When I rose at dusk, it was to the sound of wailing in the lawn outside our townhouse.

Our next-door neighbor died. It was so sad. I don’t actually remember her name. She was just a drone to expectations who reached the end of her time.

I vow to never be a drone to anything.

After collecting her soul, the Grim Reaper walked to our front door, opened it, and walked straight inside.

I followed after. “Wait, I know you’re the collector of the dead, but everyone dead here is still alive. You know what I mean. You can’t just barge into our home without cause!”

Then he started cleaning the house.

Actually, I see no reason to stand on personal boundaries at a time like this.

“I just have to shake your hand,” I said. “I’m a huge fan of your work. You collect the dead with such a timeless sense of style.”

“Who are you?” Grim rasped.

“I guess you probably don’t have much cause to pay attention to me, since I won’t be heading to the Netherworld any time soon,” I said, “but I was hoping to get some advice from one undead to another. Do you have any children? Have you ever wanted any? Because I’m starting to feel the oddest need to contribute myself to the next generation.”

“Eeeeee….” Grim said, and disappeared.

Well then.

I watched my elderly cats play with each other, and I felt even more lonely. Somehow, after being mates all these years, they knew how to keep the magic.

I had so much inherent magic, and yet I was still without a mate.

I practiced some basic charms and thought about my future. Who should I spent it with? Was it Evan? Jiao? Someone else? How do I choose?

franklinmeetagenie

Well, I could think of one thing to do to address my romantic angst for the moment — throw a party. I called all my family and a few choice friends.

Cousin Rosie arrived first.

Then Gideon. He didn’t bring his girlfriend, though. That’s just as well.

Uncle Branden.

Uncle Christof, rocking that cowboy hat.

Aunt Caitlin.

Aunt Deanne.

Mom wasn’t there, however. She was on a date with Khalid, the high school barista. I hope Imogen wasn’t jealous.

Then again, it’s kind of hard to tell with Imogen right now.

Both of my newly-minted vampires attended. I didn’t invite Crissy McDonough, but apparently she’s already figured out the vampiric art of party crashing.

“Hey Franklin!” Jiao shouted. “Your party sucks!”

“Pardon me,” I said. “I think I hear Evan ringing the doorbell.”

“All right everyone,” Helen said with a casual yawn, “is everyone ready for the main event?”

She headed out to the back yard to find her birthday cake.

We all trooped out to stand in the hydrangea bushes to cheer her into adulthood.

Apparently everyone else thought it was a great party.

Helen blew out her candles.

And launched herself into the next stage of her unlife.

helencharismatic

Her first act as an adult was to complain about the broken hot tub.

“Imogen, you’re the handy one,” I said. “You could try to fix the hot tub.”

“Are you kidding? In my state, I’d probably get electrocuted and die.”

“You could go take a shower.”

“Oh, that’s too much work.”

“Do you ever clean up around here, dear?” Aunt Deanne demanded.

“Is this mocha?” Uncle Christof asked. “Mocha cake is my favorite!”

Jiao, Franklin, and Rosie brought their cake slices inside.

Everyone said it was one of the best birthday cakes they’d ever tasted. Mom would be thrilled, since she baked it.

Everyone except Gideon, of course, who didn’t get a slice.

At least he took some time to catch up with our kid brother after he was denied at the cake plate.

All family visiting didn’t go so well. Deanne accused Helen of being a monster in front of everyone. On her birthday.

“I don’t mean to brag, but Franklin is really into me,” Jiao confided in Imogen.

“I hate to break it to you, but right now he looks like he’s really into that green guy,” Imogen said.

I looked deeply into Evan Clark’s eyes. “I need to ask you something,” I said. “I’ve been waiting to ask you this for a long time. Too long.”

Evan leaned close. “Ask me,” he said.

“Would you start a band with me?”

Evan dug it.

evanband

“You’re going to play music?” Rosie said. “In front of people? This I’ve got to see!” She burst out laughing.

“Glad to know I have your support,” I said.

I headed upstairs for some air, and I found Lin Valstrom hanging out up there.

“Hey,” I said. “What are you doing away from the party?” It’s going great downstairs.”

“Actually,” she said, “I was kind of hoping to get you alone to talk about us.”

“Us?” I said. “I’m so sorry, Linn. There is no us. I’ve moved on.”

“You’ve moved on?” Linn said. “Why didn’t you talk to me?”

“I thought that failing to call you for weeks would have made the message pretty clear.”

“But you turned me into a vampire,” Linn said. “I thought you wanted to be with me for eternity.”

“That’s a common misconception,” I explained patiently. “Most times a vampire sires another vampire, It’s not for eternal companionship.”

“You’re a jerk, Franklin Wonderland,” she said, “and I don’t need you.”

“Great,” I said. “That’s just what I was hoping for.” And I headed back downstairs to the party.

linnunresolvedissues

Behind me, I could hear her say, “But you sure throw an amazing party. Invite me next time.”

linnbreakupgroup

In the kitchen, Aunt Deanne’s side of the family was hanging around with my second vampire conquest, Chrissy McDonough, who was bragging about her new sensual life as a creature of the night.

deannesocialnetworking

In addition to vampire speed and long life, she has a new, very young boyfriend.

Clearly, she appreciates the gift I gave her.

chrissypascallove

The rest of the party had moved to the basement to listen to Jiao play the keyboard.

I had to admit that she was pretty good. Imogen was so wrapped up in the music that she almost lost track of basic bodily functions. Fortunately for the carpets, she did make it to the bathroom in time.

“Wow!” Evan said. “You’re almost as good as I am!”

Watching them, I suddenly had an idea.

“Jiao,” I said. “Could I have a word with you?”

“Actually,” Jiao said. “We’re all leaving now.”

She headed up the stairs. But I knew in that moment that I couldn’t let her walk out without talking to me yet again.

I raced up the stairs with vampire speed. “Wait! Jiao! I need to talk to you!”

Jiao stopped at the doorway. “Okay,” she said. “Talk to me.”

“Boo!” Aunt Caitlin shouted. “It sucks that this party is over!”

I’m not entirely sure that Aunt Caitlin knows where she is anymore. She’s getting on in years.

“Jiao, would you join a band with me and Evan Clark?”

She thought about it for a moment. “Actually, that’s a great idea!”

jiaojoinband

So we said goodbye and promised to get together to rehearse very soon.

Inside, I discovered that nobody had been paying attention to Justin’s beadtime. He was so exhausted he couldn’t see where he was walking.

Which led to the expected result.

Imogen broke everything in the bathroom. And she’s supposed to be the Handy one.

At least she finally took a shower, so she doesn’t look like the fallout from a nuclear holocaust anymore.

My friends and family left an enormous mess for me to clean up. And what is that orange ball anyway? Is it supposed to be food?

Taking the time to clean up gave me some precious quiet time to think.

All this time, I’ve been trying to decide whether I should convince Evan Clark or Jiao Hatfield to be my mate. But wasn’t that just being slave to default monogamy? Why did I have to choose?

Couldn’t I have them both?

franklinnojealousy

At last I could sleep the sleep of the dead. No worries.

 


Fails: Passing Out 23 + 1 = 24

Long post for this challenge, but a lot happened at the party!

Franklin wishes for both Jiao and Evan a lot, so I gave up trying to choose. Franklin’s an Avant Garde sim. Why should he be constrained by social expectations??

Generation 3 shall be an extra kind of dysfunctional, and Generation 4 will get extra genetic diversity. So there!.

Oh, and Franklin has been spawning all sorts of wishes about starting a band and asking Evan and Jiao to join it, so I guess that’s what he’s going to be doing :).

Jakob Ingberg hasn’t been able to get Mom out of his head since she literally cast that spell on him.

I’m not sure what Mom thinks of him, but she seems to be enjoying the attention.

erinjakobletter

Cousin Rosie can’t seem to get more babies out of her head. Before her new baby was even a toddler, she called me excitedly to report that she’s pregnant again.

rosiepregagain

I’m not sure if I’m afraid for her or…. jealous.

After Jiao headed home from our date, I had the whole rest of the night to ponder my next move.

I decided that what I needed most was to let out my frustration, so I headed to the dojo.

Since it was after midnight, the place was deserted. I slapped that training dummy silly. “Why won’t you date me??” I shouted at it.

Seriously. I’m a spell casting creature of the night, with style! Who wouldn’t want a piece of this?

As dawn approached, I just wasn’t ready to head back to my tomb. I had Evan Clark on my mind again. I wanted to see him. But the sun was rising, and I didn’t want to risk my precious skin going up in flames. What should I do?

I was getting thirsty, so I dashed across town to the grocery store to stock up on plasma fruit.

After that rock hunting debacle, I didn’t want to go wandering around without a good source of sustenance. While nothing can compare to the exquisite taste of blood fresh from the vein, I need to be more practical.

There was a rack in the back of the grocery store labeled, “Magical Elixir Clearance: 50% off!”

Suddenly I had an epiphany. I had been raised as a vampire, and my life was defined by the social expectations of vampires. But I was stronger than that. I could choose my own destiny. I could meet Evan under the sunlight if he was working at night.

I grabbed a few elixirs. The very first I needed to use was vampiric sunscreen. I rubbed the green glowing liquid all over my skin. It tingled.

franklinsunscreen

The effect was dramatic. Nothing could say, “liberated vampire” like a cloud of sparkles. This could reshape my entire personal style.

I whipped out my phone and called Evan.

“Hey, what?” he said.

“Are you all right?” I asked. “You sound terrible.”

“I was sleeping,” Evan said. “You know I work nights, right? Could you wait to call until after lunch?”

“I’d like to make it worth your while,” I said. “Would you please join me at Perspective Park?”

“This better be worth it,” Evan said.

That had gone well. I headed across the street to Perspective Park to wait for him.

Fortunately, there was plenty of of art for me to critique. I must have gotten lost in the all the inappropriate color combinations, because before I knew it, Evan was walking toward me with flowers in his wake.

“I’m glad you could make it,” I said.

“I was getting up anyway,” Evan said. “I couldn’t get back to sleep after you called.”

“I didn’t mean to make you lose sleep,” I said. “I don’t have a good sense of your personal schedule. Honestly, if you sleep during the day, that makes it easier for me to see you.”

“If that makes you happy,” Evan said awkwardly.

“Actually,” I said, “it makes me ecstatic. Here’s the surprise I promised.” I threw the elixir at his feet.

Evan jumped back as I threw. “Franklin!” he shouted. “What the hell are you–”

The elixir smashed at his feet, engulfing him in its bright glow. Evan made a strangled noise.

Then he looked at me with new eyes. “Wow,” he said. “I’m sorry I’ve been such a ass to you. You’ve been nothing but kind to me, and I guess I just have to be tough all the time. It’s hard to break into a career as a musician. I feel like I can never be vulnerable to anyone.”

franklinevanfriendshipjar

“It’s all right,” I told him. “I knew that you’d give me a chance if was patient. I just got impatient. That’s all.”

“I’m glad you stuck with it,” Evan said. “I could use some patience in my life. I just broke up with my girlfriend Kari because she got all clingy and stuff.”

evanstagehand

 

karievansplit

I couldn’t believe my luck. I stepped in closer and drew Evan into my arms, letting my vampiric magnetism wash over him. “Clingy? I asked. I hope that’s not anything like…this…” I caressed his back with the tips of my fingers.

 

Evan pulled me into a full embrace. “Hell no!” he said. “I’ve never trusted anyone as much as I trust you right now.”

This was the moment. There was magic, and I knew we both felt it. I leaned in to kiss him, but to my shock, Evan drew back.

franklinevanhome

“Oh hey!” he said. “Look at the time! I forgot I had a date with Fjord Perry. This was an amazing time, man. Let’s do it again!”

Then he turned and walked away.

franklinevangroupend

evanfjordcommitted

What just happened?

I stood in front of the family townhome and sulked, watching our cats torment a local raccoon.

Inside, Daisy was waiting with a playful look on her face.

At least she appreciates me.

Little did I know what Imogen was going through at that moment. She stayed after school to study, only to find the Blue Lagoon bartender hanging around the school grounds looking creepy.

Then, as she watched, his ass burst into flames.

Fortunately, she knew where the fire extinguisher was, and she did him a favor.

And I thought MY day ended on a lousy note.


And random townie bursts into fire after sunset! I love this game!

The vampiric sunscreen was something Franklin bought from the Elixir Consignment Shop a while back to drop into Justin’s inventory so I could satisfy his wish to Acquire Vampiric Sunscreen. He still had it, and it occurred to me that it might be useful to deal with Evan’s work schedule.

Ah, poor Franklin simply cannot catch a break.

But, no fails!

 

 

It’s report card day, and that tells us all sorts of things about how my younger brothers and sisters are doing. Justin needs to tweak his academic strategy. He’s been staying up all night to do homework.

Which landed him a detention for sleeping in class.

justindetention

On the same day that he made the honor roll.

justinhonorroll

Imogen doesn’t want to talk about her grades, even to me.

irenegraded

But she’s been trying to get extra credit by staying after school to do service projects. I wish her luck.

ireneboiler

I’m just grateful that I’m free of the entire educational system. It’s always been a way to force creative minds into tight little uninteresting boxes. My mind is free.

Speaking of free minds, I thought I’d make another attempt to take that intriguing genie Jiao out to dinner.

This time, she agreed to meet me at The Blue Lagoon, and she even arrived there before me.

“Franklin!” she said when she saw me. “Have you ever been to this place. I was hoping it would be more green.”

“I don’t know. I was kind of expecting it to be blue,” I admitted.

“It’s not that either,” Jiao pointed out. “Very disappointing.”

“Does this mean you’re going to leave again?” I asked.

Jiao shrugged. “No,” she assured me. “I’m not bored yet.”

“Then why don’t we go inside and see if we can keep you entertained,” I suggested.

I grabbed a blood box and sat down at a table near the bar. I’d sort of expected Jiao to join me, but she was caught up in making fun of the bartender.

“Get a load of that guy!” she said. “I wanted more green, but I didn’t expect to see it on his skin!”

“You realize that I have green skin,” I pointed out. “He and I could be related.”

“Oh, that’s not the same thing,” Jiao said. “It looks good on you. Did I mention this drink is terrible?”

“Why don’t you let me buy you a drink instead?” I suggested with a suave smile, if I do say so myself. “I have it on good authority that these are very good.”

“Oh, you know, these are better!” Jiao said with delighted surprise. “I guess the bartender really can do something right.”

“Do you know that guy from somewhere else?” I asked.

“No, she said. I just know his type.”

“What type is that?” I asked, fascinated.

“Bartender,” she said.

“Tell me about your life as a genie!” I said. “I’m absolutely fascinated by the life of other supernatural beings. I did mention that I’m a supernatural being, didn’t I? I’m a creature of the night.”

“You wouldn’t believe the kinds of things people ask for!” Jiao said. “The perfect ballgown! A handsome prince! Why not just ask for infinite wealth and buy yourself an infinite supply of professional companions? I’m glad I’m free now. Mortals don’t make any sense.”

“I have to agree with that,” I said. “We supernaturals really are superior.”

I took the candid moment to really absorb the aura and vibrations around her.

franklinjiaounattractive

I have to admit that the pub’s ambiance didn’t put her in the best light.

Meanwhile, Mom decided to perform a piano concerto at the theater. I’m not entirely sure how that happened. She can barely play the piano.

Apparently the theater billed it as a new experimental post-tonal composition, and the audience loved it.

I’m sorry I missed it. I enjoy experimental post-tonal music.

erinpianoconcert

She came home to celebrate, and instead she saw Imogen’s report card.

irenetimeout

Mom believes no child of hers is too old to go stand in the corner.

After our drinks, Jiao and I took in a keyboard concert. This one was much more tonal.

As soon as the keyboardist finished. Jiao sprang up with that enticing genie glow. “Thanks for the free drinks, Franklin. Call me if you want to pay for my food again!”

And then she was gone.

I just new I had to see her again.

franklinjiaolegendarygroup


Well, I get to count up something good for a change!

Kids on honor roll: 3 + 1 = 4

I had the hardest time writing this one for some reason.

 

News from Gideon is that he’s already over his elderly love Fjord Perry. Now he has a new girlfriend.

I hear she’s terrifying.

GideonLucyCommitted

(Note: I want them to have babies so baaaad….)

We celebrated Mikhail’s birthday with some new kitty toys.

And spent all afternoon watching them play.

I’m serious. Is this not literally the cutest thing you’ve ever seen?

Mikhail’s mate Nova couldn’t let him have all the fun.

Or Micky (right) and Daisy (left).

Goofy.

Cute cats are a work of art that you just can’t trap in a picture frame.

After a while, though, even watching the cats play became boring. I was longing for some company.

Fortunately, Evan was free.

“It’s so nice that you have friends!” Mom exclaimed. “Let’s all hang out together. Just treat me like one of the guys.”

“I don’t think that’s possible, Mom, for many reasons.”

So we ended up playing dominoes. Not exactly what I had in mind.

Evan does cut a striking figure.

“So, tell me about your life,” I said to Evan. I figured that could give me a better segue to get to know him better.

“It’s been a rough day,” he said.

EvanKariFight

“I started dating Kari Wonderland-Holton, and her dad kicked her out of the house.”

ChristofKickedOutDaughter

“What?” I said. “You realize you’re talking about my Uncle Christof? He kicked my cousin out of the house for dating you?”

“That’s what it looks like,” Evan agreed. “Actually, your mom is kind of hot too.”

“I don’t want to have this conversation.”

I changed the subject by getting up to get my groove on. There’s nothing like the string bass.

Evan glared at me.

“Why the long face?” I asked.

“You sound terrible,” Evan said.

“If you know music so well, why don’t you tell me how it’s done?” I said.

“All right, then, I will!” Evan said. He grabbed the guitar.

Dang. He really does know how to play.

“Great Watcher, you’re amazing!” I said.

“Sorry, I have to go to work now,” Evan said. He dropped the guitar and ran out of the house.

Wow, it his hard to get the time of day from this guy.


No fails!

Also no mate for Franklin yet. This generation is turning out to be a real spouse challenge. I can’t seem to get either of the candidates to hang out with Franklin long enough for him to put the moves on them.

Mom, Gideon, and I returned home to celebrate our graduation with a cutthroat game of dominoes while Helen worked on that ice blast spell of hers. Gideon made sure he was sitting as far away from her as possible.

Mom shared the latest family gossip.

DeanneElder

Aunt Deanne could comfort herself about growing older by becoming a grandmother. My cousin Rosie had her baby!

RosieJamilla

Things were kind of rough with Aunt Caitlin.

PeanutDead

Mom took a laid-back approach to Uncle Peanut’s death. She didn’t like him for reasons I’ve never understood.

Aunt Caitlin took some time for herself.

CaitlinRetired

And found a new, young guy. I guess she didn’t waste much time grieving either.

CaitlinPedro

Imogen avoided the family prattle by hanging out in the hot tub.

Justin bounced.

After Mom trounced us at dominoes, she and Gideon started a witches duel that ran all over the house.

I couldn’t tell who was winning, but it involved a lot of booms and pops.

I think Gideon finally got the best of Mom, which is no small feat.

I’m not sure it really matters, since they were both in pretty bad shape by the time it was over.

Justin learned about some minerals that the Cure All Collective wanted for science experiments and went there after school to sell them.

He earned an impressive amount for a grade schooler.

JustinGemOpportunity

Hearing about Justin’s success made me realize that I forgot to go rock-hunting! That’s pretty much the only thing that’s keeping a roof over our heads these days. Mom hasn’t shown much interest in detective work since she won that big award.

I decided to go looking someplace that few people in Aurora Skies ever go, way up in the caldera of the extinct volcano.

And got lost.

Why did I decide to do this in the daytime anyway? I’m sure I had a reason. I always have a reason. But right now, I was burning in the sunlight and getting really, really thirsty.

Really thirsty.

I finally found my way back down the mountain at dusk.

I dragged my smoldering, desperately thirsty butt into the pizzeria next to the consignment shop, shoved past the cashier, and went digging in their refrigerator.

“Hey!” the cashier shouted at me.

I ignored her, found a blood pack, and ripped into it, snarling with joy as a tasted the blood.

FranklinMadlyThirsty

She left me alone after that.

I think I just barely avoided a sudden end to my adventures.

[Author’s note: That 4 hours is actually 4 minutes, and I mean sim-minutes.]

I took a bit of time to recover, consigned my gems and minerals, and headed home.

Gideon hurried out to meet me, looking a bit the worse for wear.

“I wanted you to be the first to know. I’m taking my inheritance from Dad and getting a place for myself. I think it’s time I got out of your shadow and made my own mark on the world.

GideonLTW

“That’s fabulous, man!” I said.

Inside, I was thinking, Inheritance from Dad? What?

“I’m going to miss you.”

We said a tender goodbye. We’re not the sort of men who are afraid to express our emotions.

We had a little impromptu goodbye party, where everyone cast a good luck spell on Gideon.

Except Mom, who stayed out of it. I’m not sure if she was trying to give Gideon space or if she was mad at him for moving out.

Then he stuck around to celebrate Mikhail’s birthday.

We were all ready for him to finish up this long goodbye thing and get going, but I’m sure Mikhail appreciated the extra attention.

The gray around his eyes is quite dignified, I think.

At last, Gideon called a car.

And headed bravely out to the unknown.

I would have taken a bath first, but he has his own sense of style.

I guess I leave a pretty long shadow…. in the middle of the night… because Gideon seems to have done very well for himself since moving out.

GideonJob

GideonFjord


Still no fails!

AAAAAAND a spare LTW! I didn’t expect that. Gideon had Swimming in Cash available on his list, so I gave it to him. Apparently Franklin managed to make so much money on his last ill-considered rock consignment that it pushed him over the edge.

So that’s a hefty +40 points! Since Erin hasn’t made her LTW (still hoping), and William died short of his, this finally puts some positive points on the board.

I figured out what killed William. Apparently, or at least according to various Sims forums, if your vampire has a moodlet for being out in the sun, it speeds up his thirst motive — but the time reported on the thirst moodlet doesn’t change. When I sent Franklin out to go rock hunting, he was fully rested in the middle of the day with nothing to do, so I figured it wasn’t a big deal. More the fool I. I even dragged the Motive Mobile into his inventory so he could refill his motives on the drive to the shopping center, but NO, that didn’t even help. That kind of seems like a bug, but it sure made the game more interesting. He was literally 4 real-time seconds from expiring due to Thirst. That would have made Gideon the TH, since he was YA? Or the challenge would have been over? Let’s not think about such things, my friend….

Oh, and all the idiots are constantly casting spells on each other due to a broken mod I installed to make motive spells autonomous. I pulled it out, but nobody had any interest in showering, so you will be seeing burned up sims for many posts in the future.

It was an important day in the Wonderland household.

Gideon celebrated by setting Imogen on fire.

“Look,” I said to Helen, “Gideon was just in a bad mood because we forgot his birthday. He doesn’t have the authority to ground you anyway.”

“Gideon’s pissed off because he’s the only one of us who isn’t a vampire!” Helen cried. “I don’t even want to be a vampire! Blood is gross.”

“Oh, please,” I said. “You don’t have to bring old stereotypes into this. Modern vampirism is totally sanitary.”

Mikhail played in the bathtub.

And felt sorry about it later.

“Time to get ready!” Helen said to Gideon. “Here, let me help you!”

“Wait! What you are you doing??” Gideon shrieked.

“There,” Helen said proudly. “That’s for trying to ground me, big brother. Chill out while I change.”

“I have to get ready, Mom,” I said.

“Wait,” Mom said. “I’m pretty sure I have a checkmate move. Just give me a minute.”

“No, really, I have to go.”

“You just don’t want to let me beat you.”

“Some mothers want to see their sons graduate, you know.”

Gideon melted just in time to join us. Good thing for him.

We loaded up into the van and made our way to the courthouse.

The day was grim and overcast, just the way I like it — but it was still too much sun for being out and about.

“Um, shouldn’t your girlfriend be here too?” Imogen asked?

“My what?” I said. “On, right, Linn. She called and said she wasn’t feeling well. I think she’ll get over it.”

LinnVampire

Everyone trooped into the auditorium to listen to the speeches except Helen, who decided to wait the whole thing out.

 

GideonGraduate

FranklinGraduate

I accepted my piece of paper with grace and dignity, even though I don’t think my school was ever capable of understanding a creature as dark and complex as I am.

I ran into one of my favorite people at the ceremony.

After the ceremony, I was feeling a might peckish.

 

My senses were at their most acute. I had to hunt.

“Hello,” I said to my prey. “I want to drink your blood.”

“Oh really?” she said. “You can do better than that. I’m getting old. I want the full immortality treatment.”

“You want me to turn you into a vampire?” I asked in astonishment. “Do you know what it is like to be a creature of the night?  It’s no picnic to be this sexually attractive yet misunderstood.”

“You can skip the warnings,” she said. “I don’t have long to live as a human anyway. I’m up for it.”

So I turned her.

“Thanks!” she said afterward. “You’re a real sport.”

“I hope it works out for you,” I said. “I think you’re getting more attractive already.”

She smiled. “I’ll keep in touch and let you know how it goes.”

Oh, and speaking of old ladies, Mom got a call from Aunt Deanne, who wanted to talk about her girlfriend. She has finally found lasting love. Sometimes, when you refuse to give up hope, you can kind of beat it into submission.

DeanneJulietInseparable


No fails!

I was finally able to get a good long play session in this weekend. More birthdays on the way!

Franklin has not been making his mate selection easy for me. I’ve decided to have him alternate visits with both candidates until a choice presents itself.

I also decided that the Wonderlands will be moving to a modified Midnight Hollow. That seems like the place an avant-garde vampire would want to live.

I was running at vampire speed through the graveyard, like you do, when my razor-sharp vampire senses caught a whiff of something I’d never smelled before.

It was like nirvana — red blood and green growing things. I came to a screeching halt in the middle of the graveyard path. I had to find the source of that scent.

And there he was.

Why didn’t I look more closely at this guy before?

“Hey there!” I called. “Evan Clark, isn’t it? Didn’t you stalk my sister in high school or something?”

“Heck yeah!” Evan replied. “That frigid chick would never call me back! But I’m over it.”

“You know,” I said, “I really have to know something about you?”

“What’s that?” he asked.

I engaged the mojo.

And it finally worked! About time!

I knew I had it in me. I just needed a bit of practice.

EvanHypnoticGaze

“I need to know if you taste half as good as you smell,” I said.

Evan giggled and held out his arm. I proceeded with my investigation.

He let out a meep when I bit him. It was kind of adorable.

“Urgle,” Evan said.

“You know, you really do taste amazing,” I said as I licked the last blood off my lips. “I didn’t think you could combine the flavors of blood and fresh-grown produce, but I was wrong. I bet you’re great for vegetarian vampires.”

“Urr,” Evan said. “Actually…. that was kind of hot.”

Meanwhile, Mom got an invitation to a party.

AdamBirchParty

She headed over to his house.

It was a pretty nice place. She couldn’t find Adam, but his disembodied voice welcomed her to the party.

ErinPartyThanks

Jakob Ingberg met her at the door.

“Nice to see you again,” he said.

“I think what I need is some exercise,” Mom said, so she went upstairs to the workout room.”

Meanwhile meanwhile, Helen saw some strange lights in the back yard.

She ran outside to investigate.

She says she doesn’t remember much of what happened after that, but she has the strangest feeling of being probed.

Meanwhile meanwhile meanwhile, Gideon celebreated his birthday.

I’m pretty sure we should have thrown him a party or something, but we were all really busy you see.

It’s a good thing that Khalid was there to celebrate with him.

He aged into that nose pretty well, I have to say.

At the party, Adam Birch was still nowhere to be found. In fact, nobody was at the party except Jakob. Erin was starting to believe it was all a setup.

She was all right with it, though.

“Let’s just forget the part where you left me to drown in the Apple-Svard’s pool,” she said.

He wiggled his eyebrow at her. “I think we could make a fresh start,” he said.

“I think we need to cleanse this relationship of any bad karma first,” Mom said.

“Wait, what?” Jacob said.

“What are you doing?”

“Oh, hey. That wasn’t too bad! I feel great!”

“What did I tell you?” Mom said. “I know what I’m doing.”

Gideon celebrated his birthday by shooting hoops by himself in the school yard after midnight.

He seemed to have more fun doing that than he has at most family parties. I guess I can’t blame him.

At home, the lights returned.

Helen said she vaguely remembers being zapped to the street corner in front of our house. Plus, she really hates aliens now.

“Hey! What are you doing out after curfew?” a cop shouted from down the street. “You better come with me. I’ll take you home.”

“Wait, but I live here!” Helen protested.

“Doesn’t matter. You were two feet out of your yard. That’s a curfew violation.”

I think Gideon took a little too much pleasure in shouting at her now that he’s an adult.

Adam’s “party” ended at about 3am. Mom must have decided that Adam’s house was more fun than her home because she played hackey-sack on his front porch until dawn.

SeeGideonDoctor

Me? I was still at the graveyard, caught in conversation with Evan.

We had so much in common.

EvanTaurus

Even if he is kind of a jerk.

EvanMeanSpirited

And, if you think about it, not at all attractive.

EvanAttractive

Yet he had a certain something I couldn’t put my finger on.

By the end of the night, I had him wrapped around my finger with my charming dark humor.

FranklinSecretFood


I think mate options are between Evan here and Jiao Hatfield. Franklin might not find him attractive, but I certainly do, and Franklin’s preferences aren’t terrible relevant to his mate choice.

 

Micky!

I think he was the best genetic mix too, though I was drawn in by Minnie’s pretty face and Daisy’s different-colored eyes. These were a great group of cats.

I was particularly impressed by Daisy, whose coat was so simple but managed to have a little bit of every ancestor.

The cat spares will move out with the human spares, and we’ll see what StoryProgression does with them :).

As soon as the house can handle more cats, I’ll add Micky’s new mate. I’m happy to take suggestions of awesome-looking cats.

Is anyone interesting in having this guys up for download?

It’s that time again! Time to choose the cat who will go on breeding other cats to hang around underfoot and claw up the furniture in the Wonderland home!

Since cats are shorter-lived, we’re entering Generation 4. Here are the kittens of Generation 3 heir Nova and Mikhal of Calista’s Crazy Colorful Cats.

Poll is at the bottom!

Mickey

Screenshot-633

Mickey1 Mickey2 Mickey3 Mickey4

Minnie

Screenshot-620Minnie1 Minnie2 Minnie3 Minnie4

Daisy

Screenshot-626

Daisy Daisy2 Daisy3 Daisy4

Goofy

Screenshot-629

Goofy1 Goofy2 Goofy3 Goofy4

 

The afternoon began the way many afternoons begin, with subterranean fairies taking their armless young out for a walk,

and invisible parents carrying toddlers.

I was up bright and early, that is before dark.

“Come on,” Mom said. “Come sit down to eat with me.”

“I’m not like you,” I reminded her. “I don’t eat food.”

“Then come sit down at the table and drink blood or whatever it is you do.”

All right. I pulled a drink box of blood out of the fridge and sat down at the table.

We caught up on gossip from the extended family.

My cousin Ben Caitlin and Peanut’s oldest kid, has become a real shutterbug.

BenPhotographer

Uncle Randolph, Christof’s husband, has really done well for himself.

RandolphCEO

“How’s the computer hacking going, Mom?”

“You have no idea weak firewalls are these days!” she ranted. “I can just walk into people’s houses and take their data. Figuratively speaking.”

Considering her last haul was §19, I thought she was exaggerating a bit.

“I was thinking of starting a garden,” I said. “Maybe something in the basement so that I don’t have to worry about the sunlight.”

“I don’t think there’s enough space in this basement,” Erin said. “We might have to think about moving. Maybe we could get a place with a swimming pool!”

“A swimming pool isn’t exactly what I had in mind,” I said. “I’m not much for fun in the sun. But perhaps if you take care of it.”

“The real reason I wanted to talk to you,” Erin said, “is about making a home. I miss the pitter patter of little feet. Aren’t you going to find a nice sim and settle down?”

Moms are all the same, aren’t they?

It wasn’t the same as settling down, but I was missing someone’s company.

FranklinSocializeGenie

I went upstairs for my phone and dialed her number.

“Jiao! I was wondering if you would like to go out for pizza. Well, you could eat pizza, and I could watch. Sure, I’ll buy!”

She was game, so I headed out to the Aurora Skies shopping strip. I hoped my hat would help me against the sun for a little while at least.

I missed the big drama. As soon as I left, Imogen got home from school.

School sent home her report card to be signed. She got a “D” in, well, everything. Mom transformed into a vicious weremother.

She screamed at Imogen and sent her to her room to think about her priorities.

Helen must have known the explosion was coming. She stayed after school to hang out with the barista, Khaleed McClendon. I think she may have a bit of a thing for him.

At least, he’s willing to listen to her complain about her family.

She came home when the drama was safely over.

Mom was outside, letting off her aggression by playing on the swing set.

After sunset, in the rain.

I guess that’s just how she rolls.

Mikhail slept through the whole thing, I think.

Daisy and Minnie spent the time bonding. Cats never lose sight of their priorities.

While I was waiting for Jiao, I decided to check up on some of my consignments. The market for local gems seems to be pretty good.

The market for local gems seems to be pretty good.

I was caught by surprise when she walked through the door.

I jumped when I heard, “Hi Franklin!” behind me.

“Hello!” I said. “It’s so nice to see your dramatic face again. I would ask you for a latte, but there’s no machine here.” I winked. I’m so suave sometimes.

“Oh, you didn’t hear?” Jiao said. “I quit the amusement park coffee shop. I have a new job as a Test Subject!”

JiaoJob

“Wow,” I said. “Science is a big career change.”

“It has great hours!” Jiao said. “I should have some time to go to the Fall Festival this year!”

“Anyway, it was nice seeing you! We should do this again sometime. Or maybe not. This was kind of boring.”

“It is nice–” I began. “Wait. What?”

But she was already walking out the door.

FranklinGroupFail

So much for going out for pizza.

I wondered what she was doing that was so important.


Yes, Jiao ditched Franklin to go go across town and play on a basketball court. I have no idea.

I used Franklin’s wish as a chance better get to know Jiao. I moved her into town. If she’s not the chosen mate, she’ll at least be able to breed future mates.