Family Jewels Name Game, Chapter 1-2

 

Hello and welcome back to my fledgling Name Game challenge! The Cabochon family was started at the very end of last chapter when founder Quartz married Declan, and they are now expecting baby Q. Let's check in directly after the wedding . . .

Well, that's one way to celebrate your marriage. Hey, they both need logic for their careers!

The next day, Quartz comes home from her civil engineer job and runs into Miracle, the also-ran who might, in another life, have been Quartz's spouse if we didn't find Declan when we did. After a traditional greeting of a sharp left hook, a bit of chatting reveals that Miracle is also a dog lover!

Miracle: "Just think - what could have been . . ."

Miracle wouldn't stay on the lot so, since Declan is still at work, Quartz fills her social need with this lady, Dana. Apparently, Dana is an alien, but I have yet to see her undisguised form. She and Quartz get along really well. For a long time now, cloudgazing hasn't sky-rocketed the relationship the way it used to. I guess they nerfed it. But for Dana and Quartz, they were good friends in no time, so it seemed like maybe it worked this time.

A few hours after the couple went to bed on the night Quartz is due to give birth, their Murphy bed broke. This made them both too tense to sleep, but they're both exhausted AND they have work tomorrow AND the baby is coming very soon. Not good.

They also don't have a couch yet, so with no way to rest, they work on their aspirations a bit.

Yeah, this is definitely a good way to prepare for a newborn. Finally, their moodlet runs out and they're able to go back to sleep.

Of course, they're barely in bed before Quartz wakes up in labor.

Declan: "You know what we have to do!"

Quartz: "It's only logical."

In unison: "Yes, hello, I'm - cough cough - uh, sick. Yeah, very sick. Cough. Need the day off. Okay, thanks!"

With that, it's time for the main event. But, oh, I'm sorry, Declan. Is your wife's labor boring you? Y'know, Miracle could still be in the picture . . .

Declan: "I am very engaged in the birth of my daughters all of the sudden!"

Daughters? (Is this not the most cliché sims joke?)

Well, I guess if we had to have unfortunate twins, Q is the letter to do it on. Note, they do not have any lot traits and nothing was done to achieve these twins. Just lucky I guess. We can't afford wallpaper in their nursery yet, though, so we're definitely 100% prepared for twins. Anyway, let's welcome the Q twins. Seeing as the subtitle of this story is Maximum Brood, I was planning on long names. However, I was not prepared for Q. So on the right we have Qusongite. And on the left . . . we have . . .

Quetzalcoatlite. 

Yes, 15 letters. 

Do not vote for her. 

I'm warning you.

Anyway, Quetzal (nicknames from here on out are Quetzal and Qusong) was somehow born with a dirty diaper so she entered life screaming, much the way I will exit it if she is voted in as the next heir. Yes, I do have only myself to blame, but that doesn't mean I won't complain about it. Anyway: new life -  beautiful. Instant dirty diaper - less beautiful.

Of course, her continence may have a genetic component.

The kiddos get some care right away.

The next couple days flew by. The parents were constantly sick . . .

And I do mean constantly sick. We still didn't put wallpaper down because we're saving up for their toddler stuff.

Don't worry, this isn't baby U. They're just excited about some holiday or another.

There wasn't much to document at this time. It was just a constant rehash of illness, work, and baby care. They're too short on bits and pieces to do any more fabricating. So I played a lot of it on two  or three speed, which is unusual for me.

Thus it was very quickly the girls' birthday.

And they're beautiful! Was it any doubt with their parents? They're also identical, which is always fun. I'm really glad that they got a slighter darker skintone. I hate it when parents with wildly different skintones always have light babies. Anyway, let's get to know our first kiddos.

I'm going to have to figure out what to do with their names because they obviously don't fit well on the left where I usually put them. Anyway, Quetzalcoatlite (pronounced Ket-sal-ko-otl-ite) is named for a rare tellurium-based mineral that forms blue crystals, itself named for the Aztec god of the sea. Pretty cool, right? Our Quetzal is a silly toddler. I love that they both got Quartz's hair and eyes. That's really exciting.

Qusongite, is, as I said, identical to her sister, but she's fussy, so you'd think she'd be the difficult one, right? I dressed them really similarly, but Quetzal is in light blues and Qusong is in dark blues. Qusongite is named for a tungsten carbide mineral that forms glittery-gray, tiny hexagonal crystals. I always love knowing where names come from in things like this, so you're just along for the ride, I guess.

After days of scrimping, we got the bare minimum for all their toddler skills and needs, but still no wallpaper.

Instead I spent the last bit on a couch and computer so their living room would be a bit more normal. I mean, not very normal, since you have to try to hear the TV over a recycling machine, but a little more normal.

They're such a cute family!

The girls instantly start getting trained up. I have a bug right now where the parents won't stick around to potty-train after putting toddlers on the potty, but at least they can still attend to their business and eventually get the skill up.

It's so hard for me not to make the rest of this chapter 500 pictures of Quetzal and Qusong. They're just so cute!

And they did this autonomously! Aww, my heart!

Declan: "So, we make cute kids."

Quartz: "That we do. And we do need five more since the twins only count for one letter."

Declan: "We just put wallpaper in the toddlers' room, so we're doing pretty good for ourselves, financially. I mean, it would be foolish not to try for baby again, right?"

Quartz: "Totally. Let's get started!"

Quick cut away to the toddlers. They're very active, and although neither has the trait, pretty independent. They spend time babbling to each other, but as of them being children, they're not as tight as some twins I've had. They like playing by themselves mostly.

If we had had single births for all six kids, we could have fit the whole generation in the house at once. However, with twins, that can't happen. So I'll need to figure out how to space the kids well. I'd also really like to get a dog at some point. We'll have to see. Anyway, speaking of a next kid, how are we doing on that topic?

Quartz: "Full speed ahead on baby U!"

Outside wall: "Yay! Congrats!"

Declan's body language suggests that he is balanced precariously between being thrilled and experiencing existential panic. As any father-to-be should be, of course.

And the exhausted parents head back to bed without putting their girls down (the potty bug also seems to keep them from reading to their toddlers), so both girls have a nightmare and end up napping to try to raise their energy.

While working from home the next day (a nice perk of being a civil designer), Quartz is hard at work on a new design.

At least I think she is. Kind of hard to tell. :/

And they spend more time together as Quartz's belly gets bigger. These four are so cute! I really love this family already.

Quartz: "Miracle, Miracle! Guess what? I'm having another baby!!!"

Miracle: "NOOOO why would you do this?!"

Well someone is not being very supportive!

That doesn't stop Quartz from pitching her radical idea for a roundabout that she came up with while staring at a blank blue screen for a couple hours. Miracle is about as excited about this idea Quartz conceived as she is about the baby Quartz conceived. Which is to say, not very. But it still counts for the job, so that's all that matters to us! Quartz also finally found out Miracle's last trait, which is kleptomaniac. We're going to have to think hard about making her the best friend, as I can't super afford to replace things Miracle might steal.

Love Day came around and the second-time-parents-to-be celebrated in the most romantic way possible . . .

By splurging on one (1) rose and then methodically passing it back and forth.

They also went on a date to their favorite location in the game.

Declan: "You mean this bar?"

Quartz: *heart eyes* "DUMPSTER!!!!"

Hey, Quartz isn't the only pregnant lady at The Caboose, as I finally learned this bar is called. This one has a mesh that is not doing great things for her figure, however. A little pointy in the lower belly, y'know? I'm still really confused about these pregnant townies and if they're ever going to actually have babies. And, more importantly, what is letting them get pregnant. But that's beside the point.

The point is that Quartz and Declan are on a date and -- hey, is that Miracle again?

Miracle: "Yeah, we were going to date after that one conversation we had, but I could see her chemistry with Declan, who I have never met but still totally knew well, so I let her go. If you love someone, set them free, you know? But now we're totally best friends. No, no, not like, in name yet. We don't want to put labels on such a valuable friendship. But we are best friends. Trust me."

Oh dear.

Anyway, back to the date. Here's a rose we don't have to pay for, so they're a bit more free about passing that back and forth.

Orange pregnant lady: "What does she have that I don't?"

Dana: "A working mesh?"

Since Quartz is in a delicate way, Declan does the diving for bits and pieces and recyclable furniture this time, in the rain, no less. What a champ. Meanwhile, Quartz is holding court back at the bar.

Quartz: "I'm pregnant!"

Dana: "Oh my gosh, that's amazing, Q! I'm so happy for you! Even though I just got fried by a lightning bolt on the patio, I'm absolutely ecstatic about this news!"

Quartz: "I think I've met my best friend." <3

Miracle: "She's totally talking about me!"

Dana: "I know what you mean, Q! Best friends for life!"

Miracle, off-screen: "WHAT."

Miracle: "Well if Quartz is going to snub me like that, I better make like a klepto and steal her man. Hey, dude, want to buy a drink for just your average everyday dog-loving lady? It's so rare to find people who love dogs, you know. When you find someone you connect with on something that unique, it's very special."

Declan: "Oh, hi, miss. Aren't you that Miracle lady that Quartz has talked about? Sure, I can get you a drink while I'm waiting for Quartz, the love of my life."

Miracle: "Not for long."

Declan: "What was that?"

Miracle: "Oh, nothing. My, your noodle arms and curvaceous hips are so manly. I'm just so, so attracted to your bizarre physique."

Quartz: "Whoa. WHOA. No one flirts with my man! Jealousy to 11, activate!"

Quartz: "Sorry, babe, you know I just have a bit of a jealous streak. I know you weren't actually flirting with Miracle but I just felt so insecure. I know how you could help me feel better, though."

Declan: "Are you sure about this? Is this really the right place for a tryst?"

Quartz: "I'll make you forget all about being in public, baby. Come here."

Declan: "Yeah, public wasn't the part of the location that I--WHOAAAAA!"

Dumpster: *spits them out unceremoniously a bit later*

Quartz: "Ah, I feel so close to you, baby. I feel like we're connected."

Declan: "We are, but it's by sticky trash. But also love."

Quartz: "I feel so much better!"

Declan: "Good, you know you're my one and only if I'll trash woohoo with you, right?"

Quartz: "My soulmate!"

Well, that was interesting! So that's the end of another chapter. I'm trying out shorter ones this time, and hopefully will update a bit more frequently, though we'll see with my school starting up next week. Check back soon(ish?) for baby U, the Q girls growing up, and house expansion one day, maybe? Anyway, we'll see the continuation of the Family Jewels Name Game in the next chapter. Thanks for reading and check in at Boolprop! Bye!