The Loveland Random Town Jump

[Trip]

Playable ghosts age without any mods, and based on the life state underneath (it is weird but think about how Peter is both a fairy and a ghost, most playable ghosts are human and a ghost. So ghost Peter would still age like a fairy). Now NRaas StoryProgression turns off playable ghost aging by default but you can turn it back on. I'm pretty sure it's under other age-related settings but it's easy to get lost in there so consult their website if you need to.

[hazelnut]

Of course, even as a non-playable ghost, Peter could father ghost fairy babies  .  Although how would poor Archie cope with ghost siblings?

(Actually, I know the answer to that: he'd probably faint the first time he saw them but then be perfectly OK.)

[deedee_828]

Unfortunately, no matter if family members are brave or not, they all continue to drop their actions and wave away ghosts, family or not, every. single. time.
I guess it's a hard coded game mechanic, though maybe it could be stopped with the NRaas Retuner mod---I never thought to check that to see if it could stop that annoying behavior.

But...coward sims faint 99% of the time upon seeing a ghost, though I've never had an active one in the family, to see if that behavior mechanic is different.

In fact, my 1st gen founder spouse Sam, not only fainted upon seeing family ghosts, but even when he became a ghost himself, he still passed out at the sight of the others!
it's actually funny and something I kept writing in, especially since Founder Jared was mean spirited and inappropriate and laughed every time poor Sam fainted.

So...it will be interesting to see how poor Archie reacts to family ghosts, active ghosts, ghosts kittens or ghost babies!

I must admit, the thought of possible ghost fairy babies is even more intriguing that ghost kittens!

Maybe one of each!

[Beks]

Playable ghosts age without any mods, and based on the life state underneath (it is weird but think about how Peter is both a fairy and a ghost, most playable ghosts are human and a ghost. So ghost Peter would still age like a fairy). Now NRaas StoryProgression turns off playable ghost aging by default but you can turn it back on. I'm pretty sure it's under other age-related settings but it's easy to get lost in there so consult their website if you need to.

I'll have to look into those SP settings. I'm not sure I want to deal with Peter long-term, but being able to influence his aging would make things easier.

Of course, even as a non-playable ghost, Peter could father ghost fairy babies  .  Although how would poor Archie cope with ghost siblings?

(Actually, I know the answer to that: he'd probably faint the first time he saw them but then be perfectly OK.)

This idea HAS crossed my mind...but it's still just an idea at this stage.

Unfortunately, no matter if family members are brave or not, they all continue to drop their actions and wave away ghosts, family or not, every. single. time.
I guess it's a hard coded game mechanic, though maybe it could be stopped with the NRaas Retuner mod---I never thought to check that to see if it could stop that annoying behavior.

But...coward sims faint 99% of the time upon seeing a ghost, though I've never had an active one in the family, to see if that behavior mechanic is different.

In fact, my 1st gen founder spouse Sam, not only fainted upon seeing family ghosts, but even when he became a ghost himself, he still passed out at the sight of the others!
it's actually funny and something I kept writing in, especially since Founder Jared was mean spirited and inappropriate and laughed every time poor Sam fainted.

So...it will be interesting to see how poor Archie reacts to family ghosts, active ghosts, ghosts kittens or ghost babies!

I must admit, the thought of possible ghost fairy babies is even more intriguing that ghost kittens!

Maybe one of each!

Yeah, ghosts comes with quite a few annoyances that I'm not a fan of. Still, the whole ghost fairy thing is pretty snazzy, and with all this interest in ghost fairy babies...I dunno. You'll just have to wait and see. (No promises, though.)

Archie does seem to sort of get over the initial shock of seeing a ghost that's around regularly. He'll faint a few times and then be fine after that. Sometimes he faints again if he leaves the lot and comes back, but for the most part, his cowardliness isn't quite as bad as I was expecting.

[Beks]

Chapter 71 - Animalia

What a night. Two deaths in a single day--one from old age, one from fire. Our previous and current heir are gone. The family is devastated, as evidenced in their double mourning moodlets. Both Franky and Anastasia have a Mourning moodlet AND the Heart Broken moodlet, for their respective losses.

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It's lucky, then, that Anastasia notices a stray dog on the edge of the lot that night. She goes out to say hello, and by dawn, she's adopted him into the family. A new dog is the perfect thing to cheer everyone up after the most tragic day ever in the history of the sims ever.

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So "Stray Dog" joins the household and is renamed Tootles (I'm still going with the Peter Pan theme and I will do so until I'm over Peter's death, which might be never, or until I run out of character names, which will be soon). He's got slightly glitchy eyes that flicker and don't close properly, but he's super cute and super sweet and I'm so glad he's here.

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He's also a very good boi.

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Everyone's doing their best to return to some kind of normalcy. Franky focuses on his grandchildren, guiding them in skills and life lessons.

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Anastasia, who doesn't have much of a reason to grow alchemy ingredients anymore, spends more time sculpting. Hacking at things with a chisel helps get some of her sadness out, if only a little.

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Archie goes to school, practices baking, and cuddles with the cats.

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Heather finishes out her toddler days in oblivious, carefree contentment. She's not going to remember the family trauma when she grows up, and she's lucky for it.

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When it's time for her birthday, Grandpa Franky does the honors.

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*sniff* She's looking more and more like her father, isn't she? Heather grows up into a Vegetarian. I haven't played one of those in ages!

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Now that she's old enough to do things on her own, and it's Saturday, Heather ventures into the world to find some fun.

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Archie goes along. It actually takes them a couple hours to get across Lucky Palms. Bikes aren't the slowest vehicle in the game, but Lucky Palms is just so huge.

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They spend the day at the playground, giggling and playing and becoming better friends. It's so nice to have a pair of siblings that get along, after the hot mess that was last generation.

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The members of last generation have grown up a lot, though. Gilbert comes round and comforts his sister-in-law, as does Lisette in her spare time.

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Animals seem to be the focus of the Lovelands these days. Having inherited his wife's inventory, Franky finds himself the proud owner of the little red bird from Hidden Springs (whose name is Bellina--I don't think I ever mentioned that). They bond with plenty of suitable adorableness.

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A few chapters back, there was talk of ghost kittens. Well, I'm pleased to finally announce that IT'S HAPPENING. At least, I assume it's happening. I don't know if ghosts are guaranteed, but in any case, Tink and Chewie are going to be parents!

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I'm a bit worried about how Archie will react to a bunch of tiny ghosts floating around his house all the time, but his strange love for telling ghost stories makes me think that maybe he'll be fine...? (His ghost stories are probably pretty good, too. An easily scared person knows exactly how to make people scared.)

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As they work through their grief, Anastasia and Franky have become closer than ever. They're always playing catch together in the backyard or chatting over breakfast. It's sweet. (I'm still pretending they aren't attracted to each other. Thankfully, there hasn't been any flirting.)

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Anastasia seems to be recovering rather well for someone who lost a husband and a mother-in-law in the same day--that is, until she's outside with Tootles and he pees on her.

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Commence mental breakdown.

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At least Archie and Heather are doing well. They're best friends and get along perfectly.

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And despite peeing on Anastasia a moment ago, Tootles really is a wonderful addition to the household. His only trait is Friendly, and he's the most affectionate dog I've ever played. He loves sitting on laps, even if he's never interacted with the Sim before. Here he's making Alec feel welcome in a house full of non-green cousins.

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Soon enough, we'll be welcoming even more new family members! Until then, here's a pregnant Tink exercising, um, her freedom of expression. Or something.

[Beks]

Chapter 72 - Poof

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You're in luck, everyone. You don't have to wait another second. Tink is about to give birth to the scariest litter of kittens you ever did see! (Or it might only be one. In the past, I pretty much always just get one.)

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*POOF*

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Tink gives birth to three beautiful ghost kittens and I nearly pass out from excitement. Three! Ghost! Kittens! After so many attempts at (human) twins with no success, this feels incredibly satisfying. These kittens are named Nibs (a boy; Non-Destructive, Adventurous), Curly (a boy; Adventurous, Piggy), and Tiger Lily (a girl; Non-Destructive, Aggressive). I have a hard time telling Curly and Tiger Lily apart because they're both a bit floofier. Nibs is the less floofy one.

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And these kittens are super magical, man. They basically float wherever, whenever, however, breaking every known law of physics.

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See? Where the heck are you even going, Tiger Lily? (She wasn't even floating here--she was doing that little floppy kitten run.)

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The family has mixed reactions. Franky's grossed out, either by the ghost kitten before him or the plate of ancient waffles on the floor.

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Anastasia takes to them very well, though. She simply adores her blue babies. I think she's been harboring a secret Animal Lover trait.

The kittens arrive while Archie and Heather are at school. (Thank you, Tink, for your discretion.) So I have no idea how the kids are going to react. It's the moment of truth.

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Uh-oh.

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Oh, Archie, it's okay! They're just--

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Yeah, I can't handle it either, kiddo. (I have to admit I laughed SO hard at this picture.)

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It takes a full afternoon of fainting in various places around the home, but sloooowly, Archie gets used to the presence of the three kitties. (Heather seems to adjust right away. Or maybe she just forgets. She IS Absent-Minded.)

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When all else fails, Archie pours himself into his homework.

"Just ignore them, just ignore them, just ignore them..."

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Within a couple of days, though, Archie warms up to the ghost kittens. Once the initial shock wears off, he even seems to like them.

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Well, you know. As much as he can like them.

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After all that stress, Archie now has to deal with the stress of growing up into a teen.

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Will he get a more well-adjusted trait? Or will he continue down the slipper slope to total insanity?!?

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Uh, neither. He rolls Photographer's Eye as his new trait. Actually, maybe photography will help ease his anxieties and help him learn to cope with the things that scare him. Nothing can hurt you when you're behind a camera, right?

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Oh look, it's our fiery fairy ghost! Even Peter is freaked out by the kittens initially.

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"How you doing, Dad?"
"I'm well considering the circumstances, son. In fact, sometimes I feel closer than ever to you now that you're dead."
"Ha, ha."

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Oh. Oh no. Three hours into teenhood and already Archie has to contend with yet another terrifying phenomenon right here in his own home. How's he going to respond to seeing the ghost of his dad for the first time?

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I think we all know.

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*sigh*

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Hopefully Archie will get used to his father's ghost, the same way he got used to the kittens. He'd better, because I'm not tucking such an awesome-looking ghost away in the family inventory just yet!

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Next on Archie's list of Scary Things To Faint Over: HIGH SCHOOL. We'll see how he fares in the next one.

[deedee_828]

OH! OH! OH! Blue ghost kittens! How wonderful and three of them is just to die for! (Sorry, I couldn't resist! lol)

Poor Archie will probably be fainting a lot with ghost kittens and his father's fiery fairy essence haunting the home, but on the bright side, he'll have awesome photos to take.

Hopefully high school won't be quite as traumatic as his home life.

[Beks]

OH! OH! OH! Blue ghost kittens! How wonderful and three of them is just to die for! (Sorry, I couldn't resist! lol)

Poor Archie will probably be fainting a lot with ghost kittens and his father's fiery fairy essence haunting the home, but on the bright side, he'll have awesome photos to take.

Hopefully high school won't be quite as traumatic as his home life.

I see you share my excitement Archie does faint a lot, but I've gotten used to it. It's even endearing at times.

[Beks]

Chapter 73 - Heat of the Moment

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Anastasia has a new friend. It's Ira Lee, a homeless townie who literally showed up on our lot one day and got to talking with Anastasia. They go on something akin to a date one afternoon and, um, get really excited about it. I don't know how far this will go, but Anastasia popped a wish to get married a few days after Peter's death, so clearly she's feeling a bit lonely.

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Georgiana haunts the house for the first time. Like Felicity, she only wears her swimsuit. Naturally, she scares her grandson to death.

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Franky is thrilled to see her, though.

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The ghost kittens are doing very well. Nibs has made friends with our new Fairy Damsel fish whose name I forgot.

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Saturday morning, it's Heather's turn to celebrate her birthday.

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She ages up into Felicity's hairstyle. Doesn't look as good on her, does it?

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Heather is looking more like a true blend of her parents as she grows up, which is surprising. I was expecting her to remain a clone of her dad, but there's a lot of Anastasia in her now. I think it's the facial structure and nose. Heather also gets one of my favorite traits: Good Sense of Humor.

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I aged Heather up early in the day because we're going to have a slumber party tonight! That's right, it's officially spouse-hunting time.

Before the party, though, Heather and Archie have to track down a few teens that they haven't met yet. We need ALL eligible bachelors and bachelorettes at this party, please.

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Heather's good luck starts with the very first guy she meets. This is Trevor Shaw.

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The teens start arriving around dinnertime. Angela Lancaster is the redhead, obviously; the girl in braids is Larissa Irwin. Behind her is Solomon Lancaster and Crystal Diwan.

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Archie is already best friends with Angela. I'm happy to report they're both open to the idea of something more.

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Archie also finds attraction with Crystal. He tries flirting with Larissa, but she shoots him down, probably because she's already in a relationship with Andrae Vasquez-Arellano (who's also at this party).

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Hey, look who it is! It's Rasheed, Gilbert and Lisette's eldest son. Turns out he doesn't even know his cousins yet.

Heather: "We're RELATED and we live ACROSS THE STREET from each other, and you didn't even know my name?! Be friends with me NOW!" *smash*

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Things go dark on all the schmoozing and flirting for a few moments in the middle of the party. That's because Angela's telling a ghost story in the living room. Thanks, Angela. You're lucky you're really cute.

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Heather, it turns out, shares attraction with every single guy at this party. Trevor Shaw is the one who takes the most initiative to talk to her. They get along well because they're both Loners.

And then--

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Out of the blue, he kisses her. Just like that. Bam. Smack on the lips. (Honestly, University Life was worth buying just for that Heat of the Moment Kiss.)

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Heather is overjoyed and kisses him right back. They spend pretty much the rest of the party in each other's arms while the others read, flirt, and eat hours-old birthday cake.

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Andrae Vasquez-Arellano and Angela provide a good amount of entertainment at this party. They both sit at the table for hours on end, being over-dramatic about some sort of routing issue that's preventing them from, I don't know, getting out of their chairs or something.

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Just after everybody settles into their sleeping bags for the night...disaster strikes.

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Yes, Archie did start cooking spaghetti and walk away from it, and yes, I did forget to install a fire alarm after our last inferno. But in my defense, shouldn't all pre-built houses have fire alarms already?!

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"HOW IS THIS HAPPENING AGAIN?! I SWEAR I HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS!"

As long as you stay away from any fire extinguishers, Franky, you should be fine. And anyway, Solomon Lancaster is on the ball!

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"Why did I come to this party? I didn't want this! I already have a girlfriend!"

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Thankfully, the fire is put out and nobody gets hurt or dies. Phew! More terrifying than the fire is the fact that Rasheed's sleeping bag is invisible, which makes his body look contorted and creepy. But other than that, everybody's fine.

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Dawn arrives and the kids ship out. We definitely nailed a romantic interest for Heather; Archie's night was less conclusive, but at least I've picked a favorite for him. (I'll give you a hint: she is not a brunette. You'll never, ever guess!) Bye, everyone! Come back soon!

[Beks]

Chapter 74 - Smitten & Kitten

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After that rather dramatic slumber party, our kiddos have some decisions to make. Well, Heather pretty clearly found her match, but Archie's not so sure. He doesn't have any romantic wishes for any particular girl.

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He does, however, consistently pop wishes to hang out with Angela. They've been best friends since childhood, so it makes sense. Archie came out of the party feeling a little intimidated by all the girls. So he goes over to Angela's house (which happens to be just down the road, in walking distance) and asks her if she'll go to prom with him, even if just as friends.

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Angela agrees, and even responds with a little bit of flirting. This looks promising! We'll see how prom goes. Maybe this can become something more than friendship.

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Heather, meanwhile, crosses town to talk to Trevor. He lives in one of those massive houses by the ravine--and he has some VERY cute dogs running around.

In talking to Trevor, Heather discovers a concerning fact--Trevor has a girlfriend. It's Larissa Irwin. Now, this doesn't really make sense, because I'm sure I saw Larissa making out with Andrae Vasquez-Arellano the night before. (Note from the future: I went back and checked my unused screenshots, and I do have one of Andrae giving Larissa flowers and Larissa accepting them, and there is no evidence of anyone being jealous of anyone else. But other than that, I guess I have no proof that Trevor and Larissa WEREN'T together at the party...?)

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Even so, Heather asks Trevor if he'd be her date to prom. And he responds with the most enthusiastic "YES!!!!!!!!" I've ever seen this game produce. (The notification has about 27 exclamation points.) So even though he's supposedly dating Larissa...Trevor is still extremely excited to go with Heather.

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They finish out the night with some more autonomous kissing. I'll tell ya one thing--Trevor is definitely attracted to Heather. Like, a lot. Partway through the date, Heather asks Trevor if he wants to break up with Larissa. Trevor agrees. Then Heather goes home, and five seconds after she gets there, Trevor calls her to ask her out on a date. Awwww. This poor boy is so smitten with Heather, he can't go five minutes without her!

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So how's the rest of the family doing? Oh, you know. The ghost kittens are doing fine, being impossibly cute and creepy all at once.

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They drift around adorably and gather to watch TV together. (I tried to get a shot of them all sitting and facing the TV, but they wouldn't quite cooperate. They were, however, all watching TV at the same time.)

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Nibs is a special kitty because he eats his food backwards. Like, he sticks his booty in the food dish and...you know what, never mind.

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Franky lost his womrat a while back--she escaped from his inventory, and though I spotted her exploring the sandy backyard a couple of times, I was never able to get Franky there in time to catch her. So, although it's been a few weeks, Franky buys himself a new pet to fill that hole in his heart. This rat's name is Nibbles. (I wasn't feeling creative.)

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To be perfectly honest...I'm getting really bored with Franky. I love him to death, but he just doesn't have anything to do anymore. He lost his job as Leader of the Free World when he died the first time, so he just hangs around the house. And Anastasia only has so much time to dedicate to playing dominoes with him.

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So when Franky pulls Ellinor's old keyboard out of his massively bloated inventory and starts playing one afternoon, I happily let him at it. He's mostly just making plinky sounds at this point, but it's better than him going around from pet to pet interrupting them (and becoming Best Friends Forever with ALL OF THEM so that the next time he dies he won't stand a chance at actually dying...).

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Tootles starts feeling a little sparkly one night...

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...and has the most TERRIFYING birthday I've ever seen. (His eyes are just glitched. It's fine. It's fine...)

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Tootles gives and gets so much love in this family. I can't believe he's an elder already.

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Prom arrives on Tuesday night, and Heather steps out of the house looking spectacular in the setting sun.

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"Archie, have you seen Trevor? And isn't Angela supposed to be going with you?"
"I saw Trevor chatting with Grandpa in the front yard a second ago. And--yep, there's Angela running down the road just now. Looks like they're both going to miss the limo."
"Great."

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Archie and Heather go to prom alone, but of course Trevor and Angela are there in spirit. (As in, they're there--it's just their physical bodies that remain at the Loveland house chatting with other family members for hours.)

And what a wonderful prom it is. Angela asks Archie to go steady while they're slow dancing. Trevor follows suit and asks Heather to be his girlfriend. Archie wins prom king, Heather wins prom queen and goes crowd surfing. I didn't even know that was a thing. (For a Loner, she seems pretty popular.) And both couples are among the cutest at the dance.

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Back home, our ghost kittens are about to become ghost cats! I have to admit, I'm a little sad.

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Now Nibs, Curly, and Tiger Lily are big enough to pounce on each other properly.

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A quick update on some other Lovelands. Theo and Christine have had a third child. This is Horable. Isn't he adorace? This is Horace. Isn't he adorable?

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Christine is still just as Grumpy and Mean-Spirited as ever. She and Franky have gotten along fairly well in the past, but she comes out of the house just to yell at him for attacking Horace with the claw. Maybe she doesn't know that the attacking part is pretend.

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She also doesn't seem to get along well with Ripley. He sticks his head out to nuzzle her, and she's like, "Nooope. Nope nope nope nope. Nope." This is after living with this horse for his entire life. Is there a hidden Animal Hater trait?

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*sigh* I guess we got the good end of the bargain when Peter became the heir. Anyway, we now have both our future spouses picked out, and Tootles approves of at least one of them.

[Trip]

I'll miss the cats as chubby spirit puffballs too, but they probably shouldn't have been able to have been born anyways so we'll take the small victories.

The teens made some fast moves! I was secretly rooting for Crystal because the Diwan parents have fantastic genes (mostly Zahra, who'd have thunk though) and I'm mad none of my sims have paired up with their kids.

[Beks]

I'll miss the cats as chubby spirit puffballs too, but they probably shouldn't have been able to have been born anyways so we'll take the small victories.

The teens made some fast moves! I was secretly rooting for Crystal because the Diwan parents have fantastic genes (mostly Zahra, who'd have thunk though) and I'm mad none of my sims have paired up with their kids.

The teens were SO speedy this time. Heather's choice I had zero control over; Trevor showed passionate interest in her immediately and never backed down, and since Heather responded so well, I just went with it. I've never had a townie be so decisive with one of my sims before. It was amazing. In contrast, I pretty much chose Angela myself--I couldn't pass up a new and exciting hair color, and Archie was being decidedly unhelpful in showing interest in anyone. Also, she's adorable, and she continues to be adorable in a lot of ways in the future as well.

I love the Diwan genes too! When I played the Kindles in Lucky Palms, all the Diwan babies ended up with horrifying chins, but Crystal turned out really lovely. I'm wrapping up this generation right now and Crystal actually gets together with Rasheed Loveland later on, so she does become part of the family, if distantly.

[Beks]

Chapter 75 - The Scientist

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Somehow I can't believe this hasn't happened yet...but anyway, Anastasia encounters the ghost of her husband for the first time one night.

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She responds as you might expect.

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Really though. After that initial "yuck", Anastasia happily spends the rest of the wee hours catching up with Peter on his afterlife adventures.

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Georgiana: "Hello, children! I'm so happy to see you're togeth--"
Peter: "Mom, for watcher's sake, PUT ON SOME CLOTHES. Just because you're see-through doesn't mean we can't see your wrinkly behind in that swimsuit!"

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Other than the constant ghost shenanigans, we're kind of at a mellow point in this generation. Our spouses are chosen and neither potential heir has a life plan laid out yet. So, to fill the rather boring afternoons, we invite our family members over!

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I've done a pretty bad job of ensuring that the Loveland cousins grow up as friends. That was definitely my intention. But Archie and Rasheed are basically strangers. They get to know each other again over a game of dominoes.

That night, I get the notification from Story Progression that a certain girlfriend of a certain potential heir has aged up to young adult.

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Angela: "Look who's too young to date me now!"
Archie: "Uh...is it me? Oh, shoot, it's me..."

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The next day, Anastasia starts carving ice sculptures for the first time. Somehow they don't melt as she makes them. You'd think they wouldn't last a second in the desert sun.

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Franky is over 110 days old now and still having a great time. I send him out of the house a lot to get him out of my hair. He's been spending a lot of time at the pool down the road. He deserves to chillax after all these years.

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When he IS at home, Franky spends a lot of time playing catch with various household members. I just like this picture of Heather. She drops the ball right after this.

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He also keeps tabs on Theo and Gilbert's families. Theo and Christine have another son, Horace. He might be my favorite one yet.

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Theo is still just as annoying as ever, of course.

While Archie is at school that day, Anastasia takes matters into her own hands and invites Angela over.

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"I assume Archie has talked to you about our family, Angela. You probably know that he'd like you to move to the next town with us?"
"Actually he's been too scared to talk about the future with me...but I figured something was up and I forced it out of him eventually. So yes, I'm aware."
"Great. Would you like to go ahead and move in?"

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Heck yes she would! I've been dying to give this girl a makeover for ages, and boy, was she worth the wait. Angela's traits: Good, Excitable, Green Thumb, Kleptomaniac, and Heavy Sleeper. She wants to be an Animal Rescuer and rescue 6 strays; I don't think that's remotely possible, but maybe we can have her adopt one sometime in the future. Her favorite things are Chinese music, mac & cheese (ma girl), and the color green.

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I'm sure Archie wasn't expecting to come home from school to find his girlfriend waiting for him, all grown up and long-haired and stuff.

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"So uh. You look different."
"Thanks! So do you. That is, I've never seen you in your...pajamas before."

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After some initial awkwardness and shy staring, Archie and Angela start getting along well again. Look at that adoring smile!

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I'm surprised Archie doesn't faint in fear after seeing this, though.

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Before Angela moved in, the game had placed her in the criminal career. (It JUST occurred to me that this was probably because of her Kleptomaniac trait. This whole time I've been like, "BUT WHY???") But somehow, I don't think a Good Sim belongs in such a dodgy field. As a Green Thumb, she can do much better work as a scientist. She can, like, steal harvestables from people's yards if she really needs to scratch that itch.

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She doesn't know any gardening yet, though. Off she goes to the library to start studying.

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See, this is how you know when somebody is the right addition to the household: when one of the cats curls up and sleeps right next to them on the floor. Angela is ghost-kitten-approved!

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Somebody else has a good night's sleep, too. Or...does she?

[hazelnut]

The ghost kittens were adorable!  (But how did they end up blue?  A newborn kitten shouldn't have any happiness points.)

Adopting animals from the shelter counts towards the Animal Rescuer LTW – and they don't have to stay in the household.  Although that probably wouldn't suit your story, come to think of it.

Ooh, and it looks as though there's going to be another addition to the family

[Beks]

A quick update for any interested readers: I added the Loveland Family Tree to the introductory post on this story! I'll try to keep it updated as I post chapters (so if you aren't fully caught up with the story, the family tree might contain spoilers). I haven't figured out a way to designate who the heirs are / what the main family line is, but you can at least see the big picture.

The ghost kittens were adorable!  (But how did they end up blue?  A newborn kitten shouldn't have any happiness points.)

Adopting animals from the shelter counts towards the Animal Rescuer LTW – and they don't have to stay in the household.  Although that probably wouldn't suit your story, come to think of it.

Ooh, and it looks as though there's going to be another addition to the family

I don't know why they came out blue. I was curious about that too. Chewie was a red ghost, so I kind of expected them to be red. I've done a little googling on the subject but haven't found anything conclusive. Maybe the developers were like "nobody wants a sad kitten...let's make them blue by default!".

That's true--Angela could adopt some animals and then give them up. I forgot that I did that in a past story (the Honeyhearts I think?). It was painful, so I'd probably do it off-screen and not include it in the story. Household space is rapidly becoming an issue though (I just moved to the next town), so it might be that nothing happens for a while on the pet front. We'll see!