Warren and Benita travel from the suburbs of SimCity toward a sleepy desert community named Strangetown. Having served a storied military career and worked tirelessly on the Pleasantview police force, Warren has managed to put together an impressive collection … Continue reading Part 14 – worth more than flesh

Brenda walks past the precinct bullpen and sees Skyler sitting at her desk forty-five minutes past the end of the day shift. Everybody else has gone home for the night. With no pressing work to keep her there and a … Continue reading Part 13 – survival instinct

Benita wakes to blue and red strobes illuminating her bedroom. While not a nightly occurrence, police activity in this part of town is not entirely unusual. Occasionally there will be activity on her street and she’ll wake to the sound … Continue reading Part 12 – just the messenger

Thirty-five years ago, Isla Paradiso was a small community enjoying an existence free from major criminal activity. A lifetime served on the island’s small police force has given Brenda Dias a unique perspective into her native home. Until recently, she … Continue reading Part 11 – a good strategy

A sullen, doleful expression accompanies Benita’s tentative traversal between speaking into her phone then staring at it absently while contemplating a string of events that have congealed to form the absolute worst day of her life. A photo of Van stares … Continue reading Part 10 – allow rage its victory

Author’s Note: Approximately six months has passed since the night Benita left Isla Paradiso. Van has been unable to keep pace with the bills, so the bad debts amassed by Mitch and Wade continue to go unpaid. He has noticed … Continue reading Part 9 – built on Trust

Gazeta da Ilha has confirmed reports that Linda DuPont, daughter of simoleonaire businessman Jacques DuPont, has died. She was thirty-five. Isla Paradiso officials are describing the incident as a scuba diving accident. The official cause of death has been listed … Continue reading Part 8 – Corinth Resnick

An odd quiet befalls the house following Van’s amazing rescue at the diving buoy. Two distinct and disparate attitudes surrounding the event have emerged. They are as different as the sims who claim them. At one end of the emotional … Continue reading Part 7 – choosing to press “Play”

Governor Alfonzo Taxmoore, Esquire considers himself to be a patient man. Redirecting his newly hired assistant has provided plenty opportunity for him to explore whether or not this assertation holds true. He had met the young woman while visiting Isla … Continue reading Part 6 – finished with heroics

Van exhales with a long, exaggerated breath then rubs his tired eyes. Frustration had set almost immediately after attempting to learn how to write computer code at the library. Skyler passed along a bit of information she’d heard regarding tech companies from the mainland outsourcing much of their computer coding offshore. Van figured he had as good a chance as anybody landing a job. His outlook changed shortly after seeing what the work actually looked like. It wasn’t even simlish – just a bunch of weird symbols and squiggly lines. With the exception of the occasional actual word, like “if” … Continue reading Part 5 – no such thing

I’ve tried calling you all night. I wanted to tell you in person, but I haven’t been able to reach you. I’m minutes away from flying to the mainland to start a new job. Van deflates onto an old, wooden … Continue reading Part 4 – focusing on the present

Van lays sleepless in bed staring intently at the pile of unpaid bills cluttering his dresser, determined to somehow think them out of existence by way of pure tenacity and willpower. His confrontation with Omar a few weeks ago had resulted … Continue reading Part 3 – no debt too small

When I write a Sims story, I tend to think in terms of vague ideas and generalities rather than specifics of conversational dialog. Not only does this directly mimic the Sims gameplay, but also I think it suits my style of story-telling and fits well with my preferred format of captioning screenshots. From time to time, however, I do wonder what my sims are actually saying to each other. Depending upon how comfortable become with this new writing style, “In Other Words” may turn into a feature of the Stacpoole Legacy. In this way, I get the chance to reverse the experience for readers. I … Continue reading In Other Words – Scene 1

Residents native to Isla Paradiso have never shied away from a day’s work. But work has become scarce. Those fortunate enough to have found steady employment, often labor in menial and thankless jobs each day just to make ends meet. Despite the challenges they have faced as a … Continue reading Part 2 – celebration and thanksgiving

The equatorial, mid-morning sun shines through small windows opposite Van’s bed, waking him from a deep sleep. His alarm had already gone off a number of times in a fruitless effort to wake him in time for work. After each … Continue reading Part 1 – a surefire business venture