prequel stories #10: wedding pictures

I actually don't know why I had this post saved up in my drafts for so long. But I'm kind of under the weather this weekend, so I think I'll post this up to pacify you all so I can slack off on the next update for a couple/few more days ;)

Be warned, these are very old pictures. And this was long before I learned to download much proper CC, so some of these outfits are truly terrible, lol!

prequel stories #8: reconstructing the founders, part 1

In April of 2006, a group of young college graduates decided to start their brand new lives by settling in a once-quiet little town called Lakeside Heights. Until now, there has been little record of who these people were, apart from a few aged photos and the basic public record of their family tree. This effort is to reconstruct their lives as best we can, through their family who might remember them.

prom 2083, revisited

With four different scenes, and travel time to community lots, that prom update took forever to shoot and produced a lot of fun outtakes. And I was also feeling very particular about the mood of my narrative, so I didn't want to throw a bunch of funny outtakes at the end.

And besides all that, it was plenty long enough on its own.

So to start things off, this is what Melissa thought of my first idea for her prom dress! She says, "My cleavage is showing, I feel so naked!"

the things that make you panic

May 2083 (prom) - Dallas Deppiesse (18) and Lucy Harris (16) // Elijah Roberts (17) and Melissa Fortney (15) // Vicky Garth (18) // Summer Phoenix (18) and Tyler Jackson (19).

*** Sorry, I just realized three of my four girls have long dark hair, so I hope that doesn't get too confusing - none of them are wearing the same style. The first section kind of banks on you already knowing who these characters are, so new readers might want to read the linked posts above first. Before you think you're going crazy, yes, the first half is written in a wandering second person POV - and I intend it that way ;)

Box of tissues warning, and maybe NSFW?...

Soundtrack, "Details in the Fabric," by Jason Mraz/James Morrison. ***

You're young. You're growing up by the very minute, but inside, you're not much different from one minute to the next. Not deep down, where it counts, where you still feel the same things you've always felt. You're still the same girl you've been all along.

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?

2082, postcards from the edge

*** updates on your favorite Lakeside Heights outcasts ***

This is something I've been meaning to do, though I probably won't do it very often. I do still play some of these move-aways and ex-girlfriend/boyfriends, so I'd like to update you all on what they've been up to, especially the ones you wouldn't hear about through any of my playable Sims. I figure if I've become attached enough to want to check up on them, then maybe some of you might be attached enough to care what they've been doing ;)

*sigh* If only I had time to tell all of their stories...

lost and found

May 2082 - (2081/82 school year update)

*** note: there are a LOT of kids in these school updates, so remember to use the database and school enrollment page if you need it ***

"You can get pregnant! And you, and you, and you!" Jodie points to each one of them. Liza Hathe shivers, shakes her head and says under her breath, "Eeew!"

Given a recent surprise baby boom in Lake County, Jodie Larson has been asked to give a talk on birth control to the junior and senior high school students. Even though the trend is mostly happening with grown women who should know better, these are the next generation's grown women, so they figure maybe they'll educate before they get that far.

Jodie says, "Having a baby is kind of like a jail sentence, at any age. But having an oops baby when you're young is like death row! Your life is over, ladies!"

outshine

August 2081 - Sheldon and Alana Fortney are 49, Melissa is 14. (Lucy Harris is 15.) Last update, September 2079.

This is actually a story about love, in a twisted kind of way. A very powerful love and a lot of fateful choices.

In her life, Alana has learned that there are no right or wrong choices, just the ones you make, and the ones you don't. From every choice brings forth a lifetime of consequences, further choices and more consequences. Was her marriage to Sheldon a mistake, or just a choice? It's hard to call some choices mistakes - if not for this very choice, she wouldn't have her daughter Melissa.

too hot for words

May 2081 - (2080/81 school year update)

The Lakeside Heights school district is bursting at the seams this year, as it usually is. But with the Lake City Building nearing completion and scheduled to open on time for the 81/82 school year, that should help thin things out a bit. Not so much for these families, but for the incoming crowd, a large group of young families in Lake City who have chosen not to send their children to Lakeside Heights schools. But this is a good thing, because there isn't really room for many more here.

something in the water

February 2081 - Blake Miller is 35, Clarice is 34, Elliot is 3. Last update, October 2078.

Blake couldn't resist telling Clarice all about how Joel ran himself to the ground trying to make sure he and Aurora weren't having an affair. It was funny, you have to admit (though Blake suddenly gets an overwhelming suspicion as to why Joel doesn't really like him...)

Oh, but it's all in good humor! If he and Joel aren't friends, it hasn't been through any lack of effort on Blake's part. He guesses Joel is just a strange character - not really shy, but still a bit of a loner; not deadly serious, but a career military man. Maybe the only thing they even have in common is Aurora. So Blake jokes.

one day, after school...

February 2081 (mini-update) - Liza Hathe is 12, Melissa Fortney is 13, Lucy Harris and Blair (?) are 14.

One day, after school, a boy named Blair followed Melissa home like a little lost puppy. And then he tried to flirt with her, which is apparently against the rules. For two reasons: one, because Melissa is WAY too shy for that flirting business, and two, because Liza Hathe does NOT approve!

happy new year, 2081!

Happy New Year, 2081!

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

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.

2079, we don't need no education!

Another school year starts in Lake County!

I don't want a job either

April 2078, Sheldon and Alana Fortney are 45, Melissa is 9.

Melissa says, "Mom, I don't think I want a job when I grow up."

Alana says, "I don't blame you, Kiddo." Her mother thinks she's joking, but she isn't. Not really.

meet the Harris family

March 2076 - Tad and Tosha Harris are 66. Alana and Sheldon Fortney are 43, Melissa is 7. Joel Harris is 34, Aurora is 30.

The Harris family is a large one. None of them are very rich, but what they lack in money they make up for in love (a.k.a. pestering the heck out of each other by dropping by each other's houses at all hours of the day and night).