The Culling: The Maker's Notes (Chapter 7.5)

With the dreams of unlocking chef dashed because I thought Glenna needed only six gourmet skill points as a teen...I have had to shift my focus to unlocking the author skill so that books can be ordered from the bookshelf.

The libraries and the bookstores are gone. Only stray books can be found these days. If your Sim wants to read more than the handful of books that come with new bookshelves, they had better hope they  know a local author or write one themselves.

You may not order books from bookshelves or online, and may not visit library lots (even if visiting other lots is otherwise allowed).
Completion
The written word is indeed powerful and your prolific author has penned enough books to restock the entire region and setup an ordering service for sims to buy books from the outside world. The money earned from all this is used to rebuild the regional libraries.

The maker is not pleased at this latest development. I am beyond frustrated with myself.

Gemini: The Crime Boss (Chapter 7)

Glenna gave a low moan. She never dreamed that she would be giving birth to her first baby in the basement of a bunker—alone. 

With phone lines down, there was no time to call Ames back from work and it was entirely too dangerous for Glenna to make the trip from her bunker to her mother's campsite.

She was alone but she wasn't about to let Ames down. She grit her teeth and determined to deliver him a healthy child.  After several agonizing hours, little Harper Willow made her appearance. 

Ames and Glenna were overjoyed with the birth of their first daughter and set about caring for her to the bet of their ability. It's most important for the Willow children to help right society.

Time went on and before they knew it, Harper was a sweet toddler and Glenna was promoted to Sous Chef. Which is when she realized that there was a fatal flaw in her plans to max chef. Though she had maxed cooking skills...she had not maxed her gourmet cooking skills. Which means that she cannot complete the chef career. With a heavy heart, she broke the news to Ames and put in the paperwork to request a career change to become a writer. Though her plans had changed, she was determine to also see the library restored so that her daughter had the best chance to succeed.

Hours after this major upset, Glenna realized that she was pregnant with her second child. Ames was concerned as to whether there would be enough harvestable food for the four of them. But, he was also happy.

With Harper's birthday just around the corner and this baby due to arrive in eight more months...Glenna is hopeful that she will have advanced to the top of her career so that she can devote time to mentoring her children.

Will she successfully restore the library to it's former glory or will all of her efforts be for nought?

Gemini: The Crime Boss (Chapter 6)

Glenna stretched to relieve her aching muscles. The bed had been more uncomfortable than usual. In fact, Glenna couldn't remember feeling every spring in the mattress. It didn't help that she had been sick for the last three weeks. All day, every day.

Still, things were good. Glenna smiled as she considered how life had changed for her and Ames. They were growing closer and enjoying each other's company.  Her face flushed as she thought on how they spent their evenings together.

Still, there were plenty of challenges to overcome. Repairing the gas lines and electric grid to bring fresh food back to the region was top priority. Especially since Glenna began to suspect that their family would be growing.  If her calculations were correct and her nausea was any indication, she had seven months to make appeals, advance her career and drum up support for the food and power restoration act. Already she had made friends with several local politicians. Only two things stood in their way—Maverick Willow and a solid plan that was ready to implement.

Anarchist, under the control of Ames' brother, Maverick, kept local politicians too afraid to make changes, even if they were ready to move forward.  Ames' began to work harder than ever to take down Anarchist. Though, playing the role of bad-guy was very taxing on him, emotionally and spiritually. 

Still, there was no choice. To restore order, Maverick Willow had to be overthrown and no one could get close to do that except for Ames. He had the connections, the family name and the know-how.

Months passed, Glenna and her mother were able to grow close to one another. There was so much to make up for and still there were questions that neither of them could answer.  Such as why Mirabella Grimm showed no signs of aging, why she rescued Glenna or what her role was—if any—in the downfall of Windenburg.  Who was responsible for the culling and the rise of Gemini?

Heidi shared the fears she had after giving birth to Glenna. The dreams that had plagued her and the deep sense of loss that she had.  Was her depression a result of the traumatic birth or had Mirabella done something to her that day? Oh, how she wished she could remember!

Time marched steadily on, each day brought them closer to the birth of their first baby as well as to each other. Glenna did in fact change her name, much to the delight of her mother who was pleased that her daughter had found someone to love.  The Montgomery family was no more. But, it felt right. One thing Ames' and Glenna knew was certain, their love for one another would carry each other through any secret that they would uncover.