Family Matters

Summer 7, Sat (Mar 25)

Tae: Listen, I have a feeling Auntie Megumi invited me here to meet my mother. If that’s true, do not–I repeat, do not–ask her for a selfie!
Juwon: Not even one selfie of her with you? Please?
Tae: If you can’t control yourself, Juwon, you need to go home now.
Juwon: *disappointed

Tae: Auntie Megumi, my apologies for arriving late.
Megumi: No problem at all, Tae. Juwon, nice to see…oh no you di’int!
Juwon: Huh?
Megumi: You were about to enter our home without removing your shores? *glares
You do remember I’m a Proper sim, don’t you?

Megumi: *still having words with Juwon who's being stubborn Tae: After all these years, why now? Brytani: I think of you all the time, feeling I lost the right to meet you. But every time I meet Megumi, she tells me what you’ve been doing and how I’d be so proud of you. She’s right–I’m really proud of you. I wish I’d reached out to you sooner. Can you ever forgive me? Tae: M-m-may I call you Mama? Brytani: I would love it.

Tae: It’s been so hard growing up without you, Mama. I wish… *autonomously starts crying
Brytani: There, there, Tae. We’ll  have lots of time to spend together. And when Megumi called me last week about meeting you, I decided to bring along two sims you need to meet.
Tae (still in tears): Two sims?
Brytani: Yes, Jun spends a lot of time abroad on artistic residencies but he happened to be in town so…

Brytani: Meet Jun Isezaki, legendary potter and your biological father. You two look so much alike!
Tae: My father? And who’s that behind him playing chess?
Brytani: That’s Chiyo, our daughter and your twin sister. Not your identical twin, obviously.
Tae: But I thought he never knew about me, Mama?
Brytani: I gave birth to twins while Jun was overseas. Since family-oriented Jun was going into artistic seclusion as soon as he returned, I convinced him to take Chiyo without telling him about you. I’d planned to raise you myself, Tae, but you know how that turned out.

Juwon (to himself): No wonder Auntie Megumi told Tae I would feel out of place here today. I should’ve taken the hint and stayed home with Sasuke. Too late to leave now, so I’ll make dinner for the family reunion, I guess..

Tae: What a surprise that I have a twin sister! Chiyo: Same! Mama and Auntie Megumi never told Papa and I about you until last week. Uh, welcome to the family? Tae: So, what do you like to do? I love cooking, pottery, and flower arranging the most. Chiyo: Haha, you’re just like Papa!

Jun: What can I say to make up for all the years of your life that I missed? If I’d known about you, I would’ve immediately wanted you to come live with me and Chiyo. Tae: I understand that we can’t change the past, Mr. Isezaki, but it would mean so much to me if we could be a family from now on. Jun: What’s this "Mr. Isezaki" business? Please call me Father or Papa. How do you feel about taking my family name Isezaki? I think Lee was part of your former “disguise.” Juwon (to himself): Great, now I’m attracted to Chiyo. *runs over to watch TV in the next room

Jun: Admit it, babe! You grew your hair out just for me! You’re as gorgeous as ever, Brytani: And you’re just as devastatingly good-looking as the day I first met you. *blushes Jun: Still, I wish you’d reconsider letting Chiyo stay with you during my 5-week artistic residency in the Thebe Kingdom. Tae: I have a good friend in Thebe named Grand Duke Thiago Abrantes. Jun: Socially connected as well, eh Tae? Tae: No, Papa, he often visited Heart & Soul studio to learn pottery.

Brytani: I’m really sorry, Jun, but I’m the wrong sim for Chiyo to stay with. Not only do I never cook, but I’m constantly out and about, my comedy gigs last really late, and…and... Jun (gently): I get it, Brytani. You’re saying you can't look after Chiyo like a mother should. But Chiyo will be a young adult in another week. Megumi offered to let Chiyo stay here, but she already has three kids of her own.

Brytani: *some weird thought bubble
Tae: I have no idea what Mama’s talking about, Papa, but Chiyo’s welcome to stay with me while you're away.
Jun: That might work. You’ll both be young adults in a week!
Tae: And based on past experience, I could also help Chiyo become an A student and earn all her scout badges before our birthdays.

Chiyo: What do you think, Auntie Megumi? You know my brother better than my parents do.
Megumi: I think you’d enjoy life with Tae. He’s already earned two university degrees and he’s also an accomplished artist. If only my son Kiyoshi were that diligent!
Chiyo: Tae sounds like a workaholic to me. He really does take after Papa.
Megumi: It’s true Tae’s very driven but he also has a great group of close friends who often invite out the whole group to kick loose and have fun.
Chiyo: Friends who know how to have a good time? Well, that’s the clincher for me! Tae, I’m in!

(Watcher: A short break while I check that Chiyo knows Tae is her brother. Okay, we’re all good.)
Chiyo: Well, if Tae’s gonna help me be all that in the next week, we better be off, right, Tae?
Tae: Truth, Chiyo. Mama, I hope we’ll spend more time together soon. Papa, have a great stay in Thebe and rest assured that Chiyo will be fine with me. And Auntie Megumi, you have my deepest gratitude for arranging this family reunion for me.

Tae: It’s Saturday evening, so please start two school projects for Juwon and me to help with while you do your homework. Chiyo: We’re the same age, Tae! You gonna be bossing me around all the time? Tae: Nope, no homework or school projects tomorrow. We’ll be moving around so you can work on your badges. Juwon (to himself): Hmmm, so Chiyo is a Cat Lover…

Watcher's notes: *First of all, I apologize for this new storyline just as Juwon's about to leave. My monitor issue means I missed out on four blog posts, forcing me to streamline the contents of my end-of-March blog posts. *I'm a huge fan of Brytani Cho. I aged Brytani Cho down to YA in my save so she won't be an elder when Tae ages up to YA. *Since Jun is supposed to be away, I saved him to MyLibrary and deleted him from my save. I don't want him popping up to visit Tae and Chiyo. I'll download him back into Tae's simverse in mid to late April. *Tae is assuming his father's family name Isezaki.