The Straud Dynasty (new -- Dec 11)

[MarianT]

@oshizu, aww thanks! I love the plumbob cake! Hope it tasted as good as it looks.

[PeregrineTook]

Also wishing you a happy belated birthday!
I finally got caught back up with the story.  I so enjoyed seeing the "princess of nightmare island" reference show up again!!!
Lovely updates all around  :=)

[MarianT]

Chapter 83 -- Picking up Roosters

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Agatha here. The last time I was in Municipal Muses, I saw a painting that I just had to have. It was a rooster, and I knew it would go perfectly with the rooster I'd found at work. I couldn't get it then because I'd just taken something else, so I went back later. Unfortunately, some art lover wandered into the room just as I was taking it off the wall. I had to pretend that I was just straightening it -- so embarrassing!

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I took Scott over to the park in Oasis Springs so that he could play on the pirate ship for a while. I noticed that Argus's wife Luna was there, and joined her for a game of chess.

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After our game, I tried out the water slide -- most enjoyable way to gain fitness skill that I can think of!

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I've found that I can tell Scott to go outside and play, and he'll do that. But the monkey bars are not his favorite thing. "I get confused about which foot goes where," he complained to me.

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That evening I helped Rudy make his volcano. I gained skill in logic while doing it and was able to achieve my aspiration of becoming a Nerd Brain.

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Thanks to my rapid rise through the ranks at work, I get four days off every week. One Tuesday, I was able to go to GeekCon. I took Summer with me but was surprised to discover that she preferred singing in the karaoke bar to playing video games.

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Aunt Nadia and Uncle Malcolm both showed up, but Argus was busy at work. Come to think of it, quite a few people showed up to play video games when Summer started singing.

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I'm going to have to practice more if I want to win the UGT Challenge.

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On my other off day, I went back to Windenburg to see Dad. He says the house seems kind of empty with Marcus gone. I told him he should come over to the house with Mom sometime.

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Before leaving, I picked up the bunny that was out front. It's not a rooster, but it's almost as good.

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The next festival I went to was the Spice one. I tried entering the curry challenge -- I think my chances of winning the UGT challenge at GeekCon are higher. Ouch!

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To soothe my throat, I tried blowing bubbles, and nearly asphyxiated on the mixture.

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Mom was there -- I almost didn't recognize her in her Star Wars garb. (And I'm glad I have the picture; otherwise, people might think I was hallucinating.) She showed me how to inhale so you don't have a coughing fit.

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When I returned home, Scott and Rudy were scaring each other with stories about the creepy witch who lives on the other side of town in Cypress Terrace. The woman who lives there is a vampire, but I told them that she definitely does not eat little boys and they shouldn't make up stories about other people in town.

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Apparently I wasn't the only one who overheard the boys. Later, Summer told Rudy all about the little girl who grew up there, little Olivia Spencer-Kim-Lewis, who never expected that she would be left all alone when her grandparents and parents died of old age.

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Judging by the blog he's started keeping, Rudy was much moved by the story. He's decided that he's going to marry Olivia when he grows up, cut down some of the bushes, and fill the house with children. That way she won't be lonely anymore.

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I went back to Municipal Muses again the other night, and this time I was successful -- the rooster painting is now mine, mwahaha!

[PeregrineTook]

Aww, my dear, sweet Agatha got her rooster after all (and started a rabbit collection!).  She's so glorious.  Not that I have favorites, but I do and they're totally Gretchen and Agatha.
The dig at Summer's singing was outstanding!!  I mean, poor Summer.

[oshizu]

Haha, poor sims listening to Summer's karaoke, you mean? Sometimes, other people's karaoke can only be improved by having a few drinks yourself.
And, of course, it's a scientific fact that the more one drinks, the better one's singing, right?

What is this simverse coming to? Agatha goes to GeekCon and needs to be schooled in bubble blowing by her cos-playing mother. What a hilarious moment, Watcher!
How adorable that Rudy feels moved to rescue Olivia from her sad existence. He isn't the heir, is he?

Finally, I love how the entire update is bookended by the rooster chase!

[MarianT]

@PeregrineTook. I usually don't listen to Sims singing until they get to level 4 or so. After that they're quite nice.
@oshizu, Rudy is the heir, and he's a vampire, too. Of course, he'll have to get cured before he can move out -- assuming that he doesn't die like his uncle.

[MarianT]

Chapter 84 -- Argus -- Additions

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Justine hasn't been happy at home because Tabitha gets all the attention. I invited her to move in with us, and she agreed immediately.

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She began working out her frustrations on the punching bag in Max's room (and I wish Max would use it for his frustrations rather than wrecking the girls' dollhouse).

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Justine has grown up to be good, active, and outgoing, so I can see why she and Tabitha might not get along. She's fitting into the house well, becoming friends with Hugo and also becoming one of Britta's adult friends.

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She took a job in Social Media, going for the public relations branch because no one can compete with Grandfather when it comes to being an internet personality. On her free day she took care of one of her assignments -- getting to know people in the fashion district of San Myshuno.

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Our other addition was another daughter, Arianna.

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Now that I've maxed the parenting skill, I can take care of all her needs at once, which makes her pretty happy with me. We became good friends soon after she was born.

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Sadly I've had to exercise my parenting skills in the opposite direction, too. Vanessa made a mess in our bedroom, so I gave her a time-out.

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And when that ended, I told her to clean it up. I hope that will be enough to discourage her from future messes.

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One day we all went into the city (except for Justine, who has to stay indoors) and Mom and Dad came along, too. We had such a good time shooting baskets, that I decided to set up a court at home.

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It's one way I can get Max to work on his fitness skill; Hugo, too, although Hugo's been losing weight from swimming.

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And Vanessa is already good at handling the ball.

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She has finished her Rambunctious Scamp aspiration and moved on to becoming an Artistic Prodigy.

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Britta is still trying to finish up Social Butterfly. She became friends with her cousin Scott (who doesn't show up as a cousin in her relationship panel).

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She and Danica still have a ways to go, though.

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Hugo has received his second notice from Grim, which makes us all sad. I took a picture of him watching his favorite channel.

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And I got him to pose for a portrait. He's still in his pajamas, but at least you can tell how much he's slimmed down. Hopefully his getting into better shape will delay Grim's arrival.

[oshizu]

What a great idea, Argus, to invite Justine to move into your household! It will enjoyable to see more of Justine now that she's a teen.

I've never played a sim with maxed Parenting skill so thanks for letting me know what's in store!
Argus is making great progress and, oh! Luna gives birth to a second daughter!
Vanessa as a child closely resembles her mother so I look forward to see how she grows. Love the shot of Vanessa dribbling!

Go, Argus, you can do it! *waves Team Nadia flag!

[MarianT]

@oshizu, Actually, Justine is a young adult. You can't ask teens to move in. I think it's at level 6 of the parenting skill that a Sim gets the option to take care of all a baby's needs at once, but that might not happen until level 10.

[PeregrineTook]

I loved that the update started with a reference to Tabitha getting all of the attention.  She's wonderful!  Of course she gets all the attention!  It's nice that you're giving poor Justine a chance to shine.

[FrancescaFiori]

So happy to have caught back up with this epic saga! You do such a wonderful job of creating distinct, compelling characters, and it's fascinating to see how all the genetics play out. What a wonderful story! I'm so excited to see what comes next!

[MarianT]

@PeregrineTook and @FrancescaFiori, so nice to have both of you back! Pippin, you'll get to see more of Tabitha and Justine later.

Chapter 85 -- Jocasta -- First Quarter Report

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Strange to say, I've never kept a journal before. And despite being a writer -- and a fairly popular one, too -- I really have no idea what to say. There's just not that much to write about.

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I did take a tumble on the treadmill the other day. Looking at myself in the mirror, I noticed that I've become quite matronly in shape, even though I'm still a young adult. Diego doesn't mind -- he thinks I'm gorgeous, but I still want to lose a little weight.

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Speaking of Diego, I declaimed some of my poetry to him the other day, and he burst out laughing. We've decided that I'll stick to prose and he'll take care of poetry. Maybe it's better if I not try to write about the view of San Myshuno at night but just enjoy it.

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Diego had to write a review of someone performing in the Arts Quarter, so poor Argus came under the knife. Diego wrote that a warning sign should be hung on the busker stand: "Violinists below level 8 may be garotted with their own bowstrings."

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But we all listened with great pleasure a few nights later when Aunt Cass played for us. It was good to see her again.

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We also saw Aunt Gretchen. Except for her gray hair, she doesn't look elderly at all and has certainly kept her figure. She was selling some of her paintings -- for fun, she assured me. She and Uncle Paolo are quite well off financially. I asked how she stayed so slim, and she told me the key was regular exercise. Guess I'll be getting on the treadmill again. She recommended yoga, too (and she just happens to keep yoga mats in stock at her store.)
 
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Mama showed up, too, and was quite willing to gaze at the stars with Mort.

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Mort's been having a rough week. On Monday, I chewed him out for making a mess in the elevator lobby.

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When he did it again the next day, I gave him a time-out.

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Mort took this to mean that he was no longer welcome at home, so he decided to run away, even if it meant going without things like food and baths. I promised him that the next time Mick made a mess he would get a time-out, too. After that, it was easy to persuade him to come upstairs.

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And I let him have an uninterrupted half hour training his voidcritter (which means that Mick is going to have to get a half hour, too.)

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Both of them took the day off school when we had a free day. They went over to the park and tried to make another friend. Both of them are trying to become Social Butterflies. Mort had the bright idea of forming a club with his cousins (Deanna, the red-haired girl on the pirate ship is not one of them), and that might help.

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In the evening, I noticed that the mural in their room had deteriorated. I thought that repairing it might take a long time, but it cleaned up very quickly.

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My big news for the week is that I completed my Best-selling Author aspiration. I did a little happy dance to celebrate. And it's likely that next week I'll reach the top of my career. Yay, me!

Jocasta's First 50 Points
Skills: 7 -- Writing, 7
Promotions: 7 -- Jocasta, 6; Diego, 1
Satisfaction Points: 3
$30,000: 2
Good Friends: 10 -- Ira Ramesh, Ritu Ramesh, Ritvik Chauhan, Michael, Mortimer, Marissa Kurtz, Advik Nair, Gretchen Straud, Darling Walsh, Ericka Yamaguchi
Maxed Skills: 22 -- Jocasta, dancing, parenting, piano, 6; Mortimer, potty, imagination, communication, thinking, 8; Michael, potty, imagination, communication, thinking, 8

[PeregrineTook]

Looks like things are going quite well for Jocasta!
I really enjoy how the family keep running into each other and making guest appearances in the updates.  It helps keep the interconnection of their respective stories together quite nicely  :=)

[Magpie2012]

I so love this story! I can't wait to see more of our favourite families :-)

[FrancescaFiori]

So fun to see your sims out and about as the family grows! Nice that both buskers were in the family! I feel bad for Argus, but I loved Diego's review of his performance. Ouch!

Poor Mort. Always in the doghouse. Jocasta seems like a gentle disciplinarian, though, so that's nice.

Interesting about the mural indoors deteriorating. I haven't tried that before, and I'm glad to know restoring it was pretty quick.

Congrats to Jocasta on becoming a Bestselling Author! Woohoo!