| More than a hundred sim years separates the evening when Bebe first took Julian to the cabin overlooking the bluff, and the birth of the latest Barimen heiress. |
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| The family has enjoyed periods of prosperity in the past, but they seem tiny in comparison with the present surge in fame and fortune. The Barimen family has produced some of the world’s most recognised names, and has already become known for it’s painters, a renowned surgeon, law enforcement personalities, and a five-star chef. But none of them have ever reached the mega-star status achieved by Ben and his wife, Lisa. |
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| Ben and his sister, Sarah, had set the entertainment industry on fire with Barimen Records and Grayswandir. Since that time, there has been a major upswing in worldwide recognition of the Barimen name. It is now spoken with the same respect as the names “Alto” and “Landgraab”. But where the former is associated with power and greed, and the latter with arrogance and elitism; the Barimen name has become associated with kindness and charity. |
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| Amid all of the worldwide notoriety and fame, rises the quiet giggle of one little girl, now hiding from her grandmother in a toy-box. Her name is Amber Barimen. |
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| She is carried by an air of wisdom and understanding that few sims will ever know. Even as a toddler, she possesses a sense of fairness and insight only found in much older children (and oftentimes absent in some adults). |
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| She is a charming child with a bright expression and a rare empathy toward others. She is also very adept at watching how things are done, and nearly perfecting them before ever trying them herself. The adults all laugh, becuase she’ll sometimes be so engrossed in watching other kids play that she forgets join in with them. |
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| Her grandmother and grandfather had given birth to twins on the same day she was born. With her parents very often gone on musical tours, she becomes very close to them. Grandma Faith is thrilled to have all three children under her wing; and she often affectionately refers to them collectively as her “litter”. |
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| As toddlers, the three girls do everything together as a unit. But even then, there are signs of the far-reaching empathy Amber will possess as an adult. She had seen how happy Grandma was when Tina and Tanya learned to talk and potty, and gently refused talking and walking lessons from Grandma Faith. |
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| It was as though she was waiting for her parents to return home from music tours, wanting to save the cherished moment for them. Secretly, she had already figured out how to do it by watching her “sisters”. But she wanted her parents to have the same happy surprise as grandma and grandpa. |
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| Being at home with her grandparents is great. But she loves spending time with her mother and father more than anything else. She especially loves being sung to sleep when it is just the three of them. |
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| As a child, this sense of empathy only grows and flourishes. Being so in-tune with other sims, and so carefully insightful about her surroundings, allows her to make observations that many others simply never pay attention to. In time, her curiosity will show her activities in Sunset Valley that normally go unnoticed. And what may be even more important than the observation she makes, is the difficult lesson she learns in the process. |
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| There are some things which may be safer left unnoticed. |
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| Welcome to Chapter 7! I was curious to know exactly how many sim-years has passed since Julian. So I did what any programmer would have done. I made a spreadsheet. Enjoy! |
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Stories by Zoxell 
It’s wonderful to see the family so tranquil, Amber seems like such a lovely young lady already. I can’t wait to learn more about her!
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This is definitely the calm before the storm. But I’m pretty sure you’ve already guessed as much 😉
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I’m interested in how you made that spreadsheet…I’m guessing you counted the Sim days as years, but how did you count the age of the legacy? Did you go by the amount of week/days the file has been played in-game?
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It was nothing that scientific, really. I just guestimated the approximate age of each parent sim when their first child was born. Then used formulas to fill in the rest. If the sim had died before an heir was born, the age is shown in red. It really isn’t very accurate. David must have lived well into his 70s, but this shows he died before 65!
The column on the left is just a rolling sum of the numbers in bold. I started at “2” because Julian had been in Sunset Valley approximately 2 sim years before David was born. These are all just rough estimates, but it gave me a decent idea of how old the legacy was in sim years.
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I love the spreadsheet. If I ever manage to get a challenge going, I’d love to do something like that. Props to you! And, as always, beautiful Barimen genetics 🙂 How do you get so lucky? Haha
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I target the best looking townies and spam them with phone calls. Haha!
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Hey Zoxell!!
Long time, no talk! I know I’m so behind on your legacy, but I haven’t had much free time since I quit blogging. For a quick update on my life: in January, I proposed to a wonderful woman I’d met several months back and we were married in a small ceremony the first week in March. Then, not long after, we found out that we’re expecting our first child (well, my second, but you know that story — due November 30!) that we’re saying was conceived on our honeymoon. We actually find out the gender very soon! We’ve moved to an apartment in Alabama so she can attend nursing school and I’m still working on my teaching degree. We’re a little worried about being parents while in school, but we’re trusting God to provide.
I also see your wife is expecting, too! How exciting. Hope everything else is going well for you — just wanted to catch up quickly! 🙂
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Hmmm…I don’t know why I put Snips’ email address as mine!! I was typing him an email (about his stories), and I guess it was on my mind. I’m a little scatterbrained right now. I just saw his symbol pop ip on my name, and I was confused!! Haha. Sorry Snips AND Zoxell. 🙂 This is FortA 🙂
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How bizarre…
Anyhow, congratulations! Teaching is a very noble profession! (Too noble for me, heh. I quit and became a programmer) 😉
To where in Ala are you moving? I know many die-hard ‘Bama fans at work here in Nashville.
Prayers go out to you and your new family! Be sure to keep us posted.
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I know. It’s how my brain works…I was looking at his email address when I typed that. Trying to offer encouragement. He’d contacted me a while back and I was just getting around to writing back!
Well, my wife’s been attending UAB, so we’re living in apartments near the campus. The complex is Ashley Court Apartments in Southside Birmingham. It’s not the nicest in the world and it’s only one bedroom, but we’re having to save up for other stuff now!! It’s been weird, all the changes that have happened in the last month. But the Lord is in control.
How far along is your wife?
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Very lovely introduction to who Amber is. I cant wait to read her story.
Love the spreadsheet too!! I too was wondering ages at that opening sentence of this chapter. And lo and behold you read my mind at the end. XD
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