#He was HORRIBLE and I was just so so pissed

[holocene-sims]

next // previous

october 1, 2021 4:15 p.m. grant's house

[juhani] hello? grant, can i call you tomorrow? it’s late.

[grant] no, you can’t. i know it’s 11 o’clock where you are right now, and i don’t really care. you answered, so you’ve trapped yourself.

[varpu, faintly] juha, if you don’t talk now, he will never call you back.

[juhani] i want to speak with you, of course i do, it’s just–

[grant] fantastic, because that’s what we’re doing. we’re talking! i have 30 years of stuff to get off my chest, and i'm sure you have your own piece to share. not sure where to start, but.

[juhani] may i ask you a question? what did you overhear at dinner the other night? are you upset i'm moving? is that it?

[grant] i mean, that stung a little after the whole “i’ll be around to build a relationship with you,” thing, but i gave you my express permission to go home, so it’s whatever. we are both adults, so i am not going to fault you for making adult decisions that improve your life. i'm more upset by you claiming you didn’t tell me about your plans or include me in the moving and wedding stuff and whatever because i'm difficult.

[juhani] that’s not what–

[grant] oh, come on. don’t kid yourself. you said it yourself, anything involving me is like pulling teeth. i heard it loud and clear.

[juhani] well, when i tell you things, you never react well. it always goes precisely like this conversation is going.

[grant] really? never? because i remember being pretty positive about your proposal and about you contacting me in the first place and about coming to dinner to acquaint myself with varpu’s kids and about meeting varpu a while back…

[grant] what i react poorly to is you leaving me out, you calling me difficult, you complaining about me in front of impressionable people, etcetera.

[juhani] i don’t want to leave you out.

[grant] that’s what varpu said, too, but i didn’t believe her, so why would i believe you?

[juhani] i have no idea how to interact with you. i've apologized to you, told you i regret the events of your childhood. nothing works.

[grant] do you regret it? because it kind of just feels like you’re doing the same shit again. abandoning me for your own self-interests. oh, and this time you’re replacing me with a brand new family you treat better.

[juhani] i'm not repl–okay, what would you prefer me do when you push me away? you told me i was difficult.

[grant] when did i say that? i mean, that's true, sure, but i would not say that to you. what i probably said that you’re misconstruing is that talking to you is hard because i'm not comfortable around you.

[juhani] and how long will it take you to be comfortable around me? i don’t know what else you want me to do. truly, i don’t, and it is not pleasant to be rejected endlessly.

[grant] well, i'd have to forgive you, but i don’t. if forgiveness was meant to happen, it would not be instant. you’d have to keep trying with me, even if i piss you off, even if i push you away. you’re my fucking father, it’s your job. you show up for your kid even if they’re horrible or annoying. you never turn your back on them. but, you know, you didn’t show up for the first 22 years you were around, so you’d have to try extra hard now to change my mind.

[grant] but honestly, i will never be comfortable around you. i've realized that over the last few days. i did actually think if you just kept trying, i'd relax and be less on edge, but nope. you could become an honest-to-god saint tomorrow, and i'll still be furious because nothing will make me understand why you couldn’t have been a decent person when i was a kid. like, when i needed you.

[grant] and i don’t get why you weren't. i don't. i'm serious. i can’t comprehend it. clearly, you have it in you to be a decent person. you love varpu's kids. you're fatherly towards them. you take them on vacation, you invite them to house and wedding venue tours, you tell them about and include them in your hobbies, you remember details about them, you smile at them without being forced, you go to their weddings and don’t flip out about them being queer even though you were viscerally disgusted with me when you found out–

[juhani] you shouldn’t bring them into this. it isn’t fair. and i've taken you on vacation before, for one.

[grant] i am being petty, but i think it's fair because i'm not shitting on them specifically. and yeah, okay, you took me on vacation once. you took me to finland exactly once, but i never met your family, and i remember nothing other than the plane rides.

[grant] and you shouldn’t do this. we don’t need to split hairs. you don’t need to crawl through that list of grievances and “well, actually” me as many times as you can manage. one vacation changes nothing. that does not erase all the times you sat there like a lame duck and ignored me or mocked me or let my mother abuse me. there is nothing for you to pat yourself on the back about.

[grant] nothing.

[juhani] so, what are you upset about now?

[grant] why?

[juhani] why what?

[grant] why are you like this? why were you a terrible father? why have no heart for me or my sisters? why did you save all your love for someone else’s kids?

[grant] oh, and how about cerise? you sure didn’t care about your bastard kids either, did you?

[grant] shit. i'm sorry. that just kind of came out. that’s not how i wanted to, you know, pepper that into this conversation. i was going to save that for the end.

[juhani] how do you know about her?

[grant] doesn't matter. it's a long story.

[grant] on that note, what is up with the secret daughter? how’d that happen? is she the only one, too, or should i be on the lookout for any other siblings? and hey, you only divorced my mother in the last few years, so you were cheating. how many times did you fuck around on her, and why would you? you wouldn’t divorce her because you were afraid of her, but apparently it's no big deal to cheat.

[juhani] grant, how can i answer you if you don't allow me to talk? cerise’s mother michelle is a doctor. your mother and i were both at a conference in detroit about healthcare outreach, and…

[juhani] i know it seems contradictory, given how long i stayed with your mother, but i was unhappy in the marriage. i met michelle there at the conference, and she was kind and intelligent, and i suppose the rest of the story should be obvious to you.

[grant] goddamn, man. i hate my mother, but that’s bold: sleeping with another woman right in front of her face.

[grant] did she ever find out?

[juhani] eventually. you remember how she was with the finances. she tracked all the money going in and out of the household. you couldn’t have one cent go missing without being accused of something, and she’d always blame it on some incident with her brother and start ranting about him.

[juhani] look, the agreement with michelle was that i'd stay out of her life and send child support, and she wouldn’t interfere with my family either. i used to lie and tell your mother the child support funds were going somewhere important, but she didn't believe me very long. she did finally question me and find out the truth.

[grant] and?

[juhani] in hindsight, her reaction reminds me a lot of the one she had when you lashed out at her during your graduation dinner. very little left her speechless, but that did. initially, i should clarify. she would go on to never let me live cerise’s existence down.

[juhani] and to answer your question, as far as i know, cerise is the only other child.

[grant] as far as you know?

[juhani] i cannot rule out further surprises.

[grant] jesus christ. my grandmother is right, all men are dogs, but you most of all.

[juhani] does it upset you that much?

[grant] again, i don’t like my mother, but if i needed any more proof that you’re more spineless than a sea sponge, this is it. you were so unhappy with my mother that you’d cheat on her, but you’d not divorce her when your kids were vulnerable.

[grant] you disgust me. you slept around and thought with your dick before you spared a single thought for the kids you let my mother abuse. or for yourself! fuck you. if you’re going to be that selfish, at least be selfish enough to prioritize yourself and leave the woman making you that miserable!

[grant] and now i don’t believe you when you say you wouldn’t leave her back then because you were scared of her. do you seriously mean to tell me it’s less terrifying to cheat on her than to just walk out of the house and never come back?

[grant] i did that, you know? when i'd had enough of my mother, i told her as much and then never spoke to her again. and guess what? wouldn’t you be so stunned to find out she’s never tracked me down, never tried to call or email to reel me back in? she left me alone after i told her to go fuck herself!

[grant] and technically, you know it's possible to leave her, too. what did you say about the divorce? that she just rolled over and let you do it and was fine with you just coughing up all the assets and dipping?

[grant] exhibits A, B, and C that she’s a coward, too. she thinks she’s the boss, but if you fight back hard enough, she gives up. you could have left her at any point in time.

[grant] god. oh my god. you stupid, spineless motherfucker. i thought i'd maxed out on anger. apparently not!

[grant] you really could have been a better father. you could have had your whole little life overhaul decades ago, and you could have saved the entire family so much pain. you, me, elizabeth, kelly…

[grant] i should have suspected as much, and i guess i did, but it's shocking to realize over and over just how useless you are as a father. i think it can't get any worse and then it does. you are a complete and utter failure as a parent.

[grant] this is why i can’t forgive you. you didn’t have to mess up so badly. but no. whatever you got out of the relationship was enough to convince you to sit there and watch my mother ruin all of us, and even thought you weren't happy with her, you got by with fucking other women and only regretted staying a billion years later when you noticed you had nothing of substance left in life but my mother. and that’s a pretty depressing way to live, isn’t it?

[juhani] i stayed because i thought we deserved each other.

[grant] with that attitude, maybe you did.

[grant] listen, i'll admit this, no problem. it’s no one’s fault that she is the way that she is. it’s not even yours. she’s abusive, and what she does to other people is her fault and her responsibility. she’s excellent, too, at convincing you to just go along with it and never question her. it's not that hard to get caught in her trap at first, and she will try her very best to break you. but at some point, you have to question anyway. at some point, you have to recognize you deserve better and do something about it.

[grant] but you didn’t. not until it was too late for it to mean anything.

[grant] i would never think i've done everything right, but in the end, i've respected myself enough to make better choices and do something about the situation i was in, and i've had to do that because the adults in my life weren’t responsible or organized enough to fix things before responsibility fell into my hands.

[juhani] you are a braver and a better man than i.

[grant] i'm glad i am, but do you know how exhausting it is to be brave all the time?

[grant] i am because you weren’t. it is entirely because you failed. you weren’t brave enough to give a fuck about yourself or your kids, so i've had to be brave my entire life. brave enough to survive my childhood, then brave enough to leave. and guess what? i don’t want to be brave. i just want to exist. and back then, i just wanted to be a kid.

[grant] just a kid.

[grant] i wanted to come home from school and play with my pokemon cards and hear my mom and my dad say, “hi honey! how was your day? we love you!" i didn’t want to live in fear of what horror would befall me each and every day.

[grant] fuck you. fuck you. fuck you. you stole my childhood. you stole elizabeth’s childhood. you stole kelly’s childhood.

[grant] you and my mother, but you could have done something. you could have given us our childhoods back. you could have done something! you should have done something!

[grant] you didn’t have to do everything right even. parents mess up, i know that, but you could have at least tried. the bar was on the floor. i would have over the moon living in a single parent household with a father who at least showed up to my hockey games if he wasn’t busy at work and gave me a hug every once in a while.

[grant] and you know what, you did more than steal our childhoods. because you couldn’t stand to sacrifice your comfort long enough to take care of your kids, we all have to live in permanent hell. i have to spend the rest of my life freaking out when someone walks up behind me or speaks too loudly or–god forbid–touches me! it took me years to finally learn not to flinch when someone high fives me! and kelly–i don’t know what she deals with, but i know her life can’t be peaceful.

[grant] again, i am not blaming you for what my mother did–i know she was not kind to you either– but i do blame you for not even trying to stop her or get away from her. you were an adult with power, and you didn't use an ounce of it. actually, you did use it, just not for good. you threw me specifically under the bus because it was easier to let my mother use me as a punching bag than you.

[juhani] you’re right.

[juhani] you’re right, grant.

[grant] i have nothing else to say, short of "fuck you" again. i think i'm done yelling at you.

[grant] no, wait, one last thing. what did you even see in my mother in the first place? what was so enticing about her that you’d stay with her so long and ditch your college sweetheart for her?

[juhani] i don’t know. i don’t know anymore.

[grant] i guess it was two people drawn to each other's misery.

[grant] great. well, that’s all, folks.

[grant] good luck with the new family. maybe you can make it right with someone else and enjoy a totally fresh start because you will never make it right with me, and i will never let you forget what you did to me and my sisters. and don’t lose varpu again, by the way. she is, like, far out of your league–so far it's not even funny–and you are lucky to have this second chance with her and to have a good relationship with her kids.

[grant] also, just so it's clear, i don't want to speak to you anymore after this. don't call me, i won't call you either, except in one circumstance. i'll consider it on the day my mother kicks the bucket. we can toast to the end of that chapter of our lives and hope that the haunting ends. because surely you have to feel a little haunted, too, right? i have a sinking suspicion that’s why you reconnected with me. you don’t care about me. you care about that fresh start, about making yourself feel better about wasting your life and fucking up everyone around you.

[bellysoupset]

Wendy was in god's most awkward position, panting and covered in sweat, when her phone started ringing from across the room.

Her teacher threw her a dirty glare, "phones on silent, please," the yoga instructor scoffed, gesturing for Wendy to go turn off her phone.

She crawled on the mat, still panting and wiping her sweaty hands on her shorts before swiping on her screen to unblock it. She was fully expecting it to be a call from Bell after that horrible hospital morning and the news that hadn't been fully digested yet, but no. Instead it was Vince's name.

So her heart sunk down to her stomach when the name displayed across the screen was no other than her boyfriend's. Vince knew her schedule of classes by heart and he never called during those hours. Besides he was much more of a texter, sending her a million texts throughout his day.

"Vin?" Wendy whispered, picking up the call and stepping outside of the classroom. She stood in the hallway, pressing her back against the cold wall, "honey?"

A sob answered her and Wendy's heart picked up, "Vince? Answer me, what's wrong?"

"Max, he- I- I... Can you come over? Please? I- We were hiking and he- there was so much blood, I-" he wasn't making any sense, clearly shook to his core, "the bone was sticking out-"

"Vince," Wendy forced a calm she didn't feel, walking back to the room to grab her ditched purse and power walking out of the building, "is he alive?"

"What...?" His voice, that had been far away, snapped back to the present, startled, "Yes! Yeah!"

Wendy let out a sigh of relief, "what happened, honey?" she clicked her car keys, whole body and face tingling from the sudden change of temperatures between the chilly night and the hot yoga class.

"We were hiking and I- I don't know... His foot got stuck? Then he was screaming and I-" Vince interrupted himself with a gag and Wendy silently cursed. It took a lot to freak out Vin to this degree, even if he was a sensitive man, he was normally pretty calm.

"It was his foot then?" she ushered him to continue, driving out of the parking lot, "take a breath, Vin."

Vince out the air slowly, shakily, "yes... An-ankle."

Good. Much better than the gruesome scenarios Wendy had been conjuring up. She thanked the fact ER had prepared her for almost anything when it came to ugly injuries.

"How long ago was that, Vin?" Wendy turned the second exit, as her phone finally connected to the bluetooth of her car. She dropped the device on the passenger side, focusing on the road.

"I don't know, I- Wendy there was so much blood," Vince's voice turned into a whimper, "and he just- went out. Wouldn't wake up."

He had gone into shock, which was more than expected considering an exposed fracture. Wendy cringed, wishing she could pull her boyfriend into a hug as she heard his ragged breaths.

"Honey," Wendy said slowly, "Vin, listen to me. Is he in surgery?"

"Ye-yes..." Vince sniffled.

"Okay, how long ago was he wheeled in?"

"Uh- About fifteen minutes ago..."

"Alright honey," she softened her voice, "I want you to go eat something, ok?" Wendy knew better than to ask him to go home. This was her boyfriend she was talking about, the most loyal man she had ever met. He wasn't going to leave, "wash your face, get something with carbs to eat and a warm drink. He won't be out for at least an hour and the anesthesia will take even longer to fade."

"Okay..." Vince took a deep breath, then asked in a small voice, "you're coming over?"

"I'm on the road already," Wendy reassured him, and thanked her stars it was a Friday. She wasn't scheduled for that weekend, "Max is going to be fine, Vin. I know it was scary, but it's an ankle fracture, he'll be absolutely fine," although probably a little traumatized and very pissed, Wendy huffed at the mental image of the blonde's characteristic scowl.

Vince let out a sigh and she could almost see him nodding, his voice soundly relieved, "okay... I'll see you in a bit."

"I love you," she told him and Vince let out another small sob.

"I love you too. Thank you for calming me down..."

"Anytime, my love," Wendy promised, "I'll see you soon, please eat!"

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

Vince raised from his chair like a lighting bolt had struck him, jumping up as soon as he heard her voice. Wendy was barely through the doors, before he was wrapping her into a tight hug, which was entirely for his benefit.

He crushed her to his chest, causing Wendy to gasp when his bear hug cut off her air supply. Vince let out a sigh, loosening up the grip just a tad.

"Oh honey," Wendy cooed, tiptoed in order to cup his face, noticing the red tear tracks and how overly shiny his eyes were. She squeezed her arm around him, pressing a kiss over his chest, "I got you."

Vince kissed the top of her head, letting out a shuddering breath, "it was horrible," he grumbled, pulling back and gesturing to the bed. Max was passed out, face slack and pale, blonde hair covering the pillow.

His left foot was in a cast and sticking out, lifted to avoid the swelling.

Wendy unwrapped herself from Vince, walking closer and moving without thinking, brushing Max's hair back, "no complications through the surgery?"

"No..." Vince collapsed back on the chair he had been occupying, "it was my fault."

"Tripping and falling on a hike sounds like an accident, Vin," Wen rolled her eyes, moving her had to check Max's pulse on his neck. Steady, calm.

"No," Vince groaned, folding forward and cradling his forehead in his hand, elbow on his knee, "I pushed him too far, I- I fucked with his head, that's why he wasn't paying attention..."

Wendy frowned, moving away from the bed and crouching down next to Vince, resting her hands on his leg, "whatever do you mean?"

"I asked him if he was lonely, the conversation sorta turned into a fight- He wasn't paying any attention to where he was walking..."

"Vince," Wendy let out a huff, squeezing his thigh, "the world does not revolve around you. Max didn't fall and break his ankle because of your fight, he would've probably fallen regardless. It was a hike, hikes are risky," she took his hand, kissing his palm, "and you're here, aren't you?"

Vince's chin trembled just slightly, jaw clenching, and he nodded, avoiding her eyes. Wendy let out a sigh, standing up and pressing a kiss to his temple.

Immediately he wrapped both arms around her waist and pressed his head to her chest, trying to hide from the sight of Max flat on the bed.

Wendy curled her fingers into his hair, there were the vestiges of a braid, but by now most of his curls were lose and there were leaves sticking out. She fished them out, kissing the top of his head, just as Vince pulled back and frowned.

"Why are you in gym clothes?"

"Well, my boyfriend called right when I was in yoga class- I didn't even pack a bag," Wendy cringed at the fact she was still sweaty and in her matchy gym set, "you sounded really distraught."

Vince let out a huff, leaning back in and planting a kiss in the valley between her boobs, "I was. Hell, I am. You have some clothes at my place, wanna go change? Get a shower?"

"Is this your way of saying I'm stinky?" Wendy teased him, rubbing her chin on the top of his head, "I'd rather stay until he wakes up, it'll probably be soon, the surgery was hours ago."

"Hopefully, stinky," Vince grinned up at her, pulling Wendy to sit on his lap and leaned back on the chair, smile fading as he watched Max splayed on the bed, "I feel like I keep getting into fights lately, maybe the issue its me."

Wendy frowned, she had heard the tale of Vince and Luke's fight. Twice, once through Vin, then Bella's version distorted by Luke's emotions, and Wen might have been biased, but she didn't think Vin was in the wrong.

She was flattered Lucas had jumped to her defense, specially considering how betrayed she had felt a year before when Luke knew Vince would be leaving and hadn't given her a heads up, but she understood why Vince had been so offended over Lucas' implied accusation.

Wendy leaned in, pressing her forehead to Vince's and cooing softly, "I don't think so, honey," Wendy kissed his cheek, "I'd tell you if you were making an ass out of yourself, but I really don't think you are."

Vince huffed, not quite believing her and Wendy settled in his arms, looking in Max's direction. Max wasn't a frail dude by any means, and yet her heart couldn't help but squeeze at the sight of him. There were bruises on his brow and on his right cheek, from the fall, and the hospital gown made him look even more pale.

Vince squirmed under her, getting more comfortable, resting his chin on top of her head and Wendy leaned back, exhaustion of driving 4 hours after a full day of work and the emotional punch of that morning with Bella and Luke catching up with her. She let out a yawn, pressing her forehead to his neck and closing her eyes.

Wendy woke up with Vince moving. She was a heavy sleeper, so only her boyfriend literally moving her was capable of waking her up and it took her a minute to situate herself.

Vince wasn't looking at her, but ahead and she followed his gaze. Max's eyes were open, staring at the ceiling, clearly a little high from the general anesthesia.

"Max, are you alright?" Vince asked and Wendy stumbled up with him, rubbing her eyes and moving closer to the bed.

The blonde was blinking heavily, lips so pale they were blending with his skin. He jerked at Vin's voice, turning his head in his direction and frowned, "Vin...?" his voice came out raspy, a grimace taking up his face, "what- what happened-" Max eyes widened and he glanced ahead, to his foot, panicked, "my leg-"

"Hey," Wendy's medical training kicked in before Vince could say anything. She circled her boyfriend, planting a hand on Max's shoulder, "you're alright now. Look at me- You're alright, okay?"

His eyes were still panicked as he blinked profusely, then nodded, gulping down, "I don't... I don't feel well..." he swallowed in, "m'dizzy..."

"Wen?!" Vince's voice was worried, asking for an explanation and she shushed him waving in his direction, without looking away from the blonde.

"It's the anesthesia," she pushed Max's hair back, "deep breaths, slowly," she looked around the room, searching for an emesis bowl. There was a metal one resting on the small bedside table and Wendy gestured for it, Vince obeying without her needing to ask.

Max let out a groan, his head lolling and eyes struggling to stay open, "what- What are you doing here...?"

Wendy let out a little hysterical giggle, as he finished his sentence with a weak gag and she caught the vomit in the emesis bowl, placing it right under his chin. He didn't even seem sick, just totally out of it.

"Can I sit him up?" Vince hovered around, but Wendy shook her head.

"Don't move him, the pain will make him sicker," she planted a hand on Max's cheek, moving his head so he wasn't half pressing his face to the pillow while puking, "sweetheart, are you with us?"

Max gulped down, nodding, and then a little burp escaped him, followed by a much larger wave of vomit. He let out a whimper, eyes squeezed shut, "m'head..."

"Shhh, I know," Wendy pressed the nurse's button, keeping the bowl steady, "get it up, honey."

Vince was chewing on his lip, hands ghosting over Max's opposite arm, clearly distraught by how helpless he was.

"Can you get him some water?" Wendy asked, despite knowing Max wouldn't want to drink it, just so Vince would have a task at hand. He nodded eagerly, before rushing out of the room and Max gagged again, whining as he burped up another wave.

He coughed, forcefully clearing his throat and spitting out the ropes of saliva, wrinkling his nose, "oh gross..."

Wendy smiled at him, lowering the emesis bowl but not moving it away, "better?"

Max nodded, although he gagged once more, this one not productive, "what are you doing here...?"

"Vin called me, you really spooked him," Wendy carefully planted the emesis bowl away from him, gesturing down Max's body, "that was a nasty fracture you got, Max."

"Ugh, yeah, tell me about it," Max rubbed at his face, seeming to regain his strength, "there was a whole bone out..." he shuddered and Wendy grimaced in sympathy.

"I guess you're not walking around any time soon," she sat on the edge of his mattress, "how's your head? Still dizzy?"

"No," Max frowned, "pounding, but I'm fine... Vince called you?"

He sounded genuinely confused and Wendy fought the urge to roll her eyes. It was a mystery to her how Max failed to see what was obvious to Wendy from the get go, that Vince wanted him in his life.

"Yes, sobbing," she confided, looking over her shoulder to make sure her boyfriend wasn't coming back. She could see his silhouette through the small frosted glass window, "here comes your doctor."

True to her prediction, trailing after Vince, was the doctor in charge, who threw Wendy a glare as he saw her perched on the edge of Max's mattress.

They carefully assessed Max's ankle, then his head since he was claiming to have a headache, before clicking a button on his mattress and the whole thing tipped forward, pushing him into a sitting position.

Max let out a whine at the movement, before it turned into a sigh of relief as he was almost sitting up.

"We're going to keep you overnight, Mr. Daniels, but you're free to go home as soon as there's the shift change," his doctor continued to speak and Wendy blinked heavily against sleep as this was familiar territory, "you shouldn't be alone on the first twenty four hours home, do you have anyone to be with you? Otherwise we can arrange you another night at the hospital-"

"He does," Vince interjected, "I'll stay with him."

Without looking up from his clipboard, the doctor nodded, then opened a smile, "that's all. You can click the button for more painkillers, I've instructed the nurses on the amount already, and dinner should be coming up soon. I expect you to eat."

Max made a nauseous face, but nodded, lips curling in disgust, "yessir..."

The doctor glanced at Wendy, "no climbing on your boyfriend's bed, he needs rest," he squinted at her, before turning around and leaving the room.

Vince let out a scoff, rolling his eyes and Wendy shrugged, her face aflame. Between them, Max yawned, "you heard him, no climbing on my bed," he said, smugly, before closing his eyes, "thank you for being here..."

Wendy had no idea if he meant her or Vince, but she smiled nonetheless, combing her fingers through his hair as the rest of anesthesia knocked him out once again.

[mxstly-melancholy]

a TON of random SFW William hcs! ✮⋆˙

William is actually really good at playing guitar. I mean, Spring Bonnie plays a banjo so- it only makes sense he’s super good at both!!

Speaking of Spring Bonnie- he has an attachment to the suit because he feels better being hidden from everyone. He never has to worry about people looking at him when he’s Spring Bonnie.

On his days off I imagine he just likes to sit down and have a few beers, maybe a couple cigars… watch a movie, read a book, play guitar..

He doesn’t really like looking in the mirror :( not because he doesn’t like himself, but because he’ll get too fixated on “I’m getting older and time isn’t slowing down.”

He has adhd, and really bad fixation problems. He will not eat, drink or even think of himself for a whole day until he is done working on an animatronic, and suddenly - “oh fuck I’m starving, I’m really thirsty and I need to pee.”

Him & Henry have a lot of inside jokes- and employees look at them like they’re crazy when they say them- and laugh super hard together.

William loves dressing really nice. He loves suits, button ups, bows and ties. He loves super sleek black shoes as well. It makes him feel good about himself.

Other than purple, his favorite colors are yellow, pink, and baby blue.

His parents always kind of left him to do whatever he wanted. They were kind of weirded out by him- his behavior was “crazy,” but only because he was an undiagnosed neurodivergent child.

Because of that he has a hard time letting anyone in, he’s very shielded off from anyone but his partner and Henry.

He doesn’t think he’s husband material. At all. From his perspective, he’s awkward, weird & not the nicest person- so why would anyone want to be with him?

When he got his first animatronic up and running- he has never been happy like that day ever since. He was so proud of himself.

He got into making animatronics on accident when he was younger. I’d say about 23-25.

he was drawing one day, then suddenly it turned into a blueprint of Spring Bonnie. The ideas kept popping up-

He read so many books about machines, computers, everything and anything he could find about electronics, and the ideas kept coming.

He finally decided one day to go for it and he started tinkering with wires & plastic, molding and shaping clay and making casts of everything, and before he knew it- he had a whole animatronic.

He tore it down after some time and kept the information stored in his back pocket for later.

Growing up he didn’t have many friends. He spent most of his time just people watching.

When he was in elementary school- kids used to pick on him for his height. He was always so tall- standing out from everyone else. He hated it.

He got suspended from college once after some guy called him a loser, William didn’t like that. The guys head ended up being smashed into a table a few times.

As he gets older, his anger isn’t so strong anymore. Slightly thankful of that fact, he takes advantage of it to go do more things that usually would just piss him off.

He’s farsighted. It’s hard to see things up close. He really only uses his glasses when working on projects/reading.

He really loves music from the 70s/80s- and really only listens to that.

He faces towards the water in the shower.

He loves collecting vinyls & cassettes.

William only sleeps in his boxers. He can’t have anything else on or else he won’t be able to fall asleep.

It doesn’t matter how cold he is- he has to only be wearing his boxers.

Speaking of sleeping-

He can only fall asleep lying on his side.

He sleep talks here and there.

He tosses and turns a lot.

Unfortunately, he has a lot of nightmares too,

Often waking up in the middle of the night sweaty from them.

He has to have complete dark and silence in order to sleep, too.

His mind is constantly running and going- it’s the only way he’ll be able to shut it down.

He has a horrible, horrible sweet tooth.

I mean, constantly he just wants to eat sweets

He has had so many cavities.

He fucking hates the dentist but he goes anyways.

William exudes a LOT of confidence- but deep deep down he doesn’t feel confident.

He doesn’t - and has never really felt true empathy.

He KNOWS he should feel bad for certain people or things-

But there’s just a disconnect, and he doesn’t feel it.

Please let this man just info-dump on you about his little robot characters.

That’s all I got in me right now. :’) ik there’s more - I’ll probably make a pt2 at some point!

[marzipanilla]

I was going to jokingly be like 'three threads one post GO !' lol but then I was like- no, I need to sit down re-read all of this and organize my thoughts better and probably still miss stuff I wanted to say. Time to have multiple tabs open !

Mark and Kate talking about surviving horrific body altering trauma! About struggling to relate to people after enduring horrible shit! yess. Figure out that you can be vulnerable with someone and you don't have to be having sex with them or insisting you love them so much they have to understand- you CAN have platonic meaningful relationships with people! Sometimes it IS very good to have an outside perspective. If TT were essentially Kate's family (and then they just... splinter into nonsense- okay- detour- why the hell weren't TT WAY more up in Robot's bizz about the fact he was a 30 year old man hanging out with teens for years? Aside from just letting the narrative give us general logistics on how they all got together- where are their personal feelings on this? Presumably they did treat him differently bc they believed him to be a robot- how do they feel about that trust being violated? Things they were willing to say to him? Things he might have seen? Why would any of them be okay with someone who lied to them like that still being in charge of their well being? Why am I once again stuck with an awkward romance storyline (Amanda and Rudy) instead of what is naturally there in the TT dynamic? Just?? hello?? Like, 'I violated one of my coworkers bc I realized he made you horny' is wild as it is- but the fact that I am getting that storyline instead of 'my coworker is mad at me because I lied to him for years'? Where are the GoG and TT dealing with liars meetings? Where is Immortal talking to them about what its like to have someone not turn out to be who you thought they were??

TT and GoG 'guess I wasn't the only one being lied to' dynamic we SHOULD have gotten.

On the retiring heroes line- where is more stuff with Samson! He didn't retire, he was SIDELINED bc he lost his powers and then he clawed his way back in. How does he feel about people willingly stepping away? Is he an insane adrenaline junky? Was he going to lose his health insurance if he didn't get back into things? What are his motivations !! If he was a member of GoG why wasn't he at the funeral. Why wasn't he up there talking with Nolan. Why didn't he come by for drinks. Lemme see THAT dynamic. Let's hear what Nolan has to say about his 'coworkers' when one of them trying to mourn is RIGHT THERE. What would his advice be to Mark about loss? Like, people who work jobs like that have a certain degree of disassociation from things/dark humor etc etc, but how would he not have a different outlook than Nolan? Was he pissed at GoG bc he wasn't with them after his powers were gone? How did he feel about the Nolan reveal? Secretly glad that you weren't around with the deaths happened? Insanely guilty that you weren't?

Aside from Atlantis being pissed about their dead king, like... did any other country demand reparation for what Omni-Man did? Was all that destruction apparently limited to the USA? Were aide packages sent? Refused? How many times even outside of contexts like that, were heroes sued for interfering in the matters of other governments workings? What are the extradition laws of superheroes? If they are all secret identity types- how do you identify where to send the court order? Do all heroes belong to a global registry official or not, and that is where their rights are determined? There has to be some sort of court for dealing with heroes no ??

Nolan isolating Mark and Debbie initially viewing it just as him being protective, bc it's a dangerous world out there! Stuff happens! But then Mark starts to push back against his dad, and she wants him to have human friends and suddenly it doesn't seem so protective bc Nolan is ALSO keeping him from that. Debbie finding superhero partners but struggling to find superhero PARENTS and just trying to figure out where the line is. Why are so few heroes parents? Just bias of where she is? Do most retire/take a break to raise their kids before going back? Are most too paranoid about the GDA taking an interest in their offspring to risk it? Are there RULES/laws about heroes having kids? How fucked would that be?

Does Mark ever wonder why he's an only child? Did they only want one kid? Was he an accident? Was Debbie willing to have more but Nolan's behavior with bby!Mark weirded her out too much? Was him being absent just enough of a deterrent to her not wanting to deal with all that again? If the GoG were a network for them, was Mark like a weird little celebrity to THEM bc yeah, heroes tend not to have kids? Aside from just being nepo baby, was he basically only child'd by an entire superhero team? What was that like?

While I'm not too familiar with the DCU- your batfam meta posts are intiguing- so in transfering some of the broader strokes from them- I think you tackling a 'Mark isn't Nolan's biological son' fic would be fascinating. Sort of a step to the side of the 'what if Mark never got his powers' fic that sometimes pop up in the fandom

OOOOOO chewing on this currently, hm, the much a distinct flavor of exactly what you’re talking about, but the potential for more family drama depending on WHO knows. Does Mark know?? Is he waiting every day only to be crushed? Does he confused non-Debbie features with Nolan’s? I suppose I’m not the most enthusiastic about non-power AUs, but I think there’s something very fun to explore about Mark having to settle with, if he knows all his life, he will never have powers? I think the trajectory of his dreams will obviously shift, I can see him still having that distinct fatherly idolization, but perhaps embraces being useful to the GDA? Cecil’s number one intern—only intern—curtesy of nepotism, ha! There is something tickling me about Mark taking the Robin Route/Role for the Teen Team in terms of having no powers, just insane skills, BUT there’s something way more delicious about intern Mark when s1e01 happens and Mark tries snooping around to find out the truth about what happened to his Dad.

I wonder if, with Mark having a whole another father, if they’re more or less distant relationship, depending on WHEN Nolan entered Mark’s life? Like if Debbie met Nolan later for this, or just for fun, they dated once, separated (Mark being born during then), then they happened to stumble into each others lives again and Mark’s already been born, anywhere from tween to teenager so there’s a gap in how close they are. I feel like one important aspect of the whole Family Drama is how close they’re supposed to be, a functional, loving family turned upside down? So I wonder what more distance does. I wonder how Nolan copes when his family is entirely human and he can’t project onto Mark.

I love thinking about these, omg.

[evilfloralfoolery]

omg ofc lucian is based on lestat!! i knew he felt familiar in a way but i didn't get it until now. nice nice. ive only seen the tv show tho so..... now i better read the books ig!!

The books absolutely DESTROY the show. They're phenomenal. But I will warn you . . . the show is nothing like the books. "Opinions" in the tags because of reasons lol.

[lilithofpenandbook]

Seriously how can M*r*uders stans like random Slytherins (who tf are Evan Rosier, Pandora (is that Luna's mum and why tf is she Evan Rosier's twin in half of these), and I don't even want to discuss Regulus) and make them Actually Misunderstood Good People Who Were Forced Down That Path when at least one of them *coughreguluscough* was obsessed with Voldemort

And then turn around and make Snape an awful person?

[candyskiez]

God the jonelias dynamic really is insane huh. What if you'd spent your entire life being blamed for things you didn't do. What if you'd spent your entire life very aware people didn't want you around, that you hurt people just by existing too close to them. You are constantly under the impression you're being judged or mocked or excluded. Everyone else is laughing at a joke and you have no idea what it is. So you sit away from everyone and you pretend you're smarter than them and they just don't get you, so you don't have to admit they just don't like you. Because you don't know how to be likable and you don't think you could be. So clearly they just don't understand what you're saying. Obviously.

And you're searching for answers, for safety, for some way to defend yourself against what could be anywhere. What could just catch you and steal you from yourself and ruin your life, again and again. And someone died in front of you, and you couldn't do anything. You can't shake being that small. That helpless. Sitting on the sidelines, not knowing how to do anything. You want, so badly, to be at the center where you can fix it. Where you won't be small and scared and always hurting. So you join the magnus institute and you meet a man who sees through you.

He treats you like you're special. Like you aren't some stupid, annoying know it all who fumbles through everything. Like you actually know what you're talking about. He takes you seriously. He's dismissive and cagey but he seems fascinated by what you have to say, seems to enjoy prodding you for thoughts. He seems to be interested in you. Really, truly interested in you. You love it. You've never impressed the authority figures in your life. You've never made them think you're special. You are beginning to realize you love feeling like you actually know what you're talking about.

And then he promotes you. You know you aren't qualified. You know your friend could do so much better. But he's so sure that you know what you're doing, he's so sure that you can do this, and that you're the only one who can, and it makes an awful selfish little part of you preen because deep down you want that. You know you shouldn't accept it. You know you absolutely cannot do this and everyone's going to find out, but you want so badly to be taken seriously, to stop being the punchline or the helpless little kid outside that damn door. So you take the promotion, and suddenly the knowledge of all the worst things in the world is at your fingertips. It feels wrong and ugly and it feels right. You don't know how to feel about it.

You learn more about him. He is not a good person. He would kill, willingly, if it meant he got what he want. He sees you terrified and crumbling and tries to put you together again. Like you're something precious. Praises you just for being alive. (How do you deal with that? You always seem to survive on accident. You always seem to survive at the cost of someone else. Yet he smiles at you, like you're incredible, like you deserved it. Like he's impressed with you. You think about it a lot, whenever you can't fall asleep.) He's either soft and professional or cruel and biting. You hate him more and more. He is the only person you have. You desperately wish he wasn't, and you go to him anyway. He could make all of it make sense if you just could push him. But you can't, and he doesn't. But he gives you this approving little nod whenever your humanity slips through your fingers. You think you hate him more every time. You think you hate yourself for being relieved he's not scared. For not blaming you. And then you hate him again for making you this.

And then he's gone. He turned you into something else. Something that nobody wants, that not even the kindest person can put up with, and then he just left you alone. You're starving and you're scared and he's gone and he could make it make sense. But he doesn't. And you think about it. Again and again. You think you hate him for leaving you. You used to wish you'd never see him again. You think there might be something wrong with you.

You finally see him again. He's proud of you. You hate him for it. You demand his guidance, his patience, his anything like you used to. He gives it so much easier than before. Because he's proud. Because you've earned it. Because you're ready. You think you hate him. There's something else, too. Something painful. Something twisted and desperate and born out of the urge to survive and nothing more. It isn't love, but it isn't not love either.

You escape. You're free. You open a statement.

And congratulations. You're special. He favored you. He was intrigued by you, adored you, shaped you with his own hands, all to ruin the world. He tells you it isn't your fault as he uses you to destroy the world. You were the joke the whole time. He used you, like you knew he would, and it was so much worse than it ever imagined. All that fascination, all that adoration, it was all- it wasn't even fake. It just was for the worst reason it possibly could've been. You hate him more than you ever have in that moment, as he praises you, as he's so so proud of you, as he tells you you'll get used to it. You hate him. You hate yourself so much more. You want him dead.

He does not hate you. He finds you as fascinating as he did before. He talks about you like you're a work of art. You might be sick. You think you almost wish he was a good person, that he was anyone else, so you could love it. You think a part of you does, sometimes. That dumb little part of you that never went away. That will always be that starving man that just wants to be taken seriously. You think you always wanted to be the center of attention. Maybe this is his twisted form of love, translated through layers of fears and wanting to hurt.

And even in his last moments, he doesn't hate you. He fears you. He is so very afraid. He doesn't want to die. He begs for his life. But his last words are just....good luck. That's all. Nothing more. The one person you hate more than anything. The one person you wish you never met. And he is the only person who looks at you and feels no anger, no blame, nothing at all. He looks at you stealing everything he's ever worked for, and just says "Good luck." The one person you hate more than anyone else, who ruined your life more than anyone else, and he is the only person who has never blamed you for anything. He is the only person who has ever forgiven you for every horrible, unjustifable thing you've done. He is the only person who looks at you at your worst, betraying everyone you have left, and understands. In some horrible, cruel way, he understands. He does not hate you. You don't know how you wanted him to react. But he's dead. He's gone. And you do not have time to feel about it until you wake up somewhere else.

They don't know yet another reason why you're so upset. They don't know that the only person who could ever truly forgive you, could ever truly understand why you did what you did, was the worst man you'd ever met. And you can never unknow that.

Which I mean. First off, gay. But second off how do you even begin to unpack that. Jesus christ.

[catofoldstones]

Saying that Sansa’s rest of the plot is in the Vale is like saying Arya’s rest of of the plot is in Braavos. Hope that helps.

[pinacoladamatata]

I'm still so mad about the Wyll rewrite actually

[cloudystevie]

bridgerton season 3 sucked absolute ass

[timothyslucy]

if you ever think for a second that nadine is at fault for everything that happens to her in the edge of seventeen, you will be exiled.

[swiftfootedachilles]

trevor saying "this is about you loving all the attention" ........uh. well yeah obviously...... did you miss the part where ian was abused and neglected growing up? do you expect him to hate the attention he got? i need you to be so fr trevor

[llycaons]

if you're writing a romance and the change the character has to go through is so dramatic that they're literally insufferable prior to their development then at a certain point it's like. why bother. darcy from pride and prejudice had to undergo major personality changes, but from his first introduction he was a observant and clever, and he conversed intelligently with elizabeth. he did have obvious flaws but they just made me more interested in how he'd change, it didn't make me want to give the book up in disgust. characters can be at odds, have different goals and perspectives, argue and fight, and even be enemies, but they should both be tolerable presences to read

[redstrewn]

Vere rants about the idea of MC considering Leander or Mhin to help them. Again he can just be using MC but I think it's fun to think he also kind of cares simply in a "holy shit how can someone be this dumb and helpless it's comical" way. Makes me think of MC whose considering Leander making him go like "Girl (gn). Girl. Holy shit you can do better than that lowlife oh my god. Please. You don't have to stoop that low."

[unnamed-atlas]

Finally finished sweet tooth s3. Having incredibly mixed feelings