01-03. Running the Resort

Turns out running a resort is a LOT of work! It sure kept me busy. The Mermaid retreat got closed down after the first day because it wasn't profitable. It's a tricky balance between cost and income--you can't just put in high quality services right at first. 

I did some adjustments, and also had my household pull a couple of shifts at the front desk. Now the place is booming. The lot actually has too many sims coming and going. Boats galore!

There's an assortment of guests, mostly respecatable, but we also had an evil fairy burglar who wanted to steal candy from a baby. 

Roaches became a problem.

But when maintenance tried to stomp them out, there were routing issues. I ended up fencing off part of the terrain. Not a simple task.

Then I had to do a pixel hunt to find the bugs. The spawner was hidden under the ground and I couldn't see it even with buydebug on. But finally saw a little red bug swimming in the water. Was able to grab the invisible spawner and place it above ground so maintenance could deal with the critters. 

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So this bob-tailed cat arrived in a water taxi and went up to the front desk!  Turns out Maggie Cat was hungry and wanted a turkey drumstick. She also had fleas jumping around her. Yuck! First roaches and now fleas? I used NRaas to max her motives and cancel the flea moodlet. She left in the water taxi much happier.

I added a wedding arch to the resort and the first day a couple arrived and got married. First time I'd seen a NPC couple get married on their own.  The wedding guests got impatient waiting and trouped off to the buffet.

01-02. Mermaid Resort: First Renovation

I've been renovating the Siren's island that my sims in Roaring Heights bought as a second home. Elliot just reached level 10 in the law enforcement career and got a couple of big bonuses, so I decided to convert the island into a resort.

Construction used up a good deal of my family's cash, but the resort is now open for business. So far, they have 4 employees: maintenance, front desk, 2 bartenders. The maintenance man is already sweeping the floors and preparing for guests.

I used Misty's Resort Rabbit Hole Door Mod so I could keep the construction in theme. Here's an overview of the new lot. It's early morning. 

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Anabel enjoys the waterfall.

The pool bar is fun.

Elliot checks in at the front desk.

01-01. Mermaid Island

I went hunting for a mod to help with mermaid hydration and found this wonderful gem of a mod made by Crowkeeper at Mod The Sims:

She also has a whole mermaid colony she's working on but hasn't uploaded yet. Check out these screenshots:

The Siren's Shelter is a small home on an island built with a mermaid in mind. Very creative. I downloaded it and it's wonderful. I placed the house on a slightly bigger island and added a basement and a pier, but I need to do some more landscaping to match it to Crowkeeper's lovely design. Here are a few pics from my game after first placing it in Roaring Heights.

My mermaid Anabel lives in the Sandy Shoals Sea Shanty with Elliot Nest. I put the island close to their home and they bought it as a second house.



The island is close enough that Anabel can swim to it. Elliot boats over. They can also use dive wells to travel back and forth.

I added some fishing spawners. Anabel stood on her mermaid tail in some inland water to fish. She stayed fully hydrated. 

01-00. Bonnie and Clyde's Early Days in Roaring Heights

My first sight of Bonnie and Clyde was when my active sims, Elliot Nest and Anabel Lee, visited the public pool soon after I started playing them. (See Roaring Heights Stories) Who knew the two gangsters would become the founders of my Criminally Challenged household?

At the time, both Bonnie and Clyde had the Evil trait. I later changed it to different traits for each when they insisted they wanted to reform their lives. Of course, they didn't do a whole lot of reforming as it turned out, but that's jumping ahead of the tale.

Bonnie was well-behaved that summer day, merely wanting to chat with Anabel, as did so many others.

Clyde, on the other hand, was not well behaved. Giving in to a combo of Evil and Daredevil traits, he went right up to Anabel and started a fight. But Anabel not only held her own, she won! Elliot was incensed anyway.

Clyde flew into a rage. Bested by a mermaid! Who could believe it?

Though Elliot had been proud of Anabel's victory, he was by no means done with Clyde. Being an honest cop, though, he had to play by the rules. But that didn't stop him from using a bit of intimidation.

He wrote the young thug a citation and then later filed a report on Clyde's public assault on Anabel.

But this first encounter with Elliot must have sparked something in Clyde because it was only the beginning ...

Read more on Bonnie and Clyde's start in Roaring Heights: 
Bargain with Devils: Part 1
Bargain with Devils: Part 2
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01-00. Early Glimpses of Elliot Nest and Anabel Lee

For my first game in Roaring Heights, I chose the premade Elliot Nest for a character. He starts out as a level 6 Police Detective, and he works really hard at his career. I'd never played Law Enforcement in Sims 3 before this.

Elliot was called back to the precinct for double shifts 2 days in a row. And that's not even counting working on his athletic skill or conducting interviews and writing reports. Poor guy. But he's advancing quickly.

Elliot  has a swank 5 story apartment, very upscale for a copper.

 But his only entertainment is a Foosball table. Not that it matters. He doesn't have much time for amusements.

Elliot is not impressed by this Mascot, who he finds out is a Kleptomaniac. "Watch your step, buddy!" Elliot himself is Brave and Good. He was Grumpy, but I compromised and changed that to Brooding.

He takes a little R&R, but works on Handiness while listening to classical music. Yeah, Elliot's the traditional sort. 

I created a gal for Elliot because I don't think he's going to have time to find one himself. Anabel is also Good, but has a touch of the Femme Fatale (Irresistible). I also made her a mermaid. 

Everyone seeks Anabel's attention. Elliot worries a little about her Adventurous spirit. Here, Anabel talks to Shirley Templeton and Olivier "Daddy" Harbucks.

Elliot tries out surfing in an effort to catch Anabel's eye. Hope she wasn't looking!

(For more on Elliot and Anabel's first visit to the public pool, see Bonnie and Clyde's Early Days)
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Eventually, Elliot and Anabel become a couple and they move to a new beach house. Elliot soon reaches level 10 in his career and rises to International Super Spy, achieving his lifetime wish.

Elliot is very serious about his career. Here, he rushes off to raid Roaring Heights' criminal hideout.

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Origin of the name Anabel Lee

For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams 
   Of the beautiful Annabel Lee; 
And the stars never rise but I see the bright eyes 
   Of the beautiful Annabel Lee; 
And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side 
Of my darling, my darling, my life and my bride, 
   In her sepulchre there by the sea-- 
   In her tomb by the side of the sea. 

~~Edgar Allan Poe (excerpt from Annabel Lee, 1849)

I made my Anabel a mermaid. She survived the chilling sea, and lives on ...
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