Widespot Grapevine #9

Fall (or Autumn) has come and gone:

In early autumn Ms. Prudence Pennington rented the corner home previously owned by the Beech family. The Pennington home sits on a corner lot facing the Highway and within easy walking distance of both local shops and Widespot Community School. The Beech family are her very nearby, next door neighbors.

Pru, a partner at Creative Visions of Crowborough (where she previously resided), intends to become a City Planner. She is a Land Grant University Honors graduate. When Lana (Pennington) Mann passed away Pru became the last known living Pennington descendent of James Ryan Pennington the 3rd (known as J.R.). J.R. was a famous, wealthy Architect.

When Rich Mann decided to hide out in..er..move to Widespot his wife, Lana, set her sights on renovating the mansion that she had inherited - located just outside of what was then the town limits. However, Rich had ideas of his own. For one thing, the old Pennington Mansion (designed by J.R. himself) sits in plain view alongside of the highway. Rich Mann required a less noticeable location. And, so, the original Mann home was built out of sight on Side Spur.

After Lana Mann passed Pennington Manor was passed down to Pru who, despite her relationship to Lana, was considered by second generation Widespot residents to be an outsider. In fact, Widespot locals, behave to this day as if they have ownership of Pennington Manor. There is reason for this mindset. J.R. Pennington's fame and influence did not die with him. His old home is a Widespot tourist attraction. Despite its state of disrepair the structure is considered to be of historical significance.

When it became known that an outsider had begun restoration or Pennington Manor locals saw this as uninvited interference in the status quo.

The restoration was to take several years during which time it was necessary for Pru to every so often be on site. Naturally, she would take meals at Peni's Diner, purchase petrol for her car at the Sinclair station and occasionally bought picnic supplies at the Family Grocery.

Before it became known who Pru is, and that she was not merely passing through, she was greeted in a friendly manner leaving her to believe; quite mistakenly, that Widespot is not only a close knit town, but, a welcoming one. It had been hoped that whoever was refurbishing the mansion would make it available for sale. After all, "Who would really want to live in such a small, boring, remote place?"

The WRC set up a fund that would allow the town to purchase what was (in their minds) town property to begin with. The idea for this fund had been the "brain child" of Penny Weiss.

And then, overtime, locals came to realize that Pru, who had adopted a young child (blonde, blue eyed Sharlene), intended to eventually move into Pennington Manor.

Penny took this news quite badly. She and others set out to shun Pru hoping that "giving the cold shoulder" would quickly "change her tune". (Oddly, despite her intense dislike of Pru, Penny took a shine to little Sharlene to the point where the child was remembered in Penny's will. ("After all, the child can not help who her mother is.")

Pru did manage to become friends with Rita Mann, Woody Weiss and, most importantly - with elderly Scot Land.

Scot land never lost hope of children and grandchildren. Pru wanted a family and had no interest in or time for romance or marriage. Shortly befor his death Scot found the courage to approach Pru with a mutual, business like solution. Pru agreed. Pru later made an appointment at the Fertility & Conception clinic as agreed to. It took three visits to achieve positive results. And so, Scot Land became, posthumously, a father. :lovestruc

When its renovation is complete Prudence will move into Pennington Manor.

Widespot Grapevine # 10

Introducing Miss Prudence Pennington!

A bit of background; Widespot RFD is a sub hood of Crowborough (a custom neighborhood by Klaartje for Sims who either own a venue or who have a home business - or both!), To this I added Peni's Land Grant University where I created a student whom, upon graduation, moved to Crowborough.

The student was Miss Prudence Pennington. Miss Pennington, a master florist, opened a florist shop as a home business. At this time she also enlisted in the military, When her enlistment was up she adopted a little girl, Sharlene. While searching for employment in the Architecture career field, Pru focused on her florist shop. After being hired on at Creative Visions she opened her shop only on days off.

Some of her off days and week ends were spent out in Widespot where Pennington Manor was (and yet is) being restored.

For this to become interesting both as gameplay and as a story Prudence and Sharlene needed more playable Sims (fully fleshed with thier own history and back stories) to interact with. This is where Widespot RFD entered the scene.

As the florist shop flourished Pru found it needful to enlarge the shop using up the remaining garden space not already taken up by her green house. The tiny, one bedroom home then had no real garden - and no outdoor play area for Sharlene. Still, they managed. Progress on Pennington Manor was going smoothly. It would be only another 2 years, 3 at the most, until Pru could relocate there. And then...

...her dear, elderly friend, Scot Land, made an offer that she could not refuse. Sadly the first two procedures failed resulting in miscarriage. A few weeks following Scot's passing Pru learned that the 3rd, and final, try with this donor looked stable - and that she was carrying twins! "There is no way I can raise 3 children in this small home!"

It was early autumn when a taxi appeared in front of the, furnished vacant rental home next to the Beech family residence. Pru was by then heavily pregnant. Renting this place had not been easy! Betty Beech - Agaki did not want to rent to an outsider. It was the Land women, knowing that Pru was carrying Scot's babies, who convinced Betty to relent. "Besides, it's only temporary. She will soon enough move into her own place. Nothing can be done about that. Anyway, we need to think of Scot's children."

On the last day of fall Pru gave birth to twin sons Scot James and River Ryan Pennington. It did upset the Lands - the twins, "who ARE Lands" being given the wrong surname, "Those boys are LANDS - NOT Penningtons. And yet, nothing can be done about that either. Well, not now .."

Note: See post 726 for more details pertaining to Prudence.

Widespot Grapevine #11

FALL;

Late: Woody Weiss Elected Mayor. It was a close race between Woody and Betty Beech.
Late: Alien Abduction, Qunicey Weiss
Last Day: Adult Birthday, Vincent Hart


WINTER:

First Day: Move Out; Vincent Hart (from Land home)
Early: Move In; Vincent Hart (Hart Family Home)
Late: Passing, Julia Land. age 82
Late: Teen Birthday, Martha Land (day after Julia's death)
Late; Townie Move In, Benjamin Enriquez (not related to Blair E,), Weiss home, Reason - romantic relationship with Erin Weiss
Late: Birth. Boy, Marvin, Father is Quincey Weiss, Other parent is an alien Pollination Technician
Late: Elder Birthday, Retirement, Woody Weiss

SPRING:

Early: Toddler Birthday, Marvin Weiss

Early; New Home, Sunny Land ( Rosalynn & Martha) same size lot as original home of Homer & Beulah (Based on original Land home, updated with sunken foundation, green house, fishing pond, apple orchard) Sunny has continued the family's fresh produce business with the addition of fresh fish,

Late: Birth, A Son, Norman Weiss. Parents are Erin Weiss & Benjamin Enriquez.
Late; Birth, A Girl, Rosalynn, Mother is Sunny Land, other Parent is Alien Pollination Donor via the Fertility & Conception Clinic

SUMMER:
Early: Job Offer - accepted, Vincent Hart, Law Enforcement, Vice Squad
Early; Toddler BD; Rosalynn Land

Mid; Toddler BD, Norman Weiss (4th Generation)
Mid; Child BD, Marvin Weiss (4th Generation)
Late; Wedding. Woody Weiss and Emily McAuley
Last Day; Move Out. Woody & Emily Weiss (Woody wants children and the Weiss home was full up!)


NOTES: When Woody & Emily became engaged townie Emily had recently aged up to Elder. She and Woody (both Romance Sims) had what can only be called an autonomous friendship with romantic undertones. I ( the player and guiding hand) became aware of this only after elder Emily began to often visit the Weiss lot!

Emily, who also wants children, agreed to risk using an untested 'return to adult' concoction that Woody discovered among his father, Skye's, personal belongings. (And which Woody kept secret! Two vials remain, (OK, so...really I used the Bat Box!!)

FALL:

Early: Alien Abduction; Vincent Hart; Positive Pregnancy Test. Twins Expected

First Day:Move To New Home, Woody (age 79) and Emily Weiss (Marvelous Mid Century Modern)
Early; New Business, Wonderland Toys, Woody Weiss
Mid; Birth, A Boy, Woodrow Weiss (1/2 Alien, Green skin tone, Sim facial features) Parents are Woody (age 83) and Emily Weiss.

Early: Adult BD, Martha land. Martha is now a full partner (with Sunny) in the family organic produce & fish business,
Early; Child BD, Rosalynn Land

Mid Fall; Elder BD, Sunny Land (Sunny had hoped to marry, however, she has finds that being single to be fulfilling. She inherited the Family Clothing shop from her Aunt Julia. Between the shop and their small farm the Land ladies are doing quite well.

NOTE: Sunny and Martha have not heard from Leo since he moved to Sim Port City.

Late: Child BD, Norman Weiss

Late: Birth, Girl, Valarie Hart. half-alien, green skin tone (Parent is Vincent Hart)
Late: Birth, Girl, Virginia Hart, half-alien, green skin tone (Parent is Vincent Hart)

(UPDATED)

WIDESPOT GRAPEVINE # 12

Widespot Community School has, after hiring only local teachers and staff, opened its doors. Each student is handed a notebook in which they are required to keep a personal journal. When writing the first entry children and teens must answer a few, very specific questions relating to family history and home life. While the journals must be handed in at the end of each month students are assured that - "This is your very own private journal and need not be shared with family. Yes..not even with parents. Your teachers will respect your privacy."

Little Thelma Beech, in awe of authority, trusts what she is told and takes the mandatory journaling very seriously. Thelma's big cousin, a teen with more life experience, is skeptical. "So, teachers - and God knows who else - who just happen to also be gossipy neighbors and relatives are going to all of a sudden respect ANYONE'S privacy?"

And, yet, this is MANDATORY, Not complying will affect a students overall grade average and can result in being 'held back' or being denied a diploma.

The Community School also has a dress code requiring uniforms. There is one accepted hair style for all students in both the lower (children) and the upper grade (teen) class; tidy braids for girls and short 'clean cut' for boys.

It has been decided by the school board to include in the curriculum a course teaching Widespot history with the objective of, early on, instilling pride of and loyalty to their hometown - well seasoned with distrust of outsiders.

Knock knock. Anybody here?

So, anyway. My Veronaville/Widespot requires me to mull over where to go with some plotlines, so in the meantime I've spent the past couple months or so playing around with a 'hood consisting of Strangetown, Widespot, and Land Grant University. It's a heck of a combo. Putting it under a spoiler cut, because this will be looooong.



So, in short - so many boys born, so few girls! I'm really looking forward to seeing how some of the faces combine. I'm absolutely thrilled by some of the names that have been created by marriages, like Lola Mann (Lo-lo-lo-lo Lola...) and the possibility of others. (Buzz Wheels!) But right now, I'm feeling an itch to return to my original Widespot, not combined with any other 'hoods but with some sim bin families in it, which I haven't played in about a year.

Wow, you've been having some fun! I love Tank + Goldie; they're both shy Popularity sims with overwhelming fathers, so they should get each other at a gut level other people can't.

Keep posting. I'm listening, if nobody else is. I see a fair amount of play on tumblr (and reblog it all) and love seeing the different things people have done with it. But the people who are public with their interest generally are the tip of the iceberg. There's always more people doing things than writing/talking about them.

What would the maiden names be for the married sims in Widespot? I think we discussed this once and Sandy was Sandy Shores (or was it Sandy Shore?). What about Beulah and Lana?

Lana Lakes.
Beulah is tougher and I'm open to suggestions.

How do you pronounce Lana? I've always been uncertain about that one, and about why it's paired with "Mann"! (and "Lakes"!)

Beulah is tricky! I considered Beulah Park (which is both a racetrack in Ohio and a suburb of Adelaide) or Beulah London (Beulah is a fashion boutique, based in London). I also considered having it that Land was actually Beulah's original surname, which Homer took when they married (perhaps because her parents were slightly more supportive than his when they decided to get married, or just a bit less unpleasant). Homer could've been born as Homer James or Homer Runn, perhaps.

I am assuming that Daytona has never been married and that she was born Daytona Beech. In my game I am planning to create parents for her, so that they can be buried in the graveyard attached to Widespot's new church. Their names are Lytham & Anne Beech; they're named after an area that I lived near to (and visited often) as a child, the neighbouring seaside towns of Lytham and St. Anne's-on-the-Sea.

Beulah Full? ("Beautiful" since she kinda seems like she was a classy lady in her days). Beulah is pronounced "Byoolah" right?

Have to admit I downloaded Wideport ages ago and haven't really done to much with it, mostly played the Lands and the Harts (like both of them). Still remembered who Beulah is, since the though elderly lady who gets what she wants is a pretty memorable character. On Wideport as a whole I like the creative use of Badegame assets, especially things that a lot of players ignore in favour of Downloads/EP content and things even Maxis had no idea how to use on their premades. Shows that you don't need to have 4 GB of downloads to have varied Sims.

The only thing is that Junior Mann creeps me out, I'm sure he wasn't intended that way, but I'm getting "Deliverance" vibes from him.

I was really reaching for the pun with Lana. It's pronounced as "Land a Mann" and, for her maiden name "Land o'Lakes," a dairy company.

Nobody is "intended" any one way or another - they're your toys now, and however you interpret them is fine by me. "Deliverance," though? Is it the face sculpt?

Had to look at him again to make sure. I think part of it might be the face sculpt, he looks a bit like a blond Hank Hill... that combined with stuff that probably just doesn't translate from US culture to my own (a grown man calling himself Junior, those 1970s looking glasses and him living in an old house in the middle of a forest, in an area that was fairly isolated until recently) and gave that impression. He reminds me of someone form the Hinterland.
Then his father reminded me of the old man creature from "The Wall" video (and he's even a criminal mastermind!) and everything about the Mann family took on a sinister impression.
When he came over to see Candy when I was playing the Harts I was like "Run Candy! He'll lock you up and steal your shoes!"

Funny enough Skye Weiss, the actual hermit, doesn't give me any of those vibes. He seems like a nice old man with his alien children

It's just like how Dina Caliente reminds me of Jerry Lewis (the smile) and a very unpleasant relative of mine (the bleach blond hair and spray tan)

Hey, the Manns are sinister, no doubt about it! I wouldn't let Rich know about the back-country vibe, though. I suspect he'd take offense. And this is one Mann you don't to offend!

Just started a brand sparkly new Widespot~ Decided to share my progress this go around

(Also @teafortwo I love your newspaper updates, how creative!)

First up we vacation with the Beeches!
Sandy rolled no wants for Rhett, nor was he hounding for her, so I'm assuming they've cooled their jets. Obviously leaving one slight hiccup in the aftermath. She landed her dream job in Journalism though! She starts once that whole storm blows over.
Virgina seemed completely uninterested in Woody, but had constant friendship wants for Scot. No romantic leanings, she was too busy tackling that mountain of homework while also getting a job as a Playground Monitor. It's perfect for her since she's an A+ sister.
Rocky made buds with absolutely everyone while also skilling like mad. He's a prodigy, having nearly full Logic&Creativity. As is her nature, Daytona can be a little hard on him. She imagines she's pushing him to his best.
Speaking of the ahem "proverbial" devil, the Congressional elections are soon and Daytona is slated for an easy victory. If she can contain the rumor mill's whispers surrounding that terrible woman living in her home.
Hamilton is having major trouble juggling his mom and his wife. As usual, he's picked the scarier option every time. Well, except on one very crucial hurricane of an argument.
At the end of our time, a surprise baby boy made his arrival. They've decided to name him Bondi Beech.

where did you get the sims 4 bassinet from?

Here ya go!

Daytona's been spearheading a mass renovation for Widespot! After successfully gaining funds from There, and putting Here in a little debt (much to Skye Weiss' dismay), a new town hall, school, police/fire station, and graveyard are being built. In the meantime, we're popping in at Land Grant University!


Ida Juana Knowe - Resident mom friend, Ida Juana lives and breathes sorority life. She could care less about school, often barely passing exams, her mind is always on the pursuit of FRIENDSHIP. Parties make people like her, so why not always party? Buying the Bubble Blower supply and cleaning the whole house and buying all the pizza make people like her, so why not avoid sleep for service? Her boyfriend Andy Bellum being allowed to fool around with other girls at her toga parties makes him like her, so why not let him fool around? Unfortunately, now that she's graduated, she has no idea what to do with her life outside of making people like her.
Helen Wheels - Helen knows how to have a good time while also seeing school as a priority. She harbors a little resentment towards her best friend Ida Juana for acting like the queen of Annya Var Fruhm, when it was her mom who helped them secure the house in the first place, but she hides all that well. She likes to explore her options around campus, but regrets having caught feelings for Merit Camden. With graduation looming, she knows he hopes their relationship can take a more serious tone. But she's afraid she's just not cut out for the kind of life he wants.
Carla Fox - The coolest Fox around the house, she effortless aces every exam and slays every party. A smooth jazz pianist, Carla currently makes money performing at venues across campus. She was happy to join the sorority for a free bed after shows. She has ambitions of moving up the medical career ladder, settling down with George Patterson, and living happily ever after. Her flawless shell was cracked when George recently turned down her attempt at making their relationship "official" after seeing eachother for nearly two years. She's beginning to realize that having breezed through life, she has no idea how to process failure.
Alex Ingram - Alex, socially awkward cheerleader and wallflower romantic, has come out of general obscurity to be the talk of the campus. She joined the house after striking up a friendship with Ida Juana, but now she feels she's made a huge mistake! She has no idea which one of her 'sisters' spread it around that she was going steady with Prof. Gary Marlow but now she's incredibly humiliated! He is NOT the reason her grades are fantastic, she works very hard at her studies. She LOVES him and he LOVES her! He was the first person who saw her as special, even though they haven't even woohooed yet. If only she was tough enough that the hussy taunts didn't hurt her so much...
Cordelia Caldwell - Newest member of the pack, and biggest partier of them all, Cordelia joined to have a good time! Our young Mathematics Major is the last one off the Bubble Blower each night, while being the perkiest in class the next morning. She has a lot of "finding herself" left to do, but isn't that the point of college? She secretly thinks the other ladies should cool their jets and lighten up a bit.

I usually hate playing Greek Houses but had a blast with these ladies! My only concern is Ida Juana having a strange glitch where she was unable to leave college after her graduation party? Using the Semester Tester did the trick, but I'm terrified this is a corruption sign. Which is odd since this is a limited CC 'hood and I've been extremely careful.

I don't think that glitch is corruption. You can usually fix it just by picking up the phone and calling to leave.

Poor Ida Juana. She deserves better. But I'm glad you're having so much fun with them.

I made Rich Mann adopt a child after Junior moved out, only for him to move back in with his wife and baby daughter in tow. Added a third floor to the house for some more bedrooms. House is very busy now!!

OMG I've played this so many times, so many ways! I just love her Sims..

in one of my widespot playthroughs i named mary and valentines son sea and since mary married junior he was called sea mann...which is just harsh.

I wanted to update my story on Widespot characters, because I'm having so much fun in that hood. It's evolved quite a bit now. My thing is to interconnect the stories of my different hoods, so my Widespot has evolved to include a number of bin families that are also used in Pleasantview, so, for example, the Gavigans, Travellers, and Newsons also moved to Widespot for a fresh start. Turns out that way back before Widespot was incorporated, it was the estate of Maurice and Endora Ottomas, parents to Dora and Isidora. They are buried in unmarked graves somewhere and some think that their riches are buried with them. In any case, people hear strange noises on all the land that used to be theirs.... Amanda Ottomas, twin of Samantha, has brought her family, also remarkably similar to Samantha's, to see if she can find some of her rich grandmother's wealth. Now, it's looking like there may be a tie between the old Ottomas family and Rich Mann's criminal activities. Who else is in on his shady deals? Is Lana Mann really just buying up the public land to help the town? What do Beulah and Daytona know about what went on in the old days? And where are the graves? It's all very odd. Speaking of odd, those Weiss children are odd, but not unfamiliar. With their violet skin, they are clearly tied to the Vadoma genie/gypsy clan that operates out of Pleasantview, and where there are shady deals to be done, you can be sure some of that clan will follow. Was that Skye meeting with some of them on a vacant lot outside of town?

Meanwhile, the town is crawling with even more pregnant women and many people are going to be surprised when all those babies are born. This town is not nearly as conservative as it appears. After all, Rhett Hart is living in the church as the town minister....

Oh, again, @Peni Griffin, Widespot is so much fun. I know mine has surely gone off the rails, but thank you again for all the inspiration. My Widespot is full of elaborate lot descriptions and bios that help to tell the story and that's part of the inspiration from you, too.

Wow! This is all making me want to get Widespot for an Uberhood! Maybe I can do an Uber-Uberhood with a ton of player-created hoods!

That would be really cool. How do you do that? Attach the player-created hoods. I just fake it, by connecting my stories across regular hoods.

Theres a subhood version! I just added it You need the multiple Subhood selector by Mootilda, and you can play Widespot as a subhood :D