The Wisewoman of Forgotten Hollow -- Legacies in Rotation (Nov 15)

[MarianT]

Rosa Straud 2

Excerpts from The Silver Spoon by Rosa Straud:

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My childhood was idyllic. I grew up in the most beautiful setting -- Windenburg, near the ocean, where a genuine sea monster lurked. I was the granddaughter of two aristocrats -- Luna Villareal, and Count Vladislaus IV.

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My childhood was filled with excursions to distant playgrounds, and I attended regular school.

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But I preferred the company of my stuffed bear Blarffy…

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...and my family members, like Great-Uncle Hugo, who made wonderful meals...

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...and my darling grandmother, Luna. She was the one who made sure I did homework...

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...and washed my hands thoroughly.

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She also encouraged me to develop my interest in playwriting. "Each puppet represents a part of you," she would tell me. "In fact, each puppet is you, but a different facet. Even when they quarrel, remember that."

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One year, winter in Windenburg was terrible, with one blizzard after another.

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Grandfather suffered; in fact, all of us did, and we referred to the vast expanse of the front lawn as Siberia.

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Even so, Grandmother's death came as a horrible shock.

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I begged for her life to be spared -- just one more day so that I could tell her how much I loved her. But the Grim Reaper was implacable. "I've exceeded my quota, kid," he told me. "Sorry, and all that, but you know how it is."

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With one swipe of his blade, Grandmother was taken, and something inside me broke.

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Even Great-uncle Max -- who is not noted for his tender heart -- was grief-stricken by her death.

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Eventually, I became a teen-ager and discovered that I had inherited the family curse. No, not clumsiness, although I do seem more prone to slipping on ice than the others.

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Like my grandmother and my great-grandfather before her, I am what we euphemistically call "erratic." "Crazy as a coot," my Uncle Frank calls it.

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But as curses go, it's not so bad. We celebrated Mother's birthday right after mine.

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As a present, I read my dramatic monologue to her. I've done so well with Drama Club that I made Junior Artiste almost as soon as I became a teen. I think I'll go into drama as a career, but as a playwright rather than an actress -- unless I decide later that I want to take to the stage myself.

[PeregrineTook]

Really enjoyed the narrative as young Rosa writing her own story.  Can't wait to see how her erratic trait shows up in future installments!

[reggikko]

Are you rolling for careers and aspirations or are you choosing those? I like the idea of a playwright Sim and Rosa seems like she will be a fun Sim to play. You’re really moving along and I like how you’re giving all of your heirs such distinct personalities.

[MarianT]

@PeregrineTook, I'll be curious to see how Rosa turns out, too. I was really amazed that she got to Junior Artiste so fast. Dion Caliente had all the requirements and check-marks and never did make it.

@reggikko, I don't roll for careers and aspirations, but I do have an "astrology" system for traits. Since Rosa had her birthday between the 8th and 14th of winter, erratic was one of the possibilities. And since Jaques and Luna both had that trait, I could go with Rosa "inheriting" it. I tend to avoid the Location aspirations, the Deviant ones, and the Family ones, at least as beginning aspirations.

[MarianT]

Toby Zest 2

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I'm still doing the writing for my son Toby. Cooking, too. I'm looking forward to the day when he can take over -- both the writing and the cooking.

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We lost Mom a while back. She collapsed in the street.

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Aunt Yuki was the only one at home by then, with everyone else having to go to work or school. I don't know how much any of us got done, as we were all very sad.

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The city set off fireworks that night in her honor. It seems like we've lost several great musicians lately, both her and Betty Newbie.

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Dad shows up occasionally -- to use the computer, obviously. But with Mom gone, I think he'll stop coming around.

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Toby is quite the little genius, but he's developing empathy, too. He's thought about becoming a doctor.

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But he has a creative side as well. Now that he's exhausted all the possibilities of his chemistry lab (except for stink bombs -- I put it away before he could start playing with those), he's taken up drawing.

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As for Nathan, he's all about moving.

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"I want to be a dancer when I grow up," he tells me. I don't think that's a possibility, but you never know.

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And speaking of growing up, the big day finally came for Toby.

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"Do you want to start writing now?" I asked him. He grunted in response. I don't know whether that was a yes or a no or a whatever. Or maybe it was an "I can't answer that question while I'm choosing my hair style." Teens. Oh dear.

[PeregrineTook]

Those Zest-Behr kiddos turn out so attractive, right?
Looking forward to hearing Toby's voice, though I imagine he'd be fine letting his mom still handle the cooking  :=)

[MarianT]

Those Zest-Behr kiddos turn out so attractive, right?
Looking forward to hearing Toby's voice, though I imagine he'd be fine letting his mom still handle the cooking  :=)

They do indeed. Toby has the added advantage of some muscle from his Cottoneye father. And his other grandmother was Summer Holiday, so he has good genes.

[MarianT]

Justice Lee-Scott 2

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Public Service Announcement: Remember to wash your hands. In fact, instead of reading this, why don't you go wash your hands right now? 20 seconds, with plenty of lather.

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Justice Lee-Scott is an unusual teen in that he gets along with his parents, he does well at school, and he knows what he's going to be when he grows up -- a judge. In order to become a judge, he has to get into college.

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Money won't be a problem. Besides some extra cash from Faith's painting, the Lee-Scotts also have a money tree.

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But Justice can't help wondering whether money and good grades will be enough.

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Should he try for an athletic scholarship? Take the mens sana in corpore sana approach? And will he get extra points for knowing Latin?

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One thing to be said for all this exercise is that it gets him the Keep Fit badge.

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That's the last one he needs in order to become a Llamacorn Scout.

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When Winterfest arrives, Justice is ready to celebrate.

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But what does he get as a present? A carrot. A single, kind of old carrot.

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For consolation, he goes to see his friend Maria Gothario. She has two sisters, she keeps telling him. Two attractive, unattached sisters. When Justice meets Angela, his heart makes an interesting thump.

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He becomes friends with Vivian, because he wants to be fair.

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But Justice is pretty sure that Angela is the one.

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Returning home, he gets a present from Father Winter -- a camera. It's not great, but it's better than a carrot.

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He takes a picture with Father Winter to prove to any doubters that he's met him.

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And then he sends off that all-important college application. Justice is pretty sure he'll be accepted, but will he get the program he wants?

[PeregrineTook]

Justice and Angela.  What a lovely couple!!  Poor guy hasn't even started college nor had his first date with his likely future wife (he did indicate "pretty sure") and I'm already looking forward to seeing their nooboos!

[MarianT]

Justice and Angela.  What a lovely couple!!  Poor guy hasn't even started college nor had his first date with his likely future wife (he did indicate "pretty sure") and I'm already looking forward to seeing their nooboos!

I'm looking forward to them, too, but Justice has to get through college first.

[MarianT]

Oddity Curious 3

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"Not so much vinegar," Brenna warned him. "They'll turn out soggy." Oddity sighed. It seemed like he couldn't do anything without some woman in his family telling him how to do it.

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Now that he was finished with his military service, Oddity could get married. But with a mother, an aunt, and a younger sister, he didn't feel a need to add a wife to the mix. If he could find someone docile and biddable...But Aunt Brenna and his mother assured him that these words were synonymous with brain-dead.

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Oddity already had an heir, so he didn't actually need to get married.

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Make that an heiress. Meet Venusia Curious, Generation 4 in the Curious family.

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That evening Oddity got a call from his agent, Lilith Vatore. "I got you an audition for the Sudsy Sanitizer people tomorrow," she told him. "Come on over and I'll help you prepare."

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"We're going to do some role-playing," Lilith ordered. "You're a pirate, and I'm a vicious mermaid that you just captured. You have to subdue me with a single kiss."
"Uh, that wasn't in the notes they sent me," Oddity began to say, but Lilith was giving him the just-do-what-I-tell-you look.

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"O-kay," Lilith gasped when he released her. "Pretty good. But I detected just a wee bit of tension there. You need to relax before the audition."

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"Are you sure this will help me relax?" Oddity asked.
"Positive," said Lilith. "But you have to do exactly what I tell you."

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Later, Lilith exercised a bit and then left.

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"I don't like that woman," Zara told Cosma. "She's not one of us. And she's not like an ordinary Sim either."

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Cosma had to agree that there was something "different" about Lilith. She picked up a skin sample from the sparring machine and analyzed it in the microscope. "You need to do a mind-read," she told Oddity. "Find out what her intentions are."
"I could just ask her," said Oddity.
"Probe," said Cosma.

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That evening he met Lilith at the Solar Flare to celebrate Oddity's passing his audition. "Whoa, what was that?" Lilith complained.
"I was trying to find out whether you wanted to marry me," said Oddity.
"I'm not the marrying kind," said Lilith. "And by the way, the Sudsy Sanitizer people called. Their stuff is flying off the shelves so they don't really need a new commercial. Sorry."

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Oddity went home and cheered himself up by playing with Venusia for a few minutes.

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She really was an adorable little girl...

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...even if she was a bit messy.

[oshizu]

I wanted to refresh my memory so I reread the last few months of your story.
So glad I did because I saw (for the first time) your spoiler about shortening the teen stage for college-bound kids. What a brilliant idea. I want to borrow it!

Your format of limiting your rotation to 10 households is quite appealing.
My BACC will eventually explode into 20-30 households per round, which I'm dreading. So I gather ideas about how to deal with that from this story of yours.

It's amazing how strong the founding generations' genes are persisting in the third-generation.
Also, I forgot to ask earlier but is Death-by-Volcanic-Activity a real possibility as with the Cottoneyes, or had you transformed a game glitch into a narrative opportunity?
Toby is delightful while Oddity and Lilith make such an unexpected pairing!

One last question about the Drama Club. I notice that a good number of your children are joining Drama Club (which I've never completed) instead of Scouting.
Do you decide which club on the basis of their traits in combination with their future career?

[MarianT]

I wanted to refresh my memory so I reread the last few months of your story.
So glad I did because I saw (for the first time) your spoiler about shortening the teen stage for college-bound kids. What a brilliant idea. I want to borrow it!

Borrow away! When I played Sims 2, I sent my teens off to college as soon as they qualified for a scholarship. I have just never enjoyed the teen stage of the Sims as much as other stages.

Your format of limiting your rotation to 10 households is quite appealing.
My BACC will eventually explode into 20-30 households per round, which I'm dreading. So I gather ideas about how to deal with that from this story of yours.

The main thing to watch out for is that you're not damaging the promotion prospects of the household you're jumping to. That said, I'm always arriving 2 hours before somebody is due to finish work for the day. And of course, Aging on for the Active Household Only is what you want.

It's amazing how strong the founding generations' genes are persisting in the third-generation.

It's something I didn't expect. Liberty Lee and Johnny Zest almost have clones and wait until you see Maria Gothario as a teen.

Also, I forgot to ask earlier but is Death-by-Volcanic-Activity a real possibility as with the Cottoneyes, or had you transformed a game glitch into a narrative opportunity?

There's no death from a volcano. I suppose your Sim could try to break open a volcanic rock before it cooled, but that would still be death from fire. It's all narrative.

Toby is delightful while Oddity and Lilith make such an unexpected pairing!

One last question about the Drama Club. I notice that a good number of your children are joining Drama Club (which I've never completed) instead of Scouting.
Do you decide which club on the basis of their traits in combination with their future career?

Drama Club has only 4 levels instead of the 5 for Scouting and requires level 3 Acting skill to get the last level. So the Sims have to be teens to complete it. And yes, I go with traits, possibly future career, and parents. Dion Caliente would have been happier as a Scout, but being descended from a famous actress pushed him into drama. Rosa Straud had the gloomy trait and is going to be a writer. I wish we had more clubs besides the ones we make ourselves.

[oshizu]

Thank you for your detailed response.
I've actually changed my rotation cycle to start and end at 11 pm on Sundays, allowing households to enjoy a two-day weekend.
I will be sure to check your tips about rotational gameplay and university when I'm ready. Still haven't had any of my sims graduate.

[reggikko]

Venusia is adorable and I like an Oddity and Lilith pairing. Poor Lilith is always the bridesmaid in most stories.