Welcome back to the OWBC by PetTech! Here’s a random picture of Noodle and Miles together. Noodle is a nice enough stray. But he isn’t house broken and tends to sit somewhere until his needs are all most bottomed out- then go take care of them! Stupid cat!

While Noodle was silently terrorizing the bird I had something I needed to fix…

“Nemo, please sit down. I need to take that thing off your head.”

“wha ay ike my ukhet. At akes my eel afe.”

“This is not up for argument. Sit. Sit!” Deep breath, “Please?”

“You just had to go and make friends with my founder’s spouse on my next project and I really don’t want to try and write out a muffled conversation for you. It will be like Kenny from South Park and as much as I like that show, I would prefer that we didn’t go there.”

“Ine. Oo aht o aht.”

“Lets just…Ahh, where is the release on this thing? Oh wait, here it is” *whooshing air noises*

“I didn’t know you wore glasses!”

“See. Now you are going to make fun of me.”

“I’m not making fun (yet), There is a really handsome guy under there. In fact, you look a bit like my founder. It has to feel better without that heavy thing.”

“I feel so vulnerable. Are sure I can’t wear the helmet?”

*rolls eyes* “You are going to fit right in with my story.”

“You can go play with the other sim selves now. Just behave yourself around Catalina.”

“I prefer a certain purple lagomorph. She’s all plushy and soft.”

“I know you do and we’re not discussing that. She has a husband who I don’t have in my game. I don’t even want to know what he would do to you. You would probably be given a cursed girdle of femininity/masculinity and end up gender confused”

While my guests enjoy a game of Mahjong, I should get the show on the road. This is the college chapter of my OWBC. The Trueheart children and BBP and Lea’s daughters have enrolled together.

This should be interesting as Elizabeth and Inga Pie have 2 nice points shared between them.

But first, our heir apparent…

Prudence. Still an unfulfilled romance sim and still borderline crazy. I keep hoping she will break down at some point as I have had very few real problems with my bad apples.

She will become a grilled cheese sim once I get everyone pledged into the Trueheart House.

I had to move the kids out of the two story dorm I had been using as it seems to have become buggy and resetting did not fix it. Time was moving slow (one sim minute was about one real minute) and everyone was jittery.

So out with the old and in with the new dorm. The first day there they had a bad hail storm and Inga got caught in the outdoor space.

This is the picture I used for my cover. Who made Inga this angry?

Cort did, of course. These two had a couple of dates as teens and Inga is family so she glommed on to him pretty tightly. Cort however is a romance sim and a huge flirt. No sooner than they had settled into the new dorm he flirted with someone who was not her.

It was her. Inga’s older sister, Liz. Liz is a pleasure sim and she and Cort had three bolts (at the time) based solely on aspiration and zodiac. Their attraction score dropped later to two for some reason. Go figure I would get so much drama out of these two.

There will be a lot of chess cheating this time through. Olona is the only one who won’t do this and her logic is maxed. This dormie was one of three that Liz ‘test drove’ for compatibility in the romance department.

Cort had the best relationship with Lyndsay, my place holder, and was pledged in first. I then invited the whole group over and began pledging two at a time.

Bad idea. Inga does the slappy slappy and Liz goes straight to the ‘kick your ass’ mode. Both girls have zero body points and I have the fight club hack in so the fights take a long time, they gain fun from doing it and are raising their body score at the same time.

By the time I got them both pledged in and could control them again they’re relationship scores where around -100 and furious. Inga had broken up with Cort and he and Liz were doing the three bolt flirtation in Inga’s face. All I needed was some popcorn.

Poor Prue. I could change her aspiration at any time now but I keep hoping… It’s cruel, I know.

I made a few changes around the house as Olona and Lyndsay are both fortune and have those expensive object wants. This TV is monstrous and the picture quality for video games is rather poor. You’d think it would be better for 10,000 simoleons.

And the hot tub, while entertaining, kept glitching up on me so I took it out and put in a pool for those ‘play marco polo’ wants. I added a hammock too which you can’t see in this picture.

Feeling incredibly bad about Inga’s love life I called up the gypsy and paid full price. Mom, Dad you are going to be so proud…

Picture is a little dark, sorry.

She pulled the recently made over by Tin, Mr. Big- Adam Kalson. They have three bolts and he is a professional party guest. Kaching!

He has a big nose. But otherwise quite nice looking. Fortune/Family combos are really great and he is a great catch.

Now that Inga’s love life is sorted out and I will keep working on her relationship with her sister, my big issue is the campus coach and the stupid cow. The coach has been picking on Olona and they now have a negative relationship for some reason I missed as I was managing Inga’s date at the time.

He also keeps doing this. Which in a way is a good thing since I don’t believe she has any body points and will need some to pass her classes at some point. But the poor girl is always just so sad and while exercise is supposed to help you feel better emotionally. I don’t think it is doing very much for her.

As is common with all uni stories, the cow continues to be a pain the backside and no one likes her at all. In fact, the cow’s behavior would soon be her undoing.

Okay…Even with her in the low red the orb still worked. Let’s try that again Prue.

Much better. Prue went from red to platinum in about twenty four hours thanks to all the cheesy goodness being consumed in the house. Now it’s time to find her a beau. I still have a blind date for her to go on.

Speaking of dates…

“So dad kissed her on the hand and bang zowie! They fell in love.”

“Your father, what does he do for a living? “

“He’s a platform jumper.”

“I’m sorry? A what?”

“A platform jumper- You know a gamer.”

“Ahh, he helps to design those amusing diversions that so many people are addicted too. Was he born here in Pleasant View?”

“Nope. He’s a sim self. Mom too. And my auntie Lorin. She’s not my real aunt. We just call her that.”

“Do you have any other siblings besides Liz?”

“My brother. He’s part astronaut.”

“You mean an alien.”

“That’s what I said.”

“No you… What is his name? I’d love to meet him and your parents.”

“Titus. He’s a musician. I suppose I could invite them over for a party and introduce you.”

“ I think that would be most proper. After all, You don’t want to surprise them with me. Do you?”

“I guess not. They are pretty normal people, Adam. Not all high society like you.”

“I’m sure they are just as charming as you my dear. I may have been raised with the best of everything but I am not a snob.”

Things seem to be looking up for Inga. They have a very natural way together.

And Inga’s feelings for Adam were obvious to everyone in the house. She and her sister were at least talking now though she was avoiding Cort as much as possible.

I decided that a visit with the gypsy might be a good thing for Liz too. While she and Cort have two bolts still, neither one of them roll wants to interact with one another. Plus, I see Cort as a playboy that is not planning on settling down anytime soon, much like Alexander was before him.

Let’s see what five grand gets us…

Seriously? Ashley Pitts? Liz apparently has a thing for romance sims. Three bad conversations later and this date was over.

Now she has just gone too far. She made my beautiful Olona cry! It’s on udder girl! Either by the end of this you will be dead or college will be over. *opens build catalog, puts in special fencing. Pulls up cheat window- “moveobjects on”*

You know, for a girl with ten nice points that’s a very evil look. I’m so proud.*sniff, wipe away tears* Back to what I was doing… *grab cow and move*

One cow in a stock yard! *”moveobjects off”* Let’s see who can last longer. Me or you Bessie!

The next day and it’s time to see if we can pull a proper spouse out of that crystal ball of yours. Lay it on me gypsy lady!

Huh! A waiter with green eyes. I love green eyes! Name: Warren Buckingham. Aspiration: Family. Attraction: Two bolts. Excellent! And not too bad looking to boot!

According to the rules, I am allowed to give Prue commands during her date as long as I fulfill date wants only. They ended with a good date and a mutual crush. Afterward Warren hung around the house for a few hours and they autonomously played punch you, punch me and told jokes to each other.

Then Prue asked him to cuddle under the stars with her all by herself. I didn’t know they could do this automatically. I keep learning new things about this game. Who needs sims 3?

I think he’s a keeper. What do you think?

Speaking of keeping… See? I’m not completely evil. I’ve been feeding her. I’m sure by now she is all caught up and her school work as well. I’m even nice enough to let her sleep and not put a stereo in there with her to keep her awake.

With the date and spouse hunt taken care of, it’s time to get those portraits done. I’m not sure that they have to be done as the challenge ends when Prue becomes an adult but I like doing them.

And now for something completely different…

“In local news today, Police Chief Gilscarbo announced that he will be retiring to accept a job in the private sector. As you may recall, Gilscarbo recently negotiated a deal with SFO Corporation to donate three new police cars and protective equipment for the Pleasant View PD. Sources close to Chief Gilscarbo say that he was offered an executive position with SFO Corp. shortly after the police department received the new equipment. Allegations of fraud have been made by some city council members against the Chief because of the timing of his retirement. Chief Gilscarbo had this to say…”

“Citizens of Pleasant View, it has been my honor and privilege to serve as the PVPD chief of police for several years now. Someone once said that all things that can change, will. Pleasant View has changed and so have I. The time has come for me to step out of this uniform and find a new way to serve the community.”

“I have been given a great opportunity with SFO Corporation as the CEO of the Pleasant View branch. SFO Corp. prides itself on it’s long standing record of giving back to the communities where they have established a presence. The gift of three new police cruisers and bullet proof vests for the entire police department is just the first of what will be many generous donations on their part.”

“Yes, the timing of my retirement seems suspicious. I can assure you that there were no laws broken during the negotiations for my job or the donated equipment. As regional CEO, I will continue to focus on the overall good of our community through outreach programs and refurbishment of our decaying buildings and landmarks. Thank you.”

“The mayor and police superintendent have already begun to look for a replacement for Gilscarbo. We here and SNBC wish him the best in his new position.”

“That was Auntie Lorin’s boss wasn’t it?”

“Yeah. I wonder if they will give the position to her.”

“She’s just a desk sergeant. I doubt it.”

Alright, back to the silliness.

Care and feeding of Bovines for Dummies

The cow is a social creature and should be housed with others of its kind or a suitable substitute such as horses or goats. Cattle left alone for prolonged times are prone to destructive behaviors and aggression. Because of their social nature they can be easily tamed and managed with very little effort.

Feeding the proper diet to bovines is essential. Especially for stock being maintained in small pens or feed lots. For pasture raised cattle, supplementation with grain or sweet hay will only be necessary if the pasture is over grazed or the animal is being raised for milk or meat production. As feed lots and stock yards are often devoid of grass upon which to graze, hay and grain must be made available. Fresh water must always be available as well.

Cattle regularly sleep standing up but will often settle in a sternal position with their front legs tucked under to rest and chew their cud. Any cow found laying in a laterally recumbent (on one side) position should be evaluated for illness or injuries.

Hygiene of the feed lot is vital. Due to often over crowded conditions a build up of mud and waste products will occur. Periodic scraping of the lot and a generous application of sawdust will reduce muddy conditions, remove wastes and reduce insect populations. All cattle should have their hooves inspected periodically for sign of softness or splitting which could indicate illness.

Housing of cattle during inclement conditions should always be considered. While cows are very resistant to certain levels of temperature variation. Extreme heat or cold may weaken an animal. Therefore shelters should be provided year round to buffer the wind and allow the animal to escape the rain, snow or intense sun.

Ahh…She stopped being fun at this point. When I first put her in Olona was in her last freshman semester. When this picture was took Olona had just become a junior. I made her selectable so I could see her panel. Everything was in the red, she was cold and she had stopped moving at all. She now just stands there and sleeps.

She got a love letter from her sweety. Or well, someone got one. Those disappear the instant they go into an inventory and I don’t know why.

I couldn’t seem to manage getting a shot of the trick, but the jumping up and being surprised should be sufficient to say she was able to do it. I didn’t want to waste more commands trying to get the picture.

The portraits are complete. Now she just has to write a novel for the scrapbook challenge to be complete.

Cort is the only one who rolls wants for parties in the house and unfortunately his guest list is kind of short. All his friends except his parents and the next place holder live in the house.

Inga invited her family over along with Adam to introduce them. However, Inga didn’t have the “introduce” command in her choices. So…

“Dad, I don’t seem to be able to introduce you to my boyfriend. Would you mind if I influence you to talk to him?”

“Not at all pumpkin. Go right ahead.”

“Please go talk to Adam. *bats eyes* And be nice!”

“All righty. Adam is it? I’m BBP. Inga’s father. It’s nice to meet you. You can call me Blue.”

“You are my darling Inga’s father?”

“Yes.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. Why?”

“Because Sir, I don’t like you.”

“Ahh… A little help?”

I’m not sure why the exchange went so badly. I will try again later in a different setting. Maybe dinner at your house or something. Don’t you just love this grimace?

Gypsy date number two for Liz and we get deliveryman Mitch Wolosenko. Another romance sim who was a least polite to Liz and didn't disagree with everything she said. They have a two bolt attraction as well.

It’s official. Warren will be the next Trueheart spouse. I’ve been having to import him for visits with Inge’s teleporter cat as he always seems to be at work. It’s a little cheat but he doesn’t ever show up for her to call.

Seriously guys? It’s the middle of winter with two feet of snow on the ground and you choose to go swimming or streak. I hope you are not offended by the lack of pixel blur- her arm covers the goods just fine.

Yep! I wasted two of Prue’s commands to paint a picture of the cow in her stock yard. It’s a good thing I did too as a couple of days later Inga became glitched while using the phone and I had to reset the lot and this happened…

Heh heh heh! I guess she was glitched too. Now I have a haunted lot and I can clean up this mess. I was kind of hoping for death by flies but hey, any port in a storm…

What happens when you leave one nice point sims alone when they return from class. Two are Inga’s. One belongs to Liz.

The new one is named Jeffry. Apparently word hasn't spread about how Steffi died yet.

I did finally find a solution to my eye issues with Prue and Cort. I still don’t know why they have brown eyes as I’m only vaguely familiar with simPE but I found a hack that makes any default eye color into a contact. So now at least they have the right brown eyes instead of the flat Maxis ones.

It occurred to me that Olona still didn’t have a special other yet. It’s gypsy time once again. If you don’t remember (why would you). Olona is turned on by joblessness and formal wear and hates zombies. Since I don’t have any male zombies in the hood we are safe there.

Five thousand simoleons gets us…

More green eyes! Meet Jay Vijayakar (anyone who can pronounce that get a gold star), He doesn’t have a job but is a fortune sim.

Three lightening bolts and a first kiss and you have one dream date. What? She never brought home one single teen she liked, so no first kiss till now.

There is one not so small problem though. Part of me wants to see how that profile will affect their children the other part of me says why should I destroy her beauty with this beak!

Here’s how much I paid attention to this guy. Go back nine slides and look closely at the streaker. Yep, it’s him. I never seem to be able to catch the streaker for anyone to talk to but happen to spot his name during her senior year. I knew that beak looked familiar.

Meet two very happy pleasure and fortune sims. Liz’s aspiration requires some micro management, so when the expensive game want popped back up I fulfilled it. It just so happened that Lyndsay wanted one too.

Another date for Inga and Adam at the newly refurbished Botanical Gardens restaurant.

“I can’t believe you told my father that you don’t like him. Everybody likes him.”

Yes, that is Brian Trueheart standing behind her. He was a generation one spare.

“I’m appalled by my behavior as well.”

“Then why’d you do it?”

“I…I have no proper excuse. It was as if I acted by instinct. I very much wish to apologize to him for the incident. Do you suppose he would speak with me again?”

“Well, he’ll have to.”

“Why is that dearest?”

“Because we are getting married. No matter what he says. Do you like it?”

“It’s beautiful, but this is highly improper. I’m supposed to ask you.”

“It’s the twenty first century and I’m tired of waiting. What do you say?”

“Yes. Of course. We will have to arrange a proper ceremony once you graduate.”

“You do have a home…right?”

“My sweet, I have a palace in need of a princess.”

True love. Some things just can’t be denied.

As you can see I took out the annoying weeping willow and birch tree, gave the place a roof and went oriental with the theme. There are still lots of plants, just not the ones that interfere with viewing the lot.

Since this is getting a little long and I have tons of pictures I could use but don’t want to bore you- let’s just skip past the parties and the dates that were generally unexciting and move on to the graduations.

Lyndsay managed a 3.5 in biology (she wants to be a doctor) and grew up into ok clothes. She will be moving in with Titus very soon.

Cort, after managing to seduce 4 different young ladies during his time at college collected a 3.4 gpa in literature and will be looking for a rock band to call his own. He really looks like his father now.

Prudence lost her hair color and her sense of modern fashion. She just had to go out in a wacky manner. She managed a 3.3 gpa in Art and will be getting married very soon.

Olona did much better in the clothes department but they just aren’t her. Next time you see her she will be back to her stylish self. Unless her beau convinces her that naked is better.

She did the best of all of them with her schooling. A 3.9 gpa in Biology and Magna Cum Laude honors. She actually was the only one who wanted to graduate.

Liz collected a 3.0 in Art and managed to end up wearing some of the worst clothes in the catalog. Don’t worry we will fix that. She never settled on any one guy having been on dates with three overall.

Last but not least, Inga with a polo shirt, mini skirt combo that will just not work for the young woman who is about to marry Mr. Big. The house was left in the hands of a place keeper who is insignificant to this tale.

Hehehe! Don’t worry. The cows haven’t come home and this challenge isn’t over yet. I have two big weddings and a family reunion to arrange and you are invited to all three. The last chapter of the Trueheart family should be up soon.

I hope my sticking a little teaser in for my upcoming legacy didn’t bother you. Since you read this, it means that you will be a little bit ahead on the first mystery of my twisted tale.