September 12, 1202
"Mama!" Ceidrid nearly bounced himself out of Dora's arms as she struggled to pick him up. He was so heavy now. It wouldn't be long before she couldn't lift him at all. "You all right? You look sad.""Oh. Oh, no. No, I'm not sad. Quite the opposite." She'd thought she'd been right to be worried, to dread it. Who would take such a thing well? She hadn't taken it well, when she'd remembered--and it was her!
But... she should have known. She was a mother. And nothing in the world would have made her stop loving her baby, not for a second.
"I'm... actually very happy.""But you're crying."
Was she? Dora took her hand off her son's back for a second, just long enough to wipe her eyelashes. She had cried earlier, rather a lot. Her mother had too. There might have been a few tears left over. "Oh. Yes, I was. But they were happy tears. There's nothing in the world quite like happy tears."
"Happy tears?"Dora nodded and stroked at Ceidrid's hair. So soft, so thick. So like her mother's. "You'll understand, one day. Sometimes, happy things happen because sad things have gone away--or, at least, have become less sad. And those happy things are only happy because you were sad before."
Ceidrid's head rolled to the side. He didn't get it. He hadn't lived long enough to get it. To Dora's great relief, he'd never been sad enough to get it. She hoped it would be many years yet before he had been.
Sad things, less sad. Still sad. She'd still left her mother in several years of unknowing purgatory. Her mother would fight with keeping it from the rest of the family, everyone else, even though her heart wanted little more than to burst into joyous song for all the world to hear. She still had to figure out who to tell, how to tell them, who would be better off not knowing, how to pretend for their benefit. How to let Ceidrid and any future siblings he had have their grandmother, how to let her mother have her grandchildren, without acknowledging the relationship.
If Ceidrid need to know. If Adonis needed to know.
Still sad.
But less sad.
And, given that--so happy indeed.NEXT CHAPTER:
3 comments:
Brain: Hey, Heart, I know that this isn't your favorite part of your job description, but would you mind giving me a hand on this stupidly emotional scene were Dora tells Thetis who she is and she's expecting Thetis to be horrified or angry or whatever but Thetis is just so happy to know that she's alive because she loves all of her kids unconditionally and all that crap?
Heart: Nope. Busy. Pumping blood.
Brain: Yeah, okay, I see that. But listen, you know I'm super terrible at this shit, so if you wouldn't mind multitasking for one--
Heart: Nope. Pumping blood. Distributing oxygen. Keeping you alive.
Brain: Yeah, I know, and I appreciate it, but--
Heart: Nope.
Brain: Come on, just this once--
Heart: Wouldn't this scene you're proposing require waiting around for serious-yet-obvious-yet-not-over-the-top-cartoony expressions from your Sims? Wouldn't it require playing with actions that aren't "Chat"? Oh--dare I say that you might even need *gasp*... a POSEBOX?
Brain: ...yeah, to hell with that. Half-assed aftermath chapter it is. Maybe one with a toddler. No one cares if you bother with poseboxes with a toddler.
Ovaries: ...Toddler?
Brain: *twitch*
Heart: Shouldn't have said the T word.
Ovaries: ...Baby?
Brain: *twitch* *twitch*
Ovaries: ...Baby? Now? Baby?
Brain: DAMMIT OVARIES HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU NOT TO TALK TO ME UNTIL WE'RE THIRTY?!
Heart: Or until you and Vagina finally find a man you actually agree on.
Brain: Go fuck yourself, Heart.
Heart: Can't. Busy. Pumping blood.
This has been the most interesting thread - comparing Dora with Celina, trying to compare this form of sexuality to that I'd meet IRL. Celina is kind of awful and I really wanted to feel sympathetic, probably because she's different and I'm accustomed to the dangers in being sexually different. However, she seems to me to be impulsive, selfish, and stunningly thoughtless. Why on earth did she go to Nearina like that? What a horrible thing to do. And now Nearina's pregnant. I'm not a huge fan of Dani but in this case she's right. Contrasting Celina's situation with Dora's - admittedly very different personal history - Dora's reaction is not manipulative. I don't know how it could be but still, it isn't.
You've created a real mental and emotional challenge.
Thetis' reaction as experienced by Dora isn't surprising, but this is such a wonderful way to tie things up. Beautiful and happy. Thank you!
It is quite the contrast, Dora vs. Celina. Celina has a hell of a lot of growing up to do. Realizing that sleeping with Nearina was a bad idea is a start, but it doesn't change the fact that it happened.
Dora, meanwhile, probably couldn't bring herself to manipulate or take advantage of anyone even if she wanted to. Things aren't entirely tied up on this front (and I'm sure my current plan will go down in history as one of the Great Naroni Cop-Outs), but I didn't think there was any way Thetis would react with any emotion other than the sheer relief of her child being alive and well.
Thanks, Beth! :)
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