Up, Up ... And AWAY!

After Sophie's debut performance ... and subsequent lukewarm reception, it was time to go home ... and back down to earth with a HUGE bump (figuratively speaking)

There was a thick fog that enveloped Dragon Valley, making everything feel colder than it actually was. The sun had already vanished over the horizon and the evening wore on with everyone settling down for the night.

After putting Iona to bed, Andrea was ready to fall asleep himself, when something bothered him. Still in his pyjamas, he decided to go outside and have a look around.

Used to the sparkling lights emitting from his adopted fairy family, and the static phosphorous light from the time machine, he didn't expect to see these strange lights.

A humming noise made him look up.

And LO! A spacecraft, directly above him.

Rooted to the spot with abject fear, all thoughts of running, simply left him...

.

... until a bright beam surrounded him ...

... and sucked him, screaming, straight into the spacecraft.

That's all he remembered.

Debut

7:00 pm arrived, and Sophie was a little late. She hadn't managed to put together a custom stage setting, thanks to Iona making a fuss and taking up all her attention. Neither had she managed to create a stage costume. Nor had she even had the time for a sound check. So she had to make do with her sing-a-gram outfit and the dreary default pretzel bench and fake street light. And hoped that her voice sounded just right.

At least the special effects machines were in sync and working.
Her throat was dry, so she took a sip of water.
Strike that, she gulped half of it down, such were her nerves!

Rolling nervously through some scales, she hummed the beginning of her song, hoping that she'd gotten the right key.

A couple of people turned up. Well, four to be exact. I think they were just curious, that's all.

It wasn't a sell-out, not by a long shot, but at least she had a little audience.

Second verse, and she managed to get into her stride.

As the evening wore on, she launched into another two songs before calling it a day.

She knew that she needed to up her game and get in some more songs. Stamina was the key here.

And so Sparkle Fae was born!

Big Break!

If there's one thing you learn about the entertainment industry, it's that you'll never get anything done if you sit on your lazy butt. Which was why, when Sophie heard about the talent scout/proprietor searching for new talent at the Big Park venue, she knew she just HAD to get her feet under the table.

So, she hyped herself up for this meeting, by tormenting the life out of poor Pat, who was NOT amused in the slightest.

It was quite a role reversal actually, and made a change from Sophie getting it in the neck from Pat.

The long cold spell had finally broken and there was a warm front approaching, melting all that snow. Nervous, Sophie in her haste, dashed to the Big Park for an impromptu Sing-a-gram/audition, and forgot to eat anything beforehand.

During her performance, her stomach growled so loudly that she flushed furiously, wishing the ground to swallow her up. But the proprietor laughed it off and told her that he thought she was good enough to have her own performance.

"Don't forget," he said wagging his finger, "Mondays, 7pm, don't let me down ... and don't forget to eat. We don't want you passing out on us on the stage."

She stepped up onto the stage and looked around, not believing her luck! She was going to be performing here!

The stage props were sparse, but they'll have to do until she could afford to create her own setting.

Sparkle Fae was going to be HUGE!!!

Side Note:

I have NO idea what that ring of light signifies ... AT ALL.

Sing - Off

Sophie was exhausted from her strangely flexible hours as a Singer. So it boiled down to Nessa to keep an eye on her niece Iona.

It had been a few days since Hespa's passing, and everyone is still fairly raw, but it is fading now. Nessa doesn't feel quite so bad. Especially now that Iona is being her cute and charming self.

After a cuddle, feed and diaper change, Nessa decided that it was time to stop with the procrastination and make a start on her LTW. Exactly the same one as her sister Sophie.

Go figure. Two Singers in the family.

So, getting out her portable amplifier, she decided to have a little practice with her singing. She wasn't too bad actually. A few off notes, but then she needed to practice that little bit more.

Not to be outdone, Sophie decided to join her in a duet/Sing-off.

They had a captive audience, but it was getting late ... and they didn't want to risk the police knocking on the door to tell them to turn the volume down. So they stopped for the night.

Andrea was awoken by Iona crying, so he decided to give her a bath.

She screamed the place down .... Hydrophobic in the making here perhaps?

The next day, early in the morning, both Nessa and Sophie agreed to have yet another sing-off. Despite Sophie having more experience, it was Nessa who managed to amass the most amount in tips!

Sorry for short updates, I'm breaking things down a little because so much has happened and I don't want to spoil any 'surprises' for anybody.

There's Something About Nessa

Obviously the whole family were upset about Hespa's demise, but Nessa took it exceptionally badly. She couldn't concentrate on her sing-a-grams and ended up bursting into tears at every single opportunity.

 
It was ... awkward ... and humiliating ... and painful.

Not only that, she began to go off the rails too.

Her worst episode was the night of the full moon, right in the midst of Winter no less. Her Social was low, her Fun level was low too. The bees were overproducing through the lack of attention. So I sent her over to clean the hive and collect the honey.

Expecting her to don the usual protective uniform of a beekeeper, I was shocked when she turned up in a skimpy swimsuit ... in the midst of the worst Winter in Dragon Valley's history ... sans the protective suit and hat!

The bees were quite angry and stung her a lot, but she didn't even flinch!

Not only that, since it was a full moon, that meant that the zombies were on the loose. Andrea came out to check on Nessa, since she'd been out there for a while ...

... and found her standing looked excited at the prospects of meeting a zombie!!!

Zombie: Braiiiins
Nessa: Ohh goody. Hello there Mister Zombie, I am sooo happy to see you!!!
Zombie: Braiiins?

He even attempted to attack her and she squealed with delight. Which made him rethink his strategy, and so he gave up and wandered off.

Editor's notes:
Seriously, these things really DID happen in game. There was a pop up that said 'Zombie Attack' and Nessa hopped up and down with glee. I left the pop up, just to see what would happen, and it vanished. I guess the zombie in question decided that she wasn't a good enough target.

Disaster in the Dorm

No matter how hard Hespa tried, Business Studies completely defeated her. She shunned party invitations galore, ignored phone calls, just to cram in as much studying as she could.

So, it was with trepidation that she went to the first part of her final exams.

She tanked ... big time.
Maybe the second part will be a bit better?

Gutted, she decided to retreat to the dorm to maybe grab a snack ... and cram some more before the next session.

She didn't get far when she saw smoke billowing from the vicinity of the dorm's kitchen area. Grabbing her phone, she dialled the fire service.

"Just hold on, we'll be there as soon as we can."

She ignored them as she saw the flames getting bigger and bigger.

Grabbing a fire extinguisher, she ran full pelt into the midst of the fire and started putting it out.

But exhaustion got the better of her, and she tried to step away from the flames.

"Gosh, I'm so tired," she exclaimed, "need coffee ... lots of coffee. Can't miss this last exam."

Too late.

There was an almighty fireball that engulfed her and another student, as everyone else hopped up and down and screamed, helpless to save either of them.

How did I know that Hespa had died?

A single red plumbob, just dangling in the air ... and no Sim below it.

Just a little pile of ashes.

Even the poor firefighter couldn't save either of them, the fire was far too intense. He even suggested letting it burn itself out.

By now, it was too late.

When Grimmy arrived, two students were passed out cold on the floor. He was rather bemused at this.

I'm here to harvest souls ... exactly HOW many are there?

The plantSim was too concerned about his leaves being scorched to worry about who had died.

Asshole.

The one that started the fire ... HA - just desserts I tell ya ... was the first one to die, and the first one to have her soul harvested as everyone watched. Yep, she begged for her life, but Grimmy turned a deaf ear and told her straight that she shouldn't have been playing with fire in the first place.

And then it was Hespa's turn.

She partially begged, but decided that it was easier to just go with the flow. Apart from her family back home ... she'd just about had enough of life. She sucked at pretty much everything really.

It was time to say goodbye.

Farewell Hespa, we will miss you with your gorgeous blue/purple hair and sweet disposition. Nessa is going to be devastated.

Lectures By Mr Egg

Hespa was up bright and early to impress her lecturer. So keen was she on getting good marks, that she started multitasking.

 
Making toast, whilst working on her mock business plan - whatever that was.

She couldn't, really couldn't take her lectures seriously when her professor turned up wearing an Egg tee shirt.

Would you?

Anyways, she really struggled through her coursework and her first set of finals was fast approaching. There was only one thing to do.

Work on her presentation.

She took what she needed to the library and set everything up. Here, she tried her hardest to impress other students as she flustered through her carefully rehearsed speech.

Some were vaguely interested, others just walked past.

She was glad - in a way - that the library was almost empty.

Bagels ... Dating Websites ... And Hespa's Dark Side

Excited ... and nervous ... Hespa was dropped off at campus and headed straight for the dorm that Nessa and the rest of the family had used when they went to university.

At least the weather was a lot better than back home.

But then ... something really strange happens to Hespa. Something I'd never witnessed before. She immediately went into the dorm's computer and started putting her details into a dating website!

... and instantly has a crush on another dormie at the same time!!!

Hespa! What about your bestie back home? What's Nessa going to say about this?

Hespa: It's none of her business. Besides, I want to broaden my horizons a little, that's all. Isn't that what college is all about?

It seems that our shy little IF doll, is determined to lead a double life here!

Reluctantly, she attends the 'Meet and Greet' and runs straight to another computer to check on her profile.

Nothing ... so far.

But unfortunately, whilst she was typing away, suddenly the computer goes on the fritz, smoke billowing out of the monitor.

Hespa: DAMNED STUPID BLOODY THING!

Cursing, and feeling guilty at the same time, she decides to fix it there and then. Because she didn't want to go through the whole cost process.

Not on the first day.

It was thirsty work, and she hadn't eaten all day thanks to the long journey, so she decided to order something from the barista...

... and picked out a bagel ... for a change.

It sufficed for now, but the day was closing in ... and she needed to get to bed for class the next day. So she headed back to the dorm.