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{{Fanon-uc}}{{Property|Sims2addict9312}}{{Feat Fanon|October 2012
<span style="font-style: normal; ">This is my first fanon, so please have a little patience whilst I get to grips with the editor!</span>
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== Chapter One: Humble Beginnings ==
<br />
[[File:
''These are my grandparents, Angua and Vince De Crypt. In the early days of our dynasty few records were kept. I struggle to understand how one can leave their family, their home, and not even record the reason why. I do not expect I will ever understand - I have never lived the kind of life they lived, I have never experienced the poverty they accepted as normal. I hope I never will. I remember my grandfather telling me once, when I was a toddler all those centuries ago, that moving to Aridia was meant to be a 'fresh start' for them. Why did they need a fresh start? What were they running from?''
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''Those were less enlightend times, people were not as accepting then as they are now. Even in Aridia, in my grandparent's time, vampires and werewolves were creatures to be feared. My children and I can proudly walk down any street without fear of being attacked, but back then our kind had to hide behind locked doors and could only socialise with fellow creatures of the night. Maybe Angua and Vince lived somewhere even worse before they moved to Aridia, and had to leave in a hurry when thier neighbourhood turned on them. That would certainly explain why there are no pictures of thier childhood homes.''
[[File:
''Of course, at the start of the story Vince is still alive, and his coffin still sat in the bedroom next to Angua's bed. Money was short and bills needed to be paid - Vince needed to get a job. It is often a struggle for vampires to find a job, simply because we cannot go out at night. If we are lucky we can get a job as a security guard, prehaps, but the pay is low and you cannot get promoted without being pushed into a day shift. Who wants to be a security guard forever? Luckily for Vince, the local Job Centre was little more understanding than most and he found a job in the local vampire coven.''
[[File:
''Of course, no relationship is enitrely without trouble. My grandmother was desperate to have a child, but Vince was uncertain. The excuse he gave Angua was that he wanted to be in a more stable position, but in reality he was worried what the offspring of a vampire and a werewolf would be like. I think his worry was justified; at that time no such creature exisisted and thier understanding of genetics was less complete. We still have some way to go, of course, but we now know that if a Vampire or a Werewolf has a child it will be human. I am proof of that, as are my father and my children. We were all born human and were bitten as teenagers to become vampires, or werewolves.''' '''Of course, It is a well known fact that I am only half-human; my mother is an alien. That part of the story will be explained in more detail later.''
''I never met my grandmother, but by all accounts she was a strong willed woman. She knew how to get her way. I hope that trait has passed down through the generations, it would be no bad thing for my children to have a little of that iron will. With a little self-control we could keep the blood strong and pure, and my descendants could continue this book until it becomes a saga to last the ages.''
''Of course [[File:
''So this is how it began. My grandparents moved to Aridia, my grandfather got work in the local coven. My grandmother wanted a child, but my grandfather was afraid. Friends were made, and a fresh start was made.''<br />
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[[File:
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''It was in his very last days that Vince told me that story, and I wish I could remember it better but I was young and foolish. I thought he would be there to tell me the story again next week, next month. This is one of the few disadvantages of being a vampire. Sooner or later you will find you have a friend, a lover, a family member who is mortal. They will age and they will leave you. You try to forget, but after the while you make new friends, and they are aging also. You will outlive so many of the people you love, and people wonder why vampires are dark - but how could we be otherwise? You can see a family multiply before your eyes, you can watch look at a mighty oak and remember the sapling, but you can't stop grieving for those you have lost. If we felt nothing when our friends died, we would be monsters. I am many things, but I am not a monster.''
[[File:
''Again I have digressed from the main storyline - forgive me. ''
''Vince was frightend of having the child Angua was desperate for, but mother nature had other ideas. Angua fell pregnant multiple times, but each time the transformation from human to werewolf was too traumatic and she lost the child. Finally, with a lot of support from Vince and the local hospital, she managed to carry a pregnancy to term.''
''[[File:
''This pregnancy, of course, was my father, Vlad De Crypt. From the first moment they looked at my father, it was obvious he was no monster, neithier was he a vampire. In the evening, when he failed to transform, they discovered he was not a werewolf eithier. Vlad had his father's black hair and his mother's brown eyes. ''
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''I love the hope a new child represents, I love the moment when you first hold a child and look into its eyes, and see all the future, all the maybes and possibilities. This loud little armful of tears and smiles could be the next prime minister, or a surgeon, or a homemaker, you just don't know. It's been too long since I held a child, mine are all grown, and thier grandchildren too. I suppose I must have great-grandchildren out in the world somewhere, but they don't want to know me. Families look forward, to the future, and I am the past, a living fossil. My latest wife is gone and I sit here alone in my mansion with empty arms. Your children are your legacy, but that legacy will run on without you and leave you looking after it longingly. ''
[[File:
''Angua felt that vampires could be a force for good, and of course she was right. She realised we are not inherently evil, no more so than any other person.''
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== Chapter Three: Births and Birthdays ==
''[[File:
''As a toddler my father kept a strange schedule. Angua, who didn't work, had got into the habit of sleeping partly during the day and partly during the night so that she could meet Vince when he left for and came home from work. Of course they wanted my father to spend as much time with Vince as he could, so Vlad was out to bed at odd hours of the day and night.''
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''I remember a story my father told me once, of when he was a toddler and barely able to walk. I don't suppose he actually remembers the event himself, he must have been told the story by his parents. Angua was in the living room, studying and researching spells, and waiting for the sun to set. What an exciting time of day that must have been! I have known werewolves, but I have not lived with them. Imagine, for Vlad, what it must have been like - your father is about to come to life, and your mother is about to change into something more akin to an animal than a human. In this story Vlad took advantage of his mother's distraction to go find his father. As I said, the sun had not yet set, so VInce slept so deep it would have been nearly impossible to wake him, which explains how Vlad managed to get the coffin open without disturbing him. My father spoke of the incredible peace he saw on Vince's face, and the puzzling absence of any fear at seeing his father like this. Would you have been afraid? To find your father cold, silent, and being unable to rouse him? Nonetheless, a few minutes later when the sun set and Vince woke, he found his son curled up in his arms, sleeping the way any human toddler would.''
''[[File:
''Pregnant with Damien'']]''[[File:
''My father was not an only child - for a short time, he had a brother, Damien. Damien was born only a couple days after Vlad started school, and he died only a couple of days before Vlad left for University. I wish I knew more of genetics, so I could explain why Damien grew up so quickly and Vlad was an ordinary human. The fact remains that Damien must of inherited something of the vampire or werewolf genes so that he was a teenager when he died, despite only being old enough to be a child. I am getting ahead of myself - Damien lived for many years, you need to hear a little of those first.''
[[File:
Angua (witch), Vlad (child), Damien (toddler) and Vince (vampire)]]''Damien's black hair grew long and thick, and it seemed obvious to Angua he was destined to be a werewolf. Strangely, he had a slightly feminine look about him. By now Angua and Vince had more money, although not much, as Vince had worked his way up to be a hunter at the coven, and they managed to scrape together enough to send the boys to private school.''
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== Chapter Four: Growing up ==
''I said previously that I never met my Uncle. His death was a tragic accident, and many mourned, for (unlike my father) Damien never struggled to fit in. His friendly personality charmed all that knew him. He wasn't as academically successful as my father, but was less withdrawn. If the teachers at school ever had a problem with him, it was because of his frequent truancy, but all he needed to do was flash that winning smile and he was back in thier good book. Many objected that he was bright enough to do better, if he would only attend classes, but thier objections fell on deaf ears. [[File:
''Vlad was a talented musician, from an early age he could play any music he laid his hands on and wrote musi as easily as he breathed. Mostly he wanted to play the violin, and would spend hours every night producing gothic music that wound its way into a listeners mind and left a stain long after the piece had finished. He stayed up so long every night that he developed dark circles under his eyes, but when his teachers suggested he get an early night, he would just stare at them, silently, seriously, as if calculating the best place to strike.''
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[[File:Picture_(67).jpg|thumb|left|300px|Sim Wedding]]
'''''Dear Vlad, It's such a shame you missed the wedding last week. You and Kazuo were such good friends at school. I've sent you this picture so you can see how pretty everyone looked -
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'''''Hi mum! Just letting you know we're all ok here. Not much is really happening here, we're all working hard. As you can see, Nova's dress sense hasn't improved, but his beard has. I loved your postcard - but wasn't that the maid behind you? Since when was she a werewolf? Or a witch? Give Kazuo my best. It's a shame he didn't come with me to university but to each
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[[File:Picture_(78).jpg|thumb|left|300px|Learning to fire dance]]
'''''Dear Vlad,
'''''PS What hints? I
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[[File:Picture_(75).jpg|thumb|left|300px|From Left; Rose Dai, Moriko Sakurako, Angua De Crypt, Witch Doctor, Gretchen Chin]]'''''Oh Vlad, I'm so pleased for them! It's so nice to see a young couple who care enough about each other to make that big a commitment. But you still
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''These are pictures from my aunt and uncle's wedding. Stella Terrano and Nova Terrano got married at night so that the De Crypt family could visit. As you can see, my aunt was a beautiful woman. Im told it was a moving ceremony. Stella persuaded Nova to wear something a little less abnormal for thier wedding, it's probably one of the few times she succeeded at that. A few days after the wedding, my aunt discovered she was pregnant. Alien genetics is a strange and confusing business. I am half alien, but it only really shows in my eyes, which are human. That is a common combination - you hardly ever see half-alien sims with human skin and alien eyes. Why should that be? Surely eithier combination is equally likely? We may never know. ''
[[File:
''My aunt and Uncle had a baby girl, whom they named Astria Terrano. She had Stella's black hair and the typical alien solid black eyes. Astria is a full blooded alien. The same day they adopted a cat, to be a childhood friend for ther daughter. Vanessa, jealous of thier happiness, persuaded Vlad to move the date of the wedding forward. They planned a typical vampire wedding, in red and black. Since leaving university Vanessa had grown up into an elegant vampire-bride-to-be.''
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== Chapter Nine: My People ==
''Up until now I have talked almost exclusively about my own family - but we do not live in a bubble. We have friends, neighbours, families we know like our own. Prehaps if I filled in some of the blanks you could understand the background of our lives and the setting in which we perform our actions. There are two main divisions in the nieghbourhood - those who engage in the paranormal, embrace it, make it part of thier everyday lives, and those who are 'normal'. Normality is relative, of course, but this simple division influences who many of us are friends with, who we marry. It's not compulsory, of course, but if you never see a person you can never get to know them well enough to fall in love, and as a rule these two halves of the neighbourhood do not mix. At this time the nieghbourhood is not as well aligned as it is now, and a single generation can span many ages.. Nowadays each generation is the same age, purely by accident of course. No-one could control that many people that closely to bring this about - it must be coincidence.''
[[File:
Children; Eric Morrison, Elizabeth Morrison]] ''
''Obviously there is Stella and Nova, with
''At that time, Ellie Aridia, Sky Aridia, Fricorith Tricou, and Gvaudoin Tricou were all teenagers. Ellie and Sky Aridia are cousins, as was
Carlos, Alan, Nerissa, Pettina, Marcus, Ellie, Sky]]Marucs Aridia. The Aridia family was a family of rich
''Fricorith and Gvaudoin Tricou were also cousins, they lived with
''Kazuo had two half-brothers, Shui and Yoshi. Kazuo was the son of Moriko Sakurako and Rod Humble, but Rod abandoned Moriko after she followed him to Aridia and left her a single mother. A few years after, Moriko [[File:Picture_(96).jpg|thumb|Shui Sakurako and his plantbabies]]became a plantsim, and entered the paranormal side of the neighbourhood. Kazuo had no
''Shui quickly outgrew his brother and was an adult whilst Kazuo was only just starting school, and eventually left [[File:Picture_(97).jpg|thumb|left|Rose Dai and Yoshi Dai]]to build his own house specially designed for plantsims. Kazuo's third half-brother was Yoshi Dai. Moriko began dating Rose Dai, the werewolf my father remembers as being a good friend of Angua during his childhood. Rose moved in and they had a child together. Eventually Rose and Moriko got engaged at Kazuo's wedding, but they never married themselves.''
''This is my neighbourhood, my home. These are the people I knew as well as I know myself, although they are all long gone now. Thier grandchildren and great-grandchildren play in the streets as I write this. By the time I'm old enough to remember any of these people they are all adults and have children of
== Chapter Ten: Poetry ==
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''***''
''I once refused your
''I set it down, and did not drink''
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''The price is immortality''
''To watch my
''Wither''
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''An empty clatter, mocking me in my lonliness''
''as the coffin lid falls shut, my safety net, my
''trapping me for another day''
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== Chapter Eleven: My Childhood ==
''Its odd, the things you remember when you get old. I remember the first flake of snow I ever saw, landing on my upturned palm, melting almost instantly from my body warmth. I had only the briefest impression of its fragile beauty before the mere fact that I was alive destroyed its very
Count Dracula (toddler), Vince (evil warlock), Vlad (in chair), Vanessa (witch), Maria (child)]]seeing the snowflakes settle on his skin. They did not melt - his cold vampric skin held no warmth. That was when I saw the truth - the death we undergo to become vampires preserves beauty, cold and lifeless and pure. Like that snowflake, we are not destroyed but rather protected from the ravages of time, and are left, unchanging as the world moves on around us. We are a statue to some long forgotten hero, standing silently in the crowds, admired for a moment then passed over in the busy and fretful bustlings that are your lives.''
''My grandfather is dead, and so is my father. Time takes us all eventually. We should live forever - but who would want to? I have outlived three wives, I have raised three families, I have outlived grandchildren, and greatgrandchildren, and few of my family that are alve today wish to know me. I am a relic. I am so far out of my time that I cannot adjust. I no longer know the
''I have wandered away from my topic again. I am meant to be talking about my childhood - I have not met Carina yet, nor Jennail. I am still a toddler, squalling and grabbing at snowflakes, wanting them to linger and furious that they would not. My mother puts me down in the snow and I totter unsteadily - I am just learning to walk this past week. Finally I cling to my grandfathers legs. He is a giant to my eyes, and lifts me up easily. I place my hand on his cheeks, seeing the difference between my green skin and his grey skin, looking into his red eyes and remembering that my own are brown. This is the man who taught me to talk, who held me after I fell off my tricycle and scraped my knee, who was sleeping in his coffin on my first day of school but gave me advice the night before on making friends, and promised to be there the next night to hear all about it.''
''I doubt it was any one thing that took Vince De Crypt from us. He had been suffering from a lung infection for a while, but he had seemed to be on the mend. I am told that he had been unhappy ever since my grandmother passed, although he kept it hidden from me.
''I was the one that found him.''
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''It had been my first day of school, and I couldn't wait to tell my grandfather all about it. I had waited anxiously in his room at sunset until the last flickers of sun drained from the sky, until I could hear my father stirring in the next room. I lifted up the lid of the coffin to wake him, but his grey lifeless skin had somehow become even more pale and drained, and his eyes were firmly shut. I touched his cheek, and it crumbled away like ash beneath my touch. I backed away then, trying to call for help, but no words came. Finally my mother came to find me, and took me away from that room, as if she could make me unsee what I knew was engraved on my memory.''
''[[File:Picture_(100).jpg|thumb|left|300px|Maria De Crypt]]I suppose you're surprised that I havnt mentioned Maria much yet. Ah, Maria, with her halo of auburn hair. Everyone remarked on how pretty she was, how
''Whilst we were at school we rarely saw our father. During the night we were worn out and slept deeply whilst he awoke and lived his own,
''Astria and Venus did not feature largely in my life I'm afraid. I suppose I regret that.
== Chapter Twelve: Alone ==
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''Memories can ambush you at the most unexpected times. Yesterday I found a piece of chalk one of my grandchildren had left here, but rather than reminding me of my living family, I remembered Maria's teenage years. She had decided she would be an artist when she was older and threw herself into painting, sculpting, everything she could, the house was full of the smells of chalk and clay and paint. Her room was full with portraits of the family, of friends, and landscape after landscape, the view from her window, from our school, from the car window... I remembered one portrait in particular, done in chalk, of our pet Womrat, Midnight, pressing his paws
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''The trivial details of our teenage relationship are of little interest to most people, however important they [[File:Pciture_(113).png|thumb|300px|A note from Arianne Tricou]]seem at the time to the people involved. We think our current partner is the most important person in the whole world, and for a time they are, but reality pushes onwards and people grow apart. As adults we grow less and therefore grow apart less, but even so I know firsthand how easily a personality can change and the one you love turn into someone unrecognisable. Suffice to say
''I suppose since I've already mentioned my cousins, it might be worth saying how they are doing. Astria was doing well at uni, she lived with Maria. Astria was dating Kenji Sakurako, a plantsim, and a child and grandchild of Plantsims. Kenji didn't like his limited life, growing up so quickly, knowing things he never learnt. His sister Kokoro loved it and was going to carry on their family's lifestyle, but Kenji was determined to leave and have his own children rather [[File:Picture_(114).jpg|thumb|left|200px|Kenji Sakurako and Astria Terrano]]than grow Plantbabies. Kenji later married Astria, and they had a child - but for the life of me I can't remember the name of their child! I should do, that child married my own. One of the curses of old age I suppose. Kokoro did have her own Plantbaby, eventually. First she married a Servo and fell pregnant by it, producing a human child. No-one ever figured out how they managed that one. Venus lived with me, so you might hear a [[File:Picture_(117).jpg|thumb|200px|Elizabeth Morrison and Venus Terrano]]little more of her later, but for now suffice to say she began dating Elizabeth Morrison. I think by now everyone had pretty much met who they were going to marry, as Venus and Elizabeth went on to do. Certainly I decided very quickly to marry Carina, although of course at the time I thought it would be forever, not for only a human lifetime. I still don't understand how such a small accident can completely wipe out someone so full of life, so perfect. None of my wives stayed with me. Penthesilea wouldn't even give up her humanity for me, and as for Jennail... maybe, as I near the end, I will find that Death is merely a kind of rebirth, and in my next life I will find love that lasts, a wife that will not leave me. There was an important experience I should mention - though I haven't spoken of it to anyone. As a creature of the night it is very easy to find an interest in the stars and it became a habit of mine to stargaze from the roof of my dormitory. One night I was marvelling at the beauty of the universe when something happened that is so rare I [[File:1514825_original.png|thumb|left|200px|Aliens!]]should count myself a lucky man. I was abducted by aliens! The ship swooped down on me when my back was turned, the first I knew of it was when I was snatched from my chair and sucked up into the night sky before I could even call out. In my panic I lashed out at my invisible bonds and transformed into a bat, a talent of vampires. For a moment I almost escaped as the sudden change of shape confused their machine, but then the doors of the ship clanged in front of me and I was trapped. Hissing, I spun round to face my captors, and saw the last thing I expected. A human woman."Relax, we're not going to hurt you." She said, looking absolutely wretched. "You're too young for them to impregnate, we - they - just want information." Her beautiful face was twisted by sorrow, pain that have gone on for so long she could no longer imagine life without it. I couldn't help it - I wanted to help her. "Relax." She repeated. "We just want to talk." It turned out one of the ships officers had a daughter who wanted to go to university in SimNation, and they were looking for a suitable place to go, somewhere safe. So I talked. I talked about the various towns and cities across our land, some of them more accepting than others. I talked about the concrete forests of tower blocks in the cities, I talked about the gentle rolling green hills and the small towns nestled within. I talked about the quiet openness of our desert, where you can see all the way to the horizon, and beyond. I explained about towns consisting entirely of humans, pleasant but close minded and suspicious of strangers, especially those of different species. I spoke a little of Strangetown, half remembered facts Jasper had told me, how the alien population was growing there and people moved there to seek the paranormal, and I talked of Aridia, our growing town that had not yet become particularly well known in the public eye but was generally agreed to be the town where the paranormal was normal. I explained how vampires and werewolves lived in quiet harmony by staying out of each other's way, how aliens seemed tame compared to the evil witches and warlocks constantly battling the good, and the recent addition of two living statues had barely been an event to most people. Aridia was the most accepting, peaceful and welcoming town possible to anyone who was more than human.The aliens listened and took notes, then finally nodded and left me and this strange woman alone.[[File:235px-Colony_Drone_65535.png|thumb|200px|Aliens]]"You realise that he will probably send his daughter to your town now?" She said quietly.'' ''"You realise I am half-alien myself under this vampirism? Why would that bother me? My mother came to La Fiesta Tech along with her boyfriend and his sister, none of them left, they all live in Aridia. We have also have an alien werewolf. That's my parents generation, I have a sister who's also half alien, two alien cousins, my sister and I are both dating aliens... It's just another shade of skin colour and some funny eyes. Maybe a funny nose if you don't have much human in you." I leant forward slightly. "Speaking of being human... what are you doing here? Are you part alien but take after the human side of the family? We have some of those too." "No, I..." She looked a bit embarrassed. "I don't really remember. I used to live with my husband and our two children. Then... then I was here. I don't know why. I was talking to my neighbour, we were on his roof, there was a flash of light, and now I just want to get home. When I left my daughter was about to get married, her name is... Cathy? Cassie? I can't remember! I try to remember, I do, but every day more of it slips away and one day I wont remember my own family!" She began to sob and with a sinking feeling I realised she looked familiar. "How long have you been on here?" "I'm not sure. A long time. I think they are keeping me young, but why? I'm not sure anyway, I could be wrong, the days blur together a lot here, it could be only a few years, I certainly hope so. I want to go home to... Marty? I think it was Marty." I sat quietly for a while, digesting this. I was sure I knew who she was, she was famous for having vanished overnight and never being found. It was the way she dressed that convinced me, she reminded me of my mother, except she had been born into the kind of family that wore these clothes, whereas Vanessa had married into the kind of family. It showed in the way they acted. If she was who I thought she was... she had vanished years back, while I was still a toddler. For years campaigns went out on TV whilst her husband and children asked for her return. "Bella." I whispered. Her head snapped up and she stared at me wordlessly. "Get off this ship. It's been longer ''
''[[File:Portrait_de_Sonia_Gothik_(Les_Sims_3_Ambitions).png|thumb|left|169px|The woman I met on the ship]]than you think, but your family want you back. The first chance you get, jump ship, you'll find your way home, you're famous! Run, Bella..." At that moment the aliens returned and dragged us away from each other down opposite corridors. I called out her name and snatched at the walls, but I couldn't get a grip, and then suddenly I was falling, falling... the night rushed passed me and I yelled aloud and the road rushed up to meet me. A few months later I spotted her in the newspaper. It was only a face in the crowd, but it was her alright. She had escaped and ended up in Strangetown. I searched for articles about her being found and returned to her family, but there was none. Did she ever get home to her family? I thought of how she couldn't
== Chapter Fifteen: My first Love ==
''Again, forgive an old man his drama. I know Arianne was my first love, but they rarely last beyond the teenage years they started in. I am talking of my first adult love, a very different thing. Such joy, to find yourself seriously considering a future with a person in, rather than just idly daydreaming the
''Carina's skin was a soft turquoise colour, yet was cold and hard like diamond. Her scarlet eyes could see right into your soul and find the best part of you. As vampires, our life can sour even the kindest heart, but with Carina nearby it was easier to remember who you really were, and what kind of person you wanted to be. Arianne never fully accepted Carina as a friend, and away from her influence she developed a seed of bitterness of her own. ''
''[[File:Picture_(126).png|thumb|400px|De Crypt family tree]]There was nothing I wanted more than to include Carina into my family, but sometimes I think she felt my family was larger than it really was. I drew this once for her - a family tree of the De Crypts. Reduced to paper, our family was rather small at that time and a lot simpler to understand. We were all still in university, so none of us had married yet, none of us had children. Maria had not married Jasper and had his child, or an affair and child by Rodrigue. Astria was not married to Kenji, and Venus was not married to Elizabeth. In Aridia there is no hard and fast rule for who takes whose name after marriage - both Astria and Venus kept
''I suppose I am a little harsh to the pair of them, my mother and my sister, for aspiring to a simple life. That is all anyone has any right to expect, but when you are offered the chance for more, when you are born into a greater life, with money to buy your every desire, to wish for something less, to turn your back on that lifestyle and settle for the suburbs - unthinkable! Our family worked hard to rise itself above the common man, even if Vince and Angua did not know that was what they were striving for, it is what we achieved! Our family has achieved greatness! Vanessa married into a better family than she had any right to hope for, to dream for, a little girl who actually found a Prince Charming, and yet she felt unfulfilled because we could afford the best without having to struggle for it. Maria was ashamed - ashamed! - to admit she came from a richer family and always associated with the lower classes when she knew that would only anger our father, and rightly so. The Tricou family would have been better friends for her, as they were always mine, or the Aridia's, our neighbourhood's founders, or the Morrison's. Our four families are the pinnacle of our neighbourhood, people look up to us and wish they were us. Every young lady or gentlemen hopes to catch the eye of someone from our families so they can marry up into a better lifestyle. I admit, sometimes true love will surpass class boundaries, but Maria could have brought Jasper here to live with us as Jasper De Crypt, elevating him above his peers and opening doors for him. I am proud to say I married according to my status in the community, first Carina, my cold beauty, taken before her time, then Penthesilea, warm and loving, human to the end, and finally Jennail, who couldn't find room in her heart for me but loved our children unconditionally. I loved them all, and they were all suitable for me. Why couldn't Maria find the same?''
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''I told Maria that Carina had royal blood in her veins, however diluted, and I spoke more truth than I knew. Carina was directly descended from an old royal family that had once ruled the majority of SimNation. After the monarchy gave way to a democracy, the bloodline began to diversify and weaken. Some branches were able to remain strong, like the famous Goth family, but Carina's family was not so lucky. In the last few generations their estate shrunk to the size where they could no longer support the entire family, and Carina's uncle inherited everything. Carina's mother married down into the general population and lost her proud, respected surname, but still harbored hopes that her daughter might somehow restore the family name
''Actually, our engagement and subsequent marriage did just that. The De Crypt family was well respected and a high family within Aridia, but admittedly not elsewhere. Likewise, the Smith family was known within their town for being related to royalty but even there it was known that they were no longer members of high society. Once Carina and I got engaged, her mother and uncle quickly spread the word that Carina had married a very respectable family with money both new and old in the most darling little town out in the desert. Likewise, people quickly heard that the De Crypt family was engaged to royalty, and that was enough to make our family well known throughout SimNation generally. When Carina and I got engaged, only two families were recognized as descendants of the royal family - all others had degenerated and diluted beyond recognition. ''
''Maria's engagement was a less dignified affair. She proposed first, to Jasper, but he refused. He came to talk to me soon after, saying he couldn't handle her anymore and wanted to leave. Jasper told me he had tried to leave Maria before, but she had confused him with her words and served him drinks that tasted sour and left bitter aftertastes, until he couldn't remember his grievance or purpose. I knew then of Maria's practice and misuse of magic, but I had barely begun to suspect that she would use it on her boyfriend. For the first time, Jasper spoke in earnest to me and began to show any sign of admirable qualities. I had always thought of him as rather slow, and indeed he is, but occasionally he has flashes of clear sightedness. Unfortunately, Maria's continuing use of magic and potions on Jasper dulled his mind permanently before long, and I was unable to save him. I talked to Maria, trying to make her see sense, but all she knew was how to make Jasper forgive her for her affairs. I believe he never intended to stay with Maria after the repeated affairs, but she made him fall in love with her all over again. She must have done so again, because barely 24 hours after Jasper told me all this in earnest he changed his mind and proposed to her himself.''
<p style="text-align:center;">[[File:Maria_De_Crypt_and_Jasper_Sim.jpg|frame|left|Maria De Crypt and Jasper Sim]]</p>
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''After that, a rash of engagements spread through our community over the next three years - at the same time as we began to graduate from university. The Morrison twins got engaged on the same night, as Eric proposed to his lecturer after surviving years of malicious gossip, and Venus proposed to Elizabeth. Arianne proposed to Gabbro - or was it the other way round? I can't remember.''
''[[File:Picture_(92).jpg|frame|Arianne Tricou and Gabbro Igneous]][[File:Multiple_Engagements.jpg|frame|left|Elizabeth Morrison and Venus Terrano (background), Eric Morrison and Prof. Lisa Nott (foreground)]] ''
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==Chapter Twenty-Two: The Firstborns==
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<p class="MsoNormal">''After we got engaged, we graduated, over three years. First came my sister's household - Mitchell Aridia and his fiancée, Scoria, Astria Terrano, Maria, Rodrigue and Jasper. I have not talked often of Mitchell and Scoria, other than to mention Scoria as a new species in Aridia. Mitchell was Pettina's grandson, Sky and Fricorith's son, heir to the Aridia estate. Mitchell once had a sister, Rosamund, generally agreed to be one of the most beautiful women Aridia ever saw… but tragedy struck. Many were curious what the child of a living statue would look like, and I must admit I counted myself among that number, but children were not immediately forthcoming to Scoria and Mitchell. I had forgotten the sunburn shown on Scoria's skin in this picture - in truth, it took me some minutes to remember what the redness was. Sunburn, to a vampire, is akin to death, and we forget that humans (or, at least, non-vampires) can be injured also.''</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">[[File:Graduation_Aridia.jpg|frame|left|Graduation]][[File:Scoria_and_Mitchell_Aridia_on_honeymoon.jpg|frame|Scoria and Mitchell Aridia on honeymoon]]</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">''Astria Terrano and Kenji Sakurako got married soon after. Unfortunately, it was during daylight hours, so I could not attend, but I have seen pictures. Astria's family were welcoming, but Kenji's family, less so. Plantsims are to humans what humans are to vampires - they live such short spans, communication and friendships are difficult between the two species. However, once they reach adulthood they live a similar amount of time to other adults, and Kenji was determined that his species would not stop him living a normal life. His sister, a most beautiful woman, preferred isolation from the normal population. Nonetheless, Kokoro made the effort to know her brother's new family, particularly his infant son, Mars Terrano, born almost a year later. Initially, Mars resembled Kenji, and by being born to Astria rather than grown from a spore on Kenji's head, he could grow up at a normal rate and live a normal lifespan, something Kenji had been denied.''</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">''[[File:Astria_Terrano_and_Kenji_Sakurako_wedding.jpg|frame|left|Astria Terrano and Kenji Sakurako wedding]][[File:Kokoro_Sakurako_(background),_Astria,_Kenji_and_Mars_Terrano.jpg|frame|Kokoro Sakurako (background), Astria, Kenji and Mars Terrano]]''</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">''I feel great pity for the Plantsims, forced to live a short, hot life, always in the sunlight or else forced to install UV lights everywhere, whilst we endure for centuries in the cold night. They are our opposites, and there can be no crossover between our worlds. Except… once… I had three wives, but for a few short months it could almost have been four. It would be have been impossible for us to live together, though - those UV lights would burn me, and she could not have lived at night. I heard rumors of a child, afterwards, but I never had the courage to ask. Was that wrong of me? I digress, again I digress. I was about to describe my sister's wedding. ''</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">''[[File:Maria_De_Crypt_and_Jasper_Sim_wedding.jpg|frame|left|Maria De Crypt and Jasper Sim wedding]]''</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">''Maria's household confused everyone that heard of it. Somehow, Maria persuaded both Jasper and Rodrigue to live with her, when she could only marry one of them. She married Jasper. Over the years I've become convinced that Rodrigue was Maria's one true love, if she ever had such a thing, but I never understood why she insisted on marrying Jasper. Did she think that to marry Rodrigue would condemn her to a life of the upper class? She could have cut off her family and lived in the suburbs with Rodrigue, just as easily, there was nothing we could do to stop her. Nonetheless, this is what my sister chose. Both men struggled to find a comfortable medium, living with the other so close at hand. Rodrigue was insulted by the fact that Maria married Jasper, and slept with him every night, had her first child by him. Equally, Jasper hated that Maria was so obvious with her affair that people meeting them for the first time commented on it.''</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">''[[File:Picture_(98).jpg|frame|left|Venus Terrano, Astria Terrano and Stella Terrano]][[File:Jasper_Sim,_Scoria_Aridia_and_Astria_Terrano.jpg|frame|Jasper Sim, Scoria Aridia and Astria Terrano]]''</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">''Jasper had met very little of Maria's extended family - at this point, only Vanessa was still in communication with Maria. Our cousins talked to Maria often, but I was told that Jasper hadn't realized how few of Maria's family - of the neighborhood - were actually human. Even Scoria attended the wedding, fresh with tales from her honeymoon. Technically Scoria was now related to Jasper, but only distantly, through several marriages and cousins. Scoria married Mitchell - Mitchell's aunt Ellie married Kenji's uncle Yoshi - Kenji married Maria's cousin Astria. Most people in Aridia are related in this manner - no biological relation, but a big enough family tree will show the connection. In these photos, Astria only recently married Kenji, so she is not yet pregnant, nor has Mars been born. ''</p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center">[[File:Vanessa_De_Crypt_and_James_Sim.jpg|frame|left|Vanessa De Crypt and James Sim]]</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">''James Sim was born blonde, like his father. Once, many years later, Rodrigue convinced me to pay for genetic tests on the children to confirm his suspicions. James was Jasper's child, but Maria did have one child by Rodrigue, later on. I think Maria knew that if the first child was born human Jasper would leave her, but if she could prove she had his child at least once, he would be trapped. Luckily for her, James bore a superficial resemblance to Jasper from the start. Vanessa was desperate for my father and I to talk to Maria, welcome her and her son back into the family, but I would not undermine my father's decision like that, and he would not be moved by my mother's pictures. Rodrigue's child also bore an obvious resemblance to his father, marking the end of Maria's chance for redemption. She was happy in her life, and I saw to it that Rodrigue's child married well. The child had both Tricou blood and De Crypt blood, it was the least I could do. James married someone who made him happy, or at least, so I was led to believe.''</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">''[[File:Ben_Dai,_Lexi_Dai,_Taro_Sakurako,_Toshiko_Sakurako,_Danny_Dai_and_Baby_Doll_Dai.jpg|frame|From left: Ben Dai, Lexi Dai, Taro Sakurako, Toshiko Sakurako, Danny Dai and Baby Doll Dai]]I will not talk much of this next household, these people having occurred little in my account so far. Lexi, Ben, Toshiko, Taro, Danny and Baby Doll. This household was known for having an usually large number of werewolves - four, if you included Diana. Lexi fell pregnant and dropped out of university before graduation. ''</p>
''Danny and Baby Doll were married first. I'm sure it was very romantic, but my family and theirs had little interaction and did not attend. I have discussed Danny's story previously, and know little of Baby Doll's. Presumably she, like many other extra-terrestrial inhabitants of Aridia, came to the university to study and fell in love. The story is common enough - it ''[[File:Baby_Doll_and_Danny_Dai_getting_married..jpg|frame|left|Baby Doll and Danny Dai getting married.]]
''applies to my own mother. Danny was a werewolf from a family of werewolves. Danny's mother, Ellie, was originally from the Aridia family, and Danny was Mitchell's cousin. As I said, the Aridia's allowed their blood to be diluted, and their money spread too thin. The consequence of such is the eventual downfall of the family - although there is still time to recover the loss. I have had to be quite ruthless in pruning my own family tree, deciding who can stay within my folds and who must provide for themselves. Where I could, I married my children into rich families also, but it was not always possible. Danny and Baby Doll's first child was born shortly after. [[File:Danny_and_Rebecca_Dai.jpg|thumb|300px|Danny and Rebecca Dai]]''
''In an unexpected turn of events, Rebecca Dai was born with blonde hair. It eventually came to light that, before her hair turned grey, Rose Dai had naturally blonde hair which she then dyed red. Of course, Rose was Rebecca's great-grandmother, so the fact that this had been passed down to Rebecca was quite extraordinary. It made me laugh, at the time, and still does today.''
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<p class="MsoNormal">[[File:Lexi_Dai_and_Toshiko_Sakurako_as_children.jpg|thumb|left|Lexi Dai (left) and Toshiko Sakurako (right) as children]]</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">''Lexi and Ben were both werewolves. Lexi was the result of Rose's affair with the first son of her fiancée, Moriko. Kazuo refused to acknowledge Lexi as his daughter, and after Moriko passed away Rose and Lexi moved out before anyone noticed the similarities between Lexi and her half-sister Toshiko. Ben was simply aspiring to be a doctor, but had moved away from home because his ''</p>
''[[File:Lexi_Dai,_Joshua_Dai_and_Ben_Dai.jpg|thumb|left|From Left: Lexi Dai, Joshua Dai and Ben Dai]]''
<p class="MsoNormal">''parents disapproved of him being a werewolf. Lexi dropped out of university when she fell pregnant, and they agreed to marry once the baby was born. Their son was called Joshua, and they built a crib for him at the site of their wedding. I didn't think much of that, to be honest, I thought it would be better to married before the child was born - but mistakes happen.''</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">'' ''</p>
''[[File:Lexi_Dai,_Ben_Dai_and_Joshua_Dai.jpg|thumb|left|From Left: Lexi Dai and Ben Dai, Joshua Dai (in crib)]]''
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:1em;margin-bottom:1em;">''I believe it was about this time that Rose told Lexi who her father really was - apart from Toshiko, Lexi began to develop an animosity towards the Sak''</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">''urako family, and tried to keep Joshua away from his cousins. I have heard that they were not a happy family, after this, although Lexi and Ben loved each other very much. ''</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">''I was fond of Toshiko and Lexi, although I didn't know them particularly well, and tried to follow what happened to their family. My father was once friends with Kazuo, before he began to show the traits of his father. In many ways Kazuo resembled his father, Rod Humble, who had let Moriko move to Aridia to be with him and vanished after getting her pregnant. I have not located any other illegitimate children of Kazuo in Aridia, although there may be more in other towns.''</p>
''[[File:Toshiko_Sakurako_and_Taro_Sakurako_wedding.jpg|frame|Toshiko Sakurako (left) and Taro Sakurako (right) wedding]]''
<p class="MsoNormal">''Toshiko was Kazuo's legitimate daughter. Kazuo married young, and mostly for money. Despite her father's best efforts, Toshiko and Lexi were very close, although neither knew the other was their half-sister. Toshiko was, like her father, keen to explore her family's culture more, and wanted to raise a family in the traditional lifestyle. I always thought this was proof of how blood calls to blood, and admired the Sakurako family's dedication to tradition. Taro was technically a distant relative through Moriko, but there was no real biological link between either of them. They made a good pair, and although I have few memories of them, they were always happy. I believe it was Toshiko who began the effort to try reconnect with the Plantsim branch of the Sakurako family, who had been lost to them after Moriko's death, but the gulf between the families was already too wide.''</p>
''[[File:Toshiko_and_Taro_Sakurako,_Aina,_Akira_and_Arata_Sakurako.jpg|frame|Toshiko and Taro Sakurako, Aina, Akira and Arata Sakurako]]''
<p class="MsoNormal">''Their children were called Akira, Aina, and Arata. Their children were all loyal, and followed in their parent’s footsteps. Now that I think, it might have been one of the triplets, or maybe their child, who married the Hiyashi family back into the Sakurako family tree. The Hiyashi family stemmed off from Kokoro and Servo’s son, Shui, and within two – or maybe three, I can’t recall – generations they joined once again with the Sakurako family. A neat solution, I thought, the Hiyashi family was caught between the plantsim and the Sakurako branches of their family, and had to choose. ''
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==<span style="font-size:20px;">Chapter Twenty-Three: Carina, My Love</span>==
''[[File:Count_Dracula,_Eric_Morrison,_Elizabeth_Morrison,_Venus_Terrano,_Arianne_Tricou,_and_Gabbro_Igneous.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Count Dracula, Eric Morrison, Elizabeth Morrison, Venus Terrano, Arianne Tricou, and Gabbro Igneous]]''
''Carina, my first wife, graduated from university the same year I did… She was light and laughter and joy to me, she shone into my life and made it better. She wanted to help people, and people wanted to be helped by her. At the same time, she knew instinctively how to act as my companion, leading my family, neighborhood and coven into a better future.'' [[File:Carina_Smith_and_Count_Dracula_De_Crypt.jpg|thumb|200px|Carina Smith and Count Dracula De Crypt]]
''Everyone was happy that we were to be married - everyone, except Arianne. It was plain that any good feeling between us was long gone, and she felt more for Gabbro than she ever did for me, but I think it was a kind of jealously. We had always assumed as children that Arianne and I would unite the Tricou and De Crypt empires (such as they were, then), and now she had to accept that it would not happen. We remained cordial to each other, but a hunger for power and a bitter jealously overtook her. Eventually she declared that if any of her children ever married the heir to the De Crypt estate, they would no [[File:Gabbro_Igneous_and_Arianne_Tricou.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Gabbro Igneous and Arianne Tricou]]longer be heir to the Tricou estate. I accepted her decision, as I had been pondering a similar declaration myself, for less personal reasons. Simply put, I think it would be too much power for one person, especially since both estates have only grown since. Soon, all the cornerstone families had decided the same thing, so the most powerful estates could never be merged. Carina was offended by Arianne’s remarks, and I admit to feeling a little hurt myself, but it faded fast. Emotions are such transient things - you learn that, over and again, when you are immortal. Transient and, for the most part, inconsequential. The only lasting, significant emotion I ever felt was love. I loved my wives - despite all my talk about marrying someone appropriate for your blood, I always refused to marry someone I did not love. I loved my families, my children. I even love my neighborhood. Never doubt that I loved any of my families. ''
''Carina was my first wife, and at the time I thought she would be my only wife. I wanted to make the wedding a day we would remember for centuries. I suppose I succeeded. The moon shone brightly, she seemed to glow with happiness, and I would have frozen time and lived in that day forever if I could. We had so few years together - that is a hurt I have always felt. Each of my wives only lived a human lifetime, through accident or design. Carina, her accident… Jennail, after she renounced her vampirism, grew old faster than expected, and almost didn't see her ''
''children make it to university. Penthesilea, never wanting to be a vampire at all. All cruel ironies, that I never get my eternal love to be by my side. But for this day, this happy day, I thought I had found her.''
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[[File:Vanessa_De_Crypt_painting.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Vanessa De Crypt painting]]
''My mother, shortly after, started to paint. She had some talent, but dreamed of selling a masterpiece worth of museums and galleries for years to come. Her dream was, eventually, realized, but only in the years after her passing. I wish she had known of what was to come – not just for her work, but for us all. She must have been lonely – her work forced her to stay up during the daylight hours, but all the other she lived with slept as though dead until nightfall. In these years, we barely saw her for more than a few hours in the evening.''
[[File:Count_Dracula,_Carina_and_newborn_Adrian_De_Crypt.jpg|thumb|200px|Count Dracula, Carina and newborn Adrian De Crypt]]''Her loneliness did not last forever. Carina soon fell pregnant with our first child, Adrian. I didn’t particularly like the name – but his mother and grandmother conspired against me. In the end I conceded on the condition that I alone could name our second child. Adrian inherited my brown eyes and Carina’s blonde hair. I used to joke, briefly, that his name was why he left our family – if he had been named Viktor as I wished, he might had stayed. His wife didn’t appear to appreciate the joke so much. Still, upon reflection I think it is well few of my children kept my surname, or else this neighbourhood would be full of the De Crypt family and little else! ''
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''Elizabeth and Venus, Eric and Prof. Lisa, all were married in due course. Elizabeth’s father, Jack, had been lonely since the passing of his wife and decided to adopt a toddler, a boy named Alvin. Shortly after, Elizabeth announced she was pregnant. Unfortunately they lost the first pregnancy, but a while after that Elizabeth gave birth to Lyra, their daughter. Alvin was a child by the time Lyra was born, and eager to help raise his niece. ''''<gallery position="center" columns="3">
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''Eric and Prof. Lisa had twin girls, Christina and Charlotte Morrison. Eric himself was a twin, but Prof. Lisa didn’t have any twins running in her family and was initially overwhelmed. As Christina and Charlotte grew, their parents began to think they might turn out to be nearly identical, other than their eye colors. Charlotte had their mother’s green eyes, whilst Christina inherited Eric’s grey eyes.''
''[[File:Arianne_and_Gabbro's_Wedding.jpg|thumb|left|Arianne and Gabbro's Wedding]]Eventually only one couple remained engaged but unmarried in our neighborhood. Arianne seemed reluctant to marry Gabbro, and I believe that was at least partially due to her jealously over my own marriage - if you'll forgive an old man his ego. It was a shame I could never persuade Arianne to be friends once more, and I do believe her aunt's death was the final incident that led her to abandon me entirely. Of course, it was only weeks later that she passed away herself. We live such long lives, and see so many wonderful things, it seems a shame to die with bitterness in our hearts. However, I suppose it is inevitable, we see so many terrible things at the same time.''
[[File:Arianne_and_Gabbro's_Wedding_2.jpg|thumb|Arianne and Gabbro's Wedding]]
''I led Arianne down the aisle that day, when she finally married Gabbro. Her father had died not long before - upon reflection, that is most likely why she delayed the ceremony. It is funny, what you forget in your old age. I gave Arianne away in her father's stead, as he requested of me. Gabbro was a fine young man, handsome and respectable with a strong moral code. He was never a vampire, but he cared deeply for Arianne. I fear she did not get the love from her marriage that I got from mine. Their daughter, Pierrine, followed closely in her mother’s footsteps. ''
''[[File:Arianne_and_Pierrine.jpg|thumb|left|Arianne and Pierrine]]About this time I began to make an effort to bring the cornerstone families close together, at least in friendship. There would always be four cornerstone families, so there would always eight heirs – or rather, four heirs and their partners. Each generation, I made sure that the heirs all met regularly, enjoying the company of others like them. I like to think this is how some of the heirs met their partners, often the siblings of other heirs. Arianne maintained a façade of friendship at these meetings to avoid tension, but everyone knew she was there for her other friends. We had to meet after dark, of course, but this often suited the humans just as well as ''
[[File:Our_group_of_friends.jpg|thumb|Our group of friends]]
''the vampires – to meet after the children were in bed and work finished for the day. We often discussed the future of Aridia and any issues concerning the neighbourhood, as most of us were politicians and the rest certainly influential. Once we knew we were in agreement as a group, we used our combined power, funds and influence to sway the necessary people and often changed the course of history. ''
==Chapter Twenty-Four: Stella's Last Words==
''Shortly after our children were born, Aunt Stella died. I visited her a couple of days before she died – of course I did, she’s my aunt. When I spoke to her, she was slipping away, and I wanted to give her a last happy memory. When we were children, Stella, Nova and Vanessa used to tell us all stories of their home planet, so I asked her to tell me the story one last time. Instead, Stella told me the truth. Understand that I have weighed the decision of revealing this secret, one that I have kept for centuries, very carefully. I have no proof, I just believed her. Only an alien first moving into the neighbourhood could back me up – most of the aliens currently living here have been here for generations. Stella started by telling me of their home planet, as always, the wealth of advanced technology, the mix of species, I’m sure you’ve heard the same stories… and then she turned to me, gripped my arm, and began whisper urgently.''
''"I need to tell you, but you must keep it a secret. I know you will keep this secret for me, I remember reading the book… the aliens, as you call them, are not from distant planet. We are from this planet! From the future… We are suffering from a crisis that is threatening our species with extinction.” At this point I was sure that Stella was becoming confused with her illness and tried to calm her down. “No… listen. It starts here, and in Strangetown, but it spreads across the whole of SimNation soon. The mixing of species, the mixing of blood, eventually leads to the emergence of a new species. The next step in evolution, the aliens… us. We were few in number, then. Too few. The sun… there is something wrong with the sun, it began to decay. We managed to fix it and halt the decay, but life on the planet was changed forever. Only the mixed species were able to live in the new environment, but we were too few…”''
''“The population couldn’t sustain itself?” I suggested.''
''“No… We needed more. So we came back. Some abduct people and impregnate them, hoping to speed up the evolution by introducing the blood of the mixed species ahead of time. Others, like me and Nova and Vanessa, came here to study the local population, hoping to find ways to speed up integration so the evolution would happen by itself. It will take millennia, but we need the majority of the population to be born mixed species… alien. We are a more evolved form of life, the only form capable of surviving what’s coming, but we can’t evolve fast enough. We are trying to jumpstart evolution. Keep it secret, Dracula, but know what’s coming. I need to tell someone.”''
''“Is it working? In the future?”''
''“Yes. We were told that the numbers of mixed species in the population were increasing, the numbers of survivors were increasing. The population was almost self-sustaining. We were meant to go back, the three of us, but we can only do two jumps. Once back in time, once to return home. It’s not safe to do more, the stresses of time travel on the human body – I never understood the science. I just know that these efforts were working when we left, and we can’t go home when our family is here. So we just have to hope that our children and grandchildren spread the mixed blood as far as they can, have lots of children of their own. Maybe they’ll save the species without realizing it.”''
''I can’t prove that this conversation took place, nor that she was telling the truth. Everything she said was theoretically possible – the mixing of species, the decaying sun, time travel… all theoretically possible. That doesn’t make it true, I know. Certainly a clinical discussion of alien biology suggests they resemble an extremely evolved species, and it was always strange that they could mix so freely with normal Sims. I doubt it would be possible to prove any of this without a trip into the future, or a visit from a newly arrived alien. Whenever I planned a family, Stella’s words lingered in my mind. Perhaps her influence led me to me having quite so many children, although I think a large family would result from any life as long as mine. The centuries would be dull without new children to light my life. It is up to the readers of this autobiography whether they wish to follow her advice also. Don’t choose your partners according to species, choose according to love… but perhaps the mixing of species would be a good idea.''
''If you believe, as I do.''
==Chapter Twenty-Five: My First Family ==
''[[File:Vanessa_De_Crypt_and_Adrian_De_Crypt.jpg|thumb|left|Vanessa De Crypt and Adrian De Crypt]]Carina’s children did not appreciate the vampiric lifestyle. I always knew it was not for everyone, but it was a blow to marry off my youngest to Mars Terrano and suddenly realize I had no heir for the De Crypt family. I think they were put off by the distance between them and their parents in their younger years. For Adrian’s childhood, my mother was able to care for him during daylight hours, but this meant that as a toddler he often mistook Vanessa for his mother, rather than Carina. We could not help but sleep all day but children are rarely so accommodating as to do likewise. They did, eventually, start a night school for children and teenagers hoping to become vampires, but this was not available for Carina’s children. We would not have forced them to go if they did not want to. ''
''As I said, Adrian was largely raised by Vanessa, and later by the Butler and Nanny when my mother could no [[File:Adrian_De_Crypt_and_Vanessa_De_Crypt_.jpg|thumb|Adrian De Crypt and Vanessa De Crypt ]]longer keep up with his youthful high spirits. Our youngest was raised entirely by the Butler and Nanny. They never said, but I believe our children resented us in some small way for that, or at least became determined that they would never do the same to their children. They kept their humanity and lived the short, hot lives most people do.''
''There are few that could understand my perspective on this, few that have lived as long I have. I beg of you, if you learn one thing only from this tale of mine, learn to take a friend with you into immortality – two friends, three. Take as many as you can, but most of all do not enter into immortality alone. It is better to grow old and die than to watch everyone you love do so. There are perhaps three other Sims that would have understood this – Jennail, for though she died before me, she lived before I did as well, the servo that Shui Sakurako built and Kokoro Sakurako married, and Calista Fuchs. ''
''Recognize the name? She was part of my grandmother's friendship group, and became the first to be both a vampire and a werewolf. She also ultimately led to my Uncle’s death, but I never met my Uncle and could feel little grievance over that. Calista stopped talking to my family after Damien’s death and moved away, out of the neighbourhood, for a short time. Eventually she moved back into the neighbourhood and married a distant relative. She lived for a long time, as did Jennail, but I think I have outlived them both now. If not, then certainly they have not had the influence on the neighbourhood I have! Jennail hid for many years after her husband’s death, watching the Tricou heirs but never really interfering, whilst Calista disappeared altogether. ''
''Shui Sakurako built Servo to look after his children when he was gone. However, Shui accidently created an [[File:Kokoro,_Servo_and_Shui_Sakurako.jpg|thumb|Kokoro Sakurako (back, left), Servo Sakurako and Shui Sakurako (child in front)]]artificial person, with thoughts and feelings and a mind of his own. Servo later went on to marry Kokoro, Shui's daughter, and raised two children together, one of which was genetically his. After Kokoro’s death, Servo spent some years with the plantsim family before eventually moving out. He started his own business at one point, selling robots (the non-self-aware kind). Servo was turned on – “born” – in the same year that I was, so at this point Servo is the only one who has lived as long as I have and seen the changes in the neighbourhood that I have. Servo is the only one of the three Sims I mentioned still alive. Jennail gave up her vampirism, aged fast, and died. Calista died, I can’t recall how as I didn’t know her particularly well. ''
''My children’s loneliness in childhood led to my loneliness now – they were forced to find company other than their sleeping, undead, parents are eventually stopped needing us altogether. My cousins were somewhat luckier in that regard, although they both only the one child each they were both very close to their children. After all, after Astria and Kenji got divorced, and Uncle Nova passed away, Astria and Mars only had each other. Kenji left Astria for another man, saying that he realized he only married Astria in order to escape his family’s lifestyle. Maria used a similar excuse for marrying Jasper rather than the man she truly loved – but she never left Jasper when she had the chance.''
''Maria stayed with Jasper and their son. Eventually she had a second child by Rodrigue, and although she loved both her children she clearly favored Rodrigue’s child. It was plain to everyone that he child was Rodrigue’s – the child had inherited human skin, rather than alien. Alien skin is a dominant trait, but Maria and I are half-human. We still carry – and can pass on – the gene for human colored skin. If a child inherits two human skin genes, it will look human. Jasper was a full blooded alien. All of Jasper’s children would inherit and express alien skin, so any human child literally could not be his. No one could blame for being a little cool towards that second child at times, but Maria’s spells stopped him from leaving entirely. With magic and with blood she bound both the men in her life to her. Neither would leave whilst she held custody of their child.''
''[[File:Sabine_and_Solange_Sangria_begin_renting_an_apartment.jpg|thumb|left|Sabine and Solange (toddler) Sangria begin renting an apartment]]''
''Venus, Elizabeth, Jack, Alvin and Lyra all remained as a close-knit family group. Jack eventually passed away, of course, and Alvin went on to marry someone very unusual. Alvin was friends with them from the moment they moved into Aridia. The Sangria family. Back in our childhood, we all learnt about these mythical leopard-people. They were similar to the werewolves in that they took the form of a beast, but the leopard-people weren’t restricted to night. They were permanently in the form of a leopard, but one that strongly resembled a person also. They walked and talked and were civilized like us, but preferred to live in the jungle or rainforest. We were taught that they died out. Imagine my delight when they moved into Aridia! There was only two of them, quite possibly the last of their kind, but they knew if they could get acceptance anywhere it would be here. Sabine Sangria and her daughter Solange, creatures of myth and legend reduced to barely scratching out a living in the desert, far ''
[[File:Sabine_and_Solange_Sangria.jpg|thumb|Sabine and Solange (toddler) Sangria]]
''from home. ''
''When a neighbourhood become this interconnected, it is difficult to draw the lines between who is my family and who is not. At the time of this narrative – when we were all married and raising our children, only Solange and Sabine were not related to me, by marriage or otherwise. Eventually Solange married Alvin, and Alvin is the adopted younger sister of the woman who married my cousin… there is not anyone in this neighbourhood I am not related to in some manner.''
==Chapter Twenty-Six: Family Affairs==
<p class="MsoNormal">''<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">I mentioned previously that Astria and Kenji got divorced. Kenji tried to explain by saying he loved Astria, but was not in love with her. I think it was partly his sister’s fault, after their father died she insisted that they maintain her specialized plantsim lifestyle. Kenji knew she would only allow him to leave for love – so he tried to convince himself that he fell in love with Astria. After their child was born, however, their relationship decayed and eventually they got divorced. Kenji still lived with Astria and Mars for a while, trying to help raise his son. Kenji eventually left Astria entirely for another man, Steve Smith. Afterwards, Astria and Mars only had each other. </span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA;mso-no-proof:yes"> </span>''</p>
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Kenji and Mars Terrano.jpg
Mars' Birthday Party.jpg
Kenji and Steve.jpg
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<p class="MsoNormal">''<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">[[File:Scoria_and_Obsidian_Aridia.jpg|thumb|left|Scoria and Obsidian Aridia]]Around this time, Scoria and Mitchell had their first child, Obsidian. Obsidian was a beautiful baby girl, born with her father’s blonde hair, which she chose to dye black when she grew up. Obsidian eventually married Pierrine and inherited the Tricou estate, whilst Obsidian’s younger sibling inherited the Aridia estate.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span> </span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA;mso-no-proof:yes"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA;mso-no-proof:yes"> </span>[[File:Picture_(141).jpg|thumb|Adults, from left: Taro, Toshiko and Kenji Sakurako
Toddlers, from left: Aina, Arata and Akira Sakurako]]''</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">''Whilst most families were raising one or two children, Toshiko and Taro Sakurako were raising triplets. Aina, Akira and Arata all stayed close through their adulthood. Almost as troublesome were the Morrison twins – Charlotte and Christina, nearly identical, grew up to be the beauties of the town. One of them went on to marry Maria and Rodrigue’s child - I can’t remember who, and it was always difficult to tell them apart. I believe it was a less than [[File:Christina_(left)_and_Charlotte_(right)_Morrison.jpg|thumb|left|Christina (left) and Charlotte (right) Morrison]]traditional marriage, with Maria and Rodrigue’s child being somewhat shared between the twins. ''</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">''There was an unusual numbers of multiple births of the next few years. Both Scoria Aridia and Baby Doll Dai gave birth to twins – Thomas and Teresa Aridia and Sophie and Sarah Dai. Thomas and Teresa both inherited their father’s eyes, and Thomas also inherited his father’s blonde hair but elected to keep his natural hair colour. Teresa inherited her mother’s stone hair. Sophie and Sarah were both born with their mother’s alien skin. Sophie grew up with her father’s black hair whilst Sarah had Baby Doll’s red hair.''</p>
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'''chapter in progress '''
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'''''Hope you're enjoying the story so far (and apologies for the long hiatus in the middle). Below is a link to a family tree for Count Dracula. '''''
'''''WARNING some spoilers may be on here - nothing big, nothing that you shouldn't already know from previous chapters. Who marries who, names of babies, and so on. You might be able to keep up to date with those who aren't mentioned much in the story.'''''
<p style="font-style:italic;">'''''http://familyecho.com/?p=XVUFU&c=cuxetpmjzh&f=742117433471744667'''''</p>
== Gallery ==
'''''<gallery widths="150" columns="
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Alien playing chess.jpg
Aliens tickling.jpg
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Picture (146).jpg
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Maria De Crypt and Jasper Sim.jpg
Multiple Engagements.jpg
Picture (92).jpg
Graduation Aridia.jpg
Scoria and Mitchell Aridia on honeymoon.jpg
Astria Terrano and Kenji Sakurako wedding.jpg
Kokoro Sakurako (background), Astria, Kenji and Mars Terrano.jpg
Maria De Crypt and Jasper Sim wedding.jpg
Picture (98).jpg
Jasper Sim, Scoria Aridia and Astria Terrano.jpg
Vanessa De Crypt and James Sim.jpg
Ben Dai, Lexi Dai, Taro Sakurako, Toshiko Sakurako, Danny Dai and Baby Doll Dai.jpg
Baby Doll and Danny Dai getting married..jpg
Danny and Rebecca Dai.jpg
Lexi Dai, Joshua Dai and Ben Dai.jpg
Lexi Dai, Ben Dai and Joshua Dai.jpg
Lexi Dai and Toshiko Sakurako.jpg
Toshiko Sakurako and Taro Sakurako wedding.jpg
Toshiko and Taro Sakurako, Aina, Akira and Arata Sakurako.jpg
Count Dracula, Eric Morrison, Elizabeth Morrison, Venus Terrano, Arianne Tricou, and Gabbro Igneous.jpg
Carina Smith and Count Dracula De Crypt.jpg
Gabbro Igneous and Arianne Tricou.jpg
Carina and Count Dracula De Crypt.jpg
Count Dracula's Wedding Party.jpg
Count Dracula's Wedding Party 2.jpg
Count Dracula's Wedding Party 3.jpg
Vanessa De Crypt painting.jpg
Count Dracula, Carina and newborn Adrian De Crypt.jpg
Elizabeth and Venus' Wedding.jpg
Jack and Alvin Morrison.jpg
Picture (121).jpg
Picture (124).jpg
Picture (126).jpg
Jack, Christina, Charlotte and Prof. Lisa Morrison.jpg
Arianne and Gabbro's Wedding.jpg
Arianne and Gabbro's Wedding 2.jpg
Arianne and Pierrine.jpg
Our group of friends.jpg
Vanessa De Crypt and Adrian De Crypt.jpg
Adrian De Crypt and Vanessa De Crypt .jpg
Kokoro, Servo and Shui Sakurako.jpg
Kenji and Mars Terrano.jpg
Mars' Birthday Party.jpg
Kenji and Steve.jpg
Kenji and Steve 2.jpg
Scoria and Obsidian Aridia.jpg
Picture (141).jpg
Christina (left) and Charlotte (right) Morrison.jpg
</gallery>''' ''
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