A Discworldly Legacy - Chapter 11a: Cheery By Name, Cheery By Nature
Welcome back to A Discworldly Legacy! This here is Chapter 11: Cheery by Name, Cheery by Nature. Sure, it doesn't actually have anything to do with what happens this chapter, and in actual fact, our Cheery is not a very happy camper. But I just couldn’t let that one slip past. Anyway, have a nice picture of Gordon and Desdemona, still holding the fort at Hidden House, cos it’s aww-worthy. And might I ask how, after how many years of playing Nightlife, have I only just found this option for cuddling in a restaurant booth? It’s gorgeous!
Now, without further ado, here’s the chapter. If I may briefly refresh your memory: Chapter 10 ended with Chrys breaking up Cohen’s relationship, leading to a brawl in the kitchen which left Cohen in hospital and Chrys on the run. The overall mood of the Discworld family is pretty down in the metaphorical dumps right now. Cheery is about to return to the Legacy House… Let’s go catch up.
“Welcome home, Cheery.”
“Thanks, mum. Where’s dad? His car isn't here.”
"He went out a few hours ago, didn't say where. I'm sure he'll turn up.”
The conversation died down and Adrienne studied her daughter's face. “Are you alright, dear? You look like you haven’t slept in years.”
Cheery sighed. “Um. You haven’t heard about Cohen, then?”
Adrienne’s eyes widened. “I- kind of. I know that… something happened. It's hard to explain. Tell me, please? Don't worry, I'm prepared for whatever's happened, if only in part."
“Um… How?”
“Oh right, we never actually told you. Er. Your father and I see things. Things that haven’t happened yet. But it doesn't happen so often these days-”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. So what, you and dad are like… prophets, or something?”
“If you like. A few nights ago we both saw the same thing: Cohen in a death-like sleep, his eyes swathed in cloth,” there was pleading in Adrienne’s face. “I would like to know why.”
“Come inside. I think you should take this sitting down.”
“…Chrysoprase? But I don’t- why?”
“We don’t know. Carrot and I didn’t witness the fight - we only heard it and found Cohen unconscious afterwards. By then, Chrys was gone. We have no idea where he went, but the Watch are looking for him.”
“The Watch…” Adrienne repeated faintly, “oh my…”
She rallied brilliantly, despite knowing the full terrible truth, and gave her daughter a brave smile.
“He’s in Ankh-Morpork General Hospital, then? Once your father gets home we’ll go see him. Oh, where is that man …”
On the other side of town, Brutha was having an animated conversation with a tombstone at the local cemetery. This would have been taken as a sign of dementia if it hadn't been the final resting place of a Sim known as Terry Discworld.
“…I guess she'll be home soon. Now, maybe. I don’t know when this fiancée of hers will be arriving… in the next few days, I suppose.”
I still don’t really see the problem, Brutha.
“I'm just worried. About me, mostly, about how I'll react. You know. Having them in the house. Seeing them together," he swallowed. "I may be gradually coming to terms with it in my head but when I'm actually faced with it...”
You love your daughter, don't you?
“Well, yes. Very much. I'm just not sure I'll love her fiancée.”
If you love her, nothing else should matter to you. As long as you put her first, you'll come to grips with the situation in no time.
Brutha grinned. “You know, I never thought my dead grandfather would be such a good conversationalist. I wish I’d had a chance to know you better in life…”
D'aww, stop it. If I still had blood, I'd so be blushing. Well, Brutha, I'm almost out of time. Was there anything else?
“I don’t think so- oh, wait. I had another vision. My son, Cohen-”
-Is currently in a coma in Ankh-Morpork General Hospital. Yes, I know.
Brutha recoiled. “A coma? How?”
Let’s just say Chrysoprase doesn’t fight fair.
“Chrys? What's he done?”
I think you should go home to your family, Brutha. They are waiting for you.
“Wait! Tell me about my son!”
But there was no reply apart from the steady patter of water in the pool behind him. Brutha turned and ran for his car as fast as his legs could carry him.
The moment Brutha got home, Cheery gave him a quick run-down. He was crushed to hear of Chrysoprase's actions, but the most important thing now was getting to the hospital and checking that Cohen would be okay.
They arrived shortly after at the hospital, and with a bit of help from the receptionist at the front desk they managed to find Cohen's ward. The room was an unfriendly affair, a dreary blend of crisp whites and greys; flowers in vases tried in vain to inject a little colour into a dull world. Cohen was lying very still in a bed on the far end. A nurse was making up the bed opposite Cohen, and turned when she heard them come in.
“Oh, hello. You must be here to see Cohen.”
“How is he?” Adrienne asked, her brittle voice implying that she may break at any time. Brutha put his arm around her shoulders and gave her a gentle squeeze.
The nurse hesitated for a fraction of a second. “He's stable, but he isn't coming out of that coma, no matter what we do. There’s not much to do except wait for him to wake up,” she said, then added, “you should come see him.”
Adrienne dissolved as she approached the bed. No amount of warning can completely prepare a parent for the full, terrible reality of seeing their child close to death. Cheery sat down in a nearby seat, while Brutha tried desperately to soothe Adrienne.
“Adie, Adie, it’s okay. The nurse said he’s going to be fine. Did you hear me? He’s going to be fine.”
Cheery glanced at the nurse, and noticed a tell-tale change in her expression. As Adrienne gathered her wits, Cheery got up and motioned the nurse over, leading her out the door.
“I'd rather you didn't sugarcoat it. How bad is he?”
The nurse sighed, her face full of regret. “He’s… pretty bad. We get people who have been in brawls in here all the time, but they usually regain conciousness in a matter of hours, or a day at the absolute outmost. Then we patch them up, tell them off and send them home. But Cohen," she shook her head. "There's something else in his system, and we don't know what it is."
"Go on."
"It's some form of poison, which we believe affected his eyes before it got to work on anything else."
“That's why his eyes are bandaged,” Cheery said.
"We're hoping that his eyes will heal sufficiently that he'll be able to see if- when he wakes up. But whatever it is, it's strong. His eyes are all but destroyed and it's the poison that's stopping him from waking up. The doctors are hesitant to get too carried away with medication since we don't know what it is, but you never know. He may be able to fight it on his own."
"And if he can't?"
"Then the outlook is fairly grim."
"Oh, Cohen... Well, thanks for being honest with me, at least."
The nurse nodded. "You deserve to know."
Helplessness ate away at Cheery's insides. Her brother could be dying and she had no way of stopping it. Chrys, do you know what you've done? Where are you?
Before she could dwell on it, Adrienne and Brutha appeared in the doorway, holding each other up. "Come on, Cheery. Let's go home. We should leave Cohen to rest."
The nurse gave them a reassuring smile, a smile that was used the Disc over by people whose professions brought them into daily contact with upset families. "Not to worry, Mr and Mrs Discworld, you should have your son back in a matter of days. We’ll call you if there’s a change in his condition.”
She managed to catch Cheery's eye before she left, and the look on her face transmitted the message: for better or worse.
They hadn’t been home long when Cheery remembered a promise she’d made just before she left Hidden House. Although it was the last thing she wanted to do right now, she said goodbye to her parents and headed out to the suburbs.
The house seemed smaller and quieter than usual when she knocked on the door, and the face that answered was haunted and pale.
“Okay, Bel. I’m here. What do you want?”
Belafon let her in without a word.
With a single glance, she noticed the total lack of sarcastic young PlantSims in the house. “Where are they?”
Belafon wrung his hands fretfully - it looked as though he was making a habit of it of late.
“Gone. They’re gone. Up and left. Cheery, I don’t think I can… I can’t think… can’t…”
“Hush. Calm down and tell me what happened.” Then Cheery noticed a small glass bottle on a table that her first cast around the room had missed.“What’s this?”
“The cause of all my problems.”
“Belafon, tell me.”
“A few days ago… I had been outside, just sitting in the sun and thinking. Then Aspen called me inside. There they were, all lined up, with these bottles in their hands. I asked what was going on… Larkspur said:
‘This is Plantophic-D. Aspen and I have been searching for something to fix us for years, and this is it. If we drink this, we become human.’
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I have never desired to be human, only ever to be accepted for what I am. I refused to drink. But they all did…
“The change was very quick; the chlorophyll faded from their skin and their leaves shrivelled up. I looked at the faces of each of my children, but they were not my children anymore.
“Larkspur said I couldn’t control them now, said they were free to leave the house and live how they wanted. And they left. Just like that. But they left the potion. ‘Just in case’, they said.”
His face screwed up with the effort of holding back the waves of emotion. “Cheery, please- please help me… My children were the only thing that gave me distraction, gave me joy, but now they’re gone, just like my father… like my father…”
“Belafon, forgive me for this, but hasn’t being a PlantSim caused you nothing but trouble from the beginning? That’s why you’ve been living this life, scared to show your face outside for less than a few minutes at a time… I know you want to be accepted for you, but wouldn’t it be easier to just take the cure and start your life as a new person?”
She had been expecting a strong reaction, but if looks could kill, Belafon’s glare would have left her as nothing more than a gently steaming pair of shoes. “You’re against me too, then. I would have hoped, after I let you into my house when you were in trouble at home, and after I paid attention to you as a child, encouraging you to be yourself… but no. I see how it is.”
“Bel, I’m not ‘against you’, so cut it out. Don’t you dare talk like that! It’s just that I agree with Larkspur and Aspen. I wouldn't have agreed to help them if-”
Cheery bit her lip. That last part had slipped out and now she deeply regretted it. Belafon’s eyes widened with an anger unlike any she’d seen. But under the anger, and much worse, was the look of one betrayed.
“You… helped them. You helped them find the cure.”
“Yes,” Cheery said, a little defensively, “not a lot, just some prelim research. I didn’t really-”
“Then you lay the first brick in the road that would lead them away from me.”
“Oh, for gods’ sake. I don’t have time for this drama,” Cheery snarled, her Discworld temper finally shorting out with a sput, “my fiancée is arriving tomorrow, my brother is dying in hospital and instead of preparing for my own life I’m listening to my whiny uncle complaining about how cruel his self-inflicted little world is. This lifestyle is your own doing. It's unhealthy and your children were smart enough to break out of it. So swallow your pride and swallow that damn potion. Being human won’t kill you.”
“I will not degrade myself by changing who I am to better suit society!” Belafon shouted back.
“You sound like my father.”
“Good! He’s a man with strong-will and it’s an honour to be compared with him!”
“I mean it in the worst possible way. You are both as stubborn and intolerant as each other, but at least dad is making an effort not to be!”
“Then he is free to make his own decisions, as I am! So allow me to reiterate: I am not drinking that foul brew. You hear me?!”
The fire burned itself out and Belafon looked down, ashamed.
“I’m sorry I shouted, Cheery. But I have made my choice. Now please, get out of here.”
“Maybe I should. But please, Bel, don’t do anything stupid because of this, okay? You do still have family who care about you.”
Belafon grunted and turned away, making no reply. Cheery took her leave.
She was concerned that the disappearance of his children may tip him over the edge and into a self-destroying spiral. She had no doubt that he needed help, but she could do nothing yet. She was tired, so drained… Didn’t have the energy to spare on this extra piece on unwanted family drama. She focussed on the fact that Debbie would be arriving next morning and allowed herself a smile.
____________________
Predictably, Brutha wasn’t there to greet his soon-to-be daughter-in-law into the family. Adrienne, however, needed no prompting whatsoever and enveloped Debbie in a bear hug as soon as she arrived.
“So this is the famous Debbie, the one my daughter is foolhardily dragging into a Legacy existence! You do know what you’re getting into, don’t you?”
“Of course I do, Mrs D. Cheery has told me what to expect out of the deal.”
“Well, I haven't regretted it yet, and hopefully neither will you! Now come along, I daresay the house has changed since the last time you were here.”
Here it is, for any persons interested in such things. Overall shape hasn’t changed an awful lot since the last picture. Blobby, innit? That’s what I’m getting obsessive over, trying to get rid of at the moment. There are a few too many diagonals and it makes it look shapeless. So now and again I just have a little play in build mode, or just shuffle paintings and stuff around. Just ignore any continuity issues if you see 'em. Thanks.
Adrienne even managed to haul a protesting Brutha out of the woodwork to have a civilised conversation. Debbie couldn’t pretend she wasn’t nervous about this meeting, given the last time she’d met Cheery’s father was that explosive night in the hallway… but he seemed to have mellowed out nicely, if still a little cold.
“It’s good to meet you properly, Mr Discworld.”
“Likewise. I- I hope you enjoy here. I mean, I hope you like the house. Uh- living here, with us. I hope you…”
“It’s okay, I get what you mean. Thanks. Say, you’re a follower of Om, right?”
“Oh, um. I’m not as devout as I was in my younger days, but you could say that.”
“Man, that’s so cool! I love finding out about different religions. And Omniism is such an old and fascinating one. I don’t suppose we could discuss it sometime, could we?”
Brutha looked flattered. “Well, I’m sure I could spare an hour or so to talk about the finer points…”
Adrienne was impressed - pulling the god card was a good move. Yep, Debbie would do just fine in this place.
Okay, I’ve gotten used to old Discworld blokes lusting after their daughters-in-law, and for once I have one who doesn’t… But then Debbie goes and does this. Need I remind you of your smoking hot three bolt fiancee, Debs? Put the bubble away!
I guess it’s time to introduce our spouse properly. Debbie King, Knowledge Aspiration with the LTW to be a Mad Scientist. Can’t remember her personality offhand, except she’s sloppy. It comes as a shock after all my neat-freak Discworlds to have a plate-farter, I can tell you. Her hobby is Nature, but she’s not really that great at it.
“There are just no birds around here! This is so annoying.”
“-Of course, overpopulation is one of the most serious threats facing the Disc today. It simply cannot sustain so much life at the current rate at which populations are growing. No, really, thousands die in Klatch every day of starvation and dodgy plumbing…”
If you’re wondering about the snow… I maybe kinda mighta played the Discworlds with aging off for a few days while it was still winter. I wanted to play them a bit before the story got off and the house was filled with screaming kiddles! Whaaat?
To add to the comment about rubbishness at Nature-enthusiasm, I lovingly fashioned an outdoorsy camping area for Debbie complete with a tent and a fishpond, and she has yet to set foot in it! Adrienne, on the other hand, sneaks off to the tent whenever I’m not paying attention. Get out of there, woman! You’re meant to be into things that go bloop and bleep! Yargh!
There was no rush for Debbie and Cheery to get married, and they whiled away a few days just enjoying each other’s company and gently acclimatising Brutha to their relationship. They generally tried to keep interactions of a romantic nature to a minimum if he was in the room, and thoughtfully got dressed before coming out for breakfast, rather than sauntering about in the ol' grots.
When the wedding day finally came, Cheery faced the morning with a smile. She got up early, trying not to wake Debbie, and started to get ready. This would be a day to remember. The guests started arriving mid-morning, and the festivities began. More or less.
Lauren!
“Wha- oh man, look at that! You made me die, and I'd almost beat Brutha's highscore!”
Get your patookus inside, the ceremony’s about to begin.
“Alright, alright, just one more game…”
Now, missy! Do I have to delete that thing to make you people leave it alone?? Brutha missed his own mother’s death because he was too distracted by saving Ujja the Maiden!
“Don’t forget that the sound of the endless 'kaching kachinging' haunts you in your sleep.“
Yeah, thanks Lauren. Now move!
With only a little bit of help from a stroppy, over-controlling creator, everyone managed to find their seats. The brides looked lovely in matching gowns of powder blue and baby pink (Lauren realised only too late that she was sporting the same dress as Cheery) and even Brutha had to sigh when they exchanged vows.
Sorry about the plumbbob. Plumbbobtoggle off just seemed like too much work then and there… So live with it.
How cool is Brutha, really? Go on, try and read anything but the obvious into this picture. He went straight up to Debbie after the ceremony and congratulated her on getting married. Looks like those endless pages of complicated sub-plot I was working on (*coughnotcough*) about his slow and gradual acceptance of their relationship just got thrown down the gurgler, so I guess all of you owe Bru a big favour for being autonomously awesome!
The party continued in the adjoining room, where Carrot cornered his sister and gave her a ginormiferous hug.
“I’m so happy for you! Congrats, Cheery. I wish Cohen was here.”
Cheery noted down the missing name and returned a friendly squeeze. “Me too. You been up to see him?”
“Of course, whenever I’m not on duty.”
“I forgot! You’re with the Watch now! How’s that working out?”
“Really well. Angua says I might be captain material, and I’m bringing in enough money for Karen and myself to live comfortably.”
Cheery punched him playfully in the arm. “So are you two ever going to get married, or what?”
In the background, Lauren wondered if she could make a break for the buffet table without anyone noticing.
Carrot coughed. “I’m not sure I can. Not after… not after what happened to Cohen. It doesn’t seem right that I should get a wife, job and everything I need while my twin brother loses everything.”
“Oh, knock it off, Carrot! You’re making me feel guilty!”
“Sorry. Not my intention. Besides, you’re the Heiress, you can’t get away with dumb excuses like I can. No, Karen and I are perfectly happy as is for now. Maybe we’ll tie the knot one day, but it depends how things pan out from here.”
“In yur fraemz wiv mah jello, ruinin yur sensitiv famly momentz.”
Lauren dear, you’re not a lolcat. Knock it off. My spellcheck just broke down sobbing in a corner.
I’m not the only one who’s completely not surprised that Cheery’s a smasher, right?
“Mraugh! Cheery, that went up my nose!”
“Awwuh, does ‘oo need a tissoo?”
“You’re going to need a straw to eat your dinner after I’m through with you!”
“Oh, really? Bet you ten bucks I can take you any day.”
Ahh, young love. I’m fairly sure these two shouldn’t be angling to knock each other’s teeth out, but then I could be wrong.
“Ha! Revenge!”
“We shall see who is laughing, my nemesis. 250+ for free cake!”
"Dammit, my carefully laid plans backfired. Guess I'll have to resort to Plan X."
"What happened to plans B to W?"
"X sounds cooler."
"So what does Plan X involve?"
"I haven't decided yet, but you can bet it will be cunning!"
"Haha, Carrot's not even a real ginga."
You got to hand it to him, Gordon is the true life of the party.
Anyway, the party was a Roof Raiser and there was much consumption of alcohol and dancing of slaps. Uh. Or something.
The taxi arrived once the wedding broke up to whisk Cheery and Debbie away to - just as Adrienne had requested that Hogswatch Eve those years ago - Brickstone Retreat.
Of course, the first thing the girls did was work on their tans. Or Debbie did, anyway. Cheery takes after her daddy and is a kindred spirit to yours truly. Why does this happen to my heirs and not their spouses?
Needless to say, Debbie was very smug about what a nice shade of brown she’d gone. Cheery distracted herself by building a sandcastle, which led to Debbie coming along and adding her zero creativity. Gotta love townies.
“I think this is the most defensive position, we should put shell spikes along the outer wall to further slow enemies attacking from the south. And narrow the corridor between the east and west wings, so archers can cover them with arrow fire-”
“-You certainly have a strategic mind, but what’s your defence for when the tide comes in?”
“Hmm… Ninjas. And wizards. And ninja wizards.”
“Uh huh. And bears that shoot lasers out of their eyes too, I guess?”
“Why, yes. Those too! I knew you were good for something.”
They watched the sun set over the bay, a light sizzle of summer rain coming down in a pale haze.
“Well. Here we are.” Cheery said, squeezing Debbie’s hand.
"Seemed at time we'd never get here, didn't it?"
"I'd say it did at that. Debs, I've been thinking."
"That's unusual."
"Don't make me hurt you, love... I've been thinking about kids."
Debbie sucked pensievely at the inside of her cheek. "A subject that's been on my mind too, I must admit. And not just the biological impossibilities of the whole matter."
"Oh, that's not a problem with the wonderful world of hacks. But there's something else."
“Fire away.”
“I was just wondering if… if maybe we could wait a bit. Everything's gone so fast: Cohen and Chrys, coming home, getting married... I was talking to Carrot and he says he hasn't proposed to Karen yet because things don't feel right to him. I guess I'm thinking the same way."
"I totally understand. We've got the rest of our lives to pump out babies and do whatever we're expected to do in this crazy setup, we might as well hold up a little. Your mum might be a bit disappointed, though - Fortune Sim, my right foot."
"Thanks for getting it, Deb. Of course, that doesn't mean we can't get a bit of practice in for when the time comes..."
"Phew! I'm so glad to hear you say that! I was starting to get just a little bit worried."
You look very pleased with yourself. Good night?
“Uh huh. Although the sunburn made things a little bit painful in places-”
Ah, ha, ha, jolly good. Wow, just a tad TMI there Cheers, so howsabout you go have a shower, put some aloe on that burn, get dressed and make yourself some nummy honeymoon pancakes?
"I agree wholeheartedly with everything except the bit about getting dressed."
*mumblemumblenewlywedsmumble*
Only a Discworld could get sunburnt at night. Trufax. I don't know why I bother taking my Sims to a tropical island, I really don't.
The honeymoon passed quickly and rather uneventfully. The newlyweds did all the expected island getaway things. On the last day before they were due to go home, Cheery made one last hopeful and futile attempt to get a tan. It didn't wash, predictably, but at least her attempts didn't lead to my computer asploding this time around. *Is totally not thinking flamey-bubbles about Brutha right now*
After a handy incident involving a hapless super hero and a swimming pool filled with fried fish, Adrienne got her second LTW of earning $100,000 and decided it was time to hang up the Evil Towel of Doom (TM).
“Hello Cragsley, yes it’s Boss. Listen, I just wanted to say what a good henchman you’ve been all these years, especially as I’ve got older… remember that incident when Captain Hero turned up on our doorstep during naptime and I couldn’t find my false teeth? Yeah, that was a close call. Anyway, I won’t be coming in tomorrow- oh no, Cragsley, don’t cry, dear, it's not becoming in an evil henchman. You’ll find another Criminal Mastermind to be enslaved and abused by soon enough. Alright? Good. Oh, and love to Mrs Cragsley and all the Cragslets, goodbye.”
Time passed and wounds began to heal. Debbie got stuck into the neglected garden plot with a row of tomatoes, and was already planning a row of strawberries once she got her hands on the seeds. Cohen had yet to wake from his coma but the family visited him every day regardless, often running into Carrot at the hospital. His condition wasn’t improving, but nor was it deteriorating. It was still anyone’s guess as to which way the seesaw of fate would tilt…
…then one sunny afternoon, it started to wobble, and came crashing down on the Tyre of Family Disaster. (Er. I don't know if it's the same elsewhere, but here in NZ most seesaws are cushioned with a tyre embedded in the ground, hence Tyre of Family Disaster. Just thought I'd explain that in case it makes no sense to anyone. Maybe I should leave out the bizarre metaphors. What? What's that? I should shut up and carry on with the story? What? Oh. Right. Sorry. End parenthis.)
After almost no time at all, Cheery had reached the top of Law Enforcement, which put a huge boost into her general view on life, not to mention her aspiration. When she got home, she proceeded to perform that age-honoured dance of Family Sims near and far which tends to make Simmers near and far snarl and break out the three speed.
But she so wanted to share her news.
She had expected them to look happy.
She hadn’t expected her mother to burst out of the house with tears leaving snailtrails down her cheeks.
Adrienne stopped a few paces away, breaking down.
“Ch-Cheery, the doctors just rang… Cohen is- th-they said he’s getting wor-worse. They don’t-don’t know what happened but they think he’s… not going to…”
And just like that, a day which should have been adrift in a sea of alcohol and celebration found itself overboard and drowning in a lake of family turmoil. Sucks when that happens.
The story gallumphs onwards here! Clickity.