Mission Highly Unlikely: Mission Complete

[Schipperke]

I Meet My Neighbours

Diary Entry

I really didn't want to budge from behind my locked doors.  But that pesky Social need has a way of decaying, and before long I realized I would have to venture out.  I remembered Louise saying "maybe the other good Sim is a neighbour?" and hoped she might be right.  I still hadn't run across Holly Alto and wasn't brave or foolhardy enough to go looking for her in the lion's den (the Alto residence).  But if I could be lucky enough to find the other Good Sim close by, what a lift that would give me.  I walked across the street and knocked on the door.



I was welcomed and invited in by some of the strangest-looking characters I had ever seen.





I nervously introduced myself to them, afraid of the usual negative reaction.  But I detected no evil in any of them, and none of them started shrieking about Good Sims.  In fact, they were really quite pleasant.  I cautiously mentioned that I had never encountered Sims that looked quite like them.



"Oh yes," she told me, "they call us Freaks.  It is widely believed that we acquired our unfortunate appearances as a result of the meteorite disaster.  They say it's some sort of mutation." 

I found her wording strange, and asked if she agreed with that theory.  She looked at me for a long moment, then said, "You really aren't from here, are you? I don't know why, but I seem to feel I can trust you.  I hope you aren't one of Vita's spies in disguise." 

The look of horror on my face as I assured her I was definitely not one of Vita's spies must have convinced her, for she continued, "What you see is not our true appearances.  We are actually normal Sims, believe it or not.  We adopted these unattractive guises as a way of surviving in this town.  The Evil ones take a fiendish delight in the misfortunes of others.  It gives them pleasure to mock and laugh at us.  It helps them to feel superior.  They like being able to look down on us, so they allow us to stay here and don't bother us."

Her words filled me with sorrow, as I realized what indignity these poor Sims had endured just in order to survive.  How brave they must be to carry on and still retain their good natures!  For the first time, it really struck me just how intolerable life had become here in Sundown Town.  I wondered if Mr Payne could help these poor unfortunates.

I bade them goodbye and strolled over to Aleister's Elixir Shop.  As I walked through the door, I realized my brief respite from Evil was over.  The shop was occupied by three of the most unsavoury characters around.



I had heard them whispered about in tones of fear and loathing - the Racket Family, Twinbrook's most notorious crime family, come to expand their evil empire to Sundown Town.  It was said they had taken over the mansion formerly occupied by the Landgraab family, who had been banished because of their son Malcolm's Good trait (although it was widely suspected that Nancy Landgraab's rivalry with Nick Alto for the top Business position was also a factor in their banishment).

I gave the Rackets a wide berth and introduced myself to a solitary young man who was poking the fire.



His name was Christopher.  I didn't think he was the Good Sim I had been instructed to find, but he didn't seem to be one of the Evil ones.  He was quite friendly, if a bit single-minded in his repeated complaints about nobody wanting to do Dynasties in this town any more.

[RainBeau]

It is so cool to see Sims from different towns. The freaks are interesting for sure. And It's really funny how connected with Dynasties Chris Steel always seems to be, even in non-Dynasty stories!

[Schipperke]

It is so cool to see Sims from different towns. The freaks are interesting for sure. And It's really funny how connected with Dynasties Chris Steel always seems to be, even in non-Dynasty stories!

One of the female freaks was given a Bonehilda outfit, but I have yet to see her in it.  She seems to prefer to go around in her work outfit.  Which I guess is not too surprising, poor thing. 

[Odinsdottir]

Oh, my word.  The poor Freaks.  Something makes me suspect there's a beautiful girl under that toadification...

[Magpie2012]

OH MY WORD!!!! This is AWESOME!!! My first experience with a Schip story and I'm completely and utterly hooked... More please and thank you!

[SadieHamming]

Poor, Chris, no one wants to do dynasties! Great update!

[donatello]

The truth is sometimes strange, and the truth is that those freaks have more in common with me than I (or they, if they knew me) would like to admit. I could easily live in such a household. The scenery and company would only be mirrors.

[Schipperke]

The truth is sometimes strange, and the truth is that those freaks have more in common with me than I (or they, if they knew me) would like to admit. I could easily live in such a household. The scenery and company would only be mirrors.

To be different, in such an obvious and unusual way, and to remain unbowed, requires a great deal of strength of character.  Which means a lot more than one's superficial appearance.  That's how I see the Freaks.  And I'd like to think that I might have some of their qualities as well, although I've never faced quite that strong a challenge.

Thanks for the comments.  I'm glad you're enjoying this story.  I'm very engrossed in it, to the point where it's pretty much writing itself.

[Magz from Oz]

Absolutely enjoying this story... can't wait for the next update.

[Audren]

I've always loved those rocking chairs, but Bill Racket sitting in it just makes them a bit omnious. 

[TheTripWasInfraGreen]

(It's actually Dennis in the rocking chair. Bill wears a blue jacket and sunglasses.)

Okay, I'm secretly cheering for the Rackets. They're one of my favorite criminal families in the game. Sorry to Nameless and friends for that!

Loving the story.

[Louise56]

Poor Nameless I feel sorry for him. The freaks are very interesting, I wonder who is behind that toad mask?
Fantastic story, can't wait for more!

[Schipperke]

Weekends are for Fun

Yes, the weekend is here, and I hope Nameless can manage to enjoy himself because his life hasn't been a barrel of laughs lately.  Saturday morning, Nameless is wondering what to do.  His social need isn't too bad, but as a Childish Sim, he does need to pay special attention to his fun need.  He could spend the day vegging and watching Kids' TV, but I don't relish watching him sitting in the filth, so we agree that he shall go play his piano in front of the theatre again.  He still doesn't have enough piano skill to play for tips and isn't earning any money, which means his funds are steadily diminishing.  And the Renaissance Sim LTW that Mr Payne foisted on him requires that poor Nameless maximize a full three skills, so off he goes.

Oh, but first, a little good news. It wouldn't do to forget this.  Nameless has finally found someone he can trust completely in Sundown Town.



He befriends a wild African Grey parrot and takes him/her home.





And I was racking my brain trying to come up with a name for the bird.  I mean, it's one thing to have a nameless hero, but a nameless parrot too?  Not good.  Then it finally dawned on me - man in grey, parrot in grey.  Payne Junior!  Or PJ, for short.  I'm sure Mr Payne would be honoured to have such a smart and handsome bird named after him.

Nameless sets up his keyboard in front of the theatre and a crowd begins to gather, although most of them hold their noses on account of the stench coming off Sundown Town's most aromatic citizen.





And this is where things begin to get interesting.  Or something.  Because somehow the population controls got changed - I honestly don't know how, I know I had everything unchecked.  And I also haven't been paying attention to the moon cycles.  Yep, you got it - full moon.  And why does the game always have to pick on the Sims I like?

Jamie Jolina with those grotesque vampire eyes?  Yech.



Handsome Hank Goddard as a shambling, green-skinned zombie?



It's a little hard to see in that screenshot, but Iqbal Alvi has acquired blue fairy wings, which isn't too bad.

Madison what's-her-name is transformed into a werewolf.



Reading over what I just wrote, it dawned on me - none of the Sims transformed into alternate life-forms were Evil!  Now, there are a huge number of Evil Sims in this town, so what are the chances of that?  Maybe the Werewolf Packs, like their canine counterparts, are inherently Good (says the dog-lover).  Maybe the Vampires are already Evil enough and prefer not to attack kindred spirits.  Maybe the Zombies' Union is trying to clean up their image by banning Evil.  Who knows.

It's all too much for poor Christopher, sensitive soul that he is.



Poor Chris.  Well, at least he hasn't been changed into something hideous - that might really scupper his chances of ever finding a Dynasty mate.

It's too much for me, too.  Nameless keeps getting a "zombie attack" in his queue.  So he packs up his keyboard and decamps to the safety of home and Kids TV.  And I resolve to try to remember to check the population controls every time I play.

And you know what the worst part of it all is?  Thanks to my forgetfulness or whatever caused those population controls to get changed, Nameless somehow managed to acquire a celebrity point.  I didn't even know he was talking to a celebrity until the notification came up about his becoming a level one celebrity, and by then it was too late to undo it.  Sigh.  Why did they have to make it so ridiculously easy to become a celebrity in this game?  When I had Late Night installed before, it was always hard to avoid becoming a celebrity, and that hasn't changed.  Well, good-bye LN, again, and I will never again allow myself to be tempted to reinstall it just to have the musical instruments back.  Nameless will have to learn to play the guitar instead.

Oh yeah, and as if that wasn't enough, look what else happened after Nameless got to sleep.



Poor Nameless.  His only defence against burglars is the filth and stench of his house, but apparently burglars aren't put off by a little grime.

Look at the gleeful expression on the face of this burglar as she snatches the expensive stove.



I can just imagine her chortling, "It's such fun being a burglar in Sundown Town!"

She then went upstairs to the room in which Nameless was sleeping and helped herself to a painting on the wall.



Nameless slept through it all. 

I hope Simgund Freud can be persuaded to make a house call, before Nameless has a complete breakdown.  Or maybe I'm the one whose mental health should be questioned, for getting us both into this!

[saltpastillen]

Poor nameless, becoming a celebrity and being robbed in the same day. What is worse I ask. Well, considering he's supposed to keep a low profile, becoming a celebrity seems more dangerous.

I'm really enjoying the story. I just keep hoping he'll run into one of the good sims soon.

[RainBeau]

Since this is not a Dynasty, you should know that there is now an option in testingcheats to remove Celebrity status. Or set Celebrity status, for the matter. You can shift-click Nameless and take him back down to 0 Stars. Don't give up on Late Night for this fixable problem!