Simulated Dictatorship

The SiMania Joint Legacy

2008-03-26T13:43:00.000-07:00

My favourite simming community, despite occasionally frequenting Boolprop, has got to be SiMania. It's a great place to hang out that has dozens of activities for members to participate in. I happen to be founding member of the SiMania Joint Legacy, and I've been enjoying it very much.

This is the founding couple. The red-head is Sally SiMania, a romance sim, and the guy in the brown hair - which is blonde now - is Phoebus, oblivious Family sim and male version of my simself.

This is the house they live in right now. Their daughter, Chrysanthemum (the naming theme is favourite things - I like long names and flowers) lives on the top floor while young Delphinius inhabits the room furthest to the left and in the back. I like this house a lot.

I'll be using this post to update on the status of the family.

LMS: Sierra O'Toole

2007-06-16T10:27:00.000-07:00

Little Miss Sunshine is a very popular competition on Boolprop.com for little girls. I stood back and watched last season as Bitsy's elf girl, Alithiliel Irlanth, won, and decided that I was going to give it a go.
There are tons of entrants for this competition, and I had to make some very tough choices. There were two possible girls floating around my head.
Sierra O'Toole was (and is) a skintone #1 girl with freckles, purple Lyran eyes, and crazy red hair.
Gloria Louise Kelly was skintone #4 with bright green eyes and equally crazy black hair.
Sierra was loud and rambunctious and loved sports.
Gloria Louise was calm and understanding, and excellent at math.
Sierra's parents argued constantly but were always to busy to file for divorce. She had a live-in grandmother who was going a little senile in her old age and a little brother, Raymond. She was the family troublemaker.
Gloria Louise had two parents who were happily married, two older brothers, and one younger. Her grandfather was also live-in. She was the family peacemaker.

No matter which one won out, we'd probably be seeing the other anyway, as the two were best friends.

The fact was, Gloria Louise was far more striking appreance-wise, as most of the LMS entrants were white and Gloria had very interesting facial structure. Sierra would be just another girl compared to the others. However, story-wise, Sierra would be far more fun to write, and, as the competition wore on, I think we would have seen she wasn't just another entrant. After much hard thought, I went with the story, which was my strong point, and entered Sierra O'Toole.

Next season of LMS, Gloria Louise will be my entrant.

Little Miss Sunshine

Round 1
Sierra O'Toole

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Results
There are no results for this round.
Phoebe's Notes
The border has gaps! Augh!

Sierra O'Toole
Heeeey... It's you guys again!

This is me! I couldn't find any pretty pictures of me so I had to use my school picture - this one was in the Year Book. Yeah, I'm in a book! This is me looking 'reputable,' which is what my mom says when I let her put stuff in my hair and I wear dresses for her. Eww! I hate dressing up, but Mr. Svertski asked me to smile and I so I did because his accent is sooo funny! He said he didn't mind, even though mom said I was being real rude.

Anywaaay, speaking of mommy, this is her and daddy! Her big name is Candice Darwen O'Toole and my daddy's is Emmett Lloyd O'Toole. Mostly, they argue a lot and are busy, busy, busy! This is because my daddy is a lawyer and he's good at fighting and he's busy because he has to make sure we have lots of...uh...inkum! I don't really get inkum very much but it's all about money and stuff, and it'll pay for me to go to Yale! That's what mommy says. She's busy, busy, busy because the next book club meeting needs organizing real bad, and if Lauren won't do it then Mrs. Glick will and that means Fanny can't come because she'd allergic to cats! After that dad eats, and then mommy asks him why he won't ask her about her day, dangit, and that it's an important key in the relationship! And then daddy tells her - real loud - that he has lots of work to do, thanks, and then he leaves. Grandma says it's 'cause they're too busy to get, um, div... er... unmarried. Ed.

This is her, my Grandma Jenny. She's lived with us since Grandpa Morris died. This is 'cause old people need lots of other people around them and 'cause she's a danger to herself! I dunno what that means but mostly she babysits my little brother and sometimes she calls me Lila but that's ok because then I tell her, Granny, I'm Sierra! And then she says oh yes, you are aren't you, and why don't I go watch Leave It To Beaver? (I've read a lot of books about beavers, and they don't actually leave the'yre dams (oops, not allowed to say that) very much so Grandma Jenny is wrong!)
And so I usually wander off. Sometimes, when my little brother Raymond Jared O'Toole - I call him Ray-Ray - is awake we play and he'll tell me about his bunny, Fifi, who is very much a part of our family and then we'll go on an, er, expect-ishin downstairs and then he'll fall over and cry! I help him up but he's quite a little wimp and someday I will show him how to be big and strong like me!

Whenever I think of sissys, of course I think of my friend Charles Gillespie Gaiman!(I really like his name) This is because is just about the wimpiest I know! He's the one with his head down in this picture and that's because he's a soooooore loooooser! I am very good and kicking people's butts in Kick-The-Can and he keeps trying to prove me wrong! Of course, this always ends up in him whining, but then we have lemonade and tease the girly-girls who are afraid to play a little soccer with us tough kids and they flip their hair at us!
But the other kid in this picture is my other best friend, Niko! He has a big name, too - Nikolai Escher Amin Jameson! He doesn't like to talk to very many people except me but he's never a sore looooser like Charlie and that's why he's smiling all big. My other friend is Gloria but she isn't in this picture! She was sick because her neighbour's pit pull ate her ankle! I bet it was real bloody! We sent her a get well card in the, um, hospitable.

Anyway, when Charlie and Niko aren't around and Ray-Ray is sleeping, I go outside and play around! Our big fat yard is another thing I have to thank my daddy's big inkum for! I run around and get real wet in the fountain and sometimes - and you have to promise not to tell Charlie or Niko this because it's real unbarrasing - I pretend I'm a princess trapped in a tower! And then my mom will stick her head out that window and say, fer gossake, Sierra, what on earth are you doing up in that tree and get inside right now and take a shower and then I have to go and do that 'cause - whazzat? Nope, no wrapping paper. Oh, you mean finish up? Okay!
Well, in review - that's what Mr. Svertski says in history which is real boring, by the way and - oh, sorry, Ms. Camera Lady. Anyway, I hope you'll come around again sometime because Niko's not picking up his phone and Charlie is visiting his Auntie Carol and Gloria is obviously still in her hopsitable and Ray-Ray's got a flu and mommy says I need to learn some responsibility and not let him fall down the stairs anymore, dangit, Sierra! Yeah. Um, bye!
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Results
N/A
Phoebe's Notes
The pictures for this round were accidentally taken in medium size, so they don't look as nice as they could. However, I loved writing it! It was very hard to stop writing Sierra-style afterwards.
And yes, Gloria did get bitten by her neighbour's pit bull. Evil doggies.

Current Status: Eliminated

TLE: Alithilien Inathirielle

2007-06-16T09:48:00.000-07:00

Alithilien Inathirielle is a little elf boy who just moved to Veronaville and is having trouble fitting in. I created him for The Little Elf competition at Boolprop.com. I thought that entering a few competitions would be good practice for taking photos ingame, and it's been lots of fun competing with so many already experienced competition entrants!

The Little Elf

Round 1
Alithilien Inathirielle

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Results
Pros:
great setup for the shot, I love the little house and all in the background. I like the simple framing around the image too.
I like seeing part of the house in the background as well as trees.
Cons:
I'm not sure what your little boy is looking at, and he don't seem very enthusiastic. I wish he was either looking at the camera or involved with an activity to turn his attention to.
The border is a bit wobbly around the edges like it was drawn freehand.
Tips on How to Improve:
I'd love it if your elf was more animated so we could get more of a feel for the kind of elf you have.
Phoebe's Notes
I was a little embarassed when I read the judgings for this round. The border was actually hand drawn! This was the first entry to a competition I'd ever entered. Can you tell I've improved?

Round 2
Alithilien Inathirielle

I knew the instant my dad told me we were going to the human park that I was doomed. I had been planning on spending the rest of my life locked in my room after I found out we were moving to Veronaville.

Sure enough, all the kids were jerks. They talked about me behind my back and thought I couldn't tell! Idiots. I was about to consider sneaking back to the new house until someone tapped me on the shoulder.
"They're nicer once you get to know them."

This girl said her name was Bottom Summerdream, and she was an elf, too! The people in Veronaville had been unfriendly at first, but now they liked her. I couldn't help but think that maybe they'd like me, too! We talked and played for hours.

Too soon, it was dark and dad said I had to go home.
"Bye, Bottom! I'll see you soon, I promise!"
Wow. I hope I see her again. Maybe she'll be in my class at Othello Elementary...
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Results
The Scene: 4.22
The Pose: 4.05
The Photography: 4.27
The Story: 4.66
The Instructions: 4.33

Total: 17.31
Comments:
"I liked the very different take this entry took. I also liked his picture being in the speech bubble in the background."
"Story was very cute and original. I had completely forgotten about Bottom Smmerdream!"
"Your 2nd image is one of my favorites out of all of the entries. Perhaps that's just because I can associate with the charcter/story but I still like it a lot. In your first image the thought bubbles a rather distracting. And not to nit pick, but I felt like his arms were at a funny angle in your first shot. But everything else; the bushes in the 2nd image, the entire scene and the cute wave in the thrid image, and his dejected look in the first image a just great. Looking forward to your next entry."
Phoebe's Notes
I like this entry, but looking back, I'm immensely glad I turned up the picture size on my computer. It really makes all the difference, doesn't it?

Round 3
Alithilien Inathirielle
Today would have been Beltane. If we had still lived with the other elves, that is. It was just like any other boring, stupid human day. At least, that's what I thought. Then father told Theniea, my older sister, and I, that we were going for a walk. It was almost night! I thought he'd gone crazy for sure.

We walked down the block as darkness fell and arrived at a house on the corner. As Theniea and I followed our father up the stairs, I looked around. It seemed to be a perfectly average house, what was so special about yellow stucco?
Dad knocked on the door. It slid open. The one thing I noticed immediately about the beaming man in the doorway was that his skin wasn't like the other citizens of Veronaville's skins - it was green! I could see his birthmarks inlaid in carefully above his eyes. He was an elf! Father grinned.
"Henrik!"
"Ideliann! I thought you weren't coming!"
"We couldn't miss Beltane, especially when we knew you'd all be here."
"Well, I'm glad you're here. This is Theniea, then?"
My sister inclined her head courteously.
"And Alithilien! The last time I saw you, you were just an elfling! Come in!"

It was a big house with a modern, flowing design. By piecing together bits of conversation, I gathered that Henrik lived here with his wife, Amithilia, and their roommates, Sarai and Jiaran. They were all elves. I'd thought that moving to Veronaville meant no more Beltane!
Jiaran, a gigantic elf with coal black eyes and dark skin directed me outdoors.

A fire was blazing, as per tradition. Around it stood several elves - Bottom among them! I ran over to her.
"Bottom! Where've you been? I haven't seen you all week!"
"I'm sooo sorry - we had to plan for this whole thing, you know, and then Mercutio and Puck got into an awful row - it's all ok, now, though. Marshmallow?"
It was a white, fluffy cylinder that positively reeked of artificial humanity.
"You put it on a stick," Bottom explained.
The marsh-melon was a lot better burned to a crisp. Bottom and I danced and played all night long.

Finally, after playing and talking with the other elves for hours on end, we walked home. I stumbled, tired, into bed and fell immediately asleep. I was never going to forget this year's Beltane!
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Results
The Scene: 3.88
The Pose: 3.88
The Photography: 3.94
The Story: 4.5
The Instructions: 4.5

Total: 20.7
Comments:
"I really liked your story, especially the part about marshmallows! Keep up the good work."
"Could have had closer pictures."
"I thought I should add that one judge wanted to give you a 5.5 on your story!"
Phoebe's Notes
I had to think a lot to come up with an idea for this round. Really, the solution was obvious. Alithilien would be moping around thinking there was no chance he'd get to celebrate Beltane and then he learned that he and the Summerdreams weren't the only elves in Veronaville! Still, the borders are crummy. I'm glad I figured out how to work them at long last.

Round 4
Alithilien Inathirielle

Today got off to a bad start. I forgot to read a chapter of Hamlet, the book we're discussing in school, and at recess, those two Monty boys, Mercutio and Romeo, pushed me off my swing and told me that elves belonged far away in the woods and I should leave. What jerks! When I came home, I was still busy stewing on the unfairness of it all when I heard crying from my sister's room. I ran upstairs.

"Theneia, what's the matter?" I've never known my sister to cry before.
"Romeo Monty is the matter," she sniffed through sobs. I handed her a hankerchief.
"Thanks." She wiped her eyes. "He's awful. He told me my leaves were ugly and I didn't belong here and a lot of other mean things..."
She dissolved into tears again.
I patted her on the back, burning with anger. I wasn't going to let him pick on my sister like that!

If there's anyone who's an expert on pranking, it's Bottom. She came over the same afternoon and I told her all the mean things that the Monty boys had done. Of course, she immediately had an idea.

A minute later, we were on the phone and Bottom was dialing the Monty's number. Isabella Monty answered.
"Monty house."
"Hiii, this is Juliet... Can I like, talk to Romeo pleeease?"
"Juliet, eh? Wait until Patrizio hears about this..."
I had lapsed into silent laughter at the high-pitched voice Bottom had used to imitate Juliet. She shoved the phone into my hands and I quickly pulled it to my ear, clearing my throat.

"Heya, babe - Romeo speaking!"
Yeah, that was him all right.
"Young man, do you know who I am?" I barked.
"Juliet?" said Romeo uncertainly.
"I'm Consort Capp, and I have recently been informed that you have been... canoodling with my granddaughter!"
"No such thing has happened, sir," stuttered Romeo.
Behind me, Bottom snorted. I contained a laugh.
"Don't lie to me, boy! Now, unless you want another severe reprimanding, You should straighten up! Understood?"
"Yessir!"
"I should certainly hope so! Good-bye!"
I slammed down the phone before Bottom and I fell into fits of laughter. Those Monty boys sure won't be bothering us again!
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Results
PhoebethePreble
Alithilien Inathirielle

The Scene: 4.56
The Pose: 4.69
The Photography: 4.31
The Story: 5
The Instructions: 5

Total: 23.56
Comments:
"This was one of my favorite stories by far. I love the creativity that went into this entry. Your scene building and photography have improved a lot since the beginning of this competition and you are also starting to shake Alithilien up and get him into some character revealing poses. Great work, keep it up!"
"Great plot ideas! I like. It's awesome that he defends his sister like that. Your poses were very creative and energetic. Just keep an eye on balance and and centering your subjects in the image. Another great entry! Looking forward to the next."
Phoebe's Notes
I'm very proud of this entry. I think that the artistry - that is to say, the photography and bordering and such - finally lived up to the writing, which had been my strong point up until now. I can't wait for the next round!

Current Status: Eliminated

Welcome to Phoebe's Sims!

2007-06-16T09:05:00.000-07:00

Hi, I'm Phoebe, and this is my spiffy new Sims 2 blog. Exciting, ain't it? I play sims to on a G4 MacMini and a 10.4 OS X operating system. My current sim projects include a legacy challenge, now on generation three, and a joint neighbourhood group for the SiMania forum you can find here: http://calamitycoast.jennthesimmergirl.com/
Additionally, I'm currently participating in two competitions at the Boolprop forums (forums.boolprop.com), which you can see more about later.
Thanks for visiting!