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dennou-translations · 4 years

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Kagerou Daze VIII: Chapter 9

Summer Time Record -side No.2 (3)-

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For how long had I wandered around without a destination?

It wasn’t like I had regained my rationality, but when I noticed it, all “voices” had quieted down, and only a faint noise brought by human activity reached my ears. Amidst it, I could hear the distant peals of folk music echoing from far behind me. Immediately, I realized that it was the BGM of the fireworks festival venue. I had apparently ended up coming to a place pretty distant from it.

Without turning back, at last, I lowered my hips onto the bank’s sidewalk. The murmuring of the river stirred up a sense of loneliness within the thin darkness. The dark gray concrete felt cold, and that in turn made me even more disheartened.

“Mary...”

Really, I’d done something stupid. Even though Mary was finally looking forward to it, rather than just the fireworks, everything was ruined.

I had the intention of coming to a clear decision. For Mary’s sake, I had prepared myself to forget about everything completely. Except, when I was before the names of those guys lined-up on the screen, I couldn’t manage to stay calm, no matter what.

I wondered if the arm I grabbed had hurt. I pondered over what kind of feelings Mary had when using the Concealing.

No, I’ve known this since long ago. Whenever I or Kido activated our Abilities, it was always when we were going through anxiety.

Back then... our joined hands had caused Mary to experience anxiety.

A strangled gasp. Tears helplessly overflowed. I had no face to show myself to her.

On that day, after Kagerou Daze swallowed our “enemy” and “comrades”, Mary and I were the only ones left in that place. My memory was fuzzy from the point where I had carried Mary, who wouldn’t open her eyes, until we had arrived to the hideout. I remembered things from the point where Mary had “smiled” at me upon waking up and looking at my face.

It was unthinkable for that girl to be smiling in the aftermath of a gruesome battle where we had lost our companions. I realized at that moment that Mary was suffering of amnesia. I couldn’t place my finger on how much she didn’t remember exactly, but at the very least, it seemed that all of her memories regarding the fight had dissipated.

Having noticed that, I was indecisive about whether or not I should tell her everything. That we had lost irreplaceable friends. That we were living on while sustaining ourselves on said friends’ lives. And that “we had to live on” from this point onward.

There was no way I could tell her.

My indecision lasted for all but an instant. During that instant, her expression of despair that had crossed my mind made me helplessly terrified.

I would throw away everything and protect only her smile. She didn’t have to reminisce to a past that she had forgotten. If she recalled it, she’d collapse. I couldn’t make her go through that by any means.

And so, I had spent my days until today keeping up appearances.

I had watched the animes she liked with her. We had gotten chills in our stomachs at the supernatural feature of a variety show. We also had found out that there was a delicious restaurant nearby and treated ourselves. She had been peeking at my carrots, so I divided them in half and we ate them together.

In order not to grant a single drop of sadness to that innocent girl who didn’t know anything, I had spent my time looking after and thinking about her only.

The city lights were reflected on the river’s surface, twinkling like a starry sky. When I thought that there were people’s daily affairs and lives comprised in each of them, they felt like something terribly realistic and dirty.

Any and everybody put up façades, nourishing darkness inside their hearts. Though they’d say, “I like you” with their mouths, they’d be saying, “I hate you” in their minds. Tough they’d say, “Thank you” with their mouths, they’d be saying, “Drop dead” in their minds.

For me, who had been hearing “voices” since before I became aware of the things around me, this was more common and strange than anything else. Everyone was living contradictorily, and if you turned over one layer of the thin skin of this world, which seemed beautiful at first glance, it would dull out into something similar to hell.

Right. On the day I had first met her, I was also running away from the “voices”, just like today. That day, the trigger for hearing the “voices” of people I was passing by in the city had been a “voice” that resembled Kano’s. This “voice” had said something horribly foul with the exact same tone as Kano’s, so I was instantaneously engulfed in unease at it.

Everybody in my family were good people. Kano, Kido and Nee-chan had treated me so well that it was lamentable. That was exactly why I was so, so scared of the darkness in my family members’ hearts above anything else that I couldn’t help it.

“What if Kano hates me?”

“What if Nee-chan thinks of me as a nuisance?”

The moment I had thought about it, as if a hoop had disconnected, my control of my Ability stopped working. At that instant, I was swallowed by “voices” that were like an avalanche of abusive language. It hadn’t diminished one bit even when I bolted back home, so I ignored the words of concern from my family and blindly flew out of the house.

I believed that was probably the day I had run the biggest distance in my life. I had run, run, run and run, and before I realized it, I became unable to hear anyone’s “voice”.

By the time I noticed that I had gotten far from the city and gone into the mountains, away from human civilization, I couldn’t see anything in my surroundings. I didn’t know the way back, nor could I spot any supplies to rely upon. It was just that the darkness was more comfortable than anything.

Back then was the first time I had heard her “voice”.

It was almost as if everywhere around me had been painted in the colors of light – that was the kind of impact it had. There was no two-facedness to it, and I didn’t sense the slightest bit of stagnation in it whatsoever. Without thinking, I simply had my heart stolen by the “voice” – which was beautiful even – of that girl, who was but in love with the world and had her chest swelling at the happiness that would visit her one day.

Thus, I dashed with my aching feet as if dragging them on, and the person inside the house that I had arrived to was no one other than Mary. The light pink eyes of Mary, whose white hair was swaying, were transparent like gems, reflecting my figure. At that instant, although I was a child, I understood something. That “I was born to protect this girl”.

From that day on, my head had been full of her.

The world, opposing to her fantasies, was brutal. It was a dent of hatred, spinning stale thoughts into a whirlpool. If a girl as innocent as her attempted to go out into it, her pure-white heart would end up dyed black.

I always thought that I’d become strong for her sake. If it was for protecting her, I seriously though about turning into the prince charming from fictional stories that she wouldn’t stop yearning for.

For me, there was no other reason to make me think, “I want to live” in this world, filled to the brim as it was with stale “voices”.

Even when I wound up hearing the “voice” of Clearing, which had been residing inside Dad, and when I learned that my family and I would be murdered, it was Mary that mostly crossed my mind. I couldn’t leave her alone. I didn’t want to let her experience sadness no matter what. The more I thought about that, my heart, which made light of my family and friends, was tainted black in a dark, ugly way.

When I heard Kano’s cries on the night before the decisive battle, too, I had suppressed the emotions that I was about to vomit out and desperately kept myself under control.

Kano was... He was truly a good guy. If anything, I’d wanted to shoulder together the things he had been burdening himself with. He was more kindhearted than anyone, knew my thoughts better than anyone, yet he was also awkward... We siblings really were exactly alike.

I had measured even him on a scale with Mary.

Nevertheless, I couldn’t do anything in the end. I hadn’t fought and hadn’t been able to leave it all behind, just kept running away, thus arriving to this point.

Her smile was everything. It was my only “happiness”. Yes, that was what I had supposedly decided, and yet...

“I was wrong,” my own “voice” echoed in my ears, not letting go of me.

Suddenly, a single sentence was revived inside my head. Having come in contact with helpless seriousness, I let depreciation spill out without thinking, “I’m sorry, Ene-chan. I can’t do anything...”

On the day of the decisive battle, back when Azami attempted to summon Kagerou Daze to swallow Clearing, I had been ready to “throw away my own life”, like Kano and the others. It pained my heart to leave Mary behind and depart by myself, but Ene-chan and the others would definitely come for her aid – I had no choice except to believe in that.

Yet, right after Kagerou Daze appeared, Ene-chan’s tone of determination echoed loud and clear, reaching my ears, “I will be the one to go, so everything is fine. You’re probably the only one who can protect that girl.”

Why hadn’t I realized back then that those words were directed at me? I had only found out that she offered her life in exchange for mine when everything was over and I spotted Kano’s phone cracked on the floor at my feet.

Hit by a memory, I had abruptly taken my phone out. Above a picture of Mary that I had made into wallpaper, only a few numbers displaying the time had appeared. Of course, there had been no display of anyone’s call in the history either.

If I’d had the courage to fight, I wonder if it would’ve made any difference. I wonder if it would’ve changed the plot of this tragedy that one couldn’t even bear to look at.

No, there was no way I could do that. Someone as weak as me, who’d ended up letting go of even Mary’s hand, surely wouldn’t have been able to accomplish anything, no matter what I might’ve done.

Squeezing my phone’s dim screen with a lot of strength, I gritted my teeth.

What was that “I’ll protect Mary” about? What an overambitious thing that I ended up thinking, when I could do nothing but be rescued, be sheltered and run away.

There was no longer anyone left from my family and friends. I could no longer hear anybody’s “voice”.

I wanted to see Mary. I wanted to see my friends. They could hate or disdain me for all I cared. I simply wanted to have just a conversation with everyone together once again...!

“Are you crying?”

A voice.

“You okay? Were you lonely by yourself?”

I certainly heard Mary’s voice. I frantically got up, desperately looking around the area, but couldn’t find Mary’s figure there.

Was it the effect of Concealing...? No, that wasn’t it. Just now, I’d heard the voice from so close that it seemed enough to touch her.

Then just how? What’s going on right now...?

“Se-Seto! I’m here; right here.”

For a second, I doubted my ears. Mary’s voice had definitely come from the phone I was holding. Surprised, I dropped my gaze to the phone’s screen. “Eh?”

In it, just like how Ene-chan used to do before, Mary’s figure was flightily drifting about inside the screen. I stared, my mouth dumbly agape.

“Aah~, you finally noticed! Sorry, did I scare you?”

“Y-You did...”

My head couldn’t catch up with what was happening in front of my eyes, so I couldn’t contain the loud beating of my heart, which seemed like it was about to burst. The phenomenon before me was without a doubt something brought by the Ability that Ene-chan used to have.

Mary currently had four Abilities in addition to the Combining, which she already had. There was no reason for her not to use them, but to think she had become able to use even this power after the Concealing...

“Mary, why’re you doing something like this out of the... Actually, where’s your body? Don’t tell me you left it somewhere.”

“Wah, wah—Calm down, Seto! It’s okay, ‘cause it’s... right here.” Within the screen, Mary’s facial expression clouded over a little.

“Where? I’m coming right away, just tell me the pla... ce...”

The oozing pain that burned my chest interrupted my words.

“I’m coming right away”? Who was saying that and with what mouth? What could someone like me, who had deceived Mary and tried to forget his friends, say to Mary upon “seeing” her after this? Did I seriously think that continuing a daily life painted in fabrications was for Mary’s sake?

I had long realized it already. I couldn’t become a prince charming. I was a half-assed “monster” who could neither stop thinking about Mary nor forget our friends.

It was okay if she thought it was too late for this. If I told her everything, she might cry. Even so, I didn’t want to taint her any more with lies.

“Mary, there’s something I wanna talk about. I want you to hear it,” I said, unable to look at Mary in the face.

She would probably think, “What’s he saying all of a sudden”. I wondered how long it would take me to explain one thing at a time. After I conveyed it all, would she ever accept it?

Mary definitely didn’t know anything. She was someone pure and innocent, who I had to protect. Right. Knowing nothing about Mary, I had been convinced of this to a shocking extent, until she replied to my words.

“I also have something I want to talk about,” Mary said with a voice I didn’t know. “Let’s go, Seto. Everyone’s waiting.”

I climbed the stone stairs one step after another. The flame of the lanterns was out, so my field of vision, reduced by the thicket on both sides, was dyed in the shades of the night.

I could no longer hear Mary’s voice from the phone squeezed in my hand. And I didn’t ask her anything either. Only the quiet sounds of me stepping onto the gravel scattered about the stone stairs repeated itself. I also couldn’t hear the commotion at the far-off fireworks venue anymore. The cries of summer bugs was remiss, and not even the presence of living creatures could be felt. The tranquility surrounding the house that Mary used to live in the past existed here.

Were people being kept out? Or was there another meaning to this? Either way, the only thing I could somehow tell was that this discretion was due to Mary using the Concealing.

Within a silence that made it seem like everything had died out, only Mary’s words kept crossing my mind and disappearing. She said she “had something that she wanted to talk about”. And also that “everyone was waiting”. Did she know something I didn’t? And why did she have to tell me about that?

How awful. Maybe, somewhere in my heart, I had the feeling that she was incapable of analyzing the matter in its entirety, as if I knew everything about her. Honestly, there was a limit to how arrogant I could be, trying to play the “prince charming” who would protect her when I was such a mess.

Surely, everything would end today. Still, in contrast to this definite presentiment, I couldn’t imagine that outcome for the life of me.

And so, I finally reached the top.

The open grounds of the shrine were deserted, as the sounds suggested. I swallowed dryly at the frame of a pure-white back that I spotted on the stone road leading to the main hall.

“How?”

I realized it with just a look. Mary’s figure as she turned around was transformed, just like on that day. Her cheeks bore those scales that had been gone ever since that day, her irises swaying red like fresh blood. As if responding to my words, Mary’s slit, snake-like eyes slightly narrowed.

“Thanks for coming. This place was best for me, no matter what.”

The way she talked was Mary’s, but the usual weak feeling to them was nowhere in sight.

As I was about to ask, “Just what is going on?”, Mary’s words, which seemed to be see-through, came flying at me, “Is the Stealing okay? I’m sorry; I was also surprised, so I couldn’t contain the Concealing...”

I couldn’t hide my shock at each of those words. Was there any moment until now where Mary had said the names of the Abilities?

While I was so confused, as if taking notice of it, Mary cut off with an “I’ll be the one to talk”. “There’s something I have to apologize for. I’ve been thinking all this time that I had to say it, but I couldn’t.” Mary closed her eyes, looking apologetic.

I couldn’t even nod at the unexpected, sudden confession.

“That day... ever since the fight ended, I’d always been lying to you.”

My heart clenched at the word “fight” that came out of Mary. It was a word I had made sure to never utter, from that day until now.

“L... ‘Lying’...? Also, you said ‘fight’, so Mary, your memories...”

“I’d remembered it all along. Nothing was forgotten. I caused a misunderstanding... because I was smiling back then.”

Shades of extremely deep grief resided in Mary’s facial expression. My train of thought mixed up chaotically at those words and that face.

Mary hadn’t forgotten anything? That couldn’t be; it was impossible. That day, at the hideout, after we had come back from the fight, Mary was definitely smiling. Seeing that, I had figured Mary didn’t recall anything.

I mean, why would she have smiled if she remembered it all? There’s no way Mary would laugh immediately after sobbing at the death of our frie...

“Laugh”?

A single surfacing thought began crumbling down the shallow presumption that I had been believing in from the head.

I was wrong. Mary didn’t laugh because she wanted to laugh. The meaning of that smile, it couldn’t be...

“You did that so I wouldn’t worry?”

Mary nodded a little at my words, smiling without any strength. “Yep... I mean, Seto, you were making such a sad face. If I’d cried too, you would’ve gotten even sadder, right?”

A lenient wind silently blew through the shrine grounds. Faced with the truth that pierced into me, my body became flaccid, like a thread that had been cut. As my feet could no longer support me, my knees hit the ground with the momentum just like that. I could sense a dull pain from them, but my head was so clouded that I couldn’t even feel it right.

I was being saved by her all this time.

Mary had been putting up a smile ever since that day so that I would smile. Mary had kept pretending that she had lost her memories so that I wouldn’t be sad. How absurd of me to think that Mary would break down if she found out about the deaths of our friends. Not only had she accepted their deaths, Mary had been protecting me.

Had I been looking properly at her face? Listening properly to her words? Didn’t she go out shopping and said she would “help” with chores because she was desperate to support my “fake daily life”?

As I simply sat dumbfounded without replying, Mary continued, “But I thought this couldn’t go on. You doing your best to forget everyone was all my fault... that’s why I’ve been thinking. Together with him.”

Mary’s finger abruptly pointed at the air. Her index went right over my head, stretched toward behind me. As I turned around with my knees still on the ground, the figure of one of our members, who had probably just climbed up the stone steps, was there. His outfit, consisting of a sky-colored shirt under a vest and shorts, had not changed from the day of that decisive battle.

“Hibiya... kun...”

As I called his name weakly, Hibiya-kun scratched his cheek, looking awkward. “It’s not like we were planning to trick you or anything. She just said that she wanted me to keep quiet.”

“Thanks for coming, Hibiya-kun. I... already told him everything, so it’s okay.”

As the two took turns to speak with each other, I hastily made my head catch up with their conversation.

How had Mary contacted Hibiya-kun? It was obvious – by using the Stirring.

Mary remembered everything about that fight. She had always been thinking about them, who had fought desperately, protected us and tried to accomplish our strategy.

“Don’t ever give up on the future”.

Mary hadn’t forgotten about the goal that we all carried with us back then. This girl was far stronger than I thought. She wasn’t afraid of tainting her pure whiteness.

After that day, Mary definitely had been using the Abilities to keep up with the plan together with Hibiya-kun. Amidst the loneliness of losing our friends and the pressure of being entrusted with the future, she had frantically made sure not to show those feelings to me by any means. And with those same feelings, Hibiya-kun had assisted Mary. Surely, his eyes had kept looking into the unfinished future. That was exactly why he had showed up here like this.

Aah, no good. I can’t muster a single word anymore.

Wasn’t I the only one who had given up everything for Mary’s sake yet didn’t manage to do anything on my own? Even though Mary was fighting wildly against despair...!

As I sat pathetically at the center of the shrine grounds, I let out a sob that I couldn’t repress. Casting aside my shame and dignity, I was seriously helpless simply for not being able to repay them.

Someone please sentence me. Kill my coward self. Please, I’m begging...

“It’s okay; don’t be scared...” A “voice” echoed in the darkness, “Don’t blame yourself, Seto.”

Don’t, Mary. Stop.

��Nobody will hate you, Seto. I know you fought.”

I have no right to be hugged by you. I shouldn’t be forgiven.

“Thank you for always protecting me. Thank you for always cherishing me.”

The “voice” destroyed my world, which hadn’t changed in anything since that day. Yeah, I had devoted my life to that voice. Even so... I...

“Thanks to you, I started liking this world a lot.”

When I opened my eyes, I saw the most beautiful tears in the world. I would certainly never be worthy of those words that expressed such endearment, like light, like flowers and like hope.

I wanted to protect her forever. I wanted us to overcome that endless summer together. If God didn’t have an after-summer in store for us, I wanted to make one with her.

Ever since that time, I had always been helplessly in love with this girl.

“Hey, Seto. I wonder if we’ll get to see the fireworks clearly if it’s from here.”

My unfulfilled wishes dissipated like the summer. In this place, where sounds and light were nowhere to be found, the only thing that definitely existed was warmth.

#kagerou project #kagepro #mekakucity actors #kagerou daze #seto kousuke #kozakura mary #setomary #summer time reload #amamiya hibiya #jin #novel #my translation

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myherohcs · 4 years

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Single Dad Present Mic scenario/headcanons

Gave him a daughter in this one! I named her Kaya because I got bored using “the child” or “his daughter” the whole time lol. #Kaya In The Skya

warnings: angst, loss of a spouse (no gender), eventual EraserMic, fluff because my boy deserves it, and kinda long!

🎙Present Mic would have loved his S/O so much for years and years and years if he was given the chance. They would probably be a hero too, but he's the kind of guy who would love just about anyone. Hero, civilian, quirk, quirkless, Mic believes in love above all else.

🎙But Mic is around heroes so much, he'd probably meet his S/O in the line of duty. They would hit it off quick and everyone would remember the two for having such an easy and passionate love for one another from the beginning.

🎙They were that couple that moved in with each other after only a few months dating, got engaged after six months, and married a year after meeting each other. They would adopt their daughter not long after that.

🎙Everything moved so naturally fast for them and Hizashi would thank his lucky stars for that later on.

🎙He would remember how normal the day had been when he found out he lost his spouse. They died as many heroes do; saving others. The news came to him after a long day of teaching followed by a visit to the radio station to plan an upcoming segment before going home to take over babysitting for his S/O. The tradeoff was short and Hizashi was barely awake when he kissed them goodbye for the night. He would rest and watch over the mostly sleeping 4-year-old, Kaya, while they went out for a patrol through their hero agency.

He would get the call in the early hours of the morning. He needed to go to the hospital quickly. It was bad. He didn’t want to bring Kaya, so he called the first person he thought of.

Shouta had been awake grading papers and almost didn’t answer his phone. It was the perfect time for Hizashi to need help home from the bar and he didn’t know if have the energy for that tonight. But he did answer. Like he always does. He knew immediately by the mere tone of his friend’s voice that something terrible was wrong. Hizashi sounded terrified and he needed Aizawa to watch his daughter for him. He had to go to the hospital. Hizashi didn’t have to explain much after that statement. It was every hero’s nightmare to have a loved one beyond their realm of saving, but unfortunately a common thing in their line of business. Aizawa agreed and Mic was at his apartment in no time and gone again in a flash. Shouta's goddaughter slept soundly through it all.

🎙Hizashi loss that night would destroy him. He’d need a lot of support from his friends and coworkers in the weeks following the incident.

🎙It was one of the few times anyone could really remember Hizashi going silent. He is usually so vocal about his feelings, but in this time of great emotion, words failed him.

When he could speak again, when he could function again, he found himself emotionlessly arranging the funeral and taking care of all the duties one must take care of when they lose a spouse. He took care of his daughter too, but it was done more upon instinct than anything really conscious. A hero’s funeral is one of the worst to deal with. It’s hard to deal with the rampage of emotions being projected onto you. You should honor the hero for their sacrifice, but you must deal with the fact that it was such an avoidable death. The media can swarm depending on the popularity of the hero. Present Mic got it bad. The couple had been very open about their marriage and always in the public eye, and the story of a hero becoming a widowed father was not one to pass up. Hizashi barely batted an eye at the attention. In fact, he barely reacted at all. How could he when he just lost everything? Nemuri and Aizawa stayed with him that night. Surprisingly, it was Aizawa who confronted him about his lack of emotion after the funeral. In a weird, alternate-dimension-type moment, it was Eraser’s turn for once to break Mic out of his shell.

“You know, it’s illogical to not feel something after this Yamada.“

Hizashi broke down and admitted he was hurting to his friends. He was terrified at raising Kaya alone. He was afraid of going back to work and having to deal with others again. His friends helped him through it all.

Nemuri and Aizawa took shifts being with Hizashi and helping him take care of Kaya after that. Aizawa took his role as a Godfather seriously. He had accepted years ago that he would never have children. This would be the closest he’d ever come to being a parent and a small part of him wanted to prove that he could be good at that.

Kaya was old enough to recognize the change in the household and had some trouble accepting her caretaker wasn’t retuning. Hizashi and her both attended therapy to get through this new shift in their life.

🎙 Hizashi took some time off, but went back to work quicker than most expected. Mic thrives when he’s with others and knew the only way he was going to find some semblance of normality again was by getting out there and talking again.

The main difference now was that he usually had his favorite listener with him. UA has an early education center and Kaya started coming to work with him. They would show up early everyday and Kaya would usually stick with Mic until he had to drop her off and go teach his classes. This meant she was a familiar face in the teacher’s lounge.

🎙Kaya liked to color during staff meetings. She liked to bring cookies for all the teachers. She would sometimes be tired in the earlier mornings and sleep in Aizawa's sleeping bag while everyone worked and planned for the day.

🎙She hung around Aizawa all the time. She was enamored with the quiet, dark-haired man who would take care of her and teach her things. She would sometimes nap with Eraser or be allowed to visit his class with her dad. She loved getting to see him and it became obvious to everyone that she saw him as a parent as much as she did her own father.

🎙One day Kaya woke up sick. She had a fever and Hizashi has to drag her through their morning routine as she feels so tired. Hizashi told her they would go see Recovery Girl when they got to school.

🎙Aizawa knew something was wrong the moment Hizashi walked into the teacher’s lounge.

Mic hadn’t gelled up his hair that morning. He only ever did that when either he was sick or Kaya was sick. Mic could never be bothered to do extra work like style his hair when he was sick. And when Kaya was under the weather, she liked to hide behind his curtain of hair.

“What’s wrong?”

The other teachers looked up in surprise at Aizawa’s question and Mic smiled at his coworkers.

“Kaya is feeling a little under the weather today.”

He went over to his work desk and carefully sat down with the child. Shouta reached over to check her temperature and found her too warm for comfort. Kaya had fallen asleep and blinked lazily at Aizawa before yawning and snuggling back into her father.

"Recovery girl will be in soon. Maybe we should go down to her office and wait for her," said Aizawa.

Hizashi would smile at his friend and thank his lucky stars he had someone like Eraser in his life who cared so much for his daughter.

🎙Aizawa was around a lot, but happened to miss the first time Kaya used her quirk.

Teleportation.

Hizashi and Kaya had been walking back from visiting Aizawa's class and one moment his daughter was there, the next she was gone.

It scared the living daylights out of Hizashi. He had an inkling it had to do with her quirk as Kaya's preschool teacher had warned him she was at the right age to start any day now. However, nothing could have prepared him.

He raced back to the training grounds to get Aizawa and burst in on his lesson to announce Kaya's disappearance. He had already been shouting from a good distance away and it wasn't until he was almost directly upon Aizawa did he realize his friend was already holding his daughter.

Aizawa stood there stoic as ever as the four-year-old beamed at her father, so excited to see him.

Hizashi dramatically fell over in relief and the students got in a quick laugh before Eraser shooed them off.

"You should keep better track of your daughter, Yamada."

Hizashi laughed, "Yeah, I guess I really should now."

🎙Kaya's quirk was hard to control. She would think about Aizawa or Midnight or someone else she liked being around and would often (without intention) teleport to their side.

One time she spent an afternoon with Principal Nedzu this way. She adored the fluffy, white creature and hung onto every word he said during his long, drawn out conversations. He was unbothered by her sudden appearance in his office and kept her around to give her some pointers about her quirk as apposed to sending her back to the preschool. He would prove to teach Kaya all kinds of things about her quirk and the potential behind it.

Another time she popped in on Toshinori as he was teaching class 1-A. They were in the middle of a training simulation and Toshi had to jump into action to save her from the crossfire between his students. He hadn't moved that quick in weeks and held his All Might form for a good 30 seconds after rescuing the girl as he had gotten terriblly worked up thinking about how much she could have hurt herself. His students stopped their antics to find out what had suddenly brought All Might's hero form out and sent someone to let Present Mic know Kaya was on the training grounds.

🎙Kaya had to wear a special bracelet to alert others of her quirk and had her father's agency's phone number on it for emergencies or in case she teleported somewhere and got lost.

🎙Kaya would learn to better control her teleportation quirk faster than most kids as she had some of the best teachers in the world giving her tips and watching over her.

🎙Aizawa was a big help. He rarely had to erase Kaya's quirk, but it did come in handy on the occasions Kaya couldn't concentrate enough to stay in one place.

🎙Kaya spent all her time with the teachers of UA. They all took it upon themselves to teach her valuable lessons and give her memorable experiences.

🎙People would ask Hizashi if he would ever start dating again, but he would just tell people he already had everything he needed.

He had his daughter and an amazing support system behind him. He was happy.

It wasn't until USJ that he remembered how quick happiness can be taken away.

🎙It felt like losing his spouse all over again. He almost lost Shouta. The one person he can rely on no matter what.

It reminds him that there's no time like the present to live your life and take chances.

🎙He confesses in that hospital room. In a moment of quiet tenderness he tells Shouta he's in love with him and he wants him to move in with him and Kaya. This life could end at any moment, so he wanted Aizawa close to cherish every bit of it.

Aizawa was going to need the extra help anyway, but that's not why he agrees.

He loved Hizashi too.

🎙And together they raise Kaya. And Eri. And Shinsou.

And they both get the big family they always wanted.

And they both enjoy every last day with eachother.

#bnha #my hero academia #boku no hero academia #mha #aizawa shouta #eraserhead #yamada hizashi #single dad present mic #present mic #headcannons #kaya from z nation boi

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lovemesomesurveys · 3 years

Text

[created by: --rainboweyes--]

Why did you last feel like crying? Ever since the pandemic started almost a year ago and we were in quarantine, I’ve put off seeing one of my doctors. Well, I’m going to have to bite the bullet and make an appointment soon and I’m just really nervous about it because it’s been so long and I worry there could be something wrong. I always expect the worst.

How long ago and why did you last feel infuriated? Hm. It’s been awhile.

Do emotions control you or do you control your emotions? Oh, my emotions most definitely control me.

Do you keep your friends secrets/private information to yourself? Yes.

What negative quality do your friends bring up the most? I don’t have any friends, but in the past I’ve had friends tell me I’m too hard on myself.

What quality do you think you have that others don't think you do? I’m weak, not strong. <<< Yeah, people tend to think I’m strong and brave and I’m so not. I’m weak and scared.

Do you often "jump" to conclusions? When it comes to stuff relating to myself, yes. Like, I jump to the worst case scenarios all the time.

Would you let your best friend babysit your younger sibling? My younger sibling is almost 22 years old lol.

Do you find being alone with strangers scary, interesting or indifferent? It’s uncomfortable and makes me anxious.

Do you think you know a lot about the world? I wouldn’t say a lot. There’s so much to learn and much I don’t understand.

What about the world do you wish you never found out? I don’t know.

Do you know first aid? No. Does the sight of blood make you feel sick? Yes.

Does your first name have an L in it? Nope.

Middle name have a C in it? Nope.

Last name have a R in it? Yes.

Do your initials spell a legitimate word? If so, what? Nope.

The word above, does it have any connection to you at all?

Do you prefer classic rock or alternative? Alternative, but I like both.

Do you like Kings of Leon? Yeah.

How about The Script? Yes.

Does crying make you feel better? It can help a little.

Do you know a girl called Becca? Nope. How about a guy called Gregory? Nope.

Does someone’s background effect whether you'll be friends with them or not? It would have to be something really bad.

How about their religious background? No, I can be friends with people who have different religious beliefs than I do.

If someone admitted cheating in a past relationship of theirs, would you trust them? That would make things difficult, for sure. I think I’d always have that in my mind and it might cause me to look for or see things that make me think he’s cheating. Like, I might not think anything of a particular thing had they not told me that, but since they did I see it differently, ya know? I’ve never been in that situation so I can’t say for sure, but I think it would affect things.

Do you drink tea and/or coffee every day? Yes, I have to have my coffee.

Did you ever want to be a cook as a kid? No.

How about a fashion designer? No.

Do you wish that magic was real? I mean, it’d be pretty cool. And convenient. But of course there’s a bad side to it cause it could be used for the wrong things.

What food would you love to wipe off the face of the earth? I don’t feel that strongly about foods I don’t like, I simply just don’t eat them.

Can you use a bottle opener? Yes?

Do you own a cheese grater? No.

What time will it be in 38 minutes time? 11:18PM.

What day/date will it be in 11 days time? Thursday, February 4th, 2021, my brother’s birthday.

Have you ever owned a pet fish? I had a fish tank full of fish when I was a kid.

Do you prefer fire or ice? I like cozy fires in the fireplace and bonfires.

Do you rap along with rap songs? Ha, I can attempt to.

When happy, do you become more talkative? Yeah, I do.

Bowling or sailing? Why? Neither. Not my thing.

What color is your kettle? I don’t have one.

How about your microwave? It’s black.

Do you prefer sitting in the front or back of a car? I like sitting in the front.

How about in a train? I’ve never been on a train.

On the bus? I had to sit in the middle cause that’s where the wheelchair seating was.

Do you care about politics? I do.

Blair or Brown? Who?

When did you last cook something from scratch? I don’t cook from scratch. Or cook at all, really, except for ramen.

What things make you jealous? I feel envy more than jealousy. It’s been a long time since I’ve felt jealous.

Are you offended easily by non politically correct language? No, I wouldn’t say that.

Do you think the censors/fcc go a bit too far or are just right? I never understood how they chose which curse words you can and can’t say on TV or in songs.

Do you feel hungry, thirsty, sleepy or none of the above? I’m hungry, but I’m waiting a little bit before I make some ramen.

What's your I.Q? I don’t remember the number, but it fell under above average. IQ tests are whatever anyway.

What's your Mum's Mum called? I called her grandma.

How about your Dad's Dad? I call him papa.

Do you prefer crepes, pancakes or waffles? I like each of those, but waffles are my favorite.

Do you have ice-cream in your fridge right now? I think we do.

How about chicken nuggets? No.

Do you eat fish often? I don’t eat fish ever. Or any seafood.

Have you ever taken a martial art? Which one{s}? Nope.

Do you know anyone who is scared of you? Uh, no.

Do you like watermelon? Yeah.

Can you remember the month of your first kiss? It was October, 2015.

Do you make friends easily? Not necessarily friends, but I got along with everyone.

What makes you different from everyone else? Being a paraplegic makes me different than a lot of people.

I give you a piece of paper. What do you draw/write on it? When I doodle, I tend to write random stuff in cursive as well as like hearts, stars, and squiggles all over.

What pictures or photos are up in your lounge? Is that my bedroom? I have a few giraffe paintings and a couple beach ones.

Do you like purple and white patterned things? Sure.

Do you know anyone called Pipa? I just think of Pippa Pig lol.

I say purple, you think... Grapes.

What do you think is the most interesting thing about you? Nothing at all.

Do you like being complimented or does it make you uncomfortable? I mean, it’s nice, but I’m just so awkward. And in my head I’m like, “ew, no not true” cause I think negatively about myself.

Does the description of your starsign correspond with your personality? Not at all. I’m so opposite of how a Leo is described.

Do you have a photo album? We have a ton of them. And I have a lot of digital photo albums, too.

What artists paintings do you find the most beautiful? There’s numerous beautiful paintings.

What about the most disturbing? I can’t think of a specific one offhand.

Have you ever gone to a camp or summer school? Yes to both. I’ve been to science camp and Girl Scout camp. I also did summer school once in middle school cause I missed a lot of school due to a long hospital stay, and the other times were mostly voluntary while at community college to get classes out of the way quicker. There was just one time I had to retake a math course.

What was your favorite cartoon as a child? I was into the cartoons on Nickelodeon, PBS, Disney, Kids WB, and Fox Kids in the 90s.

What was your biggest fear as a child? The dark and bugs.

Would you rather be able to fly or breathe underwater? Fly.

What about invisibility or mindreading? Invisibility.

Do you like what you see in the mirror? Not at all. :/

Which stereotype do you dislike the most? There’s many, but I came across this and it’s worded well, “The burden of disability is unending; life with a disabled person is a life of constant sorrow, and the able-bodied stand under a continual obligation to help them. People with disabilities and their families -- the "noble sacrificers" -- are the most perfect objects of charity; their function is to inspire benevolence in others, to awaken feelings of kindness and generosity.”

Can you remember all your past teachers names? Not all, but a lot of them.

Do you like talent shows? Which ones? I like The Voice.

Have you ever failed an important exam? In what? Yes, in math.

Do you find people taller than you intimidating? As someone in a wheelchair most people are taller than me except for small children. I do feel awkward around really tall people.

Do you think you are better than people of a different country/background? Absolutely not.

Who is your favorite bzoinker? I don’t go on Bzoink.

What websites do you have bookmarked? I have a few on the bookmark toolbar: Google, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, YouTube, and Pinterest.

Do you use bows and ribbons to decorate your gifts? I just use the bows that easily stick on.

Do you listen to the same type of music as your parents? What type is that? We like a lot of the same music. What TV show scared you as a kid? Are You Afraid of the Dark? <<< The intro always got me haha. I still liked watching it, though.

Family Guy, The Simpsons or South Park? Why? None of ‘em.

#personal #text #survey #surveys

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siempre-pedro · 5 years

Text

My Kid Punched His Kid |4|

Single Dad!Teacher!Ben Hardy x Single Mom!Reader

Summary: A playground fight between two 8-year-olds bring together 2 lonely single parents.

In This Chapter: Our favorite single parents bickering. cute ass kids! More of Ben’s son!

Word Count: 3.3k

A/N: Here’s part 4 everybody!!! I’m so proud of this and really hope you like it. Please let me know what you think, I love your feedback! Thank you thank you for all the nice messages i love them all.

Y/N leaned against the wall outside the classroom, her arms crossed over chest with her fingertips tapping the sleeves of her light blue suede moto jacket. Her Y/E/C eyes scan the halls of mostly mothers waiting to pick up their kids, half of them wore basically nothing. She smirks, further presses her back to the wall.

Once the bell rings all the moms rush in probably ignoring their kids and fighting over the attention of the teacher. It was the perfect opportunity to go in and rush out before he could notice her. Peeling herself off the wall she walks in and approaches Abby’s desk. Looking down at the brightly colored name card with ‘Abagail’ written nicely in his handwriting. “How was the movie?” she asks.

Abby narrows her eyes, looking up at her mom with confusion, her brain trying to come up with how she knew. “How did you know we watched a movie?” she questions with suspicion evident in her voice. Y/N mouth opens in regret. Shit. She thinks on her feet and pouts her lips.

“I’m your mom. I know everything.” That was fair. Abby nods and agreement and continues to pack her bag in silence, her blue eyes look towards the corner of the room through the locks of curled hair. She was typically a fearless kid, sure she didn’t like the dark but she was the kid that punched another in the face without hesitation. She looks up at her mom who was trying not to look in the direction of her teacher's desk “Mom I need to ask you something?”

“What’s up, Babe?”

Abby takes a deep breath, rolls her shoulders back to stand tall “Can me and James have a playdate?” her words come out fast like she’s out of breath, happy to get it over with. She stands tall, her eyes squint to show power…she learned it from a movie and kept it in the back of her mind just in case the occasion arose. She puts on her backpack and grips the glittery straps tightly.

Y/N bends down to meet Abby’s eye line, she sighs and rubs her shoulder lovingly. It was a terrible idea. Things would be awkward; the kids wouldn’t know but they would know. “Abs, you know Mr. Jones and I don’t get along. I don’t think it’s a good idea,” she reasons. Abagail narrows her eyes and huffs, looking away from her mother.

“Mom, this isn’t about you,” she says sternly, looking back at her. Y/N’s jaw drops in shock caught off guard from the sudden anger in her child.

“Excuse me? What happened to my 8-year-old?” she questions with nervous laughter.

“Mom,” she growls, folding her arms. The Y/H/C haired woman closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. She gets up and looks down at Abby sympathetically. She loathed the man, but breaking her daughter's heart weighed heavier on her heart than her pride.

“Fine, I’ll go talk to him,” she says as calmly as she could. She turns to the man who was preoccupied with the moms who were trying to get his attention. “Mr. Jones?” Ben’s head snaps up and grins wildly, uttering regrets to the other moms and eagerly making his way to her. She smiles slightly as the eagerness.

“Can I help you?” he smirks. Y/N’s face becomes stone cold, she furrows her eyes together and clenches a fist at her side.

“Abagail wants to have a playdate with James.”

Ben hums and smiles, shifting on the heels of his feet “Is this a way for you to ask me out?” he responds.

“No,” she hisses. “This is all for her.”

“Fine, fine. Still, think you’re lying but! We are free on Sunday’s.”

“We go to the park every Sunday…maybe he could join us.” She hated this, she really did and what made it worse was that shit eating grin on his stupid perfect face.

“We’ll be there, 11 ok?”

She forces a smile “See you then,” she says through gritted teeth. Now that was worse than childbirth. Her hands stay clenched, her pride deteriorated as she walked away from, not giving the satisfaction of talking to him anymore. Abby, however, was over the moon when Y/N told her as they walked out of the school, her smile made it almost worth it. As Y/N shut the car door her jeans pocket started to vibrate, she shifts and pulls it out from her back pocket.

‘My heads fine by the way, how’s yours?’

She looks at the school and then back at her phone ‘Ben’ illuminated from the screen. How the fuck did she get his number. ‘How do I have your number?’

‘You were practically begging for it last night…amongst other things.’

‘haha very funny asshole’

‘I put it in your phone while you slept, just in case you needed something. I didn’t snoop don’t worry.’

“Mom? They’re honking at us,” Abby groans, sinking father in her seat in an attempt to hide her face from the people watching. Y/n snaps out of the trance and throws her phone in the passenger seat and quickly drives off, being lectured by the kid about using her phone.

The days dragged on, Y/N found herself purposely trying to bury herself in her work to get her mind off of him. Every night when she looked at herself in the mirror, she would see the marks she put on her. She remembered his touch all too well. The morning of the play date, a simple towel wrapped around her body that mark on her chest on full display. The deep purple color had finally begun to fade, the beads of water glide over it. She wiped the water away and grabbed her phone from the counter. ‘so today?’ God. Him again? Again meaning since the first time he messaged her, he didn’t blow her phone up like she was expecting. She bites her lip as she contemplates responding. He knows the kids have been talking nonstop about their playdate.

‘What about it?’

‘I’m just making sure you’re not chickening out.’

‘Fuck off.’ She grumbles complaints and throws her phone on the bed, refusing to look at the expensive piece of trash. You sleep with a guy one time and he thinks he can talk to you. She laughs at her thoughts and walks to her closet. She pauses, she was searching through her closet like she was 16 going on her first date. Hastily pushing the hangs to the side to catch a quick glance at her clothes before deeming them horrible. “I need new clothes,” she whispers to herself. Settling a pair of black yeans and a long beige sweater she put on a necklace with her initial and took one last look “This is fine, I don’t want him.”

It was a relief when they got their first to the park, Y/N wanted to throw up the whole way there “Mom where are they, it’s 11?” Abby questions, scanning the large park as she zipped up her pink jacket.

“They’ll be here soon, Baby. I promise,” she responds as she sits on the large plaid blanket. Secretly hoping they got sick or something. But as if on cue James runs up to Abby with his blond curls flapping in the wind.

“So you didn’t chicken out,” Ben says amused as he stands next to her. Y/N grimaces and scans him, black t-shirt and basketball shorts. Simple.

“It’s September, 60 and you’re in shorts?”

Ben laughs and sits down, running a hand through his hair “Function over fashion…unlike you. You look nice though.”

Y/N rolls her eyes and huffs out a thank you, turning her head to cover the heat rising to her cheeks “At least I’m warm.” Ben smirks at the effect he had on her.

“Mom, can we go play?” Abby asks as she digs around the large tote bag for a ball.

“Go, have fun. Please don’t hit anyone,” Y/N pleads with a smile. Abby sticks out her tongue and tucks the soccer ball under her arm.

“James, come here please,” Ben says using his dad voice. James pouts and stomps over, tucking his hands in his pants pocket. Ben leans forward and places his hands on the boys clothed shoulders “Please be good, ok? Be nice to the other kids.”

“Ok, Dad,” James whispers, his matching green eyes shift back and forth reluctant to meet Ben’s glare. Ben sighs and smiles softly before shooing him off. Ben watches as the kids run off to the playground, he was always fearful when they came to the park. James wasn’t good with other kids, his social skills were clearly lacking. He said a silent prayer he could hurt the poor girl again.

“You ok Jones?” Y/N asks as she pulls out her tablet.

Ben breaks eye contact with them and nods, he looks down at her drawing and looks up at her serious face “What are you doing?”

“Working,” she replies shortly. He slowly moves closer to her, shoulders brushing together.

“On what?”

Y/N bites the inside of her cheek and narrows her eyes “I illustrate kids books. I’m working.” Ben nods and attempts to get closer, his head getting closer to her shoulder, she could feel his hair brush against her arm “What are you doing?”

“Let me see.” He opens his hand for the white pencil, his green eyes cutely looking into hers. Y/N hands over the pencil, praying that she saved her work. “How do I draw a happy little tree?” he asks her, causing her to giggle. Her lips form a tight line before going into a smile, her heart soared knowing he made a Bob Ross reference. She puts her hand over his drags him over to tap on a few spots. Moving her hand she watches him try to copy one of her trees, it looked like one of their kids had drawn it but it was still cute. His tongue would poke out when he would try to concentrate. “What do you think?” He asks excitedly looking at her with wide eyes and a proud smile.

“You did your best,” she responds, letting him down softly.

“You can tell me its shit,” he laughs and hands her back the pencil. When she takes it they lock eyes, reminiscing of how they saw each other in bed that night. Pure adoration. She opens her mouth to speak when sniffle sound flood their ears. They turn quickly to see James walk up the hill, rubbing his eyes.

“James, what happened?” Ben asks worriedly, jumping up from his seat to check to see if he had any cuts. While he was in dad mode, Y/N saved a picture of the altered drawing before erasing what he’d done to it and turning her attention to the boys.

“T-they won’t let me play,” he blubbers, covering his puffy eyes with the palms of his hand.

“Who, Bub?” Ben asks in between the sobs, leading him back to the blanket.

James turns over his shoulder and points to the group of kids play soccer. Ben closes his eyes and groans, he knew this would happen. It was rare to have an outing without something happening. It was like Arnold asking for one normal field trip with Ms. Frizzle: not going to happen. “Did you ask if you could play?” James responds with a tiny nod. Ben wasn’t fooled by his nod, he knew he was lying.

“What did you say?”

“Let me play,” his small voice came out even tinier.

“Mate you need to ask. With manners.”

James furrowed his eyebrows in irritation “I know dad,” he whines.

“I don’t think you do,” Ben retorts, his irritation showing.

Y/N puts her tablet aside and places her hand on Ben’s shoulder “Can I?” she suggests, motioning towards his son. Ben nods and sits back. “James, come here, Darling,” she speaks calmly. He calms at her soothing motherly tone and walks to her. “What are the magic words, James?” Y/N puts her hands on his shoulder, giving him loving rubs with her thumbs.

He shrugs at her “I don’t know.”

She hums “I think you do. Try it!”

“Please and thank you,” he finally answers. Y/N faces lights up and gives him a shake, making him laugh.

“There you go! I believe in you James, I want you to go back out there and ask them the right way,” she persuaded, taking a look at the other kids. She looked back at him kindly, like how she would talk to her own child. “Manners maketh the man, show them the English gentleman I know you are.” She turns him around, giving him a small squeeze of the shoulders and gently pushes him from her. They watch as the boy walks to the group of kids, James taps a tall boy on the shoulder and opens his mouth to speak. Ben started to bite on one of his nails like he was watching a suspense movie, he couldn’t handle another fight. He released the held breath when the taller boy let James into the circle and tossed him the ball.

“How the fuck did you do that?” Ben asks in shock, a surprised smile gracing his features.

Y/N shrugs and places her tablet back in her lap “Abby was the same way after Grant and I divorced. I needed to remind her about her manners and be nice about it. It takes time,” she explains. Ben grumbles and pulls out math homework from his backpack along with a red pen.

“You know he got kicked out of three nursery schools? He’s never been good with other kids.” She could sense the sadness and frustration in his tone, she wasn’t lying when she said it took time. It took 2 years for her daughter to get back to normal.

“He’s a good kid, Ben,” she says in reassurance. Ben frowns and tries to focus on his work, twirling the pen in between his fingers. he’d never really told anyone about James’ behavior, Gwil was really the only person that knew. His parents would scold him for how he was raising him, never good enough.

“You’re a good Dad. Don’t say that.”

Ben’s mouth forms a small o shape, he didn’t mean to say his thoughts “I-I didn’t mean to,” he tries to laugh it off. Y/N lowers her eyebrows and sucks in her bottom lip to show how unimpressed she was. Ben cocks his head in annoyance, narrowing his green eyes. The Y/H/C woman shrugs and returns to her work and lets him go back to his, dropping the subject… even though she was right.

It was mostly peaceful, in between her glances up at Abagail to make sure she was safe she would look over to Ben out of the corner of her eye. He would let out a light laugh when she couldn’t read the writing and would let out the occasional curse when he would cross off a wrong answer. It was comforting. “Mom!” Abby cheered as she ran up the hill, huffing when he reached the top.

“Are you having fun?” Y/N coos.

“Yeah…can we play Shoots and Ladders now?”

Ben’s ears perked up “Shoots and Ladders?” he questions.

“We play it every time we come,” Abby explains excitedly as she pulls the game from the bag. Y/N takes it from her and tells her to go get James. She nods and runs back down the hill while Y/N set the game up.

“Are you any good?” Ben taunts, laying down on his side and propping himself up with his elbow, greeting her with a smirk.

“I will destroy you,” she challenges.

With the kids gathered around the game started off as normal as possible, Abby and James frowning when their parents would get ahead of them. James’ small tongue poked out when he rolled the dice “I got a 6!” he cheered as he picked up the piece.

“Good job!” Ben clapped him on the back and smiled proudly as he moved up the board.

Y/N takes the dice in her hand and blew gently, making Ben roll his eyes at her. He was beyond annoyed that she got a ladder almost every time she rolled. She rolled gently and hummed in satisfaction “five,” she whispers moving her piece. Her elbow hits the corner of the board shifting the pieces and making the dice shift.

“That was a four,” Ben corrects, looking down at the dice.

Y/N looks up from the board “No it was a five,” she responds sternly.

Ben clenches his fist and touches her piece, moving it down the ladder “You rolled a four.”

She growls and moves it back “Seriously? Are you calling me a liar?”

“Look at the board! You rolled a fucking four!” he complains loudly, not quite a shout as he was trying to keep his cool.

“The board moved, it was a five Ben! You’re losing get the fuck over it.” she matches his tone. The kids look at each other sympathetically as their parents start to argue, their voices slowly starting to get louder with each insult. James looks around to see other people starting to look at them.

“Dad,” he says, pushing his leg to get his attention. The adults rise to their feet and start to get in each other face, their words getting louder, still talking about the board game.

“Did you rig the game Y/N? There’s no fucking possible way you got a ladder every time?” he yells.

“Oh? Not only am I liar I’m a cheater! Want to check the dice for a magnet?”

“Maybe. I. Do.”

“Fuck off! You’re a sore loser.”

“Mom! Mom?”

“What!” Y/N shouts, the pair looking down at the kids who were looking up at them with angered faces. “You guys are embarrassing.”

They pause and look around at the few pair of eyes that were on them. They look away, embarrassed of their actions “Abby, let’s go. Say goodbye,” she speaks slowly, not daring to look at him. They all gathered their things swiftly and in silence. Abby said her sad goodbye to James before running off to catch up to Y/N who had already started to walk away.

“I can’t believe you,” James huffed.

“I didn’t start it, and you had fun right?”

“Whatever, Dad.” James puts on his backpack and walks towards the parking lot leaving Ben alone in his thoughts. He pushed back his blonde curls and slung his bag over his shoulder, already rehearsing an apology.

Y/N threw the bag in her truck and slammed the door harshly, she growled when she saw Ben’s remorseful face in the dark reflection. “Came to yell at me more?” She asks, not turning to look at him.

“I came to say I’m sorry, I didn’t mean t-”

“Stop. You knew exactly what you were doing,” she holds a finger up before crossing her arms over her chest. Ben shoves his hands in his pockets and looks up briefly.

“I’m sorry, let me make it up to you…and Abby. We ruined their playdate.”

“And how do possibly expect to do that?” she sighs, leaning against the car.

Ben puts on a smile “Let me take you out.”

“On a date?” She raises an eyebrow. Unbelievable, she couldn’t believe he was standing in front of her after picking a fight in public and now asking for a date. Pathetic. She was pathetic for wanting to say yes. She knew she shouldn’t, it would be a disaster. “Ben. We shouldn’t, we can’t even get along in front of our kids without fighting,” she pointed out the obvious.

“I know! I know. Just dinner to say I’m sorry for making fools of us. You won’t regret it.”

Y/N thinks about it for a moment, free dinner. Maybe with food stuffed in their mouths, they could actually get along. Maybe there would be alcohol, god knows they were going to need it if they went through with it.

“What’s in it for Abby?” She smiles.

“We’ll bring her back ice cream,” he smiles back at her.

“I will go out with you Ben, just dinner.”

“Sounds perfect. Friday night?”

Y/N winces “I can’t. I promised to watch Mary to pay Lucy back after that night.”

Ben blushes and ducks his head “How about Saturday?”

“Saturday sounds perfect.”

She watches him walk back to his car with his returned confidence, she mentally kicked herself for saying yes so easily. Seriously fuck this guy for making her feel this way. She hated the fights but she did manage to get a date out of it. Fuck.

Taglist is open!

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fantroll-purgatory · 4 years

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@theshieldswordandcrown

I’d like it if you guys could look over my tea man for me! (Art by my friend lythaeriahomestucks. I haven’t made him a sprite yet.

Oofadoofa it’s been a while. Hi I hope your roleplay group is fun!

World: Alternia, but the draft is a lot further off than in canon, because none of my group is interested in roleplaying interstellar space battles or politics, especially considering the amount of setup that would have to go into making deep space believable. Though I think Friendsim’s stated they’re dragged off planet at 9 sweeps, so he’d still have a little time before getting dragged underground anyway.

Name: Oolong Matcha. Yes, they’re both types of tea. It started off as a quick joke, but I’ve grown to love it. Not only is matcha green, like his blood, but he’s a gardener, and really enjoys tea.

Mmmmm I mean joke trolls are famously canon in Homestuck. See: SWIFER EGGMOP or the salt and pepper shaker troll BUTTT mmmm. I feel like naming a character based at least partially on Japanese monks Oolong would deserve some side-eye. But I like the matcha bit! So let’s see…I like him being a gardener since monastic gardens were very much A Thing, and one of the famous still-extant ones is at Rievaulx abbey, so maybe we give him RIVULX, which sounds sufficiently trollish and is obvious enough for someone to get the reference.

Age: 9.69 Sweeps, or 21 Earth years.

Theme/Story: He’s partially themed after monks, specifically Irish and Japanese, which was originally an excuse for his bald head, but ended up influencing his clothing, calm demeanor, and lusus. I was also, oddly, thinking of 4chan – not maniacs like /pol/, but just average people who don’t get out enough, like to chatter about anime or cooking, and generally act like a bit of a dipshit. Fatherhood is definitely a theme with him as well – he’s already a father figure to two other trolls.

Hmmm. I like the broad concept, but I think we can tighten up a little on the “monk” theme by expanding it. Review Goals: General overview, classpecting advice, filling in missing details like fetch modus or lunar sway, etc.

Strife Specibus: He greatly prefers to snipe threats before they reach him, but if he’s forced into melee, he’ll grab a pipe and go berserker nuts. He takes satisfaction in neutralizing threats, especially if he’s protecting someone or something. He’s not averse to talking things out, but dislikes putting others on the line.

Hmm. None of that is a strife specibus, though I suppose you’re going for riflekind and pipekind. Generally void players use fistkind since it’s the absence of a weapon, but if you want to give him another option besides hand-to-hand melee may I suggest poisonkind? He could use something from his garden, like monkshood :3c. Or if you want to give him a melee weapon he could use the sansetsukon per the 36th Chamber of Shaolin, which would double as a symbol reminder since he could arrange the segments in a backwards s. Fetch Modus: ;;3;; I have absolutely no idea.

What about a clue modus where the items are obscured but contain details describing them? With the caveat that some of them will have similar color/taste/textures listed. I think this might be fun because there are actually *two* famous detectives with the last name Monk, Adrian Monk and William Monk.

Blood Color: Jade.

That works great, especially with Friendsim’s reveal that many jades are indeed monastic/cloistered.

Lunar Sway: Not sure.

Given that he’s a monk and you have painted him as someone unlikely to cause conflict or rebel against the system, I think he’d be a Prospit dreamer.

Title: Knight of Void, someone who exploits what little secrecy and irrelevance he has for all it’s worth. He was first conceived as a Bard, to fit into a fansession, but I eventually decided it didn’t fit what the character had developed to be.

Symbol and Meaning: I made it up, and it doesn’t have a name. It’s an infinity symbol, broken in the center - like this, but flipped 90 degrees clockwise. I guess it could tie into his aspect by…destroying infinity, I guess, but I really haven’t put that much thought into it.

If we’re going by the EZ, he would be Virittanius, the Deliberate. Which I think fits him quite well! It also looks like a further corruption of the sign you gave him, so I may toy with that a little in the redesign. Handle: I feel like I might have given him a serious handle at one point, but if I did, I forgot it, so for now, it’s oolongMatcha. Just his name. Considering his classpect and desire for secrecy, this makes about as much sense as a rain barrel made out of crackers, but I’m not sure what to give him.

Since his new initials are RM, maybe revenantMyiopsitta. Revenant, of course, to hint at the fact that he’s part of the blood caste most commonly associated with rebirth after death, and Myiopsitta being the genus for two types of parakeet: the cliff parakeet and the monk parakeet. So we have his true identity as well as the unusual nature of his hive, both concealed in plain sight. Quirk: he types in all lower case and likes putting his horns in his emoticons! ’:) Maybe doing it like (:; would make more sense, as it’s his right (our left) horn that’s busted.

I like it! Depending on his redesign you may also want him to uƨe backwardƨ ƨ’ƨ to mimic hiƨ ƨymbol.

Special Abilities: Supreme Dadliness. Jokes aside, he’s a crack shot, even with his impeded vision, and has been successfully flying under the radar his whole life.

If you still want him to be a crack shot even with the changes I suggested above, maybe he uses blowdarts to poison his enemies from afar?

Lusus: His father is a MASSIVE white snake; I was thinking some kind of constrictor. Personality-wise, he’s close to a prototypical 50s dad. He’s a safe haven for his son and those his baby cares about, and is exceedingly patient, to the point of letting a small child fingerpaint on him. He’s also willing to carry Oolong in emergencies, though I’m not really certain that would work in real life, movement-wise.

I feel like the snake can be a little overplayed as a lusus. If we want to give him something similar to a mother grub as a jadeblood, why not a massive butterfly based on the monk/dusky friar? It also gives you the mechanics for how his dadderfly would carry him around in emergencies.

Interests: He used to spend a lot of time alone on the internet - I originally conceptualized him as a very lonely NEET, to the point he had to find his wallet to remember his own name - but has become more adventurous and friendly, spending more time with his girlfriend and friends (and he has friends now!) He’s very proud of his garden and fruit trees, some of which are rare, difficult to grow properly, and/or dangerous (offering more security).

Huh! You don’t explain *how* he goes from isolated to friendly, but I’d hope that gardening is a way for him to reach out to others since it’s a hobby you can commit to on your own but bond with other hobbyists.

Hive: He lives out in the woods by himself, though not so far from other trolls that he can’t take the day to go shopping or see his mate. His hive is surrounded by his garden on all sides, and has a very visible path down the center (making it easy for him to see anyone approaching, and shoot if they’re a threat). Trees surround it, and dangerous plants are strategically placed to make going through his garden unpleasant at best (it also makes weeding a pain, but he thinks it’s worth it). His hive is especially unusual in that the porch is raised up to the second floor with large poles, and you have to use a ladder to get up to it (unless you’re snakedad, in which case you go up the poles). He has a remote so he can let it down from the ground, as well as access to it on the platform, so he can let people up himself. I don’t think the ground level has a door. I’d be happy to submit pictures, if you want.

Feel free to show us pictures, but I like the concept a lot!

Appearance: Tall and rail-thin, excepting his oddly curvy hips. (I figured due to jades being majority female, developing jade males might be exposed to more than the usual amount of estrogen and androgens. Also I’m way more used to drawing women than men and his initial outline was a gal for like ten minutes.) He shaves his head bald. (This is because A) I didn’t want to bother trying to figure out men’s hair - I almost never draw dudes - and B) he’s partially themed after monks, who often shave their heads. I don’t remember why he says he does it.)

…man, I’m gonna take issue with the way you phrased this description. There’s a lot of gender essentialism going on in your explanation there, and given that a number of us mods are trans and nonbinary I feel obligated to point out a few things:

1) Trolls are bugs. They’re not even mammals. They aren’t exposed to androgen or estrogen or any hormone to give them a certain body shape. It is quite heavily implied that when the mother grub gives birth it is to a bunch of larvae.

2) I know that Homestuck lore has given us largely jade girls and one jade trans guy but that’s no reason to assume that jade men are broadly more “feminine” by default in *any* dimension

3) Even if trolls *did* work like humans, it rubs me the wrong way to see someone talking about a man’s “oddly” curvy hips like I’ve got guy friends both trans and cis with wide hips and the only reason to remark on it at all is because We Live In A Society that forcibly genders people in relation to physical characteristics.

…So I am otherwise taking your description at face value. ______ Matcha is tall, rail thin, with curvy hips and a bald head. I will probably add some little fangs, per the Alternian fashion guide.

He wears leggings (unless it’s very hot) and long tunics or robes, usually tan, with his symbol emblazoned on the breast. He goes barefoot if he can. His right (our left) horn is broken, due to an accident in his youth (I think he fell onto something?), amusingly improving his vision, since his unbroken left horn points in front of his left eye, obscuring it somewhat. His face could almost be described as delicate, and his default expression is calm.

I don’t knooooow that tan is a color trolls wear all that often in Alternia, so I will see how I can rework that in the redesign. I get him being barefoot, but I may give it a shot spriting him monk shoes for if he wants to go on an outing. :3c For his broken horn…hm. When we see trolls with physical damage, it is almost always something more significant than just “childhood accident” (see: every troll in Homestuck except Equius who somehow had like 3 simultaneous accidents?). I have an idea for his horns that I will get to in the redesign, and I will probably add a hook to his front horn, both because it’s a jadeblood trait and because it seems suitably horrifying to constantly have a sharp implement millimeters from your eye.

Personality: Oolong is a nice, fatherly young man, well regarded by most he meets. He really really likes tea. He has a beautiful, dangerous mafiosa matesprite in a rustblood named Andora Ingenu, and they adore each other. He’s also taken on the substitute dad role for an adorable young fuschia who lives in the swamp near his forest, Lillie Waters, teaching her how to cook (and keep her tools clean) and rescuing her from other fuschias. He’s very protective of his and his loved ones’ privacy and safety, and spends a LOT of his time in the massive gardens around his hive, of which he’s deservedly proud. He is very good at being sneaky, and sometimes takes the time to run around seeing what he can get away with, especially in the realm of snatching seeds up for his garden. He sells whatever plants he can grow for money, especially fruits and vegetables, but he doesn’t really enjoy sales. He doesn’t put a lot of stock in blood superiority, but doesn’t make a big deal out of it. He’s oddly well adjusted for someone who spent most of his life alone.

I like this description! Also looking at his close compatriots, it looks like I can swap the tan in his design for rust or fuchsia. We already see jadebloods wearing a fair amount in the red/burgundy/purple spectrum, so it should fit right in with the others.

Land: I don’t remember if I’ve come up with one. If I did, I feel like it may have heavily wooded areas, dark and tangled and difficult to navigate.

Hmmm. What about Land of Rough and Reflection (LORAR)? Covered in rough terrain, with pools to contemplate oneself. Unbeknownst to your troll, there are switches at the bottom of each lake (deeper than he could ever hope to dive and hold his breath) that must be flipped to drain the lakes and free the consorts from the underwater caves in which they’ve been trapped for generations. His land would initially seem completely empty and without guidance, and it neatly parallels his own situation before he began to socialize.

I hope you like him! :) I’d love to see what you guys think of him.

He’s certainly an interesting troll, and I hope I’ve helped by way of sharpening up on his theme! Let’s move on to the redesign.

Top to bottom as usual!

Hair - I gave him some stubble courtesy of fan-troll (I have never managed a post without plugging fan-troll/tajazzled’s sprite sheet and I’m not gonna stop now)

Horns - I wanted to make his other horn sort of…curve away from his head so it looks like his symbol from above?

Eyes and brows - they didn’t change but big ups to fan-troll for giving me bases to modify!

Mouth - this is a modification of Sollux’s mouth but I gave him lil fangs and a little lower lip definition

Robes - I just modified some of Kanaya’s robes, appropriately enough! I decided to go for a red/pink shade that was between rust and fuchsia so he could fit in while subtly broadcasting his allegiance

Shoes - they’re John’s but with buckles! :B monk shoes

Aaaand that’s about it for my critique! I hope this helped!

-TR

#jadeblood #submission #oolong matcha #oolong #matcha #theshieldswordandcrown #rivulx #rivulx matcha #review #redesign #tr review

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kamino-ink · 6 years

Text

Smoke | Hwang Hyunjin

genre ⌁ high school!au, strangers-to-lovers, angsty, fluff sprinkled in loves

summary ⌁ you’re an infamous school druggie, always coming to school with bloodshot eyes, purple bags, and cracked, bloodied lips. rumors are nothing new to you, and in all honesty you don’t fight them - you don’t want to waste time on meaningless drama, after all. everything starts to change, in a way, when a quiet, easily amused boy comes to your school - and you wouldn’t have had it any other way.

word count ⌁ 3.5k

warning ⌁ mentions of drug abuse, kinda heavy stuff - I can’t quite explain it without spoiling, but if you're sensitive to issues revolving around abortion, mentions of drug abuse, or anything of that matter - I highly suggest you go read another amazing fanfic in the community other than this one.

Check out my masterlist!

It is quiet in your bedroom. The tiny music box with a shy ballerina in the center of the stage no longer plays the gentle tune that you had since memorized as a small child, her stage broken and cracked from years of not being touched unless it was to be thrown angrily against a wall or your bedroom floor. The pathetic excuse of a vanity set up by one of your uncles many years ago is covered in bits of stray dust, stains of colorful makeup dried on it’s aging white surface. A lonesome eyeshadow pallet rests dangerously close to the edge of the vanity with the shattered mirror, now going on its second year of being unused; the same can be said for the foundation, the lid seeping with now dry product and dotted with old fingerprints.

It is lonely in your bedroom. There is no trace of happiness or laughter lingering in the open, chilly air being let in by the cracked window on the wall. When was the last time someone other than your dealer had stepped into that very room, now littered with blankets, papers, and old sentimentals? When was the last time you had a friend spend the night and build silly forts made of fluffy blankets and thin sheets? When was the last time your parents walked in to wake you up with a glass of water or a shake of your shoulder?

Gray puffs of silky smooth smoke billow into the dank air of your bedroom, seeping out along with a few stray ashes that drop onto your carpeted floor. It’s only your first cigarette of the day, so it doesn’t exactly do much for you - and it’s just a smaller dose of nicotine, nothing that made your cheeks flush a deep red in euphoria. But it would have to do until the end of the school day.

“-her eyes are so red, do you think all the drugs she does has made it permanent?”

“You think that’s weird? Check out her eyebags - I can’t believe the principal let’s a wild panda roam around our school!”

“Ew, look at her lips! I hope she doesn’t kiss her boyfriend with those lips.”

“Isn’t she dating that Mark Lee guy that graduated last year? I heard he’s a biker in a gang downtown.”

“No way, I totally saw her making out behind the cafeteria dumpsters with Jeno! Ugh, I would kill to kiss him-”

Mark Lee is someone you used to call your best friend, back in the days where neither of you had been addicted. While he was a good year older than you, the Canadian boy had not once left your side - not even when you became friends with a little pack of boys in your year; in fact, he had become the unofficial “dad” of the ragtag band of friends, trying to make sure none of you got into too much trouble in school.

That, obviously, had gone tumbling downhill when one of his older cousins introduced all of you to a drug called heroin. He said that it made you feel relaxed and totally stress free; and as naïve high school students who believed yourselves to be more mature than you really were at the time, each and every one of you tried it out. But only you and Mark kept going back to his cousin for more.

And then it got so, so much worse in just a couple of months before his graduation. You both had gotten high in the wee hours of the looming night, sat on top of the bleachers standing proudly on the football field where no school cameras could capture your faces, or the smoke that poured out between your lips. Mark had been using heroin just for the thrill, he said, stating promptly that he felt like a real man abusing the drug as much as he did. On the other hand, you sought false solace in the drug after long days of school and three different part-time jobs, as well as the constant neglect in your very own household. You didn’t think of this as an excuse, because you knew heroin was hurting your body and making you weaker - you hated it, but you also loved it.

After puffing out another cloud of stunning smoke, Mark subconsciously slid one of his larger hands onto your bare thigh, squeezing the cold flesh warmly in a sign of affection. It hadn’t been new to you at all, his touch - but then he inched it closer and closer up your skirt until his soft fingertips were just itching at the corner of your panties. You’d glanced at the senior in bewilderment, which made him blush and pull his hand back. He apologized, saying that his brain had been too foggy to think straight, and that he’d never meant to try and suggest anything more between the two of you. While you quickly forgave him, you noticed how he used that same old excuse for everything he did.

Got caught getting a blowjob from one of the school cheerleaders? Oops, he was high out of his mind and it didn’t mean anything. Found in possession of a firearm even though he wasn’t of age, nor did he have a permit? Uh oh, he was a bit woozy from his last puff. Joined his cousin’s little gang in Busan? That...wasn't a mistake. The second he graduated, Mark Lee packed his things and took a train to the city of Busan and never looked back, a white cigarette still burning between his lips as you and the other boys watched him board the train.

And Jeno - god he was like your brother, at one period in time, inching his way into what had been Mark’s space as your addiction got worse and worse with each passing day. He forced you to eat some of his lunch when you would pull out a miserable excuse of a sandwich from your bag, watching diligently to make sure you swallowed every single bite. He would help you brush out your rat’s nest of a head of hair in the girl’s bathroom every morning before the bell rang, ignoring the squealing girls with a cheeky grin and bright eye smile - even though he knew he could be suspended or expelled for it.

He sort of understood where you were coming from, as he himself was from a family of abusive parents that hit him so hard he’d come to school looking like he’d been in a car wreck. You would stay behind a few hours after the final bell each day, disinfecting his fresh scratches while he ranted about life at home. You didn't mind, because he was your brother, in a way - and you were his sister.

Then he left for a couple of months, early on in your senior year of high school - not returning until the first day of November. Turns out his parents had been caught abusing him by his grandma, who immediately took them to court and filed for custody of her precious grandson. She won the case, of course, and helped Jeno adapt to his new life full of warmth and love until he was ready to face the rumors back at school. After such trials and tribulation, you found that Jeno had moved on from you and instead took the reigns as the new “dad” of the group of friends that had been drifting away ever since the school year started. You didn’t blame him for wanting to break off any and all communication with someone who had a bad reputation for being high almost every single hour of the day - after all, he’d just broke apart from one toxic part of his life, why did he need to stick around and see if you were the same?

Now, you were completely and utterly alone, left to hang your head slightly as your fingertips slowly turned the locked dial on your steel gray locker.

“E-excuse me?”

With a small pop the door to your locker swung open, being caught from hitting your neighbor’s unsuspecting head at the last second. There wasn’t much use to your locker, since you barely kept anything in there besides a few extra textbooks that were rarely put to use inside the classroom.

“I-I’m sorry to bother you miss, but - but could you help me find my locker?”

You turn your head just enough to see a nervous looking boy staring down at you, and he jumped a bit in surprise when your gaze met his within those few milliseconds. “Yeah, of course. What number do you have?”

“Oh-! Um, it says... 4419.”

“That’s... actually right in front of you,” a snort of amusement escapes your lips while you point to the small sticker with his assigned locker number stuck to the middle of it’s rectangular shape, “did you maybe forget your contacts or glasses at home, new guy?”

‘New guy’ laughs softly at your teasing words, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. The sleeves of his pink knit sweater droop down to the tips of his fingers like paws and his plump lips twitch into a bit of a more relieved looking smile. “It looks like I forgot my common sense at my doorsteps, actually,” he hums, “my first day here and I’m already lost.”

You wonder if that’s how Mark felt when he left for college - did he even stick to his plans after high school? “Well, I can help you... not be lost, if you want.”

“Would you really? Thank you so much - erm, what’s your name?”

“I’m Y/N Y/L/N, senior.”

“Well - miss Y/N, I’m Hwang Hyunjin, also a senior and the resident new kid.”

Creative writing is by far your favorite class in the whole wide world - you can let your imagination run free, touching the clouds and diving deep into the depths of the sea to your pounding heart’s content. What scribbles of your healthy brain are left untouched by the roots of heroine have bloomed into beautiful flowers of creativity and a love for writing. While your practice in the class is deemed strange to your other classmates, you find it peaceful and heart warming.

“What’re you writing about, Y/N?” Hyunjin’s already soft voice comes out as smooth as fresh, orange honey. The boy leans over a little to look at your computer screen already jumbled with ideas and bursting thoughts - class had just started fourteen minutes ago and you were still brainstorming while he’d messily put together a web of ideas that were a bit lackluster, in his opinion.

“I’m thinking of either writing a mafia alternate universe story about Park Jinyoung, or a cheesy romance ploy. Not too sure which one is better, honestly.”

You write fanfiction - or, for lack of a better term, content that involve your favorite idols in the universe; ranging from the queen herself Hyuna to Park Jinyoung of a band called GOT7, there’s no one you won’t write about. The pieces you write so eagerly are published not in a book, but onto a social media website called Tumblr where everyone in the communities you write for can read your work. You were never ashamed of admitting that you were a fanfiction creator because it made you happy and proud of what you could do; your online mutual would shower you in silly praises and jokingly scream at you in caps lock for more pain-filled scenarios. Complete strangers would leave red hearts on your posts and send you anonymous messages that made your little heart soar in joy.

Your schoolmates thought it to be super weird - I mean, writing fantasies about famous celebrities for anyone to see, quite possibly the celebrity themselves? They couldn’t wrap their heads around it, although you didn't blame them too much for their harsh critiques of your passion. You just enjoyed making up bizarre or somewhat realistic scenarios since it made you and so many other people happy - an emotion you couldn’t seem to grasp that often in the real world.

“Mafia stories are the thing these days, why not go back to the roots of romance and write about like, a cheesy badboy and a good girl plot? Nothing wrong with clichés.”

“Thanks for the input, Hyunjin.”

“No problem, Y/N - hey, make sure I get to be the first to read it though, alright?”

“Of course, don’t worry about it.”

The next two weeks, once filled with something quite similar to nothing at all, was filled with a bright light called Hwang Hyunjin. Clad in mostly just oversized shirts that would hang comically low, all the way down to his knees, or pastel knit sweaters along with plain jeans, the senior would stick by your side as if he was stuck there. Sure he made a few other friends, but he never failed to walk with you to lunch and plop down beside you at the otherwise empty table. He would offer you some of his lunch, since his mom had a habit of giving him proportions that a whole family of four could eat.

The second week of having Hwang Hyunjin around as a friend was... interesting, to say the least. He’d been a few minutes late arriving to your designated table in the corner of the cafeteria, leaving you by your lonesome to drown in your poisonous thoughts. Just earlier the same day, the vice principal had pulled you aside and expressed her concern for your disheveled hair - saying that it could be a distraction to other students. Pah, hair being a distraction? Why, you thought it was already bad enough to comment on clothes that showed shoulders - now this? Then again, you had an inkling of understanding, especially since whenever you tried to run your fingers through your hair like the blonde cheerleaders did they would almost immediately latch onto a nasty knot.

“Hey, sorry for - Y/N, what’s wrong? Why are you crying?”

You hadn’t even noticed the stray tears dribbling down your flushed cheeks, nor the trembling of your chapped and bloodied lips that you’d been anxiously chewing on since the confrontation just hours ago in the hallway. “H-Hyunjin, do you... do you maybe have a brush with you?” The question slips through your lips like a mantra while you hang your head low in shame and glowering embarrassment.

There’s a pregnant pause, then you hear the boy shuffling in what you can only assume is his school bag. “Chin up, friend - I won’t be able to properly brush your hair if you let your pretty head droop so low.”

“I can do it myself.” The short words sound like a harsh jab, but Hyunjin thinks nothing of it. Instead your tall companion chuckles softly and helps you turn around so your back is facing his chest covered in a pastel blue material. “Hyu-”

“Shh, just relax and eat up. We only have thirty minutes, after all.” He hums cheekily, accepting your huff of defeat as a sign of encouragement to get started on brushing the tangles and knots out of your hair. His long fingers go to work first, carefully loosening up any problem areas so that when he brings a brush to your hair it won’t accidently tear any of the tendrils. “You know, your hair is really soft.”

You utter an almost inaudible, “thank you,” to the black haired boy, enjoying the way his fingers thread through your messy and tangled strands of hair. From the corner of your eye you spot Jeno, now sporting frosty white hair, leading Donghyuck, Jaemin, and Renjun into the crowded cafeteria. Somehow his eyes meet yours, then they drift over to the peaceful boy brushing through your hair. You’re too far away to see the way his gaze glimmers in remorse, perhaps even guilt sprinkled with hints of regret - though you’re too busy sending him an awkward wave to notice. The two of you had left things on not so much as a sour note, rather a mutual awkwardness.

But you don’t miss the tiny curl of his lips and the warm crescents of his eyes sending you a polite greeting back. While Jeno was likely to always stay in your past, you knew that deep down you both would always see each other as equals and something akin to true siblings.

For the person in the present, however - you couldn’t pinpoint exactly what Hwang Hyunjin was to you. Still, you hoped and prayed that he wouldn’t be apart of your past; just the present and the future.

“You know, my mom almost aborted me.”

Only Mark Lee and Jeno knew that your mom had been a drug addict when she was well into her pregnancy with her first, and only, child. Neither of them had much to say, assumingly because they didn’t know what they could say without coming off as intrusive or awkward.

But, of all people, Hwang Hyunjin knew just what to say - well, ask. “How come?”

The sky is a reflection of your mood, displaying poofy gray rainclouds spilling over with cold droplets of rain that echoed on the roof of his car. Its sunset painted hue with streaks of calming oranges and pinks had been stained with the markings of a dark, looming storm. Strikes of stunning yellow lightning crashed miles away from where the car was parked on a stray mountaintop, though the bellowing roars of thunder were enough to make you jump in the passenger's seat just a little.

“The doctors were worried about the fetus - me, since she was a heavy drug addict. Not much has changed in that aspect, I suppose.” You mutter mostly to yourself, even though you’re more than aware that the boy next to you can hear just about every single word being uttered from between your lips. A cigarette had been embedded in the crevice of your lips hours before, but you refused to smoke around Hyunjin, so before he picked you up from work you’d tossed it into the closest trash bin. “Low blood sugar, premature birth, all that jazz, you know?”

“I ended up having some super shitty breathing problems for the first year of my life - from what I was told, I rarely got to go home that year. My mom wanted to abort me at first, since she didn’t even want a kid in the first place and kind of didn’t want to risk having a weak baby that she’d be stuck with. My dad talked her out of it. Now... I don’t even remember the last time either of them has made me breakfast or hugged me.”

The boy next to you remains silent for a moment, his brain processing everything you’ve just told him. For just over a month he’s known you, calling you his friend and desiring in some cases for something more - but he had never pried too deep into your private life out of respect to your privacy. He had a hunch that life at home couldn’t have been the greatest of occurrences, since he made it his duty to help you brush your hair during the first class of the day; you were unmotivated to do just about anything. Depression, you said was what is was, ate you alive with every other passing minute in his eyes.

He leans over the console, free of his seatbelt since the pair of you had been parked on the mountaintop (well, ledge filled with parking spaces for sight seers) for the past two hours or so. With one arm going to rest on your shoulder, he lets the other fall down nicely into your lap so he can intertwine his warm fingers with your cold ones that usually held a budding cigarette. “While it would’ve been the safer option to - to not have you, I want to be selfish and say that I’m glad she didn’t.”

You feel the hand holding yours lift from your legging covered lap, just to brush under your jaw. “Why is that, Hyunjin?”

His knuckles and your own are controlled by his larger hand, meaning that he was the one to tilt your head up towards his own, half of his body still leaning over the console of his car. “Because... I never would’ve met you, Y/N.” His face inches down closer to your own flushed one, his lips brushing against yours as light as a feather.

Hwang Hyunjin has been your remedy to your heroin addiction for the past month or so since he entered your life. He didn’t judge you harshly, rather he’d come into your life with a nervous laugh and a warm smile tugged at his plump, pink lips. His reassuring words were enough to make you stop smoking every single morning before school. His words of encouragement made you realize that smoking twice a day only made your eyes even redder than before, to which you rounded down to just own measly smoke each day.

And his gentle kiss was enough to make you want to stop altogether, because you didn’t want Hwang Hyunjin to remember your first kiss tasting like remnants of smoke and drugs.

#skzwriters #stray kids #stray kids au #hwang hyunjin #hyunjin scenario #hyunjin imagine #stray kids high school au #stray kids scenario #stray kids imagine #stray kids drabble #stray kids fluff #stray kids angst #hyunjin fluff #hyunjin angst

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scifrey · 5 years

Video

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In February of 2017 I had the great pleasure of addressing the Grant MacEwan University English Department with a keynote speech titled “Your Voice is Valid.”

This speech was all about Mary Sues, fandom, and marginalized voices, and is a direct response to the negative reactions that media texts receive when they announce a protagonist that is deemed to be a "Mary Sue".

In the intervening years I think the message of my talk has become even more vital to creators, so I thought I’d record a new video of the speech to share with a wider audience.

If you liked this video, you can find more of my writing advice on my website.

Read the full speech on Wattpad, or below:

(Text may not match the video exactly as I did alter some of the phrasing.)

My friends, I have a declaration to make. A promise. A vow, if you will. And it is this:

If I hear one more basement-dwelling troll call the lead female protagonist of a genre film a ‘Mary Sue’ one more time, I’m going to scream.

I’m sure you’ve all seen this all before. A major science fiction, fantasy, video game, novel, or comic franchise or publisher announces a new title. Said new title features a lead protagonist who is female, or a person of color, or is not able-bodied, or is non-neurotypical, or is LGBTQA+.

It might be the new Iron Man or Spider-man, who are both young black teenagers in the comics now, or the Lt. Michael Burnham of Star Trek: Discovery, or the new Ms. Marvel, a Muslim girl. It could be Jyn Erso, the female lead of the latest Star Wars film or Chirrut, her blind companion. It could be the deaf FBI Director Gordon Cole from Twin Peaks or Clint Barton from Fraction and Aja’s Hawkeye graphic novel series. It could be Sara, of Dragon Age fame or Samantha Traynor from Mass Effect, both lesbians, or Dorian also from Dragon Age, who is both a person of color and flamboyantly queer. Maybe it’s Lt. Stamets and Dr. Hugh Culber, played by Anthony Rapp of (best known for his time as Mark in Rent) and Wilson Cruz, both open out gay men playing openly out gay men in a romantic relationship in Star Trek Discovery. It could be Captain Christopher Pike, from both the original Star Trek series and the reboot film, who uses a wheelchair and assistive devices to communicate. Or maybe it’s Bucky Barnes, aka the Winter Soldier, fights with a prosthetic arm in the comics, or Iron Man, whose suit serves as Tony Stark’s ego-tastic pacemaker.

And generally, the audience cheers at this announcement. Yay for diversity! Yay for representation! Yay for working to make the worlds we consume look more like the world we live in! Yay!

But there’s a certain segment of the fan population that does not celebrate.

I’m sure you all know what I’m talking about.

This certain brand of fan-person gets all up in arms on social media. They whine. They complain. They say that it’s not appropriate to change the gender, race, orientation, or physical abilities of a fictional creation, or just protest their inclusion to begin with. They decry the erosion of creativity in service of neo-liberalism, overreaching political-correctness, and femi-nazis. (Sorry, sorry – the femi-“alt-right”).

It’s not realistic. “Women can’t survive in space,” they say, “It’s just a fact.” (That is a direct quote, by the way.) “Superheroes can’t be black,” they say. “Video game characters shouldn’t have a sexual orientation,” unless – it seems - that sexual orientation is straight and the game serves to support a male gaze ogling at half-dressed pixilated prostitutes.

“And strong female characters have to wear boob armor. It’s just natural,” they say.

These fan persons predict the end of civilization because things are no longer being done the way they’ve always been done. “There’s nothing wrong with the system,” they say. “So don’t you dare change it.”

And to enforce this opinion, to ensure that it’s really, really clear just how much contempt this certain segment of the fan population holds for any lead protagonist that isn’t a white, heterosexual, able-bodied, neurotypical, cismale, they do everything they can to tear down them down.

They do this by calling that character a ‘Mary Sue.’

When fan fiction author Paula Smith first used the term ‘Mary Sue’ in her 1973 story A Trekkie’s Tale, she was making a commentary on the frequent appearance of original characters in Star Trek fan fiction. Now, I’m going to hazard that most of these characters existed as a masturbatory avatar – wanna bone Spock? (And, um, you know, let’s face it who didn’t?) They you write a story where a character representing you gets to bone Spock.

And if they weren’t a sexual fantasy, then they were an adventure fantasy. Wanna be an officer on the Enterprise? Well, it’s the flagship of the Starfleet, so you better be good enough to get there. Chekov was the youngest navigator in Starfleet history, Uhura is the most tonally sensitive officer in linguistics, and Jim Kirk’s genius burned like a magnesium flare – your self-representative character would have to keep up to earn thier place on that bridge. This led to a slew of hyper sexualized, physically idealized, and unrealistically competent author-based characters populating the fan fiction of the time.

But inserting a trumped-up version of yourself into a narrative wasn’t invented in the 1970s. Aeneas was totally Virgil’s Mary Sue in his Iliad knock off. Dante was such a fanboy of the The Bible that he wrote himself into an adventure exploring it. Robin Hood’s merry men and King Arthur’s Knights of the Round Table kept growing in number and characteristics with each retelling. Even painters have inserted themselves into commissioned pictures for centuries.

This isn’t new. This is not a recent human impulse.

But what Paula Smith and the Mary Sue-writing fan ficcers didn’t know at the time was that they were crystallizing what it means to be an engaged consumer of media texts, instead of just a passive one. They had isolated and labelled what it means to be so affected by a story, to love it so much that this same love bubbles up out of you and you have to do something about it, either in play, or in art. For example: in pretending to be a ninja turtle on the play ground, or in trying to recreate the perfect version of a star fleet uniform to wear, or in creating art and making comics depicting your favorite moments or further adventures of the characters you love, or writing stories that encompass missing moments from the narratives.

‘Mary Sues’ are, at their center, a celebration of putting oneself and one’s own heart, and one’s own enjoyment of a media text, first.

Before I talk about why this certain segment of the fan population deploys the term ‘Mary Sue’ the way it does, let’s take a closer look at this impulse for participatory play.

Here’s the sixty four thousand dollar question: where do ‘Mary Sues’ come from?

I’d like you take a moment to think back at the sorts of games you enjoyed when you were about seven years old. Think back. Picture yourself outside, playing with your siblings, or the neighbour’s kids or you cousins. What are you doing? Playing ball games, chase games, and probably something with a narrative? Are you Power Rangers? Are you flying to Neverland with Peter Pan? Are you fighting Dementors and Death Eaters at Hogwarts? Are you the newest members of One Direction, are you Jem and the Holograms or the Misfits? Are you running around collecting Pokémon back before running around and collecting Pokémon IRL was a thing?

That, guys, gals and non-binary pals, is where Mary Sues come from. That’s it. It’s as easy as that.

As a child you didn’t know that modern literary tradition pooh-poohs self-analogous characters, or that realism was required for depth of character. All you knew was that you wanted to be a part of that story, right.  If you wanted to be a train with Thomas and Friends, then you were a train. If you wanted to be a magic pony from Equestria, you were a pony. Or, you know, if you were trying to appease two friends at once, then you were a pony-train.

Self-insert in childhood games teach kids the concept of elastic play, and this essential ability to imagine oneself in skins that are not one’s own, and to stretch and reshape narratives is what breeds creativity and storytelling. It shapes compassion.

Now, think of your early stories. As a child we all told and wrote stories about doing what, to us, were mundane everyday things - like getting ice cream with the fictional characters we know and love.

My friend’s three year old tells his father bed time stories about going on walks through Home Hardware with his friends, the anthropomorphized versions of the local taco food truck and the commuter train his dad takes to work every morning. He doesn’t recognize the difference between real and fictional people (or for him, in this case, the stand-ins that are the figures that loom large in his life right now as a three year old obsessed with massive machines). When you ask him to tell you a story, he talks about these fictions as if they’re real. And he does not hesitate to insert himself into the tale. “I did this. I did that. We went there and then had this for lunch.” He is present in all his own stories because, at this age, he understands the world only from his limited personal POV.

As we grow up, we do learn to differentiate between fantasy and reality. But, I posit that we never truly loose that “me too!” mentality. We see something amazing happening on the screen, or on the page, or on a playing field, and we want to be there, a part of it.

So we sort ourselves into Hogwarts Houses. We choose hockey teams to love, and we wear their jerseys.  We buy ball caps from our favorite breweries. We line up for hours to be the first to watch a new release or to buy a certain smartphone. We collect stamps and baseball cards and first editions of Jane Austen and Dan Brown. We want to be a part of it. Our capitalist, consumer society tells us to prove our love with our dollars, and we do it.

And for fan creators, we want to be a part of it so badly that we’re willing to make more of it. Not for profit, but for sheer love. And for the early writers, the newbies, the blossoming beginners, Mary Sues are where they generally start. Because those are the sorts of stories they’ve been telling yourselves for years already.

But as we get older, as we consume more media texts and find more things to adore, we begin to notice a dearth of representation – you’re not pony trains in our minds any more. We have a better idea of what we look like. And we don’t see it. The glorious fantasy diversity of our childhoods is stripped away, narratives are codified by the mainstream media texts we consume, and people stop looking like us.

I’m reminded of a story I read on Tumblr, of a young black author living in Africa – whose name, I’m afraid, I wasn’t able to find when I went back to look for it, so my apologies to her. The story is about the first time she tried to write a fairytale in elementary school. She made her protagonist a little white girl, and when she was asked why she hadn’t chosen to make the protagonist back, this author realized that it hadn’t even occurred to her that she was allowed make her lead black. Even though she was surrounded by people of color, the adventures, and romance, and magic in everything she consumed only happened to the white folks. She did not know she was allowed to make people like her the heroes because she had never seen it.

This is not natural. This is nurture, not nature. This is learned behavior. And this is hegemony.

No child grows up believing they don’t have place in the story. This is something were are taught. And this is something that we are taught by the media texts we consume.

I do want to pause and make a point here. There isn’t anything fundamentally wrong with writing a narrative from the heterosexual, able bodied, neurotypical, white cismale POV in and of itself. I think we all have stories that we know and love that feature that particular flavor of protagonist. And people from that community deserve to tell their stories as much as folks from any other community.

The problem comes from a reality where when it’s the only narrative. The default narrative. The factory setting. When people who don’t see themselves reflected in the narrative nonetheless feel obligated to write such stories, instead of their own. When they are told and taught that it is the only story worth telling. ‎

There’s this really great essay by Ika Willis, and it’s called “. And I think it’s the one – one of the most important pieces of writing not only on Mary Sues, but on the dire need for representation in general.

In the essay, Willis talks about Mary Sues – beyond being masturbatory adventure avatars for young people just coming into their own sexuality, or avatars to go on adventures with – but as voice avatars. Mary Sues, when wielded with self-awareness, deliberateness, and precision, can force a wedge into the narrative, crack it open, and provide a space for marginalized identities and voices in a media-text that otherwise silences and ignores them.

This is done one of two ways. First: by jamming in a diverse Mary Sue, and making the characters and the world acknowledge and work with that diversity. Or, second: by co-opting a pre-existing character and overlaying a new identity on them while retaining their essential characterization. For example, by writing a story where Bilbo Baggins is non-binary, but still thinking that adventures are messy, dirty things. Or making Sherlock Holmes deaf, but still perfectly capable of solving all the crimes. Or making James Potter Indian, so that the Dursleys prejudiced against Harry not only for his magic, but also for his skin color. Or making Ariel the mermaid wrestle with severe body dysphoria, or Commander Sheppard suffer from severe PTSD.

I like to call this voice avatar Mary Sue a ‘Meta-Sue’, because when authors have evolved enough in their storytelling abilities to consciously deploy Mary Sues as a deliberate trope, they’re doing so on a self-aware, meta-textual level.

So that is where Mary Sues comes from.

But what is a Mary Sue? How can you point at a character and say, “Yes, that is – definitively – a Mary Sue”.

Mary Sues can generally be characterized as:

-Too perfect, or unrealistically skilled. They shouldn’t be able to do all the things they do, or know all the things they know, as easily as they do or know them. For reasons of the plot expedience, they learn too fast, and are able to perform feats that other characters in their world who have studied or trained longer and harder find difficult. For example, Neo in The Matrix.

-They are the black hole of every plot – every major quest or goal of the pre-existing characters warps to include or be about them; every character wants to befriend them, or romance them, or sleep with them, and every villain wants to possess them, or kill them, or sleep with them. This makes sense, as why write a character into the world if you’re not going to have something very important happen to them? So, for example, like Neo in The Matrix.

-A Mary Sue, because it’s usually written by a neophyte author who’s been taught that characters need flaws, has some sort of melodramatic, angsty tragic back-story that, while on the surface seems to motivate them into action, because of lack of experience in creating a follow-through of emotional motivation, doesn’t actually affect their mental health or ability to trust or be happy or in love. For example, like the emotional arc of Neo in The Matrix.

– A Mary Sue saves the day. This goes back to that impulse to be the center of the story. Like Neo in The Matrix.

-And lastly, Mary Sues come from outside the group. They’re from the ‘real world’, like you and I, or have somehow discovered the hero’s secret identity and must be folded into the team, or are a new recruit, or are a sort of previously undiscovered stand-alone Chosen One. Like, for example, Neo in The Matrix.

Now, as I’ve said, there’s actually nothing inherently wrong with writing a Mary Sue. Neo is a Mary Sue, but The Matrix is still a really engaging and well written film. And simply by virtue of the fact that an individual with ingrained cultural foundations is writing a story, that story is inherently rooted in that writer’s lived life and experiences. As much as a writer may try to either highlight or downplay it, each character and story they create has some of themselves in it. The first impulse of storytelling is to talk about oneself. We write about ourselves, only the more we write, the more skilled we become at disguising the sliver of us-ness in a character, folding it into something different and unique. We, as storytellers, as humans, empathize with protagonists and fictional characters constantly – we love putting our feet into other people’s shoes. It’s how we understand and engage with the world.

And we as writers tap into our own emotions in order to describe them on the page. We take slices of our lives – our experiences, our memories, our friend’s verbal tics or hand gestures, aunt Brenda’s way of making tea, Uncle Rudy’s way having a pipe after dinner, that time Grannie got lost at the zoo – and we weave them together into a golem that we call a character, which comes to life with a bit of literary magic. I mean, allow me to be sparklingly reductionist for a second, but in the most basic sense, every character is a Mary Sue.

It’s just a matter of whether the writer has evolved to the point  in their craft that they’ve learned to animate that golem with the sliver of self-ness hidden deep enough that it is unrecognizable as self-ness, but still recognizable as human-ness.

For years, mainstream western media has featured characters that were primarily heterosexual, able bodied, neurotypical, white cismales. And, regrettably, because of that, this flavor of human is now assumed to be the default for a character. When people from other communities speak up requesting other flavours, for characters for whom the imbedded sliver of humanity remains just as poignant and relatable, but the outer shell is of a different variety, this is when that certain segment of the fan population looses their cool.

That certain segment of the fan population has been telling us for years that if we don’t like what we see on TV or in video games, or in books, or comics, or on the stage, that we should just go make our own stuff. And now we are.

“Make your own stuff,” they say, and then follow it up with: “What’s with all this political correctness gone wild? Uhg. This stuff is all just Mary Sue garbage.”

Well, yes. Of course it is. That’s the point.

But why are they saying it like that?

Because they mean it in a derogatory sense.

They don’t mean it in the way that Paula Smith meant it – a little bit belittling but mostly fun; a bemused celebration of why we love putting ourselves into the stories and worlds we enjoy. They don’t mean it the way that Willis means it – a deliberate and knowing way to shove the previously marginalized into the center. They don’t even mean it the way that I mean it in my own work - as a tool for carefully deconstructing and discussing character and narrative with a character and from within a narrative.

When a certain segment of the fan population talks about ‘Mary Sue’, they mean to weaponize it. To make it a stand-in for the worse thing that a character can be: bland, predictable, and too-perfect. Which, granted, many Mary Sues are. But not all of them. And a character doesn’t have to be a Mary Sue to be done badly, either.

When this certain segment of the fan population says ‘Mary Sue’, they’re trying to shame the creators for deviating from the norm - the white, the heterosexual, the able bodied, the neurotypical, the straight cismale.

When this certain segment of the population says ‘Mary Sue,’ what they’re really saying is: “I don’t believe people like this are interesting enough to be the lead character in a story.”

When this certain segment of the population says ‘Mary Sue,’ what they’re really saying is: “I don’t think there’s any need to listen to that voice. They’re not interesting enough.”

When this certain segment of the population says ‘Mary Sue,’ what they’re really saying is: “This character is not what I am used to a.k.a. not like me, and I’m gonna whine about it.”

When this certain segment of the population says ‘Mary Sue,’ what they’re really saying is: “Even though kids from all over the world, from many different cultural, religious and ethnic backgrounds have had to grow up learning to identify with characters who don’t look or think like them, identifying with characters who don’t look or think like me is hard and I don’t wanna.”

When this certain segment of the population says ‘Mary Sue,’ what they’re really saying is: ”Even though I’ve grown up in a position of privilege and power, and even though publishing and producing diverse stories with diverse casts doesn’t actually cut into the proportionate representation that I receive, and never will, I am nonetheless scared that I’ll never see people like me in media texts ever again.”

When this certain segment of the population says ‘Mary Sue,’ what they’re really saying is: “Considering my fellow human beings as fellow human beings worthy of having stories about them and their own experiences, in their own voices, is hard and I don’t wanna do it.”

When this certain segment of the population says ‘Mary Sue,’ what they’re really saying is: “I only want stories about me.”

They call leads ‘Mary Sues’ so people will stop writing them and instead write… well, their version of a ‘Mary Sue.’ The character that is representative of their lived experiences, their power and masturbatory fantasies, their physical appearance, their sexual awakenings, their cultural identity, their voice, their kind of narratives.

Missing, of course, that the point of revisionist and inclusive narratives aren’t to shove out previous incarnations, but to coexist alongside them. It’s not taking away one entrée and offering only another – it’s building a buffet.

Okay, so who actually cares if these trolls call these diverse characters Mary Sues?

Well, unfortunately, because this certain segment of the population have traditionally been the group most listened-to by the mainstream media creators and the big money, their opinions have power. (Never mind that they’re not actually the biggest group of consumers anymore, nor no longer the most vocal.)

So, this is where you come in.

You have the power to take the Mary Sue from the edge of the narrative and into the centre. And you do can do this by normalizing it. Think back to that author who didn’t think little black girls were allowed to be the heroes of fairy tales. Now imagine how much different her inner world, her imagination might have been at the stage when she was first learning to understand her own self-worth, if she had seen faces like hers on the television, in comics, in games, and on the written page every day of her life.

And not just one or two heroes, but a broad spectrum of characters that run the gamut from hero to villain, from fragile to powerful, from straight to gay, and every other kind of intersectional identity.

You have the power to give children the ability to see themselves.

Multi-faceted representation normalizes the marginalized.

And if you have the privilege to be part of the passing member of the mainstream, then weaponize your privilege. Refuse to work with publishers, or websites, or conventions that don’t also support diverse creators. Put diverse characters in your work, and do so thoughtfully and with the input of the people from the community you are portraying. And if you’re given the opportunity to submit or speak at an event, offer to share the microphone.

The first thing I did when actor Burn Gorman got a Twitter account was to Tweet him  my thanks for saving the world in Pacific Rim while on a cane. As someone who isn’t as mobile as the heroes I see in action films - who knows for a fact that when the zombie apocalypse comes I will not be a-able to outrun the monsters – it meant so much to me that his character was not only an integral and vital member of the team who cancelled the apocalypse, but also that not once in the film did someone call him a cripple, or tell him he couldn’t participate because of his disability, or leave him behind.

Diversity matters.

Not because it’s a trendy hashtag, or a way to sell media texts to a locked-down niche market, but because every single human being deserves to be told that they have a voice worth listening to; a life worth celebrating and showcasing in a narrative; a reality worth acknowledging and accepting and protecting; emotions that are worth exploring and validating; intelligence that is worth investing in and listening to; and a capacity to love that is worth adoring.

White, heterosexual, neurotypical, able-bodied cismales are not the only people on the planet who are human.

And you have a right to tell your story your way.

Calling something a ‘Mary Sue’ in order to dismiss it out of hand, as an excuse to hate something before even seeing it, is how the trolls bury your Narrative and your Identity.  We are storytellers, all of us. Every person in this room. Whether your wheel house is in fiction, or academia, or narrative non-fiction, we impart knowledge and offer experience through the written word, through the telling of tales, through leading a reader from one thought to another.

And we none of deserve to be shouted down, talked over, or dismissed. No one can tell you that your story isn’t worth telling. Of course it is. It’s yours.

And don’t let anyone call your characters, or your work, or you a ’Mary Sue’ in the derogatory sense ever again. Or I am going to scream.

#J.M. Frey #Words for Writers #Writing Advice #Writing Community #writer #am writing #voice #how to #writblr #writeblr

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audreyannerp · 5 years

Text

Lola Leads

(A roleplay between @askaudreyanne / @audreyannerp and @red-rad-and-rod . It doesn’t have a real ending, but, here we gooooo.) - It was finally starting to look and feel like springtime in Michigan. The seemingly sporadic weather seemed to have finally settled on a warmer temperature. There were no more snowfalls coming out of nowhere and the plants were becoming more lively by the day. The grass was green and dusted with flecks of other colors as the flowers began to bloom. A certain freckled redhead by the name of Audrey had been looking forward to this day, more so for her furry friend than herself. Lola, a scruffy-looking mixed breed about the size of a beagle, had been Audrey's Christmas gift to herself. As such, she had never seen the local park, with the weather as cold as it was. Now, however, the young dog trotted happily next to her owner, or rather, a little ahead. She was quite the excitable one and still had trouble walking calmly with her master. It didn't help matters that she was finally getting to see a new setting and was eager to see and smell everything in the immediate vicinity. Though it took an uncountable number of pit stops, the two made it to the park. The young woman found a bench and sat down, reaching into her bag to get out a bottle of water and a doggy dish. After pouring her pet a drink and taking a sip for herself, she pet her dog's floppy ears. “That was a long walk, huh, girl?” The dog didn't respond, but simply lapped up the water vigorously. “Yeah. Can't blame ya for being thirsty,” the redhead giggled. Lola stopped to look up at Audrey, wagging her tail for a moment, before looking into the distance. Before she had a chance to respond, the dog had shot off in a blur of brown and white, taking her leash with her. “Ack! Lola! Come here, girl!”

- "I'm bored" J.C. looked over from his spot, a bench fairly close to one of the two play structures, and scoffed gently. Both Mum and Dad had work today, so lo and behold, he was tasked with watching his little sisters. No big deal, really; might as well do his standard thing and take them to the park to tire them out. Usually made for a fairly easy time afterwards. Seemed like that wasn't the case today, at least with one of them. "Syd, we've only been here for about half an hour, how can you be bored already?" Syd, currently laying on the grass near him, blew a bit of hair out of her face as a response. "You haven't even done all that much; save for surveying the play structure, checking out the swings, and nearly getting sick on the little roundabout. You tired or something? Still a bit dizzy from spinning around super fast." "No." J.C. shrugged, letting out a sigh. "Theeeen I don't know what to tell ya, kid. You can hang with me and have a boring time ooooor you can go play." He looked up to catch a glimpse at the younger of the sisters, Kat, looking like she was having a blast on the swings. "What about the swings?" "Kat's on them, and she's talkin' with another kid. Knowing them, they're gonna be on there for hours. An' there's a line for the rest of the swings...I could just go over, push some of the other kids outta the way, and jump the queue..." Syd looked to her brother, a sort of defeated look on her face, "but if I do, then you'll make me sit on one of the benches and 'think about what I did' and 'how wrong it is'." "Preeeeetty much, kiddo. Laws of the playground, can't exactly break 'em." Syd had a small chuckle at the comment, before starting to focus on something. "Y'see that?" J.C. looked in the same direction. "What?" "There's something coming in our direction....kinda small...really fast...." Suddenly, the ten-year-old let out an excited gasp. Kind of small and really fast? That usually meant... "PUPPYYYYYYYY!!!" - Despite the clear excitement of the child, Lola opted to focus her attention on the young man. She bounded over to the bench and promptly placed her front paws on his knees as she 'danced' excitedly for attention, tail wagging a mile a minute. The dog was scruffy-looking, but clearly not a stray. Aside from the collar and leash dangling from her neck, she was clearly cared for with a healthy weight and a shiny clean coat. What's more, she looked too cute for someone not to take her in. Her markings, shades of brown with a white face and underbelly, were beautiful, while her pale blue eyes practically sparkled, and her cute little pink nose was too much to resist! Audrey followed a short distance behind, putting those athletic legs of hers to work. The redhead dashed past the swing set, quickly addressing the girl Kat was talking to. “Hi, Jenna! Bye, Jenna!” With that out of the way, she continued to call for her dog. “Looooolaaaaa!” - Kat, a little confused, looked to Jenna. "You know 'er?" Jenna laughed, "Know her? I can tell you all about her...." (....) At the sound of Syd shouting, J.C. jumped a little. Jeez, she could be loud sometimes...what was that all abo...ooooh, a puppy. Of course. From what he could tell, they had a leash, tags, and they weren't some hulking looking thing (even if it was, Syd'd still go nuts. Something as big as a Newfie, she'd risk getting bowled over, regardless). Eh, as long as he kept an eye on the two of them, it shouldn't be an issu- wait, why was the dog coming towards him? Ignoring the small "Heeeey!" from Syd, J.C. looked down and gave the little dog a smile. "Heeeey there, little bit." he chuckled, "Who'd you get away from, eh?" Hearing the sound of "Looooooolaaaaaaa!", Syd pointed it the direction of where it was coming from. "Prooooobably the person shouting 'er name?" "Ah, good call." J.C. shouted back, "Over 'ere!" - The canine rested her head on his knee for a moment before she perked up at the sound of her owner growing closer. While she was happy to see her, the dog didn't approach, merely faced her with a wagging tail. “Lolaaaa,” Audrey, started with a lecturing tone, “you can't run off like that. You could get hurt.” Lola lowered her head in apology as her owner took the leash once more. “I'm sorry about her. She's still a bit of a puppy.” Lola looked up at the two of them talking, tail wagging. - J.C. chuckled, giving Lola a little pat on the head, "Mischevious little thing, aren't ya? Worrying your Mummy like that..." He looked to Audrey. "Cute little dog you've got there. Lola, was it? That's her name?" - Audrey giggled. "Thank you. Yes, this is Lola," she gestured, 'introducing' them. She may have left things at that, but the accent got her curious. "I'm gonna go out on a limb and say you're not from around here. Like, not even somewhat close to around here." - "Nnnnnnope!" piped up Syd, moving next to her brother. "We're from WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY across the Atlantic. ....Or...whatever degree of "way" Bristol is." - Audrey jolted slightly, not having noticed the child in the scramble for her dog. Placing a hand to her chest, she let out a wheezy laugh. "I'd say that's pretty far. Also, diggin' the hair. What are you two doing all the way over here?" - "Work." J.C. answered, "Dad works for one of those international companies, and often times, we end up coming with. Kind of like a mini-holiday, I guess you could call it." "Aaaaand 'cos he and Mum each had something they needed to take care of, we got to go to the park with this guy right here!" Syd added. - Lola looked at the child, tail wagging as she looked at her expectantly. "Ahh. That makes sense." She paused, raising a brow. "We?" - Syd giggled at Lola, "Silly puppy..." "Yup," J.C. tossuled Syd's hair a little bit, "This one right here is Syd, aaaand my other little sister should be on the swings..." he looked towards the swing and could see a blur of blonde, pink, and purple. Yep, that was her. Cool, she hadn't moved...save for the back and forth motion of the swing, but..."Yup, Kat's on the swings." "I'm 10 aaaand Kat's 8." Syd added. - "You can pet her, if you want," she smiled at Syd. "She's a friendly dog, albeit rowdy at times." Audrey turned to look towards the swing. "Ahhh. I knew there was a reason I didn't recognize her," she turned back to J.C. "I have a good reputation as a babysitter, so I've gotten to know a lot of the kids around here. For example," she pointed back towards the swings with her thumb. "That's Jenna talking to your sister. She has a baby brother on the way." - Syd's eyes lit up like it was Chrtistmas morning. Giving Audrey a quiet "Thank yoooou", she went about gently petting Lola, all the while quietly going "Puuuuuppy, puppy, puppy, puppy, puppyyyyyyyyyy....." J.C. snickered at his sister before turning to Audrey. "Aaah. Baby brother on the way, eh? That oughta be fun." - Lola rolled onto her back, exposing her underbelly as her tongue lulled out. “Yeah. I don't have any siblings myself, but I do have five younger cousins who were over at our house pretty often. Actually, that's the reason I don't have any siblings,” she snickered. “Enough kids in the house as it was.” - J.C. laughed, "Kind of sounds like our place, at least around the holidays. Syd and Kat can be a handful, but add...I don't know, at least five to ten other kids to the mix- anywhere from two years old to well into their teenage years- and it's...something, alright." "Exhausting?" Syd asked, "Is that 'cos we'll drag you outside to play?" "...To be honest, I'd rather be out with you guys than having to deal with relatives asking a number of questions." he snickered. - "Good golly, Miss Molly! That's a lot of kids! I sure hope the other adults help out, at least a little bit. I mean; I love kids, but even I need a break here and there." She chuckled. "It still is sweet of you to play with them, regardless of the awkward questions with the older relatives. Let me guess... 'How's school? Work? Are you seeing anyone? Thinking about marriage? Kids? What's in your future?' "

- J.C. chuckled, nodding. "Preeeeeetty much. At least with kids, they ask you things like what your favorite dinosaur is." "It's a brachiosaurus." Syd loudly whispered. "It most certainly is. There's usually a 'tag out' system in place, so I do get to have some 'grown up' time...speaking of questions, I....don't think we've actually officially introduced ourselves. I'm J.C., and you are?" - Audrey giggled at the dinosaur comment. “Oh, how rude of me,” she held a hand to her chest before holding it out to shake. “I'm Audrey, born and raised Michigan citizen,” she smiled widely, revealing her large front teeth. “Is this your first time here? I could recommend some good spots to visit.” - "Charmed," J.C. responded, smiling as he shook her hand. "It is...we actually came across this place by accident, so...any help or tips are greatly appreciated." - Taking her hand back, she held two fingers to her head and mock saluted. “Can do! Now, let me just think a moment here...” She put her chin in her hand as she thought. “Well, when it comes to free entertainment, you've already found one of our parks. As for spending a little cash, you can't come to Michigan and not try a Coney Dog. It's a shame you didn't come in the summer, since that's when you can get the best Coneys from Timmy's Coneys. Old Timmy only sets up shop in summer, but there are restaurants you can get them from year round.” - "Aaaah, drat. I'll have to make a note of that...if it's open only during one time of the year, they must be pretty good." "What's a coney dog?" Syd asked, "'Cos all I'm picturing is, like...you put it in an ice cream cone and put regular hot dog stuff on it." - “An ice cream cone? What makes you think- Ohhhhh, coney dog. Nahh. It's short for Coney Island Hot Dog. Basically, they take this specific kind of hot dog and top it with this meat sauce; not chili. It's something else. Anyway, it's usually topped with a heaping helping of onions and mustard. You can get them plain too though. Some people like theirs with cheese.” - "Ooooooooooooh." Syd blinked, "I don't know, I kind of like my idea more." J.C. scoffed lightly and shook his head. Kids could be such weirdos sometimes. "Well, even if we can't get them specifically from Timmy's Coneys , is that something that you'd be willing to eat after we're done here?" Syd nodded enthusiastically. "I think Kat would, too, 'cos it doesn't have green stuff on it. At least, from the sounds of it." "You want to go and ask her?" Syd gave the two a salute and ran off, yelling "PLAY NICE, YOU TWO!" to the pair. J.C. laughed, "We weren't...! Aaaaaand she's gone. Dang, she's fast." - Lola watched as Syd ran off. There goes the person giving her attention... Oh well. She rolled back over onto her stomach and closed her eyes. Audrey laughed as well, taking a seat next to J.C. on the bench. “Your sister seems like a hoot and a half! I'm guessing she keeps you on your toes, huh?” - "Tiptoes is more like it." he responded, smirking a bit. "She's a character, I will give her that." - She chuckled. “I've known kids like that; like real life versions of Calvin from Calvin & Hobbes... You ever read that comic?” - "Oh, yeeeah! I read those all the time when I was a bit younger. Still do, occasionally. ...Although, I read them in French first, then went to English once my grasp on the language improved a bit..." - Audrey cocked her head to the side. Didn't his sister say they lived in Bristol? “French?” - "....Ah, right, right..." He cleared his throat a little, "See, I'm....not originally from England. Syd and Kat's mum and dad are my adoptive mum and dad. Been so since I was around 2 years old. I'm originally from France." - She slowly raised her head and lowered it as she let out a drawn out, “Ohhhhhhh.” Rather than pry for details, she simply smiled and said, “I'm glad you were able to get adopted at a young age. Adapt to your new family faster and all that. I've thought about adopting myself, but I think it's a little early to think about that sort of thing. I don't even have a boyfriend right now,” she laughed. - He gave her a smile back, as a silent way of saying thanks. "I'm thinking of doing the same, honestly. I mean, I'm happy either way- adoption or otherwise., but...kind of in the same boat; just out of school, no girlfriend...all that fun stuff." - “Not often I see a man who openly admits to wanting kids,” she giggled, nudging him with her elbow. “Shame you live across the ocean,” she joked with a wink. - J.C. chuckled, a little bit of a awkward/nervous edge to it. "Haha, yeah. It kind of be nice to have a couple of my own...I mean, there's Syd and Kat, but they're my sisters. Having a kid be your own's a little different." - “Ah, I'm just messing with you,” Audrey smiled, hoping he didn't think she was actually hitting on him. “I would imagine so. Speaking of, I wonder what those two are talking about. With how fast Syd sprinted off, you'd think she'd be back by now.” - "That's a good question...I don't hear any sort of screaming or yelling, so they're not fighting..." He snickered, "Maybe she got distracted and now they're both on the swings?" - Audrey shrugged. “Maybe. I don't mind though. I'm totally free today, so I don't mind waiting... Though I suppose those two don't have to be here for the directions. Would you rather I just tell you where to go and get out of your hair?” - "If you want; you're welcome to hang around if you don't have anywhere to be today. Besides, I think the minute Syd mentions the word 'puppy' to Kat, she'll come running over." - Audrey snickered. “I think I'll stay. Lola loves attention, I love kids, and you seem pretty nice~” - J.C. couldn't help but blush a little. "I, um....I try, heh..." All of a sudden, a more high-pitched "PUPPYYYYYYYYYY!!" came from the playground. Aaaaah, there it was...a "Kat, wait up!!" followed shortly. "Speaking of kids, sounds like Syd mentioned the 'P' word...." - “Sounds like it,” she agreed, making sure she had a firm hold on Lola's leash. Lola had perked up at the sound of the shout and was now wagging her tail eagerly, whining impatiently for what she was sure would be more attention. - Pretty soon, a little blonde girl dressed in pink and purple had joined the pair. She looked to the redhead, smiling. "Sooooo, you're Audrey, right? Jenna's been tellin' me about you." Shortly after Kat had arrived, Syd turned up, out of breath. "Easy, kiddo. Take a sec and rest." he told the smaller redhead. Syd did just that, walking over to the other open space on the bnch and plopping down with an "Oof!" "An' Syd says you've got a puppy. Can I pet her, please?" - “Mm-hm,” Audrey smiled warmly at the blonde. “And you're Kat?” Lola was currently on her hind legs, trying to pull away to reach Kat, whining all the while. “I don't think I have a choice here,” she laughed, gesturing for Kat to come over. - "Yep!" She nodded, skipping a little closer. "Hiiiiiii, puppyyyyy~!" "The name's Lola." Syd piped up. "Hiiii, Lolaaaaa~!" - Lola wagged her tail as she excitedly sniffed at the newcomer. Deciding she liked the child, the dog gave her a few licks. “She's a friendly one, isn't she? I like your outfit, by the way. Pink and purple are my favorite colors~” - "Uh-huuuuuh." Kat giggled, as Lola showed her affection. "Mine too!" - “Neat!” While Audrey was curious as to what Jenna said about her, she decided keeping the focus on the dog would make more sense. “I got her from the local shelter. The people working there said she's a mixed breed, but weren't sure what all is in her. They think she might have a bit of Border Collie in her though.” - "Oooo, Border Collie, eh?" Kat looked to J.C., "That's not one of those super big dogs, right?" J.C. smirked, "Yeeees, and I know what you're asking. You know my answer already." "Dang it." - “I'm guessing you've been wanting a dog? I know the feeling,” she smiled sympathetically. “Lola here is my first dog and I've just recently turned twenty four years old! My family's house could get so chaotic at times that a dog just seemed like it would be too much, despite my asking. Figures my parents would adopt their own dog not long after I went to college.” She shrugged. “Oh well. At least the two get along.” - Both kids looked at Audrey. Twenty-four? "...No way, you look way too young." Syd spoke up. J.C. couldn't help but laugh a little. "Syd, twenty four's not old. Nowhere near it." "You only say that 'cos you're twenty three." Kat added. "Twenty four in August, though. Point is, early to mid twenties is not old." - Audrey giggled, taking 'look way too young' as a compliment. “I sure hope not! I want to be married with kids before I'm old!” - "Human years don't work like dog years, you two." J.C. chuckled. "If that were the case, Syd would be anywhere from 56 to 78 years old." Kat snickered. J.C. looked to the little girl, "And you'd be somewhere from 48 to 64 years old, depending on breed." Syd tilted her head, looking at her sister. "Soooooo, what kinda dog d'you think she'd be? One o' those yappy little chihuahuas?" Kat gave her sister a cheeky smile, "You're probably one of those big, bumbling ones that slobbers a lot." J.C. sighed quietly, seeing where this conversation was going. "Okay, you two, tone it down a bit." - Audrey chuckled. She knew where this was going... and just how to stop it. "My parents have one of those; a little chihuahua, I mean. I should have a video of her playing with Lola on my phone, if you two can get along long enough to watch it." - Ah, Audrey was pulling out the big guns...puppy videos! Dang it, she knew one of their weaknesses! Looking begrudgingly to each other, smiling a semi-forced smile, the sisters slowly side-hugged each other in a "See? Friends!" sort of way. - She could tell the two weren't happy, but they got an A for effort. “Alrighty~ Let me just get out my phone real quick.” Digging through her purse (which she had thankfully kept on before she ran after Lola), she soon pulled out her phone, which had a unique cover. The cover was pink in color, with a pattern of purple hearts and teddy bears, as well as rhinestones scattered throughout. “Oh yeah! I'm still getting used to that,” she showed them the phone. “My cousin made this case for my birthday. Isn't it neat?!” - Syd and Kat were like a pair of puppies themselves, watching as Audrey pulled out her phone. If their ears could've perked up, they would have- the case was so cute! "Uh-huuuuuuuh." J.C. had to chuckle a bit; he didn't really know whether it was the shininess of the phone case or the promise of watching dogs playing together, but the way his sisters looked right now was pretty funny. - Audrey chuckled. “Alright alright. Enough of that. Onto the video~” Scrolling through her gallery, she found what she was looking for, turned up the brightness and volume, then pointed the screen towards the girls as she pressed play. The video started with a view of Lola and a small white chihuahua with semi long fur. The two dogs were sharing a rope toy, each with an end in their mouth. While the chihuahua tugged with all her might, Lola simply stayed still, tail wagging as she watched the smaller dog try to take the toy. “I don't think Daisy's getting that toy any time soon,” Audrey's voice could be heard from behind the camera. “Let's give her a break. Lola, come here, girl!” Rather than drop the toy and come to her master, Lola instead dragged the toy and the chihuahua over to her, resulting in cackles from those off screen. - The once squabbling siblings immediately quieted down and watched the video intently. It almost seemed like the two were in some sort of trance, giggling almost simultaneously. J.C. shook his head, amused at the girls and the dogs. - The video ended and Audrey chuckled. “Yeah. They're a hoot, alright! You want to see some pictures?” - Cue a simultaneous nod from the sisters.

- "Alrighty~" She brought up her photo album for Lola and Daisy and proceeded to flip through it. - Both girls giggled at the sight of the two. "Note to self: when these two start squabbling, find cute puppy pictures." J.C. mumbled, pretending to scribble on an invisible notepad. - Audrey giggled, then snorted. She proceeded to cover up her nose, bashful. - J.C. giggled at...well, Audrey's giggle; it was so cute! - She cleared her throat, as if to clear the awkwardness she felt away, and moved on to flip through the pictures. She had quite a few of them. “I could send you some, if you want. Though I suppose I would need your email for that.” - E-mail? Huh...that...must mean that she wanted to keep in contact?? Not that he minded, of course. It was just...they'd only JUST met. Or maybe it was because if he didn't have them, Syd and Kat would constantly be begging to go back to Michigan, just so they could find Audrey and have her show pictures of Daisy and Lola. "Uuuuuh, sure!" he said, trying not to chuckle awkwardly. First time a pretty girl had asked for his e-mail. "Do you, um...want me to type it in on your phone as a little note, or...?" - She really hadn't put much thought into it when she'd said it, but she soon realized the implications of what she'd said. Oops. Not that she would mind keeping in contact... She thought for a moment, then smiled. “Sure thing!” she said as she opened up her notes app and handed it to him. “If you get an email from 'teddy bear lover,' it's me.” - J.C. gave her a nod and quickly typed in his e-mail address. "Aaaaand if you get a response from...." His...e-mail was a liiiittle embarrasing, he thought. He had made it when he was about Syd's age, so... "...well, this, then it's me." "Bluerangerbaguette714"....seemed like a good idea at the time. He liked Power Rangers, he liked baguettes, and 7/14 was an important holiday in France. "I, uh...haven't updated it yet. Made it when I was about 10 or 11...." he chuckled nervously, face turning a bit pink. - Audrey looked at the email address and had to make a great effort not to laugh. She was trying so hard, her body was actually shaking slightly. “Makes sense,” her voice came out as a squeak. “My dad helped me pick mine so I wouldn't be embarrassed late-her-her-her!” So much for not laughing. “I'm sorr-ee-hee-hee!” - Eeeeeh, he should've seen that coming. Way to go, 10-11 year old J.C. ...Buuuuut at least he could laugh at himself. He joined in on the laughter; a little awkward at first, but it started to sound more natural as he went on laughing. "It is kind of ridiculous, looking back on it." he admitted. - Audrey held a hand to her face, trying to stifle the laughter. “It's not that funny! I just told myself not to laugh and that made it hilarious!” Her laughter did die down to a snicker and Lola looked at the two in confusion. - "I mean, if you imagine something like..." he began to "demonstrate" a few Power Rangers-like poses and trying to say random things in French as epically as he could, "...while thinking of it, then...I mean, that's usually what I think of anytime I read that." - She snickered a few more times at the poses. “As someone who knows karate, that just makes it more hilarious.” - Syd snickered at her brother. "You're a dork, J.C." "The dorkiest~" he responded. "The dorkiest in all the la- wait a sec...karate??" Syd asked, turning her focus to karate. "You knowkarate??" - “Mm-hm~” she nodded. “I may not be the violent type, but karate is good for blowing of steam and is a good confidence booster. I may not be the brightest, but at least I can raise my foot above my head.” She smiled awkwardly. “That's what I like to tell myself, anyway.” - "Show me!!" Syd said, bouncing on her heels excitedly, "Please??" - “Raise my foot above my head? Sure!” She stood up from her seat on the bench and proceeded to do a few stretches before lifting her leg almost completely vertically. “Don't try this at home, kids. Not without lots of practice, anyway.” - All 3 Malones (Syd, mainly-followed by J.C. and Kat in terms of intensity) went wide eyed. "Hoooooly crud!" Syd gasped, awestruck. - Audrey chuckled and brought her leg back down. “Yeah. I've been practicing this sort of stuff since I was a kid.” - "Not to brag, but..." Syd dusted off her knuckles, "I, uh....I do a bit of karate myself." "I don't think what you do is actually karate," Kat piped up, "I think that's more like flailing about." Syd "hmmph"ed, took a few steps back, and demonstrated some of her "moves". - “Hmmm... I'd say that was more... avant-garde karate than traditional karate.” Translation: You're not very good, but I don't want to hurt your feelings. - Syd smirked at her sister. "See? She knows talent when she sees it." - Audrey simply smiled and nodded. Best not to break her confidence. She'd offer to teach her some moves, but she doubted she'd see the trio again anytime soon. - "Whateeeever you say." Kat mumbled quietly, rolling her eyes at her sister. " 'S gonna come in handy when I get a job when I'm older." Syd added. "...What was that again?" J.C. asked. With Syd, it changed just about every couple of weeks. "Circus performer/bodyguard/secret agent...with a penthouse." - "I'm guessing you're aiming for a more physical line of work then? Can't blame ya. I'm a personal trainer myself." - "Oooo, that sounds like a good idea, too! Maybe add that to the list..." J.C. chuckled, "With a physique like that, I wouldn't be surprised." Maybe that was a little too forward? He coughed, and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, "Good surprised, though. You, ah...I imagine you're very skilled at your job- helping people with getting into shape. - “My physique? You haven't even seen me out of these clothes,” she laughed, before realizing what she said. “N-not like that!” she stammered. “I meant out of these specific clothes! My workout clothes show more.” - "I, um...I'd hope so? N-not in a weird way! Just....so you don't get overheated or anything; speeding up the dehydration process while exercising is rather risky, and..." His voice began to trail off, "I'm...gonna stop talking now...I...made it awkward..." Syd looked between the two, smirking a bit to herself. Super friendly to each other AND awkward when they think they've made a misstep? Oooo, was Cupid nearby~? - “No, no; it's fine,” she chuckled. “I know what you meant. It's good to dress for your workout; don't overheat or sweat up your regular clothes.” She sat back down and began petting Lola. “Though I know some prefer the less revealing clothes. I used to be the same. Took me a while to get past some of my self esteem issues, y'know? You just gotta get a breathable material.” - J.C. nodded, understanding the "self-esteem issue" thing all too well. Not really wanting to dive into that (mainly because...well, come on, he and Audrey had just met), he focused more on the breathable fabric thing."Yeah. That way it's like...when a person's all done workin' out for the day, they're not dripping with sweat or smelling like an old pair of socks." - Audrey snickered. “Depends on your definition of a workout. That's why we have showers at the gym~” She paused for a moment. “Weren't we talking about stuff to do in Michigan? How'd we get here?” she laughed. - Oh thank goodness, the subject changed. He laughed, "Dunno, that's actually a really good question..." "Can I go back an' play now?" Kat asked. "Go for it." J.C. told her, giving her a small nod and taking a glance at his watch. " 'Bout 30 more minutes, alright? I want to get you guys fed, too." "Can we get those coney dogs??" Syd asked. J.C. shrugged, "Yeah, sure. Probably the only time we're going to be able to get them, so why not?" "Sweet!" Syd gave Lola a quick pet before running back to the playground. "Last one there's a rotten egg!" she called to Kat. The little blonde mimicked her sister's actions, instead yelling "Bye, Audrey! It was nice to meet you!" "What she said!!" Syd shouted back. - “Same to you!” she called out before relaxing back against the bench. “They seemed nice~ I should probably give you directions before I forget.” She proceeded to dig through her purse. “I'm sure I have a pen and paper in here somewhere... Also; while it's not limited to Michigan, it seems to be a northern U.S. thing. If you can find Blue Moon ice cream, go ahead and try some. I can't really describe the flavor, but I love the stuff. If you've ever had Superman ice cream, it's basically the blue part in that.” - J.C. chuckled. "They try. Kind of nice that they're screaming more from running around than fighting. Iiii...don't think I've had that flavour before, but with a name like 'Superman', that might sound like something Syd'll like. May as well try some Blue Moon just for the heck of it, y'know?" - Having pulled a notebook and a pen, Audrey proceeded to jot down the directions. “Yup yup! Always nice to try something new~” In addition to the directions, she jotted down a few other places they could look into while in Michigan. - "Haha, yeah. I should tell that to Kat, or as I call her: 'Little Miss No-Greens'. She'll eat her fruits and veg, yeah, but only if they aren't green. ...Good thing it's 'Blue Moon' ice cream and not...'Green Moon'." Okay, so that was kind of a lame joke, but hey. Glancing over at her writing, he smiled a bit. Not only writing down the names of places, but directions, too! "...Forgive me if this sounds a bit weird, but...you have really nice handwriting." - Audrey chuckled at the green moon joke, then giggled at the compliment of her handwriting. “Not weird,” she assured as she bashfully played with her hair, twirling a short curl around her finger. It was nice to get a compliment on something that wasn't her physique. “I take a lot of notes. Helps me remember things.” - He nodded, "Always good, always good. Nothing worse than having something super important you need to do or get, then completely forgetting to. Like... 'don't forget the milk....don't forget the milk....wait, what was I getting?...Ah, crud! I forgot the milk!" - Audrey snickered. “Yeah. That's why I write everything down,” she flipped through her notebook to show page upon page of notes. “I've had friends ask how I got them the perfect gift, and I'm like, 'Remember how you were talking about that thing three months ago? Yeah. I wrote it down.'” She flipped a page and twirled her pen. “Speaking of, how do you spell your sisters' names? I wanna write them down. Yours too... I'm imagining there's more to your name than a J and a C.“ - "I should start doing that," he noted, "Did it a lot more while I was still in school, but having recently graduated, eeeeh....not so much. Would be good to get back into the habit." At the "more than a J and a C" comment, he chuckled. "I would hope so, otherwise my parents were very lazy. It's short for Jean-Claude: J-E-A-N, dash ,C-L-A-U-D-E. Syd's is S-Y-D-N-E-Y, and Kat's is K-A-T-R-I-N-A." - “A-ha! It's a good thing I asked,” she proceeded to write the names down. “I definitely would have spelled those wrong otherwise. You never know; that Greg could be spelled with two Gs at the end or something.” - "Haha, yeah! Or the 'Christopher' that you pass by every day spells it as 'K-R-I-S-T-O-F-F-E-R." he replied, offering an example. - “Oh goodness. That reminds me of a comedian talking about names who said he met a girl named Amy, but it was spelled A-Y-M-I-E. I think it was Brian Regan.” - J.C. had to laugh, "Or you get a name that has about seven different consonants all piled together, but it's pronounced as 'Jim'." - Audrey snickered. "Okay; now you're just making stuff up." - J.C. gave her a cheeky smile. "Maaaaybe just a little, yeah." - “Your sister was right. You are a dork,” she grinned. - "Now if only being a dork was a profession." he snickered, "I'm overqualified." - “You'd have some stiff competition. I've memorized at least half the recent My Little Pony songs word for word. And let's not forget all the Disney songs.” - "If it's any consolation, I do a meeeean rendition of 'I Just Can't Wait to Be King'...granted, I'm always designated as Zazu, but hey." J.C. shrugged, "Now my 'Winter Wrap Up' can use a bit of work, but..." - He knew My Little Pony too? Nice! Audrey grinned before softly singing one of Nala's lines. “No one saying be there~” - Cue him responding with a "No one saying 'Stop that!' " - “No one saying seeee heeeere~” She jokingly thought that, if he joined her on that line, he must be her soulmate. - He did indeed, laughing a bit as he did so. - Audrey laughed as well, unable to believe he actually did it. “Oh, wow. You're the first guy who's ever sung Disney with me... Well, besides kids... and my dad... Okay; the first adult male who isn't related to me.” - J.C. shrugged, smiling, "Hey, you have to admit that they are pretty catchy, so it's kind of hard not to. ...Well, that and it's pretty fun to sing along to stuff, anyway." - She nodded in agreement. “It's a little different when you're in front of other people though.” She rubbed her arm, smiling bashfully. “I'm usually a bit shy with that sort of thing, but, I dunno, you seem... safe? for lack of a better word. Like, I don't imagine you would make fun of me. Then again, we did just meet, but, eh,” she shrugged. “just a feeling.” - 'Safe', awwww~ That was kind of the way he felt about her, too. His heart felt like it was burning with something. Not heartburn or anything like that, but more like...some warm affection-type feelings. They appeared to be past the level of acquaintance and more on the level of "friends who hadn't seen each other in years"...which was kind of strange, since they'd just met. Best not to question it, though.... He gave her a gentle smile, "It sucks being on the end where you get laughed at. I know from experience, it's...not the best feeling. So I make it a point not to do that to others, y'know? Break the cycle, treat others how you want to be, something along those lines..." - “Woof,” Audrey exhaled, looking towards the sky. “Tell me about it. I was prime bully bait as a kid. Not only did I have plenty to make fun of, I cried really easy, so they always got a reaction.” - J.C. mimicked Audrey's actions, "My main 'points of fault', I say with heavy emphasis on the air quotes, were the fact that I was still learning English, my accent- a lot heavier at the time- my glasses... the list goes on and on." - She sat back up and pointed to her front teeth, which were fairly large in comparison to the rest of her teeth. “You see these? This is after I've grown into them.” She paused for a moment, looking confused. “Who makes fun of a French-English accent?!” she exclaimed as she threw her hands up. “Those are, like, the best accents to have!” - "At least they weren't missing...? I know that's not a lot of help, but..." he pointed to his, "These two are actually fake. Got my two adult teeth knocked clean out when I was a little older than Syd. Took a while to get the implants, so..." he blew a bit of air out of his nose, "Bet you can guess how well that went over with the little buttmunches that were in my class. The real kicker was when I finally got them and sounded like Daffy Duck for a solid month and a half." He rubbed the back of his neck, "That....probably isn't much help, and I don't mean to make it sound like I'm taking the conversation away from you, but...I dunno, that whole 'safe' feeling you said you have with me kind of...extends over from me to you, too." - “Cheese on a cracker!” Audrey exclaimed with a hand to her chest. “That's horrible! How on earth did they manage that; a hammer?!” She waved her hands. “Oh no no no no. It's fine. I'm talking to you, not at you.” - He gave her a nod, a sort of not verbal way of saying "I understand", before continuing. "More like running into a tree...going down a hill on a bike...at near full speed....as part of a dare from a couple of older boys. The bit they forgot to mention was that I had to jump off the bike before it hit." He sighed, shaking his head, "Y'know, part of that was my fault for taking the dare, but...11 year old me didn't want them thinkin' I was a chicken or anything." He smirked, another thought occurring to him, "Althooooough....I knew one of the older kids, so before I went home, I went to his house first and showed his parents- who knew my parents and were good friends with them- what happened." - Audrey grimaced, recoiling at the thought of such a stunt. “I'm sure that was a delight for them to see,” she shuddered before shaking her head to rid herself of the thought. “My dad actually had to have a veneer in high school. He got in a fight, something he never does, because the guy made my mom cry. They barely knew each other at the time, but Dad was smitten with her from day one. Anyway, he was beaten to a pulp and lost a chunk of tooth, but he married my mom in the end so... yaaaayyy...” she waved her hands. - "Ooof..." J.C. had to cringe at the thought, "Buuuut...I guess in the end, it all worked out? Better than my parents. ...I'm...not 100% sure of how my birth parents met, but my current ones...that's a different story. Short and skinny is that they knew each other as kids, Mum was a right pillock to Dad, she moved away, then they re-united in uni and I guess...everything worked out? Apologies, burying the hatchet, all that good stuff." - “Huh,” she shrugged, “Fair enough.” She paused to look down at Lola. “I wonder if she knew we would get along somehow. Like some sort of doggy sixth sense. I mean, out of all the people in the park, she went straight for you.” - He chuckled, "I dunno...I mean, the same tends to happen when people ask me to hold their babies and they're all smiles and whatnot. I don't even do much, other than give them a 'Hey, what's up, little darlin'?' or 'Salut, petit lapin!' and I'm getting this few-toothed smile." He stopped and thought for a second, "I mean...people aren't handing me babies all the time, but...you get what I mean, right?" - Audrey tittered at the thought. “Come, Julia! We must find a kind stranger to hold our baby!” - J.C. started to go into a giggle fit, trying to picture the scenario. - Audrey did as well. Meanwhile... While Edward wasn't the boss, he was well respected in his workplace. He was a hard worker and had been with the company for over twenty years. He knew the inner workings of things and could navigate the building blindfolded. While he may not be the most social, he was certainly polite and was sure to greet the employee from their English branch. “Roger Malone, was it?” the exceedingly tall man inquired, holding out his hand to shake. - New country, new people...at least it's the same company? Albeit, a different branch, but...stiiill the same company, so not all that much should be that different. Kind of wished that Reggie or Eric had come along, that way I'd at least know someone... "Roger Malone, was it?" came a voice. Snapping out of his little funk, the Englishman smiled in the direction it was coming from. Ah! Now time to match a voice to a faaaaa....hoooooly moley, this guy was huge! Was...was that who that voice belonged to? Only one way to find out.... "Aaah, yes! Yes, that's me." he chuckled, "I know I have a few names I was supposed to remember, so I'm going to take a stab in the dark, and say yooooou're..." David? Jack? Not a Sandra, that was for sure... "...Edward?" - "First try; impressive. Edward Davis; yes," he nodded. "I believe the meeting is in," he checked his watch, "about fifteen minutes. So you should have time to learn your way around or stop by the breakroom. There may still be a doughnut or two, if you hurry." - Roger gave him a nod. Sure, this guy seemed really intimidating, but...it wasn't like he was trying to assert his dominance over him? Nothing like "Move it, peasant, there are doughnuts with MY name on it in the breakroom." "Duly noted...perhaps a little stroll around, then, ah...get down to business, eh?" Totally nailed that office small talk. - Edward simply nodded, not acknowledging the awkwardness. He could be awkward himself, when out of his element. “I'll leave you to it then. If you need help with anything, Sandra should be happy to assist. She's pretty easy to spot with her curly blonde hair and large glasses. If you can't find her, well, it's pretty hard to miss me,” he chuckled slightly. - "Curly hair, large glasses...got it. Cheers, mate." he gave him a smile and a nod before heading off. Hmm, maybe this guy would be the guy to stick to during this whole shebang. Seemed like he knew what was up. - Edward did the same and went about his business until it was time for the meeting. The meeting went about as well as one could expect, if a little longer than usual to fill in the newcomer. Statistics were discussed, questions were asked, ideas were suggested, and progress was made. Satisfied, the higher ups dismissed the others to go about their usual business. - The question was...what...exactly was his usual business now? Roger's usual usual business involved bumming around with Reg and Eric for a little bit before getting back to work, but they were back in England. Then he got a glimpse of Edward again. He knew his way around...would he mind if he just shadowed him for a bit? "Aaah, Edward?" - Edward turned around and raised a brow at the Brit. "Yes? Can I help you?" - "Er, perhaps." He cleared his throat, obviously a little nervous, "Would it...trouble you if I, ah...shadowed you for a little while? You're the only face that I can actually immediately place. I don't know if our positions are equivalents to one another, but...it's always good to know a little about a lot?" Translation: Holy cow, I'm beyond awkward around here, please let me just stay under your wing for a bit. - Thankfully, Edward decided to show mercy on the awkward man. “That shouldn't be a problem, as long as you don't go shouting in my ear while I'm trying to work or something.” He made a subtle gesture with his head to follow him before heading for his office. The inside of his office was a strange mix of sterile and welcoming. While he had various degrees on his walls with pens and papers arranged just so, he also had photos and childish nick-knacks scattered about. Seemed he wasn't the only influence on his office. - "Oh! Noooo, no, no, no, I usually keep to myself, anyway. Perhaps a little chatter here and there with a couple of colleagues, but otherwise..." Upon entering the office, the sterility offset him juuuust a tad. Sure, Roger was a rather tidy man as well, but this was perhaps a step up from his level of cleanliness. Then he caught sight of the photos and little "decorations". Resisting the urge to breathe a sigh of relief ("Oh thank god, he's human"), Roger couldn't help but crack a small smile, having a couple in his own little office space back home. Must be a "dad" thing- having a couple little "projects" your kids have done just hanging around in your workspace. "Family man, eh?" he asked, breaking the silence. - “They're my world,” he admitted, smiling softly and making his front teeth even more prominent. Turning a frame on his desk to face the other man, the photo revealed a recent photo of his wife and daughter. The two women shared the traits of red hair, green eyes, and freckles. The daughter had short hair while the mother had long hair. Another major difference between them, besides their ages, was the fact the mother was short and of an average build while the daughter was taller with an athletic build. “My wife, Abigail, and our daughter, Audrey. Quite the family resemblance, isn't there?” he smiled widely, proud of his girls. Edward almost seemed to become another person when it came to his family. - Roger had to chuckle a little; to think that this scary looking guy was a big ol' softie. "They're lovely~" he responded, as he started to dig out his wallet. If they were going to do an impromptu show and tell, then he supposed it was his turn. "Let's see..." Finally getting the wallet out, Roger dug around and found a more recent photo of his family. "Aha!" He handed it over to Edward, "This one took a few tries, since everyone wanted to muck about, buuuut..." In it were him, a blonde woman who was a couple inches shorter (and had a looser sense of dressing; nice jeans and a shirt as opposed to Roger's shirt and tie deal), a young man close to his height and in a rugby shirt, and two young girls: one with hair a shade or two darker than her mother's and dressed a little more "girly"(t-shirt and a skort), and one with bright red hair, dressed more casually: sweatshirt and shorts...and a purposefully goofy smile. "My wife Charlotte, my son J.C., and my daughters: Katrina and Sydney." he said, pointing each of them out. - Edward took the photo and adjusted his glasses as he got a good look. “You still have young ones, I see. One of them pretty mischievous, from the looks of it,” he smirked as he handed the picture back. “Thankfully the more mischievous of my family are my nieces and nephews and not my responsibility... They're nothing compared to their mothers though.” - Roger chuckled, both at Edward's comment on his picture and his "not my responsibility" comment. "Yeeeeah, haha. Could be worse...one of Charlotte's siblings has triplets, who've just turned two." - “Three terrible twos? I'm good with numbers, but I don't have an answer to that. Speaking of multiples; my wife's older sisters are identical twins. Quite literally double trouble, given their natures.” - "They don't either, apparently. Just kind of taking it a day at a time. " he laughed, "Twins, eh? Interesting! My wife's older brothers are twins as well. Fraternal, though." - “Huh. Small world,” he mused aloud as he sat down at his desk and began typing away. “Sorry. We can keep talking. I just feel the need to be productive while we do so.” Working was practically a compulsion for the man. - "Guess so." he chuckled. "And that's totally alright." Granted, as he said that, Roger had sort of...run out of things to talk about other than the weather... - The room was silent for a bit, save for the click-clacking of the computer keys. “...Would it be alright with you if I put some music on?” He usually listened to music while he worked. While this was usually done via headphones, he didn't want to appear as though he was ignoring the man, nor did he want to leave him in awkward silence. - Roger gave him a nod. "Go for it." Hey, potential new topic of conversation! "What, ah...what sort of music are you into, out of curiosity?" - Edward proceeded to take out an iPod from one of his drawers and skim through his music. “It's difficult to pinpoint, honestly. I listen to multiple genres and it can vary depending on my mood.” Now, what might the average person like? “...How about some pop rock?” - Roger shrugged, "Fine by me." - Edward nodded and brought up the playlist. Upon pressing play, Michael Jackson's Thriller started through the iPod's speaker. - A smile started to spread across Roger's face. "Heh. Usually anytime I hear this, it's from Sydney blasting it the morning of October 31st. I find it interesting that it was actually released almost an entire month after Halloween, yet that's what a lot of people associate the song with..." - “Not surprising, given the theme of the song and the accompanying music video. I really appreciate the choreography in that video.” - "Right? To be honest, the one that gets me is 'Beat It'; albeit more so for the whole 'two legitimate rival gangs' thing. To think they were able to not completely brutalize each other honestly astounds me." - “Couldn't have been easy,” he remarked as he typed. “Shame music and dancing can't really solve your problems, like in the movies.” - Roger chuckled, "Yeeeah. If it was able to, my wife and I would have been friends starting in childhood, as opposed to establishing a friendship during university. Long story." - “Actually, if it weren't for conflict, I likely wouldn't have wound up with my wife. Also a long story.” - ...Huh. Interesting... "I mean...I'm up for sharing mine; I'm not sure about you. Though, I am curious. If you're comfortable sharing, would you like to elaborate first or shall I?" - Edward took a look at his watch, before scooting away from his desk and facing his chair towards Roger. If they were going into long stories, he could at least give him his full attention. “I have some time. Go ahead,” he gestured slightly with his hand. - Roger gave him a small nod, found an available chair, sat, and took a deep breath. "Fair enough. Right, let's see...both her and I were born in and spent most of our childhood in Liverpool. It's a fairly sizeable city, however, the two of us ended up attending the same primary school. Her by her own volition, and myself since my mother was the headmistress. Her being a 'rebel' and me being a 'toffee-nose' as she called it, Charlotte wasn't exactly keen on me, or a number of other students. Or teachers, for that matter. She was a...er, perhaps a couple of steps above being considered a 'troublemaker'- enough to the point where she ended up being expelled. Now, after that, there were several rumours that had gone around; saying she ended up in prison, fled the country..." He chuckled, thinking back on some of the other rumors that circulated, "In actuality, she went to another school. Save for perhaps...two or three times in between, neither of us saw each other again until university. We ended up being paired together for a project. I was still considered as a bit of 'teacher's pet', whereas she never really left her 'rebellious' phase. The process itself was akin to pulling teeth, but eventually, we found out that the two of us knew each other...albeit, our last memories of one another were not exactly the best, per se. It took a number of months. but eventually, she had opened up quite a bit and ended up apologizing for the grief she'd caused me as a lad. " He smiled slightly, "After that, we just started hanging out together, and lo and behold, sometime later we ended up getting married and raising three children." - Edward listened and nodded politely as the other spoke. “That's a nice story. Not everyone gets an apology from someone who wronged them, let alone marries them.” - Roger shrugged, chuckling. "I guess she really needed was some time to mature. Same for me, as well. Come a bit out of my shell and all." - Edward nodded. “I know the feeling. Abigail makes sure I don't keep to myself too much. As for our story... how much time do you have? I have a tendency to wax poetic with this sort of thing.” - Roger laughed, "I've got all day, mate. Lay it on me." - “Very well.” Smiling, he began his story. “Abigail... I'll never forget the moment I saw her... It was during my junior year of high school. I was on my way to class when, among the cacophony of locker doors slamming, the squeaking of shoes on the hallway floor, and the incessant chatter of students, I heard the most beautiful sound to ever grace my ears. It was a giggle, soft and pure, conveying the warmth and happiness one would expect of an angel. That's what she was, an angel. And, just as one would expect of an ethereal being, I was only able to catch a glimpse of her as she passed by. Hair the color of the rising sun and eyes that sparkled like emeralds, she was, and still is, the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. I was completely in awe. I had no idea how a girl as beautiful as her could exist, nor how I couldn't have noticed her until that point. While I've never been able to answer the first question, it wasn't long until I was able to answer the latter. I'd never seen her before because she had only just begun attending our school.” He did warn Roger he could wax poetic. The rest of his story was just as eloquently worded; covering how, though he admired her, he didn't pursue her, how he tried to be happy for her when she began dating a bully of his, the rage he felt when the other had taken advantage of her, the fight for her honor that he lost, and the gratitude Abigail had for his attempt. - ....Man, he wasn't kidding. Edward was practically a reincarnation of Shakespeare- armed with a silver tongue and a talent for creating crystal clear imagery. It was almost as if Roger was there himself, observing from the sidelines. "That was....forgive me for being so emotional, but..." Roger wiped some stray tears from his eyes. "That was absolutely beautiful..." - Edward chuckled awkwardly, scratching the back of his head as a blush painted his features. “The story itself or the way I told it?” - "Both. Any of those degrees you hold happen to be an English or Literature one?" - He chuckled once more. “I'm afraid not. My interest in the arts is not something I've pursued outside of hobbies. I was encouraged to pursue a stable career path, in my youth.” - "Aaah. I mean...perhaps having it as a hobby is slightly better than a career? In those fields, I have been told that how much you make- if anything- is all dependent on luck. With your talent, I imagine you would be able to have been noticed fairly easily, but...perhaps it would be more stressful, in a sense. There are deadlines in an office setting, yes, but deadlines in an artistic sense...what if you're in a creative slump but need to produce something the next day and are unable to?" He chuckled nervously, hoping that his 'spitballing' of sorts made at least some sense. "That's all a matter of opinion , I suppose. I-I don't consider myself as one of those types that thinks that being an artist, in any medium, isn't a career..." - “Exactly. I don't think I'd be able to think and create freely whilst simultaneously being restricted by deadlines.” He sighed slightly and smiled. “Besides, I'm quite content with where I am now. I'm not looking for fame. I have a job that provides for my family and I can still engage in my interests as hobbies.” - Roger nodded, smiling as well, "So all in all, it sort of worked out." - “Pretty much.” He checked his watch, brows rising at the time. “I really talked your ear off there. It's almost lunch. Speaking of, I can recommend some good places to eat, if you haven't been here before.” - "Is it?" Roger checked his as well, and eyebrows shooting up as a result. "Ah, so it is. Time flies when you're having fun, I suppose. That would be great, actually! I've been to the States several times, but not Michigan...so I'm not sure what this place does and doesn't have." - "It would be remiss of me to not mention coney dogs while you're here. Other states have tried to make them, but Michigan really is the best place to get one. Though the absolute best place to get one is a little shop only open in the summer, but I know a place that's a close second." - "Aw, drat...but hey, second best is better than nothing I suppose!" Roger paused, "What, ah...what exactly is a coney dog, if you don't mind my asking?" - Edward laughed, or rather, exhaled through his nose. “It's basically a really good hot dog topped with a seasoned meat sauce, onions, and mustard. Not to be confused with a chili dog. While not gourmet food, it's sort of a local specialty that I've yet to see done just right anywhere else.” - Roger nodded as he listened. "Ah! Definitely sounds like something the kids will eat, so if need be, that covers dinner...probably will have one for myself as well- just to say that I've tried it." - “I certainly recommend it. Jackson is serious about its coney dogs, so if you ever want to try one, here's the place... Now I'm craving one, honestly. You want to come with me so I can show you where it is?” - Roger chuckled, "Might as well." - Back at the park, Audrey parted ways with the trio of tourists to take Lola back home. Energetic as she was, a puppy needed her rest. In fact, Audrey had to carry the pooped pooch part of the way home. When lunchtime rolled around, the redhead found herself craving a Coney dog something fierce. She didn't want to come across as though she was following the group, but she figured they would have already eaten and left by the time she got there. Upon reaching the restaurant, Audrey was surprised to see a different familiar face exiting his car. “Hi, Dad!” Audrey called from across the parking lot. What were the odds? “Hi, sweetie!” Edward called back. - Upon arriving, Roger stayed in the car for a brief second to send a quick text to his son. When it sent, he unbuckled his seatbelt and joined Edward, chuckling a bit at the two's interaction. "Ah! Daughter, right?" After Audrey left, it was soon time for J.C. and the kiddos to head on out. As expected, Syd and Kat had worked up an appetite, and started getting into a bit of a "discussion" over what to have. To keep them from going at it the entire time they were walking, the older brother told them that he already had a place in mind. ...Granted, that meant he'd have to deal with the two of them going "Where're we going?", "C'mon, tell us!", and "No, wait, lemme guess, it's THIS place!", but hey- they weren't fighting. Pulling out his phone to check the time, he noticed that he had a text from his dad: If you're in the area, I'm grabbing lunch with a colleague. If the girls can't agree on somewhere, here's the place's address..." The young adult chuckled, texting back You must be a mind reader, we're actually on our way there now. Be there in 7-10 min. - Audrey cocked her head, confused, but smiled. It wasn't often she saw her father outside the office with someone she hadn't seen before, but she saw it as a good thing.

"Indeed I am~"

Edward beamed and placed a hand on her shoulder, always happy to introduce his daughter to someone.

"Hard to believe I helped make this beautiful young woman, isn't it?" Edward laughed.

"Daaaaaaaaddyyyyyyy," Audrey covered her face, but smiled all the same. - Roger chuckled, "Well, it's very nice to meet you. I'm Roger Malone, I'm, ah...sort of your father's shadow today." - Audrey raised a brow, not quite sure what he meant by that. “He works for a foreign branch of my company and has decided to stick close to me during his visit here," Edward explained. "Oohhh," Audrey nodded. "It's funny you should mention that. I actually met three people from England today. Well, two girls from England and one man originally from France..." - Roger raised an eyebrow and had to hold back a small smirk, "Let me guess...one of the girls had bright red hair, the other was blonde, and the man had glasses?" - Audrey blinked. "Yeah. How'd you know- wait..." she started snickering. "You're their dad, aren't you?" - The man chuckled, "Indeed I am." - "What are the odds?" Audrey laughed. "Wait... uh-oh..." Edward looked confused. "Why uh-oh?" "Now they're gonna think I'm following them," she half whined. "I told them about this place, but I thought they would have been here and left by now." "I doubt that will be a problem," her father assured. "Besides, who would be disappointed to see you again?" he smiled and ruffled her hair. "Dad..." she sighed. - Roger smiled slightly. "I sent him a text, he said he'd be here in no more than 10 minutes or so. May be a bit longer since he's got two little munchkins in tow, but we'll see." - "No more, but maybe longer," Audrey snickered. "Ahhh, I'm just kidding." - The father chuckled, "You never know." - Her smile faltered a bit. "Sooo, should I leave orrr...?" - "Nooo, no, no, no, no! You're welcome to stay, I don't see it being an issue at all." He looked to Edward, "Besides, lunch with your children- regardless of age- is always a nice change from grabbing something by yourself." - "I suppose it's like a daddy daughter double day... with a son," she smiled awkwardly. - "In a sense, yes." Roger chuckled, "Should we be heading over to get some food, or would you rather we wait for the other three?" - "It wouldn't be very polite to eat before everyone is seated, let alone before everyone is in the building," Edward remarked. - "Ah, true, true." He put a hand to his forehead and gasped, trying to be dramatic and funny. "A most shameful misstep on my part." - Audrey snorted at this as Edward exhaled through his nose. - Roger chuckled and straightened himself up. Seemed as though goofiness ran in the family... Meanwhile, about 2 minutes away... "J.C., come ON! Where're we going?!" Syd whined. "I told you, it's a surprise~" he said, teasing her a bit. - "-and then Lola just bolted over to them! J.C., specifically. I don't know what her deal was, but she went straight for him. Maybe she smelled the different country on him somehow," Audrey laughed. - Roger laughed, "Quite possibly! I know that there's the belief that animals and children can sense something in people, be that good or bad, so who knows..." "I don't WANT a surprise; I want food!" "Really? Huh, that's a first...fine, I'll tell you. You remember that place that Audrey was talking about earlier?" Upon being asked this, the ten year old started to calm down a bit. "...The one with the hot dogs?" "Well, coney dogs, to be more specific, but yes. And we have a guest joining us...." That seemed to perk the two up a bit. Food AND company... - "Well, she wanted attention from him, so I imagine she sensed good," she shrugged. "She certainly liked all the attention the girls gave her; that's for sure!" - Roger chuckled, "Aaaah, looks like I'm going to be getting the 'Dad, can we get a dog??' question when they get here..." - "Their brother already answered that, I think," she snickered. - "Hopefully, he went with what I told him, and not 'heck yeah, let's go down and get one right now." the father chuckled. "Are we there yet?" Kat asked. J.C. took a quick look at the street signs, then off into the distance, trying to see if the place across the street was indeed the name of the place that Audrey had recommended. "Aaaaah, I think so?" He saw a couple of people standing in the parking lot, one soooort of looking like their dad? He wasn't 100% sure. What he did know was that there was a guy who was huge..."C'mon, let's go check it out." Once they were safely across the street, Syd and Kat's eyes grew huge, recognizing a familiar face. So THAT'S who their surprise guest was! Even before J.C. could recognize who it was, the girls dashed off. Initially thinking that the two were coming to him, Roger, turning his head at the sound of a "YAAAAAAAAAAY!!" from Syd, knelt down and braced for impact. ...Only...they didn't go for him... "Audreeeeey!!" Kat happily cooed, "J.C. was right, this WAS a surprise!" - "Hi, girls!"Audrey laughed, hugging the two. "Didn't think I'd see you guys again so soon!" She smiled apologetically and shrugged at their father. "She has a way with kids," Edward quietly informed Roger. - "Apparently. They blew right past me..." the dad chuckled. Wow, they seemed excited...did they miss Dad that much? Once J.C. got closer, he couldn't help but smile. This was a nice surprise! Upon reaching his father, he put an arm around him. "I'm surprised they didn't knock her over..."

- "She is a strong one," Edward commented. "Turns out your dad and my dad work for the same company," Audrey gestured to the respective fathers. "What are the odds, huh?" - "They do?" Kat asked. Looking to where Audrey gestures, she finally noticed Roger and made a bee-line for him. "Daddy!" While Roger pulled his youngest into a one armed hug (the other arm being around J.C.), Syd, meanwhile, stayed silent and with Audrey, looking at her father...or whoever that gargantuan person was. Was she 100% sure on that? That this guy was really her dad? They didn't look all that alike, save maybe for the teeth. She wasn't scared, per se, more in awe of the size of Edward - Audrey followed Syd's gaze and she soon chuckled. "Tall, isn't he? Don't worry," she leaned closer to whisper, "he's nowhere near as tough as he looks." - Syd merely blinked, as if she was observing something at a museum. "So you said you and Audrey's daddy are here?" Kat asked. "Yup," Roger gestured to Edward, "Kat, this is Mr. Davis. Edward, this is Kat." The little girl looked up, then fell kind of quiet. He was HUGE! She was only 4'3", this guy had to be 11 feet tall at least. Tightening her grip around her dad's hand ever so slightly, she gave Edward a slight nod and a bashful "Hi..." - Edward frowned as he looked between the two girls, believing them to be frightened of him. "It's always this," he sighed, "or begging to sit on my shoulders." - "I'm not scared, really..." Syd spoke slowly, "You're just really tall..." she smiled a bit, trying to convey that she was more amazed than frightened. - "I'm aware," he nodded. "How many retorts do you have to 'How's the weather up there' joke now?" Audrey smirked. "I'm not sure, honestly. Surprisingly, it's been a while since I've been asked that." - "...How IS the weather up there, anyway?" the ten-year-old asked. - "Partly cloudy with a one hundred percent chance of a joke I've already heard." - ...Alright, that was kind of funny...Kat and an equally nervous J.C. (in a more "This is the girl that I think I like's dad?! I know I'd have to watch out regardless, but holy moly..." sense, as opposed to Kat's "I'm but a small bean, pls no.") giggled. - Edward smiled and exhaled through his nose. "We should probably get inside before our lunch break is over." "Ohh, good point," Audrey perked up. "I have the day off, but you don't." - J.C. exhaled through his nose as well, "Guess it's a good thing that you guys were here. These two were close to ripping my arms off from...'hangriness'? I know that's not a word, but you get the idea." - "I suppose the portmanteau of 'hanger' wouldn't really work, lest someone think they wanted to hold clothes," Edward remarked as he held the door open. - J.C. chuckled. The man had jokes...always a good sign. Upon the door opening, Syd practically ran in (giving Edward a 'Thanks!!' as she passed by)- partially to find a seat and partially because FOOOOD. "Sydney, slow down, please." Roger spoke up, "Running isn't going to speed up the amount of time it'll take to get your food." - "Nope. That's up to us," Audrey chuckled as she speed-walked in. "Thanks, Dad!" - J.C. and Roger (and a Kat attached to Roger's leg), followed suit, giving Edward a "Thanks, mate" as they passed by. Even the somewhat nervous eight-year-old managed to squeak out a "Thank you, mister". Syd quietly groaned and threw her hands up- not so much in an aggressive way, more like an exasperated Muppet. "Okaaaaay." - "You're welcome," Edward said just before heading in himself. Rather than several tables, the restaurant had a few very long tables with chairs on either side. "Sooo..." Audrey started, "three on one side, three on the other?" - "Sounds fair." J.C. nodded, "Keeps Kat and Syd from fighting over who gets to sit where." - "Maybe we can go by family? Wait... that's four to two..." Audrey pondered. "Boys and girls?" Edward suggested. - "That works." Roger looked to his youngest, still clinging to him. "You going to be okay? Sitting over with your sister and Audrey?" Kat thought for a second before answering. "If Syd's not gonna be flingin' stuff at me, yeah." Syd scoffed, "Naaaah, too many grown-ups around. You're fiiiiine." - "I could sit in the middle," Audrey offered. "Any fights would have to go through me." - Kat smiled slightly, "That works." - As the group took their seats, Audrey slid off her light jacket to reveal her T-shirt and bare arms underneath. If they were wondering if she had strength to match her flexibility, there was their answer. - J.C.'s eyebrow's popped up as he got a look at Audrey's arms. Knowing that her father was right next to him, he had to resist the urge to whistle. - Audrey eyebrows scrunched together, feeling as though she was being watched. She looked up to see J.C. "...What?" - "Hm?" Ah, crud, he was noticed! Granted, he was looking at a "tame" part of her body, but still! "Ah! Sorry, sorry, I, um...I..." His face going a little pink, J.C. averted his gaze. "I just...caught a glimpse of..." he coughed, "You look...pretty strong." Totally nailed that recovery. - Given her T-shirt didn't really show any cleavage, she believed him. "Oh," she shrugged before flexing her arm. "Yeah. I work out." "She's a pretty one, huh?" Edward smiled at him, but it was threatening and with a piercing gaze; a look that said, 'Don't you dare.' - Feeling incredibly small as he was given the "Dad Glare" (as Syd called it. Roger had a similar one, but Edward's was about twice as intimidating), J.C. slunk a little in his seat, and replied with a "Y-yes, sir." "Betcha she could totally piledrive ya, J.C." Syd noted, as she watched Audrey flex. "..P...piledrive?" "Yeah! Like...SLAM! Right through a table!" Oh, she meant WRESTLING...oh thank god. J.C. chuckled nervously. "Um...p-probably, but...I don't know if she would. N-not that it implies that she's weak or anything! She can...I imagine she holds her own. I, er...I'm...going to shut up now. - Audrey seemed oblivious to her father's 'threat' as she laughed. "Maybe? You can calm down though. I wouldn't try anything like that. I may like to spar here and there, but I only fight fight as a last resort." - J.C. chuckled, trying to have it come of as NOT being nervous. "Haha...good to know." "Aw, we could've tag teamed..." Syd whined slightly. - "Maybe for a play fight. If I gave it my all, I imagine I could be pretty dangerous. I mean, I have won a few karate competitions," she couldn't help but gloat a little. Her strength was something she had utmost confidence in. "I can break boards... cinder blocks... found out I can crush melons with my thighs..." - Cue J.C. sputtering and choking on his own saliva. "...You alright, son?" Roger asked. " [cough] [cough]Yeah! Yeah, I'm [cough] f-fine!" - "Oh jeez! You choked on your own spit, didn't you? Hate when that happens..." "Why did you try crushing melons with your thighs?" Edward asked. Audrey chuckled and absently played with her hair, "Well, I saw a lady do it on YouTube and it made me curious." - " [cough! cough cough] Yeah..." "Sometimes you learn the best stuff off of there." Syd pointed out. - "It's pretty good for how-tos," she agreed. - The little redhead thought for a second."...Soooo if I wanted to learn how to make a glitter bomb..." "Don't get any ideas..." Roger started "I said 'if', not 'I'm going to make one..." - Audrey tittered. "You're such a scamp, Syd." - "The scampiest~" Syd smiled. "So you're saying you're a shrimp dish?" J.C. asked, obviously joking. - Audrey giggled at the joke. "Or a chicken dish, depending on your taste and if you're scared or not." - J.C., Syd and Roger snickered. The only one who wasn't all snicker-y was Kat. She wasn't exactly scared or upset, per se, but more....cautious, mainly because of Edward. - Audrey noticed Kat's lack of laughter. "You okay, Kat?" Edward looked over to the young blonde with a raised brow. He didn't mean to look intimidating in doing so... but he looked intimidating in doing so. - Temporarily snapping out of her little funk, the little girl looked to Audrey. "Huh? Yeah! Yeah, I'm...I'm fine." "You're not sick, are you?" Syd asked, "'Cos I don't want to get whatever it is you've got." The little sister shook her head "no". - Audrey frowned, able to tell she was lying. "If you're worried about not liking the coney dog, you could always just scrape the coney meat off it and just eat the hot dog." - "I think I'll be okay." Ah, good, a slight change in focus. Perhaps she could keep it going and ask her "standard" question when it came to trying new foods: "It doesn't have any green stuff on it, does it? In the meat stuff?" - "Naahhh. You're good. Not a vegetable in sight... Except for onion, but you can get it without." - Kat smiled slightly, "That's doable." - "Good~ Oh, looks like it's time to order," Audrey chirped as she looked over at their server. - "Oo!" Syd chirped, looking over the menu. "In that case, I'll haaaaaaave..." Roger, J.C., and Kat followed in terms of ordering; nothing spectacular- a coney dog and a drink. - Audrey and Edward did the same; though they both ordered two coneys. Edward was a big guy and Audrey needed the fuel for her active lifestyle. - "They do dessert here, right?" Syd asked, smiling expectantly. - "They do, actually," Audrey smiled. "It's sort of a custom to get rice pudding as dessert when having coney dogs." - Aaaaaand there went that smile. Here she was thinking they had ice cream. The idea of rice pudding was not sitting well with her, indicated by a slight "Ick!". "Ah, c'mon, kiddo. You're trying something new for food, you won't do the same for dessert?" J.C. asked. He thought for a second; maybe a little of the "monkey see, monkey do" logic he would use when she was younger would work... "...I'm probably going to have some afterwards, would you be against trying a bite or two? "...I mean, I guess I could have a bite. If you really can't finish your dessert without someone else having a bite of it." Syd answered, trying to play it cool. J.C. smirked slightly. - "You've never had rice pudding?" she cocked her head. "It's really good! Like, I know rice might have a weird texture to some, but this rice pudding is nice and creamy and sweet with cinnamon." "Besides," Edward started, "how will you ever find a new favorite food if you don't try new food?" - Syd raised an eyebrow. "Cinnamon? Ooo, now I'm warming up to the idea~ That's one of my favourite flavours...other than bubble gum, cherry, lemon, and cotton candy." Kat's "stiffness", as it were, started to loosen up after she heard Edward. That sounded like something that her dad said a lot... - "Good~" Audrey and Edward spoke simultaneously. "I almost feel bad getting rice pudding without Mom," Audrey chuckled. "Speaking of, have you talked to her today?" "You should know the answer to that," Edward chuckled. "I called her this morning, just as I always do when we're not in the same house." "I'll catch you forgetting one of these days," she joked. - J.C. chuckled quietly, thinking the whole scenario was pretty cute. - "My mom is hanging out with her sisters today. That's why she's not here," Audrey informed. - "Speaking of, did yooooou call Mum today???" Syd asked, interrogating her father. Roger chuckled, "I had sent her a text earlier; making sure she got to where she was going alright." "You've gotta call her, though!" the ten year old lightly scolded, "It's more important to talk and hear each other's voices!" "I haven't had a chance to, sweetheart. I'll do it when I get back to the office, alright?" Syd gave her father a suspicious look, but backed down with an "...Okaaaaaay....if you say so..." - Edward couldn't help but snicker at this. "This isn't the competition of the dads, Syd," Audrey chuckled. - Ah, and he laughed too! Kat smiled a bit at his reaction. "Mmm, you're right, that's on Father's Day..." the child mused. - Audrey snorted at this. "No-ho it's not!" - "So then why do they have all those 'World's Greatest Dad' mugs?! You don't just get that title wily-nily!" - Audrey shook as she tried not to laugh.

"I don't know," she squeaked. - "They have the 'Dad Games' in Scotland, right?" J.C. asked, snickering and going along with Syd's misconception. "They sometimes coincide with Highland Games, so they combine the two?"

"Sometimes, I guess." Syd confirmed, "But they replace something like caber tossing with ball tossing, if I remember correctly..."

Roger couldn't help but snicker as well. - Audrey was a bit lost. She was certain he was joking, but she was unsure as to what was a joke and what wasn't. If they had wife carrying in Finland, Dad Games in Scotland wasn't that far fetched.

May as well play along so they don't think she's stupid.

"Do they have wife carrying like they do in Finland?" - "...They have that in Finland?" the child asked. - "If I remember right. I saw it on a show about strange competitions from around the world."

Yes, she purposely left out the show was called World's Dumbest. - "Oooooooh...."

"Soooo, do they?" J.C. asked Syd, seeing how long she could keep this up. "Have wife carrying competitions at the Dad Games?"

"I'm...not too sure. I think that's one of the new events being added this year. That, and...you know the relay race where you have to carry an egg with a spoon? There's s'posed to be something similar, except it's with a baby and you've got to carry them to their crib as quickly as you can without waking them up." - Audrey had to cover her mouth to keep from laughing.

Edward was pretty good at keeping a straight face, so he decided to weigh in while Audrey couldn't.

"I certainly hope they don't carry them using spoons. Dropping a baby is a lot worse than dropping an egg." - "Oh, no, no- they carry them like you normally carry a baby."

J.C. snickered, "You sure they don't just use really big spoons?"

"No, 'cos that's just dumb…" - "Pffckp!" Audrey clamped her hand over her mouth again. - Syd was confused; why was all of this so funny? They'd asked their question, and they were getting an answer. Adults were weird… - Audrey managed to stifle her laughter once more and her father remained straight faced, as usual.

"I'm guessing you four flew here," Edward piped up to break the silence. - " 'Course we did." Syd answered, "It's not like we can just jog across the ocean." - "Your arms must be really tired then," he smirked.

Audrey slapped a hand to her face.

J.C. mimicked Audrey, while Syd groaned. Total dad joke- she should've seen that coming!

Kat, on the other hand, giggled a little. Perhaps that apprehension of hers was starting to diminish.

Edward laughed at their reactions.

"Did you tell these dad jokes before I was born?" Audrey asked.

"No. They come in the handbook you get when you become a dad."

"I believe 'Dad Jokes' is Chapter 5." Roger added.

"...There's not a handbook, c'mooon..." Syd scoffed.

"Do you think we just learn as we go? That'd be ridiculous."

"Do mums get one, too?" Kat asked.

"Theirs is less of a handbook and more of a full encyclopedia."

"How come it's bigger than just a handbook?" the little girl asked. Now she was curious...

"Because their book has all the hard stuff in it. The dad book mostly has jokes and funny faces to practice."

Syd looked to J.C., "He's not serious, is he?"

"Oh, he is." the older brother confirmed, smirking. "When Mum was pregnant with you, they consulted their manuals. They did the same with Kat- you were too young to remember them doing it, though."

The ten-year-old raised an eyebrow, not buying it. "So what about with you, then? Did they consult this 'manual' too? "

"There's a section in the mum encyclopedia all about adoption- Chapters 15 and 16, if I remember correctly."

"...Adoption?" Edward blinked, surprised.

J.C. looked over to Edward, chuckling a bit sheepishly. "Yes, I, um...I was adopted by your, ah...work mate here," he gestured to Roger, "at around 2 years old. Long story. ...Well, not really a long story, but..."

"Ah. Well, I won't pry. Didn't intend to put you on the spot there. Sorry."

J.C. gave him a small smile, "It's no big deal. You ever want to know, I'm open for questions."

"I'm not really sure if I'll ever see you again, so I may as well ask," he shrugged.

"Weeelllllll," Audrey started.

J.C.'s eyes darted over to Audrey, before looking back to Edward. "Ummm...."

Edward raised a brow, awaiting an explanation.

"I went ahead and got J.C.'s e-mail address so I could send him pictures of Lola and Daisy to show to Syd and Kat," Audrey said with a smile. "Don't know if we'll talk much outside of that, but I figured that counted as keeping contact," she shrugged. - "P-pretty much, yeah." J.C. confirmed, "What with being abroad and all. Can't really come rushing over every time the sibs want to see Lola, y'know?"

"Oh. Makes sense," Edward nodded, not too on edge yet. Seemed innocent enough.

"I mean, teeeeechnically we could..." Syd suggested.

Roger laughed, "Oh really? How do you plan on raising money to do so, eh?"

Syd stayed silent for a moment before giving an answer. "...I'll figure something out."

Audrey snickered.

"I couldn't afford that and I have a job." - "...Theeeeen I'll find a way that makes a lot of money."

"Will you let me in on it?" Audrey asked.

Syd steepled her fingers and leaned back slightly. "Perhaps. Once I find it, of course."

"... Please do so legally."

Syd made a facial expression, silently conveying something along the lines of "Dang it...".

"Eh, I can start with a lemonade stand, I guess..."

"I think you need a permit for that now, or something, unfortunately," Audrey frowned. "So dumb."

"A piece of paper that says 'I can do whatever I want' and has your signature on it doesn't count, either." J.C. added.

"Dang it!"

Edward inhaled, about to speak, but Audrey cut him off.

"If you go into an in-depth explanation as to why, I can't guarantee we'll all stay awake."

J.C. had to hold back a snicker.

"...Sometimes I wonder if we're related. Then I look at your mother," he proceeded to look left and right. "But she's not here right now, so I don't know."

Audrey snickered.

"That's what we say about Syd sometimes," Kat piped up, "And we look to Mum, too. Similar personalities."

Syd scoffed, "I'm waaaaay more tame than Mum was when she was my age. Or so I've been told."

"Audrey's pretty much a dead ringer for her mother at that age... but with more muscle."

"And less hair," Audrey added. - Roger chuckled, "Charlotte had pigtails at...well, at least at Kat's age. I think she had them when she was as old as Syd, as well."

"Only real differences are that she's blonde, and that I've never accidently set a building on fire." Syd added. She paused, thinking how off that statement sounded. "It's....not as bad as it sounds. She tells the story better than I do."

Edward's eyebrows shot up at this, as did Audrey's.

Before they could question farther, however, their food arrive.

"Oo, yay~ You guys get to have your first Coney!" Audrey exclaimed.

Syd and Kat stared at the size of the food, trying to figure out how exactly they were going to get it in their mouths. That was one big hot dog...

"So do we just like....go for it?" The redhead asked, "Aim for the mouth and hope for the best?"

Audrey snorted. "Basically."

She and Edward both picked up their own coneys and took a bite. How did they do it? Very carefully.

J.C and Roger followed suit while the sisters observed and tried to mimic what they were doing. Kat ended up getting mostly meat sauce on her first go, but it still managed to garner a smile from the girl.

Syd's expression was a little more telling. It was a bit more extreme, as if she had just tasted the best thing in the world. She said nothing, as meat sauce started to drip down her face.

Audrey snickered at Syd and took another bite. "Good, right?"

The child slowly nodded.

"Don't go all 'wild animal' on us now." J.C. spoke up, wiping a bit of sauce from his own face. "If there wasn't as much in the way of sauce and whatnot on there, I'd say go for it, but I don't think everyone else around us would appreciate getting covered in food.

Syd merely responded with a dazed "Uh-huuuuuh" and went back to chowing down.

Audrey giggled. "Agreed. Though there are worse things to be covered in than coney dog."

"Like ink from a pen that exploded on you, I suppose." Roger piped up.

"Or mud." Kat added.

"Aw, c'mon, being covered in mud's kinda fun!" Syd, briefly snapping out of her coney daze, spoke up. "Besides, people use it for, like, beautifying themselves sometimes. Like on spa days, not just after a rainstorm."

"They do noooot..." the small blonde scoffed.

"Well, yes and no," Audrey clarified. "Mud masks are a thing, but it's not just plain old mud from the ground. It's like, a special kind of mud mixed with special oils and stuff."

"What about mud baths, then?" Syd asked.

"I think it's the same basic idea."

"Mmm. So there goes another money-making idea, then." The redhead took a bite of her dog, "I was gonna dig a hole, fill it with mud, and use that as a space for people to take a mud bath in. Find some oils and put those in as well..."

"If only it was that simple..."

"I don't think you should be worrying too much about money." J.C. noted, "Childhood's meant more for worrying about...heck, I don't know, finding out what happens in the next episode of your favorite cartoon. Or whatever sort of drama will unfold between your dolls the next time you play pretend with them."

Syd scoffed, "But you need money to buy and do things, ya dingbat."

"Thaaaat's...where saving up your allowance comes in." he shrugged.

"Or having someone pay for something for you." the younger sister gave him a cheeky smile, "And give them an IOU, of course."

Audrey snickered.

"Yeah. That's what childhood should be, even if it isn't always like that. People always act as though childhood has no downsides. It can be stressful, I know. But it certainly has its perks."

"I mean, adulthood kinda has its perks too...you get to drive, stay up late, and even do biscuits for breakfast if you're so inclined." Syd mused, "Buuuuuuuuut you do have a point... I think."

"Adults have to pay taxes," Edward replied dryly, causing Audrey to snicker.

"...So do kids." the redhead responded, "You've never heard of the 'sibling tax'? Or the 'Halloween candy' tax?"

Audrey looked confused. "...I'm an only child and so is my dad, so, no."

"The 'Halloween candy' one isn't even really a tax," J.C. spoke up, "she gives up the candy that she doesn't like and gives it to me , Dad, and Mum"

"But I was still the one who went out and got it, so it's still kind of a tax." Syd argued.

"The sibling one is when your brother or sister gets you a snack or somethin' when they go out to a convenience store, and they take a small bit." Kat added. "Like a few Smarties out of a pack, or a sip of a slushie."

"Ohhhh," Audrey nodded. "That makes sense."

"Plus side is is that it rarely rises." the little blonde continued, "For example, Syd usually takes five of my Smarties; no more, no less. Even though there's a lot that comes in a tube."

"Well, that's 'cos they're /yours/ so obviously, you get the most." Syd shrugged, "Basic economics."

"She has a point," she shrugged.

Syd smirked. See? Audrey got it.

"Since when has this been a thing?" Roger asked, "I don't remember ever doing that with my siblings."

"It's fairly recent." Kat answered, " 'Sides, I guess it's kind of a good thing, what with you bein' the youngest out of yours an' all. Your siblings and mine are different in terms of personality."

"Oh jeez, can you imagine Mum?" Syd chuckled, "She'd have 5 other people that could tax 'er!"

"I thought they could only tax you if they helped get you something? Otherwise, I think it's just called sharing."

"Either way." Syd shrugged, "Bein' an only child has its perks, I imagine."

Kat looked over to her sister, appearing offended and assuming that that's what Syd preferred. The redhead looked to her sister and gave her a playful nudge, one that nonverbally said something like "Hey, you're alright; I tolerate ya".

"It does get kinda lonely, though." J.C. piped up, "I was one for thirteen years."

"I've always been an only child. I did have my cousins to keep me company though. Them and the kids we'd babysit," Audrey remarked.

"I was more focused on my studies than socializing," Edward admitted.

"I tried to be," Roger admitted, "But that can be a bit difficult when you're needed either as goalie for your older brother's football game or brought to tea with Mumsy and other school officials."

Syd had to hold back a laugh. Ha! "Mumsy". Who called their mother that, nowadays!? That sounded so old-fashioned.

"You shouldn't be envious," Edward commented a bit quietly.

Roger raised an eyebrow, "I mean, I'm not exactly complaining. Could've settled for not having a football to the face and a black eye or some other bruise with most games, but..."

The only response he got was a light grunt. "Mm."

"Sooo," Audrey started, hoping to change the subject, "you want to order some rice pudding?"

Ooof, sounds like he was hitting a rough subject. Best not to push it. Thank goodness for Audrey and the rice pudding suggestion. "Uuuum, sure! Yes, let's, ah...let's try some of that!"

Audrey smiled and nodded, motioning for their server.

Syd looked to Edward, "Iiiif it's any consolation, she's a real 'witch with a capital B' now. I really don't like 'er." Not sure if that helped, but...

Kat, noticing the change in the other father's attitude, became quiet again.

Edward looked thoroughly confused. "Who?"

"Dad's mum. 'Mumsy', as 'e calls her." Syd clarified. "She's usually nice to him, but she's mean to a lot of other people."

"Oh. Not sure why that would be consolation, but, alright," he shrugged.

Syd shrugged as well.

Kat, meanwhile, continued cautiously watching.

After a moment of silence, Edward felt eyes on him and looked over to Kat.

Was she scared of him still?

Can't have that.

He briefly stuck his tongue out and pulled it back in, looking not unlike a snake.

Wait a sec.

Kind of scary guy?

Making silly faces?

That was pretty ridiculous. Silly, even.

The little blonde smiled slightly, giggling a bit at the display.

"Hm?" Audrey looked over to Kat, then to her father, who looked as serious as ever.

"What's so funny, shorty?" Syd asked.

"Noooothin'." the younger sibling responded, trying to control her giggles.

Edward suppressed a smirk. Once the attention was off him again, he crossed his eyes.

Cue a slightly bigger smile and more giggles.

That's better~, Edward thought to himself, believing that to be enough to calm her down.

The server soon came with their rice pudding.

Knowing the kids were a little unsure of the new dessert, Audrey took the first bite, making sure to look quite pleased with the flavor.

Like a group of little scientists, Syd and Kat watched closely to make sure that nothing adverse happened. Looked as if Audrey liked it...soooo if she wasn't immediately spitting it back out, then it had to be good, right?

Only one way to find out...

After a bit of deliberation between the two, Syd was the first to try the new dessert. Her expression had a couple of flashes of confusion (because of the texture), but was still overwhelmingly positive, indicated by the "Mmm!" she emitted.

Audrey did her best not to laugh at their cautiousness. She smiled as she continued eating. "Told ya."

Kat looked to Syd for confirmation.

"Ish guuuuuuuuh, Kad" she responded, mouth full of pudding.

Slowly, Kat took a small bit of pudding and placed it in her mouth. Her reactions were a bit similar to her sister's but they seemed to be pretty positive as well.

Audrey giggled. "So, what do you two think?" she asked J.C. and Roger.

Roger nodded, "It's different, but I must say, it does have a delightful taste."

J.C., meanwhile, was about halfway done with his. Must've been that good.

Audrey snorted when she looked over at J.C. before covering her mouth and nose.

J.C. looked up, a bit of pudding on his nose, wondering what Audrey was laughing at.

Roger couldn't help but chuckle a bit. "Uuuum, son? You've got a bit of..."

J.C. looked down at the little blob on his nose, chuckled awkwardly, and used a napkin to get it off.

"You sure you want to be so blunt about it? I mean, you were a little... on the nose," she snickered, as did her father.

"I guess you could say that all that stuff on your face made you look a little...off-pudding." Roger added. Cue an "Oh god, dad jokes" sort of groan from Kat and Syd.

"How dair-y say that?" Edward jumped in.

J.C. couldn't help but laugh; he always appreciated a good dad joke.

Audrey tittered as she took another bite. "I'm out. Anyone have any puns left?"

"Aw, already? I thought those were some pretty rice puns we had going." Kat piped up.

Audrey snickered. "You sure like to go with the grain, don't you?"

"I'm surrounded by nerds..." Syd said, shaking her head.

"That's pot calling the kettle black, isn't it?" J.C. asked, smirking and raising an eyebrow.

"...You've still got a bit of pudding on your face, y'know." she said, smirking back. "Might want to get another napkin and dab it off."

"Dab it off?" Audrey proceeded to do the 'dab' movement with one arm out and her face in the crook of her other arm.

"I don't see how this will help."

At that moment, Syd and Kat immediately lost it, collapsing into a fit of laughter (and some pudding dribbling down their chins). J.C. snickered at their reaction.

Roger, however...was confused.

Edward felt the same.

Audrey chuckled, looking at J.C. "Should we tell them?"

"One of these days, maybe." J.C. snickered.

"If only we were still kids. We could use this as leverage."

"Truuuuue."

"Oh well. Maybe Syd and Kat can."

"...Once they stop laughing, of course."

"Why are they laughing, anyway?" Roger asked.

"Sorry, Dad, it's top secret. Those of a certain age are only privy to it." Syd answered, still trying to calm down.

"Ya hear that, Dad? No old people allowed."

"I have baby pictures in my wallet," Edward retorted.

"I'll shut up now."

"Oooohoo, the baby picture threat. Things are getting serious." J.C. snickered.

"I have yours, too, you know." Roger added, looking to his son and raising an eyebrow.

J.C. slunk down slightly.

"And I used to think you were cool," Audrey jokingly told her dad.

"He's kinda funny, I'll give him that..." Kat said, giggling.

"Only kinda?" he grinned, his large front teeth quite visible.

Kat laughed, "Okay, maybe more than kinda...."

"You should see him do the bunny face," Audrey smirked.

"I still have your baby pictures," he narrowed his eyes.

Kat gasped. "Bunnies?? I like bunnies!"

Edward glared at Audrey, knowing he had to do it now.

He let out a sigh before looking around to see who all could see him do this.

Upon deeming the coast clear, he wiggled his nose, then chattered his teeth.

Kat giggled, clapped her hands, and bounced up and down happily.

Audrey snickered and her father smiled slightly, still embarrassed, but pleased with the blonde's reaction.

"How come YOU can't do a bunny face?" Kat asked her father.

"I can do those really funny voices when you want a bedtime story," Roger offered, feigning hurt "Does that not count for anything?"

"It does, it does!" Kat reassured.

"Because not everyone can be graced with my freakish rabbit teeth," Edward commented.

"Dad," Audrey started sternly, "don't make me call mom to ramble about how cute your teeth are."

#Lola Leads #roleplay #compiled roleplay #redradandrod

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keeloves · 5 years

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Top 10 Characters that deserved better.

10 Alexis Glenn from Famous in Love

Despite my problems with this character I wasn’t very pleased with her treatment on the show Famous in Love. Yes I know she was a snob and behaved like a jealous bitch but I felt she had some redeeming qualities about her. For one thing I would have her accept the fact she was bisexual and not have those run of the mill lame excuses as in “I don’t like labels” bisexual isn’t a bad word. I also would have her apologize to Paige for how she treated her and maybe they can get along but they don’t have to be besties. Another thing I didn’t like was her being used by Jake and then being dropped like a hat just because things didn’t work out in his favor. No one deserves that. I also felt she deserved better than to be used by Ida. I would love to give Lexi a redemption arc.

9. Milah from Once Upon a Time.

Even though I didn’t really care for Milah, I felt she deserved better than to be killed by Rumple twice. The first time having her heart ripped out and crushed literally and then being thrown into the lake of lost souls. I felt she had remorse for leaving Baelfire/Neal behind. I honestly felt she could have given Belle advice on how to leave Rumple and they could have become friends or something. Anyways she deserved to move on from the under world not be thrown in a lake of lost souls.

8.Belle French Once Upon a Time

I am convinced that Adam and Eddie hated Belle. First off why did they keep her in a relationship with a man who lies to her, manipulates her and has told her multiple times he won’t change. Yet here she is going back to this man again and again. She kept going back to Rumple and even enabled him. She was once so scared of him that she felt that her child would be better off away from the father. Not only does she get lied to and manipulated she gets mind raped, raped if Belle and Rumple had sex in the fantasy world where Rumple was the Bright One. He even went so far as to stalk her and put a tracking bracelet on her to know where she was at all times. Belle always looked scared of Rumple and was always backing away from him. That relationship should have ended when Belle banned Rumple from Storybrooke. Nope she gets forced back in a toxic relationship and even Emilie De Raven said that she wouldn’t give Rumple as many chances. I know I have said this before but I am going to say it again. Belle should have been bisexual and go be happy with Ruby or OUAT should have introduced Prince Adam. Any one of those relationships would have been better than Rumbelle.

7 Logan Huntzberger

I thought Logan was one of the most well developed characters on Gilmore Girls as in the original series. When we first meet him he was promiscuous and slept around. However, he was fully willing to commit to Rory and become the boyfriend she needed and wanted. He was allowed to grow and develop. All was going great with his character until the revival. He and Rory are both cheating with each other on their significant others and Amy seem to make Logan resort to his fuck boy ways. I am sorry to Matt Czuchry who had to play a digressed character and props to you for making Logan likable despite the way he was written.

6. Angela Moore Boy/Girl Meets World (Using the Collage because I loved the Versatility Angela had on Boy Meets World I did not make this Collage BTW)

I know I keep bringing her up but I can’t help it. I am so bitter that Girl Meets World committed defamation of a black female character. They bent and twisted the narrative to make Angela look like a villain and they also made her look like one more person that mindlessly abandon Shawn when that is not the case. She left to Europe with her father and she was going to come back and be with Shawn. Now in Girl Meets World she was just another person who abandon Shawn? No that is so disrespectful and this completely racist how she got treated. Also I don’t want anyone to come at me and tell me the treatment she got wasn’t racially related. Seriously look how the other characters got treated as in the white characters got treated then look at how Michael Jacobs treated his only black female character from Boy Meets World. She was the only main black character period and all she got was paid dust. So yeah her treatment whether or not it was unintended was absolutely racist.

5. Hazel Alden Degrassi

Degrassi literally had no idea what to do with this character. She was on the show for six seasons and only got one single story line about her Muslim back ground and we didn’t get that story line until season 2. She was there as a “main character” so Degrassi could pat themselves on the back for diversity brownie points. Andrea Lewis (Actress for Hazel) did the best with what she had tow work with but it wasn’t much. She was there to be Paige’s side kick and to help aid white character’s story lines. She honestly felt like the Christie to Paige’s Barbie. In fact here is a a link to an article on what Andrea had to say about her time on Degrassi read and enjoy. https://missandrealewis.com/2013/03/28/new-post-a-real-conversation-about-degrassi-tbt/

4. Audery from Descendants

I know she is a classist snob and I know she wasn’t the nicest but she didn’t deserve to have her boyfriend stolen from her be dumped in front of the entire school. She deserved to be a more fleshed out character. I mean I wouldn’t really like someone who put a love drug on my boyfriend stole him from me and then he broke up with me in front of the entire school. Anyways Audery deserved better and didn’t deserve to be humiliated.

3. Graham from Once Upon a Time

I am so bitter how Once Upon a Time treated him. He was used abused and then killed off. Adam and Eddie still this day deny that he was raped by Regina.He had his heart ripped out literally as punishment for not killing Snow White. Regina’s ultimatum was basically “Do what I say or you die” and he literally has no choice because his heart in is Regina’s possession and now he is under a curse without his heart so he really has to do what Regina says without even being aware of the “Why” of the situation. This all changes when Emma comes to town and when he kisses Emma he starts to remember he is actually the Huntsmen. The moment he starts to take back control from Regina she kills him by crushing his heart. To me that is not even the worst thing about this situation its the fact that this issue is never addressed and Regina is never called out for raping Graham.

2 Mulan From Once Upon a Time

I used this picture because my heart breaks for this gorgeous character. Mulan a bisexual Asian woman is paid dust and yes it is confirmed she is bisexual by the writers and it honestly feels like Adam and Eddie want to pat themselves on the back for the so called “representation.” Mulan arguably the biggest bad ass of the Disney Princesses was reduced to being an aid for white character story lines. She wasn’t allowed to have a love interest despite everyone around her got to have a love interest and she just kept getting screwed over. I am forever bitter about Sleeping Warrior. That ship had the best chemistry the best build up only for the writers to go the hetro normative route with Aurora. Then we had have been with Ruby and we could have gotten Mulan Rouge. That didn’t happen either. She deserved much better than to be a token character of color to only aid in white character story lines. The treatment of Mulan on Once Upon a Time and the treatment of Angela on Girl Meets World will forever leave a bitter taste in my mouth.

Finally Number 1 Dinah Laurel Lance’/ Black Canary/Black Siren

I am forever bitter on how Arrow treated their most iconic female super hero character. In the comics Dinah Lance was her own hero, was a member of the Justice League and she helped co-find her own hero team called Birds of Prey. She helped people like Sin Lance (Asian character later white washed by Arrow) Helped Roy Harper through his drug addiction and morally centered and is one of the best hand to hand combat fighters. She is up on Batman’s level of hand to hand fighting. However in Arrow she is treated like shit, had a boyfriend who serial cheated on her with her sister, and now he is a dad a child where the baby momma is another woman he cheated with while he was with Laurel. The show had people gas light her and when she finally exploded all of a sudden it was her fault because god forbid she responds like a normal human to being treated like shit for no reason. Sara never apologized to Laurel she just went back to fucking Oliver again despite the fact that is why the Lance family fell apart. Laurel was told she was never good enough to be the Black Canary despite she is the damn Black Canary in the comics. She has helped out Sara and Oliver multiple times despite the fact they are the reason she had to deal with her family falling a part. The people on the show continued to miss treat her. Not once did she get an apology by Oliver or Sara she had to call them out first. Then after the horrible treatment, the gas lighting and mental abuse they show runners decide to kill her off for Olicity. Her dying words are about how Olicity and propping up Oliver and his relationship with Felicity. First off “HOW FUCKING DARE YOU GUYS DO THAT TO LAUREL’ 2 You damn well know how Oliver treated Laurel so you have some damn nerve to do that! Then you have Black Siren get knocked out by Felicity despite the fact she could get up after getting hit by a car on the Flash. Then you weaken her Canary cry when on the Flash it took out a whole building but on Arrow it barely makes the room shake. Then on the Flash great hand to hand combat skills only for her to be easily taken down by team Arrow. The thing that makes me most angry and bitter about this is that I know Katie Cassidy Rodgers actually did her homework on the character she was playing, I know KCR worked out for this role and she was so excited to be in this role. She even had costume design ideas for her Black Canary Suit and you kill her character off for shock value and you wait two episodes before to tell her that Laurel will be the one in the grave. This absolutely disrespectful to the actress and this proves how lazy these writers are.

Anyways this was my rant on characters who deserved better. I would love to know your thoughts.

#top 10 list #once upon a time #arrow #descendants #famous in love #degrassi next generation

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moistwithgender · 6 years

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Curry Read 60s Marvel, King-Size, Nuff Said

According to my tag, it took me about a month to get through this decade (eight years, technically), spending most of my free time reading. I’ve been following Comic Book Herald’s “My Marvelous Year” reading guide because it seemed like the quickest way through while cutting out the chaff. This was not...consistently the case. But, I’m still glad I followed it because this started out with me just chewing through early Spider-Man in black and white (don’t do this to yourself, nice flat colors do wonders for these older stories). I’m gonna go ahead and give the disclaimer that because I was following a speedy reading guide, I missed a lot of stuff, so if you know some really good issues I missed feel free to say so.

I’m afraid to type all this out because it’s a lot and idk where to start!

Okay well I have one idea of where to start.

Fantastic Four

This is Marvel’s best series up to this point and the fact that we’ve had so many garbage movies is a tragedy (don’t @ me about The Incredibles, I know). The FF comics are consistently the most fun, the weirdest, and the most creative.

Going through my reading list, I had to skip parts of FF, which is probably going to be where more of the good stuff was. Though, I will say that I prefer the latter half of the decade over the first half. FF started off with Mole Man, Skrulls (something I first realized was a thing back when they showed up in MvC3), The Puppet Master, The Red Ghost... The first few years of FF was probably best whenever it involved Namor and Doctor Doom. I don’t think anyone’s gonna argue with that. The latter half had The Inhumans, Galactus, The Silver Surfer, Black Panther, the Negative Zone... a whole lot of neat stuff! I actually missed the introduction of the Negative Zone, so all of a sudden Reed’s just got a portal to A Very Bad Place in the middle of his lab and he keeps opening it whenever things get slightly inconvenient. Stop doing that, Reed.

Highlights: - Namor being Namor. Usually at his best as a fish out of water (heh) in human society. With his absurd monarchic pride, and his occasional anti-hero tendencies, he’s...kind of like a wet Vegeta in hot pants. - The Thing. For a while he was back and forth as a character I liked or tolerated, and his incessant backtalk would occasionally become one of those “telling an unfunny joke until eventually it’s hilarious” things. - The Watcher. A being so committed to his vow to never interfere with the fate of the universe that he jack-knifes out of his lane every single time he gets the chance. EXCEPT FOR THE TIME HE WATCHED THE BIRTH OF GALACTUS AND DID NOTHING. THANKS UATU. - The fact that Doctor Doom is a Romani character being written by Jewish authors. That’s a lot to unpack. - The Sandman. Wait, you say, you mean that one Spider-Man villain who was played by the guy from the sitcom Wings? Yeah, it turns out once he’s done being a Sinister Six villain, he goes on to harass the Fantastic Four and gets his own Jack Kirby style super villain outfit!

Look at that badboy. Also he teams up with an angry furry made of explosions from the hell dimension that is the negative zone. - The Inhumans. All of these kids are cool, Lockjaw is an adorable giant bulldog that can teleport across infinite distances, and even Maximus is some sort of play on Shakespeare villains. The fact that differentiating these guys from mutants is really awkward. The short version (if I have it right) is that mutants are born with a unique x-gene, and inhumans come from a hidden society that commonly did genetic manipulation on its citizens at birth. - Galactus. He is arguably the weirdest thing Marvel has in this decade. A thirty foot tall man who flies around the universe and eats planets. He’s literally so powerful that he and the narrative both treat his eating habits as natural, and any victims that happen to get in the way as unfortunate but unintended sacrifices because GALACTUS MUST NOT DIE. Galactus is a vegan metaphor (maybe). - The Silver Surfer. The shiniest, angstiest boy in the multiverse. Originally from a planet where global society had literally hit its logical utopic conclusion, he was bored as shit. Galactus comes along, the entire planet gets spooked and blows itself the fuck up on accident, and Norrin Rad agrees to be Galactus’ herald and pick out planets safe to eat if he leaves his planet alone. Sometime after that he gets punished for trying to fight Galactus, and is punished to remain on Earth, where he would play around with being a very obvious Jesus analogy for a while. - That time where a guy impersonates The Thing in order to kill Reed, and then ends up getting respect for Reed and sacrificing himself atop a meteorite speeding off into an atmosphere of explosions. Really fucked up issue, honestly. - Black Panther. Wakanda is not as cool as it would eventually be portrayed, and BP’s first appearance is as an antagonist (he kidnaps the FF and hunts them for sport), but he has a fucking slick cape. - That time Doctor Doom stole The Silver Surfer’s infinite cosmic power and nearly fucked up everything for everybody for four straight issues. Also he got into a fist fight with the Thing, which is like...hell yeah. - The Negative Zone. WHY DO YOU HAVE A WINDOW TO HELL IN YOUR HOUSE, REED. - The Kree. I have no idea why the Kree are just white people in space. Bad move imo, even Namor’s race are mostly blue people. Anyway, there’s a rad fight with a sentry robot, and a decent introduction to Ronan the Accuser, who you might remember was the (reasonably overshadowed) villain in the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 1 movie, where he is blue. - Psycho Man. This guy has a remote control that makes you feel emotions and that’s kinda dumb but more importantly he’s from a microscopic universe and controls a non-microscopic robot version of himself to fight the FF and the implications of all that is absurd. - Reed goes into the negative zone (again) to try and find something he knows nothing about that might help his pregnant wife and unborn child survive the gamma radiation they still have in their bodies. He gets pretty lucky. Jesus christ, dude.

The worst parts of the FF this decade is probably every time Susan gets the shaft because she’s a woman, whether it’s her being talked down to by Reed or whether it’s her being written as way more concerned about ~lady things~ when things are going to hell. In the issue where her life is on the line and the baby is coming and Reed has to go into the negative zone, she doesn’t even make an appearance until like the last page. Susan deserves better. My reading guide actually didn’t recommend any 1969 issues of FF? I wonder what was going on...

Oh, skrulls impersonating 1920s gangsters and doing super-human trafficking, of course. Well, let’s move on.

The Incredible Hulk (Tales to Astonish)

I have had a soft spot for the Sulk ever since...probably the 2003 three Ang Lee film? Where I realized that 1) Bruce has bad dad issues and no one likes him, and 2) Hulk isn’t just a big boy, he is really fast and jumps crazy far and that’s a physical concept my teenage brain had never considered. I hadn’t even considered liking the Hulk growing up because I was so uncomfortable with almost all expressions of masculinity and machismo. My mom in fact was the one who told me “Don’t you want to see the Hulk? He’s big and scary like a bad guy, but he’s a good guy!” and I assume that’s what helped change my mind?

Anyway, Hulk has had a rough time in terms of popularity as well. His magazine lasted some six or seven issues before being canceled and his stories would continue, shorter, in Tales to Astonish, alongside Ant-Man (and eventually Namor’s own series). In the last few years of the decade he’d get a new magazine starting with The Incredible Hulk #102 (following Tales to Astonish #101... comic numbering is extremely bad), and...it’s okay so far! In the modern era, Hulk had a cartoon I never watched, a few nonstarter films, there was that series with Lou Ferrigno I know nothing about... He seems to always function best as a side hero. It doesn’t help that all the villains in his series are, like. Weird? Not like FF crazy weird, just like weird and not seemingly a great match for Hulk himself. Most of the ones that come to mind are dudes who are also mutated by gamma radiation or something else (and sometimes also green? why is the green supposed to be a common thread, that feels coincidental).

Which reminds me, Bruce is almost never present in what I’ve read so far. It’s just Hulk, usually talking way more than feels natural for him (it took a while for him to start speaking mostly in the third person). As a result, Hulk is usually given a very limited range of characterization and expected to coast on that, and it doesn’t often work. You have to put Hulk in casts and settings that complement him. For a while there he has a support character in Rick Jones, a (very uninteresting) teen boy who eventually can’t keep up with the increasingly antagonistic Hulk, bounces over to Captain America as a ward, eventually is confused by a cosmic cube-wielding, Cap-impersonating Red Skull, and fucks off on his own. He is immediately possessed by, and becomes a host for, Mar-Vell/Captain Marvel. I do not give a single fuck about Rick Jones.

In the earliest issues, the Hulk is gray, and also...just a non-furry werewolf. HE changes at night, until issue #102 retconned this.

Highlights: - That first issue has some really nice panels but I’m gonna say that’s all Jack Kirby’s doing. - Ends up harassing the FF, Spider-Man, the Avengers (after being one of them and then getting buttmad and running off), the Silver Surfer, the US military (regularly)... - Hulk goes to the far dystopic future?? He gets back I guess. - Hulk goes to Asgard! This is arguably the most interesting place to put him because all Odin’s warriors try to fight him and then decide lol this guy’s cool let’s go hang out. Meanwhile, Loki keeps fucking with him. But then the Enchantress and the Executioner become the villains and things get kinda boring again. - The Leader (that’s actually the name of a villain) makes a big robot and Hulk throws it into a volcano and then activates said volcano with his FISTS to fuck it up. Then he manually diverts a nuclear missile into the atmosphere after suddenly caring about people even though he has no reason to. Shrug! - Hulk goes to Attilan, the hidden nation of the Inhumans! There’s potential for interesting stuff here, but it’s mostly wasted by a full cast of extremely uninteresting one-off characters. This is all in a double length annual issue with a gorgeous cover by Jim Steranko, but the issue itself is drawn by Marie Severin. She does good stuff! But Steranko’s work is gorgeous.

Whatever!

The Mighty Thor (Journey into Mystery)

Thor’s winged helmet is really dumb, goodnight everybody!

Okay but yeah Thor started out in the Journey into Mystery magazine, and I guess I’d describe his stuff as... Dungeons and Dragons by Marvel? I struggle with it aesthetically but I like some of the ideas. Mjolnir is fucking cool, Asgard is both a real place and an planet (a flat one, even?), fucking Olympus is also a place and Hercules exists, Loki is... well, Loki hasn’t come into his own yet, but we’ll get there one day. On the other hand, some of the villains are dull as dishwater and a number of the good guys took their time getting interesting. Clearly there was some appeal, because he did eventually get his own magazine starting with Thor #126, I think? There’s that bad numbering again.

A big weird problem with Thor is that originally he has a secret identity. Like. Donald Blake is a surgeon who needs to use a cane to walk, and he goes hiking by himself and gets lost I guess and finds a stick and it turns out oops it’s Mjolnir and he becomes Thor! And Thor is not just a new identity, but also a person that is both the Thor of Norse myth, and the actual son of Odin up in Asgard and has been so forever and aaaaaaa

Donald Blake is not super important. He mostly exists to give Thor a weakness in that he can’t let go of his hammer for 60 seconds or he’ll turn back into a guy with a PhD. Eventually, in the latter half of the 60s, they add on to his backstory in a way I like, by saying “oh no no, he was always Thor. At one point Odin punished him by sending him to Earth with amnesia and in the guise of a handicapped guy getting through medical school. For some reason.” Which really only makes his dual identities more confusing, and I actually dig that. The MCU does not fuck with this at all, and I’m assuming the comics throw it out in the decades to come. Also, this semi-retcon was not included in the reading guide, I found it on accident. Anyway.

Highlights: - Thor joins the Avengers! I mean, duh, of course he does. He eventually leaves because he’s too popular and needs his own series or something. He occasionally pops back in to do cool stuff. - Thor accidentally ends up on Olympus and gets into a big sweaty fight with Hercules. They decide they are pals. This was an annual issue. - Thor goes into space! This is where things get good, and I really like Thor’s archaic ass as a cosmic sci-fi hero. Great juxtaposition. - Thor meets/fights Ego, the Living Planet! Okay, I said Galactus was the weirdest thing, and I was wrong. Ego is. Ego is almost as described on the tin, because he is actually described as an entire “bioverse”, and capable of changing the entirety of his physical makeup at any time. It is intensely cool. He’s also kind of evil and wants to spread out to control everywhere. Also, Thor makes friends with a nice recording robot and becomes an ally of robot rights. - Thor dies! A guy with a giant crowbar is accidentally given asgardian power by Loki, and then kills Thor because Thor has lost his power because Odin is punishing him again. And then Hela shows up as the goddess of death and says hey Thor. And he says hold on I got this and gets back in his body and saves the day and it’s fine. Hela does what she does best, stand there and look cool and do nothing else.

god she’s hot

- Thor rescues Ego from Galactus? Kind of on accident, he’s just trying to save the people inbetween who got their planets ate. Actually though, this arc fucking kicks, and he hangs out with the recorder bot too. In the end, Ego is grateful and lets the planetless nomads live on him. - Thor hangs out with Galactus and listens to his tragic backstory! Then Thor decides he’s gonna hit him anyway, and Odin decides “that’s enough for this story arc” and whisks Thor off to fight a robot instead. - Volstagg. - Volstagg.

- VOLSTAGG.

- Thor’s dudes go to the human world and there are shenanigans. It is good.

The Amazing Spider-Man

We all knew this was coming. Marvel’s own Pikachu. Possibly the most popular superhero alive (well, second to Batman anyway). And probably the hero I cared about the most growing up. We got associated a lot because we share a name. Spidey is probably the coolest idea for a superhero anyone has ever had, and they better CGI gets, the better his fights look. I do not care how many QTEs are gonna be in that new videogame, I wanna look at Spidey swing. Spider-man is just cool cool cool cool.

Early Spider-Man comics are fucking boring! Goodnight everybody!

Okay just kidding sort of. Spider-Man takes a while to pick up, in my opinion, and I’m 100% positive part of that is because I’ve seen these early stories retold in better and better definition so many times. I watched the cartoon as a kid, but the Sam Raimi movies are probably what comes to mind when I think of Spider-Man. Steve Ditko nailed a fucking iconic costume design, and did a great job of visually communicating Spidey’s agility on paper. But, in the earliest issues there was rarely any variation in panel size and shape, and action scenes were laid out like diagrams. Both those factors, along with the fact that each panel had dialogue because Peter kind of never shuts up, meant that pacing slowed to a crawl, and I had to chew through those issues. Also sometimes he just fought, like, mobsters with lassos. Jesus christ that’s boring. As the decade goes on, we start getting some good stuff, and to be completely honest, I’m looking forward to the weird dumb 90s stuff the most?

Highlights: - Peter has a persecution complex and uses his secret identity to be an asshole! Even after Peter’s iconic and still very well written origin story, he spends a lot of time harassing people, good and bad. He regularly breaks into JJ’s office in costume and makes fun of him, he crashes the Torch’s party to beat him up and flirt with his girlfriend, he breaks into the Baxter building to fight the FF in hopes they’ll recruit him with pay, he...gets into an argument with black students who are very passionate about affordable housing? He wasn’t even in costume for that one. Jesus, Peter, go to a therapist. - Nobody likes Spider-Man! Kind of makes sense why he’s got those personality issues, though those start with jocks calling him a nerd (he’s a nerd). Half the city doesn’t trust him, he works for a newspaper that is dedicated to anti-Spidey propaganda (Peter, you’re partially at fault for this), even the X-Men just assume he’s a bad guy, and that’s usually a problem they have to deal with. - Really appropriate villains! Wow! The Vulture matches his high up action, Doc Ock is both another victim of weird science and an intellectual rival. Also, like, their namesakes have a lot of legs. The Lizard is...Florida Man. Maybe the better argument is that many of these villains are memorable, in a decade that featured a concerning amount of “large humanoid monster/robot” baddies in all of the running series. - Like the Green Goblin. Who knew that would be Spider-Man’s Joker? Maybe that’s a bad comparison. Also bats and clowns aren’t usually connected with each other. Where was I going with this. - Spider-Man tries to quit the superhero gig twice, I think? He’s the only Marvel hero to consider this, as far as I know. Part of Peter’s appeal is that not only is he a young adult, unlike the rest of Marvel’s adult cast, but he’s also financially disadvantaged, has a non-nuclear model family, and has to look out for his often ailing Aunt. He has to work a side job while going to school while fighting bad guys, and it’s a lot more interesting than what Tony Stark’s doing up to this point. This has all been said so many times by so many people, but it’s an obligatory mention. - Peter donates blood to Aunt May at one point and accidentally gets a radioactive particle in her body. OOPS. Spider-Man goes on a rampage to find an antidote and tears a metal stairwell off its hinges. He also, like, completely destroys a villain’s underwater base and nearly doesn’t get out himself. - The Green Goblin discovers Peter is Spider-Man! Most of the Marvel heroes have this anxiety, but it never ends up a problem, so this is pretty big. The Goblin kidnaps him in broad daylight, ties him to a chair in a secluded place, and infodumps his origin story that he’s actually the father of Peter’s college roommate and is kind of very unhinged and obsessed with Spider-Man? In the end, Gobby gets amnesia and forgets the whole supervillain and mental illness thing and turns back into a good dad. - Spidey goes to the Casbah! Yeah, go figure. He learns his parents were traitors to America, and it fucks him up so much he flies there to find the truth. He ends up exploding the Red Skull and learns his parents were actually double double agents and were spying for America and so things are a-okay!

also peter kills a dude with a missile

- That aforementioned thing about affordable housing happens! Some black college students are unhappy that the university is taking old dorms that could be used as low rent housing for students and instead giving it to visiting alumni, and start a big protest and the narrative actually pins them as sympathetic even when they get overzealous and physical? I’m...kind of surprised, to be honest. Not used to seeing this at all.

Ant-Man, and...other identities. (Tales to Astonish)

ima keep it real with u founding member of the avengers hank pym, this will not improve marvel’s declining sales

This guy is a goddamn mess.

People like to say “pfffft there’s an ant-man? that’s goofy! that’s the weirdest thing ever! that’s a bad idea!” and buddy let me tell you, Hank Pym has a career specializing in bad ideas. Let’s list them!

- Adopt a young woman while she is grieving over the loss of her father and take her in as both a crime-fighting ward (The Wasp!) and also a love interest. Feel bad about it for about five minutes so it’s okay. - Develop a “growth capsule” that allows you to turn huge and decide to adopt two super hero identities, Ant-Man and Giant-Man. Assume this will not confuse anyone. - Eventually do weird science to make it so you can grow and shrink at will. Assume this will not have negative repercussions on your body. - Change the name Giant-Man to Goliath because you feel like Giant-Man is a dumb name. Confuse everyone for multiple issues. - Get stuck as a twelve-foot tall 90s beverage mascot lookin ass motherfucker (you are terrible at costume design, hank) and get real mad at everyone all the time about it. - Create an evil robot called Ultron and forget about it. Oops! Surely this will be fine.

IT’LL BE FINE

- Fail to relate to your robot-grandson-turned-avenger The Vision. Be a bad grandpa. - Inhale chemicals and get all fucked up on temporary schizophrenia (???), adopting a second personality. Call yourself Yellowjacket, claim to have killed Hank, and kidnap your girlfriend and force her to make out with you. - When assaulting your girlfriend makes her, uh, somehow realize that you are Hank, she will rope you into marrying her, thereby...uh...legally cuckolding yourself I guess? Realize you are Hank during/after the wedding, and be perfectly fine with this egregious violation of consent. Nothing about this will have lasting negative consequences. - Adopt the identity of Yellowjacket, and abandon Goliath. Continue to confuse people. On the bright side, finally have a nice costume. - Make a new Goliath costume in celebration of refusing to ever be Goliath again (WHY), and store it and a beaker of growth serum (WHY) in an unlocked locker out in the open (WHY). Hawkeye will steal it and become the new Goliath II.

So far that’s everything about Hank-Man! Stay tuned to see more of this trainwreck.

Iron Man (Tales of Suspense)

YO THIS DUDE SUCKS

I really like Iron Man’s origin story and his overall concept but the tech culture would not advance far enough to match it for a while. Also this was in the era of the Vietnam War and so Tony’s greatest enemy is The Mandarin, an extremely awkward asian stereotype and I! Ain’t! Got! Time! For! That!

Avengers

The Avengers are, at their most interesting, characters already in their own magazines. At their worst, they’re a bunch of characters no one cares about, fighting villains no one cares about, with last second ass-pull victories. There was a brief period there were I suspected the Avengers magazine was going to be true gristle of Marvel I was gonna have to chew on for hours to get through. Thankfully we are eventually given Marvel’s goodest boy, Vision. After that, things start to pick up a lot.

bless him and his little intangible heart

Highlights: - Captain America is found frozen in an ice cube! He’s been in cryo for twenty years, wow how the world has changed. I guess. Another case of time passing eventually making an origin story better. At this point Marvel has revived three 1940s comics properties: Cap, Namor, and the Human Torch (the lattermost in this case being an entirely different person). - Kang the Conqueror! Kang is a hell of a villain concept. He’s a time traveler who once ruled ancient Egypt as a pharaoh named Rama Tut and, uh, will eventually rule over Earth in the 41st century. He keeps harassing the 20th century for some reason. Also he is hint hint maybe related to Doctor Doom, I guess. - Hawkeye joins, having previously been a one-off villain, and proceeds to be an asshole to everyone forever. Eventually he becomes Goliath II because why not I guess. - Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver join, having recently bailed on Magneto’s Brotherhood, and they are...kinda boring, tbh. Wanda’s “hex power” isn’t very well defined (it makes unlucky things happen), and neither of them have much personality yet. At one point they fight Doctor Doom and he uses a machine to cancel out the hex power (???) and outpaces Quicksilver without using any enhancements (???). Some of these issues really blow. Quicksilver’s costume is lazy as hell. - Hercules joins for some reason, even though he says he doesn’t wanna be part of a team. - Magneto does some sneaky bullshit and tricks Quicksilver into thinking someone at the UN shoots at Wanda on purpose. Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch join Magneto again because fuck normies. - The Avengers are killed (sort of) by the Grim Reaper! Their newest member, the Black Panther, rescues them.

Pick a color you trilobite.

- The Vision joins, Ultron-5 is introduced, and things finally settle in for the good stuff. - Ultron rebuilds himself in adamantium as Ultron-6 and replaces his legs with a rocket chariot thing. No one is brave enough to tell him it looks dumb.

no shut up its cool and i can fit still fit through doorways

immediately the next chapter he re-rebuilds himself with legs and calls himself Ultimate Ultron. mmmhm.

sounds like somebody was havin some self esteem issues about their body. sounds like a talk that ultron and their dad hank pym could probably relate to each other over.

- The decade ends with an arc where Kang abducts the Avengers and ends up himself wrapped up in a proxy wargame with the Grandmaster. Kang uses the Avengers as his pawns, and the GM creates four superhumans that he totally didn’t get from DC no sir. Perfectly original characters, do not steal.

I just...I just really feel like that last one could have used a few more minutes in the boardroom.

- Even better, the second half of the arc pits the avengers against Captain America, Namor, and the Human Torch...in their 1940s renditions!

Hank even comments on the fact that Namor’s diction is different. It’s great.

The Uncanny X-Men

So I grew up in the 90s, and despite never really engaging with comics, I was quite aware that Marvel’s hottest shit at the time was Spider-Man and X-Men. The X-Men had a slow start, but once they caught on, they never really dropped off. Actually, I think they might be less popular now? They’re at least not the ever-present icons they used to be, and I suspect that is partially to do with middling-quality movies diluting the brand.

But, the appeal is there from the start. Children born unique but feared by society are adopted by Patrick Stewart and spirited away to a special boarding school that is secretly dedicated to teaching them to use their powers for the sake of fighting evil. This was the proto-Harry Potter, though Snape’s gonna win no contests against Wolverine.

Unfortunately, we don’t have Wolverine, yet. We’ve got...these guys!

(Not pictured: Marvel Girl/Jean Grey)

The creative potential in mutant design has not quite picked up yet, so the main team (of five teens and an old man) includes such marvels as Guy With Wings, and Guy What Got Big Feet. Seriously, Beast’s feet get way too much attention.

I cannot wait until you are a blue cat instead of this.

I wish I could comment on the political commentary on the series, but it hasn’t quite started up yet, whether that is intentional or not. The rampant fear of mutants is there, we’ve even had a Sentinels arc, but it’s mostly just surface stuff. I had a lot to say about Spider-Man, so I feel kind of silly coming up short here!

Highlights: - Magneto. Despite the slow start this series is going through, Magneto is immediately introduced and has his wonderful costume design and his super threatening magnetism powers. I am a bit confused as to how his magnetism affects all things, not just metal, but magnets are an irl mystery and I’m willing to let it slide. - The Juggernaut. The two-issue arc introducing Juggz himself are effectively told, if not sliiightly silly in structure. The first issue has the X-Men building up defenses because he’s coming, and later, as he tears through each single one, unseen to both the kids and the reader, Xavier explains his and the Juggernaut’s tumultuous childhood together. It builds the tension really well, but it’s a bit funny by the fourth time the X-Men are saying “we gotta go meet him before he breaks in here where we are!” and Xavier’s like “I’M NOT DONE TELLING MY ORIGIN STORY.” - The Sentinels. This is probably the last interesting arc in the 60s, published as early as ‘65. It’s almost the last material in the reading guide, next to an issue where they all get into a fight with Spider-Man for no reason. If I understand correctly, the Sentinels are later depicted as humongous robots, where here they’re closer to ten feet tall or so. I’d always thought the idea of “a bunch of mass produced robots designed to kill mutants” seemed uncreative growing up, especially given that they don’t, like, have an x-gene suppressing ray or anything, but it works well enough in the moment. - Wholly unnecessary amounts of sexual harassment towards Jean Grey. All the boys have the hots for her (well, maybe not Iceman (pun not intended)), including even Xavier saying that she’s attractive when she first arrives. What the fuck, dudes.

X-MANS IS CANCELED

Doctor Strange (Strange Tales)

The reading guide included a ton of Strange Tales to read, including an 11-issue arc at one point. Good grief it was a lot.

Steve Ditko, of early Spider-Man, did the art for Strange for a good while, and I found that contrast between the diagram like action of Spider-Man, and the much more fantastic illustrations of Strange to be the most interesting thing. Eventually Marie Severin would take over as the penciller, and it would take a bit of time to adjust, but the more abstract it got, the better. Also, I don’t really like the footie pajamas Severin draws him in.

This is Steve Ditko. He has thin lines and exact shapes and while you don’t see it here, his magic fights are very clear and easy to follow.

This is Marie Severin. In comparison her lines are thick and smudged (well, okay, we have to give credit to the inkers for these as well, though I think she did her own inking?), but is capable of uniquely evocative images like this. Her action scenes are harder to follow, but she is equally capable of the kind of surreality that appears in Doctor Strange’s comics.

Also, while the topic has been touched on a lot, especially around the time the movie came out, it still bears repeating that Doctor Strange is built on a foundation of cultural appropriation and mystic eastern boogie woogie nonsense. I’m parroting the words of people that know this much better than me, but it’s a problematic and somewhat common trope that media will depict a white protagonist in a foreign setting who not just excels but surpasses everyone else, particularly peers who are native to the setting. At best it’s well-meaning and oblivious, at worst it perpetuates a narrow worldview where everything has to revolve around white people.

Anyway, when the comics focus more on the dread dark dimension of Dormammu, most of these problems aren’t around, and you get lots of fun and bizarre imagery and goofy spell casting.

Highlights: - Dormammu. He’s a prideful otherworldy being who refuses to be caught explicitly going back on his word when beaten at a game of skill, but easily breaks down and claws at loopholes with which he can attempt his petty revenge against Strange. He is also portrayed as a necessary evil, in that he uses his power to erect a barrier that keeps his servants safe from mindless laser-eye cyclops monsters that are just perpetually punching each other. That conflict makes for complicated situations where usurping him may be more harm than help. Also his head is always on fire, and that’s cool. - Trippy visuals. Ditko’s backgrounds lean closer to pop art with abstract shapes, bright colors, and twisting pathways. Severin’s art, if I can remember (there hasn’t been a lot yet) leans closer to mysterious and somewhat vague settings. I’m describing it very poorly.

That’s kind of it for Strange, I guess!

Daredevil

oh my god how many of these have I done now im so tired

I haven’t read much Daredevil yet! The reading guide has given me some seven issues so far out of the full decade, and while there has been some good stuff, I don’t know if I can draw a big mental picture.

DD is, theoretically, in that same category as Captain America, where rather than being a super powerful character, he is merely very very good at what he has. DD got hit in the face with a radioactive dildo or something and it blinded him but enhanced his other senses so intensely that if you sneeze he can tell what brand of nasal spray you use. Also, he’s super acrobatic and has a swiss army walking cane that he can use to do just about anything. And he’s a working attorney. Fuck you and your eyeballs, Batman.

Marvel has not begun to embrace noir, and as I understand it, that seems to be the genre most people know DD for aligning with. As a result, things are kinda silly! DD’s first outfit was yellow and he fought a man who had robot stilts in broad daylight.

Highlights: - Killgrave, the...Purple Man.

I can’t believe this is how Jessica Jones starts.

Uhh, Killgrave got some pheromones or something embedded in his skin on accident and now everyone just does what he says to no matter what. He’s purple now, too. This has not been taken to its terrifying possibilities yet, but I’m very excited to see where it goes. - Daredevil fights Namor. Okay, seriously? Seriously? This is my favorite issue, no joke. Namor busts out of the ocean demanding a lawyer (Matt himself) so he can sue the human race. Shenanigans ensue, and a trial is attempted, but ultimately falls apart when Namor decides “you know what? fuck this I’m gonna start breakin shit”. Matt changes into the DD costume and takes on Namor with everything he can think of, including construction equipment, but fails.

Out of respect, Namor leaves.

- Stilt-Man.

Stilt-Man. (Stilt-Man eventually shrinks into a quantum state that he remains trapped in for months until he suddenly isn’t.)

- And finally, Mike Murdock. In an attempt to ward off suspicion that he might be Daredevil, Matt...pretends to be his twin brother who is never in the same room at the same time as him. As Mike, he is a cocky jerk to everyone and insists that he is Daredevil. And people believe him.

As you would expect (for once), this nearly gets people killed.

Nick Fury (Strange Tales, Agent of Shield)

NICK FURY IS THE BEST GOD DAMN SONNUVA BITCH IN THE WHOLE MARVEL LINE UP

Nick Fury is like if you took James Bond and made it not suck. You get to keep all the gadgets and world traveling but swap out the “ooh, I’m so cool and serious” with kicking open doors and telling fascists to go fuck themselves. Most importantly, it’s a near-parody of the overwrought machismo that the series runs on. It’s so busy getting from point A to point B in as fun a way as possible that it’s impossible to take seriously.

Actually, it might be like if Battle Tendency was less sympathetic to real world fascists. Which is to say, it’s the pinnacle of evolution.

Look me in the eye and tell me this isn’t a JJBA action scene. (Also, Jim Steranko blessed us with a shirtless Fury in latex pants.)

A highlights list would be ridiculously long because I love these comics, so I’ll instead focus on one thing in particular.

- Jim Steranko’s art is gorgeous

Yes, these are all Nick Fury title pages.

Captain America (Tales of Suspense)

Steve is just now starting to get interesting, mostly through his own series, but he’s had plenty of time for notable moments throughout his screentime (pagetime?) in Tales of Suspense and Avengers. While talking about Daredevil I mentioned Captain America and how he’s less of a nigh-supernatural being like most heroes, and more of a particularly exceptional human. He hits really hard, but more impressive is his stamina and agility. Something that I’ve liked in the MCU is how they’ve portrayed him as always capable of what is just one step beyond what people think is possible of him. He can’t fly, but he’ll do as many impossible leaps as necessary. He’s not super strong (well, not to the degree of Spider-Man), but he sure can run for miles, and he knows his way around that shield.

I feel like a lot of what I’m writing is surface level readings of these comics, but the characteristics of Steve that really identify him haven’t quite shown themselves yet, I think. When I think of him, what always comes to mind is that his “american good boy” values take priority over allegiances, and so you’ll see Captain America himself abandon his title if America no longer represents the values of protecting the weak. Steve Rogers is kind of a perfect flawless human (when not written terribly), but that’s pretty okay at the end of the day, when a superhero is more of an icon than a person.

Highlights: - That time the Red Skull got the Cosmic Cube (not the Tesseract), and became a god for like five minutes.

- That time Cap fought a giant baby.

- That time Cap pretended to be dead and then stopped Hydra from burying all the avengers alive even Vision who would...be able to just phase out of the grave. I’m not really sure what the plan there was. - That other time the Red Skull got the cosmic cube and then switched bodies with Cap and they made a lot of facial expressions.

- That time Rick Jones thought Captain America didn’t like him, meanwhile Cap was stranded on a desert island and hanging out with The Falcon and it was cool. Nobody cares about Rick Jones.

Namor, The Sub-Mariner (Tales to Astonish)

I didn’t read a fuck shit about this dude! Sorry!

Captain Marvel

we’re so close to being done

The reading guide gave me nearly nothing on this dude. Issues #1-3 and then #17. He’s a Kree (whoa!) named Mar-Vell (lol) who should be helping to fuck up Earth but ends up liking it and chooses to defend it. He’s got a jet pack and a laser and a really shit costume and he’s NOT BLUE.

Marvy, I need you to move over, the more interesting hero is behind you.

He’s got an asshole commanding officer who keeps trying to get him killed because he wants to fuck his girlfriend and SNORE, I do not care. Come on dude. I have been psyched to learn about

At some point in-between chapters #3 and #17, and...shit, I’ll just quote wikipedia for this:

After aiding humanity several times, Mar-Vell is found guilty of treason against the Kree Empire and sentenced to death by firing squad. Mar-Vell escapes in a stolen rocket, but becomes lost in space. After drifting for 112 days, he is weak and on the verge of madness. He is manipulated by Ronan the Accuser and Kree Minister Zarek into helping them overthrow the Supreme Intelligence. To better help them, Mar-Vell is given a new costume and enhanced abilities. After the conspiracy is foiled, Mar-Vell tries to return to Earth. On the way, he is hit by a blast of radiation that traps him in the Negative Zone.[16]

The Supreme Intelligence enables Mar-Vell to telepathically contact Rick Jones, which he uses to lead Jones to a set of "nega-bands" at an abandoned Kree base. When Jones puts on the bands and strikes them together, he trades places with Mar-Vell and is encased in a protective aura in the Negative Zone. The pair discover they are able to maintain telepathic contact. Using this method, Mar-Vell can remain in the positive universe for a period of three hours.

well what the fuck that might have been worth reading, thanks reading guide

Anyway, so yeah, Rick Jones! Both of these characters were pretty boring, and mayyybe this will help the both of them. Or not. At least the new costume is cool.

Silver Surfer

IT’S THE LAST ONE THANK GOD

Once again, I don’t have much to say here! I wrote all my thoughts on the surfer up in the Fantastic Four section, so you can read that if you haven’t. The reading guide only gave me three issues to read, though they were quite good. The first was his origin story, which I already wrote about above. The second one was about invisible aliens that manipulated the surfer and people’s distrust of him (part of this is because he keeps occasionally attacking humans because he thinks it’ll make them be nicer to each other). And in the third issue, Mephisto kidnaps his long lost girlfriend from his home planet. It works out kind of badly for everyone involved.

begone, thought

And that’s everything for the 60s. Phew! This took a long time and I don’t know if it was worth it. Let me know if you read it, if you enjoyed it, if you pity me, whatever. I got more comics to read.

#curry reads comics #long post #very long post #fantastic four #the incredible hulk #thor #the amazing spider man #tales to astonish #journey into mystery #tales of suspense #avengers #uncanny x men #strange tales #daredevil #captain marvel #nick fury agent of shield #silver surfer #marvel

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