03-06. Hamish Ages Up

Charlie and Mayra decided that Gran needed to know about what to expect when Hamish's birthday came around. Inspector Erle, of course, was already aware of the possibilities and concerns.

Erle: Charlie, we have nothing to fear right now. There's been no sign of your uncle all these years. I think he knows better than to show his face in Mountain Lake again! Hamish will be fine. We'll see to it.

Gran: Mayra, I suspected something along these lines! I just knew the Stalkers were trouble. But Charlie's a fine young man, and I love Hamish to pieces! So we'll just have to do what needs to be done. That's just life, honey!

Gran: Now, Erle dear, I know we got a little carried away lately, but we need to put that nonsense behind us and concentrate on the young people. You must see that, surely?

Erle: No, Granesa Caran! I do NOT see that!

Mayra: You ready, Charlie? Let's see who our little Stalker son really is. Human ... or Diaemus.

_____

The family gathered in celebration to see Hamish age up to toddler. They would accept him, no matter what!

The transition soon began.

And Hamish entered the next stage of his life!

A new wardrobe for a new boy.

Hamish played with his favorite toy, Bot the Bear.

But he was soon biting Bot on the neck!

That didn't surprise his family, but did make them all a little uneasy.

Charlie: Come to Daddy, Hamish. Don't be afraid! I'm here for you.

Charlie: You can do it, son! Trust me.

And Hamish did.

_____
Some time later, Hamish's grandparents grew restless in their graves. They once again walked the grounds of their ancestral home.

While elsewhere, a new resident moved into Mountain Lake. Nobody saw him arrive.

He'd quietly bought the old abandoned house near the home of Cexavu the Alien.

Keeping a low profile, but hoping to hear any local rumors, the stranger visited the village laundromat. He tugged his cap lower on his head though--as if worried that someone might indeed recognize him. But who would dare approach a scruffy looking fellow like him?

No one did. He was alone, with only the Mountain Lake news and social interest stories for company. He wasn't concerned. He was a patient man. There was plenty of time to put his plans into action.

03-05. Threats from the Past

Hamish was about to age up from infant to toddler, and Charlie knew he could no longer postpone his talk with Mayra. His family troubles would now be hers as well.

Charlie: Mayra, there's something pretty important I need to tell you. I would have told you sooner, but Hamish came as such a surprise, by then it was too late to talk about my family history.
Mayra: I know what people say about the Stalkers, Charlie. And I don't believe most of that silliness! Don't worry.

Charlie: You need to worry about some of it, I'm afraid. And the truth may be worse than what you've heard. The Stalkers came into this valley generations ago. About that time, a strange disease spread through the area. It was like nothing the village had ever seen. At first, the physicians thought it was a form of rabies since the illness first appeared after bite marks were found on the victim.

Mayra: Bite marks, Charlie? Then the rumors ...
Charlie: ...are only partly true. You see, a cure of sorts was found, and most of the sufferers were saved. The villagers anyway. My family, coming from outside the valley, didn't carry the natural immunity the others had. The Stalkers were not completely cured.

Mayra: What do you mean?
Charlie: Stalker victims appeared to be cured themselves, but the strange symptoms developed in some of the children born later through the years. And the disease was no longer fatal. In fact, just the opposite. The ones who inherit the Power live long lives and are strong in other ways too.

Mayra: Then this condition is not a bad thing, Charlie. It's good!
Charlie: Yes, it isn't a curse, Mayra. But you have to remember, a lot of people get frightened by things they don't understand. And some people want to destroy this unknown thing. ... There is more to my history you need to hear. You know that my family remained in the valley and became wealthy land owners.

Charlie: But it's my own past that most affects our family now. And it's this recent history that carries the biggest threat. ... When I was a teen, I lived with my parents and my Uncle Allen in the Stalker Mansion by the lake. We did a lot of boating. My father loved to fish, and he'd take us all with him. One early morning, we went down to the pier by our home and were about to board our Skimtron, when we found ourselves surrounded by fire!

Charlie: Somehow flames had ignited right on the pier, blocking escape in any direction. I was engulfed in smoke, and couldn't see anything! The fire just exploded in seconds! And my mother was screaming for dad to save me.

Charlie: I don't know where my uncle was at the time, but I didn't think he was near me. I heard him yelling about going to get help.

Charlie: Then, I felt my father grab hold of me and push me to the other side of the pier. I tripped, but managed to stand up just as my dad ran back into the flames after my mother.

Charlie: The fire was getting worse. I couldn't see my parents at all anymore. I called out to them over and over!

Mayra: Oh, Charlie, how horrible!

Charlie: It all happened so fast. I guess I was in shock. And I was young. I didn't know what to do!

Charlie: I tried to go back into the fire to help my father and mom, but the flames were a solid wall by then.

Charlie: There was no sign of my uncle or anyone else. But suddenly, I remembered that we had a small fire extinguisher in the storage chest on the pier. I grabbed it and finally figured out how to get the thing to work.

Charlie: I did what I could, Mayra, but it was too late. I knew it was too late. But I kept at it until the fire fighters arrived a long time later.

Charlie: They took me away in an ambulance. I was singed and suffering from the smoke, but was otherwise unharmed--thanks to my father and mother making sure I was safe before saving themselves.

Charlie: It wasn't until after I'd heard that my parents had been killed that I realized what my uncle had done.

Charlie: He'd left us there to die--just walked away, back to the house. And he purposely took too long calling for help. When I told the Inspector that, he and the officers tried to track Uncle Allen down, but he'd disappeared.

Charlie: My parents are buried at the Stalker Mansion. But I haven't been back there for a long time. The Inspector hired gardeners and housekeepers to maintain the property.

Charlie: I haven't been able to face the site were my parents died. Not yet.

Mayra: Charlie, that uncle of yours must have been the one to start the fire! Why would he do that?

Charlie: They couldn't prove that he had anything to do with the fire, but I do know he didn't try to help. I also know that he hated my father because ... because my father had the Power, Mayra. And so you understand now why I'm worried about Hamish's birthday. If Hamish also has the Power, we'll be able to tell then.

Charlie: And Mayra, if Hamish IS like my father, I'm afraid my uncle will come out of hiding. That's the real danger! Uncle Allen might try to hurt Hamish!

03-04. Custom Scarves and Shawl

I recently tried a couple of custom scarf and shawl accessories in my game. I used package files instead of the sims3packs so I could remove any CC from my game easily if I didn't care for the look. Of course, I also examined the files to make sure they were safe.

I ended up installing the small and medium sized scarves by Ersel from her Scarves Collection. A download link can be found here. I also installed an Accessory Shawl by Irink. There's a mediafire download link on that page.

Here are a few examples of the medium sized scarf by Ersel.

And this is what one pattern looks like in game.

Here are some examples of Irink's shawl in CAS and in game for an elder and a YA sim.

These pics are of the shawl and the smaller scarf modeled by an elder.