If you exclude the noble elven ladies, I would have to say it's Hetty. She always looks beautiful, whether it's nobly beautiful, or equisitely beautiful, or daintily, touchably beautiful, or softly beautiful, or cosily, girlishly beautiful...

Of course, she is a Duchess so she gets all the pretty dresses she likes.

But I have noticed that no matter how hard I try to dress Eadie well, I always put her in something that makes her look rather graceless. Or maybe that's just the difference between Eadie and Hetty. Hetty seems to pull everything off.

It's kind of an unfair question because I only have so much CC, and the earlier ladies certainly didn't have the selection the later ladies do. Wouldn't Matilda have been something in Hetty's red dress with the ermine trim, for example?

I think Maud would have to be second... more for the associations we have with her particular gowns. That white satiny one was her and later Brit's wedding dress, and it sort of defined Maud. And there was the green gown that Sigefrith loved so much and which she was buried in. But she wore a few other things I didn't like so much, but that was more in her doing-repentance phase anyway, when she probably didn't want to look too ravishing.

And of course the only lady who even comes close to dressing in an 11th century fashion is Princess Irene.

Really?? I don't remember Eadie ever wearing that dress. If we're talking about the same blue dress. I like that dress -- it is the same as Leila's usual dress, which I love on her -- but I never liked it on Maud. Dark blue is not her color.

I loved Lili's dresses, too, especially that fuchsia velvet dress that so well showed off her charms, at least from Egelric's point of view.

Like I said, the more recent ladies have had a better selection of dresses. However unrealistic they may be.

We will see at least two elven ladies later this month, though I don't know what they'll be wearing at the time. Probably more like elven lounge-wear than elven court dresses.

This post Lothere
http://www.lothere.com/?p=1045

Oh, Eadie looks nice in that dress! It's more her color than Maud's, I think.
We got to see Matilda's dress in higher quality when she came back, though. She looked so beautiful in that chapter.

You're right, Cassie, but that dress was still a bit blurry. And I forgot about that mesh and those weird stiff sleeves that make such everyday actions as hugging people and holding babies impossible. But Matilda certainly is gorgeous in red. And 20-year-old Alred is rather good-looking in nothing. If only he weren't so short.

Devin it's not the same dress, I swear. All of Maud's dresses got packed away after she died. In "Two gowns foretoken" Eadie even tells Brit: "You don’t think I would presume to take out your mother’s gowns, do you?"

I don't think Eadie has a prideful enough bearing to seem queenlike in the way Maud did. She's a simple girl in many ways. But she's going to give queenliness a try a few chapters from now.

Matilda and AlredThere is much Matilda in itMatilda, just because

Edris's blue gown is still in Edris's closet. I haven't done any recolors yet. I have a ton of other dresses I want to redo, too, but BodyShop is soooo slooooow with all my CC.

I don't know who has those "ropes of golden rosettes and green stones" that were Maud's. Brit wore them at Christmas of 1084, but I think she found them creepy then, so if she still has them we haven't seen her wearing them. I don't know whether Sigefrith (or Caedwulf since he is the growly guardian of the Shrine of Maud) considers those to be part of the "crown jewels" of Lothere, and so they should stay in the royal house (i.e. go to Ogive someday, though I do not think the green would become her), or whether they're Maud's and therefore ought to go to one of Maud's daughters. Maybe Emma will get them, since, given the choice, I don't think Brit would want them.

I don't think I do anything out of the ordinary to recolor clothes. I export using Bodyshop, edit using PhotoShop, and reimport into Bodyshop. There are tons of tutorials out there, like this one I picked at random from Google.

What I have never done is modify a mesh, but I don't even want to get started with that. I already spend so much time on this game/story as it is.

Oh dear oh dear... I would imagine they will learn about it quite soon. The younger boys are at Maire's, so they may even have heard a commotion during the night and people riding in and out. I don't know where Finn is, hmm... either at Paul's, at Maire's, at Nothelm with Conrad, at the castle with Cedric and Cubby, or at Bernwald with Olaf. He stays with his friends a lot so he doesn't have to hang out with his lame father and his lame little brothers. When he's the with the other boys, he is the oldest so he can be bossy and self-confident (as we saw a little in the penitential-reading episode), but I think he is quite uncomfortable where his father and especially his little brothers are concerned.

Anyway, they will learn about Aia quite soon but I don't know what their reactions will be. I am sure Finn will be totally unimpressed, if not disgusted. Wulf will probably be quite eager to meet her, but he's a sensitive little guy so he may realize that it is hurting Egelric. And you never know with Gils. He might be jealous, since he's already somewhat jealous of Wulf and Finn because Egelric is their "real" father.

It is impossible to say how it would have been for Gils if Sela had lived... she was no more his mother than Egelric is his father. But perhaps a mother's love would have been different from Egelric's, especially if Egelric withdraws from his younger children now the way he did with Iylaine when he was hurting.

I think Lili was a good stepmother -- the only Mama they had really known. She was always to be found playing with them in the early chapters when she had just married Egelric, and there was that chapter when Wulf asked Egelric whether he was going to lose Lili too because he always loses the ones he loved. And when Wulf wanted to kiss Lili when she was dying of childbed fever. So the boys loved her tons, it's clear.

Depending on Aia's nature, it's also hard to say how good she would be for Gils. She will look at Wulf and see her beloved sister's son... whereas she will look at Gils and see Lord Lar's son. In addition to the fear or respect or hatred or whatever she has for Lar, there is also the ongoing controversy among her people about Lar's refusal to make any babies, even though they desperately need more children, especially sons. So she might look at Gils and see this half-human child that Lar made, even though he refuses to make half-kisor children with his precious blood. Not that any of that is Gils's fault... but if she turns out to be some kind of rebel at heart, who knows?

I think so too! When I get home I will try to remember to post some of the now-useless pictures from the Egelric-meets-Aia chapter. The reactions of the Leila Sim and the Yusuf Sim to the Aia Sim may in fact have contributed to the evolution of her character in my mind, so I do not find it inappropriate to show you the pictures. They are both looking a little creeped out by her.

At the very least, there is that cold-hearted way she just left the dead woman lying on the floor to be eaten by rats, and kicked her arm out of the way when she was in a hurry to get past. Like... creepy. Ooky, even!

Well I don't think Aia could have buried the woman since she has a dissability. Aia had a hard life, I was surprised that Lady Sela was the only elf who loved her. Take a walk in Aia's shoes she has disability and was left for dead after she was born. Aia said that Sela was the only one who loved her, her mother Sallama and her grandmother Lima didn't. They died and her sister is her only immediate family, then Sela up and leaves one day to live with Egelric and the rest of the men and Aia probably felt abandoned. Then Aia learns that her sister was murdered by their leader Lar. She is lonely and wants a child she's not blissfully happy and glowing like Lena.

Lothere you never did explain how Aia found out that Lar murdered Lady Sela. Imin or Dasi must have told her then.

I remember looking at Edris' family tree and noticed that her children are really unknown; her son is about the same age as Wulf and Gils and her eldest daughter is about the same age as Lissa. Will we ever ge to see them in the future.

Lothere what did Colburga die from?

Will Finn be at the christmas festivities? It's going to be interesting to see Egelric at Christmas since it never really had been good time for him, Sela was killed on christmas eve and now Lili's gone.

Lothere have you ever wondered what type of cloths the elves use to make their clothes? Like the kisor probably use wool while the Khorron use silks.

Aia's dress the one she wore to go see the men looks like it was made out of wool. And her other dress (Sela's dress) I can't really pinpoint a type of cloth used to make the dress. It is a nice dress, better then what some of the phesants are wearing. Maybe for now it's Aia's best garment.

But their sense of fashion is a bit more extravagent then the men's. The garments that female elves wear are beautiful especially Lena's gown.
What I find interesting about the lady kisor elves' gowns is that Lady Sela's brown gown looked a bit more elegant then the other gowns the kisor women wear.

Lothere do you think Lili knew how to cook? Unlike Mistress Elfleda and Lady Sela Lili had a cook to do all of that so I was just wondering.

I never tried to make candy but I guess it is hard. It's a shame Lili didn't get the chance to see her baby girl grow up. She might have taught her how to make candy.

And Lili did know how to make her vile german tonics which Gils disliked.

So Elfleda liked planting flowers, Lili enjoyed playing her harp and making candy. And Lady Sela loved reciting poetry.
Egelric is lucky in some ways don't you think. At least he can say that 3 women loved him.

Gunnilda for sure...she loved him like crazy. She still does.
*Feels teary-eyed at the thought of Lili teaching Jehanne how to make candy*... I miss that girl.

It's soo sad none of Egelric's wives got to see their babies grow up.

Candy is pretty tricky. And she didn't even have a candy thermometer! Such a small time frame between caramel and burnt mess.

Oh, how Lili would have loved chocolate if it had existed at that time!

Answers to random questions from this comment:

1. weird skin of Aed, etc.

Aed and some of his kids have Enayla's Rich Gold skin, it seems. That is one of those skins that has a good texture but kind of weirdish tint next to the other skins, it's true. I haven't used it very often for that reason. But it seems to look OK in game, though I haven't taken many (or any) pictures of Sims using it yet.

Here is an old picture of Aed that I took long ago. He has different hair and probably some makeup now, but the skin doesn't look too funky in context.

I don't know... maybe they have liver problems in that family?

2. When did Lili go to Scotland?

She went in July of 1083, when Synne went to Scotland to be married to Murchad. This was after the death of her first baby and before Jehanne was born. She got pregnant with Jehanne about a month later, in fact -- shortly after they returned.

His uncle, at least, we will see. His aunt, I guess that depends on whether she's hanging out in the room at the time. But it won't be until next year, probably. Sometime in the spring or early summer, unless I have another idea in the meantime.

Oooh, you meant Martha... I thought you meant Enna's wife. I don't know when/if we will see Martha. Maybe if Godwine ever goes back to Ireland...

Eh, I have no idea. Probably not too far away, but I would imagine she had a house of some sort with Godwine since they were together for quite a while.

I guess that is what happens when you get into a relationship with an ambitious son of a vanquished king who quite clearly never intends to marry you, since you aren't good enough for him. It's tough on her, but the kids were the property of the man. Unless he chose not to claim them, of course... no paternity tests back in the good old days either. Let's just hope young Ealdgyth has a happier fate than her concubine mother and concubine grandmother.

I don't want to give away too much about what's happening, uh, next summer!

She had two babies, a house to take care of, and a messy man to clean up after. That ought to keep an elf busy from morning to night!

What did Egelric's wives find attractive about him?

There's definitely something inate that attracts us to a particular person. There has been a guy or two in my life that I was SO attracted to, but my friends STILL can't see why. It's pheremones, I tell ya.

A guy in my life that I'd compare to Leofric or the older Malcolm is someone that my best friend thought was completely unattractive and I couldn't understand why she wasn't drooling over him.

Ohhh man. I just thought about which guy in Lothere is most like my current boyfriend (and man I plan on marrying one day)...and it's Finn. How the hell? I guess it fits--I'm a more realistic (and older) version of Gwynn...they must be meant to be.

I loved Gil, too. He was wonderful.
I definitely see the appeal of Egelric. He is so complex and magnetic and fascinating, so animal-like but also with that great intellect and dignity (although his dignity has diminished of late.) I really loved the Egelric of about 30, who still had the grandeur he does now, but with less of the wolf about him. Although that has an appeal too, of course.
Leofric is less for me. I just think Egelric is deeper. I'm not denying the fascination around him and I can certainly understand it in others, but Egelric is just more my kind of mystery, I guess.

Sorry to hijack your thread Devin

So I was thinking about what makes classic storybook/cinema heroes so attractive, because I think it applies here. (More so than pheromones obviously since we can't smell Egelric. ) So I was making my own checklist:

• At least somewhat tall and well-built.
• At least somewhat dark. (Sorry fans of blonds and redheads, but I am not only generalizing but also speaking for myself )
• Competent, and projecting an air of competence, like you can just trust that he'll take care of things (and you), either:
  • physically, like your well-muscled, warrior types, or
  • intellectually, to please us blue-stockings, but that also includes the James Bond type of cleverness
• Honorable, at least according to his own "private code of honor", again so you can trust him with yourself
• Passionate, but preferably just barely under control or just barely out of control so you can always fantasize about being the one that brings that mad passion out of him
• Mysterious (maybe Brooding if you're that type)
• Hurt or tortured or vulnerable at least a wee bit so you can imagine him needing you to make him complete

With that you get everything from Rhett Butler of Gone with the Wind to Heathcliff of Wuthering Heights. And it describes both Egelric and Leofric quite well. Tall, big, dark, smart and crafty, passionate definitely for both of them. We could argue about how mysterious/brooding Leofric is... before Matilda not so much, except insofar as there have always been depths to him that no woman has explored. And likewise for Leof with being hurt or tortured or vulnerable pre-Matilda, but lately he is all the way there.

And of course Egelric is all of those things. In fact he is somewhat Heathcliff-like now that I think about it, though it's been quite a while since I read that book. He goes just a bit too far off the dangerous end.

Based on what novels and Hollywood throw at us, I can only suppose that it's a pretty common combination for women to find attractive. And I would say that it's what attracts women as varied as Elfleda, Gunnilda, Sela, and Lili to Egelric, except that they're not real women. However I will say that it's surely why I find him attractive (which is both due to and the cause of the way I write about him). And probably a lot of you do, too.

I personally find Egelric more attractive than Leofric. Leofric is a bit too much for me, a bit too overtly sexual. I think his big lips have affected me a lot in terms of the way I write about him... it is a projection of too much... argh I can't find the word for what I want to say. Too luscious and overripe. I like Egelric with his wariness and his stand-offishness and his taciturnity better. I also like how he didn't even try with Lili, I can see how she found that very attractive too (that probably gets filed under Mystery above).

As for Gil, I loved that bit about the White Sands crowd. I am not sure what constituted "fast" at that time, but it was so good and sweet of him.

I wonder where Finn is going to go with that. So far he is all talk, but he actually seems rather shy compared to Cedric or Conrad. Cedric, I mean, feels awkward and everything, but at least he actually says nice things to girls and asks them to dance and so on. Finn is still calling them cockerels. (Or at least certain girls he does.) Malcolm tried and almost succeeded to be good so he would be worthy of Baby... I wonder whether Finn won't do something similar. Pretending not to, of course.

Or his bravery which attracted Sela.

Probably not. You're right, though, he didn't seem to care whether he lived or died. Which, in light of the fact that he had Iylaine, his friends, and a great number of responsibilities, makes him seem quite selfish and a bit less heroic. But that's a whole other debate.

He farms Birch Hill Farm.

He is well-to-do as farmers go, but he's not rich. His wife might have a nice dress or two and some lace, but she would be making them herself.

Do you still have Egelric's first house?

Will Aia's cottage be similar to that house or completely different?

Lothere how would Paul and Osh react if Vash had entered a relationship with Aia and decided to marry her in either the christian/elfin way would do they support him once they get passed their shock?

Lothere the Shalla and Midra don't know that Lady Sela and Wulf are related to them right?

Is Scarlett O'Hara the chick from Gone With the Wind or Sound of Music?

Well since Midra died and has come back to life I thought she would know almost everything...

Lothere I have a question for you: Lady Leila married Godfrey in March of 1082 and she was already showing by the time Eadgith and Leofric saw her why did she continue to stay at Raegeming was it because of the children?

I take it that Alred was a witness..

Father Faelan of course. He's a dear.

Alred wasn't a witness, Devin, but he was aware of the proceedings before they proceeded.

She didn't spend much of any time out of the castle at all, Devin. A lady like that can't just get on her horse and go where she pleases. She hardly saw Godefroy after they were married.