MURKLAND - SATURDAY - CHAPTER 12

THE DANCE OFF

Well, before I knew it, the Freezer Bunny Dance Off was here! We arrived all together, and I have to say that we really looked HOT!

The competition was being held at the Nukecrest Out Back Bar, and it was going to be a star studded night, with the Mayor of Murkland hosting the event. Lavender Pink, Jeep Girl and Dusty Boots were just so excited to head inside to see who all was here.

As for me, I was just so nervous. And all at once, I froze. I just couldn't bring myself to go in. What if I forgot the steps? What if I tripped over myself? What if I.... 

"Hey, is that my adventure gal?" 

All of a sudden I heard a voice behind me. Oh my gosh, it was Karim. He came by to give us his support! What a guy!

"Ahhh, Kate, have some faith in yourself. You'll do fine! I have faith in you. Go on in and I'll be along shortly."

Karim gave me a hug, wished me luck and walked briskly down the street.

Lavender Pink came out looking for me and just as we were about to go back in, the door opened and out walks the leader of the Partihaus group, Jade Rosa.

"Well, if it isn't the Murklanders...who let you in here?"

"Save it for the dance off, sista," shouts Lavender Pink and we hurry inside.

I strolled inside and the place was getting crowded. Suddenly I didn't feel so good and my stomach was starting to do somersaults.

"Kate, never mind her. She just thinks she's all that. Come on, let's go warm up on the dance floor." Lavender Pink grabbed my hand and away we went.

Soon, the place is hopping. There were so many groups arriving and the colors of their outfits just made the night more exciting. Jade Rosa, the reigning queen of the dance floor, had just left the bar after setting up her tab and buying rounds of drinks for everyone. I see Paolo, all decked out in his Partihaus outfit, but he totally ignores me. Ok, so that's how it's gonna be. Hmmm....what did I ever see in this guy?

The Headliner DJ announces that we were about to begin and the Mayor of Murkland makes his opening speech.

Luckily, the mayor's speech is short as he outlines the rules.

"Welcome! Welcome Everysim to the Freezer Bunny Dance Off! Each dance crew will compete in a series of dances, each harder than the next, and will be judged on choreography, technique, and team presentation. If there is a tie, a random sim selection will be made from each dance crew, and those two opposing dancers will compete in a dance battle." 

The Mayor introduces the judges, Mad Mud, Nancy Landgraab and Diego Lobo. [Mad Mud is the owner of the bar, Nancy Landgraab had generously donated mega simoleons for the prizes and the generator to power the lights, and Diego Lobo was a renowned cultural critic.] The mayor then proceeds to introduce all the dance crews, including us, the Murky Fire Dancers. We are the only dance crew from Murkland!

I glance over at the prize table. Oh my Plumbobs! Wow! The DJ starts his groove beat and the competition begins.

First up is a dance crew from Magnolia Blossom. They were popular and the crowd applauded loudly. Unfortunately, the judges ruled that the crew uniform for the Snappy Stepperz was not "all together".

Bob Pancakes, one of the Snappy Stepperz, was not happy with the decision, and started arguing with the judges. But, the judges' decision was final, and they were the first crew eliminated.

As the night counts down, there are less and less dance crews making it to the next level. We give a big shout out when we see our friends from Nukecrest, the Dusty Dudes make it into round 2 of the competition. However, at the height of their country two-step dance, Mick Primes' hat drops on the floor causing Jaxton to trip and fall, and they, regrettably are eliminated.

Next up are the Doomsday Divas, also from Nukecrest. We cheer loudly when we see them strut their stuff onto the dance floor. They have been practicing day and night and their leader, Freddie Brenny, has been pushing them hard to get all the right moves.

Maybe Freddie was working them TOO hard. During their high energy funk dance in round 2, Lisa Bee falls down exhausted. Unfortunately, they too, are eliminated.

By round 3, we are still in the competition and staying strong.

But so is Partihaus, the reigning champs, and they don't look tired. I have to admit, they have some sharp moves.

The dance crew, Bustin' Loose, from the city of San Myshuno is a serious contender. They are so smooth in their dance moves, it's like they glide on water. Unfortunately, in round 4, when Penny Pizzazz does the back flip, the Bustin' Loose dance crew is eliminated due to an unfortunate wardrobe malfunction.

Now, there are just 2 dance crews left. Partihaus and us!

Round 5 starts and we give it all we got! Get murky girls!

And then the unthinkable happens. On her signature move (aka the hokey pokey smokey), Jade fumbles slightly and loses a point. A loud murmur is heard through the crowd.

But she quickly recovers and they are in sync once again.

There is much discussion amongst the judges and then the Mayor of Murkland heads up to the mircrophone.

The mayor clears his throat...

"ummm...the judges have made a decision....and there is a tie! Yes, for the first time ever, Partihaus and the Murky Fire Dancers are tied for first place! And so, we are going to draw a dancer's name from each team and they will compete in a dance battle."

You can just feel the anticipation and tension filling the air. 

First name called is Paolo from Partihaus versus Kate from the Murky Fire Dancers.

OMG NO! I can't believe that I am in a dance battle with Paolo! Can I just slide under this table now and hide?

Paolo is almost smug when he tells me to give up now! Grrr....Bring it on, Paolo!

 And so it starts, Paolo and I head to the dance floor.

I'm doing fine and then all of a sudden I get distracted and miss a step. Oh, murky me! That'll cost me.

Paolo busts a move and everyone cheers! The DJ announces "POINT TO PAOLO."

Oh I have GOT to win this! I am really getting into it and am doing a bend over dance move. A mutant raccoon from Murkland is behind me shouting Go Kate Go!

Paolo takes center stage, and does a back flip triple twist dance move and comes down hard stumbling in the process.

"Oh, my aching back," he mutters.

They hear the DJ announce, "POINT TO KATE".

I may have a chance to win this, but I have to up the score to win. The DJ then announces that the elimination round will be a dance with batons. Oh no! Why batons? I hate batons! I am nervous as I pick up the batons. I keep repeating to myself... don't drop them... DON'T drop them... my thoughts almost match the rhythm of the beat and I get ready to start. I take a deep breath and throw the first baton....and I give that crowd such a high voltage show that even Jade is astonished at my moves.

Then it's Paolo's turn and he looks very confident. Maybe too confident. In trying to beat me in the the baton light dance, Paolo jabs a baton in his eye and drops both of them on the floor.

Ouch! My eye! he yelps.

Over the loudspeaker, the DJ announces, "POINT TO KATE. PAOLO DISQUALIFIED. KATE WINS THE DANCE BATTLE!"

The crowd cheers and starts to chant, Kate, Kate, Kate! I look over and see the look of disbelief on Jade's face.

She grumbles something about "I never...those Murklanders", and with an angry fling of her hair, storms out the door.

The mayor saunters up to the microphone, "I am happy to announce the winners of this year's Freezer Bunny Dance Off - the MURKY FIRE DANCERS!"

The crowd goes wild and requests a murky encore performance! Go Murky Fire Dancers! Woot!

Mad Mud is at the bar mixing up some complimentary drinks for the winners of the dance off!

Paolo wanders up to me afterwards...all smiling and flirty...

"Uhhh, Kate...congratulations...you are a GREAT dancer! You certainly have learned some new dance moves since we had our date at the Puffer Dome. And now, you're SMOKING HOT! I don't know what I was thinking when I left that night, but I'll give YOU another chance. So, whadda you say...wanna go on another date...just you and me?"

I couldn't believe what Paolo just said! Another date? Give ME another chance! How dare he! But before I could even utter some murky, witty comeback...I heard a voice behind me...

"Paolo, you had your chance, you blew it! Kate is my adventure gal now!" Paolo was in such shock, he was speechless!

I knew who it was before I even turned around. Karim! 

"Kate, I saw the whole dance battle, you were AMAZING! Come on...Lavender Pink and Jeep Girl are waiting at the bar. And, Dusty Boots will join us in a few. I bought some champagne to toast your success! Let's go!"

When Dusty Boots joins us at the bar she has quite the story to tell. "Kate...you'll never guess what happened..." She then tells me that she saw Mad Mud stomping up to Paolo yelling about a bar tab that Partihaus was responsible for and that Jade had said Paolo was going to pay for!

And then she heard Paolo tell Mad Mud that he didn't know anything about a bar tab, plus he didn't have any simoleons!

And then Mad Mud said that if Paolo didn't have any simoleons, he had to work off the bar tab as a dishwasher, and he ordered, yep ORDERED, Paolo to follow him! And when Mad Mud orders you, you don't say no!

"Oh, Kate, and Paolo didn't look too happy! You should have seen the expression on his face! I kind of snickered when I saw him! And, all I can say about that is, "what comes around, goes around!" Hey, Kate... Kate are you listening?"

"Yah, sure, I'm listening Dusty...", but I really didn't care about Paolo, or that strange twist of fate, or even how Paolo's face looked. There was only one face that I wanted to look at... *Sigh* ... Ahhhh... sweet love, sweet murky love...

💕  💕  💕  💕  💕  💕  💕

Credits:

I would like to thankfully acknowledge the amazing lot and murky sims created by others. Without them, this story would not be possible.

Nukecrest Out Back Bar by ladyloial

Doomsday Divas:

Lisa Bee by Lisabee2 (left)

Fala Locklear by Anchesenamon (back)

Freddie Brenny by Fredbrenny (front)

Oshizu Kaneda by Shizu9no1 (right)

Dusty Dudes:

Jymm Elder by ElderJymm (back left)

Jaxton Munson by TammyJo329 (back right)

Mick Primes by Faith12368 (front left)

Sal Amander by loriell86 (front right)

Murky Fire Dancers:

Kate "Lyric " Sawyer by SoulGal7 (front)

Dusty Boots, Lavender Pink and Jeep Girl by Brennachan

Mad Mud and Mayor Epoch Salamander by Brennachan