Round Six - Knox

Noah and Ruth were getting used to life without their father. It was strange not having him around but at least they still had each other, as well as Kaylynn and Danny.


Danny made time to teach Noah to play basketball. Noah was adequate at it but didn't show any outstanding passion for it or any other sport, but he liked spending time with Danny.


Ruth grew up into a beautiful but flighty young lady. Her previous bookish nature was thrown to the wind in favour of being a party girl, and being at a prestigious academy and thus surrounded by people with money only helped that side of her personality. She wanted presents and parties and nights out clubbing.


Noah remained studious and had a great interest in science and learning in general. When Ruth tried to get him to join her sneaking-into-nightclubs missions he would always decline and instead watch the stars on the newly-built balcony with his father's old telescope.


They were still close even though they were heading down completely different paths in life. Ruth would beg for "help" with an essay and Noah would roll his eyes and agree while telling her to keep it a secret; he didn't want the whole academy asking him to do their work for him.


"Have you done your homework?" Kaylynn asked Ruth one evening as they sat down for dinner.

"No," admitted Ruth without a hint of remorse. "Why should I? I'm a teenager, it's not like the Child Protection Services are going to come and kick the door down because I'm not getting top grades anymore. I have much better things to do."

"You always used to do your homework without me asking," sighed Kaylynn.

"That's because I was a little swot."


Danny made sure to call his father and sister every day. He was ready to graduate from high-school and was incredibly excited about the possibilities his future held.


As well as running up huge bills on the telephone, he enjoyed working on getting to his peak fitness level. He would be old enough to start playing sport professionally soon and he wanted to make sure he was the best around when the talent scouts came knocking.


Danny graduated, cutting his hair short and donning some slightly suaver but still relaxed outfit choices.

"Why've you got to leave and be all grown-up with a job and things? Jobs suck," said Ruth with complete conviction.

Danny assumed she was joking and laughed. "Jobs aren't all that bad. They're great if you can find a vocation you're passionate about."

Kaylynn was less amused.


Danny moved out to one of the apartment complexes; he was renting one opposite Hiro's sister and her friend. He said goodbye to his stepgrandmother, his aunt and his uncle and set off for an independent life, leaving Kaylynn alone with her increasingly difficult teens.

Round Six - Davies

Amanda craved love without confines, commitments or consequences but it was hard to find when she put up her defenses every time anyone approached her, especially boys. Know-it-all jerks! Her dreams of being adored by many weren't going to be fulfilled any time soon if she kept arguing with every guy who went within 5 yards of her. She briefly considered lesbianism in a fit of teenage rebellion, but the thought made her feel weird in a bad way.


There was one boy she didn't think was annoying or a jerk or any of the other epithets she applied to the teens who followed her and her sisters home. Ewan Mackenzie was different. He was kind, considerate, funny, and taken.


Her interest in the older boy didn't go unnoticed. Once again, Destiny took it on herself to be the protective big sister. She cornered Ewan and started a perfectly normal conversation. Then she smiled in an unnerving manner. "One last thing. If you mess with Amanda, I'll smack you so hard you'll be eating through a straw for a month."

Ewan gulped. "Message received loud and clear."

"Just stick with that Meadow girl," said Destiny with a more genuine smile. Then she wandered off to fix the TV, leaving a very perplexed Ewan in her wake.


Life wasn't all romantic trauma for Amanda. She still hung out with her sisters although she often bullied Jacinta for being a nerd.


As if life in a house with three teenage girls wasn't hectic enough, Sabrina had a new surprise for the whole family. Jacinta went to the bathroom to get ready for school and found her mother puking her guts out.

"Mom, are you alright?"

Sabrina sat on the floor looking (unsurprisingly) a bit green around the edges, then smiled. "I think I'm pregnant."


Sabrina's instincts were right. She was indeed pregnant and soon she started to show. As usual Destiny was the first one to start watching out for in-utero kicking; Jacinta was studying and Amanda was sulking over the loss of her position as baby-of-the-family.


Jasper was still shaken up by his father's death, which lead him to make a bad decision at golf game with his bosses that resulted in a demotion. Most people would have just sighed, put it down to bad luck and the fact that rising through the company on golf and schmoozing skills rather than merit was a screwed up system, but Jasper was a workaholic and therefore devastated.


Sabrina made a special effort to get everyone to sit down together for breakfast and dinner and her pregnancy progressed. The whole family together was noisy and happy.


Of course, Jacinta and Destiny made sure that their most important conversations were kept away from the dinner table and parental ears.

"So, are you and Hiro going steady yet?" asked Jacinta. Destiny blushed and giggled. "YOU ARE! You're so lucky."

"I really, really am. Don't worry, there's a guy-who's-not-a-jerk out there for you, somewhere."


Little Adam Knox joined their confusing combined family with little fuss. He looked just like his father. Jasper was glad for another boy to offset the smothering presence of so much oestrogen.


Note: Amanda wants 20 lovers but she doesn't get on with anyone. Sigh.

NOTICE

I'm going away from the 26th of August until the 8th of October. I've played all of Round Six so I've got some updates scheduled to post over that time (hoorah for that function). Have a lovely September!

Round Five - Nakamura 2

Shiina and Emma loved their new apartment. Shiina got to work on painting and sewing straight away.


Shiina always made sure to take Emma with her when she went clubbing, but more often than not Emma found herself playing the role of wallflower sitting at the bar. She would have liked to go dancing with guys as freely and easily as Shiina seemed to but she knew she didn't have time for a relationship at the moment - Emma was a career-woman in the making, and although she did love to have fun she loved money just that little bit more.


She got to work on improving her fitness. She had a good job as a lieutenant in the local police force, but it didn't keep her stimulated and working so close to the criminal elements had revealed to her that maybe her career desires lay elsewhere. It was an ever-present temptation.


Eventually one of the mob bosses made her an offer she couldn't refuse, and she accepted with no hesitation or moral quandries whatsoever. She got hair extensions and looked prettier than ever, although she wouldn't be sad to say goodbye to the cheap suit she had to wear in her old job.


Despite Emma's punishing workout routine and Shiina's constant sewing the Nakamura-Mazza household was still party central, although Shiina was considering introducing some kind of dress-code to prevent confusion - everyone always seemed overdressed or underdressed, especially in the case of a young man who turned up in body-paint and not much else. He was cute, though, so Shiina let the fashion faux-pas slide.


She ended up asking him over again the next day, and sparks definitely flew even if he did seem to like not-wearing-clothes a little too much.


The girls still made time for each other. Whenever Emma wasn't working or exercising and Shiina wasn't painting, sewing or dating, they would gossip and hang out in the hot tubs in the yard. To outside observers they looked like perfectly normal twenty-something women sharing a house. No-one would guess that Emma was working her way up in the world of crime, least of all Shiina. She was just happy that she got to work on her creations and the rent still got paid.


Note: I am really indecisive about Emma's hair so it'll probably end up changing AGAIN next round. Sigh.

Round Five - Davies 2

Jill bought herself some new clothes and makeup to celebrate moving into James's apartment. It was an odd transition, but possibly for the best. The whole thing with Will had been a little weird.


It had put a strain on her and James's relationship, that was for sure. He knew about Will's reputation and came perilously close to making accusations but she managed to distract him. She felt a little bad - any jealousy he was feeling wasn't exactly unfounded.


There were some things about her having lived with Will that didn't upset James, though. It had meant she'd discovered a love of dancing and using his ballet bar so she was more toned than ever, and James definitely approved. Dancer's bodies? Hot, in his eyes at least.


Jill bullied James into letting her get a little dog, which she named Princess and carried around with her. Any maternal urges she might ever have were directed at the tiny little purse-sized puppy.


Sometimes she would go to strike up a conversation with Will and rekindle that flame but something, perhaps guilt, always stopped her. She'd wait and watch him then go back to James and Princess.


Note: Jill has spun up a want to marry James. But she is a tricky, tricky lady so we'll see how this progresses...

Round Five - Knox 2

Will celebrated having the apartment to himself again by inviting his favourite blonde over. He didn't miss Jill cramping his style one little bit, although he had been slightly weirded out to discover that the boyfriend she was now living with was his sister-in-law's ex-husband.


His primary interest was dance but he had acquired some skill at singing along the way - after all, the ladies loved it when he joined them in a romantic duet while on a date.


It was such a relief to not have Jill hanging around in his bedroom being creepy. He liked the hot-tub in the basement well enough, but sometimes only a bed would do, especially with the more uptight girls.


It seemed like his phone rang 24/7. There was always one girl or another on the end of the line. He listened intently but sometimes he couldn't help drifting off and staring at the wallpaper. He really needed to use the money he'd inherited from his father to redecorate or something so it suited him more. After all, it was home now.


Even though she only lived downstairs, Will didn't see Jill often. She was far too busy with James. He wandered down to their apartment to have a chat with her and reminisce only to walk in on them making out. He smiled fakely, apologised, and left.


Will did have to admit that despite the fact she was a jealous, possessive, possibly crazy witch he did miss her sometimes. They had a special spark that was hard to replicate. Still, she seemed happy enough with James and he would never forget the things he taught her, starting with how to make killer cocktails.

Round Five - Nakamura

Hanako's death had left the whole Nakamura family devastated but they were beginning to get back to normal. Sachiko resumed her usual routine of spending all day in her nightdress while talking to friends on the phone.


She'd spent her share of the money Hanako left the family on a luxury chess set. Despite her playful nature she was a natural at this game of strategy and cunning. The rest of the family couldn't hope to beat her.


Hiro's social life was bustling. He often sneaked out with his best friend Danny Knox, which was how he met Destiny. They hit it off instantly.


They decided to take the plunge from platonic friends to something more. Hiro had a little bit of experience with kissing, but this was Destiny's first ever kiss and they nearly made a complete mess of the whole thing.

"Ow! Destiny, that was my nose!"


Thankfully it didn't take her long to get the hang of it.


Life wasn't all make-out sessions and outings with friends for Hiro. He was working on his dream to become a world-famous sports star which required dedication to his fitness regime. He was getting extremely good at yoga and could contort himself into positions no human body should ever have to be in.


Junko bonded with Noah Knox over recent losses, discussing the likelihood of them perhaps seeing Hanako and Cassius's ghosts someday.


But their easy childhood years couldn't last forever. The twins hit puberty and became even more different than before. Junko wanted to be just like her mother, although definitely with fewer babies - she didn't have any career aspirations at all, she just wanted to hang around the house and make as many friends as possible. She was determined to have fun.


Yuki was much more serious. She did want a career and all the attendant wealth, and most of all she wanted to be able to afford a house, not be stuck at home or in a cramped little apartment down town. She wasn't as sociable as her sisters or brother, keeping out of everyone's way while she read and studied.


Despite their differences the twins still got on well. They were like day and night, said Nobuo in an uncharacteristic display of poetic license - opposites but essential to one another.


Note: Hooray for physiology! Hiro's skill is totally maxed already, hence the extreme yoga. The twins turned out pretty, Junko looks like her mother facial-features wise whereas Yuki favours her father.

Round Five - Mackenzie

Taylor was thoroughly dedicated to being Ewan's stepfather, and the teen's burgeoning relationship hadn't escaped his attention. It was a tricky subject.

"Look, I know you think you're in love with her, but don't do anything you'll regret."

"Are you saying Meadow's no good? Mam's met her, she thinks she's lovely."

"No, no, not at all!" insisted Taylor. "Just... well, I'm not ready to be a stepgrandfather just yet."


Ewan wasn't going to let things move that quickly but he did think he was in love. Meadow was a very lovely girl and although they didn't really share the same dreams they were too infatuated with one another to care.


Lisa had to find things to do to occupy her while stuck at home on maternity leave and settled for learning how to make pottery. She spent most of her time at the wheel and no-one was surprised when she went into labour in front of it.


Lisa gave birth to a healthy baby boy named Cameron. He looked for the most part like his mother, with her freckled skin and green eyes, but he had his father's brown hair.


Ewan helped out with Cameron whenever he could, ie, when he wasn't at school or joined at the lips with Meadow. He wasn't sure about babies yet and Cameron didn't help his opinion of them when he threw up all over Ewan's jacket.


Their life was uneventful for the most part. Lisa got promoted again and Cameron grew into a cute toddler. He was dressed in Ewan's hand-me-downs most of the time because they were all saving up to extend the house.


In between feedings and potty training his son, Taylor had discovered that he shared Lisa's love for art. His attempts at pottery weren't exactly successful, though, so he stuck to painting for now.

Note: A drama free round! Whoooooo.