Today's Accomplishments:
- Buy curio from curio shop
- Examine sealed door at secret lab
When we got up the Servo Bot informed us my mother had already left for the day, and wouldn't be back until late. I left a short message with him to let her know we would take on her challenge, but would be staying elsewhere while doing so.
We returned to the bar and had a little breakfast while hashing out what we should do next.
"We could ask if we can set up my tent behind the bar," I suggested. "Or we can find a house someone is willing to rent out to us."
Kaori looked worried, "With neither of us currently working, I'm not sure a rental is in our budget. We've already used up a good chunk of the money I received for my Grandparents house during our time at University, I'm not sure how much longer we can rest on that."
She had a good point. "I can always take on freelance work," I said, "but you're right. We'll ask if there is any public land that's open to camp on then."
Just then Kaori looked up and gasped. I whirled around in my chair to see Mayor Roswell entering the bar, a huge smile twisted up under unusually wide eyes. It was disturbing to see, and on top of that he was walking with all his limbs flailing about in different directions.
I jumped up and waved my hand in front of his face, "Mr Roswell?" I asked. "Are you alright?"
He laughed eerily and leaned forward. "ĴØƗŇ ỮŞ. ĆØŇŞỮΜ€ ŦĦ€ ₣ŘỮƗŦ Ø₣ ŦĦ€ ΜØŦĦ€Ř ΔŇĐ ҜŇØŴ Ƥ€ΔĆ€."
"Uh," I said nervously, "what?"
He just smiled wider so I grabbed his shoulders and shook him, "Ted, can you hear me!? Are you in there?"
The bar tender waved to catch my attention and pantomimed slapping herself. I nodded in thanks and slapped Ted's face a couple of times.
His face returned to normal but he seemed a bit out of it so I led him to a chair and helped him sit down.
"Do you need some water?" I asked watching his face carefully.
Ted suddenly seemed to become aware of me, "Where am I?" he asked in a panicked voice, "Did it happen again? How long have I been under?"
I shook my head, "I don't know what's going on," I said, "but you were walking around strangely with a huge grin on your face. Does this have anything to do with what you're not allowed to discuss with us?"
Ted sank back into his chair, looking defeated. "Yes," he said simply. "Yes it does."
I glanced over at Kaori and she gave me a worried look, "Is there anything we can do to help you?" she asked Ted.
"Unfortunately no," he said rubbing his eyes. "As of now there is no cure." He looked at our faces and sat up a little straighter. "Enough about me," he said, "Have ya had any luck finding your scientist friend?"
Carol pulled a face as I nodded, "Yeah, we found her," I said shooting Carol a warning look, "She wants us to stick around and help her with something so we're going to need to find a place to set up a tent. Do you have idea where we can do that?"
Ted observed our shared looks and nodded slowly, "I see. Maybe I can help out with that. Follow me."
He rose from his chair and led us outside and across the street to what looked like an RV park.
"There's an open place here that ya can set your tent up on." he said waving to a sandy plot of land sitting between a public bathroom and an RV. "Not likely to get many tourists out here any time too soon, so it's all yours as long as ya need it." He glanced at our clothing, "I've got some clothes that were donated to charity if y'all need something to help ya blend in with the locals."
I looked down at our clothes and realized they probably screamed tourist, so I thanked him and took him up on his offer.
An hour later we'd set up camp and changed into our new clothes.
To christen our new home we dug out our yoga mats and went through an energizing routine together.
While Carol and Kaori showered afterwards, I ran around the corner to see if the little curio shop I'd seen yesterday was open. I greeted the guy behind the counter and admired his colander hat (it must be the trend around here).
I asked if he knew anything about the oddities happening in StrangerVille and he got all squinty eyed and asked who wanted to know. I eventually got out of him that whatever had happened, had started in the crater located outside of town. I bought a book titled "Untold mysteries of StrangerVille" and the shopkeeper, Erwin, threw in a handful of listening bugs for free.
I thanked him and returned to find the girls waiting for me at the picnic table.
"I think we should go investigate the crater," I said sitting down next to Kaori. "It seems to be at the center of this town's mystery.
We grabbed some water bottles to stay hydrated and began our short hike to the crater.
The compound we found seemed to have been evacuated in a hurry. A truck had been driven through the fence in the back providing an opening for us to slip inside. I went ahead and tried the doors and found them unlocked, so we slipped into the building.
At any minute I half expected alarms to go off or a guard to round the corner and arrest us, but there was nothing.
We stepped gingerly over scattered papers and wove past toppled chairs until we found a large sealed door near the front.
I examined it and realized we were going to need a special key card to get it opened. I turned to the girls, "We need to spread out and see what we can find. Keep your eyes peeled for a key card, we're going to need it."
We split up to search the building and I rifled through stack after stack of paper; no key card.
I did find a few interesting things though, and I slipped them into my pockets to examine later. Kaori jumped onto one of the base's computers and put her limited programing knowledge to use while Carol sorted through even more stacks of paper.
While they were doing that I went out the front doors to search outside, but found nothing of interest except more of the strange plants I'd seen earlier. I got out my phone and took a quick picture.
A couple hours later we'd searched the whole building and had come up empty handed. By now we were hungry and tired so I led us back to town and we stopped at the bar for dinner.
As I was eating, a military officer sat down next to me and I took the opportunity to mention the base in the crater.
"That's off limits to you civilians," he said angrily. "It's in lock down for a good reason and should not be approached under any circumstances, am I clear?"
I sat up straighter and almost saluted, "Yes sir."
Well that was a dead end.
I saw another soldier sitting on the other side of the bar who looked more friendly, so I went over and used my excellent good manners to introduce myself.
We instantly hit it off and I asked him if there was anyway to get a key card for the base in the crater.
He looked at me in astonishment and said that no one was allowed in there right now, but he did lean in and tell me that he had found an aerial surveillance photo of the crater he'd be willing to give me if I was interested. I accepted it and thanked him, even if it wasn't a big help. I gave him a hug and at the last minute stuck a listening bug to his back. I felt kind of bad about it, but I was getting desperate for answers.
Back at our base camp, I lit a fire and poked at it absentmindedly while thinking about the day's events. Kaori came and joined me and I asked what she made of it all.
"The way Mayor Roswell was acting this morning was alarming," she admitted. "He said something about there being no cure, do you think it's some kind of disease?"
"You're the biology major," I said with a smile. "Do you remember reading about any diseases that cause people to act like that?"
She shook her head, "No, nothing like that." She sat and thought for a minute. "Do you think it might be magic?" she finally asked. "I know there are spells that allow you to control the minds of others and the Mayor didn't seem to be in control of his body this morning."
"I think you're close," I said, "but I don't feel magic is being used to do it. There's something else at play here, and I bet it's connected to the glowing plants I've seen everywhere. I just don't know how."
I pulled out my meditation stool, figuring a clear mind would help me put the pieces together, and Kaori started showing Carol how to harness her magic.
As the sun began to set we heard a laugh and standing there watching us was the girl I'd seen at the library yesterday. Her face was contorted in the same way Ted's had been this morning.
Kaori approached her cautiously and tried to speak with her, but the girl just screamed "β€ΔỮŦ¥" over and over again until Kaori finally slapped her and broke the trance.
The girl looked confused and Kaori asked if she knew what had happened to her, but she just shook her head and ran off into the evening without saying a word.
Kaori rubbed her arms and announced she was going to bed early. I followed her into the tent, and wrapping her in my arms, we drifted off to sleep together.
New Looks
Adam
Everyday, formal, fitness, party, hot-weather. Cold-weather is the same as everyday.
HAHA! The balls comment cracked me up more than it should! You're so cheeky sometimes. Love it! Yay! Congrats to Aaron and his team for finally winning a game! Love it when Sims dance with their dogs, so cute! Oh Hello there angry Caleb, how nice of you to take care of their dirty dishes.
And Robin calls with the ring question. Congrats to them for getting engaged later, if not then. A bit harsh what she said to Aaron though. o.O Aww, poor Lilith mourning for Caleb. Maybe she thought continuing to work would help get her mind off losing her Brother. I don't think it's working.
Tsk, it's just juice pong Adonis, no need to cry about it. 🙄 Our Sims can be such drama Queens eh? Congrats to Aaron for topping out the Soccer 'career' and earning the MVP trophy! I didn't expect it would be so big when Cale got it. It sits next to the TV in their living room now. Too bad he's hurting from the injury so can't really enjoy his achievement at the moment. Cheer up Aaron, you did good Buddy! 👍
Hmm, Bryon and Aldo must be very, very good friends to sleep in the same bed eh? Or perhaps there's something else going on there? 🤔 Did you look at their profiles to see? Just curious. They'd make a cute couple.
Oh man it still shocks me seeing Cale looking so gorgeous in your game. Love the pic of him with the snow in the background.
Congrats to Aaron for his A+ GPA and to he and Hunter for their 2 year anniversary! NYE Party! Whoa, there's Cale again looking hot as ever in that party outfit. 😍 Why do I love those tight ripped jeans and boots combo so much? Hunter looks fabulous in that leather jacket too! Tsk! Come on you two, you're supposed to kiss! Sheesh! 🙄 Ah well, just glad they were together to ring in the new year in your save. What a great party! Thanks for that ending pic of Cale, he looks so handsome and happy!
So glad you enjoyed playing through Uni for the first time. It is fun! I need to let my Sims relax and party more though. I always make them keep their nose to the grindstone instead of letting loose a bit. Maybe I'll try doing that with next year's challenge Sim and not worry so much about getting good grades. I'm sure you'll find something for Aaron, Hunter and Yoshi in StrangerVille soon.
That's something else I've never tried to fully do, play with the Paranormal features. I tried it once, but didn't get very far before I abandoned the save for something else. Oh well, maybe that's something else next year's challenger can do too.
Oh man, I had to do the same thing with the urn Cale had in his bedroom at Britechester. Fox kept going in their to mourn over it and he never even met the girl! o.O Thanks for the reminder, I should have him take it out and see if he needs to strengthen her hold in the mortal world so she doesn't get culled.
Ohhh, bad mood when decorating can do it. Never had that happen before, pretty cool actually.
Yeehaw indeed! Agree about the butterfly wall, I love it! Glad to read I'm not the only one confused by the analyze option.
Yep, very handy! I didn't know that would happen either for a long, long time. I usually bring their fridge too but for a different reason. I try to have my Sims upgrade everything as soon as possible. So when they move, they bring all the upgraded stuff with them so they don't have to do it all over again. Cale's been too busy so far to do that, so I just left the old fridge in the Britechester house. Plus, Aurora will need it when she moves in there.
The pressure is building between Fox, Eros and Venus. When things explode, it won't be pretty. Fox has a lot of tenseness in his life with his secrets. He needs to resolve all these issues. I need to focus on getting those 100 babies first though before anything overly dramatic will happen. Hopefully it'll all go down this month. We shall see...
Well hey, that's all Cale thinks about, so he figures Fox must be thinking about girls too.
hehe Good plan Robin and DJ! However, Velma's plan to try to make you so annoyed you'd go do your homework might've been a better one if they hadn't totally ignored her. Aww, Cale, great idea Buddy! Perfect solution to get away from the screeching violin. Love that he was so happy being outside, he started singing!
HAHA! Yep, doesn't pay to try to cheat at chess Wolfgang. Cale and Sandy found that out themselves too. So cute when they cheat though. The looks on their faces is priceless. I have only seen one other Sim swipe the chess board in anger when they lose in my game. One of my Sims was playing against Hugo Villareal and he did that. Shocked me at the time. I knew immediately what you were referencing with the hunger and not feeling himself comment. I used to LOVE that commercial with Betty white. So funny!
Pretty good record for Dylan kicking the soccer ball without dropping it 95 times. I didn't even know that was a thing until Cale got that message once. If I remember correctly, he kicked it 116 times in a row without dropping it. o.O He quit soccer soon after though and he hasn't kicked a soccer ball since.
Ewwww! Mice! Oh and Cale saw a ghost too! o.O Lovely house they live in eh?
May - Day 2:"I'm not 'happy' but I'm not unhappy about it..."
Notes
Cale and Fox walked around town for a bit until they saw an interesting looking booth selling curios.
"You've got a lot of interesting stuff here Dude." "I certainly do! The name's Erwin, by the way."
"Nice to meet you Erwin. Say, how much for that armadillo hanging up there?" "You're in luck! Normally they go for 25, but I like your face so I'll let you have it for the low, low price of just 10 bucks."
"Cool! Thanks!" "Can I interest you in something else? Perhaps you'd like a stylish anti-alien deflector hat like mine. I have them in a variety of colors. Guaranteed to keep any nearby aliens from reading your mind or wiping your memory."
"They can do that?"
"What are you doing Cale? Obviously he's just a huckster hawking his trinkets to unsuspecting tourists. It's all junk."
"Oh I don't know, some of it's kind of cool."
"He says aliens can read minds and wipe your memory, is that true?" Cale whispered to Fox. "Shhh, we'll talk about that later. Don't let this clown hear you!"
"Oh, sorry. But maybe he knows something about the plants infecting people. Should I ask him?" "Go ahead, but you know what he's going to say. Just look at the stuff he's selling."
"Hey, Erwin, was it?" "Yes, that's my name Dude, don't wear it out."
"What's going on around here with the plants and people acting like zombies? Do you know?" "Oh yes indeed! It's the aliens doing it, of course. Everybody knows that."
"See? I knew it."
"But that's all I know, there's something else going on, why else would the military and scientists be swarming all over StrangerVille. They've got a lab out in the desert and everything. If you want to know more, I'd ask one of them. Good luck getting them to talk about it though. They hang out at the bar across the street if you want to try."
"The bar huh? I wanted to check that out anyway, see if there's any babes looking for some fun. Want to check it out Fox?" "Sure, why not. I know you've been eyeing that place ever since we got here."
"Cool, let's go!" "Good luck Dudes...wait, wait! Here, take one of these hats. You never know, one of them, maybe all of them are aliens themselves! Better safe than sorry and today only, I'll let you have 2 for the price of 1, only 50 bucks!"
"Thanks, but no thanks Erwin. I'm confident we won't have to worry about any aliens."
(Nope, especially since you are one!)
Cale walked in the bar and looked around in amazement. The place was full of military personnel alright, but what he hadn't expected was a bevy of colorful ghosts.
(I guess nothing should surprise me anymore.)
He cozied up to a pretty girl with glossy black hair dressed in fatigues and tried to chat her up as Fox finally made his way inside and headed for the bar.
(He's glowing again, I hope nobody notices.)
(They'll probably just think he's some kind of ghost...yeah, it's cool.)
"Hi, my name's Cale, how's it going? What's your name pretty lady?" "Hello, I'm Layla." She said looking at Cale with suspicion. "Hey Baby, ignore this guy, I'm the one you want to talk with, I'm a ghost. There's nothing special about him. Just some doofus from out of town I would imagine."
"Nice to meet you Layla, can I ask you something?" Cale asked, totally ignoring the flirty ghost (*Note - it's Bernard from the Von Haunt estate). "Depends on what it is."
"I was just talking with Erwin, you know, the guy with the booth selling stuff across the street? And he said you might know something about what's going on around here with the plants infecting people and making them turn into zombies. Do you know anything?"
"No Sir, I do not. I know nothing, not a thing. And even if I did, I wouldn't tell you, that's classified."
"Oh come on, what could it hurt? What's the big secret?" "I told you, I don't know anything. Just drop it Cale."
"Is everything alright here Private Whitaker?"
"Everything is fine Sir. This young man was just asking if he could buy me a drink, weren't you Cale?"
"Oh yeah, sure." "You're going to let HIM buy you a drink? Come on Baby, I saw you first."
"Beat it Pinky, not interested."
"Aww, alright, your loss."
(She knows something, I can just tell. Why else would she be acting so nervous.)
(She really doesn't want you to buy her a drink either.)
(Nope, but I have an idea on how to get some information out of her anyway.)
(I'll seduce it out of her.)
Layla walked over and sat down at a table full of other bar patrons and Cale made his way to a table full of ghosts right next to her table. Fox was busy chatting up a blond at the bar.
Without even thinking about it or knowing what he was doing, Cale pulled out his golden bow & arrow and shot one at Layla. She gasped as a shower of hearts floated around her head and then looked at him with much more interest than before.
Cale was stunned! Where did he get this thing and how did he know to shoot her with it? All the ghosts at and near the table where he was sitting stopped talking and stared at him. The blue ghost behind him looked shocked. Apparently ghosts were able to see the bow unlike other humans still alive. One military guy looked at him, but then stood up and walked over to talk with someone like nothing had happened.
(I gotta get out of here!)
He got up and quickly walked outside intending to get some air and think about what just happened. While he was standing there, he saw a strange purple light glowing on the horizon and walked across the street to get a closer look.
"Hey! Cale! Wait up!" Layla called to him. The pretty Private had watched him go outside and decided to follow him.
"Oh, well Hi again. What are you doing here? It seemed pretty clear you weren't interested in me."
"I wouldn't say that. I was hoping we could get to know each other better. If you know what i mean. You're actually very cute and...sexy as Hell in that hat."
"Is that so? Well I think you're pretty cute in your hat too...Sir, I mean Ma'am." Cale said with a wink that made Layla laugh. "It's Miss actually, I'm not old enough to be a Ma'am. At least not for a few years yet. You can just call me Layla."
The two talked, both getting very flirty with their looks and words for each other until the inevitable happened and Cale took a chance. Hoping she wouldn't slap his face, he took her in his arms and kissed her. She eagerly kissed him back.
(Ohhh Yeahhh!)
"Would you like to come back to my place, maybe spend the night?" "Wellll, that depends."
"On what?" "If you don't plan on asking me any more questions."
"What I had in mind doesn't involve talking." "I was hoping you'd say that."
(Shouldn't you tell Fox you're leaving?)
(Eh, he's a big boy, he can find his way home. He'll figure it out. Or maybe he'll get lucky too and go home with someone.)
Very early the next morning Cale wandered out to the balcony and found Fox out there practicing his chess moves. "Hey, you're up early."
"Actually, I haven't slept yet." "Oh?"
"Yeah, it finally happened, I brought a girl home with me from the bar. I'm surprised you didn't hear us. She just left."
"What!? You did? And you remember her?"
(Oh no!)
(I better wipe his memory, quick!)
"Well, I remember I had a girl here, and I remember we had woohoo, but...that's all I remember now." (Wait! Maybe he doesn't remember her afterall.)
(But he just said....)
"Now that she's gone, I can't remember her name and what she looked like is fading fast too. It's so weird Dude." (See? It's cool.)
(But he remembers he was with a girl.)
(Will he remember for long though?)
"I don't know what's wrong with me Fox. I was so excited, it's been so long, you know?"
"I think it was good, but...for some reason...I feel guilty. Like...I shouldn't have been with anyone. Almost like...I promised myself to someone else. I keep thinking about that girl in my dream. I don't know, I'm just so confused right now."
"I think I'll go fiddle around in the greenhouse for awhile before work."
"Are you going to be alright Cale? Do you want to talk about it? Maybe I can help?"
(I should find out just how much he remembers.)
(Or maybe just leave him alone. You don't like what's being done to him anyway. Remember?)
"Yeah, I'll be alright. I'm fine."
(You're not fine.)
(No, but I don't want him to worry. What could he do anyway? It's not his fault I feel so guilty for no reason. I just need to get over it.)
Cale left the balcony and went out to the greenhouse while Fox stayed behind with his thoughts.
(He's starting to remember even more now.)
(What are you going to do about it?)
(I should report this to Eros.)
(You're not going to though are you?)
(No, I'm done reporting anything about Cale to him. Let whatever happens, happen.)
(Maybe it's time to tell him what's going on?)
(Maybe...soon. Yes. Very soon.)
May 3: Meeting Students And Getting Ready for Term 1
They had survived their first night in the house and most of the residents were sitting around the kitchen table chatting.
Cale and Adam both came downstairs looking rather tired, and told the others what had happened last night. The place was infested with mice and was also haunted. They might not be able to do anything about the place being haunted, but the mouse problem had to be fixed.
DJ also expressed his concerns about the slow internet speed. If he had to write books to pay his student loan, he was worried that the internet would go out in the middle of a writing spree. Everyone seemed to agree that this was a concern for all of them, since they all had essays to write for their courses.
Wolfgang now realized why the house rental had been so cheap. There were some serious things wrong with the place. He looked around the house and saw the mildewed walls which he never noticed before. Oh geez! The place was in worst shape than the landlord had let on and now they were all stuck there because he had signed a lease.
Robin saw Wolfgang looking a bit down, and felt he was probably feeling guilty about convincing everyone to live there, and now they had discovered the place was a bit run-down. But, they really didn't have a choice. The residence housing cost more than this house, and they wouldn't have been able to afford that. So they were lucky that Wolfgang found them a place to live. Robin already had a student loan, and didn't need any more debt with housing costs. So, she decided to say something positive.
Robin: "Wolfgang, the place is not that bad. I am sure that once you call the landlord, things will be fixed. I mean, at least the house is nicely decorated."
Velma, however, seemed to disagree with Robin.
Velma: "Robin, are you serious? The wallpaper in the kitchen is newsprint, and the carpet in my room smells like stinky feet. And the artwork? Oh, please!"
The old adage, "One man's trash is another man's treasure" seems to be rather true for Robin and Velma. Both have differing tastes.
Morgan suggested that they all make a list of things that they were concerned about and Wolfgang could then call the landlord. Everyone agreed with that idea and then DJ's laptop goes on the frtiz. I guess he won't have to worry about internet speed anymore.
Dylan told Wolfgang that everything would be fine and decided to make some pancakes to cheer everyone up. And Dylan maxes the Cooking Skill.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
In the meantime, Adam had to head off to work. His first day as a barista, well, actually his official title was Coffee Stain Remover. He worked at a place called The Frothy Foamer from 5AM-7AM M-F and he made $28/hour. Adam wasn't too keen about working a part-time job since he was a Freegan, but sometimes you had to do things you didn't like to do to get by. Adam was back in no time at all and was $56 simoleons richer. Sweet!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
After breakfast, everyone seemed to be feeling better and started on their homework. Robin quietly mentioned that there were some plumbing issues upstairs in the bathrooms and Dylan headed to one and Wolfgang headed to the other.
The good news is that Dylan completed the Renaissance Aspiration for all the repair work he is doing around the house.
When Wolfgang got downstairs, there was a list of concerns on the table, so Wolfgang called the landlord right away. The landlord agreed to have a pest control company come over and set some traps for the mouse problem, and agreed to get the rugs steam cleaned. The landlord told Wolfgang that because it was an older neighborhood, the internet service was sporadic. However, the landlord did agree to have the internet provider come out and ensure that the lines were intact. Who knew what could have happened if there were mice present. The mice could have chewed threw some of the wires. As for the wall coverings, the landlord was willing to give them supplies, such as paint and wallpaper, if they wanted to fix up the place themselves. However, he would only be able to get those supplies to them in a week.
Wolfgang thought that all sounded good. Plus the landlord told Wolfgang that a newer couch and chair were being delivered today for the small living room. Eureka! Things were looking up!
Or maybe not, because then they got the bills!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Wolfgang had mentioned to everyone that there were computers at both the University of Britechester's Darby's Den and Foxbury Institute's Larry's Lagoon. in case they wanted to head there until the internet issue was resolved. There were also some computers at Laurel Library, which was just up the hill from where they lived. However, DJ was quite content staying at the house to do his work, and decided he would just "save" often in case the internet went down. He would see how it went, and if it got too bad, he would head to one of the places that Wolfgang had mentioned. DJ had an idea for a children's book and sat down at the computer and started writing. He called it One Blue Shoe: A Tale of Lost and Found. Dylan had kindly repaired DJ's computer, so let's see how long it lasts this time.
Morgan was practicing her debating skills in the mirror near the front door.
Adam had a visitor. Remy St. Feu of the Jammin' Jumpers Dance Crew was visiting Britechester and he and Adam gave the foosball table a good workout.
Wolfgang and Cale decided to kick around the soccer ball outside, even though neither one of them is in soccer.
Robin, meanwhile, went to research some plants.
Velma, of course, was practicing her violin, but she did sound a bit better.
And in the afternoon, a refurbished couch and chair were delivered. And some of the roomies took advantage of the new seating almost immediately. Don't they all look so studious?
[All of the above are autonomous actions as I have Full Autonomy On.]
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Morgan remembered that she hadn't given Dylan his birthday gift as yet. She went up to her room and then went outside where Dylan was practicing his juggling.
Morgan: "Wow! You look really good juggling that ball."
Dylan decided to stop for a moment and chat with her, "Ah thanks. I am trying to be a good team member. How are you doing? Did you get everything unpacked?"
Morgan: "Well, I unpacked all of my stuff, and got that essay finished that I had started yesterday. So I am pretty ready for tomorrow when Term 1 starts. But Velma started practicing her violin again, and my earplugs haven't arrived...so I came outside for some fresh air."
Dylan: "Oh, I understand about the violin practice. Why do you think I came out here to do some juggling?" he said laughing.
Morgan smiled: "Anyway, Dylan, I wanted to give you your birthday gift. In all the excitement of arriving, I just got carried away with everything else and forgot I hadn't given this to you yet."
Dylan smiled: "Yeah...coming here is pretty exciting. I feel a change in me already..."
Morgan: "I agree," she said handing him his gift.
Dylan opened the box, "What's this?"
Morgan: "It's a magic wand. For when you get rid of this Kiss Curse and can return to Glimmerbrook to become a Spellcaster. The shopkeeper assured me it was authentic."
Dylan: "You got this for me? Oh Morgan, thank you! This is such a heartfelt gift."
Morgan: "It's because I believe in you, Dylan, and I know that we will find a cure for this...together..."
Dylan smiled at Morgan then, and picked up a rose and a card that he had placed on the curb.
Dylan: "Morgan, this is for you. I guess the place can't be that bad if there are beautiful roses growing in the garden. I thought of you when I saw this. I was just finishing up my juggling and was going to come in and give it to you..", he said and handed the rose and card to Morgan. [Note:This was an autonomous action on Dylan's part.]
Morgan smelled the rose and read the card. She couldn't believe what Dylan had written. It was so romantic.
Dylan took Morgan's hands in his and just stared into her eyes, "I just wanted to thank you for helping me through this, Morgan. I just...I just want you to know that you're very special to me."
Morgan: "Thank you so much for the rose...and that card. It means a lot to me. You're going to make it, Dylan. I was thinking that maybe we should head to the library and do some research on that Secret Society. What do you think?"
Dylan reluctantly let go of Morgan's hands. He could feel the pull towards her and needed to put some distance between them, "That's a good idea, Morgan, but I think I just need to go on a jog first to clear my head. Thank you again for the gift..." he said as he forced himself to move away from her and headed towards the bridge.
Morgan stood looking after him thinking, "I know, Dylan. I know why you needed to go for that jog. I felt the pull, too. I could see you struggling against it, Dylan. But you fought it, and I'm so proud of you..."
Little did Morgan know what would happen after he left.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
On his jog, Dylan met three university students. It started with an innocent "Sul Sul", but then, the Kissing Curse took over.
The first student's name was Aicha Ghomari. She was a Culinary Arts Student at UBrite.
Then he met another student who had been riding her bike. Her name was Mizuki Imai. She was also a UBrite student studying Psychology.
And the last student he met was Aoi Shibata, another Psychology student from UBrite.
And, as if in a daze, Dylan kissed them all. And they all had the same effect...those kisses tasted like garlic. Dylan felt so guilt-stricken afterwards. He had overcome the urge to kiss Morgan, but then, the curse had overtaken him anyway, and he had kissed these sims. The sooner he found out about this Secret Society, the better. Because the only sim he really wanted to kiss was Morgan.
Um...maybe Dylan has more than thoughts of just kissing Morgan on his mind.
I really need to play Star Dew Valley more. I've only made it to the first summer cause I'm so clueless to what I'm doing xD
But poor Aaron. So angry T.T It's okay sweet angry boy. Hunter loves youuuuuu.
OH NO. he's cursed to get into fights or something like that isn't he??
I love the skeptical look Rohan is giving Morgyn when the two meet. Classic. Can't wait to see Adam and Kaori elope and then head off to StrangerVille.
Oh, Wedding Day is on Love Day. Perfect. Poor Kiyoshi. I hope he knows it's the thought that counts. Gemma made up for it later, though. Congrats to the two. Laughed at the one townie all excited over Adam and Kaori getting married.
That was fun seeing everyone's majors. I have to comment on D.J., though. I laughed at his crying at his laptop. Glad you're sticking with his book writing from my universe.
Wow. The house and conservatory look amazing. I like how you definitely distinguished between Cale's room and Fox's. Again, you did a wonderful job.
No, I keep my sound off or at a very minimum. Thankfully so, I guess. Just the animation alone looked painful. As mentioned above, I think you did great on the shell design. And the additions to it with the greenhouse.
I enjoyed your intro into StrangerVille. I like that you have two plots going on for this one...Adam learning about what is going on in the town and trying to find his mother.
Good to see Aaron at the University. Shocker he pulls out the soccer ball to play with Robin. Those presentation animations crack me up. Especially the poke the hand with a tack ones. Sooo dramatic. Fun to see D.J. out and about in your multiverse. The haircut and new facial hair look great on him in your gameplay, too. He looks much older than a teen which was my intent. Poor Caleb.
Glad you liked my portrayal of Aaron and Hunter. The two do make a cute couple in my gameplay. Economics seemed the most reasonable choice for the two. I've got about 7 more days/posts for April. When I do May/StrangerVille, there is still a lot more Aaron to see and there's going to be Aaron eye candy in there. Hunter will be taking a break, but we'll see lots of him when it comes to the month about Vampires (forgetting off-hand right now).
Cowboy Cale! Love it. Ever since Cale won that chess match, Fox needs to practice so he can beat Cale. Okay, so you told me you find those bear costumes and some others creepy...what about the possessed Sims with their derpy eyes and Cheshire grin?
*Updated my May 2nd post above! I'll get started on comments/replies. However, I probably won't finish them until later this morning after I get some sleep. I apologize for it but I hope y'all understand. Have a great day/night tomorrow!
Feb 28th. - Love how Aaron comes from the Realm to check on Velma. That is so sweet of him. He is really a good friend. And Dylan...yes, just give him a key. Nice he comes over, too. Well, if the hint is where Aldo is looking at Velma's tummy...then, perhaps Aldo is the father. Or Dylan, who loves to stop by a lot. lol Oh gee....snow and her garden. Ugh! She will have to get some pots and bring some of those indoors if she can.
Apr 20 - Somehow I wish that they would just autonomously do the presentation boards and essays. It would make the sims who are Dylan's roomies life at uni so much easier. DJ s looking good doing a run-through of his presentation. I meant to ask if he ever found out about his little nooboo, or is that a surprise coming up for later? In my game, I try to use bits and pieces of other people's stories, but also might do things a bit differently since I can't duplicate everyone's storylines in my story. So, yeah, I thought that since DJ didn't get into the Distinguished degree in Communications, like in your story, that he would still write stories to pay his loan. It made sense.
Had to laugh at the crossed out sentence about "the balls" lol Nice that Caleb came out of his urn to help do the dishes. lol Comes out when he's needed...that is good. And poor Lilith...oh my gosh...she is grieving him still. Congrats for Aaron winning at soccer, getting a promo and getting that MVP award. So sorry he got injured, though. Lots of great shots of the challenge sims, and Hunter got a "ghostly" call back to Windenburg to visit Aldo, Bryon and Dylan. Bryon and Aldo seem to be cozy. lol And congrats to Hunter and Aaron for the 2 year anniversary! Woot! And great party at DJ, Robin and Cale's house! Nice way to celebrate!
More comments coming later today. Have to get to work.
Ah yes, I wondered how long before the complaints about the house conditions would come to a head. Sweet of Robin trying to be so optimistic and ease Wolfgang's mind. Congrats to Dylan for maxing the Cooking skill! Freegans can be a pain at times when it comes to earning anything, but I still love playing with Sims who have that trait. Especially in Evergreen Harbor.
Wow, go Dylan, completed the Renaissance aspiration too! Good the landlord is willing to work with them to help fix things around the place. Ugh! Those are some mighty big bills. o.O Uh oh...
Very nice couch and rocking chair the landlord brought for them. Cute how some of them immediately decided to do their homework on them. All in sync too! Awww, so sweet the gift Morgan gave Dylan and even sweeter he gives her a rose with a lovely card in return. Was it Love Day perhaps?
Good idea running away Dylan before he tried to kiss her. I wish they could kiss, but it's not to be, yet. However, all other girls are fair game it seems. o.O Are you planning to show the profile pic of all the Sims he kisses? Just curious. I'm waiting until Cale has all 100 babies before doing that anymore. Otherwise, my updates would just be filled with Baby Mama profiles.
Thank you so much about my build for Cale and Fox in StrangerVille. Of course I had to make Fox's room have alien décor. It's just what he's comfortable with even though he did grow up on the Sims planet. Love the greenhouse, it turned out really good in my opinion. Made it look somewhat like the house on purpose with a shorter tower. I had thoughts of making a gazebo type thing for a hot tub with an even shorter tower so there would be three. However, a hot tub really doesn't make much sense in the desert to me, so I gave them a pool instead.
Yes, that must be why Fox is so obsessed with chess. He's like Cale and Essa too about beating Joel and Josh respectively at video games. For some reason I just find the possessed Sims hilarious! I don't know why. They are kind of creepy looking, but they're just so funny with how they walk and talk. Especially when they start running with their heads flopped over. Gets me roaring every time! LOL!
Oh man, poor DJ, still stabbing his finger while working on that presentation board. So fun though! hehe
Yes, he was both Daddy & Mommy for a little while, until Sandy moved in. I imagine L. is helping out Sandy now taking care of everything in Cale's absence. I agree about Joe L., he's adorable!
Hmm, you found some interesting developments as a result of Neighborhood Stories. Seems kind of fitting the Goths, especially Bella, would have an alien looking child. Did you check to see who are the toddler's birth parents?
Absolutely gorgeous dresses your Secret Santa gave you! Kaori looks good wearing them. Hmm, do I see hearts floating around Velma in that shot with Aaron? Did he blow her a kiss or something. Interesting... I think dear Dylan is still crushing on her too. Sweet she gave him a key. Gah! I hope her garden survives. Maybe when she moves, because we all know she will, her new place will have a greenhouse to protect her plants.
Okay, I see what you did there in that last shot. I won't spoil it though in case nobody else sees what I see in it. Guessing the cat's out of the bag now. I kind of suspected as much with the 'reveal.' IF that is indeed a reveal and not just a sneaky diversion from the truth.
Yes, he was both Daddy & Mommy for a little while, until Sandy moved in. I imagine L. is helping out Sandy now taking care of everything in Cale's absence. I agree about Joe L., he's adorable!
Hmm, you found some interesting developments as a result of Neighborhood Stories. Seems kind of fitting the Goths, especially Bella, would have an alien looking child. Did you check to see who are the toddler's birth parents?
Absolutely gorgeous dresses your Secret Santa gave you! Kaori looks good wearing them. Hmm, do I see hearts floating around Velma in that shot with Aaron? Did he blow her a kiss or something. Interesting... I think dear Dylan is still crushing on her too. Sweet she gave him a key. Gah! I hope her garden survives. Maybe when she moves, because we all know she will, her new place will have a greenhouse to protect her plants.
Okay, I see what you did there in that last shot. I won't spoil it though in case nobody else sees what I see in it. Guessing the cat's out of the bag now. I kind of suspected as much with the 'reveal.' IF that is indeed a reveal and not just a sneaky diversion from the truth.
Yes
yes, I've been dropping sneaky little hints in the various updates xD I think you're the first to spot that particular one I tried to hide it well. Haha.
Yes, Aaron tends to blow Velma kisses when he's over. He's been slowly flirting with her with a blown kiss. Or a casual compliment for awhile now and it finally triggered a romantic bar. Haha
Dylan is certainly crushing on her, but I don't think they've even kissed yet.
I will certainly have to make her a greenhouse at some point. She just doesn't have the drive to do so right now with her belly.
I did not check the toddlers parents yet. I may do it when I get to play next .
May - Day 3:"A garden is a delight to the eye and a solace for the soul..."
Notes
The memory of Layla and their night together rapidly faded away as Cale made his way to his garden. Walking through the door, all he remembered of her was how she wouldn't tell him anything about the StrangerVille mystery. The roses were ready to be harvested, so he carefully cut a dozen of the long stemmed beauties and took them to the flower arranging station.
He still had a few hours before his new employer would call to give instructions for the day. Cale figured they would want him to come in to the office and meet everyone since it was his first day. But, he'd been told there would be days he wouldn't be required to go in. Rather, he might be asked to do something else around the area.
Until then, he decided to try arranging a bouquet of roses to sell. Or, perhaps he'd keep the finished product and give it to some lovely lady.
The anxiety and guilt over what he had done melted away as he worked as well. The fragrance of the roses, soil and other plants made him happy. He smiled, content for the moment feeling like there was no place else he'd rather be than here, in his element.
(Hmm, just how many should I add? Six? Eight? All 12?)
(Mmm, is there anything that smells better than fresh cut roses?)
(Only one thing I can think of, the scent of a woman in the after glow.)
(Yeah...Especially her. But roses are a close second.)
(Wait...especially her who?)
(I don't know, but I'm guessing she has to be someone special. Maybe the girl in my dream? I can't stop thinking about her...)
(Anyway, let's see...I think...all of them. I've got a big vase for it. Go big or go home, right?)
(I think you need a bit of a trim there honey. You're robust and beautiful, but symmetry is more pleasing for some reason.)
(I'm a fan of your wonderful wabi-sabi, but the flower shops want perfection. Here we go!)
(Uhh...)
*Gasp*
(Opps! Oh man, I'm so sorry!)
"Ahhhh! I ruined her! Dangit!"
(It's okay, it's okay, calm down. I'll just use the bloom for potpourri or float it in a bowl. I've got more. It's cool!)
Finally, after 30 minutes of painstakingly arranging each precious rose, Cale was satisfied his creation was finished. He carefully gathered up the bouquet and placed it in a white glittery vase. Fussing with it a little to get everything in place where he'd had it, he stepped back and smiled.
(I think I might keep this one.)
(Or, maybe take a photo of it at least. Yeah.)
Cale snapped a few photos of his inaugural creation and then took it inside to store in the fridge to keep it fresh until he decided whether to sell or keep it.
No reason for this other than I wanted to say I went ahead and bought a guppy from the fishbowl for Fox instead of making him fish for another one. It's not his fault it went foul. Also, I had to laugh seeing the Hover Lamp tendrils reaching up toward the bowl. It almost looks like Fox is trying to 'fry' the fish with it eh? o.O
There was a new season premiere today Fox was watching when Cale left the kitchen. He sat down to watch it with him.
"So what's this about? Is it any good?" "So far it's kind of cool. I enjoy the Indiana Jones movies and it seems a bit similar to those films."
"Whoa! Did you see that?"
"Pfft, yeah, how lame."
"Come on man, he's supposed to be an expert explorer, a professor of archeology. He'd know better than to do that. It's a trap. D'uh. He deserved to catch on fire."
"HAHA! Now he's scared of a mummy and jumped in some girl's arms! HAHA! What a coward! This show is hilarious!"
"Bah! It's a blatant rip-off. That guy sure is no Harrison Ford." "No, but that's what makes it good!"
"Eh, whatever, glad you like it."
"Have you heard from your new employer yet?"
"Not yet, but any minute now." "How late do you work?"
"I have no idea, it depends on if they want me to go there or do something else around the community."
"Okay, well if it's not too late when you're finished for the day, would you like to go into town again? We only really checked out the curio stand and the bar. There's a library I think we should check out too. Maybe see if anyone knows more about the supposed lab outside of town."
"Sure, maybe I'll meet a cute scientist or the librarian and get lucky. If it's a girl. Something about a studious, quiet girl seems so hot. You never know, they might have all this passion lurking inside just waiting for the right guy to release it. Yeah, I'm down for that. Gawd, I need some action soon or...well I don't know what. But something's gotta give soon." (He forgot about that girl last night already. Good!)
(Buys you some more time eh?)
(Yeah, a little.)
A moment after their conversation, Cale got a text from his new employer. He wasn't required to come in today. All they wanted him to do was collect a microscope sample from a plant to bring in for analysis the next day.
They didn't say what kind of plant, so Cale figured they must mean any plant. He clipped a sample from his rose bush.
"Annnd, finished."
(That was too easy. I don't believe this. They're giving me loads of cash and that's all I had to do? How cool is that? Why did I need a degree in Biology for it?)
(Eh, who cares. Best.Job.Ever!)
(I've got the best 'office' too. Look at that view.)
(Whoa! Jets! What are they doing here?)
(Patrolling?)
(Obviously, but what? And why?)
Comments replies coming up soon. It's time to make dinner though, so it'll have to wait until afterward. Hope y'all are having a great day/night!
I was awake before the others so I magic'd up a roast chicken for breakfast and dug in.
After washing up, I noticed there was a dumpster located behind the restrooms and my curiosity got the better of me.
I leaned in and noticed a folding table in questionable condition laying right there for the taking.
I took it.
As I came out from behind the restrooms I noticed a lurching figure walking through the RV park and my heart jumped a little.
I cautiously approached the figure and realized it was Mayor Roswell! I snuck up behind him and planted a bug on him before slapping him awake. He sheepishly slunk away after realizing what had happened and I let him go. I doubted he would tell me anything more anyways.
A little while later the girls got up and helped themselves to the chicken while I serenaded them with some violin music.
After they finished up I suggested we return to the bar to find more people to talk to.
While Kaori and Carol sat down to a game of cards, I cornered the first military personal I found who looked like they might be a little tipsy.
I introduced myself and carefully directed the conversation towards the base in the crater.
She leaned in, "I heard that there was someone poking around in the Secret Lab there," she whispered, "but fortunately for them, without a key card they won't get far."
I tried to look surprised while simultaneously trying to slow down my racing heart.
They knew we'd been there.
"What do you suppose they're hiding in there?" I tried to ask casually, "UFOs?"
She laughed, "I wish! Aliens would be a walk in the park compared to this! No, this is much bigger and much more dangerous." She suddenly seemed to realize what she'd just said and quickly excused herself and left the bar.
I looked around but the only other people there had joined Kaori and Carol's card game and were laughing and chatting with them.
I ordered a root-beer float and sat down to think about what I'd just learned. Deep in thought, I didn't notice a lady approaching me until she'd sat down in the chair next to mine.
"Hey," she said casually, "this seat taken?"
I shook myself and fumbled for words, "Ah, no. It's all yours."
"So" she said leaning in, "Your Irene's kid huh." It wasn't a question.
I just stared at her, and she smiled. "I know a lot about you Damion Ioca."
I flinched and she raised an eyebrow, "Oh, I'm sorry. You go by Adam Strong now don't you."
"What is it you want?" I asked in a low voice, a slight tremor creeping in at the end.
"Oh, I just wanted to meet you in person," she said leaning back in her chair. "I've been watching you for a long time now and I wanted get a better read on you, face to face."
"You've been watching me?" I asked, feeling a little faint. "Why?"
"The specifics aren't important," she said with a wave of her hand. "Let's just say some important people hold an interest in you and your life."
That made me sit up. "Like Darius Lord?"
She laughed, "I suppose he'd count himself as such a person, but no." She sighed and seemed to listen to something I couldn't hear before returning her gaze back to me. "I really can't say anymore right now," she said rising from the table, "but I thought you deserved to know you're being observed, and not just by your mother." She winked, turned, and walked out of the bar, leaving me feeling disoriented.
I needed another drink, and not a root-beer float this time.
I went into the bathroom and splashed cold water on my face and did some deep breathing to calm myself down. Why couldn't I just have a normal life?
When I came out, Kaori said they'd gotten a tip from the people they'd been playing cards with, and we needed to head over to the library next. I nodded and she gave me a look and asked if everything was all right. "I'll tell you about it later," I promised, and we headed to the library.
When we got there, Kaori and Carol headed to the bookcases and I chatted up a scientist sitting at the front desk.
Unfortunately all he said was that he'd been instructed not to share any information with anyone asking about the crater. When I kept poking, he got up and left. Oh well.
I remembered Erwin, the curio shop guy, had mentioned something about the equipment used for listening in on planted bugs being available at the library, so I investigated and found a small setup in the back corner. Now I just had to figure out how to use it.
I found an instruction manual under some papers and flipped through it. Nodding, I flipped a few switches, turned on the monitor, and dialed into my bug's frequency code.
I placed the headphones over my ears and listened. Success! Ted Roswell's voice crackled faintly in my ear and I could just hear him saying something about committing light treason, whatever that meant.
I changed over to the bug I'd planted on the officer the night before, and heard something about only having one guard posted at the lab. I leaned back; so there had been someone there. Just then I remembered my mother saying something about pulling strings to have the military look the other way. That must be why they didn't confront us. Good to know.
I was out of bugs to listen to so went to see if the girls had had any luck.
I found Carol playing chess with the guy I'd met earlier, Mark, and Kaori mentioned she's found some interesting tidbits inside some books.
We headed home for the evening and finished off the roasted chicken for dinner.
While we ate, Kaori shared her findings.
"I was reading through the history of StrangerVille," she began, "and almost a century ago the indigenous people reported seeing a blinding purple light fall from the sky and land where the crater is today!"
"A meteor?" I asked.
"Perhaps," Kaori said, "but another account I found describes a person's lost cat becoming terrified of plants after it was found near the crater."
Carol burst out laughing, "Are you being serious?" she asked, "A cat acting strange? That doesn't prove anything!"
Kaori pretended to pout, "Hey, it's the best I've got. Everything around here is so hush-hush." She looked up at me, "Did you find anything Adam?"
"Well," I said slowly, "the sergeant I talked to this morning let slip that the base in the crater is actually a secret science lab. She also hinted at whatever it is they're covering is dangerous, but that's all I got out of her."
"Aren't you going to ask me what I found out?" Carol asked triumphantly before I could continue.
She continued without waiting for us to respond. "So I was playing chess with one of the locals who's name is Mark, and he told me that there have been vans with large dishes on top of them spotted at peoples houses while no one is home." She leaned in, "He swears one of the vans stole his house's refrigerator when this all began!"
It was Kaori's turn to laugh, "Why would they steal his refrigerator?" she asked, "That's ridiculous!"
After that, our conversation turned towards more mundane things and Kaori and I started flirting with each other. Carol rolled her eyes and got up. "I'll be in the shower for the next 15 minutes," she said heading towards the restrooms. "If you're going to do something, make it quick."
I raised my eyebrows at Kaori and she laughed and pulled me onto my feet. Together we scampered to the tent and had a good romp.
That evening after a shower, a nice nap, and a round of yoga, we gathered around the fire again.
"So what are we going to do moving forwards?" Carol asked. "It doesn't feel like we're making much headway in this mystery."
"Well we know that people are acting possessed," Kaori said, "that it has something to do with a secret lab in the crater, and that there is no cure for it currently."
"So we keep looking for a key card?" Carol asked.
"I'll go talk to Erwin at the curio shop again tomorrow," I volunteered. "Maybe he can make sense of all these little tidbits we've been gathering and shed some light on them."
Kaori yawned and said she was feeling tired from all the heat, so she turned in early. Carol asked if I'd stargaze with her, so we lay down on the gravel and marveled over how clear and bright the stars were out here in the desert.
"Dad?" Carol asked.
"Yeah," I said turning to look at her.
"Since spellcasters and vampires are real, do you think aliens are real too?"
I looked up at the stars and sighed, "They probably are, sweetie. They probably are."
Destroy the Starlight dance crew! But only enough to get rid of the leader xDPoor Sofia and Luna!! And of course the ever naive and innocent DJ.
Feb 22nd
Poor Dylan. You'll get this sorted out for sure. I have faith in you! I hope Morgan comes around and understands that Sofia didn't mean to take her spot. And that it's all the evil masterminds plots ruining things.
It was the first day of class for Term 1. Everyone was rather excited. Dylan still had not finished all his coursework, but he had done his homework for all his classes. It was a good start, though.
And, in no time at all, Dylan heads off to his first class.
Several other students left for class at the same time. There's Cale and Selena heading to Britechester.
Adam again headed to his part-time barista job and brought home $56 simoelons. DJ must have been on a writing spree yesterday, even with the slow internet, because he wrote two books. He even got a royalty cheque in the mail for $8 simoleons. Um...DJ...it might take a few more books to pay off that student loan. Perhaps DJ might have to think of doing something else to bring in more simoleons.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Over at UBrite campus...
Adam chatted with a sim named Harper Wilkes, and found out she was in the military. Hmmm...I wonder what she is doing at uni? Recruiting, perhaps?
DJ is being taunted by Larry the (One-Eyed) Lobster while he is trying to do homework waiting for his class to start.
At Darby's Den, Velma is out back doing some painting.
Morgan is at the cafeteria and has decided to try some of the delicious avocado toast she's heard so much about.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
And in-between classes, they came home and tried to keep up with their mounting homework.
Adam and Dylan played a game of chess. I wonder if things went better with Dylan than with Wolfgang? Unfortunately, Adam had to run off to class, so they didn't finish the game.
Robin does homework while Wolfgang and Cale do some juggling. I think these two are trying to get on the Soccer Team.
And look at what grew out of that mysterious seed. It's a cowplant! Dylan named it Foxy.
And while Dylan was playing with Foxy, he spied a sim across the street. And...dazed and confused, Dylan goes over and kisses the Pizza Delivery sim, whose name was Airi Nakagawa. Maybe he had a craving for pizza. Who knows?
But after that kiss, he definitely won't be ordering from Trevor's Honest Pizza, where she works. Way too much garlic!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
And what's this? Where is Robin going at this late hour?
Aha! A secret swim. I don't think anyone knows she's a mermaid yet. Good thing they live close to the water.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
And the ghost is back. Maybe she is seeing if any improvements have been made to the house. That would be no. The mouse traps that were set aren't working and the mice are still partying. Of course, these are uni mice, so they party all the time.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Notes:
I took the screenies of Dylan's Baes a few days after he kissed them, so it doesn't show the Smitten Sentiment. But it was there. Whenever Dylan kisses someone, It's always there! lol
D.J. and Robin were just warming up for a good day of studying. Ha, ha. I got the reference and laughed at your snickers bar comment with Wolfgang and Adam. I crack up at those commercials.
Aww, D.J. is writing a children's book. How cute. Poor Dylan at the end. All that garlic taste. I bet he is real sick of it.
Congrats to Aaron and his team for winning the soccer match! I bet Aaron is MVP with his soccer skills. Ha! I spoke too soon. He ended up getting the MVP trophy. I knew he could do it. Too bad he is too sad about his injury to enjoy it. Fun New Years pics at the end.
Oooo, Cale is starting to "not forget" his love arrow moments. And Sandy keeps popping up in his mind. We must be getting close to his 100 babies? I'm also assuming it was ghost night at the bar?
About Dylan's autonomous action of giving Morgan a rose. Nope, it wasn't Love Day. It is autumn in my game right now. But that would have been a good autonomous action if it had been. It was just an "awe" moment when he did that.
hehe Joe Birdy was a fun post to write. He is such an adorable little guy! Yes he is and it breaks my heart they've been apart for so long. Hopefully very soon they will be reunited!
Spotted it right away, but I figured it had to be something like what it was. Still won't say in case nobody else saw it. Aww, man, it's sweet that Aaron's been flirty with Velma, but we all know his heart belongs to Hunter. I hope those two make up soon in your save.
No, of course Velma would want to wait until after the baby is born. Too much work to try to do something like that right now. No worries about checking on the Goth baby, I was just curious if you had checked. Don't go out of your way to check on my part. It's cool.
Larry the One-Eyed Lobster! That's hilarious! I hope Morgan liked the avocado toast. Personally, I don't like avocados. I know, I'm in a minority with that. *shrugs* hehe Foxy! Dylan looks so proud of himself for growing that beast. Oh man, the Pizza girl. Cale has a baby with his Pizza Delivery girl. Robin's mermaid form is so beautiful! Good to see her taking a swim.
Love the comment about the mice partying because, of course, they're Uni mice! Par-tay! I never looked at any sentiments the girls Cale's been with might get. I should do that and see if any of them were smitten. Probably wouldn't be now though since he always asks to 'just be friends' after they've been together.
Ah, okay, not Love Day! Well hey, that just makes it all the more sweet that he did that autonomously. These two clearly belong together! They're so in love.
Oh dear, that doesn't sound good. Do you know the reason? If not, maybe you should see a Doctor or something. Anyway, no apologies necessary, just take care of yourself and start whenever you're ready! *Hugs*
It would have been nice for other household members to do their own essays and presentations, I agree. And homework. I had to push a lot of mine to do their homework. I think only Robin and Estelle autonomously did theirs. D.J. still doesn't know Anton is his child. It'll be a surprise for later. It won't be for another couple months or more.
Life of a University student...all studying and no play. Well, not on weekdays. Weekends are free. Poor D.J. getting distracted by Larry the Lobster.
I love the reactions Sims get when they're putting together flowers and one gets clipped too short. More dramatic scenes. Cracks me up. Either Fox is trying to fry the fish or make it glow. My guess is to make it glow and be translucent.
May 1 - Love all the new outfit choices you did for Cale for Strangerville, and also for Fox. Like Fox's party outfit and the hat looks cute on Cale. Had to laugh at Fox's thought here:
(Oh Cale, Buddy, you've had more action than I've ever had in my entire life in just the last month.)
So true! And that last line, about both going to love it here! Oh my gosh! If you only knew Cale! lol
May 2 - Cool cover of those jets flying overhead. I don't normally play in Strangerville, so have never noticed that before. In fact, I have never done the Strangerville Mystery before, although I've had that pack since it came out! lol Love the talk at Erwin's Curio Shop. lol And he was trying to sell Fox one of those hats. hehe And they finally make it to the bar and it's ghost night. The military are pretty tight-lipped...but then Layla seems to change her mind and head off with Cale. I wonder if she did say anything more to him about those plants? And he remembered what had happened...well, sort of. And Fox isn't going to report it to Eros. I wonder what hold Eros has over Fox to make him do this, other than they are brothers, and Eros married Fox's love, Venus.
May 3 - Fab shot of the house with the cliff background. The house is rather stunning and you definitely should be proud of this build. And love that Cale has a job in flower arranging. Another thing I haven't attempted since Seasons came out. And he's forgotten all about that girl from last night. Great work that he has to do, just get a clipping of a plant for his job. Boom! Done. Yes, I agree, Cale does have a great view from his office. And more jets. Yes, something is definitely up. Oh and the guppy is there! lol It does look like it's being fried...but it's hardy stock.
Oh yeah, Cale has it easy, he can just ask all those baby mamas to just be friends, whereas, Dylan can't. But after all of this is done, he is going to go around...or heck, have a party...or several parties and ask all his baes to "be friends". I may have to do that behind the scenes because it will take forever. lol
I am not sure if I already said it, but congrats to Adam for finishing his degree.
April 30 - So Adam is on the hunt for his mother in Strangerville...and he changed his name? Oh gee. So, they are trapped in that town now, and everyone seems a bit nervous. I just hope that nothing happens to Kaori or Carol...or Adam while they are there.
May 1 - And the revelation that Adam is really Damion and was raised by a robot. Oh gee. Adam/Damion...that's terrible! And now, he finally meets his mother again, who calls him BOY! Oh gee...she is so rude to Adam and Kaori. So, he wants some information, but she wants him to go on a quest to find something for her. Obviously, she is just using Adam for her own purpose. And they are going to spend the night there. Oh, please find somewhere else to live!
May 2 - I really love the new looks for Adam, Kaori and Carol. So, they agree to Adam's mother's experiment, and Adam is definitely curious about what is going on around the town. Then they see Ted Roswell, who was possessed, but he still won't tell them what is going on. A search at the army base in the crater doesn't give them much help either, because he needs a key. And Adam plants his first bug on a military personnel. Maybe he will hear something and get more info that way.
May 3 - And it looks like the whole family is gathering info to find out what is going on. Little bit and pieces from various sources. Missing fridges? Oh gee....don't let the welcome wagon come to your house here! and for goodness sake, don't eat the fruit salad! It might be forbidden plant of the alien salad. Kaori did some good research with her reading, especially the legend about the place. I love their campsite they have set up. Great idea. And yes, Carol, there are aliens.
@DramaticJedi5 - Oh my gosh! I hope you are okay. Definitely need to get that checked out. *Hugs*
Most of Dylan's roomies are pretty studious...well...except @Shadami - Velma. She always wants to troll the forums or play a game or browse the web for adventures. Sheesh. She does like playing that violin, though. We'll see how they all do when their grades come in. Thank goodness they autonomously go to class. I also sometimes have Dylan form a group and then have them work on homework together. That helps, too. But most of the time, they are on their own.
Today's Accomplishments:
- Gather 15 pieces of evidence
- Compile a Secret Dossier
- Open sealed door
OK. A lot happened today.
The day started early with me telling Kaori about my encounter with the lady who had told my I was under observation by people other than my mother and Darius.
Kaori furrowed her brow, "She didn't mention who?" she asked in a concerned voice.
I shook my head, "No. She just said they were 'important'." I paused and thought back on the conversation. "It's weird," I continued deep in thought, "she almost seemed familiar to me. Not necessarily her face, but her presence stirred a memory in me that I can't quite reach."
"Maybe you've noticed her watching you before," Kaori suggested.
"Maybe," I agreed, but deep inside I knew that wasn't the reason.
Later that morning I gathered together the evidence all three of us had found and compiled into one folder. I brought it over to the curio shop and greeted Erwin.
"So," I began non-directly, "if a person happened to have found evidence relating to a possible governmental conspiracy while hypothetically trespassing on said government's property, would you help them out or turn them in?"
Erwin raised an eyebrow, "Depends on what they've got," he said leaning forward on his counter. "Now if this hypothetical person was the one I've heard supposedly snuck into the secret lab in the crater, I'd be very interested."
I pulled out my folder and placed it on the counter. "I need a local's take on what I've dug up," I said quietly. "I can't make much sense out of it."
Erwin opened the folder and shifted through our findings. He looked up with a glint in his eyes, "So it was you." He smiled and ducked down under the counter. When he came up he had something in his hands, but I couldn't tell what it was. "Don't ask me how I acquired it," he said, eyes scanning our perimeter to make sure we were alone, "but I happen to have an official military issued key card for the secret lab."
My eyes opened wide and it was my turn to scan the area for possible eavesdroppers. I leaned in close, "How much?" I asked.
Erwin pretended to think about it, "If you throw in this dossier," he said tapping my folder, "I'll give it to you for 250 simoleons."
I blinked. That was a good bit of money, but where else would I be able to acquire such a key?
I looked at him hard, "Your certain this is a real working card?"
He nodded, "I got it from a reliable source," he said, "so I have no reason to doubt it's authenticity."
I pulled out my wallet and paid him, and he handed me the card. Slipping the key into my pocket I thanked him and ran back to our campsite.
An hour later we were back at the lab, key in hand.
"This is so exciting!" Kaori squealed as I pulled the card out.
I'm glad someone was having a good time.
I held the key up to the scanner and held my breath, half expecting an alarm to go off. Instead the scanner blinked green and the doors slid open.
Immediately a cloud of something pink and purple escaped into the room and caused me to cough.
I waved it away and cautiously entered through the doors.
Before me a flight of stairs led down into darkness, and distantly, I could hear a faint thruming sound from deep inside the complex.
I turned to the girls and told them I'd go down first to see if it was safe. At the bottom of the stairs I looked around, but there wasn't much to see.
It seemed safe enough, so I called them down and we entered the first of two doors. We walked down a hallway and turned a corner to find ourselves in a lab of sorts.
"Hey, look over here!" Kaori said, waving us over to what looked like containment pods lined up along the far wall. Inside one of the pods was a plant similar to the ones we'd seen dotting the desert above, but the other two held what I figured to be a more advanced versions of the same plant.
"Does this mean all those little plants we've seen up there are going to grow into this?" Carol asked in shock.
I turned and looked into a glassed in section in the middle of the room and noticed some scientific equipment.
"I think they were studying the plants here," I said, trying to put the pieces together. "But why did they evacuate?"
"Lets go see what's down that other hallway!" Carol said excitedly, and ran back through the doors before I could stop her.
Kaori and I jogged after her and found her halfway down the second corridor.
'Ugh," she said holding her forehead. "My head is feeling funny."
I stepped into the corridor to help her and my head began to spin too. Carol lurched past me and fell to the ground, shaking.
I dropped onto my knees next to her and reached out to hold her... then darkness.
When I came to, Kaori was slapping my face and yelling my name.
I shook myself and asked her what had happened.
"You both fell to the ground," Kaori sobbed. "When you got back up you had big smiles and wide eyes like the others who were acting possessed, like Mayor Roswell!
I looked down the corridor we'd ventured into, and only now did I notice what looked to be a blue fog filling it up completely.
Coming down here had been a bad idea.
"We need to leave," I said, feeling a little panicked, "now."
We hurriedly climbed the stairs and left the building, but our troubles were just beginning.
Kaori pointed to the plants, "Adam!" she yelled, "They've gotten bigger!"
I looked, and sure enough, the small buds had grown into the larger form we'd seen in the lab.
My heart dropped as I examined it. Were we responsible for this? I suggested we leave quickly, afraid the new development might bring the military out in force.
Back at the camp we noticed a billowing cloud had formed over the crater and pink and purple particles were now floating through the air.
"Do you think your mother knew this was going to happen?" Carol asked as we stared up at the cloud. "Did she want us to start the apocalypse?"
I shrugged; I wouldn't put it past her.
Kaori was examining one of the nearby plants when it suddenly exploded upwards.
She called us over and we examined it together.
"It looks like it grew a fruit of some kind," Kaori explained, pointing to a red orb atop a stalk.
I reached out gingerly and plucked the fruit and the plant instantly shrunk down to it's former state. Odd.
I walked back to the picnic table and set the orb down, not wanting to handle it any longer than I had to. We all sat down and stared at it.
"I'll take a bite," Carol said. "For science."
"No!" I said a little too forceably, "Nobodies eating the orb."
She pouted, "You never let me have any fun."
I stared at it, and for a moment, I felt a strong pull to pick it up and take a bite. I looked over at Kaori, "It wants me to eat it," I said, feeling dazed.
"It wants you to eat it?" Kaori asked, looking bewildered.
"I feel it too," Carol said, staring hungrily at the fruit.
Kaori looked down at it, "I don't feel anything," she said.
I shook myself and realized what was happening, "It's because we were exposed to whatever was down in the lab!" I said, jumping up. "You need to hide the fruit Kaori! Before one of us tries to eat it!"
Kaori nodded, scooped up the fruit, and hurried out of the park.
Carol got up, looking frightened, "What's happened to us Dad? Are we zombies now?"
I pulled her into a hug, "I don't know sweetie, but we'll get through this. I'm sorry I dragged you and your mother into this."
Kaori returned a few minutes later saying she'd buried it.
I started a campfire and we sat in silence, watching the flames.
"I don't know if we should continue investigating," I said finally. "This is much bigger and more dangerous than I expected, and I don't want to see either of you get hurt."
"Adam," Kaori said firmly, "we can't give up now. We're at least partially responsible for the current state of this town, having apparently released or activated something when we opened those doors. We must see this to it's finish."
"Like Jamanji!" Carol said, matter-of-factually.
I smiled faintly, "You're right of course," I said, "but I'm still worried about you two."
"Are you kidding me!" Carol said in amazement, "You and Mom are highly skilled spellcasters! If anyone can handle this, it's you. If you're worried about me, give me some more magical training and teach me more spells."
I smiled to myself, she took after her mother in more ways than one, and also made a good point.
I stood up, "Very well young lady," I said, "Your training begins now."
Comments
Today's Accomplishments:
- Buy curio from curio shop
- Examine sealed door at secret lab
We returned to the bar and had a little breakfast while hashing out what we should do next.
"We could ask if we can set up my tent behind the bar," I suggested. "Or we can find a house someone is willing to rent out to us."
Kaori looked worried, "With neither of us currently working, I'm not sure a rental is in our budget. We've already used up a good chunk of the money I received for my Grandparents house during our time at University, I'm not sure how much longer we can rest on that."
She had a good point. "I can always take on freelance work," I said, "but you're right. We'll ask if there is any public land that's open to camp on then."
Just then Kaori looked up and gasped. I whirled around in my chair to see Mayor Roswell entering the bar, a huge smile twisted up under unusually wide eyes. It was disturbing to see, and on top of that he was walking with all his limbs flailing about in different directions.
I jumped up and waved my hand in front of his face, "Mr Roswell?" I asked. "Are you alright?"
He laughed eerily and leaned forward. "ĴØƗŇ ỮŞ. ĆØŇŞỮΜ€ ŦĦ€ ₣ŘỮƗŦ Ø₣ ŦĦ€ ΜØŦĦ€Ř ΔŇĐ ҜŇØŴ Ƥ€ΔĆ€."
"Uh," I said nervously, "what?"
He just smiled wider so I grabbed his shoulders and shook him, "Ted, can you hear me!? Are you in there?"
The bar tender waved to catch my attention and pantomimed slapping herself. I nodded in thanks and slapped Ted's face a couple of times.
His face returned to normal but he seemed a bit out of it so I led him to a chair and helped him sit down.
"Do you need some water?" I asked watching his face carefully.
Ted suddenly seemed to become aware of me, "Where am I?" he asked in a panicked voice, "Did it happen again? How long have I been under?"
I shook my head, "I don't know what's going on," I said, "but you were walking around strangely with a huge grin on your face. Does this have anything to do with what you're not allowed to discuss with us?"
Ted sank back into his chair, looking defeated. "Yes," he said simply. "Yes it does."
I glanced over at Kaori and she gave me a worried look, "Is there anything we can do to help you?" she asked Ted.
"Unfortunately no," he said rubbing his eyes. "As of now there is no cure." He looked at our faces and sat up a little straighter. "Enough about me," he said, "Have ya had any luck finding your scientist friend?"
Carol pulled a face as I nodded, "Yeah, we found her," I said shooting Carol a warning look, "She wants us to stick around and help her with something so we're going to need to find a place to set up a tent. Do you have idea where we can do that?"
Ted observed our shared looks and nodded slowly, "I see. Maybe I can help out with that. Follow me."
He rose from his chair and led us outside and across the street to what looked like an RV park.
"There's an open place here that ya can set your tent up on." he said waving to a sandy plot of land sitting between a public bathroom and an RV. "Not likely to get many tourists out here any time too soon, so it's all yours as long as ya need it." He glanced at our clothing, "I've got some clothes that were donated to charity if y'all need something to help ya blend in with the locals."
I looked down at our clothes and realized they probably screamed tourist, so I thanked him and took him up on his offer.
An hour later we'd set up camp and changed into our new clothes.
To christen our new home we dug out our yoga mats and went through an energizing routine together.
While Carol and Kaori showered afterwards, I ran around the corner to see if the little curio shop I'd seen yesterday was open. I greeted the guy behind the counter and admired his colander hat (it must be the trend around here).
I asked if he knew anything about the oddities happening in StrangerVille and he got all squinty eyed and asked who wanted to know. I eventually got out of him that whatever had happened, had started in the crater located outside of town. I bought a book titled "Untold mysteries of StrangerVille" and the shopkeeper, Erwin, threw in a handful of listening bugs for free.
I thanked him and returned to find the girls waiting for me at the picnic table.
"I think we should go investigate the crater," I said sitting down next to Kaori. "It seems to be at the center of this town's mystery.
We grabbed some water bottles to stay hydrated and began our short hike to the crater.
The compound we found seemed to have been evacuated in a hurry. A truck had been driven through the fence in the back providing an opening for us to slip inside. I went ahead and tried the doors and found them unlocked, so we slipped into the building.
At any minute I half expected alarms to go off or a guard to round the corner and arrest us, but there was nothing.
We stepped gingerly over scattered papers and wove past toppled chairs until we found a large sealed door near the front.
I examined it and realized we were going to need a special key card to get it opened. I turned to the girls, "We need to spread out and see what we can find. Keep your eyes peeled for a key card, we're going to need it."
We split up to search the building and I rifled through stack after stack of paper; no key card.
I did find a few interesting things though, and I slipped them into my pockets to examine later. Kaori jumped onto one of the base's computers and put her limited programing knowledge to use while Carol sorted through even more stacks of paper.
While they were doing that I went out the front doors to search outside, but found nothing of interest except more of the strange plants I'd seen earlier. I got out my phone and took a quick picture.
A couple hours later we'd searched the whole building and had come up empty handed. By now we were hungry and tired so I led us back to town and we stopped at the bar for dinner.
As I was eating, a military officer sat down next to me and I took the opportunity to mention the base in the crater.
"That's off limits to you civilians," he said angrily. "It's in lock down for a good reason and should not be approached under any circumstances, am I clear?"
I sat up straighter and almost saluted, "Yes sir."
Well that was a dead end.
I saw another soldier sitting on the other side of the bar who looked more friendly, so I went over and used my excellent good manners to introduce myself.
We instantly hit it off and I asked him if there was anyway to get a key card for the base in the crater.
He looked at me in astonishment and said that no one was allowed in there right now, but he did lean in and tell me that he had found an aerial surveillance photo of the crater he'd be willing to give me if I was interested. I accepted it and thanked him, even if it wasn't a big help. I gave him a hug and at the last minute stuck a listening bug to his back. I felt kind of bad about it, but I was getting desperate for answers.
Back at our base camp, I lit a fire and poked at it absentmindedly while thinking about the day's events. Kaori came and joined me and I asked what she made of it all.
"The way Mayor Roswell was acting this morning was alarming," she admitted. "He said something about there being no cure, do you think it's some kind of disease?"
"You're the biology major," I said with a smile. "Do you remember reading about any diseases that cause people to act like that?"
She shook her head, "No, nothing like that." She sat and thought for a minute. "Do you think it might be magic?" she finally asked. "I know there are spells that allow you to control the minds of others and the Mayor didn't seem to be in control of his body this morning."
"I think you're close," I said, "but I don't feel magic is being used to do it. There's something else at play here, and I bet it's connected to the glowing plants I've seen everywhere. I just don't know how."
I pulled out my meditation stool, figuring a clear mind would help me put the pieces together, and Kaori started showing Carol how to harness her magic.
As the sun began to set we heard a laugh and standing there watching us was the girl I'd seen at the library yesterday. Her face was contorted in the same way Ted's had been this morning.
Kaori approached her cautiously and tried to speak with her, but the girl just screamed "β€ΔỮŦ¥" over and over again until Kaori finally slapped her and broke the trance.
The girl looked confused and Kaori asked if she knew what had happened to her, but she just shook her head and ran off into the evening without saying a word.
Kaori rubbed her arms and announced she was going to bed early. I followed her into the tent, and wrapping her in my arms, we drifted off to sleep together.
New Looks
Everyday, formal, fitness, party, hot-weather. Cold-weather is the same as everyday.
Carol & Kaori everyday
And Robin calls with the ring question. Congrats to them for getting engaged later, if not then.
Tsk, it's just juice pong Adonis, no need to cry about it. 🙄 Our Sims can be such drama Queens eh?
Hmm, Bryon and Aldo must be very, very good friends to sleep in the same bed eh? Or perhaps there's something else going on there? 🤔 Did you look at their profiles to see? Just curious. They'd make a cute couple.
Oh man it still shocks me seeing Cale looking so gorgeous in your game. Love the pic of him with the snow in the background.
Congrats to Aaron for his A+ GPA and to he and Hunter for their 2 year anniversary!
So glad you enjoyed playing through Uni for the first time. It is fun! I need to let my Sims relax and party more though. I always make them keep their nose to the grindstone instead of letting loose a bit. Maybe I'll try doing that with next year's challenge Sim and not worry so much about getting good grades. I'm sure you'll find something for Aaron, Hunter and Yoshi in StrangerVille soon.
That's something else I've never tried to fully do, play with the Paranormal features. I tried it once, but didn't get very far before I abandoned the save for something else. Oh well, maybe that's something else next year's challenger can do too.
Oh man, I had to do the same thing with the urn Cale had in his bedroom at Britechester. Fox kept going in their to mourn over it and he never even met the girl! o.O Thanks for the reminder, I should have him take it out and see if he needs to strengthen her hold in the mortal world so she doesn't get culled.
Ohhh, bad mood when decorating can do it. Never had that happen before, pretty cool actually.
Yeehaw indeed!
Yep, very handy! I didn't know that would happen either for a long, long time. I usually bring their fridge too but for a different reason. I try to have my Sims upgrade everything as soon as possible. So when they move, they bring all the upgraded stuff with them so they don't have to do it all over again. Cale's been too busy so far to do that, so I just left the old fridge in the Britechester house. Plus, Aurora will need it when she moves in there.
The pressure is building between Fox, Eros and Venus. When things explode, it won't be pretty. Fox has a lot of tenseness in his life with his secrets. He needs to resolve all these issues. I need to focus on getting those 100 babies first though before anything overly dramatic will happen. Hopefully it'll all go down this month. We shall see...
@SoulGal7
HAHA! Yep, doesn't pay to try to cheat at chess Wolfgang. Cale and Sandy found that out themselves too. So cute when they cheat though. The looks on their faces is priceless.
Pretty good record for Dylan kicking the soccer ball without dropping it 95 times. I didn't even know that was a thing until Cale got that message once. If I remember correctly, he kicked it 116 times in a row without dropping it. o.O He quit soccer soon after though and he hasn't kicked a soccer ball since.
Ewwww! Mice! Oh and Cale saw a ghost too! o.O Lovely house they live in eh?
Notes
Cale and Fox walked around town for a bit until they saw an interesting looking booth selling curios.
"You've got a lot of interesting stuff here Dude."
"I certainly do! The name's Erwin, by the way."
"Nice to meet you Erwin. Say, how much for that armadillo hanging up there?"
"You're in luck! Normally they go for 25, but I like your face so I'll let you have it for the low, low price of just 10 bucks."
"Cool! Thanks!"
"Can I interest you in something else? Perhaps you'd like a stylish anti-alien deflector hat like mine. I have them in a variety of colors. Guaranteed to keep any nearby aliens from reading your mind or wiping your memory."
"They can do that?"
"What are you doing Cale? Obviously he's just a huckster hawking his trinkets to unsuspecting tourists. It's all junk."
"Oh I don't know, some of it's kind of cool."
"He says aliens can read minds and wipe your memory, is that true?" Cale whispered to Fox.
"Shhh, we'll talk about that later. Don't let this clown hear you!"
"Oh, sorry. But maybe he knows something about the plants infecting people. Should I ask him?"
"Go ahead, but you know what he's going to say. Just look at the stuff he's selling."
"Hey, Erwin, was it?"
"Yes, that's my name Dude, don't wear it out."
"What's going on around here with the plants and people acting like zombies? Do you know?"
"Oh yes indeed! It's the aliens doing it, of course. Everybody knows that."
"See? I knew it."
"But that's all I know, there's something else going on, why else would the military and scientists be swarming all over StrangerVille. They've got a lab out in the desert and everything. If you want to know more, I'd ask one of them. Good luck getting them to talk about it though. They hang out at the bar across the street if you want to try."
"The bar huh? I wanted to check that out anyway, see if there's any babes looking for some fun. Want to check it out Fox?"
"Sure, why not. I know you've been eyeing that place ever since we got here."
"Cool, let's go!"
"Good luck Dudes...wait, wait! Here, take one of these hats. You never know, one of them, maybe all of them are aliens themselves! Better safe than sorry and today only, I'll let you have 2 for the price of 1, only 50 bucks!"
"Thanks, but no thanks Erwin. I'm confident we won't have to worry about any aliens."
(Nope, especially since you are one!)
Cale walked in the bar and looked around in amazement. The place was full of military personnel alright, but what he hadn't expected was a bevy of colorful ghosts.
(I guess nothing should surprise me anymore.)
He cozied up to a pretty girl with glossy black hair dressed in fatigues and tried to chat her up as Fox finally made his way inside and headed for the bar.
(He's glowing again, I hope nobody notices.)
(They'll probably just think he's some kind of ghost...yeah, it's cool.)
"Hi, my name's Cale, how's it going? What's your name pretty lady?"
"Hello, I'm Layla." She said looking at Cale with suspicion.
"Hey Baby, ignore this guy, I'm the one you want to talk with, I'm a ghost. There's nothing special about him. Just some doofus from out of town I would imagine."
"Nice to meet you Layla, can I ask you something?" Cale asked, totally ignoring the flirty ghost (*Note - it's Bernard from the Von Haunt estate).
"Depends on what it is."
"I was just talking with Erwin, you know, the guy with the booth selling stuff across the street? And he said you might know something about what's going on around here with the plants infecting people and making them turn into zombies. Do you know anything?"
"No Sir, I do not. I know nothing, not a thing. And even if I did, I wouldn't tell you, that's classified."
"Oh come on, what could it hurt? What's the big secret?"
"I told you, I don't know anything. Just drop it Cale."
"Is everything alright here Private Whitaker?"
"Everything is fine Sir. This young man was just asking if he could buy me a drink, weren't you Cale?"
"Oh yeah, sure."
"You're going to let HIM buy you a drink? Come on Baby, I saw you first."
"Beat it Pinky, not interested."
"Aww, alright, your loss."
(She knows something, I can just tell. Why else would she be acting so nervous.)
(She really doesn't want you to buy her a drink either.)
(Nope, but I have an idea on how to get some information out of her anyway.)
(I'll seduce it out of her.)
Layla walked over and sat down at a table full of other bar patrons and Cale made his way to a table full of ghosts right next to her table. Fox was busy chatting up a blond at the bar.
Without even thinking about it or knowing what he was doing, Cale pulled out his golden bow & arrow and shot one at Layla. She gasped as a shower of hearts floated around her head and then looked at him with much more interest than before.
Cale was stunned! Where did he get this thing and how did he know to shoot her with it? All the ghosts at and near the table where he was sitting stopped talking and stared at him. The blue ghost behind him looked shocked. Apparently ghosts were able to see the bow unlike other humans still alive. One military guy looked at him, but then stood up and walked over to talk with someone like nothing had happened.
(I gotta get out of here!)
He got up and quickly walked outside intending to get some air and think about what just happened. While he was standing there, he saw a strange purple light glowing on the horizon and walked across the street to get a closer look.
"Hey! Cale! Wait up!" Layla called to him. The pretty Private had watched him go outside and decided to follow him.
"Oh, well Hi again. What are you doing here? It seemed pretty clear you weren't interested in me."
"I wouldn't say that. I was hoping we could get to know each other better. If you know what i mean. You're actually very cute and...sexy as Hell in that hat."
"Is that so? Well I think you're pretty cute in your hat too...Sir, I mean Ma'am." Cale said with a wink that made Layla laugh.
"It's Miss actually, I'm not old enough to be a Ma'am. At least not for a few years yet. You can just call me Layla."
The two talked, both getting very flirty with their looks and words for each other until the inevitable happened and Cale took a chance. Hoping she wouldn't slap his face, he took her in his arms and kissed her. She eagerly kissed him back.
(Ohhh Yeahhh!)
"Would you like to come back to my place, maybe spend the night?"
"Wellll, that depends."
"On what?"
"If you don't plan on asking me any more questions."
"What I had in mind doesn't involve talking."
"I was hoping you'd say that."
(Shouldn't you tell Fox you're leaving?)
(Eh, he's a big boy, he can find his way home. He'll figure it out. Or maybe he'll get lucky too and go home with someone.)
Very early the next morning Cale wandered out to the balcony and found Fox out there practicing his chess moves.
"Hey, you're up early."
"Actually, I haven't slept yet."
"Oh?"
"Yeah, it finally happened, I brought a girl home with me from the bar. I'm surprised you didn't hear us. She just left."
"What!? You did? And you remember her?"
(Oh no!)
(I better wipe his memory, quick!)
"Well, I remember I had a girl here, and I remember we had woohoo, but...that's all I remember now."
(Wait! Maybe he doesn't remember her afterall.)
(But he just said....)
"Now that she's gone, I can't remember her name and what she looked like is fading fast too. It's so weird Dude."
(See? It's cool.)
(But he remembers he was with a girl.)
(Will he remember for long though?)
"I don't know what's wrong with me Fox. I was so excited, it's been so long, you know?"
"I think it was good, but...for some reason...I feel guilty. Like...I shouldn't have been with anyone. Almost like...I promised myself to someone else. I keep thinking about that girl in my dream. I don't know, I'm just so confused right now."
"I think I'll go fiddle around in the greenhouse for awhile before work."
"Are you going to be alright Cale? Do you want to talk about it? Maybe I can help?"
(I should find out just how much he remembers.)
(Or maybe just leave him alone. You don't like what's being done to him anyway. Remember?)
"Yeah, I'll be alright. I'm fine."
(You're not fine.)
(No, but I don't want him to worry. What could he do anyway? It's not his fault I feel so guilty for no reason. I just need to get over it.)
Cale left the balcony and went out to the greenhouse while Fox stayed behind with his thoughts.
(He's starting to remember even more now.)
(What are you going to do about it?)
(I should report this to Eros.)
(You're not going to though are you?)
(No, I'm done reporting anything about Cale to him. Let whatever happens, happen.)
(Maybe it's time to tell him what's going on?)
(Maybe...soon. Yes. Very soon.)
Cale and Adam both came downstairs looking rather tired, and told the others what had happened last night. The place was infested with mice and was also haunted. They might not be able to do anything about the place being haunted, but the mouse problem had to be fixed.
DJ also expressed his concerns about the slow internet speed. If he had to write books to pay his student loan, he was worried that the internet would go out in the middle of a writing spree. Everyone seemed to agree that this was a concern for all of them, since they all had essays to write for their courses.
Wolfgang now realized why the house rental had been so cheap. There were some serious things wrong with the place. He looked around the house and saw the mildewed walls which he never noticed before. Oh geez! The place was in worst shape than the landlord had let on and now they were all stuck there because he had signed a lease.
Robin saw Wolfgang looking a bit down, and felt he was probably feeling guilty about convincing everyone to live there, and now they had discovered the place was a bit run-down. But, they really didn't have a choice. The residence housing cost more than this house, and they wouldn't have been able to afford that. So they were lucky that Wolfgang found them a place to live. Robin already had a student loan, and didn't need any more debt with housing costs. So, she decided to say something positive.
Robin: "Wolfgang, the place is not that bad. I am sure that once you call the landlord, things will be fixed. I mean, at least the house is nicely decorated."
Velma, however, seemed to disagree with Robin.
Velma: "Robin, are you serious? The wallpaper in the kitchen is newsprint, and the carpet in my room smells like stinky feet. And the artwork? Oh, please!"
The old adage, "One man's trash is another man's treasure" seems to be rather true for Robin and Velma. Both have differing tastes.
Morgan suggested that they all make a list of things that they were concerned about and Wolfgang could then call the landlord. Everyone agreed with that idea and then DJ's laptop goes on the frtiz. I guess he won't have to worry about internet speed anymore.
Dylan told Wolfgang that everything would be fine and decided to make some pancakes to cheer everyone up. And Dylan maxes the Cooking Skill.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
In the meantime, Adam had to head off to work. His first day as a barista, well, actually his official title was Coffee Stain Remover. He worked at a place called The Frothy Foamer from 5AM-7AM M-F and he made $28/hour. Adam wasn't too keen about working a part-time job since he was a Freegan, but sometimes you had to do things you didn't like to do to get by. Adam was back in no time at all and was $56 simoleons richer. Sweet!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
After breakfast, everyone seemed to be feeling better and started on their homework. Robin quietly mentioned that there were some plumbing issues upstairs in the bathrooms and Dylan headed to one and Wolfgang headed to the other.
The good news is that Dylan completed the Renaissance Aspiration for all the repair work he is doing around the house.
When Wolfgang got downstairs, there was a list of concerns on the table, so Wolfgang called the landlord right away. The landlord agreed to have a pest control company come over and set some traps for the mouse problem, and agreed to get the rugs steam cleaned. The landlord told Wolfgang that because it was an older neighborhood, the internet service was sporadic. However, the landlord did agree to have the internet provider come out and ensure that the lines were intact. Who knew what could have happened if there were mice present. The mice could have chewed threw some of the wires. As for the wall coverings, the landlord was willing to give them supplies, such as paint and wallpaper, if they wanted to fix up the place themselves. However, he would only be able to get those supplies to them in a week.
Wolfgang thought that all sounded good. Plus the landlord told Wolfgang that a newer couch and chair were being delivered today for the small living room. Eureka! Things were looking up!
Or maybe not, because then they got the bills!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Wolfgang had mentioned to everyone that there were computers at both the University of Britechester's Darby's Den and Foxbury Institute's Larry's Lagoon. in case they wanted to head there until the internet issue was resolved. There were also some computers at Laurel Library, which was just up the hill from where they lived. However, DJ was quite content staying at the house to do his work, and decided he would just "save" often in case the internet went down. He would see how it went, and if it got too bad, he would head to one of the places that Wolfgang had mentioned. DJ had an idea for a children's book and sat down at the computer and started writing. He called it One Blue Shoe: A Tale of Lost and Found. Dylan had kindly repaired DJ's computer, so let's see how long it lasts this time.
Morgan was practicing her debating skills in the mirror near the front door.
Adam had a visitor. Remy St. Feu of the Jammin' Jumpers Dance Crew was visiting Britechester and he and Adam gave the foosball table a good workout.
Wolfgang and Cale decided to kick around the soccer ball outside, even though neither one of them is in soccer.
Robin, meanwhile, went to research some plants.
Velma, of course, was practicing her violin, but she did sound a bit better.
And in the afternoon, a refurbished couch and chair were delivered. And some of the roomies took advantage of the new seating almost immediately. Don't they all look so studious?
[All of the above are autonomous actions as I have Full Autonomy On.]
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Morgan remembered that she hadn't given Dylan his birthday gift as yet. She went up to her room and then went outside where Dylan was practicing his juggling.
Morgan: "Wow! You look really good juggling that ball."
Dylan decided to stop for a moment and chat with her, "Ah thanks. I am trying to be a good team member. How are you doing? Did you get everything unpacked?"
Morgan: "Well, I unpacked all of my stuff, and got that essay finished that I had started yesterday. So I am pretty ready for tomorrow when Term 1 starts. But Velma started practicing her violin again, and my earplugs haven't arrived...so I came outside for some fresh air."
Dylan: "Oh, I understand about the violin practice. Why do you think I came out here to do some juggling?" he said laughing.
Morgan smiled: "Anyway, Dylan, I wanted to give you your birthday gift. In all the excitement of arriving, I just got carried away with everything else and forgot I hadn't given this to you yet."
Dylan smiled: "Yeah...coming here is pretty exciting. I feel a change in me already..."
Morgan: "I agree," she said handing him his gift.
Dylan opened the box, "What's this?"
Morgan: "It's a magic wand. For when you get rid of this Kiss Curse and can return to Glimmerbrook to become a Spellcaster. The shopkeeper assured me it was authentic."
Dylan: "You got this for me? Oh Morgan, thank you! This is such a heartfelt gift."
Morgan: "It's because I believe in you, Dylan, and I know that we will find a cure for this...together..."
Dylan smiled at Morgan then, and picked up a rose and a card that he had placed on the curb.
Dylan: "Morgan, this is for you. I guess the place can't be that bad if there are beautiful roses growing in the garden. I thought of you when I saw this. I was just finishing up my juggling and was going to come in and give it to you..", he said and handed the rose and card to Morgan. [Note:This was an autonomous action on Dylan's part.]
Morgan smelled the rose and read the card. She couldn't believe what Dylan had written. It was so romantic.
Dylan took Morgan's hands in his and just stared into her eyes, "I just wanted to thank you for helping me through this, Morgan. I just...I just want you to know that you're very special to me."
Morgan: "Thank you so much for the rose...and that card. It means a lot to me. You're going to make it, Dylan. I was thinking that maybe we should head to the library and do some research on that Secret Society. What do you think?"
Dylan reluctantly let go of Morgan's hands. He could feel the pull towards her and needed to put some distance between them, "That's a good idea, Morgan, but I think I just need to go on a jog first to clear my head. Thank you again for the gift..." he said as he forced himself to move away from her and headed towards the bridge.
Morgan stood looking after him thinking, "I know, Dylan. I know why you needed to go for that jog. I felt the pull, too. I could see you struggling against it, Dylan. But you fought it, and I'm so proud of you..."
Little did Morgan know what would happen after he left.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
On his jog, Dylan met three university students. It started with an innocent "Sul Sul", but then, the Kissing Curse took over.
The first student's name was Aicha Ghomari. She was a Culinary Arts Student at UBrite.
Then he met another student who had been riding her bike. Her name was Mizuki Imai. She was also a UBrite student studying Psychology.
And the last student he met was Aoi Shibata, another Psychology student from UBrite.
And, as if in a daze, Dylan kissed them all. And they all had the same effect...those kisses tasted like garlic. Dylan felt so guilt-stricken afterwards. He had overcome the urge to kiss Morgan, but then, the curse had overtaken him anyway, and he had kissed these sims. The sooner he found out about this Secret Society, the better. Because the only sim he really wanted to kiss was Morgan.
Um...maybe Dylan has more than thoughts of just kissing Morgan on his mind.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Notes:
Dylan's latest Baes:
@permanentrose
March 18th
@LegacySims2017
March 8th
What a good set of duels. Very cool. :]
@SoulGal7
Feb 19th
@afai1261
March 19th
But poor Aaron. So angry T.T It's okay sweet angry boy. Hunter loves youuuuuu.
OH NO. he's cursed to get into fights or something like that isn't he??
@RememberJoy
March 19th
@Karababy52
March 19th
and L is his second mom T.T This part is just so sweet all over.
Year Long Community Challenge
@RememberJoy
@Karababy52
April 29th Comments:
@RememberJoy
@Karababy52
April 30th Comments:
@SoulGal7
@Karababy52
@RememberJoy
May 1st Comments:
@afai1261
@SoulGal7
@RememberJoy
@Karababy52
Table of Contents
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.
For D.J.'s final presentation, he discusses suggestions of way to present difficult or high-stake topics that is the opposite of debating.
Feb 28th - To Move or Not to Move
Year Long Community Challenge
@Shadami -
@LegacySims2017 -
@afai1261 -
More comments coming later today. Have to get to work.
Wow, go Dylan, completed the Renaissance aspiration too! Good the landlord is willing to work with them to help fix things around the place. Ugh! Those are some mighty big bills. o.O Uh oh...
Very nice couch and rocking chair the landlord brought for them. Cute how some of them immediately decided to do their homework on them. All in sync too!
Good idea running away Dylan before he tried to kiss her. I wish they could kiss, but it's not to be, yet. However, all other girls are fair game it seems. o.O Are you planning to show the profile pic of all the Sims he kisses? Just curious. I'm waiting until Cale has all 100 babies before doing that anymore. Otherwise, my updates would just be filled with Baby Mama profiles.
@LegacySims2017
Yes, that must be why Fox is so obsessed with chess. He's like Cale and Essa too about beating Joel and Josh respectively at video games.
Oh man, poor DJ, still stabbing his finger while working on that presentation board. So fun though! hehe
@Shadami
Hmm, you found some interesting developments as a result of Neighborhood Stories. Seems kind of fitting the Goths, especially Bella, would have an alien looking child. Did you check to see who are the toddler's birth parents?
Absolutely gorgeous dresses your Secret Santa gave you! Kaori looks good wearing them. Hmm, do I see hearts floating around Velma in that shot with Aaron? Did he blow her a kiss or something. Interesting... I think dear Dylan is still crushing on her too. Sweet she gave him a key. Gah! I hope her garden survives. Maybe when she moves, because we all know she will, her new place will have a greenhouse to protect her plants.
Okay, I see what you did there in that last shot. I won't spoil it though in case nobody else sees what I see in it. Guessing the cat's out of the bag now. I kind of suspected as much with the 'reveal.'
Yes, Aaron tends to blow Velma kisses when he's over. He's been slowly flirting with her with a blown kiss. Or a casual compliment for awhile now and it finally triggered a romantic bar. Haha
Dylan is certainly crushing on her, but I don't think they've even kissed yet.
I will certainly have to make her a greenhouse at some point. She just doesn't have the drive to do so right now with her belly.
I did not check the toddlers parents yet. I may do it when I get to play next .
Year Long Community Challenge
Year Long Community Challenge
Notes
The memory of Layla and their night together rapidly faded away as Cale made his way to his garden. Walking through the door, all he remembered of her was how she wouldn't tell him anything about the StrangerVille mystery. The roses were ready to be harvested, so he carefully cut a dozen of the long stemmed beauties and took them to the flower arranging station.
He still had a few hours before his new employer would call to give instructions for the day. Cale figured they would want him to come in to the office and meet everyone since it was his first day. But, he'd been told there would be days he wouldn't be required to go in. Rather, he might be asked to do something else around the area.
Until then, he decided to try arranging a bouquet of roses to sell. Or, perhaps he'd keep the finished product and give it to some lovely lady.
The anxiety and guilt over what he had done melted away as he worked as well. The fragrance of the roses, soil and other plants made him happy. He smiled, content for the moment feeling like there was no place else he'd rather be than here, in his element.
(Hmm, just how many should I add? Six? Eight? All 12?)
(Mmm, is there anything that smells better than fresh cut roses?)
(Only one thing I can think of, the scent of a woman in the after glow.)
(Yeah...Especially her. But roses are a close second.)
(Wait...especially her who?)
(I don't know, but I'm guessing she has to be someone special. Maybe the girl in my dream? I can't stop thinking about her...)
(Anyway, let's see...I think...all of them. I've got a big vase for it. Go big or go home, right?)
(I think you need a bit of a trim there honey. You're robust and beautiful, but symmetry is more pleasing for some reason.)
(I'm a fan of your wonderful wabi-sabi, but the flower shops want perfection. Here we go!)
(Uhh...)
*Gasp*
(Opps! Oh man, I'm so sorry!)
"Ahhhh! I ruined her! Dangit!"
(It's okay, it's okay, calm down. I'll just use the bloom for potpourri or float it in a bowl. I've got more. It's cool!)
Finally, after 30 minutes of painstakingly arranging each precious rose, Cale was satisfied his creation was finished. He carefully gathered up the bouquet and placed it in a white glittery vase. Fussing with it a little to get everything in place where he'd had it, he stepped back and smiled.
(I think I might keep this one.)
(Or, maybe take a photo of it at least. Yeah.)
Cale snapped a few photos of his inaugural creation and then took it inside to store in the fridge to keep it fresh until he decided whether to sell or keep it.
No reason for this other than I wanted to say I went ahead and bought a guppy from the fishbowl for Fox instead of making him fish for another one. It's not his fault it went foul. Also, I had to laugh seeing the Hover Lamp tendrils reaching up toward the bowl. It almost looks like Fox is trying to 'fry' the fish with it eh? o.O
There was a new season premiere today Fox was watching when Cale left the kitchen. He sat down to watch it with him.
"So what's this about? Is it any good?"
"So far it's kind of cool. I enjoy the Indiana Jones movies and it seems a bit similar to those films."
"Whoa! Did you see that?"
"Pfft, yeah, how lame."
"Come on man, he's supposed to be an expert explorer, a professor of archeology. He'd know better than to do that. It's a trap. D'uh. He deserved to catch on fire."
"HAHA! Now he's scared of a mummy and jumped in some girl's arms! HAHA! What a coward! This show is hilarious!"
"Bah! It's a blatant rip-off. That guy sure is no Harrison Ford."
"No, but that's what makes it good!"
"Eh, whatever, glad you like it."
"Have you heard from your new employer yet?"
"Not yet, but any minute now."
"How late do you work?"
"I have no idea, it depends on if they want me to go there or do something else around the community."
"Okay, well if it's not too late when you're finished for the day, would you like to go into town again? We only really checked out the curio stand and the bar. There's a library I think we should check out too. Maybe see if anyone knows more about the supposed lab outside of town."
"Sure, maybe I'll meet a cute scientist or the librarian and get lucky. If it's a girl. Something about a studious, quiet girl seems so hot. You never know, they might have all this passion lurking inside just waiting for the right guy to release it. Yeah, I'm down for that. Gawd, I need some action soon or...well I don't know what. But something's gotta give soon."
(He forgot about that girl last night already. Good!)
(Buys you some more time eh?)
(Yeah, a little.)
A moment after their conversation, Cale got a text from his new employer. He wasn't required to come in today. All they wanted him to do was collect a microscope sample from a plant to bring in for analysis the next day.
They didn't say what kind of plant, so Cale figured they must mean any plant. He clipped a sample from his rose bush.
"Annnd, finished."
(That was too easy. I don't believe this. They're giving me loads of cash and that's all I had to do? How cool is that? Why did I need a degree in Biology for it?)
(Eh, who cares. Best.Job.Ever!)
(I've got the best 'office' too. Look at that view.)
(Whoa! Jets! What are they doing here?)
(Patrolling?)
(Obviously, but what? And why?)
Comments replies coming up soon. It's time to make dinner though, so it'll have to wait until afterward. Hope y'all are having a great day/night!
After washing up, I noticed there was a dumpster located behind the restrooms and my curiosity got the better of me.
I leaned in and noticed a folding table in questionable condition laying right there for the taking.
I took it.
As I came out from behind the restrooms I noticed a lurching figure walking through the RV park and my heart jumped a little.
I cautiously approached the figure and realized it was Mayor Roswell! I snuck up behind him and planted a bug on him before slapping him awake. He sheepishly slunk away after realizing what had happened and I let him go. I doubted he would tell me anything more anyways.
A little while later the girls got up and helped themselves to the chicken while I serenaded them with some violin music.
After they finished up I suggested we return to the bar to find more people to talk to.
While Kaori and Carol sat down to a game of cards, I cornered the first military personal I found who looked like they might be a little tipsy.
I introduced myself and carefully directed the conversation towards the base in the crater.
She leaned in, "I heard that there was someone poking around in the Secret Lab there," she whispered, "but fortunately for them, without a key card they won't get far."
I tried to look surprised while simultaneously trying to slow down my racing heart.
They knew we'd been there.
"What do you suppose they're hiding in there?" I tried to ask casually, "UFOs?"
She laughed, "I wish! Aliens would be a walk in the park compared to this! No, this is much bigger and much more dangerous." She suddenly seemed to realize what she'd just said and quickly excused herself and left the bar.
I looked around but the only other people there had joined Kaori and Carol's card game and were laughing and chatting with them.
I ordered a root-beer float and sat down to think about what I'd just learned. Deep in thought, I didn't notice a lady approaching me until she'd sat down in the chair next to mine.
"Hey," she said casually, "this seat taken?"
I shook myself and fumbled for words, "Ah, no. It's all yours."
"So" she said leaning in, "Your Irene's kid huh." It wasn't a question.
I just stared at her, and she smiled. "I know a lot about you Damion Ioca."
I flinched and she raised an eyebrow, "Oh, I'm sorry. You go by Adam Strong now don't you."
"What is it you want?" I asked in a low voice, a slight tremor creeping in at the end.
"Oh, I just wanted to meet you in person," she said leaning back in her chair. "I've been watching you for a long time now and I wanted get a better read on you, face to face."
"You've been watching me?" I asked, feeling a little faint. "Why?"
"The specifics aren't important," she said with a wave of her hand. "Let's just say some important people hold an interest in you and your life."
That made me sit up. "Like Darius Lord?"
She laughed, "I suppose he'd count himself as such a person, but no." She sighed and seemed to listen to something I couldn't hear before returning her gaze back to me. "I really can't say anymore right now," she said rising from the table, "but I thought you deserved to know you're being observed, and not just by your mother." She winked, turned, and walked out of the bar, leaving me feeling disoriented.
I needed another drink, and not a root-beer float this time.
I went into the bathroom and splashed cold water on my face and did some deep breathing to calm myself down. Why couldn't I just have a normal life?
When I came out, Kaori said they'd gotten a tip from the people they'd been playing cards with, and we needed to head over to the library next. I nodded and she gave me a look and asked if everything was all right. "I'll tell you about it later," I promised, and we headed to the library.
When we got there, Kaori and Carol headed to the bookcases and I chatted up a scientist sitting at the front desk.
Unfortunately all he said was that he'd been instructed not to share any information with anyone asking about the crater. When I kept poking, he got up and left. Oh well.
I remembered Erwin, the curio shop guy, had mentioned something about the equipment used for listening in on planted bugs being available at the library, so I investigated and found a small setup in the back corner. Now I just had to figure out how to use it.
I found an instruction manual under some papers and flipped through it. Nodding, I flipped a few switches, turned on the monitor, and dialed into my bug's frequency code.
I placed the headphones over my ears and listened. Success! Ted Roswell's voice crackled faintly in my ear and I could just hear him saying something about committing light treason, whatever that meant.
I changed over to the bug I'd planted on the officer the night before, and heard something about only having one guard posted at the lab. I leaned back; so there had been someone there. Just then I remembered my mother saying something about pulling strings to have the military look the other way. That must be why they didn't confront us. Good to know.
I was out of bugs to listen to so went to see if the girls had had any luck.
I found Carol playing chess with the guy I'd met earlier, Mark, and Kaori mentioned she's found some interesting tidbits inside some books.
We headed home for the evening and finished off the roasted chicken for dinner.
While we ate, Kaori shared her findings.
"I was reading through the history of StrangerVille," she began, "and almost a century ago the indigenous people reported seeing a blinding purple light fall from the sky and land where the crater is today!"
"A meteor?" I asked.
"Perhaps," Kaori said, "but another account I found describes a person's lost cat becoming terrified of plants after it was found near the crater."
Carol burst out laughing, "Are you being serious?" she asked, "A cat acting strange? That doesn't prove anything!"
Kaori pretended to pout, "Hey, it's the best I've got. Everything around here is so hush-hush." She looked up at me, "Did you find anything Adam?"
"Well," I said slowly, "the sergeant I talked to this morning let slip that the base in the crater is actually a secret science lab. She also hinted at whatever it is they're covering is dangerous, but that's all I got out of her."
"Aren't you going to ask me what I found out?" Carol asked triumphantly before I could continue.
She continued without waiting for us to respond. "So I was playing chess with one of the locals who's name is Mark, and he told me that there have been vans with large dishes on top of them spotted at peoples houses while no one is home." She leaned in, "He swears one of the vans stole his house's refrigerator when this all began!"
It was Kaori's turn to laugh, "Why would they steal his refrigerator?" she asked, "That's ridiculous!"
After that, our conversation turned towards more mundane things and Kaori and I started flirting with each other. Carol rolled her eyes and got up. "I'll be in the shower for the next 15 minutes," she said heading towards the restrooms. "If you're going to do something, make it quick."
I raised my eyebrows at Kaori and she laughed and pulled me onto my feet. Together we scampered to the tent and had a good romp.
That evening after a shower, a nice nap, and a round of yoga, we gathered around the fire again.
"So what are we going to do moving forwards?" Carol asked. "It doesn't feel like we're making much headway in this mystery."
"Well we know that people are acting possessed," Kaori said, "that it has something to do with a secret lab in the crater, and that there is no cure for it currently."
"So we keep looking for a key card?" Carol asked.
"I'll go talk to Erwin at the curio shop again tomorrow," I volunteered. "Maybe he can make sense of all these little tidbits we've been gathering and shed some light on them."
Kaori yawned and said she was feeling tired from all the heat, so she turned in early. Carol asked if I'd stargaze with her, so we lay down on the gravel and marveled over how clear and bright the stars were out here in the desert.
"Dad?" Carol asked.
"Yeah," I said turning to look at her.
"Since spellcasters and vampires are real, do you think aliens are real too?"
I looked up at the stars and sighed, "They probably are, sweetie. They probably are."
@afai1261
march 21st
@SoulGal7
Feb 21st
@LegacySims2017
March 11th
@RememberJoy
March 21st
@Karababy52
March 21st
@permanentrose
march 21st
Year Long Community Challenge
It was the first day of class for Term 1. Everyone was rather excited. Dylan still had not finished all his coursework, but he had done his homework for all his classes. It was a good start, though.
And, in no time at all, Dylan heads off to his first class.
Several other students left for class at the same time. There's Cale and Selena heading to Britechester.
Adam again headed to his part-time barista job and brought home $56 simoelons. DJ must have been on a writing spree yesterday, even with the slow internet, because he wrote two books. He even got a royalty cheque in the mail for $8 simoleons. Um...DJ...it might take a few more books to pay off that student loan. Perhaps DJ might have to think of doing something else to bring in more simoleons.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Over at UBrite campus...
Adam chatted with a sim named Harper Wilkes, and found out she was in the military. Hmmm...I wonder what she is doing at uni? Recruiting, perhaps?
DJ is being taunted by Larry the (One-Eyed) Lobster while he is trying to do homework waiting for his class to start.
At Darby's Den, Velma is out back doing some painting.
Morgan is at the cafeteria and has decided to try some of the delicious avocado toast she's heard so much about.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
And in-between classes, they came home and tried to keep up with their mounting homework.
Adam and Dylan played a game of chess. I wonder if things went better with Dylan than with Wolfgang? Unfortunately, Adam had to run off to class, so they didn't finish the game.
Robin does homework while Wolfgang and Cale do some juggling. I think these two are trying to get on the Soccer Team.
And look at what grew out of that mysterious seed. It's a cowplant! Dylan named it Foxy.
And while Dylan was playing with Foxy, he spied a sim across the street. And...dazed and confused, Dylan goes over and kisses the Pizza Delivery sim, whose name was Airi Nakagawa. Maybe he had a craving for pizza. Who knows?
But after that kiss, he definitely won't be ordering from Trevor's Honest Pizza, where she works. Way too much garlic!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
And what's this? Where is Robin going at this late hour?
Aha! A secret swim. I don't think anyone knows she's a mermaid yet. Good thing they live close to the water.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
And the ghost is back. Maybe she is seeing if any improvements have been made to the house. That would be no. The mouse traps that were set aren't working and the mice are still partying. Of course, these are uni mice, so they party all the time.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Notes:
I took the screenies of Dylan's Baes a few days after he kissed them, so it doesn't show the Smitten Sentiment. But it was there. Whenever Dylan kisses someone, It's always there! lol
@SoulGal7
@afai1261
@RememberJoy
@Karababy52
@Karababy52 - comment on your comment to me
Spotted it right away, but I figured it had to be something like what it was. Still won't say in case nobody else saw it.
No, of course Velma would want to wait until after the baby is born. Too much work to try to do something like that right now. No worries about checking on the Goth baby, I was just curious if you had checked. Don't go out of your way to check on my part. It's cool.
@SoulGal7
Love the comment about the mice partying because, of course, they're Uni mice! Par-tay!
Ah, okay, not Love Day! Well hey, that just makes it all the more sweet that he did that autonomously. These two clearly belong together! They're so in love.
@LegacySims2017
@DramaticJedi5
Oh dear, that doesn't sound good. Do you know the reason? If not, maybe you should see a Doctor or something. Anyway, no apologies necessary, just take care of yourself and start whenever you're ready! *Hugs*
@Shadami
Am I getting a photo picture is a thousand words for that hint?
@SoulGal7
@Karababy52
@RememberJoy
@Karababy52 -
(Oh Cale, Buddy, you've had more action than I've ever had in my entire life in just the last month.)
So true! And that last line, about both going to love it here! Oh my gosh! If you only knew Cale! lol
May 2 - Cool cover of those jets flying overhead. I don't normally play in Strangerville, so have never noticed that before. In fact, I have never done the Strangerville Mystery before, although I've had that pack since it came out! lol Love the talk at Erwin's Curio Shop. lol And he was trying to sell Fox one of those hats. hehe And they finally make it to the bar and it's ghost night. The military are pretty tight-lipped...but then Layla seems to change her mind and head off with Cale. I wonder if she did say anything more to him about those plants? And he remembered what had happened...well, sort of. And Fox isn't going to report it to Eros. I wonder what hold Eros has over Fox to make him do this, other than they are brothers, and Eros married Fox's love, Venus.
May 3 - Fab shot of the house with the cliff background. The house is rather stunning and you definitely should be proud of this build. And love that Cale has a job in flower arranging. Another thing I haven't attempted since Seasons came out. And he's forgotten all about that girl from last night. Great work that he has to do, just get a clipping of a plant for his job. Boom! Done. Yes, I agree, Cale does have a great view from his office. And more jets. Yes, something is definitely up. Oh and the guppy is there! lol It does look like it's being fried...but it's hardy stock.
Oh yeah, Cale has it easy, he can just ask all those baby mamas to just be friends, whereas, Dylan can't. But after all of this is done, he is going to go around...or heck, have a party...or several parties and ask all his baes to "be friends". I may have to do that behind the scenes because it will take forever. lol
@RememberJoy -
April 30 - So Adam is on the hunt for his mother in Strangerville...and he changed his name? Oh gee. So, they are trapped in that town now, and everyone seems a bit nervous. I just hope that nothing happens to Kaori or Carol...or Adam while they are there.
May 1 - And the revelation that Adam is really Damion and was raised by a robot. Oh gee. Adam/Damion...that's terrible! And now, he finally meets his mother again, who calls him BOY! Oh gee...she is so rude to Adam and Kaori. So, he wants some information, but she wants him to go on a quest to find something for her. Obviously, she is just using Adam for her own purpose. And they are going to spend the night there. Oh, please find somewhere else to live!
May 2 - I really love the new looks for Adam, Kaori and Carol. So, they agree to Adam's mother's experiment, and Adam is definitely curious about what is going on around the town. Then they see Ted Roswell, who was possessed, but he still won't tell them what is going on. A search at the army base in the crater doesn't give them much help either, because he needs a key. And Adam plants his first bug on a military personnel. Maybe he will hear something and get more info that way.
May 3 - And it looks like the whole family is gathering info to find out what is going on. Little bit and pieces from various sources. Missing fridges? Oh gee....don't let the welcome wagon come to your house here! and for goodness sake, don't eat the fruit salad! It might be forbidden plant of the alien salad. Kaori did some good research with her reading, especially the legend about the place. I love their campsite they have set up. Great idea. And yes, Carol, there are aliens.
@DramaticJedi5 - Oh my gosh! I hope you are okay. Definitely need to get that checked out. *Hugs*
@LegacySims2017 -
Table of Contents
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Special Appearances By: Velma Pagan ( @Shadami ), Robin Keyes & Estelle Uha ( @permanentrose ), Selena Lilly ( @lilypadmeulin ), Aaron Winterson & Hunter Mulligan ( @afai1261 ), Cale Conrad ( @Karababy52 )
Today's Accomplishments:
- Gather 15 pieces of evidence
- Compile a Secret Dossier
- Open sealed door
The day started early with me telling Kaori about my encounter with the lady who had told my I was under observation by people other than my mother and Darius.
Kaori furrowed her brow, "She didn't mention who?" she asked in a concerned voice.
I shook my head, "No. She just said they were 'important'." I paused and thought back on the conversation. "It's weird," I continued deep in thought, "she almost seemed familiar to me. Not necessarily her face, but her presence stirred a memory in me that I can't quite reach."
"Maybe you've noticed her watching you before," Kaori suggested.
"Maybe," I agreed, but deep inside I knew that wasn't the reason.
Later that morning I gathered together the evidence all three of us had found and compiled into one folder. I brought it over to the curio shop and greeted Erwin.
"So," I began non-directly, "if a person happened to have found evidence relating to a possible governmental conspiracy while hypothetically trespassing on said government's property, would you help them out or turn them in?"
Erwin raised an eyebrow, "Depends on what they've got," he said leaning forward on his counter. "Now if this hypothetical person was the one I've heard supposedly snuck into the secret lab in the crater, I'd be very interested."
I pulled out my folder and placed it on the counter. "I need a local's take on what I've dug up," I said quietly. "I can't make much sense out of it."
Erwin opened the folder and shifted through our findings. He looked up with a glint in his eyes, "So it was you." He smiled and ducked down under the counter. When he came up he had something in his hands, but I couldn't tell what it was. "Don't ask me how I acquired it," he said, eyes scanning our perimeter to make sure we were alone, "but I happen to have an official military issued key card for the secret lab."
My eyes opened wide and it was my turn to scan the area for possible eavesdroppers. I leaned in close, "How much?" I asked.
Erwin pretended to think about it, "If you throw in this dossier," he said tapping my folder, "I'll give it to you for 250 simoleons."
I blinked. That was a good bit of money, but where else would I be able to acquire such a key?
I looked at him hard, "Your certain this is a real working card?"
He nodded, "I got it from a reliable source," he said, "so I have no reason to doubt it's authenticity."
I pulled out my wallet and paid him, and he handed me the card. Slipping the key into my pocket I thanked him and ran back to our campsite.
An hour later we were back at the lab, key in hand.
"This is so exciting!" Kaori squealed as I pulled the card out.
I'm glad someone was having a good time.
I held the key up to the scanner and held my breath, half expecting an alarm to go off. Instead the scanner blinked green and the doors slid open.
Immediately a cloud of something pink and purple escaped into the room and caused me to cough.
I waved it away and cautiously entered through the doors.
Before me a flight of stairs led down into darkness, and distantly, I could hear a faint thruming sound from deep inside the complex.
I turned to the girls and told them I'd go down first to see if it was safe. At the bottom of the stairs I looked around, but there wasn't much to see.
It seemed safe enough, so I called them down and we entered the first of two doors. We walked down a hallway and turned a corner to find ourselves in a lab of sorts.
"Hey, look over here!" Kaori said, waving us over to what looked like containment pods lined up along the far wall. Inside one of the pods was a plant similar to the ones we'd seen dotting the desert above, but the other two held what I figured to be a more advanced versions of the same plant.
"Does this mean all those little plants we've seen up there are going to grow into this?" Carol asked in shock.
I turned and looked into a glassed in section in the middle of the room and noticed some scientific equipment.
"I think they were studying the plants here," I said, trying to put the pieces together. "But why did they evacuate?"
"Lets go see what's down that other hallway!" Carol said excitedly, and ran back through the doors before I could stop her.
Kaori and I jogged after her and found her halfway down the second corridor.
'Ugh," she said holding her forehead. "My head is feeling funny."
I stepped into the corridor to help her and my head began to spin too. Carol lurched past me and fell to the ground, shaking.
I dropped onto my knees next to her and reached out to hold her... then darkness.
When I came to, Kaori was slapping my face and yelling my name.
I shook myself and asked her what had happened.
"You both fell to the ground," Kaori sobbed. "When you got back up you had big smiles and wide eyes like the others who were acting possessed, like Mayor Roswell!
I looked down the corridor we'd ventured into, and only now did I notice what looked to be a blue fog filling it up completely.
Coming down here had been a bad idea.
"We need to leave," I said, feeling a little panicked, "now."
We hurriedly climbed the stairs and left the building, but our troubles were just beginning.
Kaori pointed to the plants, "Adam!" she yelled, "They've gotten bigger!"
I looked, and sure enough, the small buds had grown into the larger form we'd seen in the lab.
My heart dropped as I examined it. Were we responsible for this? I suggested we leave quickly, afraid the new development might bring the military out in force.
Back at the camp we noticed a billowing cloud had formed over the crater and pink and purple particles were now floating through the air.
"Do you think your mother knew this was going to happen?" Carol asked as we stared up at the cloud. "Did she want us to start the apocalypse?"
I shrugged; I wouldn't put it past her.
Kaori was examining one of the nearby plants when it suddenly exploded upwards.
She called us over and we examined it together.
"It looks like it grew a fruit of some kind," Kaori explained, pointing to a red orb atop a stalk.
I reached out gingerly and plucked the fruit and the plant instantly shrunk down to it's former state. Odd.
I walked back to the picnic table and set the orb down, not wanting to handle it any longer than I had to. We all sat down and stared at it.
"I'll take a bite," Carol said. "For science."
"No!" I said a little too forceably, "Nobodies eating the orb."
She pouted, "You never let me have any fun."
I stared at it, and for a moment, I felt a strong pull to pick it up and take a bite. I looked over at Kaori, "It wants me to eat it," I said, feeling dazed.
"It wants you to eat it?" Kaori asked, looking bewildered.
"I feel it too," Carol said, staring hungrily at the fruit.
Kaori looked down at it, "I don't feel anything," she said.
I shook myself and realized what was happening, "It's because we were exposed to whatever was down in the lab!" I said, jumping up. "You need to hide the fruit Kaori! Before one of us tries to eat it!"
Kaori nodded, scooped up the fruit, and hurried out of the park.
Carol got up, looking frightened, "What's happened to us Dad? Are we zombies now?"
I pulled her into a hug, "I don't know sweetie, but we'll get through this. I'm sorry I dragged you and your mother into this."
Kaori returned a few minutes later saying she'd buried it.
I started a campfire and we sat in silence, watching the flames.
"I don't know if we should continue investigating," I said finally. "This is much bigger and more dangerous than I expected, and I don't want to see either of you get hurt."
"Adam," Kaori said firmly, "we can't give up now. We're at least partially responsible for the current state of this town, having apparently released or activated something when we opened those doors. We must see this to it's finish."
"Like Jamanji!" Carol said, matter-of-factually.
I smiled faintly, "You're right of course," I said, "but I'm still worried about you two."
"Are you kidding me!" Carol said in amazement, "You and Mom are highly skilled spellcasters! If anyone can handle this, it's you. If you're worried about me, give me some more magical training and teach me more spells."
I smiled to myself, she took after her mother in more ways than one, and also made a good point.
I stood up, "Very well young lady," I said, "Your training begins now."