If there's one thing that Emilia didn't want for the little family that she left behind, then it was for them to dwell too much on her passing. There was so much life to live, especially for the kids, and she didn't want them to get too weighed down by their loss.
But while Darrel was processing the grief of losing Emilia, he was hit with something else.
He found himself plagued by so many questions and thoughts about all of his relationships, even with marriage to Johnny. But the grief councilor advised him to not make any rash decisions based on how he was feeling. A midlife crisis triggered by death of a partner might make him want to start something new, but the regret such a decision could cause would last far longer.
The older children may not have known Emilia as well, but they were sure to check in on their dads, and Darrel seeing them knew that he lose so much if he let the doubt of a temporary midlife crisis fuel his decisions. Dylan Ember even texted to give his support.
Darrel wasn't the only one receiving guests during this rough time; Marco Goth had heard from daughter-in-law Stephanie Zest-Charm about the loss.
He spent time checking in on Finn and getting to know Oliver.
Marco also made sure to include Teddy in his visits knowing that the older of the three might get overlooked by some since Emilia wasn't his biological mother.
Together with family, friends, Oliver cuddles, and therapy, the family made it through the worst of their grief.
The midlife crisis was still going for Darrel, but the healing had made it easier to manage.
Spirits were running higher at the house as well due to the news that Prom Was Back!!
There was no information on why it even was cancelled initially, but the boys didn't care. This would be their last prom before graduation, and they were happy they actually were going to get to have one.
Phoenix and Teddy asked their respective partners to prom, but Finn was technically single. Technically, Leon and Dakota were friends, and once they graduated, they were planning on being roommates.
You know. Like friends.
Don't worry, the crushes are all mutual, and everyone's in the know. Finn's parents were open about their initial failings and how communication and reconciliation gave them a second chance. Finn made sure to ask them both and also reminded them to invite each other so there would be no silly sentiments.
Everyone was so happy to be together again that they all ignored all of the official things to do! After a bit of chatter, people started dancing [WN: that invisible dance floor really helps ensure they dance], taking pictures in the photo booth, and diving into the snacks.
For as excited as they were to be at prom, Teddy and Jax were just as happy to hang out together. Maybe Jax was feeling a little overwhelmed, or maybe he was feeling a little emotional about the end to their high school years? Either way, he'd never admit it out loud.
Soon enough, prom was coming to an end and Mei Prescott called everyone together for the prom royalty celebration. The students were a bit confused because they forgot that was a thing and weren't sure who voted.
Somebody voted though, because Freddie Faba and Dakota Vatore were both chosen!
Freddie was initially happy with this until he saw Leon embracing his cousin*. Ugh, he's glad that Dakota is graduating.
The prom after party wasn't any different than it had been before, but everyone was still excited it happened. The weather was actually nice - the Watcher didn't even have to intervene!
*Freddie technically isn't Dakota's cousin biologically, but him and his twin brother, Finley, are currently being raised by Lilith Vatore a long side their half brothers Damien and Laurant Vatore (Laurant is the sim with the shiny purple suit jacket and baseball cap). You can guess by their last name who their mom is, and shocking no one, she ditched them. You can read more about Freddie and his brothers here!
After much discussion with @feroshgirlsims, I decided that it made sense for him to do it and give Sho a way to have a clean break from his family. There was one other loose end that I needed to tidy up as well...
Akira's voice (legit in game) cracked with emotion as he read off the adoption papers. Unbeknownst to the Watcher, he had a single bucket list item: become a parent, and now it was officially happening.
The two had a celebratory duel once done, and for the first time Sho was able to beat him. The boost in confidence fueled his decision to officially leave the Ito dynasty, and Akira was sure to come along just in case.
Megumi, despite having basically replaced her son by way of Kenji, was still furious nonetheless. Whenever she started to yell at Sho, Akira intervened.
Akira had sworn to protect the boy, and now as his adopted father he was even more motivated to do so.
As Sho watched his new dad fight his bio mom, Wade Goth realized that he was no longer safe with the Itos. Even if Nanami and Megumi didn't suspect his role in Sho living with Akira, they surely would take out their anger on him.
With the fight over, Akira and Sho went back home leaving the Ito home in a very uneasy state. Nanami, already critical of her mom's leadership, was now even more disappointed in her. Not only that, but she had noticed how Sho stood with Wade. He wouldn't have done that if he didn't feel safe... she had already started to doubt her friend's loyalty, and this seemed to confirm her suspicions on how her brother was so easily able to slip out and vanish.
It wasn't long before the two tore into the young man with Megumi even going as far as to threaten him. Wade didn't care how much he was getting paid to spy on the family, he wanted out.
Seeing how the Ito family operated made him appreciate his own even more. He regretted the times he was mean to them all, and hoped that his dad could help him get out of this mess.
And of course he could. The Goth-Vatore family might not have a dynasty, but they had something Ito family lacked: connections and the kind of a quiet yet powerful presence that came with immortality. No one would stop them from helping Wade leave, and they didn't dare retaliate.
Not only was his dad, Marco, there to welcome him home, but his twin brother Garrett was as well. The two had a difficult dynamic growing up due to Wade being mean to him, but the two were eager to put the past aside and catch up.
The first night Wade was back home, Marco didn't stray far from his side, even taking time to play games in the room while the boys slept. He claimed he was simply checking out a new release, but the truth was that he had worried so much about his son while he was away and simply hearing the sound of them sleeping brought him some peace.
As the days passed, Wade heard from Sho that him and Akira were doing well and were safe. The teen thanked him for helping him leave the toxic and dangerous situation at home. Wade was glad, but also started to wonder what he wanted to do with his life.
Garrett had become a diver excavating old wrecks for whatever he could find. It didn't pay much, but he really enjoyed it. He had been considering moving to Sulani, but didn't want to have a whole house by himself.
On the morning of Winterfest, Garrett decided to ask Wade if he would move with him. The two had reconciled their differences and were closer than they had been since they were toddlers. Wade liked the idea of having a part time job so he could focus more on relaxing, sorting out what he wanted in life, and maybe even finding a special someone as well.
Marco was sad that Wade would be leaving again, but he had the peace of knowing that this time the brothers would be together.
Bonus picture: Wade and Garrett's older brother, Logan, came home from work, and his little girl Zoe came out to welcome him home.
Whenever @feroshgirlsims was eyeballing elder Malcolm, I knew I had to share these pictures because Wolfgang's like a fine wine...
Meanwhile, whenever Malcolm aged up, the game changed his hair to something rather... not really his style:
Didn't realize we were doing a Sephiroth cosplay at this birthday/Harvestfest.
Dorks [affectionate]
The old man's got moves!
Bianca being cute + proof that she did get a cake for her birthday!
Marco and Blair Goth, Giovanna's dads, have aged up and are now elders.
Alexander Goth and Jeb Harris have opted for immortality... at least temporarily... as they have decided that giving orphaned children a warm home is something they'd like to keep doing for a while.
[WN: Being real here, the thought of them dying made me super sad]
While I was taking care of Marco and Blair, Teddy came to visit his big sister, Stephanie Zest-Charm, who is now married to Logan Goth.
While you have not met Amir, you have seen his daughter, Aleah, here. Amir and Aleah adopted this absolute Cat of a cat, and his name is Winston. Aleah and Sofia Goth are currently dating as well!
Lilith Vatore was selling woodworking at the flea market. I didn't even realize she dabbled in such things.
Tomas Goodfellow was tending the bar during the flea market. Considering his normal trade, I'm not sure accepting his drinks is a good idea.
A shot of the potions of immortality before Jeb and Alex quaffed them, because I really like the sfx on them.
With Simply Lilac at an end, I figured it was time to see how Giovanna Goth was doing.
Being in Henford inspired her to expand her little container house garden into a micro farm! She's working on her handiness and making furniture for her humble home with fabrication and woodworking.
Both of her dads made sure to visit and make sure she was okay. Marco and Blair were worried that their daughter was hurting after being sent home.
After taking time to assure them both that she was okay, she did confess to them that she realized that she was a bit more romantically reserved than she anticipated.
She happily shared her photos of Henford on Bagley, the farm, Lilac, Forest, and other cast members. She missed them all, especially Forest, but she was glad to be home. Their support and understanding was just what she needed.
Her dads were worried about her being alone... and after living with a houseful of people, Giovanna missed having company as well. She asked her friend, Jewel Caliente (Nina's daughter with Don) to move in.
They became pretty close and had been friends for a while, so...
They're moving slow, but are very happy!
Beyond romance, spending time in her garden and with her animals created another revelation:
And why not embrace it? With two grandparents that are vampires and one of her younger brothers entering into the world of spell casters, becoming Mystical just made sense. Connecting further with nature itself even more so...
Giovanna may not have found love while on Simply Lilac, but she learned more about herself which has helped her on the path ahead!
There's been some curiosity around the Goth-Vatore family in this save, so I figured I'd post the throuple and their kids (no grandkids/great-grandkids because I'd run out of post).
The Goth-Vatores are largely concentrated in Willow Creek with a few of the kids living in Copperdale, Forgotten Hollow, Ravenwood, and Del Sol Valley.
How the trio of Mortimer [he/him], Bella [she/her], and Caleb [he/him] ended up as a throuple could be its own post, but I'll try to not go overboard while still making sure to not leave out the important stuff.
Whenever I first loaded up the Goth household in this save I noticed three major things had happened (thanks to Neighborhood Stories):
Bella and Mortimer adopted a girl named Hope who was Alexander's age.
They had a newborn named Marco.
Bella was dead. Seems that iconic red dress was no match for a blizzard.
I had Mortimer move Hope and Alexander into the main bedroom and converted it into a kid's room. The dining set was temporarily put in storage so Mortimer could set up a cot with the bassinet. He threw himself into taking care of the kids and work.
Once Bella was back [don't worry, we'll get to how that happened], there some adjusting as well as some fears... Mortimer had another partner, but he also accidentally caught a glimpse of a parallel world where he saw himself die and an elderly Bella left alone and heartbroken. He swore that no matter what happened to him, he didn't want her to be left alone.
And that's where Caleb came into the picture.
Initially he was simply Bella's approved side partner, and whenever Morti's side partner didn't work out, Caleb was more than happy to soothe those wounds as well. Bella was turned by Caleb with Mortimer's blessing, and while Mortimer's not a vampire himself he has employed multiple methods of slowing his own aging to the point he's near immortal.
But I promised I would cover how Bella came back, and I can't do that without talking about her. Cassandra.
The one whose actions not only forever changed her family, but rippled throughout the world itself.
Cassandra [she/her] didn't want her father to move on even if her parents had already discussed such things and had encouraged each other to do so in the event something happened to one of them. In Cassie's mind, there was no one else for her father than her mother.
So she set about learning magic. She spent hours and days in the Realm reading tomes, practicing, and searching. She ignored most of her classmates, didn't go to prom, and basically sacrificed her teenage years for a single-minded pursuit.
She managed to bring her back as a ghost and then finally as a whole living sim. Emboldened by this, she started selling her services on the black market. Multiple sims were brought back from the dead... though not all came back right, and a few had extra bits of magic tossed in which tore apart families. The Munches, Villareals, and Landgraabs felt the brunt of this in various ways.
Cassandra's downfall would be both her perception of how her parents should live as well as her own inflated sense of self - finding out that her parents throupled up with Caleb Vatore... the same Caleb she had tried pushing to join HER polycule and was refused by, sent her into a rage which led to her untimely demise as a young adult. She was survived by two children.
Alexander's [he/him] life, by contrast, has been one of relative peace, quiet, and domestic harmony. The bookish boy became a bit more of a jock as a teen, fell for fellow football team member Jeb Harris, and married him once out of high school. The couple have two adopted daughters and have been happily growing old together in their little house. Genuinely, the saddest part of Alex's life was the loss of Cassandra and Hope.
There aren't a lot of pictures of Hope [she/her] as she tried to stay out of the spotlight. Despite the best efforts of her parents, she never quite felt she fit in. She clashed often with Bella and the only person she was really close to was Alexander. After having her heart broken by Gemma Charm, she met and married a sim named Kayde. They had a daughter [Sofia] together before an accident took them both.
Marco [he/him] is no stranger to simblr as he's one of Giovanna Goth's dads. That's him on the right in the first picture talking to sibling Kerry. He is especially close to Mortimer because of the time spent with him before his mom was brought back. He used to dress like him as a child before finding his own style. Marco is a freelance programmer, is married to Blair, and has five children.
It's hard to talk about Kerry [they/them] and not talk about Donovan [he/him] at the same time. The two are younger than Marco, but very close in age to each other. They are also the last of the pre-Caleb/pre-turned Bella children and often regard themselves as the forgotten ones. Even if others in the family lose track of them, they have remained close despite their lives diverging in very different ways.
Kerry is a musician married to the Copperdale High School class room 2 teacher, Tatum. They chose to accept their parents' offer of assistance getting a home, and live across the street from Alexander and Jeb. They have no kids nor any plans on having any as they are happy simply enjoying their time with their partner.
Donovan, however, refused the family's funds and moved into the Price family home with partner Jayden and his older sister Savannah. He has one child, Julio. Donovan joined the military, and his own frustration with much of his family has caused him to be particularly hot-headed and even mean. His relationship with Jayden runs hot and cold with the two fighting frequently - things are even rough with Julio. He wants to do better... but can he?
Olive [she/her] is the first child between Caleb and Bella. She's been obsessed with the Grim Reaper and death since a young age and often (much to Caleb's sighs and exasperation) fancied herself a swamp witch. She abides by the same vampiric morals that her parents do, and she is besties with Grim. When she's not working as a funeral director, she is a cat mom with her partner Grey.
Alisa [she/her] is the second child for Caleb and Bella. While her big sister embraced being a vampire, Alisa hated it. She hated that she couldn't eat regular food, hated that the sun hurt, and ultimately hated that she had no say in being a vampire to begin with.
She would sneak out and feed on unwilling sims feeling justified in doing so. After all, why abide by a set of morals if she never had a choice in what she was? It was one of her nights out when she found herself in a club and was entranced by the music. She became a DJ and quickly rose in fame. Fame which brought people closer to her and made feeding easier.
Alisa moved to Del Sol Valley with her partner once she graduated. With his help, she was able to make and drink the cure which allowed her to regain her humanity. She is a Global Superstar who produces her own music and streams DJing sessions as well.
Beau Vatore [he/him] is the son of Caleb and Mortimer. He recently was featured in his own post. He's currently debating on if he should continue to push through the Tech Guru career path or do freelance programming like his dad [Caleb]. He's currently engaged to Imran Watson [they/them] and is on the other side of a rough patch with them. He's not sure if he wants to have children as he has mixed feelings about his own vampirism.
Azure Goth [she/her] is the last child of Bella and Mortimer. She originally manifested as a vampire as a newborn and infant, but things changed whenever the feather of a Sixam owl was discovered in her room as a toddler. Magic, long dormant in the family line since Cassandra's days, burst through removing the vampirism and leaving her eyes with their distinctive glow.
Azure is a spell caster who is rarely without her owl familiar, Eruza. She and Beau are close in age and also close in general. He is one of the few people in the family who approves of her partner [Valentino Villareal (they/them) - a Duplicato clone of Max Villareal that never disappeared]. Azure and Valentino just had a baby (I haven't had a chance to see the name yet!).
With all of their kids grown and moved out, it seemed fitting to allow them to be gifted a child from a burning soul rebirth.
Dakota Vatore was originally born as Dakota Harris - one of Jeb's younger brothers. Dakota was how the Watcher learned that aging up teens in the middle of a mood swing is a bad idea. He was enraged and immediately died from it. His teen and young adult life was never particularly fun, so he did what he could to leave it behind.
And thus Dakota found herself much smaller, drifting down from the sky to the floor in front of a very perplexed Caleb. Despite his initial confusion (as well as hers since she was now a girl and a baby), he has raised her and has gotten close. She's not a vampire - she was that pale in her previous life and retained it in this one.
Her memories are still pretty fuzzy... she recently met two of her Harris!brothers, and she didn't recognize them. She has met and gotten closer to two of her Goth!siblings - Alexander and Kerry.
And that is everyone! If you made it this far, then wow! Thank you for reading!
I thought it would be nice to show off Giovanna Goth's family because I love them. <3
First up we have her dads! Blair and Marco Goth - in the first picture Marco is holding her niece/his first grandchild, Zoe. They're not even set as caregivers, they're just being good grandpas autonomously!
The two met and bonded easily in high school as fellow bros - that friendship turned into a bromance which led to marriage and kids!
Blair is a trans guy and is biologically Giovanna's big brother (they were orphaned by neighborhood stories well before I could ever see their parents). Together Blair and Marco have four bio kids - two sets of twins! Both are stay at home dads with Blair making money via plopsy and Marco doing freelance programming work.
They live in Willow Creek across the street from the Zest-Charm household.
The first set of twins make up Giovanna's older younger siblings - Jayda and Logan Goth. Jayda has since moved out of the family home to Oasis Springs where she is living with her fiance. Logan is set to inherit the family home and is currently engaged to Stephanie Zest-Charm. They have a baby named Zoe Goth who is a cutie. :D
Despite living literally across the street from one another, Logan and Stephanie didn't meet until high school. Both of them being goofballs made hanging out fun, and mutual crushes soon developed. There were a few times where one of them would sneak out to go visit the other during the night as well (which Marco gently mentioned to Logan that he knew what was going on and to be careful).
The youngest set of twins and the youngest of Giovanna's siblings are Garrett and Wade Goth (and the last kids that Marco and Blair will have despite how much they really want to have more). While Jayda and Logan were pretty chill kids and teens, these two were and are a bit of a handful. Garrett is a hot head (but loyal) and Wade is mean and cringe. The combination made the two of them clash a lot as kids - as teens Garrett has mellowed out a bit and Wade is now too busy spouting memes at him to really make him mad.
Blair and Marco were worried they had somehow done something wrong for the two boys to be like they were, but family assured them both that even with the most love sometimes people's personalities just are different. And genuinely Wade tends to direct his meanness towards non-family members now that he's a teen (not that it makes it better... but he does love his family!).
While not officially one of Blair and Marco's children, Sofia Goth IS their niece. They are raising her because her mom (Hope Goth - adopted as a child by Bella and Mortimer while Alexander was still a child himself) and paren (a sim named Kayde [they/them]) passed in an accident. While she never felt particularly close to them, the loss left her rather gloomy. The family welcoming her in and the youngest twins treating her like a sister keeps her from spiralling too much into the gloom. <3
I don't have a picture of Zoe Goth on her own because she rarely is on her own. Everyone in the household from her parents, her grandparents, and even her teenage aunt and uncles are constantly fussing over her whether it's to stop and give her a bottle in the middle of the night while they're up going to the bathroom or stopping by her crib to give her a good night kiss while she's asleep.
Seriously, no one else has been set as caregivers of her... they just all autonomously pitch in to look after her. Even Wade's cringe mean self.
