Chapter Three: Let's get Started already.. Sheesh
Gah! I forgot how frustrating the first generation is. Let's see the rules state..
-mumblemumble-
Ew random traits. No rich spouse for 1st gen. No cheats. Well that's the easy part. Money should be §1300. Um. No - I'm allowed §1800 in the dynasties. I'll just do that thanks.
-clicking of the mouse-
Ok Metro says to use the foosball table and Village No 7. I can never find that painting. There should be a keyword search when looking in buy mode.
Aha! Ok. §1808. Well that's close enough for government work. What in the world is she doing? God I love Sims facial expressions. Mmk. Time to build a little shack. I should probably put a fence up since I saw that post on the wild horses eating crops. I hope I can afford a toilet. Oh! She wants to join the science career. Ok. Just go get that paper there. Fine. Talk to the kid then read the paper.
~*~*~*~*~*~
I know I have been speaking to others for light knows how long but actually being moved to a new world still surprised me. The grass and trees I saw before me looked like none of the pictures I had seen in what I'm now calling "the ready room". A small part of me wishes that someone else had been brought here with me: Natalie, Antone, Chris. I'd even take the old lady or the old red guy.
After a moment, I decided to finally take a look around my location. I step further onto the property that is obviously mine to get my bearings. I began to muse to myself. "No house in sight. Wait a minute…"
"No house. No other people. A mailbox, a trash can and an open field. What did they say about that? Oh yea! I must be in a legacy or dynasty. But wait - the old lady and Natalie both said my LTW would never be used in a dynasty."
I did the best I could to self assess what I thought my lifetime wish should be. It turns out that's exactly what I wanted. I also want to join the science career and take a gardening class.
Before I knew it, two hours had passed and a little boy was stepping onto my lawn. He waved to me and put a newspaper down on the ground. I waved back and stepped closer to chat with him. I asked him what the name of the town was. He gave me an odd look and said, "This is Appaloosa Plains, ma'am. You sure you're ok?"
"Of course, I was just making sure. I've never seen a picture before." He quirked an eyebrow at that but it was the truth. Anyone could see that I was serious. We chatted for another moment and he said the best place to learn herbalism would be at the science center. Wait, not herbalism, it's called gardening in the Sim world.
Then a strange feeling came over me for just a brief second like time was freezing.
~*~*~*~*~*~
-sigh-
It's not my best work but with only §1800 it's the best I could come up with. I'm surprised I actually managed to buy a shower and a toilet. Wow, she has absolutely nothing left. I should spend the last §100 on fruit for the garden to get it started. First - read that paper woman!
It never hurts to know your boss. You know. It's true. Let's call her up while I explore the town to see if I can find some free produce.
-drinks last of her drink through a straw-
I cannot believe it. The only plants in this town are in people's yards unless I'm blind. No deathflower in the graveyard either. Not that I can use them. It's so hard to remember I don't have to supermax anything in this game. Alright let's add go to the pet store to the queue and I'm going to go get another drink while you do that.
-mouse click, mouse click. Thunk when chair whirls to hit desk.-
~*~*~*~*~*~
That brief second was over before I could really think on it. The only reason I'm even bringing it up is because everything is a new and exciting experience for me. Some of it is kind of frightening, too.
I was as the young boy goes out to the street and hops onto a metal frame with two wheels attached to it. Through a series of gears he manages to propel himself down the road without hurting himself. Interesting contraption. Oh blast it!
It is in this moment that I realize that everything is gone again, except now it's not just my mounts, pets, clothes, now it's also all my money. Where did it all go? I pick up the paper and walk around a little bit to find the spot with the best light to read it. I'm in a field with the sun shining down on me so it wasn't hard to find a good spot.
I've never seen writing like that before my eyes, yet I understand it completely. I know what ever symbol is called and what each grouping means. It didn't take me long to find the want ads in the center of the publication. My career of choice was the third on the list.
Music could be heard in my head as I made the decision to take the job. I knew automatically that my application had already been accepted, who my boss was and that my work hours began in the morning. Something called a carpool would pick me up at 8 AM to start my day. I have officially started my new life.
I glance around this area one more time as I place the paper down on the ground. That's when I see that my field is no longer just a field. I have a little shanty next to a fence. Actually, calling the structure a shanty was being overly grand. However, it was more than I had two hours ago and it seemed to cover most of my basic needs. There was also a source of water beside the toilet that looked like a great place to put out fires that can sometimes be known to happen. I wonder what other uses it could have.
Now that I knew where all my money had gone, I decided to call the only person I knew in town other than the little guy I met this morning. It doesn't hurt to chat up the person who is going to be in charge of what you do every day. I used to have a great relationship with my raid leader and that always seemed to help when it came time to forgive my mistakes.
Gracie Loveland seemed very excited to make my acquaintance once she answered the phone. I asked her what she was expecting of me with the new job and if there was anything I should know about the locale. She mentioned that I should show up to work in the mornings with a good attitude and my needs taken care of.
After an hour, we hung up the phone just slightly closer than we had been before I called. I couldn't tell if she had enjoyed the conversation and I wasn't sure how I felt about it either. I did know that I had a sudden urge to go check out the local pet store. It sounded like a great idea actually. Maybe I can find something cute and cuddly to play with like Breanni's shop back in Dal.
I couldn't help but sigh when I remembered I didn't have a mount. I was fairly certain I didn't have the riding skill either so I would have to scrounge up whatever the Sim amount needed so I could get to places faster. Of course, I remember a time when it took forty levels before you could even think about using faster transportation. So I'll do now what I used to do back then…
run.~*~*~*~*~*~
-Can set down on the desk-
You know - Sims can be so weird. Why is she running all the way to the Pet Store? I wonder if this is some type of new glitch. That's not annoying at all, huh? She's almost there now so no use worrying over it. I can't wait to see what the exclusive content is.
Hmm. I wonder if that's supposed to be some type of Dolly Parton wannabe. The horse is gorgeous though. We'll have to keep watch on that house and see if it has pretty foals. Maybe I'll get Lilac a horse if we figure out a way to get money. Finally! She made it. Well I can honestly say the shop is kinda cute and color coordinated. I wonder if you can get this stuff through buydebug. The little paw print dirt circles are awesome. That would make a really cute flair to a house. I might actually remember that one day, too. Time to go inside and hope that the register isn't broken. I wonder if you can sell wild animals to this place.~*~*~*~*~*~
The run from my land to the pet store was a long and slow one. I should have been out of breath but I wasn't which surprised me. Of course, back when I had to do this to get anywhere, I don't remember being out of breath then either.
On the path over, I was passed by a beautiful white horse and it's rider. Something about the rider caused a small part of me to get excited like a school girl. I have no idea where that feeling came from either. I saw people trying to take her picture as she rode past them. I wonder if she's someone important. I certainly didn't recognize her, but would I recognize anyone?
I arrived at the little corner shop and took a look around for a moment. I saw these cute little statues near the bushes with little signs. That's when I realized these were the gnomes that Natalie told me about. Little men made of stone with pointy hats and long white beards. Well isn't that just ridiculous. Only the weird gnomes have white hair and none of the upper level ones wear their wizard's hats except in SW.
Having finally met the Sim equivalent of a gnome, I felt strange. I felt.. I missed being a gnome. I missed having two big ponytails and being four feet tall. I miss my magic and my glowing staff. I don't think I'm going to get any of that back either.
Sad thoughts continue to plague me as I enter the pet shop. Self preservation pulled me back into my current reality when I got a good look of the person standing behind the register. She introduced herself as Hetty Lionheart and showed me a catalog of all their current products. It was interesting seeing all the things you could buy for your pets.
After I was done looking, I decided to look around the shop at all the little decorations. The moment I did I saw the prettiest bird I had seen in a while. I had to go talk to it. When I wondered what type of bird it was, the knowledge instantly came to mind. It was a Yellow-Naped Amazon.
As soon as I was done talking to it, the bird disappeared. I had no idea animals could do that. I wonder if it was a cloak or something when I moved to see the other tanks nearby. There was a chipmunk in one of the terrariums. I watched it for a while as it ran around hiding under its shelf and then playing on it's wheel. Another customer got close so I decided to move on but then it disappeared, too. We looked at each other and shrugged. I was going to introduce myself but she walked away so I turned the opposite direction.
"Squeeee!"
I couldn't stop myself from making that noise when I saw the snake just lying their on a rock. "Awww." It was sleeping and looked so peaceful. There was a part of me that knew that there were no races when it came to the Sim world but the fact that I was seeing a snake in front of me and no trolls really drove the fact home. It was a Scarlet King Snake and it was absolutely gorgeous for a little fellow.
Before I got in trouble with the scary lady behind the register for making so much noise, I straightened my back and turned for the door. I stepped outside to look at the "gnomes" once more and that's when I realized that I had things in my inventory that hadn't been there earlier.
It was the three animals I had seen in the shop. The bird, chipmunk and snake were all right there which meant I was the reason they had disappeared. I stole them from the shop like some common thief. Why would I do such a thing? I can't believe it.
What could possibly ever make me do such a thing? I used to be an honorable gnome. I held the rank of officer within Cake or Death. I had once been trusted with our guild bank and so much more. Now look at me, first day as a Sim and I've lost all of my moral standards.
Maybe...
