Well, of course I'm going to do a Dating Game challenge story - I've been having a ball playing my test set of characters that led to the write-up of the Challenge rules, and now that the test characters are over and done with, I want to do a set of characters with an accompanying story. I've been playing in Strangetown, so, yes, my "contestants" will be Maxis premades. And there'll be references to some of what happened to my first set of characters (the Curious brothers, General Buzz Grunt, and Nervous Subject) - which was written up in the "What's Happening In Your Strangetown?" thread in the Sims 2 Stories Forum here on TSR. I'll provide links to relevant posts as references to past events crop up.

Without further ado, here's the story...

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I blame Ophelia for what happened. If she hadn't of broken up with Johnny, none of this would ever have occured.

See, the two of them had been going steady since their early teens. Madly in love, always talking about what they were going to do once they were grown up and married, the whole nine yards. Sharing a dorm with them in college was almost nauseating, seemed no matter where you looked, there would be Ophelia and Johnny making out or cuddling or something.

Then one day they had a big argument - wasn't even about anything perticularly important, but Ophelia ended up blowing her stack and decided to go back to Strangetown for a few days, visit her Aunt, and cool down. Well, next thing we know, she's dropping out of college and Johnny's been dropped like a hot potato. Seems little Miss Nigmos got swept off her feet by Vidcund Curious and is off to become Mrs Curious (story here and here).

Well, Johnny was pretty devastated by the whole thing, so we decided some therapy was in order and dragged him off to a bar...

Oh, I suppose I better introduce us all. That's me in the khaki, Tank Grunt. My father is General Buzz Grunt - you may have heard of him, if you know anything about Strangetown, he's pretty famous - or perhaps infamous is the term I should use - in these parts. He wanted me to go into the military also, we come from a long line of General Grunts and it's kind of a family tradition for the eldest son to sign up. I think I'd probably have gone ahead with it just to keep him happy, but recently Dad has changed a lot. See, he got involved with another man, Louie Fowler - yup, dear old super-authoritarian Dad realised he was gay - and it's changed him a lot. He's quit the military, married his friend and taken up painting. And that was just the start of the weirdness... but that's another story (which you can see here and here). So anyway, now that the pressure to go military is off, I have to admit I'm kind of intrigued by the thought of becoming a lawyer. I know, not everyone's cup of tea, but I think I want to give it a shot once we graduate. And if that doesn't work out, well, there's still the military.

The freak with the long hair and the dogtags that saw "SEXY" is my younger brother, Ripp Grunt. Yup, he's a romance sim. He wants to become a famous musician and have lots of groupies. And you can probably guess pretty easily what he wants to do with said groupies. He and I only kinda sorta get along, we hated each other's guts as kids and are only now starting to grow out of it. I still think he's an immature dweeb and he says he thinks I've got a ramrod sho... well, anyway, we've realised we're two very different people with very different personalities and goals and are trying to get past the whole rival brothers thing and maybe just be friends.

And this beautiful young woman is Melody Tinker. She came here to La Fiesta Tech from Bluewater Village, and has fallen in love with the desert. She plans to stay on in Strangetown after graduation, and look for a job in education. I think all of us are at least a little bit in love with her, but she is Not Interested. Says she decided years ago that she wanted to get through college and get settled into a career before she started to get particularly involved in dating or anything. So she's friends with everyone but not special friends with anyone. Actually most of the time she's basically just like one of the guys. And my god but does she know some raunchy jokes... and she's stubborn like you would not believe. I like her, a lot.

Johnny Smith, the reason why we're all here at this bar, is part-alien; his father is a retired Pollination Technician. Yeah, we've got a lot of weird ones out in Strangetown. Anyway, Johnny plans to become a journalist. He and I used to not exactly see eye-to-eye when we were younger, but now that we're both more mature (physically and mentally) and after sharing a dorm with him for the last four years, well, we're not exactly what I would call friends, but we're certainly not enemies either. Actually I kind of like him now that I've gotten to know him better. He's all right.

So that's the four of us...

I have been following your posts on the Strangetown thread and I am really looking forward to following this story. Grand start.

Sue

So, we're out trying to cheer Johnny up after getting dumped by his girlfriend of seven years, the delectable Ophelia. So we talk, and we drink, and we sing karoake, and we drink some more, and play poker. I have to admit, my brother Ripp has a pretty good voice. Maybe he'll do well as a musician. Who knows.

So it gets to the wee hours of the morning, and we're in the kind of weird, half-hysterical mood where even really dumb ideas start to sound smart. Somehow we've gotten onto the topic of fate as it pertains to dating. Like, the way Melody puts it is, everyone has their perfect someone out there somewhere. But you may or may not bump into them, because of the workings of Fate. None of us really got what she was saying at first. So she explained it another way - it's like a lottery. You have to buy a ticket to win. But if you're not fated to win, it doesn't matter how many tickets you buy, it'll never happen, while if you are fated to win, just having one ticket at the right moment is all that it'll take. Okay, that line of reasoning the rest of us can sorta follow, but it's not any too clear to us just how it applies to dating. Of course by now we're all a bit the worse for wear, it's been a long evening and frankly none of us is necessarily tracking very well nor is particularly lucid. Except Melody, she's been sticking mainly to ginger ale and grenadine all evening, and is now reaping the benefits of a clearer head by taking us to the cleaners at poker. Good thing we don't play for money.

"Okay, look," Melody explained further. "People put all this effort into dating, right, in search of the perfect date, the perfect mate, stuff like that. And a lot of the time, they don't get the right person, things don't work out, the date is a disaster, or whatever. Right? Right. So, the way I figure it is, what people need to do is depend on Fate instead of random attraction."

"Huh?" Ripp grunted.

"I mean, give Fate a chance to hand you the right person, rather then going out looking for them. Like maybe call in one of those gypsy matchmakers and tell them 'make me a match' and see what you get. Gives Fate a chance to steer the right person to you - like buying that one lottery ticket every week gives Fate a chance to make you a millionaire."

"Oh, I get it," Johnny nodded. "So rather then saying 'oh, that girl looks hot, I think I'll go hit on her and see if we click' you say 'Fate, send me someone to hit on'?"

"Yeah, more or less," Melody smiled. "It's what I've been planning to do after college, actually. I'm a big believer in Fate. Like tonight, it's obviously my fate to win," she said, as she showed another winning run of cards and scooped up the pot.

Before we could continue the conversation, Johnny suddenly looked up, and got a furious look on his face. Vidcund Curious had just entered the bar. Before we could stop him, he went over and yelled incoherently at Vidcund then threw a drink at him. That kind of ended the evening as we got kicked out of the bar. So we walked back to campus - we needed the fresh air by then - and spent the walk talking about this idea of giving Fate a chance. Somehow, by the time we got back to our dorm, we'd all agreed that it sounded like a great idea.

Mind you, the state we were in, just about anything sounded like a great idea. Good thing Melody was around to keep us from getting into further trouble. I have vague memories of us seriously discussing some prank to pull that involved a llama and the Dean's office, and Melody talking us all into playing Rock Paper Scissors until we finally dozed off instead.

Well, none of us really thought much about the conversation for a few months after that; we were crazy-busy with studying for and writing our final exams, then moving back home to Strangetown and going job- and house-hunting. As luck (or Fate?) would have it, the four of us all ended up as neighbors.

See, Olive Spectre had passed on just after Ophelia dropped out, and her estate had been split up between her niece and her son, Nervous Subject. Nervous had finally gotten away from his foster parents, the Beakers, and had married an Insect Infestation Technician named Christy Stratton (See here). Anyway, Nervous got the bulk of the estate - all the land Olive owned, and most of the money - and Ophelia got the rest. Nervous sold off the land along Dead End Road to a developer, and they'd put in a small subdivision. All the houses had the same floor plan, just minor differences in finishes and furnishing, so the prices were good, and the four of us all ended up buying and moving into houses there - Melody at the end of the road in #10, Johnny beside her in #12, me in #14, and Ripp across the street from me in #15.

And it wasn't too long after we all moved in that Fate stepped in to each of our lives.

I really like the way you have got inside their heads or should that be the other way round LOL great story telling can't wait for the next installment

Ooh, this is really neat.

-Taco

I played through all the move-in Mondays for the kids, they won't actually start dating until Day #2 though.

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Melody Tinker

I went to La Fiesta Tech because they had good programs, not particularly expecting it to be a life-changing experience, or at least no more so then you'd expect a few years away from home earning a degree to change you and your life. My biggest worry was whether or not I'd be able to adapt to the change in climate. I'd been born and raised in Bluewater Village, down on the coast - grown up with storms coming if off the ocean, the ozone and iodine smell of salt water, thick fogs... everything you might expect to see in a small coastal town, really.

And then I headed off to La Fiesta, and got off the bus in the middle of a flat, arid plain, low red hills visible in a distance only broken by a few dots of saguaro, prikly pears, and other desert succulents. The joshua trees in particular made the landscape seem... alien. I hated it at first, the flatness when I was used to looming coastal mountains, the dryness, the heat. And then I joined a hiking club, and started going on long walks in the desert. Oh, we stuck to safe trails, in a group, but still... the immensity of it. The stillness. The quiet, when we were having rest breaks, so silent you could hear sounds you'd never have noticed otherwise... sand grains rasping against each other as they moved, the purr of a snake's scales rubbing against the ground as it slithered along, the distant scream of a buzzard or hawk of some kind.

I think I really fell in love with it the spring it rained. Rain isn't frequent in the high desert, but when it comes... the desert blooms. Long-dormant seeds spring to life and frantically grow, flower, and set seed to lie in wait for the next storm. Hillsides that had been bare sandy wastes turned into lush flower-spangled meadows seemingly overnight. Oh, it all dried up and died off almost as fast as it had come, but the memory of those bright grassy hills under the burning hot sky, the red hills rising in the background somewhere, would stay with me for the rest of my life.

So by the time I graduated, I had friends here, and I wanted to live here. My family was sad to hear that I wouldn't be returning to Bluewater, but, as with everything else in life, they'd cope.

So I took my hard-earned savings, and bought 10 Dead End Road, a little one-and-a-half story house in Strangetown. One of a bunch of near-identical houses in a new development. Mine is at the very end of the road, and is a kind of orangy-yellow stucco with a red tile roof. I decorated mainly in woods and beiges and browns and reds, earth tones like the desert itself.

I was still settling in - getting a garden dug, watering my fruit trees - when the Welcome Wagon showed up. I made sandwiches for them - the first food I ever prepared in my brand new kitchen! - and we sat down and chatted together over lunch. My guests were Malcolm Landgraab, Christy Subject, and Gilbert - I never did catch his last name.

After they'd left and I'd cleaned up, I spent the rest of the day finishing putting in my garden, and on the phone with my friends from college, who were also my new neighbors. I went to bed a happy woman.

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Johnny Smith

There's not really all that much to say about myself. I'm Johnny Smith, I was born and raised in Strangetown, with the usual set of problems attendant on being half-alien and having green skin. I'm a Gemini, and I'm trying to break into journalism.

I used to have a girlfriend, Ophelia Nigmos, we dated from our early teens right though until shortly before graduation in college, at which point she dumped me and took up with someone else. They're married now and she's expecting a child. I still can't believe she married Vidcund Curious. What does she see in him?

I was pretty dissapointed about the whole thing as you might imagine, but hey, life goes on. I'm now living on my own at 12 Dead End Road, a nice little blue and white house with a grey slate roof. I've got a pond in back where I can fish. I'm not into gardening, too much of a time commitment, but fishing is something I can do whenever I have some spare time, and it's very relaxing. So nice to stand out by the pond and de-stress.

No one showed up to welcome me to my new home, but that's okay, I'm used to being overlooked I suppose. I had a solitary lunch, and later that evening cooked myself some bass I'd caught fresh that afternoon. Made a whole platter of bass with squash, and put the leftovers away in the fridge. If I get into journalism like I want, I'm sure there'll be days I'm too busy to cook, and having some meals pre-made will be good.

I spent the evening on the phone with my friends. Now that's something I wouldn't have believed even a year ago - that I'd think of the Grunt brothers as friends. But here we are, newly adult, neighbours, and increasingly good friends. It's a strange world we live in.

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I have no clue why the Welcome Wagon failed to appear for Johnny - at about the right time for them to show up all that happened was Vidcund walked by. Poor Johnny! First day in a new home and all alone...

Ripp Grunt

I grew up in my brother's shadow. He was everything my Dad wanted us to be - active, a team player, into the whole military thing... I never was, not really, though with Dad standing over you yelling and blowing his whistle, yeah, you're going to run the obstacle course anyway. I loathed it. Though at least it meant I had a nice bod' when I grew up, instead of being a little pudge like our kid brother Buck was for the longest time.

Dad was softer on Buck then on us two older boys, I guess 'cause Buck looks so much like Mom did. For a while I went through that nasty period where I hated my Dad and my brother, but once we got old enough to go away to college I got over it. Dad and I still aren't best friends or anything like that, but at least we can talk now, more then we used to. He's changed a lot though, he's nothing like he used to be. Hard to believe he's the same man at all...

Anyway, so, I'm hoping to make it big in music, if I can just land a gig of some kind to start out, anyway. I've got a sweet little house of my own, 15 Dead End Road. I picked the colour scheme as much to annoy my brother - he lives right across the road from me - as because I like the colours. Purple, red, and black. With lots of stainless steel and chrome. Rock on! I popped the extra money to have a hot tub and a swimming pool in back. Heart shaped, and tiled in red.

Did I forget to mention I'm a romance sim? Though personally I believe in quality over quantity, you won't see me trying to juggle twenty lovers at once or making out with all the service personnel. Not that my brother believes me, but then, he's always tended to form an opinion and then stick to it come hell or high water. And he decided early on that romance sims are Up To No Good. All the time, with anything that'll stand still long enough for it.

I don't think he believes I've never even kissed anyone yet. I know, you're thinking - "What!? But you just graduated college... make out heaven!". Yeah, yeah, I know, but I never met anyone there I felt was the right one. Sure I'm interested in gettign involved with someone - but it's not just the mechanics of it all I'm interested in. I want real romance, you know? The right person, the right moment, Fate taking a hand... destiny! And I'm willing to wait for the right person to show up. I've got time.

I hadn't been in the house very long before the Welcome Wagon showed up. Nervous Subject, Lola, and Bella Curious - she married Pascal, can you believe it! (story here, here, here and here). God but she is one foxy lady. And a romance sim too. But taken, very taken. And a recent mother, to boot - she and Pascal even had a son together, little Fermi Curious.

I prepared the traditional lunch meat sandwiches, even though I learned how to cook pretty good while in college. After they'd gone and I'd washed up, I went upstairs and practised on my guitar for a few hours. Got to keep in practise if you want to get ahead in this game called life.

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Originally Posted by MsBarrows

Got to keep in practise if you want to get ahead in this game called life.

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We're not gonna let the elevator bring us down! (assuming that was the ancient pop culture reference you were making)

Awesome beginning.

Tank Grunt

Well, like the others I bought a nice little house in the new development too - 14 Dead End Road. I went for a pretty neutral colour scheme - got to keep the resale value someday in mind, after all. Cream stucco exterior, pale green interior walls, lots of nice wood in natural tones. I've got a big pond out back, for fishing, and a small garden in the patio area; you don't need very much garden space to keep one person reasonably well supplied with fresh veggies, after all. Couple citrus trees out front, maybe I'll get some fresh oranges or lemons occasionally.

The usual Welcome Wagon dropped by - Nervous, Lola and Bella. They seemed a bit standoffish, Lola and Nervous ate in the kitchen rather then joining me at the table, and Bella was watching something on TV and didn't eat at all. Not exactly a very welcoming welcome wagon, is it. I guess they get a bit tired of lunch meat sandwiches, especially on days like today when there's multiple households to visit.

Anyway, we all talked for a while, and after I'd seen them out, I got on the phone and talked with all the others. Sounds like we all had pretty much the same kind of day, moving in. Johnny sounded even quieter then usual, I think he doesn't like being on his own very much - none of us do, really, even in the dorm there were always other people around. Now we're all out on our own for real.

When I went to bed that night I found myself wondering what the future would have in store for the four of us.

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Since all of the sims for this are living in houses with identical floorplans, I thought I'd show you just what that floorplan is! These are screenshots of Melody's house, the others ares pretty much identicla except for finishes and some minor furniture differences.

1st Floor - at the far left of the screen you can see a bit of the driveway. Stretching from left to right across the front of the ground floor is a single big room, at the left end it's a living room area, right end is a dining room, and then partially seperated from it by a half-wall is the kitchen area at the back right, with a door leading to an outside patio area. In the middle of the back of the house is the downstairs bathroom, and at the back left is the master bedroom. A staircase leads upwards from over near the kitchen to the second floor.

2nd Floor - as you can see from this shot, the space along the front of the house is actually open all the way up to the roof. The upstairs hallway and the two rooms to either side have windowed walls overlooking the lower area, plus lots of windows facing out over the back yard. There's also an upstairs washroom. The uses of these two rooms varies from house to house, they're mostly empty right now, meant for home office or hobby space, or future children, though Ripp already has one of his stuffed with musical instruments.

Very interesting stories, MsB!

I love the heart shaped pool, btw.

-Taco

Melody Tinker

I loved waking up in my new home. I was in such a good mood, I took the time to make pancakes for breakfast, which is normally more of a Sunday morning thing for me to do. Afterwards, I checked the job listings in the newspaper, and found an opening for a substitute teacher. They conducted a phone interview after I faxed them my resume, and I was told to show up for work bright and early the next morning.

I'd gone outside to check the mail and pay my first bills when I saw her. An old woman in a brightly coloured outfit, stainding at the end of the street, staring out at the desert. Oh dear lord... it was a gypsy! I felt a chill run down my spine. This must be fate!

I approached her and said hello.

She smiled. "Hello, child. Are you ready for your destiny?"

"Yes," I managed to croak out. "Yes I am!"

"Cross my palm with silver," she told me. A fairly traditional gypsy request, though in this day and age it's simoleons that are used, not silver. I knew enough of the stories about gypsies that I emptied the contents of my wallet out onto her palm - an entire §4000.

She smiled at me. "A generous amount, from a generous heart. You will do well, my child," she said, then gazed into her crystal ball. It glowed almost blindingly brightly, there was a loud thud, and I turned around to see a young man in a suit rising to his feet, one hand pressed to his head. The gypsy stepped forward and introduced us. "Melody Tinker, this is Matthew Howe," she told me, then smiled. "You will have much to talk about. Good-bye, my dear," she said, and dissapeared off in the direction of town. It was only later that I realised I'd never told her my name, but she'd known it anyway...

Matthew was feeling a bit dazed, so we went indoors and sat down on the floor and just talked for a while.

"I've heard of the gypsy matchmakers, but I never expected to find myself being snatched up by one like that!" he exclaimed, then smiled as he looked me over. "Not that I'm complaining, mind you..."

I smiled back. He was passingly handsome and I must admit I have a weakness for long-haired men. And I could tell that under that suit he had a pretty nice body, too, which certainly never hurts!

It wasn't long until the two of us were openly flirting with each other. Clearly the attraction was mutual! In fact - it wasn't long before we found ourselves in each other's arms, exchanging a friendly hug. I already felt like I'd known Matthew for years, when he'd only just literally dropped into my life an hour or two before.

Somehow we got onto the topic of likes and dislikes, and Matthew admitted, with a twinkle in his eye, that he doesn't like overly skinny women! Which made me feel a little self-conscious, actually, since I've been grimly fighting the battle of the bulge since I was just a teenager. There are reasons I usually only allow myself things like pancake breakfasts once a week...

I found myself really liking Matthew, and making an extra effort to be extra charming with him. And then... I found myself kissing him! It was wonderful!

I think by then it was obvious to both of us that we were feeling pretty smitten about each other.

Well, we talked, and we danced, and we told each otehr jokes, and, yes, we hugged and kissed some more, and the next thing we knew it was already evening and we were sitting down to supper together. A whole day had vanished, just like that, while we got to know each other better. Eventually he sighed and looked at his watch, and admitted he needed to leave soon. He's in a medical career.

Our good-bye kiss was pretty passionate. I still had stars in my eyes when I finally went to bed that night.

I think I'm in love. No, I know I'm in love.

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At the end of the date, they were at 100/44 and she had two bolts for him. Their good-bye kiss finally unlocked the "Make Out" option, which had she gotten it even a few seconds earlier, would probably have enabled me to extend the date length again and maybe even get them as far as a 1st Date woohoo, proposal, and marriage. Curses! Foiled again!

And he brought her a bouquet of roses

Johnny Smith

First thing in the morning, even before the sun rose, I headed out to my fishing hole. Fish tend to bite well in the morning and evening. It wasn't long until I found myself reeling in a nice little bass.

After a breakfast of cold cereal, I checked the job listings. Nothing at all in my line. I read the paper too, wincing at some of the horrible captions and the poor writing. I can do better then that! I just need a chance to show people what I can do...

I was outside in the front yard, playing with a little stray dog that had wandered up to me, when the Welcome Wagon put in a belated appearance, and apoligised profusely for having missed me the day before. I really wasn't in the mood to make nice with the neighbours by then, so after talking to them just long enough to be polite, I told them good-bye. I was just about to go back in the house when I spotted an old woman in a brightly coloured outfit coming along the sidewalk from the direction of Melody's house. A gypsy!

Well, even I know fate when it comes traipsing right up to my door! So, I went and talked to the old woman.

"Are you ready to meet your destiny?" she asked.

"I guess so," I said, feeling a bit thrown by her question. Was I? Was I really ready, so soon after Ophelia?

"Cross my palm with silver," she told me.

"What!?" I asked, nervously. Silver? What does she mean?

She sighed. "Dates aren't free, child. Cash in advance."

"Oh," I blinked, and dug into my pocket. How much should I give her... I didn't want to seem like a tightwad or anything, but I didn't want to be extravagant either... "Is §500 enough?" I asked anxiously as I placed it into her hand.

She looked at the money for a moment, then shrugged, the bills vanishing somewhere into her voluminous clothing. "It'll do," she said, then muttered over her ball for a moment. An eldery black woman appeared. We looked at each other. We looked at the gypsy.

"What, for a measly §500 you were maybe expecting Bella Goth?" she said. "I don't do miracles, sonny," she said, and stalked off, muttering to herself.

I guess §500 wasn't enough for a good date.

The old woman looked me over, then snorted and stuck out her hand. "Deloris Carter. And you are...?"

"Johnny Smith," I told her, shaking it gingerly.

"Well, let's get this over with," she said. "I need to get back to the college soon, I'd just finished serving the omelettes and those are only good for a few hours before they go off, you know," she said.

"Yes, I know," I agreed, memories of the odour of fly-blown eggs dancing though my head from my recent college days.

It must have been the wrong thing to say. She glared at me, then snorted. "College boys!"

I tried to warm her up a little by giving her a gift - a cell phone, and one of my fresh-caught bass. Her reception of it was rather lukewarm. Maybe I should have left out the fish.

It seemed I just couldn't say or do the right things around Deloris. It wasn't long until she was angrily telling me to stop bragging about myself. Well, I'm sorry, but I couldn't think of anything else to talk about but my plans to becoem an investigative journalist!

This whole gypsy date thing had me feeling pretty stressed by now.

I don't know what came over me then. I guess I figured the date couldn't go much worse then it already was, so I pulled out a water balloon and flung it at Deloris. To my surprise, she laughed delightedly, and we started chasing each other around the yard, throwing balloons at each other. Man, but does Deloris ever throw a mean balloon!

And then I guess I got carried away. I tried to tickle her. She didn't like that at all!

"Keep your cotton-picking hands to yourself, college boy!" she snarled. "Okay, enough of this. I have omelettes to go throw out. You owe me taxi fare back to La Fiesta," she added. With a sigh I gave her the taxi fare. She stalked away, leaving me feeling pretty glum about the whole thing.

I went indoors and had a late lunch (or early supper) of my leftover bass. Somehow it didn't taste as good now as it had last night. I was feeling pretty tired out by my encounter with Deloris, so I went and lay down and took a nap for most of the afternoon.

I phoned Tank that evening and told him all about my disastrous day. He sounded sympathetic, but I couldn't get over the feeling that he was fighting back laughter more then once.

Maybe tomorrow will be a better day.

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I'm trying out a harder version of the rules with Johnny - he can only attempt interactions that he or his date has a current want or fear of. Once their date started tanking, she mainly just had fears, and since their relationship wasn't building well, most things he wanted to try she refused. They ended with a date just a little better then "Bad" and with their relationship at 25/5.

Awwww, poor guy! I'd be happy to comfort your (apparently straight) Johnny, I really would...ceptin' he's not real, nor am I a Sim. Details, details.

Ripp Grunt

First thing in the morning, I got the paper and looked for any job listings. Nothing in music, oh well. I had my favorite breakfast of Lucky Charms cereal, and practised with my guitar a bit before going outside to check the mail.

An old woman in a brightly coloured outfit was standing on the sidewalk looking a little lost.

"Can I help you?" I asked.

She smiled at me. "The real question is, can I help you," she smiled. "Are you ready to meet you destiny, child?"

"Sure!" I smiled.

"Cross my palm with silver," she told me.

That wasn't too hard to figure out the meaning of - cash, and plenty of it. I had §3000 on me, and forked it over, hoping that what Melody had told us about giving Fate a chance proved to be right.

The gypsy smiled. "You're a good boy at heart, Ripp," she told me. "You at least have a chance with this," she added, then made mystic passes over her crystal ball.

I kid you not, a young girl fell out of the sky. Ask Vidcund and Ophelia Curious if you don't believe me, they were walking by and saw the whole thing!

Anyway, the gypsy introduced me to the young woman, who turned out to be a college student named Alma Thornton. A very pretty college student. How had I missed noticing her when I was at La Fiesta myself!?

The gypsy left, crossing over the street toward my brother's house, and Alma and I rather self-consciously chatted for while, then played catch. Alma has a good throwing arm.

It wasn't long before I started flirting with her. She seemed pretty receptive to it, and she laughed a lot when I started tickling her. And then... oh, gods... I think I blew it. I tried to hug her and she took offense. It took some fast talking to get her calmed back down and in a good mood again.

After that we started talking about what we both like and dislike. I like fit people and would love to see what Alma looks like in a bikini... she admitted she likes... hats. I am so not a hat person!

Well, I laid on a little extra charm, but all too soon she told me she needed to get back to the college for her next class.

I spent the day thinking about her, wishing our date had gone better. As I ate a solitary dinner that night, I hoped she'd agree to see me again. I took a nice relaxing bubble bath and then turned in for the night.

----------

Alma only ever had one of her want slots showing anyhting date related, everything else was obsessing about college-related activities, grrr. So even though she liked most of what he was trying, it wasn't earning him date points and they never got a time extension, so the date was pretty short. I think Johnny's bad date lasted longer then this did! Poor Ripp!

It ended with them at 23/3 and he had one bolt for her, and the score was only just barely up to "good". I'm hoping that since it wasn't a disaster she'll agree to come back tomorrow, and actually get date-related wants this time.

Tank Grunt

I baked myself an apple turnover for breakfast the next morning. I'm not a particularly good cook, so my fridge is currently pretty full of things I just need to defrost and heat. For a premade frozen pastry, it was actually pretty tasty.

I spent part of the morning looking for work without any luck, then went outside and did a little yard work, trimming the citrus trees in front of my house. I had just finished with them when an old woman in a very bright outfit came across the street and stopped, standing there and looking expectantly at me. A gypsy!

Memories of that conversation in the bar with Melody came back to me... Okay, I decided, I have nothing better to do today, it can't hurt to give this a shot. I approached the woman.

"Are you ready to meet your destiny?" she asked.

"Yes ma'am," I answered.

"Cross my palm with silver," she told me. I didn't have much on my, only §1500, but I handed it all to her. She smiled, then peered into her brightly glowing crystal ball. I heard a thud and turned to se a dark-haired young woman sprawled out on the ground nearby. I hurried over and helped her to her feet, then turned back to thank the gypsy. She was gone. I scratched my head, perplexed at how she could have vanished so quickly, then turned back around. The woman had vanished too!

A moment later I realised she hadn't vanished, she'd just gone into the house already. She was making herself comfortable on the sofa when I walked in. I went over and introduced myself to her. Her name, it turned out, was Jasmine Rai, and like me, she's a popularity sim.

"You're taking this all pretty calmy," I told her.

She shrugged. "This isn't the first time I've been on a gypsy-induced date," she told me, a smile twitching at the corner of her lips. "I met my ex-boyfriend that way, actually."

"Oh," I said disconcerted and a bit worried.

She smiled reassuring. "He's an ex-boyfriend because he turned out to be a romance sim, and I caught him dating more women. And men," she added. "Apart from that we got along pretty well, so I'm willing to give the gypsy matchmakers another chance."

"Oh," I smiled happily this time. "Well, what should we do first?" I asked her.

She smiled in the direction of my stereo. It wasn't long before the two of us were dancing together. I'm ashamed to admit it, but for all my prowess in other areas of physical endeavour... well, I suck at dancing. Still, she was smiling when the music ended. That's always a good sign. What's that saying, about leaving them laughing?

Well, I started laying on the charm a little, and rather to my astonishment, Jasmine turns out to be shy! A shy popularity sim... now that's a conflicted personality for you! I wondered if maybe inside every shy sim is a party animal longing to get out.

We talked a bit more, about likes and dislikes - and she admitted she really liked fit men. The way she eyed me when she said it actually had me blushing a little.

It eventually came out in our talk that in addition to being shy she was horribly self-conscious about her looks. She dressed the way she did, with the heavy kohl eyeliner and the tightly rolled hair and the tattooes (vanity tattoos, she admitted) so that people would be looking at the way she dressed and not looking at her instead.

Well, I was already pretty sure that under all the camoflage, she was actually pretty good-looking, and I managed to talk her into letting me give her a makeover. She was a bit surprised at me knowing anything about makeup. I shrugged. "One of my friends was in the theatre major in college," I explained. "He couldn't always apply his makeup himself, so he taught me how to do it."

So I let her hair down out of the tight little buns, and streaked it - it turned out to be a gorgeous red, not the brunette I'd originally thought - and did her makeup. She stared open-mouthed in the mirror when she was done. "I... I look so elegant!" she exclaimed.

I'd been sure she was pretty, but I hadn't expected just how gorgeous she actually was.

She smiled at me. "Now it's your turn, Tank" she told me. "I'd love to see what you look like with a little jewellery," she said.

So I sat down and she dug through the contents of the vanity, and found a nice little celtic interlace necklace and some studs for my ears. It stung a bit when she pierced them, but I have to admit I kind of liked how I looked when she was done. The little studs did add a certain something to my appearance.

We danced again, no music needed, just holding each other in each other's arms and moving slowly together. It was wonderful... until I stepped on her foot, anyway. I apoligised profusely of course.

She smiled at me. "You need dancing lessons before we try that again," she informed me. Which made me smile, since it implied we'd be seeing each other in future.

It was late afternoon by then and both of us were feeling hungry, so we went back downstairs and I made sushi. I can't cook worth beans, but sushi actually involves very little cooking, apart from the rice, and I do know enough to measure ingredients into a rice cooker and turn it on! Anyway, a nicely prepared platter of sushi always looks impressive.

Okay, so I'll admit I've picked up a few tips from Ripp over the years about how to impress the ladies. For someone whose never actually dated seriously - which I don't think he realises I know - he's pretty knowledgable about the subject.

The meal went well. And after it... we kissed. It was amazing.

I was just sorry the date had to come to an end. Our good-bye kiss was very tender. She smiled as she left, giving me an intense look, like she was memorising every feature of my face.

I went back outdoors and weeded the garden, my mind filled with thoughts of Jasmine rather then paying any real attention to what my hands were doing. I accidently pulled up a couple of tomato plants, and ended up replacing them with a cucumber vine and a strawberry bush instead.

Shortly after dark I heard the front doorbell ring, but when I went to look, there was no one there... but there was a rose bud in a vase on my front walkway. From Jasmine.

I'm in love.

----------

They started out with two bolts, after the makeovers he had three! I forgot to note down the final date score, I think It was 100/41 or thereabouts/.

I'm glad that at least one of the boys had a nice date.

-Taco

Awww, Tank...
Gay, straight, bi, or none of the above, I just LOVE Tank. So much. And I love Ripp's makeover.
Johnny's date was hilarious. Poor guy!

Melody Tinker

I got up the next morning and went to the kitchen, and after staring at the box of low calorie, high fibre, 100% organic vitamin-and-mneral laced breakfast cereal for a couple minutes, I smiled, put it back in the cupboard, and made myself pancakes for breakfast again.

It wasn't until I was on my way out the door for my first day at my new job that I saw the pinball machine standing out in the front yard. A rare 1950's Election Day pinball machine... with a little card attached to it, saying it was from Matthew. If the driver hadn't already been beeping her horn, I'd have gone back indoors to call him right away.

My euphoria carried me easily through the day, and I did so well filling the substitute teacher position that I was offered an opening as an elementary school teacher. I cheerfully accepted.

As soon as I got home, I called Matthew and invited him out to dinner downtown to celebrate. He accepted. and his affectionate greeting when we met in front of FM left no doubt in my mind that he wanted to see me as badly as I wanted to see him. The wait for our table seemed to last an age of the world. We just stood there, smiling at each other, oblivious to the others around us, until the host finally told us our table was ready. Both Ripp and Tank later mentioned having seen me there... I never even noticed anyone but Matthew.

We sat down and ordered our meal - lobster - then after the server left, Matthew slid around the table until he was sitting right beside me. Silently, we smiled at each other and held hands until the food arrived. I don't even remember what it tasted like. It was probably really good, FM has a great reputation, but all I cared about was Matthew, sitting beside me.

We were just getting up from the table after paying the bill when Matthew grimaced and reached up, rolling one shoulder.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Oh, nothing... just a muscle cramp. Had a long surgery earlier today and it required me standing in an awkward position to reach things." he said.

I gave him a warm smile. "Turn around," I told him.

"What?" He asked, puzzled.

"Just do it," I insisted. He turned his back and I gave him a quick massage. He sighed in relief as the cramp eased.

"Where'd you learn to massage like that?" he asked. "You have magic fingers!"

I laughed. "Everyone in my family, except me now that I've moved away from home, works in the family business. We would stand hunched over workbenches all day... group massage breaks are a bit of a family tradition," I grinned. "My mother taught me most of what I know."

"Ah," he smiled, enlightened. "Remind me to thank her some day, clearly she's a most excellant teacher."

I laughed, and we hugged. It felt so good to be in Matthew's arms...

"Let's go back to my place," I suggested softly. Matthew smiled and followed me out of the restaurant. I called a cab, and then we kissed passionately, both of us knowing what was going to happen when we got there.

My clothes ended up in a trail from the front door to the bed, and it wasn't long until his joined them on the floor.

It was everything I'd always dreamed it would be... the right moment, the right man.

I woke later that night, the bed empty, and rushed out of the room in a panic, only to find Matthew just emerging from the bathroom.

"What's wrong!?" he asked, alarmed by my sticken appearance.

"I... I thought you'd left," I said in a small voice.

He enfolded me in a loving hug.

"Don't leave me," I whispered.

"I wasn't planning to... not until morning," he smiled back.

"No," I said, dropping to one knee in front of him, and producing a ring. "I mean really don't ever leave me."

He stared in shock at the ring for a moment, then put it on, wordlessly. He stood and we just held each other tightly for a few minutes, both of us fighting to regain our composure.

Neither of us wanted to wait to marry. We could have a party for our family and friends later, perhaps... but right now, we dressed up and went out back to my patio, and were married there. Then we went back to bed, hand in hand.

I woke again in the predawn darkness, ravenous with hunger. I must not have eaten as much of the lobster as I thought I had... I wolfed down a big plate of leftover salad.

As I was washing up the plate and fork, my stomach gurgled again.

So I made pancakes for breakfast.

----------

Matthew brought §1000 to the marriage, is a knowledge sim, a Sagittarius, and is a Specialist in the medical career. He has four other friends (all female... hrmmmm), likes swimwear and makeup, and dislikes black hair. He also has silver badges in operating a cash register and making toys.

Melody earned a cleaning skill point from him when the date ended, hahaha!

And yes, she's pregnant already

This is the second sim that I've had tell their date a like or dislike that they don't actually have. I'm not sure if they fib if their relationship isn't good enough yet, or if the "Ask" interactions sometimes reveal hidden preferences.

Go Melody! Woo, married on the second date!

(They've been fibbing for me too, occasionally, but not about likes and dislikes. Sterling lied about his sign, for example - he's not actually a Leo....and I *know* I've seen them lie about how much money they have.)

Johnny Smith

I went fishing again the next morning. It failed to sooth me. And the paper still had a remarkable absense of journalistic jobs. After dithering around the hosue for a while, dusting surfaces that were already clean, and re-arranging everything in the cutlery drawer, I found myself standing staring at the phone.

It wasn't at all hard to find her number through the campus directory. I was a recent enough graduate that my access code still worked. I called Deloris.

"Hello, Deloris? This is Johnny... we met yesterday. Yes, the boy who gave you the fish. Anyway, I was wondering if you'd like to get together again and... no? Oh, okay. No, I won't call again. Good-bye Miss Carter."

Well, so much for that. I think Melody's ideas about Fate might be a little wrong. Clearly Deloris and I weren't fated to be together. Which, I must admit, left me feeling a little relieved. I hadn't thought that elderly black women were quite my type.

I was watching the sports channel later, trying to cheer myself up, when I felt a weird chill go down my spine. I turned and looked out the window, and saw the gypsy standing otuside, staring at me through the window. As if in a daze, I found myself walking outside and going over to her.

"Are you ready for your destiny this time, child?" she asked, an amused gleam in her eye. "Finished punishing yourself for loosing your old girlfriend?"

"Yes," I meekly admitted, feeling like a chastised child. "I think I am."

It wasn't until much later that I wondered how she knew about Ophelia. Today, I simply handed over all the money in my wallet - §2000 - and hoped for the best.

A minute later I found myself being introduced to a rather stunning young woman named Leona Summers. She was... amazing. Beautiful. Young - still in college, actually.

She smiled as we went indoors, and was soon laughing at my jokes. We danced for a while - she's very light on her feet, a joy to dance with.

I tried to teach her how to play kicky-ball, but she couldn't quite get the hang of it and kept dropping the ball. But she was a good sport about it, and both of us were smiling and laughing about her blunders.

We told each other a bit about ourselves. She admitted to me that she loves blond hair. Given that she's a red head, I carefully omitted telling her that I prefer blondes too. Even I know when discretion is in order! We ended up sitting down on the floor, and just hanging out together, yakking away. It all felt so natural.

We both turned out to be fans of the La Fiesta Llamas, and did a rousing rendition of the school cheer for them. I was trying to be as charming as I could be, and so far Leona seemed to be liking the attention. We did the school cheer a second time, but were a bit too enthusistic with the arm gestures. Leona pulled a muscle in her back, and I had to massage it out.

I walked out to the sidewalk with her - she had to go soon, unfortunately - and discovered she was ticklish. She told me she'd loved our date, and hoped to see me again. She kissed me good-bye and left.

I have to admit I was on cloud nine as I cooked dinner for myself. Leona was just so nice... I found myself hoping things would work out well between the two of us. While I was cooking a rose from Leona mysteriously appeared on my doorstep. For the first time since Ophelia left me, I started feeling good about my future.

Tank wasn't home that evneing, so I ended up calling Melody instead. She was too excited to talk for long... apparently she'd just gotten married! Well, that was fast. I didn't even know she was seeing anyone!

----------

The date ended with their relationship at 100/13 - he has two bolts for her.

I decided that since the "Ask" interactions don't have any wants/fears related to them, that he can do "Ask..." whenever he wants to. The "Do you like what you see?" turned out to be particularly valuable, since it forces a wants/fears reroll. I don't think he'd have had anywhere near as nice a date without it; since she's a student, she too spent most of the date obsessing about school rather then thinking about what she'd like him to do, forcing a reroll usually at least got a "talk to Johnny" want showing again. I was SO relieved when the "want to flirt with Johnny" want came up instead later in the date - it was within 20 seconds of timing out. He flirted, and with the clock down to 6 seconds got a time extension at last. Whew!

Hopefully she'll be much less school-obsessed on the second date.

Ripp Grunt

Still no openings for musicians in the paper today. I hope I find a job soon - I've got bills to pay, and my savings will only stretch so far.

With trepidation in my heart I phoned Alma. I was delighted when she agreed to come over and see me again. I think she likes me!

Though I was a bit disconcerted when she seemed bored by my conversation. Still I did my best to be charming, which she clearly liked.

We went indoors and danced for a while, eventually segueing into a slow dance. I held her hands for a moment when it ended, then impulsively kissed her. It was nice.

I tried to start a conversation again, but again she seemed bored. Okay, so weather isn't the most exciting topic I could have thought of, but surely it's something everyone can talk about!?

I decided to really pile on the attention. Alma loved the kiss, and enjoyed the little relazing back rub I gave her too.

She smiled back over her shoulder at me. "I love how that feels," she purred. "You have talented hands, Ripp."

"Thanks," I said, grinning.

It was a warm day, so the two of us went swimming out back. She was amused by my heart-shaped pool.

The sight of her in her little pink bikini... did things to me. I kissed her hand.

"I think I'm falling in love with you," I told her.

She smiled and laughed. I couldn't help myself - I put my arms around her and kissed her passionately. The way she kissed me back left no doubt in my mind that she was interested. She was still completely uninterested in talking about anything. Clearly she liked physical attention and wasn't so big on having a meeting of minds as well.

She abruptly declared she was going to be late for class and left. I was left feeling a bit... confused. Finding the rather extravagent bouquet of roses she left for me later only made it worse.

I went upstairs and played the piano for a while, trying to sort out my feelings for Alma. I did like her, a lot, at least in a physical attraction kind of way. But... I want more then just someone to jump into the sack with. If that's all I wanted, I could have had it years ago, when I first went off to college. The fact that I seemed unable to have an intelligent covnersation with her worried me.

I found myself lying on the couch downstairs, brooding about it, until it was time to go meet Tank downtown.

----------

She really is getting bored and having bad conversation fears fulfilled every time he tries to talk with her. The only talk interaction that didn't go bad was a gossip, gah. And she suddenly got low needs and took off with 31 seconds still on the date clock; they were outside by the hot tub at the time and had been kissing a lot, I think she may have gotten overheated. At the end of the date they were at 100/41 and one bolt.

Tank Grunt

I went out back and fished for a while first thing the next morning. I could see Johnny doing the same next door, though he soon dissapeared indoors again. A little cat wandered up and watched me interestedly for a while, curling up on the ground nearby. Suddenly I got a strike, and hauled in a decent sized bass. The cat gave me a hopeful look. I laughed.

"Sorry, kitty, this is my meal you're looking at," I told it. The cat went back to washing it's face, in an obvious "I didn't really want fish anyway" way.

I checked the paper for jobs - still nothing in law - then called up Jasmine and invited her to meet downtown for lunch. She readily agreed, and it wasn't too much longer before I was standing in front of Red's Famous '50s Diner, regailing her with funny stories about aliens.

Both of us were in a playful mood and maybe a bit giddy. I found myself tickling her, then we got into a huge pillow fight. Don't as me where we found pillows in the middle of the downtown core... this is Strangetown after all. Pillows just kind of happen.

I sighed and held her hands, smiling tenderly at her. "I hope you're falling in love with me," I told her, "Because I know I'm already crazy about you."

She smiled, her eyes gleaming happily. "That's so sweet," she told me, then tugged on my hand. "Come on," she said, and lead me indoors by the hand, right over to the jukebox. She started something slow playing, and we moved into each other's arms. It was a beautiful moment... until I stepped on her foot again. Doh!

"Ouch, damn!" she hissed, hoping on one foot while trying to cradle the other. She looked up at my, annoyance in her eyes, then seeing the stricken look on my face, suddenly had a mercurial chance of mood and started laughing. She grinned at me. "Dancing lessons," she told me.

I nodded. "Dancing lessons," I sgreed. "Here, let me make it up to you," I told her, and gave her a massage, first her poor stomped foot and then her shoulders.

She stretched like a cat when I was done. "That was wonderful," she smiled at me.

"You're wonderful," I told her, and gave her a hug. Okay, so maybe our clinch was a little tight, but we weren't, like, opening groping each other or anything... but nevertheless, the next thing we know some sour-faced prune is clearing her throat nastily to get our attention, then started flailing at Jasmine with her purse while sputtering about young people and public lewdity. Finally she stalked off.

"Oh, gees, Jasmine," I apoligised. "This is just so not going well, is it... let's skip eating out and just go back to my place or something. I can fix us something there, though it won't be anything special."

Jasmine smiled at me. "I'd like that," she said.

So we went back outside and I phoned for a cab, then turned and grinned at Jasmine. "Where were we before that old bat interupted us?" I asked.

Jasmine smiled. "I think we were about to kiss," she told me. So, we did.

And wouldn't you know it - the prune showed up again and this time started whaling on me with her handbag! "Geesus, lady, what asylum challenge did they let you out of!" I exclaimed once she was safely out of earshot. Jasmine was laughing so hard she could barely breathe. Okay, so maybe it was kind of funny. Still, it hurt. What does the old bag have in that purse, anyway? Bricks?

When we got home I made us a light snack - nothing fancy or that required cooking, just some bagels with cream cheese and fresh strawberries. We had fun licking the cheese off our fingers and feeding each other strawberries.

As I was clearing the table, all I could do was feel amazed that this beautiful woman enjoyed my company.

We sat down together and watched TV, soon ignoring it in favor of just cuddling together. I pulled her into my lap and we started to kiss. In pretty short order we were making out right there on the couch. It was with great difficulty that I managed to restrain myself and get to my feet, pulling Jasmine by the hand to get her to stand up as well.

My mouth was dry as a bone as I dropped to one knee before her. "Jasmine... will you marry me?" I asked, my blood roaring in my ears so loudly I could barely hear it when she exclaimed "Yes!" and took the ring from my hand, putting it on her finger and staring at in in open-mouthed amazement. I rose and put my arms around her.

"I think I'm gong to faint," she giggled. "My knees have gone all weak."

"Don't do that," I smiled, then kissed her, putting everything I had into it.

Something started beeping, and she pulled out her cell phone and peered at it. "Oh, damn!" she exclaimed. "I'll be late if I don't leave now... oh, Tank - I wish I didn't have to go!" she exclaimed, kissed me, and ran out the door.

I wandered around the house for a while, a goofy grin on my face, feeling dazed, then suddenly remembered I was supposed to meet Ripp downtown and it was almost time. I hurried out the door.

While I was gone that night, Jasmine left me gifts... a bouquet of roses and a hot tub!

----------

The dated ended with them at 100/74 and three bolts. The Propose -> Marriage interaction still hadn't come up, though he got Propose -> Engagement before he even fell in love with her. He fell in love during the kiss after the proposal. Oddly Propose -> Move In hadn't come up either - I'm now paranoid that even though she wasn't showing any college related obsessions, that she's actually a playable college sim or something - I'll have to go check all the dorms and make sure before I play their third date, and graduate her if necessary.