The Royal Random Town LEPacy

[Beks]

Chapter 10 - Just a Peck

After that party (although I’m starting to lose track of all the parties), Roz wanted to focus on her family for a while. She had a wish to be best friends with Daphne, and to talk to both of her parents.

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“Don’t worry about it too much, Roz. You’ll find someone!”

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“I think it’s time I focus on my higher calling, Daphne. I don’t need a boyfriend to start developing my political views and spreading them among potential voters.”

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“That’s certainly true. Just think, if you’re a politician one day and I’m a doctor, we’re going to do so much good for people!”

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“See, this is why I think you’re going to be the heir. Maybe it’ll be better for both of us that way.”

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I hadn’t made a decision yet, but things were certainly moving in that direction. Although Daphne...seemed like she might need some more convincing.

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“Dad, do you have any advice for finding a spouse? I’m not in so much of a rush anymore, but…I think I would like to find someone eventually.”

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“Here’s my two cents, sweetheart. One, don’t marry the first person who walks into your life out of nowhere. Marry the second one. At least, that worked for me. And two, throw more parties!”

I think we’re all a little tired of parties right now, Lars.

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“What about you, Mom? Any advice?”

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“Sure! Just stare off into the distance and waves your arms around. This is an ideal way to attract mates.”
"I guess anything's worth a try!!”

Sorry. I had a great caption for this photo but it has disappeared into the murky depths of my brain.

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Anais had never been too caught up in her daughters’ social lives, anyway. (Look, a showerbath! I used to love taking those when I had an actual bathtub instead of a tiny apartment shower!)

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Over the next week or so, Roz dated around a bit. She was good friends with Karim Lucas-Cardamom. I thought he was cute, but there were no romantic sparks between them and he was in a relationship with Roz's best friend Tamsen Tamarind. (Wait, is there a naming theme here in Lunar Lakes that I never noticed until now?)

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“Okay, seriously? You think I'm spouse material for this chick??”

You’re a teenager and single! Of course you’re spouse material! Oh, never mind.

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Lars maxed his athletic skill, making him one third of the way done with his Lifetime Wish of Renaissance Sim. Yikes, I gotta get moving on that one.

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Martin had a pretty quiet childhood, partly because I was focused on his sisters and partly because kids in base game are able to (1) play with toys and (2) oh wait that’s it.

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Noela was still a frequent visitor. She had reached a point where almost nothing fazed her about Lars anymore.

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I said almost nothing.

“Moondust? Again?!?”
“Actually, these are the crumbs of a burnt muffin my daughter made four years ago!”
“UGH!”

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“WHY AM I STILL HERE?”

Great question, Noela. You should probably leave before they start fornicating on the neon-accented loveseat over there.

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And Daphne and Lionel? They were doing just fine. Roz (who’d just decided to work out for the first time in her life even though I’d never given her an athletic outfit) was happy to see this.

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“Hey Lionel, I can see how much you and Daphne care about each other. Why don’t we put the past behind us and just be friends?”
“That sounds good, Roz.”

AND THEN HE TRIED TO FLIRT WITH HER.

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“What’s the big deal, Roz? I just said I liked your argyle workout sweater!”
“You're not supposed to compliment me on anything, Lionel!”

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Daphne was understandably annoyed.

But not so annoyed that she actually got mad. Instead she just tried to soothe her boyfriend with kisses.

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“But…can’t we just kiss and make up, Lionel?”
“I dunno, Daph. I’m feeling pretty confused right now.”

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“Pleeeease? Just a peck?”

Oh, Daphne. She really does care a lot for Lionel. I think all the tension was getting to Lionel, though. He kept pulling away whenever she tried to do anything romantic at all.

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“Fine. If you’re going to be difficult, leave. I’ll probably just forget about this and roll a wish to kiss you all over again tomorrow.”

She wasn’t wrong!

[Beks]

Chapter 11 - Record Time

Daphne’s young adult birthday was approaching. In spite of her difficulties with Lionel, she was set on having him in her life - she’d never been remotely interested in anybody, and he really was a nice guy…sort of. When he wasn’t being Inappropriate.

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Daphne took some time to unwind the next morning, making her favorite food (pancakes) and setting the kitchen on fire.

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Seeing her parents so in love gave her confidence that she, too, could have a happy future with the man she loved.

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“Awww. Such a sweet family. I guess I won’t yell at you all for almost burning your house down.”

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Roz wanted to throw one last party for her big sister’s birthday. Hey, she still had time to find a boyfriend of her own, possibly. (Don't mind the guy mocking Lionel. He's just jealous of him for being a Future Legacy Spouse.)

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“BOYS! BOYS EVERYWHERE!”

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Daphne had survived a lot of stressful parties throughout her teen years. This one felt less terrifying. She was moving up in the world and would soon be able to leave teenage shenanigans behind forever.

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“Oh no, wait! I forgot about bills! And laundry! And children! And marriage! And...and everything!"

Let's just get you to the mirror, darling.

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Daphne got the best trait imaginable for the upcoming generation: Family-Oriented. I intend to install Generations no matter what town we roll, so lots of kids are inevitable. Daphne was shaping up to be the perfect heir. Her other traits, as a reminder, are Loner, Neurotic, Bookworm, and Computer Whiz. She’d already had her Lifetime Wish locked in for a while: World-Renowned Surgeon.

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“You…you’ve grown up beautifully, Daphne.”
“Thank you very much, Lionel. It’s too bad you’re now suddenly underage.”

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“Actually…I wanted to talk to you about that. Did you know that today’s my birthday, too?”

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Oh wow, so it is!

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“Haha! My daughter’s boyfriend got HOT!”

Yes, Anais. Truly hilarious.

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So Lionel James joined the household and cleaned up real nice. His traits are Loner, Great Kisser, Clumsy, Inappropriate, and Can’t Stand Art. He likes kids music, vegetarian fish and chips, and the color grey, and he wants to be a Professional Author.

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“We’re moving to a new town soon, right Daphy?”
“Yes, Martin.”
“Aren’t you excited? You’ll be in charge then, right?”
“I suppose so.”

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Might as well get things rolling. The next morning, Daphne found Lionel in the kitchen and asked him to come with her to Oasis Shoreline for no particular reason.

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She had a liiiittle bit of an anxiety attack when she got there. It’s all right, Daph, you can do this!

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By the side of the artificial pond, she asked Lionel to marry her. To my relief and mild surprise, he said yes!

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We could have thrown yet another party for these two, but I had a feeling that they wanted something a little quieter.

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So our two Loners got married right then and there after a quick change into their formalwear.

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Congratulations to the new Mr. and Mrs. Royal!

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After their private wedding, Daphne and Lionel drove a few blocks away to Lionel’s childhood home. His family was conveniently out, so they snuck in and made use of one of the upstairs bedrooms.

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They’d both rolled high-point wishes to woohoo each other within seconds of tying the knot. It was a short honeymoon, but a perfect one. (Side note: Daphne rolled a wish to have a child with Lionel about an hour after this. Talk about record time!)

[Beks]

Chapter 12 - Falling Into Place

While Daphne and Lionel were off enjoying their quiet wedding day, Roz was doing her homework. Until she got a phone call from a strange number, that is.

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“Hello? Yes, this is Roz...you're who? Santos Grace? Hmmm…yeah, I think I can picture you. English class, right? Yeah! Oh, you want to go out with me? Right now? Okay!”

Well, this was a first. In spite of her popularity, nobody had ever asked Roz on a spontaneous date before, and she hardly knew this guy.

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She met him downtown at the business office, because Lunar Lakes guys really know how to pick romantic date spots. They got talking and became friends easily - so easily, in fact, that Roz rolled her very first ever romantic wish. After about five minutes of friendly chatting, she wanted to kiss Santos. And she wanted to kiss him now.

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“Wait, was that a flirt, Roz? I’m sorry, but I have a girlfriend.”

Oh.

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Roz wasn’t very bothered, though. I left her on free will for the entire date (mostly because I was still busy with Daphne and Lionel). She and Santos behaved beautifully, using all friendly and funny interactions and being super respectful and chill.

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We have to leave them briefly, though, because Martin was having a birthday back home.

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A sudden awareness of the existence of girls hit him like a truck. How do I know, you ask?

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Because in addition to being Easily Impressed, Excitable, and a Hater of the Outdoors, Martin was now also Flirty. I think he’s going to have fun wherever we’re going next.

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Okay, back to Roz. She and Santos were still talking, silhouetted against the eerie glow of the portal.

They talked so long, in fact, that curfew came…and went.

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“Hey, you two over there! Lovebirds! It’s almost midnight, get in the car!”
“We’re not lovebirds, sir, but we’ll be right there!”

Lars waited up for his younger daughter to arrive home and met her at the end of their long driveway about a mile away from the house, because the roads in this town make no sense.

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“I’m sorry, Dad, okay? I really like Santos and I didn’t realize how late--”
“Roz, why would you expect me to care? I’m an ex-criminal! I can’t believe you would think something like that!”
"Then why are you mad?"
"Because...because you would think something like that!"

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Inside, I came across this rather foreboding painting that Anais had almost finished. Anais, what do you know? Are you trying to tell me something?!

Pretending we didn’t just see that…moving on!

Martin went to his first day of high school, and although he had a LOT of different girls express interest in getting to know him better, he came right home to complain to his mother.

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“Mom, school is AWFUL. I’m going to make my way through this social playing field in less than a week! How can such a big moon produce so few cute girls?”

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“Would a new town make you feel better, sweetie? Remember, you’ll be switching schools in just a few days!”

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“Oh, yeah! I forgot about that!”
“This is a Random Town Jump, my son. We encourage serial dating and exploring one’s options.”
“Rad!”

That day was Roz’s birthday. She was excited to finally be a young adult, but for the last couple of days she’d been distracted by thoughts of Santos. She’d thought for a while now that maybe her romantic future would be found in the next town, but…what if she never found anyone like Santos again? Besides, life was short, and she’d never hit it off so well with any other person before.

So she called him.

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“Santos, can you come to my house? Like right now?”

She actually had to invite him twice before he showed up. We’re going to pretend he wasn’t busy making out with his girlfriend.

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“Santos, this is going to sound crazy, but…okay, here goes. I really like you. The last two days with you have been the happiest two days of my life. I know we just met, and you’re eight days younger than me, and you already have a girlfriend, but…well, would you consider throwing it all away to be with me? Oh, and you have to make a decision in the next five minutes because I’m going to age up in an hour.”

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“My relationship with Jenna was never serious, Roz. But our friendship has been serious since the start, and I like a girl who knows what she wants. Okay, I’ll do it.”

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“Oh, Santos, I'm so glad! Now kiss me so I can get this wish fulfilled before the sparkles hit.”

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They made it just in time. There was a cake waiting inside, but love is more important. (I realize that’s a total reversal of what I said in a previous chapter, but hey. It is!)

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Roz grew up into one of the most stunningly beautiful Sims I’ve ever had the pleasure to play. Once I put her in this pink-cheetah-print power blazer, I started to…question my decisions. Roz’s final trait is Artistic, adding on to Slob, Excitable, Daredevil, and Heavy Sleeper, and she chose - of course - Leader of the Free World as her Lifetime Wish.

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Santos Grace rather unceremoniously joined the household and had his teen years cut short by about a week.

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And this is where I REALLY started to question my decisions. Maybe I just have a thing for beards, but MAN, does Santos clean up nice! He doesn’t have the best traits ever: Couch Potato, Loner, Heavy Sleeper, Coward, and Flirty. (If he’d had that Flirty trait as a teen, it would have made things slightly easier…but we got a good deal all the same.) His Lifetime Wish is Chess Legend, and he likes rap music, goopy carbonara, and lime.

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Roz: “Things are really falling into place, aren’t they, Daphne? You’ve got a husband, I’ve got a romantic interest-soon-to-be-husband, we’ve both got cute pajamas, and you’re all set to be the heir in the next town!”
Daphne: “...Yeah. It’s all just wonderful.”

[Beks]

Chapter 13 - Saliva & Sunsets

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Roz asked Santos to be her boyfriend the next morning. Santos happily said yes.

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Aww, look at that smile. Roz looked DIRECTLY AT ME while swooning over her boyfriend. Almost as if to say…I don’t know. What are you trying to say to me, Roz?

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There was a lot of love in the Royal household with so many adults in relationships. Even the maid didn’t seem to mind.

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Uh…guys, you can’t all go to the bedroom to woohoo at once. There’s only one bed.

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Guys?

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GUYS???

Anais: “Huh, there’s a young man in my bed! And my daughter is here too! What could they possibly be doing?”
Roz: “......”

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Maid: “Oh, hello, everyone! So sorry, am I interrupting something?”

NO. NO YOU ARE NOT. EVERYONE LEAVE, EXCEPT ROZ AND SANTOS WHO GOT TO THE BED FIRST.

Oi. Let’s all take a moment to wash our eyeballs.

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One woohoo later, Roz proposes to Santos in an awkward spot out in the hallway.

And because we’re all dying to get to the next town, it’s wedding time!

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Yeah, I sent everybody to the lot without checking their needs first. Sorry, Santos.

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“I don’t know if I’m ready to be a playable.”

Oh, you know you’re gonna love it.

Roz had picked the site of one of her failed high school dates for the wedding - the spiral desert park with absolutely no amenities. Mostly I was just curious to see what would happen at a party with nothing for the guests to do except socialize with each other.

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“I’m so happy for you, Roz! You finally get to be the center of attention for a day, just like you’ve always wanted - and deserved.”

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“I actually wanted to talk to you about that, Daph. But not now - after the ceremony.”

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Everyone the Royals knew from around Lunar Lakes showed up. It was pretty much a mix of old people and former-potential-spouses, some of whom hadn’t made it out of elementary school yet.

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Aaaand as it turned out, I forgot to make the party a wedding party. It was just a regular party. And apparently you can't randomly decide to hold a wedding ceremony during a regular party. So instead of exchanging vows in front of their friends with a beautiful sunset backdrop, Roz and Santos just exchanged a lot of saliva with a beautiful sunset backdrop.

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I was pleased to discover that Anais had somehow become best friends with Noela. After all these years, they were laughing and joking like they’d been pals since childhood.

Martin finally had an opportunity to flirt with some of the girls from school.

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“Eww, Martin, stop it! I can NOT go out with you. You’re my brother-in-law!”
“I am?”

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“Do you even know my name? I’m Hannah Grace. Santos is my brother.”
“Oh.”
“Also, I’m dating Harold James. You know, Lionel’s brother? So you’re, like, my DOUBLE brother-in-law.”
“Oh.”

As the sun went down behind the mountains of the moon, the guests continued to socialize, and the bride-to-be went to find her sister.

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“So the ceremony obviously can’t happen yet, but…I wanted to talk to you about the whole heir thing, Daphne.”
“What about it?”
“Are you sure you really want to be the heir? You don’t have to be, you know. If you and Lionel just want to live in a cabin in the countryside or whatever, I can take over the family responsibilities. You’ve had a hard time with all of this from the start, I can tell. It’s up to you, but…I just want you to know that I support you. And I’ll take over for you if you want.”
“You’d…you’d do that?”
“Totally! Like you said earlier, I’ve always wanted to be the center of attention. Let me know, okay?”

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“And here’s proof that I’m weird enough to carry the next generation of a forum story.”
“Gross. Point made.”

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The party finally ended, and as the guests wandered away, Roz and Santos finally exchanged their vows.

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Congratulations to the newest Mr. and Mrs. Royal!

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The last guest remaining on the lot was Daphne. She had a decision to make. And in the fading light of the galaxy, she knew what she really wanted.

~

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So Roz became the first heir of the Royal Random Town LEPacy, leaving her sister to live a calmer life (and perhaps go to therapy or something). Roz was more than prepared to lead her family into a new world and a new generation.

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She checked the mailbox for the mysterious postcard-from-nowhere that would reveal their destination.

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Goodbye, Lunar Lakes. We’ll miss your skies but not your architecture!

[Beks]

Chapter 14 - Northern Wherever

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The Royal family made their descent into a little Arctic town called Aurora Skies. It was a rather cold introduction to earth - but a colorful one. Look at those adorable houses!

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The Royals acquired The Glades, a spacious lodge a short distance from town. It took all their financial assets (and then some). The Royals were now absolutely dirt poor, but at least they had enough bedrooms!

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Downstairs…

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…and upstairs. I gotta tell ya, Lunar Lakes was fun, but it was so not my usual aesthetic. I breathed a sigh of relief just catching sight of wood again.

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Autonomous woohoo is a powerful thing, y’all. I barely got my NRaas settings in place before all the Royal couples practically attacked each other with romantic socials. I was eager for Roz and Santos to start having kids soon, but THIS soon??

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OH MY GOD YOU GUYS. This house has like seven double beds in it! Why does this keep happening?!?

After everybody got their wiggles out or whatever, Daphne met her sister on the front lawn.

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“Thanks for taking over for me, Roz. I feel like I can breathe for the first time in my life.”
“Me too. Is there more oxygen here or something?”
“There is, in fact. But mostly I’m just excited to focus on my career and my family and not have to worry about being the center of attention all the time.”
“I understand. I hope your new life has everything you long for, Daph.”

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Aww. Then Daphne went back inside to find Lionel, and off they went to live their peaceful, quiet life. (They moved to a little house just down the road, so we'll be seeing them often.)

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Roz was excited to get started on her path to politics. She drove over to City Hall and what do you know! There was already a protest happening!

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What better way to get a feel for her new constituents’ opinions and concerns? Apparently modern technology is really frowned upon here in Northern Wherever.

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After shouting herself hoarse alongside (count ‘em!) two other protestors, Roz dipped inside and got herself a job as a Podium Polisher. I guess she didn't mention the fact that she'd been causing civil unrest five minutes before.

Then she went back to working the circuit.

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“I’m so inspired by your passion for civil affairs, Mr. Birch! I’m a brand-new politician and I’d love to hear your thoughts about how we can improve life in Aurora Skies!”

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“You’re one of THEM now?? That makes you the enemy!”

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“Ooh, that’s a good point! Tell me, what exactly is it that you hate about politicians, and how can I avoid those things, and what are you looking for in your next representative, and how can we--”
“You can start by getting out of my way.”

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Meanwhile, Santos had applied for a job in the business career according to a wish he’d rolled. As a fairly boring dude, I think it suits him. After sealing the deal and getting his new work schedule, Santos parked himself at a table outside the Cuisine and Contracts Business Park and buried his nose in a book. Adjusting to earth life just fine, I see.

Roz came home from City Hall late in the afternoon and felt a powerful wave of nausea as she was talking to Martin.

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“Was it something you ate, sis?”
“I don't think so...our hunger bars haven’t dropped low enough since we moved in for us to be hungry yet. Ugh, I feel awful!”
“How very strange.”

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The hunger bars did drop eventually. Everybody shared a cozy dinner of Anais’s Stu Surprise in the new kitchen. (Don’t mind Anais, she’s just mad about…something. I have no idea.)

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Martin had a wish to pillow fight with Roz. Oh, right, we have Generations now! We must try out every single interaction and feature! (I love how Roz looks like she’s dancing ballet or something while swatting her brother with a pillow.)

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The next morning, everybody headed off to work - Anais to the newspaper offices, Santos to the business offices, and Roz to City Hall. This was her work uniform. Maybe City Hall was going for a "Greek deities" sort of vibe for their future world leaders?

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Roz only lasted about an hour into her shift before coming back out and whirling into her new pregnancy dress. Did I expect Roz to get pregnant after I gave her the Fertility Treatment and let her Risky Woohoo? Nope, for some reason it still surprised me!

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With the rest of the day off, Roz went around town fulfilling wishes and running errands. She visited the Art Gallery to indulge her new Artistic trait, then went to the school for a painting class and picked up a pregnancy book at the bookstore.

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When Santos got home that night, Roz told him the good news.

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And Anais joined her husband in old-personhood. Finally! It felt like Anais was an adult FOREVER.

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Although she was old now, Anais never lost her ability to be weird and cute and in-sync with her daughter while on the couch watching TV. (And I think we’ll be seeing a lot of this. This house has about eight TVs in it.)

[Beks]

Chapter 15 - Shower Dye

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Pregnant and bored, Roz took a day trip to one of the parks downtown to try and meet some townies. Lars and Anais tagged along. Roz actually encountered three other pregnant women within the first five minutes. Bingo! Time to make some friends!

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Lars didn’t get very far in his quest for friends, though.

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Lars Royal died at age 91 surrounded by sobbing pregnant women. Anais had inexplicably decided to run home just before this. Naturally, Lars begged for one more chance to see his wife before being taken by Grim.

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So close, Anais! You just might make it!

She didn’t make it. She did, however, make the most terrifyingly calm mourning face I’ve ever seen on a Sim.

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“Whoops, would you look at that! I do think my husband might have died.”

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“You just missed him, Mom…he said to tell you he loves you.”
“That’s quite all right, sweet pea. I am unaffected.”

Thank goodness that little glitch worked itself out and Anais was soon howling like the rest of us. Anyway, rest in peace, Lars. You were a fantastic founder and a delight to play.

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I don’t know if it was the mourning or what, but Martin launched into his first mood swing the next morning. Ah, it’s good to have Generations again!

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“I want to skip school! I want to do five pranks! I want to insult a teen! I want to get in a fight!”

I’d actually never let a Sim skip school before. And the point of this challenge is to try everything, right? Congrats, Martin, you get to stay home today!

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He was in the middle of booby trapping the shower when Roz came in and immediately started having labor pains. He was all like, “This isn’t what I pictured when I imagined missing school today!!” and Roz was all like, "Shut up and drive me to the hospital!" and Martin was all like "I don't know how to drive!"

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So Roz got herself to the hospital. Santos met her there and a few hours later, they came out with twin baby girls named Lana and Vivien.

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“Okay, NOW I’m free to scold you for skipping school even though I'm not your mother."
"And teach me how to drive?"
"NO!"

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It was time for a well-deserved snack break.

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…And Martin’s prank hit its mark eventually.

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So began Roz’s days of motherhood. She wasn’t used to being home all day, but there was plenty to keep her busy.

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When she wasn’t taking care of the baby girls, she practiced some domestic skills, worked on her charisma, took political opportunities, and painted the occasional doodle.

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Anais went to visit Daphne and Lionel and got to meet her other granddaughter, Erika, who was born on the same day as the twins.

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Surprise! It’s graduation day! For some reason, the game decided that our young adults needed to attend a graduation ceremony more than a week into their new lives in Aurora Skies. Whatever, game. The whole family took a taxi to City Hall, where Roz was voted Most Artistic and Santos was voted Most Popular.

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Although Martin wasn’t doing great in school (he’d skipped a day and also literally never did his homework), he did manage to find himself a boy he liked there. Edvin Oss was a little slow to warm up to the idea of a romance with Martin, but once he did, they became inseparable. For a Flirty Sim, Martin rolled surprisingly monogamous wishes.

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Martin also had a wish to throw a party, so of course we had to throw our first slumber party of the challenge.

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It, uh…didn’t go very well. The teens in this town have some rough traits, apparently! Martin spent the whole night being insulted and mocked by Loki Beaker and…Karen Helgason? I think that’s who this is? Anyway, by bedtime Martin was being snubbed by half his party guests. The only person who still liked him was Edvin, thank goodness.

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And even though we have this big spacious house now, they all decided to roll out their sleeping bags at the very edge of the backyard. *sigh* Am I going to have to build a designated Slumber Party Room that no one will actually use anyway?

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Amid the hubbub, Roz became pregnant again. Yes, already. Like I've said, I totally underestimated the power of Fertility Treatment in conjunction with Risky Woohoo.

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But before we get that far, it’s time to see what our twin gals look like!

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Here’s Lana, an Athletic Slob who likes Latin music, veggie burgers, and the color red.

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And here’s Vivien, an Athletic and Brave girl who likes rap music, mac & cheese, and also the color red. These girls share a trait and a favorite color! What else will they share? The focus of the next chapter, probably.

[Beks]

Chapter 16 - Pink Cars Are Bad Luck

Hey reader, I hope you like toddlers, because this chapter is 99% toddler spam. Prepare thyself.

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Lana and Vivien only had a few short days as the only kids in the house, so their parents and grandmother took advantage. Skill teaching, diaper changing, potty scrubbing, bottle feeding, and tantrum soothing happened at all hours, continuously, forever.

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Both girls were enthusiastic learners and very vocal about their opinions.

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And they showed a promising tendency toward gnawing people’s heads off. That’s a very important milestone, you know.

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Let’s take a quick break and cut to the local pool, where Martin shared his first kiss with Edvin Oss. Hooray! Edvin aged up to young adult later that day before Martin could secure him as a boyfriend, but I’m trusting story progression to do the right thing in the future.

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Roz was stealing a rare moment of peace in the quiet living room when she went into labor.

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She gave birth to a boy named Clark.

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Oh, and a boy named Humphrey! Look at us, we’ve got two sets of twins! I’m gonna die lol

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Understandably, Roz and Santos were feeling pretty stressed at this point. Happy, but stressed. So when Roz discovered the treehouse that had been sneakily placed in the front yard during the night, she invited Santos up for some stress-relieving activities.

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Before the boys aged up to toddler, Roz and Santos took the older girls to visit their Aunt Daphne and Uncle Lionel. (I never use the strollers, but we have to, because this is the Generations Generation. And they are pretty adorable.)

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Daphne was so happy to see her family again.

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And her own daughter, Erika, was now a toddler too! A very beautiful one. I expected nothing less from Daphne Royal and Lionel James.

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Lana and Vivien played with Erika, sharing the dollhouse that had been sneakily placed in Daphne’s cramped living room. I am determined to have the cousins remain friends as they grow up. It will happen, whether they want it to or not!

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I’m running out of captions for the toddler spam. Here’s Lana being excited about soaring into the arms of Uncle Martin.

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Here are Lana and Vivien playing.

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Oops, birthday break! The boys are aging up!

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Okay, NOW we’ve got some interesting features cropping up. Finally! Clark, the older of the boys, was born with the Absent-Minded and Hates the Outdoors traits, and he likes rap music, fruit parfaits, and green.

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Humphrey is a Couch Potato who Loves the Outdoors, and he likes Latin music, autumn salad, and orange.

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And so began the rather chaotic, but thoroughly thrilling, Era of the Four Babies.

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Luckily, they shared a spacious toy-filled nursery that I was proud of and couldn't stop photographing, and they also had plenty of adults around to help them learn their skills.

I took fewer toddler spam shots of the boys, not because they are less cute (I actually think they’re MORE cute) but because I was experiencing a little bit of toddler overwhelm at this moment in time. Still, I managed to capture some gems:

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I guess it's not terribly surprising that absent-minded Clark was having trouble with logic.

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And if Humphrey ends up with the Evil trait or something like that, we can trace it all back to this picture.


Amid the toddler chaos, Santos became the victim of a rather severe glitch I’d never experienced before. I sent him into town on an errand, assuming he would take Roz’s Yomoshoto Evasion that was parked on the home lot. He did take the car. And he ended up here:

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When I right-clicked on his portrait, the camera just sort of drifted endlessly towards the edge of the map and never arrived anywhere. I did a quick reset sim, and that's when the car went totally rogue:

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…Yeah. I tried moving the car into Santos’s inventory. Apparently this is Santos’s inventory:

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And because we really can’t have cars crashing into the nursery, I had to sell the car.

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Santos had a little trouble adjusting to the sudden car-shaped hole in his house-shaped inventory. So much so that he managed to pick up Vivien from her crib while on the other side of the house. Another reset sim seemed to fix it, though. Note to self: never paint a car pink. It's bad luck.

[Beks]

Chapter 17 - No Promises

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Martin finally became a young adult somewhere on the back deck, where he likes to hang out in spite of the fact that he Hates the Outdoors. Weirdo.

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His final traits: Easily Impressed, Hates The Outdoors But Constantly Sits On The Deck Anyway, Excitable, Flirty, and Ambitious. He picked up Heartbreaker as his Lifetime Wish, mostly because his high school sweetheart, Edvin Oss, had recently started dating an elderly lady and Martin was feeling a bit vengeful.

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Well, it was time for Martin to make his own way in the world. He and his chest hair were pretty excited. So long, Martin!

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Meanwhile, it was still toddler town.

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Santos and Roz took frequent trips down the road to visit Daphne and Lionel and get the kiddos some fresh air.

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Daphne had two daughters now. The new little baby was called Farrah.

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Roz’s twin girls spontaneously aged up while on one of these visits to their aunt and uncle’s. (Please ignore Santos checking himself out in the mirror.)

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Cousin Erika (at the dollhouse) would soon be following, but not yet.

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Lana, already an Athletic Slob, became a Heavy Sleeper.

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And Vivien, already Athletic and Brave, became a Virtuoso.

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It was a relief for everyone in the household to have two girls who could put themselves to bed. Of course, they refused to do so without pestering the adults of the household to read them a bedtime story over and over and over again.

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Erika did indeed age up soon after, and even came home with them after school one day. All three girls quickly became best friends, frolicking freely in the grassy backyard under the icy northern skies.

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Humphrey and Clark now had the nursery to themselves most of the time. They happily bit blocks and peed puddles and sang silly songs to their Imaginary Friends.

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Speaking of Imaginary Friends, all four Royals have them, and I have not yet decided whether an IF is going to join the household. Since we’re theoretically playing through the features of every expansion pack, I feel strongly obligated. However, I have this problem where I keep forgetting to keep the kids’ relationships up, and also I don’t have any logicians in the family to quickly learn the potion. So this might not happen until, like, next generation. We’ll see.

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Santos was doing quite well in the business career. His shameless love for flirting may or may not have helped him with a couple of promotions here and there.

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Anais was approaching the end of her elder years, and after many long years of hard work, she finally became a Star News Anchor. It was more of a relief than anything.

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She’d had a wish to retire for a while. So that afternoon, she did so, with just the hungry maid in attendance.

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With no more career obligations, Anais dedicated herself to raising her grandchildren. I think it made her happy.

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Roz was also thriving in her political career, as I knew she would. She’d been on maternity for approximately 97 years, but she made up for it like crazy in her first week back. After a couple of daily promotions, a random work event gave her yet another promotion, shooting her up to level 4 in about three days total. Go Roz!

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Lana and Vivien enrolled in ballet class, putting their Athletic traits to good use.

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Lana was the one who drew the attention of the director, though. After just one ballet class, she was cast as the lead in the recital and got a cute little ballet slipper decoration for her bedroom.

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Santos aged up to adult and plunged into a rather severe midlife crisis. Who wouldn’t, with an old lady in a nightgown mocking you as you age up?

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The Royals got burgled at one point. I know it looks like the burglar was going for the computer, but she ended up just stealing some insulation from the inside of the stairs, or something. Meaning she didn’t actually steal anything. She did, however, inspire some big dreams in the young girls sleeping upstairs. Lana rolled a wish to become an International Super Spy; Vivien, hilariously, rolled a wish to Become a Master Thief.

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Yes, things were chaotic and pleasant in the Royal household these days. Since Anais was just sort of kicking around, I did have her start learning logic in hopes that she could pull an Imaginary Friend Metamorphium potion together. I was pretty sure there wouldn’t be enough time for the girls, but maybe for the boys? No promises. No promises at all.

[Beks]

Chapter 18 - Very Thin Ice

Roz threw a sort of joint birthday party for herself and for the boys. Mostly because townie children were starting to age up and WE MUST START MEETING THEM.

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And here they are! Lots of blondes around these here parts.

Lionel and Daphne came too, of course.

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“It’s good to see you, Roz. I feel like we haven’t spent any time alone together since that time I kissed you behind my now-wife’s back in high school.”
“How smart of you to notice. Why do you bring it up?”
“No reason. Just good memories.”
“Uh huh. Hey, look down. Under your feet. See that? You’re standing on some very thin ice.”

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So Roz went to hang out with her sister instead, who very possibly deserves better than what she got. Sorry, Daphne.

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Children, family, and EA’s knockoff Bjork gathered around as Roz stepped up to her cake.

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She came out looking exactly the same, because she's Roz and she doesn't age.

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Everybody sat down to eat some cake. But wait! Another birthday was happening!

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I’m actually not sure of the timeline in this chapter. I played this weeks ago, and I feel like the boys might’ve aged up earlier in the day.

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In any case, there was a lot of cake and Humphrey was not psyched about it.

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Clark added Neurotic to his Hates the Outdoors and Absent-Minded traits.

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And Humphrey became a Genius alongside his Loves the Outdoors and Couch Potato traits.

The party didn’t go too late, as there were four school-age children in the house now who needed a reasonable bedtime.

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When the excitement was all over, it was Anais’s turn to move on to the next stage of existence. (I’m sorry that she had to do it in front of a cheesy teenage movie poster.)

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Something was glitchy with Anais’s death, because almost nobody woke up to come witness her passing. Vivien was the only one who made it out of bed and across the hall to the library in time. Also her Imaginary Friend. That was interesting.

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Rest in peace, Anais. You weren’t the most exciting Sim ever, but you were cute and important and your patchwork outfits were legendary. Buh-bye now.

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Humphrey woke up at the tail end of the reaping and only made it to the library in time to wet himself near his grandma’s urn.

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Things were solemn the next morning, the first morning in which all four Royal children were old enough to play together.

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But slowly, as the day warmed up, the family found a sense of normalcy again.

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The yard was full of toys and activities that had been gathering dust since the move-in. Finally, finally, everyone could play on them!

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All four kiddos spent the weekend having a blast together. And crying in between activities. Which is just how life goes, honestly.

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Just a couple days later, it was time for yet another birthday. The girls got a big party with all their school friends and all the Royals. (Lana was particularly sad her grandmother couldn’t be there.)

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Lana got the Can’t Stand Art trait. Jeez, so much not-liking-things in this generation!

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And Vivien took after her grandfather Lars with the Party Animal trait.

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Already the girls were showing their personalities. Vivien got about two seconds into teenhood before rolling a wish to make a stink potion and pull a bunch of pranks.

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Well, Lana had the urge, too. She just didn’t look as convincing doing it.

[Beks]

Chapter 19 - The Society Column

Shortly after Lana and Vivien aged up, the parents got the phone call about taking a free vacation. I usually avoid this like the plague due to some glitches I’ve experienced in the past…but this is the Generations Generation, and since this is a Generations feature (at least I think it is), I decided to risk it. Besides, Vivien had a wish to throw her first party.

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“Okay, now that Mom and Dad are gone, let’s call everyone we know at school and invite them over. Dress code: bikinis and speedos.”
“But this is the far northern hemisphere. I know we don’t have Seasons yet, but it’s COLD!”
“So much the better.”

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Apparently the teenage population of Aurora Skies didn’t have an issue with this. They arrived in droves, clad in swim trunks and…shorts and t-shirts. Nice try, Vivien. Aurora Skies kids are more practical than you think.

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I don’t remember any of these townies’ names and I wrote nothing down, but just know that both girls met a whole bunch of potential spouses. I’m pretty sure Lana expressed attraction for both genders, too. Or was it Vivien? Anyway, there were hearts, and bikinis, everywhere.

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Sounds like a great time, right? Well, it wasn’t. The party was a total flop in spite of all the week-old muffins everybody got to eat for breakfast.

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When everybody left around 7 am, the Royal kids were still alone. Apparently Roz and Santos hadn’t caught wind of the party yet and were enjoying their time on the beach. They ended up staying away on their vacation for three whole days, to the point where I was getting nervous that they’d never come back. In the meantime, Lana and Vivien took good care of their brothers and made sure everyone got to school on time.

The parents did return, finally, on a random afternoon.

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“Oh my goodness…I sense PARTY VIBES! Did my beautiful babies have a good time while I was gone??”

Roz waited until the girls came home from school.

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“I just read the society column, Lana. Sounds like you girls threw an EXCELLENT gig the other night.”
“What?? Who sent anything to the society col--”
“Probably just one of your charming friends. We do have lots of connections at the journalism office, after all. No doubt someone wanted to capitalize on the Royal family’s thriving social calendar!”
“But--”

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“Ah, there’s your sister. Now, I’ve decided that because you two threw a raucous teenage party while your father and I were away, you will be rewarded by going to boarding school.”
“What?! But--”
“If your parties are legendary here in Aurora Skies, just imagine how much of a splash you’ll make at Dribbledine Sports Academy!”
“......”

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“Good afternoon! I’d like to speak to the Headmaster, please. I have two absolute stars who are destined for greatness at Dribbledine, and I must enroll them immediately. Tell the Headmaster it’s Representative Rozlyn Royal calling. Yes, THAT Roz. Thank you.”

It’s the Generations Generation, y’all. And that means that somebody has to go to boarding school. It seemed only logical to Roz to send her two star daughters to a place where their future would be extra-bright.

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So the family enjoyed one last cozy night at home together, watching TV and reminiscing.

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The next morning, a taxi arrived to pick the girls up and take them away to Dribbledine.

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They were excited. Really. I promise. Actually I don't know because there's no "I'm going to boarding school and this is how I feel about it" moodlet.

Almost as soon as they were gone…

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“What? Already?!”

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Already. It’s your time to shine, boys.

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Clark became Friendly, increasing his standing as My Favorite So Far.

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Humphrey decided that he Can’t Stand Art. *sigh*

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Clark’s neuroticism emerged full-force the moment he hit his teens. He did very little around the house aside from checking stoves and fireplaces.

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He also displayed some hesitancy when it came to school. Although Clark rode on the bus with Humphrey and arrived at the school building, he never actually made it into class - instead I found him reading a book in one of the empty classrooms at the learning consortium. I appreciate that you’re reading, Clark, but this still does not count!

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Humphrey had a mood swing that grew to aggressive heights when he brought Jedidiah Borge-Adamsson home from school. He rolled a wish to fight someone, which I opted to let him to because IT’S GENERATIONS, PEOPLE. Jedidiah here was smart, though. He got out of there the moment Humphrey started insulting him with a nonchalant “I’ve gotta go home now, bye!”.

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“One day of high school and I just feel like I need a drink.”

It’s a good thing we don’t have Late Night installed yet. You can have as much juice as you want, kiddo.

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The boys had almost two whole weeks left in which to do teenage things and hopefully meet some potential spouses. In the meantime, they had each other - as Best Friends Forever, of course. I very much enjoyed witnessing their interactions because they both aged up with hilariously deep voices.

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“How are we ever going to meet spouses with all these mood swings that make us want to tackle people?”

Parties. That’s how. Parties.

[Beks]

Chapter 20 - Red & Blue Stars

It was the weekend, and what are weekends for? Spouse Hunting Parties, of course!

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Clark made a few calls and invited everyone he knew for a Saturday-night slumber party. He didn’t seem initially excited about the guests, but that’s probably because I hadn’t forced him to flirt yet. Get going, kiddo!

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Ahh, so many townie children. Left to right (minus the Royals) we have Nicola Clark, Lindy Wrede, Tana Vinter, Shanita Diamond-Perry, and Shannon Olivia.

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The boys started introducing themselves to everyone. Clark got over his initial boredom and decided he actually liked Lindy when he saw her up close.

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Humphrey expressed interest in Christie Hallur, one of the more interesting townie offspring I’ve seen in a while.

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Clark also thought Julia Lin-Helgason was pretty cute. (Lindy was concerned.)

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As of this party, Julia appeared to be Clark’s first choice. He autonomously hung out with her for most of the evening and did plenty of flirts on his own.

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Humphrey also hit it off decently well with Shanita.

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This slumber party was an improvement on Lana and Vivien’s first sleepover, because at least everyone opted to sleep indoors this time. Of course, this created a problem for cousin Erika when she woke early hankering for a snack.

The guests went home mid-morning. Clark came out as the clear winner in the flirting department - he had made several new friends and exchanged hearts with like four or five girls in total. Humphrey wasn’t as lucky - his two potential love interests, Christie and Shanita, both started dating other people later that same day.

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“Dad, how did you get set up with Mom? There’s so much competition - how am I ever supposed to get a girlfriend?”
“Well, I pretty much got picked up off the street. Didn’t have much of a choice, being a townie. You should probably ask your mom about this.”

I was feeling pretty optimistic, at least in Clark’s case. Still, the town was bursting with kids, some of whom hadn’t grown up in time to attend the party. I wanted to meet some more!

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I was snooping around town when I spotted her. An absolutely adorable teen girl who could pull off a pixie cut like nobody’s business. It was Carly Day-Svard, and she’d been friends with the boys in elementary school, and she grew up SO PRETTY.

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I followed her to the park, then sent Clark there to meet her. (Carly’s parents provided a nice example of PDA in the background.)

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A quick chat revealed that these two were compatible and attracted to one another. Also, this was Carly’s reaction to finding out a legacy boy had the hots for her.

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I. MUST. HAVE. HER.

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I feel obligated to mention that Clark had already rolled a wish to kiss Julia Lin-Helgason for the first time. You know, the girl he spent the whole slumber party flirting with? Well, I took this facial expression to mean that he also didn’t mind the sight of Carly. Like, at all.

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Clark and Carly (their names are even cute together!) became best friends with a few little flirts thrown in. Things were going great!

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Meanwhile, Humphrey was striking out with Lindy Wrede. I sent him to the park as well because Lindy had shown up and I wanted to see if Humphrey liked her. I think he did, but…well, see for yourself.

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Meanwhile meanwhile, Roz was at home playing tag in her bikini. With…um…a teenage boy. One of the leftover guests from the slumber party the night before.

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“This has been just delightful, young man! You let me know if you’re ever interested in politics, okay? I’m sure I can help you climb a rung or two on the political ladder!”

Okay this is SO inappropriate and I swear I didn't plan it. Moving on!

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Sunday night was prom. Clark and Humphrey arrived via limo in semi-matching tuxes. They didn’t have dates, but I was hoping that maybe they’d get paired up at the dance. (I was particularly hoping for Clark and Carly to get together. They were already best friends, so it seemed possible.)

The boys ended up having a very chaotic and rather unfortunate prom. Clark was Prom King, but that was about the only good thing that happened. Humphrey got rejected for dances multiple times; Clark broke the backdrop; Clark got into a fight; Humphrey fell on his face; Humphrey saw a three-eyed llama on TWO SEPARATE OCCASIONS. Oh, and Clark got a romantic interest named Shamika. Some potato-faced rando he’d never even met before. Great!

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On the way out, though, Clark accidentally-on-purpose ran into Carly, who had also acquired a random romantic interest at the dance. (Well, hers was an actual townie kid, but let’s not talk about it.) Clark convinced Carly to admire the stars for a few minutes before curfew hit. (That’s his Imaginary Friend in the background. Apparently Cuddles became human behind my back purely so she could attend prom.)

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I have a very good feeling about these two. Mostly I just can’t stop staring at Carly. She even has a cute outfit with a viable color scheme!

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Police officer: “Hey, you two! It’s after curfew, let's go!”
Clark: “Carly, did you hear something?”
Carly: “Nah. Only the sound of your heartbeat matching mine.”
Shanita: “......”

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Police officer: “Kids? I said move it. Right now!”
Carly: “Look, Clark! There are some strange lights flashing in the sky. They look so close to us!”
Clark: “You’re right! What beautiful red-and-blue stars!”

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“Bye, Clark. This was WAY more fun than the actual prom was! See you at school tomorrow.”

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I’ve been trying to think of a caption for this photo and I can’t do it. Congratulations, Clark: you win.

[Beks]

Chapter 21 - Reading the Phone Book

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Moving into the latter half of his adult years, Santos was doing well in his business career. So well, in fact, that a bunch of Aurora Skies citizens spontaneously elected him Mayor. Because businessmen make great politicians, right? *cough* Of course, Santos couldn’t possibly accept the role. He was content just going to the office and spreadsheeting away in his cubicle every day. He felt no need to make decisions that would affect the lives of thousands.

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Also, his wife probably would have killed him if he’d taken the job. (She was promoted to mayor on the same day Santos turned it down. I’m just going to assume she didn’t hear about any of it.)

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That was pretty much the extent of the grown-up drama. The rest was all teen boy stuff. Clark was in a particularly troublesome streak - he was grounded after prom for breaking curfew, and as we all know, You Can’t Leave The House also means You Can’t Go To School Because That Makes Sense. Normally I’d just cancel the “Grounded” moodlet and make Clark go to school anyway, but this is the Generations Generation and we must do all the things! So Clark spent a couple days at home, watching his grades slowly drop into the red and contentedly reading the phone book. (At least that’s what it looks like. I’ve never noticed that much detail on a page in this game before.)

Humphrey, meanwhile, was a bit better-behaved. He went to school and did his homework and talked to friends and generally wasn’t very exciting at all.

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He did roll a wish to become friends with Kendra Helgason-Oss, so he went over there after school one day. Humphrey decided he found Kendra “quite pleasing to the eye”, and they also shared the Genius trait, which was enough to keep them talking for hours.

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Humphrey could have gone the Clark route and broken curfew, but he did the mature, gentlemanly thing and asked to spend the night with his new lady friend instead. Now that's a heck of a loophole.

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Back home, Clark was feeling restless. He had a wish to sneak out. Yay, another Generations activity I haven’t really tried before!

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So out he snuck. Sneaked. Whatever.

Where did he go? I’ll give you one guess.

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“What are YOU doing here?”
“Coming to see you. Isn’t that obvious?”

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*sigh* “I guess you can come in. Just don’t do anything stupid. My mom is watching.”

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She was, too. Miriam sat on the couch in the background and stared Clark down the entire time as he chatted with Carly.

“The entire time” wasn’t very long. Clark hadn’t even gotten to the flirty banter yet when Miriam leaped up from the couch.

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“AGHH! Did you children hear something?!”
“Probably just a passing fire truck, Mom.”

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“Attention, residents! We sensed a teenage presence here from the police station across town, and I was dispatched right away! Whoever is out after curfew, get out here now!”

How do they know? HOW?

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*YAWN* "I don’t know if Clark’s the one for me, Mom. He’s just so…boring.”

I love it. It doesn’t faze her even a little.

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Once again, Santos was given the honor of trying to wrangle his son into compliance with the law.

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“Clark? Are you out here? You’re in big trouble, young man.”

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*sob* “My dad's only fifty and already he’s going senile!”

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“There you are. I can’t believe you’d do this again, Clark! I am so tired of crawling out of bed in the middle of the night just to scold you.”
“Well, you know you could just…not do that, maybe?”
“You have no idea how much I would love to not do it. Now GO TO BED.”

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Ah, such good parents. I think if they had their way, these guys would truly just let their children do whatever they want.

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Clark was grounded all over again after this infraction. He missed school again (conveniently satisfying his mood-swing-inspired wish to skip school). His grades plummeted into the D range. I’ve never had a SIm fail out of high school before, and while I’m curious about what happens, I also was getting pretty tired of Clark getting in trouble every five seconds. So he spent a little time scrubbing toilets and making beds.

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“Oh, Clark, THANK you. You are off the hook. Finally, I can get some sleep tonight.”

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“Thanks, Dad! I’m so motivated to make better choices now.”

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Clark would go back to school the next day, but first he took advantage of his newfound freedom to finish what he started with Carly. He met up with her at the Blue Lagoon for their very first real date.

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He kissed her in the empty pub and asked her to be his girlfriend. How could she say no? She couldn't. Not when I’m the one in charge here.

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Humphrey continued to be a good young lad and have innocent fun and get good grades.

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“Hey Humph, don’t use this sink today. I want Mom or Dad to get sprayed.”
“Got it. Thanks for the head’s up, bro.”

Humphrey proceeded to use the sink only moments later. He’s not a very smart Genius.

[mpart]

Every time I read one of your stories it makes me want to try out all of the fun challenges you do. They all look like such a blast.

I absolutely loved Roxie's reaction to her daughter's throwing a party. It was hilarious. She's my favorite and I hope she never dies... maybe she can be immortal? Please? It can be, uh, a feature of the Generations pack. Yeah.

[Beks]

Every time I read one of your stories it makes me want to try out all of the fun challenges you do. They all look like such a blast.

I absolutely loved Roxie's reaction to her daughter's throwing a party. It was hilarious. She's my favorite and I hope she never dies... maybe she can be immortal? Please? It can be, uh, a feature of the Generations pack. Yeah.

So sorry for the late reply, mpart! I do have a lot of fun with these challenges. I highly recommend them.

Roz is my favorite as well, and I'm currently in denial that she's ever going to be old enough to die. I can't promise immortality (mostly due to household space), but I'd love to see her live well into the next town if not further. Maybe we can use the Generations pack somehow...

[Beks]

Chapter 22 - Responsibility

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It was an ordinary Sunday in the Royal house. Santos was preening and picking his teeth, wanting to look his best for his afternoon date with the television.

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Roz was taking important phone calls from City Hall and, between calls, belly-flopping on the water slide.

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And Clark was in time-out. I guess his parents finally realized that he’d been holding onto a “D” grade in school for the past few days. (Humphrey had an A. He didn’t even know what "time-out" was.)

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Clark was still pouting on the porch when the guests started arriving for Roz’s very first campaign fundraiser party. Can you believe Roz had made it to Vice President without ever throwing one? That is entirely my fault. I think Roz would throw a party daily if she could.

Roz dragged herself away from the water slide and right into Lionel’s waiting…um, conversational arms.

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“I just think that as a politician, you need to be more considerate of your male voters. Think of the message you’re sending while wearing that outfit!”
“The message is, There’s a water slide out front if any of my party guests want to use it.”
“But this is a campaign fundraiser! I can’t express support for your political vision when I’m staring at your bikini!”
“That sounds like a YOU problem, Lionel.”

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As we can see, Roz had grown into a pro at handling her rather rowdy constituents. Here we can see Santos booing his son’s academic ambition in the back corner, Daphne experiencing a routing issue while wearing her wedding dress, and Kendra (Humphrey’s romantic interest) looking a bit lost.

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Eventually Kendra found her way to Humphrey, who happily shared a couple flirts with her and then went right back to studying. I think this boy might be too academic for his own good.

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Kendra: *sigh* “Maybe one day I’ll get my legacy man to kiss me like that.”

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The party was a success, bringing Roz ever closer to her dream of becoming Leader of the Free World. Once the guests went home, I suddenly remembered that we had two other family members currently at boarding school. Time for some parental phone calls!

At this point, our twin boys had just under a week left as teenagers.

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“Son, I know we’ve had a lot of disagreements lately over your rebellious behavior, such that our relationship is slightly in the red. I also know that I am a Cowardly Loner, and you are Neurotic and Hate the Outdoors. In spite of all these factors, however, I am at this moment overcome with a desire to teach you how to drive.”
“Oh. Um…okay.”

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So off they went. It was a strained few hours, but actually, just being in the car together for that long brought father and son back into “acquaintance” range. It’s a start!

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The week began and the boys returned to school, along with their cousins and a bunch of other townie children. These are Daphne and Lionel’s two daughters: Erika with the dark hair, and Farrah with the orangey color. (I think that’s Anais’s hair color, but it’s kind of hard to tell.)

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Humphrey was doing great in school, and even earned a special, rather terrifying-looking award for becoming “Shop Captain” in Shop Club.

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Clark, as we’ve seen, was still scraping by with a D, due to skipping school a few times and never doing his homework. Like ever. He did make a splash in Newspaper Club, though, enough to earn a nice little award of his own.

Lana and Vivien hadn’t contacted their parents much at all since leaving for school. Well, Vivien did call at one point to ask for 72 simoleons to cover the cost of a Gnubb set she lit on fire…but that was it. At least until Lana called her mother and asked to come home early. 🙁

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Poor Lana was apparently having a hard time at school, even though she only had a couple days left before her young adult birthday.

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“There’s my girl. I’m glad you’re home, dear, but what’s the matter? Did something happen?”
“Not really. I just got homesick, I guess.”

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“Well. We can’t all be like me, can we?”

Santos wasn’t so okie-dokie with the whole leaving-school-early thing. He came right over in his tighty greenies to give his daughter a piece of his mind.

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“Lana, there you are. There are a bunch of dirty dishes in the kitchen. Are you responsible for this? Why haven’t you cleaned them up?”

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Lana: *YAWN*

That's my girl.

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Well, even if her parents had mixed feelings about her early return, Lana seemed genuinely happy to be home. And her brothers were glad to have her, too.

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At some point, Humphrey also rolled a wish to learn to drive. Since Santos was busy, Roz got to take Humphrey out in her bright pink sedan. It was a much more pleasant experience for these two than for Santos and Clark. Roz pretty much just enjoyed the scenery as Humphrey skidded his way, cautiously and responsibly, into town.

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Humphrey rounded out his teen years by sealing the deal with Kendra. She asked him on a date to a surprisingly scenic spot in town. Things progressed. There was no drama. Humphrey's not really a dramatic guy.

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Roz, however...she's all drama. No matter what is happening.