Once upon a time, and actually, in another world altogether, a young woman named Hildy broke one of the 327 Laws of Willelda and was banished in an impressive flash of light and accompanying puff of smoke.
As Hildy hurtled through time and space, her heart thundering in her ears, she had one thought: “It’s going to hurt like the dickens when I land.â€
And it did hurt, though not as much as she thought it would.
“Ow.â€
Aside from a pesky crick in the neck and a bit of brain wobble, she felt just fine.
Unfortunately, she had no blessed idea where she was, or if she’d ever see her home again. Actually, she knew the answer to the latter, and it was “noâ€. People who were banished by the Wizard King of Willelda never, ever, came back.
She was stuck here for eternity.
But where was “hereâ€, exactly? Hildy looked around. She appeared to be surrounded by tall stones which leaned towards her ominously.
And then she saw it. Words from the ancient language, carved into the rock.
They read, “Vale of the…Tasty Pickle.â€
No, wait…that didn’t sound right. Hildy wished she had paid more attention in Old Willeldish class.
“Vale of the Setting…Sun. That’s it. Well, of course it is, you ninny, there’s a setting sun carved right into the…who’s there?â€
A shadow had passed across her face. Hildy whirled around, ready to fight her attacker.
She saw nothing but the tall stones, which now leaned towards her amusedly instead of ominously.
Hildy was amused herself. How could she be anything else at a time like this?
Ah, but she was something else. She was hungry. She was also disoriented, bewildered, remorseful, exhausted, achy…and just a wee bit annoyed.
“So much for being granted a fairy boon at birth,†she grumbled as she walked. “’Music in her heart, and luck on her side’, they said. Then you sneeze into the wrong hand in front of the Wizard King, and POOF! You’re banished. Some luck. Now what on earth is that big floaty thing?â€
Hildy worried briefly that the floaty thing might be full of gray-bearded gnomes sent to capture her, but it was getting smaller, not bigger, so she breathed a sigh of relief.
“Thank goodness for that. I’m not sure I could handle a flock of evil gray-bearded gnomes just now. No, I most certainly couldn’t. Now snowy-bearded gnomes, on the other hand….they could at least conjure me a nice meal.”
A whiff of sea air tingled Hildy’s nostrils as she spied what looked to be a town hall up ahead.
“Civilization!†she cried, as her walk turned into more of a jaunt. “I hope they have a good tavern.â€
With the promise of food and perhaps a place to sleep in the near future, Hildy was able to enjoy the passing countryside a bit more.
She even sang a made-up little ditty as she wended her way.
“Hills of green and sea of blue…waterfalls and mountains, too…the sun sets here in the vale so briiiiight…good mother of Gieselbert, what is THAT?â€
Before her was a giant gleaming dome, just sitting on the ground. Had the rest of the building sunken under? Hildy ran up to take a closer look.
Within the dome were several tiny trees and a host of plants. It was a hothouse! A giant dome-shaped hothouse. Hildy was intrigued. She was no green thumb by any means, but she loved all manner of plants and trees and was endlessly curious about them.
She peered through the glass panels of the dome more closely. As she did so, one of the plants seemed to sway a bit and then…snap its jaws!
“Oh my,†she muttered. “It’s as hungry as I am. I’d love to see it up close. As long as it doesn’t have a taste for curious young maidens. But how to get in?” she asked herself.
“A door would be a good start,” herself answered, rather sarcastically. Hildy rolled her eyes, sighed, and began to circle the dome.
(to be continued)
This is a wonderful start. I haven’t seen many using Sims 3 to tell stories of any sort.
I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to tell stories with The Sims 3 as I’m so used to TS2, but I’m slowly figuring it out!
Ya, one of the first to reply! :-) Very intriguing start! She is sort of a “fish out of water,” hmmm?
That she is! I’ve been reading a lot of “fairy tales retold” books lately. :)
Oh this should be good. Plucked from a time long ago, to be placed in the here and now of Sunset Valley. Great start!
Thanks! :-)
Legacy, legacy, yippie :) – and as my anti-spam-word says: WAY intriguing!! Thanks Jen for hearing my biggest wish and starting such a great legacy, Hildy is so funny already – I’m really interested in finding out more of her character-traits! Could she be a coward and easily impressed ;)?
Thanks to you and all your muddling around with Sims3 I was literally forced to get the game too, but haven’t got that much time for it at the moment – exams week coming up at University. So through your playing my cravings will be calmed down and I’ll join in in about 3 weeks – my first Sims3-Sim Violet Brisoe is so much fun already!
All the best :)
Hi Eva! Long time no see! :-) Good guesses on Hildy’s character traits, but she doesn’t have either of those! At least, not officially. She does have a bit of a cowardly streak, though, and she is rather easily impressed! They’re just not her most prominent traits. Heh. And I’m glad you’re having fun with the game! I’d love to hear more about Violet! But I can wait until your exams are over. ;-) Good luck with those!
This looks great. A very creative way to start a legacy.
Thank you, Carla. :-)
I love it already! (Did Hildy find any gemstones or metal while she was at the standing stones?)
The Dome is cool, did you download that?
The Dome is part of the science center. I think it’s called Landgraab something-or-other. I don’t remember. ;-) But it’s where all the science career Sims work, and where you donate insects for moolah.
And since the whole standing stones thing was just a storytelling intro, I didn’t have her look for any gemstones or metal around there. Maybe she’ll have to go back!
Oh, this seems like so much fun! I really like introduction. I didn’t know there were any rocks like that near the Laangrab Industries. I’ll be watching this story. :)
Thank you, Hannah! I’m glad you enjoyed it. :-) I’ve been enjoying your pictures and commentary on the game.
My security word has been “wave” a couple of times in a row. :O\ Hehe. Anyway, great start. I wasn’t sure how you were going to tell this story when you first showed us Hildy. But this is intriguing! And are there really snapping plants in that hot house?? Is this “Sunset Valley”? I’m still trying to decide what voice I want to use with my TS3 Challenge sim.
There aren’t really any snapping plants in that hothouse; that was pure storytelling license. And yep, she’s in Sunset Valley. :-)
Vale of the Tasty Pickle?! LOL Priceless!
gnomes! ack! hehehe
Your photos are always so lovely.
Heh, I love her personality. So inquisitive. Of course, curiosity killed the cat, lets hope it doesn’t destroy this fair hungry maiden!
Yes, if “Curious” were a Sims 3 trait, Hildy would have it!
Jen, your writing never ceases to amaze and amuse. I love Hildy already. :)
Yay, Audrey! Thanks, I’m glad you like Hildy. :-)
Vale of the Tasty Pickle?!? Brain wobble?!? Those had me chuckling like a twit for 15 minutes, Jen! I’m looking forward to seeing Hildy’s different take on a world that, to us, is quite normal.
LOL, I’m glad you it made you chuckle!
Great “legacy” beginning Jen! I love Hildy already. She looks like she’s straight out of a fairy tale. Great idea!
Yay, Mandie! Thank you, part of the reason I was inspired to try the legacy is that I saw you having so much fun with Patty. I know she’s not a legacy founder, but it inspired me nonetheless.
I had no idea it was a “legacy prologue” until the end of the story. That was neat.
And Hilda’s personality too – cheery optimism even though you’re banished from your homeland forever. What a way to deal with life.
Hi Chann! Glad you stopped by. And yeah, I had to depend upon the game’s “idling” animations for all my shots in the standing stones, and she didn’t really look too upset in any of them, so I figured Hildy must just have a pretty laid-back view of things. :-p Or she’s a nutcase.
Hmm,that was an interesting way to start a legacy! Short but simply wacky way of writing from Hildy’s perspective, I’m looking forward for the next updates!
Thanks, Karen! I have better luck with smaller updates, so this may become the norm!
YES!!! A Sims 3 Legacy! Ahhhh! *does insane happy dance*. Jen I love you! It looks amazing already and I can’t wait to see what happens next!
-Rose
sorry i know this is really random and has nothing to do with the story but do you know where to find a pregnacy wear any clothing hack? i can’t find one, they all say that you’ve got to downland clothes which i don’t want do =)
Oh dear! What law did she break? (And that’s a whole lot of laws to keep track of, 327!)
*snorts* Vale of the Tasty Pickle? *giggles*
You know, I wouldn’t want to stay there, in a circle of stones that can lean any way other than “leaningly” and with mysterious shadows that pass across your face!
Ooh, fairy boons are rarely actually BOONS. At least, not in the way the recipients wish they’d be.
Gnomes are evil or good based on their beards? Huh. I wonder which kind is running around Sunset Valley…
Does Hildy have -money- to pay for this tasty meal and a place to sleep? (But wow, I need to send my sims exploring more, because there are some BEAUTIFUL shots you’re giving us there!)
*chews her nails* Oh, Hildy, that is not a good plant to get too close to, hon!