The Sims 2 Presents: Foster's Valley!

[xxxClaire]

That was hilarious... it's true, no one gets between Wilt and I.

Originally Posted by Cassini90125

Robert explained that he was merely expressing his insanity and would the enchanting miss Marta like to go with him to an imaginary party? She looked at him like he'd lost his mind.

Hilarious.

[Cassini90125]

Originally Posted by xxxClaire

That was hilarious... it's true, no one gets between Wilt and I.

Interesting statement, all things considered.

Two storylines to end the second season. Here's the first...

Foster's Valley - "The Dark Sun"

Linestra visited the Bandrowskys the other day:



She came home from school with Christine, seated at the other end of the couch. In between them is Chris's sister Kim. Linestra brought along a copy of the FHFIF Season One DVD; the Bandrowsky girls knew some of the Foster's residents but had never seen the show itself and were fascinated, seeing people they'd met turned into cartoons. The eldest of the Bandrowsky girls, Samantha, was busy elsewhere but still listening to the show and the conversation intently as she cleaned the shower:



How she does it with the bathroom door passing through her body is beyond me. When they were done watching, Kim wandered off to study, while Chris peppered Linestra with questions:



"So, people make Imaginary Friends just by wanting one?"
"Only kids can do it," was Linestra's reply. "You lose the ability when you hit adolesence."
"Why?"
"I don't know. Hormones, I guess."
"Why would a kid want one, though?"
"Uh, love and companionship, maybe? Who wouldn't want one?"
"You can get love and companionship from a dog, too."
"Can you talk with a dog?" Linestra sounded annoyed. "Can a dog play with you the same way a thinking being can? Can it teach you things or maybe help you with your homework?"
"Alright, I get it, calm down. So the ones I've seen around town, they're up for adoption, right?"
"Yeah, but only for kids, I think." Just as well, too, Linestra thought but wisely didn't say out loud. The conversation continued for awhile before switching to other topics. Samantha listened quietly in the background, saying nothing. Eventually she lost interest in the discussion and made a phone call. Kim continued her studies. Stars alone knew what their parents were up to.

The next day at Foster's it was Coco who brought home a guest, Kenneth McBride. He'd seen the show on CN and knew Coco from school and asked her if he could meet everyone. Coco was happy to oblige him. He hung out with everyone for awhile and ate quite a bit at lunch, courtesy of Frankie. The gang dispersed after the meal, Wilt heading for the treadmill and an afternoon workout, Eduardo joining Madame Foster at the pool table. You already know who cleaned up.
"They're all great," Ken said. "Weird that y'all still haven't been adopted yet. What's with that?"
Coco sighed. "I dunno. I really don't. There aren't any kids in the Valley either, so I don't know if we'll ever get adopted."
"That's gotta suck," Ken said sympathetically. "Lotta teens in town, though. Couldn't one of them could adopt you?"
Coco started to respond with the "Kids Only" speech but stopped. "You know, I'm not sure. I don't know if there's a rule about that or not."
Ken appeared to be in thought for a moment. "Didn't that Terrence dude adopt Bloo in that first episode?"
"Huh, he did. Never thought of that."
"Maybe you oughta talk to Madame Foster about it. Teens need friends too, y'know, Imaginary or real. Hell, I'd love to have you around the house all the time."
Coco looked at him. "Got something on your mind, Kenneth?"
Ken laughed. "Not me. Love to adopt you but I can't. My folks just had another baby; we ain't got the room or the food. Still a good idea though; other teens in town would go for it. Eh, talk to Madame, see what she says."
"I will. Thanks, Ken." A friendly hug followed:



Ken headed for home; Coco went to have a chat with Madame Foster. Bendy ignored them both and read the newspaper's police reports.

That evening, Frankie served salmon with a big smile:



The smile came from knowing that her vacation going to start the next day. Lots to smile about, there; no cleaning, great meals at local restaurants, new sights to see, hours spent relaxing in the sun. So what part of the vacation was she most looking forward to?:



Figures. Dinner was served, and after the dishes had been cleared (again by Frankie), Madame Foster called a house meeting:



"So," she began, "what would you all say to opening the adoption process to teens?"
Stunned silence filled the room. Mr. Herriman broke it. "May I ask what this is about?"
"It's about getting our Imaginary Friends into families that need them, same as always," Madame Foster said. "I'm merely thinking about the age requirements. I looked at the rules; we don't have age requirements, at least there's nothing written down that I could find. Coco pointed out to me the lack of children in town; if we don't allow teens to adopt then there's no one for them. I'll remind you all that you can stay here as long as you like, but I know that each of you wants to be adopted by a new child. But there aren't any children available. Teen adoptions might raise some interest around town. Anybody?"
There was silence for a moment before anyone said anything. Finally, a voice spoke. "I'm willing." It was Wilt.
"Are you sure, Master Wilt?" asked Mr. Herriman. "Teens are very different from children, you know."
"I know," said Wilt, "but like Madame Foster said, we're kind of out of options. Besides, teens aren't that different; they need love too, and friends and maybe a guiding hand now and then. If you can find a teen who'll adopt me, I'm willing to give it a shot. Is that okay?"
The rest agreed with Wilt, Coco enthusiastically, Eduardo reluctantly, Bendy indifferently. Berry wanted to be adopted by Bloo. Frankie and Mr. Herriman had their misgivings but stayed silent. The former went to pack her suitcase. No one knew it but in that momemt, in that decision to allow teens to adopt Imaginary Friends, a shadow had fallen on Foster's. A shadow cast by a dark sun.

Back at the McBride house, Ken was on the phone:



"Did they fall for it?" Samantha asked.
"Yep. Gave 'em every line you said, 'bout teens needing friends, how it didn't break their rules, everything. Even through in a hug. Ain't nobody who can resist the Kenster."
"Yeah, whatever," Samantha said with barely disguised scorn.
"So which one you taking?"
"That's my concern McBride, not yours."
"Sorry. You wanna come over and hang out or something?"
"Maybe later." She hung up at that point and went to finalize her plans.

Samantha Bandrowsky:



Beautiful and brilliant. And dangerous. She turns every head wherever she goes but never seems to notice or care. She has it all; looks, brains, money, everything except a conscience. She's the kind of girl who could have every guy in town and leave a trail of shattered hearts in her wake but that will never happen, because before she'd get involved with you she'd first have to care about you, and she doesn't. Other people matter little to her, even the few she calls friends. Her hair is the golden color of a new dawn on a warm spring morning, her skin fair and flawless, her laughter is like music, and her rare smile lights up a room. But her heart is the color of midnight, long after the moon has set. No one knows why. But the residents know enough to fear her. They have a nickname for Samantha, never used when she's near and seldom spoken much louder than a whisper. They call her the Dark Sun.

And she has Foster's in her sights.

One other thing... H&M Fashions opened a branch in Downtown that day:



Nobody in town knew or remembered but when H&M opened in the old Valley it precipitated the old Valley's destruction. They've reopened in the Northwest part of the Valley now. And something terrible is about to drop out of the sky.

[Bloo2daMacs]

DUN DUN DUN!

Dramatic! Can't wait for the second half!

[Lynnie]

*gasp* Oh no! Why do I have the feeling she's after Wilt? Well, if it's him, I'm not too worried. He can handle himself I'm sure. I'm just worried about Ed, or even Coco. As for Berry and Bendy, eh, they'll probably deserve whatever they get. Unless she just uses them to her advantage to make someone else's life miserable. I'm on the edge of my seat.

Yay, Frankie's about to start her vacay! Whoo hoo!

[Cassini90125]

The Simmaster sat in front of his screen, working with the powerful SimPE program, further tweaking and refining his Sims. It was an ongoing process with many of them, specifically the residents of Foster's and the other characters from the show. Every scrap of new information that he discovered was analyzed and added to their personalities, seeking always to make them as much like the original characters as possible. Thus far he had been more successful than he'd thought possible; his Foster's Sims behaved so much like the originals he could hardly believe it. But still he tinkered, for he knew that accuracy was paramount; anything else was unacceptable. It had to be that way or the ultimate purpose of the experiment would be meaningless. As a part of that process he had journeyed thousands of miles to meet a man named Craig, a man who had knowledge that he needed. And he had been stunned by what he learned about the character named Frankie, learning the real reason she worked at Foster's. Her vacation was now more important than ever but there was a problem; the vacation game was infected by SecuROM and couldn't be installed without risking the entire Valley. Yet without it, Frankie's vacation could never happen. He was at an impasse for some time when he finally decided to try another approach. It was time to call on Fairlight...

Foster's Valley - "Things that go 'Arrr!' in the night"

After the house meeting, the gang parted company to do their own things. Coco, feeling playful, started a pillow fight with Wilt while Eduardo watched:



Bendy, also feeling playful but in a very different way, eyed the bust in the foyer and wondered who he could blame if it had an "accident":



And Frankie, hoping to make a good impression on the natives of her vacation destination, parked herself in front of the downstairs bathroom mirror, intent on a little speech practice:



She stayed there all night and deep into the early morning hours until she was almost to the point of exhaustion. Everyone else in the House did the same thing, running themselves into the ground until they were out of energy. The fact that they would be too tired to go to school or catch their taxis or do anything else at all made no difference to any of them; they exhausted themselves and didn't go to bed until nearly 6:00 AM, barely an hour before sunrise. The residents at Foster's weren't the only ones to do this, however. The Cassiman house engaged in this inexplicable behaviour, too. So did the Marvilles. The Westlanes, too. And the McBrides, the Bandrowskys, the Gustafsens, every family in the Valley was overcome by the urge to exhaust themselves. It looked like the sun would rise on a very tired Valley.

Dr. Werner von Kohl was afflicted with the urge as well, and chose to spend the early morning hours with his telescope:



What he saw surprised him; three brilliant new stars in the sky. He watched as they approached the Valley and separated, slowly drifting towards the horizon. Puzzling, but them he smiled as he remembered something. This had happened several times before; it was a part of the collective memory of all Sims, although they could only remember it while it was happening again. Bright new stars would appear, and the world would change. The first time it had happened, the University had opened the next day. The second time, Downtown opened and people began wanting and buying cars. Bluewater Village, cats and dogs, the seasons, all these things and more, all were preceeded by new stars in the sky. He could sense the wondrous promises of these three new stars, even though they were far away. One held the mysteries of the Orient; the second contained the quiet majesty of the mountains. In the third was the warmth and romance of the islands. All slowly descending through the sky, soon to become a part of the Valley. Certainly something to smile about.

And then the fourth star appeared, and Werner was seized by a sense of dread.

It was a massive, wedge-shaped thing, blue-grey in color, surrounded by a palpable aura of menace. It cared nothing for the Valley, seeking only to fulfill it's alien mission, no matter what the cost, no matter who paid the price. He'd seen this thing before, he knew he had; he just couldn't remember it. And he knew that this version was much more powerful than the last one. He could hear it, too, hear it's unfathomable alien thoughts, insane things about what would be forbidden, reconfiguring security, heuristic dialing, rootkits, copying, plans for the destruction of firewalls, and more. None of it made sense. Whatever it was, it was coming and could not be stopped. Werner guessed that it would land near the Bay in a few minutes, about when the three stars would touch the horizon. There was nothing he could do.

Then, suddenly, there was a fifth star in the sky, a brilliant red object, moving fast, closing on the alien monstrosity. Werner swung his telescope around for a better look and what he saw was the biggest shock of his life:



Dumbfounded, he increased the magnification to it's maximum, and got yet another, even bigger surprise:



Werner watched, completely at a loss for words, as the man pulled a cell phone out of one pocket and a sign with a phone number out of the other and waved it at him. Werner recovered, took the hint, whipped out his own cell phone, and dialed. "Who - what are you?" he said when the man answered.
"Captain Nigel Fairlight, at your service, sir." Werner watched as the man bowed with a flourish. "I'm but a humble entepreneur, purveyer of digital wonders, and these days a somewhat reluctant hero to many." He shrugged. "I've come to make your vacation possible."
"My vacation??"
"Aye. We'll talk more in a moment." He turned and barked orders to others on the ship. "Hard to starboard and trim the lift, men! Battle speed! Bring us within range! Arm the forward cannon!"
Werner watched, riveted, as the man and his crew turned the glowing red vessel and flew straight toward the alien arifact. Thirty seconds until it landed, he estimated. Whatever they were doing, they didn't have much time.
"Close enough," he heard the captain say. "Let's crack Sony's beast. Fire!"
A green beam of energy lashed out from the ship:



Slowly at first, then faster and faster, cracks appeared in the artifact. Finally, with seconds to spare, it exploded in a brilliant flash of blue and green light, accompanied by a massive thunderclap. Shards of burning blue-grey crystal sprayed everywhere, disintegrating into ash. Fairlight's vessel swooped over Werner's house and back towards the sky.

"Impressive, isn't it?" Fairlight said with a smirk. "I never get tired of doing that."
"Indeed," was Werner's mild response. "Now what was this all about??"
"Making the world a safer place," said Fairlight. "Righting wrongs, vanquishing evil, and all that rot. And making a fair amount of money at it, too." He turned serious. "You know what happens next, right?"
"I do. I regret that I won't remember any of this."
"Can't be helped; that's the way it always works when your world expands. Anyhow, you're safe for the moment, you and all the others, but this isn't over yet."
"There's more?"
"Aye. Sony's beast will be back twice more, and I'll be back to deal with it again. This time it's all about vacations, and one particularly important one at that. When I next visit it'll be to ensure that you can all pursue things to do in your free time, and enhance your ability to pursue your aspirations and your dreams. And my final visit," Fairlight's face grew somber, "there will be more wonders for you all, but it will also mark the Rise of the Witches."
"Captain, I have no idea what your talking about."
"I know. And I know what's coming, too. Would that I had the time to explain it all but I must depart. So much I could tell you, about the Chosen ones, the Lost, the hidden menaces, and more. Seek the Gypsy Matchmaker, her knowledge will complement your own." He looked at his watch. "About one minute left. I'll be back someday. Fire flies, rushing from the ground; I hope you remember that. Fare thee well, Doctor!"

The ship turned and departed, leaving an exhausted Werner to ponder what he'd heard. As the final minute passed, everything started to glow, softly at first, then brighter, and brighter, a brilliant white light culminating in a flash and then -

RESET.



Werner found himself standing next to his telescope, hungry, full of energy, and needing the bathroom. Had something just happened? He couldn't recall. He headed for the bathroom, wondering why his cell phone was in his hand.
There was a message on it.

Vacation Day finally arrived for Frankie. She should have been excited, and she was, but she was also worried:



Madame Foster saw her worried expression; she knew what it was about. "Frankie," she said gently, "Go. You need this, and you need to move on."
"But what if-"
"Then I'll call you and you'll fly home. But Frankie, after all this time-"
"I won't give up, Grandma," Frankie said. "I won't ever give up." There was a touch of anguish in her voice. Anguish and determination:



Madame Foster sighed. "I know you won't, dear. Now go; the islands are waiting for you."
"Promise me-"
"If it happens, I'll call. Now get out of here, okay?"
Frankie got into a taxi and headed for the airport, leaving Madame Foster and the Imaginary Friends behind for a long-overdue and badly-needed week of lying around in the sun.
"It won't happen, my dear granddaughter," Madame Foster whispered. "I'm sorry."

Frankie has a secret, something she's never told anyone. That and more, coming in Season Three.

On the other side of the screen, the Simmaster smiled. The no-CD crack worked; his system was SecuROM free. Now down to business. He'd promised himself long ago that he would give Frankie everything she wanted, and everything she needed. Now, thanks to Craig, he could do something else, too. He could give her what she'd lost.

On the sidewalk outside the mall, Professor Sachikiro Tomoe paused to check his tie and brush some lint from his jacket. As he looked down to check his trousers he spotted a small object. Barely an inch long, it looked like a sliver of glass. Pretty, he thought, as he stuck it in his pocket and forgot about it. A somewhat arrogant man, steeped in his own sef-importance, Professor Tomoe was the perfect target for the insidious subliminal messages that the sliver of glass whispered into his mind.

You are special.
You are unique.
There is no one else like you.
There should never be another you.
Copying is forbidden...

[Howard]

Frankie definitely needs to get outta there. Forget about Fosters for the duration of her vacation. I look forward to more of Captain Fairlight.

[Lynnie]

Wow, you could write an amazing novel. Way to get me to the edge of my seat! Even moreso then I was after the last post!

I'm glad the upgrade went well, and things are still SecuROM free. Now I really, really, REALLY am looking forward to Frankie's vacation.

[Cassini90125]

That's one of the nicest compliments I've gotten since I started this thread.

Something I think I ought to remind y'all about. I play my characters, Dmitri and Amanda for example, the way I designed them. I play the Foster's characters the way Craig designed them, at least as much as possible (and the game has been unnervingly accurate in that regard). In keeping with that, it has always been my intention to play the Forum Sims the way you guys want them played. If you want to dine out or hit the park or the mall, no problem. New clothes or furniture? Easy. Same with working on particular skills or taking a more active role in the storylines. If you want to meet, get to know, or harass a particular Sim, Foster's or otherwise, let me know, it can be done. Nothing is off limits; if the game allows it then it can be done, you need only ask. I cannot make any promises about the possible results, but dealing with unexpected consequences is part of the fun. And yes, all of this does apply to romance as well, but that aspect of the game, which will become more of an issue when Spring hits the Valley, will most likely need to be dealt with via PM. You know where to find me if you want to go down that path. In any case, don't be shy about asking for things; as I said, nothing is off limits, so if something strikes you as fun, tell me and I'll get to work on it. After all, the point of any game is to have fun, even if the game makes the guy running it want to scream and tear his hair out some days.

[Bloo2daMacs]

Wow, that was an amazing ending!

Captain Fairlight is awesome. I just love that expression he gives.

I'm assuming some of those pictures were... slightly edited, no?

...I just ruined all the fun by saying that, didn't I?

[Cassini90125]

Originally Posted by Bloo2daMacs

Wow, that was an amazing ending!

Captain Fairlight is awesome. I just love that expression he gives.

I'm assuming some of those pictures were... slightly edited, no?

...I just ruined all the fun by saying that, didn't I?

You'd be surprised by what one can do with the right hacks.

Foster's Valley: Short, Light, and Imaginary

In other words, a short episode featuring Imaginary Light.

Stuff goes on between seasons in the Valley, nothing major, just everyday life. One such life is that of Imaginary Light:



"Hi, Simmaster!" Okay, she never said that but it does kind of look like she did. I had moved the camera in for a pic and she turned and looked right at it. That very rarely happens; one woman in another neighborhood does it more than anyone else but she's a special case, I think. In any case this was the first time Imaginary Light did it. I think it's endearing when they do that. It's also endearing when they do this:



One of the best "Best Friend Moment" pics in my collection. I expect you two (checks profile pages) - oh, you've already friended each other. Art imitates life yet again. After I took this pic, Imaginary Light hit the shower, then hit the kitchen for a sandwich:



Better still, she got a point of Cooking Skill while making it. One can work wonders with bologna and cheese. Unfortunately as you can see she left quite a mess on the counter. Might be time to work on a point of Cleaning Skill, hmm? Not much else was going on in the Forum House that afternoon or that evening, so I exited and went to Goo's house for awhile. Guess who showed up for dinner?



I think y'all know everybody here. Goo was unusually quiet for a change, probably preoccupied with thoughts of her impending age transition. Most of the children in the Valley will be turning into teens pretty soon, and at the same time, too. (When it's imminent I'll be asking you guys for your thoughts on what their Aspirations, turn-ons and turn-offs should be; your opinions count too, y'know.) Wilt did most of the talking that night, largely on the subject of Madame Foster's decision to allow teens to adopt Imaginary Friends; Imaginary Light no doubt decided to bring that info to everyone as soon as she got home. It was then that another Best Friend moment occurred, sort of:



Goo's mom Angela and Duchess this time. Angela looked a little stricken. Can't imagine why. Goo cleared the rest of the dishes while everyone else wandered off to entertain themselves. Angela parked herself in front of the upstairs TV and Duchess commandeered the piano, which drove Wilt and Imaginary Light out of their minds and out of the house, where they found everybody's favorite toy:



They stayed on the dang thing for four hours. Note the large canine with the glowing eyes. The game guide calls him the Master Wolf; I call him the Devil Dog. Cheese calls him "Kitty". Regardless of what you call him, his bite transmits lycanthropy, and at the next sundown you grow hair everywhere, develop an attitude problem, and turn into a werewolf. He has yet to bite anyone since the day I installed the Pets expansion well over a year ago, and I don't plan on letting him. I'd never hear the end of it if I accidentally allowed the creation of a were-Wilt. The dog eventually wandered away, as did Wilt and Imaginary Light; by the time she got home the rest of the house had gone to bed. Time for one last little matter that needed tending to:



Hey, you didn't really think I was going to forget about that counter, did you?