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azeez-unv · 1 year

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➖Goals of Respectful Parenting:

1. Raise Chîldrēn who we have deep, soulful relationships with ALL our lives. According to extensive research, it is these parent-child relationships that lead to successful and fulfilling lives.

2. Raise Chîldrēn who have intrinsic motivation and don’t do anything for the purpose of outward gains (thus no punishments, rewards or empty praises)

3. Raise Chîldrēn who are kind, empathetic and community activists (because they’ve been treated kindly by us and considered an active part of our little community at home)

4. Raise Chîldrēn who are confident and recognize their strengths and go after them with a passion with little consideration for the status quo (by ignoring the rat race of “not being left behind” and recognizing what OUR CHÎLD is good at and facilitating THAT)

5. Raise children who know how to establish healthy boundaries and respect others’ boundaries (by our own modeling of our own boundaries and by respecting our kids’ boundaries)

6. Raise children who have loving relationships with their siblings (by never putting our kids into positive and negative roles, by never taking sides and never comparing them to each other)

➖NOT Goals of Respectful Parenting:

1. Raise kids who are compliant and obedient all of the time.

2. Raise kids who are academically ahead of everyone else because it’s what all kids should be doing.

3. Raise kids who are involved in many after-school activities because those activities are popular and it’s what everyone is doing.

4. Raise kids who aim to please the adults in their lives (teachers, grandparents, aunts, uncles etc.)

5. Raise kids who behave perfectly at all times, everywhere.

6. Raise kids who never express any emotions in public.

7. Raise kids who never raise their voice against something that doesn’t make sense to them (even to “elders”, their parents and teachers)

8. Raise kids who follow the path we’ve carved out for them in life because don’t parents know best? (No, they don’t ;)

FINAL NOTE: Be prepared to be JUDGED, ridiculed and questioned constantly about your Parenting path if you choose the respectful parenting path.

However, work hard NOT to judge those who are judging you.. they’re operating based on centuries of parenting practices that have only recently come into question by neuroscientists and psychologists.

We, in this community, are lucky to have found the latest research and science and learn it- our best bet is to incorporate what we learn in ALL our interactions so we can inspire others through our empathy and open-mindedness.

➖மரியாதையான பெற்றோரின் இலக்குகள்:

1. நம் வாழ்வில் ஆழமான, ஆத்மார்த்தமான உறவுகளை வைத்திருக்கும் குழந்தைகளை வளர்க்கவும். விரிவான ஆராய்ச்சியின் படி, இந்த பெற்றோர்-குழந்தை உறவுகளே வெற்றிகரமான மற்றும் நிறைவான வாழ்க்க��க்கு வழிவகுக்கும்.

2. உள்ளார்ந்த உந்துதல் மற்றும் வெளிப்புற ஆதாயங்களுக்காக எதையும் செய்யாத குழந்தைகளை வளர்க்கவும் (இதனால் தண்டனைகள், வெகுமதிகள் அல்லது வெற்றுப் புகழ்ச்சிகள் இல்லை)

3. அன்பான, பச்சாதாபமுள்ள மற்றும் சமூக ஆர்வலர்களைக் கொண்ட குழந்தைகளை வளர்க்கவும் (ஏனென்றால் அவர்கள் எங்களால் அன்பாக நடத்தப்பட்டதால் மற்றும் வீட்டில் எங்கள் சிறிய சமூகத்தின் செயலில் உள்ள பகுதியாகக் கருதப்பட்டதால்)

4. தன்னம்பிக்கை உள்ள குழந்தைகளை வளர்த்து, அவர்களின் பலத்தை அடையாளம் கண்டு, தற்போதைய நிலையைப் பற்றி சிறிதும் கவலைப்படாமல் அவர்களைப் பின்தொடர்ந்து செல்லுங்கள் ("பின்னால் விடப்படவில்லை" என்ற எலிப் பந்தயத்தைப் புறக்கணித்து, நம் குழந்தை எதில் திறமையானவர் என்பதை உணர்ந்து, அதை எளிதாக்குவதன் மூலம்)

5. ஆரோக்கியமான எல்லைகளை எவ்வாறு நிறுவுவது மற்றும் மற்றவர்களின் எல்லைகளை மதிக்கத் தெரிந்த குழந்தைகளை வளர்ப்பது (நம் சொந்த எல்லைகளை நாமே மாதிரியாக்குவதன் மூலம் மற்றும் நமது குழந்தைகளின் எல்லைகளை மதிப்பதன் மூலம்)

6. தங்கள் உடன்பிறப்புகளுடன் அன்பான உறவைக் கொண்ட குழந்தைகளை வளர்க்கவும் (எங்கள் குழந்தைகளை ஒருபோதும் நேர்மறை மற்றும் எதிர்மறை பாத்திரங்களில் ஈடுபடுத்தாமல், ஒருபோதும் பக்கச்சார்பற்றவர்களாகவும், ஒருவரையொருவர் ஒப்பிட்டுப் பார்க்காமலும்)

➖இது மரியாதையான பெற்றோரின் குறிக்கோள்கள் அல்ல:

1. எல்லா நேரத்திலும் இணக்கமான மற்றும் கீழ்ப்படிதலுள்ள குழந்தைகளை வளர்க்கவும்.

2. கல்வியில் எல்லோரையும் விட முன்னோடியாக இருக்கும் குழந்தைகளை வளர்க்கவும், ஏனென்றால் எல்லா குழந்தைகளும் செய்ய வேண்டியது இதுதான்.

3. பள்ளிக்குப் பிறகான பல நடவடிக்கைகளில் ஈடுபடும் குழந்தைகளை வளர்க்கவும், ஏனெனில் அந்த நடவடிக்கைகள் பிரபலமாக உள்ளன, மேலும் எல்லோரும் அதையே செய்கிறார்கள்.

4. தங்கள் வாழ்க்கையில் பெரியவர்களை (ஆசிரியர்கள், தாத்தா, பாட்டி, அத்தை, மாமா போன்றவை) மகிழ்விப்பதை நோக்கமாகக் கொண்ட குழந்தைகளை வளர்க்கவும்.

5. எல்லா நேரங்களிலும், எல்லா இடங்களிலும் சரியாக நடந்துகொள்ளும் குழந்தைகளை வளர்க்கவும்.

6. பொது இடங்களில் எந்த உணர்ச்சிகளையும் வெளிப்படுத்தாத குழந்தைகளை வளர்க்கவும்.

7. தங்களுக்குப் புரியாத ஒன்றிற்கு எதிராக ஒருபோதும் குரல் எழுப்பாத குழந்தைகளை வளர்க்கவும் ("பெரியவர்கள்", அவர்களின் பெற்றோர் மற்றும் ஆசிரியர்களுக்கு கூட)

8. வாழ்க்கையில் நாம் செதுக்கிய பாதையில் செல்லும் குழந்தைகளை வளர்ப்பது பெற்றோருக்கு தெரியாதா? (இல்லை, அவர்கள் இல்லை;)

9. இறுதிக் குறிப்பு: நீங்கள் மரியாதைக்குரிய பெற்றோருக்குரிய பாதையைத் தேர்வுசெய்தால், உங்கள் பெற்றோருக்குரிய பாதையைப் பற்றி தொடர்ந்து நியாயந்தீர்க்கப்படவும், கேலி செய்யப்படவும், கேள்வி கேட்கவும் தயாராக இருங்கள்.

இருப்பினும், உங்களை நியாயந்தீர்ப்பவர்களைத் தீர்ப்பதற்கு கடினமாக உழைக்கவும்.. அவர்கள் நரம்பியல் விஞ்ஞானிகள் மற்றும் உளவியலாளர்களால் சமீபத்தில் கேள்விக்குட்படுத்தப்பட்ட பல நூற்றாண்டுகளின் பெற்றோருக்குரிய நடைமுறைகளின் அடிப்படையில் செயல்படுகிறார்கள்.

இந்தச் சமூகத்தில், சமீபத்திய ஆராய்ச்சி மற்றும் அறிவியலைக் கண்டறிந்து அதைக் கற்றுக்கொள்வதற்கு நாங்கள் அதிர்ஷ்��சாலிகள்- நமது எல்லா தொடர்புகளிலும் நாம் கற்றுக்கொள்வதை இணைப்பதே எங்களின் சிறந்த பந்தயம், அதனால் நமது பச்சாதாபம் மற்றும் திறந்த மனப்பான்மை மூலம் மற்றவர்களை ஊக்குவிக்க முடியும்.

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angeliki8 · 1 year

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The Hard Yet Joyful College Goodbye

It was August 26, 1998, that is when it happened, the miracle. After years of trying to be able to conceive, Jessica was blessed with two twin girls, Sophie and Sarah. They were born in Barcelona, Spain at approximately 08:24am in the morning. They entered this world as part of the most loving family even with an absent father. Fast forward 18 years, it was not simply just another day for Sophie and Sarah, it was a day they had been waiting for their entire lives. It was a special yet terrifying, life-changing day. The two sisters, dressed in their new college sweatshirts surrounded by a sea of proud and caring faces. Each family member filled with a mixture of pride and sadness, their expressions revealing the internal conflict they were feeling. It was the time to say goodbye. Goodbye through FaceTime. Goodbye to their friends, their family, their five pet dogs and two pet rabbits. Their grandmother, who made sure to always prepare the most delicious home cooked meals they could ever possibly taste. Their grandpa, who would never fail to step in when they needed help with whatever it was - either redrawing Barbie characters from the Barbie movies that the twins made him watch together or if they needed a ride from school. He was always there. Present and Affectionate.

Most importantly, it was a terrifying day for their mother. Their single mother who made all the possible efforts to support her children, and get them to where they were on this day. She felt a sense of loss creeping in but she knew that she had done everything possible so they could be able to have the capabilities of going to a Canadian post-secondary school. She also was aware that Sophie and Sarah were so eager to embark on their next adventure of exploring the college life. She felt a sense of pride and joy, knowing that she had managed to raise two strong, independent women who were ready and responsible enough to take on this journey. Oh, but still she was unsure about how she was going to deal with this change. Her twin daughters meant the world to her, it was always the three of them - no father involved. He was a selfish human, never putting his daughters before himself. Never even tried. The origin of the tragedy of the divorce originated within such complicated events, not worth being repeated.

Sophie and Sarah were sitting at the open space punctuated by rows of black seats at their airport gate, awaiting for their flight to Canada to departure. Canada, a place they had never thought was of reach. A place they never thought they would be at. What seemed like a dream was now reality. The smell of stale coffee and food intertwined with the scent of disinfectant that everyone tends to use especially since the beginning of the pandemic was prevalent.

The realization that it was time came into the twins' minds again. This reminder was heart wrenching but it was indeed time. Time for the goodbye. As terrifying as it was, this day symbolized so much more. It symbolized all the good and all the efforts that were all worth it in the end. Sophie and Sarah got the chance to continue their education, halfway across the world. They had the most beautiful, heart-warming upbringing filled with love and care. What else would anyone desire? However the sisters were also considering some negatives. What if they don't make their family as proud as they want to? What if the pressure to pay them back for everything becomes too challenging? But they could not stop looking at their phone; the grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins all had tears in their eyes. Tears of joy. You could tell from the phone screen. Tears of joy to be actually able to observe the grown up twin girls at the airport ready to take on the world. Waiting...Waiting for the gate to open for departure. That’s what technology gives us. The ability to live these moments even when we are not sitting in the same crowded space. This is its beauty. A rush of guilt would get to the sisters sometimes for leaving their family...but they discovered that leaving home doesn't mean leaving behind the people who matter most. A truly caring family will always be there to support, love and take care of you, no matter where you choose to embark on new adventures. That's the beauty.

#goodbye #airport #relocation #college #family #siblings #Spotify

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nandievisualdiary · 2 years

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Chapter 6: Ethnicity

How long has your family lived in this country?

My family has been in America for at least 20 years. Both of my mother and father migrated from Haiti in the late 90's. My siblings and I were and raised in America, we are first generation . My late grandparents lived in Haiti for their years, however my grandmother on my mother side was born and raised in Haiti, and then migrated over to America in the 2000s'. All my aunts, uncles, and cousins were all born in Haiti, all of my cousins and family are all first generation.

Where did they come from?

My mother was born and raised in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. My father was born and raised in Jeremie, Haiti.

Has your family embraced American Nationalism?

My father did not teach me and my younger siblings Haitian Creole. Haitian Creole is the primary language spoken in Haiti. My mother speaks creole with my siblings and I, they can understand but they chose not to speak Creole. I asked my father why he never taught us creole, he said because he thought it would be easier for his children to maneuver in America. Everyone who we talked to spoke English, and in school they taught us English. My father was a taxi driver for 10 years, so he adjusted to speaking English quickly. He never turned off the English when he was speaking to us. However, the primary language spoken at home is Haitian Creole, and English. I have realized the importance of speaking my country language, so I chose to learn the language. I entered myself in things involving my culture and such.

If some of your family have migrated from other parts of the world, how do they integrate their American identity with their ethnic identity?

Yes, all of my family is from Haiti. They began migrating to America in the 90-2000's. And they all went to either Boston, New York, or Florida. Where I am from (Boston), we see a lot of diverse Caribbean communities. Especially a large population of the Haitian community. My family does celebrate American holidays, such as Thanksgiving, Christmas etccc. But on thanksgiving, we cook Haitian food instead if your traditional cooking, or eating soup joumou ( a squash soup) on New Years because thats Haitian Independence day.

This is my mom in 1986 in Port-au-Prince. Port-au-Prince was her home for 22 years. She migrated to the US in the 90-2000s' My father, who isn't shown in the picture, was also born in Jeremie, Haiti. This makes me full Haitian. My sibling and I are all first generation Americans. When I younger, I used to deny I was nationality because I was embarrassed. I went to school in predominately white areas, they didn't have diversity. It wasn't until I went to Africa, I realized the important and beauty of my nationality. Going to Africa was the first time I was in a predominantly black population. It felt amazing. I saw the beauty within my skin and culture. I use to say " Im not Haitian, my parents are just from there". Now I take so much pride into my culture. I identify being Haitian. We do tradition things, that I will pass down to my future generation.

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addictedtostorytelling · 2 years

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Hiya👋 Me again, sending some more love your way❤️ and I have a hypothetical ask:

In Fallen Angels it's revealed that Tina is a drug addict and doesn't allow Nick or Sara to visit/see Eli. If Tina hadn't choosen to get clean, do you think that Nick or Sara would have adopted/taken custody of Eli?

hi, @doctorliamsr!

thanks for the love! right back at you. 💕

in the us foster care system, it is generally standard practice that if there are any living family members who are willing, able, and stable enough to take a child in after the child has been removed from their parents' custody, then they get first dibs on doing so over anyone else.

said practice is called "kinship care," and it is the preferred way of doing things in almost every state.

only if no family is available to provide kinship care will a child be placed with a foster parent or parents to whom they are not actually related.

at that point, the next most preferred foster parents would be family friends, neighbors, babysitters, school staff, medical providers, etc. with whom the child already were familiar. these types of “not family by blood but by bond” caretakers are known as “fictive kin” or “non-related kin.”

however, if there is otherwise no way to keep the child with caretakers who are already known to them and/or who are members of their extended community, then the child may be placed with foster parents at random.

we can infer that sara had no extended family or community members who were able to care for her at the time when she entered the foster care system because she states that she lived with “strangers” and moved around a lot (see episode 05x10 “no humans involved”).

so the hierarchy for preferred care arrangements goes

kinship care

non-related kinship care

traditional foster care

in that order.

while warrick was raised by his grandmother (who died sometime during the early seasons of the show) and didn't seem to have any other living family aside from tina and eli at the time of his death, it's unclear what tina's family situation is as of s13.

however, if she were to have any family members whatsoever who were alive at the time that eli was taken into foster care—e.g., her parents or siblings or grandparents or aunts or uncles or adult cousins or adult nieces and nephews (even at degrees of removal) on either side—and those family members were themselves willing to take eli in and were able to prove their fitness to care for him, then they'd automatically get the nod to do so over anyone who were just a "friend of the family."

so in that likely scenario, nick and sara might never even enter the picture.

however.

if it were the case that tina, like warrick, had no other living family to provide kinship care—or at least none that were willing/able to do so—and no other closer family friends than nick or sara to provide non-related kinship care, then maybe nick or sara could step in.

in my view, nick would be the more likely one to try to do so, not only because taking in his late best friend’s kid while his best friend’s ex-wife was going through troubled times would very much be in keeping with his character—that man is nothing if not an indefatigable white knight—but also because, honestly, for as much as i like the idea of her coming “full circle” by herself becoming a foster parent, i don’t think sara would have the wherewithal to make that kind of commitment at that time in her life, her desire to help notwithstanding.

remember: in early s13, her marriage is falling apart, and she knows it. she and grissom already haven’t spoken in months, and, frankly, she’s not sure when they are ever going to speak again. the last thing in the world she’s gonna do in that kind of fraught situation is send grissom an email being like, “guess what, honey? i wanna adopt warrick’s five year-old! you’d better come home.” it’d be too messy. too risky. too complicated. it could be the thing to finally make grissom pull the plug on their marriage (if he didn’t want to be a part of the endeavor) or, maybe even worse, it could be the kind of thing to make him potentially come home for the wrong reason (i.e., not because he actually wanted to be with sara but because suddenly there was gonna be a kid in the picture and he felt beholden to be there), which would break her heart in about a million ways.

while this post refers to the hypothetical scenario of what might happen were sara to discover she was pregnant during the course of s13, the same general principles discussed in it would apply in this case, as well, i believe.

of course, even if nick were to try to become a foster parent for eli—and it would be a fostering situation rather than an adoptive one, at least to start out with, as tina’s parental rights had not yet been severed and dcfs would want to give her a fair shake to clean herself up before they were—i don’t know that he’d necessarily/automatically be granted approval, given how much he works, the hours at which he works, the dangerous nature of his work, and the fact that he is single.

like.

while not having a domestic partner doesn’t necessarily preclude one from being a foster parent otherwise, in his case, he might have a hard time establishing that he’d be present enough to actually see to eli’s care.

though if he were the only or most favorable option, i think he’d still have a good chance at being awarded custody, such might not be the case were there another potential foster parent (either non-related or traditional) out there who didn’t work seventy-odd hours a week at a night shift job where the likelihood of getting shot was decently high.

after all, the whole goal of a foster placement is to provide a stable, safe, nurturing environment for a child at a time of great upheaval in their lives, so ideally whoever is looking after them has to be able to really be there, you know?

so whether or not nick would be successful in his bid for custody would likely depend on what other options were available and what social services ultimately deemed to be the best situation for eli overall.

of course, if nick did become eli’s foster dad, his doing so might necessitate that he switch shifts or scale back his hours at work, just so he could be around/awake more at the times when eli needed him.

how long the fostering arrangement might last and if nick would ever be given the option to legally adopt eli would of course depend on the tina of it all—if she ever did get clean, if she had her parental rights terminated, etc., etc.

anyway.

thanks for the question! please feel welcome to send another any time.

#answered #doctorliamsr #asks: csi #**#hypothetical scenario #let's talk shop #csiverse

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marmolady · 3 years

Text

New Horizons

Main Pairings: Estela x (f)MC, Graleister

Summary: Endless Ending. Liv and Reggie are starting school in San Trobida. Notes at the end!

Word Count: 9695

Chronology: After 'Growing Pains', before 'How the time escapes me...'

Tagging: @saivilo, @edgydepressedchoicesthot, @sceptilemasterr, @greengroove @mauvecatfic

Thanks for reading!

San Trobida, July 2035

“Hey, Auntie Grace!”

Reggie looked up from his book at the sound of his cousin’s voice, and hastily placed aside his shiny new copy of ‘A Guide to San Trobidan History’ so he could rush out into the hallway.

Grace was already wrapping Liv in a hug. “Hello, sweetheart.” She kissed the side of her niece’s head, before her eyes wandered down to a bloodied knee. “Did you have a mishap on your bike on the way here?”

“Yeah… I clipped the kerb and crashed,” Liv said, offering her aunt a better view of her wound. As she heard Reggie’s footsteps, she looked up to meet his eye and smiled.

“Youch!” Reggie offered sympathetically as he came close enough to peer over Liv’s grazed knee.

Liv shrugged. “I’ve had worse.”

Grace, though, was more concerned. “Are you sure you didn’t hit your head when you fell?”

“No, just scraped my knee. It does actually sting a bit.”

“Hmm. Well, I think we’d better put some anti-septic that knee just to be safe.”

The new house was a mess. Boxes and misplaced furniture filled every room, and the twins-- six years old-- had been making forts with the packing boxes that had been emptied so far. The family had been in the house for just over a day, and some good progress had already been made. There had been a lot that had been left behind. Neither Aleister nor Grace put too much value on material possessions, so most of what had come with them and the children to their new home in San Trobida had been essential furniture, and the mountains of photo albums and memorabilia from a life with the kids.

Grace sat Liv down on a wooden ottoman, and, after a little bit of rummaging, found the first aid kit.

“Okay, this might hurt just a little,” she said gently, and she carefully dabbed Liv’s graze.

Liv yelped, “Fuck!”, causing Reggie to gasp, looking to his mother for a reaction, and Erin and Immy to burst out giggling from inside their box-fort.

Grace raised an eyebrow, but her warm smile didn’t shift. “It stings that much?”

“Yeah…,” Liv said, flushing a little. “Sorry about the language.”

“I’m sure I didn’t hear a thing.”

There was the usual bustling around as Aleister got the girls into their shoes; Immy and Erin had decided that swapping one shoe with one another was the peak of humour, but eventually, their father managed to get them each into a left and a right-- even if they didn’t match. Six-and-a-half-year-old sisters, Reggie had come to realise, made just about everything more of a headache than necessary.

Eventually, though, they were on their way. His mom and dad, walking beside the twins as they pootled along on their bicycles, had the address, but Reggie rode ahead with Liv, taking her lead as she zig-zagged through the streets of Valle Brava. Having only set foot on San Trobidan soil as a new resident some twenty-four hours ago, everything aspect of his environment set his senses alight. This wasn’t like being back in America. Perhaps it was the tropical climate, but he was reminded much more of La Huerta-- of home. Liv certainly seemed right at home here. She and her mothers had settled a few weeks before, and Liv had been coming here pretty much all her life. There were just a few blocks between their respective houses, and the wide cycle paths along the bitumen roads made for an easy journey. This, Reggie had been told, was a newly developed area; much had been re-built since the war he knew his Tia Estela had been involved in. The cycle paths ended as they came nearer to Liv’s place, a little way out of the main township. The foliage on either side of the road became thicker, and there was less street noise, more birdsong.

“Beat you!” Liv announced as she planted her feet into the ground, forcing her bicycle to a stop.

Reggie grumbled, pulling up beside his cousin in front of a humble bungalow-style house with outer walls a vibrant azure blue against yellow accents. The sound of a dog barking-- unmistakably Liv’s Robin, was further confirmation they’d arrived. “You didn’t beat me, Livia. I was following you. I didn’t even know where we were going.”

“Jeez, dude. No one likes a sore loser….”

“I am not a--!”

The door swung open.

“Reggie!” Taylor wasted no time in sweeping her nephew into a hug. “It’s so good to see you! I can’t believe you still have the energy for cycling over here-- didn’t you move house, like, yesterday?”

Reggie laughed. “Hi, Auntie Taylor!” There was something about seeing a familiar face in this new environment that made the pieces seem to click into place. Family made it home. “I’m a little bit tired but mostly just excited. I did sleep in today, so I guess I won’t crash until later.” His sisters on the other hand… there was no way they’d last the evening without overtiredness rearing its ugly head.

“I’m guessing your mom and dad are on their way with the girls?”

“Yeah,” said Liv, “but they’re pretty slow. I don’t have to wait to give Reggie the grand tour, do I?”

“Knock yourself out, kid. Hang on, Liv? Walk your bike through the house, please.”

“I was gonna!”

Reggie could only smirk. Like hell you were….

“Aaaand,” Liv finished off with a flourish, “this is my room!” She opened the door to a good-sized bedroom. It seemed to Reggie that what floor-space wasn’t taken up by the bed was piled up with boxes.

“I mean, I can’t say the mess wasn’t a clue.”

Liv gave her cousin a look as she flopped into her bed. “Hey-- moving house is hard. You’ll see soon enough. You get started all excited, but once you start living your life, you kinda get… stuck. Mama Taylor says we’re going to just blitz it all next weekend, and throw ourselves a pizza party as a reward.”

Reggie got up onto the bed and crossed his legs. “Do you like it here?”

“I love it here! I always liked coming here when I was little, so I guess it doesn’t feel like something completely different. I reckon my tio abuelo is over the moon that we’re here for good; it’s like I’ve got a grandparent now.” Liv’s cheeks flushed pink, and she glanced away.

Understanding, Reggie nodded. Together, they’d grown up in a family that didn’t take the traditional shape. There were some things that simply couldn’t be explained to other friends; like why Reggie’s grandma could help him with his homework, but could never come in for grandparents’ day, and why Liv had a whole side of the family with no grandparents at all-- not even dead ones.

“And,” Liv continued, “people don’t really look at my Mama Estela funny. I noticed that years ago. I guess ‘cause of the war, people don’t look twice at someone who’s maybe a little bit banged-up. I got so sick of it back in America. Every time we met someone new, they’d put on that ‘God, what happened?’ face. Maybe Mom doesn’t want to explain the whole ‘revolutionary in a civil war’ thing to every random person who can’t mind their own business. Some people have scars-- big freaking deal. It’s better here.”

“Yeah, that would be a nice change. The amount of times I’ve seen you and Auntie Taylor look at a nosy idiot like you want to deck ‘em--”

Liv burst out laughing. “True, that.”

The sound of excited barking rang out from the backyard. It seemed pretty likely to Reggie that his parents and sisters had just arrived. When he and Liv arrived in the backyard, Erin had already joined Estela at the barbecue, desperate to be involved, while Immy was passionately talking to Nicolas about goodness-knows-what. Reggie made a mental note to rescue him in a few minutes; that kid could be intense, and the poor old guy had come out here for a relaxing lunch with his niece.

Nicely, but firmly, Reggie nudged the wriggling, writhing form of Robin the dog to the side so he could join his mother and Auntie Taylor at the large alfresco table under the porch. And Robin returned to his favoured position at the feet of the barbecue-- Erin was just a kid, surely, she’d drop something….

“Do you need a hand with the salads?” Reggie asked as he greeted his mother with a hug. He’d been seeking a lot of those. With so much changing, familial comfort meant a lot, and he wasn’t ashamed to admit it.

Perhaps more than anything, though, he was grateful to have Liv by his side. It was the way it had always been; from their toddler days on La Huerta, through elementary school, to their adventures in home-schooling. Some things might change-- some things might change immeasurably-- but he always had his cousin.

___________________________

La Huerta, 2028

Liv yelled out as she splashed down into the shallow surf. “Reggie!”

“I got her, Xiraana!” Reggie cried, and soon he was joined by a young Vaanti girl, who helped restrain their victim.

“No, no!” Liv squealed as she struggled. Vaanti kids, she’d long ago realised, were strong. “You’ll never take me alive!”

“Five-- four--- three….” Xiraana counted down, not letting Liv out of her grasp.

“Two-- one!” Reggie finished triumphantly, and he let his cousin fall unceremoniously back into the water. “The klaawyi ate all the meat off your bones. You’re one of us now!”

Liv pouted, but admitted defeat. It wasn’t the worst thing that could happen; she was pretty good on Team Klaawyi anyway. Or, she would have been… had she not seen the figure of her favourite uncle descending onto the beach from the great tree of Elyys’tel.

“Tio Diegoooooo! Hiiiii!” Liv ran across the sand, almost tripping in her desperation to reach him.

“Hey, Livia!” Reggie cried out, indignant at being suddenly abandoned. “You’re meant to help us catch them!”

But Diego had crouched down to wrap Liv in a hug, and Reggie might as well be talking to a pile of rocks for all that was being absorbed.

“Tio, they got me! Reggie and Xiraana got me, and now I’m a klaawyi!”

“You?” Diego laughed. “You’re no klaawyi-- I’ve never seen a klaawyi that was ticklish!”

“Wha--?” Oh no. Once again, Liv was shrieking with mirth, this time dodging the tickling hands of her tio.

Still standing in the shallows, Reggie stomped his foot, which achieved little but splashing himself in the face. The game went on without them; games of Klaawyi Chase didn’t stop for anyone. The usual fun on the beaches outside Elyys’tel would go on like this every day… whether Reggie and Liv were there to join in or not. And Reggie didn’t want to miss out now.

“Come on, Livia!”

She just shook her head, not letting her adoring gaze up at Diego slip for so much as a heartbeat. “Nah,” she said. “I’m done.”

Torn, knowing that whichever direction he ran in, he’d lose out on precious time with friends, Reggie admitted defeat and rushed back to Liv’s side on the shore. He looked back over his shoulder and waved goodbye-- for what he’d been told would likely be a long, long time. Engrossed in their game, his friends gave just the most fleeting of farewells before continuing to race through the small waves that lapped the beach.

Liv, in contrast, had eyes only for her tio. She clasped his hand tightly; if she held on tight enough, perhaps he’d have no choice but to come with her to wherever her mothers were taking her in the big aeroplane.

Where exactly she was going, Liv didn’t quite understand. It was away from La Huerta, but they weren’t going back to live with Tio Nicolas, they were going… someplace else. Someplace with no Tio Diego and Varyyn, where all the other kids would be boring shades of pink and brown rather than blue and green, and where no one knew about the yeti-bear, or the magic crystal alien that made her mom, or about The Story of the Year the World Stopped.

“I want you to come, Tio Diego…,” Liv softly beseeched.

Diego’s eyes grew misty, her earnest words having tipped him over the edge after what had been a long period of emotional build-up. Goodbyes were never easy, and Liv’s family was his family. He squeezed her little hand gently.

“I’ll visit you, Livi-- I promise. Cross my heart. And your mommies will bring you over to visit us here too; you are going to learn so many new games at school that you can teach Xiraana and the other kids.”

“But I’ll miss you…”

Having rejoined Liv, Reggie peered up at Diego’s teary face with concern. “Diego, you’re making your glasses all foggy.”

“Ha. I know, I know!” Diego wiped his eyes. “You might have a point there, Reggie; I want to spend this last night with you guys actually being able to see you!”

Liv giggled and wrapped her arms around her uncle’s legs, only to be peeled off and hoisted into the air. “We can still have fun until bedtime, can’t we? Will you tell us a story?”

On the ground, Reggie danced around, his arms waving. Diego-time was the best story-time.

In the arms of her tio, her playmate since she was a baby bouncing on his knee, Liv was a mess of emotions; of fear and excitement, of merriment that competed with the looming sorrow. It was more than her little self had a clue what to do with. She was only five.

Sensing his cousin’s turmoil, Reggie reached up a hand and took hold of Liv’s, hanging down by Diego’s side. “Don’t worry, Livia! If you worry, you won’t enjoy story-time.”

Liv stuck out her bottom lip. That little nerd-face could be pretty smart sometimes. Tomorrow night, there would be no goodnight story from Tio Diego, but tomorrow night was not now-- now, everything was as it should be. Her wavering grin returned, and to her delight, it brought matching smiles to the faces of her companions.

“Do you think Varyyn, and my mommies, and Auntie Grace and Uncle Alli, and Auntie Grace’s tummy babies want to listen to the story too?”

“Yeah,” Diego said, letting Liv back down to the ground, where she immediately found another hug in Reggie’s arms, “I think everyone would really like that.”

_____________________________

San Trobida, August 2035

“I don’t get it,” Liv said thoughtfully, as the car rolled right on past the turn for her Auntie Grace and Uncle Al’s place. “It’s right on the way; wouldn’t it have been easier for us to pick up Reggie?”

“Hon,” Taylor replied, “I think Reggie wanted his mom and dad to take him to orientation. They’ll probably be better at helping with his jitters than we would be.”

“I guess.” Liv looked out the window, watching the surrounding vegetation thicken once more as the car followed the road up out of the valley. “Orientation Day shouldn’t be too bad, right? Just, like, meeting our teachers, learning where stuff is, that kinda thing?” And you’ll have to try and make friends. That would be a laugh.

By the time they pulled up at the Las Selvas Secondary School, however, Liv fully understood her cousin’s nerves, and realised that was probably why she’d been so disappointed that he didn’t share a car with her. Through every big change in their young lives, his presence had been a reassuring constant.

“Uggghh,” she groaned. “Can I change my mind? Home-schooling was all right; more of that, please.”

Estela leaned from the front seat and gave Liv’s knee a squeeze. “You know, I don’t think he’d ever say it, but I’m pretty sure Reggie would be really scared if he had to walk into this without you. Besides, you were so excited about starting here; you owe it to yourself to at least giving it a shot.”

Again, Liv groaned, this time even louder. “It’s so annoying when you’re right.”

“Story of my life,” Taylor laughed, while Estela smirked.

When they pulled up at the school, Reggie was already waiting, standing beside the car-park while his parents fussed over him.

“You have your phone?” Grace quizzed, checking for the fourth time since they’d set off.

“I told you, yes!” Reggie replied, and he pulled his phone out of his pocket to wave around for good measure. “I’ll send you a message when I’m ready to be picked up, I promise.”

“In that case, you just have a wonderful time, darling.” She wrapped him in a hug-- already Reggie was easily as tall as her. “Go well, and have fun.”

Liv rushed over, all smiles. Her own nerves were a whole lot less bothersome when she had the distraction of friendly faces.

There were a few more rounds of hugs exchanged-- and then, suddenly, Liv and Reggie were on their own.

“You wanna head over? Looks like people are already crowding around-- it’s probably gonna start soon.”

Reggie’s expression brightened, as if he’d been just waiting for a little push for his confidence to surge back forth. “Well, it will hardly be an auspicious start here if we miss the principal’s address. Get a move on, Livia!”

The morning passed relatively quickly. Liv placed herself next to Reggie at all times-- they’d been put in the same Grade Seven home room as requested, making him one of the eldest in the class, and her one of the youngest. The whole set-up wasn’t entirely different to the school they were accustomed to, other than the bilingual approach. They were given a small pile of boring paperwork, and outlines of what to expect in their new classes; as English was their first language, they’d be taking ‘Spanish as a Second Language’, and Liv was also excited about ‘Nature Studies’, a subject she’d never been offered in America.

As far as Liv was concerned, the most traumatic part of the session was being expected to stand up in front of a room of strangers and give a short spiel about themselves. The perfect opportunity to officially balls-up any chance they might have of making new friends, or at least that was how she saw it. She mumbled down into her chest; something about enjoying hiking and gymnastics, something about liking Batman, and animals, and then she hurriedly sat right back down with flaming cheeks. Reggie, she observed, handled the brief foray into public speaking with rather more poise. Even though he was shy-- perhaps even more than she was-- he seemed able to go into ‘school presentation’ mode, and breeze through. When he sat back down, though, his hands were shaking-- but that was for the eyes of his trusted friend only.

When the lunch break came along, Liv was ravenous; a new and challenging social situation could do that to a person. While Reggie sloped off to the bathrooms, she tested out the school canteen, emerging a little while later with a hot empanada. It wasn’t quite as good as her Mama Estela’s, but it was definitely a step up from what was on offer at her old school. Maybe she could get used to this place….

Liv watched this new world go by all around her as she ate, cross-legged beneath the tree she’d told her cousin to meet her by. Kids moved in their little circles, talking loudly, laughing. Most of them coming into Grade Seven had come from the local primary school, and many knew each-other. Liv and Reggie would be starting out on the outside… and that was daunting. She could not be more grateful that she wasn’t taking this on alone.

Or… at least, she shouldn’t be. The lunchtime queue moved on, the gaggles of kids spread out, and still Reggie hadn’t returned.

Damn, constipated on your first day. Sucks to be you, Reggie.

Tentatively, Liv approached the boys’ bathroom and, having ascertained that no one was watching, slipped in. Her footsteps were unheard, drowned out by the loud, frantic breathing of young Reggie, slumped over the sink. Alarmed, Liv rushed over. Tears were spilling down his cheeks.

“Reggie… it’s okay,” she said gently. A little unsure, she reached out a hand to rub his back, and to her surprise, he didn’t flinch away. Slowly, he seemed to regain control of himself.

“Liv…,” Reggie panted. “You know you’re not meant to be in here; this is the guys’ room.”

“Hey! Like it’s my fault you didn’t take your anxiety attack into the unisex bathroom. That’s on you.” Hmph. Ungrateful, much?

Reggie scowled, and dragged his cousin out of the toilet block by her arm. He slumped down by the wall, and scooched over to encourage her to join him.

“You’re a pain in the arse.” He was still shaking.

“It’s been said, yeah.” Liv huddled a little closer. “You don’t need to worry, okay? You’re not going to have any trouble making friends. Did you see they’ve got a chess club, and a photography club as well? At least that’ll get you talking to people.”

“That’s,” Reggie said quietly, “not exactly what I’m worried about.” When Liv looked at him expectantly, he continued. “When I was in a room with all those kids, my head just went back to being at our old school… and what happened. I know this place is meant to be progressive and all that, but that doesn’t mean that everyone’s okay. What if I think I’ve made friends with someone, and they find out about Erin, and they make it a big thing, and then some arsehole finds out….”

“Man, you’re really spiraling,” Liv observed, not especially helpfully. She wasn’t exactly surprised by what was troubling her cousin; getting into a fight in defense of his young transgender sister had completely unseated Reggie from the comfortable life he’d had at the last school. It had changed everything.

“You would too, if she was your sister!”

“Probably. But I think you should at least give people a go. It sounds like they’re really strict on any kind of bullying against minorities. Swinging back hard in the opposite direction after that fascist dictatorship.”

“Those are some awfully big words for you to be throwing around there, Livia; watch you don’t hurt yourself….”

“Hey! I know my stuff!” Liv demanded. “Do you think my tio abuelo would have it any other way? But anyway, I’m right. All the people who didn’t fit in before have come to this part of the country. Probably a lot of the kids have parents who saw really horrible things in the war; they wouldn’t want to send them somewhere that was bad like before. My Mama ‘Stel gave the principal the grilling of her life, and I bet she hasn’t been the only one. People are gonna want to make sure their kids are being looked after.”

A smile quirked on Reggie’s face as he imagined his aunt on a school tour. “I bet Tia Estela left Principal Sanchez quivering under the desk.”

“Yeah… after what happened in the last school, there’s no way they’d let us go anywhere unless they were sure it was a place that treated people right.”

Reggie knew that much. But his parents, and even his fierce aunt, could not shield himself, his sisters and his cousin, from everything. He contemplated silently, grateful for the patient companionship.

“I guess,” he said at last, “if no one gave anyone else a chance to be anything but the worst, then we’d be pretty lonely.”

“Yup. We should at least give it a shot. And if it all goes in the crapper, I’ll sic my moms on the fools that mess with us. And the freaking yeti.”

Reggie couldn’t help but roll his eyes. That had always been Liv’s answer to everything. “Livia, I hate to break it to you, but if you go around threatening people with yetis, everyone’s gonna think you’ve got a screw loose. Except me; I know you’ve got a screw loose.”

“So damn rude,” Liv growled. “Anyway, you really should eat something. It probably won’t help you feeling crap and light-headed if you’ve got an empty stomach. They’ve got arepas!”

“...I could eat an arepa,” Reggie admitted. There was only so much a young boy of thirteen could control; he couldn’t wave a magic wand and guarantee that his little sister would never be hurt by cruel, ignorant words, but he could look after himself, so that he was the best him he could be-- and the best brother.

_____________________________

USA, 2028

“You did a great job, sweetheart,” Taylor said kindly as Reggie delicately placed his knife and fork atop his small plastic plate, signaling that he’d finished. Immediately afterwards, the little boy’s small hand had dropped to his side to get a reassuring touch of his teddy’s scruffy fur. “It was nice of Big Bear to join us for dinner. Does he like lasagna as much as you do?”

Reggie yawned widely as he nodded to his aunt. He hadn’t known it was possible for a kid to be so full of yawns, but living with newborn twins had shown him just how big a tired feeling could be. “Big Bear likes to watch from the floor.”

“That’s nice of him to let you have the whole plate for yourself. We’re gonna have plenty to bring over to your mommy and daddy for them to eat tomorrow.”

Lasagna had been Reggie’s choice. This whole sleepover was to be all about him; giving him a welcome break from the stresses of being a new big brother to two babies at once. He’d been on many, many sleepovers at Tia Estela and Auntie Taylor’s place before, but this time felt different. Reggie knew that at home, his parents were busy with their other children… and in his sensitive state, it took no time at all for him to miss them.

Twins, Reggie had come to realise, were very hard work. They cried a lot… and his mommy cried a lot, and his daddy cried a lot, and he cried a lot. All crying and no sleeping was not a whole lot of fun. Reggie wanted so badly to get away from the babies, but at the same time he longed to be with his parents. However much fun it was to take a break at his aunts’ place, the worry in him just wouldn’t go away.

Side-by-side, he and Liv changed into their pyjamas. Five-year-old Liv, true to form, nattered away to him the whole time. Babies, of course, were the subject of choice.

“My moms say we’re probably not gonna get another baby. Maybe ‘cos you have two I can borrow one if I get lonely. Do you have one that you like best?”

Reggie shrugged.

“Maybe next time your mom and dad will have three. You could have all these babies like a baby army, and if someone’s ever mean to you, you will have like a hundred poopy diapers you can throw at them. No one likes poop.”

“I don’t want lots more babies,” Reggie said softly. I want no more.

“If you don’t like babies, you can come and live with us forever!” Liv suggested brightly, oblivious the the wobble of her cousin’s bottom lip.

When Estela popped her head around the corner to check on the kids, Reggie was in tears and Liv looked totally bewildered.

“Mommy, Reggie’s crying…,” she pointed out, rather unnecessarily, for her mother had already scooped the little boy into a cuddle.

“It’s okay, mijo,” Estela soothed as she gently rocked her nephew in her arms. “It’s okay to cry. This has been really hard. You know what? You have been such a good boy for Mommy and Daddy.”

Liv, not quite sure what to do, but nothing if not well-meaning, draped herself over Reggie and patted him on the back. “There, there. It’s okay.”

Estela took Reggie into the lounge room for some cheer-up time, and Liv took Big Bear. Taylor quickly joined them, and pulled Reggie into her lap for a cuddle.

“Are you feeling a bit sad, sweetpea?”

Reggie nodded. “Uh-huh. I liked it better how things were before. Everything’s different.”

Taylor gently rubbed the little boy’s arms. “Change can be really tough. It’s like you’ve got to figure out how life works all over again!”

“Yeah, it’s not nice.”

“So, it’s okay to have a good cry. We will give you as many hugs and cuddles as you need.”

“Reggie,” Liv piped up, “do you wanna play a game? That could make you feel happy?”

Reggie sniffed and nodded again. Pleased-- she had this cheering-up business down-- Liv plonked herself in Estela’s lap and leaned forward to her cousin.

“Do you wanna play… ‘Klaawyi Chase’?”

Estela intervened quickly. “Maybe something with a little less running around. It’s nearly bedtime, Livi.”

“Okay. Ummmm…. ‘Duck, Duck, Goose’?”

“Livita.”

Well, you’re no fun. Liv gave a soft huff and pondered. By her best guess, ‘Hide and Seek’ would be a ‘no’ too… especially as last time she’d hid, no one managed to find her for a full hour.

“How about,” Taylor suggested, “we have a game of ‘Fortunately-Unfortunately’?”

“I wanna play that one!” Reggie said enthusiastically. “Can I start? Fortunately, we all had ice cream for dessert.”

Liv bounced in her mother’s lap. “Unfortunately, the ice cream was smelly-feet flavour!”

“Livi!” Taylor exclaimed, rolling her eyes. Why was everything smelly-feet with that kid? “Okay, then-- fortunately, Robin Dog likes smelly-feet, so he ate all the ice cream for us.”

“Oh!” Liv cried. “I’ve got a really good one!” Hehe, Robin with smelly-feet farts….

“Unfortunately,” said Estela. “It was Mama Estela’s turn, and Miss Livita just had to wait.”

Liv turned and poked her tongue out at her mom, making Reggie giggle. He snuggled in against his Auntie Taylor’s chest, his mind far away from worries about his new role as big brother to a pair of very needy twins.

“Fortunately,” he said, smiling, “Furball was visiting, and he made us some new ice cream with no yucky flavours in it.”

“Unfortunately….”

_________________________

San Trobida, September 2035

It was the last weekend before school started, and a lazy warm day at the Montoya house. Estela was up a tree, hammering boards into what would soon be a playhouse for the kids. She’d already finished up a two-storey-high climbing wall on the other side of the yard, which, at Liv’s request, would eventually be connected to the new tree-house by a zipline. Then, there’d be a slide, and monkey bars, and a tyre swing, and a fire pole. Basically, Estela had made it her mission to put together the best backyard playground on the Costa Libertad. Taylor, meanwhile, had been busying herself with a vegetable garden, with the help of a fascinated Erin and her parents, who turned out to be quite clever when it came to soil chemistry.

Liv had been up and down her new climbing wall like a yo-yo, leaving her dog, Robin, running rings around the base and all but tripping Reggie up as he tentatively took his first steps towards ascending.

“Are you coming?”

“I’m trying! Your dog’s getting in the way.”

Eventually, Reggie managed to clamber his way up, with a little help from Liv who hauled him over the top.

“See; piece of cake.”

Reggie couldn’t quite agree, and now that he was up twenty feet, he was already dreading his descent back to solid ground. Keen to distract himself from the dizzying height, he passed Liv the rope that he’d carried slung across his shoulders.

“What do you want me to do with it?” she demanded. “You’re meant to drop one end back down….”

“I’m not going near the edge!”

“Fine. Immy! You down there still?”

On the ground, and trying to wrestle a squeaky toy giraffe from Robin’s mouth, Immy craned her neck up.

“Yeah-- but you’re lucky I am, Reggie was so slow.”

“Careful. I was careful. You should bloody well try it sometime.”

Immy rolled her eyes dramatically, but nonetheless took the rope end that Liv had lowered to her, and ran it over to Estela so the distance could be measured.

“There we go,” Liv said, after having marked the rope at the edge of the platform. “Done. Reggie, if you’re just going to look down, you might as well be on the ground. Come on-- check out the view!”

Begrudgingly, Reggie sat up properly and looked around.

“Woah.” Maybe he could see the appeal of being up so high, even if he was immensely grateful for the safety rails around the platform. “You really can see everything up here.”

“Isn’t it cool?” Liv beamed as she pointed her cousin towards the paddock behind the yard. “You wanted to see our horse? Right in there at the side of the sheltery-shed thing….”

“Oh, wow! Okay, fine, I believe you now. I guess she was just hiding earlier.”

“That’s Miel. She’s like, older than dirt; Mama Estela used to ride her when she was a teenager.”

“And she’s still alive?”

“Just about. I think she’s uh… nearly thirty? Pretty ancient. Mom found out she was all on her own after her friend died, and she bought her so she could retire here with us. She’s kind of a bitey asshole. Uh, the horse-- not Mom.” Liv quickly amended, glancing to the in-progress tree-house. “So, we’re keeping her, and if she wants to make friends with the new horses we’re getting, she can, otherwise at least she can, like, neigh rude horse words at them from over the fence.”

Reggie snorted. Weirdo.

“I’m super excited. I know Mama ‘Stel was kind of nervous about us moving over here because of how things were when she was a kid-- but it actually… feels nice. I love our new house. I love cranky Miel. I love that we’re gonna get chickens, and maybe a new friend for Robin. Even the school seems pretty good.”

Swallowing his fear, Reggie joined Liv at the railing, dangling his legs over the side of the platform.

“Yeah, I think I like it here, too. Mom and Dad seem really happy; Dad says he can make more of a good difference in the world here than in America. So, I guess that’s got to be good. Did I tell you we’re going to put a pool in?”

“You might have mentioned it. When you’ve been whining about the heat, for the hundredth time.”

“It’s so humid!”

Liv giggled. It was like being back in the tropics of La Huerta, and to her, that felt right. Granted, it might have been nicer if they could just pop on over into a neighbouring alpine region that was inexplicably right next to the hot, sticky jungle, but she really loved it.

“Well,” Reggie said, “it’s going to be great. And it should be done by the time Quinn and Michelle come to visit.”

“Do we even know whose house they’re staying at yet?”

“It should be my place.” Reggie puffed out his chest, as if to emphasise the rightness of his point. “You’re definitely getting Jake and Sean and Mikey. You can’t take all the visitors. And besides… we’ll have a pool.”

That was hard to argue with. “It’s up to the adults anyway,” Liv conceded. In the end, it didn’t matter; she was going to make the most of having her La Huerta family around even if it meant camping out in Reggie’s back yard. “But, I will be a much better San Trobida tour guide than you. I’m still showing you around.”

Reggie hmphed, and Liv laughed.

“Come on, Reggie,” she said, dropping gracefully down the side of the wall and taking up hand-holds. “I’m getting hungry.”

It was at that point that Reggie made the sobering discovery that going down, was rather more intimidating than going up a sheer vertical surface.

“Um, Liv…,” he said quietly. “I, uh, don’t think I can do that.”

“Oh!” Liv responded. “Sorry, I forgot you’re new to this. Maybe you should’ve started smaller. But don’t worry, I’ll get you down….”

“Okay…,” he murmured, clearly not remotely convinced.

“Mom!” Liv hollered, all but making her poor cousin topple over the edge in surprise. “Reggie’s stuck!”

Reggie felt heat rise in his cheeks as his sisters, hanging out on the grass below the wall at the worst possible time, burst out laughing. Like they could even get up this high to begin with.

Up in the tree-house, Estela looked up and wiped off the paint from her hands. Rescuing kids from scrapes had pretty much become her specialty at this point; twelve years with Liv had seen to that. “I’m coming,” she called back.

“I’m not exactly stuck,” Reggie muttered defensively, as his Tia Estela easily scaled the climbing wall to join him and Liv, who’d already rejoined him to offer moral support. “If I really wanted to, I could climb down; I just feel I should practice climbing up a few more times before I try that.”

“You’ll get there,” Estela said kindly. As far as she was concerned, the fact that her nephew had a realistic view of his own capabilities was only a good thing. “I’ll have that zipline going in no time anyway, so you’ll have no hurry to work it out.”

With his aunt’s back offered to him, Reggie took the cue and wrapped his long arms around her neck, and his legs around her middle. Getting rescued by one of the team of protective grown-ups? Basically, the story of both his and Liv’s lives.

“Hang on, Regito,” Estela laughed.

____________________________

La Huerta, 2034

The frigid wind howled against the cabin door, and it took all of Liv and Reggie’s combined might to wrestle it closed. Both kids were panting heavily-- and shaking like leaves-- as they nervously stepped away.

“Thank god this little hut was here, really,” Liv heaved. “I dunno about you, but I’d rather be stranded in a snowstorm with walls around me.”

Reggie said nothing, and just shivered, wrapping his arms around his own torso. He’d wrapped up-- as if his parents would let him go wandering into the colder pockets of the island without a heap of layers-- but the snow had wet his gloves through, and a chill was now spreading through his body.

“Hey,” Liv said, “we should… we should get a fire going. You look like you’re halfway turned into a popsicle right now.”

As his cousin busied herself at the fireplace-- thank goodness there was some firewood left-- Reggie fiddled with his emergency phone. His heart sank. No signal. His mom and dad were going to be so worried when he and Liv never came home….

“Uh, Liv… I think the storm’s screwed up the reception here. It won’t let me phone Mom and Dad.”

Liv looked up, and for the first time, she looked truly fearful, her usual intrepid spirit extinguished in a flash. “They’re really gonna panic,” she said softly. She shuddered. If their parents came out looking for them, it meant walking out into a blizzard, and all the danger that came with it. If she could just tell her mothers that she was safe, that she and Reggie had shelter… they could wait out the storm. Anything could happen, anything….

“Are you okay, Livia?” Reggie asked, and he handed her a heavy blanket as he sat down cross-legged in front of her feebly burning fire. “You look kind of spaced-out.”

“Hng?”

“They’ll find us; it’ll be okay.”

“I don’t want them to come and find us,” Liv snapped. “I want them to stay where it’s safe. They could get hurt or, or worse because we were stupid enough not to turn around when the weather changed.” She placed a stick too roughly, and her firewood tower collapsed, extinguishing the flame. “For fuck’s sake!”

Reggie, wisely, stayed quiet, letting his cousin fix up the mess and get a new fire started without interference. He watched her with concern as her eyes welled. “Livia…?”

She huddled close to him, but for a long while, didn’t speak.

“Reggie,” she murmured at last, “something really horrible happened a couple of weeks ago. I didn’t want to talk about it with you, ‘cause… ‘cause I didn’t even want to think about it…. It just made me feel too bad. But, uh.... I was… I was playing in the sea with Mama Estela. Just like we always do. We were just goofing off. Then, um, I got all tangled up in those freaking weeds. They grabbed me and held me under.”

“That must have been so scary….”

“Of course, Mom got me out of there. B-but there was a sea-snake in there. It bit her. It happened so fast… I hardly even saw what happened, but she suddenly just... could hardly even get out of the water. I somehow managed to haul her up out the water, but she was all limp and… and I gave her the anti-venom, and she just started having some kind of fit.. Like her body was jerking around, and her mouth was all frothy.” She gasped through a sob. “Then she… she stopped breathing, completely.” Liv shuddered as the memory filled her mind, vivid as if it were yesterday. She could feel Reggie’s wide, horrified eyes upon her. “I screamed. I screamed for help. Mama Taylor was up the beach, she couldn’t hear me. S-so I did CPR. My hands were shaking so-- so bad. And all I could think was ‘I’m gonna screw this up. I’m gonna screw this up and my mom’s gonna die’.” Her voice cracked and she sputtered through hot tears that she wiped away with her arm. Before she knew it, Reggie had his arms around her and was holding her tight. “I don’t know how long it was,” she said. “It felt like forever, but it was probably only a few minutes. Then she started breathing and I just… I cried, and cried, and cried.”

Reggie gently rubbed Liv’s back, and it soothed her.

“I, uh, I guess I always thought Mama Estela was invincible. To me, she always was. There was nothing I couldn't do either, because she would always be there to protect me. It was so close, Reggie… it looked like she was gone.”

“I… didn’t know it was as bad as that. My dad told me she’d been bitten but…,” Reggie mumbled. “You must have been so scared. Have you… have you talked to your moms about it much?”

Liv sniffed, and wiped her face again. “Yeah. You know what my Mama Taylor is like; we’ve talked it through lots, I’ve told them how I’m feeling. But I haven’t… like… had a big cry since it happened.” Until now. Now, she just couldn’t seem to stop the tears from coming. Reggie didn’t seem to mind; he just sat with her, and rubbed her back, and told her it was okay.

After what seemed like an age, her tears slowed.

“It is going to be okay, you know?” Reggie said gently. “Obviously, they’re going to come out looking for us, but they’re smart. They’ll be prepared; just like your Mama Estela was with the anti-venom.”

“Yeah…,” Liv said, her voice small. You could be as prepared as you wanted, but sometimes the world managed to stay one step ahead. The storm outside was wild and furious, battering on the roof and walls… and it was frightening. Liv could only snuggle under her cousin’s arm, and trust that whatever search and rescue party was out there would come through.

The two kids huddled together beneath their blanket, speaking little, but making their mutual support known without words. Just the squeeze of a hand through the most blood-curdling howls of the wind, and the simple offer of presence.

Somehow, the creak of the door shoved open cut through the dull roar.

“Oh, thank goodness!”

“Dad!” Reggie leapt forward and flung his arms around his father, his face lighting up further when Grace followed in behind. “Mom!”

Grace put her shaking hands to her son’s face, gently sweeping hair from his eyes. “Darling, are you all right?” Then she pulled Liv into a fierce hug, and in a moment Aleister had his arms around all three of them. “We were so worried!”

Liv whimpered against Grace’s shoulder. “Are my moms out in the storm?” She knew the answer already.

“Yes, honey. They’re out searching for you. Don’t you stress, okay? We’ve got a flare to set off so they’ll know we found you here-- and Varyyn and Diego too.”

“Woah,” Liv murmured, “you got a whole search party out.”

There was a buzzing, and the flickering of blue light, then Iris materialised.

Reggie beamed. “Hey, Grandma! So, a ‘whole search party’ is pretty much correct.”

“I will say, being able to scan for nearby lifeforms is quite handy in situations like these.”

So, find my moms and Tio Diego. Liv hugged tighter to her Auntie Grace, with no words pleading for help.

“Oh, sweetheart,” Grace said gently, stroking Liv’s face, while Aleister saw to setting off the flare. “It’s going to be just fine. We’re not far from Elyys’tel; we all fanned out from there, so no one is going to be too deep into the mountains.”

That… actually made sense. It was enough, just enough to keep Liv a step above panic-mode. She headed back to the fireplace, but as her backside hit the floor, a guttural roar rocked the cabin, and she leapt back to her feet.

“What the--?”

“You two stay back!” Aleister ordered, his voice shaking. Why, oh why, did the children want to go gallivanting out in the frozen wilderness when there was a perfectly serviceable tropical paradise right outside their front door? He was going to be old before his time at this rate….

Grace, though, was already hauling open the door, to reveal the hulking figure of the Mountain Guardian.

A growl rumbling in her throat, Arktos loomed in the doorway, looking down at Grace with a questioning gaze.

“Hello…?” she said cautiously. The gigantic bear-like creature was generally reasonably friendly…. “Did we… did we disturb you with the flare?”

Arktos grumbled, her furry ears flicking with curiosity.

“Our friends are out there in the storm,” Grace continued, certain that the yeti would understand; her past experiences had only supported the fact that this creature was incredibly intelligent-- and benevolent. “The flare was to bring them to this cabin.”

With a soft huff, Arktos shuffled backwards, and all of a sudden, it seemed as though she was surrounded by a force-field… a bubble that the wind and blinding snow couldn’t penetrate.

Understanding, Grace turned to Iris. “I think we’re going hiking again-- with a little extra help this time. Al, you’ll stay and watch the kids?”

“I--I--” Aleister stuttered. “Well, of course. Stay close to the… the bear thing.” Scrambling a little, he pulled off his outer layer and offered it to her. “I won’t have you catching hypothermia.”

And Grace stepped into the snow, Iris hovering behind her, and found shelter in the yeti’s protective shield. She looked up at the beast, now rearing up onto colossal hind legs to scout for signs of nearby human activity. “Thank you, Arktos. I guess… I guess, you choose the direction, and we’ll start the search.”

The unusual trio headed out into the storm, and within moments, they were invisible for the wind thick with snow. Aleister, a look of dumbfoundment upon his face, closed the door, and again, the cabin was quiet.

“Damn. Auntie Grace is a fricking badass,” Liv breathed, face alight in awe.

Aleister, recovering from his wife’s shock exit quickly-- he’d seen her steely courage in action enough times to just about take it in his stride, nodded. “Indeed.” He brushed the last flakes of snow from his coat, and looked around the room. “Well, I don’t suppose the wait will pass any faster with us standing around here. Reggie, did we leave any board-games here last time?”

“Uh, looks like we’ve got ‘Scrabble’?”

Well, Liv thought, I don’t have a hope in hell against these people. Should’ve left ‘Twister’ here….

Reggie sat himself down in front of the crackling fire and started unpacking the box. “Hey, Livia-- team up with me?”

He was clearly still a little worried about her. If there was an opportunity to thrash her at something, Mr Pedantic-Always-Right would take it without fail. Or so Liv had believed.

She plonked down cross-legged beside him. “Yeah? Yeah, all right.”

The two kids exchanged a high five, and Liv couldn’t help but grin. You are going down, Uncle Al.

___________________________

San Trobida, September 2035

As the car pulled up the neatly paved pathway to Aleister and Grace’s house, Liv excitedly rolled down the window.

“Reginaaaaald!!!” she hollered.

“How,” Aleister wondered aloud, “can such a small person-- and the offspring of Estela and Diego of all people-- sound so eerily like a bloody foghorn?”

A beaming Reggie followed his father out the front door. He exchanged hugs with both his parents-- and his two little sisters-- and then rushed to join his cousin on the back seat.

“Are you ready to go, mijo?” Estela checked in, suppressing a laugh as Taylor all but did a contortion act to give her nephew a hug from the front seat.

He had Liv, didn’t he? So, basically, he was ready for anything.

The short drive to the school saw the return of those pesky jitters, and Reggie knew from the way his cousin jiggled her leg the whole way there that he was definitely not alone in that. The school ground, filled only with kids their own age when they’d been there for orientation, was swarming with adolescents of all sizes-- and just about all of them were bigger than Reggie and Liv.

With an awkward hug and a kiss to her mothers in the front of the car, Liv bit the bullet and, bulging backpack in hand, stepped out into a brave new world. There was only one thing for it; Reggie would just have to take the plunge. He swung his backpack over his shoulder, and followed after his cousin.

“Welp,” said Liv, “here goes nothing!”

Reggie gave a nervous laugh and playfully bashed Liv with his backpack, putting a reassuringly silly grin on her face.

We’ve got this.

_______________________

NOTES

Little Xiraana is @mauvecatfic's baby. Check out her stories; you won't regret it!

If you read 'A Ride to Remember', you might remember Miel. She's the very same horse.

Aaaaand, the incident Liv is recounting during the snowstorm is the one you can read from Estela's perspective in 'Teething Problems: Part Two'.

#endless summer #playchoices #liv montoya #reggie hall #graleister #estela x mc #estela montoya #grace hall #aleister rourke #diego soto

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sneverussape · 4 years

Text

i finally understand why i was attracted to snape’s character even back when i was a kid and for some reason it’s given me a strange sense of inner peace?? it’s equal parts confronting my past, understanding it, and acknowledging that the trauma i experienced wasn’t my fault, and it’s glorious.

(this is personal and has mentions of abuse so i’m keeping it under a cut)

idk why i suddenly thought about it, but i guess being in this space is forcing me to reflect since people constantly ask why anyone would like snape. tbh it’s not anyone else’s business why complete strangers would like a fictional character bUT after seeing that question (demand, really) enough times, my brain just really went “ok let’s look into this shall we?” and so i did.

for context, i’m in my 30s and the first books came out when i was about harry’s own age, so i was an 11yo reading about an 11yo in about the same time period the books were set in, which was the 90s. my family had a typical idyllic set-up -- we were comfortable, my brothers and i went to good schools, my parents were together and in love, etc. my parents, however, were opposites when it came to raising us, which was a reflection of how they were raised themselves: my dad was raised quite passively and thus was very lax, but my mom had had a domineering military father who had a habit of shouting and intimidating his kids (obvs ptsd...thanks army), so that plus corporal punishment was a regular routine and part of her parenting agenda. since my dad was also barely around (he was a businessman who always had to fly off somewhere), we were often stuck with her and our nannies (who never got involved anyway when my mom was on a tirade). needless to say, it was Not a Fun Time. she had a vicious temper too, and an even sharper tongue, often unleashed due to the most mundane things (like...whether or not you had finished your homework). i learned how to lie convincingly because of it; i could only take a verbal (which could also escalate to physical) lashing up to a certain point.

anyway, between her, an absent father, and indulgent grandparents who were always there but who had all favored my older brother (to the point where they would leave me behind and take just him out to the mall or parks or whatever for the day), i didn’t have a lot of adults i felt i could trust. teachers and coaches at that point in my life were meh, i didn’t see my aunts and uncles often enough (and the one aunt i was devoted to habitually broke her promises to me which hurt my feelings), and the nannies we had, though i loved all of them, could never stay, so they broke my heart over and over.

enter this trash man of a character who swooped into a classroom full of kids my age and proceeded to make the most dramatic speech of the century. i was never scared or intimidated by snape. i was enraptured by his theatricality, and the way he focused his attention on a boy he didn’t even like. i loved his wit and his sarcasm. best of all, i loved how he was described as someone who was loyal to and was proud of his house, and by extension, the children in them. to me, that was all i needed to know, and all i wanted. i was a kid who sought the security of a grown-up, one who would not hurt me (physically at least; and i had trusted him in my head enough that i knew that if he would give me hell it would have been well-deserved) but would stand by me; one that i could have depended on, had he stood living and breathing in front of me as he was assigned my head of house (i’ve always identified as a slytherin anyway lol so that wasn’t even hard to imagine). he was clever and sassy and funny too, which only added to the allure. that was why i had latched on to him, and probably why i’ve stayed latched. if i were to be cheesy about it, my love for him helped eventually shape me into the adult i had needed when i was younger: one who never raises a hand to children; one who who thinks before they say something to a child; one who keeps their promises. it’s weird that i have snape (and myself) to thank for it but i do. i loved his character so much and since the books were coming out during my formative years, i had plenty of time and opportunity to grow up alongside him. it’s been quite a trip.

on my parents - i forgave them back in high school when i started seeing them as individuals and understood that they have their own issues that they should have resolved on their own, ideally before they became parents. since it’s nothing i can change, i’m honestly over it, and i have been for a while. it’s just...so fulfilling when something like this happens because it’s like uncovering a part of your personality, enabling you to understand why you’re built a certain way (i have deep-seated abandonment issues that i actively work on, and i balk at physical contact, i guess as a defense mechanism from the time my mom used to swipe at me, among many other issues) and in the process be given the means to try to be better. it’s also great when you remember that your favorite character was a Mess and a Work in Progress, because tbh so are you?? so is everyone else and that’s ok.

bottom line: i love snape and i definitely know why, henceforth i will love him forever and honestly no hell-raiser on this flaming dumpster of a site will ever change my mind

#personal #cw abuse #trauma

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jt-artsandfics · 3 years

Text

So I don't knwo if anyone will actually ever read this. Maybe if I post it one day but who knows. But hi.

I'm Julian. T in a 21 year old transgender aboriginal guy. from the small town of G.H.M Austraila. And this is my life story.

I was originally born Tareena with a different middle and last name. July is my birth month. And I was born in 2000. I was a very sick baby my mother was in labour for 36 hours with me. I am her first born.

I got really sick becuase I had fluid in my lungs, I was lucky that I survived, But I did. I don't remember much of my younger childhood other then my parents fighting. My father was my mother's drug dealer back in high school. And she was daughter of the local police chief.

I remember my first ever day at school. I was bawling my eyes out and I had the most horrendous shade of red lipstick smeared on my lips.

That was the year I met my best friend for life/my brother from another mother. His name is Ben. He was the only one I really liked at school most of the other kids didn't get along with me. But I had him.

He has been there for me thought everything. When I had just turned 7 my aunt and uncle got married. It was a beautiful wedding. But if only I knew what it entitled. That was the same year my parents broke up and more.

That was the year alot of stuff started. The sexual abuse and molesting from my uncle. I still remember it all very vividly to the point I can walk though one go the buildings today and point out exact spots where he would hide with use to touch us.

I was lucky, my cousin walked in on us when my uncle was going to go further then he normally did. If it was for him at that time I most likely would have been raped.

I didn't really understand but I knew something wasn't right. He use for make us watch porn with him and it still makes my skin crawl.

I like to think things work thought karma and luck. One day I stayed home from school becuase i wasn't well had. Avery bad fever. And mum had to work. (She worked 6 jobs to support three kids after her and my father divorced.) She had left the Tv on for me and I was skipping thought channels. A really pretty actress who I don't knwo the name of came onto a talk show, and I watched it. She takes about what had happened to her when she was 10 playing as a child star of a show.

She shared what had happened with her producer. How he black mailed her and sexually assaulted, abused and raped her over the years she was their. She talked about she wish she had the courage back them to tell someone. And that if she could be the courage for someone else suffering then it means what she went thought would mean something.

It hit me hard and I believe she gave me the courage to do what I did. It scared the shit out of me. But one day I was told by my mum I had to go and stay at my uncle's for the night and I was terrified. I tried talking my way out of it by asking to go to friends places but in the end I couldn't.

My mum asked me why I really didn't want to go and if something had happened. I told her not to be mad at me and told her what my uncle had been doign to us. I told her about how he's make us strip down and lay on a bed so he could look over us like we were fucking meat. And I let it all out to her.

She was horrified. Had to calm me down and ask me if what i was saying was true. I told her it was and front there alot of shit happened that day. My mother nearly killed 'Darren' she had to be locked with us at the police department while they talked with my sister and I.

But we were too young and didn't know how to explain everything. If their is one thing I can tell you is teach your children the real name a of their genitals otherwise police won't do anything.

It was a big battle trying to get him charged my mother wanted him locked away. But sadly nothing every came of it.

We got older and I ended up spending more time with my great grandparents. My great grandfather was my world we shared a birthday of a sort with his a few days before mine. I'd see him when ever we could.

School got harder after my nana passed away. And I took up Catholicism. (Not the best choice on my part) I was 12. I did my communion and such. But after that mygrandfather moved closer and I used to spend every school after noon with him watching old john Wayne and black and white movies.

He would tell me stories of his child hood and it some something I loved.

Once I got to high school my mental health and physical health deteriorated quite quickly. I had a really creepy boyfiend who was year 11 when I was year 8. After i broke up with him he started stalking me until my younger brother and mum got involved.

After that I cut ties with alot of my friends. I only had a small group. I picked up smoking with the stoners behind the science block and hall. They were chill and let me be me. But weed only helped so much. At first I thought I wa broken. All the other 'girls' were talking about how they were having sex, had boyfriends and such and I felt so out of place. At friend I thought it wa becuase of what 'Darren' did to me.

But then I met the coolest girl at school and my first girl crush. She had dark black hair cut almost buzzed she work rings and necklaces and didn't give a shit about the school code.

She was the one who taught me girl can like girls same as guys can like guys. I hung out with her all the time. And then one day she just stopped to school I felt like I didn't belong.

I got really depressed in my next few years. Alot more smoke. I lost 3 animals I had since childhood in 3 months. It messed me up bad and then we moved again.

I was still at the same school. And that we sheen I started my friendship up wirh a girl called 'Sam'. She was my best friend for long time. Becuase at that time Ben had gotten a girlfriend. One I didn't get along with at them time but it wa becuase I thought she was a popular kid and that she was going to take my best friends away from me.

I was very unstable. I just selfharmed but not in ways that people could tell. I used to smash rocks into my head and burn my hands and feet with lighters. It made me feel more alive at the time.

It got worse once I came home with my now cat. He was 3 weeks old and I was feeding him milk off my pinkie. My step dad at the time lost his hair and fucked my mental health up even worse. I told my mum to get rid of the Cat and that when she ended up finding other newer injuries on my. I.. I had tried to rip my arms open with the sharp end of a potato peeler. Not my best moments but I can look back on it husband laughs nd how stupid I was.

Alot of stuff went down from when I as 13 to 14 wobbly step dad. But mum loved him and he never raised a hand to hurt up just he would tell alot, drink and do lots of drugs.

When I was 14 I had my first kiss with a girl. My first girlfriend and it was the best thing ever. Until she broke up with me over text.

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mhdiaries · 4 years

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Wave 2 Diary of Clawdeen Wolf

September 7th

I had my first Advanced Creature Economics class today and my head is already spinning. I thought I was just going to be learning about supply and demand. I had no idea that there was so much theory involved. If I had known AC Econ was going to be this detailed… I would have taken it anyway. I have to know this stuff cause when I start my own fashion empire I won’t be able to afford to hire monsters who are experts in this stuff and when I can afford to hire experts I need to know that what they’re telling me is the truth not just what I want to hear. Too bad Ghoulia isn’t in this class I would love to be able to pick her brain on this stuff.

September 12th

Most days I feel like I could drink wolf’s bane tea from a silver chalice and ask for a refill. Today was not one of those days; although it started out like it would be. Howleen had a creepover at a friend’s house – amazingly enough she has them – and Clawd had an early morning practice so I had the shower and hot water all to myself. The new pair of shoes I’d saved for, and ordered online, arrived yesterday after school so I was going to get to wear them today. The outfit I picked was perfectly matched to the shoes and I should have gone back to bed and declared the day a success. But I didn’t. I got to school and I’m showing off my new shoes when I noticed that I somehow missed a large patch of fur on the back of my left calf. No problem right? It happens. Especially with how much I have to shave. So I always bring an extra razor with me… except today… okay still no problem cause I always keep a backup in my locker. Only this backup is as dull as Cleo’s stories about her royal life in Egypt. Class starts in five minutes and if I’m late I get detention. Ghoulia tells me it’s hardly noticeable but to me it feels like I have a sweater growing on my calf. I run to the bathroom with my razor and Draculaura comes with me. Now I have two rules about shaving.

Always use a sharp razor.

Never get in a hurry.

I broke them both and of course I ended up cutting myself which is no big deal… usually, but this time Draculaura saw the blood and fainted. I spun around to catch her and when I did the heel on my right shoe snapped. Now I’m holding a razor in one hand, I have blood running down the back of my leg, and every time Draculaura wakes up she immediately faints again. At this point in the chaos one of the alley brats I mean werecats, Purrsephone I think, walks in and immediately starts yowling “She’s killing her!” It’s the first time I’ve ever seen Headless Headmistress Bloodgood have to use her nightmare for crowd control. Eventually everything got sorted out although my day ended up with me being barefoot, bandaged and banished to detention. Yay me. :-(

September 14th

I’ve finally broken in my new pair of soccer spikes. I get strange looks from the monsters on other teams when I wear them because they have open toes. I grew up playing barefooted and I like the feel of the ball on the tops of my feet. I would still play barefooted if the rules didn’t say I had to wear shoes “for safety” – whatever. Okay, so I found these “regulation” spikes that let me play by the rules and still play comfortable. I think they were made for monsters that grow horns on the tops of their feet because there is this big open spot on top which I’ve been able to modify to my liking. I suppose I would worry about some monster stepping on my feet if I thought any of them could catch me ;)

October 7th

I don’t know what Clawd did to pull Spectra’s chain but she’s been telling any monster that’ll listen he still has feelings for Cleo. It may or may not be true – gotta consider the source of the info – but any thoughts I might have had about having dealt with my hard feelings towards Cleo were definitely wrong. I do know this; Her Royal Annoyance and I are about to have a talk and it is going to happen sooner rather than later – I’ll bet my favorite pumps on that.

October 12th

Can some monster please explain to me why I have to write an essay on my heritage when I have an older brother who’s already written one? I asked Headless Headmistress Bloodgood if I could just sign my name at the bottom of Clawd’s but she insisted that I write my own because “although the horse and rider travel the same road together each sees it from a different perspective.” I hate it when she trots out that horse philosophy. Of course Clawd wrote his essay first and took all the easy stuff that every monster already knows. How about this? Werewolves are pack monsters and from the time we are born we’re part of a huge extended family. Aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews and grandparents are always around. We have our own language, which doesn’t have a word for privacy, that is spoken only in the presence of other pack members… I won’t even break this rule… and when an alpha from one pack greets an alpha from another pack, the first says, “The pack is strength” and the other replies, “The pack is life.” I could go on about the traditions, pack rivalries, the passage to alpha status, blah, blah, blah. Maybe then I should write something from a totally different perspective like about how I consider my friends as part of my pack too. Draculaura, Frankie, Lagoona, Ghoulia, Cleo… Cleo and Deuce; that’s a vampire, lab creation, sea monster, zombie, mummy and Gorgon – maybe not a pack by birth but definitely a pack nonetheless. We have traditions, rivalries, our own freakishly fab, scary cool language and of course everyone knows who the pack alpha is… Ghoulia ;)

October 13th

Never thought I would actually be sitting in my room wishing that my hair would grow faster… I’ve had a lot of hairstyles but never one so bad that I had to shave it all off and start over. I heard Howleen asking Clawd if she could borrow some batteries for her camera. If that little weredork takes a picture of me I’m going to duct tape her to the bottom of her bed.

October 16th

Frankie and Draculaura bought me a scare package at the Maul to help cheer me up about my hair, which was really scary sweet of them. Of course they wouldn’t have known about my hair if Clawd hadn’t told them. Almost makes me feel bad I brought out the family picture albums and showed them shots of him as a cub… almost.

October 18th

Dear Clawd,

Thanks for the real story on what happened between you and Cleo – finally. You know I totally respect that you are an honorable monster who keeps his word but I just spent an entire year being angry about something I shouldn’t have. I will take some of the responsibility for not asking you directly about the situation but I guess I just made a monster assumption about Cleo and ran with it. Don’t get me wrong, I still think she’s arrogant, demanding and an absolute hearse wreck when it comes to her fashion sense, but I guess I’ve got to give her credit for not adding two-timer to that list. Might be time to patch things up in my MH pack. From now on though, I promise that I will ask you directly and not jump to conclusions. Even if you tell me to go howl somewhere else :-)

October 22nd

OH MY GHOUL! Howleen “borrowed” my favorite corduroy jacket and wiped her nose on the sleeve – so disgusting!!! I swear sometimes she acts like she was raised by humans. Honestly I don’t even know how we’re related. Somewhere my real sister, the fashionable one who would rather wear a pair of shoes THAN CHEW THEM, is waiting for her fairy god monster to switch her out with this furry gargoyle thing that has obviously taken her place.

October 26th

Draculaura? Really Clawd? So out of all the ghouls at Monster High you decide to get the warm and furries for my best friend and confidante? Whatever. I’m fine with it. Really, really, really fine with it. My heart feels like it’s slowly being crushed inside my chest but the rest of me is just really, really fine.

#monster high #monster high diary #clawdeen wolf #wave 2

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theredpalace · 3 years

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Land of Iron Children Headcanons: Shogun AU

-After the success of the rebellion, there was a massive baby boom from soldiers and civilians who celebrated their newfound freedoms. In the wake of the new republic, with personal freedoms being more secure, the common practice was that for a mother or father still wishing to pursue the path of samurai would let the child be raised by their grandparents or an aunt and uncle in their own profession while coming home to visit while on leave. As a result, most of the children born after the Ironstone War have been raised primarily by other relatives

-While Shogun Musashi forbid anyone joining the military under the age of 18, he did move forward with ordinances allowing children to earn their own money at school. These youth labor boards often involved house chores from locals, and most frequently would have cleaning jobs at the school or for nearby boarding houses. Children would not be allowed to take on more than five labors a week, each only only for a few hours. As a result, children had an increasing amount of pocket money to fuel what was synonymous to the Showa period for children in Japan

-For teenagers in the Land of Iron, aspiring to go into the army and become samurai, it is very ordinary for friend groups to play increasingly dangerous games of “chicken” by challenging their companions to do dangerous stunts and tricks. Though off limits, the most well known one is challenging boys to run close to racing herds of wild stallions, though the wild horses can be lethal if they kick in the wrong space. Rangers are often deployed near herds, just to keep young boys and girls from playing these risky games

-The first schools to host festivals began in the Iron Capital and gained traction nationwide as students worked labor boards and collectively saved up money to display their artistic crafts and give themselves a showcase for future development. Young children wishing to find art masters for future development as samurai use these festivals as opportunities not only for fun, but to catch the eye of a master artisan to train them so as to secure better patronage in their path to becoming a samurai. These are also opportunities for aspiring craftsmen to fine-tune their crafts for buyers

-The first wave of collectors of action figures started during the last ten years of Shogun Musashi’s reign. A blacksmith, noticing he had a lot of tiny parts left over from making dishware, reforged and put them together to make a standing samurai figure. After selling it immediately to a child at school, he was overwhelmed with demands for more and the trend caught on for toymakers. Though they can be made of wood or iron, action figures in the Land of Iron are given more value when they resemble famous samurai, and some of the rarest ones go on auction for adult collectors to this day. The rarest samurai action figure is a 943 AH edition of Shogun Musashi in full regalia, one of the oldest ones made and only has six of them in known existence

#shogun au #headcanons #i did base a lot of these on showa era japan

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renee-writer · 4 years

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Teenage Daughters Chapter 3 Family

He giggles. “How many generations back? Us Scots have long memories.”

“The current generation will do.”

“Well you know we run Fraser's Spirits. We being my da, Brian, mam Ellen, and sister Jenny and brother-in-law Ian. My mam is a Mackenzie. Her brother's my uncles, Column and Dougal, didn’t want her marrying a Fraser, so they eloped.”

“Why didn’t they?” Rory asked. Her dark blue eyes flash at the idea of such a romantic tale.

“Oh the Mackenzie’s and Fraser's have been rival clans for many a generation. No one knows why. But my mam is a stubborn woman and slipped out from under their watch, meet my da in the town over, and they were married. They then left the country, to Paris where my Uncle Jarrod's wine business is. They honeymooned there. By the time they returned, three months later, my brother William was on the way. Oh, pardon me Claire.” He recalls the presence of 15 year old Rory.

“No worries Mr. Fraser. I know all about sex.” She breezily says causing both adults to blush.

“William isn't involved in the spirit business?” Claire asked to cover the embarrassment caused by her daughter's declaration.

He felt so comfortable with them, specifically Claire, that he let things he usually wouldn’t on such a short acquaintance. No going back now. “No, he passed when he was six, Leukemia.”

A gasp from both lasses.

“Oh Jesus. I am so sorry Jamie. “ Claire says, placing her hand on his for a second.

“That is so bloody awful.” Rory cries out.

“It was. Jenny was four, me two. My mam said later we were the ones that keep her and da going. Jenny and Ian named their first son after him. William James.”

“That is sweet. Do they have any other children?”

“Aye, a daughter, Margaret Ellen, called Maggie.” He says with gratitude. “Do you want to see them?”

“Yes!” Rory calls out. He hands her his phone with their pictures in them. “Ah, they are precious.”

“Aye. Our hearts.”

“Nice to have siblings and grandparents. Family.” She declares handing her mum the phone.

“Oh the darling things.” Claire says before handing the phone back to him.

“Thank you.”

“Rory please clear the table and then don't you have school work to get to.”

“Yes mum but..”

“No buts when it comes to school work.” A deep sigh and she raises, and starts to gather up the dishes.

“Well, I will see you later Mr. Fraser.” She says after getting the last of them. They listen to her trudge up the stairs with heavy feet.

“Her tenacity will see her far.” He says with a chuckle.

“Yes but it is hard to recall that some days. Shall we move to the living room? It is more comfortable.”

“Aye.” He stands and they head that way. “Is her da as stubborn?”

“I don’t know. I was wild in my younger days.” She takes a seat on one side of the long couch, him on the other. “Younger,” she shakes her head. “I was almost thirty. Just completing my residency ( I am a ED physician), so no excuses for what happened. We, me and a group of my friends, went to a medical conference in the States, Boston. A lot of drinking, a stranger, one night, a broken condom and I found myself pregnant. Children had always been in the plans but the right bloke was illusive. So, she was a gift. I didn’t get more then his first name, the fact that he dyed his hair.”

“Wait, how did you know that?”

“His carpet and drapes didn't match. Blond on top, red on bottom, and he was younger. 20 or so. A partying college kid didn't need saddled with a baby. From one drunken night. So I carried on. I do wish she had more family then me and my friends she calls Aunts and Uncles. But… Anyone that is my embarrassing story.”

“Does Rory know?”

“Yes, I slowly told her as she got older. She has trouble believing her straight laced mum could have ever been so wild and free. I have trouble believing it myself. The first and last time I did something so insane.”

“Don't beat yourself up. We all do crazy things in our youth. I've had a few one night stands myself.”

“Any that resulted in a child?”

“Not that I know about.”

“Right.” They have another drink together. He tells her stories of his niece and nephews. She tells him stories of Rory's childhood.

“I really enjoy being here with you but I imagine you have work tomorrow. I know I do.”

“Right. It has been forever since I lost track of time.”

“Letting your hair down is not a bad thing.” They stand and she walks him to the door. “Thank you for the great meal and company.”

“Thank you for the great stories and whisky.”

“Shall we..?”

“Would you..?”

Tripping over each other, they strain to ask the same thing. He gestures for her to go first.

“Would you like to do it again? Sunday my oldest mate Gillian and her fiancée are coming for dinner if you would like to join them?”

“I would be honored. In the mean time, I am right next door if you need me.”

“Thank you. Me too.”

“If I need a doctor, eh?” He meets her eyes in the moonlight and they both sigh. What is this?

“Yes ahh.” He must touch her someway. So, he bends down and kisses her cheek.

“Good night Claire.”

“Good night Jamie.” She watches as he walks home. Trying to catch her breath. What in holy hell is this?

#my writing #outlander fanfic #jamie and claire #cannon divergence #modern au #teenage daughters #family

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emeralds-are-love · 4 years

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The Balance: A Ben 10-Kingdom Hearts Crossover

Prologue:

The world wasn't always like this. At least...that's what my grandpa tells me....

Long before I was even thought of, or any of us for that matter, people where born with special abilities. Super powers, so to speak. These abilities were split into two halves of one whole: the Light, symbolizing purity, innocence, the shining sun in the day, and the Dark, symbolizing mysteries, mischief, the glowing moon at night. They were literal Yin and Yang, coexisting peacefully, one never overtaking the other. People seemed to accept that for a long time. Until...he came along.

Xehanort Shadhart is a name that will live on in infamy. When he was younger, it was said that he and his brother, Sephiroth, had grandiose dreams of growing stronger with their Dark powers and eventually become the most powerful people in the world. And it turns out they weren't the only ones that felt that way.

Thousands of Dark users had felt the same way as the Shadhart brothers, and certain Light users didn't help the situation at all. They bragged that because people of the Light represented purity, they were better than those of the Dark. Some even went as far as to oppress Dark users, going against their "pure" nature by being cruel. This caused hatred and animosity to grow strong in the hearts of those of the Dark, fueling their power and making them stronger. The Balance that had formed in the beginning was starting to break.

Xehanort saw this and planned to take full advantage of it. He rallied all those of the Dark together and proposed that they overthrow the Light side and take control of the world. Needless to say, they liked his plan and it was quickly set into motion. And, unfortunately, the Light side never saw it coming.

Powerful Light users were either killed or taken away, never to be seen again. The ones who weren't so strong were registered and kept under constant surveillance. Once everything was said and done, Xehanort seized the opportunity and made himself leader of this new world, with his brother as the leader of his armies. Over the years, the Shadhart family grew more and more powerful and it seemed as if nothing could stop them. But what they didn't realize was that not everyone from the Light side were going to take this lying down.

My grandpa, Max Tennyson, is a very powerful Light user and a kind yet capable man. When he realized just what was going on, he began to gather Light users to form a resistance against the Dark regime. Since he was a powerful user, my grandpa had to do all of this carefully, staying hidden and holding secret meetings. But a life of hiding and fighting wasn't a life he wanted for either of his sons, my dad Carl and my Uncle Frank. So, he encouraged them to try and stay low in plain sight and not get involved with the Resistance. To lead safe lives. They both married and led normal lives...well normal as it can be under a tyrannical rule. That is until...they wanted to start a family.

And that is where I come in. My name is Benjamin Kirby Tennyson, but I would thank you to please just call me Ben. I was born to Carl and Sandra Tennyson along with my twin sister, Brendalyn Kirsten Tennyson, but call her Bree. When our mom found out she was pregnant, our parents were ecstatic. But when we were born, that excitement turned to fear. Why?

Well, after Xehanort came into power, he decreed that any child that showed strong Light power by the age of five would be taken straight to him. Once that happened, the children were never seen again. So many families were destroyed that way and it was another reason why so many ran to the Resistance. My parents, despite both my Grandpa Max and Grandma Verdona being very powerful, were low on the power scale and thought that they would have children who were the same as them. Oh God, they were so wrong.

A child of the Light is usually born with sparkling eyes and the brighter the eyes shine, the more powerful the baby would be. Unfortunately for my parents, my eyes shone brighter than the stars. Bree's eyes shone bright as well, as did my cousin Gwen's. My aunt and uncle immediately went into hiding with the Resistance, but my parents didn't, hoping, praying, that our power would fade. But it never did.

Having no where else to turn and knowing that Xehanort's forces would come to take us on our fifth birthday, a month before our fifth, my parents gave me and my sister to our grandparents in the Resistance and went on the run, hoping to lead them off our trail.

That was the last time we ever saw them. We're fourteen now and have been in the Resistance our whole lives, growing with the rest of the children and learning how to fight. My goal is to become stronger and one day, this war will end. And I will have my family again.

----------------------------

"Ben? Ben!"

I snapped out of my daydream and sighed, sitting up from my reclined position. My eyes raised up and blinked at the sight of my friends, Sora Strife-Leonhart and Julie Yamamoto, standing over my position on the floor of the Light Compound's auditorium.

Julie was a American-Japanese girl whom had come to the Compound with her family a year after my sister and I had. And I know this isn't pertinent information for everyone else, but I thought that she was really beautiful. She had long, silky black hair, usually tied back in a ponytail, and soft brown eyes. Her skin was pale and soft- looking and was accented by the clothes she wore; a pink, cherry blossom print kimono styled shirt with a white obi, black shorts, fishnet tights, and boots. She was staring down at me disapprovingly with her hands on her hips. Seeing this made me wonder what I did wrong this time.

Sora, however, was grinning at me with his usual megawatt grin, causing me to smile a little. You couldn't help but smile when you're around him. Also, at the risk of sounding somewhat attracted to my best friend, he was kinda cute. He had spiky, chestnut hair and sky blue eyes. His skin was sun-kissed, seeing as he like to be outside when he took his naps, and he wore his usual attire; a red and black short sleeved hoodie with a red V- tank top underneath, baggy, black pants with two belts that crossed in the front and in the back, a black choker around his neck, and red sneakers.

"We can always find you here, can't we?" He asked teasingly, offering his hand to help me up. I grinned and took it, allowing him to pull me to my feet.

"What can I say?" I said, straightening my own clothes- a white sleeveless zip-up vest with a ten on the right side and on the back, a green, skin-tight, turtleneck, sleeveless shirt that stopped just above my navel, black pants with a belt that hung off my left hip, and black combat boots- and grinning. "I'm predictable like that."

Sora laughed while Julie rolled her eyes but smiled just the same. They were used to my antics and I, theirs. I mean they've both known me since I was little, I like to think that they know me by now.

"Bree's looking for you," Julie stated, folding her arms across her chest. "She said if you make training start late again, she's taking the twenty laps around the gym out of your hyde."

I flinched. Twenty laps for being late? That means-

"Terra's training the four of us today?" I asked, looking at Sora for confirmation. The tired look that replaced his grin was all the answer I needed. I swore and dragged my right hand down my face.

Terra Rockford was five years older than me and Sora, so nineteen. He was a strong, muscular man with brown hair that went down to his shoulders, blue eyes, and a stern disposition. Despite that, he was a good guy, always taking care of the younger kids and teaching them how to fight. He was also one of the few who could wield a Keyblade.

A Keyblade is a special weapon shaped like a giant key- hence the name- that supposedly can open any lock, unlock doors to different worlds, and (depending on who's wielding it) can restore hearts from darkness. There used to be so many who could wield one, but the number of Keyblade users on the Light side had dwindled over the years. Terra, Sora, his brother Roxas, and their cousin Ventus can all wield one. Only Terra and Ventus were Masters but only became Masters recently. We used to have two others but...not anymore....

Shaking my head of that sad thought, I sighed and said, "Alright, Sora and I'll get going. What time is it?"

Without waiting for an answer, I glance at the black and green watch on my left wrist- and my eyes nearly bulge out of my skull. It was ten minutes to three, almost time for us to be there! And the training gym was on the other side of the compound!

"If you guys know where I hang, why did it take you so long to find me?! C'mon Sora!" I grabbed Sora's wrist- gently, I wanted him to hurry not be hurt- and pulled him from the Auditorium and together we booked it towards the gym.

The problem was that the Light Compound was huge. Basically, the Compound was an underground city: tunnels that stretched for miles, some leading to important parts of the Compound used by Light soldiers, scientists, and leaders, such as the training gym, the armory, the meeting hall, the top secret labs, and barracks for soldiers. There are many more but it would take forever to list them.

There were also "rooms" for civilians. Stores for clothes and food, a trading market, a woodshop, a blacksmith, a school for us kids, small restaurants, and homes for civilians. There was even little play areas for kids, a night bar for the adults, a museum, a library, and a small movie theater. The only thing that was above ground were the green houses, fruit trees, and gardens. People tended to them regularly.

The gym where Sora and I train and the Auditorium were on opposite sides of the Compound. It usually took a grand total of thirty minutes to get from the Auditorium to the gym, twenty if you're fast enough. Either way, Sora and I were gonna be late. Unless....

I looked over at Sora with a sly smirk as we ran. "How about we...speed things up a bit, hm?"

Sora grinned back at me, his eyes sparkling in excitement. "I like the way you think!"

We looked away from each other and began to focus on our energy, channeling it from our hearts, through our legs, and to our feet. Once it was all there, our eyes flashed and we shouted in unison, "Accelerate!"

We sped down the halls as our legs moved superhumanly fast. To the people we passed, we must have looked like nothing but blurs.

(TBC)

#kingdom hearts #ben 10 #crossover fic #kh sora #ben tennyson #julie yamamoto #max tennyson #xehanort #sephiroth

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