Murky 1.1: Where Am I?

The evening starts off like any other.
My main squeeze Hayate phones me for an after-work dinner date at Shimuzu, our favorite restaurant.
We’re both highly successful professionals and can easily afford our affluent lifestyles.

Hayate started out as a programmer but now owns a wildly profitable IT firm.
As for me, I’m a botanical designer. No, no, not a mere florist or a practitioner of flower arranging.
I’m an artiste! I create lavishly imaginative artworks made from my own genetically-crossbred greenery and flowers.
You’ve no doubt seen some of my pieces in the foyer of the top hotels. *buffs nails on right shoulder

Hayate and I have been coming to Shimuzu ever since we started dating a year ago.
Shimuzu opened up in Countryside Windenburg around the same time, so it’s the same age as “we” are.

It’s not an exclusively vegetarian restaurant, but does offer a variety of savory vegetarian dishes!
And there’s also that outgoing, hissing waiter. What’s not to like about Shimuzu?

Last March, while I was visiting my parents in Kyoto (who simply refuse to leave their ancestral home), I met Hayate at a manga café.
After chatting a bit and exchanging numbers, he left for a meeting. What a surprise that we both lived in San Myshuno’s Art Quarter!

Well, needless to say, we started seeing each other once we both got back.
I really couldn’t imagine how I’d ever lived without him!

Tonight, when Hayate phoned, he mentioned having something really important to ask me. I’m thinking he’s going to pop the big question.

Go on, baby boy! Go ahead and ask me. I’ve already prepared an acceptance speech!

He fumbles around in his jacket pocket and seems about to propose when…it happens.

Everyone in the restaurant hears other-wordly, high-pitched noises outside so we all go outdoors to check it out.
What’s going on here? What happened to the sun?!

The last thing I remember is my vision going dark, except for the weird, dancing lights.

I don’t know how long I’d passed out, but I wake up to find that I’m alone in a desert.
Where could Hayate have gone?

I look at a nearby signboard and see that I’m in place called Murkland.
Hold onto your seats, folks, cuz this looks like it’s gonna be one crazy ride!

I’m so glad that you may be joining me on this adventure because, frankly, I’m feeling pretty lonely right this moment.
But…I’m glad to be alive! *takes a deep breath

But what happened to Hayate, I wonder? How did we get separated? Is he alive? Is he safe?
Where am I? And what the heck do I do now?

Looking around, I see an envelope with a questionable stamp, lying on a picnic table.
Sheesh, why bother to write “Confidential” if you’re just gonna leave it on a table like that?
Hey, it’s addressed to me. That’s right, my name’s oshizu.

Inside, there’s a short message with several long pages of “Rules.”

Welcome, gentle readers, to my first attempt at Post-Apocalyptic Murkland: The Starter Challenge.
The challenge itself as well as all of the Murkland builds and premade Murkland townies are the creations of an incredibly talented simmer named Brennachan.
In addition, I’ve also imported the simselves of several other Murkland players from the Gallery into my Murkland.

You can read all about the rules here. Come join the fun and get your murk on!

So my story really begins here on the Murkland Starter lot, where I embark on a struggle for survival (with ageing-off, hehe).
In case you’re wondering, my lot traits are Quake Zone, Grody, and Filthy.

 

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Week 1/Sunday

After reading through all the rules, I’m thinking I’m dealing with six main goals here:

• Eat one trash fruit a day
• Evolve 16 perfect trash plants
• Reach Level 2 Herbalism and learn the Deodorizing Cream recipe from the hermit
• Max the Dancing and Gardening skills
• Complete the Friend of the World aspiration
• Save $15,000 by end of the challenge

Since I presently have zero cash, trash, skills, and friends, I should perhaps start by earning some simoleons.
Honestly, though, I have no idea what to do first. Eat from the cooler? Rummage? Fish? Dig?

Breakfast, it is! Well, yeah, I’m a glutton. How did you guess?

I’ve never grown a trash plant before without enclosing my trash pile inside walls.
And I’m surely an impatient fool for starting my trash piles before the Welcome Wagon comes over.
But voila! Behold the humble beginnings of my future trash plant empire!

While I’m out rummaging through the public trash bins, I spy the notorious Mad Mud across the street, looking my way.
He’s the owner of the Puffer Dome, that restaurant which only serves F-quality pufferfish nigiri-zushi.
I’m not feeling up to socializing with him yet.

Oh, right! I’m a Friend of the World! I start by introducing myself to Tarzan.
He turns out to be Crag of the Cliff Dwellers, a clan living in northern Murkland.
Hey, just cuz you’re in a loincloth, Crag, don’t give you no right to act flirty!

I want to avoid interacting with Uma of the Infected clan, but she pushes her way into our convo.

I’m not sure why the Welcome Wagon never visits me today. I feel…unwelcome.
Oh well! Until nature calls, I pass the day digging and fishing.

If I could garden and cook, I’d be super delighted that my first catch was a lemon!
But since I can’t, I don’t appreciate that $2 lemon as much as my $38 trout or my $160 Whirlyflower frog.

While I’m back at the lot, I spot a familiar face!
Excuse me while I go introduce myself and enjoy a fangirl moment. Why, hello Lisa Bee!

It’s not even 5 pm, and my hygiene’s almost completely tanked. So embarrassing!
Lisa Bee, bless her heart, pretends not to notice the green fumes.
Sadly, I can only bathe at the Hot Springs on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

And by the way, you only see the back of  Lisa Bee’s head today, but we’ll be visiting her real soon!

I still haven’t eaten my trash fruit for the day, so I travel to What’s Left of the Gym in search of trash plants.
It’s not a bad idea to explore the place so I check out all the objects and trash bins.

It’s a pretty neat place for socializing, I find, so I try my hand at a yard sale.
For some reason, no one is looking at my fabulous wares. Oh wait, I need to click “Start yard sales”!  Durrrrr

It’s too late to sell anything today but I’m going to try again tomorrow!
And, by the way, I couldn’t find any trash plants here.

I wonder if the Mad Mudders Encampment will have a trash plant I can harvest?

Running around the back, I find four which I harvest as quickly as my grubby fingers allow.
Maybe tending other Murklanders’ plants is a way to learn gardening until I have plants of my own.

And just so you know, I can only grow my own trash plants from trash, no planting harvested trash fruit!

I’m dying to crawl into my tent for some well-deserved sleep, but I remember to eat my daily trash fruit.
Hmmm…that was okay.

Okay, so maybe my sleep isn’t so well-deserved.
Today, I didn’t make a single simoleon cuz, you know, I can’t just sell stuff directly from my inventory.
I’m sure I’ll make a killing at tomorrow’s yard sale!
Oh, and I want to visit my next-door neighbors, the Freegans. Izzat short for Free Lovin’ Vegans!?

Sweet dreams and hope you’ll join me tomorrow, too!

Murky 1.2: Grunge, Filth, and Trash Plants