#Closer To Home

[jt1674]

[mollycassmith]

Closer to Home, Far from Whole (part 1)

A/N: Here is the long promised rewrite of Closer to Home, and I am apologizing now for how long this has taken and how long things might go between updates. This is loosely based on @asofterfan‘s Punk AU, and I highly recommend you take a look at it. @karaidemon has also written some wonderful fics in the Punk AU, with her OC Annika that I just adore, that you should definitely go look at as well. Alright, on with the show!

CW: none that I'm aware of at the moment, but if please let me know if I need to change this!

Word count: 2046

Rose sat in her car for a few moments, staring out the windshield at the building in front of her. It had been five or so years since she was last there, and she was back, even if it was only temporary. She hadn’t told anyone she was coming back, why bother them when they have more important things to do. She violently shook her head, the purple fringe of her bangs falling into her eyes, giving her something else to focus on for a moment. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and climbed out of the car, heading for the front office. She felt uncomfortable and exposed in her grey slacks and green blouse, though her leather jacket helped to offset the discomfort. She glanced around as she entered the office, conscious of the way her shoes clicked against the tile.

“Oh, Miss Miller, you’re here!” Mrs. Starnes, the elderly receptionist, smiled. “Here is what Mr. Tucker left for you.” The woman handed over a thick folder and a set of keys as Rose nodded.

“Thank you, Mrs. Starnes,” she said, her voice sounding calmer than she felt. “I’ll head up to the classroom.”

“Do you need a guide?”

“No ma’am,” came the quick response before Rose promptly left. She was grateful that the old receptionist, who she honestly thought had retired after her class graduated, had not recognized her beyond the recent interview for the long-term substitute position, but she did not expect that to last. She headed up to the classroom, grateful for the silence in the halls as it gave her time to order her thoughts. She unlocked the room, frowning as she stepped inside. She set the folder and keys down, laying her jacket over the back of the rolling chair, and set to rearranging the classroom. Internally, she knew that the students would be confused, however, she needed something familiar, and since the classroom was effectively hers for the remainder of the semester, they would get over it. At least, she hoped they would. When she managed to get the room close to how she wanted it, to how she remembered it when she had been a student, she glanced at the clock, raising an eyebrow when she realized that she had not taken as much time as she had thought. She shook her head and looked over the lesson plans, making a mental list of how she might need to adjust for her personal teaching style, then logged into the computer, pulling up a file and setting it to print as she went into the chemical supply closet in the back of the room to pull out what the students would need, provided they got far enough with the day’s assignment. She made sure to set up multiple stations before placing the excess back in the supply room, making sure to lock the door, grabbing the papers from the printer and setting them by the door. She glanced at the clock again as she propped the door open, nodding to herself at the time, then set to writing a few things on the whiteboard behind the desk. Not long after she finished, students began to trickle in. Several of them did a double take when they realized the room had been rearranged, then moved to find a seat before having to backtrack and pick up a paper from the table by the door. Rose smiled to herself, waiting for the bell to ring before she closed the door. Moments later, as she was getting ready to address the class, she heard a student attempt to get in, only to find that the door was locked. She raised an eyebrow at them as she opened the door, letting him inside.

“What the hell is this?” the student snapped, shock on his face.

“Take a seat,” Rose stated simply, “and I will explain.” She moved to stand in front of the counter that extended off the desk, looking out at the students with a faint smile. “As many of you have probably guessed by now, I am most definitely not Mr. Tucker. He has decided to take a leave of absence for the remainder of the semester, to, in his own words, ‘preserve the last of my sanity.’” There were some looks and snickers passed among the students, but she ignored them. “Because of that, you all get to see me every day until Winter Break. My name is Miss Miller, and I look forward to teaching you.” She motioned to the stations behind the students. “You should have picked up the packet by the door on your way in. This is for me to get a grasp of where y’all are, as this assignment will use things you have already covered in class.” She gave them a slightly bigger smile. “So, grab a partner and get to work!” She moved behind her desk--she knew it wasn’t hers, but it was easier to think of as hers for the time being--and watched as the students began to pair off. She was happy to hear only minimal grumbling, as the first part of the assignment had them working through basic stoichiometry, balancing equations and calculating moles of reactants and products, before going into the actual experiment. A little over halfway through the class, the student who had arrived late started to argue with his partner.

“I don’t see why you can’t do everything, you’ve already done most of the work,” he told the girl, leaning against the table, his chin resting on his fist.

“I’m not going to do everything, Janus,” she snapped. “And if I do, I’ll tell the sub you did nothing. You’ll fail.”

“Even if she believes you, we’ll just have a new one tomorrow,” he scoffed. Rose silently moved over, having been helping a pair of students a few stations over, standing behind Janus.

“Like I stated at the beginning of the period, I am going to be your teacher until Winter Break, roughly two months,: she said calmly. “I do believe Miss Winters is correct in her assumption that this is graded on participation as well as the assignment. So, with that in mind, I would suggest actually working with your partner, Mr. Riley.” Janus spun on the stool to face her.

“You’re just a sub,” he hissed at her. “I don’t have to listen to you.” She calmly nodded and stepped to the side.

“Then leave my classroom.” Janus stood, grabbing his bag and moving towards the door.

“It’s not your classroom, and it never will be,” he snapped before exiting the classroom, slamming the door behind him. The room fell silent, all eyes on Rose, and she sighed.

“Get back to work,” she spoke, still watching the door. “Miss Winters, you can finish on your own or join another group.” She walked back to the desk and called the office, letting them know what had happened, and that Janus was probably wandering around the school. The period ended not long after the incident, and she wasn’t surprised to see that no one had reached the experiment portion of the packet. “Don’t worry, just bring the packets back tomorrow. I didn’t expect anyone to finish today,” she smiled before the students left. Second period started with the same speech and introduction, though that class went much smoother. Third period rolled around, and Rose had slipped her jacket on, having gotten a bit chilly towards the end of the prior period. She felt eyes on her as the students trickled in, and she glanced over to see two students, one with a shock of purple hair and a studded jacket, the other with a shock of blue hair and a blue tie, watching her. She tilted her head slightly, watching them for a moment before turning her gaze back to the rest of the class. She gave her instructions, reminding them that she did not expect them to finish that day, then let them get to work. She gave the students time to pair off and get started before she began to wander around the room. Sometime into the class, while her back was turned to roughly half the class, she heard the shutter sound from a phone’s camera, causing her to straighten up from where she had been helping a pair of students. She glanced behind her, frowning.

“While I don’t mind you using phones for music or calculators, I sincerely hope none of you are using it to cheat,” she stated. “Carry on.” With that, she went back to helping students. She couldn’t shake the feeling that the shutter sound was significant, but she tried to ignore it for the rest of the class period. As the bell rang for fourth period, and first lunch, she felt her phone vibrate with a text, or multiple, as the vibration started and stopped for a few moments. Once the vibration stopped, there came a knock at the door. She frowned. As she moved to open the door, she caught sight of a flash of pink through the window and sighed. “Dr. Picani,” she said, managing a faint smile as she opened the door. Emile Picani studied the young woman in front of him, noting the smile she gave him did not reach her eyes and she seemed stiff at the sight of him. “Come in.” She moved out of the way of the door, giving him space as he entered.

“It’s good to see you again, Rose,” he smiled, perching on the edge of a desk as she sat in the rolling chair. “Why didn’t you say you would be in town?” She shrugged, picking at a loose thread on the hem of her blouse.

“Didn’t think it was that big of a deal,” she replied, not looking at him. “It’s only til Winter Break anyways.” Emile frowned at that.

“What do you mean?” She looked up at him with a frown.

“Exactly what I said. The long-term substitute contract is up at Winter Break, so I’ll be leaving then.”

“Were you going to let us know you were in town?” She signed, rubbing a hand over her face.

“Maybe, eventually?” she told him, sounding drained. “I honestly have no idea, Dr. P.” He nodded at that. “Was there anything else you needed?”

“My office is always open, Rosie,” he told her. “And not just the one here.” He stood, seeing her nod at his words, and let himself out of the classroom. Rose watched him go, glancing at the time to see that she only had about ten minutes before her fourth period started. She decided against looking at her phone, knowing she wouldn’t be able to put on a good enough face for the students if she did. She did spend five minutes doing a simple meditation to clear her mind, allowing her to get back into the mental space for teaching.

The final three periods of the way passed with relative ease, though she did notice a pastel punk watching her during fourth period and a punk with red hair watching her during sixth. As she closed the door behind the last of her students, Rose’s mind went to the notifications she had gotten earlier in the day. She wasn’t sure if they were texts or not, but she had the time to check now that she had her conference period. She sat behind the desk, pulling her phone from her jacket pocket and checking the notifications. She winced as she saw the messages and opened the conversation, reading through the texts she’d been sent. Her eyes lingered on the last message.

Call me when you get a chance. Before school gets out. She did a mental check of herself, nodding slightly when she found she did have the energy for the conversation to be had. She put on a smile and pressed ‘call,’ only a small part of her wishing the call would go to voicemail. It rang once, twice, three times before the line was picked up. There was silence for a moment, and her smile slipped.

“Remy?” she asked.

“Rosie,” Remy said after a moment. “Why did I have to learn you were back in town from a picture?”

I am recycling the taglist from the old story, if anyone wishes to be removed, please let me know!

@asofterfan, @thebesttable, @rptheturk, @theinternethaslife, @wildhorsewolf, @puns-and-patton, @thenachoduckof-fandoms, @kanejandkruge, @the-homelessone, @grey-lysander, @confinesofpersonalknowledge, @coffeestudylive, @a-whole-lot-of-screaming, @the-straight-as-a-circle-girl,@anxie-teaa, @pinkeasteregg, @team-free-squiggle, @jamiecambrera, @nienna14

[vozchik]

Closer To Home

[sharkdrawers]

[cgclarkphoto]

Grand Funk Railroad - Sin's a Good Man's Brother

[dotwpod]

(337) Gimme5: Grand Funk Railroad

Disciples! Here we go – another Gimme5 for your listening pleasure, and with none other than Grand Funk Railroad to wrap up my (mostly) 70s run of artists alongside REO Speedwagon and Journey. Grand Funk was a band that rose quickly to fame only to come crashing down as the 70’s rolled on, so a different tale than those other bands mentioned.Also -Stay tuned for future contributions from…

[readingbibooks]

“If I feel someone would be unwilling to hear me talk about a same-sex lover, I disclose nothing about any of my relationships, even if my current partner is of the opposite sex. This is not very easy, and occasionally I backslide, but I am rewarded with the knowledge that I am not contributing to the oppression of lesbian, gay and bisexual people when I am in an opposite-sex relationship.”

- Robyn Ochs, Closer to Home: Bisexuality and Feminism

[jwood719]

A trip to Kankakee Sands was only supposed to be an excuse to get out where there are few, if any, other people and one can hear the wind in the trees (like the other recent evening jaunt). But the "sand blow" beckoned, and needed investigation (I use the word "investigation" loosely).

Seen from a distance in this image from 2017 (above), sand blows occur when the grassy root system fails for some reason, and gusting winds can then "blow out" the sandy soil, exposing the fine grains and pushing up low dunes. As that sand blow was still extant (though altered over the years, because Nature), a short walk off the beaten track was in order.

The sand isn't quite powdery, but consistent, and easily shows the tracks of small critters, birds, and the stems of the grasses whisked in the breeze:

And any trip up the Sands is also an excuse to contrast purple and yellow in the landscape, a favorite of mine:

as well as the natural highlights provided by a westering Sun:

Walking through the sand blow (carefully as possible, so as not to disturb the grasses further if that's at all possible), the question was "Have there been other people here?" The answer was soon obvious:

Yep: "Every damn where y'go!" The offending plastic bottle was brought home for recycling.

Rachel Bradshaw, 2023.

There's another trip in the offing, along the old rail road tracks, that should provide some further photos in the near future.

The Nature Conservancy: Kankakee Sands

[notrobinsomethingworse]

Alternative Titans Tower scene

Jason, wearing his original Robin suit (that’s sized up to ‘fit’ him: Do you remember me?

Tim: Did you seriously think I was gonna be scared seeing you wear panties?

Jason: what?

Tim: Like Jesus Christ I’m 13. I don’t want to see you wearing underwear. I can see the outline of your di-

Jason: wait no-

Tim: Like everything just hanging there. Did you even look in the mirror before coming here?

Jason: No- that’s not the point.

Tim: God dude. I looked up to you and now I have to see this? It’s gonna be in my goddamn brain forever. I’m gonna close my eyes and it’s gonna be you in those fucking short-

Jason: Can we move on?

Tim: I don’t even think I can. It’s just stuck in my brain now. I’m not gonna look at Robin the same way now and I’m goddamn Robin. God. Do I start avoiding my reflection now? Dr. Freeze is gonna be a nightmare. It’s gonna be like one of those mirror mazes but with pictures of your di-

Jason: Are you done?

Tim: God no. They warned you never meet your hero’s but never because you had to see them in some scaly panties. Seriously I can see you asscrack from he-

Jason, cocking riffle: Okay you’re done.

[musiconspotify]

Mexico City

Closer To Home (2022) … drags the listener in …

#MexicoCity

[del-stars]

sorry but i kind of want regulus who was more like 'thank god that loud fucking bitch got out of here & now i'm an only child. when can i have his room'

[call-me-strega]

Dc x Dp Prompt #22: the Respectful Catcall Guy

Have y’all seen the videos of the respectful catcall guy? The one who says stuff like “Hey girl! You look like you file your taxes in a timely manner!”, “Hey Dawg! Your eyebrows look like they are on point bro!”, or “Yo! You look like you know how to fold a fitted sheet!”. So instead of an unpleasant experience with harassment you get a nice complement? Y’all know those guys?

So that but it’s Danny and Tucker (Sam’s camera women) on their summer road trip to visit colleges. No on is safe from compliments, not civilians, not super heroes/vigilantes, not even rouges are safe.

Some of these interactions would include:

“Damn Dude! You look like you contribute equally to household responsibilities!” (To Barry out with Iris and his kids, he laughs proudly and Iris says “Yeah he does!”)

“ Hey Man! You look like you always pull up for you friends!” (To Wally picking up a drunk Dick Grayson, Donna Troy, and Roy Harper after an undercover Titan’s mission gone wrong. He smiles awkwardly while his friends laugh)

“Dang Bro! You look like you’re taking your meds regularly!” (Trickster/James Jesse tv show version, he says “I am!” not questioning how they would know he takes meds)

“Damn ma’am! You look like you love every dog unconditionally!” (To Wonder Woman after she stopped to pet a dog)

“Dang girl! You look like you could bench press your friends! I bet you give great hugs!” (To Cassie Sandsmark at a Core Four hang out. She proudly shows off her guns and Bart yells back that she does give great hugs)

“Wow Girl! You look like you know how to use healthy communication and boundaries in your relationships!” (To Black Canary, she smirks proudly)

“Damn man! You look like drink your respect women juice at breakfast, lunch AND dinner!” (To a Clark Kent treating Lois to lunch)

“ Wow man! You look like you make an effort to be and active and present part of your daughter’s life! (To Deadshot/Floyd Lawton and his daughter Zoe out for dinner)

“ Dang girl! You look you know how to find joy and whimsy in life!”(To Raven, she smiled and appreciated it, but did double take at the amount of extradimensional death magic on these kids which check with them about later)

“Dang sir! You look like you know how to properly season your cooking!” (To Alfred Pennyworth out on a grocery run)

“Damn miss, you look like you make environmentally conscious lifestyle choices!” (this is actually Sam to Poison Ivy, she follows it up with “I’m a big fan of your work”)

“ Damn boy, you seem like you’re super passionate about what you believe in and deeply care about the people you love!” (To a budding, upstart crime lord Red Hood who is shook by positive feelings at this time in his life. They track him down and explain liminality and help him deal with emotions before he does smth too drastic like decapitating ppl *cough cough* But he still becomes a Crime Lord to mess with his family and still have a dramatic reveal)

[vozchik]

Closer To Home

[bitchslapblastoids]

if you held me at gunpoint i couldn’t articulate why my brain has established a connective thread between these two moments but there’s something there, I’m telling you

[never-was-has-been]

Love this tune. Always have.

Grand Funk Railroad - Mean Mistreater

[avotuli]

this isnt about nightmares or fear, this is about love