1.16 Actually a Lizard

 

After storming away from Chen and Brooke last chapter, Lynx is still too restless to go back home, so he ends up at a quiet little book cafe.

After a while he glances up and notices his sister Epiphany has joined him.

"I come here a lot too," she says.

Lynx narrows his eyes. "Could this day get any worse?"

"What'cha mean, bro? Is my presence so abhorrent?"

"Just shut up," Lynx groans.

"But you're reading Tales From the Mine #12. It would be a shame if I... spoiled the ending."

"What do you want from me?!"

Epiphany grins. "Just chat with me! Tell me what's up."

"My friend was arguing with her boyfriend, if you must know, so I came here for some peace and QUIET."

"Ouch. I see. I see. Home is not quiet, but Bjorn Cafe is... usually quiet. Yes. I can be quiet."

"Good."

Eager to forget about his ill-fated crush on Brooke Valstrom, Lynx tries his luck with Mariposa Fernandez.

She has the insane trait, but Lynx has never given mental illness much thought, so for now he's just ignoring it.

"I know you're secretly adopted because your father is actually a lizard," Mariposa whispers. "I figure that by dating you, I can get closer to the conspiracy and uncover more truths. Will you cooperate?"

"Um. Pretty sure my dad's not a lizard."

"You don't have to pretend around me, Lynx. I already know."

"Whatever. As long as we get to make out."

They seal the deal with a clumsy first kiss.

Epiphany shakes her head disapprovingly. Why are people so desperate and dumb? she wonders.

Astral plays some music for the dead people haunting the festival, somehow unaware that these are fake decorative graves.

Astral's not the brightest bulb in the basket or anything.
 

Later on she randomly encounters Mina Warbler, the daughter of her mother's friend Fjord Warbler. As the girls catch up they learn they are both into music. Mina has her mother's amazing voice, and it just so happens Gateway Glam could use someone with singing talent. Young, bright-eyed Mina jumps at the chance to join up.

"We should get a fourth member!" Mina encourages. "Four is a lucky number."

"Preferably a keyboardist. I'm level 10 drums and level 8 guitar, but I can't do everything," Astral agrees.

Mayor Jonas Beaker, well known for his musical talents, serendipitously shows up a few moments later! On a whim, Astral zooms over to ask him to join Gateway Glam. Is this a joke???

Nope. This is Gateway Glam now. The mayor and three teenage girls.

Fairuza, decked out in her very threatening sim-fu outfit, pulls her daughter aside to express concerns about how... creepy... she thinks this Mayor-Beaker-in-the-band development is.

"Mom, what the hell? Jonas is super cool. Our band is great now. We might even get a gig."

Jonas and Rock are part of the same political party. They disagree on a few things, but always manage to have civil discourse and actually listen to each other.

And here's a screenshot of Lynx gaming in his underwear.

Yup, that is pretty much Lynx's entire day.

Ivy Law, the eldest of Fairuza and Rock's four children, is living just down the street, in one of the many red houses in town.

Ivy and Mikkel are expecting their first child. Fairuza is very excited about that.

Fairuza has plenty of child-rearing tips.

Ivy doesn't think she needs much advice. She had to deal with her three younger siblings for so long, after all. That's my Ivy, Fairuza thinks to herself. So smart, she thinks she knows everything!

Ivy the all-knowing goes into labor during her mother's visit.

Mikkel ran off to work after appearing in only those two screenshots, so Fairuza drives Ivy to the hospital.

Some hours later, baby Lily Law is brought home to her cozy nursery. Snuggling her first grandchild predictably causes Fairuza to roll a wish to have four more of them.

"Your father will stop by in a little while," Fairuza promises. "He's sorry it can't be sooner."

Ivy smiles. "Well he is a Leader of the Free World. He has responsibilities."

For a long time, Lynx has had a surface-level hatred for his sisters Epiphany and Astral, but lately he and Pippy here find themselves connecting over shared interests in literature... as well as their mutual need for quiet time, away from band practices and visiting nieces.

"Why does anyone even want babies?" Lynx grumbles. "All they do is scream and leak fluids."

"Well, they grow out of it eventually."

"Until which point they should be locked away out of sight, not shown off to the whole family..."

"Agree," Epiphany says, with a shrug.






__________________________________________
Etc.: ROFL civil political discourse! Best joke I ever wrote. 10/10

Bjorn Cafe had a makeover from Owly Sims.

1.15 Total of Teens

Fairuza and Rock share a slow dance in their bedroom on the day they become elders.

They may look ancient, but with fulfilling careers and three children still dependent on them, they have no intention of slowing down.

Obligatory elder sim-fu pictures.

"Jackie Elliot called me..." Rock brings up the name of Astral's best friend's mother, and Astral steels herself for what's about to happen, "...she said you and Carrie went to Voltaire's, and you pressured Carrie into getting a tattoo. On her face."

Astral leans forward, widening her eyes. "Dad, what? I didn't pressure her. It was her decision! And the tattoo is awesome."

"Carrie's mother doesn't want you visiting with her daughter anymore."

"Carrie's mother is crazy! We're almost adults, we can make fashion decisions."

Rock sighs. "As Carrie's close friend, you should have known how her mother would react. I would have expected you to try to step up and mitigate some of the damage... not encourage it."

"It's art! It's not damage!"

"The damage is to Carrie's relationship with her mother. Is it so hard to wait for your birthdays before you get tattoos?" Rock narrows his eyes. "I'm aware the only reason you don't have one is because the two of you ran out of cash."

Astral narrows her eyes right back. "Is this a bad time to ask for a higher allowance?"

"Allowance privileges are revoked," Rock says tiredly.

"I thought you were cooler than this!" Astral whines, before she storms off to her bedroom.

Parents just don't understand.

Epiphany ages up, bringing the total of teens in the house back up to two.

She moves all of her stuff into Ivy's old room, so she doesn't have to share with her kid brother anymore.

Lynx has the audacity to age up himself before anything else blog-worthy happens.

His adolescence is largely dedicated to gaming. He spends most of his free time glued to his computer screen, making long forums posts about the fights mechanics in his favorite MMO and yelling at his teammates when they fall short of perfection.

"I will turn the boss in your direction!" he threatens.

He dropped his healer role and went tank so he could control the fights. This has inflated his sense of self-importance, especially since so few people are brave enough to tank. Lynx is definitely toxic, but he gets onto all the good teams.

Despite the wrath of Carrie's mother, Gateway Glam continues.

Though it has never attracted much of an audience.

Even a loner has to get out sometimes. Lynx reconnects with his childhood friend, Brooke Valstrom.

Something about her makes his heart beat faster these days.

Brooke is distracted by the rad guitar playing of Jonas Beaker, the current mayor.

"What's that dork got that I don't got?" Lynx half-jokes.

Brooke giggles. "You mean besides good looks, guitar skills, a wife, three kids, and an amazing job?"

"Yeah. Besides all that."

"Don't take this the wrong way, Lynx-o, but I'm dating Chen Ahere."

"Ew? He has the slob trait."

"So he's a project," Brooke admits.

The two friends are trying to play a game of  Shape Skirmish and forget all that awkwardness when Chen himself arrives, sweaty and gross from the gym.

Chen starts up an argument so stereotypical Lynx thought it only happened in movies, badgering Brooke to stop hanging out with "creeps" like Lynx. Brooke scowls and tells her boyfriend she can hang out with whomever she pleases.

"I won't stand here and watch you disrespect our relationship like this," Chen fires back.

"I'm playing a game with my friend, not cheating on you, idiot."

"People are going to think things, Brooke!"

"I know Lynx is prettier than you, but you don't have to be so jealous..." Brooke sneers.

"Oh please. Now I know you're just trolling me, babe! As if anyone could be jealous of this wimpy noodle."

Lynx continues playing the game quietly for a while as the bickering continues...

...but eventually the situation is too uncomfortable to tolerate any longer.

"Fuck this, I don't want to be in the middle of your drama. Call me when you both grow up," Lynx snaps, startling the other two into silence as he gets out of his seat and stalks away.

Mayor Beaker is still playing guitar as Lynx leaves the Fun-O-Rama.




__________________________________________________
Etc.: Jonas Ingberg starts the game as a child, and his family bio says his parents (a brilliant scientist and doctor) are disappointed in his average-ness. They're even having a second child to replace him. So when he married Erin Beaker, I had him take her surname. He went on to join the political career and currently holds the job title "mayor". So, take that, Ingberg parents, I guess?