Exciting stuff, as always, Lynet. I can't wait to find out what happened to Joe! And who the crazy guy was ... though I have my theories. You sell yourself short, BTW. Your story would hold just fine without the pictures. And the pictures are good enough that you wouldn't need much story to go with them. We're just lucky that you provide both.
I think your pictures are much better than mine! I always seem to take them too late, when the action that I'm talking about has already happened and the sim is walking away... If you're talking about something that's closer than you could've managed, the only thing I use sometimes is Camera mode, where you push tab and push Z repeatedly to zoom in...unless you already know what I'm talking about. Elaborate on what has amazed you, please!
How about Miss Cara's shadow on the living room floor. She was upstairs wasn't she? And the guy floating on his back in the swimming pool. I've never had anyone do that or have the option available. I was mystified.
That was a bug...I was mystified myself. And if you click on your sim when he's swimming in the pool, you get the option to float on back. I bet you feel embarassed now, dontcha?
Big time. And that's also why I tune in here. Gracious me, I thought I'd seen all the options. Found a new one somewhere and downloaded it. A hack that gives your sim the option to sleep on the floor. Cool, I thinks. But no, turns out it's an energy drain hack. Errol went to sleep...standing up. Oh well, one more hack in the discard heap.
I don't download any hacks, but when I first got Uni and played with an experimentation family, all of the young adults had the option to sleep on the floor when I clicked on them. Weird.
A short update because I'm at work and have been thinking about Errol and Joe... Jerzy told Kate he'd had more fun today then he'd had in months and that she should give him a call any time she needed help with anything. I shook his hand and thanked him. After he was gone, Kate tried to persuade me to leave the old house and go home but I wanted to wait around in case the mirrors showed up. Maybe they were on a different schedule than the ones Harcourt and I had jumped through so many times before. Kate wouldn't leave me alone. She said it was just in case the crazy man showed up again and attacked me. That's right. Nothing to do with not trusting me, although I assured her I had no intention of leaping into the unknown again. She stayed. She also ordered Chinese carryout and we sat on the floor eating and talking. Kate wondered what had happened to the urn I'd seen in the basement because she and Jerzy found no trace of it. I didn't care about the urn. I was more worried about Ania. Kate wasn't. She was convinced that Joe would come back for her and that they'd live happily ever after, Ania and her handsome prince. I kept my mouth shut but wasn't able to keep my face blank. "What's that look for, Lover?" "What look? I'm not looking." "Yes, you are. You don't think Joe is coming back?" "No, I don't. He's got responsibilities to his own people. And I think he accepts that now. It's why he left." "So what are we doing sitting around here? Let's go home." "I'm waiting for Ironsides." "Ironsides? You're kidding me. In the first place, that robot can find its own way back to the house without your help. In the second place, if it's lost, you can build another." "Not like this one." "It's just a robot, Errol." "I wish," I muttered.
LOL. I just love Errol. Kate's smart not to trust him. What a headstrong idiot he is sometimes ... and I hope Joe comes back!! Poor Ania.
You know I can see Ania headed off on an adventure with Joe through those mirrors some day. Maybe Kate too! Wouldn't that be fun for the mirrors to be passed down through the generations of both families?! Maybe Errol will get to meet a future great grand child when the kid steps through the mirrors right into Errol and Kates living room. Ruth
Youre a mess, she said, then made a face. Why are you laughing? Her face, hair and clothes were grey with dust. Clouds of it rose from the floor every time a car went down the street. Because youre wonderful. Have I told you that recently? I lay back on the floor, stretched my arms over my head and yawned. Whats this flattery all of a sudden? Youre trying to distract me, arent you? Wont work. Youre not forgiven and Im not letting you out of my sight. Does that mean youre going to quit your job? If thats what it takes to keep you from doing something stupid again. We made a vow, until death do us part. I was thinking as we said those words that wed go a long way before then, you and me. Maybe all the way to 90. But this morning I thought it was going to be a whole lot sooner. Im sorry, Kate. I had no idea this would get so complicated, a double trap set to catch me in order to catch Joe. All I cared about was that someone stole the urn and I wanted it back. It seemed simple. She jumped to her feet and walked angrily back and forth for a minute then leaned over me, her voice big. It was her police voice. Breaking and entering is not simple! Its against the law! Its also dangerous. It could get you killed or back in jail. Dont you ever, EVER do anything like this again or Ill put you behind bars myself. She took a deep breath, rubbing at her forehead, then sat back down on the floor. Its late, Im tired, I have a headache, and I want a bath. Take me home, Errol." The air stirred unexpectedly and I turned my head. The mirrors were back! Then Ironsides strutted through them into the room. If ever a robot with no face can look proud of himself, it was Ironsides at that moment.
Wheres Joe? I said, getting to my feet. This is good armor, said Ironsides. I feel like a young man again. I can fight good, like the old days. You didnt know me in those days, Emil, when I was a young man, but I was strong. I fought a lot. I kept order in the gang. The others came to me for help, for advice. I made decisions and was respected. He rubbed his metal gloves up and down his metal chest. His camera eye rotated, examining the room. This room looks the same. I am surprised, after all this time, that this room would not change. Have you come back every day, Emil? To wait for me? Wheres Joe? Is he OK? Joe? He came back before I did, through the mirrors. But that was yesterday, or the day before. I stood guard because he said he would return, but he didnt, so I came through to look for him. I stand by his side and fight with him, the Rebel Prince. Ironsides puffed out his chest again and flexed the muscles he imagined were inside those metal arms. He might be at the house, Ironsides. Lets go." Hector. I am Sir Hector of Harcourt Castle, or whats left of it. Call me Sir Hector, Emil. But I am not going back to the house. I need to stand guard as he instructed. Come with me, Emil. The Rebel Prince needs men like you and me. He turned as if to step through the mirrors. They had evaporated while he talked to me but that didnt stop him. He ran into the wall with a loud clank of metal. I reached for the switch and powered him down before he could figure out what had happened. I looked at Kate. Can you help me get him into the truck. Well take him home, recharge him and find out what happened. The Rebel Prince? she said, eyes wide. Whats going on, Errolor Emil. Why does he call you Emil? Remember Pleasantview? I told you about that mess with Lothario. Oh, right. So this is the Granddad ghost-in-the-machine you told me about? Yup. Give me a hand with it. Hes a heavy ghost.
Heh. A heavy ghost. Hey! I can post again. How weird ... Oooh, can't wait to find out what happened to Joe. Just had to add: A rebel prince. How romantic!
Kate is stronger than she looks but the robot is all arms and legs and it was slow work carrying him down the old staircase and outside the house. It was dark when we finally dropped him on the sidewalk. She waited with him while I got my truck out of the garage and backed it down the driveway. We loaded him, and ourselves, and it wasn't until we were almost home that I finally started to relax a little. I'm not so casual about breaking and entering as Kate thinks I am. I turned onto Custer Boulevard and was a block away from the house when Kate shifted on her seat. I kept my eyes on the road but I knew she was looking at me. "What was the robot talking about, Errol? A rebellion? A war? And who was that horrible man that Joe was fighting and chased after through the mirrors?" "I don't know what any of it's about. We'll have to wait for Ironsides to tell us." I pulled the truck into the driveway and stared at the store windows. I'd been neglecting the store, not keeping regular hours, not restocking all the inventory we'd sold. It wasn't doing well, and if I didn't give it more attention I'd lose all my regular customers. I scratched at the sore spot on my head where the crazy man had hit me. There was a big lump and my head still ached but I didn't feel dizzy or sick to my stomach so I suppose I'd live to get hit another day. We unloaded the robot and left him on the floor of the shop. I set the alarm and locked up. In the morning I'd get him out into the sun to recharge and then we'd hear the whole story. In the meantime I was going to get some sleep. The phone was ringing when we got into the house. Kate picked it up. "Well, hi there, Sweetheart. How is it going?" I got an ice tray from the refrigerator and made so much noise banging it around to get ice into a towel for my head that I didn't hear any more of the conversation. All the talking seemed to be on the other end of the line anyway. Kate hung up and came over to help me wrap the ice in the towel. Her hands were shaking, but her voice was calm. "Edith's been trying to reach us all day. Ania left the University with a strange man that may have been Joe. She's pretty sure that's who it was." Then Kate started shaking all over and I put my arms around her. "Why, Errol, would he take someone he loves into the middle of a war?"
Eek! I hope it was Joe. If it is he's gonna have a lot of 'splainin to do, but let's hope it wasn't someone else ... And, yeah! You posted.
I'm at work. A couple of pictures of Joe and Ania are ready at home that I'll post after supper. Slow day here and my work is done so I wrote a couple of quick chapters that I'd been thinking about all night in bed. I've been working on things back in Harcourt's homeland. It's much changed because of civil war. A little more yet to be done before I'll have Ironsides' tale and pictures. p.s. I think I should change my avatar again to a guy wearing armor. Maybe my avatar should be Ironsides' face.
Shes safe, Kate. Hed make sure of it. But Im not going to sit around here wondering whats happened. I have to go find them. Im going with you. Absolutely not! We cant risk it. Suppose something were to happen to both of us. Edith would be all alone. Kates arms tightened around me and she pressed her face into my shoulder. I thought I wanted this. I stroked her hair. What? For Ania to live happily with someone who loves her? Thats what I want, too, and she will. As youve said many times, Joe is a good man and it seems you were right--he came back for her. Take Ironsides with you. Hes strong. Weird, but strong." And first thing in the morning well all hear what he has to say about Joes rebellion. Maybe its all over and were worrying about nothing. I just dont understand how Joe got past us. We sat there in front of those mirrors all day Its a time machine. Im betting that he came back for Ania on Saturdaybefore he left on Sunday morning. Dont think about it too hard. Itll make your head hurt. I met myself as a kid because of those things and that is one very creepy feeling, no mistake. She loosened her grip on my ribcage and we kissed very gently, as if for the first time. Her dusty cheeks were damp and I kissed them, too. Then matters started to heat up a little. A couple of days worth of sweat, grime and a lump on the head no longer mattered to either one of us. By some magic we found ourselves upstairs in bed, and after awhile we settled down and fell asleep.
