#ddseries

I've talked about how I don't treat sim worlds as isolated entities in the past, but I've never gotten deep into that - I'll start there so my Moonwood lore makes sense!

Basically, I see Granite Falls as a location within Moonwood Mill. To go one step further, I actually don't even see Moonwood Mill as its own isolated "world" but rather as a small town within a bigger city within a bigger state within a country and so on. Think of Granite Falls as a large property within Moonwood Mill, and Moonwood Mill as an industrial, dying small town that is within driving distance to its larger city counterpart Evergreen Harbor, and all of these places exist in the same state. For me, the states these worlds are a part of are usually real-life states! Of course not all the worlds feel "American" to me (Selvadorada, Tomorang, Mt. Komerebi being perfect examples) but the ones that do usually get categorized this way in my mind.

For example: San Sequoia and Del Sol Valley are the easiest and most widely accepted representation of this idea. I treat both of these "worlds" as large, neighboring cities that exist within the same state, much like their assumed real-world counterparts Los Angeles and San Francisco which both reside in California. Another example is San Myshuno which I've seen a lot of players think of in the same way they see New York City, which resides in New York State. Moonwood Mill, Granite Falls, and Evergreen Harbor all function this way in my mind and would all share the same state! (I'm not a geography whiz, so I've never given it much though which irl state they would be a part of, but with the greenery, industrial, and dreary/rainy vibes my money would be on Washington or, alternatively, I personally see them being in a state that falls somewhere in the Appalachian area, like West Virginia!)

Okay, that's the long explanation I had to get out of the way before I jump into this next lore part... sorry! I'm getting to the good stuff now though, I promise!

Granite Falls and Moonwood Mill are on an even smaller scale than the San Sequoia/Del Sol Valley relationship, in my opinion. To me, Granite Falls feels like a national park or forest/nature preserve that surrounds Moonwood Mill and therefore ultimately falls under their jurisdiction. HOWEVER, the primary caretakers of Granite Falls are technically an independent commune... better known as "The Moonwood Collective."

I don't think there's enough room in the town center of Moonwood Mill to accommodate two whole wolf packs AND the handful of human locals that remain. Additionally, when you take into consideration the canon growing tension between these two packs and their various different ways of life, I have a hard time seeing them effectively coexisting in such close proximity. Besides that, Modern Moonwood Mill in its broken down, industrial, haphazard state suits the Wildfangs more than The Moonwood Collective - I can see the influence that the Wildfangs have had on the area, but where is The Collective's influence? Even the layout of Moonwood Mill and the lots which are located within walking distance of the rowdy dive bar screams Wildfang energy to me.

We also know that The Collective is much older than the Wildfangs, as it was formed back when Moonwood Mill was just beginning to have settlers and refugees who were fleeing from conflict (the big magical war between spellcasters/vampires/werewolves). Referred to only as "Moonwood" back then due to the area's obvious connection to the moon's energy, the founders of the town established The Collective - in the sims lore, it seems to imply that The Collective is the first pack of its kind to organize werewolves into a hierarchal structure with the goal of encouraging self-sustainability, diplomatic communication, and communal contribution within its wolf members. In my mind, I've always seen The Collective as people who reject societal comforts and embrace naturalism, self-discipline/emotional control, herbalism and holistic medicine practices, minimalist living, homesteading, community caretaking, things of that nature... and there really isn't anywhere in Moonwood Mill specifically that conveys that kind of influence. Granite Falls, however, sure feels magical with its sprawling plantlife and natural oddities... that is a place that could support their lifestyle!

If you look at the maps of these two places, it isn't hard to imagine Granite Falls as the wooded area close to the Moonwood Lunvik Lake, the spot where werewolves can "awaken the wolf" if they swim there during a full moon, because Granite falls is surrounded by various bodies of water AND mountain structures on it's right side... just like the mountain structures and woods that frame Moonwood Mill in the upper left hand of its map! Let me give you two shitty graphics I made to help illustrate what I mean:

It's not a one-for-one perfect comparison, but it's so damn close that it feels natural to see the worlds as complimentary! Especially with The Collective's connection to the ancient spiritualism of the original wolves and mooncasters, it just makes sense that they would opt live in a commune-esque community on the outskirts of Moonwood Mill, as opposed to being right in the epicenter of town. This way they're close to the sacred Lunvik Lake, just far enough outside of society to seclude their true nature, but still close enough to help the remaining human locals. I even have a silly headcanon that the "Big Foot" of Granite Falls is actually just the pack-less werewolf Greg, as we know he lives secluded, deep in the forest...it just makes sense that people might see him raging in wolf form at night and be like "Oh shit, big foot!"

With the Wildfangs being a newer pack that is more open to embracing the wolf parts of themselves, they wouldn't feel the need to "hide" and pull themselves out of society in the way that The Collective does. That being said, they also wouldn't have the resources, structure, and defined communal space that a very old pack like The Collective would have... therefore they're just scattered around Moonwood Mill in their family homes, the trailer park (some people do a motel instead - I can see both working well), and so on. Some lots even tell their buyers to ignore the "howling in the distance," and because the Collective hides their true nature, I feel this must be referring to the Wildfang's full moon antics and their willingness to "embrace the beast."

Either way, It seems to me that The Collective has always believed it best to stay hidden, so it makes sense that they would form their community on the outskirts of Moonwood Mill not just for their own safety, but for the safety of the human locals as well. I think they likely relocated to Granite Falls years before the Wildfangs existed and when a huge uptick in human settlers came in, chasing the riches associated with Moonwood's mines or, more likely, the mills which the town would be eventually named after. But as time went on and the town went to ruin (some people theorize due to the wolves, some people theorize the town's natural industries just became less profitable in the age of technology), people abandoned it and opted to move to the newer city - Evergreen Harbor. (See, we came full circle!)

That kind of leads us to where I'm at in my game, in "modern day." A lot of time has passed, and Moonwood Mill has changed dramatically since its inception. I prefer to imagine that the remaining human locals are not fully aware of the werewolves living among them with 100% certainty, but there are legends and stories. The oldest locals cultivate and pass down not just the stories but the protective practices to their children and grandchildren as well: don't go into the woods on a full moon, if the woods get quiet out of nowhere stay calm and find the closest way out, close all the blinds when it gets dark, don't go out on a full moon, bring the animals in or secure them in the barn for their protection on full moon nights, if you hear a whistle in the woods do not whistle back, and so on. Unfortunately, those stories, wives' tales, and superstitions tend to attract potential enemies to werewolf-kind: rogue vampires seeking to harm werewolves and even occult hunters. HOWEVER, by retreating into the woods, The Collective are closer to what they believe is their spiritual source - Lunvik Lake - where the original mooncasters created werewolves and Myshupotamians worshipped the moon. By being closer to their source, they are strengthened and therefore able to keep out potential threats, protect their own pack, and watch over Moonwood Mill as a whole more effectively. I don't think the Wildfangs are particularly interested in this part of their Lyncanthropy - its something uniquely embeded in the history of The Collective and why it was created in the first place.

LASTLY, my Moonwood Mill/magic world in general is actually years ahead of where we start in game, and in my mind the magic world is on the precipice of another war (a long anticipated response after the destruction caused by Operation Eternal Flame. Vlad isn't one to take losses, and the Spellcaster/Vampire tensions are still very much palpable). I'm not going to get fully into all that, but I will say that the Wildfangs are a far more established pack, still led by their alpha, Rory (albeit a much older, wiser Rory) and The Collective is led by Rory's adoptive brother, Jacob Volkov, after their father (and former alpha of The Collective) Kristopher died. Although the tensions between the Wildfangs and The Moonwood Collective aren't as severe any more, they do still have trouble coexisting from an occult governance/council perspective. Again, I have a whole lore about occult governance as well, but I won't get into all that either haha. The TLDR is that there are two big issues between the Wildfangs and The Collective at the present moment: the first being how Rory has gone about growing the Wildfangs (by recruiting pack-less werewolves outside of Moonwood Mill, something The Collective has always been against since its inception) and second, their willingness to work with spellcasters if another occult war breaks out.

Okay... I'm done now! I'm cutting myself off! That may have been more than you were looking for...I'm truly sorry!!!

I hope I managed to answer your question (and some). Thank you for asking me about this, I literally never get to talk occult lore and it is one of my favorite things to explore in the sims!! I feel like no one cares about my occult headcanons and such... but sometimes that's all I want to talk about lmao. If I had the time and talent to make a story about this very topic, I WOULD! But for now this is all I have to offer <3

Let's start by talking about her life and death. After initial research, it became clear to me that Bonehilda would have lived around the same time as the flirty spirit Claude René Duplantier Guidry (an implied lover/admirer) and the angry, wrathful spirit Temperance (who is highly implied to be her sister), so she most likely would have been a living young adult somewhere between 1910-1920, and died somewhere in the mid to late 1930s as an adult. Why do I believe she died in adulthood, you ask? I think she likely died in adulthood because the one consistent detail across all three iterations of the game she appears in is that she is an adult skeleton, therefore it's only logical to conclude that she died in her adulthood and unfortunately never made it to elderhood.

I've seen some people argue that she is not actually dead, that she never died and did reach elderhood but just evaded death, but I disagree with this because (1) she is not an "elder" skeleton and (2) my eschatological-philosophy-inclined brain interprets eternal-life as either a divine gift or punishment. This is backed up by the fact that, normally, sims do not come back as skeletons but as spirits and living sims who do have eternal life maintain a sim form but are either occults (vampires) or have taken some elixir of life that just maintains their youthful appearance. Ergo, Bonehilda is closer to the Grim Reaper in nature and distinctly different than a previously living sim - she's a seemingly death-defying being that can be summoned from some unknown ether. Could this be the work of a curse? A sacrifice? A ritual she was involved in...willingly or unwillingly? There's no definite answer, but I do have a personal interpretation that I'll save for another day as it involves some other sims we'll take a deep dive into.

All that being said, I wanted to keep her human form consistent with this established timeline because...well...I'm kind of nuts I guess lmao. But I do like the challenge of working with "eras" in my saves because it makes the passage of time feel more realistic and deepens the interpersonal "legacy" roots that I like to create in the game.

Now let's look at her name, which I very much doubt was literally Bonehilda. I think the sims team chose her name to be a play-on-words. For example, I see a sim like Marcus "Flex" being a good example of this. I interpret "Flex" to be more of an acquired nickname due to his fitness prowess, not his actual last name (perhaps it is even a variation of a real last name like Fleck or Fletcher). That being said, after wayyyy too much thought I came to the conclusion that her first name was likely "Brunhilda," a name referencing a Germanic heroic legend, protector, and queen consort; a name that means "armed for battle" (just like our Bonehilda who protects living sims from malicious spirits). I like to think that our Brunhilda commonly just went by Hilda for short during her lifetime. The bone part, in my lore, became a moniker she was known by because, well, she's a skeleton (duh). But more than that, the likely explanation is that stories and legends about her created an unintentional game of telephone - meaning that as time went on and people told tales about her, her name morphed from the real Brun-hilda to Bone-hilda. I mean, it actually makes sense because they're so similar! Plus, I could see her embracing the nickname for its whimsy, as it's clear she has a kind heart and a good sense of humor. For simplicity though, I will continue to refer to her as Bonehilda.

Lastly, I'm going to touch on her personal appearance. We know that when she takes a "human" form (like when she showers if you add her to your household) she has an average body type, green eyes, and red hair, so I kept all those things consistent. Now, personally, when I think of Bonehilda I think of the words "lively," "spirited," and "trendsetter," so right off the bat I chose to make her hair short. Keeping up with desire to be historically-accurate, I imagine she was very into the rising women's suffrage movement of the 1900s and wasn't scared to turn some heads. Plus, I loved how bouncy and beautiful the hair looked and thought the shorter hair fit her face shape better. (It's an added bonus that I've never seen a human makeover of Bonehilda with short hair, so I thought it was a unique choice.)

In my personal lore, the Goth family was the last family she worked for before she died, and they definitely would have paid and treated her well; I've always assumed the Goths to be exceedingly progressive and far ahead of the times. (Side tangent: the Goths are consistently compared to the Landgraabs for good reason, and I've always seen this as old money versus new money, wealthy but with humanitarianism and philanthropy at the core versus wealthy with the intention of hoarding wealth at the cost of or with little regard of others and so on.) Truthfully, I could see the Goths of the early 1900s seeing Bonehilda (and any other staff that worked for them) as more like a part of the family than "paid help." That being the case, they would be generous and ethical, and Bonehilda would therefore have more freedom and means than your typical working-class single woman of the time, so she would be able to keep up with fashion trends/buy nice clothes/keep up with unique haircuts, etc.

As for her makeup - I am actually super happy with how it looks, so that likely won't change. Her blush is intense, but that's pretty accurate for the time period she lived in. I went with a paler, more natural lip than the movie-starlet red that was coming into style because I wanted her to have a demure, youthful look. I also went with a thin brow, but I do think it could be more "filled in" to suit the dramatic eyebrow look which was rising in popularity at this time. Lastly, the beautiful dress she's currently in is not staying as it reads too 1930s to me. My goal is to find an older looking maid's outfit to put her in that suits a 1915s-1920s look better.

I know this may come off like a lot of unnecessary thought and information for a seemingly silly, throwaway sim. However, I would argue that Bonehilda has appeared in 3/4 of the sims games... so as a long-running character she deserves attention and a consistent lore. As we continue this deep-dive series, she'll be connected to more of my personal favorite sims... so I'm really excited to share more with you guys!

I hope you all enjoyed Part 1! I don't know how many more parts there will be, but if you read all of this, know that I appreciate you and I'm so glad you're here!

Going into this I will admit that I actually did know this about Vlad!! I've been wanting to talk about it for forever but have never gotten around to it haha. 🤭 I'm a bit of a history nerd and I love a good spooky story/conspiracy, so naturally the Roanoke Colony was one of my obsessions when I was around 11 or 12 years old.

I think it's an interesting tie in from the sims team, I'd even say it's a bit meta because I feel like the game normally sticks to making references toward itself and its own canon characters/events while generally staying away from anything that would be too direct of a reference to "our world." Personally though I wish they broke the fourth wall more! I like easter eggs or hidden details that make it easier to imagine the characters existing not in their isolated, imaginary worlds, but in ours instead.

It's interesting to think about why the sims team might have made this connection - was it just a cheeky, unserious little wink to a well-known unsolved mystery, or was it done for the purposes of creating implications and expanded lore regarding Vlad and Forgotten Hollow (a case of them showing us instead of telling us). There are so many theories archaeologists and historians alike have had about the lost colony of Roanoke over the years: some believe the Roanoke colonists could have all died by disease or famine, some believe they could have been victims of a deadly storm, some believe they were attacked by neighboring tribes or by Spanish soldiers. Nowadays there are scholars who will argue that no tragedy befell the settlers at all and that they simply relocated (that would be why they left "Croatoan" behind - there was a nearby location referred to as Croatoan Island, now modern-day Hatters Island).

With that in mind, along with Vlad's own refusal to recall the details of this event, it's safe to assume that the sims team isn't referring to the happier Roanoke theories...the 25 colonists of Forgotten Hollow likely faced an unfortunate end.

Your theory of Vlad being turned and thus wiping out the colony (I'm guessing due to new-turn bloodlust) is sooooo compelling, the implications of that scenario are delicious and I personally never thought of it from that angle! My theory is only a little different: I agree that Vlad was turned on the day that the colonists "disappeared" (whatever that implies), but I have always played Vlad's story not as if he was turned and then killed everyone after, but rather that the thing that turned him successfully killed the other colonists but accidentally turned Vlad. It's a really long story that I play around with for fun in my brain but the short-ish version is: Vlad awoke outside - cold, alert, sweaty, dirty and covered in his own blood - but somehow alive, which he was thankful for. His new immortal condition is still unbeknownst to him at this point, but he felt an ache like never before, so deep in his bones it was excruciatingly painful, but his senses were heightened tenfold. He didn't remember much, just that the colony had been under attack the night before. His relief to be alive rapidly melted into abject horror as he found everyone else (friends, neighbors, family, children) dead. He realized soon enough what had happened to him and stayed in Forgotten Hollow where he would be memorialized as its "founder." He spent his days hellbent on retaliation and retribution, but was also steadfast in continuing the work that was began there before the attack. Eventually he does get to face off with the vampire who attacked him and his people, killing it and rising to power in the vampire world. He keeps the events close to his chest because they were traumatizing and cause him sadness, and he's worked diligently to remove himself from his humanity/human memories and from emotions in general (thus how he has become the person we see today). I always thought if he killed the colonists himself the other vampires in his circle - at least his closest confidantes - would know (as he's got quite the massive ego), but they don't seem to have knowledge of this event and they never mention it. I've thought that it could be possible that sharing the memories of this event would make Vlad feel weak, and he's not one to boast in his weakness. He'd much rather rewrite history in a way that is beneficial to his image; dragging up emotions about dead people would not bring them back to life, and by burying this history of a massacre in Forgotten Hollow he is also creating some mystery around himself and making it easier to play the role of a great-great-great-great grandson (or whatever he's pretending to be, relationship-wise) to the original founder.

But that's just how I play with Vlad! 🤷 I could be way off-base lmao!

Regardless of what happened, we know Vlad is the sole survivor of this event and he is scarred by it, impacted so deeply that he only ever vaguely alludes to it with no clear explanation. Whether he killed the colonists himself or just witnessed their death, the sims team will probably never give us concrete answers (and frankly, that's probably for the best considering their track record). But the clever connection of the LOST colony and FORGOTTEN Hollow are clear as day and I just think that is freaking cool! The occult lore in TS4, especially regarding Vlad and Forgotten Hollow, make interesting framework for storytellers and lore-lovers alike! Vlad is one of those characters who has sooooo many interpretations, and I eat up each and every one!

Strangetown is my favorite world in TS2 as well! No one is surprised by this I'm sure. I actually ended up tying it (and some of its townies 👀...) into my Strangerville story because I just couldn't help myself. But I'll be honest - the family tree stuff with Lola/Chloe/Jenny/Pollination Tech 9 has always made my brain melt a little. I'm a visual person so I had to reference their family tree as a guide for our conversation. I'll provide the one that I used below!

Lore-wise, you have to start this conversation by talking about alien pollination and normal sim reproduction. You just can't avoid it. For me, I've always seen them as completely separate entities... otherwise Jenny is married to a man who, for lack of a better term, knowingly banged and impregnated her father lmfao. But not only that - if they were the same, that would imply that aliens are abducting people and engaging in sexual relations with them (with willingness or unwillingness not playing a factor; sim abductions can happen to sims who want or fear them) and this is kind of reductive and uncharacteristic of what we know about their species (plus the implications are icky imo). Therefore, I never thought that Pollination Tech 9 would view Lola and Chloe as his children, even though they technically are, in the way that Poli Tech wouldn't view Tycho as his child either (nor would Pascal regard Poli Tech as the father either).

If I'm recalling correctly, I don't think sims are necessarily aware which alien pollinated them in game (even though each sim neighborhood in TS2 has only one Pollination Technician, therefore making all the half-alien babies in that neighborhood half-siblings by default within the limited span of the game). I also don't know that male sims in TS2, from what I remember, are aware they've been pollinated because they're always surprised to find they're "pregnant," meaning there likely wasn't any a-typical intercourse happening that they could connect to the pregnancy (even if, let's be honest, Pascal might have been down for that). I think of pollination as an act similar to cloning, (the wiki says through "advanced technology") or as the name implies it could also just be a consequence of coming into proximity with their species (their name being a reference to reproduction methods of flora by pollination, for example). But realistically... it's a fictional simulation game, and in the case of TS2 it was super campy and a knowingly-leaning-into-the-outrageous kind of simulation game (which I loved and miss). So who knows!

All that to say that I agree; regardless of how the baby process works for aliens, it is still an absolutely crazy family tree lmao. But on the bright side... that at least implies that Pollination Tech 9 wasn't into his wife's father, nor might he be aware that Chloe and Lola are his children. 😅 But I'll stop here because if I think about it for too long, I think my brain might explode lmao. Still, I'm inclined toward the belief that the messiness adds to the flavor! 😂 The Sims team today could never write such a juicy bit of lore. My ass ate their dynamic up.

Also, quick note, JILL HAS EYES IN THE BACK OF HER HEAD?! THAT IS WHY SHE WEARS THE PIGTAILS? WHAT THE HELL?! Gonna look this up -

Holy shit!!! This fact is equal parts incredible and terrifying. Thank you for bringing this my attention. I can't believe I did not know this before this moment. What a (horrifying) little legend.

Oh I loved (and still love) Nervous Subject and Pascal together. Just thinking about that ship makes me giggle because it was one of my first exposures to "shipping" and "fandoms" as a preteen. I always put them together and had them raise little Tycho to fulfill Nervous' family aspiration. (I should note that I was also an avid JRO enthusiast. Johnny has two hands, why should he have to pick between Ophelia and Ripp?) Another interesting layer to the Ophelia/Olive/Nervous family is that Ophelia would be unaware of her direct relation to Nervous (1st cousins)! I loved playing around with this; Olive was a very secretive person who had a dark side for sure, so I'm sure Ophelia would have a lot of questions following her aunt's death (the first being why her aunt's inheritance is going to some rando named Nervous lmao). Plus, who says Ophelia didn't know her aunt was taking people out? She might not have known why, but she had to know all those deaths around Olive couldn't have been coincidental. That's messed up on its own lmao. I like to think that once Nervous and Ophelia meet, they become close and he even helps care for her in a weird-older-brother type way. I just know they would trauma bond lmao.

I didn't care for Loki or Circe (I never played with their household), so I don't have super strong opinions on them. That being said, I love reading people's theories on their connection to the Curious brothers. I think the ongoing feud with the brother's and their connection to Nervous is the most interesting part of their story, but my ideal ending for them would have been being exiled from the town and their careers in general for their shady practices. Pascal seemed like the science antithesis to Loki and Circe who seemed to believe that it was okay for scientific truths to come at the cost of the wellbeing of others. Also, I think Circe is too hot and too evil for Loki AND Vidcund. That's woman commits many crimes, but her taste in men is up there as one of the worst things about her lmao.

Lastly, LAZLO. He's so silly goofy and so chill in comparison to his brothers, and he's definitely the black-sheep of the family. I love how in comparison to Vidcund and Pascal, his personal life is pretty typical and mild. He's just vibing as a third party witness to the chaos. He didn't sign up for any of the drama, yet you know he's a ride-or-die. In my mind, he's also the cool uncle. He'd catch Johnny smoking and be like, "Gotta share little man." He's the best. Little Fun fact - when I watched season 4 of Stranger Things, I couldn't unsee Lazlo Curious every time Argyle opened his mouth.

If you don't see it, that's okay. I can't unsee it though! He's high af, he's precious, he's always has snacks, he will take down the government or transport a dead body for the homies. He should be protected. I totally, 100% agree that Nova is his child!

WHEW sorry for blabbing! Strangetown was a doozy and you're right that the Bella Goth situation adds a whole other intricacy (which I'll definitely be talking about in her specific deep dive post).