Realm of Dusk - The Darkdusk Legacy - Chapter 10: Catastrophe

In the Realm of Night...

Desirae: "Do it now!  Destroy the upstarts!"
Roberto: "But it could destroy us as well..."
Desirae: "I said do it!"

Back in the Realm of Dusk...

The Darkdusk household adapts to the newest addition.  Maria is glad to have another "sister;" Kelly and Cyrus see Cari's daughter as nothing more than a means to an end.  Kelly notices that the household is running low on food, so she goes to rob the grocery store.

As Kelly exits the house, she notices that it is even hotter than before.  As she goes to the store, she looks up to see something weird in the sky.  It looks just like the Realm of Night, and it's getting bigger!  When she gets to the store, she gets a phone call from Cari.

Cari: "They're insane!"
Kelly: "What?"
Cari: "Didn't you see the Realm of Night in the sky?  They're trying to merge it with the Realm of Dusk!  That's why it was deteriorating!"
Kelly: "Desirae wants to take over both Realms!"
Cari: "But she and her cronies will end up DESTROYING both Realms!"
Kelly: "Isn't there anything we can do to stop them?"
Cari: "Not at this point...all we can do is ride out the storm.  Gather your family - and my daughter - and meet me at my house!"

Kelly steals a few plasma fruit, runs back home, and tells the household what is going on.  They pile into a taxi and drive to Cari's house.

When they get there, Cari is standing outside.  She calls everyone in, locks the door, boards up the windows, and says that it should hold.

It doesn't.

When the Realm of Night impacts the Realm of Dusk, the house collapses from the sheer energy released by the merge.  Indeed, all the buildings in both Realms - including Sorenson Castle - collapse.

When the dust settles, the merged Realm is a wasteland.  Kelly, Cyrus, Maria, Maya, Cari and her daughter, Desirae, and Roberto are just eight of the millions of people killed by Desirae's all-consuming desire for power.

The End of Realm of Dusk

It's unfortunate that I have to say this, but I'm going to be ending Realm of Dusk after Chapter 10.  The deterioration of the Realm of Night in Chapter 9 wasn't me Photoshopping the screenshots.  It was file corruption.  And because I didn't realize what it was in time (I thought it was my game lagging), I don't have any backups from before the corruption.  Thus, I don't have a working file to play the Darkdusks.

This also means that there will be no pictures for Chapter 10.

I wouldn't do this if I had any other choice; I've had as fun a time writing the Darkdusks as you have had reading about them.  But it is unfortunately time to leave Kelly and Cyrus.  I will be starting another challenge in another world on this blog after I tie up the loose ends with the Darkdusks.

Realm of Dusk - The Darkdusk Legacy - Chapter 9: Sorenson's Fall

Kelly starts to teach Maya the ways of the Vampire.  Maya is a quick learner.

The next day, Kelly and Cari get ready to cross over to the Realm of Night.

Cari: “It’s time to end the Sorenson threat once and for all!”

And, with Cari’s expertise, they cross over safely.  The two land near a house in a dark corner of the Realm of Night.

Kelly: “We made it…”
Cari: “Something’s not right, though.  The Realm is deteriorating.”
Kelly: “We’ll worry about that later.  Let’s find Donna and your son.”

As the duo travel closer and closer to the Sorenson mansion, the signs of the Realm’s deterioration get worse and worse.  Finally they make it there, to be greeted by a young Human man.

???: “Mother?  Is that you?”
Cari: “Yes, it’s me.  I’ve come to get you out of here.”
Cari’s son: “That’s not going to be easy.  Once the Sorensons see I’m gone…”

Before he can finish the sentence, Donna Sorenson comes out to see what’s going on.

Donna: “Kelly Sorenson.  How nice of you to return.  Please, come in.”
Kelly: “I think I will.”

Within seconds, Donna Sorenson is dead.

Desirae: “Dear sister, thank you so much for aiding me in my ascension.  Allow me to repay you.”
Cari (whispering to Kelly): “Quick...let’s find him and leave!”
Kelly (whispering to Cari): “Right!”

Cari: “We’re too late.  I can sense it…he’s…dead.”
Kelly: “We’d better get out of here!  Desirae will kill us next!”

And they did indeed leave the Sorenson mansion, crossing immediately back to the Realm of Dusk.

Cari: “I can’t believe she did that…”
Kelly: “Desirae is never without a plan.  I’ve spent enough time around her to know that.”
Cari: “I’m more concerned about the state of the Realm of Night.  I need to do some research on why it’s that way.  I might be making a huge mistake by asking this of you, but I have no other choice.  Could you take care of my daughter while I find out what’s going on?”
Kelly: “Sure.”  Now I have a way to control her…

What is Desirae’s plan?  Why is the Realm of Night falling apart?  And is Cari making a mistake by trusting Kelly?  Find out next time on Realm of Dusk!

Realm of Dusk is coming back!

Hello everyone.  PSDuckie here.

I know I pretty much disappeared from this blog after writing Chapter 8 of the Darkdusk legacy.  I just got burned out when it came to writing about Kelly and Cyrus.  That said, I have been thinking about new situations to put them in during the months I have been away, and as such, I will be releasing Chapter 9 soon!

I would write more, but I have to work on making Chapter 9.  Thank you for reading!

Realm of Dusk - The Darkdusk Legacy - Chapter 8: The Sorenson Agent Revealed

Maria climbs up the ladder and sees something new across from Maya’s crib – the crib that until today had been hers.  The new toy oven is for her, and the young Vampire can’t believe it!

Meanwhile, Kelly goes outside, leaving Cyrus to care for Maria and Maya.  As soon as she steps out the door, she feels the oppressing heat.  Even in an air-conditioned taxi, the heat is stifling!  She asks the taxi driver to take her to the fire station, but she’s really headed to the park next to the fire station – where she has a gut feeling the Sorenson agent is.  As the taxi gets closer and closer to the fire station, the air gets hotter and hotter, until it feels like Kelly’s skin will burn off once she reaches the park.  There, she finds the stone that is radiating the heat into the air!

Kelly: Now to destroy it!
???: “So you’ve come.”
Kelly: “Who’s there?”

A distinctive-looking Human woman steps out from behind the stone.  Even though Kelly has never seen the woman in person, she knows exactly who she was talking to.  This is the woman who stole aspirin and laundry detergent from the grocery store – the Sorenson agent!

???: “Greetings, Kelly Darkdusk.  My name is Cari Geron, and…”
Kelly: “And you work for my mother.”
Cari: “Yes, but only under duress.  The Sorensons have kidnapped my son, and I would like to…end…my working relationship with them.”
Kelly: “And how do I know this isn’t a trap?”
Cari: “We both want Donna Sorenson gone.”
Kelly: I’m still unconvinced, but if I kill Donna and kidnap this woman’s son, she’ll be working for me instead of my family!
Kelly: “Deal.”

Kelly returns home and realizes that she’s running low on plasma fruit.  This calls for one thing – a trip to the grocery store!  She quickly robs the store.  While she’s doing so, Cyrus starts teaching Maya the ways of the Vampire.

Pretty soon it’s Cyrus’ turn to rob the grocery store, but while he’s on the way to the store, Daydream Ivy calls to ask him on a date.  He turns her down and makes a note to tell Kelly about it.  Then he proceeds to rob the store – or rather, use his celebrity status to get free plasma fruit.

The next morning, Maria decides she wants something different from the usual plasma juice or fruit for breakfast.
Maria: While Mother’s asleep, I’ll steal this cake from the refrigerator!

She doesn’t wake Kelly up; Maya takes care of that for her.  But by the time Kelly is awake, all of the evidence that Maria had eaten any cake is gone!  Well, except the fact that there is less cake in the refrigerator.  Buy Kelly is too busy taking care of Maya to notice what Maria has done.

Noticing that there is a Human school bus waiting for Maria, Cyrus takes a bit of time to tell her about school.
Cyrus: “Remember, you’re a Darkdusk.  You’re superior to everyone else in this town.  And don’t let the Humans at the school tell you otherwise.”
Maria: “Got it!”

And Maria goes off to her first day of school.
Maria: This looks like a lot of fun!  I wonder who all these people are…
???: “Hello class.  I’m Mr. Van Gould, and I will be your teacher.”
Class: “Hello, Mr. Van Gould.”
Maria: He’s a Vampire…just like me.

Cyrus gets a call from the science lab.  Apparently, some of the scientists have been reading the tabloids and have read about the times where people had died near The Great Darkness.  They offer Cyrus the opportunity to test their new Ghost-O-Matic machine.
Cyrus: “Should I take it?”
Kelly: “Do it.”  This fits perfectly into my plans.

After a performance, Cyrus comes home just in time for Maya’s development ceremony!  The ceremony goes off without a hitch.

What are Kelly’s plans?  Is Cari telling the truth?  And what’s going on at the school?  Find out next time on Realm of Dusk!

Realm of Dusk - Piercing of the Barriers

It's finally finished!  This is my final version of the "Piercing of the Barriers" video.  I'm going to get back to the Darkdusk legacy come the new year.

Realm of Dusk - The Darkdusk Legacy - Status Update

Hello everyone.  PSDuckie here.

I'm holding off on posting chapter 8 of the Darkdusk legacy until after I finish the Piercing of the Barriers video.  This is because the video reveals some Realm of Dusk history that I'm going to be referring to in chapter 8.

Thank you for reading!

Realm of Dusk - The Darkdusk Legacy - Chapter 7: Two Daughters and a Sun

Later that night, Cyrus and Maria have a bit of fun playing together.

The next night, Kelly isn’t feeling all that well as she cleans up the dirty dishes from Maria’s birthday party.  Maybe she ate a bad plasma fruit?  On top of that, the sink is broken!  Kelly fixes the sink and finishes cleaning up the dishes, only to find the toilet broken.  She is not having a good night!

As Cyrus goes to the park to perform, Kelly tries unsuccessfully to fix the toilet.  She is still feeling sick, and reminds herself to check for bad plasma fruit next time she robs the grocery store.  Finally, a sound from upstairs takes Kelly’s attention away from the toilet.  It’s Maria, who had been sleeping and is not awake.

Kelly can’t understand what Maria is saying, and so teaches the young Vampire how to talk.

Later that night, Kelly learns why she was feeling sick earlier.  She’s pregnant again; Maria is going to have a younger sibling.  Both Kelly and Cyrus hope for another daughter.  Maria is too young to know the consequences of either gender; if she were old enough to know, she would probably have hoped for a son.

The next day, Kelly sits down at the TV, and she is amazed by what she sees.

Host: “And we’re back at the 48^th Annual Realm of Dusk Entertainment Awards!”
Co-Host: “That’s right.  And now, the award for Best Acrobat goes to…”
Host: “The Great Darkness!!!”

Kelly, unsure about what she just saw, turns off the TV.  She knew Cyrus was good, but the best in the Realm?

Meanwhile, at the park, an elderly woman is enjoying Cyrus’ performance.  It is the last performance she will ever enjoy; she dies happily of old age.

As Cyrus mourns the old woman’s death, Maria plays with a new toy, a doll named Cosmo.  Kelly wonders where the doll came from; she didn’t buy it.  Maybe Cyrus did?

The next morning, Kelly feels the familiar pains that signal the coming of the baby.  Unwilling to give birth in the house this time, she and Cyrus rush to the hospital, hiring a babysitter to take care of Maria.

Kelly and Cyrus come home several hours later with baby Maya.  However, Maya isn’t the only Darkdusk child having a birthday that day; it’s also Maria’s birthday!  Maya’s birth leaves no time for a party; the Darkdusks simply perform the ritual and Maria grows into a child Vampire.

Meanwhile, at the border with the Realm of Night…

???: “Once I place this stone, the Vampires will be no more.”

The agent digs a small hole in the ground, and places the stone into the hole.  As the stone settles in, the sun’s rays grow stronger…

Will the Darkdusks survive this new assault?  Will they finally find out the identity of the agent?  And how will Maria and baby Maya grow up in this changed world?  Find out next time on Realm of Dusk!

Realm of Dusk - Piercing of the Barriers Preview

Hello everyone.  PSDuckie here.

I'm making this post in response to one of the comments on chapter 3 of the Darkdusk legacy.

Since I read that comment, I've been wanting to go into more detail about the Four Realms, but I had to come up with more lore before I could post anything.  Now, with the Time theme on ModTheSims, I am finally ready to reveal the preview for my first Realm of Dusk video!

Piercing of the Barriers

Millennia before Kelly and Cyrus Darkdusk launched their campaign to conquer the Realm of Dusk...

Realm travel was impossible, as the Barriers between the Realms were still intact.  However, a leak in the Barrier between the Realm of Dusk and the Realm of Dawn allowed a small amount of power to leak from Dawn into Dusk.  The inhabitants of the Realm of Dusk called this mysterious power "magic" and formed the Order of Magi to regulate its use.

One Magus wanted more power than the Order could ever provide.  He set out on a journey to find the source of all magic, and in the process, formed his own legacy...

Realm of Dusk - The Darkdusk Legacy - Chapter 6: Growth and Development

While Kelly takes care of Maria and replants one of her plants, Cyrus performs as The Great Darkness.  After all, there is now one more Darkdusk, and the house needs the money more than ever.  After the performance is done and Cyrus returns home, Kelly returns to the grocery store, which is still closed while the police are investigating the burglary and theft of the aspirin and laundry detergent.  Kelly decides to do some investigation of her own, just to make sure the police aren’t investigating her or Cyrus’ robberies.

What she finds, though, is much worse.

The aspirin and laundry detergent are indeed gone, and the police are focusing on that section of the store.  What the police don’t realize is that the real clue to discovering who did it is under the plasma fruit display – which Kelly is naturally drawn to.  She notices a card hidden under the display.  Upon picking up the card, she notices a distinctive symbol that makes her non-beating heart sink.

It’s the Sorenson house insignia.  Donna or Desirae had created that card, and then given it to an agent to place in the grocery store.

Kelly immediately realizes why the store was burglarized in the first place.  The aspirin and laundry detergent were never part of the reason; the Sorenson agent merely picked those items because they were far away from the produce section (and would probably sell well in the Realm of Night!).  The real reason was to draw police attention, and to get the police to close the store for investigation!  What the Sorensons didn’t count on was that Kelly’s and Cyrus’ Vampiric speed gets them past the police and into the store, making it even easier than normal to steal plasma fruit!

While Kelly is stealing plasma fruit from the grocery store – right under the police’s nose – it’s Cyrus’ turn to take care of Maria.  Once Kelly comes home, the two work on a new addition to the house: a room for Maria and any other children the Darkdusks may have.  After all, a Vampire house with only one daughter doesn’t live long.  The addition is finished just as Maria grows to be a toddler.

Kelly invites Daydream and Bailey, along with their friend Alice Fitzgerald, to Maria’s birthday party.  Daydream brings food (which, of course, is of no nutritional value whatsoever to Kelly and Cyrus), which Kelly graciously accepts, to the party.

Meanwhile, in the Realm of Night…

Donna: “The report on my wayward daughter?”
???: “Despite the mixture’s effects, the upstarts still live.”
Donna: “This will not stand!”
Desirae: “Why don’t we just kill her now?”
Donna: “She still may be useful.  Place this stone in the Realm of Dusk.”
???: “Yes, my lady.”

As Kelly and Maria sleep, Cyrus steals plasma fruit from the grocery store.  The police presence at the door is gone, but the store is still closed.

After stealing from the grocery store, Cyrus goes to a party at Faith MacDuff’s mansion.  He has no intention of actually attending the party; he instead intends to steal from the mansion!  With the aid of his Vampiric strength, he steals a mirror, a water fountain, and a loveseat(!), putting the items into a “stolen” car (which is actually not stolen, but Cyrus’ own car that he bought without Kelly’s knowledge) before speeding off.

Kelly teaches Maria how to walk…

…and Maria plays with her toys.

Who is the mysterious Sorenson agent?  What is Donna’s latest plan?  And how will it affect Kelly and Cyrus – and the rest of the Realm of Dusk?  Find out next time!

Realm of Dusk - The Darkdusk Legacy - Generation 2 Rolls and Traits

Even though generation 2 is still several chapters away, I'm sharing the rolls and some traits now.  I'll update this post as I'm able to share more without giving anything away.  Note that I am not sharing who the heir is.  This is because I have not decided yet.

The rolls:
Family Structure: Couple + Friend
Number of Children: Two
Primary Income (1): Medical
Primary Income (2): Private Investigator
Secondary Income: None
Generation Goal: AWESOME!
Miscellaneous Fun: Homemade

Maria Darkdusk's first three traits:
Perceptive
Heavy Sleeper
Athletic

Maya Darkdusk's first two traits:
Grumpy
Genius

Realm of Dusk - The Darkdusk Legacy - Chapter 5: A Change and a Child

As Kelly and Cyrus sleep later that night, Donna’s mixture permeates the air of the Realm of Dusk, altering the memories and desires of the inhabitants.  Luckily for the Darkdusks, they seem to be mostly unaffected, as do people’s memories of them.

After she wakes up, Kelly works on upgrading the toilet.  She doesn’t finish before Cyrus wakes up, grabs a bite to eat, and gets the mail.  In the mail, he finds membership certificates from the local gym.  He goes to hang them, along with his diploma and school award, up on the wall, but the Lord of Dusk intervenes.

You Shall Not Hang Those On The Wall!

Cyrus: “Okay…maybe that wasn’t such a good idea.”

Kelly and Cyrus then decide to try for an heir.

At work, Daydream Ivy is now Kelly’s boss at the Duskwood Fortune-Telling Agency, thanks to Donna’s mixture.  Kelly does get some new clients, though: Ronnie Gates and Bailey Swain.  For his part, Cyrus looks at his schedule and notices that he has one more performance than he remembers having.  Of course, he does marvelously.

When Kelly gets home from work, she sits down and reads.  However, she doesn’t feel well, and soon leaves the book to get sick.  Could it be?

Kelly waters the garden, awaiting the bump that she hopes will come.

And…

It comes!

Kelly invites Daydream and Bailey over for a party to celebrate.  (She invites Ronnie, also, but he can’t make it.)  Bailey even brings lobster!

Daydream starts playing guitar and everyone but Cyrus (who’s smart enough to stay out of the Realm of Dusk sun) comes outside and listens.  Now that she knows why Kelly wasn’t at work that day, Daydream gives Kelly her pay and puts her on a week paid leave, which Kelly happily accepts.

During the pregnancy, Cyrus tries to make Kelly feel comfortable.  He does all the heavy work, leaving Kelly to relax.  They both hope for a healthy daughter to carry on the Darkdusk legacy.

Despite the risk, Cyrus does make a grocery run; he knows that Kelly prefers plasma fruit to juice.  A policeman is standing in front of the store.

Policeman: “Sorry, we can’t let you in.  This store is closed right now.”

Cyrus ignores the policeman and runs in anyway.  The store has already been burglarized – but by someone other than Kelly!  Kelly only steals plasma fruit; this burglar stole aspirin and laundry detergent while leaving the plasma fruit alone.  Cyrus runs to the produce section, steals some plasma fruits, and runs out of the store in less than thirty seconds.  In five minutes, he loses the police, and in ten, he is back to Kelly.

Meanwhile, Kelly goes out (in the sun again!  Won’t she ever learn?) and harvests her garden.  Cyrus doesn’t have the skill to do this.  It turns out to be the first and only harvest that she will ever get from these plants, as the full moon returns, and with it, the Zombies.  This time, they eat her plants, leaving nothing but dead husks.

The Zombies don’t make it inside the Darkdusk house, and baby Maria is born the next day.

Meanwhile, in the Realm of Night…

Desirae: “It didn’t work!  I don’t understand why it didn’t work!  I mixed everything perfectly and it still didn’t work!  Unless…”

Will baby Maria grow up well?  Will Kelly replant her lost garden?  And who stole the aspirin and laundry detergent from the grocery store?  Find out next time on Realm of Dusk!

Realm of Dusk - The Darkdusk Legacy - Chapter 4: Return of the Night

Kelly realizes that she has no clue what a plasma fruit plant needs to grow – and that the grocery store has more plasma fruit, ripe for the taking.  With those realizations, she doesn’t plant the plasma fruit – she eats one of them.

Kelly: “Delicious!”

Cyrus resolves to rob the grocery store himself, but since The Great Darkness has a performance that night, the robbery will have to wait.  He satisfies himself with a pack of plasma juice.

While The Great Darkness is performing, Kelly goes to the local potion shop.  There, she finds a book full of potion recipes.  She starts reading…

…and keeps reading until the night is almost over.  Meanwhile, The Great Darkness gets the opportunity he had been hoping for – a weekly performance gig!

Kelly also has some good news at work.  The Duskwood Fortune-Telling Agency, having not discovered that she had been making actual readings the whole time instead of reading fortunes from the newspaper like she was supposed to, promotes her!  Now she’s allowed to make actual readings, so if she gets caught doing that, she can just claim she’s doing her job – because she is doing her job!

After coming home from work, Kelly and Cyrus celebrate.  After the celebration, Cyrus decides to go get some food.  As Cyrus leaves to rob the grocery store, Kelly finishes up her night and gets some sleep.

Cashier: “Oh no, another vamp…oh, it’s you, The Great Darkness!  Please, go right through!”
Cyrus: “That was easy!”

After using his celebrity status to get free food, The Great Darkness decides to do an impromptu performance at the park.  It’s a hit!

Kelly, having heard that the local science lab is paying for insects, decides to catch a few.  After she finishes selling them, she notices she’s low on food…time to go grocery “shopping!”

Cashier: “Not you again!”
Kelly: “Yes, it’s me.  Now give me the plasma fruit and no one gets bitten.” *shows teeth*
Cashier: “Fine, fine!  Take the fruit!”

Kelly and Cyrus embrace before they go to sleep.

Meanwhile, in the Realm of Night…

Donna: “I trust our plan to deal with the upstart is going along smoothly?”
Desirae: “Yes.  When we send this alchemical mixture through the Barrier, Kelly Sorenson will be dead within a week.”
Donna: “Excellent…”

Back in the Realm of Dusk, Kelly braves the sun to plant some alchemical ingredients, fertilizing them with some of her plasma fruits.

The next night, Cyrus goes to the grocery store before the park performance he has taken to doing every night.

Cashier: “Hello, The Great Darkness.  I love your performances; this load of groceries is on me.”
Cyrus: “Thanks!”
Cashier: “By the way, if you see that other vampire that keeps robbing us, please tell her to stop.”
Cyrus: “I’ll keep an eye out for her.”

Cyrus says nothing about telling Kelly to stop robbing the store.   He also says nothing about Kelly being his wife.

From the beginning, cleaning was something Kelly hated to do.  Now, she knows a way to make parts of the house clean themselves!  She starts with the shower, because that’s the most annoying thing to clean; her plan is to then move on to the toilet, sinks and stove, in that order.  Luckily for Cyrus, she finishes the shower upgrade just as he comes home needing to use the shower!  Because she doesn’t want to upgrade the toilet while Cyrus is in the shower (she needs to keep up some Realm of Dusk standards of decency), she goes for the kitchen sink.

As Kelly sleeps that morning, Cyrus tries to do the laundry and breaks the washer.  He’s too tired to fix it, however, and the broken thing leaks dirty water all over the floor.  When he gets up, he sees the flood and fixes the machine.

At work, Kelly meets a new client at the Duskwood Fortune-Telling Agency.  Daydream Ivy asks to have her fortune told; Kelly, of course, gives one that benefits herself and Cyrus.  Daydream is satisfied and tells Kelly that they should talk again.  Kelly, thinking that the Darkdusks should know some of the natives, agrees.

Kelly comes home to Cyrus still dealing with the mess on the floor.  She uses the opportunity to rob the grocery store.

911: “911, what’s your emergency?”
Manager: “Hello, this is Mike’s grocery store.  We’re being robbed!”
911: “All right, we’ll send police over.”

By the time the police make it to the grocery store, Kelly is long gone.

Later that night, Kelly and Cyrus attend a party that one of Cyrus’ fans is throwing.  The two Darkdusks mingle with the locals and then begin to dance.

As Kelly and Cyrus dance in the Realm of Dusk, Desirae walks up to the Barrier separating her Realm of Night from the Realm of Dusk.  She has the alchemical mixture in hand.

Desirae: “This should destroy my pesky younger sister once and for all!”

Desirae throws the mixture at the Barrier, and the vial that contains it shatters as it passes through to the Realm of Dusk.  The older Sorenson sister laughs evilly.

What exactly will the mixture do?  Will Kelly and Cyrus be able to survive?  And who’s the greater threat: Donna or Desirae?  Find out next time on Realm of Dusk!