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. 

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 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 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 Four

I gave Sunset a friendly smack on the back when she stepped on my toes for the hundredth time. I should have switched her and Sunflower around. As we modeled through various poses, Sunset got lost in her excitement and kept forgetting she couldn't stand right on top of me as she attempted whatever new position she concocted. If I wasn't careful, my feet definitely weren't going to last me through the night. Sunset gave me yet another amused, apologetic grin before backing up and turning to face the camera Eden had pointed our way. The device that hadn't been touched since I tried to take a picture when I turned white was finally getting a moment to shine.

Gen One- Chapter Twenty Two

That Wednesday morning was just like any other morning. I rolled out of bed with a grumble regretting as I always did how I late I stayed up talking to my friends on the phone. The lateness of the night never bothered me. The earliness of the morning always did. I contemplated letting myself sleep in for just one day. Then I forced myself to remember how much I hated dealing with the congestion if I didn't get to the school before the buses. The extra rest wasn't worth it. I took a quick shower, got dressed, made sure to take my medicine, went downstairs to have breakfast, chatted with Eden, played with Button, and was then on my way. The roads were calm, and I got an even better parking space than normal. My mood had increased decently by the time I reached the halls. When I turned the corner to approach my locker, I found out it was a rather good thing I hadn't delayed. Sap was clearly waiting for me as he stood right next to it. I was still sleepy, but he looked even more out of it. I couldn't help giggling quietly as he yawned a massive yawn- his expression shifting into something quite amusing.

Gen One- Chapter Twenty One

My eyes were threatening to close on me even when walking through the front door with my arms full of luggage. To be honest, I was exhausted enough that the floor looked like a good enough bed. I only forced myself to make it to the couch because Eden was coming in behind me. The return trip had been the worst flight of my life so far. A storm delayed our original plane. Sap's parents were lucky enough to find us another flight not long afterwards, but in order to claim our position at the last second we had to take economy seats instead of first class ones the Spring family typically booked. None of them were together. I ended up in a middle seat with a grumpy old man on my left and a chatty couple on my right. A crying baby was a few rows behind, and the turbulence the whole ride was awful. I felt banged up, beaten, and sore by the time the plane landed.

I sunk into the couch cushions like they were cushions straight from heaven. Glad that I had at least thought to wear comfortable, lazy clothing for the trip, I had no qualms about making the couch my bed that night. I sat there, half-asleep, too exhausted to give Button the petting she wanted. She had to make do with simply sitting at my feet instead.

Gen One- Chapter Nineteen

I lazily flipped to the next page, sighing and wishing the situation I was in would be over already. It was only the very afternoon following the morning where I woken up to find that I had reverted back to my white coloring, and already I was being driver crazy by boredom. I was truly and utterly trapped in the house. Eden had made a point of going to every room and even double-checking all the windows to make sure they were covered with blinds or drapes on the off chance that someone would sneak up close enough to the house to accidentally see me how I actually was. Not being able to look outside was more bothersome than I wanted to admit given how used to being able to come and go at my will I had grown.

I suppose that was part of the reason why Eden made a shopping trip where the sole purpose of it was to get me items that would appease both my boredom and frustrations. Besides snacks, magazines, and a few new movies, he had also purchased me a white night shirt. For the several days I had of being Ethereal, I could at least have one item of clothing that matched me. I was giddy enough because of the gift, until I began pondering the other reason why Eden was choosing to be incredibly accommodating. Unfortunately, I remembered what he told me all those years back the first time we had done this- that me being stressed and panicked about the change could potentially cause the chemical to have an adverse reaction that could kill me. Back then I had assumed the issue would have been no worry, but now that I knew about the possibility it became almost all I could think about. I latched onto my entertainment because I did become stressed and worried. It took a lot of effort to forget the dangers of the mysterious injection we so eagerly jamming into my bloodstream.

Gen One- Chapter Eighteen

I turned over to my left side, groaning. I had been sleeping peacefully and deeply, having a wonderful dream I think, when I was jolted out of the nice rest I was in by someone suddenly turning on the lights. I heard footsteps, but I only tightened the covers closer to me and ignored them. It was Saturday, and I was going to sleep in if I wanted! A hand smaller than I expected placed itself on my shoulder and shook me. The hand didn't belong to Eden, that was for sure.

     "Meadow. Meadow, get up." she called to me.

Oh, so that was who she was. However, it didn't change a thing for me. It wasn't a surprise that she was in my room given how often she still came over, but she was crazy if she thought she was going to get me out of bed.

Gen One- Chapter Seventeen

The sunshine was warm, but the wind had a hint of a biting chill to it. Autumn had officially arrived, but summer was not ready to leave just yet. It was for that reason why everyone around me was still able to get away with wearing shorter sleeves. However, 'everyone around me' excluded me. I was actually getting a bit too hot thanks to Eden's insistence that I wear something warmer. Although, if that meant I got treated to delicious ice cream in order to cool me down then I reasoned I couldn't complain. I also understood where Eden was coming from as well. He was afraid just as I was afraid. The arrival of autumn meant that winter would follow, and the two of us were dreading it. That was due to the warnings of my doctor and the nurses. The freezing temperatures would make me sick more easily, but the biggest fear was the return of my pneumonia. After having such a bad case of it, everyone was fearful it would become a chronic problem when the weather turned foul. Given how breathing grew difficult whenever I became scared or overly stressed, the threat was a true concern indeed.

I figure that was the other reason why Eden was treating me to ice cream. Our trip to the hospital for my tri-weekly therapy had resulted with my doctor giving us another long talk about the potential risks the winter brought. It was the same one he had been giving us for months now, and it was beginning to bring us down. We needed a little something nice to cheer us up.

Gen One- Chapter Sixteen

I swatted at a mosquito who dared trying to land on my arm. There weren't many of the perky buggers at the lot we were staying at, thankfully, but boy did the ones that were there like to target me! I had already put on bug spray, but I was going to have to add a bit more once Allium's story was over. It was the Saturday after Amaranth's week of detention. In order to help de-stress him and make up for the playing time we had lost, Blaze had suggested we all go camping while the weather was still nice. That was how my five friends, Eden, Blaze, and I ended up at a little camping ground further away from all the houses and closer to the small Berrybrook farms. We hadn't been at the lot for long before Allium announced that he had to tell the story about where we were. Apparently, the area used to be a haven for fairies. I was wondering what the several incredibly small houses on thick poles were, and that they were fairy houses answered that. According to Allium, there was one fairy that was bigger than the others. He was the king. His wings were so brilliant and colorful that a jealous human decided to rip them all out.

     "The fairy king and all of his followers used their strength to fight off the human," Allium continued, "But the human was a tricky one. He hid two of the king's feathers in places the fairies could not find. With even just one feathery wing missing, this left the leader of the sprites unable to fly. He fell into a deep sleep to hide his shame. The others took his body away from here and hid it so no harm could befall him again. Then they kept on searching for the lost feathers. The human hadn't been able to travel much before they stopped him. He couldn't have hidden the last two parts of the king's wings very far. However, nothing was ever recovered. The fairies gave up hope and decided to hide themselves away from humans in order to prevent their king's fate from happening again."

Allium took a dramatic breath.

     "Yet, rumor and legend insist that the fairies are still watching. It is said that the fairies will reward even humans who find the feathers with piles of gold- enough hold to make them rich for their entire lifetime."

Gen One- Chapter Fifteen

My body, which had felt light and free in sleep, suddenly felt heavy and trapped as I woke up. There was a sniffling noise bothering me, and seconds later a big ball of fuzz was stuck right in my face. I sputtered and rolled away as Button's tongue lapped at my cheek next. Like always, she was insistent on getting at my face even though I was able to break free of my sleeping bag's grasp on me and gently pushed her away. She thankfully gave up on her licking. However, Button then proceed to lay herself on top of me. It was next to impossible to get her to move. I knew she hadn't liked being separated from me that previous night, so she was making up for lost time.

Gen One- Chapter Fourteen

I pulled back when Button once again decided to wet my face with her lovely wet tongue. I loved Button, but the one thing about her I detested was her bad dog breath. Eden had bought her some toys that supposedly helped to floss her teeth, and he had even been able to coax her to sit still long enough for him to scrub at her teeth with a toothbrush a few times. It felt like it didn't do much, to me at least. I wiped off the slobber and gently pushed Button away.

     "Come on now," I said, "You need to be brushed. It's not time to give licks."

Button sat down for a brief few seconds, but she soon stood back up to go at my face again. I sighed, but stopped complaining. I would rather deal with Button's kisses than have to deal with the inevitable that was going to happen soon. No matter how badly I wanted to get out of it, there was no way that was possible. In fact, it was only several seconds later when Eden called for me.

     "Ethereal! It's time to go!"

Gen One- Chapter Thirteen

I fixed my hair and straightened out my clothes for the thousandth time. The outfit was a little too new and stiff for my liking, but good ol' Eden had refused to allow me to wear any of my previously bought outfits on my first day of school. Not that any of what I had could be considered old or worn at all. I had so many clothes that by the time I got around to wearing a few things twice Eden had already bought me more. It was becoming a really big problem that I was going to have to talk to him about soon. That issue was hardly bothering me at the moment though. I had thought my one year anniversary of being away from The Company earlier in the summer had been a momentous occasion. As it was, I was more anxious about what this particular day had in store for me. I practiced a smile and pose in the mirror right as Button shuffled into Eden's room. The mirror in my room wasn't low enough to get a full view of myself. I gave Button a pat before smiling wider at my reflection.

     "That just looks silly, doesn't it?" I said to myself and my dog, "I think a nice simple one will do fine."

     "Ethereal!"

The call came from Eden downstairs. My heart pounded loudly for several thumps. It was almost time to go.

Gen One- Chapter Twelve

I was pretty much bouncing up and down in my seat, craning my neck to get a glimpse of the house I hadn't seen in a month. Eden swore the reason he slowed the car down was because the road was icy, but I couldn't help but to think that he was teasing me. I had been driving him crazy with my excitement since I had been given my release date from the hospital. For him to prolong my anxiousness was something I could easily see him doing. Although, even though we were going slow the house came up on us so fast. I couldn't believe I was finally back on my street. My house was almost as marvelous a sight as it had been the very first time I saw it. I gripped the sides of my seat tighter with every passing second.

Gen One- Chapter Eleven

You would have thought given what I'd been through the past month that Eden would have woken me up a bit nicer. All I knew was that I had been having the best sleep I had had in a long time. It was true I had been feeling better, but I had wanted to guarantee that I would be full of energy for the holiday. That's why Eden got permission for the nurses to give me slightly more medicine than normal and for me to get quite the sleep aid. I was out like a light. I didn't stir once like I normally did. On the flip side of things, the medicine pushed me so far under that when Eden woke me up like he did I was so ridiculously groggy I couldn't even recall why I had been so determined to have the extra dosage at all.

     "Wake up. Wake up! C'mon, stop sleeping!" Eden prodded as he shook me without notice.

I blinked blearily.

     "Leave me alone." I mumbled, lazily pushing him away.

     "Nope," Eden protested, nearly squishing me as he half laid on me, "No sleeping in today."

     "Why not?" I asked unenthusiastically.

     "Seriously? It's Christmas! No one sleeps in on Christmas."

     "I beg to differ." I mumbled again.

I shifted under Eden's weight so I could breathe better. Did he not remember that the whole reason I was in the hospital was because my lungs weren't cooperating with me? Suffocating me wasn't going to help him get what he wanted.

     "You're no fun at all," Eden pouted, "You're the kid here. You're the one who is supposed to be bouncing all over the walls in excitement while I'm the one who is supposed to be annoyed at you for waking me up. This situation is all backwards."

     "Don't care. Sleep."

     "You really don't care?" Eden asked suspiciously, "I wonder what I'm going to do then. I have this big present being brought in for you downstairs, but if you don't get up soon you're going to miss the chance to get it entirely."

I studied him as I cracked one of my eyes open.

     "How big?" I asked.

Eden smirked widely.

     "It's big. Trust me." he promised.

     "Fine. Just get off me so I can breathe, and I'll get up."

     "Whoops. Forgot about that." Eden grinned goofily.

He sat up and helped me out of bed.

Gen One- Chapter Eight

After sliding my boots onto my feet, I eagerly hopped off my bed. Today had been a good day so far. Cold and rain had been predicted, but it was turning out to be bright, sunny, and much warmer than the days past. Summer had transitioned into autumn harshly, so it was nice to have the opportunity of more comfortable weather. What was even better- Sunset was coming over. I loved that she lived right across the street. We were able to pop over to the other's house pretty much whenever we wanted. Mr. and Mrs. Glory didn't mind if I showed up unannounced. Mr. Glory liked having me over because I eagerly listened to his stories, and Mrs. Glory was always willing to challenge me to a bout of video games. In fact, last week they even told me I could go ahead and think of their house as my house too.

I hurriedly left my room. I had gone to look out one of the windows on the front side of the house. Sunset had waved back to me from behind one of the windows at her house. That was the signal that she was just about to head over. Heck, by them time I went down the stairs she would probably be in the yard already.

     "Ethereal, can you come here for a moment?"

Eden's voice called to me from his room.

     "I'm going downstairs to meet Sunset." I told him.

     "I know, but I don't want to put this off. I swear it will only take a second."

Gen One- Chapter Seven

The late summer sun beat down on us. We were all thankful the terrible humidity had departed the day before, and also that we had the ocean water to splash about in. I couldn't imagine how people could stand not living by a similar body of water. Eden had explained to me recently the idea of deserts. They sounded like a horrible place to live to me. I liked the sand on the beaches, but living in a place that was all sand and heat? Not for me, thank you very much.

I wasn't thinking of deserts at that moment. I had to concentrate on the large amount of water Frost was sending my way. We had been swimming earlier, but we had changed our playing to splashing in shallower water once our energy levels dropped a bit. I was making sure to pace myself this time around. My first birthday party was going to last all day if I had any say about it. And I did have a lot of say. A few weeks after Blaze and Amaranth came around for dinner, Eden admitted that he had been planning a party for me. However, he wasn't sure what I wanted. That was why we worked on it together. I had decided to have it at the beach, and we had gone from there. My suggestion to have it at the beach, I thought, was an inspired idea. The six of us were already having the time of our lives.