Let Us Begin

My Doctor has given me this book and told me I should keep a journal. He's said it is to be a private journal; I don't have to show it to anyone unless I want to. The book is plain, just blank lined sheets in a green cloth-covered binding. I have written my name inside the cover. Both my names. Melody Wynne-Candy, the name I remember having, and Melody Bean Soup, the name they tell me is mine now.

I remember going to sleep last night. We were - my mother, my father, and I - visiting at our cousin's farm in the country. The Simlish countryside is beautiful, and we'd spent the day hiking. I went to sleep in a narrow bed in a tiny bedroom tucked up in the eaves of the farmhouse, the sounds of the farm at night drifting in my open window. I was eighteen years old. I was happy.

I woke up this morning in a hospital, in some place named Canne on the far side of the world. I am in my 20s now, they tell me. There has been a war, and both my parents are dead. I am married, and yesterday, I gave birth to a son. By the dull pain I could still feel on waking, I suppose I can believe them. I don't remember a war, or my husband, or my son. There is a wedding ring on my left hand. I don't remember being married.

They showed me my face in a mirror - I look older then I remember being. What happened to me - why can't I remember anything since that night I fell asleep, happy and safe, still eighteen, with my future before me?

They say I will be sent somewhere to live, tomorrow. An asylum. I'm not mad, they try to reassure me, I just need help. Maybe, they say, if I start to feel safe and secure again, my memories will return. Maybe they won't. I don't know.

I'm so frightened.

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I'm starting this challenge using one of my Legacy characters; I've brought her in line with the requirements of the challenge by using boolprop and SimPe to reset all her skills and relationships, so she knows no one, and has no skills or influence (though she is still married to Marrow Bean Soup). I decided to post her story separate from the Legacy, since we can have both a Legacy and a Challenge running and it makes it easier to keep her storyline straight; once the Challenge ends she (and any of her fellow inmates that survive) will be merging into the general Legacy population again. I don't have any plot line in mind for poor Melody - she's going to determine a lot of her own story as I play her, based on her own wants and fears and random in-game events. While I'm usually a control-freak with my Sims, with Melody I'm going to let her make her own choices for activities a lot of the time, and do coin tosses or dice rolls a lot when there's multiple things I could have her do.

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This looks to be amazing!

Great beginning!

Excellent Beginning. I feel for Melody already.

Oh, what a fabulous idea! Yay for thread crossover.

Poor Melody. (Poor Marrow!)

Another MsBarrows story! I can't wait to see what happens to poor Melody in the asylum.

Day 1 - In Which Our Heroine Explores Her New Home

The Morning

My Doctor and I started the day with a long talk about my wants and desires. He has a theory that one of the reasons I am unable to remember the last few years is because I am "Aspirationally Confused". He ran some tests, and tells me that I am not, as I'd always thought, a family sim. He used a strange machine on me, a large metal globe that I had to put my head into, and he tells me that I am a fortune sim at heart. He thinks that if I can satisfy my suppressed desire for wealth, I might recover more rapidly. He says he will be sure I have a day pass, so that I can get a job if I want. I am hesitant about this theory, but I must admit the thought of being wealthy is... attractive. Imagine the things I could do, or buy, with, say, §100000.

We agree - or more accurately, he assures me - that this would be a suitable goal to aim for. It is a lot of money, but not an unachieveable amount.

My Doctor tells me good-bye, and I am sent to the Asylum. At first glance it appears to be a reasonably pleasant place. The building is large and clean, and the grounds are spacious, with some attractive landscaping at the front. The tall wall surrounding the grounds, and the large barred gate at the entrance, are perhaps a little off-putting. There is a swimming pool at the back, as well as a slightly ominous looking area where a weeping willow stands surrounded by empty lawn in a fenced-in area. Something about the layout of the area disturbs me, until I place it - it looks suspiciously like a graveyard, though there are no graves.

I hesitantly enter the building. There is a sizeable mudroom, with a large arched opening leading into the first room of the asylum. Double stairs lead upstairs directly in front of me; to my right is a tiny dining area, with a wicker table and matching chairs. It looks like there should be a fourth chair in the set, but there are only three here.

At the back, there is a choice of two doors; an archway, leading into a hallway, and a door with a round window in it, like a porthole. Peering through the porthole I see a small very modern kitchen, fully electrified, all decorated in black and white and stainless steel. I decide the room looks intimidating, and turn into the hallway instead. There is a recliner in a corner here, under a window, and a phone on the wall, and two more archways. The cloest, smaller one seems to lead into a narrow hallway beside the stairs, leading back to the front door again. The second, larger archway leads into a large room. There are several people here, and it is very noisy. Two people are sitting in chairs, watching some sort of moving picture being displayed on a box-like thing in front of them. I've never seen anything like it; it must be something invented in the years that I can't recall.

A drum set stands near the archway, and a man is noisily banging away on them, without much of a sense of rythmn at that. He sees me looking at him and smiles, and asks if I'd like to try them. He rises and walks away before I can say no, so I sit down and start hitting things with the drumsticks. It's a lot more fun then I thought it would be, and I find myself smiling as I pound away. I think I sound a little better then the man did, but I can't be sure.

I soon tire of the noise I'm making, and decide to explore upstairs. It's here that I first begin to really notice the inadequacies of this place. There is a small washroom, with only one toilet and one shower. There are four bedrooms - a blue one, a pink one, a yellow one, and a green one. The first three only have a single bed in each, with a bedstand and a vase of flowers. The green room is the only one set up like a regular bedroom. There is a double bed, a narrow armoire, a vanity table, a nightstand, and a lovely potted orchid. All the furniture is in a dark reddish wood. I frown, trying to remember how many different people I saw downstairs. Surely this isn't enough room for everyone to sleep at the same time? And who shares the double bed?

There is a balcony at the back of the house. There is a telescope there, and someone has taped a star map to the wall beside it.

I notice, too, that every doorway in this place is either an open archway, or one of the porthole doors. Even the main doors and the balcony door have glass in them.

I decide to go back downstairs and get to know my new housemates.

The Afternoon

Downstairs I find two of my new housemates sitting at the table, eating sandwiches. They smile at me, and invite me to join them. I'm not hungry, but I sit down and talk with them for a little while. The woman, a redhead, introduces herself as Ginger Beer. She tells me she worked in a factory during the war. I've heard several people mention a war now, yet another thing that seemes to have happened in the years I can't remember. She doesn't say why she is here. I don't ask.

The other person at the table is a young black man. He tells me his name is Jim Collard. He is dressed in work clothes, worn thin at the elbows and knees. He seems angry about being here. In the living room I find five more people, definately more then the beds upstairs will hold. The young man from earlier is playing the drums again. I realise he is dressed in a solder's uniform. He smiles charmingly as he continues to bang away on the drums.

Four people are at the other end of the room watching the odd box. Some kind of moving picture about cooking food is showing, and they are discussing the show animatedly. Two are seated, and two are standing. They break off their watching of the show and gather around me, introducing themselves.

The first is a rather self-assured looking man with brown hair and glasses, in a dark suit. He shakes my hand warmly, and smiles, eye's twinkling. He seems very charming. His name, he says, is Douglas Freemont.

The next is another young man, a blonde this time, quite skinny and dressed in a tight-fitting grey sweater with a pattern of blue diamonds across the chest. He has a slight accent. His introduces himself as Henri Phelange, and tells me the man on the drums is Roger Giles. Roger nods and keeps drumming.

The third is a lovely young oriental girl, in a quite nice dress. She seems a little shy. She speaks very quietly - it takes me a few tries to catch her name, Yumi Lin.

The final one is a rather wild-looking young woman. Her hair is a mess, she has no makeup on - though I think she'd be quite pretty if she was made up - and she's wearing a white lace dress that is looking a bit tattered and stained. She says her name is Darlene, and Henri supplies her last name, saying she is Darlene Bronwell. She is the first person I've met here who doesn't seem perfectly normal.

After we've been talking for a while, some people come and ring the doorbell. I let them in. There is an elderly woman of Mexican heritage, named Mercedes Ortega, a young man named Jefferson Smith, and a mature woman named Lettuce Soup. Mercedes seems interested in everyone; Jefferson seems interested only in Darlene. Lettuce talks to me briefly, giving me an odd, rather penetrating look before she finally departs again. Mercedes departs as well. Jefferson stays. He tries to get Darlene to go swimming, but she is too scared to go outdoors, so he goes swimming by himself.

I go upstairs to use the wahroom, and when I come back down, hear shouting and screaming, and smell smoke. Something is on fire in the kitchen, and the others are gathered nearby, panicing. I am surprised by their panic, but I quickly locate a phone and call for the fire brigade. Soon the fire is out. The others are all upset now, especially Douglas, who begins to talk to himself and then act like an ape, and Ginger, who is collapsed on the floor in a different corner of the room. In the kitchen I find Darlene, upset that she has burnt the spagetti and meatballs she was preparing for her supper. I console her, and tell her it's only a little burnt, and that I'll eat it. I hate seeing food go to waste. Darlene makes herself some more spagetti - without burning anything this time - and we both sit down and eat. Jefferson comes in from swimming and watches her for a while, before finally leaving the premises.

I'm very tired afterwards; it's been a long day. I go upstairs and crawl into bed in the green bedroom, wondering what tomorrow will be like.

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A TV isn't quite of the right era for the time frame that Melody is living in, but there were just too many advantages to having a TV over having a radio, especially in terms of getting everyone's cooking skills up to prevent fires. Since I'd rather have the others survive to the end of the challenge, if at all possible, I decided to opt for a TV.

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Originally Posted by MsBarrows

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A TV isn't quite of the right era for the time frame that Melody is living in, but there were just too many advantages to having a TV over having a radio, especially in terms of getting everyone's cooking skills up to prevent fires. Since I'd rather have the others survive to the end of the challenge, if at all possible, I decided to opt for a TV.

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It isn't *that* far off, though, really...only a generation. So you had a simmie prodigy invent TV before we did, no big deal.

Day 2 - Melody's First Job

I couldn't sleep well. Maybe it was just being in a strange bed in a strange place. Maybe it was my worries and fears about my past and my future. Whatever it was, I ended up waking at 2:30 am.

I went to use the washroom and found it in a deplorable condition. It took me almost an hour to clean it enough that I was willing to let my skin come into contact with any of it. Darlene also rose early, and managed to break the shower while I was using the commode. After much searching around, I found an old wrench, and with much banging and cursing managed to fix it. It made me miss my father, who always kept up a non-stop mutter of minor cursing when working on things, whether he was changing a washer or trying to run electric wiring through our old house. It was hard to believe that what they'd told me was true; that he'd died, almost two years ago, and I would never see him, or my mother, ever again. I had been with them just a few days ago, by my internal clock.

The shower finally fixed, I went downstairs and made pastries for breakfast. After I'd eaten I went outside and picked up the newspaper from the curbside. If I wanted to earn §100000 I was going to need a job. There were only three openings, and it was too late for me to get to two of them, but there was a job as a Team Mascot that wasn't starting until later in the day. It only paid §154, but that would be a start.

I socialised with my roommates a little, then after coming across Henri giving himself a sponge bath in the kitchen sink, decided to go swimming for most of the day. As I was getting ready to leave for work later that day, some man came running in, a furious look on his face. He accused Roger of peeping at him through the telescope. He shouted at poor Roger for a while, then finally left. I went off to work.

I was so happy when I finally got back home that evening. §154! My first step on the road to riches. Then I noticed something I'd missed earlier; the flag on the mailbox was up. We had received a bill, for §220! I went indoors and showed it to the others. That was when I learnt the second big problem with the asylum; the staff had fled during the influenza epidemic (another of the many things I have no memories about) and the management had never gotten around to replacing them. There was no one to cook, no one to clean, no one to do necessary maintenance and repair, no one to pay the bills - except us.

I was appalled. Had the husband who'd committed me been aware of the conditions I would be living under!? Perhaps this had been the only place he could afford.

With a sigh, I used my first paycheque and some of the small amount of cash I'd found in my clothing pockets when I arrived to pay the bill. Having been up so early that morning, and then working late, I was completely exhausted. I trudged upstairs and once again laid claim to the green bedroom.

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Day 3 - A Peaceful Day

The day started well. Darlene had woken early again, and had thoughtfully prepared pastries for breakfast before everyone woke up. I spent a relaxing morning sitting and talking with Yumi while we both watched cooking shows on the odd box - they tell me it is called a television, or "T.V." for short - and it inspired me to make two big platters of sandwiches for lunch, one of cold lunch meats and the other of grilled cheese. I ate one of the grilled cheese ones, then ordered groceries as the fridge was almost out of food. After paying the bill for those, I only had §8 left.

I went outside and tended the flower beds for a while. It was nice to be outside in the sun and breeze, the scent of the moist soil rising up as I watered the beds of daisies. Thick forest grew all around the asylum, and the only sounds I could hear were natural ones - the wind in the trees, birds singing, and somewhere in the distance, a cow mooing. It was a lovely peaceful afternoon.

My ride for work arrived, and I set off to earn another paycheque. I got home that evening, and was just walking in the front door, my second cheque for §154 in my hand, when screaming broke out from the kitchen. Henri had managed to set something on fire on the stove. I again remained calm and quickly clled the fire department, but this time so many of my housemates were milling around the kitchen door that the fireman couldn't get in fast enough. Douglas, who'd foolishly rushed into the room when the fire started, ended up getting baddly scorched, though luckily the fireman reached him in time to prevent more then minor injuries, and the stove - well, the stove was a total writeoff. I was going to have to scrape up enough cash to buy a new one.

Once Douglas had been soothed, and the worst of the damage cleaned up, I tiredly went upstairs to sleep. Yumi had already taken the green room, so tonight I ended up sleeping in the pink one.

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Day 4 - Mechanically Minded Men

Today starts off poorly. The washroom needs cleaning again, and I end up doing it. I go downstairs afterwards to discover that the dishwasher is broken, and no one knows how to fix it.

With the stove destroyed, we're reduced to eating cold cereal for breakfast. Everyone is grumpy. After beakfast I look at my schedule and reaiise I have the day off. That §154 I'd have earned for working today isn't much, but with the necessity of replacing the stove looming, I realise I need to find a better paying job. When I go outside to get the paper, a strange looking man is passing by. I stop him and introduce myself. His name, he says, is Mussel Soup. We chat for a few minutes, then I remember I should be job searching. He wanders into the asylum and helps to clean up the breakfast dishes. I don't find any jobs in the paper that I can start today - it's too late in the morning already - but I do spot a well-paying job as a campaign worker that I could start tomorrow. My paycheque from the day before, plus the cheque from that, should be enough to replace the stove.

As lunch time draws near, everyone fights to use the limited counter space to make sandwiches. Everyone is getting upset with each other. Mussel wanders in, and notices that our dishwasher is broken. He shoos most of the people out of the kitchen, then quickly fixes it. Clearly this is an acquaintance I should cultivate!

I finally manage to squeeze in to the counter myself once Mussel heads off to tend to somwthing else, and I make an entire platter of them. I'm just beginning to pass them around when Henri walks in with a half-empty platter of sandwiches; in the chaos earlier, I'd missed seeing that he'd been thoughtful enough to make more then just a single sandwich for himself. We laugh, and later end up chatting away in the upstairs hallway once eveyrone had eaten. He seems to be a nice man. I find myself wondering why he's here, but am afraid to ask.

Later that afternoon, while taking out the trash, I meet a second odd-looking man. His name, he says, is Lobster Soup. That's three people named Soup I've met now. He and Mussel turn out to be old friends, and quickly finish putting the asylum to rights before they leave.

I spend a comfortable evening talking with Ginger. She tells me more about her job in the factory during the war. She made munitions. She knows how to operate heavy stamping machines, and can drive a forklift, she tells me. Once she goes to bed, I am still restless. I decide to call the woman I emt the first day, Lettuce Soup. We chat for an hour or so. I like her - she'd a very independant woman.

Later I go to bed. I choose the blue bedroom this time.

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this is a great accompaniment to your legacy. I loved doing this challenge too. Looking forward to reading more!


Sue

Day 5 - In Which Our Heroine Gets Ahead

I woke up and went downstairs only to find my roommates eating spoiled cereal, because the fridge was out of food again. No food, no stove - things were not looking well. I saw a flyer tucked in behind one of the phones, and decided to send out for pizza. Not a usual breakfast food, but much better then the spoiled cereal my roomates were busily bolting.

I went into the living room to watch a little television while waiting for the pizza to arrive, only to discover a bill on the coffee table. Someone must have brought it in yesterday and not mentioned it. With a sigh, I take it outside and pay the §154 - there goes part of my money for a new stove. The pizza still hasn't arrived by the time I have to leave for work. I go to work hungry.

The hunger does make me concentrate rather furiously on the work I've been given to do. I loose track of time until someone comes around with sandwiches and coffee for everyone. Food at last! My dedication to the job seems to have impressed someone though - at the end of the day, I get a promotion to intern! The promotion bonus plus my pay for the day adds up to a decent sum, §1,500 - enough to buy the new stove and fully restock the fridge, and still have money left over.

I reward myself by going upstairs and relaxing for a while, reading in bed in the pink room. Such a soothing colour, though not one I normally like. Afterwards, I go downstairs and find my roommates fighting over the use of the kitchen. Darlene has made a TV dinner for herself, and Yumi made spagetti - Douglas calms the furor down by making a platter of hamburgers, which the rest of us share.

It's been a long tiring day. I go to bed early, in the pink room.

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Day 6 - Things Go Well

For once it's a day with no problems. Well, just a minor problem - when making pancakes to serve to my roomates for breakfast, I manage to scorch them. They're still remembering what it was like yesterday with no food though, so they happily eat them.

I go to work, and earn another §420 - on the way home from work, I impulsively buy a very colourful bathmat to decorate the washroom with. It's a relief to see the rich hues of it in the otherwise white-and-black room.

I spend the afternoon after work on the phone talking with Lettuce, Mussel, and Jefferson, then serve salad for dinner. Afterwards I watch television for a while, then go to bed in the yellow room.

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Day 7 - In Which Our Heroine Changes Careers

I wake up in the morning and realise I have the day off. I don't want a day off - I want to be earning money! I'm so worried about it that I forget to keep a close eye on the pastries I'm warming for breakfast, and end up burning them. Burnt breakfasts two days in a row. My roommates and I eat them anyway - we're all worried about wasting food.

It is too late to get any job today but that of Security Guard, which doesn't start until 8pm this night. I decide to try it out - it doesn't pay as well as my current job, but money is money.

I spend the morning studying up on mechanics, and tending the gardens. I make lunch meat sandwiches for lunch, then nap in the blue bedroom so I'll be rested for work. I serve spagetti before I leave.

Work goes well, and I get another promotion! I'm to report for cadet training the next morning. My wage and bonus add up to §1,250. I'm so elated, there's no way I'll get to sleep right away. I notice Roger outside using the telescope to star gaze, and go outside to the balcony and chat with him for a while.

He tells me he likes stargazing because it's so peaceful. He tells me how different it is from the war. I ask him about the war, and tell him about how I'm missing a big chunk of my memories. He seems reluctant to discuss it, but then hesitantly tells me a little about what his experiences in the war were like. Trench warfare sounds like an ugly business. His description of the bombardments make me feel especially upset. I go to bed in the pink room, and am plagued by nightmares, which I cannot remember on waking.

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Day 8 - A Day of Rest Ends Baddly

I wake up to find I have another day off. I think about finding a fresh job for today, and then realise just how rundown I am feeling. It would be better to stay home. I go downstairs to find that the fridge is empty of food already. I wish we had a bigger fridge. Or several fridges. One fridge full of food does not go far with eight people!

I order in Chinese food for brakfast. My roommates seem to enjoy it a lot. It's a nice change from our own cooking, anyway.

I meet someone new. Her name is Martha Watson. We chat for a long time. She seems very interested in the asylum, and in me. After a while she goes off to talk to some of the other inmates (what a cold, hard word that is!) and I go swimming. That man comes back to yell at Henri for peeping at him, and then later returns to yell at Darlene also. I hear my roommates laughing over it after he leaves - apparently they do it on purpose, because they think it's funny how upset he gets.

Later, after a new order of groceries arrives, I start to make grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch, then almost faint because I am suddenly so exhausted. Darlene sees I am having problems, and takes the frying pan from my hand and tells me to go rest. She finishes making the sandwiches while I do as ordered. I take a lengthy nap in the yellow bedroom. The sunflowers beside the bed are so cheerful.

When I wake up it is late evening. I'm ravenous, so I serve spagetti for dinner. Martha is still here; she sits and eats with me. We are having an enjoyable conversation when I hear the dreaded sound of screams from the kitchen - Ginger has set something on fire. Martha looks scared, and excuses herself and leaves. I call the fire department. Jim is standing in the kitchen door, screaming in panic about the flames, and the fireman is unable to get by him until the stove is destroyed.

Jim has a bit of a breakdown afterwards, and sits babbling on the floor. I look at the mess, and look at the time, and decide to deal with it tomorrow. I go back upstairs to the yellow room and sleep.

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Day 9 - In Which Things Get Set To Rights

The next morning I wake up and go to use the washroom. The toilet is clogged. The shower is broken. I go downstairs. The garbage compactor is also broken, from my roommates making a half-hearted attempt to clean us the mess from the latest fire. We are again without a stove, and the kitchen looks, as Roger says, "like a war zone".

Yumi slept on the floor last night, and Jim, after his earlier hysteria, somehow fell asleep on his feet in the shower room. They are both sore and cranky.

I feel overwhelmed. I call Mussel Soup, and he comes over and comforts me, then tells me to go to work - he'll look after things. I take his advice, and leave for my first day in cadet training.

Later that day, some of my classmates ask me to go partying with them. I'm not in the mood, so I stay and study instead. We have a surprise test that afternoon, and my studying helps me to get a bonus question correctly, the only one in the class who does. Our trainer awards me a logic skill point. At the end of the day I collect my cheque for §448, and go home, where I find a bill for §118 waiting in the mailbox. Slowly but surely, my savings are accumulating.

Inside, I find that the shower and garbage compactor are still broken, but the toilet is unclogged, the mess is cleaned up, and Mussel and my roommates have hauled everything out of the old kitchen, cleaned it, and lined it up along the outside wall of the dining area rather then leaving it in the cramped little kitchen. The new stove arrives, and we set it up in the far corner of the room, well away from anything flammable. The re-arrangement has much less problems with people blocking each other's access from the fridge, sink, stove and counters, and we should never have a problem with the fireman not being able to get near a flaming stove again. Though we would all prefer it if we never had a flaming stove again.

I wish I could thank Mussel, but my roommates tell me he felt suddenly earlier, after trying to fix the shower. Something about not liking getting his feet wet. I go upstairs and fix it myself, then serve salad for supper.

I realise I should spend more time getting to know my roommates. They're almost all friends with each other, and I am still a comparitive stranger. They do, of course, have more time to socialise, since they can't leave the asylum to work as I can.

I am worried about Jim. He doesn't seem to have recovered from the shock of the fire yesterday. I find him having an argument with "Professor VonBall".

I sleep in the blue bedroom that night. It's restful. As I drift off, I can see Roger outside the windows, peering up at the stars.

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Day 10 - All Work And No Play...

As seems all too usual, when I wake up the toilet is clogged, the shower broken, and the washroom a filthy mess. I am getting fairly good at fixing the plumbing. While I fix things, Darlene follows me with a mop, cleaning the wet floors. I still end up being the one to clean the toilet before I am willing to use it.

I go downstairs to find that Douglas, who is often thoughtful, has served omelettes for breakfast. They smell wonderful but I can hear my ride already sitting outside, impatiently beeping the car horn. I go to work hungry. It's a long hard day of cadet training, to come home with another §448. I arrive home to discover Douglas' day has gone downhill; he is standing out at the curbside in his underwear, a pitiful expression on his face, begging for simoleans. I find myself thinking what a good-looking man he is, then blush and hurry indoors.

Inside, Jim is communing with Professor VonBall again. I feel sorry for my housemates. They will seem so nice and normal, and then begin acting quite strangely again. I am glad I don't seem to have anything wrong with me apart from a large chunk of missing memories. After chivving Jim out of the way, I turn the television on and work out for a while - I'm not in as good shape as I should be, and I've heard that I am more likely to get promoted out of cadet training once I am in shape. I work out until I am exhausted, then shower and collapse into bed in the pink room.

I am woken a few hours later by the complaints of the others. The fridge has run out of food again. With a groan, I order in more groceries and a pizza, then read in bed for a while.

Henri seems convinced that a flour sack he is holding is an infant, and is crooning over it and tossing it in the air. Once again I find myself wondering just what has brought most of my housemates here.

It is very late by the time I am able to get back to bed.

Day 11 - ...Makes Martha A Dull Girl

I oversleep the next morning, and miss my ride into work. I am depressed about missing a day of work, but decide to take advantage of it by working out more. I also take some time out to enjoy myself, dancing along with the drums.

I have a lot of fun at lunch, sitting around eating sandwiches with the guys. Jefferson Smith has come over again, and again spends a large part of his time following Darlene around. He sometimes has the oddest expression in his eyes when he's watching her, like he's waiting for something. I begin to suspect he knew her before she was institutionalized.

I spend the afternoon playing the drums myself. Hitting things hard and making a loud noise is oddly relaxing. Afterwards I work out some more.

Douglas, who seems to have recovered from his episode the day before, serves salads for supper.

I go to sleep in the pink room. I seem to be sleeping in here a lot lately. Perhaps because it is closest to the bathroom, so I can beat the early-morning rush.

Day 12 - A Stressfull Day

Today I am the one who is up bright and early, and serves breakfast for the others. I make pancakes without burning them, and before leaving for work pay a bill from yesterday, for §124. I go to work in a good mood, hoping that my increased fitness will result in a promotion. I am baddly dissapointed when I come home from work with nothing but another §448 dollars - and a day off tomorrow. I have only earned a little under §5000 so far - it will take me forever to earn §100000 at this rate!

I think about the big bonus you get for a promotion. What I need, I decide, is a lot of promotions. Maybe if I start new jobs more frequently, and switch careers again as soon as I have gone up in pay. My skills are poor enough that I can't expect a very good job right now anyway; if I continue working on my skills while moving from low-end job to low-end job, at some point my skills will be good enough to buckle down and try to really climb the career ladder to a well-paying position.

A nun walks by shortly after I get home from work. We end up chatting for a while. Her name is Una Sannova, and she is apparently very politically involved. She comes indoors and sees the pitiful conditions in the asylum, and is angered by them. She says she will try and get to the bottom of things.

Later, I am watching television, when another fire starts in the kitchen. While my roommates again panic, I calmly call the fire department and then go back to watching TV. It is only later that I begin to wonder about my own actions. Why aren't I panicing too? Why do I always feel so eerily calm and detached when emergencies happen? It's as if teh part of me that should be frightened has been shut off. I begin to worry a little that there is more wrong with me then just the missing memories after all.

The kitchen rearrangement proves to work well; the fireman is able to get at the stove and put out the fire without difficulty. Afterwards, we sit around and quietly eat the burnt pork chops. No wasting food!

I go to sleep in the blue room, still worrying about my lack of reaction to the fire.

Day 13 - A Fresh Start

We seem to have used up a lot of food again already. I order more groceries, before the fridge is entirely empty this time, and serve omelettes for breakfast.

Following up on my decision of the previous day, I get a new job today, as a test subject. My theory of rapid promotion seems to be correct, as I happily come home later that day with §966!

I decide to render myself independant of my morning ride to work, and buy a bicycle with some of the money. It's not much, but now even if I am running a little late in the morning I can still get in to work.

I am in such a good mood that even having to unclog the toilet again does not put a dent in it. I am still smiling when I go to bed that night in the yellow room.

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Day 14 - More Repairs

I start the day by serving pancakes. I am surprised to note how inseperate Darlene and Douglas suddenly are. They'd never seemed to be particularly close before, but suddenly they're spending all their time together, staring at each other like two love birds. I really liked Douglas - I must admit I feel slightly jealous to see him in love with someone else. Especially Darlene. If anyone, I thought he might have a romantic attention to Yumi, but I must have been mistaken. I wonder what it is about Darlene that both Douglas and Jefferson, who is a regular visitor, find so attractive.

I have the morning off, so I spend some time fixing the shower - again! - and then peering through the telescope. After looking at an assortment of houses and bushes and flowers, I suddenly find my telescope resting on a familiar human form. Oh dear. No wonder the others think it's so funny to spy on him. I'd heard of naturists, of course, but I'd never actually seen one, ahhh - in the wild, so to speak. He spots the telescope, I can see him waving his fist and roaring towards me, then he dashes into his house. I am still giggling when he shows up, now heavily dressed, to shout angrily at me.

Darlene serves salad for lunch. She makes salads a lot, I think because it is one thing she knows will not start a fire! After lunch, I go to work as a lab assistant. I am promoted to field researcher before I return home that day, earning §1344! But I know another fast promotion will not come any time soon; I have seen the requirements for the next job opening, and I lack the cleaning skills for them. Which makes me very dissapointed to discover that someone has stolen our newspaper. I can't change jobs without a newspaper!

I try to work on my cleaning skills, but end up having to fix the toilet and order in more groceries. I am exhausted and go for a rest in the yellow room, waking only long enough to eat when Yumi serves omelettes as an after-midnight snack.

Day 15 - A Life In Ruins

I serve toaster pastries this morning, but am running late for work and have to go off without a chance to eat any of them. My first day as a field researcher seems to start off auspiciously - while poking around in the hills, I discover some mysterious ruins! Caught up in the idea of gaining fame - and a further promotion! - I set out to explore them on my own. They turn out to be unstable, and after a terrifying ordeal, I escape from the ruins right before they collapse, never to be seen by other human eyes. So much for fame, fortune, and a promotion! I feel so stupid - I knew I was a raw beginner, why didn't I get some expert help before trying to explore!

I arrive home with my §448 paycheque in hand to find Jim doing some gardening, and Museel and his friend Lobster visiting. Mussel has fixed both the dishwasher and the garbage disposal. I thank them for their help. Roger seems to see Mussel as some kind of threat, and keeps trying to pick a fight with him. I guess he doesn't like Mussel being so helpful around the place. I try to play peacemaker between the two of them, but by the time Mussel and Lobster leave, it's clear that there is very bad chemistry between Roger and Mussel.

I grab our newspaper - thankfully not stolen today! - and apply for a job in the military.

I hang out with Mona, Roger, and Yumi for a while. We all try to get Roger to explain why he doesn't like Mussel - all three of us girls think he's great! - but he just frowns and refuses to say anything on the subject. I take a nap in the yellow bedroom, then make pork chops for supper. We seem to eat at very odd times in the asylum, mainly whenever someone feels like cooking, or someone gets hungry enough to cook for themselves.

I realise that I have made a little less then §7000 simoleons so far. My goal, which once seemed so achieveable, begins to feel impossibly far away.

Day 16 - Flu Bugs

In the night, someone knocks over our garbage can. I miss seeing it on my way out the door, and by the time I return from work (with a promotion, and §1365 in hand!) there are roaches everywhere. My roommates have been trying to stomp on them, with predictably poor results, and have all become sick from contact with the nasty little things. I dig around in the garage, and find some old spray cans of bug spray. The choking green fumes are horrible, but they get the job done, and we're soon back to a bug-free home. Well, apart from the flu bug that has all of my hosuemates feeling ill, and soon infects me was well.

I make pork chops for dinner again. As I'm frying them up, I find myself thinking how sexy Henri is. I blush, reminding myself that I am, after all, a married woman. If only I could remember anything at all about my husband!

I try to sleep in the pink room, but end up being woken repeatedly; first by Ginger starting yet another fire, then by someone knocking our trash can over at 2:30 in the morning. I right and refill the can, then after washing up, make a very later supper (or a very early breakfast) of the burnt spagetti and meatballs.

At least I seem to have recovered from the bug already.

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Oh, and for those not familiar with my Soup Legacy, where all of these characters hail from - here are pictures of what Mussel and Lobster look like when they're not autonomously visiting other lots, thanks to a hack from Squinge at MTS2 that allows you to makeover your servos into "androids".

Originally Posted by MsBarrows

Oh, and for those not familiar with my Soup Legacy, where all of these characters hail from - here are pictures of what Mussel and Lobster look like when they're not autonomously visiting other lots, thanks to a hack from Squinge at MTS2 that allows you to makeover your servos into "androids".

That's funny...do they look normal when they visit community lots, or just plain servos?

I have what I thought was that same hack from Squinge, and Constance looks like her "android" self whenever I see her at restaurants and such - not just the plain servo body. I haven't seen her come by another house since I made her into an android, though. I might have something different, though.

Originally Posted by deagh93

That's funny...do they look normal when they visit community lots, or just plain servos?

Perjhaps there's a more recent version of the hack out with better community lot coding - my "androids" always revert to their base srvo body and head when elsewhere, unless they do something such as attend a wedding or jump in the swimming pool that makes them change clothes. Even when they go shopping for gorceries, or Lobster goes to his store, they revert. Though at least when I take them to a community lot I cna use the "Change into..." option on their radial menu to redress them as android again, unfortunately there's no way to do that when they're visitng other lots of their own freew will.

*Heads off to see if there's a better version of the hack so Lobster and Mussel will look right all the time*

Day 17 - Another Day, Another Simoleon

Henri somehow broke the kitchen sink while taking a sponge bath this morning. I was soaked to the skin from the water spraying out of the fixture before I finally got it working right again. I only had time to order in some more food - chinese for breakfast, and groceries for later in the day - before I had to leave for work, as a test subject in a lab yet again.

The day seemed to drag on forever. I was distracted and didn't do as well today as I have on previous test subject jobs; I ended up not receiving a promotion and went home with a measly §217 for my efforts. My goal seems further away then ever.

When I got home, Ginger was peering into the mirror, concerned that she might be loosing her looks. She says she could have been great in moving pictures, if she'd gotten a break. I don't know if she's right or not - she is a beautiful woman, and she moves well, but her voice has a certain aspect of chalk on slate to it. She tells me all about how she always wanted to be a great actress, and was trying to break into theatre when the war started and she ended up working in a factory instead. She says if only she could get out of this place, maybe she could take another try at it. I suppose she could do well in what they call "character" parts, though perhaps not as a leading lady.

While I'm upstairs fixing and cleaning the toilet yet again, Henri shows up and keeps me company for a while, leaning on the door frame and making jokes. He has a nice smile. It isn't until we're still chatting away while I'm showering afterwards that I suddenly notice how little sense of modesty any of us has left - though at least Henri is enough of a gentleman to keep his back to me while I shower. I end up hugging him. It feels good. It feels very good! We hug again, and even kiss, then I go downstairs to make spagetti for supper.

When I'm trying to go to sleep later in the yellow bedroom, I keep finding myself remembering how good it felt to be held in Henri's arms. I find myself staring at the wedding ring still on my left hand, wondering if it felt as good when my husband, whomever he was, would hug me.

Day 18 - So What Makes Us Different?

I make omelettes for breakfast the next morning. Henri keeps following me around, wanting to hug me again, but I feel uncomfotable and gently avoid his advances. I think he feels more strongly about me then I do about him.

I get the promotion today that I'd hoped to have yesterday, and return home with §966, and a coworker named Jeremiah Bearclaw, who is interested in seeing the asylum. I don't realise he's interested because he fears he may well end up here himself, until he has a breakdown right after we get there! Darlene takes pity on him and comforts and plays with him until he feels well enough to leave. The two of them seem to have really hit it off. Later she tells me his breakdown was because someone he loved had died suddenly. I find myself thinking that many people have problems; so why are we locked up, when they aren't?

The garbage from yesterday's breakfast of chinese food is scattered all over the front walk - apparently my housemates ate outside - and I end up cleaning it up myself so that it won't attract roaches or more flies. I hate hearing the flies buzzing around spoiled things.

I serve hamburgers for dinner. Henri, who was so lean and good-looking when I first moved in, has been really packing away the food ever since, and I feel a sense of revulsion when he stands up from the table after dinner and I notice that he's getting pudgy. Why did I ever think he was sexy!?

Between thinking about Jeremiah and Henri, and worrying about how slowly I'm earning money - not to mention the coughing and sneezing of my housemates - it's neary dawn before I finally drift off to sleep in the pink room.

Day 19 - A Simple Day

The toilet and shower are broken down once again. I fix them, then peep through the telescope for a while before work. I don't see anything but some interesting plants; Mr. Naturist isn't out sunbathing yet. I do another day of work with no further promotion, earning only §322, which at least puts me over the §10000 mark - one tenth of the way to my goal.

I study cleaning for a while, but I'm just so very tired - I turn in early, in the blue bedroom, to match my mood.

Day 20 - Determination Wins The Day

I serve pancakes for breakfast, and order in more groceries, this time before the fridge is entirely empty. And I switch careers and get a new job (or rather, an old one!) and find myself back in the Larry the Llama mascot costume. The job doesn't start until later in the day, so I take a nap in the yellow bedroom before heading off to work.

To my great distress, after practise I am told my performance isn't up to snuff and that my services will no longer be required, and am sent home early with a measly §154. As I stand in the driveway, in tears, I notice they forgot to give me the official pink slip. I grit my teeth, jump on my bike, and rapidly pedal back off to work. I'll show them a performance! They're surprised to see me come back out onto the field, but I really fling myself into the routine and wow the crowd during the game.

I impress the team manager with my grit and determination, and he decides to promote me and give me a chance as a player in the minor league! Elated, I return home with my second paycheque in one day, for §714. I order in pizza to celebrate, then sleep in the yellow room.

Day 21 - Things Are Looking Up

I serve toaster pastries before leaving for work. Still elated from my eleventh hour victory the day before, I really buckle down at work and get another promotion, to Rookie, and return home later that day with §966.

Mussel drops in again, and ends up fixing our trash compactor again before he leaves. He's such a nice man!

I play the drums for a while, feeling elated as I get the hang of it a little better, and smile to see my roommates dropping money in my tip jar. The gods only know where they get it, but whenever they want to tip each other, they seem to have the money for it. Never for vital things like groceries and new stoves, of course.

I am tardy in getting upstairs to claim a bed tonight, and end up having to sleep on the hallway recliner. Not the most restful of beds!

Day 22 - I'm Grouchy

I wake up barely in time to rush off for work, feeling as if I had't slept at all. Ginger is serving a heaping platter of toaster pastries as I head out the door, and seems to be piling extras in front of Henri. She's been paying him a lot more attention lately since he pudged out.

Because I'm so tired I don't do well enough at work to gain another promotion. I return with §322, just in time to call the fire brigade again. I'm so exhausted. I don't even wait to see if the fireman gets everything put out safely, I just go straight upstairs and collapse into bed in the blue bedroom.

It's 9pm when I finally wake again. I shower, and order in a pizza, then try to workout so I can get a promotion tomorrow. Henri is being a pest and keeps changing the TV channel from workouts to sports. I end up arguing with him; he says he doesn't like watching work outs and I rather meanly point out that he could stand to do some working out himself. He leaves the room in a huff, and I manage to finish my workout before going back to bed again, this time in the pink room.

I can't help but notice that Ginger is quite happily comforting Henri after his spat with me.

Day 23 - Death Comes Calling

I come downstairs to find that there is still a pan full of burnt, and now thoroughly spoiled, food on the stove from yesterday's fire. I'm still grouchy from yesterday, and angry at my roommates for not cleaning up the mess. I make an omelette for myself and find a new job - as a test subject, again! - and head right out the door for work.

It's a decision I'll regret the rest of my life.

Shortly after I leave, Jim manages to start a fire while trying to cook breakfast. Since I'm not home, the fire burns until it runs out of things to consume. Thanks to our new kitchen arrangement, this isn't too much materialy - just the stove itself. But Yumi got too close to the flames, and her dress caught fire as well. She's dead. That sweet little woman, who was always running around cleaning up everyone else's messes, perished horribly.

By the time I get back from work, she's already been buried out back in the little graveyard, and workmen have removed one of the kitchen chairs and the bed from the yellow bedroom. One less person in the house, one less chair and bed needed, right? Nevermind we already had more people then chairs or beds...

My §217 doesn't seem worth Yumi's death. If only I'd stayed home today! If only I'd done as I normally did and served breakfast for everyone instead of just cooking for myself!

Devastated, I go and try to nap in the blue bedroom for a bit. I keep waking up, from a nightmare I can't really remember, except for one image - my father's tobacco shop, flames spurting explosively out of every window. Is this one of the things I can't remember? Did it really happen? Was it something I really saw, or only imagined seeing...

None of us feel like using the new stove already lurking in the corner of the kitchen like a hideous monster. Douglas quietly prepares salad for supper. He looks grief striken, as do we all really, but I recall my impression that, of any of us, he was closest to Yumi.

I silently hug Douglas to thank him for cleaning up and making the salad. The hug starts of friendly and ends up as a rather heated kiss. I realise that I find him a most devastatingly handsome man. Disturbed, I watch TV for a long time, then cautiously make myself an omelette before finally retiring to sleep in the pink room.

I feel so sorry for Yumi, Douglas and Melody. The guilt that she will be feeling now. Well written as usual.

Sue