postcards from grad school

September, October 2088. Justin Nova is 28, Calvin Banks is 21, Amy Jones is 22, Natalia Deppiesse is 23, Andre Sylvester is 23. Cynthia Kim is 52. Selena Sosa is 25. April Hutchins is 25, Beau Jackson is 24.

#1: welcome to grad school

Grad school is happening at Magnolia Graduate College. 

Leading our group is Dr. Heather Thompson, Dean of Students. She specializes in biology. (Hi, Ingrid’s mom!)

Our students this year: 

Andre, Calvin, and Steven are all working on their medical degrees. 

The others are non-medical graduate programs. Justin (architecture), Amy (nursing), and Natty, (teaching).

thank you, part 3

December 2087. Vicky Garth is 23, April Hutchins is 24.

previously: thank you part 1 // part 2

Vicky slept badly—there were no dreams, just fits of darkness between tossing and turning. Finally, there was daylight and the chirping of birds. Her alarm hadn’t gone off yet. She tried to focus her ragged eyes on the time, but she found a troublesome cell phone on the nightstand instead. How unassuming it seemed now, but what havoc had it wreaked last night? 

Please tell me you didn’t really sing a whole song into his voicemail. Please, just don’t let that be real.

the life of Vicky—an island in the sun

I could have sworn I did a history/backstory post for Vicky, but it seems I did not. I can’t find it anywhere if I did. But Vicky is a character that I’ve been writing about since 2008, and she has a lot of history between many blogs and game versions. It feels important to collect it all, especially since some of her future stories will begin to draw on her experiences a lot more. I can even see the possibility that her birth parents might come into the story a little bit down the line.

Her backstory was always “her parents were rich and couldn’t be bothered with her.” 

Well, okay, but family drama is never really that simple. That was a fine enough backstory for a townie ex-girlfriend whom we didn’t think we’d see again. But here we are, thirteen years and three game versions later, and Vicky has earned a little more detail to her backstory than that.

real music, part 3

June 21, 2087. Vale Akiyama is 26, Vicky Garth is 22, Lauren Sanders is 14, Blossom McCarthy is 28, April Hutchins is 23, Ariel Beech is 19, Josie Booth is 20, Lara Nova is 34, Patrick Nova is 36. 

"real music, part 1," "real music, part 2"


Vale still had his bags to pack and a flight up north to catch for the long-awaited Copper Island Summer Solstice Festival. But first, he wondered what to wear for his big night. He tried on a few combinations and texted the selfies to Vicky.

     Vale: Which one says “musical superstar”?

     Vicky: I don’t know, but that vest says arrogant and pretentious.

     Vale: And the other one?

     Vicky: I don’t know, just pretentious I guess.

—

business profile: Iceberry Cafe // Cloud 9 // Potomac Herbal

venue: residential // home cafe, home bar, AirBnb

location: Potomac Heights

owner: Aura Jackson (managed by Beau Jackson and April Hutchins)

Since so much of my last update took place on this lot, I thought I'd throw together a little lot tour. This lot has grown quite a bit since I showed it off before in a profile for April's cafe. 

As far as the books go, neither the Jackson boys nor April own any of this. They manage it all for their mom. In TS2, Aura owned a fashion boutique, Jolie Jolie, which did exceptionally well until one day when she "sold it" (game glitch) to run for office, a position she still holds today, Treasury Secretary. Then Adrian did well for himself, too, running a very popular arcade. Between the two businesses, their home and vacation home, the Jackson family had amassed somewhere around $400,000 simoleons in net worth, a nice tidy fortune among my sims, probably second only to the Riley family in riches. But the boys won't inherit that for a long while still—although Adrian passed away, I expect Aura to stick around for a long time. 

In TS4, the Jackson family owns two properties now, and this is one which Beau and April manage. (The other is the Adventure Fitness Park in Sierra Nova, which Tyler is working on.)

we used to be kings

April 13th, 2087. Angelo Shaw is 24, Devon is 15, Valerie is 51. Aldous Jones is 15. Aliyah Sylvester is 26. April Hutchins and Beau Jackson are 23.



In another life, fifteen-year-old Devon Shaw might have grown up a spoiled mafia princess. She sighed and fantasized about that life as she sprayed degreaser on the coffee machines, because in this life, her dad is in the slammer and most of their assets were repossessed and her mom works two jobs to barely cover their rent. But a teenage girl needs pocket change sometimes to buy new earrings or see a movie with her friends, or you know, help her mom cover the electric bill occasionally. So Devon picked up her first job at IceBerry Cafe. She had a lot to learn, but she was eager.

Amy & Blair: the wedding

June 2086. Amy Jones and Blair Schehl are 19.

wedding song: "You Make It Real," by James Morrison

business profile: Iceberry Cafe

venue: cafe/bar
location: Potomac Waterfront, Potomac Heights, DC
owner: April Hutchins


Located on the bustling Potomac Waterfront strip, the Iceberry Cafe serves up sweet treats, toasty goodies, and tasty beverages year round.

April

April Nicole Hutchins

age: 24
born: October 15, 2063 — Libra
parents: Amy Hutchins and unknown; den mother, Heather Huffington
siblings: none
children: Amber Jackson

education:
- Lake County High School, class of 2082
- Lake City University, class of 2086 (Culinary Arts)
career: mixologist/dessert chef, Potomac Waterfront Iceberry Cafe
career history:
- bartender, Lucky's Card Bar, 2082-2084
- retail, 2080-2082

child aspiration: social, not achieved
aspiration 1: culinary, mixology
aspiration 2: creative, painting (sculpting, if it was a thing)

traits: glutton, romantic, cheerful, childish, carefree, noncommittal, essence of flavor (quirky, affectionate, fickle, whimsical)

loves: sculpting, baking, cocktail arts, video games, sex, fruity martinis, going to parties
hates: being bored

orientation: bisexual, leaning straight
IFS: 2

romance: Beau Jackson, casual on and off since October 2076, together for real March 2084
romantic history: various, casual

friendships: Beau Jackson (fiance), Vicky Garth, Tyler Jackson (brother-in-law)
enemies: none

DNA: hair, sandy blonde; eyes, green; adult height, 5’3”

health history: 

- abortion, November 2083

legal history: