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

[reggikko]

I was thinking Oddity’s Hawaiian shirt and shorts were an homage to PT9 Smith.

[MarianT]

Oh, from TS2? I didn't play the Smiths much. By the way, are you planning to restart your Build-a-City challenge sometime around June 5?

[reggikko]

I’ve actually already restarted. I am really, really looking forward to Eco Lifestyle, though.

[MarianT]

Maria Gothario 5

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Shortly after Grandpa Don died, Mama Olivia told Vivian that she was sure her time was coming. "Don't say that," Vivian responded. "You're still young."

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But that night I looked out of the window and saw a gray hand snaking out of a column of black smoke. Like, that wasn't creepy or anything.

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I realized it was about time for Mama Olivia to come home from work, and sure enough, it was the Grim Reaper come to take her.

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I tried to plead for her. "No go, kid," he said. "You should have taken acting lessons."
"But my cousin Rosa took acting lessons, and they didn't work for her," I protested.

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I should have spared my breath. The Grim Reaper had made up his mind.

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I couldn't bear to watch, but Vivian and Angela didn't feel the same way. Luckily Mama Corn stayed sound asleep. We'll all miss her. Mama Olivia was always good for a joke if you were feeling blue or a piece of pie if you were hungry.

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I wonder if being a teen automatically makes you crazy. Angela doesn't want to associate with any of us, and Vivian has taken to teasing us about things that a kind-hearted person wouldn't mention.

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Like the fact that I'm quite a bit wider than Angela. My parents were both slender. My grandparents on Mama Corn's side were slender. But Rosa told me that my father's brother, Uncle Hugo, was pudgy. A great cook, but pudgy.

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Anyway, I'm kind of weird, too. I felt left out when Mama Corn and Vivian were talking and both had their backs to me. I wasn't jealous or anything. It was perfectly understandable that my mother would pay special attention to Vivian after Mama Olivia's death.

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But I did perk up when she gave me some pointers on my drawing.

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Thanks to Mama Corn, I reached the pinnacle of Scouting and became a Llamacorn.

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I spent the weekend doing homework (boring) and working on my Collector aspiration -- gathering up frogs...

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...fossils...

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...and I found a bunch of crystals on sale at the flea market. I met a nice man there named Karl Ratliff. And then I embarrassed myself by blowing flames out at him.

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(Watcher's note: This Karl actually showed up by accident in my story. If I had created him, I would have spelled his name correctly and given him better hair.)

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On Monday I came home from school with an A, and Mama Corn encouraged me to go ahead and get ready for college. I sent off my application as soon as I blew out the candles.

[MarianT]

Rosa Straud 3

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Exciting as it was to become a teen, I feel like my life didn't really start until I left adolescence behind.

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My parents marked the occasion by taking me out to dinner at a posh restaurant, Chez Llama. I was still wearing my very teen-like formal dress, but I'll soon update that to something more adult.

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I've had to wait a few days before I get my acceptance letter to the University of Britechester. During that time, I've heard this a lot, "Since you're not doing anything, Rosa, could you...apply mite treatment to the bees?

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"...repair that broken sink?

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"...play a game of chess with your father?"

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I went for a run just to get away from it all.

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And while I was gone, tragedy struck. Uncle Hugo collapsed in the basement, with only Sir Roland for company.

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"Please don't take him," I begged. "Not yet."
"Much you care," Grim snorted. "Sir Roland has told me about all the hours that your great-uncle Hugo has spent down here. Drinking juice. Alone."
It was only too true. I sobbed for a bit, but after a while I remembered that a whole hour had gone by since I'd checked the status of my university application.

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I was accepted! And not only accepted, but able to get a distinguished degree in language and literature at the University of Britechester.

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But first I would have to do something about my relatives. For some reason, my computer was the one everyone wanted to use. And if I was using it (playing The Sims Forever is research), then they wanted to be close to me. Or close to the computer so as to be first in line. Anyway, I took advantage of my status as a grown-up to lock my bedroom door as soon as everyone left.

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As a child I wrote plays for my puppets, and now I plan to write screenplays and perhaps romances. My favorite movie is Roaring Vice, although Simder is good, too. A friend told me that romances should be happy, but I disagree. The best romances are sad, too. The question was, what could I use for a plot?

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And then it came to me -- a vampire cured of everything but immortality, a happy marriage to the love of his life, and then, the death of his human wife.

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I lived it all as I typed -- his rage, his delight, his sorrow. It was a good thing I'd banished everyone from my room. They would have thought I was more than erratic, I was bonkers.

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But I didn't spend the entire semester writing a novel (Love Me Once, available soon). I did my homework, wrote my term paper, and put together a presentation.

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Allow me to show you the difference between a good, or normal, presentation...

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...and a great, or outstanding, one. Note that pictures dominate in the former, but there is more text, more substance, in the latter. While that astonishing playwright, Henrik Yibsim, is the subject of both, the second presentation provides more context and criticism.

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Between classes, I tried to gather experiences. So what if my mouth got singed at the Flea Market? I gathered up plenty of synonyms for "hot" -- burning, searing, flaming, lip-melting -- all useful for the romance writer.

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I'd hoped to experience an alien abduction, but apparently the umbrella put them off. Who knew that you could thwart an abduction just by carrying an umbrella?

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But the most life-changing experience came as I was on my way to my final exam. I was struck by lightning. Most people would regard that as a negative experience, but I was thrilled, awe-struck by the electricity coursing through my nerves. Now, when I wrote something like, "Maude felt like she was struck by lightning the first time she saw/kissed/woohooed with James," I would know what that felt like.

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And it impressed the professor that I showed up for the final when I could have gone to the infirmary with a legitimate excuse. I got an A+ in the class! In all my classes, to be honest, lucky me. Until next time...

[MarianT]

Toby Zest 3

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The day has come when my youth is over. I would have a midlife crisis except I'm too busy, what with being an investigative reporter and the mother of two boys, one of whom is a teen.

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Toby is changing, though. For a while I wondered whether we (or he) could survive his mood swings until it was time for college.

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But then someone came to talk to his class about ecology, and Toby now has a purpose in life. He told us all about it when we went out to dinner. "See, our footprint is way too big," he said. "We have to give back to the environment something other than carbon dioxide and pollution. Knox -- that's the guy who came to our class -- says we can make all of our furniture out of recycled stuff, and that's what I'm going to do."
"Including the television?" Dale asked me later.
I shrugged. "It's probably just a phase," I said.

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The next day Toby insisted we go up to the abandoned mansion at the top of the hill. "The city is going to make a community center out of it, but we get to decide what we want," he said. "I want it to be a place where people can make things, so will you guys vote for that? I think the Calientes are going for a community garden."

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But it took a while for the votes to come in, so we bought Toby his own fabrication machine. "This is great," he said. "I'll be able to make all kinds of things and sell them. It'll pay for itself, you'll see."

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In the meantime, though, he had to learn how to use it.

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"I'm okay," he assured me. "It's a perfectly natural medium, nothing to worry about."

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The bed was something he bought from a place called ReStore -- "It'll do until I can make my own" -- but the rug Toby made himself.
"Is it supposed to be that shape?" his father asked me.
"Hush," I said.

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Toby found an old handmade guitar that had been given to my mother, and decided to learn how to play it. "It's got so much character," he enthused. "Don't you think it sounds better than some soulless machine-made guitar?"
To be honest, no. But at least he was playing it in his bedroom, where no one else had to listen.

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The day finally came when we were able to tour the "new" Del Sol Valley Community Center, welcoming makers from all over. "I'm mostly interested in furniture, but I might try making fizzy juice, too," said Toby.
"That does sound interesting," Dale admitted.

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We've had a few more people come into our lives. Knox, Toby's inspiration, showed up to use our recycling machine. We had to get one because other people were always using the ones up at the Center when Toby wanted to. "It's great," said Toby. "He gets rid of his garbage, and we get to keep the recycled material."
Great.

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And speaking of garbage, Toby has made friends with the garbage collector. "There's your recyclables and your compostables," he told Toby. "The recyclables can go in your machine, and you can use your compostables in your garden."

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The third person that Toby has brought into our lives is a darling young lady, Vivian Kim-Lewis. Thanks to her influence, Toby is doing his homework more often. But he's also talking about going into the military instead of attending college. "I want to spend time making things rather than doing homework," he told me.
And he can get married sooner, too.

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Meanwhile, the youngest member of the Zest family is no longer a child.

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Isn't Nathan handsome? I have the best-looking sons in our world, if I do say so myself.
Over and out, Mimi Zest.

[oshizu]

I loved Rosa Straud's update so much!
And I do appreciate her both showing and telling us what makes an academic presentation excellent, rather than just normal.

Who will disagree with Mimi Zest's claim that she has the best-looking sons? Not I! Nathan's stunning!
Can't wait to see how Toby goes about improving their neighborhood's eco footprint!
My apologies but, after looking at the states for all three generations of Zests, I couldn't figure out where Toby now lives.
(And I wasn't paying enough attention in his previous updates.)
Since the new Community Space is in Del Sol Valley, may I assume that's where Toby lives, too?

[MarianT]

Yes, Toby lives in Del Sol Valley.

My apologies. It's so obvious to me where everyone lives that I probably haven't mentioned it. Here goes:

The Newbidas, Babs, Carl, Robin, Frank, Nadine, and a baby, are in Newcrest.
The Gotharios, Corn, Maria, Angel, and Vivian, are in Willow Creek.
The Calientes, Hugh, Nikita, Dion, and Luis, are in Del Sol Valley.
The Strauds, Vlad, Celeste, Brendon, Rosa, and Max Villareal, are in Windenburg.
The Landgraabs, Sterling, Claudia, Tiffany, and Nanette, are in Windenburg.
The Zests, Mimi, Dale, Toby, Nathan, and Yuki Behr, are in Del Sol Valley.
The Lee-Scotts, Faith, Heath, and Justice, are in Del Sol Valley.
The Curiouses, Brenna, Oddity, Zara, Venusia, and Deven are in Oasis Springs.
The Cottoneyes, Hank, Hope, and Jonah, are in Strangerville.
The Heckings, Grant, Elsa, Elspeth, Amanda, and a baby, are in Brindleton Bay.

I may start moving people around, but that's where they are now.

[MarianT]

Justice Lee-Scott 3

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It seemed to Justice as if his first week at university was spent entirely doing homework, but actually, he found plenty of other ways to spend his time.

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There was work to do around the house. Besides laundry, there were the ashes from a few lightning strikes to clean up.

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And then he started on the leaves.

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Playing in the leaves was fun.

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Burning them was even more fun, and did only a little damage to the environment.

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Not as much as his space exploration, for example. Justice gave a young stowaway a joy ride and managed to circle the moon without wrecking his ship. Exploring space might be harmful, but it was definitely fun.

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On Sunday, he met Angela Gothario at the Flea Market.

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They shot a few hoops until they got tired. Was it his imagination, or was the air quality not as pure as it used to be?

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While they were at the Flea Market, Justice saw that someone was selling a bunch of My Sims dolls. He remembered that his friend Frank had a wife who collected them, so he bought a few. Robin was very happy to get them as a gift, and became another of his good friends.

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Giving gifts and making friends netted Justice quite a few influence points, and he was able to vote in a Neighborhood Action Plan that he wanted -- Rock Your Body (and Mind). He told Frank all about it when they met at the gym.

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Frank spent several evenings attending guest lectures on Law. They didn't count towards his grade, but he felt that they were worthwhile. Also, the University of Britechester was beautiful in the autumn.

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He met Angela in front of the library one day near the end of the term. "We have got to do something about your hair," she told him. "Mama Corn knows all about style. She'll fix you up to look more like a budding member of the judiciary and less like someone who stuck his finger in a light socket."

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Sure enough, Mama Corn had some ideas. "That color is wrong for you, and you should start wearing shirts with ties," she said.
"But I love this hoodie," Justice protested.
"Do you want to make Chief, Justice?" she asked.
"Okay, I'll change it after this term," he agreed.

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When his report card came in, Justice had to give Angela a call. "Four A pluses out of four," he said.
"That's great!" she said. "Have you thought about re-doing your bedroom?"

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"No way," said Justice. "My grandmother upgraded that bed to give massages, and it's more comfortable than anything I could buy. And the bookshelf has a complete set of Simwood's Law. But you can have a free hand with the kids' rooms."
Angela giggled. "And what makes you think I might be interested in those?"
Justice blushed. "Sorry, I forgot you were still a teen. But you might be interested once I finish college, right?"
"Maybe," said Angela. "That's a long way off."
Too long, thought Justice.

[oshizu]

Thank you for sharing that list of where all your households live!
It's great to know which sims share the same neighborhood (in terms of NAPs).

No way," said Justice. "My grandmother upgraded that bed to give massages, and it's more comfortable than anything I could buy. And the bookshelf has a complete set of Simwood's Law. But you can have a free hand with the kids' rooms."

Great indirect proposal, Justice!  Good thing you're aiming to be a judge rather than a court attorney. 
I like that Angel was receptive!

[reggikko]

I’m glad to see you playing with the new pack. I’ve been trying out some of the new stuff, too, and having a great time with it. I have to ask how you get compostables. I did figure out that if you upgrade the toilet with the compost container and then add the compost to the grub box, you get biofuel or super fertilizer. I’ve only gotten the fertilizer once, though, and haven’t quite figured out the different uses for biofuel. I also added beetle and cricket boxes so I can see if one produces more of the fertilizer.

I am really liking Toby and his ecological consciousness. Poor Justice, having to give up both his beloved hoodie and his trendy hair.

[MarianT]

If you have the lot trait Reduce and Recycle (I think that's the name), you have the option to sort your trash into recyclables and compostables. I think you also have that option on the large dumpsters. If you have a recycling machine on your lot, your Sim will automatically go use it onc he's sorted out the recyclables; I'm not sure what he'll do with the compostables.

Justice still has the hoodie. Maybe he won't mind losing it once he gets to marry Angela.

[MarianT]

Oddity Curious 5

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Oddity was a little surprised when Lilith handed over their son. "He's going to be competition," she said, "and Caleb and I don't need competition."
"But won't you miss him?" Oddity asked.
Lilith shrugged. "I always knew it would come to this," she said. "And I'm not exactly the maternal type." She turned to walk away.
"What's his name?" Oddity asked.
"We just called him the baby," she said.
So Oddity put another bed in the nursery and named his son Vatore, after his mother.

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Vatore didn't look anything like the rest of the family, but he loved listening to stories, which Oddity took as a sign of similar interests.

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He was also fond of playing with the dollhouse and insisted that Oddity join him.

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Spooky Day arrived, and with it Venusia's birthday. A costumed Oddity helped her blow out the candles.

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Vatore dressed up for the holiday, too, as an elf.

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Venusia soon joined Zara at school.

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And after school, she enjoyed playing with the chemistry set.

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Zara was now an A student, but that didn't stop her from having mood swings.

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Vatore was very fond of his big sister.

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Everything was normal at the Curious household, barring the occasional forced visit to a spaceship.

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But one day, Oddity heard a strange rumor from the hairdresser at the Studio. "There's a strange computer virus going around," he said. "They call it Simid-4.1."

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When Oddity returned home, he discovered that Venusia had a headache. "And school has been cancelled until further notice," Zara told him. "They don't want more people getting sick."

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The virus affected plants as well -- money trees, especially.

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And soon Oddity noticed people outside on the street who seemed to be wearing paper bags.

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"It's to protect yourself from the virus," Lilith told him. "You need to get one for the baby."
"His name is Vatore," Oddity told her.

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Downstairs, Oddity's aunt Brenna was fixing lunch. "I've been furloughed," she said. "Everything has been shut down -- bars, restaurants, gyms, spas. If you can't work from home, forget it. You need to get a bag for your head; otherwise people will think you're trying to spread the virus."
Oddity looked at her in dismay. If Aunt Brenna wasn't working, and he wasn't working, and the money tree was dead, what would they use for an income?
"Oh, and the Eco-Inspector came by," Brenna added. "We're getting fined because we haven't upgraded any of our appliances."
"I haven't had time," said Oddity. "I've been taking classes and trying to take care of a toddler."
"You could try telling her that, but I doubt she'll listen," said Brenna.
Oddity groaned. Could things get any worse? And then he got his report card for the term -- an A-, a B+, and a D. A D? Maybe that was the class he'd fallen asleep in. Well, there went his A+ average. And where was he going to find a paper bag?

[oshizu]

What does Lilith mean about the noooboo being "competition."  Competition for what?
It's nice for Venusia and Vatore to have a half-sibling close to their own age, though.

Sorry about your report card, Oddity! Poor Oddity has so much on his plate these days!

[MarianT]

What does Lilith mean about the noooboo being "competition."  Competition for what?

Vatore is another vampire rather than an alien.