Henson Legacy, Generation 1!
Founder Challenge 2! legacy_writers!
Yes, I am starting yet another legacy. It'll be themed and there is also a naming theme. It's a theme where I hope I don't have too many female offspring, or I will start giving them the most inappropriate for a female name off my male name list. Guess what it is! (Shouldn't be too hard. skittlebox can't guess, she should have it figured out by the first shot of the founder.)
I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't have about a generation and a half left on the Laurinces. I'm going to try and write this with a bit more of a narrative, though I'll probably still break the fourth wall too much. Also, I'm trying my hand at building an actual custom neighborhood. So I may end up taking my full time allowed between updates just to build things. I want a custom downtown and a custom university, and I plan to finally bite the bullet and get OfB after the Laurinces are finished.
This is the story of Janice Henson and her plentiful descendents.
Janice was considered an outcast in her hometown, which may or may not have been called Pleasantville. Her parents made her act older than her years, throwing her out of the house as soon as possible, saying that she was "too fug to even look at any more." She tried to find work, but it was hard to get work without any skills--let alone a job! The only thing she had wanted to do since she was small was research the world around her...but she could barely clean out a test tube.
One day, after stealing the newspaper sitting outside of her parents' house, she saw a notice: a island had been found and settled, and they were looking for more pioneers to expand their population! Anyone willing would be provided free (one-way) transportation to the island, given a 20,000 grant, and a guaranteed opportunity to buy their own plot of land.
Janice drifted off to sleep that night (on a park bench), dreaming of walking along her own private shoreline...
...looking at the local flora and fauna...
...and having her own small house.
Janice didn't require much...a place to eat and sleep. And she could bring along the few posessions she managed to grab from her parents' place.
The next morning, she went to the emigration office the island had setup in Sim City, using her last simoleans for cab fare. By that evening, she was on a plane soaring away to the nation of Destiny Island.
The jet landed in a settlement called Manhattenton, which Janice understood was to be her new home. At the airport, there was another office. In this office, she was shown the available plots. It didn't take her long to find her house. With her new deed in hand, and the simoleans left from her grant, she stared out the cab as she was taken to her new life...
It looked even BETTER than it had in her imagination!
It didn't take her long to decorate, and soon she was outside, exploring her heart out.
She brought her specimen inside and set it down--suddenly, there was a crash of thunder! ...and knocking?
A few of her neighbors had stopped by, including the official representative of the Manhattenton garden club.
Well, there's room for improvement here in your garden. Maybe add a little statue or a gazing ball?
...but there's not anything here but sand.
The view from her window was gorgeous, no doubt, and it was inspiring her to learn to paint... But it would take a lot of hard work and much more money than Janice had to get anything growing on her plot--it was essentially a giant sandbox.
After only a couple of days, Janice found herself smitten with one of her neighbors--Joel. What is it that you like about him?
He's so intelligent...he can just whip my behind at chess! No one at home could do that. And there's something about his chiseled jaw...
Yeah, I think more things on his face look chiseled than just his jaw. But let's not spoil Janice's happiness.
Janice learned that Joel's true passion was fighting crime--the growing population in Manhattenton meant that the once idyllic island paradise was in desperate need of a police force.
My mother often said that I was so hideous that I ought to be locked up!
That story still stung when she told it, but somehow when Joel laughed at it, Janice knew that he was laughing at her mother instead of her.
I can't believe someone as handsome as you could ever see anything in me!
Joel told her that she was beautiful; Janice realized that he probably hadn't had an eye exam since moving to the island. Or maybe he loved her for her brain--not everyone out there is shallow, right?
Not all of Janice's neighbors were nice and friendly. While she never had a problem with anyone, she often found them fighting with each other. She supposed any place that attracted misfits was likely to attract the problems that surrounded them.
One afternoon, Janice gathered up all her courage.
I'd love it if you could come over tomorrow night--I'll cook us a nice dinner.
Sounds perfect. I'll see you then.
She'd barely gotten over her excitement at his acceptance when the next surprise came--she felt his lips on hers! Janice Henson had gotten her first kiss, ever.
The dinner, however, was a disaster. Janice hadn't ever made anything more complicated than a sandwich or toaster pastry before!
Then the lady from the garden club invited herself over, blathering on and on about fountains! Janice could have cried.
...then Joel figured out a way to cheer her up a bit.
Janice's romance progressed quickly--perhaps a little too quickly--but her lonely heart soaked up all the affection it got.
Science jobs were few and far between in Manhattenton, and so Janice took another job to tide her over--she became an aide at the newly opened school.
Soon Joel stopped "coming over"--because he had moved in! He loved Janice's little home by the water, and he also loved her.
Janice performed well, even earning a promotion to substitute teacher, then one day, she saw it--an entry level science job that required no experience. She was on her way to fulfilling her dream.
But some days, it felt like she was moving in slow motion, and she was having trouble keeping food down. She didn't know what was wrong with her.
Soon enough, though, she understood. She was going to be a mother.
It's always been my dream to raise a family. There's only one step left to my dream--marrying you, Janice!
This was beyond her wildest dreams. Joel had seen an eye doctor and he did need glasses--but he still thought she was beautiful and he still loved her!
Joel planned the wedding quickly--he'd been on the island a few years, and knew several people. He invited his closest friends to celebrate the big day. Janice was only a little apprehensive that all of his friends were good looking women.
Okay, be honest with me. You look more than a little apprehensive.
It's just morning sickness, I swear! Besides, he knew all these women first but he still picked me--that has to count for something, right?
Janice did feel like the odd one out--she didn't know any of the popular island music, or the party dance that they all were doing. Why did she ever move here? Why did she ever go that far with Joel? Why did she say she would marry him? Why--
But then that moment came, and he only had eyes for her.
Do you take me as your husband?
I do!
WOOOOOO JOELFACE IS HITCHED!
And after the party was over, Joel took her to a quiet little hotel--Manhattenton's only hotel--for a brief honeymoon. She was so excited that she spent the limo trip in his lap.
Wedding bells done ringing, the day of the baby's arrival was going to be any day now.
Joel quit his convenience store job and got hired as a security guard. He was working out constantly to pass the physical regulations the village council had put in place for prospective police officers.
Well, you were made with love, and I promise to love you much more than my parents loved me, even if you are funny looking!
What are you going on about?
The baby's coming!
It was a girl, with all of Janice's coloring. Janice named her Skeeter and hoped very much that her daughter did not grow up to be as ugly as her.
Janice was very afraid that she would fail at parenting as much as her parents did. So much so that she was afraid to hold, feed, or even help with the diapering of her daughter.
Joel didn't mind doing most of the work--after all, this little family was his great dream (after fighting CRIME), right?
Janice headed back to work in great spirits only to have them crushed.
If my participating in a study ruins it, how will I ever be able to run my own?
Don't worry, baby. Joel reassured her that there would surely be another study soon enough, and once they realized how dedicated she was to the field--they'd just have to find some way to take her on, even if only as an assistant.
But Janice was beginning to feel that familiar fatigue and nausea again. It couldn't be! They had been so careful...
However, it soon became clear that Janice was eating for at least two. Between her and the growing baby, they were running out of groceries more than Joel would've thought possible--if he hadn't seen it himself.
He didn't mind going out to buy more food for his growing family, though.
...don't forget to get more ice cream!
Luckily, there were a few businesses in Manhattenton now. Gone where the days when everything had to be mail-ordered to the island, and one couldn't expect to have a meal that wasn't somehow made of fish and coconut.
Joel grabbed some more of the essentials--essentials for a pregnant Janice, anyway.
Ice cream, chicken, and enough ingredients for five pots of chili. I hope that gets us through the week.
(A couple more snapshots of the businesses on Cole's Corner--there's a game/movie shop, and a coffeeshop as well as a Kmarty type superstore that sells food, clothes, and other necessities.)
What's got Janice so cheerful this morning? It's raining again...and she loves rain. It's a good thing, too--there's no winter on the island, per se, but it's definitely got a rainy season.
Rainy days are perfect for sitting inside and doing the crossword!
Janice will ever be a nerd at heart.
Joel's new job had him working nights.
So Janice had to learn (finally) to take care of baby Skeeter.
This isn't as hard as I thought!
Surely someone as into science as you knows that animal mothers have instincts--that includes humans.
Soon enough, it was Skeeter's first birthday.
Though some of her milestones were definitely being overshadowed by the impending sibling in her future.
Janice was relieved to see that a great deal of Skeeter's features resembled Joel's.
Skeeter was bigger--and so were her lungs. Janice spent most of her days napping and eating, with hardly time left over for her little daughter.
So Skeeter amused herself.
And made sure that her mother could only catch a moment of sleep when baby was sleeping, too.
The new baby would be there any day.
Somehow Skeeter realized it and found quieter things to do.
Of course, Skeeter was getting closer to childhood, too.
(Dagmar, eat your heart out.)
Joel was promoted to the police force and, with his pay increase, they were able to expand the little beach house.
It was definitely not the little two room shanty of Janice's old dreams any more!
They had a real kitchen with room for the table and chairs.
They repainted the walls, bought a couch, and hauled Joel's big screen tv out of storage for their new living room.
The village was growing with their little beach house, and brought more and more interesting residents every day.
Joel found time to teach his daughter important skills, as her birthday came closer and closer.
This time, the new baby would not interrupt her birthday--because the new baby was coming first! Something about this bout of labor was different than last time, Janice could sense.
Another daughter with all of mommy's coloring, named Betty Lou.
I'm having another baby, Joel.
Yes, and she's beautiful.
No, I mean I'm having another baby!
It was yet another girl, Prairie Dawn, with skin like Joel's and eyes and hair like Janice's.
Somehow, even little Skeeter realized that from that moment on, life around the little beach house was going to be a lot different!
...she didn't like it.
Okay! Guess the theme and the name theme! How does the story-like way work? Does the neighborhood seem interesting? You can kinda tell that I've been adding hood deco and neighboring building as I go. The two nearby houses are really neat. I may use them for the legacy or for spares--we'll see.
I'm still playing the Delines...the Hensons were just added to the rotation!
Yes, I am starting yet another legacy. It'll be themed and there is also a naming theme. It's a theme where I hope I don't have too many female offspring, or I will start giving them the most inappropriate for a female name off my male name list. Guess what it is! (Shouldn't be too hard. skittlebox can't guess, she should have it figured out by the first shot of the founder.)
I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't have about a generation and a half left on the Laurinces. I'm going to try and write this with a bit more of a narrative, though I'll probably still break the fourth wall too much. Also, I'm trying my hand at building an actual custom neighborhood. So I may end up taking my full time allowed between updates just to build things. I want a custom downtown and a custom university, and I plan to finally bite the bullet and get OfB after the Laurinces are finished.
This is the story of Janice Henson and her plentiful descendents.
Janice was considered an outcast in her hometown, which may or may not have been called Pleasantville. Her parents made her act older than her years, throwing her out of the house as soon as possible, saying that she was "too fug to even look at any more." She tried to find work, but it was hard to get work without any skills--let alone a job! The only thing she had wanted to do since she was small was research the world around her...but she could barely clean out a test tube.
One day, after stealing the newspaper sitting outside of her parents' house, she saw a notice: a island had been found and settled, and they were looking for more pioneers to expand their population! Anyone willing would be provided free (one-way) transportation to the island, given a 20,000 grant, and a guaranteed opportunity to buy their own plot of land.
Janice drifted off to sleep that night (on a park bench), dreaming of walking along her own private shoreline...
...looking at the local flora and fauna...
...and having her own small house.
Janice didn't require much...a place to eat and sleep. And she could bring along the few posessions she managed to grab from her parents' place.
The next morning, she went to the emigration office the island had setup in Sim City, using her last simoleans for cab fare. By that evening, she was on a plane soaring away to the nation of Destiny Island.
The jet landed in a settlement called Manhattenton, which Janice understood was to be her new home. At the airport, there was another office. In this office, she was shown the available plots. It didn't take her long to find her house. With her new deed in hand, and the simoleans left from her grant, she stared out the cab as she was taken to her new life...
It looked even BETTER than it had in her imagination!
It didn't take her long to decorate, and soon she was outside, exploring her heart out.
She brought her specimen inside and set it down--suddenly, there was a crash of thunder! ...and knocking?
A few of her neighbors had stopped by, including the official representative of the Manhattenton garden club.
Well, there's room for improvement here in your garden. Maybe add a little statue or a gazing ball?
...but there's not anything here but sand.
The view from her window was gorgeous, no doubt, and it was inspiring her to learn to paint... But it would take a lot of hard work and much more money than Janice had to get anything growing on her plot--it was essentially a giant sandbox.
After only a couple of days, Janice found herself smitten with one of her neighbors--Joel. What is it that you like about him?
He's so intelligent...he can just whip my behind at chess! No one at home could do that. And there's something about his chiseled jaw...
Yeah, I think more things on his face look chiseled than just his jaw. But let's not spoil Janice's happiness.
Janice learned that Joel's true passion was fighting crime--the growing population in Manhattenton meant that the once idyllic island paradise was in desperate need of a police force.
My mother often said that I was so hideous that I ought to be locked up!
That story still stung when she told it, but somehow when Joel laughed at it, Janice knew that he was laughing at her mother instead of her.
I can't believe someone as handsome as you could ever see anything in me!
Joel told her that she was beautiful; Janice realized that he probably hadn't had an eye exam since moving to the island. Or maybe he loved her for her brain--not everyone out there is shallow, right?
Not all of Janice's neighbors were nice and friendly. While she never had a problem with anyone, she often found them fighting with each other. She supposed any place that attracted misfits was likely to attract the problems that surrounded them.
One afternoon, Janice gathered up all her courage.
I'd love it if you could come over tomorrow night--I'll cook us a nice dinner.
Sounds perfect. I'll see you then.
She'd barely gotten over her excitement at his acceptance when the next surprise came--she felt his lips on hers! Janice Henson had gotten her first kiss, ever.
The dinner, however, was a disaster. Janice hadn't ever made anything more complicated than a sandwich or toaster pastry before!
Then the lady from the garden club invited herself over, blathering on and on about fountains! Janice could have cried.
...then Joel figured out a way to cheer her up a bit.
Janice's romance progressed quickly--perhaps a little too quickly--but her lonely heart soaked up all the affection it got.
Science jobs were few and far between in Manhattenton, and so Janice took another job to tide her over--she became an aide at the newly opened school.
Soon Joel stopped "coming over"--because he had moved in! He loved Janice's little home by the water, and he also loved her.
Janice performed well, even earning a promotion to substitute teacher, then one day, she saw it--an entry level science job that required no experience. She was on her way to fulfilling her dream.
But some days, it felt like she was moving in slow motion, and she was having trouble keeping food down. She didn't know what was wrong with her.
Soon enough, though, she understood. She was going to be a mother.
It's always been my dream to raise a family. There's only one step left to my dream--marrying you, Janice!
This was beyond her wildest dreams. Joel had seen an eye doctor and he did need glasses--but he still thought she was beautiful and he still loved her!
Joel planned the wedding quickly--he'd been on the island a few years, and knew several people. He invited his closest friends to celebrate the big day. Janice was only a little apprehensive that all of his friends were good looking women.
Okay, be honest with me. You look more than a little apprehensive.
It's just morning sickness, I swear! Besides, he knew all these women first but he still picked me--that has to count for something, right?
Janice did feel like the odd one out--she didn't know any of the popular island music, or the party dance that they all were doing. Why did she ever move here? Why did she ever go that far with Joel? Why did she say she would marry him? Why--
But then that moment came, and he only had eyes for her.
Do you take me as your husband?
I do!
WOOOOOO JOELFACE IS HITCHED!
And after the party was over, Joel took her to a quiet little hotel--Manhattenton's only hotel--for a brief honeymoon. She was so excited that she spent the limo trip in his lap.
Wedding bells done ringing, the day of the baby's arrival was going to be any day now.
Joel quit his convenience store job and got hired as a security guard. He was working out constantly to pass the physical regulations the village council had put in place for prospective police officers.
Well, you were made with love, and I promise to love you much more than my parents loved me, even if you are funny looking!
What are you going on about?
The baby's coming!
It was a girl, with all of Janice's coloring. Janice named her Skeeter and hoped very much that her daughter did not grow up to be as ugly as her.
Janice was very afraid that she would fail at parenting as much as her parents did. So much so that she was afraid to hold, feed, or even help with the diapering of her daughter.
Joel didn't mind doing most of the work--after all, this little family was his great dream (after fighting CRIME), right?
Janice headed back to work in great spirits only to have them crushed.
If my participating in a study ruins it, how will I ever be able to run my own?
Don't worry, baby. Joel reassured her that there would surely be another study soon enough, and once they realized how dedicated she was to the field--they'd just have to find some way to take her on, even if only as an assistant.
But Janice was beginning to feel that familiar fatigue and nausea again. It couldn't be! They had been so careful...
However, it soon became clear that Janice was eating for at least two. Between her and the growing baby, they were running out of groceries more than Joel would've thought possible--if he hadn't seen it himself.
He didn't mind going out to buy more food for his growing family, though.
...don't forget to get more ice cream!
Luckily, there were a few businesses in Manhattenton now. Gone where the days when everything had to be mail-ordered to the island, and one couldn't expect to have a meal that wasn't somehow made of fish and coconut.
Joel grabbed some more of the essentials--essentials for a pregnant Janice, anyway.
Ice cream, chicken, and enough ingredients for five pots of chili. I hope that gets us through the week.
(A couple more snapshots of the businesses on Cole's Corner--there's a game/movie shop, and a coffeeshop as well as a Kmarty type superstore that sells food, clothes, and other necessities.)
What's got Janice so cheerful this morning? It's raining again...and she loves rain. It's a good thing, too--there's no winter on the island, per se, but it's definitely got a rainy season.
Rainy days are perfect for sitting inside and doing the crossword!
Janice will ever be a nerd at heart.
Joel's new job had him working nights.
So Janice had to learn (finally) to take care of baby Skeeter.
This isn't as hard as I thought!
Surely someone as into science as you knows that animal mothers have instincts--that includes humans.
Soon enough, it was Skeeter's first birthday.
Though some of her milestones were definitely being overshadowed by the impending sibling in her future.
Janice was relieved to see that a great deal of Skeeter's features resembled Joel's.
Skeeter was bigger--and so were her lungs. Janice spent most of her days napping and eating, with hardly time left over for her little daughter.
So Skeeter amused herself.
And made sure that her mother could only catch a moment of sleep when baby was sleeping, too.
The new baby would be there any day.
Somehow Skeeter realized it and found quieter things to do.
Of course, Skeeter was getting closer to childhood, too.
(Dagmar, eat your heart out.)
Joel was promoted to the police force and, with his pay increase, they were able to expand the little beach house.
It was definitely not the little two room shanty of Janice's old dreams any more!
They had a real kitchen with room for the table and chairs.
They repainted the walls, bought a couch, and hauled Joel's big screen tv out of storage for their new living room.
The village was growing with their little beach house, and brought more and more interesting residents every day.
Joel found time to teach his daughter important skills, as her birthday came closer and closer.
This time, the new baby would not interrupt her birthday--because the new baby was coming first! Something about this bout of labor was different than last time, Janice could sense.
Another daughter with all of mommy's coloring, named Betty Lou.
I'm having another baby, Joel.
Yes, and she's beautiful.
No, I mean I'm having another baby!
It was yet another girl, Prairie Dawn, with skin like Joel's and eyes and hair like Janice's.
Somehow, even little Skeeter realized that from that moment on, life around the little beach house was going to be a lot different!
...she didn't like it.
Okay! Guess the theme and the name theme! How does the story-like way work? Does the neighborhood seem interesting? You can kinda tell that I've been adding hood deco and neighboring building as I go. The two nearby houses are really neat. I may use them for the legacy or for spares--we'll see.
I'm still playing the Delines...the Hensons were just added to the rotation!