simstationdance | Long Road Ahead: Beaker, Round 1

[ archived from the #lra: beaker tag and heavily edited for readability ]

Ever the optimist in spite of dreadful circumstances, Bjorn Beaker was excited to move into the family’s new house. The rest of the Beakers, on the other hand, were… a little less enthused.

Bjorn: So, how do you like our new house so far?
Gundrun: Well, this couch is nice…
Bjorn: Uh huh?
Gundrun: I’m sure you’ll be comfortable sleeping on it for the foreseeable future.
Bjorn: …Ouch.

Bjorn hoped that his wife would warm up to the idea by now, but it was clear that Gundrun was still angry about having to move to Strangetown in the first place.

Upstairs, Loki was already making his own fun by playing chess… against himself.

Bjorn: Hey son, how do you like the new house?
Loki: Don’t bother me, I’m focusing.

Bjorn: Playing chess, huh? Mind if I join?
Loki, in a flat tone: Yes, I would.

Bjorn always understood when his son wanted time alone. He’s always been like that, after all.

Teaching Erin to talk was going about as swimmingly as everything else in Gundrun’s life right now - which is to say, it wasn’t going well.

At least Erin learned the words to express that she was hungry, even if all she could say was ‘hungy’ over and over. That was progress, right?

Gundrun: It’s alright, Erin, you’ll learn it eventually.
Loki: She’s never gonna say it right.

Gundrun: Why do you say that, Loki?
Loki: It’s ‘cause she’s stupid.
Gundrun: Hey, don’t talk about your sister like that!

Mom, mom, look! Look at what I can do! Watch this! Did you see me?
…Were you even looking?

Considering how upset his wife still was with him, Bjorn decided to read up on marriage counseling. So what if he got caught counterfeiting? It was just one time… sort of. It wasn’t worth ruining an entire marriage over. And it definitely wouldn’t happen again.

Probably.

Loki had gotten bored of playing chess by himself, so he wanted to ask his father to join him. Unfortunately, it seems the moment has passed.

Loki: Hey, dad! Dad. Dad? Daaaaad!
Bjorn: Not right now, Loki. Papa’s busy with, uh… trying to save his marriage…
Loki: We should play chess. I’ve gotten really good at it. I bet you couldn’t beat me.
Bjorn: Loki, I said I was busy.

Loki: Hey dad, watch this!
Bjorn: ‘Top ten ways to show your wife how much you love and appreciate her…’
Loki: Dad, look, I’m gonna do a flip, watch this!

Loki: Did you see me? Wasn’t that cool?
Bjorn: ‘Number one… apologize when you’ve done something wrong,’ Heh, what kind of malarkey is that?

One of the ‘top ten ways to show your wife that you love and appreciate her’ was to cook a meal with love and care. Bjorn knew what he had to do…

Bjorn: One delicious platter of grilled cheese, coming right up!
Gundrun: …I’m a vegan. We’ve been married for years, you know I’m a vegan.
Bjorn: Don’t worry, darling, they’re made with love– I mean, vegan cheese.

Bjorn: So… how is it? Is it incredible? Does it reignite your love for me?
Gundrun: It’s… alright.
Bjorn: …You’re still mad at me, aren’t you?
Gundrun: What do you think?

Bjorn knew that he was, at his core, a loving father who only wanted the best for his little girl, and what better than smart milk? It was a truly incredible scientific breakthrough, accelerating a small child’s brain, allowing them to learn skills with ease. With this, Erin is sure to learn to talk - and walk - in no time…

And then maybe Gundrun will like him again.

Bjorn wasted no time getting Erin to drink the Smilk™️ (Smart Milk) (trademark pending), and within minutes, it seemed to be working wonders on her small child brain. It took only three hours to teach her everything she needed to know.

Gundrun would be proud.

Bjorn would tell Gundrun all about Erin’s breakthrough tomorrow. For now, however, he was looking forward to laying down to sleep next to his beautiful wife in their brand new bed.

Gundrun, on the other hand, was not.

Gundrun: Bjorn, wake up. Now.
Bjorn: What- what’s wrong?
Gundrun: You remember what I said about sleeping on the couch? I wasn’t kidding. Couch. Now.

Bjorn: Oh come on, darling, let’s just calm down and sleep on it together-
Gundrun: NO! You listen to me and you listen well, Bjorn! No amount of smooth talk, compliments, or grilled vegan cheese sandwiches will ever be enough to make up for what you’ve done to our family!
Bjorn: I–
Gundrun: Rather than face the consequences for illegally printing Simoleons, you’ve just run away from your problems, like you always do! And this time, you’ve dragged me and our children into it! If you expect me to forgive you so easily, then you are truly deranged!
Bjorn: ……Have I ever told you how much I adore your way with wo-
Gundrun: COUCH. NOW.

Though he wanted to remain optimistic about the chances of their marriage surviving this, Bjorn’s confidence was starting to waver a bit.

“How do you like the new house, son?”

“It’s alright, I guess.”

“Oh, I almost forgot. What do you want to get for your birthday? It can be anything you want.”

“Well… I saw a laboratory-themed play set in a toy magazine, once. Can we get one of those?”

“Of course, son. Anything to make you happy.”

The next morning, as Bjorn got ready for work, he found himself fretting a little bit over the bags under his eyes from having to spend yet another night on a couch.

Gundrun didn’t want to talk to him at all, as she quickly hurried out the door and straight to the lab. Loki, on the other hand, had already walked to school.

At least he had Erin around to say good morning to, just before leaving for work himself. And calling up a babysitter, of course.

Looking forward to his weekly report card was what made going to school worth it in the end for Loki, even in spite of all the teasing he’d been getting from the other kids for ‘being the new kid’ and ‘having a weird face’ and ‘being a creepy loner.’

Someday, he’d grow up and show them all what he’s made of. But not today.

For now, he was going to run inside and show off his amazing grades. His parents are going to be so proud of him.

So much for hoping his parents would be proud. Loki got perfect grades on his report card today, but Gundrun was distracted by getting everything ready for Erin’s birthday celebration. She told him “that’s wonderful, sweetie,” without even looking at him.

It was so… infuriating. Ever since Erin was born, it was like Loki didn’t even exist.

And worse yet, Loki knew that his parents were angry at each other. Or, they were. But when dad came home from work, mom was all over him, hugging him, asking how his day was… Disgusting.

He guessed it was because they had to put on a show for their little darling Erin, for her birthday party. All the while, he was slaving over his homework. By himself. Miserable.

Loki could hear the singing and the cheering from here. Needless to say, being a lover of peace and quiet, it was terribly distracting. He hated it. He hated her.

But just as the thought crossed his mind to take his homework upstairs, the party was over.

Erin grew into a child with only a brief moment of fanfare, and when the room went silent again, Loki thought he’d finally have a moment to focus.

Erin: Hiya, Loki!
Loki: …Hi, Erin.

He was wrong.

“How could you break my heart like this, darling beloved?” Erin said, in a dramatic, high pitched voice, before switching into a poor imitation of a man’s, “Oh no, I’m so sorry, honey! I didn’t mean it! Please forgive me!” And then her voice switched back, “Oh, darling, what was I thinking? I can’t ever stay mad at you.”

Then, to end the scene, she slammed the dolls together. ”Mwah mwah mwah!!”

Loki: …What are you doing?
Erin: Playing dolls. Wanna play with me?
Loki: Um… sure.
Erin: Awesome! But first, you gotta know about the lore.

Loki: The… what now?
Erin: Okay so, the boy doll and the girl doll are married and in love, but the boy doll keeps doing things behind the girl doll’s back, like kissing the next door neighbor or buying too many girl scout cookies with the girl doll’s money and putting their family in debt. It’s okay though, because even if she gets mad, the girl will always love the boy no matter what.
Loki: …Huh. Wait, did you come up with all of this today?
Erin: No, I’ve played this game since I was really little.
Loki: Sounds like you’ve been watching too many of mom’s soap operas…
Erin, completely earnest: What’s a ‘soap opera’?

…Loki decided to not answer that, wordlessly and reluctantly picking up the two dolls.

Loki: “I will always love you, honey!” “No! I’m not going to listen to your lies anymore! We’re over! Forever!”
Erin: No, no, no! You’ve got it all wrong! The boy doll and the girl doll will always love each other! You can’t break them up!
Loki: Yeah? Well, I just did!
Erin: But… but you can’t just–

Erin: –okay, wait… It’s okay, this is fine. They can get back together.
Loki: Just like they always do, right? Let me guess what happens next - they have a baby. You know, just to shake things up, right?
Erin: Oh, interesting! Wait, where would they get the baby–
Loki: Out of a dumpster? I don’t know. But they have one now. And they feed it, and clothe it, and love it like the little baby doll it is, until it grows up and stops being cute. That’s when they realize that having a kid fixed nothing, so then they decide to have another one.

Erin: Um, Loki, you’re… kinda scaring me–
Loki: And when the second kid is born, it’ll be like the first kid never even existed!

Loki: –And then the daddy doll is going to do something that ruins all of their lives, like THIS!
Erin: Loki, stop!
Loki: And the mommy doll will be mad for a bit, and she’ll act all mean to the daddy doll for a while. But it’s not going to matter because they can just get a new house in the middle of nowhere, and they’ll all just act like nothing! Ever! Happened! They’ll just keep acting like nothing’s wrong, they’ll keep on acting like I don’t exist! Nothing will ever change or get better!

Erin: Please stop…
Loki: It’s the same story, again and again! Every! Single! Time! You know it, I know it, we all know it!

Erin: …please stop…

With one last blow to the dollhouse, Loki went limp on the floor, as if all of the pent up frustration had finally been drained from his body. Neither child spoke, the only thing breaking the silence was Erin’s quiet crying and Loki catching his breath.

Just as Loki picked himself up off of the floor, Gundrun hurried into the room.

Gundrun: What’s going on in here? What’s wrong?
Erin, breaking down: L-Loki ruined my dollhouse…!
Gundrun: …Loki, why would you do that?

Loki… didn’t have an answer. He couldn’t even form words. Seeing his mother run to Erin’s side… he felt tears form in his eyes, his face burning up and turning red with rage. And his mood rapidly worsened with his mother’s demands, “Don’t just stand there, answer me! Now!”

Loki: Because I hate her, okay?! I hate her!
Gundrun: Loki, I know you don’t really mean that–
Loki: SHUT UP!
Gundrun: Don’t speak to me like that!

Erin tuned out everything after that, running out of the room as fast as she could.

Following the disastrous aftermath of smashing his sister’s dollhouse in rage, Loki was grounded immediately. As soon as he was alone again, his mother’s words echoed in his mind - why would you do such a thing?

While it seemed satisfying to say it was because he hated Erin, the truth was that he didn’t know why he did it. As much of a logical person as he was (for a twelve year old), he truly couldn’t put it into words.

It just… happened.

Gundrun: Bjorn, we need to talk.
Bjorn: What about, love?
Gundrun: I’m concerned for Loki. I heard him screaming at Erin upstairs, and found that he’d smashed her dollhouse to bits…
Bjorn: Well… we both know he’s always been a little… short-tempered. You understand.

Gundrun: But that’s just it, I don’t understand. I know he’s had issues in the past, but something like this has never happened before.
Bjorn: It might just be the move making him agitated. Kids don’t take well to big changes like these.
Gundrun: …Right. Changes that wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for you.

Bjorn winced at his wife’s remark, deciding that enough was enough.

Bjorn: …Hmm. Listen, darling, I feel like… an apology is in order.
Gundrun: I’ve told you this before, you– wait… what? You’re… apologizing?
Bjorn: Yes. Thinking about how much I’ve hurt you has been killing me. I should never have tried to… supplement our income the way I did. Could you ever forgive me?
Gundrun: …

Gundrun: …I guess I can try.

Bjorn was so happy to be allowed to sleep by his wife’s side again.

Gundrun, on the other hand, was lost in thought as she dozed off, as is typical when someone is left alone with their mind in the dead of night.

The next morning, the entire family seemed dedicated to not talking about Loki’s outburst, just as he expected. Their parents simply sent them outside to wait for the school bus.

And as for Erin - although she seemed a bit nervous around him now, she didn’t seem to be angry with Loki at all. He found her jumping rope by the street, smiling awkwardly as she attempted to keep up her streak while looking at him.

“Hiya, Loki!” Erin’s shrill voice called out, before going much quieter. “Um… I hope you’re not still mad at me…”

Loki grimaced. That inexplicable rage he felt around his sister once again came bubbling up from inside of him, even stronger than before. Seeing her brother’s hateful expression, Erin’s smile fell. She immediately went quiet, putting her focus back into maintaining her streak. She felt her worry only grow as Loki got closer and closer.

Within seconds, he had hooked his leg beneath one of hers, sending her falling straight to the ground. Just as the bus pulled up, loaded with children, some of them laughing at what Erin could only assume was her misfortune. And worst of all, Loki was chuckling at seeing her face meet the concrete.

Her very first day of school was off to a great start.

She wanted to cry.

When the kids returned home from school, Bjorn was quick to offer Erin assistance with her homework. She was steadily proving to be a little genius, just as he wanted, grasping every concept quicker than he could explain it. Something seemed to be bothering her, however…

Bjorn: Are you alright, sweetheart? Do you need me to slow down?
Erin: No, I’m okay. I just… um… I, uh…
Bjorn: What is it? You can tell me anything.
Erin: Well… um… my first day of school just wasn’t… very good. That’s all.
Bjorn: Aww, sweetie, it’ll get better with time. You just need to get used to the new environment.

Erin didn’t want to talk about what Loki did that morning, if only because she didn’t want him to get in trouble.

Loki, having already finished his homework, headed upstairs to play chess against himself - in an effort to distract from the inexplicable, indignant anger he’d been feeling since this morning - and only stopped when he found himself having suddenly become a lot taller.

Still feeling nervous about the last few interactions with her brother, Erin came upstairs to find Loki playing chess as he always did. He glared at her, before looking back down to focus on his game… until she moved to sit in the chair across from him.

Erin: …Hi, Loki.
Loki: What do you want?
Erin, teary-eyed: I-… I just wanted to say sorry… I don’t know what I did, but I know you’re mad at me. I… I don’t know what you want from me, but I–
Loki: …What I want from you is to shut up and let me play chess in peace.
Erin: …okay.

Without another word, Erin awkwardly ambled away to her room.

The next morning, Loki decided to give his new self a closer look in the mirror. For the first time in… well, ever, he seemed fairly satisfied with his appearance.

Now that he’s grown out of his awkward child-face, he was sure that he’d finally earn the respect of his fellow students. ~~Maybe now they’d stop picking on him for looking weird.~~

Erin stared vacantly into the distance, thinking about the last few days. The more she thought about it, the worse she felt. Even now, after thoroughly thinking through Loki’s words, she still couldn’t understand why he was so angry, why he hated her so much. She felt tears well up in her eyes at the thought.

Only to be shaken out of it by her brother’s voice, “BOO!”

Erin jumped, turning to run back inside only to find Loki towering over her. Her breath caught in her throat as she stepped back, the tears in her eyes spilling over like a worsening crack in the dam. She quickly buried her face in her hands to mask the sight and sounds of her sobs.

Loki laughed, before trailing off, suddenly feeling… awkward. He expected this to be funny like the last time. Why didn’t he laugh? ~~He expected her to stop crying by now. Why was she still crying?~~

He grimaced, unsure of how to react. “…Get over it already.”

At this point, Loki might as well have to get used to the sound of his parents either obnoxiously arguing or flirting while he’s trying to do his homework.

Just life as usual in the Beaker household…

That night, as Erin laid down to sleep, she stared at the light-up photo on her wall and hoped she’d dream of the world depicted within.