DOARS- Week 8 Day 7- G-nomes

Welcome Back!
Last time on DOARS, Raquel used the cure on her parents, Rommich offered to help her, and she refused, and she was awarded prom queen. Also behind the scenes, she was supposed to grow up last night, but the game glitched and prolonged her teenage life an extra day... drat. Which means that she ALMOST got arrested for breaking curfew while I was staging the pictures.

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Now the continuation....
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Dear Diary,


I know last night I ended my diary entry abruptly. I wasn't sure how to describe what happened. After my parents were cured from their zombification we fled back to our home as quickly as we could, whether that was due to their eagerness to see see their house again or an actual danger with staying at simHenge after the attack on Tony I don't know. We left so quickly that I didn't even get a good look at them, but something wasn't right. In the darkness and the dimming moon, I couldn't see what it was, but I just knew, something had gone wrong.

It wasn't until we got home that I saw what had happened. They weren't zombies anymore, but they weren't exactly sims either.
I felt a mix of conflicting emotions that didn't make sense to my logical mind; my parents are aliens. Aliens. Without discussing the why or the how, I felt like they weren't the same. They weren't really my parents. I'm a sim through and through, so how could my parents be aliens? They couldn't be. And yet, they were. I felt obligated to love them as much as I did, and guilty that I didn't.

I suddenly saw the value of having sim test subjects instead of just alien test subjects. Whatever happened to cure them re-wrote their genetic code in stead of resetting it. It was at once fascinating and heart breaking. I knew that I should be happy that my parents were back, happy that they were no longer dead and happy that Tony was (hopefully) dead or dying. Well, the last one did make me happy.

This emotional side of myself had now betrayed me twice in regards to my parents. It almost destroyed me when they died, and now this. I yearned for the ability to control my feelings and my emotions. To love who I wanted and feel indifferent when I wanted. I wanted to love my parents as much if not more than ever, but I couldn't. The emotional entity that helped make up my personality felt a peculiar lack of anything for these new people. When I looked at them I felt... nothing. I think it would be less unsettling if I felt repulsed. This lack of anything gave me nothing to work with and mold.

If their new state of being bothered them, they didn't show it. When we got home there were lots of tears and hugs and kisses, and I tried not to be bothered by emotional displays of people who felt like strangers. I'm sure they noticed that. Thus my guilt builds. I feel again completely unprepared for this outcome.

Story of my life, right? Me not being prepared for what's happening. I should get used to that. They're still my parents, does it matter that they're green and hairless? It shouldn't and maybe someday it won't.

These would be impostors did tell me that they thought Tony would be considerably weakened by their cure. Apparently their being cured during the full moon contaminated his web of zombies and his connection to sims. They didn't believe that it had destroyed him, but it had come awfully close and over time the contamination would grow in strength, much like a computer virus. They said that it should only be a matter of time before he became incapable of interacting with the physical world.
That wasn't good enough for me.

But, it was good enough for that night. I was tired, confused, and more than a little disappointed, so at my parent's urging I went to bed and tried to fall asleep. Surprisingly I fell asleep very quickly despite my racing thoughts. I imagine there was some sort of alien influence in that.

That morning my mother was doing laundry. That kind of put things in perspective for me. Of course, she was still my mother, I knew that, but seeing her do what she always did and pick her routine back up, really made it hit home. Knowing my mother, she was probably freaking out more than I was about her new form, just trying to hide it from the rest of us. I bet if I went into the bathroom our toothpaste would be almost gone if not completely so. We always kept lots of backups for just such occasions.

Although it couldn't make up for the strangeness, this was a step in the right direction.


There was gardening to do, which my parents did together. I watched them for a little while and yes I'm slightly ashamed to admit that I watched them because I worried about their reactions to each other. Would it be weird for my dad that my mom was an alien now? And vice versa, of course. Well, as aliens don't sleep, they had several hours to get used to it as I slept, and if they were weirded out by it, they didn't show it.

That reassured me. They were people, after all, and if they lost not only their connection to their daughter but also their connection to each other, that would be tragic. I would feel for them, even if it was more of a compassion for others than a familial love that moved me to pity them. As it was, though, they seemed happy together and solid in their relationship. Good for them.

With all their new free time, they enjoyed some of their favorite activities together. I hope that someday I can have that with someone. Lynn and Cycl0n3 have been married forever, but they still make time to spend together. And I bet if I asked them who they enjoyed spending time with the most, they would say each other. My dad is even resigned to the fact that he will never ever win a game of hopscotch. If that's not love then I don't know what is.

Just kidding, heheh. I do realize that there's more to it than just that.


The happy couple were a sight to see as they worked out. Their green skin was on display for all to see, well I hope the neighbors don't gawk too much. Though they should probably just get used to it, I mean, between working out and gardening, my parents spend a lot of time outside.

I suppose that applied to me, I should just get used to it, too. I live with them after all. Mmm. I hadn't thought of that. I will be an adult soon, and I'm ashamed to say that a big part of me wants to run away and deal with this from afar where I can forget it if I wish. That's really irresponsible, but I don't know if that side of me will win or not. Will I be able to resist that temptation?

The ambassador was judging me. I could see it in his beady little eyes. He was disappointed in me. As a savior of the alien race, he expected more of me. So disappointed was he that he would not even mention my offence, instead he told me to call Rommich for "alien lessons" when I moved the laundry to the dryer.
Did he mean for me or for them?



Either way, I could recognize a good idea when I saw one. With a situation as complicated as this, it was plain to see we could use a little alien help.

Rommich however was neck deep in the dezombification process and couldn't make the trip to our planet today, but he'd be available tomorrow. I think he could hear how urgently I needed his help, though, because he leave me with some advice: to just be honest with them. I thanked him halfheartedly and ended the conversation.

I don't know if I'm brave enough to do that.

My mother went back to work this afternoon. I'm not sure how the Llamas will feel about having an alien show up as Lynn Sw0rd, but I suppose she is Lynn Sw0rd so maybe that will make up for it.


That left me alone for several terrifying hours with the man that was my father. After an awkward conversation about my mother's skin color, I busied myself with something else in my room. Well, I surfed the web. Yes, I know, I am a coward. I could have spent that time getting reacquainted with my father, or learning how it felt to be a zombie, if he even remembered. And if he did remember, I might have even been able to learn more about Tony and how the war had gotten started.

As I surfed the web, guilt ate away at me. I'm a terrible daughter.

Do vegetables taste the same or have you been drawn to a carnivorous diet?

My mother came home that evening with my brother in tow. He was sickeningly okay with this new development. He found as fascinating and intriguing as I should have.



That evening I became an adult.

It was time to be done with this childish foolery. These were my parents. They hadn't changed who they were, just what they looked like and their sleeping habits. If I continued to let myself pull away, I would regret it. If it didn't drive me mad this life stage or the next, then when I was at the end of my life it would and I would never get the opportunity to make it right. If not family, then what was the most important thing in life? Feelings? Pesky emotions? Scientific Research? Vengeance on Tony?

None of those things mattered if I didn't have my family around me.

I took Rommich's wise advice and told my parents how they were feeling. My mom patted me on the head and suggested spending the night all together as a family, doing family things, and while she made dinner my dad explained more of the technical differences between sims and aliens.


And then my mother entered the final stage of her life.

... and finished making dinner.

I told my father how much I wanted to love them, and although it wasn't ideal, he was understanding and comforting about the whole thing.


I think we're going to be okay.


With just the three of us sitting around our living room, there's something missing, and I don't mean just my brother and Pat. My parents are going to be gone, and sooner than I'd like. It's never too soon to start planning a family of my very own.

Family planner extraordinaire (someday!)

-Raquel Sw0rd

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Sorry for the delay in posting! Apparently this chapter was only half written.

Raquel has officially taken over, we now have to follow her rules... oh boy, homemade is in full swing. (Hence Lynn making dinner in this chapter)