simthorium

[simthorium]

The Pleasantview Panther's championship win had every teen in generation 8 on cloud 9. It was such a fitting end to the year, and made everyone feel so awesome. As the school year came to a close, the teens decided the best way to celebrate had to be an awesome dance party on the beach.

"I never thought of you as a football guy, babe," Sadé said to Li as they danced together. "Why, cus I'm Asian?" Li asked. "No, because you're a little bit of a dweeb," she laughed. "Didn't you ever watch High School Musical? I can be a dweeb and a football guy, you know." "Gosh, you're so wise," Sadé said.

Taylor was trying to enjoy herself, dancing and partying with her cousins and classmates, but she couldn't help but feel left out again. Just about all of her cousins were dating and it often felt weird to be around them, like she was third wheeling. Even at a party with her entire class, she couldn't help but feel out of place.

"Nope, we're not doing that," Alana said, sidling up to Taylor with a very impressive shimmy. "Doing what?" Taylor asked. "Feeling sorry for ourselves because we're single," Gavin called from behind her. "Yeah, this is a party for all of us, losers included," said Alana. "I'm literally a winner," Gavin said. "I threw the winning touchdown!" "Yeah, yeah, you know what I mean," Alana laughed. Taylor laughed along with her, and joined her cousins in dancing, abandoning the small pity party she'd just thrown for herself.

"I'm thinking of going pro, you know," Kyo said as he danced with Harmony. "Nothing wrong with trying, sweetie," Harmony said. "What, you don't think I can?" he asked. "I literally know nothing about football, you're asking the wrong girl," she said.

"Ready for college?" Alana asked as she and Taylor took a moment to get some drinks from the juice bar. "I don't know, maybe," Taylor muttered. "I'm glad we have a nice long summer to get used to how much everything's about to change." "Yeah, me too," said Alana. "I bet it'll be cooler than this at least." "It better be," Taylor said.

Jason tucked a strand of hair behind Marsha's ear as they danced.. "You're such a romantic, you know," she giggled. "I can't help it," he said. "I have the cutest girlfriend in the world." "You sure you gonna be feeling that way when you're a big football star in college," said Marsha. "First of all 'football star' isn't even a real term," Jason laughed. "And second, hell yeah! I'm in this for the long haul, babe." "Me too," Marsha said, pressing into him for a kiss. The teens danced the night away, spending their time moving and enjoying the music and each other's company.

[simthorium]

It was a warm spring afternoon and the stands were full at Pleasantview High for their first game against Summit Crest High, mostly full of Zarro relatives and friends.

"Don't you think it's a little weird that the boys did basketball together and now they're all doing football together?" asked Taylor. "Yeah, they all follow Jason around like a puppy," Sadé said. "No they don't, you guys are just being bullies," said Amber. "Kyo looks so good in uniform," Harmony said with a sigh. "This is so boring, anyone want some nachos?" Alana asked.

On the field, the Pleasantview Panthers were psyching each other up for the game. Jason was the quarterback, and he made sure his team did a short meditation before heading out to the game, getting everyone on the same page. "Ok men, let's do this!" he shouted.

Gavin snapped the ball back to Jason and the play was live! The Summit Crest Stallions raced upfield, but the Panthers were heavy on the attack. Jason threw the ball to Li, who ran 20 yards before being tackled.

"Hut hut!" Jason said at the next play. Gavin tossed the ball to him and he sprinted down the field as fast as he could. They worked all together as one, teammates tackling Stallions that were vying for Jason as he made his way down the field.

The game was close! The two teams were very evenly matched, and the stands went crazy with every first down and interception. Right before the first quarter finished, Li made his very first touchdown, garnering screams (mostly from Sadé) from the crowd.

Being in the lead gave the Panthers renewed hope and they jumped back into the game with more energy than before. Their passes were cleaner, their runs tighter. The guys were working like a well-oiled machine.

It seemed like the Stallions weren't through just yet, though. The next two quarters came and went, with both teams scoring touchdowns after the other. It was the fourth quarter, with less than a minute to go and the game was tied up, with the Panthers having control of the ball. Jason huddled up with his team and the guys all said a silent prayer before their last play. Gavin snapped the ball to Jason faster than ever before and Jason ran like his life depended on it.

Stallions got closer and closer, chasing Jason down, but the Panthers were on the defense. Marc and Gavin both slammed into their opponents, just barely making enough space for Jason to drive the winning touchdown!

"HELL YEAH!" Jason screamed, throwing the ball down into the endzone. "WE DID IT! WE WON!" "That was awesome!" Gavin screamed, jumping up and down. The Stallion players shook their head, some kicking their helmets to the ground in defeat. But it didn't matter, because the Pleasantview Panthers had won!

The guys headed over to the stands to great their loved ones and celebrate. "You did so good, Gavin!" Lily said, bouncing up and down. "You really crushed that guy at the end!" "I did, didn't I!" Gavin said, hugging his little sister. "You see that last play?" Kyo said, stroking Harmony's cheek. "Yeah, it was extremely hot," she said, kissing the top of his helmet.

Beside them, Sadé whipped Li's helmet off and pulled him into a deep kiss. "You killed that, baby!" she squealed. "As long as you keep kissing me like this, I will keep on killing it," Li said with a laugh. Marc sidled up to Amber and wrapped his arms around her. "It was really cool watching you play," Amber said. "You were amazing!" "Just showing off for my girl, you know," Marc said with a smile.

Jason threw his helmet off somewhere on the field and rushed to the sidelines, looking for one person only. His face split into a huge smile when he saw Marsha, and the two ran toward one another. Jason grabbed her and kissed her hard, feeling so many emotions and so much excitement he couldn't contain it. "That was so--" "I love you," Jason blurted. Marsha laughed and kissed him again. "I love you too, quarterback," she said.

[simthorium]

Elementary school wasn't too bad, especially because the school had a super cool playground that the kids got to play on when school was over! Jamie was mesmerized by the giant slide while Lauren tried her hardest to make it across the monkey bars in one go.

Aspen was more into climbing the big play structure, and hopped up way to the top with a new friend he made in class. "I can see everything from here!" he shouted, looking out into the distance. Just then, he saw two small dots, one green and one blue, and he knew what that meant.

Aspen took a big sigh as he slide down the pole to the bottom of the structure, just as his older brothers rounded the corner and hopped over the fence into the playground. "You're supposed to use the gate," Aspen told them. "And you're supposed to not be such a dweeb," said Leo. He and Rory huddled together, whispering for a few seconds. Aspen steeled himself; whatever they were discussing wouldn't be good for him.

"Eat dirt!" Leo shouted, throwing a handful of dust right at Aspen's face. The boys cackled as Aspen coughed on the dirt. "What's wrong with you guys!?"

"What's wrong with us is we have a dorky little brother we're supposed to take care of," Rory laughed. "Taking care of me by throwing stuff at me and being mean?" Aspen asked, dodging the next dirt throw. "Yeah, pretty much!" said Leo.

"I'm outta here!" Aspen pushed Leo so hard he fell to the ground and ran as fast as he could to the other side of the playground. "Get back here, you weenie!" Rory yelled. "You're gonna pay for that, twerp!" shouted Leo.

Leo finally caught up with his younger brother and shoved him hard to the ground. "How do you like being pushed to the ground, huh!?" Leo said. "Stop it!" Aspen shouted. "Leave me alone!" "Dad told us to come get you after school, but you're on your own, jerk," Leo said. "Have fun walking home." With that, Leo and Rory turned and left, leaving Aspen alone.

"Wow, you weren't kidding when you said your brothers suck," said Lauren, tucked away against the side of the building. "Yeah," Aspen said, panting. "They're the worst." "Mine are still in diapers so at least they can't be mean to me." "At least you're the older one," said Aspen. "Though I guess it's still two against one."

"You could get a ride home with me, if you want," Lauren said. "My mom is gonna come pick me up after work." "I think I'll just walk after I catch my breath," Aspen said. "Come on, dude, it'll be fine," said Lauren. "Plus, I bet your brothers will be in big trouble when they get home without you." "You think so?" Aspen asked. "I know so," said Lauren.

[simthorium]

In between classes, the kids hung out in the hallways. Celeste was busy playing her handheld while Three and Parker chatted about their new favorite anime. Local troublemaking twins Leo and Rory, however, stood in the center, gossiping about their fellow students.

"No way dude, Giant Panda is for babies!" Three exclaimed. "Is not!" said Parker. "It's got well-written characters and is incredibly heartfelt and touching." "You gotta watch Death Rush Supreme, it's badass," said Three. "Mom said not to say 'badass'," Celeste said. "You just said it!" Three said.

"Look at those dweebs over there," Leo said as he chuckled with his brother. "Crazy they even let aliens go to this school." "One with green skin, another with black eyes," said Rory. "What's next, five heads?" "Well Three over there's already got a five-head," Leo laughed. "Maybe they should change his name from Three to Five!" "Cut it out already!" Celeste called from behind them. "Everyone knows you guys just call each other names and say mean stuff because you're dumb babies who crave attention.

"Puh-lease!" Rory said. "Would a dumb baby be able to do this?" He squared up with his brother, and punched him right in the arm. "Yeah, no way a baby could take a punch that hard," said Leo. "Sure showed her."

"Hey, thanks for standing up for me in class, Celeste," Ziggy said quietly as she put her game in her backpack. "No problem," she said. "Those guys are idiots, everyone knows it." "Sucks you have to be related to them," said Ziggy. "You're telling me," Celeste said. "Luckily I know their parents, so I'll just tell on them if they get too crazy."

"You're a really good friend," Ziggy said with a smile. "And, I mean, we're in this together, you know? It's not very easy being part alien." "Yeah, it can be tough," said Celeste. "We should stick together, you know?" Ziggy said. "Maybe we should hang out more. We could try being boyfriend and girlfriend. It makes sense, since we're both aliens!" Ziggy went in for a hug, but Celeste gently pushed him back.

"Um, you know, I think I just like you as a friend, Ziggy," she said with a small smile. "We can totally stick together, though. As friends." Ziggy hung his head and Celeste could've sworn she saw tears prick at the side of his dark eyes. "Friendzoooooooned!" Leo shouted from behind them. "Ugh, you're always too loud, dude!" Rory shouted back. "We should get to next period," Celeste said.

[simthorium]

"Good morning class, and welcome to the first day of school at Meadowbrook Elementary! I'm Miss Williams, and I'm so happy to be teaching so many bright faces this morning." The elementary students stirred in their seats, excited for school to start. "How about we start the day by getting to know one another? We can go around and say what we did this summer, or fun facts. Up to you."

"I'm Aspen, and I went bowling with my dad this summer for my birthday," Aspen said, a bit shy. "I'm Lauren!" Lauren exclaimed. "I mostly hung out with my stinky little brothers. They're still babies, so they're in diapers."

"I'm Jamie, and a fun fact about me is that I once ate a whole jar of pickles in one sitting. My brother dared me to do it."

"I have a brother who tells me to do dumb stuff too," Lily said next. "Brothers are so weird," said Jamie. "Preach!" Lauren called from the back. "You can say that again," Aspen chimed in.

Nearby at Bella Bay Junior High School, the older kids in generation 8 were much more used to being in class. Leo turned around to his half-alien classmate Ziggy. "How can you even see if your eyes are all black?" Leo said under his breath. "I see just fine," Ziggy muttered.

"Stop being such a bully, Leo," Parker called. "Yeah, it's not a good look," said Three. "Don't tell my brother what to do," Rory said, crossing his arms. "Maybe you should tell him to be nicer," Parker said.

"I don't need a bunch of losers telling me what to do," said Leo. "You guys are gonna get us in trouble," Celeste muttered from the front. "Good, they should be in trouble," said Parker. "You can't be alien-ist to Ziggy when your own cousin is half-alien, idiot." "Please, I bet we're not even related," Leo said.

"Alright, alright, settle down," their science teacher said from the front of the room. "We've got a rambunctious group this year, huh? Let me see this roll. Hmm. Great, a bunch of Zarro kids. It never ends."

[simthorium]

Shea and Zaire were enjoying the sunshine, laid out in their giant backyard in their respective swimsuits as their twins Sequoia and Zion played with their toys in the back.

"Hey fam!" Jordyn called, rounding the corner with Kiara in tow and Wyatt behind her. "Thanks for inviting us." "We really needed a pool day," said Wyatt. "Little miss over here has been so cranky lately." "Toss her over there with the other cranky pants," Shea said. "It's time for the adults to unwind."

Zion, Sequoia, and Kiara gathered up on the activity table and all fell into a nice rhythm, coloring, playing with blocks, and occasionally causing a small bit of mayhem.

Wyatt pulled up another pair of recliners for him and his wife and the two joined them in a nice sunbathing session. "I'm starting to think we need a backyard," Wyatt said with a sigh. "I could really get used to this." "Have you seen house prices in Bluewater, babe?" said Jordyn. "Unless we move out into the boonies, it ain't happening." "Hey!" Shea called. "West Valley is not the boonies. It only takes 30 minutes to drive to the nearest grocery store out here."

As the sun started to set, Shea did what she did best and whipped up a delicious dinner on the grill. "Where did you learn to throw down like this?" Wyatt asked. "My grandmother was a chef," said Shea. "Owned a couple restaurants around town. She taught me everything I know." "We went to Midtown Grill on our first date, you know," said Jordyn. "Wait, yeah, we did!" said Wyatt. "Your grandma was Marley Zarro?" "The one and only," Shea said, smiling.

"She's even started making her own gourmet baby food," Zaire called from the row of high chairs as she struggled to get Sequoia in hers. "Shea's always had that entrepreneur spirit."

"Maybe we can go halfsies on the fancy baby food," Wyatt said, plucking Kiara from her chair for a little tickle when she was finished eating. "We could split the revenue and buy a house out here." "You'd also need to become a world-class movie star to get close to Shea's net worth, baby."

"This has been such a bizarre conversation to be a part of," Shea said. "Happy to be of service, cuz," Jordyn said with a laugh.

After dinner was over, the grown ups scooped up their kids and started getting ready to go. "We should have you guys over soon," said Wyatt. "I'm down, I love Bluewater," said Shea. "Maybe we could do a fishing trip. I need to stock up on some trout." "You're becoming such an old man, sweetheart," Zaire laughed. The group exchanged hugs and goodbyes, and with that, Jordyn and Wyatt left with Kiara.

"I put the kids down for bed," Shea said, wrapping her arms around Zaire. "Fancy that, I just finished cleaning up out here," she said. "We are such efficient and professional adults," said Shea, dipping her wife into a kiss.

[simthorium]

After a few weeks of busking in the plaza, Ollie met a girl named Fran. She was pretty cute, often joining him on her guitar as the two played together. "You sure it's cool if I move in with you?" Fran asked, bringing one tiny suitcase to his place. "Yeah, for sure," Ollie said. "I mean, this place is a dump, but it's open if you need a place to stay."

"Nice boxers," Fran said, drinking a beer on the couch as Ollie came downstairs. He looked down at himself and his face went beet red. "Oh shit!" he said. "Don't sweat it," said Fran, taking a swig. "It's your place, you should be comfortable." "Feel free to get comfortable here too," Ollie said, turning on the tv. "Are you inviting me to change into my underwear?" Fran asked. "Uhhhhh," said Ollie, not sure where to go from here. "Maybe I should get a beer, too."

One beer turned into two, turned into three, and maybe a few more, but Ollie lost count. He and Fran began making out on the sofa and it didn't take long until they were woohooing upstairs in his bed. Ollie's face softened as he looked at Fran when it was over. Was this the life, the fate, he was building for himself. He tried not to think about it too hard or make it weird. And he thought perhaps he was staring a bit too hard because Fran turned over and fell asleep almost instantly. Ollie took a deep breath and reminded himself to play it cool before he fell asleep too.

"I had fun last night," Ollie said the next morning. He raised a hand to stroke Fran's face, but she quickly swatted him away. "Oh, sorry," she muttered. "I thought we were just hooking up, you know? I'm not trying to get into a relationship or anything." "Oh, ok, yeah," Ollie muttered. "Uh, well, yeah, me either." "Cool." "Yeah, cool."

After work, Ollie sat down across from Fran as she ate some burnt ramen. He was trying to be cool, but it just was not working. "Would you wanna go see a movie later? The theater down the block does $3 tickets after 11, so I thought maybe we could--" "Ollie," Fran muttered. "I thought I made it clear I don't wanna go out with you." "I didn't mean as a date!" he said. "Just, you know, casually." Fran sighed and slurped the rest of her gross ramen noodles.

"I don't think me staying here is gonna work out," she said. "I'm gonna go get my things." "Wait, what?" Ollie asked. "Don't leave, you've only been here like two days. Where are you gonna go?" "I got some friends uptown I can crash with," she said. "It's been real."

It didn't take Fran too long to pack, considering she'd only brough a small suitcase. Ollie waved sheepishly as she left, feeling a bit dejected as he watched her walk away.

[simthorium]

Ollie woke up super hungover the next day, having fallen asleep in his clothes on the couch. He wasn't sure what time Luna had left, but her words had been rattling around in his head for a while. He was the master of his own fate, and if he wanted a different life, all he had to do was go get it. Right after he took some tylenol.

Ollie spent the rest of the day painting. It was one of his favorite activities and really helped soothe his mind as he thought about his plan for his life. After a while, he opened up his phone and applied to a bunch of random jobs on SimDeed.

"I look ridiculous," Ollie muttered to himself as he walked out of his apartment dressed as a clown. Maybe the entertainment world wasn't for him. He'd had moderate success in a band with his cousins, and made decent money selling his paintings, so the creativity was there. But he needed something different.

After a pretty embarrassing gig working for some rich kid's birthday, Ollie headed to the Midtown Plaza to busk. He picked up a violin and set out a jar for tips, then played his heart out.

It didn't take long for a small crowd to form around him, with people clapping and recording him. It felt good to do something creative after a day full of getting bullied by kids. And it felt even better to watch people pour their hard earned simoleons into his tip jar.

After an hour of work, Ollie put the violin down and picked up the jar. To his surprise, he'd earned $350 dollars just for one night of work. Things definitely seemed to be looking up.

[simthorium]

Ollie had gotten so used to his little life in Midtown. Living in the co-op was super cool; he was close to his favorite shops and restaurants, and could hang out as late as he wanted.

Which often meant running into vampires, including ones he was related to. "BLEHHHHHH!" Luna shouted, scaring the daylights out of Ollie. "Jeez, dude!" Ollie yelled, clutching his chest. "Think you gave me a heart attack." "Sorry," Luna laughed, which made it seem like she was not sorry. "I can't help it! It must be vampire hormones." "You're gonna kill someone, you know?" "Yeah, probably," Luna said with a shrug. "Up for a drink?"

Luna and Ollie headed to a nearby diner and plopped onto the bar stools. "So," Luna said after they ordered some drinks. "You're up late." "So are you," Ollie said. "Yeah, I'm a vampire, remember?"

"Right," Ollie said, taking a bite out of his hotdog. "How's that going, by the way? Doesn't it ever get, I don't know, lonely?" Luna shrugged. "No lonelier than normal, I guess," she said. "What does that mean?" Ollie asked. "C'mon man, it's practically the two of us left that don't have families of our own," Luna said. "All the other cousins are married or in serious relationships, or have kids. Then there's us, eating hotdogs in shitty dive bars at 2 am." "The food here is really good, actually," said Ollie. "Spoken like a true loner," said Luna.

After a quick bite, the two headed back up to Ollie's place to hang on his balcony. "I only drink blood," Luna said, outstretched on his patio chair. "Ha ha, very funny," he said dryly. "We're not loners, by the way. Just because we don't have kids or spouses. Doesn't mean we're like some weird social outcasts."

"Who're you telling?" Luna asked, getting up to get some wine. "I'm literally a vampire, Ollie. That's pretty much the definition of social outcast." "Yeah, but you wanted to become one, right?" he asked. "Can't you get a reversal potion or something?" "And go back to my old life?" Luna said. "No thanks." She cranked up the radio and Ollie spun around and did a sick jump. "This is my jam!" he shouted. "No wonder you don't have a wife," Luna laughed.

"Ok, cards on the table," Ollie said, sipping his drink. "If you're so concerned about being a outcast, or a loner, or whatever, why are you still doing life this way?" Luna thought about the question and took a drink of her own. "Being an outcast is fun," she said with a shrug. "Even before, I was going out to clubs and spending the day sleeping anyway. I didn't mean it as a dig. I'm happy with myself, just the way I am. I know this family is big on having babies and getting married, but that's not what I want. I like my life, and the way it is." "I wish I felt the same," Ollie said with a sigh.

"You're the master of your own fate, bub," Luna said. "If you want a family or a wife or whatever, go out there and get it." "Easier said than done," said Ollie. "I got a couple vampire countesses I can hook you up with if you want," she said. "I'm good."

[simthorium]

Having a toddler was a huge adjustment for Nick. When he and his first wife had Gavin, she'd done a lot of the work raising their son. But being with Coriana was a completely different dynamic, and he was often left alone with Lily. He wasn't used to being in charge of a tiny baby all the time.

And with the commotion of everything, he did often...forget things.

Gavin hopped off the bus into the pouring rain. He didn't even bother unfolding his report card; he knew it wasn't anything good. A loud shriek forced his attention right ahead.

"What the hell!?" Gavin tossed his homework to the side and rushed over to see his little sister splashing in a big puddle on the sidewalk. Lily looked up at him and giggled. "Gavvy Gavvy!" she shouted.

"Hey, kid," he said, scooping her up. "What are you doing out here all by yourself in the rain?"

Gavin picked up his baby sister and checked her over, making sure she was ok. Apart from being soaking wet, she seemed fine. Gavin kissed her wet forehead and brought her inside.

"Dad, what the hell!?" Gavin said, walking in on his dad mindlessly wandering around on the phone. "Can you give me a minute, Gav?" Nick asked. "Your baby daughter was outside in the rain and you didn't even realize!" Gavin said. "Maybe spend less time on the phone and more time paying attention to your kid!" Nick rolled his eyes and headed upstairs. Gavin took Lily to the bathroom to give her a bath.

"I don't know what's going on with him!" Gavin said to Coriana later that evening when she got home from work. "I mean, he's always been irresponsible, but what if Lily wandered off? What if someone kidnapped her! He just left her outside all alone." "I'll handle it," Coriana said, fuming on the inside.

Before shit went down, the family gathered around the birthday cake. Gavin held Lily and didn't even look at his father, focusing more on his baby sister as he held her close to the candles to blow them out.

Lily grew up into an adorable child, looking even more like her mom. She wore a dragon outfit that was absolutely adorable. "Look, Lily!" Nick said, pointing to his own sweatshirt. "We're matching!" "Maybe focus less on fashion and more on being a father," Gavin muttered.

"Why are you so mad at dad?" Lily asked her big brother after scarfing down her second slice of cake. "It's big kid stuff, don't worry about it," said Gavin. "But I am a big kid!" Lily said. Gavin smiled and placed a dollop of icing on his little sister's nose. "Hey!"

[simthorium]

Harmony couldn't be happier that her younger brother was growing up. She loved him, sure, but she never wanted to change another dirty diaper again. The family stood out in their gorgeous backyard in West Valley and all began to sing Happy Birthday.

Kauker dipped his son closer to the cake so they could blow out the candles. "Ewwww, dont' let him do it, he'll get drool all over it!" Harmony said. "Let him have his moment," Debbie said with a laugh. "Fine, but I'm not eating drool cake."

With that, Hendrix grew up into a super cute child! He jumped up and down, then ran around to hug his family, and finally took a slice of his drool cake. Harmony looked around, happy to see everyone was so distracted, before she slipped back in the house.

"Hey gorgeous," Kyo said, scooping her up into a hug as he rounded the corner. "Hi," she said, unable to conceal her smile. "We gotta go now, they're all distracted with Hendrix's birthday stuff." "You sure you wanna leave?" he asked. "Definitely. It was fun, but I'd rather hang out with you," she said.

[simthorium]

The next day, Aspen's older half brothers Leo and Rory came over to spend the night. Aspen was glad to finally be as big as them, in hopes they'd stop picking on him so much. "Hey snot-nose," Leo cackled. "What's up booger-breath?" Rory added. "Boys, be nice to your brother," Noah said, already sounding exhausted.

"These burgers are really good, dad," Aspen said as the kids sat down to lunch. "You like em so much, you should have some more!" Rory shouted, tossing a handful of his food at his younger brother. "Hey!" Aspen shouted, brushing lettuce and tomato from his hair.

"You know what they say, you are what you eat!" Rory said, pointing and laughing as Leo joined in. Aspen wiped himself clean and looked up at his dad, who was chuckling a little bit. "Hey guys, come on," Noah said, now trying to hide his smile. "Not cool." "Whatever," Aspen said, getting up and heading to his room.

Which was hardly even his room. It was tiny, and a fourth of the bedroom was taken up by Leo and Rory's bunkbeds, which didn't even feel fair because they didn't live here half the time. Aspen sat on top of his bed and pulled out his journal.

He spent an hour or so writing out all his feelings. He wrote about how sad he was that he didn't know when the next time was that he'd see his mom, and how angry his older brothers made him. And even how angry his dad made him sometimes too, leaving him to talk to girls and taking the twins side when they were mean. Sometimes Aspen felt like all he had was himself.

"Turn the light off, dude," Leo mumbled, half asleep. "Yeah, stop being such a jerk," Rory joined in.

Aspen said nothing, just slipped under his covers and waited as long as he could to shut off his light.

[simthorium]

"See, I told you we'd have a fun day together," Noah said as he and Aspen played pinball at the arcade. It was a few days after his birthday, and Noah finally had a day off work. "You're right dad, this is awesome!" said Aspen. "We should come here more often."

"Oh hell yeah, we totally should," Noah mumbled as a cute girl walked by, catching his eye. "Dad," Aspen muttered.

"Huh?" Noah said, focusing back on his son. "You're drooling," Aspen said. "What? No I'm not," Noah said. The pinball in his game sunk to the bottom, ending his game. "Damn, looks like I lost. Here, I got a few more quarters, you finish your game. I'll be right back." Aspen rolled his eyes and focused back on his game.

"That your son," the cute girl said when Noah approached her. "Such a cutie, right?" Noah said with a grin, stretching out his hand to shake hers. "I'm Noah. "And I'm a bit underwhelmed that you'd abandon your son to come talk to a stranger," she said, shaking his. "Good luck, Noah." "Rough, dad," Aspen said, laughing from his pinball machine.

Next the boys headed over to the bowling alley. Noah was fully locked in, hitting strike after strike.

Aspen, who had just barely grown into his new child-arms, did a terrible job, busting his ass on every throw.

"I never wanna go bowling again," Aspen muttered as they got some snacks from the vending machine. "You'll get better, I promise little dude," said Noah. "You just gotta practice more. Maybe we can start going to the gym and buffing you up." "I'm literally a child, dad," said Aspen.

"Oh yeah." The two sat down and enjoyed their chips and soda.

[simthorium]

Noah hugged Aspen tight as he and Cassidy sung happy birthday over the cake.

Aspen grew into such a cute little boy! He smiled at his super long arms and legs and jumped up in the air. "I can't wait to eat every single food now!" he shouted.

"Happy birthday, baby," Cassidy said, bending down to hug her son. "I'm so glad I got to see you." "I'm glad I got to see you too, mom," said Aspen. "Do you think you can come visit me more now that I'm big? Maybe I can even stay with you sometimes, too!" "I don't think so, darling," Cassidy said. "Mommy's moving pretty far away, so it'll be best if you stay here with dad." "Moving?" Noah asked.

"Yeah, didn't I tell you? Robert got a job in Kaltumbra. We're moving next week," Cassidy said flippantly. "What!?" Noah exclaimed. "You didn't tell me that, Cassidy. You're just gonna up and leave to another country next week!?" Aspen sighed and sat down to eat his cake. It was par for the course to watch his parents fight, he didn't know why he thought it'd be different on his birthday. "Don't be so dramatic, Noah," she laughed. "Not like we're married." "You have a son here!" he said. "And we can FaceTime when he misses me!" Cassidy said. "Look, I gotta go. Lots of packing to do. See you."

Noah flopped down on the couch, head in hands, and Aspen joined him. "I've never been to Kaltumbra," Aspen said. "Maybe we can visit once mom gets settled in." Noah patted his son's head gently. "Yeah, maybe," he said. Noah looked down at his phone and hopped up to his feet. "Shit, sorry. I gotta be at work in 20. You'll be ok until the nanny gets here, right?" He didn't wait for an answer, just rushed out the door as Aspen looked on.

While it did sorta suck to be left alone with the dumb nanny on his birthday, Aspen was ecstatic to get a kitchen set as a present. He got to work trying his hand at the biggest muffin ever.

For some strange reason, the children's toy oven got hot enough to burn muffins! Aspen sighed at his burnt creation, but resolved that he'd nail it on the next one.

[simthorium]

Finally, it was time for the youngest duo of generation 8 to grow up into toddlers. Ruben and Yara were excited to see their babies as toddlers, and Alexander and Sabrina couldn't be happier too. They all cheered and blew their party horns and shouted "Happy Birthday!" in unison as the twins grew up.

First was Phoenix, the Heir of the Legacy, looking like a very unique blend of his parents with those classic Zarro green eyes.

Next was Aurora who was absolutely darling and looked just like her mother, complete with a wide smile.

Their parents fixed their hair and changed them into cooler outfits, finally bringing the little twins to toddlerhood. The babies smiled and cooed, huggling each other tight as they celebrated their birthday.

[simthorium]

Life with three toddlers was absolute chaos. Leigh and Alan were struggling big time with all their kids, sometimes hardly even making it to bed before passing out. Sebastian and Theodore had just aged up into toddlers, and the amount of diaper changes and toddler meltdowns was astronomical.

In addition to everything, Leigh's job at City Hall was incredibly stressful and demanding, often having her exhausted at the end of the day. And coming home to a house full of dirty diapers and discarded bottles with three toddlers screaming for attention made her feel like she was actually going insane.

By the grace of god, it was finally Lauren's birthday and there would at least be one less toddler in the household. Alan held his daughter over her cake and helped her blow out the candles.

"Yessssssss!" Lauren screamed as she grew up into a child wearing an awesome pirate outfit. "Finally, I can run even faster!" "Perfect," Leigh muttered. "Just as rambunctious as she was as a baby."

"You guys want some cake?" Lauren asked as she nearly swallowed her piece whole at the table. But her parents were too busy with her younger twin brothers to even answer. Lauren sighed and grabbed another piece of cake.

Once she picked out a cooler outfit and picked her hair out a bit, Lauren felt like she was her ultimate self. It was a bit lonely playing in her room, but her parents were so busy with the twins, there didn't seem like there was time for her. She understood, at least a little bit, and started counting the days until the twins were as big as her and they could play together more.

Alan had given up his job to be a stay at home dad, and despite being ran ragged by the twins every single day, he loved it more than anything. One less toddler was a bit more manageable, and he felt like he could dedicate more quality time to teaching the kids their toddler skills and generally keeping an eye on them to make sure they didn't accidentally kill themselves.

Even though she had two siblings, Lauren felt like an only child at times. She often did stuff alone, relegated to second (or third) thought after the twins, who took up all of her parent's time. Still, she kept a smile on her face and reminded herself that it was temporary.

[simthorium]

"Hey babe, how was work?" David asked as Zara came home. She offered him a half-hearted shrug as the two passed one another. "Uh, ok?" he said. "You ok?" Zara still said nothing, heading upstairs silently. "Ok, well I'm gonna work out a little, that cool? Shouldn't be more than an hour." Still not a word. David shrugged and headed on with the rest of his day.

David wasn't totally lost; he could tell something was going on with Zara. But he was getting a little more mellow as he grew up, and was learning boatloads of patience from raising a toddler, so he figured it'd be best to let Zara come to him when she was ready.

"Yessssssss, I absolutely crushed it!" David said, giving up on his workout a little early to play video games. "You're gonna wake the baby," Zara muttered as she came into the living room. David smiled at his girlfriend and set the controller down. "My bad, babe," he said. "You doing ok?" "Fine," she said, clearly not meaning it. "I think I'll just head to bed." "You sure?" asked David. "I was gonna make dinner." "Not hungry. See you later."

Despite saying she was going to bed, Zara took her time having a nice, long bubble bath before bed. When she finally was ready, David was already fast asleep. Good, she thought. Despite how well things were going, she was having feelings she couldn't ignore. And she didn't know how to bring up. She sighed as she watched David sleep for a bit, unable to figure out what to say yet again, and tucked herself in bed for yet another night without saying how she truly felt.