So I'm really bad at responding to comments, which is why you're probably like "why is she bothering to respond after a month?!" but...I'm at work and I'm bored and trying to fill in time before I bail out of here early for the weekend! So you're getting responses to your comments, which are wonderful and I love getting them - keep them coming!! (please?!)

The Pleasantview series makes me so happy. Not sure why...but it does! I have some new twists that I just came up with that will keep the first generation characters in play a little bit longer, although not they aren't generally the main focus.

I've pretty much "wrapped up" Nina Caliente (if you haven't noticed) and you probably won't see any more chapters from the perspective of her sister Dina, Kaylynn Langerak, Jennifer Burb, or Cassandra and Darren Dreamer. I intend for their lives to be seen through the eyes of those related to them, so no fear...they're still there, just in the background.

Nina Caliente could not believe that she had been dumped. Usually she was the one doing the dumping, or at least she always made the outcome appear as if it had been her choosing to spurn her lovers. It was simply that Brandi had dumped her in public with her new boytoy John Burb on her arm! As if anything could be more insulting...

She dwelled over this idea for days, letting it sap her energy and drive her to do childish things such as stealing Brandi's newspapers and knocking over the trashcan in the middle of the night. Sure, it was spiteful, but Brandi had been kidding herself if she thought there was something better to be found in John Burb. Well...she'd show her. She'd prove that Nina really was what everyone needed in a person. She'd move on with dignity.


( Pleasantview Trauma: Chapter Sixteen )

There are two families in Pleasantview who have largely become unnoticed amid the extravagant drama taking place all over town, which is surprising considering the drama that was spawned from and around them. Despite it all, they managed to maintain normal, level-headed lives that did not threaten the very existence of their households.

One such a family was that of the Dreamers...Darren and his "new" bride Cassandra, to be precise. While Cassandra's first and doomed wedding may have catapulted a whole string of unfortunate events, her life had taken a much needed turn for the best since we last saw her: She married Darren and moved into his decent-sized, two-story home not far from her father's and from there on out they began to start a family of their own.

The other family was that of the Burbs, or at least...what was once the Burbs and was no longer. Jennifer had reverted back to her maiden name, although she had not enforced the decision on her eldest daughter Lucy, who had recently moved off to college, and her youngest daughter Lara. Jennifer wallowed for a bit, that is true, but she did not need to wallow for long once Scot, a like-minded individual with dreamy eyes and beautiful, brown hair, came along and swept her off her feet.


( Pleasantview Trauma: Chapter Fifteen )

As you can probably tell, the drama isn't as extreme as it probably was in the beginning...because things are coming more or less to a close for the first generation of Pleasantview. Of course, there's things to wrap up and that means I'll be starting to work with some of generation 2, but not so much at first. Eventually I will phase out generation 1 (all of the people you have come to know and love!) and focus on their offspring, many of who I have interesting plans for (of course!).

So bear with me as I bring you happy-endings (and some not-so-happy, as you'll see) and move you towards a whole new set of drama in Pleasantview!

The woman formerly known as Dina Caliente was on her third husband. First, there had been the aging Michael Bachelor, brother of the disappeared Bella Goth. The second man to enter her life was the incredibly rich Mortimer Goth, also elderly, with two children from his previous marriage. Daniel Pleasant was the third older man she married and he, like the others, had money to spare. Dina knew there was a very obvious pattern to her relations: old men without much longer to live in life and plenty of cash to take care of her extravagant spendings. Yes, she did know how obvious it all was, but she continued to deny it all not only to the public, but also to husband #3, who's attitude seemed much improved lately in regards to helping her around the house with the children. Perhaps less improved of Daniel's odd behavior was his sudden inclination towards grilled cheese. Honestly, if Dina had to look at, much less eat, another grilled cheese sandwich, she was going to turn her back on the money and simply walk out on the man...


( Pleasantview Trauma: Chapter Fourteen )

Brandi Caliente once Brandi Broke, was finally beginning to see a change for the better in her scrambled life; She was engaged to John Burb, a wonderful man with a tender affection for those he loved, her two oldest boys Dustin and Beau were doing well at school (recently, Dustin had even announced his engagement to his high school sweetheart Angela Pleasant), and her youngest children Jace, Bree, and Aaliyah were excelling despite the drama of their home lives.

Still, there were some open ends that had to be dealt with: Nina was constantly harassing them, determined to get revenge even though her own love for Brandi had considerably waned since their hasty marriage. Perhaps worst of all was the sudden, shattering news that Skip Broke, her first husband, had recently been seen…alive.


( Pleasantview Trauma: Chapter Thirteen )

Kaylynn Langerak, deprived of love for the years that she had been, was finally starting to feel confident about her life in many different aspects: she had two great kids, a job worth keeping, and a man who seemed to love her for exactly who she was. Neil was doing great with the girls, at least she thought so: Kayla and Kayley seemed more inclined to ignore him while Neil did his best to try and include them (at least when she was around). But Kaylynn wanted more than just a live in partner. She wanted more than a broken, incomplete family. She wanted a husband who would hold her every night, who would love her “’til death do them part”. Neil, she hoped, would be that man…


( Pleasantview Trauma: Chapter Twelve )

Without any new Pleasantview pictures uploaded and with a good deal of my Legacy pictures uploaded, I'm going to give you a peek at the Llewelyn Legacy, which is currently working on generation three! :) It starts out story-ish but quickly declines since I get bored with trying to make up stories for my legacy families lol Sorry!


Generation 1.0!

( Generation 1.0 )

If there is one event that stands out in the minds of the Broke family, it is the death of Skip, the former husband of Brandi Burb, and father of Dustin, Beau, and Jace. It was a tragedy, they all said…he had died in a swimming pool accident, although, strangely enough, the morticians refused to all the family to see his body. It was horrible that someone could die so young, leaving behind a wife with no income, a troublesome son, and a small toddler. Who would care for them? Who would pay the bills?

But what if it wasn’t a tragedy? What if Skip Broke, a man with romance on the brain, got tired of having a wife and kids? What if Skip Broke never encountered an accident in a swimming pool?


( Pleasantview Trauma: Chapter Eleven )

Finally got the next installment of Pleasantview Trauma up and running! It's not my favorite chapter ever (I realize that the pictures are a little dark and I could have included much better pictures overall), but I have plans for Alexander and his little family :) (especially with my recent purchase of Open for Business!!).

Yes, the Mac edition of Open for Business JUST came out and I'm just beginning to feel my way around it with a new family. I have some storylines already in motion for Dina and her husband and I have in my mind another storyline for the Goths (Alex & Sam)...but first I need to get through the storylines dating all the way back to May!!

Chapter 11 of the Pleasantview Trauma will focus on the Broke family and I was really excited about the storyline when I thought it up, but I don't know if it turned out all that exciting in the end... Hopefully I'll have that up soon!!

Alexander, ever since he could remember, had always pursued knowledge. As a toddler, he toiled over his puzzle box, matching the oddly-shaped blocks with the holes cut into the box. As a child, while most children were out playing in the sun, Alexander remained indoors, sitting upright in one of his father's massive armchairs and reading up on the mysteries of the world. As a teen, he had desperately desired to go to college. It had always seemed like the next logical step in his life: go to college, earn a degree, and then pursue a career in some sort of science. He had never second-guessed what he wanted to do with his life, not until he got to college and received a call from his father's new wife Dina. His father was dead, his estates left to Alexander. Alexander was needed home.

After that, everything was one big question. He had been forced to drop-out of college and move back home, afraid that if he left Dina and her two children there that Dina would take control of the place and claim it for herself. He didn't know what to do with himself. With a semester and a half of college under his belt, he didn't have enough college experience to land the sort of job that he wanted (a position in the Natural Science career). Not to mention, he was so lonely now. Very lonely. Dina had taken her children and moved in with her new husband Daniel Pleasant--the woman moved quickly. His sister had married Darren Dreamer and now had two children of her own, Delilah and Damien. She was consumed with her new life, caring for her children and her husband, with little thought for what was going on outside of it. She mourned the loss of her father, of course, but she had other things to think about. Alexander only had the house, large and empty with its ghosts, and the knowledge that he had no one...not like the rest of his family did.

So what does a man do when all he envisioned is taken from him?


( Pleasantview Trauma: Chapter Ten )

Brandi Broke-Caliente loved Nina, or so she thought…so she hoped. Lately she seemed more inclined to trying to convince herself that what she felt was love, but it felt incomplete, unhealthy and…lacking. What she had felt for Skip, the husband she had loved so much and lost, had been entirely different. He had made her giddy and happy, excited with life and thrilled to face the troubles ahead. Yes, they had fought and had their troubles – what couple doesn’t? – but ultimately they had loved one another and so Brandi knew love. And this…Brandi wasn’t sure it really was what she had thought. Nina had been her best friend, a companion to fight against the loneliness and the heart-ache. Maybe she had only confused a close friendship for love after all.


( Pleasantview Trauma: Chapter Nine )

Since she was a little girl, Kaylynn Langerak had always had this image of what a perfect life looked like: a man who loved you and wished to marry you; a marriage filled with respect, adoration, and many, many children. She had always believed she would have these things - all of these things - and did not imagine they would be hard to come by. When she met Daniel Pleasant she really thought that this image, this dream, would become reality. She could not begin to explain to people how many times he had whispered that he loved her, that he would set aside his wife and marry her. Of course she believed him...why shouldn't she? He loved her, not Mary-Sue...that much she could see as she tended to his home during the day.

When Mary-Sue caught them in bed together, Kaylynn was elated...overjoyed with the knowledge that the marriage was done with and now she and Daniel could finally be together. She moved in, watched over his kids...and found out shortly after that she was now pregnant with his child. Her dream was finally coming into full fruitation...if only she would have known that he was a viper, a liar, and a man given to habitual cheating. She should have known from the start that he could not provide for him the life she desperately wanted.


( Pleasantview Trauma: Chapter Eight )

Daniel Pleasant could not have made a better match than Dina Caliente-Goth, now Dina Pleasant. She was a good wife, understanding of a man's needs, and kept her children out of his way when she knew he was apt to be irritated by them. She understood, also, that he was not a man bred for captivity and seemed to shrug it off when he mentioned his previous affair with his former maid Kaylynn Langerak. "That's the past, now isn't it?" she'd said to him, her brows arched high and her lips tight. But she didn't reprimand him and she didn't demand he keep it in his pants. Perfect, she was. Absolutely perfect. What man could ask for more?

Yet Daniel had a few reservations about the marriage. He had thought that Mary-Sue would be a good match, too...yet that failed, child-thirsty and attention-demanding as she turned out to be. But Daniel did not see that in Dina, not yet. There was some promise there, some hope that she would remain as forgiving and open-minded as she was. So why was it that Daniel was starting to feel like he should be the better man?


( Pleasantview Trauma: Chapter Seven )

Brandi Broke had been through a good many things during her lifetime, but none compared to the slew of events over the past few years. For one, her husband Skip had been declared dead. Apparently he had drowned, although Brandi had been positive that he had been an excellent swimmer. Whatever had happened, she was left with two sons to raise and no job of her own. The Brokes were...broke, to say the least, and without Skip's steady income to keep them from floundering, Brandi knew their future was questionable.

With no father figure to guide him, Dustin's behavior became rebellious. He was always out late and often was brought home by the police. Somehow, however, Dustin managed to get a scholarship and he shipped off to college after his high school sweetheart Angela. Young love...Brandi remembered it...and missed it dearly.

Not long after Dustin left, Brandi found herself in some trouble: Beau was but a little toddler and here she was...pregnant again and with no one old enough to maintain a job except herself. Things were looking bleak for Brandi...is it really any wonder that she sought solace in the arms of a woman who proved herself a friend when everyone else seemed to have abandoned her?


( Pleasantview Trauma: Chapter 6 )

Long time no update...it figures!!

I've been very busy lately...doing the graduating thing, then starting my internship and now finally landing a job. I have a nice, long weekend ahead of me, though, and I plan on popping up the next few chapters of the Pleasantview Trauma (which is all played-out...it just needs to be dumped into story-format :) ). I've also been working on a new legacy (The Llewelyn family), which is currently towards the end of Generation 1/beginning of Generation 2. Maybe one day I'll post an update of my Rights of Women challenge, which has fallen by the way-side forever and a day ago.

Anyway...just wanted to say hello and that I do plan on updating sometime soon :) Hope everything is well with you all!

With Mortimer dead and gone, Dina found herself increasingly lonely in the huge household she had once shared with him. Alexander was there, yes, but he was a quiet sort of man, given to few moments of talk. When he did talk, he spoke to the children and ignored Dina as if she were solely to blame for his father's death. But there had been nothing suspicious about Mortimer's death. He had simply been an old man encountered death at the end of his many years. Still, it became hard to function in his presence for this is only so long that a person can endure being blamed for any one thing, whether it be death or heartache.


( Pleasantview Trauma: Chapter Five )

Dina had always had an eye for older men. Ever since she was a young girl, she yearned for the days when she could be all grown up and nestled against a man just as big and strong as her father. Compared to him, teenage boys seemed weak with their squeaky voices and pimply faces. She wanted something more. Someone more mature. Someone who didn't have acne. More importantly, that someone had to have the money to support her - and that was the largest distinction, for Dina Caliente, between boys and men.


( Pleasantview Trauma: Chapter Three )

With Dina moved out of the house, Nina was left alone and the cozy, two-level home that she used to share with her once bereaved sister. The home, although new, was prone to creaking floorboards and sometimes the wind crept through cracks in the walls and whistled perhaps just a little too loudly. If Nina didn't know better, she would have sworn the house was haunted - everything was just that chilled and creepy. But Nina had ways of dealing with loneliness. Her sister didn't necessarily approve (not that Nina necessarily approved of her sister's thirst for money), but Nina knew no other way to get the attention she needed, even if it meant seeking company with those she should otherwise avoid.


( Pleasantville Trauma: Chapter Two )