Fanon:Alexandra Vanderburg

Alexandra Maria-Louisa Vanderburg "Alex" was born in Hidden Springs as one of the twin daughters of Catarina and Renauld Vanderburg. She was the first of the twins, born three minutes before her sister, Anastasia. She is a noted equestrian, winning numerous awards for her riding prowess. She is also an athlete, enjoying all sports but especially basketball. She is of primarily Dutch and German extraction.

In many ways, the twins' existence owed itself to the disappearance of their older sister, Francisca. The palace had spent lots of time and money on the search for Francisca but to no avail. Catarina was consciously seeking a child to replace her lost daughter, but she got more than she bargained for when she birthed twins -- double the fun and double the trouble.

Early years
Alexandra and her twin sister, Anastasia, grew up in a life of privilege. Their mother ensured their top-of-the-line education at the ultra-exclusive Smuggsworth Preparatory School as soon as they could walk, and before they'd even enrolled officially in the institution, they'd had private one-on-one tutoring with some of the world-renowned professors.

Alexandra's athletic and boyish proclivities caused a rift between herself and her traditionally-minded mother, whose idea of a proper princess was being dolled up waiting for prince charming. Unwittingly, Renauld fostered this, buying Alexandra horses and athletic equipment, only to have Catarina take them away after sending her to Smuggsworth. Alexandra was particularly perturbed when Catarina got rid of her three horses, including a baby colt she'd adored.

As the twins reached their teens, the results of their Smuggsworth education were really beginning to show. At the same time, though, they were developing distinct differences in their personalities. While Alexandra was more athletic and outdoorsy, preferring to ride great distances on horseback and playing all types of sports, Anastasia was cultured and refined, enjoying painting, drawing, sculpture, musical theater, and the opera.

All the while, however, the girls were pretty much isolated from the rest of the family -- and from everyone else. They truly became an island amongst themselves, creating an elaborate imaginary world to which they alone would retreat to, with imaginary friends named Lucky and Patches with whom they'd communicate their deepest, darkest secrets to.

In fact, they were summoned from Smuggsworth only once -- to attend the wedding of their half-brother, Crown Prince Sebastian, to Miss Ella Carlisle, a young woman from the Hidden Springs community.

Young adult years
Finally the girls graduated Smuggsworth Prep School and became young women. At the advice of their new agent and manager, they underwent plastic surgery and liposuction, and completely made themselves over physically. The makeovers were a resounding success as the girls posed for their first magazine covers. And the transformations were not just physical. Because they'd shed their baby fat, they grew more confident as young women. It was a chain reaction that led to them signing a deal to star in a reality TV show, Vanderburg Squared.

In the very first episode, Renauld dies unexpectedly. The girls are devastated by the loss and vow to get through it together. The rest of the episodes so far are about how each girl copes with the loss. They plan an elaborate funeral dinner for their father, without any input from their mother.

Alexandra caused more turmoil in the family when she enrolled in the Hidden Springs Royal Academy of Military Sciences in hopes of following her ultimate dream of becoming an astronaut. Catarina's very traditional views on women's roles caused her to be irate over her daughter's decision. In her mind, yet another daughter had defied her, as Francisca had years earlier.

In response to what she felt to be her daughters' defiance, Catarina made them an ultimatum:  They had to get married within ten simdays, or forfeit any rights to their sizable inheritance. The girls came up with a plan -- they would turn their imaginary friend dolls, who had been their companions since their earliest childhood, into real, flesh-and-blood Sims, to comply with the edict. Would this plan work or backfire?

Alexandra revealed to a gossip magazine that she is bisexual, a revelation that has caused more drama in the palace. When incriminating photos of Alexandra dancing with an unidentified female guest at Anastasia's bachelorette party surfaced, the palace did everything in its power to try to minimize the damage and scandal. The timing of the photos was made even worse because Alexandra had been chosen to address cadets at Fort Starch Military Academy.

College Life
In January 2013 Alexandra announced that both she and her twin sister had applied to be members of the first entering class of Sims University. She had applied to its technology program, while her twin sister had applied in fine arts. With her score of 1497, Alexandra received a partial scholarship and 18 credits of advanced placement in the technology program.

Alexandra and Anastasia are both members of Tri-Fruhm Sorority, even though they do not live in the sorority house. They maintain a separate residence from their other sorority sisters but are recognized as full members. They were initiated by Tri-Fruhm member Samantha Grey. Alexandra was a walk-on forward for the SU women's basketball team and also played intramural tennis and soccer. She is a member of both the Jocks and the Nerds social groups.

Alexandra was linked to fellow technology classmate Shasha Parks but she insists that she only tutored her and the pair are just friends.

For her senior thesis, Alexandra chose to conduct a controversial experiment to attempt to bring her deceased father back to life, using water from the magical Fountain of Youth and a time machine her father had bought from a consignment store years earlier. To obtain water from the Fountain, she first had to find it -- which wasn't easy. After all, her sister Francisca had disappeared in a search for this very fountain years earlier. Complicating matters was that she was keeping the search for the fountain secret from her own sister. No one else knew about the experiment or the search -- except for her imaginary friend.

Astronaut training
After graduating magna cum laude with her degree in aerospace engineering (technology department) from Sims University, Alexandra went to Oasis Landing to undergo advanced training in astronomy and plumbotics. There, she encountered Dr. Emit Relevart who would guide her through her advanced training. This is where she is currently. She holds a job as a Moon Walker in the Astronomy career path. Alexandra built a Plumbot for herself and her sister to serve as a servant for them.

Trivia

 * She was born in game, along with her twin sister.
 * She was named after Alexandra Feodorovna, Empress consort of Russia and mother of the ill-fated Grand Duchess Anastasia, after whom her sister was named. Queen Catarina named her daughters after past royals.
 * Is better known by her nickname, Alex.
 * Her imaginary friend is called Patches. Patches was instrumental in helping her get over her father's sudden death. She and her twin sister were both sent the dolls by their Dutch relatives.
 * Had plastic surgery upon reaching young adult. She had liposuction, minor surgery to reconstruct her nose, and enlarged her lips slightly.
 * Is a four-star celebrity in game.
 * Known on the equestrian team as "The Flying Dutchwoman" in homage to her Dutch surname and her family's Dutch heritage.
 * Her Arabian horse is named Princess Jasmine Agrabah, after one of the main characters in the movie Aladdin.

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