Miss Me Yet?

 I know, I know it's been two months with no updates.  Zero. Zip. Nada.  And I one billion percent hold EA personally responsible.  I have come to believe that there is absolutely an annual vendetta there.  Before you start shaking your head and calling the loony bin about conspiracy theories let me explain.

Every year.  Every August to be exact.  Every year there is a normally benign patch for the game that comes up.  I mean that happens multiple times throughout the year but the one that releases late July/early August is always NOT benign, it's malignant I swear and the basis of the vendetta.    I have no issues with any other patch throughout the year.  This one though?  This one takes out my game and leaves me wailing and gnashing my teeth. Tears may or may not be involved.  Every August EA does everything in their power to shut me down and crumble my spirit.  The validation that I know it's personal?  The fact that the patch is for Sims 4 but it also renders Sims 2 broken with the same error message.  Sims 2 doesn't get updates so why is this happening from a Sims 4 patch?  Hence, vendetta!

Anyway, this vendetta always requires hours on chat and phone with IT doing all the pointless check lists they have to follow and always ends with well you can uninstall and reinstall the game.  Great in theory but  . . . when you live in the country the powers that be don't believe you deserve good internet.  Always something like we service your zip code or not your address baloney.  Last year I spent weeks redownloading. . .both games.  I mean it worked. . .last year.

Here's comes the annual vendetta patch.  I cried wrung my hands and whined to my Simmy friends and spent hours over multiple days on with tech support.  Guess where we ended up? Yup uninstall and reinstall.  I spent weeks making that happen.  Weeks!  And. . . same error message.  How does this not work when I've invested so much?!?  I've given up that I will never finish Strangerville nor any other sim related task ever.  Ever.  But then. . . Monday morning while getting ready for work at some unholy hour in the morning when literally no one but vampires and sleepwalkers are moving around I accidently did something with my mouse and randomly hear Sims 2 music coming from my closed laptop.  I had to take a moment ya know, it'd been so long since I had heard those sweet tunes.  Sims 2 was magically working but I was off to work.  That night Sims 4 had a patch.  That took all evening to finish and no time to do squat and no confidence that it would matter.  But. . .

Took some finagling and whatnot but this patch fixed the vendetta of the last patch.  I have my game back!  Now I just need time to play.  Story of my life.  Annual EA vendetta hate crimes are now checked off for 2021.  I have some commitments that will prevent me from being able to get the next installment out for a few weeks. . . and I need to get caught up in the story since it's literally been two months!  But, October will bring the resolution to the Strangerville story line and our time with Serenity.  August 2022?  I'm waiting for you!

Into the Strangerville Lab

 

It took time to get here but that door is coming open. . . I hope.  I mean I guess the reality is that we are about to see if the mysterious key card that showed up in the mailbox actually works.  

Something happened when we, I mean I, made it through the doors. You can see it instantly - something floating in the air. I just gets creepier as you go through the door and down the stairs. Something was - still is - going on here and now it's out. Out in the air, in the community and even at MY house! It's changing the air, the plants, the people. . .

 It is literally like everything changed as I came back up those stairs.  I know the locals know more than they are sharing and I was determined to figure it out.   

 

First order of business was to swing by Erwin's shop and compare notes and experiences.  From there I was headed to 8 Bells.   Those military guys know something and I was going to find out what.  I may have neglected to document the experience but I can share it was a doozie.  I knew my person had rank and I knew that I had to play it smart.  I found my rank and knew they were lying.  The smart part not so much. . . they knew I was playing them and it turned into a knock down drag out fight but I walked way with what I needed.  I'm not sure why I need it or how it works but it supposedly scans the air and makes the particles that escaped the lab with us visible and collectible.  Here we go!

I don't know what it's done to my neighbors but it's out of control.  He almost ripped my hand off when I tried to help him snap out of it.  I mean I tried to slap him but how else do you snap someone to reality?!?  It's even invading my house now!  Everything is changing and changing fast!  I scanned everything everywhere (even the infected) and gathered a lot of spores.  

 

 

The machine basically gave me a bunch of gibberish. . . oh I'm sure it means something but I don't know at.  Check out the top there though, I tried to go exploring but something possessed me and completely messed up my awareness for a bit.  I'm better now but I don't know something is very off about this place.  I won't give up but I'm also terrified.  I took the gibberish and met with a one of the scientists that I've become 'friendly' with.  She's going to take my data and compare with what's already stored in the systems along with any other known information that may not yet be correlated. I took my fears and met with Erwin and he had some suggestions as well.  Ultimately I walked away with an incomplete haz mat suit and a spore filter to use in it.  Just a bit more time to work up my courage and I'm going back to that lab.  I'm running out of time and the situation gets more and more complex with each bit I figure out.

There's still a lot to learn here.  A lot to explore. . . more than you realize.  However, a bit back I promised to come back and address the tiny little plant under the kitchen window.  Meet Hector, he lived, he thrived, he died all under that kitchen window.

 

Until next week. . .stay safe out there~

The Plot Thickens. . .in Strangerville

Let's be honest here, I really am in over my head.  I am loving my time in Strangerville and really enjoying spending time with my new friends but I overestimated my ability to dig in and really figure things out.  I'm running out of time!  But I also don't ever want this summer to end.   Let's be honest, I didn't anticipate my social life being such a big part of the summer and neglected to account for the need to sleep.  I feel like coffee, coffee, and coffee are all that is keeping me going right now.  But. . . I'm loving every minute of it.  

Before I ever made plans to come to Strangerville for the summer, before I rented the house and found the job (hello Coffee!) I had already started digging into the secrets of Strangerville.  I found so many message boards and blogs and even legit news sites that funneled me some information.  

You don't have to give up your summer or run around to figure this out, just check out the link attached to the picture and take some time to learn about Strangerville for yourself.  Literally, I would never have made it this far without some help!

I guess I should stop whining about being so tired and really get down to business.  The military might be tight lipped even with a few drinks and a lot of flirting but I picked up just enough to be dangerous.  Link that with the bits and bobbles I was able to sneak out of the poor scientists that are struggling to even understand what happened and yeah just enough to be dangerous.  I snuck through the fence and did a bit of poking around in the crater and found a wealth of information. 

 

 With all the information I was able to find around town (never underestimate the power of books as well!) I had enough information to peak the interest of some of the more hardcore conspiracy theorists.  Trust me when I say that you will never know you know these people.  Deep in the web on some of the hacker sites you can find a lot of information and buy a lot of street cred with that information.  Please don't tell me I'm playing with fire and it's dangerous and all that other blah blah blah.  I've met people I know I can trust and I'm also running out of time.  I can't take the slow route when I've earned my way into the fast track!

I shared what I have with some of the others out there and they shared back with me.  Someone sent me a key card.  I assume it goes to that sealed door at the lab but. . . first it literally came to the house so here's hoping it's someone I actually know because otherwise maybe I need to listen to blah blah blah.  I'm confident it's legit though so don't worry.  I'd love to share more with you but I've got plans to get through that door. Don't worry, I'm not going alone but more on that later too :D

42 days to go. . .next stop what's behind this door. . .

Strangerville Summer

 

 It was late when I rolled into town but it didn't take much to get settled in.  I had so little stuff to add to such a micro tiny house!  I feel like I'll forever be tired with work hours (5am!?!) and hearing the clock ticking on my time in Strangerville.

This!  This is what I'm here for.  Crater turned military base turned Secret Lab.  Ultimately abandoned due to an unexplained explosion - that is the reason I'm here.  I mean the history alone is worthy of time and research but the explosion that caused everyone with any knowledge, really any power, to scatter and leave everything behind that is what I want to understand.  That and the unusual plants that you don't notice in the dark but area literally everywhere!  Even in my yard!

Creepy cool looking right?  The are literally everywhere and the closer you get to the crater the more prolific they get.  I haven't yet figured out if they bloom or pod or even open.  I'm not giving up as it's just the start of what is going on in this otherwise idyllic dessert town. 

For those of you questioning the plant in the corner of the house never fear, I'll explain that later. . . I promise.  I may be exploring and studying Strangerville but that doesn't mean I'm not also completely embracing life and every opportunity that comes my way! 

And in the vein of Strangerville the first order of business, after checking out the glowing plants, is to go where the locals go.  I took a few pick up shifts at 8 Bells, the local bar where the military personnel spend their off time.  I can tell you that while they like their drinks strong and their flirt game is just as strong, so are their lips.  Not one secret shared. . . but some little tips did rise to the surface.  

I also spent some time at the Strangerville Information Center which is just a fancy name for the local library.  I mean not only are books a wealth of information but the scientists all tend to gather there.  Most are still reeling from recent events at the lab and out of any where else to go.  They too are tight lipped about why they are here and what happened to cause the explosion but a few little leads might lead me somewhere.

Don't forget the Conspiracy Theorists.  You might shake your head but let me tell you I've yet to meet someone who comes across as woo woo. There's a LOT of truth there it's just a matter of piecing the right parts together. I can say that in spending time with the locals I've made some friends, had a few adventures, (living every opportunity!) and perhaps, just perhaps a reason to return after school. . . 

Speaking of friends I've been drug all over the desert for different events.  The most recent was The Spice Festival.  Not only did I completely kill all taste buds for life but that's also where I stumbled across that tiny little Cow Plant seed, you know where that small little plant came from.  I can't wait for it to grow and see what it becomes!

Before you start judging me that I'm all play and no research I assure you that is not the case.  Remember that half the battle is building trust with the locals so that I can research.  I won't lie though I feel like the summer is moving too fast and that I'm going to run out of time.  I've got 62 days to go.

Home Sweet. . .Strangerville?

 

The more I learn about the history of Strangerville the more I know that I need to go there, to study there, and learn there.  It's the perfect example of Science and History merging into something that defies explanation.  The crater drew the military for a reason. The crater drew scientists in droves as well. Nothing is resolved?Nothing!  The more I don't learn about the scientific break throughs coming from Strangerville the longer it feels like to graduation.  My family knows my plan is to spend the summer there before University in the Fall.  They aren't thrilled that I'm leaving right after graduation but  I've already found the cutest little house with a view of the crater to rent. 

I did it!  Graduation is in the rear view and a summer in Strangerville starts this weekend!  I got a part-time job at Moondoe's Coffee Shop which gives me access to the locals, time to discover my own secrets of Strangerville, and a bit of income to tide me through the summer.  Tomorrow?  The adventure begins.  I've got 75 days to figure it all out. 
 

A Message from The Almighty Ruler of Everything

So, it's obvious that it's been more than a minute since I created something with my Simmies.  Long story short the computer that housed the Apocalypse Challenge, and Janabel, died an unnatural death.  There was a lot of mourning (more than even for Janabel) and the entire challenge was lost.  New computer was procured but Sims time was not something that happened and as a real slacker I never got around to downloading my Sims games to the computer.  Fast forward about 2.5 years and the new computer started having keyboard issues.  As in I had intermittent access to the R, F, and B keys.  That was obviously an issue so hello computer warranty and yet another new computer.  Within the first couple of weeks I downloaded the Sims because well, it had been entirely too long. 

The Triumph Challenge is toast which continues to leave me mournful as they were so much fun, I mean come on the nose people the nose.  Doo Rag will always come to the front of my mind when I see an absurd Sims nose. Please feel free to visit the family again through the stories that were posted but they will not return.  There will be a new Sims 2 Apocalypse challenge in the future but I don't think I'm going to jump right back into that.  It will be too hard to separate from the glory that was Tiffani and Doo Rag and Janabel and the whole entourage of Sims.  I'm feeling out challenge ideas to get me back in the game and I think I'm going to roll with the Big Brother Challenge for Sims 4 for now. I'm working on the perfect BB house and auditioning for contestants.  Have a Sim you would like to suggest for the house?  Please send an application my way!  In the meantime, be on the lookout for some serious summer time drama to head to this space soon!

Fizzy's Big Brother House Summer 2020 Application

Sims Name:

Gender:

Age:

Aspiration:

Traits:

Current Career (they will need to take time off work to complete this challenge): 

Please provide a short reason on why this Sim is the perfect addition to the Big Brother House:

Please upload with the hashtag #FizzyBB2020

Moss Generation Challenge: G1 Chapter 3

Here we are again in the Moss home. We're still plucking away at their goals! Here is where we left off at the conclusion of the last chapter

Get married
Complete the Bestselling Author aspiration
Become a writer
Marry 2 kids out
Have one enemy and two friends

So, the day came for Ashley's birthday and I made a HUGE mistake. I accidentally  aged Angelica up to Elder by blowing out the candles instead of selecting Ashley.  Oops! Anyway, I don't care that Ashley is kill-it-with-fire ugly, she's finding a man and getting married right away because her dear ole dad needs to marry off two children!   Don't believe me that she is kill-it-with-fire ugly? Seriously, believe it. I have the proof. That's a face that only a mother could love. Well, unless the Maker steps in and makes it happen because what is it that I always say? What the Maker wants, the Maker gets and the Maker wants Ashley to find love.

So, I looked over all of my notes and potential lovers and thought that maybe Ashley would make a fine wife of Derek Dreamer, another one of my sim families. I was right. They hit it off and after the first date they eloped in the park!

Ugly sims need love too, right? Okay, no...they don't but the Maker needs to complete this challenge.

After I married off Ashley, I quickly set about getting a young man raised up for Laurel. I chose an artistic young man named Stephen Broke as a suitor for Laurel and they exchanged promise rings just before their birthdays. 

 As soon as Stephen and Laurel became young adults, they quickly eloped. Alder is only days away from Young Adult and Ezra needed knock out at least one more objective before he took over as the heir of the family. While they were throwing a wedding anyway, Ezra and Angelica decided to renew their vows. Unfortunately no one ever taught them wedding attire etiquette.

I thought things were going just swimmingly but Stephen confronted Ezra after the wedding. He felt that Ezra and Angelica not only tried to steal the limelight by deciding to renew their vows but they also made a mockery out of the ceremony by showing up in their underwear and pajamas.

Needless to say, words were said, fists went flying and enemies were made.   This isn't how I'd planned to have this wedding wrap up but at least it completes all five generational challenges.

Get married
Complete the Bestselling Author aspiration
Become a writer
Marry 2 kids out
Have one enemy and two friends

Alder finished up getting to A+ Student before turning into a young adult. Unfortunately, just hours before his birthday, his sweet mama met Grim. I'm surprised that she went before Ezra, they both were blinking for several days before she finally gave up and passed on.  More unfortunate, Ezra was at work and didn't get to say his goodbyes. He did get to watch Alder turn into a Young Adult though!

I also want to point out that Alexa and Ezra have made it to best friend status. She dropped by from the Legacy house to offer her condolences to Ezra, which I thought was super sweet.

I think she knows that time with her uncle was drawing to a close and she wanted to get in one more visit before she lost him too.    


With Ezra's time dwindling down, Alder met and proposed to a young lady named Aylin from my Lothario family. This particular challenge says to have no playable sims in your neighborhood but for the life of me I can't really figure out why it matters. Especially sine you're completing the challenges with the heir. So, it's something I've chosen to ignore and Aylin needed a nice young man!

And days later, Ezra died...of overexhaustion. I've no clue how that happened! I totally forgot to take his picture though because I was looking for Alexa as she was visiting from the Legacy house!   She was upstairs mourning Angelica, who she only ever met on one occasion. These sims are messed up!


So it is that Ezra has passed the challenge to Alder! Stay tuned for babies, parties and lots and lots of studying for those promotions!  One challenge down! 9 to go!

Moss Generation Challenge: G1 Chapter 2

In the last chapter we started off with trying to secure babies for the Moss family while working on the following goals

Get married
Complete the Bestselling Author aspiration
Become a writer
Marry 2 kids out
Have one enemy and two friends

Somehow I failed to even notice that I wasn't doing this generation challenge in order but that's okay, I guess! I'll try to keep a tally of completion since I started things off on the wrong foot by completing them out of order.

So, here is what my beautiful Moss family is looking like  as of late.  We have Angelica, Ashley, Aspen. Laurel, Alder and proud daddy, Ezra.  Yes, Alder is in desperate need of a new diaper...ah the joys of motherhood, Angelica!

Between Angelica's painting and Ezra's writing novels (maxed) the lovely couple was able to afford a bigger home.  They went from a home worth $20,000 to a home worth 48,000. Not bad for a young couple with three little ones keeping them busy!

Angelica and Ezra have both hit level 5 of their career and are well on their way to hitting level 6.

Their oldest daughter, Ashley, not only fulfilled her childhood aspiration as an Artistic Prodigy but also was an A student before turning into a teen.Yet, despite all of her accomplishments, Ashley seems like she's not so certain about life. Maybe it's just an artist thing...she's walked around all glum for no reason since her birthday.

She might just be upset with me for starting her right out on skilling up for her future as a musician but I can't resist. The girl is a musical genius and we all know how this works—the Maker always gets her way. So, Ashley will just have to suck it up.

Ezra advanced to his elder years...Angelica is still quite young. He married late in life as I'd never really intended for him to be more than help for his sister, Jordan.  Alas, the need for children outweighed my desire to have him be the happy bachelor and just look at him now! Daddy of four! I have to say that age was super kind to Ezra. He's rather a hottie with his silver hair!

 
Angelia and Ezra celebrated his birthday with another promotion (level 6 in their careers!) and upgraded their home with some brand new top of the line appliances. Despite these two large purchases these two still have 20,000 saved back for the next generation to spend! Not bad!

With renovations out of the way, Angelica made a birthday cake for the twins, Aspen and Laurel (both of whom fulfilled their childhood aspiration of Social Butterfly) and watched them blossom into teenagers.

These two couldn't look more different if they tried and yet their childhood aspirations and their adult aspirations and traits are identical. Both Active, Cheerful, Socially Gifted with a High Metabolism and both desire to be body builders. They are the very best of friends and as close as two siblings could possibly be. Their friendship is inspiring and beautiful. They're also both A students like their sister, Ashley.

This leaves me just four more days to try to scramble and complete Alder's childhood aspiration. Don't ask me why I slacked with him but now comes the mad dash to try to complete rambunctious scamp! Doesn't he look so enthusiastic about me waiting until his birthday to fulfill his childhood dreams?


Luckily I was able to pull off the mad dash of skilling and Alder completed his childhood aspiration just hours before his birthday. I hope and pray that he turns out better looking than his oldest sister and his brother.  Wish me luck guys, wish me luck.

His daddy also reached his life time aspiration (and challenge goal) of becoming a bestselling author. In celebration, Ezra and Angelica ran off to the bedroom to woohoo which means that Alder didn't get a birthday cake before he aged up.  Now he's all sad and mopey and really...what did he grow up in? This just won't do at all.  Off to the mirror he must go for a makeover!


Tune in next time to see if Alder has potential as a decent looking heir or if he's burn-it-with-fire ugly. Yes, I know, I'm really superficial when it comes to sims...the Almighty Ruler of Everything has already informed me.

If sim shaming isn't your cuppa, I promise there will be plenty of other updates. In the next chapter there will be love, skill points and maybe even a new home...you'll just have to read and see!

The Strattons (3)

 
This is just a quick little update. The last post left us with one founder gone, Karly and Zachary becoming teens and a legit couple, a burning house, and a whole bunch of sobbing sims.
Now, Jude has aged to teen.

Brady met with Grimmy again. But Cara's pleading bought him a second chance.


Karly and Zachary became adults, and GOT MARRIED!
Karly joined the medical career like her grandmother and mother. And I've decided all females, natural born related to the founders AND females that marry into this family will follow the medical career path. Kind of because I REALLY like going to work with my medical sims.
Then it wasn't long before, Grimmy took Brady away for good.

And coming in the next post:  
Find out if Karly has a boy, or if we have yet another female heir, and what she has decided to name Baby Lancaster!

The Strattons

When we last met, Brady and Bianca became elders, after having a baby boy, named Jude. Cara and Kai's daughter, Karly had just met her future husband, Zachary. Don't you love a good arranged marriage?
 Here's what we've been up to lately. With Brady and Bianca knocking on ol' Grimmy's door, Cara felt the need to talk to them about her role in the family, and about the care and keeping of Jude after they pass on. She also had to have the chat with Jude after she talked to her parents.
 
 It has been decided that Jude can live in the house, as long as he is single, he is also to think of Cara of more as a second mom than a sister. The second he's married, he has to move out. He can have as many girlfriends and children as he wants, but they're not allowed to move in. EVER.
Moving right along, Karly has aged to teen. As has Zachary. They became a couple pretty quickly, with very little protest. And very soon were promised to each other. No time to celebrate the promising of Karly and Zachary, because Bianca and the rest of the family met Grimmy for the first time. And with no luck, Cara plead for her mother, while Jude looks on in horror. And we don't even get to mourn Bianca, because someone caught the house on fire. Things are finally getting eventful in the Stratton house, it seems.
Now, knowing there isn't much time before his father goes to be with his mother, Jude tries to squeeze in all the time he can with Brady. Brady met Bianca's ghost and had some one on one time with her one last time. I had to hide her urn in house inventory because I really can NOT stand all of the sobbing from a house full of sad sims. That's all for playing catch up today! Join me tomorrow as we continue to catch up and meet adults Karly and Zachary and teen Jude, and share some exciting news! I'm sorry I'm not giving many details just yet, I decided to start documentation well after I started the family. Once we're 100% caught up, I can make it more interesting.