{A Note From Your Pal Mindy: I just uploaded Irwin Thrones to the Sims 3 Exchange in case any of you would like to place him in your game! 🙂 If you play with him and create a story for him or simply add him to one you are already working on, link me to it, I would love to see Irwin’s adventures in alternate realities! 🙂 Click on the picture to go to the link at the exchange!

~Mindy}

Click Irwin’s Face Above For Download! —–^^^^^—–

Recap: Irwin’s life reached its peak and he was taken by the Grim Reaper. Feign began writing a novel in his honor, having already published one novel. Cid became an adult and took an Age Freeze potion, making him immortal. Russel began his first day with his job in the Music Career.

With the love of her life no longer around, Fantine had lost any ambition to get out of her pajamas. She didn’t find enjoyment in hardly anything. She stopped painting and discovered the best way to numb her racing thoughts was to sit down in front of the television and flip through the channels.

Waffles noticed her behavior immediately. Feeling lonely himself without his best friend, he often times joined Fantine on the couch and curled up beside her, falling asleep on her lap and purring to remind her she was not alone.

Russel was playing the piano constantly in order to impress his boss at his new job, so Feign was having a difficult time concentrating on his own work. He decided it would be best if he traveled to the library and did his writing there, where it was quiet.

Ironically enough, a woman walked into the library and started playing her guitar. Feign felt this defeated the entire purpose of writing in silence. Out of frustration, he slammed his fists down on the keyboard and felt a small shock fly up his fingertips. His emotions had been running high lately, and he had completely underestimated his own strength. Embarrassed, he stood up from the desk and slipped out of the building with the hopes of having been unnoticed. He didn’t want to have to pay for busting the computer.

Russel loathed his job. He knew he couldn’t just start out as a movie composer, but it really was difficult knowing he had to climb the business ladder to get there. His boss wasn’t a huge fan of his, and he wasn’t making any friends with his co-workers. Every night, when he got home, he would play the piano and then dance until his stress level subsided.

The overall mood of the Thrones household wasn’t improving, even despite Russel’s ridiculous dance moves.

Feign was suffering from writer’s block. He started feeling as if he had begun to write Irwin’s biography too soon and really questioned how well he even knew his father in the first place. To clear his head, he took a trip to the Winter Festival.

A woman noticed him and fearlessly approached him, extending her hand and smiling.

“Hi there, I’m Colette Olivera,” she said.

Feign shook her glove-covered palm. “Feign Thrones.”

She nodded. “I know, actually.” She pushed a few strands of hair away from her eyes. “I work at the publishing company where you submitted your book.”

A pang of anxiety smacked into Feign. His heart started beating faster. “Oh… what did you think?”

Colette shook her head. “It was brilliant. I can’t believe that was the first book you had ever submitted to a publisher before.”

Feign’s eyes lit up. “Really?”

“Of course! We wouldn’t have paid you if we didn’t believe in its success.”

Their conversation continues until they decide to build a snowman together. Feign hadn’t found himself laughing so much in a long time.

“Okay, okay, here’s one,” Colette started, smoothing down the side of the snowman-to-be. “Country music or pop music?”

Feign shrugged. “I actually am a fan of Chinese music, to be honest.”

She laughed. “Chinese music? Have you been to China before?”

“No, but my twin brother is always flipping through stations on the radio to dance to and when he stops on the international channel, the Chinese tunes seem to help me concentrate better.”

They started on the second tier.

“How long have you worked in publishing?”

Colette frowned. “Too long. I don’t care for it. I only took the job because my aunt runs the company and she had an available position when I was really down on my luck.”

“What do you really want to do?” Feign asked.

“You’re going to laugh.”

“I won’t, I swear.”

“I’ve always dreamed of being an International Super Spy.” She glanced up at him, expecting some kind of reaction.

Feign gave her a nod. “That’s really cool,” he responded, biting the inside of his cheek to prevent a smile from forming over her cuteness.

The two of them stepped back, viewing the snowman they had just built. Colette started laughing. Feign cocked his head to the side.

She pointed to the snowman. “I’m sorry, I just think he’s cute! It was a good idea to make him a hockey player.”

Feign stared at it for a moment before chuckling himself.

“Well, I should be going. A friend of mine is coming over for dinner and I haven’t a clue what I’m going to make her.” She turned to walk away.

“Uh, wait…” Feign walked towards her. She turned around.

Feign held in a breath. “I was just thinking… could I see you again sometime? I really enjoyed talking to you.”

Colette’s eyes widened and her smile brightened their twinkle. “Of course! Here, let me give you my number. Maybe you can tell me about your future projects in writing?”

He held out his phone and she typed in her number, saving her name to his address book with a smiley face after it. She waved goodbye before heading down the street.

That night, Feign’s dreams were full of Colette and her smile. Even in his sleep, he knew he had found his inspiration to continue writing.

Before everyone else had gone to bed, a strange sound emerged from the front of the house. The Thrones awoke and ran to the noise to see the Grim Reaper had returned, and was petting Waffles.

Waffles felt his fur tingling. He did not fear Grim, nor did he dislike him for having taken Irwin. He knew Grim was simply a messenger. He was not here to cause any harm, he was just assisting in Waffles’s transition to the other side.

Waffles was proud of the life he had lived. He was born a stray kitten with no home. He had to search for scraps in people’s trash cans to survive. He often approached the houses of others in the hopes someone would take him in, but there never seemed to be any takers. A few friendly pets on the head here and there, maybe a treat or two, but no one had opened their home to him the way Irwin had. Waffles wasn’t sure how to take Irwin at first. He visited him often because it always seemed like Irwin was genuinely interested in spending time with him — plus, it was a lot of fun to tease Irwin during his visits. Waffles came running to Irwin’s humble home when the rain became too much for him, or when he wanted a playmate. Finally, one day, Irwin officially adopted Waffles, gave him a name, kept him fed and warm every night, spoiled him with toys and attention… he even gave Waffles an entire family who would shower him with love every day. Waffles’s hunting skill had reached 8, which was more than he had expected it to, and his age was 82. He had lived a very happy life thanks to Irwin, and as he floated up towards the bright light that awaited him, he could see Irwin’s arms outstretched, coercing him into a welcoming embrace. Waffles smiled as he drifted to the man who had given him this beautiful life, and mewed as he felt Irwin’s hug wrap around his entire body.

Cid, having already been stifling his own emotions regarding Irwin, could no longer hold everything in. His shoulders dropped and his eyes watered. He had, after all, grown up with Waffles. It was upsetting to know he would no longer be around.

Feign and Fantine noticed Cid and walked up to him. Fantine put her arms around him and hugged him softly. Feign grabbed his shoulders and smiled. “It’s okay,” he murmured, “Waffles isn’t alone.”

Cid nodded slowly, choking back the tears that wanted to fall. His mind was cluttered with concerns for the family and sadness regarding the last few weeks’ events, but he was reminded that he did not need to be the rock he thought everyone needed. He could lean on his family just as much as they leaned on him.

Cid turned off the lights in Waffles’s room. The family decided to leave it be for awhile before using it for a different purpose, as they wanted to preserve the friendly atmosphere Waffles had always given off.

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

In the weeks following, Russel finally started earning some promotions. His boss decided Russel could be a potential asset to the music company with his skills at playing the piano, rather than shouting at performers on stage as a fan.

Cid’s Green Thumb was starting to prove useful, as he realized he could revive dying plants in the Winter.

Cid’s cooking skill had finally been mastered. He had taught himself every recipe, save for Ambrosia. He purchased a book from the book store with the recipe inside and started memorizing every page.

Feign had not stopped thinking about Colette ever since their encounter at the festival. He called her every other day (so as not to look too eager) just to talk about her work, her interests, her hobbies, anything that would keep her interested in his friendship.

He gathered up enough courage to eventually ask her out, and they met up at the library.

“I’m really glad you wanted to see me,” Colette began.

Feign scratched his arm, nervously trying to look like he wasn’t extremely excited to see her in person again. “You know, I just thought we clicked at the festival and whatnot…”

She grinned, placing her hands to her sides, twiddling her fingers against her hips.

The two were quiet for a few moments, unsure of what to say to each other.

“I’m sorry, Colette, I’ve actually been keeping something from you.” Feign turned his head.

Colette’s body stiffened a little. “What is it, Feign? Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, I just think I should tell you this before we continue our friendship.” He put his hands in his pockets. “I was experiencing terrible writer’s block the week we met. It was like, I had all of these things I needed to write down, but nothing was inspiring me enough to actually put them on paper.” His eyes locked onto a book on the bottom shelf so as to avoid her gaze. “When you walked up to me and started talking and smiling, it was like the fog lifted from my mind. All of the sudden, things were clear again.” He gulped. “Ever since, I’ve been writing like mad. I’ve finished two books that I plan on sending in to your company.”

Colette’s expression didn’t change.

“I just wanted to tell you this because… I really like you a lot, and I didn’t want you to keep being friends with me without knowing it.”

She soaked in his words and smiled. “Well… that’s good…” She lightly touched his arm and he lifted his head to look at her. “…Because I really like you a lot, too.”

Feign’s adrenaline kicked itself up a notch and before he knew it, he was placing his lips on hers. Colette let out a small sound and he backed away, afraid it meant something bad. “Oh, I’m sorry,” he said.

She chuckled. “No, don’t be, I was just shocked, is all.” She interlaced her fingers with his and kissed him softly back.

Feign burst in through the door when he arrived home and sought out Fantine as quickly as he could. “Mom, I have to talk to you!”

Fantine cocked her head. “What’s going on? You ran in here so fast I–“

“I have a girlfriend!”

She gasped in delight and pulled him in for a hug. “Oh, Feign, this is great! What’s her name?”

Feign pulled away, unable to contain the grin he was wearing. “Colette. She’s amazing, Mom, you will love her…” He started wringing his hands together. “Um… I wanted to know how you and Dad had such a good relationship… you know… if you had any pointers and stuff…”

Fantine laughed. She set her hand on his shoulder and led him to the couch. “Okay, let me tell you the story of how your father got me to fall in love with him.”

Russel mastered the piano skill in no time flat once being promoted. He began to realize he was at his most vulnerable when his hands touched the keys and music filled the air. Feign inspired Russel to start writing down his own music and possibly include some lyrics in case anyone felt the need to sing along with the melody, so he spend his nights writing in a notebook the notes he had played earlier and the words he felt might go along with them.

At times, he would entertain his artistic trait and try to teach himself how to paint. He wasn’t able to succeed in this skill very quickly, as Fantine would often critique his work and hover over him as he tried to better himself.

Fantine used her savings to buy Feign a bookshelf to help store all of the books he would be publishing. She told him this bookshelf would be passed down from generation to generation so the Thrones family would always have his work to admire.

Russel was jealous of this, so he started putting his notebooks in the bookshelf when no one was paying attention, hoping that his original music would reach future generations as well.

After what felt like an endless stream of tragedies, the Thrones household was returning to normal. Fantine still spent most of her time in front of the television, but she was actually watching and paying attention to what was on. Cid joined his stepmom during her TV sessions and enjoyed viewing her shows with her.

It may not have seemed like much, but having Cid spend time with her — even by doing something so small as watching TV with her — meant the world to Fantine. She had always assumed she would never feel quite the same way about Cid as she did her own biological children, but Cid was still a piece of Irwin. Those little moments together reminded her of the love Irwin had for his entire family, and suddenly, Fantine started to feel like everything was going to be okay. Cid was going to be around for a while longer, and that comforted her to know.

She had no idea, however, that Cid wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.