Prosperity Challenge - 12.1 (Days/Years 34-36 - Burkett and Koepple)
I've decided that I would really like to speed things up a bit in Winterfell, since the length of time between playing and posting is getting kind of ridiculous. Back when I started this challenge, I would blog the whole round in one entry, but with ten or so households, I don't think I can go back to that. Last round every single house got their own entry; I figure this time I'll put at least two in each. Winterfell: where the author never sticks to one format for very long!
Burkett
To recap: The Burketts consist of Alvin, his wife Chris (Winterfell's former maid), their twin toddlers Grant and Isidra, and Jonathan, the robot. Alvin, formerly rather arrogant and flippant, has turned over a new leaf with the arrival of his kids, but is developing an obsessive hatred for the aliens that he believes must have been responsible for his own birth.
Alvin thought he probably owed Eli Haynes an apology. After Eli and Shena were married and had their twins, Alvin had made fun of Eli for talking nonstop about the kids and never wanting to go out and do fun stuff anymore. It seemed parenthood was teaching him all kinds of lessons which all seemed to end with the realization that he'd been a jerk.
He was also learning new things about his wife - he hadn't suspected she would be so aggressive when it came to protecting her kids from what she perceived as unhealthy influences. He thought it was pretty funny that she was so concerned about the effects of witnessing teenage PDA on a toddler, but he'd never let her know that.
All this thinking about family inspired him to have Leone and Van's portraits commissioned. He thought about them more than usual these days. He supposed that, twenty years later, he was finally able to remember them as parents, without dwelling on the pain of their deaths.
Before he knew it, it was time for Grant and Isidra's birthday.
Grant looked so much like Alvin had as a child. He almost couldn't believe it. What had his own father looked like? Was he still out there somewhere? He didn't want to contemplate what his other parent might have looked like.
Isidra took after him as well, but her face shape looked more like her mother's.
He cheered for his kids' every accomplishment, all the while thinking about what his former self would have to say about his life now. His former self could suck it. Life was good.
Bonus:
Grossest picture ever. Sloppy eater + bad makeover + nasty plates + rotten cheesecake = D:
Koepple
Recap: The Koepples consist of Abby the dog, Ian LeTourneau, Rochell and Anabel Koepple, and Marcelene, Anabel and Ian's toddler daughter. The fact that Ian is her father is a secret from everyone else. Abby would probably be the best sim-mom ever, if only she had hands.
She provides love and affection...
And even food.
In fact, I would not be surprised if Marcelene grows up thinking she is a dog. There doesn't seem to be any evidence to the contrary.
Anabel and Ian were having some communication problems. Anabel saw no reason not to date other guys, while Ian felt that he had dibs as the father of her child. (Anabel didn't even kiss that guy, they were just on a date in the living room when Ian charged up and smacked her.)
Anabel informed Ian that she wasn't married to him and never would be, but that if he wanted her to keep her dates out of the house, she would be willing.
He wasn't thrilled with the proposal, but it wasn't as if he was willing to give up his other girlfriends, either, so he knew he was being silly.
Rochell, in contrast to her two less-ambitious roommates, had been working very hard on getting promoted in her science career. She earned some large bonuses, and decided to completely remodel the house.
(This house was not designed by me. I did build it, but it's basically identical to a house posted for download...somewhere. If you read this, and it's your house or you remember where it came from, let me know!)
It became the only two-story house in Winterfell.
Everyone was thrilled to have a dining room, and family meals became a more regular occurrence. (Marcelene was probably eating kibble for dinner.)
Rochell was happy she'd been able to provide a nice home for her niece. She tried to spend a lot of time with Marcelene, since she knew Anabel probably wasn't the most attentive mother.
She was also able to pursue her favorite past-time in peace, thanks to all the space.
All too soon, it was time for Marcelene's birthday. Both Anabel and Rochell thought of how different her childhood would be than theirs had been.
She didn't look much like Anabel. Anabel wondered how long it would be before Rochell put two and two together.
Belva came to visit while hugely pregnant with her own child. She pointed out that the Koepple name was going to die out unless one of the unmarried sisters had a boy. (This, in fact, is why Marcelene exists...the name must go on!)
Anabel just laughed and said that she hoped Nevada or Rochell had one then, because she was certainly never having more kids. Besides, girls certainly seemed to run in the family. Eliseo was the first boy in three generations, and he hardly even counted since they rarely ever saw the Ebadis these days.
Bonus:
Ian, the bathtub pirate! He's getting old, pretty close to elder!