Pulaskis Rule! A Life States Dynasty (Feb 24)

[MarianT]

Week Three

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Dandelion and Clematis were toddlers only a little while longer.
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Soon they both had birthdays, having achieved the status of happy toddlers.
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Cranberry was abducted one night, soon after Steve brought home a satellite dish. "Not me, you fools!" she complained on board the ship. "You're supposed to take my husband."
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The time for Anne's birthday came before she had maxed three skills, but she did achieve Social Butterfly, so she was okay.
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She grew up into a beautiful young witch --
"I prefer the term 'sorceress.'"
-- with an attitude problem.
"Hey, Watcher, you're the one who decided that witches should have the argumentative trait."
Sorceresses, she means.
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Apparently fairies don't like having monsters under their beds any more than human children do. They showed up to complain the first night they had to sleep without a night light.
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As fairies, they're supposed to grow up irresponsible, which means lots of messes, as Clem demonstrates...
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...and skipping school to play, like Dandy.
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The next time the aliens came, they picked up Steve instead of Cranberry.
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He came back a changed man, one who started thinking about diapers and baby rattles.
"It's just a case of indigestion," said Steve, but he was wrong.
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His "indigestion" caused him to make some bad decisions, like trying to transform the vacuum cleaner inside the house. And his "indigestion" made him too hysterical to extinguish the fire he started. Cranberry was no help at all, alternating between "ooh, pretty!" and "don't let it get near my wings!" Luckily, Anne had enough presence of mind to use the fire extinguisher.
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She took the opportunity to ask her parents if she could go to Granite Falls to start collecting herbs. When they said no, she went to her room to sulk.
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But Steve and Cranberry relented and said that she could go, on the weekend, provided she didn't go alone. Anne took Brian and Barley with her. Brian had finished his Artistic Prodigy aspiration and was now working on his motor skills.
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Barley wasn't at all excited about the excursion and was glad to return home.
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Over the next few days, Cranberry worked on her aspiration to become a Painter Extraordinaire.
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A quick trip to the new museum on the island was inspiring.
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Finally the time came for Steve to give birth. He had a hard time convincing the receptionist that he needed to see a doctor.
"That's some juice belly," she said, "but the way to get rid of it is exercise and a sensible diet."
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Steve was on the verge of going home when the doctor showed up. Strapped into the machine, he began having second thoughts. Diet and exercise sounded like a really good idea.
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But then he heard a baby crying and realized that the baby was his.
("I can't. I just can't. Those colors. Send me back to Sixam NOW!")
"Hello, litle fella. We're naming him Ezra," he told the doctor. "Yes, we're keeping him."
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Ezra wasn't the only one unhappy with the situation. Both Clem and Dandy were very upset about having a new sibling. "And he's not even from this planet!" Clem shouted. "Plus, he's a weird color."

[oshizu]

The kids are all fantastic! Are the fledgling fairies Clem and Dandy fun to play? They get to do what kids are always wanting to do --- make messes and play hooky.

I laughed that Cranberry was abducted first but, wow, a BIG CONGRATS on Steve's successful abduction!
How lovely that Ezra is also a different color than Cranberry.

You make raising toddlers seem like such a breeze, MarianT.

[PeregrineTook]

Anne is so my favorite!  I loved the witch/sorceress banter!
You're making some excellent progress on this!  The kiddos are growing up so quickly!
I'm delighted for you that you got your little alienboo so quickly!
Given that I'm in the midst of exploring the Parenthood expansion, I found it delightfully amusing that mess-making and school-skipping were viewed as good things!!
It was a lovely update and I can't wait for more (especially more of Anne).

[LenaLJ]

Great progress.
Anne is becoming a beautiful sorceress.
Thanks for the fairy tips, forgot that was the easy ways to get that character trait. Will make sure to use that in the future.
And congrats on the little Alien.

[MarianT]

@oshizu, Actually, the fairies are kind of annoying. They don't seem to pick up irresponsibility as quickly as their siblings become responsible, and I'm always having to cancel homework in their queue.
I was happy about Steve's abduction, too. Apparently the frequency of abductions was slightly increased in the patch that came with Cats & Dogs. Ezra is not as green as he looks in the picture, but more of a greenish blue.

@PeregrineTook, As I mentioned above, it's harder to pick up the negative traits. I'll be impressed if anyone can get bad manners -- everyone wants to wash dishes and set the table, so good manners are almost as easy to get as responsibility. Glad you like Anne. I'll like her more as soon as she gets in the red enough to become argumentative so I can make her a young adult.

@LenaLJ , you're welcome -- I'm just amazed you were able to pick up a tip. How are you going about picking up irresponsibility?

[oshizu]

Actually, the fairies are kind of annoying. They don't seem to pick up irresponsibility as quickly as their siblings become responsible, and I'm always having to cancel homework in their queue.

Hmmmm...I was hoping the "Discourage" social might help the fairies become more irresponsible, hehe.
Does the game even give your parents the option to "Encourage" skipping school/making messes?
When an Enraged vampire teen drained his great-aunt, I was rather surprised his parents had no "Discourage" uncontrollable drinking option

[MarianT]

Week Four

It's been a week of birthdays for everyone except Dandelion. Both Cranberry and Steve became full-fledged adults.

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Anne's biggest chore was to become argumentative. This meant she had to lay down the law with nearly everyone, primarily over their taste in music. "You actually like Barry Similow? Eww!"

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Even her parents came in for criticism -- over house rules as well as music.

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She argued with bears on her trip to Granite Falls. "I'm sorry, but 'The Bear Went Over the Mountain' is not the greatest song ever written." While on her trip, Anne picked up enough points to get the Observant, Morning Sim, and Gym Rat rewards.

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But she met her match when she tried to tangle with Eliza Pancakes. "Name one singer who's better than Frank Simatra," Eliza said. "Come on, I'm waiting. Just one." Chastened, but also triumphant, Anne went home to become an Argumentative, Well-Mannered, and Responsible young adult, who was a neat genius who loved the outdoors.

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Brian completed his Artistic Prodigy aspiration and moved on to Rambunctious Scamp. He enjoyed shooting bubbles from the space ship, but thought that laser death rays would have been way cool.

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Ezra was the next to have a birthday. He became a wild little toddler who liked to take off his clothes.

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Brian wasn't able to max 3 childhood skills, so he had to wait a bit for his birthday. He added snobbishness to his traits and decided to make his lifetime goal that of becoming a Mansion Baron.

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He was also a very good student, and handsome, too. The kids at school all referred to him as Clark Kent.

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Clem used dancing to complete his Rambunctious Scamp aspiration. He went from being an angelic toddler to becoming a neat and cheerful teen.

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But his fae soul insisted upon bright and chaotic clothing.

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Ezra was the last to have a birthday.

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He's an active child now and wants to become a Rambunctious Scamp.

[oshizu]

Congrats to Anne on earning that Argumentative trait and doing so well all around before her YA birthday.
Brian and Clem aged up into handsome teens, while Ezra is so cute with that white/turquoise hair!

I'm very happy about being able to read how this challenge is done without having to do it myself.
It seems so haaaarrrd!

[Shewolf13]

Oh my!  What a houseful!  Loving the kids so far.  I giggled far too hard when Steve was told about his "juice belly" XD

[FrancescaFiori]

This is such a fascinating challenge! How difficult it must be to try and get negative character traits instead of positive ones. A completely different strategy.

I cracked up that Eliza was able to out-argue Anne. Of course she would.

Loving your colorful, wild family!

[LenaLJ]

Going forward nicely.
I simply adore how Ezra looks.
And glad you got Anne her trait, i am dreading abit to make a witch.

[MarianT]

Weeks 5

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Not much happened during Week 5. Twins Clem and Dan became teens -- Dan is the one with the hat. They both resemble their father but have their mother's blue skin.

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Ezra sneaked out of the house one night when he was in a playful mood and started work on his Rambunctious Scamp aspiration.

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Anne took a job as a detective. She was really excited about making her first arrest on her second day at work...and really disappointed when she wasn't allowed to interrogate her suspect.

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The next time she went to work, she had her own case, and again was able to make an arrest and again was disappointed. This time her suspect simply vanished on the way to the police station.

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"I'm quitting," she told the chief. It's a Catch-22 -- I can't get promoted until I interrogate someone and it looks like I won't be able to interrogate until I get promoted."

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Back at home, Ezra finished his aspiration and began working on his social skill.

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Barley became an elder cat.

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Clematis became a young adult, a compassionate, well-mannered, and irresponsible young adult.

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He beat Brian, who lost some responsibility points because he skipped school to work on his manners. Brian is now responsible, well-mannered, and compassionate.

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Clem talked Brian into going to Selvadorada with him. Brian, being squeamish, didn't want to go into the jungle, but instead hung out around the cantina, chatting with the natives. Brian also got a llama sweater for himself.

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The only wildlife he saw was a small green lizard on the other side of the courtyard, which was fine with him. But Brian did pick up some useful information for Clem. For example, bone dust could be used to make an antidote for poison.

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Clem couldn't wait until daylight to go exploring, so he set off on the trail immediately.

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The rope bridge gave him pause, however. It was a long way down...

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...and a long way across for someone who was falling asleep.

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Clem waited until the next day, when he found his first dig site. He didn't find any artifacts, but he did get some bone dust. He added it to his collection of useful items: insect repellent and deodorizing cream, both made by Anne, a couple of flowers, a spray can of spider repellent, and a machete.

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The waterfalls were spectacular in daylight. Thanks to Brian's research, Clem knew that they sprang from a broken dam.

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All that running water had an effect on Clem's internal organs. Luckily a bush was handy.

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Finally, he reached the Palace Baths. A jaguar was crouching nearby. Clem held his breath and was able to pick up the fish it dropped when a swarm of bats startled it.

Their vacation ended then, but Clem knew that he'd be back -- probably without Brian who had completed the Selvadoradian culture skill while he'd been exploring.

[PeregrineTook]

My poor, darling Anne!  Can't she just go bribe the well and get a promotion that way?
Loved that the boys went for a jungle exploration.  Seems a very appropriate fairy outing  ;=)

[FrancescaFiori]

That darn detective career! It's so fun when it's not bugged. Oh, well.
Ezra makes an adorable, if irresponsible, late-night pirate.
The fairy adventure in Selvadorada was so fun! I haven't made it to the baths yet. The look gorgeous.

[oshizu]

I'm so happy to discover an update for your story today!

The kids are so beautifully colorful and so distinct in their personalities.
The negative character traits seem so time-consuming and, well, challenging.
I sympathize deeply with Anne. Every new challenge, one of my sims hopefully attempts the Detective career which never fails to glitch on me.

Thank you the glimpse into the Selvadoradan jungle!