The Blackburn Dynasty

[Trip]

Adelaide almost got too gay to function here...yet again? I'm a little shocked that EA has the miniskirts and bikinis for elders, not that it offends me (I use 'em as needed) but because they're definitely anti-fun for elders at every other moment. This is the dynasty of nice gams and no one can stop you. The town has quite a few ghost-unfriendly places for a town that starts with four of them. Both of the fishing holes are a bit of a nightmare.

[Chubling]

I ran out of room for pictures, but there are more several pictures of either Violet or Violet and Adelaide around the house. It's very dramatic.

It always confuses me what outfits were allowed for elders. Very little rhyme or reason. I would love to have the notes from that design meeting.

I was on a mission for leggy elders though. After a lifetime of shorts and miniskirts, it felt weird to hide them now. And Carmella is still running around with most of the town. She's got a just horrendous repatriation around town. I think it's slimeball? Which I've never gotten before.

After the failed birthday cake incident, I got a teleporter for those lots. Not that it matters, Violet should be the last ghost on the household. Fingers crossed.

[Nella]

I don't know where to start, this dynasty is so good! I love so many things, the first person approach for started, I like the feel of reading a diary (that sounded so nosy lol).  Violet and Adelaide love story -insert heart here-. The best thing are the noses, thought.

[Chubling]

I'm glad you are liking it! Violet and Adelaide were a delight to watch. They threw so many wishes for each other. I did feel bad for Violet, as soon as she came out of the hospital, she threw a wish to get married. Then a wish to marry Vlad. Then a wish to marry Adelaide. She really deserved so much better than Adelaide. Honestly, I adore Violet and my plan was for her to have a sweet romance with Vlad because I want good things for her. But this save file she and Adelaide were obsessed with each other. Even when broken up and with other people, they never stopped throwing wishes for each other.

I'm really hoping I get a dynasty of good noses! I'm doing my best to try and keep some good ones around. I have my fingers crossed for gen 3 getting her dads. He's got a great one and as much as I love Adelaide's nose, I really don't want it on a third immortal.

[Chubling]

Things continue to be busy busy busy in the Blackburn house. A dynasty doesn’t build itself you know! And two toddlers are enough to keep everyone on their toes, even if they wouldn’t be toddlers for much longer. I’m going to miss the chubby little babies when they are older, hopefully there will be more around town before too long.

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Vera’s birthday was rapidly approaching, which I spent some time checking to make sure I was as gorgeous as ever. How could she be a child already?! I swear I just birthed her! But I didn’t need to worry! Love makes the complexion glow, let me tell you! I have the skin of a well hydrated infant! Violet is a lucky woman, let me tell you!

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The party was a small event, just family and I made a lovely plum pie for it. It was the star of the party if I do say.

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Vera grew up, well, as you can see, she got quite a bit of her father in her. That’s...well, it’s fine! Totally fine and not at all an issue! Many great beauties had awkward adolescent years! I didn’t, I’m sure, but you know, many did and they turned out marvelous by the end. They say the great Theda Bara was a shy bookish nerd at first and she became the original vamp!

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So there is still hope for her, right? Right!

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Balthazar also had his birthday that day, though we held a big party for him and I baked a rather impressive carrot cake for him. Made with homegrown produce from his garden, very organic. I am just amazing, aren’t I!

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A quick trip to the mirror to get his hair slicked back and little Balthazar was all grown up.

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He is still madly in love with Alfred and spending more time than ever with him. Alfred’s father had died recently, something Balthazar was painfully familiar with and he was eager to help comfort his boyfriend and offer him a new, more adult shoulder to cry on. Poor thing, I hope it works out for him.

I’ve added a few more photographs around the house. With Violet an elder, I want to make sure the house is full of memories of her and our time together. And how very good looking we were together. Is that morbid? I prefer romantic. It’s not like I’ve gone full Mary Shelley or anything! It’s very tasteful!

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The next morning the whole family headed down to City Hall for Balthazar’s graduation. No surprise, he was valedictorian and voted most popular. He takes after his mother, friendly and brilliant, and he wants to follow Violet into science. We headed over as a family to the Flying V for a hearty breakfast. I just wish the biscuits were better.

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After that it was back home to celebrate Basil growing up. His birthday was a small party, a few of the children and teenagers around the town. He grew up looking so much like his mother. Though I think he gets his sense of style from his deadbeat father.

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While Basil decided which hat he wanted to wear, Vera chatted with one of the teenaged guests in the bathroom. She's a bit shy and I've been hoping she'll open up a bit more.

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As usual, it was a child’s birthday party, so Carmella was in a mood. At least this time she went elsewhere. Tristan Van Gould called and asked her out on a date to the consignment store. The closed consignment store. At night. With a vampire.

I said that sounded like a murder date, but Carmella just laughed. I had no reason to worry apparently. Despite sleeping with his sister for a while now, she and Tristan spent the rest of the night together. We all mourn in our own ways and I hope it helps ease her pain and Tristan didn’t make her listen to any of his terrible music.

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Violet and I continued to enjoy our time together, going on dates. I do adore the fall festival in particular and we spent the day bobbing for apples and exploring the haunted house. I was very calm and didn’t scream at all and that is the official record and that is all I will say on that!

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Balthazar joined the science career and I must admit, I am no expert but I don’t think that meets lab safety standards.

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I think Alfred enjoys the look. He and Balthazar are all over each other, enjoying the fact they are both finally adults. Maybe Alfred’s thing for Carmella won't be a problem? They do seem so happy together. Balthazar spends the night at Alfred’s place more often than at home.

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Hetal isn’t around much either. She’s usually with Zoe at her place. Less crowded than our house, I think. Easier to walk around all day in your underwear without children running around.

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It does give Violet and I plenty of time to bond with the children. It's almost like we have the place to ourselves, with Carmella, Balthazar and Hetal gone so often with their partners. And Basil and Vera are inseparable, playing together constantly. Basil loves convincing her to play in the sandbox with him. Otherwise she would spend all day inside.

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It was soon Spooky Day again and time for a party. Vera’s choice in costume was, well, I don’t really know what to say.

I really hope the teen years are kinder to her. I don’t know where things went so wrong. It’s all so distressing!

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She seems happy with it, which horrifies me! Does she not realize how she looks?! Thankfully the other guests were kind enough to not mention my daughter’s looks. Cyrus was even nice enough to sing with her.

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With Vera a child already, it was getting hard to ignore my approaching birthday. I was almost done with everything I needed. I just needed my final pieces and to get to the top of my career, which was annoyingly slow going thanks to all the time I had been forced into taking off when I got married and had Vera. But time stood still for no one, not even me. So here I was, having my last birthday party. We invited a number of Balthazar’s school friends so I could have lots of young people at the party. The Crumplebottom twins arrived first. Jeanne took after her father, the poor thing. Her twin sister Adriana lucked out far more in the looks department.

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Their half brother, Ritchie Rodgers, arrived as well. All three of them were born after Samuel had, well, not passed on, re-passed? He had been a busy man in his afterlife.

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Once I finished with the mirror, I must say, I am just as stunning as an elder. No surprise really, I wasn’t worried. I miss my old wardrobe, but this new one will have to do.

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I think there might be something wrong with Jeanna though.

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~~~

Vera struggled with her looks as a child. Some angles, she looks adorable, other ones she looks like she’s been 100 years without sleep. And the hideous clown look didn’t help, but I actually love how she turned out. She got a mix of her parents' features, which was a nice change as most of my second gens in the failed attempts were all clones of one parent or the other. And she's a YA in my current file and I love her looks. But that clown costume! I laughed when I saw her in it.

I LOVE how Sam’s kids end up when they take after him. He’s got such a unique face and when they are in the child stage, they look like these terrifying old gremlins trapped in child bodies. Between Cyrus and the Goth kids, the school often looked more like a nursing home. I wish the Crumplebottom house weren’t so full, so Adriana could have a better chance of passing her face on.

Deciding on which pollinator kids get to pass their genetics on is so hard! I love them all! Well, I love most of them.

I'm also sad and ashamed to admit that I failed to get Deedee pollinated. I had it timed that Balthazar should have had a few days to get her pregnant. And he did. But I forgot. But then I noticed she was still young! Yay! Finally, a townie aging glitch in my favor! Rush to pollinate her. It seems to have worked, she was throwing up and things were going well. Then it comes time for her to spin into her pregnancy clothes. And she spun into an elder! No Deedee no! How could you do this to me! But it means I was a fool and I missed out on Alice's roomates for pollination. Which is so far my biggest regret for this save file.

[CeresIn]

Love Adelaide's personality, she's fabulous and she know it. lol

Now I want to see Vera! The same thing happened to me with a couple of sims, awkward looking as a child and gorgeous as young adults, usually happens when they have distinctive characteristics because the child stage cannot handle those. 

[Trip]

The child face in TS3 is generally kinda bad and non-representative of the sim. I think Vera's the cutest bean and no tired eyes will make her look as old as those Goth kids! I actually really love Jeanne but she looks like a middle aged businesswoman with a countdown clock to her early-ish retirement on her desk.

[Chubling]

Love Adelaide's personality, she's fabulous and she know it. lol

Now I want to see Vera! The same thing happened to me with a couple of sims, awkward looking as a child and gorgeous as young adults, usually happens when they have distinctive characteristics because the child stage cannot handle those.

No one will ever love Adelaide with the same ferocious passion that Adelaide loves Adelaide. She's got an unshakable ego

Vera is truly not as bad as Adelaide thinks she is. I am very fond of her face, though her dad's eyes can make certain looks a challenge. In general, I never judge a sim by their child face. I love the weird looking ones and they rarely look good as children.

The child face in TS3 is generally kinda bad and non-representative of the sim. I think Vera's the cutest bean and no tired eyes will make her look as old as those Goth kids! I actually really love Jeanne but she looks like a middle aged businesswoman with a countdown clock to her early-ish retirement on her desk.

The Goth kids are just so hilarious. I keep forgetting how young they are. The pink pantsuit also isn't a look that screams "youthful".

The clownsuit was extra bad because with her black and white hair, with the shaved head, it made her look like it was a bit moldy. Not a flattering look. But I can't wait to show her off as a teen.

[Chubling]

For once, things seem to be slowing down a little in the Blackburn home. I wouldn’t say entirely, but we have settled into a pleasant rhythm. Work has been going along again, finally able to recover from my long absence.

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The cats continue to be utterly adorable as well! Everyone in the house adores them, though they are closest with each other. Barley continues to live well into his elderhood, which I'm very thankful for.

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Everyone adored the children, inside and out of the house. Most of the other townie children were teenagers already, but Basil wasn’t bothered by that at all. He was a friendly thing, soon friends with most of the older teens. He and Vera were thick as thieves as well, both developing a strong love of art. They get that from me you know!

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Vera continues to grumble about the heat and the cold and the wind and rain every time she has to be outside, but I forbid her from bringing that filthy sand in the house, so she was forced outside if she was going to get to play in it.

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It helped that Basil adored being outside and he was always dragging her off to play. Vera has struggled a little more than Basil with making friends. She is a serious little thing and wants to talk about her art and not much else. Basil was wildly popular with kids and adults as like, which, can you blame anyone? Look at that sweet little face!

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Hetal and Zoe are still going strong. Not even her brother Zac, constantly hanging around has slowed them down.

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Hetal recently had her adult birthday. We started things off with a simple party at home, I made a delicious dark chocolate cake for it, and danced the afternoon away.

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Hetal and the Durwood twins eventually headed down to the Toadstool to keep the party going.

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She and Zoe have been getting rather serious lately. There has even been some talk of them wanting children! I will admit I might have been helping nudge things along in that direction. Who doesn’t want a new nooboo to cuddle and snuggle and watch grow up?

Carmella, Hetal and Balthazar seem to keep disappearing off together. Always talking about some witch thing or another. I think Carmella really wants some grandchildren. She is always bothering him about having some, despite him being a teenager not long ago.

In fact, she and Navita Signh had been in conversation about just that. Apparently things had been rough in the Singh household. Navita wanted children and she had Param hadn’t been able to have any. Things were already rocky with that couple, had been since the wedding, and she was sure having a child would help.

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Carmella: I’m not telling you that you’ll need to raise them! She just needs some...material.
Balthazar: I’m not sure I’m ready for kids mom. And I have a boyfriend!
Carmella: So don’t date her! I’m sure her husband will appreciate that. She and Param are going to raise the kids. You’ll just be a doner.
Balthazar: I don’t know mom. That’s still kind of a big deal.
Carmella: You have to start sooner or later and it’s better to start now. You know what’s at stake here my dove.
Balthazar: Yeah, I know. Alright, fine, tell Navita I’ll do.

Personally, I’m not sure how much Param knows about what’s happening. But, then, it is rather like Navita to just decide things for poor Param, isn’t it? Still, it will be nice to have some new children around.

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Hopefully this won't cause problems with Balthazar and Alfred. Balthazar is still utterly in love with him. I continue to worry the fairy doesn’t return his affections in the same way. But they both seem happy for now, so who am I to say? Though Alfred does continue to flirt with Carmella at every opportunity, Balthazar seems to still be blissfully unaware.

Hetal has been climbing the ranks at work. Her latest outfit is a look, I will give it that. I’m not sure if that hat is sending the right message?

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Violet kept the kids grades up, helping them with homework and tutoring. She was brilliant and both the kids were able to easily keep their grades up, despite not actually attending more than a single day of classes due to snow.

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My museum pieces have been finished. As well as the museum! It’s so empty now, just mine and the beginning of Vera’s. But eventually, this place will be full of the glory of the Blackburns and the Gentle Light.

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Vera’s childhood flew by and soon we are getting ready for her birthday party. She’s growing up so fast, my little girl. And Basil wasn’t far behind. My sweet little babies!

I decided we needed to go all out and we invited every teenager we could find and I spent all day making snacks and treats for the party, including a moist, rich mocha cake at Vera’s request. It wouldn’t be a party at the Blackburns without a mountain of treats.

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I wanted one last song with her before she aged up. We crushed it, of course, even if Vera was a touch off key. But as her loving mother, I hardly mentioned it to her, it is her birthday after all.

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She blew out her candles after that and I was right! Puberty saved the day! It’s a bit, well, rough, but the structure is there! She just needs to get upstairs to the mirror and dresser and we can fix that right up! The awkward years can now be a fond, silly memory!

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There! Once she got her makeover, she looks very cute! Quite collegiate!

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~~~~

Unrelated, but I've got some gnomes around the house and one of them, the bear one, is a big old pervert. He hung out starting at the toilet through a wall for days. And I'll occasionally find him back there, watching the toilet, sometimes joined by other gnomes. I've changed his name Dirty Ol' Bear because it's just unsettling. The fact that he's aggressively staring at a wall where the toilet would be just makes it feel extra unwholesome.

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Next chapter will start with Vera taking over and it will also be the start of the Whoops! times. Thanks to being very smart, I messed up my screenshot organization and a bunch of stuff got out of order. Not a huge deal, but I have a terrible memory so here is hoping I don't make a huge mess of things trying to remember what happened when.

[Trip]

Those teenage lips always make you doubt a sim. Good looks come to those who wait Vera! And it's pretty great that Hetal and Zoe and their bad traits equal an absolute model relationship while Balthazar and Alfred need to think about some hard truths maybe. But no one asks to be the pollinator's boyfriend and Alfred doesn't have a sister who could be a surrogate and make this so much easier.

[Chubling]

I know! Zoe and Hetal are honestly goals. Make evil plans, set Zac on fire, laugh together at his discomfort. They are also one of my only couples that can actually woohoo on the regular because Zoe isn't an occult.

Balthazar and Alfred are a mess. Hot and heavy together, but can't seem to keep it together outside the bedroom. And as Alfred is a fairy, they never get to woohoo because I am very dumb and really wanted an actress this dynasty so I cursed myself with celebrity.

Why is it news to woohoo with your fairy boyfriend!? And I have yet to find a location that doesn't get them caught.

Ugh. How great would a Hoppcraft sister have been? If only I had the pollinator room to have made that happen

[Trip]

Is there not a penalty for Hetal woohooing due to being a witch? Or maybe EA really fixed the "woohooing AS an occult = woohooing an occult" problem that I swear I didn't dream up.

[Chubling]

I haven't gotten in trouble with her yet for it? So I'm guessing it got fixed? I hate it so much. You can be married and it still causes a scandal! You would think Moonlight Falls would be less horrified the openly supernatural sims around town were getting it on. So weirdly prudish!

[Deklitch]

Is there not a penalty for Hetal woohooing due to being a witch? Or maybe EA really fixed the "woohooing AS an occult = woohooing an occult" problem that I swear I didn't dream up.

I am sure that happened to me once as well, Trip

[Nella]

It gives me the feeling that Adelaide is having a bit of a rivalry with Vera. Such wonderful mother. lol. Maybe it's seeing her youthful daughter when she isn't anymore.