Sara-Beth should do this more often and remember that her brother will be out of school in just a couple of years. Yes, there is life at the end of the tunnel. And she’s not that old, well, for the time, maybe. (She’s only in her late twenties.) She’s got a lot of living left to do.

Thanks, Winter!

Raven’s character is fascinating. She has a modern vibe that reminds me of friends of mine who were working mothers earlier than planned – run a bit ragged, making everything work, but hanging in with their personality intact. Yet, she’s not out of place for the setting. In fact, thinking of the friends she reminds me of, they would probably be playing matchmaker, too. It’s a natural expression of trying to be helpful in their reality.

Sara-Beth seems really run down (though I’d bet she cleans up nicely.) She and Darin could do with a talk, but I’d guess it wouldn’t help much. They both have shown a certain stubbornness so far about the other, that neither of them wants less than the best for the other, their own lives be damned. If all goes as planned, Darin will see the value of it all in the end, but it wouldn’t hurt Sara-Beth to not take things too seriously herself. If love affairs are too bothersome, more time spent as at Casa Raven would at least be a start. There will be life after shoving Darin through school and she might as well be prepared.

I think they’re both a little wrong, Sara-Beth shouldn’t be so resigned and Raven probably shouldn’t be quite so pushy, but they’re both pretty right. I think that it will get mentioned to Darin (who might figure it’s just friends of his sister taking pity on him, cause that’s his MO,) but if it gets him even a little off Sara-Beth’s case it’s worth it.

Unfortunately on catastrophic failure of the ceiling where he’s standing or relocation of Brother Loki will get it so Darin doesn’t have to see him first thing, and I doubt we’ll get that, but we can hope!

Yep, Reggie is a du Lac, but I doubt he knows that he’s descended from Betsy, that’s a long ways back to trace his family history, and I doubt that he is all that interested genealogy.

Thanks, Morgaine!

And Sara-Beth and Raven have such a great friendship! Sara-Beth really needs somebody like Raven in her life, so I’m glad she has Raven. I just wish she’d listen more to her. Hopefully she’ll at least listen to Eric and will tell Darin that he’ll get at least one good apprenticeship thanks to his education. Even if Darin doesn’t quite understand/Sara-Beth won’t tell him that his education is an investment that’s taking time to mature, maybe he’ll calm down a little knowing that he’s got a good chance for a decent future.

Though he still does have to deal with Brother Loki first thing every morning. … I’m sorry, Darin, I can’t help you with that one.

Also, Reggie’s a du Lac? In-ter-est-ing … I like it. Even if it was completely random, it fits. (The Pelles fits, too, methinks.)

(… Does Reggie know he’s descended from a saint?)

Anyway, great update! Can’t wait to see the profile pages once you get them up!

Sara-Beth and Darin do need to talk, unfortunately, Darin is a pessimist and he thinks that Sara-Beth is being overly optimistic about his chances for employment post school. She’s not really. He attends the most prestigious school in Albion. (Hey, I figure if the monks of St. Hugh know anything, it’s how to give someone an education… And this is one of only like two or three Academies run by the Hughians.) Despite it’s um… dodgy staff, it’s got excellent curriculum and the people who don’t succeed after graduating tend to be the sort of well-born dunces who wouldn’t succeed no matter who was teaching or what they were being taught.

And pairing that with the fact that Darin is clever, a hard worker, and wouldn’t sit around on his laurels even were he presented with the opportunity to do so, if anything Sara-Beth is underestimating what Darin can accomplish if he finishes.

Sara-Beth, however, is in the uncomfortable position of being both parent and sibling to Darin and some of the stuff that Raven could say to her kids Sara-Beth just doesn’t feel right turning onto Darin. But, I promise, in the not to terrible far away future this particular issue will more or less resolve itself.

Sara-Beth could definitely use a break. I don’t know when she’ll get one, but she could definitely use one.

As for Raven, it’s not just that Raven thinks that Sara-Beth could work less if she just got married. Match-making is something of a hobby of Raven’s. (It’s a bit of an ode to her inspiration. After all you’ve created some great pairings in Naroni.) She has this compulsive urge to want to get in and fix things. (Which is not nearly so much an ode to her inspiration.)

To Raven, Sara-Beth is a lovely, wonderful person who deserves a happily-ever-after and damn it, if Raven can arrange that, she doesn’t see any reason why she shouldn’t meddle in the affairs of her friends and neighbors.

However, simple meddling is not going to solve the problem here. And you’re right, she really probably ought to not meddle in the first place, it’s likely to get her burned.

We’ll meet Reggie in the not too far off future, but I don’t think it’s any spoiler to say he’s actually more a Scallywag of the Graybeard variety. (Far bigger fish than Simon is at this point in time.) It’s possible that somewhere in his past he has some Simon blood, after all it’s been five hundred years, but no, Reggie is actually a du Lac/Pelles. (Gotta love what a random roll will do for you!)

As for the ancestors of Raven and Eric, they are a Chausseur/Porter and a Tower/Pelles respectively. That reminds me, I should really get the profiles I have done up sometime soon. If my brother’s dumb dog hadn’t creamed my knee it would be so much easier to get that done… (You were so right when you said knee injuries are like the 80’s celeb of aches.)

Thanks, Van!

Daaamn, those kids are absolutely their mother’s! Johnny continues to charm with his antics and Anna-Marie doesn’t take anything lying down. And nice job on Eric, by the way.

Sara-Beth and Darin do need to have a talk. Darin needs to realize that his getting an education is not holding Sara-Beth back, that it would indeed benefit them both, and Sara-Beth could use a break (though from the sounds of it, that’s not likely to happen any time soon). I think Raven should maybe mind her own business about the Reggie thing, and Sara-Beth’s love life in general, but I can understand her concern for her friend, especially given the financial situation and that in this time and place, marrying for money is a completely valid and socially acceptable solution as long as you don’t aim too high.

That said, I’m curious to meet this Reggie, whether he and Sara-Beth get back together or not. He sounds like a scallywag of the Simon variety (is he maybe a descendent of Simon?).

I noticed in one of your replies on the last post that you roll Albion ancestries? Might I inquire as to the ancestors of Raven and Eric?