3.3 Into the Oven

Zahra wasted no time heading down to the science center to join her dream career.

Cycl0n3 found himself faced with yet another new start to his unlife. He was already a chess legend, so he got a hankering to try his hand at prose.

His journalism background made this an easy career to fall into. His lightly fictionalized account of his unlife, Ghosts Have Feelings Too became a bestseller.

He was so distracted that he picked up some of Layla’s fruit parfait, put it in his pocket, then pulled it out two days later and ate it.

Twice.

Maybe this was some sort of sympathetic connection to Zahra. She didn’t feel the slightest bit sick, but one night the test was positive anyway.

3.2 It’s Not Too Late

Jun14

Time passed, and Lance started to wonder if he was being just the teeniest bit of a jerk about Layla’s flirting.

One day, while she was out working in her garden, he decided it was time to make amends.

He loved her more now than he had the day he married her, and he hoped she could see his ranting and raving for what it was — fear that he would lose her.

When Layla returned home from work that day, Lance had arranged for a surprise.

It was her birthday, and he hadn’t forgotten.

(Not a bad age transition. I left her pretty much as she was.)

He took her on a second honeymoon back to Egypt, where they rocked the campsite.

(In case you can’t tell from the picture, whoohoo in tents causes the tent to jump up and dance around :). )

It had been a very long time since they’d been able to spend so much time with each other, one-on-one.

When they returned home, Lance built one last monument to his travel days and hung up his adventuring hat. It was time to spend more time with his family. Long past time.

And of course he and Layla could rock things a little closer to home too.

(So, I hadn’t *intended* for this to be Lance’s last vacation, but this one turned out to be just too weird. When I reset the town, the vacation destinations were reset as well. Not only are all Lance’s quests reset to the beginning, but there’s a young version of Layla wandering around in Egypt. Creepy…)

Simfail: Town Reboot

Jun13

Another tangent for technical gripes.

I replayed the three-birthday about eight times. The game kept freeze-crashing in the middle. The story in the post is the most amusing version, and also the only version where I got through all three birthday cakes, but it crashed before I could save. Antonio died at the party during about half the attempts.

Eventually, I got through the wretched birthday party day, but the game was still painfully unstable. After trying a bunch of things to fix corruption in the save file, I finally gave up. I used Twallan’s Porter mod to export the Samples and all the families with which they had significant relationships. Then I created a brand new copy of Sunset Valley, placed the exported house, and imported all the families. That seems to have stabilized things.

That means that starting about now, you’ll see references to the Bauers (Antonio’s widow and son), the Ursines, and the Williamses alongside a bunch of familiar Sunset Valley initial characters.

3.1 The Ghost-Traveler’s Wife

Jun13

Zahra was all grown up… and Cycl0n3 was in for a surprise.

Zahra and Cycl0n3 were both painfully awkward geeks, unlucky in friendship and unluckier in love. They had also known each other for all of Zahra’s life and almost all of Cycl0n3’s afterlife. In short, they understood each other, and neither of them was very used to being understood.

At least that was the case that Zahra made to him as she poured her feelings out in one great big torrent of words, peering at him with her too-serious green eyes. She wasn’t even afraid of rejection. The situation seemed so obvious to her that there was no way that he could *not* feel the same.

Cycl0n3, on the other hand, had literally changed Zahra’s diapers. When had everything changed while he was right there watching? Cycl0n3 never claimed to be an observant kind of guy. But he couldn’t deny their connection. It didn’t take Zahra long to bring him around.

It all moved so fast. Zahra so no reason to wait when she knew what she wanted.

She also had no need for approval from her family or any sort of fancy public display. Crowds made her nervous anyway.

“Till death do you part” seemed pretty meaningless here.

Just a few days ago, Cycl0n3 had completed what he thought was his greatest lifetime wish. Now he wondered if he might have been wishing for the wrong thing.

3.0 Passing the Torch to Zahra

Jun8

In due time, Zahra’s birthday came around. Along with Adjo and Shanni’s, all together in one big pile of aging up.

Layla threw a huge joint party for her beloved brood. Three birthday cakes were arrayed on the back lawn.

First Zahra.

Meanwhile, on the back patio, Layla’s dear Antonio Bauer, who was a little late to the event, decided to cash it in.

While Shanni had her moment to blow out the candles, half the guests were distracted by the arrival of Death behind her.

Antonio had no regrets in life, though he’d have been glad for more time. The sly dog left behind a young wife and a toddler, for heaven’s sake.

Shanni aged up surrounded only by close family.

Almost certainly NOT the look she’s going to stick with.

Death, having done his duty, stuck around to cheer Adjo on and get a slice of cake.

Now that she was of age, Lancelot passed the deeds to the family investments over to Zahra as his designated heir. His own life ambitions complete, he made ready to step to the sidelines.

After a wardrobe change, here we have…

Shanni.

Adjo.

(The first was his final look, but this pic has a great expression :).)

And our inheritor of the Sample line, Zahra, who decided to get a haircut. I do say, it looks good on her.

2.32 Not All Love is a Fairy Tale

Jun5

Lance and Layla’s marriage has been going through what you might call a “rough patch” recently. Layla has been working long hours at the Bistro, and Lance has been taking long spirit journeys to China by himself. When they’re home together, Layla has taken to spending most of her time in her garden.

When they go to bed, they’re usually exhausted, and they only exchange a few words before going to sleep.

The woohoo has almost completely drained out of their lives.

To make matters worse, Layla’s flirtatious nature has gotten on Lance’s nerves more and more. Recently, he caught Layla flirting with Cycl0n3 of all people, right in their own study.

Lance absolutely lost it. He raved like a lunatic, and Layla had to just stand there and take it.

Layla got fed up with Lance’s possessiveness. He knew what she was like when he married her. She’s never once even thought about being unfaithful. Why couldn’t he trust her just the littlest bit?

Frustrated and insulted, Layla started expressing herself behind Lance’s back. She kicked up her very flirty friendship with Antonio Bauer, but she made sure they kept all the fun at work.

What Lancelot didn’t know about wouldn’t hurt him.

2.31 Chess God

Jun5

Cycl0n3 was hard at work on his own (un)life’s ambition.

Game by game, he had fought his way to the top of the town’s chess club, and now he was ready for the final battle.

His opponent, whose name I have forgotten, turned out to be a creepy prick. First he helped himself to the Sample family bar without asking.

Then he stomped poor Cycl0n3 at their chess match.

Afterward, he said goodbye. Cycl0n3, never the most observant guy, went off to bed. Instead of leaving, however, this guy sneaked down into the twin’s bedroom.

He played with their toys on the floor beside Shanni’s sleeping form, and he stayed there until Adjo got up in the wee hours of the morning and kicked him out.

When Adjo told Cycl0n3, Cycl0n3 was mortified. He’d put the kids in danger. And, honestly, who would expect dedicated chess players to be creepy stalkers? Oh, wait, that’s happened a few times before.

Cycl0n3 wasted no time inviting this guy back for a rematch, this time in the middle of the day rather than the evening. This time, Cycl0n3 was victorious, and with that victory he took the Chess Legend title for the whole town.

While Cycl0n3 was celebrating, the creepy pedo made his way back down to the twins’ room, though they mercifully were at school this time. Cycl0n3 found him down there and ripped him a new one.

That was enough. No more chess opponents would be welcome in this house.

(Cycl0n3 really did rip this guy a new one spontaneously. It was pretty cool.)

2.30 Haven’t Lost It Yet

Jun2

It’s Lancelot’s big day. He’s going to qualify for senior citizen discounts, and people will offer him their seat on the bus. If he ever took the bus.

Not to be outdone by his mom, Lance throws himself a party in the park.

That wasn’t so bad, really, especially after he got home and restored his beard. (Why is it that the Sims age-up routine will keep your old hairstyle if it applies to your new age range, but it always drops the beard? Argh.)

People came from all over town to wish him well.

He was certainly the man of the hour, except for poor Fabian Branch, who only had eyes for one person.

So what did this mean for a guy who prided himself on his physical prowess?

Lancelot felt his time running out. He had personal goals to reach, and while his joints weren’t creaking much YET, he knew he wasn’t going to have those firm abs forever.

He bade temporary farewell to his family and jumped a plane to China.

Though, this time he traveled in more style, since he managed to bring his car along with him in his luggage

At last, he was able to locate the fabled magic axe.

He meditated.

With some surprising results.

He put out an invitation to all challengers in all places at all times. That led him to find himself in combat in the strangest of places.

(This is the men’s public toilet at Lance’s hotel, splashing about in the water leaked from a broken faucet, while some poor guy is doing the pee-pee dance.)

And man, he hadn’t lost it. He could kick the snot out of people half his age.

Before he left, he had his mastery of Sim-Fu. His greatest life goal was complete.

When he finally returned home, he and his beautiful wife had only one thing on their minds.

Sleep.

2.29 Susie’s Still Around

Jun2

Zahra always wanted to get to spend time with the ghost of the grandmother she never knew in life. Connor and Jared’s ghosts come out to play a lot. Jared either plays table hockey all night or else steals a few winks in someone else’s bed, causing either a shock when the living Sample wakes up or trouble when he goes to bed. Connor, on the other hand, almost always settles in the study sofa with a good book. But the patroness of the Sample line almost never comes out to play.

On the rare times she does, Zahra rushes out to talk to her.

But the conversations seldom last long.

Susie seems to have more to talk about with Zahra’s little brother who doesn’t much care whether he talks to a ghost or not.

The truth is that that Susie and Zahra have very little in common. Susie was a rock star, a socialite, and a party girl. Zahra is socially awkward and more interested in science and logic than people.

Zahra has idolized her grandmother from all the stories she heard growing up, but sometimes the stories are the best part.

2.28 The Land of Their Ancestors

May24

The new place was looking pretty nice, and there was plenty of space for everyone.

Lance took advantage of the amazing view to inspire his art.

Cycl0n3 made another pass at a chess opponent, this time at Margarita Landgraab, a woman he’d known while he was alive.

Poor Cycl0n3.

The family ghosts made themselves at home.

(Ghost Connor is missing his beard, damnit.)

Now that Shanni and Adjo were older, Layla started to feel homesick. She wanted her children to see their homeland and meet their aunts. Lance, always eager for another vacation, packed with her for a trip to Egypt.

Their first destination was the Lufti sisters’ house.

Layla’s sister Meena was home. She and Shanni and Adjo bonded pretty quickly.

Aisha was manning her shop as always.

She and Zahra seemed to get along well.

Meanwhile, Lancelot the eternal adventurer found an, um, secret stair in the master bedroom…

…that led to a master spy center?

What? Was Layla some kind of a spy?

A few minutes reading in the empty control center reassured Lance that they didn’t have much interesting information to show for all the flash and dash.