round 2088-2090

* timeline spanning Summer 2088 through August 2090

[previous round]

2088

why are you here? (a boxes and squares prequel short story)

-- #1: birthday cake (January 2088)

-- #2: little sparks catch fire, too (March-May 2088)

-- #3: a cage left open (June 2088)

-- #4: go, go, go (June 2088)

my sweetheart stories: June - September 2088 (aka, B&S book 1)

my sweetheart #1: it wasn’t funny after all (Justin)

my sweetheart #2: this wanderer is not lost (Jordan)

my sweetheart #3: feral (Jordan, Ingrid, Maria)
my sweetheart #4: someone else’s wedding (Maria)

my sweetheart #5: the rocket man (Keri)

my sweetheart #6: carve our names in a heart on a tree (Justin & Stephanie)

my sweetheart #7: don’t be sorry (Jordan)

my sweetheart #8: the honeymoon (Justin & Stephanie)

my sweetheart #9: uprooted (Jordan)

my sweetheart #10: call it what you want (Jordan, Ingrid, Maria)

September:
intermission: a rebel yell, Ingrid's version

boxes and squares #1: go your own way (Jordan, Ingrid)

boxes and squares #2: this is not that story again (Ingrid)

October:
boxes and squares #3: what dreams? (Maria, Jordan)

intermission: when time runs out (Jack, Micah)

postcards from grad school (various)

boxes and squares #4.0: the boys (Jordan, Colette, Mick)

boxes and squares #4.1: first fall apart (Jordan, Maria, Colette)

boxes and squares #4.2: then have some faith (Maria, Milo, Jordan)

boxes and squares #4.3: then fall in love (Jordan, Jack, Nessa, Maria)

boxes and squares #4.4: now know the answer (Jordan, Maria)

boxes and squares #4.5: home is wherever you are, part 1 (Jordan, Maria)

boxes and squares #4.5: home is wherever you are, part 2 (Jordan, Maria, Felix, Milo, Lou)

boxes and squares #4.5: home is wherever you are, part 3 (Maria, Stephanie, Lou)

November:
look how they shine, Akiyama/McCarthy family update

boxes and squares, book 5: November 2088
-- #5.1: live the fairytale

-- #5.2: come down from the clouds, part 1

-- #5.2: come down from the clouds, part 2

-- #5.3: hindsight is a bitch

-- #5.4: kill the fairytale

-- #5.5: fuck you, thank you

October - December 2088

intermission: a moment of silence for the fallen (Ingrid)

December: 

November-January postcards

Christmas -- Nova family

NYE 2089

end of round summary: 2086-2088

How about the 2-year round that took 6.5 real life years to write!? 

(photo gallery best viewed on web version — click for bigger)

 

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

     

Too many sims with too many beefy stories. 

Also, so much going on in my family and life, including that I had a whole new baby that has since grown into a whole giant preschooler. 

Also, Covid happened. 

The whole world literally changed during the writing of round 2086, lol! 

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.

my sweetheart #9: uprooted

September 2088. Jordan Graham is 28, Felix and Milo are 9, Colette Marin is 31, Ingrid Thompson is 24, Maria Boone is 26.

“Find the only broken camper on Brindleton Main Street, parked next to a duplex. You really can’t miss it.”

Jordan found Ingrid’s camper, and hopefully it would mean a quick buck. She said that she would pay him and he hoped she meant in actual money. He had nowhere else to go, and this was as good a place to park as any.

my sweetheart #8: honeymoon

September 2088. Justin and Stephanie Nova are 28. 

The day after their wedding, Justin and Stephanie headed off for their honeymoon in Sulani. The brochure promised a private, secluded beach hut and the thrill of living off the island.

Stephanie especially looked forward to some time unplugged with her new hubby. But when they arrived, they found that the Wi-Fi connection was full strength, outlets powered up to charge their devices, and there was running water and a gas stove.

What’s the first thing they should do here? Skinny dipping in the waterfall? Sandcastles? Snorkeling?

my sweetheart #7: don’t be sorry

August 2088. Jordan Graham is 28, Maria Boone is 26.

previously: Jordan and Colette are not on the same page // Jordan has many admirers, but his mind is elsewhere // Maria kills her own fantasy

warnings: NSFW

The last wedding guests retreated to their cars and hotel rooms, commencing the cleanup shift. Jordan had his hands in warm dishwater when a shapely red figure appeared in the doorway. The dress was unfair. He suspected she chose it on purpose, to highlight the curve of her hips, the fullness of her breasts. To say, Look what you passed on, you stupid boy.

The dress was payback because he said that he would take her on a date and also that he needed to escape this whole life and be alone. Both were true. Both can be true at the same time, he wanted to explain.

“Hey,” Jordan said to her. “I didn’t know you were still here. I thought you would have gone home with everyone.”

my sweetheart #6: carve our names in a heart on a tree

August 2088. Stephanie Nova and Justin Kim are 28. 

wedding song: “Ho Hey,” by The Lumineers

my sweetheart #5: the rocket man

August 2088. Keri Riley is 27, Bentley Booth is 25.

previously: the mythical bunions

Time melted away for Keri because her mind was light years away in her work. Somewhat literally. The Cassiopeia mission charged ahead to its big moment. They had their crew, their pilots, their scientists. They developed flight suits and long range sleep pods. There was so much still to do and get ready, but everything was coming along on schedule. And Keri did what Keri does best. She worked. She was at the helm of this ship and it was going to sail spectacularly.

They finally had a date set for launch. The crew buzzed with excitement over it. It was really happening, after all this time. The next great leap for humankind. June 4th, 2090.

Thankfully, with only twenty-two months left to departure, Keri’s mother had finally stopped nagging her to find an insta-husband and baby.

my sweetheart #4: someone else’s wedding

August 2088. Jordan Graham is 28, Maria Boone is 26.

Maria's sister came to take Johanna home because Maria was working long tonight. They all were. Tomorrow was the big day. They’ve prepared for plenty of weddings before, but for Stephanie’s big day, it felt more personal. Nobody wanted to make any mistakes.

So Maria and Drake put the finishing touches on the wedding cake and cupcake display. Drake was studying culinary arts at Dresden. He used each kitchen utensil for its intended purpose—never grabbing a fork instead of a whisk just because it was nearby—and he knows the French names for all of his methods. Not only that he knows the French words, but he speaks each one in a pompous French accent, because, of course, he’s also studying French in university.

my sweetheart #3: feral

August 2088. Jordan Graham is 28, Ingrid Thompson is 24, Maria Boone is 26, Johanna is 4.



It was a beautiful summer morning and Coolidge House Country Inn bustled with activity. The wedding was back on, and the big day was coming fast. Lovely as today was, there was a small chance of rain in the forecast for the wedding day, so they planned to hold the ceremony under the gazebo. Jordan had just finished arranging a few dozen chairs in the reception barn, and now he was on a mission to find a few dozen more for the gazebo. Instead, what he found was a heated soccer match in the side yard. 

my sweetheart #2: this wanderer is not lost

July 2088. Jordan Graham is 28, Milo and Felix are 9. Colette Marin is 31.

previously: Jordan doesn’t want to rock the boat?

The big wedding had been postponed, so the entire staff at Coolidge House Country Inn got a surprise two weeks off. Why did that make Jordan feel like an animal whose cage had been left open? The boys were on summer vacation and he had an idea. He also had a nagging suspicion that two weeks would not be enough to scratch this itch. But it was what he had, so he posed the wild idea to their mom.

 
“I want to take the boys backpacking in Canada.”

And Colette replied, with a patronizing chuckle, “Good luck with that.”

The boys were nine, and their mother was a snobby, opinionated, control freak. But she didn’t say no. He was surprised, but also not. She did this sometimes, when she knew her razor sharp attitude had run away from her for too long, she offered a little peace treaty, to say, “Remember that time I let you take the boys backpacking in Canada? Remember that?” 

And she would remind him of that small grace for the rest of his life.

obituary: Robert Randolph Kim

born: May 16, 2034

died: July 13, 2088 (heart attack)

He was 54 years old. 

my sweetheart #1: it wasn’t funny after all

May 2088. Cynthia Kim is 52, Robert is 54, Justin is 28, Stephanie is 28. 

It was an ordinary summer morning. The children poured themselves some cereal. Probably most of it ended up on the floor, but who cared?

“Fine, have cookies. Fine, have ice cream. Dog food? What dog food? We don’t have a dog. Just be good. We’ll be out in a minute. Mommy and Daddy are just wrestling.”

It was a slow and sweet summer morning. Their wedding was imminent, finally, after all this time, and everyone was feeling playful and light. Both of them had to work today. Justin would pop over to the workshop for a few hours—he loved being his own boss and making his own hours—then Steph had dinner to serve tonight at the inn.

It was a charming summer morning that was about to take a terrible turn.

postcards from an ill-timed supernova

June, July, August 2088.

#1: sunshine girls

Summer of 2088 in Copper Hill, Michigan. The sun is hot. The local swimming hole is murky and nobody knows what hides in its depths.

“Dead bodies,” Bianca teases.

“Nuh uh,” Julia cries. “Stop it, I’m telling Dad!”

“Leeches.” Lily giggles, her fingers tickling up Willow’s shoulder.

“Seaweed,” Willow shouts, grabbing a clump. Throw, splat. Squeals, splashing, laughter.



The days are long and sweaty and sweet. In twenty years, when four little girls have become women swamped with jobs and family and life, when they think back on their childhood, this will be what they remember.