Is anyone still out there?

I hope so. :(

Well first off I'm sorry I haven't posted anything in months. My internet on my desktop computer (the one with my Sims games and all my pictures) completely crapped out and I haven't been able to use it. I didn't want to keep playing my game and get too far away from where I was on here, so I just haven't touched the Sims game pretty much since the last time I updated (I was about two chapters ahead in-game).

Then to top it off, this last week it messed up so badly that I had to totally reformat it and start from scratch. I couldn't even move anything over to my external hard drive or my flash drive because it was messing up that bad; it wouldn't let me click on or move anything. So this means I not only lost my saved Sims games, but I lost my pictures, the chapters I had written but not yet published, all my CC, everything.

So basically this means I won't be able to pick up the story from where I left off. :/ BUT with Seasons coming out tomorrow, I think I'll restart a totally new legacy, eventually. Probably won't be until December though, after the semester is over.

I'm off to spend my day reinstalling Sims and all the EPs on my computer. And then track down all my CC. *sigh*

- Alona

Chapter 1.5 - Unexpected Visitors

Back from their honeymoon, Bridgette got to work on the magazine while Vincent took a shower. After a few minutes, she heard a knock. Reluctantly pulling herself away from the laptop, she opened the front door. "What are you doing here?" she asked, seeing the woman on the front porch.

"Aren't you going to invite me in, Bridgie?" the woman said instead, pushing her way into the living room. She had blonde hair that faded into hot pink tips, and wore a tight dress with tall heels. Bridgette would know her anywhere.





 
"Who's this, Bridge?" Vincent asked, emerging from the bedroom.

"This is Bernadette. My sister."
 

 "Did you have a nice honeymoon Bridgie?" Bernadette asked, her voice syrupy-sweet. She didn't even glance at Vincent."Your wedding was so beautiful by the way. I didn't get a chance to compliment you on it in person. I had to run back to the hotel."

"Wait wait wait. She was at the wedding?" Vincent asked, confused.

Bridgette nodded, unhappily. "I noticed her during the ceremony but she disappeared during the reception."

"Why didn't you tell me? Were your parents there too?"

Bernadette shook her head. "Our parents were busy with prior commitments. But luckily I was in a nearby town to record my next album, and managed to work my dear baby sisters wedding into my schedule. Aren't you happy, Bridgie?"

"I see you got your nose done, Bernie," was Bridgette's only reply.

Bernadette sneered. "Don't be so tacky, Bridgette. I came by to see you before I left to go back to Starlight Shores."

"No you didn't. You came by to try and rub your stupid little celebrity lifestyle in my face because that's the kind of person you are," Bridgette spat back. "You want everyone to know that you're a 'diva,' that you're the superstar child. I don't care about any of that stuff, Bernadette. I'm happy here, and as far as I'm concerned you can take your plastic nose and those fake boobs and keep them far away from me!"
 

Bernadette stamped her foot. "You are such a spoiled little brat, you know that? Mommy and Daddy gave you everything and you just totally threw it all aside! And for what? Some dinky little house in the middle of nowhere, just so you can be someone's wife and pop out babies for the rest of your life?"

"Get out of my house." Bridgette stared right into Bernadette's eyes, the exact same color as her own. "Get out and don't ever come back. I don't want to see you ever again, and quite frankly I don't care about seeing our parents either."

With a huff, Bernadette stormed out, slamming the door behind her.

Vincent blinked. "Wow. She's something."
 

Upset, Bridgette felt her stomach tighten into a knot. She ran into the bathroom and threw up. She couldn't believe that an argument with her sister would cause a reaction like this; it never had before.
 

The next morning Bridgette woke up still sick at her stomach, still throwing up, and spent the rest of the morning asleep on the couch.

When Bridgette woke up from her nap, she was alone in the house. Vincent had said something the night before about wanting to go to the consignment store to look for a nicer camera, so Bridgette assumed that was where he was.

Bridgette snuck into the bedroom and pulled a small paper bag from one of the dresser drawers. She had purchased a pregnancy test at the airport when they were on their way back from China, just in case all of the... "consummating" they had done on their honeymoon had resulted in anything. When she woke up sick at her stomach that morning she had just the faintest suspicion that the test may come in handy.

And she was right.

When Vincent got home, he took one look at Bridgette's clothing change and raised an eyebrow. Bridgette wasn't really a shorts-wearing girl, especially ones that were so worn-in and patched up. "What's this about, Bridge?"

"Vince, I have some news for you... I'm pregnant!"

Bridgette was worried he might freak out - after all, they were newly married and the magazine still wasn't raking in as much cash as they would have liked - but instead he was ecstatic.

 

He hugged Bridgette and proceeded to rub her belly, which wasn't even showing yet, imagining the baby inside it.




 
Bridgette got right to work backlogging a lot of articles and stories, setting them to publish at certain times so she could focus on the baby whenever he or she was born.

Speaking of gender...
 

"I hope we have a little girl," Bridgette told Vincent.

"Well I want a little boy. Girls are no fun."

Bridgette stuck her tongue out at him.

----------

First, I'm sorry I haven't posted in a few days. My internet's been really unstable.

... Bernadette kept autonomously slapping Bridgette. I got a picture of one slap but didn't know how to make it work in the story.

Physically, I love Bernadette (but she is a clone of Bridgette with just small changes). But I had to make her spoiled, so she had such a nasty personality that I really don't like her. But I guess that's the point. :P I actually wanted her to confront Bridgette at the wedding reception so I invited her to that - if you look at the wedding ceremony photos, you can see the back of her head in the front row - but the brat left halfway through the reception! So I had to improvise by doing it this way instead. But at least this is the last we'll see of Bernie... or is it? *evil eyebrow wiggle*

I'M SO EXCITED FOR THE BABY YOU HAVE NO IDEA. I'm excited to get generation two going and to see Bridgette and Vincent as parents. <3 They really both did roll wishes to have different genders. I thought it was really funny. But also... *faceslap* Bridgette, you have some really weird ideas of maternity wear.

I have already rolled for generation two, but I'm not going to reveal those until the baby is born. :)

Chapter 1.4 - I Do

To celebrate their engagement, Bridgette and Vincent decided to get tattoos together.
 

At first Bridgette was scared, and almost backed out. But to her surprise it didn't hurt at all - just kind of tickled - and she ended up loving her tattoo, which was the old Gaelic word for "Moonlight" on her arm.

Vincent, on the other hand, got something much manlier; a wolfs head on his back.

The wedding was coming up, and Bridgette was busy trying to juggle both planning it and getting everything ready to keep the magazine running while they were gone on their honeymoon.

"Bridge, have you gotten an RSVP from your family yet?" Vincent asked her a few days before the wedding.

Bridgette shook her head. "Nope. Not surprised though. My dad would be the only one even remotely interested in coming, but if my mom said no then he'd change his mind to please her. And my sister wouldn't show up for anything involving me unless it was my funeral or I was in court facing prison."

"Is Bernadette really that bad?" Vincent asked.

Bridgette laughed. "Bernadette is a thousand times worse. My parents sent us to a theatrical summer camp when we were younger and Bernadette spent the whole two weeks making my life miserable. She hid all of my underwear one day, the next day she put poison ivy in my shorts pockets so when I stuck my hands in them I'd get a rash. She devoted her entire life to making me miserable. And it just got worse as we got older. I don't even know why I bothered inviting my family."
 

"Because even though they're a pain in the ass, they're still your family Bridge. It's the right thing to do."

Bridgette was quiet for a minute. She knew Vincent was right, but she didn't want to admit it.

Later that afternoon, Bridgette went into the bedroom and called her mother's cell phone. Her mother didn't answer - of course - so she just left a message.
 

"Hi Mother, it's Bridgette. I just wanted to call and remind you that I'm getting married in a few days, and I didn't know if you got the invitation or not since I haven't heard from you or Daddy. Um... call me when you get this message and let me know if you and Daddy - and Bernadette, I guess - are coming."

.....

Today's the big day!

Bridgette had rented the Fae Rae Gardens for the ceremony. It was beautiful, tended by the fairies in the area, and had a glass arboretum in the center. The wedding arch was set up on one side, under a cherry blossom tree, and the reception area across from it, past a small pond. She even had her hair done, for the first time since her high school prom.

Bridgette can't stop staring at her ring, even when it's time for the couple pictures in front of the pond.

.....

The following day, the newlyweds - who had taken Bridgette's last name - packed up and left for Shang Simla, China, for their honeymoon.



Vincent learned that he has no future in martial arts and should stick to taking pictures.
 

----------

I almost missed the first week's tattoo addict, but I remembered! I'm not sure which one will keep going with them, though... I'd love to have Bridgette do it, but Vincent seems more of the tattoo type. What do y'all think?

And yes, I know this post was EXTREEEEEEMELY picture-heavy, but the next one will have a lot more text to balance it out.

Chapter 1.3 - Life Changes

With Moonlight Magazine up and running, Bridgette and Vincent were working hard to get more visitors and attention, which would in turn mean more money. Bridgette was busy digging out some old short stories she'd written about zombie attacks and polishing them up, and had even landed a few interviews with local supernaturals. Vincent spent his time doing photoshoots and editing the layouts and coding of the website.

They were officially boyfriend and girlfriend now, and Vincent spent much of his time at Bridgette's house. They hadn't slept together yet, though they did share a bed when he spent the night.

One night they were laying in bed talking before getting ready to go to sleep, when Bridgette brought up the subject of Vincent moving in.

"You're over here all the time anyway," she told him, feeling a little nervous. Was it too soon to bring up living together? "We'll get to see each other more often. And it'll make working on the magazine a lot easier. You'll get away from your roommate and you complain about him all the time anyway."

"Bridge, calm down," Vincent told her, smiling. "I've actually been thinking about it lately myself. I think it's a great idea."
 
The next day was dedicated to moving Vincent into Bridgette's house. Luckily he didn't have more than a few boxes; the house was small enough without adding more furniture and decor.

 "Well Roomie," Vincent joked, pulling Bridgette close to him when they finished unpacking. "How about we go out tonight to a fancy restaurant to celebrate?"

"Sounds great," Bridgette replied, smiling.

"You're paying, right?"

"Ugh."

.....

After dinner, the couple took a walk around the block. With the exception of a few cars whizzing by, they were the only ones out that night.

"It's a really pretty night," Bridgette said, squeezing Vincent's hand.

 "You're prettier." Vincent poked her nose and smiled, pulling her in closer.

"I'm glad you moved in, Vince," Bridgette told him.

"I'm glad you asked me." He pulled away. "And now there's something I want to ask you."

Vincent dropped down on one knee and pulled out a small box with a glittering ring.

"I want to spend the rest of my life with you. As more than just roommates, as more than just boyfriend and girlfriend. I love you, and I want us to be together forever. Bridgette... will you marry me?"

Needless to say, Bridgette was surprised.

"Yes!" she cried, ecstatic. "Yes yes yes!"

That night they celebrated their engagement in the bedroom. We should probably leave here, before things get a little raunchy.

----------

So funny story.

The night I had planned for Vince to propose, it was a full moon. For those who don't know, Moonlight Falls gets this really dumb green glow on full moon nights and it glows so much that it just totally ruins any chance of getting pictures. Instead of sending them out, I just sent them to bed and waited to see if I had any zombies. Up until then I'd only ever had two at the most. Well this time I had six. One of them just stood in front of a dead apple tree in the backyard (that I forgot was back there), and the rest just wandered around. And then out of nowhere a stereo appeared and they all crowded around it and danced until morning, when they left. But now the stereo is permanently stuck on my property and I can't delete it.

This was sort of a short chapter, but the next two are going to be long/full of pictures to make up for it. :)

Chapter 1.2 - The Chapter of Bridgette's Pajamas

Bridgette emerged from her bedroom. She'd slept longer than normal, and she was supposed to meet Vincent for breakfast. I hope he's not too irritated, she thought.

It had been another couple of months since she moved to Moonlight Falls and she still couldn't find any inspiration to write anything. But she had been spending more and more time with Vincent. They'd become quite close, and he was the first person in her whole life that Bridgette could honestly call a best friend. She ignored the crush she had on him because she didn't think - and she kind of doubted - that he felt the same about her.

"Cute nightshirt."


 
Vincent smiled at her from where he sat on her couch, watching television.

"Agh! What did I tell you about barging in here?!"

He shrugged. "You were late to breakfast so I figured I'd just come on over, in case you were sick or hurt or something so I could save your life. You can reward me for being a good friend by buying me lunch."

"I knew I shouldn't have told you where I hide my spare key," Bridgette mumbled, sitting next to him.

"Taped under the top step of your porch."

"What was this big idea you wanted to talk about at breakfast?"

Sitting forward, Vincent turned off the television. "Okay so, I know you haven't been getting any book ideas lately, and I've been trying to think of a way to break out there with my photography. So I thought of something last night that would let us do both of those things... we should start an online magazine!"

Bridgette just blinked.

"Think about it, Bridge. We live in Moonlight Falls. And what is Moonlight Falls known for?"

"Supernaturals." It was no secret that the town was full of supernatural beings. A werewolf family and a vampire family both argued about which one founded the town. Fairies lived in the woods on the surrounding the town and helped keep the arboretum in working order. Witches frequented the alchemist. Ghosts were everywhere. The occasional genie would pop in and out. And every full moon the town guarded itself against zombies. Even though Bridgette had never gotten to interact with a supernatural, she had still seen them around town and knew they were there.

"Exactly! So we start an online magazine dedicated to supernaturals and their fans. I can take pictures, you can write the articles, and we can even do a section for fictional short stories so you can write those too!" Vincent was really getting excited now. "I know a little Photoshop and things like that so we can really make it fancy looking. And when we start getting popular we can have people submit stories so you don't have to write everything. What do you think?"

Bridgette considered it for a moment. "Well it's definitely different... but I like it. Let's do it!"

"Bridge, you're the best!" Vincent pulled her up with him and gave her a hug. A friendly hug, but a hug nonetheless. Bridgette's heart skipped a beat and she hoped he didn't feel it through her shirt.

.....

"We need to think of a name for the magazine, you know," Bridgette said later. They had spent the day planning everything from the layout of the website to the amount of pages and what would be on them. Bridgette made macaroni for them to eat while they worked, and Vincent - being the gentleman that he was - was helping her clean up afterward. "We can't register a domain name until we know what to call this thing."

Vincent thought a moment. "Well it is dedicated to supernaturals and their fans, and supernaturals are supposed to be a lot stronger with a full moon. We could call it Full Moon Magazine."

"I have a feeling we'd be getting a lot of hits from old guys looking for dirty pictures."

 Vincent laughed. "How about Moonlight Magazine then?"

"That'll work." Bridgette smiled, then glanced at the clock. "It's almost midnight! We've been working so long that I didn't even realize how late it was." She was waiting for Vincent to say he should go home. But he surprised her. 

"Actually, do you mind if I stay here? It's such a long walk back to my house and getting a taxi at this time of night is ridiculous..." He trailed off, realizing he was talking fast. Is he nervous? Bridgette thought.

She smiled at him. "You can stay, Vince. I don't mind."

 "Thanks Bridge." He grabbed her hands and smiled. Bridgette, trying not to act like a head-over-heels high schooler, cleared her throat, then went and changed into her nightshirt.

"The bathroom's free if you want it," she told Vincent, coming back out to tell him good night. "I hope my sofa's comfortable. It's not very big, I know, I'm sorry."

Vincent looked at her. "Bridge, you're a girl, right?"

"Last time I checked."

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure Vince, go ahead." She sat down beside him.

"Well... there's this girl..."

Bridgette felt her heart sink.

 "I really like her, but I don't think she likes me back. And I don't know what to do." He sighed. "I want to tell her that I like her, but I'm... I'm kind of scared she'll turn me down, and at the same time I don't want her to feel awkward around me if she doesn't feel that way, because she's a pretty good friend of mine and I'd rather have her as a friend than not have her around at all, but I don't know what I'm supposed to do."

Bridgette was quiet for a moment. "I think," she began, trying to keep her voice even, "you should tell her. Even if she doesn't like you back; it's better than not telling her at all. Because if you don't, you never know what might come of it." She smiled wearily. "Besides, you're a great guy. You're smart and funny, and you're attractive. How could she not like you?"

"Thanks Bridge." He grinned at her. "You always make me feel better."

"I'm glad." Bridgette smiled back. "Now I need to get a little bit of sleep tonight. Tomorrow we can register the domain name for the magazine and start putting everything together."

"Sounds good."

She stood up, but then felt Vincent grab her hand and stand up beside her. "Bridge?"

"Yeah?"

He wrapped his arms around her and pressed his lips against hers. Startled, Bridgette took a few seconds before responding. She wrapped her own arms around his neck and returned the kiss.

Pulling away, Vincent smiled. "A really smart woman told me to go for it, so I did."

----------

I was trying to think of a name for the magazine and Googled "supernatural magazine" for ideas. I learned there is a magazine dedicated to the television show Supernatural.

And yes, I know the way Vince told Bridgette he liked her was sooooo cheeeeeesy, but I couldn't think of anything else. :P It was SO HARD keeping them just friends though. They got up to best friend status and they autonomously did romantic actions. I had to make them officially romantic as soon as possible. Plus they're just too cute for words, and I couldn't stand not letting them be boyfriend/girlfriend.

Here is Vincent, in all his close-up shaggy-blonde glory.

Chapter 1.1 - Nice to Meet You

After writing for a few hours, Bridgette noticed it was getting dark - and noticed the gnawing pain in her stomach signaling that she needed to eat - and fixed herself a simple salad. But as she sat alone at her small dining room table, she realized how odd this felt. She'd never eaten alone before. Even when one or both of her parents were busy with work, she still had her sister to eat with. And even though she and her sister never talked during supper, or at all, it had been sort of a comfort to know that at least one other person was there.

Bridgette brushed the lonely feeling off. She was the one who made the decision to move to Moonlight Falls, and she knew it would all pay off in the end. She had no future in Starlight Shores, where everyone was plastic and everything was expensive. Moonlight Falls was quaint, out of the way, and it was strange. It was everything that Starlight  Shores wasn't. That was the best part.
 
.....

The next morning Bridgette woke up with one goal for the day: get some form of income. She wanted to be a writer, which was considered self-employment, but in order to be recognized by the city as being self-employed she had to fill out paperwork at city hall.

Bridgette hadn't had enough money to buy a car after paying for the house and furniture, so instead she went with a small bike. Nobody in Starlight Shores rode bikes - unless they were stationary ones at the gym - and Bridgette couldn't get over how much fun it was. How had she not been doing this all along?

At city hall, Bridgette signed all the papers stating that she was self-employed as a writer. Excited from the prospect of actually being employed for once and earning her own money without relying on her parents, she headed home to start working on her first bestselling novel.

.....

I've been in Moonlight Falls forever and I still haven't written anything, Bridgette thought glumly, even though it had really only been a couple of weeks. She looked at the corkboard in her kitchen filled with notes she had jotted down, ideas for stories. No matter how much she stared at them, she couldn't come up with anything to write.

Before she could even think about doing any writing, though, she needed to do laundry. Packing up all of her dirty clothes in a small bag, she loaded up her bike and headed to the local laundromat (washers and dryers are expensive!).

Tossing her clothes in the dryer, she glanced over and noticed a man standing by a window in the waiting area, just looking out. He was tall and skinny, with shaggy blonde hair. Not thinking much of him, Bridgette headed over to the detergent dispenser.

"You're Bridgette Burrows, aren't you?"

She turned. The blonde guy had moved, heading for the washing machines. She didn't even realize he'd seen her. "Yeah?"

"I recognized you from your pictures." When he saw the puzzled expression on Bridgette's face, he hurriedly continued. "My dad is in the paparazzi business in Starlight Shores. He showed me some of his shots last time I was visiting him and a few of them had you and your mom and sister."

"Oh." And now it's awkward. "That's nice."

The guy laughed. "I'm sorry, I know that was awkward." Yes it was. "I'm Vincent. Vincent Monty."

"Hi Vincent Monty." Bridgette couldn't help but smile a little. After all, Vincent was cute, and she wasn't used to cute guys giving her any sort of attention. She wasn't Bernadette, after all.

"When did you move to Moonlight Falls?" Vincent asked.

"A couple of weeks ago. I got sick of Starlight Shores."

Vincent nodded. "Amen. I grew up there and hated it. My parents split up when I was a teenager and my mom moved here, so I went with her to get away from the Shores."

"I wish my parents were cool enough to want to live here," Bridgette mumbled. Then she paused. "Actually, no I don't. Because then I'd still have to put up with them." Vincent laughed.

They spent the next hour talking. Bridgette told Vincent how she hated being in the shadow of her parents and her sister, and about the argument she and her mother had before she moved; she also told him she loved terrible horror films and fantasy novels. Vincent told Bridgette he loved terrible horror films and fantasy novels too, that he had a younger sister who was in rehab for drug abuse, and that he was Moonlight Falls' self-titled Rock, Paper, Scissors champion.

Not anymore.

"Hey I'm getting kind of hungry. Do you wanna get something to eat?" Vincent asked.

"Sure," Bridgette replied, smiling.

At the town diner they talked more. Vincent revealed that he wanted to go into photography like his father, but didn't want to do cheap celebrity publicity shots. Bridgette, sympathizing, told Vincent that she wanted to write like her father, but didn't want to write cheesy movie scripts just so they could be dissected and altered to the studios' liking, the way her father did.

"Oh man, it's really late," Vincent finally said, glancing at his watch. The diner had kicked them out after they finished eating because they were taking up the table, and they'd been standing outside talking for a while now. "Here, here's my phone number. Give me a call and I'll come over with that movie I told you you needed to see, Infected 2. It's the worst of the worst. You'll love it." They said their goodbyes and went their separate ways.

Bridgette closed the door behind her and thought back on her day. "Did I just have an actual date?" she thought out loud, smiling like a giddy schoolgirl.

----------

Okay so Bridgette and Vincent are SO adorable in my game. Even after just talking long enough to become friends Bridgette rolled a wish to kiss him, and almost as soon as she got home after their group outing she got a phone call from Vincent asking if she wanted to hang out with him. And he autonomously gives her flowers and cuddles with her. Stop moving so fast you two, I have an idea for this!

I went through Moonlight Falls and redid some of the locals, plus added in some of my own, and Vincent was actually named something else (I think Brad... something or other) and looked kind of like he belonged on Jersey Shore, so I changed him up a little. I was trying to think of what guy would fit Bridgette really well and I remembered him. :) I'll get a close-up shot of him next time. If I remember right, his traits are Good Kisser, Flirty, Artistic, Handy, and Clumsy. His LTW is Swimming in Cash. Bridgette's LTW is Professional Author.