When the Zombies Come -- a Cottoneye Decadynasty (COMPLETED)

[Turoskel]

Great as always, I loved the “She doesn’t have a house! She doesn’t have a house!” bit 

I already knew about Diana's death but even so when I read Mercy's letter to the boys I felt quite sad, seeing them doing so well and that Diana is still checking up on them makes me feel better.

[SimBlip]

I so agree with Turoskel's comment.
I also like the film studio's dress code. And I hope that Emi will respond favorably to Woden's love letter. 

[MarianT]

Turoskel, it cracked me up when Diana came floating in while Woden was chatting up a non-eligible young lady. That's one of the things I love about this game. And SimBlip, I do have Emi targeted as the next spouse (Woden has an elixir with her name on it), but he has a long way to go before he can get married.

[RainBeau]

Woden remains my favourite. I wish he never had to abdicate. His casual description of the tropes governing sports stories--hahaha.

[MarianT]

Chapter Six – Breaking Up is Hard to Do

Hello, everyone!

Blog 1 – We’ve had a few ghosts lately. Dad’s a fairly regular visitor.



Mom likes to come and duel with Valor. Yes, I’m the dorky-looking character in the kitchen. Even though I’ve been promoted to Personal Assistant, the studio still needs me to sit in as an alien in the yacht club.



And the other night a paparazzi was reading up on alchemy, when suddenly she expired. That might make a good scene in a movie.



Blog 2 – In addition to ghosts, we’ve had a fire. I don’t know how it started, and I didn’t realize that our kitchen lacked a fire alarm. Anyway, our maid went to work putting it out. I called the fire department, and then used an ice blast – which actually worked. I guess I’ll be checking the stove a little more often.



Blog 3 – Sadly, that’s not the only fire I’ve put out lately. I met Emi Irwin at a party the other night, and everything was going great between us.



I told her she was gorgeous, and she said I was cute, and anyway, she agreed to be my girlfriend. I was the happiest guy in Lucky Palms.



But then she had to mention that her daughter was my Aunt Bridgette’s half-sister. What? Consanguinity isn’t the problem – it’s the fact that she had a child. So I had to send her a break-up text, and now she hates me. It looks like mean and grumpy Ichelle and I are going to become an item.

Blog 4 – Luckily for me, Valor has been learning alchemy. He says he can whip up an opposite personality elixir and make Ichelle a little friendlier, if that’s what I want. Or I can get a fountain of youth elixir and use it on one of the many elderly women who live in town. I love alchemy.



Hope all is well with you and the ankle-biters.

P.S. If you’re in the bookstore, you might want to check out the sports section: you can choose from Third Base, Dive Bomb, Hockey Puck, In the Swim, Fut Bol, Soccer to me, Parallel Bars, Parallel Lives, Skating on Thin Ice, Seabiscuit, Lacrosse Double Cross, and Hurdles. Or read either Ichelle, Ma Belle, or A Visit from Grim. Two of them were best-sellers, but I can't remember which.
Your favorite author and grand-nephew, Woden

[RainBeau]

Aww, poor Woden, couldn't marry the girl he liked Well I hope his brother's alchemy helps him find a more palatable wife! I loved the book titles, by the way.

[MarianT]

Chapter Seven – Third Time Lucky?

Hi, Aunt Mercy!

   Claudia’s going to break a few hearts; she's really cute and could go into the movies. Tell Basil that I wish I could photosynthesize – it’s probably much less damaging to the waistline than pumpkin pie, which is what Dad made last night.

Blog 1 – What do ghosts do in their spare time? They work on the skills that they weren’t allowed to develop when they were living. Mom loves to come and exercise to the TV. I finally moved the set out of my bedroom so she could do it at 2 am without waking me up. (Also, the witch gnomes like watching the weather channel.)



Blog 2 – You’re probably tired of hearing me complain about my work clothes, but hopefully this will be the last time; surely they’ll give me a different outfit when I go into the director branch. No one is going to take me seriously when I have the Nome King hairstyle.



Valor, on the other hand, gets to wear a tux now that he’s an actor. (And gets picked up by a Bwan Speedster.)



Blog 3 – Speaking of Valor, he’s gone political now that he’s an actor. His agent says there’s no such thing as bad publicity, so Valor has been airing his opinions about llamas.



What’s wrong with llamas? Nothing, according to Valor. The issue is that people consider it an insult to say that someone looks like a llama. Valor (and others) feel this is wounding to the animals that were so essential to the survival of the Incas. Considering that everyone who showed up for Valor’s protest is a vampire, I can’t help wondering if there was a disturbing motive for their support.



Blog 4 – I am now a supermaxed writer! Shalom Slalom, Curling Irons, Putting Input, and The Dog Barks No More put me over the top. The last is a dramatic novel that Rodney Potter wanted me to write for an opportunity.



Blog 5 – I tried, I really tried to get along with Ichelle Grimm because she has a great house. We went out on a date and got off to a great start by discovering that we both like the color blue.



And then I said something or she said something – anyway, we just don’t get along.



   At that point I realized that I’m already good friends with an unmarried woman – my co-worker Leanne Purnell. She’s another vampire, but Valor had provided me with something that would change her back to human.



One thing led to another…



…and we spent the rest of the evening discussing our relationship, and movies we wanted to make, and what kind of future we wanted. Oh, and her favorite color is blue, too.



I haven’t proposed yet. I already have a naughty reputation, and I don’t want to make things worse by getting engaged and then having to break it off.

Blog 6 – I finally got promoted to Storyboardist, and yes, I have a new outfit to wear to work.



It’s not my first choice in headgear, but I’m not complaining. What’s sweet is that Valor is playing a mad scientist this week.



I’m glad that everyone is well and that Virgil is making progress on his supermax. Cheers, Woden

[RainBeau]

I'm glad Woden found somebody he likes better. That should make him much happier. And thanks goodness he finally got a new uniform! Poor kid!

[MarianT]

Chapter Eight – Mid-Life Crisis

Dear Aunt Mercy,

   We had a mild earthquake here in Lucky Palms – 1.55 on the Richter Scale – but it didn’t damage anything. Did you feel it, too? Anyway, I’m writing because you wanted me to when I got engaged.

Blog 1 – Thursday, Valor and I went to work as usual. The first thing I discovered was that Leanne had had her elder’s birthday the night before. Then Valor went off to the Science Lab to research his role as a mad scientist.



   Since I stayed at work, I got my promotion before he did. So I’m now a level ahead of him, not that it’s a big deal or anything. I also picked up a Simmy for my editorial work on Aliens at the Yacht Club.



   So now I’m a director (2nd unit, but still), and I got my last opportunity, to do a recruiting ad over at the military base – Uncle Sim Wants YOU. I took Valor along to be my actor.



That does it for opportunities – I now have ten.

Blog 2 – Back to me and Leanne – I invited her over for dinner, and threw the Fountain of Youth elixir at her.



She is now quite a bit younger than I am, but she says she won’t let the age difference matter.



I took that as encouragement enough to try a proposal.



And Leanne said yes!

Blog 3 – So my birthday should have been the happiest ever. Just three more promotions and a few more friends, and I’ll have completed all my tasks for this dynasty and be ready for happily married life with a cute little Cottoneye (and an heir, too).



   Anyway, when the last tweets faded from the paper horns, I felt really old and depressed. Valor suggested I have a bachelor party, and Leanne gave permission for it to be an all-male affair, and said she wouldn’t ask any questions afterwards.

   I guess it was a typical party. We all sprayed each other with fizzy nectar. (We might have drunk some, too.)



A couple of dancers – Cherie Pie and Candy Bar – showed up. I am now best friends with Cherie Pie, but only friends. They decided to do their routine in the bathroom because the carpet in the living room was kind of squishy and damp from all the fizzy nectar.



   And then it turned out that the excitement was too much for Fred Kouadio, who used to be a maid.



   So we had another uninvited guest, the Grim Reaper.



I think that’s why the party was only a modest success.

Blog 4 – I wish I could say the party cured my mid-life crisis, but it’s still hanging on. I can’t pass a mirror without checking for wrinkles.



I have a new car, too.



   I don’t know why I got a red one when my favorite color is blue.

   Hope all is well with you and Aunt Aurelia and the rest. Your old friend, Woden

[RainBeau]

Awww, poor Woden. You're still handsome and doing well, and you have a cute fiancée! Don't be sad!

[MarianT]

Rosa, Woden wants you to know that he is grateful for all your encouragement. He's a little sad, though, because one of his NPC friends died about two hours after they met. You just never know.

[Turoskel]

I've come to the conclusion it's not a proper dynasty party without a death, especially an npc death, they have a nasty habit of doing that 

Supernatural potions are so useful at times, wish I'd had a fountain of youth when I was playing my townie dynasty, my heir fell for an elderly gatecrasher at his birthday party so I invited her round and then fenced her in the garden with nothing but a suspicious drink from the chemistry lab  The lengths you go to just to get the next generation.

I do love Woden's look, his normal everyday one not his Nome King look, that hat just really suits him.

[SimBlip]

I so loved these latest updates from Woden.
His love life will inspire a great film script someday.
Valor is special too. I can so relate to his concerns about llamas.

[MarianT]

Turoskel, I love the image of your elderly gatecrasher fenced in with a glass of "innocent-appearing" water containing a young-again potion. That's one thing I like about the elixirs -- you don't have to depend on the target.

SimBlip, Woden hasn't started writing scripts yet, but I'll keep that in mind.

[MarianT]

Chapter Nine – An Excellent Adventure

Dear Aunt Mercy,

   I was really sorry to hear about Cousin Beppe. I know how much he meant to you, and to everyone else. I’m sure his fame as a sculptor will live on, but I realize that’s not much consolation.

Blog 1 – This is going to be a long blog, because Valor and I were sent on assignment to Isla Paradiso. The first thing we did when we arrived was get some new clothes – it was just too hot for long pants. Valor found plenty to choose from in his favorite color, white.



I decided to accept my status as tourist and dress the part.



   The next thing we did was rent a houseboat.



Trust me, you would not want to try and fit your whole family on one of these, although they do make them bigger than the one we got. While Valor took a class in scuba diving, I “drove” to the dive site.



   Valor had to put in a certain number of hours snorkeling before they would issue him diving equipment. He picked up a few shells and also a little gnome.



I almost had a heart attack while he was snorkeling. I looked out the window, and there, just below him, I saw a giant shadow.



   It was raining the next day, but there wasn’t any lightning, so Valor figured he might as well go underwater. We got a few shots at one dive location.





   Then Valor went through a cave (no photographs, I’m afraid, it was too dark), and took some shots in another place.





He had to take the water taxi back to the houseboat, but he said the scenery above the water was pretty spectacular, too.



   While Valor was diving, I practiced wind-surfing.



All in all, we had a great time, even if we didn’t meet any mermaids.

Blog 2 – Almost as soon as we returned home, Valor became middle-aged. I expected him to go into midlife crisis, but he didn’t. He says that a few wrinkles make actors look “distinguished” and now he can compete with Harrison Ford for the really good roles.



I guess he’s right, because soon after his birthday, he was awarded a Simmy.



   I’m doing well, too, getting promoted to Scriptwriter. Don’t tell anyone, but my first screenplay is going to be “The Shadow of the Kraken.”

   I’ll let you know when it comes out. Love to all, Woden