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Morgan, shipwrecked in paradise
PalmArrow
Posts: 4,329 Member
This is my response to the Off-the-grid challenge Island Living by @kitnkabootle .
Morgan Miner is a sailor who got shipwrecked and ended up on the Key Point lot in Sulani - the empty lot an a little island near the volcano island, with the "off the grid" lot trait. He starts the game with 0 simoleons, 0 skills and no satisfaction points or awards.
Morgan will earn money only by doing odd jobs (limited to one a day), fishing, beachcombing and collecting. He is only allowed to buy a house when he earns 10,000 (I took this to mean he is not allowed to build before he earns that amount, only to buy furniture and off-the-grid appliances.)
If I encounter a glitch that allows him to earn money unfairly quickly, I will not take advantage of it. (The reason I added this rule is that in my other game on Sulani, my sim keeps finding seashells that can be picked up and sold a multiple amount of times. A handy money cheat, but it would make this challenge very unchallenging!)
Morgan Miner is a sailor who got shipwrecked and ended up on the Key Point lot in Sulani - the empty lot an a little island near the volcano island, with the "off the grid" lot trait. He starts the game with 0 simoleons, 0 skills and no satisfaction points or awards.
Morgan will earn money only by doing odd jobs (limited to one a day), fishing, beachcombing and collecting. He is only allowed to buy a house when he earns 10,000 (I took this to mean he is not allowed to build before he earns that amount, only to buy furniture and off-the-grid appliances.)
If I encounter a glitch that allows him to earn money unfairly quickly, I will not take advantage of it. (The reason I added this rule is that in my other game on Sulani, my sim keeps finding seashells that can be picked up and sold a multiple amount of times. A handy money cheat, but it would make this challenge very unchallenging!)
Post edited by PalmArrow on
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The first thing he does is try to learn fishing.
His first catch is just some seaweed. His second is a lump of clay, worth 150 simoleons, which he sells immediately. his first earnings!
A lady called Emiri from the neighbouring island appears to welcome him to Sulani. Morgan is surprised to hear the locals already know about him, and delighted to be made welcome.
She has brought a bowl of kava to welcome him properly with the kava ceremony, but she has no place to put it down. Morgan doesn't want her kind gesture to be in vain, so he spends the whole amount he earned on a cheap counter.
Now that the bowl is properly placed, they take a cup each and chat. The drink is very pleasant and satisfies some of Morgan's hunger.
After Emiri leaves, Morgan swims over to the larger island. He is happy to find that there is a public toilet and trash cans he can use, as well as a waterfall he can shower in.
But he is sad to see piles of rubbish littering the island. Although his priority is, of course, his own survival, he decides he will help keep the island clean.
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This young woman, called Nalani, is very friendly but there still seems to be something otherwordly about her.
But he didn't come here just for fun. He has 0 simoleons and he needs to eat. He tries fishing from an enclosed net by the pier.
He catches his first fish! But it's only a small minnow worth 6 simoleons.
He has better luck with searching for sea shells: he finds a brown tulip shell worth 40.
Already very hungry, Morgan buys a portion of Adobo pork from the street vendor. A well deserved meal!
It's another one worth 40.
Morgan is very tired now and has no place to sleep, so he takes a nap on one of the float loungers. Life continues all around him - sims are still swimming and building sand sculptures late into the night.
He manages to take two naps - not as good as a good night's sleep, but he wakes up feeling slightly better.
During the night the waves have washed new seashells ashore, and Morgan picks up as many as he can. One of them is a pretty valuable blue abalone shell, and after selling them Morgan has 336 simoleons.
He treats himself to a delicious grilled fruit breakfast. But he can already feel his energy dropping, and it is only 7AM. He will have to work as hard as he can today and buy himself a real bed if he wants to survive this.
He is very tired now, so he purchases his first home commodities: a bush he can use as a toilet, and a beach towel to nap on.
Feeling refreshed, he decides to visit the only island neighbourhood he hasn't seen yet: Lani St. Taz, where the richest people live.
He meets his acquaintances from yesterday, Nalani and Emiri, and has a nice chat with them.
But he is in desperate need of money, so he soon excuses himself and starts beachcombing. He finds a shell, but it isn't very valuable.
He realises the best place to search for cherries is Ohan'ali Town, so he travels there.
He finds an unusually large shell and feels the impulse to blow it like a horn. The sound has a magical quality to it, and Morgan wishes he could keep this shell for himself. But he can't afford to keep it, because what he needs most of all now is a bed. Perhaps he'll find another one someday!
Morgan returns home and buys a bed. He feels very proud of his belongings now: bed, bush, kitchen counter, beach towel, and the kava bowl he got as a gift!
He goes to sleep before sunset, because every muscle in his body feels tired and he hasn't had a decent sleep since his shipwreck.
He wakes up in the middle of the night, well rested but filthy, hungry and in desperate need of a toilet. The bush he got the day before comes in handy.
To wash himself, he has to swim to the waterfall on the volcano island.
It feels wonderful to finally be clean. But he is now desperately hungry. He could fish, but he might not be able to wait until a fish bites. The bar and the food vendors are closed at this time of night. But, luckily, he remembers that he saw a vending machine for beach supplies in Ohan'ali Town that also sells tropical fruit.
Morgan buys two coconuts and eats one immediately. it gives him some temporary relief, but he will have to eat again soon.
He saves the other coconut for later. He will eat it if necessary, but it would be better to save and plant it - he would get many coconuts for the same price!
He finds two dig sites on the path to the volcano and excavates them. He finds a cheap gem and a figurine. Together, they are worth just a little bit more than what he spent on the coconuts.
After that he goes fishing, as the sun slowly begins to rise.
He catches no fish - instead, he gets one useless bunch of seaweed, and two chests.
In one of the chests he finds a kava root. In the other, a cow plant berry - a stroke of luck, because it is worth 180 simoleons.
He feels hungry again, but after selling the berry he can afford a substantial breakfast. He buys the ingredients and prepares burgers on the beach in Ohan'ali Town. He is a beginner in cooking, so normal quality is as good as they can get.
He eats his breakfast and chats with the locals on the beach, then relaxes in the sun for a while.
Now nicely tanned, he finds another large conch shell. He decides to keep this one unless there is a pressing need to sell it.
Back on his home lot, he plants the second coconut he bought and the kava root he fished out of the ocean. These are humble beginnings - he hopes to have a lush tropical garden someday!
Realising that Morgan is cleaning up the rubbish and not leaving it, the man thanks him.
He introduces himself as Makoa Kealoha and explains that he works as a conservationist. He welcomes Morgan to Sulani, and tells him that if he continues helping the island's fragile ecosystem the island will find a way to pay him back.
And as if the island wanted to show its gratitude right away, Morgan spots a taro plant ready for harvest.
Although taro root is not meant to be eaten raw, he is hungry so he eats one right away. He thinks it's delicious. (This is genuinely the happy face he made right after eating the taro root!)
Another local runs over to Morgan to introduce herself. She is much paler than the rest of the islanders and, like Nalani, there is something otherwordly about her.
Her name is Kalamainu'u, and she is friendly at first, but Morgan feels unsettled when she suddenly starts making dolphin sounds and flapping her arms as if they were flippers.
He excuses himself and walks partly up the volcano, looking for more food. He is lucky again: he harvests a wild pineapple plant.
Feeling tired, he crosses the water to get to his bed under the stars.
Around his little island, colourful fish glow in the moonlight. Makoa and another conservationist swim or sail around for a while, possibly studying the ocean at night, possibly just relaxing after work.
He takes a refreshing morning swim, while dolphins play in the distance.
But not everything around him is beautiful - there is a pile of rubbish floating near Morgan's little island.
Then he does what has already become his morning routine: he visits the beach in Ohan'ali Town, buys breakfast from a vendor and chats to the locals on the beach. After that he picks up shells and tries his luck at fishing.
He makes around 300 simoleons. He then checks if there are any odd jobs he might try doing.
This is great news! The "Last minute beach party" is a job he could try. He has level 1 in cooking, already has pineapples so he would only have to buy the pork, and there is a communal barbecue pit that he can use next to the festival pavilion.
He places the pineapple and pork on hot stones, then covers them with leaves. Now all he has to do is wait two hours.
He uses the public toilet, then takes out his beach towel to relax in the late afternoon sun. Living outdoors has made him much less fastidious, so he doesn't mind that he has placed his towel between the toilet and a flock of chickens.
Morgan relaxes with his eyes closed, unaware that he is in for a big surprise when he gets up and looks around. The pavilion is now decorated with balloons and banners for a festival!
When Morgan takes his group serving of Kalua pork from the pit, he finds himself in a crowd of islanders, many of them also carrying plates of Kalua pork!
Many of the faces are already familiar to him, and he is glad to join them.
He tries fire dancing, but manages to set himself on fire almost immediately.
Some of the locals show him how it's done.
He meets his conservationist acquaintance Makoa, and his wife Liliana who is a very good cook. (Morgan is eating a portion of Liliana's Kalua pork - his own is safely tucked away in his inventory, because he needs to mail it tonight in order to get paid.)
When he arrives home, he mails the Kalua pork. The lady who ordered it is satisfied. She sends him the 156 she promised and a small tip.
There is an intruder on Morgan's island, a poacher stealing the fish! Morgan asks her to leave and, to my surprise, he gets paid for doing that although he isn't a conservationist.
Morgan now has over 900 simoleons, a small fortune considering that he started from zero. Tomorrow he can buy some new things to make his life more comfortable!