Schulmania

[Explodingsims 3]

Well, the waterfalls look great!

So, the next update is rated PG-13? What could this mean?

And will the next update be rated R or Hard R?

[Lyhoko Leaci 770]

It can't be R, because the site doesn't allow R... PG-13 is the highest rating possible here, though it can get close to the limit.

And what Schulmania stuff would be rated R anyway?

[Schulmanator 5,787]

All shall be revealed in just a few short hours....

are you ready???????

[Lyhoko Leaci 770]

Indeed... do you mind if I travel to the future to see it?

[Hester 699]

Indeed! And, if you do, please PM me the winning lottery numbers for tomorrow's jackpot.

[NMUSpidey 3,956]

Originally posted by: Hester Indeed! And, if you do, please PM me the winning lottery numbers for tomorrow's jackpot.quote>

Uh, me too (half of a lot is still a lot).

[Schulmanator 5,787]

SchulmAnniversary II


05 OCTOBER 2008


Celebrating Two Years of Schulmania



Today marks the second anniversary of the founding of Schulmania on Simtropolis. Two years ago, Volume 1 was established and the world got its first glimpse at a primitive society of Sims, living on a lush and hilly island. We watched as the Sims' society grew and developed, guided along the way by their intrepid leader, the Supreme Wirdle. We were there as they took their first hesitant steps to explore and colonize their home island. We shared in their struggles as their nation expanded across the known world - from the coast of Tenne to the great salt ocean to the east.

In two years, Schulmania has expanded to cover seven times the territory and have ten times the population as it did at its inception. In this time, the Supreme Wirdle was coronated and Admiral Hestorb was elevated to queenly status. New towns and regions have flowered on three sides of the original homeland and diverse areas have developed from Hestorbia to the Isle of Scout. Valiant explorers have opened up new horizons to the east, west, and south. Admiral Hestorb has been an essential component in many of the successful ventures in Schulmania since the first SchulmAnniversary in 2007.

Today, we see the motivation for Admiral Hestorb's relentless march toward progress. You see, she has an inspiration; one that drives her on a noble quest. Her explorations, her colonizations, her developments are all driven by a need; a desperate need to end the nightmares which have been haunting her. These terrifying, recurring visions have tormented her for months. She has spent sleepless hours trying to quell them in vain. In desperation, she turned to catnip to soothe her misery. Alas, it did not succeed. The images kept returning - day after heartbreaking day.

What could these images mean? Why do they keep recurring? What can she do to make them go away?









When these visions had gone on for a while, Admiral Hestorb went to Temple Terrace for guidance. There, she met with religious leaders who suggested that she reflect on the possible meaning of the visions and perhaps to engage upon a quest to find what was troubling her.



She took their advice and went to the Sacred Precinct for reflection and contemplation. While there, she got some relaxation and reflection time, but still had no cure for the ominous visions.



It was here that, several months ago, she renewed her dedication to exploring the western seas and finding the mythical land of Tenne. This mythical land, which, according to Schulminion legend, was a land flowing with milk and salmon which lied beyond the setting sun - and land where every good cat finds honor and glory. She viewed this recurring nightmare as perhaps a call to find this glorious land to the west.



The new lands found did indeed abound with fish, but the visions continued. Why could she not have nice, happy dreams of home?



Perhaps, she was approaching this all wrong. Maybe instead of searching the far corners of the world for the answers, she should search herself instead. Maybe, just maybe, the quest she should take up is an internal quest. In hopes of this, Admiral Hestorb set forth to her vacation home in the southern town of Hestorbia. Here, she would wrestle with these visions, devoting her full time and energy to finding the truth - the truth which will set her free.



Only a select few knew of the torment she had been experiencing. These visions have imprisoned her consciousness. They dominate her subconsciousness. She felt like a prisoner, condemned to a life of recurring visions of terrifying monsters and unbridled destruction.



To prepare herself for facing the monsters, she went to the local market and bought herself some supplies: food, water, milk, and an extra fluffy pillow.



These provisions would hopefully sustain her while her unique quest takes place. She headed home to have a nice warm bowl of milk and prepare for a very eventful sleep. As luck would have it, she fell asleep in short order. Then, the vision returned.



But, she did not panic and wake up. No, not this time. This time, she stayed asleep and forced herself to confront this demon. She would not climb a tree to hide from this phantom. She was going to face it and find out what was really going on. As a menacing hiss started to fill her ears and sinister cackles punctuated the darkness, she held firm. She would not yield. She must know the truth. She soldiered on. The hissing and cackles grew to an intolerable din. She asked herself "What am I doing? Have I gone bananas?" And, then, an answer.



"You have not" replied a voice. She looked up (still in her dream state) and saw a cat in a banana. "If you were bananas," the voice continued, "you would look like this." Finally, something different happened to interrupt the nightmarish progression which normally filled her sleep. Intrigued by this development, and by the prospect of an internal dialogue of sorts, her slumbering subconscious continued to engage the newcomer.

"What does this all mean?"

"Admiral, you must look deep within yourself. There, you will find the answers to what has been troubling you."

"Have I done something wrong?"

"Not at all. But, something has upset you. And, you won't be at peace until you learn what it is and deal with it."

"How do I begin this quest?"

"Search as deep into your mind as you can. Once you get there, begin to search yet more. Look for clues and follow the leads. Be strong, and you will find what you seek." With that, the mysterious banana cat disappeared and Admiral Hestorb was left to ponder her options. Should she wake up and end this or should she stay asleep and delve deeper into her feline psyche until she finds the true cause of this recurring problem? She chose the latter and slept on.



She envisioned an old stone watchtower, not unsimilar to those found in the heritage districts of Schulmanicus. She would have to be watchful as she began this quest. And would be well-served by having a series of these along the way, to guard her on her way and guide her back when she is done.

She began her journey through the woods in earnest. She was not sure she would know what to look for, but she knew where to go to find out. Her long journey guided her past many fond memories and cherished experiences.



Memories and experiences appeared as a sylvan glen, punctuated by wildflowers and gently warmed by a warm, golden sun. She remembered a happy moment when she gave the Supreme Wirdle a lovely new blanket, one she created by knitting with her own claws with fur spun into yarn.



She continued on her way. She was heading somewhere she had not been in a long time. She was heading straight to the Sanctuary of Kitten Memories. This seems like the logical place to start. After all, all that Hestorb knows begins here. It is a place she does not go to often anymore. After all, she was born in December 1997, which, in cat years, is long, long ago. Some of her early memories are crumbled away, lost in the relentless passage of time. But, many important things remain there, making it the perfect place to continue her inner journey.

As she approached the site, she saw many of her old experiences had indeed crumbled away, but the essence of them remained. Isn't that the case with most of us?







She approached the center of her kitten memories, ready to seek inspiration and guidance to pursue the terrible visions she has been having and to conquer them.







As she entered the structure, she knew she had come to the right place. Is it something from her past haunting her? She had to find out. She decided to consult with her inner visionary. What does she see?



The message was clear: "You know something is wrong. You forgot about it. But it is still there. Remember it and you will know what you must do."

She must search her memories to find something she knows is wrong. That means a trek to the Admiral Archive, high atop Mt. Hestorb. Just as she got herself ready for the arduous journey, she was interrupted by a serious of disturbing images.







She shuddered. She knew she had to find the cause of these terrible images so that she could put a stop to them. She needed to go search her memories as quickly as possible. The trek to Mt. Hestorb must begin at once. She began the long walk through the woods and across all of her consciousness to reach Mt. Hestorb. It seemed like it would take forever. But, she had found the trail to the summit before she realized how far she had come.



She began the steep climb to the top... walking at a fairly brisk pace. She was anxious to get to the top to find out what was going on. And, she was anxious that she would find out what was going on. Together, those two provided enough adrenaline to keep her moving onward and upward.


And upward.... And upward.

Finally, she caught sight of the Pool of Tuna. She knew she had reached the summit. She would stop and refresh herself with some tuna juice before entering the archive.


After a rest, she got up and faced her destiny: the source of all of her troubles would be behind the doors of the Archive, which was just up the hill. Was she ready? She thought she was.


She paused as she examined the huge wooden doors. She did not know what fate awaited her beyond them, but she knew that it was her fate. She had to do it. With a big sigh and a mixture of courage and reservation, she approached the doors, pushed mightily, and gained entrance.


Inside, the filtered light from the long windows gave a subdued glow to the large interior chamber. She needed to search the archives and find what it was that caused this disturbing, recurring vision. Her quest began at the first shelf of books. She scanned titles, hurriedly checking for titles which might indicate problems. Shelf after shelf, row after row, Hestorb continued. She found some problems, for sure, but nothing of the magnitude of these visions - and, nothing which would create these vivid images. After what seemed to be hours, she ran across a title which aroused her interest.



True, killer tomatoes were considered to be a force to be reckoned with, in ancient days, but it has since been proven to be hysteria and not the imminent destructive force her ancestors feared. Could this mean she feared a resurgence of killer tomatoes? Unlikely. Scientific evidence has proven conclusively that these stories are myths, nothing more. There had to be more to her visions than that. She needed to delve deeper. This was something much stronger - and much more significant. Far, far in the back, in a dimly lit corner covered with dust and cobwebs sat one book whose title immediately raised her attention.


She grabbed the book, dusted it off, and flipped open the cover. It is not a good sign when a book has a disclaimer. But, this one did. It caused her to reel, taking a step or two backwards and left her questioning her fortitude. It read:



She decided she was up to the challenge. So, she turned to Chapter 1, entitled "If you are looking for trouble, you will surely find it." Ominous. She began to read. It seems, according to this work, that trouble was coming and it could not be avoided. Big trouble. Dangerous trouble. This, she figured out already. But, what was the trouble? She read on.

She reviewed many trials and tribulations. Life as an esteemed and revered leader is not all Fancy Feast. Many difficult choices and hard decisions must be made. Sometimes, unforeseen events cause the best plans to be shredded and discarded. One of the hardest decisions she faced was scrapping and rebuilding the fleets of exploration after the Schulmericho Shipwreck to make the ships sturdier. It cost vast sums and halted maritime exploration for an extended period of time. But, that hard choice had a good ending - the discovery of Tenne. There had to be something else. She read on. Chapter after chapter, she was unable to find any one event which seemed to be the trigger of this whole scenario. Hestorb decided to flip to the index and look for a chapter which seemed to be particularly ominous. She found it. "Hidden Dangers & Ominous Signs" was Chapter 6. She turned to page 333. It began:

"Hidden in plain sight, the seeds of one's own destruction yield a bountiful crop of woe. Woe to those who do not seek out the seedlings of doom and pull them from the soil! Woe to them who greet the morning sun in the east when it shines only to warm the terrible harvest to come. Tremble in fear! Seek out the black stalks of wrath growing in your midst. Grasp them and rip them from the ground. Tarry not, for the wicked sun will rise and shine on them, casting you into the shadows. You will reap despair in a harvest of misfortune. You must find these seeds. You must remove them. You must hurry. Or, all is lost."

She dropped the book and jumped back in alarm. She had to go... quick! And, out the door she ran. To where, she was not sure. She looked up and saw a new road sign.



Considering the choices, there was no good option. She barreled pas the sign and raced down the hill into the woods. Surely whatever evil seedlings of doom must be growing there. She must find them. She must. Tumbling deeper into the woods, she noticed that the trees must be blocking the sun. The dappled light grew ever fainter as she went farther in. The woods grew ever thicker.



Admiral Hestorb hesitated, knowing that the darkest reaches of the forest held the darkest secrets. The trees she encountered seemed to be growing in rows. This was not natural. Someone, or something, had planted these menacing trees. As she entered this forbidding grove, her tension level mounted. Disturbing images flashed into her mind in a rapid-fire progression of misery.




The strobing images caused her to stagger back. In fear, she almost turned back. She steeled herself and decided to press on. She did not come this far to turn back now. This was it. She was ready to face her fears. She was ready to confront the repressed memories hidden deep within her. She was ready to challenge the torment she has been experiencing once and for all. She must know what the problem is. Know it, face it, and defeat it.

She began her final approach. As she entered the thickest part of the woods, the part where darkness holds sway and the gnarled black trunks and branches intertwine like a coarsely woven fabric of impending doom, she heard again the horrible sounds of hissing and buzzing and groaning, ever louder with each passing step. Despite the growing cacophony, Admiral Hestorb pressed on. Each step a determined effort to face down this menace. Each step brings her closer to discovering the terrible truth.

The darkness closed in around her as she descended deeper into the woods. She thought she could take no more, but there appeared to be a glimmer of dappled light ahead. She trudged on. She approached what appeared to be a clearing. There was no doubt anymore - this place as no accident. It was cultivated. Who, or what, would cultivate the seeds of terrible nightmares? And, why?

All perfectly good questions to ponder later. Now, she could see there was something ahead. She knew she had come to the core of the issue. This is where the problems came from. And this is where she must face them.



She strode up to the structure. It was bound tightly. She started scratching her way through the cord and into the side of the structure. She had to find out what was inside. As she penetrated the brown side of the structure, the loud background sound suddenly stopped and it became eerily quiet. The puncture began to grow as she continued work. No light, no sound emanated from within. The opening gradually got wider. She was able to widen it just enough to look inside. She tried, but saw nothing. She continued until the opening was wide enough to allow some light from outside to penetrate. As the light shone, it seemed almost to be sucked into the blackness of the structure's ominous interior.

Once again, she peered inside. It seemed to be empty. As she scanned the walls, she saw nothing. But, at one corner she saw something faintly reflecting light. She stared intently, eyes narrowing. As she focused, she made out eyes staring back at her.



The effect of these hideous eyes glaring unblinkingly and menacingly at her caused her to jump back with great alarm. The shock of this was too much. Hestorb awakened with a start, unable to continue the dream. As her heart raced and adrenaline coursed through her body, she remembered all of the vivid details of this surreal dream. And, she knew the cause. Something she had forgotten from far back in the past. She remembered where she saw those eyes before: in the vision which foretold grave danger to Schulmericho. Admiral Hestorb was now on notice: defend Schulmericho. Now, the hard questions: When? How? From whom?

[balkair 6]

just a-w-e-s-o-m-e!! *speechless*

[Hester 699]

Schulmanator..this is the be all and end all of updates. I never expected any of it. And you sure did build toward a terrible chapter- to -be. Poor Admiral..no wonder she's been seeking solace in her catnip. I wonder if anyone ever asked her why she was so haggard all the time? This situation looks menacing.

[patriots_1228 51]

OMG AOE PICZSHURS!11111ONE

. Thats quite the intense update. Do you do all the photoshopping for the things like the "Have I gone bannanas?" picture?

[sc4portugal 10]

o m g t h a t w as o n e u p d a te h o ly ****

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

[blue sinjid 7]

Hey this is a great Cj.HOpe u wil continue ...

[NMUSpidey 3,956]

Does that mean that spiders are the bad guys? Does that mean that all vestiges of spiders are going to be defended against and *GASP* BANISHED?? oh no...

[willg 0]

wow.. wow.. wow wow wow! Please say this the first part of 2. That was one, if not the best updates i have ever seen.

[gabry85 2]

Oh wow, that's creepy indeed. Trouble times, fire elementals, killer tomatoes and pack...ag...es are ahead. W-what??? Br-brown packages!? NOOOOOOOoooooooooo!!! Anything but packages, pleeeease! We're all doomed!

Ahhh, much better...

Happy Anniversary Schulmania!

[xV.I.N.C.E.N.T.x 0]

Happy 2 years bud.

Congrats on the longevity.

Vin.

[Lyhoko Leaci 770]

Interesting update... does anything in Hestorb's visions exist in the real world at all? (like the package and the lines of trees)

Can't wait for more!

[TimeMaster 4]

That was AWESOME!!! And I know an Age of Empires III photo when I see it, and I saw one in the top part of the update!! Weird... GREAT Update!

-Time

[dedgren 830]

That's pretty epic, Bruce. I'm still taking it all in, but I'd say you've pretty much mastered the genre at this point. You've also shown the wisdom of choosing something and keeping at it.

Congrats in advance on the inevitable Hall of Fame induction and multiple Trixies- they are richly deserved.

Oh, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY SCHULMANIA!

David

[edmonton_stinks 5]

Wow, what an update!! That is very, very impressive. I guess the Admiral will have to wait and see. I'm sure she's prepared.

Happy SchulmAnniversary!

[Gn_leugim 853]

first of all: happy birthdayyyyyyyyy

and second: great update OO

[anarchy0029 2]

This is bad-ass!!!! I want to wish you a happy anniversary, it was a heck of a read, but everything was interesting and the update was nice!!! Happy Schulmanniversary.

[lucky7 73]

Honestly, I have no words. Well... here they are. This update rocks, and Happy Anniversary. This is really dense, I love how you included Adm. Hestorb's feelings and the inner reflection of her fears, dreams and visions to give the whole update a just perfect psychological touch- and it's all so true. This is a fictious (and Cjournalistic, of course) climax combined with human nature at her best.

To tell the truth, this is the BEST update ever seen on ST, and gladfully a whole new approach to showing a CJ. Wow.

btw: the pics are great!

Take care,

lucky7

[panthersimcity4 162]

Wow! That was awesome.

I love the picture with the cat in the banana, so cute!

[Explodingsims 3]

WOW!!

That was the greatest update so far!

So, Schulmaina is headed for war?

Great Anniversary Update!

[ilikehotdogsalot 308]

Wow, my life is now complete!

[Twenty20 28]

Wow !! what a update ! the suspense of this story is really great. Can't wait to know more !!

and : Happy Schulmanniversary !!

[Benedict 3,119]

Happy anniversary!

[PhatHead 247]

Happy  

          Party Time           Fruity Good 

[Zelgadis 638]

Let me guess. Save the cheerleader, save Schulmania.

ISF