- Site Map >
- Community >
- Sims Discussion >
- Joint Sims Contests >
- Closed Contests >
- Story Time Contest: Hero Edition
- Site Map >
- Community >
- Sims Discussion >
- Joint Sims Contests >
- Closed Contests >
- Story Time Contest: Hero Edition
#1
16th Jun 2012 at 4:05 PM
Last edited by heaven : 27th Sep 2012 at 4:16 AM.
Posts: 3,720
Thanks: 27209 in 66 Posts
Story Time Contest: Hero Edition
Foreword and Warning
Last fall, I hosted a story contest that turned out to be a big hit. I’ve had multiple people asking for a second cycle of it and finally decided “hey, why not”. So, this time, we’re doing the hero addition!
Heroes are those amazing people that somehow are placed in really crappy or extraordinary circumstances and manage to work through it all, typically for the better, even with the odds stacked against them! Sometimes they are ordinary people who just happen to fit the bill, sometimes they are blessed with supernatural powers or superhuman abilities.
Banner by Elexis
I will preface this entire thing by stating that this is HARD work. You will be writing an entire short story in as little as 10 weeks (2 weeks per round). That’s, at the very least, 5,000 words overall with at minimum, 50 or so pictures. If you do not think you will have the time, please be courteous and do not enter. We would love to have you and understand if something comes up during but if you know you have other priorities (school, work, vacation, etc) please take that into consideration.
Qualifications
- Hosted Story Time – Cycle 1 Contest
- Participated through all rounds of MTS Official Foundations contest
- Was judge for Lifelover’s Build to Plan contest
- Was emergency judge for missroxor’s Make Me a Model contest
Introduction
Each contestant will create a main character (see rules below for guidelines) and write a story about them in 5 chapters. Sounds easy? There are some twists: each round will consist of certain events/things that need to take place in the story as well as incorporating a certain line/excerpt from a song that will have to be in the contestant’s entry. The story must flow from round to round, with the same main character, finally coming to a conclusion. It can be a happy ending, or tragic or a cliffhanger (maybe this will prompt people to continue in the Sims Stories forum) or somewhere between those.
The contest will be set up in 5 rounds; starting with your introduction and ending with your conclusion. Each round will be 2 weeks long. Extensions may be granted but are not likely so please use your time wisely!
*If you participated in the first cycle, please read through the rules and scoring anyway. This is not the same contest but rather a continuation and rework of the first and some things have been changed!*
Rules
Contest Rules:
1. Forum rules apply.
2. Sims 2 and 3 allowed.
3. One entry is allowed per person. Round 1 counts as your application round.
4. Any and all custom content is allowed. See below for scoring related to CC.
5. There will be no eliminations, however entries are capped at 20 participants.
6. Photoshop is at the extreme minimal. By this, I mean that you can add a border to your pictures, but that is it. No words, no adding images, no changing backgrounds, lighting, etc. If you are doing a flashback, you are permitted to change it to greyscale or sepia and smudge/fog the borders but please be conservative in your use of this. No full chapters as a flashback.
7. No recycled or “borrowed stories”. All stories must be original and new. If you have a story in the Sims Stories forum you MAY NOT use it. If I find you have (or have borrowed a story from the forum or anywhere else) you will be disqualified.
8. There will be a photo limit per story as well as word limit per picture. This will be stated per round. Compliance to these limits is scored. To get your word count, either use Microsoft Word, if you have it, or Word Counter. Pictures should follow upload guidelines: minimum of 800x600 up to a maximum of 1280x1060.
9. Grammar and spelling will NOT be judged. Please try your best but it is more important that the story is understandable and flows.
Story Rules:
10. Stories may be whatever genre and setting each contestant desires: drama, romance, fantasy, etc but make sure it can flow throughout the rounds and that CC adherence is possible.
11. Likewise, characters may be any age or species. Remember, the story will come to a conclusion; young adult or adult sims may be easiest but selection is up to the contestant’s discretion.
12. All main characters must be made by the contestant and must fit your story. Additionally, they must be one of the 4 listed main subtypes. See Below
13. Stories may be written in first or third person. Again, this is up to contestant discretion but be consistent throughout all rounds.
14. Events/things and excerpt must be included each round. Excerpts must be written exactly the way they appear. If you choose to change the tense or wording, that is up to you but you risk losing points.
15. Story must be PG-13. Also, please keep cursing to a minimum and RELEVANT to your story or character. I'm not saying you CAN'T use curse words but please be thoughtful in how/why the character would use those words.
16. Bonus Rounds may include introducing a character or incorporating a second line into the story. Bonus Rounds are done in conjunction with your entry, not as a separate one.
Round Explanations:
Each round will be explained in detail below. There are 4 Hero Subtypes listed below. You will choose one of these and they will be the main character of your story. Each subtype will have 10 events/ themes to choose from. Some of these might overlap through characters. Each round, you must select one from YOUR chosen character’s list and it must appear in that chapter. You do not have to specifically use the same phrasing but it MUST BE CLEAR what you have chosen. Additionally, you may not reuse any idea in subsequent chapters; once YOU use it, it's gone. Previously used themes may be discussed in subsequent chapters as long as there is a new one. Nothing, even if it alludes to an expansion, requires an expansion pack. Use your imagination, get creative! That’s what this is all about!
Hero Subtypes:
- The Badass Bookworm: This one doesn’t look like much and may be classified as the nerd. Possibly shy character who looks unimposing but has hidden strength and/or practical skills. Examples: Indiana Jones, Tony Stark, Willow from Buffy, Liana T’Sori from Mass Effect, Mr. Spock.
- The Chosen One: Victim of “because destiny says so” and the only one able to save the world/defeat the bad guy, etc regardless of their desire to be said chosen one. Examples: Neo from The Matrix, Harry Potter, all 3 (4?) sisters from Charmed, Emma Swan from Once Upon a Time.
- The Knight in Sour Armor: Idealists who have discovered that the world is a dark, cold place and replace their shining armor with pure cynicism. Fight because it’s the right thing to do, not because they believe they can make a difference. Examples: Shrek, Dr. House from House, Garrus from Mass Effect.
- The Atoner: Used to be the villain, realized his evil ways and wants to redeem himself. Struggles with massive guilt and falling back into old habits. Examples: Angel from Angel, Richard Alpert from Lost, occasionally Cole from Charmed, Brigid Tenebaum from Bioshock, Mordin Solus from Mass Effect 2.
The Badass Bookworm | The Chosen One | The Knight in Sour Armor | The Atoner |
---|---|---|---|
Mysterious Past | Mysterious Past | Mysterious Past | Mysterious Past |
Finding Judas | Finding Judas | Finding Judas | Finding Judas |
Heaven Only Knows | Heaven Help Us | Heaven Forbid | Move Heaven and Earth |
Mind Over Matter | Evil Twin | Evil Twin | Mind Over Matter |
Class Reunion | Rematch! | Not You Again! | Redemption Quest |
Minored in Ass Kicking | Love Triangle | Good is Boring | The Cake Was a Lie |
Time Travel | Kidnapped | Embarrasing Rescue | 7 Deadly Sins |
Blondes are Evil | Family Secrets | Get Out of Jail Free Card | Karma's a Bitch |
Makeover | Beware the Nice Guy | Meet Cute | Last Chance |
Playing Both Sides | Lottery of Doom | One Born Every Minute | Pride Before A Fall |
Prizes
Currently there are no prizes available, it’s just for fun. Anyone wishing to donate a prize please PM me.
Contestants
Need at least 10 contestants!
Score Details
Round 1 Scores
Round 2 Scores
Round 3 Scores
Round 4 Scores
Round 5 and Final Scores
Judges
1. Jaguwar
2. GigaRevival
3. SIMul8rReviews
Emergency Judges
1. heaven
Currently there are no prizes available, it’s just for fun. Anyone wishing to donate a prize please PM me.
Contestants
Need at least 10 contestants!
Contestants | Round 1 Score | Link | Round 2 Score | Link | Round 3 Score | Link | Round 4 Score | Link | Round 5 Score | Link | Final Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. spladoum | 94.7 | Round 1 | 100.0 | Round 2 | 91.5 | Round 3 | 93.7 | Round 4 | 94.3 | Round 5 | 94.8 |
2. ReyaD | 94.0 | Round 1 | 99.3 | Round 2 | 95.7 | Round 3 | 96.7 | Round 4 | 96.7 | Round 5 | 96.5 |
3. ForeverCamp | 96.7 | Round 1 | 93.7 | Round 2 | Withdrawn | Withdrawn | Withdrawn | 38.1 |
4. Melibee1323 | 93.3 | Round 1 | 89.7 | Round 2 | 0.0 | No Entry | Withdrawn | Withdrawn | 36.6 |
5. Ghost_sdoj | 88.7 | Round 1 | 87.0 | Round 2 | 99.0 | Round 3 | 96.3 | Round 4 | 93.7 | Round 5 | 92.9 |
6. Viva1994 | 89.0 | Round 1 | 87.7 | Round 2 | 96.3 | Round 3 | 96.3 | Round 4 | 93.7 | Round 5 | 92.6 |
7. Qnshr5 | 98.3 | Round 1 | 99.7 | Round 2 | 98.3 | Round 3 | 102.0 | Round 4 | 103.7 | Round 5 | 100.4 |
8. waterjay | 97.3 | Round 1 | Withdrawn | Withdrawn | Withdrawn | Withdrawn | 19.5 |
9. Tamlyn | 97.3 | Round 1 | 100.0 | Round 2 | 97.0 | Round 3 | 103.7 | Round 4 | 100.7 | Round 5 | 99.7 |
10. Sabri5 | 89.7 | Round 1 | 94.3 | Round 2 | 93.0 | Round 3 | 79.0 | Round 4 | 75.0 | Round 5 | 86.2 |
11. Prawler | 90.7 | Round 1 | 92.3 | Round 2 | 0.0 | No Entry | 0.0 | No Entry | Disqualified | 36.6 |
12. Buckley | 98.0 | Round 1 | 0.00 | No Entry | Withdrawn | Withdrawn | Withdrawn | 19.6 |
13. LadyAwesome | 89.0 | Round 1 | 96.0 | Round 2 | 99.3 | Round 3 | 98.3 | Round 4 | 71.3 | Round 5 | 90.8 |
14. missroxor | 95.7 | Round 1 | 100.3 | Round 2 | 103.7 | Round 3 | 103.0 | Round 4 | 101.7 | Round 5 | 100.9 |
Score Details
Round 1 Scores
Round 2 Scores
Round 3 Scores
Round 4 Scores
Round 5 and Final Scores
Judges
1. Jaguwar
2. GigaRevival
3. SIMul8rReviews
Emergency Judges
1. heaven
Judging Parameters
1. CREATIVITY 45 points overall:
- Originality of story 15 points: Is your story unique and interesting? If it is a specific archetype do you use an unexpected twist?
- Use of excerpt 10 points: Is your excerpt expected? Does it blend in with the story or is it plopped randomly in?
- Development of character 10 points: Are your characters flat, one sided sims or realistic and multi-faceted? Do they have believable reactions/dialogue? Are the extraneous characters fluff or do they add to the story?
- Events 10 points: Do the events you choose work well with the overall plot? Are the two themes tied together well? Do they make sense to be used together?
2. SCENES 30 points overall:
- # of pictures 10 points: Did you have the correct number of pictures for the round?
- Mood, storyline 10 points: Did your words mentally set a stage for us? Did the use of descriptive words help us “feel” the scene?
- Use of props/staging 10 points: Did you choose appropriate scenes/props for the mood you were going for? If you are doing medieval, did you have a TV in the background? Are your angles relevant to the specific scene they are portraying?
3. FLOW 20 points: Does the story flow cohesively from one point to the next? Are your rounds consistent with each other?
4. RULE ADHERENCE 4 points: Were the events and excerpt included in your entry? Did you use photoshop? Are your word limits in line with what is stated each round? Did you use the entry form? (It is up to each judge to determine how much to penalize if a contestant goes over the word max up to a max of 4 points)
5. CC 1 point: Exclusion of CC makes creators really think and be creative with what is in game. Therefore, contestants will receive 1 point if no CC is used and 0 points if any is used. You MUST state if you used CC at the bottom of your entry. If you do not, it will be assumed that it has been used. Note: Custom worlds, poses, OMSPs, and store content do not count as CC. Skin/hair/eyes can be used without penalty but please be sure to let judges know that you used them. Other CC, including build/buy content or clothes/accessories will count towards the points. For contestants with TS2, recolors for Maxis objects are also allowed and will not be counted as CC.
6. BONUS 5 points: Did your use of the bonus content really help move your story along? If so, how well? Was it used in an expected way? (Judges may award between 0 for no use at all and 5 for well incorporated, creative use of bonus)
Scores for each judge will be added together and averaged so each round you have a possible of 100 points. Constructive criticism from the judges is encouraged but not mandatory.
Helpful Links
1. How to Write a Good Story: Used for the Sims Stories Forum but useful here as well. Continuity and Picture chapters are particularly helpful.
2. Picture Taking Tutorial: Can be used in Conjunction with above to get great pictures.
3. Elements of a Short Story: May help you better plot things out and get a better of idea of how to navigate a short story.
Round 1 – Prologue – TIMER
Guidelines: Round 1 should set the tone of your story. From here, readers should be able to get a general idea what genre you are going for. This can be set up through a prologue or just diving straight into your first chapter. Maybe this is where your hero first becomes a hero. Maybe this is another adventure for an already existing hero. Remember, each subsequent chapter will need to add to this one. From here, we should know what type of hero you have (even if you don’t jump straight into it, there should be some clues) and at least have an idea of the struggle your hero will face in the future. Between 1,000 and 1,500 words and 10 to 15 pictures. Anything above or below this numbers will result in loss of points.
Excerpt: Choose ONE of the following quotes. If it has an ellipsis, you may finish the sentence however you like as long as the quotations appear correctly.
“I tell myself that I'll be strong.”
“Bless your soul, you've got your head in the clouds.”
“God knows I'm tough enough…”
Round 1: Bonus Worth 5 points: Also introduce your hero’s sidekick. You have 5 choices, some will work better than others for your hero. They do not have to be the same age, gender, or even species as your main character. Again, you should not have to CALL your sidekick the name above but it should be obvious what role they are playing.
- The Damsel in Distress: Who your hero usually has to rescue. Can be Dude in Distress if you like.
- The Moral Compass: This one keeps your hero in check. Voice of reason.
- The Reckless Companion: Guns/powers blazing, rushing in without thinking.
- The Hypercompetent: Does all the work and makes your hero look good.
- The Comic Relief: Does this need explaining?
Round 2 – Rising Action – TIMER
Round 2 should be where your audience can begin to see what the climax of the story will be. You should be building up to figuring out who your villain is or masterminding the attempt to take him down. This should be the planning and plotting chapter and, because of that, the word count has been increased a little. Between 1,200 and 1,700 words and 10 to 17 pictures. Anything above or below these numbers will result in loss of points.
Excerpt: Choose ONE of the following quotes.
“He's a devil in disguise…”
“I remember you said "Don't leave me here alone".”
“I'm just like you, only prettier.”
Round 2: Bonus Worth 5 points Hero costume time! Introduce an outfit (it doesn’t have to be a permanent choice) that your hero could use as his/her costume.
Please include a brief summary (around 100 words) before your entry. This will NOT be counted towards your word count.
Also, please include information listed below your entry:
Current Plot Point: What did you use this chapter?
Previous Plot Points: Here you will keep a running list of what you have already used.
Word Count:
CC Used: Allowed ____. This can be as simple as a yes/no response
Round 3 - Climax - TIMER
This should be the center conflict and turning point in your story. Maybe you finally “unmask” the villain. Perhaps you struggle with the villain for the first time. Maybe your true love has been kidnapped? Who knows? Leave your readers hanging on the edge of their seat! What could happen? Will things be resolved or not? Between 1,200 and 1,700 words and 10 to 17 pictures. Anything above or below these numbers will result in loss of points.
Excerpt: Choose ONE of the following quotes.
“You can sound the alarm…” - Eminem, Won't Back Down
“Do it one time for the underdogs." - B.o.B f/ Taylor Swift, Both of Us
“It's too damn late to apologize.” - NERD, Rockstar Poser
Round 3: Bonus Worth 5 points Choose an extra theme from the table above to place in this chapter as well. Extra fun? Choose from ANY of the events, not just those listed in your chosen Hero’s section. This means that you will have to have 2 plot points in your next chapter.
Please include a brief summary (around 100 words) before your entry.
Also, please include information listed below your entry:
Current Events: What did you use this chapter?
Previous Events: Here you will keep a running list of what you have already used.
Word Count:
CC Used:
Round 4 – Falling Action – TIMER
Will your conflict that has been introduced be resolved? Will the villain be defeated or will there be a rematch in the future? Your readers should be able to tell where the story is going and if your hero will be able to settle the issues and save the day! Between 1,000 and 1,500 words and 10 to 15 pictures. Anything above or below this numbers will result in loss of points.
Excerpt: Choose ONE of the following quotes.
“Carry on as if nothing really matters…” Queen, Bohemian Rhapsody
“Who knew the other side of you?” Red Hot Chili Peppers, Dani California
“Maybe you're strong, but you don't stand a chance.” Volbeat, A Warrior's Call
Round 4: Bonus Worth 5 points Choose ONE of the excerpts below:
“I don’t know who made the rules but they’re wrong.” Robbie Nevil, Fifteen Minutes
“Surely you can take some comfort knowing that you're mine.” The Used, Smother Me
“If your body matches what your eyes can do…” Finger Eleven, Paralyzer
Please include a brief summary (around 100 words) before your entry.
Also, please include information listed below your entry:
Current Events: What did you use this chapter?
Previous Events: Here you will keep a running list of what you have already used.
Word Count:
CC Used:
Round 5 – Conclusion – TIMER
This is the final series of events. Will your hero have a happy ending? Is everything all wrapped up in a neat bow? Whatever direction your story took, your readers should feel some sense of closure. If you choose to make it a cliffhanger, close out the direction your story took to begin with and make the cliffhanger a new twist. Between 1,800 words and 2,500 words and 18 to 25 pictures. Anything above or below this numbers will result in loss of points.
Excerpt: Choose ONE of the following quotes.
“If happy ever after did exist…” Maroon 5, Payphone
“Help me, I’m no good at goodbyes.” Train, 50 Ways to Say Goodbye
“Would you have it any other way?” Florence + the Machine, What the Water Gave Me
Round 5: Bonus Worth 5 points
Incorporate a brief scene from the antagonist’s point of view. This should be done in conjunction with your normal round and should flow smoothly. If you choose to do this, add in an extra 300-500 words and 3-5 pictures. The scene can be one compact scene or you may space them out through your chapter. However, spacing them out through your chapter may prove more difficult when it comes to natural flow. Overall, if you do the bonus, you will need 2,100 to 3,000 words and 21 to 30 pictures.
Please include a brief summary (around 100 words) before your entry.
Also, please include information listed below your entry:
Current Events: What did you use this chapter?
Previous Events: Here you will keep a running list of what you have already used.
Word Count:
CC Used:
Heaven Sims | Avendale Legacy
"On the internet, you can be anything you want. It's strange that so many people choose to be stupid."
"On the internet, you can be anything you want. It's strange that so many people choose to be stupid."
Advertisement
#2
16th Jun 2012 at 4:18 PM
Contest approved - do not post until the host checks in or your genitals will be eaten by giant cyborg rat-spiders with laser beams for eyes and candy confetti shooting out of their nipples.
my simblr (sometimes nsfw)
“Dude, suckin’ at something is the first step to being sorta good at something.”
Panquecas, panquecas e mais panquecas.
my simblr (sometimes nsfw)
“Dude, suckin’ at something is the first step to being sorta good at something.”
Panquecas, panquecas e mais panquecas.
#3
16th Jun 2012 at 4:26 PM
Last edited by heaven : 24th Jun 2012 at 5:19 PM.
Posts: 3,720
Thanks: 27209 in 66 Posts
Alright everyone! Time to get this party started! Or at least extreme brain storming session! As linked above (before the cyborg rat-spiders), you have until July 1st, midnight, at Pacific Standard Time. In case you missed it, or were so overwhelmed by the awesomeness that is the first post, here is the TIMER again. Have fun and I look forward to seeing what everyone can come up with!
Heaven Sims | Avendale Legacy
"On the internet, you can be anything you want. It's strange that so many people choose to be stupid."
"On the internet, you can be anything you want. It's strange that so many people choose to be stupid."
#4
16th Jun 2012 at 11:49 PM
Posts: 1,101
Thanks: 39722 in 94 Posts
A quick question, because I'm new to this:
Do OMSPs (regular, tippy) count as CC as well?
Do OMSPs (regular, tippy) count as CC as well?
#5
17th Jun 2012 at 2:50 AM
Posts: 3,720
Thanks: 27209 in 66 Posts
Quote: Originally posted by spladoum
A quick question, because I'm new to this: Do OMSPs (regular, tippy) count as CC as well? |
No, I wouldn't count those as CC. I'll amend that in the rules. Thanks for asking!
Heaven Sims | Avendale Legacy
"On the internet, you can be anything you want. It's strange that so many people choose to be stupid."
"On the internet, you can be anything you want. It's strange that so many people choose to be stupid."
#6
17th Jun 2012 at 6:26 PM
Last edited by spladoum : 11th Jul 2012 at 10:26 PM.
Posts: 1,101
Thanks: 39722 in 94 Posts
Round 1: Prologue.
I tell myself that I'll be strong.
I say it frequently, something just under my breath, sometimes aloud, sometimes even sincerely. After all, that quote is my current desktop background. One of my (former) assistants uploaded it to encourage me. She left my office for the last time two months back, shaking, unable to say "I quit" for all the tears. I didn't have any sympathy for her, but it's all one—I don't have any sympathy left for me. Call me what you will, but at least I'm consistent.
I am a doctor. Once I was a good one. I was so good that they used me up, burnt me out.
Maybe it happened because I don't have a family. I'm literally the only single doctor in the entire hospital. So I became the go-to, the clean-up crew, the one who inevitably had his vacations canceled and evening plans changed because Dr. so-and-so couldn't find a babysitter or needed to go to a school meeting or had to attend a Little League game. Sure, I make good money and have a gorgeous apartment, but I hardly ever see it. I come home in the dark and wake up in the dark. I don't get home-cooked meals; I heat up convenience store coffee in the microwave. The only time I get to enjoy my sports car is when I'm racing to the ER to pick up someone else's slack, as usual. Being used gets to you sooner or later, and the overtime money won't make up for it.
I suppose the pleasure of perpetual recognition by the medical board should be sufficient reward, but it isn't. The statutes go home and sit on top of a desk in the corner. The plaques hang on the wall and collect dust. And lately I take my pick of the pretty green bottles from the rack on the wall and drain the whole 750 ml dry before staring out of the big picture window at a very expensive view that I don't even care to see anymore.
This is not why I went to medical school.
But in all honesty … school doesn't prepare you to face life. Or face yourself.
*****
"Dr. Cowert. I see you're working in the dark again. I thought the office was empty for a moment. But I suppose I should have known better."
That's my latest assistant. She's outlasted the others. She enunciates the "T" in my name so that I'm always clear that she's not saying 'coward.' She brings tea without me even asking. She also turns on my lights when I'd just as soon sit in the dark. Also without me asking.
"Mrs. Hallenbeck. Good morning."
"How are you today, sir. You must be feeling well, your desk is a disaster area, as usual."
"I'm here."
She's 23, but she seems much older. The first time we met I thought she might be a nun. As I soon found out, she is in fact Catholic. She explained this during the interview, that she could not miss Mass or Sunday service for any reason whatsoever. I'm not going to lie, I wasn't pleased. It's not like people stop hurting each other or themselves on any particular day of the week. But her nerve impressed me, so I didn't downgrade her.
After she was hired on, they sent her straight to my door. I suppose they thought we'd be good for each other. She's been cleaning up my office and keeping track of my notes ever since. And throwing my empty bottles away. It doesn't take a genius to know that she disapproves. I pointed out the first time she spoke her mind on the matter, that ring on her finger might mean she had someone to boss around, but it sure as hell wasn't me. She didn't exactly get the memo.
"Your afternoon appointment with Dr. Pradyash has been canceled. Her daughter is ill."
I snort. She stares at me. "Did I say something funny, sir?"
"No. Not at all. Not. At. All."
Dr. Pradyash is my psychiatrist. I've been ordered to see her, ever since I marched into the director's office and refused to attend any future surgeries. That went over just about how you'd expect—I was threatened with disciplinary action, sanctions, having my license revoked—you name it. But in the end, I got my way. If they fired me, they wouldn't have a pool boy to clean up their messes. Still, though, it doesn't look good when a surgeon won't operate. So they force me to talk to the office shrink. She's a nice lady. Her voice is coaxing, soft. Sometimes we even get along.
*****
"Why have you stopped performing surgeries, Eric?"
"You already know why."
"Tell me again, I believe I've forgotten some details."
"… I was on duty when they brought in the children from the Klarris County Fair accident."
"And …?"
I don't want to go on. She already knows all of this. But I must, so reluctantly, I recount it for her. Again.
I'd been working a double-shift with no breaks, which was against policy, but I couldn't leave because there was no one to relieve me. I hadn't slept, I'd hardly eaten. I just gotten a snack out of the microwave when the intercom went static-y with a frantic all-call for all available doctors and nurses to come to emergency trauma. A horse had gone rogue and charged through a class of small children—the injuries needed immediate care. I was assigned to a boy with broken ribs, whose eyes never once opened from the minute they laid him on the table to the last horrible seconds when the defibrillator failed to restart his overtaxed heart. I had to give the news to his mother, and listen to her scream. And worse yet, I had to step between her and her surviving child, who tearfully admitted that his brother was dead because he had dared him to go into the corral with the skittish horse.
I had to be there for them. But no one found me, when I fainted of exhaustion in the dressing room and concussed myself. I had been forgotten. Again.
"They misled me. They told me the kid had been trampled along with other students. They didn't tell me that he'd been kicked at close range by a grown horse." I was standing, shivering the way I always do when I think about it. Dr. Pradyash was standing now too, watching me narrowly, the way she always does. "I was looking at all the wrong things when I went into that OR! I missed the signs—that kid shouldn't have died!"
"As you yourself have pointed out, you were given misleading information, and you made your best effort based on that information—"
"My best effort wasn't good enough!" I shout.
Her face is stern, but still calm. "Eric, please sit down."
"What the hell for? Why bother? I became a surgeon to work on cases like this! Is talking about it going to bring that kid back to life?"
"Eric," she says, and I finally feel her hand.
"… I missed the signs because I just wanted to go home. I was so tired, and so hungry, and all I could think about was going home. I wasn't thinking about the patient. … I wasn't a good doctor that night."
*****
"… Dr. Cowert." Mrs. Hallenbeck sounds impatient. "You blanked out again."
Damn it. "And? … don't look at me like that, I'm working here."
"Be that as it may, your lecture class is beginning in five minutes."
I hold my head with my hand. I need a drink, and that tea won't cut it. But Mrs. Hallenbeck is leaning against the drawer where I hide the booze and giving me that 'don't-even-think-about-it' stare. I guzzle the contents of the mug until it's empty, set it down hard on the desk. "You happy now?"
"Not even remotely," she says in a cold voice, and goes back to putting the scattered books away.
As I stand, my eyes flicker to my computer. As soon as I get back from lecture, I'm changing that background.
CC used: store items, custom eyes, OMSP, tipsy OMSP, skin by HP
Plot point: Mysterious Past
Word count: 1,380.
#7
18th Jun 2012 at 12:29 AM
Last edited by ReyaD : 7th Jul 2012 at 2:19 AM.
Posts: 1,114
Thanks: 255 in 5 Posts
Freaks and Monsters
Chapter One
---
Life never really works out the way you want it to. One minute you’re top of your class at the police academy, well on your way to making a real difference in the world... the next you’re choosing between death row or life as a government pet. Get out of jail free card? Not quite but thats the way they’d worded it.
Flash forward a few years and you might just find yourself in the home of a suspected bio-terrorist, ready to do something you swore you’d never do. There had been a line once, but that line was long since gone, and all that’s left is a sick feeling in the pit of your stomach that you’re now used to ignoring.
Three years ago she wouldn’t have done this job for all the money in the world. But ever since her little trick was discovered she hadn’t had much choice in which jobs she was given. And unfortunately for her, her trick required skin on skin contact to work.
It made her skin crawl to feel this bastard’s hands on her body, but she’d already managed to pull out the location of his next target, the local college. The rest of the information was harder to find.
He was insane, she’d felt that without even having to touch him, but now that she was in his mind all she could see were a blend of faces and colors, nothing linear or easy to understand. He was paranoid and was already confusing her with other girls he’d been with, both real and imagined. All the better for her really, it was usually pretty hard to cover the imprint of her mind on his, his insanity would make things a lot easier.
But before she could cover her tracks she’d need to finish the job, and in order to organize his thoughts she’d need to do a bit of leading. “So what do you do for a living anyway, hot stuff?”
He smiled, and she saw a flash of faces, making notes of each to sketch out later. “I’m a biological chemist, baby. If I wanted to, I could kill half the world’s population with a single vial of the things I work with.”
“Mmm wow. That’s so hot. I love a man with power.” She almost threw up in her own mouth with that line.
All of a sudden she saw a flash of red in his mind. Usually that meant panic but physically he hadn’t reacted at all. “Hun, is everything alright?”
He pushed her off, throwing himself onto the ground next to her, his head in his hands as if in pain. “My... my head... it’s exploding!”
Fuck. She knew now what that flash of red had meant.
“James?” She used his real name, the one from her files, not the one he’d given her. “Hey, look at me.”
He couldn’t, his entire body shaking under her touch. Soon enough his mind would collapse in on itself, and any secrets he had would be taken to the grave. She could easily touch his face and take the secrets herself but she couldn’t bring herself to move her hand from his shoulder. She was... scared. Not for the first time a man was dying in front of her eyes, and there was nothing she could do about it.
When his body went still and tipped towards her she let him fall to the ground. He seemed almost innocent, curled up as if he’d just fallen asleep. Only the small dabs of blood beginning to leak from his nostrils indicated anything was wrong.
She pushed him onto his back, staring at him for a long moment before moving to her feet, perched over to him delicately, as if he would come back to life at any minute. Eventually - and with a very shaky breath - she reached out, placing a finger on his bare neck. She wasn’t searching for a heart beat, she was looking for mental activity... and in any case she found neither. He was dead. Once again she’d killed a man without meaning to. But this time she hadn’t even been on the offensive... she’d just been skimming his mind.
She grabbed her burn phone, dialing her partner’s number.
A girl’s voice answered. Girly, sounding a lot younger than its owner really was. “Juliette? Is everything alright?”
“It happened again.”
She didn’t need to say anything else. “I’ll be there in a minute. Don’t kill anyone else in the meantime, okay?”
“That’s not funny, Dene. Hurry up.”
Denebola was there in seconds, almost tripping over James’ body before backing up, stroking her chin as she looked down at him. “Oh wow. You weren’t kidding. Did he figure out you were playing him or something?”
Usually Juliette could handle Dene’s stupidity but today wasn’t one of those days. “Don’t be a moron. I can handle paranoia, I can handle fear. Hell uniformed officers could have been in the same room and I could have made it so he didn’t suspect a thing!”
“Then why’d you kill him?”
“... I didn't mean to. It just happened.”
At the very least Dene knew not to ask any more questions now. “Um... I can call it in if you want to get dressed.”
“Sure. Thanks.” She slipped out of her lingerie, replacing it with another, tighter outfit. Neither she nor Dene had any sort of official uniform to wear, but their division did have outfits specially catered to their specific... needs. Juliette’s left her arms uncovered, and allowed her enough movement to fight back if she needed to. Dene’s showed a lot more skin, and was made from inflammable material, not that they’d really needed to test that yet.
As Dene put her cell away, Juliette was already walking past her. “And where do you think you’re going?
“I didn’t get the information we needed.” She answers. “You think I want to stay here for that lecture? No thank you. I’m going to see the doc, get myself checked out.”
“Okay... so what should I tell the boss when he figures out you took off? He’ll be pissed. He hates the doc.”
Juliette almost scoffs. “What’s he going to do to me? He’s already got me doing all his dirty work, and god knows I’m tough enough to deal with whatever punishment he can think up. Just don’t tell him where I’m going and give him my love, that'll calm him down.”
---
Current Events: Get out of Jail Free
Previous Events: N/A
Word Count: 1081 words, 15 photos
Hero Type: The Knight in Sour Armor
Sidekick Type: Comic Relief
CC Used:
- Allowed: Skin by Ephemera, CC and store hairs, OMSP, Poses
Chapter One
---
Life never really works out the way you want it to. One minute you’re top of your class at the police academy, well on your way to making a real difference in the world... the next you’re choosing between death row or life as a government pet. Get out of jail free card? Not quite but thats the way they’d worded it.
Flash forward a few years and you might just find yourself in the home of a suspected bio-terrorist, ready to do something you swore you’d never do. There had been a line once, but that line was long since gone, and all that’s left is a sick feeling in the pit of your stomach that you’re now used to ignoring.
Three years ago she wouldn’t have done this job for all the money in the world. But ever since her little trick was discovered she hadn’t had much choice in which jobs she was given. And unfortunately for her, her trick required skin on skin contact to work.
It made her skin crawl to feel this bastard’s hands on her body, but she’d already managed to pull out the location of his next target, the local college. The rest of the information was harder to find.
He was insane, she’d felt that without even having to touch him, but now that she was in his mind all she could see were a blend of faces and colors, nothing linear or easy to understand. He was paranoid and was already confusing her with other girls he’d been with, both real and imagined. All the better for her really, it was usually pretty hard to cover the imprint of her mind on his, his insanity would make things a lot easier.
But before she could cover her tracks she’d need to finish the job, and in order to organize his thoughts she’d need to do a bit of leading. “So what do you do for a living anyway, hot stuff?”
He smiled, and she saw a flash of faces, making notes of each to sketch out later. “I’m a biological chemist, baby. If I wanted to, I could kill half the world’s population with a single vial of the things I work with.”
“Mmm wow. That’s so hot. I love a man with power.” She almost threw up in her own mouth with that line.
All of a sudden she saw a flash of red in his mind. Usually that meant panic but physically he hadn’t reacted at all. “Hun, is everything alright?”
He pushed her off, throwing himself onto the ground next to her, his head in his hands as if in pain. “My... my head... it’s exploding!”
Fuck. She knew now what that flash of red had meant.
“James?” She used his real name, the one from her files, not the one he’d given her. “Hey, look at me.”
He couldn’t, his entire body shaking under her touch. Soon enough his mind would collapse in on itself, and any secrets he had would be taken to the grave. She could easily touch his face and take the secrets herself but she couldn’t bring herself to move her hand from his shoulder. She was... scared. Not for the first time a man was dying in front of her eyes, and there was nothing she could do about it.
When his body went still and tipped towards her she let him fall to the ground. He seemed almost innocent, curled up as if he’d just fallen asleep. Only the small dabs of blood beginning to leak from his nostrils indicated anything was wrong.
She pushed him onto his back, staring at him for a long moment before moving to her feet, perched over to him delicately, as if he would come back to life at any minute. Eventually - and with a very shaky breath - she reached out, placing a finger on his bare neck. She wasn’t searching for a heart beat, she was looking for mental activity... and in any case she found neither. He was dead. Once again she’d killed a man without meaning to. But this time she hadn’t even been on the offensive... she’d just been skimming his mind.
She grabbed her burn phone, dialing her partner’s number.
A girl’s voice answered. Girly, sounding a lot younger than its owner really was. “Juliette? Is everything alright?”
“It happened again.”
She didn’t need to say anything else. “I’ll be there in a minute. Don’t kill anyone else in the meantime, okay?”
“That’s not funny, Dene. Hurry up.”
Denebola was there in seconds, almost tripping over James’ body before backing up, stroking her chin as she looked down at him. “Oh wow. You weren’t kidding. Did he figure out you were playing him or something?”
Usually Juliette could handle Dene’s stupidity but today wasn’t one of those days. “Don’t be a moron. I can handle paranoia, I can handle fear. Hell uniformed officers could have been in the same room and I could have made it so he didn’t suspect a thing!”
“Then why’d you kill him?”
“... I didn't mean to. It just happened.”
At the very least Dene knew not to ask any more questions now. “Um... I can call it in if you want to get dressed.”
“Sure. Thanks.” She slipped out of her lingerie, replacing it with another, tighter outfit. Neither she nor Dene had any sort of official uniform to wear, but their division did have outfits specially catered to their specific... needs. Juliette’s left her arms uncovered, and allowed her enough movement to fight back if she needed to. Dene’s showed a lot more skin, and was made from inflammable material, not that they’d really needed to test that yet.
As Dene put her cell away, Juliette was already walking past her. “And where do you think you’re going?
“I didn’t get the information we needed.” She answers. “You think I want to stay here for that lecture? No thank you. I’m going to see the doc, get myself checked out.”
“Okay... so what should I tell the boss when he figures out you took off? He’ll be pissed. He hates the doc.”
Juliette almost scoffs. “What’s he going to do to me? He’s already got me doing all his dirty work, and god knows I’m tough enough to deal with whatever punishment he can think up. Just don’t tell him where I’m going and give him my love, that'll calm him down.”
---
Current Events: Get out of Jail Free
Previous Events: N/A
Word Count: 1081 words, 15 photos
Hero Type: The Knight in Sour Armor
Sidekick Type: Comic Relief
CC Used:
- Allowed: Skin by Ephemera, CC and store hairs, OMSP, Poses
#8
18th Jun 2012 at 5:24 AM
Posts: 3,720
Thanks: 27209 in 66 Posts
Welcome splad and Reya! I am so happy to have my first 2 contestants! Looking forward to reading more of each of your stories!
Heaven Sims | Avendale Legacy
"On the internet, you can be anything you want. It's strange that so many people choose to be stupid."
"On the internet, you can be anything you want. It's strange that so many people choose to be stupid."
#9
19th Jun 2012 at 11:37 AM
Last edited by LadyAwesome : 19th Jun 2012 at 12:09 PM.
Posts: 835
Thanks: 258 in 4 Posts
#10
19th Jun 2012 at 1:48 PM
Posts: 3,720
Thanks: 27209 in 66 Posts
Quote: Originally posted by LadyAwesome
Good to see you two girls joining in!! If I had more time I would so be in!!!! But I can judge instead if you like Heaven! I am sure I qualify haha~ Oh... But..... I want to enter..... GAH |
Well, take some time to think about it. The Round doesn't close until the 1st which is still 11 days away. I, for one, enjoyed your story last time and would certainly love to read another.
Heaven Sims | Avendale Legacy
"On the internet, you can be anything you want. It's strange that so many people choose to be stupid."
"On the internet, you can be anything you want. It's strange that so many people choose to be stupid."
#11
19th Jun 2012 at 8:40 PM
Am I able to judge heaven? Since I'm working on a novel I really shouldn't be focusing on any other stories that pop into my mind until I finish. *also wants to join, but knows he cannot*
Formally SeeMyu | Retired Mod
Formally SeeMyu | Retired Mod
#12
20th Jun 2012 at 12:35 AM
Posts: 3,720
Thanks: 27209 in 66 Posts
Sure! If LA still wants to judge, she can EJ with me. Am hoping this forces her to join though!!! Muahaha!
Heaven Sims | Avendale Legacy
"On the internet, you can be anything you want. It's strange that so many people choose to be stupid."
"On the internet, you can be anything you want. It's strange that so many people choose to be stupid."
Lab Assistant
#13
20th Jun 2012 at 12:54 AM
Posts: 159
Ugh I'm sooo tempted to join but I'm really afriad to have something coming up later and be obliged to drop out >.<
#14
20th Jun 2012 at 12:56 AM
Posts: 1,114
Thanks: 255 in 5 Posts
Quote: Originally posted by waterjay
Ugh I'm sooo tempted to join but I'm really afriad to have something coming up later and be obliged to drop out >.< |
Come on, Jay! Joooin us! You know you want to...
#15
20th Jun 2012 at 1:24 AM
Posts: 3,720
Thanks: 27209 in 66 Posts
Quote: Originally posted by waterjay
Ugh I'm sooo tempted to join but I'm really afriad to have something coming up later and be obliged to drop out >.< |
Yes, but did you see the warning up top? We understand if something comes up unexpected. Sounds like you don't have anything right now to worry about.
It really is a timely project but Reya is right, we'd love to have you.
Heaven Sims | Avendale Legacy
"On the internet, you can be anything you want. It's strange that so many people choose to be stupid."
"On the internet, you can be anything you want. It's strange that so many people choose to be stupid."
#16
20th Jun 2012 at 4:01 AM
Posts: 835
Thanks: 258 in 4 Posts
Ok, I am in, BUT only if I can manage to get it in before then (its Tanishas birthday) Other wise..... It shall be hard - I have many ideas for this project. I am going for a dark story this time. see how it pans out huh :P
#17
20th Jun 2012 at 4:51 AM
Posts: 3,720
Thanks: 27209 in 66 Posts
Quote: Originally posted by LadyAwesome
Ok, I am in, BUT only if I can manage to get it in before then (its Tanishas birthday) Other wise..... It shall be hard - I have many ideas for this project. I am going for a dark story this time. see how it pans out huh :P |
Aw, yay! I am so excited that you will join us again. And happy birthday to Tanisha!!!
Heaven Sims | Avendale Legacy
"On the internet, you can be anything you want. It's strange that so many people choose to be stupid."
"On the internet, you can be anything you want. It's strange that so many people choose to be stupid."
#19
22nd Jun 2012 at 7:28 AM
Last edited by ForeverCamp : 18th Jul 2012 at 7:38 AM.
Reason: Put story in spoiler tags for faster page loading
One Day in Shang Simla
Prologue
I suppose my story starts at home, just like anybody’s. It probably even starts the same way that I suppose most people in my position start out.
I was adopted at the age of 6 by my lovely, long-suffering mother Rachel. When I came to her, I had very little memory about the life I had led before that day – and even now, I can’t summon any more than the faintest recollection of cherry blossoms in the spring. They had told my mother that the only thing known about me was my name was Sapphira. Not sure what possessed whoever gave birth to me to call me that. Brunette, brown eyes… I’d have been better named “Amber”.
What else would be important to know about my past? Well, I’m the eldest of five children. I’m the only one who’s adopted, too. Check another complex off the list of “things that contribute to the deviance of adopted children”, along with “unknown past” and “single mother”.
There’s another thing for you to know: messing with an adopted kid’s family is asking for nasty karma. Or at least, messing with this adopted kid’s family.
I had a relatively normal childhood from the time I came to Moripiko Island. I loved exploring the forests around the tenement building I grew up in, I watched my mother tend to the rooftop garden, hung our laundry out on the lines in the warm island air. There really wasn’t anything that screamed “FUTURE DEVIANT CHILD”.
I suppose the first time I knew something was going wrong was right after I started high school. The second I stepped foot in that school and felt the crush of people moving around me, without a single one ever really seeing me, something woke from deep inside of me. Something dark and dangerous, and something that I never want to feel again as long as I live.
It was the first time that my mother and I have ever seriously fought. I must’ve seemed like a two-faced she-demon: swinging back and forth between the daughter who would tirelessly clean our unit, and then skipping school, causing holy hell when forced to class and staying out until all hours of the night.
It wasn’t all bad during my teenage years, though. My senior year, I met this guy named Artie McCann. He was sweet – the kind of guy that people chew up and spit back out in high school. In fact, that was how I met him in the first place: he was serving detention for swiping the Calculus tests off the teacher’s desk for one of the cheerleaders. Now there’s a deviant breed if I’ve ever seen one. After I heard that story, I guess I sort of took him under my wing and things just sort of evolved from there.
The day we graduated, Artie and I went out to one of the little gardens that the council has been putting up. It’s a nice, quiet place – it doesn’t get me riled up the way some of the community parks do. I suppose I should’ve seen this particular discussion coming: Artie had been dropping hints for the last week or so.
But again, something began to rise in my chest and threatened to choke me. Why was I so afraid to start a life with this boy that I’d been dating for years? He was safe, he was ready to begin adulthood with two feet firmly on the ground. This was supposed to be everything that I’ve ever dreamt of having. So why the desire to pull away?
It only took me a few seconds to realize what it was that I wanted to do after graduation – what I think I might’ve wanted to do for years.
“It’s okay,” I remember him telling me with that heartbreaking little smile on his face. “I get it. I’ll be waiting for you.”
And then that dark little voice in my conscience as I tried to memorize the way his skin felt against mine. “Bless your soul, you’ve got your head in the clouds.” There he went again, believing and trusting in the best in people – even when he’d seen them break promises and walk away without so much as a tear. As if he was really going to be waiting for me when I got back.
I was off to find out what lay in my hidden past, no matter the cost.
I knew from the second I stepped off that plane in Shang Simla, and caught the first whisper of cherry blossoms in the air, that I had come to the right place.
When I went to check in with the Simlandian embassy’s base camp, I heard somebody gasp as I passed them. Of course, what else would you expect me to do?
He struck me as a guard of some sort, the way he stood so tall and proud at the pathway, dressed in long silks despite the heat. I thought maybe I had stumbled upon the royal family’s courtyard or something, and that was why he was watching me so carefully.
So, like the good Simlandian that I am, I marched right up to him and demanded the truth. Well, sort of. It was a little more timid than that. Actually, I barely managed to stutter and stammer out my story. When he didn’t reply for a few seconds, I had this horrifying realization that he might not even speak Simlish. And then he answered, in a deep voice,
“I can tell you what you seek. I ask only that you aid me with a task.”
Who the hell falls for that, anyway? “Aid me with a task” should be synonymous with “Let me rope you into some horrendous, life-threatening escapade in hopes that I might actually tell you something you want to know.”
Anyway, that’s how I came to find myself now hundreds of feet underground, peering around dark corners and down dimly-lit corridors, half-expecting a zombie to burst out of the stones. And let me just tell you, I also don’t deal well with the dark. It’s another one of those “psycho-Sapphira” triggers.
And then there was FIRE. Honest-to-God FIRE. This was not what I signed up for when I got on the plane in Moripiko Island. I was figuring on spending a month or so in Shang Simla, see the sights, maybe hit up some town records, find out my biological family died in some freak tourist trap accident… Instead, I’m stuck underground for days, chasing some stupid hunk of rock down pitch-black corridors with creepy sounds and fire… all for some deep-throat dude in a red silk shirt who says he “has answers”.
Did I mention the fire?
Okay, so it was a pretty nice-looking rock. I thought diamonds were more of an Al-Simharan thing, but hey – whatever gets me my answers, right?
Whatever gets me my answers. That was almost as stupid a decision as the decision to come out to Shang Simla in the first place. After all, Mr. Deep-Throat-Guard (or Ho Jun Kim) is apparently quite happily married. He is also a useless source of information.
Seriously, I went through all of this for two measly sentences: “Your parents passed through here many, many years ago in the times of my father. They were outsiders.”
UGH. I could’ve found that out without the secret midnight meetings and the underground tunnels of fire.
I was in Shang Simla for the better part of a year. I did the tourist thing. I started studying martial arts in effort to try and channel some of this anger and darkness out of me. I tried to coax more information out of Ho Jun. But I finally had to cut my losses and go back to Moripiko Island when I couldn’t even stand to look at him without feeling the need to vomit.
Initially, I thought that I might move back in with my mother. After all, Elissa and Jap have reached those horrendous teenage years, and Evan and Kalea are just at the age where they’re getting into everything. My mother’s not exactly at the top of her game anymore, and she could probably use some extra hands. But it didn’t take me long to realize that staying with my family wasn’t going to work out. Apparently, I took a little bit of Shang Simla back to Moripiko Island with me.
I still haven’t run into Artie, and part of me is hoping that I don’t for a very long while. After all, I left him hanging for close to a year, and I have nothing to show for this quest except a big belly. The trip didn’t work for quenching that need to know, either. Something tells me that another trip to Shang Simla will be in my future – this time prepared to ask the questions.
Who were my parents? Why does a tourist-laden village remember them? What exactly happened 13 years ago?
I was adopted at the age of 6 by my lovely, long-suffering mother Rachel. When I came to her, I had very little memory about the life I had led before that day – and even now, I can’t summon any more than the faintest recollection of cherry blossoms in the spring. They had told my mother that the only thing known about me was my name was Sapphira. Not sure what possessed whoever gave birth to me to call me that. Brunette, brown eyes… I’d have been better named “Amber”.
What else would be important to know about my past? Well, I’m the eldest of five children. I’m the only one who’s adopted, too. Check another complex off the list of “things that contribute to the deviance of adopted children”, along with “unknown past” and “single mother”.
There’s another thing for you to know: messing with an adopted kid’s family is asking for nasty karma. Or at least, messing with this adopted kid’s family.
I had a relatively normal childhood from the time I came to Moripiko Island. I loved exploring the forests around the tenement building I grew up in, I watched my mother tend to the rooftop garden, hung our laundry out on the lines in the warm island air. There really wasn’t anything that screamed “FUTURE DEVIANT CHILD”.
I suppose the first time I knew something was going wrong was right after I started high school. The second I stepped foot in that school and felt the crush of people moving around me, without a single one ever really seeing me, something woke from deep inside of me. Something dark and dangerous, and something that I never want to feel again as long as I live.
It was the first time that my mother and I have ever seriously fought. I must’ve seemed like a two-faced she-demon: swinging back and forth between the daughter who would tirelessly clean our unit, and then skipping school, causing holy hell when forced to class and staying out until all hours of the night.
It wasn’t all bad during my teenage years, though. My senior year, I met this guy named Artie McCann. He was sweet – the kind of guy that people chew up and spit back out in high school. In fact, that was how I met him in the first place: he was serving detention for swiping the Calculus tests off the teacher’s desk for one of the cheerleaders. Now there’s a deviant breed if I’ve ever seen one. After I heard that story, I guess I sort of took him under my wing and things just sort of evolved from there.
The day we graduated, Artie and I went out to one of the little gardens that the council has been putting up. It’s a nice, quiet place – it doesn’t get me riled up the way some of the community parks do. I suppose I should’ve seen this particular discussion coming: Artie had been dropping hints for the last week or so.
But again, something began to rise in my chest and threatened to choke me. Why was I so afraid to start a life with this boy that I’d been dating for years? He was safe, he was ready to begin adulthood with two feet firmly on the ground. This was supposed to be everything that I’ve ever dreamt of having. So why the desire to pull away?
It only took me a few seconds to realize what it was that I wanted to do after graduation – what I think I might’ve wanted to do for years.
“It’s okay,” I remember him telling me with that heartbreaking little smile on his face. “I get it. I’ll be waiting for you.”
And then that dark little voice in my conscience as I tried to memorize the way his skin felt against mine. “Bless your soul, you’ve got your head in the clouds.” There he went again, believing and trusting in the best in people – even when he’d seen them break promises and walk away without so much as a tear. As if he was really going to be waiting for me when I got back.
I was off to find out what lay in my hidden past, no matter the cost.
I knew from the second I stepped off that plane in Shang Simla, and caught the first whisper of cherry blossoms in the air, that I had come to the right place.
When I went to check in with the Simlandian embassy’s base camp, I heard somebody gasp as I passed them. Of course, what else would you expect me to do?
He struck me as a guard of some sort, the way he stood so tall and proud at the pathway, dressed in long silks despite the heat. I thought maybe I had stumbled upon the royal family’s courtyard or something, and that was why he was watching me so carefully.
So, like the good Simlandian that I am, I marched right up to him and demanded the truth. Well, sort of. It was a little more timid than that. Actually, I barely managed to stutter and stammer out my story. When he didn’t reply for a few seconds, I had this horrifying realization that he might not even speak Simlish. And then he answered, in a deep voice,
“I can tell you what you seek. I ask only that you aid me with a task.”
Who the hell falls for that, anyway? “Aid me with a task” should be synonymous with “Let me rope you into some horrendous, life-threatening escapade in hopes that I might actually tell you something you want to know.”
Anyway, that’s how I came to find myself now hundreds of feet underground, peering around dark corners and down dimly-lit corridors, half-expecting a zombie to burst out of the stones. And let me just tell you, I also don’t deal well with the dark. It’s another one of those “psycho-Sapphira” triggers.
And then there was FIRE. Honest-to-God FIRE. This was not what I signed up for when I got on the plane in Moripiko Island. I was figuring on spending a month or so in Shang Simla, see the sights, maybe hit up some town records, find out my biological family died in some freak tourist trap accident… Instead, I’m stuck underground for days, chasing some stupid hunk of rock down pitch-black corridors with creepy sounds and fire… all for some deep-throat dude in a red silk shirt who says he “has answers”.
Did I mention the fire?
Okay, so it was a pretty nice-looking rock. I thought diamonds were more of an Al-Simharan thing, but hey – whatever gets me my answers, right?
Whatever gets me my answers. That was almost as stupid a decision as the decision to come out to Shang Simla in the first place. After all, Mr. Deep-Throat-Guard (or Ho Jun Kim) is apparently quite happily married. He is also a useless source of information.
Seriously, I went through all of this for two measly sentences: “Your parents passed through here many, many years ago in the times of my father. They were outsiders.”
UGH. I could’ve found that out without the secret midnight meetings and the underground tunnels of fire.
I was in Shang Simla for the better part of a year. I did the tourist thing. I started studying martial arts in effort to try and channel some of this anger and darkness out of me. I tried to coax more information out of Ho Jun. But I finally had to cut my losses and go back to Moripiko Island when I couldn’t even stand to look at him without feeling the need to vomit.
Initially, I thought that I might move back in with my mother. After all, Elissa and Jap have reached those horrendous teenage years, and Evan and Kalea are just at the age where they’re getting into everything. My mother’s not exactly at the top of her game anymore, and she could probably use some extra hands. But it didn’t take me long to realize that staying with my family wasn’t going to work out. Apparently, I took a little bit of Shang Simla back to Moripiko Island with me.
I still haven’t run into Artie, and part of me is hoping that I don’t for a very long while. After all, I left him hanging for close to a year, and I have nothing to show for this quest except a big belly. The trip didn’t work for quenching that need to know, either. Something tells me that another trip to Shang Simla will be in my future – this time prepared to ask the questions.
Who were my parents? Why does a tourist-laden village remember them? What exactly happened 13 years ago?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Plot Point: Mysterious Past
Word/Pic Count: 1498 words, 14 pictures
Challenge Excerpt: Bless your soul, you've got your head in the clouds.
CC Used: Custom world - Moripiko Island by bakafox. No other CC used this round.
#20
23rd Jun 2012 at 8:26 PM
Posts: 3,720
Thanks: 27209 in 66 Posts
Camp, can you please note whether you used CC or not? If you don't note it, it will be counted that you did use it.
Everyone else, we've got about a week left. I know that it takes a lot of time to get an entry together so I'm trying not to panic yet but am hoping I have at least 7 lurkers in the shadows!
Everyone else, we've got about a week left. I know that it takes a lot of time to get an entry together so I'm trying not to panic yet but am hoping I have at least 7 lurkers in the shadows!
Heaven Sims | Avendale Legacy
"On the internet, you can be anything you want. It's strange that so many people choose to be stupid."
"On the internet, you can be anything you want. It's strange that so many people choose to be stupid."
#21
23rd Jun 2012 at 8:36 PM
Sorry, heaven! Updated the entry to include the CC note.
#22
23rd Jun 2012 at 11:52 PM
Posts: 835
Thanks: 258 in 4 Posts
If you can give me a week extention - I can get your in a chapter so I can sort out my game and get rid of some stuff.
This week is the busiest week until the end of year, I will have lots of time for the rest. Its just this one week - I dont have time to mess around trying to fix my game.
If not its all good I will just be EJ.
This week is the busiest week until the end of year, I will have lots of time for the rest. Its just this one week - I dont have time to mess around trying to fix my game.
If not its all good I will just be EJ.
#23
23rd Jun 2012 at 11:56 PM
Posts: 3,720
Thanks: 27209 in 66 Posts
Quote: Originally posted by LadyAwesome
If you can give me a week extention - I can get your in a chapter so I can sort out my game and get rid of some stuff. This week is the busiest week until the end of year, I will have lots of time for the rest. Its just this one week - I dont have time to mess around trying to fix my game. If not its all good I will just be EJ. |
I might could swing that. Let me talk to another mod about it. I don't want to be seen as bypassing the rules of getting enough participants in a certain number of time.
Are there other people who are specifically working on an entry that are seeing issues with the July 1st deadline? I know it's a lot to put together in 2 weeks. Please let me know.
Heaven Sims | Avendale Legacy
"On the internet, you can be anything you want. It's strange that so many people choose to be stupid."
"On the internet, you can be anything you want. It's strange that so many people choose to be stupid."
#25
24th Jun 2012 at 5:22 PM
Posts: 3,720
Thanks: 27209 in 66 Posts
Okay, there is a NEW deadline that is now July 8th. Check the timers in the check in post or the Round Description for the official countdown. This gives everyone 2 weeks to enter, instead 1. Also, if you have already submitted your entries, you are allowed to edit them up until the round closes. This will be the only extension given for the first round so, please, make it work!
Everyone, please share the contest with your friends, in your signatures, wherever. It's tons of fun, just ask anyone that participated before and I don't want to have to cancel if we don't get our 10 participants.
Everyone, please share the contest with your friends, in your signatures, wherever. It's tons of fun, just ask anyone that participated before and I don't want to have to cancel if we don't get our 10 participants.
Heaven Sims | Avendale Legacy
"On the internet, you can be anything you want. It's strange that so many people choose to be stupid."
"On the internet, you can be anything you want. It's strange that so many people choose to be stupid."
Who Posted
|