commencement

June 2088. Selena Sosa is 24, Andre Sylvester is 23, Luis Talbot is 24, Evie Bachman is 24, Odin Grant is 27, and Summer Phoenix is 23.

previously: Selena and Luis were so in love for many years… // but Andre is in love with Selena, too? // in the end, Selena and Luis can’t make it work // despite the initial rejection, Andre and Selena give it a shot

—

The graduation ceremony ended and everyone filed into the reception hall for drinks and congratulations. Selena joined everyone, standing nearby Andre and his parents like an afterthought.

Everyone congratulated him on his acceptance to med school and on his big move across the country which didn’t involve her for at least the next three years. No hard feelings, though. They all knew he’d go to med school next. They knew he planned to live in the dorm housing and bury himself in his studies. It wasn’t exactly a breakup, but the fact was that there was no room for her in his immediate future.

But, summer break! Yes, they still had summer break. Then maybe they would talk about the end of things. Or maybe they would try to make long-distance work. Or maybe they would just let the relationship fade and cut the cord over the phone on some random weekday night this fall when they both decided it wasn’t worth the trouble anymore.

Seven months was such a precarious length of time. Too little to make a big deal over, but long enough to feel its loss.

Gosh, he was going to be a doctor. Emergency room trauma. He was going to save lives. Surely that was more important than some college girlfriend. He was so good and so giving, and she felt so petty for feeling sorry for herself.

But all this talk of his bright and bountiful future was getting her down.

Love Bites, premiere reception and after party

February 2088. Summer Phoenix is 22, Ryanne is 16, Elias Kirkpatrick is 21, Lindsay Slough is 19, Marc Hall is 43, Vale Akiyama is 27.

Summer is earning more money than she’s ever earned in her whole life. Meanwhile, she’s still living in a tiny, dirty, noisy, mouse-infested apartment with two other girls (and a couple of occasional boyfriends). She’s feeling a little amused as the glitz and glamour of her stardom begins to materialize, and she hardly knows what to do with it. But she bought a new gown for the premiere reception and launch party of her movie. She’s never been much of a shopaholic, apart from splurging on the occasional flashy haircut or a pair of nice running shoes. 

film premiere: Love Bites

Love Bites, international release

Halston House Pictures

written & directed by Shaina Halston

produced by Asher Halston

genre: campy vampire fantasy/action

starring:

- Summer Phoenix as “the feisty Princess Anya Sophia”

- Marc Hall as “the entrancing Count Ferdinand Von Windenburg”

- Lindsay Slough as “Brittany, friend/sister”

- Elias Kirkpatrick as “Leo, friend/detective”

***

INT. CASTLE, DAY. 1804. 

Act I, Synopsis: Princess Anya Sophia, a feisty young heiress cries in distress over her unfortunate position. She is propositioned by the dashing Count Ferdinand Von Windenburg who offers to help her escape this dreadful politically arranged marriage. For a price. She accepts the offer and seals her fate.  

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.

postcards from a bug on the wall

July 2087.

In Fort Palmetto, half of the high school class gathers at the Collins residence to celebrate Jacob Collins' 15th birthday. The shady yard and chilly pool make the perfect place to ride out this mid-summer heat wave.  

calling dibs

May 23, 2087. Summer Phoenix is 21. Evie Bachman is 23. 



Day and night, Summer has been diligently rehearsing her lines for an audition. She will read for the lead role in a fun vampire movie, which is expected to be campy in a clever way and full of fun stunts. The heroine is headstrong and sexy, which she is hopeful she can pull off. She's even more confident about the fight scenes—mid-air, the script says. They'll be hoisted up on wires.

still the one, part 2

May 5, 2087. Dallas Deppiesse is 22. Lucy (Harris) Deppisse is 20. (Summer Phoenix is 21, Tyler & Beau Jackson are 23, Maya Jackson is 25.)


Friends and family of the newlyweds gathered outside in the church yard gardens for dinner and dancing. They couldn't have asked for a lovelier spring evening—minutes before sunset, seventy degrees and mostly clear skies with a rose-scented breeze from the adjoining gardens.

movie premiere: Final Fantasy XV Comrades

notes: There was a mention of Summer doing a fan event for her movie in a recent story post, so I wanted to take a quick minute to talk about her movie. This is a thing I'd like to do for my actor sims, whenever any of them are lucky enough to snag a role. 

I have always enjoyed giving my actor and writer sims "real" projects for their stories. Like Violet Deppiesse's sci-fi novel series having real titles and even plot summaries. Or describing what kind of short stories Aurora Harris used to write. Or that Nathan Lind once wrote a flop of a pulp legal thriller. Or knowing exactly what kind of soap opera Bella Bradshaw (stage name Isabelle Gibson) used to act in. My sims are never allowed to just make up filler titles and descriptions for their work. I suppose, as a writer in real life, I'd be annoyed that they got to fake it so easily, lol!

Summer was lucky enough to be picked  for this project before acting was even a thing in TS4. I needed a character to be my avatar in FFXV Comrades, and she fit the bill! The story goes that she was drumming with her awful band one night and a producer saw her banging on things and thought, hey, she'd look really great with a sword. So he asked her to audition. The film was meant to be a minor B movie spin-off in a niche franchise, so it was no big deal that she was a complete unknown to the acting world. She had the right look, so she landed the part. As these things sometimes go.  

Now that we have a real acting career in TS4, I've decided that my sims can enter it in two ways. (Because it would be no fun for me if every sim who ever caught a whim to be an actor could just become one, barring all skill, talent, and luck.)

1.) I might pick them, the way I picked Summer, hand out of the sky, to exist in some other non-TS4 game. I will imagine them to be actors in a movie based on that game, and I'll make up a little "movie" with the screenshots. Then in TS4 gameplay, I'll assign them a certain number of gigs in a corresponding genre that they're allowed to perform for money. 

2.) Otherwise, they'll have to wait for a role provided by a TS4 sim movie producer. I have a couple of aspiring directors among my sims. Whenever one of them is ready to produce a film, TV show, or commercial, they will audition hopeful actors and pick their favorites for the roles. That sim producer will assign how many gigs and what kind of scenes they can perform for their pay. As they work, I may take a few screenshots to make up a little "movie" and blurb to show off their project. 

Like this: 

—

extended weekend

December 1, 2086. Lara is 33, Jack is 37, Patrick is 36, Ryanne is 15, Luca is 2, Piper is 32. 

the life of Evie

"I loved you," he said. 

"What?"

"Yeah, I did. I didn't know it then, but afterwards, I figured it out. I did love you."

"You don't have to say that," she said.

"Well, I think I was supposed to say it before, so like, backdated, or something."

"A backdated 'I love you?'" She laughed at him. "Well, I can't say I've ever had one of those before."

Summer

age 22

Summer Skye Phoenix

story tag
simblr tag

born: June 21, 2065 — Gemini

toddler trait: charmer
child aspiration: physical, achieved
aspiration 1: popularity, friend of the world
aspiration 2: romance, serial romantic
traits: gregarious, romantic, goofball, active, physically gifted, non-committal (impatient, spirited)
MBTI:  ENTP

religion:
politics:

loves: peppy music with a heavy beat // boots // piercings and tattoos // punching annoying twits in the head (you know, if she's gonna be honest) // working out // driving // camping // sunshine // making jokes // sarcasm // drinking beer at a bonfire // laying out on the beach // summertime // looking out for her friends // her family

hates: people who disrespect her friends // death

education:
- Lakeside Heights High School, class of 2083
- Lake City University, Business Management, 2 quarters—dropped out

career:
- Actor (level 6)

filmography & awards: 

- minor role, FFXV Comrades — 2087

- lead, Love Bites, “Princess Anya Sophia” — 2088

- Starlight Accolades, “Best New Actress” — 2088

career history:
- Entertainment, musician, drummer, Barracuda, 2085-2087
- business owner, retail (toys and games) Summer's Place, 2079-2084

skilled at:

- charisma 5, fitness 5, acting 3, comedy 3, dancing 2

wanted to be when she was a child: she doesn’t remember

orientation: straight
IFS = 1

romance: 

- single

romantic history:
- Tyler Jackson, together February 2077, and off and on and off, made peace May 2083
- James Porter, March 2084 to February 2085, 11 months

- Elias Kirkpatrick, December 2087 to February 2088, 3 months

parents: Hayden and Rhianna Phoenix
siblings: Ryanne Phoenix, Luca Phoenix (half), Hope Phoenix (half)
children: none
grandchildren:
friendships: Lucy Deppiesse (BFF), Ryanne Phoenix (sister), Evie Bachman, Sophie Phoenix (grandmother), Hayden Phoenix (dad)
enemies: Vicky Garth

DNA: hair, brown; eyes, gray; adult height, 5'7"
weight:
fitness:
health history:
- birth control risk: 1%, fertility: -10%

legal history: