picspam, like a peace offering...

Sorry, no story update ready for you this weekend. But before you get very disappointed, I'm going to make up for it with pictures of Dallas and Lucy... and a very cute toddler ;)

LH stuff: Dallas and Lucy wallpapers

There were a lot of things I was supposed to be doing tonight... Was supposed to be working on Jodie's story tonight, or my novel - either/or, whichever felt like being written first. I was supposed to be folding my laundry, or loading up those dishes that I started but never actually finished... but I was NOT supposed to be Photoshopping desktop wallpapers!

Guess what I was doing?

take it down, extras

*warning: this is ridiculously long! No joke! *

Extras, outtakes, and misfits from the "take it down" season...

(I think I'll call them seasons now, rather than chapters. Does that make more sense? I mean, each entry is big enough to be its own chapter, right? Why didn't anyone ever tell me that made no freaking sense? lol! So since the collection usually spans about a season, it seems only logical. Season?)

Anyway, whatever we call it, this collection of stories was the longest EVER, and gave us a crapload of extras!!! These stories took me 8 months to write, covered five major story progressions and many independent pieces and mini-updates, and added up to a whopping 50,881 words!

(If I ever want to know why my novel isn't finished yet, I think I have my answer!)

Let us begin? ;)

LCU, landslide, part 2

October 2083 - LCU, fall semester (part 2 of 4) - Dallas Deppiesse is 19, Fenton Dyer and Iris Barton are 20. (Lucy Harris is 17.)
* soundtrack for all parts, "Landslide," by Fleetwood Mac *

The residence hall at Takemizu Academy has an ancient wishing well hidden among some trees, but Dallas won't touch it. He refuses to touch it! Because the first and only time he touched it was the first day he got here - the first hour he got here, before he'd even unpacked his bags - and this is what it told him: "The time will come for you to make a decision."

What the hell is that supposed to mean???

He also didn't know that a swarm of bees had taken up inside it. The coin he tossed disrupted their sleep, and in the space of seconds, they woke up and rushed toward him. He was stung thirty-two times.

more than I could ever promise, part 2

August 2083 - Dallas Deppiesse is 19, Delphie and Dakota are 13. (Lucy Harris is 17.)

* soundtrack: "The Way I Am," by Ingrid Michaelson. Warnings: cheese? Dude, I tried to avoid it, but sorry, it couldn't be helped :) And maybe a tissue or two. *

Problem one, Delphie and Dakota are bored. But that isn't the most pressing problem. Things can be done about that. Problem two, they're supposed to tell Dallas before they go anywhere, where they're going, and when they'll be back. That's not exactly the problem either. The problem is, it's only twelve hours until Dallas leaves in the morning, and he's busy saying goodbye to Lucy. They've been saying goodbye for months it seems, all gross and entangled in all that affection.

Dakota says, "No way, I'm not going up there. You go up there and tell him."

more than I could ever promise, part 1

July 2083 - Orion Deppiesse is 49, Violet is 48, Dallas is 18, Delphie and Dakota are 12.

* soundtrack: "The Way I Am," by Ingrid Michaelson *

Dallas is leaving next week, and his sisters haven't wasted a single minute trying to decide who gets to move into his bedroom when he's gone. They've been sharing a bedroom since they were born, and Dakota, for one, is ready to break free into her own space. She's already staked her claim. "I'm the second-oldest," she says. "I was born fifteen minutes before her."

"I hope you don't think you're getting the stuff in my room," he says. "It's just a room. It's going to be empty. I know you just want my computer."

"You can't put it in the attic," Dakota says. "Electronics shouldn't be stored outside of room temperatures, in the winter, that attic can get down to fifteen degrees."

"It does," Delphie says.

"Only you guys would know that," he says.

graduation, extras

*** graduation extras ***

I think I like posting the outtakes separately when they're as plentiful as this. I wish I'd been doing it all along, so I could have my concise and well-planned story posts, and then my long-winded and rambling gameplay posts... but you know, I didn't. Ah, well ;)

the rules

May 2083 (graduation) - Summer Phoenix, Dallas Deppiesse, and Vicky Garth are 18, Lucy Harris is 16, Sarah Harris is 14.

*soundtrack: "Rhinoceros," by the Smashing Pumpkins*

On the morning of their graduation, the seniors gather in the library to receive their ceremony plans. Dallas has picked up a random physics textbook, just to pass the time.

Summer says to him, "Haven't you learned enough already?"

taken seriously

April 2083 - (2082/83 school year update)

*** as usual, I can't feasibly link to the family updates of each kid, so use the database and school enrollment if you need to ***
Bluewater Township: where Fiona McCullough shall rule the world!

As the school day begins in Bluewater Township, Robbie greets his best friend Liza with warm and questionably friendly hug. She looked a little cold, and she probably would be since it's only early April still. You know how these teenagers refuse to be bothered with jackets when they should.

But that's okay, Robbie insists, his arms will warm her just fine.

Fiona is thinking, Well isn't he a charming little booger?

His mother is thinking, Oh hell, already? At twelve?

one day, when there isn't much time left...

March 2083 (mini-update) - Dallas Deppiesse is 18, Lucy Harris is 16.

One day, when there isn't much time left, Dallas and Lucy have a study date. The house is empty and quiet, but he locks the door anyway. He puts on some music, softly, her favorites. He figures they should have music. It seems like something people would do for this occasion, though they don't normally play music when they're together. He prefers to hear her sounds instead.

2082, extras

Extras, misfits, and outtakes from the year 2082 :)

one day, at Earthland Catering...

September 2082 (mini-update) - Summer Phoenix and Dallas Deppiesse are 18, Lucy Harris is 16.

One day, at Earthland Catering, Lucy lives vicariously through Summer's dating life. Summer and Dallas are supposed to be working (and Lucy isn't supposed to be loitering the way she tends to do), but instead Summer is telling them about her date. She says, "We went out for coffee, we walked around the market square, we threw a football around a little."

Lucy says, "What's his name?"

"Floyd," Summer says.

Lucy laughs. "Floyd? I don't like that. That's not a good name."

in the middle of your picture

May 2082 (prom) - Dallas Deppiesse is 17, Lucy Harris is 15. (Tyler and Beau Jackson are 18, April Hutchins is 18, Summer Phoenix is 17.)

*** notes: you'll probably want to have read Lucy's recent update first. Optional soundtrack, "All I Need," by Radiohead ***

She was just Lucy. She was just some funny little girl he met on the internet, even though they've gone to the same school since childhood. She dragged him out of his shell and became his first real friend. And then they became more than friends. They grew up together, they got older, and somehow he'd missed the point where she had morphed into something of a goddess.

tethered

April 2082 - Toby and April Harris are 42, Lucy is 15, Sarah is 13, Sam is 10. (Dallas Deppiesse is 17.) Last update, September 2078.

Lucy is still not allowed to date Dallas Deppiesse, but it has proven to be a lost cause trying to keep them apart. So her parents reason that she is allowed to have friends, and indeed, a friend he is. A friend that she watches movies with, holds hands with, and kisses goodnight at the door. A friend who drives her home from work, invites her over to dinner with his family, and stays until ten almost every night to "study." And the touching, always touching, her fingertips graze his ankle, or his hand comes to rest on her knee, as if they might die if they weren't constantly tethered by some kind of vital but invisible life force.

And nobody wants to mention - you know silly kids and their fragile egos - but do they even realize that they've started to dress color-coordinated?

But both of their grades remain consistently excellent, so who can complain? Call it what you will.

one day, at Deppiesse's...

October 2081 (mini-update) - Lucy Harris is 15.

One day at Deppiesse's Lakefront Bistro, Lucy Harris gets a job. She never wanted to have a job, but she's no trust-fund baby, so she needs to work!

Dallas sets her up with his Aunt Ashlee, and Lucy goes to interview for a waitress job at the restaurant. Lucy is pretty, and she has that sparkling kind of personality, so Ashlee thinks she'll do well as a waitress, and hires her on the spot...

happy new year, 2081!

Happy New Year, 2081!

The Harris family hosts our new year's party this year.

you were kind of right about Lucy

October 2080 (mini-update) - Dallas Deppiesse is 16.

"What the hell?" Vicky says. "Now you want to talk to me? It's been, like, five weeks. I've been calling. I've been by several times. Your sisters kept saying you weren't home."

Dallas says, "I know..."

"You told your sisters to say you weren't home, didn't you? That's really pretty lame."

you're doing it wrong

August 2080 - Orion Deppiesse is 47, Violet is 46, Dallas is 16, Delphie and Dakota are 10. (Lucy Harris is 14.)

Dallas Deppiesse just turned sixteen this month, and finally got his drivers' license. The Deppiesse family might live on Lakeshore Road, but they are deceptively not wealthy. Maybe it's having three kids in private school? But his parents do the best they can for Dallas. Orion says, "I got you a car!"

Dallas says, "That's not a car."

"Sure it is, when you're done with it," Orion says. "You're a smart kid, I'm sure you can figure it out."

the science fair

October 2079 - Berjes and Hailey Monif are 34, Hazel is 10.

October starts out rough for the Monif family. Among the many things Hailey is not very good at, cooking is not her specialty either. Berjes and Hazel are just about worthless as they stand by and freak out rather than phone for help. Berjes frets for his dear wife, as she puts out the fire - what a man! LOL!

learning by crash and burn

September 2079 - Sheldon and Alana Fortney are 47, Melissa is 12.

Melissa Fortney is twelve now. She's a quiet girl, doesn't make a fuss, doesn't get into trouble. She likes to go hiking, and they live just down the hill from the cemetery, which besides being a little creepy, is a nice quiet place to hike to sometimes. Melissa has always been an outdoorsy kind of girl.