made sure we went out for dinner as a family to celebrate.
The small family restaurant, which I chose on purpose instead of Chez Llama to try and avoid the paparazzi, served a lovely meal, and I let Darwin know how proud of him I was. We were both top of our respective fields, and though our lives couldn't have been more different to the idyllic farm of my childhood, I was proud of both of us for reaching new heights of success in the city.
Darwin's celebrity skyrocketed with his promotion, and before long he was invited to lay his very own star on the walk of fame!
Again, Walt and I were along to see him receive his accolades, and this time the paparazzi were welcome as Darwin took his place among the most famous celebrities in the world.
Unfortunately, though I know Walt is proud of Darwin too, this is another way they are just so different. Walt has no interest in celebrity or fame, and he doesn't understand Darwin being not only comfortable with but desiring the attention and interest of fans. When Darwin suggested he could introduce Walt to people in the industry, help him leverage his interests in Sulani into a lucrative career and fame, I think Walt's obvious horror and emphatic 'no thank you' hurt Darwin's feelings.
Walt's interests seem to lean far more to the hands on and practical than Darwin's ever did. We've always just phoned repairmen to deal with any breakages around the apartment, but Walt has taken to learning about and carrying out basic repairs himself.
School, on the other hand, continued to be miserable for him.
I shouldn't have been surprised when I found out, after the fact, that he actually spent a fair amount of time he should have been at school cutting to hang out with his friend Eva.
She and her family lived in Copperdale, so it was easy for him to get off the bus and head to her place instead of into school. Not surprisingly his grades suffered and he never pulled above a C, though he didn't completely flunk out thankfully. Darwin and I talked about whether our expectations for him were fair, but surely it's okay to want better than a C for your only child?
Bringing it up with Walt never went well though, and was a source of nothing but arguments, so in the end I guess Darwin and I both more or less gave up. Walt continued to be a free spirit, ignoring curfew and doing what he liked, and I started to wonder what on earth he was going to do with his life, since he seemed totally disinterested in anything Darwin and I could provide contacts in - professional gaming, content creation, and the business world.
Instead, he continued to spend every weekend in Sulani, and also met a girl called Cheyanne Mondragon who he took there with him whenever she was free.
They started dating soon enough and they spent plenty of time together. She seemed like a nice enough girl so I wasn't so worried about that - Walt was getting in plenty of trouble of his own volition, so if anything maybe a girlfriend would settle things down.
Advice from Clover had been great when I was struggling with my marriage, so as I struggled more with my son, I asked my friend Miki what she thought. Miki has known us ever since we came to the city and in fact used to babysit Walt when he was a toddler. She gently reminded me that I had been very different to my own parents and had chosen to strike out in a completely different direction to them, and it had all turned out well. I suppose she's right, though I worry about Walt's apparent lack of ambition and a work ethic more than I do about his interests.
Walt was out again while Miki visited, though for a good reason this time - his prom! He'd agreed to go with Eva as friends because Cheyanne couldn't make it.
He told us afterwards it was a nice time - Eva won prom queen, and he enjoyed spending the evening dancing and hanging out with his friends.
It also made school a little more fun for a few days, as at least there was gossip and reminiscing between boring classes.
I can't always pin him down for a chat these days, so I was delighted to receive an update on how prom went, and a tiny bit of insight into other parts of his life too.
I was also still enjoying my own hobbies, and got good enough at singing that when I felt like putting on a casual performance, it tended to go down well with other city-goers.
And of course Darwin still made his annual appearance at Geekcon, where he always won the gaming contest and was absolutely swamped with delighted fans who were overjoyed to see him do his thing in real life.
I also took every opportunity to keep trying new street food as the vendors popped up around the city. These taquitos were amazing!
Sadly, around this time, a lot of grief came for our family. First Sienna, Darwin's sister, passed away. Walt met with her son Darrius, his cousin, to reminisce and pass on our condolences.
Then, not too long after that, both our adopted brother Brandon and my friend Miki passed away too. Basil came around after we heard about Brandon so we could be together to mourn.
Darwin and I were both feeling a little subdued for Winterfest that year as a result.
So we were both happy for Walt to invite Cheyanne to join us and cheer the place up a bit.
Walt wasn't as close to Sienna, Brendan and Miki as Darwin and I were, so I'm glad he got to enjoy Winterfest with his girlfriend, as I'm afraid we weren't great company.
Though we did make an effort to get together as a family and catch up the following morning, before work and school.
The recent losses we'd experienced made me realise I might not have my sisters around forever either. I'd seen Clover fairly recently, but Darwin and I decided to spend New Years as a family with Hina and Fern, since it had been a while since we visited.
Walt never met his grandparents - my parents died before he was born - but he seemed interest in learning about them and paying his respects. In some ways he's more sentimental than either Darwin or I.
Then we all have a lovely dinner together, prepared by Hina who is an amazing cook. It's a pleasant evening back in my childhood home.
Of course, Hina and Fern are a lot older than me and Darwin and went to bed right after the countdown, so when they went to bed we went back to the city and I met up with my niece, Clover's daughter, Nicole, for some karaoke. Walt went his own way with some friends.
Following New Years, we got back to life as normal for a while, but as I'd guessed it wasn't long before more unhappiness struck. My sisters Clover and Fern both passed away, within days of each other. Clover left behind her five adult children, most of whom still live in Brindleton Bay in the family home, and Fern left behind her devoted partner from her university years, Hina. When Walt's 18th birthday rolled around, therefore, I wasn't in much of a mood for celebrating. He was happy with a small party at home luckily, inviting just his girlfriend, Cheyanne, and Basil, his uncle and my brother.
Walt did all the cooking for his party himself. Darwin and I aren't great cooks - Darwin can manage passable basics and I survive mostly on takeout and street food - but Walt considers cooking an important life skill and is actually not too bad at it.
Despite the lingering sadness, we all sat down to fresh watermelon salad and chicken sliders, which even I can admit were pretty great.
Then Basil joined Walt and Cheyanne for an afternoon of spirited video games - Darwin was banned, as he is too good at everything and always wins!
And finally it was time for the cake. Unbelievably, our boy is an adult! Okay, so he never achieved much at school, didn't get a part time job, didn't join any clubs or sports, but at least he's a fun, outgoing, popular kid.
Unfortunately, that's exactly when the wheels fell off. The evening wound down, Cheyanne went home, and the conversation turned to Walt's future. Darwin and I offered again to get him started in our respective industries, or at least introduce him to some people, now that he was an adult and finished with school. But he refused.
"I'm not getting a job, Dad."
"What do you mean? How will you support yourself?" Walt looked a little nervous, but his voice was steady as he replied.
"I'm going to move to Sulani. I'll sell fish and souvenirs to cover basic living costs, but I don't need much to be happy. I don't need a fancy apartment like this, just a shack on the beach, some friends, and the water."
Needless to say Darwin was furious and I wasn't much happier myself. We argued for hours, and eventually it became clear Walt was set on going.
"Can I still have my trust fund, or are you going to make me do it completely on my own?" I hesitated for a moment, but I knew he was serious. He'd do it on his own, with no money at all, if made to. I couldn't bear the thought of my kid sleeping in a tent on the beach.
"We'll buy you the shack and fit it out, but that's it. The rest of the money is yours only if you get a job. A REAL job. It can be in Sulani, but it needs to have a paycheck and career options."
Walt thanked us, a little tensely. I knew he wouldn't be getting that job, at least any time soon. Then he started making the arrangements, and before I knew it we were watching him shift into his new home.
And it really was a shack. Okay, so not a horrible one - and we did give him enough money to install a kitchen, buy a new bed, that kind of thing, but Darwin was true to his word and reserved the rest of his trust fund in the hope he'd be motivated to be more responsible in future and get into a decent career. Seeing how happy he was with his simple shack at the beach, though, made me doubt it. He clearly didn't care about the finer things in life, so what kind of motivation could money even be?
It wasn't the way I wanted our adventure in the city to end - on shaky footing with our son, missing my sisters, and feeling sad. Of course Darwin and I have many years left here to enjoy ourselves, but it won't be the same with Walt so far away.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A/N: Well, it's a sadder way to end Willow's story than I'd hoped, but that's how it played out! If you're interested, this is a DITFT but I'm building my own challenges and playing it based on story, with random elements involved to help direct it. Walt rolled the "lazy" trait at random for his child birthday, which is when I decided he'd be the "beach" generation and head to Sulani.
I achieved most of the goals of this generation, although I forgot to leave Willow and Darwin unmarried (a brain fart on my part), and Willow was missing 2 of the 27 city recipes in the end, but it wasn't a bad effort. She and Darwin did finish their aspirations (Friend of the World and City Native), top their careers (Social Media and Business - Management), and max their required skills (Singing, Video Gaming, Charisma). In the next chapter we'll be joining Walt in Sulani as he takes over the legacy. Thanks for reading!