AN: This is very different from what I normally write and it was very spur-of-the-moment. I feel it's a bit clumsy, but I'll probably improve it eventually. I'm not changing styles, this was more an experiment on my part.

They're just pixels and data, nothing more. Simple strings of coding and painted models created with the express purpose of simulating life. We were all beginners once with trembling, clumsy hands and EA hair. We bought pre-made houses, abused and overused cheat codes. Then came custom content, and starting again. It was fun, difficult and most of all new. Nights went by as we hummed along to Simlish, oblivious and never caring.

Then came showing our worlds to friends, dares and laughs and all-night marathons. Computers overheated, but despite the occasional crash, Lifetime Wishes were achieved and it all felt so right.

We chose the ugly and the beautiful, the lucky and the wretched. Some were perfect, others only designated enemies and stepping stones. We were God, killing and creating with as little as a single tap. Crying, cheering and beating those pesky online challenges. Blogs sprung up, we shared the highs and lows of the semi-original pseudo-life we created.

Stories were written, comments left and responses received. Some of us tried creating our own CC, and as always the cycle continued. Over and over, ad infinitum. Repeat, rehash, recreate. The ins and out were learned, and suddenly we weren't starry-eyed beginners anymore. Memories formed and secrets were discovered amongst the digital landscape. We lived for the fleeting moments when it was more than a game. Those elusive, unexplainable seconds you swore it was all real. Complex reasoning for a rather simple game.

But times change, and nothing is truly immortal. As lives continued, many found better ways of passing the time. They had real families now, with jobs and hobbies and responsibilities. Cherished memories blurred together and moments were forgotten. Our humble first games got lost on hard-drives and were corrupted by time. Computers were replaced and those old, scratched disks no longer worked. We aged up, the luckier ones working towards their Lifetime Wishes.

Ad infinitum. The cycle continues. But they're only pixels, after all. Deleteable, createable, infinite little possibilities.