Hi everyone! My name is Katherine McMania, and I am the heiress of my family’s legacy. That’s me in the green top. The rest of my family, left to right, are my grandmother Menolly, my younger brother Lucas, my dad Adrian, my baby sis Kristin, and finally my mom, Aurora, the previous heiress. This is the story of my life.

(Hey all! This is Taube, aka Roxanne. If I have anything to add, I’ll insert it down here like this. Happy reading!)

We had just moved into a new house. The next day, grandma told me she had a strange dream where she met her teenage self and stole the urns of our ancestors. Weird, huh?

(Actually, this kind of happened. The graves got glitched and some of them disappeared, so Menolly dropped by the house of an earlier version of the family and ‘liberated’ the missing graves so that we would have a complete set at the main house. I couldn’t resist having Menolly chat up her teen self.)

Grandma was waiting for us when we got home from the first day of our new school. She wanted to hear all about it and wanted to know if we made any friends. She was always kind like that.

Unfortunately, grandma was quite old and she passed away shortly after. We had guests over at the time, so her death was very well attended. I took some comfort in knowing that she would finally get to see grandpa Roger again.

Menolly McMania was a great heiress, a knowledge sim who loved her family very much. She is survived by three children and many grandchildren.

We were all close with grandma so it was a devastating loss. For a long time afterwards, we would all break down crying, missing her and remembering all the great times we had together.

We laid grandma’s ashes to rest in the mausoleum out back of the house.

(It’s thanks to Menolly that most of these urns are there. Luckily they’re not glitched or missing any longer!)

The night after grandma passed, Mom was scared by the ghost of my great-grandmother Delia. I wondered if we would see Roger or Menolly any time soon.

Mom and Dad are still very affectionate with each other, just like they’ve always been. Kristin thinks it’s super gross, but I think it’s a little sweet . . . as long as I don’t have to watch it, that is!

(I don’t have ACR like Seera did, but these two immediately started rolling up wants to make out and flirt with each other. I guess they’re just really romantic.)

Our parents allowed us to live fairly carefree lives as children, so my siblings and I had a lot of studying to do if we wanted to get any scholarships. We started right away.

However, I quickly got bored with all that studying. I thought, wouldn’t my time be better spent studying at college? At least then I could also get in on some of the social scene. I am a romance sim, after all. Besides, we have enough money that we didn’t need those scholarships.

So it wasn’t long before I left for college. I decided to take my siblings with me to Sim State University. I thought we could live together there and study and party as a family.

When we got there, Kristin insisted that we all go with her to the store and salon and get makeovers and new clothes. That’s her on the left, then me, and then Lucas. You may not recognize me as much because I cut my hair pretty short. I was really nervous when the stylist took her scissors to my hair, but I’m really happy with the outcome!

The first time I saw Mom after cutting my hair, she gasped. “Oh, Katherine,” she said. “You’re not going through a tomboy phase again like when you were a child, are you?” I had to laugh at her question. “No, Mom,” I reassured her. “I can still be feminine and have short hair.”

Back at school, my siblings and I had rented a red and white house and moved in. After talking together, we decided to start a Greek house. Lucas later brought home a letter “Hoh”, so we got one more and christened our new Greek house, Var Hoh.

We thought starting a Greek house would be good for our social life. As a romance sim, I was of course looking for people to date. Kristin is popularity so she was excited about all the friends she could make. Lucas, a family sim, went along with our plans but he was just really looking for one special person.

Once we were settled in, we had to do all that studying that we had skimped on as teenagers. I also took up flower-arranging so that we could have a few snapdragon bouquets around. We worked really hard that first year to catch up to where we should have been, but we knew that all that hard work would pay off in the other three years, when we wouldn’t be constantly struggling to keep up with the rising demands of our studies.

Kristin and Lucas still got upset from time to time about the burglary we experienced when we were children. I wasn’t as affected by it though, I guess because I was a bit older at the time. They both told me that angry thoughts about the burglary entered their minds, even sometimes when they were thinking of something else. It’s a good thing that burglar got caught! I can’t even imagine how mad they would be if she had gotten away scot-free!

It didn’t take long for Lucas to find someone he was head over heels for. Her name was Parvati and she was a student at the university just like us. Like Lucas, she was also a family sim so they got along great right away from the moment they met. Lucas was soon sharing his first kiss with Parvati.

I was doing some romancing of my own, but unlike Lucas I wasn’t looking to settle. My first date was one of my professors.

I had my first kiss with her. She didn’t mean anything special to me, but I was enjoying the dating scene and she was just the first of what I hoped would be many conquests.

Kristin found someone pretty quickly too, but it’s kind of a funny story how they got together. Kristin had been checking out a lot of different boys, but she hadn’t met anyone that she really clicked with. This guy, Castor Nova, was an exception, but he was kind of weird. For one thing, he showed up to the house wearing lipstick. I’m all for freedom of expression, but that was just a little strange. Anyway, Kristin checked him out and before she could even ask him on a date, he leaned in and kissed her. He stole her first kiss! They became a couple after that.

I met a girl that I had a lot in common with. We had been chatting on the phone a lot, so by the time we met face to face we were already great friends. Her name was Zethamae. We had very different aspirations, but otherwise we got along really well. I asked her to pledge to the Greek House since she was the first friend I made that I wasn’t dating.

Zethame and I became study buddies. While I worked on my skills, she liked to sit down and do research next to me. We spent a lot of time in each other’s company, quietly focused on our own studies. I got to feel so comfortable around her.

Since Zethamae was such a great friend, I asked her to move in once her pledge period was over. She gladly agreed.

I was still dating a plethora of different girls. The college was full of single girls so it was easy to meet new people all the time. The college directory was my best friend during these times.

Greek House life had its ups and downs. On one hand, it seemed like there was always a bit of a party atmosphere as people hung out all the time. Especially the cheerleader – she was always there! Plus Kristin brought home pizza all the time so we were never hungry.

On the other hand, the constant party could be a bit of a downer. As Kristin realized, it’s really hard to get good sleep when someone is yelling “Voooo Gerbits!” right next to your bed.

We were making so many friends during this time. Our Greek house was really rocketing through the ranks. We all spent a lot of time on the phone, and invited people over all the time. It wasn’t long before we reached rank 6.

When we weren’t working on other stuff, we all really enjoyed swimming in the pool out front. We played Marco Polo or just floated on our backs, enjoying the sunshine. From all that swimming, I ended up getting really fit, which made me pretty happy.

During sophomore year, Lucas finally proposed to Parvati. They had been a couple for just over a year by that point, so it was still pretty quick, but I know they both wanted it really badly. Lucas was so happy that he just walked around the house beaming for days afterwards.

I was still dating lots of girls, and pretty successfully if I do say so myself. However, something was nagging at me in the back of my mind. After each date, I felt really strongly a desire to settle down.

(Katherine’s secondary aspiration is family so she is constantly wanting to propose to everyone she dates.)

After much cajoling, Zethamae finally agreed to let me give her a makeover and to grow her hair out a little bit. I couldn’t help noticing that she looked really gorgeous like that. Zethamae’s style is pretty simple so a white halter top and jeans was as wild an outfit as I could get her into. She’s a really down-to-earth person.

Once she had moved in, Zethamae and I made a pact to max our skills by the end of college. We both studied hard, often together, and we maxed one skill after another.

All that time spent together had an effect on us. We had become so close, and I could sense that Zethamae wanted more. She was a family sim, after all. Even though normally family and romance don’t mix, we seemed really compatible otherwise, and I found myself wanting to take it to the next level too. Zethamae felt different than all the throwaway relationships I had been in so far.

(Despite different aspirations, they still have two bolts for each other.)

It took me some time, but I finally worked up the courage to ask my best friend on a date. I was terrified I had read the signals wrong and she would say no. However, to my delight, she was excited to go on a date with me and just about swooned when I kissed her hand.

Our date went really well. Since we already knew each other so well, we felt comfortable together right from the start. We had no shortage of things to talk about. We had dinner together and then spent some time walking around. By the end of the night it was official: we were a couple.

I had decided that Zethamae was the one I wanted to be with, so I stopped seeing other girls. I still kept up making friends over the phone, though, but it was all innocent.

(Doesn’t it look like Kristin just kicked Katherine? lol)

All that friend-making had an interesting payoff. I had met enough people to become part of the campus’s secret society. It turned out that, although I didn’t know it at the time, Zethamae was the first friend I made in the society.

“Sorry I couldn’t tell you, sweetie. It is a secret society, after all,” Zethamae said to me after my initiation.

“That’s ok,” I replied. “Now it’s just another thing we have in common.”

Zethamae and I continued our studies, but now that we were together, that wasn’t all we did on the couch anymore.

After we had been together for several months, I decided to propose to Zethamae. We were already best friends and we had discovered that we were compatible romantically. I had always known that I would want to be faithful to my spouse, so our differing aspirations wouldn’t matter in the end.

Unsurprisingly, Zethamae agreed to marry me and we began to plan our life together. Being a family sim, she was eager to have kids, and since I was a legacy sim, that was already in the plans. Everything was looking up.

The end of sophomore year was coming fast. The Greek house had continued to be a constant party, but we decided to step it up a notch. We decided that what we really needed was to throw a real party, the biggest one on campus. It was time: Toga Party.

The line to get into the party stretched out the door for some ways. Kristin was in charge of invitations and she invited all of her many friends, plus a few others that Lucas and I were friends with.

(Kristin was the only one out of the whole party to wear ‘sexy’ toga attire. Outgoing sims just love being center of attention, I guess.)

Of course Parvati and Castor got invited. Both of my siblings were happy to see their significant others.

Kristin can be a bit of a drama queen at times, so it didn’t surprise me too much that she and Castor woohooed in the photo booth right in the middle of the party. It definitely got her the attention she wanted.

(Kristin rolled the want to have her first woohoo as soon as she had thrown the party, so I figured she must have wanted her woohoo during the party. Take a look at Lucas’s horrified face in the background there – lol!)

Most of the party guests ended up smustling out on the sidewalk and street in the middle of the night. It’s amazing that none of our neighbors called the cops! I know it’s a college neighborhood, but still, that was one crazy party.

Once again, Kristin commanded everyone’s attention by getting ‘arrested’ by the secret society right in the middle of the party. She loved it.

(Seriously, she couldn’t wait until after the party?)

Zethamae and I mingled a little bit, but we had our minds on other things. Namely, each other. We slipped away to my bedroom upstairs during the party and spent some alone time. I’ll let you in on a little secret. Even though I’m a romance sim and I’ve been on plenty of dates, I still saved my first woohoo for someone special, and that someone turned out to be Zethamae. I’m glad I waited.

We finally decided it was time to return to the party when a tipsy professor found her way upstairs and sat on the couch after barging into my bedroom. Alone time was over – for now.

The rest of the party went well and it was a total success. There were people all over the house – playing our video games, blowing bubbles. Mom and Dad even showed up and spent a good amount of time chatting with Kristin and one of her friends in the kitchen.

That night, after the party was over, Zethamae and I shared a bed for the first time. She moved into my room permanently after that. It felt so good to have someone I loved to sleep next to each night.

After the party, things returned to normal. Junior year was starting, so it was back to the grind of classes, assignments, and papers. Zethamae and I had maxed all our skills by this point so we had only schoolwork to focus on. Lucas and Kristin also worked hard at school and we all got straight A’s one after another.

Now that we didn’t have to study at the bookshelf any longer, Zethamae and I turned our attention to other pursuits. We were interested in the same things, so to begin with we both took up sewing. Soon we both had gold badges.

We also started practicing ballet together. Zethamae got good at it much faster than I did.

It had been my idea to get a sewing machine in the first place, so I wanted us to do something that interested her mainly. Zethamae was really into tinkering so I got a robot bench and started working at it so I could discuss her favorite hobby with her.

Although she had been living with us for a while, Zethamae really kept to herself when she wasn’t with me, so it took until junior year for her to make best friends with Kristin and Lucas. Still, by then they were close and they soon spent lots of time together. Lucas especially really liked Zethamae.

(In fact, Lucas is attracted to Zethamae so I was constantly watching to make sure he didn’t try to flirt with her or something. Zethamae had eyes only for Katherine, and Lucas behaved himself, so there ended up being nothing to worry about.)

Since he was already friends with Kristin and me, Zethamae was the third person Lucas needed to know to get into the secret society, and he was soon being marched off the premises to the Landgrabb Society too.

When he wasn’t spending time with Parvati or working on his schoolwork, Lucas had become a bit of a bubblehead. He was constantly on the bubble blower and although other people came and went, he was always there. At least he didn’t slack on school.

Senior year came and went and we all kept busy. We worked hard on school stuff but we also played pretty hard too. Soon we had graduated and it was almost time to head home.

Throughout the end of our school career, Zethamae and I continued to be absolutely in love with each other. Zethamae was so sweet – she would always seek me out to give me kisses or hugs, just because. I knew I had chosen the right person to spend the rest of my life with.

Finally the time came for me to part ways with my siblings. We all had significant others and big plans for after college. Lucas and Parvati were engaged and could hardly wait to get married. Kristin and Castor had saved up and purchased a big house to move into after college, and Kristin told me she thought Castor would propose soon. Before we all moved out, I gave my sister and brother a big hug and told them I loved them. I would miss them, but I was also so happy that all of us had wonderful lives waiting for us.

“And as for you,” I told Zethamae. “I’ll see you soon, and then we’ll get married too and start the rest of our life together.”

“I can’t wait,” she replied.

Zethamae was a semester behind the rest of us, so she still had to finish her degree before she could move home with me. It would be hard to be apart, but I knew we would be together again soon.

The three of us got ready to move on, now as full-fledged adults. Some of us dressed a little better for it than others.

Zethamae told me over the phone that she missed me terribly. She said the first night sleeping in the big bed by herself was the hardest. I knew it was especially hard on her to be alone, but it would all be worth it, so that’s what I told her. She agreed.

While I was waiting back at home for Zethamae to graduate, my siblings were getting on with their lives. Lucas and Parvati moved in together. Lucas told me he was the happiest he had ever been in his whole life, just being with the one he loved.

Because they just couldn’t wait any longer, Lucas and Parvati got married in a private ceremony in their backyard. I know that getting married was one of the biggest things Lucas wanted out of life, so I was so happy for him.

Lucas and Parvati make a great couple, and they were so happy together. The only thing that could make them happier would be children, but those would come with time.

(Lucas and Parvati’s woohoo was so hot the bed is still sparking several hours later!)

Lucas and Parvati first had twins who inherited Parvati’s red hair. The boy they named Fëanor and the girl was named Galadriel.

(I finally got to name a sim Galadriel! Yay! The naming theme for this generation is characters from my favorite books. Fëanor and Galadriel are both characters from The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien, which tells the tales of Middle Earth and the surrounding world before the events of the Lord of the Rings. Both are elves. Fëanor is a great leader and has a fiery temper and a skill for creating things, especially the Silmarils, jewels for which the book is named, while Galadriel was the epitome of grace and goodwill. She learned refinement from Melian, a minor goddess, and eventually came to rule Lórien in Middle Earth.)

Soon after Fëanor and Galadriel grew into children, their parents called everyone together for a family meeting. They had an announcement to make: their family would be growing by one more.

Lucas and Parvati’s third child was a blonde little girl named Melian.

(Melian is also from The Silmarillion. She is of the Maia, a minor race that serves the Valar, the gods and goddesses of that world. She married Thingol, an elf, and they ruled over the kingdom of Doriath together. She was a great singer and a beautiful and graceful person.)

That brings us up to date with Lucas and Parvati. They’re both right where they always wanted to be, and couldn’t be happier.

Kristin and Castor moved into their new house together, and it wasn’t long before Castor proposed. Kristin of course said yes. She had wanted to wait for him but she was starting to get impatient, so it made her really happy when he finally proposed.

Kristin and Castor came together somewhat on accident, but they’ve been devoted to each other ever since. Moving in together was great for them, and they started planning their wedding together. I could hardly believe it when I saw Kristin’s plans, but she was preparing for a wedding that would be much bigger than the one I was planning. Just like her to go all out on something like that.

Kristin’s huge wedding got her just the sort of attention she desired.

I have to admit, though, it was a beautiful wedding.

I complimented Kristin after the service and she told me that she thought I would be an even more beautiful bride. I did forgive her a little bit for out-doing me on the wedding after that.

The whole family plus a bunch of friends from college were in attendance. Zethamae was there, of course. It was the first time I had seen her since my graduation, and we could barely keep our hands off each other at the reception.

(Zethamae and Katherine were guests so they were uncontrollable and they really did spend the whole time flirting with and kissing each other.)

It was fun to get together as a family. We all came out from the main house, and Lucas was there as well.

(Who wears black to a wedding? The McManias do!)

In the months after their wedding, Kristin and Castor soon found out they were expecting. Both of them were excited to meet their new addition.

Just like Lucas and Parvati, Kristin and Castor had twins. Unlike Lucas and Parvati, that’s where they stopped. They named their children Fabala and Fiyero.

(These characters are from Wicked by Gregory Maguire. Fabala is the nickname of the main character, Elphaba, who eventually becomes known as the Wicked Witch of the West. She is smart, sarcastic and opinionated. Fiyero is prince of the Vinkus and a love interest of Elphaba. He has blue tattoos over much of his body and is thoughtful and kind.)

(And that’s the end of the college and spares chapter. Please check back next time to see what Katherine and Zethamae get up to after college. In the mean time, make sure to stop by SiMania to chat with the greatest group of simmers on the net: http://s12.invisionfree.com/Sim_Mania )