#1: welcome to grad school
Postcards from Sierra Nova
a sim-illustrated neighborhood story
postcards from grad school
#1: welcome to grad school
intermission: when time runs out (Micah Phoenix obituary)
previously: 12 months to live
Jack Phoenix lived a pretty ordinary life. His brother caused all the drama that people talked about in their family. In fact, when all added up, Hayden had probably caused their parents enough stress for the both of them combined, so Jack felt it was his duty to be the stable twin.
boxes and squares #3: what dreams?
Soundtrack: “Dreams” by The Cranberries
Before he headed out into the wilderness, while still in San Sequoia, Jordan stopped into a tattoo parlor in a quiet suburban shopping strip. Colette was never a fan of his only tattoo and forbade him from getting more. Why did he ever let her decide that for him? They weren’t married, and half the time they hardly liked each other.
Now, they weren’t together at all anymore and he wasn’t asking permission.
He wasn’t asking Maria, either, to be honest, though her opinion he absolutely cared about. This journey for him meant not letting women control his life anymore, and that had to include Maria, as well.
So, with a sizable chunk of his travel fund and a couple of ibuprofen, he settled in to commit vision to flesh. And he said a small prayer that Maria wouldn’t mind this one on him, because it wasn’t exactly small.
His travels would next take him up the coast and into the Cascade Mountains where he looked forward to being truly off-grid and out of cell reception for a few days.
Now it was time to go get lost and see what epiphanies he might find.
boxes and squares #2: this is not that story again
September 2088. Jordan Graham is 28, Ingrid Thompson is 25, Clayton Dodd is 21.
previously: the summer of 2085
Ingrid paced the camper for half an hour. She got dressed, trying to make as much noise as possible. This man slept like a rock. Or maybe the problem was that he stayed up all night talking to his lover and then fell asleep on an actual rock. In any case, Ingrid felt restless and wanted to start the day.
She stood over his cot and cleared her throat. “Ahem.”
And he finally woke with a startle and a small yelp.
She chuckled. “Oh my gosh, I thought you’d never wake up! Do you always sleep this late?”
He just blinked his eyes and continued sitting up.
“Can we stay a day? Stretch our legs? I’d like to get some landscape shots, do a little yoga somewhere ethereal, and maybe I’ll write a poem, too.”
“Eh, sure,” he said. “I wouldn’t mind a hike.”
boxes and squares #1: go your own way
September 2088. Jordan Graham is 28, Ingrid Thompson is 25, Maria Boone is 26, Colette Marin is 31.
previously: Jordan had plans to shake up his life // then Maria kissed him in the kitchen at work // he's not letting Colette tell him what to do anymore // and Ingrid conned convinced Jordan to drive her out to California
Ian and Ingrid have done everything together, every moment of their lives since they were born. Until September 14th, 2088, when Ingrid asked if he wanted to tag along on their epic adventure out to the Pacific coast, and Ian said. “Nah, I’m good.”
And Ingrid said, “Oh! Really? Right on, brother! Go your own way!”
a prequel to Boxes and Squares
Boxes and Squares will be completed in about 7 (huge) chapters. (Estimated around 28k words—another novella, folks! I can’t stop with these characters, I truly can’t!)
Because the chapters are so big, I feel it would be the least frustrating to post to Tumblr first as I shoot the scenes, then compile the chapters to the blog shortly afterward. I hope not to have too much of a delay between the Tumblr postings and the completed chapters here, but you know, life happens. 🙃
The story spans from September 2088 to March 2089 in the timeline, and will have two short intermissions to visit other families. We will center around Jordan and Maria again, but with shared focus on Ingrid, Colette, and the kids. Supporting roles for Tyler and Maya, Lou (Maria’s sister), Jack Phoenix, and maybe… Charlie? Not sure yet how much trouble Ingrid might cause. You can never really know with that girl, lol!
To start, I kind of feel like taking a little walk down memory lane with Ingrid.
The thing is, writing Ingrid for the upcoming stories, a lot of her mindset and growth keeps reflecting back to the summer of 2085 and the definitive three weeks (it really was only three weeks, lol!) when she was absolutely stupid crazy in love with Charlie Roseland. And I think to understand 25-year-old Ingrid, we need to know 22-year-old Ingrid from that summer.
Those stories were posted on an obscure little side blog, The Lakeside Files, TS3 era, in 2014! Wow, a whole freaking decade ago! I don’t expect anyone to go digging for the relevant posts and scenes, so I’ve done a little flashback series on my Tumblr where you can find them all easily. Truly, it’s been very interesting to focus on Ingrid’s POV only from that story, and how it must have felt to be in her head that summer. Charlie’s story is already told, but you are always welcome to read (or re-read) Charlie & Natty’s story in its entirety on The Lakeside Files.
Of course, you don’t have to read these flashbacks either, but they will provide perspective on Ingrid’s actions and motivations in her 25 year-old life in Boxes and Squares.
Ingrid’s POV from, “2085: a rebel yell”
Charlie-fucking-Roseland
enjoying the quiet
science
a forgotten memory
hiding in the supply closet
last day of the summer fair
always choose dare
the ferris wheel
warm beer
thank you kiss
endings and rebounds
a little blog note
So, I’ll be taking those stories back to draft status, and you’ll see them again when their time comes.
I will retake pictures for most of them, because 2015 base game was not pretty, with no expansions, no CC, and no poses. For many stories, I will not change a word of the writing, because Susie and Reid’s story was just ❤️❤️❤️ and I wouldn’t dare. For some, I’ll keep the story but perhaps change the timing a little to suit the timeline and balance of other stories. But they’ll all be back in the timeline as we move through the next couple of story years.
round 2088-2090
2088
boxes and squares #1: go your own way (Jordan, Ingrid)
October:
boxes and squares #3: what dreams? (Maria, Jordan)
end of round summary: 2086-2088
my sweetheart #10: call it what you want
September 2088. Jordan Graham is 28, Ingrid Thompson is 24, Maria Boone is 26, Johanna is 4.
warnings: NSFW
“Hey! What’s the story, morning glory?”
Ingrid’s voice was entirely too energetic for eight in the morning, bubbling with the energy of a late-night party that never ended. Jordan had a sore neck and a sore back, and there was no comfortable way to sleep in the cab of this truck. Technically homeless now, he needed to find another option. It would have been much more comfortable to roll out his sleeping bag and sleep under the stars, but he had just too much pride to do that. In the suburbs, at least. He just needed to get out of here.