Now that Jackson lived on a beach, his own private one as he calls it, he got a little lonely on his first day. So, he decided he would check out the rest of the beaches after school on his second day.
Jackson is an average student in high school. Achieving a C grade is all he really needs was his mind-set. Having a D makes him look stupid and getting an F just means he’ll have to repeat his last term in high school all over again. That’s something he did not want to do.
Jackson was also an average build. He wasn’t too scrawny and he wasn’t well built. If he was going to live on the beaches of Sulani, he knew he had to make a workout routine to help him build muscle. As there’s no gym provided on the beaches or in the area, he would have to do his own home private workouts of jogging, sit-ups and pushups.
His first day back to school after becoming homeless and living on a secluded beach by himself, one of his classes sends him home with a project to do. Jackson was not happy with this, but it’s something he needs to do. He changes out of his school clothes and into something more comfortable before starting on his project. One positive note is the school supplied all the materials. If he would have had to, Jackson would have been in big trouble.
Jackson(to himself): “What exactly am I suppose to be making again?”
He flips open the manual. He was to construct a bridge with the provided materials. This took him most of the afternoon. Something he didn’t want. When he finished, he looked at his final piece.
Jackson(angrily to himself): “Seriously. I spent my whole day for this? I’m not an engineer. Why would we have to create something like this? How am I going to use this in life? Such a dumb thing.”
Jackson saw it was getting dark. He could still go exploring, but many folks were probably enjoying the evening in their homes. Instead, he decided to clean up the waters around his beach. Last he wants is this junk to float up on the shore. He was already angry about wasting his whole day on a school project, finding litter just kept that anger fueled.
Jackson(still angrily to himself): “This water feels as if it’s sticking to me. Gross…”
After this was complete, he dug through his cooler to find something to eat and drink. He’s going to have to restock the cooler eventually. Plus, he doesn’t want to live off of cereal and junk food. Especially if he’s going to want that beach body.
Side Notes:
So, expect some type of cheating to happen throughout this story. I have to put Jackson into specific moods for certain occasions. These are for the bonus images for readers mainly. Otherwise, I could just fake it. But everyone likes pictures.
It looks like projects vary for time. I’ve had Sims finish projects in a few in-game hours and then I’ve also had Sims take all day. Jackson took all day, about 5 in-game hours. I’m thinking also having a partner to help speeds up the time.
In the bottom left where the picture of the active Sim is, you can read about their emotional state in each small box. I’ll be using some of these to display Jackson’s thoughts as you can see in at the end of this chapter. It makes it more fun.
Okay last time I commented was on April 30th. I do read everyone's post's and try to comment at least a little even if it's days late and it's a quick summary comment. Also there is the dreaded problem when you don't save right or click the page out after writing a bunch up. That's happened to me a few times. @Karababy52
Going into detail in that house. I caught that Josh has a workout room... you just want to see him with his shirt off! Love that bathroom.
The cowplant is perfect. I hope it doesn't bug out... Thought I read something somewhere about that.
Oh man that rags to riches start! At least he has a tent and can pee in the water! Jackson Rider is a great name by the way so go game generation!
-Bleh for the COVID shot symptoms... I hope you feel better soon.
I started going to peoples houses I met to do the projects .. that way I could use their facilities too. Always welcome trait baby! I forget if sims get uncomfortable from eating out of a cooler too long.
Okay I already love/am irritated by the Wanda character too.. nice . What a step down in living arrangements... fun... the uncomfortable looks are telling. Starting off in Strangerville strange!
Lol your welcome wagon post was funny clowns and the possessed all rolled up into one...and of course fruitcake!
-I don't know if I'll keep trying to story tell in that manner, but it's fun when I feel like it.
Great start in Strangerville. I like the way you are tying in the gameplay story elements with it so far. Diving right in to the lab and everything quick. I wish we could modify parts of that lab.
I really like the idea of doing this as a toddler. That way you can get them all of their extra traits.. especially with Parenthood in the game. Nice backstory with the working mom... and of course Mia is super cute.
Aww, poor Jaz with her first day of school. You have that hectic uncontrolled feel for the family down good though.. also hope your feeling better. I am reading this a few days later.
OMG when Malcolm died my heart dropped... but LMAO Mom saved the day with the ultimate ultimatum. Also..from that dark terrible death voice to ... pretty please! That was great.
The next day was Friday and Wolfgang came over after Sakura was done work.
Wolfgang: "So, I see you've made a decision," he said pointing to her outfit. They were both dressed in their school colors.
Sakura: "Yes. I was very tempted to go with the new program that Melody had told me about in Psychology at Foxbury. I had even thought about being in the same dorm with you. But I decided that it would be best for me to enroll in the Fine Arts Program at Britechester. You have been such a steadfast bestfriend these last few days, but I have to do this on my own."
Wolfgang: "Sakura, as soon as you told me that you had been accepted into that program, I knew that was the right one for you. And I do understand how you feel. You've been through so much recently and I know you can do this. And even though I'm at Foxbury, I'll always be there for you, Sakura. Plus you look rather...um...nice in green," he said smiling at her. ["Gah!" thought Wolfgang, "Is it possible that she has gotten even more beautiful since her birthday? And that top she has on. Could she cover up those shoulders? Doesn't she have some baggy t-shirt to wear because she's just too sexy in that top. No, she'd probably look good in a baggy t-shirt, too! Dang!"]
Sakura: "And you look really good in red, That shirt really shows off your...um...muscles," she replied. ["Oh my gawd," thought Sakura, "Why haven't I noticed how Wolfgang has changed since his birthday? He's still the same Wolfgang, but seems more confident. And he does indeed have muscles! Where did those muscles come from so suddenly? He looks so rugged and handsome..."
They headed upstairs together and Sakura sat down first to enroll.
Wolfgang: "You know what this means, don't you?"
Sakura: "No, what?"
Wolfgang: "I am going to know what dorm you'll be staying at, so I can come and re-decorate it in RED!" They both laughed.
Sakura enrolls in the Fine Arts Distinguished Degree at the University of Britechester and will be living at Drake Hall.
For some reason, when I played Jeb Harris to get him enrolled, I put him in this dorm and then it showed him as being playable with Sakura. And to top it off, he was on probation. I should have just chosen for him to stay home and go to uni. That was a mix-up which I couldn't fix later. Oh well.
And it costs nothing for Sakura to go to university! Yes, and she gets the Full Ride moodlet. And she immediately gets whisked off to her dorm. Note: I temporarily moved Joaquin into her house to save all her inventory items.
It was now Wolfgang's turn to enroll. He selected the Physics Distinguished Degree at Foxbury Institute and will be living at Maritime Manor. And there is no cost to Wolfgang either! Woot! Those extra scholarships that he got must have helped.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
They sat down together in the conservatory and compared their schedules. It looked like Wolfgang was also signed up for E-Sports, and Sakura was signed up for the Soccer Team. Must be because of their scholarships. It looked like they would both be busy. Sakura and Wolfgang were all packed and ready to go. They would travel by ferry to the mainland and then Wolfgang's mother was driving them to Britechester.
They walked outside, and Sakura stopped and took one last look at her house.
Wolfgang: "Everything will be fine, Sakura. This is a new adventure...for both of us..." he said as he autonomously kissed her on the cheek, "Are you ready to go to university, Sakura?"
Sakura smiled at Wolfgang and nodded her head, "Yes!"
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Both Sakura and Wolfgang are living in the Maxis-built dorms, I just did a bit of a renovation to them.
Drake Hall - University of Britechester - Sakura's dorm:
Sakura was immediately transported to Drake Hall, and she autonomously decided to paint on the balcony.
I perked up the place a bit when you get off the elevator, and added some Britechester banners and pictures. Also, added a bar, a keg, and a chess table.
A few skill items on the balcony, and there is a yoga stool on the other balcony.
It's funny that when I played a sim at uni before, this is the dorm I chose for them. Sakura gets a corner room, all decked out in Britechester colors. And this is the same room I chose before, except I gave Sakura a different bed this time. I didn't renovate any of the bedrooms, I just changed the bedspreads on these beds in this room.
You see those nice potted plants? They were missing later on. There is a klepto loose in her dorm somewhere, and that's why she keeps her laptop in inventory. lol
A little study - computer area where couches had been near Sakura's room.
I redid the back room to a dining room area.
The lounge needed an overhaul, too. Because Britechester is an older university, I tried to keep things looking older, and not as bright as Foxbury. Posters of the University of Britechester organizations displayed on the wall.
And, the only thing I changed in the restrooms were those open showers. Bye! Bye!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Maritime Manor - Foxbury Institute - Wolfgang's dorm:
This dorm was originally for four students, and I renovated the house for eight by using some bunkbeds in the upstairs area. The first time I have used bunkbeds, a real space saver. I didn't renovate the bathrooms, as they were fine.
Wolfgang's arrival at Maritime Manor. It is on a cul-du-sac in a residential neighborhood, and backs onto the campus.
Entrance to Maritime Manor. Posters on the wall of all the organizations at Foxbury, and, of course, every dorm has to have their own mascot, right? Baby Yoda rules!
There is a combined living room-kitchen area. Lots of seating in the living room. The kitchen area is bright and reflects the colors of Foxbury. I was going to do both rooms with bright colors, but it was just too much! Looking at this now, I should have changed the counters to a brighter color in the kitchen.
There are two downstairs bedrooms. I was originally going to move Sofia and Luna into this dorm, but then decided they would go to Britechester with Sakura. I actually put them in Wyvern Hall together and spruced up their room. This room would have suited these girls very well. This is the front downstairs bedroom.
And the first floor back bedroom close to the kitchen, with a door to the outside, so Wolfgang can escape from his roommate now and again. Decorated in Foxbury colors. The bed with the red night table is Wolfgang's bed.
The upstairs had one large bedroom, and I just divided it, and now it holds four beds in two areas.
It wouldn't be a dorm without a party area.
The other side yard. Dorms don't have pools, but students know how to improvise!
Back of the house which faces Foxbury. The door leads into Wolfgang's room.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
This is the reno I did in Wyvern Hall to Luna and Sofia's room. I didn't renovate anything else in their dorm, so they still have the open showers. Why is this random roommate in their room? He better not swipe anything! Luna is in the Drama program and Sofia is in Fine Arts.
The good thing about their work schedules is that Emily works late evening and Skye’s gigs are normally in the morning and early afternoon. That means there is generally always someone in the house to take care of Mia. And of course, Jake comes by to see Mia regularly.
Emily is there to make Mia a healthy breakfast of egg white omelets while Skye is off for her audition.
Skye gets the gig, of course. She heads off to her room to practice her acting and charisma so she will be ready for tomorrow.
Once Skye feels she is prepared for her gig, she heads down and out to check on Mia. Mia is playing on the slide so Skye takes a picture and posts it to her Simstagram. She has to keep relevant or she will lose what little fame she has at the moment. She can’t let that happen.
As the day winds down, Emily heads off for her next shift while Skye reads Mia a story before bedtime. Monday ends much as Sunday did – Skye and Mia are both asleep when Emily comes home at 2am. And another day has been a good day. Mia is at level 3 in three skills, level 2 in potty, and level 1 in thinking. Thinking is always the last to level up.
Jaz … was NOT going back to school. Why did school even exist? Why was this a thing?
Waking up to a vampire who still hadn’t left… certainly hadn’t helped Jaz’s morning mood.
The smell of coffee brewing made Jaz roll over and pull the blankets over her head. Maybe nobody would notice that she was still in bed.
From the next room: “You’re such a brown-noser, Myles. Why are you cleaning the dishes? EW!” Phoenix was taunting his brother, and his loud voice made the twins stir. This wasn’t going to make Marnie and Bennie happy. After taunting his brother, Phoenix went and woke up his parents. “Mooooom. All the cereal is gone, and we’re hungry! And DAD! Jazmyn is still in bed!”
“Why are you still in bed?!”
“Because I’m NOT going back to school. I hate it, the kids are mean to me!”
One thing you didn’t do – was talk back to Bennie. The lecture Jaz got after that certainly could be heard all down the street as the other stores were opening for the day. At least only Braydon and Brett had heard it, since everyone else was already off to school.
Embarrassed and upset, Jaz stomped along after her father as he drug her off to school – and straight to the principal’s office. Getting a detention on the second day of school had to be a record. And it certainly didn’t help Jaz’s standing amongst her peers.
Meanwhile, back at home, Marnie had managed to make some half-rotten fruit salad, which the twins were eating (mostly without complaint), and was now making some extra coffee. She was hoping fresh coffee would make Bennie a little happier about having had to manually drag Jaz to school.
After Bennie got home, he went straight to watching TV.. and when a twin interrupted him, the roar that filled the house seemed to even worry the vampire.. who still hadn’t left. Maybe he was afraid of the sun.
The twins gave up on trying to talk to their parents, and engaged the vampire stranger’s attention.
The vampire ended up growing and hissing at them unintelligibly, and Braydon hid his face, while Brett decided to give his dad a try again. Surely someone would want to play with him… or give him a much-needed diaper change or bath.
… Nope. Poor Brett ended up crying in the corner while his mother tried mopping up the stains in the living room. The mouse was unimpressed with the mopping, went to sniff the stinky toddler, and headed back into his hole in the wall.
By the time the kids were home from school, Bennie was in a real mood. He was determined to make sure Jazmyn got her homework done.. and of course Marnie was aiding Myles with his Math homework again.
Benji had invited his best friend, Jay, home from school, and in between joking around with his friend, he managed to get Jay to come upstairs to play some video games while Bennie was otherwise occupied. For once, Jay wasn’t talking only about his girlfriend, and Benji was definitely taking advantage of it.
Phoenix was back to practicing. Badly – torturing the whole house.
On the way back upstairs, Bennie corralled an escaping toddler, and drug him back upstairs to give him a (very late) diaper change.
Brett had found a toy and was actually behaving – quietly playing by himself in the kids’ room.
Bennie was annoyed, but for once, he was participating in the parenting – and the twins were both shuffled into bed: clean (ish) and sleepy.
He then grabbed a book, and forced Jaz downstairs for some reading practice. Why he chose this as punishment, nobody knows… but it certainly worked.
Jazmyn hated it the entire time. Even though it did complete the first step towards her mental aspiration. Between being forced to do her homework and reading practice, and knowing she had detention after school tomorrow, she was having the worst day ever.
This “practice” downstairs had given Jay and Benji plenty of time to play a few rounds of the game, and now that it was dark (and everyone in the family was starting to head to bed) – Benji gave Jay the secret club handshake, and bid him goodbye until tomorrow at school.
Once the kids were in bed, Marnie decided to make some Mac and Cheese in case the toddlers woke up, then she stumbled off to bed. Tomorrow would be a new day… all too soon. (By this time, I had forced the vampire to leave with MCCC, because he seemed like he was thoroughly stuck here, and I was not ok with his lingering presence in the story!)
Jeez... So many pictures.. and I culled the crappy ones!! This was just ONE 24 hour sim day! LOL. Sorry the post was so long! I split it into two spoilers to help.
Mia is getting into the groove of things and building those toddler skills! I always find potty is the last skill for my toddlers to gain unless I'm super intentional about potty training right away with an older sim. All the other skills they tend to build without my help
Nice renovations for the dorms they will be living in! And cute makeovers too, I think Wolfgang looks especially cute in that retro style shirt. And Sakura is certainly noticing how handsome he is too Nice to add a microwave and dining area to Sakura's dorm, definitely more realistic than what they give us. But still, good luck with dorm life and all the frustrations it might bring, haha. I commend you for properly doing the college experience with Sakura
Nice update! I definitely remember those days with Jules of just living off the land and eating whatever was free/easiest. And I cheat emotions ALL THE TIME, haha, just to get those perfect screenshots for story telling, so I totally get it. MCCC just helps to make it go so much faster than trying to get them in the proper mood without cheats. Excited to see what kind of friends Jackson will make and where his journey will lead him!
I have those days when I get so many photos from just one sim day too! (Sometimes I play like a week at a time, sometimes only like half a sim day, others just one full day at a time, I'm all over the place haha, I just kind of see what feels right for an update). Even for my update today though, it just got so long that I decided to post the second half tomorrow
I was laughing that Vlad wouldn't leave, thank goodness for that leave immediately option from MCCC. And the tensions are certainly rising in the Malone house, everyone just looks aggravated all the time. What a place for Jaz to have to try to discover who she is...I wonder if anyone in her family will be remotely helpful in guiding her and being someone she can confide in, or will she find an outside friendship with another child or trusted adult who will help guide and shape her, I wonder...
I'm gonna have to remember to add Wanda in again at some point...she is so delightfully annoying, just the kind of person you'd expect to find in a small town like Strangerville. And I knew you'd appreciate the chaos and the clown haha. Maybe I'll summon the tragic clown again at some point just for some funny screenshots of him moping around the trailer
Have you guys uploaded your challenge sims to the gallery? I'll add them to my game if you have! A lot of us enjoy seeing the challenge sims around our games if you want to share them And yes, I'll even take them as toddlers and kids, haha, the other challenge sims can just be their cool aunts and uncles until it's time to age them up
@permanentrose I am planning on uploading Mia as a teen, but I just uploaded the initial household to the gallery - Mia, Emily, Skye, and Jake. This is before they got cheated to their starting point, so no skills or careers. My EAID is tsmetana and they are tagged with the following: #boolpropnet #onesimoneyear #miapatina They are showing up flagged with CC although they were created with EA items only. No CC on them.
Thanks, I gave her a Strangerville makeover since that's the world I'm playing this month, and I happened to have some Strangerville conversion CC in my game for toddlers already I may have to check in with the challenge household this month from time to time to see who she interacts with, since unfortunately toddlers don't seem to wander onto community lots when you're not playing them. I always love getting screenshots of the challenge sims and including them in updates when I can! When the others upload their challenge sims, I'll do a big group photo of everyone
@sassytxbrat , Thank you for your comment on Melody About commenting, that is totally up to you Ei hätää
And as @permanentrose said, I love to see other challengers sims in my challenge, even more sometimes than my own sims I currently cannot download anything new , as my game is offline and not patched (I am too lazy to update my gigantic mod folder) But I will soon
My love, my love, my fearless love, I will not say goodbye..
Sea may rise, sky may fall, My love will never die..
My heart, my heart, My drowning heart, Oh all the tears I've cried
Oh I may weep forevermore, My love will never die..
I will do my final uni post and comments+replies tomorrow.
But regarding other challengers's sims in my game, I did delete bunch of premades I never use to increase the chances for them to show up more
Looks like it worked
Sakura eating while Pumpkin was sleeping on that table (Astrid was not in the area, no idea why Pumpkin was there alone)
At background there is Jules and Jenny
Essa still going strong at that vendor thing Melody at background (note, I was not controlling even Melody, I just needed to test)
Malcolm is using the other easel, lol, and t looks like I deleted a vendor as Roxanne is now one too.. her hubby, River making her company There is a kid behind Caleb, that is Sakura's and Bryon's kid
My love, my love, my fearless love, I will not say goodbye..
Sea may rise, sky may fall, My love will never die..
My heart, my heart, My drowning heart, Oh all the tears I've cried
Oh I may weep forevermore, My love will never die..
I played ahead some this weekend and have posts scheduled for daily Monday through Friday. I have End-of-Month closing at work and finals at school this week so I wanted to make sure I was covered as I am expecting Monday to suck.
May - Day 2: "There is no beauty without some strangeness."
Notes
Essa and Josh spent some time their first day in StrangerVille unpacking a few things and adjusting to their new home. Josh checked in with Master Sergeant Evans on base and did a few other errands around town. Frank was busy downloading more Global enhancements. Back home from town Josh tended to the garden while Essa sat knitting on the front porch.
She heard someone spouting gibberish and looked up to see this strange woman shuffling from side to side up their driveway. Something didn't look quite right with her. Essa wondered if she was suffering some kind of seizure and was in need of help. She put away her knitting and quickly walked over to greet her.
Essa tried talking to her, but she seemed to be in some kind of trance; her eyes wide and staring, pupils dilated, an unnaturally wide smile on her face, head flopping from side to side as if her neck was a large well cooked noodle, limbs stiff and her fingers curled into a claw shape.
On top of all that, she couldn't speak properly and kept saying nonsense between these weird maniacal laughing sounds. Essa did catch a couple words, something about 'Mother,' 'Obey,' 'Join us,' and other nonsensical phrases.
Maybe she could slap some sense into the afflicted woman and break the trance.
"Hey, you, wake up, wake UP! Come on Honey, snap out of it!"
Thankfully, it worked! The woman shook her head after a few good slaps and looked around confused for a moment.
"It happened again! Where am I now? Oh I see now where I am. Who are you? I'm Audrey Cary by the way, I live in town. Or I used to...before. Did you just move here? This house has been sitting vacant for a long time."
Essa introduced herself and explained that she and Josh had just moved here.
"What happened to you? If I may ask. Are you an epileptic or something?" Essa asked as Josh walked over to join them from the house. He'd been watching from the porch. He knew what was wrong with the woman from the briefing he'd been given on base earlier that day.
"I really don't know. A few weeks ago, I started blacking out and would wake up hours later with no memory of what had happened. I lost my job because of it and couldn't pay my rent. I live in a tent down by the river now."
"I think you do know what's happened to you Audrey, don't you?"
"Oh, Hi, you must be Josh, I'm Audrey. Anyway, no, really, I don't. I'm not the only one that's been blacking out either. There's a bunch of us living down by the river. We're trying to figure it out."
"Everybody's so secretive though and won't tell us a thing. I think it has something to do with that lab in a crater on the outside of town."
"Like what? What kind of proof do you have?"
"I don't have any proof, nobody's been brave enough to go out there. Other than it's been abandoned for years until a couple weeks ago. Now there's all kinds of military and scientists swarming around it and town. I think whatever's in that lab is the answer. Some of us think it's aliens." ((Aliens? Okay, she's one of those nutty conspiracy theorists I was warned about.)
"Okay, well it was nice to meet you Audrey, but Essa, I came out here to tell you that Frank needs our help with something. We need to go do that."
"Who's Frank?"
"He's our...friend. He's different, special, and we take care of him." "Oh that's so sweet. I won't keep you any longer then. Before I go though, check out my friend's booth in town. He'll sell you a special hat to keep the aliens away. I wish I'd remembered to wear mine, maybe I wouldn't have blacked out again."
"Uh, okay, thanks, we'll do that."
"What's really wrong with her Josh? Aliens? There's no such thing right? Is she one of the reasons we're here?" "She's possessed, by...something. But, no, not by aliens. I'll tell you all about it later. I have to report this right away to my CO."
Essa tried to have a bite to eat in the dining room as she listened to Josh talk to his CO in the living room. But the food was hard to swallow and sat like a rock in her stomach.
(How did that woman get 'possessed?' Is it contagious? Oh God she'd touched her. Could she be possessed now too?)
Essa was scared. She wondered, were they risking their lives by coming here? What exactly was going on? Josh said it had something to do with those strange, yet beautiful colored plants growing everywhere, but nobody knew what.
The Scientists were here to try to figure it out and the military, including Josh, were here to try to keep the peace and protect the residents from the 'pod people' as he called them. He wouldn't or maybe couldn't tell her any more than that other than to firmly warn her to stay away from those strange plant pods...and the lab.
Essa gave up trying to eat and went upstairs to do some painting and check on Frank. Painting had always been one of her go to activities to destress and clear her mind. She'd just have to trust in Josh and do what he said...for now. She had questions and was too stubborn to just let something this strange go without answers.
Meanwhile, Josh had gone for a run. He had a lot of questions of his own after his call to Master Sergeant Evans. He stopped and stared at one of the strange plant pods. What was it? Where did it come from? How was it able to possess people? Why were those infected being rounded up whenever they were discovered?
The affects seemed to only last a few hours. Once it wore off, it was impossible to tell who was infected and who wasn't. He'd felt bad for reporting Audrey to his CO and wondered if she'd already been collected. It was his duty though, and he was an obedient soldier.
What he'd felt bad about even more was not telling Essa everything he knew. He'd been warned not to tell military secrets or suffer dire consequences. Was he putting her life in danger by not telling her everything? That question prayed on his mind the most. He'd already told her more than he should've, he couldn't help it. Keeping secrets from her was something he'd never wanted to do again.
Hopefully she'd at least heed his warning to stay away from these things. And the lab. What was in there was the key. He wished he knew what it was. That was one thing no one but a few personnel in higher authority were privy to.
Back home, Josh heard some shuffling and mumbles behind him as he walked up the stairs to the porch. He turned to see what it was and saw Audrey shuffle down their driveway and disappear down the road. Apparently she'd been able to elude the 'pod people posse' as some of the guys nicknamed the squad in charge of rounding them up. He wasn't sure how he felt about that. Duty demanded he call his CO again, but...Josh elected to ignore he'd seen her.
(She's harmless and been through enough. Nobody will know I let her go.)
Honestly, he felt a little relieved she'd gotten away. If that made him a bad soldier, so be it. Sometimes you have to be true to yourself, your beliefs and morals instead of blindly following orders. He turned around and went in the house to the backyard. It was hot and he hadn't tried out the pool yet. A few laps sounded like the perfect thing to do to cool off after his run.
The Beast seemed to smile and approve of Josh's activity as it stood motionless among the cactus.
Second later, the cowplant skeleton dropped into the ground with nothing but it's horns showing above the surface. And then, something very, very strange happened...
The Beast popped back up through the ground and stood fully revived. Against all odds, the Beast was again among the living. It let out a loud bellowing "MOOOO" which startled Josh so much, he gulped a bunch of water. Coughing and sputtering, Josh got out of the pool and ran over to the Beast.
He just stared at it in wonder a moment and then walked over to give the Beast a pet.
"Hey there Buddy! How'd you get here? Is it really you?" "MOOOOOO!" "I'll take that as a yes." Josh said and laughed.
Unlike Essa, Josh was sad when Beast had died. He'd liked this crazy plant so he was happy it had somehow been brought back to life.
Josh wondered if the plant pod he'd noticed before in their yard had anything to do with the Beast's miraculous resurrection. It wouldn't surprise him if it did. If those things could infect people, why wouldn't it be able to bring another plant back to life? This was definitely something he'd need to tell his CO. But that could wait until tomorrow when he reported for his first official day of duty.
For the rest of today, Josh intended to continue to enjoy the unusually warm Spring day. Since nobody else lived in this neighborhood and the backyard was partially fenced anyway, Josh had no qualms about sunbathing in the nude. Who was going to see him? The pod people? They wouldn't care, all they did was talk to plants.
After awhile, Essa joined him. She couldn't concentrate on her painting after she saw Josh sunbathing below from her studio window. He'd had enough Sun though and went inside to grab some steaks to grill, still nude.
(I hope he doesn't burn...anything important.) Essa thought to herself with a smirk.
"So is this what the phrase 'dining al fresco' means?" Josh asked, knowing full well what it actually meant.
"You're hilarious Josh. We are though actually, it means eating outside. But, I think in our case we're dining 'al fresco spogliato.'" Essa said around a mouthful of delicious steak.
"By the way, the Beast is back, it's alive."
"What? How? Why? It can't...." "Oh but it can." "Right Buddy?" Josh shouted toward the Beast. "MOOOOO!"
I'll get started on comments for all your lovely posts next. Hope y'all had a wonderful day!
AHHHHH JOSH'S HAIR IS GONE 😱This is gonna take some getting used to haha. Its a cute style though, and fitting since he's resuming his military duties. Nice start to the story and having a possessed townie snap out of it to give them some more information - and it will definitely be helpful for your story to have Josh in the know as well, even if he can't tell Essa everything. And man that pool is gorgeous! The graphics in your game....I know I've raved about them before, but that water in the sunlight is something else! As is Josh and Essa hanging out nude together and getting those lovely tans 😏
And what happened with your cowplant??? Was that a glitch, or did you cheat it back to that stage and then cheat it regrow, just for some fun weirdness? Essa's face is priceless too when Josh tells her!
It's the middle of winter in my game, kind of bummed about that since I keep getting overcast and chilly weather, when all I want is that scorching summer desert vibe haha. Oh well...I don't want to cheat and mess up my calendar, so I will survive a Strangerville winter
Roxanne received a call early on the first morning after moving in. Her partner was coming to meet her and take her to ground zero. When he arrived he introduced himself as Agent Lenny Hopper.
"Hate to spring this on you but I'm going to have to move in very soon also... sleeping quarters are getting tight and this town isn't equipped for so many people. You have many rooms here. Hopefully we won't have to bring in more but it's a wait and see situation for now.." Lenny said somewhat apologetically.
He continued, "We won't always be working together, but we will if we are going into a more dangerous situation. But for awhile it's best if we tag together..."
Lenny and Roxanne arrived at the lab where she had been told was the site of the disaster. Scientists had just disappeared. People trying to get in to see what happened became infected with a strange condition when they got below surface level in the facility. Some died.
"Naw, naw... you can't go down there we just lost another squad... we're trying everything but keep pulling them up unconscious.." A man in military garb was saying to Agent Crawford. "and you know what happens to them after that..."
Meanwhile.....
"Hello people... come in!" Rubanoid tried to say to the group on his doorstep. They looked strange to Rubanoid... but he told himself he still wasn't the best judge of that. They were bearing a gift so they must be there to welcome Roxanne and him to the neighborhood. It was proper to let them in... right? Didn't seem to matter what he thought... they barged right by him! Pushy humans!
Most of them headed back outside to the garden areas and milled around there. Rubanoid wondered if they were under some strange spell like Roxanne sometimes cast on people. They walked like they needed a tune-up! One kept mumbling "mother...mother..." Then jumped out at him when he tried to talk to it!
This one looked kind of like Roxanne so he decided to try to snap her out of whatever spell she was under... but it didn't work. It was kind of fun trying to snap her out of it though!
Rubanoid was puzzled but relieved when they left... We'll as much as he could feel relieved anyway. Then he went into the little study where Betty the old-fashioned desktop was.... and started to flirt. It was nice to be alone.
Nice new hairstyle for Bryon. Sweet of Jess to make him lunch. Wow, you're really chugging along with the challenge eh? Good job! I had a feeling that Scientist was an alien in on the abduction of their babies. o.O Great update!
Thanks about the house and Josh's office. Yep, I say the listening device is for Josh, but it's really for Essa. She'll just 'commandeer' it at some point.
Ah, so Sakura ended up going to Britechester afterall, her first choice. Nice that both she and Wolfgang got a full ride. Love all the renovations you made, they look great! What a sweet autonomous kiss on the cheek from Wolfgang. I can't get over how buff Wolfgang looks now. He sure matured into a big handsome guy from a skinny kid eh?
Oh man, mass chaos at the trailer! Was Hugo or Jules able to get rid of that clown? o.O I've heard it can stick around a long, long time. I don't blame Jules for throwing away the fruitcake too. Nice that Chloe is a scientist for Jules to get info from. I remember you'd said you seeded some of your Sims there to act as Scientists, Military and Conspiracy Theorists. Did you do that same for those possessed too? Just curious. Can't say as I blame them for ignoring Chloe's advice too. Good luck to them!
It definitely is a fun pack. I will and am thoroughly enjoying myself. I love this world and the mystery. It's fun!
Yep, the hair had to go! But it won't stay short for too long. That possessed townie was actually the first one that showed up, but I gave her a makeover and sent Essa out there to talk to her afterall. I love their pool! The waterfall on the diving platform is very cool and I love the sparkled water option in build mode. Makes it look especially pretty eh? Yeah, I figured they'd relax and enjoy themselves one last day before Josh reported for duty the next day. Getting a tan just seemed the logical activity they would do together...and nude, of course.
Yep, it was a glitch! See my comment to Hermitgirl for an explanation of what happened. Too long to write all over again. I'm so, so glad it's Spring in my game! They get to enjoy the hot weather. Actually it's nice that it really doesn't get too cold in Winter there and no snow. But it does rain and is cloudy a lot. It'll be Summer before you know it!
Bummer about the shot. You think the first one's bad, I read the second one is way worse for side effects. o.O
Oh my, 5 days worth? I've been ahead one day one time, but that was it. Ah, okay, so it is a Mod. I thought so.
Aww, bummer Jackson got a school project when he'd rather be doing other stuff, like working out for that beach bod he wants. Nice of him to clean up the water though. Even if he did have to swim through slimy water. Jackson should get himself a firepit or a grill. Firepit the food is free, a grill he'd have to pay for meals, of course, but he gets more servings. He'd have to buy a fridge or a yard sale table though to store the food. He lives off the grid, right? The fridge probably will be elusive for him for a long time in that case.
HAHA! Okay, I confess, you caught me! He actually does wear a shirt for working out though. Now, the pool on the otherhand... Thanks about the bathroom. Are you a clairvoyant or what? That's exactly what happened to Beast. He bugged out. I was watching Josh swimming around, of course, and noticed the cowplant skeleton was missing. I thought it had disappeared until I noticed the horns sticking out of the ground. *sigh* In the past, I would've just cheated plants that do that, go back to dirt clumps.
But those are live plants, not a dead skeleton of a plant. So, I was just going to delete it, but when I moved it in build mode, it popped back into a full grown live cowplant! o.O What? Well, I placed it back where it was thinking that I bet it'll just be horns again when I go back in live mode. Nope, the Beast lives! Weird huh? So I guess they have to try to keep it alive now, at least Josh will. Essa doesn't like it and won't go near it. LOL
Roxanne looks so bad butt in her SIB outfit. Bummer her new partner 'informed' her he's moving in and others perhaps too. Sheesh! Well...if her sweet Bolt King wasn't there, I'm guessing I know exactly what would happen. But she has Sweetgears, so nothing immoral will be going on there. Too bad, he's kind of cute.
Poor Rubanoid though, having to deal with all those possessed Sims barging into the house later while she's at the lab. I can see how he'd be very confused about it all. Soooo funny how he's flirting with the computer. HAHA! Better not let Roxanne catch you doing that Mister, or you'll find yourself in a corner again with a few missing circuits.
Looks like everyone is progressing nicely. Of course she had to post on simstagram to keep relevant. Celebrities lose their status so fast! Very cute pics of Mia. She's such a sweet toddler.
Aww poor Jaz getting dragged to school by her Dad and then has to suffer through his home lessons as well. So weird how Vlad just stuck around like that. I would've cheated him away too.
Nice job getting all the challenge Sims to show up by deleting premades! So cute how pumpkin is sleeping on that table while Sakura has a meal. Great to see Essa again too, still a vendor, still beautiful. Isn't it great when you get so many of your own Sims in a screenshot instead of a bunch of premades and townies! I love it! That's why I put so many of my own Sims in the game. More fun that way!
I have almost a week's worth of posts set up for now. In case life happens and can't play for a day or two. With that, I can tell you Jackson will be visiting a house. Being able to visit a home of an acquaintance on the same World is a life saver.
Since Jackson has the Bro trait, he needs to go out and meet people. I don't want to spoil anything, but he does meet some folks and has surprises thrown his way.
To help the reader, I went ahead and added (Mod) to any traits and skills that come from a Mod in each chapter. I do have plans for him living off-the-grid. He just needs more simoleons. Current chapter(s) he has 0. But he does get some later on. Will not spoil it on how.
...also, I have not uploaded Jackson to the Gallery. I can if folks here want to add him in your challenge.
The hair! All gone! At first I didn’t notice Josh lol😂 it’s suits him, I just have to get used to it. And MOOOOO!! Hello there, Beast!❤️
Im going to add the new Sims to the Gallery my game if they are available! Not sure if I’ll add the kid and the toddler as kid and toddler or age them up, but we’ll see I like to make group pics now and then.
EDIT: Idk why I wrote 'to the Gallery' - I guess I was still sleepy. Of course I meant, to my game.
As they approached the lab, Jules noticed an opening in the fence near an overturned truck. She led Hugo toward the gap, and he hesitantly followed.
They scaled the building quietly, and Jules peered around the corner as they approached the door.
Just as she had expected, there was a guard blocking the entrance.
"You stay here," Jules hissed quietly to Hugo. "I'll motion when it's okay for you to join me."
"Hey, what are you doing here?" The guard demanded as Jules made herself known.
She didn't answer, merely pulling out the SimRay she had borrowed when going through Bex's things before departing. The guard visibly paled (literally lol.I guess SimRays can do that, upon looking more into their functions - I had no idea haha.)
She motioned for Hugo to join her, and he scrambled up beside her as they entered the lab.
"Hey, you aren't supposed to be here!" Another guard approached them, an angry expression on her face.
Haha, these SimRay animations are great
Oh Hugo...he really isn't cut out for espionage
"Can you make sure no one else is coming?" Jules asked Hugo. "I want to see if I can get this door open..."
She didn't have any luck. It obviously needed some sort of keycard to open. She wanted to examine more of the lab, but she wasn't sure how long the effects of SimRay would last so she decided not to push her luck. Hugo was more than glad when she announced they would be leaving now.
Once back at the trailer, the two of them collapsed on the ground, catching their breath. Jules felt a rush of adrenaline course through her, while Hugo was merely happy to be alive.
Once their breathing had settled back to a normal pace, Hugo began to point out the constellations. Jules was impressed by how much he knew.
"You were pretty amazing back there," Hugo told once he had shown her all he knew. "You really have a knack for stuff like this."
"Thanks," she said, smiling up at the night sky, wondering if he parents would be proud of her if they could see her now...
The girls have a beautiful new room at the new house, and I'll be showing it off in this quick little update before we move onto the next arc of the story. Seriously, I feel so proud of this nursery, and I'm very much looking forward to them fully enjoying their time here. Additionally, once the month is over, I'll age them up again!
They still have all the trappings from the previous nursery, and outfitting this house definitely drained our resources. Still, I really loved doing this and I love that they have Megumi's gifts up on the wall.
They're sharing a room for now, but when we move next month they'll have separate rooms, and we'll hopefully have a bit more money!
After a shower, Naoki and I sat together on the couch in our pajama’s.
(Naoki) “So, what is it you want to tell me?”
I pulled out a blueprint and showed it to Naoki.
(Bryon) “Look at this.”
(Naoki) “What is this?”
(Bryon) “A blueprint from the lab."
(Naoki) "Heh, how did you get that? That's awesome!"
(Bryon) "I found it on one of the computers, and there was so much more than this, Naoki. Look at this blueprint. Here’s where you work, right?”
(Naoki) “Yes.”
(Bryon) “There’s a floor beneath you. An entire floor! And look at the name of this room...”
(Naoki) “The Heart of Mother. Ew, that sounds nasty. I didn't knew there was an entire floor beneath the lab where I work... How didn't I know...?"
(Bryon) “This blueprint and all the other stuff I found was behind a lot of codes. Whoever is behind this is trying to hide it. Probably the aliens that have our babies. Too bad I’m good with computers. I don’t think they know I copied this.”
(Bryon) “Do you know what this means, Naoki?”
(Naoki) “... No?”
(Bryon) “If we get to that mysterious floor, we might be able to get Audrey and Alex back!”
(Naoki) “You wanna get in? You're not a verified member and I’ve never seen a door that leads to another floor... The only thing that briefly caught my eyes was this hallway full of blue smoke, but the Strangerville scientists told me to stay away from there because it’s dangerous and being inspected, so I didn’t think much of it.”
(Bryon) “I'm not a verified member... Yet. And there’s a whole hallway you can’t reach because of a dangerous kind of smoke... Why does this sound so familiar...”
I replaced myself to the rocking chair.
(Naoki) "Why are you suddenly going to sit there?"
(Bryon) "I think better while I rock."
...
(Bryon) “Johnny told me about the smoke before. The Military is trying to find a way to get through it but they’re stuck. 🐸🐸🐸🐸.. The door must be in that hall...”
(Naoki) “So...?”
(Naoki) “Oh no, I know that expression... You have a plan. What kind of weird idea is popping in your head now?”
(Bryon) "You or Jonny can't give me your keycard because both of you would get fired if you do... So I have to get hands on one myself."
(Bryon) “I'm going to join the military for a while so that I have my own keycard.”
(Naoki) “You? In the military? You can’t even run around our house once.”
(Bryon) “Hey, that’s mean. I can practice my physics with Johnny and you.”
(Naoki) “Hm, okay, we can try it, but if you can’t do it, you stop. Okay?”
(Bryon) “Deal.”
(Naoki) “Hehe. Can’t wait to see you in a military uniform, corporal Ellison!”
The next day...
Since I helped the computer engineering company so well with fixing the computers, they didn’t mind if I took some time off to get into the military.
(Bryon) “Let’s get ready for my first day in military and-“
Eh. What’s that?
Okay, this is absolutely gross and not giving me a good feeling about today.
After work...
(Bryon) “Oh man, I’m dead....”
(Johnny) “Hehehe, and this is only the beginning! You fell behind in the first minute already! How are you gonna keep up, man?”
(Bryon) “Don’t you dare laughing with my misery. I have to keep up. This is for the sake of getting my babies back. Naoki and you already got a keycard and I don’t, so I gotta get hands onto one.”
(Johnny) “You know what? I’ll be your personal trainer!”
(Bryon) “Really?”
(Johnny) “Sure!”
(I upgraded the house with an extra floor so that I could build a fitness room for Bryons training. Here are a few pictures of what the house looks like now!)
(Johnny) “Come on! You can do it!”
(Bryon) “Whoa! Just be silent already before I break a leg!”
Brother-love.
After the training (which seemed to go on FOREVER), I finally found some rest in the local library.
(Bryon) “The Strangerville archives....”
(Bryon) “Oh, this is an article from when Johnny joined the military here...”
(Bryon) “And... What is this?”
(Bryon) “What are they hiding on that mysterious floor... My babies, for one. But there’s more behind this...”
Before I knew it, I had a hand full of new information.
(Bryon) “I think I can make a dossier out of this. Johnny will love it!”
MCCC got rid of that clown, actually, lol. I used the leave lot immediately option when I enough of him. I just wanted to summon him since I never had before, and then it happened to come at a funny moment with the Welcome Wagon arriving, but I definitely didn't have plans to keep him around for story purposes lol. Unfortunately I am having some trouble figuring out how to add the correct traits to my own sims to make them actual 100% useful in the mystery, so it looks like I'll have to actually use the random townies generated in these roles, though I'll just pretend that Emmett and Chloe are the ones actually helping her And everyone who has been possessed so far, minus Bex, are just who the game has provided for me as possessed individuals - probably not gonna mess with those, though it is pretty easy to add a possessed moodlet if I need to like I did for Bex.
Ah, so your plant bug of reverting to dirt clumps has afflicted the cowplant as well. I guess their dead skeleton state is still a growth state of the actual plant, so even though they make nice decorations, they are still coded to act like a plant and can glitch from time to time. Nice job including it in your story though. It's a funny little twist. And if they end up forgetting about him, then you'll just have a nice decoration again haha.
Unfortunately, with 28 day seasons, and the slow pace at which I'm playing this mystery, I don't know if I'll see summer or even spring during this month, LOL. We'll see though...it is surprisingly rainy for the desert during the winter, but I'll make it work. My screenshots will be just a little more dreary than everyone else's
Roxanne looks like she's straight of a crima drama tv show! I love it. And the agents you have working with her look great too, they really fit the part. And Rubanoid and that Welcome Wagon!! Too funny, of course the poor guy needs a break from all those broken humans he tried to interact with and needs to have a good flirt with the computer instead Can't wait to see more of Roxanne's adventures this month!
Dang, you've tied everything together so well! This mystery is really just falling into place perfectly in your story. I love that you actually had Bryon use some of the evidence the game provided to show to Naoki, and very clever using TOOL to make it look like he was holding the blueprints. And I like that you're having Bryon join the military to earn his keycard - playing that career is one way to really appreciate the pack more too, and it will help pace your story too a bit to have this little side quest of ranking up in the military before you can move forward. Can't wait for more!
Thanks again for uploading your sims, I'll do a group photo soon! Also I play ahead all the time since I never know when I'll actually have time to play. It's always nice to have some updates ready to go since you never know how busy life might get...I would say I'm usually consistently about 2 or 3 updates ahead haha.
Comments
Story:
Now that Jackson lived on a beach, his own private one as he calls it, he got a little lonely on his first day. So, he decided he would check out the rest of the beaches after school on his second day.
Jackson is an average student in high school. Achieving a C grade is all he really needs was his mind-set. Having a D makes him look stupid and getting an F just means he’ll have to repeat his last term in high school all over again. That’s something he did not want to do.
Jackson was also an average build. He wasn’t too scrawny and he wasn’t well built. If he was going to live on the beaches of Sulani, he knew he had to make a workout routine to help him build muscle. As there’s no gym provided on the beaches or in the area, he would have to do his own home private workouts of jogging, sit-ups and pushups.
His first day back to school after becoming homeless and living on a secluded beach by himself, one of his classes sends him home with a project to do. Jackson was not happy with this, but it’s something he needs to do. He changes out of his school clothes and into something more comfortable before starting on his project. One positive note is the school supplied all the materials. If he would have had to, Jackson would have been in big trouble.
Jackson (to himself): “What exactly am I suppose to be making again?”
He flips open the manual. He was to construct a bridge with the provided materials. This took him most of the afternoon. Something he didn’t want. When he finished, he looked at his final piece.
Jackson (angrily to himself): “Seriously. I spent my whole day for this? I’m not an engineer. Why would we have to create something like this? How am I going to use this in life? Such a dumb thing.”
Jackson saw it was getting dark. He could still go exploring, but many folks were probably enjoying the evening in their homes. Instead, he decided to clean up the waters around his beach. Last he wants is this junk to float up on the shore. He was already angry about wasting his whole day on a school project, finding litter just kept that anger fueled.
Jackson (still angrily to himself): “This water feels as if it’s sticking to me. Gross…”
After this was complete, he dug through his cooler to find something to eat and drink. He’s going to have to restock the cooler eventually. Plus, he doesn’t want to live off of cereal and junk food. Especially if he’s going to want that beach body.
Side Notes:
Bonus Images:
Aspirations Completed:
Traits:
Skills:
@Karababy52
The cowplant is perfect. I hope it doesn't bug out... Thought I read something somewhere about that.
-Bleh for the COVID shot symptoms... I hope you feel better soon.
I started going to peoples houses I met to do the projects .. that way I could use their facilities too. Always welcome trait baby! I forget if sims get uncomfortable from eating out of a cooler too long.
Lol your welcome wagon post was funny clowns and the possessed all rolled up into one...and of course fruitcake!
-I don't know if I'll keep trying to story tell in that manner, but it's fun when I feel like it.
Wolfgang: "So, I see you've made a decision," he said pointing to her outfit. They were both dressed in their school colors.
Sakura: "Yes. I was very tempted to go with the new program that Melody had told me about in Psychology at Foxbury. I had even thought about being in the same dorm with you. But I decided that it would be best for me to enroll in the Fine Arts Program at Britechester. You have been such a steadfast bestfriend these last few days, but I have to do this on my own."
Wolfgang: "Sakura, as soon as you told me that you had been accepted into that program, I knew that was the right one for you. And I do understand how you feel. You've been through so much recently and I know you can do this. And even though I'm at Foxbury, I'll always be there for you, Sakura. Plus you look rather...um...nice in green," he said smiling at her. ["Gah!" thought Wolfgang, "Is it possible that she has gotten even more beautiful since her birthday? And that top she has on. Could she cover up those shoulders? Doesn't she have some baggy t-shirt to wear because she's just too sexy in that top. No, she'd probably look good in a baggy t-shirt, too! Dang!"]
Sakura: "And you look really good in red, That shirt really shows off your...um...muscles," she replied. ["Oh my gawd," thought Sakura, "Why haven't I noticed how Wolfgang has changed since his birthday? He's still the same Wolfgang, but seems more confident. And he does indeed have muscles! Where did those muscles come from so suddenly? He looks so rugged and handsome..."
They headed upstairs together and Sakura sat down first to enroll.
Wolfgang: "You know what this means, don't you?"
Sakura: "No, what?"
Wolfgang: "I am going to know what dorm you'll be staying at, so I can come and re-decorate it in RED!" They both laughed.
Sakura enrolls in the Fine Arts Distinguished Degree at the University of Britechester and will be living at Drake Hall.
For some reason, when I played Jeb Harris to get him enrolled, I put him in this dorm and then it showed him as being playable with Sakura. And to top it off, he was on probation. I should have just chosen for him to stay home and go to uni. That was a mix-up which I couldn't fix later. Oh well.
And it costs nothing for Sakura to go to university! Yes, and she gets the Full Ride moodlet. And she immediately gets whisked off to her dorm. Note: I temporarily moved Joaquin into her house to save all her inventory items.
It was now Wolfgang's turn to enroll. He selected the Physics Distinguished Degree at Foxbury Institute and will be living at Maritime Manor. And there is no cost to Wolfgang either! Woot! Those extra scholarships that he got must have helped.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
They sat down together in the conservatory and compared their schedules. It looked like Wolfgang was also signed up for E-Sports, and Sakura was signed up for the Soccer Team. Must be because of their scholarships. It looked like they would both be busy. Sakura and Wolfgang were all packed and ready to go. They would travel by ferry to the mainland and then Wolfgang's mother was driving them to Britechester.
They walked outside, and Sakura stopped and took one last look at her house.
Wolfgang: "Everything will be fine, Sakura. This is a new adventure...for both of us..." he said as he autonomously kissed her on the cheek, "Are you ready to go to university, Sakura?"
Sakura smiled at Wolfgang and nodded her head, "Yes!"
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Both Sakura and Wolfgang are living in the Maxis-built dorms, I just did a bit of a renovation to them.
Drake Hall - University of Britechester - Sakura's dorm:
Sakura was immediately transported to Drake Hall, and she autonomously decided to paint on the balcony.
I perked up the place a bit when you get off the elevator, and added some Britechester banners and pictures. Also, added a bar, a keg, and a chess table.
A few skill items on the balcony, and there is a yoga stool on the other balcony.
It's funny that when I played a sim at uni before, this is the dorm I chose for them. Sakura gets a corner room, all decked out in Britechester colors. And this is the same room I chose before, except I gave Sakura a different bed this time. I didn't renovate any of the bedrooms, I just changed the bedspreads on these beds in this room.
You see those nice potted plants? They were missing later on. There is a klepto loose in her dorm somewhere, and that's why she keeps her laptop in inventory. lol
A little study - computer area where couches had been near Sakura's room.
I redid the back room to a dining room area.
The lounge needed an overhaul, too. Because Britechester is an older university, I tried to keep things looking older, and not as bright as Foxbury. Posters of the University of Britechester organizations displayed on the wall.
And, the only thing I changed in the restrooms were those open showers. Bye! Bye!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Maritime Manor - Foxbury Institute - Wolfgang's dorm:
This dorm was originally for four students, and I renovated the house for eight by using some bunkbeds in the upstairs area. The first time I have used bunkbeds, a real space saver. I didn't renovate the bathrooms, as they were fine.
Wolfgang's arrival at Maritime Manor. It is on a cul-du-sac in a residential neighborhood, and backs onto the campus.
Entrance to Maritime Manor. Posters on the wall of all the organizations at Foxbury, and, of course, every dorm has to have their own mascot, right? Baby Yoda rules!
There is a combined living room-kitchen area. Lots of seating in the living room. The kitchen area is bright and reflects the colors of Foxbury. I was going to do both rooms with bright colors, but it was just too much! Looking at this now, I should have changed the counters to a brighter color in the kitchen.
There are two downstairs bedrooms. I was originally going to move Sofia and Luna into this dorm, but then decided they would go to Britechester with Sakura. I actually put them in Wyvern Hall together and spruced up their room. This room would have suited these girls very well. This is the front downstairs bedroom.
And the first floor back bedroom close to the kitchen, with a door to the outside, so Wolfgang can escape from his roommate now and again. Decorated in Foxbury colors. The bed with the red night table is Wolfgang's bed.
The upstairs had one large bedroom, and I just divided it, and now it holds four beds in two areas.
It wouldn't be a dorm without a party area.
The other side yard. Dorms don't have pools, but students know how to improvise!
Back of the house which faces Foxbury. The door leads into Wolfgang's room.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
This is the reno I did in Wyvern Hall to Luna and Sofia's room. I didn't renovate anything else in their dorm, so they still have the open showers. Why is this random roommate in their room? He better not swipe anything! Luna is in the Drama program and Sofia is in Fine Arts.
May 2
Week 1, Monday
Emily is there to make Mia a healthy breakfast of egg white omelets while Skye is off for her audition.
Skye gets the gig, of course. She heads off to her room to practice her acting and charisma so she will be ready for tomorrow.
Once Skye feels she is prepared for her gig, she heads down and out to check on Mia. Mia is playing on the slide so Skye takes a picture and posts it to her Simstagram. She has to keep relevant or she will lose what little fame she has at the moment. She can’t let that happen.
As the day winds down, Emily heads off for her next shift while Skye reads Mia a story before bedtime. Monday ends much as Sunday did – Skye and Mia are both asleep when Emily comes home at 2am. And another day has been a good day. Mia is at level 3 in three skills, level 2 in potty, and level 1 in thinking. Thinking is always the last to level up.
Waking up to a vampire who still hadn’t left… certainly hadn’t helped Jaz’s morning mood.
The smell of coffee brewing made Jaz roll over and pull the blankets over her head. Maybe nobody would notice that she was still in bed.
From the next room: “You’re such a brown-noser, Myles. Why are you cleaning the dishes? EW!” Phoenix was taunting his brother, and his loud voice made the twins stir. This wasn’t going to make Marnie and Bennie happy. After taunting his brother, Phoenix went and woke up his parents. “Mooooom. All the cereal is gone, and we’re hungry! And DAD! Jazmyn is still in bed!”
“Why are you still in bed?!”
“Because I’m NOT going back to school. I hate it, the kids are mean to me!”
One thing you didn’t do – was talk back to Bennie. The lecture Jaz got after that certainly could be heard all down the street as the other stores were opening for the day. At least only Braydon and Brett had heard it, since everyone else was already off to school.
Embarrassed and upset, Jaz stomped along after her father as he drug her off to school – and straight to the principal’s office. Getting a detention on the second day of school had to be a record. And it certainly didn’t help Jaz’s standing amongst her peers.
Meanwhile, back at home, Marnie had managed to make some half-rotten fruit salad, which the twins were eating (mostly without complaint), and was now making some extra coffee. She was hoping fresh coffee would make Bennie a little happier about having had to manually drag Jaz to school.
After Bennie got home, he went straight to watching TV.. and when a twin interrupted him, the roar that filled the house seemed to even worry the vampire.. who still hadn’t left. Maybe he was afraid of the sun.
The twins gave up on trying to talk to their parents, and engaged the vampire stranger’s attention.
The vampire ended up growing and hissing at them unintelligibly, and Braydon hid his face, while Brett decided to give his dad a try again. Surely someone would want to play with him… or give him a much-needed diaper change or bath.
… Nope. Poor Brett ended up crying in the corner while his mother tried mopping up the stains in the living room. The mouse was unimpressed with the mopping, went to sniff the stinky toddler, and headed back into his hole in the wall.
By the time the kids were home from school, Bennie was in a real mood. He was determined to make sure Jazmyn got her homework done.. and of course Marnie was aiding Myles with his Math homework again.
Benji had invited his best friend, Jay, home from school, and in between joking around with his friend, he managed to get Jay to come upstairs to play some video games while Bennie was otherwise occupied. For once, Jay wasn’t talking only about his girlfriend, and Benji was definitely taking advantage of it.
Phoenix was back to practicing. Badly – torturing the whole house.
On the way back upstairs, Bennie corralled an escaping toddler, and drug him back upstairs to give him a (very late) diaper change.
Brett had found a toy and was actually behaving – quietly playing by himself in the kids’ room.
Bennie was annoyed, but for once, he was participating in the parenting – and the twins were both shuffled into bed: clean (ish) and sleepy.
He then grabbed a book, and forced Jaz downstairs for some reading practice. Why he chose this as punishment, nobody knows… but it certainly worked.
Jazmyn hated it the entire time. Even though it did complete the first step towards her mental aspiration. Between being forced to do her homework and reading practice, and knowing she had detention after school tomorrow, she was having the worst day ever.
This “practice” downstairs had given Jay and Benji plenty of time to play a few rounds of the game, and now that it was dark (and everyone in the family was starting to head to bed) – Benji gave Jay the secret club handshake, and bid him goodbye until tomorrow at school.
Once the kids were in bed, Marnie decided to make some Mac and Cheese in case the toddlers woke up, then she stumbled off to bed. Tomorrow would be a new day… all too soon.
(By this time, I had forced the vampire to leave with MCCC, because he seemed like he was thoroughly stuck here, and I was not ok with his lingering presence in the story!)
I now stream the Sims 4 on Twitch!
My Discord Server - A place to discuss my challenges, or the Sims in general
@SoulGal7
@LegacySims2017
@IllusoryThrall
I was laughing that Vlad wouldn't leave, thank goodness for that leave immediately option from MCCC. And the tensions are certainly rising in the Malone house, everyone just looks aggravated all the time. What a place for Jaz to have to try to discover who she is...I wonder if anyone in her family will be remotely helpful in guiding her and being someone she can confide in, or will she find an outside friendship with another child or trusted adult who will help guide and shape her, I wonder...
@Hermitgirl
Have you guys uploaded your challenge sims to the gallery? I'll add them to my game if you have! A lot of us enjoy seeing the challenge sims around our games if you want to share them
They are showing up flagged with CC although they were created with EA items only. No CC on them.
And as @permanentrose said, I love to see other challengers sims in my challenge, even more sometimes than my own sims
Sea may rise, sky may fall, My love will never die..
My heart, my heart, My drowning heart, Oh all the tears I've cried
Oh I may weep forevermore, My love will never die..
@Ellupelluellu Mia and family are on the gallery if/when you want to grab them.
Now I am going to have to see about adding to my game also.
But regarding other challengers's sims in my game, I did delete bunch of premades I never use to increase the chances for them to show up more
Looks like it worked
Sakura eating while Pumpkin was sleeping on that table
At background there is Jules and Jenny
Essa still going strong at that vendor thing
Malcolm is using the other easel, lol, and t looks like I deleted a vendor as Roxanne is now one too.. her hubby, River making her company
Sea may rise, sky may fall, My love will never die..
My heart, my heart, My drowning heart, Oh all the tears I've cried
Oh I may weep forevermore, My love will never die..
Notes
Essa and Josh spent some time their first day in StrangerVille unpacking a few things and adjusting to their new home. Josh checked in with Master Sergeant Evans on base and did a few other errands around town. Frank was busy downloading more Global enhancements. Back home from town Josh tended to the garden while Essa sat knitting on the front porch.
She heard someone spouting gibberish and looked up to see this strange woman shuffling from side to side up their driveway. Something didn't look quite right with her. Essa wondered if she was suffering some kind of seizure and was in need of help. She put away her knitting and quickly walked over to greet her.
Essa tried talking to her, but she seemed to be in some kind of trance; her eyes wide and staring, pupils dilated, an unnaturally wide smile on her face, head flopping from side to side as if her neck was a large well cooked noodle, limbs stiff and her fingers curled into a claw shape.
On top of all that, she couldn't speak properly and kept saying nonsense between these weird maniacal laughing sounds. Essa did catch a couple words, something about 'Mother,' 'Obey,' 'Join us,' and other nonsensical phrases.
Maybe she could slap some sense into the afflicted woman and break the trance.
"Hey, you, wake up, wake UP! Come on Honey, snap out of it!"
Thankfully, it worked! The woman shook her head after a few good slaps and looked around confused for a moment.
"It happened again! Where am I now? Oh I see now where I am. Who are you? I'm Audrey Cary by the way, I live in town. Or I used to...before. Did you just move here? This house has been sitting vacant for a long time."
Essa introduced herself and explained that she and Josh had just moved here.
"What happened to you? If I may ask. Are you an epileptic or something?" Essa asked as Josh walked over to join them from the house. He'd been watching from the porch. He knew what was wrong with the woman from the briefing he'd been given on base earlier that day.
"I really don't know. A few weeks ago, I started blacking out and would wake up hours later with no memory of what had happened. I lost my job because of it and couldn't pay my rent. I live in a tent down by the river now."
"I think you do know what's happened to you Audrey, don't you?"
"Oh, Hi, you must be Josh, I'm Audrey. Anyway, no, really, I don't. I'm not the only one that's been blacking out either. There's a bunch of us living down by the river. We're trying to figure it out."
"Everybody's so secretive though and won't tell us a thing. I think it has something to do with that lab in a crater on the outside of town."
"Like what? What kind of proof do you have?"
"I don't have any proof, nobody's been brave enough to go out there. Other than it's been abandoned for years until a couple weeks ago. Now there's all kinds of military and scientists swarming around it and town. I think whatever's in that lab is the answer. Some of us think it's aliens."
((Aliens? Okay, she's one of those nutty conspiracy theorists I was warned about.)
"Okay, well it was nice to meet you Audrey, but Essa, I came out here to tell you that Frank needs our help with something. We need to go do that."
"Who's Frank?"
"He's our...friend. He's different, special, and we take care of him."
"Oh that's so sweet. I won't keep you any longer then. Before I go though, check out my friend's booth in town. He'll sell you a special hat to keep the aliens away. I wish I'd remembered to wear mine, maybe I wouldn't have blacked out again."
"Uh, okay, thanks, we'll do that."
"What's really wrong with her Josh? Aliens? There's no such thing right? Is she one of the reasons we're here?"
"She's possessed, by...something. But, no, not by aliens. I'll tell you all about it later. I have to report this right away to my CO."
Essa tried to have a bite to eat in the dining room as she listened to Josh talk to his CO in the living room. But the food was hard to swallow and sat like a rock in her stomach.
(How did that woman get 'possessed?' Is it contagious? Oh God she'd touched her. Could she be possessed now too?)
Essa was scared. She wondered, were they risking their lives by coming here? What exactly was going on? Josh said it had something to do with those strange, yet beautiful colored plants growing everywhere, but nobody knew what.
The Scientists were here to try to figure it out and the military, including Josh, were here to try to keep the peace and protect the residents from the 'pod people' as he called them. He wouldn't or maybe couldn't tell her any more than that other than to firmly warn her to stay away from those strange plant pods...and the lab.
Essa gave up trying to eat and went upstairs to do some painting and check on Frank. Painting had always been one of her go to activities to destress and clear her mind. She'd just have to trust in Josh and do what he said...for now. She had questions and was too stubborn to just let something this strange go without answers.
Meanwhile, Josh had gone for a run. He had a lot of questions of his own after his call to Master Sergeant Evans. He stopped and stared at one of the strange plant pods. What was it? Where did it come from? How was it able to possess people? Why were those infected being rounded up whenever they were discovered?
The affects seemed to only last a few hours. Once it wore off, it was impossible to tell who was infected and who wasn't. He'd felt bad for reporting Audrey to his CO and wondered if she'd already been collected. It was his duty though, and he was an obedient soldier.
What he'd felt bad about even more was not telling Essa everything he knew. He'd been warned not to tell military secrets or suffer dire consequences. Was he putting her life in danger by not telling her everything? That question prayed on his mind the most. He'd already told her more than he should've, he couldn't help it. Keeping secrets from her was something he'd never wanted to do again.
Hopefully she'd at least heed his warning to stay away from these things. And the lab. What was in there was the key. He wished he knew what it was. That was one thing no one but a few personnel in higher authority were privy to.
Back home, Josh heard some shuffling and mumbles behind him as he walked up the stairs to the porch. He turned to see what it was and saw Audrey shuffle down their driveway and disappear down the road. Apparently she'd been able to elude the 'pod people posse' as some of the guys nicknamed the squad in charge of rounding them up. He wasn't sure how he felt about that. Duty demanded he call his CO again, but...Josh elected to ignore he'd seen her.
(She's harmless and been through enough. Nobody will know I let her go.)
Honestly, he felt a little relieved she'd gotten away. If that made him a bad soldier, so be it. Sometimes you have to be true to yourself, your beliefs and morals instead of blindly following orders. He turned around and went in the house to the backyard. It was hot and he hadn't tried out the pool yet. A few laps sounded like the perfect thing to do to cool off after his run.
The Beast seemed to smile and approve of Josh's activity as it stood motionless among the cactus.
Second later, the cowplant skeleton dropped into the ground with nothing but it's horns showing above the surface. And then, something very, very strange happened...
The Beast popped back up through the ground and stood fully revived. Against all odds, the Beast was again among the living. It let out a loud bellowing "MOOOO" which startled Josh so much, he gulped a bunch of water. Coughing and sputtering, Josh got out of the pool and ran over to the Beast.
He just stared at it in wonder a moment and then walked over to give the Beast a pet.
"Hey there Buddy! How'd you get here? Is it really you?"
"MOOOOOO!"
"I'll take that as a yes." Josh said and laughed.
Unlike Essa, Josh was sad when Beast had died. He'd liked this crazy plant so he was happy it had somehow been brought back to life.
Josh wondered if the plant pod he'd noticed before in their yard had anything to do with the Beast's miraculous resurrection. It wouldn't surprise him if it did. If those things could infect people, why wouldn't it be able to bring another plant back to life? This was definitely something he'd need to tell his CO. But that could wait until tomorrow when he reported for his first official day of duty.
For the rest of today, Josh intended to continue to enjoy the unusually warm Spring day. Since nobody else lived in this neighborhood and the backyard was partially fenced anyway, Josh had no qualms about sunbathing in the nude. Who was going to see him? The pod people? They wouldn't care, all they did was talk to plants.
After awhile, Essa joined him. She couldn't concentrate on her painting after she saw Josh sunbathing below from her studio window. He'd had enough Sun though and went inside to grab some steaks to grill, still nude.
(I hope he doesn't burn...anything important.) Essa thought to herself with a smirk.
"So is this what the phrase 'dining al fresco' means?" Josh asked, knowing full well what it actually meant.
"You're hilarious Josh. We are though actually, it means eating outside. But, I think in our case we're dining 'al fresco spogliato.'" Essa said around a mouthful of delicious steak.
"By the way, the Beast is back, it's alive."
"What? How? Why? It can't...."
"Oh but it can."
"Right Buddy?" Josh shouted toward the Beast.
"MOOOOO!"
I'll get started on comments for all your lovely posts next. Hope y'all had a wonderful day!
And what happened with your cowplant??? Was that a glitch, or did you cheat it back to that stage and then cheat it regrow, just for some fun weirdness? Essa's face is priceless too when Josh tells her!
It's the middle of winter in my game, kind of bummed about that since I keep getting overcast and chilly weather, when all I want is that scorching summer desert vibe haha. Oh well...I don't want to cheat and mess up my calendar, so I will survive a Strangerville winter
@sassytxbrat - That's actually not a bad idea. I'll have to keep that in mind for weeks when I have a ton of stuff planned.
I now stream the Sims 4 on Twitch!
My Discord Server - A place to discuss my challenges, or the Sims in general
"Hate to spring this on you but I'm going to have to move in very soon also... sleeping quarters are getting tight and this town isn't equipped for so many people. You have many rooms here. Hopefully we won't have to bring in more but it's a wait and see situation for now.." Lenny said somewhat apologetically.
He continued, "We won't always be working together, but we will if we are going into a more dangerous situation. But for awhile it's best if we tag together..."
Lenny and Roxanne arrived at the lab where she had been told was the site of the disaster. Scientists had just disappeared. People trying to get in to see what happened became infected with a strange condition when they got below surface level in the facility. Some died.
"Naw, naw... you can't go down there we just lost another squad... we're trying everything but keep pulling them up unconscious.." A man in military garb was saying to Agent Crawford. "and you know what happens to them after that..."
Meanwhile.....
"Hello people... come in!" Rubanoid tried to say to the group on his doorstep. They looked strange to Rubanoid... but he told himself he still wasn't the best judge of that. They were bearing a gift so they must be there to welcome Roxanne and him to the neighborhood. It was proper to let them in... right? Didn't seem to matter what he thought... they barged right by him! Pushy humans!
Most of them headed back outside to the garden areas and milled around there. Rubanoid wondered if they were under some strange spell like Roxanne sometimes cast on people. They walked like they needed a tune-up! One kept mumbling "mother...mother..." Then jumped out at him when he tried to talk to it!
This one looked kind of like Roxanne so he decided to try to snap her out of whatever spell she was under... but it didn't work. It was kind of fun trying to snap her out of it though!
Rubanoid was puzzled but relieved when they left... We'll as much as he could feel relieved anyway. Then he went into the little study where Betty the old-fashioned desktop was.... and started to flirt. It was nice to be alone.
@SoulGal7
Ah, so Sakura ended up going to Britechester afterall, her first choice. Nice that both she and Wolfgang got a full ride. Love all the renovations you made, they look great! What a sweet autonomous kiss on the cheek from Wolfgang.
@permanentrose
It definitely is a fun pack. I will and am thoroughly enjoying myself. I love this world and the mystery. It's fun!
Yep, the hair had to go! But it won't stay short for too long.
Yep, it was a glitch! See my comment to Hermitgirl for an explanation of what happened. Too long to write all over again.
@LegacySims2017
Oh my, 5 days worth? I've been ahead one day one time, but that was it.
Aww, bummer Jackson got a school project when he'd rather be doing other stuff, like working out for that beach bod he wants. Nice of him to clean up the water though. Even if he did have to swim through slimy water. Jackson should get himself a firepit or a grill. Firepit the food is free, a grill he'd have to pay for meals, of course, but he gets more servings. He'd have to buy a fridge or a yard sale table though to store the food. He lives off the grid, right? The fridge probably will be elusive for him for a long time in that case.
@Hermitgirl
But those are live plants, not a dead skeleton of a plant. So, I was just going to delete it, but when I moved it in build mode, it popped back into a full grown live cowplant! o.O What? Well, I placed it back where it was thinking that I bet it'll just be horns again when I go back in live mode. Nope, the Beast lives! Weird huh? So I guess they have to try to keep it alive now, at least Josh will. Essa doesn't like it and won't go near it. LOL
Roxanne looks so bad butt in her SIB outfit. Bummer her new partner 'informed' her he's moving in and others perhaps too. Sheesh! Well...if her sweet Bolt King wasn't there, I'm guessing I know exactly what would happen.
Poor Rubanoid though, having to deal with all those possessed Sims barging into the house later while she's at the lab. I can see how he'd be very confused about it all. Soooo funny how he's flirting with the computer. HAHA! Better not let Roxanne catch you doing that Mister, or you'll find yourself in a corner again with a few missing circuits.
@sassytxbrat
@IllusoryThrall
@Ellupelluellu
@permanentrose
@Karababy52
...also, I have not uploaded Jackson to the Gallery. I can if folks here want to add him in your challenge.
Im going to add the new Sims to the Gallery my game if they are available! Not sure if I’ll add the kid and the toddler as kid and toddler or age them up, but we’ll see
EDIT: Idk why I wrote 'to the Gallery' - I guess I was still sleepy. Of course I meant, to my game.
Notes:
They scaled the building quietly, and Jules peered around the corner as they approached the door.
Just as she had expected, there was a guard blocking the entrance.
"You stay here," Jules hissed quietly to Hugo. "I'll motion when it's okay for you to join me."
"Hey, what are you doing here?" The guard demanded as Jules made herself known.
She didn't answer, merely pulling out the SimRay she had borrowed when going through Bex's things before departing. The guard visibly paled (literally lol.I guess SimRays can do that, upon looking more into their functions - I had no idea haha.)
She motioned for Hugo to join her, and he scrambled up beside her as they entered the lab.
"Hey, you aren't supposed to be here!" Another guard approached them, an angry expression on her face.
Haha, these SimRay animations are great
Oh Hugo...he really isn't cut out for espionage
"Can you make sure no one else is coming?" Jules asked Hugo. "I want to see if I can get this door open..."
She didn't have any luck. It obviously needed some sort of keycard to open. She wanted to examine more of the lab, but she wasn't sure how long the effects of SimRay would last so she decided not to push her luck. Hugo was more than glad when she announced they would be leaving now.
Once back at the trailer, the two of them collapsed on the ground, catching their breath. Jules felt a rush of adrenaline course through her, while Hugo was merely happy to be alive.
Once their breathing had settled back to a normal pace, Hugo began to point out the constellations. Jules was impressed by how much he knew.
"You were pretty amazing back there," Hugo told once he had shown her all he knew. "You really have a knack for stuff like this."
"Thanks," she said, smiling up at the night sky, wondering if he parents would be proud of her if they could see her now...
The girls have a beautiful new room at the new house, and I'll be showing it off in this quick little update before we move onto the next arc of the story. Seriously, I feel so proud of this nursery, and I'm very much looking forward to them fully enjoying their time here. Additionally, once the month is over, I'll age them up again!
They still have all the trappings from the previous nursery, and outfitting this house definitely drained our resources. Still, I really loved doing this and I love that they have Megumi's gifts up on the wall.
They're sharing a room for now, but when we move next month they'll have separate rooms, and we'll hopefully have a bit more money!
Daughters of Hesperia
Bryons Diary
After a shower, Naoki and I sat together on the couch in our pajama’s.
(Naoki) “So, what is it you want to tell me?”
I pulled out a blueprint and showed it to Naoki.
(Bryon) “Look at this.”
(Naoki) “What is this?”
(Bryon) “A blueprint from the lab."
(Naoki) "Heh, how did you get that? That's awesome!"
(Bryon) "I found it on one of the computers, and there was so much more than this, Naoki. Look at this blueprint. Here’s where you work, right?”
(Naoki) “Yes.”
(Bryon) “There’s a floor beneath you. An entire floor! And look at the name of this room...”
(Naoki) “The Heart of Mother. Ew, that sounds nasty. I didn't knew there was an entire floor beneath the lab where I work... How didn't I know...?"
(Bryon) “This blueprint and all the other stuff I found was behind a lot of codes. Whoever is behind this is trying to hide it. Probably the aliens that have our babies. Too bad I’m good with computers. I don’t think they know I copied this.”
(Bryon) “Do you know what this means, Naoki?”
(Naoki) “... No?”
(Bryon) “If we get to that mysterious floor, we might be able to get Audrey and Alex back!”
(Naoki) “You wanna get in? You're not a verified member and I’ve never seen a door that leads to another floor... The only thing that briefly caught my eyes was this hallway full of blue smoke, but the Strangerville scientists told me to stay away from there because it’s dangerous and being inspected, so I didn’t think much of it.”
(Bryon) “I'm not a verified member... Yet. And there’s a whole hallway you can’t reach because of a dangerous kind of smoke... Why does this sound so familiar...”
I replaced myself to the rocking chair.
(Naoki) "Why are you suddenly going to sit there?"
(Bryon) "I think better while I rock."
...
(Bryon) “Johnny told me about the smoke before. The Military is trying to find a way to get through it but they’re stuck. 🐸🐸🐸🐸.. The door must be in that hall...”
(Naoki) “So...?”
(Naoki) “Oh no, I know that expression... You have a plan. What kind of weird idea is popping in your head now?”
(Bryon) "You or Jonny can't give me your keycard because both of you would get fired if you do... So I have to get hands on one myself."
(Bryon) “I'm going to join the military for a while so that I have my own keycard.”
(Naoki) “You? In the military? You can’t even run around our house once.”
(Bryon) “Hey, that’s mean. I can practice my physics with Johnny and you.”
(Naoki) “Hm, okay, we can try it, but if you can’t do it, you stop. Okay?”
(Bryon) “Deal.”
(Naoki) “Hehe. Can’t wait to see you in a military uniform, corporal Ellison!”
The next day...
Since I helped the computer engineering company so well with fixing the computers, they didn’t mind if I took some time off to get into the military.
(Bryon) “Let’s get ready for my first day in military and-“
Eh. What’s that?
Okay, this is absolutely gross and not giving me a good feeling about today.
After work...
(Bryon) “Oh man, I’m dead....”
(Johnny) “Hehehe, and this is only the beginning! You fell behind in the first minute already! How are you gonna keep up, man?”
(Bryon) “Don’t you dare laughing with my misery. I have to keep up. This is for the sake of getting my babies back. Naoki and you already got a keycard and I don’t, so I gotta get hands onto one.”
(Johnny) “You know what? I’ll be your personal trainer!”
(Bryon) “Really?”
(Johnny) “Sure!”
(I upgraded the house with an extra floor so that I could build a fitness room for Bryons training. Here are a few pictures of what the house looks like now!)
(Johnny) “Come on! You can do it!”
(Bryon) “Whoa! Just be silent already before I break a leg!”
Brother-love.
After the training (which seemed to go on FOREVER), I finally found some rest in the local library.
(Bryon) “The Strangerville archives....”
(Bryon) “Oh, this is an article from when Johnny joined the military here...”
(Bryon) “And... What is this?”
(Bryon) “What are they hiding on that mysterious floor... My babies, for one. But there’s more behind this...”
Before I knew it, I had a hand full of new information.
(Bryon) “I think I can make a dossier out of this. Johnny will love it!”
Ah, so your plant bug of reverting to dirt clumps has afflicted the cowplant as well. I guess their dead skeleton state is still a growth state of the actual plant, so even though they make nice decorations, they are still coded to act like a plant and can glitch from time to time. Nice job including it in your story though. It's a funny little twist. And if they end up forgetting about him, then you'll just have a nice decoration again haha.
Unfortunately, with 28 day seasons, and the slow pace at which I'm playing this mystery, I don't know if I'll see summer or even spring during this month, LOL. We'll see though...it is surprisingly rainy for the desert during the winter, but I'll make it work. My screenshots will be just a little more dreary than everyone else's
@Hermitgirl
@Ellupelluellu
@Skeilah
@IllusoryThrall and @sassytxbrat