thank you, part 2

December 2087. Vale Akiyama is 27, Vicky Garth is 23.

previously: throwaway girl // real music, part 3 // Thanksgiving // the worst show ever

The show was the worst. Vale was booked on a Thursday night, the week before Christmas, playing a holiday party for an investment firm. Old, stuffy financial people. Young brown-nosing financial wannabes. He couldn’t say no, because the bank manager was the wife of his club manager, who basically pimped him out for the night. 

A paycheck is a paycheck, right? Well, maybe not always. 

"Can't you play more Christmas music? Can't you make it a little more festive? No, not that Christmas music... No, that’s too loud... No, that’s too fast... Can you just, like, put this album on?"

The lights were garish, and the decor was nauseating. They asked him to wear red and silver. Vale hated wearing red. He was pretty sure he hated Christmas forever now, too. 

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 the worst office holiday party ever

December 2087. Erin Close is 43. Vale Akiyama is 27. Cora Lawrence is 26. Luis Talbot is 24. Amelia Bradshaw is 32. Tyler Jackson is 24. Hudson Lawrence is 28. Melissa Fortney is 20. 

The markets have been dismal this year, and Erin hoped that this year’s Close Mutual office holiday party would lift everyone’s spirits. 

The party was held at her partner's nightclub, The Subterranean Flare, but decked out with lots of holiday decor. She also rented what she thought was the snazziest ensemble for the DJ to wear—a red sequined jacket with a pair of shiny white leather pants that hugged his tight butt in a spectacular way. 

adventure honeymoon (gameplay/picspam)

December 2087. Tyler Jackson is 24, Maya is 26.

previously: the cavern of love

Tyler and Maya eloped about eight months ago. But Tyler needed to focus through the summer on his training certification and the family’s new adventure theme park, so they’re only just now getting away for their much anticipated winter honeymoon. An adventure honeymoon for a very adventurous couple! They couldn't have asked for a better location!

postcards from (probably not) your biggest mistake

November - December 2087.

#1: you're not my husband  

Aurora Harris met Clark Beech, as romantic as this sounds, when he stopped by to talk to her about her taxes. 

She wasn't aiming for a romance, of course. 

Joel has been gone for a little over two years now. Sometimes she still imagines herself waiting for him to come home from deployment, when in fact the war is long over and everyone has been home from even the furthest reaches for years. Two years for a grieving widow is not that much time, she reminds herself. But when Clark asked her out on a date, she felt compelled to give him a shot. As friends, to start. She’d like to go out with him as a very handsome friend. 

And, ugh, admitting that she found him so handsome made her feel like a cheating trollop. She would have to get used to that feeling eventually, unless she wanted to be alone for the rest of her years. At barely 42 years old, that could end up being a long time.  

thank you, part 1

November 2087. Blossom McCarthy is 28, George is 33, Abe is 9 months. Vicky Garth is 23. Amy Jones is 21, Blair is 20. Nobuo Akiyama is 55, Mayumi is 53, Vale is 27. 

previously: the dirty French song // what would you do with it if it happened?

Thanksgiving for the McCarthy and Akiyama families was a cheerful time. This was Blossom’s first year hosting the holiday as a mother—baby Abe’s first Thanksgiving. They couldn’t be more thankful. Both sides of the family were expected in full attendance. The feast would be delicious. Blossom’s mother was the star chef today, although Vicky and Amy helped, too. Blossom wasn’t much of a cook, so she put herself in charge of refilling drinks and lifting spirits. 

This blend of blood-family and friend-family had grown together so beautifully. Blossom's parents loved George and his siblings. The McCarthy clan all adored Blossom's parents and even her unruly little brother, Vale. In-laws became friends. Friends became family.  

And there were three vegetarians in one family, so it was decidedly a convincing tofu roast on their menu. The meat-eaters didn't dare complain. 

The day couldn’t have been more perfect. 

anywhere but here (DAC, Fall 2087)

October 2087. Amy Jones is 21, Josie Booth is 20, Ariel Beech is 19, Drake Cannon is 19, Marcus Sylvester is 19, Liza Hathe is 18. 

previously: Liza didn't want to go to SNU // last year at DAC // Drake & Josie make it work and Ariel's boyfriend is a dud // the festival got rained out

Liza didn’t want to admit to her mother that this quiet arts college had been a bad choice. Who ever wanted to tell their mother that she was right? But the truth was, the reputable science college would have been a bad choice as well. So would the modern tech college, the historic ivy league college, and even the local community college. Liza did not want to attend college at all.

How absurd, right? Liza was so smart. Of course she would go to college. That was what everyone expected of her. What else would she do? Certainly not pocket all of her scholarship money and buy two plane tickets to anywhere. Crazy idea—Robbie was still in high school for eight more months.

Campus was busy and full of strangers. She was a country girl, a forest girl, a long babbling creek girl. All these loud, smelly, strange young people made her feel anxious.