A Bunch of Flowers (A ‘Who’s Your Daddy?’ Project)

[hazelnut]

That's what They want you to think: much easier to get away with murder if you look that silly.

Come to think of it, that burglar of yours must have been one of Their star performers .

It's a good place to hide stolen goods, too - no Super Spy's going to mess up their pretty evening wear digging through sandpits.

Oh, of course .  Hadn't thought of that one - although some of the criminal outfits don't look all that hardwearing either .

[Ausette]

Oh dear, that limo ride . Best of luck in Bridgeport, I can't wait to see the new kids!

[hazelnut]

Hi, Ausette.  Nice to see you around again .

I suppose they don't usually do much in limos but that ride did look particularly awkward. I'm sure it can't have been physically comfortable for Morgan, either, with his wings sticking out through the side of the car 

[hazelnut]

The Search for Desert Dad

Wintergreen became a teenager.

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Once again, Ally offered to tutor him to give him a head start at school.  They’d barely got started when…

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Ally suffers badly from morning sickness, which is very unfortunate from her point of view (especially given the challenge she's doing) but great from mine, since the pregnancies get confirmed long before the spin.  This time, she was even worse than usual.  It’s just as well Sim pregnancies are so short – the poor woman did very little other than throw up for the next day or two  .

Valerian aged up for the first time.

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I’m not sure where that hair’s come from – it’s certainly not a standard colour but doesn’t match either parent.  I thought his skintone looked a little unusual, so popped him into CAS to check and, yes, he’s inherited his grandfather Shorty-John’s very light red skin.


The teenagers went to prom together with their friend Bronson Littler, who’d come home from school with them.  Or, at least, they did after they’d finished getting stuck in the gate.

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The boys didn’t seem to know what to make of Bronson’s formalwear.  They spent a lot of time staring at his clothes but I couldn’t make out whether they were envious or quite the opposite.

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Iris knew what she thought – although someone who goes out on a warm summer’s night in a coat and scarf isn’t perhaps the best judge of other people’s clothing choices.

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(Sorry these pictures are so dark, by the way – this version of Bridgeport seems to be particularly murky and the house is a long way away from the bright lights of the town centre.)

At last, the Pregnancy from Hell came to an end.

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The baby was named Fluellen, which seemed appropriate for the son of a scriptwriter (but no, he won’t speak with a ‘comedy’ Welsh accent when he grows up).

The teens had been left in charge of the younger ones.  Oddly, Sage, the eccentric alien genius, tends to be much better with the babies than Wintergreen, who is supposedly family-oriented and nurturing.  Maybe he’s secretly inherited his dad’s dislike of children anyway.

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As soon as the new baby Flower was settled into the nursery, Edelweiss had a birthday cake and left it.

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And somebody else also joined the household, although only Edelweiss could see him.

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Sadly, even Eryngo’s human doesn’t have much time for him – he’s an ambitious loser, which seems like a really sad combination of traits, and Edelweiss isn’t exactly riveted by his choice of conversational topics.


Alison decided that she deserved a holiday in the sun.

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A working, looking-for-potential-fathers holiday, obviously.   This time, she didn’t limit herself to the single men…

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…or even to the living.

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Although even Ally seemed to hesitate at the prospect of flirting with a half-naked married man.  In his bedroom.  With his wife present.  Not that she let that hold her up for long.

Every single person she met was attracted to her: she could have had a whole string of half-Egyptian babies – and there were plenty of women who’d have been happy to pair up as well.  The leading candidate emerged when Hassan Badawi told her his star sign.  Yes!  A Leo at last!

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Ally cut short her holiday, returned home and invited Hassan to visit.  It didn’t go well.

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Hassan was far more interested in Ally’s books, TVs, computers and new games room than he was in her – and Ally seemed oddly reluctant to use her usual methods.  After all, Rainia Badawi was her best friend.  Eventually, she pulled herself together.  It wasn’t as though she was stealing Rainia’s husband, really.  Just… borrowing him for a while.

At last, she managed to catch up with Hassan just after he’d fallen off the climbing wall and did her best to distract him from his bruises...

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…but he insisted that he was too tired for anything more than a kiss and took himself off to the spare bedroom to sleep.

In the morning, she finally persuaded him to join her in the bathroom.

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Even then, he seemed to have the impression that she was merely offering him the use of her shower.  Ally wasn’t going to be put off that easily.  She opened the shower door, squeezed in and made her intentions known.  Chimes first time!  Thank goodness.

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I don’t think either of them enjoyed it particularly.  Ally marched off to the kitchen with a very determined look on her face.  And as for Hassan, he got dressed and promptly reset back to his home in Al Simhara.


Tired after the pursuit of Hassan, I left everyone on free will for a while.  Billy showed off his ball-control skills to Alison…

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(Incidentally, what could she possibly be learning here?)

…until I remembered he had a job opportunity to complete and sent him off to the science lab.  Wintergreen offered his mother a massage…

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…while Sage spent the evening failing to make potions.  (I forgot to take any screenshots but he somehow managed to get singed four times in a single evening, which may be some kind of record.  A bad kind.)

Edelweiss had gone round to the Hemlocks’ after school.  It was no surprise how she and Belisama chose to spend their time once their homework was finished  .

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After a few hours, I realised that Billy ought to be home by now and found him, still at the lab.

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And poor Valerian, abandoned by the rest of the family, passed out on the nursery floor.

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[KRae]

Yes, Billy, meditate. It may just be your salvation.

[Malley]

Although even Ally seemed to hesitate at the prospect of flirting with a half-naked married man.  In his bedroom.  With his wife present.  Not that she let that hold her up for long.

That was quite comical. Even Ally has her standards 

[Ausette]

So many Egyptian men! I'm impressed you narrowed it down. Looking forward to meeting the nooboo.

On a side note, I always love the aesthetic of your stories. The design of the house and the clothes on the kids are just lovely.

[hazelnut]

Yes, Billy, meditate. It may just be your salvation.

Although even Ally seemed to hesitate at the prospect of flirting with a half-naked married man.  In his bedroom.  With his wife present.  Not that she let that hold her up for long.

That was quite comical. Even Ally has her standards 

She did seem quite disconcerted.  Whoever-he-was (Raffi Barakat, I think) was fine with it.  As was his wife  .

So many Egyptian men! I'm impressed you narrowed it down. Looking forward to meeting the nooboo.

I believe she flirted with every man in Al Simhara - but Hassan was the obvious choice for the Egyptian father because he was the only Leo.  (She's already met a couple of Aries men at home in Bridgeport, so the completion of the zodiac cluster is in sight.)

On a side note, I always love the aesthetic of your stories. The design of the house and the clothes on the kids are just lovely.

Wow, thank you  .  That's one of the things I love about your stories.   I think you're a much better builder than I am and I love the way you use patterns.

The kids' clothes are all based on the flowers they're named after, sometimes (as with Mignonette and Iris) influenced by their personalities.

[hazelnut]

Birthdays Galore

Suddenly, there was a spate of birthdays.  First Sage aged up to young adult.

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He could have had his cake a day or two earlier but I wanted to keep him around, partly because I like him so much, partly because he was so good with the little ones and partly because I was hoping he’d make me some IF Metamorphium (which he did, just before ageing up).  He left behind his school mementoes – the molecular model will stay until the end of the game because it suits the space-themed room so well.

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Fluellen became a unique-looking toddler (to put it kindly).

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Ally absolutely adored him, though, rolling even more wishes than she had with Poppy.

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Valerian reached childhood…

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…and a second imaginary friend joined the family.  This is Vetch.

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Val mostly seems to look worried, which is odd for a brave Sim.  Maybe it’s all those monsters he keeps finding under beds.

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Wintergreen completed his teen requirements at top speed and moved out only a day after Sage…

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…and Iris qualified for an early age-up to teen.

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Being Iris, that’s probably the only time you’ll see her in her everyday outfit.

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See what I mean?

Ally concluded her run of Fluellen-centric wishes by wanting to see him age up well.  Since she’d already taught him all his skills and he was such a weird-looking toddler, he too had an early cake.

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I think he’s probably going to grow up to look exactly like his father, apart from having Ally’s hair colour.  I put him in glasses because he looked as though he needed them, although that style is the only one where his nose doesn’t stick through the lenses 

For some reason, he didn’t have to go to school the following day.  Instead, he had private tutoring from Ally…

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…and then taught himself to bake.

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Fluellen (I’m trying hard not to shorten it to Flu   ) is already developing a definite personality.  As well as being the first child to play spontaneously with the oven, he’s the keenest gamer since Al the nerdy genie.  Edelweiss usually gets roped in as his opponent, which means that poor Eryngo gets even less of her attention than before.

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Lotus, the Egyptian baby, arrived…

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…and her father finally came to visit again.  Ally had been inviting him every day since his disappearance but, despite saying he was coming, he’d never actually turned up.  Since the relationship transmogrifier only seems to work within the current town, I was beginning to think that Ally would have to go back to Al Simhara to break up with him.

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She tried to tell Hassan about his baby daughter but he was far too busy raving about the delights of Stu Surprise to listen.  She dumped him on the spot, added a few more mean interactions for good measure and sent him back to Egypt.  Rainia was welcome to him.


Amusingly, Wintergreen’s beard kept changing to white in CAS and I have a feeling it may revert again now that he’s moved out of the active household.  The Santa genes are clearly very strong .

[KRae]

Yes, Edelweiss, I'd keep an eye on Iris too.

[Ausette]

Aaah Fluellen is the cutest! Love the big nose. He's going to be an adorable adult too.

And I didn't even realise you were basing their clothes on their names, that's so cute!

[Malley]

Wow, Sage turned out to be quite the looker! I'm going to miss him 

[Trip]

To Fluellen's credit, he's the first kid in a while who doesn't look like a clone of Ally.

[hazelnut]

Yes, Edelweiss, I'd keep an eye on Iris too.

  She is quite impressively mad.  She even seems to be affecting the rest of the household.

Aaah Fluellen is the cutest! Love the big nose. He's going to be an adorable adult too.

He's certainly a cute kid.  (He's not yet a teenager in-game.)  I'm warming to him more and more.

Wow, Sage turned out to be quite the looker! I'm going to miss him 

He did.  He's not quite as pretty in his natural bald state but still a huge improvement on his dad:



For once, I'm glad about Ally's genes being so determined.

To Fluellen's credit, he's the first kid in a while who doesn't look like a clone of Ally.

True.  That nose of hers is ridiculously dominant - and most of them seem to get her lips as well.  Although it's looking as though Lotus and the kid after her are also going to take after their fathers more (fingers crossed).

[hazelnut]

Eccentric Behaviour

I had two men already lined up as Ally’s next partners but then, on a whim, sent her off into town instead to meet someone that Edelweiss had befriended while out chasing butterflies (for some reason, four children in a row have had the Butterfly Bonanza opportunity).

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She was delighted to find that Mick was also a great kisser (it was Ally’s graduation trait. Just the thing for a technology major  )…

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…and even more delighted to discover his star sign (which I already knew – thanks, Sims Wiki).

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She invited him over at once.

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(Those bridge supports look worryingly corroded to me.  Must be the smog.)

Then, as soon as they were inside the gates, she tried out that double-great kiss.  Fortunately, the paparazzi were temporarily absent.

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Since she’d been having trouble conceiving recently and the family was now quite indecently rich, she’d bought a new bed, purely for recreational (and indeed, procreational) purposes, and was eager to try it out.
 
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Chimes first time.  On the evidence so far, the bed’s living up to its reputation.  (I bought High-End Loft Stuff right after the base game but I think it’s the first time I’ve used the heart bed.)

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Rainia Badawi, meanwhile, was trying to get back at her unfaithful husband.  She turned up in Bridgeport and invited Billy on a date.  Since he was about to go to work, I told him to turn her down.  I rather regret that: I’d have liked to have seen what happened.


In other news, Iris wore her everyday outfit  .  Twice.

Not for normal everyday use, obviously.  Once was for Prom and the other time was this:

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Her favourite outfit is definitely her outerwear.  After all, it’s the obvious workout gear.

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And that hat’s just perfect for sleeping in.

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She may be crazy but she’s great with the younger children.  She’s always reading bedtime stories or just hanging out with them and chatting.  Maybe it’s her social butterfly trait.

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She and Fluellen are particularly close.  Mind, I think the insanity may be rubbing off on him: he keeps playing with his IF doll in the sauna.  Poor Flax is always dripping wet.  It’s the first doll in a while not to become a fully-fledged imaginary friend, even though Fluellen plays with it constantly.  Maybe the frequent soakings have interfered with its magic.

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He always looks so lost when his siblings are playing with their friends.  He clearly knows he’s missing out on something.

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He can do things they can’t, though.   Nobody else can sleep in mid-air.

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(An odd graphics glitch presumably – from upstairs, he appeared to be asleep in bed as usual.)

The Butterfly Bonanza bonanza continued.

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Ally went along to help out – although she missed the purple butterfly I’d really wanted.  It would have been nice to have some Age of Instant around as an alternative to birthday cake.

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She did pick up some special seeds, so it wasn’t a complete waste of time.  I’m hoping for another deathflower: she and Billy used to have one each but his disappeared in one of the moves.

Lotus aged up to toddler at last.  Although she’s inherited Ally’s lips and eye colour, she looks quite Egyptian to me .

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Since her mother was too busy tutoring her big sister to give her a bottle, she tried gnawing on her doll instead.

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As the end of her pregnancy approached, Alison and Billy spent most of their free time being spontaneously romantic.  They’re really quite sweet together.

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When the contractions started, they left Iris in charge of the little ones and Billy took her to the hospital.  For some reason, they took a taxi rather than one of the cars.  Maybe they felt like a change.

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Then, as soon as they’d arrived, Billy inexplicably took off on his vacuum cleaner, leaving Ally in the lurch.

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She wasn’t impressed, even when he hurried back again (in the limo, this time) just as she’d been about to give up and waddle off to the labour suite on her own.

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Judging by the timing, she must have given birth in the foyer.  At least she waited until the doors had shut.  Then, as soon as they reopened, Billy was off again  .  I wish I knew what all that was about.  Maybe it was some kind of protest at having to witness his wife giving birth to yet another man’s child.

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With Zinnia’s arrival, the zodiac father cluster is complete.

Aries: Mick Situp
Taurus: Mack Vasquez
Gemini: Ludo Vicco
Cancer: Jebidiah Wilson
Leo: Hassan Badawi
Virgo: Yves Bernard
Libra: Sherman Bagley
Scorpio: Mixxuchoo Yoth (Would aliens really have the same star signs?  That is, assuming they had any at all  .)
Sagittarius: Alec Trebo
Capricorn: Travis McDermott
Aquarius: Jon Lessen
Pisces: Cheng Yang Chang