02-15. If It's Not One Thing, It's ... Aliens!

Charlie has the Lucky trait, but sometimes I wonder. I had directer Charlie to go downstairs just as Mayra woke up. While checking on her, I heard strange sounds outside.

Oh, Charlie! NO NO NO!!

Why, Charlie? You didn't pick up space rocks. You didn't speak to any aliens. You didn't use a telescope. Why YOU!

The abductor was a male elder. I'd never seen him before. But trust me, I WILL see him again--for an alien autopsy!

Go ahead, alien. You can beam away, but you can't hide. NRaas will find you!!

I hoped against hope. But when Charlie got home from work later that day, I found the dreaded weight-gain moodlet. So Charlie is my third sim to be impregnated by aliens.

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With the first male, I kept the baby. Afterwards, I learned that a baby born from an abduction was NOT human, not blood-related to the impregnated host at all. It's strictly an alien creature. So after a second male suffered through pregnancy and birth, I sent the alien offspring back to its people. This time, I was determined that Charlie would not serve as a living incubator for alien spawn!

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Charlie asked Gran Caran to meet him privately in the study. If she could raise a ghost, maybe she could help him. He was feeling awfully strange after his encounter with those aliens!

Charlie: Gran, ma'am, some old alien guy took me off in his spaceship last night, and I'm feeling nauseous and my stomach is aching. I think I've even put on some weight. I don't know what they did to me ... I can't remember ...

Suddenly, Charlie's abdomen started glowing an eerie green! Gran gasped!

Gran: Charles! They've embedded alien DNA inside you! We have to get rid of it at once! This thing is not human!

For a moment, Charlie thought about his own family secret, but decided he'd keep that to himself for now. Besides, it wasn't like the Stalkers were from outer space or anything like that. Not really.

Gran: Pay attention, boy! I have some Sweet Grass growing downstairs in the garden. You need to pick several sprigs of that and eat it straight from the plant, fresh. It will help counteract any side effects my elixir might cause.

Charlie: Elixir? What kind of elixir? And what do you mean by side effects?

Gran: The elixir removes all toxins and foreign substances from the body. It's like a cleansing agent. It will rid you of what the aliens injected into you. The elixir is made of several ingredients, one of them is also Sweet Grass.

Gran: The side effects depend on what needs to be cleaned from your system. In your case, the alien DNA should dissolve back into space. You might suffer more nausea or fatigue.

Gran: Now, I just happen to have a bottle of the elixir in the dining room cabinet. It's labeled Purge. Get the elixir and drink every bit of the contents right away. You have to stop the DNA from taking hold!

Charlie: So, if I eat the Grass and drink the Purge, I'll be back to normal?

Gran: I can't guarantee that, Charles, but I've had excellent results with my Purges.

Charlie found the herbs Gran told him to eat and harvested a large hand full.

Charlie: Well here goes!

Charlie: Not bad! Kind of sweet. A little minty. I bet the elixir tastes just like mint julep!

Charlie: I wonder what else Gran added to this brew?

But Charlie didn't stop to consider anything else. He had to free himself from this alien invasion!

Charles: Aaackkk!!

And it was as if the whole nightmare had never happened! (Moodlet eradicated!)

02-14. Calling for Backup

The next couple of days were idyllic for Charlie and Mayra. Baby Hamish was such fun! It was like having a toy come to life. Charlie loved playing with him.

Mayra spent so much time with Hamish that they soon became Best Friends.

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Charlie and Mayra didn't forget they were newlyweds though. Charlie enjoyed getting frisky with his bride.

Mayra also got daring and tried dip kissing Charlie.

Kissing just encouraged him to get frisky all over again ...

... which led to more cuddles in bed!

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But Charlie knew he had to tell his guardian about all the changes in his life. The Inspector had been busy lately wrapping up the Boddy Manor case and hadn't been around for almost 2 weeks. A lot had gone on since then.

Charlie: Tittle, I called Inspector Erle. I have to talk to him. How do you think he'll react to everything?
Tittle: Chat, chat ... chitter, chitter, chitter.
Charlie: Well, I hope you're right.

Charlie met the Inspector at the nectary. They shared a bottle of juice together while Charlie worked up his courage. Finally, he took a deep breath and spoke up.

Charlie: Inspector Erle. Sir. Some things have happened that you should be aware of. First, I got a dog. His name is Laddie and he's an awesome hunter. You'll like him. With Laddie there, we needed more room, so Mayra and I moved into a bigger house, the new place next door. 

Charlie: After that, Mayra and I, uh, started getting close and now we're a couple. And then we found out we were expecting a baby! Isn't that great?

Gray: What!

Charlie: Don't worry, Sir. We told her grandmother, and she moved in with us and made sure we got married. So now my last name is Caran. ... But wait! There's more. The baby was born and his name is Hamish. I have a son! Can you believe it?

Gray: I don't even know where to start here, Charlie! Why didn't you call me when all this was going on? ... Never mind, it doesn't matter. Right now, the first thing I'm concerned about is that old gypsy living in your house and changing your name.

Gray: We have to rectify that immediately. Your heritage, as well as your inheritance,  are in jeopardy. Mayra and you can hyphenate your last name, but you're a Stalker. Always remember that! ... I like the girl, Charlie, so I'm fine with the marriage itself--considering the circumstances. That baby is your own flesh and blood.

Gray: Speaking of blood, son, have you told Mayra about your family? About ... the Power?
Charlie: No! I didn't want to bring all that up with her! Especially after Hamish. And then, it was too late!
Gray: Charlie. You can't avoid the truth any longer. The little boy's future is at stake.

Charlie: Inspector, I know you thought I could live on my own, and I've tried to do my best. But maybe I need your help a little longer. I could really use some backup just now. At least until I tell Mayra about the Stalkers.
Gray: All right, son. This Gran Caran sounds quite formidable. I probably should investigate the situation further!

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So Charlie's guardian, Inspector Erle Gray, moved in with Charlie once more. And the first thing he did was to get acquainted with the new Stalker heir, little Hamish.

Gray: He's a fine looking boy, Charlie! Strong and healthy! You've done well here, son. Very well indeed.

But Inspector Gray was uneasy. Things had ended badly for the last Stalker born with the Power. It was too early to tell about this infant, but if Hamish had inherited the Stalker Power ... how would they all cope?

01-10. Harvesting Dew and Outtakes

I took screenshots of my fairy couple shaking the Utopian flowers and gathering the dew. You can harvest several colors of dew from any of the flowers, no matter the flower color itself. 

Drinking the dew or throwing it on another sim will temporarily change skin and hair color and give positive moodlets. The rainbow color dew will add the Wonderland walk moodlet. Black will have random color effects, and the clear dew will remove any dew moodlets. Sims can also blow dew bubbles. 

I'll try to get pictures of my sims actually using the dew later. It took me a long time to harvest all the colors available, so I stopped there.

Soaked!

Dew spritzed.

A day's harvest of dew.

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And a few more random screenshots I took during the evening and night.

Sol called Crysie over to make out in the car.

He later had to fairy repair the broken stereo while Crysie gathered more dew from the flowers.

The ghost gnomes moved, but I still haven't seen any ghosts.

One gnome stayed indoors.

Crysie and Sol love their fairy house.

I caught the sunrise.

A view of the couple's home.

02-13. This and That

Here are a few random outtakes from Mountain Lake.

Granesa Caran's traits. Handy, Natural Cook, Nurturing, Animal Lover, and Green Thumb. She's tough, but I made her useful too!

Playing chase with Laddie.

Cooking and dropping tidbits for Laddie on the sly.

Laddie likes to listen to Mayra's music.

Another view during the day of the Gypsy wagon in the campground.

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I downloaded a pattern made by CravenLestat, so Mayra has a new everyday dress.

I installed items from Severinka's Fairy Garden Set. I placed the mushroom table and chairs in my Dragon Valley save. (See Dew Flowers, Mushroom Dining, and More.)

The rabbits are very realistic looking sculptures! For now, I put them outside the ground floor window as if they were looking into the garden.

And I put the campfire in the gypsy campgrounds. I like that it's an open fire, not contained in a pot or cauldron like the others are, so it's different. An alien showed up when I teleported Mayra over to test the fire. Odd character to visit the gypsies!

You can see the alien spaceship in the background on the left.

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Three more lake views from the upper floors of the slope house. These screenshots were taken during construction.

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Maybe I should give Charlie a different set of jammies. I think the long johns might be ruining his romantic appeal!