The Ink Family Legacy: Generation 5, Chapter 8 Part 3
This part was almost all spoilers, so have this picture of Jude sulking instead! I didn't know about this interaction until Jude got scolded, ha ha!
| Part One | Part Two |
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"Liar liar liar!!"
"Oh c'mon Robyn, you're exaggerating."
"You promised! You promised that you would always list me as your favorite cousin, but you put Ben on your family essay!" Robyn whined.
"Aww, you know you're my favorite! But it's kind of uncool to list a girl as your favorite at our age. I have my reputation to keep!"
"That's no excuse!"
"Pillow fight to settle then?"
"...fine."
Jude and Robyn bickered like siblings, which is fitting as they spent all their time in school together. She was the closest in age to him out of all the cousins and lived just across the street, so the Perkins house was as familiar to Jude as his own home.
He really liked it there - Aunt Sparrow was a gardener in her spare time, so there was always great food to eat. Uncle Tyler always had a story on hand, considering he was a comic book artist! And Jude loved playing with his cousins, even the younger three.
"Alright, I gotta go home now. Don't want to miss the big event!"
"Okay~! Best friends?"
"Best friends."
She smiled brightly. "Have fun at the birthday party!"
Oh yes, the birthdays never end in this house! Today it was time for the twins and little Alex to grow a little older.
"Are you excited to be a big girl Phee?"
"I'm ready Papa!"
"Cake now?"
"Woah, hold on! Ember has to go first, she's older!"
"I suppose that's our cue?" Amélie chuckled as September squirmed in her arms.
"Candles~! Can I make a wish, Amy?"
"Please do."
"Sheew!"
Not to be outdone, Sophia went for it too!
"Hurricane! Whoooosh!!"
Sparkling is the only way, you know.
September grew up to strongly resemble her mother as a child, albeit a little tanner! She could do with some of her mother's confidence though - whether it was from Jude's scary stories or her codependency on Sophie, Ember became a nervous, timid girl. Sweet as sugar, but more likely to melt into a puddle of nerves at the slightest provocation.
And, as if twins being opposite wasn't a strong enough theme already, Sophie became an outspoken foil to her sister's personality! She was always a little strange, and others' reluctance to buy into her strange ideas made her a little short tempered. One minute she could be dreamily rambling about aliens and the next start shouting that you need to be more prepared for the invasion! Luckily Ember is reasonable enough for the both of them most times.
And let's not forget the youngest Ink's birthday!
"Well Abel, you win this round."
"Win? What do you mean?"
"Look at Alex!"
"I don't think this kid has a single gene from me. The other three all have my nose, at least. Hell, if he didn't look so much like you I'd think he was switched at birth!"
Abel paused. "He...he looks just like my dad with black hair."
"Yeah, now that you mention it."
"That's awesome."
Yes, little Alex kept the trend of strong Ink genes going! He had Abel's face exactly (and hence Jin's face), Jin's hazel eyes, and Clover's black hair. He would not have looked all that out of place in the last generation!
And Alex, despite being so quiet and serious, was such a good baby. Smart too! And that could in no way have any possible conflict with anyone in the house. Nope.
Abel was sometime a little concerned that Alex was a little too smart. He could've sworn that he caught the one year old reading!
But that's just silly.
"Alright Alex buddy, it's time for bed."
"Bed?" Alex mimicked.
"Yep! Sure, it's like seven thirty, but that's bedtime for you."
"But oh no! My tickling hand is out of control~!"
"No!"
"Yes!"
Abel loved getting a laugh out of his son. Sometimes the kid was so serious! His grandpa Jin would've loved him.
"Okay, now it's really bedtime. Night Al!"
"Be a good boy and sleep, okay?"
"Mm."
Genetics worked in funny ways, Abel guessed. But Alex was perfect this way...even if Abel thought red hair would be quite cute on him.
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Unfortunately, not everyone was sold on Alex's cuteness.
Jude wasn't sure why he wasn't very fond of his little brother. After all, what threat did he pose? Maybe it was because Alex had awfully judging eyes for a toddler.
So, the natural conclusion was to pick on him.
"Oh brother dearest? Do you want to play a game with me?"
"Game?" Alex replied, reaching up.
"Oh yes. In fact, it's my favorite game." Jude smiled. "It's called You Give, I Take."
Alex was not familiar with this game. "Wha?"
"Not familiar with the rules, are you? Here, I'll show you."
Alex could only gape as Jude snatched candy from him with aplomb, grinning.
Oh, so that's how it was.
Well, Alex knew about games too. Here's a favorite...
Save your most pathetic, indignant crying...
...for the second your mother walks into the room.
"JUDE INK!"
Alex held his giggle at how fast his brother's gloating expression fell. He had a part to play after all.
"I have had it up to here with you picking on your brother! Alex has done nothing to you and all you do is antagonize him!" Kira shouted.
"I'm sorry Mom!" he stuttered back, not used to anything but praise.
"Sorry's for the first time, Jude, not the twentieth."
"I don't get it. Why do you pick on Alex so much? You were just fine with the girls! What's your problem?" Kira sighed, exasperated.
"I...I don't know." he answered truthfully.
Why did Alex get under his skin so much, even though he was a baby and his brother? He loved his family, even Alex. It was almost like they has some deep, inherent incompatibility...
"Jude, you're on time out. Go sit on that chair."
So while Jude took a seat, playing the martyr, Kira scooped up Alex.
"Aww, there there kiddo!"
"Jude doesn't mean it baby." Kira said soothingly, rocking her son. "So no more tears, okay?"
"How long do I have to sit here?"
"Until I say so."
"When's that gonna be?!"
"You'll know when I say it!"
"This. Is. Bullshit." Jude hissed.
"And for that language, you get another ten minutes." Kira scolded.
"Feeling better Al?" Kira asked, now that he stopped crying.
"Mmhmm!"
"C'mon, let's go play in the nursery. Jude, if I see you up, no dessert."
Alex: 1
Jude: 0
"Look at you Alex! You already know where these blocks go - you're so smart."
"He he!"
"Okay Al, can you tell me what shape goes here?"
Alex made a big show of scrunching up his face, pretending to think about it, but Kira knew from his impish grin that he knew the answer already.
Kira sighed. Being an only sibling, she had no idea what sibling rivalry entailed. And the Inks made it look so easy, like they never fought ever. Even Noah and Abel got along well, despite Abel's insistence that it wasn't always that way.
She guessed she could only do her best so she'd have no regrets.
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"Alright girls, say cheese! We need to send this picture to Rhyme to thank her for these dresses!"
"Cheeeeeese~!"
Looking at a picture like this, one might assume that the Ink girls were fairly normal. This assumption would prove false.
"Temmy! Do you hear that?!"
"H-hear what?"
"That sound. It is calling us!"
"W-what's calling us?! Sophie!"
"The spirits from beyond."
"Noooooooooo. :( :( :("
"Then again, it could just be our dishwasher. Of evil."
"Why do you do this to meeeee?"
Yeah. These girls were never normal.
But normal or not, they enjoyed normal little girl shenanigans like tea parties with their favorite dolls, Hat and Hat. There was just one problem though...
"Do you see them Sophie?"
"No, not here either! Weird!"
"Where could they have gone?" Ember asked, worried. "Mama said she put them in our room!"
Sophie sighed dramatically and jumped backwards off the ladder, ignoring her sister's squeak of horror. "Okay, let's retrace their steps!"
"Our steps?"
"No, theirs! Silly Temmy. Clearly they walked out of here!"
Unfortunately, that search didn't turn up any results either.
"Okay, so either A, they were kidnapped; B, they ran away; or C, they found an invisibility cloak. Thoughts?"
"Um, Sophie, I think that invisibility cloaks are just imaginary."
"Lies! Then how does Harry Potter have one, huh?"
"Harry Potter's not-"
Ember stopped herself, then smiled. "No, you're right. So what do we do then? We don't have a magical map."
"The tragedy of not being a Marauder!" Sophia sighed. "Then we must rely on the oldest of magic!"
"Let's ask Papa! I always suspected that he was magical."
"Um, Papa used to be a vampire, not a wizard."
"Close enough!"
"...and so, that's the whole story! We figured that you must know a way to find them!" Sophie concluded.
"Well, that does seem like a task I'm suited for!" Abel laughed.
"Tell you what - let's have another look upstairs! Your mother said she left them there, so they're probably just out of sight!"
A brief once over of the room left Abel frowning though.
"Huh. That's weird, Kira left those dolls right on the bottom bunk..."
The twins, however, were stunned by a new development in this story!
"Temmy. You see that right?"
"Y-yeah."
"Good, 'cause I thought it was one of those fairies that only I can see."
"But I think it's still a fairy though."
"Oi, I take offense to being called a fairy! I prefer the term 'mostly invisible humanoid'." the boy protested.
"Temmy. Temmy, we've finally done it! We've become magical girls and this is our spirit animal! A fairy!"
"I just told you, I'm not a fairy!"
"W-what are you then?" Ember managed.
"Isn't it obvious?" he said, rolling his eyes. "Phee, recognize the shirt? Em, don't these cherry red pants remind you of anyone?"
In response to their blank stares, he answered, "I'm Hat!"
"Hat? Like...our dolls, Hat? But...there were two of you!"
"Yeah, that's kind weird." he mused. "I've got memories of being both, so I guess I'm both? I've got the shirt of one and the pants of the other, so..."
"We are magical." Sophie murmured dreamily.
"Oh, and Em? Your dad's giving us the side eye. You might want to address that."
September jumped a little and whirled around to see a very confused Abel.
"Uh, girls? Who are you talking to over there?"
"Y-you don't see him?"
"Oh, is there someone there?" Abel said, amusement replacing confusion.
"Sophie, he's still there, right?" Ember whispered to her sister.
"His hair is like the ocean."
"Told ya I was mostly invisible." he gloated.
"Uh...you see Papa...Sophie and I have an imaginary friend!"
"Hey!"
"Y-yeah, a new friend, we actually don't need our Hats anymore!"
"Are you sure? You girls love those dolls!"
"T-totally."
"Is Phee okay? She seems to be having an episode."
"Ha ha Papa she's always like that!" Ember rushed out nervously. "We're just going to play here now."
Abel shrugged, deciding to leave the girls to their overactive imaginations. Whatever made them happy.
Once that was sorted out, Ember felt like she should properly address her newfound imaginary friend.
"So...you're Hat then? And only Sophie and I can see you?"
"That's right!"
"Um, if you don't mind me asking...how, exactly?"
"To be honest? I'm not really sure. My memories are kinda blurry. I remember things like you guys singing to me and being tumbled dry and such, but it's all mixed up and out of order."
He shrugged. "And then I woke up here, like, ten minutes ago. I know that I'm Hat...that's pretty much it."
"Hmm." Sophie mused. "But Hat isn't a proper fairy name!"
"Phee, for the last time I'm not-"
"Blah blah imaginary person! Boring!" she snapped, waving him off. "Whatever you are, you're our new best friend and you need a proper name!"
"Sophie could be right, Hat." Ember encouraged gently. "After all, you're not a doll anymore. A new name could mean a fresh start! It'll be better than the one we gave you when we were two."
"A sign of eternal friendship and the magic that brought you to life!" Sophia enthused.
Hat smiled - genuinely this time. "Fine. We'll do it your way then."
"Alright then!" Sophie piped up. "Now, we need to move to the only room where we can make important decisions! And you know what that means, don't you?"
"Stair!"
"Slide!"
"Combo!"
"Right then! I hereby call to order this meeting for deciding Hat's new name! First motion - I think that his name should start with an S to match with ours!"
"Oh, that's a good idea!" September said.
"Good! Because I think Sirius would be a great name! Or Scorpius! Or ooh! Ooh, let's name him Severus!!"
Hat was less than impressed. He was sending Ember a clear reign-her-in look.
"Oh! U-um, maybe we should go with something...unique?" Ember stuttered.
Hat nodded slightly, approving.
Sophie, however, rolled her eyes. "I gueeeeeeeeess. What do think then?"
"Um, something simple! Like Sen."
"Sen?"
"Yeah, that was the name of the main character in that movie we saw! You know, with the bathhouse and the dragon. I thought it was nice."
"But he needs a fairy name! Something elaborate and needlessly complex! Temmy, haven't you watched any of my magical girl anime?!"
"Uh, actually?" Hat interrupted.
"I kinda like the name Sen! It kinda makes me feel like I match you guys. September, Sophia, Sen. Nine, six, three. Kinda cool, right?"
"Huh?"
"The number of letters in our names, Sophie. September is nine letters, Sophia is six letters, and Sen would be three."
"Oh. OH!!! That's so exciting in a weird math way!!!"
"Then he is officially Sen! In fact, he can be Sen Hatter! That way he has a last name and we don't lose the original Hat!!"
And once Sophia decided, the matter was closed. That was just the way it was, it seemed.
"Well, now that I have a name...let's play!"
"Let's!!"
"Okay~"
"This is alpha unit one!! Alpha unit two, do you copy?"
"Copy~"
"Alpha unit three, how about you?"
"Copy! Hey units one and two, there appears to be a futuristic simulation device over there! Let's investigate."
"Roger that!"
"Roger!!!"
Okay, so perhaps a racing game wasn't all that futuristic, but it sure felt that way on their gaming TV!
Sen was starting to feel welcome already. To him, these girls were and had always been his world. To be able to talk and play with them was just about the best thing ever!
He had a feeling that they'd be friends forever.
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Chapter clear!
Couldn't live with two imaginary friends and consolidated, lol.
Did I mention how much I love posing sims? Because I do. Although I still do have a fondness for actually playing the game without plot-related shenanigans.
Sigh. I want to play Pets, considering I have it and all, but I might hold off until I have the time to properly back up/reorganize things. >_> I have the worst patch anxiety. I usually only update when I get a new EP or SP, ha ha!
One day. One day I'll get back to normal posting. D':
Okay, back to studying. That's the madness mantra, eh?