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[ohdeare]

ANDY SAMBERG on the set of Hart to Heart | 11.07.2024

[ohdeare]

-timeskip to hospital-

One whiff of the familiar designer perfume was all Jim needed to be able to tell that Darlene Deare had come over. She seemed to be able to catch him in moments where he had to be civil, like visiting him with others present or like now, where he couldn't be able to simply leave the hospital bed to run away from her. He would consider the visits pleasant had he not known what lies had been uncovered, and although that was months ago it didn't make the actuality of the situation any less worse. She'd willingly helped the very man that was hurting his sister, he couldn't think of anything worse to have been reality. That truth hurt maybe a bit more than his knee did. Okay, no - his knee was still a bit fucked up but the sentiment still stood.

While his mother hadn't been present in the room when he woke up, there was lingering evidence that she was still around somewhere in the hospital. Her bag was perched by the chair beside him and even a blanket he'd recognized from his parent's home had been adorned on top of him. As if on cue, Darlene walked in the room toting two coffees, one presumably for him. She was making herself available to stay but evidently from the fact that he hadn't given her a call since being admitted to the hospital, that was the last thing Jim wanted. "Thank you for visiting but you're probably busy, you can go on with your day now." Surely, there had to be something in her schedule that would be able to excuse her, some gala committee meeting or a pilates session should be able to take her attention away. That was the best way he could think of nicely putting it that he didn't want her around.

closed starter for @ohdeare location: daycare center

Ever since Tristan Tramp’s death and the reading of his will, things had been a bit tenser than usual amongst the Deare family. Which when it came to their daughter wasn’t anything new, but it was certainly a change in their relationship with the youngest of the family. Never before had Darlene ever had to worried about what her son might think of her - for years she had been practically perfect in his mind, or at least that was what she liked to think. He never questioned anything or pushed back against what she and her husband wanted for him, not the way that Lilah always did. She had never fought with the boy, not about anything serious at least. And though it had been months since he had been told of Tristan’s alleged abuse, he still seemed just as upset with both Darlene and Jim as he had been the day he’d first been told the tale. One would have thought certainly he’d be over it by now - but it appeared not, given the fact that the weekly calls and visits to his parents house had all but ended and for the first time Darlene was facing a truly empty nest, where it felt like neither of her children wanted to ever come back.

And that just wasn’t something she was about to accept lying down. She had given everything to the two of them and she wasn’t about to let that all be thrown away - she was going to get them both back. Her family wasn’t about to break right now, not over something as ridiculous as this entire situation. They had all seen each other briefly, at events such as the Northwest girl’s engagement party and as she had always taught them, they had all remained cordial and left all of the drama at the door, putting on the act of being perfectly fine for all of society to see. But those brief interactions weren’t enough, not when they came with radio silence the weeks following. Winning back Delilah was a much harder task than trying to get back in her son’s good graces, a fact that Darlene was well aware of, which was why rather than reaching out to her daughter first it was Jim Jr that she approached instead.

The daycare wasn’t a place Mrs. Deare had spent much time in, not since her own children had attended, but it was the one spot in which her son couldn’t just tell her to fuck off or walk away from. There was only one child left when she arrived, lingering off on his own with legos spread out around him, which was perfect. It meant Jim Jr wasn’t able to simply get up and leave to avoid her. Making her way into the room, over to the desk her son was sat at, Darlene put on a bright smile. “Hello dear,” she greets, acting as if everything was normal and none of the last few months had ever happened. “Did you have a nice day? I was thinking we should grab some dinner tonight. Have a fun little mother-son outing. What do you think?” As she asked each question, she was perfectly aware of the child in the corner watching them, exactly as she had hoped he would, so her son would have to at least pretend to be polite.

[ohdeare]

#DILF

[ohdeare]

The Halloween mood wasn’t bringing up Jim’s spirits as it usually could. Maybe it was because he was still healing from his injuries that he resigned to a quiet night instead of dressing up and passing around treats or even, as an invitation asked him to, join the evening at a masquerade ball. He simply wasn’t physically or, really, mentally able just yet. Seeing someone, who should be dead, all of a sudden in your house and breaking your kneecap on his way out wasn’t easy to comprehend. Not to mention, the paranoia of Tramp coming back left him on full alert. Jim Jr. just wasn’t having a fun Halloween, to put it lightly. The only thing that was getting him through the night was a bowl of candy and even that was starting to give him a stomach ache.

Jim Jr was expecting to hear something from the host regarding his lack of attendance but he wasn’t anticipating it happening the night of the party. Given that it was her event, he’d imagined Lottie was off socializing and dancing the night away rather than spending her precious time ringing him. Still unsure if this was an accidental phone call, he’d hesitantly answered, “Lottie?” An inkling of a feeling that something had happened was already brewing in his mind, but he tried to move past that in the hopes that he was wrong. “Far from it, actually. I’m sticking to my doctor’s orders of no vigorous break dancing while my knee is still healing. My only plans for tonight consist of lying in bed and seeing how much more sugar I can take before I pass out.”

closed starter for @ohdeare location: halloween ball

The party hadn’t even reached the halfway point and so much had already happened, Lottie wasn’t even sure if she wanted to go through with the rest of the night. From being rejected by Blaise to a wonderful but confusing kiss with Angelique… there was honestly only so much more the blonde thought she could take tonight. But she wasn’t a quitter - and this was her event, so she’d be damned if she let a bit of drama stop her from continuing on and being the best damn host this island’s ever seen. She made a singular lap around the ballroom, complimenting others on their outfits and making small talk when approached, before heading back over towards the punch for another glass.

It only took a few sips for the potion to kick in again and everything suddenly every feeling inside of her heightened. Perhaps if she knew more about magic or if she weren’t so upset, she’d be able to piece together that it was the punch causing these emotions - but as it was Lottie simply continued drinking and her head swam with the hundred of different feelings floating around. She was pissed, she was upset, she was confused. But most of all, she was lonely. And it was that loneliness that drove her to rush out of the ballroom and towards the coat room to retrieve her purse and phone. Without thinking through what she was doing at all, she pulled up an old familiar contact and hit send, pressing the phone to her ear as she listened to it ring and waited on baited breath for an answer. And when she finally got one, the voice she knew all so well saying her name in confusion, Lottie’s heart skipped another small beat. “Hey there,” she greets, suddenly feeling a bit foolish for this call and everything that had happened tonight. But it wasn’t enough to make her hang up, no instead she moved further down the hallway to get a bit of privacy. “You didn’t show up. Don’t tell me you had better plans that seein’ me tonight.”

[ohdeare]

The crowbar kept his attention throughout all of this, mentally, Jim was ready to say goodbye to any item in his apartment and any money he kept on him, just to prepare for any destruction the crowbar had use for. Tristan did bring up a point that had plagued him since finding out all these secrets, in that there was a chance things were still being kept from him. He’d tried to put as much trust in his sister that she finally shared everything with him but unfortunately, Tristan’s comment made him hesitate to answer. It was enough to dissuade his faith in his sister for a split second before realizing this was exactly what Tristan wanted, he wanted to not only paint Lilah as an untrustworthy person but also break apart the reliance between siblings.

A cruel man was all Jim could see now, not the friend he thought he had, or the man who’d helped him through a sticky situation, but instead all of the hurt he caused was embedded into every move he made and every word he said. Jim’s tone was much harsher now than it had ever been before in the other’s presence, “That’s not fair. You don’t get to compare the abuse you put her through to your sore feelings.” The rage he thought was gone after Tristan’s supposed death was surfacing and though he probably had every sign telling him that maybe keeping quiet was the best option here, he couldn’t stand by while someone who’d hurt his sister so severely simply walked away without saying his piece. “I am behind every one of my sister’s actions especially the ones that put those bullets into you after you aimed your gun at her and Scamp.”

Stopping his spinning to lay the crowbar on his lap, Tristan merely rolled his eyes at the attempt of defense Jim had for his sister. It was the expected response, of course Lilah had told everyone everything - of course he had already been turned into the bad guy even in his own fucking death. But whatever. He could work with this, he’d made good out of worse situations before. “Oh yeah, I’m sure she told you everything. Just like she’s always told you everything, hasn’t she?” he asks, knowing that whatever it was Jim had found out recently must have all come as a shock. He could only hope he knew the younger man well enough that he was right in his assumption that being left in the dark for so many years likely bothered him to some degree.

“Doesn’t she though, Jimmy? I mean, she ran around hurting me a lot. A whole lot more than I ever hurt her, even if it was in a different way. And do you really think I deserved it?” It was a question he already likely knew the answer to, but needed to ask anyway. Jim had always been on his side, mostly because he’d never known the truth of what happened behind the closed doors of the Tramp household - but Tristan was smart enough to be aware that the loyalties had likely changed now. Still though, for Jim’s sake, he hoped that the man could find it in him to at least partially see his side.

[ohdeare]

“Why does that news not shock me?” Every bit of added information he’d been told about the whole situation felt more damaging than the last. His head hung low in shame at their parents for failing to protect Lilah in favor of who was hurting her in the first place. “I would’ve backed you up,” He didn’t want to make it a habit of bringing up the imaginings of the ‘what-if he’d known’ scenario but Jim just wanted to make it clear who his loyalties were tied to, which would lead him to always choosing family. However, that family circle of whom he could actually trust only seemed to become smaller by the minute. “I haven’t spoken to them since the will reading. Mom keeps calling but it feels weird knowing what they know and everything they did. Have they tried contacting you?”

continued from here for @ohdeare

If she had really thought about it, she could have easily guessed that the lies and secrets she had kept over all these years would bother her baby brother. But there had been so much else going on recently that Lilah hadn’t really had the chance to sit down and make sure he was okay along with the mess of everything else. Which was her fault as far as she was concerned - she should have been more aware of just what was going on with him, instead of focusing so much on herself. “No, you’re right,” she states, agreeing with him as she turns to lightly press a hand against his shoulder. “I should have told you way earlier. It wasn’t personal, though, JJ. I didn’t tell anyone.” There was a pause for a moment as she took a deep breath and decided she needed to put a complete end to all of the lies, including the omissions. “Well, I did tell mom and dad… But they, uh, they didn’t take it that well. Or at least, not the way I had hoped they would have."

[ohdeare]

A nightmare, this had to be a nightmare. No way was an actual dead man walking through his front door and visiting him this late at night with a weapon Jim Jr. didn’t want to know if it served its purpose yet. It wasn’t too long ago that all final thoughts on Tristan were set to be made. Of course, it was hard to do when the man was so entwined in the Deare family that his name was bound to be said but he’d hoped it’d remain as just that, a name. A name couldn’t physically hurt anyone, it couldn’t mentally and emotionally cause any more torment over the people he loved. James could deal with a name, what he couldn’t deal with was the physical embodiment of that name now that any good view he had of the man, instantly diminished once he heard what Tramp had done to his sister.

Out of instinct, Jim closed the door but he quickly regretted that decision, thinking that maybe it would’ve been best to run away but it was too late for that. Tramp had already caught his attention by throwing insults at his sister, attempting to get Jim to see Lilah the way he saw her. The effort was futile, he was ready to stand by his sister’s defense, “She told me about that night, told me about everything including the way you shot at your own son.” His eyebrow raised, wondering if he had an excuse for doing that other than blaming it on someone else. “And no, she never treated me as terribly as you think she would because she doesn’t just go around hurting people who don’t deserve it.”

closed starter for @ohdeare location: jim jr's place

Knocking on the door, Tristan didn’t hesitate the moment it opened to throw out his arm and push it forward all the way. In the other hand a crowbar dangled as he forced himself into the entrance way of Jim Jr’s home, a wide and sadistic grin on his lips as he walked in a few steps further, putting a bit of distance between himself and the other man for the moment. By this point in the night, he was already well drunk from the bottles of wine he’d stolen from Atta’s place and the beers he’d had at his daughter’s. But that wasn’t anything new for Tristan - in fact, being wasted was practically the main way he operated the last five years of his original life. No one should be surprised that he was continuing with that trend in his new one.

“Hey there, Jimmy-boy. How have you been? Long time no see,” he greets as he moves to drop down onto the couch, spinning the crowbar in his hand as he looks back over at his former brother in law. “You can blame your cunt of a sister for that. Did she tell you all about what happened? The way she murdered me in cold blood? Shot an entire case of bullets into my body? Bet she didn’t. Probably turned the whole thing around to somehow be my own fault, didn’t she? Delilah was always so good at that. Making me out to be some kind of villain as if she didn’t play any part in anything that ever happened. You probably had to deal with that before, huh? Bet she was a right fucking bitch when you guys were little.” It was all a bunch of drunken mumbling, really, but Tristan truly did believe the fucked up shit he was saying. It was always so easy for him to twist everything to fit whatever narrative he may need for his own benefit.

[ohdeare]

It was kind of surreal having his big sister break down, Jim couldn’t recite the last time she’d ever been like this other than in childhood but even then it was such a rare occurrence that most of the time he thought he’d always remembered wrong because of how unlikely it was to have happened at all. In a way, it was nice to see her let go of this secure facade he always speculated she kept on. He wished it didn’t have to come to this for it to fall away but he felt closer to his sister now than in all the years they shared under the same roof.

His suggestion to move on from something without a second thought might’ve been one he picked up from his parents, their insistence on making it look like everything was okay was always the priority. Lilah was right in thinking that was the wrong move, Jim Jr. just wished it could’ve been that simple to leave behind any memories of the man but while it could’ve been easy for him, it wouldn’t have been as plainly done for Lilah who had married him or by the children who considered him a father. 

“Colin… the guy from college?” Just as he was adjusting to one secret, another one was revealed that somehow didn’t quite shock him as much as it could have. It still left him questioning a couple of things but more than anything, it made some sense to him. In the various times he’d looked after his cousins, he noticed small attributes that varied Annie from the others. Of course, he never treated her any different and there was never any speculation as to why this could be. As far as he knew Annette was a Deare and he still thought of her as such, even if she came with a new last name attached.

It was suddenly weird with his sister coming to him for advice, usually, it was the other way around. He tried his best to provide comfort in Lilah’s actions, “You were doing what you thought best, there’s no perfect decision you could’ve made in this case. It all blew up in the worst way possible but that’s not your fault. You can’t put all this blame on yourself when you are just trying to look out for the people that you love; By my book, that’s the best way you could’ve handled everything.” It was hard to say what the correct way to operate in a situation like Lilah had to, but Jim had the suspicion that his sister took the best course of action because she was smart and capable of convoluted decision-making unlike Jim himself. “I think you’re doing the right thing by telling the truth. I don’t think things could become more complicated than they already have been. And if it does, you shouldn’t blame yourself for it. You aren’t personally responsible for everything.”

The moment her baby brother’s arms came to wrap around her in a hug, Lilah felt a wall breaking down. It was just like it had been when she’d seen Daisy for the first time after all of this. There was only so much that she could withstand, only so long she could continue to keep up the act of everything being alright, of pretending to be strong for the sake of the kids. But with Jim Jr. it felt for a moment like she didn’t have to do any of that. Even though he had always been one of the people she’d kept the act up around for so long - right now, as she started to explain everything that had happened last night and even some of what she’d been dealing with for years, it was like she could finally let go.

Tears welled up in her eyes and for once she didn't try to fight them off, instead just burying her head into his shoulder, not even caring that she was potentially going to ruin his shit from her makeup smearing. It takes a few moments before Lilah finally pulls away, his questions of what to do next simply hanging in the air unanswered as she tries to compose herself again. Her eyes are still watery and she knows that the flood works won’t stop any time soon now that they’ve been opened, but she can at least breathe a bit easier. The pain and stress of it all doesn’t feel as soul crushing as it weighs down on her chest. Not everyone is going to know the truth, the lies and cover story they had come up with were all most people would know - but Jim Jr. deserved to hear it all. He’d deserved to know it a long time ago, but Lilah had let her fears and self-doubt get the better of her back then. It was a mistake she didn’t want to let happen again, a weakness that she was trying her best to overcome now: first with being honest with her children, now her brother.

“No, no we can’t do that. At least, I can’t. He’s still — he’s still the kids’ father, there’s too many memories to just erase him out of our lives,” she finally answers, shaking her head as she reaches up a hand to brush at both of her eyes. When she pulls it back and sees the mess of mascara that was left behind on her fingers, a small breath of a laugh escapes her at the thought of how ridiculous she must look right now. This is the first time her brother’s seeing her cry in years, the first time seeing her really open up and be vulnerable since she was just a child. It was strange, yet Lilah fought off the instincts that told her to hold it all in and insist once again that she was fine. Because she wasn’t. She wasn’t fine. None of this was fine.

As she mentioned the fact that Tristan was too entangled in all of their memories and lives to just be erased, pointing out the fact that he was still father of her children - another thought crosses Lilah’s mind. There’s yet another secret that she’s kept from Jim Jr. for so many years that needs to be addressed. Before he potentially hears it from anyone else, that is. “Or at least, he’s most of the kids’ father… Annie… Annie isn’t actually his,” she admits, words coming out slow as she prays that this truth bomb won’t backfire in her face. “She’s Colin’s daughter. And she knows, they both do now. It’s a long story and I made a huge mess that’s fucked over so many people, JJ. I’ve made so many mistakes and I feel like I’m going to just keep on making things messier and messier - and I just… I don’t know what to do.”

[ohdeare]

Taking in Lottie’s beauty up close was always a pleasure, it certainly didn’t make the break up easier but he had to move froward. A soft chuckle escaped him, he took her humor and charm well but she also could’ve said anything with that accent of hers and Jim Jr. would’ve been smitten. “No date other than my mother but I can’t guarantee she won’t go harassing you while you’re reapplying your lipstick.” Anytime his mother asked him to join her for an event, he couldn’t really say no. Jim didn’t mind them though, he was trained well enough as a child how to move through them while being as sociable as he could be. “What about you? Should I expect some guy to cut in any minute now?” He probably shouldn’t have asked, maybe he wasn’t ready enough to hear the answer if she said yes but it was too late to take back the question.

“Why thank you, sugar. I thought you’d never ask,” she teased in her answer, reaching out eagerly to take his hand and follow him a bit further out to the dancefloor. As she turned to face him, Lottie kept her hand already holding his where it was and placed her other on his shoulder while stepping forward to lessen the gap between them. “So tell me, is your mother on the committee for this event? Or are you here as someone’s plus one? Should I expect a jealous gal comin’ round and questionin’ me in the bathroom after this?” It was mostly just a joke, she hardly expected anyone to care that they shared a dance or two, but Lottie couldn’t deny that she was intrigued to know whether or not Jim was here with a date or on his own.

[ohdeare]

Jim Jr. really felt for what his family was going through. Though he had only a limited view as to how that whole family dynamic truly looked like until recently, it just showed him he could’ve done more for the people he cared about most. He liked to think he had an alright relationship with all his nieces and his nephew but maybe it was guilt that had him reaching out more and leaving his home completely open for any of them. He didn’t mind it, if anything, he enjoyed the company. “I could really go for some pizza.” With a unanimous decision on what to have for dinner, he’d pulled out his phone to order delivery from an app. “The usual for you, right? With all those nasty toppings you like?” He half-joked, never quite understanding her taste in food. He was a simple man, simple flavors for him was all he needed for fulfillment.

continued from here Ellie used the back of her hands to rub her tired eyes. She hadn’t been sleeping well alone at her own apartment, so she frequently found herself either at her mom's or her uncle's place lately. She unexpectedly fell asleep on Uncle Jim’s couch today, noticing it was starting to get dark outside as she glanced out the window. She felt bad that her uncle was only recently dragged into the craziness that was going on with their family, but it was also nice to have him as a support system. She smiled as he listed different options for dinner, letting her arms stretch out in front of her as she was still waking up. "You don't have to do all that, I'm fine with leftovers," she admitted. "But .. pizza does sound kinda good, though.. What are you feeling?" @ohdeare

[ohdeare]

"You've been so quiet. What's on your mind?" -- lilah

@ladylilah

Jim Jr. spent a good minute contemplating if he’d actually bring up his problem to someone who was dealing with far more than he was. He took in a short breath each time he thought he’d find the right way to air out his grievance before he finally found it best to just share what he was feeling, “I keep wondering if there was something I did that made you feel like you couldn’t tell me about Tristan earlier.” Just as he suspected, as soon as he let out his thoughts, he quickly wanted to put them back into his own mind where they belonged. He quickly shook his head, immediately trying to take back his words. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have asked. I’m sure you have completely valid reasons that should be none of my business.” 

[ohdeare]

“I don’t need your permission.” - scamp

@scamperoo

“Okay yes, you’re totally right about that,” Jim Jr. nodded his head along with that statement since it really was true, the kid didn’t need to ask for anyone’s approval on whether he could go out or not. However, the logistics of going out did feel risky for someone who had just been shot and that was something Jim couldn’t really ignore. “Let’s just maybe consider though that going to a party so soon after getting injured isn’t exactly the best idea?” He doubted that his plea would work on someone as defiant as Scamp was but he had to at least try. “I get it, it’s your girlfriend’s party, you kinda feel like you have to show up but maybe it also wouldn’t be a terrible thing if you just kept resting up like you’re supposed to.”

[ohdeare]

continued from here | @eveningstarwiishes

It was always a wonder how Lottie always seemed to look like perfection every single time Jim saw her. Combining that with her delightful attitude and confidence always shining through, it would easily explain why he was interested in her to begin with. But they’d tried it out and to his letdown, things didn’t work out as well as he’d hoped. Though he could find disappointment in the loss of their former relationship, he always sought out first and foremost her friendship and that was something he didn’t want to let go of. His usual lively smile showed as he held out his arm for Lottie to grab, “You’re too sweet, Miss La Bouff. Will you please give me the honor of dancing with you tonight?”

[ohdeare]

"How long have I been asleep?" -Ellie

@ellietramp

“Couple hours I would say, I wasn’t really keeping track. I just figured you could use the nap.” His apartment was always open to his sister’s kids, more so now than ever. It’s been a chaotic time for all of them and Jim was ready to help in any way he could. Looking at the time, he figured he could use something as a distraction from having to talk about the inevitable, “It’s almost time for dinner though, I dunno if you’re up for leftovers but I can also order in. We could get pizza, or burgers, or wings, or sushi. I think I’m gonna order all the foods, I’m kinda starving. You want anything specific?”

[ohdeare]

continued from here | @ladylilah

Jim Jr. was hesitant to ask about everything; There was already a gut instinct that this wasn’t some freak accident nor was it the aftermath of something that transpired just because tension had grown overnight. Clearly, something had been wrong for a while. A silent ‘oh’ was all he could muster up, trying to handle the shocking news as it came flooding in. There was an immediate, unlocked rage that was being brought at the idea of anyone hurting his family but more so at the revelation that it was from someone Jim Jr. thought he could trust. The anger was useless in this case when he didn’t have anyone to direct it towards other than the person who’d already suffered the consequences of his actions. The only outlet for his bitterness came in the deep grooves his nails embedded in the palms of his hands with the fists that had unconsciously been formed. 

James wished that was as bad as he could feel but soon his stomach started to churn as he finally grasped the full extent of what Lilah had done. He didn’t think she was capable of murder, she was one of the sweetest people he knew. But he couldn’t blame her for going the route she did, it sounded like she was doing everything she could to protect Scamp. And thinking about if he was in that same position, he probably would’ve done the same. 

He wasn’t fully done with the waves of emotions hitting him, this time around he was just reminded of all the times his parents had always chosen to defend Tristan. He was aware his parents tried to keep things from him, and they were successful in their efforts but he never thought it had come close to anything of this sort. Jim didn’t want to make it about himself, but he couldn’t help but feel deceived for so long by so many people. Why did those he loved choose to keep him out of the loop? Why would they let him be friends with someone whose actions were so destructive? 

No matter how caught he could get on this concept, he knew he had to push this aside for his sister, who’d just gone through so much more and been through far worse than he ever had. The silence and tension held in the air were broken as he moved from his seat and closer to Lilah to give her a hug, “I’m so sorry.” He felt apologetic for a couple of things, like letting this happen while he was completely oblivious to it all, but also to the fact that for whatever reason, his sister didn’t feel like she could tell him about anything. "What happens now? Do we just forget he was a part of our lives?"

[ohdeare]

                      meet  james 'jim jr.' deare  !

                                 38 — DAYCARE TEACHER

favorite song? this is the day by the the sexuality: pansexual pronouns?: he/him big three?  gemini sun, aries moon, leo rising

from the moment he was born, jim jr.'s parents saw him as practically perfect. the two knew their chances at having a second child were slimming, so once they heard the news they'd be having a baby boy, they welcomed him into the home with open arms and everything he could ever ask for. it would be a lie to say jim jr. deare wasn't spoiled as a child, there was very little he could ask for that wasn't eventually given to him. life was great, he had a big sister to keep him company and nice parents who tended to every little need of his, there was very little to distress or vex him. he easily looked up to lilah, trying to follow in her footsteps on how to be all prim and proper like she was. he did the best he could, always falling a bit short in one area or another but he just needed some practice.

the family lived a very picturesque life, very peaceful in those early years. that was until the shock of lilah having a baby was brought up but james never saw it as the problem it might have been for everyone else. he saw it as the greatest news that he was going to be an uncle and having babies around to take care of sounded like tons of fun. jim jr. never concerned himself with the father of lilah's kids, he knew of the guy and the two had a couple of conversations but nothing ever stuck out to him. there was an initial shock when they'd broken up and even more when tristan moved in, but as his parents explained, they wanted to help him be the man they knew he could be. his parents tried to keep him oblivious with everything going on, and when it came to anything that related to tristan, he kind of was. however, siblings don't exactly keep things from each other so at the news of her dating some guy named collin, he was just happy to hear lilah was pursuing someone else that would make her happy. he thought things were going well with those two but then she got back together with tristan and he was left more confused than ever. but he'd trusted that his older sister knew best and if she really did love tristan then the guy was more than welcome to have a seat at the dinner table. when those two had another child, he was just as excited over this one as he was for the first two. he pampered all the kids the way his parents used to coddle him.

jim jr eventually grew up, he graduated high school with decent grades and took a gap year to see what was out there. the year came and went, then another year went by and another, suddenly he was 23 and finally ready to come home. just in time for the birth of lilah's fourth baby, too. there wasn't much thought on what he'd do once he got back home, he never enjoyed school so the thought of going to college sounded terrible. but he also did just spend a ton of his parent's money basically partying and playing tourist for the past couple of years so if college is what his parents wanted then that's where he'd go. he went in undecided and left after a year of studying to the realization that he really was not cut out for school life.

with nothing else to do, he took on small gigs around the neighborhood he grew up in such as house sitting, plant sitting and dog sitting. lots of sitting. but what he liked doing most of all was babysitting, he was good with kids, he had a natural charm for taking care of them and keeping them entertained. it helped that he had a lot of experience from helping raise his nieces and nephew. but his parents weren't exactly in love with the job title 'babysitter'. so he applied for a position at sunnyside daycare, there, he was able to do small tasks like cleaning and setting up lunches. he found out that if he wanted to get more involved he'd have to get a degree in early childhood education. so he did. he hated every second of studying and doing homework but he knew it was well worth it. since then, with his degree and higher position in sunnyside, he's able to do what he loves and can finally relax. maybe now he can get caught up with the rest of his family's lives, how much could he have missed?

HC’s:

was a premature baby and did get sick often as a young kid, but because he was so young he doesn't have any recollection of this. his parents just knew that his health needed to come first always.

there is not a mean bone in james' body, he's cordial with everyone and everyone seems to get along with him easily. he liked having friends the best when he would say something and they'd all laugh at a comment he'd make. not understanding that they were laughing at him, he kept on going because he didn't think anything was wrong.

nicest person alive, and well-intentioned at that but cannot, for the life of him, gauge when things could go bad. causes a lot of problems unintentionally but luck seems goes his way with his problems always resolving themselves (usually by someone else)

speaking of bad problems solved by someone else, right before he was set to go on his gap year travels, james did a funny thing and waged a good chunk of his 18th birthday money at oogie boogie's. he started off tame at the slots and actually got good money off those, the problem came when he started playing a couple rounds of poker, which he was doing surprisingly well at until he wasn't. he thought he knew what he was doing, he'd seen ocean's 11 a couple of times. everything went by so quickly and suddenly he'd owed the casino a lot of money that he did not have and his parents would kill him if he'd asked for their help but maybe the owner, oryan, himself would get to him first for owing so much. in a moment of desperation he called up tristan, who he knew worked at the casino, and asked for help. whatever tristan did got the casino off his back and he'd never have to speak a word about this ever again. it's the biggest secret he has and he kinda owes his life to tristan for helping him out.

really wants a family already but none of his partners seem to stick, he just gets very excited over a relationship because he thinks every single person he dates is 'the one'. so he gets a bit clingy and gets right into the whole conversation about having kids definitely way too soon

[ohdeare]

zoom call with andy👨‍💻✨