Hey guys! This story is another side project that I have been working on a lot lately. It could technically be the prequel to Survivor, since it features many of the events that occurred before the Strangetown contestants set foot on the island. The story mostly centers around Vidcund and Loki, but some of the later chapters do focus on other residents as well. The chapters jump around chronologically, so later chapters might take place before this one.
Update: After planning out the story entirely, here's how it works: There are two storylines, one that takes place in the present and one that takes place in the past. The present storyline follows Vidcund & Loki's relationship including and following Loki's marriage to Circe. The past storyline follows Loki & Crystal's personal and work relationship leading up to the wedding and starts one year prior to Chapter One. The past storyline eventually catches up to the present by the end of the story and mostly takes place at SimSanto, Loki's workplace.
As always, let me know what you think and if you'd like to see more of this fic!
Disclaimer: I do not own the Sims.
Twisted by SClownzZzZz
Chapter One – Wedding Day
Vidcund is lying down alone in his bed, staring up at the ceiling. He briefly turns to the side and stares at his alarm clock; the time reads '6:53 a.m.' Vidcund sighs and lies back down on his back.
"Hello, my name is Vidcund Curious, I'm twenty-seven years old and I am about to experience the worst day of my life. Just in case you think I'm exaggerating here, let me explain. You see, a long time ago, I used to date this girl named Circe. Circe was great…er, great at the time, and the two of us actually enjoyed spending time together. But then she met Loki, and long story short, they're getting married today.
"My brother Pascal says that I shouldn't let this bug me, Circe and I grew apart after all, but he doesn't understand the whole situation. You see, I'm not mad that Circe is getting married to someone else; I'm upset that she's marrying the biggest jerk on the planet. And what have I been up to while Circe has been busy falling in love? Well, I graduated from Sim State University a few years ago, with a double major in Physics and Plant Biology, and now I live in a house with my two brothers, Pascal and Lazlo.
"Pascal is…well, I'm not sure how to explain him exactly. Pascal's intellectually gifted, but sometimes all his studies can get to his head so much that he starts going crazy. And Lazlo's always had a knack for enjoying life, more so than Pascal and me. I admire him greatly for that; he doesn't have a care in the world. Sometimes I wish I could be more like him, but that's never going to happen.
"So that's it, that's pretty much everything that's happened to me since I graduated from college and started my boring life in Strangetown. And now I have nothing else to do but watch the love of my life marry someone else...or not. On second thought, I could skip the wedding-"
Vidcund's alarm clock goes off, causing a loud ring to blare throughout the room. Pascal bursts through the door and pulls the covers off his brother. "Vidcund, wake up! It's Saturday!" Pascal chimes, his expression overly cheery. "Come on, we have to get ready! The wedding starts at noon!"
Vidcund groans and moves his hand up, attempting to shield the light from his eyes. "Ugh. You woke me up for that?" he moans, grabbing the covers and throwing them back over his head, "Wake me up when it's over; maybe I'll be dead by then."
Lazlo steps forward and pulls the covers off Vidcund once more. "Come on Vid, no more self-loathing," he states, "Let's just go and have a good time. We need to go out and meet people!"
Vidcund sits up and narrows his eyes at him. "Since when does that ever happen?" he challenges, shaking his head, "Honestly, what kind of person invites their ex to their wedding?"
"What kind of person goes?" Pascal questions.
Vidcund throws his hands down. "Of all the relationships that could've worked out, why did it have to be this one?"
"Hey, don't look at me, I think they can both do better!" Pascal states with a shrug.
"I don't," Vidcund replies, "Let's face it: Circe's the best Loki can get, and he's lucky he even got her."
…
An hour later, the Curious brothers are walking down the Road to Nowhere, each wearing formal attire. "This is the worst day of my life," Vidcund groans, as he drags his feet towards the church.
"Don't worry Vid, there will be others," Pascal speaks up next to him.
Vidcund turns to Pascal and raises an eyebrow, wondering how in the hell this is supposed to make him feel better. Vidcund sighs and shakes his head, quickly dismissing the thought for the moment, before turning to Pascal with a glare. "You know, you're not helping," he states, as he steps through the entrance door, his brothers stepping in after him.
Pascal and Lazlo open their mouths in awe at the extravagant church hall that is surrounding them. "Wow!" Lazlo exclaims, stopping to gaze up at the marble pillars, "Look at the size of this place!"
"I know!" Pascal awes next to him, "This must've cost a fortune!"
"Again, not helping," Vidcund mumbles, walking past the front hall and heading towards the main door. All three of them walk through, stopping when they approach the two sections of seats in the church, one on either side of the aisle of which they are standing.
Pascal steps forward, feeling somewhat out-of-place. "Which side do we sit on?" he whispers to his brothers, "We hate them both!"
"-Circe's," Vidcund quickly responds, "There's no way I am associating myself with Loki!"
Lazlo cocks his forehead. "Aren't you already associating yourself with Loki by going to his wedding in the first place?" he argues.
"Yeah…I didn't really think this one through," Vidcund mutters.
Pascal, Vidcund, and Lazlo walk over to the left side of the church and sit down in the back row. The three of them cautiously glance around the area.
"Lazlo! Hey Lazlo!" Loki's sister, Erin, waves to him from the other side of the church. Lazlo gives a half-hearted smile and awkwardly waves back.
Fifteen minutes later, the Curious brothers are still waiting for the wedding to begin. Vidcund sighs and slides his hands down to his knees, nervously tapping on his kneecaps. "Why did I go to this?" he asks suddenly, "Do I have no self-respect?" he wonders, "Why did they even invite us anyway?"
"Cause we're fellow scientists?" Lazlo guesses next to him.
Pascal shrugs. "Eh, I thought we were invited as more of an 'in your face' kind of thing, and then we came as a 'No, in your face' kind of response!" he chimes. Pascal turns to Vidcund and Lazlo, who are now both looking at him strangely. "What?" he says, leaning back against the pew. Pascal smiles and excitedly moves his legs. "Man, just wait until they see the potato I got them!"
Lazlo scrunches his forehead. "You got them a potato for their wedding gift?" he states.
Next to him, Vidcund shrugs his shoulders. "Hey, it's more than what I was going to give them."
Fifty minutes later, the wedding has finally started, and Circe and Loki are standing in front of the priest, who is busy preaching to the couple. Vidcund sighs, feeling himself slowly starting to drift off as the air grows dry around them. All of sudden, he perks up, hearing a familiar game tune sounding next to him. He turns to Lazlo, who is busy frantically pressing buttons down on his Game Boy. Vidcund quickly confiscates it.
"But this is boring!" Lazlo whisper-whines as Vidcund tucks the Game Boy into his jacket pocket.
"And you think I'm not bored? Look! Even Loki is falling asleep!" Vidcund whisper-exclaims, gesturing to Loki, who is standing at the altar with his hands folded, drifting off into a slumber. Loki wakes up and quickly catches himself before he falls backwards.
Nearby, Pascal is kneeled over next to his brothers, using the pew in front of him to hold his upper body up.
"Pascal, you should go home," Vidcund speaks up, "You're obviously not feeling well," he states, his face filled with concern.
"And miss the greatest wedding in the scientific community? No way!" Pascal says, slowly sitting back in his seat, his face sweating profusely. His brothers watch as Pascal quickly grabs one of the wedding handouts and starts moving it forcibly up and down like a fan to cool his face.
Back at the altar, Circe and Loki have just finished their vows. The priest turns to the crowd and moves his hands forward. "Now, if there's anyone here among us that has a reason why these two should not be wed, speak now or forever hold your peace…"
Everyone in the church immediately turns around and stares at Vidcund. Vidcund throws his hands up, clearly puzzled and extremely offended that they would even assume such a monstrosity.
"What is everyone looking at me for?" Vidcund speaks up to the crowd, "Do you really think that I'm so desperate that I would object at my ex's wedding?!" he questions; several of them nod, including Circe, Loki, and the priest. "-That's it! I'm out of here!" Vidcund shouts, getting up from his seat and moving out of the pew. Vidcund walks down the center aisle and heads towards the exit.
"Hey genius, altar's this way!" Loki shouts from the stage.
Vidcund turns around and faces his rival. "Oh shut-up!" he yells, before walking back down the aisle and exiting the church, leaving his two brothers deeply concerned in the back row.
"Alright, now that the unpleasantness is over, we can continue with this lovely ceremony," the priest announces from the stage.
Five minutes later, the priest is gesturing down at Circe and Loki, who are both beaming as they turn to the crowd. "Ladies and gentlemen, may I be the first to present to you…Mr. and Mrs. Loki Beaker!" he declares, the audience starting to applaud.
A thud rings out from the back of the church, as Pascal passes out in the aisle, his arms stretched out as he lies with his back down on the pathway. Lazlo nervously laughs from the back pew, as everyone glares at the two brothers, Circe clearly enraged on the stage. Lazlo slowly gets out of the pew and grabs Pascal by both of his arms, carefully moving him out of the way to unblock the aisle.
"Wait a minute, I almost got this-!" Lazlo says, struggling to move Pascal's passed-out body to the side.
Ten minutes later, Lazlo has successfully moved Pascal to the side of the aisle, and the guests are exiting the church, glaring at the pair as they pass by. Pascal yawns and stretches, sitting up from the ground and gazing up at Lazlo.
"So, what did I miss?"
…
A short while later, Pascal, Vidcund, and Lazlo are sitting at their assigned reception table in the back corner of the country club's banquet hall. "Wow. After that stunt you pulled at the wedding, I'm surprised Circe even let you in here," Vidcund says, following Lazlo's recap of their exit.
Pascal smiles and nods. "Yeah, well, the important thing is she still hasn't caught up to me," he tells him, grabbing another shot from off the table and downing it in one quick gulp. "Hey, we should take bets on which one of them cheats first."
"-Circe," Lazlo says, staring at something behind Pascal and Vidcund.
"Why do you say that?" Vidcund wonders.
Lazlo sighs. "Just based on the way she's looking at him," he states, pointing to Circe, who is seductively licking her lips at one of the groomsmen across the room while Loki's back is turned.
Vidcund's face falls when he sees the display. "This marriage is a sham," he states, taking a shot of alcohol. He opens his mouth slightly, reacting to the drink's bitter aftertaste.
"Come on Vid, are you sure you're not just jealous?" Pascal questions, watching as Vidcund fiddles with the empty shot glass in his hand.
"-Of Loki? Are you kidding? I dodged a bullet here! Circe stresses me out!" Vidcund confesses, "Besides, this is obviously a financial marriage. It boosts both of their careers if they tie the knot – that's all," Vidcund says, eating one of the chips in the center of the table, "Ack! These are bad," he claims, before brushing his fingers off with his thumb. Vidcund stands up from his seat and turns to his brothers, "I'm going to get something else," he states.
Vidcund walks over to the buffet table, stopping briefly to gaze at the hundreds of people that are situated in the banquet hall. "Geez, who knew this many people would come to see this shit?" Behind him, Loki clears his throat. Vidcund tenses up a bit as he turns around, coming face-to-face with his nemesis. Loki's hands are clasped behind his back.
"Hello Vidcund," Loki greets, his face stone cold, "I'm surprised you came."
"Yeah, well, I wanted to see the train wreck in person, and there wasn't really anything good on the Science Channel today, so..." Vidcund trails off, barely making eye contact as he glances at some of floral wedding decorations around the room. "Oh, by the way, congratulations on the wedding."
Loki tilts his forehead, his mouth in a line. "Wow. That sounded so insincere," he states.
"It was," Vidcund confirms, "At least you can understand tone well," he says, scanning the hall for a moment, "Where's the wife?"
"I don't know. What am I, her babysitter?" Loki remarks, giving a smirk, "You must be so jealous."
Vidcund shakes his head. "Nah, I give this a year tops," Vidcund grabs some crackers and pats Loki childishly on the arm, "Have fun!" he chimes, turning towards his table.
Loki grabs Vidcund by the arm and pulls him back, a firm glare on his face. "Listen, I don't know why in the hell you think that, but I can assure you that Circe and I are going to last."
Vidcund turns away from Loki, clearly disinterested. "Eh," he shrugs.
Loki narrows his eyes at him. "What do you mean 'eh'?"
"It's just – you don't seem to be very into her," Vidcund confesses, glancing around the room.
"What are you talking about, Curious? I'm crazy about Circe!" Loki exclaims.
"Really?" Vidcund wonders, raising his eyebrow in challenge, "Is that why you're spending so much of your wedding arguing with me over something you think you want?"
Loki stands in silence, visibly stunned. Vidcund steps forward and pats him on the arm again. "See ya," Vidcund playfully states, leaving him in shock. Loki looks down at the ground ponderously.
A few minutes later, all three of the Curious brothers are back sitting at their table. Vidcund sighs as he gazes across the room at Circe, who is happily conversing with a few of her family members. "My love life is a joke," Vidcund whines.
"Well, at least you recognize the problem," Pascal speaks up next to him, before blowing his nose into a three-hundred-dollar napkin. He unfolds the napkin and looks down at the expensive piece of golden-lined cloth, which has an image of Circe and Loki printed on the center of it. "Is all this really necessary?" he wonders.
"-It is if you're Loki," Vidcund mutters, fiddling with his straw wrapper.
"Hey, look at her. She's cute," Lazlo speaks up, leaning down towards the table.
Vidcund yawns, continuing to play with his drink straw as he turns to take a brief glance at the girl across the room. He sighs, clearly disinterested. "You mean the blonde with the purple dress?" Vidcund questions; Lazlo nods. "Yeah, I guess she's okay looking."
"I'm going to go talk to her," Lazlo says, standing up from his seat. Pascal and Vidcund watch in wonder as their youngest brother boldly walks over to the girl and introduces himself.
"I swear if he comes back with her, I'm going to cry," Vidcund states.
"Come on, Vid, you know Lazlo; he can never commit to one girl," Pascal reasons, "I give this a day tops. We probably won't even learn her name!"
Almost immediately, Lazlo walks back over to the table, the blonde girl following behind him. Lazlo stops in front of the table, holding her hand. "Hey guys, this is Crystal," he introduces her, "Crystal, these are my brothers: Vidcund and Pascal," Lazlo says, gesturing to the pair; Pascal waves to her. "-Apparently Crystal was once Circe's roommate in college!"
Vidcund throws his head down and starts weeping into his hands.
"I don't know why your brother's sobbing; it wasn't that bad!" Crystal jokes, attempting to break the ice.
Fifteen minutes later, Vidcund watches in silence as Circe and Loki enjoy their first dance on the dance floor. Pascal watches as Vidcund sighs, sorrowfully propping his head up with his hand. "Look Vid, I know why you're sad," Pascal tells him, "I mean, the love of your life is married to someone else."
"Pascal, please listen to me, I don't care that Circe didn't marry me," Vidcund speaks up.
Pascal leans forward, appearing dead serious as he looks into his brother's eyes. "- I wasn't talking about Circe."
Vidcund freezes, visibly overwhelmed and stunned by Pascal's words.
"I'm just kidding!" Pascal exclaims, giving a chuckle, "Oh man! You should've seen the look on your face when I said that!" Pascal bursts into a fit of laughter, "That was a good one!"
"Heh, yeah," Vidcund nods, nervously sliding down in his seat, "That was good," he squeaks.
Pascal wipes a single tear away from his eye, his laughter finally ceasing. "Well, I'm going to go and get some calamari. You want anything?" Pascal wonders, getting up from his seat.
Vidcund shakes his head, still staring out at Circe and Loki. "No, I'm fine."
"Well, okay," Pascal shrugs, leaving the table.
Fifteen minutes later, Pascal returns in a panic, only to find Vidcund asleep with his chin on the tablecloth. "Vid! Vid!" Pascal cries, shaking Vidcund awake by the shoulders, "We have to go. Now."
Vidcund drowsily wipes his eyes, letting out a small yawn. "Why now?" Vidcund moans, his eyes refocusing on his brother, "Why not three hours ago?" Vidcund looks Pascal over, noticing the look of pure panic that is on his face. "Pascal, relax," he tells him, "I'm sure whatever you did, it's not that bad."
Pascal grabs Vidcund by the shirt and moves him back and forth, his face filled with fear. "I vomited on Circe and ruined her ten thousand simoleon wedding dress! And now she's probably going to press charges!" Pascal shrieks.
Vidcund looks down at Pascal, his eyes wide. "Good God, you're dead!" he declares, standing up from his seat, "Let's go."
Vidcund and Pascal race across the room. They pass by Lazlo, who is happily conversing with Crystal near the entrance. Pascal grabs Lazlo by the arm and drags him out the door.
"Hey!" Lazlo chimes.
"Sorry Crystal, but we got to go," Vidcund tells the townie before the three brothers exit into the hallway.
The Curious brothers run out the door, passing by the Unsavory Charlatan, who is standing dangerously close to Charlie Lawson, the town's Mr. Big.
"Hey Charlie! That guy is trying to pickpocket you!" Pascal shouts to the millionaire.
Charlie looks to his right, catching the thief with his wallet. He grabs the Unsavory Charlatan by the wrist and turns to the scientist. "Thanks Pascal!" The Unsavory Charlatan turns around and narrows his eyes at Pascal, giving him a testy death glare, hoping to burn this man's image permanently into his memory.
Pascal runs forward, trying to keep up with his brothers. "How much farther?" he asks Vidcund, still hanging onto Lazlo, "Are we almost home yet?"
Vidcund briefly turns to his left. "Pascal, I can still see the venue!" he states, gesturing to it.
"Wait, why am I running?" Lazlo speaks up behind him. "I didn't do anything!"
"Because you're a Curious, and we face stupid consequences together! It's all part of the family contract, see?" Pascal reminds him, pulling out a miniature laminated version of the contract and showing it to Lazlo.
Vidcund looks to him, puzzled, "Why do you keep showing people that thing? You know, you can't just keep pulling the contract out every time you need leverage over us!"
"Sure I can, and furthermore-Oh God! Here she comes!" Pascal shouts as Circe and a mob of her angry relatives start running out of the country club after them.
"Pascal Curious, you are dead!" Circe screams, a gigantic blue barf stain right smack dab in the center of her wedding gown.
"Wow, that dress really is ruined," Vidcund comments, grabbing Pascal by the arm as they go around the corner. The three brothers stop for a breather, staying in the shadows until the cost is clear.
Twenty minutes later, they are walking down the Road to Nowhere, heading back towards their house on Cover Up Road, all of them clearly winded and disheveled from their misadventures.
"All I'm saying is, that was easily the best wedding ever!" Pascal proclaims, hanging onto his shoes as he heads up the hill barefoot.
Vidcund narrows his eyes at him. "Really?" he snarls, walking up after him, "Was it you vomiting on Circe's dress, me crying at our reception table, or Lazlo eating the entire appetizer platter that makes you say that?" he questions.
"No way!" Pascal pauses, processing all this newfound information, "There was an appetizer platter?"
Vidcund turns to Pascal once more, his cheeks covered in dirt, clearly fatigued as he struggles to make it up the hill to their residence. "Just…never mind," Vidcund states.
The Curious brothers step onto their lot, arriving there before the sun peeks out above the horizon. "Phew! That was a close one!" Pascal chimes, putting his hand up to his forehead. He falls backward, passing out in the sand.
Lazlo slowly walks over to Pascal, staring down at his passed-out brother. "Uh…I think Pascal is dead," Lazlo tells Vidcund.
Vidcund shrugs and looks him over. "Eh, he'll wake up once we run the sprinklers," he informs him. Lazlo nods, seemingly satisfied by his answer, and walks into the house. Vidcund looks out at the city, the desert stretching as far as the eye can see. Vidcund holds his gaze on Tesla Court and gives a small sigh.
"Hey! Curious!" a familiar voice shouts behind him. Vidcund freezes when he sees Loki walk onto the lot.
"Oh great!" Vidcund groans when he finds the physicist only a few feet away from him, "What do you want? Do you want to yell at me for leaving with two napkins in my pocket because that somehow ruined your wedding?" Vidcund fires at him, "Well, go ahead! At this point, nothing could surprise me!" he exclaims, throwing his arms out.
Loki steps forward in silence, his expression somewhat uneasy. Loki sighs, brushes his palm against the side of Vidcund's face, leans forward, and kisses him. Vidcund stands stationary, seemingly numb, his eyes widening in shock. Loki slowly steps away, cautiously staring at his rival, the plant biologist's mouth now agape as he stands there speechless.
"Uh…gotta go!" Loki chimes, nervously stepping back a few feet before racing off the lot. Vidcund watches as Loki races down Cover Up Road, leaving him frozen and stunned.
Vidcund's mind races, "What the hell was that?!" he screams. Vidcund slowly steps into the house, his legs stiff as he steps into the living room. He stops next to the bookshelf and looks down at Lazlo, who is sitting down in front of the television.
"-Loki," Vidcund confirms with a nod, his eyes still wide, "He'll cheat first."