Color My World Short Story #1

     "We thought he was going to come out and kick our asses."

I followed behind Hunter as we walked out of the stadium. There had been a baseball game earlier, and the two of us were some of the last to leave. It was purposeful as we wanted to let the traffic die down before we tried to make our exit. We had spent the time swapping stories, and Hunter was right in the middle of telling me how he and some of his childhood friends accidentally broke a bat in half while practicing pitches. The flying half of the bat soared right across the street and through the window of the brand new house that had been built by some rich businessman who had just moved into town.

     "He was angry, of course, but he was also impressed that we were able to pitch and hit at such a level that breaking the bat was possible," Hunter continued, "The guy was a total baseball nut. He played a short inning with us before saying that he did expect us to pay him back slowly over the summer for his window whenever we had some money come our way. It was the most infuriating thing having to give up my allowance when I had been one of the ones on the sides only watching, but we ended up building a good relationship with our new neighbor. After the window was paid back for, he took us to almost all of the home games for that season. We got into the VIP booths and everything. Even now, I remember that being one of the funnest parts of my life."

     "From what you've told me about this and those other two stories of stuff getting majorly broken when you were around, I'm beginning to think you either have very bad luck or that you're cursed." I joked.

     "Eh, well, I can't deny either," Hunter chuckled, "I wish I could, but now that you mention it practically all of the stories I like to tell to involved something breaking in some way. I either do just have that bad of luck, or seeing things get smashed to pieces are the main things this brain of mine thinks important enough to remember."

Quick Little Note

Hey everyone! Hope the holiday season has been good to you! I know it's kept me very busy what with much more hectic work days and family coming over to visit. Because of that, I wasn't able to finish a CMW chapter for tomorrow despite my best efforts to do so. Honestly, over this past week I've barely had time to turn on my computer let alone spend the many hours it take to get pictures and write the content. I do have a little something for you though. Most people didn't find the Christmas special too cheerful for some odd reason (^.^), so you're going to be getting a much more touching short story of Eden and Hunter bonding after their initial meeting instead. Hope you enjoy it!

All I Want

"I don't want a lot for Christmas"

Gen Two- Chapter Seven

It had been a long week at the beautiful islands, but it was already our last full day on vacation. We would be spending time together as our one big group in the afternoon, but for that morning the girls had gone off to do their thing while we boys went another way to do ours. Most of our time had gone into fast-paced activities like speeding around at the new go-kart track. Now, however, we were slowing down for a nice of lunch of, surprise, hot dogs at Uncle Sap's favorite spot on the islands before we were due to meet up with the girls.

     "I can't believe that more people don't come up here or even know about this place." I remarked as I glanced at the picturesque pond and brilliant view we had from our elevated position.

     "I know! Even the majority of locals don't bother with this area. Although, I suppose I should be glad. This spot wouldn't be as enjoyable as it is if it was full of people and tourists like the beaches and shops are." Uncle Sap recognized.

Gen Two- Chapter Six

The salty scent of the ocean wind rolling off the waves crashing onto the shore was both familiar and entirely foreign at the same time. I had lived next to the ocean my whole life, but being in a new place was making the experience exhilarating again for me. I'm sure there was something simply a little different in the air and water in Tropic Luna too though.

I never would have guessed that the question Aunt Purity wanted to ask my mom was if she could take me, my friends, and mom on a vacation to the popular islands. Mom had said it was fine for me to go, although she had declined to come along herself. Her morning sickness was just not letting up. She did want to join the rest of us, but the idea of spending half a day on a crowded airplane with her stinking up the isolated space due to her vomiting made her nauseated in itself. Aunt Purity had given her a bunch of free passes to one of the spa parlors the Spring family owned. Uncle Frost and Aunt Sunflower had come along instead to help keep an eye on all of us kids.

As I watched the four adults talk, I had to avoid letting embarrassment wash over me. The idea for this trip hadn't sprung up out of nowhere. Uncle Sap and Aunt Purity thought it up because they knew mom was feeling down, but also all of the adults had grown concerned over me. I had heard the word "depressed" be whispered a lot among them in the days following my little adventure to the grove, for Midas, the little snitch, had told his dad about me crying. That information had been quickly passed on to my mom, which had led to me getting a lighter lecture and punishment than I would have gotten, so I suppose I couldn't be too mad at my friend. I knew the depressed everyone was talking about wasn't the one that meant I was simply sad for a time. Mom had even hinted that she would want me to talk to some counselor or therapist or whatever if I didn't perk up on my own relatively soon.

Gen Two- Chapter Five

I hadn't looked at the clock in hours, and it felt like it had been that long since I last moved. During that first week of dad's disappearance it had been next to impossible to stand being in my room for even short amounts of time. However, ever since I overheard mom's startling confession lazing about dismally on my bed had become my new favorite pastime. I was highly glad there was still a decent chunk of summer vacation left. All I could focus on was what I heard. Homework would be too much of a pain to try and handle too.

On one hand, I understood everything perfectly. Putting together mom's and Uncle Blaze's words, there was no denying it. Dad had been doing something illegal. He was poking around in something no normal person would dare to touch, and there had been people on the other side ready to pounce if he messed up and revealed himself. Unfortunately, he had gone ahead and done just that. So, that was that. There was the other part of me though that simply couldn't wrap my head around it. Dad? Dad of all people, my dad, was involved in something like that? It didn't fit with the person I knew him to be at all. I wanted to know more. I wanted to understand better, but I obviously wasn't going to be getting any answers. I shouldn't have even known what I knew. Mom was still pretending to be hopeful. If she wasn't going to come clean about that, there was no way she would explain everything to me if I admitted I had been eavesdropping.

     "Coal?"

A call of my name and a solid knock on the door made me jump.

     "You can't stay in there all day. You've had plenty of time to mope over the weekend. You need to come eat some lunch since you couldn't be bothered with breakfast." Desire instructed like the determined kind of sister she generally was.

     "I'm coming." I muttered reluctantly, not caring that my response was not audible to her in the slightest.

Cake Decorating

So, I work at a K-Mart bakery. My normal work consists of packaging the products, putting them out on the floor, and generally taking care of the customers. Around Valentine's though, I started getting more involved with the cake decorating aspect of the bakery. It began with me putting the frosting on top of cupcakes, and it has progressed from there to the point where I can do a basic number of things. Our lone cake decorator decided to take a second vacation after having one only two weeks ago, and, unfortunately, she left us with practically no decorated cakes to put in the display case for the week she was gone.

We held up okay for about two days, but I walked in on Tuesday seeing all the empty spots knowing how those awful kinds of customers you get in retail were soon going to start throwing fits about there being no sheet and 8-inch round cakes. (I can whip out the torte cakes and cupcakes that fill up the rest of the case no problem.) With it being really slow thanks to everyone still finishing up their Thanksgiving leftovers, I had a good couple hours to put the skills I had learned to the test. I couldn't do the fancy flowers or stuff that our cake decorator normally puts on for decoration, but with various borders, a few ribbons, and lots of sprinkles I think what I did came out as acceptable.

The baby/smash cake got a basic design of a loopy shell-type border on top (don't know the 'technical' term for most of these things) and a normal shell border on the bottom. Threw some sprinkles on there, and it was good to go!

Status: Sold! It was the first one to sell too.

100 Majesties- A 100 BC Update #21

Lynette's father came over for a visit, but Hunter was apparently not interested in helping watch over his three new granddaughters. Sitting in the nursery playing with their toys captivated him more.

CMW Family Tree

It took a little longer than anticipated to get this out, but here's the best of what I could put together to help organize the new families and characters of Color My World: Generation Two. If you would like to browse through the actual family tree I made at FamilyEcho that links together the Yonders, Vivids, Charms, Waters, and Springs click here.

The Vivids

Tales of Lerathian: The Puppet (Chapter Fourteen Excerpt)

Sorry for the lack of posts recently! I thought I would be able to squeeze in some small projects alongside my NaNoWriMo writing, but that unfortunately turned out not to be the case. I did manage to hit the 50,000 total though, so I'm hoping I'll be able to get at least the family tree for CMW and the short story I wanted to tell about Hunter and Eden out with my few extra free days. I've also decided to share with you this excerpt from Chapter Fourteen of my NaNo novel that I've been doing for the project for the past several years. I've finally almost finished it! It was difficult finding a passage to share that didn't really spoil anything, but I think this choice works rather well. It gives me a bit of a giggle. I hope it at least gives the rest of you a smile! Enjoy!

(I recommend reading the excerpts I've posted in the past so those unfamiliar with this story have at least a basic understanding of most of these characters.)

Colorful Children

A good while ago now, I believe about the time the Gen One kids became teenagers in CMW, I decided to do a little experimenting with Ethereal and what kind of children she would have if she had babies with each of the most prominent male characters in the story. I intended for her to have at least one son and one daughter with each potential match, but like a few of my side projects I eventually lost interest and never came back to it. Here's what I got done though, so I hope you enjoy!

Knowing I would need a large house, I picked the big, empty one available in Twinbrook. It was Ethereal and Amaranth, Allium, Frost, and Sap. In order to stop myself from stressing out over managing each and every one of them, I tweaked a few settings and let them all run around of Free Will. That led to some incredibly out of character developments to take place. This biggest one was these two- they fell for each other almost instantly.

Soooo, yeah. In this save, Alliost (or Frum or whatever you want to call them) was a thing.

Playing with Colors (Men)

It's color changing time again! I thought it would be fun to take the original six, split them into their respective gender categories, and switch around theirs colors to match the other two. I was planning on including Ethereal, Sunset, and Sunflower in this post, but Ethereal's white skin was proving highly problematic to work with. Even after changing it to a normal color and resetting her, the glowing haze still appeared around her- distorting the tone of the skin. The problem would have appeared after I gave it to Sunset and Sunflower too. I gave up on the girls for the moment, and when I get back to them again I'll simply swap around Meadow's green colors instead of the white. For now, simply enjoy these new version of Amaranth, Allium, and Frost!

Just to jog your memory, here's what they look like normally.

Edenx2 Babies

I figure most people aren't aware of this (especially those who only follow the blog), but Eden "Deny" Yonder is a lovely Sim I have borrowed from Mystic Illusions, starguru's 100 Baby Challenge. When she also produced a Sim named Eden, I couldn't help but to color her up and stick her together with my Eden just for the fun of them sharing the same name. Seeing how the couple has only adopted in the story and not produced any biological children, I decided to play with just the two one night in a blank save to see what biological children of the couple would look like.

This is that result.

Purity, Wisp, & Prism- Colored

With there being a rather drastic lack of green that came out in the Christmas Presents (Amaranth and Ethereal's lovely rugrats), I decided that it would be interesting to give Wisp and Prism color to see if that was where the green was hiding. I also decided to take one extra step to give Purity her color as well just to cover all the albinos we've had in the story until this point. Who got which color where was determined with a classic clip of the coin. I like to think the results are pretty good.

To make things a little more interesting, I'd love to hear any ideas anyone has for what these characters would have been called had they been born with their color.

My Jack-o-Lantern

I didn't have much time or the proper resources to craft a very fancy jack-o-lantern, but this was the first time I've done this in years so I'm still happy with my little basic pumpkin (^^)

A (Not So Good) Attempt at Jolly Rancher Candy Apple Pops

Perhaps sometime on your time on the internet, you've come across this picture:

It claims to be a candy apple made with Jolly Ranchers, and the starry effect is achieved with the addition of edible glitter. Even though I am a total candy making newb, I decided to see if I could somehow replicate this for a fun fall/Halloween activity. I already knew before I started that the likelihood of me producing anything like the picture above was incredibly low, so the fact that my result ended up being what it was didn't bother me all that much.

Gen Two- Chapter Four

It had been hard to break out of my melancholy mood, but the challenge I was facing was finally beginning to surge some energy through me. My glazed over expression instead narrowed in determination as I had to now pay attention if I didn't want to get absolutely pummeled. I hadn't even noticed how far ahead in points Rosemary had gotten, or that she was now duking it out with Malachite for first place.

     "You're finally starting to learn." Malachite teased as he only just avoided letting Rosemary total his car with hers.

     "And soon you're not even going to have time to trash talk." she warned competitively.

Malachite simply shrugged and continued speeding along, but there was loud shouting and cursing on his part and raucous cheering on Rosemary's part when her car once again came out of nowhere to successfully annihilate Malachite's car off the track this time around.

     "Are you sure you don't want to pick a different place to read?" I asked the question to one of the others sitting on the other couch.

Gen Two- Chapter Three

It took several days for me to learn just how horrible that first one was.

It was concerning at the beginning, of course, when dad didn't come home, but only time could show us just how serious the situation was. I woke up that Sunday morning expecting that dad had been found safe and sound while I slept. Though doubt and dark thoughts whispered the crueler truth to me, I wasn't prepared to find out that reality had only grown more dire. To be honest, it wasn't just the fact that dad went missing that made those days heartbreaking. The worst part was that he had been there for the majority of that Saturday. Dad had been right in front of me. We had talked as we always did, we goofed around like usual, and I took him for granted like I done each and every day of my life. I hadn't taken one second to say goodbye before he left. It had been a while since I had even hugged him or done anything to let him know I appreciated him. Dad had walked out the door, and in that moment he transformed from a person I knew into a mere memory of a person I had known.

I woke up early, and I left my bed eagerly. I wanted to see what dad had done that caused him to be so late. I wanted to joke around with him again, and I wanted to tease an extra ice cream cup out of him for making me worry. However, what I got instead was a series of unfamiliar voices quietly wafting up from downstairs. I could tell by the way they were talking that the discussion wasn't a cheerful one.

TGO's Third Anniversary!

It's October 16th, which means it's the anniversary date for The Goddess' Order! Three years ago was when the story began, and I can't believe it's already been so long. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to have an extra little story ready for today, but you can count on it being out soon! I'll also give you a preview picture:

In addition to this new extra chapter, I am hoping I might be able to pick up the revision project I started to bring those older chapters up to speed as well. We will have to see about that one though, as NaNoWriMo is right around the corner (yikes!).

I just want to take this moment to thank everyone who has read The Goddess' Order, especially those who have stuck through it with me to reach the point we're at now. I truly appreciate it!

~Kelsey

Gen Two- Chapter Two

The two of them had no idea what was coming for them. They had seen me enter the pool area, but they were so engaged in their swimming and casual chatting that they didn't notice me subtly sneaking over to the diving board. I wasn't a diver by any means. I rather sucked, in fact. What I did excel in, however, was making the biggest splashes in the whole family, which I thought was impressive given how relatively small I was compared to everyone else. I watched in enjoyment when they heard the bounce of the board, their heads whipped in my direction, and another annoyed call of my name echoed out. Unfortunately for them, it was too late. I was already sky-high. The two girls in the water barely had time to clear out of the way before I sent cascading surges of water drenching over them.

CYWS 2008-2009 Concert Season Recording | Tracks 1-5

Here's a little something I bet most of you don't know about me. I started playing the trumpet in 5th grade, and I switched to playing the euphonium (it can also be known as a baritone) in middle school. 

They look like this. They're basically small tubas.

Band was my main activity throughout my school years, and, I must say, I was pretty darn good. During my junior and senior years, I participated in a group known as the Cleveland Youth Wind Symphony. You can read a bit more in depth about it on its Wikipedia page, but it is essentially an elite level symphony group composed solely of high schoolers. I was placed into Group II both times, and I had a blast. I remembered recently that I had recordings from the two fall concert seasons, and I thought sharing these recordings would be an interesting and fun thing to do as well as a good change of pace for the blog.

A Few Notes About CMW G2 (Small Spoilers)

I just wanted to mention a few tiny things now that Chapter One for 2nd Gen has finally come out. It's not anything super big, but I would recommend you read the chapter first to avoid having some of the mystery of the new characters spoiled for you.

1) Cerise's name is French for cherry. Thus, the C is soft. Essentially, Cerise=Sherise and Ceri=Sheri

2) Prism's nickname of Pris is pronounced Priz, not Priss. And, yes, he came out white on his own.

3) The outfits for all the characters are now static. It was too much chaos changing everyone's outfits for every chapter in Gen 1. While I do like the extra touch of the variation in wardrobes, I need to retain my sanity for writing instead XD

Aaaand, that's all! Hope you enjoy Chapter One!

Gen Two- Chapter One

No life can be perfect.

I know that now. I know it very well. The agonizing heartbreak and sense of loss I face everyday refuses to let me forget just how greatly my life has changed from those early days. Back then, I did believe my life was perfect. I suppose it was ideal in a way, but there was no way for it to remain like that for eternity. I cry sometimes when I think about the better half of my childhood. Those days feel more like an illusion and hopeful wishing spurred on by the cruelty of a tragic event I can no longer change than a reality that had once been. I wish more than anything to return to that time. Return to it, and prevent everything bad that has happened from happening.

Starting with the day that triggered it all and destroyed my world of perfection.

Color My World Behind the Scenes #2

So, I know you're all excited for the next generation of Color My World. I thought this would be a good opportunity to let you know that the story will be returning in exactly one week from now, on October 6th. The reason for bringing it back on that Tuesday instead of Monday is that October 6th is actually the one year anniversary of CMW! I thought waiting that extra day and starting the tale back up on the same day it all began would be a great way to celebrate the occasion. Updates would still remain on Mondays following that.

In order to help tide you over for these seven days, I am releasing the second half of the Behind the Scenes content I have for the first generation. As always, this content contains randoms things I noticed or thought about the game while taking pictures, how certain shots are set up, and how difficult it can be to get these digital people to cooperate. Enjoy!

You have to wonder about these Sims and their anatomy/bodily strength sometimes. I feel as if I would break my neck trying to lift my head like that. 

Original Plot to CMW Generation 1

I thought this would be an interesting extra look into the development of CMW for you all. This was the first structuring of the story I did when I got the idea into my head- long before I created the Sims or did anything else in that regard. These few paragraphs were mostly just me putting the idea onto digital paper so I had a general sense of direction to work with when I did begin working with everything in greater detail. You'll find that things are pretty similar starting out, but towards the ending everything really begins to go in different directions.

It's copied directly from Word.

Enjoy :D

PGC Round 2 Update #18

I could not stand that glitched house any longer. It wasn't seen in the updates, but I had had to place down about four or five new copies because everything kept getting out of hand. Hoping going smaller would work better, I took Procyon and Avior, our two heirs, and placed them down in a new house on a new lot. Hopefully, with the changes, such a move won't be needed again.

A Bit of Waters Family Picture Spam

These are a select few shots from a side story I was planning on doing about Glacier's experience meeting, marrying, and living with Shell. I even got around to writing a little bit of it. However, it soon became clear to me that it was a project that would never be finished. It wasn't that I didn't like doing it, but the time and effort it required was too much and still is too much. Doing the main story of CMW and writing my novel take enough out of me without me trying to force another project onto my plate. I also rather like the idea of everyone coming up with their own ideas for what exactly went down in the Waters house instead of me dictating every detail. I prefer to let people's imaginations wander when I have the choice :)

There's not many pictures, but I hope you enjoy them nonetheless.

The Next Few Months

I want to thank all you who have been reading Color My World up till now so much! This project was something I had been excited about for a long time, so to pass the first hurdle by completing the first generation is a great feeling! As sad as it is to let Ethereal's role as the main character come to an end, my energy is renewed at the prospect of continuing her story and starting a brand new one through the eyes of one of her children. I know you are all anxious to follow that journey alongside me. That's why I'm making this quick little post to let you know how things stand now and what you can expect in the future for CMW.

I have a decent amount of set up for Generation 2 already finished. This includes the new family setups, lots of children, and houses to put them all in. There are a few more households I need to prepare though, and then comes the task of getting these lots and Sims placed properly into the world. The harder task of getting accustomed to the new characters comes after that. I'll have to fiddle around with them and the plot quite a bit in order to find the direction I want to take for this new venture. Getting several chapters completed is what I'll be working on during the little "break" I'm having now, which I expect to last about three weeks at this point. I'll send out a notice a day or two before the story restarts to so you all know when to jump back in.

Everything should then proceed as it has for almost the past year- save for the month of November. Unfortunately, I have let CMW get in the way of the writing of the actual novel I want to publish, Tales of Lerathian. November is the month of NaNoWriMo, and I would like to use that event to push out the last third of ToL. I don't plan to stop doing anything entirely with CMW during those four weeks, but I will not have the time to publish normal updates. Instead, I will be releasing what I like to call "Snapshots". Tiny little moments from the adventures of the characters that tell a quick story or reveal a bit more depth about their lives. They will include only a few pictures and paragraphs to go with them, but I think they will be a great way to take quite an interesting look at situations I otherwise wouldn't have the time to cover.

And, that's basically it for the moment. I thank you again for reading, and I will also give you a hint that you should still check the blog every now and again. I might have a few extra surprises to share ;D

~Kelsey

Gen One- Chapter Forty Six (FINAL)

I couldn't make up my mind as to whether the nerves racing through my body were better controlled by me standing or sitting. I figured it was probably better for me to sit, also because I knew I would be standing a lot during the day and needed rested feet, but how much effort it took to sit kept me on my legs instead. I didn't even understand how my mom had helped me wiggle into my dress in the first place. Losing a pound or two in the past several weeks due to my anxiety messing with my normal eating schedule felt like it was the main reason as to why the feat had been possible. I did love the dress to death, but as I kept rubbing at my arms as the material itched I wondered if I wouldn't go mad and rip the sleeves off before too long. I was already worrying enough as it was. I didn't need my outfit to add to the stress.

Delay of CMW Chapter 46

Unfortunately, it's highly likely that the final chapter for the first generation of Color My World will have to be delayed slightly. Due to the holiday weekend, my schedule at work has been changed around. The days I would normally get off I have had to go in instead. This majorly threw off the free time I have used to finish each new chapter. I was hoping I could still have the update out for Monday, but at this point I don't even have all of the pictures taken. I'm expecting that #46 will be out on Tuesday instead, but there is also the chance that it might not be done until Wednesday. It'll be longer than normal, so hopefully the extra bit of waiting will be worth it.

Sorry for forcing you to have to wait in anticipation for a day or two more~ ^^

-Kelsey

Gen One- Chapter Forty Five

I wished harder than I had wished in a long time that what was about to happen would not happen. It was impressive that my desire was so strong considering I had been begging the same thing for about fifteen minutes now. Unfortunately, there was no stopping what my body was insistent on putting me through. Sudden and rapid shaking rattled my upper half, my temperature seemed to sore while my senses went numb, and my stomach dove before flying up like it was on a roller coaster. Mostly I did nothing other than hack and heave, but there was a bit of rancid bile that flew up my throat and into the toilet- the last of the few crackers I had managed to eat before my vomiting session began.

Gen One- Chapter Forty Four

It still felt weird to be home. There were moments where I could forget where everything had changed, but of course everything had. Being white in a place where I had spent nearly half of my youth being green was taking some time to get used to. I was more accustomed to my white meaning I had to stay hidden, so to be able to move freely was bizarre. What was worse than that sensation was walking outside. Now allowed to come and go and live as I pleased, moving about Berrybrook as Ethereal was definitely a lot more challenging than it was for Meadow. My feelings of paranoia hadn't faded at all, because I might as well put a spotlight on me every time I go out. I gathered the courage to take a short walk the other day, and I got bombarded by people who wanted to talk to me or take pictures. I had seen such a thing be frequent with Purity, but it was at an obnoxious level for me with my story going as strong as ever. It was pretty much still the only thing being talked about on the news. It made sense though. It had only been two weeks after all since my capture.

With all the craziness, I had taken to driving whenever possible when I did decide to leave the house. I had spent the majority of my time, naturally, with my friends. The past several days had been full of us talking and me getting them used to the new me. It was frustrating in a way to see that even they acted differently around me. Thankfully, the more they grasped that Ethereal was just Meadow everything was shifting slowly to how it had been before. Sunset, Sunflower, and I had spent the whole afternoon hanging out like normal. That was what helped me forget the changes in my life. Walking down the stairs later that evening to get a snack before bed was what undid that. Eden had beaten me to the kitchen, and the conversation he was having on the phone alluded directly to the monumental event taking place the following day.

Gen One- Chapter Forty Three

Feeling my mind going numb, I decided enough was enough. I reached out to casually take the remote from Amaranth's hand, but I barely touched the plastic before he frowned, yanked it away, and set it far to his right side where I had no hopes of acquiring it.

     "Oh, come on," I rolled my eyes, wearing a light smile, "It's May. I'm not watching a shopping channel pushing Christmas stuff. It's bad enough some stores start the music the day after Halloween."

     "How can you ever get tired of Christmas stuff when it's our holiday?" Amaranth retorted back in sarcastic shock.

     "But I'm not green anymore."

     "Well, now we're like a candy cane instead." he shrugged.

     "I suppose," I accepted with a small chuckle, "But do you seriously want to watch this?"

     "Yeah."

     "Alright then." I caved.

I wasn't into the show any more than I had been ten seconds before, but I was willing to endure my mild boredom for Amaranth's sake. The mind numbing did help me some as well. We had spent the past two days cooped up in a little bunker house owned by one of Eden's friends. Jac, Eden, and his friends had taken the major step forward of outing everything Jac had swiped about The Company, which, according to him, was practically everything they had ever let him have access to since he started working for them. I was being kept hidden until the massive shock died down just a little. I was glad for it, because I could almost sense the chaos going on in the real world. The television Amaranth and I were watching didn't have any news channels. Just pointless stations like the shopping network that was currently playing away. I ignored it as I snuggled up against Amaranth. Instead of spending the past two days worrying about all the Company outing business, we both had been lounging around in our pajamas quietly comforting the other's griefs. For me it was mostly what Stratus had done, which none of the others save for Jac knew about, and for Amaranth it was naturally the fact that he had killed another person.

Gen One- Chapter Forty Two

I shifted against the cushion, smoothed the hem of my dress, and fiddled my fingers. There were two main emotions coursing throughout my body. Boredom, and then a tingling sensation of dread and expectation. But, mostly boredom. I suppose I was happy that that was what I was feeling though. It was a much better state to be in than the mess I had been the first day of my capture. Jac had returned with my real meal twenty minutes after Stratus and Rusty departed. Given that I had only just stopped crying a few minutes before he reappeared, there was no option of me denying that something had happened due to my tear-streaked face. I had gone through plenty of struggles in my lifetime, but getting the words out to tell Jac what Stratus had done was rather high up there on the list. I told him both about what Stratus had just done as well as about his actions in the insemination room. Needless to say, Jac was horrified and very, very pissed. I was assured that nothing would happen to me again, and I was also told both Stratus and Rusty would be getting a brutal reprimand.

All in all though, the actions and the lack of action on part of the two goonies did have some positive effects. Using their incapability at following orders as the reasoning why he apparently could only trust himself to keep track of me, I was with Jac constantly. I was always kept out of hearing distance from the important matters, but I otherwise followed Jac around like a baby duckling as he dealt with whatever monotonous paperwork that was a large part of his job. I was only in my room at night so I could sleep, and then we had been forced apart twice when it was time for me to be inseminated again. The second time, where I had been given my plain jane dress to wear because it made it easier for Coralie to get at those certain parts, had happened yesterday, and the third session had finished half an hour ago. I had all but thrown out the hope that their efforts would fail. They had injected too much up me in order for that to be the case.

Gen One- Chapter Forty One

Sensitive topic matter addressed this chapter.

Someone might as well have stolen all the sound out of the room. I had completely and utterly stunned the man in front of me. Jac stood perfectly still. I actually grew concerned that he had stopped breathing. His pose was stiff, and his wide eyes never blinked as they remained locked with mine. He remained like that for so long that I began to worry that I had made a massive mistake. Maybe calling out his secret wasn't the best idea when I still didn't have a full understanding of how he could help me or make my stay that much more miserable. My confident smile started to fade a bit, but that was when some life returned to Jac. Various emotions flittered behind his eyes. His face twitched a bit. Then, blessedly, realization dawned on his expression and the corners of his mouth pulled ever so slightly into a smile.

     "You little imp," he chastised in gentle amusement, "Here I thought the drug was still making you loopy enough for you to not realize how weirdly you were rambling on, but you were purposely trying to get a rise out of me in order to know the truth."

Jac shook his head at himself.

     "I suppose I should have been more wary when the rumors began to float about that you shared Eden's genius, or when I learned you had been hiding in Berrybrook."

Gen One- Chapter Forty

Sensitive topic manner addressed this chapter

Consciousness returned to me both slowly and suddenly. There was a long stretch of time where I understood I was aware of myself and my position on some bed but could not do anything about it, and then one distant noise jolted my thoughts to recall the events that had transpired. My mind woke up faster than my body did. I had already replayed the whole horrifying event before I was even able to open my eyes. Whatever drug had been used on me, it was vile. The taste lingered on my lips, the smell assaulted my nose, and my lungs ached in disgust at the last wisps of it that lingered within.

Gen One- Chapter Thirty Nine

I swore that all three of us stopped breathing the instant Blaze spoke those words. His gaze was resolute on me while mine stared blankly back. Amaranth's eyes flittered between me and his uncle. Honestly, I almost forgot he was there. My mind could only focus on Blaze and the words buzzing throughout my consciousness. Eden was my brother? What? I understood that Eden was my brother because that was the bond we had forged for ourselves, but I knew that wasn't what Blaze was getting at. He was trying to tell me that we were related by...by blood? Eternity seemed to pass, but I'm sure in reality it was no more than ten seconds. Blaze then motioned the stunned me over with a little wave of his hand.

Gen One- Chapter Thirty Eight

One could not have asked more a more perfect late spring day. The temperature was just at the right place to encourage running around in the warm, sunny heat without getting everyone all sweaty. A swirling breeze wafted the scent of flowering buds across the landscape while scatterings of clouds provided relaxing pockets of shade. It was difficult to not stare up into the endless beauty of the sky, and when I chose to do just that I spotted one particular diploma being tossed so high that I swore it joined the birds flying overhead.

Gen One- Chapter Thirty Seven

My eyes stared blankly at the wall. My body ached from having lain still for so long, but the ache in my chest was far too great for me to pay attention to anything but it. I didn't even feel hungry despite not eating since the previous morning. I felt somewhat thirsty, but I knew Eden would be in soon enough to try in get something in me. There was no point for me to bother getting up. Shifting slightly and sighing, I ran my fingers over my cheeks. They were completely dry, but too often it seemed as if they were drenched. I had cried so much that even when my skin was dry like it was now that the tickling sensation of tears never went away. Content to not be sobbing again, I closed my eyes only to hurriedly reopen them when my head screamed at me. It definitely didn't like being rested against the pillow for such an extended length of time. It protested against me whenever I did anything that slightly resembled sleep.

Happy 4th of July!

100 Majesties- A 100 BC Update #20

It was too difficult for the university mascot to wait until an appropriate time to show up. He appeared in the way too early hours in the morning to wake everyone up with his ringing of the bell. It didn't take long before the llama man was ushered away. Ella was far too old to attend college, and Lynette had her baby making responsibilities to worry about.

Gen One- Chapter Thirty Six

No matter how many times I blinked or rubbed, exhaustion roared up to make it feel as if my eyes were drying up inside my head. I would have been able to count the hours of sleep I had gotten in the past three days on just my two hands if my mind hadn't been just as useless as my desperate attempts to convince myself that it didn't seem like a good idea to go sit on a toilet in the bathroom and nap sitting up. I had fallen asleep in one class, but my teacher ended up leaving me alone. It was as clear as it had always been that I had no real reason to be there after he woke me up the first time, and I not only answered the quick string of questions he asked but stood up to teach the next minute or so of the lesson before sitting back down and resting my head against my desk. I wouldn't have ever dared to do such a thing before, but I think even the teacher understood it was best to leave the girl who could dance circles around him when it came to the knowing the information he was sharing alone when she was overwhelmingly exhausted. I had done my best to control myself since then. Sleeping in class was naturally much prefer to hiding out in the bathroom, but I didn't want to be a distraction for the other students who did need to learn. Not that most of them paid attention anyway. Their laziness was not a massive concern of mine at the moment though. Standing next to my locker, my more pressing issue was remembering what my combination was.

Gen One- Chapter Thirty Five

It was one of those moments where I was highly glad that Allium could be so utterly unobservant about the world around him. It was a month into our senior year of high school, and we were standing out in one of the back walkways of the building not too long after we had been let out for the day. Taking a page out of my book, Allium normally chose to wait ten or fifteen minutes for the vast majority of students to clear out of the parking lot before he made any attempt to leave. And, like usual, we spent that time waiting together. However, that afternoon was one of the ones that was becoming more common for me. I found myself pensive, worried, a little anti-social, and rather frightened. It was growing harder to hide such expressions on my face, which was why I was relieved about Allium not paying a heap of attention to me.

     "They thought it would help them get down the hill faster." Allium laughed as he continued the story he was telling me about his friends in Bayport and their sled races over the past winter.

He faced forward as he talked, so I was able to fool him with the occasional appropriate comment and hastily placed smile when I sensed him giving me a quick glance. I wish I could have enjoyed the story more, for it was amusing, but it had been a long time since I had wanted Allium to just go away and leave me alone already.

Gen One- Chapter Thirty Four

I sat back in my chair with a little sigh. I hadn't been that hungry, so choosing a muffin to eat for my snack had seemed like the best choice. What I hadn't realized was how big that muffin would be. I should have listened to my stomach and not eaten all of it, but the thing was just so darn good that I had gone ahead and done just that. The tight feeling across my abdomen and little burps I let out quietly were worth it. Amaranth finished eating not long after I did, which left Allium and Cocoa. Allium normally would have wolfed down his pie, but we had had a big lunch at my house earlier. Cocoa, I think, was trying to be polite by taking tiny forkful bites out of her danish.

I took the brief moment of silence that passed to once again remark at the situation. When Cocoa suddenly invited Allium and me on a double-date with her and Amaranth, I hadn't been sure what to expect. Part of me had been too nervous to hypothesize her motives. I considered dates more private things than situations that were meant to be shared. It felt like it would be hanging out more than a romantic outing. And, so far, hanging out was what it had been. The four of us were chilling instead of wooing and flirting with our respective other. However, that helped me to see more of what Cocoa wanted. I strongly suspected she hoped bringing Allium and I along would reduce the problems I heard she and Amaranth had whenever they tried to date on their own. The first twenty minutes of our time together went well, although it didn't stay that way for long.

Gen One- Chapter Thirty Three

I took a deep, calming breath as I walked through the now quiet hallways. Fifteen minutes ago they had been filled with bodies rushing to get out of the school. It was nearing the end of the school year, and it was also the last day of mandatory testing week. Unlike most students, I considered it one of my favorite weeks. That was mostly because the tests were a piece of cake for me. I rarely had to study for them, which left the rest of my classmates who had goofed off all year seethe as they desperately tried to cram the year's worth of education into their minds within the span of several days. Another reason I liked testing week was because the school day was significantly shorter. The clock had only just chimed one. Like most days, I lingered about for a while to let the parking lot empty before I went to leave. My intention was just to take a single lap through the hallways, not to stumble across what I stumbled across. I knew what was going on before I saw them. The voices, and their current tone, had become far too familiar over the past months.

Gen One- Chapter Thirty Two

I couldn't help but to feel proud as I watched Frost chase Allium around and pelt him with snowball after snowball. For so many of our younger years it had been the opposite way around. Allium had never given Frost a break. That's why it was nice now that Frost had grown into his body that he was able to repay the favor. Allium kept on trying, but he just could not escape.

     "Argh! Get off me you big nerd!" Allium cried out in frustration as Frost landed a particularly big hit on him.

     "If I'm such a big nerd, then why are you the one taking a beating?" Frost taunted.

He sent a massive kick of snow cascading onto Allium's face and laughed merrily as he let Allium give chase. There was no competition between the two though. Allium had no chance at catching up.

Gen One- Chapter Thirty One

I stopped stirring and glanced over to my left, sighing and laughing in exasperation for what felt like the millionth time.

     "Flower, would you please stop sneaking bits of the hotdogs buns? We're not going to have any left if you keep eating them all." I warned.

     "I can't help it," she smiled as she defiantly popped another little swipe into her mouth, "I'm hungry."

     "We have plenty of other snacks, you know."

     "Yeah, but I don't want those. I want to eat the hotdog buns." she teased.

I rolled my eyes and shook my head. I had been trying for five minutes to get Sunflower to control herself, and it clearly wasn't going to happen. Our buns were simply going to have to look like they had been pecked apart by birds.

Gen One- Chapter Thirty

My fingers flew over the buttons on my controller. My thumbs had started aching long ago from how I abused them by mashing them against that piece of plastic, but my pride wouldn't have me give in to the hardly irritating pain. I had been winning, and I needed to keep winning.

     "Ohf! Yes! Take that!" Eden cried out in merriment, raising his controller above his head in victory, when my tackle failed to keep his player from entering the end zone.

     "Good job. You managed your first touchdown, and we're only in the third quarter. You must feel very proud of yourself." I teased.

     "Go ahead and taunt all you want. You only have one touchdown too. We're finally even, and I'm not letting you win this one."

     "Isn't that what you've been saying for the past several games? You are aware I won all of those as well, don't you?" I pointed out haughtily.

     "This one is the one. I can feel it."

     "You just keep telling yourself that." I smirked.

Gen One- Chapter Twenty Nine

I couldn't believe how hot it was. Though it was almost the beginning of autumn, summer was hanging around with a vengeance. The temperatures had barely dipped at all, and the pounding sun was as intense as ever. If it hadn't been for the plethora of clouds blocking out those glaring rays and the constant breeze, I never would have stuck around at the festival for as long as I did. I had already had a long day, and making myself collapse from heat stroke wasn't a pleasant idea. Thankfully, that heat was bearable enough. There were plenty of cool treats around in addition to the clouds and the wind to combat it. I made my way over to the snow cone machine as soon as it was open. Normally I went with a rainbow mix, but I decided to do something different. I went with plain blue raspberry instead.

Gen One- Chapter Twenty Eight

I hummed along to the music playing from my phone behind me as I worked. I had learned years ago that it was better to put it on the island counter instead of right next to where I cooked. Eden hadn't been incredibly pleased to find out that one afternoon that I had accidentally knocked half a bottle of vinegar right onto the new phone he had bought me. It took me months doing nothing but chores in order to earn another one. Naturally, I was not keen on repeating the experience. However, my phone was hardly a thought in the back of my mind because I was far more focused on the ingredients before me. Frost adored key lime pies, and since his birthday was tomorrow I had promised him I would bring him the best one he ever tasted. I had looked up several recipes online, and after considering all the variations I had come up with my own recipe. It included things such as a gingersnap crust and just a hint of cinnamon. On paper the recipe seemed strange, but I was confident it would come out well. I know I was certainly pleased with how the pie was progressing when it came time to put it in the oven.

Gen One- Chapter Twenty Seven

I walked out of the store, not too particularly fond of the weight on my ears. I normally didn't wear earrings. If I did, they were usually of the stud variety or either very light. As you might suppose, my ears didn't like most metals that earrings came in. Any extra weight the earrings carried only made my lobes more sore than what they would be when the redness set in. Currently, I only had two pairs that I could wear safely. The ones I had on at that moment were already bothering my skin, but I knew I wouldn't be wearing them long anyway.

     "How do they look?" I asked my companion.

     "They look fine? I mean, they really don't look any different from when you asked that question inside the store thirty seconds ago." Allium answered with slight exasperation.

     "I just wanted to make sure they look alright in natural light as well as artificial light."

     "Do girls really worry about that kind of thing? Besides, you already bought them anyway."

I merely shrugged as I took the earrings out and replaced them neatly in their box.

No CMW Update 4/27

I tried to get this notice out earlier in the day, but I ran out of time and had to leave for work. And work is exactly why there is no update today. They scheduled me six days in a row (and this isn't the first time), which has left me with both no time and no energy to complete on Chapter 27. I squeezed out a 100 Majesties and PGC update to hopefully tide you all over somewhat.

Sorry that I've had to skip another week. Thank you for your understanding!

~Kelsey

PGC Round 2 Update #17

Another Snowflake Day meant another gift giving party. Adhara provided the music, and Kelsey removed all the couches and chairs so no one would fight over seating positions and just get their presents instead. The party was all family, so one certain member decided he was comfortable with strutting about the place in his underwear.

100 Majesties- A 100 BC Update #19

Though she was pregnant, Lynette wasted no time heading out and meeting everyone that could be met. She kept coming across the same people during the day, so she took a nap in order to stay out late in hopes of widening her knowledge of the city's residents. The change of pace worked wonders. New faces were popping up all over the place. Lynette even had a great time as he explored all Starlight Shores had to offer. One of her favorite activities was watching terrible singers embarrass themselves while singing karaoke.

Gen One- Chapter Twenty Six

I scrunched my toes together in my boots. They were going numb submerged in the snow like they were. The world around me appeared bright and beautiful, but when I looked up I saw nothing but a treacherous wasteland. I honestly don't know what had gotten into me when I signed up for the class field trip to Wonder Light. What could be bad about a five day trip over spring break to a picturesque town snuggled against the mountains? Well, I had clearly ignored the fact that Wonder Light was also famous for its cold temperatures and snow even during spring. I had managed to escape any hospital trips over the winter. The days had been warming and the danger had been passing, but now I had willingly tossed myself back into the conditions that were prime for my body throwing a fit. Despite it only being the third day of the trip, I just wanted to go home. I couldn't get warm no matter how much I tried standing there in the cold like I had no choice but to do.

Gen One- Chapter Twenty Five

I had dreaded its coming. I had wished it would never come, but, alas, winter did come. I wondered what would happen this year. It was nice that I had made it to the Holiday break without coming down with something other than those random colds one gets, but that hardly meant I was out of the woods yet. The snow and the cold would be around for another two and a half months. Would it be the flu? A small infection? In the end, it didn't matter too much what it was. The end result would be the same; I would end up in the hospital again. Such an event truly did happen every year. Normally, it wouldn't be so bad. My stay would be a few days or so. It was only rarely that I became incredibly sick like I did last year. I hoped as I sipped on my fresh hot chocolate that such a bad experience then meant I was in for a lighter ride this time. It helped that Eden let me be lazy during the cold months. I could even wear my warm pajamas all day if I wanted.