The Cottoneye Witches of Monte Vista -- FAILED, Please move to Graveyard

[MarianT]

About the dream -- I saved right after Mercy and Luigi Ricardo built their house, but the game crashed in the middle of the save, so I had to go back. I had originally wanted Carlo for his lvl 7 painting skill, but Mercy could never find him to meet him. This time, she did.

[RainBeau]

Ah, I thought it would be something like that.

[MarianT]

Chapter Two – Two Birthdays

Dear Artemis,

   The zombies here seem to be more aggressive than the ones in Riverview were. I don’t remember them coming into shops – but then I hardly ever went to a shop, so maybe they did.



And they’re a nuisance around the house, probably because we’re living partly outside. We were outside when Carlo had his birthday. He’s decided that he doesn’t really want to become the Emperor of Evil; he’d much rather grow a perfect garden.



   And I was outside when I had Aurelia. Deciding what to name the babies has been difficult. I wanted something appropriate for our new town, but something that would be different from what the townspeople are already named.



   My plan was to give them names of famous writers from the Roman Empire, but unfortunately there aren’t any women writers that I know of. So the girls will get feminized versions of famous emperors (no Neros or Caligulas, however). Here is Aurelia with Carlo as a baby.



And here she is as a toddler – or a big girl, as she likes to say.



   She has inherited Carlo’s eyes and hair color; it’s too soon to tell about the rest of her face.



She has also inherited his fondness for food.



   Aurelia has inherited witchiness from me, and also my love of  the outdoors, which is why I started talking to her about fishing.



I was very surprised when she announced an intent to take up fishing when she got older. Should I feel guilty for implanting the notion at such an impressionable age?



   On the other hand, I’m taking tremendous advantage of Camillo, sending him off to work to learn cooking, when he’d much rather stay at home and paint. (Painting’s good, however – he’ll take over for Carlo, and we plan on getting him a sculpting station as soon as we have the money. The kitchen comes first.) I took this picture of him calling in sick because it shows Monte Vista reflected in his sunglasses.



   The light is so soft here, I don’t see why everyone wears sunglasses. Please understand that I’m not criticizing you for getting them – I think they’d be a necessity in a desert. But we have cloudy days and rain on a regular basis.

   As for me, I’m doing well – very pleased with my daughter, who is now walking, talking, and able to use the potty on her own. I not far enough advanced in my career, but I have completed two black ops, taking vegetables to the local diner and getting plums for someone.

   I almost forgot – thanks for the doll. Aurelia does play with it; I just haven’t taken her picture. I wish she could meet her cousins, but that’s just not possible. Love ya! Mercy

[SimBlip]

I like the Roman Empire as a naming theme. It's original!
All the emperors had wives, of course - but changing male names into a female names will work just as well.
Aurelia looks cute. Is witchiness a dominant 'gene'?
I'd love to see a picture of Mercy's garden.
Great update! 

[MarianT]

Chapter Three – Spooky Day

Dear Artemis,

   I don’t know what to start with. First off, I’m up to four black ops now, thanks in large part to our excellent public market. My garden is doing well, but I don’t always have exotic things like plums and pomegranates. This is our combined grocery story and diner, which seems to have a neverending need for such things.



   Aurelia is growing like a weed and looks more like Carlo every day. We celebrated her birthday on Spooky Day.



   She modeled some of her new wardrobe for us. Her favorite color is hot pink, so she especially likes her formal outfit.



Her outwear is cute, too.



   After we had cake, she went over to the Fall Festival and went through the Haunted House by herself.



      Was she scared? I asked.

      She shook her head, but I think she was, a little bit.



   Camillo had his birthday, too, but fortunately managed to avoid the dreaded mid-life crisis. I might have one on his behalf, since we’re depending on him for cooking ambrosia, making ice sculptures, and eventually painting some portraits.



   Instead of working on any of his skills, he went to a costume party as a zebracat (or maybe a Siberian tiger?).



   Carlo and I had a quiet night after Aurelia went to bed. We didn’t get any trick-or-treaters, but we did get:

1.   A paparazzi complaining about how tired he was (so go home, already).



2.   A visitor from another planet (or a trick-or-treater with really good make-up and no bag for candy).



3.   A zombie. Well, the moon was full. I threw a potent cure elixir at him and it worked! That’s one down, eleven to go on my lifetime wish.



I have finally learned how to make potent cures but now need glow orb mushrooms. Hope the two little ones and Weston aren’t driving you crazy. Love, Mercy

[Tilia]

Love Aurelia's outfits.  That outerwear coat is probably my favorite child item that came with Seasons.  So classy!

I've decided from reading this that when I finally get around to my immortal dynasty, I'll be doing it in Monte Vista.  So, so much pretty.

Merry Christmas!

[SimBlip]

I so hope Camillo will pull through for you! He's got a lot on his plate, but he seems a rather energetic type.
I think you've just coined the term 'zebracat'. Brilliant!
Yay! First Monte Vista Zombie cured! In Sim Heaven, Hunter Cottoneye is tapping himself on the shoulder.
Merry Christmas, Marian! 

[MarianT]

Merry Christmas to you as well!
As for your reminder that the Roman emperors had wives -- well, there was Messalina and Livia, both of whom seemed rather unsavory in I, Claudius. So I figured it was better not to involve real people, although it turns out that Julius Caesar's mother was named Aurelia.

[SimBlip]

As for your reminder that the Roman emperors had wives -- well, there was Messalina and Livia, both of whom seemed rather unsavory in I, Claudius. So I figured it was better not to involve real people, although it turns out that Julius Caesar's mother was named Aurelia.

Touché!
I'm in mortal danger of straying off topic here, and do not mind you removing this comment, BUT... have a look at this?
Roman Women

Big hugs,
SimBlip

[Magz from Oz]

Just tuned in to your story.  I LOVE it.  Can't wait for more.

[Toni]

Just caught up to this story. I've been reading your decadynasty. Aurelia is quite pretty and I can't wait to read another update on either of your stories.

[MarianT]

Chapter Four -- A Birthday and Two Funerals

Dear Artemis,

   I’ll start with the happy things. Carlo sold a not-very-good portrait of Aurelia for a very good sum – over $7000. We bought a wood stove for Camillo with the proceeds, plus some living room furniture and a more comfortable bed. We’ve been hurrying into the kitchen when Camillo cooks so as to inhale the wonderful smell of bread cooking.



   Aurelia demonstrated her witching powers by pulling a robot toy out of the toy box that wasn’t there previously.



She also has gone skating on the pond that we added to the lot so that she could have a place to fish.



   I suppose other happy news is that I had my mid-life birthday without getting the mid-life crisis.



   But that brings me to my sad news. Carlo turned 90 on the same day of my birthday. He had just finished a nice portrait of Aurelia by the garden and started a still-life of the golden trees, blue sky, and frosty ground. We all thought he might stick around a little while longer, but…



The Grim Reaper came for him much too soon.



   It was a full moon night, so the zombies were out and about. I cured two more of them, then went inside. Presently, I heard the Grim Reaper approach again. Aurelia and Camillo went out to mourn the zombie, but I didn’t have any more tears to shed.



I can’t tell you how much I’m going to miss Carlo. Give your little ones and Weston a hug from me. Love, Mercy

[SimBlip]

Aw! Carlo and Mercy... Maybe they were not lovebirds like Weston and Artemis, but they had a good marriage and loved each other deeply. I feel devastated for Mercy's loss.
It must be hard for Aurelia and Camillo as well. Hopefully, things will be brighter when Spring returns.

[Magz from Oz]

Aw! Carlo and Mercy... Maybe they were not lovebirds like Weston and Artemis, but they had a good marriage and loved each other deeply. I feel devastated for Mercy's loss.
It must be hard for Aurelia and Camillo as well. Hopefully, things will be brighter when Spring returns.

Ditto.  Mercy may have found it hard to admit but she loved Carlo otherwise she wouldn't miss me so much.  Great update!

[MarianT]

Chapter Five – Just Another Sim

Dear Artemis,

   My little girl is a teenager now. She had her birthday so soon after Carlo died that none of us felt like a party. We did have cake, though.



We re-did her bedroom in her favorite color, hot pink. She liked some of my old elixir bottles, so we put those on her dresser.



   Because I have maxed Alchemy (ta-da!), she won’t be able to do much with it, so she is learning spell-casting instead. I was a little apprehensive when she said she wanted to give me a good-luck charm, but it actually worked.



   She didn’t have to go to school on her birthday, so she spent much of the day putting together her wardrobe and trying out hairstyles. She’s so pretty that almost everything looks good on her. Here’s her everyday outfit.



This is athletic:



This is her outerwear:



This is what she chose for a formal, but I can tell you right now that she’s not going to prom dressed like that:



   Aurelia had one day of school, and the next was Snowflake Day. We put up a snowflake tree in the living-room.



I still didn’t feel like doing much, and Camillo was busy painting, so Aurelia went over to the Winter Festival by herself. I thought she would do some ice-skating and maybe see a couple of her friends – Cheyenne Bianchi and Sunshine Monty are her two buddies. Instead she decided to practice snow-boarding. Someone took a picture, and it almost gave me a heart attack. Do I tell her not to do something, knowing she’ll probably do it anyway and not tell me about it, or keep quiet and hope that she won’t do it again before the winter ends?



   In the evening my friend Qusul came over. He started talking about how much he liked art and how much he would like to live in Monte Vista. I put that together with Camillo’s complaints about having too much to do and his fear of becoming addicted to elixirs and invited Qusul to join our household. He accepted with alacrity.



   His full name is Qusul Ayohod, and he says he doesn’t need to sleep, just meditate occasionally or maybe eat some rocks. We put up a room for him, however. Our house is beginning to take shape. I'm getting used to the idea of separate areas connected by walkways.



   Qusul is also interested in photography, so he plans to go to the consignment shop tomorrow and look for a camera. We told him he would have to get some ordinary-looking clothes and perhaps sunglasses to hide his distinctive eyes and a hat, so people wouldn’t think he was undergoing chemotherapy. I think people are still going to stare at him on the street, however.



   I hope this will work out. (Well, it has to, because he can’t leave – something he doesn’t know yet.) Aurelia says not to worry – he’s just another Sim, really.

Hope all is well with you. Coaching toddlers sounds like fun! Love, Mercy