Everything is everything

Round 27: Spring 2026

last update/next update

Luc Lane is 33 and Asha Royce is 29.
(Kit is 66, Zaria is 38 and Olivia and Lia are both 29)

Narrated by Asha Royce

Luc and I have had such a tumultuous year so far and it doesn't look like things are going to slow down any time soon.

First came my $11,000 tax bill! That was a fun little piece of mail to receive.

I sat on it for a few days before I even told Luc because I was so worried about it. I just totally freaked out about it for a while.

Predictably, Luc wasn't worried, because he never worries about that kind of thing. This time at least, he was right and we were able to pay it off without selling everything we own.

Then Luc's mother, Debbie, suffered a stroke and died. I could tell it affected Luc in some way, because he was much quieter than usual and he'd always stop to look at the pictures of himself and Debbie that we have in the living room.

But he wouldn't talk about it at all. If I tried to bring up Debbie at all, he'd change the subject or he'd say he was fine. Luc doesn't really like talking about his parents, so eventually, I just had to let it go.

So we've had a crappy time of it recently but it hasn't been all bad.

Eight years after he first asked me, Luc and I finally got engaged.

I definitely took my time deciding but I finally feel like marrying Luc is the right thing for me, so of course, I said yes.

I've kind of surprised myself with how excited I am about it. I'm still feeling a bit jittery about it sometimes but I'm mostly just happy.

Then I found out I was pregnant. I took a test to be sure but I just knew.

I talked with Zaria and I felt exactly the same way she did both times. Hungrier than usual, nauseous every morning, really tired.

I can't say I was quite as excited about being pregnant as I was about being engaged.

Neither of Zaria's pregnancies were planned but she always says how happy she is that they happened anyway. She says I'll feel differently when I'm holding my baby.

I hope she's right. I'm not sure how I feel yet. I think I'm still in shock. This was definitely not planned.

Luc has wanted a kid for a couple of years now, so he's thrilled. I don't know what he's looking forward to more - getting married or having a kid.

Our lives are about to completely change and I just really hope I'm ready for that. Right now, we can do whatever we want, whenever we want. When the baby comes, we're going to have to drop everything to go and do whatever the baby needs us to do.

We're not telling everybody about the baby yet, but our close friends and our families know. Mum is beside herself! She knows she's not going to get any more grandkids out of Zaria (if Zaria can help it!), so she's been waiting for me to "settle down".

Mum loves Jessica and Josh but I think she misses having babies around. She's such a wonderful grandmother. I'm glad she'll be around for this little one.

She also keeps offering us money. Money for a wedding dress, money for a venue, money for a honeymoon, money for the baby.

Luc and I have decided that we're going to have the wedding here, which is going to cut right down on costs. Our place isn't huge but we've had parties before and it wasn't too cramped.

It's kind of strange that it's worked out that Lia, Olivia and I are all pregnant at the same time. Olivia and I are even due around the same date!

Lia's been through it before, so she's kind of been telling us what's what. She completely freaks me out though. If anyone worries more than me, it's Lia. She's so paranoid. A lot of her advice consists of a long list of things I can no longer eat or do.

Even though Olivia is just as new to this as I am, I actually feel better talking to her than to Lia.

It's sort of comforting to know that she's nervous too, even though she and Steve planned this baby.

Of all my school friends, Olivia is probably the one I was the least close to but we've really bonded over our pregnancies.

Since I've been talking about it with Olivia, I'm feeling a lot better about the baby, much to Luc's surprise. I'm still a little apprehensive about becoming a mother but I'm slightly more confident that it's something I can handle.

I'm only just now letting myself get a tiny bit excited about the baby. I'm hoping that by the time the baby comes around, I can match Luc's levels of enthusiasm.

Notes:

• Title is from Everything is Everything by Phoenix.
• Asha rolled the tax audit ROS for this round. $11,000 was their total tax bill - their property tax they would have paid anyway, plus what they had to pay because of the audit. It's about half of what they had, so they still have plenty of money but Asha's a worrier and likes to have more of a nest egg than they have now.
• Baby Lane is due in Winter 2027, at the same time as Baby Nihill. Unlike Baby Nihill, Baby Lane will be the result of risky woohoo. Asha and Luc are slobs and they're not allowed to use birth control.
• I've got Asha and Luc's wedding slotted in for Summer 2028. I kind of wanted another pregnant bride because I haven't had one since Aphrodite but I don't think Asha and Luc are the types to be at all concerned about their child being born in wedlock, nor is Asha the type to rush into things.
• So far next round, there are three babies due! That's kind of crazy, right? I forget how many babies were born this round but I'm predicting another population climb!