#(apparently it’s about dads and a college football team that their sons are in ??)

[kenneth-omega]

WE’RE GETTING A FILM WITH KENNY IN IT STARRING ALONGSIDE JERICHO AND AUSTIN ???!¿¿!¡?¿!!¿¡¡?¡

[rowaelinismyotp]

The 50-yard Line

Masterlist

written for day 7 of @elorcanweek2022

a/n: not edited, sorry if it sucks- i’m trying to get back into the groove of writing. i had this sitting in my drafts for months and elorcan week finally pushed me to finish. also side note cause i just wanted to tell someone: i actually wrote this on paper to get the ideas flowing and it kinda worked!! but it was a pain in the ass to type so i don’t know how i feel about the method. anyways, hope you enjoy :)

wordcount: 2.8k

~ ~ ~

“Salvaterre! Whitethorn! Get your asses on the line!”

Lorcan Salvaterre rolled his eyes at the senior screaming instructions: Erawan Valg. The guy had it all: the ladies, the popularity, the money, not to mention he was the captain of the football team (but did it count if it was because his dad was the coach? Lorcan didn’t think so). But, Lorcan mused to himself, he’d rather be a broke virgin loser than be stuck with a personality as vile as that.

Lorcan wobbled as he stood up from where he was taking his water break between sprints, feeling like a newborn fawn on a ship caught in a storm. Fuck, he would definitely need an ice bath when he got home. Erawan was not taking it easy on the rest of the team today. Maybe he had some issues with his daddy dearest, the coach. Seeing how hard it was considering it was only week two of the season, Lorcan couldn’t say he was particularly excited for the rest of the season, no matter how much he loved playing.

Football was his way out of this small town. Rowan may have had the brains but for Lorcan, he honestly couldn’t give a shit about academics. That was definitely not his calling, as made evident by his grades. People would always say he couldn’t amount to anything, a foster kid bouncing around in the system, house to house. At least Rowan had a future, they said. Well, he was determined to prove them wrong. 

Rowan and Lorcan had been adopted together at 10 after staying together in the system since they were 6, both boys facing traumatic childhoods with Lorcan and his substance-addicted mother and Rowan with his emotionally and physically abusive aunt. Gavriel had adopted them. They would mock him, asking how much of a family could they be, a real family anyway, but Lorcan didn’t give a shit what people thought. He was happy, Rowan was happy, and his little family of three was happy, the third being Gavriel, their adoptive father. Apparently, the man had grown up in foster care as well and after the death of his wife and son, he decided to comply with his late wife’s wishes for him to adopt a child to give them a loving home and family, things both she and her husband didn’t have growing up. Gavriel saw Lorcan and Rowan and had seen himself in them, at least, that’s what it said in his journal. Lorcan hadn’t meant to snoop one day, he was just looking for a spare notebook he could use, but the juicy tidbit of gossip was just too good not to share with Rowan. Though Rowan pretended to be dismayed as to how Lorcan got the information, he knew that on the inside, the little gossiper would be having a field day at the minefield of information. They knew they could talk to Gavriel about anything, it was just more exciting this way.

That had been 6 years ago when little Lorcan’s biggest concern was if Gavriel would return them to the foster home like an ill-fitting pair of jeans. Now, his concerns were football and college. Bemoaning the hour of ‘optional’ practice they surely had left, Lorcan turned towards the bleachers, suddenly distracted by the recognizably familiar pair of blood-red converse. There was only one person at this school with those shoes. Shaky legs and exhaustion forgotten, Lorcan jogged up to Erawan and his right-hand man Duke Perrington to ask for a break to use the bathroom. Sent off with a careless wave and some crude joke Lorcan didn’t care to hear, he turned with a huge grin that was an accurate representation of how his heart felt at seeing Elide Lochan. 

They had met at one of Aelin Galathynius’ birthday ragers, Lorcan only tagging along for his brother Rowan, the hopeless idiot crushing on Aelin. Lorcan had been in the corner, ignoring the piss-poor beer he was handed and lamenting his decision in letting Rowan drag him along when that bastard had left him for Aelin after she batted her lashes at him. Elide had been looking for a way to avoid Erawan, landing herself on his lap with a hurriedly whispered ‘Please play along’ before pressing her lips to his. They kissed awkwardly for a while, Lorcan only putting his hands on her thighs when she placed them there before Elide was sure Erawan had gotten the message. They escaped to one of the spare bedrooms upstairs to further cement their lie for Erawan with an explanation from Elide and they’d spent the rest of the night talking to each other. They had had more in common than Lorcan had originally thought when passing her in the halls. She was sharp, funny, and so unbelievably gorgeous. Elide had asked that they take it slow and casually after Lorcan accidentally blurted out a rushed ‘Willyoubemygirlfriend?” but Hellas damn him if it wasn’t the hardest thing in the world for him. He should’ve known then that he was falling hard, and fast. 

Lorcan ran behind the bleachers as fast as he could when he left the captain’s vision and was rewarded by a short but sweet kiss from Elide. They were quickly cut off by Lorcan’s breathless pants, something he swore was from the running, not from seeing his crush. Elide took one last hit of her joint before putting it out, all too aware of Lorcan’s aversion to all drugs and substances after both of his parents died of accidental overdoses. Granted, it had been crack, not marijuana prescribed for her bad ankle, that Lorcan’s parents had taken, but Elide never wanted to do anything that made Lorcan uncomfortable. She was developing a soft spot for her fuck-buddy, actually. 

“Hey sport,” Elide muttered in a husky voice that made Lorcan lose his mind every time.

“Hi, El-” Lorcan started to greet her before being cut off by the taste of her cherry lip gloss on her lips as she pressed them to his. A scent of cinnamon and elderberries that was so uniquely Elide enveloped him. The hour that had felt so long when he was conditioning now was over with a blink of an eye as Elide and Lorcan lost themselves in each other. Hot and sweaty from their make-out session and the late August heat, they were startled back to reality with the clattering of cleated feet plodding up the bleachers. Lorcan raised his head in alarm before cursing as he clonked his head on the bleachers. Elide let out a small giggle at the comical sight of a 6’5 (and growing) Lorcan squished under the bleachers with her 5’1 self. 

Lorcan stepped out from their secret make-out spot and offered his hand to Elide to help her up when he was met with the leering grins of Erawan and Duke. Those fuckers. Elide led Lorcan away with a scoff towards the two seniors when Erawan’s voice echoed after them.

“Wow. That’s real slutty of you ‘lide. First that cheerleader witch, now the junior loser? What’s next, the trash? Seems that you’re getting pretty damn close to getting there.”

Elide growled, the sound intimidating yet sexy to Lorcan. “Fuck off, Valg. I don’t want to have to tell you again.”

“You could find yourself a real man here, Elide,” Erawan ignored her, digging deeper into his little stupidity pit. “I’ll be waiting for the day you regain your senses. We could rule the school.”

She rolled her eyes in response before continuing to drag Lorcan away with her, a storm cloud gathering above the both of them. Elide didn’t deserve the shit she got for not wanting to hook up with the biggest douchebag at their school, Lorcan thought. Unfortunately, Elide ran in similar circles with Erawan because of her friends, the icy head cheerleader Manon Blackbeak, the aforementioned ‘cheerleader bitch’ as well as Aelin Galathynius, her cousin and the rising freshman star of the soccer team from what he had heard. Combined with her status as a senior and a reputation for being one of the hottest yet hardest to get with girls at their school, according to a poll taken by the newspaper club at least, that meant she frequently ran into Erawan often at parties and therefore came face to face with his horrid attempts to woo her by talking down to her. Like Lorcan said earlier, he’d rather have nothing in the eyes of Erawan than have a personality like his. 

Elide pulled Lorcan off to the side into an alcove between buildings where no one could see them. As a habit, she frantically pulled out a pre-rolled joint to weed before taking a long puff. Lost in his detailed imagining of revenge against Erawan (beating the shit out of him) on Elide’s behalf, not that she needed him to, Lorcan was startled back to reality with the smell of weed. With a groan, he pulled the joint out of an unsuspecting Elide’s hand before smashing it under his foot. Already braced for the harsh feedback, he was  not surprised when the verbal lashing started.

“What the fuck was that for, asshole?”

Lorcan narrowed his eyes. “I asked you not to smoke that shit around me, El, and you agreed. Besides, you’re welcome for helping you not drop dead.”

“Oh my gods. We’re not doing this again. I’m not going to fucking die. It’s prescribed you big gargantuan moran. Mind your own business,” Elide muttered in a tone akin to the growl from before as she balled her fists up.

“Hell, I’m sorry for caring about your well-being. I thought we were friends. Or a thing. Or whatever?” Lorcan was met with Elide’s dick shriveling glare, as he liked to call it. Oh shit. 

“Well then don’t fucking care about me. We’re not friends, we’re fuck-buddies. That’s all it is,” Elide spat out, the escalation of their argument surprising both of them. “I’ve had enough of this toxic male bullshit for today. Leave. Me. Alone.”

Lorcan scoffed bitterly, hurt by her sudden outburst. He hadn’t been trying to fight her, he genuinely was concerned for her but maybe this wasn’t the best way to show that. Whatever, he wasn’t about to cave now. “Well if that’s what you want, I’ll see you around.” Lorcan turned and walked out of the school towards where Gavriel’s car was waiting, forcing himself not to look back at the girl he had fallen in love with as he took each step. 

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .*:☆ﾟ. ───

It had been about three weeks since ‘the incident’, as Lorcan liked to call it, and Elide still hadn’t called or texted. Or even looked in his general direction. Lorcan was more ashamed of himself than anything, trailing her like a lost puppy and taking long detours from class to class just to get a glimpse of her. He suspected the silence on her end had something to do with him labeling their relationship rather than their argument, especially with her known aversion to relationships. But then again, he could be wrong. Fuck, he just wasn’t sure anymore. 

Miraculously, as if summoned by his tortured thoughts, Lorcan’s phone lit up with a text from a number he knows all too well. 

my uncle left last night- come over and talk?

Lorcan typed, deleted, and re-typed different responses too many times as he tries to formulate a response that says ‘I wasn’t obsessing over you or chasing you like a lost puppy but I did think of you a little” while still being cool and suave. He gave up eventually and just settled on a simple ‘k’ before sending it off. Lorcan sighed. The things you do when you’re whipped for people. 

Jolting out of bed to put on a pair of sweats, Lorcan jogged through their one-story house to the key rack. He cursed when he found the keys to the Range Rover he and Rowan shared missing. As Lorcan heard the unmistakable sound of an engine starting, Lorcan cursed again, letting out a few choice words. Today was Whitethorn’s date with Galathynius. Lorcan normally loved Aelin, Rowan’s girlfriend of 4 months after he finally brought up the courage and balls to ask her on a date. The ‘bitch queen’, as he nicknamed her affectionately, could give insults as good as she got and the two quickly became as thick and thieves after a short period of mutual antagonizing. Aelin made his brother happy and she was like a sister to him but Hellas be damned if she didn’t have the worst timing. This was his chance to finally confess to Elide how he felt after three weeks of agony and he was stuck with no ride to Elide’s place after an invitation there.

There would be no other choice than to run. Gavriel took his own car to work and he refused to ask Rowan to come back and drop him off. Now that he remembered, the bastard had been so excited for the date today, fucking humming some love song that had pushed Lorcan deep into his wallowing in misery. No matter how desperately he wanted to see Elide quickly, he couldn’t do that to his brother. 

Half an hour, 2 bottles of water, and a lot of breaks later, Lorcan was finally at Elide’s grandiose house (or was it called a mansion?). Lorcan shot a text out to let Elide know he’s here so she doesn’t attack him thinking he’s an intruder before lifting the potted plant next to the door to find her spare key. As he walked up the familiar stairs where he had fucked Elide when her parents were away, he grinned at the memory before refocusing to find Elide and talk about whatever she wanted to talk about. He peered through the rooms he thought she would be in, before poking his head through Elide’s bedroom door last. Bingo. 

Elide is furiously texting someone with lightning-fast thumbs as she’s hunched over her phone when Lorcan found her. He knocked on her door to let her know he was there and her head snaps up so quickly that he heard her neck crack. Lorcan winced. That had to hurt. Elide ignored the painful feeling of her back protesting her strained position to tell Lorcan the three words weighing on her since the day he walked away from their argument. Granted it had been because she told him to, but Elide knew it would kill her if he walked away from her like that again. Her heart was too involved for her to not care. 

Lorcan began to speak, the words coming out too quickly to be actually considered words when Elide interrupts him.

“Lorcan, just please let me get this out. I know you care for me, and I care for you too, but I want more. I- I love you. A lot. I couldn’t stop thinking about you after our argument. I’m sorry for what I said that day, I didn’t mean a single thing I said. We are more than fuck buddies. You’re my best friend, and I love you. I felt so bad about how I lashed out but you were really pissing me off, but all I could think about as you left was the fact that I don’t care if you piss me off every single day for the rest of our lives. I just want to spend it with you.”

“Lochan. I don’t know what to say..” Lorcan trailed off, pouting before he grinned. “You stole my dramatic love confession. I’ve only loved you since the day we first met. I realized it that day during practice when I saw your converse from the 50-yard line. I’d never been so excited to see someone as I’m excited to see you every single day and all I could think was ‘Damn, I could do this for the rest of my life’. I’m sorry for the shit I said too, and for walking away. I promise you that I will never walk away from you again. We’ll always solve shit before leaving from now on, okay?” 

Elide’s face went from worried to euphoric in a second. She threw her arms around him and hugged him with more strength than Lorcan thought she had. As Lorcan let out a booming laugh, Elide shrieked in surprise as he spun her around like she was his queen. Lorcan had never been so fucking happy in his entire life. The moment she told him that she loved him, it was like a missing puzzle piece in his heart finally clicked into place.

Maybe that 50-yard line when Lorcan had realized he loved Elide had something to do with all the magic he was feeling. He’d have to plan something there to commemorate it. Maybe a promposal? That was hilarious, Lorcan thought to himself. If you had told him a year ago, hell even a month ago, that he would be excited to go to prom, he would have laughed at you. But now? Now, he’d be ready for anything with Elide by his side.

~ ~ ~

tags

@perseusannabeth

@backtobl4ck

@autumnbabylon

@swankii-art-teacher

@cretaceous-therapod

@themoonthestarsthesuriel

@vinylcryes

[crimsonblackrose]

Did this girl scrapbook the ad? 😂 I thought this was the college project she did for her big brother whose flunking.

Lol apparently it was a fluke that she scrapbooked the Equalizer’s ad. Girl, why?

So why are these men in suits having their business meeting right next to a pool that is...in use by the swim team????

Welcome back Joe Morton! Also did not know suicide squad was a sports term. 😂😅

Why is this guy always near a lady in a swimsuit? Also why would wear a swim suit to do someone’s nails? Let alone do someone’s nails outside? What if a bug or something flies into the polish? Is this supposed to be like he’s so well connected and powerful? It reads as a terrible manicure. Dude, go inside for a manicure.

Ugh this whole family has put their entire hope and future on their eldest son who got a football scholarship, but then got kicked of the team because he was injured. He keeps trying to find alternative ways to tell them and to like talk about it but they keep talking about his scholarship and bright future and this kids going to start selling drugs. Football player: Hey dad how about I join the family business with you? Dad: This business is crashing down around my ears, but you your business never will and you won’t ever let it will you?

McCall: I’ve talked to your coach and he’s agreed to extend your scholarship for a year. Football player whose whole goal in life was to go pro and make tons of money from that and with 0 educational goals: My sister wrote most of my papers and did  most of my homework. What am I supposed to do?

Gives the kid the watch off his wrist....why? lol it’s solid gold. Okay. I do like the birds of paradise behind him though. This is also a gym but for some reason 90% of time they’re next to the pool.

I adore Brock, and I’m glad he made one more final episode. But since this is the final ever episode with these characters I’m kind of bummed that Control and Mickey aren’t in them. I got used to Scott not being in a lot of them quite a while ago. (Scott’s probably still dealing with the fact he killed a man. 😭) But I mean heck they gave McCall a restaurant with an old friend behind the desk and she’s not been around for a lot of episodes despite what seemed like a move to try and make her a reoccurring regular.

I will say that’s maybe the best response to someone surprising you with a gun. Blows them a kiss. 😂 Ving Rhames did a great job in this episode.

Our football player looks so uncomfortable. 😂

At least Brock is there to keep an eye on them.

Ah yes had to fit in the “I’m a father too” one last time. In response to...uh your son is hanging out with a drug dealer, working for him so I know how you feel. Scott hasn’t done that has he? McCall be nicer to your son. Oh wait. “Sometimes they want love so badly they’ll do almost anything to get it won’t they?” Maybe you haven’t loved your son enough McCall? Huh? I’ve got feelings about that. This is the last one. Welcome to a detour. Robert McCall has three children. One, a girl he was unaware of is the oldest who was raised in Montreal  with a police officer as a father who loves her very much. Then he has Scott and a girl who died as a kid. It’s unknown whether she was a baby or a kid, but I kind of think Scott’s the baby. And here’s my reasoning why. I think they probably had the girl and they loved her very much and then had Scott and the girl died and they sent Scott off to boarding school. Because at one point when Scott’s been accidentally abducted Robert says to his ex wife, that they tried really hard not to be parents. And even though it’s Scott whose in danger they spend most of their time talking about their dead daughter. He talks about her a lot. More so then the son he’s got whose still alive and for most of these seasons, the only child he had. Scott doesn’t seem to be terribly cut up about his sister, just tells his older sister that he’s happy not to be an only child any more and not alone. Which makes me think either he was too young to remember much about his other sister. Heck, Scott might’ve been like a “fix-it/band-aid baby” to try and save their marriage or a mistake. Because the ex-wife has shown up twice, played by two different actresses and essentially in both cases/instances, she doesn’t seem to know much about Scott and seems more or less determined not to...care too much. And it’s kind of a bummer since they introduce Scott in season 1 episode 1 and McCall is all like “I’m here my boy! I’ve retired, let’s fix our relationship!” and then we don’t really see Scott all that much. It feels like they meant to include him more and then had to cut it. It feels like based off that same Scott’s accidentally been kidnapped episode, that there probably were scenes where Scott and his father embrace or have important conversations but they were cut. Possibly for time, but who knows why exactly. But it’s just so sad. Because Mr. McCall plays the “I’m a father” card so frequently and yet he’s never really been a father.

Sure he’s got kids, he’s made kids, but the eldest one he was unaware of, the other daughter died while he was working, and then he ran away so hard and so fast that Scott spends most of his time snapping at his father for abandoning him. That promise in that first episode never got fulfilled and I think that’s what makes me so miffed about the whole thing. The show opens with here’s this ex-spy out to help people and also be there for his musician son and to repair that time spent away and to bond with him and instead that whole string got tied off into a circle, it’s the same ride every episode. They like each other they hate each other they make no progress towards healing. Which is that both of Scott’s parents abandoned him into a boarding school. In McCall’s case, since this is mostly his story, it’s a combination of fear because of what happened to his father and also the death of his daughter and all this grief and trauma but that first episode promises that he’s going to fix that, get better, that he and Scott McCall are going to finally heal and be a family. And each episode Scott’s in, that’s how it ends, but then in the next episode Robert is pissed about something Scott’s done or thinks he’s an idiot or a fool and, it’s dumb stuff, like sometimes Scott makes mistakes and is too trusting, but generally Scott is right. His instincts are almost always right. But McCall never trusts them, never trusts Scott and never tries to teach him the correct way to deal with things so it just continues to go in circles over and over again until the ending where things are better. I mean hell, Robert himself gets kidnapped and almost mortally wounded and they don’t even show Scott and Robert’s reunion at the end of that episode. They instead spend the “tearful reunion” time between some random guy we met for the first time an episode prior and Robert.

And some of this might be because they had planned that spin off with Scott as the main character but since that didn’t happen, it’s just kind of...frustrating.

And there we have it, the final shot of the Equalizer. Kid running off to college with the grapes of wrath under his arm(gift from McCall), his coach and his little sister there to cheer him on as if a college campus is one single building like a high school, and turning back to wave at Mr. McCall. I’ve got a couple other screenshot collections to go through that I never shared. I’ll get those together at some point. But there we go, all done. It’s a weird choice for a final episode, feels like it was cut off before they planned suddenly and so they weren’t able to have that type of episode that most shows kind of do for their finales. Though who knows....maybe 80′s shows are like that????

[jupitermelichios]

So I had to do overtime today, but I’m working from home and I’m not expected to make phone calls on weekends, so obviously I’m watching highschool musical 2 while i work.

I had not remembered that a major plot revolves around a) East High having a golf team and b) Troy having been on the golf team. Troy’s family can’t afford to send him to college without a scholarship. His dad has to buy a wreck and repair it rather than getting him a new car. But apparently they spend their weekends playing golf! Also highschool golf team.

I had also not remembered the scene where Sharpay has her minion kidnap Troy to watch a racist song and dance sequence that’s weird enough that’s it’s functionally a Rogers & Hammerstein style dream ballet but without the sleep/drugs framing device.

This is a minor thing, but there’s a couple of underwater shots that are supposed to be shot in the pool on the golf course but the pool they shoot in is insanely deep, like way deeper than a standard olympic pool. I assume it’s one on a studio lot they use for filming dramatic drowning scenes and stuff, but that doesn’t explain why they didn’t use the actual pool they had on the set.

They really show off how weird the choice of basketball as Troy’s sport was when they have a scene were college basketball people come to meet Troy, and they’re all 6ft black guys standing next to this tiny little white teenager. I assume the reason why it’s basketball is football doesn’t lend itself to coreography and basketball isn’t sexy enough? It’s still weird.

I’m still pissed that the girl who’s dark secret was her love of popping and locking can’t actually pop and lock. That seems like it would be a really easy thing to get right when you’ve got disney’s entire stable of stage school kids to draw on.

Holy shit I hadn’t remembered how gay the basketball scene was. Like, holy shit. This isn’t subtle and I really can’t believe that was an accident. Except that it’s the disney channel, so there’s no way it was deliberate. Also you’ve got to appreciate the irony of the basketball boys getting a dance routines scored to a song about how they refuse to dance.

I like how they were trying tomake it clear how spoiled Ryan and Sharpay are, but instead but gave them the ridiculously supportive parents who are completely devoted to supporting their kids despite the fact that their daughter is a sociopath and their son probably thinks Elton John could have done with more spangles. And also that translates into them also being super supportive of anyone their kids are friends with.

I’m assuming that the thought process behind this movie was ‘everyone thinks the twins are fucking, give Sharpay a love interest she’s not related to, dial Ryan’s queer coding up to 11, and make them fight, the rest will work itself out’

All of the costume design for these movies is amazing, it’s early 00s runway times 1000000, and I love whoever decided that Sharpay should unironically wear a tiara in every scene.

The overdubbing of the songs is seriously hit and miss, which adds to the already slightly weird tonal decision to make 70% of the songs diagetic, so it’s never clear what’s actually happening. Like, the baseball dance, probably not real, but Sharpay’s opening number? Who the fuck knows!

The biggest plot hole in this whole show is that both Troy and Gabrielle can read sheet music. Seriously why and when did either of them learn that? They could do it in the first one as well, so it’s not that they learned it for the unnamed musical.

It’s probably a lot less noticable if you’re a kid, but as an adult the fact that they repeat for or five songs over and over to pad the runtime and avoid having to write additional music really stands out.

I’m absolutely always here for dance sequences that are framed like bruce banner hulking out, but while HS2 is objectively a better movie than footloose, Efron is no Kevin Spacey.

Okay, so much of this film is redemed by the guy who’s like “why the fuck do you think we care about a musical tallent show, I’m a basketball player/pastry chef what the fuck do i care about musicals”

How the fuck did Troy learn an entire new song in the 2 minutes it took Gabriella to get changed? Also I know the answer is ‘dramatic reveals’ but why did no one tell the announcer that Sharpay would not be singing, that’s just a dick move.

Okay, so it’s cute that they get to do the final number, but as that annoying person who always has to point out the logistical problems of fictional stories, they’ve got like 300 guests eating a meal and the entire kitchen, wait and bar staff have all fucked off to do a tallent show. Are the guests supposed to let themselves into the kitchen and cook their own dinner?! Are we trusting them behind the bar now?!

Oh fuck you Ryan, I thought you were supposed to be good at this stuff, why is your group number a) a duet, b) staged in a way that means that actual audience can only see the backs of the performers! And then they give him the fucking trophy instead of Kelsie! What the fuck, movie?! I have seen a lot of dance movies, and I know you have to make the final number one no one has ever heard or rehearsed before, but there’s no justification for this! Sharpay gets a character developement moment, but it’s immediately followed by her being punished, which is just narritvely weird, and then the wildcats musical number that big chunks of the plot have been about never gets used.

Seriously the overdubbing. How is it this bad?! Also “enjoy this day because you’ll never get another’ is a weirdly threatening lyric for the closing song of a disney channel movie about the importance of friendship!

Honestly I actually really enjoyed it, and some of the songs are bops, but there’s a lot to unpack.

[ladyhistorypod]

Episode 14: Thanksgiving Special

Sources:

Susan La Flesche

The History Reader

PBS: New Perspectives on the West

Hampton University

Hampton Archives

Nebraska Studies

Further Reading/Watching: PBS American Masters, Smithsonian Magazine

Sacagawea

Brooklyn Museum

National Museum of the American Indian Blog

Native Mascots And Other Misguided Beliefs (NMAI)

National Women’s History Museum

Nat Geo Kids

Ted Ed

Further Reading: Smithsonian American Women: Remarkable Objects and Stories of Strength, Ingenuity, and Vision from the National Collection, I Am Sacagawea, Sacajawea of the Shoshone

Zitkala-Sa

Utah Women’s History

Women and the American Story

Akta Lakota Museum and Cultural Center

National Parks Service

Further Reading: Women in America, Extra and Ordinary: Zitkala-Sa (Smithsonian Libraries)

Click below for the transcript of this episode!

Haley: So how old are your guys’ parents, and did you ever growing up like regard them as like the old parents?

Alana: My… so my… Here's what's really fucking me up these days, is that Joe Biden graduated from the University of Delaware the same year my dad was born. So my dad was born in June of 1965 and Joe Biden graduated University of Delaware probably like May of 1965. So that's what's making me uncomfortable these days.

Lexi: You know when my mom graduated from the University of Delaware?

Alana: When?

Lexi: The nineties. (Laughing)

Alana: So my parents, they’re like kind of old. My mom was born in 1963, but my mom is also the third of four children.

Haley: Because my mom was born in ‘69 and my dad ‘67. And Robert’s parents… I don't know exactly when they were born but I know it's in the cluster of my parents. But my mom and dad were always regarded as like the younger parents. And it came up today because my sister's boyfriend's parents have always been regarded– my mom's like oh they’re older because my sister's boyfriend, Stephen, is the youngest of four. So my mom and dad got married three days after my mom graduated from college, but they waited seven years. Like they owned a freakin’ Subway and went backpacking in Europe before having me. Like they lived their life, if you will, and then they had kids. But all my friends, like growing up, all their parents are like five to ten years older than my parents.

Lexi: So my parents got married at twenty three.

Alana: Also ridiculous.

Lexi: They were born in 1972. No shade giving my mom’s age out, but honestly she's super young. We get mistaken for sisters no matter where we go, especially if we’re with my grandmother. They tell her she has two lovely daughters. I don't know if that's an insult to me or a compliment to my mother… 

Haley: A compliment to your mother.

Alana: It’s definitely a compliment to your mother.

Lexi: My mother was invited to frat parties when she visited me in college several times.

Haley: No, your mother is smokin’ hot. Like my mother–

Lexi: She was the marching band MILF. Do you know the song Stacy's Mom?

Alana: Of course I know Stacy's Mom.

Lexi: The marching band, when we played it would sing Lexi’s mom.

Alana, singing: Lexi’s mom has got it goin’ on.

[INTRO MUSIC]

Alana: Hello and welcome to Lady History; the good, the bad, and the ugly ladies you missed in history class. by whipping sort of as always is Lexi Lexi what are you thankful for.

Lexi: I am thankful for you guys.

Alana: That’s gross. I am also joined(ish) by Haley. Haley, are you a white meat or dark meat kinda gal?

Haley: I really like– I guess like the– like a turkey leg? That’s dark meat. That’s my jam. I'm also not necessarily a turkey person.

Alana: And I'm Alana and I'm team captain of the cranberry sauce defense squad.

[Turkeys gobbling]

Alana: I don't think there is a good word for the people who were in the Americas before white people came to the Americas.

Lexi: There is not a good single word.

Haley: I also think that it's not us as non those people… 

Alana: That's the thing. And that was the conversation that we had–

Haley: And I hate that I said “those people” because it shouldn’t be “those people” but like

but like for my grad school, we have a whole section of like repatriation, NAGPRA, all that lovely good stuff in our law class. And with our history and theory class there's always like this– kinda wanna call it a symposium?– We asked the question, and I think it was my professor who posed it, because she's like I have to talk about it and I'm a Jewish white woman. I know people like have their preference on Jewish people versus Jews and I want to be able to teach the correct thing. And everyone in the room said Native Peoples just because so many different tribes or groups don't consider themselves American. So that’s what I use. And I like that the like phrase and I’m probably– someone else probably saying this but I’m gonna make it up for myself right now; just go with what you know until you're proven wrong. Because like that's what I know and like for now.

Alana: But that's the thing that we were talking about not on the podcast, elsewhere, about how like I've never heard an actual Latinx person use the phrase Latinx.

Haley: I do not consider myself–

Alana: Except for on One Day at a Time actually.

Lexi: I feel like I always go with if I need to call someone something I'm going to ask them–

Haley: Yes.

Lexi: –What they identify as, and if I don't know them well enough to have that conversation maybe I shouldn't be speaking for them in any way… Or not speaking for them, but I shouldn't be like representing them. But it's really complicated when we talk about history because a lot of the words we use didn't exist then. Like Ida B. Wells considered herself Negro, and we wouldn't… we wouldn't probably use that word now.

Haley: Well like with pronouns. We don’t assume–

Alana: Exactly.

Haley: –pronouns. So like… Because I feel very weird when people like assume like my race or ethnicity. And I identify that… I identify with being Persian or Cuban more so than being a female if that makes sense.

Lexi: Right.

Haley: I've never… it's not like I'm non– like non binary. I identify as female but I've never been like a FEMALE.

Speaker 3: I feel like with gender it's so– so easy to once you decide to do it just start using they as a default when you're not sure what someone's preference is, and there's not that for race or ethnicity. There’s not like a default word where you can say a word and not be offensive. Like, okay. It's like the thing with the Washington Redskins which is now the Washington Football Team. There were a lot–

Alana: Which is what my cousin always called it. Was always calling it the Washington Football Team.

Lexi: Actually apparently they picked that because a lot of people did just call it that. But also it's not even in Washington DC so it frustrates the crap out of me. But apparently like a bunch of people were up in arms about it that were Native peoples but then a bunch of Native peoples were like nah it's chill. And so it's like you can't say that all these people agree on something.

Haley: Yeah.

Alana: Yeah.

Haley: That's where we go back to like–

Lexi: There isn't a single hive mind of all of these people you’re trying to represent. Everyone has these own little different versions. And so, you know, what I've been told by a lot of people is like narrow it down. Like for example if you're Omaha, you’re Omaha. If you’re Hoganashone you’re Hoganashone. Because that's how they like refer to themselves.

Haley: Yeah. Yes. And I’ve heard this too. Like– I’m gonna say this. I was on Tik Tok.

(Alana and Lexi laughing)

Lexi: Honestly cultural Tik Tok is very fun. Like culture-based Tik Tok.

Haley: I’ve landed myself on what was called by this group of Tik Tok– this flavor of Tik Tok– Native and Indigenous Tik Tok.

Lexi: Yeah I've seen that.

Haley: But I noticed that for the Tik Tok-ers who are in Canada would use Indigenous.

Alana: I will never tell someone of one group that something is not anti that group because I don't want gentiles to tell me what is and what is not antisemitic, I don't want men to tell me what is and is not misogynistic, I don't want… what's my other identity? Oh, I'm queer. I don't want straight people to tell me what is and is not homophobic–

Haley: “What's my other identity?”

Alana: “What’s my other identity?”

Lexi: “I can’t remember. I’ve got so many.”

Alana: What’s my other one? I’m like marginalized in three different ways and I don’t remember what the third one is.

Archival Audio: For our clinics are all specialized. Wednesday afternoons, for instance, we only see expectant mothers. But each one is a different problem, because each one is a different person. They feel they're special, too, and always seem amazed when they discover they have something in common with the other women, but that’s natural. After all, we all think of our health problems as personal problems.

Lexi: Today I'm going to tell you the story of Susan La Flesche, the first Native American to receive a medical degree. And as we discussed, we’re not sure exact on the terms people prefer. Susan lived a long time ago and regarded herself as Native American, that’s why I'm using that term, but I understand that some people may not use that term to refer to themselves. But she identified as that, so that's what I'm calling her. So yes, she was the first Native American to receive a medical degree. Susan was an Omaha woman. Her father Iron Eyes, or Chief Joseph La Flesche, the last Omaha chief selected by traditional tribal methods, and he was the son of a Frenchman and an Omaha woman so he was half French, half Omaha. And as a chief he believed the only way to save his people was to mix elements of their culture with Western culture and for his people to get an education. And it was these beliefs that shaped Susan's future. Her mother was One Woman, or Mary La Flesche, and Susan was born on the Omaha reservation in Nebraska in 1865. As a child Susan, witnessed a Native woman die because the local white doctor would not provide her care. This event sparked Susan’s interest in becoming a medical professional, with the goal of helping Native people. She attended a school on the reservation until she was fourteen and then she went to the Elizabeth Institute for Young Ladies in New Jersey. Can you imagine being fourteen years old and traveling from Nebraska to New Jersey on a train by yourself? That’s crazy. That’s absolutely crazy.

Alana: Goals. I wanna do it. I love trains. I love trains. I wanna do it.

Lexi: So I think she must have been really brave, because it just that's… that's pretty amazing. A long trip for a little girl.

Alana: Especially as like first of all it being a young woman which is already dangerous, no matter what, and she's also from this like marginalized community.

Lexi: Yes.

Alana: That it's like double dangerous, quadruple dangerous because she was fourteen.

Lexi: Yeah. It's crazy. It's crazy. Must’ve been really really brave. And really wanted to go to the school I guess. So she went there for three years and at seventeen Susan returned home and she taught at the Mission School on the Omaha reservation. At the school, she worked with Alice Fletcher, who was a white woman who was an ethnologist who studied and recorded American Indian culture. And she came to live and work with the Omaha because of her passion for archaeology so she wanted to study living people to better understand the past, which has been–

Alana: Ethnographic archaeology.

Lexi: Yeah it's a thing that a lot of archaeologists like to do. When Fletcher fell ill, Susan helped her recover, and after seeing Susan’s skills and passions for medicine and health care, Fletcher urged Susan to travel east and pursue a degree in medicine. Susan enrolled in the Hampton Institute, which was a school in Virginia that was built after the Civil War to educate formerly enslaved people and had since become a hub for educating Black Americans and American Indians. When Susan was attending Hampton, a woman named Dr. Martha Waldron was working as a teacher and the resident physician at the school. Martha was a graduate of the Women's Medical College of Pennsylvania and suggested that Susan pursue further education there. Alice Fletcher, who had encouraged Susan to study medicine, assisted Susan by helping her apply for scholarships from the US Office of Indian Affairs and the Women's National Indian Association. In 1889, after two years in a three year program, Susan graduated top of her class from medical school. She spent one year doing an internship, which was similar to a modern day medical residency program in Philadelphia and then she returned home. At home, she became the primary care provider for about twelve hundred people, working at the reservation’s boarding school. In 1894, she married Henry Picotte, a Sioux man who had previously been traveling and working in Wild West shows. And they kept it all in the family with Susan's sister Marguerite deciding to marry Harry's brother Charles. So… that’s… that’s fun! After getting married, Henry and Susan had two sons and Susan opened a private practice which served both non white and white patients in her community. When Henry fell ill, Susan personally nursed him, all while working full time and caring for their two sons. At the age of forty, Susan became partially deaf, but kept working. In addition to being a doctor, Susan ran a children's library, worked as a Sunday school teacher, founded a quilting club, translated legal papers, and advocated for prohibition. In 1913, she opened a reservation hospital serving Omaha and Winnebago tribes. It was the first private hospital on a reservation anywhere in the country. Today, the building is a museum dedicated to tribal history and telling the story of Susan. In 1915, at just fifty years old, Susan passed away. Susan was important to her people because as aspects of their culture were taken away from them, she was able to draw a balance between traditional medicine and the practices that she learned at Western medical school. This worked because many of her people were still unsure about Western medicine, so by mixing their traditional healing practices with Western practices, she was able to develop a culturally specific plan of treatment. Her people grew to trust her and she began to be regarded as a modern medicine woman. She is a great example of why cultural representation is important and can impact public health. I also highly suggest watching the PBS video that I linked on the tumblr in the further watching. It’s super well made and it tells a really wonderful version of her story in a lot more detail than we're able to cover on our show and it has really good tie-ins to modern needs of communities like Susan's and interviews some modern female doctors and their communities which is really cool. That’s it. Short one.

Haley: I like– I like that story a lot.

Alana: I like that story too.

Lexi: Yeah there's not a lot about her like… 

Alana: Right.

Lexi: People don't record shit, so it’s mostly just her accomplishments, unfortunately.

(Audio from Night at The Museum)

Haley: So my story is about– drum roll please– the retelling of the story of Sacagawea. And for all of you who might be screaming my name right now, saying Hey I'm not pronouncing her name correctly, hold the phone we’ll get there. I first need to do my universal apologies for pronouncing any words, even historically American English words, incorrectly because we all know me; words aren't the greatest for my speech mouth. And to start us off, I'm switching over to the like I said that actual pronunciation– Saka-Gawea. And it's Sacagawea because in my research there's not a soft G in the Hidatsa language, which translates to bird woman. So side note, there are a bunch of different spellings, but if we're going based on the true like translation– Sa-Ka-Ga is bird, and it's spelled with a G. So Sacagawea is Sacajawea but just like–

Lexi: Can I just say, that's way prettier than Sacajawea.

Haley: Yeah because like for some Sacagawea it's like you have the G, or you have S. A. K. A. K. A. W. E. A, or instead of the G. it’s a J. But there's no hard – or, there's no soft Gs it's only hard Gs. And as a person who has a really hard time pronouncing things from reading because of the dyslexia spectrum that we know to love, it's gonna– it's gonna be balls to the walls bananas.

Alana: It's like… Was it the first Night at the Museum movie or the second Night at the Museum movie where she was like a character?

Lexi: The first.

Alana: The first one. And then the museum like–

Lexi, whispering: And then she fell in love with Theodore Roosevelt

Alana: Oh yeah, and then she fell in love with Theodore Roosevelt which was so… oh NO.

Haley: I’m glad you brought that up because I cut that part out.

Lexi: That’s a whole can of worms.

Alana: But like there's that whole thing about them pronouncing it wrong but it's always Sacaga-wee-ah or Sacaga-way-a, and I’m like both of you are wrong.

Haley: Glad you brought up Night at the Museum because I had a whole tangent on that but then I was like roll back Haley your notes are already long to begin with.

Alana: You cannot expect me to not bring up Night at the Museum if it is even tangentially relevant.

Lexi: I love them, I hate them. It's an incredible thing.

Haley: Yeah.

Alana: Rami Malek!

Haley: Yes he was–

Alana: My first love!

Haley: Back to the notes. So for our listeners out of the United States, you may have heard of Sacagawea, of course with the Lewis and Clark exploring the west. However, I'm sorry– not sorry– to say that there's a solid chance that what you learned was completely incorrect and I'm looking at you United States education system. All of y’all education system just– the poop garbage, dumpster fire, whatever you would like to say. But let me pause for a second and explain a little bit why that story is kind of messed up because not only do we have like a white savior complex with like Lewis and Clark, we also just have a lot of sexism. Like sexism is painted in semen here. Like all over the board. No menstrual blood whatsoever to like brighten up this dreary painting of shit. Alana’s face right now is… holy crap what is she saying.

Alana: It's just a little bit like– Lexi what's the word that I'm looking for that is like… the sentiment behind it is that not all men have semen that not all women menstruate. Do you know I mean? That's my thing with–

Lexi: There's a single word? There's a single word for that? 

Alana: There’s like a word for something… like reducing it to… whatever.

Haley: Yes.

Alana: And transphobia isn't quite right.

Speaker 1: That’s exactly why I use the phrase all semen in here. Because it's totally like heterosexual men explaining–

Alana: Cis heterosexual men.

Haley: Yes.

Lexi: The cis white boys?

Haley: Yes.

Alana: The cis white boys.

Haley: The cis white boys. However, it's a reason why the paintbrush is a phallic symbol, that’s all I’m gonna say. And while I will probably not tell the most accurate story, it's gonna be a hell of a lot better than what we've been given to because… I'm gonna be up front. There's so much more research I could have done and that's with all our stories. Like I think I put like three hours at least into like average for each story, sometimes more. I put in a lot more for this one. While Sacagawea was a Native people who symbolized peace and cooperation as she like navigated Lewis and Clark– with you know, the baby strapped on her back that like famous trope we have– through the west and like the Pacific… to get to the Pacific Ocean. There's a lot more to that story. First, because their crew was a crew of forty plus people; it wasn't just like the three of them moseying along like a hundred percent of the time, but we'll get to that. And even before then, I don't know about you guys but I never heard of like her growing up or her as an actual Native person. It was always “she’s with Lewis and Clark. Like she with the white people now,” never her life story as a whole, just this one small part, but I learned about Lewis and Clark's whole life story. And boy Howdy am I gonna talk about how she saved all their collective buttholes. So, while this story is both Native people’s legend and journals from the Lewis and Clark that we keep talking about. And we know that oral tradition it still history. So there are holes obviously with this timeline, but we know that she was born, or we think she was born in the Shoshone tribe in Idaho and was kidnapped at age twelve, possibly age ten. What I didn't know though is that when she was kidnapped– I knew she was kidnapped, but this is bad, I didn't actually know who kidnapped her, and it was a neighboring tribe. I believe it was the Hidatsa tribe? It was noted as a rival tribe. And from there she was sold into slavery and forced to marry Toussaint Charbonneau– C. H. A. R. B. O. N. N. E. A. U., we’ll go with that– a French Canadian fur trapper who had other quote Shoshane “wives.” So this wasn't… this wasn't great. Like it wasn't great to begin with, but we're just like still riding that train of yes you're not gonna tell a bunch of elementary school kids this story but let's not paint the picture and happy childhood. And in 1804, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark recruited no other than– I'm gonna call him TC, TC because I can't pronounce either of his names and I'm gonna keep fumbling on it– to be their wilderness guide. The geography of it was that the country almost doubled in size, but the history of it was the Louisiana Purchase was acquired by France.

Lexi: Acquired from France.

Haley: Yes. They were already on their expedition by the time they met up with TC and Sacagaweas. Sacagawea, who was sixteen and pregnant at the time, accompanied the men, and she was the only female of this shitshow of a shindig. And by shitshow of a shindig, this was like forty something other men with Lewis and Clark– like they had a whole rodeo. And we see this a lot that if people went on an expedition it wasn't just that group of people but they brought like their cooks, their wives, their children, people to like bring their food, i.e. like livestock because we didn't have fridges and such. So that like was not surprising to me. What was surprising was like that's a valuable teaching point, was just like to teach kids how did people move from place to place. And this is at the point where Clark notes that she was the most valuable member of their group, because although T. C. was like hired to give them like geography, he was like a noted French Canadian and a fur trapper, but noted as like he was not good at like navigating compared to Sacagawea and like the other Native peoples in the area. It was obvious and even Lewis and Clark were like “oh, she better” which she was. And she spoke both Shoshone and Hidatsa, and so she was like the interpreter for the white men, like literally. And that's the part like they got correct– and they being like the education system– that point was correct. She was interpreter, and shout out to the Brooklyn Museum for literally giving me the quote “interpreter for the group of white men”. Even the Brooklyn Museum’s not playing around. And obviously these white men weren't liked amongst the other Native peoples tribes, but when they saw a woman who wasn't considered to be a warrior– and that's like the key point– it wasn't just that they had a Native person with them. it was that she had a child with her, she spoke their language, and like didn't give off any alarm bells. Because also like there's that misconception that all Native peoples were friendly to each other. There are different like rivalries amongst tribes. That was just pure luck for them that that worked out. And so of course Lewis and Clark wanted to make their main man TC because his fur trapping knowledge and like how he knew the geography. And like I said that was… sure, he did some stuff. But Sacagawea basically said hold my beer, and she clearly knew where she was supposed to go. She clearly knew also just like the weather patterns, where to find food, and multiple occasions when they were like the Yellowstone area and it's really cold at night… we're in the parts where it's just snowing and dark for many many many parts of the winter. And she would like be able to not only like find but like somewhat grow or just like keep food in a way that like they would be able to sustain themselves with eating. So it was like a group effort by everyone. It wasn't just like Lewis and Clark being like “we got this, we’re gonna do it, we're gonna get to the Pacific Ocean in the middle of the winter.” Fast forward a bit– and there are a bunch of other stories of her being a complete badass, like diving into water when their canoe tips over and saving like all the important stuff; food, even like Lewis and Clark's journals.But we have to move forward, sadly, to the end of her expedition and just give her a well rounded story like I said. I wanted to hear this as a kid. And while the expedition ended in 1806, she kind of still knew Lewis and Clark. And let me do a side note here she did not receive payment for this expedition. Because like, yeah. That sounds like the right thing to do, I say with all my sarcastic cells in my body. There are a lot of them, by the way, so we're all doing a chorus of sarcastic singing. And three years later in 1809– another side note this is where at least my history kind of definitely has different stories, there's no concrete this is what happened…  There wasn't Snapchat recording everything, I guess. Clark invited Sacagawea and her family to live in Saint Louis and he also later adopted her son Jean Baptiste, and he called him Pompy, and a baby girl Lisette. And it's noted that she separated from T. C. who was abusive, but after this point like our timeline, we call dates in history, we know very little. And again, with this debated topic, her death is in that category. So records from Fort Manuel where like she lived there at a time, she supposedly died in December 1812 from typhus. And going off what Native peoples’ oral histories because again, oral histories are histories, she lived on the Shoshone lands in Wyoming until 1884. And regardless, Sacagawea clearly became somewhat of a legend with her own story being told by writers, filmmakers, historians in a time where women especially Native and/or Indigenous women, were absolutely thought of as weak, not helpful, and sometimes even dangerous. So you might be asking yourself, “Haley, where do I find other resources?” Obviously check out our show notes, they are quite lovely, and honestly children's books. The most recent ones were kind of on point. They're all about like– especially now in 2020. And then specifically in the show notes look at the Brooklyn Museum and the National Women's History Museum. And that is my story.

Alana: Hey National Women’s History Museum, do you want to give me an internship?

Haley, singing: Manifestation.

(Archival Violin Music)

Alana: Zitkala-Sa was born February 22, 1876, that makes her a Pisces. She's technically an Aquarius/Pisces cusp. And Zitkala-Sa means red bird in the Sioux language. She was born on the Yankton Indian Reservation in South Dakota. Her mother was Sioux and her father was white. Her father abandoned the family and initially when I see white father, Indigenous mother… that is alarm bells in my head, but she did have an older brother, so less alarm bells. Quieter alarm bells. And just as an FYI, a blanket statement, we had the discussion that we're not really sure if we should say Native or Indigenous so I kind of use both, mixing it up. If you know someone who has an opinion let us know and we’ll use that going forward. I think that's kind of a good general statement for this podcast; is correct us if we're wrong and we'll change our ways. Because that’s how you–

Haley: Correct us with kindness.

Alana: Oh, yeah. Correct us with kindness. Be nice.

Haley: We have feelings.

Alana: We can’t handle it. Don't be mean to me. At the age of eight, so 1884 she left the reservation when Quaker missionaries came to recruit for their– massive air quotes– school and it was only a school if by school you mean forced assimilation centers, but we'll get to that a little bit later. It was literally called the White’s Indiana Manual Labor Institute, and the U. S. is still racist, I'm not saying that it’s not racist, but at least we're not racist enough to let something with a name like that slide. I feel like… baby steps, little progress. Zitkala-Sa’s mother didn't want her to go because her brother had come back from a school and she didn't like it but Zitkala-Sa begged and begged because for kids who had never left the reservation, it seemed like a magical place and it sounded so cool. Her mother did eventually acquiesce because there were no schools on the reservation and she really wanted Zitkala to have an education. But she later wrote that the second she got on the train to Indiana she regretted fighting so hard for it. She was forced to cut her hair and pray like a Quaker, which she hated. Pray like a Christian is like…  that's intergenerational trauma in my heart. She actually hid from the people who were working at the school and they had to tie her to a kitchen chair and cut her hair. I don't know if it was actually a kitchen chair, I just wanted to make a Leonard Cohen reference. Hey Alana, are you Jewish? Yes. But she really did enjoy learning how to read and write and to play the piano and the violin. She was given the name Gertrude Simmons, which is a footnote that will only come up at the very end of the story. In 1887, she returned to her mother's home but she felt like she didn't belong there. And this was a common theme among children who had been sent to these– massive air quotes– schools because they felt like they didn't really belong to their Indigenous culture but they also weren't really like the white Americans. In 1895, she enrolled at Earlham College for a teacher training program and then transferred to the New England conservatory to continue studying violin. In 1900, she became a music teacher at the Carlisle Indian School but left because it reminded her of her traumatic experiences at a similar school. She basically came to the realization, she was just like “oh shit, they are designed to take our culture from us.” She was like “I couldn’t be part of that anymore.” In 1901, she published Old Indian Legends, which was a compilation of all of her previous writings and culminated in a lifelong project of translating Sioux traditions into English, because this is a quote from her from the beginning of the book, “America in the last few centuries has acquired a second tongue,” which is so shady. And I love it. “Acquired a second tongue” is just like. Mm. So also in 1901 she went back to South Dakota and took a job at the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs, which I will refer to going forward as the B. I. A., where she met Captain Raymond Bonnin, who was also a Sioux, but I couldn't find what his like Sioux name was, since he was also full Sioux, but probably not Raymond. But then they did have a son and name him Raymond so I’m not sure.I don't know. They were transferred to Utah, where Zitkala-Sa taught again, but not at a white school, at a reservation school where the children lived at home and she found that like to be a balance. In 1910, she met William Hansen who was a music professor at Brigham Young University, and in 1913 they completed The Sun Dance Opera which was about a Sioux ritual that the federal government had banned, which I think is… What a workaround. What a way to beat the system. She viewed music as a way to bridge the cultures that she was a part of and it did, and that culminated in The Sun Dance Opera. She joined the Society of American Indians, which is a group that lobbied for citizenship for Indigenous people and cultural preservation because nuance. Which is a thing that I am feeling recently. Just nuance. Tattoo it on my forehead, shout it from the rooftops. Nuance. She became the secretary of the Society of American Indians and started interacting directly with the B. I. A. where her husband worked. She was very critical and vocal of their policies because they wanted her to pray like a Christian which– (frustration noises). The intergenerational trauma, she just– she do be jumping out. And her husband was fired. Was it because of her criticism of the B. I. A? Maybe? Who’s to say? I can't say, but maybe. But they moved to Washington DC, where she started giving lectures about cultural identity and continued her work with the Society of American Indians. She even was briefly the editor of American Indian magazine. In 1924 she became active in the General Federation of Women's Clubs, which was like a women's rights group but make it intentionally diverse. It was grassroots campaigns to support women of all backgrounds, and we simply have no choice but to stan.

Lexi: Intersectional feminism.

Alana: Intersectional feminism. We love it, we love to see it, we love to see intersectional feminism like in the twentieth century, before it was cool, if you will. She started a universal Indigenous movement that led to the passage of the 1924 Indian Citizenship Act which, as the name implies, gave Indigenous people citizenship but not necessarily the right to vote because that was still up to the states. In 1926, she co founded with her husband the National Council of American Indians to continue lobbying for the rights of Indigenous people. She died January 26, 1938 at the age of not quite sixty two and is buried in Arlington Cemetery with her husband. Her gravestone reads Gertrude Simmons and then Zitkala-Sa which makes me feel a little bit weird but at least it's on there. I don't know if she like had a choice what went on there but I think it's cool that it's on there. And she was the first Indigenous woman to write her own autobiography without the help of an editor or translator because she was just good at English. She was also very anti use of peyote, which is really interesting because she was like alcoholism on the reservations is a huge problem and so we need to like do something about our ingesting of substances. It’s like all these things are about nuance which is something that I'm again I'm feeling so so much about nuance. It's something that I've been working on in therapy for like three years. That's not true, for two years. That I'm just like we can have two things that coexist– that like it would be in everybody's best interest to be an American citizen, but that doesn't necessarily mean that all of these Native people have to abandon their rituals and their culture. It’s that whole melting pot thing which is such a like when you think about a kind of a weird image… put people in a melting pot. Anyway. That’s a fun note to end on. That’s all I have to say.

Lexi: I just want to add that I think I've mentioned this before on the podcast but I worked on a project at the Smithsonian Libraries called Women in America: Extra and Ordinary. I'm the one who suggested this lady because I thought Alana would like learning about this lady, and I just want to kind of talk about a little bit why I put her in the project. The thing that I love about her is that the Portrait Gallery has pictures of her that were taken when she was quite young. I believe in her twenties.

Alana: They’re gorgeous.

Lexi: And they're beautiful because they're so like real. Like–

Alana: I think my favorite one is– now that I've mentioned it Lexi, you probably have to use it in the graphic– but it's her having grown her hair back out with her violin.

Lexi: Yes.

Alana: And it's just like how it's like… Once you know the background of that, it's like this is how she combined these two cultures by like really enjoying playing the violin and also having her long traditional hair.

Lexi: She’s just so like… It's like she could be your friend. Like she’s just a real person. And so like, I don't know. They’re good pictures. Go look at her pictures.

Alana: Go to the show notes, look at the pictures, they’re great pictures.

Lexi: And– Okay, I think– Okay, this is the root of it. I think when you see pictures of Native peoples from that time, so many times it's like they're wearing like outfits that aren't even correct for their culture and they were forced to pose in like ridiculous like customized versions of their own culture. Like I've seen ones where people who weren’t Plains Indians were put in Plains Indians’ attire for pictures. But like she's just hanging out and I really like that. I just love her. So much.

Alana: She’s so cool.

Lexi: And her name means red bird.

Alana: And her name means red bird, and Lexi loves birds. Lexi loves birds.

(Turkeys gobbling)

Lexi: You can find this podcast on Twitter and Instagram at LadyHistoryPod. Our show notes and a transcript of this episode will be on ladyhistorypod dot tumblr dot com. If you like the show, leave us a review, or tell your friends, and if you don't like the show, keep it to yourself.

Alana: Our logo is by Alexia Ibarra, you can find her on Twitter and Instagram at LexiBDraws. Our theme music is by me, GarageBand, and Amelia Earhart. Lexi is doing the editing. You will not see us, and we will not see you, but you will hear us, next time on Lady History.

[OUTRO MUSIC]

Haley: Next week on Lady History, we're balling with some boss bitches. Get your bags of money ready, because we’re making it rain.

Lexi: Okay. All right.

Haley: Good night!

Alana: I gotta crawl out of my closet.

Lexi: Good night!

Alana: Good night I'll talk to you tomorrow!

Lexi: Bye bye.

[delta-roseblr]

Cheeky prompt?- Hazel Levesque meets Delix accidentally while waiting for that homophobic was from before as she's been quietly getting revenge for his attitude to her brother and future brother in law to the point when delix sees her getting his car towed Bella from supernatural style without solangelo knowing about it leaving them feeling terrified over knowing how scary yet polite she is.

Hello!

I know this took a while so I hope you enjoy this!

:)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Felix could not be happier that Dean wasback from college for close to a month between semesters. Leonard was stillbeing a douche bag about the whole thing but clearly actively trying to keepFelix and Dean apart had become too much of a fucking hassle, so he had easedup on the rules a little bit. That didn’t stop him from getting a disgustedlook at the mention of Dean, but Felix couldn’t care less about that.

Yeah, he was happy that Dean was back formore than five seconds, but he wasn’t sure how he ended up driving Dean’s pieceof shit Honda instead of his new Jeep. It had apparently needed an oil changeor something so Dean had dropped it off before work, and Felix had picked it upfor him.

The fact that Dean was working at all wasobnoxious. Dean said that the bookstore got busy around the holidays, so theyreally needed the help. Felix found that hard to believe considering they livedin a world where online shopping existed. Dean working just seemed likeinterference from them getting to see each other but he felt like an assholepointing that out.

Maybe that was why he had volunteered topick up Dean's car, it was an opportunity for them to spend even more timetogether. He would enjoy that as soon as he could give Dean the keys becausethe Honda was just so old there were all these tricks to getting it to operateas a car. Felix felt like he was going to do the wrong thing and break thepiece of shit. Dean loved his car, and Felix couldn’t be the nail in the thing’scoffin.

He didn’t dare attempt to parallel parkeven though there was a parking spot right out front. Instead, he drove to aparking lot down the street. He was pretty sure the lot was for Town Hall, butno one ever seemed to be parked there.

Felix parked and didn’t even bother tolock the car. If anyone looked at Dean’s Honda and thought it containedanything worth stealing then they deserved whatever they found. He started downMain Street, heading back toward the bookstore.

He heard the cursing before he saw thesource. About halfway between where Felix had parked and where he was headingone of those oversized pick-up trucks that were just so fucking popular inTennessee was parked in what was clearly marked as a handicapped space with anobvious flat tire. A guy was circling it like he couldn’t actually believe hehad a flat.

Felix recognized the guy. They went toschool together and the school wasn’t that big so that alone was probablyenough, but in this case, it wasn’t the only reason. Eric thought of himself ashot shit because he was captain of the football team, but really, he was justthe school’s biggest fucking asshole. That didn’t make him likable, but it didmake him memorable.

“What the actual fuck!” Eric shouted athis flat tire as Felix passed. He looked like he was ready to literally pullhis hair out.

Felix had been spending too much time atBobby’s shop because he was tempted to point out that Eric really needed totake care of that before the weight of the truck would bend the rims Eric hadobviously spent some money on. He didn’t because he didn’t really give a fuckand if anyone deserved some misfortune it was Eric.

He wasn’t an idiot. He had watched howpeople had reached to Will coming out the year before, so he knew that therewould be fall out when he accidentally outed himself and his relationship withDean. A lot of it was pretty much what Felix had expected: sideways glances andwhispers. He guessed he and Will didn’t hold the same social status becausethere were some people, mainly Eric, that seemed to feel far more comfortablesaying things to Felix’s face than they had to Will. Felix was more thancapable of dealing with it and the year was practically half over, but it wasstill annoying as fuck. So, he might have gotten some joy out of seeing Ericbothered.

Felix walked past Eric without comment andwent unnoticed. A minute later he was strolling in the front door of thebookstore, the little bell ringing as he entered. He saw a few costumers millingaround which was a lot for the tiny store.

Dean was at the register with an older manthat Felix recognized as the owner, Mr. Campbell. Felix had never met the manpersonally, but Dean always talked about him fondly which was enough for Felixto like him at least a little. Felix also suspected that the guy liked Deanbecause the place really didn’t seem to need any employees besides Mr. Campbelland his wife, but the guy hired Dean every summer since he was fifteen.

He had just stepped in the door when Deannoticed him. He got the biggest grin at the sight of him and Felix knew it wasstupid because they had been dating close to a year but he felt himself blush alittle from Dean just looking at him that way.

“There he is!” Dean exclaimed excitedlybefore waving him over. 

It was a few days later and Felix wastaking the long way to Dean’s place so he could pick up a couple of pizzas onthe way. He parked his Jeep in the pizza shop’s parking lot and climbed out andimmediately heard someone cursing up a storm.

Sort of impressed, Felix looked around andeventually found Eric. He was once again walking circles around his stupid pick-uptruck like he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Yet again, one of his tireswas obviously extremely flat.

This time when Felix walked past he wasn’tso silent. “Two flat tires in one week,” he commented, and he didn’t even tryto hide how he was gloating, “That fucking sucks.”

Eric stopped in his primitive pacing athis words and looked to find their source. The moment he saw Felix the panicover his car left his face, and he snared at Felix. “Fuck you, fag.”

It wasn’t the first time Felix had beencalled that word. It wasn’t even the first time he had been called that byEric. He wouldn’t lie and say that it didn’t bother him a little but he sure ashell wasn’t going to let that show. He just gave an amused laugh. “Right backat you, asshole,” he exclaimed with the mockery of a friendly wave.

 It was a week later when Felix had yetanother run-in with Eric, or at least his car, although this one was a fair bitmore interesting. He was being dragged to the store with his dad to help pickup food for Christmas even though Felix wasn’t sure who his father thoughtwould be cooking. His dad wasn’t much of a cook and Felix had no skills in thekitchen.

The whole trip was really just an excusefor his dad to talk to him about college when Felix had no choice but to sitand listen. Leonard had been pushing the University of Vermont since the startof the year because it would be “close to family”. Felix had prettysuccessfully pacified him on the topic by agreeing to apply even though he hadno intention of going there. Why did he care about applying anyways? He wasn’tthe one paying the application fees.

It was all good until his guidancecounselor had to tell his dad that he could have a real shot of getting intoMIT if he would only apply. Leonard hadn’t been able to shut up about it since,and he played like it was because of the opportunity and the pride of his songoing to such a prestigious school. That wasn’t the real reason at all. Thereal reason was Boston was about as far from California and Dean as he couldget. Felix wasn’t going to MIT and he wasn’t going to apply to pacify hisfather, so he was doomed to endless conversations about it.

It felt like it took hours to get to thestore even though the store was only ten minutes from their house. As soon ashis dad parked, Felix jumped out of the car and started for the front entrance.As he turned the corner, he heard the sound of glass shattering. It was enoughto catch his attention and the source was easy enough to find.

Eric’s stupid pick-up truck was parked ina handicapped spot out in front of the store. This time Eric was nowhere insight, and instead, there were two girls standing next to it surrounded by theglitter of broken glass from one of Eric’s windows.

One of the girls was tall with her hairpulled into a braid that rested over one shoulder while the other was a bitshorter with mocha skin and a halo of dark curls. Both girls were wearingpurple t-shirts and jeans. They were bickering amongst themselves, so Felix wassure they hadn’t noticed them, and they really didn’t need to. He recognizedthem immediately: Nico’s sister and the Roman girl.

That was an interesting development. Heknew the two were known to be protective of Nico and he assumed that extendedto Will. Eric certainly had been an asshole to him as well. He guessed theywere getting a little revenge.

That was definitely a cause he couldsupport.

“Ladies,” Felix greeted casually as hewalked past, “Keep up the good work.”

[thecomicsnexus]

JUSTICE LEAGUE #1-6 NOVEMBER 2011 - APRIL 2012 BY GEOFF JOHNS, JIM LEE, SCOTT WILLIAMS, ALEX SINCLAIR, HI-FI DESIGN, GABE ELTAEB, SANDRA HOPE, MARK IRWIN, JOE WEEMS, TONY AVIÑA AND MATT BANNING

SYNOPSIS (FROM DC DATABASE)

Batman is pursuing one of Darkseid's Parademons across the rooftops of Gotham, while the Gotham police pursue and fire upon both of them from helicopters. Batman blinds the police in the helicopters with smoke bombs, then stops the Parademon and is attempting to interrogate it when it lets out a burst of flame, forcing Batman to release it. As Batman and the Parademon face off again, Green Lantern interrupts the fight by slamming a fire-engine construct into the Parademon. The Gotham police continue firing on Batman, Green Lantern, and the Parademon, but their fire is blocked by Green Lantern's shield constructs. As Batman and Green Lantern talk, the Parademon recovers and destroys the police helicopters, but Green Lantern creates bat constructs which hold up the helicopters and prevent the heroes from getting injured. As they follow the Parademon into the streets of Gotham, Batman suggests that Green Lantern return to Coast City, since "Gotham's mine. Coast City is yours." Green Lantern responds by saying that the entire space sector is his and he was alerted to an "unauthorized extraterrestrial presence" in Gotham.

Batman and Green Lantern move underground in pursuit of the Parademon. Green Lantern asks Batman whether he has any powers. Batman replies "No.", to which Green Lantern replies, "Hold on a second, you're not just some guy in a bat costume, are you? Are you freaking kidding me?!". Batman then holds up Green Lantern's power ring and asks him how it works, upsetting Green Lantern who asks if Batman would really want to pick a fight with someone who can create anything he can think of. Batman says that he'd be worried if he thought Green Lantern could think.

Batman then points out the Parademon attaching a Mother Box to a sewer wall. With a shout of "For Darkseid!", the Parademon blows itself up, attempting to kill Batman and Green Lantern in the blast, but Green Lantern creates a (literal) safe construct to save them. When Green Lantern attempts to scan the box, the ring can't identify it, which Green Lantern says is impossible since the Guardians know everything. Batman says the box looks like some kind of "alien computer", and the two agree to go to Metropolis to ask the known extra-terrestrial Superman about it.

Meanwhile, at a high school football game, wide receiver Vic Stone impresses several college recruits. After the game, the scouts all want to talk to Vic. In the meantime, a despondent Vic is on the phone telling his father (or his father's voicemail) that his coach won't let the scouts talk to him without his dad there, and that they won the game (not that his dad would ask). After he hangs up, Vic, along with most of the team, runs outside to excited shouts as Batman and Green Lantern fly overhead in a jet construct. One of his teammates asks Vic if his dad studies super-humans, and he says that while he does, he never talks to him about them.

After landing in Metropolis, Batman criticizes the jet construct as being too visible while he and Green Lantern look for Superman. Green Lantern's ring leads them right to him, at which point Green Lantern encases Batman in a cage construct and tells him that he can also handle it. A moment later, Superman, using super-speed, knocks Green Lantern through the cage construct and into a pair of parked cars, apparently knocking him unconscious. As Batman begins to rise up from the ground, Superman looks at him and says "I don't handle easy. So...what can you do?"

At the crime lab of the Central City Police Department, Barry Allen is arguing with Director Singh because the latter ordered him to leave a case. The reason is because their chief wants them all working on the "Flash case": They must find out everything about the vigilante named "the Flash", including his secret identity. Of course, the CCPD is unaware that Barry Allen is the Flash.

Back at the fight between Superman and Batman, the Man of Steel points out that Batman's utility belt is empty, leaving him without any means of defense against him, as nothing Batman used so far on him has worked. Superman charges against Batman and crushes him against a wall. He then starts interrogating the Dark Knight, demanding to know where the mysterious boxes that have been appearing over the last few days come from and what are they for. Green Lantern gets up while people run away from him and gets ready for a second chance against Superman. While the latter is choking Batman, Green Lantern attacks Superman, while Batman tries to stop them both. Lantern captures Superman in chains made by his ring, but Superman points out the absurdity of doing so and easily frees himself by breaking them. He then starts attacking both Green Lantern and Batman, constantly punching Green Lantern's constructs. After Lantern creates a shield construct to protect himself and Batman, he gets the idea of calling a friend who may be faster than Superman: Barry Allen, the Flash. Barry gets surprised by the fact that Hal is with Batman and is fighting Superman. At first Barry refuses to help Hal, since the last time Green Lantern and the Flash were seen together they destroyed the Museum of Natural History while stopping Gorilla Grodd. Since the situation against Superman is getting critical with Lantern's shield giving way, Barry is convinced to help Hal, gets on his Flash costume and starts attacking Superman. At first he only teases him by easily avoiding his attacks, until Superman manages to hit him.

Batman quickly intervenes and stops the fight, explaining to Superman that they had nothing to do with the invading Parademons, and Green Lantern and him were also attacked by them. While Batman explains that the reason why they looked for him was because he was also an alien and could better explain the nature of the boxes and the Parademons, the Flash starts cleaning up and repairing the site of the fight, but they get interrupted by the forces of the government, so they quickly go into hiding in the sewers, convincing Superman to go with them.

Meanwhile, in Detroit, at the S.T.A.R. Labs Super-Human study center, Silas Stone and his team are studying the mysterious box from Superman's battle earlier that morning. While doing so, Silas gets informed of the arrival of his son Victor, to which he reacts frustratingly annoyed. Victor explains to his annoyed father that he has great chances of lots of full scholarships. His father answers that he is already paying him his school, so he doesn't need a scholarship. While Victor tries to explain to his father how important sports are to him, Silas points out how pointless is to take interest in sports in a world full of super-humans that have abilities over the finest of regular humans, thus rendering any effort to be a great sportsman obsolete. Victor then wants to confirm whether his father really isn't going to come to one of his games, to which his father confirms. Meanwhile, the four heroes have hidden themselves at an abandoned printing press, the only safe place Superman knows at Metropolis. Green Lantern suggests to Flash that they better get rid of Batman and Superman, because they would only be a burden. Flash refuses because they need someone to help them figure out the nature of the boxes. While they are examining the box, both their own and the box at S.T.A.R. Labs start reacting strangely, opening a Boom Tube that teleports a swarm of Parademons in both places and start tearing Victor apart.

In Washington D.C., military personnel, including Colonel Steve Trevor, are observing TV reports of crowds protesting against Wonder Woman because she is a pagan, and because she, like the other super-powered humans, is perceived as dangerous. Apparently, Diana had previously been with them at their office in the Pentagon, and Trevor asks where she has gone. He is told that she was watching the TV news; and when she spotted a report about a winged monster terrorizing people in downtown D.C., she took off. Efforts to detain her were futile because of her raw power.

Wonder Woman is walking in D.C. as a crowd gathers and gapes at her. The crowd remains silent out of fear, until a young girl seems unafraid and introduces herself. Wonder Woman and her new friend enjoy an ice-cream break together. Steve Trevor arrives and tries to talk Diana into returning with him to the Pentagon. Diana resists, saying that she wants to fight the forces of darkness that are lurking nearby.

Suddenly they are startled to see one of Darkseid's minions, making the same pinging sound as before. Several of the aliens swoop down to attack Wonder Woman. Diana is pleased that the battle has come to her, and beams with excitement.

At S.T.A.R. Labs in Detroit, the winged monsters are terrorizing the workers. One of the monsters snatches and abducts Professor Ivo. Dr. Silas Stone is cradling his son Vic, who was seriously hurt in the explosion last issue and appears to be near death. Dr. Stone defiantly says that he once watched his wife die, and will not let his son die too.

In Metropolis, at the site of the abandoned Daily Planet printing press, we see lots and lots of the winged monsters causing more terror. We are told that portals are opening up across the world; and that the armies of demons are pouring out through the portals. Someone exclaims that this is "judgment day". Superman, Batman, Flash, and Green Lantern are fighting the monsters; but there are now so many of them. Flash, listening to radio broadcasts in his earpiece as he battles, indicates that the attacks are happening all over the world, and that the populace is blaming the super-heroes.

The heroes talk as they fight. Batman and Green Lantern continue to bicker. Flash is surprised to hear that Batman has no powers. Batman wants to step back and regroup because there are just too many of the monsters. He prefers having a strategy instead of just using brute force. Superman is having good success fighting many of the baddies at once, using a nearby 18-wheeler truck as a weapon to pulverize the monsters.

Back in Detroit, we follow Dr. Stone and his co-workers as they enter a secure medical room at S.T.A.R. Labs, carrying Victor as they go. Dr. Stone implores his son to hang on.

Green Lantern is amazed to see Superman swing an 18-wheeler "like a baseball bat". Superman and Batman observe that the winged monsters are abducting many people now; carrying them away rather than hurting them. Batman wonders what their motive is. Several of the monsters chant "For Darkseid" like before. As the nascent Justice League continues to battle the creatures, Wonder Woman joins the battle. She shouts "Back to Hades" as she barrels into the swarm of monsters, swinging her sword. The other heroes are impressed with her display of strength and fighting prowess. They seem to be impressed by her beauty as well.

In Detroit, Vic Stone, barely alive, goes into cardiac arrest as his father works feverishly to save him using experimental technology. As they activate nanites to help with the integration of the new bio-technology, Vic starts spouting binary code. Subsequently, we hear a message from Vic's machinery indicating that he is now online.

Wonder Woman explains that she followed the winged monsters, which led her to the other super-heroes. She saw their battle in progress, and decided to help. The winged monsters are circling above a body of water, and then start again making the pinging sounds, which usually indicates that an explosion or other dramatic event is imminent. A waterspout appears rather explosively, and then a large and mysterious object emerges from the ocean. The object appears to be a conveyance of some kind, like a spaceship or watercraft. But it may be something else entirely. The heroes wonder aloud what it is.

Suddenly Aquaman rises from the water, saying the monsters and their giant mysterious object were visible in the water as well. Aquaman wants to know which one of the heroes is in charge; and suggests that he would be a good choice.

Victor finally comes to in the red room of S.T.A.R. Labs and notices his now cyborg body and is confused. All of a sudden a group of Parademons bursts in and attacks the group, and Victor uses his newly discovered sonic cannon to destroy them, and then see's himself in a mirror, to which he is taken aback. He then jumps out of a hole in the roof, blaming his father for his new body. Meanwhile the Justice League examines Aquaman's intentions and skills. After getting a demonstration they hold off the Parademons while also fighting the military who have been told to engage all non-humans including superheroes. After debating how to handle the men shooting at them they find themselves in front of a delirious Vic Stone who tries to warn them of an already approaching Darkseid who has now appeared in front of them.

The heroes are recovering from the violent explosion caused by Darkseid upon his arrival in the last issue. Flash is the first to regain consciousness, and is horrified to see Darkseid destroy a military jet and its passenger with his Omega Beam. Superman awakes next, and Darkseid targets the two of them with another Omega Beam. Flash grabs Superman and begins to carry him to safety at super-speed, urging him to move it. When the heroes split up, the twin beams split up also, each beam targeting one of the heroes. As an evasive maneuver, Flash vibrates and passes through one of the demon-bots, causing the beam to destroy that robot instead of the Scarlet Speedster. As Flash catches his breath after this exhausting but successful maneuver, he looks up to see that Superman is not quite so lucky. Taking the full brunt of the Omega Beam, Superman is knocked out, although not destroyed; and is seen being carried away by one of the winged demon-bots. The other heroes are regaining consciousness now, as Flash shares the horrible news that Superman has been abducted. The heroes discuss interrogating Darkseid to find out why Superman was taken. Green Lantern springs into action and attacks Darkseid. His constructs are not effective against the god of Apokolips; but GL courageously keeps trying even while being on the receiving end of several vicious blows from Darkseid. When Green Lantern shows his determination to continue the battle, Darkseid lifts Hal by his right forearm and applies crushing force, causing the arm to break in a couple of places. Darkseid sends him flying with another punch, and then walks away as Hal struggles to recover and persist against all odds.

Batman attempts to deter Green Lantern from going up against Darkseid in his badly injured condition. Batman wants to gather the rest of the team and form a strategy. He criticizes Green Lantern for wanting to carry on the fight with a broken arm. In response, GL fashions a moveable cast with his ring, and says he is prepared to die if necessary.

Batman continues to ask Green Lantern why he is driven to press on in this futile attack. Batman implies that he understands Green Lantern well because they are very much alike. After Green Lantern rejects this notion, Batman pulls a very surprising maneuver. He removes his mask, introduces himself as Bruce Wayne, and tells a short version of his origin; explaining that he was driven to train for a life of fighting crime after witnessing the brutal death of his parents at the hand of a mugger when Bruce was ten years old.

Bruce asks Hal to regroup with the other heroes, keep them alive, and keep Darkseid busy until Batman returns. When Green Lantern asks where he is going, Batman responds that he is going to rescue Superman.

Batman stands in the open in plain sight with his arms outstretched in an apparently submissive gesture. It does not take long for one of the flying demon-bots to swoop down and carry Batman away.

Green Lantern does regroup with the other heroes, and helps pull them out of the rubble. He shares his plan, that they should go as a group and follow Darkseid, who was last seen heading into the city on foot. GL explains that the heroes should stay out of sight for the moment. When they find Darkseid, Green Lantern will act as a distraction to lure him out, so that the other heroes can attack. This was precisely the plan proposed by Aquaman last issue. Green Lantern gives Cyborg the option to stay behind, since he has not yet officially declared himself as a superhero, but Vic is eager to join the battle. The heroes head towards the heart of Metropolis, to meet up with Darkseid.

We follow Batman as he is carried to another portal created by a Boom Tube. As Batman steps through, he finds himself in an unlikely place; peering out over a hellish landscape. It appears that Batman has been transported to Darkseid's home world, Apokolips.

In the middle of the parademon assault, a writer named David is trying to save his family, wishing for some help. His prayer is seemingly answered by a set of green fireworks on the horizon. The fireworks are part of the Justice League's plan to fight Darkseid.

On Apokolips, Bruce Wayne sneaks through the building he is in, finding a pair of superbeings discussing the invasion of the Multiverse in search of Darkseid's daughter, who was apparently kidnapped. The superbeings have Superman tied down before them, and they plan to clone him as part of the next generation of parademons.

On Earth, Cyborg uses his new machinery to tap into he Mother Box network. By saying the word, he is able to suddenly overload the system, causing teleport holes to appear all over the area - and on Apokolips. This shocks the two beings torturing Superman, and Batman uses the moment to free Superman, before the two escape back to Earth through the Boom Tubes. They try to trap Darkseid on the other side of a Boom Tube, but he grabs Superman. With seconds to spare, Cyborg works out how to shut down the network, seemingly killing Darkseid. The world is saved.

In the immediate aftermath, a crowd gathers around. The group thinks they are to be stoned, but instead they are cheered, hailed as the world's greatest superhumans. Writing after the fact, Graves acknowledges the wording was off. The group were the world's greatest super heroes. At a subsequent awards ceremony, the U.S. President gives a speech about how this team of heroes saved the world. Green Lantern is about to break ranks and say it was a one-time deal, but Batman stops him, pointing out that official sanction will get the GCPD off his back, the Air Force off Green Lantern's and the Army off Superman's. The President receives a message from an aide, to say there has been a disaster, and the group is needed. The Flash announces that they have a name, and tells the President to call them the "Super Seven." The rest of the team hates this.

A writer named David Graves writes a book about them later, coining the term "super heroes." In his book, Graves calls this team the "Justice League." The book is titled "Gods Among Us" and the cover depicts them fighting a starfish-monster (Starro).

In London, a man with the shadow of a devil meets a man with glowing blue eyes. They discuss the fact that since the Justice League started, similar beings have become active: Green Arrow, Hawkman, Zatanna. The second man muses that if these are super heroes, then people like himself would be called super villains. As he lights a cigarette, we see he has a monstrous-looking lapel pin.

On a street in the rain, a man has been murdered. The Woman in Purple is there, trying to investigate. As she walks away, she is accosted by the Phantom Stranger, who tells her that she was wrong to alter the timeline as she did, and that he is to take her in. The Woman in Purple says that she is done being passive, and shoots the Phantom Stranger in the head. He recovers instantly, and the Woman in Purple says it was a warning shot. She will do what she will do.

REVIEW

I usually tag some reviews as “Post modern age”. There is no such thing. But to me, the era of the relaunches needed to be separated from the common Modern Age of comics. And while the New 52 is the clear beginning of it... I also put Spider-man post “one more day” under the same tag.

The New 52 had a purpose that is very clear in this story. Tell new stories with these characters and do not be afraid of changing them to make those stories work. Love it or hate it, you have to respect the determination of blending three universes. This worked pretty well during the first six month of publishing, but “creative differences” became a major problem for DC that still plagues them until these days. It’s a mess.

But the initial idea is great. When you read this story, you have to remember this is a fresh start. So it doesn’t really matter if Superman is more violent and talks aggressive, or if Aquaman is too cocky (well, maybe that didn’t change so much). This is the first time you are meeting these characters, and this story sets up a few other arcs (that we feel even after Rebirth).

This story inspired two movies: Justice League and Justice League: War. Scenes from this story can also be seen in Wonder Woman. This is no coincidence, as Geoff Johns was also involved at some point in those projects.

Perhaps the biggest difference is Wonder Woman here against the one on her own title. There is something missing from this Wonder Woman, that compassion that makes her different.

As a result of the approach, these characters are way more violent than they used to be a month before.

The art starts very well and then begins to change in terms of quality. If you look at the credits, several inkers and color separators were involved in half back of the arc, so I guess that explains it. It still looks amazing... but it could be better.

Darkseid barely speaks in this story, but we learn his motivations thanks to that scene with Desaad and Steppenwolf, mentioning Darkseid’s daughter. This arc will bookend this title (will be explored during “Darkseid War”).

Cyborg debuts as the 7th member with this story (displacing Martian Manhunter to Stormwatch). To be honest, the logic for this is still an enigma to me. I understand why Martian Manhunter wasn’t popular, but Cyborg wasn’t that great either. My guess is that he gained popularity through the titans animated shows, but this created a hole into the Titans history after the New 52. The Titans are the real losers of this relaunch, in general. If diversity was the concern, I would have gone for another woman (as Diana is the only female hero), or perhaps someone with a different color (like Vixen, Doctor Light II, etc). Ultimately, the usefulness of Cyborg in the context of the group is that he can teleport them. That’s his main asset. I respect it, but I am still not convinced.

I give this story a technical score of 10

[morbid-n-macabre]

This is Cody Posey. Cody murdered his entire family when he was 14 years old; a few years later, at age 21, he was released back into society.

Cody had been living on a ranch in Hondo, New Mexico with his father, Delbert "Paul" Posey, his step-mother, Tryone, and his step-sister, 13 year old Marilea Schmid. From day one Cody's life had been troubled; two electricians would later recall doing some work for Paul when Cody was approximately 18 months old; apparently baby Cody did something which his father didn't appreciate, and Paul took his belt off. The electricians claim they had to physically pull the man off of this baby. Cody's biological mother, Carla Burst, couldn't deal with the abuse, she left Paul pretty early on. A bitter custody battle which stretched out over the years ensued; Carla finally gained full custody after Cody was beaten black and blue with a board by his father. The boy was thrilled to be with his Mama, but tragically Cody's happiness would only last a few months; there was a roll over car wreck which took the life of Carla Burst. Cody begged and pleaded not to be placed with his father, but that's precisely where he was sent.

From here on out Cody was abused each and every single day. The boy was beaten and forced to work 7 days a week on the ranch, from dawn to dusk, often without any food at all. But simple beatings and work wasn't the worst of it, Paul was sadistic bastard; he used an electric cattle prod on his son, beat the child with a lasso, dragged him behind a horse, and this is only some of the physical abuse in which this child withstood! Sadly Paul's wife, Tryone, was no better, and even Cody's stepsister was recruited to join in on the abuse; Marilea was rewarded for telling her parents whenever Cody did something his father wouldn't approve of. Even at school Cody could find no solace; he was watched like a hawk by his perfect stepsister who was just slightly younger than him, and beaten for every and any little thing. For Cody there were no buddies to hang out with, no football teams to cheer for, no days spent riding around on his bicycle, no little girlfriends to crush on. Cody was nothing more than an unpaid ranch hand and his father's whipping boy, and that's it. Well, I say unpaid, but that's not completely true: Cody was allowed ten dollars per month. Paul cashed the monthly SSI checks which Cody received from his mother's death, yet the boy reportedly worked every single day for months with holes in his boots until he could save enough allowance to purchase a new pair of work boots! Yes, child protective services was called several times throughout the years (I read somewhere that the abuse was reported 7 times!) but nothing was ever done; it's just one of those cases where everyone dropped the ball.

All of this went on for years, and maybe the teen never would've retaliated but Tryone and Paul finally pushed the boy too damn far. You know that old saying: There's only so many times you can kick a dog before he bites back? Cody finally bit back. On the evening before of the murders, 4th of July in 2004, Cody claims he was called to his parent's bedroom; when he walked in to see what was required of him, Cody found his stepmother, Tyrone, laying completely naked in her bed. Paul ordered that Cody be intimate with Tryone while he watched, and his nude stepmother attempted to pull the teen to her chest. When Cody refused, his father burnt him on the shoulder with a scrap of metal and a torch! The teen bit Tryone, an act for which Cody was burnt by his father once again. He somehow managed to get away from the situation, the teenager ran to his bedroom where he claims to have cowered in fear the rest of the night. Paul and Tryone had been abusing this young man for years; they'd beaten, tortured, isolated, starved, and humiliated him, but they would not sexually abuse him. In the morning Cody went out to perform his usual duties which included cleaning out the horse stalls. He wasn't performing this "chore" quickly enough, and his father slapped him; Cody later testified that this was when "I more or less lost my mind", it's thought that the teen likely dissociated. Cody grabbed a .38 Special out of his sister's saddlebag, went into the house, and walked up behind his step mother who was nestled up on the couch with a book; the teenager blew a couple of holes through his female abuser's skull. When his father and step sister heard the gun blasts they immediately ran to see what was the matter; the teen shot Paul, then he turned the gun on his sister. How could he leave Marilea alive when it had been her job in life to tattle on him for everything? When his family was dead, the teen loaded the bodies up in a backhoe, dumped them in a ravine, then covered them up with piles of manure. That right there says a whole heck of a lot about the way Cody felt, doesn't it? He physically buried his family in actual crap! Afterwords the teen discarded the murder weapon in a local body of water, drove his murdered father's vehicle to the store for a bottle of Sprite, then he went off to stay with a buddy until his arrest.

So the ranch was owned by a well known local reporter named Sam Donaldson, and by the 6th of July Sam had grown concerned. Paul had been strangely silent, so Sam and his wife decided to drive out to the property and see what was going on. Though Cody had buried the bodies in a crappy shallow grave, he hadn't even attempted to clean up any of the blood or gore; after walking into the home Sam called police. Cody was promptly arrested and charged with triple homicide, crimes to which he quickly confessed; the three corpses were soon recovered.

Much of the abuse in which Cody had survived came out during trial; literally dozens of witnesses testified on the teenagers behalf. A ranch hand named Isabel Vasquez testified to having seen Paul hit Cody in the stomach and shoulder with a pipe for no reason whatsoever, he had watched Paul strike the teen with rocks the size of golf balls, and in the photo I'm enclosing Isabel is demonstrating how Paul used a large metal hook to punish Cody for not moving bales of hay quickly enough.

The physical and emotional abuse was backed up by many witnesses, but of course nobody had been around during the attempted sexual abuse. That said, there's evidence which points towards it being the truth: during the investigation police discovered incestuous pornography on Paul's personal computer. This type of porn, much of it parent/child incest, had often been frequented while Cody and his sister were at school.

Sandy Schmid was Paul's second wife; the two had been married for 5 years while Cody was little. Sandy testified that Paul had always been abusive, and while she was living in the home she had done her very best to protect her stepson from his father's wrath. Sandy also stated that Paul had always had a strange obsession with incest porn. Nearly everyone begged the judge to have mercy on this young man, including the biological father of Cody's murdered stepsister; Marilea's dad, Jake Schmid testified on his daughter's killers behalf! It's a strange situation though, because Jake knew Cody pretty well; Jake had married Paul's second wife, Sandy, so when Jake would pick up Marilea for weekend visits, Cody would come with and spend time with the stepmother. Jake stated on the stand that he had always believed Paul to be abusive towards Cody, that he'd seen fear in the boy's eyes more than once when it was time to go home; Marilea's father also said that he did not hold any ill will towards the young man for what he had done, he felt nothing but empathy for his daughter's killer.

Now not everyone felt sorry for the teenager; the state claimed that Cody's abuse was widely over exaggerated. Their case was that Cody had become angry after his father smacked him as punishment for not cleaning out the horse stalls quickly enough, and they submitted seemingly happy family photos as proof that there had been no ongoing abuse. One of the few witnesses for the prosecution was Verlin Posey, Paul's brother. Verlin claimed that he had never noticed any abuse, nor did he ever see any bruises on Cody. Verlin was seemingly pleased with the idea that his nephew would be spending his life in prison: "One lifetime in prison is a pretty small debt for three.".

Cody was convicted of 1st degree murder in the case of his stepsister, Marilea, 2nd degree murder for killing stepmother Tryone, and manslaughter in the case of his father, Paul. There were also 4 charges of evidence tampering; Cody was looking at life imprisonment. Apparently it was left up to the judge to decide whether the teen was sentenced as an adult or a youthful offender. After hearing all of the evidence in this case, the judge had mercy; Cody was sentenced to psychiatric treatment, and to remain in a juvenile facility until he turned 21 years of age.

In September of '06 a couple of Paul's relatives (I'm willing to bet it was his brother, Verlin) filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the creators of the video game Grand Theft Auto and Sony, among others. In a nutshell, they claimed that the teen had been trained to kill by the video game GTA.

While incarcerated the teen finished highschool and continued his education with college. On October 9th of 2010, which was Cody's 21st birthday, he was released; today he is free, and that's pretty much all we know. He's blending in somewhere, presumably living amongst us.

*I usually *try* to leave my opinion at the door, so to speak, but it's not really possible in this case; this is one killer who I would not mind living next door to me. There is so much abuse which was witnessed by people, so much was left out of this article. They isolated and abused this kid in every way possible. Anyways, I hope Cody is faring well out there, and that adult life is kinder to him than childhood was. Everyone has their breaking point, right? Have you ever thought about it? What could drive you to murder?

[amomseyeview-blog]

The End of Senior Year -                         2020 Style

While my son still has a few AP classes, as well as, an online class, the word is out for seniors that they should know by Wednesday what his grade is for any other classes. I think he has two classes that, if he chooses to, can accept his grade and let his teachers know he won't be attending Zoom classes after that. Otherwise, a student still has the option to continue or get make up work in or improve their grade. I believe he’s planning on the first option.

Given the current circumstances and COVID-19 climate, it seems like a fair and sensible option for them at this point. So, that’s it.  Senior year-high school-is over, just like that.  Our only redemption would be a late-July graduation ceremony of some kind (fingers crossed), but hopefully, something other than an online graduation.

What a strange new world we woke up to one day in March.  One Friday a couple of weeks before the country closed down, our girls’ basketball team won state.  Classmates cheered.  The school rallied and made plans for when they saw each other the next time. Then, . . . . . well, nothing. That was it for our kiddos--"Minimester," (our school’s version of community service week, aka pre-spring break), then spring break, and somewhere around spring break, they excitedly learned it would be extended. Then, reality, fear, and sadness set in, and no one went back.  No goodbyes, no yearbook signings, no anything.

While no one knows what the future holds, I’m deeply grateful for the ways our school has tried to be innovative, creative, and compassionate in dealing with all of the disappointment and losses suffered by this special graduating class and their families. 

We are in the same boat as millions of other families with graduating seniors, whether it’s high school or college.

I thought long and hard about why this loss has hit me so hard as a parent and why I’m grieving so deeply.  First, the obvious, from the moment both of my kids started preschool, I had the same dream as so many parents.  You envision that day 12 to 14 years later when you get to witness all of their hard work, achievements, and dreams culminate in that one moment when they will cross that stage, grasp that diploma, and turn that tassel.  All those long nights of tears struggling through homework, buying last-minute supplies for school projects, and all that goes into getting our children to that one special day is like a slideshow set to fast forward as you watch them look for you in the crowd as they proudly march with their class.

What was not so apparent to me until I did some soul searching was that this loss triggered so much unhealed grief for me.  You see, when my son was just 13, right before he began high school, he and my daughter, (who was 21 and in college in nursing school five hours away), lost their father.  

Despite this very unexpected and tragic loss, they both worked very hard and managed to accomplish so many things.  My daughter took a semester off to grieve her father, returned to school and graduated Magna Cum Laude, marrying her high school sweetheart about a year after that.  My son has done so much already, including being named a National Merit Commended Scholar and a NASA High School Aerospace Scholar, who was invited to participate in a mock mission to Mars at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.  This kid, a young, sad grieving, boy when he began high school, whose dad never got to see him play one high school varsity football game (as they often talked about) BEGAN HIS HIGH SCHOOL YEARS WITH A HUGE LOSS AND NOW, HE ENDS IT WITH YET ANOTHER LOSS.

Oh, my mother’s heart grieves and cries for both of my children, but right now, mostly, for my son.  I pray that, like his older sister, he, too, will find his way, achieve his goals, and find his happily ever after.  Until then, I will try to find a way to celebrate and be thankful and keep my tears silently in my heart.

[carsonrcwe]

sup bitchaaas. sophie back because i missed people around here so bad. here is an amended dawson ( most of y’all will know him as carson) please enjoy his sadness. 

Name: Dawson Rowe Age: 32 Pronouns: he/him Hometown: Austin, Txs Time lived in Atlanta: 7 Years Occupation: Fireman ( Lieutenant. )

@atlanta-rpgstarters​

biography – cancer tw, death tw.

Dawson was everything a parents wanted from a boy growing up, the oldest of his many siblings, he was a golden country son. He wasn’t the brightest bulb in the box, but he made good grades, showed up to classes and had a knack for football. He was a doting brother to all four of his younger siblings, did his chores on the farm, and though he developed a reputation for his charm as he was growing up he had the hearts of all around him. From being a young teen Dawson was known for his long lasting love with Holly Mae, the town sweethearts they were often among the church whispers, everyone waiting on him to pop the question and give them the babies they were expecting. It was more than his romance that was talked about around town though, and people were expecting big things from him even from a young age, he seemed to deal with the pressure on his shoulders well, his dad was the head coach of the football team, so no one was surprised when he went onto TMU on a full fullback scholarship - Holly joining him every step of the way.

Dawson’s down fall came when half way through his junior year Holly was diagnosed with cancer and the 21 year old was suddenly left with the news that she wasn’t going to be with him in every walk of life like he had once imagined. From that moment his priorities changed, he married her within weeks, and the two of them spent her last months doing everything that she had always dreamed of doing. He dropped out of college, he didn’t play ball, and he and Holly moved back into his family home where everyone was always welcome and they didn’t have to do to much.  Soon enough though, the inevitable happened and 22 year old Dawson found himself widowed, with no plan, and no desire to do anything. Eventually, he pulled himself from the slump he got into, it took time and patience from those around him but as the months went by, though he was never the same happy go lucky boy he had been known for, he was finding himself again. He was back at Friday night games, he was helping his dad coach, doing the odd job around the household, he was living again.

At 25 Dawson made the choice to leave Texas all together, when his brother took a job in Atlanta, at the time he felt ready for a change, a new beginning, and he moved to the state without looking back. He didn’t have a plan when he arrived, and no experience in anything leaving him doing mainly bar work until the fire station recruitment caught his eye. Without much though, Dawson signed up and something in him sparked again. It was as if he had a purpose, like he’d been built for the job all along and he’d just never known about it before. Dawson made himself a new home in Atlanta, and for a while now, he’s been perfectly at peace, working his way through the ranks of the firehouse, saving one person at a time.

personality  – + Dawson is known for being charming, he loves the ladies and flirting with pretty damsels on a Friday night more than he should. His kindness is still apparent in all aspects of his life. He’s driven in his work, and always strives to be his country boy best.

- Dawson is self-deprecating, stubborn and head strong. He doesn’t take advice at all, as much as he likes to dish it out, and once he’s made up his mind, good look getting him to change it. He can be fickle in love, even though he doesn’t mean to be, he’s just hard to understand and unless his brother delves into his past with you, Dawson won’t tell you why.

[incredible-dad]

What a man, what a man, what a man, what a mighty good man...

Archetype — The Hero  Birthday — February 18, 1970 Zodiac Sign — Aquarius Sun, Aquarius Rising, Cancer Moon MBTI — ESTP Enneagram — type 2: the Helper Temperament — Choleric Hogwarts House — Ravendor Moral Alignment — Lawful Good Primary Vice — Greed Primary Virtue — Charity Element — Earth

Overview:

Mother — Sarah Parr (nee Johnson) (adopted); Jennifer Peterson (birth) Father — Theodore Parr (adopted); Unknown (birth) Mother’s Occupation — primary schoolteacher Father’s Occupation — pastor Family Finances — comfortably middle class Birth Order — eldest Brothers — William Parr (younger, adoptive, blood child of Sarah and Teddy) Sisters — none. Other Close Family — Helen, Violet, Dash, Jack-Jack; i guess that Helen’s parents are his in-laws but he’s not really close to them because Helen is estranged. Best Friend — Frozone Other Friends — other Supers (mostly deceased) Enemies — The American Government lmao Pets — none, their house is way too hectic, but he grew up on a farm so they had animals there Home Life During Childhood — rosy and idyllic for the most part, his parents were wonderfully accepting of his gifts and even though other people in town kind of shunned him a bit, he won them over for the most part eventually. plus, no one really fucked with him because he could toss you into a building. not that he WOULD but  im js he could. He also grew up quite religious as the son of a southern presbaterian pastor. Town or City Name(s) — Smallville, Kansas; New York City, New York; Astoria, Oregon; Riverside, Iowa;  What Did His or Her Bedroom Look Like — shared with his brother in their little farm house, he wasn’t ever big on decoration or anything, so just whatever his mom decorated it with.  Any Sports or Clubs — no, not officially, he liked to play recreationally, but he wasn’t allowed on any teams because of his powers.  Favorite Toy or Game — loves monopoly, he’s that person that’s really into it and has a whole strategy and everything. He’ll get like MAJORLY competitive and no one really wants to play with him because he takes it really seriously lmao Schooling — his mom was his preschool teacher, and he went to regular rural public school with the same like group of 50 kids up through graduating HS. He got a BA in criminal justice from NYU on a Magick scholarship. Favorite Subject — not really any tbh, not a very studious person, but if he had to choose one he’d probably say science because he finds it interesting. Popular or Loner — he was a loner when his powers first started developing, but by high school he’d practiced really diligently at getting them under control and so he became quite popular after that because he’s very jovial and has a warm personality. Important Experiences or Events — getting adopted, though he doesn’t remember it lol; finding out he had powers; the birth of his brother; getting into NYU; meeting Helen; marrying Helen; joining the NSA; the NSA falling; the birth of Jack-Jack; adopting Violet and Dash Nationality — American Culture — Southern Religion and beliefs — Southern Presbyterian 

Physical Appearance:

Face Claim — David Harbour Complexion — idk white? lmao not super pale, not super dark, no freckles or anything Hair Colour — dirty blond Eye Colour — blue Height — 6’3 Build — stocky and strong Tattoos — none though he always jokes about getting Helen’s name in a heart on his arm Piercings — probably had his ears pierced at one point when he was trying to be #edgy at NYU Common Hairstyle — he’s balding lol Clothing Style — he dresses like a straight white man whose mother dressed him until he went to college and now his wife dresses him Mannerisms — rubs his forehead when he’s frustrated, puts his hands on his hips, crosses his arms, fidgets, sighs when he’s annoyed at you but doesn’t want to say it outright Usual Expression — 

Health:

Overall (do they get sick easily)? — has a very resilent immune system Physical Ailments — none Neurological Conditions — depression Allergies — none Grooming Habits — he wears cologne and shaves and showers, don’t expect much more than that Sleeping Habits — up at the crack of dawn, but not by choice. Grew up on a farm, so it’s just ingrained in him. Can sometimes go back to sleep until like nine, but rarely sleeps in. Is the dad that falls asleep in the recliner watching TV but wakes up if you try to change the channel. Snores. Has to drink a lot of coffee on night shifts. Apparently I have a lot of hcs about Bob’s sleeping habits. Eating Habits — will eat anything, anytime, but Helen’s cooking is his favorite (besides his mom’s) Exercise Habits — eh he’ll go to the gym to keep up pretenses but he has to be really careful, lol. Though, if he doesn’t exercise his strength, it can easily get too amped up, so catch him in the forest chucking trees across the meadows. Emotional Stability — 6; he’d score higher but he has a pretty easily triggered temper. He is easily riled up about things and very passionate, but for the most part he’s pretty jovial and easy to get along with. Body Temperature — runs a little warm Sociability — very friendly, very extroverted, perhaps too friendly, perhaps too extroverted  Addictions — processed sugar Drug Use — none, probably smoked weed in college or something Alcohol Use — not much, will have a few beers with dinner occasionally, but tends not to drink due to his high metabolism it makes it kind of pointless except for the taste and maybe a small buzz if he drinks enough; in college it was a game to see how much it’d take to get him drunk.

Your Character’s Character: 

Bad Habits — not following the rules, being controlling, reacting to situations without thinking Good Habits — loyal, a good communicator when he’s not antsy about things, emotional Best Characteristic — kindhearted Worst Characteristic — obsessive Worst Memory — all the people he’s lost Best Memory — when Jack-Jack was born, when he got married, when he adopted his kids Proud of — his wife, his kids Embarrassed by — his own ineptitude in relating to his kids Driving Style — normal really, not a speed demon or anything; tho he used to be as young person Strong Points — intelligence, friendliness, loyalty Attitude — he’s kind of pessimistic tbh, kind of depressed so he’s always just like *deep sigh Weakness — his brashness Fears — something happening to his family Phobias — lowkey fear of heights Secrets — that he knew about the experiments on the kiddos Regrets — not turning on the NSA faster Feels Vulnerable When — people are pointing out things he has done wrong Pet Peeves — people not listening to him, talking over him, telling him what to do lol Conflicts — his brashness v wanting to take things slow Motivation — to help Short Term Goals and Hopes — none really? Long Term Goals and Hopes — be a good parent, a good husband, and help people Sexuality — straight Day or Night Person — day person, he grew up on a farm Introvert or Extrovert — extrovert  Optimist or Pessimist — pessimist Intelligence — high

Likes and Styles:

Music — dad rock Books — not a biiiig reader, but he does like some history stuff/biographies Magazines — none really Foods — will eat anything but pineapple, but prefers a home cooked meal to eating out Drinks — no preference, will occasionally have a beer w dinner or smth Animals — also no real preference lol Sports — a football fan, will probs get into soccer too, into track bc of dash Social Issues — magick rights, but he’s also Tired Favorite Saying — eh none really Color — Helen’s eyes Clothing — just a regular 50 year old straight man, Helen builds his wardrobe Jewelry — his wedding ring ofc Games — none really, but he’ll get really into playing his kids’ video games with them Websites — none?? Is on the facebook, yes he calls it “the facebook” TV Shows — mindhunters, criminal minds, anything cop related lmao probably like watched game of thrones with helen and other classic tv shows like that Movies — likes comedies best Greatest Want — to protect his family Greatest Need — to let go of the past and heal

[suckitsurveys]

Do you own any bug spray? Yeah, somewhere.

Are you a good gift giver? Yes! I love getting gifts.

Whats the longest trip you’ve ever been on? Either from Chicago to Boston or from Chicago to South Dakota. I don’t feel like checking.

Do you know what XOXO stands for? Hugs and kisses.

What’s the first person who comes to your mind when you hear the word blue? BoJack Horseman.

Have you ever been to New York City? Almost.

Have you ever heard of Vogue? Yeah. The magazine and the song.

Are you a daughter or son in law? Yes.

Do you know anyone in the military? I think so?

Whats your shoe size? 8 (US) in women’s.

Do you know a real life Cinderella story? Sure.

Have you seen any of the Harry Potter movies? Just the first one. I have no interest in Harry Potter at all.

Do you like your significant others siblings? His sister, yes. His brother is a dick.

Have you ever received a singing birthday card? Yeah.

Does your name contain more than ten letters? My first name? No.

Whats your cell phone network? Sprint. Why is this in every survey??

Do you twitter? Yeah. @ suckit_nerds. Follow meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Do you own anything made by APPLE? Nope.

Where did you graduate? Chicago.

What color are your walls in your bedroom? A light blue.

How old is your mom? What about you dad? My mom would be 68 this year. My dad is almost 70.

Have you ever shopped at Hollister? No..

Can you name ten cereals? Sure. Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Cheerios, Froot Loops, Apple Jacks, Life, Rice Krispies, Kix, Raisin Bran, Fruity Pebbles, Frosted Mini Wheats.

Have you ever tried Hamburger helper? Yeah.

What was your first cars color? White.

Do you have a best friend? Yes, a couple. Were you alive when Clinton was in office? Yeah.

Do you remember who your Kindergarten teacher was? Yes.

Do you have a favorite president? A least favorite? Least favorite is definitely Trump.

Do you know anyone named Wendy? I do! She works on the first floor of my building.

Whats the longest you could go without talking? I don’t know, I talk to myself a lot, lol.

What about eating? I could probably go a day but I’d be hangry.

Have you ever watched American Idol? What about the Hills? No.

Can you french braid? No.

Were you ever a girl scout or a boy scout? Nope.

Whats your least favorite color? I don’t know, it depends on how they are used.

Do you know anyone in jail? Yes.

Do you have kids? Never.

How often on average do you cry? Every! Day! These! Days! Fuck this fucking COVID shit.

Whats the strangest name you’ve ever heard? Hmm.

How old were you when you learned to walk? A year.

Do you own anything made of lace? Yes, several things.

Do you hug more guys or girls? I hug Mark most often. 

How many people do you share a name with? That I know personally? A couple.

Do you know a scrooge? Yes.

Whats your favorite football team? I don’t have one, I dislike football.

Do you know what “i plead the fifth” means? Yes.

What number is Venus in the solar system? The second.

How many cell phones have you had in the past five years? 2?

What kind of bubble gum do you chew? Minty kinds.

Do you wear a one piece bathing suit or two piece, a speedo or trunks? Two pieces. 

Did you go to your senior prom? Yes.

Have you ever fallen in or out of love? Yes to both.

Do you watch the real world? No.

What one celebrity do you hate? Trump.

Do you support a charity? I haven’t donated to any in awhile. I need to, especially with this bullshit happening.

Do you bite your fingernails? No

Have you ever done drugs? Just weed.

Do you pop your knuckles? Sometimes.

Do you burn by the sun easy? Yeah.

Are you a large religious person? What a weird way to word that. Anyway, no.

Do you scrapbook? Nope.

Can you name all the baldwin brothers? Alec, Stephan...Billy...???????????

If you could change your eye color would you and to what color? I’m good.

Have you ever had braces? No.

Whats your favorite cartoon character? Princess Carolyn, Leela, Jane Lane, Brendon Small, Linda Belcher, Pikachu, Bubbles.

Imagine your dream home, does it have a fence around it? It would have a fenced area for a doggo, but not a fence all the way around it.

Do you like Martinis? Yeah, especially fruity ones.

Do you own any yellow shoes? Yes. I have a pair of yellow converse. 

When were you the saddest in your whole life? Right. The fuck. Now. This COVID shit is fucking bullshit and I feel like it’s never going to get better and we’re all going to go insane and/or catch it/die. 

Have you ever seen a ghost? No.

Do you work out? I STARTED A FUCKING REGIMEN AND THEN COVID HIT. I’m still trying to walk everyday but sadness takes over.

Are you a virgin? No.

What color is your favorite shirt? Purple.

Are you in dyer need to take a shower? No, I just did a few hours ago on my lunch break, haha.

How many books do you read a month? Rarely any.

Can you type fast? Yep.

In school were you bullied? Yeah.

Have you ever swam in the ocean? Yes.

Are you sarcastic? Nooo, never.

Do you own a boat? No.

What about a camper? No.

Do you read the newspaper? No.

Whats your pet peeve? Ignorance. PS STAY THE FUCKING FUCK HOME.

Do you know anyone who suffers from bone loss? I think so?

Do you have any tattoos? Yes, nine.

Are you on any teams? QUARANTEAM. STAY HOME SAVE LIVES.

If you died today where do you think you’d go? To whatever the process is to get cremated.

Do you know anyone who is pregnant? Apparently my sister’s friend was because she just posted about her new born baby.

Who is the first contact in your cell phone? My husband, under emergency contacts.

What color are you bed sheets? Baby blue.

Ever have an itch you couldn’t scratch? Ugh, yes.

How many shoes do you own? ~20 pairs, give or take.

Have you ever been to therapy? I should.

What kind of car do you drive? A 2008 Ford Escape.

What kind do you want? One that doesn’t fucking break down.

Would you survive in the military? No.

Do you use online dating? No.

Do you curse? Yes.

Do you go to church? Nope.

Do you think you over weight? "Overweight” implies there is one ideal weight. I am fat.

Did you go to College? Yes.

Have you ever been cheated on? Maybe.

How often are you sick? Not very often at all. Though I developed allergies and now my nose is stuffed 24/7, which is fun. 

Did/ Do you miss alot of school? No.

Can you play any kind of instrument? Nope.

Whats your dating type? Mark.

Do you like scented candles? I do.

Are you easily bored? Hence this.

Do you know anyone gay? Weirdly worded. Yes, I know queer people.

[boutyous]

𝐆𝐀𝐁𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐋  𝐓𝐒𝐎𝐈.   ☆      ☇       ⸢      introduction  .     ⸥  ugh  hello  everyone  i’m  red  !  i  am  so  sorry  for  this  being  late,  i  don’t  even  have  a  good  excuse  smh  !  but  hennywayz,  i  am  so  excited  that  this  roleplay  is  finally  open,  i’ve  been  craving  a  good  town  /  city  roleplay  for  awhile  now.  at  the  moment  i’ll  only  be  playing  one  muse  but  that  of  course  will  change  over  time  (  i  already  have  like,  3  more  muses  i  wanna  play  rip  )  as  for  plots  i  don’t  have  anything  concrete  written  here,  that  of  course  can  change  later  on.  but  please  don’t  hesitate  to  shoot  me  a  message  so  we  can  brainstorm  something  out  between  our  muses.  in  fact  if  you  ♡  this  post  i’ll  assume  you’re  interested  in  plotting  so  i’ll  be  sure  to  message  you  as  soon  as  i’m  able  to  :’)  (  credit:  the  gifs  i  will  be  using  for  ahn  hyo  seop  are  edited.  the  original  gifs  are  made  by  hachans.  )

(  ahn  hyo  seop.  twenty  five.  cismale.  he/him  )  —    i  just  saw  (  gabriel  tsoi  )  walking  past  plaça  de  catalunya.  they  are  a  (  heir  )  from  (  seoul,  south  korea  ).  people  say  that  their  (  intuitive,  forthright  +  charismatic  )  personality  is  admirable  but  their  (  egocentric,  overwrought  +  difficult  )  side  lets  them  down  —  the  theme  song  of  their  life  must  be  (  sometime  )  by  (  defsoul  )   /   click  here  for  pinterest.

statistics. 

korean  name.  tsoi  gi-kwang.

american  name. gabriel  tsoi.

used  name(s). gabriel  tsoi.

age  /  d.o.b.  25  /  january  1,  1994

birth  order. only  child  (  has  a  step  sister  )

horoscope. capricorn

religion. buddhist

gender. cismale  (  he/him  )

sexuality. bisexual

origin.  seoul,  south  korea.

height. 6  ft  2  in

physique. athletic,  fit

nationality. korean  (  has  an  american  visa  )

ethnicity. korean

language(s). english,  korean,  mandarin,  spanish,  basic  french

current  occupation.  heir,  adviser  for  bisou  cosmetics

criminal  record. n/a

virtues. debonair,  chivalrous,  valorous,  determined,  self  sacrificing, pragmatic  

vices. self  seeking,  closeted,  melodramatic,  egotistical,  stubborn

relationship  status. single.

children. none.

backstory.

trigger  warning:  brief  mention  of  suicide.

 gabriel  tsoi  wasn’t  born  with  a  silver  spoon  in  his  mouth,  it  was  platinum.  maybe  it  was  gold?  ivory?  or  was  it  was  forged  from  a  metal  so  rare  it  made  captain  america’s  shield  look  like  a  patriotic  frisbee?  whatever  the  spoon  was  made  from  it  was  evident  that  gabriel  tsoi  never  had  to  work  for  anything  in  his  life.  privilege  was  his  birthright  and  his  parents  made  sure  to  remind  him  of  it  because  of  how  hard  they  worked  to  earn  it.  his  father  (  tsoi  kwang-soo,  american  name:  kevin  )  was  the  owner  /  creator  of  tsoi  hotels.  a  luxury  hotel  chain  that  wrapped  around  the  globe.  his  mother  (  tsoi  seo-yeon  )  was  not  only  a  heiress  in  her  own  right.  but  also  the  ceo  of  bisou  cosmetics,  one  of  the  largest  cosmetic  companies  in  seoul.  it’s  evident  that  gabriel’s  parents  were  power  players  and  it  was  expected  for  their  son  to  fill  their  shoes  and  then  some  but  things  weren’t  always  that  easy.

 to  put  it  simply,  gabriel  was  a  timid  boy  and  his  father  blamed  it  on  his  mother’s  need  to  send  him  to  humble  hearts  academy,  a  buddhist  preschool.  from  an  early  age  gabriel  was  taught  to  put  others  before  himself.  his  mother,  despite  her  reputation  as  a  vixen  in  the  public  eye,  grew  up  with  the  same  morals  humble  hearts  taught.  gabriel  fell  into  those  morals  easily  —  apparent  that  he  inherited  his  mother’s  gentle  heart.  no  parent  would  be  ashamed  of  their  child  for  being  too  kind  and  too  polite.  this  didn’t  bother  his  father,  it  pleased  him  greatly  especially  when  gabriel  would  showcase  these  traits  among  colleagues  when  all  the  other  children  were  running  around  like  chickens  with  their  heads  cut  off.  but  as  gabriel  got  older  and  he  was  treated  poorly  by  people  who  took  advantage  of  his  kindness  his  father  knew  he  needed  to  do  something  about  it  and  who  thought  that  all  it  took  for  gabriel’s  heart  to  grow  cold  was  the  mysterious  death  of  his  mother?  

 no,  gabriel’s  father  wasn’t  a  murderer  just  a  man  who  was  stuck  in  a  bad  marriage  and  happened  to  get  caught  in  an  affair.  when  it  was  revealed  gabriel’s  mother  was  struck  with  depression  causing  her  to  take  her  own  life.  a  fact  that  the  tsoi  family  could  not  let  the  public  know.  maintaining  a  happy,  perfect  image  was  just  as  important  as  making  money  to  the  tsoi  family.  it  was  a  difficult  time  for  everyone.  gabriel’s  mother  was  a  much  loved  and  admired  woman  her  loss  impacted  a  great  deal  of  people.  as  time  passed,  hearts  healed  but  gabriel’s  never  did.  it  only  had  gotten  worse  upon  discovering  that  his  father  had   married  his  mistress  and  he  know  had  a  step  sister.  big  yikes.

 it  was  hard  for  him  especially  now  that  he  was  in  college  (princeton  university).  focusing  on  his  studies  while  going  through  the  stages  of  grief  wasn’t  an  easy  task  but  it  caused  a  shell  to  form  around  him,  one  that  his  father  was  desperate  for  him  to  have.  it  wasn’t  a  complete  360;  a  glimmering  light  still  existed  within  gabriel’s  heart  but  his  love  was  no  longer  unconditional  and  anyone  who  dared  to  get  a  hold  of  it  needed  to  jump  through  hurdles  to  just  catch  a  mere  glimpse  of  the  man  gabriel  once  was.  

 gabriel  managed  to  balance  college  life  easily  especially  considering  his  situation.  however  one  has  to  wonder,  was  it  because  of  his  academic  prowess  or  his  position  on  the  football  team?  or  maybe  his  father’s  sizable  donation  to  the  institution?  either  way  one  could  not  question  gabriel’s  ability  both  in  and  out  of  the  field.  he  was  a  diligent  student  as  he  had  proven  to  be  in  high  school.  originally  attending  princeton  to  acquire  a  law  degree  that  would  surely  make  dad  proud.  gabriel  never   stopped  to  think  if  it  was  something  he  truly  wanted  to  pursue.  it  was   expected  for  gabriel  to  graduate  when  he  was  twenty-three  but  he  had  other  plans.  when  he  realized  his  father  was  expanding  tsoi  hotels  he  wanted  to  be  apart  of  it.  not  out  of  genuine  interest  but  because  he  didn’t  want  his  step  mom  or  his  step  sister  to  be  apart  of  it.  he  moved  to  barcelona  to  be  apart  of  the  hotel’s  roots  and  is  avidly  proving  himself  to  be  a  worthy  heir  to  the  multi  million  dollar  company.

personality  +  misc  headcanons.

 upon  meeting  gabriel  you’ll  notice  that  he’s  a  man  with  not  only  kindness  in  his  eyes  but  ambition.  he  has  a  sweet  smile  and  an  even  sweeter  laugh.  his  charisma  allows  him  to  sweep  through  a  room  effortlessly.  at  the  ripe  age  of  twenty-five  gabriel  is  contempt  with  the  life  he  lives  as  a  possible  heir  /  adviser  to  his  mother’s  cosmetic  company.  he  earns  a  great  deal  of  money,  attention,  and  praise  because  of  it. 

 lowkey  gabriel  can  come  across  as  a  douche:  the  fancy  suit,  the  charismatic  smile,  and  the  shark-like  personality  but  it’s  just  a  well   constructed  mask  he  wears  to  protect  his  sensitive  side.  he’s  a  caring  individual  and  there’s  times  were  he  wants  to  give  his  step  mother  and  sister  a  chance.  his  ambition  is  strong  but  it  isn’t  blind,  he  wants  to  figure  out  a  way  to  forgive  them  somewhere  down  the  line.

 dating  rumors  always  swirl  because  of  his  internet  presence.  however,  he  hasn’t  been  in  a  “serious”  relationship  since  he  left  his  long  time  gf  in   college,  let  alone  a  casual  one.  he  blames  it  on  work  which  is  somewhat  true.  but  we  all  know  if  gabriel  really  wanted  some,  he  would  go  out  and  get  some.  

 many  people  perceive  some  of  his  actions  as  “power  moves”  but  it’s  all  unintentional.  that  intense  alpha-male  energy  never  “vibed”  with  gabriel,  even  if  looks  said  otherwise.  when  he  fixes  another  man’s  tie  there’s  no  ill-intent  he  just  wants  homeboy  to  look  good.

in  the  end,  once  you  get  to  know  gabriel  you’ll  find  that  he’s  the  sweetest  kid  in  the  world.  he  wears  his  heart  on  his  sleeve  even  if  he’s  not  upfront  about  it.  he’s  someone  you  can  count  on  because  he’s  always  eager  to  please.  a  good,  honest  friend  that  waits  for  you  while  you  tie  your  shoelaces  :’)

[dontshootmespence]

You Have to Live For You

A/N: An anon request for a Spencer x Luke high school au. Spencer is gay and out of the closet; still bullied as he is in the show. Luke however, is the typical athlete, popular and good-looking, but he’s actually in the closet. They sneak around to see each other a lot, and eventually a teammate of Luke’s finds them together and threatens to out them. 

Warnings: Homophobia, and one mention of the word f**.

Stiff hair brushed against Spencer’s chin as Luke pulled away. “I have to go.”

“Why?” Spencer asked wistfully, bringing his face back toward him by the tip of his index finger. “Don’t go.” He kissed him again. “I want to stay here and kiss you all night.”

Luke leaned his forehead against Spencer’s and smiled. “I’d like to do that too, but you know the types of people that pass around here at night. We’d both be vulnerable in this town of backwoods idiots, and the rest of my team is going to be passing here on their way to dinner. We can’t get caught.”

Spencer’s relaxed smile started to fade from his face. He kissed Luke one more time before separating. “You’re going to meet them at dinner right?”

“Yea, I have to keep up appearances.”

“Okay,” Spencer said solemnly. “I’ll talk to you later?”

Luke forced a smile and nodded enthusiastically. “Of course.” He turned to leave, but spun around one more time to say just one more thing. “Spence?”

“Yea?”

“You know I love you, right?”

Despite the situation they found themselves in, he smiled. “I do now.”

They said goodbye again and Spencer promised to text Luke when he got home safe. It was never good for him to be alone with his own mind. That’s when he spiraled.

Coming out of the closet was no small feat. It had taken Spencer nearly three years of talking with his mother about who he truly was before he felt comfortable enough to admit it to her face. I’m gay. But when he said it the weight had been lifted. With that push, he’d been able to say it to his friends, and soon the school and even their small town knew it. Most people congratulated him for being brave, while a select few, inside and outside of school, bullied him relentlessly; he’d always been a nerd though so he was used to it. Now, he was just a gay nerd.

Luke on the other hand was the epitome of popular high-school jock. He was on the football team. Known he was gay for a very long time, but because of his status in school, he was scared to let everyone know who he truly was. He’d even “dated” a couple of girls in order to keep up the charade. 

Spencer knew that Luke loved him - he believed that with every fiber of his body, but it was so hard to feel that way when he couldn’t even admit to those around him that he was in love with a man. Hopefully, he would be able to say it from the rooftops one day with Spencer’s hand linked in his own. 

Nearly half of junior year passed in the same way it had before. Spencer and Luke would sneak around whenever and wherever they could to spend time together. Since Diana new about her son, she allowed Luke to come over frequently; he still hadn’t told his parents for fear of what they’d say. “You’re always welcome here,” Diana said.

Then everything changed. Luke had a big game; he was hoping to go to college on a football scholarship and a scout from his first-choice college sat on the sidelines watching his every move.

Before going off to play, he snuck into an alley between two buildings of the school to meet Spencer. “Good luck,” he said as he kissed him.

Luke sunk into the feeling, tuning all other sound and the nerves of his big game out of his mind. Apparently, one of his teammates had been calling his name, but he hadn’t heard and until TJ was there, standing at the opposite end of the alley. “Well, well, Alvez.”

Spencer was about to say something when Luke asked him to keep things a secret. “Sure. For a price?” TJ was Luke’s least favorite teammate - a bigot, misogynist and all-around asshole. 

Luke’s shoulders hunched, his heart racing. “What do you want?”

“Do my math homework for the rest of the year.”

In desperation, Spencer whispered. He didn’t want him to do this. But he still wasn’t comfortable enough to confess to everyone who he actually was. “Fine. Just keep quiet.”

“Deal,” TJ replied smugly.

Quickly, he turned to Spencer and told him he had to go. Up against the wall, Spencer allowed a few quick tears to fall from his eyes before going to the stands to cheer Luke on.

“Babe, I don’t know! I don’t know when I’m going to be comfortable enough to tell people! You think I don’t want to be able to tell people around us how in love with you I am?”

Spencer walked up and wrapped his arms around his exasperated boyfriend. “I know this can’t be easy for you. It wasn’t for me either. What can I do to help?”

“Be there,” Luke said emphatically. “Take us away so I don’t have to live in fear in this ass-backwards town.” 

Sitting down on Spencer’s bed, Luke pulled his knees up and curled into a ball. “I just want to feel okay with myself.”

“Well, how do you feel when you’re with me?” Spencer asked.

Luke looked up from where he was sitting and reached out his hand. “Free.” His fingers grazed the inside of Spencer’s palm. “I feel right I guess. I don’t know if that makes any sense.”

“It does,” Spencer said. “Well, from what it sounds like you’re already halfway there. You are comfortable with yourself. It’s about being yourself around others.”

Nodding, he leaned his head into Spencer’s shoulder. “I feel like I could tell my mom now, but I don’t know about my dad. He doesn’t really talk about gay people so I have no idea how he’d feel. Latino men are supposed to be ‘macho’ and apparently gay and macho can’t go together. I just don’t want to let him down you know.”

“I do,” Spencer said softly, tipping his boyfriend’s head upward with his index finger. “But you know that if he had a problem it would be him letting you down, not the other way around.”

He did know. But that didn’t make it any easier. 

Spencer continued. “I can’t come out for you, but maybe try feeling things out at home. See what they think. Maybe your dad won’t have any issues and then at least you could be out at home. That would be a big step.”

“Yea, but then everyone else,” Luke replied. His head hurt.

There was something that Spencer had learned throughout his life that he felt Luke needed to hear. “Know that I only say this because I love you, but I’ve come to learn that no matter what you do, you won’t please everyone. You’ve been able to do that your entire life so far. Your parents love you. You’re popular. All the girls fawn over that amazing beard. Sooner or later though, you won’t be able to make everyone like you.”

“I know, but...” He didn’t know what to say.

“You have to live for you,” Spencer said, wrapping his arm around Luke and bringing him closer. “You have to make yourself happy. Live your own life. People will gravitate toward you because of that, and the ones that don’t aren’t worth your time anyway. When it comes to bullying, you’re like the most physically imposing guy on the team, so no one would fuck with you and I don’t think any of the girls in school would care either. Worse comes to worst and we’re out of this shit town in less than two years.”

Luke had a lot to think about. “Maybe you’re right. I’ll work on it. Baby steps though, okay?”

“Of course,” Spencer replied. “And I’ll help if I can.”

“Just tell him, preciosa,” his mother whispered, patting her son on the shoulder. He had managed to tell his mother who instantly asked if Spencer was his boyfriend because if he was, she approved. His father had been a different story though. No matter how close he got, he ended up backing out. 

Luke swallowed hard against the insistent lump in his throat. “Are you sure he won’t hate me, mama?”

“Yes. And if I thought it was even a possibility I would divorce his ass,” she said proudly. 

Her son chuckled softly, making his way into the living room where his father sat. His heart beat what felt like a thousand times a minute as he approached, sitting down beside him. “Dad, I need to tell you something.”

“What is it?” He asked. His eyes were soft with concern, darting between his son and his wife who was standing in the doorway. “Luke what’s wrong?”

“N-Nothing,” he stuttered, shaking his head. “Dad, I’m gay.” It came out so quickly he surprised himself. “I’ve known it for a while but I didn’t want you to hate me so that’s why I didn’t tell you.”

His father started to tear up slightly and it made Luke’s heart drop. Immediately, he noticed Luke’s fear and grabbed his hand. “I’m only sad that I ever made you feel like you couldn’t tell me. I want you to love who you want to love. No matter who that is.”

Luke broke down into tears, sobbing against his father’s shoulder for nearly fifteen minutes before calming himself down. “Are you seeing anyone?” His father asked.

“Yea,” he replied, smiling as Spencer’s face shot to the forefront of his mind. “You know my friend Spencer?”

“That lanky, geeky boy? I like him.”

“I’m glad,” Luke chuckled softly. “Did you want to meet him?” He looked between both of his parents. “Like officially, I mean.”

“Yes,” his father replied. “I have to make sure he knows not to mess with my son’s heart.”

“Oh my god, dad, don’t.”

After meeting his parents, Spencer finally felt like they were moving in the right direction. It gave him hope that one day they’d be out and proud to everyone they knew whether those people like it or not. He was still doing TJ’s math homework, and weeks earlier had been coaxed into doing the science as well in return for continued silence. 

In his desperation for true freedom, Luke had been tuning into everyone’s thoughts on sexuality. For the most part, it seemed like most of the other students were fairly open-minded, having different opinions than their parents, but there were quite a few who were violently bigoted. Spencer’s words always stuck in the back of his mind though. You have to live for you. What Luke wanted was to walk through the hallway hand-in-hand with Spencer. He wanted to sit together at lunch at act like a couple. He wanted to take his boyfriend to prom next year and not have to go with a girl for ‘cover.’

“Hey, Spence?” He asked.

“Yea?”

“Tomorrow, when we get to school, are you okay with walking in holding my hand?”

Spencer smiled and nodded. “Yes.”

Luke threw TJ’s homework to the side. “Good, because I’m going to march right up to that asshole and throw his homework in his face and you’ll be there and then everyone will know. I can’t make everyone happy and keeping this inside is making me miserable, so screw it.”

Walking up to his side, Spencer pressed his lips to Luke’s. “I’m proud of you.”

The following day they arrived at school at around the same time. “Are you sure?” Spencer asked.

Nervously, Luke said yes. When his hand first slipped into Spencer’s, Luke’s heart raced, but they crossed student after student, and other than the occasional stare, no one said anything - and anyone that did said congratulations. A couple of the teachers seemed to look down at them, but Spencer just stared them down until they felt uncomfortable and looked away. 

“Your football team is going to know now. You sure you’re good?”

Luke nodded more confidently than moments earlier and strode into their homeroom with Spencer trailing behind him. “Hey TJ!”

The other boy snapped his head toward Luke, eyes widening in surprise. “Never pegged you for a fag.”

It stung like a dagger, but he pulled TJ’s homework from his bag and through it on the desk. “Don’t act like you didn’t know. Do your own homework.”

As the bell rang, TJ looked on in shock while Luke and Spencer went to their desks with smiles on their faces.

During class, Luke got text after text from the members of his team, saying how they thought TJ was an asshole and they hoped that he was happy.

For the first time in years, he could say that he was. Sure there would come some days when everything wasn’t so perfect, but for now, he was happy. He was living for himself.

@kalie-bee​ @jamiemelyn @prettyboyeffect @unstoppableangel8 @iammostdefinitelyonfire26 @bitchinprentiss @captainreid @lukeassmanalvez @veroinnumera @lookwhatyoumademequeue @tippy06 @ralvezmood

[theawkwardterrier]

Logan/Veronica AU Week, Day 1: Crossover or Fusion Fic

Veronica knows that there are worse places they could have ended up than Neptune. She just can’t think of exactly what those places might be.

After a childhood spent moving from town to town as her father worked his way up through progressively wealthier and more talented teams, Veronica finds herself in Neptune, home of the top high school football team in the state of Texas. The first years are rough, but the opportunity is too good to pass up. Or at least that’s what Veronica tells herself the first time their house gets spray painted after a hard-fought loss against their district rival. It’s what she tells herself when her mom disappears, apparently too overwhelmed by the idea of being the coach’s wife to stay around for the coach’s daughter, and what she says when she has to start picking up the jobs left behind, cheering doubly hard at games and working on the team barbecues without being asked.

As junior year approaches, things are somehow getting better. The Pirates lost at State last year, but on a call so bad that the town is angry at the league instead of the coach, whose tough, loving style has by now won him the loyalty of his team. Veronica has finally made friends, both team-adjacent, like head cheerleader Lilly Kane, cocky linebacker Eli “Weevil” Navarro, and surprising star running back Wallace Fennel, and not (Mac, for one, only attends games if bribed with vegan snickerdoodles). Neptune, Veronica is sure, will soon just be the football-obsessed place she’ll only return to when visiting her father during college breaks. However, the path to escaping Neptune unscathed takes a sharp turn for the worse when the Echolls family moves to town.

Aaron Echolls will let you see his Superbowl ring if you ask nicely (sometimes even if you don’t ask at all) and his son Logan is, despite the objections of Coach Mars, the Pirates’ new first string quarterback. It’s not just loyalty to her dad that makes Veronica say this was a bad call for the team: when your earliest memories are not of watching Beauty and the Beast but of game film, you pick up a thing or two, and as training starts, the weaknesses in Logan’s game are easy to spot. It is loyalty to her dad that makes her agree to surreptitiously give Logan some private coaching. But when Veronica learns a secret about Logan and his father, she has to make a difficult choice. Revealing the secret could endanger Keith Mars’s reputation and the life Veronica has so painstakingly built in Neptune. But keeping it could mean hurting the boy she thinks she might be starting to love.

[coolsvillecarlisle]

ZOINKS! IS THAT [ GREGG SULKIN ]? Never mind, it’s just [ CARLISLE FABRAY ]. Wow, [ HE ] is looking good for [ 26 ]. I heard they’re [ BISEXUAL (CLOSETED) ], think I have a chance? Apparently they’re the [ GOLDEN BOY ] of Coolsville, probably because they’re [ DRIVEN ] and [ INTELLIGENT ], though I’ve also heard they’re [ SPOILED ] and [ SECRETIVE ], so who knows. I can’t wait to see the excitement that [ ADMIN LOGAN/27/CST/HE/HIM ] brings

01.  BASICS

Full Name: Carlisle Justice Fabray

Nickname: He doesn’t use a lot of nicknames, he’s been called Car before but that’s pretty much it.

Sex/Gender: Cisgender male

Birthday: February 14

Age: 26

Astrological Sign: Aquarius 

Occupation: Assistant to the Mayor

Spoken Languages: English and French

Sexual Orientation: Bisexual (Closeted)

Birthplace: Coolsville, California

Relationship status: Single

02. PHYSICAL TRAITS

Hair Color/Style: Dark Brown

Eye Color: Brown

Face Claim: Gregg Sulkin

Height: 6′0

Weight: 165 pounds

Tattoos: None

Piercings: None

Unique Attributes: He has quite a few freckles

Defining Gestures/Movements: He cracks his neck a lot

Posture: Perfect 

03. PERSONALITY TRAITS

Pet Peeves: Being interrupted and ignorant people

Hobbies/Interests: Football, basketball, baseball, writing

Special Skills/Abilities: He’s good at pretending to be perfect

Likes: Most sports, money, parties, the sun

Dislikes: Disappointing his parents

Insecurities: Not being good enough and his sexuality

Quirks/Eccentricities: When things seem to start going wrong, he freezes up and it’s like his mind checked out

Strengths: Charisma, intelligent, confident

Weaknesses: Bossy, spoiled, secretive

Speaking Style: His tone is very proper, he rarely shouts

Temperament: Very calm

04. FAMILY & HOME

Immediate Family: Russell Fabray (Father), Judy Fabray (Mother), Quinn Fabray (Older Sister)

How do they feel about their family? They seem to be a close family, picture perfect almost. Beautiful daughter, star quarterback son, mayor of Riverdale, nothing can go wrong for them. Behind the scenes, the Fabray family isn’t the picture perfect, lovey dovey family they appear to be, Russell is demanding and Judy pushes her children to meet those standards. Carlisle does have loyalty to them and makes sure he follows their expectations so they’re not disappointed in him but he isn’t sure how much he actually loves them.

How does their family feel about them? Carlisle is their picture perfect son, they’ve spoiled him since he was born and as long as he keeps doing what he’s supposed to do, they’ll never have problems.

Pets: Gray Tabby Cat (Prince)

Where do they live? He lives in his family’s mansion 

Description of their home: Very large and extravagant, lots of bedrooms and secret rooms

Description of their bedroom: Clean and polished, he has a trophy case with some trophies on it and a large bed

05. THIS OR THAT

Introvert or Extrovert?

Optimist or Pessimist?

Leader or Follower?

Confident or Self-Conscious?

Cautious or Careless?

Religious or Secular?

Passionate or Apathetic?

Book Smarts or Street Smarts?

Compliments or Insults?

Pajamas or Lingerie? He wears boxers or nothing to sleep

06. FAVORITES

Favorite Color: Green

Favorite Clothing Style/Outfit: He has a clean and casual style, almost always looks perfect without a hair out of place

Favorite Bands/Songs/Type of Music: He’ll listen to just about anything, but classical tends to be his favorite

Favorite Movies: Carlisle doesn’t watch too many movies so he is very behind on popular ones

Favorite Books: Mystery books are his favorite

Favorite Foods/Drinks: Steak and wine, but he also enjoys lemonade a lot

Favorite Sports/Sports Teams: Football is his favorite, he likes basketball and baseball too

Favorite Time of Day: Dusk

Favorite Weather/Season: Summer

Favorite Animal: Cats

07. MISCELLANEOUS

Fears/Superstitions: He’s afraid of disappointing his family most of all, as for superstitions, he doesn’t believe in any (yet)

Political Views: More liberal than he appears to be

Addictions: None

Best School Subject: P.E. and English

Worst School Subject: Science

School Clubs/Sports: He was quarterback of the football team in high school and he played basketball and baseball

How does he get money? His parents, he only has his job because of his father

How is he with technology? Good, he uses it often

08. PAST & FUTURE

Fondest Memory: The entirety of his college career, it was a fun time for him to be a little separated from his family

Deepest, Darkest Secret: His sexuality

Dream Vacation: Anywhere that isn’t Coolsville, he wants to see the world

Best thing that has ever happened to this character: So far, it’s when the football team had their undefeated season, one of the few times his dad actually said that he was proud of him at home

Worst thing that has ever happened to this character: Any time he does something wrong, disappointing his family is something he really hates doing.

What do they want to be when they grow up? He wants to possibly be a writer but it’s nothing he’ll actually pursue and risk being disowned for

Perfect Date: A really fancy dinner