Meet the Cast (Happy Unbirthday Readers)

So. Saturday was my birthday, and although I didn't have the time then (or most of this past week!) I wanted to do something for the blog. Although I have to admit my friends and I still haven't outgrown gathering round for sugary snacks and party games, I think we'd have some difficulty playing pass the parcel over the internet, and as for downloadable gifts, my CC skills are still lacking in a lot of areas.

So, what else to do but introduce my readers to the Sims who will feature in my new hood?
In order of nothing in particular, here they are:

(excuse the modern clothing and stuff, I'm still in setup stage and this is a preview hood)

Shansam Herendez (15)

If this was SimNation, Shansam would be the only teen in the new settlement, and probably whining about missing his friends and video games and whatnot. Among Nuidya, he's the youngest of the adults, having gone through the rite of passage not long ago. He's determined to prove his worth as a man to the older Sims, hopefully by helping establish trade with some nearby town where there are lots of girls.

Hestrie zan-Avira (37)

Hestrie is Shansam and Arafa's dad, and - despite an initial mistrust of SimNation - has been married to Serendipity Herendez for about seventeen years. It looks like he'll be the village's odd-job man, since he's just about the only skilled craftsperson they brought along who isn't retired or an apprentice. He likes spending whatever free time he gets playing sports with his son and drumming, though obviously not both at once.

Serendipity Herendez (38)

Serendipity came to Kulo Seeri from Apple Valley twenty years ago, after graduating high school. Her love of nature led her to become an apprentice to Aurora, the village herbalist - now she's taking on that role herself in the new village. When she finds time, that is - I imagine she and Hestrie really have their hands full with their two kids.

Arafa Herendez (9)

The younger of Serendipity and Hestrie's offspring, Arafa is one of two children in the new village. (Can you tell I haven't named the hood yet?) I'm afraid I can't tell you much about her, since she wasn't born in old KS and she's still very young, but she looks like she'll be trouble, doesn't she? :)

Kim Yoo (24)

Li's daughter from a brief mishap with ACR during her first trip to Kulo Seeri. Kim isn't much like her mother, she tends to be the quiet and shy type and is usually happy to fade into the background. She really only came along because Li was asked to come, and she's definitely the least enthusiastic about leaving home, preferring comfort and familiarity to excitement.

Li Yoo (58)

Instead of having one overall leader and a handful of advisors, the Nuidya leaving Kulo Seeri have elected a three-Sim council. Li Yoo earned a place on it for her experience as a city planner in Apple Valley and helping KS through several rebuilds. She's still more or less the same Li who arrived from Apple Valley twenty years ago, and isn't letting her tribal elder status get in her way.

Turi zan-Avira (21)

Turi is the daughter of Kulo Seeri's namesake and leader of the tribe, Sena Seerijata zan-Avira. (That's "Sena II" to you and me.) She comes from that one branch of the tribe that produces twins left, right and centre, which makes the prospect of motherhood worry her a little. She's very smart, but also very excitable (the traits she was born with in TS3) and was one of the first to volunteer to leave KS.

Markal Go (20)

Markal's father died the day he was born - and in a storm, too - leading some Nuidya to believe that he's a jinx. Most of those Sims aren't in the leaving party, though, so he's hoping it won't get in his way too much here. He's the sort of Sim who has one-liners and flirts for just about every occasion - the women he's hoping to attract would mostly describe him as "a funny guy, but really pretty clueless".

Daniel zan-Avira (34)

After suffering a serious falling satellite injury as a teenager, Daniel started learning magic and spirit lore, and now he's the new village's shaman. He's mostly recovered over twenty years, but still can't take too much physical activity, so he can usually be found either working on his mystical talents or lounging around and reading. One of the main reasons he's here is because no one else could coax the sacred cats into their travel baskets. :)

Lilac zan-Avei (20)

Like Markal, Lilac is quite flirty and fun-loving, and volunteered to leave Kulo Seeri mainly "for kicks". Like most young Nuidya, she knows a little bit about most crafts, but her speciality is making jewellery and wood carvings. She's probably going to have to find some other skill to fall back on here, with only a handful of Sims and a lot that needs setting up, but she's up for the challenge as long as it doesn't involve too much effort.

Casey zan-Ellen (67)

Casey has never been lucky in love - his longest relationship was with the commitment-phobic and now long-dead Manewa zan-Ace. When the tribe took in orphans from SimCity, he adopted two, and now has three grandchildren. He's the type of Sim who will help anyone when they need it, and left because such a small group would need all the help they could get (and he might be crushed on Li, too) but he does miss his family in KS a lot.

Anyu zan-Avira (21)

Turi's older brother (by four minutes). He was one of the better hunters in Kulo Seeri, before there were too many Sims for the food supply, and not a bad cook either. He sometimes wonders if that's why he was asked to accompany the leaving party rather than stay at home. He's a little jealous of his sister's status as latest in the line of eldest twin daughters, or at least the attention it gets her, but tries not to focus too much on that.

Tia zan-Ace (18)

Tia is the sort of Sim who works hard, plays hard and couldn't care less what anyone (who isn't Asken) thinks of her. If there's any chance of causing or getting into trouble, she's there - she has a definite childlike streak, probably due to the fact that she was once Asken's imaginary friend. She enjoys fighting bullies, doing homework, eating all the cookies and street art.

Zareb zan-Ace (29)

A hybrid of four species - with green aliens, lizard aliens, werewolves and ordinary Sims in his family tree - Zareb was the only child born to the tribe in the ten years between Daniel's birth and Kim's. He's just as good at being one of the grown-ups as playing with the kids, and is something of an attention-seeker, as a result. He's never stayed in a relationship very long, but he hopes that will change out here.

Zita zan-Ace (10)

This is where I make the obligatory "send in the clones" gag. Zita is a clone of S'Ahmisa - I used the trip to Bridgeport to experiment with as many of the more unusual aspects of TS3 as I could. She's already starting to develop her own personality, and will probably turn out nothing like S'Ahmisa, especially once she hits her teen years.

S'Ahmisa zan-Ace (38)

After twenty years in the big city, S'Ahmisa brought her family back to KS when she suddenly noticed she was nearly forty. She is still a Nuidya at heart, only with the knowledge that eating food that wasn't hunted or gathered doesn't cause spontaneous combustion and electricity might not actually be demon blood. She's one of the few Nuidya who know how to grow crops - she's quite good at it, really, and it got her a spot on the village council.

Zade zan-Ace (3)

The plantbaby grown by S'Ahmisa and Larkspur during their twenty-year TS3 road trip. I don't have much of a description here, since Zade is only a toddler right now. The Zade you'll see in the story posts might not look this evil, I just briefly turned S'Ahmisa into a plantsim and had her spawn so there'd be a plantbaby pic for this update.

Asken zan-Ace (18)

Growing up in SimNation, Asken always related more to computers and paintings than other Sims - he can do logical and artistic things equally well, but there is something a little odd about taking your imaginary friend to prom. He's always known about his Nuidya heritage, but he also knows life without his favourite games will take some getting used to.

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Well, that's everyone. I'll work on the new hood over the next few weeks, and hopefully I'll be playing and blogging again soon and we can all get to know these Sims better.