The Straud Dynasty (new -- Dec 11)

[PeregrineTook]

I'm voting for Kengo comforting poor Nadia in her time of need.  Kedia?  Nadgo?  Not sure what shipping name would work best, but he gets my vote (and the locking of the front door also gets my vote).

[MarianT]

Oh, wow! Close call with Malcolm. Can't say I'd be too sorry to see him go after his antics this chapter, though. :/ Now I'm even more anxious to see him pollinated. Hope they throw in a little extra probing. For science, of course.

I like Nadia throwing herself into her scientific pursuits. Will she eat the forbidden fruit herself? It will be interesting to see what she looks like with a green skintone instead of one that's vampirically pale.

The household is now too large for Malcolm to get pregnant (the perfect punishment for wayward husbands, I agree). But he could still get abducted.

I'm voting for Kengo comforting poor Nadia in her time of need.  Kedia?  Nadgo?  Not sure what shipping name would work best, but he gets my vote (and the locking of the front door also gets my vote).

Kengo -- hot-headed, jealous, and child-hater --  is probably the only Sim who is no threat to Malcolm. But Nadia might stop using her Sim Ray to make him clean and turn it on Malcolm instead. Except that he's neat and has fun cleaning.

[MarianT]

Chapter 38 -- Trifecta

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A word of advice to other young mothers -- do not try for baby right after giving birth. Yes, you might think you'll get it all over with as quickly as possible, but you're assuming you'll live long enough. That said, I absolutely adore little Gavin and Chiara.

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And I'm really grateful to Cassandra, Bella, and Mortimer for all the help they've given in the way of feeding them and Jocasta and changing their diapers. Al has occasionally been helpful, too, but his job as a scientist means that he's at work most of the day and asleep almost as soon as he gets home.

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One evening I surprised him as soon as he got home. "Let's go upstairs and try for baby!" I suggested.
"Yes!" he said. "Then, no, wait, don't we have enough already?"
"I was joking," I said. "The house is too full. But we could still do something that would lead to having a baby if there were room."
"All right, then!" he responded.

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But no sooner did we get into bed than there was an urgent summons. What could be more urgent than a sobbing infant?

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"I was in the middle of something really important," I complained as soon as I got aboard ship. "What is it with you guys? I could understand Nadia because she's a scientist and has a Sixamite living with her. And I guess since Al's a scientist that would make you interested in us, but then why wouldn't you take him instead of me? And Gretchen doesn't make any sense at all."
""Well, we wanted to meet you," a purple woman said sheepishly. "And I personally wanted to tell you that I'm rooting for you."
"Rooting for me?"
"The three of you are celebrities on Sixam," a blue man explained. "We figure you're in a race to finish your 10 generations. Some of us have even placed bets."
"I bet on you," the purple woman chimed in. "I know you're running last right now, but that just means your payout will be the biggest when you eventually win."
"Um, thanks?" I said. "But I'd really appreciate it if you guys didn't abduct me again."
"I can't make any promises," said the purple woman. "I won't abduct you, but you've got a lot of fans -- there's no telling when one of them won't get the urge to meet you."

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The other big event in my life was when Jocasta became a toddler. She inherited her father's eyes and perhaps his inquisitive nature. And I think she got her stubborness from me. She's also a vampire.

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For a while, her adventures were limited to things like the first time she grabbed her food off the high chair before I could put her in it...

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Or her first bath, when she experimented with how high she could make the water go.

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But then she started exploring the house. I didn't even know we had these chairs on an upstairs balcony. And I certainly hadn't realized how much space there was between the railings.

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Jocasta was quite pleased with herself -- until I picked her up and took her downstairs.

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One day while I was at work, she was left in her high chair for about 2 minutes after she finished eating. As revenge, she decided to poop in her diaper.

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As soon as her father got home from work, she went down to greet him and complain.

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Al doesn't do diapers, however. By that time Gavin and Chiara were both making a fuss, so Jocasta climbed upstairs to see where the noise was coming from. When I got home, the diaper scent was all over the house.

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The second time I went to work, she seemed to be quite happy on her own.

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But when Al suggested she might like to play flash cards with him, she got quite cross.

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He went upstairs to talk to the rest of the family, and Jocasta followed him.

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Once she was there she had to talk to her younger brother and sister again.

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And then she found something really interesting.

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I came home with the glad news that I'd been promoted to Head Caterer, but my first task was giving Jocasta a bath, followed by cleaning the toilet.

At the rate I'm going, I think that purple Sixamite has lost her money.

[oshizu]

On Chapter 37
The way Nadia prepared her mind to obtain the angry bean really made me laugh.
Malcolm is certainly not the ideal husband and now that Nadia has the house, locking the door is still an option. Has Malcolm been a good father?
Congrats to Nadia on earning her first 50 points! How impressive that Nadia earned those points mostly by herself.

On Chapter 38
I enjoyed the part about Zara being abducted so that her fans could meet her.  And Jocasta! What a beautiful little girl!

[PeregrineTook]

Aha, the abductions are simply over-enthusiastic fans.  That makes perfect sense in a Sims sort of way  :=)
Jocasta is quite the handful!  It will be interesting if she keeps that going into childhood/teen years or if she "mellows out" by that point.

[FrancescaFiori]

Oh, man! The toddler playing in the filthy toilet! UGH! That image alone is enough to make me think hard about whether or not I can stomach playing a dynasty with so little control.

I'm with Zara's fans, though. Of course it's far too soon to tell, but I'm really rooting for this family.

I just realized Al is the second sim this week who's pulling off that hair I thought was un-pull-off-able. Nicely done! I'm going to have revise my stance.

[MarianT]

@oshizu, @PeregrineTook. I still think it's strange that with 3 or 4 other Sims in each household, the aliens should go for the sisters. And I guess this is picking up more elements of the Rival Dynasties challenge, too. Now they all just need to make ambrosia...

@FrancescaFiori, Al needs something to hide those ears. I think I'll cry if Jocasta inherits them.

[MarianT]

Chapter 39 -- Going Places

Earlier this week I was able to get out of the house and go to the gym for a while. I was close to maxing fitness but still hadn't achieved my "full body potential." Whatever that is. Handsome as Paolo and Marcus are, I don't want to end up with shoulders and biceps like theirs. Anyway, when I paused for a minute, I saw Bal- Zara getting up on the treadmill.

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When I went around to say hi to her, I discovered that Nadia was there, too. Zara filled us both in on what she'd learned from the aliens, or rather, Sixamites.
"I didn't know we were in a race," said Nadia.
"Nor I. Did they say anything about prizes?"
"Only for whoever bet on the winning branch of the family," said Zara.
"I think we should get prizes," said Nadia, "and not just at the end. Whichever heir is the first out the door should get something." They both looked at me.
"What?" I said.
"Jocasta and Argus are both vampires," said Zara. "That means they'll have to complete that awful Good Vampire aspiration before they can go anywhere. So your Agatha is probably going to win this round. What do you think would be a good prize for her?"
I thought for a moment. "A house from the Gallery," I said. "Don't get me wrong -- I love Factory One, but there's so much great stuff out there."
"Cool," said Nadia. "So the winner each generation gets to bulldoze the house they move into and place something new on the lot?"
"Right," Zara and I said together.

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As I left, I noticed that Nadia was getting some instruction from the gym trainer. For  a moment I felt sorry for her. Malcolm might be the richest of our three spouses, but he was by no means the best. Zara and I had married for love, but Nadia had kind of been stuck with Malcolm since Father was determined to get the Landgraabs into the family. Nadia didn't complain about him, but that didn't necessarily mean she was happy. We all had been brought up to value family loyalty. "Silence is golden" might be the Straud motto. I resolved to take her out to dinner sometime when Alyssa was no longer a toddler.

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My second outing was a visit with Father at our museum. Rudy was sound asleep, so I took only the girls. Father was delighted with Alyssa, who fortunately was in a cooperative mood.

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And I think his withered old heart was touched with Agatha gave him a hug.

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A few days later, Agatha finished her Whiz Kid aspiration. I let her take a day off from school and took her bowling.

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The ball was a bit heavy for her, and I couldn't help wondering if it would have enough momentum to make it down to the pins.

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But she did quite well -- better than I did, in fact, for she got one spare, and the closest I came was knocking down all but two.
I took the opportunity to remind her that she would have a lot of responsibility as a dynasty heir. I didn't say anything about the possibility of a race or a prize -- she would have pressure enough. Had she thought about what she wanted to do when she grew up?
"I want to be an astronaut. It'll be cool to go up into space and have adventures and find interesting things," she said. "And what about you, Mom? What are you going to do when we grow up?"
"Sleep," I said firmly. "I haven't had a full night's sleep since you and your brother were born. But seriously, I have been thinking about what kind of job I might get. I don't want to be a stay-at-home mom forever. I'm not about to become an astronaut, though."

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The next day I took Rudy to the park for a short time. He wasn't interested in bowling, but he did want to play pirates.

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And he was still young enough to appreciate my being a sea monster for him.

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Wherever I go, though, it's always great to come home.
"Mommy, I missed you," my little elf greets me on return.
"Have you been a good girl?" I ask.

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"Oh yes," she says, even though she's just been scolded by her father for playing in the toilet.

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We've put up some climbing bars for the children. Rudy is quite adept.

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Agatha not so much.

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And Alyssa has her own way of flying.

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Rudy is working on the Whiz Kid aspiration now, so I've been reading to him and playing chess with him.

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Agatha is working on Artistic Prodigy and spends long hours making up stories about her super-powered heroine. She has the ability to fly to other planets without requiring a spaceship.

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Alyssa is making rapid strides in vocabulary.

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She's quite the dance machine, too.

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I'm becoming a good gourmet cook, although occasionally the dishes are a little more exciting than I anticipated.

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And I don't think I'll put mint in the spinach frittata again.

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It's not all work, though. Marcus and I had fun beating Paolo at foosball the other night (Paolo refuses to admit defeat, of course).
On the whole, we're all happy to stay at home.

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Except when we feel like going out again, of course.

[PeregrineTook]

Gretchen's household as a whole is just too cute!  I was concerned that Eva would turn into an antagonizer in Gretchen and Paolo's relationship, but she's just been a nice background character.
All three kiddos are delightful, but Agatha is easily my favorite.  She reminds me the most of Gretchen  :=)

[oshizu]

What a great idea about offering a prize to each generation! I love your idea of being able to bulldoze and replace with a different house.
Will you be choosing from lots with particular hashtags?

Gretchen's household does seem very happy! Lots of shots of Paolo looking after the children, lots of smiling children, a loving Uncle Marcus.
Hey, Nadia, your gym trainer is very cute!

[FrancescaFiori]

I love that the second generation is getting together and making their own rules! Way to take over, guys! I'm excited about the idea of new lots, too. It's a great addition to your ruleset!

Alyssa is darling, even when playing in the toilet.

[MarianT]

@PeregrineTook, I think they must have cut down on autonomous romances for unplayed Sims. Eva does have the romantic trait, but no pink bars with anyone, even though she's left on her own 2 weeks out of 3.

@oshizu and @FrancescaFiori When all 3 sisters were abducted, I got the idea for  some kind of rivalry between them. But waiting until the last generation seemed a long way away. Hence the generational prize. And a new house seemed like a nice idea. I don't know where I'll be getting the houses from -- since this isn't a HOF entry, I have a lot more leeway. The catalog homes that I was using in my Stardew Valley story are really nice. Or I might look for something more gothic to suit the vampires.

And yes, Alyssa is a darling. She's going to age up with nice traits, too -- creative, art lover, and snob (not that great, but good for an art critic). If anyone wants her, I put her and Rudolfo up on the Gallery as young adults. I'm gradually saving my families in case I have trouble with the file.

[MarianT]

Chapter 40 -- Nadia's Article

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The following excerpts are from "On Plantsims" by Nadia Straud and reprinted with permission from the journal Simnature.

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Plantsims differ from normal Sims in skin and hair color. They do not require food but do need sunlight and water to thrive. Neither vampires nor natives of the planet Sixam are capable of becoming Plantsims. Any normal Sim may become a Plantsim by ingesting the seed commonly called the "Forbidden Fruit." This seed is found upon going into the Portal Tree.

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The Forbidden Fruit is almost universally reported to smell "delicious." Any more specific description of this smell is apparently dependent on the individual subject. This investigator thought that it smelled like vanilla and cinnamon; a Sixamite subject said that it reminded her of stewed Quill fruit, a favorite dish from her childhood; and a vampire thought that it smelled like fresh plasma. Note: both the Sixamite and the vampire were able to digest the fruit without harmful, or indeed any, effect.

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Transformation into a Plantsim is brief and violent, but also painless.

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When the transformation is completed, the Plantsim has the characteristic green skin and hair and will occasionally shed pollen. This pollen does not seem to have any effect on other Sims.

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After the transformation, and for the duration of the Plantsim's condition, the Plantsim will occasionally shed pollen and sprout leaves at the neck and wrists. This activity poses no threat to others around the Plantsim and causes no harm to the Plantsim.

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Going without water for too long a time will cause the Plantsim to become dehydrated, a condition indicated when the characteristic green hair turns white. A short swim, bath, or shower will soon restore the Plantsim's chloroplasts and return the hair color to its original green.

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Plantsims also require sunlight.  Although their hunger increases during the night, going outside at dawn will satisfy them. Gardening is an ideal early morning activity for Plantsims, and it is something for which they have a special affinity.

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Plantsims are capable of performing any job that can be done by a normal Sim, although their preference is for jobs which allow them some access to the outdoors and water. Discrimination in employment against Plantsims is punishable by law and should be reported to the SFPP (Society for the Future and Protection of Plantsims).

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Plantsims are just as sociable as normal Sims and make good friends.

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Plantsims are also good parents. Female plantsims are capable of breast-feeding their babies.

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They take good care of toddlers as well. It is erroneous to think that Plantsims have no emotions. Indeed, they are like natives of Sixam in that any strong emotion is visible as a colored glow around them. It is not true that Plantsims only glow green -- if that is the characteristic color of their glow, it is because Plantsims are generally happy.

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Intellectually, Plantsims are the equal of their normal counterparts. They, too, are capable of putting toddlers to sleep with the orotund sentences of the classic Rex Treks.

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And they are equally capable of beating young geniuses at chess.

In conclusion, the Plantsim is a fully functioning member of Sim society. Aside from jobs that require cave or desert exploration, a Plantsim is capable of handling any type of employment. In social matters, the Plantsim is no different from other Sims, and indeed may be better equipped for relationships in that his or her emotions are readily apparent.

[saltpastillen]

How fitting that Nadia should do the Plant sim challenge!

[PeregrineTook]

I rather enjoyed getting to enjoy Nadia as a scientist in this one.  I tend to get caught up in thinking of her simply as the one in the bad relationship as opposed to the intellectual and scientifically-minded one.