Author's Note: Hey guys! Complications is ending soon, so I thought it would be the perfect time to start a new story! This fanfiction is a collection of oneshots that I wrote over the last few months. In fact, The Butterfly Garden Part 1 & 2 were written in July for one of my favorite simmers, to-fu, who inspired me to make this collection. This story mostly centers around Loki Beaker and his struggles to be a stay-at-home father to his genetically-engineered twins, Atom and Ceres. This story also features many other characters from the original Strangetown neighborhood, including Circe and the Curious brothers.

As always, feel free to leave me a review telling me what you think, and if you'd like to see more of this story! :D

Snapshots From A New Strangetown

Chapter One – The Butterfly Garden Part 1

Vidcund Curious sighs as he plops himself down on the living room couch, his forty-three-year old body aching after cleaning every inch of the residence that he shares with his partner on 1 Tesla Court. Mere seconds later, the phone rings from the kitchen, the noise immediately destroying any last hope of Vidcund having a peaceful afternoon. Vidcund groans as he reluctantly gets up from the comfortable piece of furniture and drags his feet across the hardwood surface to the kitchen. He picks up the phone. "Hello?"

"Hello, Mr. Curious," a friendly and familiar voice speaks out from the opposite end of the line, "This is Principal Howard from Strangetown Middle School. I'm sorry to bother you, but we had a little incident this morning that we thought you should be aware of…"

"Oh no," Vidcund moans, bringing his hand up to his forehead, "What is it this time?"

"Well…we kinda-sorta lost your daughter-"

"WHAT?!" Vidcund cries, grabbing the receiver in a panic, "Oh God!"

"Now, now, don't worry, we found her a few hours later. Turns out she wandered away from the group during the field trip and set up camp in the butterfly garden."

Vidcund steps back slightly, his heart beating rapidly in his chest. "So, she's fine?" he asks, his heart rate decreasing slowly.

"Of course," Principal Howard responds, "But while we were searching for your daughter, your son was caught shoplifting. We need you to get down to the school as soon as possible to meet with the school guidance counselor."

Vidcund sighs, "Okay," he states, this phrase all too common, "Do you want me to bring Loki?"

"No!" Principal Howard states abruptly. He clears his throat, "No, that won't be necessary. Just get down here in the next fifteen minutes," Principal Howard reiterates, hanging up before Vidcund can say another word.

Vidcund pulls his head away from the receiver, shaking his head and letting out a heavy exhale as he sets the phone back on the hook.

…

Fifteen minutes later, Vidcund steps into Principal Howard's office in his classic, everyday attire. Upon seeing him, Principal Howard and the school guidance counselor stand up from their seats, shake his hand, and give a casual greeting. "Vidcund, how nice of you to join us," Principal Howard states, taking a seat behind his desk next to the counselor, "Please take a seat."

Vidcund nods and sits down at the empty chair that the principal is gesturing at between Ceres and Atom, Vidcund's ten-year-old adoptive daughter and son. Atom is frantically looking around the room while Ceres is slouching in her chair with her eyes glued to the floor. Vidcund instantly turns to his daughter. "Are you okay?" he asks. "Why did you wander away from the group?"

"I don't really want to talk about it," she mumbles.

"So, by now, I'm sure you heard what happened," the guidance counselor speaks up, clasping his hands together from across the table, "And all the staff here at Strangetown Middle School are very concerned. This is the third time in a row Atom has been caught stealing during this school year-" the counselor begins, stopping as Atom takes the stapler off Principal Howard's desk and slips it into his pocket, "-Okay. The fourth time," he quickly corrects.

"Atom!" Vidcund hisses, holding his hand out and snatching the stapler from him.

Atom shrugs. "But Dad said it was okay! He said I can steal anything I want as long as it doesn't belong to him."

"And that's another thing," Principal Howard steps in, "Atom keeps claiming that your husband is granting him permission to do these things."

"-Boyfriend," Vidcund quickly mutters, "We're not married."

Principal Howard nods, "Ah."

"I mean we could've been," Vidcund frantically explains, "but I decided against it."

"I understand," Principal Howard confirms, "Believe me, you don't need to explain any further."

"Dr. Howard?" the school secretary pokes her head into the office, "You have a visitor."

Principal Howard sighs as everyone in the room turns their attentions to the door. "Estelle, I'm in the middle of a very important meeting right now, can you tell them to come back later?"

"Yeah…" Estelle begins, tapping her pointy, scarlet fingernails against the white wooden doorframe, "I don't think that's going to work…"

Principal Howard scrunches his forehead, clearly puzzled, "Why not?" he states.

"Dr. Howard!" an overly-animated voice blares from the other side of the door. Principal Howard cringes as the parent bursts through the doorway, dressed head to toe in his classic villainous attire. "How dare you try to keep me from interfering in my children's lives!" Loki barks, his arms crossed, "I'll have you know that they're one hundred percent pure Loki!"

"Oh God," Vidcund groans, covering his face with his hands.

"Mr. Beaker, I am not trying to keep you from your children," Principal Howard responds, his demeanor calm and collective after years of practice dealing with this circumstance, "I just didn't think it would be a good idea to have you at this meeting. For one thing, we're discussing very sensitive topics."

"And you don't think I can handle that?" Loki replies, still on the verge of shouting.

"I know based on past experiences that you cannot," Principal Howard replies, crossing his arms as well, "But now that you're here, perhaps you can clarify something for us," he continues, tapping his finger against his chin, "Your son, Atom, was telling us earlier that you told him that he can steal anything as long as it isn't yours," Principal Howard begins, "Now this is highly unacceptable and we severely doubt that a parent especially would ever encourage their child to-"

"Yeah, I told him he could do that," Loki says, not giving it a second thought.

Vidcund groans, burying his face deeper into his hands as both Principal Howard and the guidance counselor stare at Loki with mouths agape. "I think the first question I would have is, why?" Principal Howards speaks, barely able to get the words out.

"Well, both of my children are going to be evil geniuses one day, so why not?" Loki states nonchalantly. In front of him, Ceres sinks further in her seat.

"Because children need boundaries?" Principal Howard suggests.

Loki rolls his eyes and laughs. "Now you're just sounding like Vidcund," he states, "So is this thing over or what? I'd like to get back to my day off."

The guidance counselor continues to stare at Loki bizarrely for a moment, before shaking his head and turning his attention back to Vidcund. "Anyway, if you ever want Atom to stop stealing, I suggest finding him a hobby that he enjoys, so he can define himself in other ways besides kleptomania."

Loki leans next to Vidcund and nudges him in the side. "What is he blubbering on about?" he wonders.

"He's suggesting ways that we can treat Atom's kleptomania before he ends up in prison," Vidcund mutters.

"WHAT?!" Loki cries, leaning over Principal Howard's desk and staring him straight in the eyes, "Listen, buddy. My son can steal whatever he wants as long as I say it's okay!" he growls.

"-And just like that, we've identified the real problem," Principal Howard states, completely unfazed by the enraged parent, "And that would be you, Mr. Beaker," he says before lowering his voice to a mutter, "-Not like I'm surprised."

The guidance counselor nods and scoots his chair forward. "The problem is your boyfriend sets boundaries, but you don't make the children keep them," he tells Loki.

Loki laughs once more. "Well yeah, they're evil geniuses, they don't need boundaries," Loki states with an eye roll.

"Obviously they do, otherwise we wouldn't have called you here," Principal Howard replies, clasping his hands together in a sigh as he stares at the clock mounted on the wall. "Unfortunately, it's six o'clock, so I can't keep you here any longer," he says, standing up from his chair, "I've never said this before to anyone, but please, for the sake of everyone involved, Mr. Beaker, please quit 'parenting' your children."

Loki shrugs, flashing the principal his signature smirk. "Eh, I'll think about it."

…

Twenty minutes later, the family of four steps into the Beaker mansion, Loki still fuming after their meeting with the principal. Ceres quickly trudges up the stairs while Atom appears rather unfazed in the living room. Loki turns to Vidcund, who is still rubbing his aching forehead. "Can you believe the nerve of that guy suggesting that I'm the problem in our children's lives?!" he cries, "What is his deal?"

Atom smiles and stares up at Loki. "Hey Dad, can I use the chainsaw?" he asks.

"Sure, knock yourself out," he states, waving it off.

"No, you cannot use the chainsaw," Vidcund quickly tells his son, jumping in before a catastrophe commences. He crosses his arms and glares at Loki, "See?" he states, "This is exactly what Principal Howard was talking about!"

Loki laughs and rolls his eyes. "Look, I know what he was talking about, okay? He was saying that we need to let our children have free reign of the neighborhood, so they turn into evil masterminds."

Vidcund's face falls in a line. "I don't think anyone was saying that," he says, before turning towards the kitchen and burying his face in his hand.

"I don't know what you're so worried about, Vidcund," Loki states, stepping towards his distressed boyfriend, "The kids are fine."

"No, they're not," Vidcund replies, "I feel like I'm failing as a father. Do you think a happy child would try to run away from home and live in a butterfly garden?"

Loki shrugs, seriously pondering this one over. "Well, if they like butterflies-"

"I'm gonna go talk to her," Vidcund definitively states before slowly trekking up the stairs.

Vidcund sighs as he rounds the corner of the hallway, the light hue of the evening sun barely illuminating his daughter's bedroom. Vidcund sighs as he approaches the doorway. The room was mostly open, but he decided to knock anyway. "Ceres?" he calls out, giving the door a gentle tap, "Can I come in?" Vidcund asks.

The young girl groans and continues hiding behind her blue and white dollhouse, which stands out like a sore thumb in her mostly pink bedroom. "I guess," she states softly.

Vidcund slowly steps into the bedroom, doing his best to avoid the toys spread messily across the carpet. "Come over here, I want to talk to you."

"Is Dad here?" Ceres asks suddenly, still perched behind the miniature house.

Vidcund shakes his head, "No."

"Okay. I'll be right there," Ceres replies, slowly and carefully moving around her dollhouse. She takes a seat down on the pink carpet next to Vidcund.

"So…do you want to tell me what happened?" Vidcund asks, speaking into the silence. Ceres nods, "Why did you run away from the group? Did you get lost?"

Ceres shakes her head. "I didn't get lost," she replies, her voice is so soft it is barely audible, "I ran away because I…" Ceres stares down at the carpet, looking as though she is about to burst into tears any second. She releases heavy sigh. "Dad, what if I don't want to be an evil genius?"

"What?" Vidcund tilts his forehead.

"I mean, Dad seems to have this extraordinary life built up for Atom and me, but what if I don't want to do that?" she says, "What if I just want to be a normal kid?" Ceres asks.

"Well," Vidcund begins, wrapping his arm consoling around his daughter, "that would cause me a lot less distress," he answers, "but even if it didn't, you shouldn't be afraid to be who you are. Honey, you can be whatever you want to be. It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks."

"Really?" Ceres squeaks, fiddling with her hands slightly, "Cause I wanna be like you."

Vidcund leans back slightly, unable to believe what he is hearing, "What?"

"I wanna be like you, Dad," Ceres repeats, looking up at Vidcund and giving him a small smile, "I wanna be a plant biologist."

Vidcund's heart melts. His eyes trail down to the carpet. This is the first time that day he feels like he has done something right. "Well, I guess we should go to the garden more often then."

Ceres nods, her eyes shining in excitement. She leans forward and wraps her arms around him. "Thanks, Dad, you know, for making me feel normal."

"You are normal," Vidcund says, the hug making him feel like the best father in Strangetown. Suddenly, the pair's eyes widen as they hear a chainsaw going off downstairs. "Well, as normal as anyone in this house is ever going to be," he adds.