Installment: 8Sophia. Well, when I got back from class, Stephan was waiting for me. We had decided that we were just going to stay at the dorm for the date. Neither of us could afford fancy restaurants yet. Stephan was sweet and cute. He was just a teensy bit boring. He seemed to like me a lot, but I guess that had a lot to do with the love potion I had taken. It was hilarious to see the guys reactions to me when I walked past them – whistles and double takes seemed to be delivered non-stop. Even Stuart had seemed different when I’d dropped by his room earlier! Stephen treated me like a lady all evening, and he kissed me goodbye when I said it was time for a great date to end. The effects of the potion were wearing off anyway. I popped into Stuarts’ room once more to say goodnight. He was sat at his computer, but turned it off when he saw me. ‘Hi! How was your date?’ he asked me. ‘Great.’ I said, sitting on his bed. ‘You don’t seem very enthusiastic.’ he noted. ‘I am. Well. I… I don’t think it’s going to last that long, that’s all.’ ‘Oh, honey. Why not?’ ‘He’s boring.’ I replied bluntly. Stuart looked at me in shock for a moment, then laughed. ‘What better reason do you need to chuck him then?’ he said, smiling. I thought about it. ‘I dunno. I’ll keep him for now. I need something to occupy my time.’ I winked, then stood up. ‘I’m going to bed now. Night babe!’ ‘Night,’ he said as he hugged me. ‘Sweet dre-‘ Suddenly Stephen ran in, screamed at us in fury, and – slapped me. I stared at him in shock, holding my face. He stared back, looking equally as surprised at what he had just done. ‘Bas-‘ started Stuart, pushing past me to get to Stephen, but I held him back. ‘Don’t.’ I said gently. ‘But he jus-‘ ‘Don’t.’ I repeated. He looked at me and nodded. I moved closer to Stephen. ‘It was a goodnight hug, that’s all. Between friends.’ He looked down at his feet in shame. ‘Stephen, I don’t want to date you again. Don’t come near me.’ I left, and cried on my bed like I had done so many times before.
Pictures! Okay, I got some pictures. They're not very high quality, but I'm afriad they'll have to do. Soon they'll be more interesting. Well. I have interesting ones, but I haven't had time to write any more. I have one installment ready, but I always prefer to have one more installment in my 'archives'. Hehehe. Pic 1: Celia taking out the rubbish before her daughters left. Pic 2: A teen Sophia! Pic 3: A student Sophia, after her makeover! (I'm not that skilled at taking the pics, so you can actually see Stuart's shoulder there). Pic 4: Stuart studying! Pic 5: Stuart and Sophia having a chat.
I think I kinda selected the thumbnail by accident for pic 5. Sorry. Hey, what's a first try if you don't mess it up?
Installment: 9Stuart. It was a goodnight hug, thats all. Sophia had said. Between friends. I didnt know why that was sticking in my mind so much. I rolled over once again, sat up, punched my pillow, and slumped down once more. It was a goodnight hug, thats all. Between friends. That guy Stephan was too jealous. Id had a fight with him later. Sophia didnt know, and I wasnt in any rush to tell her - hadnt stopped her from beating him up as well though, a few hours after. She wasnt strong but she was mad and upset, and she was unstoppable! I made a note not to mess with her. Youve made an enemy today, Bond. Mr BigIAm had said after I blacked his eye. It was funny that had actually made me feel better, because for once I felt like the 007. And if I was the secret agent, I wasnt scared of Stephan. It was a goodnight hug, thats all. Between friends. I turned over. Sighed irritably. Sat up. And punched my pillow. It was 4:30am! Why couldnt I just get to sleep? I sighed again. You may as well do something useful now. I told myself out loud. This wasnt unusual - for me to talk to myself. I had done it since I was 6, keeping myself company, since Gran only knew I existed basically from my presence at the dinner table. Ah, well. At least the old bat had taken me in. A knock at the door startled me, and Sophia walked in wearing her pjs. Hastily I grabbed the duvet and covered myself up I was in my boxers, but still. A lovely flash of my skinny, pale legs and Sophia would run for the hills. In the moonlight, I saw her stifle a grin. You dont have to cover up on my account. She laughed, and sat on my bed. Im amazed youre still awake. I smiled and shook my head. I know. I just cant sleep. I replied. Ive just got stuff on my mind. Sophia studied my face. Yeah. Me too. Suddenly her eyes filled up. Its just you know I mean, it wasnt as though he hurt me or anything Sophia burst into tears. Hey, stop that. I held her and stroked her hair. Hes just a jerk. You dont want to waste your time on idiots like that. The sort of guy who would pass up a pretty, intelligent, amazing girl like you needs to get his head sorted out. Sophia gave a muffled giggle. I dont know about intelligent. She stopped crying. I laughed and kissed her forehead. Night, Stuart. Night, Sophia. I sighed happily as she closed the door, and had a dreamless, easy sleep.
More pics. Once again, not high quality. They'll never be high quality, I'm sorry to report. And unluckily, when Stephan was attacked I didn't think to put the walls up, etc. I just took the pics. Anyway. Now we get to the interesting stuff. 1) Stuart and Stephan. 2) Sophia and Stephan. Get in there Sophia!!! You bust his lip, the b******!
Oh, Stuart, Stuart ... he's really gone on her, isn't he. He deserves a nice girl like her. I like both characters very much ... very nice job, Babe. I wish the fight scenes let you see a little more. Criticism of the game, not your pictures. I know that's about all you can get because I've tried and tried to get more ... oh, well. Still very entertaining stuff.
I'm trying quick reply here because my computer is being difficult this morning. I was looking at movies once-upon-a-time over at the main game site where someone had a fight scene and no dust cloud. When the movie maker was asked how he/she did that the answer was that he/she used the move objects cheat to move the cloud while filming. I've never tried it --always wondered how it would work--and if it really does work.
I found these pics. You can't see that much, but there's a little bit more. I'm going to try that tip Lynet and see if it works. Sounds as though it could though.
Installment: 10Stuart. For the next few months I didnt see that much of Sophia. I often saw her wearing new outfits a business suit, a cheerleader dress, even some punky stuff which I never imagined would suit her. I knew the outfits were a sign she was seeing new people, and only she could pull off so many different styles. I was walking down the hall when I next got a chance to see her properly. Her latest suit was a Llamas kit, complete with cap. Sophia had cut her hair shorter, and now wore it in a ponytail, and she had toned down the green eyeshadow. Even though her feminine style wasnt visible at first glance, it was still there. She still moved gracefully, still was the old Sophia. She turned around quickly, keeping her head down, and walked past without registering I was there. Sophia? I caught her arm and she looked up at me in alarm. Her eyes were red and full of tears. Sophia? She pulled away. Erm Im sorry Stuart. I have to go. She walked away from me quickly, and turned into her room. I stood dazed for a minute, then followed. Hit myself against her bedroom door in a fruitless attempt to open it. Sophia. I sighed and rested against the wood, sliding down to the floor. I lifted an arm up and knocked on the door. Let me in, honey. Please. There was silence. I waited. And waited. I was sat there for over 15 minutes, just examining my hands. Suddenly there was a click, and the door flew open. I fell backwards, sprawled out half in the hallway, half in the bedroom. Sophia had removed her makeup, untied her hair, was now in her pjs, and stared at me in shock. Hello. I grinned foolishly and waved. Hey. She replied, sat down next to me cross-legged, and offered me a spoon. Want some ice cream?
Installment: 11Sophia. So, basically, youre saying you want to give up all guys forever? Stuart raised an eyebrow at me. You have no chance. Hey! I could so do it. I replied. Itd be easy. Like a diet. Diets are not easy. It depends what diet you go on. She looked at the ice-cream. Crap. Im supposed to be on a diet already. Ah, well. Ill start tomorrow. Anyway, if you go on the diet where youre good all week, but then get a treat on the Sunday, youre in trouble. Well. I would be. Id forget about the teeny-weeny bit of KFC I was supposed to be having, and think Forget it. Hand me the bucket! Youre a vegetarian! he gasped, half laughing. Stuart, being a vegetarian is a lot like giving up men. Which, in turn, is like being on a diet we both laughed. I cant believe I wont see you with another guy. Ever. It doesnt seem right. I considered it. I would never feel that rough stubble against my skin, or when I had something wrong there was someone to kiss it all away, or feel my heart jump when I caught even a glimpse of a guy I liked again. Well. It doesnt have to be forever. It could just be for the light from the candles was reflected in Stuarts eyes as he listened. He was actually listening to me. All my exes had never listened. for For? Stuart whispered. For the next 10 seconds? He stared at me. I wasnt sure if it was the amount of wine we had drank, but something in me made want to kiss him, to taste his lips. And in one easy movement he lay me down and kissed me. It was the most beautiful kiss in that moment I forgot about everything apart from him, his lips gently parting mine. Then he pressed closer to me, kissed harder, as though he wanted me. The kiss seemed to last for hours, and when he finally pulled away there hadnt been enough. I wanted to drag him back down. I wanted more. I have to go, he whispered. We both have our finals tomorrow. I nodded. Ill see you tomorrow, okay? Stuart gave me one last quick kiss and went over to the door. The candles blew out when he closed it. I lay there in the darkness, unable to suppress a smile. It had always been him. From the moment I saw him, I knew. I might have been getting ahead of myself, but from that moment I knew it was love. My mobile was vibrating on my desk. Not a call. A text. From Stuart. My heart fluttered with delight as I read it. so was it 10 seconds? x x x
You've probably found out already that it isn't possible to move the cloud. I tried. I had to move the fighters instead. The fighters look pretty funny without the cloud. Their arms and legs bend in impossible angles and sometimes they turn into little knots of clothes that make no sense. I took pictures of a fight in 'I,Sim' but I had to wait until they looked mostly 'normal,' pause the game quickly and shoot the picture. It wasn't easy. 'Normal' was rare. I love the story, BTW, and the clever way you move from one character to another. I was really hoping that Stuart and Sophia would discover each other.
I tried mving the fighters, too. The odd positions are caused by the moving one fighter at a time ... mine ended up looking like they were "swimming" in the floor as well as fighting
I've managed to get a couple of good pictures, even without moving the fighters, but it does take a lot of patience and sometimes it just doesn't work due to walls in the way, weirdly crumpled limbs, etc. My new video card helps a lot.
Installment: 12Stuart. I wanted to be with her every minute of the day. If we passed each other on the halls, our eyes would connect and a little smile would bounce between us that hung around my lips all day. I fell asleep at night smiling. When I kissed her I was smiling. When I heard her voice, I was smiling. My life was suddenly in colour. Birds sang, the sun shone, I was happy. And we continued our lives in this happy little bubble of happiness, always smiling.
