#i remember picking the first up at random when i was a teenager and mom forced us to go to the library for a book to read over the summer

[kentopedia]

.𖥔 ݁ ˖ LOOK, MOM! — nanami kento

yuuji accidentally calls you mom

contents: nanami x fem!reader, husband nanami hehe, this is very silly and random and stupid, fluff, nanami & reader are yuuji's adoptive parents fr, words: 1059

“nanamin!” yuuji waves at the figure approaching from behind you, a flashy grin appearing on his face as he glances at the blonde man over your shoulder. “i didn’t know you were coming by today!”

kento's hair sweeps over his forehead in the wind, a few strands coming free as he heads towards you. it's a brisk day, and he has two hot coffees in his hands that he'd picked up after his mission.

a bead of sweat drips down yuuji's temple, and he wipes it with his sleeve, still breathing heavily. you'd spent the last hour training together, pushing his physical capabilities. gojo had been busy recently, between all the missions and his conversations with the higher ups.

so, of course, you'd volunteered to teach the newest student when he couldn't. quickly, he became your favorite of the three first years.

“i’m in between assignments.” kento hands you the coffee, places a gentle hand on your lower back with a smile that is hardly there. “mind if i steal my wife away for a bit?”

yuuji shrugs, his face still bright as he glances between the two of you. ever since he’d found out two of his favorite sorcerers were together, he’d hardly shut up about it.

“no problem. i’m going to meet up with fushiguro anyway.” he brushes the dirt off his pants, waving to the two of you.

“good job today, yuuji!” grateful for something to warm you up in the chilly air, you take a sip of the coffee. it’s perfect, as always, just what you needed. “you’re improving a lot!”

he grins, proud of his accomplishments. “thanks, mom! see you later!”

there's an elongated moment of silence.

you choke on your coffee as kento stiffens beside you, watching while yuuji comes to a skittering halt.

all three of you freeze. you cough, clearing your throat, and kento's hand, steady on your back, has stilled. “yuuji—“

“oh,” the teenager says, his face turning bright red as he realizes what he’s called you. he glances between the two of you, embarrassment evident. “i’m so sorry. i didn’t mean to—“

though, you don’t give yuuji enough time to protest. within seconds, you’ve gathered him up in your arms, squeezing the younger boy to your chest. “kento, we have a son!”

you feel yuuji tense, before he relaxes, and throws his arms around you in an even tighter hug. there’s some sort of thanks resting there. he laughs, carefree, a sound you never want to be taken away from the boy who manages to shine so brightly in such a dark world.

kento stares at you, folds his glasses up in his pocket, as if to show you both how unimpressed he is. “do we?” he asks, lips flat, though, you see through the facade to the amusement hidden in his irises. “i'm certain i would’ve remembered something like that.”

you make a face at him, covering yuuji’s ears dramatically. “oh, don’t listen to your dad, yuuji. he’s old, he doesn’t know what he’s saying.”

kento blinks, and then sighs, wrinkling his nose. though, when he sees yuuji’s wide grin, his eager expression, he decides to play along.

“well, then... there must be a lapse in my memory." kento crosses his arms over his chest as he regards the two of your extensively, searching for something. "that would certainly explain the striking resemblance between us.” he says drily.

yuuji laughs, a loud snort. he looks nothing like either of you, but you’re not sure he’s ever gotten to witness kento's sarcastic sense of humor, the one that not everyone really gets.

“exactly!” yuuji quips back to kento’s blank expression. "everyone tells me i have the same smile as my dad!

kento’s trying hard not to let yuuji win that one, but you can see the slight wrinkle around his eye, the tiny quirk of his lips. beside the pink haired boy, you choke out a few giggles, covering your mouth.

“yes," kento nods, solemn. "i’ve heard that as well.”

"so you do know how to make jokes, nanamin!" yuuji shouts, nearly jumping in the air as he cheers. "i can't wait to tell fushiguro this."

kento rolls his eyes, but yuuji’s so pleased, and he releases you, his eyes soft and bright as he pulls away.

though he doesn’t say it, doesn't thank you for anything, you can tell he’s grateful. itadori yuuji may be happy with his life as it is now, may have found a home within the friends he’s made at the high school, but you know he misses his grandfather. sometimes, perhaps, he even longs for the conventional family he never really got to have.

you ruffle his hair, the pink strands catching between the cracks of your fingers. “tell him i said hello too.”

yuuji nods, stuffing his hands in his pocket as he steps away. “i will!” his cheerful gaze is pinned on your husband, a secretive smile making a home on his lips. “bye, dad.”

kento shakes his head, and sighs again, though you can tell, a part of him is touched to have won so much of yuuji's admiration. “have a good evening, itadori.”

you watch the young boy scurry away, hands in his pockets as he braces himself against the cold.

"you should be nicer to your son, kento."

kento snorts, throwing an arm over your shoulder as he brings you closer to him. "i am nice to him," he says, kissing your temple softly. "a little hard on him, maybe, but i just don't want anything bad to happen to him."

you soften, look up at him with warm eyes, and you squeeze the hand that is resting on your shoulder. "i know," you say, your heart clenching. you've thought about it before, thought of kento with a tiny child that looks just like him, cradled against his chest. thought of him with a little girl whose hair he can braid, a little boy he can raise to be a gentleman.

but you hadn't talked about it; you'd always thought your life was too busy, too dangerous for children.

"you'd make a good dad, ken," you say, your cheeks flushed as you grin at him.

kento's eyes flash. "really?" an array of emotions scurries across his features before he leans down, kissing you softly. "is this your way of telling me you want a baby, sweetheart?" his voice deepens as he whispers against your lips, smiling. "because i'm more than happy to give you one."

[ginnyweatherby]

hi i cannot sleep and my mind is wandering to the most random places tonight. so i come with a question: what are your headcanons for the whereabouts/backstories of phineas & candace’s father and ferb’s mother? please include as much lore as humanly possible

ok goodnight

Hmm, okay to be completely honest, I haven't really spent much time thinking about this. However I do personally think that Candace and Phineas' parents are divorced, while Ferb's mom passed away.

All that said, let's see if I can come up with something here...

Linda and Mr. Flynn were married young

Linda was still in her Lindana days then, he was some up-and-coming producer at the time

They met at a party somewhere and hit it off immediately. It's called networking.

They were the hot couple in the tabloids for awhile. You could barely go a week without seeing their faces or hearing their names somewhere.

Shortly after they were married, Linda found out she was pregnant and gave up the Lindana act to stay at home with the baby

Candace was a very ugly baby.

Candace loved her daddy, she was like a little duckling that followed him around everywhere

She liked to put on his glasses and his shoes and stomp around the house doing impressions of him.

They lived as a unit of three for awhile until Phineas came into the picture

Phineas was a sickly baby (you can't tell me that head of his made for an easy birthing experience), so it was hard on the family while he spent time in the hospital

He was also an ugly baby btw.

When Phineas was around two, all the stress had reached the breaking point, and they finally admitted defeat and divorced

I hate to say it was a bitter divorce, but well, there must be some reason he's out of the picture.

Lawrence and Mrs. Fletcher were sickeningly in love

Like ooey gooey mushy wushy stuff 24/7 just the most disgusting couple to be around.

They met as teenagers and were sweethearts ever since.

They liked to go on dates to cute little restaurants as often as they could

She loved movies, practically every weekend was spent at the cinema. She especially liked old black and white films.

She got sick when Ferb was only a baby, but she hid it well from him

She didn't want him to remember her ill.

Until she couldn't hide it anymore.

She passed away when Ferb was only a toddler

It scares him that the older he gets, the less he remembers of her.

Lawrence was - understandably - a wreck.

For several months.

Ferb stayed with his grandparents for awhile

Lawrence just couldn't cope with his grief and a toddler at the same time

Especially since every time he looked at Ferb, he saw her eyes.

Eventually Lawrence picked himself up, and while still devastated, knew he needed a fresh start.

For both of them. For all of them.

Ferb once asked why they didn't see Mummy anymore, and Lawrence almost broke down again

That's when he moved them to the United States

He knew he'd miss his family, but this was a clean slate.

It was hard at first, raising a kid on his own, but he knew he had to, for Ferb's sake

It's what his wife would have wanted. He'd promised her he'd do a good job.

He was so nervous the day he enrolled his shy little boy in preschool

They had barely walked into the classroom when a little redheaded boy took Ferb's hand and said "I know what we're going to do today!"

Lawrence met the boy's mom later that day.

[bug3y3ddd]

Chapter 5

( Lo & Lu )

✶⋆.˚꩜ .ᐟ˙⋆✶✶⋆.˚꩜ .ᐟ˙⋆✶✶⋆.˚꩜ .ᐟ˙⋆✶✶⋆.˚꩜ .ᐟ˙

I wake up to Lucia's face in front of me. She smiles and exclaims " Happy Birthday! "

I rub my eyes and sit up while she starts to ramble.

" What gotta get ready, I have a whole day planned for us. First we're going to breakfast at this really cute tea shop, then we're-" I listen as she talks about her whole itinerary she has planned for us.

It feels like nice having someone be excited for you. I never been excited about my birthday, I usually don't do anything but cry.

Every year for my birthday I wished to be happy.

My last birthday party was when I turned 13 and I just remember when my family and extended family members sang to me. I realize how none of these people really care about me. It was a bunch of strangers who were just singing to me. I felt like throwing up.

When I turned 14, my mom threw a party and none of my family members showed up. It was a pretty lonely party, for a lonely girl.

Just me and my mom.

I'm not close to my mom at all, so again a birthday with strangers.

Yet I'm actually celebrating my birthday this year with an actual stranger.

But I feel happy.

Lucia gives me a makeover, after I give in to her begging. I don't know why but I get this weird feeling whenever I make her smile or happy.

I look in the mirror and I can't help but laugh at myself.

" You don't like it?! ' She says with sad puppy eyes.

" No, no, it's not that. I just never really saw myself like this before. " I say. Her face is filled with relief.

" Well now that you're living with me, get used to seeing yourself like this now. " She says with a small pout. I smile and continue to look at myself.

I feel weird.

I feel like a different person, these clothes shouldn't be on a person like me. But I don't want to make Lucia sad, she spent so long doing my makeup, hair and picking up my clothes.

So I'll just suck it up.

I watch her do her makeup and get ready. Each stroke of her brush has meaning, her makeup has no flaws, it's hypnotizing watching her get ready. She's serious when she gets ready, as if picking which top she should wear is life or death.

She stares at herself and has a serious expression before turning to me with a bright smile.

We head out to her car, an old convertible, with no working ac, but on the plus side she has a good cd playing right now.

I listen to her talk about the most random things her mind seems to come up with. I hear her talk about the stray cat she feeds, a new fabric she wants, how she thinks her phone is listening to her, how she wants a blue fish, how she saw the cutest shoes, and I just listen.

Her voice is calming and makes me feel relaxed. We get to the tea shop and sit next to the window. It's a small restaurant, few customers but I see why Lucia wanted to come here. It's so her coded, if she had a restaurant she'd probably decorate it exactly like this.

I actually hate tea but I don't wanna ruin it for her, she seems to be having fun here. Taking photos of anything and everything she finds cute.

Orange juice

Hibiscus Tea

Finger Sandwiches

Macaroons

Pancakes with Bananas on top

Parfait

" So I was thinking after this we should go shopping for clothes and fabrics. What types of clothes do you like? " She asks while stuffing her face.

" Um. I'm not really sure what kind of clothes I like. " I say.

" Well we can look around and see what you like! It's on me! " She says with a big smile.

Narrator's POV

They spend hours sitting and talking to each other. Two strangers now turning into something more special than just friends.

Their smiles get brighter each minute they talk to each other.

They laugh as they exit the tea shop, they talk non stop in the car, their conversation louder than the music playing. They run through the streets and stores, with big smiles on their faces. Never letting go of each other's hands.

Two broken souls come together to make one happy soul.

They enter different thrift stores and try different outfits, some weird, some pretty, some funky, and some just plain ugly. But it doesn't matter what they put on, their new sudden confidence in themselves overshines the outfits.

They end up buying matching items that correspond to their personalities. Lucia buys a black fuzzy barret that has a gold cross pin on it, Lola gets black jacket that has a matching cross pendant on it.

Hand in hand they make their way to an arcade where they fail to get a prize in any of the claw machines. They shoot zombies, hype each other on every game they play, and get excited whenever they get more than 10 tickets.

They laugh and try to find a table in the arcade that isn't sticky, dirty or not filled with trash.

Finally they sit down at a clean table but that has a broken leg which makes it wobbly.

Two strawberry milkshakes

One bacon burger with extra fries

One slice of pepperoni pizza

" I really wanted that orange plushie. " Lucia says with pout.

" Lu we tried to get that plushie like a thousand times, maybe you guys just weren't fated. " Lola says while biting a fry.

Lucia whines and sinks into her seat.

" Yeaaaaa, but it was soooo cute Lo! It wanted to come home with me I know! " Lucia says.

Lola laughs and wipes her mouth with the back of her hand.

" I'll be right back, gonna go to the bathroom. " Lola says.

" Hurry back! " Lucia says.

Lucia's POV

Now i'm all alone now. Poo

I look at the people here and groan.

Ugh! Why are there so many couples here? I drink my milkshake and grip the straw, I hate couples!

I sip furiously when I see a guy come up to me.

" Can I take this away? " He asks, pointing at my empty plate.

" Uh yeah. " I said, handing him the plate.

" Like your hat. " He says pointing at his head.

" Thanks, I like your stripes. " I say pointing at his uniform.

He chuckles, grabs my plate and walks away.

Before I can even think about my small interaction with the worker Lola comes back and quickly demolishes her food. We leave the arcade and walk around the mall for a while, when I spot a photobooth.

I grab Lo's hand and drag her behind the curtain.

" Lu, I don't wanna take a photo right now. " She groans.

" Blah Blah. Smile! " I say.

The first flash blinds us.

I poke her cheek.

" Smile please." I beg.

" fine. " She says.

The second flash hits us.

Then the third

Finally the fourth

I grab the photos and her hand and run to the nearest exit.

" Where are we going now? " Lo asks.

" To the car, I gotta take you somewhere. " I say.

Once we put our seatbelts on I floored it.

We drive so far that we can't even make out the city's lights of buildings anymore.

Narrator's POV

A beach.

A dark, cold, and empty beach.

The two girls sit on the cold sand and watch the waves crash.

Side by side.

Heads leaning against one another.

" Lo, I think I'm in love with you. "

Waves crash

" Me too. "

[br1ghtestlight]

for @jimmyjrsmusoems birthday here's like all my notes and everything i wrote for a tinimmy fanfic where tina was a single mom and jimmy jr moved back to seymour's bay. never gonna finish this but the heart is there lol

tina is 22 and has a 4 year old daughter named alice (named after bob's grandmother) her high school boyfriend got her pregnant and then took off. she lives with bob and linda and works at the restaurant (for actual money) and alice sleeps in louise's old bedroom bcuz she moved out. previously stayed with tina in her bedroom

gene is 20 and lives with bob and linda and he's an indie musician who posts stuff online and has a bit of a following. he also does gigs at random pubs and nightclubs around new jersey but music is basically his career (he still helps out around the restaurant of course)

louise is 18 and moved out into an apartment with rudy bcuz they both wanted a taste of adult life and independence but they honestly only live like three blocks away and she comes over for dinner most nights

jimmy jr is 22 and just came home from college after graduating with a kinda useless degree in dance and he's kinda aimless in life. he moved back in with his dad and works at his restaurant again (he moved out of seymours bay in 11th grade when his mom moved out of state and he went with her bcuz his dad really wasn't interested in having teenage sons and he wasn't supporting jimmy jr's dance career. andy and ollie still live with their mom)

Jimmy Junior was standing impatiently in line at Patterson Farms with a single carton of milk that his father had asked him to pick up.

He'd been waiting for the past five minutes and he'd still barely moved forward, because apparently every single customer except for him was choosing today to buy a month's worth of groceries. He really should have gone to the self-checkout and saved himself the frustration.

There was only one person standing in front of him while the cashier rang up their shopping cart full of groceries. Jimmy Junior couldn't see her face, but she had shoulder-length black hair and big glasses that reminded him of Tina Belcher, his first and only girlfriend from back when he was in middle school. She was holding hands with a toddler who couldn't have been older than three or four, who was wearing a tu-tu and rainbow leggings and had a shirt that was clearly stained with grape juice.

He wasn't angry at this woman for buying her groceries or for bringing her toddler to the store which probably caused everything to take twice as long. He was just annoyed with the dysfunctional layout of this grocery store in general. Why did they decide they only needed two functioning checkout lines at any given moment? They were the biggest grocery store in Seymour's Bay!

Jimmy Junior had only moved back to Seymour's Bay after graduating college a few weeks ago, but he was already beginning to remember why he left.

Not to mention his father constantly asking him when he was going to move out and find himself a job, as if he wasn't already helping out by working at Jimmy Pesto's Pizzeria five days a week. He really needed to figure out where he was going in life so he could get the hell out of this town, or at least his father's crappy apartment.

"I'm sorry, ma'am. You're still $24.95 short for this purchase," the cashier told the woman in front of Jimmy Junior without any actual sympathy or concern in her voice. She was probably counting down the hours until she could clock out and leave this overcrowded grocery store, and Jimmy Junior couldn't blame her.

"Oh! I'm sorry. I'll just—uh, I guess we don't need cereal for a few more days," the woman in front of Jimmy Junior said anxiously as she began putting items back into her shopping cart.

Jimmy Junior immediately knew where he recognized that voice from. It was Tina Belcher. He hadn't talked to her very often since he moved away from Seymour's Bay with his mother and younger brother when they were in eleventh grade and they fell out of contact, but he'd been friends with her since kindergarten and it was impossible not to recognize her distinctive monotone voice, and those eyes that he'd spent so many years desperately trying not to look into out of fear of the disappointment he would bring.

Their relationship had grown apart over the years even before Jimmy Junior had moved away and they certainly weren't as close as they'd been as children, but he could still remember how hard Tina had started sobbing when he broke the news to her that he would be moving away and that they wouldn't be going to school together anymore. He understood how she was feeling because he was equally as heartbroken even when he didn't really have a choice. Jimmy Junior had always assumed that Tina and him would spend the rest of their lives together. They would always know each other and have that childhood proximity.

He didn't know why she was going grocery shopping with a toddler or why she was unable to afford groceries, but he did know that he cared about her and he wasn't going to let his oldest friend be humiliated like this.

Jimmy Junior stepped forward and pulled out his wallet. "Don't worry about putting anything back, Tina. I've got this."

"Jimmy Junior?"

Tina turned around to look at him with amazement in her eyes, as if he'd just performed an actual miracle by offering to pay for her groceries. He could afford it. His father wasn't actually asking him to pay rent while he stayed in his childhood bedroom, and he was getting paid for working at Jimmy Pesto's Pizzeria. His only living expenses were paying off his student loans for when he'd gone to college and gotten a degree in dance, but fortunately his payments weren't higher than he could afford. Even if he wasn't really able to afford it, he wouldn't have let Tina go hungry or stand there in embarrassment while the cashier watched.

Jimmy Junior shrugged and walked toward the cashier so that he could pay for everything Tina couldn't afford, and the milk his father had requested. Tina took a step back and gently guided the little girl she was taking care of out of the way. Once he had paid for everything Jimmy Junior offered to help bag Tina's groceries and she quickly agreed.

Tina smiled at Jimmy Junior as he began quickly and expertly loading everything she'd bought into grocery bags. After he moved away from Seymour's Bay he had found a job working at a grocery store while he was going to college, and he would say he'd gotten pretty good at loading up groceries quicker than the average person.

"Why are you back in Seymour's Bay? I thought you moved to Georgia with Andy and Ollie?" Tina asked. She started trying to help Jimmy Junior load her groceries into the bags, but stopped when she realized that he clearly had more experience and she was slowing him down rather than helping with anything.

Jimmy Junior glanced in her direction. "I graduated from college a few months ago, and I thought it would be a good plan to move back in with my dad and catch up with friends I haven't seen since I moved while I figured out what I'm going to do with my life. You know, typical young adult stuff."

Tina nodded. "I—I mean, I never went to college. I took a few English courses at the community college in Bog Harbour, but when Alice got older it was just too difficult to keep up with schoolwork and take care of her at the same time. I still work at my parents' restaurant, though. They're getting older and they need all the help that they can get."

"Who is Alice?" Jimmy Junior asked Tina with a questioning look. He wasn't sure if Tina had adopted a dog, or if her parents decided to have another child after Jimmy Junior moved away and he'd never heard about it. He thought they were a little too old for that, but he wasn't going to judge them. His parents might have chosen to have another child too if they hadn't gotten divorced.

Tina gestured to the toddler who was standing beside her and carefully studying the assortment of candy and chocolate in the aisle.

"Did your parents have another daughter?"

Tina actually laughed after Jimmy Junior asked this before she explained herself. "Oh my God, no. They're way too old to have another kid. Alice is my daughter! Alice, sweetheart, do you want to say hello to Jimmy Junior?"

Alice looked up at him with an unimpressed expression on her face. "Hi."

Jimmy Junior took a step back in disbelief. He'd never even considered that he and his childhood friends were at the age where it wouldn't be unreasonable to start a family and have children of their own, especially because that was not something he planned for himself. His parents' had been around his age when they first got pregnant with him. When he took a closer look at Alice, he could clearly see the resemblance between her and Tina, although he honestly thought he looked more similar to Louise. She had curly black hair and a nose that looked almost identical to Tina's. It was kind of unnerving.

"Oh," Jimmy Junior finally said after a few seconds of silence. "You have a daughter?"

Tina was clearly confused by how Jimmy Junior was reacting to the concept of her having a child, but he just couldn't wrap his head around the fact that this woman he'd known since they were children themselves had a child of her own. None of his friends from college or anybody that he'd known in Seymour's Bay had children, so Tina was his first experience with this.

"I mean, uh, that's great. I'm happy for you, Tina," Jimmy Junior started awkwardly. "Who's her father? Or, uh, mother… I don't want to assume anything."

Tina began picking up bags of groceries to bring to the car with both her hands, and Jimmy Junior helped her by grabbing a few and walking to the car with her. Tina handed a very small bag of fruits to Alice so that she would feel like she was helping too and that she wasn't being forgotten or excluded. If Alice was anything like Tina or her siblings when they were children, that was probably a good idea.

"You don't know him," Tina said to Jimmy Junior as they walked to her car together. Jimmy Junior had chosen to walk to Patterson Farms because it was a beautiful summer day outside and he didn't have any other plans, so fortunately he didn't need to worry about unloading anything in his own car. "We started dating in high school after you moved away. His name was Nathan, but he isn't really in my life anymore. He broke up with me after I told him I was pregnant and started avoiding me, so his name isn't even on Alice's birth certificate."

"Crap. I'm really sorry, Tina," Jimmy Junior said apologetically. Tina opened up the trunk of her car—which was actually her family's car that was the same one they'd had since she was a child, he was assuming she borrowed it for this trip—and began loading groceries into it. "I had no idea. He's an asshole for doing that to you."

Tina smiled like she was completely unbothered by the fact that her daughter's father had completely abandoned them and left Tina to raise her by herself as she struggled financially. Jimmy Junior's father was far from a good parent, but he could at least be thankful that he'd never once considered abandoning his children and he even took Jimmy Junior back in after years of separation between them. He was sure he would do the same for Andy and Ollie if they asked. "Don't worry, it's okay. It wasn't all bad, either. I always have my family to help me with anything I need, and Jocelyn and Tammy were actually really cool when I told them I was pregnant. They held a baby shower for me, and Tammy offered to babysit Alice for no charge. I didn't accept her offer, obviously, because she's Tammy… but I could tell she was trying to be helpful and make an effort. They've grown up a lot since we were in middle school."

Jimmy Junior slammed the trunk of her car shut before he turned back to her. "That's good to hear. How has your family been, by the way? Is Gene still working on his music career?"

"They're doing great," Tina said. She grabbed Alice's hand to keep her from wandering off into the dangerous parking lot. "My parents' restaurant has had good business for the past few years, and Louise actually just moved out on her own a couple months ago. She's sharing an apartment with Regular-Sized Rudy because they both decided they wanted to get a taste of adult life without moving too far away from home. She still comes over for dinner a few nights a week. Gene has been working on building a following online for his music, so he's been posting video tutorials on how to set up certain instruments and tune them, and he still plays local clubs sometimes. He's been trying to learn to play guitar. Alice has been OBSESSED with him. Sometimes I think she likes Gene more than she likes me. She wants to be exactly like her Uncle Gene. Isn't that right, Alice?"

Tina looked down at Alice and affectionately ruffled her hair. She seemed to finally be paying attention to their conversation now that Gene was mentioned. Before that, she seemed to be more interested in analyzing all the different colors of cars in the parking lot and counting them out on her fingers. "Yeah! Uncle Gene said I can come along with him when he's playin' at a club this weekend. He's going to teach me to play his old keyboard, and someday I'm gonn' perform with him!"

Tina shrugged and gave Jimmy Junior an uncertain smile. "I mean, she can't be any worse than Gene was at her age, right? He got a new keyboard for his birthday a few years ago, so he doesn't really use his Casio anymore, but he couldn't bear to get rid of it. Too many memories."

Jimmy Junior nodded. "Yeah. He's been playing that thing since I can remember. I don't blame him for wanting to keep it. Are you still living with your parents above the restaurant?"

"Yup, I'm still living with them. I couldn't afford to move out with the salary they're paying me to work there, and they help out with groceries and childcare. I think Alice likes spending so much time with her family, too. And since Louise moved out a few months ago, Alice got to move into her bedroom and she doesn't have to share a bedroom with me anymore. She's… probably old enough to sleep up on the loft bed without breaking her neck going down the stairs, right?"

"Tina, I don't know how old she is!" Jimmy Junior laughed.

"Oh, right. She turned four this year," Tina said sheepishly. "I feel like I've introduced her to everybody by now, but I guess we haven't talked very much in the past few years. Life caught up with me."

[gracethefoundfamilyfan]

ok wait wait wait wait wait

we all hate on master fu for choosing literal children, right

but what if they HAVE to be children.

think about it. Ladybug's power is creation. She basically runs off love. She's crazy, and unorganized, and the fact that she feels so much for everything is what makes her the perfect creation holder. She falls in love way too easily. She makes crazy plans. Her and her friends think they can save the world with a hijacked commercial, and they DO it. Because they believe they can. You can't tell me an adult would be able to pull off any of the crazy plans the Miracugang pulls off. (Honestly Miraculous Ladybug reawakened my inner child cuz I used to be just like Marinette and she's literally the reason I picked up sewing again but that's another rant for another time)

And then there's Adrien. His power is destruction. Freedom. (Go read drowning (in plain sight) by buggachat there's a whole character study on Plagg in there and it's beautiful.) Anyways. Imagine if Fu had waited another year or two, not to mention until Adrien was an adult with a 'fully functioning brain'. You can't tell me Adrien could've held out that long. He wouldn't have been chosen for the Chat miraculous, because he wouldn't have been trying to run away. He would have either been broken, or his father would have used his amok to force him into complete obedience by then. But in Origins, it's close enough to his mother's death that he still remembers her. He's still feeling. He's still rebelling. And then Plagg gives him the strength to keep doing that, and the outlet (as Chat Noir) to express himself so he doesn't lose himself.

And then there's the Lucky Charms. The plans that they come up with are frankly frickin bonkers. I mean, Rena's first mission (if I remember correctly) involved Chat Noir jumping off a roof on a unicycle. I honestly think Ladybug's lessened amount of life experience helps in those situations, because I'm only a couple years older than her and I would have never thought up any of those ideas. My brain is too fixed by the system at this point to think that much out of the box, although I'm working on fixing that. I can't imagine my mom, for example, coming up with any of that stuff, let alone finding a random pair of earrings and putting them on in the first place. Literally no one else would do that except for a super trusting teenager who's also into fashion. Not to mention the fact that they

TL;DR: The emotional capacity and limited life experience of the superheroes in ML are the only reason they even consented to being superheroes in the first place, and although I don't like it, Fu was working god mode when he picked them. Basically, you have to have the vision to see the possibilities without putting limits on yourself (because the holder sets the limits) and it's far easier for teenagers/younger people to imagine stuff like that. Also they're such dorks.

wow that's a long tldr sorry about that

[crimsonblackrose]

.

Lia is reading Beowulf

Anthony recommends Animal Farm instead.

Mr. Landry lived next to their elementary school and had chicken coops. They've been in school together since elementary school.

Lia: I miss being friends. Anthony's brain breaking for a moment.

Lia calls Kenny: Strawberry ghost.

Anthony's friend does Tommy's line about how everyone is doing something new.

This actor does a great job of making me hate his character Zack:

All he does is egg Anthony on and put peer pressure on him. Apparently Kenny got like 20 points during gym

Anthony stealing Kenny's clothes is messed up.

Miguel has been stretching since 6 am. 🤣 Tournament's a month away.

Mr. even while drunk never loses his keys somehow misplaces his hachimaki at Carmen's? not buying it.

Don't go where he can't follow. Ooh I forgot he drops a little context. "You know how they make that loaded potato soup."

I think the "i found something in your room I need you to explain" is 1. another invasion of privacy. 2. Anthony why wouldn't you hide a cobra kai hoodie, knowing that they broke into your home and are terrorizing your sister? 3. Why did you even take it home? and 4. I think sadly, the most we've seen Daniel say to Anthony since he was littler and just sort of ignored Daniel or tried to order out his needs.

Anthony you little liar. Well...actually I guess from Anthony's perspective Kenny is giving him a hard time. But it's not on purpose and the way you've been responding to losing at basketball or not having all of Lia's attention is not cool. And you curbing to peer pressure is on you. I'm sorry that your friends suck, but Anthony you managed to go this long making them think you knew karate and couldn't use it because it was a lethal weapon kinda means you should be able to worm your way out of all of this. Kenny's in Cobra Kai because of you.

Messing around and name calling is what your 'friends' are doing to you, not what Kenny is doing to you.

Daniel: Go upstairs, get changed. Anthony: For what? Daniel: Just go upstairs and get changed.

Anthony should've come down in a suit. Because Daniel should've specified working out or something.

Robby listening to Kenny and then figuring out the best way to help him/steer him. "I got kicked out of school and went to juvie, you gotta be smarter than me and your brother" is a very good choice.

I totally see Piper in the background and her friends.

Silver: we all have weaknesses. Tory: Kreese doesn't. Silver: of course he does. Kreese: The hell i do, don't tell them I have any weakness.

each pick a fighter 6 pack of brews to the winner.

Johnny struggling from 'we're hooking up, to not hooking up to sex talk intro....

Johnny nervously just listing off chain restaurants.

Miguel's surprised but not surprised and also judging his mom just a smidge:

Listen sometimes Johnny's got a whole lot of decent balanced stuff in his fridge. It depends on how much self-hatred he's stewing in. When he digs himself out of it he tends to clean up and also his eating habits change.

Miyagi-do does not have wifi

Remember...when Amanda's clue that Kreese was dangerous was that he had weapons on his wall? These weapons? Weapons Daniel also had? And that the kids are now training because the All-Valley included skills competition?

Anthony says the cars, Daniel forgot to put the covers on them, look like a jackson pollock painting (they're covered in bird poop)

I can't believe Daniel's leaving to go to the dealership. Like on the one hand proud of him for finding the balance to do both. Both on the other hand, he's literally leaving a whole bunch of teenagers alone to practice with weapons. Unsupervised by an adult. Daniel, wtf?

Piper flirting with Tory after their sparring. 🤣 Good for her for shooting her shot.

Johnny heard that Silver was giving out dojo merch and sent Devon a eagle fang shirt before her first class.

Random new eagle fang students, we haven't had that in a while. I guess Johnny did manage to scrounge up some new recruits. I do think he should've still taken Moon on she could've done kata for him.

Devon brings up Bloodsport. Johnny is delighted.

omg

Johnny sent her prep work and it was movies and she went above his list:

Devon is a fan of Cynthia Rothrock.

Mitch saw Last Dragon, Johnny is not impressed. 😅 Sorry Mitch.

Devon also drops: best of the best.

Poor Miguel getting side lined again.

Johnny has tied the kids arms to their sides, in case cobra kai pops their shoulder out and they have to fight one handed.

I would like to point out he's talking about cheating and playing dirty and he got this idea because Daniel immobilized his arm with his secret pressure points.

Like I get that Daniel thinks his way is the best way to prep against Silver, but if they'd talked and Daniel had told him of all the Silver moves he knew, Johnny would've built lessons about ways to defend against it. Because he's literally trying to ensure they stay in the game and don't panic if they get injured like he did. Which he's been doing since the beginning by showing pretty much all his students at some point how to get out of a choke-hold.

It also sucks though, now that Johnny has one from Kreese and one from Daniel on that list because Daniel went too far and used the pressure points against him. It's a good lesson but it shouldn't have been inspired the way it was.

Johnny's used literally everything he can think of, ducttape on Mitch, rope on another kid, what looks like bungy cord on another. I dunno I feel like prepping them against cheating is so smart. I think he seran wrapped Bert. 🤣

I would say Johnny being careful with Miguel is probably related to Miguel's injury, but that hair ruffle in front of the class is totally because Johnny's told Miguel he's dating his mom.

One of the kids throws sand in Mitch's eyes. Which ow, and also dangerous. Johnny that could've been accomplished with a blindfold. But use the other senses because you've been blinded, without meaning too defends against one of SIlver's moves, to blind your opponent. For that one Miguel just held a box of sand.

Oh, I don't think having Devon kick all the guys in the balls is the way to go there Johnny. Even if Daniel used a ball-shot move he learned from Mr. Miyagi in TKK2. Miguel you gotta admit, not being in this one is probably for the best.

Johnny should've ensured they were all wearing protective gear first. Which is not...very him. (I'm going to blame netflix here) because while he put the kids in danger and it didn't always seem safe i.e. the junkyard with the dogs. He still ensured they had protective gear when doing stuff like breaking glass.

Like everyone giggling about Silver picking Kenny might make sense, but Silver totally scammed Kreese with his whole double or nothing. He literally knows that Robby's weakness would be his little buddy he's taken under his wing. Which is the whole point of the lesson.

And he proves it when Robby goes woah woah woah are you okay and Kreese has to call pause.

I do like that despite winning Kenny and Robby still do a little fist bump after their fight, like no hard feelings there despite Kenny tricking Robby by feigning injury.

all the ice, at least Johnny got ice for them all.

I dunno Johnny you shouldn't put all the kids but Miguel through the ringer and then say 'champ we've got family dinner'. It's uncool and you should know that it could cause division or seem like you're playing favorites.

Also Johnny just leaves Miguel. Are you seriously leaving Miguel who as far as we know doesn't have his own car or license yet, at an abandoned factory?

The taskrabbit Anthony called is named Artie, whose cat needs hernia surgery so this is his side hustle, and Daniel has tons of Glacier freeze gatorade but no lemon lime.

Daniel I'm surprised you let your credit card or any financial info anywhere near something Anthony has access to after he tried to alexa order something and you struggled to cancel it.

Anthony's response to this is that he knows, which makes me wonder if Daniel and Amanda pay so little attention to him that he feels like he does most things on his own and thus accomplishes everything on his own.

See that works on Sam because she met him but Anthony didn't so he doesn't care.

Mr. Miyagi taught sam the wax on wax off first move. Anthony gets he's a great ma and he taught Daniel karate. And he's heard all the stories and he's sick of it.

Daniel asks if that means he doesn't want to learn how to defend himself or learn skills for life and Anthony responds not if it means cleaning up bird shit to which Daniel rebukes him for language. then essentially says he thought Anthony was mature enough for this and walks away and tells Anthony to just go back to his video games.

Which, Daniel you fucked up here. Anthony never got to meet Mr. Miyagi that he remembered. So he's just hearing the whole family bond about this guy he doesn't know and it's isolating because he's got nothing to draw on to add to it. Anthony knows all the stories, he knows all about Mr. Miyagi, but do you know anything about Anthony beyond video games? Do you even know what video games he likes to play? Because you bought him kitkats from Japan and that's it. You're just not...listening. You're pissed because in your head he disrespected Mr. Miyagi. And didn't listen to the core of it. Which is there is no Miyagi magic for him and instead his whole life he's been living in the shadow of a man he doesn't know and getting teased because he should know the moves.

Also, I think if Johnny was still there, it'd suck because his training is always hard, but that Anthony would enjoy it more.

normally i tend to think whatevers in the middle of the table is the main course, but that's tomato, red onion and avocado and nothing else.

johnny is not good balancing between Miguel and Carmen.

I think what's happening is Johnny is trying so hard to not be Sid that he doesn't know what to do. Carmen literally moves later like she's going to just eat the tomato, onion and avocado as a meal/salad.

The way Anthony immediately starts apologizing for being in the dojo is kinda telling of his not so great relationship with his father. Like he found something that sparked his interest in karate but then immediately panics as soon as Daniel asks what he's doing.

Like Daniel even says he doesn't need to apologize, but Anthony just doesn't seem to know him well enough that he thinks he's doing something wrong.

Is this the pressure point lesson?

Because if it is, what Daniel says related to it is wild.

If it is in fact pressure points then Daniel you've already used it twice, once to save Johnny's life and stop Kreese and once to try and win an argument with Johnny.

I am glad Anthony is talking about how he feels sort of left out because he doesn't have any memories of Mr. Miyagi.

I also feel like this is a long time coming, Daniel needed to have this conversation with Anthony ages ago. A chance to tell him not stories about himself and Mr. Miyagi or Sam and Mr. Miyagi, the stories he knows all about, but you missed telling Anthony about his own story with Mr. Miyagi. "Mr. Miyagi wanted to hold him and as soon as Anthony was in his arms, Anthony kicked him in the face."

Mr. Miyagi apparently just laughed and said Anthony was going to be handful but would also be a protector of the family.

Since when? Also you, not wanting to pressure someone into doing what they don't want to do? Dude. You do that all the time. You tried to pressure all the students into learning just Miyagi-do which broke up the combined dojo.

Junior Prom theme his Hollywood Heights, which feels a bit like phoning it in since they're in LA.

Johnny once again showing up at school. Why if it's decorated for prom is it the middle of the day? Who would put up all those balloons and decorations this early?

Carmen might get pissed that Johnny's taking Miguel out of school to skip history.

Lia has figured out her and Ant's play date: Saturday at a fair at Westwood park and the best part is fried oreos. A bunch of other people including Kenny are going. Lia also has a friend named Jane.

Zach, get a hobby will you?

Kenny using LaPusso against Anthony knowing it's a weakness and luring Anthony and his not friends into a trap in the library. Smart kid. Also I get why he didn't trust the 'let's talk'.

Kenny is doing a great job of taking them all out individually.

One of the kids is named Marcus.

Of course Kenny got caught.

Johnny knows a lot of random facts about Rowdy Roddy Piper (A Canadian wrestler/actor for WWE who it look like wore a kilt)

Johnny says he doesn't know how to do this kind of relationship. And Miguel says that's what happened with robby right, he got scared? And Johnny admits that he got scared.

Johnny felt cheated, everything just made him miss his dad more and he couldn't figure out why everything was happening. His mom did the best she could but well she married sid.

Miguel asks if he ever tried to find him.

Johnny doesn't know what he'd say. But this is something Miguel's relating to.

Johnny also doesn't know where he'd begin looking for him.

Johnny really does have some honesty and reveals a lot about himself when people are willing to listen.

He says he didn't have a male role model until he met Kreese and they both know how that went.

He's trying so hard not to be the people in his life that abandoned him or gave up when he didn't do exactly what they wanted when he knew it was wrong.

He says he can never fix that. 😭

But he doesn't want to make that mistake with Miguel, he just doesn't know what to do or how to do this. he says he clearly doesn't know what the hell he's doing.

omg I'm going to cry, don't you boys start crying. Like damn xolo the tears in your eyes and the shaky laugh.

Some things are going to change, you dating my mom, but there are some things I don't want to change. | Like what?| Like you being my sensei.

I love that Johnny prepared a lesson.

He's going to teach Miguel one of the most badass moves in karate, the flying tornado.

Sam crashing their lesson. 🤣 She skipped school and was like fuck everyone else I do what I want which is sneaking into Eagle Fang.

I do appreciate that Johnny's first question is "Does your dad know you're here". Like he knows Daniel will be pissed and I don't think he'd teach her and lie about it. It's not his style.

The school/principal moved fast. "I've already talked to the other offending students and they will be suspended, so will your son."

He has evidence of Kenny running and being chased by the kids, found the milk tiktok, and evidence of cyberbullying.

Kenny really took care of his bullies.

Terry's reading this book.

Terry's also excited for Kreese's six pack gift to him: Ba Muoi Ba (Vietnamese Beer)

Scovil, from Utah, didn't really bathe, took point and took over leadership when he shouldn't have and stepped on a mindfield and died. Aka Kreese is warning Silver.

Kreese you really brought down the vibes, this guy was the giddiest happiest dude and now he's so sad and quiet and aware something is up.

Terry is right, Kreese you're over-reacting.

It's also uncool for you to pull the cage into this. You're being a dick Kreese, this is mean. Like Kreese you put so much effort into getting Terry to co-sensei with you and then you pull rank, and dredge up the worst memories of Terry's life.

[reigningqueenofwords]

Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary

Word count: 555

Read on AO3

Part 3 of Just a Glimpse

The bunker looked more like what you remembered after they got back from the store. The library had a playpen, toys got left in random rooms, the kitchen had bottles and formula in it, and one of the rooms had a crib. For now, it was in your room. You simply felt more comfortable that way.

You were cleaning up while the boys were out grocery shopping. Without them asking, you took on the role of ‘bunker mom’. At first, they insisted they help, but you refused. You enjoyed helping out, especially because they had gone out and done so much for you and Sammy. Sam especially.  Most nights he asked to do bedtime, and without words being exchanged, you knew why.

Hearing the door, you thought nothing of it. You thought maybe they had been quicker than expected. Moving from the kitchen, you had what you needed to clean the tables in the library, humming to yourself.

“Who the hell are you, and where are my boys?” Came a familiar voice behind you.

You slowly turned, holding your hands up. “I’m Dean’s daughter, and they’re out shopping.” You told Mary softly.

She narrowed her eyes. “Dean doesn’t have a daughter!” You went to open your mouth, but she pulled the hammer of her gun back, making a ‘click’ noise. Your heart was racing. “I’ll ask again. Who are you, and where are my boys?”

“I’m telling the truth. My name is Y/N Winchester. I’m 16, and Uncle Cas brought me back in time to keep me and my son safe.” You told her calmly. “My father, Dean Winchester, asked his past self to keep us safe.”

“There’s no way Dean would let his teenage daughter get pregnant.” She moved towards you, making you back up.

Swallowing, you nodded. “Yeah, he was pretty pissed, but it’s not like he could be with me all the time.” You replied.

“Sit.” Mary nodded towards the nearest chair. Silently, you did as she asked. “Don’t. Move.” Her tone was stern, and the look in her eyes was a bit frightening. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out her phone and hit the speed dial for Dean. “Where are you?” She asked when he picked up.

Dean was standing in line as the cashier rung everything up when his phone rang. “Where are you?” Came Mary’s voice.

“At the store, we’re checking out now. Why?” He asked, furrowing his brow.

“There’s someone in the bunker. I think you should get back. I can’t tie her up and keep a gun on her at the same time.”

His face paled and he looked at Sam. “There’s no need for that. We know she’s there.” He told her. “Let her go.”

Mary watched you, your hands gripping the arms of the chair. “She’s not moving from this chair, Dean.”

“She’s going to have to!”

“Why?” As if on cue, Sammy’s fussing came through the monitor. “…There’s a baby in the bunker?”

You clenched your jaw. “I told you! My son.” Moving to get up, she moved forward with the gun. “I’m going to my son.”

“Mom! Let her get to him! We’re heading to the car now.” Dean told her, rushing.

Dean had the phone between his shoulder and ear as he started the car. Hearing a gunshot, he froze.

[hey-cringelord]

this trend ruins me

(soifdesu on tik tok)

i saw this video the day it was posted, so a little over a week ago, and every day i find myself rewatching it over and over whenever i open tik tok. i am half the views on it at this point.

when i first picked bleach back up january of last year, i didn’t remember much of soul society arc. i didn’t bother refreshing my memory on anything except the captains names bcus at that time i wasn’t super into bleach. all i knew was that ichigo isn’t as human as he seems, rukia was saved from soul society, and orihime got scooped up by some random people (or however the bount arc starts). all this to say, i had no idea what the end of arrancar arc had in store for me.

when gin died i was 3-4 hours into that days binge, it was late night, i was tired and a little discombobulated, and ended up quietly sobbing over it (emphasis on quietly bcus i didn’t want my mom overhearing me and thinking i’m crazy). i could go on and on here, but i’ll get back to talking about the pics and save myself from all of that typing.

the orginal post was made march 12 of this year. i’m posting this an hour into the 22 of march. it’s been nearly ten days and all i can think about is rangiku’s edited lipstick marks on gin’s face.

all things considered, i think gin is very boyish and young. rangiku too, obviously, as they were both young (by soul society’s terms) in the flashbacks we get of them. 100 years old and then some compared to yamamoto’s 1000+ years would mean they’re basically teenagers, right?

with this in mind, every time i come back and loop the video for a good five minutes, the image that comes to mind physically hurts me every time. no sad, angsty things here, just mourning what could’ve been.

rangiku loved him, i think, and still had a lot of love to give him after his betrayal and his death.

i see these screenshots and i think about silly moments between them (bcus this has totally happened more than once) where rangiku is maybe a little drunk and a little giggly and a little flirty and gin is there, smiling the way he is and loving every sticky lipstick print rangiku leaves on his face.

it’s cute, and it breaks my heart. as i said i believe gin is boyish and young (in the right company, i should add, and the company in question being rangiku) so he accepts all the sticky marks she leaves on his nose, his cheeks, the corner of his lip.

as much as all this hurts me, though, nothing will compare to the way i sat up, paralysed with shock, as tears streamed down my face after hearing the words: If you were to turn into a snake tomorrow and began devouring humans, and from the same mouth you devoured humans, you cried out to me “I love you!”, would I still be able to say “I love you” the same way I do today?

there is no other quote from media that exists in this world that has made me break down in mere milliseconds the way that one did. i still cry if i hear it, and by now i have it fully memorised.

TL;DR: ginran causes emotional pain

[undertheknightwing]

Whoa, look at this! I wrote a Dick and Gar fic after who knows how long! It's mainly fluff but there's a little feels,,

Also this little fic was very much inspired by the wonderful @not-so-mundane-after-all 's fic Acrida (if you haven't read it, I suggest you do because it's amazing 💜)

I don't wanna spoil her fic so I won't say much about what struck my inspired chord but it was a piece of dialogue from the last chapter. I hope she doesn't mind 😅

“Mom! Mom! Look!”

Dick gasps, stopping dead in his tracks to avoid colliding into the young boy who ran past him. A soft laugh escapes through the man's lips, heart growing significantly larger in his chest, watching the boy zoom to his mother’s side. With a sheet of paper in one hand, he raises the other to excitedly grab onto the sleeve of Marie’s lab coat and tugs on it to get her attention.

Funny how things never really change. Even in the present Dick finds himself leaping to the side just to get out of Gar’s way when the teenager is in, what Rachel calls: “zoomie mode”, and runs around the tower at random times. Hopping onto and off surfaces and chasing after a nonexistent object, like the cats in those videos the kids are always sending in the - what’s supposed to be a mission focused only - group chat.

“Mom!”

“Garfield, please.” The scientist sighed, pulling a yellow rubber glove over one of her hands with a loud snap.

Gar continued to tug on the sleeve of her coat, the toothy smile on his face dropping into a frown. Energetic tone to his voice quickly changing into desperation laced with sadness, begging for her to look away from the desk cluttered with papers and give him a second of her time.

“Mom, I wanna show you something!”

With a faint smile on her lips, the woman casts a quick glance down to her son, then focuses on the vial of something she picked up and held carefully between her fingers. 

“I’ll see whatever it is later, I promise. But this needs my full attention right now.”

After using her free hand to give Garfield’s hair a lazy ruffle, she steps away and disappears down another hall, one that's protected by a door with a code and sign telling anyone not authorized to stay out. Leaving the boy alone, standing in the middle of the room, his shoulders deflating in disappointment and grip on the paper begins to loosen, threatening to let the piece of art drop to the floor.

A deep frown appeared on Dick’s face. He’s only been in this time period for a few hours and from what he’s seen of Gar’s parents, he doesn’t doubt they love their son, but it also seems like they might love their work and keeping their title of “world famous scientists” just a bit more.

“Hey, Gar.”

The young boy spun around in reaction to his name being spoken, posture perking up a bit as he greets with a cheery: “Hi, Mr. Grayson!”

Walking into the room, Dick dove his hands into his jacket pockets, then nodded his head to the side, gesturing to the door Marie went through.

“Your mom’s pretty busy, huh?”

“Yeah.” Gar frowned once more, kicking at the floor. “She’s always busy.”

Dick huffs, half-smile on his lips. “My dad is too.” 

Then with a soft groan, he crouches to be on Garfield’s level and points at the colorful paper in the boy’s hand. 

“I’d like to see what you drew, if that’s okay with you.”

Eyes losing their twinkle, Gar lifts the paper up to look over whatever he had drawn, then shakes his head and mumbles quietly.

“It’s not important.”

A deep crack formed in the man’s heart when those words left a younger Gar’s lips, as well. Their familiarity strikes him like a stray bolt of lightning and is just as painful, just in an emotional kind of way. It’s a response he hears coming from present Gar a lot and now it makes sense.

He remembers staring in awe when he saw Garfield shapeshift into a grizzly bear for the first time during training. His son had been attempting to turn into something other than a tiger for a while and been struggling to pull it off, so seeing a huge green bear where a tiger usually would be made Dick’s chest burst with a mixture of pride and joy.

Pride that became something sadder after he asked Gar why he didn’t tell anyone he learned to shapeshift into a bear when he’s been working so hard to do so and Gar shrugged nonchalantly, telling the team leader that “it wasn’t important” before moving on to do something else.

Dick smiles warmly. “Well, I think it is.”

Which earns a head tilt from Gar.

He nods. “You made it, so it’s very important.”

The young boy hesitated, seeming genuinely confused for a brief moment.

Once Gar accepts, handing the drawing to Dick, the man's eyes sparkle and widen at the childish doodles of a few colorful cheetahs.

“Wow, this is amazing, buddy!”

“Really?”

“Yeah!” Dick reaches forward, giving the boy an affectionate hair ruffle rather than a lazy one. “You got talent, kid. Mind if I keep it to put on my fridge at home?”

“You can have it!” Gar pipes loudly, bouncing on the balls of his feet.

“Thank you.” Folding the drawing as carefully as possible, he slips it into his coat's inner pocket. “My wife will think it’s adorable, I’ll tell her all about you.”

Kory's gonna think it's more than adorable and she sure isn't gonna let Dick put it on the fridge, she's gonna frame it and place it on their bedside table so she can always see the cute stick figure cheetahs drawn by their son years before their path intertwined with his.

If present Gar allows her to frame it, that is. There's always a chance he'll find it embarrassing.

A smile so bright you'd think could melt the biggest of icebergs stretches across Garfield’s face.

“Do you wanna come check on the birds with me?”

“I’d love to, Gar.”

Once stood up straight, the boy grabs his hand and begins to pull the man in the direction he came, casting a glance sparkling with pride back over his shoulder and up at Dick.

“I know lots about the birds and animals here!”

Dick’s smile twitches. The weight of the words weighed heavily onto him like a bag of bricks. The way they were said so innocently, so carefree, lacking knowledge of the storm on the horizon rolling in to turn this sweet boy's life upside down. A harsh punishment for something he didn't do, something he had no control over. Leave him feeling cursed and forgotten, unloved and unwanted by the people around him.

Eyes darkening with sympathy, Dick breathes a quiet sigh.

“I bet you do.”

[fragilecapric0rnn]

15 questions & 15 tags

tagged by Alex @gothbat99 thank you my love!

1. Are you named after anyone? 

My full name, technically yes? My parents were teenagers when i was born and as unprepared as any 17/18 year old would be. One of my aunts was holding me and said "I had a friend named THIS growing up, she was really pretty." and my mom heard the name and knew it was mine! My middle name is after my mom's childhood best friend (again, teenagers.)

My nickname, Sen, is a shortened version of my childhood nickname, coined by my little brother who had a hard time talking for the first few years of his life.

2. When was the last time you cried? 

When I was reading the last chapter of @hexiewrites beloved hockey AU!!! the rainbow imagery just GOT ME!!!

3. Do you have kids? 

No!

4. Do you use sarcasm a lot? 

No.

5. What's the first thing you notice about people? 

Their eyes

6. What's your eye color? 

Dark brown!

7. Scary movies or happy endings? 

Happy endings for sure. My real life has been scary enough!

8. Any special talents? 

My memory. I'll just remember the most random facts that I hear, it's like photographic memory but with hearing things? Very good with faces and names too. My brain is just a bank full of random facts about people I probably only met once. But also of people in my life now.

9. Where were you born? 

In a hospital.

10. What are your hobbies? 

Writing, reading. Just getting into bookbinding (gf bought me a laser printer for my bday!) and am currently wrestling with a typeset of missed connections fic as my tester fic. Once I get good, expect messages from me asking if i could bind your fics LOL

11. Do you have any pets? 

I wish!!!!

12. Have you played/do you play any sports? 

HA HA!

To no one's surprise, I was a cheerleader from age 7 to 18. I was also a varsity swimmer for 4 years in high school, ran 2 seasons of cross country, and did 1 season of soccer!

As an adult I realized I hate the gym, so I go on runs in my neighborhood and go on hikes! New years resolution is to move my body more, so I plan to pick up yoga at some point!

13. How tall are you?

5'4

14. Favorite subject in school?  

History! Started in 5th grade when we were learning about American History and the fixation remained through college. Which is why I am a barista with a Bachelor's in History, focused on the US!

15. Dream job? 

Screenwriter for films/tv! Would also love to work in production. Maybe write a novel or two.

NOT tagging 15 people but will tag a lot! Again, sorry if you've already done this/been tagged!

@kkpwnall @judasofsuburbia @cheatghost @sharpbutsoft @himboharringtxn @stargyles @hexiewrites @serskets

[thegirlwondcr]

i'm gonna do some more ooc posts just some deep dives on emma! sometimes it's cause it's being brought up in a thread and other times it just comes across my mind

tonights deep dive is: selecting her FC

so starting off when I was making Emma, I had a few set rules/guidelines I wanted to stick to when looking for a face claim

First, the two big eye color and hair color. In a lot of iterations of Joker, when his past self is shown (or just looking at the actor), a majority of the time he's born with brown hair and blue eyes. Eyes kinda vary a bit more, so I felt sticking to her getting brown hair from him to be a safe bet! Her mom, which I can go into detail on another dive, has blonde hair and brown eyes--so she gets her eyes from her mom.

Second, no big name actors. One reason is a lot of time when you see someone playing a teenager, they're like twenty-something and that was not the vibe I was going for. I wanted Emma to look more like a kid rather than a young adult, so that cut down a lot of options. Another reason is a lot of people have a lot of rules, and for one reason or another they might have an actor on their ban list. Totally respectable and understandable! But for someone who is planning to rp an OC, I don't want to lose my options because of that. Also, given how all the superhero franchises are just so HUGE, I did not want to pick someone who did ended up getting casted who'd ended up being in my universe.

So from there it was: find a lesser known actress with brown hair and brown eyes, who does not look like some young adult model.

I think from there I was going onto some website that had a like 'find an actor based off their features' search option and was scrolling through there for awhile. I honestly cannot remember any of the other contenders but once I saw Olivia Steele Falconer, I stuck to it!

Coincidentally, I actually already knew of the actress from her appearance on Once Upon A Time. The show, whose main character's name is Emma. So yeah, if you've seen that show you can see the parallels probably lol.

I've never been someone who likes to use icons in replies--I just overthink and stress out too much over them, so the lack of icons did not bother me too much! Olivia's character's style in OUAT is also nothing like Emma's, but she did some indie projects before the shore which majority of my photos are from! Thank goodness for her IMDB and her projects being on YouTube.

So as a treat for reading this crazy ramble, here's some random pics of her that I probably will not ever use.

She was one of the kids in that live action Fairly Odd Parents Movie (LOOK HOW TINY SHE IS)

This is her on Once Upon A Time. To be honest, I stopped watching the show around this time. She was like King Arthurs Daughter??? Something like that

I really love every outfit she did wear :,)

also they set up her character so much and just kinda??? forgot about her??? this show was a mess. i ate it up, but what a mess

[occult-roommates]

Rudi: I mean, if you want to put your baby for adoption, I think it’s wonderful. But like...you straight up asked a random influencer in her DMs if she wants the kid. I don’t think that’s how it works. Might even be illegal. Akva: Yeah, she accused me of making fun of her situation and then she blocked me... Daniele: I mean, I can see why. Rudi: Look, we’re gonna help you find a nice adoption agency and you’ll find a great family for the baby. Nowadays, you can even stay in contact with the adoptive parents so it’s not like you’ll never see the baby again. Dawud: I told you, my pilot friend was adopted, so if you wanna talk to someone who was adopted and turned out fine, I can hook you up with him. Rudi: My dad was a pilot, like, before he died. Dawud: Uh, that’s odd, cause my dad was an airplane engineer. Daniele: Did he died by having sex with a horse? Dawud: Wh-Wh-Wh-What are you talking about? Like what the actual fuck are you...WHAT??? Akva: Also, what made you think that’s an appropriate thing to say? Daniele: Oh so I see you...Do you know the story of...It was a weird viral shock video back in the days...I say that as if I’m not the second youngest here. But like... Dawud: I am aware of that video, still, what the fuck Dan?

As Dawud was seriously reconsidering his crush on Daniele, he asked Akva when her next free time is. She was working that afternoon, but the next day, she ended up once again at the café a block away, this time with Dawud and Ralf.

Akva: So you were adopted. Ralf: Mh-mh. I was born in the western most point of the USSR, in what is now modern day Ukraine. I don’t know exactly when I was put up for adoption, but I do know I was adopted at three months old, since I still had my birth certificate. My birth name was Rafayl Borysenko if I recall correctly. I don’t really know how my parents pulled it off, but they were East German so maybe it was easier if you were from another Eastern Bloc country to get a baby in the Soviet Union.  Akva: Have you ever wondered who your real parents were? Ralf: Yes, and shortly after getting married, I tried finding who my birth mom was, especially since my adoptive parents were...not great, and I wanted to reconnect with my heritage now that I had my own kids. I managed to trace her back, only to learn she passed away when I was around five years old. After that, I gave up.  Akva: Oh wow, I’m so sorry for that. But what do you mean that your adoptive parents weren’t great? Ralf: Well, it was very obvious they only adopted me because they were expected to have a kid, not because they actually wanted one. As to make this worse, even though my mom had been told she couldn’t conceive, she ended up having twins out of nowhere when I was seven. After that, it was game over for me. They never said it to my face, but I could tell they didn’t love me as much as their biological kids and I was a nuisance to them. It was like being orphaned all over again, except this time I was old enough to remember. Akva: B-But you ended up fine in the end, right? Ralf: Oh yes, of course I did uh...I think you can tell. But it was a hard road to get there. As a teenagers I got in a bunch of relationships just to feel loved, only to sabotage all of them. My logic was that they couldn’t abandon me if I did it first. I had stopped that by the time I met my wife though. Now I am fine and happy uh...Don’t worry about me ok. Just...be careful which family you pick.

Now visibly uncomfortable, Ralf stood up and left the café without saying goodbye, great. Dawud tried to stop him, but it was too late. As for Akva, she stayed sat there, now terrified of what would happen to her baby. Hopefully Ralf’s story is an outlier...

Prev - Next

[magical-girl-coral]

Happy WIP Wednesday! Have a very Ivy breakdown.

Ivy didn't know where she was.

She didn't know where she was and she can't remember how she got here, how she ran away or who's car she apparently hot wired to get to where she is to begin with. All she can tell is that she is standing in some random motel room with her knife in her hand, strands of hair all over the floor, and the deep uncomfortable feeling that she massively fucked up beyond repair.

I wasted my money on hit extension I got rid off in a week. My mom is gonna be pissed.

She cringed at her own line of thinking. How is this the first clear thought she had in several hours?

How is she gonna get out of this mess?

Her bag only had three things: her wallet, her crystal and her ID. Her quiver and arrows laid on the second bed. She could tweak her ID and have it say she's eighteen to get jobs easier, it's not like faking being one year older is gonna be that hard. But she is still a minor, so legally her guardians could shut off her bank account and force her to live on cash until she comes home. All the forty thousand gold will remain with her mother until Ivy is either forced to swallow her pride and come back crawling like a dog or live on the streets until she comes of age.

There were about five gold pieces, twenty silver and thirty five coppers on her. This one night has cost one silver piece, so she has about twenty nights here if she doesn't find a job soon. She can always join an adventurers guild and see who needs to hire a lone ranger for a quick job. She's already pretty powerful as it is and if she practices her slight of hand enough, she could pickpocket some of the rich assholes that could hire her-

The room's phone rang out of nowhere. Ivy's heart jumped out of her skin.

She had to take five deep breathes before picking up the phone. "Hello?"

A gruff male voice signed in relief from the other side. "Oh, thank fuck, I've never been happier to owe someone five silver pieces in my entire life. Please tell me you're alright."

Ivy's jaw fell open. "Mr O'Shaughnessey? I- How did y-how did yo-how?"

"Both Sandra Lynn and I suffered through some tough shit around the same age as you are right now, so we thought 'okay, when I was a teen and running away from home, where was the first place I fucked off to?' Turns out there aren't that many motels in Bastion city, so you were easier to find than we hoped."

"I-wait-," Ivy stuttered, like a moron. "But how did yo- how did you specifically find this one?" She couldn't even tell which motel or room she was in.

"I called the guy at the reception and told him a teenage girl from Elmville went missing recently and her parents were deeply worried about where she's gone. He didn't want to get involved with the police so he gave up your location."

"That motherfucker."

"Yeah, I know him from my drug dealing days and he used to steal some of my stash when he thought I wasn't looking. He probably has some in his pocket right now."

Ivy outwardly cursed in Elvish.

[thurisazsalail]

I used to carry a binder/agenda around for just this reason.

It was especially ADHD-ified (a decade before diagnosis) because I would have a section of “Cleaning,” a separate page (back and front) in the binder with explicit lists of things to clean. Otherwise, I forget them. I’ll just gloss over because say, a toilet, LOOKS visually clean... but it actually hasn’t been cleaned in 2-3 weeks. In the dates, regularly scheduled, were things like “Clean bathroom.” (See Bathroom list.) I can print off the Cleaning list as often as I like if I want to check things off.

Then when anyone asked, why can’t you come out to this meeting, why can’t you stay late from work- you don’t have kids(! first of all, don’t be letting people use up your life because you don’t have kids. knowing that you need to stay late for work sometimes and getting childcare is a regular expectation for preparing to raise children and HAS BEEN for 40+ years,) All kinds of shit. Now I can point to a thing. A month across two pages, filled with responsibilities. I’ve found that they don’t even read it. They see all the colour-coded items and their eyes glaze over. They just fucking agree with me, except for the few who say I should give up a day because I don’t have kids. That’s literally ALWAYS the thing that gets said to me. I honestly think that (cis)men never hear this. 

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

As a side note, ONLY ciswomen ask me things like ‘where my kids are,’ ‘why aren’t your kids helping you?’ ‘oh, you have to leave early- your child must need picked up at school. i’m so sorry they’re sick!’ I’m only asked to stay for extra duties or come in on unscheduled days, no notice, because of child-related emergencies. Are men asked that? Do they just not say anything because “it’s Expected,” and being a Good Man = Hard Work and Sacrifice?

Celiac made me bloat like crazy, long before I knew what the problem was. I was told repeatedly that I was just fat, like most Americans, I eat too much (I lived in my car after coming from a house with little food. I knew I didn’t eat too much. I just didn’t know why I was so “fat.”) I am dead tired of people telling me ~Congratulations!~ I know I look 5-6 mos pregnant. I am phobic of pregnancy and tried to poison myself as a teenager because I’d rather die than have a kid. Please stop telling me this shit.

You don’t go up to random men and ask where their kids are. You don’t tell men to leave early because they have kids to raise. EVEN when it’s KNOWN that they have parental responsibility for picking kids up from school. It’s sexist and it’s bullshit.

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

I will give you days to hang out if you just ask! Cleaning everything on my own (with undiagnosed disabilities,) vet care, errand-running, not having a washer or dryer in a low-income apartment so min. 2 hours for laundromat nearby, helping my mom when she needs it, PLUS regular 40-50 hrs/week on work. I don’t have the freaking time, especially not on a whim. 24 hrs notice will probably not happen.

Now I use TickTick app and post-it notes. I physically cannot carry the binder and don’t have ability or time to waste on writing things down in this detail, daily. TickTick keeps things like the Cleaning List, broken up by room, and puts it on a recurring schedule for me. It keeps a PHOTO collection of stuff my mom is particular about. It keeps a contact list of everyone for me. I made a folder called Addresses and each person gets a separate note with their names, birthday, any contact info. It’s super-easy to update, unlike the written one where I had to sometimes write over and update the document IF I typed it, and remember to reprint... TickTick had a student discount, which was pretty sweet, so I used that as long as I could. It still feels better and works better with ADHD to write physical post-its for ‘bare minimum’ to refocus and prioritize for the day.

I can screenshot that app for the day and just message it to anyone who’s like “It’s your day off! Surely you can hang out with me and meander!” ... You are welcome to join me on the ride for the following stores, but today is not in fact a ‘day off.’ Today is the day I have to do stuff like laundry and grocery shopping- which happens to be in the same plaza. You are welcome to come and hang out with me! Unless I can do 6 loads of laundry at your house (which won’t happen because regular washers and dryers aren’t as fast as laundromats, where I can do all that laundry at once) and buy cat litter in your living room, I cannot chill at this time.

My time slated for things like reading, crafting, the hour I spend walking my cat and bonding with her, the 20 minutes I try to spend daily on focusing on my elderly cat and giving him special attention, is not suddenly “up for grabs” for other people. Just because that time is for ME and not someone else does NOT mean it’s ‘less worthy.’ or that I should give it up for ‘more important’ things. People are important! Yes! But I am a People, too!

I have the following days where I have transportation AND can arrange time to just be at your place. Please let me know in advance if any of these work for you. Otherwise, they WILL be filled with other stuff. You will be invited along (within parameters) but once that space is filled, it’s probably done for.

Welcome to adulthood with increased responsibilities, especially if you, a partner, a child, or a relative you care for, has health issues. By the way, those are incredibly common, ESPECIALLY post-COVID when an est. 1 in 5 survivors have the POTS/dysautonomia that I’ve had my whole life. Most people “deal” with the time crunch by totally neglecting the self and wondering why they’re burnt out and miserable. You are a People, too, and you are important. Boundaries on your own time and what you can/can’t - will/won’t do are one of the most important skills you will ever learn. Embrace them.

[digitallovergirl]

　　HERE'S YOUR COFFEE.. AND MY NUMBER

☕ . . . Barista! Leo Valdez x Customer! Reader.

in which: Leo has a favorite customer, and it's most definitely you.

authors note: I don't have much to say for this one LOL. I'm writing this right after I post my poll to see what fic you guys would like from me so this is one of the options ! also I like to think that the store Leo works at is a mom and pop shop and the parents who run the place love Leo and gave him the job as soon as the place opened 🤭

warnings: literally none

Was it wrong for Leo to have a favorite?

He didn't think so. I mean, It's not like it was obvious. His job was to make caffeine drinks for teenagers, college students, and thirty year old women with two kids. Who would know (or care) that he liked one customer more than another. As long as the quality wasn't getting worse for one customer and way better for a second one.. Why do they care?

When Leo says they, he means his coworkers. He might have talked about one customer a little too much (and how pretty they were) and one day, the people who worked around him were like: "Wait.. do you have a crush on one of the customers?"

Which Leo responded with: "Uhm.. No?" (He's rubbing the back of his neck and blushing like crazy. He also sucks at lying)

So ever since that day, Leo's wonderful peers have been his wingmen and wingwoman. Every time they'd have a break, the people on the job would go into the back and talk about ways Leo could smoothly give you his number. At first, the meetings were really embarrassing. They'd often joke around about how Leo had a crush on somebody who he only saw for a good few minutes a day, but as it went on for longer, they would actually give some good advice.

So Leo, taking all the advice he'd learned from his fellow people's, decided to shoot his shot. And he didn't just pick a random day, no, he might have checked the weather for the week and picked the coldest day because, lets be honest, who doesn't want a hot drink on a cold day?

The day you came into the shop was definitely cold, but that didn't stop you from wearing something cute. As soon as one of Leo's coworkers saw you, she basically pushed Leo to the front desk without saying a word. "What in the world are you—" he stopped talking when he saw you walking up to the front desk. "Well, look who it is." He smirked.

"Hi, Leo." You smiled back, glancing at his name tag and back at him. Not that you had forgotten his name, but it was hard to remember stuff when you were around him. "Can I get a [insert usually order] please?" you asked.

"And will that be a to-go order?"

"Unfortunately, yes. I have a job interview in like.. " You turned your phone on to check the time. "thirty minutes? and I can't be low on energy. I'm trying to get the job, not lose it. "

Leo laughed. "I bet either way you'd get it." If his eyes could form hearts, it would. you were so, so pretty.

[ little time skip hehe ]

It didn't take that long for you drink to come to you (mostly because Leo was high on energy and was making it for you) But before he gave you the drink, he wrote a little something on the side of your cup.

"I'm going to be very honest, you're cute. I'm going to put my number below this just in case you think i'm cute too." He signed the letter with his name and a little red heart that he used a red sharpie to make.

"Here's your drink." Leo handed the coffee cup to you, purposely giving it to you in a way so that your hands could slightly touch. "Thank youu." You said, smiling. "See you next time I come in?" You asked.

"See you next time." He shoot you a pair of finger guns (which was extremely nerd & cute thing for him to do.) "Good luck on your job interview!" he said before you walked out the door. He wasn't happy that you had to leave, but at least you leaving meant his heart wouldn't beat so fast. The only this that he could hope was that you saw his note on the side of your coffee cup.

[larrydempsey]

“But I’m Feeling Much Better Now, Conclusion”

After I graduated from high school, Tom taught me how to drive.  Unlike every other teenager in the universe, I had no interest in getting behind the wheel of a car when I was going to school.  I wanted my uncle (my mom’s brother) to teach me how, since he was a part-time driving instructor, but Tom said there was no way anyone else was going to teach me.      Using Tom’s two-door, silver stick-shift Honda hatchback (which later became my car), I learned to drive in industrial parks, empty parking lots, and on dirt roads outside of town.  It wasn’t fun—either the driving or having to spend more time with Tom—but at least I made it through him trying to teach me something without crying, like I did when I was younger.  That’s progress.     The main reason Tom wanted to teach me how to drive was so I would be able to drive to work.  I strongly suspected he wanted me to get a job and move away from home as soon as possible so he wouldn’t have to deal with me anymore.

I went out looking for jobs where I thought I could make use of my creative skills, places like newspapers, print shops, photo studios, and videographers.  I took examples of my artwork with me to show them what I could do.  But it was pointless.  While they considered me “good,” I wasn’t good enough.  It didn’t help that I didn’t have any real experience or a college degree.  It was naive of me to think I could get a decent job right out of high school.  They took my résumé (such as it was), but I never heard back from any of them.

Since I couldn’t find a “real” job, Tom put me to work on two projects he had going on around town (not that I had a choice).  The first was helping out on the new house that he was having built for his parents, who were moving up from Oregon so they could live near us.  Some of my duties included tidying up the worksite, like sweeping inside the house and picking up stray nails and boards outside.  I also spent days spreading multiple coats of tar sealant on the exterior of the concrete foundation with a paint roller at the end of a long stick.     One afternoon, on the drive home from picking me up, Tom asked me how I liked working on the house.  I don’t remember what I said specifically, only that it wasn’t too enthusiastic.  Tom got angry and confused, wondering why I wasn't thrilled with my new job.  He said, “You don’t seem too excited.”  I thought to myself, “Excited?  I spend all day working with stuff that smells worse than shit.  If I got any more excited, I’d fall into a coma.”     After that, Tom got me a job working at the first Super 1 grocery store when it was being built, since he was the architect for it and had an “in” with the owner.  At the time I was hired, the store was still an enormous concrete shell, big and (mostly) empty, with random metal shelving, refrigeration equipment, and mountains of cardboard, clear plastic, and styrofoam packing material scattered everywhere.  It felt like a huge, dark airplane hanger.  I was assigned to crawl around on my hands and knees on a concrete floor all day wearing hard plastic knee pads and dragging a shop vac behind me, cleaning and vacuuming inside the bases of hundreds of shelving units.  Just like working on Tom’s parent's house, this job was hot as hell as well, with sweat dripping off my face as I breathed in dust from drywall and fought back nausea.  I’m convinced Tom intentionally found me the crappiest jobs he could find just to torture me.

I remember the last place Tom, my mom, my sister, and I went together as a family (well, the four of us together, that is).  We went to the Silverwood theme park, which had just opened for the first time a couple months earlier.  I had no interest in seeing it, but Tom wanted to, as it was the big new thing in town at the time.      Right before we left home, Tom and I got into a huge argument (over something about which I have no idea, but knowing me, I probably didn’t want to go—or go anywhere with him).  I think Mom and my sister were already in the car in the garage, waiting for the two of us to come out.  I wanted to tell Mom about the argument when I got in the car, but I couldn’t since she was one of “the parents.”  But I felt things shift that day.  It was the first time I saw Mom separately from Tom.  They were no longer one unit; this formidable force of the two of them ganged up on me.  Instead, I saw Tom as my adversary and Mom as someone with whom I would soon be able to confide.     There was hardly anything at Silverwood in its early days.  There was the train (which people could use to ride around the perimeter of the park) and a few rides and shops.  I remember riding on the train, sitting in my seat (comfortably far from Tom, naturally), not enjoying it or paying attention to where I was or what was going on.  Mom asked what was wrong, but I didn’t want to say anything, at least not at that point, so I kept it to myself.  All I could do was sit there and think about that big argument I had with Tom and how I could possibly endure living with him for much longer.  Tom and I were seriously becoming enemies.

Tom went out with some friends late one night.  He came home around 2:30 in the morning.  Mom and Tom immediately got into an argument over why he was coming home so late, where he was, and who he was with.  During the argument, he burst into my bedroom and demanded to know what was going on and why Mom was so worked up.  Piss off, buddy.  You’re not getting any help from me.  Mom later found out that Tom had been out dancing with a woman he’d recently met, a woman with whom he’d been spending a lot of time and getting a little too closely acquainted (FORESHADOWING!).     Things quickly started to deteriorate after that.  The tension was constant, and arguments erupted almost every day.  The end was near and inevitable.

After a brief and explosive argument between Tom and Mom one night, Mom threw a large calculator at him (the only thing within arm’s reach), and Tom made a mad dash for the back door.  The sight of him jumping in the car and screeching out of the garage, like the coward he was, is still one of my favorite memories (too bad about the calculator, though; it never quite worked the same after that).  Tom returned not long after, but not for very long.      Near the end of summer and two days before my mom’s birthday, Tom left us for good.  My mom, my sister, and I were watching TV in the living room.  Tom was sitting at the table in the dining room, working on who knows what.  Without warning, he quietly got up from the table, walked out to the garage, got in the car, and left.  We heard him leave, but we didn’t think anything of it at the time—at least not until he didn't come home that night.     When Tom eventually came back a few days later to pick up some clothes and a few other things to bring to the hotel at which he’d been staying, he told my mom that when he heard us laughing at the TV, he felt like he “didn't belong.”  Apparently, the sound of the three of us enjoying whatever show we were watching was the final straw that convinced him we were no longer a family (if we ever really were one).  Tom filed for divorce shortly after.

When the news was going around that my parents were going to get a divorce, my mom’s longtime best friend (who she’d known since first grade) called Tom and invited him to go fishing with her and her husband.  Read that again if you need to.  I’ll wait.

Not long after my parents separated, Mom went to visit Tom while he was working on his parents’ new house.  She asked him if there was any way he would consider coming back and working things out.  Tom turned her down.  To this, Mom replied, “It’s a good thing you said that, or the kids would have left.”  It’s not that she actually wanted him back, but she thought she’d ask, just to see what his response would be.  Tom added that his reason for not wanting to get back together was that he and Mom “didn’t click.”

With Tom gone, we needed money coming in.  Any potential child support was a long way off (but only for my sister since I’d turned 18 earlier that spring).  So after abandoning my delusions of finding a job doing something I liked or was good at, I took whatever I could get.     Mom and I found temporary employment at a computer keyboard plant doing mind-numbing assembly line work.  That lasted for about a month.  After that was over, Mom landed the first in a long line of jobs in retail, while my career path quickly led me to the first of an endless string of janitor jobs.  Everything I was capable of doing, all my “gifts” and “talents,” were useless.  The only jobs I could get were cleaning toilets.

Whenever Tom came over to the house to discuss the divorce, at some point he’d get pissed off and storm out.  Every time.  He’d get up, stomp across the living room, and then dart out the front door, slamming the door behind him.  Every meeting ended the same way, except for one night.  On that night, I jumped up and made it to the door before he did.  As he reached for the doorknob, I grabbed him by the front of his coat with both hands and threw him down into the nearest chair.  He was scared out of his mind, which I could tell from the look of horror on his face, his eyes bulging and his bottom lip trembling.  That was the first time I ever stood up to him.  He never tried storming out again.      Tom later accused my mom of turning my sister and me against him.  Sorry, dude.  She didn’t have to turn us against you.  We never liked you in the first place.  We were glad you left.  Sure, we would be worse off financially, but we would be far better off without you around.      During the divorce trial, Tom was on the stand, and Mom’s lawyer asked Tom when my birthday was.  It seems like a simple enough question, right?  A father should know his children’s birthdays.  After hemming and hawing, obviously having trouble remembering when I was born, he finally said a date—but it was the wrong one.     We had to move out of our second house after the divorce.  We were forced to sell it so Tom could get his half of the money.  We sold all but a quarter acre of our land, took our half of the money, and built a new house on it (that was our third house, for those keeping track).

Not long into Tom’s second marriage (married to the woman with whom he was out dancing before he divorced my mom), my sister and I received a long letter from his new wife, going on and on about how great a man he was, how downhearted he felt about his children ignoring him, and demanding that we treat him better.  Sorry.  No sympathy here.  He treated us like crap, and he’s the victim?  I thought, “Give it time.  You’ll find out what he's really like.”

Tom bought me a computer drawing program one Christmas, probably trying to impress his new wife by pretending he was a good father.  I told him I already had that program.  Three months later, he mailed me the receipt so I could take it back.  The receipt was my birthday present.

Tom came into our new house once, and only once.  I was home alone one afternoon.  Mom must have been at work.  I don’t know where my sister was—either at work or school, probably.  The doorbell rang, and I answered the door.  I couldn’t believe who I saw standing on the other side of it.  I should have just slammed the door, but, being the polite guy (and wimp) that I am, I let him in.  He wanted me to sign a birthday card for his father.  Trying to choke back fake tears, Tom said he thought his father wasn’t going to be around much longer (which was a complete exaggeration; his father was fine; he lived for many more years).  He asked me if I could also draw a little something, too, so I did a ballpoint pen drawing of Superman on the left-hand side of the inside of the card.  I’m assuming his birthday card request was just an excuse to see the inside of our new house.

Tom wanted to pay to send both my sister and me to college, even after the divorce.  Sounds good, right?  Who would turn that down?  Me, for one.  Accepting his offer meant him buying his way into my life again.  First, it would mean he thought he could see me or talk to me whenever he wanted to.  Second, he would hold it over me.  If and when I ever made something of myself, he’d want to take credit for my success since he was the one who paid for my education.  Sorry.  Not interested.  We finally got rid of that asshole.  I didn’t want him back in our lives.  My sister accepted his offer, though, and went to college on his dime a few years later, after she moved to Seattle.     Mom encouraged both of us to take Tom for as much as we could.  While I can see that point of view and I can see why my sister did it, I couldn't do the same.  In my opinion, the bad outweighed the good.  And yes, because my sister accepted Tom’s money, she had to talk to him on the phone and visit with him in person whenever he wanted.

Tom’s second marriage lasted about ten years.  But shockingly, its demise wasn’t due to anything Tom had done (well, not entirely).  It turns out his new wife and her son had been stealing money from his parents.  Pity.  I thought she was the one.

About a year or so after Tom’s second divorce, Mom and I went out to eat at Pizza Hut one night.  Tom came in with a young girl (no older than her 20s or 30s, compared to him in his late 50s).  When I went up to the salad bar, Tom got up and came over to talk to me.  I told him I had recently done some published comic book work (me, having recently had some success in the artistic field and something to brag about).  He said he wanted a copy.  I agreed to give him one, just so I could get away from him.  Later, as Mom and I were leaving, I stopped at the table where Tom was sitting on the same side of the booth as the girl.  I told him, “You’re getting them younger all the time, aren’t you?”  He smiled and laughed, assuming I had said something funny, not realizing what I’d actually said.  But once he finally achieved comprehension, his eyebrows dropped, and his smile quickly faded.  Next, I asked, “How do you live with yourself?”  I walked away from the table and headed toward the door.  When I reached the door, I turned around, and there he was, standing right behind me, looking super pissed.  I got right in his face and said, “Sit the fuck down.”  I turned around and walked out the door without looking back.  That was the second time I ever stood up to him and the first time I ever cussed at him.  It felt great.     The next time I saw Tom was at my grandmother’s funeral (my mom’s mother’s).  He was all chummy-chummy with me, either forgetting what had happened at Pizza Hut or pretending it didn’t happen.  My other grandmother (Tom’s mother) was also there.  She came up to me, sobbing, wondering why I never visited them, even though we live in the same town.  The reason I never visited is because I hated her and her husband almost as much as I hated Tom.  Besides not liking them personally, why would I want anything to do with the two people who spawned the devil, who was my father?  I told her I’d visit, completely lying through my teeth.     The last time I saw Tom was across a grocery store parking lot late one evening.  He was with his fifth wife (you read that right: fifth).  He kept waving at me, trying to get me to come over to talk to him.  I kept ignoring him, pretending I didn’t see or hear him.  He eventually gave up and entered the store.

I still remember where I was when I heard that Tom had died.  I was picking Mom up from work, and she told me the news after she got in the car (she heard the news from her brother, who called her earlier in the day).  I couldn’t have been happier.  Giddy is too small a word.  My first thought was that I wanted to know where he was going to be buried so I could go pee on his grave.  We found out later that it’s in another state, so I haven’t gone there yet.  But I look forward to it.

Tom, along with my bullies and my teachers, seriously screwed me up.  If it weren't for them, I wouldn’t be enjoying the anxiety, depression, obesity, OCD, PTSD, low self-esteem, and poor self-image issues from which I suffer every day.  Who knows how much happier I could have been and how much further I could have gotten in life if they had simply left me alone?  Regardless, I’m working really hard to like myself now, to enjoy my own company, and to not put myself down so much in an effort to undo some of the damage they did to me.  It's not easy.  And it’s been a long,8slow process.  But I’m trying.  Wish me luck.

Copyright © 2023 Larry Dempsey.  All rights reserved.

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