The Behr Necessities BACC, Norma, Week One

[oshizu]

The Behrs had an awesome first day for their comeBACC.  It's true what Justin Timberlake says!
Haha, I wasn't sure about the sketchpads, so my sims waited until they got Electricity & Plumbing.
So, I checked our boi Bowen's trait to see why he had the best reputation.
So his Good trait compensates for his being Hotheaded?

As for the Tiny Living pack, I'm just paying it forward because I received it as a gift earlier this year from our Immortal Dynasty moderator, @sdhoey . 🥰
As for parties, I'd thought my game was bugged but I see your sims also get the random, uninvited peeps on their lot.

I get the feeling that Clara might be staying at Pebble Burrow...

[sdhoey]

The Behrs had an awesome first day for their comeBACC.  It's true what Justin Timberlake says!
Haha, I wasn't sure about the sketchpads, so my sims waited until they got Electricity & Plumbing.
So, I checked our boi Bowen's trait to see why he had the best reputation.
So his Good trait compensates for his being Hotheaded?

As for the Tiny Living pack, I'm just paying it forward because I received it as a gift earlier this year from our Immortal Dynasty moderator, @sdhoey . 🥰
As for parties, I'd thought my game was bugged but I see your sims also get the random, uninvited peeps on their lot.

I get the feeling that Clara might be staying at Pebble Burrow...

Well geez, your welcome again. I figured you would love it and would like to play it in your stories that were going on. But that skilling boost is awesome.

[PeregrineTook]

I feel for Bowen. Maybe we'll get psychotherapy in time for him to make use of it.

Yeah, Bowen is a fun character.  The classic loveable loser figure.  And yes, we'll make sure he gets all the therapy he can handle  ;=)

The Behrs had an awesome first day for their comeBACC.  It's true what Justin Timberlake says!
Haha, I wasn't sure about the sketchpads, so my sims waited until they got Electricity & Plumbing.
So, I checked our boi Bowen's trait to see why he had the best reputation.
So his Good trait compensates for his being Hotheaded?

As for the Tiny Living pack, I'm just paying it forward because I received it as a gift earlier this year from our Immortal Dynasty moderator, @sdhoey . 🥰
As for parties, I'd thought my game was bugged but I see your sims also get the random, uninvited peeps on their lot.

I get the feeling that Clara might be staying at Pebble Burrow...

Well, whatever stuff Bowen had accomplished as a member of the Behr household prior to being imported here built up that reputation.  Michelle, on teh other hand, actually started with a negative reputation, no doubt due to that mean trait.
Clara will at least stay in the same world as Pebble Burrow  ;=)
Well, regardless of the reason for your generosity, it is hugely appreciated and you deserve to be praised for your kindness!

The Behrs had an awesome first day for their comeBACC.  It's true what Justin Timberlake says!
Haha, I wasn't sure about the sketchpads, so my sims waited until they got Electricity & Plumbing.
So, I checked our boi Bowen's trait to see why he had the best reputation.
So his Good trait compensates for his being Hotheaded?

As for the Tiny Living pack, I'm just paying it forward because I received it as a gift earlier this year from our Immortal Dynasty moderator, @sdhoey . 🥰
As for parties, I'd thought my game was bugged but I see your sims also get the random, uninvited peeps on their lot.

I get the feeling that Clara might be staying at Pebble Burrow...

Well geez, your welcome again. I figured you would love it and would like to play it in your stories that were going on. But that skilling boost is awesome.

Yes, the skilling boost is absolutely awesome, and I guess I have you to thank for being the recipient of the hand-me-down kindness  :=)

[PeregrineTook]

After a wonderfully productive first day, we return to our starting lot in Oasis Springs to check in on the Behrs.



Shanna:  So, why did you want me to change into my formal wear?
Michelle:  It makes you look so much more girly...and might discourage our siblings from calling you a guy.
Caitlyn:  Teehee, Shanna's dressed like a girl!
Shanna:  I am a girl!



Shanna:  But why is Clara also in her formal wear?
Clara:  There might be boys around!  I thought I'd show off how pretty I am!
Michelle:  Can't interact with the townies yet.
Clara:  Exactly, show but not tell!
Michelle:  Umm, ok.  Well, why don't you guys eat and get ready for your days while I just look in the mirror and get my flirt on.



Clara:  But you said we can't interact with the townies yet!
Michelle:  No, sweetie, I just need to paint three emotional paintings and this was the easiest way to get that done.



Michelle:  Alright, we have one repeat for parties, so let's do that kava thing again.
Norma:  (sigh) I'm on it.



Bowen:  So are...these the random townies...we shouldn't...interact with?
Norma:  Sure we can't interact with them, but I just know they're talking about me!



Clara:  I'm not talking to these boys, but if I were, I'd tell them to go ahead and take a nice long look at me!
These Boys:  (take a nice long look)
Michelle:  (sigh) Thanks for almost doing as requested, Clara.
Clara:  You are almost welcome!
And with another successful party in the books, the Behrs return to their skilling.



And these random fellows stay around and play Don't Wake the Llama.
Clara:  Oh poo!  I wanna go play with the boys!
Caitlyn:  I still wanna play with the dinosaur.
Shanna:  I want to do something other than play with the sketchpad.
Michelle:  But we have managed to get all these great paintings of the family.



Michelle:  And Bow has sculpted some excellent work, haven't you, big guy?



Bowen:  Umm...weird guys...staring at me...?
Clara:  Oh poo!  Stare at me, weird guys!!
Michelle:  Alright, a little more skilling time and then let's do a sunset wiener roast.
Caitlyn:  A what?
Michelle:  (sigh) The fire party.
Caitlyn:  YES!!!



Norma:  And of course Clara stays on the end with the guys.
Shanna:  I'm not a guy!
Caitlyn:  I'm cooking a stick!!!



Shanna:  Congrats, sis!  I thought for sure you'd catch on fire again!
Norma:  Well, if Michelle hadn't stopped her, Caitlyn was going to try to roast me over the fire.
Shanna:  ...that sounds like Caitlyn.
Norma:  Shouldn't you or Bowen have come to the rescue of a damsel in distress?
Shanna:  Not a guy!!
Michelle:  One more party left, let's knock out the stupid keg one.
Caitlyn:  I'll break it open!!



Caitlyn:  OHH!!!  It's magic splooshy juice!!!
Michelle:  The tap.  Put the tap in it!!
And with a tap inserted, the draining of the keg commences.



Shanna:  Ugh, I can't wait until we finish this and can tell the townies that's not a public restroom!
Caitlyn:  Heh heh, you're wearing girl clothes.
Shanna:  I'm a girl!!
Michelle:  Well, final non-keg-draining requirement is play an instrument.



Michelle:  Moonlight Sonata, coming up.
Violin:  Screech screech screEEeeEEEEEeeeEECCHH!
Michelle:  Well, in my defense, I've never touched an instrument before.  Anyway, party complete, townies unlocked, sleeping time!
And the next day...



Norma:  Hope you like the breakfast I made.
Caitlyn:  What's that, breakfast?  Norma's ugly?
Norma:  I knew someone was talking about me!!!



Clara:  Woot!  Leveling up the charisma!  Getting ready to talk to some boys!!
Shanna:  Yeah, you have fun with that, I'm just gonna take the trash to...wait a mintue!



Shanna:  Hi, I'm Shanna.
Mollie:  Oh, hey, Shanna.  I'd heard there was a really cute guy living on this lot.
Shanna:  Oh...you mean Bowen?
Mollie:  No, when I said "a really cute guy," I meant you.
Shanna:  ...yeah, I'm a guy.  Your guy, even, if you want.



Mollie:  Oh, I want!
But Shanna wasn't the only one who was chatting up a local.



Norma:  Wow, your sideburns are so fluffy!
Sideburns Guy:  Yeah, my wife likes 'em.
Norma:  Wife?  Oh.  Wife.  I...have to go cook or something.
But coming from the opposite direction was a random townie who looked like a Bowen clone.



See the resemblance?



Sideburns:  ...so yeah, the missus and I were thrilled when we heard we had new neighbors!
Bowen:  Seriously does...no one notice...the tent?
Michelle:  Ignore that!  Shanna is just spending some time with her new friend.  Nothing to see here.  Move along, people.
So, with townies and retail lots unlocked, we leave to Behrs to continue skilling...and building relationships, in Shanna's case, until next time when we see how the remainder of week one goes.

[reggikko]

Great restart! Listen, though, follow the rules as best you can, but don't sweat not getting everything exactly right. If I had seen this sooner I'd have told you to just hold the other 3 parties. This isn't like a Dynasty. You can't fail it.

Anyway, your Behrs are doing great! Looking forward to them getting their own places and seeing the Behr-boos.

[PeregrineTook]

Great restart! Listen, though, follow the rules as best you can, but don't sweat not getting everything exactly right. If I had seen this sooner I'd have told you to just hold the other 3 parties. This isn't like a Dynasty. You can't fail it.

Anyway, your Behrs are doing great! Looking forward to them getting their own places and seeing the Behr-boos.

Thanks, but I'm actually rather pleased with the restart.  Having Tiny Living in place significantly increased the skill boosting and I felt more like I had a solid plan this time.  Plus, I like that we've all started in Oasis Springs now.
I'm excited to see more of the Behrboos as well!!  In-game I've finished one and a half weeks of the rotational weeks (so 2 1/2 weeks of the file), but I've only seen one of the kiddos.  I'm trying not to spoil the baby and toddler spam too much by having them appear in screenshots before I actually get to their households.

[PeregrineTook]

We rejoin the Behr household in their final days together before the first week ends and we move into separate households.



Caitlyn:  I'm just gonna poke the tower with this stick!
Bowen:  I...don't think that's...how the game...works.



Clara:  Why are NO BOYS coming to our lot to see me?!?!?
Bowen:  She...seems kind of...
Caitlyn:  Heh heh!  Train wreck!!  Wreckwreckwreck!
Michelle:  Bowen, why don't you get back to woodworking and I'll try to talk Clara off the ledge.
Bowen:  That sounds...like...a plan.
Michelle:  Clara, sweetie, would you make me one of your lovely sand sculptures?



Clara:  Of course!!  It's a hippopotamus and it's a better sculpture than what Bowen's carving and it's better looking than him!
Bowen:  (sigh) She's...probably right.
Michelle:  Hmm, maybe we need to help him out..



Michelle:  So, Shanna, maybe you could help find someone for Bow?
Shanna:  I mean, I could certainly try.  In fact...



Shanna:  Hi!  You have cool blue hair and you're not unattractive.
Virginia:  Umm, you're bad at flirting and I'm not interested.
Shanna:  Oh, no, not that.  I'm taken.  But my brother, he would find you not unpleasant to look at.
Virginia:  You're bad at persuasion, but I've got some free time since I'm a pizza delivery girl in a town with no real houses.
Shanna:  Great!  C'mon!



Bowen:  Oh...hi...my name...is Bowen.
Virginia:  Are you having an asthma attack?
Bowen:  No, I...just have...trouble coming up with...what to say.
Virginia:  Oh, that's kinda awkwardly cute, actually.  I'm Virginia.
Bowen:  Your hair...is pretty.
Virginia:  Yours is partially absent, but again, it's awkwardly cute.
Michelle:  Either she has really weirdly convenient taste or our brother's smoother than we thought.
The Sisters:  She's weird.
Michelle:  Clara, are you thinking about how to get your garden to grow better?



Clara:  No, just planning how to meet boys...
Michelle:  Well, top marks for consistency, I guess.  And Caitlyn is so...



Caitlyn:  Woot!  Throw the things!!
Michelle:  (sigh) consistent as well.
Shanna:  Hey, I just finished that last masterpiece we need, so that means...



Michelle and Shanna:  we can open a museum!!



And so Michelle and Shanna admire or view 3 pieces of art each in a museum for the Painter Extraordinaire aspiration.
Michelle:  Yeah, it's basically just us looking at our own work and some sculptures Bowen did, so I guess it's technically vanity.
Shanna:  I'm proud of us.  I think we're cool.  I wish we were us.
Michelle:  Umm, good news, we are.
Shanna:  Woot!



Paulina:  Hey there, is your handsome brother single?
Michelle:  Aren't you married to the dude with the sideburns?
Paulina:  I don't see how that's related to my question.
And speaking of girls who are interested in boys...



Clara:  Boom!  You love me!!
Grey-haired Young Adult:  I do!  I really do!!!



Clara:  Boom!!  You love me too!!!
Pink-haired Young Adult:  I do too!!  I really do too!!!



Clara:  Boom!!!  You love me!
Sideburns Guy:  I'm...married...?
Clara:  Stop changing the subject!!
And while Clara finally gets to interact with some boys...
Clara:  Hellooooooooooo, boys!
Bowen finally gets to stop interacting with chunks of wood.



Bowen:  So much...woodworking...finally...finished.
Michelle:  Great work, Bow!  I knew you could do it!  And look, Clara's talking to the plants to stimulate the garden.



Clara:  ...and of course they all fell immediately in love with me, but I mean, you guys aren't surprised, amirite?
Plants:  ...
Clara:  Aww, thanks!  It's so sweet of you to say that!
Michelle:  I mean, it's still talking to plants, so it's gotta help, right?
And since Bowen and Shanna had both maxed their chosen skills, that freed up their time to talk to some special people.



Shanna:  Ooooohhh!!!  Look at this adorable tummy bundle of joy!!
Mollie:  Actually, Norma's just a really good cook and I was pigging out while you were skilling.
Shanna:  But, I thought we...
Mollie:  I'm messing with you!!  We're having a baby!!
Shanna and Mollie:  SSQQUUEEEEEE!!!!
Yes, Shanna can impregnate other Sims.  Well, this other Sim specifically.  But those two weren't the only ones having a special moment.



Clara:  'scuse me!  Hope I'm not interrupting a special moment or anything!
Bowen:  Oh, I...you weren't...
Virginia:  I think you were about to ask me something, Bow Bow?
Bowen:  Oh, right...would you...maybe want...to be...my wife...please?
Virginia:  I do!!
And then she said I do again.  And of course, they honeymooned in a tent.



Virginia:  Ok, this is certainly unique.  You promise we're getting a real house, right?
Bowen:  For you...my love...anything.
Virginia:  Awww!!
And after some tent time, they move out to build that real house and our first Behr is moved to a separate lot.  Meantime, something else happened on another separate lot.



Shanna:  Tada!!  I own a store!!  A weird-looking store!  A store where I sell my paintings!!  I call it Behrly Painted!
Michelle:  Excellent work, Shanna!  You just got us another settler!  Maybe now you can work on getting those last few masterpieces to complete Painter Extraordinaire so we can unlock Glimmerbrook.
Shanna:  (sigh) I just want time with my wife.
Mollie:  Umm, then maybe you should propose so I can actually be your wife?
Caitlyn:  A proposal?!?!?



Caitlyn:  Drinks all around!!
Michelle:  Umm, sweetie?  Those bottles are olive oil, prune juice, and soda.
Caitlyn:  Keeps you slick, regular, and energized!
Michelle:  Ewwww...alright, no one try the drinks Caitlyn's making.



Clara:  Hey, Paulina!  When you're busy heading off to try to woo my brother, I'd be happy to keep an eye on your husband for you!
Paulina:  Well, aren't you just the sweetest little thing?
Clara:  Yes!  I am!
And speaking of sweet things...



Shanna:  Mollie, my love and my life, you make me want to be a better man.
Mollie:  Oh, sweetie, you're more man than I deserve, but I'm so glad you love me anyway.



Shanna:  I vow to love, cherish, and honor you and to be all snuggly and lovey.
Mollie:  And I vow to hold you to that!



Michelle:  You two are so adorable!  And it's disgusting.  Like, it's really disgusting and I think the rest of us should move out and let you have this lot.

And so, we reach the end of our first week.  In this week, the following accomplishments have occurred:

• Bowen unlocked electricity by maxing handiness
• Townies, retail lots, and odd jobs were opened by completing five gold medal parties
• 2 new settlers from Norma and Clara maxing charisma
• 1 new settler from unlocking retail lots
• 1 new settler from unlocking museum
• 1 new settler from building a retail store
• Glimmerbrook unlocked from Shanna completing Painter Extraordinaire
• Del Sol Valley unlocked from Shanna reaching 2 stars of fame from selling paintings to collectors
• Traveling opened (with the Behrs moving to 6 separate lots and 5 new settlers being placed on 4 additional lots) as long as Caitlyn accompanies the traveler since she maxed Photography (and a $5,000 Simolean fee is paid)
• Services unlocked due to having 10 households
• Tech Guru career opened from unlocking electricity and Freelancer career opened from unlocking townies and electricity
• Art Critic career from unlocking museum
• Retail Employee part-time job from building a retail store

All in all, a rather successful first week!

[oshizu]

Wow, so many achievements during your first week!
Awww, Clara had to abandon her little garden (but I'm sure she took a little of everything with her).

Can't wait to see what your world looks like with all the Behrs living on their own!
Also, I have a big soft spot for awkward Bowne. Glad he found someone.

[reggikko]

Great update! Those are some serious accomplishments. Don't mind me as I plod along over here.

It's really fun seeing our different approaches and priorities unfold.

[MarianT]

Wow, you're moving along! Happy that Bowen has found a wife, and Clara has found a husband. Not hers, but...(okay, old joke).

[PeregrineTook]

Wow, so many achievements during your first week!
Awww, Clara had to abandon her little garden (but I'm sure she took a little of everything with her).

Can't wait to see what your world looks like with all the Behrs living on their own!
Also, I have a big soft spot for awkward Bowne. Glad he found someone.

I like the idea of giving Clara multiple gardens to work on to skill up more quickly  :=)  It also provides more spots for more Sims to gather any cooking or potion ingredients, so that's not too shabby!
I'm actually rather fond of Bowen as well, despite how I tend to write him as the inferior one  ;=)

Great update! Those are some serious accomplishments. Don't mind me as I plod along over here.

It's really fun seeing our different approaches and priorities unfold.

Eh, "plodding" is a relative term.  I've done almost nothing at all with careers and such, so definitely plodding in that regard  ;=)
And yes, I agree that it's really fun to see how we're all taking on this same challenge but prioritizing things and developing things so differently  :=)

Wow, you're moving along! Happy that Bowen has found a wife, and Clara has found a husband. Not hers, but...(okay, old joke).

Hahaha, yes.  Clara did, indeed, find a husband.  That was a good one!

[PeregrineTook]

After a successful first week as a full group, the Behrs each move to their own lots and our additional five settlers move in transitioning us to rotational play.  For the first week, we'll be with the leader of the group, Michelle.
Michelle:  I dub our new world Behrtopia.  Of course, since I'm ruling as its queen, I suppose I need a castle.  Well, mini-castle, anyway.



Michelle:  And not only is my home a glorious mini-castle, it also counts as a tiny house with only 59 tiles.  Gotta get that skill boost!  Here's the downstairs...



Michelle:  and the upstairs.



Michelle:  Alright, time to go on a trip.  Are you coming, Caitlyn?



Caitlyn:  Woot!  I'm here!!  Why am I here?
Michelle:  You maxed photography, so we'll all need to bring you along any time we're traveling.
Caitlyn:  Woot!  Road trip!!



Michelle:  Something like that.  Portal trip might be a bit more fitting.



Michelle:  Alright, Caitlyn, I've got important magic things to do, I need you to try not to burn anything down.
Caitlyn:  I can't make any promises.



Michelle:  Hey, sage of practical magic, could I bribe you to make me into a spellcaster?
Miley:  Oooo, I like bribes!!!
Michelle:  K, I'm gonna get my mote hunting on.



Michelle:  Alright, let's trade these for phenomenal cosmic powers to go with my itty bitty living space!



Michelle:  Alright, here are your motes, will you turn me into a spellcaster now?
Miley:  Actually, you don't need me to do anything.  The power was within you all along.
Michelle:  Really?
Miley:  Of course not!  That's why there's this whole mote gathering thing and magical ritual, silly!
Michelle:  Are you sure your not the sage of mischief magic?
Miley:  Heh heh.
Michelle:  Ooookay.  I'm just gonna loot your bookshelves now.



Michelle:  Oh, and I may loot you of this amazing teen as well!  Bare minimum you're spouse material for one of our founders, but I am planning to max charisma so I can add a settler this week...
Rieko:  SQUEEE!!!I mean...yeah, I'll be your protégé.
Michelle:  My protégé.  Yeah, I like the sound of that.  Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna experiment to see if I can learn some more potions.  I think I'll try to nail the spellcraft and sorcery and purveyor of potions aspirations.  Because I'm awesome.
Rieko:  (sigh) Yeah she is.



Michelle:  Oh, and painter extraordinaire.  I had gotten partway through that one in week one, so...
Rieko:  Hey, mentor!  Wanna duel?
Michelle:  Sure, just as soon as...wait a minute...



Michelle:  Did you change outfits?
Rieko:  Oh (blushing) you noticed?
And Rieko would showcase about five different outfits in the span of Michelle's eight hours in the Realm of Magic.  Meantime, Michelle hit up all of the sages for potion recipes and to learn spells.



Michelle:  Thanks for sharing your magic knowledge with me.
Johan:  And a little extra knowledge for you:  I'm single!
Michelle:  And I'm so glad you are comfortable with your singleness.  You just embrace that, buddy.
Johan:  ...not what I meant...



Michelle:  Ooo, you should not embrace being single!  You are definite spouse material!
Gabriela:  Don't get me wrong, you're gorgeous, but I actually like guys.
Michelle:  Yeah, I meant spouse material for one of the guys we moved in to town.  Sorry, I should have led with that.
Gabriela:  Oh, in that case, I'm in, boss!
Michelle:  Excellent.  You shall be part of my entourage.



Michelle:  And Alex Hope will not be part of the entourage.  Although, she does have spouse potential as a weird, quirky type.  I mean, she's kind of like a Wal-Mart version of Harley Quinn.  Not the Gucci version.  Maybe more of the Dollar Store version, but a nice quirky type.  Second hand store version, maybe.  Anyway, time to head home.  Let's go, entourage!
Rieko and Gabriela:  Alright!!
Alex:  Ok...wait.  Where'd everybody go?  Without me?



Michelle:  Alright, I've already won one duel, so let's knock out two more for my aspiration!
Rieko:  Oh, sorry, I won.  Was that not what was supposed to happen?
Gabriela:  My turn!



Gabriela:  HaHA!!!  Oh, I mean, sorry, boss!
Michelle:  Why am I so bad at dueling?!?
And as she continued trying to win duels, but failing, Michelle got a curse that made her even worse at dueling.
Michelle:  UGH!  Dueling is the worst.



Rieko:  It's okay, Michelle.  We still love you!
Gabriela:  Yeah, boss, but in a purely pleutonic way.
Rieko:  Oh, umm, well, ya know...
Michelle:  K, well, if you'll excuse me, I'm just gonna go max charisma.
Rieko:  (sigh) She's so awesome!



Michelle:  Alright, charisma maxed, so I can move in a new settler...
Rieko:  She means me!!
Michelle:  And if I can knock out an aspiration, maybe we can get even more...
Rieko:  More of me?
Michelle:  Think I'll head to the museum to try to get those final masterpieces I need to finish painter extraordinaire, hopefully without too much distraction.



Gabriela:  Hey, boss!  What are you doing here?
Michelle:  Just trying to finish these paintings without any distraction.
Random Vest Guy:  Well, hello, pretty lady!



Caitlyn:  Oooo, everybody look!!!  See that girl in the painting on the bottom?  She's so pretty!!  Prettyprettypretty!!!  I wish I was that pretty.
Michelle:  Yeah, I'm gonna go work somewhere else.



Michelle:  Back where it all started.  Oh, and look.  Shanna and Mollie had a little troll.  How nice.
Emilee:  Ani Shell!!!
Michelle:  Yes, I'm Aunt Michelle.  Now go find a parent to play with, I have to paint.
And Michelle does get those final masterpieces and heads home to finish up that duel requirement.



Michelle:  Woot!  That's win number three.  Thanks, Rieko!
Rieko:  OOW!!!  Sure, anything for you, Michelle! So...can I move in now?
And as we come to the end of Michelle's first week, she has maxed charisma, maxed painting to move us one step closer to unlocking the art center lot, become a master spellcaster and is just a touch away from hitting virtuoso and therefore completing both magic aspirations, and she completed painter extraordinaire in addition to finding glorious spouse options and a new settler, not to mention getting 3 out of the 4 levels of Fabulously Wealthy completed.  Things are truly going well for Michelle and the Behr Necessities BACC!

[MarianT]

I like Michelle's tiny castle. My spellcasters have trouble with dueling, too. It looks great, but then they lose.

[oshizu]

Isn't Michelle asking to lose if she duels a Sage?
I don't understand what's wrong with Alex Pope...undesirable traits?

Also, how did I miss Shanna's nooboo aging up to toddler during that communal camping week?

[PeregrineTook]

I like Michelle's tiny castle. My spellcasters have trouble with dueling, too. It looks great, but then they lose.

Thanks!  I was really pleased with how the castle turned out.  A suitable abode for the ruler of Behrtopia, I think  ;=)
Yeah, duels can look so misleading!

Isn't Michelle asking to lose if she duels a Sage?
I don't understand what's wrong with Alex Pope...undesirable traits?

Also, how did I miss Shanna's nooboo aging up to toddler during that communal camping week?

She didn't duel any of the sages, just Gabriela and Rieko (and one or two random Sims in the Magic Realm).
Alex Pope is adorably doofy-looking,but that just didn't fit Michelle's apathetically cool vibe  :=)
Shanna's toddler aged up during Michelle's week.  As the first week of rotation, I had aging on for all households.