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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>
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<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>
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<p class="MsoNormal">''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>
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<p class="MsoNormal">''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 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. ''</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">''Danny and Baby Doll's first child was born shortly after. 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.''</p>
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<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 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. 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 Sakurako 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>
chapter in progress
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