I love you @zabeth0 ! you're incredible, with a memory like an elephant! Yeah, the ring is important, it was found with him and he has never left it before. Arthur will eventually recognize it...
I totally meant 911, but Granny is so stressed out so she blabbers on and I thought 999 could feel authentic when you're in her state of mind - realizing she doesn't know where Taïga spends her days, that she has no way of contacting her friend's parents, that she can't rely on her magic 100%...
Taïga doesn't know how to handle her feeling for Derek - she doesn't know what to say -not because she doesn't like the Gonk, but, on the contrary, because she might like it too much.
I try to depict Shasta as selfish and immature. She doesn't realize at what point she hurt her daughter by leaving and not giving any news. But she's been so busy, honey mooning and redecorating and being pregnant with a new child, who she will raise in a wonderful home in Italy, with a wonderful wealthy man. Who is also a celebrity magician! Did I say selfish?
Derek is very much loved by his parents, and he loves them back. And his brother Teddy means the world to him! But he mustn't stand between Derek and Taïga...
I couldn't save the lot... But I saved the game, so I'll reopen that save when I get to winter to take some pics. I guess I've become obsessive with the picture I intend to take - from Taïga's first dance class, snowing outside, but you can see the schoolyard. And yes. It has to be the Moonlight Falls school's authentic schoolyard. Gah!
@Zabeth0 Embarrassed by pj’s? Not when they are as cute! I remember getting my kids out of their fancy Christmas outfits as soon as decency permitted so they could play freely. You can imagine how Bailey’s plea went straight into my heart.
We can't let uptight Raphael unbutton his shirt, can we? Love Zelda’s sense of humor! She seems like a free spirit, in sharp contrast to her criminal husband… I guess that’s what drew them together – the attraction of the opposites thing.
That’s an interesting approach, letting Raphael consider Chester Swain as some kind of father figure, but it makes sense – it explains why he admires him.
A good analysis of Zelda that doesn’t leave anything to the imagination! The extremes again: straight minded Zelda vs devious Raphael. I don’t like devious, but I don’t like too straightforward much neither. Some people think they can go around spreading "truths" and thus hurting people under cover of never lying. Some truths are just not meant to be told.
Just love your description of the kids! "Reality show"! Lol! I can see why Zelda is so eager to get some nice peace and quiet in the kitchen! Poor Raphael, trying so hard to create traditions. It’s admirable.
IMHO, the Zolnikov’s need a real live Santa coming in person to hand out the presents. The kids will get a hang on Christmas in the bat of an eyelash!
It must be an extremely difficult situation – being afraid of your own child. Living with a two year old who can easily kill you if she throws a hissy fit requires nerves of steel and a lot of psychological analyzing. It’s really better to have her sulking! "mommy fire" is so cute! Doesn’t Raphael speak Russian with his kids? It’s the perfect way of doing things to get your kids to speak two langages perfectly!
Whizbang has definitely choosen his treasure – a live one! He’s acting like a cat around the children – letting them do to him what he would never accept from an adult. He must sense that Dima is more fragile than the others, bringing back deathflowers means that he hasn’t given up on him. Sweet… It’s good to know that they can cure him, even if it has to wait until he’s in his teens.
Ah, the torments of bad consciousness… The stress occasioned by saying too much, or not enough, especially when you detain as much information as Raphael does.
"fun human stuff like be a rock star or go to the moon or own a nightclub or something" Lol! And I’m just a teacher! I must have gotten something wrong along the way!
I love the shiny red texture you’ve used. It looks especially good on Raphael’s jacket.
And now it’s time to leave them under the mistletoe… I think the best Christmas present for Zelda would be conceiving the so much talked about little sister! Let’s just hope it’s not another boy…
And now back to their honey moon in the "real universe"! Can't wait!
Zelda: She wondered if he liked hot dogs. Surely he couldn't have been in Simerica for years and not tried a hot dog...but until she'd put it in front of him, he'd never tried peanut butter and jelly sandwiches before! Then again, hot dogs were served from carts to sports games to sports bars...peanut butter and jelly sandwiches weren't really something you got in public. His teeth had punched through her skin like a plumming fruit juice drink straw! She shuddered. No... she didn't want to wear food. Wearing food was stuppid anyway. She hoped she could find some food he liked besides those pancakes...because she'd make him those horrible buckwheat pancakes if that's what she needed to do to please him, but she hoped to never eat them again. He must feel the same way about peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
Zelda: Ah, this was much more tropical! The sea horses looked a bit boring but just realistic enough to make her want to take some pictures of some real ones...someday. Not now. She'd take lots of pictures of her handsome human in the tropics! Maybe he'd want to go swimming. Or snorkeling. Or diving. Or dancing. Like real dancing, not his sissy wedding dancing...but she supposed it was kind of cute in it's way, and she was smiling when she thought about it. He really was like some sort of romantic modern pirate...with all his limbs and eyes intact...even if he thought the comparison was funny! Though now she had to wonder if her pirate fantasies had anything to do with him kidnapping Deedee... she just liked the idea of pirates, she didn't want him to actually go around kidnapping witches...wow, it just boggled her mind that a human would do something so dangerous! Though she thought he must be the most amazing human on the planet, kidnapping a witch and fighting through vampire control...she wondered what he'd do next, but she was also a little bit worried about that. Hopefully he'd settle down a little...yes, he was exciting, but she wanted him to live! For as long as she could keep him...
She'd really like to swim, and she'd really like to see him in a bathing suit. Was he a speedo kinda guy or was he into big trunks with lots of pockets or something in between? She wondered if it'd be laced up tight like that contraption of straps that he normally wore (she hadn't realized how complicated his clothes were until she'd had to take them off him while he was unconscious) or if now that he was here in the tropics he could just relax. Of course, he'd do whatever she wanted him to...now she felt really bad about that...her poor human, but she wanted him to have fun...and she'd do her best to be nice to him and give him the best life she could. Her poor human had almost died twice...and then had slept for two whole days...his muscles were probably killing him with all that not moving! So, even though she had a lot of things she wanted to do, she'd probably need to find out what he wanted to do so she could be nice and rewarding to her amazing human who had fought really hard to survive for her. She wanted to make sure he was very happy he stuck around.
Zelda: She was going to buy this one and send it to Deedee. This might as well have Deedee's name on it. This summer, or maybe late spring when it wasn't infested with snow any more, she could totally wear the blue one and Deedee could wear the pink one and they could go do something together...like when they were little. Maybe. Only she might be pregnant by then! This was so exciting! She could have a little mini-Rafael to play with! She'd dress him up like his daddy and take pictures and then put him in more comfortable clothes, and play with him. Basket ball and soccer and catch and swimming. She thought she might stay away from football for Rafael's sake, if he was still alive by the time their kid was old enough to be playing football, she'd maybe just skip that one. (Though she'd have to remember to crystal ball his brother's death in case it was actually a murder and the football game wasn't just so rough it killed him- she was going to settle that question for him but had forgotten and now they were in the tropics...so later, she'd totally do that for him!)
She hoped Deedee was jealous of the vacation...so maybe she'd let Zelda teleport her here for a vacation sometime too. If it was safe enough for a witch who wouldn't use her powers to defend herself, that is...but if it was safe enough for humans, it should be safe enough for Deedee. She'd be able to tell Deedee all the fun spots ahead of time, so Deedee could maybe concentrate on finding her guy... Rafael wouldn't have made her happy anyway, Deedee wouldn't have approved of the whole revenge thing, Deedee would have expected him to just ignore that this guy was trying to kill him! Zelda was going to let Rafael handle it, only because she understood how personal revenge was...if she thought for a minute that it wouldn't upset him if she took it from him, she'd go find that Constance Son of Petro whatever guy and turn him into a cockroach and stomp him flat. And she'd take a video of her stomping on cockroach him on her phone so Rafael could watch it as much as he wanted. But she knew it was bad to steal someone's revenge if they intended to take it. Her human had his own human struggles and she would respect that...she wanted to know more about his world, though. Not just because she'd been born a human...but also so she could understand him more. Some part of her wondered if she'd stayed a human if they'd have fallen in love naturally...but that was stupidd, they'd probably never have even met. So, she supposed all that being in a cage and everything was worth it to meet Rafael.
Hmm...maybe she could get away with yellow in the tropical light? Maybe once she tanned? Meh...though she'd think about it...she really liked the squiggly flowers, they were fun. She wondered if it came in blue.
This one was good, it showed off her muscles. But she wanted to be pretty for him. He was an artist and so it might make him feel better about being in love with her if she was pretty. Didn't all men want pretty women? Deedee was always the pretty one, Zelda was the sporty one...Deedee's hair was straight and stayed in place...her hair was always a tangled mess and would twirl itself into a thousand tiny knots and had to be tied down in some fashion or it got in her mouth and she choked on it when she was trying to run or climb or swim. Deedee's skin was the same color from one side of her face to the other, in a nice, smooth skin tone...Zelda hated her freckles, it was like her face couldn't figure out what it wanted to be, this color or that color. At least people who had acme could hope it would clear up. Not her. She felt like a Dalmatian with frogs lips. She really hoped Rafael never saw her without her lipstick on. Though, she'd heard plenty of stories about 'true love' getting through people actually being toadified, like eating flies and everything... and the spell on Rafael made true love look like a quick dip in the pool, this spell was like true love concentrated into hard candy...so she supposed he didn't really care what she looked like. He'd even looked at the tangled mess and complimented her on it. Still, she wanted to thrill him...legitimately. He was thrilling her, it was only fair.
She thought about that criminal chick's plea to her not to take all the hot ones, and smirked. She had taken the hottest one, they were all jealous! But since her magic meant she didn't have to work to keep him, she still felt she should, because she couldn't free him from her spell...so the least she could do is make it a good deal for him...though she didn't have a lot to work with. Basically, she'd totally have to do whatever he wanted to make it a good deal for him; she wasn't pretty and she wasn't 'a winning personality' but she'd got him revenge for the vampire...but he'd only been in the vampire trouble because of her in the first place. Her poor human was stuck with her and it was definitely better for her than him. She would feel better if she was less selfish for him.
As an artist with paints and stuff, maybe brush strokes would excite him? Or would he just see her and want to go off and paint forever and she'd just be waiting for him to come back? She wished it didn't take so long...but she also wanted him to be free to do whatever made him happy. She was still a bit confused about the artist thing, as it kinda sounded like he was only an artist because his mom made him...even naming him after and artist who wasn't even Russian and everything...but then he also liked it enough to do it long after his family was dead...and she had to admit he was good...did he only like it because he was good at it? Or did he like it so he did it so good? And she needed to not be jealous of his spending all that time painting...she had her photography, and...even though she could digitally get pics, sometimes there were times she really preferred using dark rooms, even though that was the old (and smelly) way to do it. So...if he wanted to make an image the hard way that would never be as exact as a picture...she just needed to wait while he did things the hard way, and be happy the thing he wanted to do wasn't...cake sculpting or something like that. It could be worse, he could be a doll collector or something. Hey, and at least the paintings he did actually looked like things, not just a bunch of paint splatters he was tricking people into buying. She'd have to make an effort to let him do art stuff and try really hard not to be a whiny baby about it. It was just so fun to have him around to do things with.
She liked this one...until she noticed the rather bad placement of the flower on the shorts. Yeah, that's a whole lot of nope! Maybe she should get a few solid colors of shorts that she could wear patterned shirts with instead of having to buy sets on everything. Maybe a few sets and a few solids. She wondered what he'd gotten, she imagined for a moment that he was going to come out in black...though he said something about lighter colors, so she wondered if he was going to be wearing a bunch of bright flowery things or something silly because he could get away with it or if he was going to go all boring. Was he going to be wearing all simple pale stripes? Or would she get to see him in something funny when he could get away with it because they were tourists? Or would it be like tropical skulls or something? She was almost impatient trying on her clothes to see what his were going to be...but she liked to think she was putting a little more effort into it than everything being a sports shirt or solid color. Also...she'd forgotten she should be getting something racy for bed. She wasn't really sure why things that covered more space than a bra and underwear were more exciting, but she got the impression from tv and movies that this was so...she was going to get something lacy to see the look on his face. He'd been almost breathless with the wedding dress's ruffle-ganza... so she hoped to one-up that. She hoped to see him squirm. She hoped to strike him speechless. She was going to whoohoo him until he begged her to stop. Hmm... wow, it was almost like planning revenge... only better.
A little behind the scenes of the infamous prom shoot ...
Loved the update.
I enjoyed seeing everyone's updates.
I have started a bachelorette style game in a newly remodeled version of Sunset Valley. My male contestants all have jobs while my stay-at-home bachelorette is a self-employed painter. I have started an account with imgur so will have pictures soon.
...
Derek makes fun of Taïga's outfit, and there's where it all started...
Fantastic pictures.
Have you updated and added to all the earlier chapters of your story? If so looks like now is a good time to start reading.
I'm getting started on chapter 15. I'd love to hear what you think, so you could always start, and then wait for the updates. I'm writing on the teen part also, but hey! I'm on vacation, waiting for my cab to take me and my son to the train station, then we'll catch a flight to Sweden.
LOL @Aaeiyn *waves* Long time no see. I remember you vaguely.
Craziness going on here so haven't had time to play nor get on the computer. Between dental work, computer issues, family stuff, job search, remodeling disaster, etc etc... yeah you can imagine why you haven't seen much of me lately.
@Zabeth0 I agree with Cwaddell, Zelda's outfits look adorable. I think the top is from Island Paradise. Nice to see Zelda's lighter side Only skimmed the update. Seems like she's having fun tho.
LOL @Aaeiyn *waves* Long time no see. I remember you vaguely.
Craziness going on here so haven't had time to play nor get on the computer. Between dental work, computer issues, family stuff, job search, remodeling disaster, etc etc... yeah you can imagine why you haven't seen much of me lately.
Sorry I'm so brief, keyboard is not cooperating and I've got a splitting headache...
Hello, I remember you, vaguely as well
I totally understand what you mean. Life keeps getting in the way of playing with life, LOL
I'll be around to comment on new stories, whenever somebody is ready to post
Went to the emergency room this morning and am going to 'try' to take it easy these next couple of days... though the chances of that are next to nil with all that's going on here ...
Until we see each other again, here's a peek inside the Jolina-Plumb photo album.
The esteemed Vaughan Prize winning novelist Savannah Jolina-Plumb once wrote, "Living in (Sunset Valley) is an embarrassment of riches sometimes. I don't often get to enjoy the view."
She had these two to call mother and father, Nathan and Shandra Jolina-Plumb, both hit movie composers, both extremely intelligent, both coming from poor backgrounds. They knew each other like the back of their hands.
They enjoyed dinners out...
...and musical numbers. Shandra was an accomplished pianist. Nathan could listen to her play all day. More importantly, he could watch her long, elegant fingers glide across the ivories.
She had not come across her skills easily. Her mother, Daniella, used to physically beat her every time she played her xylophone. Luckily, her father Edward took up for her.
Shandra had expressed disappointment that her only daughter, Savannah, lacked all interest in the musical arts.
But there was something that even took Shandra by surprise. Specifically, his relationship with her best friend, Dena Hart (Bebe's daughter). This relationship came to a head at AJ's teen birthday party.
None other than Savannah confronted Dena, her mother's best friend, and as she'd found out, her father's mistress, at this party.
Family tree (I found this copy, I lost most of my stuff when my hard drive crashed)
Teenage AJ
Sage peeking through the treehouse
Imsety being his mischievous self
Satis reading a book to AJ
Savannah NOT HAPPY after being woken up by baby Sierra
Went to the emergency room this morning and am going to 'try' to take it easy these next couple of days... though the chances of that are next to nil with all that's going on here ...
Until we see each other again, here's a peek inside the Jolina-Plumb photo album.
...
Great update. Hope your medical emergency is resolved.
@jillbg: Thanks. Actually my memory's not really that good, a few replies ago I didn't remember Derek's 'dad' was an inventor and his "brother" was a time child, so I looked back over several chapters to remind myself what was up with that-since I felt incredulous I could have forgotten that with how cool I think time children and inventors are, it's as if I'd forgotten Missy was a witch! (I knew I was still waiting for more from Arthur Moon because the picture thing connecting them...and of course, I've been waiting to find out what Derek's been up to in his disappearance into Africa...so it's not that I've totally forgotten who Derek was but, it's probably good timing in the filling in the older chapters!) But since I didn't reread the entire story again, I don't know for sure that I'm not missing something else major so...I'm glad you're not all like, hey, um, Zabeth, did you forget 'insert major event that I totally read and even commented on, but then my brain went all etch-n-sketch on me'? )
Ah, okay, so you did it on purpose! To show how out of it Granny was- she hadn't really had to deal with emergency services for a bit...and she'd traveled in Europe, so she was mis-remembering the number from the last time she maybe had to know it.
Well, at least Shasta's not doing it on purpose...she's just taking her mom's help for granted and not realizing how long even a day is to a child in comparison to...a cougar lol. (Sorry, the one instance of Shasta's revenge on that family still cracks me up..that's another instance where she acted without full awareness of how things looked from the outside before seeing it in the papers lol)
Oh no, definitely not! No one better stand in between him and Taiga!
Hey, I totally understand bending over backwards to get a shot right lol. Oh boy, don't I! I'm not a builder, but I've made several "sets" to simulate the inside of buildings so I could have Rafael talk to people while he was supposed to be in the rabbit holes...interestingly enough, so far... mostly Bailey lol. (Because the places were the Diner and the Archives...I have a few saves that have these sets on them... oh, and I spent an embarrassing amount of time making a special 'not church' for witches to get married in... it was a big mess for me, and I needed it to be very large with lots of empty chairs...and so it was a three story mess of a place (using the Russian set which I had no idea how to use either)...and at long last I got it built good enough...I took my screenshots and for some reason, the lot never got saved... I don't remember if my computer crashed or if I just failed for some other reason, but if I ever send someone to get witch married again, the place is going to look different and it's going to be 'The wedding place was magical, of course it could look different now!' as an explanation... ) I'm glad this only happened on a magical location so I can have such excuses!
I'm glad you understand, so you know exactly what she's connecting with, even while she's feeling betrayed, she still wants her dad! Rafael may not have had these same traditions but he could feel the family closeness indicated by her plea enough to want to try it himself. Well, there is just a few minor things in which they are opposites, their outlook on truthfullness is a pretty big difference, and he's a genius and Zelda is definitely not...and he's definitely not a witch- he definitely has no magic sense...but he's got to be very physically fit because of his job (and he played all sorts of physical outdoor games with his brother and sister growing up so...), and Zelda's got the athletic trait, so she values sports and being in shape and being active... their first interaction was a snowball fight at the winterfest in Moonlight falls. He's evil, she's mean spirited, so they aren't really good people... He's artistic, she's got a photographers eye, so they both have hobbies that aren't all about sports too. She's family oriented, and he was raised to value his family (hence why he's trying so hard), so he would be family oriented himself...if he weren't a workaholic.
Yeah... sometimes people use the fact that they are telling the truth as an excuse to hurt people. If someone were to walk up to Bailey and tell her that her mother is dead...it would be the truth, but there isn't any good reason for them to say that to her- she knows her mother's dead, it's not new information, it's not condolences, it's not asking for advice, it's saying something insensitive and it doesn't make a difference if it's true or not. If say, someone didn't know her mother was dead, and started making 'your momma is so fat' jokes...firstly, they clearly don't know what her mom looked like when she was alive, or that she is not, actually alive (being that the joke isn't you're momma -was- so fat, these jokes are always told in current tense)...they are lying about her mother to insult her...but when they find out her mom's dead, they will likely be sorry...they likely won't sit there and say 'what, it's the truth, it's not my fault that you can't handle the truth, you-special-snowflake-who-needs-a-safe-space-because-she's-too-sensitive-for-the-real-world but I did nothing wrong!' In that way, the person who is hiding behind the fact that they are telling "truths" is hurting you twice- saying something deliberately hurtful and then insulting you for actually being hurt. But ...most people select what they say with more forethought than just saying every true thing that pops into their head...and that selection process is guided by social rules about what is appropriate to comment on (what subjects are taboo?), how they can comment on it (Even if it's a subject that's not taboo as such, do they have to have an excuse to talk about it? You're likely not going to discuss certain things with strangers for example- and if they try you'll classify them as creepy stalkers or dangerous because that's not in the realm of what should be discussed with just anyone) and other social things like what something means (If someone says 'she's on the fence about the issue' does that literally mean she's climbed up on a fence? No, it doesn't, it means she's considering both sides and hasn't yet determined where to come down on it). Sometimes people are insulting by accident...but it only takes a little social training to know what's generally insulting...children can figure out how to insult people...they are childish insults, but that's a social skill too, you have to know what people value in the culture you are in to insult people- so in Simerican culture, someone's mother being fat is an insult...not a compliment that the family is wealthy and keeping their mother well fed and cared for (as any decent person should.) There is a reason I made the mean-spirited one this way. Also mean spirited sims, like evil sims, don't usually apologize...they can...but this signifies stepping outside of their 'natural inclinations' (the game will still let you, but it goes against the trait), and don't compliment people (which is why Zelda's compliments are very rare, usually only for Rafael since she loves him, and most of them are of the 'you don't suck at this' variety.) So, in her case, I thought it would make sense that she'd not be sorry because as far as she's concerned, she's telling the truth (the Zelda truth), and if they can't handle the truth, that's their problem.
Well, to be fair, he's Rafael, he's going to analyze, even if she was a normal two year old lol, the fact that on top of being a two year old she's also a ridiculously powerful witch just makes it that much more important to consider things. He's not home a lot (workaholic running a criminal organization which is basically at war with some other criminal organizations- he's winning but that doesn't mean the others aren't giving him a bit of trouble with enlisting the aide of governments against him) and doesn't speak much Russian with his kids because Zelda needs to know what they are saying...he's resigned to the idea that they are Simericans, and that Simericans are xenophobic fasccists...so he doesn't believe his children will really be interested in their Russian side ...however, when he slips with a hammer what comes out of his mouth is not Simlish...and when he's distracted and muttering while repairing things, it's in Russian, and he's been listening to music, listening to news in Russian when he doesn't think the kids are around...they've heard more Russian than he thinks. He's worried his kids will have an accent and the Simericans will continue to be more and more xenophobic...and his kids won't have any friends...because they are too 'foreign'... he's been hearing even Simerican news stories about teachers complaining that children are telling other children that they're going to be deported or their families will be deported...he already knows he's going to have to tell his children, before they start school that those sorts of threats are not something they have to worry about; their mother is Simerican and has never been anything else, he is Simerican now and if they forget that somehow [or discover it wasn't done properly], he can always fly back by dragon before their planes are even back from dropping him off [he'll skip explaining that this will be after a significant fight-and they will pay for making him fight it!]; they were born in Simerica, which is a country that practices birthright citizenship- meaning they were born on Simerican soil, they are Simericans. So, while other kids have to only worry about remembering their address and phone number and using please and thank you and that sort of thing, he's going to have to give his kindergartners a lecture on Simerican citizenship before they start school so that other kids can't terrify them with threats of government agencies kidnapping them and throwing them in a country they've never before set foot in.
Lol, well, to be fair, Zelda's only touching on the glamorous stuff. Because being a teacher involves a lot of reading and writing and self control, Zelda's not really that jazzed about that.
Thanks. I've gotten a lot of patterns off the exchange over the years, if you want it, the pattern is s51215-026 by margrietsmid, if you do a keyword search for that number, you'll find two and the one you want is the one under leathers and furs.
Ah, I see you know exactly where that's going. Yep, back to the honeymoon in the real universe.
The Ballet room looks so much better! Ah, there it is, and in their tiff, Serena really did start it, there with Taiga being all new and vulnerable, with all the worries about fitting in of any new student, and Serena embarrassing her instead of making her feel welcome. Lol @ 'And err...what kind of pants are they? Hip Hop?' So cute. I love how you fit in about it being her mom's old jazz outfit; you've filled in the blanks of her having to wear hand me downs because of the cultural difference between her living with her grandma who likely doesn't see any reason to buy new clothes often (since the dress she bought to appear in front of the school was a notable effort for her, we can probably guess buying new clothes is more a rare occurrence in that household, (and probably why it's so fun for Shasta to buy clothes and update/remodel rooms of her husband's...it must feel like some real power to change things when she's been living in a hand me down house in the cove for her whole life and living under hand me down rules from the council as well...) Anyway, sorry, sidetracked again. Lol- the exchange about stalking was originally in there but it's funnier this time around because of the details you've added. I don't think I understood the first time that Derek was sort of in trouble with the teacher for being there in football stuff- so he probably related pretty well to Taiga, even if he hadn't been 'stalking' her.
I think my favorite pic is the second one with Taiga posing in front of the mirror, the piano there and the reflection of Derek looking at her. I know the pinkies all in a line with Derek being chastised by the teacher and Taiga is more story line important, but I still like it best, probably because of her future with a piano or perhaps just because it's just them.
I hope you had a wonderful vacation...and hopefully have some time to recover from the travel. (I'm only guessing you are back by now, but then again, I realize that other countries have more vacation time off, so maybe you aren't back yet...but in case you are...or for when you get back, this'll be here...)
I love the floating pumpkins! You've added such tender moments with Taiga using her power...and adding bits from the fairy Godmother from Cinderella was adorable. It seems Taiga's influence has made Granny slightly more generous, encouraging her to take extra pumpkins into town, and sternly inviting the boys that were helping to carve the pumpkins in for lunch. It was great, seeing what all was on Granny's mind when this was happening instead of it just being something that happened while she was off at a secret meeting; she was struggling with the chores, and the learning curve of doing all the things Mrs. Brown had done, plus all the expectations Taiga had about the holiday, plus all of the witch chores and socializing, it probably positively felt like a mad house to her! Lol @ Derek asking if she's a witch! That's a great picture of the line of kids at the mansion! Lol @ "Hey, do I ask about your beard!?!" I love the adorable close ups at the McDuff's place with little Gator on his first Halloween. So cute! Lol @ Serena offering Derek a sleepover and Zack running with it! I love the more detail given to the fire and how Granny saved the magic stuff she could but almost perished for her efforts. I know you're not done with the chapter yet, and I'll come back to it later. But I know you've been filling things out with a lot more pictures and I wanted to make sure you know that it's appreciated!
@Silver: Aw @ little Lucus. It's also great to see the dogs running around. Also love Ava's porcupine painting. It's very cute.
@cwaddell: The shorts are from Outdoor living stuff.
Also of note, the shorts have two channels. So, you know, if you wanted to, you could color them differently than what I was doing with the whole shirt/short sets thing.
I often really like having artists because you never know what you're going to get lol. (And even if you've seen a painting before, the whole traits causing different filters means that you can see the painting in a new way even if you've seen that painting before...you might not have seen it with a particular filter before.) If your male counterparts are in rabbit holes, that'll give you that much more time that you can just focus on what you're painter is doing or speed up time lol. But anyway, it sounds like it'll be fun.
@Aaeiyn: Welcome back! Sounds reasonable, hey, if you were trying to catch up to two years of comments, no one would know what you were even talking about! And hey, remember, you don't have to comment on everything, just at least on one other update or simmer, everything else is if you're feeling generous. So, don't stress out...this is not meant to be a chore! (And I'm just reminding you because everyone needs a reminder from time to time). Also of note, the thread is moving a fair bit slower than it was a couple years ago, so please don't feel ignored.
@Venus: I can totally understand why all that on your plate might keep you a bit busy! Yeah, Zelda's having fun- she doesn't usually shop for clothes or put much effort into it. She's actually trying because she's insecure about loving Rafael. Mainly I was just having fun with having my witch do 'normal' stuff like try on clothes.
*Wince* Ouch, I know I'm never happy about having to take a trip to the ER. Please take it easy!
It was nice to see the old couple cuteness of Shandra and Nathan...but what a terrible situation to find out your mother's best friend is your father's mistress at your son's birthday party! I'm sure that Savannah must have thought that Sabastian was trying to one up his father by cheating with Kaydence's Nanny when she found out about that. Well, Savannah mastered different keys on her keyboard...as a writer. Lol @ Imsety's antics Also very sweet to see Satis reading to AJ as a little boy. (Satis: "And then the little mechanic that could beat the shower with a hammer until it was upgraded and never broke again- the end!") Aw @ little baby Sierra so happy in her high chair!
Finally got some semblance of computer time in between doctor appointments (I have another one this morning) to post something resembling an update. I read your comments @cwaddell and @Zabeth0 on my phone, will respond ASAP. Can't type on that keyboard, I've given up on it.
Anyhoo, before I forget what I wanted to write... here goes...just a little brief one. I just opened my sims game for the first time in what seems like forever, and I literally forgot what that feeling felt like, seriously. Even some of the controls are now foreign to me. *thud*
These pics come off the laptop, so if they're 'slightly' clearer and better, that's why. I try not to use the laptop as much to play Sims on, to ease concerns about overheating. This is the 'new to me' laptop I got last year for my birthday, but in truth it's about 3 years old.
When I last left you all, Skylar's desperate mother, Savannah, had sent her to university in an effort to curb her party hardy ways. Skylar, some of you may recall, had thrown a massive goodbye bash, after which the police had been called. Luckily, her older sister, Sage, handled both the police and her wayward sis, ushering a confession out of her - she was resentful of her cousin Kaydence, who she felt had curried favor with the adults and particularly her mother.
No sooner had Skylar left for Le Fromage Art School than she sent a SOS signal to her uncle, Sebastian, that she wanted to come home. Savannah, of course, was apoplectic. She had spent three years trying to get her aspiring pop-star daughter into the exclusive arts school, and now that she was in, she wanted out.
Her husband Andy, who as usual was the voice of reason and who calmed his hot-tempered wife down, sat with her and discussed options. Throughout their long history together, they'd been through a lot - their oldest son had had his issues before he straightened out, so straight that he joined the military and married a princess. And then there was their middle daughter, Sierra, who was so wild and out of control that she had been arrested at least three times, institutionalized for two weeks, and then revealed that she had been abducted by aliens right after her twelfth birthday. On top of that, Sierra was enrolled in Fort Starch Military Academy, where she was accused of hacking into its top-secret computer system. Only during a conversation with her sister did she admit to actually doing the deed.
Now, the couple's youngest daughter, Skylar, was doing things that made even Savannah blush. Her party-girl reputation had now followed her to university.
As the embers from the bonfire flickered out, her phone rang again. Her phone was always ringing these days. Just like high school, she was 'in demand.'
Fresh off of a bash at her rental home, she was off to the sorority house for yet another get-together. The rain kept falling on the evening, but no mind. The party wasn't over yet.
The closing credits of a cooking show rolled in the background as Skylar walked into the sorority house.
Tri Fruhm had a reputation for attracting the most popular girls in the school. That Skylar would be a recruit should not have been a surprise. The daughter of a professor and scion of a wealthy and famous family, Skylar would seem an ideal candidate for the sorority rush class. Her two older sisters had been recruited by this sorority, as had her cousin. The fact that she had siblings who graduated from the university also added to her potential as a sorority sister. (Her oldest sister, Satis, dropped out in medical school after having her son, Ramses. More on them later.)
When Skylar walked in, she saw one of the sorority sisters chatting up a guy from one of the frat houses.
She decided to get herself something to drink. Of course, that something happened to be spiked punch. Had the person who spiked the punch just walked away from the scene of the crime in a trench coat?
Looking inside the plastic cup, Skylar took a cautious sip. "Yep, this is spiked," she thought to herself, but she drank anyway.
After taking her drink, she suddenly remembered she was a Jolina-Plumb and grabbed a book from the bookshelf.
With the cooking show blaring in the background, Skylar flipped through the pages, pretending not to see who was next to her.
@cwaddell Thanks for the comment. I'm still dealing with the repercussions of my medical emergency, but I'll manage.
@Zabeth0 In that case, Zelda's behavior resembles that of a woman... aka am I impressing my man enough? It's cool and cute though, 'normal' stuff like trying on clothes is unusual for this bunch. It's unusual for the Jolina-Plumbs too, except for maybe Kaydence who inherited her fashion sense from Madison and her side of the family.
Yep, imagine being Savannah for a bit. Your father is basically your idol, you're much closer to him than you are to your mother, and you find out that he's woohooing your mom's best friend - a woman you've come to know from the arts and theater circuit and who spent a lot of time with you in your youth. You also learn that the affair has been going on secretly for a long time. You also find out that your father had a host of other women, as well. Any wonder why she keeps such tight screws on Andy?
Clearly the dysfunction in this family did not start with Sebastian and Kaydence.
And you see now why Savannah keeps such a tight lid on her emotions. It's a trait that she has passed to her son and her daughters. Sage, I don't think so much, but definitely I see it in the others. And she became a writer probably because she internalized everything. She was never exactly the most outgoing girl, even growing up - although her efforts to be more extroverted were awkward at best. Her brother Sebastian, was more outward with his emotions. You can also see why, what happened with Skylar cut her so deeply.
The kids were all close growing up. They had to be, really.
@jillbg Remember all of the current Jolina-Plumbs are Nathan's descendants. His half-sister Margaret (Maggie) died without having children. Maggie technically isn't a Jolina because she has no biological relation to Jamie Jolina, but she is a Plumb because she is Nigel's daughter.
Zelda: Once she was done with trying things on, she settled on wearing the most comfortable 'dress' she'd ever found. It was probably really a pull over with the way it tied, but it was really comfortable! She found Rafael working over a drafting table with a bunch of colored pencils. Leave it to Rafael to find stripes to wear that were not boring and then to be too busy to let her see him standing up. Of course, she knew she could tell him to get up and show her, but she was distracted by his skill...those were just pencils... how did he even manage to get those colors?
Rafael: "I am just tyestink it out. Drraftink tyables arre lyike morre horrizontyal yeasels, it is much easierr to use a rrulyerr or Tyee-sqvuarre, but I really do prrefyerr yeasels...I'm not sure it vould be vorth the spyace. Though it vould be verry helpful forr...my...as you say... othyerr hobby..."
Zelda: "But you're doing so well with it! How did you get colored pencils smooth like that?"
Rafael: "Layerrs, pressurre and angle, like most thinks. Yit is just a drrawink. Oh, you lyike this? You don't haf some surrealyist filtyerr on your camyerra to get flyink vatches?" He teased.
Zelda: She laughed. "Oh, that will be the day, Twinkle Toes! I have no flying watch filters!"
Rafael: "Oh? Really, vell, I suppose you vill just haf to put up vith my drrawinks and paintinks frrom tyime to tyime...ve can't haf you goink vithout flyink vatches. How bored you vould be!"
* * *
Zelda: She wandered around the place taking pictures on her phone to make Deedee jealous. This place was so like Deedee! There was even a big lolly pop display in the middle of the store. Much of the furniture was made to look like candy or ice cream...at least on this side of the store. She couldn't imagine a store like this in dark, dreary Moonlight Falls, (which was still covered in winter snow!) so maybe Deedee would let her take her here. Not right away of course. After all, she was on her Honeymoon, and she was pretty sure that was supposed to be just two people...but after that, then she'd get Deedee a vacation too. And she'd have already scouted the place out so she could show off! Best to make sure Deedee wasn't going to bite it with being the weakest witch ever! But it was supposed to be safe, so she'd find out if it was or not.
Zelda: She typed in 'Hey, sis! Send me a text back so I know my texts are getting through now!' She made a face and sent her text. After all, she'd sent a bunch of pics and she wanted to make sure they weren't just being dumped...it had been rather annoying to send Deedee a text to rub Rafael in her face only to have it totally disappear...she had to wonder if it was just a hiccup or if her phone was going down. She had a real camera too, and they took better quality pics, of course, but she was just trying to get some feedback from Deedee, even if it was just a smiley face.
Then she remembered the time zone thing... what was it, three, four in the morning in Moonlight Falls? Ooops! There she was being an annoying little sister again! Hopefully she didn't wake Deedee up. She'd have to remember to wait...she was just so excited and it had been daylight when she'd arrived so she'd forgotten. Now she was a bit worried that Deedee would send her a message, and be all like nice and understanding at her when she should be mad because no one likes to be woken up at three in the morning with a text-cascade...she looked to see if Deedee had checked the messages...they looked delivered, but not looked at, so maybe she didn't wake her up... Deedee was probably still snuggled up to her tatty old teddy bear unaware of Zelda's mistake. Well, hey, at least the pics would still be there when she was up and ready to look at them. And if they disappeared, if they said sent like the other pic had said sent and weren't delivered...well, that would be annoying but it would also hide her mistake and then she'd make Rafael send pics on his phone instead, and he'd probably be able to remember the whole time zone thing. There was no way Mr. Supergenius would have made this mistake!
Zelda: Rafael was looking out the window, apparently the 'rainy season' was like a surprise party of clouds and rain... it had been so bright and clear when they'd walked into the store, and now it was so dark and rainy it was hard to believe this was the same day...and it had been, what an hour? Maybe...if that long even. Though she supposed she didn't usually take so long to try on clothes. She might have wasted a full hour! And there was all the wandering around the store looking at this or that table... "So, how's it look out there, Twinkle Toes?"
Rafael: "Vet. Rainy. Dark. But ve need to vait for the man comink to pick us up anyvay."
Zelda: "Man? What? Some guy from the hotel or what?"
Rafael: "No, Zyelda, there is no hotel herre, not on this island. Ve arre stayink vith a rich byusinessman at his hyouse on the beach, he has many extra rooms... it vas decidyed that ve needyed special attyention, and ve might be ovyerrlooked in a resorrt crrowd. But it is more prryistine on this island, and I thought ve vould preferr that...if ve vant to visyit a resorrt, ve can sail to the othyer islands and trry it out, if ve arre feelink brafe... but vith morre food, therre is morre likely to be the prredyatorr ve arre avoidink."
Zelda: "You're speaking Mr. Prissypants again. Why don't you just say vampires?"
Rafael: He shot a meaningful look towards where the clerk was across the room, behind a cash register, but her eyes were locked on her phone, she seemed to be texting. Then he looked back at Zelda. "I vould prreferr not to be ovyerrhearrd talkink abyout such thinks." He said in a low tone.
Zelda: With his deep voice, it was challenging to pick out the difference in his voice and the thunder- she could hear the difference over here, but chances were pretty good that the clerk couldn't hear anything, not even Zelda's voice...the rain now sounded like a waterfall out there. "But you believe in them now, why would you deny it?"
Rafael: "Most people do not belief in them, and I prreferr not to be labyeled as yinsane. It rathyerr complyicates intyerractions vith people."
Zelda: "Oh, right, we have to worry about humans being all weird about it outside of Moonlight Falls, huh? But this business guy, he totally knows, right? He's not going to be all freaked out the first time I use magic? Because I totally can't do without magic for a week or two, it'll never happen!"
Rafael: "No, no Zyelda, no vone is tellink you that you can't use magyic. He knows. He vill not be...veirrd abyout it. Mistyerr Morrgyanth assurres me he knows vhat he's dealink vith. He says this man has dyealt vith vitches vith tempyerrs beforre."
Zelda: "And you got all that from texts with Deathbreath back in Moonlight Falls?"
Rafael: "Yes, afterr I vas done, you verre still tryink on clothes and I vanted to know details of the arrrangmyents. Mistyerr Morrgyanth seems to belief this man is ourr best choice for not runnink into the people ve don't vant to run into, and this man can do more than a concierrge at a resorrt, so it vill make thinks easierr to stay vith him than if ve vere to make any othyerr arrangemyents... Mistyerr Reyes owns boats, yexpensif carrs, compyanies that offyerr scubya excurrsions, rrestaurrants, parrks and many plyaces ve vant to visyit and can gif us access on off hourrs so ve don't haf to be intyerrupted. It's not fyool prroof, but yit sounds lyike the byest option. Vhen you'rre rready, I'll tyext Mistyerr Reyes."
Zelda: "Great, so, first, we're buying things with the whole credit card thing in whatever way lets me use my shiny new name, okay? Then you text Mr. Racecar for us!"
@Zabeth0 LOL at Zelda striking poses for Deedee! Definitely a different side of the criminal mastermind, at a drawing table. Nice work Rafael! They look like they're having some fun and relaxing... but when are they going to relax together?? Seems like they're doing their relaxing separate from each other...
I've started playing again. I decided that I would use a vampire to try to complete the heartbreaker LTW. I play with a life span of 91 day so thought a vampire's long life would make it easier. My other reason for this particular game was to try some of the EA worlds I have but have never played in before. I would have my vampire move from world to world until he accomplished his LTW and then he would settle in a Louisiana town, Twinbrook.
I started a game in my modified Twinbrook ( Twinbrook-makeover thread ) with a completely new population playing a child, Diana Lynn, and her adult mother, Kira Lynn. In that game Kira has died and Diana is now a young adult who is a self employed painter. Her LTW is to be a master of the arts. She has almost mastered painting and is at level 7 or so in guitar. That game is on hold waiting for my vampire to join when he reaches is LTW.
Kira and Diana in their small trailer.
Diana as a young adult.
I started Anton Dietrich ( a tweaked version of Vladimir Schlick of Bridgeport) in Dragon Valley. There he found a dragon egg in his house and now has a purple dragon. I have never played with the dragons before. The purple one is so fun and along with some added vampire interactions I have from some mods is going to make getting his LTW so easy.
Anton Dietrich
Anton with his purple dragon, Vlad.
Storywise Anton got turned in his town (Dragon Valley) in one of the German countries near the end of the 1700's. He will move to Monte Vista during the mid 1800's. Then on to the old west, Appaloosa Plains, during the end of the 1800's. Then comes Miami during the roaring 20's (Roaring Heights). Then San Francisco (Bridgeport) during the 1960's. Then on to Louisiana current time. If I was writing up a story, rather than just chronicling my game, I would make sure everyone was dressed appropriately for the supposed time period but I have already seen taxis in Dragon Valley and TVs, cell phones, etc so will not be making each town and its inhabitants realistic.
Comments
I totally meant 911, but Granny is so stressed out so she blabbers on and I thought 999 could feel authentic when you're in her state of mind - realizing she doesn't know where Taïga spends her days, that she has no way of contacting her friend's parents, that she can't rely on her magic 100%...
Taïga doesn't know how to handle her feeling for Derek - she doesn't know what to say -not because she doesn't like the Gonk, but, on the contrary, because she might like it too much.
I try to depict Shasta as selfish and immature. She doesn't realize at what point she hurt her daughter by leaving and not giving any news. But she's been so busy, honey mooning and redecorating and being pregnant with a new child, who she will raise in a wonderful home in Italy, with a wonderful wealthy man. Who is also a celebrity magician! Did I say selfish?
Derek is very much loved by his parents, and he loves them back. And his brother Teddy means the world to him!
I couldn't save the lot... But I saved the game, so I'll reopen that save when I get to winter to take some pics. I guess I've become obsessive with the picture I intend to take - from Taïga's first dance class, snowing outside, but you can see the schoolyard. And yes. It has to be the Moonlight Falls school's authentic schoolyard. Gah!
We can't let uptight Raphael unbutton his shirt, can we? Love Zelda’s sense of humor!
That’s an interesting approach, letting Raphael consider Chester Swain as some kind of father figure, but it makes sense – it explains why he admires him.
A good analysis of Zelda that doesn’t leave anything to the imagination! The extremes again: straight minded Zelda vs devious Raphael. I don’t like devious, but I don’t like too straightforward much neither. Some people think they can go around spreading "truths" and thus hurting people under cover of never lying.
Just love your description of the kids!
IMHO, the Zolnikov’s need a real live Santa coming in person to hand out the presents. The kids will get a hang on Christmas in the bat of an eyelash!
It must be an extremely difficult situation – being afraid of your own child.
Whizbang has definitely choosen his treasure – a live one!
Ah, the torments of bad consciousness… The stress occasioned by saying too much, or not enough, especially when you detain as much information as Raphael does.
"fun human stuff like be a rock star or go to the moon or own a nightclub or something" Lol! And I’m just a teacher! I must have gotten something wrong along the way!
I love the shiny red texture you’ve used. It looks especially good on Raphael’s jacket.
And now it’s time to leave them under the mistletoe… I think the best Christmas present for Zelda would be conceiving the so much talked about little sister!
And now back to their honey moon in the "real universe"! Can't wait!
Taïga starts ballet school, and meets Serena and the "pinkies":
But more important, she meets Derek, who has to take ballet as a punishment for bad grades. Yep.
The dance teacher isn't happy that he shows up after football practice in sports gear.
Derek makes fun of Taïga's outfit, and there's where it all started...
@jillbg Great updates as usual
I have another update
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Time for Lucas to get up in the morning.
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Attack of the claw
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Teaching to talk
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Skyler relaxed
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Ava painted
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Skyler and smokey playing togheter
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yummy breakfast
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Smokey asleep
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Alistair praised Skyler for beeing a good doggie
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skyler
All for now
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Zelda: She wondered if he liked hot dogs. Surely he couldn't have been in Simerica for years and not tried a hot dog...but until she'd put it in front of him, he'd never tried peanut butter and jelly sandwiches before! Then again, hot dogs were served from carts to sports games to sports bars...peanut butter and jelly sandwiches weren't really something you got in public. His teeth had punched through her skin like a plumming fruit juice drink straw! She shuddered. No... she didn't want to wear food. Wearing food was stuppid anyway. She hoped she could find some food he liked besides those pancakes...because she'd make him those horrible buckwheat pancakes if that's what she needed to do to please him, but she hoped to never eat them again. He must feel the same way about peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
Zelda: Ah, this was much more tropical! The sea horses looked a bit boring but just realistic enough to make her want to take some pictures of some real ones...someday. Not now. She'd take lots of pictures of her handsome human in the tropics! Maybe he'd want to go swimming. Or snorkeling. Or diving. Or dancing. Like real dancing, not his sissy wedding dancing...but she supposed it was kind of cute in it's way, and she was smiling when she thought about it. He really was like some sort of romantic modern pirate...with all his limbs and eyes intact...even if he thought the comparison was funny! Though now she had to wonder if her pirate fantasies had anything to do with him kidnapping Deedee... she just liked the idea of pirates, she didn't want him to actually go around kidnapping witches...wow, it just boggled her mind that a human would do something so dangerous! Though she thought he must be the most amazing human on the planet, kidnapping a witch and fighting through vampire control...she wondered what he'd do next, but she was also a little bit worried about that. Hopefully he'd settle down a little...yes, he was exciting, but she wanted him to live! For as long as she could keep him...
She'd really like to swim, and she'd really like to see him in a bathing suit. Was he a speedo kinda guy or was he into big trunks with lots of pockets or something in between? She wondered if it'd be laced up tight like that contraption of straps that he normally wore (she hadn't realized how complicated his clothes were until she'd had to take them off him while he was unconscious) or if now that he was here in the tropics he could just relax. Of course, he'd do whatever she wanted him to...now she felt really bad about that...her poor human, but she wanted him to have fun...and she'd do her best to be nice to him and give him the best life she could. Her poor human had almost died twice...and then had slept for two whole days...his muscles were probably killing him with all that not moving! So, even though she had a lot of things she wanted to do, she'd probably need to find out what he wanted to do so she could be nice and rewarding to her amazing human who had fought really hard to survive for her. She wanted to make sure he was very happy he stuck around.
Zelda: She was going to buy this one and send it to Deedee. This might as well have Deedee's name on it. This summer, or maybe late spring when it wasn't infested with snow any more, she could totally wear the blue one and Deedee could wear the pink one and they could go do something together...like when they were little. Maybe. Only she might be pregnant by then! This was so exciting! She could have a little mini-Rafael to play with! She'd dress him up like his daddy and take pictures and then put him in more comfortable clothes, and play with him. Basket ball and soccer and catch and swimming. She thought she might stay away from football for Rafael's sake, if he was still alive by the time their kid was old enough to be playing football, she'd maybe just skip that one. (Though she'd have to remember to crystal ball his brother's death in case it was actually a murder and the football game wasn't just so rough it killed him- she was going to settle that question for him but had forgotten and now they were in the tropics...so later, she'd totally do that for him!)
She hoped Deedee was jealous of the vacation...so maybe she'd let Zelda teleport her here for a vacation sometime too. If it was safe enough for a witch who wouldn't use her powers to defend herself, that is...but if it was safe enough for humans, it should be safe enough for Deedee. She'd be able to tell Deedee all the fun spots ahead of time, so Deedee could maybe concentrate on finding her guy... Rafael wouldn't have made her happy anyway, Deedee wouldn't have approved of the whole revenge thing, Deedee would have expected him to just ignore that this guy was trying to kill him! Zelda was going to let Rafael handle it, only because she understood how personal revenge was...if she thought for a minute that it wouldn't upset him if she took it from him, she'd go find that Constance Son of Petro whatever guy and turn him into a cockroach and stomp him flat. And she'd take a video of her stomping on cockroach him on her phone so Rafael could watch it as much as he wanted. But she knew it was bad to steal someone's revenge if they intended to take it. Her human had his own human struggles and she would respect that...she wanted to know more about his world, though. Not just because she'd been born a human...but also so she could understand him more. Some part of her wondered if she'd stayed a human if they'd have fallen in love naturally...but that was stupidd, they'd probably never have even met. So, she supposed all that being in a cage and everything was worth it to meet Rafael.
Hmm...maybe she could get away with yellow in the tropical light? Maybe once she tanned? Meh...though she'd think about it...she really liked the squiggly flowers, they were fun. She wondered if it came in blue.
This one was good, it showed off her muscles. But she wanted to be pretty for him. He was an artist and so it might make him feel better about being in love with her if she was pretty. Didn't all men want pretty women? Deedee was always the pretty one, Zelda was the sporty one...Deedee's hair was straight and stayed in place...her hair was always a tangled mess and would twirl itself into a thousand tiny knots and had to be tied down in some fashion or it got in her mouth and she choked on it when she was trying to run or climb or swim. Deedee's skin was the same color from one side of her face to the other, in a nice, smooth skin tone...Zelda hated her freckles, it was like her face couldn't figure out what it wanted to be, this color or that color. At least people who had acme could hope it would clear up. Not her. She felt like a Dalmatian with frogs lips. She really hoped Rafael never saw her without her lipstick on. Though, she'd heard plenty of stories about 'true love' getting through people actually being toadified, like eating flies and everything... and the spell on Rafael made true love look like a quick dip in the pool, this spell was like true love concentrated into hard candy...so she supposed he didn't really care what she looked like. He'd even looked at the tangled mess and complimented her on it. Still, she wanted to thrill him...legitimately. He was thrilling her, it was only fair.
She thought about that criminal chick's plea to her not to take all the hot ones, and smirked. She had taken the hottest one, they were all jealous! But since her magic meant she didn't have to work to keep him, she still felt she should, because she couldn't free him from her spell...so the least she could do is make it a good deal for him...though she didn't have a lot to work with. Basically, she'd totally have to do whatever he wanted to make it a good deal for him; she wasn't pretty and she wasn't 'a winning personality' but she'd got him revenge for the vampire...but he'd only been in the vampire trouble because of her in the first place. Her poor human was stuck with her and it was definitely better for her than him. She would feel better if she was less selfish for him.
As an artist with paints and stuff, maybe brush strokes would excite him? Or would he just see her and want to go off and paint forever and she'd just be waiting for him to come back? She wished it didn't take so long...but she also wanted him to be free to do whatever made him happy. She was still a bit confused about the artist thing, as it kinda sounded like he was only an artist because his mom made him...even naming him after and artist who wasn't even Russian and everything...but then he also liked it enough to do it long after his family was dead...and she had to admit he was good...did he only like it because he was good at it? Or did he like it so he did it so good? And she needed to not be jealous of his spending all that time painting...she had her photography, and...even though she could digitally get pics, sometimes there were times she really preferred using dark rooms, even though that was the old (and smelly) way to do it. So...if he wanted to make an image the hard way that would never be as exact as a picture...she just needed to wait while he did things the hard way, and be happy the thing he wanted to do wasn't...cake sculpting or something like that. It could be worse, he could be a doll collector or something. Hey, and at least the paintings he did actually looked like things, not just a bunch of paint splatters he was tricking people into buying. She'd have to make an effort to let him do art stuff and try really hard not to be a whiny baby about it. It was just so fun to have him around to do things with.
She liked this one...until she noticed the rather bad placement of the flower on the shorts. Yeah, that's a whole lot of nope! Maybe she should get a few solid colors of shorts that she could wear patterned shirts with instead of having to buy sets on everything. Maybe a few sets and a few solids. She wondered what he'd gotten, she imagined for a moment that he was going to come out in black...though he said something about lighter colors, so she wondered if he was going to be wearing a bunch of bright flowery things or something silly because he could get away with it or if he was going to go all boring. Was he going to be wearing all simple pale stripes? Or would she get to see him in something funny when he could get away with it because they were tourists? Or would it be like tropical skulls or something? She was almost impatient trying on her clothes to see what his were going to be...but she liked to think she was putting a little more effort into it than everything being a sports shirt or solid color. Also...she'd forgotten she should be getting something racy for bed. She wasn't really sure why things that covered more space than a bra and underwear were more exciting, but she got the impression from tv and movies that this was so...she was going to get something lacy to see the look on his face. He'd been almost breathless with the wedding dress's ruffle-ganza... so she hoped to one-up that. She hoped to see him squirm. She hoped to strike him speechless. She was going to whoohoo him until he begged her to stop. Hmm... wow, it was almost like planning revenge... only better.
Have you updated and added to all the earlier chapters of your story? If so looks like now is a good time to start reading.
Loved the update.
I enjoyed seeing everyone's updates.
I have started a bachelorette style game in a newly remodeled version of Sunset Valley. My male contestants all have jobs while my stay-at-home bachelorette is a self-employed painter. I have started an account with imgur so will have pictures soon.
I'm getting started on chapter 15. I'd love to hear what you think, so you could always start, and then wait for the updates. I'm writing on the teen part also, but hey! I'm on vacation, waiting for my cab to take me and my son to the train station, then we'll catch a flight to Sweden.
@Zabeth0 Will read your update on the plane, or at least at the airport!
@cwaddell Thank you
A ) I couldn't remember the E-Mail nor password for this main account of mine, so it was difficult to get back here.
B ) Been playing other games.
Using this post as a marker, so whatever gets posted after this, I will comment. Sorry, not commenting 2+ years of posts ;P
So, hello to all new faces
© https://www.scoop.it/u/antonina-eskova
Craziness going on here so haven't had time to play nor get on the computer. Between dental work, computer issues, family stuff, job search, remodeling disaster, etc etc... yeah you can imagine why you haven't seen much of me lately.
@Zabeth0 I agree with Cwaddell, Zelda's outfits look adorable. I think the top is from Island Paradise. Nice to see Zelda's lighter side
@Silverofdreams30 Lovely photos.
@jillbg Awesome dance photos! Have fun on your vacation!
Sorry I'm so brief, keyboard is not cooperating and I've got a splitting headache...
I totally understand what you mean. Life keeps getting in the way of playing with life, LOL
I'll be around to comment on new stories, whenever somebody is ready to post
© https://www.scoop.it/u/antonina-eskova
Until we see each other again, here's a peek inside the Jolina-Plumb photo album.
The esteemed Vaughan Prize winning novelist Savannah Jolina-Plumb once wrote, "Living in (Sunset Valley) is an embarrassment of riches sometimes. I don't often get to enjoy the view."
She had these two to call mother and father, Nathan and Shandra Jolina-Plumb, both hit movie composers, both extremely intelligent, both coming from poor backgrounds. They knew each other like the back of their hands.
They enjoyed dinners out...
...and musical numbers. Shandra was an accomplished pianist. Nathan could listen to her play all day. More importantly, he could watch her long, elegant fingers glide across the ivories.
She had not come across her skills easily. Her mother, Daniella, used to physically beat her every time she played her xylophone. Luckily, her father Edward took up for her.
Shandra had expressed disappointment that her only daughter, Savannah, lacked all interest in the musical arts.
But there was something that even took Shandra by surprise. Specifically, his relationship with her best friend, Dena Hart (Bebe's daughter). This relationship came to a head at AJ's teen birthday party.
None other than Savannah confronted Dena, her mother's best friend, and as she'd found out, her father's mistress, at this party.
Family tree (I found this copy, I lost most of my stuff when my hard drive crashed)
Teenage AJ
Sage peeking through the treehouse
Imsety being his mischievous self
Satis reading a book to AJ
Savannah NOT HAPPY after being woken up by baby Sierra
A much happier toddler Sierra
Ah, okay, so you did it on purpose! To show how out of it Granny was- she hadn't really had to deal with emergency services for a bit...and she'd traveled in Europe, so she was mis-remembering the number from the last time she maybe had to know it.
Well, at least Shasta's not doing it on purpose...she's just taking her mom's help for granted and not realizing how long even a day is to a child in comparison to...a cougar lol.
Oh no, definitely not! No one better stand in between him and Taiga!
Hey, I totally understand bending over backwards to get a shot right lol.
I'm glad you understand, so you know exactly what she's connecting with, even while she's feeling betrayed, she still wants her dad!
Yeah... sometimes people use the fact that they are telling the truth as an excuse to hurt people. If someone were to walk up to Bailey and tell her that her mother is dead...it would be the truth, but there isn't any good reason for them to say that to her- she knows her mother's dead, it's not new information, it's not condolences, it's not asking for advice, it's saying something insensitive and it doesn't make a difference if it's true or not. If say, someone didn't know her mother was dead, and started making 'your momma is so fat' jokes...firstly, they clearly don't know what her mom looked like when she was alive, or that she is not, actually alive (being that the joke isn't you're momma -was- so fat, these jokes are always told in current tense)...they are lying about her mother to insult her...but when they find out her mom's dead, they will likely be sorry...they likely won't sit there and say 'what, it's the truth, it's not my fault that you can't handle the truth, you-special-snowflake-who-needs-a-safe-space-because-she's-too-sensitive-for-the-real-world but I did nothing wrong!' In that way, the person who is hiding behind the fact that they are telling "truths" is hurting you twice- saying something deliberately hurtful and then insulting you for actually being hurt. But ...most people select what they say with more forethought than just saying every true thing that pops into their head...and that selection process is guided by social rules about what is appropriate to comment on (what subjects are taboo?), how they can comment on it (Even if it's a subject that's not taboo as such, do they have to have an excuse to talk about it? You're likely not going to discuss certain things with strangers for example- and if they try you'll classify them as creepy stalkers or dangerous because that's not in the realm of what should be discussed with just anyone) and other social things like what something means (If someone says 'she's on the fence about the issue' does that literally mean she's climbed up on a fence? No, it doesn't, it means she's considering both sides and hasn't yet determined where to come down on it). Sometimes people are insulting by accident...but it only takes a little social training to know what's generally insulting...children can figure out how to insult people...they are childish insults, but that's a social skill too, you have to know what people value in the culture you are in to insult people- so in Simerican culture, someone's mother being fat is an insult...not a compliment that the family is wealthy and keeping their mother well fed and cared for (as any decent person should.)
Well, to be fair, he's Rafael, he's going to analyze, even if she was a normal two year old lol, the fact that on top of being a two year old she's also a ridiculously powerful witch just makes it that much more important to consider things. He's not home a lot (workaholic running a criminal organization which is basically at war with some other criminal organizations- he's winning but that doesn't mean the others aren't giving him a bit of trouble with enlisting the aide of governments against him) and doesn't speak much Russian with his kids because Zelda needs to know what they are saying...he's resigned to the idea that they are Simericans, and that Simericans are xenophobic fasccists...so he doesn't believe his children will really be interested in their Russian side ...however, when he slips with a hammer what comes out of his mouth is not Simlish...and when he's distracted and muttering while repairing things, it's in Russian, and he's been listening to music, listening to news in Russian when he doesn't think the kids are around...they've heard more Russian than he thinks. He's worried his kids will have an accent and the Simericans will continue to be more and more xenophobic...and his kids won't have any friends...because they are too 'foreign'... he's been hearing even Simerican news stories about teachers complaining that children are telling other children that they're going to be deported or their families will be deported...he already knows he's going to have to tell his children, before they start school that those sorts of threats are not something they have to worry about; their mother is Simerican and has never been anything else, he is Simerican now and if they forget that somehow [or discover it wasn't done properly], he can always fly back by dragon before their planes are even back from dropping him off [he'll skip explaining that this will be after a significant fight-and they will pay for making him fight it!]; they were born in Simerica, which is a country that practices birthright citizenship- meaning they were born on Simerican soil, they are Simericans. So, while other kids have to only worry about remembering their address and phone number and using please and thank you and that sort of thing, he's going to have to give his kindergartners a lecture on Simerican citizenship before they start school so that other kids can't terrify them with threats of government agencies kidnapping them and throwing them in a country they've never before set foot in.
Lol, well, to be fair, Zelda's only touching on the glamorous stuff.
Thanks.
Ah, I see you know exactly where that's going.
The Ballet room looks so much better!
I think my favorite pic is the second one with Taiga posing in front of the mirror, the piano there and the reflection of Derek looking at her.
I hope you had a wonderful vacation...and hopefully have some time to recover from the travel.
I love the floating pumpkins! You've added such tender moments with Taiga using her power...and adding bits from the fairy Godmother from Cinderella was adorable.
@cwaddell: The shorts are from Outdoor living stuff.
Also of note, the shorts have two channels.
I often really like having artists because you never know what you're going to get lol.
@Aaeiyn: Welcome back!
@Venus: I can totally understand why all that on your plate might keep you a bit busy!
*Wince* Ouch, I know I'm never happy about having to take a trip to the ER. Please take it easy!
It was nice to see the old couple cuteness of Shandra and Nathan...but what a terrible situation to find out your mother's best friend is your father's mistress at your son's birthday party! I'm sure that Savannah must have thought that Sabastian was trying to one up his father by cheating with Kaydence's Nanny when she found out about that.
Anyhoo, before I forget what I wanted to write... here goes...just a little brief one. I just opened my sims game for the first time in what seems like forever, and I literally forgot what that feeling felt like, seriously. Even some of the controls are now foreign to me. *thud*
These pics come off the laptop, so if they're 'slightly' clearer and better, that's why. I try not to use the laptop as much to play Sims on, to ease concerns about overheating. This is the 'new to me' laptop I got last year for my birthday, but in truth it's about 3 years old.
When I last left you all, Skylar's desperate mother, Savannah, had sent her to university in an effort to curb her party hardy ways. Skylar, some of you may recall, had thrown a massive goodbye bash, after which the police had been called. Luckily, her older sister, Sage, handled both the police and her wayward sis, ushering a confession out of her - she was resentful of her cousin Kaydence, who she felt had curried favor with the adults and particularly her mother.
No sooner had Skylar left for Le Fromage Art School than she sent a SOS signal to her uncle, Sebastian, that she wanted to come home. Savannah, of course, was apoplectic. She had spent three years trying to get her aspiring pop-star daughter into the exclusive arts school, and now that she was in, she wanted out.
Her husband Andy, who as usual was the voice of reason and who calmed his hot-tempered wife down, sat with her and discussed options. Throughout their long history together, they'd been through a lot - their oldest son had had his issues before he straightened out, so straight that he joined the military and married a princess. And then there was their middle daughter, Sierra, who was so wild and out of control that she had been arrested at least three times, institutionalized for two weeks, and then revealed that she had been abducted by aliens right after her twelfth birthday. On top of that, Sierra was enrolled in Fort Starch Military Academy, where she was accused of hacking into its top-secret computer system. Only during a conversation with her sister did she admit to actually doing the deed.
Now, the couple's youngest daughter, Skylar, was doing things that made even Savannah blush. Her party-girl reputation had now followed her to university.
As the embers from the bonfire flickered out, her phone rang again. Her phone was always ringing these days. Just like high school, she was 'in demand.'
Fresh off of a bash at her rental home, she was off to the sorority house for yet another get-together. The rain kept falling on the evening, but no mind. The party wasn't over yet.
The closing credits of a cooking show rolled in the background as Skylar walked into the sorority house.
Tri Fruhm had a reputation for attracting the most popular girls in the school. That Skylar would be a recruit should not have been a surprise. The daughter of a professor and scion of a wealthy and famous family, Skylar would seem an ideal candidate for the sorority rush class. Her two older sisters had been recruited by this sorority, as had her cousin. The fact that she had siblings who graduated from the university also added to her potential as a sorority sister. (Her oldest sister, Satis, dropped out in medical school after having her son, Ramses. More on them later.)
When Skylar walked in, she saw one of the sorority sisters chatting up a guy from one of the frat houses.
She decided to get herself something to drink. Of course, that something happened to be spiked punch. Had the person who spiked the punch just walked away from the scene of the crime in a trench coat?
Looking inside the plastic cup, Skylar took a cautious sip. "Yep, this is spiked," she thought to herself, but she drank anyway.
After taking her drink, she suddenly remembered she was a Jolina-Plumb and grabbed a book from the bookshelf.
With the cooking show blaring in the background, Skylar flipped through the pages, pretending not to see who was next to her.
@Zabeth0 In that case, Zelda's behavior resembles that of a woman... aka am I impressing my man enough?
Yep, imagine being Savannah for a bit. Your father is basically your idol, you're much closer to him than you are to your mother, and you find out that he's woohooing your mom's best friend - a woman you've come to know from the arts and theater circuit and who spent a lot of time with you in your youth. You also learn that the affair has been going on secretly for a long time. You also find out that your father had a host of other women, as well. Any wonder why she keeps such tight screws on Andy?
Clearly the dysfunction in this family did not start with Sebastian and Kaydence.
And you see now why Savannah keeps such a tight lid on her emotions. It's a trait that she has passed to her son and her daughters. Sage, I don't think so much, but definitely I see it in the others. And she became a writer probably because she internalized everything. She was never exactly the most outgoing girl, even growing up - although her efforts to be more extroverted were awkward at best. Her brother Sebastian, was more outward with his emotions. You can also see why, what happened with Skylar cut her so deeply.
The kids were all close growing up. They had to be, really.
@jillbg Remember all of the current Jolina-Plumbs are Nathan's descendants. His half-sister Margaret (Maggie) died without having children. Maggie technically isn't a Jolina because she has no biological relation to Jamie Jolina, but she is a Plumb because she is Nigel's daughter.
Zelda: Once she was done with trying things on, she settled on wearing the most comfortable 'dress' she'd ever found. It was probably really a pull over with the way it tied, but it was really comfortable! She found Rafael working over a drafting table with a bunch of colored pencils. Leave it to Rafael to find stripes to wear that were not boring and then to be too busy to let her see him standing up. Of course, she knew she could tell him to get up and show her, but she was distracted by his skill...those were just pencils... how did he even manage to get those colors?
Rafael: "I am just tyestink it out. Drraftink tyables arre lyike morre horrizontyal yeasels, it is much easierr to use a rrulyerr or Tyee-sqvuarre, but I really do prrefyerr yeasels...I'm not sure it vould be vorth the spyace. Though it vould be verry helpful forr...my...as you say... othyerr hobby..."
Zelda: "But you're doing so well with it! How did you get colored pencils smooth like that?"
Rafael: "Layerrs, pressurre and angle, like most thinks. Yit is just a drrawink. Oh, you lyike this? You don't haf some surrealyist filtyerr on your camyerra to get flyink vatches?" He teased.
Zelda: She laughed. "Oh, that will be the day, Twinkle Toes! I have no flying watch filters!"
Rafael: "Oh? Really, vell, I suppose you vill just haf to put up vith my drrawinks and paintinks frrom tyime to tyime...ve can't haf you goink vithout flyink vatches. How bored you vould be!"
* * *
Zelda: She wandered around the place taking pictures on her phone to make Deedee jealous. This place was so like Deedee! There was even a big lolly pop display in the middle of the store. Much of the furniture was made to look like candy or ice cream...at least on this side of the store. She couldn't imagine a store like this in dark, dreary Moonlight Falls, (which was still covered in winter snow!) so maybe Deedee would let her take her here. Not right away of course. After all, she was on her Honeymoon, and she was pretty sure that was supposed to be just two people...but after that, then she'd get Deedee a vacation too. And she'd have already scouted the place out so she could show off! Best to make sure Deedee wasn't going to bite it with being the weakest witch ever! But it was supposed to be safe, so she'd find out if it was or not.
Zelda: She typed in 'Hey, sis! Send me a text back so I know my texts are getting through now!' She made a face and sent her text. After all, she'd sent a bunch of pics and she wanted to make sure they weren't just being dumped...it had been rather annoying to send Deedee a text to rub Rafael in her face only to have it totally disappear...she had to wonder if it was just a hiccup or if her phone was going down. She had a real camera too, and they took better quality pics, of course, but she was just trying to get some feedback from Deedee, even if it was just a smiley face.
Then she remembered the time zone thing... what was it, three, four in the morning in Moonlight Falls? Ooops! There she was being an annoying little sister again! Hopefully she didn't wake Deedee up. She'd have to remember to wait...she was just so excited and it had been daylight when she'd arrived so she'd forgotten. Now she was a bit worried that Deedee would send her a message, and be all like nice and understanding at her when she should be mad because no one likes to be woken up at three in the morning with a text-cascade...she looked to see if Deedee had checked the messages...they looked delivered, but not looked at, so maybe she didn't wake her up... Deedee was probably still snuggled up to her tatty old teddy bear unaware of Zelda's mistake. Well, hey, at least the pics would still be there when she was up and ready to look at them. And if they disappeared, if they said sent like the other pic had said sent and weren't delivered...well, that would be annoying but it would also hide her mistake and then she'd make Rafael send pics on his phone instead, and he'd probably be able to remember the whole time zone thing. There was no way Mr. Supergenius would have made this mistake!
Zelda: Rafael was looking out the window, apparently the 'rainy season' was like a surprise party of clouds and rain... it had been so bright and clear when they'd walked into the store, and now it was so dark and rainy it was hard to believe this was the same day...and it had been, what an hour? Maybe...if that long even. Though she supposed she didn't usually take so long to try on clothes. She might have wasted a full hour! And there was all the wandering around the store looking at this or that table... "So, how's it look out there, Twinkle Toes?"
Rafael: "Vet. Rainy. Dark. But ve need to vait for the man comink to pick us up anyvay."
Zelda: "Man? What? Some guy from the hotel or what?"
Rafael: "No, Zyelda, there is no hotel herre, not on this island. Ve arre stayink vith a rich byusinessman at his hyouse on the beach, he has many extra rooms... it vas decidyed that ve needyed special attyention, and ve might be ovyerrlooked in a resorrt crrowd. But it is more prryistine on this island, and I thought ve vould preferr that...if ve vant to visyit a resorrt, ve can sail to the othyer islands and trry it out, if ve arre feelink brafe... but vith morre food, therre is morre likely to be the prredyatorr ve arre avoidink."
Zelda: "You're speaking Mr. Prissypants again. Why don't you just say vampires?"
Rafael: He shot a meaningful look towards where the clerk was across the room, behind a cash register, but her eyes were locked on her phone, she seemed to be texting. Then he looked back at Zelda. "I vould prreferr not to be ovyerrhearrd talkink abyout such thinks." He said in a low tone.
Zelda: With his deep voice, it was challenging to pick out the difference in his voice and the thunder- she could hear the difference over here, but chances were pretty good that the clerk couldn't hear anything, not even Zelda's voice...the rain now sounded like a waterfall out there. "But you believe in them now, why would you deny it?"
Rafael: "Most people do not belief in them, and I prreferr not to be labyeled as yinsane. It rathyerr complyicates intyerractions vith people."
Zelda: "Oh, right, we have to worry about humans being all weird about it outside of Moonlight Falls, huh? But this business guy, he totally knows, right? He's not going to be all freaked out the first time I use magic? Because I totally can't do without magic for a week or two, it'll never happen!"
Rafael: "No, no Zyelda, no vone is tellink you that you can't use magyic. He knows. He vill not be...veirrd abyout it. Mistyerr Morrgyanth assurres me he knows vhat he's dealink vith. He says this man has dyealt vith vitches vith tempyerrs beforre."
Zelda: "And you got all that from texts with Deathbreath back in Moonlight Falls?"
Rafael: "Yes, afterr I vas done, you verre still tryink on clothes and I vanted to know details of the arrrangmyents. Mistyerr Morrgyanth seems to belief this man is ourr best choice for not runnink into the people ve don't vant to run into, and this man can do more than a concierrge at a resorrt, so it vill make thinks easierr to stay vith him than if ve vere to make any othyerr arrangemyents... Mistyerr Reyes owns boats, yexpensif carrs, compyanies that offyerr scubya excurrsions, rrestaurrants, parrks and many plyaces ve vant to visyit and can gif us access on off hourrs so ve don't haf to be intyerrupted. It's not fyool prroof, but yit sounds lyike the byest option. Vhen you'rre rready, I'll tyext Mistyerr Reyes."
Zelda: "Great, so, first, we're buying things with the whole credit card thing in whatever way lets me use my shiny new name, okay? Then you text Mr. Racecar for us!"
I've started playing again. I decided that I would use a vampire to try to complete the heartbreaker LTW. I play with a life span of 91 day so thought a vampire's long life would make it easier. My other reason for this particular game was to try some of the EA worlds I have but have never played in before. I would have my vampire move from world to world until he accomplished his LTW and then he would settle in a Louisiana town, Twinbrook.
I started a game in my modified Twinbrook ( Twinbrook-makeover thread ) with a completely new population playing a child, Diana Lynn, and her adult mother, Kira Lynn. In that game Kira has died and Diana is now a young adult who is a self employed painter. Her LTW is to be a master of the arts. She has almost mastered painting and is at level 7 or so in guitar. That game is on hold waiting for my vampire to join when he reaches is LTW.
Kira and Diana in their small trailer.
Diana as a young adult.
I started Anton Dietrich ( a tweaked version of Vladimir Schlick of Bridgeport) in Dragon Valley. There he found a dragon egg in his house and now has a purple dragon. I have never played with the dragons before. The purple one is so fun and along with some added vampire interactions I have from some mods is going to make getting his LTW so easy.
Anton Dietrich
Anton with his purple dragon, Vlad.
Storywise Anton got turned in his town (Dragon Valley) in one of the German countries near the end of the 1700's. He will move to Monte Vista during the mid 1800's. Then on to the old west, Appaloosa Plains, during the end of the 1800's. Then comes Miami during the roaring 20's (Roaring Heights). Then San Francisco (Bridgeport) during the 1960's. Then on to Louisiana current time. If I was writing up a story, rather than just chronicling my game, I would make sure everyone was dressed appropriately for the supposed time period but I have already seen taxis in Dragon Valley and TVs, cell phones, etc so will not be making each town and its inhabitants realistic.