I do love it when they make me smile. Much better than the more frequent moments when they make me want to scream and tear my hair out. The game now seems to enjoy crashing when Sims try to buy new clothes so I'm afraid you're stuck with the orange outfit for now. Needless to say, I'm working on it.

They all carry softballs, too, in case anyone wants to play catch, hand mirrors so they can gussy up in the middle of nowhere, and an endless supply of water balloons. I have no idea where they carry all this stuff.

A couple of things before I get to the pics. First, a reminder that I'm waiting on info from some of you before the next house goes up. Ignate is ready to install, Invader Bloo needs a body (I'm not working from a pic in his case), and I need personality data from Antgirl1 & Duck2k. After I get all that, we're good to go. Secondly, and more important, y'all may have noticed that some of you have been getting more on-screen time than others. This is purely by chance, nothing more. The game seems to like using Sparky for the Welcome Wagon so she pops up more often than most, and is in the next pic set, too. For the record, the game uses Amanda Blue the most (in the old Valley, that distinction went to Fomalhaut's dad). The game also seems to use some of y'all as walkbys and mall customers etc. more than others but this too is due to random chance. Fair? Probably not. However, while I very rarely intervene in such things I do have hacks available that allow me to do pretty much whatever I please, one of which is a summoning hack. So, if there's any particular goal you'd like to accomplish, or any particular Sim you'd like to meet (Foster's character or otherwise), or whatever, really, all you need to do is let me know and I'll get right to it. After all, we all like a little attention.

Foster's Valley - Center Of Attention

Then there's those of us who like a lot of attention:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...0125/BQK01.jpg

"Hiya, everyone! I am Blooregard Q. Kazoo, the greatest, bestest, most amazingest Imaginary Friend ever! I'm hip, I'm rad, I'm super hot and icy chill, I'm the Total Package! Everyone loves me! I'll prove it, too; watch me now as I charm the papergirl!"

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...0125/BQK02.jpg

Yeah, that went well. After Bloo failed to get a free newspaper from Amy, Terrence came out of the house and told Bloo to quit being a pest:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...0125/BQK03.jpg

"Mom can still change her mind and send you back to that freaky weirdo house with all those, uh, freaky weirdos, y'know. She should've left you there anyway!" Terrence has never been too thrilled about having Bloo back in the house. For those of you who haven't read about it on the old Forum, the story is that Rhonda moved her family from the Pacific Northwest to Foster's Valley in pursuit of her dream of getting into the baseball Hall of Fame; she allowed Bloo back in the house so that Mac would have at least one friend in the new neighborhood. What she didn't know at the time was that Madame Foster and co. were also moving to the Valley (for tax reasons as I recall). Terrence and Bloo do get along better than they used to, but not by much.

Undaunted by his failed attempt to charm Amy, Bloo, bored as usual, went inside in search of something to do. He stopped to examine Rhonda's new china cabinet:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...0125/BQK04.jpg

"Bloo! Get away from there right now!!!" she yelled from the next room. Probably worried that Mr. Destructo and his evil pal Breaky might soon be making another appearance. Can't say that I blame her. Still in need of entertainment, Bloo soon found one of the family's computers (they have two) and in a short time discovered the wonders of the internet:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...0125/BQK05.jpg

One of those wonders was a certain Forum, which he immediately registered on and soon began happily posting away. I didn't have room for the pics but at the time, Rhonda was on the other computer seeking work, Mac was studying, and Terrence was bouncing on a couch in another room. It was quite a busy morning in the Cassiman house. Rhonda, incidentally, found a job at a local law firm; this was perfect for her, as her new goal in life is to become a big-time lawyer. Like so many who survived the passage through F:, her dreams were changed, and she no longer has much interest in baseball. Morning soon became afternoon, and it being Day One at the Cassiman house, that meant a visit from the Welcome Wagon was imminent:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...0125/BQK06.jpg

Yep, it's Dmitri, Bjorn, and Sparky again. Sparky arrived with a particularly determined look on her face, clearly on a mission; the other two just looked sullen, not happy to be doing this again. In the pic, Dmitri is reading Bjorn the riot act: "Stop trying to hug people, you lunatic!" To which Bjorn responded, "But people need hugs! Did you not hug over in Russia?" Dmitri growled and turned on the TV. Sparky rolled her eyes and left them, explored the house, and finally got to meet Terrence:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...0125/BQK07.jpg

Happily, they hit it off very well. I love it when Forum Sims and their favorite Foster's characters like each other. As a matter of fact, I haven't seen any real disagreements between members and characters anywhere in the Valley, at least among those who have met. More to come on that subject, no doubt. Rhonda eventually got around to serving lunch, and Sparky's mission became known:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...0125/BQK08.jpg

Sparky: "So, Bloo, you registered on my Forum earlier today, right? Did you read the rules?"
Bloo: "I looked at 'em. Can I be a mod? I'd be really good at it! What does a mod do, anyway?"
Sparky: "I'm sorry, we don't have any openings. You know, you don't really need to use 68 smilies in every post."
Bloo: "You should have more smilies of me, they're the best ones!"
Sparky: "Um, yeah. Now about double posting-"
Bloo: "I don't do that. Look at my post count! I only made one post today!"
Sparky: "You made twelve. One of my staff merged them and left a bewildered note in the office."
Bloo: "I didn't do it!

I did not did not double post,
I did not do what you hate most,
I do not like green eggs and ham,
I promise that I won't post spam."

At which point everyone did their best not to laugh, and Rhonda nearly died of embarassment. Mac, in the next room, shook his head and sighed, but he smiled while he did it. He later tried to explain Bloo to Sparky:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...0125/BQK09.jpg

"I dunno, he's always been like that. He's been better this last year; maybe he's growing out of it." Not too likely, Mac. Somehow, I think Bloo will always be Bloo. 8-)

Up next: a few more pics to finish up Day One at the Cassiman house.

Lolz. You know if I could I'd go to the house of everyone who registers so I could ask them in person: "Did you read the rules??" 8D

And I honestly believe that if Terrence was real and I met him I'd want to kick his punk heiney. :slybendy:

But honestly I bet the only reason my Sim likes to be part of the Welcome Wagon is so she can bogart some free food...

I told you to use the default Taurus setting, with the Knowledge Aspiration. 8D

Yay, it's Mac and Blooregard! Goofy, goofy Blooregard. I hope Lynnie gets to meet her favorite charactersat some point, too. No pressure to hack though, I want to see what happens on its own. :)

LOL!! 8D

LOL!!! 8D That's hilarious. :P

Woo, go Blooregard! I'm sure you'll win that Amy's heart eventually. And, I totally concur, you'd make one hell of a moderator. :bloocross:

Oh yes, and I love how Terrence's eyebrows are raised in that delightful picture of him and Sparky. He looks so...seductive. :terrsmile:

You know, it just now dawned on me that if I use the InSIMenator to make your Sim selectable while she's at someone else's house, she could grab everyone's lunch, stick it in her inventory, and bring it home. It would work on things like lamps, expensive paintings, and cars, too. Hmm...

Oh, you may rest assured, everybody at both houses will eventually meet, no hacks involved. I'm just not sure when at the moment. The story's working title is "Sheesh, 15 Sims on one lot, please oh please don't let my game crash".

Moderator Bloo: "What?!?! Wilt's thread is longer than mine?? No!! This is not acceptable!!" (Opens Moderator Control Panel. Clicks "Delete Thread".)

Looks like that Serious Conversation I mentioned awhile back will be coming up pretty soon.

Concluding Day One at the Cassiman house...

Having been assurred by Sparky that Bloo was not in immediate danger of getting banned for double posting, Mac told Bloo that all was well, and the boys went outside to play:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...0125/BQK10.jpg

They spent some time trying to impress each other by doing handstands, then ran around the yard playing cops and robbers. I leave it to you all to guess who played the robber. Inside, Rhonda flirted a bit with Dmitri:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...0125/BQK11.jpg

Partly because she seems to genuinely like him, and partly to get him in a better mood so he wouldn't beat the crap out of Bjorn, who had tried to give him a friendly hug again. I wonder about thay guy. The Welcome Wagon has yet to show up at their respective houses; I think it would be hilarious if the game made them greet each other. Later in the day Rhonda got the call for the optional trip Downtown, which she took; her destination of choice was Bernard's Botanical Dining, a fine restaurant renowned for it's exotic vegetarian fare and rare imported teas and wines. Rhonda got the pork chops and coffee. She wasn't here for the meal, no; she came for the bubble blower:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...0125/BQK12.jpg

Maxis included this weird thing in the University pack because they couldn't add what college students really do in their free time and keep the game's "T" rating. They sit around the dang thing for endless hours, blowing bubbles, giggling, floating, and having a really high time, if you know what I mean, all while the thing plays "Pop Goes The Weasel" on a sitar. You're not fooling anybody, Maxis.

Back home, Terrence entertained his guests:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...0125/BQK13.jpg

Sparky had been dining as well but headed upstairs to play with the game console. While she'd been there the conversation had been largely about food, sports, and other general topics; after she was out of the room, and out of hearing range, the talk at the table turned immediately to another subject: The Loved & The Loveless. Not that any of them will admit that they watch the show. Because they don't. Really. No, seriously, they've never seen it. Uh-uh. So, how 'bout those Mets, eh? Dinner ended and, based on their common interest in a show that neither of them watches (really, never heard of TL&TL), Bjorn tried again to give Dmitri a big bear hug, and this time Dmitri nearly twisted his arms off:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...0125/BQK14.jpg

That looks more than a little painful. Bjorn retreated, straightened out his arms, and decided that Sparky was better, and safer, company:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...0125/BQK15.jpg

"Why does he push me away?" Bjorn lamented. "I seek only bonding and friendship with the man, but he will not let me in. Is his heart so hardened that he fears to connect with his fellow man?" Sparky said she'd have a talk with him. And in the final act of the evening's drama, she approached Dmitri and said, "Dmitri, you need to lighten up. You're too uptight, too serious, and that's just not right. You've gotta let people in, not shut everyone out. And I know exactly how to loosen you up. Dmitri, it's time for you to learn the value of...

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...0125/BQK16.jpg

...playtime!!!"

8D 8D 8D

LMAO XDDD

Aww, haha. I like Bjorn for some odd, odd reason :P I guess he's just very...huggable.

Awesome! I'd love to have a go on the bubble machine some time in the future. ;D