The Straud Dynasty (new -- Dec 11)

[MarianT]

Chapter 41 -- At Home with the Straud-Landgraabs

The babies, Justine and Tabitha, aged up to toddlers this week.

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Both girls inherited their mother's (and grandfather's) eyebrows and their father's green eyes. In Tabitha's case, the combination gives her a terrifying resemblance to the doll Chucky.

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There is a toddler somewhere in that cloud of dust and torn paper. It's possible that Tabitha is developing her skills as a writer by beginning with revision.

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And Justine is beginning at the bottom of the culinary career with dish-washing.

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The girls enjoy regular toddler activities as well.

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Andrew is quite the good child, picking up trash -- in this case, the remains of Tabitha's breakfast.

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He also put on a puppet show for his little sisters, although Justine was the only one who paid attention.

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Argus has been spending his time developing his mental skill.

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But he also persuaded Justine to finish her cereal by pointing out that it was exactly the same thing that he, a big kid, had.

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He and his father have both benefited from playing chess, although Argus could do without the scolding.

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Malcolm has been discovering that it's much easier being a manager of adults than of toddlers. Tabitha has dumped her food four or five times despite being admonished. Unfortunately, he can't fire her.

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And Justine takes so long to go potty that one might think she was on a coffee break. (All of Malcolm's underlings have a tendency to linger in the break room.)

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Now that Nadia has published in a distinguished scientific journal, she gets a little free time at work.

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It doesn't last long though before there is some crisis requiring her attention.

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In this case a lab tech set fire to her computer when it crashed her game research report.

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Nadia has discovered that the SimRay has many uses besides putting out fires. Creating furniture from extra specimens is one of them.

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Her passion, though, is the pipe organ. With just a little more practice, she'll be able to play at the Llamas' home games. Dah-dada-dah-dadah! Charge!

[oshizu]

I remain a big fan of Nadia!
She's greatly less fortunate than her siblings in both looks and love, but she has the brightest mind and makes the very best of the hand dealt her.
Took me a while to find the update which named the heir--it's Argus!

The twin girls look so much alike! I'm curious why the siblings are having so many children.
Having never played the TenGen challenge, I would think that the more toddlers, the harder the challenge.
Or do they provide opportunities to earn more points?
#waves Team Nadia banner

[PeregrineTook]

I rather enjoy all those adorable little redhaired children  :=)  Tabitha and her Chucky-like appearance somehow manage to still be rather endearing.

[MarianT]

I remain a big fan of Nadia!
She's greatly less fortunate than her siblings in both looks and love, but she has the brightest mind and makes the very best of the hand dealt her.
Took me a while to find the update which named the heir--it's Argus!

The twin girls look so much alike! I'm curious why the siblings are having so many children.
Having never played the TenGen challenge, I would think that the more toddlers, the harder the challenge.
Or do they provide opportunities to earn more points?
#waves Team Nadia banner

Vlad put it in his contract with the Watcher that his descendants had to have as many toddlers as possible, that's why they have so many children.
Glad you're for Nadia! She is making the best of a difficult situation.

@PeregrineTook, glad you can appreciate Tabitha! And thanks for your kind words about Nadia earlier. Yes, she is something more than someone in an unhappy marriage.

[MarianT]

Chapter 42 -- And Then There were Three

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Alas for the good old days! I look back with nostalgia on the time when all the twins required were food, cuddles, and clean diapers...

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...and when Jocasta was the only toddler we had to search the house for.

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But then Gavin grew up,

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...followed by Chiara...

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...and now the house is total pandemonium.

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I took the three of them to visit their grandfather the other night. (We go only at night because that's when it's safest for him.)

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He complimented me on my "fine brood," and while he didn't actually apologize for raising me as a boy, he did say that he was glad I was happy.

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He and Jocasta spent some time getting acquainted over blocks.

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Al has been busy at work. He says that Nadia is a good boss, tough but fair. She has talked him out of becoming a plantsim, for which I am grateful. She told him that since the only time he was home was in the evening, he might get very hungry.

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He's been helping out more with the children, too. I think this is my favorite picture of him, and not just because it shows off his torso.

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Cassandra has been helping out, too, and so has Bella, although I don't have any  pictures of her. Bella doesn't have to work on Fridays, so I can go to work then and leave the children at home with her.

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Chiara is our wild one -- even worse than Jocasta when it comes to roaming the house and getting into things.

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And I honestly think she dumps her food just for the fun of hearing us yell at her.

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Gavin is a little angel, but he does have nightmares, which require someone getting up to comfort him.

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Jocasta is beginning to make friends with Chiara -- or at least to boast about her super-powers.  She has all the superiority of the big sister who already knows how to use the potty and can speak in sentences.

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Chiara is catching up to her, though, in terms of communication. I just hope the two of them don't become so tight that they don't have any time for Gavin. I can remember feeling left out sometimes because I was the only boy, and my older sisters didn't want to play with me.

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I've been making some progress on my own goals in the ten to fifteen minutes that I have to myself. I've finished my study of gourmet cooking, and I made 3 different dishes for a little party we had at home.

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To celebrate, Al took me out to dinner. Much as I love my "fine brood," it was lovely to get away from them for a couple of hours. The nectar wasn't the best, but otherwise it was a great meal (although I think I'll be able to make the dish better at home, if I do say so myself).

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Afterwards, I took Al to see the tombstone I'd had placed for Mortimer. He passed while everyone was at work except me and the babies. It had been quick and painless, but Al still grieved that he hadn't had the opportunity to say good-bye.

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Al was quite touched and gave me a big hug. "I miss him so much, Bal," he said. "Do you think I should have turned him when I had the chance?"
"No," I said, "because you would have had to turn your mother, and me, and Gavin and Chiara, too, when they got older. Death is a part of life, and I think we love each other more because we know it's impermanent. I'm really glad you're not a vampire any more, and I'm glad I'm not one, too."

[oshizu]

Thank you for reminding me of that rule. Oh yes, Vlad would do that because he loves toddlers so much!

Watcher, you are up to your neck in toddlers this sim-week!
But Jocasta, Chiara, and Gavin are so adorable, though the household does look extremely chaotic!

I love Bal/Zara being concerned that, based on his own experience with Gretchen and Nadia, Gavin might feel left out by his sisters.

I've never played the Goth household but (and I also thought this when reading your Rival Dynasties story) you always portray Alex in a way that makes him very appealing.
And I'm not referring to the torso shot. He always looks handsomer in your games than in mine!

Awww, Bal and Al are such a dear couple! Rest in peace, Mortimer!

[PeregrineTook]

Aww, what a sweet yet sad update. 
Chiara hasn't had a vocal role yet, but there's something endearingly expressive about her.
I also really enjoyed the shot you caught of Al and Bal at dinner.  Al looks like he's just going on about something while Bal is completely distracted by appraising the quality of the wine.  I loved how you captured that idea in the write-up as well.  Good stuff!

[MarianT]

Aww, what a sweet yet sad update. 
Chiara hasn't had a vocal role yet, but there's something endearingly expressive about her.
I also really enjoyed the shot you caught of Al and Bal at dinner.  Al looks like he's just going on about something while Bal is completely distracted by appraising the quality of the wine.  I loved how you captured that idea in the write-up as well.  Good stuff!

Al might have been going on about his impending food poisoning. I left that out because it didn't fit with what would follow (Auden's poem about the Old Masters notwithstanding). And Chiara has been very vocal, usually defiant.

@oshizu, No reason you should remember the rule that Vlad insisted on. I actually enjoy some of the chaos of toddlers.

[FrancescaFiori]

I loved Nadia's scientific article about plantsims, and I'm glad it earned her some reading downtime at work!

I'm with Pippin, Tabitha is terrifyingly cute!

Loved Vlad's interactions with Zara. A fine brood, indeed! And while I enjoyed the shot of Al being a great Daddy, my favorite was the "total pandemonium" one! Looks like a happy pandemonium, at least.

[MarianT]

Chapter 43 -- Second Quarter Report

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The week began with a bittersweet moment -- Alyssa blowing out her candles (with a helpful puff from me). No more toddlers in the house, and I don't know what I'll do for excitement.

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Alyssa has moved into the nursery (now girls' room) with Agatha, and they seem to be getting along fine. Rudolfo moved upstairs into the same room as Marcus.

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Alyssa is quite creative, and her favorite color is purple. She was actually happy about going to school, thanks to Agatha and Rudolfo telling her it was a lot of fun. They didn't go into detail about the things that they really considered fun, like putting stuff in a brownie that you know some bully is going to steal, or testing your paper airplane during a slow moment in class.

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With Alyssa off at school, the house was very quiet, so I took a job as a detective. At first I was afraid that they would keep me on a desk all day, but it turned out that all I had to do was find a case assignment.

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Moments later, I was off to a house in Willow Creek to investigate a report of vandalism. One of my witnesses was too upset over her dollhouse to say much, but I did get fingerprints and some photographs, which was all that the supervising detective wanted.

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Back at the station, I was surprised to see the ghost of the witch who saddled us with that silly curse. I was tempted to tell her that we were all doing just fine despite her malice, but I was given another task to do. Just as well, because I might have behaved unprofessionally (is it possible to fight with a ghost or do the punches go right through them?).

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So I took mugshots and fingerprints...

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...and even searched a couple of guys. Not the most pleasant of tasks, but no worse than changing a toddler's diaper. This guy was in violation of his fishing license in addition to his other crimes (burglary, I think).

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This guy explained his possession of a dollhouse doll by saying it belonged to his daughter. "You ought to set her a better example," I scolded him. "Yes, ma'am," he agreed.

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The next day I went out on patrol. I spotted a fight from some distance, and from the way the couple were arguing, it looked like they would start fighting again. The guy ran off before I arrived.

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I gave a citation to the woman, however. She was inclined to argue, but I told her if she kept it up, I'd give her a citation from the fashion police, too.

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I'm tempted to start issuing citations at home, too. Not official ones, of course, but for offenses against household harmony. Rudy and Agatha would get one for quarreling.

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Eva would definitely get one each time she kicked over the garbage can.

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And anyone who attacked Batstraud might even get jail time. Unfortunately we don't have room for a cell, but a girl can dream.

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Actually the children are pretty well-behaved most of the time. Rudy listened patiently to my reading of The Pizzi-cat-o Polka for his Whiz Kid requirement even though he's reading much more difficult stuff now.

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Agatha got to know her cousin Argus for her Social Butterfly aspiration.

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She also spent some time entertaining her little cousins Tabitha and Justine. Cute as they are, I'm really happy that my days of toddler-herding are over.

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And Alyssa has started experimenting on the chemistry table. Not for long, though. Now that Rudy has made his 3 emotional potions, it's going back into storage until Alyssa is working on Whiz Kid.

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I took all of them to the park after work one day and was happy to be a space monster for Agatha.

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With a little more time to myself, I've been able to complete my requirements for the Body Builder aspiration.

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I also maxed Gourmet Cooking. (Zara was the one who recommended making rack of lamb.)

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We had a bit of sadness -- Marcus received his second notice from Grim, so he could go any time now. Both Rudy and Agatha gave him hugs when they heard.

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Marcus is in really good shape, however, so it might be some time before Grim actually comes for him. I hope so -- he's been a real pillar of strength in the house, and we'll miss him when he's gone.

Gretchen's Second 50 Points
Skills: 4 -- DJ Mixing, 2; Fitness, 1; Wellness, 1
Promotions: 4 -- Paolo, 2; Jade, 1; Rudolfo, 1
Satisfaction Points: 5
$30,000: 4
Places Visited: 1 -- Burners and Builders
Maxed Skills/Aspirations: 34 -- Gretchen, Fitness, Painting, Gourmet Cooking, 6; Agatha, Social, Mental, 4; Rudolfo, Creative, Mental, 4; Alyssa, Imagination, Communication, Thinking, Movement, 8/ Gretchen, Body Builder, 2; Agatha, Whiz Kid, Social Butterfly, Rambunctious Scamp, 6; Rudolfo, Artistic Prodigy, Whiz Kid, 4

[oshizu]

I'm so dense--I just today realized that your "quarter reports" refer to each 50-point free day!

I got a good laugh at Gretchen's remark about issuing citations at home. Good one!
And what a coincidence that she ran into that witch!

Looking at your points...wow, the kids are much better than Paolo in contributing points! Those 50 points seem to have just flown by!

[PeregrineTook]

Awww, they're just such a sweet little household! 
It will be sad when good old uncle Marcus departs. 
All of the bits about Gretchen wanting to be the "cop" in her own home were rather clever, I must say.
And Agatha.  Dear, sweet Agatha.  Can't wait to see her grow into a teen!

[FrancescaFiori]

Oh, my yes! Time to call in the fashion police! What on earth?

Fun to see your witch pop in. I'm glad she's still around.

I loved the criminal with the fishing license violation. About time someone cracked down on all those fish in sim pockets!

Here's hoping Marcus hangs out for awhile. He seems like a great honorary uncle.

[lilypadmeulin]

Looking forward to seeing the next episode! Agatha is definitely my favourite of this generation - so like her mother, too!

[MarianT]

@lilypadmeulin, Welcome to the forum! Glad you're enjoying the story.

@oshizu, Actually, they're getting a free day every 10 points, but the 50 points are the "quarters" being reported on. Since I'm playing with aging on long, children can bring in as many as 18 points by the time they become teens. Usually they don't -- someone is always maxing a skill on a free day, but it's possible.

@FrancescaFiori. I was really surprised to see the witch come into the police station. She's shown up twice, actually -- I guess she died in that vicinity?

@PeregrineTook, Marcus has been hanging around for at least 2 extra weeks now. Part of it is because I play on long, but turn aging off for the weeks that I play Nadia and Zara. But also, he has maxed the fitness skill and even though he didn't complete the Body Builder aspiration, that makes a difference.