I know I should be on like 20 now. But with school and game crashes every now and then and the amount of families in the game, I'm on like 6th generation.

My twins have just transitioned to children, and both grew up well (both with Gold aspiration).

For the first time I managed to teach a set of twins walking, potty training, AND talking! I feel like I accomplished something! But I breathed a huge sigh of relief when they became children. First thing they did, have a pillow fight!

That's adorable! Were they born-in-game twins? Those are always exciting, unexpected and challenging. I have four sets. 2 b/g and 2 b/b.

I had a fake set (I made them as children in CAS and called them 'twins') and they absolutely loved punching each other for fun, just the punch u, punch me game. Now they are YA's and I've gotten pictures of them from every stage playing it, even when visiting home for their mother's birthday they started into it.

Yep, born in game. Their parents were married in college and started having children when they became adults. Currently I have a teen boy, a girl who's a few days from being a teen, then the twin boys.

If I create two Children (or two Teens), lots of times, if I don't want them to be twins, I'll just go into SimPE and change the number of days until Teen. It has to be at least three days' difference, given the length of a pregnancy.

By the time the twins are teens, there will be four teenagers in the house!

What's really cute is when twin toddlers Huggle. I think I have some pictures of it.

Yeah! I've only seen pictures, but I've never caught any of my toddlers do it, or fight over the bottle. I've seen them go dance to stereo music and watch fish though. Toddlers are so cute with their random, uncontrollable actions (that doesn't involve screaming)

You can control huggle and fight over bottle (be in control of one and click the other and huggle. be in control of the one without the bottle and click on the bottle and fight over bottle). Another cute toddler interaction is when they cuddle the pets. I wish I saw the dance to stereo one more though, and I recently realized that they can watch the fish.

You can't click on the stereo to make them dance...you have to direct them to walk or crawl in front of it.

I've never had them fight over the bottle...mostly because I think they're cuter eating mush in their high chairs and there's no chance they'll pick up a spoiled bottle. One of my twins somehow got "stuck," though, and wouldn't eat his mush...so I had Mom get him down and give him a bottle, that helped. Must have been a glitch.

What was really cute was seeing them at the drawing/block table with their older sister.

Now you can I love this mod because my toddlers only dance autonomously when I'm not focusing on them, they never dance when I need them to (for pictures/storytelling).

Well, just about time for an update with over a year gone by, right? I was reading through my previous post and was busy thinking "Wow, that was a long time ago."

Apparently over the course of the last year (which has included a move to a university 3 hours away and several trips back and forth from home, and a move back home for summer), I have misplaced (I'm not ready to say 'lost') the notebook with the older notes from Pleasantview.

So without further ado, here's the scoop: Pleasantview is now full throttle into Generation 4, with a Gen 5 thrown in there for good measure. They now number 192 playables, spread out over 49 households. Generation 1 (or most of the premades) have completely died off. Generation 2 is pretty much all either mid-life adults and elders.

The Goth-Lothario-Langerak Family:
Alexander Lothario has recently turned into an elder, and is still married to Carolyn Burb-Lothario. They currently have their oldest six children at university, and have another six at home: teenage daughter Palaciada, child quads Apuleya, Elpidio, Laodicea and Polyyxena, and the youngest child, Jirakee. Alexander also had a brief affair with Delilah Livingston-Lothario, who is pregnant with his child.

Caspian Lothario’s life was struck by tragedy: first, his son Benjamin and his daughter Elizabeth disappeared early in their freshman year at Sim State University, and then he was widowed when a house fire killed his wife Christa. After an alien abduction gave Caspian a young daughter, Margaret, he was comforted by old flame Tianna Burb-Broke, and they’ve since married. Caspian is also pregnant again by the aliens.

Caspian and Christa’s surviving son Joseph has graduated university, and recently married sorority girl Brittany Upsnott.

Tirian and Chelsey Lothario are still married. They’re having some financial difficulties, but they’re managing. They have six children: a teenage daughter, Jane, twin child sons, Brandon and Dylan, twin toddler daughters Georgia and Robin, and newborn daughter Lauren.

Aravis Lothario became involved with the man who had forced her to drop out of college, Daniel Dai. Though they never married, they had four children together: twin daughters Faith and Liberty, who are now teens, and two sons, Deacon and Tristan, who are both children. Daniel died recently of illness, something genetic that he had never told Aravis about, until it became evident that the children were also susceptible to the bad gene. Now, Aravis is determined to make the best nurse-mother.

Kaylynn Langerak-Lothario is approaching the end of her life. She still has three teenage daughters at home: Madison, who will be moving out soon enough to begin a new family with her boyfriend, and twins Emily and Olivia, who were born not long after Don’s death.

Herb Langerak married Leah Broke and together they have twin daughters, Avery and Janessa, who are currently children.

Ellen Langerak remained single for some time, focusing her energies on raising her twin boys Devin and Ryan, as well as her ex-roommate’s daughter Lillie Caliente. Then one day she met Michael Broke at a rental unit weekend party and it was love. They married, and now have twin toddlers – Cathleen and Kirkley.

Tyler Lothario married Delilah Livingston, who inherited her parents’ home when her mother Lucy Burb-Livingston passed away. They currently have one young son, Lucien, and though Tyler doesn’t yet realize it, Delilah is pregnant with his adopted brother Alexander’s child.

Jessica Lothario is still single. She’s in the Sim Bin waiting for a place to live in the rotation.

The Caliente-Gonzaga Family:
Fabrizio and Solveig Caliente are still married. They now only have the teenage twins, Aurek and Kent, at home.

Sawyer Caliente married Gordon Nott and moved out. They are awaiting a new residence in the Sim Bin.

Rafael Caliente remarried, to a young socialite named Sandy Fairchild (who is of no relation to Madeline Burb-Fairchild’s late husband). His children with Rose have all grown up and moved out, leaving him to raise a new set of children – teenage daughter Kiara and child son Holden.

Zachary Caliente went to university and married Alexandra Livingston, but both died in under mysterious circumstances on-campus, along with the majority of their housemates.

Alyssa Caliente had her daughter Lillie as a teenager, but later abandoned her in the care of her then-roommate Ellen in pursuit of a carefree life. She regained custody of her now-teenage daughter when it became evident to the courts that she and her fiancée, Matt Broke were in a better financial position to support her child. She and Mat broke up recently, and she’s been left with their three sons, twin toddlers Antony and Cristopher, and infant Emanuel. Lillie does most of the parenting in the family.

Ethan, Sean and Jacob Caliente are all waiting a new place in the Sim Bin.

Giacomo and Sophie Caliente now have six children aged teen and child: their oldest daughter Sunday is on the road to becoming a model scholar, and teenage daughter Afternoon is focused on following in her older sister’s footsteps. Child triplets March, Night and Tuesday are all happy-go-lucky and your average child in Pleasantview. Afternoon’s twin sister November will be discussed later, as she’s become entangled with Pleasantview’s newest scandal.

Alessandro Caliente married his first love Afghana Broke. They have three children: twins Carly and Eric, and Joshua.

Jody Gonzaga-Broke and Kyle Broke have sent their oldest son Callum off to university. That means that they have six children left at home: teenage son Korydon, twins Connor and Kerri, and triplets Caitlin, Keenan and Catrina.

Sarah Gonzaga left home when she became of age, taking her two sons Aleydis and Kiefer with her (the siring of those boys is one of those undercurrent rumours in Pleasantview that never really gets explicitly discussed) and married Brehanu Burb. They’re struggling to make ends meet, which means that sometimes Sarah does some side jobs to bring in enough cash to pay the rent. They recently had twin daughters, Genesis and Tatiana.

Aleydis Gonzaga got his girlfriend Lacey Bertino pregnant – because neither of their families could afford to support both of them and their baby, they’ve married, moved out and are waiting in the Sim Bin for a new house in the next rotation.

The Burb-Broke-Livingston-Fairchild Family:
Samuel Livingston married his university sweetheart Veronica (her maiden name completely slips my mind). They have just welcomed triplets, named in honour of his dead family: Jerome, Alexandra and Lucius.

Allison Burb-Broke had her long marriage fall apart when her husband’s infidelity came to light. She is currently in the Sim Bin, awaiting her turn in the rotation. Right now, she’s contemplating suing for custody of her two youngest daughters before anymore victimizations reach them.

David and Rose Burb both finished university and recently purchased their first house – just in time, because their quads Cainan, Nevan, Reyna and Syrena were getting too big for the basement suite they had been living in. Rose recently gave birth to another son, Jaxson.

Thomas and Robin Burb are also university graduates. They have two daughters still at home: teenager Chantilly and child Poeta. More on Chantilly’s twin sister Leontine later – she’s also entangled in the new Pleasantview scandal.

Madeline Burb-Fairchild was widowed, and is now raising her four children: teenagers Solstice and Canyon, and twin daughters Briar and Tempest.

Tianna Burb-Broke broke up with her husband Matt when it became clear that he was not going to settle down and become a good father figure to their three sons Hurley, Desmond and Fabian. She has now found a good father figure in Caspian Lothario, and Desmond and Fabian are enjoying having a little stepsister to spoil.

Hurley Broke has grown up and is waiting for his turn in the rotation to move into his own place.

The Pleasant-Trimble-Broke Family:
Michael Broke lost his way for some time after the deaths of his first family. After a train wreck of a relationship with Christian Love, Michael felt the tugging of paternal urges. Ellen came along at just the right time, and now Michael is enjoying being a father again. He and his stepson Ryan Langerak are often at odds, given that Ryan is slightly racist against the half-alien residents of Pleasantview.

Rachel Broke has become a modern day Dina Caliente. She’s widely known as the new gold-digger. First, she married Oliver Bertino, having two daughters in the process – teenage Lacey and child Cynthia. Now she’s married old Goopy GilsCarbo (yeah, I’ll bet you were all wondering when Goopy would show up? ). She’s just had a baby boy with Goopy – Jeremy.

Lilith Pleasant-Trimble has officially become the second-oldest original resident, after Kaylynn Langerak-Lothario. She’s still working the political system of Pleasantview, and finishing the raising of her teenage daughter Lindsay.
Mitchell and Emmy Trimble recently died in another suspicious circumstance – though they were elderly, and by no means the hardiest couple around, many people are suspecting that their deaths came about when they took a stand against Pleasantview’s new ‘evangelist’. (more on him and his movement later)

Liam and Adam Trimble moved out together, and since that time have split pretty much everything in their lives: right down to their wives. Adam is married to Kelly Tang-Trimble and Liam is married to Rosemarie Kody-Trimble. However, Kelly has two children with each of the brothers: Adam’s children are a son,Caelan, and a daughter, Coralie; Liam has a son, Chevy and a daughter, Camellia.

Elderly Beau Broke has become much feebler after the death of his wife Shelby McLennan-Broke. With all four children out of the house – the younger twins Cullen and Hale have gone off to university, and the older twins Jasper and Rosalie are both married with families – there’s some fear that Beau could not look after himself.

Jasper Broke married Carmen Patch-Broke. They are currently in a rowhouse with their daughter Ariana.

Rosalie Broke married Sinjin Couderc. Because they knew that they wouldn’t be able to afford a larger home for a long time – and they need space, with twin toddlers Amber and Tanner and another baby on the way, Rosalie and Sinjin have decided to move back in with her father and help with the house upkeep, with the thought that they will inherit the home when he passes.

Skip and Gretchen Broke are about the most boring family in Pleasantview. There’s virtually no drama to be seen around there, even with a teenage daughter, Marcia. (I can’t bring myself to force drama onto them. They’re such a cute old couple. :lovestruc )

Tuck Broke ended his marriage with Allison. He then married Michelle Tse. The fact that his teenage daughter Rhodey seems to be completely incapable of enough self-esteem to say “no” has completely escaped his notice, and Michelle has not been helping matters. Currently, Tuck and Michelle have one infant daughter, Alexa, and Rhodey has a toddler, Hayley, by the paper boy Derek, and is pregnant with her brother-in-law Jason’s child. Tuck and Allison’s youngest child, Lazalea also lives with them.

Jaysefine Broke married Jason Menon, her ‘bad-boy’ boyfriend in her teenage years. While she is aware that Jason carries on with others, it isn’t much of an issue for her – she was the one who first pulled her younger sister Rhodey into Jason’s questionable circle of acquaintances. They have an infant daughter, Quinn.

The University Crew: (RECAP – I haven’t reached Sim State yet in my rotation, so these are all new freshmen)
Callum Gonzaga-Broke
Esther and Judith Broke
Cullen and Hale Broke
Navarrah and Calocero Lothario
Jaden, Lukas, Pacey and Tavian Burb
Leverett Trimble

The Brotherhood Families:
Pleasantview was recently taken aback by the arrival of a radical ‘evangelist’ named Andrew Do, working on behalf of a group called the Brotherhood. At first, he didn’t create much of a stir – his messages preached the conservation of family, the pursuit of peace and the respect for the Almighty – a message that the mostly-conservative residents of Pleasantview found soothing.

But then it started getting strange. It started when Andrew Do, an older gentleman, married teenager Vignette Trimble. And then Leontine Burb. And then November Caliente. Before many of Pleasantview’s residents realized the danger, he had sucked in other members of their town and they moved outside town limits, intent on building a secluded paradise for their families. Now, parents are frightened that their teenagers might be the next to succumb to the honeyed, dangerous words of Andrew Do.

Andrew Do has three wives and six children:
Vignette Trimble-Do, the first wife, is the oldest and now an adult, and has a toddler daughter, Adora. Leontine Burb-Do is the youngest of the three, and the second wife – she has infant quads: Brennan, Claire, Isaiah and Joyann. November Caliente-Do is the third wife, and has an infant son, Elliot.

Skylar Gonzaga was Andrew’s first convert. Already a father beforehand, he has remarried. He has two wives and two new children:
Elise Hourvitz-Gonzaga is the first wife. She has infant twin daughters, Colombina and Evangeline. Melissa Trimble-Gonzaga is the second wife, and is currently pregnant.

Teenager Myron Caliente is Andrew’s second convert. Not even quite fully adult yet, Myron already has two wives and three children:
Elizabeth Ng-Caliente, the first wife, has infant triplets: Basil, Carey and Deana. Rosemarie Jitmakusol-Caliente, the second wife is pregnant.

The Newcomers:
There have been two new families moving into Pleasantview:

Castor and Jane Nova chose Pleasantview to settle down in after leaving Sim State right about the time all the mysterious deaths were occurring. They currently manage to scrape together a living, and are raising their daughter, Amy.

Dominique and Jaquelene McNaven moved into Pleasantview with their three children: Hubert, who will be moving out with Madison Lothario very soon, Clara and Aeary. They have had twins Brayton and Pascalle since their arrival in Pleasantview.
^^ (Don’t mind the odd names – this is actually a family that my BFF accidentally created in Pleasantview instead of a blank neighbourhood. Hubert proceeded to woo and impregnate Madison, and then I was like, “Well dang. Now I have to put them in the rotation.”)

I have one family. The Long family. They live in Wildegard. Alone.
O_O

I have only two proper families on the go at the moment...

Airlos - Harry and Isabella Airlos, and their girls, Imogen(Teen), Grace(Child), Mollie(Child) and Ava(Toddler).

Atkinson - Lucas and Faith Atkinson, Faith is the oldest child of Harry and Isabella Airlos. Her and Lucas have triplet girls Sariah, Summer and Sofia (Toddlers).

I have four families which I play at the moment:

The Tomlin Family: Gracie and Max, and their three children: Aadyn (9), Johannah (7 1/2) and Elliott (5 1/2)
The Rooke Family: Abe and Suzi, and their four children: Joseph (8), Ruth (8), Naomi (4) and Miriam (1)
The James Family: Cassie and Nate, and their eight children: Makayla (9), Sasha (9), Jade (8), Jack (6), Derren (4), Aurora (3), Egan (18 months) and Niki (18 months)
The Heath Family: Casey and Amelia, and their three children (oldest and youngest adopted - biological siblings) Hope (9 1/2), Maddison (8 1/2) and Mannie (4)

My favorite family who I made in CAS Adams Family. There's Bryan the father whose LTW is become Captain Hero or Cop they moved to Pleasantview away from Similar City to get away from Drama right wrong. Serena Adams the mother is a stay at home mom while Bryan her husbànd works they have five kids Shawn Adams Jessica Adams-Broke Savannah Adams-Miller Brandon Adams and Shane Adams.
Shawn Adams went to college he loves rock and roll music and made a fraternity /sorority. House to all the people who also loves music he had a thing Roxie Sharpe but that quickly dismantled because he was her boyfriends I think Amos or Aries whatever his name was best friend and he was going to ruin it. He graduated with honors and maxed out creative skill he found a woman Trixy married her they have 3 kids Rocky Adams Mayham Adams and Roxie Adams.
Jessica Adams and Dustin Broke went out since teenage years he broke up with Angela Pleasant for her she didn't know nothing àbout it in college they soon broke up I moved both in a dorm without realizing it Dustin didn't want to give her up and kissed without me playing him. I mean he actually ran to her and kissed her I was OK his want was to propose to her I mean every time it rolled that want popped up so I had him call his añd her relatives and they had a nice time à the beach and he proposed to her. And she said yes after college they gotten married and had 4 kids Sarah Ethan Daniel and David.
Savannah Adams-Miller she as a teenager first went out with Lloyd Miller a CAS his entire family is. They were going strong but his br9ther Chris Miller was always picking on her mean to her without me playing him until I sent them all to college and I realize he liked and was jealous that his brother weñt out with her bit but anyways. But anyways Savannah ended up marrying Chris. Miller and she preggers with baby their first kid together.

In one of my neighborhoods I have only one family so far.

Brandon Adams is a teen and going steady with Lucy Burb she goes around calling her Mrs. Adams Lucianna Burb I change her name because Lucy sounds plain to me. shes certain Brandon will propose to her.
Shane Adams is still a kid but he's a womanizer as a kid I think hell be the next Don Lothario but who knows.

I'm currently playing the BROKE/JENKINS FAMILY- Brandi Broke-Jenkins is married to a CAS man of mine Timothy Jenkins. Dustin is married with four kids, Skye Jenkins (Timothy daughter whose wife died) is in college with Beau and Bryan Broke (finally) Now in the trailor is Brandi, Timothy, and their two kids Brittany and Micheal Jenkins I'll probably move them out.
THAN IM PLAYING MY STORY NEIGHBORHOOD OCEAN VIEW
HERE THE MAIN CHARATERS FAMILIES
MITCHELL FAMILY- Scott (dad) Serena (mom) Nicolas (long lost half brother who was adopted by another family long story) Shawn (brother) Sydney (main character) Shane (brother) Summer (sister) Simon (brother) and Sarah (sister).
MANUEZ FAMILY- Jay (dad) LuAnne (mom) Jaleya (sister) Jane (main character) Lily (sister) and Lucas (brother).
GONZALEZ FAMILY- Juan (dad) Maria (mom) Nancy (sister) and Malendy (main character).
MARTINEZ/MC'BRIDE- Jason (dad) Natalia (mom) Leslie (main character) Wyatt (brother) and Liam (brother).
JACKSON FAMILY- Antwain (dad) Sherice (mom) Ashanti (main character) Derreon (brother) Tatianna (half sister) Tatiarra (half sister) and Sha'niya (sister).
GOODMAN FAMILY- Tyrone (dad) Katelyn (mom) Stacey (main character) Anna (sister) and T.J. aka Tyrone Jr. (brother).
FREEMAN FAMILY- Charles (dad) Sharlye (mom) Kyle (brother) Ciara (main character) Charlie (brother) and Tina (sister)
WARREN FAMILY- Ethan (dad) Franchesca (step mom) Ally (main character) Eric (half brother) and Erica (half sister).

I have played Strangetown for quite some time now and I have about...14 households. o_o To name a few:

Curious:
Al: Vidcund's son. He is a Knowledge Sim who cares for his family and has an unusual fashion sense (mohawk and black tutu outfit). Had a brief affair with Caden Beaker (Loki and Circe's son) in his teens; is suspected to be secretly gay.
Isolde the Nice Witch: Nervous' first daughter, who unlike her father is incredibly outgoing and has full playful and nice points. She is a Popularity Sim, and is adored by everyone in Strangetown.
Tom: Al & Isolde's oldest son, a Pleasure Sim. He is incredibly bright, but he is lazy and does not care about his schoolwork.
Greg & Miles: Al & Isolde's youngest sons who are twins.

Smith:
Jill: Johnny Smith's little sister. She is a good person at heart, but as a Romance Sim, she pursues who she wants and doesn't let anyone or anything try to stop her. She's slept with many Sims, including Ripp Grunt AND his wife, Jessica Grunt. She got pregnant with Ripp's children Tina and Becky, who are now at school aspiring to be Celebrity Chefs. Ripp (now deceased) knew about Jill's two children, but he didn't know that he was the father.

Smith:
Elton: Chloe Smith's son. He is full of so much life and aspires to be a Professional Party Guest. He loves his wife Liese, who has taught him to be more responsible for his actions, and his children very much.
Liese the Mean Witch: Loki & Circe's daughter, also Caden's twin sister. She's an uptight, grouchy person just like her parents, but she has learned from her husband Elton to lighten up and to have fun because life is too short.
Constantine: Elton and Liese's son, who enjoys getting into mischief with his siblings.
Hannah: Hannah enjoys making crank calls and teasing other Sims like her two brothers, but sometimes she thinks their jokes go too far.
Vincent: Elton and Liese's youngest son. He has the exact personality as Constantine, and they get along excellently.

BEAKER:
Caden: Liese's twin brother. Other than his wife and sister, all he cares about is money. He is especially critical of others and has his nose turned up most of the time. He had a brief affair with Al Curious as a teen, his darkest secret. If anyone found out, his reputation would be ruined! Also, he doesn't get along very well with my Simself...
Wendy: Caden's wife. She is just as money-hungry, nasty, and mean as her husband. The two of them are expecting their first child, I wonder how the baby will turn out...

That was actually pretty fun to do! I should do this for my other 10 households...

There are, currently, only 9 households in my pathetic little neighborhood, most of which are populated by members of the Love family.

Love~
Household of Natalie Love and Gabe O'Mackey. Considering they are the parents of about 21 children, I'm not surprised the neighborhood, for the most part, is populated by them. They have three children currently living with them, Luke, a teenager, and newly born twins, Nick & Kimberly. They have five dogs, Grimalkin (Spelling xD), Rudy, Lulu, Kleenex, Poppy, and some other dog :P

O'Mackey~
Jules O'Mackey was pretty much the adoptive daughter of Natalie. When Gabe married Natalie, I brought her in. I first planned to lock her in a room and deprive her of her basic needs, but I grew close to my simmie When she grew, she had a baby, Dana, with Kennedy Cox. Ugly babies they make indeed. She lives with her adopted pet Tucker.

Love~
Household of Aaron and Jess. both children of Natalie & Gabe, Jess being the adult and Aaron being the younger brother. At the time, I didn't have the mod which allowed more than ten sims, so I just wanted to rid myself of them.

Fletcher~
A random family I made. Isabelle and her dog, Darcy. This family is pretty much useless xD

Ottomas~
Just wanted to fill up some of the neighborhood, frankly.

Griggs~
Hosuehold of Melony Griggs and her pets, Sarah and Danny Crittur. Don't play this household often :P

Love~
Like most other households, all kids of Natalie & Gabe. Sebastion moved out with Jasmine, a teen, and Kiana, a toddler.

Love~
Formerly the Smiths, I made a random chick named Abbie Smith, whom got married to Desmond Love. Her name is now Abbie Love, and they are the parents of one child, Tyson, with another one on the way. (Don't tell anyone, but the father of the second baby is Desmond's brother ;D)

Love~
There is also some random daughter of Natalie that lives outside of town. She is hideous and is almost an ogre, if not equal. SHE IS DEAD TO ME.

I miss my sims - an effect I trust will fade soon, or January's gonna be a hard month - so I'll talk about them. What follows is a mix of actual game history, backstory, and my interpretation of game behavior.

The basic backstory of Drama Acres is that a group of sims were held in virtual slavery in the remote mountain village of Hootin Holler for over 100 years by the Mater D Mining Corporation. The Great Unobtainium Mine Disaster (hereinafter referred to as That Day) killed almost the entire town and revealed the horrors of what had been going on. Mater D company assets were deployed in restitution to the surviving families. All the exciting details of the disaster evolved in dialog during the course of play.

Estic. When the game opened, this family consisted of two sims: Madge Estic (Fortune) and her boy Dom (Family), who moved into a house built for them by the Simulated Housing Company at 1 Poore Street. Madge had done drudge work in the administrative offices of the mine. When the disaster began, she was left locked in one of the offices while the Suits escaped in their helicopters. She was let out by the two miners sent to warn the town and was instrumental in rescuing some of the few survivors, who included her youngest son, Dom, who had not started working in the mines yet. A hard-edged, impatient, and canny woman, she took advantage of every opportunity to educate herself well enough to get employed in the medical field, and though it's unlikely she will ever attain her goal of becoming a Chief of Staff, she has done surprisingly well and greatly enjoys her work. Shortly after sending Dom off to college, she married a second time to a man she met at Lucky Shack Cards and Drink; a representative of the old-money Ryan family so wealthy he considers going to parties and collecting stock tips to be a career. (Mr. Big, in short.) Her relationship with Dom's father was not a particularly satisfactory one, but she insisted on Brady's taking her late husband's name when she married him, anyway. She had no desire to have another child, but Brady - who is much younger than her - was deceptive about his fertility status and she found herself pregnant about the same time that Dom got engaged at college. She left most of the child care to Brady.

Dom was an uninspired student, but he got engaged to a young lady with a trust fund, Maddy Moiselle. Alas, Maddy's mother, a high-powered lawyer, led the defense team for the Mater D executives. She disowned Maddy and has never been seen, and it took quite some time for Madge to warm up to Maddy; nor has she made friends with her grandchildren. However, finding the original house to be too small and inconvenient, she gave it to Dom on graduation and she, Brady, and little Margaret moved into a new house on Easy Street, where Margaret grew up to be friends with her oldest nephew. Now that Margaret (Popularity) is at college, where she pledged Tri Var, Brady is finding the afternoons long, and attempts to distract himself from the temptations of the Diva (with whom he had an affair) by writing romance novels.

Dom's family, meanwhile, is thriving. He and Maddy have had their planned three children - Dominic (Family), Maddox (Knowledge), and Madeleine (Grow up). Dom works hard in the Show Business Career. When Madeleine gets to be a teen, Maddy may get a job; but they are also considering a fourth child. Dominic, whose backyard band frequently performs at Doc Alan's and the stage at Drama Acres Park, has already had his heart broken once and is now dating a younger girl who thinks the world of him, while Maddox has started dating his best friend from elementary school. Madeleine is shy and has few friends, despite her brothers' best efforts to include her in their activities. This is one of those houses the teens invade after school to eat up all the food. Maddy and Dom have substantially remodeled it to accommodate their lifestyle.

Munny - Madge's younger sister Mary Munny moved into a two-bedroom ranch house across from her at 2 Poore Street. It was Mary's husband, Frank, who first realized that the pattern of destruction was threatening the main settlement of Hootin Holler; therefore, Frank (a work leader) redirected efforts away from getting out and toward preventing or at least delaying the collapse of the mountain underneath their families. At the same time, he dispatched his younger son, Ernest, and Greg, another boy who had recently begun work in the mine, to find a way out and evacuate the settlement. It was they who let Madge out. Unfortunately, Mary's toddler daughter Lira was hiding under the house; Ernest and the other boy managed to drag her out, but the house collapsed and they were trapped underneath (while Madge dragged Mary, kicking and screaming, and Dom carried Lira, down the mountain) until George and Gracie Newson, journalists who lived near the Mater D holdings, arrived and managed to extricate them. Ernest and Greg were the last people to see the Newsons alive, but could not go with them because Greg had broken his leg and it was all they could do to get the two of them down. The rescued Lira, alas, who had always been a sickly child, died that night of Unobtainium dust in the lungs.

Mary (Romance), with natural musical talent and considerable charm, has forged a startlingly successful career out of the wreck of her life. She loved Frank a great deal, but she has an ardent temperament, and he - didn't. It didn't take her long after Ernest went to college to discover how easy and relatively painless it was to charm younger men into her bed. She'd feel unfaithful if she remarried, and would never have looked (well, maybe looked) at any of them had Frank lived, but - he didn't live, and he'd want her to be happy. But the only really important men in her life are Ernest and her grandsons, Frank and Mark. Even after expanding her house considerably and decorating it in extravagant and dubious taste, giving expensive presents, and endowing a stage and instruments for Drama Acres Park, she has more money than she knows what to do with.

Ernest (Fortune and my favorite sim ever), for his part, turned out to be a natural monogamist. For genetic reasons, prior to That Day it was recognized that his only decent shot at having any viable kids would be to marry Sage Ann Onions. After That Day, when the social workers looked at the intertwined family trees of the survivors, it was universally recommended that none of the survivors marry any other survivors. But as far as Ernest was concerned, he and Sage Ann were already married, and that was that. He convinced her to feel the same while they were at college. However, the genetic danger was real, so he got his tubes tied. He and Sage Ann focused on their careers. She went into journalism, and he set out to turn Unobtainium mining into a safe enterprise. They built their house on a huge lot on Easy Street, which he picked out and started collecting materials for when he was 12, before there was an Easy Street. One night he was abducted and impregnated by aliens, resulting directly in the birth of his son Frank (Popularity) and indirectly in that of his son Mark (Knowledge). It turns out the aliens untied his tubes. Fortunately Mark turned out all right, taking after his mother's side of the family.

Ernest and Sage Ann have built an excellent life for themselves, but, being very shy, are unassuming about it. Sage Ann presides over a media empire and Ernest is CEO of a mining conglomerate with an unheard of safety record; yet he still drives himself to work in his truck and the kids go to public school. They had a live-in help, a Simdian simmigrant, for a time, until she died, and always treated her like a supplementary relative. Ernest is proud of his mother and always stands ready to defend her reputation. He has caught Brady Estic cheating on his Aunt Madge, and is livid about it. Mark and Frank, on the other hand, are wildly outgoing, and Frank in particular stands up for all the funny-looking kids who get picked on at school. Many of whom are his relatives, more or less. All that inbreeding made for some funny-looking people.

Aerius At 3 Poore Street, Hilary Aerius (Pleasure) moved into a two-bedroom house with her son Greg (Popularity), the one who broke his leg rescuing Lira Munny. Unlike other survivors, Hilary was widowed long before That Day, when her husband Gregor was killed in a mining accident. She raised Greg by herself until he was old enough to go into the mine. The modern world bewildered her, but she set out to enjoy it as well as she could. She remained exceptionally close to Greg, even after he went to college, so much so that he moved back in with her after graduation. This bewildered his boyfriend Ben Gay (Popularity), a product of the foster care system who didn't know his parents and didn't get along with his sister. However, after awhile he married Greg anyway and moved in. They adopted a toddler, John Amos (Family) and became one of the most close-knit families in Drama Acres; certainly they are the only one still confined to the lot they started in! Hilary died a classic hula death and was much mourned, even by Ben, who grew to love her as much as Greg and John Amos did. Greg is currently coaching his old team, the Llamas, and Ben is a popular musician, who has worked closely with Mary Munny and whose solo career is really taking off. John Amos is about to start high school, is in his bff Dominic's band, and dates the girl he dreams of marrying. Their house is party central, and practically the only place all of their old frat brothers will agree to meet without animosity.

Curian At 4 Poore Street, Pierre Curian (Knowledge) survived because he agreed to slack off work and go fishing with his brother-in-law. His wife Marie (Knowledge/Family) and daughter Eppie (Pleasure) were likewise not in the main part of Hootin Holler, but on the fringes, on what is now Poore Street, helping put together the hope chest for her niece Sage Ann's marriage to Ernest. Marie never having been very fertile, this was the entirety of their immediate family, and they know just how lucky they were. Eppie went to college, though not thrilled at the prospect, while Pierre and Marie explored the options provided by this strange new world in which they found themselves. Pierre and Marie are fond of each other almost to the entire exclusion of the rest of the world; and they never troubled to use birth control due to Marie's low fertility. The result is two sons born since That Day: Paul (Knowledge/Pleasure), currently at Sim State, and Marius (Romance), who has just started middle school. Pierre recently became a game designer and Marie is a hostage negotiator.

Eppie lives catty-corner across the street from them and supports herself writing restaurant guides, while her wife Tiffany (Knowledge/Family) is a UFO investigator. Tiffany, growing impatient with Eppie's reluctance to adopt, recently arranged an artificial insemination with a sympathetic Greg Aerius, who is always ready to oblige a friend. Paul will in all probability move back in at 4 Poore Street when he graduates, to look after Pierre and Marie in their declining years and start a family with his high school sweetheart, a Simdinavian Simmigrant.

___
And it's time to go wash my hair. I have 46 households and these descriptions only cover 7 of them, so I could be inflicting this on y'all for awhile.

And I'm back; double-posting rather than editing because I figure in this instance double posting is moderately less annoying that creating a single post that won't fit on one page. Yes, I'm long-winded. But nobody actually has to read this stuff. I'm at least partly doing it to decant it out of my head - if I write stuff down, I can stop thinking it.

Onions - At 6 Poore Street, the corner of Hillside Drive, stands one of only two houses surviving from the Bad Old Days of Hootin Holler, the Onions cabin. Red Onions (Knowledge) built it for his bride - she wanted to be far away from the mines, he wanted to be far away from his father-in-law, and her brother had already built a cabin down here, so he erected a sturdy plank house for her and painted it bright red. Though it has added several rooms and a second story since then, it is still bright red; and it saved a number of lives on That Day.

Although Red's wife Livva Ann (Pleasure/Family) comes from the notoriously fertile Hawkins clan, they only had one child - their daughter Sage Ann. Red and Livva Ann always rather resented the fact that, though Sage Ann (Knowledge/Family) had three or four safe matches she could have chosen from on growing up, she was the only possible match in their age cohort for Ernest Munny. They had no objection to Ernest, per se, just to their daughter's lack of choice in the matter. Red never could get along with his father, either, Frank being a workaholic with a vast fund of off-putting reserve. Hard worker, though. On That Day, things were gearing up for the imminent nuptials, and Red invited both his brothers-in-law, Pierre Curian and Goz Hawkins, and Frank to go fishing with him and stock up on food for the big event. Pierre and Goz accepted, and lived; Frank declined, and died. Red carried around the worst set of survival guilt in the hood for a long time, because of that. He couldn't help feeling that if he'd worked a little harder to be friends with Frank, he might still be alive. Making the guilt worse, he and Livva Ann also couldn't help being pleased that the opening of the wider genetic world freed Sage Ann to please herself. In the end, of course, she chose Ernest anyway - but at least it was her choice.

Red, like Madge Estic, has undergone intense self-study and qualified as a physician; advancing further than her both because of his excellent luck with chance cards, I mean his capacity to genuinely connect with his patients, and because he had the great good fortune of being personal physician to the first pregnant man in the area. Not only was he able to learn by direct observation, but he came into contact with experts in a wide variety of specialties, from each of whom he learned a great deal. This experience made him the de facto expert on the subject in the region, making him the physician of choice for each subsequent abductee, and he has enough material for several papers on the subject.

Livva Ann never looked for a job. She conceived a second child after That Day, a son named Oliver (Family/Popularity), who went into politics after graduating from Sim State and marrying the granddaughter of his sister's live-in help. His wife Billie (Knowledge) grew up in Simdia and has a hard time adjusting to Simerican gender roles. They have moved into the red house, in accordance with Hootin Holler custom, though so far the Old Folks don't need much looking after. Red intimidates her, but she and Livva Ann get along famously, and Billie has started their family with a daughter, Pearl.

And the Hawkinses will have to wait for another day, because there's just so many of them.

Sorry for just fangirling over here but Peni, I really love reading about Drama Acres and am looking forward to hearing more about the Hawkinses especially!

DasRabennest, hoping to once have her game as interesting as yours...

You have no idea how much that feeds my ego, Rabennest! Thank you. I ought to be trying to make my sims less interesting, as they take up space in a part of my brain that's supposed to be making characters and stories there's some possibility of people paying me to read.

Anyway, careful what you wish for.
Hawkins - Immediately next door to the Onions house is the other surviving Hootin Holler cabin, Hawkins Prime. The Patriarch of the Hawkins family, Goz (Family), at first was just one of many sons of old Swainson Hawkins, and not the most promising one at that. He married to Ima Poore (the Poore family, after whom the street is named, was wiped out entirely That Day); but despite all the care he lavished on her, Ima died while pregnant. Goz, broken-hearted, used to retreat from the main part of Hootin Holler all the way down to the fringes to fish. It was at his favorite fishing hole that he encountered his future second wife, the much-younger Kitty Munny (Family), little sister of Hilary Aerius, skinny-dipping.

What Goz didn't know (and never will) was that Kitty was actually trying to wash off an unpleasant encounter with one of the Suits. She knew if her family found out what had been done to her, they would find a way to kill the Suit - and that would just multiply trouble. When she saw Goz, she said to herself "That's what I need," and rose up out of the water at him to make him forget all about fish. She has convinced herself that the resultant child really is Goz's, though she resembles him in no particular. When they married, Kitty told Goz she didn't want to live in a place that reminded him of anyone but her, so the bank of the fishing hole seemed the logical place to build new; it was this fortuitous placement, and Goz's agreeing to go fishing with Red That Day, that saved this entire branch of the Hawkins family.

The defining feature of the Hawkins family is an overwhelming attractiveness; despite the fact that most of them range, by conventional standards, from "plain as a mud fence" to "ugly as the inside of a dog's mouth." This stems from two sources. The first has been identified by geneticists as a mutation for a pheremone much stronger than normal sim pheremones. The other comes down to education and attitude. Goz's talent for teaching, prior to That Day, had no outlet but his family; and one of the things he taught may be broadly described as the Art of Love. Due to the conditions under which they grew up, it was impossible for Hootin Holler families to maintain many of the taboos still common in the outside world which mitigate against this particular kind of intergenerational instruction. Goz and Kitty's overt and demonstrative affection for each other set an example which each of their children has followed in his or her own way.

Goz and Kitty channeled their survival guilt into a concentrated attempt to make enough Hawkinses to replace those who died That Day. This was of course impossible, and also placed strain on the family's resources. However, despite his lack of formal education, Goz's teaching talent was revealed when he took a job as playground monitor, and he soon found a peculiar place in the hierarchy of the Drama Acres Public School system. This has not been uncontroversial, especially since the sorry spectacles he'd see in the high school parking lot and the dismal state of affairs revealed in his offspring's woohoo ed curriculum led him to become a vocal advocate for woohoo ed reform, basing his philosophy of change on the maxim that "love makes babies." He's currently retired from a position created for him, Honorary Senior Professor of Woohoo Education and Ethics at Sim State. He never spoke to a lecture hall that was less than packed. But he's really too old for that now and is glad to stay home canoodling his wife.

Kitty, of course, had babies. She's a bit of a terror to her sons- and daughters-in-law, not one of whom is really good enough for her children; but it's not for her to meddle, no sirree!

The oldest of these children, Sadie (Romance/Family), long ago figured out the secret of her birth and even got her mother to admit to the event - in private. Sadie is by profession an athlete, whose style and charisma contributed largely to the recent resurgence of interest in women's basketbase. Like her parents, she considers marriage a sacred bond. That's why she avoided it for so long in favor of high-quality promiscuity. She has always been paranoid about birth control, and that she had good reason was demonstrated when she conceived even though she was on the Pill - omitting one of her redundant methods one time was enough to do the trick. Fortunately, the father was her favorite boyfriend, and also the second alien pregnancy in the hood, so he needed to marry as much as she did.

This man, Clovis Point, is a teammate of Greg's, and the only close friend Ernest Munny made at college. The strange friendship between the campus dog and Mr. Sage-Ann-or-Nobody was strained by Clovis's becoming one of the young men Mary disported herself with; but since Clovis's abduction and impregnation with Frank's half-sister Andice all has been mended.

Despite some hiccups, and her insistence on living downtown beyond the gravitational pull of her family, Sadie is still very close with the other teens she went to college with - Dom, Ernest, Greg, Eppie, and Sage Ann - and since the birth of her son Lance she has started making friends with some of her brothers and sisters, who have tended to resent her for never coming around when they were growing up.

Cooper (Family/Knowledge) is the only Hootin Holler offspring to refuse to take advantage of the opportunity to go to college, since he felt at the time that his family needed him. Despite the concentrated efforts of most of his female classmates (especially the blondes; I swear every blonde teen in the townie pool followed him home), he dated little in high school, only going steady during his senior year. After he graduated and his girlfriend went on to Sim State, he began seeing and eventually married Ginger Newson, who had similarly foregone college for the sake of her family. He moved into their household at Newson's Corner, where he had considerable quiet influence on his sisters- and brothers-in-law, and probably saved the high-strung Ginger from nervous collapse. Cooper is the most successful third-grade teacher Drama Acres has ever seen, and sees no need to progress further than that - kid-wrangling is what he's good at, and it covers the bills. He and Ginger have had three children so far: George (Family), Gracie (Knowledge), and Ginevra (Grow Up).

Harris (Fortune/Family)is the sweetest, sexiest, ugliest man in the Drama Acres MSA. He came perilously close to flunking out of school, but built his grades up through sheer hard work and persistence, simultaneously acting as primary caregiver for one of his little sisters and becoming the major contact point of the Hawkins family with their brave new world. At Sim State, he quickly became known as the guy who knew all about women, dating, and woohoo, and found himself advising the entire frat and some of the pep squad on things he felt they really should have known by that time. He himself dated only Gabriella Newson, whom he married on graduation. With the advice and support of his brother-in-law Gavin and his cousin Ernest, he founded Dateanalysis, the premiere online resource for the friendless, dateless, and clueless. He often gives personal advice to the clients he feel need it most. His business has since expanded in a number of ways, but being a verifiable Business Tycoon doesn't distract him from his primary concern, which is making sure that his family is safe and happy. Due to the reluctance of his wife to get pregnant a second time, he has only one son, Harlan (Popularity), though he recently adopted a toddler, Mary Ann, and spends a lot of time peering, with equal parts hope and apprehension, through the biggest telescope money can buy.

Merlin (Knowledge/Family) completed the Hawkins sweep of the Newson women by marrying Georgia, who so far has not gotten pregnant. This is not Merlin's fault, though - she won't go off birth control, and Merlin won't pressure her. He also owns a large telescope and peers through it diligently, having a theory that it may be possible to summon aliens. Although his stellar record at Sim State qualifies him for any number of positions, he has yet to receive a satisfactory offer from a research lab, so he stays home making a particular study of Unobtainium-based mutations in the local flora and fauna. It doesn't bother him in the least that his wife brings in all the money - she found the job she wanted and she's happy, and what more does anybody want than a happy wife?

Pigeon (Fortune/Family), the first child born since That Day, developed slowly at first, but Harris's dedicated care saw her through. Since Sadie removed herself from the family circle, it was up to Pigeon, universally known in the family as "Baby Girl," to define what being a Hawkins woman means in the post-disaster world. Though this is a daunting prospect for a growing girl, Pigeon rose to the challenge, and only Ezekial Gavigan knows how hard it was for her to be consistently what her family needed her to be. Most of her family frowns on and is bewildered by her choice of Ezekial as a husband, as she could have had absolutely anybody she cared to crook her finger at and he's jealous, grouchy, and often bad-tempered, especially to people (other than Harris, who gets a free pass) who call her Baby Girl. In fact it is just this grouchiness she likes - he never directs it at her, and around him, she doesn't have to be perfect all the time. Pigeon doesn't mind that all the men around her lust after her in their hearts. Mostly, she take it as her due and doesn't do anything to encourage it, because that would be mean. When she graduated, Pigeon came home to look after the Old Folks, and Ezekial took the Hawkins name and joined her. They are fixing up the old cabin, which expanded willy-nilly over the years, into something more convenient and attractive. Their first child, Dove, is almost ready to crawl.

Sparrow (Family/Romance) is a semester away from graduating Sim State. Although boys flocked after her in high school, she only ever permitted one to get close to her. When she went to college, she discovered that she had a lot more in common with her oldest sister than she really wanted to; like Sadie, she enjoys the power her combination of pheremones and know-how allows her to wield over men - all men, anytime, anywhere. The young man who interested her enough to date, however, was raised in a lab as an experiment and proved both woefully ignorant and willfully reluctant to put in the amount of work necessary to come up to her standards, and when her high school boyfriend arrived, she found herself drawn back toward him. When Alon actually cheated on her, Sparrow unceremoniously dumped him and took up with Gerry again, but it is far from clear to her where she should go from here.

The twins, Marsha (Knowledge) and Harriet (Family) were born on the edge of the fishing hole, and are a big part of Sparrow's motivation for not dating sooner in high school. Twins are energy-intensive for the whole family! Marsha wishes to follow Cousin Sage Ann's footsteps into journalism and Harriet to be a teacher. They dated Jeremiah Gavigan and Ted Ottomas, who are also twins, throughout high school and confidently expect to stay with them all through college and marry them afterward to continue the spread of Hawkins-based households throughout Drama Acres. They have just left for Sim State, where they'll stay at Alma Mater House with Sparrow, Paul, and George. Compared to earlier Hawkins girls, the road before them appears delightfully smooth - all the hard trailblazing has been done.

This may not be true for the youngest, Kestrel (Fortune). She has yet to see a single boy who attracts her. Girls, on the other hand...And she sometimes wishes Sims2 had such a sport as softball. However, she's not going to worry about that right now. She is much more interested in taking care of Dove and hanging out with her nephew Harlan and her cousins (to a greater or lesser degree) Mark, Frank, and Marius.

That completes the tally of the core families, and brings us up to 11 households out of 46. Next up - Newsons' Corner!

Newson - Poore Street extends all the way past the edges of the original territory closed off by the Mater D Corporation to dead-end with doglegged Farm Road. On That Day, the only building on Farm Road was the old farmhouse which investigative journalists George and Gracie Newson had bought to raise their huge adopted family in. (I know Mom Newson is identified as "Gloria" in Ginger's bio, but I have never been able to think of the parents of my Newsons by any names but George and Gracie.) The Newsons were often criticized for becoming too involved in the stories they investigated together, as illustrated by their adoption of six children during the course of their exposé of the weaknesses of the child welfare system. They chose the house on Farm Road at least in part because they smelled a huge story in the mysterious comings and goings, complicated bookkeeping, and inaccessibility of the area real estate holdings of the Mater D Mining Corporation, whose stranglehold on the domestic production of Unobtainium made them nearly untouchable. So when the underground rumblings, the unprecedented earthquake, and the simultaneous liftoff of every one of Mater D's helicopters occurred, they were ready. Grabbing their equipment, they told the teens, Ginger (Family) and Gavin (Fortune), to look after their little brothers and sisters, hopped into their ATV, and roared across country into oblivion.

Veterans of execrable foster care, Gavin and Ginger - especially Gavin - did not trust grownups. Not any grownups; certainly not the social workers, and absolutely not those Hootin Holler folks who kept coming around offering to "help." Yeah, right. What business did that lot have to be alive when George and Gracie were, probably, dead? (It took them a long time to face reality on this point - no bodies, after all.) They were determined to take care of everything, and keep the younger kids out of foster care, themselves; and they nearly broke their hearts trying. Not until long afterward did they realize how much of what success they did have was the result of the Hootin Holler survivors running interference for them with the social workers, or how much better off they would have been allowing Kitty, Hilary, or Livva Ann to babysit the twins instead of hiring the nanny, who scarred them all for life.

I know nannies are generally a bad lot but this one was unbelievable - fussing over Garrett, ignoring Georgia, waking them up when they slept in order to trap them in high chairs, feeding them when they needed diaper changes, and strewing the entire house with baby bottles. She never cooked, cleaned, or played with Georgia, though she would play with and talk to Garrett. They'd both be screaming for a diaper change and she'd get Garrett, play with him while Georgia hollered, set him in the high chair, bring him a bottle, take him out of the high chair before he could drink it, bring him another bottle, then change Georgia and drop her on the floor upstairs before heading down to interrupt Garrett happily playing with his bunny, while Georgia (naturally) blocked the stairs screaming, and forcing the nanny to throw routing fits when she finally decided to take Georgia a bottle before she starved. Ginger and Gavin's grades would probably have been better had they skipped school on alternate days to look after the twins rather than hiring her; the environment score would certainly have been better. Gavin might even have been able to keep his after-school job, instead of losing it when he missed the car pool and then pulled an F. The entire family have sworn never to hire another nanny, no matter what they have to give up to prevent it.

The collapse of the entire family was prevented by a) the twins growing to child (they fired the Nanny from Hell immediately), b) their close proximity to Drama Acres Park, where they all got fit and rescued their fun scores in the swimming pool (Gavin was addicted to midnight swims for awhile there), and c) Gabriella (she and Gallagher having astoundingly high IQs despite their disadvantages) being assigned to tutor Harris Hawkins and bringing him home with her after school. Not even Gavin, over the long haul, could displace the sense of grievance over the loss of George and Gracie onto placid, pie-sweet Harris, who was soon best friends with Gabriella and Gallagher, and had introduced Merlin and Pigeon/Baby Girl to the twins.

From this point on, things began looking up for the younger Newsons - but not for Gavin and Ginger, who continued trying to do everything themselves instead of delegating responsibilities. Ginger and Georgia were constantly at odds, and Ginger didn't graduate. Gavin barely graduated, and was grimly settling in to look for a low-paying job, when Ginger lit into him and pushed him, at the last possible minute, to take the opportunity presented by the Alma Mater Grant for the survivors of the disaster, and go to college.

This decision changed his life. For one thing, he moved into the dorm with Ernest, Sage Ann, and Sadie, shortly before Ernest and Sage Ann moved out to their own residence, and was astounded by the welcome he got. George and Gracie's success pulling Ernest and Greg out of the ruins of the Munny cabin, and their valiant but futile, fatal attempt to rescue someone from the mine itself, made the Newsons de facto "one of us" rather than "Downslopers" (the generic Hootin Holler term for anyone from the outside world). Ernest took Gavin over to the frat to meet Greg, so they could tell him about their brief acquaintance with his parents without the other survivors hearing things that it wouldn't make them any happier to know, helped him sort out his major and get his first decent grades, and became both the first friend he ever had, and his major role model.

Meanwhile, back at the farmhouse, Ginger was close to a nervous breakdown, from which she managed to save herself by impulsively adopting a cat. Despite her failure to graduate, she managed to get a file clerk job in the office of Don Miguel, the lawyer who had prosecuted the Mater D executives and now acted as a trustee of the restitution funds and Alma Mater Grant. But her relationship with the younger kids, particularly Georgia, was terrible, and she lived in a constant state of near nervous collapse. Every little thing made her cry. She felt that nobody understood how much it had cost her to push Gavin to go to college and leave her to manage things, that she'd never have a life of her own, and so on. She hit her lowest point on a visit to the Hawkins family, when she got into a shoving match with Georgia and then, when Cooper tried to calm her down, bit his head off and shoved him. And he just stood there and took it. The next time he came over she wanted to crawl under a rock and die, she was so embarrassed, but he acted like it hadn't happened. He even asked her out, and they talked about the college thing, and how to balance responsibility toward your family and toward yourself, and all the things that nobody else she knew understood at all. So, she married him; and the upward trend of the Newson fortunes dates from that day.

Gavin, who still took everything way too seriously, took it on himself to be the one to break it to Cooper's old girlfriend Naenae Straight (Family/Fortune), who was at the sorority and still carried a visible torch for him (Hawkinses are hard to get over), when he got married, when Ginger got pregnant, and when George was born. Naenae pushed Gavin further out of his shell, and realized (in a mirrored arc with Cooper, who realized the same thing about Ginger) that Gavin needed her in a way Cooper never would have. The emotional fragility of the two oldest Newsons requires a steady, sturdy partner; and Naenae, like Cooper, needs to be needed.

Naenae and Gavin married on graduation and built a house across Farm Road from Ginger and Cooper. Naenae and Ginger are friends, but Gavin feels (not without justification) that Cooper judges him and finds him wanting. And Cooper, though he'd as soon cut off his hand as say so, doesn't figure Gavin's much account, standing ready to swoop in any time Naenae and the kids need him to. He particularly thinks it's silly that Naenae is putting off getting a job out of deference to Gavin's "no nanny" policy. Yes, Ginger quit her job when she got pregnant with George, but that was because she didn't like her job. If she'd liked it, Cooper would have been the one to stay home, and he doesn't see where Gavin gets off not being the one making the sacrifice.

Gavin, with a loan from Ernest, started an employment agency for disadvantaged teens, which has since expanded into vocational education, daycare, and other related fields. Naenae does financial consulting from home while raising their daughters, Annie (Family) and Alma (Grow Up), and has recently gotten pregnant again. And if she still dreams about Cooper once in awhile - well, dreams hurt nobody. Annie, who just started middle school, is already dating Maddox Moiselle, and may, by being available as a babysitter, enable her mother to finally enter the workforce when the current embryo grows to child. Naenae just hopes she's not unemployable by that time. Gavin hopes this last kid will be a boy, so he can name him Ernie. Naenae says a daughter will be named Ernestine over her dead body, so if he's going to honor is hero, he needs a boy.

Gabriella (Knowledge) married Harris, and stays happily home pursuing her varied interests. Her literary science fiction novel, Alien Nation, was well-received, but she is continually challenging herself. Her next novel is an animal story for young people, the toughest, most rewarding audience. On the one hand, she didn't much like being pregnant; on the other hand, it gets to her when she sees Harris interacting with other people's children, knowing that he wants more of his own, but will never even hint that she should have them for his sake.

Gallagher (Family) is even brighter than Gabriella, but intellectual work has always been so easy for him that it's hard for him to care about it. All he really wants is a happy, secure, stable family to make up for all that youthful trauma. He married Simdinavian simmigrant Minnie Skirt (Family), who he met at college, and is working as a judge while she is stay-at-home mother for their children Minerva (Grow-Up, but I'm pretty sure she's Fortune at heart) and Eugene, who is still a toddler. They also plan to have a total of three children, and have built their house next door to Ginger and Cooper.

Georgia (Knowledge/Popularity) married Merlin Hawkins and has rocketed up the ranks of professional gamers. She and Ginger settled their differences long ago, and she takes a particular interest in her nephew George, since he was born while she was running late for the bus (she almost always was late for the bus, and walked to school as often as not; she didn't really get into learning till junior year of college) and Ginger was exhausted, so she skipped school to look after him. She'll have kids when she's good and ready, not a moment before, thank you.

Garrett (Knowledge/Pleasure) wasn't exactly spoiled, but he was easily the most feckless Newson. He grew up accustomed to thinking that everybody else was more competent than him, and he should just leave stuff to them. It was Cooper who first started demanding things of him and Georgia by treating things like exploding sinks as "learning opportunities" and expecting him to be able to figure out things on his own. Probably the most significant event of his high school years was his date with Baby Girl Hawkins. She was a freshman and he was a senior, but she ambush-dated him to try out her command of the Hawkins specialty. Being chosen by Pigeon for her first kiss was enough to make any guy think better of himself, and for awhile dating was his primary course of study at Sim State. Living cheek-by-jowl with his best friend, the studious Merlin, however, introduced him to the fun of learning; and when Lourdes Iana (Family/Romance) treated him as someone she could rely on, he found himself wanting to be that person. He and Lourdes live on the remaining corner of Poore and Farm, in a small house with a large fishpond, where they have ready access to family help from all directions. Though he published one book while in college, "The House at Olddaughter's Corner," he's now working the Adventurer career while pregnant Lourdes stays home with their toddler Guadalupe. He's consulting with Cooper on the problem of adding a second story, because Lourdes wants lots of children, and he hadn't counted on that when he purchased the lot.

Due to the concentration of Newsons around the old farmhouse, the area between the dogleg and the intersection is now known locally as "Newsons' Corners." That leaves eight downsloper families in Drama Acres proper before I describe the Downtowners; I wonder if I can fit eight families into one post?

And the answer is, Just Barely.
Gavigan - Nathan (Fortune/Pleasure) and Mary (Family) Gavigan were the first family to move to the subdivision of Drama Acres after it opened up. They knew nothing about the local history, only that the house was cute and adjacent to the park. Mary was better at producing children than Nathan was at holding down a job, and the house was a disaster. Isaiah (Popularity) became firm friends with Harris in elementary school, and found him the greatest asset a frat boy could have at Sim State. Thanks to Harris's advice, he landed Sophie Miguel (Fortune/Family), abrasive daughter of a high-powered lawyer. Sophie's dad built her a fine big house directly across the street, and Isaiah had absorbed too many Hawkins values not to know what the right thing to do was. Sophie deals with sharing space with her in-laws amazingly well. Nathan is retired with a part-time job and Mary is a big help with the grandchildren, Miguel (Pleasure) and Deborah (Baby). Isaiah's had employment problems, too, but Sophie is a reliable breadwinner.

Ezekial (Fortune) had a hard time growing up. Isaiah went to college about the time the twins were born, leaving him holding the bag - and he didn't like it! He didn't like anything or anybody. Well, maybe his sister Naomi, whom he calls "Mini-me." And then Pigeon Hawkins hugged him in the park... His parents minded when he took her name, but face it, he'd never made a good Gavigan.

The twins, Naomi (Fortune) and Jeremiah (Knowledge) are now on the verge of college. Jeremiah plans to be a doctor and marry Marsha Hawkins. Naomi is very close to Ezekial, who was the first one she came out to. She's dating a girl from across the street in the house that replaced their old one.

Thyme - Hi Thyme (Pleasure) has the distinction of flunking out of three colleges after a single semester of majoring in "party" at each. He had a sweet deal going on with a wealthy widow, but then the blonde he'd been seeing on the side got arrested for prostitution and the court made him responsible for their two daughters. Another court sent him a notice that a girl he banged ages ago had died out west and they were sending him the daughter he hadn't known existed. And then the daughter he'd never been allowed to see, whose mother got religion, showed up on his doorstep with a chip on her shoulder - she'd come out as a lesbian and Religious Mom's cult leader had thrown her out. The widow dumped him, so he scraped together the remnants of his trust fund and moved as far away from her as he could, choosing Drama Acres because Mary Munny lives there. (And yes, that has paid off for him. At least until he meets Ernest, Frank, Mark, or Madge while he's out with somebody else.)

The girls - Spring, Summer, Justine, and Rosemary - all rolled Family aspiration, and quickly became known (except for Justine) as "the boy-crazy Thyme girls." Spring dated Tommy Ottomas till she burned to death in a yard fire. Justine completed Naomi Gavigan's coming-out process. Summer went steady with a Guasimalan simmigrant till he went to college; but she and Justine are on the verge of heading to Sim State, where they'll share a house with the Gavigan and Ottomas twins and George's girlfriend. Rosemary, the youngest, is going steady with John Amos and has made more friends with random phone calls than the rest of her family combined.

Spring's death is the defining event of this family. Hi lives in terror that it'll happen again, and wakes up certain that he's heard Spring scream. Which he has, because her urn is still on the lot. When Justine and Summer leave for college, life will be easier, but also lonesomer.

Skirt - The Skirt family left Simdinavia for reasons best known to themselves. Gene (Fortune) is a scientist and a loner. Though he's getting on in years, he was recently abducted and gave birth to the third alien hybrid in the Drama Acres MSA - his son, Dior. He hates Clovis Point's guts and has not been encouraging in his response to Ernest's overtures. He spent half his pregnancy in denial and the other half planning the papers he'd write, with his offspring as a subject; whether the real live wriggling presence of his only boy child has sent his calculations off the rails, or he'll get over the rush of hormones, remains to be seen.

His wife Lacy (Family) is principal of Drama Acres High School and a friend of Cooper Hawkins's. It hasn't been easy for her, carving out an educational career in a foreign land and language, but she's been managing.

Their three daughters, Minnie (Family), Georgette (Romance), and Polly Esther (Knowledge) have all adapted well. Minnie lives at Newsons' Corners with her husband Gallagher and their kids. Georgette is the reason Gene hates Clovis Point, who inducted her into the Drama Acres dating scene. She lived in an apartment downtown until recently, moving in with Mutti and Vati to help during the pregnancy, and disliked Dior on sight. Hi Thyme is one of her dalliances, and being so close ought to be handy, but he's been reluctant to have anyone over when the girls are home and she's been sparing her parents' feelings by not having anybody over during Vati's pregnancy. She resents how her old beaux are getting married - enough to change her "no married men" policy.

When friendly Polly Esther left for college (where she lives with her True Love, Paul Curian), Mutti and Vati no longer had enough friends for promotion till Georgette moved in. The Skirts also have three poodles: Midi, Maxi, and Cotton.

Ottomas - You know them! Peter (Romance/Family) is balding and writing a sports romance, hoping to retire, while Samantha (Family/Romance) plugs away in education. David (Popularity) has largely dropped out of their lives, having pursued a musical career of which they cannot approve. On the plus side, his wife Susana recently produced their first grandchild; but they live all the way downtown and aren't seen often.

Sharla (Family) had a rough teenhood. Dora died during her transition, and she felt she had to continually be the good big sister and never just herself. She got desperate enough for affection that she set out to steal Margaret Estic's boyfriend Lucas. She didn't exactly succeed; but he did go steady with her at the public school while dating Margaret out of the private. She knew it was wrong, and her best friend Sparrow thought it unnecessary, but a Sparrow Hawkins has no frame of reference by which to judge a Sharla Ottomas! At college, she fell in love with Lucas's older brother, David's frat brother Luis - which wasn't awkward at all! Luis has his own issues, and after a long, slow courtship with much soul-searching, they are engaged. She's moved in with him around the corner (more disapproval, but Sharla's still her mother's favorite child), and the wedding will be celebrated ASAP.

Tommy (Knowledge) carried futile torches for Sparrow and Polly Esther and had despaired of ever having a girlfriend when the boy-crazy Thyme girls moved in next door. Soon he was going steady with Spring. Her death knocked him for a loop. He lives on campus with one roommate, letting his friendships decay and his hair grow out as he pursues his goal of learning the secrets of life and death and bringing her back.

The twins, Ted (Fortune) and Theodora (Romance), are different as night and day, but thick as thieves. Ted suffered early trauma when Dora died while pottytraining him. Like his older brothers, he has a more artistic temperament than his dad thinks appropriate in a boy. He intends to marry Harriet Hawkins, who calls him "Steady," a name that suits him. Theodora is Peter's little princess, as spoiled and capricious as Ted is reliable, and only feels fully alive when the center of male attention. She broke Dominic Moiselle's heart, lied about her age to date a senior, and cut the biggest swathe among townie boys she could manage. They're about to leave for college

Petra (Pleasure), has just started middle school and is the prettiest Ottomas in history. Despite her sweet disposition, she's the odd one out. Theodora, with whom she shares a room, is the only one she's at all close with, though Ted is more likely to go out of his way to take care of her. She already has a number of friends at middle school, and looks to them rather than her parents for role models.

Ruben - Joshua (Fortune) was the plaything of Romance during his days at the frat, and when he graduated and began his acting career he determined to steer clear of it. Sally Mander (Family) lived downstairs with her boy Gerry. She was in witness protection after testifying against the drug pushers who killed her husband, studying hard and trying to make a good life. Joshua'd never met anyone like her before, and she only had to set her cap for him a little bit for him to fall for her, hard. He adores being The Provider, and a good thing, too, because Sally's taken it into her head that she needs to give him a son, but all she produces since moving to Drama Acres from the downtown apartment are girls.

Sally's boy Gerry (Fortune/Popularity) is at Sim State, living at the frat, and dating Sparrow Hawkins. Thanks to his time as a Popularity teen, Gerry has connections at all levels of Drama Acres society. The only person he doesn't get along with is that jerk Sparrow dated before he came to college. Amanda (Fortune), is a misanthrope, preferring plants to people. But she's best friends with Petra, takes good care of her little sisters, and is proud of her cool big brother. Sarah and the twins, Martine and Josephine, are all old enough to look after themselves a bit, and Sally is thinking about making another attempt to get the little JJ of her dreams.

Iana - Luz Iana (Fortune/Family) and her four children are semi-legal simmigrants who came from Guasimala with her mother Abuela and without her husband Lou, who didn't make the rendezvous and whom no one missed. On first arriving, they lived in a two-bedroom, one-bath apartment on Downmarket Street downtown, where Abuela stayed home with the toddler and Luz found work in the music industry. That was where she met Billy Ghote (Romance), a Simdian simmigrant, who on arrival in Drama Acres dumped his daughter Billie (Knowledge, now wife of Oliver Onions) and his mother Nannie (until recently, live-in help to the Munnys) off in an apartment and set about working as little and woohooing as much as he could get along with. I'm afraid Luz has crappy taste in men. After Abuela died, Luz started pressuring him to get married, and his funds were getting low, so they got engaged and moved into a small house in Drama Acres. Luz was soon pregnant, but they couldn't marry until they found out that Lou was shot by a jealous husband in Guasimala. Billy - affected by regret for his mother's death, pressure from Billie, and pregnancy hormones from both Luz and Billie - bit the bullet and went through with it. So far he's kept Luz from finding out about the women (preferably rich) he sees on the side, including the Wicked Witch, and since their son William's birth he hasn't had much energy to sneak out on "gigs" anyway. All of her children by her first marriage have grave doubts about him, though.

Luz's children are well-integrated into Drama Acres society. Her oldest, Lourdes (Family/Romance), roomed first with Georgette and later with Billie at Sim State. Though she'd sworn not to get all tied down to one man, her priorities changed as she matured and fell in love with Garrett Newson. The oldest boy, Luis (Family/Pleasure), dated another Guasimalan simmigrant during high school, got jerked around badly by a Pleasure sim during his first couple of years at college, and then ran into Sharla Ottomas, whom he'd always thought of as "David's kid sister," and found her all grown up and a treasure undervalued by everyone, including herself. He's worked through all of his fears of turning into a macho jerk like his father, bought a house with help from Luz, and will marry Sharla ASAP. He's currently a dancer, but hopes to find something more stable that her father will disapprove of less.

Lucas (Popularity) is glad Sharla and Luis hooked up. Margaret Estic is the girl he loves. He's at the frat and constantly on the lookout for new recruits, having realized long ago that knowing huge numbers of people was the way to get ahead in Simerica. He wants to go into law and help other people caught in the cracks of the system, like his own family was when they first simmigrated. Lisandro (Knowledge) lives with his weird buddy Tommy Ottomas, and looks forward to his girl Summer Thyme coming, too. Summer and Tommy should be able to console each other about Spring, right? (Tommy was triple-bolted with both Spring and Summer; no drama upcoming in that campus household, nope. It should all be smooth sailing.)

Traveller - I had to change the Traveller background story, as the provided one doesn't make any sense in context. Trent (Knowledge) and Trisha (Popularity) got married and dropped out of Academie La Tour when she got pregnant. They both come from rich families and were able to bum around mostly having a good time while Tina was small, but now she's in school they figured they'd better settle down. They bought a sizable house in Drama Acres and looked for work they could get without degrees. Trent started at the bottom in Oceanography and dabbles in hobbies. He and Tina are close, but he and Trisha long ago burned out their fires, and the fact that he works days and she works nights, on the culinary track, hasn't helped. Trisha is attracted to a lot of guys, but not to her husband, and is never home when Tina is. And there's Billy Ghote right across the street...But nothing's happened yet.

That wraps up Drama Acres proper, and unless someone stops me before I post again, I'll move on to the downtown families next. Twelve of those, plus the two Greeks and Greek Fodder - the other college households are covered by the descriptions of their source families. And then maybe I can really focus on reorganizing my nonfiction and the cut of jeans.

Recently I've been taking the time to appreciate maxis-made sims. So, I've been in Pleasantview.

GOTH ~

Well, before the really bad wedding I made Cassandra go out and she met Ivy Copur. They were constantly having the heart thought bubbles about eachother, and instantly 'connected'. Ofcourse, the outcome of this was a beating from Mrs Crumplebottom and her trusty sidekick - the handbag. I brought Cas home and she wasn't too bothered about Don ditching her, she invited Ivy around and she moved in following a proposal. They got married and adopted a baby boy, then using boolprop I made them have their own child, a girl! I moved them out of the Goth Manor and into their own built home, their kids are now child & toddler and so cute!
Meanwhile, Mortimer met a downtownie called Elle, they were talking, then flirting, then kissing and well she moved in. They got married and Elle moved in. They had two kids, twin boys - Simon & Mortimer Jr. But shortly after Mortimer died of old age, so Elle was left alone. Annoied by the fact her husband had gone, she ressurected him, only for him to die again hours later. This made Elle sad, angry and she felt betrayed by fate, so she began to kill people in seek of revenge. She has currently killed a maid, 4 townies, and two of her 'almost husbands'. I don't know the names of them, but he did propose (she is still wearing the engagement ring), she woohooed with him and got pregnant, with a girl (I've forgotton her name, but shes very pretty). Using the cowplant, he died. Then she got pregnant with someone else, had another girl (Elyon, who is also pretty!), and he died the same way. Elle drinks the milk of all deceased sims and is now at the beginning of her adult-life again. Alexander is out of college in the sim bin, however, he is determined to frame Elle for all of these deaths - including his fathers - and be owner of Goth Manor again. His half brothers (the twins) are in college, the first girl is a teen and Elyon is a child.

PLEASANT ~

Mary-Sue and Daniel are still together, and the Oldies moved in with them since the twins went to college.
Angela and Lilith made friends, and before going to college, Angela wound up on a 'dream date' with Ira Lawson (one of the downtownies related to Jon Tricou) and went to college with him, alongside her sister & Meadow Thayer. After graduating, her and Ira moved to a trailer park and sadly began a bad lifestyle. Drugs, drink, abuse and even worse an unexpected pregnancy made Angelas life hell. Ira was out of control, and when his daughter, Tilly, was born, he didn't care. Angelas appearance changed too, she became a rebellious looking person, as if her and Lilith had switched roles. Ira passed away during a fire which he caused, luckily Angela and Tilly survived. Angela now lives with Lilith and Liliths current boyfriend - Bryant. Angela is in for a shock though, as Dustin and Meadow 'moved away to Belladonna Cove for a break and a change of scenery', which helped Angela to not feel regret over leaving Dustin for Ira. But now, the two are back, and even worse - are engaged! How will Angela cope with this?

THAYER/BROKE ~

They've currently just moved into a custom condo, back to their hometown of Pleasantview with some delightful news. Meadows sister, Jolie, has also temporarily joined them to help with wedding prep. Dustin hears the news of Ira and Angela, and is torn between the two. Who will he pick - Meadow, or Angela?
Meadow however is very, very girly. Its cute, haha.

CALIENTE ~

Since Mortimer is dead, Dina settled for Malcolm Landgraab, and they have one daughter, Melissa. However, shes cheating on him with two people - the maid, Remmington - and Daniel Pleasant. It appears shes cut contact with Don. Will she be caught?

Nina grew lonely without her sisters company, as well as lacking affection. She had a one-off with Daniel Pleasant and had his child. Shes changed her ways and now sees things logically, hoping to build robots for all someday as well as being top of the gamer career. Talk about a change of heart!

BURB ~

I built them a house, and Lucy grew to a teen - and for a present got a place in private school!

I'm keen at the minute to make a series/story about Angela, Lilith and so on, using the background I gave you as its basic plot. Hm, we'll see.