Or: The two days in which Cecilia's world got a lot bigger, then fell apart
(not even counting going through puberty, but that happened too)
Cecilia was excited to go on her heir's quest: 24 hours in a neighborhood she had never been to before, as a child, surviving on her own. She had butterflies in her stomach all morning. She had spent her whole life right next to her dad; or if not her dad, then her brother or her Grandma Ghost was always there. She fell asleep every night to the sounds of her family breathing. Could she make it without them?
A random old lady stopped by to meet the family, and Cecilia completely owned her at chess, so after that she felt a little better. A little.
At 3pm, Cecilia hugged Mom and Dad goodbye and set off for Glimmerbrook.
(Karla says: "She is so little! How can we be sure she'll be okay?"
Marcellus is remembering how brave and bold he felt setting off for his own heir's quest in Oasis Springs, weeks and weeks ago when he was a child.)
Cecilia arrived outside a quiet little bar. The first thing she noticed was the light. At home the sunlight was bright and yellow. It warmed her face even in the winter, and its rays played and sparkled through the garden leaves with sometimes blinding intensity. Here, it seemed to be twilight even in midafternoon. She couldn't tell where the sun was in the sky-- or was that light even coming from the sun? There seemed to be mysterious glows and shadows everywhere. It was a little gloomy, but intensely exciting.
The second thing she noticed was this peculiar machine. Orange, with chairs inside and four wheels on the outside. What IS it??
Cecilia heard hushed voices in the bar, so she stepped in and shyly said hello to the handful of people inside. There was a familiar activity, which she enjoyed
But playing chess with random adults wasn't what she came here for. She left the bar and went exploring. There weren't too many places to dig, nor any wild fruit trees ready to offer themselves to her. There were some pretty mushrooms, but they weren't like the tasty white ones at home and didn't seem edible.
There were some logs where Cecilia looked for frogs.... success! She proudly sold the frog and earned her first 10 Simoleons ever.
Glimmerbrook was awfully quiet so far. There were a few big old houses, but they all seemed deserted. The streets were empty. Suddenly Cecilia spotted a man heading down a small footpath toward her. He looked exhausted, but there was a glow about him. Something about him intrigued Cecilia. Where was he coming from?
The path led on toward the stars...
...and to an archway with beautiful shifting blue light.
Cecilia felt drawn to the portal and, taking a deep breath, reached out...
and found herself pulled through the portal into another realm.
She seemed to be on some sort of great floating island, ringed by several other portals. In the center of the island was a large and beautiful building. Cecilia wondered what was going on in there, and also whether they had anything to eat. Her stomach was starting to grumble.
She pushed open the big doors and made her way across a wide entryway with stairs everywhere. In the adjoining room, a friendly-looking blond teenage boy wearing cat ears was stirring a giant pot. Whatever he was stirring, it smelled like tomato soup might smell if tomato soup also contained roses and toothpaste. Still, she considered taking a nibble. She was really getting hungry. Cecilia looked again. No, the cat ears weren't the weirdest thing about this situation, nor the toothpaste smell... that spoon was moving BY ITSELF.
Cecilia introduced herself. His name was Arvin, and he was eager to tell her all about becoming a spellcaster. He had become a spellcaster just after becoming a teenager himself, and loved mixing up potions and finding out what they did. Arvin started to tell Cecilia about the magical duels spellcasters challenged each other to-- "it doesn't hurt... much"-- when she jumped: behind her was a burst of light and an electrical hissing sound, from two spellcasters getting ready for such a duel. Wands waving, hands directing balls of light that knocked their partner off their feet. Cecilia hadn't known anything like this existed outside books. She greeted Blair and Krista, and peppered them with all of her many questions. They were the coolest teenagers she had ever seen! And they were listening to her and talking to her like she was an equal! And Arvin.... well, he seemed really happy and confident and was willing to wear cat ears just because he thought it was fun. So maybe that was cool in its own way.
Soon a pleasant older lady in a complicated green and brown riding coat came over to say hello. A green sigil glowed above her head wherever she went. She introduced herself as the Sage of Practical Magic, Aadhya. "These are all my students," said Aadhya. "Wow... I never had a teacher before!" said Cecilia. "I learn everything from my dad. I guess there is a lot he doesn't know."
Cecilia really wanted to impress Aadhya, so she tried to show off some telepathic mind reading she had been practicing. Aadhya laughed gently. "That's not quite how it works, sweetheart. But when you get a little bit older, maybe you can come back and ask me again to teach you."
Cecilia wanted to stay and talk about magic all night long, but her stomach was announcing loudly that it had other ideas. Where did those other portals lead to? She tried one. She found herself in a beautiful garden. But it wasn't the kind of garden that grew anything you could actually eat. What is the point of that?
She tried another portal, which led to a row of oddly angled shops. Hopefully there would be a food stall or something here. She was so hungry!
One of the stalls obviously had food. She could even see the fruits and vegetables lined up on the shelf along with stranger plants. But the shopkeeper ghost wouldn't sell to children, or even talk to them!
Cecilia collapsed on a bench by a lovely fountain. There was a lot of beauty here, if not much light or food.
After she awoke, she made her way back to the big building to ask someone about what they did for food here. Then she spotted what she'd overlooked the first time: a big kitchen, off to the right. What a welcome sight. She spent 6 of her hard-earned simoleons on some edamame. It tasted reassuringly normal.
The magic students seemed to be doing a lot of reading, whenever they weren't waving their wands at one another or stirring alarming-smelling pots. Cecilia grabbed a book off the shelf: 1001 Tricks You Can Teach Your Familiar. Your familiar what? She started reading. Was this book fiction or for real? She was starting to realize she had to develop some new ideas about what was possible and what wasn't.
It was getting towards midafternoon, so after another nap and another long talk with Aadhya, Cecilia prepared to head home and celebrate her birthday. She knew she would come back as soon as she possibly could.
Right then, Mom called. Change of plans: the family was going to head over to the Festival of Youth, which was going on at Mt. Komorebi. And since it was Sleep Away Day anyhow, they planned to stay outdoors there overnight. Everyone was thrilled to arrive. Except Cecilia. She'd missed her family, but boy was she ever exhausted. Napping on benches didn't seem like such fun for a second night. She felt in her pocket. "1001 Tricks" was still in there. Oops. Well... just one more reason to go back.
At the festival, apparently you must bow awkwardly to your parents and that makes you receive a blessing? They tried but weren't sure they were doing it right.
Cameron danced with Yamachan and nobody cared whether he was doing it right.
Cecilia pretended to mix magic potions at the science table. She told her family about the boy with the cat ears, the toothpaste soup, and all the rest of it. They weren't sure whether to believe her.
Cecilia ended up with a tasty-smelling green liquid. Marcellus interrupted his ice cream crepe to ask, "Are you SURE you want to drink that?"
"Oh, would you like it, Dad?"
"Uh..."
It tasted pretty good, actually. Maybe this potion thing might be Cecilia's thing.
After the festival wrapped up, the family started to look around for napping spots. There was exactly one bench in the entire neighborhood. How inhospitable. We all know who was first to get comfy on the bench
Everyone else took refuge in a pleasant little cafe with warm lights and music. Eliana was especially interested in the music. Oooooooh.... what is that beautiful-sounding big black thing? She was entranced, and visited with the pianist a little bit after he finished his set.
Somehow, Valentín was already seated at the bar, chatting away. His parents found this vaguely disturbing, but weren't exactly sure what to tell him not to do.
Even the cafe didn't have enough places for the whole family to nap at once. So they had to take turns.
There was another room, but the music in there was too loud and kept waking them up.
So they had some tired grumpy playtime at the table. Their first Sleep Away Day was starting to be not as much fun as their parents had made it sound.
Cecilia and Karla went for a walk under the stars and found a little beach with a view of a waterfall. They lay on the sand and took in the cool night air. "You know," Karla said, "with all the excitement, I completely forgot to make you a birthday cake. I'm sorry."
"That's okay, Mom." She was a little disappointed, but not much; she had many more exciting things on her mind.
"Happy birthday, my love."
"Thanks. I hope it's my turn to sleep soon..."
Ragamuffin sang a gentle late-night tune, and one person stayed awake to cheer for her.
Suddenly Marcellus made a strange noise in his sleep, sprang up, and then collapsed. Death soon overtook him. Cecilia and Karla heard the commotion and ran back to the cafe, but it was too late.
Her dad. Who hugged her, fed her, taught her, played with her... her nurturer and best friend. Just the other day, he had saved her from certain death in the fire. Now he was gone. And she was powerless to stop it. She thought of the magicians and wished with all her heart that she already knew all of their secrets so she could save her father, as he had saved her. But there was nothing she could do.
The family called Sleep Away Day finished, and went home. The children dragged themselves to their beds in the morning dark. At dawn, Karla placed Marcellus's urn and painting in the memorial area and said goodbye.
Ragamuffin missed her son, of course, but unlike the living, she knew what lay ahead and she was fairly confident she would see him again. She thought about what her grandchildren must be going through, as she created a sad painting that summed up the experience they must be having.
Ragamuffin had an idea. Cecilia never did get to have a birthday cake. Maybe there was still time. She baked a beautiful winter cake and sat with Cecilia as she blew out the candles. It wasn't a proper party but she felt Cecilia shouldn't age up alone.
Grandmother and granddaughter ate their cake and consoled one another as best they could, while the younger children slept.
Cecilia prepared to face the next stage of her life... without her father. It wasn't supposed to happen this way.
The kids are having a hard time with Marcellus's death. Eliana cried in her sleep several nights in a row.
She drew some pictures of Dad. They didn't look much like him, but they made her feel better.
She also copes by crying in the memorial area and singing her feelings in all kinds of weather.
Valentín copes by leaning on Rafael, literally. Rafael is a loner, but he keeps coming over to hang out with Valentín. It's pretty adorable.
Cecilia tried one of those de-stressing decoctions that everyone leaves on the patio. She thought it might help. It didn't.
Karla has retreated to the solitude of her computer. Sometimes she still engages with the kids, but more often she's spending hours and hours and hours on the computer (like it’s her lifetime aspiration or something.) Karla has never been a complainer, but when someone doesn't express their feelings at all... you worry.
Cecilia ventured out to Glimmerbrook again. The walk by the stream was just as beautiful as before, with lovely butterflies fluttering around, but much less happy.
Aadhya exclaimed at how much Cecilia had grown up. She agreed to give Cecilia a chance at becoming a spellcaster. She cast a spell on Cecilia's eyes
giving her the power to see magical motes. Cecilia collected a few and brought them back to Aadhya.
"You have proven yourself worthy. And I always knew you'd be back. Let us begin your training."
All right!
Cecilia met Aadhya's friends and felt very grown-up. Not too long after that, her new friend Blair challenged her to her first duel ever.
She went down like a flaming pancake on the stone floor and the duel was over. That was awesome!!
Cecilia learned a spell called Inferniate. She went home and decided to try it on a few roses that someone had dropped in the snow ages ago, and no one could ever pick them up again since they were off the lot. They were isolated from the garden and surrounded by snow. Perfect.
Inferniate! ... it failed. And Cecilia caught on fire. That brought back some painful and recent memories.
The fire went out on its own. She stood there with her heart pounding, wanting to run up the stairs and hide in her bed, but resolved to try again.
Inferniate! ... This time the rose went up in an unnaturally huge blaze!
She did it again, and again, until all three roses were piles of ash. She felt a slightly frightening confidence.
Watching the fire go out on its own makes me feel stronger
Marcellus came back! He played chess with Cecilia and chatted with each of his kids. Here he and Eliana are having what they swear is a "pleasant conversation..."
Cecilia called up Blair, Arvin and Krista to go celebrate at the Elixirs & Brews bar in Glimmerbrook. Her friends are awesome, but that place is pretty dismal. Gray and depressing and dark. Come to think of it, Magic Realm HQ is a hard place to have fun too. Aadhya says over and over again that magic is not a toy, and it seems the students have taken that to heart. Everyone is always studying, practicing, and reading. The place is beautiful but the only way to kick back and relax is to read another book. Don't spellcasters want to have some fun too?
Cecilia met Madilyn at the bar. Turns out she's a spellcaster too. She is kind of a hothead, but lots of fun, and very pretty too.
Somehow, Cecilia ran afoul of this annoying older fellow at the bar. Who knows how it started. He wouldn't back down, then she wouldn't back down, juice was involved...
This is what happens when spellcasters take it outside.
Dang, Cecilia thinks, I better learn some new tricks and THEN I'll show that guy. (She doesn't consider that maybe tangling with older spellcasters is a bad idea...)
The first thing Aadhya taught Cecilia was a potion recipe. Potions come to her much more naturally than dueling does.
She asked for more and more potion recipes. Aadhya gave her a sample Potion of Plentiful Needs.
Suddenly she felt fully rested, her belly was full, she was happy and clean... magic is wonderful!
She went home and asked her friends to come over. Who cares that it's the middle of the night?
Apparently, they do. Maybe they could use some potion help, too.
Cecilia felt a little bit draggy at Winterfest time so she made some more Potions of Plentiful Needs and drank one in the evening so she could enjoy time with family and Father Winter.
The potion feels like an exclamation point made of light is filling up my body
I feel great now!
(Santa, that was not cool)
The Potion of Plentiful Needs requires apples. Cecilia brought an apple tree into the greenhouse so it can bloom all year long.
She got a little obsessive about the apple tree, researching it and studying it under the microscope that Father Winter brought her.
She also likes Potion of the Nimble Mind, which makes her awesome at developing the mental skills she enjoys so much. But for that, you need spotted dirt frogs. Cecilia has been out collecting frogs and breeding them, but isn't there yet.
Sometimes we make it back to HQ just in time to brew a new batch and drink straight from the cauldron. Only when it's been a truly long day. Or was it a truly long night? She is starting to lose track
Determined to bring some fun into this magical but oddly joyless environment, Cecilia threw a costume party at the dismal bar. Blair borrowed Krista's red vinyl dress. Don't tell Krista, but it looks better on him.
They danced, drank, and let loose. After a while, Blair said he felt tired and hungry. Cecilia had a solution for him.
Potions are the perfect party drug... you can just keep going and going and going
If I don't stop for any reason, I won't have to think about my father
After the party, Cecilia stayed at the bar shooting the breeze with Madilyn until 6:30am, then drank a potion, then went home and went for a jog before school.
Oh yes, school. With Marcellus unable to be their teacher now, the kids needed to be in school. Ragamuffin and Cameron agreed to give them a couple of days at home to grieve, plus Winterfest, and then they had to go back. Actually, it isn't so bad. It's actually pretty stimulating to learn with other teenagers. And to have adults who aren't your parents push you to do your best.
But homeschooling can leave, let us say, some gaps in one's education. The school says we should have spent less time on violin and art and more time on other matters. Violin and art are awesome! You don't know everything, school! But yeah, we also have some catching up to do.
Cecilia, Valentín and Eliana made a resolution to bring their grades up. They went on a homework marathon all weekend. Make-up work, extra credit work.
Just one potion to help me study.
"I’ll be able to study even better once I can breed spotted dirt frogs."
"Once you can... what?"
"Was that weird? Maybe that was weird..."
Happy New Year. Yes, ghosts can toast the New Year. It works out better for everyone if they do it outdoors.
Cecilia had a party to welcome her friends to her home and ring in the new year. She greeted her guests
Getting around with brooms is really fun! We may never climb those stairs again
It was a great party.
You have to admire Arvin's brave choices in fashion. He's the guy in the sad face bag.
I just love these three ladies rocking their braids
Blair hung around afterward to talk and flirt and share secrets. They raided the fridge for fried fish and watched the sun come up.
Blair met Marcellus. He told Cecilia he thought Marcellus was pretty cool. That makes Blair pretty cool in Cecilia's book.
And finally...
Ghosts can pass through walls, so does it hurt if they fall while ice skating?
Feeling on top of the world, if only for a moment.
There are some new kids in town. Valentín and Eliana went again to the Festival of Youth and met Max and Elsa. They were lots of fun. They made Kabuto hats together and Valentín decided to wear his forever and ever. Pretty soon, Max called up Valentín with an invitation.
Cool! A club! Awesome name, too! Max didn't really explain what it was about, but Max is cool so it must be great. Valentín was just headed out the door to school the next morning when...
Hanging out at the pool instead of going to school? Sure, why not? Wait, isn't it a little bit cold to go to the pool? Valentín showed up and...
No one. Some kind of weird prank? Are they just making fun of him after all? Valentín went to school with confusion in his heart. Good thing he did though. His grades are up. Yay!
Cecilia threw a birthday party for Valentín in the park. I took this photo for the cake and the happy group, but really the best part is Karla's face? What is going on with her?
Fletcher and Miki enjoying a sweet moment in the place where they got married
Valentín aged up. Very handsomely. He got the Romantic trait and rolled the Mansion Baron aspiration. Oh boy.
Fletcher took him aside and gave some advice: Second-born children in this family are destined to be gorgeous and rich. Didn't you know that? That is now your job. Not everyone will understand.
Cecilia and Arvin enjoyed some time together. Just because the party was for her brother, doesn't mean she can't have fun with her friends.
Meanwhile, Rafael HATES PARTIES.
And Eliana is already thinking about school the next day...
Here's Valentín in a new outfit.
He looks good... but smells so, so very bad.
Cecilia tried to take matters into her own hands by casting Scruberoo on him. It failed.
Well, water was applied to him somehow, but it did not have the necessary effect.
The morning after the party, Karla died, leaving her three children with only the ghosts to look after them.
Work called with a very unkind alarm. Yes, she's a dedicated tech guru, but no she will not be making it in to work today.
The kids decided between themselves that Mom would want them to go to school. Off they went, in her honor, to try to do their best.
Cecilia is learning more magic. Potions come easiest to her, and perhaps always will. She studies mainly with Aadhya, but asks potion recipes from all the sages.
Aadhya taught her a spell called Magical Aura. It sounded amazing, but when Cecilia cast it, there was... a slight yellow glow. Cecilia was underwhelmed by Magical Aura.
Cecilia was also underwhelmed by Delicioso. She cast it and caused to appear... a plate of spoiled garlic noodles. Gross. Kind of pointless when you get delicious food at home all day long in your normal life, but she decided to file that one away for the next time someone got hungry in an inconvenient location. Floralorial was fun, but a little pointless since it only waters one plant. She can care for her garden faster the old-fashioned way.
It was a lot more fun to get her new familiar: Stinky. Cecilia isn't sure exactly what he is, but he's awesome.
Stinky helps protect her from the negative effects of magic, and also seems to be curious about more mundane activities.
Blair asked Cecilia out on a date to Myshuno Meadows. She was a little nervous and a little excited. But then they got there and he ran away! Boys are dumb.
Well.... maybe she'd give him another chance. She asked him out dancing. They "got ready" outside the club. Candy appears concerned.
Blair was not at all concerned.
This date went a lot better.
They stepped outside to get some air and...
He sent a rose later on as a thank-you gift. Aww. Maybe he's not so dumb.
And then there were more deaths. Aunt Fletcher died. Uncle Brice died. Cecilia's favorite teacher Aadhya died. Ragamuffin and Cameron visited Miki to comfort her. Miki seemed dazed and oddly happy.
Ragamuffin and Cameron went in the hallway to mourn over Fletcher's urn, and then heard a smoke alarm-- Miki had started to bake something and then forgotten about it. They extinguished the fire, but made a note to keep checking in on Miki.
The children felt very alone every time a new hole erupted in their family. At least loved ones offer their condolences, which helps a little.
Eliana gave a concert for her stuffed animals. It was all sad music, since her parents weren't there to hear it.
Valentín took some sad naps.
We must still do homework.
Just a potion to help me study.
Cecilia watered the plants with her tears. They immediately all began to emit a foul-smelling green fog. Hmm, maybe she is overdoing it with all these potions in her system?
She took a sad trip into the magical realm hoping to see some sort of memorial for Aadhya
No memorial. Just a random new sage. Named Cherish. As even. Cecilia took an instant dislike to her.
She wasted no time in trying out her newest spell Zipzap.
Cherish got hit with a bolt of lightning and was dazed after a while. Cecilia felt satisfied. But then a little freaked out. Did that mean, if she cast Zipzap again, she could kill the sage? Cecilia slunk away.
Cecilia, Arvin, Blair and Krista got to know a pretty little spot in Glimmerbrook near the portal. It had a pretty little pond and some big trees. It was a pleasant, calming place where the friends could have fun together. (Credit: The pretty spot, and what the kids create there, is based on the Magic Treehouse found in the gallery, created by user jay_joy_bee.)
They founded a club called the Coterie, for the four of them to get together and practice magic.
The Coterie got to talking about how it's so hard to have fun in the Magic Realm, how even the bar in Glimmerbrook is dismal, and how spellcasters seem to be so serious all the time. They really need a magical place to go and have a good time. "Why not build something right here?" Cecilia suggested. They pooled their resources and bought the lot. (Ok, I couldn't find a way for Cecilia or the club to buy the lot, but I cheated down her money. The growfruit, dragonfruit and lily life has been causing this freegan family to earn way too many simoleons.) With a combination of hard work, time, and maybe some spellcasting, they started building a place to have parties. They cleaned out the pond and constructed columns and walkways around the trees. Arvin had the crazy idea to put big aquariums at the entrance and name it the Octopus's Garden.
Cecilia and Blair tested out the potential for romantic atmosphere.
With a potion to help.
Maybe a little too effectively. No, that won't be happening tonight, big boy.
The upper story needs a convenient brewing room. That had to be tested out, too.
At the end of their evening, Cecilia and Blair put down a cardboard dance floor, turned up the boom-box and danced late into the night. Seems promising.
Meanwhile, Valentín was still struggling to figure out his club. He called a club gathering at the pool just to see if that was ever for real. The club did show up. That was encouraging. And then... he met Wolfgang
The evening was confusing. Other kids seemed to hate him immediately, just because he was there with the Renegades. Max kept whispering that he needed to do mean things to people, but none of the Renegades themselves seemed to be. Was this just a yet more complicated prank? Valentín tried to focus as they danced, but he kept getting distracted by Wolfgang.
Eventually he got Wolfgang alone. Wolfgang admitted that the club was a little dumb but he liked letting off steam by pranking people, and also he and Max had been friends for a long time. But he had just joined a totally different club called Knights of the Hedge. They were more about playing chess and hanging out at the Von Haunt Estate hedge maze. Would Valentín be interested? (Well, what do you think he said?)
Valentín is a good kid really. Look at him.
And apparently he is a romantic teen legend. Represent, second-born Jones kids.
The knights club went better. The uniform was a shock. Valentín had expected the "knight" thing to be more of a metaphor, somehow
First problem: much harder to see Wolfgang's torso in this club than in the last one. But the estate was beautiful and Valentín genuinely loved exploring the extensive hedge maze.
He tried for a chess game with Wolfgang, but he seemed more interested in chatting with the old guy who leads the club. Oh well. Valentín headed home, forgetting something...
...oh yeah, I'm still wearing it...
(The knight costumes CLANK when they walk! )
The first social event at Octopus's Garden was Eliana's birthday party. Cecilia hoped they'd thought of everything... there was a trash can, there was a bathroom, the DJ booth was under a roof...
Eliana blew out her candles
and went to go freshen up and put on the dress that suddenly fit perfectly.
Line 'em up.
An asado and a potion make a great party appetizer.
Everyone had a great time in the magical atmosphere.
Cecilia got too tired to worry about anything and collapsed on a couch. I think this is the first time she's slept since.... Winterfest?
Girl might have a problem.
Eliana entertained the party by singing. She loves singing so much! Even if she only knows 3 songs and they're all children's songs, and even if a sister has to be kinda patient to listen...
But wait, someone actually paid! Some true-blue audience member who isn't even a party guest! A fire has been lit inside of Eliana...
Cecilia met Jade and tried to play chess. Which was when I caught a building mistake, after around a RL hour of play. I had left a bench blocking the deck, rendering one of the two upstairs buildings completely inaccessible. Playtesting builds is hard. I didn't even build this one, I just renovated it. Anyway, the bench has been removed and the girls had a good game.
Loners play games alone
Sad for a minute, but let's keep dancing
Ragamuffin is somehow a DJ now? She's just watching and cheering, but I got a notification about her DJ skill. Talented lady.
The bubble blower appears possessed... oh wait, it's actually possessed. That's Ragamuffin inside it.
Goodnight.
Aunt Fletcher was there in spirit.
Cecilia still had lots of energy (wonder why) so she and the Coterie went off to have duels. She actually won one! Finally!
In the small hours of the morning, Cecilia came home and in the quiet she understood how lonely she was feeling. She went to the memorial area and, a little nervously, tried out her Necrocall spell.
Hi Dad. I missed you.
It doesn't have to be that profound. I miss you for the silly things too.
Before I sign off, here are some overall pictures of Octopus's Garden.
Restroom and game room on second floor
Brewing room and private game room on third floor.
Again, if you want to download the original, go to the gallery and look for Magic Treehouse by jay_joy_bee. Originally it's a residential lot with two little livable houses. I love this build for Glimmerbrook.
Cecilia was excelling in her magical prowess. Now she was the one who could impress others by making the spoon move by itself.
The Coterie enjoyed her leadership and she felt that the four of them would be friends forever. It didn’t make up for losing her parents, but it felt like family, almost as much as her brother and sister did.
Ancestors Day was strange with only the three teens to celebrate it, but they waited until dark, invited Aunt Miki over, and Cecilia cast Necrocall as many times as she could until she was overcharged. It failed often, but still she was able to welcome all the ancestors except for Marcellus. They had dinner and the ghosts reminisced about life.
Fletcher broke the sink, and then immediately started complaining that the sink was broken! That is so Fletcher somehow
Later, Fletcher got scared (I don’t know of what) and hid in Eliana’s bed with Eliana! Yes, if a ghost hides in your bed while you’re sleeping, clearly the ghost is the scared one…
There are no more freegans in this generation. Here are everyone’s traits and aspirations as teens:
Cecilia- loves outdoors, art lover, Party Animal aspiration
Valentín- loves outdoors, romantic, Mansion Baron aspiration
Eliana- loves outdoors, music lover, Fabulously Wealthy aspiration
So… obviously it was time to renovate their home. I also wanted to make the cabin look faded and overgrown, since it’s been there for a long time now. I’ll put some pictures of the build in a separate post. Cecilia got a bigger greenhouse, where the microscope can’t get struck by lightning any more. Valentín got a big bedroom with an art studio, although he prefers painting outside in his swim trunks, you do you Valentín
And Eliana got a big music room and a beautiful grand piano where she plays and sings to her heart’s content.
(I really wanted those long white curtains on the columns and spandrels, so this was the first build I ever used bb.moveobjects on. I love how they look from a little distance away, but the curtains don't autohide when the camera gets close to them. Maybe since I cheated to put them there, or maybe because they aren't on a wall, not sure. I'm already getting tired of trying to take screenshots in there)
Really, Eliana sings all the time everywhere— there’s a thunderstorm going on right now but she’s happy as can be
This is all paid for by the family money-maker, the garden. Which does require work. In summer, it requires three gardeners and a garden-bot.
Cecilia applied to university. Cameron tried to help.
It wasn’t really that helpful.
Cecilia had her birthday party at the Octopus’s Garden, of course.
Eliana sang her entire repertoire— she knows a few more tunes, but it still didn’t take long
It was hot, so the kids swam in the pond
The younger teens even took time out for homework
But not Cecilia- she was determined to enjoy being done with high school homework forever, and not having university homework yet!
She danced all night with lots of liquid assistance
Even if the dancing suffered… she aged up with the Clumsy trait, which I choose to interpret as fallout from her frequent potion use.
It got late, there were more and more strangers on the dance floor, and Cecilia lost track of her family and party guests after a while. Maybe they went home. Cecilia doesn’t really remember much about the rest of the night except that it was probably fun.
Valentín and Wolfgang had flirted all night at the party, and finally went on a date to the island bluffs overlooking Wolfgang’s hometown Windenburg.
They spotted a strange creature far out in the water, but it never came close.
In the cool breeze and growing shadows they had plenty of privacy
They came back to Valentín’s home after it got dark. They flirted while “doing homework”
…and then Grandpa sat down so they immediately buckled down to actually doing homework
Wolfgang never belonged in that lousy Renegades club. See what a nice boy he is.
And they have the blessing of Valentín’s favorite uncle.
Cecilia started coursework for her Biology degree. She didn’t get into the distinguished degree at Foxbury (thanks for nothing, grandpa), so she’s at Britechester but living at home.
One afternoon she was working on her presentation when she started to feel… different
She tried to put it out of her mind but the next day it became clear what was going on.
Oh, no.
(I am not sure how the game knew to make her look miserable at this moment— all my other expectant moms have looked so happy. This was perfect.)
Cecilia tried to think back over the last couple of weeks but everything since she lost her dad was a blur of sleepless nights, grief, parties, potions, worrying about her siblings, worrying about university. She was pretty sure she and Blair hadn’t taken things that far, but not completely certain. She took out her anger on her old high school textbook
and then stomped on the ashes
and felt a little better.
Cecilia then took some time to reflect on things. She loved magic and parties and her friends. But life was about to get a lot more complicated. She sat quietly in the garden and felt the warm earth under her and smelled the freshly-watered plants growing all around her. She imagined the new life growing inside of her and decided she needed to make a choice. She would return to the normal cycles of life, eating and sleeping and waking, without the aid of her potions. She didn’t know anything about how potions would affect her baby and she’d never seen anyone in the magic realm pregnant. So, no more potions. For the first time since Winterfest, she let herself get truly and naturally tired-out and climbed into the big quilted bed in her new bedroom.
That night, her mother came and watched her quietly as she slept. Karla doesn’t visit often so I am interpreting this as a mother-to-mother blessing.
Everything will turn out okay.
Cecilia and Blair were never officially boyfriend and girlfriend, but Cecilia realized that their whole relationship had centered around potions more than anything else. It was time to cool things off between the two of them. Blair was sad but otherwise took the breakup well.
But it was not five minutes before he started flirting again
Cecilia told him she was serious and gave him all the rest of her potions. Well, not the nausea one. And maybe not the one lavender one that she wasn’t quite ready to part with yet. He must have understood then that she was serious, because he went out back to take out his anger by stomping on the ashes of… something? (Must have been the remains of another lightning strike, it’s been a stormy summer)
Meanwhile, Arvin felt he needed to share that even and especially as she was pregnant, he thought Cecilia was very special
Um… you’re an awesome person, Arvin, but I have a lot going on right now?
And this random fellow called to ask for a date.
Do I even know you?
Cecilia isn’t going through anything like withdrawal, but oddly as a player I find I sort of am. I’m used to having her stay up all night to go to the magic realm, do her homework, hang out with the ghosts, basically everything I want her to do when I’m not distracted by the rest of the household. Now I can’t just give her a potion and keep her up all night! I have to adjust too. She has to get up at night to go to the bathroom and eat snacks, so she does have a few moments to share her pregnancy with the ghosts.
She had the first nightmare of her life while pregnant. Eliana was still up practicing, so Cecilia wandered into the music room and felt soothed.
The big night came. Marcellus helped Cecilia stay calm and gaze at the stars, which helped. The ghosts tag-teamed household repairs and cleaning during her labor.
And then… well.
The game asked me what to name the beautiful baby boy.
I said Tamir.
The game then asked me what to name the beautiful baby boy.
I was confused. Maybe I didn’t click the button I thought I’d clicked? I thought I would be smart, just in case she was having twins, and so I said Vincent.
The game asked me a third time what to name the beautiful baby boy.
At this point I was sure I was having a glitch, so I decided I’d say Tamir one more time and then try to exit out of the lot and reload.
Perhaps you guessed it
Yep, triplets. (“What am I going to do now, dad?”)
And yep, their names are Tamir, Vincent, and Tamir. Hopefully once they age up to toddler I can change one of the Tamirs to another name. At least I know which Tamir is the oldest because he is the one in the hand-me-down bassinet that has held every infant in this family up till now. The other two are in automatically-generated spellcaster bassinets.
Ragamuffin helped by making omelets for breakfast.
Remember when you said you kids only had each other now? Well, you forgot about the ghosts. You have us. We will be there for you and Tamir, and Vincent, and…… Tamir. (gaaah)
The teens do love the babies
and Eliana can sing a great rendition of Da Nitsy Flitsy Speedo for them now
but they need to focus on being teens.
To be honest, Cecilia still needs her playtime too.
This is how we are doing college now.
(Also: girl gave birth to triplets and looks like THIS the next day?? She must be magical indeed)
Arvin came over. He let Cecilia know that whether she was interested in him or not, he thought she was great, and he’d always be there for her no matter what. And he thought the babies were adorable and that she was doing a great job.
Turns out he took a job as a nanny. I like to think Cecilia’s pregnancy inspired him.
Wolfgang invited Valentín over to meet his parents. Oh boy.
Great house, Wolfgang!
Thanks, but you might want to change out of your swimsuit before you meet Mom and Dad.
Great idea!
The Munches were all at four different corners of the house doing different things. This was different. At the Jones home, everyone was in everyone’s business all the time despite the fact that the place is huge. Valentín said hello to Wolfgang’s dad and then went to hang out with Wolfgang in the study. Wolfgang had had a birthday, and seemed out of sorts. There was no way they were going to be romantic in there today. In fact, Wolfgang picked a fight.
What? Why is he yelling at me?
Valentín went home, feeling in his heart that there could be no one on earth for him other than Wolfgang. He made a flirty painting to cheer himself up.
The romance festival came. Cecilia was too busy, Valentín didn’t want to go anywhere near it, so Eliana decided to put on her most diva dress and try providing some entertainment.
Bit by bit, people started to notice.
As the evening grew dark, the lights came on and a crowd gathered. They were appreciative and they paid her nicely.
Near the end of her set, some guy walked past. He made her forget the next line of her song. She just stood there like this
That guy bothers me
After her set, she went over to introduce herself. His name was Grant. He was an odd guy who couldn’t manage to look her in the eye. Huh.
Cecilia is going strong on her science degree. Good thing she has a lot of help with baby care.
Eliana says: “Shh! Shh! Hope this works!”
“Yes! It worked! I am awesome!”
Karla is actually awesome with babies. She has been over more often than ever before.
Thanks, Patchy. You might hate children but you’re still a real pal.
(Cabin redecoration by minisprite. She did it partway through fall so you’ll see some pictures before the redecoration and some after.)
Even with help, triplet care can be exhausting.
The triplets and Valentín aged up. The younger Tamir has now been named Julius. Valentín didn’t age up on his birthday and was sad the next morning for not having a party. We HAD a big birthday party for you, and you blew out the candles and everything, you just refused to age up then, ungrateful child.
Cecilia still hasn’t quite got the hang of how to have fun at a party while sober. She’s trying. She is not having fun. One day at a time.
Valentín greeted his beloved Wolfgang. He can’t wait till they can date again.
Hadn’t seen Eliana or the triplets in a while so I wandered the camera over to here, and found her autonomously hosting a cute little preschool. Aww.
Wolfgang made himself at home.
Krista probably should have found a designated driver for that broom.
Cecilia is good at science, but unbelievably bad at parenthood. I’ve never had a parent be this lousy at raising toddlers.
In this household, we study outside in the rain!
She is bad at storytime. How can you be bad at storytime? Here is how. She gets the book out, then strides to the chair on the lot that is as far as possible away from the toddlers. Then she starts reading. The toddlers toddle in an adorable wobbly train all the way across the lot to wherever she is, but by the time they get there, the story is over.
I try again, and she again runs away from the toddlers before sitting down to read.
At least they made it in time to hear the end of the story this time?
Honestly, who wouldn’t want to read stories all day long to this crew?
So many tantrums. Cecilia just gets on their bad side so easily.
Tamir got angry and destroyed the dollhouse.
Fortunately they have other sources of love and attention in their lives, although it’s a little bit random whether or not said attention fills their attention need. Tamir got out of bed to toddle out here in his pajamas to listen to Aunt Eliana practice. Music is special to this one.
Dancing with Uncle Valentín.
Bedtime is for potty heads!
Naked time with blocks!
And some people still attend to Cecilia’s needs.
It was a relief to see this… maybe she’s not completely without hope as a parent.
Son, here is how we avoid insanity in this household: eating harvestables. (That was actually good advice! Nice going, Cecilia.)
Fletcher befriended Vincent, and then cooked two meals immediately. Aww, Fletcher. We knew you had a sweet softy side in there somewhere, even if we never saw it till after you died.
One day while Cecilia was at class, a nervous-looking older gentleman dropped in.
Cecilia came home from class to hear Grandpa Cameron rattling on to a nervous-looking older guy: “And THAT’S why Archer will always be the best captain! He had no idea what was coming and he still… oh, hi sweetheart. Um. Speaking of people who have no idea what is coming. There’s someone here you should meet.” Grandpa wandered off whistling the music from Blicblock.
“Uh, hi. I’m Cecilia. You look sort of familiar.”
The man gave a little nervous laugh and a slight smile. “Hi, Cecilia. I’m Keegan. Is there somewhere we can talk for a little while?”
Cecilia looked at him carefully. The trials of her life recently had made her more observant than she’d been in the past. She could tell he wasn’t the sort of person to try anything mean, evil, or otherwise criminal, but just the same, she didn’t feel like leaving home with him. “Let’s sit over here.” She led him to the log benches by the fire pit, down the hill and away from eavesdropping ears.
Clearly a little more scared than she was, Keegan cleared his throat. “You don’t remember me, but I remember you. I remember the night I was at a bar and I saw this crazy teen girl start a fight with an older spellcaster. I followed you guys outside and watched you duel. You lost, spectacularly, and then you bounced back up again like you didn’t even care, with this focused look on your face like you were puzzling out how to beat him the next time. I was seriously impressed. I was younger then, but still many days older than you, and I knew it wouldn’t have been appropriate to try to flirt with you or anything, so I didn’t. Then I was out at the new club some time later, and you were there with your friends for a party. You’d grown up. We connected, or I thought we did. I called you once, but you didn’t know who I was and you hung up on me. So I decided to wait a few more days and do it absolutely right, gallantly come meet your family and introduce myself and ask you for a date in person, and then… I met Vincent. And Tamir. And the other little guy, the one who wants to be called Mr. Boobooboo Carrots.”
“That’s only today. Yesterday his name was something else. Did you call him Mr. Boobooboo Carrots?”
“I certainly did.” He chuckled. “Cecilia, I know we don’t know each other very well, but let me be absolutely frank with you. Vincent looks exactly like my mother and Tamir is the image of my uncle. I thought back and the timing seemed right. And I realized I’d gotten this all so horribly wrong, and there’s no way to go back and fix it. I am so sorry.”
“The timing… what do you mean the timing?”
“When we met again at your party, well, you might not have known who I was. I had a bag on my head. I am useless at clubs, always afraid I’ll look stupid when I dance or say the wrong thing when I meet someone, unless I wear a bag over my head. For some reason it loosens me up. We got talking. Maybe you had me confused with your friend, what’s his name, the other guy with the bag over his head.”
“That’s Arvin. He always wears a bag to parties. He has a very individual sense of fashion.” She stole a quick glance at Keegan’s powerful torso. “I am pretty sure I wouldn’t confuse you for Arvin, even if you did both have bags over your heads.”
“Well, my dear, we got talking and we were enjoying each other’s company a great deal, and then you pulled me into the bushes.”
“I pulled you?”
“That’s how I remember it, anyway.”
Cecilia turned her back and started to head up the hill, then changed her mind. She was infuriated. How long had this older guy been creeping around in the background of her teenage years? Had he had designs on her the whole time? And then taken advantage of her while she was under the influence? How could he describe all that as if it was perfectly rational and fine? But she was also finding out the answer to a mystery. Maybe he could help her understand another mystery or two.
She came back and sat down and told him, “I don’t remember much about that night. I was under the influence of a lot of things.”
“You seemed quite functional, I have to say, perhaps with the exception of your new dance moves.”
“I think I was fooling a lot of people. As well as myself. I was using potions to solve a lot of my problems, to have fun, to get closer to a boy… When I found out I was pregnant I decided I needed to live without them.”
Keegan nodded slowly. “A lot of people have trouble with spells and potions, especially when they’re young. It’s so easy to solve problems with magic, and it seems so impressive, but it has consequences no one wants to admit to. Some risks, the sages are good at raising awareness of, like being overcharged. Other things, no one talks about.”
“So you’re a spellcaster too? I don’t remember ever seeing you in the Magic Realm.”
“I am. I don’t always spend much time there. I’ve found I need the real world to help me balance my spirit. As you have. You’re quite a bit younger than I was when I figured that out. You are a very interesting person, Cecilia; I feel that I could talk with you for a long time, and I admire your strength. Truly, I have always wanted to be a father, but the perfect circumstance never presented itself.”
“I didn’t get to have the luxury of waiting for the perfect circumstance! All of a sudden I was a mother. This just got dropped on me.”
“And you’re doing wonderfully. And clearly, you have a lot of resources, and some very strange but very loving ghost relatives who obviously love the boys. I have none of those advantages, I’m afraid. Not to mention, I’m getting older. But I would like to be the best father I can be. What would you and they most need and want from me?”
Cecilia thought carefully. She’d been so irritated so much of the time about the constant demands that school and parenthood placed on her. Until this moment, she hadn’t stopped to think about the possibility that she might have other options. Or that maybe she didn’t want those other options after all. “We don’t need money. And sorry to put it this way, but my parents were older when I was a kid, and when my dad died it was the hardest time of my life. I don’t want the boys to go live with you and then suffer that. I think what they most need is your time and attention, while you’re able to give it. And sometimes I just need a break.”
“Are you asking me to move in?” he asked with— could that be a flirtatious twinkle in his eye?
“Are you crazy? First of all, it’s illegal. There are already 8 of us here. Second of all, no. But if I could call you when I want help, or if the boys could when they’re old enough. And if you would continue to visit them at other times too. I don’t like how all this started. At all. But I would like for our children to know their father.”
“I will. Cecilia, are you sure there is no room in your life for me?”
She looked at him carefully. He was so much older than she was. He was actually rather handsome. She could sort of see why her messed-up self might have pulled him into a bush on a whim. In a way, he was already part of her family now. Could she give him a chance?
“No, Keegan. That’s not going to happen. You should think of me as a friend, and raising these boys will be a partnership between friends.”
“I see. One more thing, Cecilia.”
“Yes?”
“If you ever start abusing potions again, or staying out all night, I will fight you for those boys.”
“Go ahead and fight me, —-hole.”
Eliana loved playing music at home with her family, but she thought a town orchestra would be even better. She decided to start one. She donated several violins to the Blue Velvet and headed over there with Valentín. They played for a while and invited anyone who seemed keen on their music to join.
Please don’t be quite that keen on the music. That’s a little too close, mister. Lady, that might be more intimate than anyone should ever be with a piano.
They successfully recruited a few members…
…but everyone just went to drink at the bar?
I know I’m the best, but why aren’t you playing musical instruments?
So we reworked the group’s charter. It is now the Willow Creek Orchestra: The Orchestra Where the Members Don’t Drink DURING Rehearsal.
The second rehearsal went a lot better, and then everyone got to drink at the bar afterwards.
As promised, Keegan came over to help with the kids. Well, at first it wasn’t quite what we would consider “helping,” more like “helping himself”
But soon he redeemed himself. Somewhat.
Keegan, I really appreciate you a lot. I mean— I appreciate you for your way with the kids! (Couldn’t we have taken the time to figure out our feelings for each other before we reproduced? Too late now…)
Cecilia knew she had been holding on to that lavender potion for a reason. “Keegan, I want to give you something.”
“What did I tell you about the potions?”
“No, give me a chance. This is a potion of rejuvenation. It’s supposed to make you stay your current age. I’m not sure for how long. This one is the sample the sage gave me. So I know it won’t fail. I don’t need it. But I want the boys to have you for as long as they can. What do you say?”
And Keegan has been over just about every day, usually of his own accord. I think they’re figuring it out. Cecilia might be just a little jealous of Keegan’s amount of free time, and the fact that he appears to be a better parent than she is.
Wolfgang called Valentín to congratulate him on his recent birthday! Is that a hint?
We repealed the Self-Sufficiency NAP. Everyone has finally stopped making de-stressing decoctions all over the patio. Thank goodness. Now gotta remember to vote next week.
Eliana’s birthday came too. Valentín helpfully made her a cake.
Now that the fire is out, let’s run away with the toddlers!
Are you sure it’s out?
But are you really, really sure?
Eliana didn’t age up on time either. She ditched school the next day. That’s enough school. She stayed home and began her adult life by learning the family business. At least, the part of the family business where you harvest and get money.
School called. She’s not so little, school. She’s supposed to be a young adult.
The next night, Cecilia got a bunch of people together to go out to Windenburg for Eliana’s birthday. This wasn’t a fun party either. Everyone left within half an hour of arriving.
But Eliana succeeded in her main goal for entering young adulthood. The instant she finally did age up, she landed a job as an entertainer. She started at level 2, which was pretty cool. Maybe because she already has some pretty formidable piano and singing skills. She has a whole bunch of business cards and a self-starting hardworking attitude.
Eliana is happy not to be going to college. She pitched in by making the Harvestfest grand meal while the college students attended to their own needs.
Ragamuffin was invited to join the orchestra.
Right after, she got a call from Eliana inviting her to a rehearsal. “Eliana, I know you’re not at the Blue Velvet. It’s Harvestfest. You are in my garden like 20 feet away from me. Stop trying to prank call me from right over there.”
Leilani called with birthday wishes. Is that a hint?
Perhaps it was a hint…
Leilani is a fun kid and a good friend. And she does love the family business after all.
Eliana hadn’t really thought of Leilani in that way, but they tried going out on a date.
Eliana was a little distracted. Oops.
And then her date was gone.
Oh well. Who cares? Let’s sing!
Meanwhile, Valentín is blissfully in love with Wolfgang, but it might not all be roses. This happened on Harvestfest.
There’s no telling Valentín that he should be careful. Wolfgang called to congratulate him on his birthday, too. Was that a hint? Yes, it was a hint. Valentín asked him out on a date to that beautiful estate where the Knights club met.
And he told Wolfgang everything that was in his heart.
“I can scarcely stop smiling long enough to kiss you.”
And Cecilia has rejected 3 men in the last week. (At least none of them responded with “Cecilia, you’re breaking my heart.”)
She’s not sure if she’ll find, or has time for, or even wants, that kind of love.
She is sure that this right here is her family.
Random funny moments…
This cake is good, but it would be better with some bacon
The first day of winter is Sleep Away Day! Today everyone was determined to have a better time than last year, when Marcellus died suddenly in the wee hours of the morning. Also, this was our first Sleep Away Day with toddlers and an 8-sim family. Here we go.
We headed to the ruins in Windenburg. On account of the toddlers and the less freegan young adults this time, we brought camping gear. We couldn’t drag it out of the inventory, we could only click "place in world," and couldn’t move it once it was placed. So things got placed a little oddly. Here is the odd campsite. (The ghosts are breaking in the tent.)
Valentín was an extra great uncle and gave each toddler a new toy as a present. Just in case there wasn’t much at the ruins for them to do.
Everyone had fun
Everyone took care of necessities
And the first snow began to fall late at night, as the first two tired Joneses took the obligatory bench naps.
They met Marcus Flex, who came by on a jog and stopped to say hello. He and Eliana talked for quite some time.
I… see you’ve met my dad?
Marcus enjoyed Valentín’s fire dancing.
Cecilia decided to see what the Delicioso spirits might bring, so she wouldn’t have to eat grilled food.
Prosciutto-wrapped asparagus and… something I can’t identify. Not bad.
In the morning everyone played in the snow (and fixed the stereo)
Bjorn Bjergsen jogged past maybe six or seven times while we were there? but he never stopped to say hello. Does that man just jog all night long?
Marcus hung out for breakfast. The poor man nearly froze to death.
Cecilia had to coax him into wearing a more suitable outfit. Yes, you should. Yes, you really should. It’s for your own good. Look at that stubborn face.
And while I wasn’t looking, Vincent somehow produced his own milk. Good lad.
Valentín and Cecilia had a rough term in school (his first term, her second). He failed one class and she failed two. Having two college students living on a large lot is hard. It takes up to 45 minutes for them to make their way down to the front and leave for class. Longer, if Valentín is upstairs in his room. Or if Cecilia decides to use her broom, then she’s down in an instant and I have to keep her busy for 45 minutes but not so busy that she misses class. While not losing track of the toddlers or allowing the ghosts to break every object in the house. Anyhow, they’ve been late to a lot of class and I’m pretty sure that’s where the Fs came from. Valentín is developing some nice painting skill in his fine arts degree, however. I like to think the one on the right is Wolfgang.
Wolfgang comes over often, but he’s shy about sleeping arrangements when he stays the night.
Yes, the triplets are cute in the snow, in case you were wondering.
Tamir autonomously decided to clean up their toys. What kind of toddler are you??
Julius and Cecilia have some nasty sentiments toward each other owing to his tantrums and her terrible parenting skills. But I think they’re starting to crack. She is cleaning up the potty and he’s making the bad-sentiment arms-crossed pose… but look at the little smiles they’re both trying to hide. I think they will be friends one day. Some parents have a hard time with their kids before they’re old enough to become reasonable human beings.
Cecilia: If you do not move, I will drop this on your head.
(sigh... We can hope...)
The triplets aged up. They are still very cute.
Yes, we did their party with three kids and one cake, placing fresh candles for each one. We love you, boys, but three cakes is a lot of cake.
Here is Cecilia attempting to express love for one of them. She is trying…
Sometimes they have some good times around the table, even if Mom has to write a paper at the same time.
Tamir HAS AN IDEA
Vincent, who was an angelic toddler, now has some deeply felt ideas about vegetarianism.
Outdoor showering clearly runs in the family.
Dude, please…. please stop.
Playing with friends on the pirate ship: Dallas, and Captain Naomi.
We brought them home to dance to kids radio. This is Valentín’s kids radio face.
Vincent called up Keegan and invited him over. He arrived in a lousy mood and was grumpy to the boys.
Good grief. Fortunately for these kids they have their uncle, aunt, and great-grand-ghosts around. Otherwise I would worry for them.
Keegan was willing to have a snowball fight, or at least, a stand-around-and-occasionally-taunt-someone-slowly fight.
And they played cards.
Ok, I’m pretty sure this is the card that brings pizza!
Keegan got distracted by the music coming from downstairs.
Eliana was practicing her new theater drama repertoire. Patchy was really trying to help. Patchy, you should stick to gardening and handy tasks. And also painting, which you are randomly good at.
And then there was Winterfest. You only get to be a kid at Winterfest once, as we all know, so you hope it’s a good one. Not this time. Uncle Rafael died early in the morning, and the college students still had class, AND there was a blizzard all day.
Valentín cried in his bed. Cecilia cried over her homework.
Julius, I knew you were the smart one. You are the only person who realized it would be better to eat your grand meal indoors during the blizzard.
The tree was the only happy part of the day.
Rafael was the last in his household to die, so his dog’s urn is there, but his isn’t. He is around as a ghost though. Cecilia threw a dance party and he was available on the list as a guest, so even though he probably still hates parties after death, she decided to have a living-and-dead dance party with lots of ghosts. They look pretty cool in the nightclub lights in their various moods.
They have a confusing relationship with the floor.
Valentín greets Wolfgang like there is no one else in the room
Dance party with the ghosts is awesome!
Dance party with the ghosts has consequences for the plumbing!
Jade: THERE ARE GHOSTS AT YOUR DANCE PARTY WITH THE GHOSTS!!
Cecilia: Yes! Yes! I know! That was the point! Have you…. met my uncle?
Valentín: …..what? it’s over?
Apparently the Fyres family moved to the neighborhood. Morgan is a neighbor now. She brought over a gift-wrapped…. apple? Coals to Newcastle? Anyway, it’s always nice to see more of Morgan.
Cecilia threw another party for New Year’s. She keeps throwing parties. She has the Party Animal aspiration, and so far only one of the parties she’s thrown made it into the party counter? Oh well. She likes them.
Eliana talked to Marcus all night. Wolfgang walked by and checked him out.
Eliana was so busy partying and ignoring her bladder discomfort that she lost it suddenly…
Fortunately Marcus was too busy playing with his clay to notice what had happened.
Marcus still noticed nothing when his conversation partner dashed off to the shower and the cleaner-bot came over and started noisily vacuuming up the liquid. I’m starting to think Marcus is not the sharpest knife in the drawer.
Shashoobi! Happy New Year! This family is really looking forward to spring.
(I'm so tickled by all the little details in this photo that are perfect for our story... from the fixer-bot photobombing, to Arvin's brown bag face with the plant pot faces, to Marcus in the background trying to figure out life)
There are new neighbors in the old Spencer-Kim-Lewis home: Grant and Latisha Montero, and their grown son Oscar. Eliana went over to welcome them to the neighborhood. She brought one of her finest dragonfruits as a gift. Oscar sneered at it. Turns out he’s a green fiend and has his own snobby ideas about what makes for good gardening. Well. He seemed to like Eliana though and they had a fun conversation.
Cecilia threw so many parties! This was a fun house party to watch the season premiere of Game of Llamas. Oscar came and got to know the whole crew.
Marcus had a blast and said they should come do the next one at Partihaus, so they did. He told Cecilia she was always welcome to cook in his kitchen whenever she wanted. So she handled the food.
And the Partihaus residents handled the cleanup. That’s how you do a good party.
Cecilia’s aspiration counter STILL only thinks she’s thrown 2 parties in her entire life…
The 8-sim household is starting to wear on me, you guys. It’s not as ridiculous as when one of the sims was a dog, but it’s a lot of management and not as much fun. I’ve stopped worrying about what the ghosts are breaking. Too much bother to try to keep them from doing it. Anyway, the fixer-bot and cleaner-bot keep up with the damage somewhat, and the ghosts can repair stuff instantly whenever I notice that something is broken.
The students are doing better though!
Valentín practiced his presentation for Grandma Ragamuffin
He comes home from class, listens to his sister practicing comedy, and after a stressful day finds her jokes perhaps much more hilarious than they actually are
Cecilia and the Coterie went out to the flea market. A very smelly fellow there decided to shower in the rain.
Time to clean up the neighborhood!
Yes! Victory!
And then the friends went to go get smelly themselves.
Cecilia dropped by the magic realm a couple of times, too. The Coterie had fun zapping each other in duels, and she learned a few new spells.
Blair. No means no. And it is still no.
I’m pretty sure Cecilia is just not into romantic attachment, but every once in a while she makes me wonder.
Cameron ate the cowplant cake AGAIN. We decided it was time to say goodbye to Daisy. She had reverted to sprout form, so it was hard to tell when she was safe to be around, and the locked gate can’t keep out our favorite goofy junk food fiend. Supposedly he’s a genius. But he cannot resist the lure of cowplant cake… Everyone, Daisy has gone “to live at the farm.”
Goodbye, cowplant. Hello, orchids!
The ghosts continue to have lots of fun with each other and to provide the children with the kind of loving support that their mother doesn’t necessarily offer them very often
Dad! You scared me!
That’s okay, he’ll make up for it.
The children are acing school and growing up well. Tamir and Vincent are rambunctious scamps, hanging out on the monkey bars and battling each other for superiority in the typing game. Julius is a creative genius who loves drawing and violin. In addition to violin, he’s carrying on another proud family tradition
Captain Naomi got old and boring. She just rolls her eyes at everything she used to think was fun.
But hugging Captain Naomi has become oddly… pleasant for Tamir
And then there was the day all their phones rang at once… I guess that potion of rejuvenation did not live up to expectations
At first, it seemed only Vincent had a heart. I know, kids, you didn’t live with your father and he wasn’t always that happy to see you when he visited, but is only one of you actually sad?
Vincent cried into his plantains
Wolfgang came over to try to console him as he blogged about his feelings
Grandma Karla came out at night to help cheer up the children
Ragamuffin and Cameron took the sad kids to the park.
Looks like a death march, but they’re only on their way to roller skate
They met some other children, including Saanvi, an equally sad girl. Wonder if she knew Keegan.
Valentín took Wolfgang to the humor and hijinks festival. They joined the Pranksters. Wolfgang got frighteningly into it.
They enjoyed the fireworks and started creating some of their own
And then took a little time to themselves in a more private location
He’s even more perfect than the sculptures…
Love Day arrived. Vincent proved he really has a heart.
And Julius has a crush?! He never told me who…
Ragamuffin and Cameron went on a delightful date to the spice festival.
Eliana came to the festival after work to unwind. She made a new friend: Sofia Bjergsen.
Musician friends are cool.
Valentín and Wolfgang needed to go on a date, of course. Jade was way too happy to see them. Jade… you’re in the way, my dear.
That’s better.
They had a fun night of clubbing and went for coffee and lobster rolls as the sun came up.
Maybe the lobster roll was not such a good idea.
Our Cecilia spent Love Day with… the microscope.
Oscar must have spent Love Day wishing he was brave enough to ask out Eliana. The call came early the morning after.
Don’t you know not to ask out musicians before 11am? She did not pick up. But later on, she called him back, and they went out for a meal.
They were shown graciously to their table… oh, hello.
Eliana had a great time with Oscar. A smashing time, actually. Their green bar is halfway up already. But it was just friendly. Which is fine. Sometimes you meet someone and after you get to know them a little bit it turns out you don’t have the same goals in life. Like, for example, it turns out they hate children. And then you can be good friends after that.
(And then you can very smoothly get the cute host’s phone number on your way out after your date leaves the restaurant.)
And privileged Generation 4 kids are not so good at freegan quests, it turns out.
Happy Ancestors Day. It’s the first day of summer and everyone has been in the pool already.
We caught up, reminisced about life, played cards
and received parenting advice from an excellent parent
We promise always to leave the lights on for you.
Cecilia is getting better at parenting these days. Here she is having some quality time with Tamir
And grilling fruit especially for her vegetarian son Vincent.
This is Dante. Dante stopped by randomly to say hello.
Dante, I don’t think we’re going to get along.
Boy, that Observant trait comes in handy. Though you don’t need to be very observant to see the problem here. Dante, go home. Go home right now. Stay away from my children.
Tamir was scared in a summer thunderstorm. Naomi came over with a present to make him feel better. Aww. Maybe she’s getting over her attitude after all.
Cecilia finished her last two classes in style!
Valentín, you’re doing okay!
Valentín might be a hit-or-miss student but he is doing beautifully as a painter. I was quite taken with this one.
Here’s a collection of the ones he doesn’t want to sell
Here’s our graduate!
Three outdoorsy siblings crowded indoors during a thunderstorm and trying to do their thing
Cecilia had her adult birthday… and finally, at long last, has completed her “Throw 3 Parties” milestone.
She had a makeover in recognition of the fact that she is a grown lady now. (I need to stop leaving everyone in their same outfits from teen through elder…)
She got a job as a high-ranking botanist. She had her game face on for her first day of work. Note that she is not allowed to wear her glasses to work, but she is allowed to wear her favorite unscientific shoes.
She can work at home anytime she wants to. Here is Cecilia working from home.
After a morning of self-care she got down to business and wrote a grant proposal: Science and Magic in New Technologies for Potion-Making.
The foundation didn’t take it very seriously. Maybe she has some things to learn on the job first.
Eliana is moving up in the world too. She leaned in and stuck to her own vision for the big catfood ad.
And then she got promoted. Yeeeeah.
Eliana tried sending a happy text to Diego, the cute restaurant host she’d met on the last day of spring while on a date with Oscar
Yes! Yes! I would love to go enjoy the day!
They got to know each other in the sun at the park. He loves cats and art. What a sweetie.
And they chatted some more under the cherry trees
And they took a jog. It was a fun morning.
The very next morning…
Yes! Yes! I would love to go to Octopus’s Garden!
They enjoyed some snacks and animated conversation
What do you do on a first date, but go skinny dipping?
Aww
Only the DJ was offended
They both really wanted to do this again sometime.
Eliana asked him home, mostly to meet Cecilia. She is an excellent judge of character.
Cecilia’s only input was that he was kind of geeky, which is considered rather charming by this family. Diego has the stamp of approval.
Naturally, he stayed over.
A thunderstorm woke him up in the middle of the night. He thought it would be fun to go swimming in it. Cameron tried to scare him into reason but it didn’t work
Don’t do it!!! Don’t do it….. too late
Eliana woke up suddenly and pulled Diego into the music room to make sure he was okay.
She was still exhausted but couldn’t go to sleep if she was worried about him. He realized how much he needed her
I don’t want to lose you, not tonight, and not ever
And they took a comforting shower.
(I’ve got those low-down, just-got-struck-by-lightning blues)
Cecilia on the other hand loves this weather and sees nothing wrong. Are you sure you’re observant?
Candy sends her best wishes.
And the kids are about to become teenagers. None of them had the Loves Outdoors trait yet though, so any of them could become the heir… so clearly we need to do the Jones family freegan heir quest all together! We’ll call it an heir quest, sure, but it’s really our first chance to go out and party without our family around!
Tamir, Vincent and Julius said goodbye to mom
And headed to San Myshuno, where they had never been. They landed outside the Casbah Gallery. Let’s take on the city!
They got ready in the bathroom. Such style.
They checked out the art.
They discovered the joys of microwaved junk food!
They met Wren, a teen with purple hair who loves dogs. Julius thought she was the coolest.
They took some bench naps to prove themselves
No kids, no. You may not use the bubble blower.
They went dancing next.
There are really cool characters to meet in the city!
Vincent is getting hungry. Vincent is getting smelly. And the entertainer hasn’t sung a single song all night.
Room with a view.
A scary thunderstorm blew up.
They hunkered down in the gym for showers and more naps.
And then they gave up and came home. What softys. Tamir. Where is your suit!
What actually happened was, I had switched back to the main household to get Valentín to class. And then the kids autonomously returned to the lot. So yeah, the privileged kiddos have failed at their heir quest. I guess we’ll keep them anyway. Even if they just want to sleep in normal beds.
And so, the triplets became teenagers. Tamir got the Loves Outdoors trait! Now we have an heir for sure.
Here are their traits and aspirations:
Tamir: art lover, loves outdoors, Bestselling Author
Vincent: vegetarian, squeamish, Party Animal
Julius: dog lover, genius, Potion Purveyor. I guess the potion thing runs in the family on both sides. You come by it honestly, kiddo.
3 lads, 3 very different masculinities. That’s Vincent on the left, Tamir in the middle, Julius on the right.
This is Claudia. Claudia came over randomly to say hello.
Claudia, go home. Go home right now. Stay away from my children. You’re scarier than the last one.
And now for high school!
After the first day, the teens went out to a café with a few of their closest friends.
(That moment when you’re the only one at work and all the teens rush in at once after school…)
Julius and Wren bonded further over their love of dogs.
They stopped by the gym for a workout, then headed home. Sometimes teens just can’t resist a nap
Ghosts float.
Ghosts help with homework.
Some ghosts cook every time they come over. Fletcher, you never did this while you were alive…
Vincent is getting to like vegetarian cooking.
Valentín took his nephews out clubbing one evening when they really needed some fun. Julius discovered that Wren has a superpower: she can generate bowls of cereal out of nowhere. He was entranced.
Eliana and Diego’s wedding day arrived. Really, it was going to be the only day in summer without thunderstorms.
As they made preparations, Julius and Vincent got distracted by trying to make a campfire. This was a bad idea.
Eliana says, “Don’t you dare ruin this day for me.”
It’s all sorted out, Aunt Eliana! Everything is fine
Vincent had to take a few moments to himself
The wedding went beautifully. They held it in the orchard with lots of flowers and loved ones
Just like in church, no one wants to sit in front
Luka felt the need to take a selfie
And now begins our life together
Valentín set up his firework collection from the Humor and Hijinks Festival, and they all went off at the same time! Here’s to Eliana and Diego
And then there was dinner
And a great party
Eliana changed into her reception outfit, as you do
and danced the night away with her beloved
There was late-night music
The groom cleaned up.
The day after, there were lots of flowers and undone homework.
Eliana and Diego bought a large gracious home just across the creek. It is next to a pocket park. It’s a perfect home to fill with lots of children.
On to the next adventure.
No sooner does your little sister get married and move out, than you turn her old room into a cauldron room.
Yep. Cecilia’s sons all show spellcasting aptitude. She’s more mature now and feels ready to get back into her love of magic, without the excesses she suffered from before. She has a newfound drive to teach her sons properly, and help them use magic to enhance their lives without letting it take over their lives.
(Also, Keegan is dead and gone, so he can’t threaten to take the kids away anymore, regardless of what she does with potions…)
Ok kids… it’s time to learn where you come from. Let’s go.
They checked out the magic realm and hung out with an old friend or two. Tamir is typing furiously on his phone. Story ideas?
First spell, learned! Tamir’s mind is blown
First duel, fought! What gorgeous magicians they are
Julius skipped out early because he had some plans for the romance festival… with a certain purple-haired young lady.
He confessed he had a crush on her
It seemed to go over well.
He asked Wren to be his girlfriend and she said yes! They shared a kiss. Warm smiles.
He bought her a beautiful painting that loosely resembled the sakura petals, to remember this evening by
She gave him a gift in return. Just a flower, but with a beautiful note
Aww, teen love
And Julius wisely bid her farewell just as his hygiene was sliding into the red. Yep, you are a genius after all. Can’t be grossing out your squeamish girlfriend right out of the gate.
Valentín and Wolfgang dropped by the festival. They hadn’t had too much time together lately, because, you know, things have been happening in this family.
Wolfgang got mad when Valentín threw petals at him! Oh no, what’s wrong? wonders Valentín.
I do want you. I just don’t want to have plant parts thrown at me.
…I’m going to need to play rotationally bc I’m not ready to let these guys go just yet.
Eliana has been visiting a lot. She makes herself useful.
She catches up with Patchy.
This time, she was rather larger than before… The triplets are getting a cousin!
(or two, or three. You can’t fool me anymore, game.)
Ragamuffin was so moved that she painted an especially beautiful picture of Eliana. It turned out to be a masterpiece.
Cecilia is done with university and Valentín needed all 4 of his current classes to graduate. So this time I watched him LIKE A HAWK.
Phew.
He and Wolfgang, who have been engaged for two whole life stages now, can finally tie the knot. (And get proper jobs. And a real nice mansion baron house. That makes them grown up right?)
I had planned to have their wedding at the Casbah Gallery but it was not available for a wedding! Otherwise booked? Anyway, the boys dried their tears and decorated Municipal Muses very nicely. And then it rained.
Cecilia came straight from work. Eliana, very strangely, was not available to be called as a guest. Even though Diego was available, and showed up. They tried calling her directly and she picked up but said “I’m busy.” Too busy to attend your brother’s wedding??
It was smaller and dimmer than the Casbah but it was still beautiful.
Aw, the joy
Love poetry, cake, and sibling time
What happens if you slip and fall in a mud puddle on your wedding day?
Nothing bad happens, sweetheart, nothing bad at all.
And so they bought the big penthouse at 1 Torendi Tower in San Myshuno. With a view of the Romance Festival. How could they not.
It’s already a pretty good party house. They made a few modest modifications. They set up the bedroom closest to the private pool (!) for themselves, and left two bedrooms vacant for the family to grow one day. The house came with an indoor basketball court adjacent to the kitchen. No one needs an indoor basketball court adjacent to the kitchen. What they do need is an art studio with plenty of wall space to showcase Valentín’s collection. He became a Patron of the Arts and is carrying on with his own painting as well.
Opening the door together for the first time late at night post-wedding
Welcome home.
And when I went to Manage Households to do this… I found out some important information about Eliana. Oh. THAT was why she was too busy to come to the wedding
I guess we’ll forgive her.
Wolfgang struggled to adapt to married life in San Myshuno. He was newly married to a rich, handsome, romantic artist, who thought the sun rose and set on Wolfgang. He should have been elated. Instead… he kept thinking gloomy thoughts. He had a dead-end job at HAMBURGERMAN! and practically no skills. He was trying to settle into the beautiful palace he had been given, but the heart of this home was the big art studio. There was no room set up for Wolfgang. Well, there were two vacant bedrooms, with the vague idea of children someday, but either or both of them could have been home to any passion of Wolfgang’s. If he had any.
Wolfgang stalked the empty rooms and wrote the occasional chain letter as a prank
Meanwhile, Valentín painted, happily fulfilling his dreams.
Valentín could tell something was up, but Wolfgang couldn’t really express himself the way he wanted
“Whatever it is, I love you”
Wolfgang thought: Love can’t fix everything.
He had bad dreams.
He itched to get out into the city at night while Valentín slept.
He found himself picking fights in bars
and with jerks dressed as raccoons on the street.
He got into two fights in one night.
Okay, he lost two fights in one night.
Okay, he lost two fights in one night to older ladies. The jerk in the raccoon suit turned out to be quite an old lady.
He needed some new excitement in his life, he figured. Some sense of purpose. Something that was not HAMBURGERMAN!. So he got in touch with some old family friends from his Renegades days, and someone knew a guy who knew a guy who was in with a mysterious group called the Mobwives. They were hiring a Tough Guy.
“I got into two fights just last night,” volunteered Wolfgang.
He was hired. No more HAMBURGERMAN!
For Harvestfest, we of course brought the family dinner to Eliana, Diego and baby Holly.
Everyone met Holly and made sure she felt loved and included
The sisters caught up
The other young people played foosball.
Ragamuffin cooked. That is tofurkey, for our vegetarian.
They would not all sit down to dinner at the same time but that was okay because they didn’t have enough chairs in the same room for everyone to eat at once.
Eliana and Diego seemed to be happy with the addition to their family and maybe were thinking about getting to work on the next one
The triplets are developing their skills and their personalities. Vincent stands up to bullies at school.
There’s an important new toy in the yard.
Julius challenged Vincent to a hoops competition. Vincent won. Julius then cried in his bed.
Julius has developed a variety of interests. Other than basketball, all of them are one hundred percent nerdy.
Julius studies magic and makes some magic happen for a friend too.
Tamir is hard at work on his first book. He wants to write collections of loosely related artistic short stories dealing with magic. Meanwhile, Vincent baked some extremely poor brownies.
Ragamuffin would like to contribute some important tips for any and all future brownies.
The teens have been all over the city with their gaggle of teen friends. They went to the spice festival
Vincent took some inspiration home from the spice festival. And he never wants to change out of the t-shirt.
You do not wait for my delicious vegetarian cooking and instead take leftover chicken from the fridge? I give you death stare
Vincent’s first Excellent meal! (Well, it’s only a grilled cheese sandwich, and it was started by the ghost of his grandmother Karla before she wandered off to do something else, but we’ll let him have his moment)
I am a culinary genius!
I can keep this family in beer and breadsticks, anyway.
Next up was the Humor and Hijinks festival.
Where you can earn points for messing with your brother
There was a goal to “light fireworks”. We clicked on the fireworks and could not light them. Is this how we were supposed to do it?
It was not.
A potentially dangerous hobby: exactly what every teen boy needs! Everyone’s magical skill is improving. Cecilia is copypastoing some potion ingredients here. Sometimes a hobby can help you bond with your kiddos…
Julius wants to know all of the background knowledge
Julius cooks for the very first time ever
Moderation…….
Krista is older now, but she can still kick Cecilia’s tail in a duel any night of the week
Cecilia tried out the duplicato spell.
Not bad eh? Meet Camryn Jones
Cecilia instructed Camryn to clean
Camryn chatted with the neighbors.
Camryn set fires.
Camryn received a talking to. Oops. She is sorry.
She did eventually clean. To be honest, nothing was actually dirty at the time she was created. Her creator only created her because she was mucking about with new spells.
And whenever nothing was dirty, she stood around staring at the trash can.
Meanwhile, Cecilia slept.
Cecilia threw a housewarming party for Valentín and Wolfgang. Wolfgang spent the party doing mostly this.
It was a fun party, although Cecilia also identified a few issues with the layout of the apartment and gave Valentín a list of desired changes in order to improve the party-ness of the place. “Come on, sis, I’m doing my best here and I just moved in!” complains Valentín.
Ragamuffin made sure the bed worked properly
Magical dueling is a fun party game!
Was it World Cup time? I found Eliana watching the game alone in the bedroom
while Tamir was practicing juggling for the bathroom mirror
At least obsess together, you guys, it’s a party.
Cecilia learned of the Mobwives job. She’d never heard of them either, but she thought it sounded fishy. She told Valentín to be careful. Meanwhile, Wolfgang is still doing this…
Season 26 - Winter (first part)
(It's been an eventful winter, so I'm splitting this up into a couple of posts.)
When you go too far…
The triplets applied to college. Julius is giving some sort of mental blessing to his application. Please be accepted, please be accepted…
On the first morning of winter, Wolfgang and Valentín decided to check out the new neighborhood brunch spot, Sunflower’s.
(I did a renovation of the Old Salt House. It’s a brunch place with a listening room. I want more arts venues in my game, and it was silly that San Myshuno had no restaurant! More shots of the build in the next post.)
The game chose good clientele for an urban brunch spot on a Sunday morning
They had coffee and made friends.
Wolfgang autonomously made creepy notes. What is he even doing?
Wolfgang decided he needed to start working out if he really wanted to live up to his Tough Guy job title. Creating havoc online was fun but not what he needed to be training for.
He headed to the gym after Sunflower’s. It had a beautiful view out the windows.
“So, I wanna be a tough guy. Where do I start?”
He met some cool fellas at the gym.
He insulted a random lady.
The random lady stomped off to go work out quite energetically at the punching bag. So maybe Wolfgang did her a favor?
He pushed himself. It felt good.
That Sunday was the first day of winter, so that means it was Sleep Away Day. The triplets convinced the rest of the family that Sleep Away Day should not be about bench sleeping, it should be a proper vacation. Off they went to a Mt. Komorebi rental house. Tamir, settle down.
Ragamuffin said they needed to install fireguards on both fireplaces immediately. Indoor sleeping is such a deathtrap.
The ghosts opted for a tent anyway. They enjoyed all the advantages of the tent.
Skiing!
Ski lift!
They fell down a lot.
Climbing was more fun than skiing.
Everybody got injured so they went for cerebral fun after that
The ghosts stuck to romantic walks in the snow.
Vincent cooked pancakes
and curry.
You can relax in the bath, or you know, play soccer at the bath, whatever
Music is a Sleep Away Day tradition now. We’re adding one tradition every generation for each deceased heir. This is in Marcellus’s honor.
The triplets say this is a big improvement on sleeping outside.
Cecilia has been studying her potions and now knows every recipe. It was time to give the Coterie the greatest gift of all: immortality. The potion ingredients are a little challenging, but with the Copypasto spell you can just copy them… or… copy the potion itself! She turned her one sample potion into four, quite easily.
She gathered her Coterie in the Magic Realm gardens.
Krista was first to receive the potion. She began to change.
And she glowed with life.
That was wonderful! Blair, you’re next! (Blair says: buh?)
Blair wanted Arvin to be next, so he obliged. Arvin was transformed and glowed in the same way. So Blair drank his potion.
It didn’t go quite so well for Blair.
Oh no! Cecilia panicked. She had killed her friend! But wait, she knew a spell for this: Dedeathify. Quickly she cast it
Oops.
She tried to put aside her own terror at being suddenly dead herself. Her friend was more important. She tried again.
And again, and again, until…
She collapsed in exhaustion, overcharged.
A logical solution occurred to her. She proposed this logical solution to Blair, and he recovered. (What was it? I really don’t know. It came up as an interaction with the logic skill icon next to it. She’s smarter than I am…)
Cecilia looked at the last remaining potion, and handed it to Blair instead of drinking it herself. Again it didn’t seem to agree with him. Krista and Arvin tried looking up this condition on the phone.
Again she was able to propose a logical solution to him, and he recovered. Cecilia felt relieved. And possibly dead. She limped home.
“Cecilia! What happened-“
“I’m fine, Grandma.”
“But you’re-“
“I’m fine! Everything is fine. Leave me alone.”
She dreamt of death.
Not happily.
But late at night… her flesh and blood returned to her
She awoke and suddenly needed to eat a large quantity of roast meat.
And she received a call that her old spellcasting friend Madilyn had died. She felt that immortality for the Coterie was that much more crucial now. But it no longer seemed so easy.
Meanwhile, new life burgeoned in the family. This is Eliana and Diego’s daughter Holly as a toddler! And Eliana is expecting again.
We fixed up Holly’s room, imagining that she loves those characters on the wall.
Tamir, Vincent and Julius celebrated their young adult birthday out with friends! Even the waiters cheered when they blew out their candles.
This guy cheered too. And he gobbled up two pieces of their cake. The nerve.
Their friend Vanessa flirted with Julius, and he autonomously flirted back. Wren took offense to that. Julius tried to apologize to her, but he was starting to smell poorly, and she took offense to that too. Poor kids.
While at the party, Cecilia received a disturbing phone call:
What?? She was supposed to be immortal!
Cecilia was crushed. The next day, Krista’s ghost invited her out to the Bluffs. She still had the immortality symbol around her neck, although, clearly she had died.
Cecilia went over her potion recipes over and over again, and she even beseeched the heavens to send her wisdom from a Guru. The Guru consented to hear her pleas, but for the time being, it seemed she would be unable to keep the Coterie alive with her forever.
Winterfest came, and with it the best Winterfest gift ever: college acceptance for all three boys! They all got into the distinguished degrees too, so they had their choice. They decided to stay together even if it meant they couldn’t all attend distinguished programs. They enrolled in Britechester. Tamir for language and literature, Vincent for culinary arts, and Julius for physics. (I haven’t had an active scientist sim yet, and I thought it might be fun to play Julius in that career. I don’t mind having him start at mid-level so I can experience more levels of the career.)
Wren invited Julius out for a date, but she was in some kind of mood, and it went badly.
I’m tickled that Julius’s courses include How Things Work: Physics I, and How Things Break: Physics II.
College is a culture shock. Apparently, most people just nap and avoid their beds.
Floppy hair and impressive beards seem to be the college fashion. Tamir is feeling some beard envy.
People flirt… differently here.
Vincent took a supply of harvestables and set some out on a table in the hall.
The roommates are constantly bringing in food too. There’s some sort of battle going on for who can bring the best food. We’re getting roast chicken and lobster thermidor deposited on the coffee table on a regular basis.
Meanwhile Vincent is making what he considers to be better food, with a better view too
(Vincent contributed the dance floor too, naturally.)
Here’s what the coffee table banquet looked like one evening when Cecilia and Eliana came to visit.
Also note that beautiful statue that someone made out of a lump of clay! Wow. Tamir was impressed. He joined the art society. He’s joined the soccer team too. I think he’s kind of looking for his place in the world these days.
The coffee table banquet kept spoiling. I guess it’s always easier to complain then to fix the problem
At least some people clean
This is Ayaka. She is always either misting her plants or repeatedly polishing her desk. It’s unclear. Does she ever clean dishes? I don’t want to say no, but I’ve never see her do it.
We did get a mini-fridge to cut down on the spoiled food insanity.
Julius met Nicola, the girlfriend of one of his roommates.
They connected immediately.
She seemed like a positive and giving person, happy when others around her were happy. Were she and the roommate on-again off-again? Her headline kept changing from “Roommate’s Girlfriend” to not…
and then suddenly— Ouch!
"Let me think. Was that girl your girlfriend? We were just talking—"
"Haha, actually, she’s Nobu’s girlfriend, not mine! I was just pranking you! I’m Addison. Nobuya and I both have dark floppy hair, glasses, and these impressive beards, so people mix us up sometimes.
Julius muttered in Addison's direction, rubbed his sore jaw, and went off to his own room to work on his presentation. Later that night, he was practicing violin when Nicola and Nobu wandered into the lounge. They ignored him. He continued playing, trying to sound as sweet as he could, hoping somehow he would bring a little extra joy into her evening without getting in her way.
And she listened to him play long after Nobu went to bed.
Inspired by his classes, Tamir worked on his own book of short stories late into the night.
Tamir’s soccer team won the game!
And he met his teammate Madeline. She loves the outdoors too, and is very enthusiastic. Very, very enthusiastic. Once she starts enthusing she does not stop.
Vincent planned to host a keg party on Friday but the party came to him! Winning!
Friday is magic realm night. They brought some of the extra dorm food to share.
Julius got to know some new spells.
Vincent got to know Briella.
Saturday is climbing practice day. Or, you know, grilling practice when you don’t feel like exercising too hard right now.
Beard envy continues. Tamir decided to start growing his beard and his hair.
On a beautiful day midway through the term, Julius took a deep breath and sent a happy text to Nicola. She invited him out to a park right away. She did seem like a kind-hearted person, wanted to raise a family some day, and when Julius expressed his love of dogs, she was happy to talk about them too
They played a game of chess in the park. Apparently it was a virtuosic game, as several passersby gathered around to watch and cheer.
He learned another important fact about Nicola’s life currently
This really feels right…
Maybe we’ll stay like this always?
For now, she became his girlfriend.
She’s like a work of art…
Julius had one bit of unfinished business. He and Wren had had a teen relationship that felt thrillingly all-encompassing at the start. But when he stepped back and thought about it, they didn’t really know each other that well or have much in common other than both being dog people. Their romantic connection wasn’t particularly strong either. So it was time to bring their relationship officially to an end. They both felt terrible anyway.
Everyone had interesting wishes right after the breakup… Nicola chose that moment to invite herself over, Wren wanted to come up and cry in the shower, and Julius just wanted to go hide on his computer.
Fortunately Wren made such a direct beeline for the shower that she didn’t even notice anything else.
Happy New Year! Vincent threw a party at Valentín and Wolfgang’s penthouse.
Cecilia showed up late and overcharged. Wonder what she was doing. Meanwhile, Tamir schmoozed with his soccer teammates.
A sunny afternoon at UBrite: the soccer banners, the coffee stalls, the little duel in the quad.
Holly and Diego had birthdays coming up on the same day, so Cecilia threw a party for them both at their home. For some reason, Cecilia was overcharged again. I don’t know what it is. Something about her party enthusiasm? Everyone was afraid of overcharged Cecilia, except for Cecilia, she was fine with it.
Eliana had trouble coping.
But otherwise, it was a fun party.
Even for the toddlers… yeah, baby George must have had a birthday and I’d missed it.
Aw yeah… aging up!
Aw… that means I’m middle-aged now
And here is Holly as a child. She looks so sweet, but don’t be fooled, she is a kleptomaniac. How far we have come in this family: 2 generations of freegans, then 1 generation of money and party obsessives, and now we have a klepto.
At college, Tamir is enjoying the soccer team, and enjoying in particular his teammate Madeline, who loves the outdoors and is pretty sporty. Let’s go play some soccer!
(I love that the sports teams are coed in sims!)
She’s limber too.
Tamir doesn’t have any similar built-in motivation at the art society, but he does do some art sometimes
Julius and Nicola are enjoying each other very much.
Nobuya doesn’t seem to miss his ex-girlfriend Nicola much. He is doing just fine. Nicola, be glad you and Julius found each other
Vincent hosted his first keg party. A difficult start: the keg didn’t want to be tapped, and the stereo didn’t want to work.
The party didn’t go very well. It seems college students don’t like to hang out outdoors as much as the triplets are used to. More things to adjust to.
Vincent does have a good time going to the commons with 10 or 20 of his closest friends. He grills veggie burgers for everyone when the cafeteria is closed
He has started trying to tell jokes. Oh dear. At least Mom thinks he is funny. (She comes by a lot.)
Cecilia and Julius always fought when he was little, but now he might be her favorite?
They finished their first term! All A+ for Julius (no surprise) and for Vincent (ok I was kinda surprised there.) Tamir got an A, a B and a C. But on the other hand, he did publish his first short story collection “Tales of Motes and Emotes,” and it was quite well-received.
Second term started. The triplets are old hands now. College: when someone else throws a party in your bedroom and you can sleep anyway.
This is the status of Tamir’s beard, and soccer-team physique, at the beginning of second term.
There are new trends in the dorm. Personal hot sauce in your room is in, apparently. Most roommates have some.
Julius has a new roommate. They’re bonding over their love of violin.
Vincent was trying to work on his presentation for Gettin’ Saucy class, but the booming PA at the soccer game kept intruding on his thoughts… so he took 10 or 20 of his closest friends to go see the game. And they lost. Oh well.
Love Day came. Tamir invited Madeline to Sunflower’s for a breakfast date. Look who else was there!
They were seated at a table next to… a pile of semi-liquefied food waste. How embarrassing.
Tamir thought quickly and decided to show off his prowess a little
It worked! (Good thing he never bothered to worry about the restaurant fire that would have ensued if he’d failed.) They had a lovely breakfast.
And some fun outside. These two don’t want to stay indoors for long.
So sweet.
They shared a first kiss. Tamir learned that Madeline hates children. Oh well, who cares, children are so far in the future that he can’t even be bothered to worry about that now. He did realize, with a start, that classes started TODAY and so he’d already missed his first one. And it’s Research & Debate, which he has zero skill in. Hmm. Got some catching up to do.
Julius and Nicola had a beautiful Love Day evening on the bluffs.
Vincent hung out with his friends, and tried to flirt with Briella. Every time they hung out he just kept wanting to get closer to her… She seemed sort of receptive but he wasn’t really sure how to take the next step.
They didn’t go to magic realm on Love Day, but they did go climbing on Saturday. They have proper gear now. And a smelly tagalong roommate.
And a good cook for lunchtime.
Tamir is easily distracted by a different activity.
Vincent held another keg party Saturday night. He decided to have this one indoors.
Valentín dropped by. He and Vincent caught up as Vincent prepared some of his signature barbecue fruit cobbler.
This party went great!
…except that Briella didn’t want to kiss him.
Julius: You know, my brother is really into you—
Briella: I don’t care. Leave me alone.
UBrite… where the young people come to pretend to be old people.
(These are not my sims. They are my sims’ friends Erik and Zoey. Randomly generated. But they are so elegant!)
The climbing continues.
And it’s hard to be Vincent sometimes.
Summer began with Ancestors Day. It was fun to have the whole extended family together.
(Cecilia got old, wow.)
Marcellus was delighted to be woken up by Cecilia’s Necrocall spell.
Fletcher was not so delighted to be woken up.
Very, very not delighted.
Being together was good (after that.)
Ghosts don’t change.
The triplets are enjoying college life. Lots of hanging out in the beautiful quad.
We have the Rock Your Body and Support Performing Arts NAPs so far, so all the dormies are exercising and playing musical instruments. Julius is playing violin a lot. Being a slob, he makes other music as well
This wasn’t really that slobly. I mean, he put his plate down for one second and Zoey was already making drama about it.
Handiness is important for his Physics degree and he is practicing by upgrading the dorm plumbing. Not everyone values and appreciates the results of a slob handyman’s work.
Scruberoo is an important spell to know if you live in a dorm
There’s the overly neat roommate, and then there’s the roommate who literally threw this pile of food waste on the floor with her hands. I saw her do it. Her body language sort of looks like she threw up, but she really did throw this pile with her hands, right over the lobster thermidors and everything. I ask you.
Tamir made it to an art society event! His milestones for art society won’t complete, but he enjoys it.
The poses crack me up
They are exact matches of the poses we all know from the figure paintings. Makes me giggle.
Here is the status of Tamir’s beard (and bod) at the start of third term.
He continues to practice soccer with his girlfriend Madeline, who invented the game face
And he discovered that the super-secret soccer playbook is actually kinda interesting (and builds his logic skill)
Vincent threw a keg party. People seemed to have lots of fun, but it counted as a failure because the guests didn’t want to drink that much.
There was a perfect moment near the end of the party
But Vincent is beating himself up terribly. He has sad and embarrassed sentiments about all of the party guests. One of these people is his brother Julius, who I can confirm has no sentiments about that party at all. In fact, probably nobody but Vincent is thinking about that party at all anymore. Vincent feels endlessly ashamed nevertheless. He cries in the bathroom, and goes around apologizing to everyone. I’m thinking everyone just wishes he would stop apologizing already.
Oh yeah, he also tried asking Briella for a date the next day and she said no. So he was more embarrassed and sad— but the party embarrassed and sad moods continued for much longer than the rejected-date moodlets.
Vincent unburdened himself to Tamir’s girlfriend Madeline and asked for her advice. Madeline encouraged him to send Briella a no-pressure, light flirty text. Guess it was good advice. She responded by asking him out!
… to Club Calico in a thunderstorm.
Well, at least this one wasn’t Vincent’s fault to be embarrassed about. He talked her down with some gently joking conversation
And then suddenly everything was all right
Julius took Nicola to GeekCon. They took selfies
They worked on a rocket
They had fun in the rocket
Nicola was invisible for a little while afterward. She’s the one holding the burger, with the group octagon-bob over her head.
Next party was a costume party. How come they only let you have a costume party at a bar and then the party goals are all about cooking things in ovens?? Anyway, this was the night of GeekCon. I wonder if having a costume party on GeekCon day increases the odds of scifi costumes.
This party was more of a success, in more than one way.
Ah-hah! Again with the messes! Vincent has caught you this time!
Actually, she was mortified. But she didn’t exactly promise never to do it again.
Vincent’s favorite thing is still taking a million friends to the commons. This time, it happened to be Tea and Poetry night. There was no tea, more’s the pity, but people kept going to the mic to do dramatic poetry readings.
…and this is the last we’ll see of Briella tonight
I found her watching someone play chess alone, from a safe distance. Now that’s a loner activity.
Vincent participated in poetry night, but not very successfully.
The next day, Briella asked him out on another date!
To the Octopus’s Garden, which is almost completely outdoors!
In another thunderstorm!!
Vincent gallantly invited her to hang out in the game room.
Some people we knew were among the crowd dancing outside (they’re under a deck, but still)
We were happier in loner mode. Aw, Briella rarely smiles like that.
Cecilia came up and met Briella and likes her.
She met Nicola this term, too, and likes her as well.
Nicola finds Cecilia “quite pleasing” ??
And I've realized I have a generation where all three siblings are in hetero relationships. Huh. Well, they have three very different masculinities; one is a conventionally hot athlete, one is a big ole teddy bear nerd, and one has eyeliner and big curls and hangs out mostly with girls.
Thanks to all the lobster thermidors and omelets, the non-athletes are starting to get bellies. Julius doesn't mind (and neither does Nicola.) Vincent is torn between feeling that a vegetarian chef should exude an image of good health, and worrying about whether people will trust a skinny cook? He is thinking about going on a diet of harvestables and light foods he grills himself.
Julius snagged Cecilia for some extra magical training. He’d really like to become an acolyte.
And Friday night is magic realm night!… well, both Tamir and Vincent ditched this time. Julius learned some more potion recipes and fulfilled his goal of acolyte-hood. The package never came in the mail though. Maybe university mail is to blame, or maybe a roommate stole it? He’ll probably stop by Casters Alley sometime soon. Dude deserves a broom.
Mom is so pleased to sit back and watch her son learn.
Wait a minute… you’re not my mom
More use of the Duplicato spell, I suppose. There is Cecilia over there in the next room.
Erm… Mom is getting weird in her old age.
Also, Briella is fierce in a duel.
Saturday is climbing day!
The kids are getting better…
Time to try a bigger wall! We totally got this!
Wow, that’s very high… um… hey look, it’s time for soccer practice
That night was Night on the Town. Double date!
(The loner goes on a double-date like a loner. I don’t know why loner autonomy cracks me up so much)
Jerrica called Vincent and said she wanted to go to the Romance Festival but was scared to go alone. Would he be her wingman? Of course! He was born a wingman! He brought Briella and 2 of his other closest friends to help Jerrica feel like she was in good company.
And then, Uncle Diego flirted with Vincent’s roommate Camille.
In front of Aunt Eliana.
These two just had twin babies, might I add, and probably had to pay for a sitter for 4 children just to get out tonight, and he does this? Eliana doesn’t seem to mind though.
And that’s the last we’ll see of Briella tonight.
Or not.
Vincent didn’t seem to mind this? Perhaps whatever happens at the Romance Festival stays at the Romance Festival? Anyway, the kiss didn’t seem to do much for the girls. One looks mortified, and the other would rather be studying.
It was getting late, things were getting weird, people were stripping down to their underwear with the bartenders and Uncle Diego wasn't going anywhere. Vincent checked in with Jerrica. She wasn’t having a good time either.
So he snagged a few flowers for the garden at home
and suggested an alternative activity. This is much more fun.
Because it’s The Sims, each waiter tried to mop up this puddle exactly one time. Keep Myshuno weird, everybody.
Another food waste pile. For the squeamish guy to clean up. I ask you. At least there is Scruberoo.
Julius earned his broom! He is learning to drive.
A broom can be very convenient for getting to class. Maybe. Sorta. Look out below!
Meanwhile, Tamir hurt himself at soccer practice and is feeling very cooped up indoors
Tbh Tamir can hurt himself just trying to walk down the sidewalk
Eliana and Diego’s twins Antoinette and Cassiel are now toddlers. The game picked those names and I like them. Antoinette is wild. Cassiel is independent.
Intellectual development starts young
Holly became a teenager! She looks exactly the same as Eliana.
Different style though. Kinda sweet, kinda punk, still a klepto…
And George is a child? His birthdays somehow don’t appear on the family calendar, so sadly he is the forgotten middle child. Sorry, George.
Diego handles the childcare so that Eliana can practice.
When your elderly uncle invites you to a party and it turns out the “party” is a completely deserted bluff?
Wolfgang died and Valentín hasn’t been taking it well. Tamir, Vincent, and Julius realized he might not be doing okay on his own. They left the “party” for Sunflower’s, and talked some more.
Tamir had invited his childhood buddy Naomi along. It was good to be back in touch with her.
“No, his judgment is just fine— see, he likes my jokes!”
“Vincent, that might not mean what you think it means.”
And then… not even a magical club can let you escape the inevitable, in the end.
It was a difficult Harvestfest with an empty chair.
They remembered the dead.
They watched the sunset, and ate cake sadly.
Julius and Holly had a chance to bond. He gets her.
And Valentín brought up something he’d been thinking about since their outing to the restaurant.
“The home I shared with Wolfgang feels too big and empty for just me. I would appreciate more company, and you guys are always complaining about the dorms. And we all miss Cecilia, but you must be having such a terrible time. Would you consider spending your last semester in San Myshuno with me?”
“Okay, Uncle Valentín, but on one condition.”
“What is that?”
“That you start dressing your age.”
Cecilia took her place among her ancestors.
The triplets moved to the penthouse. To take care of their uncle in his last days, but let’s be honest, to have a good time too.
Can’t beat the view.
There’s plenty of room for the presentation boards now.
If you have to cry into your term paper, this is not a bad place to do it.
Valentín felt good about the arrangement and he even asked if they would like to bring their girlfriends too.
Why are all the neighbors college students?
Daiki the most annoying roommate?? How did you find us here?
Vincent threw a dinner party for their adult birthday, and as a chance for the ladies to see the new place. He prepared butternut gnocchi.
Julius can handle this level of food preparation.
A blue shoe trend seems to be part of this season’s party wear
And they’re grown!
Valentín says, “Wolfgang and I sometimes talked about adopting children, but it always seemed so far in the future and we never got around to it. Now I’ve lost him. I am so glad to have a house full of kids after all, so late in life. Here’s to our home.”
The next day, Tamir took Madeline outside and buttered her up with love poetry
and asked her an important question.
She accepted!
In the heat of the moment Tamir suggested they add to their family further.
“I told you on our first date. I do not ever want kids. I hate children.”
“Hate is such a strong word. Maybe you’ll feel differently in time.”
“No way. I have so many ideas for how we could enjoy our life together. They do not include children.”
Madeline joined the household, and pretty much immediately we discovered she has problems we didn’t know about.
Madeline, I hope some of your ideas have to do with improving your academics.
How about joining me here?
Nicola said yes. (Julius wants to go to a little more trouble to make a romantic proposal, so he hasn’t asked her THAT yet.)
Vincent asked Briella to move in. She objected that a large household might not be for her. Vincent said, “There’s plenty of room. It’s a big place, even with 7 people in it, you’ll have lots of room to be alone when you need to. And tell you what. Our bedroom has its own bathroom, and we can make it a little living room too. When we have parties, we can lock the door so only you can come and go. This will be the Cave of Briella.”
And that, she could agree to. Vincent is over the moon.
Briella did find plenty of alone time.
She and Vincent enjoyed some private time in their new bedroom/living room. Afterward, Vincent rolled over sleepily and caught sight of her odd pajamas.
Briella?! Is there something you’re not telling us??
I’ve never played an alien before, nor have I met one, as much as I eagerly await their arrival. Briella is a spellcaster and her needs panel looks like any other spellcaster’s. I don’t think she’s an alien? Are the pajamas just random?
And so they are settling into penthouse life. Valentín created his first masterpiece.
Dancing in the rain on the balcony. Sounds romantic, looks silly.
Nicola’s aspiration is bodybuilder. She quit her deadend retail job and gets to work out all day.
Valentín keeps going out to the grill and forgetting what he was doing. That can be dangerous, uncle. You’re right, it wasn’t such a good idea to spend your last days alone.
Enjoying time with our uncle while we can.
Who finally kept his promise to dress like a grown person. Here he is painting what appears to be a carrot? This one also turned out to be a masterpiece.
Again, Julius was the only brother who kept the magic realm Friday night tradition.
Julius always wonders whether to use handiness or magic to repair plumbing. Magic is faster, but has a risk of setting the plumbing on fire. So it was interesting to see that even the sages opt for cleaning puddles by hand.
Briella in another random Realm of Magic outfit that worked out very well. I’m going to try to replicate this in her own outfits now that she’s part of the household, if I can remember.
They went climbing on Saturday, but Tamir got injured almost immediately and they had to go home.
And that weekend, all the ladies had their adult birthdays too.
One night…
Welcome home, my soulmate
(I’d been trying to figure out where his urn went. So I followed him at 6am to see where he would go. But he just floated upstairs near the pool and disappeared. I don’t think we have his urn. Valentín hopes he’ll come back and visit often.)
Sleep Away Day now includes a tradition of gardening, in Cecilia’s honor. And in her honor, the boys chose the magic realm gardens as the destination.
They couldn’t exactly care for these plants, but they harvested some lemons. Briella was all about harvesting the mandrakes and valerian roots. She has the Potion Purveyor aspiration, just like Julius.
Music is the Sleep Away Day tradition in honor of Marcellus.
Some music had ulterior motives.
Will you be part of my odd but wonderful family?
You will always be the most precious part of it.
“Ok, guys, I’m just saying we CAN cast Delicioso but also we can cook. You tell me which makes better food. You’re welcome.”
This is their old annoying roommate Sophia. Sophia, the answer is no.
Nicola has the Body Builder aspiration. She doesn’t mind if Julius is a big ole teddy bear, but she’d like him to remain in good health, and to understand this part of her life just a little bit. Let’s go work out!
Poor Julius is struggling.
“Want to go get clean? Together?”
“I thought you’d never ask.”
Penthouse life ain’t bad. Good morning, Madeleine. Madeleine, you have class. We want you to get out of academic probation.
Oh, good grief, she’s not the only one. At least Briella doesn’t have class.
As for Madeleine, her aspiration is Leader of the Pack. Her club is going to be the greatest!
Only Adults and Elders allowed.
But before it could get off the ground…
The household had enjoyed their time with Uncle Valentín, and it had flown by so fast. They had inherited his penthouse, but it wasn't the same without him.
The memorial for Valentin and Wolfgang in the dining room.
Wolfgang does have a gravestone somewhere on the lot, I think. Nicola is family-oriented and she keeps autonomously deciding to mourn one or the other. The “Mourn Wolfgang” action shows up with a picture of the gravestone. But Nicola can’t get there, wherever it is, and the action cancels pretty much right away. It’s a mystery. I’ve tried removing walls and moving just about every object on the lot. We do miss you, Wolfgang. Hopefully you keep coming around.
Sophia, the answer is still no.
SOMEHOW, all our most annoying college roommates now show up as San Myshuno neighbors! And they keep coming into our penthouse! Why?? We keep our door locked but they still come in! And they will not leave even after being sent home repeatedly!
Here, the neighbors and the ghosts have left a total of 5 white cakes in progress, and one complete white cake which Nicola is putting away.
Nicola has had it.
They won’t leave even when you yell at them and tell them to go away.
FINALLY (like 2 days later)
The cousins are growing up. This is George and Antoinette. George looks like something out of a 1970’s cartoon.
Merry penthouse Winterfest!
Madeleine thought Winterfest would be a perfect day for Soccer for Grown Adults’ first practice in Myshuno Meadows. Soccer for grown adults is fun!
Briella got older, but there are bonuses to that.
Tamir noticed the wedding arch and had a sudden whim. Neither he nor his lady really need fancy parties. From her smile, she agrees.
“I’m really smelly from soccer practice though.”
“You were really smelly from soccer practice when we met.”
“I won’t forget.”
“Not ever.”
Impromptu party afterwards with a few of our closest college friends.
Almost forgot it was still Winterfest. Hi, Santa.
And let’s not forget what this household is really about!
Aunt Eliana wasn’t sad that there ended up being no party to invite her to. We hope.
The big day is here! Happy graduation, triplets!
Madeleine, you made it too! We were worried about you.
No, Sophia, Julius doesn’t want to, either.
I really don’t like being around kids but… I am so happy with you, and maybe I can share that happiness with someone who’s a lot like you too? They don’t stay little forever, right?
Are you suggesting what I think you’re suggesting?
The next morning, she was having second thoughts. Maybe, there won’t be a baby? She’s tense, but more happy than she is tense…
Maybe, if there is a baby, I can do this? I do feel kinda funny…
And now that everyone has graduated, it’s time to return home. But not for Vincent and Briella. They decided to stay in the penthouse, with just 3 of their closest and most elegant friends. I think they will be very happy together. Vincent got his first big job as a sous chef in the city.
The girls settled in.
Ghost activity as per usual. Cecilia is just as overcharged as always, even after death.
Valentín takes his place beside his ancestors.
Bedrooms for Julius and Nicola, and Tamir and Madeleine. (The ghosts are back to sleeping in the cabin, at least until spring comes.)
Science is magic! Julius got his first big job too, as a scientist. (I’m really excited about this.)
The more things change…
… the more they stay the same
(Frequent readers will recognize that kid as Julius)
Dunk! That feels good after so long!
Friday night, magic realm night. Tamir actually came too. Please observe Tamir’s beard, by the way. It is now fully grown. He looks very authorial.
Madeleine… is now tense all the time.
Trying to put a happy face on the Big News
But having some serious second thoughts.
Saturday climbing!
Julius informs Vincent of all the fun he is missing. Vincent informs Julius that he can keep his fun, he’s having plenty of his own in the penthouse, thanks.
Tamir finished his second book! Tales of Potions and Emotions, a companion volume to Tales of Motes and Emotes
Now, he would like to actually start writing GOOD books. Hmm. He is on the books as a freelance writer for Fighting Words, which he joined just in case they needed extra money for college. They didn’t, so he never wrote anything for them. That might change soon. He just needs some more practice.
It’s New Year’s Eve. “A toast to the baby!”
“Err, yes, to the baby!”
“Should you be doing that in your condition?”
We went to a restaurant, but I have to remember not to do that for New Year’s. All the waiters just start watching TV and we never get our food. We had to eat from the bar.
And Julius contemplates commitment on the morning of his wedding.
We figured out how to have a wedding at the Casbah Gallery, finally… just had to turn the lot type from Arts Center to Museum beforehand. Such a lovely spot for an art lover to get married.
Nicola looked beautiful.
Julius looked, well, like his adorable self.
Okay, not all the new spouses’ random outfits turned out well. I hadn’t bothered with CAS for them yet. Clearly.
Uh-oh. This is Nobuya, their old university classmate. He wasn’t invited. Julius and Nicola met when Nicola was dating Nobuya.
Is he here to settle an old score?
Well, maybe not. Not unless the old score was against the trash can.
There were actually a LOT of random townies kicking over trash cans during this wedding. Julius is a slob and doesn’t care, but today of all days he is determined that his squeamish bride not be troubled by any mess. He drafted Tamir for can duty.
And it turned out to be a great party.
With, also, soccer.
The soccer-playing, dancing children made Madeleine really unhappy.
And afraid of becoming a mother. And not feeling well.
“You can do it,” Grandma Ragamuffin says.
Julius is off to work at the science lab! Cool uniform!
Luka! You never told us you worked here as a mad scientist. Maybe you weren’t allowed to say.
Julius digs for minerals
and tinkers
and invents things
by discussing them with his good friend the Invention Constructor
Here he has invented a Simray. Let’s test it!
Wow, that could be used to Freeze people!
Okay, um, let’s unfreeze you manually just to be on the safe side
The lab tech was a bit chilly for a while afterward.
Julius makes sure to praise the work ethic of his subordinates both before and after testing the simray on them.
SCIENCE IS AWESOME
Now let’s add a Transform setting. Testing…
Okay, we transformed it to make it be on fire. Fortunately the freeze ray works on objects too.
Testing again…
Transformed! …into a somewhat worse chair.
Testing serums. This is supposed to be a Red Hot serum for making people angry.
It seems to have made Luka sad instead.
Julius tried it himself, and it tasted more tingly than anything. Huh.
Another great idea. If we had a satellite dish, maybe we could contact the aliens!
The aliens called us back! On… my phone? And they use emojis?
Madeleine’s big day came. Here she is in labor. Coping in her own way.
And here is little Peregrine!
See? You made it. I told you you could do it.
And now a post-partum nap while Grandma Ragamuffin steps in.
Dad is totally delighted.
Madeleine was happy at first
But somehow Tamir found himself doing all the baby care
And writing late into the night
While Madeleine has drinks with the ancestors. At least she’s enjoying the family.
One night Julius went to investigate a weird light out back…
It became brighter
Up, up, and away! I’m so excited
Julius returned home soon enough
The aliens wore him out
and he loved it!
I was rather disappointed to discover he wasn’t pregnant. I also can’t wait to actually meet an alien in-game. We’ll keep trying.
Peregrine aged up. He is a wild toddler who is constantly getting into things and fussing.
And yelling, and fussing.
Madeleine was at the end of her rope on day 1. Toddlers are loud insane monsters! And they smell bad! Why can’t you act like a normal person just for one day?
Mommy poopy head!
Peregrine has a better friend in Ragamuffin, whom he calls Gamma Raga
Gamma Raga is happy to share love and happiness anytime
Marcellus has never stopped being a good dad either
Real dad is pretty great too.
On Love Day, Madeleine demanded to be allowed to go off and play soccer and just have a day to be her own person. So she did. But it wasn’t everything she had hoped.
Nicola demanded a date with Julius. He wasn’t about to say no.
Ragamuffin and Cameron went out. Nice try, freegans.
The triplets had been talking about a Mt. Komorebi climbing adventure since they were teenagers. They decided, life was getting more complicated and they weren’t getting any younger. It was now or never. The weekend spring ended, they went off together, planning to stay until they made it to the peak, or until they ran out of vacation days, whichever came first.
Julius and Tamir trained all day every day. (Vincent isn’t part of the household anymore so his skills have fallen behind, but he’s happy to be on the trip for the company, even if he isn’t going up the mountain.)
Okay, I know a broom might seem like cheating, but if it’s more dangerous than the actual climb does that really count as cheating?
Julius prefers building his rock climbing skill by a cozy fire with a book. The funny part is, he has the Night Owl reward trait and is often focused due to being a Genius, so he actually is gaining skill faster than Tamir.
All vacation, Julius would not shut up about the aliens.
And he called them. Even here.
Maybe, just maybe, he might think about embracing some long-term changes in his life.
So stay tuned for summer.
Summer will be the conclusion of Ragamuffin Jones' legacy, or at least, an end to Act One.
With 32 seasons, 5 generations, and 6 real-life months we had a good run. I'm kind of done with the Pinstar legacy rules at least for a while. I want to play smaller families for a while, and we're not getting that in a legacy with 2 permanent ghosts. (Don't want to get rid of the ghosts either; Ragamuffin Jones is not Ragamuffin Jones without Ragamuffin Jones, dontcha know.)
And I hope you will enjoy the final chapter. I think it's a satisfying ending point.
Season 32 - Summer - A Conclusion (or at least, a first-half Generation 5 conclusion)
The Jones home is a beautiful place to be a child. Oooo! What does this do?
Peregrine has so many people around, living and dead, who love him. If only his mother could.
Sleeping on the porch is not beautiful in a thunderstorm. Grandma Ragga was quick to the rescue.
Cousins Antoinette and Cassiel aged up to teen. Antoinette looks exactly like Eliana and Cassiel looks exactly like Diego.
Meanwhile, the triplets were ready to climb the big mountain! They had finally gotten their rock climbing skill high enough— Tamir by actually climbing walls, and Julius by reading the skill book at night. Julius got to level 6 first, as a matter of fact.
But at the foot of the mountain Julius received a disturbing phone call from Nicola at home. “I have sad news,” she told him. “Your Aunt Eliana just passed away.”
“There’s more,” Nicola said. “I’m concerned about Madeleine and Peregrine. She’s never been warm to him, and now it’s as if she is looking for an excuse to crush him every chance she gets. I’m worried. Can you and Tamir come home soon please?”
“I was homesick for you already,” Julius said, “and all that makes me want to come home sooner. We will come home right after we finish climbing the mountain. We are about to start now. Wish us luck!”
Julius wasn’t planning to use his broom to cheat. Among other things, the weather wasn’t great, and he was worried about getting blown off course if he flew. Potions on the other hand are not cheating. They are help. Like right after they made it up the very first wall and Tamir realized he’d forgotten to go before leaving the house
Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered!
Made it up the second wall. Yeah!
Goodness the scenery is beautiful, even in bad weather.
The Croft Icefall… biggest challenge and it was snowing hard. They took a breather at the bonfire first.
Julius didn’t actually need to nap, thanks to the potions, but on general principle he felt he should
Made it! We will remember this moment forever.
And then what do you do once you’ve reached the peak, but build snowpals and play the violin
Magically, they did not need to climb DOWN the mountain, nor was there any way I could find to get down from the peak (???) They enjoyed some relaxation time afterward, but didn’t stay long. They were both homesick and worried.
After arriving home, Julius was quite popular with the aliens, who kept blowing up his phone at night
And abducting him again
No pregnancy yet… but family-oriented Nicola has decided she’d like to try it. (The regular way.)
Madeleine and Peregrine were constantly pushing each other to be the worst they could be. It was sad. Peregrine would yell and defy her
and she would make his poor little spirit wilt.
One day Madeleine was in the middle of yelling, laid her hand on Julius’s simray, and could not control her worst angry impulses. She set it to Freeze and demanded just five minutes’ peace, NOW
Tamir came running but he was too far away to stop it
Julius yelled, “There’s a safety feature on it! You can’t freeze children!”
Tamir yelled, “What in the world do you think you’re doing to our child? That could have been very dangerous!”
“I didn’t want to be a mother anyway, and here you leave me with him for days on end while you go play mountain climber? And then you have the nerve to tell me how to be a mother?”
“I can tell you that I don’t want anyone caring for my son who I can’t trust with his safety.”
“Maybe you don’t need me around then! Maybe none of you do.”
By the end of a long, angry, tearful conversation, Tamir and Madeleine had decided to get divorced. Peregrine didn’t understand exactly what was happening, and he took out his feelings on the dollhouse. It didn’t help.
Ragamuffin and Cameron debated what to do for Peregrine.
“I’m not sure what the best thing to do here is, but, I’ll start by fixing the thing I can fix.”
“I suppose this means you’re not going to be on the soccer team any-“
“NO I AM NOT.”
Kiddo, I will always be here for you.
Tamir poured his feelings into writing a sad book.
And caring for Peregrine.
Even if this victorious mountain climber is still so clumsy that he can’t handle floors sometimes.
Peregrine aged up, with these outfits. I love them both. It’s possible he will be non-binary one day; it’s also possible he just loves pink and unicorns as much as he loves blue and soccer.
It was a terrible birthday. He missed his mother. His father was preoccupied. He couldn’t face trying to go to school. He didn’t understand what was happening to his family or who he was supposed to be. That afternoon he ran down the front stairs when no one was looking and just kept going. He met a friendly trucker bound for a faraway town and rode with him until he finished his run at a warehouse near a train station. Peregrine wandered among the train tracks.
He met a lady with a bag on her head.
Seems like everyone wears a bag here.
Some people only wear a bag.
Peregrine met Kurt. Sometimes, all you need on a lousy day is one friend who understands you. They connected immediately. And he had the best-looking bag of all.
Peregrine and Kurt went on a long walk together
until Peregrine got sleepy.
The summer evening was getting chilly suddenly. He wished he wasn’t out in the open. Hmm, this looks like a comfortable shelter
He was so exhausted that he fell asleep immediately.
Before long
Grandma Ragga knows this trick. She is an old freegan.
“Out you get!”
“We were all so worried about you!”
“Now don’t you DARE do anything like that EVER AGAIN!”
The yelling was well-intentioned but it made poor Peregrine’s spirit crumple
Ragamuffin and Peregrine went walking and sat together on a bench by the water.
Peregrine shared his feelings about his family falling apart, and his worries about growing up and fulfilling the expectations around him. Ragamuffin assured him that no matter what, he had lots of love around him. “Most kids just have their parents. You have your dad, your uncles, your grandma Cecilia, your great-uncle and great-aunt, your great-grandpa Marcellus who loves you extra much, great-great-aunt Fletcher, and Grand-Cameron and me. And you might not believe this now, but you will make friends at school and everywhere you go.”
“You are a sensitive and loving child. Your mother made your life hard at the beginning. But sometimes, people who have felt that way are the best at understanding and caring for others who feel that way later on. You have a special spirit in you, and you are going to do wonderful things in your life.”
“Will you be there with me?”
Ragamuffin smiled and hugged him. “It’s a big world. I'll go wherever it takes you.”
Comments
Or: The two days in which Cecilia's world got a lot bigger, then fell apart
(not even counting going through puberty, but that happened too)
Cecilia was excited to go on her heir's quest: 24 hours in a neighborhood she had never been to before, as a child, surviving on her own. She had butterflies in her stomach all morning. She had spent her whole life right next to her dad; or if not her dad, then her brother or her Grandma Ghost was always there. She fell asleep every night to the sounds of her family breathing. Could she make it without them?
A random old lady stopped by to meet the family, and Cecilia completely owned her at chess, so after that she felt a little better. A little.
At 3pm, Cecilia hugged Mom and Dad goodbye and set off for Glimmerbrook.
(Karla says: "She is so little! How can we be sure she'll be okay?"
Marcellus is remembering how brave and bold he felt setting off for his own heir's quest in Oasis Springs, weeks and weeks ago when he was a child.)
The second thing she noticed was this peculiar machine. Orange, with chairs inside and four wheels on the outside. What IS it??
Cecilia heard hushed voices in the bar, so she stepped in and shyly said hello to the handful of people inside. There was a familiar activity, which she enjoyed
But playing chess with random adults wasn't what she came here for. She left the bar and went exploring. There weren't too many places to dig, nor any wild fruit trees ready to offer themselves to her. There were some pretty mushrooms, but they weren't like the tasty white ones at home and didn't seem edible.
There were some logs where Cecilia looked for frogs.... success! She proudly sold the frog and earned her first 10 Simoleons ever.
Glimmerbrook was awfully quiet so far. There were a few big old houses, but they all seemed deserted. The streets were empty. Suddenly Cecilia spotted a man heading down a small footpath toward her. He looked exhausted, but there was a glow about him. Something about him intrigued Cecilia. Where was he coming from?
The path led on toward the stars...
...and to an archway with beautiful shifting blue light.
Cecilia felt drawn to the portal and, taking a deep breath, reached out...
and found herself pulled through the portal into another realm.
She seemed to be on some sort of great floating island, ringed by several other portals. In the center of the island was a large and beautiful building. Cecilia wondered what was going on in there, and also whether they had anything to eat. Her stomach was starting to grumble.
She pushed open the big doors and made her way across a wide entryway with stairs everywhere. In the adjoining room, a friendly-looking blond teenage boy wearing cat ears was stirring a giant pot. Whatever he was stirring, it smelled like tomato soup might smell if tomato soup also contained roses and toothpaste. Still, she considered taking a nibble. She was really getting hungry. Cecilia looked again. No, the cat ears weren't the weirdest thing about this situation, nor the toothpaste smell... that spoon was moving BY ITSELF.
Cecilia introduced herself. His name was Arvin, and he was eager to tell her all about becoming a spellcaster. He had become a spellcaster just after becoming a teenager himself, and loved mixing up potions and finding out what they did. Arvin started to tell Cecilia about the magical duels spellcasters challenged each other to-- "it doesn't hurt... much"-- when she jumped: behind her was a burst of light and an electrical hissing sound, from two spellcasters getting ready for such a duel. Wands waving, hands directing balls of light that knocked their partner off their feet. Cecilia hadn't known anything like this existed outside books. She greeted Blair and Krista, and peppered them with all of her many questions. They were the coolest teenagers she had ever seen! And they were listening to her and talking to her like she was an equal! And Arvin.... well, he seemed really happy and confident and was willing to wear cat ears just because he thought it was fun. So maybe that was cool in its own way.
Soon a pleasant older lady in a complicated green and brown riding coat came over to say hello. A green sigil glowed above her head wherever she went. She introduced herself as the Sage of Practical Magic, Aadhya. "These are all my students," said Aadhya. "Wow... I never had a teacher before!" said Cecilia. "I learn everything from my dad. I guess there is a lot he doesn't know."
Cecilia really wanted to impress Aadhya, so she tried to show off some telepathic mind reading she had been practicing. Aadhya laughed gently. "That's not quite how it works, sweetheart. But when you get a little bit older, maybe you can come back and ask me again to teach you."
Cecilia wanted to stay and talk about magic all night long, but her stomach was announcing loudly that it had other ideas. Where did those other portals lead to? She tried one. She found herself in a beautiful garden. But it wasn't the kind of garden that grew anything you could actually eat. What is the point of that?
She tried another portal, which led to a row of oddly angled shops. Hopefully there would be a food stall or something here. She was so hungry!
One of the stalls obviously had food. She could even see the fruits and vegetables lined up on the shelf along with stranger plants. But the shopkeeper ghost wouldn't sell to children, or even talk to them!
Cecilia collapsed on a bench by a lovely fountain. There was a lot of beauty here, if not much light or food.
After she awoke, she made her way back to the big building to ask someone about what they did for food here. Then she spotted what she'd overlooked the first time: a big kitchen, off to the right. What a welcome sight. She spent 6 of her hard-earned simoleons on some edamame. It tasted reassuringly normal.
The magic students seemed to be doing a lot of reading, whenever they weren't waving their wands at one another or stirring alarming-smelling pots. Cecilia grabbed a book off the shelf: 1001 Tricks You Can Teach Your Familiar. Your familiar what? She started reading. Was this book fiction or for real? She was starting to realize she had to develop some new ideas about what was possible and what wasn't.
It was getting towards midafternoon, so after another nap and another long talk with Aadhya, Cecilia prepared to head home and celebrate her birthday. She knew she would come back as soon as she possibly could.
Right then, Mom called. Change of plans: the family was going to head over to the Festival of Youth, which was going on at Mt. Komorebi. And since it was Sleep Away Day anyhow, they planned to stay outdoors there overnight. Everyone was thrilled to arrive. Except Cecilia. She'd missed her family, but boy was she ever exhausted. Napping on benches didn't seem like such fun for a second night. She felt in her pocket. "1001 Tricks" was still in there. Oops. Well... just one more reason to go back.
At the festival, apparently you must bow awkwardly to your parents and that makes you receive a blessing? They tried but weren't sure they were doing it right.
Cameron danced with Yamachan and nobody cared whether he was doing it right.
Cecilia pretended to mix magic potions at the science table. She told her family about the boy with the cat ears, the toothpaste soup, and all the rest of it. They weren't sure whether to believe her.
Cecilia ended up with a tasty-smelling green liquid. Marcellus interrupted his ice cream crepe to ask, "Are you SURE you want to drink that?"
"Oh, would you like it, Dad?"
"Uh..."
It tasted pretty good, actually. Maybe this potion thing might be Cecilia's thing.
After the festival wrapped up, the family started to look around for napping spots. There was exactly one bench in the entire neighborhood. How inhospitable. We all know who was first to get comfy on the bench
Everyone else took refuge in a pleasant little cafe with warm lights and music. Eliana was especially interested in the music. Oooooooh.... what is that beautiful-sounding big black thing? She was entranced, and visited with the pianist a little bit after he finished his set.
Somehow, Valentín was already seated at the bar, chatting away. His parents found this vaguely disturbing, but weren't exactly sure what to tell him not to do.
Even the cafe didn't have enough places for the whole family to nap at once. So they had to take turns.
There was another room, but the music in there was too loud and kept waking them up.
So they had some tired grumpy playtime at the table. Their first Sleep Away Day was starting to be not as much fun as their parents had made it sound.
Cecilia and Karla went for a walk under the stars and found a little beach with a view of a waterfall. They lay on the sand and took in the cool night air. "You know," Karla said, "with all the excitement, I completely forgot to make you a birthday cake. I'm sorry."
"That's okay, Mom." She was a little disappointed, but not much; she had many more exciting things on her mind.
"Happy birthday, my love."
"Thanks. I hope it's my turn to sleep soon..."
Ragamuffin sang a gentle late-night tune, and one person stayed awake to cheer for her.
Suddenly Marcellus made a strange noise in his sleep, sprang up, and then collapsed. Death soon overtook him. Cecilia and Karla heard the commotion and ran back to the cafe, but it was too late.
Her dad. Who hugged her, fed her, taught her, played with her... her nurturer and best friend. Just the other day, he had saved her from certain death in the fire. Now he was gone. And she was powerless to stop it. She thought of the magicians and wished with all her heart that she already knew all of their secrets so she could save her father, as he had saved her. But there was nothing she could do.
The family called Sleep Away Day finished, and went home. The children dragged themselves to their beds in the morning dark. At dawn, Karla placed Marcellus's urn and painting in the memorial area and said goodbye.
Ragamuffin missed her son, of course, but unlike the living, she knew what lay ahead and she was fairly confident she would see him again. She thought about what her grandchildren must be going through, as she created a sad painting that summed up the experience they must be having.
Ragamuffin had an idea. Cecilia never did get to have a birthday cake. Maybe there was still time. She baked a beautiful winter cake and sat with Cecilia as she blew out the candles. It wasn't a proper party but she felt Cecilia shouldn't age up alone.
Grandmother and granddaughter ate their cake and consoled one another as best they could, while the younger children slept.
Cecilia prepared to face the next stage of her life... without her father. It wasn't supposed to happen this way.
Love, serenity, earth, friends, family, good food, and always the violin: Marcellus Jones.
Into a fog...
The kids are having a hard time with Marcellus's death. Eliana cried in her sleep several nights in a row.
She drew some pictures of Dad. They didn't look much like him, but they made her feel better.
She also copes by crying in the memorial area and singing her feelings in all kinds of weather.
Valentín copes by leaning on Rafael, literally. Rafael is a loner, but he keeps coming over to hang out with Valentín. It's pretty adorable.
Cecilia tried one of those de-stressing decoctions that everyone leaves on the patio. She thought it might help. It didn't.
Karla has retreated to the solitude of her computer. Sometimes she still engages with the kids, but more often she's spending hours and hours and hours on the computer (like it’s her lifetime aspiration or something.) Karla has never been a complainer, but when someone doesn't express their feelings at all... you worry.
Cecilia ventured out to Glimmerbrook again. The walk by the stream was just as beautiful as before, with lovely butterflies fluttering around, but much less happy.
Aadhya exclaimed at how much Cecilia had grown up. She agreed to give Cecilia a chance at becoming a spellcaster. She cast a spell on Cecilia's eyes
giving her the power to see magical motes. Cecilia collected a few and brought them back to Aadhya.
"You have proven yourself worthy. And I always knew you'd be back. Let us begin your training."
All right!
Cecilia met Aadhya's friends and felt very grown-up. Not too long after that, her new friend Blair challenged her to her first duel ever.
She went down like a flaming pancake on the stone floor and the duel was over. That was awesome!!
Cecilia learned a spell called Inferniate. She went home and decided to try it on a few roses that someone had dropped in the snow ages ago, and no one could ever pick them up again since they were off the lot. They were isolated from the garden and surrounded by snow. Perfect.
Inferniate! ... it failed. And Cecilia caught on fire. That brought back some painful and recent memories.
The fire went out on its own. She stood there with her heart pounding, wanting to run up the stairs and hide in her bed, but resolved to try again.
Inferniate! ... This time the rose went up in an unnaturally huge blaze!
She did it again, and again, until all three roses were piles of ash. She felt a slightly frightening confidence.
Watching the fire go out on its own makes me feel stronger
Marcellus came back! He played chess with Cecilia and chatted with each of his kids. Here he and Eliana are having what they swear is a "pleasant conversation..."
Cecilia called up Blair, Arvin and Krista to go celebrate at the Elixirs & Brews bar in Glimmerbrook. Her friends are awesome, but that place is pretty dismal. Gray and depressing and dark. Come to think of it, Magic Realm HQ is a hard place to have fun too. Aadhya says over and over again that magic is not a toy, and it seems the students have taken that to heart. Everyone is always studying, practicing, and reading. The place is beautiful but the only way to kick back and relax is to read another book. Don't spellcasters want to have some fun too?
Cecilia met Madilyn at the bar. Turns out she's a spellcaster too. She is kind of a hothead, but lots of fun, and very pretty too.
Somehow, Cecilia ran afoul of this annoying older fellow at the bar. Who knows how it started. He wouldn't back down, then she wouldn't back down, juice was involved...
This is what happens when spellcasters take it outside.
Dang, Cecilia thinks, I better learn some new tricks and THEN I'll show that guy. (She doesn't consider that maybe tangling with older spellcasters is a bad idea...)
The first thing Aadhya taught Cecilia was a potion recipe. Potions come to her much more naturally than dueling does.
She asked for more and more potion recipes. Aadhya gave her a sample Potion of Plentiful Needs.
Suddenly she felt fully rested, her belly was full, she was happy and clean... magic is wonderful!
She went home and asked her friends to come over. Who cares that it's the middle of the night?
Apparently, they do. Maybe they could use some potion help, too.
Cecilia felt a little bit draggy at Winterfest time so she made some more Potions of Plentiful Needs and drank one in the evening so she could enjoy time with family and Father Winter.
The potion feels like an exclamation point made of light is filling up my body
I feel great now!
(Santa, that was not cool)
The Potion of Plentiful Needs requires apples. Cecilia brought an apple tree into the greenhouse so it can bloom all year long.
She got a little obsessive about the apple tree, researching it and studying it under the microscope that Father Winter brought her.
She also likes Potion of the Nimble Mind, which makes her awesome at developing the mental skills she enjoys so much. But for that, you need spotted dirt frogs. Cecilia has been out collecting frogs and breeding them, but isn't there yet.
Sometimes we make it back to HQ just in time to brew a new batch and drink straight from the cauldron. Only when it's been a truly long day. Or was it a truly long night? She is starting to lose track
Determined to bring some fun into this magical but oddly joyless environment, Cecilia threw a costume party at the dismal bar. Blair borrowed Krista's red vinyl dress. Don't tell Krista, but it looks better on him.
They danced, drank, and let loose. After a while, Blair said he felt tired and hungry. Cecilia had a solution for him.
Potions are the perfect party drug... you can just keep going and going and going
If I don't stop for any reason, I won't have to think about my father
After the party, Cecilia stayed at the bar shooting the breeze with Madilyn until 6:30am, then drank a potion, then went home and went for a jog before school.
Oh yes, school. With Marcellus unable to be their teacher now, the kids needed to be in school. Ragamuffin and Cameron agreed to give them a couple of days at home to grieve, plus Winterfest, and then they had to go back. Actually, it isn't so bad. It's actually pretty stimulating to learn with other teenagers. And to have adults who aren't your parents push you to do your best.
But homeschooling can leave, let us say, some gaps in one's education. The school says we should have spent less time on violin and art and more time on other matters. Violin and art are awesome! You don't know everything, school! But yeah, we also have some catching up to do.
Cecilia, Valentín and Eliana made a resolution to bring their grades up. They went on a homework marathon all weekend. Make-up work, extra credit work.
Just one potion to help me study.
"I’ll be able to study even better once I can breed spotted dirt frogs."
"Once you can... what?"
"Was that weird? Maybe that was weird..."
Happy New Year. Yes, ghosts can toast the New Year. It works out better for everyone if they do it outdoors.
Cecilia had a party to welcome her friends to her home and ring in the new year. She greeted her guests
Getting around with brooms is really fun! We may never climb those stairs again
It was a great party.
You have to admire Arvin's brave choices in fashion. He's the guy in the sad face bag.
I just love these three ladies rocking their braids
Blair hung around afterward to talk and flirt and share secrets. They raided the fridge for fried fish and watched the sun come up.
Blair met Marcellus. He told Cecilia he thought Marcellus was pretty cool. That makes Blair pretty cool in Cecilia's book.
And finally...
Ghosts can pass through walls, so does it hurt if they fall while ice skating?
And a family tradition lives on.
Feeling on top of the world, if only for a moment.
Cool! A club! Awesome name, too! Max didn't really explain what it was about, but Max is cool so it must be great. Valentín was just headed out the door to school the next morning when...
Hanging out at the pool instead of going to school? Sure, why not? Wait, isn't it a little bit cold to go to the pool? Valentín showed up and...
No one. Some kind of weird prank? Are they just making fun of him after all? Valentín went to school with confusion in his heart. Good thing he did though. His grades are up. Yay!
Cecilia threw a birthday party for Valentín in the park. I took this photo for the cake and the happy group, but really the best part is Karla's face? What is going on with her?
Fletcher and Miki enjoying a sweet moment in the place where they got married
Valentín aged up. Very handsomely. He got the Romantic trait and rolled the Mansion Baron aspiration. Oh boy.
Fletcher took him aside and gave some advice: Second-born children in this family are destined to be gorgeous and rich. Didn't you know that? That is now your job. Not everyone will understand.
Cecilia and Arvin enjoyed some time together. Just because the party was for her brother, doesn't mean she can't have fun with her friends.
Meanwhile, Rafael HATES PARTIES.
And Eliana is already thinking about school the next day...
Here's Valentín in a new outfit.
He looks good... but smells so, so very bad.
Cecilia tried to take matters into her own hands by casting Scruberoo on him. It failed.
Well, water was applied to him somehow, but it did not have the necessary effect.
The morning after the party, Karla died, leaving her three children with only the ghosts to look after them.
Work called with a very unkind alarm. Yes, she's a dedicated tech guru, but no she will not be making it in to work today.
The kids decided between themselves that Mom would want them to go to school. Off they went, in her honor, to try to do their best.
Cecilia is learning more magic. Potions come easiest to her, and perhaps always will. She studies mainly with Aadhya, but asks potion recipes from all the sages.
Aadhya taught her a spell called Magical Aura. It sounded amazing, but when Cecilia cast it, there was... a slight yellow glow. Cecilia was underwhelmed by Magical Aura.
Cecilia was also underwhelmed by Delicioso. She cast it and caused to appear... a plate of spoiled garlic noodles. Gross. Kind of pointless when you get delicious food at home all day long in your normal life, but she decided to file that one away for the next time someone got hungry in an inconvenient location. Floralorial was fun, but a little pointless since it only waters one plant. She can care for her garden faster the old-fashioned way.
It was a lot more fun to get her new familiar: Stinky. Cecilia isn't sure exactly what he is, but he's awesome.
Stinky helps protect her from the negative effects of magic, and also seems to be curious about more mundane activities.
Blair asked Cecilia out on a date to Myshuno Meadows. She was a little nervous and a little excited. But then they got there and he ran away! Boys are dumb.
Well.... maybe she'd give him another chance. She asked him out dancing. They "got ready" outside the club. Candy appears concerned.
Blair was not at all concerned.
This date went a lot better.
They stepped outside to get some air and...
He sent a rose later on as a thank-you gift. Aww. Maybe he's not so dumb.
And then there were more deaths. Aunt Fletcher died. Uncle Brice died. Cecilia's favorite teacher Aadhya died. Ragamuffin and Cameron visited Miki to comfort her. Miki seemed dazed and oddly happy.
Ragamuffin and Cameron went in the hallway to mourn over Fletcher's urn, and then heard a smoke alarm-- Miki had started to bake something and then forgotten about it. They extinguished the fire, but made a note to keep checking in on Miki.
The children felt very alone every time a new hole erupted in their family. At least loved ones offer their condolences, which helps a little.
Eliana gave a concert for her stuffed animals. It was all sad music, since her parents weren't there to hear it.
Valentín took some sad naps.
We must still do homework.
Just a potion to help me study.
Cecilia watered the plants with her tears. They immediately all began to emit a foul-smelling green fog. Hmm, maybe she is overdoing it with all these potions in her system?
She took a sad trip into the magical realm hoping to see some sort of memorial for Aadhya
No memorial. Just a random new sage. Named Cherish. As even. Cecilia took an instant dislike to her.
She wasted no time in trying out her newest spell Zipzap.
Cherish got hit with a bolt of lightning and was dazed after a while. Cecilia felt satisfied. But then a little freaked out. Did that mean, if she cast Zipzap again, she could kill the sage? Cecilia slunk away.
Cecilia, Arvin, Blair and Krista got to know a pretty little spot in Glimmerbrook near the portal. It had a pretty little pond and some big trees. It was a pleasant, calming place where the friends could have fun together. (Credit: The pretty spot, and what the kids create there, is based on the Magic Treehouse found in the gallery, created by user jay_joy_bee.)
They founded a club called the Coterie, for the four of them to get together and practice magic.
The Coterie got to talking about how it's so hard to have fun in the Magic Realm, how even the bar in Glimmerbrook is dismal, and how spellcasters seem to be so serious all the time. They really need a magical place to go and have a good time. "Why not build something right here?" Cecilia suggested. They pooled their resources and bought the lot. (Ok, I couldn't find a way for Cecilia or the club to buy the lot, but I cheated down her money. The growfruit, dragonfruit and lily life has been causing this freegan family to earn way too many simoleons.) With a combination of hard work, time, and maybe some spellcasting, they started building a place to have parties. They cleaned out the pond and constructed columns and walkways around the trees. Arvin had the crazy idea to put big aquariums at the entrance and name it the Octopus's Garden.
Cecilia and Blair tested out the potential for romantic atmosphere.
With a potion to help.
Maybe a little too effectively. No, that won't be happening tonight, big boy.
The upper story needs a convenient brewing room. That had to be tested out, too.
At the end of their evening, Cecilia and Blair put down a cardboard dance floor, turned up the boom-box and danced late into the night. Seems promising.
Meanwhile, Valentín was still struggling to figure out his club. He called a club gathering at the pool just to see if that was ever for real. The club did show up. That was encouraging. And then... he met Wolfgang
The evening was confusing. Other kids seemed to hate him immediately, just because he was there with the Renegades. Max kept whispering that he needed to do mean things to people, but none of the Renegades themselves seemed to be. Was this just a yet more complicated prank? Valentín tried to focus as they danced, but he kept getting distracted by Wolfgang.
Eventually he got Wolfgang alone. Wolfgang admitted that the club was a little dumb but he liked letting off steam by pranking people, and also he and Max had been friends for a long time. But he had just joined a totally different club called Knights of the Hedge. They were more about playing chess and hanging out at the Von Haunt Estate hedge maze. Would Valentín be interested? (Well, what do you think he said?)
Valentín is a good kid really. Look at him.
And apparently he is a romantic teen legend. Represent, second-born Jones kids.
The knights club went better. The uniform was a shock. Valentín had expected the "knight" thing to be more of a metaphor, somehow
First problem: much harder to see Wolfgang's torso in this club than in the last one. But the estate was beautiful and Valentín genuinely loved exploring the extensive hedge maze.
He tried for a chess game with Wolfgang, but he seemed more interested in chatting with the old guy who leads the club. Oh well. Valentín headed home, forgetting something...
...oh yeah, I'm still wearing it...
(The knight costumes CLANK when they walk!
The first social event at Octopus's Garden was Eliana's birthday party. Cecilia hoped they'd thought of everything... there was a trash can, there was a bathroom, the DJ booth was under a roof...
Eliana blew out her candles
and went to go freshen up and put on the dress that suddenly fit perfectly.
Line 'em up.
An asado and a potion make a great party appetizer.
Everyone had a great time in the magical atmosphere.
Cecilia got too tired to worry about anything and collapsed on a couch. I think this is the first time she's slept since.... Winterfest?
Girl might have a problem.
Eliana entertained the party by singing. She loves singing so much! Even if she only knows 3 songs and they're all children's songs, and even if a sister has to be kinda patient to listen...
But wait, someone actually paid! Some true-blue audience member who isn't even a party guest! A fire has been lit inside of Eliana...
Cecilia met Jade and tried to play chess. Which was when I caught a building mistake, after around a RL hour of play. I had left a bench blocking the deck, rendering one of the two upstairs buildings completely inaccessible. Playtesting builds is hard. I didn't even build this one, I just renovated it. Anyway, the bench has been removed and the girls had a good game.
Loners play games alone
Sad for a minute, but let's keep dancing
Ragamuffin is somehow a DJ now? She's just watching and cheering, but I got a notification about her DJ skill. Talented lady.
The bubble blower appears possessed... oh wait, it's actually possessed. That's Ragamuffin inside it.
Goodnight.
Aunt Fletcher was there in spirit.
Cecilia still had lots of energy (wonder why) so she and the Coterie went off to have duels. She actually won one! Finally!
In the small hours of the morning, Cecilia came home and in the quiet she understood how lonely she was feeling. She went to the memorial area and, a little nervously, tried out her Necrocall spell.
Hi Dad. I missed you.
It doesn't have to be that profound. I miss you for the silly things too.
Before I sign off, here are some overall pictures of Octopus's Garden.
Restroom and game room on second floor
Brewing room and private game room on third floor.
Again, if you want to download the original, go to the gallery and look for Magic Treehouse by jay_joy_bee. Originally it's a residential lot with two little livable houses. I love this build for Glimmerbrook.
We only have each other now
The Coterie enjoyed her leadership and she felt that the four of them would be friends forever. It didn’t make up for losing her parents, but it felt like family, almost as much as her brother and sister did.
Ancestors Day was strange with only the three teens to celebrate it, but they waited until dark, invited Aunt Miki over, and Cecilia cast Necrocall as many times as she could until she was overcharged. It failed often, but still she was able to welcome all the ancestors except for Marcellus. They had dinner and the ghosts reminisced about life.
Fletcher broke the sink, and then immediately started complaining that the sink was broken! That is so Fletcher somehow
Later, Fletcher got scared (I don’t know of what) and hid in Eliana’s bed with Eliana! Yes, if a ghost hides in your bed while you’re sleeping, clearly the ghost is the scared one…
There are no more freegans in this generation. Here are everyone’s traits and aspirations as teens:
Cecilia- loves outdoors, art lover, Party Animal aspiration
Valentín- loves outdoors, romantic, Mansion Baron aspiration
Eliana- loves outdoors, music lover, Fabulously Wealthy aspiration
So… obviously it was time to renovate their home. I also wanted to make the cabin look faded and overgrown, since it’s been there for a long time now. I’ll put some pictures of the build in a separate post. Cecilia got a bigger greenhouse, where the microscope can’t get struck by lightning any more. Valentín got a big bedroom with an art studio, although he prefers painting outside in his swim trunks, you do you Valentín
And Eliana got a big music room and a beautiful grand piano where she plays and sings to her heart’s content.
(I really wanted those long white curtains on the columns and spandrels, so this was the first build I ever used bb.moveobjects on. I love how they look from a little distance away, but the curtains don't autohide when the camera gets close to them. Maybe since I cheated to put them there, or maybe because they aren't on a wall, not sure. I'm already getting tired of trying to take screenshots in there)
Really, Eliana sings all the time everywhere— there’s a thunderstorm going on right now but she’s happy as can be
This is all paid for by the family money-maker, the garden. Which does require work. In summer, it requires three gardeners and a garden-bot.
Cecilia applied to university. Cameron tried to help.
It wasn’t really that helpful.
Cecilia had her birthday party at the Octopus’s Garden, of course.
Eliana sang her entire repertoire— she knows a few more tunes, but it still didn’t take long
It was hot, so the kids swam in the pond
The younger teens even took time out for homework
But not Cecilia- she was determined to enjoy being done with high school homework forever, and not having university homework yet!
She danced all night with lots of liquid assistance
Even if the dancing suffered… she aged up with the Clumsy trait, which I choose to interpret as fallout from her frequent potion use.
It got late, there were more and more strangers on the dance floor, and Cecilia lost track of her family and party guests after a while. Maybe they went home. Cecilia doesn’t really remember much about the rest of the night except that it was probably fun.
Valentín and Wolfgang had flirted all night at the party, and finally went on a date to the island bluffs overlooking Wolfgang’s hometown Windenburg.
They spotted a strange creature far out in the water, but it never came close.
In the cool breeze and growing shadows they had plenty of privacy
They came back to Valentín’s home after it got dark. They flirted while “doing homework”
…and then Grandpa sat down so they immediately buckled down to actually doing homework
Wolfgang never belonged in that lousy Renegades club. See what a nice boy he is.
And they have the blessing of Valentín’s favorite uncle.
Cecilia started coursework for her Biology degree. She didn’t get into the distinguished degree at Foxbury (thanks for nothing, grandpa), so she’s at Britechester but living at home.
One afternoon she was working on her presentation when she started to feel… different
She tried to put it out of her mind but the next day it became clear what was going on.
Oh, no.
(I am not sure how the game knew to make her look miserable at this moment— all my other expectant moms have looked so happy. This was perfect.)
Cecilia tried to think back over the last couple of weeks but everything since she lost her dad was a blur of sleepless nights, grief, parties, potions, worrying about her siblings, worrying about university. She was pretty sure she and Blair hadn’t taken things that far, but not completely certain. She took out her anger on her old high school textbook
and then stomped on the ashes
and felt a little better.
Cecilia then took some time to reflect on things. She loved magic and parties and her friends. But life was about to get a lot more complicated. She sat quietly in the garden and felt the warm earth under her and smelled the freshly-watered plants growing all around her. She imagined the new life growing inside of her and decided she needed to make a choice. She would return to the normal cycles of life, eating and sleeping and waking, without the aid of her potions. She didn’t know anything about how potions would affect her baby and she’d never seen anyone in the magic realm pregnant. So, no more potions. For the first time since Winterfest, she let herself get truly and naturally tired-out and climbed into the big quilted bed in her new bedroom.
That night, her mother came and watched her quietly as she slept. Karla doesn’t visit often so I am interpreting this as a mother-to-mother blessing.
Everything will turn out okay.
Cecilia and Blair were never officially boyfriend and girlfriend, but Cecilia realized that their whole relationship had centered around potions more than anything else. It was time to cool things off between the two of them. Blair was sad but otherwise took the breakup well.
But it was not five minutes before he started flirting again
Cecilia told him she was serious and gave him all the rest of her potions. Well, not the nausea one. And maybe not the one lavender one that she wasn’t quite ready to part with yet. He must have understood then that she was serious, because he went out back to take out his anger by stomping on the ashes of… something? (Must have been the remains of another lightning strike, it’s been a stormy summer)
Meanwhile, Arvin felt he needed to share that even and especially as she was pregnant, he thought Cecilia was very special
Um… you’re an awesome person, Arvin, but I have a lot going on right now?
And this random fellow called to ask for a date.
Do I even know you?
Cecilia isn’t going through anything like withdrawal, but oddly as a player I find I sort of am. I’m used to having her stay up all night to go to the magic realm, do her homework, hang out with the ghosts, basically everything I want her to do when I’m not distracted by the rest of the household. Now I can’t just give her a potion and keep her up all night! I have to adjust too. She has to get up at night to go to the bathroom and eat snacks, so she does have a few moments to share her pregnancy with the ghosts.
She had the first nightmare of her life while pregnant. Eliana was still up practicing, so Cecilia wandered into the music room and felt soothed.
The big night came. Marcellus helped Cecilia stay calm and gaze at the stars, which helped. The ghosts tag-teamed household repairs and cleaning during her labor.
And then… well.
The game asked me what to name the beautiful baby boy.
I said Tamir.
The game then asked me what to name the beautiful baby boy.
I was confused. Maybe I didn’t click the button I thought I’d clicked? I thought I would be smart, just in case she was having twins, and so I said Vincent.
The game asked me a third time what to name the beautiful baby boy.
At this point I was sure I was having a glitch, so I decided I’d say Tamir one more time and then try to exit out of the lot and reload.
Perhaps you guessed it
Yep, triplets. (“What am I going to do now, dad?”)
And yep, their names are Tamir, Vincent, and Tamir. Hopefully once they age up to toddler I can change one of the Tamirs to another name. At least I know which Tamir is the oldest because he is the one in the hand-me-down bassinet that has held every infant in this family up till now. The other two are in automatically-generated spellcaster bassinets.
Ragamuffin helped by making omelets for breakfast.
Remember when you said you kids only had each other now? Well, you forgot about the ghosts. You have us. We will be there for you and Tamir, and Vincent, and…… Tamir. (gaaah)
The teens do love the babies
and Eliana can sing a great rendition of Da Nitsy Flitsy Speedo for them now
but they need to focus on being teens.
To be honest, Cecilia still needs her playtime too.
This is how we are doing college now.
(Also: girl gave birth to triplets and looks like THIS the next day?? She must be magical indeed)
Arvin came over. He let Cecilia know that whether she was interested in him or not, he thought she was great, and he’d always be there for her no matter what. And he thought the babies were adorable and that she was doing a great job.
Turns out he took a job as a nanny. I like to think Cecilia’s pregnancy inspired him.
Wolfgang invited Valentín over to meet his parents. Oh boy.
Great house, Wolfgang!
Thanks, but you might want to change out of your swimsuit before you meet Mom and Dad.
Great idea!
The Munches were all at four different corners of the house doing different things. This was different. At the Jones home, everyone was in everyone’s business all the time despite the fact that the place is huge. Valentín said hello to Wolfgang’s dad and then went to hang out with Wolfgang in the study. Wolfgang had had a birthday, and seemed out of sorts. There was no way they were going to be romantic in there today. In fact, Wolfgang picked a fight.
What? Why is he yelling at me?
Valentín went home, feeling in his heart that there could be no one on earth for him other than Wolfgang. He made a flirty painting to cheer himself up.
The romance festival came. Cecilia was too busy, Valentín didn’t want to go anywhere near it, so Eliana decided to put on her most diva dress and try providing some entertainment.
Bit by bit, people started to notice.
As the evening grew dark, the lights came on and a crowd gathered. They were appreciative and they paid her nicely.
Near the end of her set, some guy walked past. He made her forget the next line of her song. She just stood there like this
That guy bothers me
After her set, she went over to introduce herself. His name was Grant. He was an odd guy who couldn’t manage to look her in the eye. Huh.
Eliana also met a cool teen girl named Leilani.
And she came home and told Grandma all about it.
It's all built, not all decorated, I figure they'll do that naturally as they acquire paintings and objects.
Covered dining area
Dining area is pleasant in the rain
Larger greenhouse
This llama statue was Cecilia's reward for throwing a great costume party
The cabin is 3 generations old now so I wanted to make it look more faded and overgrown. It's hard to make things look unkempt in this game...
Built a sort of overgrown poolhouse to provide more living space, got rid of the party lights, brought over the growfruit trees to serve as lighting.
Music room
Cecilia's room (her bed is in the cabin with the triplets for now)
Eliana's room
Valentin's room with art studio
Dining area full of happy sims, the way we like it.
Coming home from final exams to 3 babies be like
Cecilia is going strong on her science degree. Good thing she has a lot of help with baby care.
Eliana says: “Shh! Shh! Hope this works!”
“Yes! It worked! I am awesome!”
Karla is actually awesome with babies. She has been over more often than ever before.
Thanks, Patchy. You might hate children but you’re still a real pal.
(Cabin redecoration by minisprite. She did it partway through fall so you’ll see some pictures before the redecoration and some after.)
Even with help, triplet care can be exhausting.
The triplets and Valentín aged up. The younger Tamir has now been named Julius. Valentín didn’t age up on his birthday and was sad the next morning for not having a party. We HAD a big birthday party for you, and you blew out the candles and everything, you just refused to age up then, ungrateful child.
Cecilia still hasn’t quite got the hang of how to have fun at a party while sober. She’s trying. She is not having fun. One day at a time.
Valentín greeted his beloved Wolfgang. He can’t wait till they can date again.
Hadn’t seen Eliana or the triplets in a while so I wandered the camera over to here, and found her autonomously hosting a cute little preschool. Aww.
Wolfgang made himself at home.
Krista probably should have found a designated driver for that broom.
Cecilia is good at science, but unbelievably bad at parenthood. I’ve never had a parent be this lousy at raising toddlers.
In this household, we study outside in the rain!
She is bad at storytime. How can you be bad at storytime? Here is how. She gets the book out, then strides to the chair on the lot that is as far as possible away from the toddlers. Then she starts reading. The toddlers toddle in an adorable wobbly train all the way across the lot to wherever she is, but by the time they get there, the story is over.
I try again, and she again runs away from the toddlers before sitting down to read.
At least they made it in time to hear the end of the story this time?
Honestly, who wouldn’t want to read stories all day long to this crew?
So many tantrums. Cecilia just gets on their bad side so easily.
Tamir got angry and destroyed the dollhouse.
Fortunately they have other sources of love and attention in their lives, although it’s a little bit random whether or not said attention fills their attention need. Tamir got out of bed to toddle out here in his pajamas to listen to Aunt Eliana practice. Music is special to this one.
Dancing with Uncle Valentín.
Bedtime is for potty heads!
Naked time with blocks!
And some people still attend to Cecilia’s needs.
It was a relief to see this… maybe she’s not completely without hope as a parent.
Son, here is how we avoid insanity in this household: eating harvestables. (That was actually good advice! Nice going, Cecilia.)
Fletcher befriended Vincent, and then cooked two meals immediately. Aww, Fletcher. We knew you had a sweet softy side in there somewhere, even if we never saw it till after you died.
One day while Cecilia was at class, a nervous-looking older gentleman dropped in.
Cecilia came home from class to hear Grandpa Cameron rattling on to a nervous-looking older guy: “And THAT’S why Archer will always be the best captain! He had no idea what was coming and he still… oh, hi sweetheart. Um. Speaking of people who have no idea what is coming. There’s someone here you should meet.” Grandpa wandered off whistling the music from Blicblock.
“Uh, hi. I’m Cecilia. You look sort of familiar.”
The man gave a little nervous laugh and a slight smile. “Hi, Cecilia. I’m Keegan. Is there somewhere we can talk for a little while?”
Cecilia looked at him carefully. The trials of her life recently had made her more observant than she’d been in the past. She could tell he wasn’t the sort of person to try anything mean, evil, or otherwise criminal, but just the same, she didn’t feel like leaving home with him. “Let’s sit over here.” She led him to the log benches by the fire pit, down the hill and away from eavesdropping ears.
Clearly a little more scared than she was, Keegan cleared his throat. “You don’t remember me, but I remember you. I remember the night I was at a bar and I saw this crazy teen girl start a fight with an older spellcaster. I followed you guys outside and watched you duel. You lost, spectacularly, and then you bounced back up again like you didn’t even care, with this focused look on your face like you were puzzling out how to beat him the next time. I was seriously impressed. I was younger then, but still many days older than you, and I knew it wouldn’t have been appropriate to try to flirt with you or anything, so I didn’t. Then I was out at the new club some time later, and you were there with your friends for a party. You’d grown up. We connected, or I thought we did. I called you once, but you didn’t know who I was and you hung up on me. So I decided to wait a few more days and do it absolutely right, gallantly come meet your family and introduce myself and ask you for a date in person, and then… I met Vincent. And Tamir. And the other little guy, the one who wants to be called Mr. Boobooboo Carrots.”
“That’s only today. Yesterday his name was something else. Did you call him Mr. Boobooboo Carrots?”
“I certainly did.” He chuckled. “Cecilia, I know we don’t know each other very well, but let me be absolutely frank with you. Vincent looks exactly like my mother and Tamir is the image of my uncle. I thought back and the timing seemed right. And I realized I’d gotten this all so horribly wrong, and there’s no way to go back and fix it. I am so sorry.”
“The timing… what do you mean the timing?”
“When we met again at your party, well, you might not have known who I was. I had a bag on my head. I am useless at clubs, always afraid I’ll look stupid when I dance or say the wrong thing when I meet someone, unless I wear a bag over my head. For some reason it loosens me up. We got talking. Maybe you had me confused with your friend, what’s his name, the other guy with the bag over his head.”
“That’s Arvin. He always wears a bag to parties. He has a very individual sense of fashion.” She stole a quick glance at Keegan’s powerful torso. “I am pretty sure I wouldn’t confuse you for Arvin, even if you did both have bags over your heads.”
“Well, my dear, we got talking and we were enjoying each other’s company a great deal, and then you pulled me into the bushes.”
“I pulled you?”
“That’s how I remember it, anyway.”
Cecilia turned her back and started to head up the hill, then changed her mind. She was infuriated. How long had this older guy been creeping around in the background of her teenage years? Had he had designs on her the whole time? And then taken advantage of her while she was under the influence? How could he describe all that as if it was perfectly rational and fine? But she was also finding out the answer to a mystery. Maybe he could help her understand another mystery or two.
She came back and sat down and told him, “I don’t remember much about that night. I was under the influence of a lot of things.”
“You seemed quite functional, I have to say, perhaps with the exception of your new dance moves.”
“I think I was fooling a lot of people. As well as myself. I was using potions to solve a lot of my problems, to have fun, to get closer to a boy… When I found out I was pregnant I decided I needed to live without them.”
Keegan nodded slowly. “A lot of people have trouble with spells and potions, especially when they’re young. It’s so easy to solve problems with magic, and it seems so impressive, but it has consequences no one wants to admit to. Some risks, the sages are good at raising awareness of, like being overcharged. Other things, no one talks about.”
“So you’re a spellcaster too? I don’t remember ever seeing you in the Magic Realm.”
“I am. I don’t always spend much time there. I’ve found I need the real world to help me balance my spirit. As you have. You’re quite a bit younger than I was when I figured that out. You are a very interesting person, Cecilia; I feel that I could talk with you for a long time, and I admire your strength. Truly, I have always wanted to be a father, but the perfect circumstance never presented itself.”
“I didn’t get to have the luxury of waiting for the perfect circumstance! All of a sudden I was a mother. This just got dropped on me.”
“And you’re doing wonderfully. And clearly, you have a lot of resources, and some very strange but very loving ghost relatives who obviously love the boys. I have none of those advantages, I’m afraid. Not to mention, I’m getting older. But I would like to be the best father I can be. What would you and they most need and want from me?”
Cecilia thought carefully. She’d been so irritated so much of the time about the constant demands that school and parenthood placed on her. Until this moment, she hadn’t stopped to think about the possibility that she might have other options. Or that maybe she didn’t want those other options after all. “We don’t need money. And sorry to put it this way, but my parents were older when I was a kid, and when my dad died it was the hardest time of my life. I don’t want the boys to go live with you and then suffer that. I think what they most need is your time and attention, while you’re able to give it. And sometimes I just need a break.”
“Are you asking me to move in?” he asked with— could that be a flirtatious twinkle in his eye?
“Are you crazy? First of all, it’s illegal. There are already 8 of us here. Second of all, no. But if I could call you when I want help, or if the boys could when they’re old enough. And if you would continue to visit them at other times too. I don’t like how all this started. At all. But I would like for our children to know their father.”
“I will. Cecilia, are you sure there is no room in your life for me?”
She looked at him carefully. He was so much older than she was. He was actually rather handsome. She could sort of see why her messed-up self might have pulled him into a bush on a whim. In a way, he was already part of her family now. Could she give him a chance?
“No, Keegan. That’s not going to happen. You should think of me as a friend, and raising these boys will be a partnership between friends.”
“I see. One more thing, Cecilia.”
“Yes?”
“If you ever start abusing potions again, or staying out all night, I will fight you for those boys.”
“Go ahead and fight me, —-hole.”
Eliana loved playing music at home with her family, but she thought a town orchestra would be even better. She decided to start one. She donated several violins to the Blue Velvet and headed over there with Valentín. They played for a while and invited anyone who seemed keen on their music to join.
Please don’t be quite that keen on the music. That’s a little too close, mister. Lady, that might be more intimate than anyone should ever be with a piano.
They successfully recruited a few members…
…but everyone just went to drink at the bar?
I know I’m the best, but why aren’t you playing musical instruments?
So we reworked the group’s charter. It is now the Willow Creek Orchestra: The Orchestra Where the Members Don’t Drink DURING Rehearsal.
The second rehearsal went a lot better, and then everyone got to drink at the bar afterwards.
As promised, Keegan came over to help with the kids. Well, at first it wasn’t quite what we would consider “helping,” more like “helping himself”
But soon he redeemed himself. Somewhat.
Keegan, I really appreciate you a lot. I mean— I appreciate you for your way with the kids! (Couldn’t we have taken the time to figure out our feelings for each other before we reproduced? Too late now…)
Cecilia knew she had been holding on to that lavender potion for a reason. “Keegan, I want to give you something.”
“What did I tell you about the potions?”
“No, give me a chance. This is a potion of rejuvenation. It’s supposed to make you stay your current age. I’m not sure for how long. This one is the sample the sage gave me. So I know it won’t fail. I don’t need it. But I want the boys to have you for as long as they can. What do you say?”
And Keegan has been over just about every day, usually of his own accord. I think they’re figuring it out. Cecilia might be just a little jealous of Keegan’s amount of free time, and the fact that he appears to be a better parent than she is.
Wolfgang called Valentín to congratulate him on his recent birthday! Is that a hint?
We repealed the Self-Sufficiency NAP. Everyone has finally stopped making de-stressing decoctions all over the patio. Thank goodness. Now gotta remember to vote next week.
Eliana’s birthday came too. Valentín helpfully made her a cake.
Now that the fire is out, let’s run away with the toddlers!
Are you sure it’s out?
But are you really, really sure?
Eliana didn’t age up on time either. She ditched school the next day. That’s enough school. She stayed home and began her adult life by learning the family business. At least, the part of the family business where you harvest and get money.
School called. She’s not so little, school. She’s supposed to be a young adult.
The next night, Cecilia got a bunch of people together to go out to Windenburg for Eliana’s birthday. This wasn’t a fun party either. Everyone left within half an hour of arriving.
But Eliana succeeded in her main goal for entering young adulthood. The instant she finally did age up, she landed a job as an entertainer. She started at level 2, which was pretty cool. Maybe because she already has some pretty formidable piano and singing skills. She has a whole bunch of business cards and a self-starting hardworking attitude.
Eliana is happy not to be going to college. She pitched in by making the Harvestfest grand meal while the college students attended to their own needs.
Ragamuffin was invited to join the orchestra.
Right after, she got a call from Eliana inviting her to a rehearsal. “Eliana, I know you’re not at the Blue Velvet. It’s Harvestfest. You are in my garden like 20 feet away from me. Stop trying to prank call me from right over there.”
Leilani called with birthday wishes. Is that a hint?
Perhaps it was a hint…
Leilani is a fun kid and a good friend. And she does love the family business after all.
Eliana hadn’t really thought of Leilani in that way, but they tried going out on a date.
Eliana was a little distracted. Oops.
And then her date was gone.
Oh well. Who cares? Let’s sing!
Meanwhile, Valentín is blissfully in love with Wolfgang, but it might not all be roses. This happened on Harvestfest.
There’s no telling Valentín that he should be careful. Wolfgang called to congratulate him on his birthday, too. Was that a hint? Yes, it was a hint. Valentín asked him out on a date to that beautiful estate where the Knights club met.
And he told Wolfgang everything that was in his heart.
“I can scarcely stop smiling long enough to kiss you.”
And Cecilia has rejected 3 men in the last week. (At least none of them responded with “Cecilia, you’re breaking my heart.”)
She’s not sure if she’ll find, or has time for, or even wants, that kind of love.
She is sure that this right here is her family.
Random funny moments…
This cake is good, but it would be better with some bacon
Privacy please!
Very Fancy Business Card
The first day of winter is Sleep Away Day! Today everyone was determined to have a better time than last year, when Marcellus died suddenly in the wee hours of the morning. Also, this was our first Sleep Away Day with toddlers and an 8-sim family. Here we go.
We headed to the ruins in Windenburg. On account of the toddlers and the less freegan young adults this time, we brought camping gear. We couldn’t drag it out of the inventory, we could only click "place in world," and couldn’t move it once it was placed. So things got placed a little oddly. Here is the odd campsite. (The ghosts are breaking in the tent.)
Valentín was an extra great uncle and gave each toddler a new toy as a present. Just in case there wasn’t much at the ruins for them to do.
Everyone had fun
Everyone took care of necessities
And the first snow began to fall late at night, as the first two tired Joneses took the obligatory bench naps.
They met Marcus Flex, who came by on a jog and stopped to say hello. He and Eliana talked for quite some time.
I… see you’ve met my dad?
Marcus enjoyed Valentín’s fire dancing.
Cecilia decided to see what the Delicioso spirits might bring, so she wouldn’t have to eat grilled food.
Prosciutto-wrapped asparagus and… something I can’t identify. Not bad.
In the morning everyone played in the snow (and fixed the stereo)
Bjorn Bjergsen jogged past maybe six or seven times while we were there? but he never stopped to say hello. Does that man just jog all night long?
Marcus hung out for breakfast. The poor man nearly froze to death.
Cecilia had to coax him into wearing a more suitable outfit. Yes, you should. Yes, you really should. It’s for your own good. Look at that stubborn face.
And while I wasn’t looking, Vincent somehow produced his own milk. Good lad.
Valentín and Cecilia had a rough term in school (his first term, her second). He failed one class and she failed two. Having two college students living on a large lot is hard. It takes up to 45 minutes for them to make their way down to the front and leave for class. Longer, if Valentín is upstairs in his room. Or if Cecilia decides to use her broom, then she’s down in an instant and I have to keep her busy for 45 minutes but not so busy that she misses class. While not losing track of the toddlers or allowing the ghosts to break every object in the house. Anyhow, they’ve been late to a lot of class and I’m pretty sure that’s where the Fs came from. Valentín is developing some nice painting skill in his fine arts degree, however. I like to think the one on the right is Wolfgang.
Wolfgang comes over often, but he’s shy about sleeping arrangements when he stays the night.
Yes, the triplets are cute in the snow, in case you were wondering.
Tamir autonomously decided to clean up their toys. What kind of toddler are you??
Julius and Cecilia have some nasty sentiments toward each other owing to his tantrums and her terrible parenting skills. But I think they’re starting to crack. She is cleaning up the potty and he’s making the bad-sentiment arms-crossed pose… but look at the little smiles they’re both trying to hide. I think they will be friends one day. Some parents have a hard time with their kids before they’re old enough to become reasonable human beings.
Cecilia: If you do not move, I will drop this on your head.
(sigh... We can hope...)
The triplets aged up. They are still very cute.
Yes, we did their party with three kids and one cake, placing fresh candles for each one. We love you, boys, but three cakes is a lot of cake.
Here is Cecilia attempting to express love for one of them. She is trying…
Sometimes they have some good times around the table, even if Mom has to write a paper at the same time.
Tamir HAS AN IDEA
Vincent, who was an angelic toddler, now has some deeply felt ideas about vegetarianism.
Outdoor showering clearly runs in the family.
Dude, please…. please stop.
Playing with friends on the pirate ship: Dallas, and Captain Naomi.
We brought them home to dance to kids radio. This is Valentín’s kids radio face.
Vincent called up Keegan and invited him over. He arrived in a lousy mood and was grumpy to the boys.
Good grief. Fortunately for these kids they have their uncle, aunt, and great-grand-ghosts around. Otherwise I would worry for them.
Keegan was willing to have a snowball fight, or at least, a stand-around-and-occasionally-taunt-someone-slowly fight.
And they played cards.
Ok, I’m pretty sure this is the card that brings pizza!
Keegan got distracted by the music coming from downstairs.
Eliana was practicing her new theater drama repertoire. Patchy was really trying to help. Patchy, you should stick to gardening and handy tasks. And also painting, which you are randomly good at.
And then there was Winterfest. You only get to be a kid at Winterfest once, as we all know, so you hope it’s a good one. Not this time. Uncle Rafael died early in the morning, and the college students still had class, AND there was a blizzard all day.
Valentín cried in his bed. Cecilia cried over her homework.
Julius, I knew you were the smart one. You are the only person who realized it would be better to eat your grand meal indoors during the blizzard.
The tree was the only happy part of the day.
Rafael was the last in his household to die, so his dog’s urn is there, but his isn’t. He is around as a ghost though. Cecilia threw a dance party and he was available on the list as a guest, so even though he probably still hates parties after death, she decided to have a living-and-dead dance party with lots of ghosts. They look pretty cool in the nightclub lights in their various moods.
They have a confusing relationship with the floor.
Valentín greets Wolfgang like there is no one else in the room
Dance party with the ghosts is awesome!
Dance party with the ghosts has consequences for the plumbing!
Jade: THERE ARE GHOSTS AT YOUR DANCE PARTY WITH THE GHOSTS!!
Cecilia: Yes! Yes! I know! That was the point! Have you…. met my uncle?
Valentín: …..what? it’s over?
Apparently the Fyres family moved to the neighborhood. Morgan is a neighbor now. She brought over a gift-wrapped…. apple? Coals to Newcastle? Anyway, it’s always nice to see more of Morgan.
Cecilia threw another party for New Year’s. She keeps throwing parties. She has the Party Animal aspiration, and so far only one of the parties she’s thrown made it into the party counter? Oh well. She likes them.
Eliana talked to Marcus all night. Wolfgang walked by and checked him out.
Eliana was so busy partying and ignoring her bladder discomfort that she lost it suddenly…
Fortunately Marcus was too busy playing with his clay to notice what had happened.
Marcus still noticed nothing when his conversation partner dashed off to the shower and the cleaner-bot came over and started noisily vacuuming up the liquid. I’m starting to think Marcus is not the sharpest knife in the drawer.
Shashoobi! Happy New Year! This family is really looking forward to spring.
We’ve still got it.
Springtime is party time!
(I'm so tickled by all the little details in this photo that are perfect for our story... from the fixer-bot photobombing, to Arvin's brown bag face with the plant pot faces, to Marcus in the background trying to figure out life)
There are new neighbors in the old Spencer-Kim-Lewis home: Grant and Latisha Montero, and their grown son Oscar. Eliana went over to welcome them to the neighborhood. She brought one of her finest dragonfruits as a gift. Oscar sneered at it. Turns out he’s a green fiend and has his own snobby ideas about what makes for good gardening. Well. He seemed to like Eliana though and they had a fun conversation.
Cecilia threw so many parties! This was a fun house party to watch the season premiere of Game of Llamas. Oscar came and got to know the whole crew.
Marcus had a blast and said they should come do the next one at Partihaus, so they did. He told Cecilia she was always welcome to cook in his kitchen whenever she wanted. So she handled the food.
And the Partihaus residents handled the cleanup. That’s how you do a good party.
Cecilia’s aspiration counter STILL only thinks she’s thrown 2 parties in her entire life…
The 8-sim household is starting to wear on me, you guys. It’s not as ridiculous as when one of the sims was a dog, but it’s a lot of management and not as much fun. I’ve stopped worrying about what the ghosts are breaking. Too much bother to try to keep them from doing it. Anyway, the fixer-bot and cleaner-bot keep up with the damage somewhat, and the ghosts can repair stuff instantly whenever I notice that something is broken.
The students are doing better though!
Valentín practiced his presentation for Grandma Ragamuffin
He comes home from class, listens to his sister practicing comedy, and after a stressful day finds her jokes perhaps much more hilarious than they actually are
Cecilia and the Coterie went out to the flea market. A very smelly fellow there decided to shower in the rain.
Time to clean up the neighborhood!
Yes! Victory!
And then the friends went to go get smelly themselves.
Cecilia dropped by the magic realm a couple of times, too. The Coterie had fun zapping each other in duels, and she learned a few new spells.
Blair. No means no. And it is still no.
I’m pretty sure Cecilia is just not into romantic attachment, but every once in a while she makes me wonder.
Cameron ate the cowplant cake AGAIN. We decided it was time to say goodbye to Daisy. She had reverted to sprout form, so it was hard to tell when she was safe to be around, and the locked gate can’t keep out our favorite goofy junk food fiend. Supposedly he’s a genius. But he cannot resist the lure of cowplant cake… Everyone, Daisy has gone “to live at the farm.”
Goodbye, cowplant. Hello, orchids!
The ghosts continue to have lots of fun with each other and to provide the children with the kind of loving support that their mother doesn’t necessarily offer them very often
Dad! You scared me!
That’s okay, he’ll make up for it.
The children are acing school and growing up well. Tamir and Vincent are rambunctious scamps, hanging out on the monkey bars and battling each other for superiority in the typing game. Julius is a creative genius who loves drawing and violin. In addition to violin, he’s carrying on another proud family tradition
Captain Naomi got old and boring. She just rolls her eyes at everything she used to think was fun.
But hugging Captain Naomi has become oddly… pleasant for Tamir
And then there was the day all their phones rang at once… I guess that potion of rejuvenation did not live up to expectations
At first, it seemed only Vincent had a heart. I know, kids, you didn’t live with your father and he wasn’t always that happy to see you when he visited, but is only one of you actually sad?
Vincent cried into his plantains
Wolfgang came over to try to console him as he blogged about his feelings
Grandma Karla came out at night to help cheer up the children
Ragamuffin and Cameron took the sad kids to the park.
Looks like a death march, but they’re only on their way to roller skate
They met some other children, including Saanvi, an equally sad girl. Wonder if she knew Keegan.
Valentín took Wolfgang to the humor and hijinks festival. They joined the Pranksters. Wolfgang got frighteningly into it.
They enjoyed the fireworks and started creating some of their own
And then took a little time to themselves in a more private location
He’s even more perfect than the sculptures…
Love Day arrived. Vincent proved he really has a heart.
And Julius has a crush?! He never told me who…
Ragamuffin and Cameron went on a delightful date to the spice festival.
Eliana came to the festival after work to unwind. She made a new friend: Sofia Bjergsen.
Musician friends are cool.
Valentín and Wolfgang needed to go on a date, of course. Jade was way too happy to see them. Jade… you’re in the way, my dear.
That’s better.
They had a fun night of clubbing and went for coffee and lobster rolls as the sun came up.
Maybe the lobster roll was not such a good idea.
Our Cecilia spent Love Day with… the microscope.
Oscar must have spent Love Day wishing he was brave enough to ask out Eliana. The call came early the morning after.
Don’t you know not to ask out musicians before 11am? She did not pick up. But later on, she called him back, and they went out for a meal.
They were shown graciously to their table… oh, hello.
Eliana had a great time with Oscar. A smashing time, actually. Their green bar is halfway up already. But it was just friendly. Which is fine. Sometimes you meet someone and after you get to know them a little bit it turns out you don’t have the same goals in life. Like, for example, it turns out they hate children. And then you can be good friends after that.
(And then you can very smoothly get the cute host’s phone number on your way out after your date leaves the restaurant.)
Eliana has found love.
And privileged Generation 4 kids are not so good at freegan quests, it turns out.
Happy Ancestors Day. It’s the first day of summer and everyone has been in the pool already.
We caught up, reminisced about life, played cards
and received parenting advice from an excellent parent
We promise always to leave the lights on for you.
Cecilia is getting better at parenting these days. Here she is having some quality time with Tamir
And grilling fruit especially for her vegetarian son Vincent.
This is Dante. Dante stopped by randomly to say hello.
Dante, I don’t think we’re going to get along.
Boy, that Observant trait comes in handy. Though you don’t need to be very observant to see the problem here. Dante, go home. Go home right now. Stay away from my children.
Tamir was scared in a summer thunderstorm. Naomi came over with a present to make him feel better. Aww. Maybe she’s getting over her attitude after all.
Cecilia finished her last two classes in style!
Valentín, you’re doing okay!
Valentín might be a hit-or-miss student but he is doing beautifully as a painter. I was quite taken with this one.
Here’s a collection of the ones he doesn’t want to sell
Here’s our graduate!
Three outdoorsy siblings crowded indoors during a thunderstorm and trying to do their thing
Cecilia had her adult birthday… and finally, at long last, has completed her “Throw 3 Parties” milestone.
She had a makeover in recognition of the fact that she is a grown lady now. (I need to stop leaving everyone in their same outfits from teen through elder…)
She got a job as a high-ranking botanist. She had her game face on for her first day of work. Note that she is not allowed to wear her glasses to work, but she is allowed to wear her favorite unscientific shoes.
She can work at home anytime she wants to. Here is Cecilia working from home.
After a morning of self-care she got down to business and wrote a grant proposal: Science and Magic in New Technologies for Potion-Making.
The foundation didn’t take it very seriously. Maybe she has some things to learn on the job first.
Eliana is moving up in the world too. She leaned in and stuck to her own vision for the big catfood ad.
And then she got promoted. Yeeeeah.
Eliana tried sending a happy text to Diego, the cute restaurant host she’d met on the last day of spring while on a date with Oscar
Yes! Yes! I would love to go enjoy the day!
They got to know each other in the sun at the park. He loves cats and art. What a sweetie.
And they chatted some more under the cherry trees
And they took a jog. It was a fun morning.
The very next morning…
Yes! Yes! I would love to go to Octopus’s Garden!
They enjoyed some snacks and animated conversation
What do you do on a first date, but go skinny dipping?
Aww
Only the DJ was offended
They both really wanted to do this again sometime.
Eliana asked him home, mostly to meet Cecilia. She is an excellent judge of character.
Cecilia’s only input was that he was kind of geeky, which is considered rather charming by this family. Diego has the stamp of approval.
Naturally, he stayed over.
A thunderstorm woke him up in the middle of the night. He thought it would be fun to go swimming in it. Cameron tried to scare him into reason but it didn’t work
Don’t do it!!! Don’t do it….. too late
Eliana woke up suddenly and pulled Diego into the music room to make sure he was okay.
She was still exhausted but couldn’t go to sleep if she was worried about him. He realized how much he needed her
I don’t want to lose you, not tonight, and not ever
And they took a comforting shower.
(I’ve got those low-down, just-got-struck-by-lightning blues)
Cecilia on the other hand loves this weather and sees nothing wrong. Are you sure you’re observant?
Candy sends her best wishes.
And the kids are about to become teenagers. None of them had the Loves Outdoors trait yet though, so any of them could become the heir… so clearly we need to do the Jones family freegan heir quest all together! We’ll call it an heir quest, sure, but it’s really our first chance to go out and party without our family around!
Tamir, Vincent and Julius said goodbye to mom
And headed to San Myshuno, where they had never been. They landed outside the Casbah Gallery. Let’s take on the city!
They got ready in the bathroom. Such style.
They checked out the art.
They discovered the joys of microwaved junk food!
They met Wren, a teen with purple hair who loves dogs. Julius thought she was the coolest.
They took some bench naps to prove themselves
No kids, no. You may not use the bubble blower.
They went dancing next.
There are really cool characters to meet in the city!
Vincent is getting hungry. Vincent is getting smelly. And the entertainer hasn’t sung a single song all night.
Room with a view.
A scary thunderstorm blew up.
They hunkered down in the gym for showers and more naps.
And then they gave up and came home. What softys. Tamir. Where is your suit!
What actually happened was, I had switched back to the main household to get Valentín to class. And then the kids autonomously returned to the lot. So yeah, the privileged kiddos have failed at their heir quest. I guess we’ll keep them anyway. Even if they just want to sleep in normal beds.
And so, the triplets became teenagers. Tamir got the Loves Outdoors trait! Now we have an heir for sure.
Here are their traits and aspirations:
Tamir: art lover, loves outdoors, Bestselling Author
Vincent: vegetarian, squeamish, Party Animal
Julius: dog lover, genius, Potion Purveyor. I guess the potion thing runs in the family on both sides. You come by it honestly, kiddo.
3 lads, 3 very different masculinities. That’s Vincent on the left, Tamir in the middle, Julius on the right.
This is Claudia. Claudia came over randomly to say hello.
Claudia, go home. Go home right now. Stay away from my children. You’re scarier than the last one.
And now for high school!
After the first day, the teens went out to a café with a few of their closest friends.
(That moment when you’re the only one at work and all the teens rush in at once after school…)
Julius and Wren bonded further over their love of dogs.
They stopped by the gym for a workout, then headed home. Sometimes teens just can’t resist a nap
Ghosts float.
Ghosts help with homework.
Some ghosts cook every time they come over. Fletcher, you never did this while you were alive…
Vincent is getting to like vegetarian cooking.
Valentín took his nephews out clubbing one evening when they really needed some fun. Julius discovered that Wren has a superpower: she can generate bowls of cereal out of nowhere. He was entranced.
Eliana and Diego’s wedding day arrived. Really, it was going to be the only day in summer without thunderstorms.
As they made preparations, Julius and Vincent got distracted by trying to make a campfire. This was a bad idea.
Eliana says, “Don’t you dare ruin this day for me.”
It’s all sorted out, Aunt Eliana! Everything is fine
Vincent had to take a few moments to himself
The wedding went beautifully. They held it in the orchard with lots of flowers and loved ones
Just like in church, no one wants to sit in front
Luka felt the need to take a selfie
And now begins our life together
Valentín set up his firework collection from the Humor and Hijinks Festival, and they all went off at the same time! Here’s to Eliana and Diego
And then there was dinner
And a great party
Eliana changed into her reception outfit, as you do
and danced the night away with her beloved
There was late-night music
The groom cleaned up.
The day after, there were lots of flowers and undone homework.
Eliana and Diego bought a large gracious home just across the creek. It is next to a pocket park. It’s a perfect home to fill with lots of children.
On to the next adventure.
No sooner does your little sister get married and move out, than you turn her old room into a cauldron room.
Yep. Cecilia’s sons all show spellcasting aptitude. She’s more mature now and feels ready to get back into her love of magic, without the excesses she suffered from before. She has a newfound drive to teach her sons properly, and help them use magic to enhance their lives without letting it take over their lives.
(Also, Keegan is dead and gone, so he can’t threaten to take the kids away anymore, regardless of what she does with potions…)
Ok kids… it’s time to learn where you come from. Let’s go.
They checked out the magic realm and hung out with an old friend or two. Tamir is typing furiously on his phone. Story ideas?
First spell, learned! Tamir’s mind is blown
First duel, fought! What gorgeous magicians they are
Julius skipped out early because he had some plans for the romance festival… with a certain purple-haired young lady.
He confessed he had a crush on her
It seemed to go over well.
He asked Wren to be his girlfriend and she said yes! They shared a kiss. Warm smiles.
He bought her a beautiful painting that loosely resembled the sakura petals, to remember this evening by
She gave him a gift in return. Just a flower, but with a beautiful note
Aww, teen love
And Julius wisely bid her farewell just as his hygiene was sliding into the red. Yep, you are a genius after all. Can’t be grossing out your squeamish girlfriend right out of the gate.
Valentín and Wolfgang dropped by the festival. They hadn’t had too much time together lately, because, you know, things have been happening in this family.
Wolfgang got mad when Valentín threw petals at him! Oh no, what’s wrong? wonders Valentín.
I do want you. I just don’t want to have plant parts thrown at me.
We can live with that.
Happy summer and thanks for reading!
Our next graduate!
And that means….
…I’m going to need to play rotationally bc I’m not ready to let these guys go just yet.
Eliana has been visiting a lot. She makes herself useful.
She catches up with Patchy.
This time, she was rather larger than before… The triplets are getting a cousin!
(or two, or three. You can’t fool me anymore, game.)
Ragamuffin was so moved that she painted an especially beautiful picture of Eliana. It turned out to be a masterpiece.
Cecilia is done with university and Valentín needed all 4 of his current classes to graduate. So this time I watched him LIKE A HAWK.
Phew.
He and Wolfgang, who have been engaged for two whole life stages now, can finally tie the knot. (And get proper jobs. And a real nice mansion baron house. That makes them grown up right?)
I had planned to have their wedding at the Casbah Gallery but it was not available for a wedding! Otherwise booked? Anyway, the boys dried their tears and decorated Municipal Muses very nicely. And then it rained.
Cecilia came straight from work. Eliana, very strangely, was not available to be called as a guest. Even though Diego was available, and showed up. They tried calling her directly and she picked up but said “I’m busy.” Too busy to attend your brother’s wedding??
It was smaller and dimmer than the Casbah but it was still beautiful.
Aw, the joy
Love poetry, cake, and sibling time
What happens if you slip and fall in a mud puddle on your wedding day?
Nothing bad happens, sweetheart, nothing bad at all.
And so they bought the big penthouse at 1 Torendi Tower in San Myshuno. With a view of the Romance Festival. How could they not.
It’s already a pretty good party house. They made a few modest modifications. They set up the bedroom closest to the private pool (!) for themselves, and left two bedrooms vacant for the family to grow one day. The house came with an indoor basketball court adjacent to the kitchen. No one needs an indoor basketball court adjacent to the kitchen. What they do need is an art studio with plenty of wall space to showcase Valentín’s collection. He became a Patron of the Arts and is carrying on with his own painting as well.
Opening the door together for the first time late at night post-wedding
Welcome home.
And when I went to Manage Households to do this… I found out some important information about Eliana. Oh. THAT was why she was too busy to come to the wedding
I guess we’ll forgive her.
Wolfgang struggled to adapt to married life in San Myshuno. He was newly married to a rich, handsome, romantic artist, who thought the sun rose and set on Wolfgang. He should have been elated. Instead… he kept thinking gloomy thoughts. He had a dead-end job at HAMBURGERMAN! and practically no skills. He was trying to settle into the beautiful palace he had been given, but the heart of this home was the big art studio. There was no room set up for Wolfgang. Well, there were two vacant bedrooms, with the vague idea of children someday, but either or both of them could have been home to any passion of Wolfgang’s. If he had any.
Wolfgang stalked the empty rooms and wrote the occasional chain letter as a prank
Meanwhile, Valentín painted, happily fulfilling his dreams.
Valentín could tell something was up, but Wolfgang couldn’t really express himself the way he wanted
“Whatever it is, I love you”
Wolfgang thought: Love can’t fix everything.
He had bad dreams.
He itched to get out into the city at night while Valentín slept.
He found himself picking fights in bars
and with jerks dressed as raccoons on the street.
He got into two fights in one night.
Okay, he lost two fights in one night.
Okay, he lost two fights in one night to older ladies. The jerk in the raccoon suit turned out to be quite an old lady.
He needed some new excitement in his life, he figured. Some sense of purpose. Something that was not HAMBURGERMAN!. So he got in touch with some old family friends from his Renegades days, and someone knew a guy who knew a guy who was in with a mysterious group called the Mobwives. They were hiring a Tough Guy.
“I got into two fights just last night,” volunteered Wolfgang.
He was hired. No more HAMBURGERMAN!
For Harvestfest, we of course brought the family dinner to Eliana, Diego and baby Holly.
Everyone met Holly and made sure she felt loved and included
The sisters caught up
The other young people played foosball.
Ragamuffin cooked. That is tofurkey, for our vegetarian.
They would not all sit down to dinner at the same time but that was okay because they didn’t have enough chairs in the same room for everyone to eat at once.
Eliana and Diego seemed to be happy with the addition to their family and maybe were thinking about getting to work on the next one
The triplets are developing their skills and their personalities. Vincent stands up to bullies at school.
There’s an important new toy in the yard.
Julius challenged Vincent to a hoops competition. Vincent won. Julius then cried in his bed.
Julius has developed a variety of interests. Other than basketball, all of them are one hundred percent nerdy.
Julius studies magic and makes some magic happen for a friend too.
Tamir is hard at work on his first book. He wants to write collections of loosely related artistic short stories dealing with magic. Meanwhile, Vincent baked some extremely poor brownies.
Ragamuffin would like to contribute some important tips for any and all future brownies.
The teens have been all over the city with their gaggle of teen friends. They went to the spice festival
Vincent took some inspiration home from the spice festival. And he never wants to change out of the t-shirt.
You do not wait for my delicious vegetarian cooking and instead take leftover chicken from the fridge? I give you death stare
Vincent’s first Excellent meal! (Well, it’s only a grilled cheese sandwich, and it was started by the ghost of his grandmother Karla before she wandered off to do something else, but we’ll let him have his moment)
I am a culinary genius!
I can keep this family in beer and breadsticks, anyway.
Next up was the Humor and Hijinks festival.
Where you can earn points for messing with your brother
There was a goal to “light fireworks”. We clicked on the fireworks and could not light them. Is this how we were supposed to do it?
It was not.
A potentially dangerous hobby: exactly what every teen boy needs! Everyone’s magical skill is improving. Cecilia is copypastoing some potion ingredients here. Sometimes a hobby can help you bond with your kiddos…
Julius wants to know all of the background knowledge
Julius cooks for the very first time ever
Moderation…….
Krista is older now, but she can still kick Cecilia’s tail in a duel any night of the week
Cecilia tried out the duplicato spell.
Not bad eh? Meet Camryn Jones
Cecilia instructed Camryn to clean
Camryn chatted with the neighbors.
Camryn set fires.
Camryn received a talking to. Oops. She is sorry.
She did eventually clean. To be honest, nothing was actually dirty at the time she was created. Her creator only created her because she was mucking about with new spells.
And whenever nothing was dirty, she stood around staring at the trash can.
Meanwhile, Cecilia slept.
Cecilia threw a housewarming party for Valentín and Wolfgang. Wolfgang spent the party doing mostly this.
It was a fun party, although Cecilia also identified a few issues with the layout of the apartment and gave Valentín a list of desired changes in order to improve the party-ness of the place. “Come on, sis, I’m doing my best here and I just moved in!” complains Valentín.
Ragamuffin made sure the bed worked properly
Magical dueling is a fun party game!
Was it World Cup time? I found Eliana watching the game alone in the bedroom
while Tamir was practicing juggling for the bathroom mirror
At least obsess together, you guys, it’s a party.
Cecilia learned of the Mobwives job. She’d never heard of them either, but she thought it sounded fishy. She told Valentín to be careful. Meanwhile, Wolfgang is still doing this…
(It's been an eventful winter, so I'm splitting this up into a couple of posts.)
When you go too far…
The triplets applied to college. Julius is giving some sort of mental blessing to his application. Please be accepted, please be accepted…
On the first morning of winter, Wolfgang and Valentín decided to check out the new neighborhood brunch spot, Sunflower’s.
(I did a renovation of the Old Salt House. It’s a brunch place with a listening room. I want more arts venues in my game, and it was silly that San Myshuno had no restaurant! More shots of the build in the next post.)
The game chose good clientele for an urban brunch spot on a Sunday morning
They had coffee and made friends.
Wolfgang autonomously made creepy notes. What is he even doing?
Wolfgang decided he needed to start working out if he really wanted to live up to his Tough Guy job title. Creating havoc online was fun but not what he needed to be training for.
He headed to the gym after Sunflower’s. It had a beautiful view out the windows.
“So, I wanna be a tough guy. Where do I start?”
He met some cool fellas at the gym.
He insulted a random lady.
The random lady stomped off to go work out quite energetically at the punching bag. So maybe Wolfgang did her a favor?
He pushed himself. It felt good.
That Sunday was the first day of winter, so that means it was Sleep Away Day. The triplets convinced the rest of the family that Sleep Away Day should not be about bench sleeping, it should be a proper vacation. Off they went to a Mt. Komorebi rental house. Tamir, settle down.
Ragamuffin said they needed to install fireguards on both fireplaces immediately. Indoor sleeping is such a deathtrap.
The ghosts opted for a tent anyway. They enjoyed all the advantages of the tent.
Skiing!
Ski lift!
They fell down a lot.
Climbing was more fun than skiing.
Everybody got injured so they went for cerebral fun after that
The ghosts stuck to romantic walks in the snow.
Vincent cooked pancakes
and curry.
You can relax in the bath, or you know, play soccer at the bath, whatever
Music is a Sleep Away Day tradition now. We’re adding one tradition every generation for each deceased heir. This is in Marcellus’s honor.
The triplets say this is a big improvement on sleeping outside.
Cecilia has been studying her potions and now knows every recipe. It was time to give the Coterie the greatest gift of all: immortality. The potion ingredients are a little challenging, but with the Copypasto spell you can just copy them… or… copy the potion itself! She turned her one sample potion into four, quite easily.
She gathered her Coterie in the Magic Realm gardens.
Krista was first to receive the potion. She began to change.
And she glowed with life.
That was wonderful! Blair, you’re next! (Blair says: buh?)
Blair wanted Arvin to be next, so he obliged. Arvin was transformed and glowed in the same way. So Blair drank his potion.
It didn’t go quite so well for Blair.
Oh no! Cecilia panicked. She had killed her friend! But wait, she knew a spell for this: Dedeathify. Quickly she cast it
Oops.
She tried to put aside her own terror at being suddenly dead herself. Her friend was more important. She tried again.
And again, and again, until…
She collapsed in exhaustion, overcharged.
A logical solution occurred to her. She proposed this logical solution to Blair, and he recovered. (What was it? I really don’t know. It came up as an interaction with the logic skill icon next to it. She’s smarter than I am…)
Cecilia looked at the last remaining potion, and handed it to Blair instead of drinking it herself. Again it didn’t seem to agree with him. Krista and Arvin tried looking up this condition on the phone.
Again she was able to propose a logical solution to him, and he recovered. Cecilia felt relieved. And possibly dead. She limped home.
“Cecilia! What happened-“
“I’m fine, Grandma.”
“But you’re-“
“I’m fine! Everything is fine. Leave me alone.”
She dreamt of death.
Not happily.
But late at night… her flesh and blood returned to her
She awoke and suddenly needed to eat a large quantity of roast meat.
And she received a call that her old spellcasting friend Madilyn had died. She felt that immortality for the Coterie was that much more crucial now. But it no longer seemed so easy.
Meanwhile, new life burgeoned in the family. This is Eliana and Diego’s daughter Holly as a toddler! And Eliana is expecting again.
We fixed up Holly’s room, imagining that she loves those characters on the wall.
Tamir, Vincent and Julius celebrated their young adult birthday out with friends! Even the waiters cheered when they blew out their candles.
This guy cheered too. And he gobbled up two pieces of their cake. The nerve.
Their friend Vanessa flirted with Julius, and he autonomously flirted back. Wren took offense to that. Julius tried to apologize to her, but he was starting to smell poorly, and she took offense to that too. Poor kids.
While at the party, Cecilia received a disturbing phone call:
What?? She was supposed to be immortal!
Cecilia was crushed. The next day, Krista’s ghost invited her out to the Bluffs. She still had the immortality symbol around her neck, although, clearly she had died.
Cecilia went over her potion recipes over and over again, and she even beseeched the heavens to send her wisdom from a Guru. The Guru consented to hear her pleas, but for the time being, it seemed she would be unable to keep the Coterie alive with her forever.
Winterfest came, and with it the best Winterfest gift ever: college acceptance for all three boys! They all got into the distinguished degrees too, so they had their choice. They decided to stay together even if it meant they couldn’t all attend distinguished programs. They enrolled in Britechester. Tamir for language and literature, Vincent for culinary arts, and Julius for physics. (I haven’t had an active scientist sim yet, and I thought it might be fun to play Julius in that career. I don’t mind having him start at mid-level so I can experience more levels of the career.)
Wren invited Julius out for a date, but she was in some kind of mood, and it went badly.
Off they go to college! More to come.
Lobby
Downstairs dining area
Listening room
The second floor has a deck garden and a children's play area.
Just blowing off steam in the dorm
The boys signed up for their classes.
I’m tickled that Julius’s courses include How Things Work: Physics I, and How Things Break: Physics II.
College is a culture shock. Apparently, most people just nap and avoid their beds.
Floppy hair and impressive beards seem to be the college fashion. Tamir is feeling some beard envy.
People flirt… differently here.
Vincent took a supply of harvestables and set some out on a table in the hall.
The roommates are constantly bringing in food too. There’s some sort of battle going on for who can bring the best food. We’re getting roast chicken and lobster thermidor deposited on the coffee table on a regular basis.
Meanwhile Vincent is making what he considers to be better food, with a better view too
(Vincent contributed the dance floor too, naturally.)
Here’s what the coffee table banquet looked like one evening when Cecilia and Eliana came to visit.
Also note that beautiful statue that someone made out of a lump of clay! Wow. Tamir was impressed. He joined the art society. He’s joined the soccer team too. I think he’s kind of looking for his place in the world these days.
The coffee table banquet kept spoiling. I guess it’s always easier to complain then to fix the problem
At least some people clean
This is Ayaka. She is always either misting her plants or repeatedly polishing her desk. It’s unclear. Does she ever clean dishes? I don’t want to say no, but I’ve never see her do it.
We did get a mini-fridge to cut down on the spoiled food insanity.
Julius met Nicola, the girlfriend of one of his roommates.
They connected immediately.
She seemed like a positive and giving person, happy when others around her were happy. Were she and the roommate on-again off-again? Her headline kept changing from “Roommate’s Girlfriend” to not…
and then suddenly— Ouch!
"Let me think. Was that girl your girlfriend? We were just talking—"
"Haha, actually, she’s Nobu’s girlfriend, not mine! I was just pranking you! I’m Addison. Nobuya and I both have dark floppy hair, glasses, and these impressive beards, so people mix us up sometimes.
Julius muttered in Addison's direction, rubbed his sore jaw, and went off to his own room to work on his presentation. Later that night, he was practicing violin when Nicola and Nobu wandered into the lounge. They ignored him. He continued playing, trying to sound as sweet as he could, hoping somehow he would bring a little extra joy into her evening without getting in her way.
And she listened to him play long after Nobu went to bed.
Inspired by his classes, Tamir worked on his own book of short stories late into the night.
Tamir’s soccer team won the game!
And he met his teammate Madeline. She loves the outdoors too, and is very enthusiastic. Very, very enthusiastic. Once she starts enthusing she does not stop.
Vincent planned to host a keg party on Friday but the party came to him! Winning!
Friday is magic realm night. They brought some of the extra dorm food to share.
Julius got to know some new spells.
Vincent got to know Briella.
Saturday is climbing practice day. Or, you know, grilling practice when you don’t feel like exercising too hard right now.
Beard envy continues. Tamir decided to start growing his beard and his hair.
On a beautiful day midway through the term, Julius took a deep breath and sent a happy text to Nicola. She invited him out to a park right away. She did seem like a kind-hearted person, wanted to raise a family some day, and when Julius expressed his love of dogs, she was happy to talk about them too
They played a game of chess in the park. Apparently it was a virtuosic game, as several passersby gathered around to watch and cheer.
He learned another important fact about Nicola’s life currently
This really feels right…
Maybe we’ll stay like this always?
For now, she became his girlfriend.
She’s like a work of art…
Julius had one bit of unfinished business. He and Wren had had a teen relationship that felt thrillingly all-encompassing at the start. But when he stepped back and thought about it, they didn’t really know each other that well or have much in common other than both being dog people. Their romantic connection wasn’t particularly strong either. So it was time to bring their relationship officially to an end. They both felt terrible anyway.
Everyone had interesting wishes right after the breakup… Nicola chose that moment to invite herself over, Wren wanted to come up and cry in the shower, and Julius just wanted to go hide on his computer.
Fortunately Wren made such a direct beeline for the shower that she didn’t even notice anything else.
Happy New Year! Vincent threw a party at Valentín and Wolfgang’s penthouse.
Cecilia showed up late and overcharged. Wonder what she was doing. Meanwhile, Tamir schmoozed with his soccer teammates.
Wolfgang did this all night…
A sunny afternoon at UBrite: the soccer banners, the coffee stalls, the little duel in the quad.
Holly and Diego had birthdays coming up on the same day, so Cecilia threw a party for them both at their home. For some reason, Cecilia was overcharged again. I don’t know what it is. Something about her party enthusiasm? Everyone was afraid of overcharged Cecilia, except for Cecilia, she was fine with it.
Eliana had trouble coping.
But otherwise, it was a fun party.
Even for the toddlers… yeah, baby George must have had a birthday and I’d missed it.
Aw yeah… aging up!
Aw… that means I’m middle-aged now
And here is Holly as a child. She looks so sweet, but don’t be fooled, she is a kleptomaniac. How far we have come in this family: 2 generations of freegans, then 1 generation of money and party obsessives, and now we have a klepto.
At college, Tamir is enjoying the soccer team, and enjoying in particular his teammate Madeline, who loves the outdoors and is pretty sporty. Let’s go play some soccer!
(I love that the sports teams are coed in sims!)
She’s limber too.
Tamir doesn’t have any similar built-in motivation at the art society, but he does do some art sometimes
Julius and Nicola are enjoying each other very much.
Nobuya doesn’t seem to miss his ex-girlfriend Nicola much. He is doing just fine. Nicola, be glad you and Julius found each other
Vincent hosted his first keg party. A difficult start: the keg didn’t want to be tapped, and the stereo didn’t want to work.
The party didn’t go very well. It seems college students don’t like to hang out outdoors as much as the triplets are used to. More things to adjust to.
Vincent does have a good time going to the commons with 10 or 20 of his closest friends. He grills veggie burgers for everyone when the cafeteria is closed
He has started trying to tell jokes. Oh dear. At least Mom thinks he is funny. (She comes by a lot.)
Cecilia and Julius always fought when he was little, but now he might be her favorite?
They finished their first term! All A+ for Julius (no surprise) and for Vincent (ok I was kinda surprised there.) Tamir got an A, a B and a C. But on the other hand, he did publish his first short story collection “Tales of Motes and Emotes,” and it was quite well-received.
Second term started. The triplets are old hands now. College: when someone else throws a party in your bedroom and you can sleep anyway.
This is the status of Tamir’s beard, and soccer-team physique, at the beginning of second term.
There are new trends in the dorm. Personal hot sauce in your room is in, apparently. Most roommates have some.
Julius has a new roommate. They’re bonding over their love of violin.
Vincent was trying to work on his presentation for Gettin’ Saucy class, but the booming PA at the soccer game kept intruding on his thoughts… so he took 10 or 20 of his closest friends to go see the game. And they lost. Oh well.
Love Day came. Tamir invited Madeline to Sunflower’s for a breakfast date. Look who else was there!
They were seated at a table next to… a pile of semi-liquefied food waste. How embarrassing.
Tamir thought quickly and decided to show off his prowess a little
It worked! (Good thing he never bothered to worry about the restaurant fire that would have ensued if he’d failed.) They had a lovely breakfast.
And some fun outside. These two don’t want to stay indoors for long.
So sweet.
They shared a first kiss. Tamir learned that Madeline hates children. Oh well, who cares, children are so far in the future that he can’t even be bothered to worry about that now. He did realize, with a start, that classes started TODAY and so he’d already missed his first one. And it’s Research & Debate, which he has zero skill in. Hmm. Got some catching up to do.
Julius and Nicola had a beautiful Love Day evening on the bluffs.
Vincent hung out with his friends, and tried to flirt with Briella. Every time they hung out he just kept wanting to get closer to her… She seemed sort of receptive but he wasn’t really sure how to take the next step.
They didn’t go to magic realm on Love Day, but they did go climbing on Saturday. They have proper gear now. And a smelly tagalong roommate.
And a good cook for lunchtime.
Tamir is easily distracted by a different activity.
Vincent held another keg party Saturday night. He decided to have this one indoors.
Valentín dropped by. He and Vincent caught up as Vincent prepared some of his signature barbecue fruit cobbler.
This party went great!
…except that Briella didn’t want to kiss him.
Julius: You know, my brother is really into you—
Briella: I don’t care. Leave me alone.
Season 28- Summer
UBrite… where the young people come to pretend to be old people.
(These are not my sims. They are my sims’ friends Erik and Zoey. Randomly generated. But they are so elegant!)
The climbing continues.
And it’s hard to be Vincent sometimes.
(Cecilia got old, wow.)
Marcellus was delighted to be woken up by Cecilia’s Necrocall spell.
Fletcher was not so delighted to be woken up.
Very, very not delighted.
Being together was good (after that.)
Ghosts don’t change.
The triplets are enjoying college life. Lots of hanging out in the beautiful quad.
We have the Rock Your Body and Support Performing Arts NAPs so far, so all the dormies are exercising and playing musical instruments. Julius is playing violin a lot. Being a slob, he makes other music as well
This wasn’t really that slobly. I mean, he put his plate down for one second and Zoey was already making drama about it.
Handiness is important for his Physics degree and he is practicing by upgrading the dorm plumbing. Not everyone values and appreciates the results of a slob handyman’s work.
Scruberoo is an important spell to know if you live in a dorm
There’s the overly neat roommate, and then there’s the roommate who literally threw this pile of food waste on the floor with her hands. I saw her do it. Her body language sort of looks like she threw up, but she really did throw this pile with her hands, right over the lobster thermidors and everything. I ask you.
Tamir made it to an art society event! His milestones for art society won’t complete, but he enjoys it.
The poses crack me up
They are exact matches of the poses we all know from the figure paintings. Makes me giggle.
Here is the status of Tamir’s beard (and bod) at the start of third term.
He continues to practice soccer with his girlfriend Madeline, who invented the game face
And he discovered that the super-secret soccer playbook is actually kinda interesting (and builds his logic skill)
Vincent threw a keg party. People seemed to have lots of fun, but it counted as a failure because the guests didn’t want to drink that much.
There was a perfect moment near the end of the party
But Vincent is beating himself up terribly. He has sad and embarrassed sentiments about all of the party guests. One of these people is his brother Julius, who I can confirm has no sentiments about that party at all. In fact, probably nobody but Vincent is thinking about that party at all anymore. Vincent feels endlessly ashamed nevertheless. He cries in the bathroom, and goes around apologizing to everyone. I’m thinking everyone just wishes he would stop apologizing already.
Oh yeah, he also tried asking Briella for a date the next day and she said no. So he was more embarrassed and sad— but the party embarrassed and sad moods continued for much longer than the rejected-date moodlets.
Vincent unburdened himself to Tamir’s girlfriend Madeline and asked for her advice. Madeline encouraged him to send Briella a no-pressure, light flirty text. Guess it was good advice. She responded by asking him out!
… to Club Calico in a thunderstorm.
Well, at least this one wasn’t Vincent’s fault to be embarrassed about. He talked her down with some gently joking conversation
And then suddenly everything was all right
Julius took Nicola to GeekCon. They took selfies
They worked on a rocket
They had fun in the rocket
Nicola was invisible for a little while afterward. She’s the one holding the burger, with the group octagon-bob over her head.
Next party was a costume party. How come they only let you have a costume party at a bar and then the party goals are all about cooking things in ovens?? Anyway, this was the night of GeekCon. I wonder if having a costume party on GeekCon day increases the odds of scifi costumes.
This party was more of a success, in more than one way.
Ah-hah! Again with the messes! Vincent has caught you this time!
Actually, she was mortified. But she didn’t exactly promise never to do it again.
Vincent’s favorite thing is still taking a million friends to the commons. This time, it happened to be Tea and Poetry night. There was no tea, more’s the pity, but people kept going to the mic to do dramatic poetry readings.
…and this is the last we’ll see of Briella tonight
I found her watching someone play chess alone, from a safe distance. Now that’s a loner activity.
Vincent participated in poetry night, but not very successfully.
The next day, Briella asked him out on another date!
To the Octopus’s Garden, which is almost completely outdoors!
In another thunderstorm!!
Vincent gallantly invited her to hang out in the game room.
Some people we knew were among the crowd dancing outside (they’re under a deck, but still)
We were happier in loner mode. Aw, Briella rarely smiles like that.
Cecilia came up and met Briella and likes her.
She met Nicola this term, too, and likes her as well.
Nicola finds Cecilia “quite pleasing” ??
And I've realized I have a generation where all three siblings are in hetero relationships. Huh. Well, they have three very different masculinities; one is a conventionally hot athlete, one is a big ole teddy bear nerd, and one has eyeliner and big curls and hangs out mostly with girls.
Thanks to all the lobster thermidors and omelets, the non-athletes are starting to get bellies. Julius doesn't mind (and neither does Nicola.) Vincent is torn between feeling that a vegetarian chef should exude an image of good health, and worrying about whether people will trust a skinny cook? He is thinking about going on a diet of harvestables and light foods he grills himself.
Julius snagged Cecilia for some extra magical training. He’d really like to become an acolyte.
And Friday night is magic realm night!… well, both Tamir and Vincent ditched this time. Julius learned some more potion recipes and fulfilled his goal of acolyte-hood. The package never came in the mail though. Maybe university mail is to blame, or maybe a roommate stole it? He’ll probably stop by Casters Alley sometime soon. Dude deserves a broom.
Mom is so pleased to sit back and watch her son learn.
Wait a minute… you’re not my mom
More use of the Duplicato spell, I suppose. There is Cecilia over there in the next room.
Erm… Mom is getting weird in her old age.
Also, Briella is fierce in a duel.
Saturday is climbing day!
The kids are getting better…
Time to try a bigger wall! We totally got this!
Wow, that’s very high… um… hey look, it’s time for soccer practice
That night was Night on the Town. Double date!
(The loner goes on a double-date like a loner. I don’t know why loner autonomy cracks me up so much)
Jerrica called Vincent and said she wanted to go to the Romance Festival but was scared to go alone. Would he be her wingman? Of course! He was born a wingman! He brought Briella and 2 of his other closest friends to help Jerrica feel like she was in good company.
And then, Uncle Diego flirted with Vincent’s roommate Camille.
In front of Aunt Eliana.
These two just had twin babies, might I add, and probably had to pay for a sitter for 4 children just to get out tonight, and he does this? Eliana doesn’t seem to mind though.
And that’s the last we’ll see of Briella tonight.
Or not.
Vincent didn’t seem to mind this? Perhaps whatever happens at the Romance Festival stays at the Romance Festival? Anyway, the kiss didn’t seem to do much for the girls. One looks mortified, and the other would rather be studying.
It was getting late, things were getting weird, people were stripping down to their underwear with the bartenders and Uncle Diego wasn't going anywhere. Vincent checked in with Jerrica. She wasn’t having a good time either.
So he snagged a few flowers for the garden at home
and suggested an alternative activity. This is much more fun.
Because it’s The Sims, each waiter tried to mop up this puddle exactly one time. Keep Myshuno weird, everybody.
A change of scene
The harvestable diet begins now.
Another food waste pile. For the squeamish guy to clean up. I ask you. At least there is Scruberoo.
Julius earned his broom! He is learning to drive.
A broom can be very convenient for getting to class. Maybe. Sorta. Look out below!
Meanwhile, Tamir hurt himself at soccer practice and is feeling very cooped up indoors
Tbh Tamir can hurt himself just trying to walk down the sidewalk
Eliana and Diego’s twins Antoinette and Cassiel are now toddlers. The game picked those names and I like them. Antoinette is wild. Cassiel is independent.
Intellectual development starts young
Holly became a teenager! She looks exactly the same as Eliana.
Different style though. Kinda sweet, kinda punk, still a klepto…
And George is a child? His birthdays somehow don’t appear on the family calendar, so sadly he is the forgotten middle child. Sorry, George.
Diego handles the childcare so that Eliana can practice.
When your elderly uncle invites you to a party and it turns out the “party” is a completely deserted bluff?
Wolfgang died and Valentín hasn’t been taking it well. Tamir, Vincent, and Julius realized he might not be doing okay on his own. They left the “party” for Sunflower’s, and talked some more.
Tamir had invited his childhood buddy Naomi along. It was good to be back in touch with her.
“No, his judgment is just fine— see, he likes my jokes!”
“Vincent, that might not mean what you think it means.”
And then… not even a magical club can let you escape the inevitable, in the end.
It was a difficult Harvestfest with an empty chair.
They remembered the dead.
They watched the sunset, and ate cake sadly.
Julius and Holly had a chance to bond. He gets her.
And Valentín brought up something he’d been thinking about since their outing to the restaurant.
“The home I shared with Wolfgang feels too big and empty for just me. I would appreciate more company, and you guys are always complaining about the dorms. And we all miss Cecilia, but you must be having such a terrible time. Would you consider spending your last semester in San Myshuno with me?”
“Okay, Uncle Valentín, but on one condition.”
“What is that?”
“That you start dressing your age.”
Cecilia took her place among her ancestors.
The triplets moved to the penthouse. To take care of their uncle in his last days, but let’s be honest, to have a good time too.
Can’t beat the view.
There’s plenty of room for the presentation boards now.
If you have to cry into your term paper, this is not a bad place to do it.
Valentín felt good about the arrangement and he even asked if they would like to bring their girlfriends too.
Why are all the neighbors college students?
Daiki the most annoying roommate?? How did you find us here?
Vincent threw a dinner party for their adult birthday, and as a chance for the ladies to see the new place. He prepared butternut gnocchi.
Julius can handle this level of food preparation.
A blue shoe trend seems to be part of this season’s party wear
And they’re grown!
Valentín says, “Wolfgang and I sometimes talked about adopting children, but it always seemed so far in the future and we never got around to it. Now I’ve lost him. I am so glad to have a house full of kids after all, so late in life. Here’s to our home.”
The next day, Tamir took Madeline outside and buttered her up with love poetry
and asked her an important question.
She accepted!
In the heat of the moment Tamir suggested they add to their family further.
“I told you on our first date. I do not ever want kids. I hate children.”
“Hate is such a strong word. Maybe you’ll feel differently in time.”
“No way. I have so many ideas for how we could enjoy our life together. They do not include children.”
Madeline joined the household, and pretty much immediately we discovered she has problems we didn’t know about.
Madeline, I hope some of your ideas have to do with improving your academics.
How about joining me here?
Nicola said yes. (Julius wants to go to a little more trouble to make a romantic proposal, so he hasn’t asked her THAT yet.)
Vincent asked Briella to move in. She objected that a large household might not be for her. Vincent said, “There’s plenty of room. It’s a big place, even with 7 people in it, you’ll have lots of room to be alone when you need to. And tell you what. Our bedroom has its own bathroom, and we can make it a little living room too. When we have parties, we can lock the door so only you can come and go. This will be the Cave of Briella.”
And that, she could agree to. Vincent is over the moon.
Briella did find plenty of alone time.
She and Vincent enjoyed some private time in their new bedroom/living room. Afterward, Vincent rolled over sleepily and caught sight of her odd pajamas.
Briella?! Is there something you’re not telling us??
I’ve never played an alien before, nor have I met one, as much as I eagerly await their arrival. Briella is a spellcaster and her needs panel looks like any other spellcaster’s. I don’t think she’s an alien? Are the pajamas just random?
And so they are settling into penthouse life. Valentín created his first masterpiece.
Dancing in the rain on the balcony. Sounds romantic, looks silly.
Nicola’s aspiration is bodybuilder. She quit her deadend retail job and gets to work out all day.
Valentín keeps going out to the grill and forgetting what he was doing. That can be dangerous, uncle. You’re right, it wasn’t such a good idea to spend your last days alone.
Enjoying time with our uncle while we can.
Who finally kept his promise to dress like a grown person. Here he is painting what appears to be a carrot? This one also turned out to be a masterpiece.
Again, Julius was the only brother who kept the magic realm Friday night tradition.
Julius always wonders whether to use handiness or magic to repair plumbing. Magic is faster, but has a risk of setting the plumbing on fire. So it was interesting to see that even the sages opt for cleaning puddles by hand.
Briella in another random Realm of Magic outfit that worked out very well. I’m going to try to replicate this in her own outfits now that she’s part of the household, if I can remember.
They went climbing on Saturday, but Tamir got injured almost immediately and they had to go home.
And that weekend, all the ladies had their adult birthdays too.
One night…
Welcome home, my soulmate
(I’d been trying to figure out where his urn went. So I followed him at 6am to see where he would go. But he just floated upstairs near the pool and disappeared. I don’t think we have his urn. Valentín hopes he’ll come back and visit often.)
Urban magic.
Sleep Away Day now includes a tradition of gardening, in Cecilia’s honor. And in her honor, the boys chose the magic realm gardens as the destination.
They couldn’t exactly care for these plants, but they harvested some lemons. Briella was all about harvesting the mandrakes and valerian roots. She has the Potion Purveyor aspiration, just like Julius.
Music is the Sleep Away Day tradition in honor of Marcellus.
Some music had ulterior motives.
Will you be part of my odd but wonderful family?
You will always be the most precious part of it.
“Ok, guys, I’m just saying we CAN cast Delicioso but also we can cook. You tell me which makes better food. You’re welcome.”
This is their old annoying roommate Sophia. Sophia, the answer is no.
Nicola has the Body Builder aspiration. She doesn’t mind if Julius is a big ole teddy bear, but she’d like him to remain in good health, and to understand this part of her life just a little bit. Let’s go work out!
Poor Julius is struggling.
“Want to go get clean? Together?”
“I thought you’d never ask.”
Penthouse life ain’t bad. Good morning, Madeleine. Madeleine, you have class. We want you to get out of academic probation.
Oh, good grief, she’s not the only one. At least Briella doesn’t have class.
As for Madeleine, her aspiration is Leader of the Pack. Her club is going to be the greatest!
Only Adults and Elders allowed.
But before it could get off the ground…
The household had enjoyed their time with Uncle Valentín, and it had flown by so fast. They had inherited his penthouse, but it wasn't the same without him.
The memorial for Valentin and Wolfgang in the dining room.
Wolfgang does have a gravestone somewhere on the lot, I think. Nicola is family-oriented and she keeps autonomously deciding to mourn one or the other. The “Mourn Wolfgang” action shows up with a picture of the gravestone. But Nicola can’t get there, wherever it is, and the action cancels pretty much right away. It’s a mystery. I’ve tried removing walls and moving just about every object on the lot. We do miss you, Wolfgang. Hopefully you keep coming around.
Sophia, the answer is still no.
SOMEHOW, all our most annoying college roommates now show up as San Myshuno neighbors! And they keep coming into our penthouse! Why?? We keep our door locked but they still come in! And they will not leave even after being sent home repeatedly!
Here, the neighbors and the ghosts have left a total of 5 white cakes in progress, and one complete white cake which Nicola is putting away.
Nicola has had it.
They won’t leave even when you yell at them and tell them to go away.
FINALLY (like 2 days later)
The cousins are growing up. This is George and Antoinette. George looks like something out of a 1970’s cartoon.
Merry penthouse Winterfest!
Madeleine thought Winterfest would be a perfect day for Soccer for Grown Adults’ first practice in Myshuno Meadows. Soccer for grown adults is fun!
Briella got older, but there are bonuses to that.
Tamir noticed the wedding arch and had a sudden whim. Neither he nor his lady really need fancy parties. From her smile, she agrees.
“I’m really smelly from soccer practice though.”
“You were really smelly from soccer practice when we met.”
“I won’t forget.”
“Not ever.”
Impromptu party afterwards with a few of our closest college friends.
Almost forgot it was still Winterfest. Hi, Santa.
And let’s not forget what this household is really about!
Aunt Eliana wasn’t sad that there ended up being no party to invite her to. We hope.
The big day is here! Happy graduation, triplets!
Madeleine, you made it too! We were worried about you.
No, Sophia, Julius doesn’t want to, either.
I really don’t like being around kids but… I am so happy with you, and maybe I can share that happiness with someone who’s a lot like you too? They don’t stay little forever, right?
Are you suggesting what I think you’re suggesting?
The next morning, she was having second thoughts. Maybe, there won’t be a baby? She’s tense, but more happy than she is tense…
Maybe, if there is a baby, I can do this? I do feel kinda funny…
And now that everyone has graduated, it’s time to return home. But not for Vincent and Briella. They decided to stay in the penthouse, with just 3 of their closest and most elegant friends. I think they will be very happy together. Vincent got his first big job as a sous chef in the city.
The girls settled in.
Ghost activity as per usual. Cecilia is just as overcharged as always, even after death.
Valentín takes his place beside his ancestors.
Bedrooms for Julius and Nicola, and Tamir and Madeleine. (The ghosts are back to sleeping in the cabin, at least until spring comes.)
Science is magic! Julius got his first big job too, as a scientist. (I’m really excited about this.)
The more things change…
… the more they stay the same
(Frequent readers will recognize that kid as Julius)
Dunk! That feels good after so long!
Friday night, magic realm night. Tamir actually came too. Please observe Tamir’s beard, by the way. It is now fully grown. He looks very authorial.
Madeleine… is now tense all the time.
Trying to put a happy face on the Big News
But having some serious second thoughts.
Saturday climbing!
Julius informs Vincent of all the fun he is missing. Vincent informs Julius that he can keep his fun, he’s having plenty of his own in the penthouse, thanks.
Tamir finished his second book! Tales of Potions and Emotions, a companion volume to Tales of Motes and Emotes
Now, he would like to actually start writing GOOD books. Hmm. He is on the books as a freelance writer for Fighting Words, which he joined just in case they needed extra money for college. They didn’t, so he never wrote anything for them. That might change soon. He just needs some more practice.
It’s New Year’s Eve. “A toast to the baby!”
“Err, yes, to the baby!”
“Should you be doing that in your condition?”
We went to a restaurant, but I have to remember not to do that for New Year’s. All the waiters just start watching TV and we never get our food. We had to eat from the bar.
But we saw Eliana
“This is going to be the best year ever!”
We hope so too.
Good thing someone is here to rescue these.
And Julius contemplates commitment on the morning of his wedding.
We figured out how to have a wedding at the Casbah Gallery, finally… just had to turn the lot type from Arts Center to Museum beforehand. Such a lovely spot for an art lover to get married.
Nicola looked beautiful.
Julius looked, well, like his adorable self.
Okay, not all the new spouses’ random outfits turned out well. I hadn’t bothered with CAS for them yet. Clearly.
Uh-oh. This is Nobuya, their old university classmate. He wasn’t invited. Julius and Nicola met when Nicola was dating Nobuya.
Is he here to settle an old score?
Well, maybe not. Not unless the old score was against the trash can.
There were actually a LOT of random townies kicking over trash cans during this wedding. Julius is a slob and doesn’t care, but today of all days he is determined that his squeamish bride not be troubled by any mess. He drafted Tamir for can duty.
And it turned out to be a great party.
With, also, soccer.
The soccer-playing, dancing children made Madeleine really unhappy.
And afraid of becoming a mother. And not feeling well.
“You can do it,” Grandma Ragamuffin says.
Julius is off to work at the science lab! Cool uniform!
Luka! You never told us you worked here as a mad scientist. Maybe you weren’t allowed to say.
Julius digs for minerals
and tinkers
and invents things
by discussing them with his good friend the Invention Constructor
Here he has invented a Simray. Let’s test it!
Wow, that could be used to Freeze people!
Okay, um, let’s unfreeze you manually just to be on the safe side
The lab tech was a bit chilly for a while afterward.
Julius makes sure to praise the work ethic of his subordinates both before and after testing the simray on them.
SCIENCE IS AWESOME
Now let’s add a Transform setting. Testing…
Okay, we transformed it to make it be on fire. Fortunately the freeze ray works on objects too.
Testing again…
Transformed! …into a somewhat worse chair.
Testing serums. This is supposed to be a Red Hot serum for making people angry.
It seems to have made Luka sad instead.
Julius tried it himself, and it tasted more tingly than anything. Huh.
Another great idea. If we had a satellite dish, maybe we could contact the aliens!
The aliens called us back! On… my phone? And they use emojis?
Madeleine’s big day came. Here she is in labor. Coping in her own way.
And here is little Peregrine!
See? You made it. I told you you could do it.
And now a post-partum nap while Grandma Ragamuffin steps in.
Dad is totally delighted.
Madeleine was happy at first
But somehow Tamir found himself doing all the baby care
And writing late into the night
While Madeleine has drinks with the ancestors. At least she’s enjoying the family.
One night Julius went to investigate a weird light out back…
It became brighter
Up, up, and away! I’m so excited
Julius returned home soon enough
The aliens wore him out
and he loved it!
I was rather disappointed to discover he wasn’t pregnant. I also can’t wait to actually meet an alien in-game. We’ll keep trying.
Peregrine aged up. He is a wild toddler who is constantly getting into things and fussing.
And yelling, and fussing.
Madeleine was at the end of her rope on day 1. Toddlers are loud insane monsters! And they smell bad! Why can’t you act like a normal person just for one day?
Mommy poopy head!
Peregrine has a better friend in Ragamuffin, whom he calls Gamma Raga
Gamma Raga is happy to share love and happiness anytime
Marcellus has never stopped being a good dad either
Real dad is pretty great too.
On Love Day, Madeleine demanded to be allowed to go off and play soccer and just have a day to be her own person. So she did. But it wasn’t everything she had hoped.
Nicola demanded a date with Julius. He wasn’t about to say no.
Ragamuffin and Cameron went out. Nice try, freegans.
The triplets had been talking about a Mt. Komorebi climbing adventure since they were teenagers. They decided, life was getting more complicated and they weren’t getting any younger. It was now or never. The weekend spring ended, they went off together, planning to stay until they made it to the peak, or until they ran out of vacation days, whichever came first.
Julius and Tamir trained all day every day. (Vincent isn’t part of the household anymore so his skills have fallen behind, but he’s happy to be on the trip for the company, even if he isn’t going up the mountain.)
Okay, I know a broom might seem like cheating, but if it’s more dangerous than the actual climb does that really count as cheating?
Julius prefers building his rock climbing skill by a cozy fire with a book. The funny part is, he has the Night Owl reward trait and is often focused due to being a Genius, so he actually is gaining skill faster than Tamir.
All vacation, Julius would not shut up about the aliens.
And he called them. Even here.
Maybe, just maybe, he might think about embracing some long-term changes in his life.
So stay tuned for summer.
Summer will be the conclusion of Ragamuffin Jones' legacy, or at least, an end to Act One.
With 32 seasons, 5 generations, and 6 real-life months we had a good run. I'm kind of done with the Pinstar legacy rules at least for a while. I want to play smaller families for a while, and we're not getting that in a legacy with 2 permanent ghosts. (Don't want to get rid of the ghosts either; Ragamuffin Jones is not Ragamuffin Jones without Ragamuffin Jones, dontcha know.)
And I hope you will enjoy the final chapter. I think it's a satisfying ending point.
The Jones home is a beautiful place to be a child. Oooo! What does this do?
Peregrine has so many people around, living and dead, who love him. If only his mother could.
Cousins Antoinette and Cassiel aged up to teen. Antoinette looks exactly like Eliana and Cassiel looks exactly like Diego.
Meanwhile, the triplets were ready to climb the big mountain! They had finally gotten their rock climbing skill high enough— Tamir by actually climbing walls, and Julius by reading the skill book at night. Julius got to level 6 first, as a matter of fact.
But at the foot of the mountain Julius received a disturbing phone call from Nicola at home. “I have sad news,” she told him. “Your Aunt Eliana just passed away.”
“There’s more,” Nicola said. “I’m concerned about Madeleine and Peregrine. She’s never been warm to him, and now it’s as if she is looking for an excuse to crush him every chance she gets. I’m worried. Can you and Tamir come home soon please?”
“I was homesick for you already,” Julius said, “and all that makes me want to come home sooner. We will come home right after we finish climbing the mountain. We are about to start now. Wish us luck!”
Julius wasn’t planning to use his broom to cheat. Among other things, the weather wasn’t great, and he was worried about getting blown off course if he flew. Potions on the other hand are not cheating. They are help. Like right after they made it up the very first wall and Tamir realized he’d forgotten to go before leaving the house
Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered!
Made it up the second wall. Yeah!
Goodness the scenery is beautiful, even in bad weather.
The Croft Icefall… biggest challenge and it was snowing hard. They took a breather at the bonfire first.
Julius didn’t actually need to nap, thanks to the potions, but on general principle he felt he should
Made it! We will remember this moment forever.
And then what do you do once you’ve reached the peak, but build snowpals and play the violin
Magically, they did not need to climb DOWN the mountain, nor was there any way I could find to get down from the peak (???) They enjoyed some relaxation time afterward, but didn’t stay long. They were both homesick and worried.
After arriving home, Julius was quite popular with the aliens, who kept blowing up his phone at night
And abducting him again
No pregnancy yet… but family-oriented Nicola has decided she’d like to try it. (The regular way.)
Madeleine and Peregrine were constantly pushing each other to be the worst they could be. It was sad. Peregrine would yell and defy her
and she would make his poor little spirit wilt.
One day Madeleine was in the middle of yelling, laid her hand on Julius’s simray, and could not control her worst angry impulses. She set it to Freeze and demanded just five minutes’ peace, NOW
Tamir came running but he was too far away to stop it
Julius yelled, “There’s a safety feature on it! You can’t freeze children!”
Tamir yelled, “What in the world do you think you’re doing to our child? That could have been very dangerous!”
“I didn’t want to be a mother anyway, and here you leave me with him for days on end while you go play mountain climber? And then you have the nerve to tell me how to be a mother?”
“I can tell you that I don’t want anyone caring for my son who I can’t trust with his safety.”
“Maybe you don’t need me around then! Maybe none of you do.”
By the end of a long, angry, tearful conversation, Tamir and Madeleine had decided to get divorced. Peregrine didn’t understand exactly what was happening, and he took out his feelings on the dollhouse. It didn’t help.
Ragamuffin and Cameron debated what to do for Peregrine.
“I’m not sure what the best thing to do here is, but, I’ll start by fixing the thing I can fix.”
“I suppose this means you’re not going to be on the soccer team any-“
“NO I AM NOT.”
Kiddo, I will always be here for you.
Tamir poured his feelings into writing a sad book.
And caring for Peregrine.
Even if this victorious mountain climber is still so clumsy that he can’t handle floors sometimes.
Peregrine aged up, with these outfits. I love them both. It’s possible he will be non-binary one day; it’s also possible he just loves pink and unicorns as much as he loves blue and soccer.
It was a terrible birthday. He missed his mother. His father was preoccupied. He couldn’t face trying to go to school. He didn’t understand what was happening to his family or who he was supposed to be. That afternoon he ran down the front stairs when no one was looking and just kept going. He met a friendly trucker bound for a faraway town and rode with him until he finished his run at a warehouse near a train station. Peregrine wandered among the train tracks.
He met a lady with a bag on her head.
Seems like everyone wears a bag here.
Some people only wear a bag.
Peregrine met Kurt. Sometimes, all you need on a lousy day is one friend who understands you. They connected immediately. And he had the best-looking bag of all.
Peregrine and Kurt went on a long walk together
until Peregrine got sleepy.
The summer evening was getting chilly suddenly. He wished he wasn’t out in the open. Hmm, this looks like a comfortable shelter
He was so exhausted that he fell asleep immediately.
Before long
Grandma Ragga knows this trick. She is an old freegan.
“Out you get!”
“We were all so worried about you!”
“Now don’t you DARE do anything like that EVER AGAIN!”
The yelling was well-intentioned but it made poor Peregrine’s spirit crumple
Ragamuffin and Peregrine went walking and sat together on a bench by the water.
Peregrine shared his feelings about his family falling apart, and his worries about growing up and fulfilling the expectations around him. Ragamuffin assured him that no matter what, he had lots of love around him. “Most kids just have their parents. You have your dad, your uncles, your grandma Cecilia, your great-uncle and great-aunt, your great-grandpa Marcellus who loves you extra much, great-great-aunt Fletcher, and Grand-Cameron and me. And you might not believe this now, but you will make friends at school and everywhere you go.”
“You are a sensitive and loving child. Your mother made your life hard at the beginning. But sometimes, people who have felt that way are the best at understanding and caring for others who feel that way later on. You have a special spirit in you, and you are going to do wonderful things in your life.”
“Will you be there with me?”
Ragamuffin smiled and hugged him. “It’s a big world. I'll go wherever it takes you.”