The Straud Dynasty (new -- Dec 11)

[PeregrineTook]

Loving the girls!!  Unfairly biased towards Britta, as I'm sure surprises no one, but really enjoying them both.
Tabitha is correct in the fashion department:  pasty redheads look good in black!
It was pretty enjoyable watching the ghost be the hero by cleaning up the tub at the end!  Hooray for the haunters!!

[oshizu]

Great decision, Luna! Spending time outside with the girls is a wonderful reason to leave vampirism behind.

Both toddlers are so adorable but I, too, am a fan of the little redheaded Britta! Is the firstborn always the heir?
Are you allowed to sell off household furnishings, Watcher, do bring down the bills? Except for that knight statue, of course.

Argus and Luna seem to be making good progress! Go Argus!

[MarianT]

Chapter 76 -- Twins

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Well, I knew with the Ley Line lot trait, that we would get twins. Here's Mick, the one I'm holding, and Mort, the one in the bassinet. Short for Michael and Mortimer. Mortimer will be my heir as he was the first born.

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While I was happy about the babies, I was more excited about my new job as a medical assistant at the local hospital. It turned out that Aunt Gretchen was the doctor on call. I had no idea she had a medical degree.

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I'm pretty sure that the first patient I treated was an alien. I wanted to ask if she knew Grannibella or Papa but decided that wouldn't be tactful.

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I soon got the hang of examining patients and I even became good friends with many of them. But I ran into a snag. Aunt Gretchen refused to give a diagnosis for any of the ones I examined. "The diagnosis will reveal itself when the time is right," was all she would say. Without a diagnosis, I couldn't give anyone a shot or dispense medicine, and without doing that, I couldn't advance in my job.

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When Mama came over, I complained to her about how frustrated I was. "Your Aunt Gretchen can be difficult at times," she said. "Maybe you should switch to your second choice of career and become a writer like your Grandfather Goth."

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I talked it over with Diego, and he said that he would support me 100 percent in whatever I decided. And then he read me the start of a love poem he'd written for me:
Jocasta,
Sweet maker of tomato-drenched pasta,
and that was as far as he'd gotten.

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We've had to put romance on hold for a bit -- our babies became toddlers. I'm holding Mort...

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...and Diego has Mick. As far as I can tell, the only difference between them is that Mort has flat eyebrows like his father, and Mick has arched ones like me. Also, Mick will be a vampire when he grows up.

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It wasn't until I set up the nursery in our former exercise room that I realized what I'd been missing in our apartment -- color! I love the bright reds and blues of the furniture we chose.

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We gave Mick a haircut so we could distinguish him from his brother. Also, we're dressing Mort in gray (to match his eyes) and Mick in yellow.

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Did I say we'd put romance on hold? We're also putting off work, food, and sleep. Luckily Diego decided to stay a vampire on our first free day; the fact that he doesn't have to sleep makes it easier for him to take care of the boys. I almost started crying the other night when Mick sent his food flying before I'd even managed to clean off Mort's high chair.

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It's not all cleaning and scolding, though. Sometimes we even have fun -- Diego with Mort...

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...or me with Mick.

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And bathtime is always a treat, although I'm not sure the designers of the apartment intended their tub to be used the way we do. Maybe someday I'll be able to relax in it and enjoy the view.

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This is probably my favorite image -- my three boys dancing together, with the little ones pausing to watch their papa bust a move.

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Speaking of papas, my parents have been coming over pretty frequently.

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Papa might not be too fond of children, but he doesn't mind wielding a mop to clean up their messes, for which I am very grateful.

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Great husband, great children, great job (I got a promotion my first day as a writer), great view -- I think I'm the luckiest Sim in San Myshuno.

[PeregrineTook]

Diego is such a great poet (hahaha). 
A lovely update!  So nice of Aunt Gretchen to avoid showing favoritism to her niece.  That's my prim and proper girl!

[MarianT]

It's cute -- twice now, Diego has whipped out the book of poetry. And it really wasn't Gretchen's fault that she couldn't make a diagnosis -- that's the latest bug introduced in the Doctor career.

I'll be taking a short (I hope) break from this. I want to get the Toddler stuff pack when it comes out, so I'll be doing the two Tournament challenges for my Simming fix while I wait.

[oshizu]

And the Jocasta line shifts to blondes! Mick and Mort are both so cute!
Good to know about the doctor career still being bugged, but glad that Jocasta got out quickly and has already earned her first authorial promotion.

All three heirs seem really happy in their new lives. How nice of Alex to come over and clean!

[MarianT]

Chapter 77 -- First Quarter Report

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I thought it would never happen, but finally I finished building my rocket.

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I added some landing gear before taking off on my first foray into space. As soon as I launched I was challenged to a race. I hadn't upgraded the thrusters yet, but I've never been one to turn down a challenge, so I agreed.

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That was probably a mistake.

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Still, any crash you can walk, or in my case, crawl, away from is not a disaster. Still, it wasn't something I wanted to mention to Mom when she came over. Or Travis. Or Alyssa. I'm not sure Summer noticed, and if either of the boys says something like "Rocket go boom!" I've got my fingers crossed that people will assume they're talking about the launch.

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Mom did show up that evening, and she had some sad news: both Jade and Eva are gone, taken by the Grim Reaper. Marcus is still very much alive, though, and that bodes well for Mom and Dad -- apparently active Sims really do live longer, and Summer is another case in point.

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Both Rudy and Scott have been growing up quickly, learning everything toddlers need to know. Travis was quite impressed when he sat down to run through flash cards with Scott.

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And the two of them carried on a full-fledged conversation with Summer and Alyssa. Yes, they did say "Rocket go boom!" several times, but as I'd hoped, Alyssa assumed they were referring to the launch.

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In no time at all, Rudy was ready to blow out the candles on his cake.

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Scott followed soon after. Travis was awake by then and ready with the confetti.

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Rudy looks so much like my brother at that age that it brings tears to my eyes. His hair even grows the same way. As far as I can tell, the only difference is that he doesn't have freckles. Their personalities are different, though. My son Rudy was silly as a toddler and is now outgoing, whereas my brother was fussy and then gloomy.

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Scott looks more like Travis although he inherited my hair and skin color.

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I immediately applied for a job as an astronaut and was accepted as a technician (that A in high school was good for something, after all). But I didn't have to go to work for another day, and the boys didn't have to start school. GeekCon was going on, so we spent much of the day there.  Rudy got to meet some of the cosplayers (he's trying to become a social butterfly).

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Scott's a little goofball. He gravitated towards the video gaming rig. He's working on his creativity, but there was nothing creative for him to do there. I think he was more interested in the blicbloc colors than actually stacking them.

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As for me, I took off for adventure in a rocket ship that was guaranteed not to crash.

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The next day I set out eagerly for my first day at work. I got promoted, too! I asked my boss for something more challenging, so starting next week, I'll be the command center lead.

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Since I had the next day off, I decided to indulge my itchy fingers. True, I'd "liberated" a ceramic rooster from work, but that didn't have the same thrill. A painting from the Municipal Muses Museum, though, was a challenge. Afterwards, I chatted and joked with several people, including Cousin Argus and Ritvik Chauhan, who turned out to be a detective. I do hope Mom never said anything to him about her kleptomaniac daughter. When they realize a painting is missing, I might be his first suspect.

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We've bought some new toys for the children -- a voidcritter battle station and a Tum-Tum Teddy. Rudy has been developing empathy and also improving his mental skill.

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And Scott managed to find a princess doll to go with the little castle we built with the blocks. I'm not sure what he's been reading or watching on TV, though. I overheard him saying "Here goes the princess through Traitors' Gate, poor princess."

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That night after the boys went to bed, Travis took down the castle and built a little courthouse instead. Hopefully their next story won't be quite so gruesome.
And that's it for now. It's hard to believe that I'm already a quarter of the way through my points.

Agatha's First 50 Points
Skills: 8 -- rocket science, 5; mischief, 3
Promotions: 6 -- Agatha, 1; Alyssa, 1; Travis, 3; Scott, 1
Satisfaction Points: 4
$30,000: 2
Good Friends: 4 -- Liberty Lee, Rudolf, Scott, Summer Holiday
Places Visited: 1 -- Municipal Muses Museum
Maxed Skills: 26 -- Agatha, vampire lore, cooking, parenting, 6; Rudy, potty, imagination, thinking, communication, movement, 10; Scott, potty, thinking, imagination, movement, communication, 10
Negatives: -1 -- Travis pass out

[oshizu]

How wonderful for Agatha that Rudy looks so much like her brother.
I wonder how long it will take Gretchen to visit and notice the resemblance. I hope it persists as Rudy grows.

Agatha seems to have maxed Parenting really quickly! Did Travis autonomously show Scott the flash cards?

P.S. Who is that lady with the light-blue mohawk, standing on Agatha's doorstep?

[MarianT]

How wonderful for Agatha that Rudy looks so much like her brother.
I wonder how long it will take Gretchen to visit and notice the resemblance. I hope it persists as Rudy grows.

Agatha seems to have maxed Parenting really quickly! Did Travis autonomously show Scott the flash cards?

P.S. Who is that lady with the light-blue mohawk, standing on Agatha's doorstep?

I'll have to wait until Rudy becomes a teen to see if the resemblance continues.
Twins are a big help in maxing parenting, especially if only one parent can be the caretaker. Scott autonomously asked for flash cards several times as a toddler. And as for the woman with the Mohawk -- that's Danica Pritchett. I can't remember if it was Vlad or Zara who turned her into a vampire. My Sims usually have vampires wanting to come in at night. It's creepy, but I've gotten used to it.

Incidentally, I decided I couldn't wait for the Toddler Stuff Pack -- after several days, even with working on a challenge for the tournament, I just missed my families too much.

[PeregrineTook]

Wow, Marcus is still going strong?  That's outrageous!
Agatha is glorious and I'm glad to see things are going so well for her.  It's also a rather amusing running subplot with her continued kleptomania.  Mother by day, klepto by night.
(I'm not mentioning the rocket incident as I don't think Agatha would want me to)

[MarianT]

Wow, Marcus is still going strong?  That's outrageous!
Agatha is glorious and I'm glad to see things are going so well for her.  It's also a rather amusing running subplot with her continued kleptomania.  Mother by day, klepto by night.
(I'm not mentioning the rocket incident as I don't think Agatha would want me to)

Agatha thanks you for keeping quiet about the rocket, and also about her stolen goods.

[MarianT]

Chapter 78 -- Burning Donkey

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One evening I took the girls to visit Grandfather at his old mansion. At first they were somewhat daunted by the gargoyles.

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But a little while later, Vanessa was eager to go exploring on her own.

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Eventually she found the blocks, and Grandfather came out of the coffin where he'd been napping to give her some pointers.

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I did some exploring, too. I hadn't been to the mansion since I was a child and hadn't realized that it had a tower on top.

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When we got home, Britta told me that she didn't want to go back. "Don't like scary place, Daddy," she said. I told her she didn't have to go back and thanked her for being a good girl while she was there.

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It was probably just as well that she didn't feel comfortable at the mansion, since Britta's preferred activity when bored is to release her inner Jacksim Pollack. Something tells me it would be hard to remove paint from an ancient Persian rug.

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Britta gets along well with her Uncle Max, who sometimes comes to eat supper with her. He's gotten a job as a Bodybuilder and starts work very early in the morning.

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I don't think he's fully adjusted to his schedule yet.

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Vanessa is ready to talk to everyone, including our resident ghosts.

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This paid off for her when she started trying to build towers with her blocks. Cousin Rudolfo was willing to give her a few tips.

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Britta had to struggle with tower-building on her own. There were a few tears the first time that one collapsed, but she soon got the hang of it.

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Both of my girls are becoming quite adept on their computers.

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As for me, I'm getting better at programming and even hacked into the Lothario Trust Fund. I donated the money I made to charity, though. The only reason I did the hack was to find out if I could.

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Luna was a little sad when we put the children's castle into storage. They didn't need it after they developed their imagination, and it was just a target for Max's insane rage. Luna had a story going about an alien attacking her princess's carriage. I told her she should write it down, maybe sell it as a children's book, but she said she doesn't have time.

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She's been working too hard lately, so when the Romance Festival came to town, I surprised her by taking her there. "I thought it was just for single people," she said. "It's for anyone with a romantic heart," I told her.

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And truly, we weren't the only married couple there. I spotted Cousin Agatha's husband, Travis, and was relieved to discover that it was Cousin Agatha under that knight's helmet.

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Aunt Zara was there with Uncle Al, too. He was wearing a pirate's hat -- probably best not to question why.

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"Come on," I told Luna. "There's something I want to do." I led her to the arch that had been set up, and we exchanged our vows again. The fireworks went off, and the confetti rained down just as if we were getting married for the first time. Luna loved it.

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Afterwards we fumbled with some chopsticks as we tried some ramen. Neither of us drank any tea -- we'd heard that it could cause trouble for married people as one partner or another might take to random flirting. But we did ask the Romance Guru about our relationship. "Your partner lights your fire and lightens your load," he told Luna. "Kind of like a burning donkey." Luna kept a straight face until he left, and then she started giggling. "You're my burning donkey," she said. I suppose there are worse things I could be called.

[oshizu]

The little girls are so precious! I love the glasses on Vanessa and Britta's flaming red hair.

How sweet of Argus to invite Luna to the Romance Festival. I rather like Alex in the pirate hat but he should have worn shades with gold frames to match, hehe.
Poor Agatha in her helmet! Is she the sibling who joined Knights of the Hedge?
Thanks for the tip about not drinking the tea!

If that Romance Guru ever appeared in Pippin's file, he would be snatched up as a pollinator!
Loved the burning donkey metaphor. Was that the Romance Guru's imagination or Luna's (yours)?

[MarianT]

The little girls are so precious! I love the glasses on Vanessa and Britta's flaming red hair.

How sweet of Argus to invite Luna to the Romance Festival. I rather like Alex in the pirate hat but he should have worn shades with gold frames to match, hehe.
Poor Agatha in her helmet! Is she the sibling who joined Knights of the Hedge?
Thanks for the tip about not drinking the tea!

If that Romance Guru ever appeared in Pippin's file, he would be snatched up as a pollinator!
Loved the burning donkey metaphor. Was that the Romance Guru's imagination or Luna's (yours)?

Actually Argus belongs to the Knights of the Hedge.
"Burning Donkey" came from the Romance Guru. I'll have to send Sims to the Romance Festival more often to find out the other things that the Guru says. And yes, he probably would be one of Pippin's Pollinators.

[PeregrineTook]

Hmmm, hadn't even really thought about how terrifying it would be to go to a gargoyle-covered house to wait for your grandfather to rise from his coffin.  Britta makes so much sense!
So odd how the romance festival was the place for knight helmets and pirate hats.  Craziness!
Argus and Luna are pretty adorable together.  Burning donkey indeed!