Bluewater Summer 1: Part I
AKA 'I took too many pictures'.
I took so many pictures that I'm gonna have to split this up. The way I've split it leaves good room for an interlude of sorts, so that's probably what I'll do. Anyway, on with summer!
Gieke
We begin with Chester worrying about the future. Naturally, it's what he does best. Although if I had an alien fetus growing in me with no feasible way of exiting, I'd probably worry about the future too.
Luckily, all of Chester's searching has found a friend he can look to for support. Nobody knows about Chester's... predicament, so Robin Larrea probably just thinks Chester put on some weight.
She still finds him cute, though.
Robin's a knowledge sim, and Chester figures she'll understand once the baby is physically here. Who could deny a sweet, gurgling baby, no matter what the colour?
Chester doesn't want to get too physical, especially in his delicate condition. That doesn't mean it's not driving him crazy though.
See what I mean? Too much Robin-love and he passes out. Robin just stands there wringing her hands. She knows something's wrong but she can't quite put her finger on it.
Just because Chester has a girlfriend now doesn't mean he's gotten less serious about his studies. That B+ he got in the first semester still haunts his GPA and he's determined to pass with some kind of honours.
Unfortunately, what with the rush of school and his exciting new relationship with Robin, it makes me Chester forget to pay the bills. Luckily the repoman didn't take anything we couldn't do without.
Chester comes back from class one evening and I guess the stress of the upcoming final exam was just too much for him, since he went into labour on the pavement.
He holds in his hands his daughter, Luna Gieke. Looks like she has a blue daddy! I'm using the Graslaxian PT set and I've changed them slightly so I have one of each colour from Fantasyrogue's alien skin set. Anyway... Luna, yeah!
Chester knows nothing about being a parent, but thankfully Luna seems pretty instinctive. For some reason Chester always assumed he'd have a boy, he didn't even consider raising a girl. He'd really, really like Robin to help but he doesn't want to scare her away.
That doesn't mean he doesn't love Luna, of course. Though her arrival was a bit... unexpected, she never fails to make Chester smile.
Chester figures that since he's a dad now, he should look more the part. He doesn't really feel like a dad. He feels more like he's am idiot student, bumbling around in the dark.
Especially since having a daughter has impacted so severely on his studies. He's passed his Sophomore midterms but now things are getting more intensive and he needs help.
Finally Chester caves and calls a babysitter when he has to go to his finals.
What luck that the babysitter appears to be Ophelia Nigmos from Strangetown!
Babysitter: 'I'm not Ophelia Nigmos.'
Feh. Same eyes, hair colour, clothes, skintone... you're Ophelia.
Luna doesn't seem to phase her, so we're off to a good start. She only needs to hang around for a couple of hours anyway.
Chester enjoys doing his homework in the nursery. This way, he gets to work quietly while listening to his baby breathing.
It has been a while since Chester saw Robin. She dropped by out of the blue and Chester ran outside to greet her.
Robin: 'Hi, Chester. Haven't seen you at the college much...'
Chester: 'Oh... yeah. There's a... project I've been working on. Taking up lots of my time.'
Robin: 'Okay then... you look great, by the way. Have you lost weight?'
Chester: 'Something like that.'
Robin: 'Don't forget about me, okay? I miss you.'
Chester: 'I miss you too. When summer's over, why don't you come round? I'll show you the project I've been working on.'
Robin: 'I'd like that.'
This babysitter's not too bad. She doesn't really cook, instead she likes to snack on our crisps. Well, it's better than burning the house down with a turkey.
Chester finishes his Junior midterms and autumn finally arrives. That only means one thing - we're off to see Florence!
Delarosa
Florence is still thing about her not-so-hot date last night. She doesn't really know if she wants to see Christopher again, but then again she did kiss him. It wouldn't be fair to lead him on... The conundrum causes Florence to try to throw herself into the shop to avoid thinking about it.
It's a bright, brand new day and she should make the most of it.
Unless, of course, Christopher comes into the shop and Florence has to try to function awkwardly while the reporter is there.
She hard sells Whitney the reporter a few times then moves over to Christopher.
Chistopher: 'So...'
Florence: 'Yeah...'
Customer: 'Where is the staff? Oh well... I'm sure they won't be long...'
...
Whitney: 'Wow! You really know what you're doing at 15 Lake Meadow Circle! Here's a best of the best award!'
Clearly, Whitney is into voyeurism.
After Christopher leaves, Florence encounters another man who requires help. After some light discussion she finds that his name is Tobias and he bartends at Malcolm Landgraab's club so that he can pay for his degree in plant biology. Florence is instantly in love.
Florence closes the shop but Tobias remains, and they chat quite late into the night. When he finally has to leave, Florence is tempted to just let him have his items for free but he insists that he pay.
That night Christopher calls her and she finds herself distant and snappy. She's normally very delicate and polite... what's gotten into her?
Thanks to the reporter the shop is busier than ever, so Florence needs to hire some help behind the register. Cooper Garth happily steps up to take the job. Now Florence can fully concentrate on her customers...
In particular, Tobias. He visits most days since he works at night and Florence always finds him a wonderful distraction when business is slow.
She does feel a bit guilty about her sort-of boyfriend, but it's not like she's cheating on him... is it?
One evening Florence's inner conflict surrounding the two men came to a head. She had been slowly building up to the idea of breaking up with Christopher for a while, and while watching a movie that she 'just had to see' was what pushed her over the edge. Christopher brayed like a mule at every poor joke in this terrible comedy, yet Florence remained silent. After a while, she was so agitated by Christopher's laughter that she pulled her arm from around him and sat as far away on the sofa as she could.
They sat in awkward silence after that, and after the film was finished he went straight home.
Eventually, she works up the courage to call Christopher and give him the 'It's not you, it's me' talk. Better than 'I've found another person who I like more than you', she supposes. She doesn't give him a chance to interject and she hangs up before he can protest too much.
Still feeling crummy, she heads into the shop and does some restocking, trying to get her mind off the whole Christopher business. She likes the poor guy, but she doesn't want to drag it out any longer than it has to. Florence hasn't exactly had a great track record with relationships as it is...
And she feels even worse when he turns up at her front door, demanding to speak to her.
It's the usual spiel she's heard before coming to Bluewater. Florence doesn't want to hurt him but he won't leave her be, demanding a good reason. Eventually she gives in and admits that there's someone else in the picture.
'Oh.'
And with that, he leaves Florence be.
The next day is a Sunday, so Florence doesn't have to open the shop and Tobias invites her out to the park next to her house. She explains what happened last night and he offers a supportive ear.
They spent the late morning checking out all the new things the park has to offer, but Florence keeps catching him glancing at her with a big smile on his face.
She wants nothing more than to make things official, but it's so soon after the mess with Christopher and she doesn't want to risk rebounding. At the moment, she'll have to be content with being his friend.
... However much that may frustrate her.
Tobias seems to have different ideas, though.
Florence is in love.
With her shop bustling and her newfound lovelife coming to bloom, we end Florence's turn on a much happier note than last time.
Ramirez
When we last left off, Tessa was finding different ways to get herself taken by the social worker so she wouldn't be scarred by her parents' constant candoodling.
Tessa's still my favourite member of this family. She's so vibrant and energetic, I feel kind of sad for her that she doesn't really have any friends her age.
While Tessa's at school, Checo and Lisa hop into the family sedan and take a drive to the community college.
For some weird reason the two of them have copies of themselves on the lot when they get there... I try to ignore it while they get their jobs in their lifetime want careers - Checo in Business and Lisa in Medicine.
They don't have time to hang around though, since Tessa got back from school about a minute after they came back. Lisa went on to start dinner while Checo picked at food in the fridge (just like real life!).
This is what Tessa does each day after school. Since there aren't a whole bunch of people in Bluewater Village, it seems she's developing a bunch of regulars. This also begins my habit of taking picture's of Tessa's lemonade stand.
Lisa gets her first pregnancy bump in a bump-less outfit, so she grabs a roomy dress to wear for the remainder of her pregnancy.
... Nice going Lisa. At least she had the courtesy to change into her pajamas before she fell to the floor. We'll just pretend she fell out of bed.
Checo heads off to his first day of work as a Junior Executive for Landgraab Industries. He's a fast riser though, so he won't stay at that position for long.
Lisa takes advantage of the quiet house to spend some time relaxing, as well as poisoning her baby with pesticides. If it comes out green, that's not my problem.
Lisa is also making an effort to get some friends in Bluewater. Checo can sometimes be on the prickly side, so Lisa takes it on herself to make the main family connections.
Daddy likes to help foster his daughter's business instinct.
Robin also drops in and buys a cup. I love Robin.
Pop number two breaks up the pictures of Tessa's lemonade stand. Because not much else was happening.
Even the richest guy in town has time to buy a cup of lemonade from little Miss Ramirez.
Checo wanted to get Tessa into Private School, so we meet Freddy, the inappropriately dressed and named headmaster.
It was at this point that Lisa started to have early contractions (I forgot to put in the 'No Miscarriage' flavour pack).
So with Lisa retired for the evening, Wanda helps the family schmooze with the headmaster.
It seems to work, since Tessa is accepted!
Wanda believes she's deserved a rest, and crawls into bed beside Lisa. Okay...?
Lisa wakes up late after the house is empty, and so sits down to her morning cereal. That's put on hold, however, when a new arrival is here!
Meet Enrique Ramirez, dominant-genetic extraordinaire. Lisa's happy that her little family is now complete.
Checo's thrilled to have the son he was secretly hoping for this time. Not that he doesn't love Tessa, of course.
Even Tessa's charmed by her little brother, and often uses his toybox just to play beside him. She really needs friends.
I mean, how long can a little girl go with her best friend being her mother? Lisa worries more than she lets on - Tessa needs peers.
She may not act like she's lonely, but having no-one to play with is rough.
However, Tessa did make fast friends with the girl down the street, Melody Tinker. They're a bit too far apart age-wise, but maybe when Tessa hits her teens they'll have more to talk about.
Anyway, that about wraps it up for the first part of Bluewater's Summer, stay tuned for Part II!
Thanks for reading, leave a comment if you like, I enjoy reading them. :) I'll also need something to cheer me up when I get my exam results (but hopefully not!). I find out if I'll be able to go to university midnight tomorrow night. Now, I'm not worried but my fingernails were suddenly extremely tasty.
I took so many pictures that I'm gonna have to split this up. The way I've split it leaves good room for an interlude of sorts, so that's probably what I'll do. Anyway, on with summer!
Gieke
We begin with Chester worrying about the future. Naturally, it's what he does best. Although if I had an alien fetus growing in me with no feasible way of exiting, I'd probably worry about the future too.
Luckily, all of Chester's searching has found a friend he can look to for support. Nobody knows about Chester's... predicament, so Robin Larrea probably just thinks Chester put on some weight.
She still finds him cute, though.
Robin's a knowledge sim, and Chester figures she'll understand once the baby is physically here. Who could deny a sweet, gurgling baby, no matter what the colour?
Chester doesn't want to get too physical, especially in his delicate condition. That doesn't mean it's not driving him crazy though.
See what I mean? Too much Robin-love and he passes out. Robin just stands there wringing her hands. She knows something's wrong but she can't quite put her finger on it.
Just because Chester has a girlfriend now doesn't mean he's gotten less serious about his studies. That B+ he got in the first semester still haunts his GPA and he's determined to pass with some kind of honours.
Unfortunately, what with the rush of school and his exciting new relationship with Robin, it makes me Chester forget to pay the bills. Luckily the repoman didn't take anything we couldn't do without.
Chester comes back from class one evening and I guess the stress of the upcoming final exam was just too much for him, since he went into labour on the pavement.
He holds in his hands his daughter, Luna Gieke. Looks like she has a blue daddy! I'm using the Graslaxian PT set and I've changed them slightly so I have one of each colour from Fantasyrogue's alien skin set. Anyway... Luna, yeah!
Chester knows nothing about being a parent, but thankfully Luna seems pretty instinctive. For some reason Chester always assumed he'd have a boy, he didn't even consider raising a girl. He'd really, really like Robin to help but he doesn't want to scare her away.
That doesn't mean he doesn't love Luna, of course. Though her arrival was a bit... unexpected, she never fails to make Chester smile.
Chester figures that since he's a dad now, he should look more the part. He doesn't really feel like a dad. He feels more like he's am idiot student, bumbling around in the dark.
Especially since having a daughter has impacted so severely on his studies. He's passed his Sophomore midterms but now things are getting more intensive and he needs help.
Finally Chester caves and calls a babysitter when he has to go to his finals.
What luck that the babysitter appears to be Ophelia Nigmos from Strangetown!
Babysitter: 'I'm not Ophelia Nigmos.'
Feh. Same eyes, hair colour, clothes, skintone... you're Ophelia.
Luna doesn't seem to phase her, so we're off to a good start. She only needs to hang around for a couple of hours anyway.
Chester enjoys doing his homework in the nursery. This way, he gets to work quietly while listening to his baby breathing.
It has been a while since Chester saw Robin. She dropped by out of the blue and Chester ran outside to greet her.
Robin: 'Hi, Chester. Haven't seen you at the college much...'
Chester: 'Oh... yeah. There's a... project I've been working on. Taking up lots of my time.'
Robin: 'Okay then... you look great, by the way. Have you lost weight?'
Chester: 'Something like that.'
Robin: 'Don't forget about me, okay? I miss you.'
Chester: 'I miss you too. When summer's over, why don't you come round? I'll show you the project I've been working on.'
Robin: 'I'd like that.'
This babysitter's not too bad. She doesn't really cook, instead she likes to snack on our crisps. Well, it's better than burning the house down with a turkey.
Chester finishes his Junior midterms and autumn finally arrives. That only means one thing - we're off to see Florence!
Delarosa
Florence is still thing about her not-so-hot date last night. She doesn't really know if she wants to see Christopher again, but then again she did kiss him. It wouldn't be fair to lead him on... The conundrum causes Florence to try to throw herself into the shop to avoid thinking about it.
It's a bright, brand new day and she should make the most of it.
Unless, of course, Christopher comes into the shop and Florence has to try to function awkwardly while the reporter is there.
She hard sells Whitney the reporter a few times then moves over to Christopher.
Chistopher: 'So...'
Florence: 'Yeah...'
Customer: 'Where is the staff? Oh well... I'm sure they won't be long...'
...
Whitney: 'Wow! You really know what you're doing at 15 Lake Meadow Circle! Here's a best of the best award!'
Clearly, Whitney is into voyeurism.
After Christopher leaves, Florence encounters another man who requires help. After some light discussion she finds that his name is Tobias and he bartends at Malcolm Landgraab's club so that he can pay for his degree in plant biology. Florence is instantly in love.
Florence closes the shop but Tobias remains, and they chat quite late into the night. When he finally has to leave, Florence is tempted to just let him have his items for free but he insists that he pay.
That night Christopher calls her and she finds herself distant and snappy. She's normally very delicate and polite... what's gotten into her?
Thanks to the reporter the shop is busier than ever, so Florence needs to hire some help behind the register. Cooper Garth happily steps up to take the job. Now Florence can fully concentrate on her customers...
In particular, Tobias. He visits most days since he works at night and Florence always finds him a wonderful distraction when business is slow.
She does feel a bit guilty about her sort-of boyfriend, but it's not like she's cheating on him... is it?
One evening Florence's inner conflict surrounding the two men came to a head. She had been slowly building up to the idea of breaking up with Christopher for a while, and while watching a movie that she 'just had to see' was what pushed her over the edge. Christopher brayed like a mule at every poor joke in this terrible comedy, yet Florence remained silent. After a while, she was so agitated by Christopher's laughter that she pulled her arm from around him and sat as far away on the sofa as she could.
They sat in awkward silence after that, and after the film was finished he went straight home.
Eventually, she works up the courage to call Christopher and give him the 'It's not you, it's me' talk. Better than 'I've found another person who I like more than you', she supposes. She doesn't give him a chance to interject and she hangs up before he can protest too much.
Still feeling crummy, she heads into the shop and does some restocking, trying to get her mind off the whole Christopher business. She likes the poor guy, but she doesn't want to drag it out any longer than it has to. Florence hasn't exactly had a great track record with relationships as it is...
And she feels even worse when he turns up at her front door, demanding to speak to her.
It's the usual spiel she's heard before coming to Bluewater. Florence doesn't want to hurt him but he won't leave her be, demanding a good reason. Eventually she gives in and admits that there's someone else in the picture.
'Oh.'
And with that, he leaves Florence be.
The next day is a Sunday, so Florence doesn't have to open the shop and Tobias invites her out to the park next to her house. She explains what happened last night and he offers a supportive ear.
They spent the late morning checking out all the new things the park has to offer, but Florence keeps catching him glancing at her with a big smile on his face.
She wants nothing more than to make things official, but it's so soon after the mess with Christopher and she doesn't want to risk rebounding. At the moment, she'll have to be content with being his friend.
... However much that may frustrate her.
Tobias seems to have different ideas, though.
Florence is in love.
With her shop bustling and her newfound lovelife coming to bloom, we end Florence's turn on a much happier note than last time.
Ramirez
When we last left off, Tessa was finding different ways to get herself taken by the social worker so she wouldn't be scarred by her parents' constant candoodling.
Tessa's still my favourite member of this family. She's so vibrant and energetic, I feel kind of sad for her that she doesn't really have any friends her age.
While Tessa's at school, Checo and Lisa hop into the family sedan and take a drive to the community college.
For some weird reason the two of them have copies of themselves on the lot when they get there... I try to ignore it while they get their jobs in their lifetime want careers - Checo in Business and Lisa in Medicine.
They don't have time to hang around though, since Tessa got back from school about a minute after they came back. Lisa went on to start dinner while Checo picked at food in the fridge (just like real life!).
This is what Tessa does each day after school. Since there aren't a whole bunch of people in Bluewater Village, it seems she's developing a bunch of regulars. This also begins my habit of taking picture's of Tessa's lemonade stand.
Lisa gets her first pregnancy bump in a bump-less outfit, so she grabs a roomy dress to wear for the remainder of her pregnancy.
... Nice going Lisa. At least she had the courtesy to change into her pajamas before she fell to the floor. We'll just pretend she fell out of bed.
Checo heads off to his first day of work as a Junior Executive for Landgraab Industries. He's a fast riser though, so he won't stay at that position for long.
Lisa takes advantage of the quiet house to spend some time relaxing, as well as poisoning her baby with pesticides. If it comes out green, that's not my problem.
Lisa is also making an effort to get some friends in Bluewater. Checo can sometimes be on the prickly side, so Lisa takes it on herself to make the main family connections.
Daddy likes to help foster his daughter's business instinct.
Robin also drops in and buys a cup. I love Robin.
Pop number two breaks up the pictures of Tessa's lemonade stand. Because not much else was happening.
Even the richest guy in town has time to buy a cup of lemonade from little Miss Ramirez.
Checo wanted to get Tessa into Private School, so we meet Freddy, the inappropriately dressed and named headmaster.
It was at this point that Lisa started to have early contractions (I forgot to put in the 'No Miscarriage' flavour pack).
So with Lisa retired for the evening, Wanda helps the family schmooze with the headmaster.
It seems to work, since Tessa is accepted!
Wanda believes she's deserved a rest, and crawls into bed beside Lisa. Okay...?
Lisa wakes up late after the house is empty, and so sits down to her morning cereal. That's put on hold, however, when a new arrival is here!
Meet Enrique Ramirez, dominant-genetic extraordinaire. Lisa's happy that her little family is now complete.
Checo's thrilled to have the son he was secretly hoping for this time. Not that he doesn't love Tessa, of course.
Even Tessa's charmed by her little brother, and often uses his toybox just to play beside him. She really needs friends.
I mean, how long can a little girl go with her best friend being her mother? Lisa worries more than she lets on - Tessa needs peers.
She may not act like she's lonely, but having no-one to play with is rough.
However, Tessa did make fast friends with the girl down the street, Melody Tinker. They're a bit too far apart age-wise, but maybe when Tessa hits her teens they'll have more to talk about.
Anyway, that about wraps it up for the first part of Bluewater's Summer, stay tuned for Part II!
Thanks for reading, leave a comment if you like, I enjoy reading them. :) I'll also need something to cheer me up when I get my exam results (but hopefully not!). I find out if I'll be able to go to university midnight tomorrow night. Now, I'm not worried but my fingernails were suddenly extremely tasty.