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

[MarianT]

Elspeth Hecking 1


"Ohh, you're so lucky, being a dynasty heir and a spellcaster!"
If I had a simoleon for every time I've heard that, I'd be able to buy a laptop computer or something. The truth is, that besides developing my spellcaster abilities, I also have to go to school and drama club and help out around the house. Dad knows the repairio spell and can make the Plentiful Needs potion, but so far all I know is how to make someone sick.


Dad has been kind enough to give me a Plentiful Needs potion.


He also has given me some training.


But mostly he's been interested in developing his video gaming skill by going to GeekCon.
 

And rather than making potions, he's been trying to make a perfect batch of chili.


I spotted Willow Wisely at the beach and thought I might get some help from her, but she had to leave right after we met.


My mother and sister spend all their time dancing.


Although I must admit that Amanda does homework occasionally.


And I should also admit that I'm a little bit jealous because she's the pretty one in the family.


Anyway, I went to the Magic Realm where I met the Sages of Practical Magic and Mischief.


Brittni Stewart (Practical) taught me the repairio spell.


Later, I met Dad's mentor, Morgyn Ember.


He gave me some training.


Morgyn doesn't know it yet, but I've decided that he's going to be the father of my child. And if I can learn how to make him young again, I might even marry him.


After searching the shops in Caster's Alley, I finally learned how to make the Plentiful Needs potion.


And my first batch was actually successful!


I also succeeded in repairing our broken toilet. So maybe I am lucky to be a spellcaster after all.


Public Service Announcement: Remember to wash your hands, people. 'Nuf said.

[MarianT]

Maria Gothario 3


Even though I'm trying to become a Social Butterfly, I'm still a little shy around strangers. That's why I used my sister Angela to become my best friend...


...and my sister Vivian to become another friend...


...and my cousin Nanette to become a friend, too.


We all went home together, only to discover that our grandmother was in the middle of dying. "I don't want to die in my work outfit," she protested. "I want to wear my own clothing."


I stepped forward to plead with the Grim Reaper. I even promised I'd become his friend.


He actually listened to me, and Grandmother came back.


Like I promised, we became good friends.


And then Grandmother succumbed again. Mama Corn tried pleading for her but to no avail.


She's at the side of the house, next to the pear trees that Aunt Claudia planted. At least when she comes back as a ghost, she won't be wearing that ugly suit.


We've all been really sad since then. I tried putting on a puppet show for Grandfather.


It was one of the best, a mystery involving a notebook-snatcher, but I don't think it cheered him up much.


I took my sister Angela out to the park to play pirates, but neither of us had much fun. If Grandmother had been with us, she would have pretended to be a sea monster for us, but she wasn't.


Mama Olivia has been making drinks...


...but no one has been doing much cooking, so we've been eating candy from last Spooky Day. Hopefully, I'll become a teen soon so that I can start cooking for everyone.

[oshizu]

I'm caught up on your story.
Is it normal for Oddity to have to wait a week before hearing back about his college applications?
That screenshot of Lilith Vatore was very becoming but Julia Wright is also loverly; I hope one of the dynasty heirs will snatch her up!

Dear Elspeth, I disagree with your assessment of the relative beauty of you and your sister. You are just as pretty as she is!
Oh, poor Mario and the drawback of a child heir not being able to feed the household!
I'd completely forgotten about that. Too bad they prefer Spooky Day treats to quick meals. R.I.P., Cassandra Goth.

Also, Watcher, I love the way you have set up your story thread. If I forget who's married to who or who the current heir's ancestors are, I can early get re-oriented.

[MarianT]

@oshizu, regarding college applications, it's more like 3 days, I think, but I switched to another household before he got the news. And I think that the programs a Sim is eligible for depend upon the Sim's situation at the time of application. For example, I should have waited until he reached the top of the Drama Club if I wanted Oddity to get a Distinguished degree in Drama (an A in high school might have helped, too).

[oshizu]

Thank you for explaining about the college application process.
So ideally, a teen would apply for scholarships or college early enough in the week to get a reply before switching to a different household?
That makes sense....the timing is still tricky! Thanks for the tip about optimizing prep to enter a Distinguished Degree program.
My sims have yet to attend uni...maybe soon.

[MarianT]

Tiffany Landgraab 2


Here is Mom working on another flower arrangement. She's always busy either with the garden or with her flowers.


And her arrangements are always worth it.


I had to meet some new people in my effort to become a Social Butterfly. One of the people was this really cute teen named Carl Newbida. I hope he'll still be a teen when I become one.


I also met Julia Wright, who's a student at the University of Britechester. She says she'll probably still be a student when I'm ready for college because she keeps changing her major.


My birthday at last! Now that I'm older, I have a greater love for the outdoors.


And Mom had her birthday soon afterwards.


These days, any time I'm near a sink, I seem to feel compelled to wash my hands.


When I was talking to Julia, she told me that her school offered an athletic scholarship for people who were good at soccer, so I'm starting to practice. Also, kicking around a soccer ball is more fun than running on the treadmill.


Working out with a dance video is more fun, too.


Working out with a cute guy who shares your interest in sports is the most fun, though.


Do you think Carl might have been flirting with me a little when I took his picture?


I think he was. Woot! Woot!

[MarianT]

Oddity Curious 2


Oddity's career as an actor was getting off to a rocky start. To begin with, since he wasn't going to college, he lost his student deferment. That meant he had to go into the army.


"Not a problem," said his agent. "Trying to meet their requirements will help you get rid of that juice belly."
So for a few days, Oddity worked on his fitness skill and hung out at home.


He admired Zara's tricks on the climbing bars.


He watched the season premiere of Odder Things (his favorite program) with his mother Cosma.


He helped deal with a gremlin crisis. "Good!" said his agent when he told her. "Vladislaus Hardware is always looking for someone to do their commercials. I'll add handiness skill to your file."


And one night...


...he went outside to investigate some twinkling lights.


He also went to Alien Night at the Rattlesnake Juice bar, where he tried to make friends with every woman there. "You might as well start looking for a spouse," Cosma told him. "And they might show up in disguise. Not everyone is as proud of their origins as we are."
Oddity became good friends with Madilyn Watts.


And he performed a romantic scene with Alison Vidal. But neither of them turned out to be from Sixam.


When he returned home, Cosma was returning from a visit to the spaceship. "I love going up there," she told him. "It's always so invigorating."


The next day Oddity got his promotion and was discharged from the Army. After calling the A.I. Staffing Agency, he began working on his acting skills. "Great!" said his agent. "I've got you an audition with Vladislaus Hardware. Unless you'd rather -- no, those people want someone who can sing."


So Oddity started to work on his singing. Outside, where he wouldn't bother his mother, aunt, or little sister.


Unfortunately, when the day of his audition dawned, Oddity realized that his juice belly had gotten quite a bit bigger. "Bummer," said his agent. "You'll just have to work out some more."
"Don't you have any work I can do?" asked Oddity.


"Well, the government is looking for stills of people washing their hands to put in a PSA -- public service announcement," his agent replied. "Send me a pic. They might just pay us for it, especially with you being blue and all."
And so they did. Oddity got 2 simoleons, the rest going to his agency, which was guaranteed a minimum of 100 simoleons per gig.

[MarianT]

Jonah Cottoneye 2


Strangerville! Jonah loved the little town, especially in the evening when the moon rose over the buttes.


He loved going jogging through its "downtown,"


...and even through its trailer park.


People might say the weather was always the same in Strangerville, but Jonah had seen it snow.


He'd even seen rain, cloaking the scientific installation in a mysterious mist.


Like most of the people in Strangerville, Jonah was pretty sure there was a connection between the scientific installation and the occasional odd behavior of its inhabitants. That was something he might investigate later, when he became an adult.


Even though his mother was an artist and his father a detective, Jonah knew that his future lay in the sciences. He might become an astronaut, he thought, as he worked on building a rocket.


Even though it returned to its base, Jonah knew he could have done a better job.


But he was more interested in robotics. Maybe he could build a bunch of robots and then investigate the science lab? The future held many possibilities.


One thing Jonah didn't love about Strangerville was his tiny house. The only comfortable place to sit was his parents' bed.


Plus they all had to spend a lot of time up on the roof. This was okay when the weather was nice -- as it often was in Strangerville -- but he couldn't keep anything electronic up there.


And when his parents got amorous, as they seemed to do on Spooky Day, it was hard to figure out a way to give them space.


Jonah went downstairs to hand out treats to the trick-or-treaters.


There was one girl from his school who teased him about not being in costume.
 

Jonah decided he was tired of handing out treats and set out his robot army to guard the bowl.


Then he went to the library, the Strangerville Information Center, to read. A little girl with lavender skin, obviously an alien, was there, and Jonah knew he had to meet her.


"I'd love to live in Strangerville," she said in her thin, piping voice. "I feel like I belong here."
Jonah almost told her that she could move in with him when she got old enough, but then he remembered that he'd always intended to marry the girl who had given him Bleep back when they were both children. He couldn't remember her name, but he'd written it down in his homework. What to do?


Washing his hands when he got home (for 20 seconds, the way everyone said you were supposed to), Jonah decided that was a problem that could be solved when he got older. In the meantime, there were more robots to build and another rocket kit to work on.

[MarianT]

Elspeth Hecking 2


Brindleton Bay has really pretty sunsets when it's not raining. Sad to say, most of the time this fall it's been raining.


Silhouetted against the full moon, our lighthouse looks like a wizard's tower, the perfect place for a spellcaster to live.


I still have a long way to go as a spellcaster. I tried repairing our jukebox with a spell, but it caught fire instead. "I set fire to that same jukebox," Dad told me. "Well, not that same one exactly, but the one we had before. It's safer using that spell on plumbing." Now he tells me.


I continue working on homework.


Amanda and I both are A students now.


Mom has been promoted to a hush-hush job and needs to start improving her logic. Since I'm working on my logic skill, too, we've been playing chess together. (Note: regarding my outfit, it's what I have to wear for drama club. Don't ask.)


I know the formula for a new, useful potion, the Nimble Mind one. It speeds up your skill development. It requires parsley and a spotted dirt frog. I have plenty of parsley, but the frog has been hard to come by.


Breeding a spotted leaf frog with a dirt frog, I was able to get the key ingredient. I wish I could say that no frogs were harmed in the making of this potion, but...


I tested it during one of my chess games with Mom.


I don't know whether my skill improved more quickly -- we waste a lot of time chatting -- but it zoomed up while I was using the microscope.


Morgyn invited me to go to the opera with him! I was stunned when I got the invitation, and I think he was stunned when he saw my dress. He did tell me that black and white were good colors for me, though.


So I got a new dress before going to the Magic Realm again. Morgyn's gaze was appreciative, but also sad. "Who knows whether I'll live long enough to see you become an adult," he told me. "You should meet some people closer to your own age."


I've become good friends with a young spellcaster, Chance Givens, but I really do hope Morgyn will still be around. If only I could learn the potion of rejuvenation!

[MarianT]

Robin Newbida 4




People are entirely too careless with fires in this house. Putting them out is one of my more tiresome duties as an heir.


Along with cleaning. I had to clean the sauna the other day, which was really unfair because I hadn't even used it yet. Mumsie said that as a teen I didn't get stressed enough to need to use the sauna.


I decided that I was stressed enough, and it was wonderful. But then I had to do homework.


Also, it was time for Popsie's birthday. He says he's an old man now, but the only change is that his hair is gray.


We all hoped that Grams would live long enough to realize her dream of becoming a musical genius, but it didn't happen.


I begged for her life, but the Grim Reaper was implacable.


Later, I sat down at her piano, and discovered that Grams had set it up so that she could look at some of the pictures that Carl and I did as children. That started me crying again.


To cheer me up, Mumsie said I could go off to Selvadorada on my own. She even gave me a blessing with one of the relics.


Given the various obstacles I had to overcome,


I certainly needed the blessing.


Most of the puzzles were difficult, too...


...but this one was easy, and it gave me a little ball of sunshine to travel around with me, just as useful as a flashlight in these dark tombs.


Mumsie's blessing didn't cover everything, though. It rained the whole time I was there. Kneeling in puddles is not my idea of fun.


I got stuck with a poison dart, too, as you can tell from the circles in an unflattering shade of green on my face.


But my new friend Juanita was able to make an antidote for me.


Back at home, I discovered a blogger I really liked -- #FrankieWiththeSkinny.


I found out that he lived in Windenburg, so I went over to meet him. He told me I was the most beautiful and intriguing follower he had, and we really hit it off.


Returning home, I encountered Grams' ghost. "Why haven't you applied for college yet?" she demanded.


I told her I wanted to get my archaeology skill higher before submitting an application. "Don't worry," she said. "You'll do fine."


So I went ahead and took the plunge. The next few days were filled with anxiety.


I had my birthday and am now a cheerful, well-mannered, and responsible bro and geek. Finally, finally, I got my acceptance letter. I can get into any distinguished degree program at Britechester or Foxbury except...computer science. Apparently, following Frank's blog hasn't been enough to qualify me for that.


23
I had dinner with him at Villa Bovine to celebrate. I'll have to finish my degree before I can marry anyone, but he just might be the one.

[PeregrineTook]

Lots of sessions of binge reading, but I'm finally caught up. 
Zara is just a delight!!  She's my favorite, but that adorable goof, Tiffany Landgraab, definitely is giving her some competition.
And poor Robin.  She's already doing the firefighter career even though it doesn't exist in Sims 4 yet  ;=)

[MarianT]

Robin is a first-responder. Glad that you like Tiffany -- as a Landgraab, she's not the most popular.

[MarianT]

Dion Caliente 2


Now that he's a young adult, Dion feels that his life is beginning to shape up nicely. For one thing, he doesn't have to go to drama club any more. Whatever acting genes might be in the Caliente pool, they certainly passed him by. He couldn't even get his Junior Artiste award. But that's in the past.


He has a spiffy new slumber pod to sleep in, which is very comfortable.


He bought a bird feeder for the garden, and a fence, to keep other critters out.


One night, a strange creature moved in. Dion started talking to him whenever he was watering plants.


And one day, the scarecrow started moving around. He told Dion his name was Patchy, and he was there to help with the garden.


After that conversation, he returned to his tree stump in a puff of smoke.


Patchy is not the only unusual creature in Dion's garden -- there's also this little fellow.


Besides the garden, the other big event in Dion's life has been college. He's been accepted into Foxbury Institute's Distinguished Degree program in Biology.


He's taking a full load: two courses in gardening and two in fitness. That means a lot of homework.


He also has to work on two presentations. But his classes are more interesting than what he had to study in high school, so Dion doesn't mind.


Dion spends most of his day on campus.


Foxbury Institute is pretty, especially on a sunny day, but Dion can't help thinking that it needs more plants to break up all the straight lines.


He doesn't think toilet paper is the solution though, and cleans up the statue that's a target for those punks from Britechester.


Most of the time he does homework between classes, but occasionally he can get in a game of ping-pong. His opponent, Cameron Fletcher is wicked good, though, returning his serve so fast that the ball elongates in mid-air.


Back at home, Dion's family is doing well. His father Hugh is one promotion away from becoming a Patron of the Arts.


And his mother Nikita was recently promoted to Ufologist despite playing hookey from work to go to GeekCon.


Little brother Luis is a teenager now.


But the pride of the family is Grandfather J, who is still going strong.


He's in competition with Don Gothario for the title of oldest living hunk.


Dion's first term is over. What will his grades be? he can't help wondering. Should he have worked harder on his presentations? Studied more for his exams? Only time will tell.

[PeregrineTook]

"Oldest living hunk."  Who wouldn't want that title?
With Patchy and the Cowplant as his pals, Dion's working towards the title of "weirdest entourage!"

[MarianT]

Patchy is actually hard to make friends with. You can work on the relationship only when he's up and moving around, which has only been once so far.

Both Don and J are over 1200 days old, which is pretty long-lived for a Sim. Vlad is as old as they are, but he's not what you would call a hunk.