@sunblond Ha yes the three-toddler experience is intense.
I liked the dialogue you wrote for Akira, Miko, the BFF household and (your sim?) Jeannie.
Birthday presents are so money.
Adeline Bheeda aged up into an adorable bespectacled smarty-pants. Perhaps science is the ideal combination of mom's mixology and dad's computer programming?
She became a straight A student in like 3 days.
She got Mom's hot-headed trait, so watch out. People say sims don't have enough unique personality. This kid has a certain snide expression that I don't recall seeing on other sim kids. I haven't been playing for that long though.
Adeline is buddies with Breana and Jenifer Rasoya
And maybe with little Paola too.
"Mom, Dad, stop trying to explain things to me at the same time."
Not too old to listen to Dad read though.
What was I doing? There was a book.
Adeline still has to share a corner of her parents' bedroom. Also, she wants a piano, and has ever since she saw Joy Olakodun live as a toddler They don't have room.
And so Arun takes programming gigs at a feverish pace to earn money. This one isn't sketchy at all either.
Jesminder's job comes with its daily challenges. This fellow came in at least 3 days this week.
I don't know why she has a flirty mood from work? She isn't telling me. Maybe flirty is at least better than coming home angry every day?
Arun has seen Atharv a couple of times since their awkward encounter, but kept it friendly. He and Jesminder make such a great team, even in tough circumstances
Thanks @haneul. Either way, we'll definitely figure out who gave me the idea! lol. Feels like we might end up tagging everyone in the process, but we'll figure it out.
I know that this hybrid is in a merfolk household.
On a side note, Damion gave Rangi his just deserves, so I should be ready to make my next update. I honestly wasn't planning on bringing Damion into the story so soon, but Rangi definitely deserved a visit from him.
Congratulations @Metior_Ice !!!! I was watching the latest Maxis livestream and saw your merfolk legacy was featured!!
Also, I do have a merman/vampire hybrid! Dante Mahi'ai. Weirdly enough I was literally playing his household yesterday. He lives in Sulani with his parents and girlfriend and recently graduated from Britechester. I usually turn my mermaid/vampire hybrids into either full blood vamps or mermaids since they are really glitchy. Sometimes they get stuck as a disembodied torso.
Dante is the exception because he is not glitchy. He has both mermaid and vampire powers but no tail. Don't ask me why lol. He swims around with 2 legs. So far he behaves the same way across multiple saves so I'll put him up on the gallery if you want him! He's a doll-cheerful, child of islands, and good. He's also sun proof. His mom is Nalani the mermaid.
You can also cheat a hybrid. Definitely start out with them as a vampire so you can establish their powers/weaknesses. Than add the mermaid trait afterwards.
And I want to both awesome and insightful your comment!
I'm going to work on making my story update.
For those who need it, I'll put a trigger warning for the parts where Rangi is mean.I didn't go out of my way to make Rangi so mean. He just had a bad reputation, some whims, and I went with what I observed in game. I'd say that I only accelerated his declining reputation and negative behaviors.
The Islanders of Sulani: Island Magic and the Merfolk Lifestyle
The Sea is the Origin of Life, but it's the Sky that watches over Life. The Volcano created the land, and from the land, the worlds were born. Every world is connected by the Great Sea and the Starry Sky. The Spirits of the Sea and Sky govern the Domains of the Great Sea and the Starry Sky. They shepherd in new life and watch over the worlds. The Spirits of the Sea and Sky protect, and those who are spared death or reborn in the image of the Sea are protected by the spirit's wills. Only the Watcher stands above the spirits and can override their wills.
New to his Island Magic, Cale tried to touch a lava bomb he summoned. Cale was young, but he was born to be a Child of the Islands, a Child of Light.
Unfortunately, he was not a true Child of the Islands yet, and he started to catch on fire. Fortunately, His brother, Afu, was resurrected by the sea, and he was able to quickly extinguish the fire.
Shayna was not far behind, and she made extra sure that her son was clear of danger. However, Cale saw Afu as his savior.
Afu threw a Kava party after extinguishing his brother and escaping the grip of death. At the Kava Party, Calden and his Brothers gathered for a swim. Afu chatted with Zephyr, unaware of Zephyr and his twin's role in bringing him back to life. Dylan didn't even fully understand his power to resurrect humans from death.
Zephyr: "How are you doing? There's something different about you?"
Afu: "I'm a bit different now, but I'm happy to be here to support my family. I had no idea that merfolk existed, so it's something to get used to."
Zephyr: "There are a lot of merfolk, but I'm sure you'll make a lot of friends!"
Shayna kept it to herself, but she's the one that went to Dylan. And, she was grateful that death wasn't the end for her son, Afu.
Dylan arrived to the party from the sea, and he swam as quickly as he could to meet up with his brothers.
Again, Afu was a little unaware of the social dynamics in the Mua Pel'am Pod, and how everyone was related to each other. He told Dylan and Zephyr's father about how he was called back to the realm of the living. Calum listened to Afu's story, but he wasn't upset. He wanted his sons to use their power responsibly and help those who need it. For Calum, Afu seemed like a nice young man, and it was nice to see him alive and well.
Afu could sense Dylan's approach. It was strange, but he decided to meet Dylan in the sea. Afu, now a young merman, met with Dylan. Dylan and Afu's tails had striking similarities, but Afu's tail didn't glimmer in the light like Dylan's. Instinctively, he had a feeling the appearance of his tail and new hair color had some connection to Dylan. In a way, Afu felt like Dylan was his brother even if they barely knew each other.
Afu: "Hi, it's nice to see you again. I knew that I saw a tail when we first met."
Dylan: "I'm sorry for not being entirely honest. We merfolk don't usually reveal our true form to humans."
Afu: "It's fine. I'm happy I had the chance to meet you!"
Dylan: "Thank you for understanding."
Afu swam up to Helios.
Afu: "I feel so energized swimming with a tail. It's amazing. I never thought it would feel this good to be a merman! By the way, you look different from the others?"
Helios: "I am a little blue, aren't I? I'm actually an Alien from Sixam."
Calden swam up: "It's true. Merfolk don't die of old age, so I invited him to be a part of my family. He's got a brother and sister, but they aren't immortal like us."
Helios: "I'm actually often worried about outliving my older siblings, but I'm glad to have my brothers to lean on."
Afu: "I guess I'm going to have to go through the same thing. I didn't know merfolk stay young forever."
Calden: "You're welcome to join my pod. We're all brothers and help each other. When the time comes, we'll be there for you."
Afu: "You know, I think I'll take you up on that offer."
Calden: "Then welcome to the Merbros Pod."
The merbros huddled together to discuss where they would swim off to.
(Juniper is a little too excited about pulling an all-nighter with his bros.)
The bros scattered to swim around first, but Dylan and Afu stayed to chat about grilled cheese, a brilliant human invention!
Juniper: "Dylan makes awesome grilled cheese! You should try it sometime!"
Dylan: "I could teach you how to make one as good as mine."
Dylan turned to Afu: "Juniper is my little brother, and he's great with plants. He has a tendency to eat strange plants. He wasn't born a merman, but he decided to eat mermadic kelp after he stopped being a plant. He's a slow learner."
Juniper: "Hey, if I want to be half-fish for a while, I can choose to be half-fish!"
Afu: "All this talk about food is making me hungry for some grilled cheese. Also, is it possible to become human again?"
Dylan looked at his brother, and then, he looked at Afu: "Only half-merfolk that aren't born merfolk can become human. Us naturally born merfolk, we can't ever become human. However, Juniper isn't exactly human."
Juniper: "Hey, don't tell him that! You are more than a merman yourself."
Afu looked at the two brothers with a little confusion, but he decided to change the topic and focus on grilled cheese.
Afu: "How much does a grilled cheese normally cost? My family has to buy all of our ingredients before cooking."
Dylan: "I usually don't have to think about that."
Juniper: "We aren't exactly short on money."
(Juniper, you and your family are literally the wealthiest family in my game. You are multi-millionaires, almost billionaires...)
Afu to Lyric: "Why are mermen shirtless almost all the time?"
Lyric: "I don't think about it, but if I wore human clothing in the water, it would be too heavy while I swam. It's more comfortable to simply not wear a shirt. I guess, while we are on land, we don't think about putting on a shirt. I mean, human clothes are only for hiding among humans. Clever disguises, right?"
Afu: "Except you don't always hide your merform."
Lyric: "Sometimes, we prefer to be in our natural form. Shapeshifting takes effort, but changing form is the nature of water, the element we call home."
After staying up all night, the young mermen started searching for seashells on the beach. Afu got angry because a Seagull snatched his sea shell. Dylan reacted with a merman derpy dolphin squeak. Afu didn't know if he was being mocked or not, but he let it go.
To end the next day, the young mermen went to the club and partied. Most merfolk, Calden especially, would admit that one advantage of legs is the ability to dance. Merfolk can pull off their own aquatic dance moves, but they definitely couldn't do the Jimmy Leg.
Unfortunately for Helios, his sister didn't recognize him while he was embracing his mermadic nature, so she erased his memory.
(I hope I don't have to reacquaint Helios with his sister during the next cycle. lol)
Extras
Before Afu became a merman, he met Anas Mahi'ai at the Undine Emporium, owned and run by merfolk. He caught Anas in his swimwear checking out a customer.
(Afu had something colorful to say about that. While I just want them to do their job instead of go for swims on the clock, I can't really argue with Afu's choice in words.)
(This part of the story may have less dialogue and more narration because I was testing club outfits and club behaviors after the update. Since I play on the Console, I get automatic updates, and I can't use mods. So, in a way, I never have to worry about mods braking right after an update.)
(Anyways, I noticed that, by adding singing to a club activity and maxing the singing, my merfolk couples would not stop serenading each other. lol. )
In almost matching outfits, Calden serenading Maria.
Aaron Kailani and Kylen Kailani spent the entire gathering for more than 24 sim hours straight serenading each other. I half expected them to swim over to the waterfall and woohoo.
(I made an interesting discovery. By making the club hangout location the same location for all Mua Pel'Am Clubs, I had members from 4 different clubs gather at the same time. I'm talking about more than 16 merfolk showing up at the same time. It was epic!)
(I love the way merfolk in a Club or Group swim together!)
(A lot of my merfolk are storm chasers, so they aren't bothered by thunderstorms. Still, with so many merfolk in one place, they went to the shore to, maybe, sing only to swim back out to sea. It would be nice if merfolk could actually sing and eat harvestables while in the water.)
Calum caught up with his brother, Kemps, and they also caught up with their sister-in-law.
The patch did not fix Sulani lots in the rain.
More of Calden being cute with his girlfriend.
Calum being totally fine with getting struck by lightning.
(I have no idea what Cale was doing on the computer, but he had the Embarrassed Moodlet.)
(With Cottage Living, Volcanic Activity is a Lot Challenge instead of a Lot Trait. This has helped me set up my lots a little differently with new traits!)
(I did notice an oddity with non-merwoke households and merfolk. For the most part, merfolk look the way they do in their swimwear with no tail.)
(Except for a small oddity that I think is the result of Sulani Festivals resulting in random outfits and the fact that merfolk appear in two diffferent ways depending on the household. My merfolk were swimming with full outfits that were completely random.)
(My merfolk weren't bothered by this, but I admit, it's a strange way to enter a lot. If done intentionally, I can see merfolk entering lots via the ocean and this working, but this was weird because it was random.)
The longer I played the game, the more odd my merfolk became. Some of them weren't using merfolk disguises. They were swimming in their natural forms. This is Rylan or Kylen Kailani and their mother, Sara Kailani behind him. Sara Kailani has a hidden merform.)
I've noticed that Reef Kailani and Calden Azure both get roles in the Island Festivals. Reef Kailani is often a Fire Dancer while Calden, a famous Fire Dancer, is a celebrity musician.
(Apparently, Cale can run on water. I used the Go Home Interaction while on the Mua Pel'Am lot surrounded by water. I used the same interaction for his mom, and she swam in the ocean.)
(And if you remember from past posts, Arihi tried to carry Zephyr through the ocean leaving this lot when Zeph was a toddler.)
(@Becka28 Your Quin and Rohan try to merge, but My Merbros almost tried to merge the entire club together while listening to music! Lyric is probably like, Guys, I don't think you can occupy the same space.)
(This concludes my post patch gameplay testing. I had to make sure my save wasn't broken. I've invested too much into this to restart the save, again. lol.)
Only ending up getting victory cuddles from Grandma after a hard video game battle. She may have not won against momma but it was a victory in Grandma's eyes for trying.
( So btw, if anyone is interested in a Discord server specifically for Simlit writers, message me. Happy support-y place where we share gameplay and discuss the woes of being a Simlit writer specifically, and help each other out by offering advice and feedback. Even if you just read Simlit, that's cool too you're also welcome, hopefully it'll be a good place to find stuff to read and also your advice and feedback is appreciated too! )
Anyway, I got annoyed at OFAF again, as I do, and one of my friends suggested remaking and playing the save, rather than just doing makeovers and pretending I'm going to play it lol. So I did another round of makeover, since I needed some other Sims in there to make it actually the Of Frost and Fire save.
Honestly I'm low-key mad about how good she looks.
This is Miss He double-hockey-sticks.
I accidentally made Namaari out of Kat Cave, oops.
I didn't change my Markus Crow much. Think I switched his hair to one of the new blonds.
Their dark forms are the weird ones, not their normal forms. Cause, you know, wandering around with ashy skin tones and glowy red eyes is how you get staked.
Tweaked Sarnai a good deal. I miss her ♥ maybe I'll actually play her in this save.
Lilith.
Also tweaked Drake a little. He looks like a goth priest or something I love it.
And this is Keisha. She didn't change too much but I did make her hair white blond instead of white and she looks a bit better.
Had a hard time figuring out where to put them, but I ended up moving them into Culpepper, and we'll go from there. c: Sigh, probably need to do more uni...
I also managed to update Corazon, so that's nice. ( Pure love story fluff, Ezio x Caleb, you can find the link to it in the stories section here on the forums or in the link in my signature. )
I was trying to figure out how to do the rewrite for Of Frost and Fire. Something messed up really bad along the way to where I got, but I'm not 100% sure what it was or even where it was. I think it might've been a culmination of things rather than one specific thing, idk. Anyway, so I was like should I kind of use the old version as a draft and pretty much just rewrite it or should I start over from 0 and try following the original outlines? Because really very little of how version 2 went followed the outlines lol it was like the characters realised they don't have to follow the outlines and made a contest to see who could break them worse.
I think I may try to just redo it following the original outlines, and hopefully this time we won't end up with a disaster. I might also spend more time developing certain characters that got less "screen time" so to say in version 2, and I get the feeling Morgyn will be different this time around, because believe it or not the dork did a lot of evolving and growing in version 2. Maybe for the best. lol I want to get Corazon done first before I dive back into Of Frost and Fire, because the darn thing is extremely soul-consuming and I know it'll just straight inhale all my time, so.
The possibility that it was actually that I was trying too hard to control too tightly where the story went, and obviously restricting Embers is a very bad idea, lol so instead of reigning in they just kind of went nuts. So, the idea that it'd be better the third time around If I don't make the mistake of restricting them too much crossed my mind too. And it might be kind of interesting to just give them a set of specific events that Must happen but what goes on around it is whatever, and seeing what happens.
One day, I'll have a working draft and I'll rework Of Frost and Fire into an original tale and publish it, but in the meantime, me and the All are having a War.
I also Might restart the Eisenstern legacy. I've reached a point where it's become grating to play for many reasons, but we'll see on that one too. My primary issue is Juno doesn't seem to like anyone, but ykw she doesn't have to. Nobody said marriage was required to have children, sooo... if she never really likes anyone maybe that's not a real a problem...
白雪夏夜我不停歇
我并不感到困扰
I am kind to everyone. But if you are unkind to me, kindness is not what you will remember me for.
I am autistic. Wording isn't my strong suit.
@Metior_Ice Dante is up on the Gallery!! I added him to a few other saves and so far he keeps his legs. I also found out that I could change his appearance/gender setup/traits without any ill effects. He could be used as a template for a non glitchy mermaid/vamp hybrid! https://www.ea.com/games/the-sims/the-sims-4/pc/gallery/B8ED85CCF59311EB855A6EA8212881BB
Dante with his azure dolphin buddy
Menu showing both his mermaid and vampire menu options
Just another day in Camp, Chief Manslaughter called a family meeting to discuss safety concerns!
Darrell: "I'm out."
Blanca: "Yeah, Imma dip."
Mario: "Funny how we have the meeting about safety concerns AFTER my arm got ripped off."
Manslaughter: "But seriously, we need to discuss concerns about the Mutants. They're getting gutsier and are even sneaking into the camp. So I'm making a new Defense Commission to find ways to make this camp safer from Mutant attacks and I think our newest member should lead it."
Manslaughter: "Everyone, meet Ima Normalman."
Ima Normalman: "Hi, I'm not a Mutant."
I think the Chief realized something is wrong with this picture. Don't worry, he'll take care of it.
Now onto less serious things.
Look, it's baby Juniper! So cute.
Since the Chief isn't in his throne room, Anakin can finally spend time with his daughter. He's determined not to be a lousy father like his was.
Manslaughter: "IS THERE A COMMONER IN MY THRONE ROOM?!"
Anakin: "No Chief, I wasn't in your throne room!"
Manslaughter: "So, were you impressed with the way I killed that Mutant?"
Jack: "Not at all. I'm not interested in that."
Well since Blanca's no longer pregnant she can enjoy what's good in life. Like horseshoes.
Which she's still a failure at.
Blanca: "Yeah well at least I'm not pregnant anymore."
Also since she's not pregnant anymore she can enjoy a nice stiff drink again......But then again, pregnancy didn't stop her there.
Manslaughter: "Alright Sonya, don't pay attention to your niece jogging in the background."
Manslaughter: "OR your sister. These Mutants are giving me a real headache, so you need to exterminate them all. Just find every one in a 100 mile radius and just do what you do best."
Sonya: "Wait, so you WANT me to kill countless amounts of people?"
Manslaughter: "Preferably Mutants, but yeah."
This news makes Sonya so happy she could just....
Manslaughter: "Wait, she can fly now?"
Anakin: "It's best not to question her power."
Mario: "Ah I love that woman."
Alright, since Sonya's going to be gone for a while, here's her temporary replacement. His name is Bleezborg, The Warrior of the Future.
With Sonya on an important mission, one can only imagine what kind of ways our friends can prosper without her causing so much death and destruction!
First off, let's have Bleezborg fight Darrell since I want to see how Bleezborg handles combat and Darrell could use the training.
Oh, nice block.
Jack: "Oh boy, a baby! Haven't seen one of these in years!"
Jack: "I'm going to poke its eye!"
Juniper did not like that.
Jack: "I'm not good with children."
Mario: "Now, THAT'S a baby!"
Wait, why are Jack and Mario trying to take care of the baby? Where are the parents?
Anakin: "Think anyone saw that?"
Blanca: "I think everyone did."
Even though they still owe money to the IRS, Anakin's still over here burning money.
Anakin: "YES, BURN CAPITALISM! BURN!!!!"
While I quite enjoyed the fact that Mario and Sonya had to have a dance battle at their wedding, I'm still annoyed that they can't dance together and downloaded a mod.
Blanca: "Isn't this romantic?"
Anakin: "Would be more romantic if I didn't have a knife to my throat."
Mario: "Mama Mia, if only we had that mod before Sonya went off on her adventure."
Alright, Sonya's mission is a good first step. But we need MORE precautions over here.
Jack and Bleezborg were having a rousing game of chess.
Jack: "Are you really from the future?"
Bleezborg: "Not really, but your husband wouldn't let me join the group unless I had a gimmick."
Mario just couldn't stop crying over how much he missed Sonya.
Anakin: "Hey Mario, I'm sure you're sad and all but can you like.....Go somewhere else? I'm trying to get frisky with the Mrs."
Manslaughter: "Alright everyone, the Baby is sleeping. This is the perfect time to talk about how to make this place safer. I propose we build a large watchtower so we can keep an eye out for Mutants."
Blanca: "Oh I'm feeling too flirty to pay attention to this conversation."
Darrell: "So I'm going to take a shot in the dark and say we should build a LARGE wall around our camp. Turn this camp into a compound!"
Manslaughter: "A.....WALL?!"
Anakin: "Yeah, it can be made out of impenetrable steel and be like 40 feet tall. Make sure those Mutants can't smash their way through and climb it."
Mario: "And we can put big guns up on the top so we can just shoot the Mutants as they try to get through the wall!"
The Chief just slowly inhaled.
Manslaughter: "NO. We don't need a wall, we need a big watchtower! It'll look cooler! Have a guy up there with binoculars and they can warn us when Mutants are coming!"
Darrell: "Or hear me out, a wall around the camp. That way we don't have to have lookout, they try to get through the front door and we shoot them and not worry about them getting through."
Manslaughter: "But a tower will look cooler! A wall will just look like an eyesore!"
Darrell: "Alright, let me say this slowly."
Darrell: "Wall. Protect."
Darrell: "Then we sleep without fear of being stabbed in our sleep."
Anakin: "Gotta say, I like the idea of sleeping with both eyes closed."
Manslaughter: "How about we build a tower and that's final?"
Darrell: "Well good luck finding someone to build that tower because none of us will."
Three hours later.
Anakin: "He seriously got you to build this?"
Bleezborg: "I am easy to boss around."
Bleezborg: "Nice view though."
Anakin: "It's a nuked wasteland!"
Manslaughter: "Sweet, the baby's awake now. This meeting is over, someone take care of this child."
Mario: "Oh boy, it's my turn! Come to Uncle Mario, don't be scared of my robot arm."
The Islanders of Sulani: Under the Water Where Souls Lose Control
Edit: I did not enjoy this part of the story, but I also didn't want Rangi's death to be random. He was not a good sim.
I'll start by sharing Damion Morbius's theme. He's the Elemental Spirit of Darkness, the Shadow of the Sea and Sky. It's probably not the song you'd expect me to associate with him.
The Sea is the Origin of Life. The Sky watches over the Living. The Volcano created the Worlds. Only the Watcher can override the will of the Spirits. The Great Sea and Starry Sky connect the Worlds. But the Light of Life, Sanctuary, and Creation casts dark shadows. The Spirit of Darkness dwells beneath the Great Sea and beyond the Starry Sky. While the Sea restores Life and the Sky protects from Harm, the Darkness takes Life and inflicts Harm. It is the force that safeguards the good by taking the bad. It is a force of good shrouded in evil.
From early on, Rangi lost his job when he blew the whistle after seeing corruption in the company he worked for. Blowing the whistle brought a great deal of attention toward Rangi, but it also cost hundreds their jobs, including him. Rangi was always paranoid, but many innocent people blamed him for the loss of their jobs. His actions did not only impact the corrupt.
To help make up for the lost income, Kyra picked up work as a Lawn Mower and other hard labor.
Shayna loved the tranquility of painting, and she decided to support the family by painting professionally. She had a real talent for painting, and her paintings sold for enough to barely pay the bills.
After his resurrection, Afu reapplied for work as a Lifeguard. The Beach Watch was happy to have him back.
Afu was busy hanging out with his new friends and acclimating to his new life as a Merman. Afu explored the beach cave, and all of his activities eventually exhausted him so much that he shifted back into his merform and passed out on a beach chair. When Afu dozed off, he lost all his worries over seeking entertainment. He was now laid-back and more resilient to the stresses of life.
Thanks to the overwhelming support from his new brothers, Afu didn't develop any worries about the future. He would outlive his family, but he wouldn't be alone. He had new friends he could rely on. In the back of his mind, he worried about his family and watching them grow old in front of him. However, he had a feeling that everything would be okay in the end.
Afu had no idea that a storm was brewing at home. He sang with his new voice, and he got to know his new brothers. Spending time with his merfamily helped to lift all the shadows off his shoulders, but his long weekend was coming to an end.
Afu: "All of you seem really laid-back and friendly. It's kinda refreshing to hang out with people who are so friendly."
Dylan: "Life is too short to get caught up in the drama. We all make mistakes, but we all have a choice in how we deal with them."
From here on out, The story will focus on Rangi Turei. Here be the trigger warning.
When Afu returned home, he helped his mom in the kitchen. Shayna did the dishes while Afu prepared dinner. All they had were fruits that Afu harvested during his meeting with his friends. Even though Afu was having fun, he made sure to bring home the basics the family needed to live. Afu no longer needed to eat after becoming a merman. His only pressing need was spending enough time in the water.
Unfortunately for Rangi, his actions left him without a job and no one wanted to hire him because his reputation was in steady decline. He started accusing his wife of spying and telling others things they didn't need to know. His paranoia led to greater abuses as time went on.
Rangi: "How dare you talk about me behind my back!"
Shayna: "Me and Afu are just making dinner. Afu brought home enough fruit to feed the family and then some."
Rangi: "I don't like it. If I had my job, we wouldn't have to pick food from the jungle! Why doesn't Afu get a fulltime job and bring home some real food."
Shayna: "It's true that he just had a vacation, but Afu is literally growing more food so we don't have to scavenge for it. He's also helping me with Cale and Kyra. He also saved Cale from burning alive! Did you know that both your sons nearly died within a few days. A vacation wasn't a bad thing."
Rangi: "Well, if you were a better mother, neither of our kids would have nearly died."
Shayna: "It's not my fault that one of our sons was killed by an earth elemental and the other developed the ability to summon lava bombs. You say this as if there's some kind of parenting guide to this. Our kids aren't like what they used to be, but that's okay. Me and Afu are working on teaching Cale some restraint. Cale has offered to help with the gardening."
Rangi: "You're full of accuses. If I wasn't busy looking for a job, I would have straightened things out."
Shayna: "You're playing videogames every time I look at you. You've even locked everyone else out of the computer."
Rangi: "I play videogames to escape the stress of you and everyone else talking about me behind my back!"
Shayna: "Did you know that we don't even have clean fresh water? We've been using saltwater for most things."
Afu: "Don't change the subject. That's not my fault. I'm trying to find a job when I'm not playing games."
Rangi: "The least you could do was clean up this house. Cale is constantly leaving messes everywhere. If you're such a great mom, why don't you clean up his behavior."
Shayna: "I'm trying. It's hard to do that around work and paying the bills from my phone because I can't use the computer."
Rangi: "Well, try harder!"
Rangi thought: "I could do so much better if I had a job, paid the bills, and provided for this family."
Shayna: "I'm trying. Afu is trying. Even Kyra is doing hard labor to help out. We understand you are struggling, but you can't treat us like this."
Rangi: "I'm the head of this household, and I can do whatever I want."
Rangi: "Since you are trying so hard and have a job, you can buy your own bed to sleep in and build your own bathroom to use. I don't want to see you in my bed or in my bathrooms. To be sure, I'll personally lock the doors with a key. That's right, I had a little unemployment income to manage my stuff. Now, you need to straighten this family out before you can sleep in my bed."
That night, Shayna slept on the couch and Rangi slept in the master bed.
Sunday morning, the Turei's had a power outage from not generating enough energy with solar panels. While Cale at breakfast, Afu fixed the broken sink in the dark.
Rangi only let Shayna into the bathroom to fix the broken toilet.
Shayna decided that she absolutely hated doing plumbing repairs.
Afu hated to see his mom struggling and helped her clean up the toilet water.
Rangi wouldn't have it.
Rangi: "I told you to fix the toilet and clean the mess. How dare you distract Afu from the garden?! We need to eat!"
Shayna was saved from the yelling when Rangi needed to use the bathroom. Unfortunately, Cale also needed to use the bathroom.
So, Rangi decided that Cale would need to be banned from the bathrooms and told him to go away. He could use the bathroom at school.
Rangi: "You can either use the bathroom at school or wet your pants. I need to use the bathroom now."
Cale: "But dad, I have to go now."
Rangi: "I don't care. Go stare at the wall."
With a smile of relief, Rangi used the restroom while Cale starred at the wall. The spirits took notice.
In desperation, Shayna managed to guess her husbands password and explored her options. She wanted to leave everything and everyone behind to escape her husband. However, she couldn't leave her kids with him.
Shayna was a bit embarrassed to feel this way, but she felt happy to see Rangi suffering from discomfort. The kitchen was becoming a mess because Shayna couldn't keep up with everything and find a bathroom outside the house.
Rangi had a crazy idea. If merfolk and other supernatural powers existed, what about other powers and supernatural beings. What if he could wield the mythical powers of the spirits; the powers he only heard about in stories!
Rangi lost it when his son snuck into one of the bathrooms to use it. He made sure to yell at him for his disobedience.
Rangi: "You can use the bathroom after you clean up your mess!"
Cale: "Why don't you clean up the mess and just let me use the bathroom?!"
Rangi: "You are such a pest. We don't have a lot, so this is the only thing I can do. Either clean up your mess or forget about using the bathroom."
With a smile on his face, Rangi jeered at Cale: "I knew you were a little gremlin when you were born. How about you find somewhere else to sleep because I'm locking the door to your bedroom."
Rangi: "This is my house, and these will be my rules. If you want your bed back and access to the bathrooms, you'll do exactly as I see. I'm also making the curfew earlier!"
Cale: "That's not fair! Where will I sleep?"
Rangi: "That's not my problem. Your the one that won't listen to me."
Rangi: "If I could, I would throw you away! You're making this so much harder than it needs to be."
Cale yelled before storming off: "This house is a prison!"
Things get worse after this. You've been warned.
Before Cale could leave, Rangi got physical and shoved him.
Rangi Mocked Cale for being too little to defend himself.
And I'll stop sharing pictures here because he started going after Shayna. He shoved her, argued with her, scared her, and divorced her.
And in spite of everything, Shayna would not give up on Rangi.
Rangi opened the door to darkness, and from the shadows, Damion Morbius was able to step foot on Sulani.
Damion, the only being with equal power to the Twins, Dylan and Zephyr, effortlessly let himself into their home.
From the shadows, Damion went straight for Rangi. No one noticed his presence.
When Damion made Rangi feel starvation, Afu glanced in his direction. Afu had some of the Sea's power in him, and that helped him sense the shadow.
Damion further denied more of Rangi's needs.
Rangi finally saw the shadow and began trying to argue his way out of the dark. His family didn't seem to see anything. Rangi didn't even notice himself diving into the dark.
Rangi had no power over Damion. Damion was free to do as he pleased, and his wraith was focused on Rangi.
When Damion saw Kyra wet herself in front of him, Damion started becoming more aggressive toward Rangi.
In Damion's Shadow, Rangi came to know the suffering he caused his family, starting with bladder failure.
With the bathroom to himself, Rangi tried to escape the penalties for his actions. He still could not escape the shadow as he dove deeper into darkness and further away from his family.
With his dark magic, Damion went to every locked door and gave everyone access to them, further undoing Rangi's control over the house.
Rangi was now alone in the dark. He tried to escape, but he was too far in the deep end. Damion mesmerized him before he could get away.
While Rangi suffocated in the Darkness he sought, Damion started cleaning the messes left by Rangi's family; the messes they couldn't clean because their needs were failing.
Rangi grew increasingly tired. The more he fought the darkness, the greater the weight he felt from it.
Rangi was mortified and too tired to leave his home for the deep. So Damion gave him a burst of happiness to hide his exhaustion.
After a day of torment, Rangi felt a strange lure toward the sea. He couldn't fight it anymore.
And from Beneath the Great Sea, the darkness struck.
Damion laughed and collected his trophy.
Before Damion was forced back into the shadows, he raced back to the Turei home.
And finsihed cleaning the house.
And naturally, Damion wasn't good, and he couldn't pass up a chance to feed on his favorite prey, merfolk.
Now, I'm all caught up with my story. Rangi is gone, and now, the Turei's will get to enjoy the holidays.
Light and Darkness are simply two sides of the same coin. I think fantasy can sometimes be truer to life when both the good and bad is seen in the light.
On a side note, even after Rangi was removed from the Turei household, he's not gone. Ghosts are just another life state in my game. Rangi's Soul simply belongs to Damion now. I created a holiday in the winter that is dedicated to remembering the dead. This Holiday will be for Damion Morbius Gameplay, the Day of Spirit Shadows.
It's entirely possible that Damion isn't done with Rangi, and I'm wondering if Damion can command Ghosts to do his bidding, or at least, he can always use a servant to clean around the house and do other mundane things.
Comments
I liked the dialogue you wrote for Akira, Miko, the BFF household and (your sim?) Jeannie.
Birthday presents are so money.
Adeline Bheeda aged up into an adorable bespectacled smarty-pants. Perhaps science is the ideal combination of mom's mixology and dad's computer programming?
She became a straight A student in like 3 days.
She got Mom's hot-headed trait, so watch out. People say sims don't have enough unique personality. This kid has a certain snide expression that I don't recall seeing on other sim kids. I haven't been playing for that long though.
Adeline is buddies with Breana and Jenifer Rasoya
And maybe with little Paola too.
"Mom, Dad, stop trying to explain things to me at the same time."
Not too old to listen to Dad read though.
What was I doing? There was a book.
Adeline still has to share a corner of her parents' bedroom. Also, she wants a piano, and has ever since she saw Joy Olakodun live as a toddler
And so Arun takes programming gigs at a feverish pace to earn money. This one isn't sketchy at all either.
Jesminder's job comes with its daily challenges. This fellow came in at least 3 days this week.
I don't know why she has a flirty mood from work? She isn't telling me. Maybe flirty is at least better than coming home angry every day?
Arun has seen Atharv a couple of times since their awkward encounter, but kept it friendly. He and Jesminder make such a great team, even in tough circumstances
and are still crazy about each other.
Lots of sky up there, lots of love down here.
@Metior_Ice It's not me. It may also be @sarabeth2984. She has hybrids in her game.
Thanks @haneul. Either way, we'll definitely figure out who gave me the idea! lol. Feels like we might end up tagging everyone in the process, but we'll figure it out.
I know that this hybrid is in a merfolk household.
On a side note, Damion gave Rangi his just deserves, so I should be ready to make my next update. I honestly wasn't planning on bringing Damion into the story so soon, but Rangi definitely deserved a visit from him.
Also, congratulation for being highlighted with your merfolk story in a maxis stream.
@Daravi Thank you!
Also, I do have a merman/vampire hybrid! Dante Mahi'ai. Weirdly enough I was literally playing his household yesterday. He lives in Sulani with his parents and girlfriend and recently graduated from Britechester. I usually turn my mermaid/vampire hybrids into either full blood vamps or mermaids since they are really glitchy. Sometimes they get stuck as a disembodied torso.
Dante is the exception because he is not glitchy. He has both mermaid and vampire powers but no tail. Don't ask me why lol. He swims around with 2 legs. So far he behaves the same way across multiple saves so I'll put him up on the gallery if you want him! He's a doll-cheerful, child of islands, and good. He's also sun proof. His mom is Nalani the mermaid.
You can also cheat a hybrid. Definitely start out with them as a vampire so you can establish their powers/weaknesses. Than add the mermaid trait afterwards.
Thank you!
And I want to both awesome and insightful your comment!
I'm going to work on making my story update.
For those who need it, I'll put a trigger warning for the parts where Rangi is mean.I didn't go out of my way to make Rangi so mean. He just had a bad reputation, some whims, and I went with what I observed in game. I'd say that I only accelerated his declining reputation and negative behaviors.
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The Islanders of Sulani: Island Magic and the Merfolk Lifestyle
The Sea is the Origin of Life, but it's the Sky that watches over Life. The Volcano created the land, and from the land, the worlds were born. Every world is connected by the Great Sea and the Starry Sky. The Spirits of the Sea and Sky govern the Domains of the Great Sea and the Starry Sky. They shepherd in new life and watch over the worlds. The Spirits of the Sea and Sky protect, and those who are spared death or reborn in the image of the Sea are protected by the spirit's wills. Only the Watcher stands above the spirits and can override their wills.
New to his Island Magic, Cale tried to touch a lava bomb he summoned. Cale was young, but he was born to be a Child of the Islands, a Child of Light.
Unfortunately, he was not a true Child of the Islands yet, and he started to catch on fire. Fortunately, His brother, Afu, was resurrected by the sea, and he was able to quickly extinguish the fire.
Shayna was not far behind, and she made extra sure that her son was clear of danger. However, Cale saw Afu as his savior.
Afu threw a Kava party after extinguishing his brother and escaping the grip of death. At the Kava Party, Calden and his Brothers gathered for a swim. Afu chatted with Zephyr, unaware of Zephyr and his twin's role in bringing him back to life. Dylan didn't even fully understand his power to resurrect humans from death.
Zephyr: "How are you doing? There's something different about you?"
Afu: "I'm a bit different now, but I'm happy to be here to support my family. I had no idea that merfolk existed, so it's something to get used to."
Zephyr: "There are a lot of merfolk, but I'm sure you'll make a lot of friends!"
Shayna kept it to herself, but she's the one that went to Dylan. And, she was grateful that death wasn't the end for her son, Afu.
Again, Afu was a little unaware of the social dynamics in the Mua Pel'am Pod, and how everyone was related to each other. He told Dylan and Zephyr's father about how he was called back to the realm of the living. Calum listened to Afu's story, but he wasn't upset. He wanted his sons to use their power responsibly and help those who need it. For Calum, Afu seemed like a nice young man, and it was nice to see him alive and well.
Afu could sense Dylan's approach. It was strange, but he decided to meet Dylan in the sea. Afu, now a young merman, met with Dylan. Dylan and Afu's tails had striking similarities, but Afu's tail didn't glimmer in the light like Dylan's. Instinctively, he had a feeling the appearance of his tail and new hair color had some connection to Dylan. In a way, Afu felt like Dylan was his brother even if they barely knew each other.
Afu: "Hi, it's nice to see you again. I knew that I saw a tail when we first met."
Dylan: "I'm sorry for not being entirely honest. We merfolk don't usually reveal our true form to humans."
Afu: "It's fine. I'm happy I had the chance to meet you!"
Dylan: "Thank you for understanding."
Afu swam up to Helios.
Afu: "I feel so energized swimming with a tail. It's amazing. I never thought it would feel this good to be a merman! By the way, you look different from the others?"
Helios: "I am a little blue, aren't I? I'm actually an Alien from Sixam."
Calden swam up: "It's true. Merfolk don't die of old age, so I invited him to be a part of my family. He's got a brother and sister, but they aren't immortal like us."
Helios: "I'm actually often worried about outliving my older siblings, but I'm glad to have my brothers to lean on."
Afu: "I guess I'm going to have to go through the same thing. I didn't know merfolk stay young forever."
Calden: "You're welcome to join my pod. We're all brothers and help each other. When the time comes, we'll be there for you."
Afu: "You know, I think I'll take you up on that offer."
Calden: "Then welcome to the Merbros Pod."
The merbros huddled together to discuss where they would swim off to.
(Juniper is a little too excited about pulling an all-nighter with his bros.)
The bros scattered to swim around first, but Dylan and Afu stayed to chat about grilled cheese, a brilliant human invention!
Juniper: "Dylan makes awesome grilled cheese! You should try it sometime!"
Dylan: "I could teach you how to make one as good as mine."
Dylan turned to Afu: "Juniper is my little brother, and he's great with plants. He has a tendency to eat strange plants. He wasn't born a merman, but he decided to eat mermadic kelp after he stopped being a plant. He's a slow learner."
Juniper: "Hey, if I want to be half-fish for a while, I can choose to be half-fish!"
Afu: "All this talk about food is making me hungry for some grilled cheese. Also, is it possible to become human again?"
Dylan looked at his brother, and then, he looked at Afu: "Only half-merfolk that aren't born merfolk can become human. Us naturally born merfolk, we can't ever become human. However, Juniper isn't exactly human."
Juniper: "Hey, don't tell him that! You are more than a merman yourself."
Afu looked at the two brothers with a little confusion, but he decided to change the topic and focus on grilled cheese.
Afu: "How much does a grilled cheese normally cost? My family has to buy all of our ingredients before cooking."
Dylan: "I usually don't have to think about that."
Juniper: "We aren't exactly short on money."
(Juniper, you and your family are literally the wealthiest family in my game. You are multi-millionaires, almost billionaires...)
Afu to Lyric: "Why are mermen shirtless almost all the time?"
Lyric: "I don't think about it, but if I wore human clothing in the water, it would be too heavy while I swam. It's more comfortable to simply not wear a shirt. I guess, while we are on land, we don't think about putting on a shirt. I mean, human clothes are only for hiding among humans. Clever disguises, right?"
Afu: "Except you don't always hide your merform."
Lyric: "Sometimes, we prefer to be in our natural form. Shapeshifting takes effort, but changing form is the nature of water, the element we call home."
After staying up all night, the young mermen started searching for seashells on the beach. Afu got angry because a Seagull snatched his sea shell. Dylan reacted with a merman derpy dolphin squeak. Afu didn't know if he was being mocked or not, but he let it go.
To end the next day, the young mermen went to the club and partied. Most merfolk, Calden especially, would admit that one advantage of legs is the ability to dance. Merfolk can pull off their own aquatic dance moves, but they definitely couldn't do the Jimmy Leg.
Unfortunately for Helios, his sister didn't recognize him while he was embracing his mermadic nature, so she erased his memory.
(I hope I don't have to reacquaint Helios with his sister during the next cycle. lol)
Extras
(Afu had something colorful to say about that. While I just want them to do their job instead of go for swims on the clock, I can't really argue with Afu's choice in words.)
Afu: "You're a horrible employee."
Anas: "I know, man. I know."
Due to my obsession with Sim genetics and what the kids would look like, I set Shuji up with Summer Holiday.
So far, her and Ken are hitting it off fairly well.
Here is Shuji and Summer's son, Junpei (named after one of the main characters from the game).
Now for some random funny stuff...
Here's Steve Jobs rocking out.
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The Islanders of Sulani: The Mua Pel'Am Merfolk
(This part of the story may have less dialogue and more narration because I was testing club outfits and club behaviors after the update. Since I play on the Console, I get automatic updates, and I can't use mods. So, in a way, I never have to worry about mods braking right after an update.)
In almost matching outfits, Calden serenading Maria.
Aaron Kailani and Kylen Kailani spent the entire gathering for more than 24 sim hours straight serenading each other. I half expected them to swim over to the waterfall and woohoo.
(I made an interesting discovery. By making the club hangout location the same location for all Mua Pel'Am Clubs, I had members from 4 different clubs gather at the same time. I'm talking about more than 16 merfolk showing up at the same time. It was epic!)
(I love the way merfolk in a Club or Group swim together!)
(A lot of my merfolk are storm chasers, so they aren't bothered by thunderstorms. Still, with so many merfolk in one place, they went to the shore to, maybe, sing only to swim back out to sea. It would be nice if merfolk could actually sing and eat harvestables while in the water.)
Calum caught up with his brother, Kemps, and they also caught up with their sister-in-law.
The patch did not fix Sulani lots in the rain.
More of Calden being cute with his girlfriend.
Calum being totally fine with getting struck by lightning.
(I have no idea what Cale was doing on the computer, but he had the Embarrassed Moodlet.)
(With Cottage Living, Volcanic Activity is a Lot Challenge instead of a Lot Trait. This has helped me set up my lots a little differently with new traits!)
(I did notice an oddity with non-merwoke households and merfolk. For the most part, merfolk look the way they do in their swimwear with no tail.)
(Except for a small oddity that I think is the result of Sulani Festivals resulting in random outfits and the fact that merfolk appear in two diffferent ways depending on the household. My merfolk were swimming with full outfits that were completely random.)
(My merfolk weren't bothered by this, but I admit, it's a strange way to enter a lot. If done intentionally, I can see merfolk entering lots via the ocean and this working, but this was weird because it was random.)
The longer I played the game, the more odd my merfolk became. Some of them weren't using merfolk disguises. They were swimming in their natural forms. This is Rylan or Kylen Kailani and their mother, Sara Kailani behind him. Sara Kailani has a hidden merform.)
I've noticed that Reef Kailani and Calden Azure both get roles in the Island Festivals. Reef Kailani is often a Fire Dancer while Calden, a famous Fire Dancer, is a celebrity musician.
(Apparently, Cale can run on water. I used the Go Home Interaction while on the Mua Pel'Am lot surrounded by water. I used the same interaction for his mom, and she swam in the ocean.)
(And if you remember from past posts, Arihi tried to carry Zephyr through the ocean leaving this lot when Zeph was a toddler.)
(@Becka28 Your Quin and Rohan try to merge, but My Merbros almost tried to merge the entire club together while listening to music! Lyric is probably like, Guys, I don't think you can occupy the same space.)
(This concludes my post patch gameplay testing. I had to make sure my save wasn't broken. I've invested too much into this to restart the save, again. lol.)
Only ending up getting victory cuddles from Grandma after a hard video game battle. She may have not won against momma but it was a victory in Grandma's eyes for trying.
Anyway, I got annoyed at OFAF again, as I do, and one of my friends suggested remaking and playing the save, rather than just doing makeovers and pretending I'm going to play it lol. So I did another round of makeover, since I needed some other Sims in there to make it actually the Of Frost and Fire save.
Honestly I'm low-key mad about how good she looks.
This is Miss He double-hockey-sticks.
I accidentally made Namaari out of Kat Cave, oops.
I didn't change my Markus Crow much. Think I switched his hair to one of the new blonds.
Their dark forms are the weird ones, not their normal forms. Cause, you know, wandering around with ashy skin tones and glowy red eyes is how you get staked.
Tweaked Sarnai a good deal. I miss her ♥ maybe I'll actually play her in this save.
Lilith.
Also tweaked Drake a little. He looks like a goth priest or something I love it.
And this is Keisha. She didn't change too much but I did make her hair white blond instead of white and she looks a bit better.
Had a hard time figuring out where to put them, but I ended up moving them into Culpepper, and we'll go from there. c: Sigh, probably need to do more uni...
I also managed to update Corazon, so that's nice. ( Pure love story fluff, Ezio x Caleb, you can find the link to it in the stories section here on the forums or in the link in my signature. )
I was trying to figure out how to do the rewrite for Of Frost and Fire. Something messed up really bad along the way to where I got, but I'm not 100% sure what it was or even where it was. I think it might've been a culmination of things rather than one specific thing, idk. Anyway, so I was like should I kind of use the old version as a draft and pretty much just rewrite it or should I start over from 0 and try following the original outlines? Because really very little of how version 2 went followed the outlines lol it was like the characters realised they don't have to follow the outlines and made a contest to see who could break them worse.
I think I may try to just redo it following the original outlines, and hopefully this time we won't end up with a disaster. I might also spend more time developing certain characters that got less "screen time" so to say in version 2, and I get the feeling Morgyn will be different this time around, because believe it or not the dork did a lot of evolving and growing in version 2. Maybe for the best. lol I want to get Corazon done first before I dive back into Of Frost and Fire, because the darn thing is extremely soul-consuming and I know it'll just straight inhale all my time, so.
The possibility that it was actually that I was trying too hard to control too tightly where the story went, and obviously restricting Embers is a very bad idea, lol so instead of reigning in they just kind of went nuts. So, the idea that it'd be better the third time around If I don't make the mistake of restricting them too much crossed my mind too. And it might be kind of interesting to just give them a set of specific events that Must happen but what goes on around it is whatever, and seeing what happens.
One day, I'll have a working draft and I'll rework Of Frost and Fire into an original tale and publish it, but in the meantime, me and the All are having a War.
I also Might restart the Eisenstern legacy. I've reached a point where it's become grating to play for many reasons, but we'll see on that one too. My primary issue is Juno doesn't seem to like anyone, but ykw she doesn't have to. Nobody said marriage was required to have children, sooo... if she never really likes anyone maybe that's not a real a problem...
我并不感到困扰
I am kind to everyone. But if you are unkind to me, kindness is not what you will remember me for.
I am autistic. Wording isn't my strong suit.
Stop player on player violence.
Dante with his azure dolphin buddy
Menu showing both his mermaid and vampire menu options
Darrell: "I'm out."
Blanca: "Yeah, Imma dip."
Mario: "Funny how we have the meeting about safety concerns AFTER my arm got ripped off."
Manslaughter: "But seriously, we need to discuss concerns about the Mutants. They're getting gutsier and are even sneaking into the camp. So I'm making a new Defense Commission to find ways to make this camp safer from Mutant attacks and I think our newest member should lead it."
Manslaughter: "Everyone, meet Ima Normalman."
Ima Normalman: "Hi, I'm not a Mutant."
I think the Chief realized something is wrong with this picture. Don't worry, he'll take care of it.
Now onto less serious things.
Since the Chief isn't in his throne room, Anakin can finally spend time with his daughter. He's determined not to be a lousy father like his was.
Manslaughter: "IS THERE A COMMONER IN MY THRONE ROOM?!"
Anakin: "No Chief, I wasn't in your throne room!"
Manslaughter: "So, were you impressed with the way I killed that Mutant?"
Jack: "Not at all. I'm not interested in that."
Well since Blanca's no longer pregnant she can enjoy what's good in life. Like horseshoes.
Which she's still a failure at.
Blanca: "Yeah well at least I'm not pregnant anymore."
Also since she's not pregnant anymore she can enjoy a nice stiff drink again......But then again, pregnancy didn't stop her there.
Manslaughter: "Alright Sonya, don't pay attention to your niece jogging in the background."
Manslaughter: "OR your sister. These Mutants are giving me a real headache, so you need to exterminate them all. Just find every one in a 100 mile radius and just do what you do best."
Sonya: "Wait, so you WANT me to kill countless amounts of people?"
Manslaughter: "Preferably Mutants, but yeah."
This news makes Sonya so happy she could just....
Manslaughter: "Wait, she can fly now?"
Anakin: "It's best not to question her power."
Mario: "Ah I love that woman."
Alright, since Sonya's going to be gone for a while, here's her temporary replacement. His name is Bleezborg, The Warrior of the Future.
With Sonya on an important mission, one can only imagine what kind of ways our friends can prosper without her causing so much death and destruction!
Oh, nice block.
Jack: "Oh boy, a baby! Haven't seen one of these in years!"
Jack: "I'm going to poke its eye!"
Juniper did not like that.
Jack: "I'm not good with children."
Mario: "Now, THAT'S a baby!"
Wait, why are Jack and Mario trying to take care of the baby? Where are the parents?
Anakin: "Think anyone saw that?"
Blanca: "I think everyone did."
Even though they still owe money to the IRS, Anakin's still over here burning money.
Anakin: "YES, BURN CAPITALISM! BURN!!!!"
While I quite enjoyed the fact that Mario and Sonya had to have a dance battle at their wedding, I'm still annoyed that they can't dance together and downloaded a mod.
Blanca: "Isn't this romantic?"
Anakin: "Would be more romantic if I didn't have a knife to my throat."
Mario: "Mama Mia, if only we had that mod before Sonya went off on her adventure."
Alright, Sonya's mission is a good first step. But we need MORE precautions over here.
Jack: "Are you really from the future?"
Bleezborg: "Not really, but your husband wouldn't let me join the group unless I had a gimmick."
Mario just couldn't stop crying over how much he missed Sonya.
Anakin: "Hey Mario, I'm sure you're sad and all but can you like.....Go somewhere else? I'm trying to get frisky with the Mrs."
Manslaughter: "Alright everyone, the Baby is sleeping. This is the perfect time to talk about how to make this place safer. I propose we build a large watchtower so we can keep an eye out for Mutants."
Blanca: "Oh I'm feeling too flirty to pay attention to this conversation."
Darrell: "So I'm going to take a shot in the dark and say we should build a LARGE wall around our camp. Turn this camp into a compound!"
Manslaughter: "A.....WALL?!"
Anakin: "Yeah, it can be made out of impenetrable steel and be like 40 feet tall. Make sure those Mutants can't smash their way through and climb it."
Mario: "And we can put big guns up on the top so we can just shoot the Mutants as they try to get through the wall!"
The Chief just slowly inhaled.
Manslaughter: "NO. We don't need a wall, we need a big watchtower! It'll look cooler! Have a guy up there with binoculars and they can warn us when Mutants are coming!"
Darrell: "Or hear me out, a wall around the camp. That way we don't have to have lookout, they try to get through the front door and we shoot them and not worry about them getting through."
Manslaughter: "But a tower will look cooler! A wall will just look like an eyesore!"
Darrell: "Alright, let me say this slowly."
Darrell: "Wall. Protect."
Darrell: "Then we sleep without fear of being stabbed in our sleep."
Anakin: "Gotta say, I like the idea of sleeping with both eyes closed."
Manslaughter: "How about we build a tower and that's final?"
Darrell: "Well good luck finding someone to build that tower because none of us will."
Three hours later.
Anakin: "He seriously got you to build this?"
Bleezborg: "I am easy to boss around."
Bleezborg: "Nice view though."
Anakin: "It's a nuked wasteland!"
Manslaughter: "Sweet, the baby's awake now. This meeting is over, someone take care of this child."
Mario: "Oh boy, it's my turn! Come to Uncle Mario, don't be scared of my robot arm."
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The Islanders of Sulani: Under the Water Where Souls Lose Control
Edit: I did not enjoy this part of the story, but I also didn't want Rangi's death to be random. He was not a good sim.
I'll start by sharing Damion Morbius's theme. He's the Elemental Spirit of Darkness, the Shadow of the Sea and Sky. It's probably not the song you'd expect me to associate with him.
The English Version is in the spoiler.
The Sea is the Origin of Life. The Sky watches over the Living. The Volcano created the Worlds. Only the Watcher can override the will of the Spirits. The Great Sea and Starry Sky connect the Worlds. But the Light of Life, Sanctuary, and Creation casts dark shadows. The Spirit of Darkness dwells beneath the Great Sea and beyond the Starry Sky. While the Sea restores Life and the Sky protects from Harm, the Darkness takes Life and inflicts Harm. It is the force that safeguards the good by taking the bad. It is a force of good shrouded in evil.
From early on, Rangi lost his job when he blew the whistle after seeing corruption in the company he worked for. Blowing the whistle brought a great deal of attention toward Rangi, but it also cost hundreds their jobs, including him. Rangi was always paranoid, but many innocent people blamed him for the loss of their jobs. His actions did not only impact the corrupt.
To help make up for the lost income, Kyra picked up work as a Lawn Mower and other hard labor.
Shayna loved the tranquility of painting, and she decided to support the family by painting professionally. She had a real talent for painting, and her paintings sold for enough to barely pay the bills.
Afu was busy hanging out with his new friends and acclimating to his new life as a Merman. Afu explored the beach cave, and all of his activities eventually exhausted him so much that he shifted back into his merform and passed out on a beach chair. When Afu dozed off, he lost all his worries over seeking entertainment. He was now laid-back and more resilient to the stresses of life.
Thanks to the overwhelming support from his new brothers, Afu didn't develop any worries about the future. He would outlive his family, but he wouldn't be alone. He had new friends he could rely on. In the back of his mind, he worried about his family and watching them grow old in front of him. However, he had a feeling that everything would be okay in the end.
Afu had no idea that a storm was brewing at home. He sang with his new voice, and he got to know his new brothers. Spending time with his merfamily helped to lift all the shadows off his shoulders, but his long weekend was coming to an end.
Afu: "All of you seem really laid-back and friendly. It's kinda refreshing to hang out with people who are so friendly."
Dylan: "Life is too short to get caught up in the drama. We all make mistakes, but we all have a choice in how we deal with them."
From here on out, The story will focus on Rangi Turei. Here be the trigger warning.
Unfortunately for Rangi, his actions left him without a job and no one wanted to hire him because his reputation was in steady decline. He started accusing his wife of spying and telling others things they didn't need to know. His paranoia led to greater abuses as time went on.
Rangi: "How dare you talk about me behind my back!"
Shayna: "Me and Afu are just making dinner. Afu brought home enough fruit to feed the family and then some."
Rangi: "I don't like it. If I had my job, we wouldn't have to pick food from the jungle! Why doesn't Afu get a fulltime job and bring home some real food."
Shayna: "It's true that he just had a vacation, but Afu is literally growing more food so we don't have to scavenge for it. He's also helping me with Cale and Kyra. He also saved Cale from burning alive! Did you know that both your sons nearly died within a few days. A vacation wasn't a bad thing."
Rangi: "Well, if you were a better mother, neither of our kids would have nearly died."
Shayna: "It's not my fault that one of our sons was killed by an earth elemental and the other developed the ability to summon lava bombs. You say this as if there's some kind of parenting guide to this. Our kids aren't like what they used to be, but that's okay. Me and Afu are working on teaching Cale some restraint. Cale has offered to help with the gardening."
Rangi: "You're full of accuses. If I wasn't busy looking for a job, I would have straightened things out."
Shayna: "You're playing videogames every time I look at you. You've even locked everyone else out of the computer."
Rangi: "I play videogames to escape the stress of you and everyone else talking about me behind my back!"
Shayna: "Did you know that we don't even have clean fresh water? We've been using saltwater for most things."
Afu: "Don't change the subject. That's not my fault. I'm trying to find a job when I'm not playing games."
Rangi: "The least you could do was clean up this house. Cale is constantly leaving messes everywhere. If you're such a great mom, why don't you clean up his behavior."
Shayna: "I'm trying. It's hard to do that around work and paying the bills from my phone because I can't use the computer."
Rangi: "Well, try harder!"
Rangi thought: "I could do so much better if I had a job, paid the bills, and provided for this family."
Shayna: "I'm trying. Afu is trying. Even Kyra is doing hard labor to help out. We understand you are struggling, but you can't treat us like this."
Rangi: "I'm the head of this household, and I can do whatever I want."
Rangi: "Since you are trying so hard and have a job, you can buy your own bed to sleep in and build your own bathroom to use. I don't want to see you in my bed or in my bathrooms. To be sure, I'll personally lock the doors with a key. That's right, I had a little unemployment income to manage my stuff. Now, you need to straighten this family out before you can sleep in my bed."
That night, Shayna slept on the couch and Rangi slept in the master bed.
Sunday morning, the Turei's had a power outage from not generating enough energy with solar panels. While Cale at breakfast, Afu fixed the broken sink in the dark.
Rangi only let Shayna into the bathroom to fix the broken toilet.
Shayna decided that she absolutely hated doing plumbing repairs.
Afu hated to see his mom struggling and helped her clean up the toilet water.
Rangi wouldn't have it.
Rangi: "I told you to fix the toilet and clean the mess. How dare you distract Afu from the garden?! We need to eat!"
Shayna was saved from the yelling when Rangi needed to use the bathroom. Unfortunately, Cale also needed to use the bathroom.
So, Rangi decided that Cale would need to be banned from the bathrooms and told him to go away. He could use the bathroom at school.
Rangi: "You can either use the bathroom at school or wet your pants. I need to use the bathroom now."
Cale: "But dad, I have to go now."
Rangi: "I don't care. Go stare at the wall."
With a smile of relief, Rangi used the restroom while Cale starred at the wall. The spirits took notice.
In desperation, Shayna managed to guess her husbands password and explored her options. She wanted to leave everything and everyone behind to escape her husband. However, she couldn't leave her kids with him.
Shayna was a bit embarrassed to feel this way, but she felt happy to see Rangi suffering from discomfort. The kitchen was becoming a mess because Shayna couldn't keep up with everything and find a bathroom outside the house.
Rangi had a crazy idea. If merfolk and other supernatural powers existed, what about other powers and supernatural beings. What if he could wield the mythical powers of the spirits; the powers he only heard about in stories!
Rangi lost it when his son snuck into one of the bathrooms to use it. He made sure to yell at him for his disobedience.
Rangi: "You can use the bathroom after you clean up your mess!"
Cale: "Why don't you clean up the mess and just let me use the bathroom?!"
Rangi: "You are such a pest. We don't have a lot, so this is the only thing I can do. Either clean up your mess or forget about using the bathroom."
With a smile on his face, Rangi jeered at Cale: "I knew you were a little gremlin when you were born. How about you find somewhere else to sleep because I'm locking the door to your bedroom."
Rangi: "This is my house, and these will be my rules. If you want your bed back and access to the bathrooms, you'll do exactly as I see. I'm also making the curfew earlier!"
Cale: "That's not fair! Where will I sleep?"
Rangi: "That's not my problem. Your the one that won't listen to me."
Rangi: "If I could, I would throw you away! You're making this so much harder than it needs to be."
Cale yelled before storming off: "This house is a prison!"
Things get worse after this. You've been warned.
Rangi Mocked Cale for being too little to defend himself.
And I'll stop sharing pictures here because he started going after Shayna. He shoved her, argued with her, scared her, and divorced her.
And in spite of everything, Shayna would not give up on Rangi.
Rangi opened the door to darkness, and from the shadows, Damion Morbius was able to step foot on Sulani.
Damion, the only being with equal power to the Twins, Dylan and Zephyr, effortlessly let himself into their home.
From the shadows, Damion went straight for Rangi. No one noticed his presence.
When Damion made Rangi feel starvation, Afu glanced in his direction. Afu had some of the Sea's power in him, and that helped him sense the shadow.
Damion further denied more of Rangi's needs.
Rangi finally saw the shadow and began trying to argue his way out of the dark. His family didn't seem to see anything. Rangi didn't even notice himself diving into the dark.
Rangi had no power over Damion. Damion was free to do as he pleased, and his wraith was focused on Rangi.
When Damion saw Kyra wet herself in front of him, Damion started becoming more aggressive toward Rangi.
In Damion's Shadow, Rangi came to know the suffering he caused his family, starting with bladder failure.
With the bathroom to himself, Rangi tried to escape the penalties for his actions. He still could not escape the shadow as he dove deeper into darkness and further away from his family.
With his dark magic, Damion went to every locked door and gave everyone access to them, further undoing Rangi's control over the house.
Rangi was now alone in the dark. He tried to escape, but he was too far in the deep end. Damion mesmerized him before he could get away.
While Rangi suffocated in the Darkness he sought, Damion started cleaning the messes left by Rangi's family; the messes they couldn't clean because their needs were failing.
Rangi grew increasingly tired. The more he fought the darkness, the greater the weight he felt from it.
Rangi was mortified and too tired to leave his home for the deep. So Damion gave him a burst of happiness to hide his exhaustion.
After a day of torment, Rangi felt a strange lure toward the sea. He couldn't fight it anymore.
And from Beneath the Great Sea, the darkness struck.
Damion laughed and collected his trophy.
Before Damion was forced back into the shadows, he raced back to the Turei home.
And finsihed cleaning the house.
And naturally, Damion wasn't good, and he couldn't pass up a chance to feed on his favorite prey, merfolk.
Damion savored the taste of fresh merfolk plasma!
Light and Darkness are simply two sides of the same coin. I think fantasy can sometimes be truer to life when both the good and bad is seen in the light.
Cass decided to be rebellious today
It's entirely possible that Damion isn't done with Rangi, and I'm wondering if Damion can command Ghosts to do his bidding, or at least, he can always use a servant to clean around the house and do other mundane things.