#t her! i honestly think she would struggle to act like a 'typical' mom a lot and i would have loved to see it it would have been very cool!

[roobylavender]

another tangent to that but the funniest thing about the modern conflict and dynamic between bruce and talia is that if you wanted to pit them against each other in terms of parenting philosophies you could have done that just as easily going off of son of the demon alone. talia being an abusive mother is never something that should have been in the cards but her choice to prioritize bruce’s position as batman over the life they could have had together as parents of their child is something i think about a lot and generally talia is someone who was shown to criticize bruce when he let personal emotions and conflicts get in the way of honoring his duty. i could totally see her struggling to fulfill her role as a mother bc of how seriously she takes her ethical duty regardless of however much love she has for her child meanwhile bruce would take one look at an under-10 damian and be on the verge of dropping everything for him out of grief and severely emotionally clouded judgment bc that’s just who he is when it comes to his blorbos in dire straits 

[fuzziekins]

I would like to ask you all of the pride questions from that one post.

Dammit Steve XD

Gender and pronouns?  Female and she/her are fine, as far as i know i’m cis. i don’t care if you call me dude, though. Dude can be anyone.

Romantic orientation? i use demi-whatromantic, with demiromantic as the microlabel. Most people know whatromantic as quoiromantic or quoi. i think what/quoi is typically known as a microlabel, but i relate to that more and feel it describes me more compared to demi which is why i focus more on that aspect.

Sexual orientation? In lamest terms? Asexual. In my terms? Stereotypical ace. In specific terms? S-x repulsed asexual.

Past labels you’ve used? i didn’t use anything before discovering asexuality because naive and oblivious, as far as i know. Before demi-whatromantic i briefly used demiromantic as a placeholder even though that didn’t totally feel right on its own.

How long have you been using your current labels? Asexual since late October 2017 and officially, or i guess out, since February 2018. Demi-whatromantic i think has been for maybe 6ish months now?

What made you pick your name? i had no say in my name lol. I haven’t changed it at all

What names have you gone by previously? Unless nicknames count for anything, just my regular boring name.

What names have you considered using? i’ve only ever considered using other names for me as a Pokemon trainer in the games which is obviously not the same. But, for the record, every time i start a game using the male trainer i’d use the name Larry.

Do you like your flag(s)? i don’t focus on the demiromantic flag as much, only because i feel less of the connection to compared to ace and what. The asexual flag has definitely given me a new appreciation for purple, but as a former art student i’ve been taught that black is typically the absence or color and white encompasses all the colors. so i do wish the ace flag had more colors just so i can stop referring to purple as the “only” color. i definitely appreciate and like the look of the whatromantic flag, but i don’t think as many people are aware of what it looks like or that it even exists. i especially love the shade of blue used in it.

Favorite flag(s) visually? Gonna be unoriginal and say the gay pride flag just because i love rainbows. 

Favorite colors? Blue has always been a favorite of mine, and i used to gravitate mostly towards lighter shades of purple but now i just include purple in general.

Favorite animals? Puppies, kitties, bunnies, hamsters, monkeys, ponies.... Actually, probably best just to say adorable fluffy animals.

Favorite things about being LGBT+? i like having an explanation for being me. i don’t look my age to begin with and i definitely don’t act like it. So people assuming there’s something wrong with me mentally because of it, or wanting to avoid me in general.... i know people have their feelings about stereotypes and a lot of times it is negative, but for me knowing that a stereotypical ace basically describes who i am, it feels reassuring. And i like knowing that i don’t have to act or think or do completely of what’s expected of me because in a heteronormative world, being LGBT+ completely flips that around. Even if to me, it doesn’t always feel like i have a place because i don’t know many queer people and i don’t get involved in things in general, somewhere in my mind i know that there’s a place for me.

Are you dysphoric? Not that i know of.

Are you religious? Nope. i don’t fast, i don’t keep kosher, i don’t go to temple, i never went to Hebrew school.... But it doesn’t make me any less connected to my religion and, as selfish as it sounds, i still wanna make a point of it and remind people, hey us Jews exist, too!

Are you questioning your identity? Some parts of it i do question sometimes, mostly in terms of aesthetic attraction. But i fluctuate with including that attraction in my identity. And i do question how much, if at all it does or could play a part in my romantic attraction. 

Are you in a relationship? Haha, funny. Nope.

Are you out of the closet IRL? For the most part, yes. It’s primarily in terms of saying i’m asexual or just queer, but part of that depends who i’m talking to, if or when it comes up in conversation, and how comfortable i feel talking to people about it.

Is your family supportive? i honestly don’t know if my extended family knows, even though i do post pride related things on my Instagram which some of them do follow and i have posted about it there. But, as annoyed as my mom can get with my ace jokes or comments sometimes, she accepts me for who i am and supports me, and has, probably before even knowing the term asexual existed, had an assumption a typical relationship happening for me was slim. And i know without a doubt that if my dad was still around he would definitely be supportive of me and not cared what i identified as, what i looked like, who i liked or didn’t like, or anything like that. 

Favorite LGBT+ celebrity or historical figure? Neil Patrick Harris is definitely one of them, and i think another favorite is probably Demi Lovato.

Favorite LGBT+ couple IRL? Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka. i love NPH and the family that he and David have are just the most precious things ever! Plus the way they go all out for Halloween every year? HELL. YES.

Favorite LGBT+ canon character? First one that comes to mind is Asami from Legend of Korra. Because Asami. Another one is Cyrus Goodman from Andi Mack. i loved watching his journey on the show and also knowing that there are kids who were watching Disney Channel that could not only relate to and look up to him as a queer character but also as a queer Jewish character. Plus he was just the most precious character and i just wanted to hug him!

Favorite LGBT+ canon fictional couple? Korra and Asami from Legend of Korra; Stef and Lena from The Fosters; Kat and Adena from The Bold Type.

Some characters you headcanon as LGBT+? Elsa and Honeymaren from Frozen 2. Don’t get me started, i will NEVER shut up. I’m going down with that ship.

Some LGBT+ pairings you ship? i know i already said Kat and Adena from the Bold Type. As of the current season they are - spoiler - not together and have not been done the justice to them as characters or their relationship. I continue to ship them, i love the chemistry the actors always have between them and how believable it is for their characters, and i’m just anxiously waiting for the day when they can hopefully FINALLY get back together.

Any celebrity crushes? If by crushes you mean celebrities i admire, look up to, think are cute, and would probably watch almost any show or movie if they were in it? Zendaya. The same has also applied to Corbin Bleu.

Any fictional crushes? As long as the same rule applies to the previous question and also includes being obsessed yet completely in control of that obsession and that character is also a muse for creativity? Elsa.

A trope you dislike about your identity? Probably that it’s a phase or i just haven’t met the right person yet. It took me probably too long to know let alone even understand why i didn’t think so much of romance or relationships and why i was never looking for or really wanting an actual relationship. For the most part, that’s been my whole life so to say my whole life is just some kind of phase or imply that i’m living it wrong? Just. No.

A trope about your identity that applies to you? Maybe this falls more under the stereotypical asexual label, but that aces can be very childlike. i’ve always been a kid at heart, i never really acted like my age, and yeah i can be really naive or clueless about a lot of things. 

Something you wish people understood about your identity? Probably just that people understood it’s an actual identity. It’s not a choice, it’s not a phase. It’s not a label someone created just to be able to fit in somewhere or for sh-ts and giggles. It’s an actual, legitimate, real identity. 

Something you dislike about being LGBT+? I feel like i can’t fully comment on it because sometimes i don’t fully feel LGBT+. Not having more than a couple of friends who identify as queer, not actively getting involved in the community or really wanting to be around people in general...i can only say what i dislike based on what i’ve seen online. And what i don’t like is that the LGBT+ community is supposed to be that - a community. It’s supposed to be a place where we can all relate to each other somehow, support each other and rely on each other. It’s supposed to be a place where, regardless of what label or how many labels we use, if we’re not straight it’s our place. We belong. But people still find a way to want to kick people out or treat people badly just because they don’t understand or agree on the label. Or maybe they don’t like or understand why someone chose a certain label or doesn’t have one at all or just uses queer. People still find a way to exclude and ignore and that’s not fair at all.

If you’re not cis, do you want HRT and/or surgery?

If you’re not straight, who was your first same-gender crush? Are we still going by either of my crush definitions from earlier....?

Do you align with any gay subcategories? (Butch/femme, bear/twink, etc.) Not that i know of. I don’t think i even know a lot, or maybe any of the subcategories at all besides those mentioned.

Do you have any LGBT+ idols? Elton John is the one that comes to mind. Knowing the life he had, the addictions he struggled with and ultimately overcame, becoming an activist and philanthropist especially for HIV/AIDS, growing up on his music... He dealt with a lot and has gone through so much but he’s come out so much stronger and has not only had a successful career but has also tried to do his part to help others for a cause that he believes in. 

Do you own pride merch? Would you like to? A pride hat, 2 pride scarves, a few pride pins, an asexual lanyard.... i would definitely like to have a t-shirt with an ace pun at it at some point, though.

Do you have a type in partners? Probably water. Or were you talking about actual human partners and not Pokemon partners in the games?

Do you have a type in friends? i actually don’t think i chose any of my friends. As far as i can think of, all of the friends i do have came into my life kind of by accident or by chance and they’re the ones who have stuck around. i do think most of my friends though have senses of humors and are loyal, although the closest ones are definitely WAY more levelheaded than i am! XD

[bffhreprise]

Entry 294

 I took a deep breath to try to calm my nerves as I drove up the incredibly long driveway of Somerset Estate.  The gate had opened for me, which had been amazing by itself.  No.  I was supposed to be here.  Today, I would have an interview for Best Friend For Hire.  No sweat.  I was going to meet someone to give me my interview, I’d dazzle them, and thank them for hiring me.  My heart was pounding even harder.  How was I going to do this!?

 “I’m sorry, Kayla, but you got the…” I started mumbling to myself before stopping.  “You got the right brother for the job.  I’m not going to let you down.” I finished, promising myself as much as my kid sister.

 This was just another interview.  Nothing crazy about showing up to sweet talk someone into giving you a good job.  At least, that was what I was trying to believe as the mansion grew larger and larger at my approach.  The center and one of the wings was three stories tall.  The other was two stories and still imposing in its length.  Then there was the yard…

 Immaculately shaped bushes saluted me with green swords held high on each side of the driveway.  More fantastical shapes spotted the enormous front yard.  The place was the size of a large park, even having a forested section in the distance.  At least, I was assuming the forest was part of this place.  I had seen the same fence over there from the road.  Once I was close enough to realize that the driveway’s fountain is larger than my car, I could see the intricate carvings all around it as if there was an entire story just in that piece.

 I cursed and swerve, having nearly hit a girl.  Where did she come from?  Slamming on my breaks, I quickly slammed the car in park, unfastened my seatbelt, and got out, almost walking into a very short maid with extremely long, reddish hair.

 “I’m so sorry!  Are you okay!?” I asked, trying to see if she looked injured.

 The pristine maid smiled and said, “Welcome to our humble abode, Jemal Castello.  Please, follow me.”

 “B-But… my car…?” I started as she walked away.

 “No one will disturb it, and we don’t care where you’re parked.  You are the only interview today.” she assured me without even glancing back.

 I jogged a few steps to catch up, feeling like a giant next to the short girl.  At six-foot-one, I was a reasonably large man, but I didn’t typically tower over someone by so much.  “S-Sorry.  What’s your name?”

 “You may call me ‘Mila’.  Though I bear a striking resemblance to the master’s fiancée, please try not to confuse us for one another.  The maid uniform should be a hint to who is who.” she replied as the two sets of double doors opened one after the other of their own accord to let us into the house.

 “I’ll do my best.” I promised.  My eyes were drawn to the twin stairs leading up to a balcony where I half-expected James to be standing.  He wasn’t.  The place reminded me of castles in movies with the lavish adornments everywhere.

 As we walked, Mila expounded on the estate’s history as well as the history of various pieces of art that caught my attention.  Her casual manner was relaxing.  We didn’t seem rushed for time, and I had shown up a bit earlier than I meant.

 Surprisingly, she took me all the way up the large flight of stairs at the end of the hall.  Was I going to meet someone important to the company?  The lavishness certainly didn’t cease.  Where the art downstairs had looked expensive, the stuff up here struck me as priceless.  At very least, the displays were embedded into the walls with protective glass guarding each painting.  A large vase was cordoned off as if we were in a museum.

 Mila motioned to a large, wooden door, and it opened for me to enter.  Inside James Michael Somerset III strode toward me, and I found myself staring up when he reached me.

 “W-Wow.” I muttered as I accepted his handshake, embarrassed a second later as what I said registered.

 “Yes?” questioned James, smiling and releasing my hand.

 “Nothing.  Sorry.” I told him.

 “Take a deep breath, have a seat, and relax.” he told me, motioning to one of the chairs in front of the desk as he walked around it.

 I did as he said, shocked by the feel of the seat the moment I touched it.  “Whoa.”  Despite looking like leather, this wasn’t.  Something soft as a baby’s bottom coated the chair, but I didn’t completely sink into it either.  There was just enough firmness that I didn’t have to fight to remain upright.

 “The seats feel a little different than they look.” acknowledge James with a knowing smile.

 “No kidding, but they’re really soft.  What is this?” I questioned.

 Now seated and still smiling, he said, “It’s complicated.  Why do you feel you’d be an excellent addition to Best Friend For Hire?”

 The question jarred me out of this quasi-fantasy and back to the game ahead.  I needed this job for Kayla’s sake.  “Oh.  Right.  Sorry.  Well… ummm..” I started, but my mind was blank.  “I-I’m a hard worker, fast learner, and I won’t let you down.” I blurted, the words rushing out after my brain finally started moving again.

 “What if I ask the impossible of you?” he questioned, looking serious.

 “P-Pardon?” I asked, not sure what to think of the question.

 “What if I ask you to do something beyond your limits?” he inquired, smiling slightly.

 “I dunno.  I mean… well, I-I’ll try anything you say.” I assured him, realizing I didn’t honestly know the limits to what all this job entailed.  “That’s what we do here, right? ��Try to please people no matter their request?”

 James’ smile grew, but he said, “No, actually.  We try to act as a best friend for our clients, always pursuing their best interests but never being afraid to tell them if they’re in the wrong.  Part of your schedule as an employee here will be training in numerous things, such as martial arts.  I would want you to be the type of best friend who can protect yourself as well as those around you, but I never want you to feel you have to be a hero, just the best possible friend you can be.  The skills of those here vary greatly.  Aaliyah, my secretary, is the president of Global Princess Entertainment, which made Ancient Tribes of Earth, currently the most successful video game on the market.  Emma is the best gardener you’ll ever meet.  Our chef, Marco, has yet to make a meal that is less than exceptional.  Jarod is a self-made millionaire due to his engineering prowess.  Mila is a self-aware Artificial Intelligence capable of tending to everyone’s needs with exceptional skill and care, often foreseeing a need before it even arises.  What can you bring to the team?”

 My heart was sinking as he spoke.  I knew I couldn’t compete with any of that, not yet at least.  I could tell that he was a great guy, and he obviously had amazing people… Did he say Mila was an A.I.?  Was that a joke?  What if she was?  I needed to respond…  “Umm… uh… P-perseverance.  I don’t have any skills as incredible as those sound, but I will stick to the task at hand until I see the job done right.  You’ll never find anyone with more determination than me.”

 “You might be surprised.” he stated, still smiling.  “Can you juggle?”

 I stared at him uncomprehendingly.  “What?  No.  Sorry.  Is that something I’ll be doing?  I’m sure I can learn.”

 He shrugged and said, “Sorry.  I really need to work on my skills as an interviewer, having never needed to be interviewed for a job myself.  I wasn’t inclined to get a more typical job, so I made this company.”

 “I know, sir.  Er… umm… I read about you founding the company on the site when I applied, not about your interview skills.  T-those seem fine.” I assured him, not willing to argue.  He certainly knew how to make a person nervous… but there was something relaxing about him too.  He seemed so self-assured, even while admitting to being a lousy interviewer.

 “You failed to place an emergency contact on your application, and your résumé could use some work on the formatting.  We can help you on both accounts.  I’m sure you’ll fit in here just fine.” he stated, holding out his hand across the desk.

 I stared in shock at his hand, not remembering what to do as I struggled to comprehend his words.  “Y-You’re hiring me?”

 He nodded, and I grasped his hands with both of mine as if he were pulling me from the lake.

 “Thank you, sir.  Thank you!  I won’t let you down!” I assured him.  My heart was racing, and I was sweating.  I quickly let go of his hands, hardly believing what just happened.

 As he walked around the desk, he said, “Please, just call me ‘James’.  Everyone does.  Well, not everyone, but there’s no need to call me ‘sir’ all the time.”

 “But Master, Mother loves calling you ‘sir’.” asserted Mila.

 I spun around, looking for her.  Where was she?

 “As I told you, Mila’s a sophisticated A.I.  She’s integrated throughout the house, many of the vehicles, and phones as well as the body who greeted you at the door.” he explained nonchalantly.

 “Welcome to Best Friend For Hire, Jemal.” she stated, her voice coming from hidden speakers in the room.

 “T-That’ll take some getting used to.” I admitted, still trying to make myself believe the words.  I couldn’t see any reason James would be lying, but… wow.  She had seemed so lifelike.  “When do I start?”

  “After you move in, assuming you will want to live here.  I suppose you could start immediately if you don’t.  There’s a wing dedicated to employee housing, and Marco provides exceptional meals.” explained James, looking as if he had no doubt what I’d choose.

 “Oh… umm...  How do you feel about kids?  Ya see, I’ve got a kid sister whom I need to look after.” I replied, hoping against hope that we could live here together.  I was already behind on rent, and our meals had been… frugal… since her mom left.

 Nodding, James said, “Kayla can live here too.  The second floor of the employee wing has some accommodations for families.  They’re not large, but the entire first floor of the main building is open for everyone’s use.  There’s also the employee rec center where you can get some exercise if you feel like a swim, lifting weights, or anything of that nature.  If you have any questions, Mila’s always available to help out.”

 “What… umm...  How did you know my sister’s name?” I asked, certain that I hadn’t told him.

 “Aaliyah does a thorough background check on everyone who applies.  Though use of magic on these grounds is encouraged, I do ask that you don’t ever use magic in front our clients, save as a last resort to protect someone.” stated James as if he were just making conversation.  “Come along.  I’ll give you a tour.”

 “Magic!?  What?” I asked, staring at his back.

 Glancing back, he said, “Yes, you’re able to create telekinetic effects whenever you’re emotional or really focused.  That’s a result of inborn magical ability.  Such things are perfectly normal here.”

 Nothing he said was normal, but he knew.  I quickly walked after to catch up to him, staring hard at Mila, who was waiting for us in the hall.  She looked human.  Beautiful, maybe a bit exotic, but she was obviously human.  Having caught James, I still wasn’t letting go of his comment on magic.  “You’re joking.” I asserted, staring as a light appeared over his hand… just floating there.  Magic light.

 “Though not a requirement, most people here have ‘gifts’ of this nature.  My fiancée can create enormous amounts of heat, enough to vaporize a city from what I’ve heard.  Emma’s skill with gardening is aided by her ability to manipulate plants in a very large area, causing them to grow and flourish or even revert to seeds at her whim.  You’ll see.” he claimed.  “Along with lessons in martial arts, I give lessons in magic every morning.  Your sister’s welcome to join us.  I understand she has similar abilities to your own, though slightly stronger.”

 “What kind of background service did you use!?” I exclaimed, realizing I was practically yelling at my boss just after the words left my mouth.  “Sorry, sir… er… James.  T-That’s just not the type of stuff on public record.”

 He came to a stop again and looked into my eyes with a soul-piercing gaze.  “Trust me on this: Aaliyah’s explanations are so incredibly thorough that everyone will question your sanity if you attempt to even read your employment contract in full.  I can only imagine the weeks you’d spend listening if she were to explain her background check process.”

 “Oh, Master, you’ll spoil all of Mother’s fun!” exclaimed Mila from behind me.  She was smiling, but looked just like I’d expect a proper maid to be…. so human.

 Looking back to James, I nodded, following him as he walked down the stairs.

 After the first flight, he asked “Is Cosette in?”

 “She’s currently on a job, Master.” replied Mila.

 He nodded and continued on ward.  He casually waved to rooms as we passed, stating their purpose all the way down the hall where we stepped into a very large kitchen.  “Jemal, this is Marco.  Marco, Jemal.”

 “Piacere di conoscerti.” stated Marco as he shook my hand.

 I replied in Italian, telling him I was pleased to meet him as well.  After he asked, I explained that I learned Italian from my father, who had lived in Italy as a boy.  Marco insisted that we have a good talk sometime, but encouraged me to go onward, after having James and I taste his stracciatella semifreddo that was to be for tonight’s dessert.  I had no words for how incredible it tasted.

 The tour continued and I met more of my coworkers up until Mila said I needed to pick Kayla up from school.  They knew everything here.  Before I left, James insisted that I let him and company help me with the move as soon as I was ready.  I was so thankful that I nearly cried.  Life really was getting better.

[nefarious247]

“Young Turks” - Chapter One

The prase “young turk” is simple slang to denote someone who is a little rebellious, pushing at boundaries, someone who’s out … seeking new things.

(You can read this story here under the “Read More” or on AO3 here.)

Jack hiked his backpack up onto his shoulders and readjusted the heavy box he was carrying. He did not feel prepared at all for move-in day. Truth be told, he was happy to be out of his mother’s house. She was drunk all the time, and Jack felt like he’d spent the entirety of his life being an adult in her place. He felt a little guilty at the thought of leaving her, but he was also glad he didn’t have any siblings to leave behind at the mercy of her. This was his life now - all the way across the country, no more dealing with mom and all her problems. He was going to live a life that someone his age should live, finally. Whatever happened to his mother, well, that just wasn’t his responsibility anymore.

He’d scoped out his dorms days ago to make sure he knew where he was going and what the best path to take there would be. As he lugged his few belongings up a set of narrow, dimly-lit stairs, he wondered what life would be like now. He’d have a roommate, of course, but he didn’t know  what he’d be like. Jack shrugged the thought off and walked up the hallway on the fourth floor of the dormitory. He finally reached 492 and sighed in relief. He awkwardly turned the handle on the door and entered the room, only a little surprised to see that his roommate was already there.

Jack dropped his things on his bed and turned to say hello. His roommate hadn’t looked up from unpacking, so instead, Jack stayed quiet and simply looked around the room. His roommate, still a major unknown, was tall, fit, and handsome. He had wavy blond hair that fell just past his chin, and piercing blue eyes. He was wearing a plain tan shirt, loose jeans, and a battered red hat backwards. He was unpacking stack after stack of magazines and books and gently placing them on the bookshelf under his lofted bed. Jack saw that he’d already hung a few posters from what looked to be shooter films.

“Hey,” Jack introduced himself finally, “I’m Jack. I guess we’re roommates?” The other man looked up from his boxes and blushed, looking rather embarrassed for not saying hello earlier.

“Hah, yeah,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck, “I’m Ryan. Nice to meet you.” He quickly thrust his hand out for Jack to shake, and they shared an uncomfortable moment.

“Nice to meet you too,” Jack mumbled and pushed his glasses up on his nose. He started to unpack his box, and he decided to try to strike up a conversation with Ryan.

“So uh, there’s a ‘welcome day’ party or something going on at the student union tonight, are you going?” he asked as he put sheets on his bed.

“Oh,” Ryan responded, disinterested, “uh, probably not? Why, are you going?”

“Eh, probably not,” Jack laughed.

“Not the partying type, eh?” Ryan chuckled back. Jack grinned.

“I guess you could say that. I’d honestly rather shower and go to bed,” Jack replied with a sigh.

“That doesn’t sound too bad,” Ryan agreed. He started to collapse his now-empty boxes as he continued to speak, “Didn’t bring much, huh?”

“Didn’t have much to bring,” Jack replied, his tone dropping slightly. He’d suddenly become self-conscious of his small collection of possessions: one set of twin sheets, about a week’s worth of clothes, a lamp, a few books, and his scant school supplies. He hadn’t had a chance to go out and buy a towel, or shampoo, and he realized his desire to shower would have to be put on hold.

“I uh, actually gotta go shopping tonight, so I definitely won’t be at the party,” Jack said, trying to cover his embarrassment.

“Hey,” Ryan said quickly, “I actually have to get some things too. Wanna come with me?”

Jack turned to look at Ryan with a grin, “You got a car?” Ryan nodded.

“Good, ‘cause I took the bus here,” he laughed, “yeah, sure, I’ll come with you.”

They pulled into the Wal-Mart parking lot after a quick stop at the nearest McDonald’s and headed into the store. They both made a beeline for the towels - apparently Ryan had forgotten to pack his. Jack felt less embarrassed about his own lack of toiletries. Over the next hour, Ryan stocked up on all kinds of cheap foods, extra clothes, razors, and a few new books. Jack grabbed an inexpensive family-size bottle of shampoo, the cheapest towel he could find, and a few more t-shirts to add to his wardrobe. Ryan eyed Jack’s much smaller cart load and hummed to himself.

When they went to pay, Ryan whipped out cash before Jack could even get his wallet. Jack was horrified, and he begged Ryan not to pay for his things, but Ryan refused. The cashier was confused and a little afraid of how sternly Ryan had reprimanded Jack, but they were soon done and back in Ryan’s car. All the embarrassment had returned to Jack, and his entire face glowed red.

“Why’d you do that?” He asked, mostly confused but also a little angry.

“Look, my parents are paying every penny of my tuition. They paid for this car, the gas that’s in it, and they give me four hundred dollars a month for groceries. From now on, if you need anything, just tell me,” Ryan said sternly.

“I can’t ask you to buy everything for me, I’ve got money, and I barely know you! Plus it’s your parents’ money, wouldn’t they be mad if they found out you’re spending it on someone else?”Jack argued frantically.

“We’re gonna be roommates for at least a year, better get to know each other!” Ryan practically growled, “and no, my parents barely noticed that I left for college, they don’t care what I spend my beans on.” Ryan paused.

“Besides, that’s way too much money for me to spend on myself every month. I couldn’t go through that much if I tried! You’ve gotta help me with this burden, please,” he laughed, his entire aura softening. A weak smile tugged at Jack’s lips, and he scoffed and shoved Ryan.

“Agreed, then,” Ryan declared, “I’ll be Mr. Moneybags and you be my friend, tight?”

“You can’t buy friends, dude,” Jack laughed.

“Shut up!” Ryan exclaimed.

Jack opened the door to his and Ryan’s room and flopped down on his bed. He rubbed his hands over his face and through his thick red beard. He pulled his glasses off and abandoned them beside himself on the bed. He groaned and closed his eyes as he pressed his hands hard on them.

Ryan rolled over in his bed and stared at Jack for a little bit before asking, “Rough morning?” Jack only grunted.

“You don’t know how lucky you are that you don’t have eight-A-M’s,” Jack sighed.

“Oh, believe me, the way you act when you come back from yours is enough,” Ryan said solemnly.

“This class is gonna kill me,” Jack moaned as he rolled over to lie on his belly. He clutched his pillow tight to his face.

“I believe in you,” Ryan teased. Jack’s hand appeared from under his pillow, and he flipped Ryan off. Ryan only laughed and rolled back over in his bed.

They’d only been in school for a month, but a lot had happened in that time. Jack and Ryan had developed a mutual affinity for Ryan’s favorite shooter films - Licence to Kill, To Live and Die in LA, and Reservoir Dogs - as well as Jack’s favorite bands - The Smiths, Simon & Garfunkel, and The Replacements. Jack was helping Ryan with his civics class, and Ryan helped Jack with his computer science class. They mutually-struggled with their calculus and geology classes, and Jack helped Ryan memorize lines for his play while Ryan helped Jack with his numbers for his budgeting class. They typically avoided on-campus events, unless they were business- or theatre-related, which played to Jack’s and Ryan’s majors respectively.

Additionally, they’d optimised their time together to get shopping, homework, and extracurricular requirements done in time to watch movies on Ryan’s new VHS player they’d bought in their second week. When Jack saw it on sale at the store, he’d planted the seed of want in Ryan’s mind by pretending to offhandedly mention how cool it’d be to be able to watch Ryan’s favorite movies in their dorm. Ryan dedicated one-hundred and twenty of his dollars to the VHS, a small boxy TV, and five of his favorite titles. They’d wasted no time setting up the TV and VHS player in their dorm, and spent the weekend watching all of Ryan’s picks. They bought a few new tapes every week and had their own movie nights on the weekends. As Ryan had predicted, his parents didn’t bat an eye at how easily he went through his allowance every month.

Ryan rolled back over, having suddenly remembered something he urgently needed to tell Jack, “Hey, good news!” Jack looked up from his pillow expectantly.

“Kris, that cute brunette in my theatre class, y’know, the one who’s super into lighting? Yeah, she’s seen you hanging around in the theatre during rehearsal, and she told me that she thinks you’re ‘quite the looker’.”

Jack frowned slightly, “Eh, I’m not really interested. Sweet of her to say so, though. I thought this beard might be unsightly.”

Ryan frowned hard, upset that his foolproof plan to cheer Jack up had failed miserably. He huffed and turned back to face the wall. “You’re impossible.”

“What?” Jack scoffed, “because I don’t particularly care about that one girl in your theatre class?”

“No,” Ryan retorted, “because you’re so damn hard to cheer up.”

“I’m fine,” Jack laughed unconvincingly. Ryan knew he was lying, but he left it for now. He was exhausted, and Jack would be more willing to talk when he was done with his classes. For now, they could just relax and sleep. Nine twenty-five was too early to talk about real stress and difficult classes.

When Ryan’s alarm went off two hours later, Jack was already gone. Ryan got up and got dressed; he ran a comb through his hair and studied his face briefly in the mirror. He grabbed his backpack and strolled out of the dorm. He sauntered out into the brisk October air and hurried to class. He slept through his first class, lazily took notes that slowly deteriorated into doodles during his second, and he ended up skipping his third after having decided that he was too tired to attend. He stopped by the mailboxes on his way back to his dorm and picked up his mail. He stuffed a couple of envelopes and a subscription magazine into his bag and retrieved a second key from his lanyard. He walked up a few feet and unlocked the box labeled “Pattillo, Jack”. He’d stolen Jack’s key a few weeks earlier when Jack said he would never get mail. Ryan checked the box every time he checked his own, but thus far it had been empty. Today wasn’t any different.

Ryan was surprised that Jack never got any mail at all - not even letters from the college. He thought for sure Jack would get a letter prompting him to join on-campus clubs, just as he had, but his mailbox was empty even then. Ryan briefly wondered if someone was stealing Jack’s mail, but he remembered that he had the key and would have noticed if someone had taken it. He shrugged it off and made his way back to the dorm.

Jack was back, working on homework with his books and notebooks scattered all over his bed. Ryan climbed onto his bed and opened his letters. He chuckled a little at the first one, but frowned when he read the second. He took the four hundred dollar check out of the envelope and briefly skimmed the scrap of paper inside before crumpling it up and tossing it into the garbage. He pulled out his wallet and placed the check safely inside. He returned his attention to the first letter to read it again.

“You got two letters today?” Jack asked, having been distracted from his work by the sound of Ryan’s crumpling.

“Oh, yeah,” Ryan responded, still half-reading the letter, “from my brothers.”

“That’s them on the wall, right?” Jack pointed at a polaroid picture that showed two young boys with their arms wrapped around each others’ shoulders. Ryan looked up and grunted.

“It’s an old picture, but yeah,” he commented lazily, “apparently they joined AV Club and Astronomy Club this year.”

“How old are they?” Jack asked.

“Hmm… They’re fifteen,” Ryan said after a moment of thinking.

“That’s a lot for fourteen-year-olds to do on top of school,” Jack observed.

“Yeah, they do sports too. Cross Country in the fall and Track in the spring,” Ryan elaborated, “they’ve always been the busy type, y’know?”

“What about you?”

“Pshh,” Ryan scoffed, “I didn’t do anything in high school except get into trouble.”

“For real?” Jack was intrigued. Ryan didn’t really seem like the troublesome sort, at least not as far as Jack knew.

“Yeah, I was in detention almost every day,” Ryan chuckled, but his tone was sour, “I got in a lot of fights at school, and after school I’d go out and pick more.”

“Real ball buster, huh?”

“Hah, yeah,” Ryan muttered, “I guess you could say that.”

They stayed quiet for a moment. Jack suddenly felt awkward, realizing that something was bothering Ryan. Before he could say anything, Ryan piped up again.

“What about you? What’d you do in high school?”

“Oh, uh,” Jack thought for a minute, “Well, I was in Key Club and I was the Vice President of Student Council. Kept me busy enough.”

“You were a good kid, then?” Ryan asked as he shot Jack a sly grin.

“Eh, I guess,” Jack muttered, “I wanted to do well enough in school to be able to go to a far-away college, so I guess, yeah, I tended to be pretty good back then.”

“Back then? You telling me you’ve got some secret mischief now?” Ryan asked.

“I mean if you count watching movies all weekend instead of doing classwork, then yeah,” Jack laughed. He fell back onto his pillow, upsetting one of his textbooks.

“Why’d you want to go to college far away from home?” Ryan questioned.

“That’s,” Jack paused, “well, that’s kind of a lot. I guess the short answer is I didn’t have a great home life.”

“Sorry,” Ryan said awkwardly, “I, uh, I get that.”

“Sorry to hear that,” Jack replied sincerely.

“You leave any siblings back there?”

“Nope,” Jack said, “mom knew better than to have more than one kid, and I can be grateful for that I guess. You ever worry about yours?”

“Eh, a little,” Ryan admitted, “but I think they’ll do better than I did. They don’t go looking for trouble.”

They fell silent again. Jack shuffled uncomfortably in his bed, and Ryan sighed quietly. They rarely talked about their home lives, and now they understood why. Life before college was messy and complicated, even if they were barely saying anything.

Ryan got off of his bed and turned the TV on. “You up for The Rocky Horror Picture Show?” he asked. Jack nodded. Ryan took the tape out of the case and put it in the little slot in the front of the TV. He pressed buttons on the front as he was prompted to and the movie started.

Jack had only caught glimpses of the movie on TV at home, but he’d never sat down and watched the whole thing. As far as he was aware, it was a racy movie, but Ryan claimed it was better than Reservoir Dogs. Jack declared he’d be the judge of that - he couldn’t see how a movie made almost twenty years before Reservoir Dogs could even hold a candle to it. Ryan swore he’d love it.

Jack didn’t take his eyes off the screen once. Ryan was secretly very pleased with himself for choosing such a hit. There was a point about halfway into the film when Jack looked like he very much wanted to ask a question, but he stayed quiet and focused on the movie. Ryan noted this observation and made a point to return to it when the film was over. For the time being, however, he let Jack watch in peace.

Nearly two hours later, when the film was over, Ryan broke the noise of the credit music to inquire what Jack thought of the movie.

“I’m sorry I doubted you,” Jack said, a mystified glaze over his eyes as he watched the credits roll by, “that was incredible!”

“Told you so,” Ryan grinned. Before he could ask Jack anything else, Jack posed a question of his own.

“So was the main character…”

“Gay?” Ryan interjected.

“No,” Jack shook his head, “I guess I don’t know what I’m asking. What… God, that sounds horrible… Okay, whatever, what is he? Or she? I don’t really know.”

“Jack, are you telling me you don’t know what a transvestite is?” Ryan laughed.

“Yeah,” Jack grumbled, “I guess so.”

Ryan laughed at Jack’s expense before he explained, “This is probably not the best explanation in the world, but a transvestite is basically someone who dresses like the opposite gender and, like, lives their life that way.”

“Oh, okay,” Jack said, still not totally understanding.

“Is there anything else you don’t know about?” Ryan teased.

“Shut up,” Jack laughed, “Transvestites weren’t exactly a big thing in my hometown!”

“I’m not really sure they’re a big thing in anyone’s town,” Ryan wheezed between laughs.

“You’re an asshole!” Jack threw a friendly punch Ryan’s way, and a lot of things happened all at once.

Ryan’s right palm met Jack’s fist and twisted his arm sharply. Jack cried out in surprise and Ryan dropped his arm in an instant. Ryan leapt to his feet, his face glowing red. Jack shot him a quizzical look.

“Sorry,” Ryan mumbled, terribly embarrassed, “I just thought…”

“It’s fine, dude,” Jack said, shaking out his arm as if to prove that it still worked. Ryan smiled weakly and went to eject the tape from the TV.

As Ryan was putting the tape away, Jack braved another question, “So like, are Transvestites women who used to be men?”

“No,” Ryan said as he returned the movie to the shelf with the others, “that’s a Transgender person. I’m not really that well-versed on the subject, but I guess the big difference is how they present themselves to other people? Like, okay, do you know what a Drag Queen is?” Jack shook his head no, “Um, okay, well they’re men that dress like women and perform. Not really like strippers, but, you get it? I would say that Drag Queens are Transvestites. And, um, Transgender people are like, actually that gender. Like… oh! Candy Darling!”

Jack stared blankly at Ryan in utter confusion. Ryan sighed.

“Andy Warhol? The artist? Candy Darling was one of his main models,” Ryan explained, “actually, come to think of it, a lot of Transgender women modelled for him.”

“I know who Andy Warhol is, but that doesn’t really explain anything,” Jack admitted. Ryan just shrugged and returned to his bed.

“It’s not that important,” Ryan sighed, facedown in his pillow, “I’m going to sleep, I’m exhausted.”

“G’night, Ryan,” Jack yawned as he pushed his books off his bed and burrowed into his blankets.

Halloween came quickly. Jack and Ryan spent most of October running around like chickens with their heads cut off, working on projects and papers, and studying for exams. Ryan’s play was the first weekend of November, Jack had a mock federal budget due, and they both had lab journals to turn in. They spent more time than ever holed up on the fifth floor of the library, where they could spread out over the entire floor. They created a studying bolthole, and they were there working away every spare moment.

When everything was finally finished - save for Ryan’s play - and classes were finished, Ryan and Jack addressed the issue of Halloween. There were likely hundreds of parties going on, and they’d been invited to a few by their friends and Ryan’s castmates. They simply weren’t sure what to do. They could always spend the night in watching the small collection of Spielberg films they’d accrued, or they could go nab some half-priced candy at Wal-Mart. Of course, they also felt obliged to go to their friends’ parties. In the end, they decided to dress up and go out.

Ryan drove to a pop-up Halloween store that had been set up in an abandoned department store. Surprisingly, even on Halloween in a college town, they still had loads of costumes. Ryan had a bit of an issue finding a costume tall enough for him, but they eventually found good ones and headed for the checkout line.

Ryan found a grim reaper costume, complete with a tattered black robe, a horrifying skull mask, and an enormous scythe. He was ecstatic to look so terrifying, and Jack was already on edge imagining someone of Ryan’s stature cloaked in that monstrosity. Jack had found a Rocky Horror Picture Show costume, a Frank N. Furter one to be exact, and it came with a matching wig.

“Do you think I should shave my beard?” Jack asked.

Ryan considered it for a moment before responding, “Absolutely.”

An hour later, Jack was clean-shaven and they were dressed to the nines. Not an inch of Ryan’s skin was visible, and he looked like a real wraith had stepped out of the astral plane to haunt the streets. Jack had a sharp but curved jawline hidden under his beard, and in the full costume, he looked a lot like Tim Curry in his glory days. Ryan painted his face and used some of the stage makeup to finish off the look, and together they looked incredible.

They made their way to Ryan’s friend Kris’s party, which was off-campus at her house. Ryan drove to the party, and they were able to park in her driveway. She’d offered a spot in the garage even, to keep Ryan’s car safe from drunk people, but he figured it would be fine so long as it was off the road. Kris was dressed as Marilyn Monroe, and she definitely looked the part.

“Jack? Is that you?” she asked, ogling over Jack’s costume, “you look incredible!”

“Thanks!” Jack smiled, not at all playing the part.

Ryan and Jack followed Kris through a small crowd of people, mostly other Theatre majors, to the back yard, where there was music, drinks, and all kinds of games. Ryan saw a bunch of his castmates and tech students he knew, and Jack recognized a couple of the student directors. They struck up conversation and danced under the strings of orange and purple lights Kris had hung from tree to tree.

When someone came around handing out drinks, Jack took one to taste, but Ryan refused. Jack shot him a funny look and he just shrugged. Jack rolled his eyes and tasted the beer. It wasn’t great, but it would do. He wouldn’t have more than just the one, but he would enjoy the one he allowed himself to have. Soon, he and Ryan were just dancing in a tightly-packed group of people.

The sun slowly set, and the party got less and less sober. The crowd got closer, and everyone was sweating, even in the chilly evening air. At some point, Ryan and Jack got separated. Jack didn’t mind terribly, he just slowly made his way out of the center of the yard to the back where people were bobbing for apples - or, rather, trying to, but they were too drunk to actually get any.

One of the people attempting to bob for apples - a man in a Fresh Prince-era Will Smith outfit - stumbled over to Jack and swung a red solo cup sloshing with beer his way.

“Didn’t know dressin’ up as a faggot was an option!” he laughed.

Jack rolled his eyes but otherwise ignored the guy. He was, however, keeping a weather eye out for Ryan, almost desperately waiting for him to return from wherever he’d gotten off to. The man wasn’t letting up though.

“Seriously - hic - you look like - hic - a dimestore tranny!” the man said between drunken hiccups.

“This is a real costume,” Jack said smoothly, “I’m dressed up like a character from The Rocky Horror Picture Show.”

“Yeah, the fag movie!” the guy laughed, spilling some of his beer on Jack.

“It’s - you know what, I don’t care,” Jack scoffed as he shoved the man away and turned to leave the yard. The guy grabbed Jack by the shoulder and stopped him. He sloppily sloshed more beer onto Jack, and he looked angry now.

“Where you goin’, fag?” he spat.

“Get off of me!” Jack exclaimed and shoved him away again.

“Fag on the loose!” the guy cried as Jack hurried away along the fence.

Jack could feel his face getting hot. He was glad he had the face paint on to hide how red he probably was underneath it. He climbed the stairs to the back porch and ran into one of Ryan’s friends who was also avoiding the beer. He struck up a conversation with the guy, Stuart, and recounted what had just happened with an air of inconvenience.

“God,” Stuart groaned, “Derrick’s the worst, especially when he’s drunk.”

So his name was Derrick. Jack made a note to avoid him in the future. Jack and Stuart moved away from the unsavory conversation and discussed school of all things, while drunk college kids milled about around them.

Earlier, when Ryan and Jack got separated, Ryan retreated into the house to use the bathroom. When he returned to the kitchen, he found Kris being harassed by friends of someone she’d invited. He stormed into the kitchen looking like Death himself and told the guys off.

“Knock it off,” Ryan said.

“Or what, you’re gonna reap our souls?” the first guy, a redhead wearing a shoddy He-Man costume, retorted, feigning intimidation.

Ryan pulled his hood down and his mask off to reveal the murderous expression on his face and growled, “get out.” At the sight of his face, the guys lost all the desire to argue and practically bolted out of the kitchen.

Ryan put his mask back on and turned to Kris, “Some people, I swear.”

“Thanks, Ryan,” she said awkwardly, “I know, it’s like, I threw this party, the least you could do is respect me!”

Ryan and Kris left the kitchen and started up a conversation in Kris’s living room, where a group of people were watching The Shining and drinking more than they should. Kris grabbed another beer and offered Ryan some, but he declined again. She shrugged and continued the conversation. More people were crowding into the room, some there to actually watch the movie and some there only because they wanted to sit. Eventually, Kris and Ryan ended up crammed into one recliner. The Shining had ended by that time, and someone had gotten up and changed the movie to Friday the 13th. Kris scowled and turned away from the TV. She was now entirely in Ryan’s lap, mostly facing him. He had to awkwardly wrap his left arm around her to keep her from falling out of the chair.

“Sorry,” she groaned, “I just hate this movie so much!”

“Why do you own it?” Ryan chuckled.

“I don’t! It’s one of my roommates’,” she said. She leaned against Ryan’s chest and tried to block out the sounds of the TV.

Ryan’s arm tightened around Kris instinctively, and she snuggled into his embrace. Her hand had settled gently on his shoulder. Ryan kept talking through all this, although he was now hyper-focused on her every move. He was telling her about how he’d seen this movie a lot as a kid and it didn’t really freak him out anymore. Her ear was right over his heart, and she let the steady beat of his heart and the hum of his voice distract her from the screams emanating from the other side of the room.

“We don’t have to sit in here if you don’t want to watch this movie,” he said suddenly, having broken from his monologue.

The next thing he knew, he and Kris were locked in her room, and he was trailing kisses down her jaw. His cape and mask were abandoned on the floor, along with Kris’s blonde wig. Kris pushed him onto her bed and fell with him, and he rolled over so that she was underneath him. He sat up and pulled off his gray undershirt before laying back down to resume kissing her.

They moved together, the sound of the movie and the music permeating the room and creating an energetic ambiance. The entire room was dark, except for the spray of light that came in through the window from the backyard. Their bodies were hot; Ryan, despite his size and strength, was gentle with Kris. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her, emotionally or physically.

When Ryan rolled off of Kris, breathing heavily and dripping in sweat, he held her close and placed a soft kiss on her hair. She leaned into his embrace and hummed softly. His arms wrapped tighter around her, and he intertwined his legs with hers.

“So, uh,” Ryan whispered, “you still have that crush on Jack, or…”

“I was kinda thinking you and I have more in common, so…” Kris laughed softly, “besides, between me and you, you’re cuter.”

Ryan kissed her again and nuzzled her with his chin, his short beard tugging at her hair. She closed her eyes and sighed happily.

“Shit,” Ryan groaned, “I forgot about Jack.”

“We should go find him, probably,” Kris agreed, realizing what Ryan meant.

Ryan crawled out of Kris’s bed and pulled his jeans on. She slipped back into her dress and picked her wig up off the floor. Once they looked presentable, they sneaked down the stairs past a couple drunk kids and left the house. Ryan scanned the crowd in the yard, trying to pick out Jack. Kris nudged him and pointed to her right, where Jack and Stuart were sat having a heated discussion about the differences between Macbeth and Banquo. Ryan rolled his eyes and smiled.

“I guess he’s fine,” he groaned. Kris laughed.

[breg21]

The Ties that bind us Ch.1

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12840945/1/The-Ties-That-Bind-Us

Chapter 1! I'm so excited to get this story started! I now have a skeleton down; so I know what I basically wanna do with this story, I can't wait to write it all down! Anyway, please enjoy. Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom, Nickelodeon does.

HOWEVER, LILITH FENTON IS MINE HEHEHE.

Two years had passed. Spring poured into summer, summer had swirled into fall, and winter was now taking its harsh claim over Amity. As the seasons changed so did Team Phantom, which was now their official name. Now that Team Phantom was a renowned worldwide corporation, it allowed people to make ghost hunting to be their career, and people could start as young as fifteen with parental permission. It was now a more government-funded career, with classes taught by educated people that had to get a degree in the field.

It also gave students that wanted to go into ghost hunting a scholarship into college if they wanted something other than ghost fighting, depending on their rank, how invested they were, and what skills they built up over the years. It worked like a grading system; the better the grades, the more scholarships were offered. While there was a grading system in Ghost 101, it worked more on the physical aspects, like gym, and either you passed or failed.

Ghost 102 worked on more of the science of ghost hunting, and was graded like a normal academic class. They were taught how to outsmart a ghost, how to hide from a ghost, and a better understanding of how a ghost thinks for self preservation. The students had to learn how to get out of tough situations that they may get into if a ghost were to attack them.

Danielle wasn't sure how many high school and colleges offered the ghost hunting classes outside of her town, but in town there were three classes: One taught by her grandpa, one by grandma, and one by Valerie's dad, Damien Grey.

Her dad had changed the most, while he wasn't the bulkiest around he was starting to lose his lean build and was gaining muscle from ghost fighting. He kept his hair about the same, and he now towered over Dash at 6'4''. His crystal blue eyes, despite having seen so much horror and shit in his young eighteen years, had retained an understanding of happiness. He always said it was because of his family that he was so grounded in reality. He now wore a plain black t-shirt with his symbolic logo, and simple blue jeans.

She had also changed a little over the years. Her figure was now more refined at sixteen. However, not wanting too many eyes on her, she kept to her baggy hoodies, sweatpants and leggings, unless she was with Tucker, then she'd dress a little differently. Her eyes that matched those of her dad's stayed the same, and honestly so did everything else. She didn't need much of a change.

Her mom and Valerie stayed the same physically, other than filling out in the chest area a bit and gaining a couple inches in height. Valerie still was curvy, and her mom still had her straight figure, which always seemed to compliment her nicely.

Sam was also growing her hair out now; it was just past her shoulders. Her signature clothing hadn't changed much, except for a different deep purple plaid skirt with black lining instead of the green; she had also traded her purple tights for black ones that stopped just above mid-thigh.

Valerie now typically wore a crimson red sweater and black jeans. She preferred to cover up, trying to protect her skin as much as possible if a ghost were to unexpectedly attack, unlike Sam who didn't give a damn, her own words being "If I get a scratch, I get a scratch, I'm not going to worry about it," to which the huntress could only shrug in acceptance. To each their own.

Tucker had changed along with Danny, getting more bulk in his build. It was not as much as the halfa but it added to him, and - to Danielle's utter disgust - made girls chase after him constantly, to which she'd secretly fire an ecto-blast at the fawning girl's ass over her boyfriend. He stood strongly at 6'2'', which still made her have to stand on her tiptoes to give him a kiss. Switching up his own outfit, he now wore a light baby blue hoodie with the logo embedded on the front, dark blue jeans that matched nicely, and a multi-colored beret of green, red and yellow. He was in his last term as mayor.

As of right now, however, it didn't matter how many years had passed; Danielle was still sure that school was the embodiment of torture for teenagers. She had been out with Tucker last night, past curfew -which got her grounded- and she could feel her eyes start to droop. Drool started to pool in her mouth, threatening to spill over. History 2 was so boring, and Lancer hadn't changed over the years; his voice still put people to sleep.

"Ms. Fenton!" Her textbook slid from her desk, dropping to the floor, resounding with a loud thud. Bolting up, her eyes snapped open, sweeping the room, searching for danger. When she came back to reality, she saw her classmates staring back at her in laughter and amusement. Her only response was to shrink a little in her seat. What scared her most was the look of anger on her parents' face.

"Ms. Fenton, do I need to have a conference with your parents? If the cause is ghost fighting, I'd allow it, but seeing as your dad over here is quite awake, something tells me that isn't the case." The glances she received from both eighteen-year-olds told her she didn't want that.

"No, sorry sir." He turned back to his lesson.

"Now, as I was saying-"

Out of nowhere, the ceiling caved in.

Two ghosts - from what Team Phantom could tell, one being Skulker, and one unknown - were in hand-to-hand combat. Skulker, unfortunately, had the upper hand in the fight as they pushed against each other to gain control against the other. His bigger build seemed to tower over her.

The girl looked no older than sixteen. The weird thing about her though, was she had almost the same costume of Team Phantom, complete with the DP logo, sleek green, black, and white colors and all. She had a round baby face, thin lips pressed firmly together, with a narrow scrunched up nose as she fought off Skulker. Her waist length hair was snow white, much like Danny's in ghost form, and her amethyst eyes narrowed in concentration on her fight.

There was something else she noticed about this new girl. A medallion hung loosely around her neck, with the letters CW imprinted in the middle that stood for Clockwork.

Just great.

Time travel. Can't we have a normal month?

The girl's head turned to the side, piercing daggers at the team. "A little help here you guys?" She hissed through her teeth as she continued to struggle with the hunter.

The four broke into action. Valerie, Sam, and Tucker pulled bazookas from their backpacks, while Danny and Danielle changed forms, and all started striking the hunter with ectoblast after ectoblast. It was moments before he was easily contained in a Thermos.

The girl got up with the help of Danny. Rolling her shoulder, she groaned in anger and pain at discovering that her shoulder was dislocated.

"Thanks, dad." the halfa said.

Everyone but the four gasped in shock at hearing this girl call him dad.

'Wasn't Danielle his only daughter? How many clones did Masters create?' was the only thought from their fellow classmates.

Ignoring their shock, Danny continued as if it was nothing. "What's your name?" He came up to her, grabbing her shoulder, signaling that this was going to hurt, and she nodded in agreement, used to this by now.

"Lilith." she grit out between her teeth. He grabbed her forearm, placing one hand on her shoulder, and snaps it back into place.

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm uncle Clockwork's apprentice. I'm from about twenty or so years into the future. Sometimes he has to send me to different times to test me so that I can learn to do things correctly. I don't exactly know why I'm here yet."

Oh, that made sense. Sorta.

"Wait," Sam cut in, placing her weapon back in her backpack and snapping the Thermos back onto her specter deflector belt. "I don't get it, why would Clockwork need an apprentice? He's the master of time. "

"Even the master of time needs a break too mom. Humans and ghosts are a pain to watch over constantly. And don't even get me started on the Observants." She shuddered at the thought of them.

"Okay." They all turned to the new nasally voice that enters the conversation; Mikey. "There's something I just don't get. Your daughter, from the future, just fell from the sky, and you act as if it's nothing. What made you so jaded that your future daughter coming here doesn't boggle your mind?"

In response, all fingers of the group, including that of her own, pointed to Danielle. "I was kinda the straw that broke the camel's back," She explained, with pride gleaming in her beautiful brilliant blue eyes.

"Shouldn't you be more careful of what you do here, haven't you heard of the butterfly effect?" That earned the nerd an eye roll.

"Why do people have the premise that time is so sensitive? The butterfly effect only happens in extreme cases."

"Do we have any more siblings in the future?" Dani asked.

Lilith turned back to look at her older sibling, "Yeah. He's a little shit too. He's thirteen." Lilith mumbled sorry when she saw the angered look of her parents at the swear word.

Well, they definitely had time to perfect it with Danielle.

That was when all hell broke loose.

Questions were thrown at her from the class, several all at once, one after another which eventually became a mess of words, shouting, and people who wanted their question answered. Poor Mr. Lancer couldn't even quiet the kids.

Danielle then offered Lilith a hand - even twenty years in the past the sisters had a special connection – and Danielle boosted her up onto Lancer's desk. Bringing her fingers to her mouth, Lilith let out a loud piercing whistle.

"Okay. Mr. Lancer has a class to teach, and I still have to figure out why I'm here. I'll answer only three questions, but then my family and I gotta get out of here. Now, one at a time and you better raise your hand. I won't answer if you don't raise your hand."

Paulina was the first to raise her hand, to which Lilith, with much disgust, picked her. "Do I marry the ghost boy?"

Lilith's eyes squinted in confusion at the eighteen-year-old, her mouth agape for a second, truly contemplating whether or not if this chick was for real. She could tell the rest of her family felt the same, and her dad was holding mom against him, trying to calm her with whispers into her ear so that she wouldn't go and attack the girl.

"Are you serious right now? I just referred to Sam as my mom. Wanna know why? 'Cause they've been married for years in my time."

The latina shrugged. "You can't tell me she amounts to much." Lilith, bless her heart, was mid-air, about to pounce on the older - older to her at least - girl when Danielle caught her by the waist, clutching her younger sister to her chest to try calming her baby sister.

"My mom is a world-renowned fashion designer that makes Danny Phantom clothing. Who do you think came up with my dad's logo? My mom." She stressed the name. "She's also a great ghost hunter along with the rest of my family. My parents are rich, I don't have to worry about any college money wise, but I sure as hell don't flaunt it like you do.

"And another thing, you marry Baxter. Have fun with that. At least one of your children doesn't turn out as horrible as you. The other one is terrible, unfortunately. "

"So we have two kids?" The jock asked sheepishly, as to not upset the girl.

While Dash didn't raise his hand like she had asked in the beginning, Lilith let it slide; she was nice like that."Yep. My brother is actually dating your younger one, Ashlen is her name. It's cute, 'cause she's nothing like her mother. From what I can tell, she likes him for him, and not just his ghost half." She smirked at the girl who was now glaring at her. Not that she minded. Paulina didn't scare her, neither did her kid.

"What's the other one's name? Please tell me it's a boy, I want to keep the Baxter name going." That angered her. He never changed. She had to bite back a growl that bubbled in her throat.

"That-"

"Why are we discussing this?" Mikey piped in once again. "She's from the future. This is only going to mess up the timeline."

That only pissed her off even more. "I have had training with the master of time himself. I think I know more than you're aware of. Have you even met Clockwork? No. So shut up and sit down. I have to cut this short anyway. I really have to find out why I'm here."

She turned to her family. "Let's go to Nana's. We'll discuss everything there." They all nodded in agreement, telling Lancer that they'd pick up their homework after school.

"Race ya." She saw the challenge in her big sister's eyes as she transformed.

"Oh, you're so on!" With that, they sped off towards nana's house, Danielle just a tad ahead.

Yee. I personally love the idea that Danielle and Lilith are close, despite the big age difference. Anyway, let me know your thoughts! Until next time. (I know I said it'd be longer until I posted this story, but I just had so much inspiration for this one that I had to write. Lol)

Shoutout to my amazing beta reader silente faery. The rest will be posted on Fanfiction. I hope you guys enjoy!

[hackfixation]

Sonder: A Solangelo Story

Chapter 5

ch. 4 / ch. 6 Table of Contents

First thing Nico did when he woke was observed the dimly lit room, his tired eyes gazing over the familiar pictures, messy dresser, and water-damaged wallpaper. Once confirming that this was, in fact, his own run-down apartment bedroom, he slipped out of bed and prepared to dress for school. Honestly, that surfer looking teen from Kansas was lucky. He probably would still be asleep for another hour or two, maybe four depending on the time his school starts.

Fifteen minutes later, Nico was dressed in his typical baggy jeans and random rock band t- shirt, listening to the same band while walking towards his high school. A black haired, light skinned male was clearly teasing a blonde female, in a way that only couples would, while they walked. Nico removed an earbud once the male noticed him, though his content expression showed he was preoccupied with something pleasant for once.

"Annabeth, do you see this?! He's actually smiling, for the second day in a row. Do you think he's broken?" The male said, his sea-green eyes showing a mixture of bewilderment and pride.

"No, he's most likely found something in life that brings him joy, Seaweed Brain," She stated bluntly, ruffling the male's hair before snapping her fingers in front of Nico's face.

For the most part he hadn't really registered what the other's were saying, but definitely heard them talk. It was in that instant Nico truly understood what people meant when they said listening and understanding were two different concepts because he was totally listening but didn't understand a single word he heard.

"Huh? Were you talking to me?" He asked, his focus back on the two in front of him as his smile slowly faded. The pleasant thoughts having been brutally murdered by a bitch named reality.

"Yeah, Percy still thinks you're broken as you were smiling again."

"Yep! Your mind has finally shattered," he said, earning a slap to the back of the head from his girlfriend.

"Percy shut the fuck up. Anyways, I personally think you finally found someone who makes you happy" she said, giving a pouting Percy a gentle peck on the cheek as Nico quietly contemplated his response.

"Mostly, the idea of something. Like traveling to the world or seeing a life of a stranger through their shoes. Knowing that a simple person at a bus stop or in a train has just as complicated of a story as I do." He responded, the smile appearing again. "Knowing I only get to see a glimpse into their life."

"You mean sonder?" She said, smiling as they walked through the door.

~

"What does that mean?" Will asked Piper, her brown hair in a waterfall styled braid, and blinked at the huge smile suddenly appearing on her face as they took their seats in the class.

"Sonder is the realization that everyone's lives, even people you see in cafes or walk past, have just as complicated of a life as yours. Full of hardships and complications you may never know about." She said, in all too eager tone. "I'm sorry, I just got really excited when you asked as it is my favorite word" Honestly, the word fit the feeling he had every time he thought of Nico. A random stranger he knew nothing about and suddenly he gets to experience part of his life. Only to discover it's full of things that shouldn't have taken place.

"No...no, it's perfectly fine, I'm grateful to have a word for this now," he said, grinning as widely as he could at her and giving off an optimistic appearance. It honestly wasn't hard, as everyone seems relieved he was himself. Travis and Connor talked about how shocked their mom was to be berated by Will in the middle of class. Which meant he immediately went to Mrs. Stoll and apologized repeatedly.

Then, Jason explained how he was getting detention for Will's behavior. Which then lead to another apology followed by a promise to leave him out of his punishments. The blonde didn't need his life effected by a third party he didn't know existed, honestly it was kinda creepy if he thought about it. With no explanation, he just suddenly becomes a stranger overnight then went back to his usual self. It was as if he were possessed, which wasn't all that inaccurate as his body was being controlled by a spirit independent of his own control.

"Well, that's good. It's an interesting feeling to describe isn't it?" She said, turning around to face the front as soon as the teacher walked in. Will had wanted to talk longer to Piper but decided it was best to wait as Mrs. Stoll had already viewed him in a poor light thanks to the New Yorker.

Honestly, Will wondered if the raven haired male was actually focusing in class or slacking off again. He wondered what expression the other made while studying, was it of intrigue or frustration? Probably boredom. Definitely, boredom if he cursed at a teacher for disrupting his sleep, though it wasn't Nico's fault that both of Mrs. Stoll's classes were dull. Even Will fell asleep on occasion as the classes got repetitive and disinteresting fast. For example, right now, He was quietly resting as Mrs. Stoll discussed human immigration.

Eventually, he woke to someone shaking his shoulder, an expression of confusion appeared on his face while gazing at darker skinned, curly haired girl with a gentle smile.

"Nico, you slept through class again. You're going to fail at this rate," Her voice was full of concern and love, allowing Will to determine that this was Nico's sister.

"....Hazel?" His voice was groggy and his eyes were struggling to stay open, a pout appearing on his face once the other girl started to laugh.

"How exhausted are you? Did you forget about me that quickly?" She responded while Will stumbled out of the chair, his eyes darting to the chalkboard. Huh? Someone put the wrong date.

~

Welp, Nico was pissed. First off, he hadn't been expecting to wake up to someone smacking the back of his head -a curly-haired, caramel skinned male had done it- and immediately shot up straight in his seat. Secondly, he was confused as to why he was in a history class instead of his math class. Finally, the cocky male who had woken him was laughing like a maniac to the point that Nico just glared at him.

"Woah, Will? Jez, you don't have to look at me like that. It's not like I killed your sister or something," He said and immediately, Nico was struggling not to strangle the male. It looked almost like he might cry if he didn't hit the other. Why? Why that example out of all them?! He could've said pet, brother or even parents. In one swift motion, Nico stood up and pulled the shorter male out of his seat before shoving him against the wall.

"Do NOT joke like that again or else I WILL beat you into a bloody pulp," He threatened before dropping the other on the ground, glancing between the teacher and students. Shit.

Welp, Nico was outside the principal's office thanks to the incident that occurred with Leo Valdez, he learned his name after what happened, and seemed clearly pissed that he couldn't properly explain why he did it. Who would believe him if he said that it was because he mentioned a sister dying? Nobody knew that it was still a sensitive topic for him. Well, nobody knew it was him. They saw Will, acting out in anger for no reason, and not Nico Di Angelo, the 15-year-old still stuck in the past. 

"Will Solace?" Welp, hopefully, he doesn't get Will suspended.

~

"X equals 45, you have to divide both sides by 2 after subtracting the 18" Will answered immediately, causing the rest of Nico's classmates to stare. He was guessing some of their thoughts at the moment:

"That quiet kid is so short."

Something like that. Besides, he wanted to give Nico a positive image beside the quiet kid who lost his sister. Based on his homework and the response from the teacher, Nico was very intelligent but none of his classmates knew due to him quietly sitting in the back. Some must've thought he was slacking because he sleeps in class, but he actually tries his best to pass and that made Will smile a bit. 

"Good job, Di Angelo. Would anyone else like to answer the next question?" That made Will grin a bit wider, this is good for Nico. Maybe, if he slowly builds up the male's reputation, He'll have more friends than just the group he sits with. Or at least be a bit respected by other members of his class.

[mermaidinstereo]

LIST: 10 of My Favorite Dark Music Videos

What you probably couldn't tell from my ongoing Christina Aguilera project is that I love dark shit. No, you probably won't find me at the local goth club nights (in suburban Florida, we don't have those), or crying to Sisters of Mercy, or blowing an entire week's paycheck at M.A.C. just for eyeliner (because ya girl is broke). Still, I enjoy a good vampire flick (and a lot of bad ones), prefer to rock a good dark lip, and one time blew $50 at Hot Topic on a coat that makes me feel like a tragic Edgar Allan Poe heroine. I guess you could say I'm barely a low-budget goth, but that's okay. That's just my vibe, I guess.

So today, I thought I'd count down 10 of my favorite music videos, that are all at once super totally goth and not at all. In no particular order, of course. (Because of Tumblr’s rules, I can’t embed more than five videos at once. So I’ll link to the bottom five, and embed the top five.)

10. "Mine" - Kim Jae Joong If the former TVXQ member was looking to make a name for himself, other than being just a K-pop prettyboy, well, he did it right. He was already a bankable actor, racking up views on both the big and small screens. And even after departing from TVXQ, with fellow ex-members Park Yoochun and Kim Junsu, formed the group JYJ, also successful in their own right. However, Jaejoong was not content with staying the course of K-pop typicality. In response, Jaejoong tapped into his inner rocker, unleashing "Mine," off his first solo mini album I. In this video, he runs through dark forests, plays with snakes, and struggles to break free from a wall, before appearing at the end of the video as a vampire that looks straight out of a J-rock band. One can only argue that this is Jaejoong's final form. Or is it?

9. "Hyde" - VIXX While VIXX started playing with darkness in "On and On," it was "Hyde" where they really hit their stride. Telling the story of a man struggling with a Jekyll-and-Hyde-esque duality in a relationship, images of the band's six members are juxtaposed--wearing white as cute, loving, boyfriend material, and black as horrifying, nightmarish, even abusive monsters. I gotta give an award to Leo for looking a little too into it when he strangles his lovely lady, shortly before black angel wings burst from his back. Dude is scary. And so is the setting of this video! It appears to be a vaguely decrepit mansion crawling with macabre decor...and some classic creepy crawlies. It's no wonder VIXX are pegged for K-pop's go-to goths. (For more creepy craziness from VIXX, there are a lot of videos to choose from, but perhaps nothing is more terrifying than “Voodoo Doll,” a video so gory it was banned from TV! Don’t worry, though--there is a clean version.)

8. "Election Day" - Arcadia When Duran Duran temporarily split in 1985, they birthed two side projects. On one side, the pop-friendly Power Station, led by powerhouse vocalist Robert Palmer, along with drummer Tony Thompson of Chic, and Duran's own John and Andy Taylor. Then there was Arcadia, the artsier goth-influenced group, comprised of Nick Rhodes, Simon Le Bon, and for a short period, Roger Taylor. In this video, Le Bon just looks like he got a nice dark dye job, but it's Nick Rhodes who got the full goth makeover, because of course Nick Rhodes did. I'm not exactly sure what's even happening in this video--leave that to anything Simon Le Bon did in the 80s--but the image of Nick Rhodes dancing around with a candelabra is pretty goth, if I do say so myself. Also, it's just a damn good song. And album.

7. "Married to the Music" - SHINee As K-pop acts go, SHINee have not always been the group that goes with the flow. Instead of ripping off T-shirts in music videos, they play with unusual concepts, sometimes freaky ones. Among those was 2015's "Married to the Music." While not exactly elegant, "Married" boasted a quirky, camp-horror concept, inspired equally by Rocky Horror Picture Show, and Michael Jackson's "Thriller." In the video, the five members visit a wacky house party in which, throughout the night, they find themselves having various body parts removed in bizarre methods. Key gets his head hacked off while spinning on a giant roulette wheel. Taemin's eyes pop out when he gets smacked in the back of the head by a baseball bat. A phantom hand in the sink rips off Onew's nose. Jonghyun's mouth comes off after some kind of kiss of death. Then, Minho's entire body is sacrificed in a birthday cake incident gone wrong. All this culminates at the end, where our mystery woman uses the discarded parts to build the perfect FrankenSHINee. Like Mary Shelley, but with more BB cream and an Off the Wall beat.

6. "Beast and the Harlot" - Avenged Sevenfold Unlike SHINee, A7X have always toyed with the darkness, but in a similar manner, do it their own way. This cut from 2005's City of Evil is actually a track describing the fall of Babylon, in incredible detail. The video, however, tells of a Faustian tale, through a lens of rock 'n roll excess. A visually striking video, and I'm not just talking about Zacky Vengeance's eyeshadow. Careful what y'all are getting into when signing contracts, guys.

5. "Call Me When You're Sober" - Evanescence I could list nearly any Evanescence video, really. In fact, I kind of owe a lot to Evanescence, since they kind of helped me discover my artistic identity a bit. That said, I picked this cut from 2006's The Open Door. In it, Amy plays Red Riding Hood, on a pretty bad date with the Big Bad Wolf, played by dashing British actor Oliver Goodwill. He cuddles up to the plaid-clad Amy, who is clearly uncomfortable with his advances. Somewhere there is an awesome scene with Amy surrounded by black-clad dancers as they float above the ground, and this is honestly the coolest thing I've seen in an Evanescence video (though, truthfully, "Good Enough" was pretty cool, too). But nothing tops Amy walking toward her douchey wolf--across the table, as dining utensils go flying off the table. Very Once Upon a Time. Regina would be proud.

4. "Out of My Mind" - Duran Duran

This is an obscure cut from their 1997 album Medazzaland, a period in which the beloved New Romantics got suuuuuper experimental. It's hard to find this video in HD on YouTube, so you kinda take what you get. The then-trio of Rhodes/Le Bon/Warren Cuccurullo traipse around a creepy house, are sometimes ghosts haunting a library, or sometimes--in the case of Rhodes--are Rococo gothic drag queens. Also, Simon rocks a choker at some point. Totes 90s. Also, the setting and cinematography recall Marilyn Manson's "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)." Hey, wasn't that by an 80s band, too?

3. "Frozen" - Madonna

I was maybe around seven or eight when Ray of Light was released. Maybe. But I vividly remember seeing this video on VH1 when my mom left it on. I was freaked out by it at the time, but of course, I was a child, of course I would be. A solitary, black-clad Madge dances around a barren wasteland, cuddling nothing but her flowing gown as ravens surround her. I think she was playing with Indian motifs at the time, considering her hand gestures and tattoos (also, Ray of Light boasted "Shanti/Ashtangi," never forget). This was probably the beginning of the Kabbalah thing, too, but it wasn't quite as big a story as it would become years later.

2. "Within Me" - Lacuna Coil

I'd be betraying myself if I didn't include a Lacuna Coil video in all this, another group that, with Evanescence, led me down an aesthetically dark path. A mellower cut from 2006's Karmacode has vocalists Andrea Ferro and Cristina Scabbia at odds, with Andrea sitting lonely in some kind of elaborate chair or throne, as Cristina crawls the desert, producing these creepy black tendrils for some reason. It's just a pretty video and song.

1. "Sayonara Hitori" - Taemin

For his first Japanese solo single, SHINee's Taemin pulled out all the stops. None of the cutesy image that was cultivated during SHINee's early period, instead, Taemin fully embraced his darkness, portraying several different characters. The first looks like he walked out of Inuyasha, dancing around a piano (no, I don't know why either) as blue flowers grow around him. The next scene finds him clad in the edgiest black garb possible as samurai spar behind him. Perhaps the most goth thing, however, is Taemin laying in a black coffin as very fabulous mourners lay blue flowers down. Not bad for a kid who somehow loses nearly everything he touches. Gotta keep it relatable. Of course, I subscribe to the belief that Taemin couldn’t have gothed it up without Jaejoong paving the way. 

Now, a few honorable mentions. Okay, a lot of honorable mentions:

Stone Temple Pilots, "Sour Girl"

Sunmi, "Full Moon"

4Minute, "Volume Up"

XIA, "Tarantallegra"

Rihanna, "Disturbia"

Taeyang, "I'll Be There"

Depeche Mode, "Walk in My Shoes"

30 Seconds to Mars, "The Kill"

Christina Aguilera, "Fighter" (I wanted to save this for the Xtina project, whenever I manage to get to this video)

Keane, "Disconnected"

FT Island, “Pray”

INFINITE, “Bad”

2NE1, “It Hurts (Slow)”

[pkmngame-fankids]

u still doing that ask meme? what about FELECIA, FRITZ, MACEY, and ALBERT

Spell a character’s name in my inbox!

Yeah, I’m still doing the ask meme! It gets a little long after Fritz, so the rest is under the cut! It’s been so long since I talked about these four.

Felecia:

F: What’s one thing they’re really bad at?I’ve talked about it before, but Felecia’s pretty bad at science and math! She’s also pretty bad at Pokémon battling.

E: How are they with children?Felecia’s pretty good with children! She’s patient, respectful, and calm with them, which means a lot of kids really like her.

L: What is their favourite board game?I’d say Felecia’s favourite board game is Pictionary!

C: Can they swim well?Yeah, but I don’t think Felecia would go out of her way to go swimming unless it’s in an emergency or something.

I: On a scale of 1 to 10, how much do they love themselves?Between a five and six, depending on the day.

A: What are/were this character’s best subjects in school?Hmm. I think it would have depended on what was being taught! If it was a more hands on, experimenting class, like Woodworking or Cooking, Felecia would be pretty good at it! If it was a class that was taught more traditionally, like Mathematics, Felecia would be decent at Law.

Fritz:

F: What’s one thing they’re really bad at?Fritz is really bad at controlling his temper and at controlling his filter.

R: What are their hands like?Dry and itchy, usually! Fritz forgets to moisturize his hands when he’s travelling, especially when in Sinnoh, and as a result, his hands are quite dry! It bothers Felecia to no end.

I: On a scale of 1 to 10, how much do they love themselves?4 or 5, depending on the day!

T: Where are they ticklish?Fritz is extremely ticklish. It doesn’t matter where he’s being tickled, he will laugh.

Z: How do they sleep?He tends to fall asleep on his back, and doesn’t move much when he’s sleeping. As a result, he sleeps pretty well and gets a lot of restful sleep nightly!

Macey:

M: What is their favourite dessert?Ice cream! Specifically, Macey loves strawberry ice cream!

A: What are/were this character’s best subjects in school?Drama was her best subject! When she begun to get homeschooled by Calem, she missed it, but eventually Calem signed her up for a drama club, where she could act to her heart’s content!

C: Can they swim well?Yes! Having grown up in the Resort Area in Sinnoh, Macey went down to the beach to swim regularly. Macey’s pretty good at swimming, though no where near as could as Kierra is.

E: How are they with children?She doesn’t have the label of “mom friend” without any reasoning! She’s super nurturing and patient with kids, and always makes sure that they’re smiling. If a kid is miserable, Macey will take it upon herself to help them out in anyway she can, from listening to distracting them with something they enjoy. She will nag, though, if a kid isn’t prepared to deal with weather or if they didn’t complete their homework.

Y: What is one question they’ve always wanted an answer to?“Why are there so many sightings of Legendary and Mythical Pokémon when there’s only supposedly one of each?”

Albert:

A: What are/were this character’s best subjects in school?Language Arts! Albert has a way with words, so anything that has some form of communication in it, he was great at! 

L: What is their favourite board game?Hmmm. Honestly I don’t think Albert would have a favourite board game. Maybe -- maybe -- Uno, but that’s more when he’s listening to everyone else struggle and yell at each other, since he can’t see the cards and all.

B: Do they have any allergies?I won’t lie, I had to go look this one up. No, he doesn’t have any allergies.

E: How are they with children?Albert’s decent with kids? I mean, he’s not like Macey, but he’s no where near as bad as Owen is. He’ll help any way he can, but he’s not as patient as Macey is. Nor will he nag. But, he does like to make jokes, especially typical dad jokes.

R: What are their hands like?Really, really smooth! Super soft to the touch, since he uses a lot of moisturizer (he can’t stand it when his hands are chapped), but his hands are pretty cold! If he holds hands with anyone, they first notice that his hands are freezing and then they notice how soft his hands are.

T: Where are they ticklish?His stomach area is where he’s the most ticklish!

[goldenflashinthepan]

Dad

I maybe rip on my mom a lot, but that isn’t fair. Mom was both of my parents at once. My dad just...wasn’t. 

My first memories of dad are....not savory. Dad was abusive to my mom, then to me, too. He was a military man, and I was alone with him once Autumn started kindergarten. I wanted to go to my mom’s daycare, but mom figured I’d be happier at home with dad on swing shift days and so I had to stay home. I hate this arrangement. Dad often didn’t feed me, saying we weren’t hungry (really, I was, but I was either too scared to ask for lunch, or I just knew better). 

Dad was terrifying. I never said “I love you,” unless I needed to gauge his mood. It was usually bad. I have come to realize that my depression and anger problems come from him. I get EXPLOSIVELY angry when my anxiety starts to build, and now I know that my dad had this issue, and probably my grandpa, too. We could feel the tension and anxiety build up for days and days before he’d do something. It could be anything to trigger the rage, including having no ketchup. I biologically have anxiety, and I am seeing a counselor so that I can be a better person. Dad didn’t get to a therapist until he was in his 40s. 

Counseling has always been a taboo deal. It’s for dad, too, that I have decided to do this. Dad spent more than half of his life “hiding his crazy.” Talking about his depression and anxiety is something he feels ashamed about. But if he’s ashamed of it, it implies that I should be, too. But if I do the opposite and just TALK about it, he can, too.

When I found out what divorce was, I couldn’t understand why my school friend would think I should feel sad for her and her family. Her parents divorced, and I realized that you didn’t HAVE to have your dad around. My dad was terrifying and I felt like dirt around him. I decided it was time to stop whimpering. I was 9.

My sister and I spent a lot of time at my grandma’s house. She hit me one morning, and grandma said “We don’t hit the ones that we love.” I remember feeling SO excited to have this window, and I knew EXACTLY what I was saying. “Well, why does daddy hit mommy?” Autumn helped me by saying “WE AREN’T SUPPOSED TO TALK ABOUT THAT!” She didn’t want to get dad in trouble. I, a total Machiavellian, wanted to crush my father. 

One weekend, dad took us to his family’s lake house for the weekend. Mom needed to stay behind. Dad drives like a crazy person, so I haven’t willingly gotten in a car with him since I was a minor, and his family has never really liked me (I am every inch like my grandma). We got home late, having stayed out on the lake for a long time. It was 11pm when we finally got in. I was so glad to be home. Mom was OUTRAGED that we were so late on a school night. 

That night is a black letter night. Mom and dad started fighting as soon as we were sent upstairs to change into pajamas. I remember wearing my pink night dress. We went back downstairs to sit in the family room until our parents finished screaming and we could say goodnight to mom (dad rarely said goodnight to us on these nights, and we didn’t want him in our room anyway). She came in when dad stomped off and gave us hugs. She asked about our trip. We were great at that point at pretending that we weren’t terrified. I learned from mom that my kids need to know that they are not the source of my problems. But that also made it hard for me to reach out when I needed help.

It would have ended there, had it been a typical fight. Maybe more yelling and dad would have taken it out on me eventually (usually by calling me names or hitting me). But dad came stomping back into view and into our kitchen. I was sitting in the spot that gave me the most direct view. He started digging around in our drawers. Mom ran back in and before I knew what was happening, they were struggling.

A few moments later, I found out dad had grabbed a knife. It was YEARS later (I was 20) before I realized that he’d been trying to kill himself, not my mom. At the time, all I could think of was “He’s going to kill my mother.” Autumn ended up in the kitchen on the phone, told to call 911. We were taught to NEVER call 911. So she called out “They aren’t answering!” and cried. I stared at my mom’s leg and I made the decision that if it tensed up, I was going to run and get help.

Of course it tensed up. I bolted. I remember opening the door and thinking “I WILL NOT be left alone with dad.” I ran to my grandma’s house (she lived 3 houses away. This is impressive only because it was November around midnight and I was barefoot in pajamas). I banged on the door until I saw lights turn on. All I could get out was “Dad has a knife!!” Grandma (who was already struggling with the COPD that would kill her a decade later) ran back down to our house while grandpa had me sit on the stairs and wait. He tried to get me to come in, but I was so scared.

It felt like an eternity before grandma came back. I KNEW my mom was dead and my sister had been killed, too. I trembled and shivered for hours after that. When grandma finally brought my sister and mom back in, I remember jumping into mom’s arms. Grandma called my dad’s mom and told her what had happened. She, in turn, called my dad and told him to turn himself in. He went to our local mental health hospital for 3 days or so. I was sick to see him again. The morning after, I was late to school because I hadn’t gotten to sleep until 2am after talking to the police. I told my class what had happened, and was called to the counselor immediately. I thought for a few years that we need to keep those secrets secret or I look crazy. The lesson was supposed to be “Tell an adult, but not the whole class.” I learned as an adult how to do this a little more gracefully with kids.

Autumn slept in my room every night, and it wasn’t until we were 13 and 15 that we slept in separate rooms (though we each had our own). She slept in my room because I had the bunk and it was harder for dad to get at us. My mom tucked us in every night. Dad was supposed to be staying in our camper, but he kept coming inside to sleep in his own room, and mom thought it was easier to just let him.

“Mom, can you divorce daddy?” My mom asked us if it’s what we wanted. “Yes!! Please!!” Autumn agreed, too. She was always dad’s biggest fan (he never hurt her, and she was always easier than me), but we were done. I remember the night she told him. I remember seeing his face, but mom said it wasn’t possible. I felt bad for him, but I was also firm about it and worried that mom would give in to his pleading.

I think he found out how desperate I’d been for the divorce. It initially slipped after it was finalized when he picked us up and asked what we’d done that week (probably fishing to see if we KNEW the divorce was finalized). So I said “We celebrated about the divorce.” Autumn hit me and I realized what I’d said was pretty hateful. But that was his first clue that I was not a fan.

Our relationship was tenuous. He started seeing a therapist FINALLY, but he seemed to think he was fixed with medicine and stopped going. 

Autumn continued her timid relationship, but I stopped being OK with it. There was a weekend where we were supposed to go back to the lake house with only dad. I hated being in the car with dad. We didn’t get a lot of say at the time, so we were told that we WERE going, period. I fought with mom for weeks, knowing I’d probably be happier if dad was at a distance for my childhood. Mom insisted that I’d regret it when I was older if I didn’t have a relationship with my dad. I kept my mouth shut for a few days leading up to that, acting like I’d accepted it. I usually did whatever mom told me, after all. Then the day of, mom found out that I hadn’t packed when dad got there. I went into my room and wedged the door closed and refused to go. I stayed there for hours until I heard dad and Autumn drive off. I was thrilled. Mom was angry. 

My stepmom and I have our own past, and it was bad until I was 20 and Andrew came into the picture. I really don’t care to go into it, because that’s when it was the worst. I think dad and Karen both realized that if the relationship was allowed to be that way, he would ALSO lose his grandchildren.

He had disowned me twice by the time I turned 20. He skipped Christmas when I was 18 and 19. Both years, he sent Autumn a gift and nothing for me. My grandma didn’t send me a card, either, the second year.. The first year had been set off when I hadn’t seen my grandma in over a year, and she had mailed me a card that left out the word “Love” on purpose, because my sister’s had it. I had the audacity to feel hurt about it, so the family disowned me. Dad didn’t talk to me for three months, until my sister begged him to. When I was 19, he called me the “c” word. I probably got mouthy because I was feeling resentful. He didn’t talk to me until HIS birthday (I got him jack sh*t). Mom was heartbroken for me. She went to Walmart to help Andrew find my promise ring and bought me flowers while she was out.

Andrew gave it to me after we got to my house during the Christmas Blizzard of ‘09. 

I kept him and our family at an arm’s length. I didn’t go visit dad’s family at all until 2015. My grandma was at my sister’s wedding and mine, but I kept myself away from her. 

My wedding was a bit of a mental nightmare. I didn’t care that much about it, honestly. I wanted it to be NICE, but I just...wanted my dog, my Andrew, and my mom. I had peonies all over for my mom’s mom, gone for 5 years by then.

Autumn was where I wanted her: she was my matron of honor. 

Bear was where I wanted her. She slept while we said our vows. She was good all day, just like I knew she would.

I wanted my mom in a place of honor, not the usual “mother-of-the-bride” crap. My mom raised me. 

Every time dad hurt my feelings growing up, there she was. I will probably write about her by herself, because she is the most important person in the world to me. 

She didn’t know about the full extent of dad’s abuse until I was much older, because I told her (I’d assumed she had known). 

When my dad refused to be excited about my flute solo’s perfect score, she made the biggest deal about her pride with everyone else. She chewed out my dad whenever she could.

When I was disowned, she made sure that I knew my family loved me unconditionally. 

When dad wanted me to miss out on outdoor ed, she laid into him and forced him to be a parent.

When we went to the lake house for 10 days, I was unhappy that I had to go and would miss her. She bought enough phone cards for me to call her every night (to the frustration of dad’s mom). She gave me her wedding band and told me to remember that she wasn’t going anywhere. 

I had major homesickness all throughout my adolescence and college. It honestly never got better, but it hasn’t hindered me much beyond the fact that I am terrified to leave Omaha. But if I can travel, it’s not a thing.

Mom was the one that brought Andrew into the family. Dad didn’t know what his name was until we’d been dating for 3 months because I’d kept him away. Andrew was made to be one of mom’s kids almost immediately. She supported him every time he needed an adult’s guidance (His parents, while wonderful, tend to want to be adults FOR him).

I wanted mom to walk me down the aisle. I wanted to have a mommy-daughter dance. She didn’t want to hurt my dad’s feelings with that or for anyone to think we were weird. So I got parts of my wish.

Dad walked me down the aisle, but mom was there with me. 

Dad was really sick on my wedding day, so he wouldn’t get excited about anything. I was really sad that I had to kept trying to make him be happy. He likes Andrew and always had. My uncle, true to being my father figure (again, a whole other post), pulled Andrew aside and gave him the “daddy talk.” Told him something to the effect of “She will drive you crazy, because she is JUST like her grandmother. But love her anyway. Or else.”

He made this smile (the same awkward smile his dad always made) the whole dance. I got to dance with my mom later, but I was miffed that someone who was genuinely sharing my happiness had to sit back and we had to pretend that this dance was sweet (Daddy’s little girl growing up, so bittersweet!)(It should have been my mom).

Something happened around then, though. I don’t honestly know what it was. Maybe his sister-in-law living in the spare bedroom. No clue. But finally started being a DAD. I was mad at him about something, positive that I was going to be in a fight with my sister because of something I thought he was going to do. When I called him crying, he pulled out some paternal voice and said “I know sweety, I’m sorry. I will take care of it. You didn’t do anything.” Now, keep in mind that up until then my only real interactions during these fights went like “So what? You are dramatic.” Or some juvenile thing. We still don’t argue effectively, but he is FINALLY trying to be my dad.

He hated cats, too. But he loves on Blossom because she likes him and he knows I love her. He is the only other person that she likes. It’s weird. She likes him more than she likes my husband. No idea here.

Then the weirdest thing happened. My niece was born.

He was the loving patriarch he NEVER was when we were kids. She can do no wrong. And listen, she’s essentially everything to me, but I can scold her for her own good if she needs to learn. My dad can’t even begin to raise his voice to her.

One summer day, we were in the backyard while my brother-in-law was playing with my dad’s 80 pound (and very dumb) yellow lab. I love this dog, but he is dumb, and clumsy. When Niece was learning to walk, she could use him as her brace. She fell ON him, and he helped her get back up. The dog loves her, and would never hurt her if he can help it. But he was playing, spun around, and he knocked Niece over. I was up and to her first and I got her to stop crying quickly (she’s exceptionally easy, too, like her mom. But she has the same fire that her great-grandma had). Dad screamed at the dog and jump up. I flashed back to when we were kids and he beat our dog, or when he got rid of my dog because she was not trained.

While holding my Niece, my mom came out in me. I kept my tone calm so I wouldn’t scare her. “He is a dog, he would do nothing to hurt her, it was an accident. Sit back down and cool it.” Around this point, my husband began filming, as this was the first time he saw an outburst. “I just don’t want her to hurt [Niece].” “I agree with you, but he didn’t do it to be mean, he’s just clumsy. She’s OK, and we’ll all learn to be careful.” It was the first time I got the upper hand with dad. Despite what I hinted at before, this was the first time I “yelled” at him. 

Now, we still fight. The day after the election, he knew I felt upset. I told him that I was not accepting it and I would continue to fight for Niece. He scoffed at me and said “He’s your president, that’s that.” I told him that I would accept him as readily as he had Obama, but with more reason. He has had to shut up about it when the sexism got out of control, when he finally had it pointed out what messaged Niece would be picking up as she grew up. When I asked her if he’d be happy with her thinking that she wasn’t enough, he became deeply upset and said “I’ll kill anyone who hurts her.” This opened up a conversation with him about how even in Omaha, we all have our own stories.

It sucks that I can’t argue with my dad and feel like things have been resolved. I always end up accept that his anxiety isn’t being treated and encourage him to take his medicine. I keep talking about how my therapist helps. 

My relationship with dad is a work in progress. Honestly, who knows.