@Karababy52 I think you'll enjoy this chapter as you mentioned earlier when you first saw Jackson how much he reminded you of Makoa Kealoha.
Month 1 ~ Sulani ~ Day 3
Story:
Day 3 (Tuesday)
Jackson made sure he woke up early so he could get a jog in and a bathe in the ocean before school. This is the start of his morning routine that he’d do every day. He only hopes he can stick to it.
Although he didn’t have a school project to take home and work on, he wondered why teachers had to be strict and so bossy. He didn’t like school. That’s why he never really tried hard to earn more than a C grade.
Jackson(angrily to himself): “Ugh! Teachers can be so annoying sometimes…”
As Jackson made his way to one of the many beaches, he saw a gentleman that almost looked just like him. He was a little taller than Jackson. But they had the same haircut and obviously the same taste in clothes. But this other guy looked like he was going on a military raid or something. Jackson approached this guy.
Jackson: “Hey there.”
The other guy gives Jackson a look over.
Gentleman: “Oh, you think that’s funny pretending to be me?”
This took Jackson by surprise.
Jackson: “What? No. I don’t even know you. And I recently just moved here a couple days ago.
Gentleman: “Oh, really. And who are you? Where did you move into?”
Jackson was getting nervous and went on the defensive.
Jackson: “What does it matter? Are you the beach police or something?”
Gentleman: “I’ve never seen you before and you look like me. Expect to be questioned. My name is Makoa, if that makes you feel better. Are you going to tell me yours?”
Jackson: “Jackson. My name is Jackson.”
Makoa: “Okay Jackson. Nice to meet you. I’m a long time resident on Sulani. That haircut of yours isn’t very common. And seeing you with it here as you approached me made me a little upset. I apologize for jumping to conclusions about you.”
Jackson calms down a little bit. He is still annoyed with the fact that he went up to start a friendly conversation and was rushed with assumptions on who he was and what he was doing. The two of them talk for awhile before Makoa tells Jackson he needs to get back to his family. During their conversation, Jackson kept his secret that he was an orphan and living on a secluded area with nothing but sand.
Jackson then approached a young woman building something in the sand. It didn’t look like your typical sandcastle you find people making.
Jackson: “What are you making there?”
The young woman slightly glances to Jackson and then focuses back on her work.
Young Woman: “Oh, hey Makoa. I’m creating a sand sculpture. I’m just letting my hands do the building and seeing what they come up with. How’s the wife and kids?”
Jackson: “Uhmm…”
The young woman turns her head again to Jackson when she heard his comment. This is when she knew she wasn’t talking to Makoa.
Young Woman: “Oh, I’m sorry. You look so much like Makoa. Are you a relative of his?”
Jackson: “No. But I did meet him moments ago. I didn’t realize how much we did look alike.”
The young woman smiles.
Young Woman: “Sulani’s population isn’t really that big. I don’t remember ever meeting you. Are you on vacation here?”
Jackson: “No. I moved here a few days ago.”
Young Woman: “Oh, where at?”
Jackson was worried now. What was he suppose to tell her? He had to think of something fast and couldn’t believe himself what he said next.
Jackson: “Haven’t found an actual home yet. I’m…we’re living off one of the beaches. We plan on building a home. Scoping out places where to build.”
Young Woman: "Oh, that’s nice. I think you and your parents will like it here.”
Jackson didn’t respond and only smiled. After the awkward encounter, Jackson left the young woman to continue her sand sculpting.
Makoa and this other woman were the only two at this beach. So he decided to check out one of the other ones. There seemed to be some type of gathering happening. Maybe they had food there as Jackson’s stomach was beginning to growl as he was starting to get hungry. But he was soon stopped by what looked like to be a lifeguard.
Lifeguard: “Excuse me. This is a private gathering. Do you have an invitation?”
Jackson: No. I didn’t realize this was a private party. I’m new around here. How do I get an invitation?”
Lifeguard: “It’s typically residents of Sulani only, unless you’re invited by one of the community members themselves. We all know each other as it’s a small community. I didn’t recognize you. That’s why I had to stop you. My name is Duane. Actually, now that I think about it, you do look familiar. I recognize you from school. I think we have at least one class together.”
Jackson: “So, I can’t check this out?”
Duane: “Unfortunately not today. You said you’re new here. Does that mean you live on Sulani or you’re just visiting?”
Jackson: “I live here now.”
Duane: “Once you’re registered as a Sulani citizen, then you’re free to join in at any of our community events.”
Jackson knew he couldn’t register. He didn’t know what to do at this point. What if the people of Sulani find out about him secretly living off from one of the secluded areas?
Duane: “You have a phone?”
Jackson: “Yeah.”
Duane: “Here’s my number. Let me know when your family gets registered.”
Jackson didn’t want to be rude and not take his number. So he accepted with the mindset he’ll never call Duane back. He’ll have to think up excuses as to why he never did in case he meets up with Duane at school or on Sulani again.
Jackson decided to head back to his private beach and have some yogurt for his dinner. Tomorrow is another day. He was so nervous now after talking to Duane.
Side Notes:
I have some modded traits and skills, so I added (Mod) after those in the spoilers and will update previous chapters to reflect that as well since some readers had questions about how to get those traits.
As majority of Jackson’s looks and outfits are from the Island Living pack, I cracked up when he met Makoa. They look like twins almost.
I didn't write a lot about Tuesday and didn't take a lot of pictures. Some days are like that.
And I really don't like the lighting in this house, everything is so dark.
Skye spent the day shooting the commercial, leaving Mia home with Emily. Being a charmer, Mia does not like alone time, and she really does not like when Skye leaves without her.
Mia has a good day with Jake, who came over to spend time with her. It was even warm enough for Jake to let Mia play in the pool. She didn’t improve her skills much, but spending time with Jake was much more fun.
Of course, Jake put Mia to bed and then left. Mia heard him leave and didn’t stay in bed, so Skye finds her passed out on the floor near the front door. Don’t even ask me where Emily was – taking a shower maybe. Skye gathers up Mia and gets her into bed.
Jake stops back by to see if Skye wants to go out on a date. She has other plans though since she has been missing the romance in her life. Jake agrees to make their relationship official and committed, even though they are still not wanting to get married. Emily’s timing is very awkward.
After Emily heads off to bed, Skye invites Jake to spend the night.
May 1 - University - WK 1 - Friday - I'm Here - Now What Do I Do?
After Sakura got settled in, she looked over her schedule again. She had two courses with final exams, one course with a presentation and one course with a term paper. Luckily she had the weekend to get a head start on her schoolwork before Term started. Her schedule was:
T & TH
If It Ain't Baroque: 11:00am - 12:25pm
Go Figure (Drawing): 1:30om - 2:55pm
Soccer Team:
M-T-W-TH-F-S
6:00pm - 9:00pm
Sakura thought that perhaps she should have enrolled in fewer classes. She was going to have no free time!
With everything in place in her room, she decided to meet some of her roommates and find out if anyone was in the same program she was. But no-one in this group was in Fine Arts.
Not everyone had moved in as yet, so there would be more roommates to meet during the day. She decided to start working on her presentation board.
While she was doing that, she got a call from the Dorm Check-in Desk downstairs that a Wolfgang Munch wanted to visit. Sakura smiled and told them it would be fine, and she put Wolfgang on the list of Approved Visitors.
Sakura met Wolfgang at the elevators and he had a little set of potted plants in his hand.
Wolfgang: "Sakura, I just came over to see how you were settling in, and I forgot to give you this when we unloaded your stuff. It's a gift from Lucas. He painted the pots himself with little faces and my Mom helped him pick out these plants."
Sakura looked at Wolfgang and smiled when she saw the little pots. Wolfgang and his family were always doing such nice things for her. "They're so cute. I'll put them in my room. Do you want a tour of the dorm?"
Wolfgang: "Sure!"
Sakura gave Wolfgang a tour, and he especially liked the lounge and dining areas. Sakura then brought him to her room.
Sakura: "This is it!" she said waving her hand at her space.
Wolfgang: "You put everything away already? It's so neat and organized. I just kind of dumped my stuff in my room. There were still some roommates moving out. One of them told me they were moving to an off-campus house in Britechester that houses both Foxbury and Britechester students."
Sakura: "Really? That sounds kind of interesting."
Wolfgang: "Are you having second thoughts about dorm life? You know, we can always check it out and move somewhere else second term. We can just rent a Sim-Haul and move all the stuff out. It wouldn't be very far to move."
Sakura: "Yeah, maybe. I'm just...I'm just...I miss you Wolfgang, and I think I signed up for too many classes, and I don't know how I am going to do it. I just feel a bit overwhelmed right now."
Wolfgang: "Hey, Sakura...it's okay...you'll make it through. You'll meet some others in your program, and you'll feel better. What about Sofia? Isn't she in the same program? Why didn't she choose this dorm?"
Sakura: "Sofia and Luna are at Drake Hall. This dorm was already filled up when they enrolled."
Wolfgang: "Think about what I said about off-campus housing. We can check the place out this weekend if you want. But in the meantime, come on, it's a wonderful day out there, let's get out of here and explore the campus a bit. Tomorrow you can come and visit my dorm. What do you say?"
Sakura: "Yes, that would be great. I'd like to see your dorm, and you're right, I think I would feel better if we went for a walk..."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
As they walked, they chatted with each other and Sakura started to feel better. Ever since her disappearance, she just hadn't felt confident anymore. She wasn't that same person who had left her village and travelled to Mt. Komorebi to fulfill a promise she had made to her Sofu (grandfather). She thought of Kiyoshi for a moment, and the heart necklace gift she had placed in her drawer. She remembered the photo inside, and knew that she could never be that girl again. The girl she was now was not that innocent, trusting girl who had climbed the mountain with someone she thought loved her. No, the girl she was now was broken, and scared, and needy and pretty much messed up in the head about her feelings on love. Now her nights were filled with dreams of a faceless sim and her days were filled with panic attacks. She wasn't sure why she had agreed to what Joaquin had suggested and how she could think that she could make a fresh start when her life was still stuck in the past, with Kiyoshi and Mt. Komorebi. Thinking back to that night, she had almost broken it off with Kiyoshi, but when she saw the look in his eyes pleading with her to forgive him, she just couldn't do it. It would have been a way for her to make a fresh start, but she couldn't. And now each day waking up, she couldn't forget what he had told her. And it's not something she could talk to Wolfgang about. Not now, since she still had problems dealing with it herself knowing that she still cared deeply for Kiyoshi. But she knew, that the only way she'd made it through these last few days was because Wolfgang had come to visit her everyday. And now, here he was again, checking up on her to make sure she was okay.
Wolfgang: "Sakura, hey listen, there's a loud speaker announcement, about a Spirit Celebration for both universities in front of UBrite Commons. Come on, let's see what that's about! Maybe they'll have a tug-o-war between the two rival universities, and then you'll be sorry you didn't choose Foxbury," he joked flexing his muscles.
Sakura smirked: "Well, you know, Britechester has a great debate team, so it might be a debate, and let's just say...that brains will overturn the brawn..."
Wolfgang: "Ooohh....burn!" And they both laughed and headed over to the event.
[Spotted River. If there's free juice, he's there!]
Someone tried to tap the keg, and failed.
Sakura challenged Wolfgang to juice pong. Neither one had played before.
Sakura: "I am going to get so wasted from playing this game!"
Wolfgang: "I think that's the idea!" he laughed.
Sakura: "Am I winning? I think I lost count. Oh right, count the cups.. How many are left?"
And Wolfgang wins juice pong as he just casually throws the ping pong ball into the cup without even looking.
Sakura: "How did you do that?" she asked in awe.
Wolfgang: "I really have no idea. I wasn't even aiming over there..."
They laughed about it, and Sakura was a good sport and shook Wolfgang's hand. "Just wait until next time..." she said.
They watched Sofia try to hoist Luna up for a keg stand...
..and that was a nope...Oops!
Sakura: "What do you think Mr. Muscles, want to help me do a keg stand?"
Wolfgang winked at her, "Sure!"
Sakura: "What was that wink for? You're not going to drop me, are you? You better NOT!"
[Spotted Melody having a chuckle as Sakura tries to do the Keg Stand.]
And Sakura does a perfect Keg Stand and gets the "Keg Stood" moodlet.
Wolfgang: "I would never let you fall, Sakura. You know I'll always be there for you..." he said as he looked at her intently.
Sakura gave him a hug, "I know, you're the best, Wolfgang."
Sakura: "Thank you Wolfgang for coming over today. I really appreciate it."
Wolfgang: "Well, you know, I had to deliver those plants, or Lucas would be calling and bugging me about it. But, yeah, I'm glad I came over. This was fun! I gotta head out though and put my stuff away in my room, so it doesn't look like a complete disaster when you visit tomorrow."
They hugged good-bye and Sakura wished that Wolfgang didn't have to leave, But unfortunately, he had to get back to his dorm.
Sakura returned to her room and noticed that something was missing. Where were the little pots? They were gone! Oh my gosh! Someone had taken them! She quickly checked to ensure everything else was where she had put it, and it was. Sakura was so upset. They really were of no value to anyone else, but they certainly had a sentimental value to her. Sakura shed a tear thinking of all the work Lucas and Wolfgang's Mom had gone through to add a bit of cheer to her dorm room. She would have to report this to the Resident Don tomorrow. That off-campus housing that Wolfgang had talked about, was sounding better and better.
I was really fascinated by reading all of your stories (for those of you who play since January, the short version). I'm afraid to say that I might have gotten the "bug" as well... I'm still scared I might abandon it, as I do with so many challenges. But I want to try. Just... I never promised I'd do the full year, okay? :#
Still thinking about how to do it yet. I think I want to try a big, slightly dysfunctional family like IllusoryThrall since that was the thing that caught my Attention. And I'll have to seriously rework the timeline because I only have Base Game, Seasons and Parenthood right now, so I was contemplating to do one neighbourhood per month. I may get Cats& Dogs in September though... Perhaps I'll set up the family in the rest of May and build them a house to get used to posting, and then start in June?
Any suggestions are welcome! :)
(I think I understood that I need 25 "points" & 15 posts to post pictures... So I think it's good that there's some time left!)
Side note: I am German, so my sleep schedule (though slightly weird) is European. And since my mother tongue is German, I'll somestimes not know words or misspell them no matter how hard I try. And in German gendering doesn't work as well, so I am not used to that and may have trouble with the pronouns (Sadly, Gendering isn't exactly taught in School!) Oh yeah, my User name is German and means "Miss Owl Eye" (childhood story). You English People are very welcome to simply call me "Miss" if that's easier. You wouldn't believe how funny it is listening to english Twitch Streamers trying to pronounce that! :D
@miss_eulenauge Hi there! I’ll try thinking with you to find a set-up^^ I also wanted to say that I’m actually Flemish (from Belgium) so we have the same time zone
I was really fascinated by reading all of your stories (for those of you who play since January, the short version).
I'm afraid to say that I might have gotten the "bug" as well... I'm still scared I might abandon it, as I do with so many challenges. But I want to try. Just... I never promised I'd do the full year, okay?
Still thinking about how to do it yet. I think I want to try a big, slightly dysfunctional family like IllusoryThrall since that was the thing that caught my Attention. And I'll have to seriously rework the timeline because I only have Base Game, Seasons and Parenthood right now, so I was contemplating to do one neighbourhood per month. I may get Cats& Dogs in September though...
Perhaps I'll set up the family in the rest of May and build them a house to get used to posting, and then start in June?
Any suggestions are welcome!
(I think I understood that I need 25 "points" & 15 posts to post pictures... So I think it's good that there's some time left!)
Side note: I am German, so my sleep schedule (though slightly weird) is European. And since my mother tongue is German, I'll somestimes not know words or misspell them no matter how hard I try. And in German gendering doesn't work as well, so I am not used to that and may have trouble with the pronouns (Sadly, Gendering isn't exactly taught in School!)
Oh yeah, my User name is German and means "Miss Owl Eye" (childhood story). You English People are very welcome to simply call me "Miss" if that's easier. You wouldn't believe how funny it is listening to english Twitch Streamers trying to pronounce that!
Guten Tag! Ich spreche ein bisschen Deutsche. Ich bin Kanadier. Wellkommen!
I would probably set up the family first and then go from there, but you can jump in anytime. Nice to have you here. @Karababy52 will respond later as she is a "night owl"
"So, how are you enjoying Windenburg?" Morgan asked, with a light smile.
It was a fair question, but not one Jenny could really answer - after all, they'd only been here properly for two days, and while the house was lovely, settling the girls in was rough. They might not understand the concept of a different house just yet, but they'd been overly excited about all the different places they could explore, and containing them had been difficult.
"I'm enjoying it as much as I can within two days," she replied, instead.
They were standing in the bathroom, which was the only place they could be to not be interrupted, even though the girls were supposed to be asleep. Bathrooms were private, but bedrooms being the same was hard to teach, as of course, the girls' bedroom wasn't exactly private given how often the adults came to check on them. When Jenny had tried to teach them that bedrooms were private, she'd found herself ordering the door open after Celeste gleefully told her she couldn't come in because 'it's mine!'
Morgan laughed. "Fair enough. Didn't you used to come here all the time for Paragons meetings?"
"Only to the swimming pool. Is that still open?"
"Oh, yeah. Why, do you want to go back?" Morgan asked.
"Well, once I find a daycare for the girls...I'd quite like to get back into shape, you know?" Jenny smiled. "But I'd better go check on the little monsters."
Morgan smiled back at her. "Tell them Auntie Morgan wants them to be in bed like good little girls, okay?"
Jenny still felt strange from the move. It had been one thing to think of buying a different place, but to leave Glimmerbrook, and by extension the friends she'd made there...
However, this house had been a bargain, and when they'd checked it out, it had been in such good condition she couldn't say no. It was nicely situated - central without being too central - and there were some nice daycares nearby that she'd promised herself she would check out tomorrow. The girl's nursery had taken the most time to set up, but they had been the main reason she had moved, even if she was anxious about running into Rohan or Sylvia in Windenburg. But worries aside, the girls had been in a very cramped room in her house in Glimmerbrook, and here, they could have space and freedom whilst still sharing a room. She'd been able to ask Jules and Essa to watch her daughters while she and Morgan got the wallpaper and new furniture ready, and then they'd all travelled over in a rented car, driven by Wolfgang. Jenny had thanked him profusely, and he'd told her not to worry about it.
And now, they were here. The girls loved their new room, but Jenny still worried about whether they'd settle in - although of course she'd promised that Essa, Jules, and Ruby could visit, and now they wanted to know when.
She knew exactly who would be awake before walking into the room, and she was right as soon as she flipped the light on. Celeste was bouncing around with her bear, not at all worried about waking her sleeping sister up.
Meanwhile, Iris was oblivious, snoring away as she snuggled down in her bed.
"Celly...." Jenny said, softly but firmly. "You're meant to be asleep." She gently took the bear from her daughter, tucking it into the covers. "See, Claire wants to sleep too, she's tired."
Celeste's lip began to wobble. "I don't want to!" she said, a little too loudly. Iris mumbled, turning over.
Holding back a sigh, Jenny carefully picked her up. Her lovely daughter was quite headstrong, and out of the two, she was more open with her feelings, while Iris always seemed happy to go along with whatever Celeste was doing.
"Aren't you sleepy?" she asked, coaxingly.
"No..." Celeste snuggled into her anyway. "Not sleepy, not sleepy..."
It was always this way. Celeste didn't want to sleep, even when tired, because she wanted to keep playing and didn't see why she couldn't. Jenny cuddled her close, stroking her hair and carrying her over to her bed.
"Celly, don't you want to lie down with Claire? She's sleepy." She kissed the top of Celeste's head, and gently tucked her in, carefully making sure she would be comfy. Celeste's protests died down, and she snuggled up with her teddy bear.
"There's my good girl," Jenny said, lovingly.
She really hoped Celeste would settle down into sleep patterns soon. It was starting to wear on everyone, but with toddlers, what could you do?
@lilypadmeulin these two look sooo cute! I love the hairs and the dress. Good to see they are settling in... more or less... @permanentrose It is really cool to see all these different Sims together! @SoulGal7 That was... a really good attempt? XD (I'm not one to judge, my french sounds horrific!) "Hallo, schön dich zu sehen! Wir können uns gern auf Englisch unterhalten, ich spreche sehr gern Englisch und habe sogar ein Cambridge "Professional" Degree ;)"
I think I'll set up the family during MAy, but I have no idea yet how to do the challenge without additional worlds or world-related Aspirations.
@lilypadmeulin these two look sooo cute! I love the hairs and the dress. Good to see they are settling in... more or less... @permanentrose It is really cool to see all these different Sims together! @SoulGal7 That was... a really good attempt? XD (I'm not one to judge, my french sounds horrific!)
"Hallo, schön dich zu sehen! Wir können uns gern auf Englisch unterhalten, ich spreche sehr gern Englisch und habe sogar ein Cambridge "Professional" Degree "
I think I'll set up the family during MAy, but I have no idea yet how to do the challenge without additional worlds or world-related Aspirations.
Okay. here's an idea: If you choose to start in Willow Creek, you could actually do two worlds, since Sylvan Glade is a "hidden" world. Also, it depends on your storyline. Are you starting as a homeless teen rags to riches? So the worlds you have are Willow Creek, Oasis Springs, and Newcrest, because I don't think the other packs came with separate worlds. Is that right? So, what I would do, is look at all the aspirations and divide them up by each world. You will see that Master Chef for instance can't be completed until they get a job in the culinary career, so that will have to wait until they are a young adult.
Perhaps you start as a homeless teen, and they are a rebellious teen, you may want to work on the Chief of Mischief, Bodybuilder, and maybe Curator or Painter Extraordinaire or Musical Genius- they could be a street artist in your story (to make some simoleons). Hope that helps.
The morning went by smoothly, and the kids all headed off to school without incident. The twins were fed, and weren’t getting into trouble (yet).. so Bennie decided he might as well open up the store for a while.
He tried to be helpful, and there were plenty customers… but sales simply weren’t coming in. What on Earth was he doing wrong? This store was supposed to be an easy money maker!
Upstairs, Braydon was getting his bath (with no prompting with me, go Marnie!)
His ONE sale all morning was at least worth 150 bucks profit.. but that was it. Bennie was starting to get worried about making enough at this store to support his family. But there was no way he was going to tell Marnie that.
The kids were coming home from school as Bennie closed shop.. and Jaz managed to sneak past him (with the smell, I honestly don’t know how) on her way to the bathroom in the store. Today had apparently been a long day at school with her resolve to not go to the bathroom at school anymore.
Sadly, poor Jaz made it through the front door of the store.. and no further. Which meant she was going to need to clean that up ASAP before anyone found out about it. Hurrying to the cleaning closet, she stealthily filled the bucket with water and suds, and tried to figure out how the mop and bucket worked. Unfortunately, all she was doing was making a bigger mess. To her horror, through the store windows, she noticed Bennie had spotted her.
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!??” Bennie roared, trying not to slip on the mess on the floor. Then, the smell hit him. “Oh my God, child, why are you peeing on the floor like a wild animal?? If you’re going to do that, at least learn how to clean it up right instead of making a bigger puddle!! Go get your mother!”
Without a word, Jazmyn hurried upstairs to get Marnie, trying to stifle embarrassed tears. “Mama.. Bennie needs you.”
Marnie was not happy to be interrupted while in the middle of helping Myles with his homework (again). Stomping along after Jazmyn, she just barely missed falling flat on her face in the puddle after tripping over a half full bucket of suds. Bennie was nowhere to be seen…. but he appeared just in time to see Marnie’s near miss.
“Teach this kid to clean up her own pee puddle! I thought you’d potty trained her! Perhaps she needs a refresher! Oh, and Child, when you’re done – Benji had disappeared on a school night again, as a punishment, you will be the one to drag him back home. Do not come home until he comes with you. And it had better be before dark!!”
Furious, Jazmyn glanced outside. The sun was already going down. There was no way she could get Benji home in time. Sighing, she tried to listen to what her mother was teaching her.
(Meanwhile, across the street….)
Benji pulled together a club meeting, and of course, everyone was in a hurry to attend. He definitely needed some fun after a horrible day at school… so he organized a game of HORSE on the court. Cade quickly bowed out, and went upstairs to see the rest of the club members. Which left Shaylee alone with Benji.
On a whim, Benji spent some time chatting with her, and even whispered to her that he had a crush on someone at school. He was still too shy to admit to her who the crush was, though, and way too prideful to admit he was shy.
He changed topics quickly, and invited her inside to a bowling game, since it was getting dark outside.
The competition was just heating up, and little Pierce DelGato was giving him the stink-eye for making fun of him.
After Pierce hit the deck during an especially beautiful shot by Shaylee, he was mortified, and quickly cleared the area, barely taking time to take off his rental shoes.
(Back across the street…)
It was pitch black outside by the time she was finally headed over to get Benji. Sighing deeply, she tried finding Benji by peeking in windows without going inside and subjecting herself to possibly seeing any classmates in this state. Obviously, she hadn’t been allowed to clean herself up much, yet… which may have been part of the punishment.
Luckily Shaylee and Benji were the only people in the bowling alley at the moment, and Jazmyn hurried to tell him he was needed at home. She, also luckily, missed the nasty comments Shaylee muttered towards her under her breath.
“Now? Oh for &%*$’s sake!” Benji grouched, watching forlornly as Shaylee disappeared out the door. So much for spending time with his crush.
“I gotta change my shoes.” Benji said, pointing at a nearby bench. “By the way, you stink. What happened?”
Without meaning to, Jazmyn spilled everything. The fact that she’d gone into the wrong bathroom at school, the way everyone was making fun of her.. and the mess that had just happened after she had decided no more bathrooms at school.
Somehow, Benji must have been feeling especially kind, because he didn’t make fun of her. He didn’t give her a hug or anything (like she definitely needed), but at least he didn’t make things worse. “You can’t just not pee at school, Jazzy. It doesn’t work that way. Ask your teachers in the middle of class for a bathroom pass or something if you don’t want the other kids to see you go.”
“You can DO that??” Jaz asked in amazement.
Benji shook his head at her. “Duh, small fry. That’s what teachers are for. Hall passes.” He finished tying his thrift store boots, and put up his bowling shoes. “Let’s go home before it gets any darker.”
Nodding, and realizing that she had just spilled secrets that could be used against her… Jaz just sat behind him quietly. She was still thinking to herself when – to her shock, Benji passed out right in front of her. Unfortunately, it was also right in front of his friends. Which made him the butt of the joke.
“Did you miss your nap at preschool, Benji?” laughed Cade.
“Up past your bedtime, are you, Benji? No wonder your little sister had to come get you.” Jay’s girlfriend snidely added.
Embarrassed and now angry, Benji shook off the cobwebs, grabbed his sister’s arm, and drug her out the door and across the street.
“Say NOTHING about this to ANYONE!” he threatened. Jaz’s eyes were huge, and instead of saying anything, she merely nodded. “Now, we sneak in, and hope Bennie doesn’t notice.” he hissed at her… and slid past Marnie making some food (probably for the twins, based on the consistency of the meal) into the bedroom to crawl into his bed.
Feeling better for being able to finally tell someone, or maybe worse because she was afraid what would come of it…. Jaz took a quick (and cold) shower, and hurried to bed, as well. Bennie didn’t notice her sneak past as he put down the Murphy bed, and Marnie was busy putting the twins to bed.. so she managed to avoid any more confrontations for the day.
Marnie and Bennie’s night wasn’t over, though.. because one of the twins had a nightmare, and woke the entire apartment up. Bennie was furious, and went right back to sleep (as did the other kids), and Marnie sighed in frustration, getting up to give Brett a bath. So much for sleep!
Split into two again, this time because I wrote too much, instead of taking too many pics.... lol
Aw, poor Jaz having an accident after trying to hold it all day Unfortunately I've heard of real life stories like this, with kids who don't fit into the gender binary being afraid to use the bathroom at school...very sad. But nice of Benji to kind of comfort her and give her a solution. Hopefully she can use the bathroom in peace in the middle of super boring math lesson from now on haha
Hi! Welcome to the forums, and to this challenge! I don't own all the packs either, so I'm improvising some months too. You would for sure need to get creative using only base game worlds, but if you have a good story to tell and you enjoy the packs you do own, I think you could totally do it! It's more about posting a photo a day more than anything, so if you think you could make it work, you should definitely try. There's also a lot of good aspirations included with just the base game, so you could always try to use the aspirations as a guide for your gameplay too, more so than the world/neighborhood your sim would be living in.
I was gonna ask you if Morgan was gonna move with Jenny this month, but your second post answered my question! Nice of Jenny to still have that support. The twins room is very cute - such a fun toddler vibe! And it looks like Iris is the mellow twin, while Celeste is giving Jenny a run for her money...Poor Jenny, needing to have the bathroom as her place to escape. I get it though - since I nanny, those few minutes I spend in the bathroom are often my moments of peace, and I've had to explain to the kids several times not to bother me while I'm in there Have fun with Iris and Celeste, they are precious, and toddler gameplay is super cute! You should also get a rocking chair for your house - toddlers rocking are so cute!
Sakura really does have a full schedule, especially with that soccer practice almost every night for three hours! I liked that idea of Jules being on the soccer team, but man, that ended up being quite the time commitment haha. Guess it's kind of like real life - sports do take up a lot of time on the college level.
I liked how you gave us a look into Sakura's mind about how she hasn't been feeling confident ever since her accident. Poor Sakura, still trying to cope with her trauma. I wonder if she'll start spiraling from all the stress at all this month...but Wolfgang will be right there to help her get back on her feet if she does
Lol River and his free juice And nice, Sakura did a perfect keg stand! She's getting the full college experience for sure haha. And oh no, does Sakura have a klepto roommate? Well, I guess it's hard to tell what belongs to who when living in the dorms, the game probably treats everything on the lot as belonging to anyone residing there. Sakura might be fed up after only one semester in the dorms like Jules haha.
Some days are like that indeed. My posts are all over the place with how long they might be, which is nice that this challenge is really just so flexible with stuff like that. Mia is so cute. I love the baby pool interaction. I really miss Jules' daughter Ruby this month - she made for the cutest screenshots
Haha, too funny that Makoa got offended over Jackson having the same hairstyle as him. Nice tension with Jackson not legally having any guardian or residence and then feeling panicked when Duane mentions him being a registered Sulani citizen...having your sim trying to live under the radar is definitely a cool story point and could make for some fun gameplay challenges
EDIT:
I forgot to add, anyone can use that photo I made with the challenge sims if you want to!
I forgot to add, anyone can use that photo I made with the challenge sims if you want to!
I'm thinking of using that for my cover page to this challenge on my WordPress site. I'll link to this thread with it. Some of my Followers on the site are reading it so far cause I'm getting a few likes per chapter.
Late afternoon finds Josh on the back porch knitting a potted plant hanger. He's decided even though 'someone' made him do this skill, he genuinely enjoys doing it.
Meanwhile Frank is having a lovely conversation with his Buddy the Immersion Bend.
Essa is trying to work off that steak by going for an endurance run on the treadmill.
Oh, well now, it looks as if Frank and his Buddy are becoming 'more' than just friends. Or at least it looks as if that's what he wants anyway. He's flirting.
Yep, Frank is definitely showing off now. "Look.at.my.larger.than.average.arm.construction."
Josh was so happy with the first potted plant hanger he made, he's decided to make another one for the front porch. He's glad to see Essa and Frank getting along so well. It seems the work he'd done on Frank had been successful.
Essa later challenged both Josh and Frank to a video game competition. "Are you sure about this Beautiful? I always win and Frank's basically a computer." "By.my.superior.calculations.We.will.beat.you.Essa."
"Nice trash talk Frank, but you're both going down!" "Will.we.play.in.the.basement.instead?"
"No, no Frank, it just means I'm going to beat you both and win this game." "You.are.incorrect."
"We shall see."
Can you guess by this screenshot who won? I bet you can't!
Frank had more Global Enhancements to download, so Josh and Essa left him to do that and went out back intending to have a soak in the hot tub. But 'someone' forgot about Beast. Put that cake away, nobody in this family is falling for that ploy.
"Oh who's a good boy? Are you hungry? Huh? Huh? Do you want it? Opps, not so fast Beast. Here, just take it! AHAHA too slow!"
"Just feed it already Josh, stop teasing it. Are you going to play with that disgusting, drooling 'thing' or come soak with me?"
"You're not jealous of Beast are you?"
"What? Are you serious? It's just a plant. Don't be silly."
"He's more than just a plant, he's special. It's a miracle he's even alive. I can't just let him die again."
"I know Babe. I just don't like it. I know you love it though. So it's fine. Whatever makes you happy."
*whispers* "Guess what?"
*whispers back* "What?"
"You make me happy."
"And I love you, I don't love Beast. He can't make me happy the way you do. He's just a special plant. You're my heart, my soul, my everything..."
A while later....
"Hey, what do you think of my haircut? You haven't said a word about it all day."
"It's different, I don't mind it. I like the floppy curl in front. It's cute."
"But you don't love it, right? I know it'll take some getting used to. It will for me too. I haven't had my hair this short since the last time I was in the service."
"It's just hair Josh, it's not you. I fell in love with you, not your hair."
"But I really can't wait until it grows back. Is that a bad thing?" "No, I can't wait either. But it'll be awhile." Josh said with a laugh.
"I'll be here, right by your side...massaging your scalp, feeding you lots of protein, and..." "Hey!"
"Kidding, kidding!" Essa said with a smirk. "I guess we better go inside now. Busy day tomorrow."
"Yeah, your first day. Are you excited?" "I really don't know what I feel anymore. But I'm anxious to find out more about what's going on in this town. If I can."
"I am too...okay, let's go...race you!?" "Ohhhh, I know what that means! You're on Beautiful!"
As Jackson was doing his morning jog, his conversation with Duane kept going over and over in his head. His white lies are going to come back on him. Even during school, he was distracted. He was so distracted that he embarrassed himself by dropping a tray in front of everyone in the cafeteria. Jackson thought maybe he should just keep to himself from now. But he did enjoy the company of the three he met on Sulani already.
Jackson headed to one of the beaches after school. He needed to relax and work on his suntan. He closed his eyes and drifted off. He awoke from hearing splashes from the ocean behind him. It seems there’s others out and about going swimming. Jackson looked himself over and noticed he was already tanning. Then he noticed that Makoa had spotted him and started to walk over.
Makoa: “Good to see you around again, Jackson. Nice tan you’ve gotten.”
Jackson: “Thanks, I guess.”
Makoa: “I hope you’re not still mad at me for yesterday. In fact, let me make it up to you and invite your family over for dinner tonight.”
Jackson: “Uh, um…well. That’s not going to work as my parents are not home.”
Makoa: “Then why don’t you come over?”
Jackson was hungry and he would get a free meal out of this. So he accepted the invitation. Makoa showed him how to get to his home from where they were. Jackson then went home to change. When he arrived at Makoa’s place, he was surprised to see who he met at the door. It was Duane.
Duane(offering his hand to Jackson): Hey there! My dad said you were coming over. I was surprised to hear you two met each other yesterday before we did. But again, this is a small island. Everyone knows everyone. Pretty soon everyone will know you here.
This did not sit well with Jackson. He’s only been on Sulani for four days and he’s going to be the talk of the island soon enough. He won’t be able to hide that he’s an orphan and homeless much longer. Makoa approaches the two of them talking. Duane goes back to finishing grilling at this time.
Makoa: “It still amazes me how much we look alike.”
Jackson: “I can get a new haircut.”
Makoa: “No need. It looks good on you as much as it does on me.”
Jackson is nervous but has become interested in the people he has met. He knew Duane was a lifeguard already. Makoa tells Jackson that he is a Conservationist. Soon Duane announces dinner is ready. Makoa’s wife and daughter decided to remain out in the water for now. She mentioned it was good for the boys to talk and it was nice meeting Jackson.
Makoa(chuckling): “I’d swear you haven’t eaten in ages with how you’re shoveling the food into your mouth.”
Jackson: “I’ve never had this kind of grilled fruit like this before.”
Makoa: “Slow down and savor it, then.”
Duane’s phone buzzes and he checks to read the text he is receiving.
Duane(sighing): "Slow Runners United is short staffed again. They want me to work extra hours."
Duane looks up at Jackson.
Duane: "If you’re bored after school, you could always work as a lifeguard. It will help you get to know the community better now that you live here. We mostly see tourists, but we do get the occasional Sulani resident."
As Jackson continues to eat, he shrugs his shoulders. He thought it would be nice to have some simoleons. But that also means he’ll be getting more involved on the island than he already wanted. This is something he’ll have to sleep on when he gets back to his beach.
As it was now dark out, Jackson said he should be heading back to his home. He had a lot to think about. Maybe he should confess to Makoa and Duane. He liked this family. But when he arrived at his tent, it kicked in he didn’t have a family of his own anymore. Jackson started going through a phase. He’s feeling Distant and will prefer to be alone for awhile.
Side Notes:
Aspiration: Beach Life: Milestone I: Get a Suntan — completed
You can see the before and after images of Jackson’s tan in the bonus images below.
I was hoping Makoa’s wife and daughter would also eat with them, but they just hung outside, even after Jackson was able to “Call to Meal”
@IllusoryThrall I hope nothing bad will come for Jazmy because she told Benji about her accident... But since he passed out, she could blackmail him? (can't do spoilers, sorry)
@permanentrose The Picture looks gorgeous!
@LegacySims poor Jackson, trying to hide his home life! I imagine it's much like living in a small village... *chuckle*
@Karababy52 Whoa, Strangerville has such a great view...!
To everyone having good ideas on how to do it (almost) basegame: -I have two story-made Sims that would be perfect as parents. I think I'll make them a "big family no money"-type home, let them have 5-6 kids all through May (with aging on), see how their character plays out and then start playing as soon as the youngest (=the main Sim) is a toddler in June. -I could do the rest of May as a baby, then June = toddler, July & August as a child, and then move out in September and continue as a teen? 3 months as a teen, 3 months as YA, 3 months as Adult, and where am I going to put the Elder stage?! Extend the year for 3 months of elderhood? -Right now I have the three basegame worlds with 13 neighborhoods. If I'm doing the whole "moving" thing from mid-May to next June, that could be a good idea. No idea on how to work around perhaps buying Brindleton Bay in October though - perhaps continue with one of the Main Sim's kids? And I am dreading having to find 12 more houses. I'm not a good builder, most stuff on the gallery has too many packs for me, and I'll have to invest sooo much time each month in a new home! -I could also let them stay on their lot until the main sim moves out as a teen, but then I'd have too many neighbourhoods for the number of months left! Would reduce my housing problem though. -There's 24 ingame Aspirations (with the Super Parent one), and 12 months to work on them (not counting the three pre-teen months). I could pick two to work on each month... I don't like Aspirationhopping, but that could work.
In the (very understandable) case some of you are confused now, here's the current plan: Play for 15 1/2 months. - 1/2 month baby, 1 month toddler, 2 months child, 3 months teen, YA, adult, elder. (Possibly extend for a next Gen, if I get Brindleton Bay and subsequent other worlds. And if I manage to stick around that long.) Start playing in Bridgeview (Newcrest) with a big family and the youngest baby as main sim. Move each month, starting as soon as the Main Sim turns teen. (Minus the Brindleton Bay-Problem - Any ideas? :) ) Work on two aspirations per month (and perhaps go for a "Master Simmer" to try and get all achievements? I don't think there'll be any other way to not get bored with the achievements, and I really want to...!)
What do you think? (And when do I get spoilers to hide these walls of text?! :D)
Yes, Morgan is staying! Her room is very bare bones at the moment, but seeing as being with Jenny gives her more independence than her parents' house, it's the best place to be.
Ooh, a rocking chair would actually be pretty fun to get, especially as Jenny knits!
(As you can see, Bryon is still having troubles at work, but hey, we’ll get there! He did great work, and I think he’ll get his first promotion (level 4) tomorrow )
——
Johnny told me to go out for a jog everyday, so that was the first thing I did after coming home from work.
I need to get my condition up. I have to do it for Audrey and Alex. I’ll succeed.
I can’t do more. I’m tired. I need a nap.
Please let me succeed. I’d do everything to get them back...
(Naoki) “Bryon?"
(Naoki) "Hey, wake up. I got something to tell you!”
(Bryon) “Hm...?”
(Bryon) “Where am I...?”
(Naoki) “You're in our living room, dummy. Come here. This massage will wake you up.”
(Bryon) “Oh yessss... Right there..."
(Bryon) "So, what is it you got to tell?"
(Naoki) “Right! I started working on a private project at work. I checked the blue smoke in the hallway today and analyzed a sample. The blue smoke is what makes people act so weird. It’s what people make possessed. I’m trying to find a way to get through the hall without the need of inhaling the smoke... So I was thinking... An astronaut uniform!”
(Bryon) “An astronaut uniform. Come on, Naoki. That's way too heavy to wear in a room with gravity."
(Naoki) “Oh, right... Maybe I need to try this rocking in the chair like you did yesterday...”
(Bryon) “It’s actually a good starting point... We only need something... With less weight... a Hazmat suit maybe?”
(Naoki) “Ahhh... That's brilliant!!"
(Bryon) “I love the fact that you started a private project, but... Do your colleagues know?”
(Naoki) “It wouldn’t be private anymore if someone knew, right?”
(Bryon) “Right.”
(Naoki) “No worries, I’m not going to tell anyone.”
(Bryon) “Not even Jaquan?”
(Naoki) “Not even Jaquan.”
(Johnny) “Bryon!! I heard you did a little better today! I’m so proud of you!”
Oh boy, now he barges in unannounced and uses my computer...
(Johnny) “You’ll be a level 5 before you know it.”
(Naoki) “We have faith in you!”
(Bryon) “Ah you guys. You flatter me.”
(Naoki) “But their’s still some work.”
(Johnny) “A lot of work, actually."
(Bryon) “Okay, you’ve said enough now.”
The next morning, Jules received a text from Emmett that he could meet her at the local bar later that day.
Hugo decided to stay home and give the two of them a chance to catch up, though he said he'd head over to the library again later to see if he could find any useful information in the archives.
Once Jules entered the bar, she spotted Emmett at the back of the bar near the Jukebox, her heart fluttering involuntarily at the sight of him.
"All your hair is gone," she laughed a little, reaching up to touch his cropped hair.
He smiled. "It will grow back." Then he pulled her up into a hug that literally swept her off her feet. "I've missed you," he told her.
He spun her around once before placing her gently back on the ground. The air between them suddenly felt magnetic, and she found it hard to find the desire to pull away.
"Hey, listen, it's that song our parents always used to love when we were little...we have to dance now!" Emmett exclaimed, pulling her onto the dance floor. (I just had to use a swing dance pose I had, the vibe of this retro bar was just begging me to do it, and it's basically the cutest thing ever.)
A bit breathless after dancing, they both sat down at the bar. Emmett looked at her with a serious expression on his face. "Look, it's wonderful to see you, but I have to admit, I'm a little worried that you're here. Things have not been great here in town...I can't say much, and honestly, I don't even know that much of what is happening myself, as I'm not at a high enough rank yet to know what goes on behind those sealed doors." He leaned in, glancing around to make sure no one was watching, and whispered. "I think that whoever is in charge here is using the military to help cover up a huge mess, and I'm a little concerned about all that I've got caught up in...they've been bringing in a lot of new personnel and training us fast, though what we're training for still isn't entirely clear..."
"Whatever is happening, Bex was definitely involved in investigating," Jules whispered back.
A man in uniform came down and sat next to them, so Emmett led them over toward the dart board and the Jukebox, where they would have some space and the music to drown out their conversation.
(And @Karababy52, since I know you'll ask, I don't know who won, haha, since Emmett tried to go to work in the middle of the game and then I had to cancel the action. It seems like I never actually get a chance to let these win/lose scenarios play all the way through )
"I need to get back into that lab," Jules told him. "If I can find some evidence of what's happening here, perhaps I can help put an end to it."
"You've already been to the lab??" Emmett exclaimed, then looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Let me guess, you were the one who broke in and incapacitated two soldiers with a SimRay last night...we had a report on that this morning."
Jules looked at him a bit sheepishly.
"Okay, yeah, I guess trying to convince you to stay out of this isn't an option at this point, is it?" There was a small smile on his lips as he said the words.
"I'm determined to get to the bottom of this," she told him.
"Well, the least I can do is help you out then," Emmett responded.
So they came up with a plan. Emmett had an extra uniform, and since they were getting new personnel so often, it was hard for even the soldiers to keep track of who they did and didn't know, so it would be easy for Jules to slip in, at least on the top level of the lab. Emmett still didn't have a keycard, so traversing deeper into the lab was out of the question. However, he was certain that even the top floor of the lab would contain some answers. He told her to come meet her back behind the row of abandoned buildings in an hour and he'd get the uniform for her.
So an hour later, she met him by the buildings, taking the uniform graciously.
"Be safe," Emmett told her, hugging her tightly, and she clung to him for a moment, not quite ready to be alone yet.
But soon enough, she was on her own, as she walked back into the desert toward the lab. She had texted Hugo about her plans, and he told her he was still rifling through the archives in the library and had found some information that seemed helpful as well.
Before she entered the lab though, she noticed a timid looking dog by one of the trucks.
She glanced around, seeing that she was alone, and decided she had a moment to spare. "It's okay, buddy," she whispered gently. "Come here."
But as she took a step closer, he bolted. She decided she'd check for him again on her way out.
There were a few other soldiers walking around, but she held herself with confidence and no one questioned her as she began to snoop around. She found several interesting documents and other items that she collected when she was certain no one was looking.
Meanwhile, Hugo was still at the library. (Behind the scenes, I actually had Jules meet him there and check the archives and get a few pieces of evidence there, since I obviously need Jules to be the one to collect the evidence for aspiration purposes)
It was late by the time they both stumbled back into the trailer. Jules had looked for the dog, but it had been dark, and there had been no sign of him. Together, Hugo and Jules compiled all they had found.
"Nice work!" Hugo told her, and she couldn't help but to feel pleased as they high fived.
It definitely appeared that there was something nefarious happening on the lower level of the lab, and the strange plants cropping up around town definitely had something to do with it. There were also several undeniable pieces of evidence linking Hugo's father to all this - but Hugo, as always, chose to look on the bright side of things, and said as cheerily as he could manage, "We're making good progress. We'll be able to help Bex and get to the bottom of this in no time..."
--
Hoping my mix of being vague sometimes and adding my own details about this mystery is working out...I feel like I'm bound to have some plot holes soon
Comments
Story:
Jackson made sure he woke up early so he could get a jog in and a bathe in the ocean before school. This is the start of his morning routine that he’d do every day. He only hopes he can stick to it.
Although he didn’t have a school project to take home and work on, he wondered why teachers had to be strict and so bossy. He didn’t like school. That’s why he never really tried hard to earn more than a C grade.
Jackson (angrily to himself): “Ugh! Teachers can be so annoying sometimes…”
As Jackson made his way to one of the many beaches, he saw a gentleman that almost looked just like him. He was a little taller than Jackson. But they had the same haircut and obviously the same taste in clothes. But this other guy looked like he was going on a military raid or something. Jackson approached this guy.
Jackson: “Hey there.”
The other guy gives Jackson a look over.
Gentleman: “Oh, you think that’s funny pretending to be me?”
This took Jackson by surprise.
Jackson: “What? No. I don’t even know you. And I recently just moved here a couple days ago.
Gentleman: “Oh, really. And who are you? Where did you move into?”
Jackson was getting nervous and went on the defensive.
Jackson: “What does it matter? Are you the beach police or something?”
Gentleman: “I’ve never seen you before and you look like me. Expect to be questioned. My name is Makoa, if that makes you feel better. Are you going to tell me yours?”
Jackson: “Jackson. My name is Jackson.”
Makoa: “Okay Jackson. Nice to meet you. I’m a long time resident on Sulani. That haircut of yours isn’t very common. And seeing you with it here as you approached me made me a little upset. I apologize for jumping to conclusions about you.”
Jackson calms down a little bit. He is still annoyed with the fact that he went up to start a friendly conversation and was rushed with assumptions on who he was and what he was doing. The two of them talk for awhile before Makoa tells Jackson he needs to get back to his family. During their conversation, Jackson kept his secret that he was an orphan and living on a secluded area with nothing but sand.
Jackson then approached a young woman building something in the sand. It didn’t look like your typical sandcastle you find people making.
Jackson: “What are you making there?”
The young woman slightly glances to Jackson and then focuses back on her work.
Young Woman: “Oh, hey Makoa. I’m creating a sand sculpture. I’m just letting my hands do the building and seeing what they come up with. How’s the wife and kids?”
Jackson: “Uhmm…”
The young woman turns her head again to Jackson when she heard his comment. This is when she knew she wasn’t talking to Makoa.
Young Woman: “Oh, I’m sorry. You look so much like Makoa. Are you a relative of his?”
Jackson: “No. But I did meet him moments ago. I didn’t realize how much we did look alike.”
The young woman smiles.
Young Woman: “Sulani’s population isn’t really that big. I don’t remember ever meeting you. Are you on vacation here?”
Jackson: “No. I moved here a few days ago.”
Young Woman: “Oh, where at?”
Jackson was worried now. What was he suppose to tell her? He had to think of something fast and couldn’t believe himself what he said next.
Jackson: “Haven’t found an actual home yet. I’m…we’re living off one of the beaches. We plan on building a home. Scoping out places where to build.”
Young Woman: "Oh, that’s nice. I think you and your parents will like it here.”
Jackson didn’t respond and only smiled. After the awkward encounter, Jackson left the young woman to continue her sand sculpting.
Makoa and this other woman were the only two at this beach. So he decided to check out one of the other ones. There seemed to be some type of gathering happening. Maybe they had food there as Jackson’s stomach was beginning to growl as he was starting to get hungry. But he was soon stopped by what looked like to be a lifeguard.
Lifeguard: “Excuse me. This is a private gathering. Do you have an invitation?”
Jackson: No. I didn’t realize this was a private party. I’m new around here. How do I get an invitation?”
Lifeguard: “It’s typically residents of Sulani only, unless you’re invited by one of the community members themselves. We all know each other as it’s a small community. I didn’t recognize you. That’s why I had to stop you. My name is Duane. Actually, now that I think about it, you do look familiar. I recognize you from school. I think we have at least one class together.”
Jackson: “So, I can’t check this out?”
Duane: “Unfortunately not today. You said you’re new here. Does that mean you live on Sulani or you’re just visiting?”
Jackson: “I live here now.”
Duane: “Once you’re registered as a Sulani citizen, then you’re free to join in at any of our community events.”
Jackson knew he couldn’t register. He didn’t know what to do at this point. What if the people of Sulani find out about him secretly living off from one of the secluded areas?
Duane: “You have a phone?”
Jackson: “Yeah.”
Duane: “Here’s my number. Let me know when your family gets registered.”
Jackson didn’t want to be rude and not take his number. So he accepted with the mindset he’ll never call Duane back. He’ll have to think up excuses as to why he never did in case he meets up with Duane at school or on Sulani again.
Jackson decided to head back to his private beach and have some yogurt for his dinner. Tomorrow is another day. He was so nervous now after talking to Duane.
Side Notes:
Bonus Images:
Aspirations Completed:
Traits:
Skills:
Edit: He had custom content in my gameplay, so I went ahead and removed it. This is a fresh Jackson Rider with no skills built up already.
May 3
Week 1 Tuesday
I didn't write a lot about Tuesday and didn't take a lot of pictures. Some days are like that.
And I really don't like the lighting in this house, everything is so dark.
Mia has a good day with Jake, who came over to spend time with her. It was even warm enough for Jake to let Mia play in the pool. She didn’t improve her skills much, but spending time with Jake was much more fun.
Of course, Jake put Mia to bed and then left. Mia heard him leave and didn’t stay in bed, so Skye finds her passed out on the floor near the front door. Don’t even ask me where Emily was – taking a shower maybe. Skye gathers up Mia and gets her into bed.
Jake stops back by to see if Skye wants to go out on a date. She has other plans though since she has been missing the romance in her life. Jake agrees to make their relationship official and committed, even though they are still not wanting to get married. Emily’s timing is very awkward.
After Emily heads off to bed, Skye invites Jake to spend the night.
M-W-F
Silly Strings: 8:30am - 9:25am
Beginning Brushwork 11:30 am - 2:55pm
T & TH
If It Ain't Baroque: 11:00am - 12:25pm
Go Figure (Drawing): 1:30om - 2:55pm
Soccer Team:
M-T-W-TH-F-S
6:00pm - 9:00pm
Sakura thought that perhaps she should have enrolled in fewer classes. She was going to have no free time!
With everything in place in her room, she decided to meet some of her roommates and find out if anyone was in the same program she was. But no-one in this group was in Fine Arts.
Not everyone had moved in as yet, so there would be more roommates to meet during the day. She decided to start working on her presentation board.
While she was doing that, she got a call from the Dorm Check-in Desk downstairs that a Wolfgang Munch wanted to visit. Sakura smiled and told them it would be fine, and she put Wolfgang on the list of Approved Visitors.
Sakura met Wolfgang at the elevators and he had a little set of potted plants in his hand.
Wolfgang: "Sakura, I just came over to see how you were settling in, and I forgot to give you this when we unloaded your stuff. It's a gift from Lucas. He painted the pots himself with little faces and my Mom helped him pick out these plants."
Sakura looked at Wolfgang and smiled when she saw the little pots. Wolfgang and his family were always doing such nice things for her. "They're so cute. I'll put them in my room. Do you want a tour of the dorm?"
Wolfgang: "Sure!"
Sakura gave Wolfgang a tour, and he especially liked the lounge and dining areas. Sakura then brought him to her room.
Sakura: "This is it!" she said waving her hand at her space.
Wolfgang: "You put everything away already? It's so neat and organized. I just kind of dumped my stuff in my room. There were still some roommates moving out. One of them told me they were moving to an off-campus house in Britechester that houses both Foxbury and Britechester students."
Sakura: "Really? That sounds kind of interesting."
Wolfgang: "Are you having second thoughts about dorm life? You know, we can always check it out and move somewhere else second term. We can just rent a Sim-Haul and move all the stuff out. It wouldn't be very far to move."
Sakura: "Yeah, maybe. I'm just...I'm just...I miss you Wolfgang, and I think I signed up for too many classes, and I don't know how I am going to do it. I just feel a bit overwhelmed right now."
Wolfgang: "Hey, Sakura...it's okay...you'll make it through. You'll meet some others in your program, and you'll feel better. What about Sofia? Isn't she in the same program? Why didn't she choose this dorm?"
Sakura: "Sofia and Luna are at Drake Hall. This dorm was already filled up when they enrolled."
Wolfgang: "Think about what I said about off-campus housing. We can check the place out this weekend if you want. But in the meantime, come on, it's a wonderful day out there, let's get out of here and explore the campus a bit. Tomorrow you can come and visit my dorm. What do you say?"
Sakura: "Yes, that would be great. I'd like to see your dorm, and you're right, I think I would feel better if we went for a walk..."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
As they walked, they chatted with each other and Sakura started to feel better. Ever since her disappearance, she just hadn't felt confident anymore. She wasn't that same person who had left her village and travelled to Mt. Komorebi to fulfill a promise she had made to her Sofu (grandfather). She thought of Kiyoshi for a moment, and the heart necklace gift she had placed in her drawer. She remembered the photo inside, and knew that she could never be that girl again. The girl she was now was not that innocent, trusting girl who had climbed the mountain with someone she thought loved her. No, the girl she was now was broken, and scared, and needy and pretty much messed up in the head about her feelings on love. Now her nights were filled with dreams of a faceless sim and her days were filled with panic attacks. She wasn't sure why she had agreed to what Joaquin had suggested and how she could think that she could make a fresh start when her life was still stuck in the past, with Kiyoshi and Mt. Komorebi. Thinking back to that night, she had almost broken it off with Kiyoshi, but when she saw the look in his eyes pleading with her to forgive him, she just couldn't do it. It would have been a way for her to make a fresh start, but she couldn't. And now each day waking up, she couldn't forget what he had told her. And it's not something she could talk to Wolfgang about. Not now, since she still had problems dealing with it herself knowing that she still cared deeply for Kiyoshi. But she knew, that the only way she'd made it through these last few days was because Wolfgang had come to visit her everyday. And now, here he was again, checking up on her to make sure she was okay.
Wolfgang: "Sakura, hey listen, there's a loud speaker announcement, about a Spirit Celebration for both universities in front of UBrite Commons. Come on, let's see what that's about! Maybe they'll have a tug-o-war between the two rival universities, and then you'll be sorry you didn't choose Foxbury," he joked flexing his muscles.
Sakura smirked: "Well, you know, Britechester has a great debate team, so it might be a debate, and let's just say...that brains will overturn the brawn..."
Wolfgang: "Ooohh....burn!" And they both laughed and headed over to the event.
[Spotted River. If there's free juice, he's there!]
Someone tried to tap the keg, and failed.
Sakura challenged Wolfgang to juice pong. Neither one had played before.
Sakura: "I am going to get so wasted from playing this game!"
Wolfgang: "I think that's the idea!" he laughed.
Sakura: "Am I winning? I think I lost count. Oh right, count the cups.. How many are left?"
And Wolfgang wins juice pong as he just casually throws the ping pong ball into the cup without even looking.
Sakura: "How did you do that?" she asked in awe.
Wolfgang: "I really have no idea. I wasn't even aiming over there..."
They laughed about it, and Sakura was a good sport and shook Wolfgang's hand. "Just wait until next time..." she said.
They watched Sofia try to hoist Luna up for a keg stand...
..and that was a nope...Oops!
Sakura: "What do you think Mr. Muscles, want to help me do a keg stand?"
Wolfgang winked at her, "Sure!"
Sakura: "What was that wink for? You're not going to drop me, are you? You better NOT!"
[Spotted Melody having a chuckle as Sakura tries to do the Keg Stand.]
And Sakura does a perfect Keg Stand and gets the "Keg Stood" moodlet.
Wolfgang: "I would never let you fall, Sakura. You know I'll always be there for you..." he said as he looked at her intently.
Sakura gave him a hug, "I know, you're the best, Wolfgang."
Sakura: "Thank you Wolfgang for coming over today. I really appreciate it."
Wolfgang: "Well, you know, I had to deliver those plants, or Lucas would be calling and bugging me about it. But, yeah, I'm glad I came over. This was fun! I gotta head out though and put my stuff away in my room, so it doesn't look like a complete disaster when you visit tomorrow."
They hugged good-bye and Sakura wished that Wolfgang didn't have to leave, But unfortunately, he had to get back to his dorm.
Sakura returned to her room and noticed that something was missing. Where were the little pots? They were gone! Oh my gosh! Someone had taken them! She quickly checked to ensure everything else was where she had put it, and it was. Sakura was so upset. They really were of no value to anyone else, but they certainly had a sentimental value to her. Sakura shed a tear thinking of all the work Lucas and Wolfgang's Mom had gone through to add a bit of cheer to her dorm room. She would have to report this to the Resident Don tomorrow. That off-campus housing that Wolfgang had talked about, was sounding better and better.
I'm afraid to say that I might have gotten the "bug" as well... I'm still scared I might abandon it, as I do with so many challenges. But I want to try. Just... I never promised I'd do the full year, okay? :#
Still thinking about how to do it yet. I think I want to try a big, slightly dysfunctional family like IllusoryThrall since that was the thing that caught my Attention. And I'll have to seriously rework the timeline because I only have Base Game, Seasons and Parenthood right now, so I was contemplating to do one neighbourhood per month. I may get Cats& Dogs in September though...
Perhaps I'll set up the family in the rest of May and build them a house to get used to posting, and then start in June?
Any suggestions are welcome! :)
(I think I understood that I need 25 "points" & 15 posts to post pictures... So I think it's good that there's some time left!)
Side note: I am German, so my sleep schedule (though slightly weird) is European. And since my mother tongue is German, I'll somestimes not know words or misspell them no matter how hard I try. And in German gendering doesn't work as well, so I am not used to that and may have trouble with the pronouns (Sadly, Gendering isn't exactly taught in School!)
Oh yeah, my User name is German and means "Miss Owl Eye" (childhood story). You English People are very welcome to simply call me "Miss" if that's easier. You wouldn't believe how funny it is listening to english Twitch Streamers trying to pronounce that! :D
time zone: Berlin, Germany - EA Gallery ID: Noctuara
Guten Tag! Ich spreche ein bisschen Deutsche. Ich bin Kanadier. Wellkommen!
I would probably set up the family first and then go from there, but you can jump in anytime. Nice to have you here. @Karababy52 will respond later as she is a "night owl"
New Roots
"So, how are you enjoying Windenburg?" Morgan asked, with a light smile.
It was a fair question, but not one Jenny could really answer - after all, they'd only been here properly for two days, and while the house was lovely, settling the girls in was rough. They might not understand the concept of a different house just yet, but they'd been overly excited about all the different places they could explore, and containing them had been difficult.
"I'm enjoying it as much as I can within two days," she replied, instead.
They were standing in the bathroom, which was the only place they could be to not be interrupted, even though the girls were supposed to be asleep. Bathrooms were private, but bedrooms being the same was hard to teach, as of course, the girls' bedroom wasn't exactly private given how often the adults came to check on them. When Jenny had tried to teach them that bedrooms were private, she'd found herself ordering the door open after Celeste gleefully told her she couldn't come in because 'it's mine!'
Morgan laughed. "Fair enough. Didn't you used to come here all the time for Paragons meetings?"
"Only to the swimming pool. Is that still open?"
"Oh, yeah. Why, do you want to go back?" Morgan asked.
"Well, once I find a daycare for the girls...I'd quite like to get back into shape, you know?" Jenny smiled. "But I'd better go check on the little monsters."
Morgan smiled back at her. "Tell them Auntie Morgan wants them to be in bed like good little girls, okay?"
Jenny still felt strange from the move. It had been one thing to think of buying a different place, but to leave Glimmerbrook, and by extension the friends she'd made there...
However, this house had been a bargain, and when they'd checked it out, it had been in such good condition she couldn't say no. It was nicely situated - central without being too central - and there were some nice daycares nearby that she'd promised herself she would check out tomorrow. The girl's nursery had taken the most time to set up, but they had been the main reason she had moved, even if she was anxious about running into Rohan or Sylvia in Windenburg. But worries aside, the girls had been in a very cramped room in her house in Glimmerbrook, and here, they could have space and freedom whilst still sharing a room. She'd been able to ask Jules and Essa to watch her daughters while she and Morgan got the wallpaper and new furniture ready, and then they'd all travelled over in a rented car, driven by Wolfgang. Jenny had thanked him profusely, and he'd told her not to worry about it.
And now, they were here. The girls loved their new room, but Jenny still worried about whether they'd settle in - although of course she'd promised that Essa, Jules, and Ruby could visit, and now they wanted to know when.
She knew exactly who would be awake before walking into the room, and she was right as soon as she flipped the light on. Celeste was bouncing around with her bear, not at all worried about waking her sleeping sister up.
Meanwhile, Iris was oblivious, snoring away as she snuggled down in her bed.
"Celly...." Jenny said, softly but firmly. "You're meant to be asleep." She gently took the bear from her daughter, tucking it into the covers. "See, Claire wants to sleep too, she's tired."
Celeste's lip began to wobble. "I don't want to!" she said, a little too loudly. Iris mumbled, turning over.
Holding back a sigh, Jenny carefully picked her up. Her lovely daughter was quite headstrong, and out of the two, she was more open with her feelings, while Iris always seemed happy to go along with whatever Celeste was doing.
"Aren't you sleepy?" she asked, coaxingly.
"No..." Celeste snuggled into her anyway. "Not sleepy, not sleepy..."
It was always this way. Celeste didn't want to sleep, even when tired, because she wanted to keep playing and didn't see why she couldn't. Jenny cuddled her close, stroking her hair and carrying her over to her bed.
"Celly, don't you want to lie down with Claire? She's sleepy." She kissed the top of Celeste's head, and gently tucked her in, carefully making sure she would be comfy. Celeste's protests died down, and she snuggled up with her teddy bear.
"There's my good girl," Jenny said, lovingly.
She really hoped Celeste would settle down into sleep patterns soon. It was starting to wear on everyone, but with toddlers, what could you do?
Daughters of Hesperia
@permanentrose It is really cool to see all these different Sims together!
@SoulGal7 That was... a really good attempt? XD (I'm not one to judge, my french sounds horrific!)
"Hallo, schön dich zu sehen! Wir können uns gern auf Englisch unterhalten, ich spreche sehr gern Englisch und habe sogar ein Cambridge "Professional" Degree ;)"
I think I'll set up the family during MAy, but I have no idea yet how to do the challenge without additional worlds or world-related Aspirations.
time zone: Berlin, Germany - EA Gallery ID: Noctuara
Okay. here's an idea: If you choose to start in Willow Creek, you could actually do two worlds, since Sylvan Glade is a "hidden" world. Also, it depends on your storyline. Are you starting as a homeless teen rags to riches? So the worlds you have are Willow Creek, Oasis Springs, and Newcrest, because I don't think the other packs came with separate worlds. Is that right? So, what I would do, is look at all the aspirations and divide them up by each world. You will see that Master Chef for instance can't be completed until they get a job in the culinary career, so that will have to wait until they are a young adult.
Perhaps you start as a homeless teen, and they are a rebellious teen, you may want to work on the Chief of Mischief, Bodybuilder, and maybe Curator or Painter Extraordinaire or Musical Genius- they could be a street artist in your story (to make some simoleons). Hope that helps.
I like that a lot. Good job with it.
He tried to be helpful, and there were plenty customers… but sales simply weren’t coming in. What on Earth was he doing wrong? This store was supposed to be an easy money maker!
Upstairs, Braydon was getting his bath (with no prompting with me, go Marnie!)
His ONE sale all morning was at least worth 150 bucks profit.. but that was it. Bennie was starting to get worried about making enough at this store to support his family. But there was no way he was going to tell Marnie that.
The kids were coming home from school as Bennie closed shop.. and Jaz managed to sneak past him (with the smell, I honestly don’t know how) on her way to the bathroom in the store. Today had apparently been a long day at school with her resolve to not go to the bathroom at school anymore.
Sadly, poor Jaz made it through the front door of the store.. and no further. Which meant she was going to need to clean that up ASAP before anyone found out about it. Hurrying to the cleaning closet, she stealthily filled the bucket with water and suds, and tried to figure out how the mop and bucket worked. Unfortunately, all she was doing was making a bigger mess. To her horror, through the store windows, she noticed Bennie had spotted her.
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!??” Bennie roared, trying not to slip on the mess on the floor. Then, the smell hit him. “Oh my God, child, why are you peeing on the floor like a wild animal?? If you’re going to do that, at least learn how to clean it up right instead of making a bigger puddle!! Go get your mother!”
Without a word, Jazmyn hurried upstairs to get Marnie, trying to stifle embarrassed tears. “Mama.. Bennie needs you.”
Marnie was not happy to be interrupted while in the middle of helping Myles with his homework (again). Stomping along after Jazmyn, she just barely missed falling flat on her face in the puddle after tripping over a half full bucket of suds. Bennie was nowhere to be seen…. but he appeared just in time to see Marnie’s near miss.
“Teach this kid to clean up her own pee puddle! I thought you’d potty trained her! Perhaps she needs a refresher! Oh, and Child, when you’re done – Benji had disappeared on a school night again, as a punishment, you will be the one to drag him back home. Do not come home until he comes with you. And it had better be before dark!!”
Furious, Jazmyn glanced outside. The sun was already going down. There was no way she could get Benji home in time. Sighing, she tried to listen to what her mother was teaching her.
(Meanwhile, across the street….)
Benji pulled together a club meeting, and of course, everyone was in a hurry to attend. He definitely needed some fun after a horrible day at school… so he organized a game of HORSE on the court. Cade quickly bowed out, and went upstairs to see the rest of the club members. Which left Shaylee alone with Benji.
On a whim, Benji spent some time chatting with her, and even whispered to her that he had a crush on someone at school. He was still too shy to admit to her who the crush was, though, and way too prideful to admit he was shy.
He changed topics quickly, and invited her inside to a bowling game, since it was getting dark outside.
The competition was just heating up, and little Pierce DelGato was giving him the stink-eye for making fun of him.
After Pierce hit the deck during an especially beautiful shot by Shaylee, he was mortified, and quickly cleared the area, barely taking time to take off his rental shoes.
It was pitch black outside by the time she was finally headed over to get Benji. Sighing deeply, she tried finding Benji by peeking in windows without going inside and subjecting herself to possibly seeing any classmates in this state. Obviously, she hadn’t been allowed to clean herself up much, yet… which may have been part of the punishment.
Luckily Shaylee and Benji were the only people in the bowling alley at the moment, and Jazmyn hurried to tell him he was needed at home. She, also luckily, missed the nasty comments Shaylee muttered towards her under her breath.
“Now? Oh for &%*$’s sake!” Benji grouched, watching forlornly as Shaylee disappeared out the door. So much for spending time with his crush.
“I gotta change my shoes.” Benji said, pointing at a nearby bench. “By the way, you stink. What happened?”
Without meaning to, Jazmyn spilled everything. The fact that she’d gone into the wrong bathroom at school, the way everyone was making fun of her.. and the mess that had just happened after she had decided no more bathrooms at school.
Somehow, Benji must have been feeling especially kind, because he didn’t make fun of her. He didn’t give her a hug or anything (like she definitely needed), but at least he didn’t make things worse. “You can’t just not pee at school, Jazzy. It doesn’t work that way. Ask your teachers in the middle of class for a bathroom pass or something if you don’t want the other kids to see you go.”
“You can DO that??” Jaz asked in amazement.
Benji shook his head at her. “Duh, small fry. That’s what teachers are for. Hall passes.” He finished tying his thrift store boots, and put up his bowling shoes. “Let’s go home before it gets any darker.”
Nodding, and realizing that she had just spilled secrets that could be used against her… Jaz just sat behind him quietly. She was still thinking to herself when – to her shock, Benji passed out right in front of her. Unfortunately, it was also right in front of his friends. Which made him the butt of the joke.
“Did you miss your nap at preschool, Benji?” laughed Cade.
“Up past your bedtime, are you, Benji? No wonder your little sister had to come get you.” Jay’s girlfriend snidely added.
Embarrassed and now angry, Benji shook off the cobwebs, grabbed his sister’s arm, and drug her out the door and across the street.
“Say NOTHING about this to ANYONE!” he threatened. Jaz’s eyes were huge, and instead of saying anything, she merely nodded. “Now, we sneak in, and hope Bennie doesn’t notice.” he hissed at her… and slid past Marnie making some food (probably for the twins, based on the consistency of the meal) into the bedroom to crawl into his bed.
Feeling better for being able to finally tell someone, or maybe worse because she was afraid what would come of it…. Jaz took a quick (and cold) shower, and hurried to bed, as well. Bennie didn’t notice her sneak past as he put down the Murphy bed, and Marnie was busy putting the twins to bed.. so she managed to avoid any more confrontations for the day.
Marnie and Bennie’s night wasn’t over, though.. because one of the twins had a nightmare, and woke the entire apartment up. Bennie was furious, and went right back to sleep (as did the other kids), and Marnie sighed in frustration, getting up to give Brett a bath. So much for sleep!
Split into two again, this time because I wrote too much, instead of taking too many pics.... lol
I now stream the Sims 4 on Twitch!
My Discord Server - A place to discuss my challenges, or the Sims in general
I now stream the Sims 4 on Twitch!
My Discord Server - A place to discuss my challenges, or the Sims in general
@miss_eulenauge
@lilypadmeulin
@SoulGal7
I liked how you gave us a look into Sakura's mind about how she hasn't been feeling confident ever since her accident. Poor Sakura, still trying to cope with her trauma. I wonder if she'll start spiraling from all the stress at all this month...but Wolfgang will be right there to help her get back on her feet if she does
Lol River and his free juice
@sassytxbrat
@LegacySims2017
EDIT:
I forgot to add, anyone can use that photo I made with the challenge sims if you want to!
I'm thinking of using that for my cover page to this challenge on my WordPress site. I'll link to this thread with it. Some of my Followers on the site are reading it so far cause I'm getting a few likes per chapter.
Notes
Late afternoon finds Josh on the back porch knitting a potted plant hanger. He's decided even though 'someone' made him do this skill, he genuinely enjoys doing it.
Meanwhile Frank is having a lovely conversation with his Buddy the Immersion Bend.
Essa is trying to work off that steak by going for an endurance run on the treadmill.
Oh, well now, it looks as if Frank and his Buddy are becoming 'more' than just friends. Or at least it looks as if that's what he wants anyway. He's flirting.
Yep, Frank is definitely showing off now.
"Look.at.my.larger.than.average.arm.construction."
Aww, he's got heart eyes!
"I.am.in.love.with.Bendy."
Josh finished the plant holder, found a pot , put a wild succulent in it and hung it up on the front porch. Good job Josh, it looks great there!
Here's a close up for anyone who cares to see what Joshie made.
Essa has moved on to the uh...Kickbot? Not sure what that thing is really called. She looks like a bad butt here eh?
"Would.you.teach.me.how.to.knit.Essa?"
"Sure, but um, why do you have heart eyes? Didn't Josh reprogram you to not flirt with me?"
"I.apologize.I.am.in.love.with.Bendy.We.were.having.a.flirty.conversation."
"Bendy?"
"The.Immersion.Bend.desktop.in.your.office."
"Oh, okay, congratulations?"
"Thank.you.Essa.Shall.we.begin."
"We shall."
Josh was so happy with the first potted plant hanger he made, he's decided to make another one for the front porch. He's glad to see Essa and Frank getting along so well. It seems the work he'd done on Frank had been successful.
Essa later challenged both Josh and Frank to a video game competition.
"Are you sure about this Beautiful? I always win and Frank's basically a computer."
"By.my.superior.calculations.We.will.beat.you.Essa."
"Nice trash talk Frank, but you're both going down!"
"Will.we.play.in.the.basement.instead?"
"No, no Frank, it just means I'm going to beat you both and win this game."
"You.are.incorrect."
"We shall see."
Can you guess by this screenshot who won? I bet you can't!
Frank had more Global Enhancements to download, so Josh and Essa left him to do that and went out back intending to have a soak in the hot tub. But 'someone' forgot about Beast. Put that cake away, nobody in this family is falling for that ploy.
"Oh who's a good boy? Are you hungry? Huh? Huh? Do you want it? Opps, not so fast Beast. Here, just take it! AHAHA too slow!"
"Just feed it already Josh, stop teasing it. Are you going to play with that disgusting, drooling 'thing' or come soak with me?"
"You're not jealous of Beast are you?"
"What? Are you serious? It's just a plant. Don't be silly."
"He's more than just a plant, he's special. It's a miracle he's even alive. I can't just let him die again."
"I know Babe. I just don't like it. I know you love it though. So it's fine. Whatever makes you happy."
*whispers* "Guess what?"
*whispers back* "What?"
"You make me happy."
"And I love you, I don't love Beast. He can't make me happy the way you do. He's just a special plant. You're my heart, my soul, my everything..."
A while later....
"Hey, what do you think of my haircut? You haven't said a word about it all day."
"It's different, I don't mind it. I like the floppy curl in front. It's cute."
"But you don't love it, right? I know it'll take some getting used to. It will for me too. I haven't had my hair this short since the last time I was in the service."
"It's just hair Josh, it's not you. I fell in love with you, not your hair."
"But I really can't wait until it grows back. Is that a bad thing?"
"No, I can't wait either. But it'll be awhile." Josh said with a laugh.
"I'll be here, right by your side...massaging your scalp, feeding you lots of protein, and..."
"Hey!"
"Kidding, kidding!" Essa said with a smirk.
"I guess we better go inside now. Busy day tomorrow."
"Yeah, your first day. Are you excited?"
"I really don't know what I feel anymore. But I'm anxious to find out more about what's going on in this town. If I can."
"I am too...okay, let's go...race you!?"
"Ohhhh, I know what that means! You're on Beautiful!"
Story:
As Jackson was doing his morning jog, his conversation with Duane kept going over and over in his head. His white lies are going to come back on him. Even during school, he was distracted. He was so distracted that he embarrassed himself by dropping a tray in front of everyone in the cafeteria. Jackson thought maybe he should just keep to himself from now. But he did enjoy the company of the three he met on Sulani already.
Jackson headed to one of the beaches after school. He needed to relax and work on his suntan. He closed his eyes and drifted off. He awoke from hearing splashes from the ocean behind him. It seems there’s others out and about going swimming. Jackson looked himself over and noticed he was already tanning. Then he noticed that Makoa had spotted him and started to walk over.
Makoa: “Good to see you around again, Jackson. Nice tan you’ve gotten.”
Jackson: “Thanks, I guess.”
Makoa: “I hope you’re not still mad at me for yesterday. In fact, let me make it up to you and invite your family over for dinner tonight.”
Jackson: “Uh, um…well. That’s not going to work as my parents are not home.”
Makoa: “Then why don’t you come over?”
Jackson was hungry and he would get a free meal out of this. So he accepted the invitation. Makoa showed him how to get to his home from where they were. Jackson then went home to change. When he arrived at Makoa’s place, he was surprised to see who he met at the door. It was Duane.
Duane (offering his hand to Jackson): Hey there! My dad said you were coming over. I was surprised to hear you two met each other yesterday before we did. But again, this is a small island. Everyone knows everyone. Pretty soon everyone will know you here.
This did not sit well with Jackson. He’s only been on Sulani for four days and he’s going to be the talk of the island soon enough. He won’t be able to hide that he’s an orphan and homeless much longer. Makoa approaches the two of them talking. Duane goes back to finishing grilling at this time.
Makoa: “It still amazes me how much we look alike.”
Jackson: “I can get a new haircut.”
Makoa: “No need. It looks good on you as much as it does on me.”
Jackson is nervous but has become interested in the people he has met. He knew Duane was a lifeguard already. Makoa tells Jackson that he is a Conservationist. Soon Duane announces dinner is ready. Makoa’s wife and daughter decided to remain out in the water for now. She mentioned it was good for the boys to talk and it was nice meeting Jackson.
Makoa (chuckling): “I’d swear you haven’t eaten in ages with how you’re shoveling the food into your mouth.”
Jackson: “I’ve never had this kind of grilled fruit like this before.”
Makoa: “Slow down and savor it, then.”
Duane’s phone buzzes and he checks to read the text he is receiving.
Duane (sighing): "Slow Runners United is short staffed again. They want me to work extra hours."
Duane looks up at Jackson.
Duane: "If you’re bored after school, you could always work as a lifeguard. It will help you get to know the community better now that you live here. We mostly see tourists, but we do get the occasional Sulani resident."
As Jackson continues to eat, he shrugs his shoulders. He thought it would be nice to have some simoleons. But that also means he’ll be getting more involved on the island than he already wanted. This is something he’ll have to sleep on when he gets back to his beach.
As it was now dark out, Jackson said he should be heading back to his home. He had a lot to think about. Maybe he should confess to Makoa and Duane. He liked this family. But when he arrived at his tent, it kicked in he didn’t have a family of his own anymore. Jackson started going through a phase. He’s feeling Distant and will prefer to be alone for awhile.
Side Notes:
Bonus Images:
Aspirations Completed:
Traits:
Skills:
@permanentrose The Picture looks gorgeous!
@LegacySims poor Jackson, trying to hide his home life! I imagine it's much like living in a small village... *chuckle*
@Karababy52 Whoa, Strangerville has such a great view...!
To everyone having good ideas on how to do it (almost) basegame:
-I have two story-made Sims that would be perfect as parents. I think I'll make them a "big family no money"-type home, let them have 5-6 kids all through May (with aging on), see how their character plays out and then start playing as soon as the youngest (=the main Sim) is a toddler in June.
-I could do the rest of May as a baby, then June = toddler, July & August as a child, and then move out in September and continue as a teen? 3 months as a teen, 3 months as YA, 3 months as Adult, and where am I going to put the Elder stage?! Extend the year for 3 months of elderhood?
-Right now I have the three basegame worlds with 13 neighborhoods. If I'm doing the whole "moving" thing from mid-May to next June, that could be a good idea. No idea on how to work around perhaps buying Brindleton Bay in October though - perhaps continue with one of the Main Sim's kids? And I am dreading having to find 12 more houses. I'm not a good builder, most stuff on the gallery has too many packs for me, and I'll have to invest sooo much time each month in a new home!
-I could also let them stay on their lot until the main sim moves out as a teen, but then I'd have too many neighbourhoods for the number of months left! Would reduce my housing problem though.
-There's 24 ingame Aspirations (with the Super Parent one), and 12 months to work on them (not counting the three pre-teen months). I could pick two to work on each month... I don't like Aspirationhopping, but that could work.
In the (very understandable) case some of you are confused now, here's the current plan:
Play for 15 1/2 months. - 1/2 month baby, 1 month toddler, 2 months child, 3 months teen, YA, adult, elder. (Possibly extend for a next Gen, if I get Brindleton Bay and subsequent other worlds. And if I manage to stick around that long.)
Start playing in Bridgeview (Newcrest) with a big family and the youngest baby as main sim. Move each month, starting as soon as the Main Sim turns teen. (Minus the Brindleton Bay-Problem - Any ideas? :) )
Work on two aspirations per month (and perhaps go for a "Master Simmer" to try and get all achievements? I don't think there'll be any other way to not get bored with the achievements, and I really want to...!)
What do you think? (And when do I get spoilers to hide these walls of text?! :D)
time zone: Berlin, Germany - EA Gallery ID: Noctuara
Thank you! All their outfits are pretty much from lillka on TSR!
@permanentrose
Yes, Morgan is staying! Her room is very bare bones at the moment, but seeing as being with Jenny gives her more independence than her parents' house, it's the best place to be.
Ooh, a rocking chair would actually be pretty fun to get, especially as Jenny knits!
Daughters of Hesperia
Bryons Diary
(As you can see, Bryon is still having troubles at work, but hey, we’ll get there! He did great work, and I think he’ll get his first promotion (level 4) tomorrow
——
Johnny told me to go out for a jog everyday, so that was the first thing I did after coming home from work.
I need to get my condition up. I have to do it for Audrey and Alex. I’ll succeed.
I can’t do more. I’m tired. I need a nap.
Please let me succeed. I’d do everything to get them back...
(Naoki) “Bryon?"
(Naoki) "Hey, wake up. I got something to tell you!”
(Bryon) “Hm...?”
(Bryon) “Where am I...?”
(Naoki) “You're in our living room, dummy. Come here. This massage will wake you up.”
(Bryon) “Oh yessss... Right there..."
(Bryon) "So, what is it you got to tell?"
(Naoki) “Right! I started working on a private project at work. I checked the blue smoke in the hallway today and analyzed a sample. The blue smoke is what makes people act so weird. It’s what people make possessed. I’m trying to find a way to get through the hall without the need of inhaling the smoke... So I was thinking... An astronaut uniform!”
(Bryon) “An astronaut uniform. Come on, Naoki. That's way too heavy to wear in a room with gravity."
(Naoki) “Oh, right... Maybe I need to try this rocking in the chair like you did yesterday...”
(Bryon) “It’s actually a good starting point... We only need something... With less weight... a Hazmat suit maybe?”
(Naoki) “Ahhh... That's brilliant!!"
(Bryon) “I love the fact that you started a private project, but... Do your colleagues know?”
(Naoki) “It wouldn’t be private anymore if someone knew, right?”
(Bryon) “Right.”
(Naoki) “No worries, I’m not going to tell anyone.”
(Bryon) “Not even Jaquan?”
(Naoki) “Not even Jaquan.”
(Johnny) “Bryon!! I heard you did a little better today! I’m so proud of you!”
Oh boy, now he barges in unannounced and uses my computer...
(Johnny) “You’ll be a level 5 before you know it.”
(Naoki) “We have faith in you!”
(Bryon) “Ah you guys. You flatter me.”
(Naoki) “But their’s still some work.”
(Johnny) “A lot of work, actually."
(Bryon) “Okay, you’ve said enough now.”
Notes:
Hugo decided to stay home and give the two of them a chance to catch up, though he said he'd head over to the library again later to see if he could find any useful information in the archives.
Once Jules entered the bar, she spotted Emmett at the back of the bar near the Jukebox, her heart fluttering involuntarily at the sight of him.
"All your hair is gone," she laughed a little, reaching up to touch his cropped hair.
He smiled. "It will grow back." Then he pulled her up into a hug that literally swept her off her feet. "I've missed you," he told her.
He spun her around once before placing her gently back on the ground. The air between them suddenly felt magnetic, and she found it hard to find the desire to pull away.
"Hey, listen, it's that song our parents always used to love when we were little...we have to dance now!" Emmett exclaimed, pulling her onto the dance floor. (I just had to use a swing dance pose I had, the vibe of this retro bar was just begging me to do it, and it's basically the cutest thing ever.)
A bit breathless after dancing, they both sat down at the bar. Emmett looked at her with a serious expression on his face. "Look, it's wonderful to see you, but I have to admit, I'm a little worried that you're here. Things have not been great here in town...I can't say much, and honestly, I don't even know that much of what is happening myself, as I'm not at a high enough rank yet to know what goes on behind those sealed doors." He leaned in, glancing around to make sure no one was watching, and whispered. "I think that whoever is in charge here is using the military to help cover up a huge mess, and I'm a little concerned about all that I've got caught up in...they've been bringing in a lot of new personnel and training us fast, though what we're training for still isn't entirely clear..."
"Whatever is happening, Bex was definitely involved in investigating," Jules whispered back.
A man in uniform came down and sat next to them, so Emmett led them over toward the dart board and the Jukebox, where they would have some space and the music to drown out their conversation.
(And @Karababy52, since I know you'll ask, I don't know who won, haha, since Emmett tried to go to work in the middle of the game and then I had to cancel the action. It seems like I never actually get a chance to let these win/lose scenarios play all the way through
"I need to get back into that lab," Jules told him. "If I can find some evidence of what's happening here, perhaps I can help put an end to it."
"You've already been to the lab??" Emmett exclaimed, then looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Let me guess, you were the one who broke in and incapacitated two soldiers with a SimRay last night...we had a report on that this morning."
Jules looked at him a bit sheepishly.
"Okay, yeah, I guess trying to convince you to stay out of this isn't an option at this point, is it?" There was a small smile on his lips as he said the words.
"I'm determined to get to the bottom of this," she told him.
"Well, the least I can do is help you out then," Emmett responded.
So they came up with a plan. Emmett had an extra uniform, and since they were getting new personnel so often, it was hard for even the soldiers to keep track of who they did and didn't know, so it would be easy for Jules to slip in, at least on the top level of the lab. Emmett still didn't have a keycard, so traversing deeper into the lab was out of the question. However, he was certain that even the top floor of the lab would contain some answers. He told her to come meet her back behind the row of abandoned buildings in an hour and he'd get the uniform for her.
So an hour later, she met him by the buildings, taking the uniform graciously.
"Be safe," Emmett told her, hugging her tightly, and she clung to him for a moment, not quite ready to be alone yet.
But soon enough, she was on her own, as she walked back into the desert toward the lab. She had texted Hugo about her plans, and he told her he was still rifling through the archives in the library and had found some information that seemed helpful as well.
Before she entered the lab though, she noticed a timid looking dog by one of the trucks.
She glanced around, seeing that she was alone, and decided she had a moment to spare. "It's okay, buddy," she whispered gently. "Come here."
But as she took a step closer, he bolted. She decided she'd check for him again on her way out.
There were a few other soldiers walking around, but she held herself with confidence and no one questioned her as she began to snoop around. She found several interesting documents and other items that she collected when she was certain no one was looking.
Meanwhile, Hugo was still at the library. (Behind the scenes, I actually had Jules meet him there and check the archives and get a few pieces of evidence there, since I obviously need Jules to be the one to collect the evidence for aspiration purposes)
It was late by the time they both stumbled back into the trailer. Jules had looked for the dog, but it had been dark, and there had been no sign of him. Together, Hugo and Jules compiled all they had found.
"Nice work!" Hugo told her, and she couldn't help but to feel pleased as they high fived.
It definitely appeared that there was something nefarious happening on the lower level of the lab, and the strange plants cropping up around town definitely had something to do with it. There were also several undeniable pieces of evidence linking Hugo's father to all this - but Hugo, as always, chose to look on the bright side of things, and said as cheerily as he could manage, "We're making good progress. We'll be able to help Bex and get to the bottom of this in no time..."
--
Hoping my mix of being vague sometimes and adding my own details about this mystery is working out...I feel like I'm bound to have some plot holes soon