After ushering her daughters away to her bedroom, Amelia heads to bed herself - with an eager Joaquin in tow, completely bowled over by her kiss.
Loving the bunny slippers!
For the procreation professional that Amelia has swiftly become, one attempt is all that's necessary.
Although, given that this is her ninth pregnancy, you think she'd be able to cope with the symptoms a bit better by now.
With the deed done, Joaquin's out the door, and it's back to the other old grind for Amelia - daubing masterpieces onto canvas for profit.
With the new Ministry of Labour function - and with labour being something Amelia knows a lot about - I decide to make her destined role into her official title.
And what a mother she is - doting on her children constantly. She's almost reached the top of the Cooking skill with all the tasty meals she prepares for them... although sometimes, when you see the cereal bowls that the kids grab behind her back, you have to wonder why she even bothers.
Mind you, Amelia does need to bake plenty of cakes. As the end of her latest pregnancy nears, we have a whole hoard of birthdays coming up!
To start things off, Gabriel becomes a toddler.
Then Freyja becomes a child. Don't let that grumpy face fool you - she's actually a Goofball.
Sadly, her celebration is marred by the fact that she falls ill almost right away. Still, after a few glasses of orange juice and some medicine, she's soon right as rain.
Finally, the three eldest girls - Clara, Dahlia and Einin - all come home from school with As. Time for a triple birthday! (Although I hit the wrong button whilst getting a screenshot and ended up missing Dahlia's cake ceremony... gosh darn it!)
Now that they're teens, it's makeover time!
Since Clara is very accepting of her fate as a Reaper, and due to her special supernatural gifts, it seems only fitting that her attire should reflect her gothic personality.
Dahlia, on the other hand, is every inch the glamour puss.
As for Einin... this is actually how she looked the moment she aged up. Her trousers weren't to my taste, so I tweaked those, but otherwise, I was pretty pleased with the outcome!
As baby Henry starts crying in his cradle, both Clara and Dahlia rush to the nursery to attend to him. Once he's settled, they have a friendly chat between themselves - although their timing is far from stellar. Looks like Amelia has an audience for this birth!
It's another boy!
I is for Ianto, so charming and smart.
(Baby 9 - Ianto Le Chien Livingstone)
Sorry if that grossed you out, girls... but you did insist on staying there to talk. No-one made you watch.
Einin's welcome is far warmer by comparison. As Amelia goes to answer a knock on the door, she gives Ianto his first bottle feed.
Well, well, well... it appears Amelia's reputation has begun to proceed her, as random men have started visiting her in the middle of the night. Still, a baby daddy is a baby daddy, and if one is willing to come straight to her, then all the better!
Seizing her opportunity, she seduces him at once.
His name turns out to be Jamar Palacios. Looks a bit of a silver fox, doesn't he? Sadly, with little Ianto's arrival, we have a full house... so he'll have to stay on standby for a while until we're ready for another little bundle of joy!
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Welcome to the Livingstone Skill Mill!
With special sessions of playtime and tutoring, Gabriel's brain grows day by day - until he's finally ready to begin his childhood and start school. For his makeover, I took inspiration from his secret agent father.
As for our elder spy child, she takes after her father in a different way - developing a passion for fitness.
All three teens, longtime members of Grim's Study Buddies, continue their nightly homework sessions at the dining table - with Gabriel and Freyja as their newest inductees. Their mother, knowing that it's only a matter of time until the girls enter adulthood, often sits with them - grasping every last possible moment of loving interaction with them that she can.
Yet, she can't stop the march of time. In what seems like the blink of an eye, babies C, D and E all receive their Reaper marks, and are summoned away from the nest to commence their dark duty.
This triple farewell leaves a gaping hole in the household for Amelia to fill. After taking some time to cry for her daughters' departure, she calls Jamar to keep her company through the long, lonely night.
She relies on her tried and tested three-stage method: kiss, bedroom, WooHoo.
Well, if it ain't broke, don't fix it! After a quick bathroom detour, Amelia's soon rushing back to the bedroom to share the good news... and to send Jamar on his way.
Two days later, after studying hard at school, Freyja steps off the bus with an A grade, and is ready to enter her teenage years. Once again, the cake ceremony produces a rather charming pre-set look - which I decide to keep.
Turns out we have more fitness fanatics in the family. Freyja, running on the treadmill is all well and good... but must you really do it while your mother is sleeping?
Gabriel is also a ball of energy, spending his spare time on the monkey bars.
(Though, in calmer moments, he does enjoy playing a quiz with their new Lin-Z smart speaker.)
There's isn't really much point in Amelia working out at the moment. Besides, she's far too busy with her painting, nursing her babies, and baking yet another cake for yet another birthday.
It's Henry's turn! Our "Bella Goth revenge baby" has blossomed into a cute, inquisitive toddler!
Right away, the dollhouse becomes Henry's favourite toy.
As he plays with him, Gabriel strives to be an excellent big brother...
... whilst Freyja is all too happy to help with Henry's formative education.
Amelia feels his heart lift as she watches her children getting along so well... until she is distracted by an all-too-familiar pain.
We're into double digits, folks! And this baby is a J, just like his father!
J is for Jules, with a love-laden heart.
(Baby 10 - Jules Palacios Livingstone)
Amelia has no time to rest on her laurels. True, her routine is becoming a bit robotic and predictable, but at the end of her day, her happiness in the afterlife depends on the completion of her mission.
She decides to phone up another acquaintance from the Discotheque Pan Europa - Travis Scott.
Maybe he's heard wild and passionate tales from Joaquin down at the club, but Travis arrives pretty quickly. After a bit of smooth talk and flattery, he's Amelia's for the taking.
It's back to the three-part plan.
Naturally, it's another success story.
Upon being informed about his imminent fatherhood, Travis is less than thrilled. He tells Amelia that's he's just popping out for a "pack of smokes"... then scurries out the front door, never to be seen again. (Ah, well - his loss.)
He doesn't even stop to say hello to the other visitor walking through Amelia's front gate...
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Apologies if this challenge is getting a bit repetitive for you - but the next update will be a Story Interlude! Thanks for reading!
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