#simsbustinout

Back to where it all started...

...and eventually became THIS:

Cali was thrown a huge promotion celebration aboard the massive S.S. Simoleons with all her friends, co-workers, press, and fans.

It felt more like a bon voyage party, knowing that her time in this special world was wrapping up soon. She still had one more stop.

MOM directed her to the special crossroads that "linked" up with Sim Valley, so she could jog over to the Burning Spoke bar in town.

Giuseppi Mezzoalto: "Cali! How YOU doing? Your beauty in person definitely outshines the cover of that mag, know what I mean, eh?"

Vera Vex: "UGH!! Stop undressing her with your eyes, you perv!!"

Giuseppi: "AY- YOH!! My intentions are pure, grape-head!! [At this point, Dusty Hogg loudly cleared his throat in a low growl].

Vera: "You're right. Let's take this discussion inside. It's hot out."

Cali still felt a little paranoid, with all these public eyes on her now. Not just from her lingerie photos in that magazine, but from the fame of reaching Level 10, and giving Senator Landgraab a good beating.

Dusty: "Ed Renalin sends his best. He's training for that Champion of the Simverse competition, and couldn't make it today."

Cali: "I just wanted to say thanks again for covering that quest for me, and muscling the muscle over at Toane's Gym. Are you all OK?"

Vera: "Of course! But I think these guys had a little too much fun."

Giuseppi: "AY! Speak for yourself! You were thrashing every female in sight, like you were in some mosh pit, though I was impressed."

Cali: "Haha...wish I could have seen that." [Cali's thoughts trailed off, as she glanced over at Vera. She had the looks of her ex, Vanessa, but also the stylish grit and tenacity of her old classmate Lilith.]

Giuseppi: "It was a rush giving Malcolm's thugs their come-uppance, and ME finally completing my community service for...you know..."

Vera: "Breaking into Uncle Hayseed's house, tying him up, and trying to steal--" [Giuseppi loudly protested, while Dusty growled at the two to knock it off in front of their guest. Cali just blew off the comment, totally trusting these people she just met...and was leaving soon.]

Dusty: "So this is it, eh? You're going back to your own world soon?"

Cali: "Yeah. I said my goodbye's to everyone, but I had to at least thank you guys in person. I wish there was a way for me to just pop back over here whenever...I better not cling to that pipedream."

Giuseppi: "Yeah, as if it was as easy as that little transporter in the steam tunnels. One of those zodiac recliners is still missing, too."

Vera: "Probably in that manor, that's now a vacation rental."

Cali: "Speaking of manors, it looks like Malcolm lost one of his beach mansions to MOM in the alimony lawsuit. She even invited Mimi and Dudley to stay over, whenever they wanted, being her step kids."

Giuseppi: "WHOA! I bet that place has some nice--"

Vera: "DON'T even go there! LITERALLY!!" [He still laughed creepy.]

The four continued their chat about things, including what the rest of Sim Valley was like, its quirky residents, as well as the mysteries that Cali was unraveling. She made a bunch of notes from her time here, which made her wonder about a lot of things.

Who would be the mother/father figure in her own world, governing the laws of it? What happened to all the kids that went off to boarding school, especially Bella's twins? Who was the Landgraab that was briefly over here years ago? Would Malcolm's loss of power in this world have any impact on the other worlds out there?

After saying her goodbyes, Cali jogged back to the crossroads, then hopped on that scooter to head to Malcolm's former beach manor.

MOM would be waiting for her, and sending her newbie out into the world, her own world. It was time for Cali to head back home.

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Motorcycle was created by Esmeralda. Payphone was created by Nickname. Vera and Giuseppi were created by rrobin0609. Dusty was created by Chinatsueatsyou. Arcade console was created by Viccs. Malcolm's beach manor was created by DaniNikki.

That first PlaySim magazine hit the news stands, with Cali Skye gracing the cover. There was much shock, curiosity, and gossip that circulated even faster than the magazine itself.

One day later, what happened next topped it. Lawsuits were served to PlaySim and its stockholders, mainly to its primary one Malcolm Landgraab. News channels immediately jumped on this hot story!

Newscaster: "Senator Malcolm Landgraab was among the PlaySim magazine stockholders served with a lawsuit by a law enforcement officer representing Cali Skye. She had a signed contract that stated that the photo shoots will include NO nudity, which was breached."

[While Malcolm and his people were distracted during the signing, the legal assistant sneakily typed the word "NO" on the contract, before printing it off, and handing it over to be signed.]

Newscaster: "In addition, another model was blackmailed into posing de-pixeled, made up to look like the feature model Cali Skye. It appears the other model, a Ying Yangst, was under fire with Senator Landgraab, who even had repossessed property from their nature retreat, using it to hold the model and her partner hostage."

Newscaster: "In related news, all confiscated objects held in that impound lot are being released to their rightful owners."

[Fran returned from her long vacation, and was happy to see Chase got his tetherball back. She couldn't wait to slap Chase's ball--]

Newscaster: "There has been a public outpouring of sympathy for the wronged Cali Skye, as well as the other model Ying. Due to all the protests, PlaySim magazine has folded after the first issue. It was bought out by a women's group, and all of the office workers will retain their jobs on the new magazine CoSIMSmopolitan."

Newscaster: "Senator Landgraab has been removed as the head of the governmental Senate, as a vote was taken, with young go-getter Nora Zealott becoming the new Chief of Senate. Landgraab is currently dealing with alimony and child support funds illegally withheld, which could be now due to his ex-wife and children."

MOM: "Yeah! SHOW ME THE MONEY!!"

Newscaster: "In other news, a neighborhood brawl took place at Toane's Gym between suspected mob thugs and a group of vigilantes from Sim Valley..."

MOM: "Oh, that's right. I forgot all about that little side quest. I'll have to send Cali over to Sim Valley to give them her thanks in person. She needs to see that results of that LINK her mom found."

Hope you enjoyed these Sims Bustin' Out LORE episodes! Here's a video with the game's opening video, as well as the celebration clips for completing each of the seven career paths: Fashion Victim, Paramilitary, Jock, Mad Scientist, Counter Culture, Gangster, and Movie Star. The final one is for completing all seven. SUL SUL!!

Thanks to all you readers and mutuals for joining me on this nostalgia trip, and to all the CC creators that really enhanced it!!

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Cali spent some time baring her soul (and other things!) at the Pixel Acres nature retreat with her hosts Ying Yangst and Chase Skurtz.

Getting out of her comfort zone in the fresh mountain air cleared her head, and helped her think straight. With Ying and Chase's help, she finally had that a-ha moment, devising a new plan of attack. This would involve their photographer friends Paisley Rainbow and Randy Hart from Casa Caliente, who would help with Cali's photo shoot.

The first part of the photo shoot was a tasteful, clothed, lingerie session at a studio. This one was for the PlaySim magazine cover, as well as the intro photos for Cali's full body pictorial.

Only Cali and Paisley were there. Paisley calmed Cali's nerves by having her picture just Cali and her special someone behind closed doors. Cali immediately thought about Zhuli, and couldn't wait to see her again back home. Paisley's method worked, as Cali put her heart and soul into Part One of this photo shoot and master plan.

Then it was time to gather the team for Part Two at Casa Caliente. This was the home of Paisley and Randy, right on the beach. It even had its own heart-shaped hot tub from creator Sixam.CC on the back deck. It was the perfect place to set the mood for LURRRRVE.

Detective Dan D. Mann was the last to arrive and greeted everyone. "Hey, Cali…Randy…and…..CALI????"

Ying: "Gotcha! It's me, Ying. Did we even fool a detective HAHA!"

Detective Dan: "Ha! I'll admit it. You got me. How in the heck…?"

Ying: "Our girl Cali used all those skills she learned as a Wig Designer, Hair Stylist, and Makeup Artist. She's not just a pretty face, right?"

Cali: "Oh, stop…[giggling] I had a lot of help from the co-workers I met during my Fashion Victim career path. I didn't realize how many people want to help me, and TAKE DOWN Malcolm."

The crew headed inside the Casa Caliente house to talk some more. Cali noticed the usual indoor photo studio setup, but loved the interior of their beach-side love shack. It gave her ideas for home.

The crew convened to the dining table to work out the details for the second au naturel photo shoot out back on the deck. Model Ying and photographer Randy were the main players in this part.

They were working against the clock, as they wanted to get these shots just before sundown. Keep the lighting to a minimum on Ying's face, while also using her wig and sunglasses to conceal her identity.

The crew had their bullet points all laid out, ready to shoot this pivotal photo set. They let Cali take a breather, after the work she put in on her own photo shoot earlier, plus getting Ying's makeover together.

Cali headed outside to take in the view, and just enjoy the present moment. She couldn't believe how many friends she made in this world, that were leaping into battle to protect her.

As much as she was excited about going home, she was sad to be leaving all these wonderful sims behind, and wondered if she would ever see them again after this. It was an eye-opening experience, to say the least. But Cali was one of many Sims to bust out of her own comfort zone, and she was a better one, because of it.

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NOTE: The previous episode was incorrectly marked as #58, but should have been #56, so I have corrected that now.

The two model paintings in the studio were by Samtuse963.

The Love and Double Heart neon signs were by Grayvixen.

Casa Caliente lot was by Fairalena_Sims.

Paisley Rainbow and Randy Hart sims were by sims4fan2000.

Malcolm gave everyone a hard deadline for the first issue of his new PlaySim magazine to go to print. Some of the women on this brand new staff were transferred in here against their will, and wished this magazine would flop out of the gate. But with this mainstream icon Cali Skye gracing the cover (and the centerfold), it would be a hit.

But the women were encouraged to hear that Cali didn't want to go through it either, and were glad to know a plan was in the works. Cali managed to get control of the shoots: location, photographer, and clothes, thanks to some contracts the women in legal tweaked.

MOM called over to a couple friends: Ying Yangst and Chase Skurtz. The two ran a fenced-in, "clothing optional" nature retreat, for those that just wanted to "get back to nature." MOM was a customer, too.

Cali felt a little squeamish at first, but figured this would help her get out of her "comfort zone," as far as this centerfold photo shoot. She rolled up to the retreat, as that high wall guarded their privacy from any looky-loos. Considering this was a retro world, at least there were no paparazzi or drones lurking about here.

Ying: "Hey! You must be Cali! MOM told us all about you and your career advancement problems, courtesy of that a-hole Malcolm."

Cali: "Oh, so you two have a beef with him, too?"

Ying: "Yeah, he's tried to get us shut down, like this place is immoral, and even repossessed some of our stuff, like this ping pong table."

Chase: "Hi, Cali. I'm Chase Skurtz. Nice to meet you. Come to think of it, Malcolm still has my Tetherball set at his impound lot."

Ying: "Yeah, and I do miss SMACKING your ball around the pole--"

Chase: "H.R.!! Inappropriate conversation!!" [They both laughed, as this was the type of ammo Malcolm was using to get Pixel Acres closed for good, but they were two more allies for Cali against him.]

Ying: "Well, Cali, we're here to get you over your fear of pixels, so let's get on with it. Don't worry. You're in a safe place here."

Chase: 'See? We're protected by pixels, so no shame in going all out."

Ying: "I wonder if Malcolm's people will try to airbrush the pixels off our girl here, just to fulfill the wicked whims of their overlord. Argh!"

Cali: "I'm good now. Oh, and thanks for helping me out with this!"

Ying: "Hell, I would do the centerfold shoot for you, just to help you out, but that wouldn't get you the promotion, though. Bastards..."

Cali: "It's the thought that counts, so thanks for that, too!"

Cali got her mind off her current situation, and just had some fun on her days off from her career. She played some ping pong at Foxbury as a uni student, so she was giving Chase and Ying competition.

Meanwhile, she was telling the two about her time here in this world, including each and every job she went through on the Fashion Victim career path.

Come to think of it, Cali did learn a lot, while jumping from Fingernail Painter to Wig Designer to Makeup Artist. Her brain started kicking in, as she was processing this data for new ideas.

After a nice yoga session, the three had to hit the open-air showers.

Chase: "Not to be a perv, but now that I've had a closer look, you two almost have the same body type. You could be TWINS!"

Ying: "Hey now! I saw where your eyes were looking, when you said the words TWINS! Don't make me slap your tetherball..."

After getting cleaned up, they hit the hot springs bath to soothe the sore muscles. Cali was getting a little light-headed looking over at Ying, and had to scoot away a bit, for her own sake.

Chase: "So you have two photo shoots: the saucy lingerie one where you're clothed, and...the other one. And two locations, to boot."

Ying: "I know! Why don't we get Paisley Rainbow and Randy Hart over at Casa Caliente to handle the photo shoots!"

Chase: "Ah! This is why I love you. They have a bitchin' beach house, and it would be a great location. We also trust them, so they won't pull anything funny here. Just two more allies in your quest, Cali."

Cali: "That would be great!....Hmmm" [She was in deep thought, so the other two kept quiet, letting her sort it out in her genius head. It looked like she had an a-ha moment, so Chase broke the silence.]

Chase: "Did you figure something out?"

Cali: "I think I have an idea, but only if you're able to help out." Ying and Chase didn't even have to ask for details. If it involved getting back at Malcolm, they were all in with Cali's plan.

Next stop: Casa Caliente!

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Ying Yangst and Chase Skurtz sims created by Fairen_Sims