5.23 The End of Entropy

Moby the cat has died. The household is plagued with a negative moodlet.

There are still four cats here, three of them elderly, but grim is pacing himself.

Olive and Spring are dating now.

He seems like such a kind and open person, always with a candid answer to her attempts to get to know him. (Maybe a little too candid sometimes!) She wishes she could tell him about the most interesting parts of her life - being a witch and all - but she cannot. She hopes she isn't too boring!

Holland still likes to watch his mother paint.

He's not as leveled up in the painting skill as she is, yet, but he's getting there.

Suzetta, art club girlfriend, thinks they can both go professional someday.

"It's just a hobby for me," Holland is quick to put a damper on all of that positive energy. He has no aspirations, no plans, and not even a single delusion of grandeur. "It's what I do to get lost and forget things."

Suzetta tilts her head inquisitively. "What do you want to forget, exactly?"

His face stays blank, but he cringes inwardly. Just like Olive can't tell Spring about being a witch, Holland can't tell Suzetta about his emotional instability or how much he hates being a werewolf. He has to say something, though. Something to derail the question. What do you want to forget, exactly? "I dunno. Every time I start to remember, I just go paint something."

Suzetta checks the fireplace for evil.

She has a lot of neurotic habits. Given the trauma in her childhood, Holland is not surprised.

Apollo ages up to young adult. Now she's old enough to leave home and go world adventuring with Severino Selmone (who is still. not. her. boyfriend.)...

"We're off to France, and then Egypt!"

Molly frowns. "What about Zag?"

"He's going on tour with The Dust Ambassadors, as their backup guitarist. Remember? I don't want to just sit at home waiting for him!"

"Well be careful who you trust out there, Polly."

"Yes, Mom."

Olive is not pleased to see her sister leaving Monte Vista.

"But you've been here my whole liiiife," she whines. "And did you know 97% of sims who leave their hometown never come back?"

"I need to live my life, Ollie. I promise I'll keep in touch."

Spring attempts to cheer Olive up with a romantic gondola ride.

Olive has the excitable trait, so pretty much any attempt to cheer her up works. She's just happy to be thought of, you know?

Spring is so sweet.

 Another full moon, another transformation, and crushing embarrassment in the morning.

Despite a loving family, a cheerful girlfriend and plenty of artistic talent, Holland continues to struggle with anxiety and werewolf body dysphoria... and while Suzetta is in the dark about all of it, his family seems to have just accepted it as Holland's normal state of being, or perhaps something he will grow out of if given time.

Just as everyone is getting over the negative moodlet from Moby's death, Grim comes for Entropy.

Suzetta asks Dysen about healing crystals or some nonsense. Holland told her not to bother his father about this stuff, but she simply can't respect that the town's own celebrity psychic doesn't want to have to deal with work when he's at home. Of course Suzetta wouldn't think of it as work. To her, Dysen Whitfield IS his persona, a man who lives and breathes mystic magic.

Just a pic of Molly playing with a favorite toy.

Even after all these years of marriage, Molly still gets the positive "Wow! A werewolf!" moodlet when she interacts with Dysen.

Spring is spending this wonderful spring day roasting marshmallows with his mother, Autumn.

They're at one of the town gymnasiums. Fitness is a lifestyle.

He's meeting Olive here for a swim.

Oops. He tripped off the diving board.

That probably hurt a lot.

Time for Olive to show you how it's done.

Holy !@#$ girl that is some air.

Whee!

Molly, WTF.

Spring makes an effort to get along with his girlfriend's twin brother.

And a ping pong game with mum.

"...Mum...?"

Autumn hates to leave her son before he's grown up, but that's the risk a sim takes when they reproduce so late in life.

Well, this is one date Olive will not be forgetting. She tries to comfort her grief-stricken boyfriend.

He's not sure what will happen to him. He's effectively been orphaned.

Seeing their daughter distraught, Molly and Dysen decide the best way to ensure her love interest stays on a good path is to take him in themselves, even though this arrangement presents some serious inconveniences for them and their secret-keeping.

The teen boy is overwhelmed by this kind gesture, unaware he's about to be living with werewolves and a witch.

Olive's parents establish some household rules, and assure Spring he can come to them with any problem. They take an immediate interests in his grades and his hobbies... moreso than when he was simply their daughter's date.

Any spare space in the house has been taken over by piles of Molly's toys, so the only place for Spring to sleep is in Apollo's bed.

"Your parents are so laid back," he comments. "They must really trust me, to let me sleep in your bedroom."

"Haha, well, you know, Dad can read minds," Olive pretends to joke.

"I better watch myself then," Spring wants to laugh, but he just can't force it. He's too sad.

Olive wrings her hands together. "I know it's wrong of me to be excited about you staying here, given the circumstances, but we're going to make the best of this, okay? We can redecorate, you can throw out my sister's Edgy Bill poster..."

He smiles a little. "Who doesn't like Edgy, Edgy Bill?"

Olive smiles back timidly. "It's that checkered guitar, right? So edgy..."

"I just hope I don't have any weird habits you'll hate," Spring says.

"Psssssh," Olive makes that dismissive noise, blushes hard and rolls her eyes. She thinks about how her great-great-grandfather Reggie's first wife abandoned the family, including her young daughter, after discovering they were mages, as she always does when she thinks about secrets between herself and Spring. Sooner or later, she must tell him... but she pushes the thought away. It's too great a risk. She can't tell him, not yet, not until she's certain he's the one.




________________________________
Etc.: Every time a character talks about forgetting something, I take a moment to contemplate how it's extra fridge horror because I put them in a universe where they're not remembering their many, many past iterations...

Outtake: Apollo meets Trilobite's dad.