Now the thing about Vlad Straud is that he has a pretty big house. And the thing about me is that I’m bad at add-ons.
Yeah we may or may not have made a toddler crypt. Fun for screenshots and space saving, not for tending to toddler needs. It was even bugged when an adult was off the home lot and everyone was auto-tending to their needs (technically they couldn’t be sent to daycare because Vlad/Marg/Mauro were always home)
“Marty, just don’t overthink the toddler crypt.”
“But mama…”
It was at this point that I noticed that Vlad’s sleepwear involves bunny slippers. A very heartwarming touch.
So this was my first coffin woohoo. Almost four years after buying the pack (there’s been quite a bit of money dropped on “I totally have a story idea for this” for stories that never came to fruition) It is kind of glorious…not the thought of letting Vlad touch you but the organ rendition of the woohoo theme, the bats, the coffin animations…
…getting spit out onto the ground. Normal stuff and all.
While the toddlers were not enjoying being kept in the crypt, the older kids were having an absolute blast. Mostly because they got to be older.
Vlad’s dining room really struck Luis in a fancy place.
And he also became a bit of a gothic teenager too. Makeover pending on that but it fit the mood of this place.
Even the rest of the family wasn’t completely disturbed by Marg’s new quarters. Sonora and Lucia visited sometimes, but they were having a good life in San Myshuno (rent is frozen for inactive households so whatever)
“You know, if Mauro and his girlfriend become vampires and I don’t, that’s really unfair.”
“They’re not dating, and it’s your loss.”
Yeah I never bothered to have Vlad turn Sonora. She was still a teenager and in a potent mood swing about things.
Though she wasn’t kidding about Vlad turning Hailee! I was unsure if teens could be turned at all but they can be.
“No hard feelings, my boy, she’s all yours now.”
One of the aspirations that Margarita was making headway on was Big Happy Family. It required a child to get married, and with Lucia and Sonora out of my control (so I guess a 50/50 on them helping me with the power of MCCC), Mauro was suddenly my best bet. Mostly because he had the most friends.
We’d check back on Luis later.
But Marg wouldn’t neglect her daughters for Mauro’s sake. She’d do that to Emiliano instead (who’s scarce in all screenshots, but I can confirm he exists).
“Just so you know, you’re always welcome here, little one.”
“Hey Vladdy, you mind making me reign as the king of darkness forever with my girlfriend?”
“Foolish boy, you’re getting bitten twice as hard for that.”
And so the Straud household had its vampire heirs. Besides any child that Marg and Vlad had. We would deal with that power struggle at another time, if ever.
But as Mauro learned, being a vampire had its pains too.
It was something he and Hailee could relate to. That transformation was taking forever but they had made their relationship extremely serious.
Too serious.
I mean I knew couples that proposed in high school (and got married after finishing it, don’t be weird here) but yeah…forgot to turn another teen setting off. This is the furthest they got, promise.
I was alright with engaging them because they proved to be adorable together. And Marg had her watchful eye so she could brag to all her friends about Mauro getting engaged.
And also to flirt with Alexander Goth: bartender, rich boy, ugly bridge troll (sorry I cannot deal with his face but I will find a way…unfortunately Mortimer’s long-dead and the child he and Bella had was a school-age girl, no other Goth spouses left but Alex! I was considering the Landgraabs but Malcolm had peaced out to a crummy home after his parents died)
Actually there will be a Landgraab-related segment when we see Alex again. Onwards and upwards though.
Eric Lewis also became a new friend and member of Partihaus, along with Alex. The Spencer-Kim-Lewis family is ever so slightly more stacked in assets, but Alex is a Goth. Tough decision.
Paloma’s birthday interrupted her spouse hunt though.
As did the birth of Raul Straud, baby of ambiguous color. I really can’t trust those little slugs to look like anything. Either way, Vlad had to step up as a parent.
In his defense, he did. Martin still hated him though and I’m not sure why. Was it destroying the dollhouse every second he got? Marg did that too thanks to being hot-headed, but Martin never had any friendship loss with her.
Vlad had joined the entertainer career, only for me to learn that being the world’s best pipe organist means nothing to them. He was a dreadful violinist but absolutely loved to play.
Obviously, Marg agreed with me. Martin slept through everything for once.
“Can your next husband play an instrument?”
“Well…no.”
Hailee transformed before Mauro, right in front of JoAnna Feng too. JoAnna was still Mauro’s best platonic friend and knew Luis too, so this was her time to decide what to do with the family. She and her siblings were living a beautiful life in Del Sol Valley.
She and Luis hit it off immediately once puberty kicked in and all. Emiliano walked by and approved.
Margarita was spending a lot of time in Willow Creek, mostly because Vlad’s house was fucking miserable. There are very few ways to build fun in it so everyone’s stressed 24/7. The toddlers were in constant need failure because no one would feed them in the basement. And yet I still wanted to leave Mauro, Luis, Emiliano, and one of the younger kids in the mansion.
Call me cruel.
Vlad had heard of the allure of Landgraab blood and trekked all the way to the desert for it…
“My powers don’t control you and you’re not even a Landgraab?”
“Sorry, the family tree puts me all alone.”
“Blast it! It might just be the heat. If you let me inside, I’ll only drink from your gorgeous wife.”
“Oh wow, Nosferatu here thinks I won’t protect my wife.”
Yep, it got ugly. For Johnny Zest, probably just in terms of his reputation. But for Vlad, the desert sun never let up, and he actually had a sunlight weakness.
“Cursed orb! If you would only set…right now…”
“Oh, what a beautiful day back where I belong!”
“I mean…Vlad! My darling, how will Raul grow up now?”
The crowd gathered and immediately suspected Marg of something. Then again, he was a vampire trying to drink blood in the middle of a desert. And all Margarita wanted to do was throw away her household’s trash (really?)
I’d say it was a dark night for simkind, but Vlad was not loved much at all.
Martin was the happiest about it, of course. We even got him a playground!
Of course, Raul had to prove that Vlad’s presence would never leave.
Ugly-ass Mac Tonight looking kid.
“Hmm, perhaps I shall leave you in this mansion to fend for yourself, Count Straud the Fifth.”
“No stwaud please.”
In Marg’s defense, she gave him a bath. But little else.
Luis proved to be a better parent every single day. Maybe it was preparation for JoAnna…and yes, it was basically that. Though they had a lot of growing up to do before I’d let them have a baby.
To finish with Raul: here’s his most cursed outfit (apparently I was missing a hat mesh?)
Marg preferred not to mourn, and only to work on Bodybuilder with Alex.
“Oh no the car’s coming right towards them but they have airpods in and can’t hear me, oh god oh fuck-“
Someone slammed the brakes because the party continued elsewhere.
We brought Mauro and Hailee along just in time for his transformation.
Oh no he’s ugly!
And Marg dug into some choripan with her new boyfriend. Alex was nice enough, and as long as he was the sole heir to the Goth fortune, then she could be the sole heir to him. And winter would come and go as the Earth’s axial tilt continued to guarantee it.
We really gotta do something about that face, though. After the day of five birthdays.
Yep, you heard me right.
It started with Martin, who needed to become a big boy for my own sanity. It was his natural birthday.
Oh, and the Black Widow rules say nothing about aging up kids early? Chop chop, you pesky teenagers.
Luis and JoAnna were first because I was having issues inviting Hailee over (due to being a vampire she is “asleep” in the daytime)
They were looking forward to the adult activities the most. And were expecting a boy after that.
In the end, they were going to live in Del Sol Valley to help care for her younger siblings after Lily Feng’s death. And to avoid the snow.
Mauro and Hailee soon became adult vampires themselves, and would stay in the mansion with Emiliano and Raul. Paloma and Martin were sticking with Marg for other reasons (I was always going to take Martin but Paloma tagged along in the end to give Mauro and Hailee some more space)
She moved in and got a first look at the grand coffin they would share.
And like his brother and JoAnna, they got married too. And had twin girls after Marg left the house.
“So are the plasma packs worth it?”
“I dunno…just a little bit.”
Marg was busy making Rachell angry before marrying Alex, which I thought was a non-issue until we got to his house.
“Wowee! Will I get to be friends with your sister, Mr. Goth?”
“Don’t count on it, my mum doesn’t let anything get past her.”
Oh, and we were still unable to marry Alex even after moving in with him. It really was down to Marg still being the girlfriend of Rachell (she had broken up with Joaquin well beforehand).
“Look Alex, I’ll break up with Rachell if you get your face fixed. I think that’s fair.”
“Am I really that ugly?”
“Uglier than Rachell, that’s for sure.”
Somehow he was easily convinced. Or didn’t throw a fit when I took him to “Change Sim” at the mirror (so you know it’s something everyone can do to Mr. Goth here)
Marg and Rachell had ended it all, right in front of Lucia, who considered Rachell a part of her life too. The family’s first maid and Marg’s truest love.
And Alex looked a little more like Bella now. He got a beard and new clothes after this screenshot. (I know he’s a popular legacy spouse but I don’t get it one bit)
Either way, Marg had some fond feelings about her new husband for once. Shame it would end so soon.