Legacies of the Valley (March 9 -- Sheil) Graveyard

[oshizu]

Oh no! Lovely Valerie does NOT deserve such a fate at the hands of Vlad!
I can see why she would be loathe to give up the beautiful Plotinus, son of Elliot with the wavy Fabio hair.
Erm, scent of death, Vlad?

I'm enjoying the 180o (360o?) shift in personality you've given Vlad in this story.
He seems irreparably mean and evil! Lock your doors, o redheads of the Valley!

Lovely shot of the stormy Oakenstead area at dusk.

[Shewolf13]

Vlad, you heartless monster!  Poor Valerie.  I hope she can find a solution!

[Deme]

Well, that's a challenge. And what might she prefer, in the face of it? To hand over one child and protect the rest, or hope that her children avoid one form of domination -- and all have another, together? 

I, for one, vote for option 3: Beat up a vampiric jerk. (Or, go into Magic Contract Law, which could also intersect right of combat.)

[MarianT]

Well, that's a challenge. And what might she prefer, in the face of it? To hand over one child and protect the rest, or hope that her children avoid one form of domination -- and all have another, together? 

I, for one, vote for option 3: Beat up a vampiric jerk. (Or, go into Magic Contract Law, which could also intersect right of combat.)

Sigh. I wish we could have Magic Contract Law. That would be awesome. I'm not going to say what Valerie will do, but I do have an idea.

[MarianT]

Chapter 55

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How quickly humans change! One day little reeny is pretending to be a puppy (or maybe a cat -- it is hard to tell).

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The next day she is telling me how terrible school was because she tried to hide under the bleachers and coach caught her and yelled at her and made her run extra laps in front of everyone.

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The day after that we had a summer holiday. Everyone went to the pool but me. Mistress told me they didn't allow dogs because some people were allergic.

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I got to have my own summer holiday at home, though.

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Mistress has been acting strangely. Sometimes she says "Good dog, teeny!" and gives me a treat and sometimes she just shouts "Fetch! Fetch! Fetch!"

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Is it possible that "Fetch!" means "Bring me a ball after I throw it?" I will have to study this some more. Mistress usually doesn't like to handle balls after I've chewed on them. Usually she says "Eww," and goes to wash her hands. But she did say "Good dog!" this time and gave me a treat.

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Something else to study -- the smelly man who is "just looking." That's what he said when mistress asked him what he was doing.

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I do not think mistress likes him. I have observed that she and I don't always like the same smells.

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Dimmy had to stay home from school one day. He tried to start the dryer without cleaning the lint tray. Mistress and I were out for a walk, but she raced back to the house to save him.

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A few days later, old mistress did the same thing.

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I have heard it many times: "Don't start the dryer without cleaning the lint tray." I don't know what it means, but if I can remember that why can't my humans?

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Mistress said she was going to put a stop to dryer fires once and for all. That will be a relief.

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Now she needs to do something about the danger spot in front of the house. Sometimes master will just fall down there without warning when he comes home from work.

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During the thunderstorm last night, old master was struck by lightning in the same spot when he came home.

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And then he slipped in the mud and fell down.

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I worry when I see dimmy going off to school with a small roof over his head. What if he gets struck by lightning when he comes home?

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Mistress worries me too, sometimes. She has been trying to paint a masterpiece, but I don't think she should stand so close to the fire.

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It wasn't a masterpiece, but she thought the picture was pretty and hung it in the dining room.

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Finally she did paint a masterpiece when she and old master went to geekon. Mistress is a painter extraordinaire now and very happy about that. If mistress is happy then I'm happy too.

Teeny and Kathy's story continues in Chapter 65.

[oshizu]

I love teeny!
Was it just a series of unfortunate coincidences, or does this household have worse luck than the others?
Maybe just a bad week? Fantastic painting of the burning leaf pile!
Did I mention that I love teeny?

[Shewolf13]

D'awww, Teeny updates always make me so happy!  He's just so awesome!

[MarianT]

I love teeny!
Was it just a series of unfortunate coincidences, or does this household have worse luck than the others?
Maybe just a bad week? Fantastic painting of the burning leaf pile!
Did I mention that I love teeny?

Possibly it does have worse luck. I've not had anyone get struck by lightning since I first got Seasons back in June, but Kathy also got hit when she came home from work a couple of hours before Sebastian. I didn't know until I saw the moodlet, so I didn't get any pictures. As for the dryers -- they're lethal in an ISBI type of game. I always have to make sure my controlled Sim checks the lint trays before going off to work, and it's a wonder no one has died yet. But that's part of the fun.

[oshizu]

As for the dryers -- they're lethal in an ISBI type of game. I always have to make sure my controlled Sim checks the lint trays before going off to work, and it's a wonder no one has died yet. But that's part of the fun.

LOL, I salute you, MarianT! You are so good at letting go!

[MarianT]

Chapter 56

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Did anything taste better than ice-cold lemonade on a hot summer day? Marnie didn't think so. Unless it was lemonade on a hot day that also happened to be her day off.

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She'd been working hard lately -- toting around placards for Jas's protest...

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...and making sure her World United mural stayed clean and bright. If Marnie had one ambition it was to see her niece, who was like a daughter to her really, get elected to the highest office in the land. Sadly, she might not live long enough to see it. She'd received her first notice from the Grim Reaper. While she might still have some time, it probably wouldn't be enough.

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On the other hand, Jas was moving up fast as a politician, picking up votes in the museum...

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...and making friends when she went out for a walk. Marnie would have advised her not to cultivate Kent Marsh. He was as old as Marnie, if not older, and noted for his hot temper. Still, he had recently come into some money; it might be worthwhile to hit him up for a donation. Tomorrow. When it was cooler.

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Marnie was a little worried, though, about Jas and Arthur. She'd walked in on them having a private discussion at breakfast the other morning. She didn't know what it was about; they'd both clammed up as soon as they saw her.

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That evening she'd kept her eyes open, though, and noticed that Arthur didn't seem happy about the bond between Jas and little Xeno.

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Did Arthur think she spent too much time taking care of a child who was not her own? Or was he prejudiced against Sixamites? Marnie had observed that he wasn't as enthusiastic about Jas's cause of World United as Jas was.

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Marnie worried about her grandchildren, too. They were active...

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...bright...

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...and imaginative...

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...ready and eager to take on any challenge the world threw at them.

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But Marnie sometimes wished they were more cautious. Happily, no one had been playing outside during the last thunderstorm, but only because the girls were at their Scouts meeting. It was a dangerous world, especially for the children of a politician.

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At home that night, Arthur was having a hard time sleeping. He'd been promoted at work, so no longer had to spy directly on his wife and in-laws. But now he was reading reports, and he knew what lay under those [redacted] phrases. And Jas suspected something, ever since she found out that he worked with Victor Feng, the head of the opposing party. If he confirmed her suspicions and turned triple agent, he'd lose more than his job if his bosses found out about it. But then, what if his silence caused trouble for his girls? One sleepless night was leading to another, and Arthur didn't know what to do.

Jas's story continues in Chapter 66.

[oshizu]

Poor Arthur. His life just doesn't get easier, does it?
On the other hand, he's married to Jas who, to me, is the most beautiful sim in their simverse.
While pondering Arthur's dilemma, I realize I need to re-read how the watcher is handling careers in this multi-household ISBI-esque dynasty challenge.
*dashes off to check the rules

Lots of thunderstorms in your game, it seems...

[Shewolf13]

Oh my... that doesn't sound good.  Lightning striking is definitely dangerous, but there's a part of me that wants to see a Sim struck XD is that terrible or what?

[MarianT]

Oh my... that doesn't sound good.  Lightning striking is definitely dangerous, but there's a part of me that wants to see a Sim struck XD is that terrible or what?

Terrible. Just make sure you get a screenshot. I missed it for Kathy and just caught the tag end for Sebastian.

@oshizu, every once in a while when you're playing a bunch of families in rotation, someone will start a job at a high level. Arthur started out at level 8 in the Secret Agent career, and it took all this time for me to get his logic high enough to get a promotion.

[MarianT]

Chapter 57

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The weekend! Selena sailed on the bounding main.

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Nearby, her father made friends with a gardener, Cayla Crowell. He was trying to get some tips on how to speed up the growth of a money tree, as he explained later to Madilyn.

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At home, Shane finally mastered Keyboard Commander. "Why would anyone spell gitar with a 'u?'" he complained to anyone who would listen.

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In the afternoon, Gus took off for parts unknown and beat a couple of aliens in a race.

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Selena and Shane went off to their Scouts meeting. Aside from getting a little sunburn, they came back happy...

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...until they discovered that Cupcake the cat had run away.

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"Why? She had plenty of food in her bowl," Shane asked despairingly, and his grandfather comforted him.

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Selena figured she might as well do her homework since nothing was fun anymore.

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Saturday night, Gus slipped away and went off to Selvadorada to do some digging. He'd posted an alert about Cupcake, and now all they could do was wait.

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He returned with several artifacts to be authenticated, and kept busy working on those.

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One of them turned out to be a rare Omiscan vase in excellent condition. The snooty curator at the museum paid him almost 1000 simoleons for it.

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Sunday afternoon, after her Scouts meeting, Selena returned home to find Cupcake waiting for her. "I missed you so much!" She gave Cupcake a big hug. "Don't ever run away again." If having the breath squeezed out of you on your return was the punishment for running away, Cupcake was pretty sure she wouldn't do that again.

Gus's adventures continue in Chapter 67.

[Shewolf13]

I love that last picture!  So cute.  Hehehe, yup, that's your punishment Cupcake.