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

[MarianT]

Mimi Zest and Faith Lee-Scott 1

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Mimi and Faith have been getting together to compare notes.

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"Have they got you doing repairs?" Mimi asked. "You'd think they might let me get some experience, start out with a sink or two, but no -- 'the computer's broken, just pop open the back and dig around with a screwdriver, that should fix it.'
"No, but Mom upgraded a lot of stuff before handing over to me," said Faith.

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"Lucky you," said Mimi. "Anyway, I have a favor to ask. I was able to get almost a complete collection of snow globes when I went to the flea market, so if you come across the one I'm missing..."
"Which one is that?" asked Faith.
"Well, I won't know until I get it, but it's a rare one," said Mimi.

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"Anyway, to report on our prospective spouses:" she continued.

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"Frank Straud is still a child, a little ugly, but with a nice, self-assured personality. He likes to play chess.

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"Dale Cottoneye is still a child, but cute, and a budding genius. And --?"

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"I met Heath Pancakes," said Faith. "He's kind of cute and has a good heart, but a hot temper.

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"Oh, and his mother died recently, so she won't be a problem. I don't know what his sisters are like. He has two, Elsa and Ericka. Heath and I have become good friends..."
"And so have Dale and I," said Mimi.
"Which kind of leaves Frank Straud for Corn."
"Fine with me," said Mimi. "She's always been all 'the Goths and Lotharios have been around forever.' I'd say that little Frank is the only one aristocratic enough for her."

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Faith went home and took a picture with her sister Hope, the last picture before she left her teen years behind.

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She then blew out the candles on her cake, becoming a young woman who was creative, squeamish, and a snob, but also a responsible mediator with good manners.

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Hope moved her bedroom downstairs, and Faith converted her room to something more adult. She put her old school projects up on a desk and added the computer, chair, and picture that her mother Liberty had picked up during her brief stint as a writer. Then she took a job as a critic and invited her friend Babs Newbie over.

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"You're still going with Roy Bheeda?" she asked.
"We're not going together," said Babs. "We can't, as long as I'm a teen. Why do you ask?"
"Mimi and I were trying to figure out who the eligible bachelors would be," said Faith. "So is Roy one of them?"
Babs sighed. "I don't know. I mean, right now, we're just friends."
"So if Mimi started flirting with him, it wouldn't bother you."
Babs glared at her and then laughed. "Mimi's younger than I am, so she can't flirt with him yet. You're just trying to get me riled up."
"Guilty as charged," said Faith.

[MarianT]

Babs Newbie and Hugh Caliente 1

Babs gave me some excerpts from her diary, and Hugh had much to report.

Babs Newbie

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I've started keeping a journal. It's supposed to help me control my emotions. Personally, I think my emotions are fully under control; it's just that my parents stress me out.

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Like Mom, asking me for the hundredth time whether I'm sure that I want to go exploring creepy old temples in Salvadorada. "You know the insects there are twice the size of the ones in Newcrest," she said.
"Mom, Faith's the squeamish one, not me," I answered.
And she made me promise to stay out of the jungle until I became an adult.

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So I took a day trip to Selvadorada and admired the statue of the Madre.

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And did some fishing. It really is beautiful here.

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Since I couldn't go exploring yet, I spent the weekend working as a manual laborer. The best thing about the job was that I got to work with Roy, who was a backhoe operator. And the worst thing was that Roy crunched one of my flats of petunias, so that I had to go buy some more. But he was very contrite and promised to come over for my birthday.

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Mom was playing the violin when he arrived. He stayed listening to her while I was blowing out the candles, which was kind of a bummer. On the other hand, Mom really is a virtuoso violinist, so I can't blame him. And now that I am not a teen any more, my parents don't seem so annoying. Go figure.

Hugh Caliente

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Hugh immediately signed up for his military duty. Since his first task was to practice sparring, he challenged Max Villareal when he ran into him at the gym. It was a friendly match, but Hugh was pretty sure that if they'd been keeping score, he'd have won hands down.

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Since it was Prank Day, Hugh offered to shake hands afterwards. Unwisely, Max agreed.

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Hugh next invited Nikita Haas over. "I have to get a promotion in the military," he said, "but once I do that, I can do whatever I want. I'm planning to become a fashion photographer. What do you think?"
"I don't know," said Nikita. "All those beautiful models..."

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To practice for when he could start his career, Hugh took a picture of his mother and Brisbane.

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As he'd predicted, Hugh got his promotion quickly. To celebrate, he took Nikita to dinner at the Villa Bovine.

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Afterwards, he invited her to move in. When she agreed, he proposed.

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Nikita was thrilled to accept, even though marrying Hugh meant that she would have to have at least one child. Nikita, it turned out, is a creative goofball who hated children.

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But they got married anyway.

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The next day Nikita accidentally set herself on fire when trying to do the laundry. Luckily, the flames were put out in time. Hugh resigned from the military and signed up for freelance photography.

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His first assignment was to do sleepwear. Since the client was interested in sleepwear for children, Hugh set up his backdrop and assumed that he would get a couple of children as models. He was wrong. Hugh thought the pictures he took were the worst ever, but the client was happy, and Hugh completed his first job. He was good friends with his model by the time he finished, and Hugh realized the job would help with his aspiration to become a friend of the world.

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And the next day, he got the news from Nikita that he was about to become a father.

[MarianT]

Cosma Curious 1

Cosma has been very busy lately.

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It took her a while to make up her mind about Stephon and Tom. Stephon was erratic, but Tom was jealous. Which would be easier to live with?

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When her father Pascal was abducted again, she realized that she would have to decide soon. If anyone was abducted and came back pregnant, there wouldn't be any room for her husband and child.

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She decided to pick Stephon.

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He wasn't the ideal choice, preferring to shower outside whenever it was raining -- which in winter in Oasis Springs was often.

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Uncle Lazlo had to warn Brenna to stay inside while Stephon was out showering.

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But as soon as the rain stopped, she was able to get out on the monkey bars.

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Stephon also managed to set fire to himself while fixing his breakfast.

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And he was abducted, too.

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But by that time, Cosma was pregnant and feeling carefree.

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Grief, or rather the Grim Reaper, soon came to the Curious household, when their cat Enigma died.

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Pascal, Stephon, and Lazlo watched in horror as Grim took Enigma's soul.

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It wasn't long before Stephon had another horrifying experience. But this time it was a happy event.

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Cosma had been wondering whether the baby would turn out to be green like her or purple like Stephon. But in alien genetics, when you combine purple and green, you get blue, apparently.

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She loved her little boy instantly, though, and named him Oddity.

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Not long after Oddity was born, Enigma showed up to indicate her approval, and also get a cat treat.

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Oddity soon became a toddler and the apple of his grandfather's eye.

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Being silly, he loved playing with his mother.

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Making messes, too, were among his favorite activities.

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And bathtime was great fun, splashing Cosma just before she left for work.

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But sometimes Oddity just liked to sit in his high chair and plot. Should he finish his peas or send them scooting across the room? Life was full of difficult decisions.

[MarianT]

Hank Cottoneye and Grant Hecking 1

As a young adult, Hank was expected to join the military...

Hank Cottoneye

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First thing the next morning, Dad tells me to salute. "You don't smile while you're doing it," he corrected my first attempt. "You're not in a beauty pageant."

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Speaking of beauty pageants, my little brother Dale is a teen now and very good-looking. He's also a genius and bookworm. I expect there to be some competition among the dynasty heiresses for his affections.

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But back to my plight. In order to get out of the military, I have to get a promotion, and to get a promotion, I have to improve my fitness. That means sparring with Dad's favorite robot.

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And also early morning (or late-night) jogs around town. That's when I ran into this creepy person. They don't call it Strangerville for nothing. Or, as Dad says, sometimes being paranoid just makes sense.

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Anyway, after work, I went over to the gym for some more practice. Not only do I want to get my promotion, I also want to be able to defend myself.

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Speaking of Dad, he's the top brass now, the Grand Marshal, the big cheese. I'm happy for him, but the military is not going to be my career. I'm hoping I'll be able to make enough money from selling stuff to the Simsonian, or maybe through fishing. We had some more volcanic activity the other night, so I was able to break open 2 lava bombs. And I can always find frogs.

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One last thing -- while Mom was at work, Dad and Dale and I watched the season premiere of "Peach is the New Orange." We couldn't watch it when Mom was at home because she would have kept saying things like "Why would you boys be interested in a program about fashion design?" And of course none of us could tell her it was because Katrina Caliente is pretty hot stuff. Dad couldn't because Mom would get jealous, and Dale and I couldn't because she'd say, "But she's old enough to be your mother. She's at least as old as me if not older." Which is not what you want to hear when you're admiring someone's physique. Mom is a beautiful woman, don't get me wrong, but I don't think of her that way.

Grant Hecking

I'm calling my journal Of Matters Magical and Personal because I'll be covering both.

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On the magical side, the first spell I learned was one to give someone else an electric shock. My teacher didn't tell me that it might backfire and give the shock to me.

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I also learned how to make the Potion of Plentiful Needs. This is very helpful, but I've found that it doesn't always work. Like a spell, potions can backfire, I think.

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Back to personal. Brant and Brent noticed that my grades were starting to slip. So before I went anywhere magical, they insisted that I do some homework. If there's a spell for getting your grades up, I don't know it yet.

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Finally I could go and study some more. This time I got in touch with Willow's teacher, Simeon Sweaterwearer, or something like that. He taught me a spell that both dads agree is useful -- Repairio.

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And it even worked -- not only the first time, when I tried it on the downstairs toilet, but also on the dryer and the shower. Knowledge is power!

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Back at the Magical Realm -- it really is quite spectacular here. I went jogging around and was amazed by the sights.

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I still can't get over the waterfalls. I think I could watch them for hours.

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Darrell Charm, whom I don't like much, challenged me to a duel, so I flew over to the dueling ground (seen from above). He never showed up, the poltroon. He must be seriously cowardly because it's not like I'm experienced at this, although I am in fairly good shape physically.

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I tried dueling with someone else, one of those guys from Sulani with a hard-to-remember name, and it was very exciting.

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Not surprisingly, he won.

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But this time I was able to take off on my broom without looking like a doofus.

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Back to personal stuff -- I met the Pancakes sisters, Elsa and Ericka. Both are nice girls -- Elsa is creative and cheerful, Ericka is self-assured. My preference is for Elsa, however, because she at least has sense enough to put on a jacket when it's cold outside. Ericka has nice legs, but I had to cut our conversation short when they started turning blue.

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Sunday evening, I arranged to meet Elsa at the Deadgrass Discoveries Museum. Instead of going inside to look at pictures, we stayed outside and made a snowpal.

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Elsa's mother is no longer living, and of course, I've never known my mother, so we christened our snowpal Mom.

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I saw her briefly at school the next day, and then on Tuesday, I had my birthday. Goodbye high school, hello Army! But I'm in really good shape, so I should get my promotion pretty soon.

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While I was outside marching around, our elderly cat Ramzie went running by me.

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When I went back to the house, I found out that she'd  collapsed, and the Grim Reaper had come for her. If I were farther along in my magical studies, I might know how to bring her back, but as it is, I think she's gone for good.

[MarianT]

Sterling Landgraab, Corn Gothario, and Celeste Straud 2

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While trying to win the Ultimate Gaming Test at GeekCon, I had a short converation with Sterling Landgraab.

Sterling Landgraab

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Winter has been fierce in Windenburg, he told me.

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But winter means Winterfest. And even though their celebrations were subdued, the Landgraabs and Siobhan Fyres put up a tree.

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Father Winter came over, but he wasn't the same person that Sterling remembered from his youth.

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Sterling was promoted to Sergeant in the Army, and Malcolm was promoted to National Leader. He decided that Sterling's assistance wasn't necessary to his campaign, so Sterling signed up as an entertainer. Practicing the guitar has been easy; telling jokes to a non-existent audience has been not too bad, either, according to Sterling.

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Meanwhile, he's been waiting for Claudia Gothario to become a young adult.

Corn Gothario

Entries from my diary:

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With Dad actually in the military, I thought Claudia and I might be able to get out of joining -- not to be. Dad said we could benefit from a little more exercise, so she and I went over to the gym.

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After working out, I needed a shower, and who should I run into afterwards, but Max Villareal. I probably should have gone and changed, but I just couldn't see myself slinking away like I was scared. "Now that you're legal, we should get together sometime," he suggested. I nodded and tried not to scurry back to the dressing room.

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As soon as I finish my military duty, I plan to become a stylist. It seemed to me that as an arbiter of style, I really needed more outfits. Also, Mother brought home a bunch of berets after she was promoted, and I couldn't help trying them out.

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I got a new coat, too, and headgear that actually covers my ears.

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But when I went over to the Villareals', I wore my old jacket. I did chat with Frank while I was there -- asked him about school and stuff -- but yeah, I spent more time with Max.

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It doesn't seem fair -- Mother and Dad were able to marry for love, and they're still in love even after all this time. Why do I have to have an arranged marriage just because I'm a dynasty heir? Not that anything has been arranged, and not that I really want to marry Max. But if I explore the way I feel when I'm around him, that's going to make marrying his nephew later a little awkward. I just wish I could find someone who makes me feel the way Max does and who has Mother and Dad's approval. Dad says that Max had a bad reputation when he was in the Army, and Mother doesn't want me marrying one of those Pancakes (Heath) or someone who grew up underground (Dale Cottoneye).

Celeste Straud

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Winter in Windenburg is so pretty. I wanted to get a picture of the moon rising, but my easel was in the way, so I have snow-covered trees instead.

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Dad still takes care of the garden when he can, which I'm grateful for. Between school and scouting (Llamacorn here, yeah!) and making repairs and doing laundry, I don't have a lot of time.

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We've had a bunch of birthdays. Frank went first...

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...and looks better as a teen than we'd expected. He's very thin, like Dad, so Hugo plans to make some high-calorie meals for him (but not for me -- I don't need any more weight).

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Hugo was the next to blow out candles. He had just maxed gourmet cooking, so it was a real celebration (and the cake turned out to be excellent).

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And finally me. I can marry Brendon now and quit going to school, although I still have to do my military service. More running on the treadmill and less watching television, I guess.

[MarianT]

Mimi Zest, Faith Lee-Scott, and Babs Newbie 2

The three young women got together to compare notes on their experiences. Mimi brought her journal.

Mimi Zest

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I'm going to keep this short because I don't have much to write about. I'm keeping a journal. It's supposed to help me control my emotions. More important, it boosts my writing skills even when I don't have any ideas for a story.
So -- Dale is a teen now. And I'm still a teen, which means we can flirt with each other. I invited him to come and have dinner with me at the Sunny Side Up Diner because it was free that night.

And also, I had just finished appearing in my last drama club play, and I wanted someone to celebrate with. Dad came to see me, but he had to split right after, because he had to work, and both Mom and Aunt Yuki were at work during the play. The audience loved it, especially the scene where I subdued the villain with a couple of karate chops. Our club sponsor was a little annoyed because we were supposed to have a fist fight, but I don't care. By the time we start planning the next play, I'll be a grown-up and out of there.

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Like I said, Dale is a teen now, and really cute. It's too bad that I'm so close to becoming an adult, but I made sure he'd remember me. I wouldn't want him losing his heart to some other dynasty heiress. I don't think he will, though, because I'm the last teen in the bunch. We didn't exchange rings, but I did give him my cell phone number.  He kissed the phone when he received it -- so cute!

Anyway, all I have to do now is wait to grow up. And while I'm waiting, I can write in my journal, become more responsible, become better-mannered, and start exercising in preparation for my military stint. Whew!
Meanwhile, my buddy Faith has made a lot of progress on her goals.

Faith Lee-Scott

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After I celebrated my birthday, I invited Heath Pancakes over. He and Dad became better acquainted.

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Before moving in with us, he had to blow out the candles on the cake -- teens can't be asked to move in.

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Once he was a member of the household, we celebrated with a toast -- it was also New Year's.

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There was a little too much family around, so we went on a date to Myshuno Meadows in the city. Heath brought his juice along, and toasted me as the most beautiful girl in Sim world. I rolled my eyes because I'm barely even attractive when I'm in my snowsuit -- warm, yes, but not beautiful.

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And then Heath kissed me, and that was really sweet. We did a little more kissing, dangling a bit of mistletoe left over from Winterfest in front of each other, until we were both so sleepy we could hardly keep our eyes open.

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I stayed up a little longer and painted Mom's portrait. It turned out well -- not a masterpiece, but good enough to hang in the living room. Heath woke up when I went up to bed, and we decided not to wait until we were married.

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The next morning, I had news for him in the bathroom. "It worked!" I said. "I'm pregnant." "What!" said Heath. "I thought it might be years before we could add to the family." "Nope," I said. "Baby incoming, soon."

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Naturally Heath wanted us to be married before that happened, so he proposed.

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I accepted (good thing he's been working out).

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We got married under the archway entrance to the kitchen. My sister Hope turned to say something to Mom just as the confetti dropped.

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Afterwards, I went upstairs to do some exercising. Heath plans on becoming an athlete once he gets out of the military, so we bought some equipment. We also bought a bassinet for the baby. I think we'll make this room our bedroom, and put the baby in our old room after he or she is born. We'll have to move some furniture and change the wallpaper, but that's no problem. I can't wait to find out whether it's a boy or a girl and whether it inherits Heath's red hair. Once the baby's born, and once I've completed my military service, I plan to become a doctor. I'm still painting, though -- it's good money and I enjoy it...

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Whew, I just had the baby. Boy, is that painful.

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But, just so you all know, it's totally worth it when you hold the little one in your arms. We're naming him Justice.

Babs Newbie

And finally, it was Babs' turn. "You guys aren't going to believe this," she said. "You aren't going to believe any of it."

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After signing up for the military, I went over to Skye Fitness with Roy Bheeda. I took Celeste along with me so she could get some exercising done, too. That's a great place, and I became good friends with the trainer there, Kelsie Rossi. I was up to speed in no time, which was great because the sooner I get my service done, the sooner I can go out into the jungle.

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After working out, Roy and I went over to Sunnyside Up Diner to get something to eat. Katrina Caliente was there and I asked for her autograph, but she turned me down -- something about her contract only allowing her to give autographs at certain times, whatever.

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I returned to Roy and he cheered me up by blowing a kiss at me. Of course, I had to blow one back.

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And then he took me home, and we kissed again, and it felt like we were spinning slowly around until we came to rest on the ground again. I told Roy that I wanted him to move in with us, but just him, not his parents. "I'm sure they're great people," I said, "but if they come too, then you might think I'm only interested in the lottery money. I want you to know that I'm interested in you, not the 2 million simoleons." Roy gave me a very mischievous smile, and said, "That's very sweet, but I'm afraid you're going to have to take the money, too. My parents are no longer with us."

For a moment I could only stare at him in shock, but then I remembered my manners and offered my condolences. Roy just patted my hand. "That's not important right now. Since you don't want the money, we need to find some way to spend it."

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The first thing on the list was a new house. We went to the Carl's Guide Realty, and found Rosa Manor by @Shewolf13 . It has a beautifully landscaped front yard.

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And the back has a hot tub as well as a pool. It had a grill, too, but we had to get rid of that -- at least until Roy becomes a better cook. Dad got into the hot tub almost as soon as it arrived.

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I'll have to wait and show you the rest of the inside next time, but it does have a lovely, open-concept kitchen with a large island.

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And there was room for Mom's piano in the party area. It looks like it belongs there, and there's plenty of space for it.

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I gave Roy the ring I'd bought for him. "I'll get you a more expensive one tomorrow," I said. "Until a few hours ago, this was all I could afford."
"This ring is never leaving my finger," said Roy, "but we'll get you a nice-sized rock -- a dozen of them if you like."

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And then we went out to the back and got married under the wedding arch that was set up.

We've talked a little about the future. Roy wants me to continue with my plans to be an explorer. "We'll be able to keep the treasures you find," he said. "You won't have to sell them off to avoid the increase in bills." His health isn't great, so he might quit his job, and maybe learn veterinary medicine from Dad. He loves cats, so we plan to get one, maybe two. Oh, and we're putting our last names together. Newbie-Bheeda sounded a bit redundant, so we're shortening it to Newbieda. Or maybe Newbheeda. Newbida?

[Shewolf13]

Awww, lovely to see Rosa Manor used by another family ^^ Love it. Love this story, too Marian. I don't always get a chance to comment, but I have been reading along. Btw, love the thing between Corn and Max. I don't know why, but I've always loved Max for some reason. So out of curiosity, do you keep track of who will marry who or do you let things progress naturally? How much planning do you do as far as family lines?

[MarianT]

@Shewolf13, Thanks! And I'm loving the house. It's perfect for the family, although Bob and Betty are a little in awe of how fancy it is. They really prefer the kind of furniture that the dog can climb up on. But I think a snooty cat or two will do well here.

Corn and Max are really striking some sparks, and I don't know exactly how things will go.

As for planning marriages -- if I let things progress naturally, most of the time nothing would happen at all. Once I'm at the point where I have my ten heirs and some spares, I start thinking about who might marry whom. I do check their relationship panels to see who they're friends with. If they have something going with an eligible spouse, then I start developing that. Roy, for example, isn't one of "my" Sims, but of course he became interesting when first his mother and then his father won the lottery. Babs might not care about the money, but I do. So I had him come to a party where there were several other teens and tried to get everyone to mingle. But most of the time, I just take 2 Sims and make them good friends, then boyfriend and girlfriend, etc.

[Shewolf13]

lol! Yeah, Rosa Manor was built with entertaining in mind. However, I think that it could easily support furniture the dog can climb onto hehe.

Can't wait to see what happens with Corn and Max ^^

Heh, yeah, there is that. Nice, I like seeing how others manage things. With my RKC, I have to worry about the various classes and when it comes to the other sims in world, I just do it all manually, but with my own sims so far, I let them meet some and go from there. Thank you for the explanation ^^

[MarianT]

Hugh Caliente and Cosma Curious 2

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Hugh was in good spirits when I went to see him. "Everything's going great!" he told me.

Hugh Caliente

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"Little Dion inherited Mom's red hair, so she's happy about that. 'Now if you just don't get your mother's nose,' I heard her whispering to him.

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"I used Nikita for one of my jobs, and she was sure they'd reject the picture because she wasn't pretty enough, but they approved it. I told her that I knew they would because she's gorgeous.

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"Don Lothario showed up for a session, and we became good friends. He told me he was sorry I hadn't stayed in the military. 'You would have been great for undercover work,' he told me. I'm not so sure about that. This isn't the picture that got published, by the way. I just kept it in case I ever need some leverage.

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"Mom came out to say hello when I finished the shoot. I guess she and Don used to be friends."
I coughed. "You could say that."

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"Dad had his elder birthday," Hugh continued. "But he's in good shape, so I expect he'll be around for a while.

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"Mom is still going strong, and the camera loves her just as much as it used to.

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"And here is Dion, after one of his potty training sessions. He really is a good little kid. Anyway, I took quite a few more pictures, but they were mostly of scenery around the house and night shots -- just trying to get my skill up, basically."
I congratulated Hugh on his progress and made my way to Oasis Springs.

Cosma Curious

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"I'm having a terrible time," she sobbed, when I asked how things were going.

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"First of all, Uncle Lazlo died.

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"Oh, and Brenna became a teen. That's her with Stephon and D-D-Da..." She started crying again.

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Cosma took a big sniff. "So Dad was next, and I didn't know at the time, but Oddity went with Uncle Vidcund to mourn him. I tried to go plead for him as soon as I found out Grim was in the house, but we have a big house, and I wasn't in t-time." I handed her a handkerchief.

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"The next thing I knew I was being abducted. Some woman on the space ship wanted to know if it was true that her Passy had died. It wasn't my mother; I think it might have been Brenna's. When I said yes, she sobbed all over me. 'I should never have let him go back,' she kept saying.

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"I went straight to bed when I returned home, and because we were all asleep, the gremlins attacked. Every bathroom, every computer, everything that could break did.

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"The kitchen got it, too. I had to take off work so I could do repairs -- well, I would have had to stay home anyway to look after Oddity. And I ended up hiring a repairman as well. Even he couldn't fix a couple of our computers, which I had to replace. They were the most expensive ones, too.

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"As it turns out, I was lucky the repairman was there, because he helped me put out the fire that Brenna started when she tried to fix herself a grilled cheese sandwich.

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"In the middle of all this, Stephon wanted to know what my intentions were, and whether I wanted to marry him or was he just a boy toy. He reminded me that I hadn't been paying much attention to him lately. So I proposed. I guess it's good to know that he still loves me even when our world is falling apart."

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"I'm trying to be a good mother to Oddity, but after I put him to bed the other night...

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"I found him outside visiting the family graveyard and crying.

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"And just when I'd taken him upstairs, Uncle Lazlo's ghost showed up in an angry mood -- and Uncle Lazlo never got angry when he was alive -- and broke the plumbing in one of the sinks that I'd just fixed. And we got bills today, and I'm so far behind everyone else that I don't think I'll ever catch up."

"Oh dear," I said. "Weren't there any good things that happened?"
"A few," said Cosma. "Stephon and I are engaged now, and Brenna is a teen -- I told you that already.

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"I became good friends with the Flower Bunny, and the Wonder Day gnomes gave me a lot of seeds.

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"Uncle Vidcund is still with us and has been a big help with Oddity's messes. Speaking of Oddity..."

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I followed her into the kitchen where Brenna was waiting with a cake. "He's completed potty training and learned how to talk," Cosma told me proudly. "And now he's ready to become a big boy."
"Big boy now," said Oddity.
And we all sang Happy Birthday to him.

[MarianT]

Hank Cottoneye 2

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Mom and Dad still look like they could be a young couple in a movie about some war.

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But Dad had his elder birthday soon after that picture was taken, and Mom's is coming up.

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Dale brought his girlfriend Mimi over after school, and Mom got to know her.

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Unfortunately, that prompted a talk with me. "My friends Liberty and Travis have a daughter," she began. "Her name's kind of spiritual..."
"Faith," I said, trying to cut her off at the pass. "I know her. She's kind of a snob."
"That's their older daughter," said Mom. "She wouldn't be right for you anyway because she's their heir. And I think she's married already. No, they have a younger daughter, too..."
"Mom, I can find my own girlfriend," I said.

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And actually, that evening, while I was out rock-hunting, I did.
"It's Love Day," she said, "and I'm trying to avoid people because everyone is all 'Oooh, what did you get for Love Day? Do you want to see what I got?' I don't have time for that."

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I didn't think she'd want the Striped Leaf Frog I'd just collected, but I'd also picked some daisies, so I gave her one.
She frowned at it. "Does this mean we're in some kind of relationship?" she asked.
"Acquaintances?" I said.
She laughed and said that was okay.

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I'm working on a bunch of collections, which means I go over to Oasis Springs fairly often. It's warm and dry there in the springtime, which makes a difference when you're kneeling on the ground with a hammer and chisel.

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Plus, I think it's the prettiest place, except for the outskirts of Strangerville.

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Anyway, I completed my military training pretty quickly, even without any help from my dad.

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And I traded in that uniform for a police one. The nice thing about uniforms is that you don't have to think about what you're going to wear every day. One thing I didn't realize, though, is how much time you have to spend around people. I thought I'd go out on patrol a lot, but I was wrong.

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I had to go to a crime scene and take witness statements from minor celebrities.

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I had to go and arrest people...

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...and interrogate them afterwards.

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One day I almost had a heart attack because I was taking a mugshot of someone that I thought was my daisy-girl. But then I realized the felon's eyes were blue, and she was quite a bit older.

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Definitely not my daisy-girl, I confirmed, as I relieved her of a llamacorn she'd stolen from some small child. I was pretty sure my daisy-girl didn't even know some of the names this woman called me.

I got promoted, and my frog collection is coming along well, but it looks like I might have to do a house-to-house in Oasis Springs to find the young lady I met on Love Day. If I'd been thinking, I could have told her I was a plain-clothes policeman and needed her name, address, and telephone number. But they frown on that kind of thing at work -- it might even be a Class D Misdemeanor or something.

[Shewolf13]

Awww, poor Cosma XD I feel for the girl. I know days/weeks/months like that XD. Hehehe, I think Hank calling her his Daisy-girls is cute.

[MarianT]

I felt for Cosma, too. The house was a mess, people kept dying, and then she gets abducted. And her sister sets herself on fire. And...but you read her chapter. I can't tell you how many times I was told her toddler was on the verge of being taken because the kid was hungry. Or how many times he threw his food on the floor. Believe me, I was shouting at the screen.

As for Hank -- "daisy-girl" just came to me while I was writing up his section.

[oshizu]

I haven't commented on your story for some time, but I hope it's okay to write them all at once while they're fresh in my mind.

*1st generation: I saw that Brent H. and Pascal C. earned much more satisfaction points than the others. Was that due, in part, to their (Watcher's) choice of aspirations?
*Corn & Max: Like Shewolf, I'm also shipping these two. An evil sim isn't as hard to play as a Mean sim plus his Watcher gave him a fantastic make-over! Secret elopement?
*The girls: I laughed at Mimi & Celeste trash-talking Cornelia and how she'll be stuck with Frank Straud for a spouse.
  Faith's convo with Babs about Roy Bheeda & Mimi was also funny. Those girls are such trouble-makers! Is it fun deciding who will marry who in your game, Watcher?
*Grant Hecking: I really enjoyed Grant Hecking's chapter! He's a bit of an oddball and his present lifestyle really suits him!
  I'm waiting to buy RoM so I enjoyed how you showcased some of its features in Grant's story.
*Cosma: I'm glad Cosma chose Stephon; erratic sims are fun to play. How surprising that green Cosma and purple Stephon produced a blue Oddity!
              Can't wait to meet Oddity as a child.
              Wow, Cosma just had an incredibly terrible week! Even so, Stephon worrying that he was just Cosma's boy toy cracked me up. Poor everyone in that household!

I read your previous comment about the first generation taking 6 months and, based on that time, your calculation that all 10 generations could take five years. Yowza!
When I read about the new University pack earler today, I thought of your story. Once you've test-played the new pack, I'm curious to learn how you incorporate it into your story.

[MarianT]

@oshizu, glad you're enjoying the story, too. As for high satisfaction points -- a pet definitely helps. Once your Sim has a high enough relationship, Feel the Love gives 250 points a day. Brent had the Painter Extraordinaire aspiration and then the Soulmate one. Pascal had Renaissance Sim.

I'm looking forward to University. I don't think my current generation will be going, but generation 3, definitely. I don't usually take time to test-play, though, but find out things as I play my story.