esmeiolanthe

The prompt for this story was “Gnomes vs. Flamingos: the flamingos lost,” submitted by penguingirl03. This story fits into Chapter 58 of Already in Progress, which admittedly hasn’t happened yet, but this isn’t at all spoilery.

Rating: G

( Highlight Reel )

The prompt for this story was “Tale of the lost gnome” submitted by geminiasp. This story fits into (the currently unreleased) Chapter 58 of Already in Progress, and contains no spoilers at all.

Rating: G

( Title )

The prompt for this story was “Retuning the piano” submitted by biglenny. This story fits into Already in Progress round about Chapter 29.

Rating: G

Dramatis Personae
Tirtha Couderc, teenager, twin to Nirel Couderc.
Kitty Couderc, her mother.

This story is a drabble, which means it has exactly and precisely 100 words: no more, no less.

( That’s One Solution )

The prompt for this story was “Losing a bet” submitted by grilledfortune. This story fits into Chapter 38 of Already in Progress.

Rating: G

( Wanna Bet? )

The prompt for this story was “Game night with the boys” submitted by docnerd, with additional inspiration from the prompt “We are the champions” submitted by rosefyre. This story fits into the current chapter of Already in Progress.

Rating: PG-13, for language and implied use of adult beverages

( FTW )

Hi! Already in Progress is four years old today, and you know what that means: it’s time for the Fourth Birthday Special! (Technically, it's still July 8 here.) As usual, it’s a simple rundown of who’s who, who’s related to whom, and where else you might know them from. And new this special, we have Current Family Status where you will find information about what’s going on with each family, so that you can just jump right in to the story. (Please be advised that due to some technical problems, I am only about halfway through the rotation, so not all families are lined up as well as they usually are. I’m sorry.)
( Why not get caught up so you can join the fun? :) )

Josephine “Jo” (Shankel) Wren
Phoenix Wren
Siblings: Cecil Shankel (twins), Skye Shankel
Child: Penelope “Penny” Wren
Fun Fact #1: Jo practiced her mother’s signature in high school… just in case she ever needed a note to get out of anything.
Fun Fact #2: Jo could still forge her mother’s signature if needed.
Fun Fact #3: Jo likes raw carrots, but can’t stand cooked ones.
“The Order of the Llama, or, The Performer and Her Pianist” in Ruth’s (un)Officially Wacky Boolprop Challenge

Phoenix Wren
Josephine “Jo” (Shankel) Wren
Siblings: n/a
Child: Penelope “Penny” Wren
Fun Fact #1: Phoenix has been in two car accidents, both minor fender-benders.
Fun Fact #2: At the age of one, Phoenix was the model for the baby on the Diesel Tuff box. The picture is still in use.
Fun Fact #3: Phoenix is reading Moby-Dick – one page before bed every night – as a very effective cure for insomnia.
“The Order of the Llama, or, The Performer and Her Pianist” in Ruth’s (un)Officially Wacky Boolprop Challenge

Penelope “Penny” Wren
n/a
Siblings: n/a
Children: n/a
Fun Fact #1: Penny loves working with her hands.
Fun Fact #2: Penny can fold a map along its original lines every time.
Fun Fact #3: Penny loves the song “Hot Rod Lincoln” by Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen.
n/a

Current Family Status: Phoenix is cheerfully ambling along the Slacker career path in pursuit of his LTW of Becoming a Professional Party Guest, still reliably rolling up a Want to Kiss His Wife every morning. Jo is struggling with her weight and starting to realize that yes, she really is the mother of a teenage girl. Penny would rather rebuild her old clunker of a car than go to school, and occasionally manages to get what she wants.



Oliver Couderc
Oakapple (Shankel) Couderc
Sibling: Sally Couderc
Children: Fantine Couderc (biological), Saigon Shankel (step)
Fun Fact #1: Oliver is a huge fan of British sitcoms.
Fun Fact #2: Oliver has never been to a con (that is, a sci-fi/fantasy/comic book/similar convention), but would like to go.
Fun Fact #3: Oliver worries that he’s too thin.
“Myrna” and “Arbitration” in Ruth’s (un)Officially Wacky Boolprop Challenge

Oakapple (Shankel) Couderc
Oliver Couderc
Siblings: Buttercup Shankel, Old Adam Shankel
Children: Saigon Shankel (biological), Fantine Couderc (step)
Fun Fact #1: Oakappel recently received his forty-year sobriety token.
Fun Fact #2: Oakapple likes cheese straws, but feels guilty about it. (They’re not grilled cheese, after all.)
Fun Fact #3: Oakpple knows the first three lines to most Gilbert & Sullivan songs.
Ruth’s (un)Officially Wacky Boolprop Challenge

Fantine Couderc
n/a
Siblings: Saigon Shankel (stepsister)
Child: Chant Couderc
Fun Fact #1: Despite being a Family Sim, Fantine has never rolled a single grandchild-related Want.
Fun Fact #2: Fantine doesn’t know how to drive.
Fun Fact #3: Fantine is desperately in love with a dormie who once stopped by the farm stand to buy some tomatoes, years ago. (She hasn’t seen him since.)
“OFB Farmstand” in Ruth’s (un)Officially Wacky Boolprop Challenge

Saigon Shankel
n/a
Siblings: Fantine Couderc (stepsister)
Children: n/a
Fun Fact #1: Saigon is naturally immune to poison ivy.
Fun Fact #2: Saigon likes making wishes in the family well.
Fun Fact #3: Saigon’s favorite vegetable is eggplant.
“OFB Farmstand” in Ruth’s (un)Officially Wacky Boolprop Challenge

Chant Couderc
Phoebe (Shankel) Couderc
Siblings: n/a
Children: Nicholas Couderc, Draupadi Couderc
Fun Fact #1: Chant is working his way backwards through David Bowie’s recorded works. Currently he is on Changesbowie.
Fun Fact #2: Chant likes limericks.
Fun Fact #3: Chant considers all hyacinths completely untrustworthy.
“OFB Farmstand” in Ruth’s (un)Officially Wacky Boolprop Challenge, The Jack Point Home for Pedestrian Playables

Phoebe (Shankel) Couderc
Chant Couderc
Siblings: Leila Shankel, Lisa Shankel, Rose Shankel
Children: Nicholas Couderc, Draupadi Couderc
Fun Fact #1: Phoebe can’t resist buying packs of different-colored pens.
Fun Fact #2: Phoebe takes care of the family finances.
Fun Fact #3: Phoebe can speak normally, but keeps up the Elizabethan because it’s so much more fun to swear in.
Ruth’s (un)Officially Wacky Boolprop Challenge

Nicholas Couderc
n/a
Sibling: Draupadi Couderc
Children: n/a
Fun Fact #1: Nicholas may or may not possess mind-control powers.
Fun Fact #2: Nicholas has a gift for finding money on the street.
Fun Fact #3: Nicholas prefers Coke.
n/a

Draupadi Couderc
n/a
Sibling: Nicholas Couderc
Children: n/a
Fun Fact #1: Draupadi was originally going to be named “Prajapati” until I realized that was a male name. Hooray for the SimBlender’s name change policy!
Fun Fact #2: Draupadi likes “Peter and the Wolf” by Prokofiev.
Fun Fact #3: Draupadi prefers Pepsi. (Although she is really too young to be allowed to have any.)
The Jack Point Home for Pedestrian Playables

Current Family Status: Oliver’s lifebar is looking less and less expansive every day. Oakapple, who was originally older than Oliver, has not aged a bit. Fantine is grouchy because I won’t allow her to get married, and Saigon is very mellow about everything. Nicholas may or may not have mind-control powers. He wanted a little brother or sister close to his own age who would age with him, and convinced his father to spawn a plantbaby and then feed her Pantropic-C. Phoebe, a Family Sim, was very put out about this because she wanted to be involved in any baby-making efforts. She is not particularly enthusiastic about raising her husband’s child, and told him in no uncertain terms that she’d rather raise a child who was related to her by blood. Things are still tense between them.


Rose Shankel
Dmitri Leonidovich (Andrews) Shankel
Siblings: Leila FUCHS, Lisa Shankel, Phoebe (Shankel) Couderc
Children: Alexander Dmitrovich Shankel, Ivan Dmitrovich Shankel
Fun Fact #1: Rose is unable to cry unless she is reading or watching something sad.
Fun Fact #2: If Rose sees two people taking turns taking pictures of each other, she will always offer to take a picture of the two of them together.
Fun Fact #3: Rose’s favorite flower is the columbine.
Ruth’s (un)Officially Wacky Boolprop Challenge

Dmitri Leonidovich (Andrews) Shankel
Rose Shankel
Siblings: Ariadene Phillips (non-biological, not currently in the rotation and will not be restored during rebuild)
Children: Alexander Dmitrovich Shankel, Ivan Dmitrovich Shankel
Fun Fact #1: Dmitri likes women’s clothing in general, but feels no need to pad (or even wear) a bra.
Fun Fact #2: When Dmitri wears a shirt and jeans, they’re from the women’s department.
Fun Fact #3: Dmitri fits women’s jeans fairly nicely, because he actually goes in a bit at the waist. (You could also phrase that as “he has a butt.”)
“(Not) Heiress Rose” in Ruth’s (un)Officially Wacky Boolprop Challenge

Alexander Dmitrovich Shankel
n/a
Siblings: Ivan Dmitrovich Shankel
Children: n/a
Fun Fact #1: Alexander quite likes pet food.
Fun Fact #2: Alexander’s favorite brand of pet food is “Small Yappy Dog.”
Fun Fact #3: Alexander’s favorite color is brown.
n/a

Ivan Dmitrovich Shankel
n/a
Sibling: Alexander Dmitrovich Shankel
Children: n/a
Fun Fact #1: Ivan is currently under treatment for Firstborn Syndrome.
Fun Fact #2: Ivan has Daddy’s nose. Very definitely Daddy’s nose.
Fun Fact #3: Ivan’s favorite animal is the raf. You know – rafs? They’re yellow, with brown spots and big eyelashes and reeeeeeally long necks? Rafs.
n/a

Current Family Status: Dmitri’s flower shop, inherited from his not-genetically-related mother Tirtha, is doing very well. Rose loves helping create stock and take care of the family. Both Rose and Dmitri are Family Sims, so whenever there’s a transition from Baby to Toddler, they immediately both roll the Want to Have Another One, Please. A very low-key and functional family.


Abhijeet (Fuchs) Shankel
Leila Shankel
Siblings: n/a
Children: Yes
Fun Fact #1: Abhijeet doesn’t wear his official Neutral Brujo robes much because, hello, they’re practically brown.
Fun Fact #2: Abhijeet grew up in a trailer park.
Fun Fact #3: Abhijeet actually has multiple half-siblings, but he acknowledges none of them.
The Jack Point Home for Pedestrian Playables

Leila Shankel
Abhijeet (Fuchs) Shankel
Siblings: Lisa Shankel (twins), Phoebe (Shankel) Couderc, Rose Shankel
Children: Yes
Fun Fact #1: Leila owns a copy of every Oz book written by L. Frank Baum.
Fun Fact #2: Leila’s fairy wings were the first piece of custom content that I ever downloaded – and I downloaded them specifically for her.
Fun Fact #3: Leila likes the music of Rilo Kiley.
The Jack Point Home for Pedestrian Playables

Current Family Status: Leila and Abhijeet are new to Already in Progress, having only joined the cast at the tail end of the last rotation. Leila was born in Ruth’s (un)Officially Wack Boolprop Challenge, and then had her own spin-off: The Jack Point Home for Pedestrian Playables. She has always wanted to be a fairy, and although her attempt to earn enough money to get fairy wings surgically implanted was not as successful as she had hoped, her boyfriend Abhijeet is a brujo,* and he was able to assist her. Leila is currently experiencing retrograde amnesia covering the last two sim-weeks, and is probably much happier as a result. The family has a cat named Cat, who Abhijeet enchanted to talk. Cat has about as much respect for his humans as any other cat does, but he’s marginally polite to them anyway, since they are the only ones who can work the can opener.
*A man who can use magic.


Amy Littledragon
Adam (Santander) Littledragon
Siblings: None living
Child: Bryan Littledragon
Fun Fact #1: Amy gets headaches when the weather is changing.
Fun Fact #2: Amy likes Greek yogurt.
Fun Fact #3: Amy’s favorite movie is An Apple For Teacher, starring Polluxa Curious.
n/a

Adam (Santander) Littledragon
Amy Littledragon
Siblings: n/a
Child: Bryan Littledragon
Fun Fact #1: Adam had febrile seizures as a child.
Fun Fact #2: Adam lives in fear of people finding this out.
Fun Fact #3: Adam worked in retail as a Teen.
n/a

Bryan Littledragon
n/a
Siblings: n/a
Children: n/a
Fun Fact #1: Bryan also likes limericks – if they’re dirty.
Fun Fact #2: Bryan gets motion sick on Ferris wheels.
Fun Fact #3: Bryan loves watermelon.
n/a

Current Family Status: Bryan has just graduated college and moved back in with his parents. He wants to be an actor, and I have a feeling he’s going to be successful. Nudge nudge wink wink. Amy is a respected member of the SWAT Team, and Adam amiably goes along with whatever is needed.


Catherynne (Miller) Wheeler
Professor Douglas Wheeler
Siblings: Amy Miller
Children: Dongsool Wheeler (adopted), Lavinia Wheeler, Paul Wheeler (adopted), Trudy Wheeler (adopted)
Fun Fact #1: Catherynne likes boysenberry jam.
Fun Fact #2: Catherynne was named after author Catherynne M. Valente, whose book In the Cities of Coin and Spice I was reading at the time Sim!Catherynne was born.
Fun Fact #3: Catherynne can’t abide garlic, and won’t go near anyone who has been eating it unless they have one breath mint every half hour for five hours straight. And then brush their teeth.
“(Not) Heiress Rose” in Ruth’s (un)Officially Wacky Boolprop Challenge

Professor Douglas Wheeler
Catherynne (Miller) Wheeler
Siblings: n/a
Children: Dongsool Wheeler (adopted), Lavinia Wheeler, Paul Wheeler (adopted), Trudy Wheeler (adopted)
Fun Fact #1: Professor Douglas was (and is) a huge fan of Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood.
Fun Fact #2: Professor Douglas paid his way through graduate school modeling for a national department store chain.
Fun Fact #3: Professor Douglas has a PhD in Blandness Studies.
n/a

Dongsool Wheeler
n/a
Siblings: Lavinia Wheeler, Paul Wheeler, Trudy Wheeler
Children: n/a
Fun Fact #1: Dongsool plays a Level 13 Chaotic Good elven bard in a local tabletop RPG group.
Fun Fact #2: Dongsool’s character is female.
Fun Fact #3: Dongsool has a favorite sibling (Trudy), but he’ll never tell.
n/a

Lavinia Wheeler
n/a
Siblings: Dongsool Wheeler, Paul Wheeler, Trudy Wheeler
Children: n/a
Fun Fact #1: Lavinia was named for a character on Downton Abbey. (By me, not by her parents.)
Fun Fact #2: Lavinia’s favorite animal is the monkey.
Fun Fact #3: Lavinia likes The Nutcracker – both the ballet and the music.
n/a

Paul Wheeler
n/a
Siblings: Dongsool Wheeler, Lavinia Wheeler, Trudy Wheeler
Children: n/a
Fun Fact #1: Paul likes grape-flavored things.
Fun Fact #2: Paul wasn’t fully potty trained until he was three and a half.
Fun Fact #3: Paul can’t decide if he likes the Strangetown Abductees or the Riverblossom Hills Stamens better.
The Jack Point Home for Pedestrian Playables

Trudy Wheeler
n/a
Siblings: Dongsool Wheeler, Lavinia Wheeler, Paul Wheeler
Children: n/a
Fun Fact #1: Trudy likes gardening and has a green thumb.
Fun Fact #2: Trudy can’t get past Level Three in Motherboard Madness.
Fun Fact #3: Trudy could walk before either of her agemates.
The Jack Point Home for Pedestrian Playables

Current Family Status: Catherynne and Professor Douglas are busily raising their four children. Professor Douglas is working his way up the Education career track, and Catherynne is closing in on her Gold Toymaking Badge.


Celeste (Kalson) Miller
n/a
Siblings: n/a
Child: Frederic Kalson Miller
Fun Fact #1: Celeste looks forward to the new edition of Rat Race every week.
Fun Fact #2: Celeste jogs for two or three hours every morning.
Fun Fact #3: Celeste would totally give stock tips if I owned Free Time.
“Arbitration” in Ruth’s (un)Officially Wacky Boolprop Challenge

Frederic Kalson Miller
Isaac (Clemens) Miller
Siblings: n/a
Child: Helen Miller (adopted)
Fun Fact #1: Frederic is sometimes thought of as unattractive. But by fish standards, Frederic is Channing Tatum.*
Fun Fact #2: In a pinch, Frederic has resorted to (gasp!) mousse.
Fun Fact #3: Frederic is toying with the idea of discontinuing the hair dye… but not the hair gel.
“(Not) Heiress Rose” in Ruth’s (un)Officially Wacky Boolprop Challenge; Love, Frederic
*People magazine’s “Sexiest Man Alive” of 2012.

Isaac (Clemens) Miller
Frederic Kalson Miller
Siblings: n/a
Child: Helen Miller (adopted)
Fun Fact #1: Isaac has a tattoo of a phoenix on his right deltoid.
Fun Fact #2: Isaac screams like a little girl when he has to get a shot for any reason.
Fun Fact #3: Isaac once skated through a literature class by convincing the teacher that he was related to Samuel Clemens, better known as Mark Twain. (He isn’t.)
Love, Frederic

Helen Miller
n/a
Siblings: n/a
Children: n/a
Fun Fact #1: Helen doesn’t actually pick fights, but she doesn’t back down from them either.
Fun Fact #2: Helen has a distinct tendency to arm-wrestle boys that she likes.
Fun Fact #3: Helen’s hair is still baby-fine and very flyaway, so she keeps it in place using, you guessed it, hair gel.
n/a

Current Family Status: Celeste recently topped the business career a second time; she made Permaplat the first time. Frederic is well on his way to achieving his LTW of becoming a Celebrity Chef, and I am considering buying him a restaurant when he makes it. Isaac’s LTW is to Have 20 Best Friends. He isn’t very far along with that, but he’s generally pretty happy anyway. Helen, like her fathers, is a big fan of video games. Since she’s also quite Active, there may be a problem in later years… or not.


Sally Couderc
Troy Langerak
Sibling: Oliver Couderc
Child: Tamara Langerak
Fun Fact #1: Sally hates getting hair in her eyes.
Fun Fact #2: Sally makes a mean chocolate fudge.
Fun Fact #3: Sally carries a folding canvas bag at all times, in case she finds something she wants to buy.
n/a

Troy Langerak
Sally Couderc
Siblings: n/a
Child: Tamara Langerak
Fun Fact #1: Troy is the strong silent type – unless you ask him about his study abroad semester in Italy, in which case, he’ll talk your ear off.
Fun Fact #2: Troy’s favorite color is purple.
Fun Fact #3: Troy once wore a female suit at swim practice rather than go home after his own suit ripped.
n/a

Tamara Langerak
n/a
Siblings: n/a
Children: n/a
Fun Fact #1: Tamara is the spitting image of her mother if you ignore the skintone, which severely limits the hairstyles she can use. (I confuse very easily.)
Fun Fact #2: Tamara will be getting a challenge of her own, purely because I thought of an awesome title.
Fun Fact #3: When Tamara is thinking, she’ll play songs on an invisible piano with her right hand.
n/a

Current Family Status: Tamara has just graduated college and moved in with her parents. Her stay with them will be quite brief, only just long enough to finish out the rotation, and then she will be starting her own spin-off challenge. Sally writes the hugely popular TV show Goldberg & Silent Lady (clips of which can be seen in regular AiP chapters), and Troy is a high-level athlete. He’s not getting any younger, though, and has been thinking of opening a gym.


Skye Shankel
Spouse
Siblings: Cecil Shankel, Josephine “Jo” (Shankel) Wren
Children: n/a
Fun Fact #1: Skye was named with a specific challenge in mind. If you look at her look over the years, you might be able to figure out which one.
Fun Fact #2: Skye doesn’t like sunglasses on anyone, at any time. (Regular glasses are okay.)
Fun Fact #3: Skye is going to take up boxing any day now. Really.
n/a

Current Family Status: Skye has just graduated college and will be starting a little mini-challenge within the main story, just to keep things interesting.


RELATED STORIES


From 100 Days of Awesome: Anastasia and Rebecca Tsvirkunov are second cousins to Josephine Wren, Skye Shankel, and Cecil Shankel (see below), as well as to Rose Shankel, Leila Shankel, Phoebe (Shankel) Couderc, and Lisa Shankel (see below). Abbey is Anastasia and Rebecca’s mother. Anastasia has never been married; Allyn is her adopted daughter and Georgiana is her biological daughter. Pong (Dennis) Tsvirkunov is Rebecca’s husband. Their daughters, both biological, are Winifred and Melanie. Percy is the family’s doofus of a dog.


From Cecil’s CCL: Cecil Shankel is Josephine Wren’s twin and Skye Shankel’s older brother. Allyn (Thayer) Shankel is his new lady; she likes cats as much as he does. Clotho (female), Atropos (male), and Lachesis (female) are siblings. Boomer (male) is the kitten of Andy (male) and Lachesis… or at least, I think the mother is Lachesis. It might be Clotho.


From Ruth’s (un)Officially Wacky Boolprop Challenge: Old Adam Shankel is Oakapple (Shankel) Couderc’s brother and father to Phoebe (Shankel) Couderc, Leila Shankel, and Rose Shankel. Lisa Shankel is his daughter as well. Glen (Cameron) Shankel is Lisa’s husband, and their daughters are Olga Shankel, Pitti-Sing Shankel, and Casilda Shankel. Deadeye Shankel and Nanki-Poo Shankel are Glen’s children via alien abduction. All family members except Glen are named for characters from Gilbert & Sullivan operettas.


From Auspicious It Ain’t: Ygraine and her children Genevive and Beaudelaire are not actually related to anyone in Already in Progress. But how could I pass up the chance for a little shameless self-promotion?

I hope you enjoyed this special feature! Please join me next time for our regular story! (And take seconds on the cake – there’s plenty.) Until next time, Happy Simming!