Doomed From The Start

Nessa had her first Sing a Gram. She had to travel quite a distance to deliver a cheery 'good luck on your promotion' song to a vampire sporting a rather questionable hairstyle.

 Was she nervous? You betcha. Although you wouldn't think it at the time. She'd listened to her sister practicing in the mirror on many occasions, so she knew what was expected.

As you can see, the Winter days are pretty short and the sun had hidden behind thick woolly clouds. But that still wasn't enough protection for vampires. Nope nope.

But bless him, he stood there quietly, listening as Nessa launched into a lively song, and applauded when she presented him with a stuffed Freezer Bunny toy!

Actually, he was thrilled! It was the first time anybody had approached him and handed a gift to him, without wanting to bolt for it for fear he'd try to take a sneak sip of plasma!

Whilst she was there, Nessa also had to complete an opportunity. This was to earn 50 Simoleans whilst playing for tips. So she whipped out her trusty futuristic guitar and blasted out a couple of songs she'd learned by heart.

And that was when the inevitable happened.

They both farted hearts for one another.....
.... or was he simply lusting after her plasma? After all, he WAS kinda hungry.

Whilst she was playing, another family member appeared from nowhere. None other than big sis Hannah.

I think she's trying to avoid her mom for some good reason, because Shannon has been trying to get a hold of her for days and she keeps fobbing her off by saying she's headed out to work. So I tried to get Shannon to call her, just to see if she'll pick up.

Nope. Same old excuse, but this time on her voicemail answering service.

Nessa: Tell her I was at a concert.
Sim: Tell her yourself, I'm tired out.

Um. Yeah.

Anyways, it was getting on, Nessa's fingers were hurting with the cold, so she was forced to stop. She managed to earn 17 Simoleans. It's a start. And got the phone number of that lovestruck vampire. Maybe perhaps she and he? Fairy and vampire? It's an interesting combination ..... We shall have to wait and see.

Back home, nervous that the stove was going to throw a fit again ... and the fact that that fire cost Hespa a day's work, she decided to fireproof it. So, trusty hammer in hand, she went to work on it.

Sophie had yet another Sing a Gram to complete, but he was so far away, it was getting late and Sophie desperately needed a hot shower, that she gave up and went home.

It was almost 1 am by the time she got in and anticipating that she was hungry, Drea tried his luck with making waffles.

Drea: Hungry dear?
Sophie: Starving.
Drea: It won't be long. Just putting it in the oven right now.
Sophie: That's ok, I'll make do with leftovers for now.

Drea had something up his sleeve. But he waited until everyone was in bed before he put his plan into action.

Sadly, Nessa had some devastating news. Just as she walked through the door, her phone rang. She learned that the vampire with the questionable hair ... had died .... apparently from hunger. According to sources, he had particular tastes and he'd left it waay too late to eat.

Yep. Unfortunately, this relationship was doomed from the start.

This .... Is Seriously Twisted!

Whilst Sophie is struggling to make ends meet and running around the town with her sing a grams, Nessa suddenly fancied the idea of being in the music industry too. Not as a serious singer. She has a lousy voice. But maybe perhaps, an instrumentalist. After all, this was kinda/sorta her LTW (actually it was exactly the same as her twin sister Sophie but let's not split hairs shall we?)

So, after a fun session with the water slide, she decides to pluck a futuristic looking guitar from her backpack - you can see where this is going? No? Well ... read on and thee shalt be illuminated!

Where was I? Oh, yes. Nessa playing her guitar ... in her rather skimpy swimsuit .... coming up to the end of Autumn, when leaves are already falling and the temperature starting to plummet.

As she played, she mused about the idea of her and Sophie hooking up as a group and playing gigs together. Shame the game just won't allow that at the Simfests. Oh well. She's pretty good, as she bounced up to level 4 in next to no time! Maybe I should get them together, somehow?

Anyways, there she was, alone, quietly playing her guitar sans an audience.

In the meantime, Sophie got a call from ....

.... wait for it ....

.... still here? ...

.... none other than BLAINE!

Yep, that old Simbot himself! Apparently he got himself a job - not a clue what mind you, and a promotion to boot. So his work colleagues got together and decided to send him a sing a gram to celebrate the occasion.

Sophie jumped at the chance. After all, gigs were drying up for some reason and she desperately needed the money - as I'd explained before. So she said yes, happily. She expected to be sent to a home address, but instead, she was told to meet him outside City Hall.

Hmm. Strange.

What was even stranger, was that when she arrived, there was a full blown protest going on....

... and the instigator of this protest?

... wait for it ...

... seriously, you'll never believe it ....

.... J1NX1E!!

Yep. She was protesting extremely loudly about the sheer lack of computers in and around the town!
This, coming from a Plumbot .... from the FUTURE!?!?!?!?

In a medieval town of all things?!?!?!?!

That is so twisted.

O-kay. I believe I've just about seen everything here. I have screwed up Dragon Valley once and for all, and do I care? Nope. Tis my game and my town to play how I want.

Sooooo ..... NYAH!

Anywho. Going back on track. Despite the loud protests, Sophie managed to get Blaine's attention and delivered her sing a gram without any mishaps at all! No deflated balloons, no tripping over her feet.  Despite the fact that she was exhausted beyond measure.

It takes some skill ... and an extremely powerful voice to rise about the shouts and yells of an angry crowd, baying for blood ... or in this case .... computers!

Edit: 

I am so glad I returned to Sims 3. Oh how I have missed the nutty randomness that is it's appeal. Seriously. They're going to have to really pull something spectacular out of the bag to tempt me back to 4, I can tell you! But, yeah. That was what I found when I sent Sophie over to do her sing a gram!

Sophie Steals Blaine's Thunder

Well, hello there Austin, nice to see you around, what's happening in the afterlife? Anything special?

Austin: Well... they don't have a snow cone machine, that's for sure. I miss those terribly.

Don't you miss any of your family?

Austin: Heck, no. They're doing fine without me anyways.

So much for fatherly love huh? Yep, Austin makes one of his rare appearances in the house and makes a beeline towards the snow cone machine.

Speaking of neglecting their duties ... I caught Sophie playing games on the computer!!

Sophie, you've got a Sing a Gram to do.

Sophie: In a minute, I've just got to whup this players' butt first!

Needless to say, she missed her opportunity, because, by the time she'd arrived at her destination - behind the town hall - her target/client had moved on. Shrugging her shoulder, she decided to pitch a spot and start singing for tips. Little did she realise that on the other side is poor Blaine, still fizzing, popping and smoking from all his fried joints!

A couple of curious Sims heard her singing, and decided to take a look.

Before she knew it, a crowd had gathered. The same crowd that had witnessed poor Blaine's literal breakdown!

Back home, Hespa is learning to deal with her newly found life as a real life Sim.

Hespa: I feel pain in my tummy. I believe that is called hunger. So that means everyone is hungry. I shall deal with it by cooking everybody a meal of Autumn Salad!

Before I forget, Hespa's stats are as follows:

Over Emotional
Shy
Hot Headed
Clumsy
Mooch

Music: Country
Food: Key Lime Pie
Colour: Orange

LTW: Be a Major Master - Have Three Diplomas

She starts off with the following skills:

Gardening - 4
Handy - 5

Back to Sophie. Despite the fact that she was starting to feel tired out, and the weather had changed and it was raining, she kept on going. By this time, a large crowd had gathered.

During that time, Blaine had finally recovered and went to investigate where everyone had gone. He wasn't pleased, judging by the look on his face there. Fancy that, Sophie stealing his thunder! He's a HERO by gum. He saved lives!

Switching to home, Hespa is proving to be a bit of a problem and Shannon isn't warming up to her at all. They both needed the toilet - badly. The all in one in the basement is broken and Hespa didn't roll a wish to fix it any time soon. So they both headed for the only functioning toilet in the house. And ran into each other - at the same time.

Hespa: Do you mind, I need that toilet
Shannon: I was here first
Hespa: No you weren't, I was
Shannon: May I remind you that I am OLDER than you, and it is common courtesy for younger Sims to give their elders a priority
Hespa: I didn't know you were an elder
Shannon: Don't be cheeky, it's a figure of speech, now let me in first
Hespa: No, and how do you know I'm not older than you? After all, I've been trapped inside the body of a doll for centuries for all you know.

Neither one was prepared to budge and I feared that there'd be a couple of puddles of pee. But Shannon beat Hespa to it, much to the disdain of the newly created Sim. Shannon also, out of sheer spite, deliberately took her time in leaving the bathroom, forcing Hespa to angrily shoo her outside!

Sophie, in the meantime, was still in full swing, her confidence boosting at every minute spent singing. So much so that several things happened at once. She became friends with several celebrities - earning her an instant 2* star celeb status. And the majority of the male population in that crowd, started farting hearts for her.

Sweet .... but also a little creepy. But what can I say? This is Sims. Anything can happen!

Shannon and Blaine ... To The Rescue!

Shannon came home early after achieving her own personal LTW - Be a DNA Profiler. Since everyone was busy, she decided to celebrate by working out in the basement.

And then she started painting.

So surely this was a good enough reason to pull out all the stops and party big time?

Sophie: Mom, can you help me?
Shannon: Sure, what's the occasion?
Sophie: I've got my first official Sing a Gram later on and I'm so nervous.
Shannon: You could practice on me.
Sophie: Ohh, can I?
Shannon: Why not, I've got a good reason to celebrate.
Sophie: Oh yeah! Your LTW and job promotion. Well done! Can't we go out and celebrate though?
Shannon: That's a lovely offer, but no. I'd rather spend some quiet time at home. I've worked hard to get this far. Time to kick back a little.
Sophie: But doesn't this mean that your workload will increase somewhat?
Shannon: Probably, but it'll give me something to do.

Sophie launched into her routine and presented Shannon with a little gift.

Sophie: So, what did you think?
Shannon: I think it was wonderful!
Sonny Em: WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE water!

Bonehilda had been dismissed back to her little coffin hut and since J1NX1E and Sonny Em weren't allowed to take any jobs/professions until they'd acquired the correct chip, J1NX1E took over the chores. Cleaning, laundry. She took great delight in picking up after folks. Whereas Sonny Em, chose to just bum around the house. Occasionally, he'd take himself off to the theatre to take a tour. Anything to occupy his mind.

I caught the two of them getting more than a little cosy with one another. Since they both have a high relationship each, I got J1NX1E to ask Sonny Em if he'll 'watch over' her. He heartily agreed.

Awww.

Blaine in the meantime, had to deal with a large house fire. Lucky for him, he is virtually fireproof, and good job too. This fire had really taken hold. He is halfway toward HIS LTW, Rescue 30 People!

Kid: I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I was just pretending to be a dragon! I never meant for the fire to get this big.
Blaine: Don't worry sonny, I've got this under control. Just step back a little.
Kid: Ohhh, my dad's going to kill me.
Blaine: Where is he?
Kid: He's upstairs.
Blaine: Once I get you out, I'll go rescue him, okay? Now don't do anything stupid and you'll be safe.
Kid: Oh ... okay.

They both got out safely although it took a good 9 hours to get the blaze under control.

In the meantime, just prior to going on her first Sing a Gram, Sophie decided to send her childhood sweetheart Andrea, a soppy text in the hopes that he didn't think she'd forgotten him.

Hey sweets, how's it going smoochypoos. Luvs ya mwah!

Her 'target client' was at the local fitness centre, working out when she arrived. She launched into her routine and was rewarded with a big smile and a thank you.

Client: That was a really nice gesture, thanks!

She had enough time to go back home, where she had a rather ridiculous and outlandish idea. Marching downstairs, she headed for the potions table, where she looked long and hard at all the bottles and vials. She'd heard about this procedure and she knew it was risky. But it would free her from being tortured for the rest of her life ....

The phone rang. It was  her agent again. She had another client, at the same fitness centre. This time it was a celebrity vampire. At the same time, Shannon got a call from HER agent, suggesting that in order to boost her celeb status (it's at 2* star atm - I think) she go visit this self same celeb vampire (who is at only 1* star) and do a little 'networking' with him.

Sophie arrived first and went through her routine. To which she received a lukewarm reception. Sheesh, this celeb is extremely hard to please.

So she decided to chat to him. She didn't know who he was and assumed that he'd be a pleasant person. She was stunned at his cutting remark.

Celeb Vamp: Do I know you? Are you famous? If not, then I suggest that you don't even bother talking to me. I don't fraternize with commoners.

Shannon overheard his snotty comments and approached him directly.

Shannon: Okay Mister Hotshot, I don't care WHAT kind of a celebrity you are but how DARE you speak to my daughter like that. You extremely RUDE creature.
Vamp Celeb: Are... are you .... the famous Austin Powers' wife?
Shannon: And who wants to know?
Vamp Celeb: Forgive me, I do apologise, but I have been a big fan of his since ... well... forever. I should be bowing to you in reverence. That man has worked wonders on this town, he really has!

Editor's Notes:

Shannon approached this vamp celeb to network, not to have a go at him, and the minute she does, they started farting hearts at one another. And yes, she name dropped and he went all mushy over the fact that she was married to dear Austin Powers! He also farted hearts at Sophie, but, since he was a celeb and far too important than she, he rejected her completely. But it sounded good when mommy ran to Sophie's rescue didn't it?

Introducing ... Sparkle Fae

Before retiring to bed, Vanessa decided to try out the old keyboard in the basement. She, like her sister, aspired to be a Vocal Legend, so she thought she'd try her luck with tickling the old ivories. She gained another skill point. At this point in time, I was beginning to wonder if the public had made a terrible choice for heiress. But, since I've been lumbered with Sophie, I've got to play the hand that I've been dealt.

 Speaking of Sophie, she was so desperate to get onto that corporate ladder of hers that she took it upon herself to drive to the nearest venue - in the pouring rain - to try and beg for an agent.

Sadly the agent was nowhere to be seen and the venue was closed due to localised flooding. She just needed to wait one more day and check the paper and computer again.

The poor paper girl had barely taken the paper out of her satchel when Sophie dashed outside and grabbed it from her. Quickly scanning through the classifieds, she finally found what she was looking for.... a Sing a Gram girl.

This meant that she had to have a stage name. So she chose Sparkle Fae. Yeah, not very original, but it's the best she could come up with!

She needed to practice really hard, so she picked on poor Pat, who was bemused and tickled that Sophie was giving him any attention. J1NX1E chose to ignore everyone and took over Boney's usual duties - since she was STILL playing on the hopscotch court several days later. Nessa was being entertained by Hespa. Theirs is a really strong relationship indeed!

Taking a break, she decided to drink from the chocolate fountain. Although I'm not so sure she should do that. It is starting to look a little green and rank smelling.

The second time, however, didn't quite turn out as planned, as she tripped over the balloon machine and fell on her butt. HARD! Right in front of everyone! How embarrassing!

Nonplussed, she continued with her routine, trying her hardest to perfect it. Even performing in the back garden to most of her family! her voice wasn't too bad actually, as she belted out a number or two.

She got a phone call from the agency. If she practiced hard enough, she MIGHT, just might get herself a gig. But in the meantime, can she do a couple of sing a grams.

She'd never tried actual people and the idea of her actually performing in front of strangers - or clients as they were supposed to be called - turned her stomach. So much so that she bolted for the bathroom and vomited.

I'd say it was that rotten chocolate, but, what can I say? The girl is really nervous.
I just hope that she doesn't mess up during her performances because I'd really like to see her succeed. I really do!