Author Topic: The Pearl of Great Price: A 4x4 Dynasty (FAILED)  (Read 8156 times)

Offline Trip

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The Pearl of Great Price: A 4x4 Dynasty (FAILED)
« on: February 02, 2015, 12:58:49 AM »
Things are still under construction.



Rules and Restrictions:

- If this is your first time reading something by me, I always have a rule of Original Townie-Descended Spouses Only (TM). And boy can I have fun with it here, without as many rules. ;D To clarify, "original townie" can refer to any pre-made sim in a town: residents, homeless, service NPC, or ghost.

- Unlike the Waverlys [internal gagging noises], No Inbreeding.

- No Motive-Altering LTRs. No Moodlet Managers, Motive Mobiles, Steel Bladders, or what have you. Elixirs are fair game though.



Notes

- Most of the story is shot outside of the dynasty. It's a shorter lifespan and I can't waste precious dynasty time setting up shots!

- As you might notice, my aesthetic has taken a wild departure from the Waverlys. While I used mostly EA content there, I upped my CC game with this dynasty and I quite like it. Please divert all "OMG where can I get that?" questions to my inbox.



Stats

World One: Moonlight Falls

Founders: Mika Pearl and Malcolm Harris

Generation One: Matthew (Pearl) Farmwell
Traits: Loner, Loves the Outdoors, Angler, Proper, Ambitious
Spouse:
Career: Scientist
Best Friends: Alfred Hoppcraft and Efrim Pearl (IF).
Skill Challenges: Amateur Ichthyologist, Commercial Fisherman, Butterfly Collector
Ops: To be entered

Generation Two: Isaac Snitcher
Traits: Athletic, Disciplined, Party Animal, Flirty, Workaholic
Spouse: Gator Wolff + Jenna Chong
Career: Acrobat
Best Friends:
Skill Challenges:
Ops: Showtime in the Park, an opp to do with SimPort



Family Tree

Spoil everything for yourself and get it here! Kind of a work in progress.
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Offline Trip

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Re: The Pearl of Great Price: A 4x4 Dynasty
« Reply #2 on: February 02, 2015, 01:10:22 AM »
Chapter 1: The Tropics



You won’t know what we’re talking about. I doubt you’ve gone further south than Bridgeport.

That is what Mika Pearl said to her younger roommate. He kept a large collection of shirts just to wear them in layers. Plus, he grew up in a suburb north of Bridgeport. Not even Mika could return to the tropics, though. At least, she stayed in the shadow of Moonlight Falls’ surrounding mountains for decades while she was alive. Wearing jeans year-round was surprisingly comfortable. She also saved money by not running air conditioning on most days. It was a fine place to live, and a fine place to die when it happened to her. And her roommate too.

He died without going south. Most mornings, he could look out his bedroom window to the snow-capped mountains that overlooked Moonlight Falls. The boundless afterlife offered him more travel options, but he wasn’t going anywhere without following Mika. If she was going back home, she would know the way better.



Following her silvery, spectral trail, he expected to find himself in a breathtaking Spanish mansion. Maybe she preferred the sacred ground of a mission church. Perhaps, she would find one of the many beaches and grab herself a beer from some poor sap’s cooler. Which was a very Mika thing to do. Instead, she found a secluded island and its one house. She had to have been familiar with the floor plan, as she phased in and out to grab herself a pot of tea and sit under the green porch lights with it.

While Mika probably saw some nostalgia, all he saw was the aged wood and the faded green siding of the house. The stairs creaked a bit under his lack of weight. The lights hummed, or was that the mosquitos? To cap it all off, the premise still reeked of dank herbs and something vaguely alcoholic. The place lay abandoned for years or decades.

This was a running theme in Mika’s life.

Un-phased by that, she drank her tea and looked over the vast oceans into the light haze gathering over the night sky, and to a dingy beachside motel. She didn’t notice the sanguine-red spirit behind her at first, or she hoped to ignore him for a cup of rooibos almost as red as he was. He spoke up.

“Mika! So this is paradise?” He kicked up some dust from the bricks for effect.



Instead of putting her muscle to use, for whatever it could do to a spirit, she finished putting sugar into her cup. She turned her head towards him with a smile she gave to few others. “I knew you’d find me one day, you obsessed little kid.”

“You always said that I needed to go south one day. Better dead than never, right?”

“Perhaps.”

“Can we talk? Is this place haunted?" He lit up thinking about it. "I always loved the haunted places in Moonlight Falls.”

“Yes, because we’re here. As ghosts,” Mika said, in a flat voice. “I guess we can talk, Malcolm. You can pretend that this red tea is blood if you don’t think about it too hard.”



Malcolm took a seat, but refused the tea. He instead marveled at the island with wide-eyed curiosity. Water surrounded them. A boat sped by in the distance. He never appreciated the outdoors in Moonlight Falls as much, but the air was warm and inviting in Isla Paradiso, and the mosquitos had no blood or flesh to get from him. “So this is where all your stories were? I mean, I never was able to picture it right. It looks like paradise.”

“That’s what they call it,” Mika muttered. “It makes for an okay home too.”

She told Malcolm the details he needed when he wondered about that past of hers. Unlike others who ran away to start a new life, Mika told the truth.



It was a place of frequent swims and fresh mangoes every day for breakfast. Mika’s parents were uninteresting, even with whatever mystic ties they had. They didn’t even have any juicy stories about growing up across the world in the also tropical Sunlit Tides. When Mika revealed her magic touch, they let her explore it.



Most young witches would have pursued a magical path. Mika had potential for everything mystical, perhaps as a pure-hearted healer or as a vigilante warrior. The world could be her supernatural playground, and her impressive physique could be kept only for her own enjoyment.



Alas, Mika’s magic was a hobby. Her career was suited more to those muscles than to her magic.



She passed the physical on her first try, and survived boot camp as well as anyone could. Mika found herself as the most promising new recruit in the Isla Paradiso People’s Army. A job of barking at even newer recruits and medals of honor got closer and closer each year.



For a long time, Mika focused on her job with a sniper’s precision. She may have had training in that, but it was technically still a government secret. What wasn’t was that she set a new record for completing the obstacle course.



Mika stood on top for a while, looking towards a long, camo-clad future.



In her spare time, Mika and her icy soldier’s heart melted at an equally cold beer and time with the other guys out of their uniforms. In fact, she may have been a loud bar patron. She may have won brawls, and certainly got a formal warning from the top for her rowdy behavior. Mika had to find another habit.

“Your track times are lagging,” General Ichtaca said. He shoved the official running gear of the People’s Army into her arms. An ill-fitting, olive tee. Grey shorts. Sneakers that probably were white when they were first issued. “Contrary to popular belief, cardio doesn’t kill muscles if you do it right. Here is the route.” It took her five kilometers through the town center and up to the top of the island. Every morning.



If nothing else, he chose a scenic route for her. In the early morning hours, the main plaza took on a natural golden sheen. It would have looked nicer without the tacky festival setup, but it was summer and the tourists demanded such things.

For the first couple of mornings, Mika ran alone. They did their best to assign different routes to those issued them, so all Mika ran into were lazy civilians. But that was just for two days.



The third morning, she ran past a handsome stranger instead. He probably would have turned her head anyways for those biceps, but the dull green shirt turned her head for longer. Finally, she found a kindred spirit. Mika turned around. He beat her to that.

“Whatcha here for?” she asked.



“Bad track times, and almost sleeping with one of the new boot camp girls,” he said. “You?”

“Being an obnoxious lush sometimes. I’m Mika.”

“Gladsten. Just got deployed here for the year. How do you stand this heat anyways?”

Gladsten later revealed that he was from the northern wasteland of Moonlight Falls, where the salmon flourished and the grass knew frost better than it knew dew. As different as it was, Mika wanted him to stay and picked a mango for him one morning. One slice of the sweet, buttery flesh and he was okay with a year in the tropics. Even better, he was down for a new friendship with the young Mika. They had a common interest.



That floor had just one weight rack, and one treadmill. His track times still lagged. His control on the machine did too. Mika felt her muscles aching for something more than cardio and the open trail. Plus, her jeans were made for oversized quads. No way would she lose those.



In spite of Mika’s efforts, it turned out that she made little effort to be a better soldier after all. After Gladsten left for home, she kept in touch with him, but fell back into her old vices. Too many warnings resulted in a discharge on bad behavior. Mika found herself unemployed, tarnished, and alone in Isla Paradiso. Her parents moved back to Sunlit Tides and probably wouldn’t take her back. Gladsten had only one bed at his place in Moonlight Falls, but the possibility of moving there tempted Mika. She slept on couches and saved up her money.

At first, it seemed like a deux ex machina, getting a call from a third cousin just in her time of need. He had a house to sell, all the way up in Moonlight Falls! It was in a gorgeous neighborhood, he said, and maybe she could resume her witchcraft in one of the only towns that embraced it.



He didn’t have her best interests at heart.

And that led her to being an old ghost, back in Isla Paradiso with one of those people she met while living on a burnt down eyesore.



“I missed home a little bit,” she said. “But I loved Moonlight Falls too. I think you changed me that way.”

“Me?” Malcolm asked. “I thought you hated me.”

“I’m not that literal, Mal. I liked you at times. I thought you’d see that I’m just frigid.”

He paused, and tried a sip of her tea. It wasn’t to his tastes, which were primed for only one red liquid. “Did you grow up here?” he asked.

“God no. It’s just a one bedroom place. I spent a lot of time here, though.”

“It’s quite a swim here.”

“It builds muscle. You could have used it.”

“But why are you here?” Malcolm asked. “Is it nostalgia?”

“Yes. And we were sent here. You too. Remember that matchbox that Matt found?” Malcolm nodded.



“I followed the address. Apparently this place has one of those, for something not on a real street,” said Mika. “So I want to see what candles were lit here, so to speak.” She got up from her seat, hoping to explore those candles inside. But she stood outside of the door, entranced in something.



Malcolm stood beside her. “You really do come from a family of homewreckers!” he said.

“Please go back to not making jokes,” Mika growled.

“You want me in there with you, though?”

“Maybe tomorrow night, or in a few years. I want this part to myself. But I think I’ll call for you again. Death has softened me a lot.”



She ventured inside to find something to one day call Malcolm about, or to fix herself even more tea. No way was that rooibos going to go even more stale on the shelf.



Malcolm just listened to her orders like a young puppy. Perhaps he would always be that to Mika. Lord knows that’s how it started.



Word Count for this chapter: 1,798
Word Count so far: 1,798

I had more inspiration to do this instead of anything Waverly-related. One day, though!

For those who have been following my...shoddy record-keeping on the official site, Mika went through a name change. Her original name, Mikasa, was really freakin' stupid in hindsight. Mika is a legitimate Japanese name. Mikasa is a brand of fine china, or a Japanese mountain.
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Offline Turoskel

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Re: The Pearl of Great Price: A 4x4 Dynasty (Ch. 1, 2/2)
« Reply #3 on: February 02, 2015, 04:34:39 AM »
Ah so that's what you were up to in laggy Isla Paradiso, intriguing start, and nice screenshots, the one where she is casting with the moon behind her took me a second to register it wasn't part of the particle effect from her spell  ;D

Quote
Unlike others who ran away to start a new life, Mika told the truth.

Hmm can't imagine who that could be  :P

Offline Nettlejuice

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Re: The Pearl of Great Price: A 4x4 Dynasty (Ch. 1, 2/2)
« Reply #4 on: February 02, 2015, 06:09:32 AM »
Trip, you have the ability to draw readers in, I was hooked and intrigued from the very beginning.
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Offline Trip

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Re: The Pearl of Great Price: A 4x4 Dynasty (Ch. 1, 2/2)
« Reply #5 on: February 02, 2015, 02:50:23 PM »
Ah so that's what you were up to in laggy Isla Paradiso, intriguing start, and nice screenshots, the one where she is casting with the moon behind her took me a second to register it wasn't part of the particle effect from her spell  ;D

Hmm can't imagine who that could be  :P

I thought that the complaints about Isla Paradiso were either overblown or from people with mediocre computers, but my god, it started getting unplayable after one day. D: I still have things to shoot there, but I hope to make it minimal. What a shame, considering that it's a gorgeous place otherwise.

Heh. ;D

Trip, you have the ability to draw readers in, I was hooked and intrigued from the very beginning.

Thank you!



Chapter 2: Two Mistakes



Mika’s life first started with 126 Wood Street, and the difference between what she was promised and what she got. Her cousin, or whatever that sneak was, said it was a fixer-upper. It explained the cheap price. She snatched it up just for the promise of her own walls. After that, she could get a job without as much of the stigma (news spread quickly over the islands), and make Gladsten her gym buddy again.

Alas, poor Mika. She threw away the last of her savings on a shed and a dead forest. Plus, she needed lawn treatment for those many burnt spots. Most people with sniper training would use it before stopping at the curb. Mika probably would too. Well, on most days she would. Instead, she took a deep breath and sighed with a low growl in her breath. She then picked up the cat that followed her.

“Devy, this blows,” she said, into his ear. And she got a slicker brush out of her pocket.



On most days, Mika would enact some sort of revenge, but maybe she was jet-lagged. Or she dreamed of squatting at the first unoccupied house she found until she had the money to legally buy it. Even more likely, it was the black cat named Devy. Whatever it was, Mika was not a violent person that morning. She got out her slicker brush, put the cat down, and brushed a developing knot out of Devy’s fur.

She adopted him as a kitten before she got discharged, and brought him along hoping that he would sniff out the rodents in whatever old house she bought. It looked like Devy was out of a job. Mika was out of one and didn’t arrange for a new one. She was stuck in Moonlight Falls, with only one contact.



There was no time to waste with finding him. Thank goodness that brooms were considered street-legal vehicles in Moonlight Falls!

Gladsten lived on Lupine Lane, towards the coast and its abundant saltwater fish. The street was a glorified trailer park, something he never mentioned. Mika pitied him. Who had it worse in Moonlight Falls? Regardless of him own humble dwellings, Mika needed his advice, and knocked on the door hoping for it. No answer. She looked in one of the windows and it was clear that Gladsten was out. He wasn’t sleeping at the late hour of eight in the morning.

Coming to terms with that she’d probably survive without Gladsten for the day, Mika headed back to that poor excuse for a home. She passed by many proper homes on the way. Stately Victorian mansions cast long shadows on the streets. A street over, there was a more modest house owned by a fairy with glittery, butter-yellow wings. And some hairy stranger tried to speak with her.



Mika stopped as soon as she saw it. Gladsten was there, and as beardy as ever! He never mentioned the fairy while in Isla Paradiso. However, as Mika approached the two of them, it became clear that she didn’t want to know what was going on.

“I know, I know, we should have spoke before I slept with your best friend, Marigold, but you know the sort of guy I am,” he said. “That’s no reason to burn a prized salmon, though!” Oh joy, Gladsten was being Gladsten. He never got discharged for his flirty behavior in Isla Paradiso, but he was not liked for it either. His fish, always line-caught by him, were a big source of pride too. Marigold should have known better.

“Are you really saying this crap?” she asked.



“Fine, we can just break up,” said Gladsten, his face clenched in an angry frown. That was when Mika tapped him on the shoulder.

“Mika! Glad to see you survived the flight.” He opened his arms for a hug, before remembering that Mika was more of a handshake sort of woman.



“Sorry you had to see that,” he said, squeezing her hand.

“Is she the next one?” Marigold asked, with disdain.

“Mika? She’s too good for that,” said Gladsten.

“I know this is a difficult time,” said Mika. “But something’s gone wrong at my new place. You mind giving me some pointers?”

“Anything to get out of here,” he whispered to her. Mika took him by the hand and ran, dragging Gladsten along with her. He waved to Marigold, and she returned with a vulgar gesture. A few blocks away was the new “house.” Gladsten pouted, pitying her in the same way she pitied his trailer home.

“You should have told me the address,” he said. “This place kills property values and no one wanted to fix it. Why you?”

“I was just excited to leave. So this is what I got,” said Mika. “Doesn’t it blow?”

“I don’t know what advice I can give. I mean, this is the sort of thing when you should steal some money and start over in a trailer park. It worked for me.”

“I’m not gonna wimp out of this one,” said Mika. “Time to buy some cat stuff.”

Gladsten tickled Devy behind the ears as Mika left. She returned with a food bowl, scratching post, and a litter box. He was out for a jog by then, but returned an hour later and said that he’d get his tent and stay with Mika. That was, until they saved up enough to get closed walls.



He came back with a camouflage-print tent, a mini fridge, and a boombox. He also fed Devy. “It’s just like camping, and boy do I love camping,” he said. “And I’m pretty sure that there’s beer in that fridge.”

“Just for me?” Mika asked. “Maybe for another night. I’m not going to be drunk and out in the open like this.”



She could dance like a fool out in the open, though. They placed the boombox under the rickety loft bed and played the tape in there. It was a collection of drum and bass tracks recorded off a college radio station twenty years back. It also wasn’t Gladsten’s sort of stuff. For a rugged outdoorsman, he loved to relax on his couch at night to some Vivaldi.

“Garage sale?” Mika asked. He nodded.

“It’s not awful,” he said. “And it works. I think you like that sort of stuff?”



“You’d know if you lived with me for more than a year. I guess we have a lot of those now. I mean, I threw out all my shorts. I can’t go back to Isla Paradiso with jeans.”



They let the tape run out, and by then, it was completely dark outside. Gladsten had an early shift doing vehicle upkeep for the military, and claimed the tent. He told Mika that it had enough room for two people, and a partition to separate them. She considered it. Camping was always fun, and Gladsten didn’t thrash around when he slept, nor did he snore. Devy followed him inside later. She took her pants off and put on a loose, also camo-printed shirt, but made a different decision on where to sleep at the last minute. Maybe the old loft bed could support her.



While the frame shook as she climbed up the ladder, Mika had nothing to fear. It was as comfortable as a beat-up bed could be. Two loose mattress springs stuck out under the rough blanket and sheets. That blanket was likely made of burlap with how it felt, though the sheets were a little softer. Maybe the unkempt grass made for a better bed after all.



But Mika didn’t change her mind on that bed, and crawled onto the top.



She crossed her hands across her chest and smiled at that stupid mistake she made, buying that property. Over the course of the day, it transformed from a stupid mistake to a new journey. Even though she slept on top of mites and bedbugs, the rest of the town felt so inviting. In fact, it invited her to a new adventure. She was nearing 30 at that time, and needed that before she had a one-third-life crisis over being stuck in her hometown.

As it turned out, that was not Mika’s biggest mistake. It started some time later, when Gladsten was out visiting his new squeeze, and Mika was stressed from her new job pushing pencils for the Moonlight Falls football team. The Plasma Kings promised that they would pencil her in for tryouts, but that kept getting pushed off. Mika needed a break from her frustration. The nightlife in Moonlight Falls needed work, but there was a lounge across the river. She remembered to pack some slim-fitted slacks, a cropped jacket, and green pumps that made her arches cry. It fit the dress code better than crop tops and her six-pack.

Surely, the bartender would think she was stylish.



It wasn’t that type of lounge. Mika had to mix her own drink, which was seltzer water and some unknown liquor. She usually trusted others with that. She had enough in the blender for a tray, so she left them there to go flat, and took one.



She slouched over on the barstool and watched some women dancing. Mika took sip after sip of her drink, hoping to loosen up enough to join them. The world was full of alcoholics, and Mika joined them only when she needed to. Plus, one mixed drink still kept her within the group of “benign social drinkers.” Mika threw the empty cup over her shoulder and sat back down, hoping for a good darkwave song to draw her to the dance floor.

Someone sat beside her. She paid no attention to him until he said “Hey.” And that guy became Mika’s biggest mistake.



Word Count for this chapter: 1,627
Word Count so far: 3,425
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Offline Nettlejuice

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Re: The Pearl of Great Price: A 4x4 Dynasty (Ch. 2, 2/2)
« Reply #8 on: February 03, 2015, 04:26:26 AM »
This must be from your new PC? The graphics look much better than Eight Ways. I literally can't wait to see who the guy is!
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Offline Trip

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Re: The Pearl of Great Price: A 4x4 Dynasty (Ch. 3, 2/3)
« Reply #9 on: February 03, 2015, 08:26:27 PM »
Yay! Another Trip story  :) Looking forward to more!

Then stay tuned!

I love your stories and your sims. Both have depth.

Aww, thanks. :)

This must be from your new PC? The graphics look much better than Eight Ways. I literally can't wait to see who the guy is!

You bet! I remember the graphics bump between my old old laptop and my old one. This is even better.

Some of the image quality comes from how I can get even bigger initial screenshots. My old laptop had a max. resolution of 1600x900, while my new setup has one of 1920x1080. But I still have to scale my images down to the same size for the forum (800x450), so scaling them down to that from a bigger image results in something even sharper.

And, spoiler alert: It's Malcolm.



Chapter 3: Stripes



“Hey.”

Mika turned around. It sounded like he was speaking through his nose. That voice cracked a little bit, in a way that no voice belonging to someone over 22 should. It was a youngster, and Mika had no time for youngsters while sober. But maybe the booze would change her mind. She turned around.



Malcolm Harris had some of the trappings of a heartthrob. Big blue eyes, like a husky puppy’s, peeked out from behind glasses and behind even more blue hair. His nose was sharp and defined as well. However, Mika preferred brown eyes, and Malcolm otherwise looked like a noodle-shaped dork in that sweatervest. He also wore eyeliner that went out of style ages ago for men. Although of an average height, he weighed maybe 120 pounds and none of it was muscle. Mika benched more than that on a usual gym day. His pick up lines, although none would work on Mika anyways, needed work to have an effect on anyone.

“Okay,” Mika said, reaching over the bar to see if someone left one of those one-serving vodka bottles behind it. No luck. She was stuck there with a young nobody, and no one else that she knew in the lounge.



“Oh bother,” she muttered. “So, why me? Everyone says that I look scary. And they’re right.”

“I’m Malcolm, and I think you look pretty,” he said.

“I’m Mika and I’m not pretty. I’m handsome and androgynous and that’s a bad type to have. Aren’t there other girls here?” Mika diverted her gaze to a group of women on the dance floor. One of them shook up a champagne bottle. “They’re all pretty attractive.”

“I’m aware,” said Malcolm. “I live with them.”

“So why me?”



“Well, Alice, in the red dress, is engaged and the other two see me as friends. It won’t work between them, and no one else in town seems to like me like that. I’ve been here for four years now and nothing’s happened.”

“I’m much older than you, and I’ve never been in a relationship either. They’re so overrated, so why don’t you take some advice from this old, sage master and enjoy life without love for a bit? And especially without me.”

“Why be mean about it? Can we at least be friends? I don’t feel like I have enough of those either. I bet you have plenty, though.” Mika went through the list. Aside from Gladsten, and the people at work, she didn’t have plenty. At least Malcolm lived with three roommates, and presumably in a house. She had a worse social standing than the nobody in the striped shirt and sweatervest.

“Maybe that would work better,” said Mika. “So, I guess you’re not the sort of guy who fits in at a hen party?”

“I don’t think Alice does either. The others insisted on it,” Malcolm said. “And they insisted I came too. You know, you might not know it, but you’re a lot nicer than them.”

“Looks like I need to step up my game.”

“You don’t sound like you’re forcing kindness. So what do you do for work?”

“Paperwork for The Plasma Kings. Still waiting on tryouts, but they might bump me up to the school’s athletic program in the meantime. Before that, military. Probably could have guessed all of that.”

“Yeah, kind of. I just finished cosmetology school. My parents originally sent me here for law, but that wasn’t going to work out.” Mika looked into the rim of eyeliner around his eyes. No way was that stylish or still taught to cosmetologists. “I like being a stylist now.”

“Surely you aren’t giving the men in town that makeup job,” said Mika, rolling her eyes.

“That’s just my thing,” he said.

“Thank god.”



Mika did the unexpected and ended up chatting with Malcolm for the whole night. He lit up when she mentioned her magical background. She backed away from the topic as best as she could, but as it turned out, she found one of those humans who seemed to get their whole idea of magic and the supernatural from niche romance novels. As if on cue, Malcolm rambled about vampires and how he really wanted to move to Moonlight Falls to become one of them. Mika didn’t know much about vampires and pretended to listen.

She kept the conversation going for a while, longer than she should have, but Mika did it to be nice. The mixed drink loosened her up enough to do so.



In fact, she ended the night dancing with him, and followed him out the doors when the indoor lights were shut off.



“Can I have your number?” Malcolm asked, outside the door. “Just in case I need someone to talk with.” Like with many things he did that night, Mika would have walked away if she was completely sober. However, the alcohol poured some mercy into her heart as well.



“Just be good about it,” she said, then entering it into his phone. Malcolm turned out to not abuse that knowledge. He called Mika once in the space of a few months, just to ask her for advice on buying a wedding present for Alice. She didn’t have any, but didn’t tell him off for daring to call her either.

Perhaps he would evolve into a strong friend. If only Mika kept her guard up to keep it that way.

She felt settled into Moonlight Falls, and saved up enough money from her job and minimalist living to considering building something on her lot. As the foundation rose from the ashy dirt, Mika grinned and also decided that it was time to really act like Mika. Beneath all of the ice and steel within her, Mika made it clear that she loved a good drink. She also loved a party even more. Gladsten dragged her to a few that he was invited to. The hors d'oeuvres and social crowds made for some fun nights, but Mika wanted to host one of her own. The walls went up for her to do it.

Gladsten had a better list of contacts to invite, so she trusted him with those details.



What she also trusted him with was his fashion sense. Mika liked the way his loose flannel shirt fit on him, but he had different thoughts. While she played with Devy and a laser pointer, Gladsten walked up behind her. The new shirts were snazzy, but she laughed hard at his exposed chest carpet and torn jeans.

“Good god, who did that to you?” she asked.



“You can blame Malcolm for that. I thought it was kind of sexy, actually,” Gladsten said. “Helen thinks so.”

“I’m sure plenty of ladies appreciate your six-pack. I’ll get myself a skimpier crop top just to compete.”

“Not that I’d mind. Anyways, our guest list is looking short. Why don’t we invite Malcolm? It’s not like he’ll be violent or ruin the interior.”

“That is true,” said Mika. “I’ll go with it.”

Right before the party, the first incarnation of the house was completed. They settled on cheap furniture and appliances and it showed, but the wallpaper and floor choices were fantastic for a bunch of budget options. No one could tell that they used third-rate hardwood floors. The color choices matched. Best of all, Mika had the money and space for a beer keg in the living room.



Armed with a house to warm and a crop top to show off her prized abs, Mika started the party with a nice start. James Hoppcraft might have been a boring older man, but she treated Branch’s discussion of fairy magic and affairs with passing interest. He also worked under Gladsten. With Gladsten there, surely they could entertain Mika and the other guests with fun military tales.



Alas, he had a great distraction. Mika found Haley, Malcolm’s roommate, next. She owned the mansion they lived in, and kept it clean for the few times her wealthy parents checked on the property. As for Malcolm, he was said to be a quiet roommate with a sensitive heart. “I don’t get his obsession with those bloodsuckers, though,” Haley finished, looking over her shoulder to Dante the vampire. “I guess it’s pretty harmless. But yeah, I think he needs some more friends, so, thanks?”

It wasn’t like Mika was against doing good. In fact, she saw Malcolm walk in. He ignored the keg full of beer and planted himself in front of the telly, though.



Mika approached him, and got his attention without any words. Malcolm looked up from the MF Plasma Kings vs. Twinbrook Purple Herons game and smiled. “Pretty nice place you made!” he said, over the sounds of the crowd.

“Yeah, I’m liking it so far,” said Mika. “Why don’t you have a drink? I know I need one.”

He got up and eyed the keg, with hesitation. “I don’t do this too often, and Haley says that I’m a fool when I do.”



“I’ll make sure that you don’t get too foolish tonight, okay?” said Mika. “And besides, I think you need to be a fool sometimes. I was talking with Haley, and she thinks that you’re also a socially-deprived poor soul. Maybe this can help.”

“How much do I need?” asked Malcolm.

“I can help you with a keg stand. You up for that?”

“I’ll...yeah, let’s do this!” He was cut off by an ear-piercing screech.

“WOO!”



“Yeah, let’s get this started!” screeched Mika, raising her fists in the air.

“Is it really that fun?” asked Malcolm.

“Keg stands are pretty fun. Lemme just grab you like...this.”



She held him by the chest and started to lift. As she estimated, Malcolm was a lightweight. His ribcage protruded more than needed to beneath his cardigan. She wrapped her other arm close to his hip and lifted him more, until Malcolm was up in the air.



For just a moment, it seemed like it was some innocent party fun. That one stand got Malcolm the lightweight buzzed, but Mika didn’t think much about it. She definitely didn’t think much about it when she had enough drinks to not think about much at all.



Word Count for this chapter: 1,698
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Offline Nettlejuice

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Re: The Pearl of Great Price: A 4x4 Dynasty (Ch. 3, 2/3)
« Reply #10 on: February 04, 2015, 04:42:40 AM »
Quote
Anyways, our guest look is looking short

I think that was supposed to be guest list?

I forgot all about Malcolm Harris, I got it into my head ir was Malcolm Landgraab. The makeovers on the townies is so much better than their original looks.
Chant: Life States (TS3) / Immortal Dynasty (TS4)




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Offline Trip

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Re: The Pearl of Great Price: A 4x4 Dynasty (Ch. 3, 2/3)
« Reply #11 on: February 04, 2015, 07:01:44 AM »
I think that was supposed to be guest list?

I forgot all about Malcolm Harris, I got it into my head ir was Malcolm Landgraab. The makeovers on the townies is so much better than their original looks.

Crap, you're right!

Mr. Harris was in such dire need of a makeover. Not so much for his original wardrobe or hairstyle, but because his makeup choices were pretty awful. And the awfulness pretty much boiled down to hot pink lipstick. No.
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Offline Turoskel

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Re: The Pearl of Great Price: A 4x4 Dynasty (Ch. 3, 2/3)
« Reply #12 on: February 04, 2015, 08:35:29 AM »
I really need to go look at that town again, only played in it during challenges and didn't really get out much, the only name I recognise so far is James Hoppcraft, be interesting to look and see what you did to them in the makeovers.

Offline Lisa46

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Re: The Pearl of Great Price: A 4x4 Dynasty (Ch. 3, 2/3)
« Reply #13 on: February 04, 2015, 12:32:33 PM »
I started a DecaDynasty with Malcolm recently, and he made a great founder. I hope he and Mika get together!

Offline Trip

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Re: The Pearl of Great Price: A 4x4 Dynasty (Ch. 4, 2/4)
« Reply #14 on: February 04, 2015, 11:48:04 PM »
I really need to go look at that town again, only played in it during challenges and didn't really get out much, the only name I recognise so far is James Hoppcraft, be interesting to look and see what you did to them in the makeovers.

I did have fun with the makeovers. James doesn't really make any more appearances, though.

I started a DecaDynasty with Malcolm recently, and he made a great founder. I hope he and Mika get together!

Malcolm's always been one of my favorite townies. As it turns out, he's also well-behaved and perfect founding material!

I kind of hoped they would too. Mika certainly didn't. :P



Chapter 4: Housewarming Gifts





Where Mika woke up felt hard, but all of the mattresses in the house felt that way. Strange how this one didn’t seem to have a lump, though. She swore that all their mattresses did. Her hand ran across the surface, which didn’t seem to end and felt like smooth linoleum under her fingertips. In fact, she ran her fingers over smooth linoleum.

It was the bathroom floor, wasn’t it? She kicked the toilet by accident. Her hand almost broke the glass of the shower door. Mika, feeling like a steamroller ran her over and like a jackhammer was in her brain, tried to get up. She tried to get up, and rationalize why she was there, in a cramped washroom.



“Dear Christ, what happened,” she mumbled, with her stomach on the cool tiles. Everything felt exposed, until she touched herself on her upper back. Her strapless bra stayed, despite all odds, but her regular top was missing. Everything touched linoleum instead of fabric, such as the majority of her legs. She wore long jeans at the party. They ended up somewhere else too.

Mika took many deep breaths. She feared the worst of what could have led her to passing out in her underwear, but didn’t entertain the thought for long. For her own sanity, she assumed that she forgot where her bed was. But in order to think happy thoughts, she needed to punish her hungover mind. Mika needed another beer, if they had it.

She stumbled at first, but soon found her legs again and exited the bathroom. From inside the bathroom, it sounded like there was a conversation or some pillow talk. Someone stayed overnight. Mika didn’t know what to make of that. After exiting the bathroom, she found her guest.



Helen Hall...Mika knew about Helen. She never formally met the woman, and assumed that she was young and white. However, with deep brown skin and a greying afro, she got Gladsten’s attention about eight months back and things almost looked serious for them. Mika cared for one second, and then walked to the keg to see if anything was left to grow stagnant and lukewarm.



“Good luck breaking the news to her,” Helen said, as Mika took a sip from another drink. Her ears perked up at that, but she tried to brush it off as something that didn’t concern her.

Helen left. Mika went on the hunt for her clothes, while Gladsten got his jeans and shoes back on.



As she buttoned her jeans’ button, Gladsten rubbed the back of his neck and averted his gaze to the floor as if he had something to hide.

“Okay, there is something I need to tell you about last night,” Gladsten said. “And it’s pretty awful.”

“You’ve seen me at my worst for other parties. I’m almost afraid,” said Mika. “Except I’m not. This didn’t exactly bring down the house, and I had, what. Four beers?”

“I lost count. But this is kind of serious, and I feel bad about it. How about a seat?” They took both of the seats in front of the telly. Mika smiled with a soft smile, ignoring a killer hangover.

“If you feel bad about it, did...did you sleep with me, Gladsten?” she asked.



“It’s worse than that. I did nothing,” he said. “But you did something nasty in the bathroom that I think you blacked out for. But to be fair, he was blacked out too.”

“Please don’t tell me it was James,” said Mika, with slight fear seizing her face. “I don’t want to be that sort of homewrecker. I mean, I saw a ring on him. He was drinking a lot too.”

“No, he left pretty early.”

Mika went through the list of guests, ignoring one obvious candidate. But she went through the rest of the male guests. The plain and portly Branch didn’t touch her. Dante made one joke about it, but it wasn’t him either. Whoever sat in the left chair watching the football game seemed like a suspicious sort of guy. He was Kyle, and one of the new recruits that Gladsten got to push around. He passed out in the yard long before Mika got plastered.

That was the end of the list. One last man remained.

“Don’t tell me,” Mika groaned.

“I don’t want to,” said Gladsten.

“Oh god, I did nasty things with Malcolm, didn’t I?”

“I’m sorry I didn’t do anything.”

“What?” She got up from her chair, fists clenched and fuming. “Okay, I’m hoping you were as useless as I was at that time. I mean, you’re my best friend, surely you would have done something if you were sober.”

“I wish I was hammered. Look, Mika, I feel really bad about this-”



“I thought I trusted you, Gladsten!” she yelled. “I thought I trusted you to make sure that I didn’t totally make a fool of myself. I know I’d do the same for you! But no, you were sober and still didn’t stop me from doing horrible things with that...that nerd.”



“You seemed into it when you were making out against the wall. I thought you were more lucid than you were and changed your mind about him,” said Gladsten. “Gosh, you really don’t remember any of that?” Mika shook her head no.

“I kind of remember taking a shower. Was he in there with me?” she asked. He nodded, cringing a bit as he did.

“Look, we can confront him about this.”



“I just want to forget,” said Mika. “Forget about last night, and forget about him. Can we do that?”



“If that works,” said Gladsten, taking her shoulders. “I’ll help you start. The diner has some great hangover cures.”



“Yeah, I need one of those,” she said, beaming at his offer. “Here’s to forgetting.”

The forgetting process worked well for a few months. Mika rejected a few calls from Malcolm, and he seemed to get the hint. She ran into him looking guilty at the grocery store. But they waved and didn’t share any verbal greetings. Both her and Gladsten stayed sober and focused on keeping a house in one piece, now that they had one.

Gladsten, soon after the party, got a piece of mixed news. Helen birthed a little boy named Allan two weeks after the party, and he had all of his fingers and toes in place. Instead of arranging a shotgun wedding or even writing a child support check, he went home to Mika and tried to make light of the situation. “How does this compare to burning good salmon?” he asked her. “I’m sensing that this might be a red flag. Help me set up a new dating site profile.”

“About time you got some responsibilities,” Mika said. “Maybe it will be a good situation, getting serious about a woman and a family after all these years. I always hoped you would.”

“Why would you wish that on me? I thought you actually cared about your old buddy.” He punctuated it with a laugh and punched Mika in the arm. In jest, of course.

“You’d probably make a better dad than you think you would. You’re cuddly beneath those pecs. I mean, you’d do better than I would being a mum.”

“Well, I hope that you find someone to get serious with! Maybe call Malcolm back, I’m sure he’d love that.”

Don’t worry, they both had a wild laugh at that notion.

“There is one nooboo that I’m a good mum to already, I’ll give you that.”



Mika then sat down to play with Devy and the new wall dancer they bought for him. In spite of being an adult cat, he would be Mika’s favorite nooboo for a long time. Or, it was that she hoped for it to be for a long time.



For a few months, Mika felt great. She got the "promotion" to City Sports Coach, which most days entailed her training rich kids in a one-on-one environment. In front of her students, Mika kept her image as that of a stable, confident woman in great health.



During her swims at the community pool, she got out of the water to break that image. That happened a lot, no matter what she ate. Granted, neither she nor Gladsten were cooks, so she blamed it on undercooked meat. Mika blamed it all on the meat and a fridge as old as she was until she couldn't any longer.



Exercise became her usual therapy, first at the gym. She and Gladsten claimed two treadmills and ran like champions, at least compared to everyone else. They both needed it for work, and Mika started to have a little more trouble buttoning her jeans. She blamed it on...nothing she knew of. Her eating habits were the same, but nothing strained her like the military could. Each day, she would set out for a run with her best friend.



She and Gladsten ran on treadmills and across all of Moonlight Falls. He looked leaner soon after the regimen started. He accompanied her on a diet to speed up her sudden need for weight loss. The results were mixed, with a cut-looking Gladsten, and a bloated Mika.

Am I going mad? she asked herself. She kept a food and exercise log that measured her as taking a huge deficit. Whatever kept her heavy shouldn’t have been there in the first place. It should have sloughed off within two weeks. But it stayed. Mika’s reality crumbled when she couldn’t feel her abs as easily.

Crap, I hope it’s not...oh god no.

Mika took a day off to go to the hospital. She would welcome the outlandish or deadly diagnoses first. It could be a tumor, for all she knew. The doctor ordered a blood test. She was really hoping for a tumor, instead of something far more likely.

She cried only a few times in her life. In the waiting room that afternoon, Mika cried. She cried hard and created a pile of tissues as she waited for the results.

“Would you like to know its gender or not?” Dr. Rain said.

“Maybe later,” said Mika.

“I can give you some of our pamphlets. We offer a lot of solutions here, like pre-natal counseling, adoption services, and other-”

“I’ll deal with this on my own, okay?” said Mika. “It just didn’t come at the right time or from the right person.”



Out of pity, Gladsten bought her a new top. Two sizes bigger than her usual size, it hung over her like a loose tunic. It didn’t help either.



The problems compounded and didn’t go away no matter what.

In an ideal world, Mika would avoid the father for the rest of her life. However, Moonlight Falls was a small town. She went to the Red Velvet Lounge, remembered that she couldn’t drink, and also spotted Malcolm. At that point, Mika endured more than two thirds of her pregnancy and couldn’t bother hiding it. Malcolm, not being completely dense, looked petrified. They both ran in the opposite directions.

After that, Mika forgot about Malcolm. He attempted a lot of calls, which she rejected on principle. Those subsided, and she went back to forgetting about him and going back to waiting for single motherhood and that dubious future.



Gladsten did something to be supportive and took Mika out on a weekend afternoon. He said that The Toadstool was a nice place to hang out, and drinks were optional.

“We can get a cup of coffee,” he said.

“Not a good idea. Helen really told you nothing about how this goes, did she?” Mika rolled her eyes, in a playful way.

“I can still get some.”



He grabbed a mug and sat at the counter with Mika, watching the gardening show that neither of them were interested in. She twiddled her thumbs, and crossed her brows at him. “This is an awful idea,” she said.

“It’s usually a fun place,” said Gladsten. “So, I have a question. If my friend goes steady with my ex, who got the worse punishment?”

“That depends. Which friend, and which ex?”

“Pappy Wolff and Marigold. Talk about an odd couple.”



“Well,” Mika said, with a smirk. “He’s the crazy one, right?” Gladsten nodded. “Yeah, seems like a match made in heaven, actually. He’s a crazy old hound, and she’s a crazy young pixie.”

“God help him explain that to his son, though.”

“Yeah, there’s that.”



“So, there’s the other question,” said Gladsten. “When are you going to stop berating me for not being a good dad, and start getting your babydaddy into the picture?”

“Sometime around never,” replied Mika.

“Maybe you need to put this behind you and start being friends with him again.”

“Nah.”

“It might actually make this less stressful.”



Mika looked at the wall, and just the wall. “Gladsten, it’s good alone. I’m fine.”



Word Count for this chapter: 2,148
Word Count so far: 7,271
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